40 Recruitment, NOT AGAIN!

(In the comics Stone Age Avengers fought Zgreb and the first Host but here the 1st host happened and Zgreb is still on Earth they will fight him soon)

~~~~

Fan Fei groaned, her body barely holding itself together. The dragon's blood coursing through her veins was the only thing keeping her alive at this point, though the pain was unbearable.

Before her stood a being unlike any she had ever encountered. His glowing white eyes pierced through the darkness like twin stars, his form shrouded in a swirling, almost ethereal presence—somewhere between a warrior, a god, and an enigma. He radiated power beyond comprehension, yet she felt no malice from him.

Her instincts screamed at her: This was no demon, no trickster. This was something else entirely.

"So, Fan Fei, would you accept my offer and become the protector of humanity?" Herobrine, in his full godly presence, asked. His voice was calm, yet it carried the weight of inevitability.

Fan Fei coughed, tasting blood in her mouth. "Aargh—cough, cough, w-why me?"

She wasn't stupid. If a being of this level had chosen her, there had to be a reason. And she needed to know what she was getting into—if she even had time left to get into anything at all.

Herobrine crossed his arms, giving her a knowing smirk. "Well, I've been watching you for a while, and let me tell you, your dedication is impressive. You have spent your life protecting the weak when you could have walked away. You fought for others even when you had nothing to gain. That alone makes you worthy."

He paused, then added with an almost casual shrug, "Besides, you have incredible potential. I wouldn't be surprised if, in a few centuries, you end up as the goddess of martial arts or something."

Fan Fei narrowed her eyes at him. "You are talking like you know the future."

Herobrine chuckled. "I don't need to. I just know talent when I see it."

But what he didn't say—at least, not out loud—was: And you look exactly like Chun-Li's twin sister, and I always wanted a muscle mommy martial artist in my divine roster… Ahem.

He mentally shook himself. He was a god-sort, an entity of vast knowledge and power. But, well… he was also a guy.

And he was a man of culture through and through.

Still, business before pleasure.

"So, what do you say, Fan Fei? Keep lying here and let fate decide your end… or rise, take my hand, and forge your own?"

Fan Fei looked at his outstretched hand, then at the blood pooling around her.

A choice. A real choice.

Ender's Musings: Gathering the Stone Age Avengers

Honestly, I'm still surprised that Mephisto let some random mutated ape get his hands on the Power Stone. But then again, when you're one of the most unlucky bastards in existence—knowing where an Infinity Stone is but never being able to use it yourself—I guess desperation starts to look like strategy.

The so-called Ape King used the Power Stone against Fan Fei, though calling it a victory would be generous. More like mutual destruction. The only reason either of them survived was pure stubbornness—and, well, dragon blood has its perks.

I had already sent Rex after the Ape King to retrieve the Power Stone. I wasn't about to let a cosmic WMD stay in the hands of a glorified monkey. That said, this also meant my carefully compiled list of the Infinity Stones' locations was now completely useless. If one had already changed hands, the others could have as well.

Ugh. Just great.

Well, no point worrying about it. At least not anytime soon.

For now, the good news: Fan Fei accepted my offer.

With that, I had officially recruited my first member of the Stone Age Avengers.

...Yeah, yeah, I know. I thought about coming up with something cooler, but let's stick to the original.

Now, onto the Black Panther.

I had been keeping tabs on a certain little feline who had, unknowingly, become the patron goddess of what would eventually grow into one of the universe's strongest empires.

I only sent her to Africa to keep an eye on Atum. I did not expect her to go full divine mode and start inspiring mortals.

Well… I'll forgive her. This time.

Of course, I'm not just sticking to the original team. There are others out there who fit the bill.

Bulk – That's the name he chose, and honestly, I respect it. He will be the big guy of the team, he is an Iron Golem.

Cave Spider is the spider of the team.

Highwalker is the Professor X of this era, but a genuinely good guy.

Flying Disaster, the name quite fits. She is literally flying anvil on steroids.

With this lineup, the Stone Age Avengers were starting to take shape. Maybe a few more additions wouldn't hurt—someone to handle magic, for instance. A Sorcerer Supreme would be useful Agamotto, ugh complications. Goddesses didn't get pregnant easily (Oshtur's case), and when they did, they took their sweet time giving birth (Gaia's case). Seriously, divine reproduction was the most inconveniently slow process I had ever seen.

But before I could finish putting together my "Ultimate Primal Superhero Draft", I felt it.

A VERY familiar sensation.

An asteroid.

A fucking asteroid. Or something like that.

Again.

At this point, I was convinced the universe had a personal grudge against this particular planet. Was it too much to ask for Earth to not be in the path of giant cosmic debris every other Tuesday?

I checked. Nope, not a Celestial crafting a new citadel for a cosmic voyeur. That was something we had already discussed. They agreed to let me handle that because, you know, I didn't want a goddamn moon chunk raining down on Earth like it was just another normal day in Marvel.

This one was different.

It was headed straight for the future land of China.

And I had a very strong feeling about who was going to be handling this one.

Time to get Wukong working.

~~~

Fan Fei

The being who introduced himself as Herobrine had taken me to his domain.

He called it "Gaia's Grove."

I called it absolutely insane.

It was breathtaking an actual paradise, blending nature and mysticism into something I had never imagined possible. K'un-Lun had always been mystical, yes, but in an ancient way. A city of old traditions, discipline, and isolation.

This place?

This was alive.

Energy pulsed through the land itself. The air felt thick with something, power, life, a force I couldn't put into words. The trees hummed softly, their leaves shimmering as if whispering secrets. Rivers glowed faintly, running through the land like veins of liquid magic.

K'un-Lun had felt like a cage.

This place felt like…

Freedom. Life?

I looked up at the sky this wasn't the sky I knew. There were celestial bodies I had never seen before, moons of unnatural colors, stars that pulsed like beating hearts, and distant rings of cosmic dust shimmering against the void.

We had entered this place through a fiery purple portal that Herobrine had conjured from nothing.

A different world? A separate dimension? Like K'un-Lun?

If that portal was the only way in or out…

When will I be able to leave?

Before I could dwell on that thought, Herobrine suddenly tossed something at me. I caught it reflexively, looking down to find a ring in my palm.

A silver band, simple yet elegant—though something about it felt deliberate.

It reminded me of the rings grooms placed on their brides before challenging them for marriage.

…Could it be?

I stiffened, my brain short-circuiting for a moment.

He—?!

As if reading my confusion (but thankfully not my wildly unnecessary other thoughts), Herobrine spoke.

"Take this. It'll let you open a portal to the outside world," he explained casually. Then, as if that wasn't important enough, he added, "Though that's not its only purpose."

And then, in true infuriatingly vague god fashion, he didn't elaborate.

I put the ring on, and instantly, a flood of instinctual knowledge filled my mind. I knew how to use it. I understood what else it could do.

My cheeks suddenly felt warm.

…Probably from embarrassment?

(Ender)

For some reason, Fan Fei started blushing like some shy maiden in a romance drama.

Weird, but whatever. I had more important things to focus on. Right.

Recruit a badass muscle mommy who punched a dragon in the face. Done.

Step two: Get a certain monkey off his lazy ass.

Because if there was one thing I was absolutely sure of, it was that Wukong had way too much free time.

~~~~~

Power Stones?