(Originally published in "The Many Adventures of the Avengers and Friends")
"No, no, you're missing the point. There is no throne. There is no version of this where you come out on top." - Tony Stark, "The Avengers"
Or is there?
Multiverses have the...
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°2016°
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New York had a bit of a problem. Well, actually, there were a lot of problems that would take one all day to go through. But specifically, New York had a magic problem. Not the ice dragon that would take flight every now and again, nor was it the random disappearance of people to be returned days later with preppy, excited attitudes about the state of the world. No, this problem didn't stem from the Palace.
But, for certain, it needed to be dealt with.
Loki and Olivia needed to find a way to capture of the enhanced individual known as Wanda Maximoff and her twin brother, Pietro. Pietro's main ability was his extreme speed, and he wasn't really the issue. His sister, however, her abilities akin to energy manipulation and mind games, was the problem.
For weeks the twins were causing trouble and escaping capture every time, causing dissent in the population. Granted, no one was really excited about being taken over in the first place, but the twins were making it far worse.
After searching for candidates for weeks, Loki and Olivia finally found who would be the best option.
***
Carson Ambrose and Bucky Barnes weren't thrilled at the prospect of aiding their oppressors. They'd been captured years ago during or soon after World War II. They emerge after HYDRA all but collapsed like its counterpart, SHIELD, did four years prior. The world had changed massively and not for the better. People were dying and oppressed by literal gods with massive egos and an insatiable bloodlust.
On the outside, the Palace in and of itself was imposing. Carson and Bucky, who spent most of the trip over in silence, observed the area around it. Put simply, it looked like an utter post apocalyptic wasteland.
"And I thought Siberia looked barren." Carson commented. They had stolen equipmemt to brave the frozen tundra of Siberia when they had first escaped. Just miles and miles of snow and cliffs until they eventually found civilization under a new flag. Instead of the red with the gold sickle and hammer, it was green and purple with a dagger stuck into a blue rose in the center.
The color pattern and symbols sure weren't Russian, that being the first indicator that something was horribly wrong.
"Barren, and it looks like the second Chernobyl. Crap is everywhere." Bucky agreed.
"I wish we did not have to do this to ensure protection. I just want a nice shower and a comfortable bed to live in. Looking around, even that sounds like a dream." Carson pointed to a clutter of metal shacks that some people used as homes.
