(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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°2020°
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"Maya, did you finish your homework?" Maya's father asked.
"Yeah, I was gonna go over to Peter's to compare notes. Why?" Maya asked. She removed the headphones from her ears, ABBA's "Voulez-Vous" faintly coming from the device.
"Can you call and tell him you'll be late? I need your help with something."
"What is it?"
There was a long pause.
"I need you to help me take some boxes to my office." Her dad said sheepishly.
Maya gaped.
"Is Mom okay with it?"
"Barely, but she's still working and your siblings are out looking for some extra supplies. I know it's dangerous, but I need the help. Same rules apply for walking through the streets. Eye contact with no one, no biting back, no resistance, no nothing."
"Yeah, Dad, I understand. Let me get my coat." Maya sighed, getting out of her desk chair and grabbed the aforementioned coat. Her dad passed her two cardboard boxes full of papers and other assorted objects. The pair stepped outside in the hazy afternoon light. They were pretty close to the middle of town, and the further out you went, the worse New York looked. Maya was lucky enough to have a decent home to live in because of where her dad worked. But the rest of town looked much like the Earth of "Wall-E" with piles of garbage and a hazy sun that washed everything in a dark yellow light.
Unfortunately, that's all Maya had known for the past eight years. She had spent half her life like this and she absolutely hated it. But no one dared speak out of line if they wanted to see tomorrow. They were taught that everyone was expendable. Sure, there wasn't any racism or discrimination of any kind... There can't be a lesser type of person if everyone is "pathetic."
"So how was school today, kiddo?" Maya's dad asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence in what felt like a death march.
"Okay, I guess. It was just a Geometry review, a lecture on Amino Acids, planning for an essay on "The Great Gatsby," and a surprisingly boring lecture on the end of the American Civil War." Maya relayed the information.
"So did you learn about Stonewall Jackson?"
"Who?"
"Didn't think so." Her dad sighed. "Way back when, my history books were about the size of Shakespeare's complete works. Now they're no bigger than the first Harry Potter book. It was heavily weeded through by Stark and Banner until there's almost nothing left to learn."
"Dad, shh, you know you shouldn't talk about the censorship like that. Especially out in public." Maya hissed.
"I know. It was just wistful thinking. Means nothing. Speaking of, which Shakespeare show are you on?"
