(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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°2021°
"Cookie, you get back here right this instant!" Maya yelled after the fluffy white Maltese puppy her family had taken in a few months prior. Peter had come over to her house to plan a science project, but when Peter had opened the door, Cookie had run out onto the dingy streets. Less angry at Peter and more worried for her dog, Maya ran after Cookie as fast as she could, Peter having dropped his backpack to the ground and running along with her.
"Why does your dog run so fast?" Peter asked, sweat beading down his neck.
"He's energetic, he's a puppy. We gotta get him back! It's not safe out here!"
"How far have we run?"
"I don't know, but we can't stop."
"Maya, we might have to." Peter held Maya's shoulder back just as they were within a few feet of the dog. They were standing right outside the Palace walls. Maya tensed up, before spotting Cookie slip inside a back trap door a few feet above them above a large pile of garbage. The hatch was probably a small garbage chute.
"Dammit! He went inside!" Maya said, looking at the trap door.
"Maya, it's a lost cause. Remember what we've been taught? Nothing is permanent. We can't go in." Peter said.
"Nuh uh, no way. I'm not just gonna leave Cookie here!"
"Maya, it's out of our hands. It's dangerous."
"What would be worse is they find Cookie in there. They could kill him, or worse use him to experiment on! I'm going in."
Maya started to climb up the garbage pile and pulled on the handle of the chute so it would open. Peering inside, it looked like a pretty standard trash dump. She could see a large, dark room further inside. She started to squeeze through the square hole, just barely fitting inside. When she emerged on the other side, it looked like a large storage room with a few tables and odd machines proped up against the walls.
Behind her, she heard Peter climb through before dusting himself off.
"Look at this place! Imagine all the things you could find in here!" Maya said in wonderment.
"Well, right now we need to find your dog so we can get the hell out of here." Peter said.
"Peter, I feel like if there was anything of value in here, there would be more security by that chute. We'll find Cookie, but I wanna look around a little bit. Maybe we can get an idea for our science project." Maya started scanning the dusty shelves, reading labels with messy handwriting. Peter sighed and followed her. There were several crates and boxes, much like the military facility from "Indiana Jones" where they hid the Ark and the Crystal Skull.
"Maya, check this out." Peter said, holding up a few tan folders with an eagle emblazoned on the front. Around it were the words "Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division."
