ᴀɴᴀʀᴄʜɪsᴛ sᴇʀɪᴇs | B. Barnes, S. Rogers, L. Laufeyson

Prologue I

The Ancient One hovered in the air, her feet crossed as she meditated. Her mind was far away in the astral realm, walking among the stars as she looked over the millions of realities.

Each was displayed like a puddle in the ground, steady ripples coursing through them like a heartbeat.

All is well, the old woman thought, turning to travel back to her body.

A ripple of power coursed through the empty space, making her turn sharply. Her eyes scanned the various pools until they landed on Sector #18462

She had had lots of trouble with that one recently, little droplets of reality slipping out and running into other pools.

The last time a wave of power rang through the universe like this was in 1922, when a man by the name of Stan Lee was born.

Turns out, he would grow up to write the story of the reality she was originally from, headed by the title 'Marvel'.

She bent down once she got to that pool, peering into it. Sector #18462 was an odd one. It was a version of Earth, but one where it told stories of millions of other realities and realms.

Glancing to the side, she noticed Sector #19769's pool was getting quite full, a place nicknamed 'Harry Potter'. That reality was mostly centered around a young boy, but that wasn't important now.

Her attention was turned back to Sector #18462, and she reached out, trailing a single finger through the liquid.

Images flicked past, various celebrities like Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlet Johansson and more. They were all closely intertwined with many realities, along with many other actors.

Their likenesses were displayed in many other places, including her own. But they weren't her story to tell.

Turning her attention back to the reality, it stuttered and halted on the image of a young girl laying in her bed.

There was nothing especially special or different about this girl on the outside. She looked quite like the millions of other girls her age, but as The Ancient One peered closer the outline of her aura was clear.

Golden light swirled and churned around her body, brightening everytime she smiled or laughed.

This girl was powerful, immensely powerful. Her aura also bore the mark of someone who had been causing The Ancient One quite a headache, a so-called reality shifter.

A group of teens had figured out how to transfer their consciousness through to other realities, and though The Ancient One was quite proud to see them finally realizing the truth of the universe, many had given up, doubting its truth.

She turned her attention back to the girl, her curiosity sparked. She would let this one play out, interested in the change the girl could cause in her universe, after all- it wasn't often that one of them was aiming for the original Sector #111, her native home.

The Ancient One twisted her hand slightly, letting her see into the mind of the girl, "Oh I see."

A small smile curled across the woman's lips, "So she's in love with them... interesting."

"Another?" Came the voice of an old man, The Ancient One laughed slightly.

"Indeed Mr. Lee, another."

"How many times do I gotta ask you to call me Stan." He grumbled good naturedly.

"Perhaps a few more."

He peered over into the pool displaying the girl, "A powerful one eh?"

"They're all powerful. But this one is different," she traced the outline of the girl's face, "she has a pure heart. She doesn't particularly care for her own well being, she only wants to help them."

"Interesting."

"Indeed."

"Which one...?"

"All of them, she loves all of them."

"Hm."

The Ancient One stood up, watching the pool flicker back to normal.

"You think she'll be the one to save them?" The old man asked thoughtfully.

"I think she will be the cause of her own destruction. She could become a beautiful savior, or a terrible saint. It all depends on the path she takes."

"Is she one of the seven?"

"Mm."

"Out of all of them, which will love her back?"

"The prince, the hero."

"And the last?"

She looked up at him, "The soldier."

"Interesting."

"Very." She hummed, turning and walking back down the row between the various pools, the old man at her side.

A ringing coursed through the space, and Stan looked up thoughtfully.

"Your time?"

"Indeed."

"Before you go, what's her name?"

The Ancient One smiled, "Harlien. Harlien Fay."

The woman disappeared, leaving the man to walk among the stars by himself.

He glanced up for a moment and met your eyes.

"Interesting story eh?"

He reached a pool and sat down next to it on a little bench, looking up at the stars.

"You know, you should wipe that surprised look off your face," He looked up at you through your screen again. "It's rude to not talk to a spectator."

Stan smiled, "The girl has potential, but so do you, y'know?"

"Just because this is some story, doesn't mean it can't become your reality."

He glanced down at the pool beside him, "I know you want to go somewhere, so why not make it your reality? Your people are waiting for you, so hurry it up."

Stan smiled slightly, returning to look up through the screen and straight into your eyes, "This might be Miss Fay's story, but that doesn't mean it can't be yours too."

He started to fade, but he smiled at you one last time, his kind eyes twinkling, "Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

And he was gone, leaving you to decide to scroll to the next chapter or not.