What If?

Chapter 6: King of the Dead

Five Years ago, 30 days after the Decimation, 1 week after the death of Thanos.

In the dark gloomy streets of New York, the Royal Talon Flyer was seen hovering in camouflage while T'Challa was seen onboard, sitting on his chair while reading the news report of what's transpired.

News: (Shows footage of a man turning into dust while people on the streets panicked) It has been an approximately one month after the Decimation; a paranormal event that took out 50% of the world's population, including those of Tony Stark and Steven Rogers. While some people are left still praying for their loved ones return, many have taken protest against Secretary Thaddeus Ross and those who signed the Sokovia Accords, blaming them due to what some believed as not only the collapse of the Avengers but ultimately lead to the Decimation that devastated families and friends everywhere. The result has led to the complete shut down of the Accords, lead by King T'Challa, who has lost more than 75% of the population of his home country of Wakanda, including his Mother and Sister during these tragic events that took place-!

Natasha: (Calls T'Challa) T'Challa, how are you doing so far?

T'Challa: (Sighs from his nose as he turned to Natasha) I've been better.

Natasha: I heard your petition to shut the Accords down was a success. That must have been really hard, considering that was your Father's-!

T'Challa: My Father meant well when he signed... But the Accords was never a good solution after Lagos... (Folded his arms) Besides, what was the point in keeping it active anymore?

Natasha: It's probably for the best... At least we don't have to worry about anyone being on the run after this. (Placed her hands on her hips) Say, did you find him yet?

T'Challa: I'm getting close.

Natasha: Good. It's been a week since our last contact, and after everything that's happened-!

T'Challa: Everyone lost something from this crisis. But for the boy, he lost everything.

Somewhere else in the City, a lonely Web-Slinger was seen sitting on top of a bodega watching over a memorial ceremony for the people lost in the aftermath of the annihilation of half the life on the planet. There, he saw one of the pictures displayed in Times Square, one of them had displayed the names of everyone he ever knew. Every one of them had held his classmates' names, his Aunt's name, and more importantly, Tony Stark's in Red and Yellow.

His heart clenched at seeing all those names on the display screens. It even hurt further when a memory of his mentor and recently turned father figure just turned into dust right in front of his eyes still stayed with him the day they lost on Titan... The day everyone lost something precious in their lives... And that feeling of loss made him feel so lonely, not as much as it was since his Uncle Ben died a mere year ago. After a few weeks in space, he came back to Earth to help the Avengers find Thanos, only to learn that he Snapped the Stones away, reducing them into mere atoms. The hope of getting everyone he cared about back made him feel so angry, yet so much alone in a world that became so dark... And he never felt so much more alone now.

He remained there for a time until he noticed some people walking through the crowded horde of mourning victims. At first, he assumed that they were part of the city's memorial job when he noticed one of them dropping a bag, which contained various belongings of victims that were killed off in the Decimation. One of those items was a wedding ring... May's wedding ring when she was married to Ben.

Seeing those thugs carry the bag up before putting the ring back inside was just enough to get up on his feet and pursue the thieves to somewhere undisclosed. An alleyway where they believed that they were safe from anyone interfering. And boy, they were hell wrong about their safe position.