DC: New Empire

[Lua , Sistema Solar da Terra , 15/11/1991]

—Blue Area of the Moon:

My lungs were on fire. Crouched down, blood dripped from my lips, the right side of my face was swollen, but I could still see clearly.

Thanos, the Mad Titan, the greatest threat in the cosmos, the plague of creation, but at this moment, all that mattered was that he was the bearer of the six Infinity Stones.

Thanos stood a few meters in front of me, an imposing and fearsome figure. His purple skin was marked by deep wrinkles. His eyes, two flaming slits, shone with power and malice. The golden armor covering his body seemed indestructible, reflecting light in a menacing manner.

But what drew the most attention, the true terror, was in his left hand. The Infinity Gauntlet, a glove of solid gold, gleamed with incalculable power. Embedded in it, the six Infinity Stones shone intensely: the green Time Stone, the blue Space Stone, the red Reality Stone, the purple Power Stone, the orange Soul Stone, and the yellow Mind Stone. Each stone pulsed with its own energy, emanating a glow that seemed to capture the essence of the universe.

How did everything go so wrong? I spent the last thousand years trying to prevent this at all costs. Since I reincarnated in this universe, I have been trying to gather every possible means to avoid certain tragedies.

I was born into this universe as a Strontian from the planet Strontia, a world located in the Shi'ar system, a vast and ancient alien civilization encompassing countless planets and star systems. The Shi'ar are an ancient race, having established a unified government a million years ago. However, it was only recently, about ten thousand years ago, that they began to adopt an official calendar, which is used by all the worlds in the empire.

I was born in the imperial year 9,091 in the month of Xiran. By my calculations, this would be equivalent to the year 991 B.C. At first, I found it strange that my parents had lilac skin and both sported giant mohawks.

Initially, I thought they were huge comic book fans, but over time, I accepted that I had reincarnated in the Marvel universe, probably a variant of 616. My name in this life was Kallark, and two hundred years later, as an adult, I joined an elite group, and the new name they gave me was Gladiator.

I was the greatest champion of the Imperial Guard, and for the next years, I accepted that I now belonged to this universe and made this place my home. But I did not accept being a puppet of fate.

The first thing I did to bring about change was to observe Emperor D'Ken. From a young age, he showed signs of becoming a despot; unfortunately, his parents did not teach him well. Meanwhile, Lilandra was very capable and had telepathic gifts, and Cal'syee, although I knew she could become a villain in the future, I still took part in their education and achieved positive results.

Overall, I made this universe my home. I defended it from galactic criminals, criminal organizations, and space tyrants. Any threat it threw at me, I would take down.

But... looking at all the fallen heroes around me, I gradually remembered each difficult and important moment of my life: when my world and my people were gone, when I watched my beloved die of old age, when I stopped D'Ken from using the M'Kraan Crystal, when I saw Lilandra assume the throne as empress, when Cal'syee became the new leader of the Imperial Guard, when I fought Jean Grey possessed by the Phoenix and saw her sacrifice herself.

But in the end, they all had something in common... I always went to the end of everything, and this time would be no different. I forced my body to stand up. Thanos smiled, looking at me.

"So, one last insect insists on stopping the inevitable," he said, looking at me as the stones glowed.

I didn't respond. I was focused; this would be my final move. My lungs burned with every breath, my muscles felt like shattered glass, but that didn't stop me. With one final burst of energy, I launched myself towards him.

*BOOM!*

The sound of air breaking with my movement was left behind, my momentum only accelerating as I flew towards the most powerful being in the universe, passing by the bodies of the fallen heroes. Passing by the bodies of the fallen heroes, I could see each of them carrying the marks of the battle they fought and the wounds that led to their death.

Peter Parker, Spider-Man, lay there with multiple deep cuts in his suit, revealing severe wounds on his body with a huge hole in his chest, witnesses to the fierce struggle. His last web hung alone, unable to contain the enemy's ferocity.

Beside him, Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, lay with the grace of a defeated warrior, her neck broken at a strange angle while she held her unloaded rifle.

The mighty Thor, the God of Thunder, lay with his hammer fallen beside him with visible cracks. His body was marked by deep burns covering the entire left half of his body, while divine blood flowed to the ground.

Next to Thor was Tony Stark, Iron Man, his suit now inert, bearing witness to the bravery of his last stand, with only the upper part of his body remaining.

Among the fallen heroes were three X-Men, each bearing witness to the cruelty of the battle in unique and terrible ways.

Colossus was a statue of inert metal at the feet of what was Kitty Pryde, now only her lower half remaining, while Jean Grey, the former host of the Phoenix, lay on the ground with empty eyes and a bleeding nose. Beside her was her husband, Cyclops, the leader of the X-Men and a friend of mine, without his visor and with his eyes sealed by his own twisted skin.

Further ahead was Logan, Wolverine, the mutant once believed to be immortal, before Thanos turned his metal bones into rubber and crushed his head.

Finally, I was two steps away from the villain who looked at me with amusement, without a trace of concern, at his feet, the corpse of the Incredible Hulk, another of his victims.

All of this happened in a millisecond, barely a moment that could be said to have occurred, but it doesn't matter, for I witnessed it.

*THUD! BAM!*

My fist hit the Mad Titan square in the chest, denting his armor and piercing his flesh until it passed through the other side. I could see in slow motion the change in the bastard's expression.

All that arrogant confidence was reduced to a memory as blue blood dripped from his lips and a pained expression appeared in his eyes. I allowed myself a small, morbid pleasure.

A faint smile appeared on my face, a glimmer of hope, but it died as soon as it appeared.

"Urgh...nice...nice try," he said, smiling with a trail of blood running down his mouth.

He raised his right hand with the gauntlet and the six stones glowed, and then he did.

*SNAP!*

And then a white light covers everything and I accept my fate by closing my eyes.

All things considered, it's been a beautiful journey, I wonder what's next.

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[Vega star system, Sector 2828; Star 732]

Third Person

—Deep Space:

A white light momentarily illuminated the space, revealing the figure of a two-meter-tall humanoid with lilac skin and well-trimmed dark blue hair on the sides, sporting a prominent mohawk. He was wearing a bodysuit with a red torso and waist, featuring a golden triangle on the chest, and red arms and legs, with dark blue forearms and thighs.

The Gladiator of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard was now in new lands.

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I got this idea talking to a guy who reads my stories, I hope you like them.