11 CHAPTER 11

Finding out about the X-men's presence and the Fantastic Four's in this universe, my next action was to ascertain what time the few people of importance were.

From what I could find, the Fantastic Four were the first publicly known hero group or the first one to be branded with a collective name. Either way, they came first before the Avengers but the latter was more known than they were because while they had the hero tag, they were less active and have not gotten a grand stage to publicize themselves before the world. 

They were present during the Invasion but from the I got from the Jarvis' remaining logs, three of them were more focused in closing the portal leaving only Johnny to act more. 

From the looks of it, they were also a few years younger than the Avengers which meant everything was still very new in terms of super-powered individuals. 

This universe seemed more Avengers-centric but I couldn't honestly say it was a bad thing. At least I had something to work with, but something else made me worry. Would the upcoming Civil War be the same as the movies or the comics? 

I mean even though the cast wasn't complete, with this many different parties involved, it might turn out to be a real war more than the brawl shown in the movies. 

Heck, Hulk and Natasha were still hanging around. Wait, were they even romantically involved like they were in the movies or was Bruce still holding out for Betty? I haven't spoken to them all that much so I wouldn't know. 

'As if the complications weren't already enough.'

I have already identified a few persons of interest but other than that I didn't dive too much into it. A Peter Parker, 14, was in Midtown High, smart kid, while the X-men were in Bayville. Hacking into the school's directories had been very easy to do. 

Surprisingly, Ultron didn't have any information on these people since no one actually knew who they were. Just because he could draw in all the information on the internet doesn't mean he would. 

This really didn't change anything, instead it made the already coming problems a lot harder. 

'Run a deep search on these individuals; Charles Xavier, Eric Lensherr, Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, Victor Von Doom.'

[Task generated 

…

Status – Ongoing]

And now the Avengers… 

Honestly after the initial blank novel experience that didn't last its first 24hrs, my candid thoughts about the Avengers were mid. 

Yes, compared to the other two groups, they were the most experienced but honestly they were just too normal apart from the obvious Thor and Hulk. Stark managed to make that list but he's still quite a few units below them. 

If I wanted, I alone could defeat the Avengers head-on and the only thing that'd maybe give then a winning chance are attributes that couldn't be placed into a logical calculation like luck and intellect. You can never truly judge someone's thought process after all.

They were leagues above the Fantastic Four and the X-men but that wouldn't be for long. A 15 year old Peter Parker handed Bucky's ass to him, didn't he? The same man who slammed Captain America, choked Iron man, Spartan-kicked the Black Widow, bodied the Falcon, was downright stopped in his tracks by a little kid. 

They will quickly be overshadowed by the wave that was quickly approaching if they remained as they were. Without my favoritism being factored in, if I were to be given three random choices of which group I'd choose, I wouldn't hesitate to pick the X-men. They were the strongest franchise between the three and all they needed were a little tweaking. 

'Well beggars can't be choosers.'

While my former choice is based on potential effectiveness, there was no doubt that my current situation was the best I could ask for. 

"Vision, what are you staring at?" Steve came inside the gym with a  towel around his neck. 

"Not staring, thinking."

"About what?"

"About how lacking the team currently is." I honestly answered. He seems a but taken aback but he still asked.

"Do you mind explaining why you think so?" He brought a chair and sat down on front of me who was floating midair with both legs crossed.

"Simple really. Let me ask you a question first: what are you fighting for?" 

"To protect the world from threats, both inside and outside." He didn't hesitate to answer showing just how much he believed in his convictions. 

"Is that your goal, the Avengers goal or the goal of your teammates?"

"The Avengers, as well as mine." He said, eyes still sparkling blue. 

"Did you notice that you naturally, subconsciously even, omitted your teammates?" I asked knowingly. 

"I didn't." He looked at me confused. 

"You said yourself and the Avengers, but not your teammates."

His eyes lit up in realization but then dimmed rapidly as that realization settled in. 

"Tony wants the fight to end. Banner hates fighting. Thor doesn't belong on earth. Barton just wants to go home to his family. Natasha is trying to escape her past in every way she can… and you, all you know is the fight." He could only stare at me blankly as I listed out his whole team. 

"The team is already breaking up from the inside and all it will take is a little pressure to a weak point and it'll all come crashing down. The only thing remaining is who will make the first crack visible."

"So my question to you, Steve, is which do you want the most: the team or the Avengers Initiative? Know this, the team can be temporary, but the Avengers cannot."

Its not anything grand, but I just made my choice. Not for the fame or power, but just because I don't want this world to go to shit. 

It's already as dirty as it can be, don't want it to become even messier.

I left Steve to think alone in the gym room. The Avengers could be more. I'll make it more.