Alternate reality: The corrupted heroes
After Wanda finished her meditation, we went straight to the base where Cyborg Gwen was tinkering with her cybernetics.
"Peter," Gwen said in surprise.
"It's time," I said simply.
She stopped her tinkering and jumped down from the chair. Her expression became serious. "You serious? Just us?"
"Yup! We are more than enough, besides, I don't want to put them in danger," I answered.
Gwen nodded, "I guess, that's for the better." She extended her arm forward as the nanites shifted, revealing a device glowing with a blue hue. It must be the time machine.
"Is that it?" I asked.
She nodded. "Yup. This thing will open a portal to my timeline."
I turned to Wanda and asked, "You ready for time travel?"
"You know I am," she walked over to Gwen and patted her shoulder. "We'll do our best to fix your world. So, let's go kick the other Peter's ass and probably other me too."
Gwen smiled slightly before nodding. "Thank you. I'll be in your care. But if things get dangerous, please run. Don't put your life in danger for a fallen reality."
With that said, we got ready. Gwen activated the device, and a swirling portal appeared before us. I looked at it with curiosity, wondering what this other Earth was like. And more importantly, how powerful is this alternate version of me and Wanda?
Well, guess I'm about to find out.
I glanced at Gwen and said, "Let's go."
We stepped through the portal without hesitation. The world blurred around me, and my senses became distorted for a moment before reality returned to normal. We were standing on a barren wasteland, the sky overhead a dark red color.
The smell of ash and smoke hung heavy in the air, and the ground beneath my feet was cracked and dry.
My senses sharpened, and the air felt thick with magic—a dark, corrupted energy that clawed at my skin. This was no ordinary Earth. It was a nightmare.
All around us lay a wasteland scorched beyond recognition. Entire blocks of what once were cities sprawled out as heaps of rubble. Buildings, shattered and twisted, reached up like skeletal hands grasping for something they'd never reclaim. The sky above churned with violent shades of red, blackened clouds swirling overhead, and bolts of crimson lightning streaked across the sky like a heartbeat—an eerie echo of the chaos that had swallowed this world whole.
Gwen was silent, staring grimly at the ruins, her eyes filled with a grief she could barely contain. This was her world, a home twisted into a living hell by a version of us.
"You see that?" she said, pointing to a bright dome of light far in the distance. "That's where they are."
A brilliant but unsettling glow illuminated the dome, covering a fraction of what was left of the city. Even from here, I could feel the energy pulsing from it, a sickening mix of chaos magic and corrupted reality bending. Inside, I sensed them: an alternate Wanda and Peter, distorted reflections of who we were, twisted by obsession and driven to extremes. They had turned the dome into a fortress, a place to hide from the madness they'd unleashed yet failed to control.
This was going to be interesting.
The three of us made our way to the dome, passing by crumbling buildings and decayed bodies. The sight was grim, but I kept my composure. These were not our Earth, our friends and family. They were long gone.
I glanced at Gwen. Her expression remained calm and composed, her eyes fixed on the dome.
"Is it just New York or the whole world?" Wanda asked as she looked around the desolation.
"It started here. So, the damage here is much worse. As for the rest of the world, with no heroes left... You can imagine the state it's in," Gwen answered.
Wanda looked around grimly, "I see."
I clenched my fist and said, "Let's make this quick."
The sooner we get this over with, the better. I don't want to stay here longer than necessary.
We arrived at the edge of the dome. It was a shimmering wall of light stretching from one side of the city to the other, completely encasing the inner part of the city. Inside, I sensed a concentration of energy, a powerful miasma of chaos magic, and corruption. This was their sanctuary, the place where they hid from the destruction they had caused.
I scanned the area, there was too much dark energy. If I were to fix this shit, that Darkhold book must be sealed back. I can't afford anything to interrupt my reality manipulation since it's a delicate process. And I could sense power... Infinity stones. There were three of them inside that place. One of them is the Time Stone, there was no doubt about that. Tsk. This is gonna be annoying.
Gwen stopped before the dome.
"I can't go in there. They have anti-cyborg technology in there. I'll just be dead weight if I go inside," she explained.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of this," I said reassuringly.
She nodded. "Peter, Wanda... Please be careful. I know you two are strong but against these two... It'll be hard. I... I lost too many friends trying to stop them... If anything happens to you two... I..."
I placed my hand on her shoulder and said, "We'll be fine. I promise."
As we stepped through the shimmering light of the dome, the atmosphere changed, thickening with a miasma that crawled across my skin, tingling with corruption. Inside, the city was in ruins, cracked streets and crumbling buildings stretched out before us. Each step echoed in the oppressive silence, but I could feel eyes on us, like we were walking straight into the jaws of a trap.
"Stay alert," I whispered to Wanda, though her eyes already gleamed with focus. She nodded, her gaze sharp as we made our way deeper.
We didn't get far before they appeared—Avengers, twisted by some dark influence, stepped out from the shadows like marionettes controlled by invisible strings.
Captain America emerged first, his face as hardened and blank as stone. His iconic shield was cracked, and dark veins spiderwebbed across its once-pristine surface. Next to him, Iron Man hovered in his armor, but instead of its usual red and gold, it was a sickly black, pulsing with dark energy. Thor stood beside them, Mjolnir crackling with ominous, crimson lightning that seemed to distort the air around him.
"Dang! They even got Thor!" I couldn't help but blurt out in surprise.
To their left, Black Widow walked with predatory grace, her eyes unnervingly vacant as she twirled an energy baton crackling with a dark, corrupted charge. Beside her, the Hulk towered, his green skin marred with blackened veins that pulsed as though he were infected by the very madness twisting this world. His face was contorted in a monstrous scowl, his breathing a slow, ragged growl.
Falcon flew overhead, his wings tinged with smoky darkness as he circled us like a vulture. And just behind him, Hawkeye lurked, a black bow gripped tightly in his hand, his arrows tipped with an unnatural gleam. His eyes glowed faintly, fixed on us with a predator's focus.
"They are all corrupted. Even their soul is beyond saving," Wanda muttered with a grimace.
And then came the Fantastic Four, led by Reed Richards. His form was no longer human but stretched and warped, like a nightmare twisted out of proportion. He seemed to move as if pulled by strings, his limbs elongating unnaturally. Sue Storm floated beside him, cloaked in a dark aura that flickered and pulsed, her eyes a hollow void. Johnny Storm's flames had turned a sickly green, casting an eerie light over his face as he hovered in the air, his expression one of twisted delight. Ben Grimm, the Thing, had patches of his rocky skin cracked and crumbling, dark veins throbbing in the crevices as he lumbered forward.
"So, those bastards used a soul manipulation spell, but it failed and created these abominations instead," I remarked as I scanned their souls.
And towering over them all, with her scarlet magic spilling like a shroud around her, was an alternate version of Wanda. Her face was a mask of rage, her eyes glowing with an intensity that bordered on madness. Her crimson energy pulsed erratically, distorting the air around her like heat waves on a sweltering day.
Beside her, a figure stepped forward—an alternate version of myself. He looked just like me but... wrong. His once-familiar face bore a mocking sneer, and his eyes glinted with a dangerous, manic gleam. His suit was an unnatural shade of black with veins of red coursing through it, a visual manifestation of the chaos within him.
"Welcome," he sneered, his voice low and dripping with disdain. "I've waited a long time to meet myself. You... I'll kill you. Why you may ask? Simply because you must be enjoying a happy life while I lost everything... EVERYTHING!"
"We should thank Gwen for this... For bringing you two here. That foolish woman. Now, after we kill you, we'll take your place. After all, what's better than living in a world where we have everything we want?" the alternate Wanda added, a cruel smile playing across her lips.
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AN: The next chapter will be released on Wednesday. Need to stockpile some more. Oh, by the way, I remember some of you wanted an Ironman ff, so, I've started releasing it on part eon. It will be my next main fic. Public Release date> After finishing Spiderman 0X or after I stockpile at least 30 chs. Whichever is faster.