The air was heavy with a suffocating silence, as if the world had stopped turning for a moment. Vision, consumed by a searing pain that he had never felt before, mourned and cried like a soul shattered beyond repair. This was the first time he had lost someone, and the magnitude of his loss was crushing him. She was all he had, and now she was gone forever.
Peter's heart, that just found a very deep newfound friendship in Wanda, was now aching with the intensity of an all-consuming sorrow. He had given her a sense of purpose, a reason to believe again, and now it was all for naught. The weight of his grief was unbearable as he fell before her lifeless body, tears streaming down his face.
Doctor Strange's mind was a whirlwind of a million thoughts, each one trying to grasp the unfathomable reality of what had just transpired. His eyes were red-rimmed and swollen from the tears that flowed freely down his face. The pain of his loss was etched deep in his soul, and he struggled to comprehend the tragedy that had befallen them. He felt lump in his throat as he tried to speak, knowing she was the very person they needed to keep alive in the first place. The only one who could stop the incursion and potentially defeat Kang, was no more.
Doctor Strange: So what now...?
Magneto, wrought with anguish and torment, felt the weight of responsibility for her untimely demise. The anger and sadness that burned within him was a seething inferno, fueled by the injustice of it all. He wanted to lash out at Doom, to make him feel the same pain that they were all feeling.
Wolverine, silent and stoic, walked towards her body, his eyes fixed on the group of mourners standing nearby, ignoring the chaos of the battle that raged on in the background.
Wolverine: I was wrong about her... The whole world... Was wrong about her... I see that now.
Elsewhere, multiple heroes tried to detain Dr Doom, but he took them out one by one.
Magneto: YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER!!!
Magneto lashed out at Doom, throwing everything he's got. For a moment, he became more powerful he has ever been, almost overpowering Doom from pure rage. Many started to join him, even Kang joined in, trying to stop Doom at all cost, while the Watcher looked around him in fear.
The Watcher: This... Was not supposed to happen...
Wanda's power was still inside her, but it was about to fade away, so Dr Doom acted very fast, out of desperation. He used telekinesis to bring her dead body to him, then he activated the device he stole from Kang, absorbing all her power for himself.
The unfathomable energy began flowing all over his body as he screamed in victory. Wanda's power merged with his own cosmic power and his own magic, creating an unstable abomination. The energy exploded out of him, it started to lay waste to everything. Red lightning continuously struck the entire area. Everyone stood at a distance and witnessed Doom's ascension.
Doom quickly managed to regain control since he had an indomitable mind. He fell to one knee with smoak coming out of his body. He breathed heavily through his teeth, with a grin on his face behind his metal mask. His eyes looked menacing as it glowed bright red. He stood back up and looked at some of the heroes standing around him in shock. He was already extremely powerful to begin with, but now, with Wanda's power mixed with his own, he became more powerful than ever.
Doom ascended to such a high level that he suddenly saw a glimpse of universes even beyond the multiverse. He saw a glimpse of the omniverse.
Dr Doom: There are universes beyond the multiverse? Other... Multiverses. How is that possible?
Due to his brief connection to the omniverse, it broke the barriers of eternity, the physical representation of the multiverse itself. He saw everything, every possible future, and nearly at every possibility, he saw himself becoming the ruler of everything.
Wanda was dead, giving up her own life to save her father. But there was no time to mourn. Doom became more powerful than ever. The Watcher stood among the heroes as he feared that the Multiverse was now doomed. None of this was supposed to happen.
Dr Doom: This power... I feel more alive than I've ever felt! It's like... I can do anything!
The Watcher: This was not how the Living Tribunal saw events unfold...
Doom looked at every hero standing around him.
Dr Doom: Kneel.
Doctor Strange: Never...
Prime Kang: What have you done!?
Dr Doom: I did exactly what I planned to do from the start. Now kneel!
Prime Kang: I'm gonna kill you!
Kang charged at Doom and gave him everything he's got. He tried everything he could to bring Doom down, but Doom just stood there, laughing. Kang was usually the one doing that to everyone else.
Prime Kang: This... Is not... Possible!
Doom held out his hand and crushed Kang's entire body. His bones cracked and impaled him as Doom formed a ball with his body. Kang screamed in pain in the short moment that he was still alive. Merely a second later, Kang was defeated like nothing. Doom threw Kang's dead body in front of the heroes.
Dr Doom: I said kneel before Doom!
Everyone was shocked at what just transpired in front of them. Doom became an unstoppable force that nobody was able to stop.
Each hero attacked Doom from every side, knocking him down continuously before he could even birth his next thought. But it was useless to even try and fight him. Not even Sentry, Hulk, Thor or Silver Surfer was powerful enough to even hurt him. He quickly managed to get the upper hand when given the chance.
All the remaining heroes on the battlefield joined in, trying everything they could to stop Doom. Some of the Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Guardians of the Galaxy and many more started to attack him, but he took them all out one by one. The Paragons also stood no chance.
Dr Doom: I grow tired of this. Let's see what this power can really do...
Some military drones came flying down to shoot him with missles, but he held out his hand and closed his fist, causing the drones to explode in mid-air.
Dr Doom: This is something else!
The Watcher crawled in front of his feet, desperate to try and stop him.
The Watcher: Y-You... won't... win. The Living Tribunal would never let that happen.
Dr Doom grabbed The Watcher by the throat and turned his flesh into ash. All that was left was a skeleton.
Dr Doom: The Living Tribunal will tremble before me.
Doom looked up at the sun.
Dr Doom: Nighttime.
Suddenly the sun was completely erased from existence. Doom then stretched out his hand to all the stars in the galaxy, exploding them all. They could be seen popping one by one until there was no star left in the night sky. He did it to get the attention of the Living Tribunal. He wanted to take his power as well.
Dr Doom: Where are you! Are you scared!?
The sheer amount of supernovas caused by the exploding stars was enough to illuminate the sky, making it seem like the sun was still present.
As the heroes were on the verge of giving up, they suddenly felt a disturbance in the surrounding area. The Spider-Mans' spider senses could feel something coming. Something from far away, outside their realm, outside their multiverse.
Spider-Man: Something's wrong...
Spider-Man (Tobey): I feel it too. I don't like this.
Wolverine: What the hell is happening?
Doctor Strange: I feel the borders of our worlds becoming extremely weak... This doesn't look good.
Spider-Man (Andrew): Ooohh boy... I feel it now.
Suddenly, green lightning began striking the area, and an ominous wormhole slowly formed in front of them.
Dr Doom: What is this? What are you doing Strange?
Doctor Strange: This isn't me.
Thor: Me neither.
The ominous wormhole slowly formed, and opened a breach between multiverses. A powerful gateway that opened up the omniverse itself.
Doom slowly walked towards the wormhole, the heroes, too awestruck and tired to continue fighting.
Dr Doom: I can feel the energy inside, calling to me... It's... It's unlike anything I've felt before.
As Doom reached out to touch the wormhole, it struck him like lightning, blasting him to the ground with great force. The wormhole exploded, illuminating the entire area. Blinding everyone for a moment as it was an extremely bright light.
After the dust settled, a figure stood in the place of where the wormhole was. The silhouette became more visible and they could see someone with two long horns as a crown on his head.
Loki: It can't be...
Thor: Is that you?
The figure walked forward with a majestic aura surrounding him. Wearing glorious green robes. Finally revealing himself. He walked towards Doom laying on the ground beneath his feet.
Doom: What is this? Who are you?
With a flick of a finger, Loki instantly paused Doom and his army in time.
Doctor Strange: Ookay that's new.
Loki (god of stories): I am Loki... of Asgard. And I... am burdened with glorious purpose.
Loki: I beg your pardon? I think we need an explanation of what's going on.
Loki (god of stories): I'm you, Loki. From very very far in the past. I was you during the second loop of existence, before the second multiversal war destroyed everything and rebooted reality again. I came here to ensure the multiverse has a fighting chance.
Thor: What are you talking about?
Loki: You're talking about an ouroboros...
Strange Supreme: But I thought THIS was the second loop. It's what the watcher told us.
Loki (god of stories): No. It is only because he does not remember anything of the second. The second loop was supposed to be the final one. We were close... but Kang won again. I couldn't understand how things turned south. We had the war won. It was so close... Then...
Loki: Then what?
Loki (god of stories): Another Kang arrived... One of the most powerful beings I've ever seen. He called himself The Beyonder. He descimated everything in his path. Then the Living Tribunal had no other choice but to cause another loop. Once again using his failsafe, Wanda Maximoff, to reboot existence for another chance to succeed. (He looks at her body on the ground)
Loki: So... In your reality, you were also taken by the TVA? Also met Sylvie? Also fought kangs across time?
Doctor Strange: This is getting weirder and weirder.
Loki (god of stories): In short, yes. Everything went down exactly the same up until Sylvie killed He Who Remains. But I went on a different path. I began slipping through time, miss minutes turned out evil, we met a Kang variant known as Victor Timely. I went through millions of time loops to prevent the destruction of time, but ultimately replaced the temporal loom, creating a true infinite multiverse... But that's when the war started.
Loki's body suddenly began glitching.
Sylvie: Loki!
Loki: What's happening to me?
Loki (god of stories): Oh no. I should've thought about this...
Thor: Thought about what?
Loki (god of stories): His essence is slowly merging back into me. Since we are the exact same loki, and I am the original between us.
Sylvie: I don't understand...
Loki's body began fading as his temporal aura was seen being drawn to the other Loki.
Loki: I think... I'm merging back into myself.
Thor: But you're variants of each other, are you not?
Spider-Man: This is freaking me out... Wait... does that mean I'm gonna merge with the other me's?
Loki (god of stories): Not in this instance. We aren't variants. We are one and the same being. I'm just from the previous loop of existence. You don't have to worry about that.
Loki's entire body faded into oblivion as millions of green particles merged with god of stories Loki. They looked in shock as it occured in front of them. No one saying a word, but there was no time to take in what just happened.
Loki (god of stories): Don't be startled... I was not... ahem... Your Loki was not killed. We are one now. Brother... It's me.
Thor: Prove it.
Loki (god of stories): Remember that one time I turned you into a frog--
Thor: OKAY I think... You've... proven your point. Let's move on.
Loki grinned with a playfully mischievous smile.
Doctor Strange: Could we focus on the problem at hand? Loki, you were talking about the multiversal war.
Loki (god of stories): Right... So the war was lost... again. I could not understand what went wrong. I was certain we were going to win--
Sylvie: I'm sorry but is everybody just gonna pretend this didn't just happen?
Doctor Strange: We don't have time for that.
Loki (god of stories): Strange is right, Sylvie. I studied every aspect of the war. Everything that we could've done differently--
Sylvie: Loki just vanished before our eyes! Seriously!?
Loki (god of stories): Look, Sylvie... I know it's difficult to grasp but nobody vanished. It's me... Your Loki. The moment we merged we became one. As we always were--
Doctor Strange: Listen! Can we get on with it?
Everyone was quiet, waiting in anticipation for what he had to say.
Loki (god of stories): After eons of learning, observing, fighting, gaining more and more powerful and knowledge, I realized the answer didn't lie in the past, or my present. but in the future.
Thor: So you're saying we're in the future?
Loki (god of stories): No. I'm from the past. This is your present. I mustered up all the energy I could conjure, to come here. To break the laws of time in a way that was thought impossible. I came from the past loop of time, to this moment, to end this war once and for all before it destroys everything we know to be true for good. I saw a glimpse of the future. This time it was Victor von Doom. Ruling over all of time. Controlling everyone like puppets. We must stop him here and now.
Doctor Strange: So you're saying we lost?
Loki (god of stories): You don't just lose. He wipes out your entire reality. Because Wanda was never supposed to die.
Vision: So what's the plan? She is already dead.
Loki (god of stories): The plan is what it always was from the start.
Doctor Strange: Which is?
Loki looked at Wanda's lifeless body from distance, knowing what must be done.
Loki (god of stories): We need to bring her back...