Carter Residence, Early Morning...
From the wide balcony of his ho, the golden rays of dawn spilled across the city like liquid fire.
Ethan Carter leaned against the balcony rail, the cool breeze brushing against his blonde hair. His sharp blue eyes followed the slow rhythm of life beneath—the honk of a car, the chatter of pedestrians, the sll of bread drifting faintly from a bakery down the street.
He inhaled deeply, let his eyes fall shut, and whispered into the stillness. "Another day begins,"
It had been two days since he returned from what many across the stars would call an impossible feat—subduing the Devourer of Worlds himself, Galactus. Not destroying him, not killing him, but sothing far more audacious.
Ethan had turned him into his personal corporate worker. A cosmic god, rebranded as a cosmic... employee or perhaps more fittingly, a slave.
The mory still made him smirk.
He forced Galactus and the Silver Surfer to unleash their cosmic might upon him—yet every strike only hardened his body and fed him with even greater cosmic power.
Exposure to Galactus’s cosmic energy, even the direct blasts that would have obliterated lesser beings, had only made Ethan stronger. His adaptive evolution took it all in, integrating it, amplifying it. His cosmic power had multiplied several tis over.
After that, Ethan had wasted no ti. He tested the Power Cosmic, experinting with it in every way he could. The results were more than satisfactory—ga-changing, in fact.
And with that ca new moves, techniques forged in the crucible of combat and experintation. They weren’t just flashy displays—no, Ethan crafted them with intention, preparing for the next villain who would dare to appear.
But he was pragmatic enough to know that Galactus wasn’t simply a monster to be caged. He was a cosmic constant.
In Marvel’s grand design, Galactus was more than a predator. He was balance incarnate. A being born from the previous universe, tasked by existence itself to consu worlds.
His hunger, eternal and unquenchable, wasn’t just destruction—it was renewal. He prevented the overpopulation of life-bearing worlds, maintaining equilibrium in the cosmos.
Without him, unchecked growth would tip the universe toward collapse. In a strange, twisted way, the Devourer of Worlds was necessary.
Ethan understood this. That’s why he didn’t chain Galactus, but redirected him.
He had given both Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer, a strict order: If a planet was vital, they were to relocate so of its inhabitants before consumption. Ethan’s tone had left no room for negotiation.
He knew it was cruel to let those people die, but he had no desire to involve himself with cosmic beings. It wasn’t fear that held him back, but a kind of calculated laziness; the more lives he saved, the more population grew, and with it, more trouble.
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When Ethan finally ca back to Earth, he discovered that four days had passed.
He tilted his head at the thought back then. Four days? For soone who could bend ti itself, the concept of days was beginning to lose aning. What were hours, days, or years to soone who could undo them with a gesture?
Not only that, there had been other... developnts.
Susan Storm was officially welcod into what Jean jokingly called the Harem Council of Carter. Jean and Anna had teased him endlessly about it, laughing as though they were hosting so version of a bridal committee.
But Ethan? He couldn’t deny the warmth it brought him. Having Susan by his side felt right.
In his previous world, most n would be crying on their knees, screaming, "It should have been !" if they saw the life he was living now.
He chuckled to himself at the thought.
His mind drifted to Tony Stark. Jean had already delivered the Immune Serum to him, as promised, right after Tony’s birthday.
The Iron Man 2 plotline was reaching its climax. Hamr Industries was hosting their Expo tonight. Nothing had deviated much from the script: Rhodey had stolen one of Tony’s suits, and Fury had already made contact.
Natasha was now working as Pepper’s secretary, which made him wonder how the new S.H.I.E.L.D. even functioned—especially considering it hadn’t been long since the old one was wiped out, courtesy of none other than Ethan Carter himself.
By anyway, everything was flowing exactly as it should.
But Ethan had decided he would appear at the Expo.
Not just to "observe."
He wanted to test his new powers. To stretch his muscles against Whiplash. To farm so aura, as he jokingly thought to himself.
The Hulk incident already felt like a lifeti ago, even though it hadn’t been that long.
Still, the Expo wasn’t the only thing on his mind.
General Ross, the man had started making moves against Aeon Biotech, trying to leverage political pressure to weaken Ethan’s company.
A foolish move. If he had truly cared, Ross would already be nothing more than a mory on a tombstone. But Ross wasn’t worth the effort.
Yet Ross wasn’t the only one. Other powerful interests were also eyeing Aeon Biotech, especially the Immune Protocol Ethan had developed.
The sharks circled, drawn in by the scent of blood in the water.
Ethan exhaled before shaking his head. "They have no idea what they’re playing with."
He slowly opened his eyes again, staring at the rising sun. The golden warmth brushed across his skin as he whispered, "It seems things are about to get busy."
But his thoughts shifted when he recalled sothing else.
Didi, in his absence, had gone on a trip around the world. Ethan had nearly choked when he heard about it, then called her imdiately.
"Don’t get wrong," he had told her, "I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about the poor fools who cross your path."
After all, Didi was literally Death in flesh—beautiful, terrifying, irresistible. She turned heads everywhere she went, and not just because she looked like sin wrapped in silk. n drawn by her beauty often ended up chasing death, vanishing or dying in mysterious ways.
Jean, anticipating this, had sent Kitty and Angela to accompany her. That eased Ethan’s nerves slightly, but only slightly. Sotis the babysitters cause more trouble than the one they’re protecting.
In the end, Ethan simply shrugged. Worst case? He’d turn back ti.
Even within his ho, change rippled through their lives. Jean had taught Diana Re-Quip magic to change her clothes at will.
Ethan found himself pleasantly surprised by how much she liked it. Jean and Anna adored the spell too—changing outfits with just a thought beca a little joy in their daily lives.
anwhile, Anna had shown... new levels of ambition.
When Ethan told them about Galactus and the Silver Surfer, Anna’s eyes had practically lit up. She wanted their power—not just wanted, hungered for it.
Ethan saw right through her. His crazy proposal had changed her. She was leaving nothing to chance, seizing every opportunity to grow stronger.
She had already acquired Magneto’s powers through a deal and shocked Ethan by healing Mystique—Raven—in the process.
She had already taken Magneto’s powers, striking a bargain to heal Mystique—Raven—in the process.
Now, most would wonder: what exactly had happened to her?
The truth lay in the past. After mastering the mystic arts, Ethan hunted Mystique down. When he found her, he tore open a portal to a hell dinsion and cast her inside, stepping through after her to personally oversee her tornt. He ensured she suffered—physically, relentlessly—but denied her the rcy of death.
He punished not only Raven, but the very creatures of hell that dared to attack him. What followed was a massacre—a killing spree that cut down half of hell’s population. In that infernal realm, he bore the na Aeon... a na the demons still whisper in fear to this very day.
Weeks later, he dragged her back from that inferno. With his telepathy, he shackled her mind in an endless prison of nightmares, forcing her to relive her darkest fears without escape. To this day, she has yet to fully recover.
All of this—because she had dared to harm Anna, disguising herself as Ethan to do it. That was the one sin he wouldn’t forgive easily.
In the end, Jean healed Raven’s shattered mind, and Anna, in turn, gained Magneto’s powers from the bargain. A strange, almost poetic ending—one that left both with their own kind of peace.
He had been shocked, but impressed when he learned this.
But Anna didn’t even need to chase the Surfer or Galactus herself to gain that power. He now possessed the Power Cosmic and could transfer it directly, permanently, to her.
Anna accepted, of course. She had been training hard with her new abilities, throwing herself into her work with fiery determination.
Ethan leaned against the balcony rail, eyes tracing the horizon.
Galactus tad. New powers unlocked. The council aka Harem is growing. Enemies stirring. And an expo tonight.
Galactus, the devourer of worlds, now tad. New powers had awakened within Ethan, reshaping him into sothing far greater than before.
The council—his ever-growing harem—tightened around him like a throne of loyalty and desire. Yet in the distance, enemies began to stir, shadows crawling restlessly against the light of his rise.
He smirked, the morning sun catching in his eyes, "Yeah," he whispered, "things are about to get interesting."
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The day had passed without much incident. Jean had gone off to Aeon Biotech with Anna to oversee a new round of trials, while Ethan found himself at ho, debating how to spend his hours. Eventually, his eyes settled on the tall, regal figure who had been quietly reading near the balcony.
"Diana," he called with a soft grin, "how about a date?"
She lowered her book, an amused glint in her eyes. "A date? And where exactly do you plan to take , Carter?"
"Everywhere worth going," he replied smoothly, already planning the last stop in his head. "And if you behave, there’ll even be fireworks at the end."
Her lips curved into the faintest smile. "Very well. Let’s see if you can surprise ."
Across Los Angeles, Ethan wove subtle threads of the Power Cosmic around them, bending perception itself. CCTV caras glanced past them as if they were shadows. Strangers on the street overlooked them without ever realizing it. To the world, they were little more than a passing couple.
For Ethan, this was a quiet thrill: another creative way to bend the Power Cosmic to his will.
Diana, however, had a different thrill in mind.
At their first stop, a small ice cream shop along Venice Beach, she ordered a cone and then—deliberately—dragged her tongue over it with agonizing slowness, eyes never leaving Ethan’s face. He groaned under his breath, adjusting his collar as though the heat had suddenly doubled.
Later, she insisted on riding a chanical toy horse at a small fairground. She wore a fitted white blouse tucked into black pants that hugged every curve, and as she bounced lightly on the saddle, the sight made Ethan swallow hard enough to hurt.
"You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?" he muttered when she hopped off gracefully.
"Oh, imnsely," Diana said with a serene smile, brushing past him close enough for his breath to hitch.
Ethan made a silent vow. When this punishnt is over, she won’t be able to walk for days.
The afternoon rolled by in a blur of stops: street food stalls where Diana sampled churros, an art gallery where she surprised him with sharp insights, and finally, a real estate office where Ethan, on a whim, purchased an entire pub near Santa Monica Pier—just to show off in front of a wealthy bystander who had been eyeing Diana a little too openly.
"You didn’t need to do that," she said afterward, shaking her head though her lips twitched with amusent.
"Didn’t I? What’s the point of being rich if I can’t flex once in a while?" Ethan replied smugly.
By nightfall, they arrived at the Hamr Industries Expo. Floodlights painted the sky, music blared from speakers, and photographers clustered near the entrance like flies.
Diana with her hand looped through Ethan’s arm, arched a brow. "This is where you promised fireworks? A glorified weapons market?"
Ethan chuckled before flashing the sleek invitation card he’d been given. "Trust . The fireworks here will be worth it."
Inside, the atmosphere was charged. Investors, generals, and celebrities mingled across rows of polished chairs and stages draped in Hamr Industries’ branding.
Ethan could already feel the waves of attention; half the room wanted to shake his hand, the other half wanted his business card.
He and Diana slipped into the fifth row, taking their seats. Ethan’s sharp gaze swept the room—and caught familiar faces. Pepper Potts sat two rows ahead, conversing with a sharply dressed man. And just beside her—Natasha Romanoff.
A thought brushed out from his mind, a whisper of telepathy that carried straight into Natasha’s head.
’Agent Romanoff... missed ?’
She stiffened, though only for a heartbeat, eyes flicking casually across the room until she found him leaning comfortably in his seat. Ethan winked.
Her lips curved in the barest smile, and she returned the gesture with a sly wink of her own before turning her attention forward as though nothing had happened.
Diana tilted her head, her sharp eyes catching the subtle exchange. "So... is this the reason you ca here? To charm Natasha on our date?"
Ethan laughed softly before giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Would you be jealous if I said yes?"
Her expression stayed composed but her tone carried a teasing lilt. "Depends. Should I prepare to welco another sister?"
That made him chuckle outright. "We’ll see."
Then the stage lit up with fanfare as Justin Hamr strutted out, dressed in a flashy suit, his grin wide and overconfident.
"Ladies and gentlen!" he declared, arms wide as the audience applauded politely. "Tonight, Hamr Industries unveils the future of military defense!"
His speech went on, filled with awkward jokes and smug pauses that drew forced laughter from the audience.
One by one, armored suits were rolled onto the stage, imitations of Stark’s designs. The crowd applauded politely, though the comparison was painfully obvious.
Diana leaned closer, her voice low enough for only Ethan to hear. "This man speaks like a jester in a court. Are people truly impressed by this?"
Ethan laughs lightly. "That’s Hamr for you. Always second-rate, always trying too hard."
Hamr continued his speech, calling out one of his main attractions—Rhodey, clad in the freshly ard War Machine armor.
The crowd clapped louder this ti, though Ethan simply leaned back.
The presentation shifted, screens flashing statistics and weapon schematics. Diana was visibly bored, her chin resting against her hand. "I’ve seen children put on better plays."
"Patience," Ethan murmured, lips curling. "The real show is about to begin."
And then it happened.
A sound split the air.
Sothing—no, soone—was descending fast. The audience gasped, craning their necks upward as a streak of red and gold tore through the night sky.
The roof lights caught red and gold plating, a familiar arc reactor glow.
Boom.
The figure landed hard on the stage, crouched in a pose that scread heroism. The audience erupted in cheers at the sight of Iron Man.
Ethan only leaned back in his chair, his smile sharp and knowing.
"This," he whispered to Diana, "is where the real show begins."
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