Marvel Cinematic UniverseNew York City, New York – 2010
Ben appeared at sunset in the quad of Culver University. There were clear signs of a battle. A burned-out vehicle, deep rips in the grass, and bullet holes of various size clearly marked the area. The military was still present having cordoned off a portion of the campus. He took that as a sign that events hadn't progressed to where Emil Blonsky turned into Abomination. That meant he needed to get to the lab at Grayburn College which was close to Harlem.
The events of Thor would happen soon as well. It was tempting to step in once he was banished without his powers. Thor needed to go through this trial to grow and mature. Otherwise, he wouldn't grow beyond the impulsive emotional prince. That version of Thor could do some serious damage in the grand scheme of things. The What If series gave a small glimpse of that.
No one paid much attention to Ben even in his Asgardian leather armor. He was just another college student that was a little eccentric. It seemed the more he traveled the more he learned about his abilities. He could summon objects from his cube, small ones at the moment. Instinctively he knew that would change as things went on. Cash was well within his current ability. He could pay for a cab, but it was faster to fly. It wouldn't matter if it blew his cover since it was going to happen later that evening.
Ben sprang into the air, above the skyscrapers. He could make out Central Park easily. From there he traced a line to Harlem. There were roughly fifteen blocks between the edge of the park and his destination. Things didn't kick off until that night which meant he still had time.
He soared over the city until he recognized the sign for the Apollo Theater. It was a landmark that the movie had made sure to show. He hovered to a stop, drifting in the air above the city to give himself time to think things over. There were a few details that he hadn't figured out yet.
There would be no reason for them to release Banner if Blonski didn't turn into Abomination. Plus, he could snag a mixture of the blood for himself. It was tempting, but he didn't want to turn into a monster. That and he didn't think a needle could pierce his skin. He would need to wait until Abomination was born, then get him somewhere that would lower the collateral damage.
Central Park was the best option.
When asked, he could claim had misidentified Abomination as the titan. That would keep to the cover story he gave the Asgardians while giving him a plausible reason to be there. He didn't think it was a good idea to bring a sword to this fight. Blonski was a trained soldier and seemed to have maintained more of his mental capabilities.
Ben took hold of his sword and willed it to the Cube. It vanished from his hand without a sound. He still had to wait for everything to start. Iron Man didn't make an appearance in the movie, aside from a mid-credit tease. Tony was busy with the Stark Expo and all that while all this was happening. Captain America was either in the process of being thawed or had yet to be found. Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were still kids, as was Spider-Man.
A thought came to mind as he drifted slowly along the wind. He needed to come up with a name before someone saddled him with one that he couldn't shake. The Asgardian armor came with a cape making his meandering look cinematic even though it was the equivalent of pacing.
Calling himself Invincible was tempting. It was a great comic and translated well as an animated series. He planned to visit once he was confident in his abilities enough to travel to animated dimensions.
Ben closed his eyes as he realized how silly he was being. He had already introduced himself to the Asgardians as a traveler. They had even called him Traveler Ben. He would just stick with that, just not the Ben part.
"Traveler," he said to himself. "I am Traveler."
~
The sound of a military helicopter brought him out of his daze. A black chopper passed under him by at least fifty feet. He must have dozed off as he drifted along the wind. It was nice and cool, people hadn't learned to look up yet, so it was peaceful as well. New York wasn't nearly as crime infested as the movies like to make it out.
Ben stayed above it as he followed the helicopter to the lab. Everything went downhill fast considering how long he had been waiting. Banner was captured, played by Mark Ruffalo oddly enough, and was taken away in the helicopter he had been following.
Abomination exploded out of the building leaving a wake of destruction behind him. Ben swooped down before the monster could get to actual street. One moment Abomination was charging toward traffic and the next he was soaring through the air. He looked over his shoulder to see Ben using one of his bone spurs that had grown along his spine as a handle.
He launched the creature toward Central Park. Abomination righted himself managing to land on his feet after leaving a trench in the ground. The radio waves were filled with emergency calls, police bands, and the military channel coming in loud.
Ben landed on the grass as though he was stepping out to take a walk.
"You aren't the one I'm looking for," Ben rolled his shoulders. "But I'm not going to let you destroy the city."
Abomination growled, "you think you can stop me? I am a god. What are you?"
"A traveler," Ben replied. "I have met gods. You're just a science fair project with delusions of grandeur."
Abomination was at least four feet taller than Ben. He didn't float higher to look the monster in the eye. Instead, he stood casually staring through the creature. Abomination roared and charged. His wide strides tore chunks in the grass as the distance between them closer. Ben dashed forward, sliding around behind the creature. He grabbed one of the bone-hooks and yanked Abomination off his feet, slamming the big guy back onto the ground. Ben jumped then brought both his feet down flat the monsters' chest.
One huge hand locked around his legs, holding him in place. He wrenched his arm back and launched Ben into the distance. Trees, turf, and stone were tossed into the air as he bounced along the ground. He flipped over, digging in his feet leaving two smaller trenches for a short distance.
Ben blurred forward landing an uppercut that rocked Abomination back onto his heels. He dropped into a crouch and swept the feet out from under the creature. Abomination started to fall. Ben pushed himself faster, hopping up and driving an elbow in the creatures' sternum creating a shockwave that echoed through the park. The landscape cratered as the monster slammed into the ground.
Abomination recovered faster than expected, springing out of the crater and replying with an attack of his own in an overhead hammer-fist aimed for Ben's head. He moved out of the way just enough to take the strike on his shoulder instead. The impact drove him into the ground, suddenly finding himself thigh-deep in the grass.
Unlike fighting the Asgardians, aside from Mjolnir, which was just cheating, this hurt beyond a stinging sensation. This was something he was going to feel for a while. His world exploded into white as a knee slammed into his jaw, launching him out of the hole. The impromptu flight wrenched to a halt as Abomination latched onto his leg and brought him back face-first into the ground.
Oddly enough, it hurt less even though it scrambled his train of thought. His mind cleared as he crashed through a gazebo and a few other buildings. He got to his feet to see the trail of destruction. There were more structures than he had initially thought. He tracked his path through the park. He had destroyed a pavilion that was now hemorrhaging butterflies, a shed of some sort, the gazebo previously mentioned, and at least a dozen trees.
Rolling thunder grew loud enough to rattle the loose chunks of ground a moment before Ben realized the sound was actually footsteps. Abomination appeared then sent him flying with a kick. Ben sailed through the air, crashed into the street, and tumbled through the front of a building. He stood, brushing himself off. He needed to get the fight back to the park before it could cause more damage.
A loud roar announced Hulk joining the fight. He hoped that meant that the fight wouldn't spread deeper into the city. Ben lifted off the ground, floating up high enough to track the brawl. He drifted closer, landing on the edge of the park and started to walk over.
He could feel the shockwaves of the traded punches. Abomination had more technique, but Hulk was an animal. Gamma radiated blood was already being spilled. Ben took a moment to admire the patches of grass that popped up where it touched.
Hulk took a hard punch, stumbling a few steps back, creating space between the two. Ben burst forward the moment there was an opening. He launched a haymaker straight into Abomination's nose. Green blood splattered along his forearm.
The monster bent backward, his head nearly touching the ground. Ben hopped over the monster, wrapped Abomination in a headlock, and twisted. He felt the bones snap but didn't trust it to be that easy. Ben arched his back, tossing the body into the air, grabbed hold of the bone spurs along the spine, and launched into the sky. He hit the body with a punch, knocking it higher into the air.
Ben leapt into the sky, flying the body through the atmosphere continuing on until they were higher than the space station. He didn't have any issue without oxygen, but he wasn't sure about Abomination. Ben waited, holding the body until it was a block of ice. Thankfully, this dimension worked on Movie Logic, so it didn't take more than a minute.
Abomination didn't move or show signs of breathing, and he couldn't hear a heartbeat. Killing Bronski shouldn't cause too many issues. The mid-credit scene was a throwaway gag as was his appearance in the She-Hulk show. He turned his attention back to Earth. Hulk looked up at the sky before bounding into the distance. At least that portion of the plotline had been maintained.
Technically, a dead body was an object, not a person. Ben grabbed the corpse.
CUBE
The body of Abomination appeared next to his growing stack of money. He couldn't chance someone using the corpse as some sort of science project. Either he needed to find a way to get an industrial size freeze in the cube and figure out how to power it, or he could find some place to ditch the body.
The Walking DeadEarths Moon, Milky Way Galaxy – 2010
Ben appeared on the surface of the moon next to the bleached out American flag. Digging a grave to fit Abomination was an easy task with super strength. He vanished once it was complete, then reappeared with the corpse. The hole had to be adjusted a bit deeper to handle the odd proportions. In total, it took about five minutes to dig the grave, put the body in, take the body out, find the mistake, take the body out, fix the hole, and then bury it for good. Ben piled a couple of big moonstones on top of the disturbed ground just to be sure it would stay down. Abomination would wake up buried on the moon if he somehow managed to come back to life.
Marvel Cinematic UniverseNew York City, New York, USA – 2010
Ben returned to Central Park to survey the danger. The military swarmed over to me with their weapons raised. They yelled a myriad of orders that were mostly some variation of surrender. Ben raised an eyebrow in silent question. He crossed his arms and waited for someone in charge to approach.
General Ross barked orders as he marched over. The soldiers relaxed from their near panic now that there was someone to tell them what to do. They were still tense, ready to fire the moment the order was given.
A squad of soldiers rushed over to him once ordered. They tried to force him down to his knees, and to pull his hands behind his back to bind them. Both attempts failed. They couldn't move him from where he stood.
General Ross cursed at the troops, ordering them to back away. He studied Ben for a long moment before he moved closer.
"What did you do to him?" General Ross yelled.
Ben cocked his head to the side, "the monster?"
General Ross nodded.
Ben nodded, "I killed him and buried him on the moon."
"What?!" General Ross yelled. "The moon?"
Ben nodded again, "he was not the titan I am hunting but I would do what I could to hold back his rampage."
"Titan?" General Ross marched closer to him. "What are you talking about? Where are you from? Who are you?"
"The titan I killed. He was not the one I'm hunting," Ben answered. "I'm a traveler, I'm not from anywhere." He paused and sighed. "You don't know about the titan."
It was a statement, not a question.
Ross glared at him, "what the hell are you talking about?"
"Thanos," Ben said. "The Mad Titan. He is my quarry. Earth is the closest I've come to finding him."
Ben took a slow, deep breath then let it out. He narrowed his eyes at General Ross. What did this man give to the world? He hunted Hulk to hide his own hubris, spearheaded the Accords, and eventually became Red Hulk. His self-inflated ego had access to too much power at his command. Ross wasn't Hydra, he didn't meet their standards. His actions endangered countless lives. His death might not save as many, but it would help.
He scanned the area. There were too many people around to kill him here. Ross wouldn't be able to do too much damage in the next couple of days.
"You have no idea what I am talking about," Ben muttered. "I'll continue my search."
Ben flew up without another word. He ignored the yells and sped back to space before vanishing. It took a couple of moments to travel to the Cube, change his clothes, and then reappear on Earth. Just for the hell of it he had added a pair of fake glasses to his 'civilian' look. He appeared outside of the lab at Grayburn College. The place had been burned to the ground. Abomination hadn't done it, which meant it was most likely Sterns covering his tracks. Probably to prevent Ross from getting his hands on the research. He couldn't remember what had happened to Sterns after the events of the movie. The Leader appeared later, but he had lost interest in the MCU by that time.
If he was going to stay in this dimension for long he would need a place to stay. New York had never been that interesting to him. Too many people, not enough space, and way too much noise. Oddly enough, the various signals that usually bombarded him weren't an issue. He had to 'tune in' to hear them. It made staying in this dimension easier.
He had plenty of money for somewhere nice to stay. Hell, he could easily buy a place as long as he didn't stay in the city. Distance wasn't an issue considering how he could travel. He could travel to his Cube then to a destination if he was in a real hurry. Instinctively, he knew that he'd be able to jump from place to place in the same dimension rather than having to make a pitstop. It was an advancement of the traveler ability.
Thor would be coming to Earth soon. Then there would be another stretch of time before Loki arrived. He paused. No, that wasn't right. The movies Thor and Incredible Hulk happened within a couple of days of each other. His stay in Asgard must have messed with the passage of time. That or he had cut it closer than he had thought. Regardless, the Invasion of New York didn't happen until May of 2012. It was currently the first week of June in 2010. He could either wait two years, or he could use the TemPad to skip ahead.
He would sleep on it before he decided.
~
Ben woke to the sound of someone opening the door to his room. He had wanted to stay at one of the famous hotels in the area, but they required a credit card on file. Cash limited his options. Instead, found the best option he could that would accept it. He found himself by one of the airports. The place wasn't bad, but it wasn't the stay in a penthouse that he had wanted. Getting a bank account and credit card, not to mention all of the official documents would be a pain.
The place didn't have room service, and he had put a 'do not disturb' sign on the door. A quick look at the clock told him he had only been asleep for two hours. Whoever was breaking in was a pro. Their movements were nearly silent, deactivating the card reader to prevent the beep, and popping the lock smoothly enough to keep it from making noise.
There were only a few people that would want to find him. General Ross was too brash to come in quietly. SHIELD was the most likely with Hydra a step below. Those were the two big players in the intelligence game. It was possible that there were others that he didn't know about.
Ben was only wearing a pair of boxers. He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing to sell the ruse he was sleeping. There were four heartbeats. Their footfalls marked the weight difference. The three heavier of the group scanned the area while the lighter carefully moved around placing little devices. He rolled onto his side, releasing a snort as he did. The group paused, snapping their weapons at him. They resumed their scan of the room. The three heavier retreated, leaving the lighter alone. More troops arrived to evacuate the other guests on the same level as well as the one above and below.
She took a seat in the small mock-living room. The sound of soft whispers checked the listening devices as well as the one tucked in the lighter invader's ear. Ben waited until the check was complete. He rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom completely ignoring the woman that sat on the uncomfortable couch. After a moment, he trudged back to bed. He stopped and slowly turned to look at the woman.
"I'm sorry," he said blearily. "Is this the right room?"
The woman smiled, she flicked on the light revealing Black Widow herself.
"This is your room," she said with a charming smile. "I'm here to talk to you."
Ben rolled his eyes, then took a seat on the chair across from the couch, "why?"
"Your display in Central Park was impressive," she stated. "You're also a complete ghost in our system. No ID, credit cards, report cards, parking tickets, or birth certificate." She paused. "I have to ask, why glasses?"
Ben smiled, "people see what they want to see."
"True enough," she replied.
Ben shrugged, "what do you want?"
"We want to know about you," Black Widow said. "Where did you come from? How did you get your abilities? Who is this titan you're after?"
Ben smiled at her, "I'm a traveler, my title and the name you can call me. I'm from somewhere else. My abilities were a gift." He leaned forward. "Most importantly, the titan I am hunting. Thanos, the Mad Titan. He has a goal that will kill a mind-breaking amount of living beings if it is completed. The signs have led me here. I think I'm too early. He has a pattern of approach. An invasion to test defenses, trusted agents sent to further his cause, and then making a personal appearance. My plan now is to wait until his invasion to track him then kill him."
"That's quite the story," she said with a practiced smile meant to charm. "You don't seem to have reservations when it comes to killing."
Ben shook his head, "not true. I will kill if I must or if it will save lives. Indiscriminate slaughter isn't in my nature."
Black Widow stared at him as though she was considering his words. He could hear the voice talking to her through the device in her ear. It was familiar. Male, calm and easy. Coulson. Her eyes narrowed, assessing. Ben smiled at her in reply.
"What makes you so sure this Thanos will come here?" She asked.
Ben shrugged, "you have something he wants."
"Which is?" She prompted.
Ben sighed, "I tracked an energy signature to this planet."
"How did you track it?" She asked with an arch of her sculpted eyebrows.
Ben shrugged, "nature ability."
"Do you know where this energy source is?" Black Widow asked.
Ben shook his head, "somewhere on planet. If I can track, he definitely can."
"He must really want this to go through all the trouble to get it," she said.
Ben chuckled, "all this trouble? It's world changing for you, but just another Tuesday for him."
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"He wiped out half the population of a planet to 'fix' a resource shortage," Ben clarified. "He won't even send his lieutenants. It will be delegated to some expendable minion."
"You seem certain of this," she commented.
Ben nodded, "he's done this before."
"To your planet?" She asked.
Ben shook his head, "it was one I loved. At the time I was powerless to stop it."
"You're being rather candid," she said.
"What would I gain from keeping you in the dark?" Ben asked. "I haven't decided if I'm going to stay until his minion arrives. They will need to create a connection, one for his troops that I can use to find him."
"That means you would have to allow them to open a connection," Black Widow stated.
Ben smiled, "you should have some initiative to handle that. A team of some sort?"
He heard the sound of troops moving into place. Whispered orders, the creak of leather boots being strained, and increased heartrates.
"What makes you think we'll let you leave?" She asked.
Ben shrugged, "there are more planets out there that need help."
"You wouldn't be here when he arrives," she stated.
Ben shook his head again, "you've got some time. A year, maybe two. There are a lot of people I can help in that time." He paused. "I don't mean to alarm you, but I couldn't help teasing you. Think about it, miss. I was able to kill that creature and bury its body on the moon. Do you actually think you could stop me if I wanted to leave?"
"The moon?" She raised her eyebrows as she spoke.
He nodded, "I used the lunar landing as a landmark and dug the grave by hand."
A silence stretched between them.
"You should be aware, General Ross is going to cause problems in the future," Ben said. "He refuses to see anything as his fault; he can't be wrong. The incidents with Hulk are just the start. Put him behind some desk in Antarctica before he can do any more damage."
"Noted," she said simply. "What are these other worlds you're talking about?"
"I'm a traveler," Ben said. "It's my title and calling. I travel from world to world. My choice was to help people where I can."
"That's not really an answer," she pointed out.
Ben sighed, "it's not an easy choice. I really hate to say it, but some conflict and struggle help people grow. They get stronger, become greater, and push themselves higher when put under pressure. If I help these people now will I leave them unprepared for the future? I'm not a god, I can't fix everything and my knowledge is limited. Let's say there's a guy named Tony. He's going to be captured by bad people and forced to create weapons. By his own ingenuity he is able to create a suit of armor and rescue himself. He becomes a better person from this experience and goes on to help the world." He paused. "What happens if I step in and rescue him before he gets captured? It would save him from suffering, yes, but he wouldn't change without that experience."
"You could have saved Tony Stark?" She asked.
Ben shook his head, "I wasn't on this planet yet. You've met Mister Stark, worked with him. Do you think he's a better person now?"
"Why do you think I've worked with him?" She asked.
"Do you want the truth or something quasi-cryptic?" Ben asked in reply.
"What would you gain from keeping us in the dark?" She said with a small smirk.
"Miss Romanoff," he chuckled. "I'm assuming we don't know each other well enough yet to call you Natasha, definitely not Nat. Has Agent Coulson returned from New Mexico yet? Thor probably left a mess to clean."
"Nice try," she said. "New Mexico was all over the news and the tales on the internet had enough time to spread. As for my name, you're aware of the communications we have in place and there's a good chance you can hear them too. Come on, impress me."
"I tried to play nice," Ben shrugged. "Dreykov survived."
Natasha was fast for someone who didn't have any powers. She closed the distance between them and had a knife against his throat in a flash.
"How do you know that name?" Her voice was cold.
"Yelena and the other Widows are being mind-controlled," he continued. "They moved from psychological conditioning to chemically altering brain function. You'll need something to counter-act that."
He tried not to smirk when he felt it bend.
"I'll tell you more once I've killed Thanos," Ben slowly moved her hand away from his throat. "Not about the Red Room. I don't know any more and wouldn't keep it from you if I did."
He stood, letting her hop back to her feet. That seemed to be enough to gain control. Ben walked over to the bedside table and put on his glasses, then draped hit clothes over his arm.
"I'm not your enemy, you or Shield," he said. "I'll check in eventually."
CUBE
Ben picked out some fresh clothes then grabbed some more cash. He was going to need to brush up on his MCU lore before he went back. There should be a timeline of events online. A movie marathon would be a good idea too.
It would probably take a few days to get everything done in the 2024 dimension. He would grab a pre-paid debit card and load it to the maximum if he could. If not, he'd go with gift cards. There had to be some hotel suites that he could rent for an extended period that had streaming options.