Begin Again In Marvel

POV Rio

It was a few days after we began our search for the mysterious disturbance and Tony had managed to clear up his schedule enough to have an in-depth conversation. I decided it was prudent to take a break so I agreed to meet him. Now I was finishing my last preparations. I teleported to his villa and went to his lab.

Tony: "Great you're here. Please come sit I have lots of questions."

Rio: "Thank you for having me over. Now what is your first question?"

Tony: "I watched all the videos I was left. But I have to know who are you?"

I take off my hood and show him and I revel in his utterly shocked face. I make sure to take a picture to share it later.

Tony: "You! But? How!?"

Rio: "Nice to officially meet you Tony Stark. I am Rio Magus Crepusculum. Current Grandmaster of the Je'daii Order. CEO of the Techno Union and various other titles."

Tony: "That explains so much! But how? I looked into you once and there were no signs of falsified records."

Rio: "That's because I was born on Earth and have lived here for the last 21 years. As for how I made my company I invented all the things I made. Everything is legitimate. That being said I am not human. And don't assume that humans are the only sentient life on Earth."

Tony: "You not being human makes some sense I guess but I am more interested in there being other sentient life on Earth."

Rio: "Well there is a sizeable Skrull infiltration on Earth. They are shapeshifting aliens that infiltrate a planet and then weaken it from the inside before conquering them. Then there are the magical creatures that call Earth home. Or at least used to before I saved them from extinction. This includes almost every mythological creature that has ever been written about. Unicorns, Pegasi, Nekomatas, Dragons, Sirens, and so on. Then you have the Atlantians. They have been around since before human civilization. Beyond them, there are a few refugees from the greater universe that are living here."

Tony: "That is a lot to unpack. First question. You mentioned a Skrull infiltration. Should I be worried?"

Rio: "Well yes probably. Nick Fury is currently sheltering them. He doesn't realize that they have replaced several key political and influential figures. Now the silver lining is that the Kree Empire nearly destroyed the Skrull Empire. The Kree are space Nazis in some ways and have tried to conquer Earth a few times in the past. Skrulls are very low in number but are much stronger and resilient compared to humans."

Tony: "Is there a way to know who is a Skrull or not?"

Rio: "There are a few ways. The easiest is to have a Skrull Detector. They detect Skrull DNA. The next would be having the Force. After that, there is causing sufficient amounts of pain. You could also use Telepathy but this is not too reliable. The last thing would be analyzing the elements they are made of. Oh, and none of these work if you are dealing with a super Skrull. Which can copy anyone perfectly even their superpowers and memories."

Tony: "Well that's not going to keep me up at night."

Rio: "Eh could be worse, you could question if a synth replaced someone you know."

Tony gives me an exasperated look.

Tony: "Do I even want to know?"

Rio: "Probably not."

Tony: "My next question is magical creatures are real and why were they going extinct?"

Rio: "They are real. As for why they were going extinct. A combination of Humans and the magic community. Humans don't like what they don't understand and tend to spread stories about evil or bad creatures over the vast majority that are actually kind and helpful. As for the magic community, they would hunt magical creatures for materials and they generally discriminated against those of non-human looks. If you looked human and could use magic then you would be able to at least hide in the mundane world. If you were like my kind and were an equine well the best you could hope for is being used as a war mount."

Tony: "First you are an equine and second magical community?"

Rio: "Yes I am an Alicorn. Think of it as a fusion of many different magical horses. That and my kind are usually very strong and revered by magical creatures. As for the Magical Community, they are split into 3 parts. The Sorcerers, which are actually closer to Warlocks. Who make pacts with powerful dimensional lords in exchange for their souls. They also are the protectors of Earth from outside threats. Or at least somewhat. The second group is the Dark Magic users who are similar to the Sorcerers in the way that they often make deals with powerful beings in exchange for their souls. The biggest difference is that they usually make deals with the more overtly evil beings. Demons, Death, Oblivion, Devils, and the like. The last group is the smallest in numbers. They are the magic users who rely on their magic cores to do magic. They are the independents. They are usually much weaker at the start compared to the other groups but have no limit to their growth. There is technically a fourth group that consists of all the magical creatures but they are rarely acknowledged as a group."

Tony: "So the second group is the one I should avoid?"

Rio: "You should avoid all of them. The first 2 are equally as bad just one claims to be better but that is rarely the case. The 3rd group is very small but they survive by doing less than legal things. The 4th group doesn't really exist on Earth anymore. I know of only a few beings that fall into the 3rd group that wouldn't trick or kill you as soon as they could and they are all my subordinates. Avoid the first 2 groups like the plague. If they kill you chances are high that your soul will be taken by their patron."

Tony: "Got it, avoid magic. My next question is Atlantis. I thought that was just a myth."

Rio: "They are very real and unlike their former rival Talokan they have a history going back thousands of years. They technically rule all oceans. They also usually make deals with the surface world to make sure war doesn't happen. They are also vastly more advanced compared to most tech on the surface. They are also a separate species from humans but interbreeding is possible and has happened on occasion. I won't tell you the location of Atlantis as they have requested that it stay secret from all that don't have permission. Also, they are peaceful so do not disturb them. I have good relations with their current ruler and I would rather not upset them because you decided to bother them."

Tony: "Can you take me there?"

Rio: "Some day yes. But not today."

Tony: "My next question is should I prepare for any threats from space?"

Rio: "Most definitely. Currently, I am the representative of Earth. Earth is part of an alliance called the 9 Realms Alliance. It is more of a trade and non-interference alliance than a defensive pact. Earth is a valuable world and there are a few groups that are interested in Earth due to what is here."

Tony: "Wait how are you the representative of Earth? You don't run a country."

Rio: "That you know of. As for how it is simple. I am the most technologically advanced group on Earth. Lastly, the previous representative is dying and has fallen from their position of power."

Tony: "Wait if you are the representative does that mean you are seen as the ruler of Earth?"

Rio: "Kind of. But it's not that simple. The other Realms know that Earth is still developing and as such isn't united. But they acknowledge me as the being in charge of Earth's position in the Alliance. In some ways, I am also seen as the protector of Earth's independence from outside threats."

Tony: "Who was the previous representative?"

Rio: "Technically it would have been Odin as he was the ruler of Earth before he was forced to relinquish control very recently. Otherwise, it was often seen as the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth which has been the same person for the last 1500 years or so."

Tony: "1500 years. I thought you said the Sorcerers are human."

Rio: "She extended her life by borrowing power from the Dark Dimension. She is human. But not a good person."

Tony: "Now what about Odin being the ruler of Earth?"

Rio: "Asgard was on paper the ruler of Earth but in actuality just treated Earth as a backwater dump full of primitives. A crisis forced Asgard to dissolve its control over the other realms. That included Earth."

Tony: "So Odin is the same Odin from Norse Mythology?"

Rio: "Yes they are one and the same. However, some of the stories are not accurate."

Tony: "So Earth is independent again?"

Rio: "Yes and no. Earth is independent but still liable to the Treaty of Yggdrasil. Which gives Earth some basic protections. It should be noted that we are one of the last remaining Pre-FTL civilizations remaining in the Universe. We could also be called primitives."

Tony: "I assume that is a bad thing."

Rio: "Yes, it means we are an easy target for all the other civilizations out there in space. We have been lucky and unlucky with our history of powerful beings claiming ownership of Earth or presiding here. But with all those things gone Earth is moving into a dangerous area. The Treaty of Yggdrasil is the only thing preventing an invasion at this point. And even then it isn't a powerful deterrent. Especially with what Shield has been doing."

Tony: "What do you mean? What have they been doing?"

Rio: "They have been messing with the Tesseract which contains the Space Stone. Each time they mess with it they send out a very loud signal indicating Earth has the Space Stone. The Space Stone is one of 6 Infinity Stones that have the power over a fundamental aspect of the Universe. Time, Space, Power, Soul, Mind, and Reality. Earth has 2 of the 6 which is not good. Many would gladly kill anyone and everything to get a hold of the Infinity Stones."

Tony: "What about the order you are a part of Can't they protect Earth? Aren't Jedi supposed to be protectors of life or something?"

Rio: "Do you know how many there are of us?"

Tony: "A few thousand?"

Rio: "Less than a dozen. Not to mention they aren't strong enough to defeat an entire Space Nation. Even the group that follows me can't stop everything. Especially while remaining secret from the enemies in the shadow."

Tony: "You mean Hydra. If my father didn't insist on saving Bucky I would be hunting him down right now."

Rio: "Be very careful with them. They have already infiltrated nearly everything. Shield has maybe a dozen non-Hydra members across the planet. At your current armor capabilities, you would be killed within a month. Especially with all the weaknesses in Jarvis that can be exploited."

Tony: "I fixed all those exploits."

Rio: "You really believe that?"

Tony: "Well... now I am starting to doubt it. Why do you always have to come and make me second-guess myself?"

Rio: "If you want to stop Hydra the first thing you need to fix is your heart issue. Then upgrade your Ark Reactor. As the current model is slowly poisoning you."

Tony: "I have already looked into it. No one has the skills to remove the shrapnel from my chest. As for the Ark Reactor, how can you possibly know it is poisoning me?"

Rio: "The answer is simple what happens when a foreign object is inserted into the human body?"

Tony: "Your body fights it and tries to remove it."

Rio: "Now what happens when a heavy metal is slowly broken down by the human body?"

Tony: "Heavy metal poisoning. Oh."

Rio: "Yeah. Now admittedly you won't notice the symptoms for likely another few months. But the more you use the Ark Reactor the more it degrades which in turn hastens the poisoning."

Tony: "Then I just need to use a different element."

Rio: "There is only one element you can use that will be a suitable replacement and it was made by Lex Luthor. Your father also technically discovered it but he never used it. As for the shrapnel, call this number and set up an appointment. Tsunade can heal you, no problem. Oh before I forget. Don't sexually harass her or else you will feel the consequences. Not from me."

Tony: "Thanks but if the element you are speaking of is from my father I think I know what you are talking about. It was in the older recording."

Rio: "Yes, well usually I wouldn't get involved but I need you better and more capable quicker. An invasion is coming. I just don't know when. It could be any time between today and 2013."

Tony: "Wait what!? You can't just say that when we are about done today!"

Rio: "You know you are right look at the time I have things to do. Have a nice day."

I leave a piece of paper with the elemental creation process and the number for Tsunade's office on the table. Then I do my Batman impression and disappear.

Tony: "Wait you can't just... and he's gone. Lovely. Damn it Rio. Now I am going to get no sleep until I fix the issues I didn't know I had. Jarvis contact this number and set up an appointment as soon as they are available."

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Authors Note:

I wanted to do a chapter that exposited info while also making sense. This chapter also sets up Tony as an ally but not part of the fold. It will also set Tony as very suspicious of Shield and somewhat unwilling to work with them. With Iron Man supporting Rio, it will be that much easier for Rio to conquer Earth. Anyway until next time Ciao.