《Timeline maintenance (MCU)》 Chapter 1: The Chosen On a white plane that stretches for what seems to be ever expanding stands a being with power ever flowing and revolving around them, their eyes radiant a silver hue with deep sadness ingrained in them, the beings name is Franklin Richards and he is currently observing the known universes to maintain best ending to all of existence, unfortunately there is a ripple slowly altering and destroying timelines and destroying everything that has and is meant to be so knowing he cannot fix it himself because of what changes he may inflict on the timelines, he decides to look for someone who is completely irrelevent to all timelines to ensure he doesn''t cause more damage than what has already been done, this was a hereculean task as many people agree about the butterfly effect and also with infinite universes come infinite possibilities but bizarelly enough he finds a human male called Oliver Smith and decides to summon him to his realm. POV: Oliver Smith Bzzzz Bzzzz, My alarm clock wakes me up to begin my monotomous routine of the beginning of a work week, 4am isn''t okay in my book but it''s what I have to do when this whole world is basically run by robotic zombies in human clothing, atleast I don''t have to deal with them and 1 hour of work a day is definately nothing to be annoyed about, if anything i hit the jackpot doing a little bit of maintainance on machines and I live in a comfortable apartment and I live comfortably, of course the main bad side to it and why alot of people didn''t go for the job was this apartment was mandatory and I can never meet people in real life because how paranoid the company is about employees revealing how to recreate their machines, I shouldn''t be hard anyway afterall i''m probably the most average person in this dreary world and i''ve never made a mistake, although when you call your company Phantom Corp your just asking for trouble. Just as I start to get ready a screen pops up infront of me (Oliver, your help is needed to save the lives of countless beings, do you accept) (yes/no) What the absolute fuck is this? I don''t remember taking anything, what would you even have to take to have this effect? every drug in the world?, so I decide to press the no on the screen before I end up having a brain aneurysm, ......and its gone, well that was weird, I best get back to getting ready fo (You''re the only hope these people have, you must say yes) (yes/no) Oh hell to the fucking no, I pressed the no with more resolution than I have ever done before because that was a definate nope for me, i''m definately calling in for today and getting some rest with whatever the hell is going on inside me head, but of course just as I go to the phone to make a call my body decides to give up on my and everything begins to fade to darkness, the last thing I see is a new box. (I must insist i''m afraid)A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "Rise and shine Oliver, we need to talk" I slowly open my eyes from what seems like an eternity of sleep to see a figure surrounded by a white plane that goes on forever, well i''m fucked guess I had that aneurysm after all and God exists, well i''m definately going to hell, may aswell have some fun with this "Whattup my man" "Oliver I understand your confused and even a little scared but we''ve got alot to do and i''d rather not deal with your drama right now" psst shows what he knows i''m not scared... okay maybe a tiny bit but i''m not going to let him know, "so what can I do for you? sorry I don''t mean to be rude but what''s your name unless you prefer god" The being ran his hair through his silver mane, here we go he''s putting on the charm "My name is Franklin Richards and I need your help,because of a series of events I need you to travel to a specific universe and fix specific points in time that are being alterred" I decided to assume the thinkers pose to help me understand what was going on "so you want me to be a hero? i''m not exactly anything special if anything i''m completely average so how am I meant to do anything?" Franklin was taken aback and decided to sigh rather heavily, did no one ever teach you how rude that is, okay calm down Oliver lets just wait to hear what he says "I will go through how we will allow you gain power to do what needs to be done but first i''m afraid I must clarify something, you will not be a hero, possibly an anti hero but some of the things you must do will aid those who hurt and harm others but you must do this to ensure the lives of countless others" I didn''t know what to say, morality has always been quite flimsy with me as i''ve looked at things as multiple shades of grey for years and sometimes the ends justify the means but to outright help someone who I know is a piece of shit? that will be difficult but first I need to know whats actually going on and what I actually have to do "So what happens now? what am I actually going to do?" Franklin beckoned me forward "I need you to maintain the timeline in universe 199999 I will give you guidelines of what to do through quests that will give you ability points (AP) to gain a multitude of abilities, to do this i need to place a fragment of the reality stone inside you which will make you become a video game character, are you ready?" That sounds awesome, i''ve always enjoyed video games so it''ll be cool to advance myself and become a new me, a better me so why not "I''m ready" Franklin then plunged his hand through my chest my body exploded in pain and I began choking on my own blood that was coming up from having my chest caved it, my whole body was drained of eveything and once again I fell to a dark embrace. (System intialising) (Abilities gained - unlimited potential S, Ageless A, Regeneration B/S lv1) (Display ready) Oliver Smith, 22 years old Health 100/100 Mana 100/100 Strength 10 Constitution 10 Dexterity 10 Intelligence 10 (Stabilising vitals to coinside with abilities - Health now regenerates 10/s) I guess i''ve really become a game character, well I hope that I atleast have some fun with this, now where the hell am I theres so many people and theres recruitment signs everywhere, wait please don''t tell me first task involves what I think it does, Franklin''s voice suddenly echoes in my mind "Yes Oliver the year is 1942 and your tasked with ensuring Steve Rodgers also known as Captain America becomes who he''s meant to be and you will be there every step of the way, just don''t steal his limelight haha, now lets get you started with your first quest, good luck" (Find and convince Dr Abraham Erskine to recruit Steve Rodgers - 5AP) Well lets get to it I guess. Chapter 2: Saving private Steve Oliver found himself at an exhibition of future technologies and tried to recall how he was going to get the attention of this doctor Erskine when he heard an audible facepalm in his mind and Franklin''s voice appeared "So i''ve been abit too quick and sending you on your way as there''s a few details we need to go over, first is major events must be maintained which is where the quests will help direct you, the second thing is of course you have no idea what, who and when things are meant to happen which is a massive mistake on my part and I apologise so without further ado" A sharp pain ingrained itself into Oliver''s brain and it felt like he had been cut a thousand times in the space of 0.5 seconds and he gasped for breath, the surrounding populance distanced themselves to avoid what that thought was a crazy person while he growled to himself and contemplated just smashing his head off the pavement, luckily the pain vanished and in its place returned his usual companion the floating box. (Memory input completed - Captain America: The First Avenger) Oliver noticed everyone around him fixated on what he was just doing, almost like he was a performer of some kind and his face began to shift red from embarrassment "I hope that I get used to this or I get more warning because the looks of everyone around me is something I don''t want to get used to" He quickly decided to dash through the crowd and found himself in a nearby alleyway and sat down to contemplate all this new information that had flooded into his mind just as he had understood what he needed to do he saw a young skinny guy getting dragged from a nearby cinema and Oliver decided to hide in the shadows observing the situation, he quickly realised what was going on and what he was watching was a skinny Steve Rodgers getting knocked down onto the floor, he was about to intervene when he realised that this was meant to happen, and just as this idea floated through his mind he saw a man in uniform appear to rescue Steve, A man he had to insure would fall and motivate Steve to truly become who he was destined to be, Bucky Barnes. Oliver waited for a few minutes until the situation had been resolved and Bucky and Steve were no longer in sight, with all his new memories he knew what he had to do next. He left the shadows and made his way to the nearby recruitment centre to which he could see the testosterone filled environment of all the other future recruits and quickly filled out the correct forms to ensure he''d make it into the correct barracks and found Dr Askine, he followed him slowly until the doctor entered an unoccupied room and decided it was now or never. He straightened his back and confidently entered through the door which immediately caught the attention of the doctor, he focused his eyes on Oliver "who are you?" Oliver quickly molded his ideas together and took the doctors hand to shake it to try and give off a friendly vibe "Doctor Erskine it is an honour to finally meet you, I have heard great things and I think I have found the perfect candidate for you" The doctor was surprised and feigned ignorance "what could you possibly mean young man?" Oliver knew that he''d have to be straight to the point overwise he''d end up failing his first quest already, "I will show you a man who has the perfect qualities your looking for but I must insist to being posted to the same boot camp to ensure his strengths, of course you don''t trust me immediately so i will take you to him to prove myself" The doctor pondered curiously and knew he hadn''t found the right candidate so he decided to give this man a chance, afterall he never agreed to it just yet "lead on young man and show me this person"This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Oliver directed the doctor to a nearby corridor and told him to wait there for a few minutes, "how will I know when he''s here?" the doctor asked, "trust me you will know when you hear him, once you are happy with everything meet me in the previous room, i''ll be waiting" Oliver left the doctor confused as he returned to their first meeting area and decided to sit down on a relatively comfy sofa which caused him to dooze off fairly quickly until he woke up to a message from the box. (Mission complete) (Find and convince Dr Abraham Erskine to recruit Steve Rodgers) (5AP awarded) (Would you like to navigate through your possible future skill purchases?) (yes/no) Oliver thought to himself and decided to click yes, he was then greeted by thousands of abilities ranging from C grade to S grade his mind was overwhelmed by the choices until he realised the cheapest grade of ability which was C grade cost a minumum of 10AP so he resigned himself to ignore the points for now until he had enough and knew what he actually wanted to have, just as he came to that conclusion the door opened to the doctor gleaming with happiness "he''s perfect, but how did you know about the project and how did you find Steve?" damn thought Oliver I really should of thought more about how I approached this well best rip of a few movies I watched and hope it goes well, "If I told you i''d have to kill you" the doctor suddenly began to panic, shit I definately messed up there Oliver thought "Sorry just a joke, granted it was in very poor taste, i''m well informed doctor and just like you I saw his multiple applications to join and his remarkable spirit and I just have a feeling that man will become a legend if given an opportunity, are we still in agreement doctor" the doctor hesitated as with every scientist he preferred getting more information before making such a decision but in his gut he too agreed with the mysterious youth that Steve could grow to do remarkable things and save many lives "Yes we have a deal, I''ll get the paperwork all sorted but remember you are both going to the 1A which is the boot camp for the best of the best, Steve is my priority so if you want to stay there you need to be able to handle the training on your own, can you handle that?" Oliver couldn''t believe his luck that he managed to somehow get himslef on the same unit as Steve but honestly he was worried, yes he was told he had become a game character but how would he actually get stronger "Yes doctor I will be fine" the next day Oliver found the area that would transport all the trainee personel and noticed a two recognisable faces, of course the first was of course Steve who the other recruits glared at because of his measley physique, while the other one was Gilmore Hodge, the original favourite of the program if I hadn''t of brought the doctor and Steve together, we all climb into the back of the truck that would take us to the boot camp and Oliver made his way to Steve and offered a hand shake "Hi i''m Oliver but i prefer phantom, what about you?" Steve nearly burst out laughing and composed himself to shake the offered hand "I''m Steve, nice to meet you, sorry for the reaction but phantom really threw me off then" Oliver abit annoyed at the reaction muffled back "Its better than Captain America" Steve looked confused and decided to ignore it. Finally once everyone one was seated and ready to go the truck set off, next destination the boot camp. Chapter 3: Ill make a man out of you The truck arrived at the boot camp and while Oliver was ready to continue his quest to maintain the timeline, he was interrupted with the familiar voice of Franklin in his mind "Oliver i''ve got some news for you, i''ve managed to see that there''s no issues for atleast a month so take this time to improve yourself, there''s a reason i gave you regenaration, use it to your full advantage, goodbye for now my friend" Oliver slowly made his way off the truck and contemplated to himself, "what should i do? if what he said is right I could heal my body everytime I strain my body, well thats my first to do list, make myself a to do list, I impress myself" Oliver was thrown out of his thoughts by an overly aggressive man shouting at him and the over recruits to line up, as all the recruits stood to attention a british lady arrived infront of the recruits eyeing up them all she glanced at Oliver but her eyes were drawn to Steve''s pitiful excuse of a body she then began to tore into the state of the recruits until Gilmore acted out and quickly got put on his ass, Olive had to hold a laughter in, he knew it was coming but seeing it in person still pushed him to hold back a chuckle. A man who introduced himself as Colonel Phillips and also told the recruits of the woman''s name Agent Carter he then evaluated the men and once again the target of eyes was Steve, he sighed to himself and then dismissed everyone to their quarters. Night came and everyone shuffled in the night trying to get used to their new "premium" beds while Oliver managed to get his hands on a notebook and began to think of his plan to improve himself, the training he had to do was your stereotypical bootcamp, 100 situps, 100 press ups, 100 squats and a 10 kilometer run but that would never turn himself into a superhero who could beat everyone in one punch, he needed to adjust himself and follow a 2 hour sleep pattern which he should be able to survive because of his regeneration, so what should he aim for? Oliver then realised his own blarringly obvious mistake, "there''s no point trying to reach a specific number because aslong as he pushed himself he''d improve, with that thought he rolled over and closed his eyes, tomorrow would be a new day and the start of Oliver''s change to being the phantom of time. Oliver woke up to the drill sergeant shouting out for the recruits to line up and they all got in formation sharpish "attention worthless pieces of slime, for the next 3 weeks your listening to my every beck and call, I tell you to jump you ask how high, I tell you to shit in your hands and clap you best fucking say thank you and do it sharpish, understood" the recruits had heard tales of the nightmarish drill sergeant so they quickly replied "yes sir" the drill sergeant let out a smirk "good, now as you know the colonel is here to personally evaluate you but not before I check that you''re fit to even shine my boot so during the 3 weeks that the colonel is away I want you to push yourselves, if you don''t show me your giving 100% then your straight out of that door and joining the suicide squads, have I made myself clear?" once again the recruits shouted in unison "sir yes sir" with that the drill sergeant left for the recruits to begin their own training, to Oliver this was a perfect opportunity as he could start his goal of improving straight away, just before he left the tent he turned back and saw the resolute glean in Steve''s eyes, Oliver smiled and went to the training field. Oliver thought about what he should start with so he decided to follow the original bootcamp routine and lied down and began to adjust his position and began to work out his core with situps, his aim to hit the routine and then go beyond, his body burned at the 20 mark but he persisted and a box appeared which he dismissed immediately and persisted, its body screamed at him but he knew he had to get stronger if he was going to survive, finally he managed to force himself to 100, his body violently shaked and his sweat flowed around the surrounding area around oliver and he wheezed for 5 minutes until his body relaxed and he caught his breath, thats when he noticed all the notifications.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. (Strength and constitution increases by 1) (Strength and constitution increases by 1) (Strength and constitution increases by 1) (Hidden mission - 1 out of 4 completed, 23 hours and 55 minutes left to complete) (Intelligence increases by 1) Power flooded into every part of Oliver''s body and he felt a new feeling of euphoria and and strength coursing through his body "now thats what i''m talking about" Oliver mumbled to himself and after a few mor minutes of getting used to his sudden changes to his body he continued on with his objective and lied down on his front and adjusted himself into the press up position and easily got to 40 before he once again began to struggle with the pain of his torn muscles, but he knew this is what he had to do if he wanted to have the ability to do what he would eventually have to do, his body screamed more at him and his arms felt like they were in an inferno but he pushed through to his goal of 100 push ups for the day, once again greeted by the ever present notifications in his blurred vision. (Strength and constitution increases by 1) (Strength and constitution increases by 1) (Hidden mission - 2 out of 4 completed, 23 hours and 15 minutes left to complete) (Regeneration B level increases by 1) This was amazing for Oliver and he even jumped for joy which quickly resulted in being stared at by the rest of the personel on the training field, "Idiot just calm down and carry on, I can''t wait to see what this hidden mission gives me but i''m guessing all I have to do now is 100 squats and.... (gulp) the 10km run" Oliver reminded himself and once again adjusted himself to his next exercise, squats. he decided to pace himself as he felt fatigue slowly beginning to grasp him but he knew he had to push himself to become more than he ever thought possible and so he begin correctly bending his knees and raising himself back up at a steady rthythm, his body once again felling pain but this time it wasn''t until he hit 55 squats so he began to power through and control his breathing to keep steady and proceed through the pain, sweat had already molded to his training uniform and he was beginning to lose the flexibility of his clothing because the sweat stiffining him until he finally got through and managed to overcome his 3rd challenge, once again motivated by his messages of improvement although once again his progress slowed. (Strength and constitution increases by 1) (Hidden mission - 3 out of 4 completed, 22 hours and 58 minutes left to complete) Oliver happy with his overall progress slowly made his way to the track for what he knew would be the hardest challenge yet, he lay down just off to the side and decided to get a quick 5 minute rest to ensure he was ready for what was to come, he thought to himself what he was becoming and with that his status appeared before him Oliver Smith, 22 years old Health 160/160 Mana 110/110 Strength 16 Constitution 16 Dexterity 10 Intelligence 11 Unlimited potential S Ageless A Regeneration B/S lvl 2 (15 health/s) Oliver was elated with his progress and knew that he could truely make himself into a super if he carried on pushing himself although he would definately need something to help him manage the pain he had to endure each time he broke his body down so he could become stronger, Oliver then slowly got himself up and slugged himself to the track, it was a standard 400m course which meant he''d have to do 25 laps, "fuck sake this isn''t going to be fun" he sighed to himself and slowly ready himslef at the starting line to begin a round of torture that was already developing in his stomach. Chapter 4: The Spy Many people will say that most runners get whats known as a runner''s high, at the moment Oliver is currently spewing more provanaties than the whole of Samuel L Jackson''s career, his lungs burned and his mouth was drier than any desert while his legs felt like he was dragging the rest of the recruits with him on his run, he stupidly overestimated himself and went to fast which had cause him to end up in the pitiful state he was in currently, he had extremem tunnel vision and was now following the course by pure muscle memory "Why did I think I could suddenly do 10km, i''m so fucking stupid, well done Oliver of course you can do anything but this is hell" Oliver wretched out a dry heive but nothing came out, all of his fluids had been used to cover himself in a viscous layer of sweat which actually helped him carry on as one of the recruits tried to stop him from carrying on when they saw the state of him but he lost grip and was repulsed by his sweat and decided to relegate himself to the side lines along with the other bystanders who had slowly begun to congregate to watch Oliver to the point cheers slowly began to eminate from the crowd cheering Oliver on. Only 2 more laps to go Oliver thought and this torture would soon be over, every moment he could fell his heart pulsating in his ears his legs crumbling to pieces only to be forced back together by his regeneration, but the pain, the pain never left him, it coursed through every cell of his body reminding him of the price he must pay to improve himself, Oliver cursed once more put pushed through the ever unsurmountable odds as he knew he was close to finishing the run, but his mind slowly began to convinve him that he had finished and that he deserved a break and the grass beside the track looked heavenly to lay down in and rest his eyes for a few minutes, but he knew that if he stopped now he''d always find a challenge that would ultimately block him and he would remember his failure, of him being too weak willed and giving up, his mind then envisioned Steve, not that was a man with undying will, even with his measley physique Oliver had already seen the man training and if he can do it then he sure as hell can. A fire in Oliver''s core suddendly ignited and with it energy began to reinvigorate his body and he began to push even harder with more power and speed and before he realised it the finish line was mere metres away and he began to slow, his last spike of energy diminished as he crossed the line and with it he collapsed on the floor. A cloaked figure observing behind a barracks had seen this poor excuse for a recruit and thought he''d found abit of entertainment until the man had kept going, far beyond what his physique should of allowed him to and muttered to himself "very interesting". The rest of the recruits who had been cheering saw Oliver collapse on the ground and quickly made their way over to him and raised him up to carry him to the medical centre, though non of them said anything, the pure focus and will of this man had ignited their own spirits and they all had a new found respect for who they had already called the lesser mistake of the recruits. Oliver''s drained body was gently placed on a hospital bed and after a while the medical staff decided all he need was a good rest as he miraculously had no discernable injuries. Time flew by until Oliver reach consciousness again and whas greeted by the most notifications he''d ever come across to date, he slowly raised his back up to a sitting position and began to navigate his way through all his messages he had recieved.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. (New attribute acquired - Agility) (New attribute acquired - Stamina) (Stamina now visible to player) (Stamina, Agility and Constitution increases by 1) (Stamina and Agility increases by 1) (Stamina, Agility and Constitution increases by 1) (Regeneration B level increases by 1) (Warning Stamina levels low, rest highly recommended) (Stamina, Agility and Constitution increases by 1) (Warning body about to shut down) (New Skill acquired - Undying will S - Allows the user to temporarily push past unsurmountable odds) (Warning body shuting down and going into rest mode) (Hidden mission - 4 out of 4 completed - 15AP awarded + a random ability) Oliver was overwhelmed by the amount of power once again flooding through his system, every fibre of his being pulsated with new found energy, flexibility and power. He had truly pushed himself and reaped amazing awards from his overall increase in stats to his new S rank ability and even the additional AP with a random ability, he had hit the jackpot and all this from a mere training session, what could he become he wondered, because at his rate of progress there would be no obstacle in his way to easily complete every objective, he quickly calmed himself down and regulated his breathing so he could get on to the next thing he was already itching to do, get his random ability, as he thought this a menu once again appeared asking him if he wanted to recieve his ability which he quickly clicked yes to, what greeted him was a spinning wheel that automatically began and continued for what seemed like forever to Oliver as he was beginning to lose his patience until it finally stopped with an answer to a question he hadn''t even thought of yet, high to fight at a range. (New skill acquired - Telekinesis B) "My luck is getting better and better" Oliver murmured to himself and with even more determination he quickly rose from his bed and began to leave when a man obstructed him, Oliver looked into the man''s eyes and began to feel a very intimidating aura and slowly took a back step, suddenly Franklin''s voice entered into his mind "Be very careful Oliver this man is way above your ability both now and even in the near future, do not aggravate him" Oliver was shocked and try to analyse the man infront of him but he was thrown out of concentration when the man''s voice slowly coiled around the room as his presence demanded attention "I saw you" Oliver''s heart began to shake, "what did this man see!". The mysterious man continued "You are clearly a very special and driven individual and it would be a mighty shame if your talents were to be wasted by this sub par establishment, I will see you again in the future if you prove yourself and will give you a propositiion, until then work hard Oliver" as the man was just finishing talking he began to fade into darkness while Oliver''s name lingered in the now frozen room. "Holy shit if that guy wanted to kill me he could of so easily, I need to get stronger and it has to be sooner rather than later" Oliver thought to himself and quickly marched his way to the training field once again, it didn''t go well as the previous bystanders of his run saw him and dragged him back to his bed were he was forcibly tied down so he''d take the day off and continue to rest, one by one they repeated the same thing to him "We''re only trying to help you".