POV Rio
When I got back home, I took a long, cold shower and tried to get what just happened out of my mind, as I didn't even know what to think about what just happened. Don't get me wrong, she's beautiful, but I never once thought of pursuing such a thing with her. At least not now. But thankfully, my many templates helped me deal with the confusing thoughts.
'What happens will happen.'
After my shower, I summoned the Genie and got to making my wishes. I figured it was best to make the wishes now rather than wait and possibly lose the lamp. That and the sooner the Genie could retire, the better. The Djinn had waited long enough. When the Genie appeared, he smirked at me.
"Girl troubles?" Genie asks.
"Please don't," I reply.
"Okay, okay, I won't. Now, I suppose it's time to grant your three wishes, yes?" Genie replies.
"Yep," I say
I pulled out the paper and read off the next wish.
"I wish for all Dimensions outside of the one I am currently in to cease to exist alongside everything inside of them, and they can never exist again, nor will this have any negative effects on the basic functioning of the greater multiverse. Magic users relying on Vishanti's power can use magic of the same level until they die, but no future mages can use said energy source. All magical artifacts from most powerful to least are placed in my inventory, with the exception of highly dangerous items to me, which will not be added," I wish.
BUZZZZ
"Nope, no can do. That last bit is too separate from the rest of the wishes, and I don't think you want to erase all dimensions, as that would kill a lot of innocent beings, such as Santa Claus," Genie says while crossing his arms.
A red X appears above his head as if we were on a game show.
"Wait, Santa! Oh god, no, no, no, I don't want to kill Santa, I couldn't live with myself. As for the magical artifacts that were just a bonus, I don't care if they are lost," I reply.
"I thought as much. If I were you, I would exclude pocket dimensions from the delete list. It would ensure Santa wouldn't be erased and would leave hardly anything bad around. Most of the bad guys don't use pocket dimensions. And those that do aren't a threat for a long time," Genie offers.
I add that, and we workshop the wish a bit more before finalizing the wish and having it granted. I lost all the potential artifacts, but that was okay since I would get similar items through the various templates or from exploring the multiverse.
"Okay, two wishes left," Genie says.
"Okay, I wish for a Dimensional Barrier over my universe and the greater multiverse I am currently in that prevents travel to and from my Universe unless you originate from there, except for me, who can bring others past the barrier. This barrier is both impenetrable and makes the Universes protected by it invisible, thus preventing invasions and the like," I wish.
"Now that's what I call a good wish! This can even deal with some of those enemies in those pocket dimensions. Brilliant, just brilliant! Now, just a few minor suggestions, and I do mean suggestions, these are just ideas that may or may not interest you," Genie says.
We discuss the barrier for a few hours with various ideas and restrictions, and I make sure that it will protect everyone I can, not just Earth, but all universes in this particular Multiverse. I was assured there was no way to bypass the barrier unless I willingly let someone in, and even then, nobody else can piggyback on that person.
"Well, that was it. Now, you have one last wish," Genie says with anticipation.
"I guess that means this is it. Thanks for your help. Your help will save a nearly incalculable number of people," I say with a deep, sincere bow.
"Aww, shucks, you know how to make a Genie feel special. And don't forget that it wasn't just my doing. I can't do anything unless someone uses my powers. And I will say that you are the first to use my powers for something so simply pure. You don't even gain anything from these wishes unless you count some super vague sense of security that the big players would ever come and mess with this universe, which, spoiler alert, never would have happened; they were all dead or regenerating from the last great Incursion. So don't sell yourself short," Genie says while punching my shoulder.
"Thanks, but it's time to say goodbye. Genie, I want to make my last wish. I wish for your freedom and for no one, and nothing to take your place," I say with a smile.
"YESSSSS! YOUR WISH IS GRANTED!" Genie says while swelling to a massive size.
Eventually, he shrinks and looks at me with packed bags.
"It's been a swell pleasure. And... Well, this is sort of breaking the rules, but here, take this," Genie says while tossing me a coin.
One side of the coin was the Genie's face, and the other was Robin Williams.
"What is it?" I ask.
"There will be an end-of-the-world situation. One where nothing you can do will stop it. When that happens. Bite the coin as if you were testing if it was real, and pull. The coin will shatter, and doomsday will be averted. Don't worry, you'll know when to use it as you will be furious when you learn of the stupid choice that leads to doomsday," Genies says with a smile.
He starts to evaporate.
"I... I don't know what to say. Thank you," I replied.
"Well, let's just say it's just a personal favor and nothing more. And if the Cosmic Police come and ask about it, you didn't see nothin'!" Genie says.
The Genie was almost all gone by this point, so I said goodbye.
"Remember! Reality's an illusion, the universe is a hologram, buy gold, bye!" Genie says before vanishing in a puff of smoke.
I chuckle at his last words and find that the lamp had disappeared with him.
'Well, I guess I should make some dinner.'
POV Shift Lara Croft
I looked down at Janet van Dyne, who was lying on my couch, and I wondered what the heck I was supposed to do with her. She didn't have any idea that I could find, and from the wish, she would be out cold for at least another 70 hours.
'I'll let Hillary deal with her.'
POV Shift The Ancient One
My eyes widen in panic as I awake in a cold sweat after feeling some grave change. I didn't know what had changed until I got an unexpected visitor.
"Allfather, what brings you here?" I ask.
"I came when I felt the shift in the multiverse. They're gone. The Celestials. They're all gone," Odin says with a worried tone.
It was something I had never heard Odin have before. Uncertainty, Fear, and Worry.
"Yes, and beyond them. I feel as if my connection to the Dark Dimension is gone, and I can't sense Vishanti," I say while casting some spells to confirm what I had felt.
"Have we been isolated from the multiverse?" Odin asks.
"No, I can still sense the other universes. But Hell, and any other major dimensions, are gone. Even the Quantum Realm has disappeared," I reply.
"What has happened?" Odin asks.
"I do not know. Has Heimdall not seen anything?" I ask.
"He wasn't looking at Midgard at the time. He was busy tracking some pirates that had entered Vanaheim and were attempting to plunder it. But do you believe it originated from Midgard?" Odin asks.
"It's possible. Earth is home to many dangerous individuals, as I'm sure you know, though I don't know of anyone or artifact that could do something like this. But I suppose we will see if this is a permanent or if this is just another multiversal crisis that will be reversed soon enough," I answer while finishing the tea I started brewing.
"Hmm, perhaps. But I have never seen something this drastic before. And surely you haven't either," Odin points out.
"Indeed, I have not seen something like this. Even the strangest futures I have seen haven't come close to this. Though it did see a certain someone being tested on Earth," I say while offering Odin some tea.
"Thank you. And you must mean Thor. Sigh. I do not care to know what you have seen. But I assume you brought it up for a reason," Odin comments while taking the teacup.
"A trade. I will let you do your test on Earth, and in exchange, I wish to hire the services of the Master Dwarves to forge something for me, and enough Uru for this creation," I offer.
"It depends on how much you want. And I can't guarantee the Dwarves will take on your request. But if you make it interesting enough, King Eitri will likely take on the task," Odin offers.
"I will require enough to forge a ring that can extend my life and work as a source of power for a sorcerer," I reply.
Odin's eyes widen.
"That... That's interesting enough. I dare say that only King Eitri will have the skills to even attempt such a difficult endeavor. You shall have your Uru assuming Thor's banishment comes to pass. But even if it doesn't, you have my blessing to use the Dwarves services," Odin responds.
"Thank you, Allfather," I reply.
"It is my pleasure, but I suppose I should get going. Asgard will require my attention in case someone should attempt to use this chaos to their advantage," Odin says while standing up and getting ready to leave.
"Farewell," I wave goodbye as he leaves.
As soon as he leaves, my calm smile falls into a frown, and I cast dozens more spells before stopping as I learn the truth about the main issue I didn't speak about. I put on the Eye of Agamotto for now to stabilize my condition and decided to start calling in favors.
'Dracula still owes two more tasks as per the contract. And Hippolyta still owes me for my assistance in creating Paradise Island. I'll need to start gathering the items now.'
I was confident that this massive upheaval of the normal order wasn't temporary, and I had to prepare Kamar Taj to deal with that. We could still use our powers, but there was no guarantee that would last. And there were still many mages, dark or otherwise, that could cause issues on Earth.
'I guess I'll have to talk with Ms Lavorre. She'll also have to pay her dues to stay on Earth instead of Limbo.'
The only other ally I could think of was the Ghost Rider, but he was somewhat hard to work with due to his severe hatred for all things sinful. And I had no interest in fighting him. Not with my time limit becoming apparent.
"So much to do and so little time to do it all," I say with a heavy sigh while I drink my tea.
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Author's Note:
Bonus chapter to celebrate 500 power stones during the lifetime of this novel. It's the fastest any story I wrote has gotten attention, so since so many used their power stones, I thought Wynaut? Or is it Wobbuffet? Anyway, thanks for the support, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Secondary author's note: As I figured, I should explain what the wishes actually change since some people misunderstand them.
The Infinity Stones still exist, Thanos still exists, Kamar Taj still exists, Ghost Rider still exists, Asgard still exists, Mutants still exist; Rio only removed some really high-level players that, depending on your viewpoint, are unkillable plot devices that, if you somehow defeat them, the universe will crap the bed or otherwise break.
While it is true that some powerful foes that Rio might have theoretically fought are now gone, such as Ego, that doesn't mean that Rio can now just sit back and relax because he is still not that strong and can still be killed by a bullet at this point. The wishes, if anything, make Rio's current universe into a sort of isolated pocket. Multiverse invasions and problems are genuinely not his problem anymore. Incursions, or rather invasions from outside the Marvel Multiverse, just can't happen anymore, which saved any number of people.
If anything, the wishes are more or less just a way for Rio to be less worried about such matters, and he can focus on his universe and his universe alone. And as the Genie spoiled, Rio never would have had to fight those really powerful beings anyway, so theoretically this doesn't change the plot whatsoever. Heck, the Quantum Realm has prevented the Hunger Virus from infecting anyone, so that alone should make it worth it.
If you don't like it, then you can super easily ignore the wishes, and you would likely never notice what they changed. But that's just my two cents on the matter. Until next time, Ciao.