Central City (Earth-6161650) Orphanage
"Sleepy Reed, wake up!''I heard a child's voice whispering in my ear a bit too enthusiastically. I squinted my eyes to see which child was trying to wake me (Yeah, he's in denial). It was the same kid with brown eyes and black hair from my dreams.
"Give me a minute, please, Joshua," I mumbled sleepily.
Joshua responded with a cheeky smile, "No! Aunt Margeret's coming!"
Wait, did I just say his name? Memories I didn't have before flashed through my mind—Aunt Margeret bathing me, playing games with Joshua, Anna, Dennis, and the other kids: memory, puzzles, Uno and so on.
I can't deny it anymore. It wasn't a dream. I'm really in the Marvel universe.
"Sigh. Fine, I'm up, Joshua." I pushed my blanket aside and climbed out of my bed. Just then, the door opened. Aunt Margeret stood there, smiling warmly.
"Does anyone need help changing?" she asked.
The children shouted eagerly, "Me!" "Me!" "Me!"
"Of course, I'll help you all," she said, patting their heads affectionately. "And you, Reed? Do you need help?"
I met her eyes, forced a smile, and said, "No, I'm big now!"
And there goes my dignity.
I couldn't let her see I could dress myself—she might suspect I'm a genius. But I also didn't want her help. What if she's Hydra? If Danzo Shimura could kidnap talented kids from orphanages under Hiruzen's nose, why wouldn't Hydra do the same? I had no one protecting me.
"Fufufu, really? Then go ahead. If you get stuck, I'll help," she teased, giving me a knowing smile, as if she expected me to fail.
I grabbed my clothes—blue jeans, white socks, and a plain white T-shirt—from my little closet. I tossed my Batman-themed pajamas onto the bed. First, I put on the socks. Then, I "accidentally" pulled the jeans on backward. With the T-shirt, I "struggled" to fit my head through the sleeve.
Aunt Margeret chuckled. "Fufufu, Reed, do you need help?"
"Nope! I can do it!"
Of course, after several "failed" attempts, all the other kids—already dressed with her help—watched me.
"Can you help me, please?" I put on my best pleading voice.
"Of course, honey. That's what I'm here for." She "rescued" me, guiding my head and arms into the shirt. "A piece of advice from an old lady, Reed—never be too proud to ask for help. It's okay not to know something. You learn from trial and error. Understood?"
I nodded. "Understood, Aunt Margeret!"
She patted my head. "You're a sweet child. Never change, Reed. Now go play with the others." Her smile almost made me feel guilty for faking. But I couldn't trust her yet—Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D., or worse might be lurking. Better safe than sorry.
I flashed my most convincing grin and ran downstairs.
The common area was packed with kids aged 3 to 6—drawing, playing, watching cartoons, or throwing tantrums (typical). Joshua waved me over to a Uno game with Anna, Dennis, and a red-haired girl with striking blue eyes named Brianne.
"Good morning, Reed! Let's play!" they cheered.
I joined, winning some rounds and "losing" others (not that I'd actually lose to four-year-olds).(Author: But he lost against them :D)
Breakfast was served in a grand hall—large enough for 200, with aristocratic decor. Whoever funds this orphanage must be loaded. We ate bread rolls with assorted spreads. Afterward, I slipped into the garden to think.
The sprawling lawn, dotted with trees, was full of kids playing soccer and baseball under caretakers' watch. I found a quiet spot under a tree to strategize.
I'm really in the Marvel universe. Unbelievable.
I should try to find out which universe I am in. I really hope I'm not in any dark universe, the Marvel Zombie universe, or any other fucked-up ones because then I know I'm truly fucked.
I shouldn't show anyone my genius intellect until I reach the age of majority because I can't trust the government. Can't trust any of the workers here until I can make sure they're no secret Nazi scum. I should also try to keep a low profile, or else it'll show that I'm not of this time because old habits die hard. I should also remind myself that I'm a four-year-old, so I shouldn't use complicated or future slang words.
I should try to learn and read as much as I can because the only weapon I'll have for now will be my mind. If I keep it sharp, I could conquer this universe because genius > powers.
If I'm able to, I should learn the mystic arts because, if I'm honest, I'm a bit scared of Dr. Doom. That guy will be my biggest obstacle in this world. Nobody will challenge me like he will. He'll force me to go over my limits in body and mind. It'd be great if we two were to become friends, but it may not be possible because every Dr. Doom hates Reed Richards, so I should create contingency plans early against him. Or it'll be my death. And magic will be a great power boost against him—and who wouldn't like to wield magic?
I should learn martial arts of every kind as fast as possible and train my body to perfect human condition because a wide arsenal of fighting capabilities would be great.
Money and more money. I need as much money as I can get. It shouldn't be that hard with this high intellect that I have.
What should I do about the Fantastic Four? Should I let everything stay as it is? Or should I get hit alone? Or only leave Ben Grimm out of the group? But the Fantastic Four are needed to fight off other beings outside in space. But I really don't want to deal with an enraged Thing because I'm lazy, and I could prevent him from turning into the Thing. Maybe I should find Alicia earlier so she could smother him. Her father is also the Puppet Master—another big reason to find her earlier so I can defeat him without any problems.
What should I do about Namor, "The Simp" Prince? Maybe I kill him? Or I could let him finally have Susan for himself if he doesn't fuck it up like he always does. But if he declares war—any type of war—against any country, I will pulverize him without mercy. I won't let him kill innocents just because some idiots in the U.S. government thought it was a brilliant idea to detonate atomic bombs in the ocean.
I will create an AI like JARVIS or F.R.I.D.A.Y. because they're so useful. But I'll keep my hands away from creating Ultron because that guy is too dangerous to create or keep alive.
"Ah, there you are, Reed! We were looking for you—it's time for lunch! What were you doing here?" Aunt Margeret's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
"Nothing, just watching clouds and the kids," I said, turning with a smile.
"If you say so." She helped me up, patting my head (again). "But you should change your clothes before lunch."
I almost forgot to ask, "Aunt Margeret, what day is today?"
She looked confused. "May 26th, 1978. Why do you ask?"
"Because I forgot," I said, feigning embarrassment.
She laughed. "You're such a cute child."
Worth it. Now I knew—this wasn't Earth-616. Reed was born in the 1930s there.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully: changing (with "help"), lunch, games, bedtime.
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Author here:
So, I think this will be the last chapter of him being 4 years old because I don't want to write kids anymore :D. Sue me!
Maybe there will be a major time skip. However, he won't skip classes and go to college at 15 like in the comics because, first, he has no money; second, he doesn't want to show off; and third, he doesn't have a stipend.
But be patient—after he turns 18, he will blow all the minds of the Marvel world, and nobody will be able to control him. He'll still meet Doom and Ben, but at 18 and as a freshman. For now, he's just accumulating as much knowledge as he can.
Maybe I'll time-skip until he's 15-16 years old? He could learn more clues about his world while still trying to identify where in the Marvel Universe he is :D. But he'll never know which universe he's in (Yeah, I'm that evil :D).
I might expand on his relationship with Aunt Margeret—don't worry, she isn't part of Hydra and isn't evil, just a nice old lady who loves her job. And yes, Howard Stark owns that orphanage.
Oh, and I almost forgot how racist America was against Black people at that time. I wanted to add a Black OC character and then thought, "Wait a minute, something's wrong—I can feel it" , yeah sry about that. xD
I hope you all liked this chapter!