I will be archiving these stories from this point on.
Cole vs Strange
Cole stood back as his army of Conduits did battle against the Avengers. The were impressive, but he was The Beast. He could wipe them out by raising his hand. The had powers but they weren't Conduits. It made sense, they had powers through other means. They were powered by technology and magic, Conduits were genetic. That means that the Ray Sphere Blast would undoubtedly kill them. It was unfortunate, Cole would have liked to have someone like Thor on his team, but it hardly mattered now. It had to be done if the plague was to be stopped. Just as he prepared to raise his fist and end this, someone shouted his name. "MacGrath!" Stephen yelled as he stepped through a portal. "I've come to bargain." Cole cocked his head. "With what? Some nice herbal tea? I'm here to stop the plague and the only way that happens is through me." Strange summoned a shield. "My offer is this. Leave or battle against the master of the mystic arts." Cole laughed and drew his amp. "Get that mystic bullshit outta here, I've already fought vampires. I think I can handle wizards."
Cole vs Thanos
Cole "The Beast" MacGrath leaned back into his makeshift throne, the ruins of New York burning around him. The Avengers had failed, the corpse of the Sorcerer Supreme lay cold under a pile of rubble. Humanity was dead and all that was left were the Conduits. Cole examined a glowing gemstone in his hands, a strange, alien power pulsing out of it. He had torn it from the head if the android vision and had begun examining it with curiosity. A portal opened in front of him and the Mad Titan stepped out. "And who the hell are you?" Cole asked, as he didn't recognize the stranger from his new civilization of Conduits. "A kindred spirit. You're not the only one cursed to do atrocities that no one else will for the sake of the greater whole." Thanos trailed off with a solemn look in his eyes. "You're not the only one whose had to sacrifice those closest to you to do so." Cole grunted and got up. "Great sentiment. Doesn't answer the question."
"I am Thanos. I have come to save the universe from itself. A world of finite resources with far to many people to sustain." Thanos gestured to the stone in Cole's hand. "Give me that stone and with a snap of my fingers I can save the world. Half the universe will die so the other half may live." Cole gave him a sideways look. "I just wiped out 90% of the population. You're going to kill half the people I gave left, possibly including me? Yeah, I don't think so." Thanos gave a tired sigh. "How disappointing. I assumed you of all people would understand." Before Cole could react, Thanos blasted him with a laser, reducing him to vapor. Thanos picked up the mind stone that dropped to the floor, placing it inside the gauntlet. As Thanos was nearly overwhelmed by the newfound power of the full infinity gauntlet, he failed to notice Cole pulling himself back together a short distance away. "You hit hard, big guy. But you should've led with something stronger. I'm not going to make the same mistake." The Titan locked eyes with The Beast. "I won't make the same mistake twice I assure you."
Cole and Thanos stood huffing and puffing over the destroyed battlefield that was once New York, Cole was still wincing in pain as his arm was slowly reforming. Thanos could barely stand, the radiation was eating away at him and with his bio-electricity drained, he was to weak to even as much as close his fist to rewind time. Thanos stumbled over backwards, landing on his back while Cole let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "You know, for as much as you talked up that fancy glove, it didn't seem to help you much." Cole mocked. "Have your laugh, I've already won." Thanos quickly gathered the last if his strength and closed his fist. However, his aim was not to rewind time. He knew Cole would simply blast him again and could likely keep going as long as he needed too. Instead, the mind stone began to glow. Cole could feel it's power digging into his skull, forcefully drilling its way through his mental barriers. There, he saw the Titan's life unfold. An ignored warning, an inevitable outcome, the swell of parental pride and the unending guilt and shame of having to severe it.
Likewise, Thanos saw Cole's life unfold before him. An ignored call to action, the inevitable consequences, the hard and impossible choices that needed to be made. He saw Cole fail to save Trish as his future self killed her, he saw the lengths he'd go to to prevent that from happening again. He saw Cole force himself to kill his last friend and abandon his last shred of humanity to make an impossible choice.
Two tyrants, dark lords of unspeakable power and body counts in the billions who sacrificed all they had to accomplish their idea of the "greater good." As the visions faded, Thanos asked a question.
"Tell me, MacGrath, did you succeed?" Cole rubbed his head and nodded solemnly at the question. "And it cost you everything. You're the only one who could understand." Cole walked over to his fallen enemy, deciding to ask one last question as his life slipped away. "You said you already won, what did you mean?" Thanos smilied. "I know the kind of man you are, MacGrath. When I'm gone, you'll take the Gauntlet and set out to conquer the stars. In doing so you'll kill trillions, subjugate thousands of civilizations. You're conquest will be the balancing force on the universe. Your armies will decimate all that I missed and you'll ultimately save the world from itself." Cole gave an understanding nodded and rose to claim his prize. Before he did, he gave one final comment. A last remark to a man who'd earned his respect. "I'm sorry about everything that happened to you." Thanos sleepily closed his eyes. "Don't be, thanks to you, I'll be able to see Gamora again. And you'll be there to watch the sun set on a grateful universe." And the Titan finally died, Cole removed the Gauntlet from his arm. As he put it on, he felt a godly power flow into him unlike any he'd felt before. The closest he'd felt before being when he became the Beast. As the surge stopped, Cole gazed at the stars, overlooking what soon be his new empire. He'd balance the universe and after that he'd stand at it's center.
Delsin vs Strange
Delsin woke up to the smell of smoke and fire, the remain of the Ray Sphere Blast still ringing in his ears. He forced himself to his feet, the ache and pains of newly gained powers lingering after every movement. "Welcome to the teamn kid." Cole said offhandidly. "Go talk to Kuo, she'll help you master your new powers. Then come and see me, we have work to do."
That was ten years ago. Back when The Beast was still just The Beast, and not the guy who beat Thanos and began conquering the universe. Back when most of space had never even heard the name Cole MacGrath. Know, he was all anyone ever talked about. And Delsin survived as his loyal enforcer throughout it all. He was there when The Beast's Army battled the Avengers, he still remembered how Vision had nearly dislocated his jaw at one point. He was there when Cole killed Thanos and took the Infinity Gauntet for himself. He was there for it all. And now, here we are. Just him, The Beast, and all the rest of his loyal followers standing at the center of the world. The last of the remaining Kree bowed in reverence and fear, Captain Marvel laying broke beneath MacGrath's boot.
He had won, the universe was his now. "So, is that it now? We just run this place?" Delsin asked, unsure of where they were supposed to go from here. Cole gestured for the Akomish to follow him as he and Kuo finished giving their grand speeches. "Not quiet yet." Cole admitted. As large heavy doors closed behind the three, Cole activated the Gauntlet. "We're not just going to settle for one universe, we're going to take them all." Kuo cut in. "Hold up, Cole. We only took over out universe because there was no other way to stop the plague, it was necessary."
"The plague still exists in other universes. It would be cruel not to give them a chance to survive." Cole responded, before zooming in on a single universe. "The Gauntlet doesn't work in universe's outside of it's own and I'd rather not have to fight Strange and Thanos from scratch again." Cole turned to Delsin. "That's where you come in." ~ Doctor Stephen Strange, the newly minted Sorcerer Supreme, stood alone in his chambers, still processing the burden that he had inheritied. It was his sworn duty to protect the Time Stone and the universe from all that may do it harm. Just weeks ago he was an arrogant, fame obsessed, neurosurgeon. Now he had the fate of the world on his back. He would only pray he was ready.
Just then, a video demon busted down his door, a young man armed with a chain firing lasers at him. Strange deflected the blasts with his sheild as his cape wrapped around the man and dragged him into the streets, throwing him through a window. "Ugh, cheep shot man!' Delsin yelled, annoyed. The cloak unwrapped itself and flew back to its master's aid. "You're fighting against the Sorcerer Supreme, leave now or face the full brunt of the Mystic Arts." Delsin just gave a cocky laugh. "Yeah? That's what I'm looking forward too."
All Might vs Evil Cole
People were screaming, humanity was dying, and the Symbol of Peace stood there crying.
There was a young boy in his arms, or more accurately the remains of one. A curly tuft of green hair remained as his only idenifiying feature. "Young Midoriya, please... no, no. No, not like this. You have so much ahead of you, my boy, you're the next Symbol of Peace. Please..." It was denial and he knew it, the body was mangled beyond repair. "Let him rest, he was going to die anyways." The Beast said, casually meandering towards the grieving Hero as his army massacred the rest of the world's Heroes. "You." All Might growled out before spinning around and punching him full force in the face.
If there was anything left of UA after the attack, it was well and truly gone now. Reduced to vapor with one mighty blow. Cole stood unyielding, the punch and the resulting blast were little more than a gust of wind to him. As the blast died down, he hadn't moved an inch. Cole smacked Yagi's arm aside before bringing him to his knees with an effortless zap. "That was rude." Cole chastised before march past him. "We have a lot of cities to go, so bury your loved ones and then come and find me. We have work to do."
"Why would I ever join you!" All Might said, trying to power through the pain echoing in his muscles. "Because it's the right thing to do. Even those with Quirks aren't necessarily immune to the plague yet, not until we force them to be. It's better than letting the world die."
"You would slaughter billions so a few thousand may live!"
"Some slaughtering billions so that those who can live will! I wouldn't be doing this if I had any other choice."
"You little-"
All Might turned towards The Beast to through another punch, but something held his arm back. Yagi turned his head to see All For One's expressionless mask staring back at him. All For One gave his new master a nod, and Cole turned and walked away, content to have him handle this.
"You won't stop me, you murdering-"
"I'm not trying to."
Yagi stopped his rant.
"What? What are you planning, villain?"
All For One let him go, gesturing for him to follow.
"I'll tell you when we're alone." ~ "You have a plan to stop The Beast?" All Might asked in disbelief. "Yes and no." All For One admitted. He held his hand out in front of him, black lightning cackling across his skin. "I have many powers that can be considered unnatura, even by the nature of quirks, but this is something else entirely. I have a quirk that can rewrite history, in a certain manner of speaking."
All Might furrowed his brow. "Like a cover-up. How does that help us?" "Suprisingly, I can't tell you if you don't let me finish." All Might was about to cut in and say that All For One had pause for a solid fice seconds before he spoke up, but figured it wasn't worth it. "I have the ability to send one's consciousness into the past. Their mind is sent backwards into their body at the chosen point in time. Their actions in the past will erase the current timeline and replace it."
All Might was taken aback by this worldshattering information. "Is this how you've managed to stay on top for so long?"
All For One chuckled confidently. "Indeed. The quirk can only be used on other people though and only the person sent back could remember the past timeline. I managed to use it in conjunction with a duplication quirk to undo any of my defeats." His grin soon transformed into a snarl.
"Unfortunately, I've sense lost my duplication quirk thanks to a certain someone smashing my head in."
"Which is why you never used it to recover from your injuries. This explains how petty you are, I'm the only one whose ever put a last mark on you."
"Do not test your luck, Hero, lest I even out your injury on the other side of your torso."
All Might leaned back, analyzing his nemesis. "And you're thinking of sending me back? Why? You have minions."
A devious smile formed under All For One's mask. "As much as I relish the thought of having my heir disintegrating that wretch, it's not that simple. There's a limit to how far back I can send someone, even at the furthest point I can reach, the only ones strong enough to destroy him would be you and me at our peaks." All For One held out his hand. "Don't take me for a fool, All Might, I know what you're afraid to ask. I am well aware of the damage you can do to my career with your future knowledge. But, at this point, I don't care. You're not the only one who has lost a family to that monster."
All For One pressed his palm against All Might's face before he could react. "Do me a favor and die alongside him. It would spare me a lot of trouble." And with that, Yagi was gone. As the timeline already began to disappear around him, All For One pulled a picture out of his his breast pocket. It was a photo of Young Izuku, holding an All Might action figure over his head. "Goodbye, my son." Hisashi said as his world faded away. ~ All Might had one scene in his mind as he marched towards the Demon of Empire City. One painful memory.
Is it possible to become a hero even if I don't have a quirk? I'm a normal kid without any powers. Could I ever hope to be someone like you?
It was that memory that gave him strength. The strength to end this before it began.
Cole vs Scarlet Bae
Tony hummed peacefully to himself as he tidied up his workbench, trying to unwind and take his mind off of the large battle he'd just come back from. "After Ultron, I think I'm ready to just take a nice long nap." Tony grumbled to himself. "Unfortunately, Mr. Stark, that's nit gonna happen. There's a bigger threat that the Avengers need to deal with." Doctor Strange said as he appeared out of a portal. Tony starred blankly at the sudden wizard before snarking. "First, who are you? Second, why are you here? And third, is this going to cut into my hot tub time?"
"Doctor Strange, our universe is in danger, and yes." Tony sighed again. "I'll call everyone in." ~ "So, we're being invaded from another universe by a guy calling himself The Beast?" Tony asked. "His real name is Cole MacGrath. His enforcer, Delsin Rowe, tried to assassinate me. I interrogated him about who he was working for."
"Cole MacGrath. I've heard that name before." Captain America chimed in. "I saw it in the news. Supposedly, he's the guy responsible for the bombing in Empire City." Tony furrowed his brow. "So he's already invading?"
"Not quite. My attacker claims that he's from a parallel universe that Cole already conquered. Likely, it's just that our universes Cole has just begun his rise to power." Strange added. "Then we have no time to prepare against two people who have already proven themselves caoable of killing the Avengers." Tony summed up. "How do we know that Cole's that strong already? If the Cole from our world just got started then he might not be strong enough to fight us yet." Said Black Widow. "I'll go." Scarlet Witch volunteered. "I'm currently one of the strongest Avengers we have. I can go defeat our world's Cole while you prepare to fight their world's Cole."
"It's wisest to strike down the Beast of our workd before dealing with the Beast of another. I'm in." Strange seconded. All heads around the table nodded in agreement. ~ Cole looked over the city he now protected, the weight of nigh endless responsibility weighing on his shoulders. This gift was a burden, a cross he must bear. He knew now that he must use his power in service to others, to protect the innocent. He only hoped he was ready. Suddenly, a car surrounded by red energy was flung towards him. Cole jumped off the roof and landed on the street turning to face his opponent. "Cole MacGrath, you are under arrest for terrorism and murder." The new Avenger declared. "Listen, lady, that wasn't m-" Cole was cut off by another car flying towards him, which he deflected. Cole sighed. "Alright, guess we're doing this then."
