The four of them—Aurora, Miles, Silvanna, and Peter—ducked into a quiet corner of the Avengers compound after Tony Stark reluctantly allowed them inside. Aurora, still dazzled by the gleaming halls and the sheer scale of the MCU Avengers headquarters, stopped in front of a massive framed display.
It showed a photo of a team assembled in grim formation: Yelena Belova, arms crossed and eyes cold; Bucky Barnes, solemn but steady; Red Guardian, bulkier than the others, smirking slightly; the elusive Ghost, half-fading; and U.S. Agent, standing stiffly with military precision.
At the bottom of the display, one word gleamed in bold silver letters: Thunderbolts.
Aurora tilted her head. "Wait… are these the new Avengers?"
Peter shook his head quickly, his expression tightening. "Not exactly. That's the Thunderbolts. They're… a government-backed squad. Kind of like the Avengers, but dirtier work. Not really heroes in the way you'd think."
Miles raised a brow. "Thunderbolts? Dude, where we come from, that name's… different."
Silvanna stepped closer, her eyes narrowing at the unfamiliar faces. "This… isn't right." She turned back to the others, her voice quiet but firm. "The Thunderbolts I know aren't these people. Where I come from, the Thunderbolts are Songbird, Moonstone, Goliath, Techno, and Beetle."
Peter blinked, baffled. "Those names don't ring a bell. Never heard of them."
Aurora frowned. "So… in your world, they're totally different? Same team name, but not the same people?"
Silvanna nodded, almost to herself. "Different people, different choices, different paths. But still the same title. Like… echoes of each other."
There was a strange silence in the room for a moment, as if the universe itself weighed heavy with the implications.
Miles rubbed the back of his neck. "Man, the multiverse is confusing."
Peter crossed his arms, still cautious but slightly less hostile now. "Confusing's one word for it. Dangerous is another. And if you guys are saying your Thunderbolts exist but with different members… that means someone's playing around with the multiverse way more than we realized."
Aurora glanced at Silvanna, her mind racing. "If the Thunderbolts are different here… then who else might be different?"
Silvanna didn't answer. She just kept staring at the picture, her jaw tightening, her thoughts pulled to Songbird, Moonstone, and the others she had fought beside in her world.
Silvanna finally turned away from the framed photo, her expression tight with unease. Her voice cut through the heavy silence.
"Peter," she said firmly. "What about the X-Men? Do you know where they are in this world?"
Peter's brow furrowed. "X-Men?"
Aurora leaned forward. "Yeah, mutants. Professor Xavier, Cyclops, Jean Grey… any of them?"
Peter shook his head slowly, looking genuinely confused. "Never heard of them. Mutants? Xavier? No. I mean, we've got enhanced people, gods, soldiers, aliens… but there's no such thing as X-Men here. They don't exist in this universe."
The words hit like a blow. Aurora felt her chest tighten, remembering the training she had with the X-Men in the other world. Miles glanced at her, concern flickering across his face.
Silvanna's hands curled into fists, her voice trembling with disbelief. "That's… impossible. I've fought alongside them. Professor Xavier, the X-Men—they're real. They've always been real."
Peter gave her a cautious look. "Maybe where you're from. But here? No X-Men, no mutants. If they existed, trust me, people would know."
Aurora looked between Silvanna and Peter, her stomach knotting. "So this universe… is missing whole pieces of history? Entire people? Families?"
Silvanna closed her eyes for a moment, steadying herself. "If the X-Men don't exist here… then something is deeply wrong. And I need to know why."
Peter's gaze hardened. "Then you're dealing with something way bigger than missing Spider-Men."