Content Warning: This chapter depicts the action of Suicide.
SD is Sokovian Dollars
I do not own Marvel or its characters.
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(3rd Person POV)
Maximilian König was born to Latverian immigrant Valeria Ivanov and Sokovian citizen Felix König.
They had both fallen in love at 'first sight'.
Both of them rushed into marriage and desperately wanted a child, and Maximilian König was born on June 16th, 1989.
Felix König was a revolutionary, often going out and protesting against the Sokovian government, even joining a revolutionary group where they spoke out openly. He fought alongside his brother Armin.
He never made money from it.
Valeria Ivanov owned a small bakery, one of the very few in Novi Grad, and it was as successful as a bakery could be in the middle of terror.
Maximilian König was a bright child, not as smart as Tony Stark or Victor Von Doom, but smarter than most kids his age.
He was at the top of his class in every grade, even skipping first grade entirely.
When Max turned 6, tragedy struck the König household: Felix's brother Armin had died in a shootout between him and the Sokovian Military.
It made Felix go full revolutionary; he got bolder, recruited more and more people to help, to overthrow the Sokovian government once and for all.
But the more influence he gained, the more time Felix spent away from his family.
It was during this time that young Max had found his first taste of heroism. He had found a Captain America comic book in the dumpster he had been cleaning for spare cash.
And as he saw the bright colors, the shield and the stance Captain America took for justice and freedom, Max, for the first time in his life…was inspired.
He collected anything he could, comic books, burned action figures, and he even made a homemade Captain America shield with a trash lid.
He was a fanboy.
(Max's POV - 1999)
"Hey, kid! Get back here!"
I ran as if my life depended on it, the smell of sulfur in my nose as I clutched a fairly ripped Captain America comic book in my hands.
I ran into the crowded streets, trying to lose the old man chasing me.
Grinning to myself as I looked at the comic book I…borrowed from the man 'Issue 45! The final one! Just what I need to finish my collection!'
I panted as I reached my house. I smiled to myself as I entered the house, "Mama! I'm home!"
"I'm in the kitchen, honey!" A warm and melodic voice called out.
Grinning, I ran into the kitchen. "Mom! Mom! I found the final issue!" I hopped in front of her, trying to show the comic
Mom laughed softly, patting my head with a smile, "Did you now? Well, that is great. Go put it in your room and change your clothes; you're filthy."
Smiling brightly, I ran up to my room and opened the door.
My room was bright blue, with Captain America memorabilia everywhere, and the circular rug had been repainted to resemble Captain America's shield. My painted trash lid (which will always be a Captain America shield, no matter how hard Dad tried to convince me it wasn't) was leaning against the wall.
A flimsy shelf was in the corner of the room, filled with comic books, broken action figures, and newspapers of Captain America. I set down Issue 45 onto the stack of comic books.
Suddenly, I heard the front door open and Mom gasping. I ran outside, skidding and tripping in front of someone.
Big arms caught me right before I could hit the ground. "Hey, kiddo."
I gasped with delight as I looked up, "Dad!?"
Dad grinned and poked my nose. "The one and only!"
I laughed, "Stop!"
He let me go, "Be careful, Max. Tie your shoes."
I scoffed, "I'm not a kid anymore, Dad! I'm 10 now!"
"Oh, so you're a baby still?"
"That is not what I said!"
Mom suddenly cleared her throat with a smile and hugged Dad. When they kissed, I gagged at it, "Get a room."
"Aww, don't worry, honey, he just doesn't know what true love is!" Dad said with a grin
My Mom giggled, "Max, when you're older, you'll be doing this too."
"Yea no way! I'd never! Superheroes don't have time for dating!"
Mom laughed it off, and Dad simply smiled.
It was good times.
(Two Months later)
I panted as I ran, my boots splashing puddles and mud, dirtying my boots.
I was clutching a semi-melted action figure of Captain America in my hands, something I had found in a dumpster.
I opened the door to my apartment with a smile, "Mama! I'm home!"
I saw my Mom, holding a letter with tears running down her face, and she looked up at me with an emotion I didn't know.
"Honey, sit down, I have news to tell you," She had said softly, quietly sitting me down at the table.
I felt a churning in my stomach as I looked at her eyes. "What is it, Mom?"
"Your dad... oh god," She wiped her tears and put on a quivering smile. "Your dad's not coming home, sweetie."
"Oh…is that it, Mom? It's ok! He can come tomorrow!"
"No, no honey, Dad is never coming back again…he is in a better place now."
I blinked in confusion and felt a wetness come up to my eyes. Why was I crying? "W-what do you mean mama?"
She just hugged me tightly.
(Six Months Later)
Mom had been getting worse and worse; she barely talked anymore, just cooked and slept.
It had made me worry.
So I had begun doing odd jobs around town, mowing lawns, babysitting, etc., for SDs
I had saved up enough to buy a small cake for her birthday. I was excited, surely Mom would be happy! Maybe she'd even talk!
As I walked into the house carefully with the cake in hand, I yelled out, "Mama! I'm home, and I have something!"
Hearing no response as usual, and not seeing her, I assumed she was asleep. So I quietly lit up some candles and put them on the cake.
I was careful not to drop it as I walked to Mom's room. And I opened the door…and immediately dropped the cake.
I stared up with wide eyes, and a shadow illuminated the room of a limp woman.
My hands shook, my pupils dilated as I stared at the body of my mother.
(3rd Person POV)
There is a quote in modern Sokovia, used by revolutionaries: "If you live in Sokovia, soon you won't live at all."
It was a sad fact that this quote had truth to it.
After the unfortunate deaths of Max's mother and father, Max was left on the street. He would do odd jobs wherever he went…and was soon taken in by a revolutionary named Josef Novák.
Josef ran a revolutionary group named "Pure." A group dedicated to making Sokovia pure of its tyrannical and corrupted state.
He trained Max in MMA, how to reload and shoot a gun, and Max followed along.
He wanted to be a symbol of Hope for Sokovia; he wanted to fix the country that took his parents away.
He wanted to be the Captain America for Sokovia.
So he trained every day, fixed his posture when Josef told him, and learned how to handle a gun, as Josef told him.
Josef became his mentor.
But Max was only 14, and Josef had not trusted him to do a mission, much less do one alone. No matter how much training he had.
Until Josef had solid proof that Max was strong enough not to get hurt, would he allow Max to do missions with him.
So Max took a risk, and he went to a biochemist who worked for PURE, a mutant who went by the name of Marco Romanno.
His X-Gene had made him 2.8x smarter than the average human, but repressed his emotions. He was a secret of PURE, one of their many aces.
Max had approached him with one request: to recreate the Super Soldier Serum.
Marco had agreed.
(Max's POV - 2003)
It had been about two months since I had asked Marco to recreate the Super Soldier Serum, in which we had named the project the "Liberation Initiative."
He had warned me of the costs, to tell Josef about it, if I take the serum, I might not survive.
I felt guilty. Josef had taken care of me ever since I lost my mother, without asking for anything in return.
But…
He wouldn't get it. If he knew I was taking the serum, he would forbid me from doing so, "It is too dangerous," he would shout and make Marco stop the project.
I needed to take it; the serum would be our only chance at going through with the revolution.
He wouldn't want to risk anyone in the project; taking the serum was too risky for anyone.
But I didn't care, I wanted to save people, I wanted to make Sokovia a normal place where children wouldn't have to worry about another bombing or casualty.
'Like Captain America'
I walk into the lab as Marco had called me.
Marco had lime-green skin and long black hair tied into a ponytail; he had a bigger head than a human, and curved horns coming from his forehead.
His eyes were all black like an alien, and to people, he would have already been called a "Demon" due to mutant discrimination.
He was dressed in a lab coat and wore a passive face as he turned to me. "Max, good you are here."
The lab had changed. A giant clanky…machine stood in the middle of it, hooked up to other machines.
"Is this…?" I question.
"Not the real one, a mere working replica we are using for you."
"So you-"
"Yes, I have recreated the Super Soldier Serum."
I looked at him in awe. I really couldn't grasp Marco's intellect; he completed what took multiple countries decades to do in only two months.
"Get into the chamber, we need to do this now, just in case."
I nodded, took off my shirt, and got into the chamber.
"Fair warning, Max, this will hurt like hell. You are only 14, not fully grown; there is a high risk of death."
"I am fine with that…cause even if it is a small percentage, there is a way I can save Sokovia."
Marco nodded and closed the chamber.
It was quiet in absolute darkness for a few seconds before "Injecting serum in 5…"
I gulped and steadied myself. I needed to do this.
"4…"
I can be a symbol of hope, make sure all the Sokovian kids out there won't suffer losses as I did.
"3…"
I know I didn't have it all that bad; in Sokovia, I would be considered lucky.
"2…"
But I didn't want myself to be the standard; I wanted to set a new one, where it wasn't normal to lose your parents before the age of 7.
"1…"
I wanted…to give Sokovia liberation.
"Beginning process"
The chamber glowed, and I was filled with overwhelming pain, so much pain that it made me scream.
It was like a thousand bullets shredding into my skin, then being dumped in acid as I slowly burn to death.
This pain lasted an entire minute, an agonizing, unbearably slow minute.
Till the world was filled with light.
(Marco's POV - 2003)
Josef was going to kill me, well, if I wasn't already dead.
The test had gone sideways, I hadn't built the vita-ray chamber correctly, and I had probably missed a step.
God dammit, Josef was going to kill me!
Cause currently the vita-ray chamber was on fire, and I was experiencing a rare case of panic, my X-Gene was working overtime to make me think logically.
I tried to put out the fire, tried to open the chamber than remembered that would do more harm than good.
I could tell it was about to explode, and the only thought going through my head…was 'Shit.'
BOOM
(Max's POV - 2003)
I awoke to total darkness, moving my hands up and sliding the door away easily. I never had that type of strength before.
I sat up, climbing out of the chamber and almost immediately falling. I caught myself on a nearby table.
I looked around the room. It was dark, and some parts were charred. I realized what had happened, the chamber exploded…so how was I alive?
I looked down and marvelled at what I saw: new layers of dense muscles on my chest. I was sweaty and exhausted, but filled with joy; the Serum had worked.
I looked around, looking for Marco, stumbling as I got used to my new muscles. Marco was on the ground, his head lolled to the side.
I rushed over to check his pulse and sighed in relief when I felt one, albeit a little weak.
I was about to pick him up, until I got an interruption.
A blue screen floated in front of me
[Initializing Connection…]
[Connected]
[Hello host]