Day 1
I think I have lost my mind. Last night I went to bed, safe and comfortable in my home; and this morning I awoke in a strange world with two absurd looking men staring at me. They called themselves The Collector and Kang, respectively, and referred to me as “Summoner”. Telling me that I am in a place called the Battlerealm and that I must compete in something called The Contest. They warn that if I do not participate, I will never see home again. I’d like to believe that I have gone insane or that this is all a dream. If that is not the case, if I am really trapped here in this Battlerealm then my only chance to escape is to defeat the one who calls himself Kang. I don’t know what that will entail. In case I don’t survive this, I’m keeping this journal. It will either serve as a chronicle of my journey or, far more likely, it will serve as a warning for those who come after me.
Day 2
The Collector has oh so graciously agreed to train me in the ways of the Battlerealm. Apparently, I will need to assemble a squad of “Champions” to fight in my stead and at my direction. I’m relieved that I will not have to do the fighting myself as I am far from what you would call a “Champion”; but why would these individuals agree to be a part of all this. Have they too been brought here against their will? Is it the case that any progress I make towards my own freedom will come at the cost of another trapped soul? I must put such thoughts out of my mind if I am to survive in this place. But still, there is a nagging thought at the back of my mind: How do I know The Collector will keep his word?
Day 3
Two men called Iron Man and Spider-man have been assigned to me as my initial champions by The Collector. I don’t trust them. I fear they may be spying on me. Nonetheless, I moved forward with our exercises, learning everything I could about my new circumstances. As we were finishing, a large green monster appeared, I would have thought him a human being if I had not known better. But no human being has ever grown as large as this creature was, the green skin was also a giveaway. The Collector calls the beast: Hulk. He is to be my final exam. Without so much as a word or a nod of acknowledgment, he attacks Spider-man. Iron man shouts encouraging words while Spider-man leaps into action. This Hulk was fast, but the spider was faster. Dodging fists the size of a small automobile before using his webbing to incapacitate green behemoth. The fight appeared to please The Collector, who gleefully announced I was now ready to venture out my own. Tomorrow, I am being expelled from The Collector’s compound and into the wilds of the Battlerealm.
Day 6
It’s been three days since my party left the Collector and ventured out on our own. We have encountered enemies at every turn. Superpowered individuals blocking our every path, refusing to let us pass until we have bested them in combat. It is tedious, to say the least. And I still do not trust my companions.
Day 8
A new companion joined us today on our travels; Drax the Destroyer he calls himself. Him, I trust. The man (alien?) is incapable of duplicity. His anger and brutality leave room for nothing but complete honesty. I bore witness to this brutality when he slew a masked man identifying as Deadpool. The masked man stood between us and the next path on our quest. Drax struck him down without mercy, impervious to the mind games this Deadpool tried to play. He is a welcome addition to my small squad.
Day 10
Yesterday I learned of a place where our party could earn some extra gold. It is called The Arena. A gladiatorial pit that sets teams of three against each other in individual combat. Win two matches and you advance in the bracket. Lose two and you must begin again from a beginner’s ranking. I discussed this Arena with my party and found three volunteers: Star-Lord, Ultron, and Yellowjacket. This morning the team entered the arena, prepared to fight for the mass’s entertainment.
First to do battle was Star-Lord, facing off against his old foe Ronan. The battle was short with Star Lord’s element gun shocking Ronan into submission. The second battle when significantly longer, with Ultron unable to damage Colossus’ steely skin at first. It took a seemingly unending barrage of particle beams to finally bring the metal mutant down. Even with advancement already assured, Yellow Jacket offered no mercy. Shifting between sizes with practiced precision he managed to turn Thor’s own lightning against him, bringing the Son of Odin to his knees.
The crowd roared with each successive victory and my champions revealed in their victories. I collected our markers and cashed them in for a sizeable amount of coin. Even now I am smiling thinking of my gold-laden pockets. We will definitely be returning to the arena whenever our pockets start to feel light.
Day 11
I received a letter today informing me I had been awarded something called a Summoner’s Sigil. I am unclear on all the details, but it seems this sigil will provide extra resources and grants me access to something called the Black Iso Market. The resources are welcome, but yet again it feels as if I am being pulled further into The Collector’s game, whether I wish it or not.
Day 12
We received a new addition to our company today; Medusa, Queen of the Inhumans. I don’t know what Inhumans are, but it felt rude to ask. She said she was impressed by our performance in the Arena and wished to join our party. I’m never one to turn down an ally, so I agreed to take her with us. There was disagreement within the party over trustworthiness, and as a result, Iron Man and Spider-man are no longer traveling with me. I’m treating this as a double win. I never did trust those two. They had Battlerealm Narc written all over them.
Day 15
I learned something today and my world will never be the same. Or should I say worlds, because apparently the multiverse is real and the Battlerealm sits at the center of it. It’s true. I’m not mad. Or at least I don’t think I am. How do I know this? Because today my companion Star-Lord, who has been with me for nearly two weeks now, fought another Star-Lord, this one owing its allegiance to Kang. My Star-Lord won for what it’s worth. I can hardly be bothered with such trivialities now. There is a multiverse and an infinite number of each and every one of us. I was already possessed of too many questions. And now my mind is overcome with a concept too impossible to comprehend. I’m not sure of anything anymore.