I've been thinking, in Avengers: Endgame, they create all those branch timelines and one of them is the 2014 one in which they steal the Power & Soul stones (before Steve returns them). However, the Thanos that the Avengers fought at the end was the Thanos from this branch 2014, meaning that this universe no longer has a Thanos, a Nebula, or a Gamora.
Thanos and all of his forces have been removed from this universe. That should be great right? But in removing Thanos, this universe may have been doomed to a fate worse than Thanos -- Ego.
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we know that Ego had a plan to kill not half the universe, but everyone, save himself and Star-Lord. Now obviously, his Expansion plan wouldn't have affected people in space ships, and he only had extensions on thousands of planets, but a ton of individuals still would have died in his first wave of expansion if it had been successful.
In the original universe, Ego was stopped by the Guardians. but in this alternate 2014, the events that led to the Guardians forming has been disrupted.
As we all know in the original universe, Baby Groot was small enough to plant charges next to Ego's brain, and those charges were powered by batteries Rocket stole from the Sovereign. But they only went to the Sovereign because they got word that Nebula had been apprehended there and Gamora wanted to be the one to turn her in for the bounty.
Obviously, now there's no Gamora or Nebula. Assuming Cap does return the Orb, Star-Lord has still been delayed in his mission. We know Korath was right behind him, so if Quill stays knocked out for a little bit longer, then Korath might be the one to steal the Orb. If that happens, assuming Korath doesn't kill him, Star-Lord (and Berit) are found on Morag by Yondu, who doesn't put a bounty on his head. Star-Lord never goes to Xandar the day Rocket & Groot are there, and there is no skirmish landing them in prison with Drax. Korath would take the Orb to Ronan, who would no longer have to kowtow to Thanos, meaning Ronan would put the Orb in his staff, like he did, and invade Xandar that much earlier. Only this time, the Nova Corps would be caught off guard by his arrival, and they'd have to face him without help from the Ravagers and Guardians. Ronan would probably be successful in destroying Xandar, since Star-Lord wouldn't be there to distract him and destroy him with the Power Stone.
Of course, Star-Lord's use of the Power Stone was what drew Ego to him in the first place, so if he doesn't use the Power Stone, then Ego might not find him that quickly. It may be decades before Ego runs into him, if he does at all. The universe may be safe for a while yet!
But if Ego does meet Star-Lord, then the universe is in grave danger. Now granted, Gamora was the one who initially encouraged Star-Lord to trust Ego, so without Gamora, he might not take to Ego so quickly. But if Star-Lord finds himself on the run from Yondu, or the law, or both, and he runs into Ego then, and Ego presents himself as his long-lost father who can get rid of all the A-holes chasing him and make him safe forever - then Star Lord might just be willing to join him. We know that Ego had Star-Lord all but indoctrinated until he let slip that he killed Meridith. But even after Star-Lord turned against Ego, he was still no match for him and Ego simply used him as a battery, a process which only stopped when Yondu crashed right into Ego's avatar (and Yondu was only there because Rocket told him the other Guardians had gone to Ego). Yondu was also the one who told Star-Lord he used his heart to power the arrow, thus insinuating that Star-Lord could control his own power by using his heart, rather than only his mind, which he does.
But without Yondu's guidance, Rocket's stolen bombs, or Baby Groot's ability to place the bombs this universe may be in for a much darker fate than even the main universe experienced.
But what do you think? How do you think events would have played out in this new Thanos-less 2014?