Crossed Paths: Chapter 0

Generational Corruption

Author's Note - Hi there, everyone... This is the beginning of my brand new, and hopefully unique, mass crossover saga, Crossed Paths. There will be characters from all sorts of media here, from GLaDOS of Portal, to Spider-Man, to Sonic the Hedgehog, to even Vegeta of Dragonball Z. And for a bit of realism... Norman Jayden of Heavy Rain. But there are also a lot more characters, all being brought in for the purpose of initiating the plan of a dark-hearted apprentice, to defeat his master.

Let the games begin.

-

The night above the luminant city. The steady downfall of rain pitter-pattered against the buildings and cars like bullets on tin. It was raining everywhere.
A small group of people huddled together amongst the all-but-deserted streets. They gulped in the chill of the night air. The bitter wind brushed against them, whisping at their clothes.
"Keep on the look out." stated the man in front. He was wearing what seemed to be a damaged armoured suit, helmet and cape, with a bat insignia on his chest. Blood was trickling down his mouth. "We have to keep moving. If he attacks us again..."
"If he attacks again, there won't BE anything to keep moving." observed the man with the blade in the battered, dirtied crimson suit and loosened cravat. "As a 'hero' shouldn't you be showing us how you continuously avoid death, Mr. Wayne?"
"The best thing we would be able to do to keep ourselves alive is to... Stick to the shadows as it were, Mr. Edgeworth." replied Bruce Wayne, AKA the Batman. "But, of course, when you're up against an enemy who can see through buildings, it loses its protection purpose."
"Guys, please, not now. Not here." groaned an exhausted kid in blue clothing. The most striking thing about him would be his hair. It was black, in spikes, with a purple outline, with several blond strands straggling along his face. He seemed to be wearing a golden pyramid around his neck, along with a metallic bladed device on his arm. To the unaware eye, it would look like it was just for a card game of some sort. "He wants us to fight. It's how he managed to get the others... There were 7 of us before now."

There was a long pause between all of them. A silence that felt like it lasted several hours as they walked, when in reality, it had only been half of one.
The three eventually approached a spectacularly sinister looking shelter, one in particular which looked like it hadn't been used in decades. The door was rusted over, and the sign which specifically stated its purpose, had fallen.
"I guess... we could camp here for a bit?" wondered Yugi, tugging at the torn collar of his black shirt.
"Yes... this looks suitable. And safe." grunted Wayne, rapidly beginning to slice at the rust over the lock with the blades on his forearms. Much to their unified surprise, the door simply slid open.
"Intruiging... yet very suspicious. We should remain alert. At all times." observed Edgeworth, glaring at the interior of the shelter. "Yugi. What is the condition of the Pharaoh?"
Yugi's expression turned to that of concern almost as soon as Miles had begun that sentence. He looked at his puzzle. It was noticeably battered from their constant battles in the world. Yami himself had been injured, and had sealed himself inside the puzzle to recuperate.
"Not good... he's still getting better." he uttered quietly. The two of them had forged a bond during the years they had been together. Yugi felt like he had lost a part of his soul when Yami had to go into lockdown days ago.
Edgeworth gave a concerned, although it was more bordering on uncomfortable, look towards the duellist, coming to terms on his own problems. He was by far the least powerful person still standing. He was a prosecutor in his real world. And there was no way he could prosecute anything in this... Place.

They slowly walked into the shelter, paying attention to their surroundings. The lights flickered, sparks emitted from the ceiling. The shelter's interior looked battered and crippled. The walls were dented stained from the burns of a fire, structural binds had fallen, and the metallic floor was grated and dented. The only thing that seemed to be intact was the security monitor.
"Welcome to hell." snarked Wayne, as he took a seat on one of the intact chairs. Edgeworth and Yugi did the same. "Gentlemen... let us summarize our time here." began Wayne, his arms folded in a gesture of authority over his other two comrades. We've been here for almost three days in total. That is 63 hours judging by my clock. During that time, we have been subjected to several attacks some without let up. Our experiences with the Undine merely hours ago dictate that. We lost two people in that battle. Two more prior to that. And yet, we still don't know what we're doing here. How we were brought here."
"And most importantly, why were brought here." interrupted Edgeworth, his arms also folded in a gesture of authority over his other two comrades.
"Precisely." agreed Wayne, nodding his head.
"Let's not leave getting out off the priority list either. I mean, we have families, don't we?" interjected Yugi, trying to make his own point come across.
He was met with a very awkward silence as the two adults in the room cringed, almost in unison, before slowly looking at the floor.

Yugi grimaced, now regretting his statement. "I... I'm sorry..."
"It's fine." they both told him, in unison, with just a hint of emotion in their voices. For the first time since they got there, Yugi actually saw a bit more about the people he was grouped with. Both of them were stoic individuals.

That was why.

Moments passed in the shelter, as Miles found a box of emergency rations. It contained a box of a dozen protein bars, a dozen cans of taurine drinks, and a large sack of ready-prepared rice.
"Anyone feeling peckish?" asked Edgeworth, in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Moments turned in hours. The slow passing of time took its toll on the three, as they considered their plans of action. It was then, that things began to escalate. Physically. With a gentle knock at the door.

*Tap*

*Tap*

*Tap*

There was a stunned silence across the room. Bruce silently rose from his seat, taking a batarang into his hands, for security purposes. He guided the others to get behind him, as he headed for the security monitor. The ominous quiet tapping continued, slowly becoming louder. Then it stopped.
Wayne tapped a few keys at the control panel, and the monitor sparked back into life. The image then switched to something that startled even the Batman - a face, close up to the camera, smiling manically, sharpened teeth bared, crimson eyes glaring. Quickly, said face backed up, and the camera seemed to move forward before the image turned to static.

"Damn..." uttered Batman, cracking his knuckles. He turned to his comrades. "We've got a live one. Get ready."
Edgeworth and Yugi both stood up instantly, nodding. Edgeworth pulled out the holstered katana blade into his hands, holding it in preparation pose, while Yugi placed two trap cards face down into his duel disk.
There was a shunt from outside. The door was being pulled. The lock was already straining at the intense strength being used to pull it. It was to be used to withstand meteors. And yet it was starting to crack.
The three vigilantes readied themselves, beads of sweat rolling down the faces of all three.

Then, at last, without warning, the door... gently slid open. As if no strength at all needed to be used. And a black-haired, tall man in a brown waistcoat, black shirt and trousers, a white tie and a smile on his face slowly strode in.
"Don't come any closer. Identify yourself." stated Batman, calmly, yet as sternly as possible.
The newcomer's smile faded as he stopped. He noticed the two large holographic brown-backed cards hovering above the ground. Finally he opened his mouth to speak.

"Hmph... is that any way to behave to your... boss? My, my... I was just about to say how impressed I have been with your progress, Caped Crusader- wait, no. That's another you. In another timeline. You're... the Dark Knight. Yes. That's you." he smirked, pointing at Batman. "I must say, as the representative of the Superheroes, you've done extremely well. The Green Lantern went mad after 15 minutes, so kudos to you."
Ignoring the obvious confusion, Edgeworth slowly began to approach this extremely suspicious individual. "Tell me who you are, in the name of the law." stated Edgeworth, partly bluffing, and partly irritated.
The newcomer took a step back. "Ah, Miles Edgeworth. Representing the normal law-abiding, or shall I say, law-keeping human. You are also exceeding my expectations. I mean, I thought you'd be dead in the first fight with Chaos. And of course!" he turned to Yugi, who had remained behind. "The lost boy, far away from home. His supernatural friend unable to help him. How... deliciously unfortunate. Stuck using a children's card game to get himself through life, rather than tackle things head on. How... disappointing."

"You leave him out of this, and tell me who you are." grunted Batman, walking towards the individual, until they were almost literally face to face. "You have five seconds. Your name. Now."
"Intimidation will get you nowhere. You see, I'm like John Lennon. I'm a legend. I can see through all your tricks! I wonder how much Chris Nolan paid you to write his script!" replied the newcomer, almost rhythmically. Then, without warning, in one sudden, rapid movement, he lifted his right arm, knocking Batman into the air, down to the floor, painfully. He then straightened his tie, before noticing Edgeworth rushing at him, blade in hand. "Oh my, really?"
He quickly delivered a spinning kick, knocking Edgeworth into a wall, with such force and an impact that part of the wall even fell away with the prosecutor.

The sight of both adults being taken down was a shock to Yugi. Just how strong was this guy...?
"Hey! Why don't you pick one someone a lot taller than you, with a staff!" he shouted, placing a familiar card into his duel disk. "Dark Magician! I summon you!"

A holographic card appeared on the ground. It suddenly glowed a bright yellow, emitting to form a shape. The shape of a blue haired individual wearing elaborate purple robes, holding a staff appeared.

"Dark Magic Attack!" shouted Yugi, pointing at the newcomer.
The Dark Magician pointed his staff as energy began to rapidly charge into it. The newcomer smirked, as he leapt out of the way as it discharged. He leapt from wall to wall, in a sort of triangle jump, before eventually punching the duel monster, shattering it into smithereens.
"Bet your life points didn't like that one!" smiled the newcomer, clasping his hands together, before rushing and grabbing Yugi by his duel disk, snapping it from his arm, while throwing Yugi a considerable distance away. He hit the floor with a crack, panting and grimacing as he landed.
"Now, fellows... maybe we can talk now." he stated, gently putting the duel disk down.

"Your name... now!" exclaimed Batman, picking himself up, albeit grimacing from the hit.
"Honestly, you have an obsession with people's names..."
"Just tell him! No more of your smart alecky remarks!" shouted the injured Edgeworth, wiping the new blood from his forehead.
"Really... Fine. If you really must know, my name is... the one. The only. Dubsy." he grinned, walking into the centre of the room. "And I have a proposition for you all."
"We'll never accept it... you might as well go now." uttered Batman, standing up into his full height.

Suddenly, Dubsy stopped smiling. His demeanour seemingly changed within a few seconds. His eyes, instead of being filled with jokey anger, became that of unquestionable despair. "No... you don't understand. I... We have to do this." he stated, non-chalantly whipping a syringe out of his pocket, and extending the needle. It contained a jet-black substance.
"Don't you even dare..." uttered Bruce, glaring at Dubsy with sheer hate and contempt.
"Look... it's all well and good Playing with you. But please hear me out. Don't make me do this, as I honestly don't want to." he sighed, as he aimed the syringe at Batman.
"Don't play your 'I'm so innocent' games with me. I know every trick in the book." grunted Batman.
Dubsy closed his eyes. He grunted. "Then I'm sorry. But it's for your own good. And the good of this city."

He ejected a third of the substance into the air. It was black and sticky... Yet it was self-sustaining. It kept together. It was it's own entity. It began homing in on Batman. The Dark Knight quickly reacted, He leapt out of the way of the creature, but before he could move any further, the creature had caught him by the leg.
"No..." uttered Batman, as it began to spread across his leg, covering the armour, bonding with it.
Edgeworth looked up in horror, as his comrade was being seemingly covered in the skin-tight substance. It restricted Bruce's movements as he tried to claw it off, but only spread it further.
Dubsy watched on, frowning, before gradually looking away, as Batman, the once great hero, fell prey to his creature.

Dubsy turned around to the other two his slim figure hiding the agonising event that Bruce Wayne was going through. "I certainly hope you two will be more understanding. For your sake... and mine."

To be Continued