This story is pretty much a crack crossover featuring a bunch of random stuff I like mixed together. People who enjoy Ace Attorney, Danganronpa, DC and Marvel comics, old Cartoon Network shows, Fallout, among other things should find stuff to like here, though I am making an effort to make it accessible to those unfamiliar. Theoretically anything fictional could show up, so who knows what else I'll add. This should just be the beginning, and hopefully it'll turn out to be as batshit insane in writing as it was in my head.
Edge of the Multiverse
No matter where he was, who he was dealing with, or what he was doing, Bruce Wayne liked to believe he had one rule he could always rely on. No killing. It had steered him true through many years of crime fighting, a foundation for the morality of the Batman. But, as he wiped the dried blood off a sharpened Batarang, he wondered how many times a rule could be broken before it ceased to be rule at all.
Times had changed. Ever since the multiverse collided, everything progressed to such a massive scale it was dizzying for even the most powerful to comprehend. So, when an inevitable war broke out between the forces of evil, the Council as their leaders were called, and the forces of good, known as the Alliance, said war was similarly mind bogglingly huge. Planets, solar systems, entire dimensions were razed to nothingness in the resulting battles, and death counts were higher than ever thought possible before the all-dimension merger. On this planet, designated S-899, fighting had mostly broken up into skirmishes of smaller groups rather than large scale organized warfare.
And so, here was Bruce Wayne, sitting in a dirty little hovel with 5 other people, having just broken his only rule for the umpteenth time in the name of the multiverse maybe, possibly, hopefully, finding peace once more. At least, that was what he told himself.
"Hey Batsy, we getting a move on soon? Those freakies are gonna be on us again if we don't." A voice broke the silence, a voice that, no matter the horrors it witnessed, still managed to keep its flirty and humorous tone. Johnny Bravo patted Bruce on his armored back in an almost apologetic manner, and flashed him a reassuring smile when he turned to look at him. Bruce couldn't help but chuckle warmly.
"As much as I don't want to admit it, you are correct Bravo. Round up the others."
And so, he did. Chiaki Nanami, a girl they found wandering alone days ago, wasn't hard to find, she was busy playing a portable game system that seemed to never lose its charge in the corner of the room.
"Whatcha playing there, little momma?" he asked to grab her attention. She gave him a warm smile as she looked up from her game for a brief second before going back to it.
"It's called Double Dragon II, a beat 'em up game developed by Technos Japan in 1988. The combat is actually fun and fluid for the time it was made and-," she kept rambling on as she played. Describing video games was one of the few means of getting her to speak for anything longer than a sentence at a time.
"Starring Billy and Jimmy Lee, yeah? I met them, when the troops were getting to ready for deployment. Jeez, that feels, like, forever ago doesn't it?" Johnny reminisced once she was done, rubbing the back of his long blonde mane in thought. Chiaki just shrugged as she kept on playing. Clearly, the idea of meeting her video game heroes in real life was a novelty already worn off.
"Well, ya need to get up little momma. Batsy is calling for us to leave soon," Chiaki nodded and stood up, still playing the game while doing so. The two went to find the other group members.
Samus Aran and Spike Spiegel were found by Johnny and Chiaki watching the bounty hunter show 'Big Shot' on a tablet screen a room over.
"Howdy amigos! All you billions of bounty hunters out there in the universe, how ya'll doin'?" an African American man in a cowboy hat spoke enthusiastically as a bouncy banjo tune played in the background.
"It's time for Big Shots, the show that tells all about fugitives!" a similarly Western themed, and scantily clad, woman exclaimed.
"Shucks howdy! On today's menu is the terrifying Izuru Kamukura! He escaped from Alliance custody on Planet S-899 just the other day. He's a tough nut to crack, maybe the toughest there is, but as a result the bounty is a whopping billion credits, dead or alive!" As the man spoke, a mugshot of the bounty in question appeared on the screen. His ridiculously long and dark frayed hair would make him stick out like a sore thumb no matter where he went, and his red eyes were striking, as if they were staring right into the souls of the bounty hunters watching. The two of them didn't seem to mind the sight, but Chiaki, for the first time since they entered the building, completely broke her attention from the screen in her hand and looked to the other one.
"Oh boy, a billion credits! Just imagine what one could do with all that moolah!" the woman waved a fan of dollar bills in front of her face.
"I know what I'd do! I'd buy a life time supply of Mococoa, the best cocoa arou-"
Spike shut off the screen as the cowboy began his spiel, and stood up while yawning. "A billion credits eh? Dead or alive too. I could use the money."
"Equal split between all of us, remember?" Samus made a point to remind him. Spike just scoffed.
"Yeah yeah, of course. You still don't trust me Aran? I've worked and split rewards with other bounty hunters before, believe me."
"I admit, I am more used to working alone."
"We're lucky most of the other guys don't care about the money, just don't mention this to-"
"Alive." Spike and Samus turned around at the voice, just noticing the duo behind them for the first time. Spike scratched his puffy hair and gave an apologetic smile in shame at being caught trying to hide the bounty reward.
"Eh heh. What was that you said Chiaki?" Spike asked
"Izuru. Can you please keep him alive when you find him? I'd appreciate it…." She trailed off at the end, but the unusual conviction in her voice was apparent to everyone. Spike hissed through his teeth as he turned away from eye contact with her.
"The guy is supposed to be incredibly dangerous Chiaki. I'd like to promise you, but I simply can't….sorry." Chiaki didn't say anything, she just looked at Spike for an uncomfortable amount of time before walking out of the room to Bruce's spot at a table. Samus gave Spike a disapproving look.
"What? You want me to lie to her and say I'll guarantee he survives? Why does she want him alive anyway?"
Samus just sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes, you have a point. And you are right, in the end. But you need to remember she is the youngest here. If it wasn't for us she'd probably be, at best, defenseless and, at worst, dead, and I know how it feels to lose everything. All I'm saying is, take it easy on her ok?"
Johnny and Spike shared a look, trying to figure out the history behind Samus' words, before Johnny wordlessly urged Spike to agree. "Yeah, sure Samus. She's a nice girl, and I don't want to be an ass or anything."
Satisfied, Johnny spoke up. "Alright, Batsy wants us to meet up and then move out. If we don't those freakies will be on us again lickety-split." He zoomed over to Samus' side. "And I'll escort you on over, pretty momma."
Samus just snorted and rolled her eyes. Same old Johnny. "It's a ten foot walk you dunce."
Regardless, she allowed him to escort her over in good humor, a sight that caused Bruce to smirk in amusement. It seemed that everyone was seated at the table, but there was one missing….
"Where's Logan?" The question seemed to surprise everyone.
"Now that you say it, I haven't seen the little guy since we got here," Spike piped up first. Bruce sighed. With his brooding, Chiaki's absentminded video game playing, Spike and Samus' search for more bounties, and Johnny's doing…whatever it is he does while alone, it seemed no one noticed a member of their group was missing the whole time.
"To be fair, that was a confusing little tussle we had. And Logan can handle himself just fine," while Bruce wasn't pleased with the situation, Samus made some good points. Logan's healing factor meant that almost any injury he received would heal quickly, not to mention the claws he held in his knuckles meant for a convenient weapon. However, any worrying would soon not matter.
"You guys looking for me?" and there was James 'Logan' Howlett, otherwise known as the Wolverine, standing at the open-door entrance to the building, his black and yellow colored armored variant costume covered in blood. None of it seemed to be his.
"The hell did you do Logan?" Bruce asked, barely shocked. Unlike him, his fellow costumed hero was seemingly not averse to killing in the least. He respected that on some level, especially in these times, but walking in a room covered in the blood of his enemies felt a little bit too far. Chiaki in particular did not seem happy with the sight.
"Those mutant assholes we were fighting? Don't think you'll need to worry about them anytime soon. I got a little angry, sorry to say," Logan kept his distance from the group as he looked around, taking the bloody armor off. The short, hairy, yet muscular man underneath slowly came to light as he did. "Any showers near here?"
"No, there isn't. But there should be a water source somewhere if we keep on moving," Bruce told him as Logan took off his cowl.
"Yeah I know. We gotta keep going, until we find your boyfriend," Logan replied gruffly, smirking as he did. Bruce's stoic face didn't move a muscle, over the years he knew Logan he became used to such remarks. The other members of the group looked on awkwardly, until Chiaki spoke up.
"Um, your boyfriend Mr. Wayne?" this caused everyone else to burst out laughing as she looked on in confusion.
"Sorry no one told you yet kid. I know you're a newcomer here, but we do have an ultimate objective besides wandering around trying to survive while capturing bounties." Logan answered, half naked and scrubbing blood off the armor with a rag.
"What is it?" she asked. At this, Bruce turned more serious, his armored cowl looking even more hardened than it did before.
"To find my friend, a major source of hope in our Alliance. We have reason to believe he's hidden on this planet, and with every bounty of Council associates collected we get a little closer to learning the truth. If we can free him from his imprisonment, the Alliance has a chance of victory. Our mission is to rescue Clark Kent, to save Superman."
Chiaki knew just who that was and why he was important, everyone did. She blinked. "Oh."
Apollo Justice was not fine, and he didn't think he ever would be again. He looked with his one good eye at the revolver held in his hand, moved his gaze over to the large golden bracelet on his wrist, before considering the distance. He saw nothing, just endless desert, an almost featureless plain that refused to provide answers to his questions. How did they get in this mess? His stomach growled. When was the last time they ate?
A poke on his shoulder. "Polly?" He turned his head to look his half-sister Trucy Wright in the face. As he did, he realized he didn't have room to complain. Fate had not been kind to her either. Her once neat brown hair was frazzled and unkempt, and the magician outfit that she loved so much was replaced with bland yet useful leather clothes, with only a sun-bleached top hat on her head remaining of the ensemble. Apollo himself wore a similar leather outfit, an old and rusty defense attorney badge on the lapel. His hair miraculously kept the 'horns' he was known for, though a lack a hair gel meant they weren't looking as neat as he liked. Still, that was the least of their problems. He was down an eye, wearing an eyepatch in its place. They were both skinnier than they should be, and covered in dirt and grime.
"What is it Truce?" he realized she was carrying a sack of some sort as he asked.
"I've got some food! I found it in my hat, just another appearing trick from the magical Trucy Wright!" she posed as she finished grandstanding before him. Apollo chuckled, but darkly realized the desperation behind her words. He didn't think anything could ever make her reveal her true feelings completely. Sure, she cried, and complained, and collapsed from exhaustion, but she kept to the magician act throughout it all and tried her hardest not to show weakness in front of him. Apollo wished dearly she would open up more, but that would have to wait. He didn't want to look ungrateful though, it was the only source of light in a dark time.
"Thanks so much, I'm fucking starving!" he immediately reached in, finding some stale bread which he quickly set to eating.
Trucy mocked a gasp. "Polly! You know how I feel about cursing!"
"Sorry!" Apollo looked ashamed for second before he continued devouring the bread. His mouth full, he asked, "Where did you really find this anyway?"
Trucy huffed. "A magician never reveal her secrets!... I found it in some random home in the town we passed the other day. As we just had some delicious roasted lizard, I figured to save it for later."
Apollo rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, delicious. I never knew what Datz saw in eating lizards, and I still don't."
They both shared a sad smile at the thought of someone they once knew, someone they assumed they would never see again. This was a reoccurring theme with the both of them, it seemed to Apollo. Oh well, no use in focusing too much on the past. To wash down the food and provide hydration, flasks of water were opened and drank from. To Apollo, they seemed to be getting too low for comfort. Putting on goggles and tying a bandana around his jaw to protect from the billowing sand, he motioned to Trucy.
"We need to keep moving and find some shelter, hopefully water. As usual, stay behind me," in more calm circumstances she would complain the she could take care of herself, but Trucy knew Apollo was much more capable than she in using that gun. She could use it alright, but Apollo was a trained soldier. So, she simply nodded and put on her own goggles and bandana.
The duo moved onward through the desert, rarely taking breaks, and soon it was dusk. There was no shelter or water to be found, and so they resigned to pitch their tent. A hole filled and drafty tent they were loath to use, but it was shelter nonetheless. Once this was done, they both sat inside.
"Polly, you wanna see a magic trick?"
"Always, Truce."
And so Trucy pulled out sticks from her hat, grabbed stones from behind Apollo's ears, and used the few, old cards she had left to ask 'Is this your card?" to any he picked. After every trick, he would laugh and applaud. Trucy remembered her days as a professional magician, performing to roaring crowds of hundreds, sometimes thousands. As she looked on her half-brother's amused and happy expressions, she mused that this was a much more fulfilling audience.
The next morning, they were both awakened by a roar. They quickly untangled themselves from the huddled together hugging pose they used while sleeping and exited the tent, looking around to find the source. Whatever was roaring, it would not be friendly. Apollo's gaze fell on a rapidly approaching form.
"Fuck."
It was a deathclaw, a giant 10-foot tall beast that wandered the desert, slaughtering all it came across. Its horned form looked like a demon sent straight from hell, and its predatory gaze was looking right at him.
"Trucy. Get back."
"Polly-"
"Get back. Now." Realizing this was not the time for argument, she did what she was told.
Apollo unholstered the revolver, and made sure it was loaded. It wouldn't do much, but maybe, just maybe, he had a chance. He raised the gun, aimed, his good eye focusing intensly on the target, and fired. The shot rang through the desert, hitting the deathclaw straight in the eye. It flinched and paused its approach, roaring in pain.
Apollo looked at Trucy.
"Run."
They both did, as fast as they possibly could. Lack of nourishment would catch up to them later, but pure adrenaline was running through their veins in the moment. The monster quickly recovered, and was faster than its appearance belied. So, this is how I die, Apollo thought to himself as he felt the beast gaining on them. Hopefully my corpse is chewy enough to give Trucy time to escape…
Apollo's borderline suicidal thoughts were cut short, though, as he heard another, different rumbling sound from behind, and soon after this the creature let out another roar of pain to add to the cacophony. Trucy and Apollo skidded to a stop and dared to look behind them, seeing the deathclaw clutching its head between its talons while it blazed on fire.
On fire? What the hell…
"Quick, get in!" The sight of the deathclaw on fire was so strange that he completely missed the sight of the van just feet away from it, a woman calling for them through the open back doors. Was that the source of the fire? This was no time for such questions, he knew. He felt a pull on his wrists, only to see it was Trucy leading him towards the van. Clearly, she came to her senses before he did. They were pulled into the back of the van, the doors closing behind them, and it quickly sped away from the burning deathclaw, much faster than Apollo expected a van to move. He leaned back on the closed doors panting heavily and sweating bullets, sliding his body against it until his rear hit the ground.
"Are you two alright?" it was the woman from before, who he now had a closer look at when she moved over to inspect him. She looked regal, her light blue hair made up in two major curls on either side of her face, and with wings right above them, partially covered by a headdress. It was the headdress and her attire in general that convinced Apollo she was regal looking, if they were not dirtied over what he assumed was a while spent on this dusty planet he imagined they would be very ornate and beautiful. He realized he was staring at her when her concerned expression turned confused, so he nodded that he was indeed alright.
Right next to the regal-looking woman was a very short looking creature, which was peeking from behind her right at him and Trucy. Apollo thought creature because the only part of it he could make out were two glowing yellow eyes, the rest was covered in clothes and a pointed hat that all looked a couple sizes too big for it. Sitting down behind this strange duo was an even stranger sight, a raccoon tinkering with some mechanical device and muttering to itself. It didn't seem to pay much attention to the two newcomers. On the other side of the back of the van were two dogs, one a brown German Shepard with black spots, and the other a small pink dog also with black spots which was a breed Apollo could not identify. Both eyed them but said nothing. Sitting in the front seats focusing on driving was a bald woman with a mechanical arm, and a bearded man who seemed to be a police officer.
Apollo took in all this sensory information about the strange group within seconds, and the regal-looking woman smiled sympathetically at his confounded expression.
"I suppose introductions are in order, huh?" she asked. He nodded, calming down as the adrenaline left his system.
"Well, my name is Melia Antiqua. Pleased to meet your acquaintance," she did a little curtsy with her dress, wobbling a bit as the truck hit a rock. "And this here," she said pointing the creature clutching the dress, "is Vivi. He's the one that sent that fire spell at the deathclaw. If there is anyone you should thank for saving your lives, it's him." Vivi just stared at the ground bashfully.
Before Apollo could get his thanks out, Trucy did it better than he ever could. "Thank you so much Vivi! You really saved our butts out there, didn't he Polly?" Apollo could only nod.
Noticing Vivi didn't enjoy the attention, Melia moved on. "This guy behind me is Rocket, he'll warm up to you I promise." The raccoon mumbled something Apollo couldn't make out, clearly not wanting to be disturbed, and Trucy wisely kept quiet.
"Those two," she pointed to the dogs, "are Scooby Doo and Courage. Scooby is the owner of this van, and Courage is a good friend of his." Scooby walked up to them with Courage on his back, both holding out a paw.
"Rice to reet you!" Apollo was dumbfounded, but Trucy took it in stride, shaking both their paws.
"Nice to meet you too! Nice van you got here."
"Rank you!" Courage wheezed out a laugh at his friend's speaking mannerisms.
"Thank you, if you didn't get that," the smaller dog mock whispered, Scooby growling in response.
Melia giggled and pointed to the two in the front driving. "The one at the wheel is Furiosa, she's a little focused on driving now so she'll say hi later. And next to her is Chief Jim Hopper." The man tilted the brim of his hat in acknowledgment before turning back around whispering to Furiosa about something. "And that's all of us. We saw you guys running and decided you needed help, which is why you are here. Now, may we know your names?"
Trucy grinned. "My name's Trucy Wright, magician extraordinaire! And this right here is my wonderful assistant and half-brother Apollo Justice! Gonna say anything Polly?"
Apollo realized he hadn't said a word the whole time. "Uh, it's nice to meet you all!"
I'll explain some stuff about the characters and references for those who don't know.
Batman/Bruce Wayne is someone anyone should know, a DC Comics character. He usually has a rule against killing, which he breaks in this universe. I'm basing him partially on his depiction in the Arkham games, partially on his depiction in the animated series and Justice League Unlimited.
Johnny Bravo is from the titular Cartoon Network show. In the show he always chases women and fails. In this story he has grown up and matured a bit, and is more self aware of how his shenanigans are perceived.
Chiaki Nanami is a character from Danganronpa, the Ultimate Gamer. She is a quiet yet heartfelt character. She mentions Double Dragon 2, which is a game she also references in the Danganronpa 3 anime. Izuru Kamukura is also from Danganronpa, and if you have played the games you know why Chiaki is interested in him.
Billy and Jimmy Lee are the protagonists of Double Dragon. If every fictional world were to become connected, it stands to reason some that are fictional in other fictional worlds would be included. This creates an interesting situation where people meet characters they play in video games or watch in movies.
Samus Aran is from Nintendo's Metroid series. She's a bounty hunter who tends to work alone.
Spike Spiegel and the Big Shots show are both from the anime Cowboy Bebop. Spike is a bounty hunter who is a bit on the laid back and snarky side
The announcers mention Mococoa, which is a brand from the movie the Truman Show.
Logan, aka the Wolverine, is a Marvel Comics characters who everyone should also know. This version is based more on his short and angry comics character than the Hugh Jackman version, but there will be elements of Hugh included.
Apollo Justice and Trucy Wright are both from the Ace Attorney series. The Datz they mention is also from the series, and he does have an animation where he eats lizards.
The deathclaw, as well as the mutants Logan mentions, places the location of the story in the Fallout universe. Why? I like post-apocalyptic locations, that's why!
Melia Antiqua is from the Wii RPG Xenoblade Chronicles.
Vivi is a black mage from another RPG, Final Fantasy 9.
Rocket is otherwise known as Rocket Raccoon, a Marvel Comics characters from the Guardians of the Galaxy. He's based mostly on the movie incarnation.
Scooby Doo is a mystery solving dog from the titular long running series, and the van his group is in is his Mystery Machine.
Courage is from another titularly named Cartoon Network show, a cowardly dog like Scooby.
Furiosa is from the movie Mad Max: Fury Road.
Jim Hopper is from the Netflix series Stranger Things.
As I said, pure crack, but I'm having fun with it. Thanks for reading!