Hello everyone! Welcome to a tale of spin offs from my United World Universe. For those of you that haven't read the original story, that is United World and Spanning Dimensions (which is still a work in progress and yes I know I really should be updating it) I highly encourage you to read them before continuing on with this story, but, if you just want to read the spin offs, go ahead, I have faith in your ability to catch up and understand the main points of the universe. I started this series of spinoffs because there is so much content that I wanted to add into the universe, but some of it doesn't exactly line up with the story events, such as the founding of the Nordic Five, Saga's adventures (which you'll learn about in this chapter) and other little drabbles on side characters or main. Anyway I don't own Hetalia or Avengers but I do hope you'll enjoy all the same! And don't be afraid to review, favor or follow!
Before I get started though, I must say that I fell in love with Saga the moment I started to write about them. They'll be the focus of this first chapter, so I really hope you like them as much as I do since they'll crop up in spin offs later on in this story. With that, let the reading commence!
Chapter One
Saga Takes the Stage
"Parents are the bones on which children sharpen their teeth."
"Have you told Aunt Chun-Yan and Uncle Ivan yet?" "You've got to be kidding me, Leha! If I told mom and dad I had powers they'd flip. The last thing the want me to do is become a hero, they won't even talk to me about their United World days." "I guess your right. Last I heard, no one else has even thought about talking to their parents yet. But it's only a matter of time before they figure out that we're part of the Saga."
Sai-Yu sighed deeply, falling flat on her back onto her bed. Ever since she and the others had formed Saga, hiding their powers from their parents had become difficult. Leha insisted that, as the leader of Saga, Sai-Yu should set an example for the others by telling her parents first. "I'll talk to them about it later Leha. For now, make sure the others are ready to meet tonight," Sai-Yu replied finally, "Make sure Lucas isn't late this time. I've got to go since my parents will be back soon." "I can't always control Lucas! See you tonight Sai-Yu."
Sai-Yu hung up, setting her phone down beside her on the bed. It wasn't the first time she lied to Leha, and the human lie detector probably wouldn't let her forget it either. Her mother and father were both on business trips. They didn't spend a lot of time at home, they never had. Not to mention, they always used the same excuse. Maybe it wouldn't hurt so much if they just told her they were doing hero jobs.
All the same, they were meeting in an hour at the old warehouse declared as Saga's base. If Sai-Yu was late Lucas would never let her forget it.
Alessandra knew her padre wasn't comfortable with all the male attention she received. Going on dates once a week gave him a heart attack. Of course, after joining Saga, she just hadn't the time to go on dates anymore. It was utterly exhausting to keep the boys at bay with her nightly adventures. So it wasn't a surprise when Leha messaged her about their meeting tonight.
"Alessandra, the lesson's over. Are you ready to go?" The beauty looked up from her phone to see her younger sister, touches of paint splattered on her clothes from her weekly painting lesson. "Just waiting on you, sorella. We've got a meeting, so we should probably head over. I told Padre I had a date tonight and you'll be hanging with the twins. Got everything you need Liliana?"
"Of course I do, sorella. Padre should be out late tonight too with his new job. And Madre's shut herself up in her studio again. Tell Leha we'll be on our way in a moment," Liliana replied. Together the two sister left, unknown to them, they were being followed.
"Is everyone here?" Leha asked, entering the warehouse with her exuberant older brother in tow. "Might as well do a role call, Cyber," Sai-Ya replied. Leha sighed, unbelieving she was the most responsible member of Saga, even though Sai-Yu was the leader. "Very well. As always please respond 'here' when I call you name. Black Knight?" "Here." "Neo Flare." "You're the one who brought me here!" "Angelo?" "Here." "Hurricane?" "Here, as always!" "Hunter?" "Why would I miss time spent with such a beauty?" "Alchemist?" "Shut up frog." "Bard?" "Here!" "Max Force? Concord?" "We're both here."
"Good. Since everyone is here, have you all been keeping up with your training. If so, any new discoveries should be reported to Cyber for the database. Now, Cyber, please check the blog for any requests," Black Knight, aka Sai-Yu ordered. "Got one, art museum is hosting a rare Egyptian exhibit and would like to request additional guards. Willing to pay at most $1,000. Police are refusing due to the increase in crimes spread throughout the city," Leha responded. "A minor job, it'll take us all night but that's some easy money. Tell them we'll take it for $500. Send the blueprints to each of our phones."
"It's going to be a routine operation. Concord and Cyber, you'll be guarding the exhibit itself and watching the surveillance cameras. If you see anything tell us asap Concord. Angelo and Neo you two can take the roof I trust. It has the least security in place, so make sure you're doing regular rounds. Hurricane and Max Force, take the back of the building. Alchemist you'll be solo on the North side of the building. Hunter you'll be on the South. Bard and I will take the front, its going to be your first big opp, it's not a training mission this time around, will you be okay with that?"
"Of course I will Black Knight. Troll's with me in case we need him to get some extra aid," the youngest member of Saga cheerfully responded. "Good, but we won't need any outside interference for such a simple mission. Have him circle around and pass on the message if there are any confirmations. No one engages alone tonight. We're working on more communication team. Now, Hunter, please teleport us."
The night at the museum was going good. Bard was surprised that the mission was going so well judging from the horror stories from the rest of Saga, she'd been surprised by the fluidity. Before this point she'd only been allowed to train at the warehouse with one of the others supervising her. There was no way she was going to mess this up. "Has anyone got anything?" Black Knight murmured into the radio each member carried. Well each full fledged member, since Bard hadn't completely proved herself she was doomed to stay close to Black Knight who had been checking in with the rest of Saga every half hour.
"Everyone is clear BK. It looks like it'll be a long night of nothing," Cyber Storm responded not but a moment later. "Let's all do another sweep, then we'll meet at CS's location and-" Wait a moment! BK dodge left, Bard go right!" Black Knight shoved Bard right before the younger could even comprehend what Concord had said. Something zoomed between them as Black Knight dodged left. The object hit the museum, causing the whole building to rumble. "Bard and Black Knight are engaging the enemy. No back up currently needed. Hold you positions," the Chinese-Russian hero ordered into the radio. "Bard if the situation goes South get to Hunter and have him take you back to base."
"Sorry children but that rock's mine," a low, slow male voice interjected. Both children of United World turned to face the new arrival. The man was much taller than six feet with close shaven hair and a suit that was obviously based off of Blizzard King's. Bard could feel Black Knight tense at the sight of her father's uniform. "And you are?" Black Knight growled savagely. "My name is irrelevant, Black Knight. But if you insist you may call me Black Rook. Now step aside least you end up injured, or worse," the man responded.
Bard watched with bated breath as the two began to circle each other. "Do you even know what you are guarding? You don't even know what's at stake!" With that Black Rook charged Black Knight, pushing them both backwards into a neighboring building. "Black Knight!" Bard yelped, moving to go help her leader. "Stay back Bard. He's dangerous," Black Knight ordered, "Go to Hunter. Back to base. Now!"
Bard stood back, fidgeting anxiously with the hem of her shirt, torn between helping Sai-Yu and following orders. "Troll, go get mom and tell her what's happening," Taika Kohler murmured. Just what are you planning, young one? "It's fine. Dad's been teaching me how to not go overboard," she replied, pulling a small needle from her sleeve. The last time you tried without you father resulted in a stay at the hospital. Go to Aime or Peter while I find your mother. What felt like a warm summer breeze blew by in the midst of early spring as Troll raced away towards Taika's home.
There was another loud bang in the area that Sai-Ya was fighting Black Rook but Bard waited until Troll was fully out of sight before she charged towards the fight.
Peter Kirkland, rather the Alchemist of Saga, was worried about Sai-Yu. To be frank, although he would never admit it to anyone else he'd had a crush on her for the longest of time. He could never admit it because her father was terrifying. Utterly terrifying.
So when he saw Troll leaving the scene from the front of the building, and no sign of Bard running towards him, he instantly knew something had gone wrong. He yanked his radio from his belt, knowing many of the others didn't want their parents to know about their nightly activities. It was only fair to warn them. "This is Alchemist, I'm leaving post to help Black Knight. Troll's left the area, supposedly to tell Mage. If you don't want to be found out, now's your chance to leave. Otherwise, converge at Cyber Storm and Concord's location. Whoever we're fighting has got to be after a part of the exhibit."
"Copy that Alchemist, Cyber Storm is maintaining position. Feed of BK suggests opponent is after some sort of stone. Searching through exhibit files now," Cyber Storm replied not even a moment later. Peter couldn't help but envy her unwavering resolve even at the thought of getting caught by their parents. "Concord is maintaining position as well. I advise that Hunter also aid you, if he plans to stay. Your combination of powers can greatly aid," Concord reported.
"If Alchemist is staying, so will I. I'll come to you a moment. The rest of you, get to Cyber Storm's point, if UW shows up, I'll teleport us all out," Hunter replied his voice oozing out of the radio. "Hurricane and Max Force reporting, we're going to Cyber Storm's location now, ETA is two minutes, we are on call if needed out front," Hurricane's melodious voice rang out. "Neo here with Angelo, also going to to CS's post. We'll be there in a bit."
Peter Kirkland grinned, the whole team was staying despite the risk. He knew what his mother had suffered through during her days in United World, and he knew very well that she did not wish the same fate upon him. But Peter had powers, he had the ability to help, much like his father did. He'd be damned if he didn't use them.
A small popping sound rang out behind him, signaling Hunter's presence before the scenery flashed and now he stood in front of the museum. It took Alchemist a moment to reorient himself with the wave of vertigo that seized him as a side affect of the teleportation. "Take a breather. I'll scope out the situation," Hunter said, all but shoving Peter's head down between his legs to help ease the nausea. "I'm okay, let's go. BK needs our help."
The two rivals ran off towards the sound of a battle, beside Alchemist, Aime turned invisible while Peter began shifting into a tiger. Through his enhanced senses it took him only a moment to decipher the situation and charge at the man who was flinging shards of ice at the two members of Saga. Sai-Yu was knocked out, immobile and scraped up, while Bard was barely hanging on, holding up a thin shield of red between the two heroes and their enemy. With little hesitation, Peter flung himself at the tall man, dressed just like Blizzard King was in the videos Saga watched to come up with strategies.
The villain was surprised at the sudden appearance of the two other teammates. In the moment of which he was overwhelmed, Bard's shield fell, the little hero exhausted by manipulating her own blood with such strict control as opposed to her normal unpredictable ability.
"Well, well, it looks like two more flies have come to join in on the fun," the Blizzard King fake snarled, pushing Peter back into one of the surrounding buildings. "Hunter, get BK and Bard into the building now!" Peter ordered Aime. This man was strong, he could tell that much as his regeneration began to kick in. Taika and Sai-Yu were gone the next time he looked up, yelping as his ribs cracked back into place. "You always were the smart one, Peter, realizing what I was truly capable of, you even warned my sister. However, you are foolish to think you will all be able to overpower me, I know everything about you, and you know nothing about me."
"Damn it, to think someone would actually be after stuff in the museum," Lucas cursed as he followed Angelo through the hallways filled with artifacts and paintings. "What's wrong, Neo? I thought you were dying for some action, isn't that what you said on the roof just a few minutes ago?" Angelo replied. Lucas didn't need to see her face to know she was smirking. The vixen of the group had been leading him on for a while now, brushing off his attempts to flirt and dating most of his friends in their school.
It was exhausting chasing after her, but well worth it in the few moments they had lovingly shared together, when Alessandra wasn't feeling too flirty, firey, sassy, depressed, or angered. When it was just the two of them... Unlike on the roof tonight when, instead of upholding her duties as a guard she was texting her boy of the week-to be fair, Alfred was playing Ultimate Street Racer Five on his phone. "That's true, Angelo, why don't you sit on the sidelines and act like a good damsel in distress while I save your ass again," Lucas snapped tartly. "Of course, your highness," Angelo replied cheekily.
Crap, he'd done it again, she was totally angry with him.
They made it to the rest of the group a few seconds later, Sai-Yu was leaned up against a wall, and not for the first time Lucas wished they had someone who could heal among his teammates. "Is anyone fighting what's-his-face?" Lucas growled, eying Peter and Aime, they were weak, almost too weak for Lucas' liking if they couldn't hold a villain off for more than a few minutes. "Black Rook," Taika interjected suddenly. Lucas' glare softened as he turned to face the youngest member, he couldn't help it, he had a soft spot for the little girl.
"What?" "That's what he said his name was," Aime supplied. "I wasn't talking to you, french fry," Lucas shot back at his cousin. "Watch your tone, Neo!" Damn of course Sai-Yu had to wake up in time to spoil his fun. She sounded weak and looked pretty beat up. "Why don't you rest up for a bit, BK, it looks like you'll need to leave this guy to a professional," Lucas snapped.
"A professional? You couldn't possibly mean you, could you? What a joke," Alessandra laughed, causing Lucas to turn red with rage. "Sister, stop it," Hurricane pleaded. "No, let her go on, come on Angelo, do you have something you want to tell me?" "Guys." "You can stop pretending that you're so much better than the rest of us-!" Guys!" "Oh really, do you really think you can compete with me in a fight? Wanna try it out here and now?" "GUYS!"
"Shut up, Concord!" Alessandra and Lucas screamed in unison. "Why don't you two shut up!" Max Force snapped, planting her fist into the wall, creating a sizable dent. "What is it, Concord?" Peter asked as the two dueling halves fell silent, both seething with rage. "It's too late, he's here," Concord replied, his voice barely above a whisper. The group turned as one as the doors exploded, pushing them all back.
"Christ, why didn't you tell us earlier, Concord?" Lucas groaned, hitting the back wall with a heavy thunk. "I was trying to," the Italian-German hero growled back. "Try harder next time, please," Leha coughed. Lucas stood up, drawing in kinetic energy and allowing it to form fire in both of his hands. He stalked through the hall of the museum despite Leha's call for him to wait as he saw Rook pull out a gun of some sort and attach a random rock from the display on it.
"What the hell did he just do?" Lucas yelled, watching a large dark hole open in the middle of the hall. "CS, analyze, now!" Angelo yelped. "It's make up appears to be some sort of dimensional opening, rather to a separate world or time frame. What do we should do, Black Knight?" "We follow him, he's our problem, I don't think anyone from a different universe would appreciate us leaving them to deal with a villain we let get past us."
Black Rook, more well known as Andrei Braginsky, looked around his surroundings, satisfied at seeing the New York of the past. The stone had worked, just as Alchemist had said it would. He'd had to fool his older sister, but it was no grief on his part as he had finally arrived at the time he needed to in order to kill United World.
Finally, he would prove himself to Saga, they would no longer question his ability to lead, even if it meant they all ceased to exist in the process, even himself, so be it. Andrei would prove he was the strongest, and he didn't deserve to be put on the reserve team for killing a villain. With that thought in mind he unleashed his evil laugh- he had been working on it the past few days, after all- in the midst of time square.
...Luckily for the passing New Yorkers, this wasn't the weirdest thing they'd heard.
"That guy has a totally rad Blizzard King costume! Dude, where did you buy that thing?" a voice yelled, interrupting Rook's villainous plotting. "Tch, I suppose I have to start somewhere to draw out United World," Rook huffed, seizing the New Yorker by the throat. He smirked, it wouldn't hurt to kill a few people to relieve stress until the heroes got here.
"Get off of me!" Hurricane shrieked, finding herself at the bottom of a dog pile as the group spilled out of the warp gate. "I can't," Aime wheezed as Liliana felt her knee connect with a rather sensitive spot. "Neo! You asshole! You didn't have to touch me there!" Alessandra yelled. "Chill out, I didn't mean to. Alchemist get up you lazy ass you're keeping the rest of us down!" Lucas snapped. "Sod off, Neo," Alchemist replied crossly as the pressure atop Liliana began to decrease little by little.
Finally, she was able to sit up, taking in the group and their surroundings. They were all battered from fighting Black Rook but Sai-Yu and Taika were definitely worse for wear. The team was smack dab in the middle of an empty construction lot, but judging by the surroundings... "The museum isn't here," Concord observed, "Can you give us a date, CS?" "It's March 24, 2013. We appear to have gone back in time."
"2013? That's crazy, did they even have cellphones back then?!" Lucas yelled. "Of course they had cellphones back then, idiota. Didn't they?" Alessandra questioned a moment later with a fairly downtrodden expression. "Si, sorella," Hurricane confirmed, patting her sister on the back comfortingly.
"Enough of that, why would Rook want to come back here, to this specific day and year. What was happening?" Sai-Yu questioned. "This would be during when United World was in action with the Avengers. Mom said they defeated Nikoli in January, and rescued Auntie Chan-Yun in the beginning of February. So they should be looking for the portal to the dimension of the second players around this time," Bard reasoned.
"I guess that means they'll be too busy to help us out, but at least we can stay away from them! If we met them now they might realize who Saga is in the future," Liliana reasoned, then gasped, "Could it be that they already know we're Saga because of what happens today?" The team stared at the youngest Italian-Spaniard sibling in shock as the realization hit them.
"Then we'll avoid running into them at all cost. We have to find Black Rook asap. Anything on the news websites?" Sai-Yu replied after a moment, turning to Leha who was typing on her small handheld computer. "Looks like he's in Time's Square, attacking civilians, no heroes have taken action yet. What's the call, boss?"
Sai-Yu turned from the group for a moment, rubbing her temples. Liliana could concede to that, it was a hard call, risking everyone's identities for the sake of one villain who their parents might be able to handle. Not to mention they had Bard, who didn't have half the control over her powers as the others did. Their team morale had hit an all time low.
"Hunter, you can teleport us to Time's Square right? We don't really have much of a choice in the matter. Rook has the stone that got us all here and we'll need it to get back. It's not like we can show up at the Avenger's Tower and ask for the stone after they catch him," the leader of Saga reasoned, still turned away from the group.
"I can do so," Hunter confirmed. "Hunter we'll need you to distract Rook while we recover from teleporting. I don't care how, but try not to get hurt. Max Force, Neo, and I will be the Vanguard, don't put yourself in danger when attacking. Cyber, you take Bard for crowd control, get the police to set up a perimeter two blocks away and work on clearing out buildings. Alchemist, I'm going to need you to turn into something small, a mouse or smaller, you and Hunter need to try and get as close as possible to Rook without being detected, a sneak attack might be our best bet at winning. Hurricane, once the area around Rook is cleared get us all in with a wind or water barrier, that should hopefully prevent too much damage to the area. Angelo if Rook tries to run, stop him. Concord, we'll have our radios on, the moment you see anything, say it. Has everyone got that? Hunter, let's go!"
Liliana hated Hunter's power, she couldn't help but let herself be overwhelmed by the wave of nausea that hit her as she threw up what had been her dinner. The others were probably in the same state but the only thing that broke through her undesirable state was Aime's taunting. "Get up, Lili," Concord muttered into her ear, "we need that barrier up." "Wha-what?" Hurricane murmured after a moment, head pounding, feet freezing. "Rook was expecting us- well someone," her cousin replied, gesturing to their feet, trapped with a thick layer of ice. "Dammit," Liliana cursed, trying to pull her feet from their cold prison.
That would explain her cold feet.
"Barrier, Lili, we can't have him getting away," Concord reminded gently. "Right, I'm on it." Focusing on her surroundings, Liliana drew the surrounding air to cascade around them in the form of what would appear to be a tornado to outsiders. It had taken her a long time- and nearly suffocating the others at least five times- to perfect the technique in order to keep enemies trapped. The only way Rook would be able to get out was if he could fly, which wasn't too likely. "It seems that I must cut our play date to an end, Saga. You've already ruined my plan, but now that I have you here, perhaps you'll be able to repay me for the time I've already wasted here today."
A platform of ice shot out of the ground, lifting Rook up with it, up and out of the tunnel to the surprise of Saga. "Such much for the only way to escape being flying. Fuck," Lucas snarled, catching on fire, a rather nasty habit of his whenever he got mad. At least it helped to melt the ice around his feet. "Lucas, we've talked about cussing," Leha sighed, her brother putting his hand on the ice on her feet and melting it slowly as he was freed. "Screw off, sis. He got away, with the stone, I might add. We're stuck twenty one years in the past!"
"Might as well drop the barrier, Lili. Not much use anymore," Carina grunted, shaking out her thawed feet. "Right. I'm sorry to let you all down," Liliana muttered, bowing her head. "Hey, don't worry about it sorella. I should have used my power to stop him," Alessandra frowned, glancing over towards Bard. Sai-Yu, who was closest to the youngest member was holding the girl up, she appeared to be barely conscious. "Taika?" Sai-Yu called gently. "Shit, she's probably lost a lot of blood by now. We really need to get her to the hospital," Leha cursed.
"Freeze." The members of Saga looked up, although it wasn't like all of them could run away either, still being frozen to the ground and all. Before them stood most of their parents-younger of course-joined by Captain America. And none of them looked happy.
"Fuck," Cyber Storm whispered in a defeated tone.
To Be Continued...
