Author's Notes: I must first state that I do not own any characters from the Marvel Comics; they belong to their respective owners and the likes I just borrowed them and tweaked a few for the purposes of this story. (In fact the only character that is mine is Al...)
Also this story is not situated in any one comic or title; it is on a completely different Marvel-verse Earth; mostly because I really wanted to play around with a lot of different characters, but some of them happen to be dead and some don't actually belong to Marvel anymore though they did once.
Author's Notes Redux: After writing the earlier parts to this story I've decided to go back into this one and Avenger's Assemble to do a little editing, repairing any continuity gaffs I may have made. Not much will really change; however I am going to fix up a few problems I originally had when posting, such as spaces where there were none before and the like...
Foreword: A brief retelling of events leading up to current events; our intrepid hero Alain Desrochers, who has not yet realized that he is in fact destined to become a hero, has been undergoing intense training to prepare him for that day when he will ultimately fulfill his destiny. It all began innocently enough with a failed phone call to an old high school friend, after having his invitation turned down flat Al returned to his inner sanctum (In other words his bedroom.) and began to resume reading a novel. Suddenly and for no apparent reason a hole in the very fabric of reality was torn open and before Al could even come to grips with the beauteous sight before him he was whisked away. Arriving in the alternate universe of Xena Warrior Princess and Hercules, (from the Legendary Journeys.) Al found himself alone and unable to communicate until a chance encounter with a Griffin left him badly injured yet by some strange coincidence, now capable of communicating in Greek as if born to the language. After encountering many characters familiar to him Al, now going by the name Alumni, convinced Xena to train him in the art of combat and thus his physical training regime began.
After a good year and nine months of traveling the world with Xena and Gabrielle as well as occasionally Joxer and after Alumnifaced the ultimate challenge, Alainbelieved his strange adventures had come to a close. Entering the new vortex he believed he would soon arrive home; truth however is often times stranger than fiction, or in this case perhaps not so strange... A brief retelling of events leading up to current events; our intrepid hero Alain Desrochers, who has not yet realized that he is in fact destined to become a hero, has been undergoing intense training to prepare him for that day when he will ultimately fulfill his destiny. It all began innocently enough with a failed phone call to an old high school friend, after having his invitation turned down flat Al returned to his inner sanctum (In other words his bedroom.) and began to resume reading a novel. Suddenly and for no apparent reason a hole in the very fabric of reality was torn open and before Al could even come to grips with the beauteous sight before him he was whisked away. Arriving in the alternate universe of Xena Warrior Princess and Hercules, (from the Legendary Journeys.) Al found himself alone and unable to communicate until a chance encounter with a Griffin left him badly injured yet by some strange coincidence, now capable of communicating in Greek as if born to the language. After encountering many characters familiar to him Al, now going by the name Alumni, convinced Xena to train him in the art of combat and thus his physical training regime began.After a good year and nine months of traveling the world with Xena and Gabrielle as well as occasionally Joxer and after Alumnifaced the ultimate challenge, Alainbelieved his strange adventures had come to a close. Entering the new vortex he believed he would soon arrive home; truth however is often times stranger than fiction, or in this case perhaps not so strange...
Arriving in the late Twenty-Fourth Century, aboard the USS Voyager, Alain Desrochers found himself inducted into a new training regime at first he merely used his time to learn everything about the ship and how the technology worked. But upon encountering the omnipotent alien being known colorfully as Q the truth became all too apparent; Q took it upon himself to continue the young mans training. Much to Al's distaste, after journeying with Voyager for a short time Al waschosenfor an away missionprior to the events of Year of Hell commencing. (Mostly because he hated temporal paradoxes and so requested it.) It was then that his life underwent a new transformation; Alain Desrochers was assimilated by the Borg, however the assimilation did not go as planned and instead of becoming the Borg Queens willing mate, he found his world opening up to brand new experiences he never could have imagined.
Skip ahead to the final test pitted against our hero by Q; in which Alain was forced to face the powerful Demon Overlord Omnibus, a creature born in the universe that had existed before the Federation's universe was born. After succeeding despite all odds Al prepared to journey home this time with someone very near to his heart; Q however said one simple word that shattered Als' world beliefs and before he could even appeal the decision he was torn away along with all his personal effects. And here our story continues...
Prologue: The swirling eddies and currents that accompanied me on my trips through the gateways between universes or realities or whatever the hell you want to call them were as brilliant as ever; however my heart was just not in it this time. My mind continued to reel with Q's final word to me and the look on her face as she realized that I was about to be torn from her side, I hated it, I felt so bitter and just wanted this particular trip to end so I could drown myself in a good scotch or something. Even though I never drank alcohol and couldn't get drunk even if I wanted to, considering my nanoprobes would just break the alcoholic content down sub-atomically and absorb it into my body as nutrients or something. Something suddenly felt different about this particular journey; one moment I was moving faster than light itself the next I found myself coming to a gut wrenching halt and stumbling out of a swirling mass of black and gray as if someone had put up a detour sign and manipulated my course to take me from my pre-planned destination. Where ever the hell that was; I found myself eclipsed in complete darkness and at first believed that the lights were out for some twisted dramatic reasons. Until I took a step forward and tripped head over heels bouncing off my regeneration beds' mattress and slamming painfully to the floor.
"I'm blind!" I exclaimed fear gripping me now; this was inconceivable nothing could disrupt my optic sensors now that my optic nerves had been fused with Borg implants on the sub-atomic level. And yet here I was fumbling in the dark searching with my fingertips to find something to help me back to my feet; a lithe feminine arm reached out from somewhere to my right clasping my arm and hauling me back to my feet.
"You are in the presence of greatness." She proclaimed in a haughty sounding tone that seemed strangely out of place in these surroundings; of course I couldn't see the damn place. And to top it off I began to feel a great pain in my legs; a strange tingling sensation as if every nanoprobe from the ankle up were shutting down due to lack of energy.
"Saturnyne that is no way to treat our honored guest." A second gentler sounding voice chastised as another presence drew near to me and placed a hand upon my brow; almost immediately the pain seemed to dull yet it continued to climb my person now reaching the crotch area and intestinal tracks. "You will have to forgive the Omniversal Majestrix weary traveler she tends to be overprotective when it concerns my safety." The newcomer stated in a gentle and soothing tone.
"Just what the hell is going on here?" I demanded weary with the exchange and still highly disoriented in the bleak oppressiveness of my inner sight.
"You see I warned you he would be hostile." Saturnyne stated her tone reaching the same inflection as before; this woman obviously did not let her emotions out in her voice or her mannerisms.
"Well excuse me for being hostile then." I snapped impatience and fear driving my very soul as my lower abdomen and internal organs continued the inexorable dance of deactivation; now I began to get some grasp of the picture. A small memory was nagging me in the back of my mind; the name Saturnyne was familiar to me as well as her title and I began to comprehend that what I was feeling was not mere stasis lock, but honest deactivation as in death. "But I'm tired of all this crap; my life isn't something to be toyed around with for the whims of whatever fickle deities or omnipotent aliens decide to play around with it." I added turning my sightless eyes to glare at where I believed Saturnyne was standing.
"Of course weary travel; please you will have to forgive us, you see we are both desperate." The other woman explained; I turned to regard what I hoped was this newcomer detecting the truth in her words; a small part of me was curious, but the larger part was still hurting over events in the past few hours and relished the slow death that was creeping up upon me. "I am afraid we have no other choice." She added with a tiny sigh as her hand tilted my face slightly to the right; guess my calculations were off.
"We do not have much time to explain majesty." Saturnyne reminded coming up to my right and slipping something into my pants pocket; boy did I feel good I hadn't opted to wear my Starfleet uniform for the final encounter with Omnibus after all.
"Of course." Her companion muttered with a great sigh. "Alain Albert-Joseph Desrochers of Earth Prime, I, Roma the supreme Omniversal Guardian have need of your service. A force of great Chaos is brewing on Earth Nine Two Nine and all missions sent previously have succumbed to this darkness." The woman, Roma, spoke startling me with the use of my full name. However I was pleased to know that she knew ofmy original reality by name, the creeping death was now closing in on my heart yet I hid my fear under a careful mask of scrutiny.
"And what could I possibly do?" I wondered trying hard to keep the sarcasm from my tone and failing miserably.
"Your unique status renders you immune to this force; your inner gift will help you to break the hold it may attempt to take on you." Roma explained. "We have no further time to explain, will you help us?" She asked; well at least that was a nice change most people never bothered to ask me what I wanted. They just dropped me down in whatever damn situation seemed to rear its ugly head and seem to feel I could handle it.
"Why should I?" I spat suddenly focusing on all the negative aspects of my life and growing further embittered. "The only reason I had to continue living was denied me; I just want to die." Where did that come from? I didn't want to die, not after everything I'd gone thorough damn it; I tried to renounce my own words, but found my tongue growing sluggish and no longer capable of speaking coherently.
"I understand your pain." Roma began startling me with the gentleness of her words; I had thought she'd grow angry with me for speaking such a ridiculous lie. "If I personally agree to at least attempt to reunite you with your little one will you do this favor for me?"
"Wat if Earth Nine Two Nine Flike?" I asked slurring the words and feeling a little indignant about the drool pooling around my bottom lip.
"Oh I think you'll enjoy your stay there." She hinted her tone indicative of a wide grin and perhaps even a twinkle in her eye. "Will you help now that I have offered my services to help you?" Not wishing to drip the drool on the floor of my surroundings I simply and quickly nodded; a large clap of thunder shook the room deafening me as she grasped my right hand and shook it. "Then our bargain has been sealed." She stated rather theatrically; I quirked my eyebrow up in typical Vulcan fashion eliciting a chuckle from the great Omniversal Guardian. "Forgive me a little bit of my father coming through that particular instant." She whispered conspiratorially in my ear.
"You shall be given your Armor, your replicated lightsaber and a few other necessities that I have provided." Saturnyne stated literally having to drag me to some unknown spot in the room; I found myself standing a good fifty paces from my previous position and felt the cool pommel of my lightsaber being pressed into my hand. "Once you have found suitable permanent residence we will send you the regeneration bed; and before you ask the lightsaber is easier to hide then your broadsword. Although I personally think you won't need such a weapon where you're going." She added a hint of disdain in her tone, which I barely registered.
"Good luck." Roma called from behind me before Saturnyne pushed me up onto some sort of platform. "And do not fear we shall keep your other belongings safe and secure until you have succeeded; oh and don't worry about enjoying yourself too much it'll be good for you." She added; I wanted to ask just where the hell they were sending me, but a new stranger sensation flooded my body and I found myself vanishing from the corporeal realm and whisking through a new kind of vortex. Great, just what the hell have I gotten myself into this time? I wondered before slipping into stasis as my body began to reactivate the dead tissue and organs now that I was free of whatever force had begun to shut me down in the first place.
Crisis on Earth 929
Of Spiders and Mutants
I don't exactly know when it happened all I know is one moment I was hurtling through some strange vortex and the next I found myself flying out of the air at mach two and colliding with a rural park bench. The wood shattered on impact driving itself into my skin with tremendous force; I screamed out in pain and rolled halfway across a lush grassy turf before managing to halt my momentum. With a groan of pain I climbed to my feet and began the painstaking process of removing the wooden splinters and other odds and ends from my person. When the wounds were cleaned of foreign debris the nanoprobes got to work sealing them up; I glanced around at my surroundings curiously a great many trees surrounded the small walkway I was now on and a wire frame style garbage can rested near the legs of the unfortunate bench. The sun was rising lazily in the East, which meant I was lucky enough to be arriving at early morning before anyone was out and about this particular area. Looking up to the skyline I couldn't help myself from smiling at the familiarity of the World Trade Center standing off to my left; I knew where I was.
"Well what do ya know, not only am I back on an Earth of the Twentieth Century, but I'm in one of the largest cities on the east coast... What a fortunate happenstance considering I've never been to New York before." I stated more to hear my own voice and make sure I wasn't drooling anymore than anything else; looking about me I figured I had to be in Central Park and decided to take stock of my person. Clipping the hilt of my lightsaber to my belt and pulling the long faded brown trench coat I found myself wearing to hide it from prying eyes better I reached into my pocket to see what Saturnyne had put there. "Hmmm, interesting, social security number, identification, driver's license, American Express... Oooo Credit Card..." I chuckled at my childish outburst and double checked to make sure no one else was around before continuing. "Cash, Birth certificate, Telephone card... Wonder why she gave me that?" There was nothing else so I made certain my watch was secure and began to leisurely stroll down the pathway in the crisp early morning air; my stomach rumbled it's obvious displeasure at not having eaten in a good long while and I wondered where I could catch a bite to eat this early in the morning. "McDonald's maybe... Then again I've always wanted to check out that Diner from Seinfeld, I think it's in New York... Well the exterior at any rate, not too sure about the interior." I muttered glancing at my watch and realizing it was still set to Federation standard. "Stardates, God am I glad to be rid of them, they were always so damn confusing...Even after my assimilation." I chuckled turning out of Central Park and glancing around wondering which way to go; I didn't even know what street I was facing so I quickly looked around for the street sign only to be distracted by a sudden explosion and the blare of emergency vehicles' sirens.
"I hate myself for saying this, but I am so curious to know what that was..." I trailed off and quickly eyed the Twin towers thinking I might have been sent to an Earth where that particular attack was just about to occur; fortunately for me and more importantly the inhabitants of this world that was not the case. "So where'd that come from?" I wondered glancing about; much to my surprise I heard a large crackling of electrical energies from my right and a second explosion answered my question. Glancing around to make sure no one was looking I gave a mental command activating my Trans Tech armor; the unique metallic compound unfurled from its' watch form and engulfed me swiftly in the form fitting armor I had invented during one of my infinitely advanced bored days and quickly raced down the street opting to keep the flying to a minimum for now.
Electro cackled maniacally as a second police car exploded under his electrical bombardment and returned to scooping up the cash from the blown out ATM machine; he was moving as fast as he could, none of this hanging around until Spider-Man showed up this time he'd grab the loot and get out before the wall crawling menace showed up.
"Shameful really, don't you know you need an account to withdraw." A strange voice suddenly quipped sounding distorted by some kind of electronic filtering device; Dillon spun on his heels energy crackling at his fingertips expecting to find Spider-Man or maybe even Iron-Man, but not the being that stood before him. The man in question stood a good six feet four inches tall with his entire body encased in a black form fitting outfit of some kind that hummed with obvious energies. His mouth was turned up in a wry grin and his arms were crossed over his chest; the armor was tech heavy with numerous odd details giving the man a truly robotic appearance and his eyes glowed a dull red. He also had a perfectly proportioned cape that fluttered briefly in the early morning breeze; Dillon let a small smile play across his lips as he sized this new opponent up.
"You just made a serious mistake metal head." He quipped charging himself for a larger blast then he had originally intended; with a simple thought and a snap of his arm electrical energies flared wildly screaming towards the technologically reliant being before him. Much to his surprise the energy dissipated a good four inches from his targets person and the smile plastered on his face changed into a smug grin. Electro snarled low in his throat and kept up the assault blasting faster with each passing second before he finally admitted to the futility of it all and glared at the black armored man.
"Are we quite finished yet?" He asked in a bored sounding tone.
"This is impossible." Dillon blurted, the man chuckled as he switched into a more offensive stance a half-smirk crossing his features.
"I assure you it is not." He stated in a deeply aristocratic tone; the next thing Max knew large snaking tendrils of electrical energy burst forth from the unknown mans fingertips and collided with him. He screamed as all of the energy he had poured into the man was pumped back into his being at a far superior voltage to his own; it was so intense that he collapsed unconscious to the ground a few seconds after the assault began and the unknown hero ceased his bombardment playfully blowing on each of his fingertips as if they were the barrel of a gun.
"I bet Electros' going to feel that when he wakes up." A new voice called out from the side of the bank directly above me; I glanced up to find surprise, surprise, Spider-Man perched there glancing down at the scene. He flipped off the wall and landed next to me engulfing Electro in some of his webbing before turning and extending a hand, which surprised me a little. I shook it though since it was the polite thing to do and shrugged a little indicating the goon as the police began to cart him off; feeling a little strange having to look down at Spider-Man.
"This sort of stuff happen often at six am?" I wondered trying to hide my giddiness from my tone and having better success then my earlier bitterness with Roma and everyone else in general.
"More than you might imagine." Spidey returned with a shrug before zipping up a web-line and quickly swinging away.
"Hey wait up!" I cried a sudden thought clarifying within my mind; leaping into the air I mentally focused my powers and altered the gravitational field surrounding me with some quick polarity swaps. "Say ah Spider-Man." I began as I managed to catch up. "This might sound completely bonkers of me, but, ah you wouldn't happen to know of any good housing around here would ya?" I asked; he eyed me curiously as he swung along a good fifty feet above the city streets and I was hard pressed to keep up with him.
"I can honestly admit to the fact that that's the first time I've ever had anybody ask me about apartments." He stated; I shrugged hiding my embarrassment and kept up with him as best as I could I mean he was swinging along, which meant unlike me his body was in constant motion. Flipping up onto an overhang near one of the apartment complexes he indicated that I should join him. "So you got a name to go with that fancy get up?" He asked.
"You can call me Shadow." I supplied semi-consciously adopting a heroic type pose complete with corny announcers' style voice. This wasn't going to be so bad; at least I knew something about the many myriad Marvel characters and their histories, still I'd expected something a lot more difficult then an encounter with Electro my first day in town.
"Well I hear the Bronx has some places up for rent." He began before snapping out of the casual conversation. "What am I doing?" He asked himself. "Listen I know you're probably quite capable and all that Shadow, or whoever you are underneath that mask, but donning a clever disguise and taking up the super hero gig isn't something I'd recommend. At least not here; New York has enough of those and besides you strike me as quite the technological genius." He continued preparing a web-line to take off. "So I suggest you don't quit your day job; thanks for your help though I don't think I would have made it in time, but seriously you don't want this life." He continued before zipping off and leaving me bewildered, bemused and rather annoyed because I still hadn't solved my housing problem.
"Yeesh I didn't intend to be a damn hero, dealing with Electro was just a little something to relieve some frustrations I was still harboring." I muttered leaping back into the air and floating out over the city of New York as people began their daily routines; I sighed and wondered what I should do next Spider-Man hadn't acted like I would have imagined he would... Suddenly my mind screamed and I felt a great stabbing pain as someone mentally broke into my thoughts; the best way I could describe it is as if someone was probing my mind it actually felt a little like when I was linked to...
"What are you up to Erik?" A whispered voice demanded startling me with the clarity of the words; I could not reply whoever was inside my mind apparently triggered whatever caused my stasis lock to activate. I felt myself losing consciousness and with no more focus my hold on gravity faded; I began to plunge towards the pavement from this dizzying height only to be halted mid-plunge by two strong arms wrapping themselves about my waist.
"Yah sure don't look lahke Magneto." A strongly accented southern drawl observed turning me in her grip so she could get a better look at me; I knew this face... But before I could correct the oversight I completely lost consciousness; my final thought was a simple one. "I hate losing consciousness."
To Be Continued