EARTH X AND KINGDOM COME - A REASONING
By thew40
DISCLAIMER: Earth X and its subsequent characters are copyright of Marvel Enterprises. This story is written for entertainment purposes only and I gain no profit from this. That would be nice, but I think that any money I would make would be forced to given to Marvel after they would unleash their lawyer zombies on me. That would suck.
All other characters presented in this story are as well copyright to their respective creators.
The story of Earth X, Universe X, Heralds, and Paradise X were created and conceived by Alex Ross and Jim Krueger. This is a homage of sorts to the fine masterpiece they have brought to us.
FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT DO NOT KNOW:
In the world of Earth X, all humanity was manipulated to become super-powerful antibodies against a gestating Celestial in the heart of our planet. The Celestials are a powerful force in our universe. In a universe previous to ours, they were the destruction of it. The Celestials manipulation of primitive mankind brought the dark being known as Mephisto. Mephisto hoped to escape a judgement by creating time travel and alternate realities.
"Kyle . . ."
"Yes, Aaron?"
"I need to know something. When I discovered that it was Mephisto who was responsible for the manipulation of time, I grew curious. There are a few incidents involving alternate realities that seem to defy what you told me."
"What do you mean, Aaron?"
"Well, it's like this. When I gathered the Heralds, I was planning on entering a few alternate realities that had encountered this reality a couple of times. But for some reason, Uatu's technology was unable to access them. Then, I remembered something."
"Don't say any more, Aaron. I know of what you speak. You speak of the other universe."
"Wait. What do you mean OTHER universe?"
"Remember a number of years ago? When the 'alternate reality' you speak of was forced into war with our own?"
"Yes."
"Tell me about it, Aaron."
"According to Uatu's records, the second universe and our own were once one. They were represented by two brothers that were also one. But these two brothers went to war and they both were blown apart, creating two new universes. Kyle, wait. That would mean that what we learned about the Celestials being the end of the previous universe would be a lie."
"No. There was never one combined universe. Let me explain this to you. Far beyond the Negative Zone and the alternate realities, there is in fact another universe. Much like our own, this universe spawned 'heroes' and 'villains.' There is an Earth counter-part. But that is where the similarities end. There are no Celestials there. No Elders."
"Then what about the brothers?"
"The brothers were two of the first of the Celestials anti-biotic entities. After the Celestials were finished with them, the two aliens drifted through time and space. Eventually, they came across the second universe. They then took shape. One represented that universe while the other represented our own. All too well, though, because then they drifted apart from each other. One remained here in our universe and the other remained there. Then, after finding each other, they sent out champions from the other universe against the other. In the end, however, the brothers called a truce."
"Then, what about this Access person? Why can't I find him now?"
"Mephisto feared this other universe. He guarded a gateway between the two for years before the brothers broke the barrier and began crossovers. Mephisto wanted to escape this responsibility, so he found a young man named Axle Asher and lied to him. He tricked him into becoming Access - and set him with burden and securing both universes and stopping any more crossovers."
"Why was Mephisto so afraid of this other universe? And why did he want to give up the task of guarding the gateway?"
"Because the entity that Mephisto feared judgement from in our universe existed in second universe. And he had already dispatched an entity of judgement. When Mephisto learned this, he did not want the job of guarding the gateway. For there would be more crossovers and each one could bring him closer and closer to the entity of judgement in the second universe."
"Why were there more crossovers if the brothers called a truce?"
"They needed a reason to justify their existence."
"This is incredible, Kyle. Is there any chance we could bring that entity of judgement here? Or perhaps some help from that second universe?"
"I'm afraid that's impossible, Aaron. When the brothers found themselves in need of a point of self-existence once more, they wanted to start another war between the universes. Access, though, was against this. He gave his life to seal the gateway and destroy the brothers. He sacrificed himself to keep the brothers from starting a new war. In the end, Mephisto won. Access had been used to keep the entity away. He gave his life doing so."
"So, what you're saying is that Access was really a villain. He just didn't know it?"
"Of sorts. But let's remember something, Aaron. Sacrifice is often key to being a hero. And Access gave the greatest sacrifice of all. His own life."