Prologue

Korriban, around 3600 BBY.

The Sith Lord sat in the darkness of his chambers, meditating, completely focused on his ritual. He had just preformed the necessary sacrifices, the body of a sith-spawn, a creature created and mutated through dark side arts, the corpses of three of his slaves who had helped him prepare the ritual and immediately became its first victims, and a few drops of his own pure dark blood. As the sacrifices were set afire, he closed his eyes and let the smoke direct his thoughts. He had sensed this disturbance in the Force before. Strange tremors through the very cosmos and fabric of reality. Something was going to happen that was more than even the most ancient and arcane secrets of the Force could be responsible for. As he focused, he saw an image, a large and terrible image of power even he did not possess in the hands of someone who was not of this realm of existence. Would this being be an invasion and bring about the Sith Empire's downfall, or could be an ally who would vanquish the retched Republic. The Sith stood up and the light of the fire shown on his crimson face. "Whatever it is", he thought to himself, "I need to alert the rest of the Dark Council."

Chapter 1: Another Dimension

Rick Jones tried for the third time to make sense of it all. Here he was, walking to the Baxter Building with his friend Dr. Bruce Banner to meet with Reed Richards, most well-known as the leader of the Fantastic Four and perhaps the smartest man in the world. This part wasn't surprising. Reed had been contacting Bruce for weeks now and Rick had figured that it was only a matter of time before they were invited to see whatever he had been working on. But Rick had heard snippets of their conversations and seen a few scribbled notes on Bruce's desk. Things like, "Call Dr. Strange about mystical energy," and "Gamma powered spaceship/portal," not to mention a lot of calculations that Rick didn't understand. He shook his head. At least he would probably hear everything when they got there.

It was a pleasant day, which was a good thing because nice weather was one of the things that helped Bruce stay calm. Rick knew, as did anyone who knew much at all about Bruce Banner, that with him, temperament was everything. If he got upset or angry one of his suppressed multiple personalities would surface as some incarnation of the Hulk, a super-strong man-like creature that could be very destructive if not kept under control. There had been many such versions of the Hulk over the years, some easier to handle than others, and there was the possibility that other versions were waiting for the right conditions to rise to the surface of Bruce's psych.

Despite every attempt by Bruce and his friends to make the Hulk a heroic force for good, predigests and fear from the populous combined with bad luck kept holding them back. Rick suddenly realized that he and Bruce were at their destination now, and he was excited to see what his friend had been working on for the past weeks. After taking the elevator up to one of the four floors of the building that Reed had rented for years, Rick and Bruce Banner were greeted warmly Reed's wife, Sue.

"Thank you for coming so soon," she said. "You have no idea how excited Reed has been lately. He's been so caught up in his work that he's hardly eaten anything for three days. He says that this could be his biggest discovery yet."

"Of course," commented Ben Grim, also known as The Thing, from the sofa, that's what he says every time. And I don't mind that he hasn't been eating lately. I get to eat all the great meals Sue cooks that he's been passing up."

He laughed, "But given the other person he's been asking for help on this project, I'd say this one is pretty "Strange.""

"What does Dr. Strange have to do with all this anyway?" asked Rick to Bruce. "I heard you talking to him at least twice last week and you still haven't told me what the big secret is."

Bruce turned to his friend. "To tell the truth Rick," he smiled, "I don't fully understand everything myself. I don't even know why Reed insisted that I bring you, not that I wouldn't bring you anyway, but he's promised to explain everything today."

"Reed's waiting for you in his laboratory" said Sue

Rick and Bruce knocked on the door and it was opened by a man in a white lab-coat with messed-up hair and sleepless eyes, Reed Richards.

Of course, Reed hadn't actually walked to the door to open it. Having the power to stretch any part of his body due to his exposer to cosmic radiation, he had simply stayed where he was, looking through his microscope, and stretched out an arm to open the door and let his friends in.

"Come in" he said, closing the door behind them the same way he had opened it. "You're right on time."

"On time for what?" asked Rick. "Could someone please tell me what is going on?"

"Patients young Rick" said a voice behind him.

Rick turned around to see a man wearing long flowing robes, a serious expression, and an amulet shaped like an eye around his neck. There was no way you could mistake this man for anyone else, Dr. Strange, the sorcerer supreme of this dimension, expert on anything and everything mystical, supernatural, and, well, strange.

"No" said Reed, at last getting up from his microscope and making eye-contact with his guests. "That won't be necessary. If you will all follow me into the next room, I'll explain everything."

When everyone was seated, Reed dimmed the lights and turned on a holographic display of a universe.

"As you all know, in my studies and scientific inquiries, I have discovered how to cross into other dimensions. The Negative Zone and the Council of Reeds are prime examples. However, I believe that I have found a new universe unlike the others that I have previously discovered. In the multiverse, there are no limitations and possibilities are endless." He pointed that a reading on the display. "This particular universe gives off a strange, new energy signal like I have never seen before. After consulting with both Dr. Strange and Dr. Banner, I have determined that this signal is unique, not only because it is so far exclusive to this universe among the others that we know of, but because it is somehow both mystical and scientific at the same time. With Dr. Banner's help, I have succeeded in creating a gamma-powered transport that is the only thing that can penetrate the unique space/time fabric that shields this universe. You, Rick Jones, are to travel with your friend Dr. Banner to explore this new world and gather information for me about this energy to not only expand our knowledge, but to see if it is possible to duplicate it our universe and use it for the good of the human race."

"But why aren't you and Dr. Strange coming with us?" asked Rick. "And why choose us anyway?"

This time, it was Dr. Strange who spoke.

"My duties as protector of this dimension hold me here. However, I am interested to learn more about this new mystical energy and will help to prepare you for your journey."

Reed Richards nodded in agreement and added, "I must stay here to operate the portal to ensure that it runs smoothly and that you can get back. Dr. Banner is the only one who can handle the gamma-powered shuttle, and you are going along because of your close bond and history."

"You know Rick," added Bruce, "Just in case something "unexpected" happens. You know how to calm me down and keep me focused. The last thing we need is for the Hulk to terrorize another universe."

Rick thought about this for a few seconds, and then said, "Sounds exiting. What are we waiting for?"

…

"Are you sure this is really necessary?" asked Rick, looking nervously around him at the mystical artifacts that Dr. Strange had set up around him and Bruce.

"Remember Rick," said Bruce, "we are venturing into the completely unknown. We need to take every precaution and prepare as completely as we can."

Dr. Strange smiled gently and said, "Don't worry Rick. I'm not going to turn you into a frog or anything weird like that. I'm simply strengthening both your willpower and the bond between you. This will give you greater control over yourselves and help prevent any "unexpected surprises", as Dr. Banner so amply puts it, by ensuring that conscious thought is required for a Hulk transformation."

He raised his hands and started to recite words in an ancient language. Colorful lights emerged from the artifacts and swirled around Rick and Bruce. Rick felt himself growing stronger somehow, not physically, but deep inside him he felt that he and Bruce could handle anything that this journey might entail, as long as they were together.