Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel
The stakes get even higher this chapter, the introduction of plot points in the future, and a tie in to the current events in my Redeemer story.
Ultimate Aeon Origins: Reboot
Chapter 9: Heroes rising
My world began much as yours had, the arrival of powerful beings signalled the beginning of the age of Marvels. Unlike your world however, Rogers was not our first Marvel, ours was Namor and the Human Torch. Not Johnny Storm you understand, (wait, you're world has been altered anyway), he was a man (though it was debatable) named Jim Hammond. He and Namor fought, signalling the beginning of the age of Marvels. When World War 2 reached its peak and the Americans got involved, it was the first sign of super powered heroes being organised. Steve Rogers volunteered to undergo Project Rebirth and joined the ranks of other super powered beings like the Destroyer, the Blazing Skull, Whizzer and the first generation of Marvels, becoming a legion to protect the allied shores, and invaders to strike at the Axis powers.
But much like your original world, Rogers seemed lost to you, frozen in ice for decades. He awoke a man out of time, but not a man who had completely lost touch with the world. My Steve Rogers was not the thug yours was, he didn't always believe that fighting was the first response. The heroes of my world had their flaws, but they acted like heroes, bought hope where they could, redeemed their mistakes and avenged those they could not protect. They even inspired heroism from generation after generation of marvels, even my fellow villains and I turned to heroics, for a time at least.
You see, whilst my reasons for fighting had shifted from revenge, to altruistic, my methods still remained rooted in villainy. I sacrificed all but myself, compromised, manipulated my way into positions of power. And I did it with the belief that others would agree with me, that they would understand. But of course my good intentions were not enough, I became the villain of another's story. In taking the man she loved I had incurred her wrath, she ruined one of my plans and banished me into the great expanse of infinity. I was cursed to go through time, witnessing the corruption and decadence of my family until finally I arrived in what I could only perceive and hope to be the heart of all reality.
Then I arrived here and as an ageless man witnessed both the rise of your old reality and this new one. My name is Zemo, and I know how to save this reality.
The assembled heroes stared at Zemo after he finished his speech, everyone of the assembled, costumed fighters reacted in a different way. Barton, Taskmaster and Cat were at a loss, nowhere near ready to get involved in the strange world they had entered. Howard took off his helmet and met Zemo's judgemental gaze, the same look Aaron had under his mask. Molly gripped her doop doll and little harder, and Shang-Chi concentrated hard on measuring the man's Ki and intent. Grimm and Rick understood it a little better considering their origins, but were still pretty lost. Karen had a much greater understanding, what with her telepathy, she was on the same page as Magician.
"You have memories of both our worlds, but you're not from either, which was why the reality warp didn't affect you, just as how the reality warp hasn't affected me or Rick because we are tied to the Multiverse somehow," Sven explained.
He understood perfectly how Zemo was here, yet he was not judgemental of the man either.
"Yes, my position in this world didn't change, neither did my tormentors, and now something from my world has joined with your world's destroyer, and now comes here," Zemo walked in a circle, raising one of the books he was holding.
"Traversing the universe, by Reed Richards, Reed is dead," Grimm said, gazing at the book and horrified.
"Your good friend Richards wrote this, I grabbed it, kept it in my cell and somehow it was not affected by the reality warp, just like these multitude of newspapers and books," Zemo yanked a copy of the Bugle out of the pile and pushed it against the glass.
A flash occurred in Sven's mind, the markings across his skin flared and he experienced emotions that had passed. His fear, dread and will to survive and protect the people closest to him, this was all the unmistakable feeling of hopelessness he felt when Galactus arrived the first time. Whole cities were wiped out, heroes were helpless, and all men like Sven could do was run and help where he could. He remembered clearly holding Faith tightly, the day they thought it was all going to end. It was the same thing they did when Magneto's Ultimatum wave swept over New York.
"The implications being anything I touched was able to avoid the reality warp," Zemo said.
"Perhaps some part of your spirit clung to the objects," Shang-Chi suggested.
"Scientifically speaking however its likely your body still has residual energy from your travel here, perhaps anything within your distance was also unaffected," Howard explained.
"Very well thought out Stark, yes, you're precisely correct, this cell, even the facility is the same as it was when I was first imprisoned, it and everything in it have been unaffected by the warp. I do not know whether it was science, magic, or something we cannot understand, but I and everything here are the same as we once were. Although you understand being a prisoner can affect you, sometimes you reflect well on your past, other times the desire for freedom turns into maddening desire for revenge."
"You're talking as if you are not the only human here," Barton interrupted Zemo.
"Oh but I'm not Hawkeye, although we're not all human, I'm probably what you'd call the receptionist," Zemo grinned slightly as he gestured to the door ahead of him.
Cat cautiously approached the hatch, reaching into her belt for her tools. Suddenly, both Spider-girl and Spider-man began to scream. The heroes looked at them in horror as they rolled onto the floor, as if having a fit of some kind.
"Spidey what's wrong?" Sven asked, grabbing Aaron's body as he convulsed.
"Our spider-alarms, it's like they just went into overdrive," Spider-girl said.
"My armour's sensors aren't showing anything dangerous, some radiation but nothing harmful," Howard said.
"Our spider-alarms..."
"Wouldn't spider-sense sound better?" Molly asked, innocently.
"It's strange, before I was able to sense incoming danger, now there's just nothing, like before that spider bit me," Aaron explained.
"It's clear that something manipulated events to cause this divergent timeline, wouldn't it make sense that something's manipulated whatever's influencing your spider sense?" Sven asked.
"The Watcher did just tell me something about a broken web," Rick said, gripping his head for a moment.
"There should be no danger in opening that door, Rogers and Fury before him were too arrogant to input security, although one could say they deliberately wanted disaster to strike," Zemo stated, sitting back down and reading his book.
"If there's no security then I'll give it a good old fashioned clobbering," Grimm raised his hand and slammed it into the door.
The door was blown off of its hinges and sent flying into the room. Sven cautiously stepped ahead of the group, the markings on his skin flickering, like a broken bulb.
"If there's another team in here, hopefully we can avoid the usual 'first meeting fight', and skip right to the team up," his voice echoed, and then he shook his head.
Taskmaster and Cat laughed as Barton twirled his finger around his ear. Howard however focused his eyes on Sven, scanning him, and discovering a cocktail of energies he was unfamiliar with. Molly ran ahead of the adults, stopping at Sven's leg as he stopped. His hands twitched as light filled the room. Magician mouthed a 'wow' as the contents of the room became visible. Glass tubes, much like the one that contained Zemo had been set out, it was a collection of individuals of various backgrounds. Each cell was marked with a number, giving an order of prisoners.
Cell one was occupied by a blind woman, she raised her head, hearing the entrance of the new group. Other than her obvious blindness she was nothing spectacular, her hair was graying, skin wrinkling, indicating she hadn't aged well in her sixty years of life. She sat beside a wheelchair, and Sven could see from her legs that whatever damage was in her spine.
Next to her, in cell two was the strangest thing the group had ever seen. Some kind of blue 'blob' was being contained within a force field. Molly shivered as she saw the mass move about. It shifted between an odd mix of liquid and slush, like melted ice. But occasionally, the observant like Aaron, Barton and Cat, could see a finger nail, or a hair follicle.
Even stranger still, in cell three was a pig. But not just any kind of pig, it was as tall as a teenage child, had hands like a humans and was wearing a black and red costume. The fingers of his gloves were red and had web patterns on them, just like the red web patterns, that joined into a spider on his chest.
Cell four offered a less stranger sight, though strange in its own way. Hundreds of purple insects of some kind were bouncing against the glass. They were clearly machines, their metallic hides were enough to indicate that.
"I am Groot!"
"I know, things just got stranger," Molly said.
"Stranger, but also more hopeful," Rick smiled as he barged past Sven and stared at the occupants of cells 5 through 8.
"I can't believe it, Rick Jones I have never been glad to see anyone in my life?" the blonde haired beauty said.
Sven recognised her instantly, so did Grimm.
"Sue, Sue Storm," he said, powering down to his human form.
"Ben, oh my god you're alive, I never thought I'd see you again," a smile spread across the girl's face as she leant against the glass.
She was dressed in a purple and blue outfit, the future foundation uniform. The cells beside her were occupied by her fellow Future Foundation members, Sam Wilson, Victor Van Damme and...
"Anthony," Howard gasped.
"Being away from alcohol for so long must have affected me more than I thought," the founding Ultimate muttered, looking at his father.
"This is impossible, you and Vic died with Reed and Johnny, the day we tested that portal device," Grimm explained.
"You're not my Ben," Sue hung her head in defeat, slipping to the floor.
"Fascinating, alternate versions of great scientific minds, we need to get to work on getting the others out," Howard said, walking over to a control panel.
"Who are they anyway?" Spider-girl asked.
"Miles Morhames, Spider-ham," the pig said.
"Is he serious?" Aaron asked, trading a sceptical look with Shang-Chi.
"He's from a universe filled with Sapient animals," Sue said.
"You don't all eat humans do you?" Molly asked.
"I am Groot!"
"The one in cell 1 is Cassandra Webb, she's a psychic," Sven said.
"Like me?" Karen asked.
"No where near that powerful, she made her name reading people's future, she was as famous as Dr Strange."
"Who?"
"Oh yeah, altered dimension," Sven sighed.
"Somehow we've ended up in an alternate dimension filled with ex boyfriends that have our powers, not so dead parents, and where girlfriends ended up being the super heroes," Tony explained. "Do any of you have beer?"
"No, in fact this is pretty much the time for us not to even think about beer," Aaron said.
"Thinking about beer has gotten me through each day, and tequila, vodka, scotch, wine..."
"We get it you're still a drunk Stark, but now isn't the time for cold ones or one liners, I know you all think you're in an alternate dimension but you aren't. My name is Sven Reilly, until recently I was an ex-agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, I know about your activities because of my detective work, but also because some...pocket dimension, has managed to link me with the multiverse, though to a much greater degree than you have all been. This, connection with reality has helped me to be unaffected by a warp in our world, one that twisted it into the dimension we're living in, history itself has changed, this is our world now."
The explanation shocked the foundation members, but the scientists in them, were as intrigued as Howard. The eldest Stark crossed some of the wires on the console together, shutting down power dampeners and opening certain cell doors.
"Keep Zemo's closed, I don't think we can trust him," Barton recommended.
"Anymore than we can," Howard muttered.
He opened Webb's cell, allowing Spider-girl and Shang-Chi to help the woman up. They lifted her up and sat her on her chair.
"Thank you, my connection with the great web is all that has allowed me to remember the old world, now that, that connection is severed, I fear I will soon be of no use to you," she explained.
"What is the web?" Aaron asked.
"It is what allows you two and your reflections to use your spider-senses," Webb said.
"Reflections?" Sven looked towards Webb quizzically.
"HA! He thinks his world is gone," Zemo said.
"What did you just say?" Sven asked.
"Webb is here because she was connected to the web that linked spider-totems in each reality, if this reality was so significantly altered, it wouldn't be part of the web anymore. Whatever destroyed the web, robbed both Spiders of their sixth senses. Which means our reality was still linked to the web, certain individuals as you know, have also been able to keep their memories of the original reality. Webb because of her earlier bought up link, Jones because of his connection with the Watcher, Spider-ham because he is not from our reality, and the members of the Future Foundation because of their extended stays in other realities."
"The Gah Lak Tus Swarm contained within the cell is Machine Man, my travels through the Multiverse has shown me, that in the event of the Watcher's compromise, Machine man is one of many who can act as his eyes. Unlock his cell and see what he has been seeing throughout his time here, he's connected to multiple bodies you know," Zemo drifted off as he continued reading his book.
Howard again crossed two wires together, opening another cell door. The swarm of insects flew around the heroes, causing them to go into defensive formation. But the swarm began to form a body, its colour scheme the same as the foundation uniforms, its eyes were orange, and the mechanical insects created perfectly formed limbs.
"Bloody hell, knew it weren't a dream," the Machine man said, his voice generating an Irish accent.
"Danny Ketch, a potential replacement for the Watcher," Zemo said.
"Yeah, 'it' says as much," Rick muttered.
"Cheers, you have no idea how confusing it's been, now that I'm out of this cell I'm getting a clear picture. I can relay data between each side of the mirror," Machine man said.
"That's the second time the term mirror has been used, what does it mean?" Sam asked.
"It means that two versions of our world have been created, both occupying the same space in the multiverse," Sue said.
She climbed out of her cell and looked towards Howard as he continued working. Noticing that only cell two had to be unlocked, a panicked expression spread across her face.
"No, DON'T OPEN THAT CELL!"
But she was too late, Howard crossed the wires together, and the glass of the cell slid upwards.
Magneto's greatest weapon in the savage land, was the multitude of metal he had buried beneath his fortress. Even against an army of plastic, he could still dominate the battlefield. With mere gestures of his hand, he sent pieces of metal flying into the sky, splitting apart soldiers dropping from the ships. His magnetic field protected him from the energy blasts fired by Sentinels and soldiers alike. Expanding the magnetic field, Magneto disrupted the electrical systems of some of the falcon soldiers. He then formed an armoury of metal, sending the projectiles flying across the battlefield. Colossus crushed an Ultron sentinel's head, and tore the body apart. He nodded to Blink, whom created a portal. Running into the portal like it was a mirror, he dived, downwards from the sky. But before he could hit the ground, another portal appeared, and Colossus slammed like a rocket into the cheek of a giant man. The commando fell into the giant man beside him, knocking another down like a domino.
Goblin troops were running through the battlefield, hitting Cyclops's squad hard. He fired an optic blast, knocking a commando away from him. Running to his side, he dodged several fire blasts launched at him. The rain of fire was accompanied by bullets fired by a falcon soldier. Cyclops fired an optic blast, knocking the man out of the sky. A portal then appeared and Blink jumped through the join Cyclops. She created another portal, redirecting the blasts of goblin troops back at themselves. Twirling two spikes between her fingers, she threw them at the falcon troopers. Their wings suddenly broke apart, sending them crashing to the ground. She formed another portal and followed Cyclops, joining Blob as he made his stand against waves of Ultron sentinels. He held two by their legs, using them both as bludgeons. Blasts uselessly bounced off of his gut, and his feet remained locked onto the ground. Blob threw one across the field, and split the second in half. Blink opened a portal for Bishop to enter the fight. Cyclops charged him with energy, and together the two unleashed energy blasts across the field. Storm rained down a flurry of lightning bolts, before flying to another part of the battlefield.
There, Storm summoned a ball lighting, and released it into the Ultron sentinels swarming towards the fortress. She flew upwards, joining Magneto in a flight towards the Ultimate's transport ships. The master of magnetism bombarded the ships with metal shards, and the mistress of weather threw them off course with wind funnels. Suddenly, a hammer flew across the sky. Magneto froze, watching the bladed part of the hammer tear through Storm's side. She gripped her open chest, blood dripping from her mouth. Calling on her reserves, Ororo Munroe lit up the skies with lightning, an effect so brilliant it could be seen miles away. With revenge on her mind she dived towards the Thor corps. She threw her hands forward, creating bolts of lightning that 'grabbed' the men and women of the Thor corps. Their harnesses, armour, even their hammers were charged, the asgardian symbols on their uniforms shined brilliantly. But the people themselves screamed as their own power was turned against them.
The Thor corps learnt with Ororo's dying breath, that there was one goddess of thunder.
Death, it had become the norm for this universe. There was nothing shocking about it to Cade anymore. He was Deathblade, the taker of lives, if one life could save billions he would gladly pay that price. But if millions had to be punished for the crimes of one, it was also a price Cade was willing to pay. He knew he had to, to surpass the versions of him he had seen before, he had to represent justice for all. His fellow prisoners were not all victims, some were truly guilty of crimes that couldn't be forgiven. Cade had no intention of letting anyone, other than the people essential to his plan out. His 'chosen', his 'worthy' all flocked to his side as he walked through the piles of dead bodies at the portal chamber. It was a direct link from the N-zone to the Baxter Building, the one way ticket out of hell.
"What are we waiting for?" Electro asked.
"Patience, we have but one thing left to do," Deathblade said.
He threw Sabretooth and Mystique to the floor, creating a sword from his energy.
"I only need one of you, and unless you Victor can look like anyone, it won't be you!"
"You son of a..." but the feral man never got to finish his slur.
The blade slammed into his head, glowing with energy, it swept through Sabretooth's bone and flesh, splitting him right down the middle. Cade then fired a blast out of his eyes, melting one of the pieces into a puddle. He looked at Mystique as she tried to crawl away from him. Grabbing her by her wrist, Cade lifted her off the ground.
"You have as much blood on your hands as he had, as much as I now have, and you said you did it for the greater good, at least Creed could admit he was sick," Cade snarled.
"If you want my help..."
"Oh I'll need your help Mystique, but I will not negotiate, I will not compromise, you will not help me willingly. I promise you, you will die, but before you do you will have done something to salvage the rest of humanity!"
Letting go of her arm, Deathblade caught her by her throat. Slowly, Mystique began to revert to her natural, bare and blue scaled form. Gambit and some of the other members of Cade's group, were taken aback by how beautiful she looked. Cade however saw her for what she was, a monster. The markings across his armour glowed, and Mystique gasped. Red markings spread across her skin, in an intricate pattern like a web. As if she was being branded, she screamed in agony, her voice echoing off of the walls.
"This, is your fate, the punishment for all you have done," Deathblade said as he released Mystique.
Her eyes were no longer her signature yellow, but red like Cade's. Gambit and Mary traded disturbed glances, before Deathblade turned to the portal device. With a swing of his sword, he cut the generator apart.
"What are you doing? That's our only way out," Electro looked at him in shock.
Deathblade said nothing as he raised his sword. He swung the blade downwards, and the group gasped in shock. His abilities extended to simply more than just energy projection, to more than just the manipulation of the soul, he could tear into the very fabric of reality.
"The next step of our plan begins through this gate, to Attilan!"
Regaining his consciousness, Sven looked around the room. Everything was a blur to him, but the searing pain across his skin was enough to tell him of everything that was happening. He felt the great agony of Mystique, the abuse of Cade's power in more ways than one, and the continuing battle in the Savage Land. The young man sat against a wall, looking towards his team mates. It was then he noticed that not everyone was missing. Magician and Howard Stark had disappeared, along with whatever had been in cell two.
"What just hit us?" Rick asked, groaning as he got off of the floor.
"That would be my ex, Reed Richards, otherwise known as the Maker," Sue said.
"Wow, someone's arrogant," Barton commented.
"Where did Stark go, and Elliot?" Karen asked.
"They left us behind," Shang-Chi said.
"Obviously," Zemo muttered from his cell.
"I don't understand where they would have gone to," Grimm said.
"Isn't it obvious," a voice spoke from the doorway.
The heroes turned to the speaker, astonished by what they saw. Ben was dressed in Woody's exo-skeleton, along with the Hawkowl claws and goggles. He stepped into the room, helping Cassandra Webb to get up.
"It's exactly the kind of normal tactic this world has now, leave everyone behind, and survive no matter what," he said.
"Actually, I think Maker and my...dad," Tony said the word with some difficulty, "Have gone to the world that lies on the other side of the mirror. Our original reality, there's no S.H.I.E.L.D. there and Maker's been in our custody too long to have another one of his cities in reserve. So it makes no sense for him to go back, we already know how to stop Galactus, and the Ultimates in our world are just a bunch of kids, he should be siding with us," the billionaire, playboy genius put a hand to his chin as he walked around the room.
"It was weeks before Reed joined the Future Foundation, he could've built another City in that time, giving how he formed the first one," Sue said.
"Oh he has another city, he wouldn't keep referring to himself as Maker if he didn't," Doom said.
"How would you know that?" Grimm asked.
"Because I am as much an egomaniac as he is!"
"At least you can admit it, but I don't believe it, Reed was my best friend, he wanted to save the world...you just wanted your name to be known," Grimm said.
"Ben, trust me when I tell you, your Reed and mine are similar, they suffered the same trauma in their childhood's. So they both would have ended up like one another, unable to tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it," Sue explained.
"It's a lot more complicated than that," Webb muttered.
"How so?" Ben asked.
Ben lifted Cassandra back onto her chair. The woman wheeled it around until she faced every member of the group.
"Before I was cut off from the web, I received a vision, of the future, of both variations of our world. On one hand we have Galactus, the chosen Avatar of death coming towards us, on another we have an imminent collision," Webb explained.
"What do you mean by collision?" Molly asked.
"Miss Grant, please, show everyone what I have seen," Webb said.
Karen closed her eyes, touching the sides of her head. Telepathic chains linked her mind with everyone else in the room, even Zemo was linked. The Project Aeon facility faded, replaced by the darkness of space. Each member of the group looked at their surroundings, each gripped by a different sort of wonder. Molly, the child that she was, twirled around as particles of stardust passed through her body. Barton removed his mask, looking up at the Earth's moon in a manner only astronauts could. Grimm too was experiencing a similar joy, reminded of his own dreams of going to space. Sven's markings glowed brighter than ever as the tone of the moment changed dramatically. What started as wonder turned into horror, when another impossible event occurred. No one, no matter what they had been through, would be prepared to watch another Earth collide with another. But the destruction didn't just end with the two planets, it spread, through two solar systems, through two universes, until only nothingness remained. The group floated within the white void for a moment, the message sinking into their minds. Then when they returned to the project Aeon facility, it finally hit them.
"We're screwed," Grimm said.
"That's why Reed went back to our world, so he could save it from this 'Incursion'," Sue said.
"If we save this world from Galactus, our universe dies anyway, if we save our world from the Incursion the universe is an empty place anyway, because this world is slowly replacing ours," Sam explained.
"That's exactly right Mr Wilson," Zemo said, throwing his book to the floor. "An impossible, inescapable scenario, you save your world, another world dies and your world ends up lifeless anyway. You save this world, then another world dies anyway along with both universes."
"What are we supposed to do?" Taskmaster asked.
"What are you asking us for?"
"Cause you're the heroes right? I mean, you guys are supposed to pull off the impossible, I'm just a simple mercenary Stark, you're the billionaire genius, the guy who made an incredible suit of armour. Storm is the super hot, super smart lady whose probably the most powerful super human alive, all three of those things together is impossible. Hell even the kid is part of some kind of grand galactic prophecy right?"
"The point Taskmaster is making is...you guys are the only ones who can save us," Felicia said.
"So why don't you?" Molly asked.
"It's a little more complicated than that honey," Sue said.
"No its not, " Ben said.
"Damn right," Aaron muttered.
"What do you two blokes know about it?" Danny asked.
"I have lived in a world where the powerful have stepped on the weak, now I've been shown a world where the powerful, where heroes act like heroes and stand up for people who need help. Where they have used their powers responsible, you five are part of that world," Ben explained, gesturing to the FF. "And now, after pulling victories out from defeat, you are going to stand there and tell me that there is no way for you to win without sacrificing something?"
"You are going to tell us, that in order to protect the Earth...Earth has to die, that in order to save billions, billions have to die, I always knew that heroes were hypocrites," Aaron said.
"Fraud and hypocrites? That's exactly what anyone who says they can save the world is," Zemo said.
Sven continued sitting on the floor, hanging his head low. Again he was faced with doubts, again the pressure piled on top of him. He saw the inevitability of his situation. On one side of the mirror was a world intent on destroying itself, and on the other was a world intent on saving itself, even if it had to destroy another world to do it. But through all that was Cade, a man doing deplorable things in the name of a greater good. There was a man he never thought would be a hypocrite, but he was being one. Sven got off the floor, still leaning against the wall.
"Nil Desperandum," he said.
"What was that?" Felicia asked.
"It is Latin wench, it means nothing is to be despaired of, a contradiction of our situation," Doom said.
"It can also mean never give up," Ben added.
"I saw two things, I saw a world where people had compromised, and they said it was for the greater good. I saw a world where a Reed Richards, a good man, a family man, the man you guys never knew," Sven began, looking to Grimm and Sue, and then at the others.
"Everything dies, he said, you, me, the universe, this isn't exactly how it went but...the point is that he said that everything ends eventually, nothing lasts forever, that there was nothing that could be done about it. He said that the early death of the universe is unacceptable, that they would do whatever it took to keep their universe from ending. Then I see another universe, one with fewer heroes, with fewer good men and women, and I see the leader of this group say the opposite of what the good Reed said."
"Everything lives, it lives before it dies, and we are judged by what we do during that time. Life is a precious thing, like the guy said, it survives, through extinction, through destruction, through tragedy, something pulls through. Through the deaths of an uncle, heroes can be born who say 'no more, no more people die when I'm around', through the struggle of being different, can come the triumph of overcoming even the odds of rejection. I choose to believe that everything lives, not that everything dies, I mean it's a better way of looking at it right? It's more hopeful!"
The room remained silent, Ben and surprisingly Zemo smiled slightly. Sue however sighed as she sat down.
"Look, whoever you are, we are talking about other worldly forces that can't be matched by any science we know," she said.
"Yeah," Grimm nodded his head in agreement. "It's just us, there's nothing we can do!"
"There's no hope left," Molly said.
"We're still alive Molly, so are some people who are willing to fight for what's right. And so long as those people are still alive, so long as what they fight for is still alive, then there's always a chance," finally Sven walked away from the wall and into the middle of the group. "Each of us is here for a reason, I know that now, because each of us has skills, abilities and qualities that we can use to make the world a better place. Because in other worlds, sometimes people who are better than us, sometimes people who are worse than us, have used those abilities to make the world a better place and save it again and again, regardless of whether it's their world or not!"
"You really think we can do it?" Barton asked.
"Yeah I do actually, so let's get to work on making the impossible possible," Sven smiled as the markings across his body glowed again.
As creator of the Watchers, Uatu had sworn to never interfere. The limit of his interference could only be through inspiration. His first attempt to inspire protectors of the Multiverse failed. As the god, Khonshu, his moon knights were not the heroes they should have been. Unlike another version of his people, he did not resemble humanity. His people had chalk white skin, no mouths and eyes that lacked pupils. His robes, even his headdress was based on egyptian clothing, he was the very image of Khonshu that influenced Marc Spector's Moon Knight costume. Standing on the moon, outside of the city of Attilan he recalled the history of 1610's Inhumans.
Like him they did not interfere, but for very different reasons. One part self preservation, another part arrogance, the Inhumans thought themselves better than their unaltered counterparts. They thought interaction with the world would corrupt them, unwilling to admit their own flaws. In the unaltered 1610 universe, the Inhumans left Earth for the moon and unbeknownst to Earth fell into anarchy. Their Terrigen crystals remained firmly under lock and key, no matter how many rulers they went through. In the new, altered reality however, Black Bolt was still ruler, but the love he formed with Medusa was nonexistent. Medusa's infidelity was something Cade Hunter intended to exploit to carry out his plans.
Some called Maximus mad, but he considered himself the only sane one in Attilan. It was his anti-humanist beliefs that influenced his brother's decisions to remain neutral during all conflicts. His belief in the line of succession remaining pure, is what kept the royal family breeding in its own line. But also, his genius couldn't be denied. The man was an inventor, most of Attilan's security was tied to him, his inventions kept the people of Attilan fed, warm and independent of their lesser (in his eyes) brethren on Earth. In Maximus's eyes, he deserved to be the ruler, he deserved to be adored by the people and not just Medusa. A grin spread across his face as the snake haired beauty walked into his lab. His brother's cold, emotionless approach to their marriage had started to take its toll.
"There is a celebration above us cousin, another youth will soon be exposed to Terrigen," Medusa said.
"I wonder what new wonder will be born from Terrigen, for all our advancements we have not yet discovered what it is that determines a new Inhumans abililities. Out of all the possible abilities, why would my brother gain a voice that can shatter mountains? Why would Crystal gain control of the elements? Why did Lockjaw become a primitive human dog?" Maximus continued to rant.
"Why would the Alpha Primitives become Alpha Primitives?" Medusa asked.
"Oh that, well its simple my dear Medusa, they are like those dullards down on Earth, they are inferior," Maximus said.
He turned to Medusa, gripping her cheek and pulling her into a kiss. Medusa ran her hands through Maximus's hair and tilted her head back as he tugged at her robe.
"What are you working on?" she asked.
"Some observations, something is coming towards Earth, it has already destroyed several planets, including Korban, Galador and Xandar," Maximus said.
"Should we not tell Black Bolt?"
"It won't matter, even if he was told he will do nothing, not that it's necessary to do anything. Whatever is purging the universe will consume Earth, and we will go back to being the perfect society, free from all the other pathetic and inferior creatures," Maximus explained.
"Perfect society? Inferior creatures? How can these words apply, to us or to them, who has the right to say that?" Medusa asked.
"What nonsense do you speak of Medusa?" Maximus asked.
"Not all who go through Terrigenesis come out as 'perfect' as you Maximus, you abandon the Alpha Primitives and dismiss them as labour, and the rest of the world? Your lack of care will catch up with you, as it already has. Deathblade really wanted to say that to you," Medusa explained.
'Medusa's' jaw, suddenly expanded and her teeth grew as sharp as razors. She bit into Maximus's neck, silencing his scream, by ripping out his throat. Her snake hair slithered and shifted, changing into red hair. Afterwards her robes faded into her skin, which took on a blur colour. Red markings glowed across her body, her eyes shined red as she raised her head.
"It's done Deathblade," Mystique said. "The gates are weakened, Maximus and Medusa are dead, the Terrigen crystals will soon be yours!"
Next Chapter 10: Inhumanity
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter
Uatu: My idea to introduce an actual Uatu the Watcher came from a question I had, what was the race that created the Ultimate Watchers? My idea to give him the look of Moon Knight's Khonshu was based on the Earth X series, in which the Watcher was also Khonshu.
Inhumans: I know, they've kind of been rammed down our throats, what with them now having a movie in the works, being the main plot in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and as many comic series as the Avengers, but they'll play a role in the future of this story and in the stories that follow.
