With A Snap
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 60: Timeless
EARTH ML-9115
PARIS, FRANCE
LOUVRE
There was a flash of light at the famed Parisian museum's steps, and out walked three women, the Doctor, Gwen Tennyson, and Charmcaster. Charmcaster traded her outfit for something more typical, black jeans and a purple top, with her purple jacket over that. She tugged on it and closed it.
"It's been cold lately," Charmcaster noted
Gwen agreed, "Yeah, it's supposed to be Spring; it feels like Autumn. In our world, in the Avenger's world and even here." She felt a chill.
The Doctor tugged on her coat, "Yeah," she cringed, "it's the ash," she motioned to the grey sky, "it's still in the sky, it blocking out the sun making it cooler."
Both young women cringed at it, Gwen speaking, "Then the dead-there there still in the air and-"
The Doctor stopped her, "Don't- just don't; it won't make things any better."
The Doctor walked forwards, taking a moment to glance at the pyramid in the square.
"Come on, Scout," The Doctor whispered to the TDS, "You found this ladybug?" The Doctor rubbed her temples as a headache started to come in. "This universe doesn't seem to agree with me."
Maybe it was because the two magic users were distracted, but they didn't notice the creature in the building. A creature forged by magic and seeking its prey.
As they left, the creature broke through the glass pyramid and was on the hunt.
EARTH M-199999
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AVENGER'S COMPOUND
Steve watched as the Doctor, and the two spell casters left. He was still a tad uncomfortable with the idea of magic. He did see what Wong had done, along with Alexis and so many people. Steve wasn't old fashioned enough to think any magic-user should be dunked in a lake. He wasn't even sure what to think magic was. Some people called Wanda the Scarlett Witch; maybe magic was just something people didn't have proper names or explanations. Alexis blended science and magic; he claimed they were slightly different ways to interact with reality.
Then there was Thor, he and his brother sure did a lot of stuff that could be described as magic, but he knew they also had tech.
Maybe Steve was trying to keep his mind off things; there was something about the silver-haired girl that reminded him about Wanda.
Still, he would have to Alexis and Missy when they returned. They managed to make the controls easy for anyone to pick up quickly, and their search program gave them several results. Steve mildly wondered what was taking them so long; maybe they found something interesting they both seemed somewhat chaotic. Maybe giving them a chance to stretch out their legs and explore would help them clear their minds. They reminded him of Howard in that sense; they knew they were right, knew they were geniuses, and saw things others didn't.
Steve smirked to himself; he had described Tony too. Maybe it was the same thing; they saw how the world worked, they saw angles no one else could; it must have been like having a bug in their heads being unable to fix things. Having something to do was probably the only thing keeping them from cracking.
Steve hadn't known them for a long, but that would explain the Doctor; they are working on things too; they must have been doing better having their daughter there. However, she was likely just as off-kilter as they were.
Maybe that was just apart of being a genius.
Steve sighed and looked at the screens; this turned into an excellent team-building exercise; people started to work with each other.
Some were there eager to check out new worlds, searching for something to help turn the tide. Some were training; some were resting; some were getting used to this new world.
They prepared to send the next group in.
0000
Rhodey was happy to train; he didn't expect it to go like this. Tony had fixed his suit and done some upgrades. Rhodey was eager to see what upgrades Tony put it, but he still felt off about this whole situation.
A swarm of metal flew straight at him, and he fired off his sonic canon.
The swarm quickly collapsed to the ground and gathered up.
"You sure you don't want to call it quits?" Rhodey offered up.
The swarm gathered together and formed back into Elena. She coughed loudly, her body reforming as she did. "No, just give me a second."
"Look, I'm all for pushing yourself, but every time you get hit by the sonic canon, you fall apart."
Elena grit her teeth, "New body, I'm not used to fighting like this. The longer I can hold it against sonic blasts, the better."
Elena had been a plumber; she had been a great one until she pulled out of the Academy. It was like she was starting over now, maybe even starting with less as her own body worked in a whole different manner.
Rhodey had seen the look in Elena's eyes before, someone who had to prove something usually to themselves. The determination was excellent quality, but if it blinded you, it was a hindrance.
"Okay, let's try something," Rhodey offered, "You can control your body, right?"
"Yeah, try making a shield with one of your arms. Maybe if you can't take the hit, you can focus it."
"I think I follow. Okay, let's go," Elena raised her left arm, forming a large metal shield.
Rhodey aimed his canon and fired; the shield quickly fell apart, but the rest of Elena charged ahead. She didn't waste any time and used her free arm to form a blade. She slashed at Rhodey getting her first hit since she started.
OKLBH-81
LAKEWOOD, ORIGINAL COUNTRY
POINT PREP HQ
Carol arrived at Point Prep; she saw many familiar faces though she'd hope to see more. She saw Red and Enid nearby, Enid looking shaky and nervous whole Red looked despondent. Not that she could blame them, they were probably still in shock after everything that happened.
Carol thought that maybe she should talk to them.
"Carol!" She heard a familiar voice call out to her.
She spotted Dr. Greyman and Foxtail nearby. Foxtail ran over to her and hugged her tightly. Things between them hadn't been great, but Foxtail had made great strides after she stepped down from her role as the head of Point Prep.
"Good to see you, Carol," Greyman, a grey little alien with a big beard and hard in a hoverchair, smiled. With so many gone, any familiar face was a treasure.
"I'm glad you're okay too," Carol hugged her old commander.
Like her name suggested, Foxtail had a foxtail; she was a large muscle woman with a short flat top hair cut.
Carol smiled, "So, do you know what this is about? I just heard that Elodie wanted to get as many heroes here for something. Something Dendy found?"
Greyman shook his head, "No clue; since we retired, we've been out of the loop. We barely got here."
Foxtail shook her head, "Maybe they tracked down the villain behind this whole mess."
"Who said it was one of us?"
A familiar voice spoke, in his typical lab coat, the purple Professor Venomous walked in. Behind him was the dragon-like Cosma; she wore an outfit that looked straight out of a sci-fi program.
"What are you doing here?" Foxtail pointed at him.
Cosma grumbled, "It's not us; our people got dusted too. And we were invited by Elodie to share what we know. This threat affects us too."
Foxtail took a deep breath through her nose and pulled Carol close, "Okay, I have to know. Why? Why did you cheat on Lazerblast with this guy?"
Carol blinked, "Uh… Venomous is Lazerblast."
Foxtail rolled her eyes at her before turning to Venomous, who just winked at her, then she turned back to Carol and back to Venomous. Her eyes went wide with realization.
"No, that can't be."
Then a green Kangaroo with glasses hopped inside the room. "Ba baba."
"Rippy Roo!" Venomous jumped over to her and cuddled her.
"Okay, yeah, that's him." Foxtail winced.
It was a small secret that Laserblast adored cute creatures; he didn't like to spread it around since he thought it ruined his tough-guy persona. But it would explain the rat minion.
Cosma chuckled, "Did you really not figure that out in what 6-11 years?"
Foxtails just realized that his supposed demised had sent her down a dark path, and she realized it was for nothing already but now double nothing.
Greyman just stared dumbfounded.
Rippy Roo just shouted, "Ba ba ba ba!? Baba ba!"
"Oh, well, you earned a degree; that is an accomplishment." Venomous was sincere to his former marsupial teammate.
EARTH M-199999
BIRNIN ZANA, WAKANDA
THE CITADEL
Shuri stood on the balcony as the camera's focus on her. "I know things look bleak. But we stand tall, Wakanda stood in front of an army that crippled worlds, but we still stand tall. I know many of you question the purpose of the battle; we were trying to stop this. We lost people in battle, and when the decimation still happened, we lost more. It's easy to ask why was the point, but that is the point, a mad man who wanted to do this damage came we did everything we could to stop it. Yes, we failed, but we stood up to a man who thought himself a god, and we didn't falter. We fought with honor, stood at the side of gods and warriors, and Wakanda was there equal. We fought for a just cause; we made our ancestors proud. We aren't done yet, it isn't fair that we aren't given time to mourn, but we must continue. We must unite; if you see your neighbor in need, reach out a hand and help. It will take every one of us doing what we can to see us through this. And we will see it through; we are Wakanda. We will not fall!"
The people cheered for her and their country.
After a few moments, she walked back inside.
She felt exhausted; Okoye waited there for her. With half the population gone, no one had much desire to fight for the throne. They all agreed to give it to Shuri as the rest of the family had turned to dust. Though not eager for the job, she couldn't turn it down; they needed a leader.
"You look tired," Okoye pointed out.
"I am; I didn't give my brother of my father enough credit. At least I don't have to be the Black Panther." Shuri told her.
Since Killmonger burned all of the Heart-Shaped Herb, there was no way to make a new Black Panther. Shuri had toyed around with some suits that could enhance a person's athletic abilities, but they weren't the same. The suit could not react in time with a person's reaction, and hesitations could lead to death. Shuri worked on synthesizing the herb, but she needed an original sample to make it happen.
"Go rest; I will wake you if anything happens."
Shuri sighed, too tired to argue, "Please make sure nothing happens."
Eventually, she went into bed and went to sleep. She had the dream again, the same one she had for the last few nights.
In her lab, she worked on one of her many projects; then, she saw the purple glow outside her window. Walk towards the window, she saw the light coming from the Panther statue outside on the mountain glow and turned to her.
"Shuri."
"Stop!" Shuri demanded.
"You can't ignore me."
"Try me," She grabbed control and closed the shutter.
As she turned back to her lab, she found a spectral Panther staring her down.
Bast, the panther goddess, its glowing eyes were staring down her. Shuri didn't bow, she didn't scream or anything, she wasn't particularly religious, but it wasn't to say she didn't believe. She prayed for the panther to take care of her father when he died, she silently thanks Bast when her brother was found alive, and prayed for everyone when the dusting happened.
Shuri was a scientist; she couldn't fully believe in anything without some proof. It wouldn't be strange for someone to dream the divine.
"You cannot run from your destiny any longer," Bast's voice reverberated.
"I can't,"
"Your time is running out; you need it,"
The shutters opened again, and outside, all Shuri saw was the Wakanda burning and a giant skull specter over it. Then in a flash of light, Wakanda was gone.
Shuri turned back but now found lab was gone; instead, they were out beyond the borders of Wakanda into the forest near the mountains.
Shuri woke up breathing hard, every dream felt so real, and she never told anyone. She was afraid of what they would say, and she was scared of what it could mean. She wasn't sure if she could believe that it was the goddess Bast; she believed more quickly that it was just an intense dream.
She thought it was her mind telling her she had to accept it and accept that her brother was gone and wouldn't come back. And she was not ready to accept that.
EARTH CCS-41
TOMOEDA, JAPAN
KINOMOTO HOUSE
Sakura sat with Kero beside her. Sitting before them was the odd orb that they had been given from that bizarre shop.
Kero was just happy they left that shop without losing anything besides a picture. They did sense something special about that orb.
Kero tapped on the orb a few times with no result. "I don't have a clue; why couldn't that kid give us an instruction book."
Sakura picked up the orb and studied it; she felt a connection to it; it reminded her of her staff.
EARTH SU-521
BEACH CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CRYSTAL GEM TEMPLE
Connie and Crystal Gem were in the Temple. They were letting Rose talk to the Diamonds in peace. Connie felt terrible for the Diamonds, Blue looked ready to have a breakdown, and Yellow looked lost.
Rose explained how she shifted into A Quartz's form and led a rebellion once they told her they wouldn't let Earth be. How she saw beauty in Earth and humanity and then the gems, they just called flawed.
Yellow and Blue couldn't argue anymore; Steven had turned them around on that. It was still a lot to sake in seeing Pink was back. They were going around in circles, still hurt that Pink faked her death. Connie couldn't blame them for being hurt about that.
Connie looked around; Amethyst was trying to reassure Sapphire, who was almost motionless when she wasn't crying. Bismuth was attempting to feed Lion, but he was sniffing the plate she brought him. And Peridot had just plugged a bunch of things into the warp pad. Lars and the Off Colors went into their ship; the Diamonds allowed them to get some spare parts from their ship and quickly started on repairs.
Connie wasn't sure if Lars and his crew had any ideas of what to do next; they just needed something to do. Connie would love to have something to take her mind off things, even for a little bit. She would think of sparring, but no one would seem to be in the mood.
The Temple shook, and Connie picked outside to see the Diamond's taking off; Rose was walking back. Her expression was hard to make out.
Rose entered the Temple, "Well, that could have gone a lot worse. They're generally glad I'm not dead anymore… but…they need time. Half of Homeworld is gone, and with Steven and…" She sighed, "It's just a lot to take in at once, and they've never been good at adapting to change."
"Ah-ha!" Peridot looked at her tablet.
The warp pad began to pulse.
Amethyst looked on, "Peri? What did you do?"
Sapphire looked up and whispered, "Hope?"
A stream of light poured through and was replaced by three people. One was a man with dark blond hair, handsome and rugged. Next to him was a young woman with blonde hair in a ponytail; she had a bright smile and a curious look in her eyes. Then there was a woman, bald, with a metal arm and blue skin.
"So, that's how it feels; I don't know what Tony was complaining about." The man mumbled to himself.
"Who are you?" Rose's voice was quiet and reserved.
The man smiled, "Ma'am," He motioned to the blonde, "This is Jenny," he motioned to the blue girl, "this is Nebula, I'm Steve Rogers."
Rose winced at the name, not that anyone's reaction was much better.
"I called them!" Peridot yelled, "Well, they called me, and I called them back."
EARTH M-199999
MALDON, ENGLAND
BRADDOCK MANOR
In a flash of light, Deadpool and Illyana appeared before an old British manor.
Illyana grumbled, "Is this the place?"
"I think so, never actually been," Wade told her.
"Why did you have me bring us here?"
"I'm glad you asked; lets me drop the exposition. Well, you see, I've read the comics, and no someone useful might be here."
"What?"
"Okay, I've been around. I've heard stuff. Look, we could use some help dealing with Thanos, and there are other people in this world with a bit of a kick. Maybe get our own captain helping us out with the universe hopping." Wade hugged himself, "Come on, let's get inside, it's cold, and this suit isn't exactly insulated."
Illyana had to agree that it was night already, and it felt like it could rain at any moment. She walked right up to the door and knocked on them; Wade shivered a bit. "Come on, answer it."
"I don't think anyone is home."
Illyana started to walk away; I'll make us a portal back."
"Got it!" Deadpool was by an open door; he was holding a lock pick set. He started to put them back into the pouches on his belt. "Unless you're going to pull a Gene Kelly get in here. Your brother would crush my skull if he knew I let you get a cold."
Illyana paused to pick something from the ground.
"Hey! Someone! Anyone! We need help!"
"No one is here." Illyana threw him a newspaper.
"Who still gets newspapers?"
"Look at it,"
"Jim Jaspers, head of the Conservative Party and MP for Haslope West pushes for stricter regulations on Enhances Individuals. A proponent for the Sokovia Accords insists the government is not doing enough to control enhanced individuals. He makes a bid for Prime Ministers on the- "Wade sighed, "Boring!"
"The date," Illyana scolded, "It's from days ago, and no one brought it in. There is a pile of them there. No one is here. Anyone you were hoping to find is probably amongst the dust."
"What are the odds?!"
"Fifty-fifty."
"Get out." From the end of the hall, a purple glowed shone.
"You see, I told you someone was here."
EARTH ML-9115
PARIS, FRANCE
FRANCOISE DUPONT HIGH SCHOOL
Marinette arrived at her school with Luka. Everyone had gathered at the school quad; people had already gathered and placed flowers, candles, and pictures by the wall. She and the other miraculous holders were there, it made sense they went to school there, and in Kagami's case, her friends went there too. Marinette felt useless; she couldn't do anything, nothing to fix this.
0000
Gabriel woke up on the floor; he coughed hard. He'd been coming in and out as he saw visions of a creature. It took him a while, but his mind was piecing it together. He had one chance left; he grabbed the miraculous.
0000
The Doctor walked down the streets and to her surprise, they arrived at a school.
Gwen noted, "The girl in red, she looked young. She might go to school here."
"Look around," The Doctor suggested, "see if you see anyone that looks like her."
With that, the Doctor was off in a random direction.
"So, what do we look for?" Charmcaster asked.
Gwen shook her head, "Hard to say, a teenaged girl with black hair and slender gymnast build."
"Okay, if she is magic, there might be a spell or a charm to make it harder to connect the dots."
Gwen agreed, "Should we try a spell to try and clear our minds?"
"It might alert someone," Charmcaster pulled them to an empty hall inside the school so that they wouldn't be interrupted.
Charmcaster took Gwen's hands in hers, "We pull our magic together, let it resonate with us and with the air around us. It will work like radar; if there is magic around, we will be able to sense it even if it's hidden."
"Okay, what do we do?"
"Just focus a little magic into your hand, let it flow into mind. Focus on breathing."
"Seems simple enough."
Gwen tugged on her hands, and slowly her fingers entwined with Charmcaster's. She was about to say that they didn't need to when she felt a warmth spread into her hands. That was Gwen's mana, her energy a soft warmness that gave her some comfort, and Charmcaster found she couldn't pull away at the moment. Charmcaster let her energies blend into her; she felt a connection, something they had done before in her own dimension. As much as she hated to admit it, there was a connection; maybe they always had. They'd been rivals since they were kids, and they made each other better, forced each other to grow, and there was a thrill to that. And when they worked together, fought together, they clicked into place, and it felt amazing to have that connection. Charmcaster couldn't even remember when she had that sort of honest connection with a person.
Charmcaster smiled at the sensation and noticed that Gwen was smiling. Before either one could say anything, their eyes went wide as they sensed something. They perceived several powerful magical sources located at the school. They also felt some forces coming towards the school.
0000
Marinette was waiting for Luka and wasn't sure what to do. That's when she noticed an odd woman with blonde hair in a grey-blue coat and a shirt with a rainbow on it. Marinette was interested in pursuing fashion as a career, and well, this woman had a very unusual sense of style. She had been fiddling with a weird watch-like device on her wrist when she huffed and pulled out a strange silver rod device from her pocket.
The tip glowed a golden light and hummed, "Oh, come on, there has to be an energy signature or something." The device binged, and she blinked, looking forwards. "I found you." She walked forwards.
Marinette wondered if she should say something.
That's when Luka returned carrying some flowers, "I thought we could place them at the memorial."
Marinette smiled at that, "That's a good idea,"
Luka sighed, "Marinette, I know this situation isn't easy for anyone, and I can't even begin to imagine what's for you. I want you to know that you can trust me; if you want to talk or if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you," She smiled.
0000
Kagami wasn't sure what to do. She young, and it's never easy to know how to mourn at that age. Her mother was gone, and despite the difficulties they had from time to time, she missed her.
"Excuse me."
Kagami was stirred from her thoughts by a woman with a bright smile, her French was excellent, but she could hear an English accent behind it.
The woman smiled as she looked her up and down, "Right build and height. Hair seems shorter, not a lot. Is that a trick? Extensions or something?"
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, it good would make it harder to make the connection. Kudos, if you're going for the whole secret identity thing, I'd give it an eight out of ten. It could be better, but it's subtle enough that so no one takes notice of anything. I did have help, I can't bring it down, but I did manage to detect some strange energies nearby."
"What are you talking about?"
The Doctor looked around, "I think we should move away from the crowd and talk in private about." The Doctor leaned in and half-whispered, "Ladybug."
Kagami's eyes widened, was this woman looking Ladybug. What were her intentions? Kagami thought herself a good judge of character, and this woman didn't seem to have any ill intentions; if anything, she seemed a tad naive. No, that was quite right, she appeared cheerful, but something deep down seemed much darker. Could it be an act to hide her true intentions?
Kagami was already hesitant about going along with this woman, but this was even more troubling. But then what would happen, Marinette? Kagami saw the other miraculous holders, but she couldn't signal to them. Long was hiding in her back; should things get dire, she could send him off to get help.
If things grew dire, she could transform instead. She would prefer not to expose her identity; it was bad enough that Hawkmoth knew it. There was even a chance this stranger thought she was Ladybug; she seemed not to be fully informed since it was news that Ladybug had become Lady Noir. If this woman didn't know Marinette was Ladybug, then she couldn't let her find out. Kagami would make sure to protect her friend.
"Very well, let's go somewhere private."
"Splendid," The Doctor smiled, "I'm the Doctor by the way,"
"Doctor? Doctor who?"
"You know, I hear that a lot."
EARTH M-199999
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AVENGER'S COMPOUND
Rojo didn't feel like training.
She supposed that there wasn't anything wrong with it, but she wasn't feeling it. This whole thing was a spur of the moment thing. In truth, she wasn't sure what she was doing here. It's not like she wasn't willing to help, but what could she do.
Some people traveled around trying to find other people; some worked on things; the robot monkey and duck thing were building additions to the building and making new rooms after fixing everything.
Rojo just wondered about it for a while, and then she found the garage. There were plenty of cars, practical and some worth more than some buildings.
But she ignored them; she focused on motorcycles. She loved motorcycles since a young age; she decided to check them out. She figured motorcycles from another universe had to be something.
Most of the ones she found looked like some high-end motorcycles she'd seen. Then she found an odd one with a glowing plate on the handles.
She couldn't help herself; she opened it up to see what it was. She deeper afterward, she started to take apart. The glowing thing must have been a power source; the engine was very streamlined but looked like it could break all speed limits.
Rojo spent a few hours taking apart the part and then putting them back together to see how they worked.
"You know it's rude to take apart someone's motorcycle without asking."
Rojo turned around to see Tony Stark.
"…"
"You're not in trouble. It looks like you got a good hold of it; everything looks good. Most people would have broken it. Half the stuff I put in it isn't even out in public yet. You took them apart and back together without a misstep."
"Ah, thanks."
"How did you do it?"
"Ah, well, my suit its alien tech, well, it's got alien tech all through it. And I had to learn how to fix it. I've always been with mechanical things. I just kept at it until I got it working."
"Hm, well, I've got a meeting to get to. You keep at it. Maybe after this, you'll give me a chance with your suit. I'm good with suits."
"I'll make sure to put it back together."
"Good, if you want, I can give you some tips on marketing that tech."
"Marketing?"
"If you can take apart the arc reactor engine without being taught. I think someone who can do that can know how to make an honest dollar of it. I'm not saying sell alien tech, but you can learn a few things about it. I bet you can use what you learned to make some new engines yourself. That one of my first inventions was a new engine. Made my first million from it."
Rojo pondered that, especially the millions part.
0000
Natasha was hoping for a bit more of a united front from the Avengers. Thor and Clint were still trying to cope with everything. Steve had gone on a recruitment mission. Bruce was doing well, but he was working in his lab, trying to find a way to make sure they could use the gauntlet. Tony was supposed to be here, but he was late.
Jack and Scarlett were manning on the portals when it became active. It looked like Nat was going to have to talk to them on her own.
Nat glanced over what at the screen Scout had gathered the information for who was coming. It was one of the groups that Scout had contacted. They wanted to come here and make sure that it was true. They even built their own portal.
The portal fully formed, and they walked out. Four people came out, Kim Possible, Shego, Hayley Long, and Stitch.
He had stayed back to protect the world from any terror that could arise. The others maintained the portal in case anything happened.
"Welcome," Nat greeted them, "we have a lot to talk about."
EARTH SU-521
BEACH CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CRYSTAL GEM TEMPLE
Steve was happy with how things were going. Tony told him that the man controlling the city had sent their law enforcement and several super-powered mercenaries and assorted enhanced individuals. Natasha explained how she got involved in the middle of a Coup to overthrow the King. Both missions did result in making new allies. This was going far better.
Though confused, those present welcomed them when Peridot explained the situation.
Steve brought Nebula and Jenny with them since they were both far more knowledgeable about aliens than he was, for obvious reasons.
They hand brought over a young pink man to help discuss these things.
"Wow, organic limb enhancers to replace lost organic ones." Peridot kept examining Nebula's arm before taking a look at the plate on Nebula's head. The gem quickly surmised that it wasn't a skull covering, but its design suggested that it could be removed to provide access for future repairs and additions. She had enough sense not to touch it without permission, she did know organic dislike for being vulnerable, and the brain was the most fragile part.
Nebula, on her part, was trying to be polite, not making the smaller gem away.
Connie and Lars talked; Connie says, "So, you guys are from parallel universes?"
Jenny shakes her head gently, "Not exactly, each universe exist in their own meta-verse or multiverse; these are all parallel to each other. Each universe consists of universes similar but different in small or grand ways; people are there but can be different. We come from separate and far more distinct universes, where history isn't just different, but the nature of the universe and even physics can be different. People don't exist, my dad checked, and it doesn't seem like our people exist in Steve's universe."
Nebula blinked, the Doctor had sent some messages and double-checked with Nebula, and she hadn't heard of any species called the timelords.
Lars shrugged, "I'm not following, and I read a lot of sci-fi."
Connie scratched her head, "So, a world with another me but with an eye patch and evil would be a parallel universe. This universe to your universe where there were no gems would be the perpendicular universe?"
"If you like," Jenny smiled at the term.
Connie's mind reeled at the idea that there were universes where the Gems either never visited Earth or possibly never existed.
The gems did not know about other universes; they seemed to focus on the threat.
"And what were you saying about this threat?" Rose asked.
"My father," Nebula held out a small holographic device that began to display the battle in the Garden.
She explained Thanos' plan and the damage it had done to all of creation.
Steve finished with their plans to find Thanos and to retrieve the gauntlet.
"Scout has been looking for people we think could be a great help. Someone with healing powers and the ability to make a powerful shield."
"…That would be me," Rose leaned in,
Steve replied, "We could use your help. I can't promise we will win or that we make it out of this, but with your help, we'd certainly have a better shot."
"I'm be happy to go with you," Rose quickly replied.
"Rose?" Amethyst was the first to reply, confused.
"It's a long shot, but it's the only chance we have to get everyone back. Greg, Pearl, Ruby… Steven."
She made an excellent point that they couldn't argue against.
Amethyst sighed, "I guess I'll tag along."
"If it's our only shot, I don't see why not." Bismuth added, "you'll need all the help you can get if you're going up against a guy who can literally snap his fingers and wipe out armies."
Bismuth decided to stop talking before she talked herself out of it.
Peridot shrugged, "Well, I helped arranged this, so I'm going. Plus, this Scout promised me I could get a look at their tech."
Rose objected, "You-
Sapphire spoke up, "Rose, they've already decided to go. There is nothing you will say that will change their minds."
"Well, if that's the case, then." Rose knew better than to argue with Sapphire when she took that tone.
And considering everything that happened, Rose felt strange about telling them what to do now.
Steve was happy that this had gone so smoothly. He was a little hesitant about Connie going along, but she insisted on coming along. Amethyst and Bismuth both vouched for her as a Crystal Gems member and a skilled sword fighter who could keep up with them. Connie's parents were gone because of the snap, so she had as many reasons to fight along.
Steve hated to think of how many kids were missing their parents.
Connie grabbed her things.
Lars just said, "Yeah, I'm just going to stay here. The off-Colors are still fixing the Sun Incinirtor needs works."
Peridot was making notes, "Here, if something happens, follow these. I'm sure you can use them to figure out the additions to the warp pad I made."
Looking them over, Lars had no clue what to do, but Fluorite had been made of a few Peridots which survived the snap; he was sure they could figure it out.
"This went better than I thought it would," Nebula admitted to Steve.
Steve smiled to himself as they prepared to return back home.
EARTH ML-9115
PARIS, FRANCE
FRANCOISE DUPONT HIGH SCHOOL
Gwen and Charmcaster ran out of the hall.
"What do we do?" Charmcaster asked, "You're the expert on the hero thing."
Something leaped over the walls of the school and plopped in the middle of the quad. It was this large featureless blue frog-like creature with a ceremonial seal on its face.
"Yum yum! Miraculous!"
The creature shot out its long tongue and aimed it towards Marinette. Luka jumped in front of Marinette and took the hit; the creature didn't seem to care and yanked him forwards to his mouth. A purple blast of energy struck the creature forcing him to let go of Luka. This creature, Feast, turned to Gwen, her fist glowing with power.
"Everyone run!" Gwen ordered.
Charmcaster quickly conjured up a spell and fired it at Feast. Feast just opened its mouth and swallowed it up, burped, and then grew a little bit.
"No need to fear! I'm here!" Chloe cheered for herself; most people were already fleeing, so few people noticed her. Not that it matters; she had already revealed her identity to the public.
"Pollen, buzz on!"
The comb in her hair lit up as the bee-like kwami shot towards it; in a flash of light, Chloe was now wearing her superhero outfit. "Queen Bee is here to save the da-"
She didn't finish it as the people started to push past her towards the inside of the school.
"Miraculous!" Feast yelled out.
Queen Bee Huffed, "Do you want mine? Well, you will have to- "
Queen Bee fell backward, just avoiding the tongue which ripped the wall behind her. Feast happily ate the wall.
0000
Kagami and walked the Doctor into an empty classroom.
"What did you want to talk to me about?"
The Doctor smiled, "First off, this is working a lot better than the last world. No one called the police on me." The Doctor clapped her hand, "Okay, this is going to sound wild. I am from another Universe, Me and my friends are looking for a way to reverse what happened in the last few days."
Before she could continue, they heard a noise outside; checking out, they saw people running down the hall deeper into the school.
Kagami stopped a random student, "What is happening?"
"There's some sort of monster is attacking the school."
Kagami had to make an excuse and help, she turned to the Doctor, but she was gone. The Doctor was already halfway down the hall running towards the screams.
0000
Marinette was dragging Luka away from the battle; it looked like his shoulder had been dislocated by the attack.
"Marinette?"
"Luka?" Marinette pulled him behind a pillar, "there's a monster; we have to get you somewhere safe."
Queen Bee tried to dodge the tongue; she tried to get close enough to sting it to stop it.
"Don't worry about me," he cringed in pain, "I'll be fine; just need a minute."
"Let me get you somewhere safe and-"
"They need you,"
"What?"
"They need Ladybug."
"What?"
"I know Lady Noir, but you'll always be LadyBug,"
"…" Marinette was stunned.
"Don't worry; I never told anyone."
"How did you know?"
"Marinette, I know you. Ladybug has saved me; I didn't put it together right away; seeing Lady Noir helped, but… I don't know there was something. I don't know what, but when I saw Ladybug I Marinette. Something strong and brave and kind and beautiful. It doesn't matter what name you use or what power you have. I believe you can save us."
"Wow, that- that was good." Plagg stuck his head out of Marinette's bag.
"Plagg!" Marinette scolded the cat-like kwami.
"What he knows your identity already, you have no idea how annoying it is to keep secrets."
They couldn't continue. The pillar was then torn away, and they could only watch Feast swallow it quickly. Feast shot out its tongue again; Marinette was able to block the attack with her bag but soon lost it.
Plagg barely managed to slip out of it.
Luka reassured her, "Go, do what you have to. I'll be fine."
Luka pulled himself up and got moving.
Feast attacked again, but mid lashing a green shell-like shield deflected the blow.
Carapace caught the shield as it bounced back.
Rena Rogue walked beside him. "If you want miraculous, why don't you try to get ours." She started to play her flute and her power activated; several illusions of her and Carapace appeared around them.
Feast was confused by the sudden appearance of several of them.
Marinette smiled; Nino and Alya were a good team.
Kim turned into King Monkey, brought a bunch of balls from the sports locker, and used his staff to hurl them towards the creature.
Feast was cutting through the illusions when Max as Pegasus came in. He threw his boomerang-like horse weapon at it before it flew back into his hang. When it turned to attack him, Alix and Bunnix deflected the attack with her umbrella.
At that moment, the Doctor whistled, "That's a sight," she paused and looked at Luka, "let me help you with that arm."
Luka nodded to Marinette; the Doctor added, "Get somewhere safe; I'll make sure he's along soon."
Marinette ran for cover, with Plagg hiding behind her.
The Doctor smiled, "What's your name?"
"Luka," He tried not to flinch as the Doctor grabbed his arm.
"Good, I'm the Doctor, and I need you to focus on my eyes," The Doctor hated to do this without permission, but it would help him deal with the pain. She used her psychic abilities to dull his sense of pain temporarily. Luka didn't even flinch as she shoved his arm back in his socket. "Okay, that should do it. Ice it down, light pain killers, plenty of rest, and no lifting anything heavy. Now go and hide."
The Doctor motioned him toward the inside of the school.
A massive gust of wind rushed through the door and quickly surrounded Feast and hurled him into the air before dropping it.
Kagami had changed into Ryuko and using her power.
"Looks like you took care of it before I got here."
Marinette used the chance to find a place to transform into Lady Noir. "It's a sentimonster."
Before they could continue, a bubble of purple energy popped around Feast. While Gwen kept the bubble up, Charmcaster mused.
"Animal Totem magic, invoking animal traits for power. Not something I'd use but suit yourself."
"Who are you?" Lady Noir asked.
"Friends," The Doctor asked, coming over, "I would so anyway." She looked; none of them was Ladybug girl though the one in the red suit made her double-take. "Sorry, the perfection filters on your outfits are making my brain fussy. Helping with the headache a bit."
The filters weren't that strong enough to fool most people, and the Doctor started to focus and pushed past them.
"Ah, where's Ladybug?"
They didn't know how to explain that.
EARTH M-199999
MALDON, ENGLAND
BRADDOCK MANOR
Wade found a purple energy blade rush for his neck only to be blocked by Illyana's sword.
The woman created another blade from her free hand, and Deadpool replied by pulling out his Katanas.
"Look, I'm the only one not to have any cool energy sword, but at least I got two." He turned to mock Illyana.
The young Russian just glared at him.
"Sorry lashing out; it's just I'm the only one without an off-brand lightsaber."
The mystery woman flashed at his sword, cutting them in half and jumping back.
"Hey! Look what you did to my sword!"
The woman said, "Was it a rare sword? Or some kind of sentimental weapon passed down by one of your mentors?"
"No. It's just a plan 'cut you up and make you dead' sword. That's not the point."
"What's the point then?"
"It's broken! That's the point!"
"I feel like I need to remind you pointed your plain sword at my neck with what I assume the intention of threatening me or causing fatal damage."
"Fair point. Hey- Betsy!"
She groaned at the name.
Illyana quirked an eyebrow, "You know each other?"
Deadpool replied, "Yeah, fellow mutant merc and member of How the hell do I fit in this timeline club."
Both women continued to look at him, confused.
Deadpool took it in stride, "So, Psylocke, what are you doing here?"
"I could ask you the same thing," Psylocke replied, letting her swords vanish. "This is my home."
"You're not Captain Britain? The studio is certainly not going to start with you; they'd go with Brian Braddock first."
Psylocke just looked at him, "You know my brother?"
"Oh!" Deadpool realized, "Right, that doesn't come up and motion to her, "I mean, Olivia Munn has come a long way since her days at G4, but I don't think anyone is going to buy her as British."
Betsy just groaned, "My father is British, and my mother is from Japan. I grew up in the United States after they separated, explaining the accent."
"Okay, Wolverine and the X-men background. Sure, why not? They didn't give you much of background during Apocalypse." He held up his broken swords, "By the way, I know Munn is better at swords than Reynolds; I saw the video; we didn't have to re-enact it."
Betsy was rubbing her temples; dealing with Wade took far more patience than she had.
Deadpool shrugged, "Well, I'm sure I can get them fixed. But it looks like my cheat isn't going to work, except-" he snapped his fingers, "You wanna come with us and help us save all of reality? Bonus: I think this is going to be the first time you get to be an Avengers. I mean, if you say yes."
Betsy sighed, "I'm not going to try to reread your mind." Turning to Illyana, she asked, "Can you explain it?"
Illyana explained the situation with the avengers.
"No," Psylocke turned them down.
"Understandable," Illyana agreed with the sentiment.
"Please get him out here before I decide to behead him," Betsy growled.
"Illyana created a portal and started to pull Deadpool away.
"Come on! You were done a disservice in the X-men films; this is your chance for a- "
The portal close, Betsy walked back going to her bedroom. She paused as she found herself looking at a picture of herself and her brother; he was wearing a silver amulet he never took off.
She didn't know if he was alive? No one could get a reach of him, and she didn't know if he was alive or dust.
OKLBH-81
LAKEWOOD, ORIGINAL COUNTRY
POINT PREP HQ
By that time, more heroes and villains had arrived, but their numbers were still less than they would hope. No one could blame them, the world had been turned upside down, and there was a lot to deal with.
Elodie explained the situation that Dendy had discovered.
Now other universes weren't such far-out things, many heroes had found themselves crossing over at times, and there were ever wizards that dealt with alternate universes. However, the knowledge that a single person snapped half of existence away was harder to take in.
"All hope is not lost," Elodie said, sounding less than ecstatic about it, "Young Dendy has come into contact with a group from the universe that this all started in. They are looking for allies across the worlds."
Dendy tapped away at her laptop and displayed some messages from them along with the data they sent them.
A swirling portal of light formed behind them.
"Oh," Elodie spoke out loud as she looked at the clock, "I went a tad long."
"They're right on time, though," Dendy smiled.
Out of that portal tumbled out Scott, "Whoa," he smiled, "that's a bit of a rush; my head is spinning a little."
A raccoon followed him behind, except, unlike normal ones, this once was upright. "It's like taking a puppy on a ride. You can't stand up without wobbling. It's obvious you've never gone through a jump point."
They had finished looking through all the tech they gotten from the Garden; they found some useful pieces but nothing that would turn the tide. Mickey wanted to help Martha with their attempt to stabilize Ghost. Both Scott and Rocket wanted to stretch out their legs, and while everyone else trained, the main option was to recruit people on another world. Scott was excited to go on a little trip; Rocket didn't care he'd been to other worlds; what was the big deal of just another Earth.
Honestly, Rocket was disappointed that he wasn't even getting sent somewhere where they might get into a bit of action; this one looked like they were ready to sign up. At least he heard Stark got into a fight with that kid who kept yelling amazing.
Scott was looking around; a lot of the people present didn't look exactly human. One guy was purple; some people had animal traits like ears; some were robots; one guy looked like a Roswell alien. Even a kid nearby looked half-frog.
Dendy looked with glimmering eyes at Rocket.
"What are you looking at, Kid?" Rocket huffed.
"Hi!" Scott greeted the crowd, "Uh, yeah, so I was told you guys wanted to talk or something. If you wanted to come along, then we'd open a portal… so, what's going on here? You guys interested."
Rockett grumbled, "Ugh, a regular diplomat, ain't ya?"
Elodie cleared her throat, "Well, yes, we were discussing that. "Elodie looked at the crowd of heroes and villains, "I won't promise success,"
"Neither do we," Rocket raised a paw, "I want to make that very clear. This whole plan is nuts."
"Even so, it's our only shot to bring everyone we lost back," As Elodie said, Scott nodded in agreement.
"I, for one, will try, I won't make any of you go along, but I'm going. I've already put in place people to take over Prep Point while I'm away. I'm not sure when I'll be back or even…" she let the words trail, "It's a lot to ask, but if any of you are up for the task, stay here at the end."
After a few moments, the audience emptied; Elodie didn't blame any of them. Many of the heroes were still trying to bring some order to the world in chaos. Many of the people still had family they couldn't leave behind.
Elodie waited outside, hoping that more people would come. Dendy was by her side, Dendy's family was gone, and her technical skills would be useful. Dendy had already packed her stuff for this.
After what seemed like a few hours, Scott coughed, "Maybe it's time to go,"
"Not much of a turnout, Rocket mumbled,
"Well, maybe if you didn't call the plan stupid, they're more willing to go along with it."
"Puppy, we are planning to gather an army to fight a guy who could take on the title of god. Thanos was a piece of work without those stones and with them- well, we need something, and I don't know what. We don't even know where he's hiding to attack him."
"But that's the point of all this," Scott argued, "we can all bring something new to this. The Doctor managed to stabilize Ava when the smartest people on the planet couldn't. Together we made this whole world jumping thing possible. And we all managed to knock out that raged out Hulk."
Rocket snorted, "You really are an idealist, aren't you."
"Yeah, the other options… well, I don't want to think about them."
"Yeah, I could see that. You got lucky, Scott; your kid made it through."
"Yeah, I know I'm lucky. I called Cassie before we left; she asked me if I was going to get her mom and Hope back. I told her we were."
"Mighty big promise,"
"I know," Scott gulped, saying it out loud again.
"Maybe we should go," Elodie sighed.
"Without us?" Enid called out, walking with Red.
"Enid? Red?"
"Yeah," Enid still found it hard to look her in the eyes, "Me and Red talked about this."
Red snorted, "It wasn't much of a talk; if there is a chance to get everyone back, we have to take it. We talked for like two minutes."
"Yeah, I wanted to talk to my mom, Dad is gone, but I thought I should tell her- well, I wouldn't be home for a while."
Red walked over to Rocket, "Hey- if there's going to be a fight, I wanna bring my big guns. Is there any way I can bring a tank?"
"A tank?!" Rocket chuckled, "We have a platform on the HUB for big things. Finally a chance to use it, we built it, and it's been doing nothing."
"I could just shrink it," Scott pointed out, "I can just unshrink it when we get there." He pulled out a small throwing disc.
Rocket sighed, "Fine, my work keeps getting wasted. So, you said you had a tank."
Red began to click some things on her wrist control, and in a flash of light and a thud, a red tank with a painted on sharp tooth smile appeared.
Rocket scampered to examine it.
"You still have room for some of us, old-timers?" Foxtail announced as Carol, Zippy, and Greyman walked over.
Carol tried to smile, "We figured you could use a little more help. We might be retired for the most part, but if you'll have us-"
Elodie shook her head, "Of course, welcome aboard."
"Well, look at this; it's a reunion." Venomous came out of the Shadows; behind him were Boxman bots. "Sorry we are late; the kids needed to make sure their doubles were taking care of things while we were away."
Enid noticed Darrell, Shannon, Raymond, Ernesto, Hethor, and Mikayla.
Venomous smirked, "The other villains thought I'd be the best bet; we have someone from our side to tag along."
Foxtail grumbled, "And you volunteered? Why do you even want to come along?"
"We lost people too; we're evil, not self-destructive. There's nothing for anyone to gain with half the universe as dust."
The others were about to argue when Elodie stepped in, "He's right, as much as it pains me to admit it is their fight too, and we can use all the help we can get. Venomous has proven he can be a threat when he tries, and Boxman's bots can put up a fight when they fuse."
Carol sighed, "Fine, that all makes sense. But if you so much as try and double-cross us or anything, I'll-"
Venomous held up his hands, "Perish the thought. I'll be on my best behavior."
Elodie thought that the stuff with Red and Enid would be the most challenging part of this mission.
EARTH M-199999
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AVENGER'S COMPOUND
Tony showed up late; Nat should have seen it coming.
They did cover everything they knew about Thanos and the stones. To her surprise, the blue dog thing was an alien, she thought it was just a pet, but the pet turned out to be the mole-rat in the red head's pocket.
Shego tapped on the table, "Okay, so some weird alien magic stone, sure seen weirder. How do you undo this? You can't just say find the big purple grape and take back a glove."
Tony rubbed his hand, "Your right; Thanos seems pretty all-powerful. Hell, I fought him, and he wiped the floor with me. But we got close," Tony turned on the video of the aliens attacking the Garden, "And even with the whole set of stones, that army pushed him. He's not invincible. Thanos can be beaten; if you want evidence, check out the readings we got for the stones. They're pumping out enough energy to light up the continent."
"Cellular decay." Stitch looked over the data.
"As in the more he uses or even has the stones, the more damage he does to himself?" Kim pointed out.
Nat sighed, "I'm sure he can use the power of the stone to undo it to some extent. But we are guessing that it gets worse each time. He's got a limit. Bruce thinks it is a ridiculously high limit but a limit nonetheless."
Hayley was still hesitant, "It's not much, but I guess it a chance."
Tony clapped his hands together, "And that's why we are doing a recruitment drive. More people, the better chance we find the weakness in the armor. We learn from each other, we work together, and we might be strong enough to take Thanos down."
Kim wasn't sure if it was a glimmer of hope or false hope, but it was something. "Okay, we're in."
The rest of the group was surprised that they were agreeing so fast but sided with Kim.
Tony shared a smile with Natasha Tony heard the portal downstairs kick to life. He could see Steve come along with a few new faces. It looked like Roger had some luck too.
EARTH ML-9115
PARIS, FRANCE
FRANCOISE DUPONT HIGH SCHOOL
Feast began to shake in its prison, it had been denied for years, and it hungered.
"We should do something about it." Gwen struggled to hold it back.
"If we find the object that is tied to it," Lady Noir explained, "we destroy it, and the sent monster goes away."
"It won't be that easy."
A man walked in; he wore a suit, he held on a feathery fan and a feather styles mask over half his face.
"The Peacock miraculous… Hawkmoth." Anger boiled in her.
"Noor is gone along with the butterfly miraculous."
"And you're using the Peacock miraculous to make this? Isn't the world already in enough chaos?"
"I didn't create it; it was already here. It merely woke. The Peacock miraculous is damaged, when I sensed it recoiled on me."
"Then why are you using it? Using a damaged miraculous could be fatal."
"I didn't have much reason not to; my entire family is gone. Let me try to do something good; let me try to unmake this sentimonster."
Lady Noir mused, "Okay, but after all of this, we are going to take that miraculous back, Hawkmoth."
"Well, I guess he's not Hawkmoth anymore, maybe Plume," King Monkey suggested.
Pegasus patted him on the shoulder to let him know it wasn't the time.
Feast panicked as newly dubbed Plume stretched out his hand, willing it to be unmade. Queen Bee moved behind him just in case he tried anything she could paralyze him.
As he tried to unmake him, Plume started to cough blood and collapsed to the ground. Feast broke through Gwen's barrier.
Carapace yelled, "Shell-ter!"
Carapace activated his special power forming a dome over them, protecting them from the creature. Some of the people from the school started to come out thinking it was safe.
"Get back inside!" Rena yelled at them, "it's not safe!"
Rena saw the necklace around her beep; soon, she'd have to transform back, and since Carapace just used his power, he'd transform back soon.
Bunnie and the Doctor both collapsed to the ground screaming in pain. The sky began to ripple and change colors.
"What's happening?" Queen Bee asked.
The Omnitrix began to beep wildly before, in a flash of light, she transformed. Gwen became a large golden alien that almost looked like a robot. There was a porthole on her chest were glowed bright purple; they could see gears inside.
"Clockworks?" Gwen declared before an aura of purple energy surrounded them.
The world around them seems to shake before it all stopped.
"Gwen? What are you doing?" Charmcaster asked.
"I- I'm trying to save us!" Gwen's voice was shaking from strain. "T-time is d-dying."
Outside of their bubble even stopped, people confused the Feast creature and rushed towards them desperate to eat. Everything seemed to be frozen, and everything seemed to have grown dimmer.
"I- don't know how to explain it!" Gwen struggled, but time ran out-. I'm giving us some time!"
The Doctor recovered a bit, "Activate emergency recall setting two."
Charmcaster pressed the control on her TDS while she saw the bubble of energy around them shudder.
A portal formed below their feet and pulled them in. The last they saw of the world frozen in place.
EARTH M-199999
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AVENGER'S COMPOUND
Jack and Scarlett sat by waiting when the portal opened up and outshot a group of people.
"Doctor?" Jack called out.
Everyone transformed back; the Kwami fell onto their partners, confused and depowered.
"Let's not do that again." Fluff, the rabbit Kwami huffed, dizzy.
"Gwen, you okay?" Charmcaster went to Gwen's side and helped prop her up.
"Feels like hangover plus someone hitting my head with a hammer." Gwen huffed before held onto Chamcaster.
Without realizing it, Chamcaster held her back.
The Doctor bolted up after catching a deep breath and ran to the computer set.
"Guys," Chloe called out, "It's Hawkmoth! Plume! Whatever!"
The group gasped at the unconscious form of Gabriel Address.
"What happened?" Nooro sat on his chest, confused
Scarlett asked, "What happened? Whose that guy?"
Kim was the first to answer, "He's the bad guy; he's been terrorizing Paris. He's also our friend's dad."
"Okay," Scarlett checked to see he was alive, "FRIDAY? Can you get Martha down here?"
"Already on it." FRIDAY's voice rang out.
"Scout!" Doctor was pushing buttons on the controls.
One of the screens flashed.
I know. I've-
Doc. I'm sorry. A portion of me got split, so I checked it the instant it happened. I couldn't even get into the universe. I've been trying. I've already interfaced with your devices, the data.
"Recheck it!"
I did it while you were talking. I checked it a dozen times. I was created by a man that does the impossible; I learned to keep up. What's happened shouldn't be possible, but it happened. Look at the readings.
The Doctor collapsed onto the chair.
"What's going on?" Max asked.
Martha had arrived, and Jack and Scarlett were helping her move the unconscious man. Marinette was making sure she pulled off the miraculous he was using and Nooroo too.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," The Doctor's voice sounded so defeated. "I don't even know how this is possible. But… your universe … ah, time, it's all about time. My people used to make time locks to freeze time in place so no one could teleport into them or-"
"What are you saying?" Chloe finally barked.
"Somehow, time stopped in your universe, all of it. I've never seen that happen. Your entire universe froze at the same instance, and if Gwen hadn't created time around us and we didn't leave when we did. We'd all be trapped there. Without time, we couldn't open another portal; we can't even enter your universe anymore. It's just blocked from us."
The kids didn't seem to believe it understands it. Then the little rabbit kwami of time spoke, "That's what I've been sensing. An emptiness that was coming but I… I didn't know."
Alaya gasped, "But my parents and my sisters."
They couldn't help but worry about their friends and family or if they would ever see them again. The Doctor recognized the looks on their faces, the horror of knowing you could never go home again because there was no home to go to. Knowing all the people, you loved and grew up with her gone.
It was something she was far too familiar with.
EARTH MHA-714-2
MUSUTAFU, JAPAN
DEVELOPMENT STUDIO WORKSHOP
Ochaco wasn't sure what to think of everything that was happening. If half the people vanishing wasn't enough, there was a worldwide message. People were in a panic; no one knew what it meant. Some people were claiming visitors from other universes were already on Earth trying to take over. Or that this was a means to conquerer them. The term Evil mirror universe was being thrown around a lot online.
A lot of people were trying to prove or disprove all the science that was shown. Everyone had their own thoughts and may they focused on it rather than the disappearance.
The disappearance still shook people; Ochaco had noticed that Momo had started to her dorm earlier and came out later; it must have taken her longer to face the world. Ochaku had tried to talk to her, but she insisted she was okay.
She'd try to talk to her again later.
At the moment, Ochaku tried to focus on something more to Earth. Hatsume said she'd have her equipment ready, so she was hoping to pick it up.
Ochaco reached the workshop doors and knocked, no one answer. She heard machinery. She let herself in to find Hatsume working on a large device.
"Hatsume!"
The pink-haired genius blinked; it took her a moment to recognize her.
"I came for my support equipment."
"Right, my new babies!"
Hatsume spent several minutes explaining how these modified Air Force gloves worked with slight additions to account for her gravity powers. Hatsume added bootstraps that did much the same for her feet. Then made sure that Ochaco knew how to work them; for all of Hatsume's fault, she did make them easy to use.
The odd thing was that when she was done, she went back to her device. Ochaku was surprised; Hatsume couldn't help but gush about her babies; she was half surprised she didn't try to sell her additional items.
"What is that?"
Hatsume did perk up hearing that, "My newest baby!" Hatsume started to plug and things and type away at her keyboard." I made it from those plans."
"Plans?"
"Those that were broadcast on the TV, and the internet and everything. I couldn't figure out all the science behind it or even the weird symbols, but the mechanical plans- they were beautiful! Complex and simple, very detailed, and it took me a while to make sense of it. Then I started to put the pieces together, and this Big Baby was born."
Hatsume tapped on a large ring-like device, with a few clicks of her keyboard, the machine started to hum to life. The ring vibrated, and a wall of shimmering energy filled it.
A nearby screen came to life, and words began to form.
Hello, my name is Scout. I think we have a lot to talk about.
EARTH M-199999
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AVENGER'S COMPOUND
One of the gates came to life, but Scout reassured them not to worry about it. He was already talking to those who created it. He did admit he was a bit confused by it, but he'd sort it out.
They had things to worry about, so they were more ready to let him handle things.
The day had gone relatively well; they had managed to recruit several people. CPU and Darkhelm had spent the last few days adding rooms to the building, and Stark was continuing to have supplies brought in. The training was going well; there was some real team building happening.
Then the Doctor, Gwen, and Charmcaster arrived with some refugees.
"Time stopped!" The Doctor threw her hands in the air. "That doesn't naturally happen.
Gwen was still wobbly, "Yeah, I felt it; the best way to describe it was like having your heart forced to stop."
Tony grimaced at that, "Yeah, I know the feeling."
Gwen started to sway.
"Are you okay?" Charmcaster helped steady herself.
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Gwen shook her head. "Just wiped."
Charmcaster realized how the situation had flipped; just a few days ago, Gwen had been keeping her steady.
Steve had to ask, "Is it possible that we caused this? That traveling universe-"
"No, no," The Doctor shook her head, "I've used this technology before, it can cause issues, but we made sure that wasn't the case. I made sure to test that a dozen times. And trust me, time doesn't work like that, even ripping a hole into the universe wouldn't cause time just to stop. Something else is happening."
Steve sighed, "Until we figure it out, I think we should stop."
"Are you sure?" Tony asked, "We are just barely starting to make headway."
The Doctor suggested, "Let's get everyone working, look over the HUB and all the readings to double-check everything."
There were no arguments; they had a bunch of scared teens they promised they'd try to get back home.
Another one of the gates activated, and after a moment, Missy and Alexis walked out. They both looked exhausted and beat up. There were stains on their clothes, tears, and rips.
"I mean," Missy was talking, "she shows up, everything starts to explode -BOOM BOOM- she smiles and saves the day. For all they know, she brought the monsters, and they still go with her despite not knowing her for more than a day. It doesn't make sense if you stop and think about it."
"What happened to you guys?" Tony asked.
"A long day," Alexis told them, before holding up Kirby, "This is Kirby; he's our friend. He needs a place to stay."
"Poyo."
Alexis then spotted Gwen and handed Kirby to her as he began to take off his coat. "Gwen, do you know any cleaning spells? Like ultra scrub, four-star dry cleaner spell?"
"Uh, yeah," Gwen replied.
"Can you please help me out? My coat… there are just stains I need to get out. I got fluids on there; I just need to go. Man-eating plant chlorophyll. Giant bug gut goo."
"Seawater," Missy added.
"Pink goo."
"Shrimp, just an entire world of shrimp. Very messy and smelled terrible."
"Zombie Steve splat."
Steve blinked, "What?"
"Yeah, I don't want to risk a zombie virus thing."
"Maybe burn it," Charmcaster suggested.
"It's fireproof." Scarlett walked over, "trust me."
"It's a fae spell that is impossible for me to take off," Alexis explained, "It gives me protection, and it might protect anything alive in my coat such as a virus."
Gwen blinked; it made sense once he explained it, a sense in a roundabout way.
"Plus, I'm pretty sure some of those stains had started to set," Alexis added.
That did cause Gwen to chuckle.
Gwen traded Kirby for the coat, maybe give them a chance to study fae magic.
"I'll help," Charmcaster stepped in; there was no need to tax her magic, "I know a spell. I'll help and avert the zombie apocalypse."
"Thank you; I owe you one." Alexis seemed very grateful to them.
Alexis stuffed his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out the large scissors; he'd slipped them into his folds. He wanted to study them; as far as he knew, metal didn't change at a touch.
Gwen didn't notice Omnitrix beep as the face turned yellow for a second.
The Doctor looked at Missy, "what did you get into?"
Missy shrugged, "We got a bit lost, that's all."
The portal pulsed and shimmered before a mess of people were spit out of it.
"We made some friends," Missy added.
Alexis stared, "the battery didn't last as long as I thought."
TITAN M-199999
Davros had been hard to work; ordinarily, such grueling work would be an annoyance, but he found it thrilling. What waited was a new challenge; once it was over, every enemy that had ever stood against him would be gone. Thanos promised him he could lead the Daleks would obey him without fault.
Thanos promised him a world of his own; if he stayed loyal, he could have as many worlds as he would ever want. He would have to work for Thanos, but that within itself could be a benefit; he wouldn't have to worry about grand plans he could focus on his experiments.
The machine was underway; the Horde Scientists were somewhat lacking but had sufficient intelligence to follow his instruction and begin the building process. The Dakara weapon, along with the All-Spark to power it, was working greater than they hoped.
Davros continued the upgrades on his new allies.
The Upgrades to Vexus proved to be more than satisfactory. Thanos had sent her on a mission to Earth to, among other things, retrieve an item.
The upgrades to the weapons for Sari and the Autobots weapons went swingingly.
He did some biology-enhances for some of them; it proved to be more difficult than he had expected initially. Frieza's mutated nature and ability to transform made it near impossible to design any enhancements that would work with him. Catra was still young and was an ideal subject for cybernetics enchantments, but their limited time meant she would not heal or adapt to them in time. Davros decided to make them external mechanical enhancements like those he had started developing for the group.
He could do little for Zedd; his 'magic' was a bizarre form of energy, and Davros wasn't familiar enough to properly work with. He had heard stories that the timelord had banished most of the technologies that delt it and that the Master toyed with it at time. Zedd was also reluctant to allow him to work on him.
Still, there was one major challenge, that was having promising results. Anubis had technology from a species he called the Ancient; Thanos had retrieved him pieces of technology and DNA samples he had kept hidden. It seemed Anubis' original form was a serpent-like species that could control other forms of life. It was interesting; Davros was reminded of Deathworm Morphant. Davros was using some human DNA manipulated to grow an adult body along with a clone of the serpent. The serpent would allow the humanoid body to heal rapidly. And he planned to modify some armor technology from a foot soldier known as Kull making improvements and fitting into Anubis aesthetics. Anubis was a semi-state of energy. He could easily inhabit the body and take full advantage. If the body was destroyed, Anubis would survive, and Davros could quickly regrow him a new one.
Soon the whole of creation would fall to them, and they needed to be ready.
Author's Notes: Sorry for the long delay. This chapter got away from me. Feels like this one might be the longest chapter. Maybe I should have divided them in smaller chapters. Well, I wanted to come out at the point so. Whatever.
We've added members from Steven Universe, OKKO Let's Be Heroes, Miraculous Ladybug.
FYI, I've been binging Stargate on Hulu, it holds up years later! Would recommend.
As for notes: Deadpool was trying to cheat by getting Captain Britain in on this. But no luck. For those who don't know, he's basically a guy who deal with multiverse stuff. No cheating DP.
For those wondering about my hero, yeah that little message got Hatsume of all people to make a portal device. Yeah everyone else would have been curious and questioned mystery plans that came via weird message.
And yeah, a whole freaking universe just froze! So thats something to look at.
We might have a filler chapter next, we will see. But soon an arc you guys have been asking about. The next arc is the DC arc.
I'll give you guys one clue on how it starts: the doctor is in.
Until then, I hope you guys will leave a review telling me what you guys think. It motivates me. Plus I wanted to wish you all a Happy New year.
Q&A:
Ethan: No, this story takes place before they introduced Double Trouble. DT hasn't made contact to either side and why would they went half the world dusted.
Guest: They'll show up eventually.
Calderoneric758: Yeah I wouldn't reccomend it.
darthwolf: Well, sure, but they also let out a powerful being who then tried to conquerer several universes. So thats not ideal.
Kingmanaena: thank you.
