Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel

Ultimate Aeon

Chapter 26: Power Conundrums

Israeli agent Ruth Bat-Seraph watched as S.H.I.E.L.D. director Helmut Zemo stepped off of his transport. He nodded to his guards and placed his hand on the casket. Devices on the back of it allowed the casket to float, there would have been no other way for Zemo to carry the body inside it, a body enhanced by surgery and the super soldier serum. Abdul Al-Rahman, the Colonel was being returned to the Middle-East and he wasn't the only Liberator going home.

Six hours later Zemo had gone to China and faced down S.P.E.A.R. The Asian equivalent of S.H.I.E.L.D. it had become obvious that Zemo was coining the term 'the shield in the west, spear in the east'. The agent who met with Zemo however used a shield himself, his black and red costume had points on it that glowed with an orange light, including the star on his chest and shield. He was the Star, China's super soldier and the agent Zemo returned the body of Alex Su, the Crimson Dynamo and what was left of Dr Chang Lam, the Abomination to.

Before supper in Russia, Zemo oversaw the transfer of Perun to the country's authorities. Armed guards were Zemo's welcome into the country, yet still he smiled. Perun trembled when a shadow passed over him. A snarl escaped the maw of a bear that glared at Perun with human like eyes. Zemo still smiled when Russia's Ursa Major snarled at him. He produced from his jacket a fine bottle of vodka.

A friendlier welcome was given in France, where caskets containing the treated bodies of the Schizoid man were returned to the authorities, led by European Defence Initiative Agents Captain France and Monet St. Croix. The dark haired woman wore a black and white suit with red highlights and cringed slightly when she took hold of Schizoid Prime's straight jacket. 'Prime' was a picked name, not even the man himself was sure if he was the original or not.

Swarm was returned to Syria and Hurricane to North Korea, and Zemo put himself on the front line both times. In North Korea however the local government deployed their own attempt at a super soldier. The metal giant Ultimo stomped over Zemo, who showed no fear, the tip of his coat fluttered from the shockwaves as he adjusted the fur collar.

"A simple no would have sufficed, at least the Russian said thank you for the bottle when he refused," he said.

He seemed to open his coat, and a spark shot out of it. Within seconds, a giant man slammed his fist into Ultimo, knocking him back. The man wore a blue and silver suit and a pair of goggles, a G symbol was on his buckle.

"Thank you Agent Foster, I was afraid my coat was going to get ruined," Zemo said.

His eyes darted from side to side, barely able to track the movements of the second Hurricane. Fortunately, there was another speedster in Zemo's employ, this one leaving trails of fire in his wake. The second Hurricane, a man, widened his eyes in horror as the man in the padded suit pinned him against the wall. It passed as an instant to the outside world, but it was slow and agonising to him. The Blazing Skull exposed him to the horrors of his past, the blood he had shed and the suffering he had committed on others in the name of the regime. Agent Todd held back however, Zemo had instructions not to kill anyone. That was where Ghost came in, the hooded and masked woman phased through the floor, pulling people on the streets nearby into the void of Smuggler's Dark force dimension. They would be traumatised, but safe, safe as Ultimo's circuitry burned on the inside. A miniaturised man flew onto Zemo's shoulder, covered in red and silver armour with an ant motive on his helmet.

"Well done agent Lang," Zemo said.

"It's Fire Ant on the field sir," the man behind the mask grinned.

"Of course, how silly of me, good job Thunderbolts," Zemo smiled.

Back in America, students like Mary Jane Watson would look at their phones and see the latest post about the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. From his rumoured being spotted in countries like the Philippines and Canada to assist in the super soldier programs, to his dance moves in the clubs. Of course the video of him dancing to 'Came for the Low' was taken from a job in Madripoor. The goal was to draw out the members of the Hand. The red garbed ninjas surrounded the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. as he danced, only for them to be hit first. Strikes came hard and fast at the hand ninjas. They came from a glowing fist belonging to reforming Danny Rand, his tattoo visible underneath his open green jacket. Blades shattered when they made contact with Luke Cage's now unbreakable skin. He had shaved his hair off and had gained more muscle from his days in the Defenders.

"Well done Thunderbolts," Zemo said.

"He's crossing lines, I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. The people want to pretend there's nothing wrong, but everything is wrong!"

He was the most wanted man in the country, yet still Nick Fury sat in a seemingly public diner, a cup of coffee being his only defence.

"We had the body of one of the only survivors of the super soldier project, a chance to repeat that work, and he gave it away. I've been going to the Middle East for years, the place can't be fixed, depriving it of nuclear weapons was a service, giving it the means to create more super soldiers? The biggest disservice of all," Nick explained.

"I think you're just sore about him figuring out your secret, how you wormed your way into your director position, hiring a psychopath to create a crisis you could avert," the one he spoke to said.

"You really think nobody else knew, the aim was to capture Red Skull, not unleash him. Everyone else figured that out, because what happened in Russia it didn't matter, America ended up stronger because of it. Since I took over the world was safer because I had made America stronger, that's how power works, one person holding all of the power to keep the world from falling into chaos," Nick explained.

"But now, Zemo's seems to be handing it out, he hasn't done a thing to stop Russia's Winter Guard program, since he took over S.P.E.A.R has gotten closer to creating its own team of Ultimates, he's getting dangerously close…"

"To what Fury creating a world of super heroes?"

"Yes, mutants, Inhumans, Gods, the world is filling up with people that can't be matched and Zemo is letting this happen, if something isn't done then we're going to get someone so powerful, someone who isn't altruistic, someone with the power of god who thinks they should be god," Fury continued.

"So what do you think should be done about it?"

Ultimates Mansion

Ultron and Vision returned ahead of the Ultimates, with the news that they had come across a crisis in their members. When Hank emerged from his lab in his coat and welcomed them back, he resisted the urge to laugh at Steve and Tony's switched states.

"Don't say anything," Janet said.

"I wasn't even thinking of a quip honey," Hank smirked.

"Don't call her honey Pym," Steve growled at him.

"I see your personalities aren't switched at least, Ultron prep the lab for three, now where's the patient I really care about?" Hank asked.

Steve grumbled as he clear the way for Pietro and Wanda, both carrying Sven. The young man had arcane marks slithering around his skin. As Hank led them to his lab, he recalled the time he had first come to respect Sven, or at least be a bit of afraid of him.

The Red Lion Pub-Then

"Mind if I ask you a question Doctor Pym?" he slapped him on the shoulder.

Even in his partly drunk and drugged state, Hank was still able to turn his head and see the young man standing behind him. Sven took a seat next to Hank and raised his fingers to the bar tender.

"Any kind of fizzy pop you have please, preferably a diet version, oh and a packet of crisps please," he said.

Hank took a sip from his beer and kept his head low.

"Ants, you set ants on her Hank, so really I have more than one question, what happened? Do you think you deserve sympathy or a chance? And just what the fuck is wrong with you that you'd think to do that? And before you talk to me about your mother's abuse know that that isn't an acceptable excuse," Sven explained.

"There is no acceptable excuse for what I had done, there is none," Hank repeated.

"You ran away Hank…"

"I know that…"

"Like a villain…"

"I know that, I got scared and…"

"You think calling a hospital for her was enough? You think gently putting her on a table with a tissue for her wounds was enough?"

"Sven please just…how, how did you know about my mother?" Hank asked.

"Thank you," Sven said to the bar tender as he got his order.

He popped open the bag and took out a crisp. Whilst the bar tender had his back turned, Sven passed the effects of his fusion power over the snack. There was a spark and the crisp crumbled.

"I know the ingredients, these were factory made, so they put a little something extra for the taste…that's where all the fat is coming from, the guy who made them just pushes a few buttons on his machine, he spends the rest of the day looking at funny videos on Youtube, hoping for a better job in the future," Sven explained.

"You got all that from fusion?" Hank asked.

"I fused with you when we fought Hulk, I fused with Cap too…I got a burst of both of your feelings, the anger, the…enjoyment when you hurt people," Sven said.

"I don't enjoy hurting people…" Hank's voice broke as his hands shook. "I didn't enjoy hurting Jan, I realised how awful I was, how small I was…and that is all I have been made to feel. Dad hated having a son who was smart, but my mother hated a creative son even more," Hank explained.

"So that's it, you just saw Janet as your mother?"

"No, I've just never been able to control it, the anger, and the frustration whenever someone made me feel powerless. I didn't beat her everyday like everyone seems to think, and when I did snap it wasn't right, once was all it needed to be for me to be wrong," Pym continued as Steve was airdropped into the area.

"You, Bruce and Steve, with all your trauma and anger, god, I thought I was going to fight with the best of the best…but I can't believe just how messed up and how much in common you all have," Sven explained.

"In common…" Hank looked at Sven in confusion before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"A word in your ear Doctor Pym," Steve said.

The news report came up, the news of Janet's condition, Hank's addiction to prescription drugs. Steve pulled him outside, throwing him against a fence.

"Steve what are you doing?" Sven asked.

"Stay out of this Sven, this piece of filth's got it coming," Steve gripped Hank by the collar of his sweater.

"Maybe but we're facing an invasion, we need all the help we can get Steve," Sven said.

"Steve please no one feels worse about this than…" Hank grunted as Steve punched him in the stomach.

He thought he'd been hit hard before, but he'd never been hit by someone with Steve's muscle mass or fury. Sven tried to grab Steve's arm, difficult considering he was wearing casts on both hands.

"Fight back," Steve snarled.

"That's enough Steve, this isn't going to help Janet, let's bring him in and let courts decide the matter," Sven said.

"This is what he deserves Sven, no court is going to give that to him," Steve said.

"Maybe it is, but are you the one to give that to him Steve?"

"If I don't who will?" Steve snapped, swinging his arm back.

His hand slammed into Sven's casts, causing him to cry out as he stumbled to the floor. Steve grabbed Hank by his cheeks and pinned him against the fence.

"Change size little man, hit back," he demanded.

"Are you crazy Steve, you aren't John Wayne…" again Hank was punched in the stomach.

"Please stop," Sven said, getting up off of the floor.

"CHANGE SIZE!" Steve yelled.

"I SAID ENOUGH!"

Sven suddenly rushed forward, slamming his fist into Steve's cheek. There was a cracking of bone in Sven's hand and he yelled in pain. Steve stumbled back, looking towards Sven. The young man attempted to punch Steve, but the super soldier pulled his arms back, drawing another pained yell from Sven.

"Stop it Sven, you're only going to hurt yourself," he said.

The boy swung his head forward, catching Steve in the nose.

"COME ON HIT ME!" Sven yelled.

Clouds of dark energy slithered out of his mouth and casts. Steve and Hank both looked at the boy and saw tears in his eyes.

"BEAT ME UP COME ON! KICK ME! HIT ME! TAKE ME DOWN AND THEN KEEP ON HITTING ME THAT'S WHAT YOU DO ISN'T IT STEVE!" Sven yelled.

He stumbled forward, jumping and slamming his head into Steve's again. Steve felt his brain rattle slightly, but it was nothing compared to the cut that formed on Sven's forehead. Even when the boy landed, he still swung his head up again and caught Steve.

"I'm doing this Sven because…"

"BECAUSE IT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU FEEL LIKE A MAN ISN'T IT! IT'S WHAT YOU SEE AS BEING STRONG!" Sven yelled.

"Sven, your injuries, you're going to make your arms worse," Hank said.

"What the hell do you care, what the hell do any of you care?" Sven stumbled back, sitting on the floor and letting out a yell of frustration as he cried.

"I looked up to you guys, I thought, 'finally, adult super heroes, we aren't alone anymore…but, you beat up your prisoners, you drink on the job, you sell your faces to the press like media whores, you beat up your own wives and run from your responsibility, and you start fights near innocent people without a care for the damage you cause…and…and…still, still the people love you, still, people like Spider-man who don't even take credit are the 'horrible ones'," Sven explained.

Steve lowered his head slightly, he remembered meeting Sven unmasked at the service post the Hulk battle. He had heard what Gail said about her grandchildren being able to watch 'decent' people and it was clear now how much that statement really bothered him. Steve never once saw him as a child, until then. Hank got off with some bruises, but he felt worse than he would have if Steve carried on.

Now

Hank looked over the scans he had made of Sven and his two Ultimates team mates. Sven had helped in the invasion, but his outburst made it clear that he would never join them full time. He wasn't defending Hank in terms of what he had done to Janet, or excusing it. The courts could judge him, but Janet and her family were the only ones who had the right to give him penance for his crimes. He knew Janet wouldn't forgive him, and he didn't want it, in order to get better he needed her hate. So he did everything he could to be better, acting as a double agent against the Liberators, warning Tony about Black Widow, creating a counter measure against Swarm and improving his Giant formula for Janet.

"What have you found?" Wasp asked him.

He returned to the present and his work, using his labs holographic screens. Well, the holographic screens were Stark's idea; Hank preferred the old school computers and lab instruments. He brought up muscular, circulatory and skeletal diagrams of Tony and Steve.

"You both have the same DNA, so you're both still technically you, except all of the Iron-tech implants have transferred to Steve. Tony, you still have cancer, but here's the good news, with the super soldier serum in your veins, its regenerative properties have shrunk the tumour, at least that's what I see from your last scan," Hank explained.

"So what's the bad news?" Tony asked.

"The mathematical problem I gave you, can you figure it out?"

"I'm stomped on that Hank, so my theory might be right, what about you Steve, can you still draw a great picture?"

"I was never able to draw Tony," Steve groaned.

"Liar, there's this little something called the Internet, one look on Wikipedia and we know that you graduated with an art major and spent a majority of your career drawing for Atlas comics," Tony explained.

"I think I get the theory you both have, but it can't be true, I still know more about army regs than Tony probably does and my tactical knowledge as well as how to throw and ricochet my shield is still mine. Tony I can't figure out how this suit of yours works, and I really need to use the bathroom," Steve explained.

"Oh it has a catheter in it, it'll filter purify and then presto, you have drinking water," Tony said.

"Wait a minute, are you saying on long missions you drink your own urine Tony?" Janet asked.

Pietro and Valkyrie reached whilst Clint laughed.

"HO of course, in times of war thou must do what one must for survival, lest they fall dishonourably and lose their chance of Valhalla," Thor stated.

"In short Tony's the captain now and Steve is Iron man," Hank said.

"He wishes," Tony grinned.

"No I do not," Steve said.

"Don't worry Steve, skinny and short is sexy now, I mean just ask Wanda," Janet tilted her head to the other end of the lab.

Sven sat on the gurney shirtless, the markings still glowing across his body. Wanda was by his side, her glowing red hands wavered over his shoulders.

"What about our other patient?" Janet asked.

"You see these?" Hank swiped in a new tab and reading.

"That isn't unlike what Richards picked up from Sven's corrupt form Onyx," she muttered, no slouch herself as a scientist.

"Yet he still maintains his consciousness," Hank said.

"This is chaotic and…weird, less like a wave and more like the ripple of a river, less like electrons and more like fluid," Janet said.

"My thoughts exactly, I believe it could be Quantum based, your thoughts?" Hank asked.

"A good start, but there's only one way to know for sure," Janet grinned, looking at one of the Ultron drones in the room.

The robot raised its head in an almost 'deer in the headlights' gesture.

Elsewhere

"I still have friends, some sources, people who tell me stuff," Fury said, sipping his coffee.

"Sugar and cream?"

"No thank you, they pass things along to me, I know about what's going on in Latveria and I know that Zemo knows too, I know that the heroes now know," he said.

"You mean the Ultimates?" his host asked.

"The Ultimates, the Fantastic Four or six or whatever number they are now and Xavier's students, a day ago I remembered a particular kid whose father was an agent of ours, one of the best, I tried to make him an Ultimate but he was tenacious and stubborn. I remembered him, all the times we argued, the times we agreed, the time he fought the Hulk and got his hands broken, helping us against the Chitauri, and saving those Chitauri who weren't a threat to us, even standing against us and failing when we tried to arrest Thor.

"But I also remember this hero's villains, they all want to celebrate him coming back but I know that with great power comes greater escalation. Muramasa, Deathblade, the mad scientist Godu, Gothica, Heinrich Wallace, they'll all come back and even the worst of all of them, Vortigern, that is not something to celebrate," Nick explained.

"Naturally you're fearful about these returns!"

"I'm cautious because for a long time I had to be, I will continue to be cautious. Doom is building an army or at least his own team, Zemo was an unknown, an agent who apparently immigrated from Sokovia, which is a failed state so we can't track the authenticity of this claim," Nick stated.

"But why exactly was he recruited in the first place?" the host asked.

"He gave us the Norn stones," Nick said and the Host laughed.

"The mythical stones of Asgard, and what did you do with such powerful items?"

"Above my pay grade now, suffice to say his gift enabled us to build S.H.I.E.L.D. into a global powerhouse, he didn't take kindly to me prioritising American interests or at least that was his view on my decisions," Nick explained.

"Crippling countries has a tendency to do that."

"We did what we had to do, there are politically volatile states that can't be allowed to hold power like that. But I'm done explaining it to you of all people, Zemo can't be trusted, Aeon is too naïve and the other Ultimates won't trust me, even if I come to them with this," Nick said.

"So that's why you've come to me, all right then, what are you proposing former General Fury?" the host asked.

Nick sipped from his coffee, but spat the bitter liquid out.

"Something that disgusts me, but what else can I do Red Skull?"

The man in the black jacket smirked, his teeth visible through the cheeks of his flayed face. Behind him stood a man in a black mask with a skull pattern on it, and a green haired woman in a green bodysuit.

"I want to hear you say it Fury," Red Skull said.

"I'd call you a son of a…but that would be an insult to your sweet old mother," Fury huffed.

"Say it or I won't help you Fury, say it," Red Skull seethed.

Nick lowered his head, gritting his teeth together before he raised his hand.

"Hail Hydra!"

Ultimates Mansion

Sven pulled his cowl over his head, then placed his mask over his mouth. A few Ultron drones had been set out in front of him. The Ultimates had a training area not unlike the Danger Room, though it could also double as a holding cell.

"It will be a pleasure to be destroyed in the name of science," the Ultron drones said together.

"Okay Sven, just do what you do when you use your powers," Hank said through the intercom.

Sven closed his eyes, activating the fusion abilities. The markings flowed across his costume, Sven tapped his feet against the floor, hoping to take the durability of the alloy. He swept one hand through the air, hoping to take its properties to enhance his agility. The blue electricity became chaotic before it took on a purple colour. The Ultron drones rushed towards Sven and with a jump, Sven threw himself towards one of them. He delivered a kick to the robot, his foot making contact, the markings of fusion spreading across the robot in an instant. And in that instant, both Sven and the robot were repelled back. Rolling across the floor, Sven jumped onto his feet and repeated the process again.

"Please destroy us Master Aeon, for the sake of science," one of the Ultron drones said.

It swung its arm towards Sven, who crossed his arms together to block. The purple sparks spread across his arms, and purple bricks suddenly appeared around Aeon's arms. The Ultron drone punched him, only for Sven to slam his fist into the drone, crushing its head. Sven opened his fist, looking at the glowing material across his hand.

"Fusing with the Earth for my strength and durability, but it's almost as if I'm not drawing from the Earth's power but becoming the very ground of the Dark dimension. What about the spirits of beasts and elements?" Sven asked out loud.

He looked at both his hands and the room shook as purple flames spread across his left arm, burning bits of his costume off. A bat like wing burst out of his shoulder, whilst his hand had turned into a clawed gauntlet. Sven's right hand manifested elemental abilities, but they were chaotic elements of the dark dimension, his arm was covered in darkness, and then glowed with purple light as a miniaturised singularity appeared in his hand, not sucking objects in but releasing sparks of purple lightning around the training room.

"You've gone Sven from being a conduit of the spirit realm, to a conduit of the Dark Dimension," Hank summarised.

"Is it permanent?" Sven asked, turning his powers off with great difficulty.

He widened his eyes and yelped when he saw that both his arms looked sunburnt.

"Oh man, you're kidding me, well that'll make…everything uncomfortable," Sven grimaced.

"Ah, personal injury," Hank muttered.

"At least there's a bright side to this," Wanda said.

"What could possibly be the bright side to this?" Janet asked.

"Sven's just like his favourite Manga character, you're totally Deku now Sven."

"I want to scream in pain, but I am too tired," Sven groaned.

Vision suddenly phased through the training room floor, making Sven scream in shock.

"Excuse me, but we appear to have a visitor, one that would require a full team meeting," Vision said.

"Someone needs help then, consider me fully rested," Sven said, tightening his hands with determination. "OW!"

It didn't take long for the team to move towards the living room. Black Panther and Thor were already there, with Valkyrie rubbing the back of their guest. Sven walked around Janet and widened his eyes at who saw.

"Bruce," Sven gasped.

The man was shivering, his skin was much paler than Sven remembered it being and the dark rings under Bruce's eyes showed his lack of sleep.

"Banner, what happened to you, where have you been?" Tony asked.

"Argentina, I got back into the country two weeks ago," Bruce said.

"What are you doing here?" Hank asked.

"I need your help."

"To get rid of the Hulk, we've been down that road before Bruce, it didn't turn out well," Tony explained.

"No, there's the thing guys, I succeeded, I managed to finally rid myself of the Hulk," Bruce said and some of the team members who weren't sceptical gasped.

But they were all equally shocked by what Bruce said next:

"I need your help to get the Hulk back!"

Next Chapter 27: The Ultimate-Foes Part 1: U-Foes assemble

Blue-Bolt: Ultimates vs. Millarworld prelude

Pride, it was a word that Richard Conrad had heard before. But it was only in this new time, this new world, that he finally understood what it meant. A rainbow poster with the words written on them had been his first encounter with the word in this world. They had been in the world for two weeks, videos of their debut on that island were on people's phones, people's phones of all things. In fact people seemed to be on the phone a lot in this world, yet they weren't really talking to people. They could take pictures with their phones, send those pictures out into the world wide web. Richard had heard of the concept, George talked plenty of times about a global information network but this was something else altogether. One could find whatever they wanted through Google, YouTube and as Richard discovered a certain hub.

There was no shame, Richard never felt ashamed around his team mates (with the exception of Walter) but there was always still that tolerance for what he was. Yet together they all shared the same general titles now.

Superheroes out of time and out of this world!

Blue-Bolt flew across the city of Los Angeles, hitting the speeds necessary to match that of his pursuit. Speed Demon was what the tabloids had called him, of course he wasn't a biblical demon but a speedster. He wore a fire proof suit he had taken from a movie studio, painted it up with red bolts and sported a pair of goggles for resistance against the air hitting his face. The man could hit some impressive speeds, far exceeding what LA's finest could do. Not that LA's finest were working that hard to begin with, perhaps furthering Sky Fox's belief that there was corruption in the ranks of the police.

"Nice try asshole," the speedster grinned, throwing up a finger on one hand and shaking his fist with the other.

Another thing about this era, people were into their cursing and gestures. Blue-Bolt replied with a gesture of his own, taking his power rod from his hip. Energy coursed through the device, the reaction resembled lightning but it was a far more complicated reaction than that.

Richard Conrad was a surgeon, specifically a neonatal surgeon or paediatric surgeon. He wasn't the best or the worst, there had been nothing amazing about his work (his own admission) beyond saving a new born baby's life. What he loved about his work was that he could save young, fresh lives, those whom had futures ahead of them. Every time he had a parent thank him he was uplifted by the experience. Then he'd go home to his apartment, and he'd be alone. Friends would say to him to get married, have a child or too, but he didn't want to put that on a child. He didn't want there to be a day when he would come out, when his children would have to accept that there was no love behind the marriage. He accepted what people like his mother and siblings had told him, that he was choosing to live alone. Then Sheldon Sampson came to his door and told him of a vision, that Richard had to come with him to an island. At first Richard was tempted to have Sheldon committed (again) but there was something in Sheldon's invitation that compelled him. Ultimately Richard accepted there was very little choice in any of the things Richard thought he had chosen.

They went to the island, endured the trials of the land and discovered the alien ship. Then they were bombarded with visions of the aliens whom came to Earth with a gift for humanity. By unlocking their ship, Sheldon and his crew had unleashed on the Earth the very forces that wiped out the civilisation of Jupiter, but had also gifted humanity with the means to defend itself. The laws of physics had been changed, as had the laws of human biology. Not only did their union carry the genes of super human abilities, but abilities had manifested in others. The instruction had been vague for the other members, Sheldon felt that they had to be symbols to inspire humanity to be batter. His brother Walter said they needed to rule the world, the others hoped it was a joke.

Richard however was told exactly what he had to do. He was gifted with more than just flight and strength, but knowledge, the blue print of a machine. A machine that would become a harness for primordial energies, enabling the wielder, determined by character to aim these energies. Like lightning the energy came down on Speed Demon, providing road blocks to make the speedster divert his course. Donning his caped costume and cowl, Richard became the hero Blue Bolt and in a new future fought villains so different from the kind his friends fought in the nineteen sixties of their world.

"Nice shot, but too slow," Speed Demon grinned.

Focusing the energy through the rod, Blue Bolt adopted a new tactic.

"Around the corner," he said.

The blue energy covered his body, dispersing his atoms and then reassembling them elsewhere. Speed Demon turned the corner of the street, and was nearly caught by Blue Bolt's fist.

"By that sewer grate," the hero quickly said.

Two seconds more and he might have been able to grab Speed Demon's shoulder.

"The fire hydrant, the hot dog stand, the bodega," again and again Blue Bolt teleported, pushing the villain's speed.

Speed Demon slid to stop himself when Blue Bolt appeared in his way. He was able to miss the hero's hand, brushing past his shoulder before he ran for the alleyway.

Thwip!

He crashed into a web, which buckled slightly under the force of his impact. But the web held and he was bound, face, arms and feet sticking to the substance.

"You should really watch where you're going," a voice spoke above them.

He was perched on a street sign, his arms resting on his knees. Spider-man was what some people might have assumed. But he was wearing a black mask with red lenses on it, the rest of his costume consisting of a red body suit with black on his finger tips and a spider on his chest. 'Scarlet Spider' was what Blue Bolt heard a lot of people call him. He also heard people accuse him of killing the real Spider-man, this Peter Parker person in New York. Accept Peter Parker was very much alive so the accusation didn't stand. But Richard's first instinct was to aim the rod at the masked man when he took the item Speed Demon had stolen.

"Oh the big boys will hear about this spider just you MMMPH!" the speedster's taunts were silenced when webbing hit his mouth.

His prize was a stone tablet, one Scarlet Spider wrapped up in a bag made of webbing.

"The police will be here soon, they'll take if off your hands," Blue Bolt said.

"You're new around here aren't you? The good cops might put it in evidence, but it won't take long for the tablet to disappear and end up in the hands of the Pride!" Scarlet Spider explained.

Richard's eye twitched when he heard the word, spoken with fear and disgust. But he was more than his pride.

"Rooftop, two blocks away," he said, slapping Scarlet Spider's shoulder.

His spider sense hadn't gone off, so Michael knew he wasn't in any danger. The sensation was weird, he didn't feel sick but his stomach did churn a bit when they reappeared. They reappeared near someone's washing line, so a bed sheet slapped into Michael's face.

"Sorry about that, my Power Rod will never teleport a wearer through a wall or the ground, but there are still dangers to it," Blue Bolt said.

"You're 'Power Rod', you might want to rethink that name," Scarlet Spider huffed.

"Why is that?" Richard asked in genuine confusion.

"Look not that I don't appreciate the save, but why are we on a rooftop?" Scarlet Spider asked.

"You're right, I am new, but I've seen enough on the internet to know that you're one of the good guys," Blue Bolt said.

"I wouldn't trust the internet to know too much about who's a good guy and who isn't, people can get it wrong, there's these 'Magneto was right' weirdoes but that's digressing, what do you want?"

"To know as much as you can tell me really, this Pride you speak of, who are they?" Richard asked.

"They're a cabal, a criminal gang, a cult, it really depends on who's talking about them. But they are real and worse they're responsible for the disappearance of foster kids in the city. These kids they take are orphans, the kind already involved in crime, the drug trade, child prostitution and immigration, they're the kind of people that might end up getting killed so their disappearances get written off as 'how sad' or 'it was inevitable'," Scarlet Spider explained.

"Because what people can believe can be wrong," Blue Bolt said.

He'd been called a faggot, homo, a deviant, or worse sick, like he had a disease of the mind. But he looked at how far this world was in terms of its psychological studies. He wasn't a disease, he was just sexually attracted to men. But that wasn't all there was to him.

"Where the children have been taken," he said, gripping Scarlet Spider's shoulder again.

As far as villain hideouts went, it came as a shock to Richard that he and his team up partner appeared in a church. Or a type of church, another thing that seemed to be new to this world were made up religions (as far as you could (from a certain point of view) consider all religions to be made up). He'd seen their like before in his time and world (and unfortunately in this world too) his own parents saw fit to send him to one. They were all about convincing you of something that wasn't true. This church though, using a rainbow as its banner was the Church of Gibborim, and they were all about convincing you to have pride in yourself.

You're black so you're a victim of the white man, you're gay so you're a victim of the straight man, you're a woman so you're a victim of the man. Richard hated it, he was gay and his family was financially solid, or 'privileged' as they used in this world. Yet even before he came to this world he knew that no one person or even group could claim to have the monopoly on suffering. The world, this world, any world was far from perfect.

"WHERE ARE THEY!" Scarlet Spider yelled, grabbing the blonde haired woman who led the prayer group.

"You can't be in here, you can't be here," the woman said.

"I WON'T ASK AGAIN WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN!"

The woman's skin suddenly blurred, becoming like a rainbow of all things as she blasted him back. Her husband was already jumping over the alter, his own skin changing colour whilst the people behind them fled. Blue Bolt formed a barrier around himself and the Scarlet Spider, protecting themselves from the energy blasts. These attackers though were not their priority, for now they needed to find the children.

"The crypts," Richard said, with a heavy heart.

They were teleported to a lower level, Richard supported the masked man as he nursed his side.

"No, the kids they can't be," Scarlet Spider shoved past Blue Bolt to one of the stone coffins.

One by one they opened them, revealing the cold, yet still preserved bodies of children from all walks of life. Anyone could be abandoned, overlooked, anyone could suffer. Richard focused again on the job and looked at the floor, circuits like a machine had been built into it, linking the coffins to a network.

"To where this leads," Richard requested of the Power Rod.

It took them to the source of it all, and he had flashbacks of the island, of the aliens. Because that was how he could describe the giant of a creature before him. It stood in the centre of what looked like a ritual circle, arms chained and its body malnourished somehow. But its eyes opened and energy gushed out of its mouth.

"You are not those I summoned, whom dares disturb the slumber, the feeding of the last of the Gibborim?" the creature demanded, the cavern part shaking when it rose.

Its head was like a deer, invoking images of the old pagan deities. Scarlet Spider dodged its blasts whilst Blue Bolt conjured barriers to protect himself.

"The souls, the souls, I need more souls, more to quell my hunger," it snarled, attempting to hit Scarlet Spider, who blocked its vision with his webbing.

But the webbing was quickly dissolved and the Gibborim knocked Blue Bolt through the wall. Richard heard the scream of his new ally when the Gibborim grabbed him and was drawn back to the island, back to his time and his world and the shame he was made to feel. He remembered the Pride he felt when stood up to Hoover's attempt to blackmail him, when he did what he was raised to do better than his parents did, fight bullies. Hoover had a man for a lover, so bullies took many forms. The targets always varied but the motives were the same, hatred in its many forms and the desire to be in control. That church took people already at their lowest and reinforced that idea, so that they could look like saviours. This Gibborim offered salvation to a chosen few whilst leeching off of the helpless.

'I'm more, I'm more than what people see, more than what they think of me,' Richard thought as he flew out of the rubble, the Power Rod surging with energy. 'More than what they call me, more than what they call myself. I am proud, but I am more than my Pride!'

The Power Rod drew in an focused energies, including the energy that the Gibborim absorbed. With a yell as he held the device with both hands, Richard directed those energy back to where they should be. Children in the crypts began to awaken, supporting one another to make their way out of the crypts, out of their prison. And these children ran, they ran away as fast as they could from their captors.

"NO!" the once great giant was reduced to a husk like creature shaking on the ground.

Scarlet Spider stood over the creature, his fist shaking, the lenses of his mask narrowed in fury. But he ultimately chose to contain his anger. Richard was tempted too, but then he remembered the code and who he was.

A doctor, a good friend, and a hero, before what other labels could be placed on him, that was who he was.

This new world had come so far, but it still had further to go.

"He's no native to this world," said one of the two men watching the heroes as they guided the children to the intervening S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

"No he's not, then again…" the second man's voice drifted slightly.

The first of the men hovered slightly over the roof, his muscular arms crossed over the circle on his chest. His suit was white but had gold bands on it and highlights of glowing yellow across it, matching his almost shining blonde hair. Crouched on the edge of the roof was the man's opposite, his cowl covering his top face, whilst the rest of his well built body was covered by a black suit.

"We've only just moved in too," he grinned.

Next Prelude to Ultimates Vs Milla….Ultimates and the Alliance Vs The Union and the Authority

Next time Skyfox, Midnighter and Iron Patriot in Lethal Legion

Hope everyone enjoyed the side story. The U-Foes or 'Ultimate Foes' are not the same from the 616 universe, they're more of a proto-masters of evil with some old characters and new ones to be added.

Next time, the Ultimate universe got a carnage, but it never got a Cletus Kassidy, time to change that :)