When I was a kid, I always had just one wish: To be a superhero. I didn't care what superpowers I had, even if it was something lame like flight, I just wanted to have the ability to help people. It definitely didn't help that I had a local superhero in Orchid Bay in the form of the Te Xuan Ze. I had grown up watching and hearing about Ben 10 and The Powerpuff Girls, watched cartoons and read comics about the Justice Friends and the Guys, and recently had followed the Crystal Gems and Rex. I joined the KND to fulfil at least some of those wishes; I could still help people even if I didn't have the power to shapeshift or run faster than the speed of sound.
They say you should be careful what you wish for. I learned this the hard way.
I didn't need the pain and trauma associated with getting powers from the In-Between. I had nightmares about the In-Between nearly every night. I had developed a fear of lightning. I had doubts every day about whether I would stick around any longer, about if I should've stayed in Ooo, about if I should leave the KND, leave UNITE. The vision I had of the Crystal Gems being locked up in a prison at the bottom of some random body of infected water stuck with me; it gave me a lead for my next mission, and so that was going to be what I would focus on. My newfound powers were just something else I could use to find them.
My team had other plans.
"Look, Nova, you need to get a grip on your powers," Bronwyn explained with the tone of a concerned medical professional, "We have no idea how unstable your powers are. We need to be careful if we're gonna attempt a jailbreak and the last thing we need is some weird situation to pop up and completely compromise the mission."
She was right but that didn't stop me from protesting. "Where am I gonna find someone like me to teach me how to use my powers? I don't even know the extent of my powers, just that I can stop time temporarily and travel to some weird alternate dimension where alternate versions of me like to hang out. Even if I could find another 'Timewalker' or whatever the Hades I'm supposed to be, what if we're on a strict time limit? What if the Gems are in deep trouble? What if we're too late and the Crystal Gems are all dead already because I wasn't fast enough?"
"Nova, stop. We don't know any of that to be true. What if all you need to do is look and you'll find someone? Or what if you just need to go back to your little hang-out spot? Better yet, what if we're not too late and we waltz into a Fusion Prison with an - excuse the pun - actual ticking time bomb?" Bronwyn stressed.
I sighed. I was in no position to argue when she was clearly right. "What's your plan then?"
Bronwyn looked at Kerry and Athena, positioned on the other corners of the blanket we all sat on. "Athena and I are going to go figure out what to do. If it's a body of water we're looking for, maybe the Candy Pirates can help. You and Kerry are going to train your powers, maybe figure out what else to do."
"Just the two of you are gonna go try to figure out where a top-secret underwater prison where super-powerful aliens are being kept by other super-powerful aliens? No, that's not a good idea. Kerry needs to go with you if I'm being forced to sit this one out. Besides, Kerry was born with his powers. Like the Powerpuff Girls or Steven Universe. Shouldn't I be looking for people who gained their powers later on, like Ben or Rex, to help me train if I can't get a Timewalker?" I asked.
"I still had to go through a learning period for my powers. And we all know how steep Steven's own learning curve was," Kerry stated. "Like it or not, I'm gonna help you train."
"Actually," Athena said, her Nano Numbuh Five kicking her feet as she sat on Athena's shoulder and listened along, "I think Nova has a point. We're gonna need all the help we can get, and Kerry is clearly the strongest member of this team as it stands right now. Even if we can get the Candy Pirates to help us, we won't stand a chance if we're trying to break out the Gems. I'm sure Steven would help us, but that's only if we can find the dude. We don't know if he's there, too, and if he isn't he could literally be anywhere."
Bronwyn nodded and hummed in agreement. "That's a great point. We need muscle. Kerry, it looks like you're with us after all."
"A-And me?" I stammered.
"As you said, you need to find someone with powers that had to really work to get them to work properly. I hate to keep bringing him up, but Steven Universe would be one of the better options. I suppose you could talk to Ben but the issue there is that we don't really know much about his early days. No one really seems to know how the Omnitrix works except Ben himself. Speaking from the perspective of Providence, Rex probably wouldn't be the best option. For... various reasons," Bronwyn sighed.
"So... who does that leave?" I questioned. There was a brief silence before Kerry cleared his throat.
"What about Gwen Tennyson?"
"What about her?" I turned to look at Kerry, who almost had a cocky expression on his face like he was an absolute genius.
"She could be a good option is all I'm saying. I think she's out in the Pimplebacks. I know that's a pretty far distance away but the camp there isn't too far from Providence's base in the Haunted Ridge," Kerry smirked.
I looked at the others, waiting for other ideas, then nodded in agreement, "Yeah. I suppose I don't know her - or about her, I guess - as well as Ben but I trust your judgement, K."
"I suppose I'll contact Grandpa Max and ask him to let Gwen know you're on your way! We'll get you a Jump Jet to the Haunted Ridge base tomorrow." Bronwyn exclaimed. Her voice sounded excited but her face showed she was... worried? Nervous? I wasn't sure, but it did, oddly enough, give me an ounce of comfort.
I faked a smile, not wanting to show my own anxieties to my teammates. We spent the rest of the day together, all of us electing to focus instead on spending time with each other after a month apart than on the upcoming split we'd have to face yet again. We'd literally been together again for less than 24 hours and we'd need to split apart again come morning. Athena had taken me to redeem my Blossom Nano just after dinner, beginning to claim that it'd be nice to have company before choking on her words and helping me use the Nano Machine wordlessly as she appeared on the verge of tears. I put the hairbow covered in dried fusion matter in a slot on the side of the machine, which beeped and whirred to life, the voice of Computress speaking through the machine.
"Welcome to the Dexlabs Nano Machine located at Genius Grove. Once you have inserted the item related to the Nano you'd wish to create, please place your hand on this pad and think of your new Nano and the personality they'd have. Imaginary Energy is crucial to the development of Nanos, as it is the primary element for giving your Nano a personality of its own and purifying the fusion matter that it is made from."
I did as the machine asked of me, placing my hand on the pad that had lit up on the side of the machine. I closed my eyes and thought of what I knew about Blossom - she was the leader of the Powerpuff Girls and represented the "Everything Nice" that was used by the Good Professor to create his children; her red dress, long red hair, big pink eyes, and, of course, her large hairbow were iconic. In the public eye, she was kind, funny, and showed great leadership skills. For a moment, I worried I was doing it wrong when after I had been thinking about Blossom for almost 30 seconds, nothing happened, but the machine dinged as Computress thanked me for "participating in the fight against Fuse" and a transparent yellow plastic ball rolled out and greeted my hand, proving me wrong.
I pulled the capsule out and held it in my hands, where it hissed and opened with a satisfying pop!
A miniature version of the Powerpuff emerged from the capsule, giggling as she spun around me. She came to meet my face and happily declared, "Hi there! I'm Blossom!"
"I'm Nova," I shared, her smile being way too infectious for me to resist.
"Hiya, Nova! I can tell we're gonna be the best of friends!" she exclaimed, turning to look at Athena, "Hi! Are you a friend of Nova, too?"
"Hey there, Nano Blossom. I'm Athena. I'm a good friend of Nova's, yeah," Athena responded. Her Numbuh Five Nano floated up to sit on her shoulder, noticing the other Nano.
"Woah, hey, another Nano!" Nano Numbuh Five exclaimed, leaning forward.
"Hi, there! I'm Blossom!" Nano Blossom repeated.
"Numbuh Five," said the other Nano, offering a fist to Nano Blossom. Nano Blossom flew forward, gave the Numbuh Five Nano a fist bump, and then turned to face Athena again.
"Aww, you look sad, Nova's friend. Is something wrong?" she asked.
"Hm? Oh, it's nothing. Nova is just leaving tomorrow and I'm... kinda bummed about it," Athena murmured.
"That's okay! You've got the rest of today to hang out and you'll see each other again eventually! Right?"
Athena caught Nano Blossom's optimism plague, too, smiling weakly as she turned to me, "That's right."
Nano Blossom hovered next to me on the way back to Providence's camp and joined us for dinner, becoming acquainted with the rest of the team, spreading her optimistic attitude to even Bronwyn and Kerry. After dinner, she yawned and asked to take a nap, retreating to her cyberspace in my NanoCom. As the day turned into dusk, and dusk into night, I leaned back and stared up at the stars. They were dim, the light pollution from the civilisation around us drowning out their full brilliance but I found comfort in them regardless. Athena and Kerry went off to go help some Providence Agents with something-or-other (I thought I heard one of them mention a disturbance in Eternal Meadows down the road but I wasn't entirely sure), leaving Bronwyn and me as the last two at our little corner of the camp. She joined me on the ground, lying down to observe the stars with me. It was maybe the first time I had seen her without her mask and her lab coat at the same time.
We stared at the stars in silence for a few moments before she finally spoke up.
"You doing okay?"
I almost jumped at the sound of her very slight accent, responding with a sharp exhale, "I think you know the answer."
"I'm sorry," Bronwyn acknowledged. "Not just about you feeling bad, but," I looked at her curiously, "I... had serious doubts about you going through the Gateway. But I'm just some Providence intern. Everyone is my senior, even if they're younger than me. I couldn't speak up. I know you've given us full permission to speak freely, but-" she cut herself off and turned away, looking down the road at the Agents and Researchers working away in large tents set up over a playground.
"It's okay," I said after giving her a moment. "I did, too."
"Yeah, but if I had voiced my concerns, maybe you would've backed down. Maybe you wouldn't be stuck in this weird situation, and we'd be going off to find the Crystal Gems together," she sighed. She looked like she had something more to say. I hadn't known Bronwyn to be this open in the short time I had gotten to know her. I didn't want to push, but it looked like she was distracted by thoughts beyond the matter at hand.
"Are you doing okay?" I pressed.
She was silent for a long moment as she stared up into the infinite beyond. She lightly closed her eyes, the moonlight highlighting her eye shadow as she said, almost whispering, "I've... never had many friends, Nova. I do have a 'brilliant mind,' whatever the heck that means, a broken family, and a Providence doctor who decided to take me under her wing after seeing an application I sent in for a high school assistant researcher. Whether or not she realises it, Holiday is really the only 'family' I have ever had. No one else... wanted me. Not my parents, not my brothers, not White Knight, and definitely not Providence itself. I only got to Providence thanks to one good person."
"I'm... so sorry. I didn't know," I told her.
"I didn't really want you to," Bronwyn replied honestly. We were silent for a moment as we both stared into the expanse of the light-polluted sky. "Truth is, I think I know what you're going through," she finally continued, fiddling with the glove on her left hand.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
She slowly pulled off the glove and silently showed me her hand. I leaned up to get a better view, gingerly taking her wrist in my hand. Her pale skin was interrupted in spots by stones dug deep into her skin, her knuckles protruding like stalagmites, grey and cold.
"I've been fighting this for years," she explained, "if I slip at all, I could go full EVO. Somewhat fortunately, my nanites can do most of the work. My... power, if you want to call it that, is accelerated healing. I can concentrate it anywhere I want, including other people, but I need to focus it on the spots where the monster who literally lives inside me is trying to poke out. I lose that, and it's-" she interrupted herself, "Whether or not I turn full EVO isn't a question of 'if,' it's a question of 'when.'"
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked.
"In case this changes how you think of me and you don't want me on the team anymore," she sighed.
"What? Of course, I want you on the team!" I exclaimed softly. "Heck, if there's anything we can do to help, I want to."
Bronwyn shook her head, "There isn't. Holiday had Rex try to cure me once. I'm technically curable, but my nanites will regenerate too quickly, to the point that attempting to cure me would probably just speed up the inevitable."
"I'm sorry," I repeated. It was all I could say. I let go of her hand, letting her retract it and put it back in its glove.
"Are you sure you're okay with trying to get training from Gwen?" she asked, changing the subject.
I leaned back down, my back meeting the now damp grass. "Yeah. I think so. Even though she doesn't have my powers, it couldn't hurt."
"It's okay if you're not, Nova. You don't have to be. You can tell us if we're giving you your own goals, or if we're telling you how to live your life."
"You're not. It's okay. You're all right that I need help with these abilities."
"Then, let me give you your first tip on controlling powers; focus. Focus on what you want to do, and do it."
I smiled. "Thanks, Bronwyn."
She looked me in the eyes and said, "It's Lydia. You can call me Lydia." Her face flushed red as she said it.
"Alright, then. Thanks, Lydia."
"You're welcome," she smiled.
Nova left first thing the next morning. The goodbyes she shared with the rest of the team were just as brief as they were the last time, but this time she wasn't entering a strange portal to a strange land but rather boarding a Jet to an entirely familiar location. It was enough. The Team got to work immediately.
"Right, so, what do we have?" Athena asked, leaning over a holographic map with Kerry, Bronwyn, and a display representing Captain Chocolate Charlie.
"As is, we can narrow this down to a few locations already. Leaky Lake, Lake Porkbelly, the swamps in Greater Bellwood, the coast off of Sandy Shores, and lastly a place the Candy Pirates have been referring to as 'the Green Sea' out in the Darklands; some big nasty infected sea protecting Fuse's northern flank from the sounds of it," Bronwyn explained, highlighting the places on the map as she spoke.
"Aye, me firs' guess would be that there Green Sea up north," hummed Charlie.
"Let's hope it isn't. Stars know we aren't ready for the Darklands. I've heard from some other Plumbers that that place will eat us up and spit us out right at Fuse's doorstep," Kerry added.
"What's our next best bet?" Athena asked.
"Arr, I'd say maybe the coast," Charlie began, "we ran inter some trouble 'round there."
"I have a feeling we'd know if Providence found anything in those infected waters, they searched the entire northern seaboard before deciding that Skull Rock was secure enough to settle," Bronwyn sighed, "So that leaves Leaky Lake, Lake Porkbelly, and the swamps."
"The swamps are crawling with cryptids and urban legends and ghosts from what I've heard. Urban Rangers in the Bellwood sect absolutely refuse to go there," Athena pointed out.
"Is it big enough for a prison, though?" Bronwyn questioned.
"Considering the other options we have are a residential area lake, the second most well-guarded Infected Zone in the Townsville Area, and the perfect set-up for a quick and painful death, I'd say it should be the place we check first," Kerry agreed.
"Yarr, and it be a real challenge to get there," Charlie added dramatically.
"Can you do it?" Bronwyn asked.
Charlie hesitated for a moment but nodded confidently. "So long as we be able to row against the waves o' the Haunted Ridge an' Pimplebacks, then through Leaky Lake and the Canyon o' the Devil, yarr, I can do it."
"Good. We'll meet you in Candy Cove in an hour. Be ready," Athena replied.
Charlie disconnected, leaving the other three alone in front of a now focused map, outlining the trajectory from Candy Cove to the Swamps through an uphill river, an infected lake, and an extremely dangerous canyon. This was not going to be easy.
"This'd better be worth it," Bronwyn groaned, eyeing the other potential locations.
"It will be. I can feel it," Athena assured her.
"Right, right. Sorry. I'm just... worried is all," Bronwyn admitted, slouching back into a chair.
"I understand. This won't be easy, not least of all thanks to the fact we have so little to go off of," Kerry noted, pulling up a seat next to her.
"That's... not entirely what I meant, but that, too, I suppose," Bronwyn confessed.
"Nova again?" Kerry guessed.
"Nova again," Bronwyn confirmed, sighing.
"She'll be okay. She's got Nano Blossom, and Gwen Tennyson is a great hero, she'll be able to help Nova tons," Athena said.
"I know, it's just... I worry that she's gonna get hurt again, and... it'll be our fault again."
"Hey. It wasn't our fault before, and it won't be our fault if she gets hurt this time, either."
"Physically, sure. But mentally, we're responsible. We didn't stop her the first time and we didn't stop her this time. I mean, c'mon guys, she may be 14 now, but the last time we saw her, she was 10. She was younger than all of us. But now, her brain and body alike have aged 4 years, almost like there was no gap between the two. She essentially skipped middle school, which I mean, sure, I'm jealous of, but she missed being a pre-teen entirely. At heart, she is a traumatised 10-year-old who lost 4 years of her life in an instant. It's no wonder she didn't take a break when she got back; helping people is how she copes. And we took that away from her, essentially told her to her face that she would be a liability if she came with us to break the Gems out," Bronwyn rambled. A tear had been forming in her eye this entire time, begging to fall out but holding on like a desperate climber on the edge of a cliff.
Athena sighed and kicked a piece of concrete, "You're right, you know. None of us got to be like the kids you see in cartoons. I mean, Kerry is part alien. Being raised that way isn't how I would've picked to be raised. I don't have any powers, and all my friends were Imaginary before I met Nova. I was entirely alone, an only child in a single-parent home. And you, I don't even know what your childhood looked like, but now you're a 16-year-old Providence intern. And now all of us are fighting an alien invasion the likes of which we've never seen before; not the Homeworld Gems, not the Hybreed, not anything until now. We live in a world of superheroes, weird creatures, kid geniuses, you name it, and we face some brand new world-ending threat every other week. Our childhoods are anything but normal, and Nova knows that too. I honestly think she might know more about ending this war than anyone else, and she knows damn well what it's going to take to get there. And we're going to help her get there. Because we're her friends."
Bronwyn looked taken aback. Kerry's eyes were widened, focused on Athena as she finished her speech. A loud silence hung in the air.
"Nova knew what going through the Gateway meant," Athena continued, "She knew it could cost her her life and she did it anyway. She's a damn hero because of that. She put her life on the line for us. I think it's about time we did the same for her. So, you two can do whatever you want, but I'm off to Candy Cove."
With that, Athena walked away without another glance back, quickly joined by Kerry and Bronwyn.
"It's good you were the second one to join UNITE, Athena," Bronwyn smiled. "Can you imagine what would have been happening if I or Kerry was second-in-command?"
"I can, actually," Athena told her, leading the way into Oswald, "Because we just lived it. The only reason there is any hierarchical structure of leadership in this team is so we can have a figurehead for people on the outside to see as a leader. If Nova were here, she'd remind you that all of us are on equal footing here and anyone can take charge at any given moment."
Bronwyn smiled and took her seat behind the wheel, "Right. Sorry, by the way. I'm still... getting used to all this."
"Don't be. I am too. You ready?"
Bronwyn and Kerry nodded as the mobile research centre jolted to life and began rolling out of Genius Grove.
I arrived at the Haunted Ridge base that afternoon, greeted by Captain Calan and Rex, both surprised by my appearance.
"Woah, hermana, you look... different," Rex said.
"Yeah, got kinda messed up in a weird dimension in-between universes. You the one escorting me to the camp in the Pimplebacks?" I asked, eager to change the subject.
"So we're just gonna gloss over you being in an alternate dimension?" Rex questioned. I shrugged. "Alright, then. Um, no I'm not, Captain Calan has that honour. I gotta stay back and watch Little Miss Crazy."
I nodded, suddenly remembering a question I needed an answer for, "Hey, by the way, why'd you try to cure me when we were on the roof in Marquee Row?"
Rex looked at me curiously, cocking an eyebrow in my direction, "Cure you? I-" he suddenly groaned and held his head in his hand.
"Y'alright, son?" Captain Calan asked.
"I... yeah, I think so. That was weird. It was like I just remembered something I wasn't supposed to. Er, I tried to cure you because you suddenly looked very different... kinda like how you do now, weirdly enough. I thought it was some sort of EVO ability, but when I tried to cure you, your nanites were dormant," Rex recalled, his voice strained and confused.
"Really? Weird," I said, a soft ringing going off somewhere in my ears.
"How'd you... remember that?" Rex asked.
"Long story. Anyway, I shouldn't waste any more time. Miss Tennyson's expecting me. Shall we?" I explained, turning to Captain Calan.
"Sure thing, pardner. Don't have too much fun with Breach, Rex," Calan replied.
"Oh, yeah. Breach is like, my best friend, we'll have so much fun," Rex replied sarcastically, "Be sure to tell me that long story some time, Nova. Good luck. It was good to see you, y'know, not dead."
He gave a small wave as Calan and I entered a personnel carrier positioned near the land entrance to the large hangar we were in. Two other agents were inside, which Calan told me were only coming with us so Providence could provide some extra defence to the Pimpleback camp in case of attack by the Consortium or Fusions. Apparently, only a handful of KND operatives and two Plumbers had been stationed there as of yet, along with Gwen Tennyson herself. This was particularly dangerous thanks to Fuse moving into the Crystalline Caverns right next door, apparently attempting to harvest the crystals there in an attempt to make his own corrupted versions of Gems.
A few minutes later, Calan piped up, "Hey. We're here. A'right, kiddo, Gwen'll be held up on the porch of the scoutmaster's cabin. She's been workin' with the volunteers 'round here to decipher some magic book? I dunno, but just... forgive her if she seems distracted."
"Right, thanks, sir," I smiled, climbing out of the personnel carrier after the two agents.
I glanced around the camp, seeing a few volunteers - one of which I recognized from way back in Tech Square when we were looking for Providence - scrambling about, their Nanos following closely behind. The red-headed part alien stood on a porch of a cabin near the entrance of the camp with a familiar green-skinned witch from another world and a certain KND operative that I simply could not forget no matter how hard I wanted to.
"Hey!" called out Gwen from the porch, "You're that girl Grandpa told me to be on the lookout for. Come on over, I got some folks for you to meet before we begin."
"We know each other, actually," Huntress Wizard stated, giving me a slight smile from under her hood.
"Oh, good! In that case, this is-"
"Victor!" I exclaimed, cutting her off and running over to hug my brother.
"N-Nova?" He stammered as I tackled him.
"It's so good to see you! I hope you weren't too worried about me," I said, tears forming in my eyes.
"Are you kidding?! You went missing for a month and a half! I was worried sick! Nobody bothered to tell the guinea pig's brother about his sister's little foray into the unknown!" Victor shouted. "And you wouldn't believe how hard Mom took things. I mean... phew, let's just say I'm lucky you're alive."
"W-wait," I said, backing away, "n-nobody told you? Or Mom?"
"No, nobody told me. Not until you got back."
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know."
"It's fine. You're okay now, that's all that matters."
"Well, I am the older sibling now, so there's that too."
"They... did tell me about that," Victor groaned, slugging me in the shoulder. "Are you even allowed to be in the KND anymore?"
"Numbuh One extended the age restriction to 16, remember?" I told him.
"Right, right. You lucked out, then," Victor said, punching me in the shoulder again.
"You two remind me of me and my cousin," Gwen cut in, "Good to know you're all acquainted already. Huntress Wizard and Numbuh 999,999 are gonna be taking charge of the camp while you and I go train your new powers."
"Cool. It's in good hands, then. Huntress Wizard and I didn't talk much while I was in Ooo, but she's trustworthy," I said.
"Hey!" Victor grumbled, "What about me?"
"I said what I said," I smirked.
"I'm ready when you are, Nova," Gwen added, skipping over Victor and I's antics, "I can't really say we have anywhere near the same type of powers, but I can say I'm gonna try my best to train up our new Professor Paradox Junior."
"Professor Paradox?" I asked.
"Never mind, you'll probably meet him at some point if you haven't already. Every time traveller seems to know each other somehow," Gwen replied.
"You got this, Nova. If you need anything, we'll be here," Huntress Wizard smiled.
I nodded at her, then turned to Gwen and took a deep breath, "I'm ready."
Team UNITE had, with some difficulty, safely traversed northward up the river that flowed southward through the Haunted Ridge and some of the foothills of the Pimpleback Mountains. Spots of infected water that had begun to appear more stagnate interrupted the clear, rushing water from further downstream, and Fusion beasts had begun to dot the muddy banks. In the distance, the team could just barely see the top of the rippling forcefield that surrounded the Leaky Lake Infected Zone, the largest currently established Infected Zone and second most heavily-guarded, following close behind the Townsville Zoo Fissure. The Candy Pirate schooner and its crew had felt eyes on it since they had crossed into Acorn Flats, but they weren't uninviting like they would have been if they the blood-red pits of the Fusions; instead, they were cautious and curious. The Jolly Roger was likely the first ship to ever sail up this river, and it was not only a Candy Pirate vessel but the last functioning Candy Pirate vessel. Coming up this river towards one of the most infamous Infected Zones out there was probably not something anybody had ever thought anyone would attempt, and yet here they were.
As the ship approached a bridge over the river, the eyes that had been following them appeared with their faces for the first time. Several animals in scout uniforms and KND operatives arrived, watching them as the ship came to a stop and Candy Pirates disembarked to move the hastily made plank bridge away and prepare for the Jolly Roger's entrance into the Infected Zone. Pushing his way through the rest of the crowd was a large, older moose who looked down at the crew of the Jolly Roger and furrowed his brow more so than it already had been, crossing his arms.
"What do you think you're doing?" asked the moose in a nasally, disapproving voice.
"Sorry, sir, but it's classified," Athena responded quickly.
"You could at least try to make something up," grumbled the scoutmaster, "what do you think is gonna happen if we let you into the Infected Zone? Do you really think your boat made of wood is gonna be able to just sail through a lake of acid?"
"Again, sir, my teammate is correct. It's a heavily classified mission for the betterment of our war against Fuse," Bronwyn jumped in, "There's a swamp on the other side of Devil's Canyon that we need to get to, and in order for us to get there, we needed to pass through Leaky Lake. We're going by water because we have reason to believe our objective is underwater."
"The Kids Next Door has approved your passage through Leaky Lake, Team UNITE," said a KND Operative before the Bean Scoutmaster could continue, "however, this Infected Zone is under the joint jurisdiction of the Kids Next Door and Bean Scouts, and as such the Bean Scouts need to confirm your passage as well."
"Which will not happen!" interrupted the moose.
"Scoutmaster Lumpus," began the KND Operative, "the Kids Next Door is not aware of what the mission is that Team UNITE is currently engaged in, but given that they've come this far, they clearly mean business. Think, Scoutmaster, have you ever seen someone sail their way up this river?"
"I suppose not," he mumbled.
"Right," Athena pointed out, "And we've already come so far, we will not be turned away now. Whether or not you elect to open a hole in the wall, we'll find a way through."
The Scoutmaster mumbled incoherently to himself as a slug approached his side and whispered something in his ear, causing Lumpus to groan and wave his hand at the crew of the Jolly Roger, "Fiiiiine, you can go through the stupid lake. Just don't get your boat stuck in it."
"Thank you, sir," mocked Athena as the grumpy old moose walked away in a huff.
The slug gave a small smile and a thumbs up before being called by Lumpus and shouting "Yes, sir!" as he ran after him.
A moment later, Bean Scouts, Kids Next Door operatives, and Dexbots turned off a small hole in the force field. UNITE needed to be hasty, or the infection was going to spread outside the zone rapidly, if not completely swallow the ship whole. The Candy Pirates immediately got to work, pulling the bridge off its hinges and hoisting it to the side, jumping back on the ship as it crept its way into the acidic water beyond. As the ship passed the threshold, the forcefield snapped closed behind them and Bean Scouts rushed to pull the bridge back into place. The Team watched as a wave of energy went through the forcefield, stopping at a small inlet where a sizeable amount of infection had already seeped through. The energy was held there and would be until the ship made it to the other side, where it would then flow and let them through. This was not going to be easy, and everyone knew it. The entire crew was silent as the ship slowly crept its way through the infected water. Some mutated eels approached the ship, only to be quickly stopped by the jawbreaker cannons. The ship creaked and sizzled as green smoke and acid bubbles rose its sides greeting some unlucky sailors who manned the sides. The wind here was all but stagnate and smelled of burnt wood and rotten eggs.
"Hold course," ordered Charlie, though it ultimately wasn't necessary; everyone knew this was a point of no return. "Keep 'er steady," continued Charlie, their voice shakey despite the captain's best attempts to hide it.
A Fusion Doppelganger of Ed looked on in curiosity and confusion as the ship passed his lair. Fusion Dexter soon joined him, goopy mechanical tentacles carrying the disfigured child genius as he crossed his arms and considered his options.
"Pay them no mind," Charlie warned, keeping their eyes on the Fusions.
"And if they choose to attack?" Kerry asked.
"I leave that possibility to yer Team, Plumber," the captain dismissed.
Kerry turned his arms to vines in wary anticipation. Bronwyn cocked her rifle. As the ship moved ever closer to the other side of the lake, the Fusions followed. When the energy shifted to meet the ship, the Fusions watched. As the forcefield opened, the Fusions stood ready. Bronwyn fired a warning shot as the bowsprit of the ship passed through the opening. The ship was halfway through when the Doppelgangers made a run for it.
"We got trouble!" called out Bronwyn.
"Then take care of it!" replied the captain, wanting to make sure their crew stayed on course.
Athena, Kerry, and Bronwyn rushed to the front of the ship, all jumping off the side to block the impostors from going any further. The ship needed more time.
"Kerry, take on Ed!" commanded Athena, "Bronwyn, with me on Dex!"
Kerry nodded and trapped the Fusion Ed in a big wrapping of vines as Bronwyn fired off shots at Fusion Dexter to distract him from Athena, who ran towards him and attempted to cut off his mechanical tentacles with her sword. Before Athena could even reach Dexter's first tentacle, however, another tentacle grabbed Athena by the neckerchief and tossed her aside as the monster summoned a Robotic Claw and charged Bronwyn. Kerry applied heat and pressure through his vines, hoping to be rid of his own beast as fast as possible. As the monster resembling the tallest Ed wriggled and squirmed and screeched, it summoned sharp fangs and bit down on Kerry's vines, taking a massive bite out of them. Kerry screamed in pain but refused to back down as seed pods burst through the cloth of his sleeves, orange and glowing with heat.
"Kerry!" Bronwyn called out, pushing Fusion Dexter away as he took a swing at her with his claw.
"I'm- agh! - fine! Focus... on your fight!" Kerry grunted, the heat he was generating burning away his sleeves and revealing his skin underneath, his normally dark colour being turned a swampy green.
Fusion Ed screeched louder and struggled harder, but eventually was forced to give in to the pressure and popped into an explosion of goo in Kerry's vines. Kerry retracted his vines and collapsed to the ground as Candy Pirates rushed out of the now freed Jolly Roger, the forcefield snapping closed behind the ship. A small group picked up Kerry and brought him back on board, while another group rushed to help an unconscious Athena. Bronwyn was left fighting Fusion Dexter alone.
"Alright... you alien brat. Let's dance," Bronwyn intimidated, jumping out of the way of one of Fusion Dexter's tentacles as it came crashing towards her.
The Fusion roared and began wildly swinging at the Providence Intern as she deftly dodged every one of his swipes.
"Y'know, for a copy of the smartest kid on the planet, you're awfully dumb," Bronwyn taunted, taking a moment to bash at one of the tentacles with the butt of her gun, causing it to spark and collapse back into the alien's back.
The Fusion then faked out Bronwyn by swiping at her with its remaining lower tentacle, then grabbing her by the arm with the two top ones. It hoisted her up into the air and laughed as it twisted the claws attached to the ends of its tentacles, breaking her wrist and causing her to cry out in pain and drop her weapon.
The Candy Pirate captain shouted something from the ship, but the ringing in Bronwyn's ears prevented her from hearing whatever it was. She panted as she raised her other hand to her mouth, pulling off the glove with her teeth. Her now exposed stony hand caught the Fusion off-guard, allowing her to dig her fist into the monster's neck, the stone protrusions doing most of the work. With a defeated sigh, the Fusion let go of Bronwyn and crumpled to the ground where it dissolved into a pile of goo. Bronwyn coughed and breathed heavily, shakily reaching to her broken wrist with her other hand and focusing on healing it with her powers. After only a second or two, she swore under her breath as she felt the bones reconnect and heal instantaneously. She looked up to see Charlie standing over her, utterly baffled.
"Don't. Say. A word," Bronwyn threatened.
The captain, their eyes wide, simply nodded and dug a goo-covered wrench out of the puddle, offering it to Bronwyn. "I... heard these here items can be useful fer yer... Nanos?" Charlie said after clearing his throat.
Bronwyn took the wrench and put it in her lab coat pocket, nodding. She put her glove back, noticing that extra stones had appeared. She swore under her breath once more and slowly stood up.
"I... ne'er mind," said the Candy Pirate, helping her up and leading her back to the ship.
"Y'know," Bronwyn groaned, "you're alright for a pirate."
"Yer not too bad yerself, government shmuck," Charlie retorted.
"Touche," Bronwyn muttered, clambering her way back onto the ship.
"Alright, Nova," Gwen began, motioning to the large crystal-covered cave, "welcome to the Crystalline Caverns, Fuse's least well-guarded Infected Zone and yet perhaps the one he is most interested in."
"He's... harvesting crystals here, right? To make Fusion Gems?" I remembered.
"The Gems call them Infected Gems, but yes, exactly. I take it Calan filled you in on the details?"
"Yeah," I nodded. I could see three Fusion Portals here, one on the ground and two further up, suspended on floating crystals. Beyond those three lairs, there was hardly a single sign of Fusion interference, aside from the matter that dotted the walls, crystals, and the cavern floor and the suspended crystals.
"Great! I've been informed of what your ally told Grandpa concerning what you know how to do. Given that information, I think it would be wise to train what you know already," Gwen explained. I nodded along, feeling my nerves return in full force. "So, we're going to learn exactly how and why you can stop time. What do you have so far?"
"Well," I began, clearing my throat of the lump that had formed, "I've only been able to access that power when in extremely stressful or life-threatening situations. I suppose."
"I'm not gonna put your life at risk here, that would be entirely irresponsible of me, but perhaps we can work with that," Gwen assured me, looking around the caverns. "Maybe your powers are tied to your emotions..." Gwen hypothesized, using her powers to float up to a crystal platform. She reached out and used her powers to cause a slowly spinning crystal to speed up rapidly, to the point it would be impossible to land on it without being flung off. "What are you feeling right now, Nova?"
I wiped a bead of sweat off my brow and breathed out, "Scared? Nervous?"
"Good. Try to focus on that and make your way up here," Gwen responded, pointing with her other hand at a crystal formation that was rising up and down.
I silently and nervously nodded, making my way to the hovering crystal formation. At its apex, I reached out my hand out and focused, just as Lydia - and now Gwen - had told me to. Closing my eyes, I remembered my vision and how I had used my powers to dispatch the Spawns. I focused on what I remembered from that vision. I focused on my emotions, my fear, my anxiety. And as I took a deep breath in, I felt the platform beneath me freeze. I opened my eyes and saw the rapidly spinning platform was completely frozen, an illusion of motion blur following its path. Gwen was frozen in mid-speech. I smiled to myself and took a running jump to the platform, exhaling deeply as I landed. As I did so, I felt the platform move under me and found myself being flung to the ground, which I promptly hit. Hard.
"Oh, my gosh!" Gwen called out. She let go of the platform and quickly floated down to me. "Are you okay, Nova?"
"Ughh," I groaned, slowly sitting up, "Y-Yeah, I'll be fine. A friend told me I recover quickly now. Oof," I said, rubbing my back.
"We don't have to do that again," Gwen hurriedly reassured me, "Erm, did you learn anything from that?"
"M-Maybe?" I stammered, "I... it might be related to my breathing? I deeply inhaled and froze time and as soon as I let all that air go, time resumed."
"Hey, that is something!" Gwen exclaimed, offering me a hand.
I gladly took it and as I stood on even ground once I held up my other hand, "One more time. I wanna try something el-"
As I held a finger up to form a one, I relived the entirety of the last minute in quick succession and ended up back on the rising platform,"-se. Wait."
"What'd you say?" Gwen called out. She was back on her own platform.
"I have an idea!" I responded. I held my hand out and focused once more. Time froze. I jumped. As I landed on the spinning platform, time resumed. I held up a one and returned to the rising platform.
"Oh, okay! Go for it, then!" responded Gwen.
"Haha! Awesome!" I exclaimed.
"Er, you didn't do anyth-. Wait. Did you just discover something?" Gwen deduced.
"It has to do with my hand motions! I'm certain of it!" I replied. "If I hold my hand out like I'm saying 'stop', I stop time. When I hold my hand up to make a one, I reverse time to the exact second I last activated my powers. I think. I-I'm not sure about that last part, but I think that's how it works. I think I need to be actively thinking about my powers, though. Maybe intent, too."
"Woah, hey, that's something! Well done!" Gwen said, focusing her own powers on the spinning platform once again. "Think you can make it over here?"
I confidently nodded and waited for the platform to reach its peak once again. As soon as it did, I focused and stopped time. Leaving my hand up this time, I jumped on the once-spinning platform, and once more to the platform Gwen was on. Nearly losing my balance thanks to my outstretched hand, I let my hand slip and fell backwards, only to be quickly caught by one of Gwen's pink platforms.
"Er, my landings could use some work," I laughed nervously as I hopped on the platform next to Gwen.
"How many attempts did that take?" Gwen asked.
"Just one. Might've been a burst of confidence, though."
"Wanna try it again, just to be sure?"
"It couldn't hurt. Now that I know I literally can just reverse any injuries I get," I agreed, holding up a one and returning to my starting point.
Two more tries of this and I was back on the platform. Gwen asked the same question, to which I admitted to already doing that whole song and dance with her. Impressed - though perhaps maybe not surprised - Gwen continued.
"Good job, then. I gotta say, that looks really weird from my point of view. You just sort of turn into a shadow and less than a second later, you show up somewhere else. Shall we see what else you can do?" Gwen suggested.
"Let's," I agreed.
"So, something a time-travelling friend of mine can do is accelerate and decelerate time. Since we know already that you can rewind and stop time, I think that could be a good next step. What do you think?"
"Worth a shot," I confirmed.
"Oh, and while we're at it, there's something else we should try while we're here," Gwen added, "There's something that time travellers will often apply on their allies to help them experience the same time they do. It's called Temporal Isolation."
I nodded, "I'll give it a try."
Gwen smiled. I tried to stop time directly at Gwen. After she didn't respond, I let it go and made a circle around Gwen, thinking that Maybe I just need to highlight who is coming with me, and stopped time once more. This time she continued moving.
"Well, that... was not the solution I expected. Kinda thought that'd be harder to figure out," I admitted.
"Oh?" Gwen asked, looking around at the frozen world.
"I... okay, don't laugh? I thought if I could 'highlight' the target of isolation, they'd be isolated with me," I blushed.
"Hm. Smart. So that circle motion was you indicating that you were taking me into this timeless space with you. Clever."
"You don't think... maybe I have some sort of choice of what my actions are?" I suggested.
Gwen placed her finger on her chin, "Maybe. Worth further testing, for sure, I'd say!"
I resumed time and nodded. Anything was worth a shot. Nothing was off the table. Here we go.
I summoned Nano Blossom, hoping that her optimism, intelligence, and creativity might be of use to me. Gwen simply observed while Blossom and I brainstormed ideas together. Through a few trial and error tests, Nano Blossom and I came up with something I decided to try to test; I would point forward to accelerate time and point backwards to decelerate time. So this would be the final judgement call; if my own imagination could influence my powers, it would be a complete gamechanger. I isolated Nano Blossom and Gwen and took a deep breath as I pointed forward.
"Nothing... happened," I said dejectedly.
"That's okay, it just means there are specific actions you need to do-" Gwen began.
"Wait!" Nano Blossom exclaimed, flying circles around my head to get my attention. She was pointing at a crystalline platform that had been moving in a large circle slowly the entire time we'd been in the caverns.
"No way," I muttered. The platform was moving faster, the small amount of fusion matter that existed was spreading rapidly, and the crystals were actively degrading before our very eyes.
"You did it!" Gwen exclaimed.
"Y-Yeah!" I replied.
I pointed at the platform again and watched as it sped up even more. I turned around and watched where I was pointing, making sure to hit the platform. It slowed down, stopped degrading, the fusion matter stopped spreading. Until it stopped entirely.
"So, what happens when I..." I pondered. I pointed at myself. Just as I thought, everything around me spread up. I quickly poked myself on the back and returned to the real world.
"That was really weird, Nova," Gwen laughed. I looked at her as I caught my breath. "You turned into, like... TV static or something. It was... wow."
I laughed, "You should've been in my position. That was trippy. I didn't get much of a look, but the world seemed to spin a little. It's like when you watch those timelapse videos on TubeTube. Everything around me moved super fast and seemed almost natural otherwise, but there was definitely something odd about it."
"Fascinating. Man, I hope you do get to meet Paradox someday. The two of you would have tons to talk about. Alright, well, tell you what. I'm getting kinda hungry. Wanna get some lunch?" Gwen asked.
"Do all Tennyson's eat that, no offence, garbage that Grandpa Max eats?"
"Oh, gosh, you've seen that?" Gwen groaned, chuckling. "Of course we don't. Blech! Even Ben is more normal than that. Come on, I've got a small stockpile of real food at camp."
"Thank the gods," I laughed, "after you, then."
Gwen smiled and floated her way back down to the solid ground below, motioning for me to follow. When I tried to simply jump across to the other platforms, she stopped me by placing a large pink box around me and placing me back on the larger platform.
"Hey!" I protested.
"Nuh-uh-uh! I never said you were taking a break. Get creative on your way down. If it ends up that you'll hurt yourself no matter what you do, rewind time and let me know," Gwen smirked.
I sighed and poked myself on the back. My first - and only - idea was that I could reach the ground completely unharmed if I could slow my descent. I walked forward towards the ledge. By time decelerating myself, it meant that I was actively slower, so it felt like I had 20-pound weights on my feet. Eventually, I crossed over the threshold and felt myself beginning to fall. This was definitely faster, but mostly just felt like rolling down a hill, complete with occasional bumps, which I assumed to be wind resistance, like slow-motion turbulence. A few moments later, I landed and poked my chest, taking a deep breath as I returned to normal time. Gwen was gone. On the other side of the cavern, I heard something.
Grunting. Small explosions. Screeching. Familiar screeching.
I ran to the other side to see Gwen in active combat with a tall, muscular Fusion with a stained varsity jacket, spikes, and poofy black hair.
"Gwen!" I shouted. The Fusion stopped for just a moment, allowing Gwen to get a hit in, a small pink orb exploding against its face.
"There you are!" Gwen grunted. "Took you long enough! Get over here, this guy is the toughest Fusion Steven I've ever seen! I think he's the guy who owns that third lair here!"
"Steven? As in-" I started, interrupting myself, "-never mind. Hang on!"
I charged forward, stopping time just before I collided with the Fusion Half-Gem Hero. I slid underneath its legs and kicked it in the back, followed by several punches. It was at this moment I regretted not bringing a weapon with me. I resumed time, allowing the force of my punches to knock the Fusion to the ground. I ran to Gwen's side.
"You okay?" I asked.
"I'm fine. Let's take this guy out," Gwen said, producing a mana sword and handing to it me.
I smiled and watched as Fusion Steven got up and roared, getting bigger and producing more spikes on his body. He screeched and charged the two of us. I gave Gwen a look and raised a finger to the monster, nodding to Gwen as I did so. The two of us jumped out of the way as an accelerated Fusion Steven ran headfirst into the wall behind us, its two front spikes being dug into the stone. With the monster temporarily stunned, I isolated Gwen and a now re-summoned Nano Blossom and stopped time, counter charging against the Fusion, slashing and stabbing at it with the mana sword while Gwen lined up a volley of pink projectiles. Nano Blossom used her Ice Breath power to give us some extra time of Stun on the Fusion as I resumed time.
At once, about 20 mana projections landed at critical points over the alien's body, the behemoth was chilled and covered in crystals of ice, and stab and slash marks appeared all over the Fusion's already tattered clothing and scarred body. All those effects together caused a few crystal spikes to fall off and shatter on the ground. As the monster recovered, it stood to its full height and roared once again. It summoned two giant shields and threw one towards me and another towards Gwen. Just before mine hit me, I froze time and jumped on top of it, throwing Gwen's sword at the Fusion's face as I pointed backwards at the other shield decelerating it. Climbing off the shield on the other side, I resumed time. My deceleration was able to allow Gwen to put a barrier up, which the shield crashed against, completely shattering both. The shield thrown at me crashed into a stone wall on the other side of the cavern and dissipated into fusion matter.
"This guy just won't quit!" I shouted to Gwen.
"I have an idea!" Gwen responded.
"Well, I'm all ears!"
"Those spikes, when we destroyed them, it slowed him down a little bit. Maybe if we get rid of all of them, he'll fall!"
"Is that usually what you have to do for Fusion Steven's? You mentioned there being others you'd seen."
"Fuse has a weird fascination with making Steven's. I've seen a few now. They're usually not too strong. Or big. This one is very different."
"I see. Well, I'll follow your lead."
Gwen nodded and made a volley of mana blades. I isolated Nano Blossom and froze time, then accelerated each one of Gwen's blades. I ran to retrieve the sword from the Fusion's body, then had Nano Blossom freeze three spikes, cutting at those. I ran back and resumed time. The accelerated blades flew forward at light speeds and cut several spikes off as the spikes Nano Blossom had frozen shattered. The monster had one spike left as it fell to the ground in pain, shrinking rapidly, right down until he resembled Steven's 14-year-old self. As the Fusion cowered on the ground, I walked up and sliced the final spike off, causing the Fusion to explode into a puddle at my feet, the only surviving remnant, a single torn open wrapper for a discontinued Ice Cream Bar. I picked it up and put it in one of my adaptive suit's many pockets.
"Nicely done. You passed," Gwen said, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"That... THAT... was a test!?" I responded.
"Well, no. But you did so well that I've decided we're done for the day," Gwen yawned, stretching.
"Did you... know that was gonna happen?" I asked.
"The second you jumped over to that platform, I saw his portal move a little. What came out was what you saw me fighting with. I decided to not worry you as I tried to figure out the situation."
I looked at the Fusion Portal on the platform directly above us. It began to fall apart, melting into itself and bubbling lightly. It had no master, and so it now served no purpose. I yawned. Nano Blossom followed suit.
"That was a tough fight. You've earned a rest. Both of you have," Gwen expressed.
"Lunchtime?" I suggested.
"Sure thing. And yeah, this time we're done," Gwen winked, leading the way back to the entrance.
As I exited the caverns with my new mentor, something within me felt... off. I had an absolutely killer headache. It didn't go away throughout all of lunch, and as I regaled my brother and Huntress Wizard with tales of my training and battle with Fusion Steven, it got worse. And worse. And worse.
And then I heard a small explosion and felt the air around me become stale. As I opened my eyes, I stood in the centre of Townsville Centre Mall, staring at the stage positioned on the other side. Sitting on the edge of that stage, I saw a group of three kids. Three kids I recognized. My team. Athena, Kerry, and myself. And as the younger me looked in my direction, I teleported to another point in that night.
That dreadful night nearly two months ago.
I knew exactly where - and more importantly, when - I was.
Phew! Hey, everyone! Sorry that this one took so long to get out, May was a rough month for me, from school wrapping up, heading back to a slightly unsafe home, and some weird and unexpected roadblocks popping up. But I'm back now, and I'm more motivated than ever! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! A few things I'm gonna point out right now so I can give credit where credit is most certainly due; two of the three Fusions who appear in this chapter, Dexter and Steven, have unique designs that I heavily based on designs that folks have posted in the Worlds Collide Discord Server! The design for Fusion Dexter is based on a piece done by Devan AKA Wilttilt, while the design for Fusion Steven is based on a design from Devdrawin. I really like these particular designs for Fusions of these characters, so I decided that when it came time to introduce them in Unity, I'd take a crack at my own interpretations of their designs!
Also, you may have noticed that Unity finally has a Cover Image! I made it myself! I'll talk more about what went into its creation in the second "Author's Interlude", so if you're interested, stick around for that.
Anyway, I really am planning on writing more regularly this month. Speaking of, Happy Pride Month y'all! I always try very hard to incorporate people from all walks of life in my stories, so I'll take this moment to point out that Unity has (so far) two openly queer original characters; Lydia Bronwyn is a lesbian, and Captain Chocolate Charlie is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns (Cosmos, the version of Nova that exists within her now, also uses they/them, but as they're sort of not really a perceptible being to anyone outside of Nova and her Alternates, I don't really know if they count). In addition to other canon CN characters that will show up soon, I wanted to have OCs that represent some of my own identities in this story.
That's all for now! As always, thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying Unity! Stay safe and healthy and go get vaccinated if you can but, for some reason, haven't already.