Reticence Saga
Severed Web
Chapter 29: San Fransokyo
Many people believe the universe to be everything in existence. The people of Nullspace knew better. There were universes just beyond the one that's called 'home'. Call them dimensions, call them realities, it was all the same really. One would assume the multiverse was the totality of existence, but that wasn't entirely correct. There were many multiverses, all of which is contained in a single omniverse. And if anything exists beyond that, nobody is going to look.
The thing about multiverses was that they weren't completely separate from each other. There are some multiverses that are clustered closely together, being connected by anchor points of alternate reality. These multiverse clusters, or megaverses, were often centered around a particular form of culture, such as comic books. Traveling between megaverses can be quite a daunting experience. So the best advice when doing so is be careful looking out the window.
Spider-Man was doing just that, the multicolored realm of a warp field seen, flashing every now and then. "I'd be careful. Sometimes it looks back...really," NegaMorph warned, before they jumped as what appeared to be the Cheshire cat floated past.
"You could lose your eyesight staring too long," said Matt, "Or your mind."
"Did you stare too long?" said NegaMorph with a grin, before snapping "YOU'RE THE DRIVER!"
"Relax, I've got the ship set on your brat's tail. She's not getting away that easily," said Matt.
Chloe looked up and said, "It didn't take us as long going to Neo-Gotham, did it?"
"Depends where she's going. Spider-Man's home is pretty close to the Combine border..." explained Matt before the ship shook.
"What was that?" asked Spider-Man.
"I don't think she's taking the same route back," said Chloe.
"Gee what was your first clue?" snapped Matt, heading back to the controls.
"Stand by for warp exit in 10 seconds..." said the computer, a literal light at the end of the warp tunnel appearing.
"How are our reality shields?" asked Matt.
"Strong and holding," said Chloe before another shock staggered them, "More than I can say for the hull."
"Dimension identified. Code KH-231...Alert...quarantined," said the computer, Matt, Chloe and NegaMorph looking at one another.
"You keep that sword in your pocket," said Matt to NegaMorph.
"Definitely," said NegaMorph nervously, before the warp tunnel vanished to show bright sunlight, the ship shaking for a second as it went from vacuum to atmosphere...oh yeah and and a 747 heading for them. The group screamed before Matt aimed the Skyraid straight down.
"PULL UP! PULL UP!" screamed Chloe.
Matt pulled back on the controls desperately, a city looming. This city had a rather interesting skyline. There were tall futuristic skyscrapers and giant turbines floating high above, but connected to the ground by very long tethers. "What is this place?" asked Spider-Man.
Matt pulled up the coordinates on the ship's multiversal navigator. "Ok, the year is 2032 and the city is..." He paused before saying, "That has to be a typo."
Chloe leaned in, to read. "San Fransokyo...weird name," she said to herself.
"Which side of the Pacific are we on?" asked Spider-Man.
"California..." said NegaMorph.
"Yep, I think that's San Francisco Bay in front of us. Or San Fransokyo Bay," said Matt.
"Uh...are we about to crash into it?" asked Spider-Man.
"Not if I can help it. I will goddamn land normally for once," snapped Matt, pulling back on the controls. The Skyraid started leveling out at that. "See? Nothing to worry about," said Matt.
NegaMorph rolled his eyes at that before holding up a hand and counting down on the fingers. Three...two...one...
The ship shook as it smashed into something, the ship skidding along the ground. The ship had hit the opposite end of the bay and had skidded along the ground there.
As the ship skidded to a stop, Matt said with a voice of such rigidity you could use it as a level, "We didn't crash in the bay."
"Least the cloak's working," said NegaMorph, from where he was splatted against the viewscreen.
"Yeah, but that doesn't cover the trench, does it?" asked Chloe.
"Screw it, I count this as a landing," snapped Matt.
"So where is Megan and why did she come here?" asked NegaMorph as he peeled himself off.
"City, most likely," said Matt.
"Fine, can we narrow it down?" asked Chloe.
"No cause NegaMorph's techpack went through the sensor controls," said Matt icily, pointing to a sparking console.
"And it did not feel good," groaned NegaMorph, rubbing his back.
"We'll need to do this the old-fashioned way then. We can assume she's still after genetic tech so we start there," said Chloe calmly.
"Hopefully no dragons this time," said Spider-Man.
"Don't jinx it! The landing ramp's still usable. We can drive there," said Matt, checking a console
"You have a car?" asked Spider-Man.
"Boy has Matt got a car," said Nega.
The ship's C-SUV smashed through the road's main railing, Matt laughing at the wheel, Peter clinging to his seat in the back while Chloe and NegaMorph looked bored. "Where did you get your license?" yelped Peter as Matt took a minute beyond comfort and several cars swerving, to realize he was meant to drive on the right.
"Can you believe I never took my test?" giggled Matt.
"Matt, remember, we are driving to San Francisco, or something close to it," said Chloe.
"Where do you think I'm going?" laughed Matt, before pausing "Oh, wrong way."
"We're not even in the city yet and we're going the wrong...oh no," muttered Chloe, before Matt pulled hard to the right, the SUV turning to the left and through a wall into the alley beyond and up the hill beyond that.
"ROADS! ROADS ARE THE MOTORIST'S FRIEND!" screamed NegaMorph.
"Aren't you the one person in this car who can't be killed in a wreck?" asked Chloe.
"Tell that to him!" snapped NegaMorph.
"It's the quickest way!" laughed Matt, flicking a switch just before another wall was hit, a laser drill folding out of the vehicle's front radiator. "Screw you, wall!" laughed Matt, Chloe noticing he seemed to be sweating.
"Matt, time to pull over," said Chloe.
"In San Francisco? No place to pull over," said Matt in manic glee.
"Theresaplace!" yelped NegaMorph, before whimpering, "Never mind...missed it...SLOW DOWN!"
Matt meanwhile was feeling fantastic...a little light headed...and his vision was blurring and spinning...in fact, he hadn't felt like this since before...oh bugger.
The group stared in horror as Matt slumped over the wheel. "This is no time to be funny, Lynch!" snapped NegaMorph.
Chloe was shaking him. "Matt...MATT!" she snapped in a panic.
A voice said "Pilot incapacitated...switching to auto...warning...collision imminent." Chloe looked up to see a cargo truck blocking the way.
When Chloe opened her eyes, there was a terrible ringing in her ears. Ears don't ring in the afterlife, so she didn't die. A light was shone in her eyes, before a voice said, "Easy...you're damn lucky. The crash threw you through the windshield. Surprised you just have bruises," said a male voice full of concern.
Once Chloe found her tongue again, she asked, "How's my brother?"
"He's on his way to St. Francis. He had a bad hypo event but we got some glucose into him. His arm was broken as well and there might be worse..." said the paramedic.
"Hypo event? But he's supposed to be-" started Chloe before checking herself, "Up to date with his insulin."
"He must have given himself too much. Another team already took him but I can arrange to get you down there..." said the paramedic before they both looked over at the CSUV, being pulled onto the back of a truck. "And please tell me where you got that. If it hadn't been on its roof, I woulda never guessed it was in a crash," he added. Chloe looked over at the truck, its trailer torn in two and its driver being interviewed.
"Uh...private contractor," said Chloe, half-wondering why she said that. "I...I need to go," she added, spotting NegaMorph waving from an alley.
"Ok, you sure you'll be ok? You could have a concussion," asked the paramedic.
"Save your worry for my brother," said Chloe as she got up.
The paramedic watched as she walked off. "Weirdo," he muttered, putting his things away.
"Ok...what the hell?" snapped NegaMorph once they were out of sight, "I barely had enough time to shadow jump Spider-Man out."
"Matt had a diabetic attack," said Chloe.
"What? I thought his nanites regulated his blood sugar," said NegaMorph.
"And his wounds, the paramedic made it sound like he was in a bad way," said Chloe.
NegaMorph frowned. "Megan couldn't have thrown a death curse at him, could she?"
"If she could, she would have. But she hasn't even seen him recently," said Chloe.
"Hadron radiation exposure?" asked NegaMorph.
"If he were exposed, it would have been obvious," said Chloe.
"Maybe his nanotech's on the brink?" suggested NegaMorph.
"That might be it," said Chloe, "Heck of a time for that though."
"He's in a hospital. His DNA is practically alien. Anyone not seeing the problem yet?" snapped NegaMorph.
"It'll get worse if he can't keep human form," said Chloe.
"Again, the problem. We need to get him out of there," snapped NegaMorph.
"Yeah, before they start looking into insurances and medical plans," said Chloe.
The crash had also gotten some attention, especially when it hit the news. When a small SUV hits a 18 wheeler and comes out as the winner, it's unusual.
"So, what do you think of it?" asked Hiro.
"Hmm...well, it's big, sturdy, has a lot of carrying space..." said Wasabi.
"Solid and slow as a brick, goes through gas like water," said GoGo.
"Not to mention its size makes it totally impractical to use in crowded city streets," said Wasabi, "So why do I still want one?"
"And it should have been pancaked from the footage," said GoGo, looking at the front.
"It might be an environmentalist's nightmare, but I do wonder what it's made of," said Honey Lemon.
Hiro peered through the window to see a small red light flashing. "Its computer is still working, I think," said Hiro, "If I could just take a look at it." There was a clunk at that, the car door locking.
"Do we really want to steal from a car that's in an impound lot?" asked Wasabi, "That's a whole lot of legal trouble waiting to happen."
"Erm...guys...the car locked itself," said Fred carefully.
"That's just an automatic thing," said GoGo, "When the key fob is away from the car for too long."
The last member of their group, Baymax, said, "I detect that the key is in the ignition."
"Oh man, I hate it when that happens," said Fred, "Now they're gonna have to get something to jimmy the lock." The car's engine started at that, backing up a few inches. "Remote-piloted?" asked Fred.
"Attempts at illegal entry will result in combative response," said a deep voice.
"That's the third strangest car alarm I've ever heard," said Fred.
The headlights folded down at that, two glowing nozzles seen. "I don't think that was a novelty car alarm," said Hiro.
"You have 10 seconds to withdraw," said the car's voice.
"I think we better do as it says," said Wasabi.
"The 10 seconds have expired," said the voice, twin laser bolts shooting out and hitting the impound's fence, the vehicle leaping forward with a roar and out into the street.
"Well, that's not something you see everyday," said Hiro.
"Except for-" started Fred.
"Skip it," said GoGo.
St. Francis Hospital looked very peaceful at night. Not the kind of place one would expect to break into and visiting hours were almost over.
One figure leapt down on its roof, peering around darkly before thinking. This was not going to be as easy. Cutting the power to the hospital to get in wasn't as simple, given the many redundancies. But security cameras were easy to dice apart. The trick is getting to them before they see you.
She paused, before ducking back. One of the shadows on the other side of the chopper pad. Something was...off.
The shadows seemed to...deepen. Like they had formed a small well. Then something emerged from it, something all in black. "Ok, guys, I'm here. Tell me you lot are ready," the creature said in an annoyed tone, pausing before saying, "Yeah, I see the connection. One lighting system virus coming up." He stuck his fist into a junction box before pausing. No...there was no way it had seen her. "One moment, I'll call you back," the creature said darkly.
She crouched low. Things might get more complicated than she thought. Time to break out the secret weapon.
The creature walked back into the shadows, before a drone flew overhead, the light showing nothing was there. She narrowed her eyes, which were starting to glow. How could something disappear like that? And where will it reappear?
A second later, something grabbed her leg, knocking her down, the creature rising behind her. "Think you can sneak up on me, eh?" the creature snarled, eyes glowing red.
The lady he ambushed looked like a ninja dressed in black and blue. But then he noticed something was off. "What's wrong with your eyes?" he asked.
"Don't watch the eyes," she said, "Watch the hands." Suddenly, her fingernails grew into foot-long blue claws.
The creature raised what was presumably an eyebrow before he laughed. "You gotta be kidding, right? What you gonna do? Scratch me to-oookiay that worked," he said, as the lady made several motions and he fell into a pile of neat slices.
"Well, that was easy," said the lady, shaking a little slime off her hands, "Didn't even feel his bones."
The slices...at least the ones with eyes watched as the woman went into the hospital before pulling himself together. "Guys? It's NegaMorph. We're not the only one here tonight and she's got some nasty claws," he said into his comm.
"Wolverine nasty?" asked Spider-Man's voice.
"Plus four," said NegaMorph, "I got no idea what she's after. Might wanna avoid drug storage."
Chloe nodded. "Ok...Peter? We'd better find Matt fast...and some insulin. His other conditions will last till we get him to the medi-bay," she said.
"You know, he never struck me as the diabetic type," said Spider-Man, "I never saw him be that careful with what he ate."
"He had a genetic condition. Autoimmune, super rare. Diabetes was one result. The sooner his medical nanites are working...but first let's get him out of here," said Chloe, the two walking in, Peter in civilian clothing but with his suit underneath. "Hi, I'm looking for Matthew Lynch's room. The John Doe from the SUV crash earlier today. I'm his sister," she said to the receptionist, looking briefly at her wrist comp to see a command asking if she wanted to knock out the lighting.
"Visiting hours are almost over, sweetie," said the nurse kindly.
"Please, I just wanna check if he's ok," said Chloe, putting a little genuine pleading into her voice. It wasn't exactly a lie. She wanted to make sure he was ok.
"Well, I'm sure we can squeeze you in, but you won't be able to stay long," said the nurse.
"I just need a few minutes," said Chloe, smiling in thanks. As she was turning the corner, she suddenly bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry," she said.
"Quite alright," said the other person, who turned out to be a beautiful blonde woman. She looked Chloe in the face and said, "You resemble someone..."
"Never met you," said Chloe, saying, "Look, nice to meet you, but I only got a few minutes to see my brother."
"Oh yes, the new patient," said the woman, "The one who's lucky to be alive."
"Yeah...so if you excuse me," said Chloee, stepping past. Something about this woman creeped her out.
"Ok, maybe we'll see each other again," said the woman cheerfully.
"I hope not," muttered Chloe, watching as the woman met with a guy who grinned before the two walked out, some part of her having her wristcomp run a facial check.
"Oh Lord..." said Chloe in a small voice. Her brother had only been this hooked up once...and never this bad.
"Is he ok?" Peter asked the doctor present.
"Indeed, that's...what we want to talk to you both about. We found some...oddities in his blood work," the doctor said.
"Uh...like blood clots?" asked Chloe with a slight wince.
"No...microbots. Was your brother in the town during the microbot incident?" asked the doctor.
"I'm pretty doubtful about that," said Chloe.
"Well it's the only explanation for them. We had an expert from Sycorax take a look even and she has no answers either, especially the other problems. genetic anomalies," said the doctor with concern.
"I'm sure it's only a glitch in the computer system," said Chloe, "I mean, machines aren't infallible, right?"
"I'm not sure. We're thinking of sending samples to Sycorax Labs for confirmation..." said the doctor.
Chloe sighed. "Ok...is he well enough that he could be moved?" she asked.
"Well...he meets the minimum requirements for that, but just barely. I would not recommend moving him," said the doctor.
"Then I'm really sorry about this," said Chloe, putting a hand on the doctor's shoulder before tasering him, activating NegaMorph's little trigger and the lights going out. "Before you say anything he'll be fine," she said, gently laying the knocked out doctor on an empty bed.
When Matt didn't respond, Chloe looked at him with concern. But he just appeared to be asleep. "Don't make me drag your half-alive carcass out of here," said Chloe in annoyance. She glared before pulling out a purple injector and shooting it into his leg, Matt twitching before shooting to a sitting position with a gasp. "That should help till we get you back. Up and at em, we're discharging you and burning any samples that were taken on the way out."
"Five more minutes..." moaned Matt.
Chloe glared before making sparks fly from her finger. "Ok, I'm up! I'm up!" yelped Matt, "Where are my pants?"
Peter, putting on his Spider-Man mask, opened a cabinet to show Matt's armor, but no clothing. "They...had to cut your things off you," he said, passing Matt his Wakandan armor which activated.
Matt gave him an annoyed look. "Can't a guy pass out without losing his clothes these days?" grumbled Matt.
"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," said Chloe flatly, "We'd better find those samples."
Just then, Spider-Man's spider sense began going nuts. "DUCK!" he yelled before throwing himself down. Chloe followed out of instinct, feeling a woosh of air above her before seeing a few cut hairs from her head fall to the floor.
Another slash cut the door to bits, Matt aiming his palm, Spider-Man with his web shooters ready and Chloe readying a bolt. "Ah, ah, ah, this is a hospital," said a female voice, "And you're going to need doctors when I'm through with you."
"You'd think. When you get back to central, tell McNeil to get a refund," sneered Chloe, shifting to her werewolf form.
"How many monsters are in this city now?" asked the female voice.
"They have nothing on me," snarled Chloe.
Matt said, "Can we just go? My head's still swimming."
"What's the rush? Why not stick around and have a slice?" Thankfully, Matt's reflexes were catching up and he blasted the crazy wolverine lady before she could slash him.
"Let's go!" yelped Matt, walking out into the corridor, his helmet's night vision picking up the nursing staff staring in terror. "Please stay in your rooms. Also where are the blood samples for that room kept?" asked Matt, aiming a thumb at his room. A nurse pointed nervously down the corridor. "Thank you. Keep your heads down," said Matt.
Chloe walked out next, causing a few panicked screams from those whose eyes had adjusted. "Ok...the car's on its way," she said, ignoring them.
"What did you do with my car?" asked Matt accusingly.
"They took it to the lockup. Apparently when a SUV totals a big rig, it gets interest. I set it to distract any local heroes and it's on its way now," said Chloe.
Matt asked, "Ok...what happened? Last thing I remembered before hospital was driving us into the city."
"You kinda...flatlined on us," said Spider-Man.
"Flatline how?" asked Matt.
"Your medical nanites are out. They'll need rebooting. That shot I gave you will last a few days. You had a hypo coma," said Chloe.
Matt gulped. "There wasn't a banshee when we got here, was there?" he asked weakly.
"No sign of Keenai, no...and don't ask, Spider-Man," said Chloe, Spider-Man noticing their attacker had vanished.
"Whatever, let's just find Megan and leave," said Matt.
Spider-Man's spider-sense rang like a bell again, turning to see their attacker, who was smirking, outside a door that assumedly was the lab. "Have fun explaining to the police what happened here," she sneered, hitting an alarm, red lights coming on and giving them a good look at her as she ran for the emergency stairs.
"That...did not look natural," said Spider-Man.
"She looked like a..." began Chloe, before they both said "splicer." before all three ran after the figure.
"Definitely not a complete animal transformation," said Spider-Man, "Not sure what she was crossed with."
"Just grab her. She could lead us to Megan," snapped Matt.
"You sure? Lady Nega's splicers tend to look more animalistic and have elemental powers," said Spider-Man, "She just has...long, sharp claws."
"Tech limits?" suggested Chloe. The trio paused at the stairs. "She's headed to ground level." said Chloe.
Matt looked down, "My turn." before jumping the railing.
"MATT!" snapped Chloe, "You're still recovering!"
"So...his first time in hospital?" said Spider-Man jokingly, Chloe snarling.
Momakase arrived at the ground floor, slashing a security drone in half before looking at the blood samples. "Urgh...Amata has weird tastes," she muttered before jumping with a cat-like yowl as something behind her landed with a crash, two glowing eyes shining through the dust.
"I'd like to take my blood back," said a mechanical voice, adding, "Also...gotta admit, Deadpool was right. Superhero landings are fun."
"You know that tech armor is falling out of style," said Momakase.
"No it isn't, and never will," said Matt, "Now back away from the blood before I bite your nails."
"That's got to be one of the lamest threats I have ever heard." laughed Momakase before pausing as Matt said "Well I did just get out of my first hypo coma for 18 years. Brain's a little scrambled. You guys can survive repulsor lasers, right?" before a white beam narrowly missed her.
"Just so you know, still figuring out a few things. Can't always guarantee a non-lethal shot," said Matt.
A second later, there was a hail of sparks from a slash, Matt backing up as Momakase slashed again. "What kind of metal did you put in your bones?" asked Matt.
"Graphene, actually," said Momakase.
"Nice," said Matt, aiming his palm again. Momakase dodged before slashing again. "Graphene's pretty fragile though, isn't it?" pointed out Matt.
"That's what you think," said Momakase.
"Really? This armor's made of the rarest and most invincible armor in the entire universe. I laugh at your graphite," said Matt insanely.
"Graphene," snapped Momakase.
"Whatever. You can't scratch me with your glass claws," laughed Matt.
"Then let's try another approach," said Momakase before slicing open an overhead pipe.
Matt shielded his face on reflex as the water hit him. Matt spluttered as he was knocked back by the water. His suit wasn't shorting out, but it was pretty clear it was being filled up.
""You little..." began Matt as Momakase ran for it. She was gonna charge extra for this.
NegaMorph popped out of the shadows next at that, firing a hail of white projectiles. Momakase slashed at the air, slicing the fangs before they could even get to her. "Ok, that was impressive," said NegaMorph.
"Don't compliment the villain!" snapped Matt.
"Hey, I'm not rooting for her," said NegaMorph, "She already diced me up." Then there were several slashes in rapid succession. "Just like that," said NegaMorph before he fell in neat disks.
A repulsor blast narrowly missed Momakase at that, but did hit the blood samples. "No nanites for you!" snapped Matt.
Momakase snarled before saying, "Well, no reason to hang around." Though as she ran, she snatched a piece of NegaMorph from the floor.
"Hey! That's mine!" snapped NegaMorph, reforming and chasing after her, Chloe and Spider-Man landing next to Matt.
"Nega-nap!" Matt yelled, running after NegaMorph.
"Nega-what?" asked Spider-Man.
"I don't know. Let's just make sure he doesn't get run over," snapped Chloe, the two giving chase.
Momakase ran out into the street, heading for an alley where she could disappear before seeing a SUV skid round a corner. That would make a suitable escape vehicle. All Momakase had to do was wait for it to get close, then she can throw out the driver and-
She squinted before realizing there was nobody in it, before her brain pointed out it was also heading straight for her and wasn't slowing down. But of course, she was capable of leaping over a car even before she got her upgrade. She jumped before grabbing onto the side of it. "Well, if no one's driving it, I guess it's up for grabs," she said before she stabbed at the lock on the SUV's driver door.
The lock however seemed to fight back. Momakase settled for slicing the window and clambering in and taking the wheel. "Warning...you are not authorized for this vehicle," said a calm voice from speakers.
"Self-driving, cute," said Momakase.
"You have 30 seconds to vacate this vehicle or lethal force may be deployed," said the voice calmly before starting to count down.
"Yeah, sure," said Momakase before grabbing the steering wheel.
"You now have 20 seconds to vacate the vehicle," said the voice, the steering wheel ignoring her attempts to turn it.
"Where's the manual control setting?" snapped Momakase as she pressed the various buttons on the dashboard.
"DNA and voice mismatch. You are not authorized for this vehicle. You now have ten seconds to vacate the vehicle before destruct charges detonate," said the voice.
"Oh come on! Do something!" snapped Momakase, pounding on the dashboard.
"Alternate repel method found...self-destruct disarmed," said the voice before the sun roof opened. "Good bye," said the voice before the chair shot out the roof, taking Momakase with it.
"Who owned that car?" asked Momakase as she was rocketed off. The SUV in question had skidded to a halt, turning and revving at the end of the street.
By that point, Momakase was level with the rooftops and she jumped off the flying seat. "I make better time over the roofs anyways," she muttered.
A second later, a bolt of green energy shot past her, blowing apart one of the floating turbines, the SUV below now looking alot more menacing, armor plating across the windows and a glowing turret on its top, before another bolt fired.
Naturally, Momakase decided it was time to put some distance between them. After all, a car is limited by the streets it can travel on. Another shot almost blew her apart. This was going to cost her employer extra...
But then her sharpened hearing heard the familiar sound of jet thrusters as well as a certain pair of mag-lev wheels. She peered down to see Big Hero 6 coming into view, no doubt attracted by that vehicle...which now had those fools from the hospital present.
"They'll be so busy with each other, they'll forget all about me," said Momakase with a smirk.
Her phone rang at that, a female voice said, "Momakase...is there a reason you're on the news?"
"A few unexpected twists," said Momakase, "I'm starting to think these newcomers are from some government agency. Area 51 wouldn't be a big surprise."
"Just tell me you got some samples," said the voice in an annoyed tone.
"Not of his blood, but possibly of something better," said Momakase.
There was an ominous silence before, in a tone that despite being cheerful, was somehow worse, the voice said, "Ok...let's see how much better it is and if it was worth not going to plan."
Momakase snapped a picture of the wriggling piece of black...whatever that thing was made of, which was trying to get out of the plastic vial she put it into. "Is this a good preview?" she asked, before sending the pic.
"Get it back here immediately," came the reply before the line went dead.
That was unusually blunt for Liv Amara, but she wasn't a person to be trifled with. Momakase had seen what she could do to people with her chips. She was fortunate to still have her own mind.
"That...stealing...my SUV," groaned Matt weakly.
"Pretty sure she didn't get far with it," said Chloe.
Spider-Man asked quietly, "He usually gets angrier, right?" Chloe looked even more worried.
"Uh...I think the SUV's attacking someone," said NegaMorph, who could hear the sound of an energy cannon firing.
"I hope it's the cat lady," grumbled Matt before his head slumped down again.
"Well, only one way to find out," said Spider-Man before shooting a webline and swinging off.
The vehicle's position could be seen, green bursts firing at something on a rooftop before his spider-sense screamed at him. It wasn't the scream of 'look out for that deadly attack'. It was the scream of 'look out, something's about to hit you' that was much less severe.
It was a simple thing to alter his swing as something red shot past where he'd been a second ago. For a second, Spider-Man thought that Iron Man had just passed him. But Iron Man wasn't so wide or had wings. Also, he usually didn't have kids riding on his back.
"Oookay...maybe the local SHIELD heroes?" he muttered, before looking down. These heroes didn't look like SHIELD. Their armor was both brightly-colored and pretty individualized. The guy in the orange and blue lizard costume stood out the most.
Chloe's voice came from his communicator, "Spider-Man, tell me those green blasts aren't what I think they are."
"Uh, I think they came from your SUV," said Spider-Man.
An angry growl was heard at that before Chloe said, "Try and get to it. There's a shutdown keypad under the steering wheel...code's 44319. Turn it off before it starts War of the Worlds. I gotta stay with my brother."
As Spider-Man swung towards the SUV, he noticed one of the heroes, a big black guy with green armor and what looked like plasma blades coming from his gauntlets. "Uh, quick question, how bad would it be if any of the truck gets sliced off?" asked Spider-Man.
Chloe's voice said, "That actually made Matt respond. It's a joke, right?" the last part sounded worried.
"Depends on how attached he is to that big cannon," said Spider-Man. Spider-Man then winced and said, "Should have said that better."
"Matt...Matt, he's joking...he's jok-OH MY GO-" yelled Chloe before the line went to static.
"I think I better stop them," said Spider-Man quickly. Which had better be soon as the guy with the plasma blade looked like he was getting ready to chop. Spider-Man quickly shot a webline at the guy's upraised arm. "Sorry, a friend of mine really likes that truck," called Spider-Man, pulling him back.
"Hey!" snapped the guy, trying to pull free, Spider-Man's spider-sense kicking in and he dodged what looked like a ball which exploded into an orange goo at the side of the street.
"Look, I'm sure you guys mean well, but it will be far worse for everyone if that SUV gets damaged," said Spider-Man.
"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa," said the guy in the lizard suit, "Is that another superhero?"
"Just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. And trust me, I know how to turn that thing off without-whoa!" Spider-Man said cheerfully, before dodging as the SUV fired.
"That cannon is very hazardous in an urban area," said the red-armored figure in a calm, robotic voice.
"If you don't want that thing busted off, you better turn it off now," said a young woman in yellow and black armor who had wheels attached to her ankles and wrists.
The SUV's voice said in a garbled voice, "Hos-hos-hos-hostiles identified."
"Yeah, I think the IFF is broken," said Spider-Man before jumping at the SUV. A few web shots in the cannon ought to stop it firing long enough. A second blast obliterated the webbing at that, the turret moving between the group before firing randomly. Spider-Man swung over, spotting what looked like a blue blade embedded in one of the screens next to the steering wheel.
"Looks like some bad kitty broke a nail," said Spider-Man. He jumped down, landing in the driving seat and spotting the keypad, just as a small turret unfolded from the roof and turned to aim. Thankfully, Spider-Man had years to perfect his rapid typing, perhaps faster than average thanks to his spider-powers.
The lights on the SUV flickered for a second before with a lowering drone, powered down Spider-Man gave a sigh of relief. "Ok, prevented the space truck from destroying the city and prevented Matt from destroying the city because of his truck. Good start," breathed Spider-Man.
"Ok...now you can start with who you are," said the voice of a girl next to the truck.
"Didn't you hear the part about 'friendly neighborhood Spider-Man'?" asked Spider-Man.
"Except you're not from our neighborhood," said the yellow-armored woman.
"Probably not from this dimension either," said the guy in the lizard suit.
"Say what?" asked the green-armored guy. "Yeah, this looks like one of those inter-dimensional crossovers where heroes from two worlds work together to defeat an evil menace," said the lizard guy, "Happens pretty often in the comics."
Spider-Man paused before saying, "He's kinda right there."
The yellow-armored woman groaned and said, "Great, now comic books are coming to life."
Spider-Man spotted Matt and Chloe at that, Matt pushing her aside and running up. "My baby! Who broke it?" he snapped.
"Uh, nobody-" started Spider-Man before Matt grabbed him and threw him out of the SUV. "I see he's feeling better," said Spider-Man.
"I expect him to have a coughing fit before long," said Chloe.
Matt indeed started coughing before noticing the blade, pulling it out. "Whooo…" he began before coughing.
"You appear to be unwell," said the red robot, "I will now scan you."
"Hey, I'm not-" started Matt.
"Scan complete," said the robot.
"It's rude to scan people," muttered Matt weakly, the adrenaline rage wearing off.
"You are suffering from multiple vitamin and mineral deficiencies, your blood sugar is dangerously high, and you appear to have foreign items within your body," said the robot.
"They're his nanites, leave them alone," snapped Chloe.
"You require extensive medical attention," said the robot, picking up Matt.
"Hey!" snapped Matt.
"Put him down!" snapped Chloe.
"There is a hospital very close to here," said the robot.
"I know! We just left it! Put me down!" snapped Matt.
"Really...put him down," said Chloe, her eyes going yellow.
"Guys, guys, I think we're getting a little worked up here," said Spider-Man, getting up, "We're losing sight of the big picture. For instance, where'd the claw lady go?"
"NegaMorph's looking into that," said Chloe offhandedly.
The robot was now looking at Chloe, who barked "WHAT?!"
"You seem to have wolf DNA spliced into you," said the robot, "Have you been in contact with Sycorax?"
"No...we just got here," said Chloe grumpily.
"It's a very, very long story," said Spider-Man, "I think the shortest version is 'we're from another dimension and we're trying to catch someone'."
"Yeah...and I think i'm gonna barf," groaned Matt.
"Would you like some Dramamine?" asked the robot.
"NO, HE WOULD NOT...he would not like some dramamine. I'd prefer to get my brother back to our ship's medical bay and his medical nanites rebooted," Chloe managed with self-control you could bend girders around.
"I might, urp, take some..." said Matt weakly.
NegaMorph, meanwhile, was following the trail of his wayward bit. It was obvious that lady wasn't working with Megan. Megan would have warned her that NegaMorph could sense where the sample was.
As he headed through the city, he could see it mostly resembles San Francisco, though with a prevalent futuristic and Japanese style. But even a bright shiny city still had its dark alleyways.
The little limb thief, however, was heading away from the main buildings, for a complex of some sort. Ok, this was bad. Megan with his genetics was bad. Some scientist with it could potentially make Sy-Yong look like a birthday party. He had almost every virus clone and their strain of E.X.P virus in his blood… Well, metaphorical blood anyways. But that one little bit was more than enough to cause a mutagenic pandemic. A mutademic as it were.
Whatever this complex was, there were two guards outside, who looked like they could have gorillas in their not-distant ancestry. "Hmm...they're tough guys," muttered NegaMorph, "But I don't think there are any vents for me to get into here, so I have to get past them."
He smirked evilly. He was the sec...the finest weapon the Empire labs had ever produced. He could be in and out of the lab before those goons were out cold on the floo... "Oh Lord...I'm thinking like Matt..." NegaMorph whispered in horror.
"Ok, calm down, there's a simple way to get in. I just need a disguise," said NegaMorph. The problem was that most of his forms tended to be all black with red eyes. But he had something that could still work with that. He shifted to Morpholomew and looked around. There ought to be something that would look non-threatening in black.
He peered out to see a scottish terrier being led along on a lead. "Perfect," he sneered.
NegaMorphs comments about the guards having a little gorilla in them was probably truer than the experiment thought, given what went on at the laboratories.
Fortunately, gorillas are actually mostly docile apes that are vegetarian and only attack when provoked. Hopefully, these guards knew that.
"Hey...you ever wonder what goes on in there?" asked the first guard. His fellow said "I dunno..." before they heard a whimper and looked over to see a small terrier coming into view, limping.
"Awww..." said both guards, completely smitten at the cute little doggy.
"Poor little fella," said one guard, picking up the black dog, "He must be hurt."
"Looks like he hasn't been sleeping well," said the other, "Look at those beady red eyes."
"It's almost lunch. You think the boss would mind if we took him to the cafeteria while we wait for the pound?" asked the first guard.
The dog looked up at them before saying, "Bark bark...let's take the dog into the warm." it's eyes swirling.
It probably wouldn't have taken a lot to get these goons to fall under its spell, but that certainly put them over the edge. "Let's take the dog into the warm," they both droned.
One of them came partially out of it at that, "Hey...did that dog speak?"
The dog's eyes swirled more intently before it snapped, "Don't be a smeghead. Dogs can't speak."
The guard said dizzily, "Well, I'd suppose you'd know."
The dog muttered, "Brain power of cottage cheese."
Meanwhile, Spider-Man and the Lynches were getting to know Big Hero 6. They were able to talk Baymax out of going to the hospital as there was better medical equipment on their ship. Now they just had to keep Fred from touching everything else.
"Fred, we're going to play a game. You can only press the buttons you can read the labels on," said Chloe in an exasperated tone.
"Have no fear," said Mini-Max, "I was programmed to always watch my partner's back and help get him out of trouble."
"You guys don;t really have much to do, do you?" said Matt, wearing a mechanical gauntlet that was beeping away.
"Well, all this hero work does cut a little into our schoolwork. Thankfully, Professor Granville is so understanding," said Honey Lemon.
Matt looked over at the stickers she was leaving. "Erm...why?" he asked as politely as he could given his head felt like it had an axe wedged in it.
"Well, the inside of your ship is kinda...drab and a little depressive," said Honey Lemon.
Matt opened his mouth to say how it was a warship and that was kinda the point but then it ran into Honey Lemon's optimism. It never had a chance.
"So...your group is called Big Hero 6," said Spider-Man.
"Yep," said Hiro.
"And yet none of you have individual superhero names," said Spider-Man.
"Different world, different rules," said Matt from where he was sitting.
"People see what they wanna see," said Hiro, "It's not so much that they can't recognize us as civilians, but they've built up an image around our superhero selves that they can't distinguish it from the real image."
"Interesting, but I think I'll stick with the mask and alias," said Spider-Man, "I've already got one nasty villain who knows who I am back home."
"I don't have a superhero name so I can confirm that sometimes an alias is useful." said Chloe.
Matt muttered, "Yeah...like Mist." Chloe's head whipped around to glare.
"So, this Sycorax place is where all the genetically-altered monsters are coming from?" asked Spider-Man.
"There is a 99.99% chance they are there, but we lack convicting evidence," said Baymax, who was monitoring Matt.
"Why not just sneak in and take some evidence?" asked Matt.
Chloe sighed, "Cause they;re heroes?"
"Last time I did that, I nearly got eaten by a monster and it only gave Liv Amara more good publicity," said Hiro.
"Oh, that sort of villain. Ours is a nasty little goblin called McNeil," muttered Matt darkly.
"The 'goblin' part's not literal, right?" asked Spider-Man.
"If only," said Matt.
"Are you ready for your insulin injection?" asked Baymax, holding up a hypodermic needle.
"I'll...do my own, thanks," said Matt weakly.
"Perhaps a massage will help you relax," said Baymax as he put his hands on Matt's shoulders.
"Really you don't have to-" began Matt before Baymax's hands started to whirr. "Oooooh...shiatsu..." mumbled Matt happily.
Meanwhile, Chloe was looking over the other monsters that have appeared in the city recently. It turned out that Momakase was the most normal-looking of them. Unless you count Mr. Sparkle, but that guy was a freak long before grass grew on his head. "All in the same area..." she muttered.
The computer said, "Sycorax has been under observation for several years due to the possibility of causing a Sy-Yong class plague. A sanitization fleet is in permanent 30 minute range. Threat level: 12. Possibility of relations with mutants 84%."
Even so, these monsters didn't seem like a plague yet. Though the last one unnerved her. "What poor soul did she turn into that?" asked Chloe, pointing at an image of a glowing green bear that looked like it was made of stone.
"Oh, that's Bessie," said Fred, "She actually used to be a magnetic meteorite before she was turned into a bear."
Chloe turned and gave him an odd look. "She was a rock?" she asked in disbelief.
"A space rock," said Fred.
"Uh...unless there was some alien life in that rock, genetics don't work that way," said Chloe.
"They don't?" asked Fred in surprise.
Chloe thought about Gary before saying, "Mostly."
"Ok, so this Liv Amara's making monsters. The question is why," said Spider-Man.
"And what could she do with a piece of NegaMorph?" asked Chloe worriedly.
"Negative 630 is classified as a class 12 bioweapon by all three factions..." said the computer before it was muted.
"What would Lady Nega want here?" muttered Matt.
"I'd like another California roll please," said Lady Nega, her mouth half-full. Liv Amara's assistant, Chris, handed her another plate. She had to admit, he was a lot prettier than the Chris she knew. He was almost too perfectly pretty.
Nightclaw was spending most of the time glowering at Chris, watching him as he left. "How much longer? This place gives me the chills," he said gruffly, his eyes glowing.
"When was the last time we've ever eaten this well?" asked Lady Nega, putting another piece of sushi in her mouth.
"When was the last time we were in a place so dangerous the Combine and NSC worked together to keep it quarantined? You know where we are. I'll feel better when we're in a place where the shadows don't have the possibility to attack us," Nightclaw retorted.
Lady Nega swallowed and said, "If anyone would know if the darkness was too strong here, it would be me. And as far as I can see, we're the only two supernatural beings here."
"Assuming the Lynches aren't already here," said Nightclaw.
"Urgh...I suppose you're right. Personally I think this Amara is off her nut. Might be time to move on," said Lady Nega smugly.
"Right, not like they can keep us here," said Nightclaw.
"Ok, I just need to use the-" started Lady Nega before crying out in pain and doubling over.
Nightclaw ran over at that, yelling "Megan!" before sniffing the sushi, his eyes narrowing. "Poisoned sushi? I knew she shouldn't have eaten so much raw fish," snapped Gary.
"There's nothing wrong with my sushi," said Chris defensively as he came back in with Amara.
"Yes, he was just using Momakase's recipe," said Amara, "With a little touch of neurotoxin."
Nightclaw snarled, advancing on Amara. "Any last words?" he snarled.
Amara nodded to Chris who grabbed Nightclaw's arm and judo-flipped him into a wall.
Nightclaw was already up before tackling Chris, Amara stepping past them towards Lady Nega. "Is...there a reason for this? All that poison's gonna do is make me barf..." she managed.
"Well, you were going to run out without paying, weren't you?" asked Amara in a faux-sweet voice.
"Well, given the fact you...you...one moment." said Lady Nega, before her cheeks bulged and she leaned down behind the table, several...organic noises heard before she came back into view, wiping her mouth. "Urgh...normal people ask for payment. They don't try to poison the person," she snapped.
"We both know you'd run out before I could get the chance," said Amara, "I'm not so 'off my nut' that I don't know how criminals work."
"At least you admit it," grumbled Lady Nega.
"Now, I'm pretty sure your unique physiology may have a resistance to poisons, but how much can it take?" asked Amara, "Probably won't be easy to run off after that."
"What's to stop me just leaving when this wears off? I'm not likely to let you chip me. Not that it'd have any effect," snarled Lady Nega.
"Then how about this?" asked Amara before slapping a patch on Lady Nega's arm.
"What did I just say?" asked Lady Nega before she started feeling weak.
"Oh don't worry. I'm pretty sure that's not enough cone snail venom to kill you," said Amara, "But it is going to ruin your day."
"When this wears off, I'm going to wear your spine as a hat," managed Lady Nega before wincing as Nightclaw was spotted in an armlock, though Chris had a black eye...that was rapidly vanishing.
"I knew he was true pretty to be real," said Lady Nega.
"Oh, he's real alright," said Amara, "Well, asides from being created instead of born. But not everyone has that luxury."
"You really are off your meds. What do you even want?" snapped Lady Nega.
"Well, I have a project that's a particularly hard nut to crack," said Amara, "I just need to attack it from as many angles as possible. So when new DNA comes into town, I just have to take a look at it."
"You could have just gotten some of my hair," said Lady Nega in annoyance.
"But I might need a constant source," said Amara.
"You are not keeping me locked up for several reasons. First, I'll burn this place down when I break out...and I WILL break out..." managed Lady Nega, her head spinning from the poison patch, before adding, "Secondly, I'm being pursued by a team that will sneer at your security...and will probably burn this place down on principle."
"If they have as interesting DNA as you do, I'll be delighted to meet them," said Amara.
"You'll never hold them. I've seen them destroy tanks with ease...plus one of them can fly..." sneered Lady Nega.
"Perchance, could one of them have a considerable medical problem?" asked Amara.
"I...I have no idea," said Lady Nega innocently.
"Because a certain young man, British apparently, was checked into the hospital with quite a few medical conditions. It's a wonder he was able to get out of bed to start with, let alone recklessly drive an SUV through the streets," said Amara.
Lady Nega covered her face with a muffled groan of 'Oh no'.
"Sounds like your cavalry is going to be delayed," said Amara.
"The one time...the one BLOODY time I want him to catch up..." Lady Nega snarled, the lights flickering.
"Well, you and your boyfriend better get comfortable," said Amara, "I don't think anyone's coming for you anytime soon."
NegaMorph peered round the corner, ducking back as two guards walked by. The goons he'd been with had been surprised as hell when he's turned into V-Slushy and flash frozen them. They'd be fine once someone got them out the kitchen fridge.
This Sycorax place was rubbing him the wrong way. It boasted of being the best genetics lab in the world, but he hasn't seen much in the way of products. Shouldn't they be working on genetically-modified crops or finding cures for diseases?
His part was close by though...very close, and the closer he got, the more annoyed he felt. His increasing irritation also made him more reckless. As such, when he saw the door he thought he was looking for, the guards by it spotted him quickly.
"Hey!" snapped one of them, the other reaching for an alarm switch on the wall, only for two blasts of shadow to slam them into the opposite walls.
"Not in the mood," NegaMorph snapped, stomping towards the door before forming two shadow blades that he used to slip into the door joints and force them apart.
"Ok, whatever pasty-faced nerd is in there," growled NegaMorph, "Step away from the ooze." As he pried open the door, he saw the 'nerd' in question was not pasty-faced. She looked about 15 years old, had a South Asian complexion, and had been poking at the black lump.
"Hey, stop poking me! That might be my spleen!" he snapped, firing a few fangs at the table next to her.
The girl screamed before grabbing a spray bottle of disinfectant. "Oh please. What are you going to do with that?" asked NegaMorph as he stalked closer. He got his answer when she squeezed the trigger and sprayed disinfectant in his face.
NegaMorph stared bug-eyed, his eyes turning bloodshot before he gave a rather girly scream and clutched his face. "You have any idea how much that hurts for more than two eyes?!" snapped NegaMorph.
"What even are you? Are you one of those new supervillains?" snapped the girl.
NegaMorph snapped, "No...I'd like me back." pointing at the sample that was making faint 'clink' noises as it tried to push out of its sample towards NegaMorph.
The girl suddenly pried open his mouth before taking a swab of the inside. She quickly applied it to a microscope slide before examining it. "This is fascinating," she said, "I've never seen cell composition like this."
"HEY!" snapped NegaMorph angrily, the slide shattering as the sample shot back towards him before he said darkly, "Remember what curiosity does to cats?"
"Complete control of bio-substance," said the girl, "What are you made of?"
"None of your business and if you don't want to cause alot of trouble, you'll forget all about me," said NegaMorph darkly, opening the sample tube to let his pilfered limb flow towards him.
"But you could be the scientific breakthrough of the century," said the girl.
"So was the atomic bomb," said NegaMorph darkly.
"This is bio-engineering. It's not widespread devastation," said the girl.
"Oh no?" snapped NegaMorph, "Do you want people to look like this?" He let his hat and coat vanished, revealing the twisted, multi-limbed creature with too many mouths underneath. "Do I look like the product of benevolent science?" snapped NegaMorph.
The girl naturally jumped back a few steps as NegaMorph continued. "I was made specifically to infect local populations with a who's who of mutagens...to create utter complete chaos. Be glad I don't do that anymore cause my DNA is full of those nasty little viruses...all 630 of them," he sneered, advancing on her, secretly enjoying scaring someone he at least considered needed a good scare.
The girl backed into a wall as NegaMorph continued, "Do you realize that even one small part of me could cause a mutagen pandemic? This city would be crawling with monsters if you keep poking with my DNA." The girl gulped as NegaMorph leaned in and he said, "Well? Wanna be this century's Typhoid Mary?"
"Then what do you want?" asked the girl.
"To take my pieces and leave," snapped NegaMorph before adding in a calmer tone, "Oh, and my niece hasn't been around here, has she? Because she's in a lot of trouble."
"Your niece?" gulped the girl.
NegaMorph rolled his eyes before his techpack extended a small projector on an arm and projected an image of Lady NegaMorph. "Her...seen her?" before sighing and switching the holo to an image of Megan. "She might look like this too," he added.
"Uh..." said the girl.
"You don't get out of the lab much, do you?" asked NegaMorph.
The girl gulped. "I prefer my work," she said.
NegaMorph bared his fangs. "I really hope that's the truth," he said before feeling something hit his back. NegaMorph blinked before a sudden shock went through his body. Oh, it's not nearly as much as Chloe would do when she was annoyed, but it still hurt.
He turned to see some more guards, before he pulled the tazwer prong out. "Now I'm mad!" he roared, hearing running and turning to see the girl vanishing into an unused clean room, shutters sealing the room and its windows off. He hoped a little that the message had been delivered, but right now he was more concerned with stress relief.
He glared before firing a hail of knock out fangs at them. "Right...out of here," he muttered, heading for the door.
Just then, some pretty boy stood in his way. "Going somewhere?" he asked in a bright voice.
NegaMorph gave him an unamused look before saying, "I'm leaving. You should go back to the modeling agency before they notice one of the empty heads is missing."
The 'pretty boy' stepped to the side to block him. "Sorry...can't really allow that," he said cheerfully.
"Look, I'm sure you can't afford to have your pretty face messed up before your photo shoot. So get out of the way or get rearranged," snapped NegaMorph.
"Sorry. Like I said, can't really let that happen," said the pretty boy cheerfully, NegaMorph glaring and aiming a swipe to know him out the way.
He was a little surprised when the pretty boy sidestepped it easily. NegaMorph swiped at him again, getting more annoyed as he kept missing. "Ok...so you're quick. Now stay still and get a broken bone or two." snapped NegaMorph.
"How about you?" asked the pretty boy before throwing a hammer fist on top of NegaMorph's head, which sent it about halfway to the floor.
"Ha, joke's on you," said NegaMorph a little dizzily, "I don't have bones." A kick sent him flying into the wall where he splatted. "I'd like to take a vowel and then try to guess the word," he gibbered.
"There are disadvantages to not having bones, aren't there?" asked the pretty boy.
"Is that you, Bob? Can I go for double jeopardy?" gibbered NegaMorph with a goofy grin.
"Hmm...should I just mop him up right now?" asked the pretty boy.
NegaMorph heard a female voice say, "Let's get him down to my lab, Chris. I can't wait to see what makes him tick."
The next thing NegaMorph knew, he was being scooped up and placed into some kind of container. He was still mostly loopy but one coherent thought went through his head. "Matt and Chloe can never learn about this."
And the very last thought he felt before he passed out, for some reason, was a dial tone and a voice saying 'This line is temporarily disconnected'.
"Ok...NegaMorph's been too long," said Matt grimly.
"Yeah, something's up," said Chloe, "He'd at least call us at this point."
"Can't your computer, like, tell you where he is?" asked Fred.
The computer said, "NegaMorph's beacon is offline or shielded. Unable to pinpoint."
"Where could they keep his signal shielded?" asked Spider-Man.
"Sycorax's secret lab?" suggested Hiro.
"Trick's finding that then," muttered Matt.
"It couldn't be that restricted floor in Sycorax," said Hiro, "Liv might not risk another breakout there."
"Hacking public records...there are multiple facilities planetwide registered to Sycorax industries. 89% of the facilities are out of country. Out of the remaining facilities, 94% are not equipped to contain General NegaMorph or are deactivated. Power grid systems indicate a feed going to one other facility," said the computer calmly.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," said Wasabi, "Your computer tracked it down just like that?"
"We're from space..." pointed out Matt.
Chloe sighed, "We won't know who runs the facility. If there's a satellite facility, that might give this Miss Amara an alibi."
"Yeah, she never gets caught being involved in anything illegal," said Hiro.
"Item located. A Sycorax transport is scheduled to leave corporate headquarters for the facility in 45 minutes," said the computer.
"Ok, so why don't we just swoop in with your flying saucer and grab it?" asked Fred.
"First of all, this is not a flying saucer," said Matt, a little hotly, "I wouldn't be caught dead flying one of those mining ships."
"Secondly, what would the air force do if an alien ship flew towards one of the country's biggest companies HQ and started blasting?" said Chloe.
"Yeah, that's a good point," said Hiro, "But Big Hero 6 can't just attack the transport without provocation. The new police chief is looking for an excuse to arrest us."
"I'm not letting Chloe and Spider-Man handle it alone," said Matt.
Chloe smirked, "Ok...try and stop me." Matt glared daggers.
"We'll still keeping an eye on you," said Hiro, "If it looks like we help, we will. We just need to wait for the right opening."
As much as Amara wanted to study these aliens in the comfort of her own lab, there were a few too many risks. Those meddlesome heroes were already too suspicious of her and if those aliens got loose, it would draw too much attention that would be hard to refute. Ergo, she was having them moved to another lab she could at least deny culpability if they did break out.
"Oh, are we going on a field trip?" sneered Lady Nega as she was led to a transport by several bots.
"You could have played ball," said Amara.
"The way I remember it, you broke the rules of courtesy first," said Lady Nega.
NegaMorph was next, for some reason smirking. "I suppose you've heard this a lot, but you really aren't going to get away with this," said NegaMorph, "Any minute now...well your boy toy'll probably be shot first. Chloe has a short fuse."
"I'm not that concerned," said Amara, "After all, I'm the one who's being robbed."
"You really think my friends care?" asked NegaMorph with a grin, added just to annoy Amara.
"Of course, they're probably not even human, so the public wouldn't care if they were put down," said Amara.
This actually caused NegaMorph to start laughing. "Are you joking? You think those popguns would even annoy them?" he managed, actually tearing up from the laughter.
"Well, I better add an extra layer of security," said Amara before slapping something on NegaMorph's neck.
Lady Nega raised an eyebrow, "What's that supposed to do to my uncle? Help him give up smoking?"
"This is what I do for creating and controlling my pets," said Liv.
"You do realize he's already mutated. I doubt you can really do much to him," said Lady Nega.
"True," said Amara, "But I can send basic commands to his brain. Like 'sleep'." She pressed something on her phone. NegaMorph's eyes bugged out at that before he fell backwards, Lady Nega gulping.
"I am curious as to how he's your 'uncle'. But I suppose I have all the time I need to find out," said Amara.
"We should probably send someone to watch the transport," suggested Chris as the drones pushed its 'cargo' in
Amara thought it over. Barb and Juniper couldn't move very fast on land. Mr. Sparkles was a little too free-willed and could be easily distracted. And Knox had been acting up lately. "Send Momakase and Bessie," said Amara, "They'll be able to deal with anyone."
"What do you mean I'm not going?" snapped Matt. His control nanite had been rebooted but the medical computer and Baymax both had said he still needed guard.
"What do you think would happen if you just keeled over in the middle of a fight?" asked Chloe, "Do you think the bad guys would rush you to the hospital?"
"I have my nanites back," snapped Matt.
"Your nanites are doing an impressive job in repairing your body," said Baymax, "However, your white blood cell count is still low and your nervous system does not appear to have fully recovered."
"Are you programmed with doctor-patient confidentiality?" asked Matt in annoyance.
"He's right. You're safer here," said Chloe sternly.
"But-" protested Matt before Spider-Man pushed him back into his chair before webbing him up, "HEY!"
"Chloe's right. You don't want to have a relapse," Spider-Man explained.
"I hate you all," snarled Matt, pulling at the webbing.
"Shall I remain here and attend to his medical needs?" asked Baymax.
"I'll be fine," said Matt darkly
"Then I think we better go intercept that transport," said Chloe.
Matt glared as they left before sighing. Least he could get some peace. Matt swiveled in his chair and missed a flashing red light.
The problem with dimensional traveling is that moving between realities can cause ripples. Often, these ripples go completely unnoticed, but sometimes there are those who can detect a disturbance.
On a building on the outskirts of San Fransokyo, the air rippled before a black doorway appeared. It was not unlike the shadow portals that NegaMorph used, but this one seemed more like the opening into a corridor. Out of the darkness stepped a figure in a black hooded cloak.
He looked down at a small device before a second figure stepped through. "Well, at least it's somewhere with a little civilization," the second figure said smugly.
The first figure lowered his hood, revealing the face of a 14-year old boy. It wasn't his long silver hair that was disconcerting, but his golden eyes. For some reason, they looked out of place, like they belonged to someone else. "Aren't you supposed to be at the Scream Factory?" asked the silver-haired boy.
The other figure lowered his hood, which didn't reveal much as he was wearing a black domed helmet that completely covered his features. "The Unversed can manage without me for a while," said the helmeted figure, "But I hear something interesting here."
"Some of the people from beyond the barrier..." said the silvered-haired boy, showing the device that showed a rotating wire diagram of the gang's ship.
"Something from another world?" asked the helmeted boy, who didn't sound much older than the first.
"Something from another universe," said the silver-haired boy.
"Huh, so the old man was right. There are other realities," said the helmeted boy.
"We're just supposed to see what they're up to..." said the silver-haired kid in a bored tone.
Then the helmeted boy looked in one direction and said, "Wait a minute. Do you sense that?"
The silver-haired boy looked in the same direction. "Feels like...no, it's definitely not. We know where the wielder is...and it feels slightly different."
"Yeah, I think I know why. It's not a Keyblade of Light. It's a Keyblade of Darkness," said the helmeted boy.
The silver-haired boy frowned, "I thought the Keyblade of Darkness was being wielded by that runt of a king."
"He has a Keyblade of Darkness," said the helmeted boy, "You think there wouldn't be more than one?"
"Might be even why these others are here," said 'silver hair'
"Not unless we get it first," said 'helmet'.
"Fine...suppose I'll go deal with the aliens," muttered 'silver hair'.
"Have fun," said 'helmet' in a mocking tone before vanishing into darkness.
The group peered from a roof. "Ok...step one. We knock the guard out before he can see us. If he can't see us, he can't identify us. Step 2. We fry and scanners for the same reason," said Chloe.
"Hit him hard and fast," said GoGo, "I think I can handle that."
A rumble was heard at that, an 8 wheeled vehicle swinging into view, its serious build offset by the cheerful color scheme.
"You'd think they'd try to be under the radar," said Spider-Man.
"But it's such a bright color scheme," said Honey Lemon happily.
"Hiding in plain sight usually works. Spider-Man, anything setting off your sense?" asked Chloe.
"Not really more than usual," said Spider-Man.
"Ok...on 3...1...2..." began chloe
Just then, Spider-Man clutched his head, "Uh, I think I wanna take back what I said before. Something's kicking up my spider-sense. A lot."
Chloe looked over. "Wait...who's causing..." she began before shuddering. "Oh no," she muttered, remembering a piece of training she'd never thought she'd use.
"What? What's going on?" asked Wasabi.
Then they all heard a thundering noise. It was the rumbling of a big machine coming. It sounded more...like a stampede. Looking up the road, they saw a hoard of creatures heading for the truck. They looked a lot like mechanical minotaurs, well, stylized minotaurs. Even so, they looked very sturdy. But the main thing that concerned Chloe was the symbol on their chests. It was a black heart symbol outlined in red with an 'X' through it.
"Great...as if the day couldn't get worse," Chloe muttered, firing a lightning bolt at the charging creatures.
"What kind of robots are those?" asked GoGo.
"Let's just say they're worse than they look," said Chloe. The Mechanitaurs were scattered by the blast, before getting back up. "Don't hold back on these things," said Chloe, "They won't return the favor."
Though the Mechanitaurs didn't seem so preoccupied with the heroes. Their target was still the truck. Two of them managed to smash the truck, turning it on its side, a third starting to try and rip the door open.
One of the vans accompanying the truck came to a stop and Momakase stepped out of it. "Hands off the cargo!" she snapped, extending her claws. The trio of Mechanitaurs did indeed pause, turning to look at her, before taking aim. Momakase sliced one's head off. She was rather surprised when the Mechanitaur dissipated into darkness. "What sort of robots are you?" she asked, "Oh well, at least you're easy to break."
More came into view at that, a few, shielded by their brothers, going back to working on the truck. "Ok, time for the anti-robot insurance," said Momakase before clicking on a key fob. The back doors of the van she was driving opened up and what looked like a bear with a greenish stone skin came out and roared.
The Mechanitaurs exchanged looks before charging the bear. The bear roared before spitting out a green beam. The beam hit the Mechanitaurs and quite a bit of the area behind them. Usually, robots and any other technology would stop working instantly. But the Mechanitaurs just staggered around, looking stunned and confused.
The ones at the back, shielded by their brothers finally managed to peel the truck door away, peering in. Inside the truck, Lady Nega, Gary, and NegaMorph were being kept in cages, each equipped with a bio-disk that was keeping them weak. Or in NegaMorph's case, unconscious.
"Erm...Gary? Please tell me you have something left." said Lady Nega in a worried tone as one of the Heartless stepped in.
"Left of what?" asked Gary.
"Strength, magic, ANYTHING!" panicked Lady Nega, more so when the Heartless paused at her cage and regarded her, before it moved onto NegaMorph.
"Should we be worried?" asked Gary.
"Mostly if we're next," said Megan.
Liv Amara was...rather annoyed. It was bad enough when Big Hero 6 disrupted her plans, but who sent these other robots? And it looked like they were about to take her prize specimen. If some other competitor was after her specimens, they were about to find out how tough holding them could be.
Of course, she wasn't completely without lines of defense at this point. True, she couldn't mutate these aliens or really exert control over them. But she knew what kind of hormones to release in order to send them into an artificial state of rage.
NegaMorph's eyes shot open as the disk lit up, glowing a brighter red. The Heartless tilted its head before it was grabbed by the head. A blast from NegaMorph's eyes quickly reduced the Heartless into nothing.
Lady Nega and Gary blinked, before Lady NegaMorph said, "Uncle...erm...thanks? Could you get our doors too?"
NegaMorph only let out a roar of rage before sending blasts of negative energy everywhere.
The two covered their heads, hearing NegaMorph rip a hole in the wall (roof?) of the truck before leaving before Lady Nega opened her eyes to see the doors to their cages melted. "Ok...time to go before he realizes he left survivors," she said promptly.
"What about-" started Gary.
"This is a no-win. Let's move to another world before something worse happens," snapped Lady Nega.
"Like what?" snapped Gary, pointing out the hole just as a half-smashed Heartless flew past.
"We could be turned into some of their reinforcements," snapped Lady Nega, poking her head out before jumping out.
"Very solid reasoning," said Gary before jumping out.
A Heartless was thrown back, before getting back up and being webbed in place. "Tougher than the briefings say." snapped Chloe, electrocuting one before ducking as the green bear thing lunged at her. "AND WHAT THE HELL'S THIS?" she snapped.
Just then, she heard an unearthly roar. "Oh no," she groaned before NegaMorph leapt out and thankfully only attacked the nearest Heartless. The Heartless all seemed to turn to look at him at that, apparently attracted, even ignoring blows from the others.
"NegaMorph, this is not a good time for getting angry," called Chloe, "Spider-Man, can you get over there and web him down?"
"Kinda busy with the Ursa Magna," said Spider-Man as he was riding on Bessie's back, "Also, she took out my web-shooters."
Chloe looked over to whereNegaMorph was blasting anything in range. It wouldn't take long before his rage-fueled brain would work out that his fangs could cause more damage in the long run. "Ok...how do we stop that thing?" she snapped, pointing to the bear before grabbing a Heartless that tried to grab her and punching through it.
"Well, considering she can shut down our tech, I'm not really sure," said Wasabi.
"Well, you know, I was thinking since she came from-" started Fred before NegaMorph, in a crazed frenzy, grabbed Bessie who had gotten too close and threw her through the air. She ended up flying out of sight behind some buildings. "Oookay...that works too," said Fred in a bit of a worried tone.
NegaMorph, his back turned to them, also showed off the small disk on the back of his neck before he turned to face them again, practically frothing at the mouth.
"Ok, that thing on his neck, that's gotta go," said GoGo.
"Sure, no problem," said Chloe with about as much excitement as someone who needs to put a hand in a garbage disposal to retrieve something.
NegaMorph was still fighting off the Heartless, who were reluctantly losing interest, sinking into patches of shadow. If she didn't do it now while there was still a distraction...well, it didn't bear thinking about.
"This is going to smart," she muttered before she dashed at NegaMorph. "NegaMorph, if you can understand me..." she began, her hands crackling "-then I'm really sorry." she said, before uppercutting him flying out of sight.
"Uh...we just lost him," said Spider-Man.
"Don't worry," said Chloe, "That should have been more than enough to take care of that disc. Now then, where's Megan?"
"Probably left in the confusion," said GoGo, looking into the truck, the sound of sirens heard in the distance.
Chloe sighed, before her wristcomp beeped, a skull and crossbones on it and the words 'intruder alert'. "Oh, this is all I need," groaned Chloe.
"-and this is the VR booth. It's been broken for a while after a friend almost had her mind trapped in the computer," said Matt, pointing to what looked like a high tech dentist chair, a note on it saying 'For the love of god, don't use this thing in a lightning storm'.
"How interesting..." said Hiro, a somewhat fake smile on his face. As impressive as a working spaceship is, he was wondering if it was built on a really low budget.
Matt noticed the look. "Hey, this old girl was old when I got her but old doesn't mean rubbish. She's seen me through alot," he said, petting a bulkhead. There was a little creaking sound as a dent appeared. "Ignore that," said Matt promptly, "It just means I'm getting my strength back."
A small faceless dog droid wandered into view at that, its optics making a smiley face before it wandered up to Baymax. "Please state identity," it said in a high-pitched voice.
"Hello, I am Baymax," said Baymax.
"Greetings, Unit: Baymax," said the droid happily before wandering off.
"Security droid, it's tougher than it looks," said Matt.
"They can be," said Hiro.
Just then, the lighting flickered to red. "Perimeter breach...Class 5 hostiles approaching," said the computer.
"Is that bad?" asked Hiro.
"Might be," said Matt.
One of the hooded figures watched as a group of Heartless headed for the Skyraid. Personally, he had seen a lot better ships. Heck, he had seen pirate ships that looked better.
A small hatch under the main cockpit opened, a cannon folding down before firing a hail of purple bolts into the Heartless, blasting several apart. Another one folded down, a small pod before firing a missile into the larger one.
The hooded figure ducked down as a few bolts shot overhead. "Ok...looks aren't everything," he muttered. "Still, they probably aren't protected from anything," said the hooded figure before he stepped through a portal of darkness.
...and emerged on the bridge, several screens showing the turrets picking off Heartless. "Hmm...if I was an override..." muttered the figure, before pressing a button, the computer saying, "Alert...positron shield deactivated."
"Ah, first guess," said the figure.
"Intruder alert...hostile lifeforms detected...intruder on bridge," said the computer. The figure pulled out a rather unusual sword, one that was mostly shaped like a bat wing with a blue eye at the hilt.
The door opened, one of the dog bots striding in. "Intruder...please relinquish your weapon," it said politely.
"Mmm...no," said the figure before slashing with the sword, slicing the dog bot's head in half. A half dozen Heartless teleported in at that. "Search the ship," said the figure, "Find whoever's in here and deal with them."
The Heartless spread out at that, the hooded figure following them.
"He touched my ship..." said Matt in a dull voice, a screen showing the hooded figure leaving the bridge.
"Who is that guy?" asked Hiro, "And what are those things?"
"Heartless, the hooded guy I dunno. Usually Heartless convert any poor sod they grab," said Matt, walking over to a section of wall, tapping it before punching it, a panel falling away to show a selection of firearms.
"I do not have any records of 'Heartless'," said Baymax, "It is anatomically impossible for anything to be alive without a heart."
"Welcome to the wonderful world of aliens," said Matt, hefting out a large bulky rifle, clicking in a box that caused it to light up. "I had a safe room installed. We head there and wait for Chloe." he said, clicking in a headset. "If you see any of them...blast them. They're not alive...I think," said Matt, checking the weapon before nodding with approval.
He turned to Baymax and said, "I suppose your health care program prevents you from hurting anyone."
"I cannot take a life, but if these things are not alive, then my programming does not stop me," said Baymax.
One of the Heartless came into view at the end of the hall at that, Matt aiming the rifle. "Oi! Didn't you get the message outside? Get off my ship!" he snapped, a yellow proton beam shooting from the rifle, making the Heartless and the wall behind explode.
"Do you really need to blow up your walls like that?" asked Hiro.
"Uh...shut up," said Matt, "Ok...safe room's that way."
The trio heard some sarcastic clapping, the hooded figure at the far end. "Impressive popgun." he said cheerfully, taking his hood down. The figure had the face of a 14-year old boy. It wasn't his long silver hair that was disconcerting, but his golden eyes. For some reason, they looked out of place, like they belonged to someone else.
"And you are?" said Matt darkly, aiming.
"Just here to see if you're worth the trouble," said the silver-haired boy.
"Cute," said Matt, aiming, only for Baymax to gently push his gun's aim off.
"My programming prevents me from harming a living person," said Baymax.
"Training wheels...cute," sneered the kid.
Matt glared "Gimme five minutes to remedy the living part," he muttered.
"I cannot allow a person to be terminated," said Baymax.
"Aw...this really will be easy," sneered the kid, taking out his bat wing blade. Baymax pointed his fist at the boy before he fired it, sending the boy flying down the hallway.
"The smeg was that about?" snapped Matt.
"That was a non-lethal attack," said Baymax.
Several Heartless came into view at that, the dazed kid saying "Get them."
Matt yelped "Time to go!" Matt, aiming the rifle and firing, the kid vanishing in a puff of darkness as the proton beam eradicated his backup.
A trio of Soldiers ran towards the group, but then Hiro turned on his magnetic gauntlets and pushed them back.
"Less pushing, more running!" snapped Matt, firing again, his gun giving a lowering whine. "Bugger," he muttered, throwing it at one of the Heartless.
Baymax, at least, didn't have much trouble. His karate moves were making quick work of any Heartless that got too close. "Hammer fist. Side kick."
Matt concentrated, his hands flickering painfully before his draconic claws returned. "About time." he muttered, slashing a Heartless as it charged.
"So is there a particular end goal?" asked Hiro.
"Get the kid," said Matt, "When he's gone, the Heartless will go."
"By all means, try," said the boy's voice, before he seemed to appear from nowhere, Matt trying to pull his pistol.
The boy slashed the end off Matt's blaster. "Hey!" snapped Matt, going for his ion blade.
"Let's see if that sword's of any use," said the boy.
Matt glared, igniting the blade while Hiro and Baymax kept the Heartless off his back. "Ok, come on then, pipsqueak," Matt said smugly.
The boy extended his sword arm and asked smugly, "You really don't know what you're up against do you?"
Matt peered at the kid's stance, letting his smile vanish. He'd had special forces training forcibly put into his head, and a year of training under the Shar-Khan order. The kid was clearly a novice. His stance was off in several places, especially around the grip. He twisted his blade's handle, the blade changing to blue 'hard light', its non-lethal mode, before he spun it, with a small flourish, letting the second blade extend as it finished changing to bo staff mode. "Free shot..." he said smugly.
"Your funeral," said the boy before charging at Matt.
Matt spun in place, and off slightly to the side, pirouetting around the charge while bringing his staff down on the tip of the kid's blade, where its weight would be sitting.
The bat wing sword was sent sailing out of the boy's hand and sent spinning through the air before landing point-first into a wall. The boy paused in surprise. "That's never happened before," he said.
"Your stance was a joke, kid. You're lucky I didn't decide to keep the blade in laser mode and take your hand with it," snapped Matt.
"Ok, but I still have- OW!" the boy yelped at Matt whacked him between the eyes.
"Your guard isn't much better. And before you think of one of your magic tricks, I'd have more than enough time to knock you senseless. Give it up while it's only bruises and call your pets off," snarled Matt, finally shifting to anthro dragon form.
The boy backed up before he seemed to hear something. "You're lucky I've got other things to do," said the boy.
"Nuh-uh, I bet Neilson back on Avalar will want a word with a human who can control Heartless so you're gonna-ooookay," said Matt, the boy vanishing into the shadows, the blade vanishing in a blaze of purple energy.
The remaining Heartless also disappeared into the shadows, leaving the heroes alone. "Uh...good news, we won," said Matt.
"What were those things?" asked Hiro.
Matt said darkly, "Something you should forget about...trust me." Matt got on his comm and called, "Chloe, you have any Heartless problems?"
"Had them, but they're gone now," said Chloe.
"I don't think them popping up is a coincidence," said Matt.
"Agreed, we've been here for too long," said Chloe.
Matt looked over at Baymax and Hiro. "Ok, find Nega, come back to the ship. We should ship out before we attract more trouble," he said.
"Agreed," said Chloe.
In one of the back alleys of San Fransokyo, NegaMorph was lying in a daze, twitching a little from excess electricity. A dark portal opened nearby and another figure in a black hooded coat stepped out of it. The figure lowered his hood, revealing himself to be the helmeted boy. "Well, that was rougher than I intended, but at least I got you to myself," he said.
The boy took off NegaMorph's hat and took a good look at him. "What are you, anyways?" he muttered. Experimentally, he sent a small tendril of darkness towards NegaMorph. The darkness shimmered across NegaMorph's skin without passing through it. "Whatever you are, you're too steeped in your own darkness. No room in you for the old man's heart," said the boy.
Looking again, he could see a shimmering red aura around NegaMorph. "But that much negativity... I wonder if you have a little room for my heart?" said the boy. The boy traced a symbol in the air. It looked like two upside-down music notes crossed together in such a way that a heart shape was formed between them. The symbol floated towards NegaMorph before sinking into him.
"Well, that leaves a placeholder in any case," said the helmeted boy. He walked back to the dark portal. He paused at the threshold and said, "You better take care of that Keyblade of Darkness. It's got a lot of potential, even if you're...unversed in its capabilities." With that, he walked through the portal which disappeared.
NegaMorph opened his eyes, hearing Chloe calling for him...which made the headache he had sooooo much worse.
"Who...kill...first..." groaned NegaMorph as he tried to get up.
Chloe came into view at that, before running over. "NegaMorph? You ok? Maybe I put too much juice into that shock," said Chloe.
"You...shock?" asked NegaMorph.
"Had to short out that disc thing," said Chloe, "At least it's busted."
NegaMorph nodded weakly. "Yes...shock good...also...shock bad," he said, before lunging at Chloe.
A little while later, Matt called, "Chloe, you got NegaMorph back yet?"
"Erm...Chloe? Chloe?" asked Matt when he got no response, hearing the snarls, "I'll...erm...call back later."
The good news, the team was all back together and safe. The bad news, Lady Nega and Gary escaped in the confusion and a recent warp point showed they already left. The slightly-less-bad news is that NegaMorph was still grumpy from his headache and Chloe was smarting from all the scratches.
"Ok...let's hope she's not gone to another quarantine zone area," snapped Matt, the grumpiness a little infectious.
"If I was her, I wouldn't risk it," said Chloe.
"Good...hopefully she'll be slowed down with patrols so we can catch up," said Matt.
"Well, at least the heroes here aren't all bad," said Spider-Man, "Hope they have good luck with those Sycorax creeps."
"Don't worry," said Matt, "Bad karma always comes home to roost."
Big Hero 6 watched as the shuttle's undercarriage blazed with energy, lifting into the air serenely, yet almost silently, landing legs folding into its undercarriage as it turned, aiming slightly up, before its boosters blazed and it moved forward, the air opening in front of it and swallowing the ship before vanishing.
"So...aliens..." said Wasabi.
"Not what I would have imagined," said Honey Lemon.
"But can you imagine what the next ones would be like?" asked Fred, "Or better yet, what our next crossover would be? What if Captain Fancypants came through a dimensional portal because he needs our help?"
"In your dreams, Fred," said GoGo dryly.
There's another chapter, taking us to one of the outlier regions of the Marvel mutliverse, in this case the world of Big Hero 6. Specifically, it's set during the City of Monsters arc just after Betsy is created but before the finale. We also do a bit more seeding for future stories by featuring some members of the Seekers of Darkness. We have Dark Riku because he visited San Fransokyo in Kingdom Hearts III and we have Vanitas mostly to do the aforementioned seeding. It will be a long time before anything comes of it though.
There should be more chapters up this week. Keep an eye out for them and please review.