Disclaimer: I don't own DC or Marvel
Universal Collision: Secret Crisis
Chapter 2: Assemble across the Multiverse
The blue-sky event, that was what they called it. Earth-N had survived a Crisis event, the consumption of the Earth by a great wave of Anti-Matter. Every hero had contributed to the defeat of the Anti-Monitor, but the Paragons were the ones that restarted the Multiverse.
Alex Winters was not a Paragon.
"Run it again," he commanded.
"Yes Sentry Alex!" spoke the hollow voice of his AI.
The AI controlled the gold and red armour he wore across his body. Blue eyes and neatly combed brown hair was reflected in the finely polished alloys that filled his lab. He rapidly typed on a holographic pad he used. Technology on his Earth was extraordinary, he was one of the great minds after all. Sliding a massive screenshot across the room, he expanded the image further to look at what had filled the sky of his Earth a few moments ago. It was a blue tear running through it, reflecting the image of another Earth.
"Temporal manipulation is looked down upon by the Justice Council Sentry Alex," the AI said.
"You know I am well aware of that, do not worry, the Justice council cares not, and the Legends will be of no consequence, they're a fickle and egotistical bunch, remind me again what happened during the Elseworld incident," Alex said.
"They left the other heroes to manage it themselves."
"And what did they do during the Crisis, the entire world, time itself collapsing and what is their excuse?"
"No crossovers!"
"Of course, as I've said before, there are no more heroes left, so it falls to people like me," Alex said.
He looked towards his machine, connected to the great reactor that powered his building, Winter Tower. It was the legacy of his parent's, and of his deceased brother Dante. The building provided power for Metropolis, so Alex was also using the city's grid to work his machine, a temporal window. He had to see what was on the other side, he had to.
"Activating, sending chronal camera through the timeline, streaming feed," the AI reported.
Alex narrowed his eyes when the image of the tear was replaced by city streets. It was another Earth, it seemed to be stuck in the middle-ages, great armies of purple and black armoured 'Goblins' clashed with blue armoured knights.
"General Fury, the Skrulls are gaining ground, our scouts have reported that they have unleashed their foul magic and opened a portal for their master," a lady knight knelt to a dark skinned man with an eye patch and a shoulder cloak.
"Then we must make the call, Assemble our knights of vengeance," he took the horn on his saddle and blew into it.
Magic, Alex didn't believe in it, all could be explained. It released a sonic wave of some kind that could be heard from a castle. At a round table was the supposed knights of Vengeance, a blue knight with a shield and star on his chest, a knight with an insect like helmet, a woman in a red cloak and hood, a red and gold armoured knight with a steam powered engine on his back, a green skinned ogre and a barbarian with a hammer.
"HO! Knights of Vengeance, the call has been made, Assemble to battle!"
The Red witch cast some kind of 'spell', creating a portal that enabled the knights to go into battle. Captain Rogers, leader of the knights threw his shield, and it sliced through several of the Skrull warriors. Green blood and entrails coated the grass beneath them; even armour was dented and rent as the Ogre rampaged, smashing through bone with his bare hands. The skies opened and lightning flashed, raining down on the Skrulls. Thor threw his hammer in a wide arc, sending several of his opponents flying.
"CHARGE!" The Ant-Knight yelled, riding on top of a giant ant and leading a cavalry charge of the creatures.
The Iron-Knight flew in the air, firing blasts from his gauntlets that disintegrated some of the Skrulls.
Alex watched the footage with a bored expression. He admitted, he found the technology of the Iron-Knight, especially considering the era, to be quite incredible. But he had no interest in watching or interfering with another world, especially one that would probably do quite well without his interference. But then, he saw what the Iron Knight saw, as if he was going off of the Knight's perspective.
The Knight looked up at the sky beyond his sky, and he saw a line of light drag itself across the sky. It reminded him of a slit across skin, gradually opening to release blood. Only this wound revealed something else, a world.
It was a mirror that Alex looked through and saw his world, his Metropolis and his Justice Council. There was His mentor, the blue and red armoured discoverer of the Mother Box, Lex Luthor, whom stood in the light with his bald face in the open, always smiling and optimistic. The mirror also showed the other members of the Council, the Batman of Gotham, wearing as always his grey suit with his blue gloves, boots, cowl, yellow utility belt and bearing his black bat on a yellow circle. Nubia, the Wonder Woman rode atop Pegasus and wore as usual her blue and gold Amazon armour. Jessica Cruz, the Green Lantern of the Earth sector. The silver and red clad Wally West Flash. Laurel Lance, the Black Canary and her husband Oliver Queen, the Red Arrow. Then with a flash of lightning there came Captain Marvel, representative of Shazam.
Underneath his helmet, the Knight widened his eyes in horror when he saw something begin to slowly ooze out of the sides of the great tear. The glowing blue energy around the tear crackled and took on darker colours.
Alex looked at the captured video, knowing that this is what he was looking for. A Crisis event occurring in a world that he wasn't a native of. Only this wasn't an Anti-matter wave, the energy that erased all matter within the universe, ergo erasing that universe's existence. Alex analysed it, the structure of the tear and how it acted, what the energy was made of, he was an engineer, science was the engineering of the universe. He wanted to know how these tears and what was coming after them worked.
"AVENGERS! THE SKY! THE SKY HAS BEEN RIPPED OPEN!" the Iron Knight yelled.
Captain Rogers let go of one of his enemies and looked up, seeing an event so many others across their world saw. In the Star Burst kingdom, Queen Danvers looked up at the sky and even her spymaster the Widow was flabbergasted. Commoners in the streets looked up and saw what was going on, saw the darkness around the tear. It was at that moment that an orange portal opened.
That was when Alex's curiosity reached its peak, that kind of portal was one he recognised to be a Chronal doorway. Either this world had a future filled with technology, or it was one world in that Multiverse interacting with another.
Loki threw himself through the portal, pushing his hands into the dirt. He quickly closed the portal behind him and looked up. It was not what he had been expecting; at least it wasn't the Apocalypse he thought he would find. His eyes widened in horror when the great darkness began to expand out of the portal, slamming into the castle of the Starburst kingdom. Out of the darkness came a great, wiggling and writhing tentacle with a maw running up the centre of it. Loki heard the screams first, and then he saw the tentacles begin to feed. People were swept up in the village, snapped out of their homes and consumed by the tentacles. Waves of darkness and flesh spread towards the surrounding areas, flesh that as well as looking like tentacles, also took on the forms of tumours with many eyes and mouths with razor sharp teeth on them.
"All-Father," he whispered.
He looked at the Tem pad he had taken and began to cycle through coordinates, any time, any place but there would be good enough. Tapping his fingers against the pad, he cursed when he felt the ground shake.
Having an understanding of planets and their structures, Alex suspected that that great shake that covered the other Earth, was the darkness and tentacles piercing into the planet core. Destruction of the planet would follow soon after, but Alex would watch, watch and learn.
"ALEX WINTERS!"
He widened his eyes when he turned and saw the intruders into his tower. Then again, they were using the extrapolators created by one of their members.
"Damn, I miscalculated, the losers of tomorrow and the fakes really were going to get involved," Alex said.
"It appears so sir," his AI said.
"That's LEGENDS OF TOMORROW to you Winters," one of the leaders of the two groups said.
Nyssa Al Ghul, the self-righteous White Arrow, she had taken over from the Legends founder Miranda Coburn. She was one of the only founders to remain, others joined, like the hero Steel (who didn't actually change his skin into steel that much), some random alien chick Alex did not care to remember the name of, a wizard chick Alex again didn't care to remember the name of, Nyssa's girlfriend, they seemed to deprive themselves of power and settle for whoever had the saddest back story, or the most annoying presence. The only exception seemed to be the bearers of the wind Totem, Zari and Behrad.
"Don't forget the PARAGONS!" Alex rolled his eyes when the seven 'most important heroes' introduced themselves.
Paragons stood for the greatest qualities of humanity; they were supposed to be the ones whom throughout the Multiverse embodied these qualities. Alex's studies had shown him that this was a lie. Yes Nia Nal the Dreamer was very brave, at least braver than other Paragons of courage. Captain Cold, the paragon of honour, it made a bit of sense to Alex. Alexandra Danvers, the Supergirl who was apparently the Paragon of love alongside her wife Kelly Olsen the Guardian, she certainly brought hope to the Suicide slums. Paragon of humanity, Cisco Ramone, the man who abandoned his metahuman abilities because he was a coward.
"Why the hell have you bought Lois Lane of all people here?" Alex asked.
"You can see the New Genesis hammer, right?" Lane asked back.
Alex shook his head, true being a reporter made Lois Lane something of a champion of truth, but a paragon of it? His helmet formed over his face as he continued to watch the destruction of another Earth.
"Everything I'm doing is to save the Multiverse, there is a threat coming, and it'll be too late to stop it if we operate the same way we always have," Alex explained.
"I think you're having another episode Alex," Supergirl said.
"Of course you would say that, it's like we're on a script, denying what's in front of us, delaying what's going to happen to us until it's too late, finding excuses to doubt one another, to fight one another," Alex tightened his fists and snarled. "I hate this Earth, I hate it," he seethed.
"That's enough," Nyssa said as she knocked back an arrow.
Alex sighed and rushed into the fight, but he continued to watch the fall of another Earth.
The ground was beginning to split, Thor raised his hammer and levelled it at the great darkness. But even he was consumed, whilst Captain Rogers tried to rally his troops.
"Everyone, from this day forth you are all Avengers, ASSEM…" he was interrupted however as a tentacle crashed into where he stood, flesh and blood munched and crunched, bones and metal was thrown out of the churning maws attached to the appendages.
Loki saw all of this; saw even the Hulk being ripped apart by the creatures that had emerged from the gaps of the tear. But he knew he had to focus on his escape, there was nothing he could do, and there was nothing he could do.
"HELP US!" he heard someone scream behind him.
He looked over his shoulder, looked towards the common people fleeing their homes, the last of their heroes, the Iron Knight assisting them. For a moment he thought of Asgard but that was just a moment before he opened a portal. Then another moment passed in which he thought of his other self, hands raised, declaring himself saviour.
'Undying, you should choose your words more carefully,' he remembered.
The sickening snap echoed in his mind before he looked to the portal.
"PLEASE HELP!" he heard them again.
People who could not fight, children, babies, like he was.
'Am I cursed,' he remembered.
'You are my son,' he remembered.
'Maybe there's still good in you, but let's face it, our paths diverged a long time ago,' he remembered.
'Saviour,' he scoffed as he walked through the portal.
Kang the Conqueror knew he wasn't a hero, perhaps in one life he could have been. But even he was not completely immune to the effects of lost time, and that was what he could lose, time. He sat almost bored amongst the rubble of the building this world's 'heroes' made their home. This was a world where superheroes had become celebrities, interested in endorsements and money. It wasn't even worth Kang recalling how he had killed off their 'hero' population. He looked to one of the survivors crawling across the gravel, his American flag cape torn, his blue and red suit scorched and his eyes burned to the point he could no longer see or use his heat vision. Kang did recall him however, not because he was some noteworthy opponent, but because he was such a boring man.
"I've travelled from one point in time to the other, to many universes as well, Julius Caesar, Henry the V, Henry the VIII, Adolf Hitler, Erik Killmonger, King Valkyrie, Victor Vo…"
"Am I supposed to know who the FUCK THOSE PEOPLE ARE!" the blonde 'hero' yelled.
"The point I'm trying to make, is that when people have power, most often they abuse it, I was comparing you to leaders who led their people to disaster, whose legacy was only the victims they left in their wake, the wars they started for their own ego. What's so interesting about a ruler who has ultimate power yet only uses it for themselves? Yet only uses it to bully, to abuse, to make themselves feel good, you like to think of yourself as unique, the truth is your actually quite common, what would be really interesting is a man who has ultimate power, yet uses it for good, yet always tries to do what is right," Kang explained.
"Fucking pussy!" the 'hero' spat.
He turned, reaching out with his hands, only to scream as a blade cleaved through his wrists, removing the hands. Kang cast aside the vibranium sword and walked around the 'hero', again making his contempt clear in the way he looked down at him.
"Why can't I feel my legs?" the man asked.
"That would be the spinal cord I severed, your eyes for obvious reasons, and your hands so that you can't fight back," he placed his foot on the superhuman's chest and manipulated the shape of his gloves, turning them into claws akin to the Black Panther.
He put his fingers into the man's nostrils and yanked his hand back, the man's nose splattered to the ground and again the man screamed, links of foam forming in his mouth whilst a puddle began to leak out of his suit. Kang stepped back, briefly bringing his wrist to his nose to block out the smell. But he did not reach, there were some sensations people didn't get used to, for Kang the sight of a confident man turned mumbling mess was familiar to him.
"WHY! WHY! WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?" the man asked, his voice echoing in the streets.
Most in New York saw their seven heroes fall, and even those who wanted them to fall were terrified.
"I'm not actually much for films, but every so often I'll indulge, there was always one punishment in one film I actually quite liked, 'To the pain,'. This world was mere practice for me, not even worth conquering, a mere exercise, but I saw the abuses you performed, the rape of women whom couldn't fight back, the adoration you didn't earn through true deeds, the weakness, you're no hero, no warrior, no king, a school yard bully is better, more interesting than you," Kang seethed. "So I'll keep you alive, as an example of what a false warrior looks like, what a false hero is, a sad lonely little man whose appearances now matches what he looks like inside, your eyes, your nose, but your ears I'll let you keep so that you can hear women cry out 'good god what'…" but Kang paused as he looked up at the sky.
"Is that thing?" he finished, looking up and seeing the blue tear.
He had seen it before, but never like this. The outline of the tear began to darken, before darkness and flesh began to spill out of it like slits on an over filled can.
"Well, what were you saying, what were you saying asshole?" the 'hero' asked.
He heard people scream around him; he heard the destruction of his world. But all he could do was listen and scream out for himself.
"YOU BASTARD! I'M THIS WORLD'S GREATEST HERO! I CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK I…!"
Suddenly, the Vibranium sword tore through his chest, silencing him forever.
"I don't think so, asshole!" the man with the beard said.
He spat on and sat on the corpse of his enemy, looking up at the tear and the dark creatures coming out of it to eat his world.
"Couldn't have happened to a better world," he muttered, half-heartedly, closing his eyes and welcoming the darkness and horror like an old friend.
When Monica called Carol and Kamala, they got to work on bringing together a team. They had a Quinn Jet, and time, time to go to New York and get Kate Bishop, Spider-man, Dr Strange, Daredevil and the Defenders. Then they went to Valkyrie in New Asgard, collecting the Asgardian king (queen) and her war steed. Maria had some files and rumoured locations of new heroes, and those would be the places they searched, for the Moon Knight, for the Werewolf and his Man-Thing, then onto She-Hulk, even the wannabe heroes Mr Immortal and Leap Frog and by the end of the day they had their team. A team that stood proudly with them in full costume as Kamala declared:
"Welcome everyone, to the NEW AVENGERS!"
Of course, that all happened in Kamala's overactive imagination.
James Rhodes looked at the feed of the three women with a bored expression.
"Look, no offence, but some of these people you're suggesting are criminals, heck, I doubt the bulletproof guy and the glowing fist guy actually exist. And if you're filling your team with a drunk private eye and a psychotic moon guy you're in real trouble," he explained.
"So you won't join the New Avengers?" Kamala asked.
"There are no Avengers right now kid, your hearts in the right place, I get it, and yeah, maybe there is going to be a need for a new Avengers team but it's going to take more than you asking these people to come to help," Rhodes said.
"The Avengers weren't there to stop Wanda Rhodey, we should have been there," Carol said.
"That's rich coming from you Danvers," Rhodey retorted.
Monica didn't wince like Kamala did, nor was she thinking of any number of ways to defend Carol's absence. She didn't disagree with Rhodes, and she couldn't agree with Carol either.
"They didn't know until it was too late, if I could have called the Avengers I would have, they were her teammates, but I'm calling you right now Colonel, I'm calling now asking for some help in case what is happening in Westview at the moment is a prelude to something bigger," she explained.
"Okay," Rhodes said with a tired sigh. "I'll see what I can do but be careful."
"So no New Avengers?" Kamala asked.
"Kid, I know you like Danvers, but with her reputation, everyone knows there's only one person qualified to lead the Avengers," Rhodes said.
"And he's only recently accepted being Captain America," Danvers muttered.
The shield meant something to a lot of people, to some it was the representation of the dream they believed in, for others it was a reminder that they had gotten the raw deal part of the dream. For Sam Wilson it was several things, a reminder of a friend lost, a legacy he had to live up to, and pretty cool disc to throw at bad guys with even worse fashion senses. The red and white disc rebounded off of the yellow garbed men shooting at Sam. It knocked some off of their flight platform and was caught by Red Wing. Sam however flew fast to catch the men in the yellow suits. He was a soldier and he had killed people in the past, but there was difference between being a soldier and a killer. Number one priority in his book was to save people, even the bad guys if he could.
Sam always heard it, the people criticising his treatment of the Flag Smashers. He believed scum bags existed in the world, but that didn't mean you had to act without empathy, without at least understanding the circumstances behind a person's actions first. Sam knew that if people believed that there were right with absolute, unflinching certainty, then it would lead to people like Thanos, what was right would become what was necessary.
So he saved the men in the beekeeper suits, stopping them from falling because he needed to understand why these men were attacking Washington's financial district. Taking them into Sharon's custody would guarantee some answers, that didn't mean the new Captain America had to be gentle with them. He threw one of the beekeeper men on top of one of the ground soldiers. Sharon told him and Bucky about a string of crimes, at banks, at private residences and labs, raids for equipment and goods. On their floating platforms were the men and women in baggy yellow suits with masks that reminded Sam of beekeepers or hazmat suits. Then there were the ground soldiers, in yellow and black armoured suits, most often using some kind of automatic rifle or energy pistol.
The blasts from the energy pistols did little to Sam's wings. He flew like a white and red blur, kicking and knocking the soldiers out whilst Red Wing bought his shield back to him. As soon as he grabbed the shield, Sam looked at his target pattern, the line of soldiers shooting at him, those hiding behind the cover of cars, and the men on their floating platform. The stream of data running over his goggles confirmed what he predicted with his eyes, he had already run the equations in his head like he used to when flying a jet. It all required spatial awareness and good planning. He threw the shield, deflecting it off of walls, hitting soldiers shooting at him, slicing through one man's rifle, ricocheting off of a man's shoulder and hitting a sniper hiding behind the cover of a Volvo, and then the shield went upwards, slicing a hole through one of the flight platform engines.
Captain America then flew up, grabbing his shield and using it to push against the damaged engine, pushing the ship into a controlled crash onto the streets. First priority as always was to avoid casualties, second was property damage, vehicles and stores were avoided, he managed to crash the platform into the pavement, just as one of the 'beekeepers' pointed a gun at Sam's head. Suddenly, a shot ran out and the beekeeper dropped his gun.
"Better late than ever I suppose, took you long enough to leave the desk," Sam said.
He grinned at the woman holding the gun as her staff began to gather the unconscious thugs. Sharon Carter smiled back, holstering her weapon and coordinating some of her men.
"Thanks for leaving some to pick up, and it wasn't the desk keeping me under, but the mountain of paperwork," Sharon said.
"Just think of all the good you can do," Sam assured her.
He spread his wings, flying off to catch more of the soldiers. They were going into a retreat just as Sam's communicator beeped.
"Sam are you there?" Rhodey asked him.
"Here Rhodey, what's up?" he asked.
"Trouble in Westview," Rhodey said.
"Westview, is it Wanda, have you found her?"
He flew around the corner, into an alleyway where the ground soldiers had run down. One shot at him, prompting Sam to hover and defend himself with his shield. What he saw next shocked him, the soldiers walked through a glowing orange doorway. Diving at the doorway, Sam prepared to throw his shield, when the door disappeared. Sam retracted his wings, rolling across the floor where the door once was.
"Everything all right Sam?" Rhodey asked.
"Just swell, weird stuff going on but still swell," Sam said.
"Well things are going to get even weirder; luckily I've got a team in mind to respond, we could use you on it Cap," Rhodey said.
Sam regarded the request for a moment, looking at his shield and thinking of the man who once led the Avengers. Then he wondered if the Avengers really could continue to exist? After everything that had happened to them. He thought of Vision, no longer himself, he thought of Wanda, losing her mind and then her humanity. Natasha was gone, Tony was gone, Steve too, all that was left were those who had inherited mantles.
"I'm on my way," was all Sam could say.
The blue-sky event, that was what they called it. Earth had survived Steppenwolf's invasion and the great wave of the Mother boxes. New heroes were coming out of the woodwork, even forgotten heroes were becoming mentors to a new generation. A new universe of heroes and villains was being created.
Alex Winters however didn't consider himself a hero. He didn't want to be a villain, but the sceptic in him assumed someone in the world thought of him as 'the enemy'. Whether it was a rival at the Chronos Corporation Internship, an internet troll judging him to be a 'rich white kid' (estranged from rich parents and barely able to afford his next meal) or his greatest enemy, himself, there was always another hardship and struggle to overcome. It made him think of something an old butler of the family's once said, 'one life is a world'. Alex opened his eyes; his internal clock had awoken him just in time to get away from another dream of self-loathing. The dream involved him fulfilling some kind of business, academic, and even super heroic potential. But at the expense he became one of the worst kind of people, one of the people he hated, like his parents.
As opposed to that other Alex, he was a bit underweight at the moment, though his black jacket with a fur collar did well to hide that. It hid the hump on his back too, one of his first inventions. He also had a scar across his cheek, a mark of self-expression. His blue eyes looked over at a couple sitting in the corner of the bus; the child was wearing a Superman shirt and posing with his fists against his hips. An uneasy smile crossed Alex's face before he got up and made his way to the driver. This was his regular bus; the driver knew him and didn't need him to push for a stop.
It was close to midnight and Alex's landlord at the junk yard was already asleep. He gave him cheap rent in exchange for Alex's technical expertise, nothing much but fixing the occasional broken-down crusher or crane. Alex had a small shed with an old AC unit and a hammock he made, a far cry from the fancy hotel his family owned. He changed the bulb on his work light and draped his jacket over his chair, pulling his shirt off. Carefully and with practiced precision, he removed the dome device on his back, just where his spinal column would have been. Then he carefully placed the device on the table, took his screwdriver and soldering iron and got to work on replacing some of the old parts.
"I can eliminate the use of the device, you know this," the voice said.
'I know Rikai,' he thought, as the AI could pick up those thoughts.
A blue, holographic life form appeared at Alex's side, unseen by all, its arms folded over his chest and the only expression on its face coming from two glowing eyes.
"You will call one of your therapists tomorrow, I would avoid this, this dream you have had is not based on your psychology," Rikai stated.
'What else is it for then?' Alex asked as he worked.
"Studies on the internet have come up showing a pattern of people having strange dreams; it coincided with the Blue-Sky event, these dreams have been strange, unique and they go beyond any kind of psychological manifestation that meat bags might have," Rikai explained.
'You're saying they're impossible dreams, some dreams are impossible,' Alex said.
"Now you're just being fatalistic Alex Winters," Rikai said, rolling his eyes.
'What point are you trying to make?' Alex asked.
"Dreams may have become a mirror for which to see other Earths," Rikai said.
'The Multiverse theory, it's a great theory, works well in science fiction, but it has little practical use for scientists at the moment,' Alex stated.
"Your counterpart was trying to build something; he had also implied that some kind of crisis was occurring on multiple Earths," Rikai said.
'He was carrying out some kind of experiment, all those people,' Alex thought.
"He may have had your face, but he wasn't you Alex," Rikai said.
'I know that, I don't need to….'
….
….
…
…
Alex gasped, slamming his hand into the desk. He let out deep and heavy breaths, looking at his surroundings. He was still in the shed, still sitting exactly where he was supposed to be sitting. Only his back unit was fixed and on his back again.
"Alex, what happened just now?" Rikai asked.
'What do you mean? I blacked out didn't I?'
"I would suggest you look over your shoulder," Rikai said.
Alex stood up and turned around, looking at the window on the far side across from him. His eyes widened in shock, seeing that someone had taken oil from one of the cans in the shed and used it to write something on the window.
'Did I do this?' Alex asked.
"You did indeed Alex, I believed you were having an episode at first, especially when you picked the can up," Rikai said.
"There's a reason I surround myself with all these dangerous things," Alex said it loud this time, just as he also spoke the words written on the window.
"Find the Seven Paragons, what the hell does that mean?"
"Seven superheroes perhaps," Rikai suggested.
"The Justice league," Alex whispered.
He put his shirt and jacket back on and locked the shed up. Breaking off into a run through the junkyard, Alex flinched in pain as a light glowed on his back. The machine on his spine suddenly turned into a black backpack with wings attached to it. Thin black armour began to spread across his body, surrounding a blue crystal that glowed on his chest. Boosters formed around the heels of his boots, whilst gauntlets covered his arms. Blue lenses slid over the eyes of the black helmet that shaped around his head. Finally the fins slid out of the back of his helmet and he took flight.
Alex Winters didn't consider himself a hero, but the AI in his mind had still chosen to bond with him, to gift with the armour and power of a Sentry. The Daily Planet called him Paladin.
It was in yet another universe where Alexander Winters opened his eyes again and shook his head.
"I don't think it will work again," he said.
"It has to, we need to collect as much data as we can," said his boss.
She was also the one that formed the plan to save the Multiverse. Lena Luthor was a genius, except for when it came to people, which was probably why Alexander (she had a friend called Alex, so they needed to avoid confusion) got along with her so well. There was a desperation in her eyes Alexander had never seen before, so strong was this desperation that she turned to a side of her heritage she was initially sceptical about. Luthor was not her birth name; her true family came from magic, witchcraft. Of course, she wasn't foolish enough to try and use her magic without someone of greater experience aiding her.
"Dream Walking, very dangerous business love, even more dangerous to use a person who doesn't have magic as your target," explained John Constantine.
The blonde-haired man in the pale coat put out some of the candles Lena had set up. He took a seat and removed a cigarette from his pocket.
"It had to be me, Lena doesn't have a counterpart there," Alexander said.
"You advised me John, so you've done this before," Lena said.
"Twice, once with the American me, worst decision of my life, and again with the less sexy female version of me…don't worry she did it back and it was for a good cause," John explained.
"Really?" Alexander raised his eyebrows sceptically.
"Of course I did, please don't put that image in my head," John shivered.
"What image?" Lena asked, grinning.
"I mean, it could work, who loves you more than yourself John?" Alexander asked with a chuckle.
"Great, now the image is in my head, I consider myself a tolerant person," John shot Alexander a glare when he snorted. "But falling in love with one's own counterpart is…yuck, yuck, great I am in this pricks body again, of all the times to do this…we need to do this," John said.
Lena and Alexander looked at the sorcerer in shock.
"Rikai, do you see anything?" Alexander asked.
The blue holographic AI appeared between Lena and Alexander, visible to the both of them.
"Magic leaves an imprint, I'll show you," the AI moved his hand over John and blue particles appeared around the sorcerer.
They formed two ghostly figures in front of John, no different from Holograms really. One was a brown-haired woman in a neat leather coat, and the other was a dark-haired man in a scruffy suit.
"Who are they?" Lena asked.
"Joanna Constantine, the sexier female version," the image of the woman spoke as John did, but John scoffed and when he spoke, the dark-haired man moved his lips.
"John Constantine, the sexier American version," the Earth 0 John spoke with a fitting American accent, but then seemed to return to normal. "Bollocks, in your bloody dreams mates," he said.
"Dream Walkers," Lena said.
"No shit Sherlock, yes, here we are doing what you do, risking our souls because we are that desperate," all three Constantines moved and spoke in unison.
"So the dreams I've had, they really are other worlds, they're really dying?" Alexander asked.
"Worse," John shook his head.
"Being erased then," Lena said and again John shook his head.
"What could be worse than world's being erased?" Alexander asked.
The holograms Rikai had made of John's counterparts all shared the same grim and hopeless look.
It was a similar look that Thor Odinson had as he looked out at the efforts Love was making to rebuild the Corbonite village. They had settled on a world that unfortunately brought them into conflict with Marauders. It was nothing that Love and Thunder couldn't stop, that didn't mean they saved everyone. What unsettled Thor the most was that the girl he adopted didn't seem bothered by the dead they had to bury.
'Can I really do this?' he wondered.
He liked to joke, he liked to pay the fool, his seeming blunders, and his enthusiasm with the Guardians was all part of an act.
An illusion, a trick to inspire confidence, to uplift people. He did this because if the god of thunder was just a regular guy who made mistakes, who could be ignorant, then maybe people would try to find their own answers.
Loki had already found his answer.
'You can be whatever you want to be,' he remembered a friend who believed in him.
Thor looked over his shoulder, his eyes almost growing when he saw a portal open. People emerged from that portal, people that looked like primitive humans, some wounded, and some were even knights. There was even someone in medieval style Iron man armour. But then he saw the final person to walk through the portal, closing it behind him.
'Even someone good,' Loki remembered how much he missed his brother.
Next Chapter 3: Dreams across the Multiverse
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, a Crisis, a mystery, and Kang's rampage continues in a recognisable Earth (Let's just call it Earth-7 lol).
