DC/Marvel: Access Denied
Chapter 5
By Christopher W. Blaine
e-mail: darth_yoshi@yahoo.com
DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations contained in this story are ©2003 by either DC Comics Inc. or Marvel Entertainment Group and are used without permission for fan-related, non-profit entertainment purposes only. This original work of fiction is ©2003 by Christopher W. Blaine and may not be reproduced in part or as a whole without the express permission of the author.
Earth-T…"As a matter of fact," Deadman started, "there is someone who can cross between the two universes. He's called Access."
Nightwing nodded and began moving at super-speed around the laboratory. He was working on developing some temporal displacement devices that would allow the members of the Wardens to travel through Hypertime unaided. As it currently stood, either Deadman arranged transportation or the members with the ability traveled the byways of time. "Can we get his help?"
"Well…" Deadman started. He rubbed the back of his neck and Nightwing slowed down. "It seems a certain being in the 'Marvel' universe…"
"Why can't we be the 'Marvels'?" Huntress asked.
Bruce Banner chuckled. "I hear jealousy." Super-Woman gave him an elbow and the two began to chuckle. Over the past few days, the two scientists had become very chummy. The Huntress suspected that it had more to do with both of them feeling like outcasts than anything romantic. Dr. Banner seemed to be hooked on someone named Betty.
"That's just the way it is," Deadman groused. "Anyway, some big-headed guy named Uatu has taken Access and held him on the moon."
Bruce coughed. "He's a Watcher, an ancient race dedicated to non-interference. Uatu looks at that philosophy as being subjective." He looked into a microscope. "I've never seen Kryptonian cells like this before."
Super-Woman turned to him. "You said that you had examined the Superman of your world once?"
He nodded. "He was exposed to a heavy dose of Kryptonite radiation after a battle with the Radioactive Man. At the time, I was in full control of my Hulk-persona and was an active member of the Justice League."
"Amazing," she said, tapping a finger on her bottom lip. "So you find my cells different from your Superman's?"
He nodded. "Your cellular structure is as different from his as mine is from a normal human. It's incredible especially when you take into consideration this world."
"So, we can't get a hold of the Access fellow?" Nightwing asked, wanting to get the conversation back on track.
Deadman was adamant. "You could say Access denied. This Uatu can see into other realities, peering through Hypertime in much the same way the Time-Guardian could." The Huntress mumbled something under her breath. Both Super-Woman and Nightwing heard it but said nothing. "He's managed to capture Access. The Spectre has been working on negotiating a deal, but it's not going anywhere. If we want to get everything back on track, we need to do something about Holocaust."
"That's the real issue, isn't it?" Captain America said as he stepped into the lab. Behind him was Dawnstar. "How do we defeat him? I don't think brute force is going to be able to do it."
"That's not what the Human Torch and Hawkman think," Bruce offered. He had been involved in several conversations with both men.
"If Holocaust could take out Superman, then what chance do we have?"
"The argument is that with the power of Super-Woman and the Hulk…"
"No," Bruce said silently. "The Hulk is uncontrollable. The only reason he followed you onto Dr. Doom's time platform is because of Shamrock's unique abilities." He walked over to a stool and sat down, pulling out a handkerchief. He was starting to sweat, the first sign that he was beginning to lose control of the raging beast deep inside of him.
"We may have no choice," Captain America said.
Dawnstar stepped between the two men, her large wings folded against her back. "We must all remain calm; indecision and infighting will only serve the cause of evil. You were attempting to go back in time, correct? You wanted to stop Dr. Doom from summoning Holocaust?'
"Yes, but we got lost or misdirected," Bruce said. "I was in my Hulk form; Spider-Man operated the controls."
"Is he an expert on time-travel?" Nightwing asked. He had not spoken to Spider-Man; the mysterious hero preferring to be on his own especially after going out with Hawkman a few nights before.
"Spider-Man is very intelligent young man," Bruce said, vouching for the wall-crawler. "He's had to put his education on hold in order to pursue his career as a super-hero. It's cost him nearly everything, but he still does it."
"With great power comes great responsibility," Captain America said. "It's his philosophy."
Everyone was quiet while they let the words sink in. "Maybe we can work on some way for me to control the beast," Bruce finally said.
"Looks like we have some goals," Nightwing said, clapping his hands together.
The DC Universe (Huntress and the Human Torch)…
"We need to wait until night," the Huntress said as she lowered her binoculars. Johnny Storm blew out, indicating his frustration. She sympathized. "Arkham Asylum, no matter what reality you're in, is really busy during the day." She handed the binoculars over.
Johnny put them up to his one good eye and scanned the area. There were several police cars and doctors. "People going in and out; it's like an assembly line of horror."
She agreed. The Arkham Asylum of Earth-2 had not been early as bad as the one on Earth-1 and she had been made to understand that this particular home of the insane was the worst by far.
Being alone with the Human Torch did not make her feel very safe. There was something just not right about him and she wondered if his torture at the hands of Holocaust had somehow damaged him. Captain America had vouched for him, as had Wonder Woman. She had wanted the Amazing Amazon to join them, but Nightwing had cautioned against it. "Her raw power may be the deciding factor in a heated battle," he had explained. The Huntress pointed out that the Human Torch was pretty powerful himself if everything that Dr. Banner said was true.
Nightwing had explained that the Torch had volunteered for the mission and Captain America had agreed to it. It was thought that going back so soon to Earth-CA might not be best for the Torch's mood.
"Aren't you from around here?" he asked.
"My Gotham City was far different from this and the Gotham City on Earth-T is, well, different. Our whole world is odd because it's so young. Yes, it has a history and in reality, it has existed since the dawn of time, but it's still young." He nodded and sat back down on the tree stump, casting a glance over to their rental car. She continued to pass the time. "On Earth-T, all of the super-heroes were killed when the Time-Guardian assumed complete control."
The Torch stretched and rubbed at his eye. Nightwing had produced some salve with Super-Woman's help that was taking care of some of the scarring. "I read about it on the Internet with Spider-Man."
"You and Spider-Man are close?'
"Yeah. He and I go way back. Karen and I introduced him to Katana not too long ago. He and his wife split up about a year ago and he's been kind of down in the dumps." His voice changed when he spoke about his friends, especially Karen Starr, alias Power Girl. From all accounts, it had been a whirlwind romance with Johnny on the rebound from some unnamed sweetheart and she just simply lonely. "What about you?"
She was taken back by his sudden charm, his willingness to open up and talk. It was disarming and she didn't exactly know what to make of it. "I had a boyfriend, a lawyer, but he died during the Crisis. I'm seeing Nightwing right now."
"Ah, the mystery of the Kryptonian male." He made no further comment and they remained quiet for several minutes. Johnny got up again and looked at the Arkham Asylum. "Do you think anyone will notice we're here?"
She shook her head and pointed to the dirt road. "No tire tracks. I'm assuming that this is some sort of service road. I guess if anyone drives back here we can pretend to be lovers out for an afternoon tryst."
"Good plan," he replied. He then noticed something and asked her to bring him the binoculars. He put them up and looked at the roof of the asylum. "Figures," he said dryly.
She took them from him and peered in the same direction. A figure was huddled in the shadows and she caught the glimpse of green cape. "Jason?"
Johnny didn't know. "I never went to Gotham City if I could help it. Just seemed like a two-bit Big Apple. I'd guess that the guy up there is Robin."
"That means the Batman is monitoring something here," she said, not happy about this at all. Their mission was to infiltrate the asylum and locate the Joker. Using a device that Nightwing had provided, they would be able to detect if there was a psychic link between the Clown Prince and Holocaust. If so, Super-Woman and Dr. Banner had hypothesized that by interrupting that signal it could have disastrous effects on the creature on Earth-CA.
"I suspect that the creature needs a anchor in the physical world and for some reason, it's the Joker," Banner had said.
"He won't be a problem," Johnny said off-hand. When he saw her face, he shrugged. "Come on! Batman versus the Human Torch? No contest."
Earth-CA (formerly the original Crossover Earth)(Shamrock, Aqualad, Aquagirl and Kid Flash)…
"You know, you could stop looking at him," Kid Flash said.
Aquagirl's face flashed with anger. "You could quit trying to be my dad!"
He turned away. "I'm trying to be your boyfriend."
Aqualad tried to keep turned away, but he couldn't help it. From the first moment since he had seen Aquagirl, his heart had been beating quick in his chest. His Aquagirl was dead and unlike the main timeline version of himself, he had not traveled to another dimension to learn magic. Yet.
They had been avoiding each other, he knew, because each had so many questions. He had asked Hawkman, who had no problem spilling all of the personal details of his fellow Warden. In those conversations, he realized that she was a kindred spirit.
Twice he had caught himself reaching out for her hand since they started walking. Luckily, it was raining. Unfortunately, it was raining. With the water pouring from the skies, both of them would receive enough to keep them healthy and alive. Without it, they would have to find water somewhere, a lake or river, and there they could be alone.
He knew Kid Flash was keeping an eye on him and with a Roy Harper behind the mask, he was being sure to be careful. He could tell that Kid Flash was looking for an excuse to hit him. Shamrock was doing her best to remain between them.
Her accent was American. She was the second person to bear the name of Ireland's only hero. "We're getting close," she said. "Before we left, Captain America broadcast several locations for heroes to meet in order to regroup. They were told to wait for a month and if no one showed up, to try and make it on their own."
They were approaching a building located in what was a normal looking small town outside Metropolis. It was deserted, but that was to be expected. This was where the X-Men had fallen. They had already passed the skeletons of Wolverine, Nightcrawler and Black Condor. "Let's be careful," Shamrock warned.
"What happened here?" Aquagirl asked. Kid Flash bit his tongue to keep from running ahead.
"After Holocaust took down the Avengers, Justice League and Fantastic Four in New York, it moved here to intercept the X-Men, who were returning from a mission in Florida." Aqualad sniffed the air. "Smells like death."
Shamrock held up a closed fist, a signal to stop. With hand signals, she directed Aqualad and Aquagirl into the nearby trees while calling Kid Flash up to her. She whispered into his ear and he nodded. In the blink of an eye, he was gone and back. "They're all dead," he said, his eyes watering. "It's the Titans, and they're all dead."
"How? How does someone take out all of the Titans?" Aquagirl asked, not believing what she was hearing.
"We're not alone," Aqualad said, his sensitive ears picking up footfalls. Aquagirl heard them also.
Kid Flash raced ahead to check it out and didn't come back. The three other heroes let loose a battle cry and ran into the woods that surrounded the town. Fifty yards in, they found Kid Flash being supported by his throat in the outstretched arm of a pale, hellish looking man.
He was a cross between a wraith and demon, black and white in color with a voice that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. "Come! Come meet Despayre!"