Part 4 - Resurgence

Chapter 70 - Ragnarok

Miles kicked one of the few humans left fighting for the Empire in the face. The rebels let out a victorious shout as the barrier to Area 51 was overrun. The spider stopped, deciding he had done his part. The wrist of his suit beeped, and looking at it he saw a message reminding him he had a meeting with the council. Following the massacre, they had decided to discuss using the Animator to bring people back on mass. The only problem was their lack of understanding of its power.

This meeting was taking place in the viewing area of the collider chamber so the Scarlet King could give his input. Gwen, Stanley and Lisa were there too.

"Before we work out what this thing is capable of, we need to know where it came from." Started Edward, turning the Animator over in his hands.

The Scarlet King let out a low grumble.

"The Animator is not of this world, nor any that you will find your way to. The lost worlds of Bastria are doomed to darkness for eternity."

"What's Bastria?" Asked Teresa.

Miles noticed Gwen's eyes were glowing magenta, but she seemed fully in control. She subtly shook her head to tell him to ignore it.

"Beyond you, beyond here. The Quintari withhold. Zargos bet zargos bet zargis."

"You speak Quintari?" Exclaimed Edward.

"You speak more than English?" Enquired Miguel to Edward.

"I don't understand Quintari, but I recognise it. But how do you know it?"

The Scarlet King chuckled.

"I have greater ambitions than that of a linguist. It is but a saying."

Stanley was typing something into his tablet before looking up.

"The King is right. It's a Quintari saying used to express complexity. It literally translates to 'worlds beyond worlds beyond this world'."

"Can we focus? The Animator: what can it do?" Teresa interrupted, aiming the latter question at the King.

"To me it is nothing more than a trophy. You will have to ask another ancient being."

Miguel's tablet pinged and he sighed.

"Lucifer is laying waste to 6472. They need Grim Reaper."

"We'll deal with it, then we can return to this." Edward replied, getting to his feet.

Miles shook his head.

"The faster we work the Animator out, the better. Me and Gwen will take it and see what we can discover."

"We need Gwen to fight Lucifer."

"Why? Why do you need me? All I'm good at is getting thrown at people." Said Gwen.

"You're no better at that than the rest of us."

"That's because the rest of you are too busy taking out the minions."

"I won't argue this. Miles, catch. Take the Animator, discover its secrets and bring us all the help you can."

Gwen and Miles were sitting in the latter's quarters, wondering where to start.

"What was that glowy thing earlier?"

"The Plate reacted to the word Bastria." Her eye's lit up again. "See?"

"I think there's a lot going on that we don't know about."

"Something to do with the Quintari."

"Maybe. But the Animator...where can we go?"

"Somewhere with more ancient beings: Asgard."

The pair walked through a magenta gateway, finding themselves in a spherical room. At its centre was a platform where a pedestal held a sword. On the other side of the platform were two men. Seeing them arrive, one held a hammer ready while the other pulled the sword free.

"You! I know you." Said the one with the hammer, pointing the weapon at Gwen.

"We fought the Scarlet King together five years ago."

"You're also the Empress of the Empire. You are not welcome here."

"I'm not the Empress anymore; I'm at war with Lucifer just as much as everyone else."

"And why should we trust you?" Asked the man with the sword.

"Because we're just here to ask some questions, then we'll leave." Explained Miles.

"About what?"

He pulled the Animator out the side pocket of the rucksack he was wearing.

"The Animator..." Breathed the one with the sword.

"You will come to the palace, but she stays here."

Miles nodded.

On the way to the main city of Asgard, the man with the hammer introduced himself as Thor. Miles had a vague idea from the descriptions and stories he had heard, but hadn't quite pictured the God of Thunder like this. Now they were seated in a room to the side of the main throne room of the palace, the Animator on the table in between them.

"So, how did you come by this object?"

"Gwen used it to bring me back, then she stole it from the palace when she joined our side in the war."

"Ah! You're the one she started all that mess over. I must say you're shorter than I imagined."

"Err...thanks?"

"So, what can I tell you about the Animator? You already know it can bring people back."

"Can it only bring back one person at a time, or could it revive hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions at a time?"

Thor gulped down a mouthful of mead.

"The Animator's power to bring people and things back is infinite, if you know how to use it. On its own it can only bring back a limited number of people. But if you had, say, an Ethereal Plate, you could rebuild an entire dimension."

An idea popped into Miles' head.

"What about a solar system?"

"It's smaller than a dimension. I don't see why not."

Suddenly, a soldier burst into the room.

"Your majesty! Reapers; we count maybe twenty, could be more."

Thor stood up.

"Raise the city shield, and prepare the legion."

"Yes sir."

The God of Thunder turned to grab his hammer. Miles was closer and handed it to him. Thor stared in shock.

"What?"

"It's...err...nothing."

Thor flew ahead; Miles sprinted ahead of the legion. The Reapers were clearly visible. One had come up to the side of the bridge and was offloading a hoard of undead. Gwen swooped down from seemingly nowhere and picked him up, flying him to where Thor and Heimdal had stopped and were watching the advancing horde. Suddenly, Miles ducked just in time as a boulder flew by, swatting Gwen off the bridge but she flew back up.

"Oh great." She muttered, drawing a katana.

Lucifer touched down gently between the undead and the group, smiling sickeningly as usual.

"So, this is Asgard. It must have gone downhill since Oden was king; I expected more."

Heimdall charged, swinging the sword around. A split second later, he was thrown over the edge and plunged into the water a long way below. Thor raised his hammer to the sky then drove it down: a bolt of lightning struck Lucifer and knocked him back, but he recovered and reached for his back from where he pulled out the Scarlet Crucible. The Reapers glided overhead, unleashing their lasers on the city. Gwen shot off to deal with the undead army, taking Miles with her to help. Thor swung Mjolnir hard. It struck the Crucible with an immense clang before Lucifer grabbed the Thunder God with telekinesis and threw him over the edge. Thor swung Mjolnir, flying back up and knocking Lucifer down. Gwen shot past, slicing her katana across the back of the devil's neck before throwing it to Miles who dropped in and drove the blade into the Emperor's back. He jumped onto the bridge, expecting Lucifer to go limp and plunge. Instead, he laughed at the completely useless attempt. The only damage was a rip down his suit.

"You just ruined a perfectly good Burberry."

Thor whirled Mjolnir and hit him with it, knocking him away but to equally little effect. Lucifer tore forwards; Thor made to parry, Gwen dived to intercept, but it was not enough. The Crucible pierced the Thunder God's stomach and came out his back. Mjolnir flew into the air, landing in front of Miles on the bridge. Thor dropped into the water where Heimdal had met his fate. Gwen landed next to Miles.

"We can't do anything. We have to go."

"No. We aren't leaving these people."

He bent down and picked up Mjolnir. Gwen's eyes widened in shock, but then understanding.

"What? Thor made that face."

"Miles...that's Mjolnir. Only people judged worthy can lift it."

"There's probably a lot of people."

"No, barely anyone."

"I better use it well. Oi! Lucifer!"

The devil chuckled.

"I thought as much."

Gwen flew up, dragging Miles with her before throwing him at Lucifer. Miles slammed Mjolnir into his head, sending them both crashing into the bridge. The spider was up first, summoning a lightning bolt in the same way Thor had. Lucifer's laughter was almost that of a psychopath as he flicked a hand. Miles wondered what he had done, but he didn't have to wait long to find out. The palace began to glow orange, melting away.

"Have fun, Spiderman."

The devil disappeared as an enormous monster broke free from the palace walls. For a moment Miles thought it was the Scarlet King, but quickly realised it wasn't. This monster was even larger and seemed to be made from fire. In addition, there were only two spikes on his head instead of four. Gwen put a hand on Miles' shoulder.

"We have to go. Ragnarok has begun."

He looked down at Mjolnir and dropped the weapon. It should go beside its master. Gwen created a gate and they left Asgard behind to its doom.

Crossovers in this Chapter

- Avengers
- Lucifer
- SCP Foundation