Avenging Justice 2:

Caught Between an Ultron and a Doomsday

Part VII

Earth, New York, New York City

Spider-Man swung from building to building, briefly floating in the air as his momentum offset gravity. Those brief moments treasured by Peter Parker, such simple pleasures were one of the perks of being Spider-Man. He needed the release, work had been killer today. It seemed things were just set to only get harder.

Jameson, that was J. Jonah Jameson, was stirring up more anti spider sentiment. Somehow the publisher of the Daily Bugle had once again painted Spider-Man as a menace to New York. Forget that three years ago he and other heroes had fought off an alien invasion! No, now he was being blamed for the birth of the Rhino, and of even being this new creep called the Scorpion.

Then there was his relationship with Mary Jane. She was attempting to get into journalism, while still doing some modeling on the side. He was trying to be supportive, but she didn't see it that way. He kept giving her tips, what to look for, and even shadowing her. To him, he was trying to keep her safe, to her, he was stalking her and treating her like a baby.

It was frustrating. He knew what crime was like in New York. He had seen gang wars, the victims of both rival gangs and innocent bystanders. There were the lost souls, hurt by crime, orphaned by it, and sometimes drastically changed by it. Peter didn't want that to happen to Mary Jane, why couldn't she see that?

He landed on a nearby building, looking out over the city. He took a whiff of the air, the familiar smells came flooding in through the mask. The sounds of the city also came flooding up, and Peter smiled as he heard some random New Yorker screaming, "I'm walking here!"

Three years, and he could still see where the invasion had happened. Damage had been fixed, but he could still tell the new buildings and structures from what they had been before. He couldn't say the rebuilding was worse, it was just different. Sometimes different could be good, but sometimes things were lost when rebuilt.

"You know, you're starting to look like that brooder in Gotham," a friend, and overconfident voice came from Peter's right. The blazing heat clued him into who it was.

Spider-Man sighed, "I'm not brooding, just trying to think. How goes it Flambee man?"

"Well Arachni-Kid, can't complain," Human Torch landed and let his flames go. "Reed is engrossed in this 'Negative Zone.' He's very happy, it's all boring though."

Peter laughed at the this, "He makes a grand scientific discovery, and you call it boring. How?"

"Well, he hasn't created lightsabers, warp drive or even lightspeed yet," Johnny Storm countered. "Till then, it's all just his boring technobabble. That and if I have to listen to Ben go on one more time, I'd go mad. So, decided to get some air."

Peter mused for a moment, "Must be nice to have your family all be special with you. Never having to worry about if one of your enemies finds out your secret."

"What's wrong man, you're more navel gazey then usual?" Johnny asked.

Before he could answer, Spider-Man's warning sense went off the charts. He leapt up into the air, already his web line began to shoot out of his web shooters. Human Torch hadn't even begun to conflagrate when a red light surrounded him. Peter watched as Johnny disappeared. His spider sense was still going off like a fire alarm, when he saw red envelop him. He pulled on his web line, and then felt the wonderful sensation of weightlessness.

Back in New York, Spider-Man's web line fell delicately against the building it was anchored to. Below the city went on with its business, unaware that two heroes had just vanished from the rooftops above. More were to follow, but not just heroes, villains as well. Their destination a world of patchwork areas, looking more designed than natural.

"Welcome to Battleworld," a booming voice said as Peter fell.

Quickly rotating, he righted himself and landed gently on the ground. Beside him, Johnny was completely wrapped in flames, ready for a fight. Yet, the people around them were harmless looking. Many were golden skinned and dressed in simple tunics and short robes. One in particular was a very beautiful woman with elven ears, and she spoke a language that neither hero understood.

"This is Zsaji, she'll be the healer for your team," the voice boomed again. "You have been given a great honor, to represent your world here." A strange scoreboard came into view in the middle of the village, each with several names in it. "Good and Evil, which will win, which will fall. Curious."

Spider-Man waited for more, but the voice had fallen silent. More red beams came, and with it more people. Peter recognized a couple of them. There was Piotr, known as Colossus, and beside him was the mutant with claws, Wolverine. Then came Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, followed closely by the Thing.

The more that came, the more names appeared on the board. Spider-Man saw several he didn't recognize, Killer Frost, Deadpool, King Shark, Doctor Doom, Killer Croc, Static, with the names just going on and on. A terrible, gut knotting feeling came over Peter, and he wondered what he had just been drug into. He wished he'd just talked with Mary Jane now, knowing full well things like this didn't normally end well.

Ben Grimm's gruff voice cut through, "Doom, I bet he's behind all of this."

"I'm not sure Ben, why put himself on the list," Sue Storm said. "He may be like us, but that begs the question, who took us?"

Reed Richards just said, "I don't know, but it was someone with immense power to pull us all here."

Earth, California, Coast City

The day was coming to an end at the Saint Teresa's Catholic School. Teachers were shepherding their charges off to buses and to awaiting parents in cars. It had been an overcast day, different than the normally sunny days California was known for. Because of this, and unconsciously the mood of both students and teachers had been dampened by the gray outside. For the person fleeing danger, it was the most beautiful thing she had seen.

A swirling dark purple and black cloud suddenly appeared over the soccer field, and amazingly enough didn't catch anyone's attention. The violent maelstrom spat out lightning bolts, high winds and one lone figure enveloped in a hooded cloak. The teen girl landed hard, immediately springing up and watched in horror, awaiting something that might have followed her. Instead the tear between dimensions closed with a loud thunderclap, leaving her far from what had been home, far from Azarath.

Raven didn't have much time, her father might still try to follow her. She quickly made it to the air, and off to find look around where she had been sent. Her mother had told her stories of Earth, but she hadn't been to this strange place till now. It was both familiar and foreign, like a half-remembered song. Discovering its wonders would have to wait, there was a threat coming and she needed help.

Quickly finding a bin marked for unacceptable school clothing, she located a skirt, tights, a black shirt and a leather jacket. Why this was unacceptable "school" clothing was beyond this visitor from another realm, but she was grateful for the items. At least she could blend in while looking for help. In the meantime, she folded her Azarath clothing into a confiscated backpack and made her way.

There were powerful heroes here, those that might be able to help her against her father. The one that had made her flee from her home, her sanctuary. He would follow her here, to use her, take her over, so that she could be his vessel onto any world he pleased. She was very important to Trigon, and she had a feeling she was just scratching the surface as of why.

Now that she was here, the question was where to start. When Azarath had been attacked, it had been chaotic enough, that getting her to Earth was enough. Now that she was here, she needed allies, and hope that they would be enough to destroy a demon. Not just any demon, one of the most power, if not the most. She knew him as Trigon, and her mother couldn't get through a full story about him without breaking down. He had done horrible things to her.

She couldn't dwell much on that at the moment. She had a mission, and despite the empty pit in her stomach, she was going forward. No amount of fear or anxiety, or how much this world overwhelmed her senses, was going to stop her. Raven just had to calm herself and focus. The answer could be found, if she only concentrated and kept her wits about her.

An hour later she was on a bus leading to San Diego. She found her instincts pointing towards it, and she followed them. The bus was crowded, and noisy, but there was enough quiet for her to think. Reaching out to the people around her, she used her magic to quickly learn about the world around her. Languages, technology, and the people. It was a simple, noninvasive spell, they wouldn't even get a headache. All the people would feel was a slight tingling in their minds, maybe the feeling like they were being watched. There was much to learn, and not a lot of time to do it.

She settled in for the trip, trying to repress the images of Trigon coming to Azarath. Her mother's plaintive pleas for her to go through the portal. Raven had wanted to stay, and yet the look in her mother's eyes told her enough. Her demon father would kill her mortal mother for hiding her away for so long. Nothing Raven could have done would have stopped this, but she still felt the first pangs of guild wash over her. She would stop her father, no matter the cost to herself.