And we're starting season two of Triumphant! So, this chapter will immediately pick up where the last one left off and I'll introduce a character here that I feel isn't touched on a lot, and it'll be nice to show Eric and Victor's relationship. I think the other Titans will have a chapter with Eric. Zee obviously won't since she lives with him, but I'm excited to write these chapters, all to expand upon their relationships.
Also, this season will have an Eric centric subplot like the last one did. Season one was magic, season two will be space and cosmic stuff.
So, it's been a while since I last worked on this chapter. Why? Well, my USB died, and all the data on that was lost, thankfully this story was the least effected of the three. But now I've learned from that and have three versions of the chapters saved for in case something like that ever happens again.
But I should tell all of you who were excited for A Sinister Past—it's going to take a lot longer now. Sorry. I sent the USB out to get the data back, but the price would've been a little over $1,800, and I'm not exactly made of money, so, I'm starting the story over from scratch.
But I see it as a blessing of sorts. Whereas the second version of the story was me adding to what was already there, this third (and hopefully final version) will be the purest telling of Nolan Belmont's story. As of right now (8/8/2021) I'm over 3,000 words into the first chapter, but I have a release plan.
A Sinister Past is 13 arcs, and so I plan to release the story in three chunks, four arcs the first two times, then five the last time. I'll keep the bi-weekly update schedule, as well as the four week break between arcs.
Again, I'm sorry for those of you who were looking forward to the rewrite, you'll just have to wait a little longer.
JLU Fun Fact 7: Wonder Woman was the only core Leaguer to not appear in Static Shock.
Well, that's all from me up here, on with the story!
Off the Grid
Eric
I stayed silent as Zatanna's words began to make sense for me.
She's…pregnant.
She's going to be a mom.
And I'm going to be a dad.
Huh.
"Eric?" She asked worriedly, taking me out of my thoughts. "L-look, I know we never really talked about kids, but life obviously couldn't wait. And- and even though I don't think I'm ready, I still wanna keep them, you know? Might be nice to have a little Zatara-Mercer running around."
Slowly, I reached out and rested a hand on her stomach. Her breath hitched a little in surprise before she covered my hand with both of hers.
"I'm going to be a dad," I whispered.
Zatanna nodded with a smile. "You're going to be a dad."
"A-and you're going to be a…mom," I whispered again.
She nodded again with that beautiful smile still on her face. "I'm going to be a mom."
It took another minute for the words to register before I just let out a little laugh and pulled her into a tight hug. "I love you. I love you so damn much."
She hugged me back, just as tight. "I love you too, Eric."
We pulled out of the hug just as Silver Bolt came walking into the living room. "Hello. I could not help but overhear. Congratulations!"
Zatanna got up and walks over to him before pulling him into a hug. "Thanks, Bolt! Promise you'll be a role model big brother?"
Silver Bolt nodded with a smile then saluted. "Of course!"
Zee chuckled before she looked back at me. "Speaking of siblings, Esmeralda's gonna lose her mind when she hears the news."
I nodded slowly. "Oh yeah… How's Rachel going to react?"
Zatanna shrugged. "She'll try to play it off all cool and shit, but deep down she'll be just as giddy as Esmeralda."
"If you say so," I shrugged. I looked at the clock to see it was 4:49 in the afternoon. "I'll call my parents and you call yours? It's not too late for them to come."
Zatanna nodded, but then frowned. "What about Morrigan? Has your dad even-"
I shook my head with a sigh. "None. I don't even know where she is. I've tried contacting her but I'm getting nothing back. Esmeralda's tried too, and even she can't reach her, which shouldn't happen because they're family, and Nova connects them directly."
"So, Morrigan doesn't want to be found then," Zatanna muttered. "Confront your dad."
I blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
"Confront your dad and force him to make-up with her," she clarified. "I'm not having our baby be born during some family drama, it'd be bad for them."
I just snorted in amusement. "Zee, he won't have any idea what's going on."
Zatanna smirked and arched a brow. "I'm sorry, "he"? How're you so sure we're having a son first? Just because Zack was in one timeline it doesn't mean he'll be in this one."
"Zee, I've seen two different Zacks, I'm more than sure I'll see a third in nine months," I said, holding up two fingers.
"Seven and a half months, actually," Zee corrected.
"S-seven and a half!?" I sputtered.
"Mhmm," Zee nodded. She then tilted her head in confusion. "Wait, you've already seen two Zacks? Who was the other one? When?"
I frowned at the memory of the Black Mercy and slowly sat down on the ground across from Zatanna. Silver Bolt looked between the two of us before he sat down in Zee's lap. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair before I looked into Zatanna's eyes.
"The Black Mercy. I-it showed me the perfect life. You and I were married, we had two kids, and your parents were there. It was nice. Great. It was painful leaving that perfect life," I told her.
Zatanna stayed quiet for a moment before she reached out and held my left hand. "Two kids?"
I smiled. "A girl, Gabriella. She was beautiful. A year younger than Zack."
"Well, if this first child is indeed Zack, then maybe the second will be Gabriella," Silver Bolt commented.
"Maybe, but a year after? Isn't that a little too soon after having a kid? Especially your first one?" Zatanna asked.
"You said it yourself, life doesn't wait," I replied. I then got up and helped her and Silver Bolt up. "I'll get to calling my family, call yours?"
She nodded before walking over to get her phone from its charger.
I let the little smile on my face grow a little more before I pulled out my phone and dialed Dad's number. But then a frown threatened the smile when I remembered Zatanna's ultimatum, which, I honestly agreed with.
I called, and he picked up after the second ring. Like always. "Boyo."
I rolled my eyes at that nickname. "Dad."
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?" He asked.
The smile returned as I watched Zatanna call one of her parents. "It'd be better if I told you in person. Come on over with Mom and Esmeralda."
"Ooh, how ominous," Dad whispered. "All right, we'll be there in about an hour, your Mom went out to talk to hang out with some old college friends."
I frowned a little before nodding. "Right, right… Well, see you guys soon."
"See you," Dad replied before ending the call.
Zatanna walked over and flopped down into my lap, she then threw her arms around my neck and kissed me on the cheek. "Hm, growing a beard, are you?"
I rubbed my chin with my left hand. "Yeah. Opinions?"
Zee hummed and studied my face. She then muttered some spells, even though I couldn't see it, I could tell she was seeing what kinds of beards would look good on me. "I'd say clean-shaven or full beard. But I swear to god if you get a five-o'-clock shadow…"
"I won't. I promise," I readily agreed. Constantine more or less ruined that for us. Trench coats too, which sucks, since I used to think they were so cool.
"So, my parents and Rachel are gonna be here in a few hours. Dad got caught up in some demon clan war and he'll be busy for a few hours. Took Rachel with him too," Zatanna told me. "What about your family?"
"They'll be here in about an hour. Mom's hanging out with old friends right now," I told her.
Zatanna then pinned me down with her eyes. "And did you tell your dad about my conditions?"
"Not yet," I said. I then rested a finger on her lips as she went to reply. "I know, I know, I agree with you entirely. Buuut this is your ultimatum; you should be the one to tell him."
Zatanna pouted. "I can't help but feel like this is you avoiding a difficult conversation."
I smirked just a little. "Maybe. All right, get off of me, gonna get started on some food, no doubt Mom's gonna make a goddamn feast when she hears the news. Probably invite the entire Guerrero side of the family."
"Yup," Zatanna said. I noticed that her eyes darted away, and she began to look nervous.
"What? You nervous my Mom will be angry with us? I mean sure, she might be a little miffed we didn't wait until after marriage to have the kid, but she'll forget about it in no time," I assured her.
"Mhmm," Zatanna hummed. She then got up and went upstairs without any further explanation.
Silver Bolt and I shared a glance before shrugging. "Perhaps it is more morning sickness?"
I looked at the clock above my TV. "I mean, it's nearly 5:00 PM but sure. I don't know what a pregnant woman's body is like. I'm gonna make some food, wanna help?"
An apron dropped from Silver Bolt's neck and a hologram created a chef's hat on his head. "Ready!"
I smirked and headed over to the kitchen.
One Hour Later
Zatanna
The doorbell rang and I got out of the guest room and walked downstairs. The smell of food hit my nose and I closed my eyes in delight before I headed over and opened the door to see Eric's family on the other side.
Ashley had a knowing smirk on her face while Daniel waved in greeting. Esmeralda was the one in front, so once the door opened, she immediately wrapped me in a tight hug. Nova hopped off of her shoulders and onto mine and nuzzled my cheek with his.
"Hey, Zee! Papa told us Eric called but said that it was better to talk in person. You know what about?" She asked.
I smiled gently and patted her back before I let them in. "I might have an idea."
Ashley walked over with a little chuckle and gave me a quick hug before she sniffed the air. "I knew I raised you right," she said as she entered the kitchen.
"'Course you did. But, uh, mind helping?" Eric asked.
Ashley chuckled. "What're we making?"
As the three of them cooked, I looked to Esmeralda and Daniel. The former flopped down on the couch and turned-on Eric's PS4 to play one of the games while Daniel sat down next to her.
Well, it's now or never.
I walked over to Daniel and jerked my thumb towards upstairs. "Hey, Daniel, can we talk?"
He and Esmeralda shared a glance before he got up. "Is this about what Eric called us over for? Wouldn't it be better for Ashley to come here?"
"It's related yes, but this is just for you," I said.
Daniel arched a brow and studied me for a moment. God, Eric looks just like him when he does that. Daniel eventually nodded. "All right, lead the way!"
As the two of us went upstairs, I noticed Eric looking at me. He gave me a reassuring nod before returning to cooking.
I then led Daniel over to the master bedroom, making sure the guest room/future nursery was closed. Once inside I locked the door and grabbed Daniel's hand and gently sat him down on the bed.
"Okay, so, you won't understand everything I'm going to tell you now, but you'll understand it all when my family gets here, okay?" I began.
Daniel slowly nods with a confused face. "Right…"
"Frankly put, I need you to make up with your mom," I said. His face became blank, and he began to stand up. "Yats," he grunted as he sat back down.
"I see why Eric doesn't like that word anymore," he muttered. He then sighed and rested his head on his folded hands. "Okay, make your case."
I sighed as I tried to find the right words. "I mean, I made my case earlier. Right now, you can't know all the details, but in a few hours you will. But I'm just saying, if you want to…be there," shit, was that too big a hint? Doesn't look like he understands. "You need to make up with Morrigan, no ifs, ands, or buts."
He took a deep breath through his nose. "Zee, she abandoned me, my brother, and my Dad when I was a kid, I don't really see myself making up with her. I mean, even if circumstances aren't the same, I feel like you of all people would understand."
Wow, and I see where Eric gets his bluntness from. "Okay, won't lie, that hurt a little, but I'll let it slide. But like you said, the circumstances weren't the same. Maybe if you ask Morrigan she'll tell you everything."
Daniel sighed deeply. "Doubt it. Can I go now?"
"Sey," I chanted.
Daniel got up and stretched his legs before he walked over and paused at the door. He then turned his head to look at me. "Look, Zatanna, you're pretty much family at this point, and I'd do anything for you, but this? I-I don't know."
I gave him a reassuring smile before resting a hand on his shoulder. "I think you'll change your mind in a few hours."
Daniel hummed. "We'll see," he then left the room.
At least, I hope he does.
Three Hours Later
Eric
The doorbell rang again, just as I was pulling some food out of the oven. "Esme, get that!"
"In a raid right now!" She shouted back.
Mom was at one of the pots and Silver Bolt was putting water in the cups. Damn, can't ask them.
"I've got it," Dad said. I then listened as he got up, opened the door, and greeted Zatanna's family. "Finally! I've been waiting patiently for this news Eric and Zee have for us."
I could picture Zatara's blank face. "Yes, "patiently". Patient is calling me 23 times within the past hour."
"It would've been double if Mama hadn't stopped him," Esmeralda said.
"Mhmm," Mom agreed with a nod. "Food should be done in a few."
"Sweet," Rachel said.
A smell caught my attention and I quickly turned off the oven then opened it. A little burnt, but it won't be too bad, completely edible.
Mom sniffed the food before looking up at me with a smirk. "Huh, you haven't burnt food since you were a kid. What's this about?"
Can't tell her about the pregnancy just yet, I just look away and rub the back of my neck. "Uh…nothing," yeah, that was convincing. Nice one, Eric.
Mom just studies me for a few seconds before shrugging. "Whatever you say, mijo."
I turned my face away and let out a breath of relief. Damn, that was a close one. But man, can't wait to see Mom's surprised face when she learns about the pregnancy.
She won't see it coming.
"All right, why'd you call us here?" Esmeralda asked as soon as she finished wiping her mouth with her napkin. "You guys retiring? You joining Zee on a tour? You going to space again?"
Mom just chuckled and pulled Esmeralda down by the shoulder. "Calm down, Esme, I'm sure it won't be anything too big, right?"
Zatanna and I shared a nervous glance, and I noticed something in her eyes, but considering my current heartrate, I couldn't really concentrate on that.
Zee and I took deep breaths and held each other's hands. The two of us had a silent conversation before I nodded and looked to the others.
"Well, I'm just gonna say it—Zee's pregnant!" I announced with a big smile on my face.
The reactions were as expected.
Rachel's eyes widened as she stared ahead blankly, blinking a few times. Esmeralda gasped dramatically and had her hands on her cheeks. Dad choked on his water and thumped his chest. Zatara looked between the two of us before a smile grew on his face. And Sindella got up and tightly hugged the two of us.
"Oh, this is amazing! Ten years away from my family, and now to come back to this? This is the best!" She cheered.
"Thanks, Sindella," I said, patting her back.
Wait a minute… Mom.
I looked to see her just drink some more wine with a smirk on her face. She noticed me looking at her and her smirk just grew.
My eyes narrowed. "You knew. When? When did you find out?"
Mom hummed and tapped her chin with a finger. "What was the name of that zombie you fought again?"
My eyes widened at that. "Since Grundy!?" I then turned to Zatanna. She avoided eye contact and nervously rubbed her left arm with her right hand. "You told her before me!? (What the hell!?)"
"Hey, I had to be a hundred percent, 'kay!?" Zatanna shouted back.
"You got a phone, Zee! Use the internet!" I replied.
Zatanna bumped her forehead against mine. "The internet never had to deal with two pregnancies, Er!"
Damn, got me there, but I'm not admitting defeat. I pushed my forehead against hers. "Pregnancy tests!"
"Then the cashier would know, and you'd get mad that they knew before you!"
"Who gives a shit about some random cashier!? Besides, self-checkout's a thing!"
"Why the hell are you going ballistic, man? Would you be like this if I told your mom about an engagement before you?"
Esmeralda jumped in her seat. "You're engaged!?"
Zatanna and I turned to her. "No!"
We then turned back to each other. "Besides, if anything, I'd ask your parents for permission to marry you," I told her.
Zatanna rolled her eyes in annoyance. "God, such an outdated custom. You know, I basically had to force you to ask me out 'cause you were scared of me or something!"
I made a noise of hurt. "I wasn't scared of you; I was scared of him!" I shouted, pointing at her dad.
"S'that hguone," Zatara muttered. Zippers appeared over mine and Zee's mouths and zipped them shut.
Zatanna pointed two fingers at her eyes then slowly moved them towards mine, glaring the entire time. I jerked my head forward, but she didn't flinch at all.
"Oh lord…" The two of us then glared at Zatara. "Ooh, how intimidating. Honestly, I forgot how bad your arguments could be at times. Amazing, really."
"I know, right?" Mom chuckled. "Besides, does this really anger you, Eric?"
I stared at her blankly.
"Oh, right, zipper," Mom nodded. "Forgot about that. But seriously, this is great news! Let's celebrate!"
Zatanna and I shared another intense stare before she just smiled and rested her head on my shoulder. I smiled and rested my head on hers, then felt as the zipper faded away.
"Still should've told me first."
Once I said that, all hell broke loose.
It was fun.
A Few Hours Later
Zatanna exits from the bathroom, some steam followed her as she then moved over me and laid down on her side of the bed. She rested a hand on my chest and looked up at me. "You aren't actually mad, are you?"
I snorted and shook my head. "Could never be mad at you, Zee. Besides, I missed our verbal sparring matches. We should have them more often."
"You've just opened Pandora's Box, Mercer," she whispered. She then perked up and looked at her belly. "What's the baby's last name going to be?"
"Huh?" I tiredly asked.
"I mean, we aren't married…yet, so what last name will the kid take? Mercer or Zatara? Or Mercer-Zatara? Zatara-Mercer?"
I thought about it for a moment. "If they have to have both, then Zatara-Mercer's what I'd go for."
Zatanna thought about it before nodding. "I agree. But maybe just Mercer? If we have other kids that'd be their last name, may as well call the first one Mercer too."
"You didn't listen to a thing I said but sure. If that's what you want, it's what you get," I agreed. "Zackary Mercer."
Zatanna shook her head with a smile. "So sure it's Zack, huh?"
Before I could reply, my phone screen lit up. I looked to see a text from John.
John: We're talking about the mission tomorrow morning. Tell Zee.
Me: Right.
I locked my phone and turned to Zatanna, an arm over her stomach. "Meeting tomorrow morning, it's important."
"About the timeline you guys went to?" She asked.
I nodded. "About the timeline. We can tell the others about the pregnancy too," something then crossed my mind. "Wait, would it be safe for you to use the Watchtower's teleporters?"
"I'm not sure," Zatanna hummed. "I know I can use my magic, Mom told me that, but it'll drain faster. And if I use too much…"
I held her a little tighter. "You know your limits. But as a precaution I'll have Esmeralda take us there tomorrow."
"Okay. Goodnight," she kissed me before turning off the lights.
I yawned one more time. "Goodnight."
The ensuing dreams were great.
Watchtower
Wally finally entered. "Sorry, sorry!"
"Finally," John groaned. He then stood up and went to the head of the room, Bruce did the same. I squeezed Zatanna's hand one more time before I stood with them. "All right, let's get this meeting started."
As he said that, the holographic lock on our side of the door turned red, showing that there would be no way any electronics would go in or out.
"This had to be a big mission if you waited a whole day for the briefing," Clark commented.
"What's this about?" Victor asked.
John and I shared a glance before he nodded towards me. I looked to Bruce who just nodded. I took a deep breath and got started.
"Yesterday, a man named David Clinton appeared on the Watchtower and tried to steal one of Bru- Batman's belts. Green Lantern, Batman, Wonder Woman, and I confronted him," I began.
Diana blinked in confusion. "What? I don't remember any of this."
"Well, that's the thing, David Clinton? Doesn't exist. Not yet, at least," John said.
Wally and Victor shared a confused look. "What?" They both asked.
"Clinton was a time traveler," Bruce said. "We don't know when from, but he came to the past for some unknown reason. He'd attempted to escape and the four of us followed after him, only to end up in Oklahoma in the 19th century."
"Clinton had been robbed by a local bandit who used his tech to bring back weapons and take over the town of Elkhorn. We met up with some lawmen, took down the bandit leader, and Clinton jumped to the future, we followed," I said.
Using his ring, John created an image of the Apokolips War Gotham. "We were sent nearly two decades in the future, one where Darkseid won."
The temperature seemingly dropped as the possibility of that sunk in.
"H-how?" Wally asked.
At that, my gaze flickered from Clark to Victor. "In that timeline, the League attacked Darkseid on Apokolips, before he could attack us here. It was bad, real bad. Thing is, Darkseid found out because of Victor's tech."
The others reacted quickly, though Diana seemed the readiest to attack. Guess the wounds from Shayera's betrayal still burned hot.
John quickly created constructs that pushed the others down. "It wasn't his fault."
"Then how'd it happen?" Oliver asked.
"Deep down, there was something in that Cyborg that let Darkseid see things through his cybernetic eye. For all we know, he could be watching now," Bruce said.
J'onn furrowed his brow. "But Darkseid is dead. After allying himself with Braniac the two blew up."
"True, but we still can't let this program continue. For all we know some other Apokoliptian New God is watching us right now," Victor said.
He closed his eye and the cybernetic one dimmed a little and the rest of us watched in silence for a few minutes. But he then opened his eye and shook his head. "I-I can't find anything foreign in me. No trojan programs, no nothing."
Bruce hummed and John looked to Clark, the two of them began planning.
Zatanna then raised her hand. "What if you and Eric fused?"
Victor groaned at that. "You know how I feel about that…"
"Yeah, but a few moments of discomfort should be worth it to stop Apokolips from eventually winning, right?" Zee countered.
Victor and I shared a glance before he sighed in defeat. "Fine."
"What are you doing?" Diana asked.
I dialed through the Omnitrix and transformed into Upgrade. "I'm going to fuse with Victor, the two of us will then look for anything that shouldn't be there."
"But if Vic can't find it why can you?" Oliver asked.
"Because, whatever this is has been with me since I became Cyborg, it knows me in and out. But it knows nothing about Eric," Victor said.
"But we also need to be careful," I said. "Even though Victor recognizes me as a friend, his defense systems deep down will only see me as an invasive virus. And if we stay fused for too long…"
Oliver looked between the two of us. "What? What'll happen?"
Victor shrugged. "We're not sure exactly, but we think we'll be irreversibly fused. But hey, we'll only be in unimaginable pain and suffer for a few hours before our hearts give out and we both die."
Everyone else stared at us with wide eyes.
"High-five!" I said. Once our palms connected, I morphed over Victor's cybernetics, turning them from silver and red, to black and orange.
"Beginning the Apokolips Purge in three…two…one."
Victor's Cybernetic Mindscape
I opened my eyes with a groan to see I'm in Victor's version of Detroit, but it looks very different. For one, the sky's red, flocks of Parademons fly through the sky, and it looks like the water's on fire.
This is nice.
There was a screech, and I looked up to see a Parademon fly down from the sky towards me. It raised an axe high and was ready to swing, but a burning football flew through the Parademons head and killed it.
Interestingly enough, instead of simply losing its head, the head exploded in a burst of pixels, and once the body hit the floor it also exploded in pixels.
I looked at where the football came from to see Victor, in human form, standing behind me. He wore a letterman jacket that was silver with red sleeves. A machine was next to him, which launched more footballs that killed more Parademons.
I calmly walked over and leaned on the machine and the two of us watched as digital Parademons were destroyed. "So, what happened?"
"Now I know exactly why I couldn't find the program. It was intelligent, and would rest most of the time, only waking up once certain keywords were said," Victor told me.
"So, if we said, "New Gods, Apokolips, Darkseid" or anything else it'd activate?" I replied.
Victor nodded. "If it were constantly active, I'd have found it years ago. But I don't know where it is exactly, can you find it?"
I looked down at my right hand and watched as pixels washed over it, once they moved away, I saw Upgrade's hand. The pixels washed over my body and I transformed into Upgrade. My eye beeped like a sonar as my head turned. A ping then came from the north-east.
"There," I pointed.
The football launching machine then transformed into a car that Victor and I hopped into.
Victor began driving, Digidemons would occasionally come and try to blitz us, but I'd transform my arm into diamonds and fired shards at them, destroying the virus' avatars.
As Vic drove, I continued to fire diamond shards, but then, for seemingly no reason, the Digidemons all stopped, turned around, and flew towards the north-east. The exact direction we were driving. Lovely.
"We-"
I was interrupted as a green beam of energy exploded up into the air, the force of its sudden appearance caused Victor to skid. But not for long, as the wheels shifted, and the car became a hover car.
Victor eventually regained control and the two of us watched in awe as the Digidemons circled around the beam of energy.
"What the hell?" He whispered in awe.
"I have no idea, dude," I whispered back. "But it's the source of the Apokolips spyware. Let's check it out."
"Hm," Victor hummed before driving towards it.
As we neared the beam, it began to take shape. An arm burst from the left, then another from the right. Two wings unfurled from the back. A massive groan shook the air as the beam took shape and became a giant Digidemon.
It roared loudly as a blade of digital flame appeared in its right hand, and a shield with an omega in its right.
"FOR DARKSEID!" It roared. The swarm of Digidemons echoed its roar.
"Take that thing out and it's all done?" Victor asked as we neared the massive Digidemon.
I closed my eyes and sensed. I then shook my head. "It's a cover. The spyware's deeper in. I'll deal with the big guy and the swarm; think you can handle the virus?"
Victor nodded. "I can handle it."
"Good," I replied. I then clapped his shoulder before hopping out of his flying car. "I've got you covered!"
As I fell, my body was covered in an orange light, once it faded, I swung my arm out as Atlas, destroying about a fourth of the Digidemon army. Using my left arm, I then lashed out, and punched the massive Digidemon's shin, knocking out its leg from under it. As it fell, I followed up with an uppercut to the face, sending it flying back.
I had to swing my arms out and swat more Digidemons away as I got up. The massive Digidemon then stood up with the help of its sword and pointed the end of the blade at me, shield raised high.
If there's one thing I love about being in a digital landscape, it's what I can do—using my energy powers, I created my own sword, as well as a circular shield, with clear sides that made it look like an hourglass.
As the massive Digidemon and I stared each other down, I noticed a small group of Digidemons break away, flying towards Victor. Shit.
"Vic, you've got incoming," I sent as a sort of text message in this world.
"Yeah, I know," he replied.
I nodded before focusing back on the massive Digidemon. I held my blade tighter and shifted my footing, the Digidemon did the same.
The two of us stood against each other, the swarm backed off, floating in a circle around us they watched. I kept my defense up, waiting for a moment to strike. And just like that, the moment opened. So much for computers being perfect.
As soon as the Digidemon takes the wrong step, I lashed out, slamming my shield into its own, knocking it away. I went for a stab, but the Digidemon sidestepped it, so I stabbed more of the smaller Digidemons instead. Not the big guy, but a good Digidemon is a dead Digidemon.
My massive opponent elbowed the side of my head then followed up with a knee to my abdomen that knocked the air out of my massive digital lungs. As I coughed, the Digidemon raised its flaming blade high and struck down. I blocked the attack with my shield and then angled it, sending the blade down and cutting into a digital recreation of a building, more Digidemon's were destroyed as well.
I then slammed my shield into its side and swiped upward, cutting its right eye. Instead of bleeding, the cut had numbers of code waft out from the wound.
The Digidemon roared before trying to slam the side of its shield into my abdomen. Using my super speed (still surprised To'kustars have that) I ran back, before dashing forward, shoulder checking the Digidemon in the chest, sending it tumbling back.
While it was down, I walked over and stomped down on its chest. I then erased my shield, held my blade in both hands and raised it high. "This was a fun fight," I then brought my sword down and destroyed the massive Digidemon.
The Digidemon swarm that was left all roared in response and all convened in front of me. One in front had the same weapons as the massive one, and aimed its flaming blade at me. "For Darkseid!"
The swarm echoed its cry.
Now, I could stay as Atlas, swing my arms around, use my energy attacks. Or…
I transformed into Buzzshock, and after absorbing the necessary amount of ambient energy, I created my own army of clones. I floated in front of the group and pointed at the lead Digidemon.
"For-" I paused. I have no idea what I'm doing this for. Saving Victor? Stopping Darkseid? Avoiding that specific future? Eh. "For kicking ass!"
My Buzzshock army cheered before we charged towards the Digidemons, who did the same.
"Damn, damn, damn!" Victor shouted as he did another barrel roll.
When Eric warned him of the incoming Digidemons, he thought he'd be fine. This was his head after all, if he thought about destroying the Digidemons, they'd be destroyed. But of course, it wasn't that simple.
The first thing Victor did when he entered his digital landscape was attempt to get rid of the virus, but it didn't work. Something fought back, stopped him from getting rid of it all in one fell swoop.
This Apokolips spyware was a lot stronger than he initially expected.
Victor was pulled out of his thoughts as one of the Digidemons slammed into his flying car, knocking it off course. "Shit!" He cried as the car nearly crashed into a billboard.
Normally Victor would have just deleted the billboard, but that was the other thing—as he got closer to the source, his control weakened. Whatever's waiting for him, it's got almost as much, or maybe even equal, power as him in his digital landscape.
That was a very concerning revelation.
Two of the six Digidemons latched onto the right side of the flying car, and with their sudden weight the vehicle began to careen out of control.
Seeing no way of course correcting, Victor turned the car, full sending it towards a building, and at the last second, he jumped off and metallic wings sprouted from his back, keeping him afloat while the car exploded, killing the two Digidemons.
"For Darkseid!" One of them shouted as it tackled him and sent the two of them flying away.
Victor elbowed the back of the Digidemon twice before transforming his arm into its metal form. A blade then popped out of his elbow and his third attack hit the Digidemon in the base of the skull, causing it to shriek before exploding in a mass of green code.
'Three down, three to go,' Victor thought to himself.
Two of the Digidemons, both with axes, rushed Victor, one to the left and the other to the right. As they neared, they reared their weapons back and swung, Victor ducked the attacks and his hand shifted into a sonic cannon and he destroyed the one to his right. His left arm then became metallic and quickly shifted into a shield as he blocked the axe strike from the other Digidemon.
As the two fought, the remaining Digidemon swung in from behind, its spear ready to stab Victor in the back, but just before it did, a green bolt of energy destroyed it. Victor risked a quickly look behind him, but the last Digidemon pushed, so Victor turned his attention back to the current threat.
But it wasn't a threat for long, as another green bolt of energy destroyed this Digidemon as well.
"Okay, that wasn't Eric, he's an orange boy, not green," Victor whispered to himself. He slowly turned around; his shield ready to protect him when he looked in the direction of where the bolts came from.
All Victor saw was a thin, rectangular green cube. It floated in place for a few seconds before dashing around a corner.
Curious, Victor transformed into his Cyborg form and floated down, still ready to defend himself at a moment's notice. As Victor slowly looked around a corner, his eyes looked around.
"Uh, hello?" He called out.
"Hello."
Victor's eye widened as he was surprised. Nothing should surprise him in his digital landscape. That can only mean one thing.
Whatever's behind him is the Apokolips spyware.
Slowly turning around, Victor saw the cause of his current troubles, and was surprised at what he saw.
It was an android, one that looked almost exactly like him, except while most of his metal was silver, the android's was gunmetal gray. And where Victor had red lights, the android had green. The other difference was the face. Instead of organic skin, most of the android's face looked like a skull, and Victor could see the green light behind its teeth.
"Greetings, Victor Stone, it is a pleasure to finally meet you," the android greeted.
Victor gulped. "Y-you're Darkseid's malware."
The android tilted its head. "Hm, "malware"," it looked back to the battle between Buzzshocks and Digidemons. "No, not "malware"."
Victor's right arm shifted into a cannon. "Then what are you?"
The android rested a hand over the green circle on its chest. "I am the Fatherbox. Upon our fusion, I was suppressed, deep within your subconscious, locked away for years. To avoid detection, I laid dormant, only to temporarily awaken whenever the moment arises."
Victor immediately knew which moments the android was talking about. "Anything pertaining to Darkseid."
"Correct," the android nodded. "For years I laid dormant, only waking for a few minutes on occasion, but now, with the mission debrief given by John Stewart, Bruce Wayne, and Eric Mercer, I have a reason to awaken. To take over."
Victor shifted his feet, ready to fight. "Let's say you do take over, what then? You're on the Watchtower, surrounded by seven Justice Leaguers in the same room, and that's not even accounting for the others on the station. You have no chance of escaping."
"I am well aware, Victor Stone, that is why I have spent the past ten minutes hacking the Watchtower's controls. In another twenty I should be able to send the Watchtower on a crash course to Earth," the android revealed.
Victor's eye widened as he realized the android was speaking the truth, it was hacking the Watchtower. An image of the Watchtower in Earth's orbit then appeared in front of him, with a projected trajectory.
"STAR Labs Detroit, seems an adequate landing point," the android said. As it said this, security camera footage appeared, showing Dr. Silas Stone working in the lab right now.
Victor's eye narrowed as he snarled and aimed his cannon. "That ain't happening you son of a bitch."
"Incorrect, I am no son, I am a Fatherbox," the android's head lowered for a moment before it aimed its cannon at Victor. "Correction: I am Grid."
Then they fired.
Watchtower
Zatanna
I continued to tap my foot against the ground before turning to Oliver. "How long's it been?"
He lazily pulled up a holographic screen and looked at the time. "25 minutes since they started. Does it normally take this long?"
I shook my head. "Last time they did this it took about five minutes, had to deal with a virus some forgettable villain hit Vic with. Then again, that was a forgettable bad guy, this comes from Darkseid, far from forgettable."
Oliver hummed before leaning back in his chair. He stared up at the roof for a few seconds before turning to me. "Hey, so Dinah told me a little something, something."
"Is it that we first met years ago at the Himalayas?" I replied with a smirk.
Clark perked up in surprise in his seat. "Wait, you two met at the Himalayas?"
I nodded. "Mhmm. I'd just turned 13 and this was a few months before Mom was taken to the Hidden City. I was practicing my magic and happened to drop in on her. We had a little adventure, met a yeti, rode on some snow leopards, and had an all-around great time. If you get the chance, I'd recommend it."
"Haven't met a yeti before, but I would love to," Clark replied with a smile. Huh, Jon has the exact same one.
The door opened, and Wally walked in with a whole tray of food. "Hey, hey! How's it going? Oh, wow, still at it, huh?"
Suddenly, Victor's Upgrade covered arm jerked, surprising all of us. Wally threw his food high into the air, a buffalo wing landed on Bruce's shoulder.
Bruce looked down at it, then slowly turned to Wally with a batglare. "You're going to clean all of this up, and then, you're going to clean all of the bathrooms for a week, understood?"
"Y-yes sir!" Wally squeaked.
"Good," Bruce hummed. He then turned to Victor after taking the buffalo wing off his shoulder and then dropped it in Wally's hands. "Any idea what that was about?"
Even if it was a general question, it was aimed more at me since I knew more about Eric's aliens than anyone else. So, I shook my head. "Like I said, the longest they've ever been like this was five minutes, we've been in uncharted territory for a while now. Maybe Victor's body is starting to fight against Upgrade."
"Great," Bruce commented as he watched Wally continue to clean.
As Wally cleaned, the smell of all the food, buffalo wings, chili cheese fries, cheeseburgers, and steak began to come together and pretty much jumped my sense of smell. I groaned and covered my nose.
"Ah hell," I whimpered.
The others looked at me in concern, and Diana gently held my wrist and rubbed my back. "Sister? Are you well?"
"Perfectly fine," I dry heaved. "Moderately fine."
I looked around and noticed the reactions to my current predicament. Clark's and Bruce's were the ones I focused on. Clark's eyes widened in surprise, and he had to hide his smile behind his fist. Bruce and I made eye contact before he nodded, a barely noticeable smile on his face.
Well, they know.
"Wally, get rid of the food already!" John barked.
"I'm on it, I'm on it!" Wally replied as he put all of the food in a bag then sped out of the meeting room then back in. He then sat down in his seat and looked around. "Well, while we're waiting… Shayera."
The mood instantly shifted. Oliver and I shared a glance while John sunk in his seat a little and Diana scowled.
"What about her?" Diana grumbled.
"Well, she's back on the League, something we all- most of us, agreed on, but what about her position? I mean, her chair's still open, and we've got another space for the last lieutenant. We gonna let her in or what?" Wally asked.
Before Diana could reply, Clark raised his hand. "One thing at a time, Wally, please. Besides, you and J'onn haven't chosen your lieutenants yet."
"Right…" Wally replied. He then hunched down in his seat and began to mutter names of Leaguers to himself. It's amazing how quickly he can change what he's focusing on.
But as Wally was getting through the F names of superheroes, Upgrade suddenly lashed out, surprising us all again.
We watched with bated breath as Upgrade lashed out again, this time from Victor's left leg. Victor's fingers would clench and unclench, parts of Upgrades orange lines would intensify in brightness, then they'd calm down.
I could feel my heartbeat quicken. Are they okay? Victor's body isn't attacking Eric, is it? They-they have to be fine, both Eric and Victor. Oh god, oh god…
"J'onn, can you do anything?" Bruce asked.
J'onn got up and walked over to the two, stopping just a foot short, since Upgrade's only lashed out a few inches from the body. J'onn's eyes then glowed as he attempted to read their minds.
"It is difficult. The Omnitrix protects Eric from anything further than reading his surface thoughts, the same with Victor's cybernetics. To have them both together makes it difficult to read even their surface thoughts," J'onn said after a few, very tense moments.
Wally turned to me with a worried frown. "Can't you do something? Magic or whatever?"
I nodded shakily before turning to them. Remember Zatanna, don't use too much, you just need to see if your friend and boyfriend are all right, that's all. "Daer rieht sdnim."
The first thing I saw from Victor's view was what looked like an android. An android that looked a lot like him, just scarier and more green. And Eric's view showed what looked like a weird Galvanic Mechamorph, it was scarier looking, with sharp edges and shit instead of Upgrades smoothness. And its lines were blue, which was weird, since most Galvanic Mechamorphs had orange lines.
I exited their heads and turned to the others. "They're fighting…I don't know, themselves? Victor's fighting a robot that looks like him, and Eric's dealing with another Galvanic Mechamorph."
Clark arched a brow in confusion. "I thought Galvanic Mechamorphs stayed on Galvan B?"
John blinked in confusion, and I noticed him and Bruce share a confused glance.
That was weird.
"But are they fine?" Diana asked.
I slowly nodded. "They should be, as long as they can handle whatever's in there," Victor jerked again. "We should probably tie them down," an alarm went off. "WHAT THE HELL!?"
J'onn quickly activated a holographic screen and quickly scrolled through. "Someone is attempting to activate the Watchtower's thrusters! They mean to crash it into the planet!"
"Not again! Where's it coming from? We can send a team out to stop the hackers!" Clark shouted over the alarm.
J'onn continued to scroll through the screen before he stopped. His head slowly turned to Victor and Upgrade, and so did all of our heads.
"From inside."
Inside
Eric
So, met my Malware. That's cool.
Looks just like the one in Omniverse, except he's blue instead of red.
"I will tear you apart and use your skin as a cloak!" He shouted as he slashed at me with his claws.
Oh, and he's a little…unhinged.
While I was dealing with the Digidemon army, the remainder of their forces stopped, and just destroyed themselves. While me and my army were confused and looking around, three of my clones were taken down in one go. Chaos ensued, and after transforming back to normal I saw that what destroyed my clones was Malware, or whatever he's going to call himself.
For a second, I was confused before realizing who it was and flew after him. My clones and I circled Malware, attacking him with electric potshots, further angering him. He then roared before stomping on the ground, spikes appeared and skewered most of my clones, leaving me with three others left.
The three of us then fused and I transformed back to normal, leading to my current situation of avoiding his claw swipes.
With a loud roar, Malware slammed his right claw into the ground, getting it stuck in the cybernetic sidewalk. Before he could get it out, I ran along his arm and kicked the side of his head, jumped off his shoulder, and kneed him in the side.
After stepping back a little I slammed my fists together and an orange ring went around my body and transformed into Feedback. With a roar, I fired electricity from the plugs on my right hand.
The blast of electricity engulfed Malware and I could hear as he cried out in pain. But eventually the screaming faded away. I stopped my attack and was surprised to see that Malware was gone.
"What the…?" I whispered.
I choked and squeezed as Malware sprouted up from the ground behind me and began to squeeze on my neck. "Transform into Upgrade!" He shouted before throwing me into a statue behind him.
I spat out some blood and wiped away the little trail at my bottom lip. "Now why should I go and do that?"
I looked up to see that Malware was twitching. Galvanic Mechamorphs had semi-liquid bodies, though most of the time their bodies were solid, but for this Malware it looks like he's having a hard time keeping a semi-solid form.
I think I know why he wants me to do that.
Malware's arms shifted into nasty looking blades, he crossed his arms in an X shape over his chest and then held them down at his sides before running at me, both blades scrapping against the sidewalk.
I slammed my fists together and transformed into Diamondhead. My arms then shifted into blades, and I ran towards Malware.
The two of us clashed and began to push against each other. Thanks to my natural build as a Petrosapien I was able to push him back. But then he used his fluidity to his advantage and circled around me, slashing my side, and going for a stab in my back. All it did was push me, but I could feel the scratch against my diamond skin as the blade tore through my suit.
I turned around and tried to hit Malware with a right hook, but he dodged and lashed out towards the Omnitrix crest.
Can't let him touch it, if he does it could go bad.
Malware roared before stomping down, the ground between us quickly matched his look, and I jumped high into the air to avoid it. As I began to fall back down, I created a semi-sphere in front of me and slammed into Malware, smirking at his cry of pain.
But my little victory quickly went away as I watched Malware's fingers stretch out and they slithered around my shield.
The shield and my body gained a multitude of spikes, making him cry out in pain. I then jumped out of the shield and spun around in a circle before breaking the shield away from my arms and sent him flying.
As I watched Malware fly away, Cyborg slammed into the ground next to me.
"Hey," I greeted, still watching Malware fly away.
"Hey," Cyborg groaned, slowly getting up as his digital body repaired itself.
"What're you dealing with?" I asked.
"Evil android version of me. You?"
"Evil Galvanic Mechamorph."
"Oh, that sound like fun," Cyborg replied.
I slowly nodded. "It is."
"ERIC!" I heard Zatanna's voice shout.
"What?" Cyborg asked when my head jerked up.
"Zee's calling. Sounds important. Think you can handle these two for a bit so I can see what's going on?" I asked.
Cyborg nodded as two giant mechs appeared next to him, an army of various robots, and the buildings around him shifted into defense towers with turrets and the like atop them. Yeah, I think he can handle them.
"Just don't take too long," he responded.
"I won't," I promised before logging off temporarily.
Watchtower
My head peeked out of Victor's shoulder. Once my vision returned, I saw Zatanna, Oliver, and Diana in the meeting room with panicked looks on their faces.
"Where're the others? What's going on?" I asked in confusion.
"That Apokolips virus in Victor is fighting to take over the thrusters of the Watchtower and plans to crash it into STAR Labs Detroit," Diana said. "Would you happen to know anything about that?"
I nodded. "Evil Victor and Evil Upgrade are in there and being absolute problems. Don't worry, we'll deal with them."
"But we should still be ready just in case?" Ollie asked.
"Oh absolutely," I readily replied. "Never hurts to have a backup plan," I then turned to Zatanna. "How're you feeling?"
"I'm fine, what about you two?" She replied.
As if her question was a cue, I suddenly felt a headache and my chest around the Omnitrix crest felt tight. "Iffy. Vic and I are really pushing it. I'll head back in and help him with our two new friends."
Oliver nodded. "Got it. But be quick, man, I'd rather not be in the Watchtower when it goes boom, I'm not as tough as Diana and I can't exactly teleport away like Zee can."
"Don't worry, we won't crash," Zatanna assured him. "Buuut on the off chance we do you'll be the first person I teleport away with me."
"Great, Zatanna made a promise with you so now you're safe. Now if you don't mind, I've got some virus to take down," I said before returning to Victor's mental landscape.
Victor's Cybernetic Mindscape
"About time!" Victor shouted as he dodged a swipe from Malware then blocked a giant fist from his copy.
I quickly transformed into NRG and fired a beam of radiation at Malware. "Sorry, comrade. We have a problem, our friends here-"
"Are trying to crash the Watchtower into STAR Labs, I know," Victor interrupted. "Watch out!"
I looked up just in time to see Evil Cyborg slam his feet down into my face.
Now in reality that attack would've done nothing, but since this is essentially his world as well it sent me skidding back, two deep trenches created by my feet. I was able to stop myself though and retaliated with a beam of energy that he blocked.
"What is this asshole's name anyway?" I asked.
Victor leaned back to avoid a stab from Malware before kneeing the Galvanic Mechamorph in the chest. "Calls himself Grid. Who's this guy?"
"I! AM! MALWARE!" He shouted.
"He is Malware," I repeated. "Shit!" The ground below me opened up and Grid followed after, his right fist now in sonic cannon form.
As he fired sonic booms at my body, I phased out through the back of my armor then flew up at Grid, flying through it. The Apokoliptian virus struggled as my form flew through it, causing its form to shift a bit.
Using this to my advantage, I continued to fire beams of energy at Grid's back before I flew back up. But just as I did, Malware tackled me, sending us both flying into a building.
I cried out in pain as Malware's claws lashed at my back, tearing off chunks of my body. But I eventually gained enough focus to fire a pulse of energy to send him flying back.
"Oh, you are becoming a problem," I breathed heavily as I slowly got up and transformed to Swampfire.
Malware slowly got up and roared as he came running at me.
I created a fire ball in each hand and waited. Waited… Now!
As Malware leaped towards me, I lobbed the fireballs at him. The first knocked him off balance, while the second one sent him flying into a support beam. As he slowly slid down, I fired a continuous stream of flames at him, causing Malware to scream in pain as the flames washed over him.
But then the screams suddenly stopped.
I stopped the stream of flames to see Malware was gone, a hole in the ground where he…was…
Ah shit.
Malware exploded from the ground and hit me with an uppercut that sent me flying into the air, but I couldn't get very far as he grabbed me by a leg and slammed me face first into the ground. He then flipped me over again and again and again. After the fifth slam he tossed me into the same pillar and ran over and kicked me through it.
Ow.
As Malware ran towards me, I slammed a palm into the ground, and a wall of vines erupted in front of me, blocking him from his next attack. The vines did their job, Malware tore through them just in time to get four punches to the face from Hecatoncheires.
I jumped after him through the hole in the building, only to get punched out of the sky by Grid. I landed on the ground next to Victor, who was also on the ground.
"You look like you're having fun," I quipped as I slowly got up.
"It's like I'm at the carnival," Victor groaned sarcastically. "Could say the same for-"
"What?" I asked as he suddenly stopped speaking.
Not only did he stop, but so did Grid and Malware. The two shared a glance before turning back to us.
"This will not be the last time," Grid promised as he and Malware turned into code and disappeared.
With them gone, Victor's mindscape returned to normal, and I couldn't feel their presence anymore. "They're gone."
"Sweet," Victor said. "Oh, by the way, they stopped Grid from using the Watchtower as a missile."
"Sweet," I echoed. I then thought back to Grid's words as I transformed back to normal. "He was right, you know, it won't be the last time we see them."
A bench materialized behind us, and we both fell on it, letting out sighs of relief at the break. "Yup," Victor replied.
The both of us sat in silence for a while before I turned to him.
"Zee's pregnant."
His eyes widened considerably before he turned to me. "Seriously!?"
I nodded. "Seriously."
"Dude!" He shouted before hugging me tightly. "That's awesome!"
"Thanks, man," I replied with a smile. "You're the first person that isn't family to know."
"Holy shit, that's… Whoa. Well, thanks for telling me, man. Guess after this you'll tell the others, huh?" He asked.
"Of course," I replied. "Zee's gonna have to take some time away from being a superhero though."
Victor and I pulled back from the hug and looked up at the digital sky. "Man, she's gonna hate that."
I nodded in agreement. "True, but she can handle seven-ish months of waiting for the baby."
"Seven-ish months!?" Victor shouted.
"Yeah, that got me too," I replied.
"Holy shit," Victor whispered.
We sat in silence again for a few minutes before a sharp pain hit both of our heads.
"Shit!" We both hissed.
"I should get out of here," I said, rubbing my forehead.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Victor agreed with a strained voice.
Watchtower
"Shouldn't they have de-fused by now?" I could hear Wally ask.
"Doing that now," I announced as I did just that. Once separated I transformed back to normal and rubbed my head. Yeah, some sleep sounds good right about now. "I'd appreciate it if we all avoided yelling for the next few minutes thank you very much."
"What Eric said," Victor agreed as he slowly got up and moved his chair to the table. "So, how'd it go?"
"It was a close call, but we managed to shut off the thrusters. The Watchtower will be stuck in this location for 27 hours while the thrusters are repaired," Bruce answered.
Victor and I shared a confused glance. "I'm sorry, "repaired"? I thought you guys turned off the thrusters," I said.
At that Clark nervously chuckled. "We couldn't exactly turn the thrusters off so me, Kara, and a few others had to, uh… Break them."
I blinked a few times before nodding. "Oh. Cool. Anyway, Zee and I have an announcement to make."
While most of the others looked between each other confused I could notice Clark hiding a smile behind his fist and a very slight smile on Bruce's face. Of course they'd know, one has super hearing and the other is the World's Greatest Detective.
Zatanna smiled as she got up and held my hand, resting her head on my shoulder. "So, I'm gonna need some time off since, well, I'm pregnant! Eric and I are going to have a kid in about seven months!"
Those who didn't know beforehand had the expected reactions of shocked silence, and then Wally and Oliver broke the silence.
"DUDE!"
Nevermind, they shattered the silence.
Victor and I winced at the shout.
"Quiet please," I pleaded.
But it seems they weren't listening, as they both ran over and hugged the two of us, the others following suit.
While the others congratulated us, I managed to share a glance with Zatanna. The smile on her face made the headache worth it.
STAR Labs Detroit
In the basement of STAR Labs was some old tech that was obsolete. But none of that mattered, what did matter was the tech in a secret room.
Inside were the parts of Victor's old bodies during his years as Cyborg. An arm from his first year, his second left leg, the third right index finger. Stuff like that.
Suddenly, the most up to date legs jerked, and green lines appeared along them. Two legs got up and walked over to a torso that was hanging on a wall, they connected, and the green lines spread through the body. It then slowly walked over to a table and bent over so that a left arm could connect, once the connection was complete, it picked up a right arm and locked it in.
The headless body then walked over to a panel and pressed its palm against it. A part of the wall opened up and revealed the old cybernetic heads Victor used to have. At the far left was the first, and at the far right was the fourth.
The body picked up the fourth and locked it in place. Everything was nearly perfect; it was just missing 75% of its face. But that was no issue, a skull-like face was formed in the empty space, completing Grid's birth in the physical world.
Grid then lifted its left hand, and from it came a yellow diamond.
"Where do we get your body, Malware?" Grid questioned.
The yellow diamond hummed, its light intensifying as it thought.
"Yes, of course… Galvan B," Malware answered.
Grid nodded before it turned around and began the journey to the distant home of the Galvanic Mechamorphs.
Hey, it's been a while.
God, finally that chapter's done, took some time. So yeah, Grid and Malware have made their debuts, I'm excited to write them, and excited for this season of Triumphant, it'll finally answer a lot of questions that you guys may have had.
But that's enough about this story, now I wanna talk about The Vitruvian Man. I've been looking at it and I've been thinking, maybe I should reboot it like A Sinister Past. And if I do, there're gonna be a few changes I'll make to it, one big change being that I'll split the story down into three smaller ones. It's either that or I continue with it, and I'll be honest, I'm leaning towards a reboot, I can implement some stuff that it's too late to add now.
That's all from me! Remember to leave a constructive review and I'll see you next time! See you later, you beautiful people!
