Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or DC
Universal Collision: Secret Crisis
Chapter 4: Monsters across the Multiverse
Earth 616
There was a series of social clubs for the elite across the western parts of the world, and some areas of Europe. One branch of this club resided in Manhattan, tonight was a night for debauchery for the members, revelling in some of the finest food and drink, playing pool and gambling and playing cards. A man with steel boots and a trench coat shuffled a deck of cards, smirking to the better dressed elites watching him. One by one he dispensed their cards, dealing good hands that would cost him some money. Tonight though wasn't about money, it was about keeping his eyes, black as the souls of those beneath the surface of the club, out for monsters. His red iris's scanned one person after another, spotting marks like he used to do when he was a child. Only he wasn't spying for watches or jewellery, but for the things that happened underneath the social club, the exotic dancers leading prey to secluded areas for private dances, sex with married businessmen and women. The club was a place rife with blackmail, corruption and underground deals. But that wasn't what he was looking for.
What he was looking for occurred within the upper offices of the club, quiet, away from the hustle and bustle of those following their primal urges. It was in one of the square meeting rooms, where a meeting took place, watched by old portraits of sixteenth century elitists, a fireplace was lit and one of the people there stuck a poker against the logs. The young dark haired man stood up, his smart, black outfit had a pin attached to it, a red winged cross. Next to him stood an older man with a greying beard and red hair, wearing an expensive blue business suit. He held a glass of bourbon whiskey, bringing to his lips as he watched the fire.
"So what sort of dreams have we been having of late?" the dark haired man asked, his accent possessing an Irish twang.
"Dreams of failure, of destruction," a voice spoke from the head of the long table.
He was a tall, powerfully built man, as his chest strained against the old fashioned white shirt and black coat he wore. The apparent leader of the meeting had dark hair and a neatly trimmed beard. On either side of him sat two women, both seemingly the physical opposite, both beautiful in their own provocative ways. The woman to his right was dark haired and tanned skin, wearing a black outfit with gloves that stopped just before her wrists, a sheer material covered her midriff with a ruby choker around her neck, her shoulders were left exposed through slits in the black and red cloak she wore. Her physical opposite was a pale skinned, blonde haired woman, she wore a white leather coat over a white bustier, white gloves and thigh high boots over her white trousers, whilst the dark haired woman had styled her hair to her waist, the blonde haired woman had styled hers into tips at her neck.
"Dreams of opportunity," the red haired man spoke.
"Of power," said the dark haired woman.
"And dangers," added the blonde.
"Multiverses, Crises, Wars, what is our worst case scenario?" the leader asked.
"The heroes fail to stop the coming darkness, and our world and every other is overrun," the dark haired woman said.
"I highly doubt they will fail without a price," the blonde said.
"What opportunity does this give us?" the leader asked.
"The chance to gain what we are always seeking," a voice spoke from the door.
"You are late," the leader glared.
"My apologies Sebastian," a brown haired man walked into the room, adjusting the frill collar of his outfit. "But the point I was trying to make was that this is an opportunity for us to claim power, is that not why the Inner Circle exists?"
"It seems too dangerous," the blonde haired woman said.
"Of course you would say that, tell me Emma what do you see in your dreams? Redemption? Heroism?" the dark haired woman asked, smirking as her rival's skin seemed to shine for a moment.
"What do you see Selene, a crown or just an army of dead slaves?" Emma asked.
"Enough, both of you, speak your cases and we will put it to the vote," Sebastian commanded.
Selene's smirk deepened, her teasing eyes remained locked on Emma's defiant expression. The woman in white leant back on her chair and looked to her leader.
"Our continued success and above all survival is based on our ability to maintain secrecy, I do not need to remind the circle of what it has cost us," she explained.
"I agree with Emma, there is too much danger in getting involved, especially in something of this magnitude, having ultimate power is all well and good but if it costs us what we have then I'm not for it," the Irishman explained.
"Of course you would say that Thomas, you're one day away from going back to petty crime," Selene said.
"Nothing is gained without risk, we bought the new President, but why should we settle for authority in one country or another? There are forces at work behind the CIA, even behind what's left of the Avengers, rivals in the race for power, I would not have the Inner circle fall behind because we are overly cautious, Selene has not let us down before," the man with the bourbon raised his glass.
"Thank you Leland," Selene smiled.
"I received a dream the other night," Jason began and Emma rolled her eyes. "In it I saw the inner circle club attempt to gain control of an incredible power, a force of fire and rebirth, we lost control and we lost," he stated.
"So you're voting nay?" Sebastian asked.
"Not at all, in fact it has only encouraged me to seek out something much greater, the Scarlet Witch possesses control over reality, there are forces within the Multiverse that share this ability, that also possess the power to rewrite history itself, breaking the laws of time travel, there is even a mathematical equation capable of overwriting a person's free will, and there is more that Selene has told me of," Jason explained.
Sebastian then looked to Selene, who stood up and stepped away from the table.
"My plan is not based on a dream, more so on my experiences through the centuries, I have been a queen and a goddess, I sit in a room of people whom can only claim the title of monarchy," Selene explained.
"Careful Selene, you may have the wisdom of the ages, but even that can pale when compared to raw power," Sebastian said.
"And that is what I am suggesting we grab from the Multiverse Sebastian my dear, the blue tear in the fabric of our reality originated from one universe, and it spread across that Multiverse, bringing the two together, then it spread to our Multiverse, joining ours and another and another and another, the cycle repeating itself, there are now bridges to other worlds where we can claim power, technology, knowledge, if we do not seize this opportunity we will fall behind others I assure you of that," Selene explained.
Sebastian brought his hands together in deep thought, looking to the concern on Emma's face, her fear and apprehension and the expected eagerness on Leland's, his oldest friend but still the cockiest of them here. Then he looked to Jason, the newest of their circle and his arrogant certainty. He thought of a dream he had had, a different face and a coin piercing that head. His vote counted as two as he sat at the head of the table, he could break any tie, or he could dominate the other two. He finally looked to Selene, a woman he both respected and feared, because she was even more of a reminder than the Inner circle was, of the monsters that hid within the shadows of their universe.
The man at the head of the table could not help but wonder what other monsters plotted in the Multiverse.
Hank Henshaw walked through the bogs and swamps of New Orleans. He hated this place, hated having to wade through the muck and dirt whilst an alien wore his face, and lived. Half of his face had rotted, revealing the cybernetic enhancements Cadmus had gifted him with. The former DEO director reached into his pocket, checking the coordinates on the device he had been given. He walked underneath a tree, scanning the area, the end of his coat inches from the floor as his boots made the puddles around him splash. The greenery around him suddenly began to move and he snarled, turning and flashing his red eyes at the person hiding. A shot rang out and he moved, dodging the bullets fired by a gunman in the bushes.
"I don't know who the hell you are, but you made a big mistake trapping me," Hank said.
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing," the shooter ran out of his hiding place, firing his assault rifle.
He was a dark skinned man with a thick beard and wearing a gym jumpsuit. The man, as old as Hank, continued firing his rifle, the bullets bouncing off of Hank's enhanced skin. He quickly began to reload when a vine tapped him on the shoulder. The man turned, looking at the wiggling vine before slid down his mouth. He gagged his body convulsing before it was thrown into the swamp. Hank looked towards the water as a red haired woman emerged from it, standing on a platform made of leaves and vines. Her green leather pants had a plant motive to it, the slender and pale woman also wore a red jacket. She looked at Hank with a glare as she raised her hands, creating a torrent of vines from the ground.
"ENOUGH!" a voice yelled.
The vines were sliced apart and a sword pushed against Hank's neck. He looked at the wielder, a man with a mask black on one side and grey on the other, his armour had numerous tactical pouches and holsters for additional weapons attached to it.
"I would listen to the Gorilla if I were you," the masked man said.
Hank huffed, an action he quickly regretted when he saw the said Gorilla wading through the marsh. The animal's face held an intelligence and anger Hank had never seen from the animals in the wild before. The red haired woman looked at the Gorilla intrigued, stepping off of her platform and approaching him. Hank and the masked man snapped their heads around when the shooter from before rose from the marsh, yelling in anger.
"You should have suffocated by now," the man with the sword sheathed his weapon.
"I did suffocate," the man with the beard snarled.
"Intriguing," the red haired woman mused.
A clapping sound echoed through the swamp and the arrivals looked towards a tree line. The five criminals turned to where the clapping had started, each on guard, ready to kill the man who trapped them here if need be. That man emerged from his hiding place, his business suit was spotless, his beard well trimmed, and his bald head nearly shined with the sun reflecting off of it. Gorilla Grodd snarled, Poison Ivy rolled her eyes, Henshaw glared at the man, Ravager crossed his arms and Latavious 'Lala' Johnson looked at the man in confusion.
"Lex Luthor, you're looking good for a dead man," he said.
"The same could be said for you, rumours of my demise were greatly exaggerated, one thing the heroes have yet to learn about us is that we never stay gone," Lex said.
"This doesn't look like your scene Luthor," Henshaw said.
"Which is precisely why it is the ideal meeting place," Lex grinned.
"A bog created by the industrial complex, your ideal burial site Luthor," Ivy said.
"Before you attempt to murder me Dr Isley you might want to hear my proposal first, I would hate for you to have left your dear girlfriend for nothing," Luthor stated, swatting a fly away from his shoulder.
"You must have been the one to arrange my escape from Argus, not that I'm ungrateful but why shouldn't we be following the green lady's idea?" Ravager asked.
"Because Mr Wilson I find myself in the unfortunate position of admitting that I need people of particular expertise, and you need me as well," Luthor said.
"Grodd needs no one," the Gorilla's voice echoed in their minds.
"Come, let us get out of the mud and into a more accommodating environment," Lex clapped his hands together.
The air shifted in front of the criminals, who looked up in shock as a black, dome shaped structure rose from the swamp. Muck and greenery slid off of its surface, down the rows of windows that seemed to form a set of eyes at the front of the dome. That section of the structure opened and a ramp slid onto the island the gathered criminals occupied. Lex was the first to walk up, not bothering to look over his shoulder to know that the others would soon follow. Inside the dome was like walking into another world, it seemed bigger on the inside to the criminals, who noted the winding corridors and high levels that should have gone beyond the height limit of the dome. At the centre of it was a meeting room of some kind where a metallic table was set, with glasses of wine at each. Henshaw didn't doubt there was all sorts of technology packed into the table, holographic projectors for one thing.
"I thought your stepsister seized all of your assets," Ravager said.
"I may not have access to the funds of my own company anymore, but I'm still the richest man on the planet," Lex said.
"And the humblest," Lala added dryly.
"I heard you got trapped in some other dimension," Henshaw said.
"That was an alternative version of myself, time travel, it gets very complicated," Lex said.
"Gives me headache," Grodd groaned.
"You built all of this?" Ivy asked.
"Of course he didn't my dear, not alone of course," a voice spoke from one of the chairs.
It slowly turned and the group, minus Luthor widened their eyes when they saw a man in a blue coat, his face nearly covered by a thick black beard that matched the wildness of his hair. His eyes though held the same calculated intelligence as Luthor, contrasting Lex's finer clothes with an older shirt and an assortment of knives on his belt.
"Who the fuck is that?" Lala asked.
"It can't be," Ravager muttered.
His helmet hissed as he removed it, running a hand through his dark hair.
"I've read of you in Cadmus's files, Vandal Savage," Henshaw said.
"Your death was reported across multiple eras according to Argus files," Joseph said.
"And those files were correct Mr Wilson, in their attempts to stop me the supposed Legends killed multiple variants of myself across different points in time. I ended up in hell (or at least one of the many dimensions that inspired hell) and forced to revaluate my life. My rage left me, my jealousy, I began to see my motivations were petty and unwarranted, and then a second miracle occurred, Crisis and the Rebirth that came afterwards," Savage explained.
"You were brought back but retained your memories of the Pre-Crisis world," Grodd said.
"The Post-Crisis world created by the Spectre and the Paragons had a will you see, certain things had to be done, the resurrection of Queen's family members no matter how impossible them surviving seemed, the integration of multiple Earth histories and through all that one will, Savage survives, Savage is reborn, my rebirth came with a gift that matched the insight I gained in hell, a new life, a new origin…my…true origin," the man grinned.
"What is he talking about?" Henshaw demanded.
"His immortality before was based on him stalking and murdering a couple he was jealous of," Lex simplified.
"That is no longer the case, I am now a natural immortal, the world's first Metahuman gifted by a Tenth metal meteorite that fell when your ancestors dwelled in caves," Savage explained.
"So through the ages you secured resources, until you built this," Ravager said.
"Our Hall of Doom, it certainly beats that airfield hall they've got," Lex said.
"A technological monstrosity built to further the agenda of callous industrialists," Ivy said.
"Actually it is to further our agenda, I was able to access the Monitor's technology during the Crisis, including and not limited to his ability to traverse universes, the Multiverses are our oysters, you want a world of green Miss Isley, the Multiverse can offer you that and more," Lex explained. "It can offer all of you whatever you want, the chance to prove yourself better than your father," he motioned to Joseph, who narrowed his eyes into a frown, "The chance to wipe out the aliens you hate, or perhaps even regain your humanity," he looked to Henshaw and smiled when the man glared at him.
"Gorilla city," Grodd said.
"You could reverse what Green Light did to me, help me to die?" Lala asked.
"Rather I would help you to live, make your deepest dreams and desires come true, this is just the beginning," Lex smirked and took his seat at the table.
"I would need certain assurances Luthor, the last time you attempted to take over the world was a bit of a doozie, and you were teamed up with an all powerful witch," Joseph explained.
"Funny you should say that, because I have a little idea," Lex tapped a button on his chair as he spoke.
The centre of the table glowed and a hologram was created, forming a brown haired woman in black and red clothing.
"Meet the Scarlet Witch, the most powerful woman in the Multiverse, but being the most powerful doesn't mean you're invulnerable, the Multiverse and time itself are ours to traverse," Lex explained.
"Now take a seat!" a voice echoed through the hall that wasn't Grodd's.
Each of the legion candidates felt a shiver run through them, and a hand touch their shoulders. A yellow and red blur appeared behind Savage, who showed no fear at the man's sudden arrival. He was dressed in a yellow suit with black gloves and boots, his face blurred by the speed he was moving at. And much to the shock of the people present, the man was holding a baby.
"What the hell is this Luthor?" Ivy asked.
"Oh, don't tell me you're worried about the infant meat bag miss Ivy, so there is a part of you that cares about people besides your girlfriend," Lex explained.
"Don't you dare," she seethed.
"Dare what my dear, I have no interest in a former cop from that dump Gotham, you were the only thing of value to take from that place. What our dear colleague the Reverse Flash is holding dear is an infant version of a bearer of the Still Force, one of the primordial forces of the world. I call him Turtle, this little one is not like those overpowered Metahumans with an odd attachment to the Flash, he possesses power and no emotional entanglement."
"He just needs a mind powerful enough to aim him," Reverse-Flash said as he gave the baby to Grodd.
Grodd cradled the child with one hand, his eyebrows raise as the baby giggled at him.
"What plans do you have for the woman?" Grodd asked.
"Such a power is wasted in her hands, I know exactly what I would do with it," Lex said.
"Utterly waste it!"
"Oh come on, how many more surprises…" Joseph widened his eyes when he saw who walked around the corner.
The mask was familiar, orange on one side, black on the other. But the design of his tactical armour was fiercer, the swords on his back weren't Katanas but were no less deadly. The man carrying the mask was missing the same eye Joseph's father, Slade Wilson had lost, but the face was different, and the man had white hair. This Deathstroke was stood next to a bald man in a sharp business suit with a purple shirt and green tie, expensive like Luthor's and though the man was younger and lacked a beard, he still possessed an identical look of arrogance and superiority.
"Luthor, meet Luthor," Savage said.
"What the hell is this Savage?" Luthor asked.
"I told you he wouldn't take it well; I wouldn't have after all," Lex said.
"Our plans to steal the power of the Scarlet Witch and claim as well the marks of destiny require more than just a gang, they require an entire legion," Savage said.
"Fortunately I have in my hands an invention of your Earth Lex, or rather one of the Earths that made up your new rebooted world. Cisco Ramone, a mere street dancer in my world, but even the genius one of your world pathetically wasted his powers and his talent, he thought Breaches didn't work anymore, a superior mind like mine says otherwise," Lex explained.
He held up a disc shaped device, a dimensional extrapolator that conjured portals with a click.
"Direct from my Earth, my little council of super-villains," Lex raised his arms dramatically.
A growl came from one of the portals as a woman with the fur and claws of a Cheetah walked through it. Barbara Minerva bared her fangs and claws at the people in the room, nodding to the man who came through the next portal. Henshaw glared in pure fury at the man's purple skin, other than that he looked human with his dark hair and goatee. He wore a black and purple outfit and a yellow ring on his finger. Yellow energy had enveloped the alien known as Sinestro, allowing him to hover above the floor. Metallic boots clanged against the ground, red eyes glowed on a grey helmet with pipes attaching to the back pack on the new arrival's armoured black suit. Black Manta dragged the trident he held across the floor, admiring the weapon he had taken from one of his nemesis's variants. Red lightning crackled across the floor, belonging to a man in a yellow and red suit, unlike the other Reverse-Flash though, this man didn't conceal his face with his speed, and though he still wore a cowl his eyes glowed red as he surveyed the room.
"No," Luthor shook his head. "This simply won't do, I won't stand for this," he said, glaring between his counterpart and Savage.
"Ditto on that, I am not working with alien scum," Henshaw said.
"Intolerant and ignorant, how ironic," Sinestro smirked and Henshaw yelled in fury.
The Cyborg Superman let out a crater where his feet once were, launching himself towards Sinestro and pulling his fist back. Just as Henshaw was about to make contact however, Sinestro pulled his head back, easily dodging the man's punch. Yellow shackles wrapped around Henshaw's wrists and like magnets they were drawn together. Henshaw released his heat vision, but Sinestro deflected the blow. He fired a blast from his ring; the beam split and formed cuffs and chains around Henshaw's neck and heels. Weights of energy then slammed into the ground, leaving marks from their weight alone. A helmet wrapped around Henshaw's head, blocking his heat vision.
"It seems he's made his choice," Sinestro said.
"Indeed he has," Lex said, walking to the bound Henshaw.
Sinestro create a hole in the helmet, showing Henshaw's organic ear. Lex opened the palm of his hand, revealing a strange, caterpillar like creature.
"He's all yours Mr Mind," Lex said.
"What is that?" Henshaw demanded, feeling the caterpillar beginning to crawl through his ear.
He tried to move, but the constructs binding him were too sturdy. Sinestro's hand shook for a moment; he could tell the man's strength levels didn't match Kryptonians from his world. Deeper and deeper the caterpillar crawled, until it reached Henshaw's brain. Henshaw screamed and began to thrash around when Mr Mind began to imbed himself into both Henshaw's organic brain matter, and his technological processing boards. Henshaw became still and Sinestro took that as a sign to let him go. There was a blank expression on Henshaw's face, before his cybernetic eye glowed yellow and he looked around.
"The enhancements to this man's body are rudimentary, nothing my magic won't be able to account for," he spoke with Henshaw's voice, but not his pattern, pain or rage.
"You're not hiding any other brain bugs are you?" Lala asked.
"All out…perhaps," Lex grinned.
"Clever, but as I'm sure you're aware my young counterpart, we don't like having our plans ruined, we like less traitors too," Luthor looked over his shoulder at Savage, who simply smirked.
"Then I suppose there's only one way to settle this," Lex said.
Luthor nodded as green and purple pates began to surround his body. A glowing triangle with a purple Y shape on it attached to his green chest plate, lights on his thigh armour glowed green and purple gauntlets covered his hands. Luthor smirked as a green and purple helmet covered his head, a T shaped visor glowed on the helmet as he looked towards his counterpart.
"You aren't going to get your power suit first?" Luthor asked.
"I'm the superior Luthor, I won't need a power suit to deal with you," Lex said, lazily looking at his nails.
"Of all our counterparts we've met, you are the most annoying," Luthor said.
"More annoying than the one that couldn't even pronounce Nuclear properly?" Lex asked.
Luthor ignited his rocket boots, rearing his fist back to strike his younger self. Just as he was about to reach his target however, Lex clicked on the dimensional extrapolator. A breach opened in front of the armoured Luthor, and unable to control his momentum he flew through it. He crashed into a ruined and dusty road, leaving a trail of rubble behind him. Luthor got up off of the floor, looking towards the breach and Lex who poked his head through.
"Ta, Ta, happy hunting, at least try to take some of them with you," he said.
"YOU LITTLE FUCK!" Luthor yelled.
He flew at the breach, but it was in vane, it faded by the time he reached it and he slammed into the ground again. Luthor looked at his surroundings; it was some kind of ruined version of New York City. The most infamous super villain of Earth-0 looked at his surroundings and saw figures coming out of the rubble. They remained still for a moment before twitching and walking towards Luthor. He narrowed his eyes, trying to get a closer look through the clouds of dust. There weren't many things that haunted him, he was a man used to doing evil, creating monsters to destroy his enemies. Monsters were what emerged from the dust, monsters with human bodies, but grey rotted skin and an insatiable hunger for living flesh. They began to let out hisses and gargled growls.
"Oh that little prick, Zombie Earth, idiot, I'll be ruler of the Wastelands, because I'M THE BEST LEX LUTHOR!" he yelled, charging his weapons as the zombies came towards him.
Dean opened his eyes; Betty hadn't been able to sleep from Jack's driving. She was also using her phone to do her research, just as Dean expected she would. There were few details on LaFroyge's academic achievements, he was bright, winning an online chess competition, but he hadn't graduated from a university or college. Most of his work was done online, posting articles like the registration of superheroes, the certainty of the ancient alien theory and the latest blog on alternate Earths.
"You're pretty good at this," Jack said.
"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself," Betty said.
"It's okay, you can be honest, the driving makes you nervous doesn't it?" Dean asked.
"Okay maybe I am a little nervous, but I've been through worse, molten monster interrupting my date and drones literally trying to kill me in London, that was a great trip though," Betty explained.
"Yeah, so why do we suddenly believe that alternate Earths can be real when Mysterio was proven to be a fake?" Jack asked.
"Well it's understandable that people would believe him, after all we've seen, and yes, our Beck is a psychotic creep, but if he was from another Earth then who's to say he would have the same personality?" Dean explained, looking out of the window. "In the end, sometimes people just choose the evidence that suits them, a point of view that they prefer over what's truth
They were approaching the observatory Carlton worked at. The car trembled slightly as the wind blew.
"A little skittish aren't we Jack?" Dean asked.
"That wasn't me," Jack said and Dean and Betty looked at him sceptically.
They were feeling miles away from Westview what the people there experienced as a brief hurricane. Superman looked at the women with the similar costumes, the similar energy, he couldn't account for the little girl but he could already tell that the energy the blonde woman was using was photonic. One absorbed energy like him, the other became energy, the dark skinned woman in the white and black suit hovered around him. She seemed the more cautious one, whilst the blonde went straight into the fight.
"Stop," he said, taking a super charged fist to the face.
He rolled with the punch, knowing if he stood still then his opponent would damage her hand. Though Carol didn't express it outright, even with an energy charged fist, it hurt to punch the man. But she wasn't one to give up, flying around Superman and delivering a flurry of punches that he took.
"Stop," Aeon said.
There was a shockwave from one of Carol's punches, and it was Monica who knew what she was doing first. Superman followed after, analysing Captain Marvel's fighting style, the way she punched and moved around him. She was building up momentum and storing kinetic energy, converting that energy into the light of her Photon blasts. Drawing that energy outwards, her hair and body began to shine, a form popularised as her 'Binary' state. But that was only scratching the surface of what she could truly do. Kamala enjoyed it though, watching her idol fight, becoming a light so bright it shined over the people of Westview. Superman could have flown, he could have gone into the air and fought Danvers on her terms, countered with his heat vision.
But Clark thought of his battle with Zod, the destruction they spread across Metropolis, becoming an airborne target was likely to make the fight spread. So he stayed in one spot, on the ground to keep the fight in one place. In fact, he hadn't moved from the spot he landed in. Carol fired her photon blast, just as Monica flew in the way.
"Stop," she said.
Several things could have happened. Monica wasn't as familiar with her abilities as Carol was, but she knew she could turn her body into a form of energy and perhaps survive Carol's blast. Superman was fast enough to get in the way, he absorbed solar energy and Carol was basically a flying star. Even Kamala thought her idol had gone too far, and thought just for a moment of making a hard light construct between Monica and Carol. Aeon was ready to jump, but like Superman he was the first to notice there was something faster than them. A scream of agony echoed through Westview as the fused creature appeared between Monica and Carol, taking the full brunt of the blast and creating a brief burst of force that created a hurricane like wind. Kamala created giant hands with her energy, acting as a shelter for bystanders, and Superman dashed around, catching any projectiles moving towards the surrounding houses.
"Danvers stand down," Monica said.
The scream of the fused creature became clearer to Superman through his enhanced hearing. A man and woman, obvious agony, not just from an unbearable physical pain but also a pain Clark knew too well.
'Snap!' and he remembered his scream.
'No more,' he thought.
Clark began running the calculations in his head, seeing further ahead than anyone could, he planned out his attack and a landing zone on the freeway outside Westview that would result in no loss of life and minimal damage to the road. He gathered the air into his lungs and blew, and to Carol and Kamala's shock, created a wind that threw Carol high into the sky.
"What do you need to do?" he asked Aeon.
But Aeon was already running towards the suffering creature, running through even the lightning surging around it. To his surprise however Monica and Superman both stepped in front of him, not to stop him, but to shield him. He knew he shouldn't have been surprised, they were heroes.
"I have to fuse with them," Aeon said.
Monica and Superman cleared the path for him, allowing him to reach the fused monster. There was an unseen barrier between them, one that made objects vibrate when they got within a few inches of the creature. People, Aeon reminded himself, feeling his hand vibrate, his wrist break. People, who he had to save, he yelled as he grabbed onto the backs of the poor fused souls, letting marks of white and yellow spread across his skin before he became one with the rebus. His body vibrated, seeping into the canvas that was the fused being, his grey and red colours smudging the paint of their form, turning the barely visible creation into a chaotic blur. Aeon's yell echoed with the two people trapped in the state of fusion.
'Don't stop until you've saved them,' he told himself.
Fighting through that pain, he let the power take over, fighting these 'forces' that seemed to rule over one of the people in the fusion. They were incredibly powerful beings, so Aeon called upon the strength of the two individuals stuck in this state. Their lives, wonderful lives, flashed before his eyes, he understood them without having to know them, a process akin to intuition and not an invasive reading of minds. His fist slammed into the ground as he regained corporeal form, becoming the dominant guiding personality in the new armoured form that replaced the 'monster'.
Superman, Monica and Kamala looked at the new armoured form of Aeon. His armour seemed smoother, white with a yellow boots and gloves, his fins replaced by yellow lightning bolts with a lightning crest on his chest.
"I'msorryIdon'thavetimetoexplain," Aeon tried to read the reactions of the people around him.
Only Superman seemed to perceive him, and that was just barely. It was then that Aeon realised, he could not control this speed, he couldn't possibly get them to a hospital without causing destruction. Time was not what was slowing down, he was just too fast. If he unfused they would die, if he tried to get to a hospital, he could run out of control and crash through a wall, or through someone.
"Take a breath," he felt Superman touch his shoulder.
The man had a reassuring smile on his face.
"We can help these people together," Superman said.
Aeon took a deep breath, letting the blue markings cover his armour, letting the fusion pass, slowing his heartbeat and his breath rate. The fusion would pass in a bright flash of light, one would become three again, people, not a monster.
Victims and not monsters.
Two days had passed since the last full moon. Jack Russell, family name Russoff, could still taste the vampire's blood from last night. Even after ingesting enough coffee to make himself vomit, the ashy taste remained, even Vampire blood turned to ash when they died, it was what made their existence such a secret, no body to discover or autopsy. He hated what he was and what he did, but he embraced what could happen as a result of it. There was one less unrepentant monster in the world, like Bloodstone's psychotic hunters, like the berserk vampires migrating through the American states. Friedrich Nietzsche said that 'Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become one,' and Jack wondered what applied to people who hunted monsters, who were already monsters.
"RRR!" his companion nudged him.
Jack Russell had lived with his curse for most of his life, since his mother died on his eighteenth birthday, telling him of his family curse. His curse was no his choice and he had wandered alone until the day he found Ted. Jack's curse was inherited, Ted's was created, he was a scientist who was trying to make the world a better place, but permanently transformed himself into a creature of the swamps, whose very touch burned those of ill intent. Now, the Man-Thing nudged his only friend's shoulder, gesturing with his head towards the direction of Westview. A sick taste slipped down Jack's throat and it wasn't the ash of the night before.
"RRHM!" again Ted gestured to the air of the town's direction, to the aura he felt, perhaps better than Jack did.
"Yes I can smell it now, like the blood stone, like the Darkhold," he whispered, the sickness replaced by dread.
Whatever was happening in Westview was far from over.
Next Chapter 5: Paragons and Avengers
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter.
You've probably guessed who the new characters are given their descriptions and names. I based their appearances on Fancasting, some already done, others I imagined for the MCU.
Sebastian: Gerald Butler
Leland: Brendan Gleeson
Thomas: Robert Sheehan
Emma: Vanessa Kirby
Jason: Michiel Huisman
Selene: Priyanka Chopra
And that's my fancast for the collection of villains first introduced in this chapter. What about the character spying on them? Guess who he is, who would be your ideal fancast for him?
Now we all have the 'who is the best Luthor' argument. I think even Jesse Eisenberg could have been great if he was allowed to be, if the DCEU had gotten its plan clear from the beginning and took its time with that plan. I think Jon Cryer has been good, and I hoped at some point with Superman and Lois he reprises his role to match the tone of that show. Savage returns to assemble a Legion of Doom, which I picked the initial roster to each represent a villain of the Arrowverse.
Hank Henshaw for Supergirl, Poison Ivy for Batwoman, Lala for Black Lightning, Joseph Wilson/Ravager for Arrow and Gorilla Grodd for The Flash. I am aware of Tom Cavanagh's Reverse Flash's fate, but Eobard isn't the only opposite to the Flash.
On the DCEU side of things, every villain actor introduced reprises their role, but I have chosen fancastings for the new characters introduced. The DCEU Reverse Flash is Eobard Thawne, so onto our fancasting.
DCEU Eobard Thawne: Anthony Starr, yes I know he's done Homelander, but that's why, he portrays menace very well and brings a charm on par with Cavanagh's performance that also matches the character's sense of humour.
DCEU Sinestro: Luke Evans, he's great when it comes to playing morally dubious guys that think they're in the right...he also kind of looks like Sinestro.
Next time things are still not close to being resolved in Westview as across universes the Paragons discuss the Crisis, the League searches for their missing member and New Avengers come together.
