Fictions Mentioned:
Episode 5 - Age of Ultron: Shattering Time
OP Song:
Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes - HQ intro
The Multiverse Theory.
The complex theory in which there are countless universes, dimensions, and realms connected to each other. Some with differences so minor that it will drive one completely insane if one were to grasp them all down to the most insignificant microscope. Others where differences are so drastic that they are very unrecognizable, almost alien to our own knowledge and understanding. But what constant remains, that constant is that each universe is separated due to the fabric of space and time.
Until now.
For in a brief moment, all of space, time, and reality broke apart like glass that was shattering into more than a trillion pieces containing a silvery lining of an infinitude of worlds. The boundary between worlds was no more in a split second, the walls of reality becoming undone. And then, it stopped, the walls reformed, but are brittle and beyond repair.
And somewhere deep within Avengers Mansion...
"Okay... What the hell was that?," Tony Stark - Iron Man, asked in concern and shock, with eyes narrowed and with a hand placed to his goatee, with grim thoughts sprouting from the back of his brilliant mind, as he watched what appeared to be a holographic projection of MV Earth-616 and more than a dozen or so Earths throughout the Marvel Multiverse.
He was still reeling in from the temporal shockwave that was felt within him, feeling the memories of more than a million or so Tony Starks to the point where it was a faint of a miracle than Tony himself haven't been driven completely mad. But he knew that the same could not be said for the others who were more or less affected by the temporal shockwave.
Based on the current readings that were being shown from the holographic monitors that were monitoring what appeared to be temporal seismic signatures that seem to be rising rapidly before eventually subsiding.
Steve Rogers - Captain America, standing alongside Iron Man and a few of the Avengers, was sporting a grim expression as he watches the holographic monitors. Captain America may not be an expert in quantum mechanicc, but he does have a basic knowledge of it thanks to all of the times when Tony would teach him regarding the subject while he would teach Tony about all of the combat skills and martial arts training that he had used during the times when he fought in the trenches and beaches of World War II. So both of them are pretty even in terms of knowledge and skills by now which in turn deepen their friendship and bonded in terms of citing ficitonal and popular references, reminiscing the times when Captain America would tell Iron Man regarding his father, Howard Stark, and the adventures that he had with him, and a bunch of other minor things that might seem trivial to others, but to them, it meant the world, which eventually meant the universe, which eventually meant the multiverse if one were to try to measure such semantics.
Although between Captain America and Iron Man, the former had much experience with the multiverse before even Iron Man was born. The former could thank the Doctor for those times of adventure when he and Bucky Barnes had to stopped a HYDRA plot one to many times, and then some. All of which in turn would make the World War II veteran not surprised about anything.
Well, almost anything...
For this sudden outcome about time seemingly shattering into a million or a billion or even a trillion pieces just had the Captain concerned as all hell.
Why now...?
Like Iron Man, Captain America would begin to bear witness to a multitude of memories that might as well be a whiplashed in his mind that was still presently aching, if the rubbing gestures of his fingers to the sides of his forehead were anything to go by. Memories not only of himself but also variants of himself from different universes, some of whom were similar while others remained different.
The World War II veteran could feel it in his metaphorical bones.
Time was broken!
Not just stopped. Not just put on the brakes like an automobile that would try to stop. No. Time was broken. And as to how, it would concern something regarding two old friends of his, or rather variants of them. James "Logan" Howlett - Wolverine and Susan Richards - Invisible Woman had travelled through time repeatedly in order to stop a dark and terrible future were the genocidal artificial intelligence known as Ultron had managed to annihilate all of humanity and all life throughout the world. At least, from what he could glean from his memories.
The attack patterns that the Ultron of that future were flawless. He managed to perform a surprise attack, shuting down all of the networks, all of the communication feeds and channels, and brought an entire world through a blackout that is seem to make the Y2K problem look like a mere joke on a tin-can. For he saw the programming of various computers, sattelites, artificial intelligences, digital and information storages all seemingly turned against mankind at the blip of a microsecond, declaring in one single decoded message that took the form of an emergency broadcast that "The Age of Men is over. The Age of Ultron has come.". And that was when the dreadful realization kicked in. And then came the panic on the streets, for all the good that did.
It was so sudden. The attacks were swift and relentless, raging throughout every single corner of the world at large. None would survive the onslaught. Humans, Mutants, Inhumans, Atlanteans, Magicians, Sorcerers, other creatures of extraterrestrial, extrasensory, and extraordinary who have hid from the nights and shadows of mankind's history, it didn't matter to whom or to which.
Even now, he could still hear the dreaded mutterings of the Ultron Sentinels, the perfect imagery and exemplar of their master, that were scouring through the burning skies, blasting every living thing within their line of sight, bringing death and destruction wherever they go too. And then came all of the dead bodies that were about to be converted into Ultron Sentinels themselves.
"Submit or perish. Submit or perish. Submit or perish," the Ultron Sentinels muttered in a cold, eerily tone, firing their aim-cannons which spread concussion plasma bursts upon the ground.
"..."
Captain America could only recall in grimace, shaking his head, preferring to unsee the things that he saw. All of his friends and families, everyone on Earth, gone in one single stroke. And the worse part was that he saw what appeared to be a variant of himself, with his iconic circular shield broken in pieces as it, along with the user himself, looking all dishelved, with his iconic uniform damaged and ripped to shreds, lying down on what appeared to be what was once an open buzzling street of Manhattan, New York which was now burning in ruins.
"Imagine the whole world begging for mercy," Ultron muttered in a eerie tone, as if commencing the final act of what might as well be a stage play written by an exquisite playright of world-renowned talent. And he was surrounded by other Ultron Sentinels that were firing their aim-cannons on the other Avengers who were fighting to their last breath.
Captain America saw Ultron from within the maze of memories that were all focused from the source of the problem which was a variant of MV Earth-616, but this Ultron seemed far too different.
It's entire sleek metallic appearance was gold chrome in color, with red photoreceptor eyes which somehow stared deep into his own soul and blue grin-like mouth, with a combination of the jack-o-lantern faceplate and a demonic ant visage with sharp antlers, with hovering boots that managed to hover the dreaded figure upon the skies.
"You know what the benefit of hindsight is, O Captain My Captain?," Ultron would say as he aimed his right palm which was about to blast red concussive beams upon the fallen Avenger holding the broken shield as if in an act of defiance even in the face of the certain death. "It's that with it, you would never know which to hit until it is far too late. For I am the future past, and time is mine to command forevermore."
And commanded time, Ultron did. At least in terms of outmaneuvering all of the Avengers and everyone else. For Ultron was not only attacking the past but also the future where he ruled forevermore, using the synthezoid Avenger, Vision, who would serve as an unwitting puppet in the grand scheme of Ultron's most diabolical plan to date.
One by one, the heroes would fall, whether in the past or in the future. The only people who have survived the onslaught was Wolverine and Invisible Woman who have travelled back in time in order to kill Hank Pym, making sure the Age of Ultron never comes to pass. But even that was a short lived endeavor, for the resulting shockwave of repeating and changing time had managed to ripple throughout the Marvel Multiverse, causing elements to leak one universe unto another, breaking like shards of glass, history unwinding and time becoming all at once, with other elements from beyond seemingly coming through the vast expanse of the void left in the wake of the shattering event that was known as the Age of Ultron.
"Well Stark, everyone, my substantially educated guess... and it's still just an educated guess...," Hank Pym - Giant-Man, sporting a grim expression as much as the rest of the Avengers who were all gathered in Avengers Mansion. Janet van Dyne - Wasp was present, sporting a grim expression, appearing to have been shaken much more as she saw things that she could not unsee, holding unto the right shoulder of Giant Man in order to find a bit of comfort to this situation. A shaken and trembling Wasp. That was already putting the situation even more grim due to the fact that one of the more optimistic and bubbly Avengers was shakened to her core.
"To destroy Ultron, Wolverine, or rather, a Wolverine, repeatably abused the space-time continuum," Giant-Man took a slight glance towards Wolverine.
"Yeah, I noticed that, Pym," Wolverine spoke grimly, with eyes narrowed and arms crossed, still stewing the memories of his many variants, especially the variant that came from that specific future where Ultron had won at last. These memories were from his perspective a "gigantic pain in my ass" to put things in a vulgar fashion. Gathered alongside him were his fellow X-Men, Avengers as well by name and choice, who were also just as concerned as Wolverine was.
"We broke the space-time continuum," Iron Man muttered gravely, in an ominous tone.
Truth be told, he was not at the least surprised regarding this outcome. He had been preparing contigency plans ever since Ultron had first appeared so many years ago. But then there was this incident which would further remind him of another future that he had encountered. A world where Ultron had won by using a weapon taht Iron Man had invented which sent the world into a holocaust, with Ultron being the last one standing. And it was in that same future where Kang the Conqueror had been gathering army after army in order to destroy Ultron, only for it to fail time and time again, resulting in an eternal time loop that was shaking the multiverse apart. That incident reminds him of what happened now. For they were all connected.
For Tony Stark was a futurist. It was his job to connect the dots as it were in order to predict flucations on the advancement of science and technology. And the proposed Ultron Singularity was one such event that made him payed very close attention.
For Ultron had always represented the greatest fears of mankind regarding technology. The topics — hydrogen bombs, doomsday devices, the Cold War — that was being tackled in retrospective with regards to the '60s are now anachronisms or givens. There is, however, an original component from the conception that's remained completely relevant — the twin ideas of artificial intelligence and a technological singularity.
Ultron brings out the worst in people, the main proof of which could be found in his creator and father, Hank Pym, Iron Man's best friend and fellow scientist. Ultron becomes a symbol of shame, disappointment, and failure for Hank Pym no matter where or when he goes too. Both Ultron and Hank Pym would draw from this dark reservoir of contempt and frustration throughout the years, with the latter always trying to make up for his creation, but not always with good results. The term 'Yellowjacket' still rings true to haunt the scientist who carried that particular name.
"Yes, and I think we're lucky we still exist in a cohesive linear reality," Captain America said grimly.
"The Doctor warned us about this though," Carol Danvers - Captain Marvel said, sporting a grim and concerned expression, with arms crossed. "He knew that this would happen. He warned us that time hasn't been right since that fiasco between Ultron and Kang."
"And now that it did, the question remains as to why. Why now? We've altered the space-time continuum before. Time travel has always been a part of our lives," Dr. Henry McCoy said grimly, sporting a concerned and pondering expression.
"But this... This may have been one time too many, and the Doctor did warned us about this. Like an expert general, Ultron took advantage of the situation, indirectly manipulating and exploiting a weakspot that we, or some variant of us, would cause sometime in the future. The Doctor knew that we at some point would use time travel to try and put a stop to Ultron, and now... it's our turn to pay the price when we least expected it." Captain America said grimly.
"Dear god...," Wasp muttered in horror as she placed a hand on her head. "I could still... I could still... feel it... in my head... All of those screams... All those mes... They were suffering Hank... They were...," she muttered, almost to the point of tears, which prompted Giant-Man to embrace and comfort his wife, sporting a grim-lined mouth that would denote his displeasure at the prospect of something, or someone, affect Wasp this much.
"Are you guys seeing this?," Iron Man would asked rhetorically in a grim tone, seeing the holographic projections and chronoseismic readings. "These readings are insane. We're teetering on multiversal chaos. Plus, we know we're not alone in the universe. Imagine these tears in time and space reaching out through all of time and space. Imagine other universes affected."
"..." most of the Avengers were side-glancing each other, wondering onw just how much was time royally screwed up this time.
"So... what happens now...?," Scott Summers - Cyclops asked grimly, with arms crossed.
And at the sound of the question...
Vworp Vworp Vworp
The eyes of everyone who was in the room were beginning to widened. For they were seeing the familiar blue police box - the TARDIS - materializing just right nearby the right side of Iron Man's position, hearing the familar sound of the cloister bells that brought hope wherever and whenever it goes. But it was also a moment of realization. For when the occupant of this special police box, the Time Lord known as the Doctor, were to come here at this precise point in time, then things must be quite dire indeed.
With each second that passes at the sound of materialization that would immediately be completed, some of the Avengers such as Peter Parker - Spider-Man were gulping from their throats in anticipation. The appearance of what appeared to be scorched marks throughout the layout of the TARDIS was practicallt a warning sign that something was very wrong. For the TARDIS had always been quite well cleaned in outside appearances, barring a few certain exceptions. But this... This had all of them concerned, and all of them were now paying very close attention.
And they didn't need to wait for one second, for the Doctor would immediately step out from his box.
The moment when all of the Avengers looked at the Doctor... It was something that would find themselves in for a shock.
They saw what appeared to be the Doctor, still sporting the face of his eighth incarnation. But that sense of optimism for adventure was all but gone from his icy blue eyes that only spoke of a coldness and a determined seriousness that wasn't there before, for it was a sign that the innocent by-gone days were all said and done. His long, wavy hair was cut shorter, with a tinge of grey, forming messy curls drooping over his forehead.
His clothes were but an echo of his original look, swashbuckling and much more rugged and unkept, growing battered and frayed from action and abuse. A moleskin overcoat coloured in bottle green, with a waistcoat done in bronze paisley-brocade, wearing an ascot tie of dupioni done in midnight blue, leaving the points of the shirt's collar drooped across his shoulders as he left it open-necked and wore the ascot crookedly on his own naked also sported wrinkled tan trousers haphazardly secured by a slouching belt only buckled by an S-link chain, with a pair of caramel brown British Army Calvary boots with a set of matching leather gaiters strapped across his shins, all of which were loosely laced and knotted improperly.
Overall, he seem to be quite tired and war-weary, something that Avengers like Captain America and Wolverine would immediately recognize due to their fair share of war and death.
Was this... him...? Was this the Doctor...?
They almost couldn't believe it. And yet, somewhere deep within their hearts and minds, they know it to be true.
The Doctor would slowly and softly close the door, sporting a downcast, haunted expression. Then he turns towards each and every one of the Avengers, looking towards them with a saddened face.
There was a silence. No one could utter a single word. Who knew what the Doctor had been through since they last saw him?
The Avengers all knew that the Doctor usually appeared out of order, and they knew that between those times, the Doctor was much older or much younger than the last, sporting different faces, whether if it was this incarnation, or the Scottish fellow who played with tricks like sticks and stones, or the one with the usual clown-like getups, or other past incarnations.
So when exactly was at this point in the timeline for the Doctor?
Judging from the icy blue eyes, it might as well have been several millennial epochs of an uncountable lifetime, with a bunch of stories to tell without question, ones that could no longer fit the size of more than a dozen or so books and other forms of literature.
And at that moment, the Doctor would break the silence by uttering a word that would begin to sound the alarm for everyone on MV Earth-616 and what lied beyond.
"Avengers, gather everyone you can trust in this very room. It's time to prepare for war."
For the Last Great Time War had finally reached the shores of Marvel...
ED Song:
Justice League Unlimited Intro (1080p HD)
Incarnation(s)/Regeneration(s) of the Doctor:
The Eighth Doctor - A: Paul McGann
