Darkness.
Several people came to and saw themselves trapped underneath a large hill, trapped in glass capsules.
One of the first to awaken is Rick Grimes, survivor of a zombie-ridden America in the year 2013. The last thing he remembered was being seconds away from death after bleeding out from a wound made by rebar and a rather cowardly horse. But his wound was healed, his Colt Python was missing, and he had no idea where he was.
Next to him, was another man: Joel Miller- another survivor of another zombie-ridden America in the year 2037, but his was more... fungal.
The two glared each other down for a moment, before Joel charged Rick, pinning him up against the wall.
"Who the hell are you?!" He asked, his mind still stuck in the winter lodge just seconds away from a golf club striking his head.
Rick didn't answer, but he kicked Joel back and onto the ground.
"Not who you think..."
Joel took a moment to recover before attempting to attack him again. Rick tried to dodge Joel's blows, but Joel's 20-year fight for survival trumped Rick's 3.5, and the former sheriff was easily overpowered and put in a chokehold by the older man.
"You're with the Fireflies! Why are you back?!"
Rick looked at him in confusion.
"Fireflies...? The hell're you talkin' about?" He managed.
Joel slowly stops putting up a fight, finally understanding his situation. Rick, now free from a chokehold struggles to catch his breath but manages.
"Am... am I dead?"
Rick scoffed, getting up from the floor.
"I don't know... I'm asking myself the same thing."
Before they could ponder their situation, loud microphone feedback cut the two off as they covered their ears.
"Greetings, heroes and villains of the Omniverse."
They both stopped as lights shined outside of their capsule, revealing several other capsules.
"In Capsule 1: Joel Miller and Rick Grimes."
They both glanced at each other, not knowing who the voice was and what was going on.
"In Capsule 2: Boba Fett and Ahsoka Tano."
In that capsule, Boba and Ahsoka stopped their fighting- A.K.A Ahsoka holding Boba in a chokehold- and looked around for the source of the voice.
"In Capsule 3: Jerome Valeska and Sara Berry."
The two psychopaths looked each other over, neither having a clue on what to think of the other.
"In Capsule 4: Isaac Clarke and Peter Parker."
The symbiote-ridden overlord glanced around for a moment while Isaac desperately looked for his co-pilot, now realizing that he is still alive after seeing his Earth be destroyed.
"In Capsule 5: Frank Castle and Kratos."
The Punisher turned to the war god, who took a fighting stance towards him.
"Finally, Capsule 6: Double Trouble and Loki Laufeyson."
The two shapeshifters glanced at each other, neither knowing what to make of each other.
"You have all been taken from your designated realities due either to your unique skills or your innate knowledge of various world-ending pandemics. Most of you fit in both."
The capsules were brought upwards, where the "heroes" see that they are in a large facility of sorts, with large, elaborate rooms, and screens projecting what could only be described as large streams branching out into every fathomable direction.
Loki felt a strong sense of familiarity with this place, almost as if he had been here, before...
"Before we move forward, does anyone need the concept of the Multiverse explained to them?"
Sure enough, everyone rose their hands.
The man groaned as he teleported himself and the team into a different room—an auditorium of sorts, with seats as well as a large projector.
"Everyone, take a seat."
Before Rick took a seat, he looked over to Frank in absolute bewilderment.
"S-Shane...?"
Frank turned to Rick, in absolute confusion.
"Who?"
The man on the stage cleared his throat.
"He isn't Shane Walsh, Mr. Grimes. Believe me, the Multiverse is a complex place..."
Rick took a seat, confusion crashing over him.
Everyone also took their seats and allowed the man to conjure a microphone and to check it.
"Ladies, gentlemen, and others. My name is Samson, and I am a Watcher." He activated the projector, revealing a map of sorts.
This map consisted of various streams of various colors branching off, stacking on top of one another, shooting off into the far distance, or stopping and turning red.
"What you see before you, is a Multiverse."
Double Trouble, Loki, and Isaac leaned forward in curiosity while the others looked on in absolute bewilderment.
"...Multiverses have great many descriptions by many different people. However, I would think of them as collages of constants and variables."
The multiversal web is navigated through, with different realities occasionally blipping to visibility.
"Every choice you made or didn't make is a separate reality. Every scenario you've been through, there's a different reality where something different happens."
Realities flew by until the image pulled back and showed a large web of different branches of realities...
"Every multiverse has an infinite number of outcomes and choices and variables... but the constants remain the same, for the most part."
He swept his hand back, and that web was pulled back to reveal that it was only one Multiverse stacked on top of another, and another, and another, and on and on for infinity.
"This... is the Omniverse. The Omniverse is the term we use to describe all of these different Multiverses."
Most of the group watched in awe, and the rest in confusion as the man pulled away at the screen, and one web was focused on. He waved his finger, and one of these many streams was enhanced, with Rick's name and face becoming fading into the screen.
"This is Universe Designation 35423, home of this Rick Grimes Variant."
The screen changed and showed Rick standing on the bridge, his blood dripping onto the floor as he rose his revolver to detonate the dynamite...
But fell to the ground due to the blood loss before he could pull the trigger.
"In this universe, you fought to protect your family that soon grew in size... after completing construction of a bridge to connect your communities, and a conspiracy to kill Negan, you failed to destroy the bridge and stop the herd of Walkers from crossing and... well, eating your body."
The Watcher hesitates as he shows Rick fall to the ground, and Walkers begin to close in on their next meal.
Rick instinctively held his side as Frank looked on, the soldier's mind going back to bad memories.
"My family... are they okay?"
The Watcher hesitated to answer.
"Your friends made it out okay."
He breathed a sigh of relief as the Watcher walked over to Joel.
"Joel Miller from Universe Designation 40592. In this world, only those who adapt survive against this strain of Cordyceps gone wild."
Footage shows several Infected, from Runners to Clickers to the horrifying Bloaters.
"In this mad world, you made a deal to escort young Ellie Williams, who had an immunity to the infection, across the country to develop a vaccine. When you learned that doing this would kill her... you refused to lose another daughter."
Footage of Joel rescuing Ellie, and killing the doctor holding a scalpel to him.
"This man, you should never have killed... because years later, his daughter came and took her revenge."
The screen flashed back to the lodge, with Abby raising her golf club high and Ellie being forced to watch.
Joel looked away hearing her painful screams, with Rick looking at the scene, having bad memories of a similar incident, and also thankful that his son, Carl, never had to see him meet this gruesome fate.
"Loki Laufeyson, from Universe Designation 199999. In your universe, Thanos, the Mad Titan, strangled you to death."
Loki watched his own death in burning anger as Double Trouble cringed at the sight. Rick marveled at the large purple alien and Jerome and Sara realized just how out of their depth they truly were.
"Now that's a big boy..." Jerome said, trying to sprinkle some "comedy" into his situation.
"Double Trouble, from Despondos Designation 30497224. In your universe, you were caught masquerading as Flutterina, and were executed by the Princess Rebellion for your crimes."
The reptilian looked away as their universe's Glimmer aimed her staff to blast a hole into them. Ahsoka and Loki both felt sympathy for their ally in bondage, and Frank looked on with a stone-cold expression.
"Some rebellion. From the looks of it, they didn't even give you a chance." Ahsoka uttered.
Double Trouble stayed silent, trying to keep their composure. They managed to remember their actor's training and kept it together, or at least made it look like they did.
"Frank Castle. From Universe Designation 199626, your world's heroes and villains were involved in a bloody battle that had your wife and children caught in the crossfire."
Franks fists clenched over seeing his family's deaths again. Rick looked to the Punisher in sympathy, knowing all-too-well how it felt to see someone's loved ones die right in front of him.
"In a quest for vengeance, you went on a murder spree, laying waste to heroes and villains both."
A brief montage of Frank's conquest was displayed, with the Punisher using Captain America's shield, War Machine's armor, and shoulder-mounted minigun to lay waste to the headquarters of the Ten Rings.
Once he acquired the magical rings, the scene changed, and the Punisher was now attacking the Avengers' Compound. Thor, Wanda Maximoff, Iron Man, and Captain Marvel all stood their ground as Frank, now equipped with the Ten Rings, quickly subdued Thor and Wanda. Iron Man and Spider-Man tried to subdue him, but the minigun quickly laid waste to the web-slinger.
Iron Man, now driven by rage, tried to pin him to the ground, but with one chest-repulsor blast from Frank, the billionaire now had a gaping hole in his chest and fell to the side of the Punisher.
Captain Marvel was left standing, and it was a bloody fight. Frank barely made it out alive. Barely.
"Your final opponent was Matthew Murdock– Daredevil. Your childhood friend..." The Watcher narrated.
The scene changed to a back alley, where Frank held his best friend's corpse, shortly before turning his handgun to his own head and pulling the trigger.
"...needless to say, the pain finally got to you."
Frank finally looked away, and the others looked to him in terror or astonishment. Spider-Man struggled to fathom what this version of the Punisher had done, while internally taking notes.
"Isaac Clarke, from Universe Designation XA132. In your universe, you were mere seconds from death after you and soldier John Carver discovered your Earth was overrun by the Necromorph Virus. Very nasty stuff, by the way."
Isaac took a moment to mourn seeing his devastated Earth again. He was so close to saving it from the Necromorphs that plagued his mind for so long... but in the end, they prevailed.
"Peter Parker, from Universe Designation TRN018. In your reality, Venom began infecting New York with copies of his symbiote. You murdered Venom, and took over New York City alongside a symbiote-infected Felicia Hardy..."
Peter smiles to himself, proud to see the city fall to his knees as well as the beautiful Felicia Hardy, who helped him realize how much fun he could be having, instead.
"...until SHIELD sent a symbiote-infected Wolverine, who murdered you in combat."
The Wolverine was then displayed, his claws deep into Spider-Man's body. This took the smile right off of Peter's concealed face.
"Jerome Valeska, of Universe Designation DCFX39. After beating death once, you were finally shot dead by Detective Jim Gordon. And no, you didn't come back this time."
Footage of Jim shooting Jerome, along with his final words before he let himself fall and crash onto a car.
Sara drank in his final words, about Jerome's legacy, feeling inspired by them...
"Sara Berry, of Universe Designation 9134. After a great many pressures from school and home, you went on a murder spree the night of prom, killing 6 out of the 7 other prom queen nominees before you were finally shot dead by police."
Footage of Sara killing her classmates, each more brutal than the last. While everyone else either looked on in horror or looked away, Jerome cackled louder and louder at the acts of violence.
"Very nice with spreading her pieces around! I wish I thought of that one..."
Sara giggled at the compliment.
Everyone, including the man showing them the footage, kept silent for a moment before continuing.
"Ahsoka Tano, from Universe Designation 60549. You lost your fight against Darth Vader, and were not saved by Ezra Bridger's time-meddling."
Ahsoka quickly looked away as her former master brought down his crimson lightsaber into her.
"Similarly, Boba Fett from Universe Designation 60938. During your scuffle with Luke Skywalker on Tatooine, you were killed by the large Sarlacc Pit."
Boba watched in silent anger as a blinded Han Solo broke his jetpack and sent him plummeting toward his death.
Frank let out a chuckle at the stupidity of the bounty hunter's death.
"Kratos, from Universe Designation SM16. In your universe, you waged war on the Greek gods for a lifetime of servitude and loss."
Kratos watched the events play out before his eyes all over again, from Kratos being given the Blades of Chaos, powerful weapons seared into his wrists by chains made from hellfire, to him slaughtering each and every one of the gods.
"You finally slayed Zeus, your father, when you freed the hope trapped inside you from Pandora's Box, giving it to the mortal world."
Kratos held his stomach, where an old scar from this incident remained.
"Years later, you met Faye, a Giant, and had a son with her. You and he were on your way to sprinkle her ashes in Yottenheim when you were killed by Thor."
Kratos watched as his version of Thor brutally murdered him with his hammer, Mjolnir. Loki looked on in pure astonishment.
"Wait... that's your Thor? He seems... stocky."
"I think you're picking up on the trend, here." The Watcher waved a hand and the projector disappeared.
"Every one of you is dead. In your realities, you were pulled just seconds away from death, and brought here... because we need your help."
Some in the group were reeling from the information that they were dead, and others were still processing the concept of different realities.
The Watcher placed another projection device on the ground, but it showed a hologram of a deformed zombie-like monster.
"These... we call Atrocities."
The group reeled back in horror at the monster.
The Atrocity seemed humanoid, with two stumpy legs with both fungus and black tendrils covering them and hands that were broken beyond repair, left dangling next to its chest.
Speaking of which, the chest was deformed and mishappen, with fungus, symbiote, or alien Necromorph matter covering it and forming a sort of armor. On the shoulders were razor-sharp pincers, that Isaac recognized and dreaded immediately. The arms were ridden with red spore-pods, that Joel recognized, also...
The others winced in terror, save for Peter, who admired the overall nature of the beast, pondering on its uses, Kratos, who had faced off against far worse monsters before, and Frank, who at this point, just didn't care, anymore...
"I see some of you see yourselves in this monster. The Atrocities are... well, they're collages of the worst of different realities. These Atrocities are the combinations of the Wildfire virus in Rick's universe, the Cordyceps fungus from Joel's, the Necromorph species from Isaac's, and the Symbiote from Peter's. They are fast, deadly, and spread rapidly across universes... they've become a problem, and we need you to help exterminate them before they spread too far out. Are there any questions?"
Everyone rose their hands.
"Kratos?"
He leaned forward.
"Are you... Gods?"
The Watcher simply shook his head.
"No, we didn't create the Omniverse, but we do guard it. Next?"
The God of Mischief was next.
"Loki?"
"So, let me see if I'm following you, here. You are what's called a Watcher, and it is your sovereign duty to protect what is known as the... Omniverse?"
"Yes, it is... you could even say it was our glorious purpose." The Watcher smirked.
Loki realized what he was doing and took a moment to collect himself.
"So... where were you, when the people of Asgard were being attacked by Hela? Or when I tore through Midgard?"
"Or when I was killed by the Rebellion?" Double Trouble added.
"Or when my world was torn apart by a damned plague?" Rick asked.
The Watcher smiled and conjured a seat.
"It's our job to observe, rarely interfere. We have before, but only as a last-ditch effort. You see, everything that you have been through happened for a reason, even the worst things-"
"So, why do you need us?"
The Watcher's smile slowly faded as he leaned forward from his seat.
"I need you because you're all we have. There are some instances where we Watchers have to interfere—Multiversal conquests, deadly diseases crossing and contaminating entire universes, things like that... that's why I chose each one of you based on your unique skillsets."
The Watcher then teleported the group into a separate room, with numerous large panels that began to rotate, showing various armor and weapons with various names on each panel.
"I would suggest you all load up. We have a lot of training to do."
Everyone ran over to their panels, filled with their equipment. Save for Rick, Joel, Jerome, and Sara.
"You four are skilled in your own ways, but I figured an upgrade wouldn't hurt..."
In Rick's wall was a green and black jumpsuit with various weapons attached to the waist, and a lightsaber holstered on the side.
"I... am not wearing that." He grumbled.
"It's that or a slow and painful death." The Watcher reminded him.
Rick mumbled as he stepped inside and the panel closed behind him, giving him privacy.
Joel's contained a form of exo suit that he carefully slipped into, with the suit fitting nicely under his brown jacket. Joel carefully moved his arms, seeing that they were moving with ease, and he spotted a large, futuristic rifle on the wall.
"This place is somethin' else..." He mumbled as he holstered the rifle.
Frank admired the War Machine armor he decked out and spray-painted his skull onto.
On his wall were weapons and armor from every hero or villain in his universe. Spider-Man's web-shooters, Iron Man's nanotech suit, Captain America's shield, Falcon's wings, and much more. He stepped into the Iron Punisher armor and grabbed Cap's shield, one of Spider-Man's web-shooters, and
"Wait, so you're just giving us our shit back?" Frank asked.
"Yes. You're going to need it."
Spider-Man's wall was empty, save for a small note that he read and faintly smiled at before pocketing it from the others...
Loki and Double Trouble bickered over the contents of the other's wall.
"I don't have knives, I want knives!" Double Trouble complained.
"Now, come on, Double Trouble- I think you know better than most that an actor's best tool is their... imagination." The Watcher said as he pointed toward Double Trouble's wall, which contained a few spherical objects.
They grabbed a few of the spheres and sensed magic coming from them... with a thought, they shapeshifted the orbs into a large sword, mirroring that of She-Ra's almost exactly.
"...Keep the knives!"
Loki suddenly felt envious and looked down at his twin daggers.
"You're the God of Mischief, Loki, they need the advantage."
Kratos turned to this and chuckled under his breath.
"...Mischief... that... sounds right."
In Kratos' wall was his Leviathan Axe as well as the Blades of Chaos, formerly removed from his flesh and now able to be worn and removed. His anger was now reignited over losing his son, but he made a promise to himself that he will see his son again, whatever it took.
The others quickly armed themselves, with Sara using a piece of Wakandan tech, creating an all-black suit of Vibranium, similar to that of Black Panther, minus his helmet.
"Eh... needs some color. Maybe some red..."
With a thought, blood-red flowed across the suit, completing the look.
"Huh! Talk about a prom dress..."
Like that, the costume changed again, with some of the Vibranium making its way to her head, forming a tiara- just like the one she murdered her classmates to get. She gently removed it and admired it, losing herself in its beauty.
On the wall was also a small knife made from an Adamantium claw on the wall and held it close, admiring its sharpness.
"This'll do..."
Jerome looked at an all-white batsuit with several cans of spray paint and acrylic paint.
The Watcher looked to the proto-Joker and smiled.
"Well? Go to town!"
Jerome cackled in excitement as he lunged inside, with the panel flipping and the sounds of spray painting being heard.
Boba, already wearing his Beskar armor, was provided with various blasters and thermal detonators.
Ahsoka grabbed her twin sabers from her wall, igniting them and admiring the white glow.
Both bounty hunter and former Jedi shared a look and nodded in respect to one another.
Isaac felt right at home hopping into his RIG and grabbing his Plasma Cutter and several other weapons from his world.
After a few minutes, everyone was ready. Spider-Man, Boba, and Ahsoka were in their traditional outfits (save for the symbiote suit on Spider-Man) with little to no changes.
Rick wore his brown fur-collared jacket over the jumpsuit, which was very comfortable and breathable. He took a moment to process the lightsaber which shone a bright blue before holstering it again. On his sides were energy grenades, EMP grenades, and a revolving blaster pistol, very much reflecting his Colt Python.
Joel was given a few more inches in height thanks to the exo suit, and the rifle slung over his back had different settings, from sonic waves to fire to energy projectiles.
Double Trouble morphed their outfit to protect their entire body, save for their head. They holstered the Morphing Orbs on their arms, legs, and chest. The morphed She-Ra's sword was holstered on their back, where it would say until battle commenced...
Frank wore War Machine's armor; armed with the tech of various heroes he had killed. Spider-Man's web-shooter on his left arm, Captain America's shield on his right, and all of the suit's previous weaponry, from micro cannons on the gauntlets to a shoulder-mounted railgun.
Sara and Jerome walked together, with the prom killer holding the Adamantium knife by her side with pride and excitement on using it...
Jerome took off the cowl, not liking how it fit on him. The batsuit was almost unrecognizable, with purple, green, and white replacing the black and grey. The bat symbol was painted over in favor of a big red smile, and the words "Ha Ha Ha!" were painted all over the suit at random.
Sara glanced to Jerome and whistled.
"Nice outfit."
Jerome looked back and smiled back.
"Same thing to you, dearie."
Once they were all out and present, the Watcher teleported them all one final time to a large training area, with gym equipment from various universes, large space for simulations, and multiple sparring rings.
Samson stepped forward and addressed the crew.
"Welcome to our dojo. This is where we'll train you all until I know you're all ready to face the Atrocities. Please, get familiar with the space, try not to kill each other, and I'll check on you all in half an hour."
Like that, he was gone, leaving the confused group of heroes and villains.
"So... anyone wanna spot me?" Jerome asked as he made his way toward the weights.
"Kid, you're a buck 90 soaking wet..." Frank said to him.
Rick was still reeling from everything he had just been told, still struggling to wrap his head around it all.
"Everything we did... it was just... one out of a million...?"
Joel wasn't doing much better, but he sat next to the former sheriff.
"So... no hard feelin's about back there?"
Rick looked to the only other powerless man next to him and nodded.
"I'm sorry 'bout jumpin' you... I just thought that... you were one of them."
Rick didn't answer.
Loki started projecting simple illusions in the Simulation Area out of boredom, conjuring up his brother and their fight on the Bifrost Bridge on a small scale.
"So, you can project images outside of yourself?"
The Trickster God turned to see Double Trouble, leaning against the wall, observing their new colleague's handiwork.
Loki smiled and took the opportunity to show off his power.
"Oh, I can do so much more than that."
Loki created a whole new illusion, taking the group to a simulated Asgard, in the streets during Hela's battle against Thor.
They all looked around, seeing the chaos that the Goddess of Death had created, but mainly that they were now in the middle of a warzone.
Rick saw one of Hela's warriors charge him, and he attempted to slice through it with his new lightsaber, but it went right through him and sliced into an Asgardian fighter right behind him.
The group witnessed the destruction and death, Double Trouble the most impressed, until Loki cut off the illusion.
"How's that for an image?"
Double Trouble gave a half-hearted round of applause.
"Not bad. Not bad at all... but while you focus on the larger scale..."
Double Trouble's form liquified as their mass was rearranged and transformed into the silhouette of Loki until the form became absolute, and Loki looked into a mirror image of himself.
"...I focus on the stories trapped within."
Loki smiled and nodded at the display of talent.
"Not bad... I don't think my nose is that big, though..."
Boba rested against a wall, observing his surroundings.
Kratos was doing the same, reaching into his side and holding the dagger his son had...
Isaac saw the war god and the Mandalorian bounty hunter and leaned back against the boxing ring next to Joel and Rick, checking his weapons' ammo count.
"You don't seem to weirded out 'bout all this... what's your story?" Joel asked Isaac.
Isaac slowly spaced out, ghosts from his past coming to haunt him.
"You don't wanna know."
Suddenly, the room's lights went out, and a red light took its place.
"The hell is this?" Joel asked out loud.
"Don't know... everyone, form up!" Rick shouted as he drew his blaster.
Everyone soon fell in line, circling up with their backs turned toward each other as the gym equipment faded away...
"This you?" Frank asked Loki.
"No... not at the moment."
The room soon began to quake, as the room toward Rick broke open, revealing several deformed monsters... Atrocities.
"Everyone, open fire!"
Rick began shooting his blaster as everyone else acted on their own.
Boba used his jetpack to get above the group and opened fire with his EE-3 Blaster. Ahsoka activated her lightsabers and charged into action, slicing into the undead monsters.
Isaac tried to open fire, but his mind was filled with flashes of his time in not one, but four different fights for survival against the Necromorphs.
Loki ran behind Ahsoka, using his daggers and projecting illusions of himself to confuse the Atrocities.
Double Trouble excitedly unsheathed the mimic of She-Ra's sword and madly swung at the Atrocities, chopping into them with less eloquence than the others, but more than with an ordinary sword.
Frank joined Boba in flight, but he was more reckless, opening fire indiscriminately at the horde of approaching Atrocities.
Kratos stood by Rick, throwing his blades into two Atrocities, pulling them into the ground and slamming them back down.
"Stick together! Keep the pressure on!"
Jerome borrowed Boba's pistol before he took off and opened fire at the monsters, cackling as he did.
Sara held out her dagger and charged the Atrocities, excited to finally stab something.
Joel stood next to Rick and Kratos, watching the team charge in on their own.
Boba was pulled out of the air by a long tendril and was only saved when Ahsoka sliced the tendril off.
"Thanks, Jedi."
Ahsoka went to reply but was quickly grabbed and held in a tight grip by an Atrocity whose teeth were just inches from her neck...
Frank managed to shoot the monster off the former Jedi, but tendrils also wrapped around his armor and slammed him against the ground, chipping the armor and immobilizing him.
Loki sliced into the tendrils and helped the Punisher to his feet.
"Thanks, kid."
Loki turned to him at the notion of being called a "kid", but he had no time for a rebuttal as the Atrocities began closing in.
Thankfully, Rick aimed and hit lethal shots on the two monstrosities, saving the God of Mischief.
"Everyone, on me!" Rick cried out.
Boba and Frank looked to him and helped their teammates out. They repelled the surrounding Atrocities with their various weapons, picked up most of their other teammates, and dropped them off next to Rick and Joel before landing themselves.
Rick turned and saw Isaac still frozen in place and walked over to him.
"Hey!"
Isaac looked over to him, and years of horror were captured in his eyes.
"I know this is insane, and you've probably been through more than enough of this, but if you want to survive to rest when this is all over... you have to fight for it, right now!"
Isaac trembled for a moment, but he swallowed his fear and finally began opening fire with Frank and Boba providing air support.
Now standing together, the group began working as a team, with Kratos, Jerome, Sara, Ahsoka, Double Trouble, and Loki providing melee support, weaving and killing their way through the Atrocities as Spider-Man used his enhanced abilities to tear through the monsters who refused to obey him...
Rick, Joel, and Isaac took shots at the monsters, using their various weapons at their disposal.
Only a few minutes into their fight, the remaining Atrocities all dropped dead, much to the group's surprise. Once they all caught their breath, the Atrocities all began to dissolve, and the speakers in the dojo revealed what had just happened.
"Training Simulation complete. Results: Zero casualties, zero injuries. Final Ranking: Efficient."
They all looked to each other as the red light faded, and the normal light returned, and the gym equipment returned.
Slow, loud claps echoed from a corridor as the Watcher returned.
"Nicely done, Mr. Grimes! I admit I was skeptical your team didn't have what it takes and thank you for proving my doubts wrong. Good work, all around. You may have all jumped into battle at first, but after seeing how tremendously stupid that was, you fell into position. And Grimes, nice leadership all around! Not perfect, but there is potential here..."
The exhausted group looked to the Watcher in either anger or pure exhaustion.
"I see some of you are worn out—not that I blame you. Follow me, I'll show you all to your rooms."
The Watcher gestured to the group to follow him.
They hesitated, but seeing no other option, they decided to follow him as he walked them out of the gym, which revealed a long hallway filled with doors and the groups' names on each of them.
"Please, make yourselves comfortable, and get some rest... because tomorrow is our first assignment."
With that, the Watcher vanished.
The group all shared a look at one another while they walked towards their rooms, entering and closing the doors behind them.
Rick closed his door and hung up his jacket. He looked in the mirror and saw the green outfit put over him.
He decided to test the suit's durability; he took his knife, brought the blade out, and carefully dragged it across his forearm. His eyes grew wide as he saw that the suit wasn't even scratched.
He decided to go a bit harder with the knife and got the same result– nothing.
Finally, he rose the knife up and attempted to drive the knife into his arm, but instead, the blade broke and hit the floor.
He looked on in astonishment as he carefully removed the jumpsuit, uncertain exactly how to at first. Once he figured it out, he set it aside and laid his head against the mattress– the most comfortable bed he had slept on in years...
As his mind began slowing down, he finally came to a grim realization.
My family thinks I'm dead.
Thoughts of his young daughter and Michonne both filled his mind as he felt his eyes begin to dampen.
"I promise... I will come home, again..."