TALES OF THE RECLAIMER DIDACT
Disclaimer: Don't own Halo, or Marvel's Avengers, or any other properties that may appear here within. I do not own any guest appearances either(hint, hint).
Chapter 2- Prehistory
John became tense. He did not like being told what he could and couldn't do for humanity!
"If it is the only choice I have, then I will initiate conflict. I was made to be humanities Sword, and Shield. The protector of Earth, and eventually all her Colonies. From all threats, foreign and domestic." John stood and clenched his fist, furious that someone would intimate that he was not allowed to protect humanity.
The Watcher Uatu raised a none-existent eyebrow.
Humanity? I have never heard of such a race... Could you perhaps be referring to the race that inhabits the rest of the planet, outside the two races made by the Celestials?" The tall being looked quizzical, and it seemed that this Uatu had never seen or heard of humanity at all...
John gestured towards the blue orb, third rock from the sun. He laid his hand on the screen, where the picture rested.
"Eventually, humanity will evolve, from one of these races..." Cortana then interrupted.
"We hope. The reason you have never seen us, or heard of me, and possibly my technological design? I do not think we are in our home universe anymore..."
The Watcher looked mildly surprised.
"We Watchers know the Multiverse exists, and we have seen and shared many things across the multiversal fraternity we have. Again we, that is I, have never seen your technological design before. So that would mean that not only are you from a different universe... But from a different Multiverse..."
Cortana then started flying through calculations.
"Yes, here, carry the five, ya, erase that four... Hmmm, it makes sense now. A different Multiverse for each set of significant beings, and what I have termed the Omniverse that binds ALL together... Because each universe would be slightly different versions of each other, but there would be consistencies... Like Celestials, Watchers, and whatever cosmic forces exist in this universe... How about a deal Uatu?" Cortana spun around, after rapidly calculating through equations and potentials, looking on the tall alien with excitement.
Uatu looked at the A.I. Bemusedly.
"You teach us of the significant things that exist in this side of the multiverse, of course excluding your races secrets, and we'll tell you of all the things from our side of the multiverse. It would be a good information exchange, and a once in lifetime chance to peer beyond infinity for you..."
Uatu looked contemplative...
"Hmm, normally I would say no, as these eyes can and have seen many things. But... The way your energy flows, the particles that still charge this ship... They all tell the truth. You are not from this multiverse, and thus need my education. And it would be a wonderful chance to peer into another section of the multiverse. I also fear, should I not share at least a basic knowledge with you of this universe, and it's forces... You would be utterly destroyed. Which is why I first came to this ship, as the Celestials would have just destroyed you outright. What is your name?" Uatu stepped forward and knelt down to address the two, AI and Human.
"I, am the Reclaimer Didact of humanity, it's sword and shield of the cosmos." John made a fist, and thumped his chest in salute of Uatu's offer.
"We have a deal then, Didact."
John reached out, and shook The Watcher's and, so the Watcher began to teach John of the mysterious forces and histories of the Cosmos of this interesting, and from what John could see, CRAZY universe.
"The first level of beings, are the races of the cosmos. They are in their infancy right now, but one day, they will grow to be mighty Empire's. The three that will exist to be most powerful when you will start exerting your influence directly, will be the Kree, Skrull, and the Shi'Ar Empires." Three distinct races appeared, in a physical manifestation of will, from a simple gesture by Uatu.
"The Kree are normally blue-skinned humanoids, who have access to mighty technology, that will allow them to weaponize various forms of energy eventually. However, their strict eugenics policies and the experimentation leads to them not being able to evolve fully." Green and white clothed troopers appeared, with little blue skin showing. Utterly professional, to the point of militaristic, these soldiers seemed a little too fascistic for John.
"The Skrull are shapeshifters, and are a Deviant race, like the ones you see in Lemuria today. They can shapeshift, and will eventually be able to control their abilities to such an extent as to induce mutative powers, which they will weaponize." A bat eared, wide eyed, ridged chin, green skinned humanoid appeared. It shifted through various forms until it started to throw fireballs, stretch incredible distances, generate fields of energy, and change into a rock-like substance that boosted strength and durability enough to smash through walls of steel.
"The Shi'Ar are an avian like race, that controls the M'Kraan crystal, and have excessively powerful technology from conquered races, their own ingenuity, and a thoroughly indoctrinated bunch of Super-beings called the Imperial Guard." A massive pink Gem appeared, and in front of it, a small throne. Only it just proved the gems size, as a cluster of humanoid, but feather haired beings clustered around their apparent Emperor. In front of him, was the imposing Imperial Guard.
The next level of beings are the Gods of the Universe, and their dimensions. With them, also comes demons, daemons, and eldritch abominations." Uatu gestured once more, and various mythical beings took the place of the Aliens.
John interrupted.
"Hold on, your saying that the Gods exist?"
Uatu nodded.
"Indeed. Not only do they exist, but they are very powerful. Each of the eminent empires are led by their own pantheon, and as well, they lead armies of conquered gods, from the races that will be absorbed into their empires. The Earth it seems is special, though. I already have counted many Pantheons that exist at this time, that are connected to the planet via mystical means."
John nodded, as Cortana added that to her growing collection of New Earth history.
"From what I can observe... The Earth is a Nexus, and attracted a significant amount of energy from the birth of the universe, which formed into it's Gods. It is also possible that the Celestial Seed at it's centre is responsible for the concentrations of Divine, Technological and Magical Energies flowing through it from other dimensions." Uatu gestured, and began to display pictures with his hand.
"Ouranos and Gaea of Olympus." Toga-clad, on a mountain, their citadel appeared made of marble.
"Buri and Audhumla of Aesheim." Cold and frost-bitten, with mighty stone architecture, these Makers stood with their great size, standing nearly a dozen feet tall, and wearing enough armour that even John thought was excessive.
"Crom of His High Mountain." A red-bearded, chainmail wearing, yet shrouded God appeared, sitting silently on a solid stone throne, seeming to stare eternally forward in contemplation. It offered no comfort, and the hall's of his mountain were empty./
"Vishnu of Nirvana." 4-armed, blue-skinned, and with a gold crown, gold bracers, and wearing patterned clothes befitting his headship of the Hindu God's. He looked out over sacred and peaceful grounds of the land of Nirvana.
"Amenominakanushi, Takamimusubi, Kamimusubi of the High Plain of Heaven." Three Kimono clad, Japanese facial structure, looked out over planes of fertile soil, as many fortress's were being built.
"Cernunnos and Eiocha of Tuatha De Dananns, and their realm of Uppland." Cernunnos was a brown skinned, deer hybrid humanoid, and a white horse hybrid represented Eiocha.
"P'an Ku of the Forbidden Kingdom." An immense man, with Chinese facial features appeared. He looked down, and was constructing a city, The Forbidden City itself!
"The Great Turtle and The Sky People." All sorts of Native American God's appeared, and they were on the back of the largest turtle John had ever seen. Planets swirled in the distance, as chaotic energy churned around the people in the caricature.
"Ometecuhtli/Omecihuatl of the Aztlan." A twin gendered God/des appeared, constructing a Ziggurat of immense size.
"On the Nile exists Atum, Khepri, and Nun and the gleaming city of Heliopolis." A shining golden city appeared before them, with three dark-skinned men, dressed in gold finery, overlooking their nascent Empire.
"Olorun and Olokun of Yoruba." A black-skinned man and woman stood, side-by-side, inspiring the growth of plants, animals, and even mountains.
"Svarog and Drognjus of the Frozen Tundra." A frozen fortress appeared, surrounded by ice, watched over by two fur-clad giant-like beings, each carrying weapons of pulverizing nature. They gestured, and the ice rose into a far greater city, making their castle into something far grander.
"An, Enlil, Enki, and Ninhursanga of Dilmun." An ancient Sumerian city, sprawled before three Titanic beings, who continuously added more to their cradle of civilization.
"The Silvery Citadel of the Moste High, where Yahweh and Angels fly." A white robed, and extremely elderly, but nonetheless powerful looking man appeared, with flocks of angels flying around him. He was the largest, and seemed to shine golden at times, and many of the angels were also different. Two Angels near his height were near him, one on his left, carrying a mace, one on his right, carrying a sword of flame, each with 6 sets of wings upon their back.
"So, the gods from every major creation myth from our universe actually exist here... Wow that is a major change, I wonder what that will say about the human race, when they eventually develop here." Cortana exclaimed with immense excitement, while Uatu nodded.
"And their opposites. Mephisto, and his plane of ancient hellish torment." A demonic, hellfire and brimstone filled landscape appeared. Overseeing it, was a spiky reddish throne, whereupon a re-faced , grinning demonic humanoid sat. Around him rode two humanoids, with flaming skulls, who easily kept discipline in the souls beneath them.
"Set." A reptilian being, dressed like a muscled-bound pharaoh with white eyes appeared, with the shadow of a massive Hydra behind him appeared. A cruel and dark city, with a ziggurat was present behind his throne.
"Chthon." Gray skinned, blue cloaked, penning a mystic text with a beam of power, as black magic energy swirled and erupted into chaotic forms of hideous mutations, all under Chthon's control.
"Shuma-Gorath." An Octopus-like being, with an eye at it's centre appeared. It reordered a solar system casually around it, with others like it, appearing behind it.
"Dormammu." A huge, sun-sized being appeared, wearing spiked black and red armour, whose head was composed purely of Eldritch Flames. Casually, he absorbed a dimension, and brought the Eternal Truth of the Dark Dimension to it.
"Cytorrak of the Crimson Cosmos." A huge crimson coloured being appeared, sitting upon a throne of ruby crystal. Upon his chest, sat a massive crimson gem, from which projected an unstoppable force...
"You see, this amount of power, of many forces... Is what attracts Celestials in the first place. While they do love to assess potentials of biological forms, they are usually there to see if the planet is suitable to inject a Celestial seed into. It could be one of the reasons why they do not like outside interference, even from planes that are connected to the planet... Ever since the Aspirant War, the Celestials have not been challenged as they once were, and they have turned to claiming more of the universe as their territory, while locking out anyone that could evolve into a threat..." Uatu said, while moving through display's of Celestials measuring energies and observing life-forms.
John looked intrigued.
"The Aspirant War?"/
"It was actually one of two wars going on at the time. The Aspirants were an extremely powerful, advanced, and apparently technologically unstoppable race. They challenged the Celestials for Dominion of the Universe."
John was surprised. It didn't take much to figure out that there wasn't many things that could possibly challenge the Celestials, and to hear that an entire race had challenged the. Maybe there was hope. Uatu displayed the battles between the massive beings, as Stars collapsed, planets crumbled, and black holes inverted upon themselves, flashing through a dozen permutations of their life as suns...
"So how badly beaten were these... Aspirants?" John pointed at the Black and Silver giants. Uatu looked amused, like he was about to laugh.
"Oh, you misunderstand. They nearly wiped the Celestials out."
Instantly, Cortana and John froze. Stupefied at what they had just heard. Beings that were more powerful than the ancient creator Gods of Earth, were nearly wiped out by another race?
"How is that possible?" He questioned, once he regained solidarity of mind, shaken as it was.
"What you have to understand, is that The Aspirants, with their technology, were a match for the Celestials. Little is known about them, except for one weapon they possessed. The God-killer."
A 3-D image appeared in front of the Watcher, made from him exerting his psychic energy on the air to create a physical image. At least this is what John's own telekinetic abilities told him.
"It was bigger, stronger, faster, and generally more durable than any Celestial that existed. Apparently it killed billions of them. And it was the only Aspirant ever recorded seen. So it is possible that The Aspirants are a faction of Celestials. All that is known, is the God-killer was never destroyed, and The Aspirants were killed, to the last being."
If it were not for all his training, and schooling of his emotions, John would have dropped his jaw. As it were, Cortana had adopted a slack-jawed expression.
"In-incredible... Wait! You said there were two going on at the time?
Uatu nodded.
"There was a war between the Proemial Space Gods, who are part of the forces that keep this universe going. The Elders of the Universe sat it out, but I will elaborate on them later.
"The Proemial Gods of Space... They are Galactus, The Devourer of Worlds."
An image, this time showing a titanic being, in purple and blue armour, tending to some sort of machine, while a blue skinned(or was it covered?), being flitted about him. His machine finished, the world they were on disappeared in a cataclysmic burst of molten death, converting into a vast amount of pure energy which rushed into the Great Devourer.
"Galactus's role is to consume worlds, to prevent the early heat death of the Universe. By doing this, he grants the Universe itself longer life. He opposes the Celestials sometimes, and has stopped their schemes on more than one occasion. Always, there is a herald with him, imbued with some of his Cosmic might, who will scout out worlds for him to devour so that he may not exhaust his energies doing so while performing his role to the fullest."
John looked at the being, thinking that it took something great and terrible to be able to do such things, in the name of saving the universe. He had done some things in the past he was not glad of, but he had resolved to try and save them all, after Halsey had told him exactly what would happen to Johnson, should he turn over the data crystal about his unique ability to resist The Flood. Yet now, he was looking upon an awesome force of Cosmic destruction, that apparently was needed to keep the universe from dyeing...
"Next, was Aegis, The Lady of All Sorrows. She was tasked with culling the Living Universe of Divergence's and Aberrations. She opposed the Celestials at the beginning of their escapade's to manipulate life, and smote many planets to dust, along with many Celestials until the War between the Gods took her attention. She annihilated many races."
A Golden Titan, with a central horn, and two tusks emerging from where her cheeks would be, was seen obliterating a planet, with a casual wave of her hand, then battling the dozen Celestials that rose up to attack her after the explosion. She handily disposed of them all as well.
"Tenebrous, of The Darkness Between. Tasked with the Black, the living matter that binds the Universe, and makes it whole."
Black and silver decorated this one. Rather the black was armour, and the silver seemed to surge through it's armoured skin as rampant energy. The image displayed Tenebrous crushing a black hole, and throwing it into a far star system, where it expanded again, consuming all that were present. He then appeared, and absorbed the black hole into himself, after the solar system was gone.
John was definitely afraid of this one. A being that could do such things, and had so callously eliminated all life in a solar system, only to casually absorb the black hole into itself. He didn't know if he would ever be ready to face such a being.
"Antiphon the Overseer, the First among Equals to be tasked with monitoring Cosmic Consonance, and the Primogenitor of my race. He disappeared long ago, but stood neutral in the original conflict as far as we can tell."
Similar to Uatu, Antiphon had many tattoo-like designs on his face, but was the size of the other Proemial Gods. It showed him gazing into different galaxies, then different universes, trying to discern whether the flow of Cosmic Consonance was being achieved in his home.
"Diableri of Chaos, who became Order Unchecked, and tried to lead everything to an early Entropy. As the task of his necessity in the Living Universe diminished, he became opposed to such a thing, and soon embraced his true heritage. He also encouraged Aegis, and Tenebrous to do so as well, and they led a War against the others. He created the Chaos Sprites to serve as his eyes and ears, so he might win the War."
Blue, with red tribal designs spiralled all over it, and a wild mane of turquoise hair, the image showed Diableri creating his Chaos Sprites, forging his alliances, leading them into battle, then the final showdown with Galactus. Finally he died. Galactus ripped him apart, and then broke his being into component molecules that he set at the heart of the Universe.
"You see, in a way, Diableri lived on. Not as a conscious being, but as The Crunch. At the centre of the Universe, an energy mass sits, constantly spewing chaotic things from it. So, his legacy lives on, and in a good way. Finally, there was Brio, of Life. She was tasked with the well-being of all lifeforms, and was one of the first to oppose Diableri's faction, and ask Galactus for help. Even though at times she despised Galactus, she respected his role in the Living Universe."
A Golden Lady, with a curved headdress appeared, and a long flowing, red hair-like stuff came from the back of her head.
"This War consumed many worlds, and eventually it was thought that all the Chaos Sprites were destroyed, as they had betrayed their master. We Watcher's know that they may eventually reappear. This was simultaneous with the War that the Celestials waged with the Aspirants. It ended roughly around the same time, and devastated much of the known Universe. Luckily The Phoenix has been renewing much of the life lost, since then."
A bird of fire appeared next. The startling thing was that as it seemed to shriek in the inky blackness surrounding it, nebula came into being, then worlds started to form, and stars along with it! The Mighty Phoenix peered down, and saw life start to grow on the worlds it had made. Pleased, it spread it's wings, and soared through the Cosmos.
"The Phoenix represents rebirth. And it was at this time that it exerted itself at it's greatest extent. Other times it has been quite destructive."
Again, the bird appeared. Again it peered down. The race it viewed was cruel, and had set about enslaving and torturing others. It shrieked in fury, as the inhabitants looked up, some in terror, others in relief. Then, it flapped it's wings against the sphere, and fire roiled over the surface, purging the life from the planet. The cinder was then destroyed, as the Phoenix set about to view another planet
"What it does not view as perfect, it purges. An imperfect view, but the Phoenix knows that the souls of those who were enslaved, they were happy in the release granted to them. They were happy that the culture that had propagated them, would progress no further. Would not be released upon the Galactic scene, and so many others. The Phoenix is the Aspect of Destruction, and Rebirth, most powerful of them too."
John and Cortana were horrified, seeing what this universe was capable of. Never had they guessed there were forces capable of destruction greater than glassing. It was stupendous, to see such an entity deciding life and death of races in the blink of an eye.
"Then there is the Uni-Power. It doesn't stand in opposition of the Phoenix, but it is supposedly, from what we have discerned in our studies, a force that binds the universe together, on a quantum level. It can manipulate particles, down to the most minute level, and usually empowers beings in times of great peril, and need."
A glowing blue sphere, that looked almost like a molecule design, appeared. It flitted around, above an somewhat primitive populace, before selecting one of the race, and empowering them. It soon became apparent why. A massive amount of meteors was inbound, and would soon hit, probably causing an extinction level event. The Uni-power entombed being gestured with it's hand, and soon, the meteors broke into their components, transmuted. They then lost all speed, and became orderly piles of the different elements that the being set down. Uatu then moved on.
The Elders of the Universe, last of the Primordial Races, survivors of the Twin Wars. They are actually more powerful than the Celestials, but do not care to intervene. Most of them contain the so-called 'Power Primordial'. With the energy left over from the creation of the Universe, the fact that there was no Gods created in their races galactic areas, and the destruction enabled by the Twin Wars, they ascended quickly despite being their individual races last. They can traverse dimensions, resurrect the dead, go back and forth through time... As well they were granted immortality by Death, after one of their number, the Grand-Master staged a 'Contest of Champions', for the soul of one their number had fallen after being ambushed by a number of Celestials..."
A group of humanoids appeared before John. Each looked vastly different, with their own unique set of garments.
"They didn't seem to like a new set of beings with powers beyond their own, being able to do as they wished, after being so narrowly close to extinction at the hands of the Aspirants. They are..." Uatu gestured and several beings appeared before John.
"The Grand-Master of All Games-En Dwi Gast." Gaunt, blue-skinned, and white of hair, the Grand-Master stared at them with a contemplative expression, like they were a puzzle to be solved. Dressed in an elaborate green robe with gold trim, he stared down at John and Cortana.
"The Collector-Taneleer Tivaan." A furred colour, with stark platinum white hair, and black lines along a swarthy tanned face, The Collector was dressed as interestingly as the Grand-Master.
"The Champion, Tyco Slatterus." Wearing simple blue pants, with a rope belt, the blue-skinned and red-maned Champion made for an imposing figure. Overwhelmingly muscled, he sneered down at the smaller beings.
"The Gardener-Ord Zyonz." A wizened looking old humanoid with a knurled staff, and a grey robe appeared, whilst plants grew around him.
The Runner, Gilpetperdon." A golden humanoid appeared, laughing as it ran across the universe, skating through Hyper-space and beyond.
"And finally, The Trader, Cort Zo Tinnus." A short, dwarf-like man appeared, grey of skin, orange hair, and dressed in metallic blue armour and robes.
Each posses significant powers, at least on the level of a SkyFather, and have trained since their gaining of powers almost 7 billion years ago, from what our records say." Uatu gestured, and the Elders began showing their powers.
John shook his head, mind swimming with the new information.
"This universe is insane. Give me the Forerunners, and the Flood any-day. This seems crazy."
Uatu smirked, and then gestured again.
"Then, there is the Abstract Forces, the Anthropomorphic Personifications, the Aspect Powers of the Multiverse. They embody the most absolute meanings of their names."
"Death". A Lady appeared, skeletal, that seemed to shift between a short girl's form, a teenager with spiky black hair, and a skeleton with purple robe and dozens of "Day of the Dead" type tattoo's playing across her frame with a hood drawn over its eye socket's.
"Eternity." A being appeared, seemingly looking like Uatu, with a blue cape over his crossed arms. Yet, he was a shadow, with stars and planets in the millions displayed in his visage. And he was holding a Galaxy in his hands...
"Infinity." A feminine figure appeared, with gold and white lines running through her figure, and the rest of her was accented by black that rose up in a cowl over her head, displaying a white diamond.
"Oblivion." A Purple hooded, and cowled being, eyes brightly shining out of their hole's, reached out with a titanic hand, the rest of it's massive body clad in blue.
"Nemesis." A Purple being, larger than the Constellations in the backdrop. She wore a Gold armoured chest-to-groin singlet, silver bottoms, and a white doublet, that rose behind her in a menacing fashion. Blue bracers, Golden Earrings, and a Golden Crown with 6 Gems in it's two levels, and two wings. Blue, Red, Purple, Yellow, Green and Orange. Terrible power seemed to emit from her, that shook all creation. Then, out of nowhere, she shattered. And the six gem's absorbed the blast.
"Destiny." A white dressed, white haired, human-like teenage girl holding a book and a key appeared, looking into the distance.
"Kronos." Appearing different from the Greek depiction, he was purple, and had stars and planets inside him, however time seemed to shift, advance and reverse within him.
"Anomaly." A gigantic orange worm, that seemed to emerge from darkness and watch the explosion of stars into Galaxies, and order out of primordial soup.
"Magic." A shy girl appeared, dressed in a green robe, with brown hair. She had a pentacle necklace, and many other magical symbols were drawn on her cloak.
"Origin and Un-Being." A massive eye, and a purple amoeba-like snake being appeared.
"Queen of Nevers." A pale skinned entity, with a green dress and crown stood before them, with pathways appearing and disappearing all around them.
"Beyonder." With a flourish of pure power, a silver armoured humanoid appeared, with massive shoulder pads. In one gesture, a universe came into being, and was reordered with no troubles.
"Eon and Epoch." A tree like entity with hair at it's top and several eyes and faces appeared, alongside a writhing mass of plant-like vines. Various ages were dreamt, implemented and passed, underneath their purview.
"Lord Chaos and Master Order, with The In-Betweener." Two heads appeared, one made of shimmering white light, the other a twisted purple thing, with a man made of both appearing between the two Cosmic Abstracts. Order and Chaos fluctuated all around them, before stabilizing in between through the In-Betweener's power.
"The Stranger." A powerful humanoid appeared, with a green cape, and red armoured clothes, a golden bull and golden armoured skirt adorning the costume.
"Anthropomorpho." A shifting mass of thousands of forms appeared, going through all known life-form shapes in the blink of an eye.
"Mistress Love and Sire Hate." A light pink dressed woman with light skin stood alongside a leather and spike dressed male with black hair and pale white skin.
"The Living Tribunal." Various beings appeared, showing them in order, for John to see, in a sort of court-room, with the Living Tribunal as judge. The Tribunal stood over all, and held two Multiverses in it's hands.
Now, John set his jaw. It seemed that the Watcher was taking amusement in antagonizing him. Things were much simpler when he was just a simple Master Chief.
"Wow. Who would have guessed that there was a universe where the forces of specific abstracts existed." Cortana commented, as she crossed her arms, and rubbed her chin with a delicate holographic hand.
"Well, the Elders, the Abstracts, and even the Celestials hardly interfere with what they consider 'lower beings'. That is why we have been ably to observe, and collect so much information on them. Should you want to guarantee humanities future, however, you will definitely have your work cut out for you."
John nodded, starting to think up ideas already.
"I'm going to try helping the humans. Or what the humans ancestors were. The ones in Atlantis, and Lemuria already have help, and it was from the Celestials. I don't know if I should try helping them, and I don't know if I want too, considering they are not human. I've had enough with aliens interfering with Earth." John looked on his treasured planet with grim determination.
Uatu looked over at him, quirking his non-existent-eyebrow.
"I assume, that you will now explain. Not only that statement, but your universe's history?"
Cortana nodded, as she and John began to tell the tale of their universe. Starting with the Precursor's, then the Forerunners, Ancient Humanity, and it's war with the Flood.
The ensuing Forerunner-Human War.
Creation of the Halo super-weapons.
The Fall of the Forerunner domain.
The gathering of the artifacts, and subsequent delaying actions, that then resulted in the death of all life in the Galaxy. The composing of the Ur-Didact, and his wife The Librarian, which would save John in the future.
, humanities new history. It's struggles through the Ages, it's birthing pains in reaching the stars, and eventually the establishment of the UNSC after the Rainforest Wars.
Then expansion. Almost 800 worlds controlled by the UNSC at their height. Now they began to get closer to John's life, as they began describing the Insurrection. The need for Commando Teams, surgical precision, and the first Super-soldier experiments. Project ORION. Then, the initiation of the Spartan-II program. And, at age 14 and a bit, John went to war. First the Insurrection, then the Covenant.
He went on to detail the 27 year long campaign against the genocidal, and highly religious Covenant Empire. How they had fought hard, won many engagements on the ground, but had initially lost almost every single one in space. The only thing that gave them breathing space, was the start of the war, when they had Admiral Preston J. Cole. However, he had died during the battle of Psi Serpentis, as was detailed by John. The Covenant had ground them down, world after world, in the worst way.
Uatu watched with somewhat morbid fascination, as John demonstrated the Covenant 'glassing' a planet, with semi-solid-holography. Never had he run into an alien species that was willing to not only exterminate, but also forgo conquest of available resources, by burning worlds to cinders. Galactus would have a conniption, and smite these beings because of what they do. He nearly laughed.
John then showed the Last Stand at Reach. Almost all the Spartans, most of humanities remaining fleet, and the biggest amount of Orbital Defence Platforms they had left. Completely destroyed. The Covenant had somehow known of the fortress world, and sent a fleet three times the size of the one the humans could muster(I'm totally ignoring Halo Reach. It does not fit with established canon of the books, meaning The Fall of Reach, and Operation First Strike. It was an OK game, but I do not like how it fits in canon, so I'm excising it from my universe.)
It was also Johns first encounter of many, with the Prime Military commanders and warriors of the Covenant. The Sangheili, the Elite. They controlled every single soldier on the battlefield, and were just as powerful as the Spartans. The lowest ranks had energy shielding that could take a 14.5mm round(which is true, it took Linda almost 8 rounds I believe to take out a black-ops Elite during the boarding action battle during the Fall of Reach)
Then, Halo. The Flood. The Monitor, and his Sentinels. Uatu was actually fascinated by a super-weapon that could actually destroy quite a bit of this universe as well. Something that could end all life, and reach through sub-dimensions? It was probably one of the most well-thought out weapons to exist. Operation First Strike came, and they helped save most of Earth from a massive onslaught, for the foreseeable time. Then they headed to Earth. The Prophet's arrival, the Delta Halo, the damn Flood again, and John made it home, only to realize that the Sangheili were now on their side, as the Prophets had not only betrayed their entire race, consigned them to death, but also lied about the entire war.
The final battles of the War began. The Flood arrived, the Gravemind trying desperately to stop them from ending it's existence. The Sangheili Fleetmaster glassed all of Africa to stop them, and they pursued the Flood through the Portal, to the extra-galactic location of The Ark. A place where all of the Halo's could be activated. They then stopped everyone. Truth, the Gravemind, retrieved Cortana, who had been left behind, but protected by Mendicant Bias. However, the ship was torn in half, and it was then that the Forerunner planet made itself known. Saved them, and then Johns training began. He ended after showing the conclusion to Uatu, not wanting to divulge his personal abilities. Uatu nodded his head, as if he understood. He wasn't exactly telling the Reclaimer everything about himself.
"You have been through many things. So many trials. It is no wonder you do not want any aliens interfering on Earth. It will be difficult for you to do such a thing. But I am sure you can accomplish it. I will tell my race of the knowledge gained, and that you are an ally, not an enemy. Good luck, Spartan-117."
With that being said, he shook John's hand.
So, John and Cortana started making an effort to try and help the proto-human that existed on Earth. They made headway, and lived many lifetimes. A few times, John fought off the ensuing forces of Lemuria and Atlantis, when arrogant, ignorant, or evil leaders tried to enslave the proto-humans. He started making a name for himself as 'The Invincible Green Knight'.
He had discovered a new love. Weapon, and Armour design. The first set he designed was an integrated plate armour set, that was MJOLNIR underneath. This was what inspired people to call him the Black Knight. He made a thick, one-handed sword, that was sharpened down to a molecules thickness. A shield that was so dense, that no one else of this age, could pick it up, let alone dent it, even with their advanced magic and technology. There magic and tech was nothing compared to good ole' Forerunner and Ancient Human methods though.
John also had taken to observing the mystical realms. He had been invited by Buri up to Aesheim, once he had seen his heroic deeds in defending proto-humanity from the off-world experiments'. Buri and Audhumla had taken a liking to the incredible Didact, and had insisted on showing him around. First to their growing family, as they had many sons and daughters. He met Bor, Bestla, Ymir, and many others. Some boasted that he must not be much of a warrior, and had taken him to the ring, mainly one of the rougher giant-like children. Buri asked him to be gentle.
"You sure you want to do this?" John asked the bearded, horned, and vibrantly red-skinned young one in front of him. Young he may be, but small he was not./
"You are all but talk, now that you are in the ring with me Didact? Ha! I may go easy on you yet!" Boasted the horned one, as he sped forward, ready to smash the armoured one.
-The Dark Knight Returns OST-It's an Operating Table... START-
John deftly began manoeuvring around his strikes, redirecting his blows. He did admit, this one was quite strong. Unskilled, but strong.
Maybe that was his method to his madness. John grimaced, and trapped an elbow-strike by grabbing the wrist, pushing upwards on the elbow with his other hand, twisting, and slamming the horned one into the dirt. The young one scrambled, trying to gain purchase with his other arm, but to no avail.
"I can break your arm. There is no shame in honourable defeat. Give up." He struggled for a few more seconds, then slacked his muscles. The horned warrior grunted. He then flashed his other arm forward at John's head, while raising his knee into a hard strike at the Didact's midsection.
"Hmm, he's definitely not afraid to sacrifice himself in a fight to achieve victory. That can be a good thing... But he has not learned the difference between a tactical victory, and simply delaying the inevitable... So I must teach him that lesson myself." John thought. In that second, he twisted the horned one's arm, pulling it out of it's socket.
"RRAARRGHHH!"
"He roars just like some of the Sangheili I've fought..." He jumped back to avoid the incoming berserk attacks.
With only one arm, it was much easier, but the big guy made up for it by implementing powerful kicks, that he had not shown thus far.
John blocked each of these, but smarted with the impacts, then started countermeasures, hitting the larger being in a few nerve-centre's, each time he tried to raise his legs for a kick. John went to work slowing him down, striking and numbing his enemies extremities. Soon, the horned giant was huffing, and using the one good arm to rub the numbness out of his legs.
John immediately sped behind him, and grabbed him in a choke-hold. The horned one struggled, but it was useless. With both of his arms, he may have succeeded, but with one dislocated, it was improbable.
"Yield now, or I snap your neck."
Many were surprised at how clear and dangerous he sounded. Others couldn't believe that he had just threatened death, or as close to it, as those of Aesheim could suffer.
"I... Yield."
John released him, and turned to walk away. Soon though, the warrior sprang up, and flames seemed to burst from his being. He charged John's back, expecting an easy target.
"Hmph, a second wind."
However, John's senses were tuned to a ridiculous level, and at the last second, he turned, planted his feet in a wide stance as he ducked under a right haymaker, and launched a massive uppercut punch of his own.
BTHOOM!
A shockwave erupted, as John had put all his weight into the punch, knowing the warrior could take it, in his tanked-up state. The Warrior flew back, straight into the wall of the arena, where he stayed, spread-eagled. It was not everyday that you got punched with a force equivalent to your father. John walked back up to him.
"I'm sorry for not using my full force off the bat. I didn't know you could take it, until you got angry." He extended a hand. The warrior grimaced first, and then bellowed in laughter, as he ripped himself free and shook the Didact's hand.
"Twas I who underestimated you, Didact! I did not expect such a punch from one who is not born of our home! I will look forward to our next fight. The fire diminished, but continued to burn with greater intensity, in a young Surtur's eyes.
John made his way back over to Buri, where Bor seemed to glare at him, then turned abruptly and strode off. John looked at his retreating form, as a hand clapped onto his shoulder. He looked up, and saw it was Buri.
"Don't worry about the young lad. Arrogant as he is, Bor is my heir, and you just hit him right in his pride." Buri smiled, as John looked at him questioningly.
"What did I do? I was fighting Surtur, not Bor..."
"That you were lad. And it is a personal bit of annoyance to my son, for Bor has never been able to defeat Surtur in hand to hand combat. Most likely due to his great strength, and his unpredictability. However, you quickly adapted, and brought him down. Not only that, but you slugged him with a punch as hard as any I've ever thrown at him while teaching him! That put's Bor now at third, and he hates being below anyone!" Buri leaned in close.
"Especially one who is an immortal born of science, ascended from the human race."
-The Dark Knight Returns OST-It's an Operating Table... END-
Now John could see it. He understood what was going on, and could see why Bor would be so annoyed. However, it was not his place to do anything about, this was Buri's home, it was his family, and he already recognized what was going on. So he would leave it to him to fix. Besides, what was he going to do, apologize for achieving excellence in battle?
However, he was shocked. How did Buri know?
"I knew, because, I am, in a way, a God of Time. I can see things, many things, from all times. When I see you... I see a child... A Soldier... A Spartan... A Reclaimer... A Didact... It is extremely unusual to see things beyond our universe. I hope Bor will learn the lessons of rulership, in time, before it is too late."
Later on, it was time to leave. Buri thanked him for coming, and told him that he would take him to visit the other sky-lords, to show them the potential of humanity, as that was primarily what John represented. John continued to fight and aid the humans, and eventually they had succeeded in taking Atlantis itself. Only because the Deviants of Lemuria had unleashed a Bio-Weapon, which had annihilated the 'science experiments' that inhabited the city. Now that they had a centre of power, John tried to start building humanity up. This was clearly not to be.
The Titan Chronos, descended upon the world, having somehow found a way to deny access to the other pantheons of Earth. John arose to challenge him. The Titan had made it extremely clear on what he was going to do.
"Why do you fight me Didact? If you are as tired of the Star-goers as I am, you will want this filth wiped from the Earth! Then I can remake this world in my image, and humanity can be the perfect race, free from their intervention, and machinations!" The Titan roared, as John slung plasma at him with his mono-molecular sword, in huge crescent waves. They dissipated before even reaching the Titan of Destructive Time.
-The Dark Knight Returns OST-The One Man Who Beat You-START-
"Humanity underneath you, remade in your image, would be a cruel mockery, a pale image of the potential it can achieve. I will never join you, I will ensure you never affect this world again!" John called upon a massive amount of psionic force to stabilize himself against Chronos's presence, if only for a second, surprising the increasingly enraged Titan. John sped forward in the blink of an eye, trying to decapitate the Mad One.
And in that second, he was back where he started.
So he tried again.
And again.
It was after the third try, that he frowned, and hefted his sword defensively.
"Do you see now what I am, little Didact! I AM TIME! Nothing can stand against me now, and I will dispose of those fool Space Gods, after I have disposed of humanity, and those loathsome deviants!" Chronos grinned, as the Spartan looked up at him, sword at the ready. It was then that he heard it. A roar on the horizon. Chronos's grin threatened to split his face. John tensed, and looked.
A tidal wave. It encompassed his entire vision from the whole East. He looked back at Chronos.
"Why fight me. Why?"
"Because I wanted to test your limits! You have proven to be some good entertainment, and I was waiting for my other Titans to enact the rest of this plan... A Flood, which will wipe the entire Earth clear! It will then allow me to do as I will, and to make a proper race to rule from Olympus! A Silver Race, for a Golden Age!" The Titan looked supremely pleased with himself. John was going to take that smugness down a notch, if he had anything to say about it
"I will find a way to defeat you. I will stop at nothing to destroy you. There will be a reckoning, and you will know that inviting the wrath of the Didact... Is no small thing Chronos. Even if you are Time!" With that said, he mustered all the energy he could. Chronos frowned.
"What are you doing?!"
"Something beyond even your comprehension!Cortana, transport all the human signature's you can. Bring me on last, I can survive the shockwave!"He then thrust his arms out, appearing spread-eagled. A massive plasma wave erupted from his being, spreading out, pouring across the landscape, vaporizing all water, scouring the land, and blasting Chronos back.
The Titan roared in rage. That had actually hurt.
Cortana nodded, as she attempted to transport as many humans from Earth as she could, to their ship, which was 'anchored' at Pluto. Dozens of people, on Atlantis, and around the world, were ensconced in energy, as they were ensnared, and yanked towards the Inherited Legacy. It was too late for the Deviants. Innocent or not, Chronos had struck Lemuria first, appearing to eradicate the entire race with his powers. It was only through this action, that John could prepare to fight him. Now he was seriously frustrated. However, he soon looked up to the sky, as a disturbance had made itself known.
The Celestials had arrived!
The Second Host was now present, and arrayed against Chronos. The Titan noticed where he was looking, and turned. Glowering, he gestured towards them.
"Begone, puny gods. I have many things to deal with, and do not need you interrupting my affairs." Soon, the wave of water arrived, and seemed to sculpt itself around the host, Chronos, and John.
The Celestials stayed silent. Then, the centre one, Arishem the Judge, raised his hand, and portals appeared, and in a display of might closed it's fist.
The Mystical Realms of Earth were open and had been freed!
The Gods rode down to engage the Titan, as his brethren joined him. The Celestials stood, observing.
"YOU DARE!" Spoke Chronos with fury, as his body rippled, and a black pattern, with stars inside it seemed to erupt from his belt. He stormed forward, to take on the Celestials, but was struck in the back by a massive thunderbolt. He groaned, and peered behind himself.
"Not today father. You shall face me!" A powerfully built God leapt forward, with hair, and beard white as the toga he was wearing.
John then leapt into action, as he made his way in, fighting against the Titans. Soon, he began to be pummelled, from all sides. A being stopped in front of him.
"Like that, little Didact? I am Arke, the messenger. I move as one with thought! I am to be your opponent now!" John grimaced, as he crouched in a stable position, as the female Titan rained blows upon him. He began analyzing her patterns, and her movements.
"Just a few more hits... There!" With that thought, he snapped a fist up, grabbed her around the waist with his other arm, and bridged, planting her head first in the ground, utilizing her momentum against her. He flipped over, keeping a constant hold, and began to pepper jabs against her face, as she tried to protect herself. She began to slack, as he broke her jaw, and concentrated on her temple.
"You might be able to move as fast as thought. But you cannot seem to react as fast. My reflexes are faster, and even though you are extremely fast, you have patterns. And I've been fighting wars a lot longer than you." With that, he delivered a haymaker to between her eyes, with a ear-shattering slam, a crater was now imprinted beneath them.
"I hope that's enough. I really don't want to kill her. She looks young enough to be someone's daughter. I don't want anymore kids to die, whether they got a different ideology or not!" John thought, as he stared at the disabled Titan, who looked almost childlike in her unconscious state
With Arke disabled, he turned his attention back to the main fight. It seemed that Zeus was gaining the upper hand.
"How is that possible? Zeus is only wielder of the Sky... But then again, it took four Titans holding down Ouranos, and Chronos doing his... Thing, to defeat him, and he was a Sky God as well. Maybe Zeus is inheritor of all that he was, because of what happened!" The Reclaimer Didact almost got lost in thought, before bringing himself to the present again.
He flew straight to Zeus, exerting his telekinetic abilities.
"Zeus, do you need assistance putting this murderer down?"
Zeus didn't look at the Didact, as he continued to hurl thunderbolts at Chronos, and Chronos continued with blasts of starry time-energy. The Godling grimaced, before answering John.
"No, but if you see me failing, you are welcome to assist. Go and aid my fellows, see what you can do!" Another bolt flew, and erupted into a 5 mile wide flash of lightning energy.
John sped towards the other Gods, and spotted Surtur battling Helios. He rocketed towards him, just as Helios a particular vicious hit across Surtur's chest. The Didact shoulder slammed into Helios neck, and haymaker'd him with the force of a thermonuclear bomb, slamming the Titan into the ground.
Surtur grimaced, then jumped towards John.
"Hail Didact! I didn't need your help you know. I had'em on the ropes! I don't want your interference!" He held his fist threateningly in front of the Spartans face. John held up his hands reassuringly.
"Now, now, there is plenty to go around. I just wanted to get my own hits in, and he was closest! Plus, I get to fight alongside an old friend right?" Surtur grumped for a second. Then he huffed, and turned to the downed Titan, who was struggling to get back up. He looked at the Reclaimer.
"You hit him on the right-" He started.
"And you give him a piledriver on the left!"(A nod to Noodlehammer for coming up with this original saying. If you haven't read his Naruto story, give it a try. It's worth a read) John shouted as they ran forward, at lightning speeds, intent on cracking the Titans skull. John drew his sword in a quickdraw motion, and manged to slice the Titan's chest deeply, then cracked him with an uppercut. Surtur rode the momentum in, and absorbed the Titans flames, growing to comparable size, and then thrust his right arm forward, while putting his foot behind the Titans, and pinning his other arm behind his back.
Then he slammed the dazed and bleeding Titan into the ground. Surtur got up, and looked at himself, somewhat pleased, as John surveyed him as well.
"Well, this is different." Surtur looked smug.
"Wh-wh-what have you done? I can't feel the Sun's warmth anymore... The Flames! The Flames are nearly gone!" Helios cried out in alarm.
"There is a prophecy written in Aesheim, vile Titan. It is said that I, Surtur, will make Sun God's, into swords. They never said which Sun God, though." The big guy smirked, and looked down.
"You count." Surtur grinned, as he placed a hand on the downed Titan, and absorbed the rest his flames. With that, Helios opened his eyes and mouth in a silent scream, then suddenly, became dust. John looked at Surtur.
"You didn't have to kill him, you know. You could have only absorbed as much as needed to keep him down." Surtur looked at his hands in surprise.
"That's what I tried to do. I thought I only absorbed his flames, not his life-force. And Didact, better I make this treacherous Sun God into a sword, instead of one of my sworn kin, right?" He looked imploringly at John. John nodded.
"Actually, your right. Helios was mad, and from what I understand, even with other Sun deities here, he was one of the most powerful, and could have overpowered them. If he unleashed his rage, he could have detonated the Sun itself." Surtur looked confused.
"What would that do to us? We are on Midgard right now." John nodded, and Cortana popped up from his armour in a hologram, then pointed up at the glowing orb in the sky.
"The sun, if it was commanded to, by a significantly powerful deity, much less a Titan like Helios, could enter a state called 'Supernova'. This, would mean uncontrollable expansion in every direction. The Planets up to Mars, the fourth planet, would be consumed. And if a Titan infused it's energy into it? The entire Solar System, all the Planets, would be consumed. Possibly even the Divine Realms. I cannot extrapolate what would happen in that case... The data available is negligible, and I'm unable to see what would happen. Divine energies, like Magic, are nearly unpredictable when trying to calculate and quantify in anything Science based. Best case, nothing. Worst case, absolute destruction of all Divine Realms, and all Deities." The AI summarized.
Surtur looked dumbfounded.
"I had never guessed, that the orb that holds such warmth in the sky, held such devastating potential... What a crazy world we live in, huh Didact?"
John surveyed the battlefield. Most of the battles were winding down. The Celestials stood silently. The Titans had lost. The Gods had won.
"When I think about it from your point of view... Yeah. But when I think about Gods, and Titans from my point of view... Yeah still crazy." Cortana filled in for him, and John nodded.
Chronos was tied up, along with several other Titans. He glowered at Zeus, and his force of Gods. He even spotted that a few Titans had betrayed him.
"You think this is over, my son! And you, Prometheus, how dare you betray me! You and your Space-God buddies going to fuck each other sore at the victory feast now?" He spat, as he tried to exert his powers, but the bonds Hephaestus had made were specifically engineered to block Divine powers from being accessed by their owners. They had taken a long while to make, and only after years and years had been ready. They were shackles, that seemed to drain all might from those that were trapped by them.
"No father, I know this is not over. But, you shall be imprisoned, in the depths of Tartarus, for all time. I cannot allow the power of time to be passed onto a new herald, for they could destroy All That Is. Prometheus saw what you were trying to accomplish, and he saw the madness in it. He knew siding with me was the better idea." Chronos sneered at the response from his son.
"Can't even speak for yourself Prometheus? Have to let a Boy do it for you-"
Another Titan stepped from behind Prometheus. A female, with a regal air, and noble bearing.
"No one speaks for us, dear husband. We have betrayed nothing by siding with my son. You would have destroyed everything, with your made plans and schemes. You wanted to make war with the Cosmos itself! That is madness!"
"YOU WHORE! MADNESS! I SHOULD HAVE SMOTE THOSE BASTARD SPACE GODS WHEN THEY FIRST CAME TO THIS MISERABLE PLANET! I CAN DESTROY ANYTHING! I COULD TURN THIS UNIVERSE BACK TO CREATION ITSELF! I AM TIME!"
With an unearthly rumble, his shackle's cracked, and then shattered into dust. He came to his feet so fast, it looked as if he didn't even move. He held his hands out.
"You think such pitiful creations can hold me! First I will destroy these pitiful Space Gods! Then, you bastards and whores are next!" Chronos turned towards the Celestial Host, as he leapt at the leader, Arishem. And for the first time, the Host moved.
As one, all their visors slid up, and beams of energy blasted out. Chronos roared, trying to use his powers to negate the damage, and fought through the beam, struggling to reach Arishem, from the constant outpouring of energy.
One thing was for sure. Chronos was damn powerful, John thought. But, his weakness, was that he had to focus specifically on what he wanted to control when he used his power. Like stopping the beams from harming him, or if they punched through his mystical defences, then negating the damage as it came. Which must be extremely painful he surmised. To constantly feel that amount of damage, it was on a scale of pain tolerance John had never imagined.
But still, Chronos fought through it, and he finally reached Arishem. The mighty Celestial created swords out of thin air, and began to battle the mighty Titan, as his fellows kept sniping away at the Insane Titan. Cortana and John saw both their strategies immediately.
"Arishem wants to keep Chronos busy, while negating the damage he's taking, making sure he's at arms length. Chronos wants to get his hands on Arishem, to erase him, probably completely, from existence, using his time powers. Don't know if that's possible, no one knows how old the Celestials are, and even with Chronos's powers, could he possibly reverse someone's age, to before this universe existed?"
The battle continued, but finally, due to the guerrilla tactics, Chronos was worn down, and had exerted all of his energy. Arishem had ensured this, by taking off multiple limbs, and watching each time as Chronos grew more haggard at reversing the damage. Finally, the Titan collapsed, his hair grey, and his bones now showing through his skin. His musculature had withered, and now he looked like a weary giant old man. John snorted.
"Father Time indeed." He heard Cortana laughing at the back of his mind.
The Celestials then gestured for all those gathered to come forth. Hephaestus brought forth another pair of shackles. In silence, he clapped Chronos in irons, and immediately set off, back to Zeus's side. The Celestials gestured for all to be quiet.
"We believe that this has resulted from an inability to communicate. We do not understand why this has happened. Why would such an entity seek to destroy our works? We only sought to enrich this planet with new lifeforms..."
It was Zeus who stepped forward.
"I believe first of all, that my father had discovered that he could do anything with his power. And he wanted absolute dominion over the Earth. The first thing he did, was to devour most of his children. I escaped. Then, he blocked the other Divine Pantheons of Earth off from aiding the races that inhabit it." John stepped forward.
"I originally aided the proto-humans, because they are the life that evolved here. They earned the right to existence, through evolution, not created by Gods, and given perfection. If you had stayed here, you would have witnessed acts of cruelty from both Atlantis, and Lemuria. Lemuria moreso, because they hated everyone, including yourselves. They first engineered a Bio-Weapon, to target your works in Atlantis, while I only defended human settlements from attacks. They planned to attack you as well when you returned." The Celestials almost looked startled, or as startled as 2,000 feet tall, armoured beings can look. They began to look at each other, and John picked up disturbance's along the psychic wavelength. He probed the channel, and suddenly, they were all looking at him.
"You are much more than you appear. You are human. You are more. Ahhh, a Hyper-Advanced Race helped evolve you. Why would you fight us so, then. Is it not similar, what we aim to do here?"
"Similar, not the same. You were planning, if the experiment was successful, to allow the races you created to replace everyone else on this planet as the dominant race, by any means necessary. If you look through my memories, you will see why I feel that is wrong." With the blink of an eye, the Celestials had done just that. They shook their heads collectively.
"Such hatred. Such zealotry. We have not encountered this since the Aspirants... You have given us much to think about, Reclaimer Didact. We will have an answer for you shortly. For now, we must deal with this renegade Olympian, with his control over Time." John nodded, as the Celestial voice left his head. The host seemed to contemplate for a few moments.
"What is to be his fate, Zeus Godling? We would know, for his very existence churns the universe itself about." Zeus nodded, before turning to his fellow Gods.
"Imprisonment in Tartarus, our greatest prison, for all time. There, he will not be able to exert any influence, nor pass on his power to a successor. I know if he was to do that, he could reincarnate himself, and possibly destroy us all." Arishem the Judge nodded.
"You are wise beyond your years, and have devised a good solution. Ensure that he does not break free. A being of his capabilities, is worrying enough, to warrant a closer look from even those forces of the universe that no one wants to disturb." Zeus nodded, as he motioned for the Gods to take away the Titans to Tartarus. He turned to his brother.
"Hades. I do not ask this of you lightly. I entrust the incarceration of the Titans, and our Father, to you. For all time, must he be imprisoned. There is no better God, than you, imprison him. Your power over the Dead, will keep him like this for all time." Hades grimaced, before sneering, about to turn away. Zeus placed his hand on his brothers shoulder.
"I cannot turn to anyone else with this. I myself, cannot even hold him back, with all the powers of the Sky. Poseidon has no chance, even with all of the Oceans, and that which is beyond. Apollo, and the Sun, are subject to time. The Dead, are timeless. You, are as close to Death, as any God can be. I will endeavour to do anything to make Tartarus brighter. In fact, I grant you jurisdiction, over the Elysium Fields brother." Hades was stunned. Never had he expected that Zeus would allow him to have claim to the heroes, as well as the condemned. Maybe being the God of the Dead, was not going to be so bad after all.
-The Dark Knight Returns OST-The One Man Who Beat You END-
The Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus. It was now 23,000 B.C.E. The Celestials had decided against intervening on Earth, after meeting with John.
"We now understand. Evolution is an experiment in itself. We should not judge that which is created by the Living Universe, and Cosmic Consonance. We have learned from our mistakes. We will create life on dead planets, with resources, as we have the ability to do so. Thank you for such a lesson, Didact-117. Even if we know much, as some of the few left of our race, we now know... We still have much to learn. Good luck with the human race Reclaimer Didact!"
With those final words, John watched as the Celestials ascended the atmosphere, and in the blink of an eye, disappeared.
"What's your theory Cortana. I know you have one." He heard a light laugh.
"Well... As the Gods we have met have developed primarily from left over energy and matter from the Big Bang, becoming Mystical in nature... I think the Celestials are the highest evolved beings in this universe, scientifically. There appears to be an abundance of mystical, and like Uatu said, Anthropomorphic Personifications, which are almost mystical in nature... But I think the Celestials are as high as a being could evolve personally, maybe what you could become eventually. Maybe the Forerunners could have even become them, if given enough time." John's eyes widened.
"One thing is for sure... The Flood would have been destroyed down to component atoms, if the Forerunner's had been that strong..."
John shook his head.
"No, I need to become more. For the safety of the human race, I need to ensure-"
"John, that's insane! Your talking about becoming a God! Even more powerful than a God... You saw how they took on Chronos. A Titan of Antiquity, straight out of our myths, personified right before your eyes, and you want more than that? Geez, you sound even more power hungry than I was during my most rampant moments... Your already immortal, and like I said, you might become more in the future. You don't need to become anything beyond that..." Cortana brought him back to reality.
John stopped, and thought for a second. He didn't really need to become more powerful. What he needed was allies. He could manipulate the world to his liking, or allow the human race to proceed along as it should. What he truly aimed to do though, was ensure that no mystical, or extraterrestrial component would affect humanities development. That would be his goal. He could have allies in the Divine Realms, and in Outer Space. Uatu had already declared himself one, millennia ago... Yes, it was time he started becoming more proactive in preventing access to humanity.
He would gather powerful warriors. He would assemble a powerful network. He would intervene on a galactic, and even universal scale, if humanity was threatened. Now he needed a name. He ran through a series of ideas, Cortana along with him. He finally decided on one. He would be the one who mans the wall, surveying all threats to Earth, Sol, and the Milky Way...
The Man on the Wall.
After that John soon established his position rather quick. Cortana began to help him in the process of developing dimensional tech, that would work with different dimensions, allowing him to go into the Divine, and... Other Realms without assistance. He had no prejudice, as he began each mission, but he would destroy anything that would threaten humankind, and it's development.
He was moreso aimed at the races, and daemons that wanted to devour humans like cattle... Whether it be as meat, for their energy, or for their divine souls. He would kill any who would threaten them.
Some didn't stay dead however.
Soon a new Age would dawn, and he would be able to recruit.
~Chapter End~
I know I am releasing the first four chapter's in one massive spurt, but I have been working on this for a while. I just did not have a competent internet connection, to my main computer.
Please read, review, and question everything!