Here it is, folks. The next chapter of Young Multiverser.
This chapter marks the beginning of a possible end for something Michael Verser holds dear. There will be signs of it in the next few chapters of this story (and some updates of other stories), which will all come to a head after said few chapters in this story. For now, we focus on the here and now.
Now then, here's the disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN YOUNG JUSTICE IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM! IF I DID, THERE WOULD'VE BEEN A THIRD SEASON BY NOW!
I also want to give thanks to BioshockerN7, who was kind enough to help in writing a scene or two for this chapter.
Anyway, let's begin.
Voice Cast (how I envision certain characters being voiced):
MAIN:
Michael Verser = Yuri Lowenthal (A/N: Think the voice of Peter Parker/Spider-Man from the 2018 "Spider-Man" video game.)
Rachel Roth/Raven = Taissa Farmiga
Koriand'r/Starfire = Kari Wahlgren
Victor Stone/Cyborg = Shemar Moore
Kaldur'ahm/Aqualad = Khary Payton
Richard "Dick" Grayson/Robin = Jesse McCartney
Wally West/Kid Flash = Jason Spisaks
Conner Kent/Superboy = Nolan North
M'gann M'orzz/Megan Morse/Miss Martian = Danica McKellar
Donna Troy/Wonder Girl = Emma Stone
RECURRING:
Akima/Lambda = Lindsay Jones (A/N: Think her actual voice)
Masamune = Jennifer Hale
"Timeshifter"/? = Christopher Daniel Barnes (A/N: Think the voice of Spider-Man Noir from "Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions")
GUEST:
Roy Harper/Speedy = Crispin Freeman
Mister Twister = John de Lancie
BGMs:
X Gon' Give It To Ya - DMX
? [Moment: Pool party with the Team]
Young Justice OST 08 Martian Bio Ship
Let the Battles Begin! - Final Fantasy VII Music Extended
Uncontrollable - Xenoblade Chronicles OST
Snake Eater - Metal Gear Solid 3 Guitar Cover (Feat. Adriana Figueroa) | FamilyJules
Star City, July 17, 23:16 EDT
It was a rather peaceful night, all things considered.
(Play "X Gon' Give It To Ya - DMX") [Play at 0:27]
Shame it was about to be ruined.
*BOOM!*
That was the sound of one of Roy's exploding arrows, hitting one individual named Brick. A supervillain and enemy of Green Arrow, Brick was currently in the process of overseeing a shipment of illegal firearms at the Star City docks. Things were going smoothly.
Until we decided to crash the party.
Which, in turn, led to Roy, Robin, Kaldur, Wally, Kori, Raven, Donna and Victor to start ruining the baddies' day. With all of the energy blasts and ass kicking going around, I'd say everyone needed this after being cooped up for a while.
Meanwhile, back at where Roy and Brick were...
"Do you know how much I pay for a suit in my size?!"
"Waitwaitwait, you're telling me that you actually paid for that monkey suit?!" I exclaimed. "Seriously, I thought that at least you of all people would have standards!"
*PEW*
I ducked behind the crane, landing next to Victor. "I don't think he likes me too much."
"Well, you do seem to be an acquired taste," he shrugged. Another laser bolt hit a crate nearby. "For heroes, anyway." He fired a blast right at Brick, knocking the crook to the ground. As that occurred, Donna had her lasso wrapped around a group of the bad guys, swinging them around and letting them fly toward another group. Before one of the goons could sneak up on her, a stun arrow hit him in the face, knocking him unconscious as the archer responsible ran from cover.
Dodging more blasts, Kaldur, Robin and Roy landed on a nearby container, with Kaldur explaining "The cave will have everything we need."
"For covert missions!" the Boy Wonder exclaimed. "You know, spy stuff."
"And wait till you see Superboy and Miss Martian!" Wally added once he ran up to them. "But I saw her first!"
"Only downside is that we have to take marching orders from Oberon," I yelled, "but other than that, it's pretty legit!" As I said this, Brick prepared to throw another piece of the ground he pulled up, only for said ground to be blasted by one of Kori's Starbolts, followed by getting swept off his feet (literally) by one of Raven's spells.
"The other downside is that we have two teammates with perverted natures," Donna snarked. "Other than that, it's perfect."
"Oh for the love of- I said that was an accident!" Michael exclaimed.
"You expect me to believe that you accidentally kicked off the left side of my training dress and exposed my breast?!" the young Amazonian shot back, actually making nearly every male who heard that stumble a bit.
"D, you honestly can't believe I meant to do that!"
"No one is that unlucky!"
Leaning against a pillar, the astral form of Sterling Archer noted {She clearly hasn't met Spider-Man.}
This back and forth gave Roy the chance to fire three explosive arrows at him, blasting Brick to the ground. Shaking as he got back up, he laughed as he said "Tell Arrow he shouldn't send boys to do a man's job."
Sucking air through my teeth, I shook my head and muttered "He pressed the sidekick button. He shouldn't have did that."
Roy scowled deeply as he notched up another arrow, aiming it right at Brick. Arms outstretched, he taunted "Go ahead. Take your best shot."
That he did. With said shot trapping him in a substance that instantly hardened. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Victor and I went up to join the others, having brought down the whole group. "So, thoughts?" Robin inquired.
"Pass," he waved off, "I'm not marching to the League's tune anytime soon. Especially not while in a group they formed."
"We formed the team, Roy," I countered, "not the League. And while they may give missions, that doesn't mean you need to rebel against them."
He sighed. "Look, Michael. You and I have been friends ever since you first rolled into Star City. That's the only reason I'm even entertaining this conversation right now. If I do join, it'll be on my terms. Until then...try to stay out of trouble." With that said, he walked off, leaving us behind with a trapped supervillain and his cronies.
"...That could've gone better," Donna noted. I sighed, annoyed that I couldn't convince him.
'Well, at least I managed to make some progress,' I thought.
"...So...we just gonna leave him trapped in that foam?" Victor asked, jerking a thumb at the trapped Brick. "'Cause I think he might be suffocating."
"*sigh* Let's dig him a breathing hole," Robin drawled out.
(End "X Gon' Give It To Ya - DMX")
Chapter 4: Prep Time, Part 2 (Sortie with a Synthetic)
Mount Justice, July 18, 11:09 EDT
Michael's POV:
Ten days I've been here.
For ten entire days, I've been in Mount Justice with Superboy, Kory, Raven, Donna and Megan, helping them get the place in working order for when the rest of the team arrives.
And last night, I'd honestly say that the best part was helping Roy fight against Brick. While the fight was hilariously short, it was some good stress relief on my end. Even if we didn't convince Roy to join up with us early. After last night, however, everything was pretty quiet and peaceful. And boring. With a sigh, I laid back in my chair and said "Jeez, one would think that after all this time, a week would seem like nothing to a Multiverser."
"Well, you do have to consider that you were looking forward to this day for a while," Masamune said as she materialized next to me. "And your mind has a tendency to draw out time when you're anticipating something."
With a smile, I said "Yeah, you may have a point there, Masamune-chan. But then again, good things do come to those who wait, don't they?"
Chuckling, my Zanpakuto/girlfriend walked over to me, slowly swinging her hips in a painfully alluring way. "Now, Michael, what have I told you about saying corny things like that?"
Wrapping my arms around her waist, I smirked and answered "That you love them because they make you laugh?"
"Smartass," she quietly said, pulling down her scarf as she pulled me in for a soft kiss.
"You know you love it," I softly remarked before returning in to the kiss. I felt Masamune cringe in pain as my embrace got a bit too tight for her. Pulling back in concern, I asked "You okay?"
Nodding, she said "Yes, I'm just experiencing some phantom pains from that day. I should be fine soon enough."
I cringed at the memory of that. One of my doubles, while on his way to meet Duncan in another world, found himself in another reality altogether. Said reality was home to probably the scariest- and deadliest- foe I had ever faced before.
My double managed to survive the fight, but not before his Masamune was destroyed, and another double he created was slain. Ever since then, every version of Masamune has been experiencing phantom pains across the Multiverse, and her blade has gained a small hairline fracture. Nothing big enough to cause the blade to break, but it was enough to cause me concern. Even if all she feels are slight aches now and then.
Duncan said he'd get it done as soon as he could. However, he also said it would take him a while to do, as he has some stuff he wants to add to it to make it better. Just as long as Masamune has a spare home to put herself in, I won't complain.
"The same goes for me," she replied, reminding me she could read my thoughts like an open book. "Not that I'll break any time soon."
"Yeah, well, better safe than sorry," I replied as I looked at the time. Only a few minutes until Red Tornado shows up.
Heading out into the main hall, I met up with my fellow roommates here in the mountain: Superboy, Kory, Raven, and Megan, who were currently accompanied by Kaldur and Victor (with everyone in civilian clothes). "Glad you could finally come out of your room, my friend," said Kaldur.
"Well, I can't just spend all my time in there, even if it is an awesome sanctuary for me," I replied.
Kory walked over to us, a sandwich in her hands containing lettuce, tomatoes, and was oozing with mustard. Gulping it down, she smiled brightly and said "This is delicious! What do you call this yellow sauce?"
Realizing that she seemed to share the love of the condiment with her cartoon show counterpart (hopefully not to the same degree), I replied "Mustard. It's a condiment used with stuff like sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs. Though...not exactly the most popular condiment in my opinion..."
Having gulped down another bite, she smiled and said "We may have to get more soon. I think I might be getting addicted to this."
"Please don't," Raven said flatly.
Laughing a bit, Victor said "Also, just a heads up, I kinda set up shop here last time I visited. I figured this place would be a nice place for a private workshop."
"I don't think the others will mind," Donna said. "After all, we're all going to be using this place as our home in some way or another."
"You really think this is gonna work?" Superboy asked, still a bit sore from his experience from that G-Gnome that snuck in the previous week.
"Trust me," I said, patting him on the shoulder, "This is going to be legen- wait for it... ... ...dary. Legendary!"
"...You took that from somewhere else, didn't you?" Donna asked with a raised eyebrow.
"...Yeah," I slumped in defeated embarrassment.
Whirling to life, the Zeta tube called out "Recognized, Robin, B-01. Kid Flash, B-03." Immediately afterwards, Wally and Robin showed up in their civvies as well, though Robin's was meant to conceal his identity. Orders from Batman, meaning nothing could be done about them at the moment.
"Did you ask him?" Robin inquired.
"What did he say?" Wally asked, excitement edging his voice.
Pointing to the screen, I said "He's on his way."
"Well what are we waiting for?!" With that said, Wally zoomed toward the hidden entrance, the rest of us following close behind. Upon exiting the cave, we were greeted by a gust of wind as the aerokinetic android hero descended to the ground in front of us. "Red Tornado!"
"Greetings," he replied."Is there a reason you intercepted me outside the cave?"
"We hoped you had a mission for us," Kaldur explained.
"Mission assignments are the Batman's and Oberon's responsibilities," Red Tornado reminded us.
"But it's been over a week!" Robin complained. "Nothing-"
Red Tornado held up his hand, effectively silencing the Boy Wonder. "You will be tested soon enough. For the time being, simply enjoy each other's company."
"This team is not a social club," Kaldur argued.
"You're right, Kal," I said. "But if we're going to be a team, we need to get to know each other in order to work together."
"Socializing is important in building a team," Kori said in agreement.
Nodding, Red Tornado said "Atlas and Starfire are correct. Perhaps you all can keep busy by familiarizing yourselves with the cave." With that, he walked into said cave.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Wally sarcastically muttered "'Keep busy.'"
"Does he think we're falling for this?!" Robin asked, leaving me to resist face-palming myself right now.
"Oh! I'll find out!" Megan said as she tried to read his mind.
"Huh, I didn't know you could read the thoughts of androids," Donna said in surprise.
Hearing that, Megan stopped what she was doing and lightly blushed in embarrassment. "Oh. I forgot, he's inorganic. I can't read his mind."
"Nice try, though," said Wally. With a suggestive tone, he asked "Soooo, you know what I'm thinking right now?"
Slapping him upside the head, Victor dryly remarked "We all know what you're thinking right now, Casanova."
'Well, at least he isn't nearly as bad as Tucker,' Masamune said telepathically.
'Which is something we should be thankful for,' I thought back.
Noticing how Kaldur looked a bit annoyed, I said "Calm down, Kal. We'll get our chance to shine."
"Well, the six of us live here," Megan said as she gestured to the other inhabitants of the cave. "We wouldn't mind playing tour guides."
"Don't look at me," Superboy said, obviously not wanting to do this.
"We won't," Wally replied. Grinning at Kori, Raven, Donna and Megan, he continued "A private tour sounds-"
*SHING*
"...Wally," I calmly began as I brought out Masamune from her sheath. "I will seriously cut you, right here and now." That shut him up real quick, earning an amused chuckle from the girls at my antics.
"Besides," Raven said with an amused/annoyed tone, "she never said anything about the tour being private."
"Team building," Kaldur said simply. "We'll all go."
Heading back into the cave, Megan started "So, this would be the front door..."
"...and this would be the back," she said as we reached the other side of the mountain. "The cave is actually the entire mountain."
"Superman and Green Lantern hollowed the place out and reinforced it back in the early days of the League," Victor added.
"Then why abandon it for the Hall of Justice?" Superboy asked.
"The cave's secret location was...compromised," Kaldur answered. Completely omitting the detail that the cave was discovered by the Joker, who then proceeded to attack the Justice League and their friend, Lucas 'Snapper' Carr. Something that Superboy discovered thanks to the G-Gnome that snuck into the cave (A/N: Believe it or not, this is canon. This was revealed in the Young Justice comic book issues #1 & 2, which took place when Superboy and Miss Martian were settling in).
"So they traded it in for a tourist trap?" the Boy of Steel questioned. Sarcastically, he added "Yeah, that makes sense."
"The Hall is a front," I threw in. "Their real HQ is a satellite called the Watchtower." That got a shocked look from the former Cadmus prisoners.
Thinking about it, Megan worriedly said "But if villains know about the cave, we must be on constant alert!"
Robin placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her attention to him. "The bad guys know we know they know about the place, so they'd never think to look here."
"I think what he means to say," Kori said, noticing Megan's slightly confused expression, "is that we're hiding in plain sight."
"Ah. That's much clearer," the White Martian in disguise said.
"Does anyone else smell something?" Donna asked, her nose wrinkling at something in the air.
"Yeah." Sniffing the air, Superboy said "I smell smoke."
And just like that, Megan instantly remembered the cookies she left in the oven and flew off to the kitchen. Which were now a platter of charred dough circles.
Sighing, Megan said "I was trying out Grammy Joan's recipe from episode seventeen of- eh, never mind!"
"I bet they would've tasted great," Robin said reassuringly. "Besides, they seem to like them."
As he said this, Wally and I were practically inhaling the cookies. They might've been burned, but the flavor within was delicious! Acknowledging the looks we got from everyone, Wally slowly gulped down his food. "...We have a serious metabolism," he defended.
"And even if I didn't," I continued, "these cookies are the shit! Seriously, I could eat these all day long!" That brought a smile to Megan's face, as Kori tried one herself.
Gulping down the cookie, she said with a smile "They may be burnt on the outside, but all the flavor is packed within. This almost reminds me of my favorite childhood snack from Tamaran."
Her smile remaining, Megan said "I guess I'll make some more, then."
"Still, it was sweet of you to make any," said Kaldur.
"Thanks, Aqualad."
"We are off duty. Call me Kaldur'ahm. Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."
"I'm Wally," the young speedster said.
"Michael," I said.
"Victor."
"I am Koriand'r, or Kori for short."
"Rachel Roth is a pseudonym, since Raven is my real name."
"Donna."
"See? We already trust you with our secret identities," Wally said. Gesturing to Robin, he continued saying "Except for 'dark glasses' here. Batman's forbidden Boy Wonder from telling anyone his real name."
"I know his name," I threw in, "but that's only because Bats trusts me enough to not blab about it."
"Well, mine's no secret," Megan said cheerfully. "It's M'gann M'orzz. But you can call me Megan. It's an Earth name. And I'm on Earth now."
'Ah, the quirkiness of naive youth,' Masamune said in a nostalgic tone.
'Indeed, Masamune-chan,' I replied.
Superboy looked a bit downtrodden, probably from not having a name of his own. Walking away, he flinched as Megan entered his mind, "saying" 'Don't worry, Superboy. We'll find you an Earth name too.'
"Get out of my head!" he screamed angrily.
Stepping back in surprise, she went on to "say" 'I don't understand,' all while everyone (myself included) grasped our heads in slight discomfort. 'Everyone on Mars speaks telepathically.'
The sudden intrusion brought up all sorts of bad memories, many of which I was trying to get rid of. My eyes then turned into draconian slits as I slammed my fist on the table, leaving a dent in it as I screamed "GET OUT!" My sudden outburst made everyone take a few steps back, while Megan looked at me in slight fear. Seeing the look in her eyes, I quickly calmed down and instantly felt shame for freaking out like that.
"M'gann," Kaldur said calmly, "things are different here on Earth. Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy."
"Besides," Wally added, gesturing to Superboy, "Cadmus' little psychic G-Gnomes left a bad taste in his brain."
Realizing what she had done, Megan said "I didn't mean to-"
"Just! Stay! Out!" Superboy growled as he stormed off.
Turning her attention to me, I said "Look, I didn't mean to snap like that. It's just...last time I let someone new into my head...well, let's just say it wasn't pleasant for anyone involved. But that's the past, and this is the present. So, what'll we do now?"
Slapping herself in the forehead, Megan said "Hello, Megan! I know what we can do!"
As she flew off, I walked over to where Superboy was sitting. "Hey..." I said.
"Just leave me alone," he replied.
Sighing, I said "Look, Conner, you can't blame Megan for something she didn't know about. And you can't just act like a lone wolf all the time. You at least deserve to have friends to be with, you know."
After a few moments of thinking it over, he sighed and joined me and the others, something that Megan was happy about. While in the elevator, his face lit up in realization and asked "Wait, what did you call me?"
Realizing what I did, I silently berated myself before answering. "Uh, I called you Conner. It's your new name. Can't just keep calling you Superboy all the time, can we?"
"Why Conner?" Robin asked.
Shrugging, I replied "He just seems like a Conner to me." This caused Megan to look at the newly named Kryptonian clone and realize exactly where I got the idea for the new name, and subsequently making her think I knew the truth behind much of her persona. While I did, I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Apart from that, she now saw our mutual friend in a new light.
"Conner," he said, trying the name on like it was a new suit. He smiled a bit, and said "I like it."
"Congrats on finally getting your own name!" Victor said in a congratulatory manner.
"He'll need a surname, though," Donna pointed out.
"How about Kent?" I asked. Everyone looked at me in surprise before I added "I got that from an old family that took care of me once in Smallville called the Kents. They're a nice old couple. I'm sure you'd all like 'em."
"...Alright then," Conner said with a smile. "Guess my Earth name will be 'Conner Kent' from now on."
At that point, we reached the bottom floor, the elevator doors opening to reveal a rather impressive sight. It was a large, red and black, egg-shaped device, about the size of a Hunter from Halo.
"X'Hal," Kori exclaimed as we walked toward it. "What is that?"
"It's my Martian bio-ship," Megan answered.
"Cute," Wally commented. "Not aerodynamic, but cute."
Smiling, she held out her hand and said "It's just at rest, silly. I'll wake it." And just like that, it started to change its appearance. Wings began to protrude out, while the egg-shaped body morphed into a sleeker body for the ship. It was a rather impressive sight to behold. Kinda reminded me of a Kestrel Class AX0 Jumpship from the world of Destiny. Of course, that ship wasn't organic in nature.
Patting Wally on the back, I chuckled and asked "So, Wally...how's that foot tasting right now?"
"...Shut up, Michael."
(Play "Young Justice OST 08 Martian Bio Ship")
Telepathically commanding it, Megan walked over to the now open entrance to the ship before asking "Well? Are you coming?" A brief moment later, we were all taking our seats as the organic straps secured themselves around us. "Red Tornado, please open the bay doors."
And like that, we were soaring high into the sky.
"Wow!" Vic exclaimed.
"Impressive," Raven said as she watched the town zoom by.
Throwing in his two cents, Robin added "Incredible!"
Without even thinking, I looked over at Megan and replied "She sure is."
Megan looked at me and asked "Um, by 'she,' do you mean me or my ship?"
After mentally hitting myself in the head, I replied "Yes." Which caused me to mentally hit myself even harder.
'Smooth, Michael,' Masamune said with a chuckle.
'/Like sandpaper,/' Akima added.
'...I hate you two so much right now.'
As I talked with the two beauties in my head, Megan gained a noticeable blush as she processed what I said, Kori seemed to giggle a bit, Robin and Wally laughed at me, Donna and Victor shook their heads in amusement, and Raven simply rolled her eyes a bit. As this went on, Kaldur was trying to convince Conner to just apologize to Megan for how he acted. While he knew it was the right thing to do, Conner had too much pride at the moment to apologize.
Robin decided to be the one to break the ice. "Hey, how about showing us a little Martian shape-shifting?"
Putting the ship on auto pilot, Megan got up and transformed into me. If I were female, that is. Pretty spot on, I might add. Same went for her attempts at a transformation into Robin, and for Wally in his Kid Flash attire. "Is it wrong that I think I'm hot?" Wally asked as he stared at the transformed Megan.
"Wally," Donna said with a disgusted glare, "that is so wrong."
"I'm gonna have to agree with her, dude," Victor added, just as squicked as his Amazonian teammate.
Chuckling, I said "No offense, but you're not going to fool anyone with those."
"Mimicking boys is a lot harder," said Megan as she changed back, her tone a bit embarrassed.
"And your clothes?" Kaldur inquired.
"They're organic, like the ship," she answered. "They respond to my mental commands."
"As long as they're the only ones," Conner said coldly, causing Megan to become a bit downcast (and causing me to face-palm myself). Wally managed to shift the tone to a more cheerful one after asking if Megan could shift her density, which lead to Robin humorously recalling how Wally fails to vibrate his molecules to phase through walls. Seems he hasn't been taking my advice in that department.
As Megan was showing off the ship's camouflage mode, Red Tornado called us up on the comms. Apparently, an alarm was triggered at the power plant, meaning Mister Twister has made his move.
Scoffing, Robin muttered "Red Tornado's keeping us busy again."
"Well, even a simple fire might need a Superboy," Megan said as she brought us in. "We should find out what caused the alarm."
(End "Young Justice OST 08 Martian Bio Ship")
"Um, Megan," Kori said as she looked out the window. "I think I found out what caused the alarm." As she said this, an incoming tornado headed right toward us, throwing us about like a rag doll as we held on to whatever we could. Thinking fast, Megan took control and flew us clockwise out of the tornado, setting us down as Victor, Wally and I fought the urge to blow chunks.
The tornado started blowing through the power plant, causing everyone to run away. "Robin, are tornadoes common in New England?!" Kaldur didn't get an answer, however, as we noticed the Boy Wonder had already run off. Looking around, all we could find was his disembodied laughing.
"How the-?!" Victor exclaimed.
Confused as to what just happened, Megan said "H-He was just here!"
Growling in annoyance, I muttered "I hate it when he does this crap." The eight of us ran into the building, just in time to see Robin get his butt handed to him by the aerokinetic android. Landing next to Robin, Conner asked "So, who's you're new friend?"
"Didn't catch his name, but he plays kinda rough!"
"My apologies," the villain said sarcastically. "You may call me Mister Twister." Creating and manipulating gusts of air, he managed to slow Conner down from his charge before flinging him to the wall.
"Oooohh, that's gotta hurt," I winced.
"Any ideas?" Donna asked.
"Just one." Unsheathing Masamune, I cried out "BUM RUSH THE BITCH!"
Looking at the others, we silently gave the signal to start bringing the pain. Wally put on his goggles and charged forward, leaping into the air to kick the android square in the chest. Said attempt failed when Mister Twister caught Wally and blew him away. This gave Kori and Victor a chance to hit him with a few starbolts and energy shots, knocking him back a few feet.
Taking to the air, Twister flew right underneath Kori and delivered a solid punch to the gut, knocking the breath out of her and disorientating her long enough to have her leg grabbed and flung right into my cyborg companion. Raven tried catching him, but the criminal was too fast in the air. She got blasted back toward Kori, who managed to cushion her fall. Megan, Donna and Kaldur rushed in to help, but only got caught up in the cyclone Mister Twister created at their feet. The three were then thrown back, hitting the ground with a THUD, leaving Robin and I as the last ones standing.
"I was prepared to be challenged by a super hero," Mister Twister said haughtily as Robin stealthily took out a birdarang. "I was not, however, expecting children."
Growling in anger, Robin yelled "We're not children!" as he flung a few explosive batarangs, only to have them get blocked by Mister Twister's winds.
Flicking away one batarang that was lodged in his chest, the evil android stated "Objectively, you are. Have you no adult supervision?" he asked as the batarang exploded behind him. "I find your presence here quite...disturbing."
I shot off a few rounds from Avalon, forcing him to shield himself as Robin, Kaldur, Conner and Megan got up and joined us. "Well, we'd hate to see you disturbed," I said sarcastically.
"So let's see if you're more turbed after we kick your can!" Robin finished as Megan wrenched open a steam tank, blinding Mister Twister as Conner tried to hit him from above. It probably would've worked, too, if Conner hadn't screamed as he was about to hit him. Instead, he wound up being blown away (again) and crashing into Megan. Kaldur, Robin and I dashed forward, only for the former two to get caught up in a whirlwind and slammed into each other. I was about to hit the bastard, but then he hit a dial on his suit and fired off another round of wind. Only this wind was black.
As the wind hit me, I could feel myself begin to freeze in pain, as if the wind was cutting right to the bones. It felt like all of the air was being ripped from my lungs, and my eyes were being prodded by needles. The worst part of it all, though, was my right shoulder. My wound was flaring up like crazy, paralyzing me with pain. As such, I was unable to move out of the way in time, and was flung right into Victor, Kori and Raven.
"Indeed," Mister Twister scoffed. "That was quite turbing. Nice to know this little gizmo works, though," he said as he admired the device that created the black wind. And with that, he just turned around and left.
While Wally was dealing with Mister Twister, I was left stinging from that last attack. That energy he used. It shouldn't have been possible, but...
I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of a tornado hitting the building, with Megan keeping Wally from becoming a huge stain as the rest of us reconvened. Turning to face Mister Twister once again, he mockingly stated "I would've thought you'd have learned your limitations by now."
"What do you want?!" Kaldur screamed in frustration.
Rising into the air, he stated "Isn't it obvious? I'm waiting for a real hero."
"Read his mind," Kaldur said to Megan. "Find a weakness."
Confused, Kori inquired "But did you not say she is not supposed to do that?"
"Star, I'm pretty sure it's okay when it's done on the bad guys!" Victor exclaimed.
Nodding, Megan attempted to read his mind...only to find she couldn't. "Nothing," she said with frustration, "I'm getting nothing!"
Raven's eyes widened in understanding. "Of course!" she exclaimed. "That's why I couldn't get a feel for his emotions. He doesn't have any! He's a synthetic!"
"And I'm pretty sure that isn't Red Tornado," I threw in before any assumptions could be made. "If that black wind attack was what I thought it was, he wouldn't even think of using it on us. So I say we end this right now, before anyone else gets hurt!" I yelled out to the android.
"Consider it ended." Saying that, he generated twin black tornadoes, each big enough to do some serious damage. Said tornadoes merged together, forming a large lighting storm that blasted a rather large black bolt right at us.
Third Person's POV:
Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down.
Megan looked around, unsure of what was causing this.
"You can put your hands down, you know," a distorted voice said as she spun around to see a man in a silver and black suit of armor. She recognized it from a game Michael had shown her called Timeshift, except the suit was missing its helmet. In its place was a black and red coat, with a hood covering up his face. The only visible parts were his mouth and his glowing yellow eyes.
"Who are you?" she asked, trying to sound brave, but failing. If this guy could stop everything around her, who knows what else he could do?
"I'm not here to hurt you, Megan. Quite the opposite in fact. You need to beat this guy. Well, I'm here to speed you up. Remember how you couldn't read Twister's mind?" Megan nodded. "Well, it's pretty obvious how. He's inorganic, an android, so I highly suggest against holding back, which is why I have a plan,"he said as he beckoned her to come closer, telling her what he had in mind.
When he finished, he disappeared as everything returned to normal. Though when it did, red tornadoes appeared, blocking the bolts.
Michael's POV:
(Play "Let the Battles Begin! - Final Fantasy VII Music Extended")
As the tornadoes dispersed, a familiar figure stood among us. One red, metallic android with control over the wind...who seemed to disperse the other tornadoes a bit too quickly... "Hit the showers, team. I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly I was wrong," Red Tornado said, standing right in front of Megan-
Wait a minute, what the fuck?
Red Tornado showed up early, and Megan's not him?!
'WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE?!'
"Hey, we got him on the ropes!" Wally exclaimed.
"The subject is not up for debate," Tornado shot back. Though for some strange reason, I could've sworn that I heard a slight trace of irritation in his voice.
We all backed up at that point, deciding to see what he had up his sleeve. "I was beginning to think you'd never show up," Mister Twister said with an audible sneer.
"I'm here now," Tornado replied, then launched a tornado at him, which Mister Twister dodged then knocked him down with another tornado. At the same time, he created more Negatium tornadoes, to keep us from stepping in to help.
As Red Tornado fell to the ground, wires extended from Mister Twister's hands, which connected to the heroic android's head."The reprogramming shouldn't take much time," he said...
...when suddenly, Tornado chuckled.
FUCKING CHUCKLED!
To the shock of everyone present (including Mister Twister), 'Red Tornado' reached up and grabbed the larger hand with his left hand. At that moment, a small, glowing green gem faded into being on the back of the hand, sending out a small wave of energy that held the villain in place.
"Time isn't an issue, Twister," a different voice spoke as 'Tornado' got up. A more...organic voice.
'/...Holy shit./'
"You've gotta be shitting me," I muttered, refusing to believe what was going on here.
"BECAUSE YOU HAVE NONE!" As he exclaimed this, his body flashed green along with the gem, blasting Mister Twister into the distance and dispersing the Negatium winds.
Once the light show started to die down, the form of Red Tornado shifted into another: a humanoid male, wearing an all-too familiar attire. Turning around, he removed his hood, revealing a smiling face. "Sup, Supey? Mikey?" he asked as he pulled out Muramasa as he turned off his voice scrambler. "Miss me?"
Adam Verser. The 'Aspect of Time,' and the Timeshifter of the Multiverse. One of my brothers, a sociopath...and one of my closest and unpredictable friends.
Conner's eyes widened in surprise. "Timeshifter?" he asked.
Adam bowed slightly with a grin. "In the flesh."
I was left speechless at the turn of events, my jaw hanging so low it might as well have been touching the ground. Shaking myself out of my stupor, I managed to get out "Okay, what the hell are you doing here?!"
"Just giving you guys a hand," he replied. "You sure needed it, too, if that storm I saw was any indication."
Scoffing, Robin said "Please, Michael managed to save others from a lightning storm before, he could've done it with this."
"No, Robin, I couldn't," I replied, shocking him and the rest of the Team. "If Mister Twister has what I think he does in his systems, it's pretty much my own brand of kryptonite. That bolt would've killed us all if Adam hadn't saved us."
That served as a rather big wake up call for the others. "...Okay, I'm officially disturbed," Robin said.
"Any ideas on how to stop him, then?" Conner asked. "Because at this point, anything would be good."
"Well, I say we-" I was cut off as I felt a familiar energy spike nearby. Looking in said direction, my eyes widened in slight horror as the energy continued to exert itself. "No," I breathed out.
"What is it?" Megan asked in concern.
Looking at Adam- who appeared half as nervous as me- I said "You help the others fight Mister Twister, I'll go deal with that power level." Before anyone could say anything, I flew off in the direction of the energy, leaving Adam and the Team in the field as Mister Twister arrived back on scene.
Third Person's POV:
"I don't know where you came from," he growled out, "but this is where you die."
"You've got that backwards, Mister Twister," Adam said as he sped toward Twister who blasted black wind toward him, which pushed him back a little. He looked at his hand as the metal shifted into his body to see his hand was starting to turn black in the veins. He quickly shifted metal over it. "Negatium...son of a bitch, Michael was right," he said as he took one hand off of Steeler and pulled out Wild Card as he fired a medium charged shot. Mister Twister simply blocked it with a black tornado, pushing everyone back.
Adam dashed toward the evil android as he swung Muramasa, though Mister Twister simply caught it, then kicked Adam back as Wally sped past him and slammed into the remote controlled villain. Megan picked up a boulder with her telekinesis and threw it at him, with Adam amplifying the throw and sending Mister Twister flying.
Kaldur and Conner charged forward, fists and water bearers in hand. They swung at Mister Twister as he regained his bearings, receiving cuts across his armor from doing so. The two were then quickly batted away, leaving him wide open for a shot from Kori.
The Aspect of Time had exchanged his two weapons for Silencer and threw several of the kunai at the aerokinetic android, his armor becoming more and more dented. He then shot a bolt at Adam, which blasted him to the ground. As he was about to fire again, Donna wrapped her lasso around his arm, pulling it back along with him. The Amazonian launched herself at the android, grappling him to the ground.
Adam's wrist computer was showing that his health was critical. "I've gotta end this quick," he said to himself.
Robin and Victor were running toward Mister Twister, with a cannon on the latter's hand and birdarangs in the former's as Robin tossed them which Victor fired a shot. Donna let go of Mister Twister seconds before the two attacks landed, creating a rather big explosion. They heard Adam chuckle over the blast. "Sonic Boom, baby!" he quipped.
Mister Twister sprung out of the smoke, generating more wind to use against them. Kori threw starbolt after starbolt at the villainous synthetic, while Raven threw debris at Mister Twister (who simply took the hits). That was all the distraction needed for Donna and Kaldur to launch a two-pronged attack, striking him from behind with a combination of brutal punches and electrified water. The resulting blows knocked him to the ground.
That was when they saw him start to glow pitch black.
"AUUUUURRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHH!" he screamed as he made a shockwave of black energy, sending the Team flying back, while Adam's armor suffered more burns.
"You mad, bro?" Adam asked with a shit-eating grin, pulling Highlander out.
"YOU ARE A BLIGHT IN MY PLANS! YOU WILL NOT STOP ME! I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY MERE CHILDREN!" he shouted, as Adam simply sped toward him and slammed Highlander into him, then exchanged it for Muramasa and sliced his arms off. He then picked up Mister Twister and slammed him into the ground.
"You're done," Adam said,
His words, however, simply made Mister Twister chuckle. "You think I wasn't prepared for you? He told me all about you. He knows your weakness. And now, the King's pawn dies." As he said this, the android started glowing an intense black. Said energy began to pulsate, causing Adam's eyes to bulge in surprise.
"OH SHIT!" Adam cried out. He then immediately threw his hands up as an explosion engulfed him. Dust immediately flew toward the Team as they shielded themselves. When it cleared, their eyes widened at what they saw.
Adam, standing in the center- his coat slightly torn, his armor appearing to be dented, and had some burns around it- was holding the head of Mister Twister, which had sparks coming from the bottom.
He gave a thumbs up as he said "I'm okay, go check on Michael." Though reluctant, they left Adam behind to go find Michael. After they left, Adam's visor slowly turned black as his breathing became more and more ragged. Then he looked back at the wreckage that was Mister Twister.
"You are terminated," he said before falling to his knees, then fell flat on the ground.
(End "Let the Battles Begin! - Final Fantasy VII Music Extended")
Michael's POV:
A few minutes ago:
I flew far into the forest, searching desperately for the source of that energy. I knew he was around here somewhere, but I-
"Glad to see you've finally shown up."
The distorted voice held icy contempt, which froze me on the spot. Turning around slowly, I came face to face with the source of the voice.
Standing behind me was a man in a red hooded coat, with a unique symbol on the back (A/N: The symbol of Nicholas Flammel), and the Kanji for "Humanity" etched into the fabric. The coat went down to the figure's ankles, with the zipper broken apart from the waist down to show off the front of his legs (covered by the pants of a black, organic-looking bodysuit) and his black knee high boots. His face was covered by a silver helmet, the front covered with a dark glass that completely hid all traces of a face, save two red lights acting as eyes (A/N: Think a quarian-style mask from Mass Effect).
Flexing his black glove-covered hands, the figure continued "Though to be honest, I expected you to have beaten Mister Twister by now. Kind of pathetic that you haven't, actually."
"You...you're not The Antiverser," I said in morbid fascination.
He huffed at me in annoyance, crossing his arms as he did so. "I am an Antiverser," the figure said evenly. "Just not the one you know."
Steadying my nerves, I asked "There are more of you?"
"For now, it's just him...and me," the new Antiverser replied.
Nodding, my gaze hardened a bit. "So, whose idea was it to give Mister Twister a supply of Negatium?" I inquired.
"Mine, actually. Though I made it clear he was only supposed to use it on you alone," he answered. "Your friends weren't supposed to get caught in the crossfire like that. For that, I apologize."
That threw me for a loop. "An Antiverser with a conscience? That's a new one."
"I'm not a sociopath like my boss. I only have a few specific targets. Unfortunately for you," he trailed off as he raised his arm, "you just happen to be on that list."
A swirl of darkness with a dim red light appeared around him, until it solidified into a new shape. Said shape being a Zanbatou blade, thin like a regular katana, but nearly twice as long as he was. The blade was a dark crimson, with the handle and guard a pitch black. All in all, the blade seemed to ooze bloodlust and rage.
(Play "Uncontrollable - Xenoblade Chronicles OST")
Taking an audible gulp, I dryly commented "Nice sword."
"Thank you. Her name's Masamune," he commented. Noticing the anger on my face, he drawled "Oh lay off. It's not like you'll be around long enough to argue, anyway."
As he said this, energy collected around the blade as he quickly swung at me. I managed to drop down just in time, only to come face to face with the tip of his blade pointed at me.
"Draw your blade," he said. "Then we can get started."
I found myself surprised at the show of honor. Shaking myself from the shock, I got back up and slowly drew my Masamune from Avalon, steadying the blade at a parallel angle to his own Masamune. Gazing at each other, the two of us then charged forward, blades ringing as sparks flew.
Separating by jumping away, we ran deeper into the forest before swinging our blades once more. Every blow was met with equal force, neither one of us giving as much as an inch.
However, the most annoying thing about this fight was his sword. Not so much as the fact that he named it Masamune-
'Which greatly pisses me off!'
'Ditto.'
-but it was the length of the blade itself. Due to how long it was, he ought to have had extreme difficulty wielding it well. Yet here he was, swinging it like it was a mere stick- with one hand, I might add!- and not even tiring. Plus, the blade's length gave him more of a reach, which proved beneficial for him when he finally landed a blow.
Thrusting his Masamune forward, he managed to land a decent enough cut on the right side of my abdomen. The familiar stinging sensation of Negatium swam into my blood, causing me to hiss in pain and clutch my side.
I realized too late that I let my guard down, looking up just as the Second Antiverser slammed his foot into my gut and sending me flying through a couple of trees. I finally managed to stop in a clearing near the entrance to Mount Justice, though not right in front of it. Breathing heavily, I managed to pick myself up just as he walked into the clearing as though he owned the place. "Just so you know, I'm not exactly impressed by your performance," he plainly stated.
Growling, I shot up and charged him. He easily side-stepped me, tripping me with one leg before grabbing the back of my jacket, flinging me back into the forest.
As soon as I landed, I got up and ran deeper into the trees. 'This is getting me nowhere fast,' I thought to Masamune.
'Indeed. He's obviously more skilled than you in combat. He's not even giving you the chance to use your powers, even if he didn't use Negatium on you.'
'Can't go at him head on...which means we have to start thinking more tactically.'
'Any ideas?'
'A few. Akima, can you hack into the security systems that we set up on the island?'
'/Been doing so since you started running,/' she answered. '/I'm way ahead of you./'
'...I don't know if that was an insult or not, but I don't care at the moment. When I give the signal, do the thing.'
'/Aye aye, boss./'
Leaning against a tree, I peeked out to see where he was at the moment. He calmly strode forward, looking around for me while keeping his guard up. I flinched in pain as the wound pulsated, looking down at the wound as I tried to soothe it. Looking back up, he was gone.
"Nice try, Verser."And he was now right behind me, his Masamune pointed at my back.
Calming my heartbeat, I asked "Why are you doing this? What gives you the right to do these things?"
I could almost feel the controlled anger radiating from behind me, before he managed to bring it back. "Simple. You and your Multiversers are relics. Byproducts of a broken system. One that needs to be destroyed."
"I...I don't understand," I said in confusion, wanting to know more while buying time.
"Of course you don't," the Antiverser commented, almost in a pitying tone. "How could you understand? When you're smack dab in the middle of it- when you're a part of the system- you can't see everything that's wrong. Take a few steps back...suddenly, you realize what a mess it all is. And you're repulsed by what you see."
I caught an underlying meaning to his words, and decided to play on this gamble. "You...You were a Multiverser, weren't you?"
"...Once, yes," he confirmed with venom. "But now, I want nothing more than to take that fucking monster down. And all who follow its orders!"
'Akima?'
'/All set./'
"Well, if you are going to do that," I began as a turret quickly shot up to our right, "you'll have to think fast!"
*BLAM!*
I ducked behind the tree, just in time to see the Second Antiverser get blasted with a face full of plasma. He was sent flying through the tree line, crashing through every tree until he couldn't be seen.
(Play "Uncontrollable - Xenoblade Chronicles OST")
With a deep sigh, I slumped onto the ground as the rest of the Team came up to me. Noticing the wound on my abdomen, Kaldur asked "What happened?"
"I fought the guy who gave Mister Twister the Negatium," I replied. "You should see what happened to him." That got a few good chuckles out of me, before I noticed someone missing. "Where's Adam?"
"He stayed behind after defeating Mister Twister," Victor answered. "Though he looked pretty bad afterwards. We're gonna need to get him some serious medical attention."
As he said this, the Second Antiverser suddenly appeared before us, his clothes only slightly singed. Cracking his neck, he took notice of everyone gathered, his body language displaying reluctance. "You're better than I thought, Verser. And definitely more clever than anticipated," he said with some respect. "Playing for time while your A.I. readied a turret. Impressive."
I flinched a bit when he mentioned Akima, causing a few of the Team to look at me. "Wait, you have an A.I.?" Robin asked in surprise.
"There's a lot of stuff you don't know about him," the Second Antiverser continued. "But those are things for him to tell. Besides, I'm done here."He turned around, opening a dark portal leading to who knows where.
"Wait!" I called out. "Who are you?"
"...I lost the right to call myself by my true name upon my rebirth," he answered solemnly. "You may simply call me...Lucifer. And we will meet again, Michael Verser. Count on it."With that said, he stepped through the portal, leaving the rest of us to stare at where he once stood.
"Lucifer, huh?" I muttered.
"Um, perhaps we should now retrieve your friend?" Kory suggested. Upon being reminded of him, we ran toward the direction of my fellow Multiverser.
And into a hell that I had hoped to never experience again...
(Play "Snake Eater - Metal Gear Solid 3 Guitar Cover (Feat. Adriana Figueroa) | FamilyJules")
...
YOUNG MULTIVERSER
...
...
...
...
...
Written by:
Hero of the Multiverse
...
Co-Written by:
VindictiveDunc
BioshockerN7
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Starring:
Michael Verser/Atlas
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Conner Kent/Superboy
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Dick Grayson/Robin
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Wally West/Kid Flash
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Kaldur'ahm/Aqualad
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Rachel Roth/Raven
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Koriand'r/Starfire
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Victor Stone/Cyborg
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Megan Morse/Miss Martian
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Donna Troy/Wonder Girl
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Co-Starring:
Akima/Lambda
Masamune
Duncan Verser/Oberon
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Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern
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Roy Harper/Speedy
John Smith/Red Tornado
Adam Verser/Timeshifter
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Bromwell Stikk/Mister Twister
Lucifer Verser
...
Special Guest Appearances:
Daniel Brickwell/Brick
...
(End "Snake Eater - Metal Gear Solid 3 Guitar Cover (Feat. Adriana Figueroa) | FamilyJules")
Okay, that chapter's finished. Sorry that the chapter's short, but I couldn't think of anything else to put in.
Now that there is a new Antiverser- one who is much more honorable than his boss- things are definitely going to be more interesting for Michael's adventures. Especially since Lucifer is distributing Negatium to the bad guys.
What will be the fate of Adam Verser? Tune in next time to find out.
Until then, leave a review or comment, BUT ABSOLUTELY NO FLAMES!
Hero of the Multiverse, signing out!
