Chapter Six

WORLDS CONVERGE

Far in the emptiness of space, there was nothing but silence. Silhouetted in that vast emptiness of space was a small little planet, home to the entire human race. That little planet was Earth. And on that Earth, there was destruction in New York City on an unimaginable scale.

Across the massive city blocks, broken glass, shattered stone, bent wires, blazing cables, twisted metal frames, burning rubber, and the unmistakable smell of death spread across the streets, tops of buildings, across cars, and stung the air. Several battalions of National Guard were on duty assisting with assisting in evacuation or medical care, or surrounding New York City, monitoring everything that came in and out, ready for a second wave of attacks. Around the world, Marines, Army, Navy, and other military branches of every single country that had a military was on full alert, and were on constant patrol, monitoring the world's energy readouts with extreme intensity – another attack would be devastating. The N.Y.P.D. was always keeping its eyes on the crowds – and in the air, in case another attack were to be carried out. As for the victims of the attack, many were bloodied, bruised, had broken bones and broken spirits, and hope was shattered. They had been so quickly overwhelmed that many had already committed suicide, and it took the military's best doctors to try to keep the suicide rates under control.

By the demolished Stark Tower, a group of young police officers stood guard around the tower, their eyes sternly focusing on everything around them.

"Officers!" a loud voice called out. A National Guards Colonel approached the officers standing guard around Stark Tower. The officers turned and stood at attention before the Colonel.

"Has the search and rescue been concluded in this tower?" the Colonel asked.

"Not yet, sir," one of the officers replied. "Still underway, but only a few floors remain."

"Alright, as you were," the Colonel replied, walking off. The soldiers returned to standing guard, as per their orders. As one officer, a man who couldn't be older than twenty, was about to radio his status to his CO, there was a slight trembling in the ground. Everyone stopped where they were and looked down at the ground. The trembling stopped, but suddenly resumed again, significantly stronger than before. All of the civilians immediately rushed for cover as the military and paramilitary forces tried to keep everyone calm, when all of a sudden Stark Tower jerked – literally jerked. The entire base came undone, and the whole of Star Tower suddenly tilted, and then slowly, but powerfully, fell over backwards. The dozens or so officers in front of Stark Tower ran for cover, but an enormous dust cloud and a spray of debris covered them faster than anyone could react.

When the dust settled, officers and soldiers everywhere stood up, and saw something rising out of the dust cloud. Everyone who had a gun aimed it at the thing coming out of the dust cloud. The man who stepped out of the cloud was bald and had the skin of a zombie. He had no nose, only hollow eyes, small, thin mouth, and a long cloak that was his only piece of apparel. A bony wand was in his hand.

"Stay where you are!" one of the soldiers shouted, as weapons everywhere were cocked. The man only smiled and said softly, "You cannot stop me. Dumbledore did not…so why should you?" He then screamed and unleashed a massive explosion of dark energy from his wand. Dozens of soldiers were instantly killed and were dead before they hit the ground, and many others were mortally wounded instantly or near instantly. The skies darkened around New York City, and giant basilisks made of fire suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The pale man laughed evilly as his basilisks struck again and again with absolutely no mercy. Any soldier that got too close to the man as the man advanced was killed by a killing curse that was unleashed without hesitation or limit. The soldiers and police officers were all being pushed back as the evil man laughed in victory.

There was a tremendous burst of green fire that erupted from the center of the swirling dark clouds. The pale skinned man spun around in shock – nothing could penetrate his magic. Suddenly, a blast of fire shot down from the cloud and smashed into the ground just fifty feet from where the evil man was standing. When the fires receded, a shape took form of a black/purple cloaked witch. She was very elongated, had a long face, greenish skin, and yellow eyes. A black staff, topped with a large green orb with power swirling within it, was in her hand. A black raven sat on her shoulder. She wore a helmet with long, swooping black horns that completed the terrifying figure.

"Malificent?" the evil man hissed. "I thought I had made it clear that I am the victor! NOT you!" The witch only laughed and replied, "Oh, my dear Voldemort, you are so naïve. You do not know the extent of my power…or the wraths of hell!" Malificent swung her staff fast and hard, and all of a sudden the pair of basilisks were sucked into the staff's orb. Voldemort was furious, but kept his cool as Malificent added, "The rest of the Death Hand and the entire Necrados armies are on their way here…"

"By which time I will be gone," Voldemort interrupting, swinging his want to his waist as an opening gesture before a duel. "And you…shall be dead.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldermort shouted, unleashing a bright blast of green lightning. At the same moment, a column of blue fire erupted from Malificent's staff, and when the two blasts of energy met, the resulting shockwave was so powerful that half of the city was blown down with a force stronger than any hurricane ever could . Voldemort and Malificent were almost immediately deadlocked in battle, with giant bursts of energy flying out in all directions, destroying anyone or anything that happened to be in the way.

The young officer who was blasted out of the way was just opening his eyes when he saw a giant ball of energy hovering just ten feet away from him. He felt debris and energy washing over his face, and there was so much intense fear in his soul that he could barely move. Even then, he still managed to muster enough courage to roll over and get on his hands and knees. He looked up and saw that the ball of energy was getting larger and larger, and it seemed like the energy ball was getting incredibly unstable. Both sorcerers were jerking their wand or staff to create extra bursts of power and/or momentary distractions to get the upper hand, but neither was gaining any sort of advantage. Worse, the midpoint of their battle, mainly the ball of power, was looking like it was going to explode at any moment. The officer's initial reaction was terror, but he felt himself sliding – sliding towards the ball of energy. He tried to grab something – anything – to prevent dying, but he suddenly flew head over heels and smacked right into the ball of energy. The officer shut his eyes, expecting death, but felt no pain. Instead, he felt a great rising power in his chest, swelling larger and larger…

And suddenly there was a titanic explosion. And everyone knew no more.

On the Archangel, more and more beings from every corner of creation were coming in almost every day. Hundreds of members of a group called the Justice League had arrived over the course of a week, thousands of elves and soldiers from a land they called Middle-Earth had been transported onto the various ships in Acreb's fleet in only a few days, and on top of all that, energy had been building up in random places at a constant rate. No one was sure why this was happening, and none of the fleets four thousand scientists could figure out what was going on. Acreb was no angry about not being able to solve the mystery on his ship that he would disappear for days on end, then come out sleep-deprived and angry/upset for a few hours before disappearing again.

Presul, who so many feared, on the other hand, was far more open. He would just meet random people wherever he went in order to build up confidence among the crew – and to one another. On the sixth day after his arrival, he was in a small, Earth Italian-style restaurant onboard one of the smaller escort warships, the Rodan, and Presul was simply looking for a peaceful evening. Even though the wicked sword that was always on his belt or across his back, he had somehow managed to change the blade's outward appearance, either by physical or magical cloaking means, to disguise the more wicked-looking parts of the blade in order to move around more freely. As Presul walked into the restaurant, memories filled his mind of a mission long ago when he was sealing a space-time breach in 550 A.D. Rome. A beautiful landscape, holographically projected to look like a wide landscape of rolling hills covered in green grass and flowers, flooded his vision, and smells of fresh wheat, wonderful food, and the cool aroma of the breeze set his mind at peace. He closed his eyes, taking in the smells, and his normally stiff body relaxed, enjoying a moment's peace.

"Excuse me, signor," a man said, and Presul snapped out of his momentary trance. He turned to see a portly man with a handlebar mustache and an elegant black suit.

"I'm afraid I am going to have to ask you to leave your arma, your blade, sir, or you must leave." The man pointed to the huge sword strapped to Presul's back. Presul closed his eyes again, and suddenly the air around him seemed to vibrate. When the air ceased to vibrate, Presul was in a maroon suit, complete with bowtie, coat tails, and a stylish sash. The sword was gone from his back, and the man was very surprised when he saw this. He looked at Presul's back and waist, and before he could say a word, Presul said, "Proper attire – yes?"

"Um, si signor," the man said. "Please take a seat to your liking, and a cameriere, a waiter, will be with you shortly." Presul nodded his thanks, and he slowly walked through the tables, looking for an open seat. Practically all of the seats were taken, and those that were open were reserved seats. Just as Presul was about to leave, someone exclaimed, "Hey! Over here! One more seat!" Presul turned and saw the man who had called him over. He was wearing a leather jacket, a chain that was wrapped around his body from his right shoulder to his left hip, brown hair, and a sunken face that was partially sad but also had life in them. Presul nodded and walked on over, but as he approached the man, Presul's eyes flashed brightly. Something was very, very wrong with this man – a great evil was not just upon him, but within him. Malicious intent was not on his mind, but he could feel something which Presul had not felt for over a hundred centuries…

"Hey! You okay?" the man asked sharply. "You looked like you were about to have a stroke or something.

"I'm fine," Presul said, sitting down in the offered chair. He turned to the man and asked, "What should I call you?"

"Johnny," the man replied. "Johnny Blaze." Blaze extended his hand, and Presul was about to shake it, but he withdrew. He felt a…something…a burning, raging fire in Blaze's soul. He couldn't tell what was with this man, but he felt something strong within this man…

"Excuse me, signor?" a young, very attractive waitress asked Presul. Presul turned to see the woman as she asked, "Something I can get for you sir?"

"Just a caprisi and some sparkling water, please," Presul replied. The woman smiled a beautiful smile and walked off, an elegant sway in her hips.

"You okay?" Blaze asked Presul. "You seem very on edge. By the way, what's your name?"

"Are you sure you wish to know?" Presul asked. "You may not like what you hear."

"Hearing a name that scares me is not something that comes around often," Blaze said. "You would not believe some of the things that I've seen, and some of the things I've fought…"

"Whatever you've come against is nothing compared to what I've gone through," Presul cut in. "No matter what you may have seen, you can't match what I've come across. I cannot share my memories, for I would literally burn up anyone who would wish to see what I have seen. Not their minds only burned up, mind you, their entire body, their entire existence, wiped out of existence. However, what I can tell you is this: I have seen, and caused, the manipulation, creation, even destructions, of entire universes. I have been to every single end and every possible alteration of time and back, fought millions of battles and killed billions, and I have felt more pain – more unbearable, scarier, more fearful – than anyone ever could."

"That's quite the resume," a Jedi with green skin and rings of horns on his head, remarked. "Are you sure you can't share any memories with us?"

"I have done so in the past many, many times," Presul replied. "And more than a few – most of them, in fact – are ashes." Those at the table seemed to shrink back a bit, just as the waitress came back with Presul's meal. Presul took it and thanked the waitress for her work, and after she walked off, Blaze asked, "Well, could you at least tell us who you are?"

"Fair enough," Presul said. "My name's Presul." Several at the table, mostly officers of the ship that they were on, turned pale.

"You see?" Presul asked. "I told you not…" Suddenly, alarms went off on the ship. Several officers checked their wrist comlinks, and one of them said, "Alien life form detected! Deck 482, rapid shape shifting capabilities! Level 2 Threat Level! Come on men! Let's MOVE!" The officers rushed out, as well as Blaze, the Jedi, Presul, and several security guards.

The group rushed down the corridors and down elevators and slid down ladders until they came across a ferocious battle. In the center of a massive group of Acreb's infantry, many armored knights, samurai, ghosts, and monsters, a massive creature stood. It was huge – a good thirty feet tall. It was covered in scales, had a long tail, and dinosaur-like hands and feet. Its back was a dark brown, and its front side a slightly lighter shade of brown. On its chest was a green circle with a small black triangle on each side. With it was a sixteen year old human girl in jeans and a red shirt. Her red hair flowed freely, and her green eyes flashed purple as blasts of purple energy that had physical form knocked men unconscious and threw them in all directions. The third intruder was your standard tough guy – tall, muscular, and a definite aroma of bad boy charm. As he touched various surfaces, his whole body changed until he covered in that material – for example, he touched stone, his whole body would be covered in stone. As he knocked three men unconscious, he switched to the steel of the deck and looked up to see Johnny Blaze run full speed at him.

"You want some too?" the teen challenged, his hand transforming into a huge hammer. But as Johnny Blaze ran at him his eyes exploded in fire, and he was suddenly engulfed in fire. When the smoke cleared, he had changed into something very, very different. He was a complete skeleton, his skull covered in, but not consumed by, flames. Fiery tendrils ran down his hands, the spikes on his gauntlets and jacket shoulders were now five inch spikes, smoke billowed from his neck and feet, and his leather outfit was charred and smoking. The chain he had wrapped around him was also covered in fire. The new monster let out a billowing roar/scream that left the teen ahead of him immobilized.

"GWEN! INCOMING!" the teen yelled.

"Little busy here Kevin…" the girl tried to say, but when she turned and saw the demon, she gasped. "BEN!" she yelled. Presul was still standing where he was, and he realized who it was.

"Ghost rider! STOP!' he yelled. His voice was now one of a devil again, and everyone stopped right where they were. The big dinosaur had a samurai in his hands, about to be crushed, when it turned and stood still. Presul's body flashed in orange, and he transformed into his wolf-form.

"Put – that – man – DOWN!" Presul hissed. The dinosaur dropped the samurai, and fear was clearly eminent in his bright green eyes.

"You three – stand down! You're surrounded!" Presul ordered. The human male – Kevin – immediately disbanded his armor, while the human girl, Gwen, lowered the discs of energy she had in her hands, but did not de-activate them. The giant dinosaur, however, growled, "DON'T THINK I WOULD GIVE UP THAT EASILY!" The dinosaur was about to hit the symbol on its chest when the Ghost Rider pulled the chain off of his chest and threw it like a whip at the beast's arm. The Ghost Rider pulled the chain hard, and the chain came flying back to him. The monster roared as the scales on its wrist and some of its wrist flesh was seared into ashes. As the dinosaur dropped to its legs in pain, grabbing its wrist, the Ghost Rider hissed, "That's impossible! That should have cut right through you!" Gwen suddenly let out a stream of energy blasts that kept on coming. The Ghost Rider roared and swung his whip so fast that it became a blur, blocking all of the shots. He then threw the chain around Gwen's waist and it wrapped around her stomach. The Ghost Rider pulled, and Gwen exploded into ashes almost instantly.

Kevin had never screamed so loud in all of his life, but that scream burst out of his chest as he leapt for the Ghost Rider, swinging his blade-like hands with a vicious energy. Presul suddenly gasped in horror as he saw Gwen's ashes fall to the ground. He shouted into the air, "TIIADARA KOLAFRAK FIAT MA TUULLL! There was a flash of blue light, and everyone except Presul was still moving but only at a fraction of their original speed. At the same moment there was a pulse of orange/yellow light that whizzed around the ashes of Gwen. In a blur of dusty motion, the ashes spun back together, and Gwen was reformed, completely unharmed. Even though Presul was always to be victorious, he would not let his foes die unless absolutely necessary. Presul then proceeded to attack, still moving full speed, and he rushed at the three intruders. He let out a lightning bolt at Kevin, which crawled over his body at a far slower rate than normal, then he let out another lightning burst at Gwen. He then struck the Ghost Rider in the leg to make him fall before time resumed again. Presul then yelled, "KRO MAKS!" Time sped up to normal speed, and both Gwen and Kevin were both down, covered in lightning that temporarily wreathed and stung. The Ghost Rider went down hard, like a bag of bricks. The huge dinosaur, not being ready for the reestablished rate of passing time, fell over onto his face.

Before he could get up, Presul grabbed his skull, and Presul's mind smashed into the dinosaur's.

It was here that Presul realized that this monster was only a human, his DNA traded in by an external device. He focused as the boy's memories washed over him – his days as a prankster, the first day he discovered that device (he heard the word 'Omnitrix', and assumed it was the name of the device), the battles he fought, the years that passed, the supposed death of his grandfather, the horrors of invasions from other dimensions…

The dinosaur roared and thrashed, but it found itself losing energy faster than it could regenerate. The monster quickly tired out, and it lay still. Its body was suddenly consumed in green energy, and the figure transformed into a sixteen year old boy with brown hair and green eyes. He wore a green jacket with the number "10" set in a white strip down the front, and black pants and shoes. The most notable thing about him was the thing he had on his wrist – a large device that covered his entire forearm. On the forward section of the device was the same symbol that had been on the dinosaur's chest.

The boy tried to stand, but he felt a clawed foot push him back down.

"If I were you, you will stay where you are until instructed to do so," Presul coldly ordered. "Am I clear?" The boy wanted to move, but he could feel his energy depleted. The device on his wrist was flashing and beeping, and its light faded out.

"I…" the boy said in only a whisper, before his head fell to the deck, and his eyes fell closed. An angry yell from Gwen made Presul's head turn, and a blast of purple energy in the shape of a spear flew right at his head. Its shattered against Presul's skull, not even phasing him. Next game a blow from Kevin's steel hand, which also shattered Kevin's armor, leaving the boy unconscious. Presul's eyes glowed, and the same amount of energy that Gwen had just thrown at him smacked her in the face, throwing her against the wall and knocking her out cold.

"What the fuck's going on?!" Acreb yelled as he rushed in. He found dozens of his men unconscious, but he also saw the three intruders unconscious.

"Presul, you have four seconds to tell me what happened here," Acreb demanded. "Or you will not enjoy the consequences…" There was another trembling of the ship. This time the very air was transforming in color. Presul and Acreb immediately sprinted away ten times faster than vampires and rushed to the bridge. Ahead of the there was just light – bright, glaring light that kept on getting brighter, brighter, brighter…

Then there was a tremendous blast of energy, but quitter than the grave, nullified by the vacuum of space. Presul and Acreb, as well as the others on the bridge, had to shield their eyes from the bright, radiant energy that flooded the bridge. There was the very faint sound of the radiation alarms going off, but there was not much else that could be heard due to the sheer amount of power released. When the light, faded, everyone very carefully started to look ahead of them to see what it was that had washed over them. Everyone was now squinting, their eyes almost fried from the radiation that had hit their eyes. Alarms were going off on the bridge, screaming, "RADIATION LEVELS EXCEEDED BEYOND SAFTEY LIMITS! IMMEDIATE DECONTAMINATION PROCEDURES MUST BE TAKEN." Even Presul and Acreb opened their eyes slowly, as to avoid pain. What they saw before them made both of their jaws drop. This should have NOT been possible – these things should not all be together at the same place and at the same time.

What they saw was impossible.