Chapter One: Spirited Away

Part Three

"Master Chief, also known as John, Spartan-117 or just Chief. Born 2511…." The soldier surveyed him with a deep, but indiscernible look in his eyes.

Master Chief was bewildered, but did not let it show in his expression. "On your feet, marine. How do you know who I am? Who are you?"

As the marine stood, Master Chief could not help but notice how familiar he looked. His dark hair, dark eyes and scar-covered face were like his own…like so many other marines. He was just as tall but thinner than the Chief, not quite as pale, dressed in a t-shirt instead of a tank. He tried to catch a glimpse of the soldier's dog tags, but they were hidden under his shirt.

"Report," Master Chief commanded.

"I'm stationed on the U.E.S.C. Marathon," he started.

"The Marathon? We haven't stationed any soldiers on that craft."

"In your time, Chief. I'm from the year 2797."

He hesitated for a fraction of a second, then asked, "How do you know me?"

"I'm…we were taught about you in the core. Standard history."

"What's your rank? What should I call you?"

A ghost of smile flickered across the soldier's face. "We're equal in rank, I imagine, but you can call me the Marine. Everyone does."

Carin, Goku and the others watched the conversation in fascination. The "Master Chief" had not uttered a single word in the hour or so he had been with them, but was now speaking at ease with his fellow marine.

Carin looked around the room. Was that the connection? Military personnel? She was in the Shadow Force Army of Sinalta in addition to being the head of the Dark Moon; John Connor was a colonel, and the new arrival Ellen Ripley was a lieutenant. With the two marines, that made five.

She dismissed the idea; the others were in no kind of military position. But there had to be some kind of connection…. She turned her attention back to the Marine and Master Chief, and the similarity between them, even in their voices, struck her. But they were both marines, both from the same world.

The Marine had lowered his voice. "Where are we?" he asked the Chief.

"Don't know."

"And them? Who are they?"

"You can ask us directly," a voice said, and the Marine looked up.

"Super-sensitive hearing," Superman said, gesturing to one ear.

"Sorry sir," the Marine nodded at him. "You can call me the Marine."

"I'm Superman, this is Batman."

Next was the dark haired Lieutenant Ellen Ripley, followed by Colonel John Connor, and so the introductions went on. After they had all made themselves known to each other, they answered the usual questions of where and why.

"There has to be a way out," the Master Chief said minutes later.

"We've looked," Batman said dryly. "Thoroughly."

"That door?" He nodded at the transparent wall.

"Goes into the hall, obviously. It's locked." Trunks said.

"And strung with electric current," Carin added, glancing at her hands.

If he was disappointed or angered, the Master Chief didn't let it show. All his face held was a stolid, unchanging expression. "And we have no idea who's doing this."

"No," Superman said. "We all have enemies, but we can't think of a single person who has the power to take us from our different universes and times to bring us here."

"Any ideas?" Goku asked.

The Chief shook his head.

"There might be one person…" the Marine began, and everyone turned his way in surprise. "He's not a person per say, but he may have been able to transport us here. He's transported me from level to level on the Marathon and he's transferred himself into all of the Marathon's systems. He's powerful."

"Who is it?"

"He calls himself Durandal."

"What's the deal, is he an alien?" Goku asked.

"No. He's an Artificial Intelligence Construct." The Marine made to cross his arms, but stopped when he remembered the energy-cuffs, and continued. "In the year 2794, I intercepted a distress signal from the Marathon. They were being overtaken by a race of intergalactic slave traders called the P'fhor. So I did my duty and answered the call. On board the Marathon were two A.I.s…plus my own, which linked into the system. They were Durandal and Tycho; mine was Leela."

At this last name, Master Chief heard a near-undetectable note of regret in the Marine's voice. He suddenly felt a similar stab. Since his armor was gone, so was Cortana, the A.I. that had been with him from the beginning. She would be able to tell him what was happening. She would know.

"…Durandal went rampant," the Marine was saying. "It was crazy…Durandal started taking control. Tycho sided with the P'fhor, and Leela…Leela disappeared. The only terminals – computer interfaces in the Marathon – I started seeing were from Durandal. That was my first clue that Leela was gone….She must have been captured." He paused, but only for a moment, then continued.

In that moment, Master Chief again felt that emotion of regret emanating from the Marine, and it only caused his own to become stronger.

"Soon, Durandal had the entire Marathon under his control. And that's the way it's been…for three years so far."

"How can we defeat him?" Goku asked.

"I don't know. I'm not even sure it's him. It's just a thought."

"They're coming." Superman said suddenly.

"What? Who?" the Marine asked.

"The Ninjas -- the men who brought us here. Up against the walls, quick."

They filed against the sides, and, like so many times before, their arms were stretched above them as the energy-cuffs linked themselves to the lead-paneled walls.

The man in yellow – Scorpion – came in first. He held open the door, and the same monstrous being that had carried in Batman and Superman hours earlier made his way into the room.

Under one of his four arms, he carried a man dressed in a red, white and blue uniform. He wore a blue mask with a white "A" on the forehead, and on his chest was the emblem of a star. The lower half of his face that showed and the uniform were dirty and looked as if he had recently been in battle.

The four-armed monster deposited the man on the floor and left as quickly as he had come. But Scorpion remained at the doorway, looking down the hall at something they could not see.

"Hey! Scorpion, right?" Goku called to him.

The ninja's eyes flicked to him for a second, but otherwise did not acknowledge that the Saiyan had spoken.

"What are we doing here? What do you want?"

"If he'd come over here, I could convince him to talk," Batman growled.

Superman glanced at Batman in concern. He knew how the Dark Knight could threaten someone to make them tell whatever he wanted them to. It wasn't pretty.

"Hey! We're talking to you!" Ripley shouted. "The least you can do is look—"

"CAGE! SUBZERO!" Scorpion barked suddenly, cutting Ripley off. "Get your lazy carcasses over here!"

Johnny Cage and the ninja in blue that resembled Scorpion came into view, carrying yet another man between them.

The man was muscular, but short and stocky and was dressed in a blue and gold suit, complete with gloves and knee-high boots. His bushy hair curled upwards on either side of his head like horns; he also looked as if he hadn't shaved in a few days, and the bare parts of his arms were hairy. The most curious thing about him was the way he was bound.

The energy-cuffs were not only connected to his wrists, but to his neck as well, so that his knuckles rested under the base of his chin.

"Hurry, before this one wakes," Scorpion commanded.

Just as Johnny Cage and Subzero began to lower the newcomer to the ground, he came to snarling life.

With a powerful backward thrust of the head, the man crushed his skull against Subzero's forehead. One would think that he had been hurt as much as the ninja, but it was not so.

A horrible crunch sounded when he made the action, and Subzero fell, bleeding. The man, meanwhile, was unphased.

Johnny Cage had let go in surprise, but now attacked the new arrival head-on.

The man dodged the first few blows, but Cage finally landed a punch square in the jaw.

But there was a crackling of bone as Cage's fist made contact, and he howled in pain and fell back to nurse his hand, which was now clearly broken.

The newcomer now turned to Scorpion, snarling.

In response, the ninja reached for the bottom of his own chin. To everyone's horror he began to pull away not only the mask, but the flesh underneath, revealing white bone.

Before he could continue this grotesque action however, there was a confusion of movement.

Another ninja, dressed in black blue and white and wearing a conical straw Chinese hat appeared out of thin air, first beside Scorpion and then behind the newcomer. He had either moved at an incredible speed or had teleported from place to place.

Before the new arrival could react, the new ninja had placed his hands on his shoulders. Blue strings of electricity ran over the man, emanating from the ninja's fingertips.

The man grit his teeth and yelled, revealing rather sharp incisors, trying to fight the pain, but could not stand it for very long. He soon fell to the ground, unconscious.

Amid the shouts, struggles and cries of the others on the wall, a commanding tenor voice rang out:

"What has happened?"

Everyone froze and turned towards the doorway. There, flanked by two tall strangely-armored men with staffs, stood a youth with wild black magenta and blonde hair. He was dressed in what looked like a blue Japanese school uniform; a chain with a gold upside-down pyramid set with the symbol of an eye hung around his neck. He surveyed the room with violet eyes. "Scorpion? Raiden?"

"Nothing you need to be concerned with," Raiden, the man in the hat said in a hollow deep voice.

The youth glanced at the unconscious form of Subzero, whose face was covered in blood, and Johnny Cage, who was gingerly holding his broken hand, then at Raiden sternly. "I'll be the judge of that."

He walked to where Subzero lay, and out of his pocket drew a curious set of cards. He closed his eyes, and his hand wavered over the cards, moving slightly this way and that way, as if he were searching for something. He finally drew out a card, and opening his eyes looked at it, and nodded. He placed it on the ground before him, and said, "Cure Mermaid."

The card fluttered slightly from its place on the floor, and a light began to show from the brightly coloured picture imprinted on it.

To everyone's astonishment, something began to rise out of the card. A delicate, pearly hand came out, and then a pink-clothed shoulder, and finally a head. It was a young woman with flowing golden hair and finned ears. She had recently been wet; she shook her hair slightly, and droplets of water went flying. She blinked a few times, and seeing the youth in front of her, smiled and bobbed her head.

The young man nodded at Subzero, and the woman turned and bent over him, her entire torso now out of the card. Making a crooning noise that reminded Superman of a dolphin or whale, she waved her hands over Subzero's face, which slowly became clear of the blood to reveal a ugly gash in the center of his forehead.

She placed a white finger against the gash, and it began to close up until it had completely vanished.

"Cage," the youth said, and Johnny Cage stumbled over to kneel down.

The woman took his broken hand and held it for a moment, then released it.

Johnny Cage flexed his hand in wonder, and stepped away.

"Thank you," the youth said to the woman, and lending her a hand, lowered her back into the unperceivable depths of the card. With extreme care, he replaced the card back into his deck, then swung around to face Raiden. "Never harm one of them again," he said dangerously, indicating the newcomer on the ground. The eye on the gold pyramid he wore glowed briefly.

"It was necessary," Raiden said. He raised his head to reveal a set of glowing blue-white eyes.

The young man's own eyes narrowed to slits. "Do not argue with me. They are not to be harmed. Is that clear, Raiden? Scorpion?"

Raiden opened his mouth to disagree, but the tall armored men moved once more to either side of the youth, holding tightly to their staffs.

"Yes," he said, clenching his teeth.

"Yes," Scorpion echoed.

"Keep your men under control," the youth said and promptly left, the armored men with him.

Raiden and Subzero, supported by Scorpion and Johnny Cage, sullenly followed.

The others slid down the wall as the door closed, landing ungracefully at the bottom. Ignoring this embarrassment, they attended to the newcomers.

The man who had been electrocuted woke shortly, spouting profanities until Superman cut him off.

"That's enough. There are ladies here." The Man of Steel said loudly.

The new arrival grunted, then turned to Ripley and Carin. "Sorry." He said in a gruff, raspy voice. He struggled to sit up; without use of his hands, this was not an easy feat.

"Do you need—"

"No."

Superman shook his head slightly and fell back with Batman. "Reminds me of you," he commented quietly.

Batman grunted.

At last the man was able to sit up, and he glanced around. He looked to his side, where the other new arrival lay, and did a double take. "Cap?" he whispered.

"You know him?" Ripley asked.

"Served with him when I was in the Canadian Special Forces," he replied distantly, still staring at the man next to him.

"Would you mind telling us who you are?"

"Logan," he said gruffly. "Some call me Wolverine." His tone was still distracted; he could not take his eyes off his comrade.

"And who is he?"

This caused Logan to finally turn their way. "You don't know who he—wait, who are you anyway? How'd I get here? I mean, I know the ninjas drugged me, but how did I get here? Where the hell are we anyway?"

"We're not sure. We've been here for what," Carin glanced at Goku and Trunks, "Six, seven hours?"

Trunks nodded. "At least."

"Where are you from, Logan?" John Connor asked.

"What? Canada, originally," he replied.

"So you're from Earth." Carin said.

"Of course I—" He narrowed his eyes at her. "You tryin' to tell me you're not Human, lady?"

"Precisely."

"Neither am I," Goku said. "Or Trunks here. Or Superman."

"Superman?" Logan turned to the Man of Steel. "You a superhero, bub?"

"I guess you could call me that, yes."

Logan eyed him for a moment, then glanced at Batman. "You too? Are you guys part of a team or somethin'?"

"We both work with the Justice League of America," Superman replied.

"Justice League…never heard of it."

"I didn't expect you would; we're all from different worlds." Superman said.

Logan stared at him. "You gotta be kiddin' me."

"Sorry, no. Most of us are from Earth, but they're all different Earths."

"Parallel universes." Trunks emphasized.

"And who are you? All of you?"

"Trunks Briefs."

"Colonel John—"

He was cut off by a small groan.

Logan turned so violently that he nearly fell over. "Cap?"

The man's eyes opened. He blinked a few times, his eyes adjusting to the room's light.

"Cap?" Logan repeated.

Captain America slowly sat up, staring at him. "Logan?"

Logan smirked. "Good to see you, Cap."

"Haven't seen you since we made that raid on the POW camp….What's with the outfit, Logan? Why are you tied up like that? Where…where are we? Who…Oh, excuse me. Ma'am…ma'am." He titled his head at Ripley, then Carin. He looked at the rest of them. "You're soldiers," he said, indicating Master Chief, the Marine and John Connor. "Aren't you."

"Yes sir," John said, touching his brow as best he could with his cuffed hands. "I'm Colonel John Connor." He waited a moment for the marines to say something, but they did not. "…this is the Master Chief and the Marine. This is Lieutenant Ellen Ripley."

"Your uniforms…where are you from?"

"I think 'when' is the more appropriate question, Cap." Logan said.

Captain America looked at him strangely. "What?"

"What year are you from?"

"What kind of question—"

"What year, Cap?"

"1943."

"1943…" Batman repeated quietly. "That puts you in the middle of World War II."

"That's right," Captain America said, standing. "What…what year are you from?"

"1994," Logan said, struggling to stand himself.

"1994!" Captain America exclaimed, taking an involuntary step backward. "You—you should be an old man, Logan. Is this some kind of trick? A joke?"

"No joke, Cap. I'm about sixty…well, probably older. I dunno how old I am…see, I never got around to tellin' ya, Cap." Logan finally was able to stand on his feet. "I'm a mutant. Got super fast healin' abilities and regenerative powers. Been alive for a long time. Don't think I could tell ya how long."

"A mutant?" Captain America echoed.

"Yeah," Logan said, almost defensively. "And the reason that I'm tied up like this—" his eyes flicked to his chin – "Is because of my claws…years ago I was part of somethin' called the Weapon-X project…they laced my bones with adamantium." A dark scowl crossed his features. "I'd show ya, but I don't wanna kill myself."

"Adamantium…claws? Who…who did this to you, Logan?" Captain America asked, concern heavy on his features. "I'm assuming this wasn't voluntary."

"Nope, didn't volunteer. And the scientists who conducted the…experiment…are dead." Logan smiled crookedly. "There are some benefits to havin' Adamantium bones. Nothin' can break 'em."

"Is that why Subzero…?"

Logan turned to Ripley momentarily. "Who's that? The guy I headbutted?" When she nodded, he smirked. "Yeah, that's why. Surprised he's not dead. Or is he?"

"No."

"Pity—"

"What is adamantium, exactly?" Carin asked.

"Adamantium's probably the strongest element on Earth….well, my Earth. Maybe it doesn't exist on yours."

"I've never heard of it," Batman said.

"Neither have I," added Ripley.

"Well then, guess it's just mine…and the Cap's."

"So…these claws. They come out of your fingers?" Superman asked.

"Knuckles. Hurts every time."

"They knew how to bind you," Batman said, narrowing his eyes. "Just like the lead paneling. Makes me wonder what else they know."

There was a moment of dark silence between them all, which was broken by the rather loud gasp of Captain America. "Logan!" He seized his comrade's shoulders. "You said you were from 1994…did…did we win?"

Knowing that the Captain meant the war, Logan smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Cap. We won."

It looked as if the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders as Captain America released Logan and took a few steps backwards to lean against the wall.

He was silent, staring at the ceiling. "Thank God," he whispered. A few more moments of silence passed, then he said, "Thank you Logan, for telling me. I can bear it now. Even…even if I die, I know it won't be in vain."

Logan opened his mouth to say something in response, but Superman interrupted him.

"They're coming again."

"Again?" Trunks asked.

"Who?" Logan asked.

"Those men. They're coming back. I hear their footsteps."

Logan turned to the transparent wall where the door stood and hunched down, taking as good a fighting stance as he could. "Let 'em come. Let 'em come to the Wolverine."

"You won't be able to do anything," Batman said, moving towards one of the walls. "As long as these cuffs are on."

"Have you tried resisting them?" Master Chief asked.

"You can't," Goku said.

"Have…have you tried holding on to someone else? See if you can withstand the pull?" Ripley asked.

Goku and Trunks looked at each other. "No," Goku said. "Let's try it. It's worth a shot. Hurry!"

Trunks and Goku grasped one another's arms as best they could and Superman and Batman and both of the marines did the same.

Carin, Ripley, John Connor, Captain America and -- most painfully – Logan suddenly flew against the walls.

But the others stayed stationary – for a short while.

Carin could tell that the strain was too much, even for the Saiyans, whom she suspected were the strongest of the three pairs. They all grit teeth and held on for as long as they could stand it, but finally all six went speeding in opposite directions to be pinned against the walls.

Logan and Batman swore simultaneously as the door opened and Scorpion and the now-recovered Subzero walked through, carrying a woman between them.

She was young and beautiful, slender with long blonde hair and pale skin. She was clothed in a blue body suit which was long-sleeved but legless, like a leotard.

They laid her on the ground, her golden locks falling about her head.

As they were leaving, Scorpion turned. "I wouldn't try to resist the restraints," he said. "Especially in the way you attempted. Wouldn't want you dislocating an arm, now would we?" With a harsh cackle, he left, closing the door forcefully behind him.

They were released from the walls, and from both sides came forward to inspect the new stranger.

Logan moved his head and cracked his neck as best he could considering his bonds. "Guess that didn't work."

Trunks rolled his shoulders.

"You okay, Trunks?" Goku asked, a note of apology in his voice.

"Yeah, fine. Darn, I thought we might be able to beat it."

"If we had held on any longer, I think I might have ripped your arms off," Superman told Batman.

The Dark Knight nodded, and the ghost of a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I think so too."

Carin and Ripley knelt next to the woman and Ripley shook her shoulder gently. The woman did not stir, but continued to breathe steadily and shallowly.

The woman awoke within a half hour of her arrival. She said her name was Samus Aran, and asked if she was still on Zebes.

They all informed her of what they knew, which she was surprised to find was very little.

It appeared that she had been plucked from the midst of a battle with several dangerous organisms that she called Metroids.

"I thought they finally got me," Samus said. "I felt like I was losing energy and everything went black. And the same thing happened to you?" She looked around at them all, and they all indicated that yes, it had.

"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head. "What do they want? Why us?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Batman replied, and turned his gaze upwards.