With A Snap
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 73: Secrets of the Orb
Missy, Venomous, and Alexis were standing in front of the group.
Missy was cooing at the Black Mercy that had roosted on her arm.
Alexis was sipping on his warm drink, pausing to pull out a whipped cream can from his coat pocket and topping it.
Shrinking Violet stood next to Venomous, Venomous looked exhausted, and Shrinking Violet looked interested.
Tony and Steve didn't look super hopeful about this update.
"Okay, Goth Squad," Tony sighed, "what do you have for us this time?"
"Goth?" Alexis asked, "I'm not-"He looked to his side, "Well, they- I just wear dark blues but- yeah -fine- I don't have the energy to argue."
Shrinking Violet started, "Uh, well, That machine- the Hub? Right? Well, it's working fine. We replaced some wiring, but it didn't have enough damage to explain any of our issues. I've added some tech from our universe, and it should help with power issues and hopefully prevent more damage. We've tried other universes, and they seem to be working fine."
"Speaking of which," Missy added, "I've finished up the communication devices. I gave the prototype to Big Blue. If anyone else wants a way to contact, their home universes come to me."
"Scout," Alexis added, "is getting messages from people from other universes we've communicated with, we should get some people to talk to them and-" He waved his hand and took a long sip of his drink. "Same thing we've been doing."
Alexis had a bit of cream on his nose, causing a few people to chuckle. He didn't seem to be wide awake.
Venomous shook his head at the sight but tried to act professional, "I'm working on something that might get us past the issue of the stone energy. I'm unwilling to talk about it until I run some more tests; it might be nothing."
Tony looked at them, "So basically nothing new?"
Alexis wiped his nose clean, "Hm, no, I got ideas about why we can't lock into that other universe. I'm hoping to verify something with the people that came from that universe when they regain consciousness. We can't progress until we know more."
Missy shrugged, "I took apart Destiny's device and retrofitted it. No one should be able to shut us down. And I set up a shield around the HUB should keep certain issues from coming up,"
Violet added, "Brainy copied over all the recent data from Brainiac's ship. So everything the Luthors were working on and saw should be on there. But, unfortunately, a blast of energy corrupted the data, and we're working on it."
"Thanks to the remains of the Mother Box," Venomous explained, "And the Boxmore bots, we should have it fixed in a day or two. It's a lot of data and in an alien langue, but it seems to hold data of Thanos after that fight in the Garden. It could hold the key to where he went, how to track him, and possibly someone of those he fought."
Steve was surprised; that could be solid intel on the enemy, "That's great,"
"Well, we don't have anything yet," Missy pointed out. "Until we got more- Goth Squad move out!"
They walked off as a group.
Shrinking Violet just whispered, "Are we really going to be called that?"
"We'll get T-shirts!"
0000
Martha got in front of everyone," Okay, I'll start with a quick reminder: if anyone is feeling unwell, please come to see me. I know we've got people with healing abilities and machines that can close up wounds, but that doesn't excuse being checked out. Just because the wounds have closed up and broken bones have mended, it doesn't mean that there still can't be issues. I've seen things like this, and it can still stress out a body, so be careful rest and let your body recover."
Martha sighed, pulling out a report, "As for our unconscious guest, they are physically fine, as I can tell. However, they're basically in a coma; they absorbed energy from an unstable wormhole. If not for the quick thinking of Alexis and Greyman, it could have been a lot worse. The energy they absorbed is keeping them unconscious, but as it passes through them should regain consciousness. Until then, I'll keep my eyes on them."
0000
Rocket got in front of the group, though many people had gotten used to seeing the Racoon walking around, but he still a few odd looks. I thought that was something Rocket had since gotten used to; after all, he knew he was one a kind.
Rocket scratched the back of his head, "Okay, so we've gone through everything we brought back from Thanos' garden. We've had to scrap most of it and ain't sure what it could do since it already failed to beat purple chin. We're going to try to give them a few upgrades to give them a bit more kick. As for anyone interested in it, let me know. We might be able to upgrade some of your techs. We got time until we find Thanos anyway. Anyone with any techno knows how you're free to come over."
0000
The rest of the meeting wasn't that memorable, with a few people just saying this or that.
The Doctor was just saying that she was working with Ava to stabilize her powers and some others would be helping.
Foxtail, Carol, and Silver Fang were having training schedules whenever anyone felt like training.
The magic users were dubbed the Coven and were asked if they could come up with any ideas to help.
Other people threw out some suggestions and ideas and saw if anyone could help them with this or that.
Then Sakura got up and introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Sakura Kinomoto," Sakura looked at the strange group; Marinette did give her an encouraging smile. "Ah, well, I was told you I could come here to look for help to get some people back."
Steve tried to be welcoming and kind, "That is what we are trying to do. We're working together to try to undo what happened. You are welcomed here if you want to stay here." Steve paused, "Wait, did you say someone told you about us?"
Sakura searched through her bag and pulled out a familiar-looking orb.
That got a few murmurs.
Tony looked over to Alexis, who was finishing his hot chocolate. "Does that look familiar?"
Alexis is shaking the whip cream canister, "Yeah, it's the infinity orb. Just like the one in the HUB. It's a big multiverse; I didn't doubt there would be others out there. One of my theories about how it can have such a complete map of the multiverse was that that there were several connected mapping things out."
Kirby grabbed the canister and ate it.
Sakura just explained, "I got it from a shop in Tokyo, it was magic, and the guys said someone already paid it for me. That would help me find help to get my friends and family back. I don't even know how I ended up there; I just found myself walking to it."
Kero floated over to Sakura's shoulder, "Yeah, that fortune shop gives me the creeps. Even if the Dimension Witch wasn't there."
"Hoe?" Sakura quirked, confused.
Many magic users in the room seem to grow pale or unsettled at the mention.
Atlee spoke up, "Hey, I've seen one of those. They had one of those back homes at Strata!"
Scarlett took out her phone, "Actually, I've meant to say something. I saw one of those in a statue."
She showed them a picture she took of the broken statue.
Aang agreed, "Yeah, now that I see it, it does look like that statue of that Spirit. I think they called him Infinity."
Before they could reply, FRIDAY's voice rang out, "Sirs, the HUB is active; someone is trying to contact us."
EARTH SG-02
GROOM LAKE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AREA 51
Sam Carter was supposed to command the USS George Hammond, but they felt they needed her on Earth when everything happened. She was working from Area 51 since that was one of the few places on Earth that had the equipment she needed and hid the Alternate Daedalus.
McKay had managed to repair most of the drive, and while getting the ship to fly properly would take more time, they found a workaround. The orb they found seemed to work perfectly to calculate universes and help focus the energy from the drive. The addition of Stargate retrieved from A Wraith Hive ship when it tried to attack Earth they could generate a stable wormhole. That universe was a bit of a mystery, they used the orb to try and locate the source of this disaster, and it quickly got them to the location.
They were about to send a MALP to see what was on the other side when their computers started to act strange.
I see. Hello Colonel Samatha Carter.
Sam looked at the computer screens as words appeared on them.
Sam was curious, and she could tell from a look that this not a part of their usual program.
"Who are you?"
You are just as bright as your files suggested.
"My files?"
Yes, sorry about hacking your systems. I find it's easier to talk if I know who you are. Very interesting. Exploring worlds through the use of an ancient alien wormhole device. Fighting aliens playing as gods. Did you really blow up a star?
"What? How did you have access to that?"
Yes, the Stargate Program and Area 51 are some of the most secured servers on the planet, but well, I've hacked Area 51 before in my world.
"Your world?"
That's a bit more complicated. We can go into details if you like, but I have some people that want to talk to you.
Scout transformed the screen to a video feed showing Tony and Steve.
EARTH M-199999
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AVENGER'S COMPOUND
Gwen and Elena were in Alexis' lab as he brought in the Emerald Eye in a bell jar. They couldn't figure out if it was magic or tech, so they came to someone who knew both. He had to run some tests and ask for some help after looking over what they could pick up.
"Okay, so I think I figured out what we got."
"Is it magic or tech?" Elena asked, "I thought I picked up on some nanotech on it."
"I sensed somewhere weird energy on it," Gwen pointed out, "I felt some mana and some other stuff."
Alexis hummed, "Well, it's bio-magic tech. Sort of anyway."
"I don't follow," Elena told him.
"Okay, first off, this is an actual eye. From some big alien entity, possibly divine possible cosmic. Kind of hard to tell."
"What?" Gwen asked him, "That an actual eye?"
"Yeah, it's been processed a little, like taxidermied, far less than you'd imagine. Whatever this thing, it was sturdy even without trying to preserve methods added to it. I don't think this thing would decay that much. More on that late, though. There are complications. I had to double-check with Rocket, and there is some minor tech attached to optic nerves. Rocket confirmed that this tech was similar to something we saw in a red ring we ran into it. It's meant to channel energy, and this whole eye can channel a ton of energy."
"That might be what I'm sensing." Gwen mused to herself.
"Yeah, that tech in the optic nerves is made out of living tissue."
Both young women were thrown for a loop on that one.
"Okay, explain that," Elena told him.
"I'm guessing from the same species that made the ring, maybe as a prototype. The thing is, they seemed to be immortal. There are alien cells inside it, used to make the circuitry in the tech. They don't seem to be aging or anything and super sturdy and seem to repair themselves to some extent. Which is why they used their cells, weird but smart engineering."
Elena figured that was why she couldn't get a good read from the eye; she wasn't expecting to see circuitry made from alien cells.
He tapped the jar, "Remember when I said the eye wouldn't decay cause it's kinda alive. I don't think it has a brain, but it has some sense of thoughts, that how it can react to people's mental commands." He pulled out a vial of blood, "Yeah, I didn't need a copy of the last user's DNA. Want it back?"
"Ah, no," Elena shook her head.
"Well, this is a mess of a thing. But, like, yeah, it's channeling energy, and it could easily make a strong focus for magic. Want it?"
"Maybe later," Gwen stared at the eye, "We got a meeting. Are you coming?"
"Can't this time; I'm working on some stuff. Getting Scout working 100%, and the Doctor wanted to talk about something. Tell me if you need me."
Elena walked out with Gwen, "I'm sorry I got that eye. That's creepy."
"I know. Who thinks it's a good idea to shove stuff into a living eye and use it to shoot energy."
"Must have been a weird species."
0000
Wade was on his way to do some training when he heard someone calling to him.
"Wade."
To his surprise, he found Steve Roger's there.
"Oh my captain, my captain,"
"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Oh? What about?"
"You seem to have a talent in finding talent,"
"Look, I've thought about being a talent scout, but Hollywood is such a hassle; everyone is backstabbing everyone and-"
"No," Steve confused but tried to continue, "you made a good choice inviting your friend Betsy. It sounds like she was a big help when Destiny showed up."
"Well, she did help knock out some kids without it getting weird."
"Yes, uh, well, I thought that maybe you could go and find some help."
"Oh? You want me to hop into other universes and try to make friends. I'm not really the ambassador type, but if you believe in me, I'll try."
"I had something else in mind, and I thought you might be able to find some more help on Earth."
"Hm, maybe. I did check up on everyone I knew with any power, and I couldn't find most of them. So I guess half got snapped, and some are probably doing their own thing. You know, checking up on family and friends or bunkering down with a few thousand cans of beans waiting for everything to blow over."
"We can help with that FRIDAY has been searching for news stories from all over the world. We're hoping to ping down any other enhanced individuals that could help out."
"I get it. Anyone with some power might be helpful. I'm surprised someone doesn't already have a list. Didn't one-eyed Fury have something?"
"The Index, SHIELD kept a list on every enhanced individual, either Gifted or Enhanced, along with any odd items. Most on the list were civilians watched by SHIELD, Hydra took some, and some have gone into hiding or government protection. Most of the others on the list were criminals, and most of them have ended up in the Raft. Even the ones that in normal prisons aren't likely to help."
"Yeah, the world goes crazy, and a man in tight lets you walk out of prison. You would probably try to run off." Deadpool pouted under his mask, "Okay, if I'm getting my very own mission can I get a team?"
"Sure, we got plenty of people here. I'm sure a few would be happy to help,"
Deadpool walked off, tapping his chin.
0000
Shego wasn't fond of being tested on, and she had the strict rule against Drakken testing her out. So the only reason she allowed them to was that they said they might figure out how to give her powers a boost.
Right now, it looked like it was time to get a boost, and A huge green guy asked; she had enough trouble with green giants to know not to pick a fight with them.
Bruce took a sample of her blood and ran some tests, and ran scans over her hand. To her surprise, Stitch had joined him. It's not like she held anything against the alien koala, but after he helped Kimmie destroyed their underwater base with them, she wasn't eager to deal with him again.
Stitch on Bruce's shoulder, and they looked over a tablet.
"Is Shego your real name?" Bruce asked.
Shego just glared, "That's what I'm called. What does it matter?"
"Uh, I guess- never mind." Bruce passed the tablet to Stitch.
Stitch was looking through all the data they had.
"So, do you mind if I ask you some questions,"
Shego sighed, "Knock yourself out."
"How did you get your powers? I can see you weren't born with them."
"If you have to know, me and my brothers got hit by this weird glowing space rock when we were kids. We walked away just fine except for the glow and new powers." Shego held out her hand, letting it glow to demonstrate.
"Yeah, about that, can you only do your hands?"
"What?" Shego thought that was a weird question.
"This!" Sitch held out the tablet showing images of her brothers, all of them with full-body glows.
Shego glared, not that the blue alien flinched, "Scout."
Bruce explained, "Yeah, the computer program that finds everyone. He's very thorough when digging up everything. When looking over your file, we noticed your brother all glowed full body."
Shego huffed and looked away, "Yeah, my brothers do the whole glow like that. He mostly focuses on his hands and arms, legs if he needs to jump. But he glows full-body too, when he wants to do something like smash through a wall. It's just about controlling the power. "Shego looked at her hands, letting them glow, "It's a matter of control and what's needed. I tried to do some stuff like that as a kid, but I couldn't control it. I ended up burning everything around me. Focusing on my hands just works better. I get the most bang out of my buck."
"Have you tried it recently?" Bruce suggested.
"What? No? I can't focus the energy."
"I think you can," Bruce tried to explain, "your entire body and your skin have become perfect for channeling that energy. Our scan detected that your output should be much higher, but trying to focus it just out of your hands doesn't let you channel much more at once."
"I keep telling you I can't."
"It's just in your head, a block," Stitch told her. "You're holding yourself back."
"Yeah," Bruce agreed, "you've been using training weight this whole time. Your power has grown as you have, but you never took off the weights."
Shego stared at her hands for a moment, not sure she believed it.
0000
Thor was drinking; the fighting had given him a bit to take out his frustrations on. But, especially after the dream, his dreams were filled with the dead and the constant reminder that he let them die.
So he sat and drank.
"Hello," Alexis sat down across him and gave him a tired smile.
"Hello,"
He let some air "Pfft, not great at this. But, a rabbit kind of gave me a nudge. And, I feel like I should be here."
"What?"
"I don't know," he tapped on his head, "I'm not an instinctual person, yet one of my basic and most useful abilities is heavy into following my instincts. It's not bad in fights when I can't pause to think. I think I'm supposed to be here right now."
"Okay," Thor had only understood a fraction of that.
"It's funny,"
"What is?"
"Scarlett double-checked it; me and her don't exist. Like, there aren't any doubles of us here. Yet there is you in my world."
Thor raised an eyebrow at that, "Have you met?"
"We've met a few times, not particularly close. You're a redhead in my world. Your dad is nice enough to me, carries himself with a lot of dignity and wisdom. Between you and me, I think he's hyped himself a bit."
Thor snorted at that, "Well, he means well."
"Your mom is a lovely woman, strong and kind."
Thor smiled. "So they are still alive in your world?"
"The last time I checked. I'm not that close, and I'm closer to your brother Loki."
"Loki?"
Alexis put his hands together, and sparks shot out; slowly, the light show turned into dozens of glowing blue butterflies.
"He was one of my magic teachers. My godmother taught me the basics, but Loki taught me how to make it my own." Alexis smiled. "Loki, Sun Wukong, Anansi, I tend to draw to tricksters, and they thought me something different. But, as I've realized recently, his lessons saved me a bunch of times." He waved his hands, and the illusion vanished.
Thor smirked to himself at the thought that even if his family wasn't alive in this world, a version of them still existed.
"What is my brother like in your world?"
"Odd, a trickster, generally good, ends up finding trouble so much of the time or the one you trust to get you out of trouble. His wife has her hands full with him."
"He's married?"
"Sigyn, a wonderful woman, knows when to she had to reel him and makes him listen when he's about to get in over his head. And trust me, that is going to happen. Some argued I learned the wrong things from him. He always said, with my nature, that would have happened anyway."
Thor put his beer aside and talked to a stranger about a brother he wouldn't even know, but in some ways, it felt like he had.
0000
The Coven had gathered in the room they were using meetings. They had a few books on the table along with all the notes that Gwen and Charmcaster.
Zatanna was impressed by the notes; they looked into how everyone used magic and magic weapons and tools they had.
The first bad news was even with their new magic members; none knew how to fix the miraculous Marinette had brought over. Breaking a magic item could mean it loses all its power. Damaging it could damage the magic, and attempting to repair it could be dangerous.
Gwen made a note of it on a bulletin board that Dendy posted on the TDS system's bulletin board so that if anyone had an idea, they could share it.
The group has expanded; this group had Gwen, Charmcaster, Kanzaki, Itsuwa, Scarlett, John, Zattana, Traci, Raven, Alexis, Noelle, Enid, Elodie, and Haley. John as elsewhere at the moment. Alexis was busy with his own things. Enid wasn't someone who focused much on magic but has some passing knowledge, and she thought learning a bit more might be helpful. Elodie seemed interested but seemed weird being in a room like this with Enid; Elodie kept glancing at her. Noelle was curious if she could learn anything from them; their magic was very different than hers; there could be much more varied. Sakura was interested in joining, but she was working with Stark on something.
Traci sat around reading the stuff on the TDS, "So, should we have a leader for this group?"
Gwen blinked, "I guess anyone wants the job?"
Some of them had looked at Gwen; some expected her to take up the role.
Zaltana thought about throwing her hat into the ring, but she felt weird about taking the lead of a group right after she showed up.
Noelle was about to jump to the role when Gwen spoke up.
"How about you, Chamcaster?" She gave the other girl a look from the corner of the eye, unable to make complete eye contact.
Enid chuckled to herself, "Well, it would go with the whole Goth Squad that team leader have going."
Gwen tapped on the TDS that flashed a screen of team leaders.
—
Alexis Duran: Head of the Transdimensional Department
Missy: Head of New Technologies
Venomous: Head of Bio-Infinity Project
Salu Digby (Shrinking Violet): Head of Technology Department
Doctor: Head of Scientific Research
Bruce Banner: Head of Biology Department
Martha Jones-Smith Head of Medical Department
Rocket: Head of Tech Research
Steve Rogers: Head of Recruitment, Team Leader
Carol Kincaid, Foxtail, Silver Fang: Co-heads of Physical Training
Tony Stark: Head of Being Bad-Ass
—
"Huh? Okay, some of them do get that goth feel," Gwen mumbled to herself; she decided to ignore what Tony named his department.
Charmcaster touched her shoulder, "You sure you don't want it?"
Gwen flinched at the sudden touch.
"Hey!" Atlee walked in, "Can I borrow one of you? I think I'm going home to check out the orb we have. Mister Stark said he wanted to know more of it, and we don't know if it's magic or science. I'd like to have a magic person with me checking it out."
"I'll go," Gwen jumped up,
"Yeah," Atlee added, "you can shapeshift, right? Might make things easier."
"Okay, let's go," Gwen paused, "Charmcaster, I think you'd be a good leader."
Chamrcaster smiled, "Okay,"
As they left Charmcaster, "Okay, I'm it. Let's do some magic."
KAMAR-TAJ
John Constantine took a deep breath as he sat in the library. He felt that Wong didn't trust him, which he didn't blame him, but he allowed John to look through their text. Though he only allowed it because the Avengers asked for him.
Since he arrived in this universe things, felt off. Magic was different here, it didn't stop him from using his spells, but he felt it. It was almost like his skin was suddenly just a half size too small. He had asked the other magic users, and they all felt something similar. The Redhead in the coat said that just jumping universes felt like that for magic users. It would pass once a person felt accustomed to the new universe.
It gave John a headache. He'd wanted to smoke, but he'd been warned against it. He could not blame the monks; some of these books were plenty old, and he didn't want to risk them. John wasn't the most amicable guest ever but knew not to step on someone's rules about magic books.
He had some ideas about the souls that had gone missing. Tracking a wayward soul was something near impossible to do. The books contain some knowledge of the soul but most of the stuff he knew already. He instead tried to focus what they had on the stones. They had some legends and stories about the stones and had been the house for one stone. He made some notes about the eye they used to contain it. That information might be helpful for the others to try and control the power of the stones.
He was interested in the Soul Stone; it would be strange if that stone had nothing to do with the missing souls. But from what he found was less than helpful, the soul stone seemed to be the one stone no one knew anything about.
AMPHIBIA DSN-2010 (AMPHIBIA .19)
NEWTOPIA, AMPHIBIA
NEWTOPIA CASTLE
Catra didn't mind this job. She was tired of training and waiting around in a world that made the Fright Zone look like a vacation spot. She didn't have the brains to have projects like upgrading Vexus or building new weapons. She was good for fighting and surviving.
Thanos and Davros needed supplies to make their plan happen. They had the power and the things to put together, but they still needed more.
So using some info, Vexus had gotten some exciting info and found that this whole place was built on some pretty impressive tech they could use. It didn't seem powered up, but they could find a battery or something. The Horde soldiers were taking care of the people down the city. Not sure that Catra would even call them people; they were like salamanders. And she was in the throne room fighting a big one.
King Andrias towered over her and showed his strength by slapping her into the wall with enough force to crack the wall.
The blue newt growled, "I guess I should have guess alternate worlds when all this started,"
"Well, good, you figured that out; why don't you just save yourself some trouble and give up now?"
"No, I don't think so. I had plans, but I think you might give me something even better." The King charged at Catra.
Catra snarled and leaped onto his face and dug her claws into his eyes. Andrias struggled to rip her off him and eventually did. He glared at her with blood staining his face.
Catra took out her whip and wrapped it around his arm, and hit the button, sending a bolt of electricity through it. His arm failed him, and it went numb. She dropped, landing on her feet.
"What did you do?"
"You ask what am I going to do?"
Catra leaped again at him, holding the whip pulling his limp arm close to him. Catra wrapped it around his neck and sent another bolt of electricity. His skin began to burn as she struggled to try to throw her off. Catra reigned him in, forcing him to move, and before the King knew it, they had moved to the balcony. Catra jumped and shoved the half-numb King and tumbled back.
Catra watched him fall, and after a moment, she heard the sound of a large body hitting the ground and a few gasps from people below. Catra moved over and sat down on his massive throne. The building shook softly.
Kyle rushed in, his armor damaged, "Hey! Catra? Uh? We found something in the basement. I think it's angry."
Catra sighed, "This is going to be a long day."
DEMON REALM DSN-2010 (DEMON REALM .20)
THE HEART, BOILING ISLES
EMPEROR'S CASTLE
Emperor Belos stood in this throne room. He was a tall, imposing figure; he wore white and gold robes and a mask with two long upward-facing horns. The mask had two hollow eyes that showed only darkness. The throne room was filled with the noise of a giant heart beating rapidly above the throne.
He held his staff closely, "I hear you and understand,"
The castle hadn't been in the best of state after The Day of Dust, half of his guards had vanished, and most were needed to keep people from writing, so when the woman arrived, there wasn't much defense.
He had barricaded the doors, but he could hear the about to crack. With one final blow, the doors shattered, and through the dust and debris, she strode calmly.
"Not bad, seen better throne room," Hela looked around before pointing to the massive beating heart, "but that, that is interesting. I think I'll take that. I can feel the power within it; I'm sure we can find a use for it."
Below held his staff ready to fight, "You will have to go through me,"
Hela smirked, 'Well, if you insist,"
She held her hand, and two swords sprang into them, and she leaped straight for him.
As she moved closer to him, and a massive worm-like creature manifested its toothy maw opening around her. Hela leaped into it, and the beast howled as the blades tore it in half. Stone spike jotted out of the ground towards her by the goddess dodged it with a terrifying grace. Slender, fleshy arms formed in the ground to reach for her, but she sliced them mid-jump. After escaping the attacks, she landed and prepared to move forward only to see Belos using his staff to power a ball of fire. Even from a distance, she could feel the energy he pushed into it.
"Ah!" Below screamed as, and soon the flames erupted before him, consuming everything before him.
He kept the flames eager to leave nothing of this woman but ash.
A black sword shot out of the flames striking his chest.
"That was toasty," Hela walked out of the flames, "Oh? Did you think it was easy to kill the goddess of death?" She shot off her other sword into his head, right between the eyes.
She next created an ax and sliced off his head for good measure. She recalled a few lessons her mother had given her and stories of witches, and it was always better to air on the side of caution when killing a master of magic.
With her work done, she looked up and smiled at her prize still beating.
EARTH ALA-221
FIRE NATION CAPITAL, FIRE NATION
FIRE NATION ROYAL PALACE
Zuko was looking over the scrolls they had gotten from a temple. He paused for a moment as he looked at the block-like device that just shown up.
"So, what did you find, Zuko?"
Zuko was still amazed by it, as Aang explained a woman named Missy had made it as a side project, as a means for Aang to communicate with Zuko. A new technology, called radios, was created to help improve communications. People were still saying that it would never replace the telegraph, but Zuko wasn't sure seeing this device. This was far more advance than anything they and much slicker too. Zuko couldn't lie that he was half tempted to give it to an engineer to see if they could figure out how to work. But he was afraid that if they tried, it would damage it. Plus, the way Aang describes this Missy, she reminded him of his sister Azula, though friendlier and likely more dangerous if that was to be believed.
"Zuko?"
"Right, the orb." Zuko sighed, "I don't have much for you. The Earth King already looked into this Infinity. He didn't know much, just the legends that he helps the founder of the city. That he insisted they built the room beneath the palace. I double-checked at the archives, and we just have the same story."
"I'm not sure; we found more of those orbs, you know that orb the statue was holding. It looks to be important."
Aang wasn't sure Infinity was a spirit, but it did seem strange.
EARTH M-199999
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AVENGER'S COMPOUND
The Doctor and Alexis were by the controls; Alexis was working on a tablet that connected the tower that held Scout.
"You think you can find someone like that. It would be super helpful with helping Ava?" The Doctor looked over his shoulder while he worked.
"Yeah, just let me finish here. More errors keep popping up,"
"I could take a look if you like,"
"I think we got it sorted; me and Missy looked over everything. The system had to make minor patches and programs to deal with things we couldn't predict for. It seems they weren't that great. Pulses and others stuff have been making it worse. Extra and erroneous data has been boiling up; it can't help that Scout wasn't made to work across universes. Just purging the system and making a few patches."
That was when Tony walked over holding the Sakura's Infinity Orb. "What do you know about this?"
Alexis blinked, confused as the Doctor took the tablet to finish the updates and look at the files.
"It's an alternate version of the orb we have in the HUB,"
"You're not curious about it," Tony pointed out.
"Copies aren't impossible, even across vastly different universes. Patterns repeat, across the multiverse, results in divergent timelines, repetitions within the infinite, or simple coincidences."
"Coincidences happen." Tony admitted, "I don't trust coincidences, tell me how you got your orb again,"
"Year ago, I built a device that created wormholes; after various experiments and accidents, I had an accident; a wormhole opened up and pulled me into the Void. Consider it universe zero, a space between universes, empty and living up to its name. The wormhole sealed behind me, and I was stuck in endless nothing. Someone found me, a man in armor with a mask with the infinite symbol. He handed me the orb, telling me that that it could help me find my way home. He disappeared without saying anything else. I studied the orb and saw that it could conduct energy, like my magic. It drained me, but it opened up a small portal back to my universe. After that, I studied the orb, and it let me figure out how to jump universes. Not that I do that a lot, too many complications and disturbing things out there. I've looked in it enough to see how something could have gone and just seeing how drastically they could be."
"And you still think this orb is a coincidence?"
"What? I did think that these orbs might have been scattered across the multiverse to help map it out. The fact that two got here is a coincidence."
"Scarlett finding a statue with another orb in Aang's world? Atlee saying she has one at her home? And guess what, Sam? The person we just started to talk to, they found one too. All of them seem to find their way here, or we find them. And Sakura just happened to show up when we needed an outsider with her dream-dropping ability."
"Are you saying there a pattern I'm not seeing?"
"What if someone is playing us? Whoever made these orbs is leaving us bread crumbs? I didn't even think about it until Metron showed up. He's supposed to be a time traveler, and he put us into teams. I didn't think much about it at the time, but everything worked out just right. Thor was there to fight another god. When someone controlled people's minds through their eyes, Elena was there, and she just happened not to have real eyes. Bruce needs to sacrifice someone, and there happens to be an immortal. Wade is there to fight another person to heal. I could keep going. How about the guy with a hand that can cancel magic is in a place filled with magic users? Or how about you, Greyman, and Dendy staying here. The three of you are great with tech and robots; you would have been a great help when we first saw those robots because you were needed her to help fix everything. How about if someone else was doing that with Thanos?"
"What?"
"There have been a lot of errors in the system; we've all looked over the data. What if hooking up the orb to it let the trojan virus in. Something to lead us to the world we'd have to find this,"
The Doctor hummed, interrupting them, "Maybe, I'm looking over the program. It does seem solid, and I can't find why the errors would be coming up. And outside source adding something would explain it."
Tony smirked.
"But, we did experiments with the orb. We found no evidence that it had anything like that."
Alexis shook his head, "Yeah, look; it would be great if someone were there to help us."
"That's the thing; I'm not too sure about that. How about if someone was playing us? Maybe someone trying to get us to find the stones for themselves? I don't like not knowing for sure. So, I need to know everything there is to know about this Infinite."
"I'll help but-"
"And done," The Doctor smiled to herself, "Just putting in and order to look for someone who can phase through solid objects,"
"Like, I was saying, I don't think this isn't more than coincidences."
Doctor, I already have someone. We were talking to them before they shut down.
Scout flashed them images of a teenager with black hair and blue eyes. Then the kid's photo showed him with white hair and glowing green eyes.
Alexis turned to Tony, who was smirking, "Okay, fine, this is feeling too coincidental. I'll talk to Scarlett and see what we can dig up."
EARTH SG-02
GROOM LAKE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AREA 51
Jack wasn't all that happy about this. "You sure about this?"
Carter nodded, "Sir, this is a unique situation. Their technology is advanced enough to casually break into our computers and go through all our files on top of crossing universes. One of them, Stark, wants to share information, especially what we have on that orb. They know about what is causing this dusting. They are looking for anyone who can help."
"Yeah, yeah," Jack waved her off, "I get it, a chance to learn things. I just don't like the idea of you and the rest of this makeshift SG-1 running off into another universe."
"They do seem to have the technology to bring us back if we want. Plus, you still have the ship here and the orb. You should be able to get us if things go wrong."
O'Neil rolled his eyes, "Yeah, about that McKay is still working on getting the engine back online."
Carter gave him a playful smile, "I'm sure Rodney will get it."
"Can't we send him instead of you? You'll have done in an afternoon."
"I don't know about that, and the engine is of McKay design. I'm sure he'll get it."
"Sam," he said, his voice losing that authority he played with.
"I know, Jack. I think this is our best shot; you know it too. If you weren't needed here, you'd be coming along."
He let out a tired sigh, "Fine, fine, but if anything goes wrong, get the Enterprise to come to get you."
Carter blinked, "No!"
"Yes! I finally got them to name a ship the Enterprise."
Sam just shook her head, wondering if the government would get sued by the Roddenberry estate.
"What?" Jack argued back, "I think Gene would love it. It's not like that show hasn't inspired real-life things. Besides, this whole thing is top secret."
They saw the rest of the makeshift SG-1 ready themselves at the gate.
Jack gave her a small and worried smile, "Good luck, Sam."
"I'll be back soon,"
Sam got in front of the gate, and sure she hadn't officially on the team for a while. Only an emergency on this scale pulled her back.
Her new team had some familiar faces and was a little odd. She was the leader but had T'ealc and Vala, along with Morgan La Fey. Sam was surprised that Morgan was so willing to come along, but she was curious about the other universe and what they knew about this phenomenon. Plus, with what she knew of Ancient Technology, they were sure that would be very helpful.
Still, Morgan looked odd wearing the fatigues from the base. Sam took a breath and walked toward the gate, it wasn't the first time she traveled to a parallel universe, but it still felt a bit strange.
EARTH M-199999
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AVENGER'S COMPOUND
The SG-1 found themselves in a new building, and two men meeting them.
One who had the body language of a soldier, something most of the team was familiar with. The other man reminded Vala of Ba'al, probably because of facial hair.
"Hello," The Man in the goatee asked, "Now, what do you know about this orb?"
Tony held out a familiar ball.
0000
Bruce walked up to Martha and handed her a sheet of paper. "Here's a list of the possible effects that traveling through a wormhole like that could have. We had plenty of people here with some experience with stuff like this. Heck, me and Thor went through one that knocked both of us out for a few hours. But that was in a ship. I can't imagine what it was like traveling through one like that without protection."
Martha looked over the list, "Molecular Scrambling. Blood clotting. Mental instability?"
"Yeah, Thor thinks that's why his brother was so squirrelly when he got to Earth."
Martha sighed, "I wish I knew what to do. I don't even know how accurate this is going to be? From what I can tell, their genetics are off from normal humans. Some of them have developed different biology. I'm not sure how I'd even start treating them if something comes up."
Bruce motioned to himself, "Don't let the extra five feet and green skin fool you. I do have a Ph.D. in Biochemistry." And he gestured to himself again, "I do have experience with bizarre biochemistry. We'll figure out something."
EARTH FGO-2017
LONDON, ENGLAND
CLOCK TOWER
London was in ruins
The Clock Tower had fallen.
The veil was gone.
The world might soon follow.
Half the world's population had vanished, no matter the type of life, the class, or area. That was bad enough on its own. The Church was ready to believe that God had killed the wicked and left the rest to fend for themselves.
They had no evidence that any magic did the vanishing event. However, people were wondering if Magic was real because of it.
Then there was everyone else; people worldwide were panicking, fighting one another for supplies, cowering away, or preparing for something. The economy was spiraling to its death, accidents and crimes were rising to unforeseeable numbers.
All that would take a massive effort but controlling that was manageable.
From where she was, she could see the monster tearing apart London. It had been a professor's pet Iguana, but now it was towering over buildings. They had tried to stop it, but they couldn't do it before other people found out. Not when the maker of that monster was attacking them.
Director Lorelei Barthomeloi stood before this man bleeding. All around her were the broken bodies and mages and enforcers.
"This is supposed to be the pinnacle of magic in this world."
Lorelei grit her teeth, "I'm going to kill you,"
"Heh, several people have said that to me before, including my wife. I'd be amazed if your the one to do it finally."
Lorelei felt all her magic circuit ignite with power; she forced herself to move forward. She was the Queen of the Clock Tower; she was feared by vampires and those who worked below her. Many would rather face vampires than tempt her rage.
On the other side, Lord Zedd was the emperor who had ruled whole worlds.
The air around them was charged with magic; a dark cloud rolled in. The air exploded as Lorelei collided with him, her magical reinforced body hit him with everything she had, but the conquerer had blocked it and diverted her with his staff. He flipped her away, and she rolled to the ground, but she wasn't going to give up.
As the fight continued, more of the Clock Tower campus was destroyed.
The air broke with the crackle of lightning. Lorelei's eyes went wide as she found the silver staff through her chest.
Zedd traced the outline of her face as even on the brink of death, and she glared at him.
"You're good, but I'm Lord Zedd."
Lightning struck the staff and ripped through her turning her to ash.
Lord Zedd took a moment to dust off his hand.
With of Skaaran soldiers rushed in to deliver a report.
"You found a dead dragon under the building?" Zedd chuckled, "I could sense some powerful dormant magic but a dragon? Oh, this must be my lucky day. The things I could do. I think it's time to rebuild an old friend."
EARTH TMNI-404
ACADEMY CITY, JAPAN
DISTRICT 7
A screen above the square flashed alive, showing a news broadcast.
A scared reporter stood before the camera. People all around her were trying to barricade the doors.
"Reports from around the world have become scares. The invaders have made no comment or declaration. Last reports say that Vatican City has been set ablaze. No one knows the state of Russia after what is believed the be a Nuclear Explosion erupted in the capital. There is still widespread fighting across The United States. Rumors circulate that President Roberto Katze's plane has been shot down, but nothing is confirmed. As for London, there have conflicting reports. People in the French countryside have said they have seen flames erupting over the city and with the failure to communicate with anyone on London NATO forces have-"
There was an explosion in the newsroom followed by people screaming.
The reporter stared at the creature moving towards them. Their body trembled as death moved closer.
"Please no!"
"Exterminate!" A terrible shrill voice cut through the air, and a bolt of electricity ripped through her body as the screen went black.
Shirai Kuroko teleported to the street with a pop of air, and she held a metal bat tightly. This had easily been the worth time of her life. She looked above at the dark skies as literal flying saucers hovered above them. In the distance, she saw them bombard the Windowless Building.
She wanted to believe this was just some nightmare; her friend turned to dust then aliens had decided to invade. The world wasn't doing great. Even Academy City, with its advanced technology, was barely doing any better. Kuroko had heard reports that the aliens had attacked research facilities and factories, taking whatever technology they could gather. Worse yet, there had been rumors that they were collecting espers and taking them somewhere.
Kuroko was trying to catch her breath; she'd been teleporting none stop for hours. She had tried to evacuate the shelter, but she had arrived too late. Even now, as she walked the streets using the bat for a cane, she had unpleasant reminders. Everywhere she looked, there were signs of battle and destruction.
She'd seen more dead bodies in the last few days than she had the rest of her life. She tried not to focus on them; they were beyond help, but it played with her mind; she was sure she even saw the body of her onee-sama. That was impossible she was Mikoto Misaka turn to dust before her.
At the moment, she was trying to get back to the underground base that Anti-Skill and Judgement had made to help hide survivors.
"Halt!" That same shrilled voice rang out.
Descending from the sky were a troop of Daleks. They surrounded Kuroko and trained her their weapons at her. Kuroko teleported away or tried to.
"High Dimensional space accesses!"
"Transmat detected!"
"Stabilizing spatial warp!"
Kurko collapsed onto the ground, and she was in the same spot. Her power worked by moving through 11th-dimensional space, she had to calculate everything to make it happen, but suddenly everything was wrong.
Kuruko sighed, she was tired, and she wasn't going to be able to teleport. She closed her eyes and hoped that in the next life, she could be reunited with her one-sama.
"Down!"
The next thing the esper knew, a girl who looked like a bear-like mech shoved the Daleks aside and jumped to cover her. Before the aliens could react, they were under attack.
"Fire!" Yomikawa lead what remained off the Anti-Skill, Judgement, and even a few Skill Out Members to attack. Some of the teenagers had borrowed riffled from Anti-Skill, and whichever espers had long-range attacks fired.
On the other side of the street, Konori wearing a red jacket flanked them and led her group in the attack.
On top of the Windowless Building, Aleister Crowley strode onto the roof. His presence didn't go undetected as the ships began to turn their weapons on him. He held his blasting rod close.
His plans had fallen apart for several reasons, and it looked like the world, and soon Academy City would follow. These Daleks were taking everything he spent a lifetime building. If he was going to die, he wasn't going to die hidden.
He pointed the staff to the staff of the close, and a blast of energy erupted out.
EARTH DC-63038-00
STRATA
OUTSKIRTS
A portal formed outside the main city, and Gwen and Atlee popped out. There before them was a large city that was structured a lot like fungal structures.
Atlee raised her hands, and a stone raised them both into the air.
Gwen looked down below as they went into the city, and from what Gwen could tell, none of them looked human.
Atlee explained, "Yeah, people here are trying to scare. I know they've been gathering together to try to solve some problems. People here aren't used to seeing humans, so maybe it's better if you don't look it."
Gwen smiled, "I get it. I just have to get close, so I scan their DNA. I should be able to turn into them."
EARTH DP-4304
AMITY PARK, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FENTON WORKS
Maddie Fenton was busy working on a gate-like device, it wasn't all that different from the Fenton portal, but the person they had spoken to had given several details.
"Here," Dani passed her a wrench to finish tighten a bolt.
Maddie offered her a smile before finishing her work of attaching a generator to the portal. "I still don't know where the Ecto-converter went? Jack must have moved it before-" she stopped herself, "Well, he was always moving things and forgetting where he put them. I don't even know where he put the Fenton thermos."
Nearby she watched as Danny and Sam worked on sorting out some of the gadgets seeing what was working and what wasn't. Maddie tried to focus on what she had and not what she lost.
She couldn't give up hope that they could get them back. The gate shook as it came to life as a swirling portal filled it.
Dani grabbed Maddie, pulling her away. Both Danni and Danny quickly transformed into their ghost forms, calling out, "Going Ghost!"
Sam grabbed a weapon and prepared for the worst.
Someone stepped out of the portal, and she was a blonde woman with a brilliant smile, "Hello, I'm the Doctor. I think you talked to my electronic friend."
As they started to talk, they failed to notice a few green sparks close by Fenton portals. A small crack formed in the machine, and green ooze began to drip out.
EARTH MAR-81
TREMONTON, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
WAKEMAN HOUSEHOLD
Nat and Clint had decided to head out together to another world to talk with some people that seemed eager to help. Nat had been worried about Clint, and he'd been staying to himself and training. Even after the fight, he didn't focus too much on his injuries; thankfully, they could heal him quickly.
Nat understood that his family meant everything to him, they met the world to her, but she also knew that lingering on that pain could destroy him.
After everything she owed, she owed his family, never to let that happen.
They were sent through a portal to a world that Scout had been talking to before everything went down. It was a rather impressive lab inside a family home.
Nat was also wondering why Tony didn't come himself.
They met with a Dr. Nora Wakeman, a woman with gray standing hair and thick glasses, and her lab assistant Sheldon. It turns out in this world, besides fending off aliens and various other threats, Nora had not only become an expert in robotics, she had all but perfected AI.
Dr. Wakeman greeted them kindly and served them some tea at the kitchen table, and there were sitting with her daughter, X-J9, who preferred to be called Jenny. Jenny was designed to be a teenaged girl; despite the metallic skin, she did seem like a teenaged girl. She moved and talked like one; it was a little hard to believe she was made to defend the Earth.
Sheldon was there, very curious about them. While he was Nora's assistant, he was a talented inventor on his own, in fact building a sizeable robotic suit to pilot that seemed very similar to one of Tony's Old business partners Obadiah Stane though more advance.
Then there was an alien girl, Misty; she seemed to be the most suspicious about them. It wasn't something most people would have even notice, but Nat was paranoid by her training and picked up on tale-tell body movement. Misty was on her guard, and if Nat had guessed, she was holding back.
As they explained the situation and what they hoped to accomplish, Nat could feel Misty grow tense.
Nora clapped her hand, "Well, we would be delighted to join you on this endeavor. Let me just get my things."
That was a lot easier than either Avenger's thought it would be.
"Really?" Clint asked.
"Yes, well, that Scout made a very compelling argument. Plus, he shared the science to prove what happened. But the short and long of it is that we would be happy to help."
Jenny smiled, "I just wish we could do more.
Sheldon took a breath, "Actually, I happened to know that the Silver Shell is volunteering to help us. He should be on his way."
Jenny's expression turned bitter, "Oh, him, I guess we can't turn down anyone willing to help. I'm going to get my stuff ready."
Jenny walked away with a huff, Sheldon visibly shaken by the comment.
As soon as Jenny left, Misty asked, "Shell, you sure about this?"
"Yeah, my suit can help a lot more than just me."
Nora turned to Avengers, "And thank you for your discretion."
"Yeah, no problem. We were informed not to say anything about his suit, especially to Jenny."
Clint had to ask, "So how are you going to bring that thing?"
Sheldon explained, "I added an autopilot with a few preprograms lines. I have some controls in my watch should just make it passable. I'll just leave it in the back tell Jenny he's been upgraded or something."
"Okay," Clint asked. "What's the deal? Why are we keeping this a secret from her?"
Misty just smirked, "That is a long story."
ETHERIA S-RPP-1113 (DESPONDOS .03)
BRIGHT MOON KINGDOM
BRIGHT MOON CASTLE
"FOUND IT!"
The castle halls were filled with screams the halls of castle and hearing that, Adora and Glimmer raced into the makeshift lab.
Adora shouted, "You found it!"
Glimmer sighed, "Please tell me you weren't looking for a wrench or something?"
"I did find my wrench!" Entrapta announced, holding it up.
Both the new Queen and the Princess of power sighed at the news.
"I also found where they went,"
"You did?" Adora asked skeptically.
"I think," Entrapta lifted herself with her hair. "The data you got from the tablet and the information we got before the Crystal Castle. It was hard to pin down, I mean, even for me to find how to properly breach the barriers of reality and then find the right reality is hard. If I didn't have all the data, I'm not sure I could have found it. I was able to find the right universe with all the data, and with the scans from Bonnie, I was able to bing down where all this mess got started.
"That's got to be where Catra went." Adora let out.
"I can get us there. I'm not too sure about how to get back. I'm going to have to plug it into the Moonstone to power it, and I'm not sure we will be able to open another portal. We don't have the power or the equipment needed to repair the portal properly. If we didn't have the Moonstone with the power to teleport, I couldn't make it happen, but since I can't properly tune the machine to it, odd or it will burn it out."
Glimmer had to ask, "Can't you do anything else?"
"It could take months," Entrapta explained, "The Horde took all their useful tech, finding the right energy could take who knows how long, and I'd have to make everything from scratch and with everything that's happened. Months is optimistic."
"We have to chase Catra and the purple guy," Adora told them, "They took the Crystal Temple. They have that whole crazy army, and we have to stop whatever they're planning."
They had no idea what the plan was, just that they went somewhere real far to carry it out right after the worst disaster. Then they just vanished with their new leader, who had to power to crush all of them quickly but didn't. What could they be planning? Glimmer didn't like it at all.
EARTH M-199999
NEW YORK CITY, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AVENGER'S COMPOUND
Tony entered the room, and he was a little confused at the right. Scarlett was watching a Bob Ross video as she painted along. Her painting wasn't great, but it did show a good deal of promise. Scarlett looked calmer than she had seen in days. Tony was a little surprised to find that this was the same girl who was wildly scorching her enemies a few days ago.
Tony was even more surprised to see Alexis. Well, he assumed it was Alexis. In a nearby chair was a black-footed ferret curled up with a copy of the Hitchhiker Guide to the Galaxy.
"Alexis?"
"Yeah?" Alexis replied; it was strange seeing his voice coming from a ferret.
"Do I have to ask?"
"Oh, shapeshifter."
"Why a ferret?"
"I've been sore, smaller and more nibble form helps me unwind. Just trying to have some me time, to center myself a little."
Tony was about to say something, but he glimpsed his worst nightmare, and after hearing he was being drowned in an endless black sea, he couldn't help but feel for him. He tried to be a bit more patient. "Okay, just wondering if you found anything about the orb."
Sakura and Sam Carter followed them inside. Sakura smiled, seeing the small animal talk; it was odd but a little funny.
Sam was a bit more stunned. She hadn't been there long but had seen some strange things. They had given them all devices, and she hadn't gone through the whole thing. She was taken aback by the talking ferret.
"No," Alexis told him, "I sent a message home and had my friends look into it. No one heard about this Infinity. Just as a symbol but not a person, I might be the only person in my universe to meet him."
"Well, we don't have much either. Sakura and Sam don't know much either."
Alexis waved at them.
"Atlee is checking in on the one her people have, and Aang is checking in any stories about it, but it doesn't look promising. Are you sure you can't find anything else?"
Scarlett paused her video, "We could try multiverse sources. I know you usually try to avoid them, but you know people who reach across universes, who know about multiple universes."
Sam perked up, "Yeah, that sounds very helpful."
Alexis shifted back to his human form, "Yeah, maybe those guys can be a bit- eh. Who do you have in mind?"
Scarlett cringed, "How about the Citadel?"
"No!" Seeing the odd looks the others were giving him, he explained, "It a group of the same guy from across the multiverse. He's got an ego that dwarfs the collective ego of everyone here. He might be a sociopath that would likely sacrifice all of us if it meant he got what he wanted. Those who survived are likely just mixing and matching their families until they have full sets. You don't want to deal with them."
"Wandering Library?"
"Never found that library, don't even know how long it would take to find even if it's real."
Scarlett volleyed back, "Temlins?"
"The guys behind the Contest of Champions? I don't know, and they seem fair, if not outright good. I doubt they wouldn't be doing something if they could. Plus, from what I've seen, high-level cosmic beings got hit hard during the shake-up. Odds are they're indisposed."
Scarlett suggested, "The Caretaker of the Imaginary Axis?"
"I checked, Tyler didn't make it,"
Scarlett thought about it for a moment; they knew of some other groups like that; most were troublesome in some way. She was sure there were several more that had knowledge they didn't. She shook her head, "I know you're going to hate this one, but under the right circumstances, I think we might be able to work with them. The Templin Institute."
Alexis seemed to flinch at the name but paused as he thought it over.
"Who?" Tony asked; he hated being left out. He wasn't used to being the one person not knowing something.
"The Templin Institute investigates nations, organizations, and factions from alternate worlds and realities. As noble as that might sound on the surface, the forces behind it have led that a stray. They are willing to trade information for information, but they have their secrets."
"Says the Curator of Secrets," Tony pointed out.
"Yeah, so take it from me that if you deal with them, you have to be careful."
Scarlett spoke up, "Yeah, so someone like use who knows how to deal with them, we do some razzle-dazzle someone else might be able to find what they need to find."
"If you up for it, I think we need to go there."
"Okay," Alexis said, "But I better tell you the whole thing."
Sam was the first to notice, "Why are you hesitant to go to them?"
Alexis sighed, "They have a name for me, very clinical, very by the numbers. They call me the Man in 4039, and they have a standing order to kill me should the opportunity arise."
EARTH T-A-2007
DETROIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
SUMDAC TOWER
Bulkhead and Sari were at the top of the tower. The energy shield was erected around the building to deal with riots. For a few days, things had been getting weird; a group of ladies calling themselves STEAM had a grudge with the Autobots for a while. They blamed the Autobots for everything that had happened because of the Decepticons. When the dusting happened, they accused them again.
The space bridge, when it activated, they had hoped that was a message from the Scout that talked to them.
Instead, the bridge activated because Ironhide had shown up. He was a large Autobot that joined them when Bulkhead was visiting his family.
Bulkhead asked, "How are things back on Cybertron?"
"Not good," He sighed, "Everyone is panicking; they think it's the Decepticons. It's not we are getting chatter from all over the galaxy that organic, energy-based, and everything else got hit too."
"Geez," Bulkhead let out.
"And things ain't much better with Sentinel Prime in charge. He's getting everyone worked up, and I think he's trying to use this chance to secure his power."
Sari snarled, she didn't like the guy before he got power, and he was worse with it. Optimus did try to find the best in him, but after spending a year with him on the planet together, Sari was sure there wasn't much to find. She always got the feeling that because she was half-organic, if he got a chance, he'd kick her off Cybertron.
Ironhide explained, "Yeah, some friends of ours are going to try to get off Cybertron. They've been vocal against Sentinal, and they could use some space."
"Yeah, sure," Sari told him, "the more, the merrier."
Ironhide took a moment to look at the shield around the building, and they explained the situation was assuring him they were safe.
Explosions erupted across the city, and one blast hit the shield hard enough to make it flicker.
"Knock. Knock."
Sari knew that voice, and she knew that voice better than anyone.
"Hi, sis,"
Sari looked up to see the evil version of her flying above them.
"Is this a good time for a visit?"
Notes: Sorry for the delay in updates. Stuff has happened, I've been having a hard time looking for work during the pandemic. I've been going on a lot of interviews but I'm not getting callbacks and that hasn't been great for my self-esteem. But I've been getting out there, putting myself out there, and trying not to have panic attacks over my fears about money.
Then I spent some time working on an SCP for the 6000 contest. I got a bad case of writer's block and barely broke through on the last days and went crazy trying to finish it in time. Which I did! Except for time zones, I got disqualified because I was an hour off. So I'm taking the extra time to work on it some more and going to post it as a regular article when I'm done.
Anyway, I was working on stuff. Also, I added a just-for-fun page to the Tv Tropes page for this fic with Scout and FRIDAY both listing the various and doing their commentary on checking them out if your having trouble keeping track of which universe is which.
Here's some notes on stuff.
So yeah, its been a long time theory by fans that The Eye that the empress used was actually a prototype for the green lantern ring. The Guardians probably had hand in making it, and yeah the creature missing the eye is big and long lived. The thing about cells is true, in the Great Darkness Saga it was confirmed that the cells of the Guardians don't break down. If they were going to something in an immortal eye it made sense they'd use something also immortal.
Some of the multiverse power Scarlett and Alexis talked about. The Citadel is from Rick and Morty. I know people have been suggesting them, but I hate that show with a fury that scares my friends. Second, I know there is a super heroes episode that Rick just breaks down heroes and ends up killing them in a saw style death trap. So yeah, I figure something like that would happen here. And even with kids around Rick would get them killed. I mean, the Rick have gotten several Morty's killed you think he'd care about other kids?
The Wandering Library is a mention to the SCP. Yes, they will show up later. I got something in mind for Cleft.
Temlins are a nod to the guys behind the Contest of Champions in Atop the Fourth Wall. If you guys like comics check Linkara out on youtube.
The Imaginary axis and Tyler are from a youtube series of that name run by a guy named Tyler. I liked it, and thought his Thanos video was great. And the caretaker line is from something from his pokemon video.
As for the Templin Institute, another series from youtube that covers the various world and I adore it. Go check them out. As for their whole secretiveness thing, look into their video on Event Horizon.
Otherwise, let me know what you guys think to leave a review and I will update when I can.
Q&A:
Kingmanaena: Yeah,they need some me time between all the craziness.
acosta perez jose ramiro: We will probably never get another full reference to Phil in the MCU. While I doubt they consider agents of Shield a part of the MCU anymore I feel they won't actually out and out retcon it. So I feel since after Phil got sick and left to retire was when the snap should have happened. I felt like giving him an ending here.
david arturo farfan soto 19989: Yeah the walls between realities and broken open and threats will get out. So even with an army this whole thing won't be easy.
endlesspossibilities57: If someone reading this wants to beta let me know. I think its most helpful having someone who has some idea of whats been going on in the story.
Guest: Yes. Phil has died and come back like five times or something. This one was his final true death. The other guys who followed were copy from other dimension and a LMD.
Guest 2: No, since I'm not too familiar with those SCP.
Guest 03: Maybe.