It was 12:43pm. It looked like everything in Miracle City was normal. But it wasn't. All over the place, certain people were turning into dust. This process happened to men, women, children, animals, and "all forms of sentient beings on the planet earth".
El Tigre and Frida were in front of Puma Loco, along with his mecha suit, as he was turning into dust.
Maria was about to be held up by White Pantera before he turned to dust.
Black Cuervo and Lady Gobbler saw Voltura disappear along with El Oso, Dr. Chipotle Sr, and the Titanium Titan.
Senor Sinestro and Dr. Chipotle Jr. disappeared at the exact same time.
Sophia watched as her Grandfather and his entire entourage disappeared in front of her; she was crying on the ground while this was happening.
Sartana was in her lair, watching Django and half of her skeleton banditos disappear right in front of her. She thought to herself "How can this be happening?"
Manny's POV
We call it the Dusting. Out of nowhere, with no warning, almost everyone in Miracle City turned into dust. However, it was long before we learned the entire world was experiencing this; people all over the world were turning into dust out of nowhere. As a result, cars and planes crashed, trains derailed, shipping vessels lost their crews, etc. There was so much going on that first responders could hardly get a handle on things, especially when their own forces were gone. Luckily, everyone that was still here helped everyone out, even the remaining criminals and supervillains helped out too.
Eventually, a world census determined that an estimated fifty percent of all living beings on the planet, even some that were considered undead or partially alive were part of that statistic. As for Miracle City, we lost 75 percent of its people; this included animals, monsters, and undeads. At first everyone blamed all of this on Sartana but it was proven that she, or anyone else with powers related to death, had nothing to do with it since none of the people who disappeared ever arrived at the Land of the Dead, or any other afterlives that existed. Plus, Sartana said a massive loss of life on this scale would increase to the point where she could have taken over the world. I believed her, especially when she told me Django and her entire family disappeared too. She explained to me that all the souls have vanished from this world but they have not died. She also said she was going to find out why and would search for me when the time comes to bring everyone back. No one has heard from her since then.
The remaining heroes, villains, scientists, researchers, and magic users would dedicate themselves to finding out what happened and seeing if it can be reversed; my mom joined one of those 's been eight years since that tragic day and no one has figured out what happened nor have they found a way to reverse it.
(Eight years later)
At a place called Teca University , Manny was listening to his astronomy teacher lecture about Pluto's status as a dwarf planet. While most of the students were either asleep, taking notes, or walking out of the classroom altogether, Manny was drawing in his sketchbook for an art assignment that he's doing for the theme "Fatherhood"; most of his sketches consisted of his father as White Pantera, his father giving him a hug as a kid, and one where he's giving himself and Maria a hug. Eventually the professor dismissed the class and he left the classroom to go home for the day.
As he was walking down the streets, he would look as small stores and businesses closed or in the process of closing. He also noticed a family, a father and two boys, was moving out of their house and putting it up for sale but before leaving a note on the "For Sale" sign that said "Honey, if you, and Patricia and Diego come back, call me on my cell phone and tell me the password. That will let me know that you have returned to us.". The family then got into the car and left for parts unknown.
Manny arrived at his apartment complex, Casa del Arte y la Musica, and went into his apartment; his roommates, Frida Suarez and Zoe Aves, are there too; Frida is writing music on the couch while Zoe is reading over a script with the title page having the words "Acat" on it.
After dad and Grandpapi disappeared, mom and I tried to get in touch with the rest of our family. Unfortunately, all the Rivera family, at least the members I knew about, were gone; luckily, Donkey and Senor Chappi were still here. Mom's side of the family was all but gone with the exception of my mom's sister, Aunt Salma, and one of her cousins and his daughter. Mom encouraged all of us to keep in contact, be a family regardless of how small it is now, but that didn't last very long; we were all too caught up in our "own things" to continue to remain in contact regardless of this tragedy. Mom and I lived together in the Rivera house, doing everything we could to make a symbol for our families to come together again.
Frida lost both her parents; Anita and Nikita were with Chief Suarez when it happened and one of Mrs. Suarez's assistants was in the same room when it happened. They were happy to know that Frida didn't disappear too; they even cried while hugging her and they don't usually cry. Frida and her sisters had to move to Spain to be with their uncle's as a result. I still kept in touch with her and she eventually moved back to Miracle City after she finished high school. Anita eventually joined the Miracle City police department full time, wanting to continue in Chief Suarez's footsteps. Nikita became a therapist, giving up police work to help people who are still psychologically scared from the Dusting.
Zoe only lost her mother during the Dusting but her grandmami was still around; they had some extended family around too but from my understanding most of them were distant from each other anyway. But like most villains here, they had to move to other locations since there was no long term cash flow in Miracle City at the time. And their tech suppliers were all but gone too; any new suppliers or the ones that were remaining jacked up the prices since most could go legit with the world's dwindling army. They could make some of their own but not enough like they had before. As a result they invested their remaining funds in bars, tattoo parlors and legal Marijuana farms; it kept them a float but they still had to be very selective in any villainess acts that they did.
The two of them live in the same apartment building together as we attend school together. While I'm an art major with a minor in chemistry, Frida is a communications major with a minor in psychology and Zoe is an acting major with a minor in marketing. I made them agree that they wouldn't try to kill each other while we were living together; by some Miracle they eventually became friends.
We also do work for Sophia too, ranging from bodyguard work to supply pick up; it pays for our bills and college tuition. She and the remaining members of the mustache mafia had to minimize their holdings and other assets just to keep afloat after their suppliers, allies and family members all but dwindled after the Dusting.
"Dude, you're back from class early." Frida said after she stopped writing for a minute.
"Yeah, it didn't last as long as it usually does. I was able to work on my art assignment." Manny said while going through the mail that belonged to him.
Zoe asked "Which one? You have eight of them."
Manny said "The Fatherhood assignment. I'm almost done with it so I'll finish up the "Ugly and Painful" assignment."
Frida said "I thought that wasn't due for another month?"
Manny said with a depressed-disgusted tone of voice "I won't spend another month drawing Chakal; it's bad enough imagining him as he was eight and the fat drunk prostitute he is now. I rather not have to imagine that anymore than I have to for this assignment, then I want to forget about it." He's always wanted to see Chakal suffer, especially since he thought it was unfair that he somehow survived the Dusting, but seeing his fate disgusted him so much that he couldn't bear to look at it.
Fair said "Fair enough.".
Zoe said "By the way, the hospital called. They wanted to give you an update on Maria's condition."
Manny asked, before putting his stuff down on the table "What did they say?"
Zoe explained "She's doing better but she's still "out of it". The Rewind is mostly out of her system but there are still some lingering chemicals in her that are going to take time to get out." However, she noticed that Manny wasn't happy about this; his mom may be getting better but it's not a full recovery. Frida could see it too.
"Alright, thanks Zoe." Manny said before heading to his room.
Frida said "You know, I've been hearing from the police scanner about a possible warehouse where they store Rewind. We can always raid the place."
"Unless it leads us to the person that made it, we can let the police handle that. I'm going to take a nap first before I go to the hospital." Manny said before going into his room; he closed the door behind him.
Rewind. A new drug that hit the market two years ago that literally allows you to relive your memories with complete accuracy and control. However, its side effects include headaches, nausea, depression, vomiting, memory loss, bleeding from the eyes, temporary blindness, and or temporary body paralysis; it all depends on how much you take. No one knows who made it since every sale has been through a fourth party; the third party just sets up the deals.
My mom started taking it a year ago. Over the years she tried to be optimistic and hopeful about everyone coming back, everyone smart enough or powerful enough could find a way to fix this. But as time went on, everyone just gave up. She pushed herself so hard that she eventually broke down. I tried to be there for her since it was just me and her but it wasn't enough, or I wasn't strong enough.
Zoe asked "Was that Rewind warehouse a real thing?"
Frida said "It is but like Manny said I don't think it would get us any closer to the creator of Rewind. Hasn't Lady Gobbler found anything?"
Zoe closed her script book and said "No. She's put in a lot of effort into finding the creator of Rewind even before Maria was hospitalized."
Frida said " El Cucharon is doing his part in finding the creator too. He's working with Seventh Samurai on interrogating all the major Rewind dealers and distributors but even they were contacted by third parties."
Zoe said "I'm surprised he's able to help given that Shogun City is full of crime now since the Dusting."
Frida explained "Rewind is in his city too and he can only do so much given that their young hero population is stretched thin along with heroes who came out of retirement despite being very old. And the smartest and most powerful heroes are still trying to find a way to reverse the Dusting."
Zoe asked "Do you ever think we'll get any of them back?"
Frida stopped writing her lyrics and said "After eight long years I don't think so. I want to hold on to some hope that I'll see my mom and dad again but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. Nikita has given up all hope; says we and the rest of the world need to move on. Anita sort of feels the same but doesn't want to give up until we know exactly what happened to everyone. You?"
Zoe pulled out a photo of herself when she was 13 and her mother. She then said "I want to see my mother again too. I don't believe that she and everyone else is all gone forever. But maybe I feel that way because I'm worried that as soon as my grandmami passes away I'll be all alone." She then let out a tear from her eye.
Frida had gotten up and walked toward Zoe and gave her a hug. She then said "You're not alone, Zoe. You've got us."
Zoe hugged her back and said "Thanks, Frida."
Frida heard her phone ping and checked to see who it was. She said to Zoe "I got a text from Lady Lava. She wants to know if we're down for clubbing tonight."
"I'm game. I'm almost done writing this song anyway and I need to blow off some steam after that exam." Frida said before she put her song and guitar and her room. She called her plata glove and placed it in her purse.
Zoe grabbed her purse, which had her Cuervo lasers and knives in it, and the two left the apartment together but not before giving Manny a special message with Frida's phone before leaving.
After napping for two hours, Manny woke up and got out of bed. He looked at his phone and saw a message from Frida that she and Zoe are going out clubbing with Lady Lava; she also left him a pic of her and Zoe blowing him a kiss. Manny went into the kitchen to see what was in the fridge and grabbed some of the leftover pizza and salad that was left. As he's eating food, he gets three different new notifications: A 45% rise in Rewind usage; Rumors of a new superhero team called H-Laws on the rise; Czarmazon has managed to help the world economy grow. While he hated reading Rewind stories and thought the H Laws were religious fanatics in the form of superheroes, he really didn't like Czarmazon. They bought all the small businesses and are eating medium sized businesses in Miracle City. Manny has done a few jobs against them with Frida and Zoe; Sophia wants to see them get taken down because of the economic damage that they have been doing to her family and others but also the fact that their business practices are so evil and toxic that supervillains have placed them on a "Destroy on Site" list.
Before Manny could think about it any further, he heard someone knocking on the door. He got up from the table to see who it was through the peephole. Much to his surprise, it was the Golden Eagle Twin Carlito but he's wearing a combination of his old hero outfit and a Czarmazon delivery outfit, which is an all orange jumpsuit and a hat. But what really caught him by surprise is how fat he looked.
Manny opened the door and said "Carlito? What are you doing here? And why are you wearing your old Golden Eagle outfit?"
Carlito said "Because it makes me feel powerful again. And skinny. Not all of us are naturally buff like you."
"Dude, I work out and I eat healthy for the most part." Manny said, rolling his eyes
"Yeah and you've got two hotties to work out with." Carlito said in a jealous tone of voice, knowing that both Frida and Zoe live with him
Manny asked "Again, what are you doing here?"
"You have a special delivery." Carlito said pulling out a Czarmazon package.
Manny said "I didn't order anything from Czarmazon."
Carlito said "Well someone did and they paid for express delivery. It also contains special instructions."
"Anything else?" Manny asked, not really interested in what was inside the box.
Carlito said "Nope. You could give me a five star rating on our Czarmazon app."
Manny said "I don't use Czarmazon, you idiot. Unlike you,I didn't sell out to them."
Carlto shouted "I had no choice, man. I wasn't doing well as a solo hero after my sister dusted. None of the remaining superhero teams wanted me, Bravo Industries said I was too weak, and Grainger Automotive isn't interested in Zeppelins anymore. This is all I can do. I wish I could be more than this fat failure." He then left with the rest of his deliveries.
After Carlito left, Manny couldn't help but feel a little bad for him. He's seen how corporations like Czarmazon have sucked out the souls of people; they say that they're trying to boost the economy but in reality they're trying to control the world themselves, have a grasp on it regardless if everyone comes back or not.
Manny decided to open the package and inside it was Django's mystic guitar. There was a note in it that said "Meet me where you two first met" along with a map on how to sneak into Miracle City. Manny could sense a presence from this guitar, one he hasn't felt for a long time. As a result, he spinned his belt buckle and turned into El Tigre.
He went out his apartment window, jumped down to the ground, and ran toward Miracle City. However, he took a detour to a nearby cave that led to an underground mine. The mine itself also led directly into the city; he would run in the mine, dodging bats, avoiding falling debris, and jumping over broken train tracks in order to escape. He eventually arrived near the Miracle City volcano and went through a secret entrance that was provided in the instructions; all he had to do was press a secret button and an entrance would appear; El Tigre made sure that no one was watching him.
Once inside the cave, he found himself surrounded by skeleton banditos but they were modified with robot parts. It didn't take long for him to defeat them;he used his super speed and green fire claws to cut them all down. However, he noticed something off about the skeleton banditos; they didn't emit as much mystical energy like they did when he was a kid. Then three giant skeleton banditos appeared out of nowhere; they emitted more mystical energy but they were still weak. He decided to let out a massive roar that managed to confuse them before jumping into the air. He fired his tigre darts at their heads and they immediately exploded. He regrew his metal claws, spinned around in the air, his image like a bladed top, and fell down toward the skeleton banditos and cut them all into pieces.
After defeating the skeleton banditos, El Tigre shouted "Were you seeing if I had gone soft?"
A voice said "Yes. But I also wanted to make sure that prying eyes didn't know I was around yet." Out of nowhere, Sartana appeared behind El Tigre. She said "Hello Manny.".
El Tigre turned around and said "Sartana. I didn't expect to see you again."
Sartana said "Really? You must have known from Puma's journals to know where I've been. Did you really think I wouldn't come back?"
"It's been 8 years. Ever since the Dusting happened and all these corporations took over Miracle City and you did nothing for so long I started to lose hope." El Tigre said with a cynical tone of voice.
"Well I had to go away. It was the only way to find out what happened to Miracle City, to the world." Sartana said with a reluctant tone of voice.
El Tigre asked "Everyone has been trying to figure out what happened. What could you have that everyone else doesn't?"
Sartana said "The exact location where it took place and the ones that did it."
"You know who did this?" El Tigre said, clenching his fist in anger.
Sartana said"Yes. I also know that if we play our cards right we'll be able to bring everyone back."
El Tigre asked "You're not lying about this, are you?"
Sartana said "I would lie about many things, Rivera, but not about this. I want to bring everyone back just as much as you do. The way everyone just disappeared was unnatural and wrong. I want to fix that wrong."
"So how are we going to fix it?"
"We'll start by going after the hero team that was at ground zero of the dusting and the main distributors of Rewind. The H Laws.
Once El Tigre heard that the H Laws were main distributors of Rewind, his anger and his resolve. Sartana placed her hand out and El Tigre shaked it, solidifying their alliance.
(Two weeks later)
At Miracle City hospital, Maria is asleep on her hospital bed, holding a mask that belonged to Rodolfo tightly. Manny was watching her from the side of the bed. He the placed his hand on her hand and said "Don't worry, mom. I'm going to bring dad back to you. I'm going to bring everyone back.". He then placed two photos by her nightstand; one was a wedding photo of her and Rodolfo and the other one of the entire Rivera family.
El Tigre stood on the roof of the hospital when a portal opened up in front of him. Standing behind him were Frida( as Plata Peligrosa), Black Cuervo, El Cucharon(now completely muscular), Anita Suarez, Carlito, Seventh Samurai, and Lady Lava. And as soon as a bell rang from inside the portal they jumped in it.
Somewhere, on top of another building, Mystic Tigre was watching them go through the portal, alongside Jorge, who was watching from the shadows.
Mystic Tigre said "I guess we can't recruit him."
Jorge said "It would seem so. I was hoping to recruit him due to his experience and power but taking him away from this world is too risky. We'll have to go with recruiting the noir detective El Tigre.
"Remind me again why we're only recruiting versions of ourselves, or in your(Jorge) case versions of your ancestor?" Crimeverse El Tigre asked, as soon as he arrived back with a big bag of food.
"Because this device I wear around my wrist can only break through the multiverse where variations of the El Tigre powers are connected to a Rivera, or anyone that has blood relations close to the Rivera family."
Crimeverse El Tigre said "That's a stupid way to travel across the multiverse."
"Well it's all we've got. Now come on, we need to get back to our recruitment drive." Jorge said before opening a portal for himself, Crimeverse El Tigre, and Mystic Tigre to walk through.
And there you have it, Blipverse. Since I did a meme on my DA account on who would disappear when Thanos snapped his fingers, what half of the population of the world of El Tigre would disappear. And no, Thanos is not a thing in this universe; something else made half the population of this world disappear. I'll leave it up to your imagination on what happened.
I also decided to add that multiverse travel plot thread into this just because I thought it would be fun too. While I can't promise a full blown story, I do enjoy sprinkling threads here and there in hopes that I can make something of it later.
Out of curiosity, what kinds of AUs or Other El Tigre worlds would you like to see?