Amalgamated Worlds: The Sentinel's Sight
The Morphin Grid was infinite, encompassing entire realms within it, and interweaving through different worlds in the multiverse. It was known by different names across different universes – the Red by those who wielded the power of animal spirits, the Emotional Spectrum by those who channeled Grid energy through powerful emotions and are able to access armour coded by colours and form energy constructs, the Force by individuals who relied on the visions and psychic abilities of the Grid to perform superhuman abilities, the Power Cosmic by beings who became vessels for raw energies and the list goes on and on, as infinite as the multiverse itself.
The Grid was life and death, chaos and order, the ultimate embodiment of existence.
To govern the Grid, which became sentient over the ages, a group of entities were chosen, who called themselves the Morphin Masters. To stave off the threat posed by a malevolent evil, some of them retreated from their home universes into the Grid using giant monoliths which could cut through the time space barrier known as the Master Arches.
Others kept watch on the multiverse, splintering into different groups. Revered as gods by different individuals, their ties to the Morphin Masters were forgotten by many.
The group who swore to observe the entire multiverse and record everything became known as the Watchers. Their oath forbade them from intervening except in cases of acute crises.
Another sect was the Masters of Oa, who established the Green Lantern Corp and brought an unruly galaxy to order, in several universes, most significantly Earth 1 and the worlds in their orbit.
The Keepers swore to keep artefacts of great power, created by the first Morphin Masters, from falling into the wrong hands.
The Time Masters of Gallifrey, sought to police the timelines, before they were destroyed, owing to corruption within their ranks. They were replaced by various iterations of Time Masters and ultimately the organization Time Force.
Others called themselves the Monitors, but rest of the Masters viewed them as anarchists. They intervened in timelines, sometimes even causing them to self-disrupt, all in the service of the 'greater good.'
However, the various agendas set by the various Masters were thrown into disarray by a single event that they failed to predict.
There were few forces greater than the Grid. The Infinity Stones of Earth 199999 were unfortunately one of those artefacts. When Thanos snapped his gauntlet to erase half of his universe, he mainly used the Soul Stone to do so, and the other stones to reign in the imbalance that would reverberate through the universe due to such act. However, there must always be balance. The residual chaos energies of the Stones unable to act on their native universe escaped to the multiverse, causing paradoxes unlike any other.
The energies of the Reality Stone twisted the rules of reality for many universes, creating different dimensions and subdimensions, snuffing out all life and creating new lifeforms across the multiverse.
The Space Stone caused portals to form between universes, displacing objects, people and even planets across the multiverse.
The Mind Stone unleashed psychic powers across different individuals across timelines.
The Power Stone granted their powers to recipients across the universe, sometimes causing heroes to win impossible victories, other times causing villains to destroy entire planets. In many universes, the energies of the Stone were unintentionally harvested by a young witch called Willow to enhance several women called Slayers to beat impossible odds.
The energies of Time Stone widened cracks in timelines, either rewriting them entirely or sometimes, sucking in divergent timelines into a time warp, negating entire universes and replacing them with a single consolidated universe or creating divergent timelines when there was supposed to be none.
In a rare case, to prevent the timeline from imploding, the energies of the Morphin Grid precipitated a paradox known as the Shattered Grid, which prevented the formation of alternate timelines but at the same time, fractured possible future timelines into subdimensions in the home universe, creating a time vortex that started decimating not only the fractured timelines but also adjacent universes. *[Canon - Power Rangers Comics by Boom! Studios – "Shattered Grid"]
This Shattered Grid event was precipitated by an evil variant of Tommy Oliver called Lord Drakkon killing his counterpart in another universe. In any normal scenario, this action would have branched off to an alternate timeline but due to the interference of the rogue energies of the Time Stone, a divergent timeline couldn't form resulting in all possible future timelines with different ranger teams fracturing into their own subdimension within the main universe, a localized multiverse of sorts within a single universe, a paradox that threatened to cause a implosion of cosmic energies that would not only destroy the universe but also those in it's vicinity.
Complicating matters was Lord Drakkon managing to breach into the Grid and steal the Heart of a Morphin Master, an ancient artefact that gave him the power to destroy all universes connected to his own and replace it with a singular universe where he was in control of everything. His actions channeled the rampant Time Stone energies in an organized manner, solving the crisis but creating another. Infinite worlds were gone, and infinite more was in threat of a similar outcome, should the demented overlord discover the worlds he destroyed were just a speck in the entirety of the vast Multiverse. Thankfully, the Emissaries were able to help the fallen Tommy restore the memories of his allies and reclaim the Heart, which they used to restore the fallen worlds but not without consequences.
Grid energies seeped into unsuspecting hosts across the worlds, giving them powerful abilities. The 'Empowered' wrecked chaos, willingly or unwilling, forcing the Emissaries to enlist three former rangers as the Omega Rangers.
In the normal timeline, Jason Lee Scott, Trini Kwan, and Zack Taylor retire from their ranger duties. In this timeline and many others in the newly resurrected worlds, they became the Omega Rangers to stop the Empowered.
Drakkon had gone on a rampage because he was unwilling to accept that he was the only Tommy Oliver to ever fight for Rita willingly without coercion or brainwashing. Due to the actions of his evil getting erased, it created a vacuum… It cast a shadow on the multiverse, creating branches from different universes, timelines where their resident Tommy or in some cases, other rangers like Zack joined evil willingly and assumed the moniker of Drakkon. Time Force classified these new worlds as "Drakkonverse". Sometimes, the Drakkon of these Earths would aim to conquer other universes, causing the timelines to branch further. The multiverse expanded despite the chaos caused by Drakkon and his variants. *["Shadow of Drakkon" by Sentinel of Stories]
However, the insurgence of the Empowered weren't restricted to just the worlds with rangers. Grid energies caused mutations in the populace of Earth in infinite timelines and without the rangers to stop it, the destinies of those Earths were changed forever. In most of those worlds, the abilities of the Empowered were referred to as Quirks and gave rise to superheroes and supervillains, not unlike those of Earth 1 and Earth 616. Mostly, these worlds were stable timelines.
Another event which perplexed the Masters were the displacement of several rangers who were involved in the war against Drakkon into a distant universe that had been severed from the Grid. Their actions in that universe stopped a rogue Morphin Master and reconnected the universe to the Grid. *[Canon - Power Rangers Comics by Boom! Studios – "Beyond the Grid"]
However, while they were saving the other universe, their native universes had been restored by the Heart and due to them being absent from the universe at the time of the 'reboot', they were considered among those who had died due to Drakkon's attacks. The multiverse had been restored as if they had never left in the first place. Their native timelines already had variants of them.
So, upon their return, they would merge with their variants, their memories of their adventures gone and the timeline would proceed as usual.
However, that was when a lone Morphin Master decided to intervene… for the good of all.
The Sentinel sighed. The golden armour with a blue cape flowing down his shoulders gave away his identity as a Monitor, but having witnessed the chaos that shook the multiverse, he could no longer stay aloof.
He had seen all possible timelines in his crystal dimension… Each crystalline shard around him depicting everything that happens and even everything that doesn't happen.
Among the cosmic entities was a known fact. The Multiverse was not everything that existed… The Multiverse was just part of many multiverses… The Omniverse.
And he sees all.
The Multiverse and the Dark Multiverse. The Universes and the Anti-Matter Universes.
And in many multiverses, the Snap was a prelude for mayhem across the multiverse, directly or indirectly.
This multiverse was doomed. The resulting chaos caused by the energy dispersal from the Infinity Stones would build until the multiverse would explode, taking it and several other multiverses with it… the final catalyst for the release of an Antimatter Wave that might devour all of existence. The Ultimate Crisis.
The other Morphin Masters might have given up hope and accepted the inevitability of fate. He wouldn't.
The Omniverse wouldn't succumb to a grisly fate after all the challenges so many heroes have endured to save their worlds.
The Snap was the key.
He turned around to see the more translucent crystals near him, which allowed him to only view them not alter the events of the worlds they showed, despite his considerable powers.
In another multiverse, where the counterpart of Earth 199999 was called Earth 616, Thanos' snap did not have any effects on the multiverse though that did not stop things from spiralling out of control. [Canon - MCU]
And there were others, where it did. In one multiverse, the Snap did not just erase half the lifeforms of Earth 199999 but that of the entire multiverse. Different heroes united to reverse the Snap and later chose to hide the stones in separate universes. However, the barriers between the universes were weakened, the least of it being the spontaneous displacement of objects, random people, heroes, and villains across universes. *[The multiverse of the epic "Infinity Crisis" series by Michael Weyer]
In another universe, the Snap was limited to Earth 199999 and reversed just like in the prime Earth 199999 but two disgruntled scientists were disgruntled with the chaos unfurled by the Snap and the failure of the Avengers to stop Thanos in the first place. In the five years between the Snap and it's reversal, they discovered the existence of the multiverse and the various heroes in it as well as the role of cosmic beings called the Celestials in the formation of the universe. The two found out that it was possible to trigger a reset or reboot of the universe by 'splicing' objects and sometimes, people of significance from other universes like the Omnitrix or Miraculouses into the celestial framework of the universe, which integrated people, objects, gods, aliens and other elements of the other universes into Earth 199999, as if they were always there. After many such attempts, the new Earth 199999 and it's adjacent universe, casually referred to as the Kryptonverse by multiversal cartographers, was distinct from it's original version, now home to a vast variety of heroes, villains, civilians and objects, most notably the presence of Kara Zor-El and people associated with her. Core elements of the Kryptonverse now included Ben Tennyson the wielder of the Omnitrix and the various aliens and planets from his home universe, the wielders of the Miraculouses, the Big Hero 6, the Greco-Roman demigods and Egyptian sorcerers, the residents of the mysterious town of Arcadia and the Troll Market underneath it, Danny Phantom, his family and the Ghost Dimension, the Paladins piloting the Voltron Lions, the Saiyans, the inhabitants of Etheria and the Crystal Gems, amongst others. In their efforts to prevent the Snap and ensure Earth's defenders could stand up to Thanos, they had changed the very fabric of the universe for the better or the worse, enabling interactions of people who would have otherwise never crossed paths and creating an intricate tapestry of stories which would regale the omniverse for eternity. *[The multiverse of the Kryptonverse from "There Was Once an Avenger from Krypton" by Darthkvzn]
The Sentinel mused. It was truly impressive how two mortals managed to accomplish something even the most powerful entities in the multiverse struggled to do. A seamless integration of elements of vastly different worlds into their own universe, without causing reality to collapse on itself. Something he could emulate in his own multiverse. This universe might have very well given him the answers to solve his dilemmas.
The Sentinel looked away, now seeing something closer to home. The Time Stone energy had created a "Shattered Grid" in the ranger dimensions. The event itself wasn't entirely new. It had happened countless times in countless multiverses. However, he noticed how it's after effects had led rise to Quirks appearing in other universes… something, which in the other multiverses were completely independent events. In other multiverses, the stragglers from the Promethea ship were seamlessly integrated with their prime counterparts and the timeline proceeded as usual, but here, he had an opportunity. He clapped his hand and the image of the Promethea Ship passing through the time vortex froze. It was an important chess piece for things to come.
He looked at another shard which depicted a green time wave consuming various alternate Earths as a result of the interference of the Time Stone energies. He saw the image shift to Barry Allen of Earth 1 stopping the murder of his mother by the villainous Reverse Flash, creating the eponymous "Flashpoint Paradox." Green energies clashed with red sparks, rewriting the timeline.
He narrowed his eyes. This Earth 1 was a carbon copy of the Earth 1 of the multiverse colloquially referred as the Arrowverse, however instead of the Flashpoint causing minor changes like it had there, due to the Time Stone energies, it now created a true paradox, rewriting not just the timeline of Earth 1 but also sucking in all the timelines that had diverged from the Earth 1 timeline within itself. He watched as other universes most notably those of Earths 2, 3, 9, 12, 16, 38, 51 and 52 get sucked into Earth 1, creating a very different Flashpoint, yet which was similiar to the original Flashpoint Paradox of the Prime Earth-1. He saw as the Flash lost his speed and regained it with the help of the resident heroes of the Flashpoint timeline before meeting Thawne, who informed him that Flashpoint had absorbed adjacent timelines and will continue to suck in every timeline until there's none left.
[Earth 9 – Titans, Doom Patrol TV shows
Earth 12 – DC Animated Universe
Earth 16 – Young Justice animated show
Earth 51 – DC Extended Universe
Earth 52 – DC Animated Movie Universe]
Barry went back to stop Flashpoint, but when he came back, he saw a different world instead of the world he left. A world now housing not only Supergirl and Superman of Earth 38, the Titans of Earth 9, Diana Prince of Earth 51, Jay Garrick of Earth 3 and Harrison Wells and Jessie Quick of Earth 2. ["Flashpoint Redux" by Sentinel of Stories]
The Sentinel nodded appreciatively. The entire Flashpoint had become something like a Crisis event and rebooted not only Earth 1 but that of the other Earths. With Earth 1 having a fully formed Justice League and Titans, it's history was now similar to that of Earth 12 and Earth 16.
Moreover, the other Earths that had been absorbed were restored, some intact and others changed to a certain degree. Amongst other changes, Earth 38 was now very similar to post-crisis Earth 1 of the Arrowverse, with the addition of Superman having two teenage boys with Lois Lane and a different variant of Lex Luthor, the original version having been stuck in the Phantom Zone with his lover Nyxly, a fifth dimensional imp and the use of the All-Stone Totems had triggered a minor reality change which had created a new Lex Luthor, with only the paragons and those who had been in proximity to the totems remembering the original events. [Earth 38 = Post Crisis Arrowverse Earth Prime "Superman and Lois" TV show]
The chaos caused by the Infinity Stones gave him a wonderful window of opportunities. Worlds were being destroyed and reborn at the same time, a multiversal shift unlike any other... No longer was he bound to just watch, he could directly intervene and no one would be any wiser. He would create a multiverse strong enough to combat the coming crisis and Earth One would be his flagship world of heroes. It was already a patchwork of many worlds, a few more added to the mix wouldnt cause it to collapse on itself.
He raised his hands and several shards were chipped off other large stalagmites around him. One showed the image of a Spiderman swinging past the Empire State Building.
Other, that of Ben Tennyson slamming his fist on the Omnitrix and being enveloped by a green glow while Kevin Levin absorbed a piece of metal, forming a shell around his body. Gwen Tennyson's skin turned purple and her blue cardigan and jeans were replaced by her 'Lucky Girl' hero outfit. Rook Blonko aimed his Proto Tool at the Forever Knights, who charged at them.
Another showed Ladybug leaning against Chat Noir as they sat on top of the Eiffel Tower after their nighty patrols.
The other shards showed variants of the Power Rangers battling putties, Danny Phantom fighting Vlad and various heroes.
He swung his hand down and the shards shot past him and collided with the shard of Earth 1, merging with it. Perfect.
Now to make more like this.
He turned around towards another crystal which showed the events of Earth 92131, home to Spiderman and the Xmen. However, it needed to be more. [the 90s Spiderman and X-Men Animated Shows]
He saw one of the shattered crystals, showing a ranger world that had been decimated as a result of Shattered Grid, which showed flashes of various ranger teams fighting against evil. He flicked his arms and the shards flew towards the crystal and fused with it.
He needed more though. Not nearly enough heroes.
He raised his hands and chips fell out of other crystals, swirling in the air, each showing different heroes.
The Autobots fighting against Megatron. [Transformers Prime]
Ladybug, Chat Noir, Queen Bee, Carapace and Rena Rouge fighting an army of akumatized villains. [Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir]
Tuxedo Mask carrying Sailor Moon bridal style as the other Sailor Guardians shot concerned looks. [Sailor Moon]
The pod containing the Omnitrix hurtling through the skies and landing near a campsite in the woods. [Ben 10]
Bloom flew in the air, her wings fluttering as she hurled a fireball at Valtor. Nearby, the other fairies fought against a trio of witches. [Winx Club]
Jim clutching his amulet close to his chest, willing it to work while trolls converged on him. [Tales of Arcadia]
Harry Potter glaring defiantly at Voldemort in the graveyard while hooded death eaters surrounded them.
Nico Di Angelo and Will Solace snuggling against each other in the Hades Tent of Camp Half Blood. [Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan]
Aru Shah and her sisters took out their weapons as the Sleeper approached them slowly. [The Pandava Quintet by Roshani Chokshi]
Carol Danvers glowing in cosmic energy as she smashed through a Kree warship orbiting Earth. [ Captain Marvel – MCU movie]
Lok Lambert summoning Free Lancer while the Organisation converged on him and his friends. Cherit flew above head as the opposing factions of titans and seekers fought each other. Sabriel stood protectively in front of Sophie Casterwill. Caliban and Breaker tussled with each other mirroring their bonded humans. Grier and Dante Vale fought each other in close combat, none getting an upper hand. Zhalia summoned King Basilisk, who turned the opposing titans to stone, causing them to return to their amulets. ["Huntik – Secrets and Seekers" animated show]
Danny Phantom fought Valerie Gray, who was clad in her ghost hunter armour.
The chips fused with the crystal in a bright flash and the Sentinel smiled. *[the universe of "Power Rangers: Galactic Onslaught" by Sentinel of Stories.]
Now, that was more like it. The Sentinel danced across his dimension, his bright yellow robes glowing in the crystalline dimension as chips swirled in the air merging with other crystals.
He retraced his steps towards the crystal which showed the frozen image of the Promethea ship about to enter the vortex of blinding white light.
Just one more thing left to do and this, he had to do in person.
Hope you guys liked this and please review.
Thanks to Michael Weyer and Darthkvzn for letting me reference their stories, which inspired me to write this story in the first place.
It has some major spoilers for my ongoing story "Flashpoint Redux" as well.
Last but not least, I would like to thank the incredible Marcus S. Lazarus for helping me brainstorm how the other Infinity Stones would affect the wider multiverse.