Accessing Global Security Satellite System
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Accessing Grimm Horde Approaching Nowhere Kansas
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Accessing Sectors:
13 – Darklands
8 – Wilds
4 – Nowhere
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Estimated Time to Arrival in Nowhere: 6 days, 8 hours, 2 minutes, 36 seconds.
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Evacuation Protocol For Sectors 8 and 4 In Effect
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Logging Off Global Security
Xxx
STOMP!
Something crashed into the ground behind Drew and Doc, creating a large crater and kicking up dirt. Everyone had to cover their eyes and cough as they wiped the dust away and when it was gone they saw what…or who had made the crater.
Superboy who placed Artemis back on the ground after carrying her through the air. "I believe you have a friend of ours."
The scientists stepped back while Dr. Lee scowled in annoyance at the interruption.
Superboy stood up and looked at Miss Martian. "…M'gann?"
It looked like her…
And yet it wasn't her.
"You know our little helper?" Dr. Lee asked calmly.
Artemis raised her bow, pointing an arrow at the scientist. She could tell that the Miss Martian they were looking at was a lot different from the one they knew.
For starters, she looked younger and even shorter than the one they knew.
Martians may age differently than humans but there was enough to know the difference. Her skin was also lighter, paler than the Miss Martian they knew, except when she took her true form. She was Miss Martian and yet not Miss Martian.
You didn't have to be a genius to realize she was Miss Martian but from an alternate reality like they were.
But still…
"Let her go now." Artemis aimed her bow, an arrow ready, at Dr. Lee.
"I got a better idea. You help the prodigal son and his dear Miss load our machine onto their ship so we can leave with it and begin a life of wealth and luxury." Dr. Lee retorted.
"Maybe you didn't hear my friend." Superboy took a step forward. "Let her go now."
"Lady?"
Miss Martian tossed Huntress Wizard aside and pointed her hand at Superboy and Artemis, lifting them both off the ground. Artemis dropped her bow and arrow on the ground as she lifted up and both were then slammed into each other.
"Anyone else have any objections?" Dr. Lee asked.
"Just this."
Drew Saturday roared and leapt at the scientists but Miss Martian commanded the creature fused from Zak, Komodo and Fiskerton to stand between her and Dr. Lee. Her eyes widened, Drew hesitated and it lashed out with its tail, knocking her back down to the ground.
"Drew!" Doc knelt down next to his wife, looking her over.
"Has that been settled?" Dr. Lee asked with a smile. "Good. Now let's talk about our compensation. Dr. Lancaster nearly cost us our chance to become rich and living the good life. We're not letting that chance slip by again."
Doc and Drew glared hatefully at the scientists who used them, turned their boys into a monster and were now blackmailing them to help them with their sick plans.
There had to be a way to stop them.
"Sol…omon."
Everyone stopped as a voice whispered from all around them.
"Did someone leave the compute on?" Dr. Lee asked, glancing at his colleagues who shrugged. "No matter. We got what we need-"
Another roar was heard as the cryptids from before emerged from the surrounding forest, snarling at the humans.
This actually surprised Dr. Lee as he thought they were under their complete control. "Get-Get back! We made you! You have to obey us!"
Huntress Wizard's eyes opened and she glared at the mad scientist. "Obey the torturer?"
Dr. Lee turned to Miss Martian. "Take them out! Now!"
Miss Martian raised her hand to use her powers to stop the cryptids but Superboy jumped up and pinned her down. She struggled, grunting as she glared up at him.
"You know me. You sent the psychic message to me, calling for help." Superboy said, keeping her pinned.
"Sho…Shoo…" Miss Martian grunted, struggling to form words in her mouth. "Shock…"
"Shock…Shock!" Superboy looked over his shoulder. "Artemis, shock arrow."
Artemis pulled out said arrow and aimed. "But what about-"
"Do it! I'll be fine!"
Reluctantly, Artemis fired the arrow and hit Superboy in the back, shocking both him and Miss Martian, electrocuting them both into unconsciousness. The cryptids surrounded the rogue scientists and the Saturdays.
"This is our son." Doc said, standing in front of the fusion of Zak, Komodo and Fiskerton with Drew. "Please! We can help all of you! Just-"
The Zak fusion broke free of its chains and took off into the woods.
"Go after him!" Huntress Wizard called out, grabbing Dr. Lee. "We'll handle these cretins."
Doc and Drew needed no encouragement as they rushed off after the amalgamation of their boys. Huntress Wizard then watched as the cryptids took apart the lab but left the machine unharmed for some reason.
"You're not just forgeries are you?" She asked the nearest one who looked at her as she shoved Dr. Lee away to his colleagues. "You understand."
She had been wrong.
They were not patched-together abominations.
Sure, their origin had been dark but she could see now.
"Your souls have resisted the stain of the corruption here…" She whispered, patting the nearest one on the cheek. "You have endured and emerged protectors."
The creature nodded, placing a claw on her shoulder which she placed a hand on. "My apologies. I judged thee too soon. Please forgive me."
The Saturdays emerged with their son-hybrid just as the scientists were all rounded up and the lab had been destroyed.
"The machine." Doc muttered in horror, thinking they had destroyed the machine and the one chance to turn their son back to normal.
Only for the cryptids to step aside and reveal it had been unharmed.
"You…left it…For us?" Doc was stunned.
"They wouldn't touch it." Dr. Lee said with a scowl. "Don't ask me why. It sure caused them enough pain thirty years ago."
He was then shoved towards the apparent leader of the group, who grabbed him by the collar and lifted him off the ground, pointing at the hybrid of Zak, Fiskerton, and Komodo. "Fix."
Xxx
"So…I'm a member of this group you guys are in from where you are from."
Miss Martian came to while the scientists worked on restoring Zak and his cryptid brothers. As this happened, she was speaking with Superboy and Artemis.
"And you're a member of the Justice League?" Artemis asked, surprised since she looked younger than their Miss Martian.
"Yeah. I worked with Batman for a bit and then got in after stopping a bunch of bad guys from destroying the entire solar system." Miss Martian nodded. "After that…Well, I woke up in a lab with someone injecting those nanites into my nervous system and then they pawned me off to these guys to help be their body guard and harvest my DNA to make an army of shapeshifting monsters. They seemed to know each other pretty well."
"Was his name Van Kleiss?" Superboy asked.
"…Yeah." Miss Martian nodded. "He took you guys too?"
"Yeah and we're planning on going after him." Artemis answered. "We can use his machine to get him and send back everyone else he took."
"That's going to be easier said than done. Van Kleiss has got a lot of bad guys with him now. I saw them just before I was sent here." Miss Martian said with a serious face. "A lot of them are really bad guys. Like that ape Grodd."
"Grodd?!" Superboy and Artemis exclaimed as one, despite having met the intelligent ape in their universe they knew of him and how dangerous he was.
Miss Martian raised an eyebrow. "So you got one too?"
"Yeah. And he's very bad news." Artemis nodded, having read up on what he was capable of. "He doesn't have a Luthor, Joker or a Sportsmaster does he?"
"No. But he does have a few other bad guys like Copperhead, Shade, Weather Wizard, Rampage, Parasite-"
"Oh no. Not again." Superboy groaned at the mention of Parasite. "If he gets his hand on any of us he could drain our powers."
"Pretty much and they've all been seriously upgraded." Miss Martian agreed. "And the worst thing is, Van Kleiss isn't the top dog…Or at least he wasn't before. He was working with someone else. Someone called Sammael."
Artemis and Superboy shared a look at that, knowing that Sammael was a very big bad guy in this world and Sebben along with the Justice Friends had already suspected his involvement with Van Kleiss.
"The weird thing is, it looks like Van Kleiss has double crossed Sammael because before I was shipped up here, him and Dr. Lee mentioned something about being ready to take him down when he shows up." Miss Martian continued. "I couldn't hear much but I used my telepathy as best as I could even when they gassed me. They didn't try suppressing my powers since they were sure those nanites would keep me under."
"Well, you're mostly caught up." Artemis said. "If Van Kleiss has all these guys we better get moving and take him down, fast."
"Count me in." Miss Martian narrowed her eyes. "I am itching for some payback."
Superboy couldn't help but notice how different she was from his Miss Martian. She acted a lot more like…
"You?" Connor blinked as Miss Martian looked him. "Telepathy, remember? You're kind of broadcasting yourself, big guy."
"Oh, sorry." Superboy said awkwardly.
"It's okay. From what I saw, she's kind of sweetheart." Miss Martian shrugged.
Connor frowned at seeing this Miss Martian was just as casual with mind reading as his was. "That's kind of invasive, you know? Reading a person's mind without them knowing."
"It's how we Martians. Remember that, the next time you are out on a date with yours."
Xxx
SCANNING THOUGHTS 15%.
"Ugh, this is taking forever. How long have I been doing this for?" Dipper looked and saw that Ford is was asleep. "Why does he have to be so mysterious about Bill? I can handle the truth."(
His thoughts then appeared on the machine. 'I wonder what Great Uncle Ford is thinking. Use the machine! It'll show you his thoughts.'
"I shouldn't..."
'He won't know. He's going to tell you eventually. The more you know about Bill, the more you can help.'
"Man, I am really good at rationalizing."
'Yes, you are; yes, you are; yes, you are; yes, you are.'
He took the machine off and put the helmet on Ford's head. "Just a little peek. What are you hiding about Bill?"
Bill appeared on the screen, cackling. The screen then changed to Stanford moving around in his sleep.
Smaller screened show the portal and Fiddleford McGucket yelling at Ford. "Where are these ideas coming from? Who are you working with?!"
Screens change to Ford writing 'I'M LOSING,' 'MY MIND,' and 'TRUST NO ONE' in the journal.
"My brother is a dangerous know-it-all..." Stan's voice spoke.
Ford's voice came next. "He would trick or possess anyone..." Then he appeared as a young man. "Then it's a deal. From now until the end of time."
Bill was then shown holding out hand, which is on fire. "Just let me into your mind, Stanford."
"Please, call me..." Ford was then shaking hands with Bill of all people. "A friend."
Bill was then possessing Ford, cackling.
"FORD AND BILL?!" Dipper gasped in horror at the mere idea after his own experience.
Behind him, Ford stood up. "You shouldn't have done that." He took off the helmet and threw it, knocking down a curtain, revealing many items depicting Bill.
"Why- why were you shaking hands with Bill?" Dipper picked up the interdimensional rift. "You said Bill could possess anyone so he could get this." The rift slipped out of his hand but he caught it. "Ahh!"
"Careful! Hand me the rift! Now, boy!" Ford barked.
Dipper backed away. "Why were you really scanning my thoughts? Are you Bill right now?!"
"Now just-just calm down, P-" Ford tried to say easily.
"PINE TREE?! IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE GONNA CALL ME?!" Dipper shouted, becoming hysterical.
"I was just going to say 'please', kid!" Ford answered.
Dipper stopped at the end of the room. "Great Uncle Ford told me to protect the rift! Get one step closer and I'll-I'll-!"
"It's me, Dipper. It's your uncle!" Ford said to get him to calm down.
Dipper held the rift close to his chest. "Trust no one, trust no one, trust..."
"Hand it to me!"
Dipper tried to run but Ford picked Dipper up before he could make it to the elevator. "Let go of me!"
"Now-now just calm down. Calm down!" Ford adjusted his glasses. "Look into my eyes! Look at my pupils. It's me, Dipper. It's me."
Ford set him down and Dipper sighed in relief. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, Dipper. If I really was Bill, though, you would've done the right thing. I should have been more like you when I was young. Dipper, I was a fool to try to hide all this. The reason I've been trying to prepare you for Bill's tricks is that Bill tricked me." Ford explained sadly. "It's the biggest regret of my life. Bill wasn't always my enemy, Dipper. I used to think he was my friend. Long, long ago."
Xxx
Ford as a young man stood in front of a printer.
"I had hit a road block in my investigation of Gravity Falls."
He punched the drawing of the question mark he had made on his chalkboard and next flashback was of him in a cave.
"Until I found some mysterious writing in a cave. Ancient incantations about a being with answers. It warned me not to read them, but I was desperate. I read the inscription aloud. But nothing happened. Until later that afternoon, when I had the most peculiar dream."
Ford was sleeping under a tree. The knots on the trees became Bill eyes and the rest of the background faded into abstraction, journals and pages floating about randomly.
Ford got up and walks around before Bill appeared behind him. "Hiya, smart guy!"
"Ah!"
"Woah, don't have a heart attack, you're not 92 yet." The strange triangle circled around him.
"Who are you?" Ford asked.
"Name's Bill! And your name's Stanford Pines, the man who changed the world, but I'm getting ahead of ourselves; let's relax! Care for a game of interdimensional chess?" Bill snapped his fingers and a chessboard appeared. "Have a cup of tea."
A teapot poured tea into a teacup that appeared next.
"He told me he was a muse. That he chose one brilliant mind a century to inspire. What a fool I was. Blinded by his flattery and games. He became my research assistant. He was free to move in and out of my mind as he pleased."
The next flashback showed Ford summoning Bill, who possessed him.
"We were partners."
The next one was of Ford and Bill in the mindscape, doing an equation with a picture of the Universe portal next to it.
"When he told me I could complete my research by building a gateway to other worlds, I trusted him. He said this was the way genius happened. Little help from a friend."
It then cut to Ford and McGucket in front of the portal.
"It seems that I was on the verge of my greatest achievement!"
The portal activated and the flashback cut to Ford with McGucket, who was unconscious.
"Until my partner got a glimpse of Bill's true plans."
Ford was then showed approaching Bill in anger. "Bill! You lied to me! Where does that portal really lead?"
Bill was looking at what looks like a scar in space with dark shapes in it. "Hoho! Looks like Mr. Brainiac finally got smart! Let's just say that when that portal finishes charging up, your dimension is gonna learn how to party!" He looked to the the scar. "Right, guys?"
Roaring and cackling was heard from the scar.
"No! I'll stop you! I'll SHUT IT DOWN!" Ford shouted.
Bill narrowed his eye but then relaxed. "A deal's a deal, Sixer! You can't stop a bridge between our worlds from coming, but it would be fun to watch you try! Cute even!"
Ford work up, shocked.
"I'd been betrayed. I shut the portal down."
Ford started shutting the portal down.
"Severing the link between Bill's world and ours. I had to hide my instructions so no one could ever finish Bill's work."
Xxx
"Bill's been waiting for the gateway to reopen ever since. All he needs to do is get his hands on this rift." Ford held up the rift. "To Bill, it's just a game, but to us, it would mean the end of our world."
"Oh, man." Dipper whispered.
Ford nodded. "Oh, man, indeed. Bill is operating on a schedule and it doesn't help he has competition, especially from those who command the Grimm."
"Those who command the Grimm?" Dipper asked, surprised by the mere thought of someone commanding the Grimm.
"Yes. They are called the Fallen and they have been around for a very long time. Their leader is named…Sammael." Ford said gravely.
"Sammael?" Dipper shivered a bit. "That sounds like something from out of the old books."
"Yes, it comes from an ancient language and culture that was wiped out during the Forgotten Age. In the common tongue, Sammael means Poison of God or Blindness of God. He commands the other Fallen who command the Grimm and he is dangerous enough that if Bill is not fast enough his plans could fall apart." Ford explained, remembering what he had been told. "Bill told me about Sammael as a way to motivate me into finishing the portal. The idea at the time had been to open the portal to call for help, preferably to realities with advanced levels of technology that we could use to fight Sammael, the other Fallen and other threats. Of course, I know now that Bill was only using my fear at the time so that I wouldn't stop to think while I was working on the portal."
Xxx
"Ugh, I'm so embarrassed about earlier. I'm such an idiot."
Dipper and Ford were up in the living room now, drinking Pitt Cola.
"From now on, no more secrets between us. We're not the first two idiots to be tricked by Bill, boy. But if we work together, we could be the last." Ford stated.
"But what about Bill? I broke the machine! Now we have no way to protect the shack!" Dipper said worringly.
Mabel slammed the unicorn hair on the table. "Did someone say 'unicorn hair'?!"
Candy, Grenda, Zoe, Frida and Wendy were behind her. They are all looked beat up and covered in unicorn fluids and tears.
Dipper blinked "Uh, no, actually?"
"Oh. That would have been perfect. Either way we got some unicorn hair!" Mabel waved it in Dipper's face)
"Also some unicorn tears, unicorn eyelashes..." Candy gestured to Grenda, who had unicorn eyelashes.
"They finally gave us this treasure just to get rid of us!" Grenda dumped a chest of treasure on the table.
"But that didn't stop us from shaving their fur off." Frida said, holding up a whole bag of unicorn fur. "We can use this to protect grandpa's office and maybe the rest of the town."
Ford was shocked and amazed. "It... can't be! This is a great day, girls! With this unicorn hair, we should be able to completely shield the shack from Bill's mind-reading tricks!"
"Is it okay?" Mabel asked, still feeling self-conscious.
"Better than okay; it's perfect! You've protected your family. You're a good person, Mabel." Ford praised her with a grateful smile.
"Thanks, Grunkle Ford, but today I learned that morality is relative." Mabel said, having learned a valuable lesson.
"HEY! IS ANYONE GOING TO COME TO MY MAYOR PARTY?!" Stan shouted, walking into the house and saw the chest. "MONEY!"
He grabbed it and ran off, followed by Zoe and Frida.
"Hey, that's ours, grandpa!"
"We took from those losers, fair and square."
Xxx
Dipper and Ford were later in the yard. Dipper finished stretching the unicorn hair around the shack and force field formed around the shack.
"Perfect! This will protect us from Bill! As long as we're inside, our minds are safe. And with the unicorn hair Frida and Zoe took, we can use to protect the entire town." Ford said with a smile at having won a victory over Bill.
Xxx
Little did they know, Bill was watching them from the mindscape.
"I guess I can't possess anyone inside the shack, so I'll just have to find my next pawn on the," His voice grew lower. "OUTSIDE."
His eye flashed between several characters.