Unable to access GrimmFall Database at this time
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Alert
Intercepting Second Transmission
Locating Origin
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Origin Located
Location: …
Transmission originated from outside known dimension.
Alternate Universe of Origin: Dimension Earth-16
Location: Space Station Orbiting Earth of Alternate Universe codenamed: Watchtower
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Accessing Transmission
"To all senior members of the Justice League, this is Red Tornado calling a Code Level One emergence meeting immediately."
Transmission Ends
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Redirecting Broadcast to Dimension Earth-16
Xxx
"Recognized: B-07 Artemis."
"Recognized: D-09 Superboy"
Artemis and Superboy stepped out of the Zeta Tubes and onto the familiar surroundings of the Watch Tower. It had felt so long since they had been here and yet they knew the layout of the station like the back of their hands.
"Hey guys."
They turned their heads to see Kid Flash, their teammate approaching them with a smile but had a wary look in his eyes. Almost as if he was afraid they were going to disappear on him again or if they were really the same Artemis and Superboy he remembered.
Neither could blame him.
Just as Raven and Beast Boy were delivering their own reports back in their home universe, Artemis and Superboy, after a period of rest and reuniting with their friends and family(Artemis had spent over an hour of having her mother's arms around her when she walked back into their apartment and she had been positive she saw her sister peaking in through the window), they were now delivering their report to the Justice League.
The topic: the dimension they had ended up in.
GF-007, as it had been labelled by Van Kleiss.
With Kid Flash were their friends and teammates, Robin, Aqualad and Miss Martian. All of them happy to have their missing friends back but were all worried at the same time.
"They're all ready for ya." Kid Flash pointed to the door leading to the meeting room.
Artemis and Superboy nodded, heading for the door as it opened.
Inside, the Justice League of Earth-16 were already assembled and waiting, consisting of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Dr. Fate, Red Tornado, Green Lanterns(Hal Jordan and John Stewart), Shazam, Hawkgirl, Hawkman, Captain Atom and the Flash.
Wonder Woman stood up. "Welcome esteemed members of the Justice League and I am happy to announce the return of the two members of our covert operations team: Artemis and Superboy."
Both of them stood before the table, feeling all the eyes on them.
"You two had disappeared, responding to an alert that a team from the League of Shadows led by Sportsmaster and Cheshire had broken into STAR Labs." Wonder Woman began.
Aqualad cleared his throat. "If I may be allowed to speak, I can recount the events leading up to our comrades' disappearance."
Wonder Woman glanced to her fellow members who glanced back, sharing a silent look before nodding to Aqualad.
"We had responded to an alert by Red Arrow who had taken it upon himself to monitor activities by the League of Shadows, following a confrontation with them along with Sportsmaster and Cheshire during the peace summit North and South Rhelasia. What we did not know, was that League of Shadows, acting on behalf of Vandal Savage and the Light, were already setting a trap for us." Aqualad immediately started. "STAR Labs is the most advanced scientific research organization on the planet, followed closely by Wayne Enterprises and LexCorp. Red Arrow claimed the League of Shadows had become interested in a Zeta Prototype that would allow for transportation outside of our solar system and improve safety for space travel and exploration. Vandal Savage planned to modify this prototype into creating a vortex generator to remove the Justice League and any allies from our universe."
"We are aware of what the League of Shadows was attempting to steal." Batman cut in. "We are more focused on what happened to your teammates."
Artemis narrowed one eye while Superboy remained calm.
As did Aqualad. "We confronted the Shadows, along with Cheshire and Sportsmaster but during the battle the vortex generator was activated prematurely, and we were all in danger. Artemis was the closest and was pulled in before she could react while Superboy…chose to follow in after her and entrust his faith in us finding a way to bring him and Artemis back."
Artemis shuffled a bit but Superboy was perfectly still, not regretting his decision even as the entire Justice League was looking to him now. Superman looked conflicted, torn from looking proud or horrified that his clone/brother had done such a thing.
"You were both missing for a month but according to your own reports, you were there much longer than just one month." Batman pointed out.
"We were." Superboy answered, after having been given the signal that he and Artemis were allowed to speak. "And we encountered an Earth more warrior driven than this one, with many powerful people who became friends…and dangerous enemies."
Xxx
Present Time
GF-007
Nowhere
All was going according to plan.
Jujunga, leader of Team JJIBA was making his way through the Nowhere Mountains where the remains of Van Kleiss' fortress could be seen in the distance.
'General Skarr has occupied the Justice Friends.' He thought as he continued his trek stealthily. 'James has gone to challenge SAM-R-I, using the sword Sammael gave him to even the odds. Boris will be with I and Am to continue distracting the enemy.'
Leaving him to move in on the other side of the battle, sneak his way through and find the location of where to dig.
'Once the location is marked, the path to the Spiral Gem of Heart will be opened.' The former Australian Huntsman thought to himself. 'This is why Master Sammael formed the Invisible Hand. An elite group of warrior that would stop at nothing to carry out their assignments and a chance to change the status quo of this world for the better.'
It was why he joined in the first place.
Jujunga stopped as a sudden sound made itself known and he looked down to see an arrow hitting the ground in front of him.
A green arrow.
Looking up, Jujunga spied two familiar faces as they stood on a cliff above him.
"Remember us?" Artemis asked as she readied another arrow.
Indeed, Jujunga did.
"You are both among the lost children brought to this world by Van Kleiss. I was sent to observe you after you escaped his lab." Jujunga recalled. "I was impressed when you managed to discover me. Not many people can do that."
Superboy leapt up and landed on the ground several feet away, causing the ground to crack from the impact as he stood up. "You get one chance to turn around."
"Or you will battle me? Your role in this is over. You should leave before you become unnecessary casualties." Jujunga calmly rebutted. "Helping the so-called heroes of this world puts you at risk of never seeing your home or your friends or family again. Do you truly think you can fight and walk away?"
"We don't turn and run plus your boss was the one who dragged us into this." Superboy retorted.
"That doesn't mean you have to fight." Jujunga stated.
(Across the Line by Linkin Park Starts)
Artemis readied an arrow, aiming straight at Jujunga. "Yes, we do."
In this desert, in darkness
She let loose the arrow and shot straight down towards Jujunga who jumped and somersaulted back out of the way. The arrow hit the ground, releasing a grey puddy substance that would have likely immobilized him if he had been hit. Superboy shot forward with a battle cry, easily catching up to Jujunga as he prepared his own weapon, his didgeridoo.
Lying with the gun across his chest
Superboy let loose a fury of punches, but Jujunga was agile enough to dodge them all, moving with a sense of water-like grace as he moved out of the way of each punch. He jumped back, having already inserted a Wind Dust crystal into his didgeridoo and blew. A purple-colored fog blasted out of the instrument, but Superboy was ready, clapping his hands with such strength he created a shockwave that blew the fog back at its creator.
"You did that before! I might rely on my strength but I'm not a brainless brute." Superboy taunted.
Jujunga chuckled as he stepped through the cloud, unharmed. "I suppose not. Even I would know the same trick would not work twice, but it never hurts to try."
Pretending he's heartless
Artemis prepared another arrow, sticking to long range combat and covering Superboy as he moved in to attack at close range. Jujunga, for his part remained calm and composed even as he was being double-teamed. Knowing Superboy outclassed him in strength, Jujunga knew he would have to outsmart the boy to defeat him. He allowed Superboy to get in close, dodging the next fist but his Aura shimmered.
'His strength is so great; my Aura can feel a glancing blow just from the air around his fist.' Jujunga narrowed his eyes.
As the fire flashes in the sky
He continued to dodge, making sure Superboy stood between him and Artemis, forcing her to wait for the opportunity to fire her next arrow. As he dodged the next strike, ducking under a punch, the tattoos along his arm suddenly surged with red energy and he slammed a fist into Superboy's chest.
"GAH!" The Human/Kryptonian hybrid let out a surprised cry of pain as he stagged back, placing a hand over his smoking stomach.
He was fragile and frozen
"Superboy!" Artemis let loose her next arrow…
Only for Jujunga to simply wave his other hand, releasing a gust of wind that knocked the arrow into a boulder where it exploded.
BOOM!
When the bullet took away his friend
'You might know of my Semblance and my weapon of choice; you couldn't have known about the Dust tattoos all over my body!' Jujunga's eyes suddenly surged with electrical energy.
He thrust a handout and released bolt of lightning that shot up towards Artemis forcing her to jump out of the way.
ZAP!
BOOM!
"GAH!" Artemis had managed to dodge the lightning, but the explosion stunned her as she jumped, leaving her to fall to the ground.
And now he's somehow more broken
"Artemis!" Superboy spun and jumped up, catching her before she hit the ground and likely would have died on impact.
He landed safely on the ground and helped her to her feet as she rubbed her head.
He's pulling his weapons to aside
This gave Junjunga a chance as he slammed on foot into the ground, causing the earth around him to surge a giant stone fist shot up, slamming into Superboy and knocking him into the cliff walls.
SLAM!
CRUSH!
Loading it full of his goodbyes
Superboy grunted, more annoyed than actually hurt but he and Artemis were quickly realizing that Jujunga was actually more formidable than they had anticipated.
Artemis held up her bow, changing into its staff form and twirled it one hand. "You have Dust infused into your body? Isn't that painful?"
"Pain is an illusion." Jujunga simply said, brandishing his didgeridoo.
Holding an enemy across the line
Shrugging it off as something she expected to hear from a member of the League of Shadows, Artemis charged at him, spinning her staff in a fashion that would be seen as chaotic. An attempt to make herself appear unpredictable and therefore make it impossible for him to calculate where she would hit.
An impressive gesture…
But ultimately futile.
He's pulling his weapons to aside
Loading two Dust crystals into his didgeridoo, he inhaled and blew. From the tip of his instrument came a giant fireball that shot right at Artemis!
Loading it full of his goodbyes
Eyes widening, Artemis stopped and moved to get out of the way but she was too slow.
Only the timely intervention of Superboy saved her life.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
BOOM!
At the expense of being hit himself.
Holding an enemy across the line
"Connor!" Artemis shouted, horrified at seeing her friend being burned alive.
Sweating and shaking
The smoke cleared to show Superboy was still alive, but his body was smoking and covered in soot. His invulnerable body protected him from dying and his accelerated healing would allow him to recover.
However, he was seemingly stunned as he fell to his knees.
Lying with her hands across her chest
Artemis turned and glared at Jujunga, her staff weapon shifting back into its bow form, and she pulled an arrow out. She aimed…not Jujunga but into the air above him and let the arrow loose.
She wakes with her cravings
Jujunga narrowed his eyes, keeping an eye on the arrow as it flew up into the air…and suddenly broke and released a literal rainstorm of arrows down towards him!
As the fire flashes in her eye
(Flashback)
"This here is a very special arrow, loaded with a special kind of arrow." Yara held up the bow for Artemis to see. "You see, this Dust is a very rare and special kind of Dust called Mini."
She was fragile and frozen
"Unlike your rather basic Dust that usually explodes into whatever element it represents on ignition, Mini-Dust can be used more creatively. Like say…Shrinking a dozen arrows and then storing them in the head of another arrow."
When the needle took away her friend
"Say what?" Artemis gaped.
Yara giggled and nodded. "Right, the Mini-Dust shrinks the object it is connected to but when the arrow is fired, you have at least three seconds before the Dust crystal will break and return all the stored arrows to their normal size. So you better aim carefully and this should only be used when your up against the wall."
(End Flashback)
But now she's somehow more broken
Jujunga swept an arm out, creating a gust of wind that blew away the incoming arrows before they could hit him.
But that was fine.
She's pulling her weapons to aside
"HA!" Artemis shot forward, using the arrows as a distraction and swung her staff at his head.
Loading it full of her goodbyes
Jujunga hastily ducked under the first swing and aimed to blast her with fire at close range as his hand glowed red.
Holding an enemy across the line
Only Artemis pulled out another arrow and stabbed it right at Jujunga's hand, causing it to explode and cover the entire hand in a foamy substance. Jujunga's eyes widened in surprise as Artemis then pulled the foamy arm forward and used the chance to headbutt Jujunga right into the face.
She's pulling her weapons to aside
Jujunga staggered back, his Aura flashing from the hit but suffered no injuries, not even a broken a nose. With his free hand, he hastily blocked a swing from Artemis' staff.
Loading it full of her goodbyes
With one hand immobilized and the other hand holding his signature weapon, Jujunga was quickly on the defense as Artemis quickly on the offence, lashing out with her staff and attempting to knock him down.
Holding an enemy across the line
But his feet were still an option which was shown as one foot glowed and Artemis block it in time, flinching as a blast of fire flew past her but she managed to avoid being hit.
With every battle he's choosing
'Of course, he can use his power through his feet too!' Artemis mentally grumbled as she shoved the foot away.
With every fight he's loosing
Jujunga spun back, using the shove as a springboard and kicked his feet up a few more times, releasing several more fire blasts with each kick.
His enemy's not far behind
Artemis dodged, jumping to the side as her staff shifted back into bow form and she pulled out another arrow, this time aiming at Jujunga's feet as he twirled back. She fired and the bow split open, revealing a pair of bolas inside.
With every promise she's broken
Green energy traveled through Jujunga's legs, and he jumped up, releasing a gust of wind that propelled him up into the air and well out of range of the bolas as they flew underneath him and hit the ground.
With every lie she's spoken
'She's adaptable.' Jujunga narrowed his eyes as Artemis aimed another arrow up at him. 'It's obvious she's been trained to fight opponents with one or more abilities like a Semblance. However…'
Artemis fired her next arrow, and this released a net that threatened to ensnare Jujunga in mid-air.
Her enemy's not far behind
'I have trained to fight such opponent as well.' Jujunga smiled as green Dust energy flowed through his legs again and kicked his foot to the right, releasing a gust of wind that propelled him out of the way of the net.
It's your time
Looking down at the foam that immobilized his right hand, Jujunga channeled ice Dust energy through it, freezing the foam.
It's your time
And then Earth Dust energy exploded from it, forming a boulder around his arm that he then heated up with Fire Dust energy, forming into a spiked magma mace,
It's your time
Aiming his feet behind him, Jujunga kicked them out and the Wind Dust energy blasted him back towards the ground where Artemis was standing, pulling out another arrow.
It's your time
Only her eyes widened as Jujunga swung the magma mace down on her.
A blur shot forward, landing in front of Artemis and lashed out with a fist, shattering the magma mace and knocked Jujunga back and sent him skidding several yards away.
He's pulling his weapons to aside
"Superboy!" Artemis smiled happily, seeing her friend was back on his legs.
Loading it full of his goodbyes
Superboy's top was gone, and his pants were torn but he had seemingly recovered as he turned and gave Artemis a small smile. "You okay?"
"I should be asking you that." Artemis jokingly retorted.
Holding an enemy across the line
Superboy chuckled but turned around to give a glare at Jujunga who quickly got back up, narrowing his eyes at the sight of the Human/Kryptonian hybrid having recovered.
She's pulling her weapons to aside
"Take a breather, Artemis. It's my turn." Superboy said, taking one step forward…
STOMP!
Loading it full of her goodbyes
Jujunga observed as Superboy slowly approached with each step strong enough to case cracks to spread along the ground. 'His strength overpowers mine. I'll have to respond creatively to defeat him.'
Holding an enemy across the line
Superboy growled and charged, aiming a fist back. Jujunga bent down, channeling Lightning Dust energy through his legs and charged at all.
With every battle he's choosing
The electricity shooting through his nervous system made Jujunga not only after but even improved his reflexes as he spun out of the way of Superboy's punch and prepared a lightning blast from his free hand.
With every fight he's loosing
Only for Superboy to duck in time as the lightning shot over his head and he swung his out. Jujunga jumped back, dodging the fist that missed his face by mere inches.
His enemy's not far behind
Only Superboy shot forward, leaping from the ground and his enhanced strength launching him after Jujunga like a missile.
With every promise she's broken
Jujunga shot another lightning blast, but Superboy was prepared as his fist made contact with the ground, causing a boulder to come shooting out and become his shield, taking the lightning blast head on.
With every lie she's spoken
Superboy came out of the smoke, not aiming to give Jujunga a moment to breath and reared his fist back.
Her enemy's not far behind
Jujunga prepared his didgeridoo as the two collided in a one-on-one fight to the finish.
(Across the Line by Linkin Park Ends)
INFINITY TRAIN ARC
Opening File: Amelia
Amelia Hughes is a human who boarded the Infinity Train following the death of her fiancé Alrick and usurped One-One as The Conductor when he refused to make her a train car with Alrick in it. She was defeated by Tulip Olsen when the latter helped One-One reclaim his position as conductor. Now in her late 60s, Amelia works for One-One by fixing the mistakes she made on the train. Amelia had a talent for engineering in her childhood, including building her own crystal radio.
However, her efforts were largely looked down upon by the people in her life. One exception to this was a boy named Alrick Timmens, who recognized her talent and would cheer her up whenever she was talked down to by her teacher. The two eventually moved to the United States together to attend engineering school, and at some point along the way they became romantically involved and were engaged. However, before they could wed, Alrick died suddenly, and she was unable to cope with the loss.
Shortly afterwards she encountered the Infinity Train on the roof of her old university and boarded it. As the new conductor, she devoted the next thirty-three years of her life to trying to build a car that recreated her old life with Alrick, using her knowledge of technology to make the Steward help her collect power orbs from other cars to assist in her work. This course of action caused her numbers to go so high that they nearly covered her entire body. However, most of the cars she made only included elements of her old life, including their university, a phone booth they shared a memory in, and an absurd amount of turtles due to her memories of a handkerchief with a turtle design on it.
Among the denizens she created during her efforts were Aloysius, who shared Alrick's voice and glasses, and Hazel, who bore Amelia's initial number of 337 and used British slang, as well as having some of Amelia's memories. At one point seven years before meeting her again, a young passenger named Grace Monroe was being chased by The Steward, who was under Amelia's control, in the Pumpkin Car. Amelia called off the Steward and had it given her one of the car's power orbs, giving Grace a glimpse of the number on Amelia's arm. This led Grace to believe the goal of the train was to have the highest number and formed the Apex as a group dedicated to achieving this goal.
After One-One reclaimed his position as the conductor, Amelia sided with him to help undo the damage she did to the train. She set up an electric pulse designed to identify cars with her code in it (namely, the college campuses, phone booths, and an absurd number of turtles).
Close File
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Opening File: Hazel
Hazel was created by Amelia, who was trying to create a clone of her former love, Alrick. Her number is a copy of Amelia's original number, though it is merely a non-functioning print on her skin. At some point, she was left on her own, and met up with Tuba, who became a surrogate mother to her. Hazel encounters Simon and Grace when they enter the Jungle Car.
Upon noticing her number, they try to get her to come with them. However, Hazel wants Tuba to come along. Figuring they can ditch Tuba, the two agree that she can take her and recruit her. As they pass through an ocean floor car, Simon and Grace tell her about the Apex and how One-One is 'making kids disappear'.
She asks to join but they tell her she needs to be brave. As they exit the car and go into the next one, a Debutante Ball Car, they are stopped by the chandelier and told to go to a run to learn a special waltz to exit. While Grace and Simon are reluctant, Hazel eagerly wants to dance. While Simon looks for a way out, she and Grace talk and she discovers she does not remember her parents.
When Simon returns and reports their is no exit at all, they all learn the dance and get out of the car. Grace makes her a member of the Apex and when she asks for Tuba to become a member as well, they make an excuse that only children can be members. As the group are traveling through a snow covered car, they have a snowball fight under a blizzard starts up and they seek shelter in a cabin occupied by The Cat. As she prepare tea, they learn that the blizzard is actually Randall participating in the snowball fight.
They boil him to get him to stop the snow and they move on. After traveling together for a few days, the group enters the Color Clock car and split into two team to find the key to the exit, she goes with Grace while Simon and Tuba team up. They find the key and open the door, only to find the car is being ejected. Tuba tosses Hazel to the next car, and Grace takes her inside. When she hears that Simon murdered Tuba, she becomes heartbroken and runs out of the car, only for Grace to witness her transforming into a half turtle creature.
Horrified by her new form, Hazel fears that Simon will kill her due to being a null. Grace promises that they won't tell Simon, but that she must stay calm to stay in her human form. Hazel later holds a funeral for Tuba, singing her lullaby, which brings Grace to tears. After the funeral they exit the car and pass a woman, who turns around and asks what they were doing with the cars. After Amelia confronts them, she tells them that cars not scheduled to be ejected are ejecting.
When she mentions turtles Hazel becomes worried and Grace convinces Simon to run. They lose her and camp out in a cave for the night. When Simon and Grace get into a fight so that he could check her numbers on her hand, she becomes worried for Grace and defends her until Simon leaves. She starts to transform and cry for Tuba as Grace comforts her.
Hazel informs Grace, once she wakes up, that she drooled on her in her sleep and that she couldn't sleep due to having bad dreams. Shortly after, Hazel figures out that she can control parts of her denizen form, extending and retracting her claws. After being told to stop, Hazel complains that Simon isn't even in the cave with them, which Grace now realizes. Soon, the two is almost attacked by a Golden Winged Snake before being saved by Amelia, who knocks it out with a shovel.
Hazel happily accepts Amelia's offer for eggs, despite Grace's distrust on her. Hazel tells Amelia that she wants six and a half eggs, aligning with her age. While she's eating her eggs, Hazel tries debunking Amelia's claims of not being a great cook by claiming she makes the best pancakes, despite not having any herself. After Amelia points this out, Hazel says she just knows and shrugs it off.
After hearing about a person named Alrick, Hazel declares that she likes Amelia while hugging her. After exiting the car, they're soon reunited with Simon, who attempts to attack Amelia and claims that Grace was right not to trust her. Hazel watches as Grace and Simon confronts her about her belt and how it 'corrupted' the mark of the Apex, which Amelia reveals herself to be the 'True Conductor'. Hazel sides with Grace about Amelia not being an enemy by mentioning that she knows a lot about turtle, which Grace squeezes her hand in response.
Soon, they join Amelia in the next car and find out they have to wait for the large gap to fill up. Hazel decides to play with sticks, showing them off to Amelia as robots. She and Grace then listen to Amelia talk about her time on the train and how she took control of the train from One-One, which Simon brushes them off as lies. Amelia then tells them the real purpose of the train, which sets Simon off and causes him to attack Amelia.
Hazel begins crying as she pleads for him to stop. Soon, she screams, now revealing her denizen form in front of everybody. Amelia finally realizes that Hazel was the anomaly she had been tracking down and reveals to Grace and Simon that she's one of her failed experiments to recreate Alrick. Hazel overhears Simon telling Grace to ditch her with Amelia to which she asks Grace if she really is going to leave her.
Grace responds harshly, calling her a null as well. Later, Hazel is seen sleeping inside her shell. After waking up and grouping up with the others, Grace declares that Hazel can stick with her and Simon, to Simon's dismay. But, Hazel rejects, questioning how the Apex can be brave if they were afraid of denizens like her.
She instead turns to Amelia and decides to join her, promising to take care of herself. Shortly after, Hazel, now in her full turtle form, waits with Amelia for the pulse to hit so they can be ejected with the train car. Grace's offer still stands, but Hazel still declines, wishing Grace good luck before being ejected. Hazel also appears in Grace's memories as Simon confronts her about keeping their secret from him.
Close File
Xxx
As the Infinity Train continued its endless trek through the pocket realm it existed in, a pair was making their way through the cars. Unlike the previous passengers had been on the train for a very long time and it showed on one of them who had long grey hair that was braided and trailing down their back. She wore a gray jumpsuit with a One-One logo on the right breast, a light gray tank top, a wristwatch on her left hand, a black belt with another One-One emblem as the buckle, and a black backpack for holding her gear. Her physical appearance showed her to have very strong arms for a 60+ year old woman.
This jumpsuit/boiler suit/flight suit had uncommon design features: it had belt loops instead of the more common elastic waist band and a moto-zipper (diagonal zipper) instead of splitting down the middle. It had a fly that implied a zipper on the right side while the upper portion of the suit has a zipper on the left. There was also no overlap underneath the left and right breasts of the suit. The upper zipper seemed to start at the base of the collar, not extend beyond it. The suit had what was presumably Velcro straps in the neck and sleeves to adjust its fit, which suggested that the suit was not tailored for her.
The other one resembled a human girl, but she had pale green skin, a turtle shell on her back, long, sharp claws on her fingers and toes, a large beak in place of her mouth, and webbing between her fingers.
The car they were in was like a maze of some sort, an endlessly large extra-dimensional space of wooden rooms, endless halls, and moving corridors. It possesses a warped direction of gravity, allowing demons to stand upright, upside down, or perpendicularly on the walls, or move in physically impossible directions.
"This is different than anything I have seen before." The woman muttered, holding up a device that was beeping. "It's as if this car was made to never allow anyone to find the next door. I certainly never made something like this. I would have remembered."
"Is this a new car?" The girl asked.
The woman held up her device. "No…It's older than any car I have seen."
She could almost believe this was the oldest car outside the conductor's car.
The question was…
Where was the door and what were the strange energy readings she was picking up?
Xxx
"So, you keep saying but why is solving our problems so important? Why do all of this? Make a train in the middle of some kind of pocket dimension that just goes on forever? Why keep us prisoner and label us with numbers until we are forced to deal with our issues?" Dipper stopped and stared at the floor. "Why do all of this?"
"Still trying to apply reason to something you can't understand. You're definitely the brainy type." Samantha rolled her eyes. "And you're only a prisoner so as long as you refuse to understand the reason you are here."
"But I'm not here because I have problems!" Dipper exclaimed, glaring at the Cat. "Sure, everyone has issues, but I only came aboard to find my sister. That's why I'm here and until I find her I can't focus on my problems because I am thinking of myself, I'm thinking of her!"
Samantha looked Dipper's hand and noticed his number changing.
30
"So, let's skip the therapy talk because until I find Mabel, I am not thinking of anything else." Dipper walked up to the door, waited as it opened and then stepped inside.
Samantha watched as he entered…and smiled. "Perhaps you will be different after all."
Dipper and Samantha had already been through several cars when Samantha stopped, sniffing the air and flinched. "Disgusting."
"What is it?" Dipper asked, stopping to look at the talking feline.
"Someone passed by here recently and they had a foul odor. The likes of which I have never smelt before." Samantha rubbed her nose. "Smells like rotten cheese and a fish that's gone too far bad even for a cat to enjoy. And there is another scent that I can barely pick up…It's quite lovely compared to the stink. Smells like…I'd say sugar,"
Dipper perked up. 'Could it be?'
"Just about anything sweet which cancels out the stink…And…" Samantha sniffed again. "Something I smelt of a form of treats that were sparkling."
"Mabel!" Dipper exclaimed with a huge smile. "She must have been here! Come on, let's go!"
"Dipper, wait!" Samantha tried to say but Dipper took off, not bothering to hear her. "Typical."
She could only follow him, and hope things would be okay.
Xxx
"So, what are we doing up here?"
Kevin had to keep his hat from being blown off while Double D was using that fancy armor of his for…something.
"We stand a better of chance of locating the others up here where I can try scanning for them." Double D said as a holographic appeared in front of his face inside his helmet.
It was a sensor that showed the energy signatures of Stan, Ford, Dipper, Mabel, Zoe and Frida.
I cannot locate the energy signatures of your other friends since I have never met them.
Double D accepted that, asking that Armatae simply try locating the people he came with and then he would focus on finding Ed, Eddy, Rolf and Jonny. He was looking forward to seeing the friends and faces he hadn't seen for so long.
Beep-Beep!
A signature has been found.
"That was fast." Double D commented, making Kevin stare at him. "Who is it and how far away?"
Energy signatures matches Stanley Pines
Fifteen cars south of our position
There is another energy signature with him, but I cannot identify
"Then it must be one of the others." Double D turned to Kevin, holding out his hand. "I believe I found someone."
I?
"Or rather, Armatae found someone." Double D coughed.
Kevin just stared at him for a moment before sighing and took the armored genuis' hand. "Fine, whatever."
Armatae's rockets activated, and they took off in the direction of the energy signatures.
Xxx
"Grab my hand!"
Frida grunted, grabbing Zoe's hand and allowed her sister to pull her up onto the top of the car. "Thanks."
"No problem." Zoe said as she and Frida activated their helmet and jet packs.
A beeping light appeared over Zoe's visor, and she looked forward. "Grandpa's tracker in in that direction."
"Let's move. Hopefully he's found Dipper and Mabel by now." Frida said before the pair shot off into the air, following the tracking signal.
Xxx
"Now in my defense, those suckers were practically begging me to take their money."
Stan Pines simply shook his head. "Unbelievable. I cannot believe you would go up and down all of GrimmFall…And trick people out of their hard-earned money…And you didn't bother to check and make sure none of them had a Semblance gave them X-Ray vision or something?"
"Uh?" Eddy paused.
"Or maybe one of them could read minds. You ever think about that?" Stan asked, knowing from experience.
"I just apply a little misdirection." Eddy said pridefully, happy to meet someone who shared the same mindset as him.
"Misdirection only works so far, kid. When I was your age, I had to use other techniques in order to trick people out of their money." Stan replied.
"And you used to be a Huntsman?" Eddy couldn't help but ask.
"Huntsman and scam artists aren't too different when it comes to battling Grimm or tricking people out of their money, kid. You got to use misdirection, trickery, and unpredictability to take down your enemy piece by piece. You got the stuff, kid to be a Huntsman and a great scam artist but you can use those skills for more than just tricking people out of their money." Stan explained.
Eddy could only stare in surprise before smiling. "Finally! Someone who speaks my language!"
"Just stick with me, kid and I'll show you the ropes." Stan chuckled. "Course, we still have to find a way off this train."
"So how do we do that?" Eddy asked.
"My brother says we have to work through our issues." Stan said as they exited the car they had been on and made their way to the next one. "Still not sure on how."
Just as they were about to reach the next door, a sound from above made them look up and they an armored machine with…
"Kevin?!" Eddy gaped.
"Dorky!" Kevin replied as he and Double D landed on the end of the bridge leading to the next car. "So this is where you ended up!"
"What are you doing here?" Eddy glared at the jock of the cul-de-sac.
"Looking for you and Ed." Double D answered as his armor receded under his shirt.
"Double D?!"
Just then the door to the next car opened and out walked…
"Eddy! Double D!" Ed rushed out and grabbed Double D and Eddy in a tight hug and began dancing, twirling around with the two in his arms.
"Ed." Eddy grunted.
"Hello!"
"Ed!"
"Hello!"
"ED!"
"Hello!"
Eddy had enough and kicked Ed off him. "Knock it off, Lumpy!"
"Grunkle Stan!" A voice called from the next car and Stan's face lit up.
"Mabel!" He rushed past the Eds and hugged his niece. "We were so worried about you! We came here looking for you!"
"You mean Dipper is here too?" Mabel asked, looking anxious now.
"Yeah." Stan nodded as he placed his hand on Mabel's shoulders. "We found out about Ford offering to make Dipper his apprentice."
"Oh…" Mabel looked crestfallen, but Stan brought a hand to her chin, lifting her face up.
"I think I straightened them out. Dipper's too young to be making decisions like that but if he wants it, it would be a long talk with your parents over it. We'll work it out when we get home." Stan said softly. "It'd be a real shame if the two of you are separated like me and Ford."
"Grunkle Stan, I'm so sorry!" Mabel cried, hugging Stan. "When no one was coming to our party, when I learned how hard high school would be and when Dipper wanted to go with Ford…I just felt so lost and I didn't know what to do!"
"I know, kid. I know." Stan softly patted Mabel on the back. "Trust me, I've been through all of that. But we got to find Dipper, Ford, Zoe and Frida first and the only way off this train is getting our numbers down to zero."
Mabel looked at her hand, seeing her number.
208
Her number had gone down!
Was she working through her problems?