Controlled Chaos Forger of Worlds
Chapter 6
"What will we do while Gaia grabs the infinity stones of her universe? You said something about an ascension."
Harry turned to stare into the distance, his irises glowing with a soft blue-white light. "From what I sense, Johan Schmidt draws his power from the infinity stones and an object called the universe's core." He turned to look at Firehair, "When I restored your body, I replaced your heart with the modified heart of the Celestial you killed. Your heart can now absorb the energy of the infinity stones and the universe's core."
Firehair grabbed her chest, "Why would you do that, make me able to contain such power?"
"I looked into Gaia's mind when I arrived in her universe, and you disappeared; after becoming the Phoenix host, you had no future, but according to Gaia's memories, you wanted so much more out of life, so since I was late in rescuing your world, I figured this could be my repayment for your help."
Firehair stared at him, 'If he had this kind of power, why wasn't he going after the stones himself?'
Firehair stepped back as Harry's wings folded out from his back, "I will draw Johan Schmidt's attention; while I do that, I want you to sneak into his complex to absorb the universe's core."
Staring at him for a long moment, Firehair followed him as he lifted into the air. Together, they shot off into the distance.
As they flew, Firehair kept glancing at him.
Harry caught her eye and raised a white eyebrow, "What is it?"
Firehair fixed her gaze ahead, her dark red locks flowing out behind her like a bloody wave.
"I don't understand. Most men I've known would try to claim the power for themselves. Why are you different?"
"I already have power. As I was resurrected, I had an epiphany that my place in life was to create, and if you are willing to help me, you, Gaia, and I will create something the universe has never seen."
Tension filled Firehair's shoulders as a Black Mountain fashioned into a skull appeared.
Red light shone from the empty eye sockets and between the spaces of the teeth, highlighting the people meandering around below in desperate search of food.
They stopped a mile from the mountain, and Harry turned to face Firehair, "Are you ready?"
Firehair stared at the mountain. Images of a red-faced man in black armor tearing through her friends flashed through her mind. The infinity stones burned bright within the armor, their colors growing more radiant with each death.
Shaking her head, a fire lit in Firehair's pupils; she released a slow breath, "I'm ready," she turned to Harry, "Are you sure you can take him?"
"If I could take him anywhere, it would be this universe. Can you sense the heart of the universe?"
Firehair closed her eyes, reaching out with her mind; she probed the mountain.
Instantly, she sensed a cosmic power like nothing she had ever felt before burning behind the skull mountain's forehead, "I found it."
Suddenly, a presence obscured her senses as it pushed into her mind. A red face appeared in her mind, a smile stretching its skin, showing off white teeth as insanity burned in brown eyes.
Firehair gasped, her eyes flying open, and she flew back, "He's coming!"
"You better go then."
Nodding, Firehair flew toward the mountain, Harry following close behind her as he prepared to intercept Johan when he came to meet them.
Shame burned within her at her relief from not fighting the man again, but he had already killed her once. He had made her seem insignificant; a shudder ran down her spine. She didn't ever want to feel that again.
Suddenly, the air before them shimmered. In a pop of displaced air, Johan Schmidt, also known as the red skull, appeared before them in his black armor. A deranged smile spread across his Crimson face, and oval-shaped holes in his armor glowed with rainbow-colored light.
"Phoenix," he said, floating forward, his arms folded behind his back, "I thought I killed you." He shook his head, "No matter, I can do it again; I've been so bored since I conquered the universe."
Firehair stared at her killer, her heart feeling like it would explode from her chest.
"I think it's time for you to go," Harry waved his hand, and Firehair vanished in a flash of blue-white light. Moving to Firehair's position, Harry mimicked Johan's stance, folding his arms behind his back.
Johan tilted his head to the side, "I don't know you. Who are you?" A yellow light flashed in Johan's eyes, and pressure built in Harry's forehead.
With a grunt, Harry pushed the probe away.
Johan's eyes widened, and he clapped his hands excitedly, "Oh, this will be fun; no one's ever pushed away a probe from the mine stone before."
Inhaling deeply, Harry pulled the black fog swirling around them into his body; his wings flared brightly, burning like two suns as he converted the miasma to power.
Locking eyes with Johan, Harry lashed out with his probe, surprised to find very little mental defense in the man's mind.
–XX –
Harry appeared in the white hallway of a hospital, a woman's screams ringing in his ears. Pushing off the wall, Harry peaked into the room.
Three people sat in the room.
Herman Schmidt, father of Johan, was 5'6" tall, with short light brown hair, brown eyes, and pale skin with a slight yellowish tinge. The whites of his eyes were red as he clung to his wife's hand while she screamed., giving birth to their first child.
Knowledge flowed into Harry's mind; the year was 1899, the day Johan Schmidt was born.
A scream drew Harry's attention to Martha Schmidt. She was 5'1" tall, with brown eyes and red hair. Her face was red with strain, and Harry could make out slight scars littering her body.
Harry's eyes narrowed at the sight of the woman, his gaze flicking between Herman and Martha. Either the woman was accident-prone, or her husband had other vices besides drinking.
The blurred image of a bald Doctor sat between Martha's legs, "All right, Mrs. Schmidt, one more push and you can meet your baby."
A strangled scream was ripped from Martha as she ground her teeth together and pushed.
Martha fell back on the bed, her head lolling to one side as a child's scream rent the air.
"Martha," Herman screamed, shaking his wife's shoulders, "Martha, please!"
The doctor rose to his feet; the baby cradled in his arms.
Herman spun, "You," he spat, his eyes full of rage as he pointed an accusatory finger at the Doctor. "This is your fault," his gaze flicked to the baby, "this is both your faults."
With a scream of rage, Herman charged the doctor; his child still cradled in his arms.
The image blurred, and when it solidified again, Harry saw Herman's body swinging from a makeshift news at the foot of his wife's bed.
Harry turned away as the doctor stood in the doorway, his mouth open in shock as a baby Johan screamed in his arms.
The scene blurred and events past as knowledge flowed into Harry's mind. The doctor, whom he still didn't know the name of, took Johan to an orphanage.
Years passed, and seven-year-old Johan Schmidt ran from the orphanage, his 5'0" frame effortlessly weaving through crowds of people.
The image blurred again as context flowed into Harry's mind.
Johan fled from the orphanage at seven. For the next several years, he did odd jobs around the city to make enough to eat.
However, over time, he tired of working for pennies and began spending time in prison for theft.
At 19, he caught a break, and a Jewish shop owner took pity on him.
He met the shop owner's daughter, Esther, there, the only person ever to be kind to him. One day, he confessed his feelings while trying to kiss her, but she pushed him away.
In a rage, Johan killed her and fled from his village, reveling in the feeling of his first murder. In killing Esther, Johan vented his anger at the world, which had been building up through most of his life.
Time passed, and Johan found a job at a hotel.
The Third Reich began to rise, but Johan ignored it until one day, Adolf Hitler, leader of the movement, stayed at his hotel. Once he heard Hitler's voice, he knew he was a man to follow.
Time blurred, and Harry watched Johan commit horrible acts in the name of Hitler's movement; he was riding high. He finally found a purpose in his life, but it all came crashing down when the war ended, and Hitler committed suicide instead of being caught.
Desperate to find a purpose again, Johan journeyed into the world's dark corners and began studying the occult, hoping to find a way to return his master to life. Unfortunately, during the first ritual to commune with the dad, something went wrong and burned the skin from Johan's face, leaving him with his iconic skull.
Driven insane by the experience, and now with disgruntled spirits clinging to his body, whispering secrets that only the dead knew, Johan traveled the world, becoming the foremost expert in dark arts.
Sticking to the shadows, Johan allowed the spirits to guide him. They led him to dark knowledge long forgotten, and with each spell he learned and ritual he performed, a little more of his sanity was chipped away as he grew faster and stronger.
Time and time again, heroes of the age stopped him.
One day, after being defeated by Capt. America, a.k.a. Steve Rogers, Johan was approached by a man in a suit made of human skin. He introduced himself as Dr. Doom and told Johan that he could give him his heart's desire if he would help him with the project.
Intrigued by the magic emanating from the man, Johan agreed.
The image changed, and Harry found himself in Firehair's world. He watched as they killed the Stone Age Avengers.
Unbeknownst to Dr. Doom, when they arrived in that world, Johan set up a ritual. As the Stone Age Avengers died, streamers of energy flowed into Johan, lifting him off the ground and turning his eyes solid black.
With the power of Odin, an immortal Dragon, a prehistoric spirit of vengeance, and in early mutant Johan Schmidt attacked Victor Von Doom. Black energy billowed from his hands, coalescing into a sword. Gripping it with two hands, he struck.
Energy washed across the world as the black sword met the armor of tanned human skin. Thousands died within the first clash, and with their deaths, Johan grew stronger.
The sun moved across the sky, turning day into night as they fought. Harry watched the two fight.
Eventually, this version of Victor Von Doom fell. Johan absorbed his soul, taking his magical power and knowledge for himself.
After the fall of Doom, Johan stripped him of his flesh armor.
At his touch, the armor calcified and turned black.
With the absorption of Dr. Doom's powers, Johan produced an aura that swept across the world, tainting life.
With Doom's knowledge, Johan learned of the existence of the infinity stones and the universe's heart.
Harry watched as Johan took to the stars and used his newfound power to collect the stones. Each stone he collected merged into his armor. When he finally gathered the universe's heart, a massive star-sized ball of Golden energy, he returned to Earth and constructed the mountain Harry floated before.
However, with Johan's fractured mind, he no longer remembers his purpose, so he sits, the god of a dead world, waiting for someone to challenge him.
–XX –
Blinking, Harry returned to reality. Slowly, he looked around him, taking in the black mist obscuring the ground and the emaciated people struggling to survive.
"All of this happened because one man was trying to find purpose," he shook his head, "a purpose he no longer remembers."
Suddenly, Johan appeared before him, a dark purple, almost black energy hammer coalescing in his left hand. With a roar, he swung down.
Blue-white power flared from Harry's hand as he caught the head of the hammer.
A boom echoed through the air, sending a shudder through the earth.
Mountains cracked, and people screamed as rubble fell from above.
Through it all, Johan Schmidt laughed, insanity burning in his coal black eyes, "Finally, I have a purpose, finally, someone new to kill."
Forcing the hammer back, Harry drew his right arm back, concentrating the power he had been purifying.
By viewing Johan's memories, he understood what this mist was, the remnants of the dead, and he was now purifying the souls, giving them a chance to strike back against the man who took away their destinies.
Throwing his fist forward, he watched as pale white energy exploded from it, morphing into a skull that bit down on Johan's torso.
The red-faced man laughed and screamed simultaneously before flicking his hand.
An orange oval flared in his armor, and the white energy was sucked inside.
Harry floated back, a hand gripping his head at the psychic backlash of fear and desperation.
Harry circled Johan, thinking over their brief fight.
'He's not using the infinity stones to their full potential. Is his mind too broken to understand the power he now wields? My best bet is to get the infinity stones away from him,' he glanced at the armor, 'but the infinity stones aren't in the armor; he's channeling them from somewhere else.'
His eyes flicked to the skull mountain, remembering the energy source he felt within. 'Well, I planned for Phoenix to get the infinity stones and the universe's heart. I just didn't expect them to be in the same place.'
"Is this it, Johan," Harry looked around him, "a world in ruins. Is this what your furor wanted to create?" He shook his head. "If it is, it's a good thing he lost," a smile spread across Harry's face. "or will you just too incompetent to do the job right?"
The world seemed to still as sanity returned to Johan's eyes for the first time in years.
"Don't you dare insult the furor," he screamed, spittle flying from his mouth, "his dream was glorious; he would've created a perfect world."
"A perfect world cannot be built on innocent blood brought about by murderers, psychopaths, and rapists."
"You know not what you speak of."
"Oh really, didn't you kill the first girl ever to be kind to you because she rejected your advances," Harry held up a hand, "and before you say anything else, I know you enjoyed it. How could a perfect world be created if an Army has soldiers like you?"
Johan screamed as he flew toward Harry, and a smile spread across the white-haired man's face.
While the red skull he knew was cunning, this child of a man was too insane to do anything but give into his rage, but at least now he was sufficiently distracted.
It was now up to Firehair and Gaia to complete their task.