AN: Hey everyone, we're here for the last of the 5-chapter sample. Hope everyone has enjoyed this little five-day-long gift. And I hope everyone enjoys this chapter in particular.
Chapter 5: Assemble
Ronan the Accuser closely examined the unfamiliar foe in front of him. He already despised this man with every fiber of his being. His demeanor, his words, everything about him, made Ronan wish to forget all sense of decorum and just turn his head into mush with his warhammer.
"Where'd all that bravado go, big guy?" Dante asked. "If you want to make me bow to your laws, you're not going to do it standing there."
Ronan gripped his warhammer tightly. "Never forget you chose this fate. Feel the judgment of an Accuser!"
Ronan sprinted towards Dante. Dante cracked his neck. He chuckled in anticipation.
"This is gonna be fun." He proclaimed before holding Devil Sword Dante out in front of him to block Ronan's warhammer. The impact created a loud boom that caught the attention of everyone else. Dante stepped back and spun around, swinging Devil Sword Dante at Ronan. Ronan quickly blocked the swing with the staff of the warhammer. However, the impact still sent Ronan sliding across his feet a few feet away. Dante then sprinted towards Ronan and went on the offensive.
"Yahoo!" Dante yelled, stepping up to Ronan and stabbing at him with Devil Sword Dante. Ronan blocked each stab with his warhammer. Dante then whipped out Ebony and fired a bullet straight at Ronan's temple. "Made ya look!"
Ronan held up his arm and took the bullet. He winced from the power behind the single shot. Dante sheathed Ebony and then threw Devil Sword Dante into that hand. Ronan's eyes instinctively followed Devil Sword Dante, only for Dante to pull out Ivory and fire a bullet right into Ronan's knee. Ronan grunted in pain before recovering to swing his hammer once more. This time, the hammer connected, striking Dante in his arm. Dante winced as the bones in his arm shattered. He dropped Devil Sword Dante briefly, only to kick it back into the air. The reckless flailing of Devil Sword Dante as it flew upwards forced Ronan to step back. Dante fired bullets from Ivory that Ronan blocked by twirling his warhammer. Dante then leapt into the air, continuing to fire bullets from Ivory as he jumped over Ronan.
When he landed, Ronan immediately spun around to defend himself, only for Dante to once again catch him off guard with an unexpected attack. Dante actually slapped Ronan with his broken arm.
What? Ronan could only think in disbelief as Kree blood actually flew from his mouth .
"I call that bitchslap the Nero Special." Dante taunted before throwing a kick right into Ronan's stomach, knocking the big man off his feet. At that moment, Devil Sword Dante began to fall back towards the ground. Ronan regained his footing just as Dante sheathed Ivory and caught Devil Sword Dante. Then, after catching Devil Sword Dante, he then showed his healed arm by putting up a very rude gesture with a certain finger. Ronan bristled with rage at the sight. He may have been an alien, but he was quite familiar with that Earth custom.
"Cretin," Ronan snarled.
"I've been called worse." Dante shrugged.
Ronan roared with anger and went on the offensive, swinging his warhammer at Dante. Dante laughed in delight and almost hopped around like a rabbit, avoiding each swing.
"Stand still, you insect!" Ronan yelled.
"You know, for a guy who acts like he's the judge, jury and executioner, you are really bad at executing things." Dante taunted.
Then, much to Ronan's shock, after avoiding another swing that actually created a massive crater upon impact, Dante leapt onto the hammer, standing on his toes. He then gave a playful wink at Ronan. Ronan's anger soon had no emotions added to the mix: bewilderment, disbelief, fear.
"What are you?" Ronan demanded.
"Just a Demon Hunter back from Hell," Dante replied, "and since there are no demons in sight, I'm checking other stuff off my bucket list: like beat up aliens."
Ronan roared with rage and pulled his warhammer back up. Dante laughed and leapt off the warhammer. He tossed Devil Sword Dante upwards once more and pulled out both Ebony and Ivory. Dante fired at Ronan, who once again twirled his warhammer and blocked the bullets. Dante landed, sheathed both pistols, and grabbed Devil Sword Dante out of the air.
"Accursed Demon Hunter!" Ronan yelled.
Dante grinned and rushed Ronan once more. "Come on!" He yelled, swinging Devil Sword Dante at Ronan. Ronan's eyes widened when he realized Dante's attacks were getting faster and faster.
It was at that moment, the remaining Kree soldiers, along with Spider-Man, Captain America, and Mike Haggar, were pausing in their own battles to watch as Dante began to overwhelm Ronan with pure speed and skill.
"Absurd!" Ronan's staff officer yelled. "An Accuser of the Kree Empire being pressured like this? It's impossible!"
"We've got 'em talking, Ronan!" Dante noted. "Let's give 'em even more to talk about! And let's make it stylish!"
Dante then began stabbing with Devil Sword Dante at such speeds, the blade became a blur. Ronan tried to block each swing, only to find himself being given stab wounds in multiple places from Dante's rapid movements. Dante then stepped forward and kicked the warhammer with such force that it actually flew out of Ronan's hands. Before Ronan could even comprehend losing his weapon, Dante slashed him across the stomach with Devil Sword Dante before kicking him in the stomach, right where his open wound was. Ronan grunted in pain as he was knocked off his feet yet again. Dante then planted Devil Sword Dante in the ground and drew both Ebony and Ivory. Demonic energy gathered at the barrels of both guns, both of which were aimed directly at Ronan.
"Jackpot!" Dante exclaimed, before firing two bullets infused with demonic energy that collided with Ronan's body, exploding upon impact. Ronan yelled in pain as the final blow knocked him flat on his back.
"Accuser!" The Kree soldiers yelled in horror.
Cap's eyes were wide in disbelief. The last time Ronan came to Earth with Kree soldiers, it took all the Avengers to drive him off. The only reason they avoided any casualties was because Hulk had basically ripped apart Ronan's force singlehandedly while the rest of the Avengers took on Ronan. Then, once the Hulk was able to focus on Ronan, it was over. But Dante not only fought his way through a portion of Ronan's army on his own, but then he took on Ronan one on one and won convincingly.
"Spider-Man…you said this man is a Demon Hunter?" Cap asked him.
"Yeah," Spidey nodded.
"A what, now?" Mike asked incredulously.
Cap hummed at this confirmation. "I feel bad for the demons," he muttered to himself.
"Staff Officer Kur-bi!" A Kree soldier suddenly yelled at Ronan's staff officer. "We've spotted other Metahumans approaching! With the Accuser down, we must retreat!"
The Staff Officer growled in frustration. "All forces, retreat!" He yelled. "Make sure to grab the Accuser!"
The soldiers immediately began to take flight. Two grabbed onto Ronan and with effort, managed to fly away. Dante waved goodbye to them all with a big, victorious grin on his face.
"Come back any time, fellas!" He yelled. "I'm always up for some more ass-kicking!"
"I can't believe we actually pulled it off." Spider-Man muttered under his breath. "We took on a Kree army and won."
"Something to be said about courage in the face of insurmountable odds, eh, Spider-Man?" Cap smiled at him.
"Damn straight!" Mike gave Cap a thumbs up.
"Still, I wonder which metahumans were coming by to make them retreat." Spidey muttered while the Kree returned to their ship.
At that moment a fireball shot through to the sky before coming to a stop. Spidey's eyes widened, immediately knowing who it was. He gave a hearty laugh of relief.
"Oh man, they were definitely screwed if they stayed here." Spidey noted.
"Spider-Man!" Everyone turned to see a blonde woman in a tight blue outfit with the number 4 on it.
"Hey Sue!" Spider-Man greeted the woman happily.
"The evacuation is finished then?" Cap inquired.
"Daredevil stayed behind to mop up any muggers who were trying to take advantage of things." Invisible Woman replied. She then spoke into an earpiece. "Johnny nevermind them. They're retreating."
At that moment, the fireball returned to the ground, revealing it was actually a human man coated in flames. The flames then disappeared, revealing a young blonde man who was grinning at Spider-Man.
"Heya, Spidey!" Johnny Storm, AKA the Human Torch, greeted his pal, raising his hand in the air.
"Hey yourself Johnny!" Spidey happily hi-fived his good pal in the superhero community.
"You got here quickly, Johnny." Invisible Woman praised. Her expression then turned worried. "You didn't push yourself too hard, did you?"
"I had no choice," Human Torch admitted, "I mean, I was in San Francisco. I'm just proud that I beat Ben here."
"He's probably not too far behind though." Invisible Woman pointed out. "I'm just glad we were able to avoid any civilian casualties. I was worried when we couldn't get into contact with Fury or anyone else at SHIELD. Whatever happened to our two universes must've messed up communications. Reed's confident that won't be the case forever though."
"You have an idea about what the hell's going on here, ma'am?" Mike Haggar cut in. "Because I'd love to be able to reassure my voters."
"I'm sorry, who are you?" Invisible Woman asked perplexed.
"He's the mayor of the new city next door." Spidey introduced Mike like it was completely normal.
"I'm Mike Haggar, nice to meet you." Mike gave her a big smile. "But you can call me Mr. Mayor…just kidding."
"Mr. Mayor…er…Mike, are you aware you just threw yourself into an alien invasion?" Invisible Woman asked in bewilderment.
"Of course I'm aware. I saw the spaceship from city hall back in Metro City." Mike replied. "I wasn't just going to stand by and do nothing. I've got a duty to my constituents."
"And that duty is elbow-dropping aliens?" The Human Torch asked curiously.
"Damn straight it is!" Mike said proudly. "If it's for the people, I'll do anything. That's what being mayor's all about!"
Invisible Woman and Human Torch looked at Mike in awe for a moment before Human Torch clapped him on the back. "Well, damn, you've got my vote." He grinned.
"So, backup's finally arrived huh?" Everyone turned to see Dante approaching them with a big grin on his face. "Better late than never, yeah?"
"And you are?" Invisible Woman raised an eyebrow at the man's behavior. He was like an older version of her brother, and that made her worry for Johnny's future.
"Dante, demon-hunter-extraordinaire at your service, milady." Dante bowed, eyes briefly drifting to Invisible Woman's body, appreciating how that supersuit hugged all her curves.
"Well, first let me just say I'm grateful for both of your help." Invisible Woman told both Mike and Dante. "The Kree Empire is nothing to scoff at. The fact that the four of you drove them off is an incredible accomplishment."
"Honestly, Dante deserves most of the credit. You should've seen him take on Ronan, Sue, it was crazy." Spidey admitted.
"That is impressive," Invisible Woman admitted, "but as far as what's happening at large goes, I honestly don't have an answer yet. My husband, Reed, says he's close to a few theories though."
The Invisible Woman's earpiece then picked up her husband's voice. "Excuse me for a moment." She said politely before walking away.
"Married huh?" Dante muttered when Invisible Woman was out of earshot. "Bummer."
"Hey," Human Torch growled, visibly upset that Dante was making eyes at his sister.
Invisible Woman then turned back to the group and addressed Captain America. "Captain, could you please tune your communicator to the channel Reed and Tony designed for all willing metahumans?" She requested.
Cap knew what she was talking about. Once the superheroes of Earth started uniting and working together more often, Reed Richards and Tony Stark designed a communication system with a private channel for metahumans to communicate with each other in times of crisis. SHIELD actually assisted in designing the system on the condition that Nick Fury could put out a call as well in times of crisis. He quickly turned his communicator to the proper channel. Within seconds, he heard the voice of Reed Richards, AKA, Mister Fantastic.
"This is a message to all metahumans," began Mister Fantastic, "as I'm sure you're aware, we are facing an unheard of crisis right now. One that has changed the very fabric of our universe. If you have come into contact with someone you suspect to not belong here, please come to the Baxter Building with them. If you wish to help work towards a solution and solve this mystery, that is another reason to come to the Baxter Building. I will be playing this message on repeat for the next few days. If you are out of contact and only hear this after the meeting, please reach out to me and I will tell you everything I've learned. But for those of you who hear it now, I must insist you come to the Baxter Building and bring whomever you've met if you have."
When the message began repeating itself, Cap turned off his communicator. He addressed Invisible Woman.
"It looks like Dr. Richards is making progress." He noted.
"That's my brother-in-law for ya." Human Torch chuckled.
"I apologize, Mike, but I think Reed meant people like you when he said people who don't belong here." Invisible Woman explained.
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Mike demanded.
"What she means, Mr. Mayor," Cap chimed in, "is that none of us have heard of Metro City until today."
Invisible Woman nodded. "Reed suspects that something has happened to our universe. And considering you're here, that means something has happened to your universe as well." She explained. "I think he wants people like you brought here to sate his curiosity. But also to learn about the changes our universe has undergone."
Mike grumbled. "All that went right over my head, ma'am." He admitted. "But, if this is something that'll help the people, I'm all for it."
"Shouldn't you get back to your city?" Spidey asked. "I mean, you are the mayor."
"I've got a deputy mayor I can delegate to." Mike admitted. "I may be just one man, but if there's evil threatening the world, I've gotta do my part. After all, Metro City's part of the world."
"Looks like you're stuck with me too, Spidey." Dante grinned, patting his new friend on the shoulder. "After all, it's pretty clear I'm not from your universe either…nor are you from mine. I've never heard of any of you guys or your pals the Kree until today."
"We'd be most appreciative of you both accompanying us." Invisible Woman admitted. "The more faces we can get, the more data my husband can collect, and that can provide us insight into what is the cause of all this."
At that moment, Sue's communicator took her attention again.
"Susie, it's me," came the voice of Ben Grimm, AKA the Thing, "looks like you wrapped things up."
"Ben, could you pick us up at my location? The jet can fit six more, right?"
"It'd be a tight squeeze, but yeah." Thing replied. "I see you now, hang tight."
A few seconds later, a high-tech jet appeared before the group. Piloting it was a large man made of rock. Spidey immediately leapt onto the jet to greet the Thing.
"Hey, Ben," he greeted, "how's my favorite pile of rocks doing?"
"Good to see ya too, Webhead." Thing replied, surprisingly tolerant of being reminded of the condition he hated. "I'll admit, I'd have rather stayed in Dallas to see if I could catch a Cowboys game, but duty calls."
With that, the rest of the group boarded the jet. The Thing then changed course to the Baxter Building. It was time to get answers from the smartest man in the world. Everyone just hoped he did have answers.
Minutes later, the group was at the Baxter Building. Dante immediately whistled in appreciation at the sight.
"Sweet digs." He praised the building. "I'm jealous."
The Thing quickly landed the ship on the Baxter Building's rooftop. Everyone quickly disembarked. Moments later, a face familiar to everyone except for Dante and Mike appeared from a door.
"Darling," Mister Fantastic immediately moved to embrace his wife, "thank goodness. I'm sorry I didn't join you out there."
"You were better served in mission control and research, Reed. We both knew you were more effective here." Invisible Woman assured him.
"You were worried about her instead of us?" Human Torch frowned.
"Ya stinkin' egghead!" The Thing yelled. "We're the ones who ended up scattered across America!"
Mister Fantastic laughed nervously, stretching his arms to pat his best friends on their shoulders. "Of course, I'm relieved that the two of you are okay as well." He then turned to Spider-Man and Captain America. "Spidey, Captain, I'm glad to see you both as well. Getting into contact with people has been difficult. I still haven't been able to reach Fury, or the main SHIELD Helicarrier for that matter."
"Wow, someone willingly reaching out to Nick Fury. We really must be in a bad way." Spidey sarcastically noted.
Mister Fantastic then took note of Dante and Mike Haggar. His expression turned excited upon seeing them, like a kid who knew he was about to get a bike for Christmas.
"Ah, excellent!" He immediately stretched his neck forward to closely examine the two men. Both of whom immediately flinched at the invasion of personal space. "You two must be some of the particular individuals I requested my allies bring if they've met some. My name is Reed Richards."
Mike and Dante both introduced themselves. Mister Fantastic grew even more excited from their introductions.
"Spectacular, a mayor from a city I've never heard of and a Demon Hunter." Then his expression became worried. "I suppose that confirms my greatest concern though. With the two of you, that makes three people from a different universe I've met today. This is not good. Not good at all."
"Three?" Human Torch raised an eyebrow.
"I suggest you all follow me. We'll wait for anyone else who has gotten my message. But we do have a lot to talk about. And I must warn you all, it's quite serious." Mister Fantastic then turned back to Dante and Mike. "Though I must insist you two consent to a few tests later. I really must take advantage of this chance to study two individuals from a different universe."
Dante and Mike both looked visibly uncomfortable at that. Mister Fantastic turned to lead the group inside of the building. However, as soon as he did so, Thing pointed upwards.
"Hey Reed, check it out, it's a Quinjet and the Blackbird!" He exclaimed.
"Good timing," Mister Fantastic sighed with relief as the aircrafts landed next to their jet.
At that moment, several individuals departed from both the Quinjet and the Blackbird. Several of whom the superheroes recognized.
"Colonel Rhodes, Dr. Banner." Mister Fantastic greeted War Machine and Bruce Banner. "Good to see you two again."
"We got your message and had the Quinjet change course." War Machine told him. "You're lucky we were already on our way to Avengers Tower, Dr. Richards."
The Thing briefly glared at Bruce due to his longstanding feud with Bruce's more…violent side. Mister Fantastic turned his attention to the unrecognized individuals flanking them.
"And they are?" He asked curiously.
"This is Strider Hiryu, Chun Li, and Li Fen." Banner introduced.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Richards." Chun Li bowed politely. "Dr. Banner speaks highly of your intellect."
At that moment, the last passenger departed the Blackbird. Chun Li gasped, recognizing him.
"Ryu!" She exclaimed happily.
Ryu smiled at the familiar face. "Chun Li," he said with relief, "glad to finally run into someone I know."
Wolverine, meanwhile, addressed Mister Fantastic, flanked by Gambit and Arthur. "Chuck wanted to come, but he was more worried about where several of the X-Men disappeared off to. So he stayed at the mansion to try and find them. As for the Cajun and me, It turns out, we were right next door to jolly old London all along. Made getting back to New York easy."
"How's it hanging, Wolverine?" Spider-Man greeted his friend. "Haven't seen you in awhile."
Wolverine briefly scowled at Spider-Man before allowing a hint of a smile to fall on his face. For him, it was just good to run into another familiar face. Especially one that he did not want to stab.
"I'm getting dragged into another weird crisis, Webhead." He pointed out. "How the hell do you think I'm doing?"
Arthur, for his part, looked around in fascination. "To think that such a world lay outside my land!" He exclaimed.
"Oh, yeah, you wanted strange people, right Doc?" Wolverine gestured to Arthur. "This is Artie…the outfit's not for show. He's actually a knight."
Mister Fantastic briefly examined Arthur, who did not notice due to still being fascinated by the modern world. Wolverine then pointed at Ryu, who was catching up with Chun Li.
"And the karate guy there is Ryu." Wolverine told him. "He's good. Really good."
Everyone present was then drawn to bright, rainbow-colored lights that shone onto the roof of the Baxter Building. The light then cleared, revealing even more familiar faces to the bunch.
"Thor!" Cap smiled at his fellow Avenger. "It's good to see you, old friend."
"Likewise, good captain. Though I must admit, tis an unexpected reunion. Truth be told, I had only meant to speak with Dr. Richards about the strange going-ons in Midgard." Thor explained. "And to bring these mortals back to their realm as well."
Wolverine growled slightly at the sight of Cyclops. Cyclops did his best to ignore him and simply focused on Gambit.
"Good to see you're okay." Cyclops told him.
"Of course I am," Gambit grinned, "no one axes Gambit."
"And according to the Allfather, my new friends here are from a different universe as well." Thor noted, gesturing to the two childish robots behind him. "This is Mega Man and Roll."
"It looks like things are going as you hoped, Reed." Invisible Woman noted.
"It only confirms what I feared." Mister Fantastic admitted. He then clapped his hands together, getting everyone's attention. "There is much to discuss, so let's all go inside."
With that, the large group finally entered the inside of the Baxter Building. They made their way to the meeting room, where the 4 usually discussed superhero-related matters. Upon entering, however, they were immediately greeted by a portal appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Then, much to the relief of several, a familiar face in a suit of Iron Man stepped out.
"Tony!" War Machine exclaimed.
"Aww, were you worried about me, Rhodey?" Iron Man chuckled. "As you can see I'm no worse for wear. And thanks to the good folks of Kamar-Taj, I'm back in the states. And I brought friends."
First, a face familiar to the X-Men stepped out. "It's Storm!" Gambit said with a relieved grin on his face.
"My friends," Storm smiled, "it is a relief to see you all well."
"Likewise, Storm." Cyclops smiled back as he gave his good friend a hug.
Next, the hulking body of Zangief stepped through the portal with a fascinated expression on his face. It was a look of childlike wonder that did not fit his big body at all.
"So there is such thing as magic." He noted in amazement.
"Zangief?" Chun Li was shocked to see another World Warrior.
"Ah, Chun Li and Ryu, thank goodness." Zangief smiled. They were not friends, but having competed in the same tournaments on multiple occasions, they were at least familiar with each other. "I was beginning to worry I wasn't going to see any familiar faces today."
"My, my, a lot of people here." Morrigan Aensland noted as she entered after Zangief, the portal closing behind her. "So, when do we all start getting naked?"
"Excuse me?" Chun Li was horrified this…monster would say that in the vicinity of a child. Morrigan looked at Chun Li. Then she looked at Li Fen, who appeared to be a mixture of scared and fascinated. She then coughed awkwardly.
"Ah, forgive me, clearly it's not that kind of party if a child is here." She noted.
"I literally told you why we were coming here." Iron Man reminded her in exasperation before turning to Mister Fantastic. "I got your message, Reed. Unfortunately, Strange isn't joining us. His pal Wong says he's on an excursion to the Dark Dimension doing a little bit of investigating of his own."
"It's fine," Mister Fantastic promised, "I must admit, this is a bigger group than I expected. However, the fact you've all brought so many diverse individuals who are clearly not of our universe is…concerning."
"You all might want to get comfortable. Reed tends to lose himself in scientific topics." Invisible Woman told everyone present, gesturing for them to sit on one of the many couches which adorned the meeting room.
Meanwhile, in space, Ronan the Accuser snarled in anger as Kree medical devices worked to patch his injuries. His mind flooded with thoughts of his vanquisher, Dante.
"Tell the bridge to send a message to the homeworld!" Ronan yelled to anyone who could hear him. "If they will not extradite Mar-vell to face the Kree's justice, then all of Earth must face Kree justice! And tell the men to regroup! This isn't over yet!"
No sooner had Ronan shouted that, the door to the medical bay opened, revealing Staff Officer Kur-bi.
"Accuser," he said, "the bridge is setting a course for the homeworld."
"What? Why? I gave no such order!" Ronan exclaimed.
"The Supreme Intelligence reached out to us directly, sir." Kur-bi said grimly, making Ronan shudder at the mention of the Kree Empire's supreme leader. "Their order is absolute. Not even you can defy their orders. They also wish to speak with you."
Ronan took a deep breath, calming down in an instant. "Please tell them I will be there to speak with them. The machines need a bit more time to finish first aid treatment."
"Please be quick about it, sir. You know the Supreme Intelligence waits for no one." With that, Kur-bi left the room.
Ronan shook with anger as the door closed. When he was certain one of the machines was done treating him, he roared with rage and smashed it with one blow. He could very well have just lost face with the Supreme Intelligence because of this. Earth will pay for this transgression. Ronan made that vow to himself right then and there.
Meanwhile, back on Earth, in the Baxter Building, everyone had gathered around Mister Fantastic, waiting with bated breath for him to start. Li Fen had been provided a juice box, courtesy of Invisible Woman. Mister Fantastic started pacing back and forth.
"First, let's start with the obvious. All you faces that I am unfamiliar with…you're all from a universe different from mine and my family and friends." Mister Fantastic said bluntly. "Somehow, our universes have merged together."
Mister Fantastic paused, letting that sink in. Spidey raised his hand.
"So then…multiverse theory, string theory, that's all true?" He asked.
"Likely some sort of variation that brings all the major theories together." Mister Fantastic replied instinctively.
"Whoa, whoa, hold up on the science talk, Doc." Mike spoke up.
"He's right man, you can't just drop a bomb like that and then start talking about the theories that make this possible." Dante pointed out.
"Right, sorry." Mister Fantastic took a deep breath.
"Even if it's true that you all look like you are from foreign lands, how could this have happened?" Arthur asked curiously.
"Several months ago, I discovered an alternate dimension called the Negative Zone." Mister Fantastic began. "And in doing so, we almost unleashed the two warlords who rule it on our earth, villains named Annihilus and Blastaar. Myself and the rest of the Fantastic 4 were able to escape and seal the Negative Zone with them inside, though I have always wanted to return to study it."
"And what does that have to do with what's happening now?" Cyclops asked curiously.
"A few months after that incident, I developed a device that would act as a sort of sensor that could pick up spatial disturbances such as a portal to the Negative Zone opening." Mister Fantastic replied. "I then paired the device with my monitor to constantly keep track of such a phenomenon. I didn't want us to get caught off guard."
"Reed asked me for help on that," Iron Man added, "I let him use a small Stark Industries satellite that could orbit the Earth and constantly analyze anything within range for spatial disturbances."
"Once I realized that we could properly track spatial disturbances, I found myself wondering if we could perhaps go even further." Mister Fantastic continued. "So, for the past month, I've been working on a device that would allow us to look not just into places such as the Negative Zone, but possibly beyond our universe. After all, if alternate dimensions within our own universe exist, there is a distinct possibility that alternate universes exist as well. Some that are so similar to ours that you can't tell the difference, others so vastly different they defy comprehension."
"How does someone come to that kind of conclusion?" Chun Li wondered.
"Apparently, you just have to be a loony egghead like Reed." The Thing replied.
"The hope was that we could monitor alternate universes for study and even travel to them, hence the reason I paired this device with the device I placed on the Stark Industry satellite." Mister Fantastic continued.
"Get to the point, Stretch." Wolverine said to him. Mister Fantastic took a deep breath. His expression turned grim.
"Right as things changed, the monitor started picking up disturbances. Spatial disturbances all across the planet. As though time and space was collapsing on a planetary scale. I had meant to try and pinpoint the cause to try and stop it before things got worse, but then there was a bright white light and then I was unconscious." Mister Fantastic revealed.
"Just like all of us!" Gambit realized.
Mister Fantastic nodded. "When I came to, the only people left in the Baxter Building were myself, Sue, and we later found the doctor who has since been assisting me just outside, lost and confused. Johnny was somehow taken to San Francisco, and Ben somehow ended up in Dallas."
"A lot of us ended up in different places too." Cap noted.
"My theory is that the spatial disturbances happening on a global scale displaced you all from your original geographic locations." Mister Fantastic explained to everyone. "The good news is, with things calm now, I don't expect it to happen again."
"Who is this doctor?" Cyclops asked curiously. The doors opened and a stocky man with a big white beard and a lab coat walked inside. He was flanked by a red, robotic dog.
"That would be me." Dr. Thomas Light replied. "Dr. and Mrs. Richards have both been very hospitable to me."
"Dr. Light! Rush!" Mega Man and Roll immediately ran up to their creator and adoptive father and pulled him into a tight embrace. Dr. Light saw his two beloved creations and hugged them as well. A relieved smile adorned his face.
"Oh thank goodness," he muttered, "when I regained consciousness and you two were nowhere near me, I was worried sick."
Briefly, everyone smiled at the touching reunion. Rush barked happily at the sight of Mega Man and Roll. Once Mega Man pulled away, he immediately tackled his partner and began giving him robo-dog kisses. Banner then got everyone back on track.
"Reed," he said, "this still doesn't explain anything. How could all of this have happened?"
Reed then took out a remote and clicked a button. Several large monitors came down and displayed what appeared to be seismograph charts.
"Cool, that explains everything." Dante sarcastically noted.
"These are the readings my device gave me at the exact moment everything happened." Mister Fantastic explained, ignoring Dante's comment. "Notice the spike of energy at the exact moment our two universes merged."
"Now, in a normal situation involving spatial or dimensional disturbances, a portal between dimensions or universes is opened and that allows travel between the two areas, like a door opening and staying open." Mister Fantastic continued. "If that were the case, the solution is simply finding the portal–or portals–and closing them all. That would be a simple task. That would be the best case scenario."
"That would be the best case scenario?" Ryu was flabbergasted.
Mister Fantastic nodded. "Unfortunately, the scenario we ended up in is far from the best possible case." He admitted before the monitors changed to reveal a single number and letter: 10^44 J.
"This was the energy reading of the spatial disturbance that merged our two universes." Mister Fantastic revealed to everyone. "This letter means joule. A Joule is a unit of energy."
"Then that number…" Chun Li trailed off, eyes slowly widening in realization and horror.
"It's the equivalent of the amount of energy released in a supernova." Iron Man revealed. "As in, the explosion of a star."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute," Gambit was flabbergasted, "you saying a star blew up here or something?"
"Not quite," Mister Fantastic shook his head, "it's more like…the equivalent of a supernova occurred because of the tremendous amount of energy that was needed to cause a spatial disruption of this magnitude."
Mister Fantastic took a deep breath before continuing. "As for what happened next…well, depending on the mass of the star, a black hole is created." He gave everyone a serious expression. "My theory is that the energy generated by this spatial disruption–or rather the energy required to generate such a spatial disruption–created a phenomenon similar to a black hole."
Everyone's eyes widened as Mister Fantastic presented his concluding thought. "And that phenomenon acted like a black hole and pulled our universes together, creating a completely new universe in the process."
Mister Fantastic let that sink in for a moment. There was silence, other than Li Fen absentmindedly sipping the juice box she had been provided. Wolverine was the first to break the silence. He was visibly annoyed.
"This is insane." He proclaimed. "There's just no way in hell."
"Proof's all around us, mon ami," Gambit told him, "I mean, we literally just left a land of zombies and monsters with a dwarf of a knight."
"He's right to be skeptical though." Iron Man admitted. "That level of energy should've blown up Earth. How the hell are we all still alive?"
"It's hard to say." Mister Fantastic admitted. "Whoever is responsible for this…well, the result seems almost like a one in a million–or even one in a billion–scenario. Whoever is responsible, I don't think even they could've predicted this."
"In the end," Dr. Light spoke up, "we may have to accept that it is a stroke of luck that we're all still alive and not the victims of two universes collapsing on themselves."
"God…" Ryu muttered under his breath. This was almost too much to take in.
"Two universes though, merging together?" Chun Li was still skeptical. "Our…universe doesn't have demon hunters or succubi or knights."
"It's likely your universe consists of multiple versions of Earth in different, parallel dimensions." Mister Fantastic speculated, pacing back and forth once more. "Perhaps you've all existed alongside each other all this time, without ever interacting. By all intents and purposes, that's how it should be, until now."
"It still seems impossible." Mike admitted.
Morrigan shrugged. "It's not entirely impossible. My realm recently dealt with an assimilation plot that involved resetting the universe and merging all souls into one single being." She admitted. "A rather dark plan, courtesy of Lord Jedah."
"Jedah?" Storm shivered at the sound of that name.
"One of the highest ranking nobles of Makai." Morrigan explained. "I have…history with him."
"You are from Makai as well, Lady Morrigan?" Thor was surprised. "Yes, I suppose I should've realized. I have been to your realm. It has attached itself to the World Tree"
"Ah, I hope you enjoyed the visit." Morrigan giggled. She then expanded on Jedah in a completely serious tone. "Jedah Dohma sought to reset the universe by merging all souls he deemed worthy into a singular being. I understand that the merging of two universes is strange to all of you, but I warn you now, it is not impossible."
"Do you think it's possible that this Jedah is responsible?" Cap asked.
Morrigan shrugged. "If Jedah were responsible, my realm would not be attached to your 'World Tree'." She explained. "Rather, our universes would've been destroyed, then reborn, then finally turned into something far more…hellish."
"Yeah something similar happened on my end." Dante spoke up. "There's this demonic tree that almost merged the Demon World with the Human World where I'm from. I traveled on a one way trip to the Underworld to prevent that from happening."
"Then merging universes isn't unheard of…fascinating." Mister Fantastic mused to himself.
"Can we maybe stop with the speculation?" Mike demanded. "I mean for crying out loud, we're debating if this is possible when the proof is in front of us. Instead, let's focus on how we're going to fix this!"
"I'm with Mayor Muscles here," Human Torch nodded, "come on, Reed, you've got to know how to put our two universes back the way they were. You're the smartest guy in the world!"
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, Johnny," Mister Fantastic sighed, "but unfortunately, this is one problem I don't have an answer for. If this truly was a one-in-a-billion phenomenon that even the perpetrator did not see coming, then putting things back the way they were is no small task."
"That being said, if we want any chance to solve this crisis, one thing is absolutely true." Mister Fantastic gave everyone a completely serious expression. "We need to find the one responsible."
Mister Fantastic let that statement sink in. However, before anyone could say anything else, an alarm suddenly went off in the building.
"What the blazes is that infernal noise?" Arthur exclaimed.
Dr. Light immediately ran out of the meeting room. Seconds later, the monitor changed to reveal his face.
"Thomas, what's wrong?" Mister Fantastic asked.
"Reed, your device is reacting to another spatial disturbance." Dr. Light replied.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Wolverine yelled. "You said that wasn't going to happen again!"
"I said we wouldn't be geographically displaced by the phenomenon." Mister Fantastic corrected Wolverine. "Thomas, what do the readings tell you?"
"They are nowhere near the numbers you showed, thankfully." Dr. Light's eyes widened. "Reed, I have a location."
"Where?" Mister Fantastic dreaded the answer.
"Here! The spatial disturbance is happening right outside the Baxter Building!"
AN: And with that, we end the sample on a cliff-hanger. Not my first choice, mind you, but what can you do. It happens. If you've enjoyed this sample, let me know in the reviews. I intend to continue working on New Order along with other projects in the near future. As a huge fan of the concept of Marvel vs. Capcom, this is something I want to keep going with. Also, I consider it an interesting challenge, considering the insanity of comic continuity. Hence the reason I said "screw it" and made my own continuity.
Hope everyone has enjoyed. Read, review, favorite and follow. I'll see you all next time.