Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Ultimate Marvel or anything else I reference.
Chapter 22: Path to New Worlds
(Clockwork's Lair, Ghost Zone)
"Clockwork." Danny called out as he walked through the lair.
"You do not have to shout." Clockwork said.
He found the Ghost of Time floating with his eyes closed.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Danny asked. "I have been wondering if you ever slept."
He planned on heading home and using the U.S.A.-Sweden time difference to enjoy some sleep before he went on his trip.
"I wasn't sleeping. I was looking at Oscorp security." Clockwork answered as he opened his eyes.
Before his eyes a hologram appeared showing the Oscorp building.
"Why?" Danny asked as he looked to the Ghost of Time.
So far, he has just been accepting the quests that Clockwork has given him. He figured that he should try and learn what Clockwork is scheming when he is not around.
"Fury is going to want a report soon on your actions regarding the Thunderbolts and so you need to give him something." Clockwork said. "I am trying to find a way for Cloak to place a listening device in Norman's office without being caught."
"How about you just write a list on the identities of the mutants that Osborn and the Hellfire Club are looking at currently and I hand that to Fury." Danny said.
"I looked into the possibility. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents get found out and Norman realizes that there is a mole." Clockwork said. "It gets all of the club members on their guard."
"Something that we don't want." Danny said. "Could you not create a large enough distraction that it takes all of their attention?"
"We could take Harry Osborn. That would get the attention of Norman. He would send his Thunderbolts to retrieve his son." Clockwork suggested. "There are people in the world of the living that have the skills needed for such an operation."
Danny was surprised to hear that and narrowed his eyes at Clockwork. It was time like this that Danny remembered that Clockwork moved without human morality. He looked for possibilities with happy endings, but he would traumatize people to reach them.
"Let's hold off on the kidnapping option and look to more subtle possibilities." Danny said.
"What idea are you thinking of?" Clockwork asked.
"How about we use your powers to have a bug planted back before Norman joined the Hellfire Club." Danny suggested. "You say the group made first contact recently so there should be plenty of time for a ghost to stick a listening device when Norman is not there. That way we gain information from the moment that he joined."
"Good idea." Clockwork said with a smirk.
He suddenly felt like the mouse that made it through the maze and got the piece of cheese. Was he being tested to see if he would allow Harry to be kidnapped for their own gain?
He shook his head and moved on.
"Alright then Clockwork I have helped Thor bring Asgard back. Where can I find what I am looking for?" Danny asked as he looked at the ghost of time.
"You will have to travel rather far to get what you seek." Clockwork answered.
"Are you talking about another country or another planet?" Danny asked.
"The answer to both of those questions is yes." Clockwork said as he waved his staff.
Danny watched as another one of Clockwork's screens floated in front of him and turned on.
The screen held the image of planet Earth.
"What does your metaphor mean?" Danny asked looking at the continents and trying to figure out the statement. "Am I going to be travelling backwards in time?"
"In a manner of speaking." Clockwork said. "You will be traveling to another timeline."
The screen started projecting images around him.
"What?" Danny asked as his eyes moved from image to image.
He could see groups that he knew but they looked different.
On one screen he could see The Ultimates. The team seemed to be formed of Tony, Steve, Clint, Thor, Natasha, someone he didn't recognize with wings, and most incredibly the Hulk. The second screen let him see a team made of Wolverine, Scott, Ororo, Hank, Nightcrawler, an older version of kitty and just as ridiculous as the Hulk Emma Frost fighting sentinels. The third screen showed Peter leading a team against a monstrous creature with black skin, angry white eyes, and tendrils that poured from its back. The fourth screen showed him a team made up of an adult Reed Richards, adult Susan Storm, adult Ben Grimm, and a robot. The last screen showed Tony, Hulk, and Thor but they looked like they were miniatures.
"These are different worlds?" Danny asked.
"Correct. The nature of my being allows me to observe and travel through various timelines where the slightest change can result in vastly different circumstances." Clockwork said.
"Not all of creation though." Danny said.
This was not the Clockwork that had made the deal with the alien that sent him to this universe.
"Correct. The timelines I can travel through are vastly limited compared to the number of universes out there but the possibilities in them are vast." Clockwork said.
"So, what kind of world are you planning on sending me to?" Danny asked. "Is it one of the ones that you showed me on the screen?"
"No." Clockwork said as the images on the screens turned blank. "These are just examples of the timelines that I have access to."
"The material that I want does not exist in this timeline?" Danny asked.
"The material that you would need does exist though the effort of obtaining them in this timeline would be more difficult." Clockwork said. "The material is currently on a planet being fought over by two alien empires."
"So, you went looking for a timeline where the material resides on earth." Danny said with understanding. "So where will I be going?"
"You will be heading to the Savage Land of Timeline U.P.-92131." Clockwork said.
The screens came together and projected the image of Antartica. It started zooming in to the portion of the continent hidden by clouds.
Danny narrowed his eyes at the land.
After Magneto's attack on the White House the government had had sent agents to survey Magneto's kingdom. The files described the land as a tropical paradise. A jewel in a land of ice and snow. A mystery that would take decades of research to uncover. The land's original inhabitants had been wiped out ages ago. Now mutants laid claim to the land and defended it from intruders.
According to the report dinosaurs roamed the land. Created by the Scarlet Witch's powers. They attacked those that were unfortunate enough to gain their attention.
It tempted him to go see the place just for that.
The image on the screens shifted showing a castle made of metal that is perched on a rocky plateau that is surrounded by a lake.
"Will I have to worry about Magneto in this timeline?" Danny asked.
"No. In this timeline Magneto has abandoned the Savage Land for his Asteroid." Clockwork said. "That does not mean the castle is abandoned. Sauron resides inside and attempts to gain dominion over the land."
"The villain from Lord of the Rings?" Danny asked as he tilted his head.
Kitty had recommended the trilogy for him to watch. She also advised him to read the books that the movies were based on.
"No. Sauron is the alternate personality of a man named Karl Lykos. He was captured from New York and brought to the Savage Land to be experimented on by a man named Nathaniel Essex." Clockwork began.
The screens projected an image of a man creepier than Vlad. His skin was a bleached white, his eyes burning red covered by black mascara, teeth sharpened to a point, and a red diamond on his forehead.
That was a face not even a mother could love.
"Mad scientist?" Danny asked.
"Yes. Nathaniel is a scientist that wants to create mutants that he believes are the peak of evolution. Combining multiple powers into single individuals. The individual's consent in his experiments is not a matter he concerns himself with." Clockwork said. "Karl Lykos was given the ability to absorb life energy. Now to continue living he must absorb energy from the living."
"The man is a monster." Danny said watching the man strapped to the table try to break free.
"Well Nathaniel has chosen to go by the name Mr. Sinister." Clockwork said.
"Really?" Danny asked feeling the urge to shake his head. "He just decided to throw all subtlety out of the window."
"Karl's bigger problem occurs when he absorbs mutant life energy. When exposed to their energy he transforms." Clockwork said.
The screens projected an image of Karl crouching on the ground and shifting his form. His skin began to turn green, he grew wings, and he grew a fin and tail.
"The pain of the first transformation caused Karl's sanity to crack. This personality has taken the identity of Sauron. He has used the abilities the transformation has granted to build his army."
"What abilities?" Danny asked.
"Beyond the ability to drain life the transformation has granted Sauron the additional abilities of flight, enhanced strength, enhanced durability, and the worst of all hypnosis." Clockwork said.
"So, the flying pterodactyl can control minds?" Danny asked.
"He can implant suggestions, create illusions, and dominate the wills of others." Clockwork said.
"That sounds bad, but I should be fine right?" Danny asked turning to the Ghost of Time. "Like Rogue he drains living energy but, in this form, I do not give off any."
"That will not stop his other abilities from affecting you." Clockwork said. "If his eyes make contact with your then he will be able to turn you into his slave."
"I thought that telepaths could not enter my mind?" Danny asked.
"In this timeline they cannot." Clockwork answered. "In that timeline mutants were created by another method and so the defense that you have here does not exist."
"How does that work then given that I am not from this timeline?" Danny asked.
"The ectoplasm that forms your body is close enough that it grants you the same protection." Clockwork answered.
So, he would have to be careful.
"We will come back to all of this later but is there anything else that I should be worried about?" Danny asked.
"Yes. Before Magneto left the Savage Land, he mutated many of its inhabitants into Mutates. Humans given superhuman powers. Like your friend Peter. They watch over the castle and guard it from rebels and those that desire Sauron's head." Clockwork said.
The screen displayed a group of people that just drew attention. Some had exaggerated features, some had extra limbs, and some had the appearance of animal-human hybrids.
It seems that timeline's Magneto had even worse issues than this one's if he thought mutating people into this was a good design.
"Do I need to go inside the castle?" Danny asked.
"Yes. The castle has important information stored inside." Clockwork said. "It will lead you to the place where you will find what you need. Your current plan will not work."
Those were words that he did not want to hear.
"What do you mean?" Danny asked.
"Dampening Jean Grey's powers will not stop what is coming." Clockwork said.
"What is coming?" Danny asked.
"The Phoenix." Clockwork said.
The screen showed Jean Grey in a huge pillar of fire with arms splayed out as if they were wings. There is a crazed grin on her face as she stared down what he assumed to be that timeline's x-men.
"Jean's issues aren't simple, are they?" Danny asked.
"The Phoenix force is an ancient power that has been buried in the earth for ages and Jean is not equipped to deal with it." Clockwork said. "In most timelines merging with that power does not tend to end well for Jean Grey."
So instead of a way to dampen her powers what he needed to do was find a way prevent the energy from entering her body.
"If I made it into the castle and found the computer, what information would I be looking for?" Danny asked.
"The location of the Nhu'Ghari Crystals. They were created when a radioactive portion of the Savage Land were blasted with mystical energy."
"What do these crystals do and are they safe to be around living people?" Danny asked.
No part of "radioactive crystals" blasted by mystical energy seemed to be a safe thing.
"Nathaniel discovered a way to process the crystals. He used them as a way to contain the X-men and use them for his experiments." Clockwork said. "He placed devices throughout the Savage Land that generated a field that negated their powers."
"What?" Danny asked with his eyes wide.
"Watch." Clockwork said shifting the screens.
Danny watched the screen as an older version of the X-men realized that they did not have their powers.
The team seemed to be formed by Scott, Ororo, Hank (who suffered the transformation as well), A very attractive Rogue, Wolverine, and someone he did not know.
"Rogue has superstrength in that timeline?" Danny asked.
"That is something she gained form holding on too long to another superheroine." Clockwork said.
That is something that Rogue told him she feared during her time at Weapon X. That one time she would hold on too long to someone.
"That can't have been good." Danny said.
"If you want to learn more you will have to search her out and talk to her." Clockwork said.
"Okay. Forgetting that for the moment this sort of technology could be something incredibly useful for this timeline. We know that The Hellfire club is creating villains to build an army. This technology could be a way for us to make sure that they do not break out of prison." Danny said.
He had read enough comics to know that eventually the criminals currently held in those super villain prisons would find a way out. It is just a matter of time. Not to mention all those whose powers have caused them anguish and pain.
Ben Grimm and Rogue were the first to come to his mind.
"You are letting your optimism take over. Beware of that and remember our position." Clockwork said as he pointed his staff at him.
"You have lost me." Danny said.
"You are thinking too short term. Your optimism blinds you to the darkness of such technology." Clockwork said. "If you share the technology to negate powers with this timeline it will not be long before those that exploit it begin to rise."
The screen shifted to show people wearing collars working at a dam. One of the mutants collared and walking in line with the others is Ororo.
"What is that?" Danny asked.
"In this timeline you are going Nathaniel sold the materials to the land of Genosha." Clockwork said. "The government then built collars to negate the mutant's powers. Now these mutants work as slaves. They allow them their powers when they need them but if they try to break free those collars are activated, and they are captured by the sentinels."
So those monsters existed in more than this timeline.
"What happened to them?" Danny asked as he watched Ororo held in the hand of a sentinel.
"The X-men broke that group free, but many are still collared." Clockwork answered.
Two screens split off from the group and shifted to show America in ruins. Both screens had people being placed in collars. One was by a sentinel and the other by a cyborg.
"Timeline U.P.-31393 and Timeline U.P.-8096 have taken it so far that mutants are rounded up and taken to concentrations camps to be collared." Clockwork said.
Hearing that caused Danny to clench his hands.
"People just let that happen?" Danny asked.
"In those timelines the Sentinels have taken over North America. The rest of the world is preparing to fight back in case they ever leave those borders." Clockwork said. "If you want to help mutants then help the Morlocks living in the sewers beneath New York."
"What?" Danny asked.
"The Morlocks are mutants that could not fit in with the people on the surface. They have chosen to live underground." Clockwork answered. "The point of showing you this is for you to realize there are many problems here you can focus on. Waging wars on other timelines is not beneficial to our current cause."
Still even hearing that did not cause him to change his mind. Even if the heroes of that timeline were stuck with rules and regulations that prevented taking action than he would. The moment that he went to another timeline he would try and help those people.
He had no doubt Clockwork knew that as well.
However, he had to move forwards.
"Will the field affect me when I land there?" Danny asked.
"The X-men destroyed that machine when they escaped from Nathaniel's cells." Clockwork said.
The screens displayed the X-men and Magneto going on a rampage through the castle.
"Nathaniel held backups of his research?" Danny asked.
Mad scientists are the paranoid type. The original Vlad kept backups of everything in case he ever needed to start over with his clone program.
"Nathaniel stored a computer in the base of the castle that contains information on his research." Clockwork said.
"I am ready to go." Danny said as he looked around for the portal that would take him to that timeline.
"I am not taking you to that timeline." Clockwork said.
"What?" Danny asked. "I went through all that trouble with Thor because I believed that you would help me."
"I will help." Clockwork said as he slammed his staff on the ground. "My help is giving you the technology that you will need to reach there on your own."
The screen came together and showed one of the empty rooms in his basement.
"What are in the boxes?" Danny asked as he looked at Clockwork.
"The first box contains the information and materials you will need to build the machine that will open a portal to Timeline U.P.- 92131 and bring you back." Clockwork said.
"The second box?" Danny asked.
"The second box contains a laptop and thumb drives improved by Technus. They contain information about the timeline that you are going to. It contains information about the heroes, villains, and teams that exist."
That would be very useful.
Danny looked forward to learning what is on that laptop and the challenge of building the machine.