Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or DC
Originally I thought of tearing this story down. But then I thought, I've started, I might as well finish. The formula will somewhat change with the next chapter not bearing the Redeemer title.
Some massive spoilers for Ant-man and the Wasp and Avengers Infinity War (though if you haven't watched either movie yet...what is wrong with you? :)
The Redeemer
Chapter 28: Destruction
She was growing in power, they were growing in power. Enchantress was a force, not just a god. Like the phoenix it existed across universes in many forms, it was the one constant in both the Multiverses. Amora went across multiverses with her modified apples, to the Enchantresses of that Multiverse. She smirked looking at the being that had possessed one June Moon. The tribal tattoos on her exposed thighs, the top, skirt and round headdress that seemed to be made of green energy. Her dance was elegant, and destructive, the dance merely a way to shape the magic she would use to create her 'machine'.
"You are saying that he is the one I need for my great machine?" Enchantress asked Amora, her voice echoing as a representation of the goddess she claimed to be.
But she was no god of Asgard. Amora neither knew nor cared what cultural idol she was the counterpart of. The echo voiced, hula dancing woman of this 'extended universe' was simply a means to an end. As was the prisoner they used.
"This foolish squad trying to stop your plan, worry not, for once you have used him, this old world will be destroyed," Amora smirked, mirroring her counterpart.
Another Incursion was occurring. Only it was a red Incursion, no Sidera Maris, no Mapmakers. Barry Allen ran into Star Labs, watching 'Team Flash' work. Wally West, the Kid Flash and Jesse Quick both sat away from it all, both probably prepping themselves for what was to come. Caitlyn Snow, Killer Frost and Cisco Ramone, Vibe were both tracking the collision course of the two Earths and the Convergence point. Both were in full costume, just like every other ally Team Flash had. Barry ran to Star City, where the members of team Arrow were preparing themselves, Wild Dog, Mr Terrific, Spartan and Black Canary all looked over their equipment.
"We'll be ready, Felicity managed to get us a jet," Oliver said.
"Thanks, I know this may be a little out of your league, but this is the big one Oliver, it needs all hands on deck for it, the Reverse Flash, Zoom, even the Dominators and Earth X, none of it compares to this," Barry said.
"Not one fight has been more important than the other Barry, every fight is for our world, that's why we fight so hard for it," Oliver said.
Barry nodded his head, before running to the hall. It was what they had used as a base when the Dominators tried to attack Earth. He waited, knowing that the Legends would arrive at some point. Hearing a flutter behind him, Barry smiled, turning to Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, whom had recently teamed up with Virgil to save Earths from the collisions.
"This is what you warned us about Kara," Barry said, taking off his cowl.
"I was hoping it wouldn't come here, do we have a plan?" she asked.
"I'm hoping you had one."
"I have hope Barry, as soon as Virgil hears about this, he'll come and help us," Kara smiled.
But it wavered when she saw the hopelessness in his eyes. She touched his cheeks, pressing her forehead against his as he laid his hands on her hips.
"There is no one else I'd rather face the end of the world with," she said.
They then kissed, putting more passion and longing into it than they had with previous failed relationships.
"I love you Kara," Barry said, putting on his cowl.
"I love you too," she looked up at the sky, gasping as something blot out the sun.
They saw it, a grand ship as big as a planet. But only Kara saw what was on the ship. It was horrifying, little white creatures with snapping jaws walked around the ship. But there were more terrifying things as well, people, They looked like the heroes Kara had seen on other Earths, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye and the Hulk, and many other heroes of the worlds of Marvels. But they had been changed, their costumes were like hardened shells. They all had the same empty white eyes and the same white faces, expressionless, jaws monstrous and filled with razor sharp teeth. All of them stood in front of a giant figure with the same armoured skin and jaw.
"I Galactus, shall protect our world, and yours, like ours long ago shall be consumed, by the POISONS!" the 'Poisoned' devourer of worlds yelled, and the dark parodies of the symbiotes yelped and cheered.
"Let me ask you something Virgil, and I want an honest answer," Wally began, dropping a Tommy gun with strobe lights on the magazine. "Is this Earth really worth saving?"
He was referring to a very strange Earth. The Gotham city that this incursion was occurring on, was like a techno party at night. The opposition against the incursion had been carried out by a gang of men in leather, with red and black masks, a gang of people in glow in the dark paint and they had been led by a Poison Ivy. Only she wasn't actually dressed in plants, but clothes made to look like plants. Even stranger was the clothes the Batgirl, Batman and Robin wore on this Earth. All leather, and Wally couldn't stop laughing at the nipples on the men's costumes.
"All right, are we done on this Earth?" asked Lady Spider, one of the latest recruits for the 'Exiles' team asked.
"Seriously, your costumes are impractical and embarrassing," Earth 2 Batman said to that world's Batman.
"The rockets are pushing the other Earth out of orbit, soon, it'll be back where it belongs," Virgil said.
"Thank you for that," a voice said from above.
Virgil and the team looked up, seeing the other members of their team. They had gathered an African American Human Torch, Captain Marvel Junior of Earth 5 and a Reed Richards who had become the Hulk. They were led by a man who put awe into both Kid Flash and Batman. He was a native of the other Earth they had saved, his hair was greying on the sides, and his costume though outdated, was still iconic. Blue, with red tights, boots, a cape and a symbol to inspire hope in others.
"Truly, thank you Virgil, Luthor here tried to manipulate us into fighting each other," Superman dropped his world's Lex Luthor onto the floor.
"My upgraded Nucular man would have won, if not for these Outsiders interference," Lex said.
"For the last time, it's Nuclear, there's no U in it, A SCIENTIST SHOULD BE ABLE TO PRONOUNCE IT PROPERLY!" Reed-Hulk yelled at Luthor, blowing off his wig.
"Souvenir," Kid Flash said, picking up the wig. "Also, Outsiders has a good ring to it," he muttered.
"Thank you again, and if you ever need my help Virgil, I'm only a world away," Superman said.
"We can help too," the Bat-team said.
Wally sheepishly chuckled, whilst Earth 2 Batman shook his head. Both Earths were saved, the recruits were returned to their worlds, save for Wally and Bruce whom returned to A.I.M island.
"I need to go guys, I've got a call from my other team," Virgil said.
As soon as they arrived, he got into the auto piloted Quinn jet he used to traverse between the island and the American West Coast. He dressed out of the A.I.M outfit he wore during missions and into a simple pair of jeans and a shirt. As the jet flew across the ocean, Virgil looked at the variant of Forson's helmet he had worn.
"This isn't for me," he muttered, looking at the path ahead of him.
'I know they won't trust me, I know they don't like me as much as they did Sieg, but I need them. I need everyone to be united,' he thought.
He turned on the TV, watching the Daily Bugle report on the troubles going on across New York. Brute and what was left of the Initiative was doing their best to keep people safe. Nonstop was running with Whizzer, 3D-man was coordinating with the police and Hardball, Gravity and Komodo were fighting the Parademons invading the city. Already several young heroes had been deployed.
'Whose left to respond in the event of an emergency?' Virgil wondered.
The jet landed at the facility the team used, then promptly went into stealth mode. Virgil ran off of the landing pad, to the building across from it. It was a building Stark donated to them in upstate New York. Sliding his access card through the door lock, Virgil ran up the stairs and looked towards the meeting room. Through the glass he could see Nathaniel in his armour, save for his helmet. But he had people with him who weren't part of the team. A woman who appeared to be a Valkyrie, though much more muscular than the one of their Earth, she was also dark skinned and had blue ink around her eyes. There was someone in a more modern, armoured version of the Gaard outfit an alternate Johnny Storm wore. A brown haired girl in a variant of a Fantastic four outfit, sat beside Cassie in her Stinger uniform. There was a Hulk there, but his face and hair looked more like Amadeus Cho's than Bruce Banner's.
"Nathaniel, what's going on?" Virgil asked.
"The Young Avengers, including Zack have been kidnapped, on that mission you sent them on to find Mar-Vell's other son," Iron Lad stood up, glaring at Virgil.
"I didn't send them on a mission, it was Mar-Vell's last request to Teddy, naturally Billy was going to go with him, and Zack, damn it, we'd better go then, I see you've been reality hopping too," Virgil indicated the new arrivals in the room.
"Yeah, meet Valkyrie, Enid Richards, Speedball on her Earth, Amadeus Cho as you might have guessed he's the Hulk on his world, I took two ideas from you," Nathaniel said as he put on his helmet.
Virgil looked to the side, his eyes growing wide for a moment. Standing before him was the members of the Young Masters. Excavator, son of Pile Driver, whom had absorbed the powers of the dead Wreckers into his shovel. Deathlocket, the daughter of a scientist who had rebuilt her damaged body with Deathlok cybernetics. Radioactive Kid, a boy in a hazmat suit, Mako, a fish-man hybrid, a girl bearing the Black Knight identity and other previous members of the young Masters. The new Melter in his Mandarin designed armour, the gun toting Executioner, the Enchantress doppelganger, Coat of Arms and Egghead. But there were also young villains from Counter Earth.
The 'Bastards' of Evil were the sons and daughters of their older counterparts on Counter-Earth, a dimension that existed in synch with Earth 616. Aftershock was the daughter of Electro, Singularity the son of Graviton, the Superior the son of the Leader, Mortar the daughter of Grey Gargoyle, Ember the son of Pyro and Warhead the son of Radioactive man.
"What is this Iron lad?" Virgil asked, looking at the Young Avenger founder with a glare.
"You've worked with villains, with our numbers thin and some of the young heroes unwilling, I would say this would even our numbers out, even surpass what the forces that have taken our friends have," Iron lad explained.
"This isn't going to work out the way you think it will," Virgil said.
"I'm sure it'll work out better than what you've planned," Nathaniel shot back.
"Don't put everything on this..."
Virgil paused, standing his ground as Enchantress approached him.
Sylvie Lushton smirked as the older boy squeezed his hand into a fist.
"You've fallen victim to mind control before haven't you?" she asked, giggling as Virgil grit his teeth together.
"Do you intend to have her knock me out?" Virgil asked Iron lad.
"There's another reason I brought you here Virgil, and I'm sorry," Iron Lad raised his hand, preparing an energy blast.
Enid, Cassie and Amadeus widened their eyes looking at Iron Lad.
"You look a lot like Kang now," Virgil retorted.
Suddenly, a blast hit Virgil in the back, surrounding him in a field. He feel to his knees, hands pushing against the ground as he yelled and came close to vommiting. A white haired boy in a bleached Captain America shirt stepped up behind Virgil, holding a type of special gun.
"Nullifier," Virgil snarled out the man's name.
"Most of the Young Masters came from my Teen Brigade, Chavez is my ex, of course I'm going to get involved," Ultimate Nullifier put his gun in his holster and walked over to Iron lad.
"You're more like Chavez's experiment," Virgil retorted.
"This is an alliance out of necessity Virgil, yours and A.I.M's is because you were confused over your place in the world, but not anymore. You're not a part of this Virgil, I will save them," Iron Lad said.
"Not by yourself, damn it KANG!" Virgil yelled, only for a foot to slam into his head.
When he came back from unconsciousness, he found himself in one of the temporary cells. Designed to contain villains at the level of the Wreckers, he knew there was no hope of getting out. Yet still he slammed his arms against the walls in frustration.
"Sieg, I couldn't do what you could do. You weren't smart, you weren't even the most commanding of people. But people could still believe in you, I didn't have that thing inside of me. I can't lead, I can't inspire, what hope do I have of being a hero? No wonder I ended up with A.I.M. It's over isn't it?" he put his back to the wall, slid into a sitting position and lowered his head in helplessness.
Arrowverse-Earth 39
Supergirl slammed into the ground, creating a shockwave powerful enough to knock several of the Poisoned heroes back. Thing and Hulk jumped towards her, both slamming their fists into her. On the rooftops Black Canary was screaming, taking out several symbiotes. She was their secret weapon, utilising the primary weakness of the symbiotes. Firestorm and Heat Wave too were taking out waves of the creatures. Rory laughed as he melted the black slime creatures with his flamethrower. Kara retaliated against the power house Poisons, punching them both enough times to push them back.
"Super girl, where are those reinforcements we need?" Green Arrow asked.
He fired one sonic arrow after another at the symbiotes. Oliver watched as several citizens were taken by the creatures, and then consumed by the Poisons, turned into hardened white versions of the symbiotic creatures. Amongst the ranks of the poisoned, he could already see Wild Dog and Mr Terrific. A blur of yellow lightning streaked across the streets, building up speed and then delivering a supersonic punch to the poisoned Hulk. Kara floated back to back with the man she loved, burning symbiotes with heat vision as Flash battered Poisoned versions of the X-men.
"Felicity, Vibe, how is the countermeasure going?"
"If we can just get it finished Oli, we'll be able to create a sonic pulse that might just shatter the planet," Felicity said.
"This would be easier if we didn't have an army of these things at the gates," White Canary said, firing sonic waves from a gun made by Vibe.
"The barricades aren't holding," Alex said.
A symbiote suddenly burst through the wall, gripping Alex's arm. She screamed as the symbiote began to envelop her.
"ALEX!" Sara yelled as her lover was consumed.
She aimed her gun at the symbiote, only for a Poison to jump on her head, opening its jaws as it leapt towards Alex. Before her transformation into a symbiote was even complete, she was poisoned. Her face became hardened white armour, her hair flowing out of it, and her uniform became black armour.
"Join us baby," she said to Sara.
"YOU BASTARDS!" Sara screamed in fury, firing her sonic cannon wildly.
On the streets, Mick continued his overconfident assault against the symbiotes, only he was standing near a manhole cover. A symbiote slithered through the vents, grabbing Mick's leg.
"Wow, now this is awesome!" Mick's voice cracked and Firestorm looked down at him.
Rory had been 'venomized' his clothes and jacket had turned black and he now bore the white eyed, fanged face of a symbiote. Even his flame thrower had been enveloped by the black substance. The gun suddenly spouted a jaw, and let loose a breath of fire.
"LOVING THIS!" Mick laughed.
"Sara what happened to my sister?" Kara asked over the radio, punching aside the poisoned Star Lord.
"We're here sis," the grotesque parody of Alex's voice spoke back to her.
"We're all here," then came the Poisoned White Canary's voice.
"Barry, there's no one left to defend Star Labs," Kara said.
Flash was about to run, when ice suddenly covered his legs. He collapsed, looking towards the Poisoned Killer Frost.
"Caitlin, no," he whispered.
Her elongated tongue stretched out of her mouth as she cackled. A symbiote slowly began to slither towards Barry. He vibrated, but a Poisoned Iceman only added to his prison.
"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" Kara yelled, clapping her hands together, creating a shockwave that threw the Poisoned enemies and symbiotes back.
She swooped in, grabbing Barry and flying upwards. As she did, she caught sight of Heatwave and Firestorm, both of them being poisoned. Atom and Steel were both overwhelmed by symbiotes.
"Kara, Barry, get to Star labs NOW!" Oliver yelled.
An arrow suddenly hit him in the back, courtesy of the Poisoned Hawkeye. Black slime spread across Green Arrow's skin, turning his clothes into a dark green substance. He stood, his hood taking the form of his head, a forked tongue where his face should have been. Then, six Poisons jumped onto him, and added him to the ranks of the Poisoned. Tears flew from Barry's eyes as he ran away, knowing he had left his friend to be taken. Super girl smashed through the lab ceiling, just as Vibe obliterated several symbiotes.
"I need you to hold them back," Felicity said, continuing to work on the sonic generator.
Cisco created a breach, diverting a Poisoned Spider-man and Wolverine away from their area. He then released a wave that destroyed a symbiote before it could take Kara. Afterwards she released a gust of her Kryptonian enhanced breath, throwing White Canary and Alex back.
"No," she muttered, looking at the monstrous version of her sister.
The poisoned White Canary was a white scaled creature, whilst her hair flowed out of her head in a balding style. She opened her maw, suddenly releasing a sonic wave that made Kara cry out in pain. Her enhanced hearing was vulnerable to it, and it was worse than Silver Banshees. Even Siobhan Smythe held back her power, so as to not destroy more than she had to. The poisoned version of Sara Lance however, used her sonic scream with reckless abandon. Kara heard the ringing in her ears, and was sent flying through the wall of the lab. Vibe countered Sara's scream, matching the frequency of her scream. Alex jumped over Sara, stretching her fingers to create claws. Cisco created a breach underneath him, dropping into the lower floor. As Alex came down into the room, Cisco created another breach and ran back into the lab. He began to close the breach behind him. Suddenly, a black spike slid through the portal.
"CISCO!" Barry saw his best friend get stabbed, just as the portal closed and took of Alex's arm.
Cisco stepped back, falling into Felicity's arms.
"No, oh god no," she whispered.
"You need to keep working, you need to get it working and fast," Cisco spat a blob of blood onto the floor.
The wall behind them began to freeze, and the Poisoned Hulk smashed through it. Killer Frost walked behind him, leading Heatwave, Atom and Firestorm, all of them Poisoned. Barry ran circles around them, creating a funnel that threw them into the air. Supergirl then burst out of the ground, delivering swift punches that sent each of the poisoned heroes flying back into the city.
"Virgil, where are you? We need your help now!" she looked up at the sky, seeing the Poisoned Earth getting closer.
Quantum Realm
The Agents of Loss were desperate. Winter Soldier slammed his fist into Ronan, whilst Iron Knight blocked Reapers scythe with his gauntlets. Magicka formed a rope with her magic, diverting Reaper's scythe so Iron Knight could punch him across the face. Jetstream dodged Breakdance and Rays blasts, only for Spider-man to grab his leg with a tentacle. Spider-man threw Jetstream into Noah, slamming both into the wall. Breakdance and Ray then fired blasts at Jetstream, the shockwave ripping bits of Noah's costume off.
"Noah, you need to fall back, protect the prison cells," Jetstream said.
"We'll handle this," Magicka threw off her cloak of levitation, wrapping it around Ronan's hammer and pulling him away from Noah.
Iron Knight ignited rockets on his back, smashing into Ronan and knocking Reaper back. Noah ran through the corridor, firing his pistol behind him. Sonic bullets weaved past Spider-man, who grinned as he leapt after Noah, following him on all fours like an animal. Winter Soldier pulled his fist back, and swung around to punch Spider-man. But the symbiote clad villain grabbed his arm, still grinning as he lifted him up by his neck.
"You are impressive, but your defiance amounts to NOTHING!" he yelled.
Pain ran through Noah's shoulder and oil and circuitry gushed onto the floor. Like blood it sprayed forth as Spider-man ripped his arm away. Then to add more insult he threw Noah up and smashed him across the face with the arm, breaking apart his mask. Noah gripped his sides, feeling something begin to try and force its way out of his body. Spider-man raised his eyebrows quizzically for a moment before kicking him across the room. Arms suddenly burst out of Soldier's back, enabling him to bounce off of the wall. Arms came out of his sides and brown fur spread across Noah's skin. His eyes split into multiple pupils, all of them glaring at Spider-man.
"I don't think so pal," Spider-man waved his finger about as Starman, Ray and Breakdance came into the room.
Behind them, Crimson Dawn was hung by Catwoman's whip, kicking out with her legs and trying to swing out of the whip's grip. Black Cat kicked Magicka in the head, and Ronan slammed his hammer into Iron Knight, swinging him on top of Jetstream. Phage and Riot jumped at the Kree, but were knocked aside by a shockwave from his hammer. He turned, slamming his weapon down on Iron knight's knee, a sickening crack echoing through the hall. Iron Knight yelled in agony whilst Jetstream stopped Ronan's hammer between his hands.
"Cut the head off the snake boys!" Spider-man pointed at Noah, and the super villains began to charge their energy attacks.
Noah widened his eyes, realising that his transformation into an 'Other' wouldn't be completed in time. Breakdance, Starman and Ray released incredible energy blasts, and Noah braced himself for the pain. But he didn't feel his skin get burnt away, or his bones shatter. He opened his eyes, and saw Prodigy standing in front of him, arms outstretched. Parts of his costume had crumbled apart and his skin was smoking.
"I hope I was worthy of...the name...hero," the young man choked the words out before slumping onto his knees.
He wanted to scream, wanted to cry out in fury. He wanted their blood on his teeth. Mandibles replaced his mouth and his muscles expanded. His eyes went red and the fur began to fall off, revealing hardened white skin. Starman and Ray fired again, knocking him into the wall.
"I'll KILL YOU!" he yelled.
"Leave him be," H.E.R.B.I.E. said, flying into Ray's shoulder and knocking him into Starman.
"BUZZ OFF FLY!" Starman yelled, shooting a blast at H.E.R.B.I.E.
The robot was crumbled to pieces and fell in front of Noah. He crawled across the floor, only for a hammer to slam into his chest. Ronan leant on the staff of his weapon, looking to Reaper as he held his scythe against Jetstream's neck. Catwoman stood behind Crimson Dawn, keeping the whip tied around her neck. Riot and Phage stood uneasy, looking between their leader and team mates. Magicka was unconscious, her neck at the mercy of Black Cat's heels.
"Enough teasing Spider-man, open the cells," Ronan commanded.
Spider-man sighed, throwing his hands up as he walked to a console.
"Wow you guys didn't think anyone would find you did you? This is game boy level software, you were seriously the last line of defence?" he asked, looking at Noah as Ronan wedged him between the wall and his hammer.
"No, you can't let them out," he looked at the cells in genuine fear as the energy walls were opened one by one.
First to step out was a man in a red space suit, the long strands of his white balding hair resting on his shoulders. His back was slightly hunched and his skin was grey, his nose additionally disfigured, resembling that of an ape's. He was the Red Ghost, creator of enhanced apes. After him came a humanoid insect, with armour of its body, and bad wings stretching out of its back. This creature was an Annihilus. Third came a man in a green business suit and purple tie, wearing on top of his head an Anubis 'Jackal' mask. In the cell beside his walked out a woman in a pair of green trousers, a green sleeveless top with netting on her arms and green gloves. She would have been called beautiful, if not for the tentacles resting on her shoulders and flailing around her. The tentacles were attached to the octopus like creature fused to her head. The Hydra tatoo on her bare back marked her not only as a member of the organisation, but the Madame of it.
She was soon after followed by a steel skinned man, wearing a green coat and hood. He was Doctor Doom on his world. Electricity and magic sparked from his body as he looked to the row of cells next to him. Calm and serene at first came a red suited Spider-man, then he opened a razor toothed maw and brandished the claws of Carnage. A brown haired man floated out of his cell, a huge gold 'H' attached to his red suit, in addition he had gold trunks over his trousers and a gold cloak on his shoulders. This sadistic parody of Superman was Hyperion. A green scaled pterodactyl hybrid flew out the next cell, landing and revealing his human legs and arms. Sauron hissed at Carnage, but both men calmed themselves as a man in a Nazi uniform stepped out of his cell, his face was red and resembled a fleshy red skull. Then came a hulking figure in gold and black armour, his face was purple and he grinned as he looked down at the fallen heroes. Thanos the mad Titan looked to his right as the final prisoner stepping out. With each metallic clang of the person's footsteps, Noah flinched, looking up to see the prisoner he feared the most. He was a being of metal, his head resembling an ant's, his eyes and maw glowing. There was a compartment on his chest, where one could see a heart pumping. There was a moment when Ultron's metal face shifted, revealing the face of Hank Pym, but it was only for a moment.
"You're all free, until our leader meets you that is," Spider-man chuckled.
"But first," Ultron extended cables from his fingers, interfacing with the console. "I think it's time we left the bad memories of this place behind!"
"No," Noah snarled.
Alarms began to blare inside the prison. Noah and his agents looked up, knowing full well what it meant. The self destruct sequence had been activated. A dark portal had opened behind the soldiers of darkness and the freed prisoners.
"Ta, Ta Noah Cross!" Ultron waved at the agents, before he walked into the portal.
Noah crawled over to Prodigy, checking his pulse. He looked at his agents and shook his head, nothing. The young man at least wouldn't die in the explosion, or suffer lost in the Quantum realm.
"I'm sorry I dragged you all into this everyone, this was my chance, to do something that matter...and I failed," Noah lowered his head and yelled.
Iron Knight gripped Jetstream's hand, both friends exchanging looks of acceptance. Dawn rested Magicka against the wall and the symbiote brothers hugged one another.
5
4
3
2
1
The Quantum prison began to implode, a singularity drawing it into itself. It had not gone unnoticed. A man who was very lost, distressed and confused looked at the singularity in the distance, wondering what had happened.
"Guys, if you can hear me something weird has happened," he said.
"You will find no answer in your world Scott Lang," a voice spoke behind him.
He turned, widening his eyes underneath his helmet. The Agents of L.O.S.S were surrounded by blue energy, floating unconscious in front of him. The blue energy seemed to come from the glowing blue cube held by the mysterious figure.
"You will find a way back to your world Ant-man, to put right the damage that was done by the Infinity War. But first you will help us in the war against the darkness," the man explained.
"Wait a minute," Scott said, seeing who the figure was. "Why would you fight against darkness?"
The man remained silent and Scott raised his hands defensively, as the light from the cube consumed him.
Within his cell, Virgil convulsed, markings across his skin glowing. He could sense bad things beginning to happen.
"No, I have to get out, I have to get out!" he snarled, slamming his fists against the wall. He screamed, his eyes glowing red as his soul was ripped from his body!
Virgil looked at his spiritual form, represented by a simple dark, expressionless body. Ironically he had a gold X emblazed on his chest. He looked towards a scene of destruction and grief. Super girl, the one he had met before was fighting creatures that resembled symbiote versions of heroes. Alongside her was the Flash, a man she loved. And together they fought as hard as they could.
"KARA!" Barry yelled, a symbiote latching onto his leg.
"NO!" Kara screamed, watching as her boyfriend was infected with a symbiote.
She fired her heat vision, burning the symbiote off of him.
"Kara LOOK OUT!" Virgil yelled, seeing a symbiote and several Poisons ran up behind the Kryptonian.
But he could not be heard. He watched in horror as the symbiotes wrapped around Kara and then subsequently the Poisons began to consume her. Barry Allen screamed, running to the woman he loved, trying to wrench the creatures off of her. Virgil saw images of their first meeting, the story of the girl of steel and the scarlet speedster, of how they teamed up, fell in love and went onto build a family of super heroes. The Poisoned Supergirl emerged as the images of the pair kissing faded, replaced by the monstrosity that was Super girl. Blue armoured scales across her body, her symbol on her chest, the cape attached to it, and her face had been twisted into the visage of the other Poisoned heroes.
"Come to me Barry," she said.
"No, you're not her, YOU'RE NOT!" Flash screamed.
Virgil wasn't able to watch it, the fall of the Flash. What he did see however, was the Poisoned planet, literally consuming the Earth-38 variant. Virgil gripped his head as he was slid from one Earth to another. He saw an Earth being ripped apart by arcane energies, the bodies of heroes and villains alike littering the city streets. Within the epicentre of the ritual, Virgil saw Amora the Enchantress, her arms crossed and smirked as another woman bearing the name Enchantress kissed a version of Virgil's mentor. He watched as the young man, his eyes wide in horror as transformed by the Enchantress's power.
Again he didn't get to see what a great hero was corrupted into. What he did see was another Earth being blown apart, watched by an Illuminati. It brought Virgil no comfort to see that it wasn't his world's Illuminati, this other one was being led by a girl in an Iron man costume. Then he saw another earth destroyed, by Brutaal and his dark Justice league. The destruction of a third Earth at the hands of the Crime Syndicate drew Virgil back to reality. He slumped against the wall, letting out heavy breaths.
"Damn it, I don't want either power, but to save reality, I'll have to take one," he said.
He looked up at the camera and sighed in defeat. In the security room, Excavator and Deathlocket shook their heads, neither understanding the power of the spirit world, or the struggle that Virgil was facing. For miles away, Sven Reilly looked at the markings on his own armour and squeezed his hand into a fist.
"Soon, a new Aeon will rise!"
Next Against the Darkness: Web Warriors 1
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. From now on, when neither Virgil or Cade appears in a chapter, the chapter will be titled 'Against the Darkness' and whichever team is most focused on in it.
Next time the Web Warriors go across the Multiverse to find some new recruits. Meanwhile the Amazing Spider-man family of 616 struggles to save the mutated Mayday.