Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel or DC
The Redeemer
Chapter 40: Dreams
There was a villain whom Cade and Sven once fought together. Before Onyx, before Cthulhu, there was one whom claimed to be the embodiment of all evil. He would have wrapped the entire world in his cloak, enslaving people to darkness, rage and despair. Appearing as a man in dark purple armour, a huge cloak wrapped across his shoulders, his red eyes also glowed through the darkness of his visor. This schemer with his powers of manipulation, and warlord with his halberd, had a name that even into adulthood haunted both Sven and Cade.
Vortigan was his name, the knight who became the first evil of stories. On a day unlike any other, the Avengers, X-men, Fantastic Four and even the likes of the Great Lakes team and New Warriors responded to various disasters and dimensional incursions that seemed to be unnatural. But they were the design of Vortigan, the dark lord who sent angels to destroy the world.
Not winged angels, the terrifying angels before the new testaments.
For the first time in their lives, Cade and Sven fought a villain together. But the only way they were able to even the scales against Vortigan was through the power of Sven's fusion.
In the present though, it was Cthulhu that would draw out this fusion.
"HEY DESPAIR YOU OLD BASTARD! YOU DON'T WIN TODAY!"
Aeon fired his optic blast, hitting the top of Cthulhu's head. Adjusting the pitch and spectrum of his blast, Aeon turned the ray into a blast of fire he dragged down the primordial's chest. Just as he turned off his beam, Aeon reached for Deathblade, the rivals grasped hands and the marks across their armour glowed respective glorious blue and furious red. The rivals became pure light, rising up and blinding Cthulhu. When the light passed, people on the ground whom hadn't lost themselves to madness looked up and saw the warrior created by this fusion. His right arm was black and red, resembling Deathblade's armour, even having a sickle shape on the wrist and Cade's helmet design on the shoulder. Likewise, his left arm consisted of the grey, white and red colours of Aeon's armour with a kite shield on his wrist and a knight's helmet on the shoulder. A white cloak hung off of his shoulders, and the main body of the fusion was covered in red and grey armour with a gold V fin on the forehead to match the finned visor over its glowing red eyes.
This fusion was Slade Muga, or just Muga to some.
Cthulhu simply roared at the challenge and swiped at the fused warrior. The knight flew around the primordial's limb, dodging as well a flurry of tentacles that came out of the arm. A cannon barrel suddenly slid out of his Aeon arm, and he fired explosives blasts into Cthulhu's chest. The explosions rocked the giant, causing it to scream. He moved both arms, surrounding Muga with slick and grasping tentacles. Just as they were about to crush him however, a black sword with Kanji runes for 'Vengeance', 'Righteousness' and 'darkness' slid out of his Deathblade wrist. With a spin, Muga slashed the tentacles apart and released a shockwave to stun Cthulhu.
"Like Aeon said, not today despair!" Muga said.
He flew up to Cthulhu's head, stabbing his sword through it. As Cthulhu opened its mouth and screamed in pain, Muga expanded the barrel of his cannon, aiming it into Cthulhu's maw. An emerald beam of psionic energy came out of the cannon, filling Cthulhu with the positive hope that both rivals had gained from one another's presence, of remembering what they could accomplish if their methods worked in conjunction and didn't oppose one another. Force didn't always have to be lethal, merciless, and optimism didn't have to be naiveté, too much of either led to despair and despair was the enemy of heroism. But also the time in which heroism itself could thrive.
Earth 616
"WHITE TIGER ZORD!" Tommy yelled.
In the White Ranger armour he stood, holding both the dragon dagger and Saba. And both his Zords attacked the Cthulhu together, the Tiger trapping his wrist with a bite, whilst the Dragon released a flurry of missiles from its fingers. Each one hit the mark, eyes, chest, neck and mouth, making Cthulhu growl in anger and pain. On the city streets, Wallflower, Sofia and even Cortez were beginning to calm the general public. But there was still a sense of despair that the Stepford Cuckoos could sense.
"White Tiger Zord battle mode," Tommy engaged the Tiger Zord's humanoid form.
The white mech warrior brandished its golden sword, but the Cthulhu clone wrapped its tendrils around the Zord's arms and head, trapping it whilst it also slammed the Dragon Zord into a building. Cyclops watched the battle through a crack in the ruined X-mechs armour. He didn't need to close his eyes to establish, via the woman he loved, a telepathic connection.
"The Power Ranger is holding his own against Cthulhu, at least for now, but we need to be able to strike back against it," Cyclops explained.
"Mr Summers, Miss Frost has said her team is busy, but that her totally not boyfriend Lazlo had some more advice on Cthulhu," Celeste of the Cuckoos said.
"Cthulhu isn't just a psionic being, he's a chemical being too," Mindee added.
"Good to know, that's given me some ideas, Wallflower, Wind Dancer, Cortez, we're going to need your help, Brand, I need you to get a hold of some individuals for me," Cyclops explained.
"You're lucky I've got an Avenger on standby Summers," Abigail Brand said.
The telepathic conference was over as soon as it had begun. Without any spoken orders, the X-men acted. Sunfire produced more solar flames, Polaris more raw material and electromagnetic power, and through a telepathic link, Jean focused Wolverine's berserker fury. Anyone else wouldn't have been able to link with the animal Logan could become. But there was a 'powerful something' between Jean and Logan. Jean loved Scott with all she was, there was always what ifs for Logan, yes there was flirtation, chemistry, but the bond between Jean and Wolverine went beyond romance. Out of all the telepaths he knew, Logan trusted Jean the most, trusted her to aim him. The X-men shifted with Logan's mind set, becoming a chaotic storm of metal that moved in tangent with Lorna and Jean's powers. Logan's mind became the mech, his will became the next attack, an arm tearing into the Cthulhu's side, freeing the Tiger Zord. Tommy jumped into his mech, standing within the cockpit. The Tiger Zord had ammunition, small spheres that Tommy could loud, and Tommy loaded them. He wasted no time on the theatrics or showmanship, the small cylinders were Eltarian explosives, focused through the chest of the Tiger Zord, what was once the Tiger's Maw, it became a projectile that knocked the Cthulhu back.
"All right sisters, let's find out exactly what is powering this thing," Phoebe said and her fellow cuckoos nodded.
House of M
Zack yelled, trying to break out of the Cthulhu's grip, heat vision blazed through the creature's flesh, fumes filled the air and Superman coughed as he grabbed the boy. However on the ground, a very different battle was being faced within the mind of Steven Grant. He was accustomed to only two voices, only it was several voices haunting him now, all different, yet all driven by the similar desire. It was something that no matter how different these people were, they all shared, a desire to fight for something that mattered.
Redemption for a Winter Soldier, Vengeance for Drax, family for Mantis, her own future for Wanda Maximoff, to help for Sam Wilson, similar king T'Challa wished to be of service to his people and others, Hope Van Dyne just wanted to fight once to prove herself, to prove herself worthy of her father's legacy. Dr Strange's desire was to stop people dying, it was born from failing to save his sister, and it was reawakened when he found himself taking a life for real. He was a doctor, someone who served others and in a sense so was every voice in Steven, no Marc Spector's head. Strange knew because of his qualifications. Maybe Wilson did too, but the point was Marc Spector was not a well man. Steven was convinced he was the real one, sadly he was wrong.
"Well, he's right in the sense that he does exist," Sam said, interrupting Strange's train of thought.
"I am Groot," the tree said.
"Steven Grant has a job, his own apartment, legally speaking he is real," Hope said.
"He's also helped me, to be better," Marc said.
The mercenary stood in front of the Avengers and Guardians.
"So in a sense, he saved you," Peter Quill said.
"I am Groot!"
"Yeah, in a sense he was your hero," Peter smiled.
Marc looked at his other self, looking helplessly at the boy and man losing to a monster and wanting to help. Wanting to help them like he wanted to help two boys ignorantly playing in a flooding cave.
"I don't know why we've ended up in your body Marc Spector, but there are forces at work here transcending dimensions, pulling us into a war," Strange explained.
"I hate that," Drax gruffly said.
"Ditto," Wanda's voice and eyes turned dark.
"Maybe it's a war that's got to be fought," Sam said.
"Regardless of the intention or reason, we are here, and if there is something we can do then we must do it," T'Challa said.
"Fine, then let's do it," Khonshu said.
The deity slammed his staff down and looked up at Cthulhu.
"That thing should not be here, just as we should not be here, the laws of order had turned to chaos, if Cthulhu's power has broken free of its restraints, then perhaps the restraint of our abilities has passed too," the Egyptian god turned to the Avengers, waving his staff over them like a wand.
"The Eldritch magic of one chosen by Agamotto," the orange runes shined over Strange's hands.
"The link to the Ancestral dimension and the memories of all the Panthers that have come before," purple markings glowed on T'Challa's skin.
"Particles linked to the Quantum realm, otherwise known as the Microverse," Hope's body flickered in and out of existence.
"The devastating power over reality, the witchcraft of the nexus being, the Scarlet Witch," some kind of crown glowed on Wanda's head.
"A remnant of the Celestial power, belonging to the Celestial Madonna," Mantis's antenna glowed blue with her hands.
"Wait a sec, Celestial, but that would make her…" Peter's voice drifted as he stared at Mantis.
"And of course the closest thing to a conduit to the green we can find," Khonsu gestured to Groot, who shrugged.
"I 'am' Groot!" he said with some extra emphasis on 'am'.
"We need to summon the suit Steven, give me control of the body," Marc said.
"Control, suit, what are you talking about?" Grant asked.
"Bro you better hurry up because it doesn't look like the kid can handle much more," Peter said.
Steven looked up at the Cthulhu, it had punched Superman through one of the buildings and hit Zack with a psionic blast. The boy screamed, being exposed to some of his worst fears. At that point, Steven closed his eyes, hearing fabric form around him.
"Oh really?" Bucky groaned.
"Bro," Peter shook his head and Drax broke down into laughter.
"I am Groot!"
"It does look quite sharp," Mantis said.
Steven looked at his reflection through a store window. He had a white mask over his face, and was wearing white gloves and an all white business suit, waistcoat included.
"You said summon the suit," Steven said.
"Yeah, the armour of the temple guardian, not psycho-colonel Sanders," Marc said.
"Take a breath Steven, you've got this, we won't take over, we'll work with you, consider yourself an Avenger now," Sam said.
Again Steven closed his eyes, fabric and armour formed around his body, a bandage like mask wrapped over his face alongside a hood. The cloak though became like the red cloak of levitation, Steven's gloves developed clawed tips and purple marks glowed over the rest of his grey and gold outfit. An eldritch half moon symbol glowed on his chest, and the Scarlet Witch's crown glowed over his head.
"That's more like it, my Moon Knight," Khonshu said.
Suddenly, Moon Knight grew, taller than the buildings, tall enough to grab the tendrils coming out of the bottom of Cthulhu's robe. With Judo like skill, Moon Knight threw the giant creature to the ground. Superman flew out of the building he had been throw through, and quickly fired his heat vision, red lines that slammed into Cthulhu's face and burned it. Zack landed in the palm of Moon Knight's hand, looking at the giant hero.
"So many souls in you," he whispered.
"Yeah," Moon Knight said. "And we're all going to kick that thing's arse," he declared.
Zack flew off of Moon Knight's hand as he balled it into a fist. Eldritch, Celestial and red energy gathered around his hand as tree like armour covered it. The Cthulhu opened its eyes, just in time to receive a punch that imbedded its head in the ground.
"Okay, maybe we can win this," Zack said.
"Freak, Flatscan, Deadend, Gene joke, Mutie, words, powerful words meant to distance and demean, to destroy the havens of self respect we each carry and nurture within ourselves. Just as they seek to rend the centuries old tapestry we as a species have agreed to call civilisation. These words carry us away from the light, and lead us marching, no charging into a darkness where prejudice and bigotry reign. Ugly, hateful words as weapon, and words that ultimately fail to achieve their intended purpose. This concert is about embracing our uniqueness, the colour of a man's skin, the choice of whom we love, the right for your neighbour to pursue his individual religious observance. Isn't it also about learning to respect the person born with a torso fin, cursed with an optic blast or blessed with the natural power of telekinesis? Seeing past their differences, humans and mutants share a common and unbreakable bond. No amount of words or derision, distrust or disinformation can change the truth that each of us, man, woman, black, Hispanic, Jew, Native American, Homosexual, Mutant, everyone, underneath all the words, we are related, we are all a family."
Virgil had spoken the speech with near perfect accuracy, near perfect timing. Though there was still passion in his voice, he still looked ragged and unkempt to Moira and Professor X. Charles looked at the boy, both touched by his words and confused by them.
"That speech…"
"Was one you spoke, one that told me, this was a dream worth having, you didn't convince everyone that day because there were a few people who booed you off stage, but you gave a new perspective to some people, myself included," Virgil explained.
"Child, the things that Moira has shown me…" begun, but again Virgil interrupted him.
"I grant you permission," the boy said.
Because that's what he was in both Moira and Charles's eyes, though for differing reasons. She saw blind optimism colliding with teenage angst, a point of view that was irrelevant either because of a still developing mind or unrealistic life experience. He just saw a boy trying to hold onto something familiar, something safe, something that had changed so much that it no longer gave him the hope that once allowed him to stand tall. Charles put his hand to his head, placing his two fingers at his temple and as he had done for 'Moira-X' he reached into Virgil's mind. For a while Charles was trapped in darkness, perhaps it was Virgil's viewpoint, but within the world of that mind Charles could feel something slither around his astral form. He looked deeper into the abyss and saw Virgil falling. Though fearful at first, Charles followed him.
Deeper into an abyss made when Virgil walked into the class at Xavier's, when he demonstrated his powers to Beast, when he clashed with Emma Frost in ethic's classes. He saw the friends he made, but lost during M-Day, how he cursed the X-men for his end, how he was unceremoniously brought back to life, only to be used again and again, by Gothica, by Miss Sinister and Muramasa. Then he saw it, the House of X.
'To me my X-men,' he saw mutant kind beat death itself.
He saw them all emerge from yellow eggs, saw them fight to the death to earn their powers back. Then his eyes widened in horror at the true villainy behind it all.
"I see," Charles took hold of Virgil's hand and returned them to the park. "You're a being of Anti-Matter, your powers created a body for your consciousness to inhabit whilst you traversed time and reality. This isn't just a prison for you Virgil, it is a test, for me as well, and for you especially Moira."
He turned on his chair towards Moira, who scoffed.
"What did you see?" she asked.
"Your way fails, at least in the ways that matter, to put it bluntly mutant kind gains a nation, but isolates itself with its exclusion of the resurrection protocols, one of my most brightest and hopeful students throws himself into darkness, the X-men still remain protectors of mutants and humanity, yet there is still this unhelpful feeling of superiority, which makes Krakoa's fall all the more tragic," Xavier explained.
"Where did we go wrong, we decided to work with Magneto, to make peace with him, with Apocalypse and Sinister, where do we go wrong?" Moira asked.
"Oh where to start," Virgil huffed.
"Virgil please, it is a complicated matter, difficult to explain exactly how it went wrong. But there were certain things in your plan Moira that were bound to go wrong, the resurrection protocols would have excluded Destiny, or any mutant capable of precognition, which was your failing Moira. Granted, it was a choice made out of self preservation, but Mystique was never going to be someone we could control once she figured out we never intended to resurrect the love of her life. Beast's fall was my doing, I should have been more attentive, he was a good man who became as bad as his darkest selves, all for the sake of protecting the mutant nation, I should never have left that darkness to him. Even I was becoming arrogant and far too cold," Xavier explained.
"Not a push over you mean," Moira said.
"Push over, like someone using the skin of a man she loved to escape Krakoa," Xavier said.
"What?" Moira widened her eyes in horror.
"I don't want to show you everything that you would have done, I don't want to hurt you like that," Charles said.
"The X-men end up having to bring Destiny back and you're kicked off of Krakoa, you take it personally, then you try to work with Orchis to destroy Krakoa and mutantkind, because…" Virgil's voice drifted a little, indicating no understanding of her motivations.
"Ten lives I've lived, ten lives trying to save, cure, or keep mutant kind safe," Moira said.
"But if you cure mutants, you deprive the world of the X-men," Virgil said.
"There's always the Avengers, Fantastic Four, or the Great Lakes Champions," Moira dismissively looked away from Virgil.
"That isn't the point, sometimes, the world can only be saved by those who are there at the time, and the X-men have been there for many people, including this boy," Charles explained.
"They made and will make mistakes," Moira said.
"So do the Avengers, so do the Fantastic Four, so do many other heroes," Charles retorted. "But just because people stumble and fall doesn't mean they are lost forever, you believed that with Kevin, its why you kept coming back to me, to us," Charles explained.
"Because I needed allies, I needed…" Moira lowered her head and Virgil clicked her fingers.
"Finally she's speechless, was it disgustingly using an ex-boyfriend's skin, or was it just how bullshit this whole thing is?" Virgil asked.
"What do you mean Virgil?" Charles asked.
"A mutation that resets the timeline every time they die, so which life is real, which life matters? Do your timelines cease to exist after you died? You died in those timelines Moira, just like you died in mine, so you never got to see how the dream ended, or if it ended at all," Virgil explained.
"You didn't see the dream fail Moira, you just saw yourself dying for it," Charles said.
Moira bit her lip in frustration, feeling for a moment that perhaps they were right.
Earth N52
Muga looked at Cthulhu, seeing the primordial god's body begin to sag and go lifeless. The giant creature was beginning to shrink, energy rising from its body like a mist. This mist began circulating around Muga, who poured energy into his sword. He swung the blade, creating a vortex of fire and blood red energy. But the green mist soon began shaping itself, becoming like a mass of tentacles with wings. These tentacles wrapped around Muga's body, trapping his arms and legs. The Cthulhu reappeared in a new and more bestial form, firing a blast from its mouth and hitting Muga, sending him flying towards the city streets. But even then he didn't impact with the ground; he remained firm, keeping Gotham from being damaged. So many people could die if he let that beam hit the ground, so he stood strong. They stood strong together, even as the fusion faded both of them pushed against the beam.
Suddenly, something struck Cthulhu from the side. Glowing with photonic energy, covered in green and black leather, Carol Danvers glared at the creature she remembered her lover describing to her. Cthulhu flapped its wings, releasing torrents of wind and force that would have blown Carol back if she wasn't stronger than the creature. Stronger, but not necessarily more powerful, as Cthulhu, with its arms now tentacles, grabbed Carol and threw her into the atmosphere. It was within seconds of arriving that Carol was knocked away from the fight.
Blasts of energy though continued to hit Cthulhu. It looked down and saw Muga flying upwards, his cloak shifting into bat like wings. Firing his cannon, he blocked the shots that Cthulhu fired from its mouth. His sword also acted as his shield, deflecting and blocking those attacks. He cut through some of the tentacles that Cthulhu tried to hit him with. It was the torrents of wind though that knocked Muga off course, sending him flying back.
"Need a hand?"
A hand covered in steel grabbed his cloak, and at that point, Muga could see that Carol wasn't alone. She had a team and a surprising one at that. Through Cade's memories, Muga saw the articles of John Henry Irons, the man who caught him. Wearing a silver suit with an 'S' on his chest, his eyes were covered by a pair of goggles with glowing blue lenses, the cable on his gauntlet was connected to the steel works hammer he held. Then there was Captain Atom, a man of pure energy with vapour as hair and a glowing red atom symbol on his chest. Black Canary was someone Cade remembered from the fight with the Atlanteans. Minn-Erva and the Ultron with Pym's face were new though.
"I used up most of my power stopping his first form," Muga said.
"How many 'forms' does he have?"
"You're familiar with Dragonball Z right, one of my other half's came back from the dead recently and he caught up with it…so many super Saiyan variations," Muga chuckled as he spoke.
"Oh shit," John-Henry said.
"Language!"
The heroes turned to the left and saw the assembled League. For some reason Superman had shaved his hair and was in jeans and a dark shirt, Wonder Woman was wearing a red and gold fully armoured version of her costume, Batman was in a mech suit with missile launchers on the shoulders and a clear round head with bunny ears on it and Green Lantern was wearing a green hooded coat. Cthulhu in his bestial form was driven by both a physical and mental hunger, he craved sustenance and fear. There was fear in Diana and Clark, the fear of losing one another.
House of M
Similarly, the Superman of Earth 789 feared never seeing his Lois or Metropolis again. But more importantly he feared what could become of this world if he failed. He feared not being able to save the boy throwing himself into battle. Zack feared not living up to his father, and living up the worst moment of his mother's life. He threw Hex's that were hybrids of his mother's chaos magic and his father's spirit realm connection. Yet still, he had not firmly established a bond to a spirit as his father had, as he suspected Virgil was.
For a moment darkness took him and he could see Virgil, floating with his eyes closed. He saw the blue circuits glow through Virgil's skin, circuits like any version of Aeon. Biting his lip, Zack still flew forward and reached out to Virgil.
"Wake up, you have to wake up!" he tried to reach him.
But he just drifted back, Zack couldn't tell if they were falling, or if something was pulling Virgil away.
616
The Cthulhu, in its bestial form tossed the Dragonzord across the city and pushed the Tiger Zord into the harbour. Water began to flood the streets, Stingray and Namora came out of the water to rescue the people still on those streets. Luke Cage and Jessica Jones got people to the safety of the rooftops, looking towards the battle between behemoths. The X-men still worked to get their Mech back online, Nightcrawler and Forge came through via teleportation and looked at the design and circuitry.
"The Ranger won't hold him off forever, we need a plan," Forge said.
"Have faith Mein Freund," Kurt said.
"He's right, more than you know," Cyclops's voice came through over the radio.
"What are we trying to do here?" Whiz Kid asked, coming through another portal conjured by Manifold.
"That thing is feeding off of despair, whatever form it takes, it feeds and recharges off of our fears, so we need to overload it with a surge of positivity," Cyclops explained.
"And you brought me here for that?" Cortez asked, scoffing.
"No Cortez, we didn't bring you here," Xavier's voice suddenly echoed through the minds of the X-men in the city.
Wall Flower and Wind Dancer looked up and saw the astral projection of the X-men's founder.
"Whether through resurrection or Incursion, you have come to this Earth, to this place, it is not mere coincidence, but design, perhaps even destiny," Xavier explained.
"Did they install more Cerebro helmets?" Sunfire asked.
"No, this, this is all the Professor, unshackled," Jean said.
The House of X
Virgil gripped his arms as he walked along the surface of Krakoa, the supposed mutant homeland. He looked up and saw a fleet of sentinels and his eyes widened in horror. Nimrod suddenly came down from the sky, the bulky pink super-sentinel swung its arm and knocked Virgil aside. He was sent flying across the island until he hit a Krakoan tree. Nimrod stampeded towards him and was about to hit him again when twin beams ripped through the robot's chest. Virgil looked up again and saw Aeon come down from the sky. His armour was crumbling, revealing an assortment of burns across his skin, his face was part exposed, and from that small exposure Virgil could see no regret in Sven's eyes.
"Dreams are beautiful things, but when it comes to a different type of dream altogether, you sometimes have to wake up, especially when that dream connects you to an unpleasant world," Aeon said.
Suddenly, a beam ripped through his chest. Virgil screamed as his mentor's lifeless body fell at his feet.
He was screaming when he reappeared in the park, between Xavier and Moira. Orange Anti-matter was glowing across his body. But the orange Anti-Matter became a surge of electricity, lines like circuits shining through his skin and clothes. And just as quickly as the effect happened it passed, and Virgil fell to his knees. He gripped his chest and began to breathe heavily.
Earth N52
Slade Muga flew around the bestial Cthulhu, using his cannon to keep it in the path of Green Lantern and Batman's missile barrage. He slid his sword out, using it as a plank to launch Wonder Woman towards it. She slid a pair of blades out of her gauntlets and dragged them through the creatures flesh. As she jumped off of Cthulhu, Minn-Erva fired her plasma rifle whilst Superman released short bursts of heat vision. They hit their targets, Cthulhu's wings, Ultron shrunk and flew into Cthulhu's mouth. Inside the creature, Ultron grew to giant size, blowing up Cthulhu's head.
Cade and Sven knew it wouldn't be over so easily. Their fusion passed as Aeon's powers began to flare, he looked at the flickering marks on his armour, realising what was happening.
"AEON!" Deathblade yelled as a mass of tentacles slammed into the hero.
They slammed into the Gotham streets below, causing a massive Earthquake that brought down some of the buildings. Buried underneath it all was Sven, his power wavering.
'Could it be time, for the power to pass on?' Cade wondered.
House of M
"Wake up son, wake up," Clark said, shaking Zack's unconscious form.
Moon Knight grit his teeth together as the shadow monster Cthulhu had become grappled with him, slamming him against the ground, wrapping tentacles around his neck and choking him. The magic flickered, dying like a light bulb despite Marc's struggles. Whilst in the darkness of the void, Zack kept on trying to reach Virgil.
"Wake up, you have to wake up, Virgil please I can't reach you by myself, I can't do this alone…" Zack's voice drifted.
House of X
"I can't do this, I can't do this," Virgil cried.
"I'll fail, I'll mess up," he said.
"I'm not good enough," he chided himself.
"If they failed, if they compromised, if they stopped being heroes, then what good am I?"
He knew how to hide it, even amongst his team mates, even when around Sven and Zack.
But the truth was that Virgil Wallace was a nervous wreck.
He remembered the debris impaling him when he Purifiers blew up the bus.
He remembered the reanimation virus bringing him back.
He remembered Miss Sinister's machines loading Anti-Matter into his body, reactivating his cells abilities to absorb it.
He remembered Muramasa's manipulations, turning him into a reverse of what he always wanted to be.
Someone who saved lives and didn't take them, lives like Mr Immortal who he erased with Anti-matter. Someone who protected people and didn't cause them harm, harm like the kind he tried to cause to Hope Summers, a baby. Someone who believed in goodness and hope, not someone who was bitter and afraid.
"Virgil," he heard someone whisper.
"Virgil," he heard another whisper.
"VIRGIL!"
His eyes snapped open and he saw Zack trying to reach him through the darkness. Virgil grit his teeth together, reaching out with his hand towards Zack. Their hands brushed together just once, generating sparks. But then both began to fall, twisting and spinning like they were sky diving. Virgil stretched his hand out and felt something wrap around his waist.
"NO!" Zack yelled.
They were pulled further away from one another, suspended in the darkness as two eyes shined through that darkness. Both boys were suddenly drawn towards the creature that emerged from the shadow, green skinned, easily twice the size of Earth. This was the astral form of Cthulhu, the monster that could envelope every mind on a planet. Tentacles from its head wrapped around both Zack and Virgil, keeping them close for a moment before pulling them away.
"Dreams always end, and the despair of reality takes hold!" Cthulhu's voice echoed in their minds.
"Dreams inspire us, they're what start us down a path," Virgil said defiantly.
"You do not truly believe that, no one does, all lose themselves to the simple and boring chore of living, of drifting through the world, of working, of raising children or being with friends, that is the mundane truth of the world that no one is special, that no one is capable of chasing a dream!"
"Maybe so, but what's wrong with simply living, it's possibly to live without hatred or jealousy," Zack said.
"Naïve child!" Cthulhu laughed.
"It is Naïve, but it isn't wrong," another voice spoke.
Their bindings were suddenly cut and they were drawn to the side of Professor X. His form shifted between the founder of House of X, the X-man who could walk, and the Professor who first had the dream. That last form was the one that both Virgil and Zack saw.
"I admit, we had forgotten Virgil, we had forgotten my dream, even now I still consider replacing it. And though the things I sometimes think and say may be arrogant, never deny that what I truly believe, what I truly feel, is hope, a hope I am willing to protect it," he explained.
"By creating an isolationist racist paradise?" Virgil demanded.
"No, that'll never be my intention. Moira…no, that thing, wouldn't be the first to tell me that I have been living the wrong dream. And I'll admit that the past few years have been an education for me, but there's a small part of me that will never stop believing in that dream, a part of me that will never stop believing in humanity," the Professor explained.
"Pitiful, PITIFUL! IF YOU TRULY BELIEVE THAT THEN YOU'RE ALL LIVING IN A DREAM WORLD!"
"I wouldn't have it any other way!"
Cthulhu suddenly shrunk as his eyes widened. Superman floated at Charles's side. From the shadows emerged the Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange, Peter Quill, T'Challa, Sam Wilson, Steven Grant and Marc Spector.
"Our minds, maybe our souls were drawn here by the Professor," Wanda said, looking fondly at Zack and Virgil. "Not just to protect these kids, but their dreams too!"
"Nothing funny about dreams bro, we all think of ourselves as Flash Gordon or Knight rider, but even the most mundane of life is one that matters, is one of adventure," Quill explained.
"Sometimes the dreams weren't even ours to begin with, but for better or worse we've been a part of their foundation, and I'm not going to let anyone tell me I can't fight for it," Sam said.
"A dream that connects people will always prevail over a dream that divides them," said T'Challa.
"I've never been one for dreams myself, my dreams have been too dark to really believe, except for one, that a boy who failed to save someone can become a man who can save others," Strange explained.
Marc and Steven nodded to one another. They didn't need to say anything. One by one the heroes changed. Sam's wings and costume suddenly took on the colours of Captain America, Black Panther's mask covered his face with his claws glowing gold, the red crown and cloak of the Scarlet Witch formed around Wanda, an eye glowed on Strange's forehead and blasters and a helmet appeared on Quill. Marc and Steven both took on their Moon Knight costumes and Charles was surrounded by his gladiatorial astral armour.
"Dreams are what save us, dreams lift us up and transform us into something better, and on my soul, I swear that until my dream of a world where dignity, honour and justice are the reality we all share, I…"
"We," Virgil and Zack interrupted Superman.
"Will never stop fighting, ever!" the man of steel said.
He suddenly began to shine, his red cloak flapping, his symbol glowing whilst the rest of his body became a being of stars contained within one body, all shining and making Cthulhu's astral form shrink back. Despite his eyes twitching in hesitation, Cthulhu roared.
"YOUR DREAMS WILL BECOME NIGHTMARES!"
Next Chapter 41: The refuge
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter