This world was born quite recently. The actions of Doctor Fate and Magneto altered history in nearly unfathomable ways. Where two stories ended, another began. The universes of the World's Finest and Earth's Mightiest collided creating heroes of great renown, and villains of horrific infamy. But the nature of this combined universe built its new denizens off past connections. While the circumstances which created the heroes we meet appears random, they were born from the chains forged in their past lives.

The beauty of this new world is that we see how those of different universes with preestablished connections created new bonds. I am the Phantom Watcher, the once Spirit of Justice, and an observer the same as you, who must not interfere with the newly unfolding universe. I will be your guide in understanding the narrative labyrinth that is the Amalgam, its champions, and its demons.

We peer into the LMI Watchtower the following day after our last foray with the Blind Bat. Today, four sit around the meeting table to discuss what to do with the reclaimed Helm of Iscariot. In attendance were the usual suspects: Blind Bat, Wonder Crystal, and Cyberman waited at one side of the table, all in costume. The Helm of Iscariot sat in front of the Bat. All three seemed visibly annoyed at the man who sat on the other side of the table.

The fourth in question was a stocky man of Egyptian descent. His face was grizzled, unkempt black sideburns peppered the sides while his hair seemed to point up like the ears of a wild animal. He was wider than he was tall, but that was all muscle. His frame hid beneath a large black trench coat, but that was not all that hid beneath. This was the aforementioned Logan Hall, the Wolfhawk.

He was a founding member of the Marvelous Society of America, serving the United States alongside the Sergeant before Erik and even Diana were recruited. Despite that, he didn't look much older than fifty. He was one of the oldest living metamutants, gifted with a ceaseless healing factor and a broad pair of wings currently hidden beneath his coat. Dating back to Ancient Egypt, he was also once the great prince, Khufu the Howler.

Logan was also one of the few heroes to have joined, but later left the League of Marvelous Individuals. He had always been a gruff, sometimes aggravating presence, and not much of a team player. Living through many millennia turned him bitter and angry. But the reason Wolfhawk left concerned another member of the team; his ex-wife Kendra Munroe, Stormbird. In his mouth was a half burnt out cigar. He chomped on it impatiently as he awaited the berating he knew was coming.

Cyberman was the first to speak up after what felt like five minutes of uncomfortable silence. "I'm going to put this in the politest way I can provide to someone of your…stature. What the hell is wrong with you?!" the cyborg chastised to Logan, slamming his non-robotic fist on the table.

"Victor, calm down. We can address this issue in a way that's more constructive." Diana interjected, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. She gave him a disapproving glare akin to a mother to a child. She then directed that gaze to Logan, "Now Logan, how can we fix what is wrong with you?" she asked in a calm, yet condescending tone.

Logan looked at Diana and Victor, the tension was thick enough to cut with the claws on his gauntlet. "Ugh, I felt guilty, okay. Fate and I never made up after the situation with Oro-…sorry, Kendra. I wanted to honor him after he died. I utilized a little showmanship, sue me, Princess." He answered with a groan. There was no use lying with the Bat six feet away from him.

The Blind Bat was quiet, his mind was elsewhere with thoughts of Erik's daughter. He wondered whether having her meet Logan would do any good. At least before they fell out, the Fatal Compass and Wolfhawk were close friends throughout the years. Perhaps the perspective from someone who knew her father much better would be helpful. Maybe he even knew about her already. But he had to focus on the task at hand. "The statue was actually quite nice; it's having the real helmet on top of it that's the issue. Someone almost stole it, and they could've become a greater problem."

Logan rolled his eyes, then realized that the Bat couldn't even see the gesture, "Well we all know somebody's gotta take his place. If anyone did steal the helmet, either wearing it overloads them with power and kills them, or the stupid god inside it uses them as a puppet and does what Erik did before. Eventually if we waited long enough, it would turn out okay." He answered callously. Logan had still been grieving the loss of Erik and setting up a successor was his way of doing his legacy justice. "Like it or not, without Fate, the League is half as strong as you used to be. Someone's gotta step up. Back in our day, we had enough on the bench so that losing one guy wasn't a wipe."

"You can't just replace him like that, especially so recklessly." Diana chimed in, "Besides, what about his daughter? He'd been training her to take his place. His next of kin should have a say in his legacy."

"Which one? The agoraphobe with the ring, or the one that turned into a cat after you shagged her?" Logan bit back. He never liked Diana much, even back during the MSA days. It was actually his idea to keep her as their secretary even after knowing exactly who she was. Usually, Sergeant Speed would serve as a mediator between their bickering, but he wasn't here at the moment.

Diana clenched her fists, ready to climb over the table and torch him with the flame slowly generating in the palm of her hand under the table. Blind Bat could feel the rise in temperature radiating within her, and in response, gently held her arm down. Matt always knew what everyone was feeling based on a combination of heartbeats, perspiration, and subtle changes in voice tone that would be unnoticed by the normal ear. Wonder Crystal was the one Matt understood the best. He knew how often her emotions would flare up, and by proxy, how much she held back behind an ever-present smile for the sake of the team, and the people. Because of this, he respected her deeply.

She took a deep breath and quickly calmed down, putting back on her shining diamond smile. "We're not here to talk about what happened to Minerva, let's remain on topic. If I were to stoop to your level, I would show you the lovely photos from Kendra and T'Kurri's wedding. It's a shame you weren't invited. But bringing our romantic lives into such a serious matter would be in poor taste, would it not?" She asked the brute with a cheeky smile. Diana had shared the same animosity towards Logan since the Golden Age. But the core difference between the two of them was that she knew how to tear someone apart in a without needing to raise her fists. She was also a diplomat after all.

Logan scowled at Diana, but he knew a tube floating in space wasn't the best place for a fight. "Fine, point taken. Sorry Crystal, but even if we could find Minerva, neither of the Maximoffs are cut out for the helm. Jessica's been on sabbatical from the League since Erik died; she doesn't have the guts for it. Even some random idiot is a better fit than her."

"I actually have to agree with Buffalo Wild Wings on this one." Victor responded, sounding a little surprised himself at who he ended up siding with, "Emerald Witch is a ticking time bomb, and with the magic ring, she could wipe us out like that. Giving her even more power, especially when she's still grieving her pops, not a smart move."

"I think you're glancing over the fact that she's still a person. A vulnerable one at that who's still dealing with a lot of grief," the Blind Bat interjected, obviously empathetic for the situation. "Am I afraid of what Jessica could do? Yes, of course, I am. But she's just as afraid of that power herself. And without her father to train her power, she needs the support of the League more than ever. I think, at least to keep a closer eye on her, we should bring her back into the fold."

Diana gave a nod of approval to the Bat, briefly considering how that was fruitless to a blind man but then realizing he could have at least perceived the movement of her head, "Seconded, as for the Helm, it goes back to Fate's Tower. It's wise to keep it within the mystical protections."

"Alright so what the hell am I supposed to do about the statue that got ripped apart? That was expensive metalwork! How did it even get destroyed like that, Bat?!" Logan interjected, growing frustrated with how the meeting he was forced to be a part of was so unceremoniously derailed.

"I'm looking into that situation, let me deal with that." The Bat answered sharply. This was a situation that he did not want to bring the rest of the League into just yet.

"As for that statue, you have insurance don't you Logan?" Diana asked feigning a naïve smile to spite him.

Logan rolled up his sleeve to reveal a gauntlet on his arm. He squeezed a mechanism in his hand and popped a claw out from the center of the gauntlet. The brute then raised his hand to use the claw to give Diana the middle finger. "Can I go now? I have other shit to do."

"Not just yet. There's still the subject of the stolen Adth Metal." Victor interjected. "The crowbar that nearly bashed Thunderman's brains in was made of the stuff. That had to have come from your stash, no?"

"Don't know what to tell you, bub." Logan responded with a shrug. Sure, back in his first life, all of the world's Adth metal was in his possession. His weapons were made of the stuff, the bones in his wings were lined with it to allow him to fly under mystical properties, but after years of dying and coming back more pissed, the Wolfhawk abandoned his kingdom and thus his collection of the mystical metal. "It's not like I control every ounce of the stuff. Might've come from my stash, might not have. I'm not the only rich jerk who could've collected it. Figure it out yourselves. Now can I go?"

Victor was exasperated with Logan at this point, "Yeah, whatever. Just go and be your angry little bird wolf man self, eat some worms, howl at the moon, I don't care. You left the team, which means you shouldn't have to be my problem anymore."

Logan snickered to himself as he climbed up over the table to step onto the teleporter, "Send me home, Tin Man." He called out before being warped back down to Earth.

Victor held his forehead, "I am so glad he's gone," he commented exhaustedly. The cyborg had been up all night on monitor duty, handling minor threats. "Alright, next order of business. Who's going to the Tower of Fate to drop off the Helm, and convince Jessica to come back to work?"

"I have business to attend to in Goth's Kitchen, Foggy volunteered us for some benefit that I have to attend. It's bad PR to have the first named partner never appear in public." The Bat answered, he would have been happy to do it, but he still had responsibilities as Matthew Wayne. "Thor is off all over the place, looking for Loxxi after you set him off like a wind-up toy."

"Sarge is bouncing around Europe today; he's been weeding out some remnants of Hydra with SHIELD. And I have a meeting with Director Fury concerning extradition of members of my sisterhood back to Themyscrattilan." Diana added, alongside training emerging Inhuman Amazons, she had been working with SHIELD as the ambassador for her home island and worked to uphold the rights of her kin.

Victor sighed in annoyance, "Okay so with you four out of the question, Black Orca and Stormbird not returning my calls, and me being absolutely terrified of the Witch, that just leaves Banner."

"He's been busy at the university. I'd hate to take him away from his important work," Diana mentioned reluctantly.

"Banner's got as much of a responsibility to us. Besides, if things go wrong with her, he's got the best chance of taking a hit." Victor retorted.

"Maybe we should start expanding our personnel. Nine people can't monitor the entire planet. Even the Society had fifteen." Diana suggested, "I hate to admit it, but Wolfhawk had a point. We need more people to fill in the gaps the Fatal Compass left behind."

"Let's table this issue and discuss another day." The Blind Bat answered. He had complicated feelings for the current League as is, adding more members would only complicate things further. But if he were to get more of his own people on board, it may benefit him long-term. There was much to ruminate on, "Shoot Banner a call and get him down there. I trust him to handle the rest."

Meanwhile, on the secluded island of Genosha, just off the Mediterranean Coast, sat an imposingly tall stone tower. The island radiated an otherworldly aura as it shielded itself from the world in an ethereal fog. This place was pure, it was sacred, and it was once the base of operations for the Fatal Compass: The Tower of Fate.

Without Erik Nelson there to maintain this bastion of order, his second eldest daughter, Jessica Maximoff resided within it. A strange trend among all of Fate's children being none of them take his surname. Supposedly, the man's distance from the non-magical world led all his children to be closer to their mothers. But in the trends of the narratives of the multiverse, mothers, including one Inza Maximoff, never seem to last very long. Who is to blame for this odd trend? Perhaps Walt Disney, but who knows?

In the years before the death of Fate, he had trained Jessica in the ways of magic. While he wanted to spare his youngest daughter from the throes of the superhero world, that courtesy was not spared to his others. Jessica and her twin sister Minerva were both early new additions to the League of Marvelous Individuals. Erik gifted the twins the ring of Cthrona, and the Talisman of Urzcotatiaga. While Minerva underwent other circumstances, including a short-lived romantic relationship with Wonder Crystal, that led to her leaving the team quite quickly, Jessica remained in the League under the pseudonym of the Emerald Witch.

Jessica's role on the team was to be the long-ranged powerhouse. The intention was for her to fill the role left behind by founding LMI member Carol Jordan, the Green Marvel. Her ring allowed her to fly and create constructs powered by her own will. While sometimes this made her a great boon to the League, Ms. Maximoff was typically somewhat of a liability. The enemy of will is fear, and Jessica was one who held much of that.

In Jessica's adolescence, during a period when her father wasn't around, she had undergone a traumatic episode which gave her aggressive agoraphobia, the fear of leaving one's home and venturing out into the world. Erik had hoped giving her the ring and a place on the pantheon would give Jessica the sense of safety she needed to overcome this fear. A lot of hard work and courage allowed her to be a part of the world again. But since the death of her father, that strength faded, and Jessica fell into a depressive state. She has since regressed back into her old habits.

Up near the top of the tower, Jessica sat in an old, dusty armchair. She had her arm raised with her hand in a fist. She stared at the ring on her middle finger and tried to focus. Maybe she'd make something from it today. But she didn't really see the point. She once enjoyed the thrill of being a hero, rising against her fears and turning them into something positive. But with all her immediate family being dead or effectively gone, it was hard for her to care about anything anymore. There wasn't much driving her to keep going.

The ground started to subtly tremor, and that tremor became a rumble, then the rumble a quake. Something large was trudging through the fog surrounding the Tower. Jessica grew worried, the Tower was supposed to be secluded, closed off from the world, just as she felt. She pulled herself out of the chair and ran to a window overlooking the perimeter. A monster had found its way to the Tower of Fate, but perhaps this wasn't a bad thing in this case.

The monster in question stood nine feet tall, 800 pounds of pure muscle, its skin was green and almost glowing with power. On a less threatening note, he wore a purple suit with a large emblem of the Greek letter "Gamma" plastered across the chest paired with a pristine, white cape and hood. His hair was greasy and slicked back, but the monster's expression was a smile displaying naught but warmth and empathy. This monster was more affectionately known as Captain Gamma, but he also goes by "SHAHULK!"

Jessica sighed in relief upon seeing SHAHULK, she considered the beast a friend, at least in comparison to the rest of the team. "Hey Cap! What are you here for?" she shouted down to the green beast.

"Cyberman sent me! Just here to talk and drop a thing off!" he shouted back up, speaking simply, but clearly.

"Just let yourself in!" Jessica called back down before returning to her chair.

Captain Gamma lumbered to the base of the tower, looking for a certain spot. The Tower of Fate had no conventional points of entry to prevent those not of mystical creed from entering. The monster, though, did have such a background.

He was empowered by seven divine champions to be an unstoppable force for good. There was the Wisdom of Solomon, the Swiftness of Hermes, Stamina of Atlas, the Green Fire (colloquially known as Gamma Radiation) of Hades, the Flight of Uranus, the Rage of Lyssa, and what was important for this scenario, the Strength of Kratos.

Captain Gamma spotted the prime spot at the base of the tower, and he threw a massive haymaker of a punch. The huge green fist smashed through the enchanted walls of the tower, revealing a gratuitously long spiral staircase leading up to the top of the tower. The beast entered the tower, the wall magically repairing itself behind him. The captain looked at the rising stairs and groaned, "Ugh, hate the stairs."

Endowed with the Wisdom of Solomon, Captain Gamma knew the fastest way to get to the top. He moved to the center of the tower, and empowered by the titan Uranus, leapt up through the tower, rocketing up past flight after flight of stairs. He burst through room and after room until he reached the top of the tower. There were now around 23 broken floors in the tower, but by the time Captain Gamma found his footing, they were repaired again by the magics of the tower.

Jessica gave a small smile, somewhat amused by the giant's antics. She gave an aloof "Hey," before she motioned her hand to point over to a chair for Gamma to sit down.

Captain Gamma grabbed a dining table chair and laced it down across from the cozy spot Jessica was sitting in. It was far too small for him, making his position comical to witness, but the man in purple kept his composure. "So, how've you been Jess?" he asked looking at Jessica concerned.

In the six months since her father died, Jessica stopped taking care of herself. She never left the Tower, her negative feelings compounding her agoraphobia. Her golden-brown complexion turned pale, sitting in the shadows for so long. Her eyes sunken, lost weight, a noticeable lack of life in her eyes. If one squinted, they would assume she was Elizabeth Olsen. But that would be preposterous, for one of Roma descent wouldn't look like her. "You know, same old, same old. Been reading a lot of Dad's books. I don't understand what half of them say but, staring at the pages makes me feel like I've done something worthwhile," Jessica responded sounding very aloof.

"That's why I'm here actually," Gamma explained, "Stark, Bats, and Crystal want you back." His voice was deep and gravelly, he spoke simply, but succinctly.

Jessica laughed in spite of herself at the answer, "Stark? He's been trying to get rid of me ever since I got this stupid ring," she responded holding out her fist.

"Well, we got five people on call and Blind Bat's part-time, you can't save the world with six people."

"And what, that's our job?" Jessica asked, "Why lay down our lives for a world who fears us, who fears you?"

Captain Gamma paused, there was truth to that. The two that sat in this room were members of the League who were first presented to the world with apprehension. When the green monster known as SHAHULK was unleashed on the world eight years ago, he was feared. An unstoppable force of nature who in his early years, didn't have full control of his power and caused great destruction, albeit unintentionally. It took years to gain the trust of those he protected, but he earned it.

Meanwhile, the few times the Emerald Witch had appeared on the scene, the people were wary of her presence. The power of the ring was chaotic by nature. Its only limit was her imagination, and what Jessica imagined were eldritch abominations representative of her anxieties. Monsters of fear rampaged the field when she arrived, and it was quite effective in repelling major threats. While weaponizing her own negative feelings to fight evil was cathartic, those she saved were terrified of what she could do. Even some of the League held this fear. Though without the fire in her eyes, the witch was fairly docile.

"That responsibility is heavy, but we are strong. You need to be strong. It's hard, but the world needs us," Captain Gamma answered after a brief contemplation.

Jessica sighed and rolled her eyes, "Why me though? There aren't better people for the team? Surely the world deserves better." She pulled the ring off her finger, her eyes turned from a bright green to a dull hazel, "I'm not one of you. Never have been. And I don't want to be."

Captain Gamma took a moment to absorb her answer. He was growing a little frustrated with Jessica. But then he knew a way to better reach her, "Excuse me for a sec." The jade giant stood up from his tiny chair and walked down to the 23rd floor of the tower. Jessica heard him yell "SHAHULK!" in a booming voice, followed by the sound of a booming explosion. Green light flashed from the stairwell, and a young man in a tattered purple hoodie arose from below.

Beneath the exterior of Captain Gamma lied Billy Banner. Despite his age, he was one of the world's more seasoned heroes. He'd been given the powers of SHAHULK when he was twelve, and the experience as Captain Gamma gave him a better understanding of what it meant to be a hero than most. The two beings were once dual personalities, but with time, they bled into each other. Time and experience made them into a single unit bent on making the world a better place. He decided to change back to his mortal form so he could express his next points not as a god to look up to, but a man.

Banner sat down in the chair, fitting much better now. He set a backpack down next to him. Perhaps the magic transformation sent any of Banner's stuff to a pocket dimension, but that is unimportant at the given moment. "Well, now I'm like you. And as a friend, I can't stand to see you wallow like this. The happiest I've seen you is when you're fighting alongside us. You care about the good of humanity just as much as the rest of us. Like it or not, you ARE a hero. So, what is this really about?"

Jessica took a deep breath, "I have big shoes to fill, Billy. I have all this power, but I'm damaged goods," she admitted looking out the window, "I've hid myself away because if I come back, all they'll see is a disappointment."

Banner was taken aback by the last remark, "Disappointment? Do you think that's what you are?"

"Dad wanted me to be his successor. He trained me be strong like you said. To specifically to take his spot on the League. And when that time came, and he was gone, I was weak, and I've stayed here for six months," Jessica lamented, staring at the ring in her hand. "Of course, I feel bad for hiding, but I'm scared."

"Scared of what?" Banner asked.

"That I make things worse." Jessica answered quietly, "That I hurt people who don't deserve it. That if I take my shot at being some big hero, I'll lose control of my emotions and destroy the world." Jessica held the ring up in front of her face, staring at through the hole, "This ring brings out the best, and the worst in me. And I don't want to give the world my worst."

"Then don't," Banner replied rather bluntly.

"What?"

"I've been in possession of some of the most volatile magic for years, and I'll admit I have made a lot bad situations worse. And like you, it was because I couldn't control my emotions, specifically my rage," Banner explained as he held up his arms and clenched his fists. "I lost my mother; I don't want to talk about my father. Those bad feelings I had were enhanced by Hulking out, and that made me dangerous to everybody."

"Okay, so what's your point?" Jessica asked, skeptical of wherever Banner was going.

"The only reason I gained the trust of the people was because I had the League backing me. I had people who cared about me, and they brought the best out of me. I'm stronger than I ever could have been if I worked alone." Banner answered with a proud smile across his face.

Jessica mulled over his points, "It's a higher standard now, I don't want to hold the team back."

"You're scared to fall short of the rest of us, we'll prop you up." Banner continued, standing up out of his chair and walking over to Jessica. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Hiding here, wallowing in your own self-pity is not going to do yourself any good. If you want to grow past your father's death, you're best grieving with the rest of us. We'll help you through it."

Jessica sniffled, wiping a tear from her face. "I miss him, Billy."

"Me too, Jess. But he would want you to live a life you're proud of. And he'd want us to look out for you." Billy said turning around and grabbing his backpack. He unzipped the bag and retrieved the Helm of Iscariot from within. "We're not asking you to replace him, just show the world that we're right to have faith in you. That I'm right to have faith in you."

Jessica stared at my helm in Billy's hands, or more accurately, she stared at its hollowness, the lack of a face in the helmet. "I…gave this to Logan because I couldn't bring myself to look at it." She said with a shudder in her voice. "But, maybe keeping it here will remind me that I need to keep living."

"Does that mean you're coming back?" Billy asked hopefully, setting my helm on a side table next to Jessica's chair.

Jessica looked down at the ring in her hand. She stood up from her chair and put it back on her finger. Her eyes shined once again with an elegant emerald green. "Give me a few days to charge my ring back up. I don't know where I left the lantern, and I'll need to work up a lot to recharge. But yeah, I'll be back." She answered giving a small smile. There was a long road left ahead for her to fully come to terms with her grief and her fear, but she was taking the first step.

Billy smiled and rushed in to hug the Emerald Witch. Caught a little off guard, Jessica froze briefly, but hugged the boy back. This was also probably some of the first human affection shown to her in a while. "Prove me right, Jess. We're counting on you."

Jessica took a deep breath, taking in a new weight on her shoulders, "I'll try."

Billy sighed and pulled away, "Best I can ask for. I hope to see you soon." The boy stepped back and threw his backpack on.

He turned towards the window. There wasn't any glass, just a large gaping hole in the stone tower. Banner took a sprinter's position. Jessica pieced together what he was about to do, unsure whether to stop him or not. But before she could act, he ran towards the window and jumped out of it. The boy plummeted towards the ground, but halfway down, he yelled the magic word "SHAHULK!" And with a loud boom and a flash of green light, Captain Gamma arose. He turned to face Jessica and gave her a wave. Jessica snickered and waved back. The captain then turned around and rocketed through the air, soaring back from whence he came. Whence he came was in fact, Ohio.

Jessica sighed and looked around the tower. She had let it fall into disarray after months of apathy. She then looked down at her ring, "Well, looks like I have some work to do."