A little Homelander was sitting in a white room, watching pictures from a projector. He wasn't Homelander yet; he was just John. For each image, John was instructed to answer what he saw.
"Jesus Christ, our lord and savior." John said. To each new image, he responded. "The American flag, baseball is my favorite sport."
"Excellent, now for something new." A teacher said.
"I'll take it from here." A man said as he entered the classroom.
John was curious and saw that the man wasn't standing; he was wheelchair-bound.
"Yes, Professor." The teacher said and left them alone.
"Hello, John." Professor Xavier said. "How do you feel about going outside with me?"
"But- -I'm not supposed to leave."
"Don't worry about that."
"You want me to leave?"
"You don't have to if you don't want to. Whenever you're ready, either way, I won't be disappointed in you."
"Really?"
"Really. But maybe, with proper time, you'll learn not to care that much if you disappointed me or not. Growing up is making your own choices and owning them. That's why I'm here, to teach you that."
John was perplexed; he had never been told anything about those things.
"I never saw you here before."
"You'll see me here for the rest of your education." Professor Xavier said as he returned to the door. "Are you coming?"
John looked at the window. He expected to see Dr. Vogelbaum and Barbara taking notes, but no one was there, and no one was judging him. John smiled widely as he joined the Professor out of the lab towards the light of freedom.
Homelander's eyes were dead blank. No matter where Maeve moved, his pupils never followed her. She smiled wickedly and grabbed a marker. As she was about to draw on his face, Homelander's hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her.
"That's very childish behavior. I'd expect better from a grown woman." Those words came out of Homelander's mouth, but Maeve knew he wasn't speaking.
"You're no fun, Professor."
"What kind of satisfaction would you even take from it? He can't experience this. He certainly can't feel the pain in his legs from all the kicks you gave earlier."
"You're in his head. You know the things he did."
"Perhaps, but once I'm done, he'll be deeply sorry." Homelander's body walked away. "Come on, we must raise awareness on the registration options."
On Earth 7622, every device received another message from Earth 616. This message was far more ominous. It looked like it was being filmed in a throne room. The walls were cobblestone, and draping them was a green and black flag with a symbol no one on 7622 could name. Although just about everyone on Earth 616 knew who was responsible for this. From the Richards and Grimm children in the Baxter Building. To Ororo Monroe, who watched sitting on her throne in Wakanda. To the Mutant Superhero Sunstorm, who watched it play on a billboard from the side of a building in Tokyo. Sitting on the golden throne was a different man wearing armor with a green tunic and cloak on top of it.
"Greetings, citizens of Earth 7622." Doctor Doom greeted as he leaned forward.
Those watching the video got a close-up look at his mask.
"I am Doctor Doom. Sovereign of Latveria, a nation not present on your planet. I am sending you this message to inform you that your days are numbered. Every second, Stark, T'Challa, Strange, and Richards waste puts all of our lives at risk. As such, I have taken action for the sake of my world." Doom stated.
Video footage of the supervillain attacks across Earth 7622 began to play as holograms alongside Doom.
"As you can see, my compatriots have crippled your world. Your military forces have been decimated. Your defense systems are irreparably destroyed. Your nuclear arsenals are now mine. You cannot resist, for it is far too late." Doctor Doom said.
"These turn of events are regrettable. However, you would have struck first if your world had the means. Just know that Doom is no sadist. Your final moments will be quick and painful. Doom urges you to spend your final moments with those dear to you." Doom stated.
"As for those watching my message from 616, your gratitude is unnecessary. I am simply doing what must be done for our world." Doom stated.
With that said, the message cut off. Panic resumed in 7622, whereas in 616, the reception to Doom's speech was mixed.
At the Bar with No Name, several criminal lowlifes cheered as they ordered more drinks. Some refused to participate in the cheering.
"Hope none of those assholes bought any real estate recently." Bullseye joked, causing some of the patrons to break into loud laughter.
As that happened, in a far more luxurious but no more moral dwelling. Was Fisk Towers,
Wilson Fisk, better known as the Kingpin, overlooked Manhattan's skylines. He felt relieved by the news. The large crimelord turned to face his longtime assistant, James Wesley.
"Sir?" Wesley asked.
"I think it's time I draw plans for a gala." Fisk stated.
"Of course, sir, regarding 7622, why didn't you attempt to obtain anything?" Wesley asked.
Fisk turned to Wesley, a nonchalant look on his face.
"I simply didn't see the need to. Compound V and its spawn seemed too unstable to work with. I'd rather not sully my empire hiring legions of depraved, drug-addled superhuman delinquents." Fisk simply stated.
"I see, sir." Wesley stated.
Elsewhere at the Daily Bugle. The usually hot-headed and temperamental J. Jonah Jameson sat at his desk mournfully. The cigar he kept in his mouth was dropped.
"That egomaniac is actually going to destroy that whole planet." Jameson said before leaning back in his chair, trying to comprehend the gravity of the situation.
His longtime friend, Robbie Robertson, sat by his side.
"You don't think they'll pull through?" He asked.
"No, not when our supposed "heroes" are once again getting into another spat!" Jameson yelled, his anger returning. "You would think they would learn after that first Civil War, but no!"
He pinched his temples.
"Right, we'll just have to carry on understaffed once again." Jameson said. "You can take the day off, Robbie." He told his friend.
"No, I'll stay." Robbie said.
In a quaint home in Queens, Mary Jane Watson-Parker was sitting on the couch with her daughter Mayday. The little girl hugged Gog, the family's tailed orange alien pet, as they watched in fear at the ominous message. Doom's announcement horrified Mary Jane, not just for the sake of her husband, but for everyone on that other Earth. A more cynical side envisioned a concerning amount of people celebrating. The thought made her uneasy. She looked down at her daughter and kissed her head, causing Mayday to shuffle. Still, she was confident in her husband. She knew he wouldn't sit back and let this happen. Captain America went to him first, after all.
"Do what you got to do, tiger." She quietly told herself.
Other heroes across the planet, such as the UK-based team Excalibur, looked on, hoping they could act against Doom. They consisted of Captain Britain, Psylocke, and Black Knight.
"This is a political move. Doom's playing on other world leaders' fears about the Incursion." Captain Britain bitterly admitted.
"We can't just let him kill all those people!" Psylocke argued.
"I know Betsy." James told his sister.
"So what do we just wait?" Black Knight questioned.
Detroit, Earth 7622
In the lab of the physics department of Wayne State University, Hughie, Soldier Boy, Castle and Sage watched the message as Sage worked on the device. Hughie found it chilling. Soldier Boy found it angering, and Punisher understood both reactions. Sage never took her eye off her work.
"How serious is this guy?" Soldier Boy.
"He's probably the most dangerous man on my Earth."
"Yeah, what's on his arsenal? Weather control? Gravity control?" Hughie asked.
"He's smart." Castle spoke very seriously, based on his tone, they should know that was the most dangerous thing one can be.
"I think I have this thing figured out." Sage said. They gathered around her. "It creates a wave of energy which distorts reality and opens pockets to another location. That other location being in a different vibrational frequency from ours. If I get this working, it can take us not just to Earth 616, but literally anywhere."
"If you get it working?" Soldier Boy asked. "Thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius, girl."
"First off, my name is not girl. Second off, Punisher got this wrecked in the fight."
"The guy holding it wouldn't give it to me gently." Castle explained.
"I need replacement parts that just don't exist here."
"What should we do then?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Sage inquired with a mischievous smile. "We have to rob the Illuminati."
Atlantic Ocean, Earth 7622
The Deep was way down in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to escape Cassandras' dressing down after his firing. Despite being in his comfort zone, everything felt different. For starters, there was less life in the ocean, and those present avoided him. He tried to communicate but received no answers. Just then, he heard someone rushing towards him.
"IMPERIUS REX!" he heard someone shout inside the water. Sound was not supposed to propagate underwater, but somehow, it did.
Deep was tackled onto the sea bed, where he got a good look at his assailant. His black hair, pointed ears, and sharp eyebrows made his scowl all the more piercing. His facial features were unique. Although his skin was fair, it was like his ethnicity was something the Deep had never seen before. He wore a black vest that resembled fish scales with yellow fin-like wings on the underside of its arms. His pants were all black and had the same fish scales on them. He also noticed, much to his confusion, wings on his feet.
"Bro, get the fuck away from me?!" Deep telepathically demanded.
"Leave, you perverted cretin." Namor told him he spoke regularly underwater.
He grabbed the Deep by the throat and brought him face-to-face.
"These oceans now have an actual king. One who will not allow you to sully them and those left in them with your filth." Namor told him.
"What the ruck, I'm the only king of the…" The Deep was about to say when Namor bitch-slapped him across the face, sending him flying.
It was the hardest he had ever been hit. It was how he imagined what it would feel like to get hit by Homelander. Before he could regain his bearings, he screamed in agony as Namor clutched his gills.
"I will tell you this only once more. Leave these oceans and never return. If you don't I will find you and rip you limb from limb." Namor threatened.
"But I… I… I can't… Look, man, I just lost my job. Again. My wife no longer respects me. I'm a nobody now. This is all I have!" The Deep pleaded.
"I could care less about your miserable life. You wish to find salvation. Kill yourself." Namor callously told him. He grabbed the Deep by the collar and soon flew out of the water. To the Deep's horror, he could see Namor flying—the wings on his feet flapping, similar to that of a hummingbird. The Avenging Son reeled back his arm before tossing the Deep into the horizon back towards the US.
Payback Mansion, Earth 7622
"Cap, with all due respect, we have to move." Luke Cage said.
The Secret Avengers were reunited, and the Boys were with them. Captain America scratched his beard as he tried to think about the next move.
"Luke's right." Clint said. "Doom and the others aren't going to hesitate to blow up this planet with us in it. We need a base on our world. We can take as many people as we can."
"Let my family come." MM said. "Monique, Janine, even Todd."
"We go now and forget all about this world? What about those kids from Red River? We were supposed to stop the end of this world, not join in the evacuation plan."
"How were you even going to stop it?"
Steve pressed a button on a small device in his hand, and it projected the holographic schematics of a lab. Inside the holograms were six shiny gems of different colors.
"That's how they're keeping the Incursion from progressing," Cap explained. "These are the Infinity Gems together they can do almost anything. We once tried to use them to stop an Incursion, but it failed. After that, they agreed that destroying the world was the only way… That was also why they kicked me out of the group and tried to erase my memories.*"
(*New Avengers Vol. 3 #3, hey that's the title of chapter 5!)
"Wait," Frenchie said. "If they don't work, how come they stop the Incursion now."
"Reed studied the gems for a long time after that." Bruce Banner explained. "He managed to wire them so they could stop the Incursion, at least temporarily. We want to use them to teleport your Earth to another universe."
"We've been planning that since we got here." Steve said. "But with all their flaws, my old friends are not monsters, the Cabal? They're not going to wait. We have to move fast."
Earth 616
The Illuminati were gathered to see a video, Mr. Fantastic played it:
THE TRUTH BOMB WITH FIRECRACKER
Firecracker was sitting behind a desk filled with Homelander and Soldier Boy imagery. Behind her was the American flag, except all the stars were black except for two, one red facing a white star in the middle.
"Now, our world, our America, is going to be destroyed! I have a message to those who are on board with their little coyote scheme to move to their Earth: You are a traitor! Just another sheep ready to be taken instead of an American warrior."
They paused the video. Reed spoke:
"Before, she had a couple hundred brainwashed fans who were already far gone from reality. Now she has millions. Ever since Cameron Coleman's meltdown, his viewers needed someone to fill the void. She had several videos pre-recorded during Magneto's attack; somehow, she had her equipment shielded just in case."
"Sometimes paranoia pays off." Doctor Strange said.
"Since she dropped her last video, we have lost thousands of volunteers for the evacuation, and the number is rising. That's not the only issue; watch this."
On the screen next to Firecracker, a photoshopped picture of Homelander appeared in which Iron Man was tinkering with his brain with a screwdriver.
"Folks, y'all know what happened to Homelander. He has been brainwashed by those monsters from Earth 616!" She shouted, forcing the verge of tears. "Listen to what I have to say. Earth 616 has their own version of the Illuminati, Black Panther, Mr. Fantastic, and Iron Man. They're all in it! And together, they brainwashed our beloved Homelander and are using him as a puppet for their cause."
They paused again.
"She's actually telling the truth." Black Panther said. "She doesn't know she's telling the truth, she's clearly making it all up but got that just right."
"That's what makes her dangerous." Professor X said. "If it's ever revealed that she got that right, her threat will become much greater."
New York Streets
Ryan and the Runaways turned their heads away from the sewer entrance. It was a small, smelly hole, so they quickly backed off.
"I told you we can't hide in the sewer!" Nico told Molly.
"The Morlocks do!" Molly argued.
"Yeah, but in our version of New York the sewers are much bigger and don't smell as bad. That's how the Morlocks survive there."
Ryan heard that and was astonished.
"Really? Why are the sewers in your world like that?" He asked.
"Hey, that's actually a pretty good question. Why are sewers in our world equipped to hold entire communities?" Chase inquired.
"We're losing the thread." Nico said. "We need to find a place to sleep before returning to Ryan's aunt."
"Why don't we go straight to her?" Carolina asked. "With the power back, we can make a call. Do you know her number?"
"I… I-I don't know." Ryan admitted.
"He's a kid. He doesn't know anyone's number from memory." Chase said.
"Do you?"
They heard screams. Somebody was being attacked. Two teenage punks were taking a little kid's sneakers and running off a block from there. They didn't get far as they faced Carolina flying in front of them, and soon the rest of the Runaways too.
"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Nico asked. "His sneakers wouldn't even fit you."
"World is ending, bitch, we can do whatever the fuck we want."
"I wanna do this." Chase said and pointed his Fistgones at them, a blaze hit their backs, and soon they were rolling on the ground, trying to put out flames on their butts.
They gave the kid his sneakers back.
"What are you going to do to them?" Ryan asked.
"Well, there's no cops anymore." Nico said.
"So… Are you going to kill them?"
The kids heard that and panicked but couldn't run with Molly holding them tight.
"Jesus, kid, where did you get these ideas?" Chase asked him.
"That's what my dad and Stormfront did."
"Where we come from, heroes don't do things like this… Look at that over there." The American flag was on a pole, waving with the wind, high and mighty. "When you see that flag, what comes to your mind?"
"Our country?"
"That so? Because something else comes to my mind."
Soon, the two young hoodlums were lifted by Clara's roots and left hanging by their underwear on the pole.
Payback Mansion Cellar, Earth 7622
Eric O'Grady woke up once he felt cold water splashed into his face. He saw that he was strapped to a chair in the basement of Payback Mansion. His mouth was duct taped, and his interrogator, Deadpool, ripped it off.
"Oh, come on, Wade, gimme a break. I'm just back from the dead!" Eric pleaded.
"So? Cap was dead, Barton was dead, Banner was dead… Ironically, because Barton killed him. Point is, you don't get pity just because you died once." Wade took something out from his boot: a straight razor. "Ever watched 'Reservoir Dogs'?" Wade asked as he started to play 'Stuck in the Middle with You' by Stealers Wheel.
Eric immediately understood what was about to happen.
"Oh, Jesus fuck, no!" Eric said.
"Well, you should give it a watch. I'd highly recommend it. Tarantino also keeps his foot fetish out of it too! So that you won't feel secondhand embarrassment watching it with friends." Deadpool told him as he got closer.
Wade started to dance to the song as he brought the razor closer to Eric.
"WAIT! WAIT! I know one more thing!" Eric told him.
Wade turned off the music.
"I've heard A.I.M. took an interest in some sort of school here." Eric told Wade.
Wade brought the blade to Eric's ear and feigned he was about to cut his ear off.
"Godolkin! I think it was called Godolkin!" Eric told him.
"Thanks!" Wade told him, patting Eric on the cheek.
He got out of the cellar and saw the others getting geared up.
"Hey guys, guess what? Who has two thumbs and found a B-plot? This guy!" Wade told them, pointing at himself.
"That's great, Wade." Wolverine sarcastically told him.
"Yeah, A.I.M. has some sort of interest in a place called Godolkin University." Wade told him.
"Thanks for letting us know, Wade. We'll get to that when we can, but right now, we have something more important to do." Steve told him.
Wade was silent.
"Yeah… Sure, whatever you say." Wade said bitterly.
Marie was strapped to a table as Sinister lowered a device down to her. At first, she assumed he was lowering an anesthetic mask, but then she got a look of the interior. The four corners had syringes embedded into them.
"Fuck!" She gasped out upon seeing them.
He placed it onto her stomach, and she felt the needles pierce her skin.
"Consider this a test. The device will drain every last drop of blood from your body. You'll have to save as much blood as possible without dying. I'll grant you one minute." Sinister told her.
With the flick of a button, Marie felt the blood in her body getting drained. Her vision started to fade when, all of a sudden, she heard an explosion, and the room shook. Sinister was caught off guard.
"What?!"
An alarm soon went off, and the room began to glow red as a siren went off. His guards entered the room.
"Master, the X-Men are here." One of them informed.
Sinister growled.
"Protect the subjects!" He ordered them angrily.
Sinister looked down at Marie and turned off the device. She let out a sigh of relief.
"It would appear our experiment has been postponed." He told her.
Not a second later, however, he was blasted across the room by a red light beam.
"Not postponed, canceled."
He wore a blue spandex suit with yellow tights, boots, a belt, and a strap with a red and black "X" on it. Most noticeable was the visor covering his eyes. Sinister chuckled upon seeing him.
"Scott, it has been quite some time." Sinister told as he sat up.
"Not long enough." Cyclops bluntly told him.
He blasted from his eyes, only for Sinister to fire a blast from his hands. The two energy beams clashed. The equipment in the room started to get damaged, giving Marie time to escape from her shackles. Upon hitting the floor, she felt dizzy from the blood loss, and could barely stand. Her gaze traveled to Cyclops and Sinister, who seemed to be in a stalemate. Noticing the blood leaking out from the puncture wounds, utilizing her powers, she created a small blood bubble. She launched the blood bubble into Sinisters' eyes. He tried to clean them, only for Cyclops to take advantage and blast him. Sinister was blasted across several rooms. Cyclops noticed Marie and went over to her.
"Thanks." He told her.
She passed out not much later. Cyclops pressed the button.
"This is Cyclops. I have one of the Sinisters' captives. She's not in good shape." Scott told the others as he hoisted her over his shoulders. Before leaving, he noticed the vial, Sinister held her blood in.
New York City, Earth 7622
A figure gazed at Vought Tower from inside an abandoned office building nearby. His workers were setting up equipment. He wore a long black leather outfit. Most strikingly was his head and face. He was one of the most hated men in history: the Red Skull.
"Fuhrer." His longtime minion, Crossbones, addressed with a salute.
"Speak." Red Skull stated.
"Our donors are ready to speak with you. Also, my team has also extracted the specimen, or what's left of it." Crossbones told him.
"That is good." Red Skull admitted before letting out an amused chuckle.
"Doom's declaration no doubt made things easier for them." Red Skull told him.
"No kidding. The moment they discovered they'd lose all their money after moving to our Earth must have horrified them. Either die rich or live poor. Must have been a nightmare for them." Crossbones said.
"They are selfish and will do anything to protect the contents of their wallet." Red Skull stated, giving one last look at Vought Tower smirking. "Making them all the more malleable for certain changes in the name of their survival. They just might have earned their place in my new world."