Savage Land, Earth 616
A second after Cyclops' command, the other X-Men appeared before him. The first to arrive was Rogue, who flew down with her husband, Gambit.
Rogue was wearing her classic green-and-yellow jumpsuit with a brown coat over it, while Gambit was wearing his pink and black jumpsuit with a longer coat.
Angel, wearing a red and white costume, flew alongside the couple and remained in the air, overlooking them all.
Sliding onto the scene was Iceman with Shadowcat hitching a ride. Bobby was in his ice form, and Kitty wore a yellow and black uniform. Her face was unmasked, allowing her curly brown hair to have freedom.
Mr. Sinister was unhappy to see them.
"Kill them!" He ordered the rest of the Marauders.
The X-Men and Marauders soon began to fight one another. Rogue and Blockbuster found themselves in a test of strength. However, it appeared that Blockbuster was on the losing end. His teeth gritted as he tried to push Rogue. The southerner looked at Blockbuster in amusement.
"Havin' a hard time, fella?" She asked
"Shut your friggin-AH!" He was about to yell when Rogue started to push back. She hovered in the air as she moved his arms back, nearly breaking them. Sinister then blasted Rogue, throwing a series of glowing pink cards at him.
"Hey! Mon ami, leave the lady alone!" Gambit yelled.
The cards exploded, causing Sinister to step back, and Rogue took advantage of this to tackle Blockbuster. She brought him up into the air and slammed him into the ground before she started to punch him across the face.
"Thanks, hon." Rogue said.
"No problem, Cher. What would you do without me?" Gambit replied, flirting.
"Ah can think of plenty." Rogue flirted back.
"Cut back on the flirting, you two." Cyclops scolded as he blasted Arclight.
Arclight was pushed back but jumped up into the air. Cyclops rolled out of the way and continued to blast her. She was soon frozen in ice by Iceman from behind.
"Let them have this. Potential end of the world and all that." Iceman told him.
"We've gone through the potential end of the world before, Bobby. Right now, we need to focus." Cyclops told him.
Arclight broke out of the ice. She angrily shivered from the cold.
"I'll rip both of you in two!" She yelled as she charged them.
"Oh boy…" Bobby sarcastically said.
He froze the moisture around her, fully encasing her in ice this time. Their eyes soon went over to Angel, who was busy dodging Harpoons' projectiles in the air. Warren found his opening and tackled Harpoon. He proceeded to pummel the Marauder with his bare fists angrily. Until he started to feel disoriented, his sight veered to Vertigo. Harpoon tried to take advantage of this by punching Angel.
"I remember when I took your wings. Now, I think I'll just go for the heart." Harpoon said.
"Don't count on it." Shadowcat's voice announced although she could not be seen. She phased up from the ground and punched Vertigo in the jaw. Angel took advantage of this and headbutted Harpoon, bringing him to the ground, before twisting his leg and breaking it.
"Where's Sinister?" Angel asked Scott.
"Here." Sinister declared in his grip was Marie's neck.
"Kidnappin' a buncha kids. Now holdin' a hostage, you're just a coward, ain't ya?" Rogue asked.
"Just exploiting your greatest weakness." Sinister stated. "It's your move, Scott."
"No, it's not." Cyclops remarked.
Just then a shift in the sky happened, catching Sinister off guard. The sky's red became more intense as the other Earth approached them. Kitty took advantage of this and grabbed Marie. Phasing her out of Sinister's grip before the Eugenisist got frozen solid.
"What the hell was that?" Angel asked.
"I don't know." Cyclops said. "You and the others managed to get the others, right?"
"Sure did." Gambit said.
"Good, let's take them to the mansion. Hank can look after them. We'll figure out our next move soon." Cyclops told them.
Infinity Satellite, The space between two universes
Tony entered the satellite, where he saw Reed, Stephen, Sue, and Jennifer and the holograms of T'Challa and Blackbolt.
"What happened?" Tony asked.
"There was a break in… Led by Steve." Reed said.
Tony let out a sigh of annoyance.
"Typical. Absolutely typical. Who did he bring with him?" He asked.
"Bucky, Sam, Peter, Bruce and…" Reed sighed. "Ben and Johnny."
Sue pinched her temple.
"Please tell me, Johnny had nothing to do with this." Sue said.
"Actually, yes…" Reed said as he slumped down into the chair.
"What do you mean?" Sue asked.
"I assumed the Doom bots were from them when I discovered they were in the satellite. However, Ben showed that the stones were breaking." Reed told them.
Silence filled the room.
"It was my fault… I thought that my calculations were." Reed was about to explain.
"Oh, Reed don't." Sue said, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"It's my fault as well, seeing as how I built the damn thing." Tony said.
In a brief flash of anger, he pounded on the machine before trying to calm himself down.
"What's our next move?" Tony asked.
"Despite this freak occurrence. The incursion is no longer a threat. However…" Reed was about to explain.
"Earth 7622 is now in our universe and directly shares our orbit." T'Challa said.
"That sounds bad, and I'm not even a scientist." She Hulk stated. "So, are we still going to have to go through evacuation?" She asked.
"Yes." T'Challa said.
"I fear, it might just be inevitable, thanks to Doom." Strange brought up.
"Societal collapse has just happened in a good chunk of their world. I've seen all sorts of reports showing that." Sue told them.
"We also have another group. Frank Castle's group got two new members. Well, actually one new and a returnee." Tony said focusing on Strange.
"William Butcher is alive?" Strange asked.
"Yes and I think he got an upgrade. Looks like he's become the new Ghost Rider." Tony explained.
"I see, I'll do what I can." Doctor Strange said.
Earth 616,
Major disasters occurred across the planet throughout Earth-616. A massive Tsunami was about to hit San Francisco. The Avengers, which now consisted of Captain Marvel, Spider-Woman, War Machine, the Vision, Scarlet Witch, and Ant-Man, acted as disaster relief. Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, blasted at the bottom of the wave to disrupt it.
"Goddamnit! What the hell is happening?!" She asked.
"Not sure, Tony's gone radio silent." War Machine told her through her com.
"It's not the Incursion, right?" Ant-Man, aka Scott Lang, asked. He transformed into Giant Man to support a skyscraper about to crumble.
"Negative, this doesn't feel like an Incursion. It's no longer our primary concern." The Vision told him.
"What do you mean?" Scott asked.
"Yeah, it feels like it has gotten worse." Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew, said.
"I sensed a shift of sorts in the probability field." The Scarlet Witch explained. "Earth 7622 was pulled out of its universe and into ours."
"Earth 7622 is now in our orbit. It's a gravitational field, and our own are colliding." Vision explained.
"Where's Thor when you need him." Scott sighed.
Payback Mansion, Earth 7622
Captain America and his team walked back to the mansion. When they got inside, everyone was gathered around watching the TV, reporting natural disasters across the globe.
"What happened?" Frenchie asked.
"When we broke into the satellite, we saw that the Infinity Stones were starting to crack. Not long after, they broke." Steve told them.
The residents from 616 gasped upon hearing that.
"So the Incursion is starting again?" Frenchie asked.
"I'm not sure, but I don't think it is. It got worse, but it's not coming any closer. I believe the gems failed at that moment but are holding it back again." Spider-Man guessed.
"So what now?" Luke Cage asked.
"We'll have to help in the natural disasters." Steve replied.
"Cap, somethin' just occurred ta me on the Satellite." The Thing said.
"What is it, Ben?" Steve asked.
"Stretch accused us of sendin' out those Doom bots." He stated.
"So?" Bucky asked.
"So he knows that Doomsy didn't send those out." Ben told him.
"You're right. That attack didn't seem like something Doom would do. I mean sure, it looks petty, but usually Doom has some sort of an ulterior motive whenever he does something like that." Johnny added.
"Looks like someone else wants to get involved, but who?" Sam asked.
Wolverine soon came down, holding a piece of paper.
"Deadpool's left us," Wolverine said, handing Captain America the letter. Cap looked at it and read it.
"Dear teammates…"
"He never was supposed to join us in the first place." Wolverine cut him off before Captain America continued reading.
"I'm sorry to tell you all this, but I have decided to take my leave to do something relevant to the plot. Usually, whenever I get involved in these types of stories, I'm the comic relief and nothing more. Well, frankly, I deserve more dammit! I mean, Spider-Man has a wife and a kid in this. Something actually relatable and dramatic. Instead of being a perpetually poor, miserable, and incompetent manchild who gets…"
"Can you please skip that part." Spider-Man told him.
"Because that's relatable to only a small group of middle-aged men. Anyway, before I get caught up in an author tract I'll be heading over to Godolkin University. I sense a B-plot is a brewin' and will be taking advantage of it. Feel free to join me. Love, Deadpool."
New York, Earth 7622
MM drove by his ex-wife's house. His car shook as he ran over the cracks on the ground towards his old family home. He removed his red sunglasses and looked spray painted on the next-door house. The end is here. He knocked on the door and found it was an inch open, just with furniture holding the door back. He pushed his way in as he called for his ex.
"Monique!" He said, and she came, her eyes filled with tears. "Where's Janine?"
"She's at the church with other kids. Praying."
"Todd still hasn't filed for the move." He guessed, disappointed.
"After the power went down, he said it was proof we couldn't trust the other Earth, then when it came back, he went to the internet and just got worse and worse."
"I'll talk to him."
He walked down the stairs to the basement. He could hear a familiar voice with a Southern accent. Todd was listening to Firecracker and speaking to Ezekiel. As he got closer, he sniffed an awful smell. Clearly, Todd hadn't showered in a long time. He found Todd on the couch, eating snacks and wearing an old, stained robe.
"Todd." He carefully said, like who's afraid of scaring a deer in a hunt, a warranted approach since it was enough to startled Todd. "We gotta talk."
"Hey, Marvin, I-I'm just staying in tune." Todd said with a nervous smile. "You know, that Galactus thing attacked their Earth more than a couple times. How does it keep repeating? There must be some sort of- -"
"Why the fuck didn't you file for the evacuation?" MM cut in.
Todd shook his head, disappointed. "They got you too, goddammit. Marvin, come on, they rejected Ezekiel, Ezekiel, look at who they are picking!"
"You're a goddamn teacher. There's a teacher shortage, so they gave you a motherfucking golden ticket, and you said no to it. You could've taken Monique and Janine somewhere safe."
"I did it for them! Wake up, Marvin, these signs are all over their discourse. I don't want Janine to end up in a Wakadian labor camp under Black Panther's rule!"
"That's bullshit! You're just too fucking brainwashed to see it! People like Firecracker and Homelander prey upon the weak."
"Fuck you."
"Listen, this world, it had one shot, it blew it, and you can see out there with the second planet up in the sky. But if you care about Monique and Janine, you'll do this for them."
"That's what I'm doing."
MM sighed. He grabbed the computer and logged off the Firecracker website. He then entered the UN website, which was connected to the Earth evacuation.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Todd asked.
"You're doing this whether you want to or not. It needs your facial recognition. Now look at the camera."
Todd walked back far away from the computer. "I won't give my personal info to the people who brainwashed Homelander."
MM got up, held Todd, and grabbed him by the jaw while dragging him to the camera. As it scanned his face, Todd reached for a pistol, tapped under the table, and tried to shoot MM. The bullet flew near his ear, causing him to release Todd, who pointed it at MM.
"Get the fuck out of my house!" Todd yelled.
MM went back to his car and grabbed his gun. Monique approached him.
"Marvin, whatever you're thinking, don't!" She said.
"I am done! I'll fucking kill that asshole if I have to, and I don't give a fuck if you hate for it. I'll kill Todd, put his hand on ice for palm prints, and we'll find some guy who looks enough like him for the documents to stick."
"Listen to what you're saying! You're not yourself!"
"Why do you think that is!" He shouted as he pointed the gun at the other Earth.
"So go ahead! But afterward, I want you to look at Janine's eyes and tell her what her daddy did."
MM finally stopped. He went back to his car.
"I'm picking Janine at the church." He told her. "You can get in and come with me. If you wanna stay with that freak, that's your problem, but my baby girl won't go back to that house with him inside."
Monique entered the car, and they drove off.
CIA Headquarters, Earth 7622
Ryan and the Runaways arrived at what was once the CIA headquarters Mallory brought him to. Now, it was abandoned entirely, partially destroyed by the tsunami. Karolina opened the front doors, releasing a wave of water by their feet, carrying dead fish. Chase, in a fit of anger, kicked one of the fish away.
"Come on!" He shouted. "How are we supposed to get home now!?"
"Calm down," Nico said. There's still plan B: We go to Washington and wait at the UN until Black Panther, Mr. Fantastic, or Iron Man shows up."
"How do you know they'll go to Washington? This is a global issue; they can meet the UN anywhere in the world!"
"So we'll separate in teams, each to the location most likely for them to show up."
"If they do! Look what happened to the Incursion, it has gotten worse! All because we had to pick Molly- -"
"Hey!" Karolina shouted, her hands on Molly's shoulders.
"That's not your fault, Molly, it's Homelander's." Nico said.
"She's right, you just wanted to help people, I was just being a dick." Chase said. "Ryan, is there anywhere else you think your Aunt Grace might be?"
"I don't know…" Ryan said as he thought hard. "But she had business cards! With her contact on them."
"Great." Nico said. "We search her office for one of those cards, give her a call and get home."
They entered the building and Ryan showed the way to Mallory's old office. The windows were cracked and almost everything was gone, every computer, every file, but breaking into her desk they found a CIA card with her name on it.
"Jackpot!" Molly said.
Steps were heard coming from the upstairs floor, so Chase put on his x-ray goggles and saw who it was. Hydra agents lurked around, taking whatever information was left.
"Guys, we better get out of here." Chase suggested. "There's friggin Hydra Agents all over this place!"
Just as they were about to leave, an agent in classic green and yellow attire entered the office and saw the Runaways. It was awkward for a second until he reached for his earpiece.
"Trouble- -!" Karolina blasted him away before he finished his sentence, throwing the man like a ragdoll.
More Hydra Agents came and started shooting as the Runaways tried to make their exit. Klara used the plants on the building to attack them, but there were very few, and the agents quickly shot them to pieces. Chase looked down at the flooded floor and got an idea.
"Everybody, get your feet off the ground!" He yelled.
They all floated and Karolina grabbed Molly and Klara as Chase, whose feet were protected by the footstigons, put the Fistigons on the wet floor, unleashing an electric charge that knocked out all the agents.
They sighed in relief and returned to the exit. Suddenly, Ryan was blasted through the wall, and his body hit the ground. Instinctively, he shot his laser vision, but he couldn't stop. Ryan kept shooting a blast of solid heat through the wall.
"Ryan, stop it!" Molly shouted.
"I can't!" He yelled, still shooting his laser.
Nico bit her lip, losing a small drop of blood as a sacrifice.
"Be able to stop your laser vision for now!" She said pointing the Staff of One at Ryan.
He finally stopped. They went to check what blast through the wall and found a Hydra tank damaged by the lasers. It mostly took the shot well, but at one, the laser went through the hatch the driver used to aim and hit him in the eyes and burned through his brain. Nico, Chase, and Karolina agreed not to let the younger ones see that.
"What the Hell is Hydra doing on this Earth?" Chase asked, just as Molly carried the living agents in her arms and dropped.
"We're about to find out." Nico grimly said as her eyes shined purple, and she flew towards the men.
Maryland, Earth 7622
After Butcher returned, Hughie, Soldier Boy, and Sage had to exit in a hurry with no time to talk. The RV tolled Butcher's car, and they took turns driving. Now it was Butcher driving the RV while Terror was on the corner humping his stuffed pig, his head now normal. Soldier Boy checked the thermostat of the RV as he saw Butcher driving, likely expecting the vehicle to turn into a blazing box just like the car they were pulling.
"Not how it works, mate." Butcher told him as he watched from the rearview mirror.
"How did we kill Translucent?" Hughie asked.
"A bomb up his bum." Butcher answered. "Haven't I passed your test already? It's me."
"Butcher died."
"That was a shame. I'm back."
"He's a Ghost Rider." The Punisher casually said.
All the eyes turned to Frank Castle.
"A what?" Soldier Boy asked.
"It's what you are. Ghost Riders have existed as long as my Earth, maybe longer, Spirits of Vengeance with a part of God's power stored in Hell."
"In Hell? Is Hell real?" Hughie said, not believing his own words. "That's… That's where you were sent to after- -After Homelander killed you."
"A version of it, an exclusive club for people from Earth 616 but got a special invite thanks to the Incursion."
"What is it like?"
"Fucking generic. The fire, the demons, all that malarkey you expect."
"Now we have another reason to get this thing working." Sage said, she worked on the table with the pieces of Iron Man's armor and the teleporter. "Better find an Earth with no afterlife or else everybody on this RV is going to eternal damnation."
"I'm not scared of that shit." Soldier Boy said as confidently as he could as he frantically crushed and snorted his tablets.
"I try to stay away from the supernatural, " the Punisher casually said. I was deep into it for a while, but it was just not very me. I better keep my distance, but a Ghost Rider on our side is going to be helpful."
"Oi, Castle." Butcher spoke. "Do me a favor, will ya? Don't call me that. I'm not a supe."
Hughie got up walked to the driver's seat, and turned off the engine.
"You really want to keep going like it's all normal. You died, Butcher." Hughie angrily said. "When people die, they're gone for good, but here you are acting like nothing happened. What the fuck is wrong with you? I grieved for you. MM grieved. I bet Frenchie and Kimiko did, too, despite how much of a fucking asshole you are."
"What do you want, Hughie? We had a mission and my deal with Johnny Blaze got me back on it. I could've just taken me boy and gone stay on Earth 616 until they blew up this dirt ball, but you know why I can't." Butcher got up and grabbed Hughie's jacket. "And it…" He laid a fiery finger on him, turning Hughie's clothes into the black Spider-Man suit. "... Knows too." Butcher looked at the others. "You wanna find a way out of here? I have it, we kill Homelander, and I'll help. No need to waste time with the broken goober."
"What about Mindstorm and Noir?" Soldier Boy asked.
"They'll die with this planet. What else do you want? Who's with me?"
Homelander's Penthouse, Earth 7622
Homelander was sitting down on the couch of his apartment. No movements, no blinking, just the same blank expression for hours and hours. His mind drifted. He wasn't there… He wasn't really there…
It was late at night, and Homelander and Maeve left the Oscars together. They waved to the crowd before he picked her up and flew away. Homelander landed behind the Hollywood sign and put Maeve back on the grounds. He held back and pointed his finger at her.
"You should've told that little shit to fuck off." He said.
"I was just trying to be polite."
"And he was just trying to get to your pants."
"Come on, John, the guy never stood a chance. Can we just let this go and get home?"
"I can go home; you can walk, " he told her and flew away, leaving her alone.
Homelander flew above the L.A. roads, finding the car he was looking for. A movie producer had swapped place cards to sit next to Maeve and hit on her all night. Now, Homelander was following his green Corvette to find his address.
As he was flying, he sensed something off: Gravity. He started to lose balance and feel himself getting down until his flight was utterly shut off, and he fell onto the road. His body bounced forward the road, breaking the pavement until he stopped with his body down on the ground and covered in bruises. He saw a wheelchair approaching him.
"Professor?" Homelander asked.
"Hello, John, what are you doing?"
"Falling." He said as he got up and dusted the wreckage off his suit.
"You were planning to kill that man."
"Come on, Professor, that fucking guy hit on my girlfriend right in front of me."
"And you thought murdering him was the proper response. You've hit on women with spouses before, didn't you."
"I'm not perfect, Professor."
"Good to hear you acknowledge that."
Homelander tried to fly away, but he simply couldn't.
"Can I get a ride?"
"I can get a ride. You can walk."
Vought Tower Earth 7622,
Annie headed towards the CEO's office to get any information from Ashley.
"What do you mean someone broke into the records?!" She yelled on the phone. "What did they even fucking take?!" Ashley questioned.
Annie studied Ashley's expression, and it transformed from anger to confusion.
"Really? Why was it even there in the first place?!" Ashley asked, sounding disgusted.
There was more silence on the other end.
"I don't give a shit about what Edgar said! I'm the CEO now! We should have gotten rid of it in the first place!" Ashley growled, slamming down the phone to hang up.
Annie walked into the office.
"Starlight, what is it?" Ashley asked.
"What was that phone call about?" Annie asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Ashley lied.
Annie gave her a look of skepticism.
"Fuck you! You don't disappear on us when Armageddon is happening and act like you're in charge!" Ashley yelled.
"Does Maeve?" Annie asked.
Ashley's face softened as she started to look nervous.
"Promise me you won't tell anyone else. Also, I want to clarify that I knew what happened there." Ashley said.
"At least tell us what the Records is?" Annie asked.
"It's a top-secret lab and facility. It's off the books. I only learned about it when Edgar resigned. It's where Vought keeps important information and research." Ashley told her.
"Do you know where it is?" Annie asked.
"It's in the middle of Colorado. Here's the address." Ashley said, handing her a note with a pair of coordinates.
"Thank you. This conversation never happened." Annie told her as she left the office. She saw Ashley starting to eye the liquor in the office. Just as she was about to leave the office, Annie ran into someone: Maeve.
"I need to speak with you about something." She firmly told her.
Annie frowned before letting out a huff.
"Fine." Annie said.
Maeve took her to a vacant conference room.
"So it looks like your friends broke into the satellite trying to fuck with the things preventing the end of the world. Fortunately, they exploded before anyone could fuck with them." Maeve told her.
"How the fuck do you even know that?! They were trying to save our planet. Forgive me for not giving up like you do!" Annie shot back.
There was a tense silence.
"Fine, Reed told me it was his mistake. Anyway, do you know who Firecracker is?" Maeve asked.
"The supe conspiracy theorist?" Annie asked.
"Yeah, as you can guess, her theory about Homelander being brainwashed is shockingly correct. There's also the fact her equipment wasn't damaged during the EMP. Not to mention, her following has quadrupled since Coleman disappeared. We did some research, and as it turns out, you two rode in the same circles as one another." Maeve said.
"We did?" Annie asked.
"The supe pageants." Maeve told her.
Annie winced upon hearing that.
"Yeah, I don't blame you. Those things are pedophile magnets. Do you think you could try and get her to stop?" Maeve asked.
Annie let out a sigh.
"I'll try. Do you know where she'll be?" Annie asked.
"Some sort of Conspiracy Convention, TruthCon. It's in Georgia." Maeve told her.
"Thank you." Annie said as she left.
She stepped outside to the closest balcony and began to call someone.
"Captain, it's me. There was a break-in at a Vought facility. It's a top-secret one. It may be worth looking into." She said.
"Thank you, will you be going?" Steve asked.
"No, they want me to go to a Conspiracy based convention. It's called "Truth Con." They want me to speak to Firecracker there and get her to stop her talks about Homelander. I might need backup." Annie said.
There was a momentary pause.
"You might think it's an ambush. I can't see them doing that." Steve guessed.
"I know, but it's just to be safe." Annie told him.
"I see. I'll send a team to both locations. See if you can dig up any information from Godolkin University. Deadpool went AWOL and is trying to start his investigation there. I'm sending another team there to reign him in." Steve told her.
"Alright, I'll send you the facilities location. It's called the Records." Starlight told him as she took a photo of the paper for him and sent it.
New York Apartment, Earth 7622
Anika was busy speaking on her phone, pacing back and forth.
"I've set up a potential fall guy in case they get suspicious of me. Even if they figure it out, I'll be long gone." Anika said.
The other party on the phone spoke tensely.
"I have no idea who sent those Doombots. I'll look into it. Fortunately, I've discovered two sets of spies. Queen Maeve is working with the Illuminati. Meanwhile, Starlight is working under Captain America's group." Anika said.
The person on the phone questioned her.
"How capable are they? They're amateurs. Sure, I have centuries of experience at espionage over them, but that makes it all the more telling." Anika said.
Anika entered her bathroom and grabbed a towel.
"As for Homelander, Xavier turned him into his little meatpuppet. He locks him in his room for whatever psychic therapy session." She stated.
The voice asked a more personal question.
"Is Homelander aware of it? I think to some degree, but Xavier has a grip on him. I've been laying a low profile since they got him." Anika said. "I must say I'm shocked to hear this level of sadism from you, Magneto. I always thought you were too high and mighty to enjoy something like that. Anyway, that's all I know so far." Anika told him.
Anika entered the shower box fully clothed when her skin and appearance changed. Her clothes disappeared from her body. Her skin was now blue, her hair was red, and her eyes glowed yellow. She was, in actuality, the mutant shapeshifter Mystique.