Infinity Spotlights: The Centurions
Disclaimer: All characters belong to their owners. This is just for fun.
"So, got any more neat stories about the Multiverse?" Meilin Lee asked.
The Watcher smiled. "Of course, Miss Lee. The Multiverse is a never-ending fountain of stories. Stories of heroes and villains. Like this group." The Watcher showed an image of a city with red skies and thunder cracking.
"In the near future, cyberneticist Dr. Manfred Kline, aka Doc Terror, and his cyborg companion Eric 'Hacker' Hacke, had unleashed their robotic forces to conquer their Earth." The Watcher's image showed robotic troopers of various forms attacking a city. "On this Earth, one force can counter the evil of Terror: a handful of brave people." The image showed three people running towards a metal closet. They were two men and a woman. One of the men was Latino, the other was a blond-haired man with a cocky grin. The woman was dark-skinned, and had short dark hair. The three were shown putting on special bodysuits. The woman's was green with black highlights, the Latino man's was yellow with black highlights, and the blond's was blue with silver highlights. The suits had hard points all over them, like objects could be attached to them. "In specially-created Exo-Frames, they can be transported anywhere to fuse with incredible assault weapon systems beamed down from the space station known as Skyvault, becoming man and machine, Power Xtreme."
The screen next showed the dark-skinned woman. "Maxine Raymond. Brilliant Sea Operations Commander." The screen showed the Haitian-American woman, wearing the Tidal Blast weapon system, swimming towards a robotic submarine. She fired a pair of gray missiles at the submarine, the leg-mounted engines taking her away as the missiles blew up the drone.
"Jake Rodriguez-Rockwell, Rugged Land Operations Specialist." The screen next showed the Latino man, marching towards some robotic drones that looked vaguely humanoid, but with six orange wheels instead of legs. Armed with the Fire Force weapon system, he used the chest mounted laser gattling gun to blast the droids to smithereens.
"Charles Neil McCleod, Daring Air Operations Expert." The image showed the blond man in the Sky Knight weapon system, out-flanking some sairplane-like aerial robots, then blasting them with some red wrist-mounted missiles.
"Whatever threats rear their heads on this Earth, they are ready. They are the Centurions." The Watcher introduced. "Let us join them in New York City's Central Park, where they are dealing with a threat that sprouted from Central Park..."
New York City, Earth-1986C
"This isn't exactly what I imagine you had in mind when you said we should be more one with nature, eh, Jake?!" Ace remarked as he blasted some vines that lashed out towards him with the laser cannons on the Sky Knight weapon system.
"No. No, it ain't." Jake grunted as he blasted at some mutated Venus fly-traps with the chest-mounted gatling gun on the Fireforce system.
"I won't be missing these. I hate flowers." Max grunted as she blasted at some plant monsters with her forearm-mounted laser cannon as part of the Cruiser system. "I always hated flowers."
"And here I was thinking a lady loves flowers." Ace teased as he took to the air, some flying pitcher plant-like monsters pursuing him.
"Not if they get the allergies going." Max grumbled. She then sneezed. "I hate flowers..." The Centurions' battle was being observed by a figure. This figure was a woman with pale skin and green vine-like hair. She was clad in what looked like green leggings, boots, and a sleeveless overcoat covered in green leaves.
"You Centurions are a royal pain." The woman scowled. Once upon a time, she was an eco-terrorist named Bianca Woodley. However, that would change when she got exposed to an experimental composting device. The energies mutated her, granting her the power of chlorokinesis (plant manipulation). The energies also damaged her mind, making her into a madwoman obsessed with cleansing the planet of humanity, taking up the name Blackthorn.
"Coming from you, it's a compliment." Max said as she blasted at some of the mutant plants with her Cruiser's forearm-mounted laser gun. "You think this is the way to save the environment?!"
"If you humans didn't declare war on the Earth, then this would not be necessary."
"Ah, one of that fanatical types. Always fun to deal with." Ace remarked, blasting more vines.
"Only one way to deal with fanatics, Ace: Take them down, and do it hard." Jake said. "Crystal, is it ready?"
"Ready to go, Jake." Crystal said on Jake's communicator watch.
"Drop it!" Max ordered. "Centurions! Let's move!"
"Enjoy our present, Plant Girl!" Ace whooped as the three Centurions retreated.
"Ha!" Blackthorn cackled. "I made the Centurions retreat! Not even Doc Terror could do that!" She heard a whistling. "What?!" She looked up. She noticed what looked like a large silver football falling towards her. It then stopped, hovering above her. The football then sprouted some nozzles, pointing at her and her plants. "...motherfu-!"
FWASH!
The nozzles sprayed clouds of freon-like gas dropped on her and her mutant plants, covering them in a layer of ice.
"The Freon Dropper worked!" Jake whooped. "Got her colder than a ice cube on Pluto!"
"Indeed." Max nodded, looking up at the device with a smile. "The authorities can handle her from here. Let's go home."
"Yeah, this adventure has gotten me hungry. I'm in the mood for some chili." Jake grinned.
"Too bad it's Ace's turn to cook." Max sighed.
"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Ace yelped.
"Yeah, as long as the only thing you have to do is use the microwave." Max frowned. "You managed to burn water. Water!"
"Yeah, I'm not sure how that happened either."
Some time later, the Centurions were relaxing in their headquarters. Max was reading the news on her tablet. Ace was playing an arcade game. And Jake was conversing with two other Centurions: A Native American man and a Japanese woman.
"Sounds like we missed quite a party." The woman, Reiko "Rex" Juuden, remarked.
"Wasn't much, really." Jake shrugged. "How was the mission in space?"
"It was successful." John Thunder said. "We're heading home now."
"Why not just ask Skyvault to teleport you home?"
"We're not in range of their teleporters yet. Won't be for another couple hours." Reiko reminded. "We'll see you then." The two ended their transmission.
"Hmmm..." Max frowned at an article she was reading on her tablet. "Hey guys, check this out." She showed them her tablet's screen. The two looked at the headline.
Head of Corelli Family Found Headless
"Looks like some hombre is playin' vigilante." Jake remarked.
"Evidently, there have been sightings of him all over New York City." Max added.
"Not surprising." Ace shrugged. "I mean, we've encountered our fair share of vigilantes and superheroes in our line of work."
"Yeah, but this one is been noted to be especially brutal." Max noted. "Whoever is doing this has a lot of rage." The Centurions' wrist-coms then started to beep. "Talk to us, Crystal." A redheaded woman appeared on the instruments' screens. She was wearing a blue and silver uniform.
"Hey there, Centurions." Crystal Kane greeted warmly.
"Crystal!" Ace grinned, taking her hand. "You're like a fine wine, only getting better with age." He kissed her hand.
"Oh, brother." Jake rolled his eyes. "You want me to toss him out the airlock, Crystal?"
The redhead let out an amused chuckle. "Thanks, Jake. But I can take care of myself."
"I was just being complimentary." Ace gave his fellow Centurion a frown.
"Congratulations on the mission's success."
"Thanks, Crystal." Max nodded with a smile. "It was a challenge, but we got it done."
"I take it that these are the Centurions?" A man asked as he walked up to the four.
"Yes, they are." Crystal nodded.
"Who is this guy?" Ace asked. The man was a tall brunet, nearly six feet in height, with a slender frame. He wore a blue and purple costume with purple gloves and boots.
"Everyone, say hello to Spectral." Crystal introduced.
The man smiled and waved. "Nice to meet you all. Call me David."
Spectral. Real Name: David Castigilone. Birthplace: San Francisco, CA, Earth-030165. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliations: (Formerly) X-Men West. Powers and Abilities: At will, Castiglione can envelop his body in flames in various colors. Each flame gives different abilities: Red (super-strength and berserker rage), Orange (Pyrokinesis), Yellow (Flight), Green (Healing), Blue (Allows survival underwater), Indigo (Allows survival in vacuum), and Purple (Allows creation of protective forcefields). Skilled hand-to-hand combatant, businessman and baker.
"Nice to meet you." Max nodded. "What's his deal?"
"You know that mysterious vigilante that's been appearing, shooting up criminals?" Crystal asked.
"Just read about him." Jake nodded.
"Mr. Castiglione here believes he can shed some light on it." Crystal explained.
"Oh?" Max crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow curiously.
"Yes." David nodded. "I saw photos of the crime scenes. And I recognized that handiwork." David nodded with a sigh. "It's Frank. He's here, too."
"Frank?" Ace blinked.
"Yes." David nodded. "He's my cousin. On my old world, he was called the Punisher. It's obvious why."
"So, he's a serial killer that targets criminals." Jake scowled.
"It's...a bit more complicated than that." David winced. "He and I aren't exactly close. Not since the day his wife and kids were killed."
"Killed?" Max repeated.
"Yeah." David nodded. "His wife Maria, his daughter Lisa and son Frank Junior." He shook his head. "It was a horrible bit of fate. They got caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between soldiers of mob families. He was the only one who survived. It...it messed him up badly."
"So he decided to go nuts and start doing the serial killer bit." Jake frowned, crossing his arms.
"He wasn't always like this." David sighed. "We were close as kids. He was a bit of a hothead, though. And God help you if you picked on other kids. Frank hated that. But otherwise that, he had a heart." He smiled warmly. "He was the only member of our family who still accepted me when I came out."
"I think we need to back up a bit." Ace said, waving his head. "You said you and Frank were from 'another world'. Does that mean you guys are aliens?"
"How is that strange?" Max asked. "We've encountered extraterrestrial life in the past."
"No, Frank and I are Earthlings." David said. "We just come from an alternate version of Earth."
"I feel like I stumbled into a 1960s comic book." Jake muttered.
"Our Earth was attacked." David explained. "The skies had turned red. And the world was attacked by shadowy beings." He sighed. "My world has...had many people like me on it. Superpowered heroes. They all fought bravely against the invasion."
"So, how did you end up here?" Max asked.
"You can thank Dr. Strange for that."
"Doctor whut?" Jake blinked.
"That is a rather unusual name." Crystal agreed.
"'Strange' is an English surname." Max noted. "Was this 'Doctor Strange' from England?"
David shrugged. "American as far as I know. He was the Sorcerer Supreme of my universe..."
"Sorcerer Supreme?" Jake blinked. He looked at Ace. "Isn't that what one of your galpals calls herself?"
"Cassandra Cross, yeah." Ace nodded. "She says every known universe in the Multiverse has something like that, a main mystical defender." He smiled at David. "We can take you to her, and maybe she can help you get home."
"I want to find Frank, and bring him home too." David said. "You guys may have to knock him around a bit, as this world has its fair share of criminals, and well..." He sighed. "He's not going to leave willingly. He tends to keep himself away from the costumes for obvious reasons. But he's tangled with some in our time. And he was a military man. US Marine. He was good. Damn good." The superhuman warned. "Force Recon, skilled sniper, hand-to-hand, Frank is practically a super-soldier."
"If he is at it, he'll need a base and weapons." Max thought, rubbing her chin. "We'll have to look into thefts of any gun shops and armories in the area."
"We'll have to move quickly." David said. "We have to get home!"
Dominion, currently under the Arctic
Dominion was the headquarters of one of this world's greatest villains: Doc Terror. Its advanced cloaking technology prevent anyone from discovering its location. It also helped that Dominion regularly moved from place to place, making it harder to pin down.
In a room of the complex was a wall of screens, showing the Centurions and various other heroes of this world in action. This was all being watched by a man sitting in a chair, fingers steepled in front of his face. He had dark hair, and wore a red-and-black suit with shining red armored pieces. His right arm was a red cybernetic, and his right eye, ear, and part of his cheek were covered in red, black, and silver cybernetics.
Doc Terror scowled at the screens, his twisted mind contemplating the images he was watching.
"Somethin' bothering you, boss?" A rough-sounding voice asked. It pulled the villain out of his reverie. He got up and glared at the source of the voice.
It belonged to a bald-headed stocky man, with an overbite. He wore a blue-and-black costume with blue armored pieces. His left arm was a blue cybernetic prosthetic. Terror growled at the man briefly, but held back.
"...yes, Hacker. Something does."
"If yer worried about Dominion being discovered, I just checked the security systems. We're still invisible to them."
"No, that is not what worries me, Hacker." Terror said. He gestured to the screens. "Look at this. For years, I have tried to destroy the Centurions. They had been my only real obstacle in conquering this world and gifting it with uplifting into cybernetic perfection." Terror growled. "But it seems that in all that time, not only do I have to deal with competition in the form of other so-called 'supervillains', those Centurions also seemed to have inspired other so-called 'super-heroes'."
"So, you think we may need some help?" Hacker asked.
Terror shook his head. "I need no one. Especially not my traitorous daughter." Damn you, Amber. I will find you one day...
"If these 'Centurions' are that much of a problem for you, then maybe help is what you need." A female voice said.
"What?!" Hacker exclaimed. He ran to a console and checked it. "There's no one here but us! At least, there shouldn't be anyone but us here, boss."
"Show yourself!" Terror demanded.
The voice came from a stunning white-haired woman, wearing a black bodysuit, black gloves and boots, and a white lab coat. A smirk was on her black lipstick-painted lips as she walked in, seemingly from the shadows.
"Who the hell-?" Doc Terror growled. Hmmm, my sensors pick up some strange readings from her...
"Dr. Kline, I presume?" The woman said. "My name is Dr. Alia Gregor."
"Manfred Kline is dead, woman. This unthinking world killed him. I am Doc Terror." Terror remarked.
"You want me to...remove her, boss?" Hacker grunted, cracking his knuckles on his organic hand.
"I suggest you hear me out." Gregor remarked. Terror considered the woman's words.
"...very well. You have two minutes. If I do not like what I hear, I will have Hacker remove you. Permanently." Terror growled.
"Thank you." Gregor smiled, and then she looked around at the base. "Your technology is impressive."
"Of course it is. It's of my design." Terror snorted. "Get to the point, woman. Clock is ticking."
"I know of a group that can help you achieve your goals." Gregor said. "Conquest of this world. The death of the Centurions and their many allies. And humanity remolded in your image."
"She's talkin' crazy, boss." Hacker growled. "I'm blasting her." His robotic arm sprouted a cannon and pointed it at her. Terror held up a hand.
"She still has time, Hacker." Terror told him. He glared at Gregor. "And why should I believe you?"
"Like me, you see the merging of man and machine as inevitable." She remarked. A smirk formed on her face. "I can respect that." From underneath her suit, what looked like glowing pink ooze started to cover her body. Before the two cyborg's eyes, the ooze then formed into what looked like angular whitish-pink armor, with a dark pink face, glowing red eyes, and a pink upside-down triangle on the chest.
"Boss, the hell-?!" Hacker yelped.
"You are a cyborg yourself." Terror said. "Explains the odd readings my sensors picked up from you."
"Indeed." Gregor confirmed. "Unlike you, I did not end up in this state willingly." The head seemed to melt away, revealing her normal head and face. "It's a long story. I will not bore you with it right now."
"Smart move, you have thirty seconds." Terror answered.
"I am part of a group, gathered together to help get revenge on all our enemies. The League of Skaro."
"You want me to throw her out, boss?" Hacker asked. Terror rubbed his chin and stared at the white haired woman.
"...no, Hacker. That will not be necessary." He looked at Gregor. "You used your time wisely, Dr. Gregor." Terror said. "Tell me more about this...League of Skaro."
"Boss?" Hacker asked through a cybernetic link he had with Terror as she spoke. It allowed them to communicate privately. "Are you sure this is a good idea? This seems too good to be true."
"Don't be a fool, Hacker. You really think I have not considered this? We will go along with this 'League of Skaro' thing, but I'll develop some contingency plans just in case they double-cross us."
Cincinnati, Ohio, Earth-199999
"GRRRRRRRRRARH!" A humanoid being made of what looked like sentient concrete yelled as he smashed his rocky fists into the ground, sending police officers scattering.
"Damned superpowers..." One of the officers grumbled. "Where the hell is Code: Blue?!"
"They're coming!" Another officer answered. He saw another cop aiming his gun at the man of living concrete. "Forget it, Jones! You'll just end up hurting someone with a ricochet!"
"Perhaps I can be of help, gentlemen." A voice said. The three cops turned around.
"Well, alright." The first officer grinned when he realized who it was. "This guy is in for a bad day."
"THAT BITCH!" Roadkill yelled. "TELL THE JUDGE I HAVE A BAD TEMPER?! SAYS I CAN'T BE AROUND MY KIDS! SHE ACTS LIKE I ENJOY BEING SO DAMN ANGRY!" He then angrily overturned a car. "NOT MY FAULT EVERYONE CONSTANTLY FINDS NEW WAYS TO ENRAGE ME!"
FWEEEEEEEE!
"AGH!" Roadkill yelled when a sonic blast hit him in the back. He growled and turned around.
"Alright, Roadkill. I think you've had enough fun for one day." A teenage boy wearing a slick blue, silver, and black suit of armor. A pair of silver lightning bolts crossed the chest plate, and the helmet incorporated the famous winged helmet of Mercury, silver with blue wings.
Sonic Blue. Real Name: Spencer Allen Burton. Birthplace: Cincinnati, OH. Affiliations: None. Physiology: Baseline Human. Powers and abilities: No innate superpowers. Sonic Blue armor grants superhuman speed, strength, durability, the ability to fire sonic energies. Burton is a skilled track athlete, brawler, and inventor.
Spencer Burton, aka Sonic Blue, remarked as he pointed his sonic blasters at the Inhuman.
"Oh look who it is." The concrete man snarled. "Little Boy Blue."
"It's Sonic Blue, my friend." Spencer corrected. "And I take it that you had a bad day in divorce court again?"
"That stupid judge was in that bitch's pocket! Called me unfit!" Roadkill angrily picked up a car. "I'LL SHOW THAT DUMB JUDGE WHAT 'UNFIT' MEANS!" The Inhuman angrily tossed the car at Spencer. The armored teenager caught it, the force causing him to slide back a bit. The teenage genius inventor was able to put the car down. On a nearby roof, a smirking man was watching the battle. He wore a purple and blue costume, with a belt that had several trick boomerangs on it.
Fred Myers, aka the Boomerang, was an Australian by birth. A former baseball player, he was blacklisted from the major leagues due to accepting bribes. He would go on to be a mercenary, specializing in using trick boomerangs.
"That's right, you big lug." He muttered, raising a modified boomerang. "Keep that boy distracted." This EMP boomerang will short out that brat's armor, and then I'll use some bomberangs to blow him to hell.
"Just like the Boomerang on my world." A woman's voice mocked. "A real pain that kept coming back." The Australian blinked and turned around.
"The hell?" His eyes widened. "Who-?!" Wild locks of red hair lashed out at him.
"UURRRRRGH...That...biiiiiiii..." Roadkill muttered as he fell to the ground face first.
"Well, that's done." Spencer sighed, clapping his armored hands. "You really need some anger management. Maybe Code: Blue can take you somewhere to get it." He saw what looked like locks of red hair place an unconscious Boomerang on the car's roof. "Huh?" He looked up and saw a woman come down the building thanks to her hair.
She was a Black woman in her 60s, wearing a white outfit with a golden belt, matching vambraces, and brown boots. The costume was black around the collar and chest. Her hair was a shiny blood red in color, and had white streaks in it. Her hair was in a long ponytail that seemed to be moving on its own, like it was alive.
Rapunzel. Real Name: Rita Randall. Birthplace: Raleigh, VA, Earth-030165. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliations: First Line, X-Men West (formerly). Powers and abilities: Trichokinesis. Rapunzel can manipulate her hair. Her hair is superhumanly durable.
"Huh." Spencer said.
"Well, I'll be damned." The elder heroine chuckled. "This world has a Sonic Blue as well." She blinked. "Although you seem younger than the Sonic Blue of my world."
"Um..." Spencer blinked. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with you." She clearly isn't that Inhuman Queen I saw on TV...I can imagine Medusa suing this woman for stealing her gimmick.
Spencer and the white-clad red-haired woman watched Cincinnati's local Code: Blue team take Roadkill and Boomerang away.
"Thanks for helping me out back there." Spencer said, smiling at the woman. "You look familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?"
"I'm Rapunzel." Rita introduced.
"Rapunzel?" Spencer blinked. "Wait...you...you disappeared."
"What?"
"In 1988. It was your last known sighting. A whole bunch of superheroes active around that time vanished in '88."
"No, I didn't. What're you talking about...oh, I'm in another universe, aren't I? Explains why you suddenly got shorter."
"I got shorter?"
"In my universe, you're older." She smiled. "Been doing the Sonic Blue thing for about eight years."
"Huh. That's fascinating." Spencer said.
"You said I disappeared alongside a bunch of other superheroes in 1988?"
"Yes." Spencer nodded.
"Tell me more."
Cleveland, Ohio, Earth-51
"No! No, please!" Carlos "Charlie" Diego begged as he backed towards a wall. "It wasn't me! I swear! I didn't rat! It wasn't me! Please, believe me!" A menacing figure stalked towards the man. This figure was massive in size, standing over six foot tall and was over 350 pounds of solid muscle. His head and face were covered by a black luchador-style mask with white highlights around the eyes and red lenses. He wore what looked like a black leather tank top with matching pants, and boots. His hands were covered by black gloves. Interestingly, one of this wrists was covered by an apparatus that resembled a wrist computer. It was attached to a pair of metallic hoses that went to the back of the man's head.
"Rest assured, my friend. My actions against you are not out of personal malice towards you." The muscular man said, his voice showing a South American accent. "It is merely business."
"But I wasn't the squealer!"
What Bane was going to say was silenced by something blasting him. Preceded by a guitar riff, an energy beam hit the Venom-enhanced powerhouse in the back. The beam was white with rainbow-colored Kirby dots. Bane grunted as the beam forced him to the ground. He got to his feet and turned around.
"Up here, Captain Steroid." A male voice piped up. Diego and Bane looked up and saw a man floating in the sky, his body coated in He was blond, and was in his early-to-mid-20s. His hair was wild, like that of an 80s rocker. He was muscular, but lithe, like that of a martial artist. He wore a black t-shirt with a design of a silver single-edge razor blade with wings on the front. His green eyes shone with mirth. His face was covered in blue, white, and black paint that went around his eyes and cheeks, leaving the tip of his nose and mouth exposed. Over his t-shirt he wore a sleeveless blue leather jacket with zebra-print lapels and gold epaulets. He wore blue jeans held up by a black silver-studded belt, the buckle being a silver single-edged razor blade. Around his neck was a golden bandanna. His feet were covered by a pair of knee-high white boots with blue and black fringe on them. On his jeans were patches in the shape of black and silver single-edge razor blades. And slung over his shoulder on a black strap was a blue BC Rich Warlock electric guitar with a zebra-print pickguard.
Kid Razor. Real Name: Robert Redford Parsons. Birthplace: Cleveland, OH, Earth-030165. Physiology: Human Mutate (Mystically enhanced). Affiliations: None. Powers and Abilities: Superhuman agility, reflexes, reaction time. Superhuman hearing and durability. Skilled martial artist, musician, singer, and guitarist. Guitar channels a magical power known as the "Power of Rock" that Razor can use for various effects, including flight, increasing the power of his punches and kicks, and creating forcefields. Guitar is indestructible, allowing Razor to use it as a melee weapon.
The Fearless Kid Razor smirked. "Welcome to Cleveland."
"...who are you?" Bane asked.
"A rock god, the hell's your deal?" Razor sneered. He then looked around. "This ain't the Kid of Rock's Cleveland, but it is a Cleveland, so he'll take it. Jackass Strange actually did something right for once..."
"You are not one of the Batman's many associates." Bane noted. This man is clearly a superhuman. Clearly capable of flight. The energy corona around him suggests a form of protective forcefield. Where did this power come from? Is he a metahuman? Or did he obtain this power another way?
"Who?" Razor scowled. "Sounds like a bad Nighthawk ripoff."
"For the love of God, save me!" Diego screamed. Bane grabbed him and tossed him into a wall, knocking him silly.
"Yeah, where I come from, a big guy like you tossing around a little guy ain't exactly something good guys do, Captain Steroid!" Razor snapped, blasting Bane into a wall again with his guitar. The assassin grunted as he got himself back to his feet. "Durable bastard, ain't you?"
"Indeed. I am also quite strong." Bane answered. "And in fact, I can get even stronger." He pressed a button on the silver panel on his wrist. A green liquid started going through the tubes, leading into his head. Bane's muscles started to expand and his body started to grow bigger.
The hell is that stuff, liquid gamma? Razor thought, looking utterly unimpressed. "Sooooo, you're basically the Hulk if he was a gay luchador. Gotcha." Razor nodded in understanding.
"I am not familiar with this 'Hulk' you mention, but if you wish for me to break you..." Bane cracked his knuckles, smirking underneath his mask. "I will be happy to oblige. You merely had to ask, not resort to childish schoolyard insults in an attempt to attack my supposed fragile sense of masculinity."
"You'd be surprised how many men it works on. Especially these days. I mean, look at Andrew Tate." Razor said.
"Ah." Bane nodded in understanding. "Fair enough."
"And also, the Kid of Rock does all the breaking and ass-kicking around here, not the other way around, Captain Steroid." He pulled a small iPod Touch-like device out of his jacket pocket, Yours truly knows this ain't his Earth, but does this Warper still work here? Razor grinned when the screen turned on and showed his location. "Hey, it does!"
"Are you seriously taking a selfie?" Bane blinked.
"This ain't a phone, Captain Steroid." Razor snorted. "This gadget is very helpful with traveling. Let the Kid of Rock show you." The smirking Razor pointed the device at the ground in front of Bane. It shot a blue energy beam that formed into a glowing blue hole on the ground...a hole that was right under Bane's feet. The Santa Priscan assassin looked down.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed as he fell in. Razor's Warper closed the hole with another beam.
"Heh. Enjoy the Arctic, pal. Maybe it'll cool you off a bit." Razor mocked. He then smiled. Heh. I am really growing up. If I had encountered that steroid-addled gimp back when I was 16, I would have beat his ass up and down the street, wrecking half of it in the process. Ronnie would be proud. The rocker superhero then noticed Diego. He floated down to the accused squealer.
"Oh ho thank you thank you thank you thankyouthankyouthankyou!" He yelped, grabbing Razor in a hug.
"Yeah yeah, sure." Razor pushed him off. "It's what I do, all that other good stuff. Since the Kid of Rock saved your butt from Senor Bag O'Crap's large mentally challenged cousin back there, you can help him out." Razor said. "Tell me about this universe's Cleveland."
"What?" Diego blinked.
"Zatanna, I found the magical breach. At least, what came from it." Another voice said. Razor and Diego looked up and saw a certain Man of Steel floating in the air.
"What the hell..." Razor plucked his guitar, and he flew up towards Superman. "Who're you? Some kind of bad Hyperion wannabe?"
Hyperion wannabe? Superman blinked for a moment. He then shook his head. Never mind. "I'm Superman. I was on my way back to Metropolis when I was told of a dimensional breach."
"Yeah, my world was getting ripped up by some damn shadow monsters. Red skies and all that. Then that jackass Strange sends me here." Razor rolled his eyes.
"Strange, huh?" Superman smiled. "I think I'm familiar with that name. Dr. Stephen Strange, right?"
"Is that jackass here, too?" Razor scowled. "The Kid of Rock owes him a favor. And by favor, he means the world's biggest kick in the teeth."
Superman blinked. "Uh...why don't you tell me how you got here?"
"Gladly." Razor shrugged. "It was a normal day in Cleveland. Yours truly was doing what he does best: kick ass, take names, and be awesome. Then the sky turns red and these..." The rockstar waved his wand around, like it would help him find the words. "Shadow things start tearing up the place. Naturally, the Kid of Rock starts kicking ass, taking names, and being awesome the entire time. Which is understandable. As you can see, the Kid of Rock is awesome personified."
"I...see..." Superman blinked.
"Then that jackass Doctor Strange appears to the Kid of Rock and makes him vanish, and now he's here." Razor looked around. "This clearly is Cleveland, but it ain't his Cleveland. The Kid of Rock has to get his ass back home to his Cleveland! If that jackass Strange is here, then he needs to get the Kid of Rock home! There are monsters tearing up his home!"
"Alright, alright." Superman said, doing a "calm down" gesture with his hands. "Strange isn't here, as far as I know, but I still know of some people who may be able to help you out."
"They'd better." Razor grumbled. The Kid of Rock swears to the rock gods, he's going to practice some dentistry on Strange in the form of a boot to the mouth. "Well, at least that relic Captain America ain't around. That's one thing in the Kid of Rock's favor."
"I've met Captain America before. Nice fellow." Superman smiled.
"Oh God, don't tell the Kid of Rock that senile old clown Rogers and his inbred redneck Trump-licking wife are here, too!" Razor groaned, facepalming hard. (Author's Note: The Earth-030165 Steve Rogers/Captain America and Rogue first appeared in Movie-Brat's "IC Challenge! Chapter 3!")
Inbred redneck... Superman blinked in confusion. He didn't recall Steve having a wife. He then put it together. "I see, you're likely not from the same universe that the Steve Rogers I met came from." (Author's Note: That's because the Steve Rogers the Earth-51 Superman met in Infinity Crisis was the Earth-199999 version.)
"First thing I've heard out of that Hyperion-wannabe mouth of yours that actually makes an ounce of damned sense." Razor agreed.
"...let me introduce you to the Justice League. Maybe they can help you get home."
"Fine." Razor shrugged. The two flew off. "Justice League, huh? Are they full of crappy Squadron Supreme ripoffs like you?"
"...what?" A confused Superman blinked.
New York City, Earth-199914
A woman stood on a building and looked around at the city. She was Indian (as in from the country of India), with her dark brown hair in a pair of big pigtails. She wore a white bodysuit with red on the sides, and silver highlights. Her arms, shoulders, and hands appeared to be covered in silver armor. Her costume was completed by a pair of white boots.
Omega Sentinel. Real Name: Karima Shapandar. Birthplace: Calcutta, India, Earth-030165. Physiology: Cyborg (Human with nanotechnological Sentinel enhancements). Affiliations: Calcutta PD, X-Men West (Formerly). Powers and abilities: Superhuman strength and durability, enhanced mental capacity, and technopathy.
Karima Shapandar was once an ordinary woman. A police officer in Calcutta. Until Operation: Zero Tolerance. Under the lead of a mysterious man named Sebastian Gilberti, the program secretly kidnapped people from all over the world and made them into cyborgs without their permission or even knowledge. Shapandar was one of them. After being made aware of what she was turned into, she became of the X-Men West, the group working to try and make her human again.
She would serve with the group with distinction, even finding love with her X-Men West teammate Neal Sharra, aka Agni. However, an encounter with an immortal mutant, combined with the trauma of her being turned into a Prime Sentinel would convince her that all mutants were ultimately evil monsters that needed to be destroyed.
"HEY! HE TOOK MY PURSE!" Her cybernetically-enhanced hearing picked up the sound of a woman screaming for help. She looked down and saw a thief run away from a woman, holding her purse. Her face started to glow. When the glow faded, her face, except for her lower jaw, was covered in silver metal. Her eyes were covered by opaque lenses that glowed red. Her left arm transformed into a cannon. She aimed it at the running man.
BZOW!
The laser beam vaporized the man's head. The woman screamed as the man's headless corpse fell to the ground. The Indian ex-cop landed nearby. Karima picked up the woman's purse and held it out to her.
"Please, do not be afraid." The cyborg assured, her voice surprisingly warm. "You are an innocent human. I mean no harm to innocent humans." The woman whimpered as Karima gave her the purse.
"I do agree with that woman on one point." Another voice said. "There is nothing to fear. Because I am here." The two looked up and saw Doctor Zero floating in the air nearby. He gave Karima a smile. "I thank you for your service."
"...ZERO..." Karima snarled ferally, pointing her cannon at the floating Shadow Dweller. "It seems this worlds has monsters hiding among humanity as well."
"You know of me." The immortal being remarked. Under his cowl, he raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed I do, Zero." Shapandar growled, a ball of energy growing at the end of her cannon's nozzle. Zero noticed the shaking woman standing there. He gently gave her a telepathic nudge to run away and get to safety. After all, a superhero is supposed to protect civilians. All part of the act.
"I must confess, I am at a disadvantage." Zero remarked as the woman ran away. "I have made many an enemy in my day, but you are...unique." He looked at the cannon. "I take it you are some form of cyborg? Quite fascinating."
"Do not dare act like you are merely some curious bystander!" Karima snapped.
"My curiosity is genuine." Zero said. "And I was always fond of learning..." Behind the mirrored lenses of his mask, Zero's eyes started to glow. He reached out with his telepathy, entering the mind of the Indian cyborg.
"Get out of my head! Get out! GET OUT!" Karima screamed, clutching her head. How is he doing this?! My systems include shielding against mutant telepaths!
My probe should not be harming her. Is it having an unforeseen effect? Or is she deliberately trying to make it look like I am attacking her? "Ah, I see." Zero nodded in understanding as he finished his mental probe. "You are from another universe. One where such fantastical beings are far more common than on mine." He smiled in amusement. "I have recently encountered beings from alternate universes. And I had a counterpart in yours, it seems. Slightly different, but a counterpart all the same."
"If you are like the Doctor Zero of my universe, you are one of this world's greatest monsters." Zero raised an eyebrow in response to Karima's statement. He learned plenty from his probe of her mind, but he let her continue to talk. Would give him time to think on what he learned from her mind. "You were an immortal mutant in my world. Older than even the self-proclaimed 'first mutant', En Sabah Nur himself!" Karima yelled. "You manipulated humanity for centuries! Your mutant arrogance made you think human beings were nothing more than mere toys! Chess pieces!"
Fascinating. I wonder what other timelines I have counterparts in... "If the Doctor Zero of your world was anything like me, he likely was trying to keep humanity from destroying itself."
"Destroying itself." Karima mocked. She fired an energy blast at the immortal Shadow Dweller. "You think you know better than humans do!"
Zero dodged the blast, and watched it fly off, mentally calculating where the blast would go. He then mentally reached out towards the energy blast, and dissipated it with his mastery of the electromagnetic spectrum.
"I have been around for millenia. I have seen humanity tear itself apart over the pettiest things, Miss Shapandar." Zero remarked. "Money. Power. Land. I have seen men destroy each other simply out of pleasure. You are no different. You are obsessed with the destruction of an entire race of beings simply because of a mere genetic difference."
"A mere genetic difference?!" She grit her teeth in rage. "A mere genetic difference?!" She screamed and kept firing at Zero. "YOU MUTANTS ACT LIKE YOU'RE BETTER THAN US! YOU ARROGANT BASTARDS THINK THAT YOU'RE BETTER THAN HUMANITY!" Zero dissipated the energy blasts.
Enough of this. He thought. The immortal Shadow Dweller used his telepathy to give the cyborg the equivalent of a knockout blow. Karima fell to the ground. Zero landed and gently picked her up. Hmmmm...this cyborg is quite fascinating. I look forward to learning more about you and your world. And perhaps your technology can be useful as well against those Daleks. As well as the Order of St. George...
If you don't get the joke, the Watcher's introduction of the Centurions is meant to be a slightly altered version of the cartoon series' intro, completely with the slightly altered opening narration.
The birth name I gave Doc Terror, Manfred Kline, is a reference to scientists Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline, who coined the term "cyborg" in 1960.
"Hacke" is an actual surname, of German origin. For example, there's a German musician named Alexander Hacke.
I gave Ace the first and middle name Charles Neil as a nod to Chuck Yeager, the first pilot to break the sound barrier, and Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the Moon. Appropriate for a man who uses aerospace-themed weapon systems like Skybolt and Orbital Interceptor.
Spectral is an Ultraverse character, first appearing in The Strangers #1 (June 1993), created by Steve Engelhart, Rick Hoberg, Tim Burgard, and Darick Robertson. He's one of the Ultraverse's major LGBTQ superheroes, being an openly gay man.
Cassandra Cross was a character from the Centurions show.
Reiko "Rex" Juuden is my take on Rex Charger, one of the two new Centurions introduced later in the show's run, the "energy expert". "Juuden" is the Japanese word for "charger".
Dr. Alia Gregor first appeared in House of X #1 (July 2019), created by Jonathan Hickman and Pepe Larraz. I admit, I am not a fan of Hickman's X-Men work (mainly his Moira retcon and how he ignored past continuity and characterization), but I do like Orchis as a concept.
Rapunzel first appeared in Marvel: the Lost Generation #11 (March 2000), created by Roger Stern and John Byrne. Her real name, birthplace, and being a mutant was created by me because the original miniseries didn't reveal a lot about her.
Karima Shapandar/Omega Sentinel first appeared in X-Men Unlimited #27 (June 2000), created by Chris Claremont and Brett Booth. Her appearance here is based on her look in the Marvel Strike Force mobile game.