The Abandoned Movie Set
The rocket was finally nearing completion.
The crystals were all in place, serving as the fuel for the engine while also going to serve as an easier propulsion system. The trailer that had held them was now suck at the bottom of the ocean. The heroes flying outside wouldn't find it now. This mission was too important to risk failure.
He had heard the rumors circulating on the Island. The crashed meteor held his pod inside, and since it was opened, they wonder who or what was inside. They'd taken to call their mysterious man 'The Visitor'. He liked that. He was normally a serious man, but this allowed him to smile under his mask.
His armored suit was a faded blue, with black leg plates and a helmet that covered his entire head. His visor covered the entire front half of the mask, and from the outside it was an ever-changing digital display with a giant red circle as the centerpiece of focus. On the inside the visor displayed specialized information for anything and everything. He was already a genius, but constructing a rocket like this was difficult work, hence the visor.
The final preparations were taking place. The countdown has started. It will be ready in two days' time.
The broadcast was seen all throughout the Island. Across all the TV screens in every house, the voice of the masked man could be heard, but he himself was shrouded in darkness. In an ominous, dark tone of voice, he spoke.
"In two days' time, this isle of yours will have a new ruler. The scourge of your land, the Black Knight, has been rid of. I am his successor. I am his better. I. Am. Omega. My coronation will be with the blood of your so-called 'heroes, and woe be to anyone else that dares to stand in my way."
He then walked forward into the light, and his new armor could be seen. Instead of a black bodysuit, he now wore heavy-plated black armor with a brand new black mask, which had a silver V shape with an orange glowing line through it, acting as his visor. With that chilling image, the broadcast went silent.
"Well, that's just amazing."
A grim atmosphere had now befallen the Council of Heroes. They had all gathered together to formulate a plan, but to be honest, they held very little hope.
Carbide was the first to speak up. "When he first arrived on the island, I was one of the first to greet him, and then I had to put him down. Even without that new suit of his he has immense power, so ridding him of the armor isn't really a viable option."
Valor was the next to speak. "But that's the point: you faced him alone. Hopefully with our combined might, we could hold him. The problem then becomes what to do with him."
"According to some scenarios I've ran, even in the slight chance that we can subdue him, then what?" Venturion said. "We have no prison that can hold him, no chains that could bind him. What do we do?"
"We use the one solution that none of us have ever used", a voice spoke up from the corner of the room. "A more permanent solution. Omega is the most twisted man that this Island has ever seen, if you can even call him a man. He's a beast, and should be treated as such." Squad Leader stood up from his chair and walked over the command table. "I've been thinking about this, and as long as Omega lives, we're all in danger."
"Sir, you can't be suggesting-"
Squad Leader cut Valor off. "I've already made up my mind. Omega must be dealt with permanently, or else we risk something far worse." A slightly distressed look came over his face, but was quickly replaced with a face of determination. "I don't make this decision lightly, but we've already seen that he isn't afraid to take lives in his pursuit of power. That is something that we cannot risk for the people of the island. If anyone is against this idea, I will not stop you from stepping away. If need be, I'll be the one to do the deed. All I need is help to subdue him for long enough for me to finish the job."
To his surprise, none stepped away, though their body language screamed with tension.
"Alright, then. Venturion, you try and analyze his armor. Find a weakness. Carbide and Valor, evacuate Tilted Towers. If I'm right, a man like Omega wants to put on a show, and there's no better place than the centerpiece of the island. That's where we'll make our stand. Everyone clear?" He was met with nods of approval. "Then let's get moving!"
Within a few hours, Titled Towers was completely empty. Every civilian had evacuated to the surrounding towns, as far away as possible. It was, to Jones, quite an astonishing sight. He'd been watching the people of the Island progress for a while now, and every time there was a major catastrophe the city was always where it happened. It was a shame, honestly, because it was essentially the center of their society. Jones would hate to see it go.
There he sat, in front of the wall of monitors that he'd had installed in the comfort of his office. It was a rush job, and only temporary, but it provided the perfect view for him to kick up his feet on his desk and just take it all in. The IO had all sorts of special tech that allowed him to see what each of the heroes was doing, and also what Omega was doing. A big part of him wished that he could go down there and warn them, but by doing that he'd interfere massively with the flow of the island. The research from the Island was helping to keep the Zero Point stable, according to what Doctor Sloane had told him. Even so, it made it easier to imagine he was just watching a movie, all the characters on his screens just actors reading from a script.
There was one problem though. One of his monitors, which had been focused on the rocket ship movie set, had gone static, and had been for some time now. It was strange, since in all the centuries that Jones had worked for the Order, never had he seen a camera malfunction before. Thankfully, he was finally able to submit a report to HQ, and with any luck it should be fixed soon. That was about 5 minutes ago.
Now, Doctor Sloane had barged into his office, almost on the verge of panic. Needless to say the sudden SLAM! had made Jones launch out of his seat and tilt his chair flat on its back.
"Jones!" Sloane walked over to him as he rubbed his head in pain. She held out a hand, a rare showing of kindness from her. Not that she was mean, necessarily, but very serious and focused, with no time for anything unimportant. Most times, that unimportant thing would be Jones lying on his back, embarrassed beyond belief. "What do you mean there's static?! That is something that we've never had happen before."
Jones recovered his wits, though still with a headache. "Well, I was watching the monitors, and just as the crew of movie makers left, the screen went static! I tried to fix it, but nothing I did worked."
Sloane had a clear look of anger about her. Not directed at him, Jones thought, but rather at something beyond the screen. "Do you know how our cameras work, Jones?"
"Can't say I do."
"Our cameras work outside of reality. It's too complicated to explain, so to simplify, we can zoom in on anything in reality. These cameras aren't real objects, they're abstract things. So we are dealing with something or someone that can block a piece of reality from being seen."
"Oh."
"My team is going to look into this. If anything comes from this screen you are to notify me immediately. If we're dealing with what I think we're dealing with, then we're in trouble."
"What does that mean?"
"I'll explain another day. Watching the heroes is a secondary priority now. Right now the most important job in the IO belongs to you; keeping an eye on that monitor. If even the slightest hint of sound comes from it, I want it in my office immediately", Sloane told him as she walked out of his office at a quickened pace.
Well. No pressure there. He had about a day and a half until Omega strikes Tilted, so the static screen he watched. About five minutes in he realized that this was going to be a very long wait.
24 Hours Later
The crystals had all been melted down and now the fuel for the engine. The energy from those crystals would be enough to last for centuries, but there was no need for that long of a flight. If everything went his way, then the mission would be over within minutes.
The Visitor looked over the rocket. Everything looked ready for launch. Now that the physical preparations were finished, it was time to get into the cockpit and set the coordinates for the launch. The rocket was supposed to turn around in the sky and come pointing straight towards the ground. If his data and calculations were correct, the ideal place to send it down would be close to the middle of the island. Tilted Towers was the target, and so the Visitor set the coordinates. T-Minus three hours.
Tilted Towers
The streets were completely barren, with not a single soul in sight. No soul, that is, except for the heroes gathered around, waiting on a rooftop. It was nightfall, exactly two days after Omega had made his announcement. The tension that was in the air was apparent through everyone, for no one knew exactly what Omega would be capable of. There was a bright side, at least they hoped it was. Venturion had been studying Omega's armor, and from the looks of it, it looked like the armor was bult to maximize Omega's brutal force, but because of this the energy for his suit was being pushed to its max. In theory, if they were to use a source of great energy and expose his suit to it, then his suit would malfunction and shut down, therefore, stopping him in his tracks. The problem was that there were no major sources of energy, so because of this Squad Leader had ordered the fast construction of a beam that would concentrate all of the Island's power into one single, concentrated blast, but it could only be used once. They had planted the emitter on top of the tallest building in Tilted, and Squad Leader stood by to activate the controls. The plan was simple: get Omega in front of that emitter until it could be fired.
Squad Leader spoke up through the tension.
"Listen, the situation is dire. We don't know what Omega has in store, or what he's capable of. But we do know this: we are capable of anything. We've defeated villain after villain, and now it's all led to this. The Island is counting on us; we cannot fail. We will not fail. We will live to fight another day."
"Sir yes sir!" Was the response that came from the heroes. Then, from the distance to the west, came a glowing orange light. A light just big enough to be the size of a man. Omega was here.
"Carbide, go up to him, but do not engage. Let him be the one to throw the first blow. The second something happens, Valor and Venturion, you go and join him. Get him over here."
Within the moment Carbide had taken off. His suit was better now, more improved than the first time they met. Hopefully that would be enough to make him feel something through that armor of Omega's. AS he got closer he slowed his speed, and he was face to face with Omega, hovering in the air with him.
"You. I remember you. The hero in blue who first imprisoned me." Omega's voice was heavily filtered, to the point where it sounded like a mechanical, deep toned voice. It made him all the more menacing.
"You can still turn back. We don't want to fight, but we will defend ourselves; make no mistake."
"Then I would, Carbide. I would. Because you truly have no idea what I am capable of. For example…."
In the blink of an eye, Omega grabbed Carbide by the wrist and gripped hard, causing multiple servos in the arm to break. With effortless ease, Omega hurtled Carbide back towards the rooftop, narrowly missing the emitter.
"COME LITTLE HEROES! YOUR NEW MASTER IS HERE!"
"Go, go, go! Get him!" Squad Leader yelled as he helped Carbide back to his feet.
Carbide, protected from the impact thanks to his armor, stood back up on his own. "Get that gun ready now! I'm going to bring him over here" He yelled as he flew back off.
Valor and Venturion both made their approaches, fast as could be. Venturion pulled otut his sonic blaster and shot forward, providing cover fire for Valor to get up close. The shots hit Omega, and did nothing. That was when he stopped hovering in place and made his move.
He brought up his arm just as Valor was flying in from his right, and from the wrist gauntlet little rockets popped out and shot towards her, hitting her square in the chest, sending her flying towards the ground. Then there was Venturion flying in from the front, keeping his distance, as his armor wasn't fit for close-range combat. Omega planned to exploit that.
Omega's suit was equipped with the most technologically advanced thrusters, which allowed him to speed towards Venturion before he could even flinch. With a tight grip Omega blasted towards Venturion, grabbed his neck, and kept moving forward, taking Venturion with him and going head-on into the nearest building. Venturion took the brunt of the impact as Omega flew straight through the building, and then he let go, because Carbide and Valor were coming in from behind, fists primed for an attack. He spun around in the air just to be met with synchronized uppercuts from the two of them, sending his head back, but otherwise unfazed. Venturion, battered but recovered from the assault, floated up behind him. Omega was surrounded.
"Surrender, Omega." Carbide spoke to him. "You're outnumbered. This is your last warning."
"Enough games." Omega responded. "Now, who should I start with?" He spoke, slowly as he turned around. "How about I finish the job?" He said as he fully turned to Venturion, who held his gun at the ready.
Squad Leader, who was watching the whole ordeal, was yelling into his commlink. "Venutrion, he's going after you! Fly over to the machine! This is our best chance!" With that, Venturion took off, and Omega sped after him. "Carbide! Valor! Get to the emitter!"
Venturion sped through the air, but Omega was faster than he. Venturion was pulling out all his tricks, as he flew through the windows of buildings straight through to the other side, while Omega just barreled through the bricks. The emitter was right in front of him, but Omega was within grabbing distance. Omega was so focused on Venturion, however, that he didn't notice Carbide and Valor flying in behind him. Carbide took Omega by surprise as he grabbed him in a bear hug, while Valor went in front of him to grab him and pull him to the rooftop. Squad Leader had the emitter all prepped to fire and was standing by at the controls as Omega was brought to his knees in front of it.
"It's over, Omega. Your short-lived reign of terror is over. You aren't as powerful as you believe yourself to be. For the safety of this Island, I sentence you to instant death."
Omega stared down Squad Leader, but then spoke with an oddly terrifying tone of voice, that was much too calm. "You think you can kill me? You've only seen what I've wanted you to see." The lines on Omega's suit on his lower half started to glow a bright orange, and the glow kept continuing upwards along his suit.
"Venturion, get to the controls! Fire the beam!"
"You think this machine will stop me?" Omega continued as the orange lines crept up his body. "I think not." The lines on his suit were at his shoulders by this point, heading towards his visor. He was looking at Venturion by the controls, ready to pull the lever to fire. That was the signal for Carbide and Valor to beat him down, with a punch to the gut and the back of the head, getting him down on all fours.
"Fire!"
Venturion pulled the lever, but at the same time the orange lights had reached Omega's visor, and from the slit on the helmet came a powerful optic blast, aimed straight at the emitter's center. This beam was the reason that Omega's suit required so much power, because the blast from Omega was a pure beam of plasma. The emitter didn't get a chance to fire its beam as Omega's beam struck the heart of the machine, and because the machine had gathered all of the Island's energy, it all was stored inside, and Omega's beam let it out on those closest to it. It was an explosion filled with fire and lightning, completely disabling Venturion's suit as he was then engulfed in flames, and the Squad Leader, who had been standing right next to him, had no suit to protect him. The electricity flowing through the air at that moment was enough to instantly kill any man. That was when Omega, in the instant that the machine exploded, turned back towards Valor to his right, and with his visor aimed at waist level, turned his head quickly. That was three heroes down in an instant, and Carbide had just watched it all. That left only him left, as he saw Omega emerge completely unscathed from the flames.
"Now then. Let's make this quick, shall we?" And with that Omega lunged towards Carbide.
Blast off in t-minus 10!
9!
8!
7!
6!
5!
4!
3!
2!
Blast off!
The crystal fuel powered up the engines, which made a deafening roar. The Visitor sat in the cockpit, handling the controls. He'd been waiting for this moment for so long. The rocket emerged from the base, slowly making its way upward. The night sky was perfectly clear, and all the stars were shining above. It was a shame that he wasn't flying up to be among them.
Abstrakt was sitting in his house at Pleasant Park, watching the movie that he had worked so hard to produce. He'd gathered a few of his friends and the cast, and they all sat in his living room, watching the action. Right now Rex was running after Zoey, and each step Rex took made a big rumbling sound. Stomp, Boom! Stomp, Boom! Stomp, BOOM! That step made the whole house shake.
"What the hell?" He looked around, and everyone felt the same thing. That was when Zoey ran to the window and just whispered "oh shit.." That was also when a commotion from outside could be heard. Just great. Now, of all times. If there was going to be a cataclysmic event, couldn't it have waited for the intermission?
With that he decided to step outside, and in the distance a large cloud of smoke was rising from Tilted Towers. Everyone knew about the confrontation there, but they were all trying to ignore it, trying to ignore the possibility of the worst outcome. From everyone gathered outside there was a feeling of despair, that the heroes had failed. But that was only one problem.
Towards the West end of the Island there came a massive roar, one of which Abstrakt had never heard the likes of before. It had come from the mountain where Abstrakt had filmed, but that didn't make sense. It'd been abandoned. That was his thought until he, and everyone else, saw a rocket ship exiting the base. The same rocket ship that he'd used as a prop for his movie. And it kept on rising.
"You've gotta be kidding me."
Now, eh had no idea how a rocket was supposed to work, other than that it was able to fly to space. So when the rear thrusters detached, he was left terrified, especially when they came crashing down too close to Pleasant. He could only watch as the rocket then truly blasted off and kept rising higher and higher.
Well, at least it's free publicity.
Carbide had been caught completely off-guard.
He'd been thrown back by the explosion, but he hadn't received any harm. That is, until Omega lunged straight towards him as he started to stand. Carbide was first met with a blow to the solar plexus, then with a knee to the jaw, quickly followed by Omega grabbing Carbide's recoiling head and slamming it back down on his propped up knee. It was a miracle that his helmet only cracked, and he could barely stand. He could feel the blood trickling out of his nose.
Omega's visor still crackled with energy. "Still standing? Perhaps you're more durable than I thought. Let's truly put your armor to the test." Carbide held his arms up to defend himself, but Omega broke through and took him by the neck, and threw him straight into the wall.
Omega walked over to Carbide, taking his time with each step. The building seemed to tremble before him. "I wish I could say your team put up a valiant effort, but that wouldn't be true, would it? Nothing stands in the way of the Omega."
Or was that something else?
As Carbide lay on the wall, his gaze drifted past Omega and out into the distance, where he could see what looked to be a spire emerging from the mountain tops. The rumbling increased as it did so, until it revealed itself to be a rocket blasting off into the sky.
"What…have you… done?" Carbide somehow managed to ask. Surely this had to be Omega's doing, right?
Omega turned around and glanced upwards to see the rocket's bottom portion break off and the rocket disappear into the night sky. "This was not my doing!"
That wasn't the voice that Carbide had heard tonight. Instead, that was the voice of a man who's confidence had just been shaken, if only for a moment. His composure returned as the rocket vanished, Omega turned back around. "It's time to be done with you. Nothing can save you now."
The Visitor sat in the cockpit of the rocket, recovering from the sudden boost of speed from the rocket. The crystals had been an even better source of fuel than he'd even thought they would be. The Scientist had really undersold their potential. He had just flown past the clouds and was making his way towards the atmosphere, but that wasn't the goal. Slowly, he turned the steering console, and the rocket responded by taking a nose dive right towards the Island.
"Zero Point Oscillator on. Setting Coordinates." He said as he flipped some switches on the dashboard. "Engaging quantum field accelerator." As he said that, red beams of light emerged from the rocket's nose as the rocket started to accelerate even more pointing laterally in all four directions, before the beams all started to point downwards.
Right towards Tilted Towers.
In just two minutes, the IO headquarters had gone from serene to chaos. Jones was watching from his office, and all the screens had started to focus on one thing: the rocket. Honestly, there was no point in watching anything else. It wasn't just Jones who had noticed either, as Slone immediately went over the intercoms as soon as it blasted off.
"Activate Zero Point defenses NOW! This is a Code Red emergency! Everyone, to their stations!"
Well, his station was right here, and as soldiers ran through the halls outside, here was exactly where he would stay. The question was what exactly was going on, and why would someone build a rocket just to kamikaze into a city? There was something more at play; Jones was sure of it.
The rocket was back in view again, and this time it was coming straight towards Tilted. Carbide was once again spared because of the rocket because it once again redirected Omega's attention, only to be killed by it in just a few moments. Ironic.
"I think that my armor will withstand the explosion from that rocket. Can the same be said for you, little hero? I think I shall let it impact so you die in the same way your friends did. A poetic death, no?"
"Go to hell."
For that Carbide was met with a kick to the face as the red beams all focused on the center of the city.
"Can you feel the fear growing in your chest? Death is only moments away, and there is nothing you can do about it. Tick. Tock."
The rocket sped towards Tilted as the city became visible once again.
"Enabling quantum shield."
The ship started to hum with energy as the rocket gained an invisible field of protection around it. The city was quickly growing closer.
"Collision in 3…"
Carbide looked up and saw the rocket. Only moments away before he and the city were washed away in flames.
"2…"
Then Omega would have free reign. No one could stop him. The heroes failed, and the rocket was so close.
"1…"
Hope was lost.
"Activate!"
The sky above Titled ripped open as a hole in reality suddenly appeared and the rocket plunged into it. There was no other way to describe what Carbide just saw. It was as if the rocket had punctured reality itself and left cracks in its wake. Just as quickly as the hole appeared, it quickly sealed itself back up, leaving the sky visible once again. He and Omega both stared at the sky blankly.
"Oh shit.." Were the only words that Jones could form. The rocket had just created a Rift on the Island. That was supposed to be impossible. There'd never been any record of this being done in history. Whoever designed this rocket wasn't from the Island, and that was a terrifying possibility. But no, it wasn't over yet.
The monitors in front of Jones all focused their attention on the airspace above Moisty Mire. Another rift was starting to form.
The sound of the rip in reality could be heard throughout the Island as the rift formed above Moisty Mire, redirecting Carbide and Omega's attention. Omega was just as dumbfounded as Carbide, as Omega had slightly lost his composure. He had thought no one held a greater power than he, and that simply wasn't the case anymore.
The rift looked like it was being punctured from the inside, about to burst, when the rocket smashed through the rift back onto the Island's airspace. Carbide watched as it ducked and weaved above the Island, as if it were trying to regain control, flying over Wailing Woods and right above their heads until it flew straight towards Greasy Grove and punctured another hole in reality.
There was a pattern to this. The rocket was trying to get somewhere, It was just a matter of where. On the next rift, Carbide had to make his move. As Omega clearly wasn't focused on him anymore, Carbide slowly started powering up his thrusters. Omega was right: it was time to end this.
Slone was stationed in the control room of the IO headquarters, trying to predict the rocket's next move. So far, among all the chaos, Sloane had tried to keep her cool, but once the rifts formed, there was no hope of that. The man behind the rocket had knowledge of the Zero Point, that much was certain. He had to be leeching energy off of it to create those rifts, which is something only the smartest individuals in all of the Omniverse could do, and they were all working for the IO. That left the next smartest group out there, and that made everything so much worse.
"Set all visuals onto Loot Lake! That's the rocket's next emergence point! Once he emerges I want all access to the Zero Point cut off immediately!"
Just as she finished, her words came to fruition, as the next rift formed above the house at Loot Lake.
One final rift.
The Visitor zoomed through the pocket reality that he had suggested as a mode of transport for the rocket. It was the dumping ground for all the Imagined Orders' garbage, and what better way to remain undetected than to fly right under their noses? He activated the rift module, and as it finished forming in front of him he made sure to siphon as much residual Zero Point energy as he could from this reality. He would need every bit of it for his final goal.
The rocket broke free of the rift above Loot Lake and zoomed straight up towards the sky. This was it.
As Omega watched the rocket Carbide activated his thrusters and zoomed straight at Omega, hugging his arms around his waist as he held him above his head, exposing him to the night sky. The sheer speed at which they were flying prevented Omega from even being able to attack Carbide, as the speed forced both of his arms to flail behind him uselessly.
"NO! You can't do this! It will kill you as well!"
Carbide took a deep breath behind his mask.
"If that what it takes, then so be it." He'd accepted his fate, and he knew Omega was finally experiencing the one thing he never had: fear.
The rocket flew straight upwards, and as it traveled just past the clouds the Visitor activated the final rift in front of him. The night sky was truly ripped open this time, as this rift was the size of at least half the Island. He had done it; the mission was complete.
Now the real work can begin.
The rocket and the Visitor flew straight through the rift into the electrical abyss that lay beyond it. There was nothing but pure, unbridled energy in the rift, and the rocket was protected from that amount of energy. Omega was not.
Carbide took a final glance down towards the Island. He could feel Omega struggling in his grip, but it was meaningless now. The Island, Carbide knew, was just seeing the beginning of chaos, but he held the hope that there would those who would be there to protect it. He wished he could, but Omega could not escape. This was a worthy death.
"NOOOOooooo….!"
Omega's screams vanished as he and Carbide flew through the rift and into the energy, perishing immediately. As the citizens of the Island looked up at the sky, they could see the rift and the cracks that had emerged from it. Omega was vanquished, but at the cost of the Island's heroes, and now who would be there to protect it? The rift remained in the sky, not closing like the others, almost like a reminder of the triumph and tragedy of this day.
The control room of the IO had fallen silent. The safety protocols had failed, and though they shut down access to the Zero Point, he was still able to siphon its energy. But how?
Slone looked at the displays in front of her as Jones came running from behind.
"What the hell happened?!" Jones asked in a panic.
"The worst possible outcome, Jones", Sloane spoke with a solemn tone of voice. "The Island's protective veil was pierced. The Island was hidden from all of reality, but now it's exposed. The Zero Point is now open to any all visitors who'd like to claim it, and it's all thanks to our friend in the rocket."
"So you're saying that things are going to get a lot worse?"
"Exactly that, Jones. This is only the beginning."