Disclaimer: I don't Marvel, DC or Image comics
Earth 610 is the idea of Exile037
The Redeemer
Chapter 48: Ascendancy begins
The Gap-At some other time
Onyx looked at the Duff logo on the can he was holding, hearing the liquid fizzing and frothing inside it, he regarded the can with a child like curiosity before taking a sip. His other self held in high regard his sobriety, joining the likes of Stark and Danvers in AA meetings. Carol and Tony though both turned to the bottle out of stress; Sven Reilly did so out of trauma and guilt. Alcohol was a way of punishing himself. Onyx wanted to punish the body, but also spit in the face of the good that Sven sought to do. He took a longer swig before crushing the can in his fist.
"I know, there are far better beers in far better universes," one of his council members cackled.
The Joker of the New 52 grinned, his literal face mask shifting as if he had never peeled it off. He held a blood soaked, 'R' shaped blade, the rest of the council knew why Joker had returned with a bloody crowbar.
"The Reach didn't like me taking their prey, but let's face it, there's no shortage of Robins out there in the Multiverse," Joker said.
"Oh Puddin," Quinn moaned.
The Medieval jester was eager to speak of her own exploits, having recently gone to a universe where superheroes were just drugged up, super powered celebrities. She had pushed their Batman/Iron man hybrid to the limits of his masochism, finally making him scream for the pain to stop. The Harley variant was eager to tell her 'puddin' of what she had accomplished, but he would not take it well. Making Batman, in any universe, any kind of variation suffer, was his job. So petty was the Joker in this pursuit that he had gone to a universe protected by Guardians of the Globe, Guardians destined to be betrayed. But the Joker went after their Batman analogue before he could respond to the traitor's summons.
"We have accumulated fifty percent of the negative energy required to commence the ascendance, and the Earths we need are almost in alignment, unfortunately, some of the Earths have been targeted by the Mapmakers and the Black Priests," Lord Mar-Vell explained, interrupting Harley before she could unintentionally incur the Joker's wrath.
"Then all we need do is deploy our disposable 'heroes' to stop them," Hela said, draping her arm over Onyx's shoulder.
She supported the weight of her pregnant belly, her smile brought on by the painful kicks her and Onyx's offspring gave her. In the absence of Onyx's voice, it was Hela who spoke on matters of war and death. Eight Asgardian realities had fallen to her armies, and had empowered her. Yet still there were obstacles, obstacles she did not speak of to her lover, though he was very aware of them. Obstacles like another Hela, one whom like her was born a child of Odin and not Loki, but unlike her had come to learn the value of mercy and compassion, of accepting the wisdom of others. Green turned to white, darkness turned to light and a goddess of death became a preserver of life, the white clad Hela led the armies of Asgard alongside the Ten Rings wielder Wen Wu and a galactic army eventually became a Multiversal army.
"What of the apples?" Hela asked.
"Amora assures us she has neared completion of the recipe, but I suspect she will use them for her own ends," Lord Mar-Vell said.
"It matters not, whether through magic or technology, humanity will fall," said Ultron.
"Not fall, be preserved, collected," Brainiac said.
"The day of Ascendance will come," Hela declared, looking out at the Gap, the place between time and space and thinking of the future that had potentially already happened.
Earth 610
Aerean Thorton felt like he was opening his eyes after a long sleep, he looked at his surroundings, seeing New York intact. He looked to his side, and the successor to the Captain America immediately assisted Betsy Braddock in her recovery. The butterfly aura surrounded the purple haired woman, who shared a dazed expression with the mute Black Panther, the Wasp Petra Laskov and Penance, all of them members of the Secret Warriors and Avengers teams. There was a sonic boom over their heads, drawing their attention to the arrival of Hyperion.
"We're back," he remarked.
"Brainiac, he won didn't he?" Thorton asked.
"So many minds, so many, we were lost, shrunk, bottled and collected, but we were saved in a flash," Betsy said.
"Saved, I can't help but feel like our whole Earth has been resurrected," Kitty Pryde said, coming up through the ground.
"What did you find?" Thorton asked the former Ultimate X-men member.
"Molloids, driven into a frenzy, we aren't clear yet," she said.
"Re-establish communications and assemble with your teams, we still have to restore order," Thorton said.
He raised Steve Rogers's shield high for a moment, before the super heroes flew and marched away. On the rooftop however, two Spider-men stood crouched. Peter Parker and his successor Terry Komori.
"Miles and the Younger Avengers, they haven't returned though," Terry said.
"Whatever Multiversal miracle occurred to save us from Brainiac probably didn't apply to whatever took the kids, there may be a dozen super hero teams here, but they're all going to be focused on the priority, our world," Peter explained.
"We can't even help it, it isn't like we have a dimensional transporter on hand," Terry said.
Both Spider-men though narrowed their eyes, the lenses of their masks matching the movements of their eyes as their spider-senses flickered. Not out of warning but acknowledgement, as if to indicate a new member had entered the chat group. It wasn't warning them of the portal opening behind them, just signalling them of the arrival of a Spider-Girl they privately knew as Spider-Gwen. Her companion though was one they had met only once, during an incident that drew many Spider-men together against the Inheritors. Jason Doyle of Earth 65 gained his spider powers after Gwen Stacy and became Spider-man around the time the Inheritors began their hunt for spider totems. Most of his suit was black, though the mask and midsection were the classic red with black webs design, he had red fingers on his gloves, red spiders on his knee pads and a web cape.
"Long time no see," Terry said, removing his mask as Gwen and Jason did the same.
"Good to know you guys have been doing well," Jason smacked his hand against Terry's, whilst his partner hesitantly nodded to Peter.
"We've worked with Web Warriors, Multiversal Gwen's (long story and believe me I'm kind of tired of the Gwen-Variants myself), even a whole Spider-Society," she stated.
"Assholes," Jason muttered.
"Not the best team ups I take it," Peter said.
"It was mostly to see the state of the Multiverse, we were optimistic, but Karn suspected that his family members had help in procuring the ability to traverse other dimensions," Jason explained.
"Onyx right?" Terry asked.
"Yeah, he's everywhere now, and not just variations of our worlds or worlds of the Justice league, but he's expanding," Gwen said.
"No, I'd say he's ascending," Jason corrected her, gesturing to the sky as it began to darken.
Earth N52
The sky grew darker, out of a mix of both the influence that was spreading across the planet and one man's wrath. Electricity and yellow pulses surged around Erik Lensherr, Max Eisenhart, Magnus, a man who had gone by many names but only bore one that people globally recognised. For years, since a war that was close to being a century old, he had honed his abilities. He had been the greatest villain of a group of heroes, their leader at one point, a hesitant ally, a member and like a clock the roles repeated like the times of the day. Each helmet that floated in front of him represented that aspect of his life; the super powered terrorist fighting for the supremacy of mutants, the freedom fighter protecting his fellow mutants no matter the cost, the former villain seeking redemption. Often, he was just the old friend of Charles Xavier, the darkness to his light, the cynicism to his idealism. But there was another role he had, one he had failed at sometimes.
He was a father.
No matter how hard they tried to erase it, Wanda and Pietro were his children, their children were his family too.
Luna who was safe with her Inhuman family, Billy and Tommy, captured by the Reach and struggling with the grand destiny the Multiverse deemed them to have, Zack, born of the House of M, the son of a sapien. That Erik did not begrudge him, that boy and his father were so alike in their idealism. In a way Zack seemed like Charles too, so full of hope and optimism and faith, in him.
'Who is him though? Myself, a man who has disappointed and even harmed his children? Or is it the friend you seek, the brother you wish for in that boy who could destroy entire universes, Heinrich Wallace's shame, Virgil?'
He refocused himself on the threat of Brainiac, such as it was. Throughout his years of life, Erik had studied metals of all kinds, testing his limits. When he ripped the Adamantium from Wolverine's skeleton, it had not been as easy as he had made it look. Certain metals did require a degree of finer control and concentration, like the difference between weights. Manipulating the trace irons within the bloodstream required the most focus. Brainiac's tentacles and drones were simple to him.
"How many years have you travelled across the universe, how many worlds have you shrunk and destroyed? And yet still you never learn not to pit metal against a magnet," Erik taunted the alien.
Or an AI, Brainiac gripped his head, now turned into a strange, robotic crescent shape.
"I serve the Empire, exist for the Kryptonian empire…NO!" his form returned to his natural, green skinned appearance. "Damn you, damn you, ONYX STOP THIS NOW!" he yelled.
His skull ship shook, the drones crushed into paper balls as Erik tore through the ship's hull. Carol and Aeon followed close behind, with Superman and Wonder Woman.
"I can see, there's no life forms here, the ship has been cleared, all of the shrunken cities are gone," Superman explained.
"Good old X-ray vision," Aeon muttered.
"Then your friend should stand down," Diana said.
"You're welcome to tell him that if you want," Carol dryly said.
One wall after another was caved in by the master of magnetism, the mutant floated into Brainiac's control room, hovered over the creature whose form shifted and then bound him with his own tentacle defences. Erik slammed Brainiac against the wall, once to turn him into the silver armoured Brainiac, again into the android, then the green man in the pink and white suit and again and again, going through so many forms of Brainiac until the tentacles constricted, drawing green blood and water from a pink, brain like creature with a barbed tail.
"Please, no more, have mercy," Brainiac cried out.
"My grandson, where is he?" Erik demanded.
"His body was sent back to the point in time and reality he originated from, what you might call the House of M," Brainiac said.
"And my daughter?"
"Returned to Earth 1999999, along with its denizens, my entire collection, my purpose for being gone," Brainiac remarked.
"How pathetic, hungry for knowledge, yet denying the fact that knowledge is ever changing and expanding, so you trapped and destroyed to keep knowledge from changing," Magneto explained.
"No, you, you cannot kill me, it is not logical, this form, it is of the Anti-matter universe, where evil prevails, you cannot defeat me!" Brainiac tried one last time to escape, one last time to appeal to his logic.
He had faith something would stop the hero from killing him, some fault in his power, some piece of his morality.
"Oh, is that how it works in that universe is it? Well whoever said I was a hero?" Erik asked.
Brainiac widened his eyes, feeling the tentacles tighten, leaving prints on him skin. But then the tentacles moved away from him, and for a moment Brainiac thought that the logic of Earth 3 had saved him. Only for Erik to snap his white helmet over Brainiac's head, forcing it onto him despite the awkward fins on the sides of the alien's head. Brainiac began to breathe heavily, feeling the helmet tighten around him.
"Once I could have been everything my best friend wanted me to be, I once held him in my arms and promised that I would uphold his ideals, that I would dedicate myself to his dream. When presented with a messiah to save us from extinction, I reformed a nation, whilst plotting supremacy if 'necessary'. I have walked across the line and gone back time and time again. I am no hero, I am Magneto, master of magnetism and founder of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants!"
He was about to form a fist, to tighten the helmet once again and let Brainiac's eyes pop out of his skull. But his wrist was suddenly grabbed by Aeon.
"That's who you say you are, but it doesn't have to be who you remain, to most Magneto has been a villain, ruthlessly slaughtering and unleashing his rage on guilty and innocent alike. But that's who Onyx is counting on you to be Erik, but it isn't who Zack sees," Aeon explained.
"Then he is blind," Magneto retorted.
"He sees something else, he sees that Magneto can also be a protector, of those oppressed, beyond mutant kind, he sees a man who stands to protect those hated and feared from those in power, no matter what price to his soul he must pay…there is a certain degree of heroism in that," Sven let go of Magneto's hand and the man looked towards Brainiac.
"The boy's father preaches mercy, he would preach mercy as well, my gentle grandson whom believes in me, do not make me let him down," Magneto stated.
Suddenly, a yellow blast flew between Magneto and Aeon, burning through Brainiac's forehead. They looked towards where the shot had come from, Carol was holding up her glowing hand, photonic energy rippled around her before coming to a rest.
"This is war," she said.
Aeon suddenly lunged at Carol, grabbing her by her shoulders and pushing her into the wall.
"The fight was over, don't you get it in the future, Onyx is counting on us to be ruthless!"
"We're playing his game now, and every move we make, we have to consider the possibility that Onyx wants us to make it, to compromise," Aeon explained.
The Gap-Present timeline
Onyx stood facing the Enchantress, Amora grinned, seeing the damage to the demon lord. She was even more certain of her chance for victory, the converted Aeons around her, mutated by the Apples of Idunn, no, the apples of Onyx.
'No, the Apples of the Enchantress, queen, goddess of the multiverse,' she smiled and altered Onyx's throne.
It became a majestic gold chair with green gems glowing on the arm rests and head. Her Aeons kneeled in adoration, one presenting her with a sword she pointed at Onyx.
"Surrender now and I will consider making you a pet, turn over everything, your plans for godhood, the followers you have formed, the forces you have gathered, the items of power you have collected, give everything you are to me," Amora explained, commanded, turning her sword into green vapour and altered the rock they were floating on.
Gone was the dreariness, replaced with the grand hall fit for a goddess of Asgard.
"No," was all Onyx said.
Amora snarled, standing up, her eyes flashing green as the throne shattered.
"WHAT!" she screamed in outrage.
The Gap-Further down the timeline
Onyx stood with his arms behind his back, waiting, even in a place where time didn't fit one could still grow impatient. But he hadn't reached that point yet, that was too much like anger and he had grown bored of that. The remains of so many worlds floated around him, testaments, demonstrations and vents for that anger. His anger led him to worlds where he decimated entire teams of heroes, ripped lovers apart from the Mighty X-men's Cyclops and Wolverine of Earth 9256, to Spider-man and Teela of the Masters of the Web-Verse. He had crushed Charles Xavier's dream of peaceful coexistence, turned Thanos into a lover of life as opposed to death, and made Steve Rogers a Nazi, yet still he was not satisfied.
Only one thing would satisfy him.
The chronal portals opened behind him and they emerged. Kang came through with the other Multiverse's time traveller Chronos, and their followers came after. The likes of Per Degaton, the time thief Warp, Fitzroy and his sidekick Bantam came through carrying baskets of apples.
"She's distracted, you seriously had us break the time space continuum for a bunch of apples?" Chronos asked.
"They are not just apples, they are the essential ingredient," Onyx said.
They laid the baskets at his feet and Onyx raised his hand. Dark particles came out of his finger tips and began to seep into the apples.
"I see, you infect every apples she picks," Fitzroy said.
"Diabolically clever, truly you're taking advantage of a place without time, or so the Gap is advertised," Degaton said.
Onyx huffed, of course the time travellers had their schemes.
"Everything comes full circle eventually," Onyx said.
The Gap-The Future timeline
They knelt in front of the ravaged throne, a court of evil that had come to worship a new emperor. Lord Havoc, Skeletor, the mistress of magic the Enchantress, lord of time Immortus, master of Cybertron Megatron, court scientist the Superior Doctor Octopus, keeper of the Infinity suns Thanos even the court jester the Joker who doesn't smile were amongst those ready to accept orders from the king. He didn't sit on the throne though; he stood away from it, looking at his gloved hand, cloak billowing in the wind.
"We have found it father, we have found the third Earth."
The Gap-The past
"I don't understand, we have found several variations of Earth 3, but you say none of them are the third Earth."
The Centurion's frustration quickly turned to fear as Onyx looked down at him.
"Em, that is to say, we have been working hard, despite the setback of the discovery of Pandora's box, we have located a multitude of Earth 3s," to reinforce his point the Kang variant used his armour to create the holographic images.
Showing the Anti-matter Ultraman, the original Pre-Crisis Ultraman, the Ultraman of a Crisis on Two Earths and a Kal-Il Ultraman.
"You heard what your lord said, none of them are the third Earth we're looking for," Hela said.
She caressed her pregnant stomach, smiling at the two children sword fighting whilst a meeting of great importance occurred around them.
"What about the literal Third Earth? Home of the Thundercats?" Lord Mar-Vell asked.
"Destroy them all if you wish, none of them are the third Earth," Onyx said.
"Don't you just hate it when you can't find the right Earth?" Joker asked.
"Maybe it isn't just about the universe they're looking in, but the dimension too," Harley said.
Centurion widened his eyes, shocked at the prospect of the idea of searching other dimensions of being and perspective. He was also shocked by the idea it came from Quinn of all people.
"Ha, I know what you're thinking, she's just another dumb blonde…joke's on you, I'm not a natural blonde," she said, poking her tongue out at the time traveller.
The Gap-Future
They were coming, all the heroes of the Multiverses, the Avengers, the League, Guardians of galaxy and globe, Masters, Ranger, Ninjas and Titans. His fist tightened and he looked up into the darkness.
"Where are you god, where are you father, you said finding the third Earth was the key, you offered me an empire, offered us the story. Is this how it is to end?"
The Past
Hela smiled, watching her children fighting on an asteroid. Each of them in Asgardian gear and wielding Necro-weapons. She leant against her lover, whose eyes still held no interest in the sight.
"They are growing stronger my love, our heirs," she said.
"Of course," Onyx said, his helmet off, not withdrawing from Hela's touch.
"Another hell will soon bow to our might," she said.
"It is not necessary to conquer the hell dimensions, only to place the rituals that we need in them," Onyx said.
His helmet reformed over his head and he walked away from his children. Hela stopped smiling for a moment, almost looking sad when she saw that the children were nearly killing each other to impress their parents. She shook her head, they were Onyx's children, his worthy heirs, and there was surely no one else in the Multiverse he would choose.
The Desert Beyond space and time
"Then one of the Exiles sacrificed themselves to put the Crystal Palace right, but the work still needed doing, so we created another group of Exiles, then they created another group of Exiles and…"
"All lies right?" Virgil asked the 'Timebreaker'.
The insect clicked his mandibles, shrinking as the apprentices of Aeon cast their shadows over him.
"My very existence is a lie, my kind and I were designed by a being called Muramasa," he said.
"Classic Aeon villain, but you're self aware right?" Sieg asked.
"Indeed, he wanted to be particularly cruel, so he gave us all consciences, or at least the potential to possess them," the insect said.
"Which is why you've come to us," Virgil said.
"Yes, you see the Exiles are a lie, the Crystal palace a lie, reality and its structure are actually so much more complicated than you can imagine, every time someone thinks they have figured it out, it will literally create a new rule of existence. 'There are too many Earths, the Multiverse cannot exist,' or wait it actually can because the Multiverse 'wants' to exist, teleporting to another dimension increases the chance of an Incursion happening, unless it just doesn't for some reason, people from one dimension cannot exist in another for an amount of time, anyone heard of Rachel Grey? Power Girl?" the Timebreaker explained.
"Like writers in those old comic book events, they find some reason to get rid of the concept of multiple Earths and make one 'prime timeline', then they bring it back for a storyline or with another writer," Sieg stated.
"Don't they also call it retconning?" Virgil asked.
"Yep, welcome to the complicated life of super heroics, where everything is less of a straight line and more of a great big ball off…"
"Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff, yeah, I've seen that series," Virgil said.
"Still going on, which doctor are we on?" Sieg asked.
"Tough to tell with the way time works with us, it could still be 2014 or be 2024 for all I know," Virgil said.
"Yeah I never did figure out how old everyone was," Sieg sighed.
"Excuse me," the Timebreaker raised his hand and both boys chuckled as they looked at him.
"Sorry," they said together, trading glances before focusing on their task again.
"Both of you are in a sense displaced, so it allowed me to draw you to this place," he began. "I am sorry, I know you must both return to your original places in the time stream, that you Virgil have a team to rescue but I must implore you…"
"We'll help," again both boys spoke.
"Jinx," Sieg chuckled and Virgil shook his head.
"We've both been trained by Aeon not just in how to use our powers, but in how to deserve those powers too, of course we're going to help free your people," Sieg explained.
"No, you don't understand, I'm not interested in freedom, what's freedom worth to a creature like me?" the Timebreaker asked.
"Just because you were made artificially doesn't mean you're not worth saving," Virgil said.
"Again you fail to understand, my life truly has no value, it will soon reach its end, what I am asking you, no, begging you is to free the Exiles," the Timebreaker brought its pincers together as if it was praying.
"When you say free the Exiles, you mean that the Exiles aren't just being deceived don't you?" Virgil asked.
"I mean that the Crystal palace is more than just a construct to monitor the Multiverse, it is a prison as well," the Timebreaker said.
"Fortunately, I've got a great tool for breaking crystal," Sieg said, holding up his sword.
Battleworld
Cyclops smiled as he and those the X-men had gathered enjoyed for a moment a small barbecue. For some of them it would be the only bit of peace they would get. Some like Cardinal and Rasputin, genetically engineered mutants, Cardinal a red furred Nightcrawler with Rachel's telepathic abilities, and Rasputin a steel skinned woman capable of using Magik's soulsword, would have to return to dreary futures. Cyclops's own students, former circus performers Mermaid, Charmer, Dog Face, Double-Header and Tower would face their first true battle. But the X-men were not alone, they had human impersonators with them too, 'Children of the Atom'. The teens Cyclops-Lass, Cherub, Day Crawler, Marvel Guy and Gimmick got their powers from alien technology and rather than mimic the Avengers, they chose the X-men.
It was comforting for the X-men of many centuries, like Banshee, Changeling and John Proudstar to see that even humans would come to idolise and try to be X-men themselves. Scott's smiled deepened when the portal above him opened and Jean emerged with the Starjammers.
"Scott," Corsair was levitated to the ground, the hug his son gave him was enough to confirm to the pirate and former air force pilot that he would not live beyond Vulcan's wedding.
He tensed slightly when he saw Havok standing with Vulcan, but he saw that he was far younger than he had been as the Shiar emperor.
"Gabriel," Corsair looked at them both in confusion.
"It's me dad, I'm glad we can finally meet like this, properly," Vulcan said.
"That's not all dad," Alex sheepishly chuckled.
They stepped aside, encouraging Adam X to walk between them.
"This is Adam, we think he's our brother," Scott said.
Adam looked away from Corsair when he saw the disgust across his face, the rage and idea that perhaps the mad Shiar emperor D'Ken had forced himself on his wife when they took him. But telepathic waves linked their minds together and in one moment Corsair and Adam, came to feel what the other had experienced. Adam saw a man desperate to save his family, saying goodbye to his sons, only for him and his wife to be taken by the Shiar. He saw and felt the horror and rage when D'Ken ripped Katherine Anne Summers's child from her stomach. Adam experienced the hopelessness as Christopher Summers worked in a Shiar prison complex, the abuse and torture he endured until he found the Starjammers and rebelled. Corsair saw a boy, confused, uncertain of his origin, whisked away with every chance. He saw the brutal physical training he endured to master his powers, the times he had to use those powers, the first time he inflicted pain on another and the horror that filled the boy with. Both shared the feeling of irony when they saw that Adam had rescued Corsair's father Philip, and had even met Cable and Jean herself. Through the genetic memory, Corsair and Adam saw the son of Katherine Summers and D'Ken, an experiment to introduce human genetics into the Shiar bloodline.
"Not as bad as you thought it was huh, turns out I'm not even really your wife's son, just a clone at best," Adam huffed.
"No Adam, you are so much more than that," Jean said, her head still glowing, still linking Adam's mind with Corsairs.
She expanded the link, the Summers brothers, all four of them stood together and experienced the memories Scott, Alex and Corsair had of a kind and courageous woman who would have loved Adam and Gabriel as her own.
'Thank you Jean, I love you,' Scott thought, knowing his wife would detect those thoughts.
"Our family is not complete though Scott," Jean smiled.
Rachel flew down, wearing a black and red costume with spikes based on her hound days. A younger Cable came up to them, his poncho hiding his plasma rifle and sword. X-man hovered down, himself levitating Ruby and Megan Summers, children of Cyclops from an alternate timeline.
"Our family is vast; we have so many brothers and sisters."
Hank, Warren and Bobby came to their side, followed by Storm flying down from the sky. Rogue and Gambit were holding hands when they joined the group, Nightcrawler teleported behind Cyclops, tapping his shoulder before he returned to Colossus, Kitty and Jubilee. Emma came up to the group with her Cuckoos, briefly nodding to Jean with respect.
'I've been so lucky, lucky to have the best and strongest women in my life,' Scott thought.
The young Cable hugged Madelyne Pryor, whilst X-man awkwardly looked away. He didn't want to go through the hassle of explaining his romance with a sort of alternate version of the Goblin Queen.
'And I am lucky, to have had two fathers in my life,' Scott thought.
He looked towards Charles, wearing a black bodysuit with a white lower half, a white line through his chest and white gloves with white wrist guards that had black X's on them. His new Exoskeleton allowed him to walk, whilst the helmet with the X shape on it was his mobile link to Cerebro.
"I am the one who is lucky Scott, to have so many of you in my life, we are a family that is ever growing, no matter how much the world may reject us we will remain a tribe, a nation amongst ourselves," Charles projected.
"Across various worlds," said the older Charles, sitting on his wheelchair with his X-men in their black leather.
"Whether Westchester or Bayville," broadcasted another Charles with his young X-men.
"Across all of time and reality," the Charles of a past world, floating on his yellow chair smiled with his X-men, all in their classic costumes of the 90s.
"Let's fucking go!" Deadpool said, pumping his fists.
The Gap-Present
"YOU TRULY ARE INSANE!" Amora screamed.
"Your body is battered, you're exhausted, I have under my control an army of Aeons, all mutated with the apples of Iddun, my executioners, my Keeps, they are the ones who will ensure that I become queen of the Multiverse, you should be bowing to me," she seethed, glaring at Onyx.
Despite her tantrum though, Onyx stood and looked past Amora's shoulder and into the distance. Within the darkness of the gap, sparks of energy made small glitters of light like distant stars. In one moment he was witnessing so many plans he had laid out. Hela's invasions of the hell dimensions were beginning to come into play. His attention went onto Amora gain and her army of Aeons. Finally Onyx bowed his head.
"Well done Amora, you have achieved your objective," he said.
Amora blinked in confusion, and then narrowed her eyes, furious with the idea of Onyx bowing out of gratuity.
"You still deny my victory," she said.
"Your victory is mine Amora, I suspected that my rejection of your advances would drive you to dominate the minds of other, lesser versions of Sven Reilly, these were the versions that the Multiversal transport gift I gave you, allowed you to go to, a series of pre-programmed Earths," Onyx explained.
Amora widened her eyes, looking at her army, remembering the Sven Reilly's she had kissed, taken, some she had even forced to eat the apples. She looked to Onyx in horror as green markings glowed across his body. The gap was illuminated as the same markings glowed across every Aeon she had ensnared. But then, the markings grew darker, as if the fresh green rotted until the markings turned black.
"You and I designed the new apples, coating them in the ingredients we gathered, the eyes of Cyclops, the heart of Superman, Dr Strange's fingers, the Thing's skin, blood from the Flash's tendons, bone dust from Wolverine, brain matter from Xavier, ashes of the purple heart tree, ashes of Jean Grey harvested from the blue area of the moon, Black Bolt's vocal chords and the blood of Odin. Our minions gathered these ingredients, wrought from the suffering of others, but the final ingredient was my very essence itself," Onyx took a step forward, a dark mist sweeping across his body.
It hid every detail of his muscles and torn armour and clothes. Then the Aeons began to shrink, becoming orbs of ink like matter, shifting and squelching as if the Aeons had been crushed into balls. Amora tried to create a portal, but her spell failed, she looked at Onyx in terror as the orbs became marbles that floated around his body.
"Every one of your thralls is mine to control and mine to fuse with," Onyx declared, raising his hands and tilting his head back.
The marbles seeped into his skin and the dark energy surrounded him, obscuring his body completely. Amora could only watch as the energy faded and the transformed Onyx emerged.
His armour looked more like flesh and bone than alloy. Black talons covered his feet, the armour running up legs resembling scales with barbs attached to them. Barbed gauntlets covered his wrists with some armour across his arms looking like layers of clawed fingers, some moving to allow red eyes on his arms and legs to blink. His chest armour was black and purple, thicker, attached to the bladed guards on his shoulders and the three spinal tails that ran down his back. Then there was his helmet, the distorted fins and visor parodying his original helmet, whilst his eyes glowed purple through the darkness of the visor.
"You stand before the corruption of a corrupt form," Onyx said, taking a few steps towards Amora.
"No, NO!" she screamed.
She raised her hands, unleashing a blast of magic that would have given even Thor pause. Onyx though walked through the blast, slowly raising his hand. He grabbed Amora by her throat, lifting her off of the floor.
"Mercy, MERCY!" she yelled.
"You were reborn from Ragnarok, granted a new life, and like every other Asgardian, you repeated the mistakes of the past, sought out the same empty ambitions," Onyx stated.
"PLEASE LET ME GO!" she frantically kicked with her legs and clawed at Onyx' hand.
.But her previous master did not let her go. He suddenly dug his nails into her belly and Amora heard them rip through her corset and her very flesh. She screamed in agony, tears in her eyes, her legs tensed and voice cracked before Onyx ripped his hand and most of Amora's chest away. He threw her entrails across the floor, scanning her face as the light slowly left her eyes.
"So Asgardians do die like humans," Onyx noted.
He cast Amora's remains into the abyss and walked up to his throne. The chair began to crack when he sat on it, then rotting roots began to rise from those cracks. Energy pulsed through the roots and images flashed before Onyx's eyes. Images of Earths dying, consumed by Anti-Matter, heroes compromising in order to 'rebirth' their existences. By destroying what they saw as the Multiverse, they created negative energy. Individual Earths showed even greater promise, romances like that of Mary Jane and Peter Parker continually ruined across various universes. Mary Jane cast aside for the Black Cat on a symbiote infested world, the marriage sold to Mephisto, the relationship torn apart by a guy called Paul. More negativity rose with sacrifices, the Justice League failing as heroes, forcing the Suicide Squad to save the world at times, even to kill the Justice League.
Yet more negativity was created with the Incursions, the literal clashing of Earths. Dead universes like an Earth where the Green Arrow had kick started a universe; the Flash spread his speed force but was powerless to stop the Earth where the Justice League rose after the clash of the Man of Steel and Superman. The heroes of these worlds could only wallow, and hold their loved ones as the end approached. Only Batman went out into the streets, a man whose acts of murder and destruction had created its own bank of negativity for Onyx to use. Not even his redemption of resurrecting Superman was enough, nor was his last stand, to go out at least being Batman.
The construct growing from Onyx's throne spread further throughout the Gap, growing with each riot started across Earths, each desperate act of murder for one's own survival or paranoia, each failed act of heroism by those unworthy of their capes or masks. Most saw a tree when they saw the throne, the dying matter across it made it seem so, but the truth was that Onyx was building a machine, not growing a tree.
"The ascendance begins!" Onyx declared.
Ground shook on Earth 12, at the gates of Tartarus where Waller's taskforce monitored the situation. Inside, Hades raised his head for even he felt the shockwave across both the physical and spiritual planes.
Earth 1610 Helheim
Hela grinned, seeing the great tremor spread throughout her counterpart's kingdom, and then the fire rise up from that crack to create a split in dimensions. One that sent fire into the realm of Midgard.
Earth 10005-Limbo
Illyana Rasputin was beginning to miss her New Mutant team mates, even Moonstar, her safe place, a godsend during her incarceration by the Essex foundation was currently under attack. The wielder of the Soul Sword had always considered herself powerful, but even her dragon Lockheed was suffering under the thumb of the undead and demonic forces that had been brought to bear. She beheaded one demon, only to have to split a zombie down the centre. The two pieces of her opponent dropped to the floor and revealed in the distance those meddling in her kingdom. One was wearing a black suit with silver armour over his chest, wrists and heels, his chest plate had a high collar, with a red cloak stretching out of it. The dark haired man also wore a silver helmet with a red V shape on it.
Eshu, the Master of the World was just one of a few guards for Master Pandemonium and an Undead Felix Faust, the others included a blue skinned and purple garbed Solarr with a crescent moon on his suit instead of a sun, the Shaggy Man, and a green skinned Solomon Grundy. Pandemonium and Faust continued their chanting, creating runes and pillars of light as part of the ascendance ritual.
Earth 666
Dr Darkness, a variant of Doctor Light and a serial rapist on his Earth, Baron Ubermensch, a Kryptonian child who grew up to join the Nazi party, Dragon King, mutated scientist who turned his daughter into a weapon, Cletus Kasady, serial killer, cannibal and bearer of the Carnage symbiote and a woman in purple and red who dared to call herself Lucifer.
Lucifer Morningstar had plenty of reasons to subject the intruders of his domain to his special kind of punishment. He easily could have driven them back, even if they were just guard dogs for powerful sorcerers such as Mister Strange (a Sinister and Dr Strange simulacrum) and Selene Gallio the White Queen. Even if the spectrum of power was different in his universe and his brother (formerly his father) was but a lesser form of the Presence, Lucifer could dispatch the Multiversal intruders with strength alone. But when they began to enact their dark ritual, they did so with a hostage, Lucifer's beloved detective and wife Chloe Decker.
"Bloody mortals, are they trying to breakthrough to the very heart of creation itself, is this Onyx trying to usurp the position of One above all?" Lucifer mused.
Earth 616
Mephisto's domain had been breached, this Doom knew before even the missing Sorcerer Supreme. He had always monitored the activities of Mephisto, and the small ritual sites where one could access his dimension. There was one in Latveria itself and Doom watched from his castle as a pillar of flame consumed the countryside by the mountain. Never once did Doom consider contacting any of the heroes, Latveria was his land to protect. Yet even he knew that it would be a struggle for Doom to protect his kingdom.
'So Doom will assemble his own Avengers,' he thought.
Earth N52
Cade roared, ripping through his prison, green blood spread across the floor and red energy leaked out of his eyes. Two blades span through the air, coming to Cade's hands. He swung his scythes, half delirious, stopping them just inches from Ivy's neck.
"Stop, you're part way healed, you need more rest," she said.
"NO!" Cade snarled.
He backed away, shaking his head, the glow in his eyes faded and he wiped the gunk from the plants off of his forehead.
"I sensed it, something terrible is happening, Onyx has begun his plan, whatever that it and it involves the dimensions of hell," he stated.
Ivy was about to rebuff him when she fell to her knees, gripping the sides of her head.
"I, I feel it," she quivered, dragging her nails across her arms to give herself a new pain. "So many plants, entire forests dying, because the boundaries between life and death have been broken," she explained.
"We'll have to cut our little therapy short then, there's a fight I need to get back into," Cade said, brandishing his blades with flashing red eyes.
Next Chapter 49: Hell zone royale
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I was originally going to use the New Mutant release date as the Earth number for the events in Limbo. But I'm going with the number used by (slight spoiler) Deadpool's Earth in Deadpool and Wolverine.
No spoilers, but one moment in the film (which by that point I thought would never happen) was just 'chef's kiss'. Loved every moment with a few nit-picks.
Next heroes go to hell.