Cosmic Wars Omega: The Multiversal War across the Infinite Frontier

by Darth Necron

In the aftermath of the Secret Wars a path to the Multiverse was formed. Decedents of legendary warriors Ben Auro and Doug Fitter, Michael Auro and Astra Fitter, now must unite the likes of Rachet & Clank, Sam Porter, MegaMan Volnutt, 2B, Mark "Invincible" Greyson, Tanjiro Kamado, and the other last hero's of the universe to stop the Negaverse from conquering all other universes.

23. 275The Gundam the Witch and the Wardrobe

Chapter 275: The Gundam, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

While Ezan made it clear that the situation was even more dire than Mike, Astra, and the others realized, nevertheless no matter how calamitous things were, no one in the group could make things happen in an instant.

So, Mike went to talk to Raymond and his crew to get to know them more as they talked about the plans more as Tyson tried to see what his new makeshift allies were like.

As they did, Ezan had the Ultima Thule dock into the Hague to have the data the ship collected when flying through one universe after another. While most of the group was eating, a few like Tails and Ratchet helped Ezan dock the ship to check it out. While everyone was professional, Ezan watched them carefully all the same.

The former Enji watched them carefully, but nearly drew his sword as someone chuckled behind him and uttered," To think, after all this time I can still see things that make me feel wonder. Glad that there are still some positive things to uncover despite the circumstances."

Ezan swerved around, and saw it was James floating up to the sliver haired man. The warrior of light could not help but snicker as he saw the hologram man's look." Well, that explains the lack of footsteps."

"Oh, did not mean to alarm you. I'm still use to this…state."

"It's fine. I, just have not been in "safe" territory for a very long-time old friend. But, I am curious. How much of your, of his memories do you have?"

James paused before he sighed." It was…after Ka-El was killed by Thragg and Omni-Man, and I knew I had to take precautions. Tell me, Mike and the others would not have known but, how did, the original me die?"

Ezan paused before he sighed." With your great grandchildren, Ben, Daigo, Lacus, and myself among with a few friends from Krakoa, Corneria, and Planet Arakko.

I promised I would keep your world safe…and I regret that I could not keep that promise, thanks to the damn Scourge. I tried, but Doug was sighted on Tamaran."

"That…does sound like how I hoped it would go. Don't blame yourself, I understand more than anyone how widespread the universe's problems were.

Though, I admit I never thought it would escalate to quite this level of a crises. I, hope that my people did not think I was abandoning them."

"Some always do, but most understood your position. They knew how…demanding the universe was, and that you did all you could. I, can't judge. Aries and so many others went through the same thing."

"But of course. So, she's still with you then?"

"Yes…her soul's still with me vie the White Materia. She is asleep a lot of the time but she has a sense to her. I think, it's because of her activating extra holy energy that I survived Sieg's attack and made it to Quadratum intact."

"I'm grateful for that. Is that also the source of your new dragon spells? I did not expect your skill range to become so…colorful."

"Heh…not entirely. As the universe's state worsened…I made packs with many great sprits to share their power and give them a vessel. I used altered Master summon Materia to store them. Ares did help with keeping them stable. No matter what state she's in, she always seeking ways to comfort others."

"Without a doubt. Still, not being able to help her body recover, was still one of my many regrets."

"She never blamed you, and knew many like Zelda were affected worst. We just did what we could, to live our lives as best as we could. For her that was caring and helping others as much as one could in a broken universe.

For me, that was doing what I always did, eliminating those who bring misery to the greater universe. That mission, is still not complete, so I refuse to be at ease till its resolved, or die trying."

"Well…I for one am grateful you're so good at your job Ezan. As…devastating as it was to see so many friends die, as horrible as it was to see Ben and Lacus go through that, the fact that your still here, that Sieg, for all his power, is not completely omnipotent, gives me some hope.

The fact that we still have a chance, however slim, is enough to keep the despair at bay. After that, we can figure out how to fix what we can. At least, there might be more options than we first thought eh old friend?

Just curious, I don't know how much time you had to" sight see", but was any of the universe's you traveled across well…able to live up to the ideal state we had for the universe?"

Ezan paused before he looked at his Ultimate Thuel ship, and took a deep breath." To be blunt, I never had time to look at more than a few planets, nothing larger than a galaxy. Places like Quadratum seemed civil, baring invasions from hostile forces from another universe.

The earth that Calvin Ellis, the Superman of what the alliance dubs as "Earth Twenty Three" was the leader of seemed stable, though it is at war with the IV&C.

As for most of the others, they were under Sieg's control…and it ranged from a more perfect embodiment of hell then what Zannacross thought of, to a life that's only a utopia if an age of nonexistence is what you think of as paradise.

Other times I was in a world in its past, or a future where nearly all life was already gone. To stay one step ahead of Sieg, the alliance is taking all kind's of measures, going to a universe's far past or future is just one of the ways to at least by some time."

"Fair enough. Just, curious. Was this alliance formed because of Sieg? Was, is, a alliance between universe's able to lead to the betterment of all?"

"If you mean if it was a utopia, my judgment is frankly inconclusive. Every universe had some conflict, but those like the ones belonging to Calvin and the rest of his Justice Incarnate order were universe's that still had hope. It seems, while things were not perfect, they still had faith things would work out."

James paused before chuckling bitterly." An imperfect something is better than a perfect nothing. It sounds like, they accepted things for what they were, maybe if we stopped aiming to high then, all of this might have been prevented.

I can't help but reflect what Doug said as he descended into a berserk fury. Despite his own obsessions and Brad and the Beyonder pushing him to his worst impulses, he was true about some things.

We won the Cosmic war against Zannacross and we destroyed every evil soul, or at least every soul that was more attuned with darkness than the light at the moment Zannacross fell. We had a more secure peace than in any time in the history of are universe, but it was not enough, we wanted perfection.

I, Master Myers, Ben, Lacus, we were all so wounded from our trauma that we wanted to make it so that things could never happen again.

Ben was so traumatized by what Brad, Kira, and the others did to him that he wanted to make people like that never be able to exist again.

While I don't see it as Doug saw it, I do agree that Ben saw many early developed worlds and saw that people like him rarely thrived in worlds that only valued the more…" Primitive" things in life and wanted to make it so that people like him would always be accepted, would never be the "Loser".

I wanted to also create a universe were the" Mutants" would never suffer racism again so I shared his desire to make the war we got through, the last one.

But, we, we did forget that what's paradise for some, is hell for others. I don't agree with the savage way that Thragg, Omni-Man, and the others like Conquest do things, but it does seem like paradise for the average Viltrumite, is a life of conquest, like all nomad tribes throughout history.

We, we "civilized" folks always have seen such tribes as the savage enemies of civilization, but is it all just that we govern by deception backed by force while they just are honest about it?

All the way back in Earth Prime, idealists like Thomas Hobbes proposed that the natural basic state of humankind is one of anarchy, with the strong dominating the weak.

Life for most people, he said, was 'solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short'. Therefore, "our one natural right is of self-preservation."

In order to remove that basic fear between individuals or groups, Hobbes suggested that people should 'contract' with a protector as their sovereign.

Under this social contract individuals give up all rights, while those of the protector are absolute. He did not, though, believe in divine right. Hobbes's key point was that any protector was there by specific agreement with their subjects.

We, we seen enough societies to know that he was right, that most of the time the absence of a central authority that can impose order and solve collective-action problems would exact a heavy toll for the" Weak."

We, we thought the Lylat Kingdom and the Enji Knights were on the path of light because we made sure no "savage tribe" would be able to use Hard Domination to disenfranchise weaker people.

But, we overlooked, or refused to look at "Soft Domination." Which could be just as pernicious but because aside from the most outright uses from companies like Shinra or Weil and the members of his Federation could be seen as civil and" Just part of business."

While we always said we favored democracies, while so many said that from their inception they granted all the people living on their lands equal rights, that they proudly disavowed the explicit legal disabilities for disfavored minority groups.

But, in many cases, these democracies could claim to be egalitarian, in part, because a bloody history of their own had rendered them highly homogeneous.

This allowed the ethnic or cultural majorities to impose their preferences without explicitly needing to disenfranchise members of minority groups or bringing the root of their dominance out into the open.

As these societies became more diverse however, it becomes harder to ignore this legacy of "soft domination". for the rules that worked when they were highly homogeneous, more and more resentment grows by the larger portion of the population.

That's because, the truth is that there is more harmony in Multiethnic empires then in democracies most of the time. Empires tolerated diversity without either trying to homogenize their population or granting subjects from different groups genuine equality. In essence, they don't have to bother to try.

But again and again, people resent those who don't share their culture, language, and religion, even when ruled by a gentle fist, they aspire to self-determination. Time and again, these multi-ethnic empires collapsed and turned into nation-states that avoided the problem of domination to the extent that they succeed in imposing homogeneity, no matter how many ethic cleansing's it took.

Unspeakable violence turned nations, worlds, and at times even entire galaxies into monochrome nation stations, the hard way. Using terms like" Herrenvolk democracy," and others, again and again it's just a deeper and deeper web to trick others into accepting a "bad deal."

We wanted so hard to make the things that caused us pain like pride focused egos and Nationalism be the" Forever of yesteryear" to make a future of greater tolerance and integration, so that selfish behavior would head to the dust bin of history, in the end the wills of those driven by bellicose nationalism, if not pure selfish wills overcame the very will of heaven.

While we hoped that in response to noxious nationalists and individualists we could get more pepole to turn themselves into cosmopolitanism to care equally about pepole whether they happened to be neighbors or live at the other end of the universe, the blunt truth is we seen that the kind of altruism is just not realistic no matter how much we wish.

Humans and most other life forms are groupish, the instinct to form in-groups, and to discriminate against those who do not belong to them goes deeper then most wanted to accept, including me.

The more we pushed the logic of compassion for the greater good as the true enlightened path, the harder pepole just renounced truth itself.

As horrible as Zannacross's Anti-Life Equation was, in the end something not quite as lethal, but still almost as devastating has taken root across the universe, the ideology of post truth.

While its true that many have preferred a lie over reality at times, its come to the point where the distinction between truth and falsity —as well as honesty and lying—have become moot...all that matters is who's passion is bigger.

Its become clear that Doug did not only wreck the after life, he broke faith in truth, politics, and everything else about civilization. And, even with all the knowledge of the universe, I, I just don't know how to get back to a " Good" point.

Time and again, once faith in institutions have been corroded, rebuilding consensus requires a level of trust. Withering contempt for institutions and " elites " metastasizes.

Once the dynamic is in place, alas, time and again the next step is descending into outright kakistocracy: Rule by the very worst a society has to offer, if not total anarchy. Sadly, its like what the universe, are universe is going through right this moment.

I looked time and again at what happens when a society when the spread of anti-politics post truth equation is fully entrenched in society, and after it destroys the basis of democratic of any form of societal politics that creates a space for savage autocrats to take over, the perils are systematic.

Because anti-politics eats away at Civilization's captivity to make decisions together, to work out differences in a calm and institutional way, and to build structures that include everyone, till the effects of Anti-Politics leaves behind can only be governed by imposition, till the only way things change is when the broken force is taken over by those who are still less divided, that still have faith in there ideals and creed.

However, if every culture in the universe is at the same demoralized, cynical mindset, then either it only ends when everyone that feels this dies, or things just descend into total savagery.

I realized as I prioritized the prosperity of Krakoa over the rest of the Lylat Alliance, my people over the rest, that I was truly no better.

When Planet Arakko was consumed by the Scourge, and I did all I could to minimize the damage to my own world, even if I condemned most refugees from Arakko to damnation, and I only was concerned that my world was secure, I realized I lost the " Moral high ground" completely.

The Lylat Kingdom did bring more peace to more planets than any other universal government in our history, and I have no doubts that it was never a mistake to stop Weil Zabi and his group from making the universe go down his way.

But, I had to realize, it was mostly because the angels were fed up with how many times humanity faltered and took the more direct approach.

By having the Lylat Kingdom and Enji Knights be championed by heaven directly, it was more than peace but the threat of being a sinner to make people get inline.

It did bring peace, but Doug and others did not see that as true justice for all. While we thought that peace was worth the cost some not feeling they had there justice, that was in the end just the privileged judgment of the winners.

Maybe, we and all the people thought that the solution was "The best choice possible for peace", maybe we thought it was for the greater good, but it was not true justice for all, just judgment of the winners.

Maybe, if we just did not want to make things easy the Beyonder would have attacked anyway, maybe not, but only as everything fell apart did I have time to realize just how misguided we were."

Ezan sighed before he looked at his sword." I admit I just accepted the judgment that father, the angels, the Enji Masters, and the rest of you had because I thought as a soldier, I had no way to decide what was the right state for the universe to be in.

I won't ever forgive Doug for what he did, but I admit for better or for worse, he refused to just be what people told him to be, to the very end.

James…I'm not in the position to say your right or wrong. I seen other universes however briefly, some were better, some were worst. Even the angels failed to foresee things properly because they failed to see things in the ways that did not agree with their views.

I seen how people in small villages act with true equality, taking time to respect everyone's thoughts. "Advanced" civilizations often dismiss this outlook as unproductive fools that are deserving to be taken over by their superiors.

The man who was my father for my childhood championed this, and the Uchiha clan made their name vie conquest so I have no right to judge.

All I can observe, is that true equality would require everyone sacrificing, and most of the time people only sacrifice if they have to, if someone makes them give what they don't want to give up.

James, I won't deny part of me wonders if God himself has made it so that the cycle of life is for society to push as hard as they go for unity, only to collapse into " Anti-politics" like a cruel cycle. Yet...I seen other societies across the Multiverse that have not reached that level. Maybe, its just about keeping realistic expectations.

We tried to make the answer for are universe, but maybe the best, most fair thing to do is to make it so that no one person can force their will on everyone, like Sieg, Abeloth, and the rest of the IV&C.

We can only accept we were only humans, and try and learn from are mistakes as best as we can. Right now, that means ensuring that there is a future for people."

"Thank you…old friend. I'm trying to do that as best I can, even if it's just one person at the moment."

"You mean Michael? I don't know how long you been with him but what's your verdict on him now?"

"He, he's trying. He's nowhere close to Ben or even Richard, and honestly he's defeated a few opponents but it's mostly Astra and the others that have kept this thing going. But, he never wanted to be a fighter.

He knew just enough to defend himself and relied on the "Divine Morpher" to automatically defeat threats for a while, till Doug destroyed that with his Haikai. He's trying to learn as fast as he can, and he has made progress but well, I suppose his father was not the fastest learner either eh? I'll do what I can but frankly it won't help anyone thinking we can make stand in for his father in time."

Ezan nodded before he looked around." Well…no matter how dire things are I'm not going to be like Kira or my father and try and be what they are not. Besides, this crises is something beyond what any single strong power level can fix.

We, we need to think bigger than we ever thought possible. No matter the odds, as long as they are not zero, I'm going to keep trying to see the mission complete till the end."

"I don't think anyone here will doubt your resolve Ezan. Mike does have his mother's grace at winning people over, long as someone is there to make sure he's seeing things clearly. We, just got to work with what we got and see this through.

For now, that's making sure that things don't fall apart till we pull things off. Have you been in the Bethel Kingdom since you returned?"

"No, but I looked at enough to come up with the impression that the Bethel Kingdom is sadly at the verge of collapse even without the IV&C."

"Regretfully it's not that far off. Bria was never meant to be its leader, even as a figure head…but it's our own fault for being arrogant enough to assume it would never get that bad. Die-Hardman, X, Daigo, Zero, and the others are trying as had as they can but, the momentum is becoming harder and harder to push back.

Ezan, I don't expect you to make a public appearance but, could you talk to X and some of the others just to fill them in and give them hope? Even a spark is something these days."

"James…I have to be absolutely sure that it would be not witnessed by anyone that would report to Sieg. It may not seem like he's in this universe, but that's because he's treating this like a company controlling occupied territory, not a nation. His agents are overseeing the" property" making sure the space is not disrupted till he makes his ploy to strike the entire multiverse, to take" everything".

To be honest I don't think Sieg sees Mike or even Astra being still alive as anything more than an insult to his pride, but if he knows I'm alive, and that Ben might still live, he might be incensed enough to come back here and then are odds of victory become virtually zero."

"I understand. But the way I see it, keeping the Bethel Kingdom from falling apart and for are support to collapse is another way to raise are odds, however small eh?"

"That, is logical enough. It's just that till we are ready to go and can safely get back up from the Alliance, I'm not sure if just letting people know I'm alive is worth the risk."

"That's because you refuse to realize your own importance my friend. Like it or not you're a legend that gives hope.

And hope's not everything, but being motivated is still something. If it's done in a way that will just spread rumors I think it will be ok. There are already all kinds of theories so, one more can't hurt."

"Well…as long as it does not interfere with the mission. I, huh? I told you that my ship does not take that kind of fuel."

Ezan expected to see Ratchet but saw it was Tanjiro. The younger swordsmen gulped as he saw the sliver haired man eye him before he let out a uneasy chuckle." Sorry Lord Zeon! I don't mean to interfere! It's just, I heard so much about you. You, you really trained Urokodaki Sensei? He said you taught him everything about how to be a swordsmen?"

Ezan paused before he eyed Tanjiro carefully." You mean…Sakonji Urokodaki? That was, decades ago. But…glad he's still alive, a blessing to rare these days."

"It's because of what you taught him that I was strong enough to protect my sister Nezuko! I, I just wanted to know if you could teach me anything? I, I want to become as strong as you so I can be as useful to you all as possible!"

Ezan eyed Tanjiro carefully before he cleared his throat." We don't have time for me to give you any in-depth training. If you're under the impression it's easy to get where I am then, we are done here."

Grimoire Weiss sighed before the floating book tried to look like he was bowing." Show mercy to the lad, he's not had much time to learn how much works outside of his life in Kattelox Island. I assured him that becoming a fighter of your caliber takes more than memorizing a few moves and a lot of push-ups."

Ezan eyed Tanjiro carefully before he sighed." You, were from Endless Illusion? So, your family has been fighting demons?"

Tanjiro winced as he looked at his sword." My family, did, till they were killed. Nezuko, is all that I have left. That's why…I have to be strong enough to protect her!"

Ezan saw the tension in the younger man's face before he narrowed his eyes." I understand wanting to protect what you care about. But…if you become to desperate you will take short cuts, and then you will lose everything, along with your own pride. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir! I, I don't want to aim for the clouds only to fall to the abyss! I, I just want to know how to do what I can!"

"What's your name again?"

"Tanjiro Kamado sir!"

Ezan eyed Tanjiro again before he sighed." Just call me Ezan for one. I can recommend a few things to improve your performance."

"Thank you sir!"

"Don't thank me yet Tanjiro. First, let's figure out where things stand, and take it from there."

Tanjiro nodded and prepared to show the veteran warrior of light what he knew. After Ezan saw what the demon slayer could do, the plan for the next mission got underway.

---

A few hours later everyone was back at the command deck. Astra was sitting on a chair and saw both Mike and Raymond walking up before she yawned." Alright we spent enough time being "filled in" about things so just tell me who to punch and let's do this."

Mike snickered before he put his hand up." Down girl. Glad you're still ready to go but the focus of this part is not really fighting this time."

"You're a riot Mikey but last time we went to a planet were no one was supposed to still be alive but we still had to fight so seriously, who's ass needs to be kicked this time?"

As Mike facepalmed, Ray chuckled." It's always a possibility with us but seriously Astra we really want to make fighting the last resort here.

I talked with Antonio and the old man, and they are going to never let this down but, my brother is going to meet us in his Aldous ship and are still going to go along with the plan to have the backing of Lawrence Logistics to go with the job for the Gamilas in the Palapium space colony. We checked, and we still have a shot to steal the fuel from Aplodia Neuro in her No-Ship" "Ithaca". "

Tyson cleared his throat before the Black Panther crossed his arms." Now…you're sure that screwing this chick over is not going to bring down all those guys you're trying to avoid right on are ass?"

"I can't say anything is completely safe Tyson but we have less of a risk of her calling Homelander down on us then your brother to be honest." Mike answered dryly." Aplodia is like as hard core a recluse as you can get.

She really hates and distrusts people, and only interacts with the outside universe with holograms and all that. She came to Corneria a few times and she would not come out even to see my parents, though her son did with his guards.

She's just one of the lucky ones that inherited well, all that remains of her Gardim race and used their ship to fly around the universe in her own private world.

Because of her being paranoid, she's offended a few people, including Superian, and Albert Dessler, the ones running the whole Gamilas tribe.

They want her ship's stealth tech for their own fleet, and Dessler is "graceful" enough to give us a cut if we get it from her."

Ezan eyed Raymond carefully before he cracked his neck." You're not really expecting the leaders of one of the big clans to keep his word do you?"

"He will if he wants his package in one piece. I'm no chump mister Super Elite, he knows if he screws us over his package goes boom. Just the precautions one has to take when honor is all but dead in the universe.

If this was Homelander I would not even bother but we have some things working in our favor. The Gamilas tribe is not in the most stable spot since it's weaker than the other tribes so it's putting on a big show to win over support and act tough.

It can't have anything ruin the image or its going to have the others come after it next. So, long as we stick to the plan the odds are in our favor."

"Then what is this plan?" Ezan sternly rebutted. The Equalizer put up his hand before giving a tense chuckle." Hey calm down I did my homework ok? The auction itself is going to be in front of the colonies Asticassia School of Technology, an academic institute run by the mega-corporation Benerit Group that is pals with Dessler and the rest of the Gamilas clan and is trying to show off.

They are going to have a show and everything, so we are going to have ways to " go with the flow" and get into the ship while everyone is paying attention to the show. See, I have a contact with an employee at the VTX Union, Sagiri Sakurai, AND one of the members of Scorpium, my pal J.J"

Sonic raised an eyebrow before he raised his hand." No offense dude but how much can you trust these scorpion guy? Just saying?"

"Heh, it's not what you think man. The Scorpium Network is a group of techo-organic groups that banded together like the remnants of the Geth, the Borges, the ESL, Phalanx and more that banded together to aide damaged life forms across the universe."

Doctor Robotnik raised an eyebrow before he leaned forward." Wait…seriously? There's a force that is putting people through Roboticization and are seen as good people? That's what I was trying to do the whole time!"

"Well…see they ask people first, not force it on them no matter what. I meet J.J in my previous job in Aster IV and know he's legit. He has a few other contacts that will be around, like Commander Seven of Nine of the Borg, Legion of the Geth, and a few others. They want to help to, someone they know might have been kidnapped by Aplodia, a Gundam pilot named um…what was it Elena? "

His cyborg assistant cleared her throat before answering with," Setsuna F. Seiei, a human who became a hybrid of an Innovator and an ELS to be an envoy of good will between the Bethel Kingdom and the Scorpium Network."

Ezan raised an eyebrow before he muttered," Setsuna, has been a Gundam pilot since the Cosmic War, he use to be a member of the Titans before seeing how twisted Kira was. What does he have to do with this?"

Raymond sighed before he looked down." It's messed up. Setsuna is a Gundam pilot, one of the few who will still pilot a machine that's a symbol of the failed Lylat Idology. See, Apolia 's kid is like, obsessed with Gundam's, thinks they are " Rad toys for his collection and " Got to catch them all."

So she kidnapped Setsuna so her son could play with him."

"Play…how?" Ezan answered sharply before Elena added," Based on the data we have on Aplodia Neuro, she has few organic servants, and has her entire moon sized ship mostly controlled by robots.

To entertain her son, she creates entire theme parks of robots to entertain him. She's paid the Delos Inc company's scientist Dr. Robert Ford to enhance her Ithacia ship with countless robots. Each environment is populated by the "Hosts", bio-mechanical robots indistinguishable from humans.

The Hosts are programmed to fulfill the guests' every desire, and will engage in—and be subjected to—every kind of violent and/or sexual activity. However, the Hosts' programming makes it impossible for them to harm any living thing or allow the guests to be harmed.

The park's operators create narratives for these Hosts to carry out while interacting with guests, but the Hosts' memories are wiped after each narrative is completed. Delos Inc. asserts that the Hosts, being machines and hence incapable of experiencing pain, cannot be truly harmed by these scenarios the same way that a human would be."

Mike saw some of those around him look disgusted before he shrugged." That part's not evil in itself. This Robert guy just goes and makes " reenactments" For whoever pays him. He had a "West World" on Corneria, was a fun birthday party."

Astra rolled her eyes before she leaned forward." Still…this is going form crazy entitled lady to crazy kidnapping lady. It's one thing if you just want to hide, but dragging people to hide with you is messed up!

Normally not to fond of Bethel Kingdom pilots but, even they don't deserve to be some broken chick's slave! She's really just doing a smaller scale thing that " Bob" did if she's going around forcing poor saps to be toy's for her kids game! Screw it lets just blow the whole thing up already!"

Mike saw Ezan and Tyson raise an eyebrow before he chuckled." Glad you're passionate about the job Astra but remember we don't want to have the entire universe pounce on us right?

Besides this is the second time we are trying to get what we need to score the " Jackpot" eh? And if we play our cards right we might be able to even make up for last time.

Ray gave me a list of stuff she has, and if we nab them all we might be able to get what we need to fix the Hagane 's multiversal power core and trans matter symphonic array and be good to go!"

The blond woman raised an eyebrow before she leaned forward." Wait this chick knows about the Multiverse?"

"No…she just has the stuff needed that Masaki and the gang can adapt to repair there's. So extra motivation to shoot for a perfect completion rate eh?"

"Well then what's the rest of the plan then if you don't just want to knock on her door?"

"The whole thing with the Delos Inc robots is that she's a "Premium member" since her son goes through so many robots. Officially Raymond is the one shipping the replacement parts. That's how we get inside.

Once in we are going to use the auction to have her distracted while we get the parts. We are going to have the no-ship's escape pods launch to distract her. This will allow us to give the tech to Dressler and the Gamillas, and keep a nice fat bonus for us."

Ezan saw most of the room was looking at him before he closed his eyes." The plan sounds…thorough enough. Though, as I just showed you, even the most thought out plans can fall apart when a wild card enters the mix."

"Yah well…I guess we are screwed if we get the worst hand but…got to keep trying as long as the game's not over right?"

"You got it Mike!" Sonic shouted as he gave a thumbs up." Hey, I nabbed tons of stuff from Eggman here so this should be a breeze! All that lady is going to see is a flash!"

Tyson saw Knuckles, Lilac and most of their group look excited before he cleared his throat." Guess you guys have been gone for a while but this might be a bad move. I know there's been a lot to settle in but your kind is kind of extinct.

This Aplodia chick seems to have a hard on for rare things so seeing you zooming around her ship might make her go postal. Honestly, she's not the only one. This whole space colony is going to be full of guys and gals looking to make some cash out of rare things. No matter how fast you are someone might notice and it might be good to lay low for a while."

As Sonic winced Ezan put his hand up." There's still a lot to do Sonic. While they are taking care of this, it might be a good time to catch up with Shadow, Omega, and the rest of your friends that are still alive. This, might be the last chance you get for a time to talk in a peaceful situation."

As Sonic paused the sliver haired warrior sighed." I and James talked, and it might be good for me to talk to some of the few I still trust in the Bethel Kingdom. I need to do my own assessment of the situation."

Astra raised an eyebrow before she snorted. "Seriously? You make such a big deal about all that's going on and now you want to take time out pretty boy? What your,"

Ezan gave her a glare that made the blond woman shut up before he grasped the hilt of his sword." Your clearly still drunk Fitter so I'll remind you that there is a lot to do to make sure we succeed."

"Hey, I can hold my liquor, just a bit buzzed that's all."

"Anyway the point is, part of me would rather oversee this to make sure you don't fail the mission. But, I'm honoring my former squad captain Squall Lionheart, and my father Ansem Zeon, and thinking of this as a general. As long as Superian is the biggest threat in the area I can afford some margin for error."

Tyson saw Ezan's annoyance before he snickered." So, you're trusting us to pull this job off eh? Guess I respect your, show of respect and all man."

"Heh…I mostly respect you and Astra both know what will happen if you try and back off now…I think what I did to " Raven Beak" was a clear enough example of how I feel about traitors."

Astra spat on the ground before she grunted," Hey, you think I'm a quitter Ezan? I'm not afraid alright?"

"If you're not scared, I'm more concerned." Ezan uttered flatly." I don't want you to run away with fear…but I seen what people who don't feel fear can do, and the universe has suffered enough because of that.

I do commend all of you for making it this far in a mission that has the slimmest odds of success. Just remember, so far your operations have been in places mostly isolated from "society" even the Crown Contest was all a giant area controlled by Knull.

But now you're going to an area where anyone that has the means can be there. There's not supposed to be anyone from the Vought clan, but there's every possibility that an agent of the IV&C could be there just to observe things. So, just be even more on guard then you been so far."

Mike gave a salute before his grin widened." Hey, I know the stakes all too well my good super elite man. Now we are in my element so are odds just got even greater!"

Astra rolled her eyes before throwing back a snarky," If that's true then how come I had to bail your sorry ass out of carbonite?"

"That's because we were not in a city when that happened. Took a gamble about meeting Lao in a refuel station…did not pan out quite like I hoped but that was just bad timing…and my stomach after eating that bad sandwich…thought the color was just because of where we were but I think I did get some microscopic worms from the egg salad sandwich."

Tyson face palmed before he leaned back." Yah…since I'm the one who's cover did not break till I allowed it I better work on that sells pitch with you man. Well, as Drebin I worked with the Gamilas tribe so know how to goad those uptight "Smurfs" into a way we want. Alright, let's do this."

Mike saw Ezan, Sonic, and the others looked uneasy before he tried to remain as upbeat as possible." Don't worry guys…I don't know about Sieg but we can handle a crazy rich lady and another smug Nahobino."

Sonic paused before he nodded." Well…I do want to see how Shadow and the others are holding up so, long as you guys are sure."

Ezan nodded as he looked around." I once only had faith in myself, and it nearly pushed me to being a slave to the darkness.

This…might not be like the days of the Enji but, I watched you all and, I have faith that you're a reliable team. May the force of light be with us all."

Tyson saw everyone around him look motivated to some extent before he snickered. " So this is what it's like to be on the " Good guys" eh? Well, does have a nice ring to it."

Sonic smirked before he wagged his finger." Hey, I don't know about the bigger picture man, I just know if you want to see good folk free then it feels good being a freedom fighter! Hey Tails let's get another chilly dog before we take off!"

Tyson saw Sonic and the other start to move out before he grasped his fist tightly." Guess I been trying to fight for Wakanda 's freedom all my life…fighting for everyone's freedom is where the Black Panther gets all grey. Still, does feel right."

Tyson felt one of his beads glow, and looked around before he sighed." Sometimes what feels right and what you have to do is not always the same, but, this time, it has to be the same."

As the prince of Wakanda looked around, everyone slowly prepared to get things under way. With one more round of checks Ezan took Sonic's group with him on Samus's Spaceship to go to Corneria to catch up with X, Shadow, and the others.

---

As they did, the Hague went to meet Raymond's brother Antonio Lawrence in his ship the Aldous, a ship that looked like a slightly taller and redder ship then Ray's one.

Despite a bit of tension Antonio welcomed everyone and provided everyone their own room before the flight to hyper space. With the amount of time the trip giving much time to sleep, though when Tyson was shown his room he scanned the ship that had less defense measures than the one from another universe, and casually set some Vibranium daggers around the room.

After a few seconds, he cracked his neck before he rotated one of his beads again. Moments later, a beam of light came out of it, and took the shape of his brother in Hologram form.

Tyson saw N'Jadaka 's stone cold glare and smirked." Hey bro, looking sharp, as usual."

"I'm in no mood to put up with your insolence M'Baku! That's lord N'Jadaka to you like everyone else."

"Hey, I thought you only took this line when your alone?"

"And your point is brother? Even alone you must never forget who the king is. You're already forgetting the process M'Baku. Why else would I have to hear from Merga that not only was the operation on ZDR a total failure, but she said you went off on another ship!?"

"Yah, sorry about that B, Lord N'Jadaka but it was a real kind of on-the-fly situation yah know?"

"What kind of spaceship is this? Merga and the survivors said that there were all kinds of things that they never saw before!"

"That's why I'm here! This is to really help Wakanda, we still don't know how much some of the others are holding out."

The ruler of Wakanda narrowed his eyes before he cracked his neck." I was just at Mekacity, explaining to Homelander why I did not have as much to offer as I said he was. I had to offer one of my bodyguards as tribute!

But…he was in a better mood then I expected. Maybe making that girl leap to her death calmed him down, but he had more scientists and machines around him then I figured and he said it would be the key to "really win." "

Tyson felt a chill go down his spine before he cleared his throat." Did…did he tell you what it is?"

"Bah…he does not understand what his men do for him. He just said some" V-Day" had the answers. Must be the new scientist after he killed the last one that failed him."

Remembering all that he saw Sieg did, Tyson used all of his will power to keep cool before muttering," Did, did you meet him?"

"No, some of his men said he was off somewhere…another arrogant scientist no doubt."

"That so, eh? A shame I was going to ask if it matched up what I saw."

"What…was the ship Merga told me about a Vought clan ship? Did they dare hover over us every moment?"

"Not sure, they are being tight lipped about it. That's why I'm trying to get more info you hear?"

"But the Vought clan would not be hiding stuff from us now…unless this is the Bethel Kingdom?"

Tyson was about to answer, till he remembered everything that happened to him and took a deep breath." Never seen a ship like this before. For all I know it's one of the other clans holding out a trump card to try and turn the tide."

"Is that so? I heard that a ship that the Bethel Kingdom was working on as some sort of trump card was captured recently and was going to be sold on some auction that Superian and his clan his holding to try and win over the scattered rats among the cosmos."

Tyson paused, before he responded with a bitter chuckle." That so? Well, these guys are so tight lipped that they might blow the whole thing up before anyone could get their hands on it."

"Still…if you can learn more about this ship brother, then this might be a even better gift to Homelander then unstable bio weapons."

Tyson paused before he took a deep breath." Hey b, King N'Jadaka…if we can find enough of an edge we might not have to be Homelander's bitch yah know?"

"You dare mock me Hamilton? You act like a fool and you will die among all the other fools in this universe! You think I like seeing Wakanda treated as second class? But the fact is Homelander and the Vought clan are the strongest, and those who defy the rules of nature are consumed like the prey they are!

No matter what tricks this new ship and all the toys it might have are, if it belongs to the Bethel Kingdom or the other tribes then there weakness will mean nature will take its course.

After all, Ben Auro and Lacus Raystar had the power of god, and the support of most of heaven's angels, and they still failed because they may have had the power of a predator, but the mind set of prey!

But this is good, this could work out to strengthen Wakanda's position after all. I'll forgive you acting on your own brother, but you will let me know all the information you have on this new ship, and how to capture it. When we do, it will secure our people's place in the era to come. Do you understand?"

Tyson saw the sharpness in his brother's eyes before he nodded." Yah…I understand I got to do what I have to for the glory and honor of Wakanda. It's kind of my thing yah know?"

N'Jadaka eyed his brother, and only nodded." Don't ever forget that weight on your shoulders brother. The universe is not a place where we can just follow our dreams, we must do what reality demands, for the glory of are people.

I understand your again under cover, but report when you can. Now go hunt as a Black Panther should, in a way that won't dishonor our ancestors, or me. Wakanda Forever."

Tyson saw his brother pound his chest before the hologram faded. The Black Panther made sure no one was coming in or seemed to overhear his chat before he grasped his fist tightly.

Oh I'll do what I have to keep Wakanda safe N'Jadaka. Even if it means doing what is not what you think is going to keep it safe.

Maybe you think that things can't change and that we got to settle for whatever bad options we have to take, but if we don't try and do something, it's only a matter of time till Homelander, Sieg, or whoever picks us to be the prey next.

Wakanda did not last this long by just keeping our heads down. Still, I may know more than anyone else how much of an asshole my brother is, but I also know this universe did not give us any choice but to be assholes if we wanted to survive. Damn it…Mike…don't make me have to turn on my brother for a con. Well, guess I'll do all I can to make sure this is not just some damn con.

With new grim resolve Tyson tried to get to know his new teammates to try and do what he could. Despite the tension in the air Raymond's brother was friendly enough and before they knew it, the two ships were already getting ready to depart hyper space.

After the past month or so Mike been through seeing more ships await him when the Aldous emerged from Hyper Space made him tense up. But as he saw the ships were just flying into the Palapium space colony, and that the ships that looked like Gamilas warships were just doing normal patrols before Mike let out an uneasy chuckle." Well, this is one of the few times I'm hoping they don't roll out the red carpet and all that. So, you know the best way to keep on these guys good side?"

Mike looked at Ray's brother, a man clad in black with slicked back blond hair, a goatee, sunglasses, and a trench coat saw everyone look at him before he smirked." Heh, that's simple enough.

Just pay for the premium service and you will get it long as you honor the contract. Hey, Villefort Delamain Cab escort, it's the "Crinson Tengu Raven" coming in for the third division premium service!"

As Mike's group wondered what would happen a young female voice cut in with," Hey Antonio, you're not getting the full service cause you get what you pay for!"

Everyone saw a mobile suit that was 18.6 meters in height that looked almost like a Gundam but not quite fly up. Clank saw the blue and black machine fly up before he paused. "That machine…has a Quark Drive, and a Carriax weapons carrier? Did they see through us?"

"Chill your circuits dude that's just are escort!" Ray threw in." That's the Tyranado Rex, the pride of the VTX Union, eh Sagiri Sakurai?"

A hologram of a woman with red hair and green eyes in a cockpit, the Sairi woman Ray was talking about. She greeted everyone with a playful wink before muttering," You bet your ass it is man! Why are you bringing your brother along for this ride Ray?"

"Oh…just a few things changed so want to make sure the job goes well and all."

"Well, long as you don't suddenly need to fit another ship in. C'mon time is money so let's go before the auction gets started! Keep the back covered Saizou! I'm not missing out on my bonus cause you screwed me over slacking off again!"

As everyone saw the VTX Union mech guide the ship to the space colony before Antonio shrugged." Don't worry about it, the boss of the VTX Union, Dyma Goldwin goes back a long time with my father. This is all but a private docking bay for us so as long as we don't make noise till after the job's done, it should be fine."

"Thanks man." Mike replied as he gave a thumbs up." Hardcore grateful you're doing all this since we were introduced by blowing up one of your ships."

"Hey, we are men of business Mike…you did what you had to in order to keep are employees alive. The Lawrence family comes from a long line of well-known merchants that knows what's important. And that's why we always pay our debts. So, you're sure your pals are keen staking out for a while?"

"Don't worry…they are pros at this."

"Aright then…it's time to prepare to land."

While some like Astra looked ready to pounce the moment something went wrong, the spaceship belonging to the Lawrence family managed to dock to the port belonging to the VXT Union.

Mike got out into the Parrapoeiam space colony and took a breath of fresh air." Never thought I'd miss recycled air but these days I'll take a trash heap if it means I don't have to worry about time-fall and all that."

"You can indeed not have to worry about timefall and all that in your stay on Bay City sir. But I still recommend caution. In a time of the coming auction, there are people that will take anything they can get their hands on."

Mike paused as he saw a woman walk in from the doors in front of him. The woman had blond hair to her shoulders and had some sort of metal plate overlapping the top of her right side of her face. Mike paused before he cleared his throat." Oh…are you the mayor of this colony?"

"I'm flattered sir but this colony has no "Leader"…the business brass don't even bother making any pretenses that anyone gets in the way of their profits. Still, I am Annika Hansen, agent Seven of Nine of the Scorpium collective. I came here to ensure you all complete your task effectively."

"Oh well, thanks for the help."

"I admit it's not out of the kindness but to see that one of my fellow members of the collective is free."

Mike nodded before he looked around." So…that means the Gundam pilot, Setsuna F. Seiei really was captured by this cooky Aplodia Neuro lady to be her son's toy?"

"Yes." Seven of Nine grimly agreed. "I was not there...but my comrades J.J and Legion were present when he was captured. They will explain."

The half borg woman motioned behind her before two new figures arrived. On the left was a male figure that looked like a robotic samurai, and on the right was a robot that was a member of the Geth synthetic machines.

J.J gave everyone a nod before the inorganic life-form uttered," Thank you for assisting us. We understand you have an important task, but we must do what we can to repay are comrade from saving us."

Astra raised an eyebrow before she looked around." So what the hell is going on? First you're saying this woman's so afraid of everyone that she hardly gets off her ship, but now she's going around forcing people to be her son's toys? That sure as hell is a way to get people to want to go after you!"

The Geth named Legion had its eye glow before it looked around." Your confusion is logical human woman. But the answer is that this Aplodia Neuro is not acting in a sane manner. She attacked many within our collective seeing them as nothing more than toys.

When Setsuna attacked her forces, she became incensed and unleashed all of her forces to capture him. While his 00 Qan Gundam ESL could easily neutralize the majority of her forces, he took a shot intended for us, and got captured as a result. Thus…we want to return the favor.

This Aplodia seemed to regard inorganic life as mere toys or machines, her lack of understanding is detrimental to our existence. Still, since Setsuna has been one of are champions rescuing him does seem like a priority."

"What…he your creator or something?" Astra blurted out.

J.J saw the confusion from others and shrugged." Negative, just one of our groups most diligent defenders. Setsuna was once a human, but after the universe was broken he reached an understanding with a race of Extraterrestrial Living-Metal Shape-Shifters.

The ESL had gone berserk after the Death Stranding caused the Gamma Quadrant to shatter as there sun went supernova and consumed there home world.

They once were a race that could take any shape, but the energy released from the shock-wave made them go berserk.

To find a way to reach a understanding Setsuna, with the help of his fellow Celestial Being teammate where, with the help of his comrade Tieria Erde and the Veda computer, he used the Quantum System to properly initiate the dialogue.

With a miniature Veda terminal installed on his Gundam, he was able to withstand the exchange. Once he learned of the ELS history, he decides to quantize and reach a understanding, and for the sake of bridging the gap between two species he evolved into a hybrid of an Newtype Innovator and an ELS."

"So he is your Collective's leader then eh?"

"Not quite." Nine of Seven retorted." You must understand that the Scorpion Collective is not one race or a government of one race. It's a collective of tecno-organic races that have banded together to try and both protect ourselves and those who need it.

We have come from many races that were formally at war with organic life like the Borg, the ESL, the Geth, the Phalanx and more. But we realized the error of are ways and wanted to try and help as many as possible in this corrupt universe."

Astra saw the cybernetic woman's eyes before she rolled her eyes." Well as long as you're not telling them you're helping them after already absorbing or infecting them or something."

J.J grasped his hand before retorting with." It's true that many of the races of the collective did not value the will of organic life. But now we only integrate only those who want to join. I myself was once a member of the Vyrian race.

But the Scorpium almost fully physically integrated me with the collective to save my life. We all strive to improve the quality of life for all kinds of life forms."

"Yah well nice sells pitch "J.J. Sounds like it might have worked for you but if it was as flawless as your making it out to be the universe would be a happier place right?"

"We don't assume to be without flaws. There was a "Centralist" faction that came after a Bohld'or Il Vey'l gave many in the collective" Imperialists" thoughts and made us realized how flawed we are.

That's why the Collective focuses on insisting that we are not the only way to live across the universe, just one path. We all realize the flaws of assuming one's path is a path of perfection, or the only logical path to take."

Mike saw the others of the Collective nod before he let out a laugh." Well, you guys have been making more sense than most so guess you're on to something. Clear this Aplodia is not agreeing with your logic. Sounds like she's another one that the universe just pushed to madness.

But, can't debate much about that so how do we rescue this Gundam pilot and get what we are looking for? She's supposed to dock here herself soon right?"

"Correct." Legion replied." She is to dock in port eight, near the Bancroft Hendrex hotel. It's a "Continental" hotel so even more precautions must be made."

Tyson saw some of those who had not left their own planet look confused before he sighed." Continental" Hotels are supposed to be neutral ground between the clans, and no hostile actions are supposed to take place in its premises.

As a sanctuary, no "business" can be conducted on the Hotel ground, including fighting and carrying out contracts on other assassins in the hotel.

Of course…someone like Homelander does not give a damn about those rules but still…the "Smallfry" respect the rules cause it's a good way to bring more heat on your ass then most can deal with.

Thankfully for us that's not what we are after anyway. Alright one more time, we are trying to get in her ship while she's at the auction right? And it's all about doing this while she's distracted?"

"Yes." J.J" responded." She will leave from the port at the hotel to the auction. You're supposed to meet her at the hotel to bring the supplies."

"Good thing we have the best delivery guy in the universe eh Sam?"

The Porter saw everyone was now looking at him before he sighed." I still don't get how this is going to work once we get inside. Even if she's at the auction won't her staff or security notice what's going on?"

"Fair point my good porter." Mike replied dryly." But that's why we throw in the art of sabotage into the mix. Conning her ships systems is not risk free but we are getting good at it."

Elena nodded as she looked around." Once we get inside the ship we will create hologram decoys that will make it look like we leave. Long as we make sure we stay one step ahead of her security systems, it should give us time to secure the supplies.

It will be harder to free a prisoner but, we just have to make things confusing for her. In the end…we know she will figure out something is wrong at some point. That's why the goal is to misdirect her. She will think she's being attacked by Setsuna's squad."

"Ah hell girl that ruins the whole point!"

"Your mistaken miss." A new male voice full of vigor responded." Its not a robot that will be in her sights, but an ace full of hot blooded passion!"

Everyone turned around and saw a man in a pilot suit walk in. He had blond hair, though half of it was a metallic grey. One of his eyes was a normal brown, while another was glowing. The new arrival saluted everyone before declaring a proud," Graham Aker, Commanding officer of the Shezarr team at your service to deliver one blazing fast distraction!"

Mike raised an eyebrow before he rubbed his head." Graham…Aker? Wait…I think…I saw you in one of my dad's war videos! You were a Zeon pilot, that died taking down the Dark Specter Super Nova Crusher warship when dad invaded planet Van'Dalgyon, the capital of the Zannacross Empire to rescue mom before she could be sacrificed to Chaos Zannacross Necron! I mean that stunt you pulled was badass but it was also leading you to be hardcore dead dude!"

"I'm grateful you have respect for your elders young man. You're right, I did die that day. But, when heaven broke my soul was expelled, and merged with one of the fragments of the raging ESL lifeforms.

It was Setsuna who was able to get me to regain my mind again, and to repay what he did I served under his squad so that he did not have to share the burden alone.

I still have not fully repaid my debt to the" Young man" so I won't let him be some mad woman's slave! I'm no god but, I'm still ace enough to be a one-man army that will keep her ship's defenses at bay! Still, not going to be alone on this, long as "Cyrene Wind" arrives in time.

Oh yes, and there is the lad but, still not sure if he's here for recon or he's expected to fight."

As the others looked on in confusion a new less confident male voice cut in with," I have to fight, no matter what, for Rita's sake."

Everyone saw a younger man with brown hair and blue eyes walk up timidly. The man gulped before he nodded." I'm Ensign Jona Basta, pleasure to meet you."

Astra saw Jona's tense look before she rolled her eyes." Man the Bethal Kingdom really is about to collapse when they are sending rookies for the big jobs."

"Its not about that." Jona countered." It's because, I'm one of the few who know what's in there. You see, I get how Mister Setsuna is more well known but they captured someone else too. Rita Bernal, the Unicorn Gundam 03 Phenex."

Mike paused before he raised an eyebrow." She was another pilot that got captured?"

"Well, to be more precise she is the Gundam itself."

As those around Jona looked on in confusion Graham cleared his throat."

The Phenex is the last of three RX-0 units built by Anaheim Electronics under the banner of the UC Project. The Phenex was named for one of the demons from The Lesser Key of Solomon.

Like its sister units, the Phenex featured a full psychoframe and the Newtype Destroyer (NT-D) System for increased performance in combat against Newtypes.

Rita Bernal is its pilot, but its more like she's the core unit, after her soul later merged with the Phenex's Psycho-Frame."

Astra blinked before she spat out," You have Gundam's absorbing souls now? Guess you guys lost all your morals at this point eh?"

Jona winced before he looked down." It was not the Bethal Kingdom who deployed this Gundam. The Nanyang Alliance broke away and went into exile, and became extremely fanatical about making" Newtypes" change humanity.

Rita, was experimented on till she was all but absorbed into the Phenex. I, I want to save her. She, she was captured by this lady and I can't stand her being some entitled woman's toy!"

"I get that…if this woman has a fetish making people her slaves that's another reason for me to shut her down."

"This case might be more then just a love of enslaving people young lady." Graham interjected." The Phenex was modified so that its power was even more extreme than the Unicorn and Banshee. It can move at near light speed and while I have not seen it in person, they say that this Gundam can reverse time itself. It seems she might have bigger aims then entertaining her son."

Mike paused before he chuckled bitterly." Well...guess just means more reason we got to pull this off right eh?"

"Right on young man! Despite how broken the universe is, we still have to press on to a greater future."

Raymond saw Graham's passion before the fellow blond man nodded." Glad your revved up man, just have enough patience till we get the all clear ok? Well…guess we are good to go then. Anyone else besides Superian to worry about?"

J.J paused before he looked around." Honestly…there has been rumors that more people then expected are taking part in the auction. Mostly because of "surprise items" being up for sell. Just, be prepared for unexpected guests."

Mike saw Astra, Tyson, and the others make sure their weapons were ready before he chuckled bitterly." No worries their J.J…we are all use to being on the lookout for anything these days. Let's just get this done so we can not miss the show."

Everyone heard an explosion in the distance before Astra took her sword out." Damn it, so much for getting the jump on them!"

Tyson prepared to suit up, till he saw that the explosion was a firework before he sighed." Chill…its just the dudes here making the auction into a celebration for…some reason."

Raymond snickered as he looked at the sky." Yah, Dessler likes to show off, if nothing else but to not look like Homelander is too much beyond him or Superian. But hey, if everyone's distracted by his act it gives us more room to move eh? Time to get to work guys."

With one final check the group moved out deeper in to the space colony. As they left the dock a hologram appeared out of the building in the center that served as the capital of the colony, the " Eyrie", and took the shape of that of a human male with blue skin in a military outfit with the markings of the Garmillas race.

To his side was Superian, who looked like he was putting effort to look like he was paying attention. Dessler gave a salute before he let out an icy smirk." I welcome my fellow Garmillas and esteemed gusts alike to the exchange that will follow.

While it's true this is just an simple auction, it's also a chance to honor the masters of the universe in refined "civilized" manner.

While it's the fate of an auction to have winners and losers, all the right people should get what they deserve. Even if you are a veteran at my auctions this year there will be more than enough to make it a noteworthy event.

For one, I just recently added a very special item up for bidding, a Bethel Warship that the remains of the pathetic "Last Emperor" thought could be their salvation."

For a moment Mike and the others felt a chill go down their spine as they thought that somehow the Hague had been captured. But as they saw Dessler nod to Superian, the Nahobino of the Gamilas clan dragged something down from the sky, they saw it was a different spaceship.

As the item Dessler was showing off to brag came into light they saw it looked like a twentieth century naval warship with more high tech cannons and other weaponry.

As Superian landed with a thud Dessler grinned." This is what the Bethal fools called Yamato BBY-01. It has top of the line weaponry and energy shields but what the Bethel Kingdom was putting all its hopes on was its Wave-motion Gun.

Formally known as Dimensional Wave Motion Explosive Compression Emitter, the engine provides power by expanding compactified higher dimensions that are curled up as Calabi-Yau manifolds.

With the expansion of the higher dimensions, energy is released into the wave-motion reactor into the gravity wave compression chambers and the tachyon particle oscillator control unit.

A super-gravity wave is created and directed towards the muzzle of the wave-motion gun, generating a stream of micro black holes.

These micro black holes rapidly evaporate and have their mass-energy fully converted into Hawking radiation in the process, thus creating the "beam" that is the source of the wave-motion gun's destructive capabilities.

The Bethel clowns were quite proud of this firepower, even boasting the gun would allow them to kill the likes of a Viltrumite in one shot, but such boasting can, draw attention.

They tried to keep development of this under wraps but they underestimated how much the moral of the Bethel Kingdom has dwindled, thus Superian and general Domel ambushed them on Iscandar.

Admiral Juzo Okita's last mistake was thinking he could complete his precious Project Izumo near my territory. But I'm a generous man, to my allies.

To show how little I fear there" Trump Card" I'm willing to put the entire ship up for auction. With its crew to be executed by anyone that wants to put those Bethel fools in their place, as long as they pay the proper tribute at least. So now…does everyone see just how much the Gamilas tribe has to offer?

Before the process officially begins we will begin with a duel. It will be the first of many, but it's to show off the efforts of those on the Space Colony here. To win my favor, and the favor of any possible clients, the various weapon companies will now have a contest to show who is superior.

The first will be the champion of Jeturk Heavy Machinery, Guel Jeturk, against the candidate from Vanadis Institute, Suletta Mercury, daughter of the Institute's president. Lady Prospera."

The hologram shifted to an arena in front of the school, where two mobile suits were being lowered into the ring. One was an eighteen meter high purple mobile suit with a spike shield and beam partisan, the Dilanza.

On the other side was what seemed like a mostly basic blue and white Gundam Mobile Suit with a beam rifle and a shield. As it landed, and someone cried out," ITS A GUNDAM!" Mike noticed a woman in front of it, one in a white business suit with a white mask over her face before he raised an eyebrow." Is…this that the Aplodia lady? She sure seems erratic enough."

"Nah…that's not Aplodia Neuro." Raymond muttered keenly." Like Dessler said that's Lady Prospera…or Prospera Mercury. She's a top-notch designer…but her husband got wiped out when rivals attacked her and blamed her for working with a rival tribe. She's so bitter about it that she has her own kid piloting her custom XVX-016 Gundam Aerial."

Astra saw a girl with messy red hair getting into the Gundam Aerial, and winced as some were booing at her before she tried to hide. She saw Lady Prospera look indifferent before she spat on the ground." Ugh..someone else who has to live as a tool for their parent? That sucks."

"Sure does." Raymond muttered." But fixing just how many kids are dealt that kind of hand would take too long so one thing at a time eh? Lady Prospera has made deals for Aplodia so can't hurt to keep an eye on her too. But well, lets save plan B after we see how things go ok?"

"Sounds good man." Mike muttered." Guess its time to get this show on the road." The group at last moved to where they were supposed to be in the space colony as Lady Prospera waved to the cameras." Hello everyone.

I know that" Gundam" is associated with fools as of late, but I wanted my daughter to pilot Aerial to be seen as a symbol of hatred, so that the" Witch that moves as swiftly as Mercury" can turn the incoming hatred back at her enemies. Make your mother proud dear Aerial. Remember...victory is never decided by mobile suit performance alone, nor by the skill of the pilot alone. The result itself is the only truth. "

Her child Suletta just stuttered something before shirking in panic and closing the Gundam's cockpit. Her opponent, the tall man with long red hair, Guel, heard Suletta whimper before he snickered." Don't think you're getting mercy just cause you're a wuss! Heh, once you enter the ring you get your game on! You're going to realize how much you screwed up soon you country bumkin! Gundam fight ready…go!"

As a gong sound blared out Guel had the Dlianza fire a barrage of plasma shots, before Suletta blocked with her shield and muttered out," Mother said…if you run…you gain one. But…if you move forward, you gain two!"

"Man how pathetic are you? Now I'm pissed off cause no one will respect me owning a dumbass invalid!"

"When…you run, you gain one by not losing. But…if you move forward…you can gain…experience and pride!"

Guel snarled as he saw Suletta block more shots with her mobile suit's shield and charged to strike at close range." Well, you can't gain anything just turtling around bumkin! Nice shield but it can't block everything you sorry excuse for a, huh?"

Guel prepared to strike her head, before to his shock the Gundam's shield glowed, and suddenly broke apart into a barrage of floating guns.

The male pilot had his eye twitch as the guns suddenly surround him before he hissed out," Wait…those are funnels? What the g, RAH!"

In an instant the Dlianza got barraged with energy beams in all directions and was blown apart. As the cock pit landed near the Gundam, Suletta cleared her throat." Excuse me sir…I think…I think I won."

As a gong sound rang out Guel saw his cockpit's controls were frozen before he punched the screen." What…what the hell happened? She..she's a witch!"

While the others left to do their job Graham watched the fight…and saw both the mother and daughter's reaction to the victory before he grit his teeth." That girl, she's no fighter. Her skills remind me of the powers Setsuna, and those "Newtypes" like Amuro and Kamille.

No, she reminds me of some of the Innovators that Ribbons used as puppets. Her mother is a disgrace to all true pilots."

Jona glanced at the Gundam before he winced." That woman, she reminds me of Michele, she, she treats her own child as just a tool to enhance the Gundam! It, its so twisted."

"Indeed Lad, but for now we have to wait so that more of the suffering can be stopped. Let's hope these people know what they are doing."

The former Zeon pilot and the rookie Gundam pilot went off to make sure they were ready to do their part after seeing The Arielle be moved as a new opponent, a black sniper like mobile suit, the FP/A-77 Gundam Pharact from the Peil corporation prepared to be the opponent for the next round.

The Gundam fight marathon was intense enough to get most in the space colony distracted, letting Mike, Astra, Tyson, Ray, and the rest of there group to get to the Bancroft hotel.

Sam saw guards were looking at the arrivals before he sighed and walked up." Sam Bridges, porter that has a delivery for Aplodia Neuro for…a lot of requested supplies. Brought a crew with me to help with the repairs to her ship."

Some of the staff looked at each other before a woman with black hair in a ponytail in a military outfit walked up and cleared her throat." Sorry but your delivery will have to wait. I'm Officer Kristin Ortega of the Bay City Police Department Organic Damage division, and we are currently investigating a murder in the hotel."

Ray winced before he looked at the hotel." Oh hell…seriously? It's a Continental hotel so that's a real big deal. Damn it, if she does not show up this will really screw things up. What happened?"

"Laurens Bancroft was murdered…and we are currently trying to figure out why."

"Wait…what? What happened?"

"I don't know but we are currently asking Mister Bancroft what happened."

Mike raised an eyebrow before he looked at the hotel." My good detective I thought you said that this Bancroft fellow was the one whacked?"

Detective Kristen paused before she sighed." I did, but Bancroft's one of the "Meths" so he's investigating his own murder."

Mike saw some of the other's confusion before he let out an uneasy chuckle." Meths are a name for those who have used Sleeves to have lived for multiple lifespans, a reference to the Biblical figure Methuselah.

The very rich are also able to keep copies of their minds in remote storage, which they update regularly. This ensures that even if their stack is destroyed, they can be re-sleeved."

Kristen saw some like Tanjiro nod before she raised an eyebrow." You guys are working here but you don't even know what Meths are? Who are you guys?"

Mike saw Astra again look on edge, but before she could get to her sword he adjusted the fake mustache for his current identity and smirked." Oh we are the Star Oceans Nine-Nine Miracule crew Miss! We do all kinds of things with folks from all over the universe to be able to repair any kind of thing! I'm Jacob." He pointed to Astra before saying," She's Diaz."

He then points to Tyson." He's Holt."

Before he could get to Tanjiro Kristen rolled her eyes." In other words you hire people from underdeveloped worlds as cheap labor eh?"

Mike as "Jacob "rubbed his head." We like to see it as giving people a better shot at a nice life. That's why we are trying to get a nice payment from Miss Neuro."

"I see. Well, sorry but no one's docking here till the area is secure, mister Bancroft does not want there to be a chance for his killer to escape."

Tyson cracked his neck as he looked around." Well, if that's the case then that's going to seriously cramp are style. Honestly…your up our own ass when your able to dictate how your own murder investigation can go."

Kristen grasped her neck before uttering a grim," I understand…people like that's very existence is a crime against nature. You live centuries, things start happening to you. You get too impressed with yourself. Ends up you thinking your more godly then Zeus, Odin or whatever. Suddenly the little people, thirty, maybe forty years old, well, they don't really matter anymore eh?

You've seen whole societies rise and fall, and you start to feel you're standing outside it all, and none of it really matters to you. And maybe you'll start snuffing those little people, just like picking daises, if they get under your feet."

Astra cracked her neck as she looked at the hotel." You're saying that this Branford is that kind of guy and that he had it coming eh?"

"Heh, I'm not talking about Bancroft." She waved the objection aside impatiently." I'm talking about his kind. They're like the A.I's. They're a breed apart. They're not human. They deal with humanity the way you and I deal with insect life. Well, when your cleaning up after such big lugs of dung you either get use to the smell or hate it."

"I feel you "Sister"." Astra threw out bluntly." But if you hate them that much then why you working for them?"

Kristen looked disgusted as she looked down and chuckled bitterly." Well…cause there is only worst assholes to serve out there so, might as well suck it up and enjoy what you can eh? For a while the Bethal Kingdom looked like they were serious about treating pepole right...but if they are about to be ripped apart by the other tribes then no point getting your hopes up eh? At least with the devil you know, you know what to expect."

"Well…it does not always have to be that way."

"Maybe…but it is today. Sorry, not much that's going to change till this is finalized."

Sam saw the others before he sighed." Can we at least get to the hotel to drop the packages off? Carrying this all day is not good for my back."

"Oh right. Yah sure you can get into the hotel just don't get in the way of any of the investigation."

Kristen motioned for the doors to open before Mike shrugged at the others." Well…places like this are not quite the embodiment of safety but, normally guys like this don't get whacked in these kinds of pads so, are "client" might get spooked if this is not resolved. Ugh, well this A team has enough talent to sniff out a killer right?"

Astra spat on the ground before she rolled her eyes." I mean this whole space colony smells bad "Bosley" so its like finding a needle in a haystack of assholes!"

"Hey, Bosley was my last cover name "Diaz" keep it together."

"Whatever "Jacob." Ugh let's see what's going on…maybe it will be easier to just raid the god damn ship."

"Not when it's a stealth ship!"

"Oh right…damn it."

With one more look to make sure no one was coming after them, the group went into the Hendrix Continental Hotel. In the lobby was many Gamilas police officers looking around, along with various droids.

At the front of the reception desk was a tall bald black man in a business suit with glasses. He saw everyone and gave a nod." Hello, I am Charon. I am the concierge at the Continental Hotel for this space colony. Do you have a reservation?"

Astra walked up before she put out a coin. On one side, a lion stood in front of a shield emblazoned with the sun as beams of the sunshine from behind it.

At the top of the coin was the phrase "Ens Causa Sui," or "Something generated within itself." At the bottom are the Roman numerals MMI for 2001.

On the reverse side was a person with a shield emblazoned with a cross. Below the person is a large laurel. Above the person was the phrase "Ex Unitae Vires," or "Out of unity comes strength.

Charon saw the coin and smirked." Very well then madam, I'll have a list of prepared rooms shortly."

As the woman with the curly haired wig nodded, Mike shrugged." Guess it makes sense you have coins for all the tribes currency."

"Not really. These coins are not measured directly as any tribe's " Dollar", but rather in favors, always one coin per favor, as long as a single service can be distinctly selected as worth paying for. There is no set value for these as they act more of a business card. The value of each coin can fluctuate depending on the person who holds it."

Tyson pauses before he snickered." With how unstable "Classic cash" is these days keeping things simple gets things done. Still, don't that means someone will try and rob it though?"

"Yah but…proves you're a badass enough to keep it got me?" Astra answered proudly." So lets see if with this favor we can get a jump on this."

Just as Mike was about to ask Charon, everyone saw a young woman walked up to them.

It was clear to all the men in the group that she was beautiful in a sun, sea, and sand sort of way, and the sports shorts and leotard she was wearing displayed the fact to maximal effect.

She had golden hair brush her shoulders as she moved, and the shout gave away a glimpse of milk white teeth. She wore sweat bands at forehead and wrists, and from the dew on her brow they were not for show.

There was finely toned muscle in her legs, a substantial biceps stood out when she lifted her arms. As she saw Mike and the others look at her she frowned at them." Laurence, I told you that everyone you wanted to hire for help was to meet at the stadium first!"

Mike paused before he smirked." Oh, are you Miss Aplodia Neuro? You're surpassing the already impressive reputation."

The woman rolled her eyes before she looked back." Did you hire every two-bit hack in the surrounding galaxy wanting to hit the jackpot?"

An older male voice cut in with a detached," Don't worry about it Miriam. I told to take whatever measures required to get to the bottom of this, including hiring getting more teammates.

The police are just sniffing around like old dogs while I warned them I was going to do this and they ignored me. Well now they are finally taking my concerns seriously!"

The group saw someone walk down the stairs. He looked slim, and elegant with a full head of iron-grey hair, which he wore back in a ponytail and hard black eyes. He had a book in his hand that utterly natural extension of the powerhouse of a mind that looked out from his eyes.

The man touched his wife on the shoulder with a dismissive casualness as he looked around." Though I do wish you would let me know you had hired help Mr. Kovacs."

The man looked to the right before everyone saw a man in a black fight suit with white skin and red hair walk up with a grim look before he glanced around in confusion." I did not contact anyone. How could I when I just got this body?"

Tyson eyed the younger man before he paused." Wait…you suppose to be Takeshi Lev Kovacs? I heard he was one badass mercenary but you don't look like him at all."

Kovacs winced before the other man chuckled." Oh that's because he got killed and I " re-sleeved him in the body of Elias Ryker. Not so keen on thinking Harlan's World could pull off a rebellion now eh Mister Kovacs?

Figured it was the right body to motivate everyone around if you understand. You know how it is when putting someone's mind in a body you control makes it a lot easier to work eh? Having enough wealth to play god over so many is such a wonderful feeling"

Raymond saw Kovacs glare at the man, and also saw detective Ortega glare at him in the distance, then saw Astra was using all her willpower not to punch Branford out the window herself before he shrugged." Sorry, not something I managed to try out yet man."

"Oh? Sorry, where are my manners? I'm Laurens Bancroft, and I'm sorry if I'm distracted but I'm dealing with the problem of just having been murdered."

"Yah that seems to be the word around here Mister Bancroft. Hey, know we just met but are team here is a kind of Jack of All Trades kind of thing so, maybe we can help find the killer of your previous body to get things moving all around?"

"Heh, I like drive kid, but I like results better. If you can get me an answer by dinner time we may have something here."

His wife rolled her eyes before looking back." If you're going to make a game about this" Dear" I'm not even bothering taking this seriously."

"Life's a game you have to win."

"Ugh, I'm going to lunch."

As his wife left Bancroft shrugged." Please don't think of me as a chauvinist, after nearly two hundred and fifty years I don't think any marriage really would last, and my relationship with Miriam is more politeness than anything."

Mike winced as he thought of his own parents and chuckled tensely." Well you do you sir, but one thing to fix at a time right? So, what's going on here?"

Well my previous body was found smashed through outside the hotel gate and I'm trying to find out how, if nothing else but to prove I did not try to kill myself. After all if I was trying to commit suicide I would not bloody have it set to revive myself right?"

"Yah man that's sure a lot of wasted cash eh? Well, who found your um, previous body?" "

"My child Naomi. She's out now though in Psycosurgery. The others are waiting for her."

"Other kids?"

No, she's twenty-three, and I mean my staff. I do have many children, when you have leisure and wealth, bringing children into the world is a pure joy. I have twenty-seven sons and thirty-four daughters. She is the one who saw my body first."

"Well for now we could look at your room to see if anyone missed anything and all that. My pal Diaz has a nose for the kind of punks who lurk in the shadows if you get what I mean."

"Show me you can do something, and we will talk."

"Don't worry Mister Bancroft, I assure you that the answer to this question will be uncovered, but please don't do anything to make the investigation get…muddled."

Everyone turned around to see a man with grey hair, a eye patch, and a blue uniform before Astra rolled her eyes." Damn man how many officers did you hire to solve this case?"

The new arrival cleared his throat as he eyed Mike's group carefully." I'm not "Just another detective "woman, I'm AEGIS Commander Agent Commander Tyrannosaurus "Ty" Rathbone, head of the Gamilas tribe's AEGIS intelligence agents.

Bancroft's murder is something Lord Dessler and The Superian take very seriously and we are sparing no resource to get to the bottom of this, but having resources compete with each other just makes it harder to get to the bottom of things."

"I disagree Commander Rathbone." Bancroft uttered with disdain. " After all…you say you're the best at what you do, yet my murder is not resolved so I'm seeking another point of view."

"Just…notify us what you have planned or things will just take longer, understand."

"Your free to present to me all the info you have sir."

Rathbone looked at everyone before going down the stars. As he did Bancroft rolled his eyes." Bah…I see it in that man's eyes…he thinks I'm just a relic that should be swept aside. I'm like that seven-hundred-year-old tree outside. Just yesterday an engineer in his thirties was going to cut it down before I put my foot down.

The fact that it had been part of this colony since it was constructed meant nothing to him, and I'm the tree. These upstarts have no respect for there elders and just want to see me chopped down cause I'm inconvenient to them."

"Yah sure." Astra spat out bitterly." I'm sure it's fifty-year-old upstarts that have no respect that's the problem dude. Anyway, this sounds like a pain in the ass so lets get to the bottom of this."

Mike let out an uneasy chuckle before motioning to the others." Mind if I take a wiz before we start? Been a long day."

Bancroft eyed Mike poorly before he shrugged." If you must, just use the public restrooms outside."

The man with the fake mustache gave a quick nod and went out the room. As he went to the bathroom he heard Rathbone yelling outside, and carefully looked outside the window to see he was shouting at Kristen.

Quickly looking around to make sure they did not see him, Mike activated a mike he had on his gear and had it focus on the two outside to hear what they were talking, just in time to hear Rathbone hiss out," Did that blowhard get anyone else to sniff around?"

"That's what we are trying to figure out sir."

"Well make sure no one digs in too deeply. We have to make sure Bancroft does not find out that he was killed by Conquest. If he tries to make an issue with the Viltrum clan now this whole colony will be wrecked by the end of the day if we are lucky.

Those mustached bastards will just react to Conquest pushing him off the balcony for complaining he was being too nosy by smashing everyone that's backing him.

And if it comes off if we are insulting Omni-Man's " Invincible." son then Omni-Man might just decide to do what he, Thragg, and the others just did to the Posidal clan.

If we appease them and give them that warship so they can make show of killing Bethel agents then that will keep them off are backs long enough for Lord Dessler's plan to take action but we can't let one self-absorbed noble screw it up. So, I don't care what you have to do, make sure he does not find out how he died no matter what."

"I…I understand commander Rathbone."

"Ugh…its bad enough keeping the Tick away from them. I'm off to make sure Flint and Overkill are in the proper position."

Mike saw Rathbone storm off and quickly hunched over in the stall. He made sure no one was walking in before he grasped his head tightly. Wait…so…this means that…Mark is here? Damn it all…all that's happened never even had time to wonder if he's still alive. But, what, what happened? Damn it.

Mike realized he was away too long and hurried off. He saw Astra and Tyson waiting for him as the others were already heading up before Astra rolled her eyes." Don't tell me you're so worked up that you're puking already dude.

If you can't keep this together we are never going to get this pain in the ass taken care of to get to the bigger pain in the ass that we came here for in the first place."

"Its ok…I figured it all out."

Tyson blinked and saw Mike was looking stressed out before he raised a eyebrow." Figured out what dude? How the hell did you figure it out?"

"Cause Lady Luck either blessed me or cursed me depending on how it plays out. I'll explain when we get to a secure area."

"Oh, this is going to suck." Tyson spat out. Despite his annoyance he looked for a open hotel room and when the group entered he sent up his Vibranium gear to make sure no one can listen in before Mike explained what he heard.

As everyone took it all in Astra cracked her neck and looked out the window." So, some of those mustached bastards are here to eh? I'm not afraid of a few more wild dogs damn it."

"Maybe not girl." Tyson dryly spat back." But if we throw down then are target sure as hell is going to stay away."

Mike chuckled bitterly before he looked down." And it's even more complicated than that. They said that Omni-Man's son was here, so that means that Mark is here after all."

"Who the hell is that?" Astra spat out, which caused Mike to frown." C'mon I know this ride we been on has been chaotic as can be but you forgot him already? We met Mark at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

I thought we caught a break, right before Omni-Man showed up, revealed that his friendship with me was all a plan to get closer to my father, and proceeded to beat his son's face in till Doug showed up and managed to out due him as worst father of the year and caused everything to fall apart.

I, with, how much has happened I hardly had time to think about what happened to Mark."

"Well…now you did so can close that book and we can get back to work." Astra spat out. Mike just stiffened before she shrugged." Mister Omni-Man really only has one son?"

"No, but they called him Invincible and that's always been the nickname Mark's had!"

"Even so dude...you think we have the time to get side tracked now?"

"Listen alright? You might have not had time to even remember him but Mark was, is my friend! Brandon turned on me but Mark 's always had my back despite how much hell his " buddies" on his turf gave him for it. He got beat to hell and back because he defied his old man to give me time to escape. I, I have to at least try and see if he's ok."

Tyson saw how serious Mike looked before he sighed." I give you credit for not wanting to leave " the Summer me" hanging man. But even if we have bigger fish to fry but the Viltrum clan is still someone you really don't want breathing down your neck.

And they said that one of those walking titan's here is Conquest? That dude's made such a name for himself that even my brother does not want to mess with him."

Astra spat on the ground before she rotated her fist." Oh I 'd love to put another " tough guy" in his place but sounds like we win the battle we lose the war here."

"Hey we took time to bail out your friends from being Knull's slaves!"

"Yah, because that was part of the job " Jacob"! I know it's not fair but if you try and save everyone you will save no one at this point. I mean do you have any idea how to even pull this off?"

"At the moment…don't know enough."

Ray saw how tense Mike looked before he sighed." Hey man, I know how strongly I feel about not leaving anyone behind so I'm not going to tell you to just leave "Mister Invincible " hanging. Still, we got to get a feel for what's really going on or we are just going to get owned."

Mike took a deep breath before he nodded." Fair point. Well…lets see just how big this "act" is."

The son of Ben and Lacus walked out the room with the rest of the group to see where Bancroft was murdered. As they went to the elevator, they saw a robot was in front of it.

It was a tall, orange colored machine with segmented limbs and a robust chest cavity and a slender pelvic region. The robot's limbs were connected by and fastened together with the rest of its body by a series of round interlocks.

The robot's most noticeable feature was its human skull-shaped head with green eyes and a cylinder on the upper-back of its head.

As everyone walked up to it the orange robot's eyes glowed." Excuse me…are you the new arrivals?"

Ratchet eyed the robot before he glanced back at Clank." Clank…you never mentioned you had an older brother all this time."

The smaller robot sighed." Don't be like that…its just a protocol droid with slight custom job. Are you deployed around here good sir?"

The robot glanced at Clank before it nodded." Indeed. Query. My apologies for the intrusion but I was instructed to help guide you to find what you needed. If you would follow me."

Elena eyed the robot before she shrugged at Ray." I detect no hostile programming…it seems the request is valid."

Mike shrugged before he nodded." Hey dude anything that will save time here is good to me."

The robot took them to a room in the basement of the hotel. Mike thought they were going to look at the generator or the security systems or something but found they were led to a room that was empty beside a few tables.

Mike looked around before he glanced at the robot." What's the deal man? Don't seem to be much going on here."

"Never the less I was given a request to bring you here."

"Why?"

"For an ambush?" Astra spat out as she prepared to draw her sword."

"No…just to talk to see if you can help."

Mike paused as the new voice came from a woman on the other side of the room. He and the others saw she had a hood over her before he winced." Hey…this is not one of those assassin ambush kind of deals eh lady? Just saying you really don't want to go down that path right now."

The woman snickered as she walked up." Wow…you really got a lot more paranoid since we last met Mike."

"Huh? Wait do I know you?"

"Were you really that drunk at that party?"

She pulled down her hood before revealing her long red hair. Mike glanced at the woman's green eyes and the symbol on her shirt before he widened his eyes." Wait…Sam? That's really you?"

Astra raised an eyebrow before she looked at Sam." The hell is this chick from? Another Bethel agent? Your old girlfriend?"

"Not quite…more like Mark's girlfriend. "Agent "Atom Eve" is one hell of a mage who can use her tricks to manipulate matter on a subatomic scale.

She can transmute substances, create force weapons, fly, and do a hundred other amazing things."

"Any of those things can explain why she's here now dude? Cause she's either random back up, or a random spy."

"Sorry to startle you but I was here for a while now already when I saw you guys arrived. When I saw who you were I had Robot here direct you here, because frankly I need your help. With you guys here, I might be able to save Mark…from his father."

"So…you know what happened to him after Omni-Man trashed him?"

Eve winced before she nodded." After the facade that the Viltrumite clan was allied to the Bethel Kingdom ended, Omni-Man and the rest went after anyone who was seen as sympathetic to your family. More then that, he went after anyone that was seen as a " weak link" to the clan.

It, it was horrible. I was only able to get out in time because someone tipped me off."

"Oh? Some of the Viltrumites broke away from Omni-Man?"

"No, by someone who was about to be" Throw out" first. It was Brandon's sister Chloe Sampson Hutchence and her boyfriend Hutch that got to me in time, because they had already escaped the people that tried to murder them. Its ok Chole, you guys can come out now. "

Mike saw a woman with short black hair in a hood walk out of the closet. With her was an older man with blond hair in a ponytail in the same get up walk out. Mike saw the new girl's anxious face before he raised an eyebrow." Wait…you were Brandon's sister right? We, did not really hang out much. I, I was not sure if you were down with your brother's whole patricide plan."

"Well since I'm here then what do you think? My, no, that bastard Walter said he wanted to " Talk with me" and nearly killed me! He said me having a child with " scum" was going to pollute the gene pool and that if I could not see the light I was useless.

If, if it was not because he did not realize Butch's power rod could teleport my own uncle was going to kill me because I was "an embarrassment!" We heard that Mark was going to get the same treatment so we contacted Eve when we were safe."

Eve nodded as she grasped her fist tightly." They…they killed everyone just to send a message, Dupli Kate gave her life to give us time to get away. Her clone pretended to be me to fool them.

It's only because Mark 's droid here was customized that he was notified in time for us to react.

We, we have been on the run ever since. The Bethel Kingdom did not trust us and thought we were spies, and no one else would take in those being hunted by both Omni-Man and Brainwave.

We, we were here to try and do something while we had the chance."

"What you mean?" Mike uttered somberly." What…what happened to him?"

As Eve looked dismayed her Robot aide walked up." We tried to reach out to him once before but, it seems that his father punished him severely. He did not want him dead but, he wanted him to be the son he thought he was supposed to be.

A professor David Hiles invented a "control chip" that more or less made Mark a prisoner of his own body. He is conscious, but his body can be " taken over" at a moment's notice."

Astra raised an eyebrow before she walked up." The hell would they do something as convoluted as that? They don't have the tech to just mind wipe him or something?"

"Unclear…but it seems that its to punish him further, so he learns obedience enough to" get back his body. It seemed that Grand Regent Thragg wanted to teach him a lesson he could never forget."

Tyson saw Eve's dismay before he snickered." Man…and I thought my brother was fond of tough love but this is just outright crap parenting."

Eve had tears form in her eyes as she looked out the window." He, he used all the willpower he had to warn us so we could escape. Since then, I been trying to figure out how to save him."

Astra snickered bitterly as she eyed Eve carefully." Oh yah? What makes you think you can save him when you can't even save yourself?"

"It…its because I love him! That's why I want to free him or die trying. He, he right now is the "mate" to that awful Everything else can be figured out after that."

Mike chuckled as he gave a weary nod." With all that's going on glad what you have for him was the real deal unlike that clingy Amber. Still, no offense but I hope you guys have more of a plan to win him over then the power of love."

"We have a plan based on logic." The robot replied." The control chip in Mark is secure, but not indestructible. If we had the means to destroy it without killing him before he could be retrieved by his fellow Viltrumites he could be in theory " Freed."

The problem is he has frequently been surrounded by his kin. However, today presented one of the rare chances we had."

Tyson paused before he eyed the robot carefully." What…you mean this auction?"

"Precisely. He for whatever reason has been tasked to retrieve items for his father. This gives us time in a place where we might have the means to neutralize that control chip."

Astra snorted as she looked around." Well…much as I love giving muscle bounded jackasses the finger seems like if we put more time in the side quest then everything else goes to hell.

No offense but as hard as it seems there's a even bigger jackass then Omni-Man that's on the verge of screwing everyone there is over at once if we don't pull off the mother of all miracles."

Mike paused before he closed his eyes." Maybe…it does not have to play out that way if we play are cards right. Eve…Chloe…you guys know what they want from this auction?"

The two-woman glanced at Hutch, before the man on the run shrugged." I was trying to get information in the Entertainment District and it seems the word is the mustache heads want the rare ships to make a lesson out of the Bethel Kingdom AND one up the Vought clan."

Tyson saw Mike looked deep in thought before he eyed his childhood friend." Dude…what the hell are you thinking? We don't need to have more enemies down are throat then we have fingers man!"

After a few seconds Mike flashed a lope-sided grin." Unless we have so many enemies hunting us that they trip over each other my good panther. I'm thinking we needed a distraction to pull are plan off in the first place…but if we make use of things we can make things easier for us, with a little more misdirection."

Astra paused before she rolled her eyes. "Seriously? I mean yah if it works maybe having everyone to busy fighting each other gives us more wiggle room, or it causes everything to blow up in are face and its game over!"

"Maybe…but sometimes even if a bigger gamble is riskier, the payoff might be worth the risk. Even with Ezan we still need more allies. And, how can I pull off saving the universe if I can't even save a friend that gave everything to bail me out of a mess I was to weak to get out of myself?"

Raymond saw Eve looked hopeful before he chuckled anxiously." Like I said man I get not wanting to leave someone behind but lets make sure we have a shot alright? None of this can be pulled off if are target does not even show up because the murder caused her to bail."

Shion was part of the group to before she rolled her eyes." I know I'm still learning a lot about how universal customs work but if this haughty woman hired you for a job, does that not mean you can call her back if something went wrong? She did hire you all to do this right?"

Raymond saw the pink woman's annoyance and chuckled." Easy new girl, it's not that simple. Types like her are so paranoid anything can set her off and cancel a job at a whim."

Elena shrugged as she looked at her transmitter." Still, she is right that it's within are rights to request clarity when something changes the plan. I'll reach out to her contact."

The android made the message in seconds and her eyes glowed as she sent the transmission. After a few seconds the blond woman narrowed her eyes, and smirked." I just been notified; the plan has changed.

Aplodia Neuro is not happy that there is more" chaos" than she was lead to believe around this auction, but she still wants to go through with it. But she's changing where she's landing to the port around the Head in the Clouds resort. If things go wrong this time though, she's going to cancel."

Mike paused before he had a wild look form in his eyes." That's closer to the auction, right? That's just prime…it makes what we might have to do to get the jackpot easier."

Astra facepalmed before moaning out." So let me get this straight. We already got to hijack the fuel and parts we need from a paranoid crazy lady who has no qualms turning people into her son's toys…AND rescue one or two Gundam pilots from being a mad lady's toys, and now rescue your other bud from being mind controlled from his own old man without causing the entire race of mustache loving supped up jackasses from dog piling us all at once!?"

Mike saw the conflicted looks around him before he let out a sheepish shrug." Hey…its only going to be more things to juggle so might as well try and get use to the pressure, eh? Not quite baby steps but, got to try and see how much we can handle at some point right?"

The lanky man got a notification to his computer and quickly checked it before he laughed tensely." Oh? Well…Masaki wants to know if we can figure out how to rescue the crew of the Yamato to…seems they were tight with the crew, at least the crew from another reality."

Astra spat on the ground before snarling out," This a joke? Even with your dad's super soldier rival still with us this is still would be lot damn it!"

"I know…I know damn it! But…if we are too scared to take risks now…we are never going to get to the end of this. I'm not trying to just not think and run blindly into the sun but, we got to find a balance."

Tyson put his hand up in the air before he cut in with," Look…fair to say we should see if we can even get the original job pulled off before we can pull off anything else right?"

Mike saw the Black Panther had a detached look on his face before he nodded." Fair point man. Let's see if Bancroft will let us go without hassle and take it from there, ok?"

After checking in with others as much as they could, Mike made sure Eve, Chloe, and Hutch could get to them even after leaving separately and went back to the man trying to get to the bottom of there own murder.

Thankfully for them, just mentioning that the clues they found pointed to the Head in the Clouds resort got Bancroft to get a shuttle for them.

As Mike saw the Head in the Clouds skyhook at the top of the" Sky" of the space colony, and saw it looked like a upside down skyscraper with the words Head in the Clouds acting like a billboard in its front before he shrugged." Does not look like a very safe dock, your ship does not even come into the colony."

"That's the point." Chloe muttered bitterly." It's for those who want to be able to bail fast. The Head in the Clouds is not a hotel really. Its one of the most exclusive Houses floating above Bay City, catering to perverse and illegal sexual fetishes and tastes of the Meths. It was commonly referred to as the "Satellite of Sin."

Meths frequented Head in the Clouds to satisfy sexual perversions through the "Iridium Experience" including rape, torture, and or pleasure killing of women, men, and even children. Sex workers were presumably young, unsleeved, AKA not old women in younger bodies, and played into any fantasy, including mutilation of their bodies, and death.

It's owned by Madame Kurenai of the Sun Jewel cartel, with Reileen Kawahara being the one running it."

Mike saw some like Tanjiro, Shione, and more look disturbed before he rubbed his head." Sounds like the kind of place were skittish guys and gals would want to stay away from, eh?"

"Normally yah, but if you pay Relieen enough she will close the whole place just to make it your personal resort, and that's what's going on."

"Well…if it means less odds someone can ambush us then works for me. So…we are sure that the other Viltrumite's will not show up?"

Eve's Robot aid nodded before looking back at the capital of the colony." It's confirmed that both Conquest and Anissa are taking part in the "Pageant" part of the Auction. It will take some time as they are, examining the items."

Tyson paused before he shrugged." Did not think a guy like Conquest is an art collector but hey, everyone has another side to them I guess."

Eve shuttered with disgust before cutting in with," No, it's an auction for servants. I seen Conquest; he examines the woman he wants to play with "Carefully." "

Astra grit her teeth before looking back." Damn it…not going to let that bastard keep treating girls like his damn pets!"

Mike saw Astra looking revved up before he sighed." I get it but we have to do things right or even more girls will be screwed over for a long time, if not forever. Alright, at least that will keep them busy so we can try and pull this off. We clear to go?"

2B looked around before the blindfolded woman nodded." No one appears to be coming after us, we should progress while it stays that way."

Astra looked around before she winced, and sniffed the air with her nose. Tyson saw she look agitated before he looked around." What is it? Sense something coming?"

The Equalizer saw Tyson was sincere before she saw her foot and stepped on a pink and yellow obi sash and spat on it." Just this whole place has a nasty smell. People have done all kind's of crap around here.

To sum it up…just can tell that life is cheap here with a whiff. Even more reason to not spend to much time here so let's do this."

The group got into the shuttle and took off to the Head in the Clouds. As they did, the obi sash Astra stepped on twitched, before retracting into the ground.

It slid into the near by drain pipe, and kept sliding all the way till it went into a room in the building above, and into a woman who was watching them from one of the windows of the Hendrix Hotel.

She was tall, curvaceous, and slender woman with lime green eyes, long eyelashes and very pale skin.

Her black hair was styled in a full, long ponytail and with kanzashi hairpins , and she sported two pink flower-like demon crest on her face, and wore a two-piece version of her kimono consisting of magenta pink undergarments tied by long, black bows on the sides and with two magenta pieces of cloth that cover her chest.

She had magenta thigh-high stockings with black flower patterns and tall three-legged sanmaiba/koma-geta or mitsu-ashi shoes.

As the Oiran saw the shuttle take off she licked her lips." Enmu…this is Daki. Inform Lord Muzan that possible targets may be in sight. My obi sash felt someone with a massive amount of power. It…it may be the one we were looking for. We might have to outwit " Competitors" but to prove to the Shadow Lord that I'm worthy of his love, it will be done!"

The demon Enmu seeped out of the shadows before he smirked." How fun…they can hide the truth all they want but no matter how stubborn one is, one's dreams bare all. Yes...no matter how they try and change their look, all human hearts are the same. So fragile and weak, like glass-work.

But in their final breaths they will thank us, to be able to give them the privilege to die while dreaming."

Authors Notes: Welp, we got more than a few to get to today so lets get to it.

Firstly, J.J is one of the hero's of Star Ocean 6. Legion is the heroic Geth from the Mass Effect series, and Commander Seven of Nine is from Star Trek Voyager and Star Trek Picard. She has the role the Jurati-Queen had in Picard with the reformed Borg, I just like Seven of Nine better to say the least.

Graham Aker is from Gundam 00, and he did return mostly like how seen here in the Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Festival 10 "Re:vision drama.

Meanwhile Jona is from Gundam Narrative, while Suletta Mercury is of course the main lead of Gundam Witch of Mercury, same goes for her mother Prospera Mercury. I'm trying to merge elements of Gundam Narrative and Gundam Witch of Mercury Super Robot Wars style to say the least for the upcoming chapters.

Meanwhile Aplodia Neuro is the main enemy of the Gundam crossover game SD Gundam G Generation Over World, her ship the No-Ship" "Ithaca is from the Heretics of Dune novel, while also taking aspects from Super Robot Wars V though more of that will be explained later.

Speaking of that, Sagiri Sakurai is the main female lead of Super Robot Wars T, with the VTX Union being the group she works for in that game.

Meanwhile Abelt Desler is from Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 2199, with its crew also being from the series. To be more precise it's from the remake that came out in 2013 that also was seen in Super Robot Wars V.

Its creator Yoshinobu Nishizaki, died recently so my respect to someone who made such a fundamental sci fi anime among others.

Agent Commander Tyrannosaurus "Ty" Rathbone is from the Tick series, along with the Tick himself.

Takeshi Kovacs, Reileen Kawahara, Kristen Orgeta, The Head in the Cloud's flying resort, and the Bancroft's are from Altered Carbon, more of the Netflix series then the book.

Enmu and Daki are demons in Demon Slayer, while Madame Kurenai is an enemy in Eden's Zero.

Chloe and Butch are from Jupiter's Legacy, while Eve and the" Robot" are from Invincible.

Finally, Charon is from John Wick, might be a short cameo but wanted to pay tribute to the recently deceased Lance Reddick, he was intense in everything from this role in John Wick to the Oz show to the Wire and more.

Alright that should just be about all of it, I know it was a ton of players introduced without much action but wanted to set things up for next time. Hope it pays off but for now thanks for the reviews, I have finals for my grad classes coming out but will try not to be too delayed with the next chapter. Till then till next time and Happy Easter.