The Crisis of Infinite Fandoms, Multifandom, PG
Title: The Crisis of Infinite Fandoms
Timeline: October 31st, 2004
Author: Illmantrim illmantrim
Words: 5100-ish
Fandoms: Several DC Universes, Marvel Comic-verse, and finally the Apocaverse...
Notes: This was fun, putting fandoms through the ringer and setting them up to be lost in the madness was a particular delight. Now to write of their adventures in the madness!
Rating: PG
***
Chapter One - The Monitor - Prelude to Crisis
The Orbiter shook and shuddered and the figure in blue watched space ripple through a viewscreen in the hall. He sighed and turned, beginning to walk slowly. He walked in the shadows to the control center. He quickly turned on all the computers and began a power cycle. All was in readiness. The Monitor watched his screens and nodded. The computers had woken him up and set the screens to show him the beginnings. The time had come and his preparations would have to do. The Crisis had begun. All the Multiverse was in danger. Perhaps even the Omniverse. Now he must contact his pitifully few agents in the target universes and hope that all his plans and settings had been enough.
He knew his enemy, whoever he or she might be, was lurking out there in the wings and would have to be stopped when he inevitably reared his head. Things were growing and the others had warned him it had reached other dimensions and times as well.
For now, the Monitor aimed at reducing the damage of the oncoming cataclysm as much as possible. It would begin in those seven universes and spread from there... And all the universes would be affected. And nothing at all could be done to stop it. But maybe, maybe, he might be able to blunt the disaster and save a world. Whether anyone would thank him for saving them, especially for what would come afterwards.... Well that was a different matter.
He sent the calls through the system and watched the screens as his five chosen agents went to work. He sat back and contemplated the madness that just one short year had brought into his life. The computers had given him a hope. A small hope, but a hope nonetheless.
He had been reborn out of darkness in the womb of The Orbiter just a year ago and been briefed by his ship's computers. He had been cloned and awoken because of the oncoming crisis, which his computers had predicted with a 96% certainty would destroy the universes if nothing was done to prevent it.. He had spent days relearning how to walk and act and about the current conditions of the universes. he had studies them all and determined that he would split off a small group of universes from the billions out there.
They would be merged by his action and the Crisis would be localized to them... but it would be bad there... and he wasn't sure he could stop anything after that. He kept his computers running and hoped he would be able to find out who had started this and why. For now, he had done all he could and all he could do was watch as his allies began to fight their battles...
It was October 31st and it was the day everything would change...
***
Chapter Two - Captain Atom - Nuke Play
"You have got to be kidding me!"
"No, sir, Captain Atom, I am afraid all the controls are shot. The reactor is going to blow sky-high, and soon!"
"All right. I'm going to get some elevation and figure out the best way to handle this."
He shook his head, watching the chaos and thinking back to how it had begun. Captain Atom had gotten the call from the Monitor while half in his sleep and slipped from his bed next to his wife, Bette, changing into Cosmic form as he moved out to the balcony, then launched up into the sky. The homing device he had been provided was left blinking and sending a strong signal.
He had been nervous and not ready, despite all the preparations and hype he had gotten from the Monitor. He had been on and off retired and wished he still was now as he hovered, staring down at the chaos in the Nuclear Reactor Control center.
He had been recruited by the Monitor six months ago, and had quickly adapted to the weirdness of finding out your universe is one of several billion and that on other worlds there were even different yous. He had learned that on most worlds he didn't exist, and that on those worlds, there were few heroes.
Apparently a lot was different on his world. Nuclear energy had a more powerful effect than in most, here. It seemed to have a quantum level effect which caused ripples of shifts every time an explosion or reaction went off.
And heroes came and went here like clockwork. He felt like he was renewed in a way. He hadn't been in action in awhile and ever since he had returned from his time jaunt after destroying the Kryptonite Meteor, he had been less wiling to miss time with his wife and twin children, both of whom had been born in the few months since he had been gone.
It all seemed strange but one thing he had learned, back as soldier Nathaniel Adam, was that you sometimes just listened and accepted what was told to you.
So, he did and met with heroes from other worlds, including two who seemed to know him. And their plans went forward. Until now. Somehow all the prep hadn't prepared him at all for the utter chaos here. The reactor was quickly spooling up for a blow and the venting and cooling programs were lost, the control interfaces were screwed up and the only way left to stop it was to enter the reactor room and halt the reaction. Plus Captain Atom wanted to absorb all the energy of the pseudo-explosion and release it as the Monitor has instructed. If things worked right.
Monitor had warned that someone was influencing events and now Captain Atom knew it. No way would all the back-ups and release valves and plans fail otherwise. It had to be sabotage of a huge sort and now... He shook his head. No time to worry. Now it was time to act.
He entered the main reactor and realized blinked then slapped his forehead and sighed as he floated over to the control rods. And stared. He wasn't really sure you actually could bend rods into that shape... and , looking closer, he wasn't sure there actually were ends to those rods. He tried to follow them around but his eyes swam and he gave it up. He scanned the room and saw the maintenance hatch designed to allow a descent from above. He smiled, then shook his head. No getting ahead of himself now.
He sighed, no hope for it now, but to absorb the full brunt of the explosion and hope to release the energy right as the Monitor asked him...
The countdown reached critical and the reaction began and he concentrated, working on absorbing every once, every iota of energy as it came out of the reactor. He strained and willed himself to hold on as the level of power he was absorbing grew and grew and grew and he felt like he would explode with the denial of the quantum leap and of release. He felt his consciousness straining and darkness at the edge of his eyes, but then finally the reactor was drained. he had successfully absorbed all the power and radioactivity of the materials here.
With a roar he fled straight upward through the previously spotted maintenance hatch, shattering it instantly. He shot upward and out the other end of the shaft and then into the sky, higher and higher. He shot off as fast as his power could take him and soon was arriving at the pre-planned point. He felt like he was bulging with power and he screamed as he waited for the signal which seemed to take forever to come. When it finally came, he screamed again and released the energy all in one blast, directly at the Lagrange-5 point between Earth and the Moon. There was an explosion of darkness and then, he fell into that darkness.
When he awoke he was in a strange bed, and he stumbled out of it, to find himself looking into a mirrored door at an image of himself still in Captain Atom form, though slightly altered. He tried to change back, but couldn't. He tried harder and suddenly had a sinking feeling. He wasn't changing. He was stuck...
***
Chapter Three - The Hulk - Gamma Dawn
Doctor Bruce Banner stared up at the stage as the presentation went on. With one part of his mind he listened to and analyzed the information, eve as another part allowed him to monitor his surroundings, though that part of him was much smaller. He loved this! Pure science was what he lived for... what he had lived for that is, before his accident.
Breaking the presentation's hold on his attention, he glanced around casually, running a hand through his temporarily blonde hair. He had sneaked aboard the shuttle to the newly completed Estarde Station, modified and retrofitted from an abandoned Shi'Ar starship left over from the several year-old Kree-Shi'Ar War. It had taken a few years, even with the smartest minds working on it, for American scientists to figure out enough of the technology to get it habitable. And that's where they had discovered the Anti-Matter technology.
That's why he had risked coming to an enclosed situation, masquerading as an old friend. He wanted to be on hand for the Anti-Matter Engine Expo, where the newest example of adapted alien(read stolen) high tech was being shown off and would be started up for the first time publicly soon. He loved this science and also he had another mission. The one given him by the Monitor.
According to the Monitor the engine would fail. Not only would it fail, but the resulting explosion would kill everyone here, and damage the entire planet. Unless, of course, someone(read Bruce and the Hulk) managed to stop it by removing the engine, post-activation, from the station.
He had spent time in the last week with his friends, the Hulk's Harriers(he rolled his eyes at the name chosen by the 20-somethings running the group again) and managed to get blueprints to study. He knew the straightest line to the Escape Transporter. He had even gotten Samson to send him inside his mind and forge an agreement with his Hulk selves. They had a vested interest in the Earth surviving, just as much as he did. So they would assist him, in the form of the Professor.
A shuttle was cloaked and waiting outside the station, within Hulk's range, where Betty, Samson, Jennifer, Rick, and Thunderbolt all were waiting for him. He chuckled at the thought of how Thunderbolt had reacted to the Monitor's words. Recently retired, the man had unwound some.
The back of the shuttle they had acquired was configured into a containment area, where Hulk would hold the Engine until they got it to the sun. There Hulk would pitch it in and the small explosion would be absorbed by the anti- anti-matter drones planted there millennia ago by the Celestials.
Bruce squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel his other selves, especially Grey, Green, and Professor, eager for release, even as all but the Professor were crowded back, knowing they had to wait this one time. It was a strange life he led with multiple personalities sharing his mind and existence and each with immense power.
He heard a muffled rumble and opened his eyes as the presenters moved aside and the stage opened to show the small-looking Anti-Matter Engine, it began to hum and vibrate and the crowd seemed to hold it's breath. Bruce sighed, wishing this could work. The world needed this kind of power, but... he shook his head.
The hum became a rumble again and then there was a weird shriek to the vibration and the scientists at the controls started to show their alarm. Then the first lights went down, and the emergency siren sounded. And people being people, despite their intelligence, the crowd panicked and began to pound for the exits. That was his cue. He looked at the wristpatch he had on with the clock the Monitor had set for him, seeing it counting down and knew time was now.
And with that he shifted, with a cry and a ripping sound, his clothes ripped away. He felt his mind shifting too and he was thrust aside, losing himself as he screamed and felt triumph in the other mind as it swept past him and shoved him into the waiting room of his mind. The Hulk rose and roared in victory. He stretched his arms for a minute, a grin coming across his face.
"About time I got out. Now let's get this over with. Time is wasting."
Hulk ran across the room, causing even more shrieks and cries of fright. He reached the Engine even as security reached him and with a grimace and no attempt at gentility, he swatted the security men across the room.
Grasping the Engine at it's base, he flexed and with a tearing, groaning sound, the Engine came up from it,s mounting. He grasped it under one arm, staggering at it's weight even as it rumbled there with growing vibrations.
"oh my god, he's stealing the Engine! The Hulk is stealing the Engine!"
"You idiot! The engine is going to blow up! Let him have it!"
He heard the scuffling behind him and glanced back seeing the Scientists arguing in loud voices. he shook his head and turned back to the business at hand. He leaped a shallow leap to the doors, kicking them open as he began to run. He scanned the map in his mind and dodged down one corridor after another.
Security showed up at one point but they presented no problem and with a salute and a "Down, Boys!", he bowled them over and kept moving. Finally he was at the airlock and then through it. The shuttle was there, decloaking twenty feet away in a rippling move, and with a breath, he punched the opening switch. Hulk felt his skin reacting to the airlessness of space and leaped quickly. He covered the gap with that one leap and the door slipped open. His lungs starting to swallow him for lack of air, he clung to the door and hauled himself to it. He fell into the airlock of the shuttle and even as it began to move the outer door shut. He slapped the Comm button even as he heard Betty's voice, making him smile as he collapsed to breathe. Air was slowly moving in then faster.
"Hulk, Bruce, are you there?"
"I'm in, Betty. Let's move this ship!"
Air quickly filled the room and he gasped it in painfully until it reached standard. He rose, his healing factor quickly repairing him. He strode into the back cargo area to the huge chair made for him as he felt, just barely the ship move as high speed towards the sun. He sat and operated a switch, seeing Betty's face on one screen and the sun coming closer on another. Betty blew a kiss to him as she operated one of the piloting controls and he grinned at her. ~She is a beautiful woman~, he thought fondly. She always was one to impress him. He smiled then rose again, donning his suit.
He picked up the Engine and waited at the 'lock for the signal. As they coasted into a close orbit of the Sun, he heard the breep of the signal and Betty's voice came over the Comm.
"Okay, Bruce. We are here where you plotted it out and the Monitor's beams indicate."
Thunderbolt's voice came over the line.
"Everything is green Banner. You are a go for Skinwalk."
Hulk grinned at the grudging sound of approval in General Ross's voice. He and the old man had been enemies for a long time and only ion recent years gained any true relationship that was more than enmity.
He stepped forward and pushed the door button and waited while the airlock opened, letting him in, then cycled through the air cycle and then the outer door opened. He carefully climbed out and onto the ship's skin, donning the glasses he had specially prepared for this moment. He stared out at the majesty of the Sun, and then smiled. Time to get it done. he hauled back his arm with the Engine in and then flung it forth, immediately dropping back over the lip of the airlock and slapping the close door. As the air cycle began, he ripped off his helmet and punched the Comm.
"It's done and I am in. Full shields and Brace yourselves."
As soon as the door opened inside he raced in and flung his suit off and then sat down, strapping in. He watched the screens as the others braced and the forceshield came up.
"Shields at 100 %. All systems go. package delivery in 35 seconds."
Betty's voice came over the line deliberate and sure and he braced himself and watched as the Engine vanished from sight.
"Package delivery in 20...15...10...5...Delivery complete."
Hulk watched his screens as the Engine exploded into the sun and the energy caused a small flare. Even as the anti-matter was sucked away by the Celestial devices the flare of incredible power flung out at them and the ship was enveloped and...
Bruce Banner groggily awoke in a room he recognized as being on the Orbiter. Once more in his own form, he bounced up from the bed and went to the door to seek his friends...
***
Chapter Four - The Ray II - Solar Tantrum
It drove him crazy as he flew, and he knew it was nuts. Here he was, a being of solar energy and he still felt like the collar of his new uniform was itching his neck. He grumbled under his breath as he arrowed at high speed out of the atmosphere and into the darkness of space. He grinned as he passed the Moon and the Starcore Station.
He counted down as his wrist computer counted with him and then a beam, shot out of nowhere and enveloped the Star Gate hovering there beyond the Moon. he shot into it, praying this worked and he came out with a shudder and looked around. He looked won at his wrist monitor and breathed a sigh of relief as it went green. he had arrived in the target universe as planned by the Monitor. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, hovering for a minute as he thought about all the craziness of the last six months, heck, the last year!
He had been recruited by the Monitor just after his disastrous run with the Forgotten Heroes and it had taken him awhile to figure out exactly what was going on. He had participated in the Crisis when it had happened but as with most of the others he remembered little from that event. Until, that is he stepped onto the Orbiter. Then he remembered everything. He remembered how he had been split off of his other self and sent into a universe where things were similar but not quite. He had been sent to a universe where Magic was more powerful than Superhuman ability and thus it was at the root of a lot of otherwise explained things. Most things had still been the same but it had taken awhile to realize the rules in the new universe.
He remembered all that had happened and the memories that had slowly left him of his former life. And he went to work for the Monitor, seemingly reborn of his ship and for a new Crisis, just as Multiverse threatening as the last one.
So here he was now, in yet another universe, waiting to set off, magnify, then divert a Solar Flare of huge intensity. In fact... he glanced down at his wrist and then shot off towards the sun at near light speed. It was showtime. As he arrowed in he saw the flare begin and immediately shot to a halt. he concentrated, letting his form diffuse as he sent his thoughts into the solar energy and strained to control it and direct it, feeding it more energy and making it bigger.
He felt his mind and body start to stretch and break apart and his power reaching it's limit and knew it was time. He spun and channeled the entire power of the flare into the Star Gate, screaming as the power rose and rose inside him. He felt his mind flickering out and he screamed one last time as he...
...woke up on a nice bed. he blinked.
"Well, that was special."
He sighed and got up, going to the door. Might as well figure out what was next...
***
Chapter Five - Arion and Power Girl - Inheritance Rites
Magic flared around them and with it power returned to both Arion and Power Girl. They both breathed slowly, feeling themselves whole for the first time in years.
Arion grinned at Karen/Kara/Power Girl as she shook her head.
"Be careful, Kara, in order to help us handle this mess, I had to merge us with all of our dupes from the Multiverse, but that means you now have all the memories and powers of yourselves, and are actually back to the levels you were at before your accident."
She shook her head, blurring slightly, then appearing clearly once more, now looking like she was in her old costume, with the exception of a babysack on the back, where her son had been restored to her once more. She smiled.
"It's all coming clear now, Arion. After a lifetime wondering who I was and am, I know now, all of me are from the same place, and the same time, and it explains so much."
Arion smiled warmly at the girl he had come to love as a granddaughter.
"Yes my dear, you are from Atlantis. Not My Atlantis, but the one Mine was named for."
She blinked and stared at him.
"You know? You know about the Ancients?"
"Yes, Kara. I know the secret of Atlantis and the Kryptonians and all of it. But right now isn't the time to discuss it. We must prepare for the Crisis and act as the Monitor instructed us. Or else all will be lost."
She nodded reluctantly. Even with memory restored, she had so much to ask. But Arion was right, the old man usually was. She grinned suddenly and bowed in mid-air.
"After you, Old Man."
He scowled, even as he soared away, his hands glowing with the trademark magic that was his birthright. He had been born millennia ago in the second city of Atlantis, during the age of Magic on Earth. He had cared for her for a long time and she felt an honest care for him, despite the lies he had told her through the years.
They soared through the air, headed up into orbit, before angling back down into the air and soaring towards Stonehenge at massive speeds. Kara gloried in the cold air and in having her former cosmic level of power back. She swooped across the sky and back and he laughed as she did so. They descended to the formation of stones and Arion grinned at her then let loose with the power that was his to command. As the stones rose and began to almost dance, she laughed in delight. She had always loved magic. He had made magic for her as she had asked and it always enchanted her, to make a small pun.
She watched as the stones moved into a pattern and then he called for her help to set them just right. With her increased powers it was easy to set them just so and she grinned. She loved this! She lowered the final piece into place and then soared back to the center where he was hovering.
"Now it will get harder. We have to concentrate the power of Magic from this Earth into us, then through Stonehenge, channel it into the Star Gate."
Kara snickered and Arion cast a glance at her.
"Yes, I know the Ancients left behind their own Gate, but this one is, as you know, much newer. "
She nodded thinking back to the year before when the strange crossover with that other universe had resulted in the Shi'Ar of this universe becoming aware of Earth. they had immediately established a Star Gate near the moon, something that the Monitor was using to his advantage. He and his allies had set forth a plan involving seven universes in an effort to stop the madness.
She watched Arion and the stones ad the magic rose then groaned as it began strobing through her and Arion. It felt like Kryptonite and fire all rolled up into one. She heard a cry escape her lips, echoed by Arion's own gasp and she saw him go to his knees. She reached over and somehow hauled him to his feet, feeling the power roar throu8gh her, and suddenly she grabbed her ears, reeling. She could hear screaming and yelling and voices. Thousands of voices echoed in her ears and somehow she knew these were all those across time and space feeling the shift all those who were disrupted.. and then there was a scream and ...
..She awoke in a room, alone and clean and in a different uniform. She groaned and stretched. She felt like a day old towel. She sighed. She was in the Orbiter she was betting and it was time to find out what was happening.
***
Chapter Six - Crisis Point - Timing Is Everything
And across the Multiverse, plans formed for years and seconds came together. Across dimensions untold, thoughts and magic and power slammed together, and the tension grew and shuddered and trembled.
Thousands of universes seemed to tremble as those that had been chosen to stem the tide were sent through tremendous strain, but in that moment something, some power, someone, interfered, and it let loose of its restraints...
Across all the universes and the Multiverses until all the Omniverse was absorbed and then there was a scream of power untold and the Omniverse screamed as if in pain and relief and what had been many...
...was now One.
Everywhere there was a ripple of magic and energy and the world changed...
Time rippled too, and seemed to fold, and suddenly the space and air above Earth was filled with objects, both human and alien and of designs both simple and profound. Ships and Stations and other things...
Dimensions folded and realms never before imagined touched Earth, sometimes leaving but a trace or a single being, sometimes, entire cities.
One universe, on world called Earth, where now a network of cities that had never existed before and people and realities that had never coexisted before together... now it all was one... and nothing would ever be the same...
And more... for their plan failed. The disasters continued... and despair reached the powers who had striven... despair and darkness...
***
Chapter 7 - All - Aftermath and New Beginnings
The doors led them all out to the main area of the Orbiter... and there Bruce Banner, Power Girl, Arion, Captain Atom and Ray found themselves staring at a most disconcerting sight...
The Monitor, the supremely powerful being who had summoned and trained them all, was crying. He heard them approach and rose, tears streaming down his face as he turned. He spoke only two words but those words were enough to send despair into all of their hearts.
"We failed."
They all gasped and Kara found herself shivering and Captain Atom seemed close to tears.
Bruce Banner spoke up quietly.
"What happened? The figures and calculations were exact."
"There was interference from outside. From Someone. It is time you knew the rest of the story..."
They all sat in the chairs near him and listened as he spoke quietly.
"The Crisis began over a year ago now and My orbiter awoke me, as I told you. What I didn't tell you is that Other Powers also contracted me. This threat, whatever caused it, was being caused by someone, some being, somewhere... And it was a threat to is all.
Magicians, Gods, Other beings like my self, and some other, more esoteric powers, all of us got together and planned this out. We selected you all for the reasons I told you. Your magic and power ratios were exactly what was needed. And the plan was working... until someone or something interfered. And it was thrown off. Instead of just a few universes being united, all of them were. The entire Omniverse was united as one Universe, one existence, even other times and dimensions were brought to the Present time. And nothing is right. The disasters are still happening. And they may never stop.
There is a chance. If enough beings of power and objects of power can be united, maybe.... just maybe the world can be stabilized, but there are no guarantees. And the world is already descended to chaos."
There was silence and then the others shared looks of fear, astonishment and pain. Their last chance had succeeded... but it had failed. They tried to settle and regain their peace, but it was at that moment that the Orbiter seemed to shift and shudder. Then alarms shrieked. The Monitor turned to the controls and shouted out as he flipped switches.
"We are under attack!"
The viewscreens showed a barrage of energy shooting against the Orbiter's fields as they flickered and vanished and the next blast caused an explosion that shook the entire satellite.
"We must evacuate! Harbinger! You are needed!"
A strange, glowing woman appeared before The Monitor, taking in the situation.
"I understand. Plan beta, Sir?"
"Yes, Harbinger. deliver them to the target sites. Carry them safely then go on to Pariah. He will need you."
Her lips seemed to shiver and then She nodded. She turned to the others and even as they watched, she multiplied. She became two, then four, then six women, all identical. Each one stepped forward and grabbed one of the heroes. Before anyone could say anything, they vanished, shooting off toward Earth. The Sixth harbinger vanished as well.
Monitor grimaced as the ship shuddered again. He pulled levers and shook as the ship did. This was bad. Their enemy had never struck so openly before and his power level was immense. in fact...
There was a shattering and then there was an explosion and Monitor screamed...
Moments later, there was an explosion and where the Orbiter had sailed, nothing more existed...
Feedback is appreciated...
Timeline: October 31st, 2004
Author: Illmantrim illmantrim
Words: 5100-ish
Fandoms: Several DC Universes, Marvel Comic-verse, and finally the Apocaverse...
Notes: This was fun, putting fandoms through the ringer and setting them up to be lost in the madness was a particular delight. Now to write of their adventures in the madness!
Rating: PG
***
Chapter One - The Monitor - Prelude to Crisis
The Orbiter shook and shuddered and the figure in blue watched space ripple through a viewscreen in the hall. He sighed and turned, beginning to walk slowly. He walked in the shadows to the control center. He quickly turned on all the computers and began a power cycle. All was in readiness. The Monitor watched his screens and nodded. The computers had woken him up and set the screens to show him the beginnings. The time had come and his preparations would have to do. The Crisis had begun. All the Multiverse was in danger. Perhaps even the Omniverse. Now he must contact his pitifully few agents in the target universes and hope that all his plans and settings had been enough.
He knew his enemy, whoever he or she might be, was lurking out there in the wings and would have to be stopped when he inevitably reared his head. Things were growing and the others had warned him it had reached other dimensions and times as well.
For now, the Monitor aimed at reducing the damage of the oncoming cataclysm as much as possible. It would begin in those seven universes and spread from there... And all the universes would be affected. And nothing at all could be done to stop it. But maybe, maybe, he might be able to blunt the disaster and save a world. Whether anyone would thank him for saving them, especially for what would come afterwards.... Well that was a different matter.
He sent the calls through the system and watched the screens as his five chosen agents went to work. He sat back and contemplated the madness that just one short year had brought into his life. The computers had given him a hope. A small hope, but a hope nonetheless.
He had been reborn out of darkness in the womb of The Orbiter just a year ago and been briefed by his ship's computers. He had been cloned and awoken because of the oncoming crisis, which his computers had predicted with a 96% certainty would destroy the universes if nothing was done to prevent it.. He had spent days relearning how to walk and act and about the current conditions of the universes. he had studies them all and determined that he would split off a small group of universes from the billions out there.
They would be merged by his action and the Crisis would be localized to them... but it would be bad there... and he wasn't sure he could stop anything after that. He kept his computers running and hoped he would be able to find out who had started this and why. For now, he had done all he could and all he could do was watch as his allies began to fight their battles...
It was October 31st and it was the day everything would change...
***
Chapter Two - Captain Atom - Nuke Play
"You have got to be kidding me!"
"No, sir, Captain Atom, I am afraid all the controls are shot. The reactor is going to blow sky-high, and soon!"
"All right. I'm going to get some elevation and figure out the best way to handle this."
He shook his head, watching the chaos and thinking back to how it had begun. Captain Atom had gotten the call from the Monitor while half in his sleep and slipped from his bed next to his wife, Bette, changing into Cosmic form as he moved out to the balcony, then launched up into the sky. The homing device he had been provided was left blinking and sending a strong signal.
He had been nervous and not ready, despite all the preparations and hype he had gotten from the Monitor. He had been on and off retired and wished he still was now as he hovered, staring down at the chaos in the Nuclear Reactor Control center.
He had been recruited by the Monitor six months ago, and had quickly adapted to the weirdness of finding out your universe is one of several billion and that on other worlds there were even different yous. He had learned that on most worlds he didn't exist, and that on those worlds, there were few heroes.
Apparently a lot was different on his world. Nuclear energy had a more powerful effect than in most, here. It seemed to have a quantum level effect which caused ripples of shifts every time an explosion or reaction went off.
And heroes came and went here like clockwork. He felt like he was renewed in a way. He hadn't been in action in awhile and ever since he had returned from his time jaunt after destroying the Kryptonite Meteor, he had been less wiling to miss time with his wife and twin children, both of whom had been born in the few months since he had been gone.
It all seemed strange but one thing he had learned, back as soldier Nathaniel Adam, was that you sometimes just listened and accepted what was told to you.
So, he did and met with heroes from other worlds, including two who seemed to know him. And their plans went forward. Until now. Somehow all the prep hadn't prepared him at all for the utter chaos here. The reactor was quickly spooling up for a blow and the venting and cooling programs were lost, the control interfaces were screwed up and the only way left to stop it was to enter the reactor room and halt the reaction. Plus Captain Atom wanted to absorb all the energy of the pseudo-explosion and release it as the Monitor has instructed. If things worked right.
Monitor had warned that someone was influencing events and now Captain Atom knew it. No way would all the back-ups and release valves and plans fail otherwise. It had to be sabotage of a huge sort and now... He shook his head. No time to worry. Now it was time to act.
He entered the main reactor and realized blinked then slapped his forehead and sighed as he floated over to the control rods. And stared. He wasn't really sure you actually could bend rods into that shape... and , looking closer, he wasn't sure there actually were ends to those rods. He tried to follow them around but his eyes swam and he gave it up. He scanned the room and saw the maintenance hatch designed to allow a descent from above. He smiled, then shook his head. No getting ahead of himself now.
He sighed, no hope for it now, but to absorb the full brunt of the explosion and hope to release the energy right as the Monitor asked him...
The countdown reached critical and the reaction began and he concentrated, working on absorbing every once, every iota of energy as it came out of the reactor. He strained and willed himself to hold on as the level of power he was absorbing grew and grew and grew and he felt like he would explode with the denial of the quantum leap and of release. He felt his consciousness straining and darkness at the edge of his eyes, but then finally the reactor was drained. he had successfully absorbed all the power and radioactivity of the materials here.
With a roar he fled straight upward through the previously spotted maintenance hatch, shattering it instantly. He shot upward and out the other end of the shaft and then into the sky, higher and higher. He shot off as fast as his power could take him and soon was arriving at the pre-planned point. He felt like he was bulging with power and he screamed as he waited for the signal which seemed to take forever to come. When it finally came, he screamed again and released the energy all in one blast, directly at the Lagrange-5 point between Earth and the Moon. There was an explosion of darkness and then, he fell into that darkness.
When he awoke he was in a strange bed, and he stumbled out of it, to find himself looking into a mirrored door at an image of himself still in Captain Atom form, though slightly altered. He tried to change back, but couldn't. He tried harder and suddenly had a sinking feeling. He wasn't changing. He was stuck...
***
Chapter Three - The Hulk - Gamma Dawn
Doctor Bruce Banner stared up at the stage as the presentation went on. With one part of his mind he listened to and analyzed the information, eve as another part allowed him to monitor his surroundings, though that part of him was much smaller. He loved this! Pure science was what he lived for... what he had lived for that is, before his accident.
Breaking the presentation's hold on his attention, he glanced around casually, running a hand through his temporarily blonde hair. He had sneaked aboard the shuttle to the newly completed Estarde Station, modified and retrofitted from an abandoned Shi'Ar starship left over from the several year-old Kree-Shi'Ar War. It had taken a few years, even with the smartest minds working on it, for American scientists to figure out enough of the technology to get it habitable. And that's where they had discovered the Anti-Matter technology.
That's why he had risked coming to an enclosed situation, masquerading as an old friend. He wanted to be on hand for the Anti-Matter Engine Expo, where the newest example of adapted alien(read stolen) high tech was being shown off and would be started up for the first time publicly soon. He loved this science and also he had another mission. The one given him by the Monitor.
According to the Monitor the engine would fail. Not only would it fail, but the resulting explosion would kill everyone here, and damage the entire planet. Unless, of course, someone(read Bruce and the Hulk) managed to stop it by removing the engine, post-activation, from the station.
He had spent time in the last week with his friends, the Hulk's Harriers(he rolled his eyes at the name chosen by the 20-somethings running the group again) and managed to get blueprints to study. He knew the straightest line to the Escape Transporter. He had even gotten Samson to send him inside his mind and forge an agreement with his Hulk selves. They had a vested interest in the Earth surviving, just as much as he did. So they would assist him, in the form of the Professor.
A shuttle was cloaked and waiting outside the station, within Hulk's range, where Betty, Samson, Jennifer, Rick, and Thunderbolt all were waiting for him. He chuckled at the thought of how Thunderbolt had reacted to the Monitor's words. Recently retired, the man had unwound some.
The back of the shuttle they had acquired was configured into a containment area, where Hulk would hold the Engine until they got it to the sun. There Hulk would pitch it in and the small explosion would be absorbed by the anti- anti-matter drones planted there millennia ago by the Celestials.
Bruce squeezed his eyes shut. He could feel his other selves, especially Grey, Green, and Professor, eager for release, even as all but the Professor were crowded back, knowing they had to wait this one time. It was a strange life he led with multiple personalities sharing his mind and existence and each with immense power.
He heard a muffled rumble and opened his eyes as the presenters moved aside and the stage opened to show the small-looking Anti-Matter Engine, it began to hum and vibrate and the crowd seemed to hold it's breath. Bruce sighed, wishing this could work. The world needed this kind of power, but... he shook his head.
The hum became a rumble again and then there was a weird shriek to the vibration and the scientists at the controls started to show their alarm. Then the first lights went down, and the emergency siren sounded. And people being people, despite their intelligence, the crowd panicked and began to pound for the exits. That was his cue. He looked at the wristpatch he had on with the clock the Monitor had set for him, seeing it counting down and knew time was now.
And with that he shifted, with a cry and a ripping sound, his clothes ripped away. He felt his mind shifting too and he was thrust aside, losing himself as he screamed and felt triumph in the other mind as it swept past him and shoved him into the waiting room of his mind. The Hulk rose and roared in victory. He stretched his arms for a minute, a grin coming across his face.
"About time I got out. Now let's get this over with. Time is wasting."
Hulk ran across the room, causing even more shrieks and cries of fright. He reached the Engine even as security reached him and with a grimace and no attempt at gentility, he swatted the security men across the room.
Grasping the Engine at it's base, he flexed and with a tearing, groaning sound, the Engine came up from it,s mounting. He grasped it under one arm, staggering at it's weight even as it rumbled there with growing vibrations.
"oh my god, he's stealing the Engine! The Hulk is stealing the Engine!"
"You idiot! The engine is going to blow up! Let him have it!"
He heard the scuffling behind him and glanced back seeing the Scientists arguing in loud voices. he shook his head and turned back to the business at hand. He leaped a shallow leap to the doors, kicking them open as he began to run. He scanned the map in his mind and dodged down one corridor after another.
Security showed up at one point but they presented no problem and with a salute and a "Down, Boys!", he bowled them over and kept moving. Finally he was at the airlock and then through it. The shuttle was there, decloaking twenty feet away in a rippling move, and with a breath, he punched the opening switch. Hulk felt his skin reacting to the airlessness of space and leaped quickly. He covered the gap with that one leap and the door slipped open. His lungs starting to swallow him for lack of air, he clung to the door and hauled himself to it. He fell into the airlock of the shuttle and even as it began to move the outer door shut. He slapped the Comm button even as he heard Betty's voice, making him smile as he collapsed to breathe. Air was slowly moving in then faster.
"Hulk, Bruce, are you there?"
"I'm in, Betty. Let's move this ship!"
Air quickly filled the room and he gasped it in painfully until it reached standard. He rose, his healing factor quickly repairing him. He strode into the back cargo area to the huge chair made for him as he felt, just barely the ship move as high speed towards the sun. He sat and operated a switch, seeing Betty's face on one screen and the sun coming closer on another. Betty blew a kiss to him as she operated one of the piloting controls and he grinned at her. ~She is a beautiful woman~, he thought fondly. She always was one to impress him. He smiled then rose again, donning his suit.
He picked up the Engine and waited at the 'lock for the signal. As they coasted into a close orbit of the Sun, he heard the breep of the signal and Betty's voice came over the Comm.
"Okay, Bruce. We are here where you plotted it out and the Monitor's beams indicate."
Thunderbolt's voice came over the line.
"Everything is green Banner. You are a go for Skinwalk."
Hulk grinned at the grudging sound of approval in General Ross's voice. He and the old man had been enemies for a long time and only ion recent years gained any true relationship that was more than enmity.
He stepped forward and pushed the door button and waited while the airlock opened, letting him in, then cycled through the air cycle and then the outer door opened. He carefully climbed out and onto the ship's skin, donning the glasses he had specially prepared for this moment. He stared out at the majesty of the Sun, and then smiled. Time to get it done. he hauled back his arm with the Engine in and then flung it forth, immediately dropping back over the lip of the airlock and slapping the close door. As the air cycle began, he ripped off his helmet and punched the Comm.
"It's done and I am in. Full shields and Brace yourselves."
As soon as the door opened inside he raced in and flung his suit off and then sat down, strapping in. He watched the screens as the others braced and the forceshield came up.
"Shields at 100 %. All systems go. package delivery in 35 seconds."
Betty's voice came over the line deliberate and sure and he braced himself and watched as the Engine vanished from sight.
"Package delivery in 20...15...10...5...Delivery complete."
Hulk watched his screens as the Engine exploded into the sun and the energy caused a small flare. Even as the anti-matter was sucked away by the Celestial devices the flare of incredible power flung out at them and the ship was enveloped and...
Bruce Banner groggily awoke in a room he recognized as being on the Orbiter. Once more in his own form, he bounced up from the bed and went to the door to seek his friends...
***
Chapter Four - The Ray II - Solar Tantrum
It drove him crazy as he flew, and he knew it was nuts. Here he was, a being of solar energy and he still felt like the collar of his new uniform was itching his neck. He grumbled under his breath as he arrowed at high speed out of the atmosphere and into the darkness of space. He grinned as he passed the Moon and the Starcore Station.
He counted down as his wrist computer counted with him and then a beam, shot out of nowhere and enveloped the Star Gate hovering there beyond the Moon. he shot into it, praying this worked and he came out with a shudder and looked around. He looked won at his wrist monitor and breathed a sigh of relief as it went green. he had arrived in the target universe as planned by the Monitor. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, hovering for a minute as he thought about all the craziness of the last six months, heck, the last year!
He had been recruited by the Monitor just after his disastrous run with the Forgotten Heroes and it had taken him awhile to figure out exactly what was going on. He had participated in the Crisis when it had happened but as with most of the others he remembered little from that event. Until, that is he stepped onto the Orbiter. Then he remembered everything. He remembered how he had been split off of his other self and sent into a universe where things were similar but not quite. He had been sent to a universe where Magic was more powerful than Superhuman ability and thus it was at the root of a lot of otherwise explained things. Most things had still been the same but it had taken awhile to realize the rules in the new universe.
He remembered all that had happened and the memories that had slowly left him of his former life. And he went to work for the Monitor, seemingly reborn of his ship and for a new Crisis, just as Multiverse threatening as the last one.
So here he was now, in yet another universe, waiting to set off, magnify, then divert a Solar Flare of huge intensity. In fact... he glanced down at his wrist and then shot off towards the sun at near light speed. It was showtime. As he arrowed in he saw the flare begin and immediately shot to a halt. he concentrated, letting his form diffuse as he sent his thoughts into the solar energy and strained to control it and direct it, feeding it more energy and making it bigger.
He felt his mind and body start to stretch and break apart and his power reaching it's limit and knew it was time. He spun and channeled the entire power of the flare into the Star Gate, screaming as the power rose and rose inside him. He felt his mind flickering out and he screamed one last time as he...
...woke up on a nice bed. he blinked.
"Well, that was special."
He sighed and got up, going to the door. Might as well figure out what was next...
***
Chapter Five - Arion and Power Girl - Inheritance Rites
Magic flared around them and with it power returned to both Arion and Power Girl. They both breathed slowly, feeling themselves whole for the first time in years.
Arion grinned at Karen/Kara/Power Girl as she shook her head.
"Be careful, Kara, in order to help us handle this mess, I had to merge us with all of our dupes from the Multiverse, but that means you now have all the memories and powers of yourselves, and are actually back to the levels you were at before your accident."
She shook her head, blurring slightly, then appearing clearly once more, now looking like she was in her old costume, with the exception of a babysack on the back, where her son had been restored to her once more. She smiled.
"It's all coming clear now, Arion. After a lifetime wondering who I was and am, I know now, all of me are from the same place, and the same time, and it explains so much."
Arion smiled warmly at the girl he had come to love as a granddaughter.
"Yes my dear, you are from Atlantis. Not My Atlantis, but the one Mine was named for."
She blinked and stared at him.
"You know? You know about the Ancients?"
"Yes, Kara. I know the secret of Atlantis and the Kryptonians and all of it. But right now isn't the time to discuss it. We must prepare for the Crisis and act as the Monitor instructed us. Or else all will be lost."
She nodded reluctantly. Even with memory restored, she had so much to ask. But Arion was right, the old man usually was. She grinned suddenly and bowed in mid-air.
"After you, Old Man."
He scowled, even as he soared away, his hands glowing with the trademark magic that was his birthright. He had been born millennia ago in the second city of Atlantis, during the age of Magic on Earth. He had cared for her for a long time and she felt an honest care for him, despite the lies he had told her through the years.
They soared through the air, headed up into orbit, before angling back down into the air and soaring towards Stonehenge at massive speeds. Kara gloried in the cold air and in having her former cosmic level of power back. She swooped across the sky and back and he laughed as she did so. They descended to the formation of stones and Arion grinned at her then let loose with the power that was his to command. As the stones rose and began to almost dance, she laughed in delight. She had always loved magic. He had made magic for her as she had asked and it always enchanted her, to make a small pun.
She watched as the stones moved into a pattern and then he called for her help to set them just right. With her increased powers it was easy to set them just so and she grinned. She loved this! She lowered the final piece into place and then soared back to the center where he was hovering.
"Now it will get harder. We have to concentrate the power of Magic from this Earth into us, then through Stonehenge, channel it into the Star Gate."
Kara snickered and Arion cast a glance at her.
"Yes, I know the Ancients left behind their own Gate, but this one is, as you know, much newer. "
She nodded thinking back to the year before when the strange crossover with that other universe had resulted in the Shi'Ar of this universe becoming aware of Earth. they had immediately established a Star Gate near the moon, something that the Monitor was using to his advantage. He and his allies had set forth a plan involving seven universes in an effort to stop the madness.
She watched Arion and the stones ad the magic rose then groaned as it began strobing through her and Arion. It felt like Kryptonite and fire all rolled up into one. She heard a cry escape her lips, echoed by Arion's own gasp and she saw him go to his knees. She reached over and somehow hauled him to his feet, feeling the power roar throu8gh her, and suddenly she grabbed her ears, reeling. She could hear screaming and yelling and voices. Thousands of voices echoed in her ears and somehow she knew these were all those across time and space feeling the shift all those who were disrupted.. and then there was a scream and ...
..She awoke in a room, alone and clean and in a different uniform. She groaned and stretched. She felt like a day old towel. She sighed. She was in the Orbiter she was betting and it was time to find out what was happening.
***
Chapter Six - Crisis Point - Timing Is Everything
And across the Multiverse, plans formed for years and seconds came together. Across dimensions untold, thoughts and magic and power slammed together, and the tension grew and shuddered and trembled.
Thousands of universes seemed to tremble as those that had been chosen to stem the tide were sent through tremendous strain, but in that moment something, some power, someone, interfered, and it let loose of its restraints...
Across all the universes and the Multiverses until all the Omniverse was absorbed and then there was a scream of power untold and the Omniverse screamed as if in pain and relief and what had been many...
...was now One.
Everywhere there was a ripple of magic and energy and the world changed...
Time rippled too, and seemed to fold, and suddenly the space and air above Earth was filled with objects, both human and alien and of designs both simple and profound. Ships and Stations and other things...
Dimensions folded and realms never before imagined touched Earth, sometimes leaving but a trace or a single being, sometimes, entire cities.
One universe, on world called Earth, where now a network of cities that had never existed before and people and realities that had never coexisted before together... now it all was one... and nothing would ever be the same...
And more... for their plan failed. The disasters continued... and despair reached the powers who had striven... despair and darkness...
***
Chapter 7 - All - Aftermath and New Beginnings
The doors led them all out to the main area of the Orbiter... and there Bruce Banner, Power Girl, Arion, Captain Atom and Ray found themselves staring at a most disconcerting sight...
The Monitor, the supremely powerful being who had summoned and trained them all, was crying. He heard them approach and rose, tears streaming down his face as he turned. He spoke only two words but those words were enough to send despair into all of their hearts.
"We failed."
They all gasped and Kara found herself shivering and Captain Atom seemed close to tears.
Bruce Banner spoke up quietly.
"What happened? The figures and calculations were exact."
"There was interference from outside. From Someone. It is time you knew the rest of the story..."
They all sat in the chairs near him and listened as he spoke quietly.
"The Crisis began over a year ago now and My orbiter awoke me, as I told you. What I didn't tell you is that Other Powers also contracted me. This threat, whatever caused it, was being caused by someone, some being, somewhere... And it was a threat to is all.
Magicians, Gods, Other beings like my self, and some other, more esoteric powers, all of us got together and planned this out. We selected you all for the reasons I told you. Your magic and power ratios were exactly what was needed. And the plan was working... until someone or something interfered. And it was thrown off. Instead of just a few universes being united, all of them were. The entire Omniverse was united as one Universe, one existence, even other times and dimensions were brought to the Present time. And nothing is right. The disasters are still happening. And they may never stop.
There is a chance. If enough beings of power and objects of power can be united, maybe.... just maybe the world can be stabilized, but there are no guarantees. And the world is already descended to chaos."
There was silence and then the others shared looks of fear, astonishment and pain. Their last chance had succeeded... but it had failed. They tried to settle and regain their peace, but it was at that moment that the Orbiter seemed to shift and shudder. Then alarms shrieked. The Monitor turned to the controls and shouted out as he flipped switches.
"We are under attack!"
The viewscreens showed a barrage of energy shooting against the Orbiter's fields as they flickered and vanished and the next blast caused an explosion that shook the entire satellite.
"We must evacuate! Harbinger! You are needed!"
A strange, glowing woman appeared before The Monitor, taking in the situation.
"I understand. Plan beta, Sir?"
"Yes, Harbinger. deliver them to the target sites. Carry them safely then go on to Pariah. He will need you."
Her lips seemed to shiver and then She nodded. She turned to the others and even as they watched, she multiplied. She became two, then four, then six women, all identical. Each one stepped forward and grabbed one of the heroes. Before anyone could say anything, they vanished, shooting off toward Earth. The Sixth harbinger vanished as well.
Monitor grimaced as the ship shuddered again. He pulled levers and shook as the ship did. This was bad. Their enemy had never struck so openly before and his power level was immense. in fact...
There was a shattering and then there was an explosion and Monitor screamed...
Moments later, there was an explosion and where the Orbiter had sailed, nothing more existed...
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