Infinite Justice: Beyond (Marvel,DC,DBZ X/Over, IC, Open)

[Charmera]

However, with Julie, he made an actual personal appearance. "You'd be surprised Martian. I was designed to protect the earth. Used as nothing more than a weapon. They bribed me with small animals, kept me happy. Then they killed them. So I killed them. And everyone around me. They wanted me to be the deadliest weapon ever designed. Well... They succeeded. So now, I'm free to be the weapon they wanted me to be. That, and these Masakis are the most half baked imbeciles I've ever had the misfortune of meeting. It's like they all got 1 collective brain cell and are forced to share it."

"Can't you be more than a weapon though?" Asked Julie. Cocking her head slightly as she examined Nightmare up close for perhaps the first time. She wondered about him. "You're still doing the same things you would do when under their control. Don't you want to do more than destroy?" She asked. "Surely if the Masaki's are as dumb as you claim, wouldn't they destroy themselves in time?" She tried to reason with him, attempt to get him to stop on his own. It seemed just about the only thing she could do.

[Mavorpen]

"Alright Worldmind, let's open up a stargate to Hala." Jamal said, as he passed the moon.

"[Stargate exit match established and course computed. ETA: approximately 2 minutes.]" A blue circle of swirling energy appeared in front of Jamal and he rocketed off into the stargate. About 30 seconds later, Jamal exited out of the stargate. He looked around, confused.

"Uh, Worldmind? That wasn't two minutes, and we're not at Hala."

'[Yes, I have noticed that as well. We appear to have exited just outside of where the Kree galaxy's 'border' should be.]'

"Should be?" Jamal asked.

"[Indeed. The Kree Empire is...gone. It appears to have disappeared, hence why we ejected out of the Stargate here. We could not exit where there is nothing to exit to.]"

"Okay, so then what the hell do we-"

"[Attention, Jamal. I have suddenly detected over 400 distress signals from the Kree Empire, though they are faint. It is as though the galaxy is surrounded by a wall, and there is a small crack through which the signals are escaping.]"

"See if you can find out where exactly this crack is."

"[Already on it. I've found something approximately 3 parsecs away. Displaying location on your visor now.]"

Jamal followed the map displayed on his visor and quickly found his destination within a couple of seconds. "[Here. There appears to be a distortion of space here that is undetectable elsewhere. It feels almost as though it was constructed consciously. I'm also picking up a faint hint of the Power Cosmic.]"

"Galactus. Huh, what do you know, he's a bit more helpful than I thought. Alright, let's go ahead and find the correct spatial and temporal frequency to see if we can't break this open a bit more."

"[Done.]"

A small circle, with a diameter of about six inches, of energy emerged in front of him and rapidly expanded until it was large enough to move through. He flew through the opening and immediately picked up his speed as Worldmind projected a map of the galaxy and he head towards Hala, the Kree capital. Upon reaching the planet however, barely 100,000 miles away, he suddenly swerved to the right, barely dodging a beam of energy. "Uh, are those what I think they are?"

"[Yes. Those are the Kree Sentry.]" Worldmind said as Jamal dodged more blasts from about a dozen of the sentries from the robot military force.

"What the hell is happening? Aren't the Kree supposed to be, y'know, on our side since the Annihilus tried the whole cliched 'destroy all life!' thing?" Jamal asked as he avoided the blasts and countered with his own blasts, destroying sentry after sentry. "Besides, they were basically crippled. I can't imagine they'd already be trying to start being assholes to whatever spacefaring group who happens to be in the vicinity or visit Hala."

"[Actually, I am detecting anomalies within the Sentries. They are behaving like a hive mind of sorts.]"

"Uh, isn't that kind of expected for a robotic military force?" He stated, rocketing forward with his arms outstretched, tearing through four sentries.

"[No, what I mean is that -- ALERT! Jamal, we are under attack!]"

"Uh, thanks for stating the obvious? We've been under attack for a couple of minutes now." Jamal said, entering the atmosphere of the planet, finding him engaging in physical combat more and more as he grew closer to the planet and more and more sentries converged upon him.

"[Yes, physically. However something is attempting to mentally attack you. I am currently blocking it out, but it is persistent. The origin of the attack appears to be coming from a specific point on the planet. It is sending a signal that matches the signals being received by the Sentries. The energy signature matches that of the barrier surrounding the galaxy. And as I was saying earlier, it has attributes of a complex system of biological organisms. A hivemind.]"

"So something's control -- Fuck!" Jamal exclaimed as he realized that he was boxed in and that this had been their goal since they realized that they couldn't take over his mind. He swung a few times and fired off a few beams of energy before being overwhelmed.

Suddenly a large sphere of blue energy exploded outwards, destroying all of the sentries in the vicinity. "Had to... open a stargate." Jamal grunted as he flew through the stargate.

"[ALERT! Jamal, exit the stargate immediately! You are head-]"

"I know where I'm going, I'm heading for the hole we used to enter."

"[No, Jamal, you do not understand. The energized barrier changed while we were fighting. There is no hole]. The stargate exit match is a dead end!"

"Exit to real space, now and abort the Stargate!" Jamal shouted as he turned his body around 180 degrees and positioned his body as though he was trying to slide to a stop.

"[I did! However, it will take at least four parsecs to come to a complete stop and for re-entry to occur at the speed we're going. Four parsecs we do not have." Jamal crashed into the barrier at several times the speed of light, a bright flash of light the size of a planet cascading outwards.

[The Republic of Atria]

"I could. But I'm destroying things because... Well, it's fun." He replied watching the madness unfold. "But I can sympathize with your past. I know what it's like to be used as nothing more than a means to an end. Idiots with massive amounts of resources and technology? Nah. I wouldn't leave weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a madman. Which is what they are. So it's best to cut them off now before they do something that gets lots of people killed. Blondie is a bit more difficult to deal with, but he's just here to give them a little hope. He'll live. They won't. Besides. I'm pretty much hardwired to kill stuff. It's instinct. Kazuko threatened to blow up the Earth after I damaged one of his little toys. Which attacked me because I made fun of it. Him. Whatever." He said and went quiet for a moment. "In another time. Blondie and I may have been allies, friends even."

Naja

"A Green Lantern who hasn't left Earth. Well. I can't say too much. Farthest I've been is the asteroid belt. Where Grail decided to attack me... We should make a space base. Not only does it rhyme, but you could get some space practice and we can get the raw materials we need for our fort... Or better yet, we can grabs ones filled with Vibranium and sell them to... Hopefully someone good. Like Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne. And use that money to get started on our base of operations." She suggested. "Unless someone has another quick cash that doesn't involve a petting zoo."

[Charmera]

"I could. But I'm destroying things because... Well, it's fun." He replied watching the madness unfold. "But I can sympathize with your past. I know what it's like to be used as nothing more than a means to an end. Idiots with massive amounts of resources and technology? Nah. I wouldn't leave weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a madman. Which is what they are. So it's best to cut them off now before they do something that gets lots of people killed. Blondie is a bit more difficult to deal with, but he's just here to give them a little hope. He'll live. They won't. Besides. I'm pretty much hardwired to kill stuff. It's instinct. Kazuko threatened to blow up the Earth after I damaged one of his little toys. Which attacked me because I made fun of it. Him. Whatever." He said and went quiet for a moment. "In another time. Blondie and I may have been allies, friends even."

Julie paused, thinking. She wasn't sure what to do or to make of Nightmare honestly. He surprised her... he seemed... surprisingly reasonable. She couldn't imagine having this conversation before. "Being used... sucks. I think we can agree on that." She spoke. Then another pause. "You said you'd kill the Masakis, and leave Alex alive... I may be being a liottle selfish here... but what about me?" She asked. "In fact, why are you here in person? I can sense your mind. Your avatars are hollow and... more puppetlike. You're the real deal." She frowned. "Also, why do you hate the Masaki's so much?"

[The Republic of Atria]

"I could. But I'm destroying things because... Well, it's fun." He replied watching the madness unfold. "But I can sympathize with your past. I know what it's like to be used as nothing more than a means to an end. Idiots with massive amounts of resources and technology? Nah. I wouldn't leave weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a madman. Which is what they are. So it's best to cut them off now before they do something that gets lots of people killed. Blondie is a bit more difficult to deal with, but he's just here to give them a little hope. He'll live. They won't. Besides. I'm pretty much hardwired to kill stuff. It's instinct. Kazuko threatened to blow up the Earth after I damaged one of his little toys. Which attacked me because I made fun of it. Him. Whatever." He said and went quiet for a moment. "In another time. Blondie and I may have been allies, friends even."

Julie paused, thinking. She wasn't sure what to do or to make of Nightmare honestly. He surprised her... he seemed... surprisingly reasonable. She couldn't imagine having this conversation before. "Being used... sucks. I think we can agree on that." She spoke. Then another pause. "You said you'd kill the Masakis, and leave Alex alive... I may be being a liottle selfish here... but what about me?" She asked. "In fact, why are you here in person? I can sense your mind. Your avatars are hollow and... more puppetlike. You're the real deal." She frowned. "Also, why do you hate the Masaki's so much?"

"Yeah... It blows. Believe me. Killing Goldilocks has proven to be a pain in my metaphorical ass. Killing him just doesn't stick. I've ripped him apart... I think at least twice. And yet, he's alive and well, flailing about thinking he's doing something. I think it goes without saying that since I'm not trying to introduce your innards to your outards, that I'm not going to hurt you. Because you're the first person to not shoot first and ask questions later... Come to think of it I think you're the only one who's tried to talk me down. Most people call the supers and sic'em on me because I look... Well like a bad guy. Typically the ability to manipulate Darkness isn't associated with being a good person. Even less so when you look like an Eldritch monster. That's kind of the point. Mindless husks so I don't have to dirty myself with the grunt work. THough it is fun on occasion. If they survive then I'll go deal with them personally."

"Where do I begin... Other than the fact that they've attempted to steal numerous amounts of our weapons data, planned extensive espionage, and made attempts to develop super weapons to attack earth, which they then lost on Earth, which they threatened to blow up if I killed one of their toys, which actually did try to blow up the planet. I stopped it and nearly killed it. Only for Kazuko to threaten Earth over it which is the only reason both of those things are still alive. So yeah. They're pretty much trying to take over the planet, learn everything we know and blow it up. Which they will see, was a terrible idea."

[Tomia]

Cora was listening to the others talk as the group sat down at a table together. She took a sip of her hot chocolate. She was amazed at how good it tasted, and sipped it more. She had never tasted anything that good. She heard Kylie and Naja talking about how they could build their base. "Well, I was able to get the place where I used to live back from the government when we talked to that agent. I haven't been there in years, but there are a number of advanced computers and machines there. We can use the ones we need, and sell the ones we don't." Cora said, trying to keep the bad memories from surfacing but it wasn't easy.

[The Templar High Council]

"A Green Lantern who hasn't left Earth. Well. I can't say too much. Farthest I've been is the asteroid belt. Where Grail decided to attack me... We should make a space base. Not only does it rhyme, but you could get some space practice and we can get the raw materials we need for our fort... Or better yet, we can grabs ones filled with Vibranium and sell them to... Hopefully someone good. Like Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne. And use that money to get started on our base of operations." She suggested. "Unless someone has another quick cash that doesn't involve a petting zoo."

"If we have a space base, how can we expect Val and Katie to get there easily? We have no spacecraft."Kylie drank down another gulp of milk before continuing. "I think the best idea for staying local would be either: some type of penthouse suite, or maybe a personal island base. The island could be artificial, for all I care! But going to space for New York, I don't like the sound of it."

The other patrons had slowly edged away from the reptilian woman and her friends talking about space travel. Leave the crazies as they are, they seemed to be thinking to themselves. Thankfully, Leon wasn't listening to their crazy talk; he was getting swamped by customers getting through traffic.

Cora was listening to the others talk as the group sat down at a table together. She took a sip of her hot chocolate. She was amazed at how good it tasted, and sipped it more. She had never tasted anything that good. She heard Kylie and Naja talking about how they could build their base. "Well, I was able to get the place where I used to live back from the government when we talked to that agent. I haven't been there in years, but there are a number of advanced computers and machines there. We can use the ones we need, and sell the ones we don't." Cora said, trying to keep the bad memories from surfacing but it wasn't easy.

"YES. THAT'S AWESOME." Kylie said in a semi-loud voice, but without sounding too excited. "Get the government to build us a base of our choosing, SHIELD to set us up with the furnishings, and Cora's fancy computers to fill the place. Now we just need to decide on what base to ask for. I think a high-rise with a view of Lady Liberty would be a-ma-zing!" Kylie put her hand on the table as she continued. "That's my vote. Any other ideas?"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Oh so I'm dead and that thing made a copy of my soul, is that it? That's what I am? That explains why I didn't just come back to life as usual. Well, I did, but- Wait a minute did you say Chorus?

Gilbert's arm was sliced off by the rising slash, causing him to howl in pain. The second slash, he managed to dodge.

I know I'm probably not making a very good impression but I just want to say I'm a fan of your work.

The third slash cleaved him in half, ending his life. For a moment. The next moment he was up once again, but he seemed... mellower, as if he was confused, or dazed. This only lasted for a bit, and then he roared before leaping high into the air, through the roof of a building whose walls and ceiling had already begun to degrade from all the time he was stealing in order to fight.

Ugh, I get a headache when you kill him, apparently... And I don't even have a head. But anyway, if you want to beat me, that's going to be pretty hard. First thing you should do is stay away from me at all costs, because if I get my hands on you, you're toast. You'd be toast by now if I had my brain right now, to be honest. But anyway, I seem to be calming down, so if you kill me a couple more times maybe I'll stop being a brute.

At around the same moment, Gilbert came crashing down behind Chorus, sending a punch with twenty times his strength aimed towards her back.

And that is a sentence I never thought I'd speak.

---

---

With a vague gesture towards the Phantom Horse, Garnet conveyed to it what was to be the fate of the Tengu leader. In an instant, the bird was skewered by a crimson horn, though the horn and the rest of Shadow seemed to reject the blood seeping from the Tengu, which instead dropped to the ground, phasing right through the eldritch beast in the guise of a horse as if he wasn't there, despite having just killed the bird Youkai.

Garnet didn't pay this event any mind at all.

"I hadn't really planned to drop by this place, like I said, but you're welcome for the help anyway." The blonde woman said as she tried to clean the blood on her crystalline sword. The blood all over her clothes and her head, though, that would take far longer to get rid of, she suspected.

"They asked for it, anyway." She remarked, before standing up and facing the woman with fox ears. "My name's Garnet, Garnet Greyson, and that is Shadow." She stated, pointing towards the Phantom Horse who responded with a simple neigh. "I just acquired it, but it's made a good job so far." She said, heading back to Shadow and climbing up onto his back. The pair then casually moved next to Masami.

"I'm in a bit of a mission hunting alien demons and looking for artifacts, or something like that, so if you don't need more help, I should get going."

[Charmera]

Julie paused, thinking. She wasn't sure what to do or to make of Nightmare honestly. He surprised her... he seemed... surprisingly reasonable. She couldn't imagine having this

Julie smiled. "Regeneration. It's a bitch to deal with." She remarked, chuckling. "You do look like a bad guy. And using images of my own people against me was a bit of a dick movie. Plus the first time we kinda met you made a clone of me which nearly fed me a molotov cocktail. Not cool at all." She frowned, then her expression softened. "But. You seem at least reasonable. And not a complete asshole. If I were to be cheesy, I'd say 'I sense good in you.' or some other shit." She joked. "Plus, I'm still alive, so I see no reason to hold a grudge that would stop me from being reasonable."

"As for the Masaki's, as much as they sound like assholes, I don't think you should kill them." She replied. "It... wouldn't be right." She explained. "Though, ultimately, it's your choice."

[Charmera]

---

Oh so I'm dead and that thing made a copy of my soul, is that it? That's what I am? That explains why I didn't just come back to life as usual. Well, I did, but- Wait a minute did you say Chorus?

Gilbert's arm was sliced off by the rising slash, causing him to howl in pain. The second slash, he managed to dodge.

I know I'm probably not making a very good impression but I just want to say I'm a fan of your work.

The third slash cleaved him in half, ending his life. For a moment. The next moment he was up once again, but he seemed... mellower, as if he was confused, or dazed. This only lasted for a bit, and then he roared before leaping high into the air, through the roof of a building whose walls and ceiling had already begun to degrade from all the time he was stealing in order to fight.

Ugh, I get a headache when you kill him, apparently... And I don't even have a head. But anyway, if you want to beat me, that's going to be pretty hard. First thing you should do is stay away from me at all costs, because if I get my hands on you, you're toast. You'd be toast by now if I had my brain right now, to be honest. But anyway, I seem to be calming down, so if you kill me a couple more times maybe I'll stop being a brute.

At around the same moment, Gilbert came crashing down behind Chorus, sending a punch with twenty times his strength aimed towards her back.

And that is a sentence I never thought I'd speak.

She wou;d have been toast considering how sloppy she's been. Have I always said not to let your emotions rule you?

Chorus grunted as she managed to mitigate the damage of the strike with wires, which bent from the assault, sending her backwards. She spun upwards, gathering the wires towards her. Thinking back to the battle with jack, she suddenly began to create a spider like web around herself. One with sharp wires which Gilberts dulled mind shouldn't be able to notice.

Whatever. She them mentally smiled, realising she had bought some time and finally had a fan in her head. Oh! You're a fan! Awesome! She thought. it's always great to meet a fan...

She paused as attention returned to her foe, quickly sending two beams of energy towards him. Any other tips on how to beat hi- you?

---

With a vague gesture towards the Phantom Horse, Garnet conveyed to it what was to be the fate of the Tengu leader. In an instant, the bird was skewered by a crimson horn, though the horn and the rest of Shadow seemed to reject the blood seeping from the Tengu, which instead dropped to the ground, phasing right through the eldritch beast in the guise of a horse as if he wasn't there, despite having just killed the bird Youkai.

Garnet didn't pay this event any mind at all.

"I hadn't really planned to drop by this place, like I said, but you're welcome for the help anyway." The blonde woman said as she tried to clean the blood on her crystalline sword. The blood all over her clothes and her head, though, that would take far longer to get rid of, she suspected.

"They asked for it, anyway." She remarked, before standing up and facing the woman with fox ears. "My name's Garnet, Garnet Greyson, and that is Shadow." She stated, pointing towards the Phantom Horse who responded with a simple neigh. "I just acquired it, but it's made a good job so far." She said, heading back to Shadow and climbing up onto his back. The pair then casually moved next to Masami.

"I'm in a bit of a mission hunting alien demons and looking for artifacts, or something like that, so if you don't need more help, I should get going."

Masami paused. Then had an idea. "Hey, do you mind if I go with you?" Asked Masami. "If there are alien demons, then more than likely dark Yokai will follow like the ones we just fought. Evil Yokai tend to be attracted to negative emotions too." She explained. "Plus I may be able to earn an extra tail or two. I mean I have no idea if fighting alien demons will do that for me or not, but I don't really have anything better to do until I pick up the scent of the one I am tracking... and even then I'm not sure I'm ready to face her..."

[Charmera]

"A Green Lantern who hasn't left Earth. Well. I can't say too much. Farthest I've been is the asteroid belt. Where Grail decided to attack me... We should make a space base. Not only does it rhyme, but you could get some space practice and we can get the raw materials we need for our fort... Or better yet, we can grabs ones filled with Vibranium and sell them to... Hopefully someone good. Like Tony Stark or Bruce Wayne. And use that money to get started on our base of operations." She suggested. "Unless someone has another quick cash that doesn't involve a petting zoo."

"If we have a space base, how can we expect Val and Katie to get there easily? We have no spacecraft."Kylie drank down another gulp of milk before continuing. "I think the best idea for staying local would be either: some type of penthouse suite, or maybe a personal island base. The island could be artificial, for all I care! But going to space for New York, I don't like the sound of it."

The other patrons had slowly edged away from the reptilian woman and her friends talking about space travel. Leave the crazies as they are, they seemed to be thinking to themselves. Thankfully, Leon wasn't listening to their crazy talk; he was getting swamped by customers getting through traffic.

Cora was listening to the others talk as the group sat down at a table together. She took a sip of her hot chocolate. She was amazed at how good it tasted, and sipped it more. She had never tasted anything that good. She heard Kylie and Naja talking about how they could build their base. "Well, I was able to get the place where I used to live back from the government when we talked to that agent. I haven't been there in years, but there are a number of advanced computers and machines there. We can use the ones we need, and sell the ones we don't." Cora said, trying to keep the bad memories from surfacing but it wasn't easy.

"YES. THAT'S AWESOME." Kylie said in a semi-loud voice, but without sounding too excited. "Get the government to build us a base of our choosing, SHIELD to set us up with the furnishings, and Cora's fancy computers to fill the place. Now we just need to decide on what base to ask for. I think a high-rise with a view of Lady Liberty would be a-ma-zing!" Kylie put her hand on the table as she continued. "That's my vote. Any other ideas?"

"Yeah... I think a space station may be a little out of our budget. Though we might get there at some point if we get more members and support." She spoke. "I woulodn't mind a base near the city power. Or some other power source I can use. At least have it near NYC for both me and Kylie." She spoke. "Though the question is how are we going to get the funds. I mean I know Val is rich but we can't rely on her too much. We may need to hold fundraisers and extra events."

"I wouldn't mind acting as the admin person. I'm very good with numbers and science."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Gilbert began charging towards Chorus once again.

Naturally, this resulted in him ending up sliced and diced into pieces.

Well, no, not really. Just keep killing me and you'll eventually beat some sense into him, I guess. I'm not usually this much of an ass, must've lost control of my power after fixing the Batcave.

Gilbert reformed rather quickly, however, but once again he seemed stunned for a moment. His expression no longer seemed as animalistic, and though his mind was still clouded by rage, still a beastlike fascimile of his own self, it was beginning to wear off, somehow. Slowly.

This had it's pros and its cons. For one he was closer to clarity, but on the other hand, he also had the brains to drain Chorus' deadly spider web.

I think just a couple more times should do it. Oh, and I'd be quick about it if I were you, I seem more dangerous.

Gilbert then proceeded to demonstrate the wisdom of his soul self by stomping the ground with a hundred times his own strength, causing the severely weakened building to begin rumbling and shaking violently under the pressure. He then used some of the drained energy from the wires to reform his leg, which shattered from the impact, and charged towards Chorus once more.

By the way... Who are you guys? And Chorus, how did you end up fighting me in the middle of Gotham? If you don't mind me asking that is.

---

---

Garnet frowned upon hearing the question, and observed Masami intently. She had seen the Kitsune fight against the Tengu, she was good with the sword, a natural ability unlike her own, and she also had other powers, from what she'd seen. She could definitely hold her own, but even then, the blonde woman was apprehensive about having another companion, given what had happened to the last. She didn't want to go through that again.

But then, she had the feeling that she'd definitely need that extra help in facing whatever was to come, and this woman certainly seemed like she would be a greater help in combat than her previous companions had been, not to mention she didn't seem as prone to disappear.

"Alright, if that's what you want, I'll let you come along." She finally said. "But first... do you know any place where I could take a shower? And preferably get new clothes too. I know I'll probably get myself dirty again in this kind of quest but I don't exactly fancy riding across the world covered in bird blood." She stated, hoping Masami would know some place. The fox woman was bound to know more about the local area than she did, at least, considering how she was from the area while Garnet had popped out of a portal not too long ago.

[Charmera]

---

Gilbert began charging towards Chorus once again.

Naturally, this resulted in him ending up sliced and diced into pieces.

Well, no, not really. Just keep killing me and you'll eventually beat some sense into him, I guess. I'm not usually this much of an ass, must've lost control of my power after fixing the Batcave.

Gilbert reformed rather quickly, however, but once again he seemed stunned for a moment. His expression no longer seemed as animalistic, and though his mind was still clouded by rage, still a beastlike fascimile of his own self, it was beginning to wear off, somehow. Slowly.

This had it's pros and its cons. For one he was closer to clarity, but on the other hand, he also had the brains to drain Chorus' deadly spider web.

I think just a couple more times should do it. Oh, and I'd be quick about it if I were you, I seem more dangerous.

Gilbert then proceeded to demonstrate the wisdom of his soul self by stomping the ground with a hundred times his own strength, causing the severely weakened building to begin rumbling and shaking violently under the pressure. He then used some of the drained energy from the wires to reform his leg, which shattered from the impact, and charged towards Chorus once more.

By the way... Who are you guys? And Chorus, how did you end up fighting me in the middle of Gotham? If you don't mind me asking that is.

I'm jack!

Amy

And I am Verse. The blade in which you are held. he explained. We were on a quest to return Chorus' voice to her, after it was stolen by Jack.

Nothing personal! I think... If y0u already have soul abilities you tend to loose memories and stuff. Though don't ask me why...

Chorus mentally nodded. She wondered... what if she could kill him twice in rapid succession? It would minimize risk to her. She could only die once after all, and she couldn't trust Gilbert to resurect her with Verse either.

Her eyes went blue. Activate Analysis

Time stopped from her point of view, all the souls had their minds suddenly working at utterly incomprehensible speeds.

Gotta kill Gilbert twice in rapid succession. Any ideas?

---

---

Garnet frowned upon hearing the question, and observed Masami intently. She had seen the Kitsune fight against the Tengu, she was good with the sword, a natural ability unlike her own, and she also had other powers, from what she'd seen. She could definitely hold her own, but even then, the blonde woman was apprehensive about having another companion, given what had happened to the last. She didn't want to go through that again.

But then, she had the feeling that she'd definitely need that extra help in facing whatever was to come, and this woman certainly seemed like she would be a greater help in combat than her previous companions had been, not to mention she didn't seem as prone to disappear.

"Alright, if that's what you want, I'll let you come along." She finally said. "But first... do you know any place where I could take a shower? And preferably get new clothes too. I know I'll probably get myself dirty again in this kind of quest but I don't exactly fancy riding across the world covered in bird blood." She stated, hoping Masami would know some place. The fox woman was bound to know more about the local area than she did, at least, considering how she was from the area while Garnet had popped out of a portal not too long ago.

The fox woman smiled, then went into fox form and hopped on top of Shadow, behind Garnet as they weren't yet that friendly. She was lying on the horse so that his back was under her furry stomach. She had shifted back to single tail to conserve energy. "There is an Inn in the village near this temple. It's not too far from here, though I would keep out of sight of the villagers. They're not used to blood drenched westerners walking into their Inns for a shower.

She was glad to be hunting with a partner of sorts. The past few months of tracking alone had been quite lonely, so finding a companion of sorts was rather nice. Especially as she seemed skilled with her weapons.

[The Fallen Jedi]

Julie paused, thinking. She wasn't sure what to do or to make of Nightmare honestly. He surprised her... he seemed... surprisingly reasonable. She couldn't imagine having this conversation before. "Being used... sucks. I think we can agree on that." She spoke. Then another pause. "You said you'd kill the Masakis, and leave Alex alive... I may be being a liottle selfish here... but what about me?" She asked. "In fact, why are you here in person? I can sense your mind. Your avatars are hollow and... more puppetlike. You're the real deal." She frowned. "Also, why do you hate the Masaki's so much?"

"Yeah... It blows. Believe me. Killing Goldilocks has proven to be a pain in my metaphorical ass. Killing him just doesn't stick. I've ripped him apart... I think at least twice. And yet, he's alive and well, flailing about thinking he's doing something. I think it goes without saying that since I'm not trying to introduce your innards to your outards, that I'm not going to hurt you. Because you're the first person to not shoot first and ask questions later... Come to think of it I think you're the only one who's tried to talk me down. Most people call the supers and sic'em on me because I look... Well like a bad guy. Typically the ability to manipulate Darkness isn't associated with being a good person. Even less so when you look like an Eldritch monster. That's kind of the point. Mindless husks so I don't have to dirty myself with the grunt work. THough it is fun on occasion. If they survive then I'll go deal with them personally."

"Where do I begin... Other than the fact that they've attempted to steal numerous amounts of our weapons data, planned extensive espionage, and made attempts to develop super weapons to attack earth, which they then lost on Earth, which they threatened to blow up if I killed one of their toys, which actually did try to blow up the planet. I stopped it and nearly killed it. Only for Kazuko to threaten Earth over it which is the only reason both of those things are still alive. So yeah. They're pretty much trying to take over the planet, learn everything we know and blow it up. Which they will see, was a terrible idea."

"And yet you believe that you're doing a necessary evil with purging our ENTIRE galaxy of it's inhabitants, whom of which are not involved in this conflict." Spera stated as he landed alongside Alastir "Unlike any of us..." A Platinum White Aura began to wrap around Spera as he continued to speak "It Is you who is the true manifestation of evil, you threaten the lives of billions upon trillions of lives in a place that we consider our home, and that is something that Is unacceptable to say the least!" Spera exclaimed as he began to power up "It is true that I question Kazuko's methods of leading the Dynasty, but there are evils that are necessary in this world and evils that are entirely unnecessary, and your evil is entirely unnecessary and It must be purged from existence by whatever means necessary!!!" The Elder Celestial exclaimed as the White Aura around Spera became so intense that whoever looked directly at Spera would have only been able to see nothing but white.

"I have never used this form in my life, a form that is beyond the power of the Primordial Transformation, but if you persist in continuing your killing streak, then I will use whatever means I have in order to assure that you never threaten our home again!!!" The Intense Light that surrounded Spera faded away, revealing that his appearance had been significantly altered, his attire seemingly mimicing that of a God of Destruction, although it didn't entirely mimic a God of Destruction's outfit, it was very similar to that of a God of Destruction "My Ultimate form, the Controlled Primordial Form of the Celestials, a form that is far more powerful than it's uncontrolled primordial form. This form is also the sign of a Celestial's Evolution into a state of power that only matches that of our first generation predecessor, and his power was the ultimate pinnacle of all the Celestial's power." Spera stood as he stared at Nightmare with an intense expression on his face, ready to do whatever necessary to protect his galaxy.

[The Republic of Atria]

"If I'm not mistaken, you attacked me first. Sure, I may have took over the Kree homeworld a few months ago, but let's be honest, they were asking for it. Plus I saved it from Ultron so it wasn't a total loss." He explained. "Excuse me for a moment." He muttered annoyed while turning to Alastir and Spera. "You're supposed to be in the middle of dying. I'm talking to someone right now, and if you so much as touch me, I will rip this planet into pieces. Now go do the universe a favor and off yourselves for me. If you think I'm hard to fight right now. Try fighting me in space. Now go be good little gods and die for you planet." Turning his attention back to Julie. "You see what I'm talking about right? I'm pretty sure their body count is even higher than mine. If I'm supposed to die because of what I've done, then they die with me for what they've done."

Naja

"Good point. But You and I, Kylie, we could still go grab some space rocks from the asteroid field and sell them. Your ring has a scanner, right? I've seen John so all sorts of stuff with it. It doesn't have to be in space, we could easily do the penthouse thing. I'm more for the grabbing the rocks filled with vibranium, and then selling them to a really rich guy." She explained while taking a bite out of her doughnut.

[Charmera]

"If I'm not mistaken, you attacked me first. Sure, I may have took over the Kree homeworld a few months ago, but let's be honest, they were asking for it. Plus I saved it from Ultron so it wasn't a total loss." He explained. "Excuse me for a moment." He muttered annoyed while turning to Alastir and Spera. "You're supposed to be in the middle of dying. I'm talking to someone right now, and if you so much as touch me, I will rip this planet into pieces. Now go do the universe a favor and off yourselves for me. If you think I'm hard to fight right now. Try fighting me in space. Now go be good little gods and die for you planet." Turning his attention back to Julie. "You see what I'm talking about right? I'm pretty sure their body count is even higher than mine. If I'm supposed to die because of what I've done, then they die with me for what they've done."

"Point taken. But did I summon a bunch of clones of your dead race to fight you? Plus weren't there innocents on that planet?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. She noticed Spera, frowning. She wondered if he could even take nightmare with whatever power boost he had. She doubted it. Plus he was kind of fucking up her negotiating. When nightmare spoke she frowned. "No one has to be killed nightmare. No one has to die." She explained. "You don't have to do this nightmare. You may have the power to kill them, but you also have the power to not."

[The Republic of Atria]

"No. But that's because no one knows what I am. Hell, I don't even know that. And besides. I didn't just do it to you. It was a convenient thing to use against you. The others are getting a very similar treatment. You should've see how red Blondie's face got when I insulted his schlong using his pet woman's face. Yes there were innocent people on Hala, but when Alex got me off they went back to normal. If anything, I did good because Ultron is probably worse than me." He then thought about when Julie said that no one had to die. "Okay then. Mindless husks it is." Alastir and Spera making an appearance only to threaten him wasn't going to help them much. "You can glow all you want Spera. But the second you touch me, I will crack this planet like an egg. The core will be the yolk and your stupidity will be everything else."

[Charmera]

"No. But that's because no one knows what I am. Hell, I don't even know that. And besides. I didn't just do it to you. It was a convenient thing to use against you. The others are getting a very similar treatment. You should've see how red Blondie's face got when I insulted his schlong using his pet woman's face. Yes there were innocent people on Hala, but when Alex got me off they went back to normal. If anything, I did good because Ultron is probably worse than me." He then thought about when Julie said that no one had to die. "Okay then. Mindless husks it is." Alastir and Spera making an appearance only to threaten him wasn't going to help them much. "You can glow all you want Spera. But the second you touch me, I will crack this planet like an egg. The core will be the yolk and your stupidity will be everything else."

"What you are doesn't really matter. Racial instincts and appearances are only skin deep. What's in the mind is what really matters." She then frowned deeper. "Torturing me with images of Martians isn't exactly comparable to insulting someone's penis. You knew about the pirate ship. Surely you know what happened before..." She paused, images coming back of a world on first. Her parents chocking on ash and her just barely being whisked away. She had to resist the urge to tear up again. She frowned when he mentioned mindless husks. "Okay. An improvement, but still kinda violent. Can't we solve this in a way without permanent damage? Can't you just knock them out or something?"

[Tomia]

"Well, New York City seems like a nice place. I wouldn't mind staying here." Cora said to the others. "Well I'm not sure how we can make the money we need, I'm not very experienced with that kind of stuff. But that man in the suit said he might be able to help right? I don't trust people from the government usually, but maybe they can help us since we're doing them a favor by protecting people anyway." She to everyone sitting around the coffee table.

[Charmera]

"If I'm not mistaken, you attacked me first. Sure, I may have took over the Kree homeworld a few months ago, but let's be honest, they were asking for it. Plus I saved it from Ultron so it wasn't a total loss." He explained. "Excuse me for a moment." He muttered annoyed while turning to Alastir and Spera. "You're supposed to be in the middle of dying. I'm talking to someone right now, and if you so much as touch me, I will rip this planet into pieces. Now go do the universe a favor and off yourselves for me. If you think I'm hard to fight right now. Try fighting me in space. Now go be good little gods and die for you planet." Turning his attention back to Julie. "You see what I'm talking about right? I'm pretty sure their body count is even higher than mine. If I'm supposed to die because of what I've done, then they die with me for what they've done."

Naja

"Good point. But You and I, Kylie, we could still go grab some space rocks from the asteroid field and sell them. Your ring has a scanner, right? I've seen John so all sorts of stuff with it. It doesn't have to be in space, we could easily do the penthouse thing. I'm more for the grabbing the rocks filled with vibranium, and then selling them to a really rich guy." She explained while taking a bite out of her doughnut.

"I could use some vibranium too. I mean that stuff is pretty neat." Katie replied. She had her own plans for that sort of thing. "Though... I guess that might defeat the purpose of selling it..." She admitted.

[The Republic of Atria]

"I'm pretty sure my instincts are a bit more than skin deep. I'm a shapeshifter. I look like whatever I want to. More or less I sympathize with you. It's probably not any consolation, but I only did that because I originally was going to kill you." He explained. "What do you want me to say? I was born with much more purpose than to kill and destroy. It's all I know how to do. And I'm good at it. And then what? They wake up even more stupid and angry? I know for a fact that..." He points a tendril at Asumar. "He was killed by the Speedster. And then managed to come back. He learned nothing. The only way they're going to learn is if they lose higher brain function. Or all brain function altogether. If they think they can go around doing whatever they want without consequences, they're in for a shock."

Naja

"Asteroids are where earth got all of its valuable metals, if the science channel is to be believed. And it's not exactly small. We could always grab a couple tons of it, sell enough to get the money to buy a nice big base. And then keep some for ourselves. We can mine the Asteroid field all we want. It's not like anyone has called dibs on it. So it's all up for grabs." Vibranium was valuable. The only major source of it on earth is Wakanda. Which refuses to sell it to people outside the country. Which meant they had a source of income and one of the most valuable metals out there.

[The Templar High Council]

"Good point. But you and I, Kylie, we could still go grab some space rocks from the asteroid field and sell them. Your ring has a scanner, right? I've seen John so all sorts of stuff with it. It doesn't have to be in space, we could easily do the penthouse thing. I'm more for the grabbing the rocks filled with vibranium, and then selling them to a really rich guy." She explained while taking a bite out of her doughnut.

"I... guess it does..? Hal didn't explain everything, but if you say so, I guess." Kylie chuckled at the prospect of being a space prospector. "Let's at least get a plan though. Is everyone in favor of trying to get a highrise on the south-west end of Manhattan, looking over the Statue of Liberty?" She took out the phone Saunders gave her and put it on the table. "We've got this, and we've got the SHIELD guys Val threw her card at, and we've got the option for space rocks. Between all three, I think we'll have enough to get by."

[Siliarba]

CeeCee & DeeDee

It took a wile but the designing and construction of the bracelets was finished thanks to CeeCee, and it was infused with magic thanks to DeeDee. They were tied to a generator that held up a technomagical shield that phased the entire building structure just enough out of phase that it looked like a mirage from the outside of the field. And if you entered the field without a key, a bracelet, the entire building would seemingly vanish before your eyes and simply not be there. Enter with a bracelet and the mirage solidifies and you can enter the building, The Devil's Den. On the basement level, in the center of the building, was a portal hub connecting the Devil's Den to multiple places on Earth and several distant planets across the galaxy, generously provided by Hadri.

Just like to enter the building you need a bracelet, you need a bracelet for the portals to work for you. However providing entry is only the secondary function of the bracelet, when worn outside of the field it is a simple bracelet with no effect. Mixed with the field it works as a power limitation device with two settings. The first setting limits your destructive force, endurance, speed and strength to peek human condition. And a second state that reduces your main feature to peak human condition and everything else to the same percentual value it is compared to that value with a minimum of average human condition. So in the second setting, if you're 10 times faster than peak human condition and your strength is at peak human condition, your speed will be lowered by a factor of 10 or average human condition, whichever of the 2 values is higher.

A tertiary function of the bracelets and suppression field is that it recycles the energy it gets from the suppressed powers to make it impossible for people to die from wounds or sustain any permanent damage.

The Devil's Den itself is a mixture between a disco with an arena in the center. The arena itself is out of phase from both the Earth and The Devil's Den allowing it to host both a band and an arena at the same time. Those on the Dance floor will see a band or singer performing in the center and can not see the arena nor those spectating the arena. Those in the spectator area can not see the band nor the people on the dance floor and will see the arena and whomever is fighting in there. Multiple fights can happen at the same time by utilizing spatial phasing. By tuning the bracelet you wear you can watch different fights.

Which leads to the quaternary function of the bracelets. With a simple color coding you can let others know you are here either to enjoy everything the Devil's Den has to offer or if you are interested in competing in the arena. Those interested in competing can be challenged by others and can get entry to the arena center by asking for entry at the reception. The reception shows who is fighting who in the arena and on what frequency. The reception also takes bets for those interested if the contestants allow bets for their fight.

All of this makes the Devil's Den. Directly next to the Devil's Den, is another building. The stairs and portal area is made soundproof to prevent these buildings from hearing whatever happens inside the Devil's Den. The secondary buildings are a café and diner where you can get coffee, breakfast, a simple dinner, and simply socialize with your friends. This building is called The Superhero Cafe. On the other side of it's kitchen and supply room you will find a pub for those interested in a beer, a game of pool, and all the snacks that go with it. This place is, the Villain Pub.

The Superhero Cafe has 2 actors present almost every day, one playing the role of Superman and the other the role of Batman. They're constantly debating who's better and what they've recently been doing. And to create an authentic feel of the Villain Pub it has a barkeep and waiting staff dressed in some of the most well known villains, both fictional as real. For example one of the barkeeps is dressed as Emperor Palpatine, scars and all.

They had finished it, The Devil's Den.

[The Fallen Jedi]

"I'm pretty sure my instincts are a bit more than skin deep. I'm a shapeshifter. I look like whatever I want to. More or less I sympathize with you. It's probably not any consolation, but I only did that because I originally was going to kill you." He explained. "What do you want me to say? I was born with much more purpose than to kill and destroy. It's all I know how to do. And I'm good at it. And then what? They wake up even more stupid and angry? I know for a fact that..." He points a tendril at Asumar. "He was killed by the Speedster. And then managed to come back. He learned nothing. The only way they're going to learn is if they lose higher brain function. Or all brain function altogether. If they think they can go around doing whatever they want without consequences, they're in for a shock."

Before Spera had a chance to even stop Asumar, the Hybrid Celestial teleported as close as he could to Nightmare "What the hell do you mean I've learnt nothing?!" Asumar growled in anger, doing his best to avoid punching Nightmare "If I truly hadn't changed, then I would have faced off against Kilian the MINUTE I came back to life, and trust me, because I possess the Speed Force, I can sense where he is as if now." Asumar continued staring at Nightmare, his eyes glowing red in anger "But Instead, I did all that I could to train my son to be stronger than he was before, I wanted to awaken his vast reserves of power that lied within him and train him to hone such power, yet people like you believe that I did not change whatsoever." Asumar said, still staring angrily at Nightmare. Asumar's rage was understandably great "And If I still haven't fully changed, then why is the Earth still standing hum? Because after the fiasco that happened, I would have invaded Earth if I didn't change, so ask yourself those questions and see what your polluted mind answers with." Asumar said, briskly turning away from Nightmare and walked towards his son.

[The Republic of Atria]

"Those little... things." He said referring to the bio-androids. "We're designed to combat the Speedster, were they not? And here's a little nugget of truth for you. Killian allows you to keep those powers. Why? Because he doesn't think you're a threat. He's fought you before, according to your memories, you only last until he gets sick of hearing your voice. And then he wins in a blink. Attempting to use those powers against him is... Stupid. That sense works both ways. He knows where you are as well. You barely have scratched the surface of what that power can do. Killian lives and breaths it. He knows it to." Asumar asked how come the earth was still standing. To which Nightmare actually laughed for the first time in his life. A hard deep laughter that actually made him fall over. "Are you serious? Asumar. You're an ant. Your invasion was smashed by a Kryptonian, and you were defeated by Killian, rendered helpless until he let you out. You're alive because of him. He LET you live."