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

[The Templar High Council]

---

For a while, Nelli simply followed Kylie and company. She was disappointed that they didn't want her to cut through the wall in the end, though now that she thought about it her knife was probably not long enough, and so, she resigned herself to tag along quietly, keeping an eye on Salis in case he tried something funny against someone in the group, not minding so much his lashing out against the knights but not wanting him to hurt the others. She was rather surprised, though, when they were teleported to Merlin's tower, and for more than one reason. In addition to the very simple and somewhat expected fact that Salis went at it again and got his ass handed to him for once, there was the fact that this person, this Merlin that she had never heard about, was just radiating magic. She could use some of it, and was therefore sensitive to it, but this was just too much. On top of that, because of Salis, Merlin seemed angry at them, and this prompted the dark-skinned girl to sneak out of the tower, not wanting to spend any more time there, not knowing that Kylie could easily fix everything.

Once outside, Nelli used her shroud of darkness to remain hidden from the eyes of the guards and wandered through the castle a bit, before returning to the tower to see how the others were doing. Much to her surprise, they were fine, and had apparently reached some sort of agreement with Merlin, as she arrived just in time to hear that they had to head to the war room now. Releasing the shroud's concealment and seemingly appearing next to the group from out of nowhere, she chimed in right away.

"War room? Large place, many people in armor around a round table?" She asked, shrugging off her shroud and holding it in her hand. "I know where it is. Just hold onto this and follow me." She stated, before activating the invisibility and leading the way.

"Yeah, that's it, I think." Kylie answered, taking the edge of the cloak from Nelli. She was surprised when she disappeared with her, not noticing earlier when Nelli disappeared as they were meeting Merlin. "Hey, this is pretty cool! I can turn invisible too." With her green ring gripped tightly, Kylie's form shimmered out of existence due to light refraction from her suit. And right then, was when shit decided to happen.

Salis watched the proceedings in front of him with an expression of pure rage and hatred. "I wasn't planning on stabbing anyone until you pulled that damn staff!" he yelled in response to Merlin's jab. If the wizard hadn't been his ticket back he would've already been at his throat. Simon was an entirely different matter though. The rest of their party might not respond well to a killing, but that didn't mean he couldn't get away from roughing him up a little. Creating a portal behind himself, letting the force of Simon's spell push him through and depositing him in front of the younger wizard. Before Simon could react, Salis slammed his fist into his jaw with enough force to knock a man to the ground. "Don't get in my way again," he said as he shook his wrist, "Next time it won't be a fist. Now let's get going." Salis moved forwards and grabbed onto Nelli's invisibility cloak and started following her to the war room.

Simon fell to the ground, grabbing his jaw. He lay there for a moment, stunned, feeling his barriers break down. Blackburn had awoken. Normally, Simon would stop his grandfather from taking over, but not this time. He rose, his eyes turning black, his voice turning into a rasping hiss.

"Bad idea, asshole," Simon growled, reaching into his pocket and removing the contents: a crumpled-up Lays chip bag, dill-pickle-flavored. He uncrumpled it, and pointed the opening at Salis. "Umadahm," he intoned, and a high-pressure stream of chips shot out, knocking Salis to the ground. Simon laughed along with the spirit in his head, who faded away, satisfied that he'd ruined someone's day.

Then the migraine happened. Simon fell against the wall, clutching his head. "Ow ow ow, bad idea, bad wizard in my skull, ow ow ow."

Salis was almost to Nelli and the safety of her invisibility cloak when he was suddenly slammed to the ground by a blast of chips. It took him a moment to process what was happening, but his aching body and throbbing head finally picked themselves back up to the uncharacteristically malicious laugh of Simon. The noise echoed in his ears as he recovered from the foray of fried potato, and it made him snap. Any sense of self control he had towards the man due to his status on their little team vanished and was replaced with a cold lust for blood. Flashes of his childhood, of being beaten around like everyone's personal punching bag, it all came back and meshed with this single moment. He would end this man here and now. Without a moments hesitation, Salis stepped towards Simon and into a portal to appear directly behind him. Immediately his hand swung form the side and slammed the pommel of his sword into Simon's temple, brutally sandwiching it between the metal piece and the wall he was leaning on. Quickly following it up, he kicked the man's feet out from under him before swinging his foot into his now prone figure. Salis yanked Simon back up and put the edge of his sword to the wizards throat.

"I warned you," he said with a fire in his eyes and a deadly edge in his voice, "and now you're going to pay the price like every other sadistic asshole who's pushed me or anyone else around. See you in hell kid."

"Uh-uh! No, we are not doing this now!" Kylie became visible again and threw her arms at the two men. Immediately, a green fist reached out to restrain Salis, and yellow tendrils lifted Simon into the air, both restrained to avoid further fighting. "Listen up! You're going to help me do this, without killing anybody who hasn't done anything wrong, or I'll take you out into space and leave you there, got it?" Kylie was about damn tired of Salis doing all this crap with stabbing people, hitting people, and generally being a dick. But since they had already left Merlin's tower on the way to the war room, they weren't going to go back and ask that Salis be sent home. Plus, Kylie didn't want this crazy guy left alone in 2016 anyway, anymore. She now felt herself responsible for making sure he goes to prison, hopefully one equipped to contain superhumans.

[Tomia]

Mars
Mars nodded as Kiris explained the news about Ava. Mars decided that she didn't seem like a threat and figured Rin would probably be able to handle it. He then turned to Kiris when she apologized. Things still felt awkward, but she didn't bring up their less than perfect attempt to kiss neither would he. "It's alright Kiris. I understand. You were upset, you were right to take some time to calm down." He told her sincerely. "I'm sure the others do too. It didn't end up going too well though. Nico and Cat's parents escaped." Mars said, looking guilty at that moment. He felt as it was his fault that the criminal masters got away.

Cora
Cora heard Marybeth's question. "Well, the prison that the victims are disappearing from is about two hours away by car, but maybe that will be less conspicuous than the jet. The longer it takes the others to realize we're gone the better." She told the others, heading with Marybeth and Jamie to the car. Cora had never driven before and now was obviously not the time to learn so Marybeth drove the car instead. Cora was silent for a while as they drove, clearly worried and anxious about what they were going to do, and the consequences of her decision. She was mostly worried about Katie, what if she was so mad that they broke up over this? That was the last thing the cyborg wanted, but Cora had to do this. She felt like she didn't have any other choice, she couldn't sit by and doing anything. She decided to talk to try to take her mind off of it.

"So, how have you two enjoyed the Justice Queens so far? I was honestly surprised when more people wanted to join our team, but I'm glad you two did." Cora said sincerely. She had been working on making friends since she joined the team, and she felt like she was making progress.

[The Republic of Atria]

"The plot thickens..." Felicity whispered to herself as Medusa and Otis stared at each other for a moment. Medusa knew she couldn't really do anything to Otis. Except maybe tell him off. "So, you're the Queen? I read about you. In Blue's defense, he's stupid. And young. And down a girlfriend. And trying really hard. I'm not a lawyer. I beat people up for a living." She explained. "He's really nice. So there's a point in his favor right?"

Medusa sighed. On one hand, Otis was inconsistent, all over the place and a general pain in the ass. On the other, he was still doing his job and helping the new Inhumans with their transition, and was the most powerful Inhuman Attilan had at their disposal. So she couldn't just exile him. He was too valuable to just kick him out like that. "Bolt. What am I going to do with you?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." He replied and shrugged. "Yell at me? Tell me off? Call me names? Guilt trip? Go ahead. Let's get it over with now and move on."

Medusa thought about laying into him about his constant absence, and his yelling at her, his Queen, but she decided to try something different. "Bolt... I'm sorry." That wasn't anything like what Otis expected to hear. "I had no idea that you felt that you were being used like a weapon. If you had just told me, we could have talked about it. I know you're young, and I thrust quite a bit of responsibility on you that you were clearly not prepared for. That was my fault. I will take the blame for that." Medusa said. "However. That means you are no longer a member of my Royal guard. At least until you're prepared to deal with the responsibility."

"Fair enough." Otis agreed. "I've got time. Alright. I figured that would be a bit worse, but that was... Less intense than I expected. This is Felicity." Otis said and stepped out of the way to let them do the talking. Sure he got kicked off the Royal guard, but it wasn't like he did much with it anyways. Finding and helping the new Inhumans was something he was much more suited to.

"Okaay. Felicity. What did you do before this?" She asked.

"I was an MMA fighter." She said. "And I was REALLY fucking good at it. Still am!"

"We've been in need of a new combat instructor. We only have one. Once we discover your ability, perhaps you can assist him."

"Awesome! Blue! You're my first Trainee! You'll have a spine by the end of the week!" She said, grabbed his arm and shot down the corridor much faster than she thought she was going to and smacked both herself and Otis into the wall making a large hole. "I think I found my power..." she moaned with her head and the rest of her upper body stuck on the other side.

"Are you okay?" Otis and Medusa asked at almost the same time as they rushed to pull her out of the wall.

"That was fucking AWESOME!"

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Hadrimmelis walked on through the visions, through the shattered remnants of Manifest's mind, through the broken memories that flashed on the landscape that existed within him. She heard the voices, two distinct voices that posed as one, speaking to her, fighting, beckoning for help and damning her at the same time, and knew that she was right, knew that her friend needed her help, now more than ever. Standing before the chaotic boundary that protected the deepest sanctuary of Manifest's mind from outside interference, she paused. To break through the storm would be to hurt her dear friend's fragile psyche even more, which could prove disastrous, but on the other hand, to remain outside would be to make all of her efforts be for naught, it would equal abandoning Manifest to his luck, which was a most terrible thing. This doubt, however, only stopped her for a moment, and none more, for the World-Dragon was determined to reach a friend who faced his darkest hour, a friend who needed her now more than ever.

Marching forward, she prepared to open a breach in the maelstrom as gently as possible, to avoid upsetting Manifest's chaotic mind, but just as she was about to cross the threshold, the whirlwind of thoughts opened up on its own accord, allowing her inside. Hadrimmelis smiled softly, for she knew why the storm had receded, and then strode into Manifest's last bastion. A myriad cuts were now present on her black and crimson attire, parts of her skin formerly covered by them now bare, but unharmed. Her cape was in tatters, only holding onto her by a thin thread that was only spared through some miracle, or perhaps the Black Dragon's own meddling. Several of her bangs were absent, cleanly sliced off her by the defenses projected by Manifest's scarred psyche, and the golden ornament that took the place of the eye that she lost to Yuga Khan had several noticeable scratch marks, but despite this and everything else, Hadrimmelis retained her aura of regality, which was offset only by a sense of urgency, a hurry to help her friend, for right now she was not a Mother of Suns, nor an Eternal Queen, but a deeply concerned woman.

Swiftly, this woman strode towards the projection of Manifest's true self within that sacred area, seeing how broken he seemed to be. Yet, he did not let this deter her, and quickly she reached his side, listening to the words he spoke, sadness and resignation prevalent in his voice.

"Charles, my friend, of course I wish to help you, now more than ever. You ask far too much of me if you wish for me to turn my back on you, now that I have seen you like this." The World-Dragon spoke, gesturing towards him, little more than a broken mind now. "How could I? How could I turn my back, after the trials we have overcome together? You may have fallen to the depths of darkness, and you may have committed deeds that others may never forgive, but even so, I believe in you, I believe that you may yet redeem yourself, or at least walk the path of redemption, wherever it may lead." Hadrimmelis continued, stepping closer towards him, holding up one of her palms. On it, a familiar shape appeared, a sapphire brooch in the shape of a rose, a gift that Manifest had given her after the Builder War. It was only a mental projection that she created with her own power, and so, it held none of the cosmic shard's strength, but it bore all of the significance of that heartfelt farewell, a significance that she dearly hoped Manifest would remember.

"I have told you before, all life is precious to me, and the life of a friend, even more so. I have already lost one on this fateful day, and I will not lose another, Charles. I refuse to leave you alone." She stated firmly, before bringing up a hand to Manifest's cheek, her sole crimson eye peering into his eyeless gaze. "My power is great, as you have stated yourself, and I will not hesitate to expend every last drop if it means that I can help you pull yourself together. So don't be afraid, my dear fragmented one, I will help you. Just speak, speak and I will lend you the might of a Dragon. You will not be lost this day."

[The Rebel Alliances]

Ralph the Rat-16-New Namek

As Oragan fired a barrage of blasts, Frost extended his arm, deflecting each as they reached him. As the blasts fired off Ito he distance, massive explosions lined the horizon. Eventually, the blasts stopped coming, and Frost lowered his hand, "I have to admit, I'd love to keep doing this all day, but, I suspect my men are close to having all the Dragon Balls except the one here. And, my omnipotence waits for nobody."

As Frost spoke, he raised his hand, forming a ball of energy with considerable power, enough concentrated energy to destroy a multiple stars, should it be released as explosive energy. "Well, Namek? Any last words?" he said, the ball of energy making a distinct sound as it reached its full power.

"You seem to imply that this world is about to end!"

My small body hovered high above the contest as I looked down on the battle. A single massive alien charging a energy based attack with enough power to destroy the entire world at least. Having just used Chaos Control with my single Emerald to transport myself, my team and the entire Aurora Airship which itself housed several thousand robots engineered by our mechanical genius Rabbot Rose. I wont be able to use Chaos Control to warp the attack away. But with my white fur rustling in the winds with my duel colored eyes staring directly into the windows of this tyrant's soul. I made a very bold statement.

"That would be a massive mistake."

Instantly my mind remembered the struggle which had lost us our own homeworld. This one appears far too similar. Only this time I do not have the mystic powers of the seven Chaos Emeralds to back me up. However, I do possess a team. Allies who will stand by my side in this. Not to mention the massive airship with enough firepower to obliterate a mountain. Everything and everyone here with me is the sum of who I have recruited and what has been gathered to one day defend our new homeworld. Now I have summoned it to defend a planet that I have never known. The Chaos Force, consisting of myself, Ashley the Hedgehog, Solar the Hedgehog, Barrow the Bear, Chaos the Guardian as well as Rabbot Rose.

Thrusting my arms out I gave the signal to strike. If we can draw the monster's attention to us. Then he most likely will retract his attack to confront his new threats. The Aurora began to deploy hundreds of robotic warriors, which lacked any lower chassis because the maximized mobiliting by flying through the air rather than traversing the ground. With two 'arms' serving as plasma cannons each S-104 unit was a formidable weapons platform. Scattering, they moved to locate and engage any henchman this Tyrant has.

As they did their work, my entire team with the exception of Jaxter assembled around the wounded green skinned native, Ashley tending to his wounds. All of us preparing to take on the monster ahead of us. Doing my best to exude confidence, I turned the Tyrant's words back at him.

"So, now that you now face the Chaos Force...any last words."

[Galnius]

Mars

Cora
Cora heard Marybeth's question. "Well, the prison that the victims are disappearing from is about two hours away by car, but maybe that will be less conspicuous than the jet. The longer it takes the others to realize we're gone the better." She told the others, heading with Marybeth and Jamie to the car. Cora had never driven before and now was obviously not the time to learn so Marybeth drove the car instead. Cora was silent for a while as they drove, clearly worried and anxious about what they were going to do, and the consequences of her decision. She was mostly worried about Katie, what if she was so mad that they broke up over this? That was the last thing the cyborg wanted, but Cora had to do this. She felt like she didn't have any other choice, she couldn't sit by and doing anything. She decided to talk to try to take her mind off of it.

"So, how have you two enjoyed the Justice Queens so far? I was honestly surprised when more people wanted to join our team, but I'm glad you two did." Cora said sincerely. She had been working on making friends since she joined the team, and she felt like she was making progress.

"It's better than my last place, that's for sure", said Marybeth, giddy behind the wheel. Hardly ever bothering to go the speed limit (though not going fast enough to be pulled over) she generally kept her car at a nice, fast paced cruising speed. Sure, she could probably get there quicker without a car, but it simply wasn't as fun. "So, when did you join up?"

[Finland SSR]

The Ultimate Majin

Part Sixteen: Suppression

Itaku

---

As the magical portal closed and collapsed, me and Frank found ourselves floating a few leagues above the ground, with nothing but rocky arid wasteland surrounding us up to the horizon. So hot... so dry... it's nothing like my home planet, Hera. And so many mountains, cliffs and boulders too. There was a gigantic, but incredibly thin tower shooting towards the sky quite close to us - somewhere around here, Atiala met her fate. The Majin shouldn't have wandered off anywhere... Oh, wait, I almost forgot! I turned around, looking towards Frank, and spoke:

"Alright, let me get you up to speed, although I'm not fully aware of what has been going on Earth myself. Basically, your Final Sacrifice failed, Buu nearly killed Lucien and absorbed him, me and the Kai escaped to his planet, while Atiala went to train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. The monster has been fighting Earth's superheroes for a while now and defeated all of them, Atiala also got absorbed, and you already know the rest."

"Question."

"Huh? Oh, okay, ask."

"What do you need me for?"

"Well, I don't think I can win alone, so-"

"Don't lie to me."

I looked into his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You are a goddess, I'm just a low-level fighter. You are thousands of times stronger than me. Even if you were weaker then Majin Buu, I would be a non-factor. So what do you need me for?"

I looked down a little, thinking. What do I need Frank for? I mean, his thoughts are correct. With these First Angel powers, I am many, many, many times stronger than what he could ever be. And yet I still resurrected him under the guise of him giving me support...

"Considering how I would most likely just get in the way, I guess I should-" Frank was about to turn around and leave, but I grabbed onto his hand, speaking:

"Wait! You see... I am the one responsible for everything that happened. You weren't there, but I had a chance to destroy Bebidi before he could summon Buu, and yet I didn't... I screwed up, I doomed our friends and the entire Universe, and that's why I want to prove it to all of you that I can fix it. After all, remember when we met for the first time on Earth? I'm still going to be a superhero, I still want you to teach me, and I want you to see that I can do it..."

"Itaku, look," Frank gently let go of my hand. "None of us are any more responsible for what happened than the others. I could spend days blaming myself for being corruptible, and thus responsible for my Majin version and giving energy to summon Buu, but I don't. You know why? Because I learned that we, people, can move on."

"Re-really..."

"You know what the secret to being a superhero is? There is none. No secret trials, no tests, no need for certain powers or whatnot... You just need to be a brave and good-natured person who is willing to fight for others - and I'm sure that you fit in the requirements."

I was about to respond to him as deeply as I could, but a familiar voice suddenly interrupted us.

"...So, should I wait until you make out or intervene immediately?" I'll never forget that calm, deep, but incredibly confident voice of his. Zen Buu. He was watching us from the surface below us, standing on the top of a small plateau with his arms folded. That bastard... he's making fun of us!

"Master Frank... find a place where you can watch the fight. This will be my first big test." I spoke to my teammate. He staunchly replied with:

"Master? Really?" and then moved back, though with reluctance visible in his expression and speech. I turned back to the pink Majin, and he commented:

"I agree with him. 'Master' isn't the most accurate term - 'sock puppet' a bit closer to truth. So, did you get to visit a hair salon at Supreme Kai's? Because I don't remember you having blue hair."

Oh, good, he doesn't know. Buu continued:

"I wonder, what happened to your ki? I can't sense anything in your body. Care to elaborate?"

"Give me a minute." As soon as I spoke out those words, I zipped in front of the Majin and slammed both of my fists into his stomach, almost punching through. His body bounced back and slammed into a mountain from the sheer force I used in the blow. We're not over yet! While he's still probably shocked by the power of my attack, I charged some energy in my right palm and fired a one-handed green energy wave at the Majin's crash site, resulting in a massive explosion that enveloped most of the area.

I huffed and panted a little. "Here. I elaborated."

A voice from the cloud of smoke soon reached my ears. "I get it, you unlocked a new form. I should've known those are being handed out to everyone and their mother." The dust and ash cleared out, showing Buu still standing, only barely scorched. "Maybe that's why I don't get one - I don't have a mother."

Stop it! Take this fight seriously, darn it! I powered up a little, getting cloaked in a rainbow-colored aura, then charged right at the Majin. He followed with much of the same - crashing right at me. Our shoulders rammed at each other, creating a shockwave that started shaking the whole planet, and yet... neither one of us are moving an inch! Oh... wait... I powered up even more, moving as much energy as I could to my shoulder. We're getting somewhere... He's moving back!

Before he could escape and send me barreling down towards the ground, I quicker stepped to the side and grabbed Buu by the leg, throwing him straight downward and continuing the combo with a barrage of powered up energy blasts. The pink monster didn't take long to jump out of the smoke and the explosions, though, and sent a few well-placed strikes to the chin and stomach.

What followed was an intense physical clash in the skies. Me and Buu both threw thousands of punches at each other in mere seconds, even having time to block or dodge the other fighter's attacks. Neither one of us seemed to budge or give in, but the area around us wasn't faring well. Every single attack that we threw caused a shockwave of energy, blasting through the scenery and going on for thousands of miles. Frank was floating a few hundred meters away and watching us with his arms folded.

Alright... we need to end this, quick! I moved my head to the side to dodge a chop of his, then slammed my fist into his chest, punching him back a dozen meters. He opened his mouth and was about to speak, but I shut him up with a quick two-handed vaporizing energy beam. It didn't seem to do much, aside for a bunch of wounds and cuts that he regenerated, but the shock value is not one to miss.

"Dammit! What happened to you? You've gotten far stronger than I expected..."

"And I didn't expect you to be still standing. Let's fix that."

"Wait-"

There's no need to hold back any of my power. 100 percent, here we go! I quickly clenched my fists and powered up even further - as hard as I could. The size of the aura around me skyrocketed, growing almost twice as large as it did before, with even more sparks, strains of rainbow-colored ki and bio-electricity to spare. As soon as I tapped into all of my power, I appeared right in front of Buu, sending a powerful strike that punched through his chest rather easily, then took it out and send a wide step kick to send him flying to a mountain, finishing off with a massive vaporizing beam of energy from my right hand.

That should do it. He's far weaker than that attack... Wait... how is he still alive? The smoke and dust soon cleared - yeah, he's clumping back and regenerating! This monster sure is hard to kill. I need an even stronger attack than that if I want a shot at actually killing him.

"You think this is something to be proud of?" Zen Buu exclaimed.

"I think being superior than one of the most powerful monsters in the Universe definitely fits the bill."

"Oh, it's not as funny as you think..."

Suddenly, Frank's faint voice reached my ears. "Don't grow cocky, Itaku!" What? C...cocky?

And then the Majin showed me why. In a single instant, his power jumped from somewhat lower than mine to mind-crushingly overpowering even my 100 percent. Oh, no... He was holding back, too!

"Here's a fun fact - a few moments ago, I fought you at ten percent of my power. This is fifty percent. Not a single person in this universe pushed me to this level of suppression before you."

Oh... no... He then vanished. Huh? Where'd he go? Then my vision was suddenly obstructed by Buu's pink chest. He appeared in front of me! In speeds I couldn't even comprehend! And this is just half of his full power... No, no, Itaku, do not feel discouraged! You've come this far, you can't give up now! I threw my right fist at his chest. No... effect... He then raised his left arm to the level of my head... and backhanded me right to the ground.

That was the strongest attack... I have ever felt! Why-why do I feel so weak all of a sudden? What's that pink light, and why is it growing stronger? Then, suddenly, someone grabbed me and pulled me out of the pile of rubble I found myself on, moments before it was lit in a massive explosion.

Frank! He saved me! His eyes looked at me in shock while he placed me on a boulder a few dozen meters away.

"That one attack was so strong that it knocked you out of your First Angel form!" he exclaimed. Wh.. WHAT? I looked at my shivering arms. They were back in their greenish blue - I was back in my normal form! How can Majin Buu be so powerful?.. Frank suddenly transformed, tapping into his Transcendent form, his eyes focused on something approaching. I slowly turned my head towards it... He is coming. He is here...

"Frank..." I muttered out. The pain suddenly caught up to me, and I only barely managed to stop myself from screaming in stone. It's like... every single bone... in my body... is shattered... "Remember what the Kai said? If the God form isn't enough, you have to put on one of the earrings."

"Are you serious?" he exclaimed. "How could that help us in any way?"

"I don't know, but I trust him..." I was about to take off the left earring and hand it to the android, but I was suddenly cut off.

"Allow me to settle this for you," It was Zen Buu. He intervened in the conversation. Frank charged forward, but to no avail - all he achieved was getting backhanded. "You will do nothing. You will fold and allow yourselves to get absorbed. Starting with you, little girl."

Pink goo started seeping out of the cracks in the rock under me. He's everywhere! And I'm weakened... Wait! Yeah, what the Kai said! Without any concrete thought, hoping that the Majin doesn't read my mind, I put on a stealthy energy shield, only barely above my skin, as the liquid completely surrounded me. Hope this works...

[Confederation of imperial states]

Cataclysm 1.5

Shield Headquarters, Washington D.C.

Nicholas Fury quickly grabbed the edge of the desk next to him as he braced, a large explosion from outside staggered everyone in the room.

"These God Damn Dathomiri are getting out of hand, Give me a Status report!" Fury yelled to an officer at a terminal near him,
"The Dathomiri forces are quickly gaining ground sir, their latest troop wave is overwhelming our armed forces trying to race to meet them", Fury shook his head rubbing his forehead before yelling, "Where's the Justice league Dammit!". "Right here Nicholas" Nicholas fury turned around to see Wonder Woman, followed by Superman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, and many other leaguers. Nicholas walked up, shaking Wonder Woman's hand as they meet, "Good to see you Princess, been a long time", Martian Manhunter floated to one of the terminals nearby, scanning and coding into the database., "It's worse than we thought, they're already gaining too much ground, we must retaliate" he said nervously.

Superman shook his head, "What do we have here to start the push to that Teleporter" Superman asked fury, Nicholas lit a cigar, "2 Helicarriers, about 300 Shield soldiers, and now The Justice League". Hawk girl raised an eyebrow, "What about The Avengers and the JLA?", "they're stuck up north, holding the line at New York, we could call some people from the Midwest but they're busy defending central city and chicago". Just then, a door opened behind them, "Not everyone from the west" Said none other that Guardian, who stepped towards Superman, Wonder Woman, and Nicholas Fury. Fury took a puff of his Cigar, "And you are?", "I'm Guardian, defender of San Andres from the West Coast. I'm also a friend of The Knight, so when I saw the call to arms I came racing". Superman shook Guardian's hand, "then well meet, some more people may be here to meet up with us, then we'll begin the push to the Dathomiri Park nearby".

(OOC: if you have any characters who want to join in, now's the best time to post them arriving).

[The Dark Brotherhood of Deros]

New Namek
Prototype was itching to try his abilities out. He had been flying for about an hour, searching for the Dragon Balls, when he finally discovered a Namekian Village. When he told them why he wanted the Dragon Balls, and asked where they were, they told him that it had been stolen by a group of beings. Prototype said that he would find these beings and get the Dragon Ball back, but only after he used them to regain his memories.

Now he was looking at a small group of individuals, and wondered if they were the thieves or not. "Hey you down there!" He called to them.

[The Starlight]

Craig was about to delve into the Cyberspace when he felt something. Some malicious presence, a presence that was not supposed to be there. It hung above Earth, and then it began to drop. 3.5 seconds, he recognized what this was. An invasion. 5.9 seconds later, he was shouting out commands. 10 seconds later, a shield began to form over Travenios, and Travenians received warnings that an invasion of the Earth was imminent. Those warnings also contained additional instructions about to operate their personal shields and informed them of where they were.

But Craig was still moving, the SIlverwing armor enveloping itself around himself as he ran through the halls to the Imaginarium, delving into the Cyberspace and taking the information he could derive about the invaders, sending it to the Justice League and Avengers.

By then, he was in the air, determining that the Dathomiri were converging on several points. Surmising that Washington D.C. would be heavily defended, he flew south, heading to Chad. In the meanwhile, Etla’s pet bunny beside her opened its mouth, Craig’s voice coming out of it. “Hello, Etla. Sorry about taking over Cloudy’s vocal functions, I had no other way to contact you. Those are very impressive by the way,” he said, the pride evident in his voice. “Anyway, some folks known as the Dathomiri have invaded Earth, converging on Berlin, D.C, Chad and Shanghai. Cloudy will project everything I’ve learned about them so you know their disadvantages. I’ve shielded Travenios, and as I know you love to be in the action, and it isn’t as heavily defended, I’m headed to Chad. I’ll try and leave a few for you,” he said, and his smile, if smiles could be heard, was evident there. There was a pause, and then he spoke one more time. “Stay safe.”

Grumbling at the fact, but realizing it was necessary, he contacted Nick Furry. “Director. I and the Silver Legion are headed to Chad, but I anticipate that they’ll be heavily fortified and already establishing a foothold. Some help...would be appreciated.”

Fury smirked. “I see. If any of our forces are available, I’ll send them over, but Valancy and Storm are already on the scene there. “

----
Valancy had been finalizing her plans to take down Boko Haram when first, she felt something. Rather, she felt loss. Something, someone was siphoning the Earth’s energy, and she gripped the ground in pain, until it ended, but then, thousands of animals and plant life screamed and mourned. Kazuko Masaki, she determined, God of Nature, was dead. And as she was about to go see how that had come to pass, she felt something else. It was like a spear to the chest, and she gritted her mouth in more pain, determining that something had landed in Chad. Storm, seeing her, grabbed Valancy as she was about to fall, and Valancy explained, the grass acting as her eyes. “Aliens.”

Storm issued a groan, but it was more in irritation, and lightning flashed the sky. And Valancy, regaining her strength, knowing that now, more than ever, it was her duty to defend the Earth, arose, and leaped into the air, crossing miles in a single bound as she leapt her way to Chad, Storm following with the speed of the wind. Valancy arrived first. Nature’s Voice suddenly appeared on the horizon overlooking the Dathomiri teleportation pillar. And then...there was thunder. Thunder, and a Storm Goddess. Two Goddesses, two elements, united in regard, in dignity, stared down the invading forces. The daughter of Gaea opened her mouth, and spoke. “This is Earth. I am of the earth, and she is of the sky. And like so many others, you have deigned to think that you could conquer this planet, this people. Earth’s Defenders are many. But here, today, and henceforth, I am the Goddess of the Earth in truth. No….I am more. I am the Earth, and the Earth is tired of being invaded.” Her form shifted, and she glowed then, the Earth, the sky, the grass all rumbling in displeasure. And then, the Earth lashed back. Sinkholes formed out of the ground, trees sprouted forth and flung Dathomiri to the skies, where they were blasted with lightning. And then, two Goddesses charged.

[Tarazed]

South America - 1 day prior to Cataclysm Arc

"-otherfucker!" Lanvin's distorted voice cried out before he was violently thrown out of an unstable teleportation matrix.
Gritting his teeth in pain as he violently collided with the side of a thick tree and fell onto his stomach, Lanvin let out a low and prolonged groan as he lay prone on the ground. His fingers twitched several times before he tried to open his eyes, only to let out a cry of discomfort as unfiltered and bright sunlight assaulted his unadjusted eyes.

Lanvin clamped his hands over his eyes as he edged himself into a sitting position against the side of a tree, he took a deep breath and paused for a moment as his scattered and numbed mind put two and two together.

The air was humid and damp, the taste of native flora was thick in each lungful of air that he took; not to mention the heat. Lanvin licked his lips and rubbed his now-sweating forehead before removing his suit's jacket and tossing it aside, removing his side arm from the jacket's inner pockets before he did so, he was in a rainforest...A rainforest, which from the looks of the flora around him, was in South America - likely the Amazon.

"You have got to be shitting me..." Lanvin muttered under his breath as he stood up and clipped his pistol into his belt.

He rubbed his temples slowly as he tried to keep his balance, he could still feel that damned serum in his bloodstream and could only hope that the damage wouldn't be permanent.

Instinctively curious onto the effects of the serum, Lanvin held out his hand in the direction of a nearby felled tree and concentrated. His fingers twitched in an attempt to force a stronger telekinetic grip on the log as Lanvin's eyelids flicked, his head pounding as he gritted his teeth and tighten his grip.

He saw the log twitch slightly before Lanvin felt like his head was going to implode, he released his grip immediately and let out a pained cry as he staggered back, grasping at his head.

A rustle of leaves behind him was all Lanvin heard before a rifle but connected with the back of his head and everything went black.

Deloca Riverside Safehouse, Amazon Rainforest

Lanvin blinked as he slowly regained consciousness, grimacing as his head continued to ache with a dull throb; he was lying on the floor with his back supported by a make-do wall made of criss-crossed large sticks. He blinked again as he arched his head back against the wall, it seemed that night was quickly approaching as the last orange embers of sunlight vanished below the distant horizon. A loud scream rang out from nearby; it seemed like he was in some sort of compound.

Lanvin glanced at his hands and noted that they'd been bound with some kind of thick rope, he squirmed the, from side to side quickly in an attempt to slacken the rope before his eyes shot up at the sound of a voice with a distinct regional accent at his ear.

"Oh! Oh, he's up!" The voice yelled in Lanvin's ear, making him involuntarily jump in surprise - clearly his enhanced hearing had been affected by the Knight's serum as well, "Our fuckin' star product is awake!"

Lanvin looked at the man and found himself feeling unnerved by just looking at him, there was something about the man's eyes and smile that made him look insane.
The man picked up on Lanvin's silence as tapped the sticks that made up the wall which was just behind him, "And he's a fucking mute! Oh man!" He laughed hysterically as he took a step back before tightening his fists, "FUCKING TALK!"

Lanvin blinked as the man snapped; resorting to throwing a punch or two at the wall as Lanvin edged himself away from it.

"Sorry. Sorry," the man held up his hands apologetically before digging into his pockets for something, "Let's start over," his hands reemerged with an ID - Lanvin's ID, "So you're name is Derrick Quinn?" He pointed at Lanvin who stared blankly at him in response.

"IT'S A FUCKING YES OR NO ANSWER, HERMANO!" The man roared as he threw the ID at Lanvin; the card bouncing off his chest as it impacted, "So FUCKING ANSWER ME!"

The man threw another punch at the makeshift wall, cracking several of the crisis-crossed,sticks from the force of blow. He chewed on his lip for a moment before removing his pistol and pointing it at Lanvin; who in turn felt a sinking feeling in his gut.

"I'll tell you what..." The man muttered as he crouched down on the other side of the wall and cocked his head at Lanvin, "I'll go and deal with the rejects..." He pointed his gun towards an unseen path, which was in the direction of the continued screaming, "And then...You," he pointed the gun at Lanvin, "And I..." He pointed the gun at his head and tapped it against his forehead a few times, "Are going to have a nice long chat..." The man's smile widened, "Get to know each other..."

Without so much as another word, the man stood up and walked along the path; whistling an out of tune song loudly as he disappeared from view, leaving Lanvin - who was still in a state of shock from the encounter - alone in his cell.

"Well..." Lanvin muttered under his breath as he glanced around his cell again, "Shit..."

[New Rnclave]

"Heyyyyyyyy, this is pretty fucked up actually" Adrian spoke softly as he just let go of Hiroshi and slowly moved to stand on his own two feet. "Well, if all these people are fucked up and people here trained you to get that strong"He paused for a few half-moments. "That means..."His mouth shut yet again as he thought. He even began tapping his head in thought. Finally, his mouth opened "I swear to god if another pink guy shows up I'm fucking freaking out. Hardcore style. I'll actually shatter this planet with my anger" The young man liked to believe this was possible but it wouldn't be.

His eyes slowly scanned the horizon, he did think it was kinda cool the alien people bled purple. Internally though, he had no way of knowing what had done the destruction in the area. His 'I can sense power levels' thing still seemed to only work with Hiroshi...who was feet away.

Hiroshi:

" God damn it! Shut the Hell up!" Hiroshi snapped, glaring furiously at Adrian, as if daring him to speak again. Glancing around, emerald eyes scanned leveled building after leveled building, with not a single energy source within them.

'Fuck. I haven't seen anything like this since Freiza...'

Suddenly, Hiroshi's thoughts were cut off as a power appeared at the edge of his mind. Slowly his mind reached out as his heart beat slowed, the picture of a furious battle piecing itself together within his mind.

'A Namekian... An Acrosian...'

Letting the body he had rolled over fall back into the mud, the Hybrid felt rage settle on his chest as golden energy whipped around him, electricity scattering off his frame and along the cracked earth. Without a word, Hiroshi rose to his full height, a savage look morphing in his features as energy opened keys across his body.

" Can you fly?" The Super Saiyan asked simply, turning to look at Adrian.

[Empire of the Siberian Flaming Eskimos]

For a while, Nelli simply followed Kylie and company. She was disappointed that they didn't want her to cut through the wall in the end, though now that she thought about it her knife was probably not long enough, and so, she resigned herself to tag along quietly, keeping an eye on Salis in case he tried something funny against someone in the group, not minding so much his lashing out against the knights but not wanting him to hurt the others. She was rather surprised, though, when they were teleported to Merlin's tower, and for more than one reason. In addition to the very simple and somewhat expected fact that Salis went at it again and got his ass handed to him for once, there was the fact that this person, this Merlin that she had never heard about, was just radiating magic. She could use some of it, and was therefore sensitive to it, but this was just too much. On top of that, because of Salis, Merlin seemed angry at them, and this prompted the dark-skinned girl to sneak out of the tower, not wanting to spend any more time there, not knowing that Kylie could easily fix everything.

Once outside, Nelli used her shroud of darkness to remain hidden from the eyes of the guards and wandered through the castle a bit, before returning to the tower to see how the others were doing. Much to her surprise, they were fine, and had apparently reached some sort of agreement with Merlin, as she arrived just in time to hear that they had to head to the war room now. Releasing the shroud's concealment and seemingly appearing next to the group from out of nowhere, she chimed in right away.

"War room? Large place, many people in armor around a round table?" She asked, shrugging off her shroud and holding it in her hand. "I know where it is. Just hold onto this and follow me." She stated, before activating the invisibility and leading the way.

"Yeah, that's it, I think." Kylie answered, taking the edge of the cloak from Nelli. She was surprised when she disappeared with her, not noticing earlier when Nelli disappeared as they were meeting Merlin. "Hey, this is pretty cool! I can turn invisible too." With her green ring gripped tightly, Kylie's form shimmered out of existence due to light refraction from her suit. And right then, was when shit decided to happen.

Salis watched the proceedings in front of him with an expression of pure rage and hatred. "I wasn't planning on stabbing anyone until you pulled that damn staff!" he yelled in response to Merlin's jab. If the wizard hadn't been his ticket back he would've already been at his throat. Simon was an entirely different matter though. The rest of their party might not respond well to a killing, but that didn't mean he couldn't get away from roughing him up a little. Creating a portal behind himself, letting the force of Simon's spell push him through and depositing him in front of the younger wizard. Before Simon could react, Salis slammed his fist into his jaw with enough force to knock a man to the ground. "Don't get in my way again," he said as he shook his wrist, "Next time it won't be a fist. Now let's get going." Salis moved forwards and grabbed onto Nelli's invisibility cloak and started following her to the war room.

Simon fell to the ground, grabbing his jaw. He lay there for a moment, stunned, feeling his barriers break down. Blackburn had awoken. Normally, Simon would stop his grandfather from taking over, but not this time. He rose, his eyes turning black, his voice turning into a rasping hiss.

"Bad idea, asshole," Simon growled, reaching into his pocket and removing the contents: a crumpled-up Lays chip bag, dill-pickle-flavored. He uncrumpled it, and pointed the opening at Salis. "Umadahm," he intoned, and a high-pressure stream of chips shot out, knocking Salis to the ground. Simon laughed along with the spirit in his head, who faded away, satisfied that he'd ruined someone's day.

Then the migraine happened. Simon fell against the wall, clutching his head. "Ow ow ow, bad idea, bad wizard in my skull, ow ow ow."

Salis was almost to Nelli and the safety of her invisibility cloak when he was suddenly slammed to the ground by a blast of chips. It took him a moment to process what was happening, but his aching body and throbbing head finally picked themselves back up to the uncharacteristically malicious laugh of Simon. The noise echoed in his ears as he recovered from the foray of fried potato, and it made him snap. Any sense of self control he had towards the man due to his status on their little team vanished and was replaced with a cold lust for blood. Flashes of his childhood, of being beaten around like everyone's personal punching bag, it all came back and meshed with this single moment. He would end this man here and now. Without a moments hesitation, Salis stepped towards Simon and into a portal to appear directly behind him. Immediately his hand swung form the side and slammed the pommel of his sword into Simon's temple, brutally sandwiching it between the metal piece and the wall he was leaning on. Quickly following it up, he kicked the man's feet out from under him before swinging his foot into his now prone figure. Salis yanked Simon back up and put the edge of his sword to the wizards throat.

"I warned you," he said with a fire in his eyes and a deadly edge in his voice, "and now you're going to pay the price like every other sadistic asshole who's pushed me or anyone else around. See you in hell kid."

"Uh-uh! No, we are not doing this now!" Kylie became visible again and threw her arms at the two men. Immediately, a green fist reached out to restrain Salis, and yellow tendrils lifted Simon into the air, both restrained to avoid further fighting. "Listen up! You're going to help me do this, without killing anybody who hasn't done anything wrong, or I'll take you out into space and leave you there, got it?" Kylie was about damn tired of Salis doing all this crap with stabbing people, hitting people, and generally being a dick. But since they had already left Merlin's tower on the way to the war room, they weren't going to go back and ask that Salis be sent home. Plus, Kylie didn't want this crazy guy left alone in 2016 anyway, anymore. She now felt herself responsible for making sure he goes to prison, hopefully one equipped to contain superhumans.

Salis let out an audible grunt as the air was knocked out of him from Kylie's hard light fist. After recovering his breath, he twisted and writhed trying to get out. It didn't take him long to realize he couldn't escape, so he stopped struggling, opting to glare at the green lantern from his vantage point. "Ha!" he yelled as he heard her threat, "People who haven't done anything wrong? Everyone's done something wrong! Innocence is a joke of a word that doesn't exist in anyone. Your so called 'innocent' people just do a better job of hiding it. Just look at wiz over here," he said as he nodded his head towards Simon, "You heard that laugh, there's nothing innocent about him. He enjoyed every second of knocking me around and there's no denying that." A new light came into his eyes as he continued. "And don't get me started on you heroes. You act like you're so much better, like you've made such a difference. Well last time I checked people are still dying in the streets every day while you ass-hats are busy locking people up just so they can break back out again. Cops, supers, authorities, they all sit on their high chairs while people like me live through hell. I had more scars by the time I was twenty than most men get in their lives, and I didn't see a single one of you doing jack shit about it! Chew on that the next time you're trying to lecture someone about right and wrong."

Done with his rant, Salis glared daggers into Kylie while he breathed heavily. After a few minutes pause the fire in his eyes faded and he continued in a more calm tone, "If you really insist on this charade of making a difference without killing, then fine. I'll play along since you're my ticket back. But don't think I'm going quietly or changing my way of doing things on the other side. There'll be hell to pay for everyone once this is over. You, Merlin, our wizard friend, and every one one of your precious innocents. Now can we please get to the damn war room?"

[Charmera]

"Heyyyyyyyy, this is pretty fucked up actually" Adrian spoke softly as he just let go of Hiroshi and slowly moved to stand on his own two feet. "Well, if all these people are fucked up and people here trained you to get that strong"He paused for a few half-moments. "That means..."His mouth shut yet again as he thought. He even began tapping his head in thought. Finally, his mouth opened "I swear to god if another pink guy shows up I'm fucking freaking out. Hardcore style. I'll actually shatter this planet with my anger" The young man liked to believe this was possible but it wouldn't be.

His eyes slowly scanned the horizon, he did think it was kinda cool the alien people bled purple. Internally though, he had no way of knowing what had done the destruction in the area. His 'I can sense power levels' thing still seemed to only work with Hiroshi...who was feet away.

Hiroshi:

" God damn it! Shut the Hell up!" Hiroshi snapped, glaring furiously at Adrian, as if daring him to speak again. Glancing around, emerald eyes scanned leveled building after leveled building, with not a single energy source within them.

'Fuck. I haven't seen anything like this since Freiza...'

Suddenly, Hiroshi's thoughts were cut off as a power appeared at the edge of his mind. Slowly his mind reached out as his heart beat slowed, the picture of a furious battle piecing itself together within his mind.

'A Namekian... An Acrosian...'

Letting the body he had rolled over fall back into the mud, the Hybrid felt rage settle on his chest as golden energy whipped around him, electricity scattering off his frame and along the cracked earth. Without a word, Hiroshi rose to his full height, a savage look morphing in his features as energy opened keys across his body.

" Can you fly?" The Super Saiyan asked simply, turning to look at Adrian.

Claudia set foot on the planet, attempting to be as stealthy as she left the spacecraft. She looked around, seeing little but blue grass. But for some reason she could feel the life around her, especially the energy of Hiroshi. Other energies she could feel too, strong ones, though unlike power levels she couldn’t gage their power.

“You were right Glacia, he is here.” Remarked the Red Hulk. “Do you think he’s…”

“No. I don’t think he’s cheating on you.” She replied, taking out a scouter. “He’s powered up to Super Saiyan.”

“Well that’s good at least.” Claudia replied, folding her arms. “Why does he do this? Does he think he’s protecting me?”

Glacia ignored her, instead narrowing her eyes. “Interesting…” She remarked. Lord Frost. Her scouter was an advanced model, programmed to search intergalactic databases once given a power level. “I thought he was dead…”

Claudia frowned, then sighed. “Well, thanks for the lift. I’m gonna go after my boyfriend now.”

Glacia nodded absently. Then disappeared, becoming invisible with her latest form.

Claudia sighed, then leapt, jumping towards Hiroshi.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

Salis let out an audible grunt as the air was knocked out of him from Kylie's hard light fist. After recovering his breath, he twisted and writhed trying to get out. It didn't take him long to realize he couldn't escape, so he stopped struggling, opting to glare at the green lantern from his vantage point. "Ha!" he yelled as he heard her threat, "People who haven't done anything wrong? Everyone's done something wrong! Innocence is a joke of a word that doesn't exist in anyone. Your so called 'innocent' people just do a better job of hiding it. Just look at wiz over here," he said as he nodded his head towards Simon, "You heard that laugh, there's nothing innocent about him. He enjoyed every second of knocking me around and there's no denying that." A new light came into his eyes as he continued. "And don't get me started on you heroes. You act like you're so much better, like you've made such a difference. Well last time I checked people are still dying in the streets every day while you ass-hats are busy locking people up just so they can break back out again. Cops, supers, authorities, they all sit on their high chairs while people like me live through hell. I had more scars by the time I was twenty than most men get in their lives, and I didn't see a single one of you doing jack shit about it! Chew on that the next time you're trying to lecture someone about right and wrong."

Done with his rant, Salis glared daggers into Kylie while he breathed heavily. After a few minutes pause the fire in his eyes faded and he continued in a more calm tone, "If you really insist on this charade of making a difference without killing, then fine. I'll play along since you're my ticket back. But don't think I'm going quietly or changing my way of doing things on the other side. There'll be hell to pay for everyone once this is over. You, Merlin, our wizard friend, and every one one of your precious innocents. Now can we please get to the damn war room?"

Boxer, who had remained silent through this entire ordeal, finally walked forward. "My name is Henry Boxer. I'm a cop. Less than two years ago, I was the leader of a gang called the Gotham City Defenders. We were the ones who took scars so guys like you didn't have to." He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a multitude of scars across his forearm. "Every single mark you see here hurts, every day. Every single one aches when I get up in the morning to when I lay down at night. I don't see them as a curse, though. They're a blessing. Every scar you see here is another person who never had to share my pain." He looked the man before him up and down. "You don't want a Mask to give you a lecture? Go right ahead. You don't enjoy it when a government spook tells you what to do? Fine by me. Listen to the grunt on the ground, though. Listen to the man who's devoted his god damn life to getting people out of the Hell you and I live in, when I could be anywhere else."

Boxer scowled, letting his sleeve back down. "You're right. Nobody is innocent. Nobody has to be, though. That's not their job. Our job, those of us who live in Hell and bear the weight of a thousand scars on our bodies, our job is to change the world into one where people can be innocent. To make the world into one where innocent is possible." He closed his eyes and breathed out for a moment. "What's your name? I never caught it. I like to know who I'm in a life or death situation with." He asked as the group moved forward.

[Wombocombo]

He casually ran a and through his white semi-spiked hair as he shrugged. "Yeah...hit me first and I can fly as much as you need"He stretched out a bit and began thinking if it would be possible for him to actually start the state of rage needed for flight...his fists clenched and his chest breathed deeply.
Nothing. He couldn't get there it seemed, but then again he had already given the advice to Hiroshi to hit him to get him going. So he just waited for that, his arms crossed.

[New Rnclave]

He casually ran a and through his white semi-spiked hair as he shrugged. "Yeah...hit me first and I can fly as much as you need"He stretched out a bit and began thinking if it would be possible for him to actually start the state of rage needed for flight...his fists clenched and his chest breathed deeply.
Nothing. He couldn't get there it seemed, but then again he had already given the advice to Hiroshi to hit him to get him going. So he just waited for that, his arms crossed.

Hiroshi:

'This better not be some fucking joke.' Without a second thought, Hiroshi pulled back his arm, muscles tensing before he struck out with his full force, the back of his hand crashing across Adrian's face. The boom that rumbled out from the strike leveled any remaining structures around them, trees and streams nearby stirring and trembling as the shockwave rolled over them.

Breathing angrily for a moment, the Hybrid stared over the path of destruction he'd made. For a moment, he half expected the human to pop up from the rubble and lash out at him like every other fight he had been in.

Hiroshi's anger morphed as he saw a familiar figure land on the outside of the village, his anger morphing into inner panic as he looked over her. She couldn't be here for any good reasons, and the only he could think of was so she could yell at him for coming here instead of searching for Tomia, or maybe she thought he was cheating on her again. Kami, who knew anymore?

" Um... Hey?" Hiroshi offered, awkwardly shifting his feet as his emerald eyes looked over her.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

---

Charles Crawler's wavering form smiled weakly. "You are... Endlessly compassionate, Hadrimmelis." He coughed violently for a moment, wincing with each. "Yes, Hadrimmelis, my friend. Please, help me. Save my life yet again." He chuckled softly. "One day, I'll be able to repay you for all you do for me."

The World-Dragon smiled softly upon hearing Charles' words. "Perhaps one day, my friend, perhaps one day. But until that day comes, I will be happy knowing that I was able to help you in your time of need. I would like to think, Charles, that if our roles were somehow inverted, you would do the same for me, and that is enough. For now, allow me to help you." Hadrimmelis spoke, and then, her free hand moved up slightly, reaching Manifest's temple, while her other one still held the sapphire-colored rose. Leaning forward, the human form of the Black Dragon pressed her forehead against Manifest's, and at that moment he felt all the power and greatness of her mind, without being forced to shoulder the burden of millions of lives that she had lived through her people, the Hadrians, and those who had come before. It was an exhilarating sensation, but Hadrimmelis did not allow him to lose himself within.

"You and I are now entwined, Charles. Just like you allowed me into you, so have I allowed you inside of me. Your mind and mine share a powerful bond. Now, I will heal us. We will not remain fragmented as we once were." She spoke solemnly, as a power alien to Manifest's mind surrounded their bodies, a blanket of energy with the color of the rainbow. Until suddenly, all of this energy flowed from both Hadrimmelis and Manifest into the brooch.

The rose brooch slowly lifted upwards, cosmic energies swirling around it. A beam of what appeared to be pure light pierced the chaos above the two Gods, striking the brooch in the center. The energy around the rose turned a bright golden and began to emanate from it unrestrained, its beams ripping through the sphere of chaos. More and more beams of the otherworldly energy spread, until they became overwhelming.

After a moment, the blinding light faded, allowing Hadrimmelis to see once more. The sphere of chaos was gone, replaced by hundreds, if not thousands, of motionless fragments of Manifest, floating in the sky as far as the eye could see. Each was different, mutilated or marred in some way. They stared, silently, at Hadrimmelis, Charles Crawler, and the glowing brooch floating between them. One by one, each of the fragments lowered themselves to the ground, approaching the rose and placing a single hand on it. The instant they did so, they flashed out of existence, their energies being absorbed by the brooch. Each fragment, one by one, the hundreds, the thousands, more and more quickly floating to the ground and being absorbed by the brooch.

Mere minutes later, the last of them vanished, the golden glow in the brooch firmly replaced by a brilliant crimson. Charles Crawler hesitated for a moment before reaching forward. his hand connecting with the rose. The energies within began to flow into him, repairing his body. At last, the energies surrounding the brooch subsided, and Charles Crawler was completely repaired. There were no longer any Fragments, and after a bright flash of verdant light, Hadrimmelis found herself in a new surrounding, a new creation of Manifest's true mind. Now, the two Gods stood on the empty bridge of the Peak, overlooking the Earth, in all its grandness. The Peak was as Manifest was- A watcher of Earth and its people, removed from them, but sworn to them nonetheless. He may be a God, but he had mortal roots, and mortal ideals. He was Charles Crawler, now and forever.

The one who had made all of this possible, Hadrimmelis, stood beside him on the Peak. Smiling at the sight, she turned to him, grabbing his hand and interlocking fingers with him. "How do you feel, Charles?" She asked him, her smile fading momentarily as concern spoke through her voice.

He smiled reassuringly in response. "Like a broken man who has been rebuilt from the ground up. Thank you, Hadrimmelis." He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and sighed in relief. "There are no Fragments left, and almost all of the damage done by the Manifest Blade has been repaired." His smile flickered. "There is some, however, that can never be repaired." His thoughts turned to Julie, his erstwhile partner, and he frowned. A few tears dripped down his cheek, but these were simple human tears, rather than the crimson tears that had fallen before.

Seeing this, Hadrimmelis frowned, squeezing his hand as if to comfort him. "I... I understand that there are things you cannot undo, Charles. I can not do so either, and for that, I am sorry. I would love to help wipe this stain from your soul, but a life that was taken, I cannot bring back." The World-Dragon stated, grief in her voice. "To tell you the truth, I still hold mixed feelings. I know that your actions had led to a state of mental instability, and I know that accursed blade of yours was influencing you, but even so... To think that it was still you, physically, who did it..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "My apologies. I should not be speaking of it when you are clearly being tortured by it, even without my words. But I still believe you can work towards redemption, Charles. There may be those who will not forgive you, but I know you can walk the right path again. And," She managed to smile once again. "I will be there to help you, should you ever need me again."

Charles brought his free hand up and wiped his eye, staring at the tears on his hand. After a moment, he smiled softly. "Thank you, Hadrimmelis. Thank you, my friend."
With that, silver light engulfed the two, and they found themselves once more in the vast chambers of the Universal Fortress, no longer within the mind of the God of Fragments.

[Charmera]

New York, Police Station

“We may have a slight… problem Ma'am.” Spoke Elizabeth’s partner, John Baker. She was the more senior of the pair, both in rank and in age.

“What would that be?” She said simply. As John began to reply, she couldn’t help but notice the glass of blood in her hand. She was definitely an odd partner to say the least. A real life vampire. John wasn’t sure whether he should be intrigued or… afraid.

“Well… Our Martian was taken today.”

Elizabeth frowned, then blinked. “Taken?”

“Bunch of SHIELD types. A whole of Suits and goons. There were more than a few guns. We couldn’t stop them.”

Elizabeth looked up from her research and then sighed in frustration. “Dammit…” She muttered. “They probably want to experiment on her body or something. Martian’s being rare. Or at least they don’t want an alien body to be available to potential Terrorists… They’ll probably come to us with NDA’s and threats if past experience serves me right.” She muttered. “Sure fucks us over.”

“Well it’s not like we were going to wake her up anyway, doctors said she was completely comatose.”

“True.” Remarked the vampire. She got up out of her chair and looked at her watch. “I may have an idea of where we could find answers though.”

“Where?”

The vampire walked out the room, but continued talking, expecting George to follow. “Well, where better to ask people about a dead person than a funeral? Her’s is in an hour or two.”

George’s eyes widened. “You’re not serious…”

“I’m dead serious.” She replied. “We need to learn her connection to this cult stuff, and other than that freaky sword there’s no leads, plus DNA testing is going to take forever on that thing and we need something to do before I die of boredom.”

George sighed, but followed her.

[b]Julie’s Funeral[/i]

The funeral was a traditional type, funded by the justice league as Julie had not made plans for her funeral surprisingly, save a will. The service had just finished. The League was there, or at least all that could come. John and Hal were there, as well as the Martian Manhunter. Various other heroes were there as well, looking over the empty casket, including a vampire and her partner.

[New Neros]

-Snip

The fearsome King of the Parahumans watched with stoic silence as Ryuichi began to power up, exerting himself above and beyond what his father or uncle could have ever realistically managed in their lifetime. A light blue energy glowed around his hands, ready to intercept the boy as he rose to challenge the Mad King, Maxwell Morningstar. But, a slight whisper caught his ear, the immense and ever-loyal Shatterstar floating just a bit more ahead of Maxwell, before vanishing for a moment. "Do not move, my King." He said, Maxwell affirming the behemoth's intent with a nod, sliding his eyes back to Ryuichi.

Maxwell began to absorb the waves of energy Ryuichi gave off passively, taken slightly by surprise at the child's speed, but a blur sidelining the Masaki heir before he could get within five feet of Mad Max. It was the titanic Shatterstar, his massive fist slamming into the boy and knocking him to the side, the Parahuman enforcer following the child closely. Max stood upright slightly, a slight smirk as Shatterstar could settle his itch for battle. At 7'2, the man's fist nearly equaled the size of Ryuichi's chest, the hit forcing his bones to pulverize. That wouldn't stop the child's bloodlust, however, and he began to heal immediately.

Turning a snarl to Shatterstar, the Parahuman reared back his fist once more, and delivered a solid left to the boy's cranium. Eyes going blank immediately, the air shocked by the intensity and speed of the impact, Ryuichi became dazed at the hit. Physically able to rip a star in half, the impact was devastating, but Maddox grabbed onto the boy's cranium with force, jerking his head off to the side and presenting the child to the Mad King up above. The entire fight happened between Ryuichi charging at Max and Shatterstar landing on the ground.

"What must be done, Maxwell?" Shatterstar hollered, presenting the limp body of Ryuichi to his King, who floated above the battlefield like some all-observant God. "I will do as I must for your sake, do not worry on my conscience. I lost that long ago." Maddox declared, "Your orders for the boy? Kill him now and prevent his rise against us and the universe, tainted by hatred and revenge, or let him live so that we may face his fury later, and prolong his suffering?" Locking eyes, the two Parahumans both knew what the answer was, but Maxwell only had to say it.

With fierce, intense eyes, he gave the decree, execution. "Kill him." Maddox gave a single nod, and took a grim look to his face, holding the boy up by the head as Ryuichi started to rise from his dizziness. He began to tighten down with his palms and fingers, exerting unimaginable pressures on the boy's skull, which neared it's breaking point. Both men took solace in their actions, that it served a greater good for now. They did not come here as heroes, but as invaders. Blood was to be spilled here, the Masaki Dynasty should be no more. Yet, a rampaging miracle could only save Ryuichi now.

[Tomia]

"It's better than my last place, that's for sure", said Marybeth, giddy behind the wheel. Hardly ever bothering to go the speed limit (though not going fast enough to be pulled over) she generally kept her car at a nice, fast paced cruising speed. Sure, she could probably get there quicker without a car, but it simply wasn't as fun. "So, when did you join up?"

"Well, I joined when it started I guess." Cora said in response to Marybeth's question. "After I arrived in New York City. I... well I was down a bad path. I started threatening people into liking me. Katie was a local hero at the time and she came to stop me. Well, we ended up talking instead and Katie was really nice. She took me to her apartment, and Valancy happened to be living next door. Kylie came by too, she was friends with Katie. The odd thing was, none of them knew that the others had powers. I guess they were just nervous or not willing to tell each other. Anyway, we got along well, and I was starting to realize what it might be like to have friends. Then the city was attacked, by someone who was trying to kill me. The other stood up for me, and stopped him from hurting me or other people. Naja even showed up to help, even though we didn't really know her at the time. Then we all kind of just decided we wanted to keep working together and help people. Then the Justice Queens were born. Ya... That's pretty much it."

Grimms
The Wizard merely laughed as the dark tentacles bounced off of him harmlessly, "Your tricks won't work on me any longer my dear. Nothing can stop me now!" He said in a maniacal tone, his laugh sounded wicked and demented. He launched a fire ball at Sarah who was knocked out of the way John, who landed on top of her to shield her, just barely able to escape the flames himself.

Suddenly the wizard's hand stretched almost like some kind of magical putty and grabbed John, holding him in his hand as John struggled, firing energy blasts at the wizard but to no effect. "How cute! The brave knight tries to save you!" The wizard taunted Sarah as he held the struggling John in one hand.

[The Fallen Jedi]

- Snip -

The Fall of The Masaki
Part 8 Vengeance of the Divine: Lord Satera's Wrath!

"How dare you..." Alastir muttered in anger, his foul energy becoming all the more potent at the sight of seeing Maddox trying to crush the young child's skull. This was the vision that Shimura mentioned before his death, If nothing was done, then this would be the end of the Masaki! "No you don-" It was at that point that Lord Satera, bursting with a untold amount of energy sent his fist crashing into Maddox, followed by a burst of spiritual energy that removed Maddox's palm from Ryuichi, this spiritual force being the very essence of Master Shimura himself, who no longer had any qualms of interfering with the powerful force that was destiny itself "Shimura?" Alastir subconsciously asked in shock, watching as his old friend stared down at young Ryuichi with a saddened expression, one that eventually turned to rage when he brought his attention back to Shatterstar and Morningstar, the two responsible for such atrocious acts.

"Don't you dare, lay a hand..." Satera stared down Maddox with a murderous expression on his face, already accepting the fact that Asumar was beyond saving, but by killing Kazuko and then trying to kill young Ryuichi, it was safe to say that both Spera and Shimura were nothing but a flare of angry emotions that continued to well within them "On our grandson!" Shimura finished, his spiritual form glowing bright blue as he transferred a portion of his energy into young Ryuichi, helping his body commence it's natural healing process that was still in the developing stages of his fragile immune system "I don't care anymore if Asumar or Kazuko died, like Xander said, they had their chances at making things right, and they blew it. But I'm sure as HELL not going to allow you to kill my grandchild!" Satera shouted in anger, his energy flaring around haphazardly and violently, the very clouds beginning to darken in regards to his presence "Shimura, I want you to get young Ryuichi as far away from this place as possible, I'm going to finish what he started..." Within the subconscious of the fused god, Spera, the grandfather of Ryuichi took the form as the dominant personality "And avenge everyone that they've killed!" Satera growled, venom dripping from every word.

"You don't get to do it alone..." Alastir's voice echoed, a darkened mist forming alongside the fused god, the dark god himself emerging from this plume of smoke, a serious expression on his face "Shimura made me promise that I was supposed to protect Ryuichi with all I have, he didn't say anything about Asumar or Kazuko, because he knew that their time came long ago, but Ryuichi's life has just begun..." Alastir's bright red eyes burned brightly with restrained rage and determination "I'm not above doing what is necessary, but allowing you to kill a child whist not doing anything?" It was at this point that numerous sharp tendrils emerged from the back of the Demon God "I'm not about to allow you to do what you want anymore, If you want to. As of now, we will put an end to this battle..." Alastir brought his arms up and crossed them together, while Satera simply stood and stared at Mad Max with a murderous snarl on his face.

"Together."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

A flash of light and a brief moment, and Hadrimmelis found herself at the heart of the Universal Fortress. Though she could easily act with independence on the material and psychic plane at the same time, she had not moved since she had entered Manifest's mind, or so it would seem at first glance. Despite this, plenty of differences were noticeable. To begin with, she displayed none of the damage that her attire had taken during her trip into Manifest's psyche. All the myriad cuts and slices into her majestic attire were gone, and her crimson regal cape, so worn and tattered after her journey through her friend's memories, was now as good as new. Her hair was unmarred as well, and the ornament she wore over her hollow eye, too, was unharmed, glistening brightly with the light of distant stars, which leaked into the Universal Fortress through the giant gash carved through it by Otis during his brief rampage.

Opening her eyes, which she had closed to avoid looking at Julie's coffin and the possessed Manifest, rather than any real need to concentrate, she looked around, and smiled as she saw Charles, as good as new, back to his old self, that man she had met near the Infinite Venture before his ambitions of peace had reached their dark heights. Despite having moved very little since delving into his mind, she was still holding his hand, just like she had been at the Peak, before they were brought out of his mind. Squeezing it a little as if to grab his attention, she spoke.

"I am happy that I was able to help you, Charles. As one last gift, allow me to fix the damage I once caused." The Black Dragon spoke, and as her words left her mouth and reached Manifest's ears, he would feel her in his mind. It was not an unwelcome presence, and in fact, strangely enough, it was as if she had always been there, only that now, his attention was being drawn to her. If he paid attention, he would feel mental barriers like the ones from his SHIELD training, like the ones she had shattered, being erected anew. But with the backing of a World-Dragon, they were a hundred times stronger, able to stall even telepaths of a very high level.

Letting go of his hand, Hadrimmelis rose to her feet. "As I had told you before, our minds are now entwined, my friend. This... Is not something I do often." She admitted, looking to the side slightly, though her smile did not disappear. "Regardless, we share a bond. This means you won't have to be alone again. If you ever need my help, or would request for my presence, all you need to do is wish, and I will be there. No matter what it is, I promise I will walk beside you." The World-Dragon spoke solemnly. But as she looked down at the coffin which bore a White Lantern's body, her smile faded. She ran a hand over the coffin. "But... For now, I suspect you have things that you wish to take care of by yourself..." She mumbled, turning back to him. "If you would prefer it, I will leave you to take care of Julie. I only have one request that I wish to make. Take her to Earth, give her body to those who knew her, so that they may honor her one last time."

[Confederation of imperial states]

Cataclysm 2

Guardian peered around at the ground of members both assembled by SHIELD and The Justice League that were now in the room, confused he asked the question;

"Where's The Knight?",

Wonder Woman shook her head "He went offline while investigating a pod of Dathomiri origin, he's been offline since", Guardian shook his head, exhaling. "God Dammit, We need to get out there, NOW!", Nicholas shook his head, "We need to wait unti-" Guardian punched straight at the nearby wall, shattering the stone, "The more we wait, the more people who are killed by Dathomiri forces, we need to move, Now!", "he's right Commander". Guardian and Nich Fury turned to see Maria hill, in Shield Battle armor, "The longer we wait, the more earth is crushed under foot, The Silver Legion are attacking the Dathomiri in Chad, but they're literally everywhere with their latest troop drops". Guardian and Maria Hill stared at Nich, who shook his head, placing his lighter in his pocket and taking out 2 Pistols, "Let's go".

The Justice League, followed by Guardian, Maria Hill, Nich Fury, and a large force of SHIELD Soldiers rushed out of the raising garage doors of the Shield HQ. "Company, Fire!" Hill shouted, The Shield Soldiers lining up and quickly cutting down Dathomiri Infantrymen, though many survived due to their touch armor. Superman, Wonder Woman, Jon Stewart, and many of the Flying Leaguers went into action, quickly knocking Dathomiri aircraft out of the sky, Superman fired his heat vision, cutting a Dathomiri warhound in two. Guardian flew up, then jetted forward, slamming into the head of a Dathomiri Warhound, he flew under the beast, causing it to turn around violently knocking some Dathomiri ground troops over. The Shield Forces moved out of the HQ, advancing outwards at The Dathomiri forces, using heavy weaponry, armored vehicles, and anything they could spare they were able to cut a path through the Dathomiri forces. Jon Stewart made a large set of Knives from his ring, the giant knives were flung, smashing into a taking out a large group of Dathomiri Robotic troops.

Guardian flew up high in the air, in the distance a group of Aircraft were fired on and attacked by 3 Shield helicarriers that appeared, knocking a few out of the sky. Guardian then flew down at high speeds, crashing through the back of a Dathomiri warhound, Guardian picked up just before the ground avoiding it. Guardian landed on a large Dathomiri robotic soldier, crashing down next to Maria hill who fired a rifle taking down an infantrymen, "We're having quite a slow time cutting to the teleporter!". "What do you expect, War's are slow!" Maria said, taking down 2 more Dathomiri Infantrymen, Martian Manhunter appeared next to them, using his telekinesis to throw large objects at The Warhounds, "there was a War in Zanzibar which lasted 40 minutes". "Not asking for a history lesson J'onn" Maria said throwing a grenade, which impacted a robotic soldier blowing him into pieces. Guardian then spotted an Alien woman behind a large group of Dahtomiri, similar to Thersia, "Who's that?" The Woman then used her psionic powers glowing purple, revealing many more of them on the battlefield.

The Psionic powers were then revealed, as Dead Dathomiri, Shield, Civilians, National guard, and other bodies suddenly rose, and were transformed into Undead Thralls. "Take 'em Out!" Fury shouted, unloading his pistols at the newly formed crowd of formed Thralls, The Shield Soldiers began to fire on them aswell, but as a few thralls were gunned down, groups of them jumped on lone Soldiers, clawing at them and ripping them apart. Guardian saw Maria hill become engulfed in a crowd of Thralls, her armor barely being able to propect her, Guardian jetted forward, grabbing her and knocking the crowd of thralls off. "The hell are these things?" Hill asked. "Abominations" Guardian said, as he then flew straight at the Psionic caster.

Thralls and Psionic casters have been added to all 4 main fronts, aswell as the Dathomiri have started their main defenses of the platforms

---

Meanwhile.....

Catarock's Mothership

The Knight awoke from unconsciousness, a severe headache hit him and he felt like a large sack of sand, "Sanza, give me a status report". The Knight fully opened his eyes, seeing the cell he was in, "Sanza?", The Knight then realized his AI partner would not be able to assist him here. "Looks like I'm back to my wit" The Knight said, taking out some explosive from his belt, "I've got to find Catarock, and put a stop to this", The Knight layered up the Tannerite under the hoot, layering up the back of the lock with the gel, he took a few steps, using his cape to shield him he Detonated the gel, breaking the lock. The Knight pushed the door open, sliging it about a foot for him to squeeze through, he gazed around at the large, menacing dungeons he was in.

The Knight heard footsteps, quickly hiding in the shadows of a corner, he waited for 2 Infantrymen to pass around and walk down the hallway, Then, The Knight struck. The Knight managed to grab one around the neck from behind, using them caught off guard, The Knight kicked the other infantrymen who turned around, The Knight kicked him straight in the stomach buckling him, then kicked him again oin the chest, then straight in the head, knocking him out cold. The Knight dropped the Infantrymen he had in a choke hold, ripping off the soldier's helmet he looked straight into his eyes;

"Where's Catarock?"

[Wombocombo]

Luckily, Adrian had a bit of endurance/hard skin. He went soaring through the destroyed buildings and through mounds of dirt, the ground not stopping him as he would go soaring even farther as he went. He would have probably enjoyed the view if he hadn't been spinning off. By the time he caught himself in the air and had capable control over his shoulder arms, which decided to appear then, he was capable of flight/falling in style to a higher degree than before.

Soaring over towards Hiroshi he had to restrain himself from lashing out towards Hiroshi.
He instead elected to land near him, rather violently of course, and breath deeply.
"Okay, I'm good whats on the agend-"
He actually bothered to notice there was another person near them, eying Hiroshi as he seemed to be fidgeting around like a teenager would. "Is this like, your lady friend or something?"