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

[Charmera]

Cora
Cora was surprised, but releaved at Katie's words. She did seem to be better. Then Katie asked about how Cora had been doing. "I'm fine Katie. These past few days haven't been easy on any of us, but you needed my help and there was no way I wouldn't be there for you."
Cora then blushed a bit when Katie hugged her. She wasn't sure why, it's not like Katie hadn't hugged her before, but this felt different. "You're welcome Katie. You did the same for me. I'll always be there for you." She told Katie as they hugged.

Katie looked up at Cora. She often had to do this as she was the shorter of the two and prone to hugging. She flash a big smile. Though there were still tears. "Thank you. Thank you so much. You're the best best friend anyone could ask for Cora. I... I l-" The word caught in her throat. "I like you a lot." She spoke. Nodding. She let go of Cora, wiping her tears away. She then smiled again. "I promise, I'll always be there for you too."

[Siliarba]

Valka considered her, her mind running over DeeDee's arguments. "Very well. You shall have the Darkhold for one day. Just do not summon the Elder God himself, promise me that. Right now, my magic is completely full, and yet, I would not win, not even with the aid of Thor. Elder Gods do not follow the normal laws. I doubt that your dampening field will affect him. But as for what I wish..." Valka trailed off, thinking. "I wish more of these delicious treats that you call PopTarts. Thor told me long ago of their delightfulness, but I did not believe him fully until I tasted them for myself," Valka said, remembering them. "A Midgardian named Craig brought them as a gift to Odin in the final days before the End. So that is what I request. Several large boxes of cinnamon sugar PopTarts, oh, and the seeds of the beans that create the drink you call coffee."

DeeDee
The Devil's Den

Poptarts? Went through my mind, did she really ask poptarts in return for a magical artifact as old as magic itself housing demonic powers stronger than she herself can contain? "Sure, I'll get you some poptarts, I can even give you the recipe for it. Well I personally can't but one of the chefs here hired can do that on my orders." Returning with her head to what mattered "oh don't worry, I have no plans at all to summon some Elder God. I might be able to control some demons but I'm not foolish enough to believe I could contain an Elder God under my commands. Nor would I like what he'd do to the place." I might not have been completely honest about only wanting to read from the book but summoning an Elder God was never a good idea. Only suicidal fanatics could think summoning one of those to be a good plan.

"Once you get me the Darkhold, I'll have some off my staff answer you every question they can about Midgardian food and drinks. And in one days time the book is yours again to do with it what you will." DeeDee gave a big smile, it was partially because she wanted to smile, but also partially a mask as she was containing herself to flirt with this All-Mother. It was hard to hold back the thoughts she had about Valka and not flirt all out with her.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

-snip-

The GCD members at the Funhouse saw the end of the battle.
"Boxer, I- Harley Quinn appears to be dead, and another female Mask dressed as the Joker is dead too. Third Mask, calling herself Marionette, took them down. Alignment unknown. Do we fire?"
"Hold fire. We don't have time for you to engage an unknown. Head to the Mansion"
"Got it."
The men lowered their weapon, but not before one of them accidently fired into the air. The others paled, staring at him as he apologized profusely. They all turned towards Marionette, hoping she didn't notice.

[Charmera]

"They grow up so fast don't they? Though, really I wouldn't know..." Commented Aqua. As usual she had snuck up behind ember without realising it. Her ability and control over the three states of water made getting almost anywhere quickly and quietly vey easy for her. "Oh! Sorry if I came up here unannounced. I thought I could talk to you since your my only friend and all..." She spoke. "I mean I tried to make friends with a bunch of Dolphins, but ummm... Dolphins are real jerks, let's just leave it at that."

She moved a little more towards Azure. "It must be nice having a kid..." She remarked.

Ember
Ember isles

"I know you live here and it's not like I scare easily so sneak all you want. And if you want to get rid of some dolphins, then take Azure with you around noon to meet them. He loves sea food and he always gets hungry around noon." Ember chuckled as Aqua said the part about it being nice having a kid. "Having a kid is nice, you put in a lot of effort, time, and everything you do in the end is at the least partially for them. But you get a lot of love in return for them."

Ember turned to face Aqua as she continued talking "But then they turn in to a teen. And everything I just said is still completely true, keep that in mind, but when they become a teen some things get added. In this case it's like a spear in your butt that you got to attached to, to remove. A constant pain in the ass that you love above anything else and wish nothing but the best for." Ember looked at the room where Azure was in and smiled "Once he's finished cleaning his room, take him away from the island a bit, play the cool aunt and let him vent a bit. When he returns after that he'll have that shy apologetic look on his face that shows me he's still a good kid, and I'm still a good mother. Some venting to a third party will do him good."

Ember stretched her ethereal body a bit, it was more out of a feeling that she should than a real need as she had no muscles to go stiff and in need of stretching. "Besides I could really use an hour or two for myself, stretch my own legs and wings for a bit, I've been starting to feel cooped up on this island myself. And that should never happen as it's my island."

"Sure." Spoke Aqua, smiling. It was not often she got to go play with Azure. "As for the Dolphins... I do hope I don't see them ever again." She spoke. She would have blushed, had it been possible for water to blush. "But yes, You should take a break. I shall play dragonsitter for a bit." She spoke before walking towards Azure. She smiled, using her water powers to slide underneath him and reform in front of him. "Hey big guy! How are you?"

Azure grunted, seemingly still moping and grumbling.

"Yeah, I could guess you didn't want to clean your room. I saw the fire."

Azure nodded. Another grunt came.

"Well. I know you think it's unfair. But you should know by now there really is no point in arguing with your mother."

The dragon mulled this over, and even the teenage dragon had to agree that arguing with Ember was an impossible battle.

"Look. Don't worry about it. Once your done I'm going to take you out on a trip! We can visit a few nice islands and see a whale or two! Wont that be fun?"

The Dragon let out a snort.

"You guess? Hmph..." She sighed, then shrugged. "You'll like it once we do it. You always do."

[Tomia]

Cora
Cora was surprised, but releaved at Katie's words. She did seem to be better. Then Katie asked about how Cora had been doing. "I'm fine Katie. These past few days haven't been easy on any of us, but you needed my help and there was no way I wouldn't be there for you."
Cora then blushed a bit when Katie hugged her. She wasn't sure why, it's not like Katie hadn't hugged her before, but this felt different. "You're welcome Katie. You did the same for me. I'll always be there for you." She told Katie as they hugged.

Katie looked up at Cora. She often had to do this as she was the shorter of the two and prone to hugging. She flash a big smile. Though there were still tears. "Thank you. Thank you so much. You're the best best friend anyone could ask for Cora. I... I l-" The word caught in her throat. "I like you a lot." She spoke. Nodding. She let go of Cora, wiping her tears away. She then smiled again. "I promise, I'll always be there for you too."

Cora tried not to blush again when Katie said she liked her, but Cora couldn't help it. "I like you too Katie. You're my best friend. I don't know where I would be without you." She said when Katie pulled away. Cora couldn't help but notice how beautiful Katie's smile was in that moment, it was almost distracting. "So I was thinking about going on patrol tonight. We haven't done it in a few days. Would you... wanna come with me? I understand if it's too soon Katie, I just thought I'd offer." Cora said, hoping Katie wouldn't get upset by her words. Comforting someone through a lose was not something she was used to, but she hoped that she was doing a good job.

[The Fallen Jedi]

- Snip -

"I know Kilian." Asumar replied "I already said that I'm going along with what I believe is my natural calling, I desire to only defend those who I love, If it isn't my future to do such a thing, only time will tell when my true fate will show itself to me, but until then..." Asumar started to smile "I'll do what I must to raise my son right, I'll fight alongside my brother, I'll keep fighting for what I believe, and that will be for the preservation of my people!" Asumar stated.

[Osnil]

Gotham
"Sir, the Iceberg Lounge has been assaulted by an unknown mutant," Sophie said over the com.

"Well, first let's get the girl taken care of. Romanoff, I'll let you tell her," Darren replied.

"Well, she's not here. I lost her again," Natasha said.

"Barton, you and I are going to help out the Bats," Darren said, "Natasha, you find her."

"Sure thing," Hawkeye replied.

"On it," Natasha said.

"Fury, you still online?" asked Darren.

"I'm still on, Wilde," Fury replied.

"We're gonna need some help down here in Gotham. It's a little worse than you or I imagined," Darren replied.

[Mavorpen]

"Why." Ronan punched Ruby in the stomach. "Won't." Ronan fired an energy blast at Ruby, who crossed her arms and blocked it, but it still sent her sliding backwards. "You." Ronan jumped in the air at her and brought his Universal Weapon down on her head. "Stay down!?" He stopped his hammer inches away from the ground and brought it right back up, slamming into Ruby's chin.

Ruby was lifted a couple inches off of the ground, her sunglasses once again flying off of her face. Ronan swung his Universal Weapon horizontally, aimed directly at her right ribs.

Ruby used the momentum from the last attack and flipped backwards. Once she landed, she caught her sunglasses and placed them on her face in one smooth motion. "Are you done?"

"Why do you refuse to take this seriously?" Ronan asked. "And what is so special about those sunglasses?"

"Why should I if you don't?" Ruby simply responded. "If you take it seriously, maybe I'll even tell you the secret behind the sunglasses."

"I don't understand what you mean. I am taking your capture very seriously."

"Exactly. You're going to get nowhere trying to capture me. If you aren't gonna fight to kill, just don't bother anymore." Ruby said.

"I refuse. We have been given orders to place capturing you and your allies as our highest priority." Ronan charge at Ruby and she sighed.

"Fine, have it your way." Ruby charged at him. Ronan timed another swing of his Universal Weapon at her. Suddenly she ramped up her speed and closed the gap between them quicker than he'd anticipated. Before he could swing in time, she threw a hook punch with her right fist aimed at his left ribs.

Ruby immediately felt something strange when she punched him and hesitated for a second. She barely managed to lean backwards, Matrix-style, and dodge the horizontal hammer swing from Ronan. Ruby lifted up her legs so that she was entirely parallel with the ground and extended her legs outward, kicking Ronan in the chest and getting some distance between them.

Doing a backflip and landing on one knee, she looked up and grunted. "You've got a shield."

Ronan was already upon her and began swinging his hammer at her. "Is there a problem? I thought you wanted a bigger challenge. Could it be you've realized an error in such a request?" Ronan chided as Ruby dodged backwards.

Ruby chuckled. "No, it's perfect." Before he could react, she punched him in the face. Though his shield soaked up the damage, he still hesitated for a fraction of a second, as his instinct told him to brace for the attack. He swung his hammer in an arc upwards, and Ruby quickly stepped back, dodging it with inches to spare.

Ruby counterattacked and punched him in the stomach three times. Ronan brought the hammer down, and once again missed as Ruby spun off of her heel and used the momentum to land a powerful blow to Ronan's right waist. He grunted slightly, indicating that he actually felt that one a little. Finally, Ronan wildly swung horizontally and Ruby ducked under it, launching an actual Shoryuken at his chin that shattered his shield and sent him flying into the air.

---

Phyla was annoyed. Well, annoyed was a huge understatement. Not only had Super Adaptoid managed to create something mimicking her Quantum Bands, but he was apparently growing stronger.

The two of them flew around each other across Hala as yellow trails forming a double helix. They exchanged blast after blast. They constructed shield after shield to block each other's blasts. They were getting nowhere. Well, correction, Phyla was going nowhere, while she could tell that Super Adaptoid was progressively getting stronger somehow. He shields were being constructed weaker and weaker.

Super Adaptoid constructed a replica of her signature sword and threw it at her. Phyla's shield deflected it easily. "Ha! You'll have to try better than that" she goaded. She immediately regretted it and cursed under her breath as she watched Super Adaptoid construct dozens of swords around him. With a wave of his hand, the swords all propelled at Phyla. This time, her shield didn't stand up so well against the assault.

The swords pierced her shield and shattered it to pieces. Super Adaptoid then constructed nearly twice as many swords as previously and threw them. Realizing that he shield would simply fail again, Phyla, in a desperation move, spread out her arms and simply released a large wave of yellow energy in front of her that could be seen from space.

Phyla fell to the ground, exhausted, wondering why she felt so weak when an attack like that would normally be child's play for her. Then she glanced at her Quantum Bands and her eyes widened in horror as three of the ovular gems on them grew black.

Phyla quickly realized that she had monumentally screwed up as the smoke cleared and Super Adaptoid emerged relatively unharmed. Super Adaptoid wasn't growing stronger. She was growing weaker. Phyla, like all Quasars, got her powers from the Quantum Bands that tapped into the energy of the universe. Because the Kree Empire was separated from the rest of the universe, her power didn't naturally replenish. She was so focused on the fight that she hadn't even considered this. And now she'd left herself essentially as a sitting duck thanks to her last ditch effort.

Then, Kylie appeared. It'd been a while since Phyla was so happy seeing a familiar face. "Kylie! I'm, uh, kind of in a bind. I'm running low on energy."

---

Jamal raised his hand as he created a force field to block a beam of energy from Ultron-Warlock. As he was busy attacking Jamal, he was left open to an attack from behind by Warlock, who morphed his forearms into a club and bashed him in the back. Ultron-Warlock staggered a bit, but then quickly backhanded Warlock, sending him reeling backwards.

Jamal took to the air and took the chance to fire a blast of his own down at Ultron-Warlock. Though instead of using his gravimetric powers to produce a pulse of energy, he concentrated it and fired the raw repulsive gravimetric force at Ultron-Warlock. Ultron-Warlock was shoved to the ground with the force and Jamal fired twice more as Warlock punched him.

Red energy exploded outward, with Ultron-Warlock and knocked Warlock and Jamal back as though they were hit with a wall. "I grow tired of this!" He shouted and launched an uppercut at Warlock. "You are fundamentally inferior to me!" He encased his hands with red energy and hit Warlock with a right hook. "The only reason why you remain alive is because I find potential use in you. My patience has limits, though, Technarch."

"[Indeed, you are stronger than WarlockSelf, Ultron-Phalanx. Self cannot defeat you through mere force alone.]"

Ultron-Warlock grinned deviously and elbowed Warlock. "Is that so? You speak as though you have a method to defeat me despite recognizing the folly in the idea of an imperfect being defeating a perfect being."

"[Rumination. Very little. Except a mutant non aggressive strain of the transmode virus.]" Warlock responded, grabbing him.

Ultron-Warlock's eyes widened as he quickly understood what was about to happen. "What? Wait, no!" He screamed out in pain as Warlock transferred his viral strain into him. The body limply collapsed to the ground.

Jamal landed next to Ultron and Adam Warlock's seemingly unconscious body. "Ultron is down, everyone!" He called out.

"[Negative. This body contains no trace of Ultronself's consciousness. His consciousness has fled to escape WarlockSelf's mutated virus.]"

"Shit, that's not good. I've heard about this. He can transfer his essence from body to body. If he manages to load himself onto another body, he might be able to gain an advantage. Worldmind?"

"[Currently scanning for Ultron's pattern trace. I have also detected that Ultron's control over Genis-Vell and Ronan has been largely severed. Super Adaptoid is remains under control as he is mechanic in nature.]"

Suddenly the ground shook and Jamal and Warlock looked up at the still burning Babel Spire, watching as it spontaneously collapsed. Immediately after it collapsed, hundreds of Kree Sentries began converging on where the spire previously stood erect. They then began fusing into each other and organizing themselves into something.

"They're building another Babel Spire?" Jamal asked.

"[Worse, self is afraid.]"

As the last of the Sentries finished being joined together, a familiar laugh echoed across the battlefield, as a now giant Ultron stood over them. "The authority of the Great Ultron will remain absolute, despite your pathetic attempts to reject it. Phalanx, priority has been adjusted: exterminate all terrorist insurgents!"

"Fucking die, already!" Jamal shouted, exacerbated.

[New Neros]

The Darkstar Crisis
Death of Earth-197

He stood with a fleet at the ready - the combined might of several galaxies' worth of space empires set aflame behind him. The only world left to torch of any worth lay bare before him - Earth. Darkstar's boots tapped lightly against his knee as he watched the pale blue marble float against the dark void of space, his relaxed demeanor devoid of any sort of sentimental attachment - as if this were not his first time. At his side was his lovely aid, Rose, who leaned against Darkstar's shoulder with her hand. Maxwell reached up and grabbed onto it with his own hand, a faint smile growing on his face.

"Max, there appears to be some resistance among the populace of Earth." Rose informed him, a stoic look on her face as she reported whatever she was told.

"Please, Rose, call me Darkstar." He corrected her, the girl nodding with a sweet smile.

"Darkstar, the heroes and villains of this Earth are coming to challenge your fleet. And they bring a friend."

"Oh? What being could they muster in time to pose a threat to my armada?" Darkstar quizzed, stopping his foot from rapping against the other, swinging it back down and setting it on the floor. A look of concern grew on his face, but with a gentle nod, he rolled his neck up and down. "They convinced the World Eater to defend their world? To defend the likes of Morningstar? Perhaps he is among them. They all will die by association. Nul shall take care of them." He said calmly, relaxing back in his chair and setting his chin on one of his fists, waving the other hand limply to give an order, "Send him out. Ensure he kills Galactus."

---

Earth's greatest heroes took to the skies and into space to defend their homeworld from an unknown threat. Their only notice was the amount of fleeing alien refugees who came to this world in order to find a safe haven from the wrath of Darkstar. Those aliens made up large parts of the forces to confront the alien fleet, but the greatest minds of Earth had already calculated their untimely demise. Though none remembered the Secret Wars or the events leading up to it, they still didn't have enough time to weather the storm in a Life Raft - construction on one would take days at the fastest possible speed. So, Reed Richards called in the big guns.

A sleek, purple helmed being took center stage between the approaching fleet and Earth - the other heroes buzzing around him like a swarm of bees compared to his giant form. It was Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, and he stood to save this universe or face starvation at the hands of Darkstar as well. Whispers among the superheroes pondered whether Galactus was on their side or not, but his exclamation calmed their fears, only somewhat, thought. "I am power incarnate! To Galactus, nothing is impossible! The salvation of this world is not beyond my grasp!"

The fleet stopped their advancement at the call of Galactus, the square eyes of the Devourer casting a harsh glare on the vessels - those clearly not the true power of this fleet, because the Shi'ar, Kree, and Skrulls would have easily dispatched this rudimentary force. It is a show, a parlor trick, nothing more, and Galactus could see through that with his Cosmic Awareness, but what he could not see, though, was what was behind such power. And for Galactus to not see it, only meant that it came from beyond this universe. Galactus trained his eyes forward in front of the fleet - a small humanoid appearing before them some distance away. "You dare challenge the might of Galactus?" He asked quietly, attempting to uncover the depth of this lone warrior's power.

Upon further investigation, Galactus saw that this warrior wielded the heraldry of one of the Houses of Krypton - and behind him, the numerous ships of the Darkstar Fleet. "Turn from this battle, Young Kryptonian, you have lost before it had began." Galactus roared, his watchful eyes registering a liquid-like movement flailing around him like a physical aura of darkness, and it seemed to bleed from his arm and suit down to one of his arms, casting it into a blade of pure, unadulterated blackness. It was not possible, Galactus reasoned, that one with such power could come across an object of even greater power.

"No." The man replied firmly, his eyes glowing a deep, passionate red.

"Then know death." Galactus said, lifting his right hand, armed with a blast of the Power Cosmic, and unleashing it's full fury against the Kryptonian. The heroes watched in awe as it engulfed the man and took several ships down with it, the power clearly able to eradicate an entire planet's worth of mass, dropping the jaws of several heroes in the process. Galactus held a firm look, but tilted his head downwards to obscure his eyes in the shadows. The heroes were ready to rejoice, but Galactus held his hand up still. "Do not celebrate, for this is no victory. Behold, the man still stands." Sure enough, the Kryptonian remained almost indifferent to the blast. He began to float forward lazily, a tight frown on his face.

The superheroes charged forward as an entire group - unprompted, simply the kind of people they were. The ones who head straight into the danger if it means any sort of life is at stake. Members of the Justice League and the Avengers made up this initial group, and their spearhead as none other than Kal-El of Krypton, Superman. His fist was extended and ready to collide with the evil Kryptonian's face at a velocity approaching light speed, but the enemy simply moved the side at the last possible minute, allowing Superman's arm to slide across his shoulder. Clark didn't see it in time, but he felt it instantly. The stinging hot sensation of his nigh-invulnerable body being stabbed deep - how deep, he didn't yet know, but he quickly felt the vision fading from his eyes. He looked down, seeing his last sight, which was the black arm-blade of the evil Kryptonian buried deep into his chest.

The servant of Darkstar ripped it out at an angle, spraying Superman's compatriots with their friend's blood, causing them all to screech into a halt from pure shock. The red blood dripped from the blade as the last son of Krypton's body floated aimlessly backward - the man having stabbed him and sliced upwards through Kal's ribcage and out through his shoulder. His eyes were glassed over, a scream sounding in the crowd. "There you have it, folks." The man said ominously, "I am Nul Tyranis. Man of Steel? Meet the Butcher of Gods, wielder of All-Black the Necrosword."

The scream was the sound of Wonder Woman watching her romantic love interest be disemboweled before her eyes, and the eyes of her team. Tears began to stream down her cheeks, blasting towards Nul with even faster speeds than Superman man, her swords at the ready and her deadly aim sweeping at Nul's head and torso. The God Butcher stepped back and avoided the two slices entirely, Diana lunging forward with the intent to drive her twin swords into Nul's body. He let this attack through his defenses, and found the blades stabbing into a plate of darkness. Wonder Woman didn't seem to care one bit - her eyes, full of hatred and fury, trained upon the stoic face of Nul. She yanked her blades free from the black plate, finding them tainted in a dark sludge.

Tossing them aside, Diana swung her fist at Nul, colliding with his face and sending a visible shockwave across the vacuum. Nul's neck twisted against the force, but he remained where he was, Wonder Woman's eyes suddenly growing wide. She too glanced down, the same blade that pierced Superman stabbing into her liver ever so slowly. Her mouth opened as well, but she clenched her teeth at the last second. She grabbed onto the God Butcher's arm and clamped down tight, rearing her fist back to deliver a series of blows to his face. Figuring the blade was taken care of, she found the flaw in her plan immediately as thousands of spears, swords, pikes, and the like forming in the cosmic vacuum - impaling and slicing her comrades in a vicious, sharpened meat grinder, to her abject horror. Nul formed one last blade from his off hand, Wonder Woman throwing her last strike to his face - fighting to the very end.

Nul sliced at a diagonal degree, severing Wonder Woman's arm above the elbow and going straight across her neck. A seam of blood formed at the wound, the Amazon's eyes glossing over instantly, her head peeling off of the rest of her body and floating aimlessly in space. Nul stayed motionless as the entirety of the heroes of Earth were wiped out in but a few moments, his greatest target standing before him - dwarfing him immensely. Galactus drew in insane, solar system destroying levels of the Power Cosmic into the palm of both of his outstretched hands, Nul Tyranis rushing forward to avoid the blast. The Kryptonian slammed into the World Eater's chest with incredible force and power - throwing himself and Galactus down through space and hurling towards Earth itself.

"I cannot...fire this blast...so close to Earth..."Galactus moaned, grabbing at his chest to snatch up the God Butcher, but found him deeply embedded into his own armor. The cosmic giant slammed against a continent on Earth like a flaming meteor. The connection points in Galactus' armor erupted with black tendrils, the center of Galactus' chest forming a nucleus for the tentacles - Nul's entire arm piercing deep into the Devourer's body up to the shoulder. Nul's eyes flashed red, zapping Galactus' from the chest up into his exposed face - the giant reeling with pain and flailing his arms around. "You fool! MY body...you're killing...my body!" He yelled, attempting to teleport away from the Earth, but finding his arms pinned back down on the ground. "My armor...you've taken control of it..."

Galactus relaxed for a moment, staring deep at the enraged face of Nul Tyranis, the God Butcher, and reasoned that what happens next would at least save the rest of the universe from Darkstar, at the cost of Earth. "Reed Richards, I am sorry. I am inevitable. I am... Destiny. For I am that which has always been, since this Universe was birthed from the ashes of the last. I am the hunger that dooms worlds. I am he who is beyond such frail concepts as good and evil. I am Galactus."

"...And I am no more."

With those choice words, and explosion rocketed across the Earth's surface and radiated outward across the endless cosmos in a blast wave of unrivaled size and strength since the Big Bang itself. It would consume half of the universe - the half already demolished by Darkstar and his unstoppable fleet. The remains of that universe would live on as a tattered, broken remnant of once was. Life would start anew on some fated world lost in the cosmic sea of stars and planets, still innumerable even though half of them were gone at this point. The very fleet of Darkstar and the agent of his will, Nul Tyranis, seemed to vanished from existence along with Galactus. But, those small lights of life grew dim in a single instant as well - the other half of the universe to survive the Galactus obliteration perimeter extinguished in that blast's anti-thesis, in a quiet whimper.

In the space between universes, the former home of the Monitors, the Darkstar Fleet arrived. They survived the blastwave entirely, and with Nul Tyranis with them. Joining his master on the bridge of his flagship, the God Butcher walked with a normal gait, almost unphased that he literally killed Galactus and took half of the universe with him, nor that he managed to survive such an explosion. Darkstar smiled as his companion walked in. "Ah, Nul, excellent work. I really saved you at the last moment, no?" Nul nodded in affirmation, Darkstar's smile growing wider. "Good, good. A little rest, recuperation, and we'll be back on the hunt. But make no mistake - Morningstar will die by my hands, you are but my tool to accomplish such an action. Understand?"

"Yes, God of Death, Darkstar."

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

Hopping down from the fading skeleton of the giant, well, skeleton, Garnet landed gracefully on the grass next to Masami, the black mask allowing her to, among other things, maintain her balance with ease as she fell, as though she was born to be an acrobat, though of course it was only the doing of the mask and nothing more. Either way, she landed next to the kitsune, glancing at her and raising an eyebrow as she was cut off mid-sentence by the flash of light that heralded a tail sprouting from where tails were usually found. The blonde woman caught herself staring at the kitsune's tails for a moment too long, and with an awkward cough, she pointedly looked away, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Well, that's not something you see every day." She remarked. "And for the record, I wasn't paying attention the first time it happened."

Afterwards, she turned to watch as the very last vestiges of the giant skeleton faded away. She looked down at her clothes only to notice with a faint smile that they were not grossly stained with blood as they had been after the battle with the Tengu. Only some of the blood of the giant bat was on them, but not nearly as much, and of course, the skeleton itself and the fearsome Goryo did not bleed, so they did not stain her.

"You know, I could really get used to fighting things that don't have guts and blood to spill all over me when I kill them. It's much cleaner." She commented as she took off the mask and put it away, glad to see with her own eyes even if the mask was quite useful in combat. Seeing through the slots of the mask made the world seem... bleaker. Darker. Redder, too, in a way. It was very useful, but it was also very unnerving an item. "Anyway, let's go into the inn, eh? You can practice whatever you do with those fluffy tails of yours and I can check if my clothes are still here. I might just find my pack of smokes if that's the case." The blonde woman said, walking into what remained of the inn as she ran a hand through her curly hair.

---

---

---

Hadrimmelis nodded slowly and periodically as she listened to the other World-Dragon detail her research and the results thereof, taking everything in and storing it away in the massive machine of thought and reflection that was a dragon's consciousness, even when the vast majority of it slumbered peacefully. Though she wouldn't admit it, the crimson dragon was actually rather interested in seeing where her sister's research would lead her. Not every World-Dragon delved into the fields of magic and such, after all, least of all the elder Kazayannú, who had been the first and had seen so much more than the others combined. He was often overconfident in his experience, she believed, but then, she was yet to prove him wrong, much to her chagrin.

"I see. Well, it hardly surprises me that the Progenitor rejects your tampering. You should know by now that the Dragon Force is alive, Yamira. I can tell you that if someone attempted to tamper with in such manner, I would not be veryp leased myself." The elder World-Dragon stated, though she shook her head a moment afterwards. "Not that I wish to pretend to understand the Dragon Force. Perhaps it simply is not meant to be." She stated. At the next portion however, she simply nodded again. The Vokornians had helped the dragons plenty, and in turn the dragons had helped the Vokornians as well. The two races, one could say, got along fairly well, though that stopped being the case after the tragedy that split them into three different factions. Now, only the Collective maintained relations with them.

"Which is fine by me." She thought with a mental shrug. The views held by the other two factions were views she cared nothing about.

At the mention of Lula, though, the avatar seemed to perk up, a smile creeping into her face. "I would love to be able to read them sometime. That would be a very nice gesture on your part, Yamira." She said warmly.

It was then that she received the message. It was directed towards her consciousness as a whole, of course, and not at any specific avatar, but still, the content of the message caused every single avatar to stop what they were doing and listen; even the one who was currently occupied with quelling an intergalactic war between a confederation of sentient stingrays and an empire of robotic kittens. They all stopped and listened, and they all were rather surprised to hear what they just heard; a logical outcome, really, considering how Hadrimmelis herself was truly surprised. If one could gaze deep into the core of a blazing deathworld, one may have seen a pair of gigantic eyes flutter open for a second, before closing again.

"I... For real?" The World-Dragon consciousness thought back in a manner very uncharacteristic of a being who had lived billions of years and was slated to live billions more. "I am very happy to hear that, Ashyandra. Could I see you? I very much want to see this with my own two eyes." The dragon's mind paused. "I mean with the two eyes of one of my avatars, of course." She said.

Meanwhile, somewhere, an avatar worked very hard to keep war from erupting, sighing to herself.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

Eons ago, in a world long dead...
"Die, fiend!" The costumed Hero nearly screamed in his rage. After twenty long years of perpetual combat against his foe, the final assault against his greatest enemy would finally occur this day. "Your death is long overdue!"
The armored knight before him simply laughed. "You and I both know that death isn't something that comes easily to me." He drew his blade and pointed it towards his longtime foe. "I once wielded the power of Gods, fool. You are nothing."
"Twenty years, still singing the same old tune, One?" The Hero suddenly sent a blast of powerful energy towards the One. "It's time for a change in venue!"
"I must say..." The One swung his blade, sending forth a burst of light and eliminating the attack. "Your taste in music is terrible. It's my turn now." He suddenly charged forward, his speed unmatched by all except his foe. The two clashed, the impact of blade and impenetrable fist sending reverberations through the entire system.
"Why... Won't.. You... Fall!" The Hero screamed. "You destroyed my world- My people! Yet you feel no remorse! You kill millions without a stutter!"
"Impressive, aren't I?" The One smirked, though he was slowly losing ground. "You would do well to have my temperament."
"What are you!"
With that, the Hero released a final blow of immense proportions, crushing the lead colored chestplate of the One. The One's eyes began to fade into glass.
"S-So... At long last, Hero.. I've won." He laughed harshly, then coughed up blood. "You killed me."
The Hero paled, staring at his blood covered fist before fleeing. The shockwave from the sheer speed he traveled was immeasurable, and certainly did nothing to alleviate the pain the One was in.
"Thus, I am free from this Universe. What do you have for me next.." He spit blood out, as one might into the face of an enemy. "Oh mighty Lord and Master?" The sarcasm in the dying immortal's voice was palpable.
Finally, he died- His armor, so hard, faded to mere lead, and his sword, strengthened beyond steel, shattered in the cold expanse of space. One day, the Hero would return, and find there was no body in the remains.

---

With a gasp, a dark skinned man awoke in Manhattan. Where have you placed me this time, my One Above All? He looked around, wary, his mind slowly filling with knowledge of this space and time. As always, when he learned of who he would face, they began to faintly glow, both in his vision and his mind.
So... You would have me face this one? Fascinating.... This ought to be fun. He smirked, rising and unsheathing his blade. With that, he set out to his new foe.
"The One Below All walks again, mortals. Fear the power of the omniverse."

[Charmera]

---

Hopping down from the fading skeleton of the giant, well, skeleton, Garnet landed gracefully on the grass next to Masami, the black mask allowing her to, among other things, maintain her balance with ease as she fell, as though she was born to be an acrobat, though of course it was only the doing of the mask and nothing more. Either way, she landed next to the kitsune, glancing at her and raising an eyebrow as she was cut off mid-sentence by the flash of light that heralded a tail sprouting from where tails were usually found. The blonde woman caught herself staring at the kitsune's tails for a moment too long, and with an awkward cough, she pointedly looked away, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Well, that's not something you see every day." She remarked. "And for the record, I wasn't paying attention the first time it happened."

Afterwards, she turned to watch as the very last vestiges of the giant skeleton faded away. She looked down at her clothes only to notice with a faint smile that they were not grossly stained with blood as they had been after the battle with the Tengu. Only some of the blood of the giant bat was on them, but not nearly as much, and of course, the skeleton itself and the fearsome Goryo did not bleed, so they did not stain her.

"You know, I could really get used to fighting things that don't have guts and blood to spill all over me when I kill them. It's much cleaner." She commented as she took off the mask and put it away, glad to see with her own eyes even if the mask was quite useful in combat. Seeing through the slots of the mask made the world seem... bleaker. Darker. Redder, too, in a way. It was very useful, but it was also very unnerving an item. "Anyway, let's go into the inn, eh? You can practice whatever you do with those fluffy tails of yours and I can check if my clothes are still here. I might just find my pack of smokes if that's the case." The blonde woman said, walking into what remained of the inn as she ran a hand through her curly hair.

Masami nodded, turning from her fluffy tails whichs she was admiring. Garnet might notice her natural alure and attractiveness had increased with the number of tails. "Sure." She spoke. "A surprising amount of techniques I never understood are now becoming... clearer. I think I become smarter with each tail." She commented. "I believe the elders described the process as such." She spoke. She shrugged. "We could also talk. I'd imagine theres quite a lot we could talk about. After all we've been through a lot together but I don't know all that much about you. And the same goes for you with me I'd imagine." She spoke.

She then curled her hands into fists then uncurled them. "Though, if you really are curious as to what I can do. I suppose I can test what I have gained. I'd prefer not to stay in this form more than I have to though."

---

---

Hadrimmelis nodded slowly and periodically as she listened to the other World-Dragon detail her research and the results thereof, taking everything in and storing it away in the massive machine of thought and reflection that was a dragon's consciousness, even when the vast majority of it slumbered peacefully. Though she wouldn't admit it, the crimson dragon was actually rather interested in seeing where her sister's research would lead her. Not every World-Dragon delved into the fields of magic and such, after all, least of all the elder Kazayannú, who had been the first and had seen so much more than the others combined. He was often overconfident in his experience, she believed, but then, she was yet to prove him wrong, much to her chagrin.

"I see. Well, it hardly surprises me that the Progenitor rejects your tampering. You should know by now that the Dragon Force is alive, Yamira. I can tell you that if someone attempted to tamper with in such manner, I would not be veryp leased myself." The elder World-Dragon stated, though she shook her head a moment afterwards. "Not that I wish to pretend to understand the Dragon Force. Perhaps it simply is not meant to be." She stated. At the next portion however, she simply nodded again. The Vokornians had helped the dragons plenty, and in turn the dragons had helped the Vokornians as well. The two races, one could say, got along fairly well, though that stopped being the case after the tragedy that split them into three different factions. Now, only the Collective maintained relations with them.

"Which is fine by me." She thought with a mental shrug. The views held by the other two factions were views she cared nothing about.

At the mention of Lula, though, the avatar seemed to perk up, a smile creeping into her face. "I would love to be able to read them sometime. That would be a very nice gesture on your part, Yamira." She said warmly.

It was then that she received the message. It was directed towards her consciousness as a whole, of course, and not at any specific avatar, but still, the content of the message caused every single avatar to stop what they were doing and listen; even the one who was currently occupied with quelling an intergalactic war between a confederation of sentient stingrays and an empire of robotic kittens. They all stopped and listened, and they all were rather surprised to hear what they just heard; a logical outcome, really, considering how Hadrimmelis herself was truly surprised. If one could gaze deep into the core of a blazing deathworld, one may have seen a pair of gigantic eyes flutter open for a second, before closing again.

"I... For real?" The World-Dragon consciousness thought back in a manner very uncharacteristic of a being who had lived billions of years and was slated to live billions more. "I am very happy to hear that, Ashyandra. Could I see you? I very much want to see this with my own two eyes." The dragon's mind paused. "I mean with the two eyes of one of my avatars, of course." She said.

Meanwhile, somewhere, an avatar worked very hard to keep war from erupting, sighing to herself.

"Perhaps. But the implications are a little disturbing, for me at least. What if the Dragon force doesn't like magic? What if my use of it has somehow displeased it since it is a living entity?" She considered. "It would be quite unfortunate to discover the very force that we are so bound to is displeased with you, would it not?" She continued questioning. It was the way to aquire knowledge, to ask questions. She also always liked to get Hadri's take on things. Her added experience and wisdom was a boon, even if she did not dedicate herself to learning as much as Yami did. After all Yami was almost obsessed with learning as she could. It would get to the point where almost all her avatars were hunting for knowledge.

"I would be glad to loan you those books. Though I would like them back at some point. They contain many a theory on dreams, which is a subject I have some interest in at the moment." She spoke.

Then she saw the avatar in front of her silent. Not saying a word. This surprised her. World dragons were of course able to keep track of many a thing at once, so it was rare they could be visibly distracted. Yami herself was multitasking with countless avatars at this very moment herself. She almost waved her hand in front of Hadri's face. "Sister... Are you alright? Was it something I said?"

"Of course! Do you think I would joke about that?" Ashy communed with audible joy. "I feel so much better than I did cooped up in that stupid shell of armour. And yes I would love to meet. We have many a thing to discuss. I actually could use your help..."

And so the shepard will find allies in those than the Children negected-

"Shut up!" She spoke. Not sure if the world dragon could hear that voice. She might be able to. She might not. "Anyway, where shall we meet then? And by that I mean which Avatar should I meet with?"

[The Republic of Atria]

The two continued slugging it out, at least until Photon stopped allowing Naja to hit him against another molecule and wale on him until he grabbed both of her hands. "Alright. That's enough. We can stop now. Besides, we kept this up for much longer and we would have nuked the surface of Hala. Unlike us three, the Kree aren't immune to the effect of radiation and cancer." He let Naja go. "Ultron isn't controlling me anymore. Which means-"

"We're going to kick his ass... Assuming you grow us back to normal."

"Working on it..." He said growing himself and the two women back to normal size just in time to see something being constructed. "I thought they blew that up?" He said referring to the spire until he got a sudden realization. "Oh. That is slightly... I'm not sure. Better or worse."

Earth

Loki wanted to usurp Asgard, but tricking Valka was even harder than tricking Odin. That, and the fact that she is far less patient with him than Odin was. She was out for blood, his blood. In his mind, if blood is what she wanted, blood she shall have. Midgardians were wily and dangerous for being weaker than Asgardians. Most of them couldn't even do basic magic. Which made it all too easy for him to manipulate them. One in particular, Osborn. His mind was a mess. Supposedly reformed and on the side of good. Not for long. All it took was a little push and tug here and there and the evil part of him, the Green Goblin was back. In a way. less crazy, but just as angry.

He gathered his Dark Avengers, showing a video Loki had created of Asgardians assaulting the Earth, not just to them, but to every news media outlet that would have it. In a matter of minutes the entire United States was in an uproar about it. Norman assured them that he had his best on on the case for retaliation.

The Sentry

[Bentus]

-snip-

The GCD members at the Funhouse saw the end of the battle.
"Boxer, I- Harley Quinn appears to be dead, and another female Mask dressed as the Joker is dead too. Third Mask, calling herself Marionette, took them down. Alignment unknown. Do we fire?"
"Hold fire. We don't have time for you to engage an unknown. Head to the Mansion"
"Got it."
The men lowered their weapon, but not before one of them accidently fired into the air. The others paled, staring at him as he apologized profusely. They all turned towards Marionette, hoping she didn't notice.

Mia Aveline - Joker's Funhouse

---

Mia smiled happily as she looked down over the balcony, noting cheerily that she'd used the right amount of Thread to suspend Jester's figure comfortably high above the ground below. The young woman felt giddy at her victory - Harley Quinn and the Jester, without a doubt her highest profile foes yet! And she'd won. Her mind was racing with the possibilities, imagining fanciful encounters with CeeCee, her adored hero praising her abilities and pledging to take her under her wing. Mia's eyes shone at the thought, but quickly the adrenalin was fleeing from her body as the exhaustion and fatigue from the intense battle rapidly caught up to her.

"Phew, you really didn't make it easy!" Mia exclaimed tiredly, wiping some of the beads of sweat from her forehead. She'd addressed the compliment to the lifeless corpse that now swung lightly in the Gotham breeze - funnelled by the city's high-rises. "When I tell Silvie she's going to be so proud of you, I bet you'll end up being closer than ever." Mia giggled, a slight stab of jealousy at the relationship the other Villainesses enjoyed poking at her heart. The thought brought with it the memory that she was supposed to meet up with CeeCee and Nightblade - she couldn't allow herself to let them down. The woman's expression suddenly turned blank, the realisation dawning on her that she'd lost track of the heroes and hadn't the slightest clue as to how to find them. Mia's earlier confidence had vanished as she felt her knees feel increasingly week as a wave of panic started to flood over her thoughts. What if they thought she'd abandoned them? The daydream's of CeeCee's approving praise suddenly twisted themselves into nightmares as Mia's face adopted a look of horror. She had to find them.

The sound of the rifle tearing through the night air forced Mia out of her reverie as her eyes darted to its source. A faint glimmer of hope lit up in Mia's chest as she saw the group of men standing together at a distance from the Funhouse. Maybe they knew where Daniel and CeeCee were! It was the best lead she had at the moment, and Mia reasoned that if they refused to tell her where her comrades were - she could simply start killing them off until they started speaking the truth. The once-again smiling girl waved her hand above her head.

"Oh, hello! I'll be with you in just a minute."

Mia leaped off of the balcony spooling a Thread from her fingertip which allowed her to swing gently to the street. Landing elegantly - at least in her mind - a few metres from the GCD Officers, Mia grinned cheerily at them. "I'm Marionette and I was wondering if you could direct me to two of my friends - a man and a woman, Nightblade and CeeCee? About yay-high?"

[Charmera]

August Carter/Ranger-13(20ish Years)-Devil's Den

Even with my helmet on, it was hard to contain my nervousness around this girl. This girl has had more girls than I did? How does that work? As she named off a guest list worth the names I simply plopped myself back down as I realized just how out of myself I was. I know what she is talking about...after all, I am 13. But beyond the general theme of behind closed doors, I dont know much about it. I was reaching for my half full glass of milk when she even said that had she liked boys, she would even give me a pass. Or whatever that meant, the comment worked me up so much I dropped the glass all over the counter, spilling the milk everywhere.

The one important thing that I picked up was that she was helping Chorus look for someone. Presumably the one who stole her voice. If I could help Chorus find this person...and get her voice back. She would fall in love with me...right?

Yeah, thats how it works. In my video game RPGs the hero always has to do something BIG to impress the princess. Man I miss playing my Sega Spectrum.

And if it comes to a fight, I sparred with my dad, so I should be fine. It was then that the bartender had responded to Deedee's order to get me something with alcohol in it. I was still wearing my helmet, actually forgetting I had it on. As I just star ed blankly at the substance through my visor.

"My parents dont have alcohol. It's not allowed in our home. And I am not legal age anyways..." I droned on to no one in particular. Also forgetting how old I appear to the two ladies. It was then that I finally noticed through the reflection in the beverage, that I was still wearing the helmet, so I once more removed it. As I slowly picked the drink up.

Well....I suppose one drink wont hurt right? After all...as long as NO ONE tells mom....I will live.

As I brought the drink to my lips, ignoring the strong smell as I slipped a sip in between my lips, and the spurted it in front of me.

Horror then spread across my face as I saw who it was in front of me.

I just spit alcohol all over the crush of my life....

I completely froze, unable to say anything, but silently cursing Deedee in my mind. As I frantically tried to dry Chorus off with the napkins, I realized...that Deedee is the type of girl my mom warned me about.

And mom was right.

Chorus looked at herself and sighed. Seeing she was now soaking wet. She took one of the napkins from Augusts hand and put it to the side. She then wondered if there were any ways to dry herself. Considering her powers there must be some way she felt. Then suddenly her powers responded by forcing the liquid off her and to run down onto the floor telekinetically. Her eyes widened. She looked at once wet arms and legs. Interesting. Gilbert. It seems I have found your power. She thought in the Choir of voices in her head.

She then got back to writing.

Don't worry about it August. I've already had a crappy day. It's not like a bit of alcohol spilled on me is going to make it any worse.

She then passed it to him and grabbed another napkin.

Sorry. I must be rather different from what you were expecting of your Idol. I'm definitely not as glamorous as you might expect. Believe it or not I've never been good at holding that celebrity thing in conversations like this.

[The Starlight]

Poptarts? Went through my mind, did she really ask poptarts in return for a magical artifact as old as magic itself housing demonic powers stronger than she herself can contain? "Sure, I'll get you some poptarts, I can even give you the recipe for it. Well I personally can't but one of the chefs here hired can do that on my orders." Returning with her head to what mattered "oh don't worry, I have no plans at all to summon some Elder God. I might be able to control some demons but I'm not foolish enough to believe I could contain an Elder God under my commands. Nor would I like what he'd do to the place." I might not have been completely honest about only wanting to read from the book but summoning an Elder God was never a good idea. Only suicidal fanatics could think summoning one of those to be a good plan.

"Once you get me the Darkhold, I'll have some off my staff answer you every question they can about Midgardian food and drinks. And in one days time the book is yours again to do with it what you will." DeeDee gave a big smile, it was partially because she wanted to smile, but also partially a mask as she was containing herself to flirt with this All-Mother. It was hard to hold back the thoughts she had about Valka and not flirt all out with her.

"It is good to see that we are in accord. I shall return to Asgard and bring you the Darkhold." She gazed at the Midgardian. "Be careful." Then, giving her a smile and a nod, she departed, Mjolnir flying to hand.

Returning to Asgard, she unlocked the vault, walking past the various treasures of Asgard, before stopping before the Darkhold. Was she doing the right thing? she wondered, before unlocking its individual vault, and, shielding it in the Valka-Force, flew back to the Devil's Den where DeeDee was waiting. Removing the shield, she placed it in DeeDee's hand. "The Darkhold."

[The Republic of Atria]

Killian

"It's a big universe Asumar." He said. "Larger than you think. There's lots of people out there. Good and bad. A word to the wise. I would stay out of Asgard for then next few hours. Trust me, with what's happening there, mortal men will falter. But it's going to be interesting to watch to be certain." He said and vanished to watch the upcoming war on Asgard. "This place just can't catch a break can it?" He asked and looked up to the sky just as Valka left. "And so it begins..."

Robert smashed into the golden city and wiped out several blocks worth. Without Valka there to defend it, there was nothing to stop the void from tearing the city apart while Osborn and the rest of his Dark Avengers made their way to Oklahoma to "help" Sentry despite most of them knowing he's more powerful than all of them put together. But Sentry was losing himself. It wouldn't be long before the much more terrifying Void took control.

Alex

Bored at his apartment, he decided to make something to eat while the TV was on. Alex made all sorts of random foods that he could store for later. Ones that the expiration date was well away from when he made it. He quickly began to realize that being human wasn't so bad. He could smell the aroma of the food he was making. Rice, chicken, pizza. Sure minor burns happened while he was cooking, but healing magic wasn't that hard when the wounds were minor. That, and he wanted to eat with Naja whenever she got back from Hala.

[The Starlight]

Asgard

The feast of the Asgardians had been disturbed as they heard sounds of destruction and battle. Thor, seeing the absence of Valka quickly took command, ordering the Asgardians to arm themselves. And once that was done, they attacked, clashing with the Dark Avengers, Thor at their head, Mjolnir crackling in hand. "What is this?!" he shouted angrily, surprised that powered mortals were attacking Asgard for seemingly no reason. Then his eyes narrowed, and with a shout, he threw himself into the fray, Mjolnir rising quickly, smashing, clobbering and breaking bones. Seeing Sentry in the sky, he hurled Mjolnir at the figure, commanding some Asgardians to pray to Valka to alert her of the attack.

Valka
The All-Mother frowned, hearing Asgardians praying for her. "Asgard, attacked? By whom?" she spoke back, hurrying to DeeDee. "My realm is under attack, by mortals, of all people. I must depart." And in a golden flash, she was gone, speeding to Asgard to defend her realm and people.

[The Republic of Atria]

Thor and Sentry went at it. Sentry slamming Thor through Asgard onto the ground below. "Fiend! What has Asgard done to deserve your ire?" Thor demanded but received no answer from the Sentry. "Fine, if this is what you wish, then I will smite you with all the power at my disposal!" He shouted and clobbered Sentry in his gut with Mjolnir. Though all this did was knock him back about 20 feet. "Odin's eye..."

Alex was watch TV when all the channels began to broadcast the fight between Asgard and a group of heroes, one of whom looked just like he used to. "What the hell?" He muttered and used his magic to finish the dishes and put the food in the microwave for later. They played the video the showed Asgardians attacking various places on Earth, but upon using his magic, he found that it was merely an illusion. It wasn't real. But who would want to attack Asgard, and also has the skill to make that kind of illusion? Only one name crossed his mind.

Loki.

[Zarkenis Ultima]

---

"Nah, don't bother using them if you'd rather conserve your energy. I don't really care to know what you can do as long as it doesn't screw us over in a fight or something like that." The blonde woman replied to Masami's words. The two hadn't been traveling together for very long, really, but at this point she was pretty much taking for granted that they would be getting into plenty more fights together. The idea was not unappealing, anyway. To have some help in the upcoming trials she would face was a godsend, more so when the person helping was able to hold her ground this time. Having to offer a little assistance herself in return for said help was a small price to pay; minuscule, in fact. If there was something Garnet was good at doing after all the things that had happened to her, it was fighting.

"That's a big load of bullshit, though, getting smarter by killing monsters. It's not fair at all. We humans have to do boring stuff like studying." She remarked as she rummaged through the inn, eventually finding her old blood-stained clothes and picking up what she had been looking for. Wandering back into whichever room Masami was currently in, she closed the door and lit up a smoke. "Found 'em." She stated. "Now then, you wanted to know about me, right? You've already seen most of the interesting stuff; anything from before isn't nearly as exciting. But ask away if you want."

---

---

Hadrimmelis listened to the returned Vokornian with avid curiosity and a fair bit of enthusiasm. Hearing from an old friend was always a nice thing, after all; it was one of the greatest pleasures for creatures such as herself, that lived so long and experienced all that the mortals experienced and cherished several times over in but a fraction of their lifetime. She wondered what the Vokornian could need help with, though.

Then she paused. She wasn't speaking, so what was with that comment?

Soon, Ashyandra continued speaking- thinking, rather- as if nothing had happened, so the World-Dragon opted to simply ignore that comment. "The asteroid belt of the Solar System housing Earth. I do believe you would know where that is, yes? Or would you need some directions first?" The World-Dragon's consciousness asked as if she were discussing something as simple as how to get to the nearest shopping mall rather than how to navigate around the endless universe.

Meanwhile, back on the asteroid belt, Hadrimmelis blinked and turned towards Yamirakkelis. "...Ah, no, it was nothing you said, sister, do not worry about it, though I will say that we may be gaining some company in the following minutes. Again, nothing to worry about." She stated. "Anyway..." she continued, as if to pick up where she had left off. "Like I said, I can not pretend to understand the thoughts of something as vast and primordial as the Dragon Force, even if I am bound to it, but if I was to hazard a guess, I would say that there is no issue with your use of magic. After all, you are able to use it, and I think we can take that as proof that there is no issue with magic itself, but rather with your tampering. I believe that if there was an issue with magic then, quite simply, you would not be able to use it at all." She stated.

"Regardless, I think you should keep pressing on with your research. It is what you have always excelled at, after all." The elder World-Dragon stated. "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

[Siliarba]

Valka

The All-Mother frowned, hearing Asgardians praying for her. "Asgard, attacked? By whom?" she spoke back, hurrying to DeeDee. "My realm is under attack, by mortals, of all people. I must depart." And in a golden flash, she was gone, speeding to Asgard to defend her realm and people.

DeeDee
The Devil's Den

She left, got the book, came back, gave it to me, and before I could even reply she yells she needs to defend her home and forgot about the book. Well, this worked out better than I could have possibly hoped. A wide smile was quickly followed by a dash outside of the Devil's Den. A small part of the property bought for the Devil's Den was used to buy some ground for CeeCee's and DeeDee's residence. She was so giddy she forgot completely how this might affect her connection to CeeCee. Luckily for her it seemed to not cause anything, she was unaware of it, but the Darkhold was keeping DeeDee in a bubble, it realized it wasn't trapped any longer and whoever this new holder was they were the ticket to freedom.

Privately in her home now there was no way to contain the giddiness of reading the Darkhold, but precautions had to be made. DeeDee may be impatient but she wasn't a fool, she realized all to well how dangerous the Darkhold could be so it was a good idea to read and use it wile using precautions. It was a magical tome, the way to safely read those, was through the use of magic. With a few simple incantations the book floated in front of DeeDee, and as if there was a bubble around it, a magical philter, it opened allowing DeeDee to read it. She was hearing whispers like Valka talked about, but they seemed to be guiding her, sending her to the information she would find most valuable.

I get it now, this book isn't whispering to drive people insane, it's like a magical guide, instead of starting with an explanation of the chapters and where everything is. The book would sense what you wanted to find and guide you to the needed page. Logical considering the book held many more pages than a book of this size could possibly hold, as if multiple pages occupied the same spot. The fact of the matter is DeeDee was grateful for the sudden disappearance of Valka, but she had to take the knowledge most interesting to her first as there was no telling how soon Valka would return. Using the power of demons to multiply your own powers, that seemed like a good chapter to start at.

[Osnil]

Gotham-Secret Underwater Lab
"I'm back!" called Jenny.

"Riddle me this, what did the Bats do?" asked the Riddler.

"Well, Shield got involved, and I'll answer your riddle with one of my own-Riddle me this, which two-sided coin-flipper died?" asked Jenny.

"The Bird-brained Two-face was killed by that idiot?" asked Penguin.

"Yep, and there's more. We have to run. Shield is coming," Jenny said, "they found me."

"Where are we running?" asked Riddler.

"Metropolis," Jenny replied.
New Shield Base-Gotham
"Status report-did we talk to the Bat again?" asked Darren.

"No-I haven't seen her since that night," Hawkeye replied.

"And I haven't found her yet," Natasha said.

"We'll work on it. If we help deal with the Criminal Underworld, that girl will show up somewhere," Darren replied.

[The Rebel Alliances]

Ralph the Rat-16 Years-New Mobius

My time in quiet has finally ended. As a red furred Hedgehog on what appeared to be extreme gear landed on my isolated island in the sky and began to barrage me with questions, as she somehow seemed to replicate my ability to eat fruit, without physically touching it. I however guessed that she was manipulating air currents, as I could feel the winds shift in her favor as she manipulated the fruit. I finished my snack as I stood up, my duel colored eyes, both yellow and blue scanned the sight as I brushed myself off. Starting with my name properly. "I am Ralph, I cannot really be too bothered by moving here. After all, I witnessed the battle which changed our planet." It then occurred to me, that this woman may not understand how we all arrived here, after all, there was no time for an explanation. I began to address her questions in the order I felt like she wanted to know. Meaning my own abilities were first.

"What you saw earlier was me practicing my own psychic abilities. I recently found myself to possess powers which are based in my own mind. I dont know how much I can do yet, but I have discovered that I can push and pull objects without touching them. Enhance my own physical capabilities. And use a rock like a cannon. Not to mention fly. Although, I have a feeling that this is only the surface of the power I can command." My eyes then shifted from Ashley, to the Master Emerald, which rested peacefully on a large rock formation as it hovered just over it, and rotated perfectly as it's emerald color glistened in the sunlight.

"I need to know exactly how much power I can command so that I can defend the Master Emerald. And this world." I added, as I turned back to her.

"For that matter, you seem to possess talents yourself." I then walked slowly past the Hedgehog, as I stood on the ledge of the floating island, paying no mind to the fact I could fall over.

"There is a world, no....a universe beyond our new home. A universe filled with threats and beings who could end our life on New Mobius just as they did on our old world. And they lost that battle. I am starting to believe, that I need to be more than the protector of the Master Emerald, I need to create my own destiny. Our world will need a defense against another such threat." I went silent for a moment. As the thoughts of leaving this world came to mind.

"Eventually, I will need to see what is out there. There is so much more than this new world. I intend to make sure anything out there never threatens our people again." I was starting to speak to myself more than to my new company now, as if trying to convince myself I could achieve my goal of protecting my world.

There is always so much left to do.

August Carter-13 Yrs-Devil's Den

Alissa did not seem to be too upset over me spilling my drink on her. In fact, she did not seemed fazed at all. Oh, great....she does not hate me. Although as I looked at her, calming myself down. I could see she was at her lowest point that she has ever sunk in her life. Sure, she has a cool sword and all, but she has lost her voice. Thats like...if I lost my dad, or big sis....or mom. Maybe my Justice League Action figure collection. But something needs to be done, as Deedee left us both alone.

I call myself a hero, but here I am, with someone desperately needing my help in front of me. I cant call myself my dad's son if I dont help her.

"OK, well I have decided." I said flatly.

"I will help you get your voice back. Whatever it takes." I said, trying to convince myself more than her as I smiled sheepishly.

I then stood up, my helmet layed upon the counter as I stretched. As a flash of light hit me, and forcing me to realize that she was looking taller than I remembered. My eyes then passed my reflection, in the mirror behind the bar. As I was just high enough to see into it, as my eyes widened in shock.

I look 13 again. The armor now gone and replaced with my blue jeans and red Robin hoodie.

As Chorus now saw me as I actually am. I, from some source I could not really explain, presumably from whatever entity revived me. Had given me the power to alter my physical form. To an extent. Although I have no clue as to how I woke up as a 23 year old man, and now reverted to a 13 year old child. Perhaps it runs on a time limit?

But mental flashes appeared in my mind, as I began to remember my own revival process. It was broken, and in pieces so hard to understand. As I began to understand the method of my revival, and the results. I learned from the flashes that I can will myself into a sort of, 'Hero Mode' when I need to. Resulting in my adult and armored persona which I recently named 'Ranger'. But I am still a child, and I revert back to my normal state and age when not in danger.

It's confusing to say the least, and I still cannot remember who resurrected me, and by what means. Still leaving questions. But I suppose they will come in time.

I then scratched the back of my head in a embarrassed manner as I finally came clean about who I actually am. Age and all.

"Sorry for misleading you Alissa. But...I did not mean to, honestly I thought I was stuck looking like I was a grown man just a few minutes ago." I then shoved both hands in my pockets as I tried to brace myself for her reaction.

"I am August, I died a little while ago. Not sure how long...and I dont remember who killed me. I will likely remember in time. But somehow, as a side effect of being revived...I can make myself older and stronger. I guess as a defense against being killed again I suppose." I then smiled at her.

"I may be 13, but I am still your biggest fan." I claimed. Before finally asking the big question.

"So, would you still allow me to help you get your voice back?" I asked, still blushing from the prospect on it.

[The Templar High Council]

Phyla was annoyed. Well, annoyed was a huge understatement. Not only had Super Adaptoid managed to create something mimicking her Quantum Bands, but he was apparently growing stronger.

The two of them flew around each other across Hala as yellow trails forming a double helix. They exchanged blast after blast. They constructed shield after shield to block each other's blasts. They were getting nowhere. Well, correction, Phyla was going nowhere, while she could tell that Super Adaptoid was progressively getting stronger somehow. He shields were being constructed weaker and weaker.

Super Adaptoid constructed a replica of her signature sword and threw it at her. Phyla's shield deflected it easily. "Ha! You'll have to try better than that" she goaded. She immediately regretted it and cursed under her breath as she watched Super Adaptoid construct dozens of swords around him. With a wave of his hand, the swords all propelled at Phyla. This time, her shield didn't stand up so well against the assault.

The swords pierced her shield and shattered it to pieces. Super Adaptoid then constructed nearly twice as many swords as previously and threw them. Realizing that he shield would simply fail again, Phyla, in a desperation move, spread out her arms and simply released a large wave of yellow energy in front of her that could be seen from space.

Phyla fell to the ground, exhausted, wondering why she felt so weak when an attack like that would normally be child's play for her. Then she glanced at her Quantum Bands and her eyes widened in horror as three of the ovular gems on them grew black.

Phyla quickly realized that she had monumentally screwed up as the smoke cleared and Super Adaptoid emerged relatively unharmed. Super Adaptoid wasn't growing stronger. She was growing weaker. Phyla, like all Quasars, got her powers from the Quantum Bands that tapped into the energy of the universe. Because the Kree Empire was separated from the rest of the universe, her power didn't naturally replenish. She was so focused on the fight that she hadn't even considered this. And now she'd left herself essentially as a sitting duck thanks to her last ditch effort.

Then, Kylie appeared. It'd been a while since Phyla was so happy seeing a familiar face. "Kylie! I'm, uh, kind of in a bind. I'm running low on energy."

"Oh, that's OK! I'm super energized right now!" Using her green ring, Kylie constructed something on a giant's scale. It looked to be... an enormous hammer?

"Lady Lantern about to lay the Smash down!" From overhead, Kylie brought the massive mallet down on Super Adaptoid's head. Whether he noticed it or not depended on how much he wanted to fight Phyla. But if it hit him, he was probably going to be a Super 'Stain on the Ground'.

[The Silhouette of Adventure]

The GCD members at the Funhouse saw the end of the battle.
"Boxer, I- Harley Quinn appears to be dead, and another female Mask dressed as the Joker is dead too. Third Mask, calling herself Marionette, took them down. Alignment unknown. Do we fire?"
"Hold fire. We don't have time for you to engage an unknown. Head to the Mansion"
"Got it."
The men lowered their weapon, but not before one of them accidently fired into the air. The others paled, staring at him as he apologized profusely. They all turned towards Marionette, hoping she didn't notice.

Mia Aveline - Joker's Funhouse

---

Mia smiled happily as she looked down over the balcony, noting cheerily that she'd used the right amount of Thread to suspend Jester's figure comfortably high above the ground below. The young woman felt giddy at her victory - Harley Quinn and the Jester, without a doubt her highest profile foes yet! And she'd won. Her mind was racing with the possibilities, imagining fanciful encounters with CeeCee, her adored hero praising her abilities and pledging to take her under her wing. Mia's eyes shone at the thought, but quickly the adrenalin was fleeing from her body as the exhaustion and fatigue from the intense battle rapidly caught up to her.

"Phew, you really didn't make it easy!" Mia exclaimed tiredly, wiping some of the beads of sweat from her forehead. She'd addressed the compliment to the lifeless corpse that now swung lightly in the Gotham breeze - funnelled by the city's high-rises. "When I tell Silvie she's going to be so proud of you, I bet you'll end up being closer than ever." Mia giggled, a slight stab of jealousy at the relationship the other Villainesses enjoyed poking at her heart. The thought brought with it the memory that she was supposed to meet up with CeeCee and Nightblade - she couldn't allow herself to let them down. The woman's expression suddenly turned blank, the realisation dawning on her that she'd lost track of the heroes and hadn't the slightest clue as to how to find them. Mia's earlier confidence had vanished as she felt her knees feel increasingly week as a wave of panic started to flood over her thoughts. What if they thought she'd abandoned them? The daydream's of CeeCee's approving praise suddenly twisted themselves into nightmares as Mia's face adopted a look of horror. She had to find them.

The sound of the rifle tearing through the night air forced Mia out of her reverie as her eyes darted to its source. A faint glimmer of hope lit up in Mia's chest as she saw the group of men standing together at a distance from the Funhouse. Maybe they knew where Daniel and CeeCee were! It was the best lead she had at the moment, and Mia reasoned that if they refused to tell her where her comrades were - she could simply start killing them off until they started speaking the truth. The once-again smiling girl waved her hand above her head.

"Oh, hello! I'll be with you in just a minute."

Mia leaped off of the balcony spooling a Thread from her fingertip which allowed her to swing gently to the street. Landing elegantly - at least in her mind - a few metres from the GCD Officers, Mia grinned cheerily at them. "I'm Marionette and I was wondering if you could direct me to two of my friends - a man and a woman, Nightblade and CeeCee? About yay-high?"

The first officer, the runner who arrived there in the first place, stuttered out a response. "S-Sorry, Lady- I've got no idea who your friends are."
The others, wary of the Marionette, raised their guns aiming them at the stranger.
"This is Boxer, where the hell are you guys?" The radio on the runner suddenly came alive. "Reinforcements needed at Fifth and Adams- Reclaimer is on the receiving end of one of the worst beatdowns I've ever heard."