Iybraa can't quite directly hurt him in light form except through telepathy since telepathic attacks hit thought, not flesh. It's not like Simurgh's song. And he was given an (expensive and very difficult to replicate) telepathic resistance device by Nightcaster while at the autobot base in case of future Rikti attacks so she can't fry his psyche. On the other hand, Legend doesn't have what it takes to get through her barriers, armour, telekinetic redirection, portals, or simply bending the energy out of the way. Thus it's a stalemate. Neither has any significant ability to harm the other. The most she can do is bend his energy fields and scatter him around to disrupt him for a bit while the most he can do is prevent her from seeing anything else. They'll be at this all day.
You patched yourself into the camera feeds uploaded as people scrambled to cover what was going on live and immediately stopped the rapping of your fingers, a motion done to calm your often restless nerves. You had much...bigger concerns than the jitters born of standing overly still for too long as you had the watch you wore project the images your suit's zero-point form was wiring into your memory for the others to see. To put it politely, there was quite a substantial deal of bedlam already going on as the Starsetters were concentrating towards each other; the psychic holding off increasing numbers of capes who seemed to just flock towards her looking for a fight even as she held everyone approaching her back without even seeming to try.
"Who else is going to respond to the escalation?" You asked bluntly, no point in beating around the bush. You needed an answer shortly.
"The Guild, Protectorate, and New Wave at least; bringing in more of their heavy hitters. Military forces are already on standby. Local unaffiliated capes will probably be drawn in for a chance to get involved too." Piggot said bluntly, looking at you with worry written on her face. At least, you thought it was worry. Her thoughts inside though seemed considerably less upset at the idea of the cape community being shown its limitations.
"Joseph, Alice. Who else is going to respond?" You asked, not even turning your head towards them, simply flicking your scarlet coloured eyes to their direction and drawing a fine line with your face.
"Uh...fuck at this rate the Vindicators and Freedom Phalanx and Liberty League, probably other Starsetter teams too...wouldn't be surprised if the PPD and Vanguard make a show." Alice said.
"...Military forces are you...hold on...maybe I can try to narrow down some possibilities." You said, taking a moment to inhale and exhale.
"Maybe we should try a waking vision?" Samus said, steepling her fingers in front of her nose and taking a moment to think humming as she tapped her fingers together. "We don't have time for every possible explanation. Someone needs to stop well...a war from breaking out when we're not even sure what's threatening these Earths." She added, getting a nod out of you.
"...Okay, I'll go in. Samus..." You said, looking towards her directly.
"I'll be there for you, don't worry." She said, getting a smile from you. You were slightly nervous about doing this with her. You had tried to hide the visions of Sylux from her. You were terrified of that future coming to pass, and didn't want her to worry about it. Every time you tried to find what roads lead to becoming the blue-green eyeless monster, you were blocked by walls of grief, pain, and anguish you were afraid to confront along with deliberate obscurations. Whatever lead you down that road was agony, and you were too much of a coward to try and face it head on.
And the idea of Samus knowing you as a coward...she already did so much for you. It wasn't fair to burden her with your nightmares any more than you already did. Especially when she had so many of her own to deal with. It was enough to commiserate over your orphanings, and every time you brought up the ten years of pain and abuse under your Alimbic caretakers you felt like you were burdening her with knowledge she didn't know how to relate to. Her caretakers loved her unconditionally, the few who truly cared for you after awakening from their fifty thousand year slumber...you were spiralling. Stop it. Focus, focus.
"Is something wrong?" She asked, concern.
"I...I'll talk about it later, stuff to focus on now." You said, shame in your voice as she sighed but nodded in understanding.
"I'm ready, let's start." She said, offering a hand that you squeezed.
You paused for a moment to try and focus the distant sight. It was hard to do so with things that didn't immediately concern yourself when you weren't trancing, you had the potential but lacked the discipline and training for it. Samus though, was there to give you a hand, letting her own mind's eye coil with yours as you saw into the Morphoscape beyond the material realm. Twisting tendrils of possibilities, roads into futures that might be or were so weak and ephemeral that simply a momentary gaze at them collapsed the chances of them ever happening, pasts that were or could have been, presents either real or pushed aside into other branches or withering into unreality. You saw...snarls of pathways, threads of individual destinies writhing and wrestling from other planes into the heated tangle of conflict. Branches leading into...
Violence, destruction, orphans, widows, corpses and ghosts. Destruction, carnage, cities burning, worlds burning, everything coming to doom and destruction as a thousand apocalypses coiled around each other and dragged possibilities with them into oblivion or subjugation. Your own mind was clouded with brief flashes of home; intermingled with Samus' own flashes of unwanted memory. Screaming, ghouls feasting on the dead, fire rising through the defenceless, raiders and pirates sawing their way through the living to wade through piles of the dead. Nowhere to hide, nowhere to run. Nothing to understand, not even names to go by for who was doing this or why as their posthuman armoured warriors cut down the guerilla hub you called home with ruthless force and precision.
Gore on your hands, people screaming or making desperate attempts to fight back. All futile. You were prepared for small incursions by the Federal military, by Space Pirate Raiders, Kriken Punishment teams, Vhozon justicars or the like...these men, who bore no marking on their grey and green armour...overwhelming, pitiless, cold. They saw targets, they killed them, they moved on. So many people you knew dead so quickly...Astrid, Kwame, Isagil, Oerion. Dead, dead, dead. Did they want the Alimbic ship? How could they know of something found only a day before? Why did they need to kill everyone? Questions you couldn't answer, questions that dug their nails into you like a falcon into its prey.
They were chasing you, five heads cackling; your parents and their ever-shrinking band of fellow commandos running with you as fast as they could. The sarcastic but endearing Morr, courageous and funloving Lydyl, valiant and resourceful Sylan. Each dying in turn to one of those six monsters. Not even mighty Spire's lithic progenitor could stop the five-headed beast that lead the six, lead the armies of masked men, every time he drove it away it always returned. Atop leathery wings and gusts of cold, calling for you, demanding you. Your parents; mighty Gyda and cunning Erik; were the last to fall, so that you and Spire could make your escape from an ocean of armoured monsters. Your small hands bleeding as they slammed against the window of Spire's cockpit, your throat swelling as you called for them to come back as they left you to face their end.
Samus had shed a single tear, her teeth gritting as she dug her fingernails into her palms and squeezed her eyes, trying to block out the visions she found herself wheeling back to. A purple dragon's legion of deranged hooligans, five lieutenants eagerly jumping at the call of the ones who held the dragon's leash to raze the work of simple miners to the ground and filch from them their works for a dread council of the very worst sorts of society imaginable. Violence, frenzied, sadistic, and utterly unrestrained as those crushed by their hierarchy finally found people beneath even themselves to vent on.
They were not efficient or quick, one of the largest fleets in that entire supercluster's primary element against a mining colony of just ten million. It wasn't even a massacre, just cruel and twisted amusement before they made off with the fuel crystals the miners had harvested to power the sinister plans of their Confederacy. So many of them were like tearing into flesh they were starved of deliberately to turn their lowest ranks into emaciated and desperate monsters unafraid of death if it meant a chance to fill their famished bellies for at least a time.
Others who had known nothing but cruelty and brutality took the time to savour the sweet pain of people they were allowed to strike. The many species of warriors brought along laughing at their cruelties or fighting over who got the first pick of victims. There simply weren't enough to go around for an army that outnumbered its victims a million to one, and that made the ones looking for relief all the crueller.
Her friends dead one by one, her mother's throat torn open before her eyes for the crime of defending her from the amethyst drake and her father gone in a final, heroic effort to lay waste to a vessel the size of a small moon by denying them the fuel they sought to steal. You were only brave enough to get glimpses of it, and it was enough for you to scratch at your scalp with your nails to make the side of your head bleed while Samus let out a wailing hiss through clenched teeth.
Torment that lasted until Winterpyre requested a chance to step into your mindspace and was given it; banishing the visages of terror from your mind, flashbacks vivid and loud fading into nothingness as you opened your eyes and let out gasps of breath. He reached for you, and dragged you towards the light of the waking world, the mental avatar he conjured looking far more angelic and pleasant than his typically bestial form of fire and skulls.
Alice was also there, her form an idealised version of what she normally looked like as she offered an orb of light in her hands. "This is well...a spell of courage. It's, look it's not going to be a replacement for therapy. Minds are trickier to heal than bodies or souls. But this is a pick-me up...and I want you to have it. I...I'm not gonna pretend I can grasp what you suffered. Not like, personally, God knows I have a lot of friends who lost everything really early on I don't really know how to relate to at times. But...we're friends right?"
"Enough to know that you guys need this. Come on, afterwards maybe we could like...show you fun stuff? Get to know some local kids? Uhh...what do you like to eat? I'll get you something, my treat." She said, a sad smile on her face as she let the spell's magic flow into the two of you and drag you out of the hellscape of your nightmares into the waking world, where Alice gave a small nod while her Tiara glowed.
You pulled out, shaking your head and rubbing your temples. That sort of focus, while you were conscious or weren't in a meditative trance, was still not the easiest of feats for you to pull off, especially when a lot of the visions assailed the two of you with traumatic triggers. You shuddered, the sight of blood, flame, frost and pain making you stagger a bit. But it wasn't real...you were safe, and among friends deeply concerned with the way the two of you were in the midst of a massive panic attack in their presence.
"...S-sorry..." You said, breathing and still shaking.
"We need to...stop them from starting a war. If this escalates out of control it's going to..." What would be the right term? Something simple, not too much jargon they might not get.
"Escalation cascade. Then your two timelines tear each other apart, and then all the Earths linked by this follow...along with...a lot more." Samus said, finishing your thoughts for you. She was better with words than you were, people were kind of complicated at times, and it was hard to explain things a lot. She wasn't...ideal at it...but it was something.
"I'll go in, the psychic won't be able to directly affect me. We well...won't really be able to remain secret after this, but I don't see any other choice." You said.
"You're not going to convince them on your own...but I think I can show people the footage we have? Why they need to stop fighting." Samus said.
"+Blimey...alright, may as well. Thought we might keep the robots in disguise bit up longer...ah frag it.+" Jetfire cut in over the comms with a considerably less over the top accent than usual which likely indicated that this was something he considered very seriously.
"I'll accompany you, set up some communications. You handle the problem actors, is that alright?" Samus asked as you gave a nod, your armour forming around you as you stood up and cracked your neck. Samus' suit shimmering over her similarly quickly.
"Alice, Joseph, come with us...they're looking for you so showing you're okay is going to be necessary. Just uh, don't give them the impression you're hostages that would be...bad. Not good, probably make things worse." Samus said, getting thumbs up from the two of them as they put on their masks, followed by Sammi.
"...Huh..." Joseph said, looking down at his phone.
"+Aw frag...gonna have ta get in the talkative types.+" Jetfire said before a Soviet officer cut in afterwards.
"+I swear upon the entirety of the Rodina if you send Blur or Wheelie I will never forgive you!+ Okay, that got you all laughing a bit...good...levity was good.
"Jetfire, start the groundbridge." You said.
"Hold on, hold on! You can't just rush in and reveal aliens are real all at once. Are you even the slightest bit aware of the panic that this would cause young man?" Piggot said.
"We don't have a choice and Primal Earth already knows. Sorry, but we'll have to break protocol. Besides...it'll be easier for you from now on...right?" Samus said as Jetfire buzzed inf.
"+Hrm...maybe drop in with your ships...might make more of an impression.+" Jetfire said as he formed an idea in his head and then focused his attentions back to Samus.
"+Oh, Aran...I gots an idea...+"
Brockton Bay, 8:52 AM, 13th of January
Based on the information given to you by Joseph, Positron was essentially a living anti-matter generator in a power suit of his own design further empowered by being the keeper of the Incarnate Flame of Prometheus. Since the death of Statesman, he was the leader of the Freedom Phalanx and essentially the top hero in America. When he was feeling nice, he simply fired bolts of ionising radiation, non-radioactive energy blasts, or slugged them or disabled them with his gadgets. When he was not feeling nice, he either vented nuclear explosions or raw streams of anti-matter that he shaped the explosions of; annihilating virtually anything in his way. Even if his armour was rather primitive by your standards, he had a lot of raw power to go off of and was much deeper into the path of the incarnate than you were. It also explained the flashes of radiation you got from the sensors.
Raymond Keyes was once a scientist at Crey Industries who worked on a suit of next generation power armour until a freak accident granted his body the ability to produce anti-matter and nuclear reactions, allowing him to power the armour entirely by himself and giving him enormous radiological prowess as well as destructive power. After an injury in the Rikti invasion of Primal Earth, Positron's powers had gone out of control, turning him into a living anti-matter bomb that would detonate catastrophically were his armour ever breached; forcing him to fully seal himself inside for more than six years until the Dark Watcher healed this malady. He also was entrusted with the incarnate flame of Prometheus, further elevating his power and gifting him with a tremendous creative power that allowed his designs to advance even further and allowing himself to instinctively find ways to tap into the power of the Source to bolster his abilities. Following the death of Marcus Cole, the Statesman, Positron replaced him as the leader of the Freedom Phalanx; a position he has held for more than eight years. While his technology is inferior to your own, the amount of destruction he can release should he cease holding back as well as the amount of Source power he has accumulated or been entrusted with makes direct engagement with him inadvisable.
In terms of personality, Raymond Keyes is a modernistic, compassionate if somewhat obsessive hero who tries to live up to the legend of his predecessor and former colleague. He is tremendously focused on crime-prevention in an effort to turn people away from crime in the first place and involves himself heavily in social causes and has grown increasingly critical of his native Paragon City's increasing police militarization at the behest of the Federal Government, overriding the concerns of the Municipal government of Paragon City. He is strongly involved with youth programs in the hopes of preparing the younger generations for the life of heroism as the first individuals to have been born after the initial Rikti invasion start to come of age and to prepare for the Oncoming Storm which threatens humanity as a whole. He is patient and understanding, and takes his job with gravity but not without being able to have some levity now and then. He has fully grown into the role of the new icon of American heroism, though he lacks Statesman's overt patriotism and tries to be more of a hero for the entire world. He also puts a lot of effort into trying to redeem villains and bring them back to the light, believing that simply stopping villain attacks is hardly a solution to the problems they represent.
In combat, Keyes is incredibly versatile. While initially categorised as a Defender due to his emphasis on using his radiation in supportive roles such as enervating enemies and empowering or regenerating allies with his blast attacks in a more secondary function, he has since shown that he can fulfill virtually any of the archetypes of the FBSA's metahuman classification system and in fact, will do so; making use of powerful and skillfully delivered melee attacks, incredible defenses combining energy shielding, armour, incarnate fate warping, and more; shrugging off nearly any status effect such as mind control, temporal freezing or warping, or even simply being pushed off his feet; incredible battlefield control capabilities, the ability to quickly summon robots and radiological constructs under his command, cloaking devices, augmented reflexes and speed and more. Via the fires of Prometheus, his ability to invent and develop technology has increased enormously, making him one of the most versatile metahumans to have ever existed, and some wonder if whether his slow path to incarnate power has allowed him to surpass Statesman altogether.
Samus' Notes: To be given the fire of innovation...the ideas he must have...oh I need to chat to him soon! Just not so...sure on his dedication to legalism or slow change. We can't afford that now.
Arne's Notes: I...hrm. I'm not sure what to think about Doctor Keyes honestly. He seems like a good man but...can we trust the fate of the cosmos to older generations?
Then of course, was the rest of the Freedom Phalanx and other teams being called in for Primal earth's greatest anxiety; yet another hostile alternate Earth likely to wage war with it. Earth Bet was also escalating, sending in more top capes and military force to the scene as the scanners of the Sleipnir picked up some aircraft below you; even lead by Eidolon, the seemingly greatest of their number, the man with a power for virtually any situation. A triumphant visage of the unmistakable prowess of a just cause.
Eidolon, also known as David is generally considered to be the most powerful cape on Earth Bet, even if some are instead partisan to his Soviet counterpart "Chernaya Gvardiya" who arose following the death of Hero. A middle-aged man with a largely unlimited connection to his extradimensional symbiont, Eidolon lacks many of the usual restrictions on other parahumans, even as his powers decline from overuse without being replenished by the intended draining from other shards, he remains someone considered the man to beat due to his ability to easily switch between powers as the situation arises; usually holding onto three and discarding them if he does not require them, letting them fade and be replaced by another, perhaps more suited ability for the present situation. He can hold onto more than three at a time, but doing so usually dilutes the potency of each ability. However, each ability usually has some build-up time upon acquisition, which has grown longer as his power reserves continue to deplete.
Strongly religious and possessed of a tremendous sense of justice, Eidolon is nevertheless something of a stickler for his belief that the end of days is coming and the world must be prepared. This has lead to him being considered "a bit of a downer" by some, but he does truly enjoy his work, relishing not only in the chance to fight enemies with virtually any power he might be able to find useful, but also the adoration of much of the world who regards him as an almost messianic saviour figure who can always be trusted to save the day no matter what the threat. Feared by virtually all villains and regarded as one of the only Capes who might be able to take on an Endbringer on his own, Eidolon commands worldwide respect and adoration, with endless speculation on what he might look like behind his fully concealing uniform.
While your status as a progenitor and now, an incarnate, would block the totality of his "instant win" powers or usages, combat against him is currently not recommended due to his extreme versatility. His symbiont will quickly cycle through whatever powers it believes that he requires to survive or triumph in the current battle, and as such he has no consistent weaknesses or capabilities, forcing user reliance on precognition to stay ahead of his rapidly shifting repertoire. The primary saving grace is a lack of immediate awareness of how to use new abilities he might gain, but this is counterbalanced by Eidolon making sure to regularly practice with the more frequent sorts of powers he acquires to never be caught flatfooted by an ability he has no experience with.
Samus' Notes: Hrm, it seems that he tries to keep his name off of electronic records to avoid people finding it out. I wonder why? That strikes me as somewhat suspicious...
Arne's Notes: For one who claims to be of strong Christian faith, he lacks much in the way of Christian symbolism present upon his person. He also seems like he's got things to hide beyond his heavy usage of supplementary vials to boost his abilities.
Samus' gunship followed behind your strike fighter in autopilot mode while you looked behind yourself in the cockpit of your craft as it descended into the atmosphere. Ethan warning Joseph not to touch some of the instrumentation he could reach from his chair.
"Oh don't worry that's the entertainment menu." He said as Joseph looked giddy, pushed the button, and immediately got lost in a cavalcade of game and video options.
"Uh...we're not going to have time for any of that." You said as you jigged the controls slightly. You had groundbridged right over North America to shave a few seconds from the flight time, and the sleek craft flew with an escort of not just the Dormach, but also Jetfire's aerial squadron.
"Volva, sitrep please." Samus said, requesting the feminine A.I of the ship pull the necessary information out.
The report of another hostile dimension drew in Metas from Primal Earth like someone had kicked a war-wasp nest and threw it into the midst of a steel-bee hive. The Parahumans of Earth Bet were arriving as fast as they were able by any means possible, gathering for a spectacular but so far wholly nonlethal brawl that stood on the knife's edge of turning out nasty. It reminded you of how a lot of furballs got started. Some interceptors try to attack some incoming important assets only to stumble into the escorting fighters and call for reinforcements. Then the escorts would call for backup, forcing the reinforcements to call for more reinforcements, and then this would continue until no more available strike craft were in range for the call to service. The original objectives of the battle lost in the need to win the attritional engagement to not be on the backfoot.
Thinking about it, this was also how most freelancer or ultrasophont mega-brawls got started. Friends calling in friends when they ran into more than they expected and things spiralling from there in short order.
At this point people were coming in for the simple sake of a fight more often than not, and the pandemonium that was resulting was impressive to say the least. You were surprised at how quickly things were spiralling, but the comm chatter you picked up suggested that so many people just lived for a chance to get in fights like this that they were ferrying each other into the fray. There had to be hundreds of superpowered people here just...brawling for what seemed to be its own sake. This all seemed so stupid to you.
"...What are they even doing down there?!" Samus said, eyes widening as she leaned forwards on her seat.
"...Hahahah...what the fuck are we diving into?" Assault said with a nervous laugh before bumblebee beeped over the comms. Yeah, this did seem like a bit of a mess.
Laser Crusader: Shit why didn't you people tell me there was a raid going on?
Ectoplasmus: Because you slept through the voice call you fucking goober.
Laser Crusader: Gosh sorry, I'm here now aren't i?
Brawlastator: Haha haven't had this much fun since the last Rikti assault!
Starcrusher: That was literally five minutes ago!
Brawlastator: I know right?
Steel Paladin: Could you people focus? We're having our healers work overtime to minimise collateral damage. Who even are half you people?
Sir Arctic: Zounds, prayathee doth mine eyes not spot a dragon beyond yonder distance?
Chronolectra: Oh bother be, he won't cut his Shakespearean accent even for me!
Mynx: Well, you're the one with all the rhyming.
Ms. Liberty: Can we please, for the love of God; not get into a contest over who has the most annoying speech patterns?
Tin Mage: Be cautious when exerting yourselves. They are lacking in Mediportation grids so injuries inflicted on them will be long lasting.
Rundrasta: Hey, ya'll came ta party!
Positron: Who the hell is "Armsmaster" and why is he making speeches at me?
Ascendant: I have no idea, have you tried hitting him?
Positron: I mean, I'm content to just ignore him, he cons Grey anyway.
Penelope Yin: Keyes, they're fellow heroes here, must we continue on with force?
Positron: The Praetorian Power Division thought they were heroes too.
Numina: Certainly true, but I don't quite get that same sensation from this dimension.
Synapse: Plenty of babes here though.
Positron: Berry, keep it in your pants.
Synapse: I'm just saying...
Positron: Berry, stop being horny on the comm channel.
Ms.Liberty: Five minutes without plowing another supermodel and you're already thirsty. You are an absolute parody of yourself.
Synapse: You're all just jealous because you don't date three supermodels every day.
Fusionette: So what's this dimension's deal anyway?
Ephram Sha: It appears that powers here come solely from fragments of strange beings. Beings that desire conflict to learn and grow. We must be ready.
Numina: Keep pushing forward, their ranks will thin sooner than ours I believe,
Dawnmaker: Are most of you even aware of why we are even here in the first place? What purpose does this show of force serve?
Dark Watcher: The purposes of this conflict have shifted, we need to establish a beachhead and establish the facts about this world.
Apex: Suits me fine. We'll knock this place over like Praetoria in no time.
Stalwart: Preferably without Hamidon devouring this civilisation.
Dream Doctor: No need to fear, there is no incarnation of Hamidon here.
Stalwart: Fantastic!
Blast Furnace: Let's turn up the heat!
Rundrasta: Bruh, cringe fire puns.
Blast Furnace: Come on...like your ice puns are any better.
Rundrasta: Hey...they're not ice puns...they're...
Blast Furnace: Oh please don't say it, god please do-
Rundrasta: Nice Puns.
*Mass comm channel groans*
Invincibelle: Creeps tore my costume!
Sunstorm: When doesn't it tear?
Invincibelle: IT'S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE ISSUE!
Citadel: Advising caution, one of them is a matter eraser.
Frostfire: Well now he's a popsicle, nyuk nyuk.
Luminary: Damn! One of them got Serpent Drummer.
Quiver Queen: A moment friends, I have the arrows for the occasion.
Citadel: He will be back shortly once the portal corps biopod has him ready to go again. In approxima-
Serpent Drummer: Who was the one who got the cheap shot on me?
Quiver Queen: I believe the one throwing the Ice Fractals.
Serpent Drummer: Many thanks.
Raid Rage: Hah, Eagle Eye's down, told you his powers sucked.
Rage Rave: Come on, have some sympathy.
Raid Rage: Dunno, sounds p cringe to me.
Rage Rave: You did not just call your sister cringe.
Raid Rage: Super cringe.
Rage Rave: Mavis I am going to pout.
Flambeaux: Aww this is like, so gonna look great on my Instagram.
Vector Shift: SHUT UP WITH YOUR VALLEY GIRL SHIT I SWEAR TO GOD!
Flambeaux: Tch, ruuuude. Just cuz I'm like, late twenties doesn't mean I can't do some stuff to act young. Ugh, get some like, manners kid.
Vector Shift: AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHH
Adamanta: Kek.
Vanguard Colonel: Stun rounds only, we're not at war yet people. Make sure we can get some for interrogation.
PPD Officer: Tons of these guys have got some power that's screwing with our robots.
Vanguard Colonel: Probably some powers limited to not function against biological entities at full effect, neutralise upon detection.
Dauntless: So I've gotten out of Warpspeed's time dilation chamber, what exactly is going on?
Warpspeed: Hahahahaha fucked if I know.
Adamant: I'm uh...pretty sure these guys are from Nightcaster and Eudaimonica's home reality.
Panacea: This is absolutely crazy. Who are any of these people?
Adamant: I am...pretty sure I knocked out that guy before, she just seems really pissed now.
Panacea: People, try to keep in a smaller formation, I can't reach all of you!
Velocity: Watch out they've god a speedster faster than I a-
Cerebro: Velocity's out cold.
Dragon: Is there anyone who can stop their speedster?
Cerebro: He moves at literal lightning speed and hits as hard as something moving that fast should to boot and can take the commensurate punishment, these people's powers don't work on the same principles ours do...so we'll need to adjust tactics.
Dragon: He's right. Try some sort of electromagnetic containment field. We're never going to tag someone who moves near light speed otherwise.
Cerebro: He can't resist the urge to taunt, lure him out with some sort of threat to his masculinity. Or perhaps...hrm...he likes to flirt...who has the biggest bust size here?
Dragon: That is...that might work? It's stupid, I hate that it might work, but it might work.
Cerebro: I'm not proud of it either.
Miss Militia: Why are there so many archers?
Kid Win: Renaissance fair? I don't know...seems hokey and overplayed to me.
Miss Militia: For that matter why do so many of them wear capes?
Kid Win: Mysteries of the un-...multiverse.
Clockblocker: Uhh...anyone got a spare mask I can wear?
Glory Girl: So...taking his supernova thing head on was...not ideal. I think I can see now.
Shadow Stalker: I'm...owww....
Vista: Hi ow.
Shadow Stalker: Sigh
Greased Lightning: Aww hell I ain't ready for Angel summoners.
Wanton: So...is this an every day occurrence in Brockton Bay?
Greased Lightning: Forgive me cussin' but hell no it ain't!
Wanton: Well...it at least got you to get your accent down to a manageable level. Small victories?
Greased Lightning: Awww fffffffffiddlesticks.
Wanton: Watch it there, keep at it and you might get us a PG rating.
Greased Lightning: Up yours.
Alexandria: These guys have heavy hitters just crawling out of the woodworks.
Eidolon: Then redouble your efforts.
Legend: This psychic scrambler thing from the wizard kid works...I'm pretty sure I'd be chicken dancing right now if it weren't for it.
Narwhal: A lot of them seem impossible to form forcefields within, some sort of power blocking me out.
Alexandria: Well don't give up, if we just keep at it they'll have to go home right?
Eidolon: One would hope, they seem to at least be fellow heroes, just...misled about our intentions.
Alexandria: So all this is over two children?
Legend: Well I mean...this is fun I'll admit.
Dragon: Fun is hardly what I'd call this mess.
Legend: Live a little, nobody's getting seriously hurt right?
Eidolon: I'll admit, this is quite the test of my powers.
Dauntless: Well, I'm having kind of a blast testing my new limits myself.
PRT Officer: Ugh what do I do against the power armoured troopers with the V symbols?
BBPD Officer: Hell if I know?! I'm out of here!
PRT Officer: Wait...where are you g-GET BACK HERE COWARD!
BBPD Officer: Yeah screw this I'm not paid for this shit.
PRT Officer: Brockton Bay's finest my ass...
Lady Photon: So I'd ask what the situation is here but...I can clearly see none of you know either.
Manpower: Yeah, join the fun.
Lady Photon: So who is in overall command here?
Military AWACS Callsign "Starmaker": That would be me, this situation's gotten out of hand to the point that I've been assigned. Callsign Starmaker.
Lancelot: Wait...the military?
Military AWACS Callsign "Starmaker": We're taking this as a possible invasion scenario. If you can't handle it, we're bringing in airstrikes.
Jessenova: Hahahaha what?
Manpower: I thought the idea was to try and avoid a war?
Military AWACS Callsign "Starmaker": Can't take that risk, came straight from the President's desk.
Julievolt: Why are there fighter jets overhead?
Lunaman: Probably because they're bringing aircraft themselves?
Julievolt: Isn't this all over literally...two people?
Sunkid: God there's so many people to fight, I've bagged at least three.
Earthstorm: Six
Julievolt: Twelve, keep up.
Lunaman: Stop measuring dicks, we're taking like three to one K.Os here and they just keep on coming.
Lunaman: Besides they seem to have some teleport and instant heal system going. We're gonna get worn down at this rate.
Plutonian: Not to mention they seem to have like...panaceas out the ass. Why do they get so many healers?
Lunaman: Shut the fuck up and keep fighting before the air force decides it wants to get involved.
Yeah this was...a mess to say the least. Flying superhumans trading blows high in the skies and more coming by various means, teleporters trying to bring in reinforcements from elsewhere in the bay or beyond, more primal earthers just pushing through the portal in a constantly increasing flow. Weather controllers had pushed the blizzard out of the way to provide more visibility while news crews from both worlds moved in to try and get the scoop; a cavalcade of information flowing outwards between the two planets as everyone sought to share what was the most exciting to watch battle in Brockton Bay's history.
The meeting engagement from the darkest pits of the lowest underworlds imaginable to your faith. Though your eyebrow certainly quirked when the Primals brought out an AWACS of their own, the craft immediately phasing partially out of reality and rising higher as the Vanguard craft asserted C&C functions over the raid league pouring into Earth Bet.
"...Uhh...damn is it double security level merit day or something?" Nightcaster said, eyes bulging in his goggles as you could just feel things teeter on the brink of catastrophe; primal earth and earth bet aircraft starting to warily make passes at each other, waiting for the order to fire.
"So uh...what's the plan?" Alice said nervously.
"Assault, Battery...try to talk your...side I guess down? Nightcaster, Eudaimonica...same. I'm going to drop in with the autobots, keep them from fighting any more. Samus...you can talk to everyone right?" You said as she gave you a nod back before you opened the bottom hatch of the Sleipnir as it descended in cloaked form faster than the Vanguard or USAF aircraft could track before detaching from your chair and rolling out the bottom of your craft, descending through the maelstrom of brawling at supersonic speeds while Jetfire transformed with the rest of his aerial squadron; a number of ground bridges opening up behind you to let the Autobots through with nonlethal containment weapons at the ready.
For a moment, all eyes were on you in a display that made you feel distinctly uncomfortable. This sort of attention made you feel rather self-conscious, but the images of ruin wouldn't leave your mind. Samus landed nearby, patching herself into the communications arrays while you pushed yourself to your full height atop Jetfire's shoulders; Nightcaster and Eudaimonica flying where they could be seen as Winterpyre emerged from her Tiara and expanded into a larger than prior form, wings emerging from his back to carry himself into the air while Eudaimonica and Nightcaster grabbed onto his horns, the demon's call to order being heard over the din of battle.
The demon's roar getting even Positron's attentions in the midst of his rampage through much of the Protectorate as he was about to deliver a knockout blow to the barely conscious Armsmaster whose seconds long battle with Positron had ended in a rather brutal blow to Colin's pride; his throat in his hand while Eidolon was bringing the hammer down on Iybraa to reinforce legend, throwing dozens of supermassive projectiles at her to overwhelm her shielding, pushing the incarnate back as she reacted to the new threat.
Beams then formed inside of her barrier, striking her and searing into her Vondon armour, which held but drew pained grunts from her. Her attempts to crush him halted by his containment fields, blocking off the incoming blows cold and pinning her to a building with more of his rays, a casual wave of his hand blocking off Citadel's support with a second containment field; halting the Incarnate Robot in a hurry only to stop when he had seen the Demon King rise from the ground; unchaining more of his true form from his hellish realm; rising to many dozens of meters with a hateful snarl curling from his obsidian maw.
Samus: You all need to stop fighting now!
Eidolon: Who are you...what sort of...monster have you brought here?
Positron: ...Eudaimonica? You alright kid?
Eudaimonica: Yeah, fine.
Positron: Since when did Winterpyre manifest that much of himself outside of his realm?
Winterpyre: Should you persist in this foolishness, I would be forced to take action.
Infernal: I've been waiting for a chance like that.
Winterpyre: Not the time nor the place.
Samus: Look, who I am is not important, what matters is that you are all in very serious danger if you keep going like this.
Jetfire: She's right...you've all got something a lot bigger than a squabble between earths heading your way chaps. A lot more of it at that.
Eidolon: The Balrog in our midst being evidence of this?
Samus: The...no...look, we have footage. Your worlds are at risk of alien invasion, they are already among you!
Positron: I seem to be looking at alien robots right now.
Jetfire: Look, lemme explain.
Jetfire: We're the autobots, and our job is to protect blokes like you from would be conquerors.
Jetfire: You, earth Bet types, you know Munich?
Samus: I was there, the...Nazis were being backed by one of the alien invaders on your world.
Eidolon: Aliens?
Samus: Mhrm.
Positron: Aliens...did they mention a Coming Storm?
Samus: Yes! In the 5th column and Weltreich datalogs.
Positron: Requiem...of course. Should have known he'd try to find more places to get racist trash to expand his armies.
Eidolon: Are you of either of our realms?
Jetfire: No.
Samus: No.
Eidolon: Hrm...troubling.
Jetfire: And there's more than our four metaverses involved. Look, something really, really fraggin' big's goin' on and it's got reality fallin' apart at the seams. We're in for the apocalypse mates. Now, you lot can pound the snot out of each other, fine. Then you both get smashed to bits by what's comin'.
Samus: I...I have visions, you all die if you let this escalate to a war.
Eidolon: ...I see.
Positron: That would explain Dream Doctor's doomsaying increasing to a greater than usual degree.
Positron: Alright. Let's meet up.
You were a bit busier though with firing off charged paralyzer bolts at anyone who seemed ready to want to keep fighting, luckily most of the people here were willing to pause for a bit, but you had to deal with a number of stragglers and troublemakers. Synapse, perhaps too caught up showboating, was someone you had to catch. He was fast to be sure, but the report on him was right, all you had to do to draw him out was to show your own speed, and he was trying to outrace you in no-time.
He was fast, but you were fast too if perhaps not quite as fast in a run as he was, you were faster to react, and precognitive, and you snared at his feet with the grapple beam to rope him into a gentle stop, glaring at him through the monocular stare of your helmet's optics.
"Stop." You said simply, harshly, gesturing to Nightcaster and Eudaimonica as they waved back.
"You want to go ten rounds bug man?" He said, looking at your armour with a confident glare before Positron landed next to him, dropping a groaning Armsmaster by his side while Eidolon flew next to you.
"Posi, come on are you trusting these guys?" He said, Keyes rubbing his brow even with his helmet on and looking at Synapse with a glare that could best be summed up as "severely disappointed."
"Berry, please, the adults are talking." He said before shooing him away.
"Raymond I'm nearly forty fi-"
"You act like you're nine." He said with a prolonged sigh.
"I grew up after Cole passed on, clearly you haven't." He said coldly to Synapse in a way that immediately told you they had something of a strained friendship. Synapse grumbled as you let him go, speeding off to...yeah he was flirting with one of the Primal Earth metas already. That seemed right for the sort of man you expected him to be.
"Alright, we'll hear you out." Positron said, looking back to the group. "Everyone, stand down please." He said, offering a hand out before sending out a stand down signal.
"+Everyone, stand down, now.+" Eidolon commanded, the remaining brawls coming to a sudden halt while Samus stepped beside you and gave you a thumbs up.
"...Mommy...the train went swimming in the piano..." Armsmaster grumbled on the ground as he faded in and out of consciousness while Eidolon looked down with some concern and touched him to mend his injuries, bringing him up with a start and a shake of his head before he backed away from Positron.
"...No hard feelings." The Anti-matter Avenger said, giving a thumbs up.
"Speak then, what news do you bring of the end times?" Eidolon said.
Actions: (Specify Samus or Arne)
[]: Start with how you got here
[]: Start with the threats you're most familiar with (Space Pirates, mysterious Wormhole Junction operators)
[]: Start with the omnipresent computer virus that is literally tracking all of their data right now.
[]: Start with the Weltreich
[]: Start with the Chozo and Alimbics relics and the power they represent
[]: Start with prompting the Autobots to speak
[]: Write in
"We need to...stop them from starting a war. If this escalates out of control it's going to..." What would be the right term? Something simple, not too much jargon they might not get.
"Escalation cascade. Then your two timelines tear each other apart, and then all the Earths linked by this follow...along with...a lot more." Samus said, finishing your thoughts for you. She was better with words than you were, people were kind of complicated at times, and it was hard to explain things a lot. She wasn't...ideal at it...but it was something.
Basically they saw the end times; Interspersed with deeply traumatic flashbacks to what happened on Cylosis and K-2L due to their particular PTSD triggers; an apocalypse that occurs as first Primal Earth and Earth Bet tear at each other's defenses only for the two to get plastered by the Coming Storm, humanity doomed in a way that rapidly spreads from the two and the two worlds in question left as husks.
As in like; all iterations of humanity that have any ability to reach Primal Earth and Earth Bet are doomed if the Coming Storm is not weathered. Even the humanity of the Year 50,014 in Samus and Arne's native reality in Metroid. Even the humans of the Transformers' version of Earth taking its steps into interstellar civilisation.
The Coming Storm will, if not stopped, bring all of them to an end.
Nobody is sure why the Coming Storm is so apocalyptic, but it means the doom of the human and many other species; a great filter in fate where countless destinies just...end. And the Escalation Cascade happening means that the Coming Storm cannot be resisted in any but the most remote of possible futures.
Stopping Primal Earth and Earth Bet from going to war doesn't guarantee the Coming Storm will be weathered by any means, but it opens a lot more chances.
What the Coming Storm is exactly, is a mystery. On Primal Earth it was supposed to just be the arrival of the Battalion, but it's become something more complicated and far-reaching.
Last edited:
Character Profile: Winterpyre, High Demon King of the Frostflame
Winterpyre, a title given to him in lieu of speaking the most commonly uttered fragments of his true name; Crydiaboloch; was once known as a destroyer of nations and a despoiler of worlds who had brought ruin across countless dimensions and caused the deaths of innumerable beings as his armies devoured realms to be added into his Hell of the Frostflame; Coclegestus. However, over the millennia, he came to have a change of heart; despairing of the constant destruction he had caused and having an epiphany regarding the suffering he caused, not merely to deserving sinners but to endless innocents laid to waste by his rampages and devilry. He began to mellow, and sought to atone, rebuilding where he had once destroyed, healing where he had once harmed, turning the legions bound to him to good and noble causes.
He would come to encounter the Dahl Family who summoned him to Primal Earth, hardly the first time he had been there but he sensed that the family sought to make use of his powers for a better cause; and he soon came to dote upon their young Daughter Alice, seeing in her a path to redemption for himself and his people. He agreed to serve her faithfully, limiting himself to a smaller, less intimidating form more akin to the ice demon princes often summoned by Demonomancers unless more of his power was needed. But ever hints of his true abyssal majesty would leak through; hints at the far more massive and powerful being behind the facade of being yet another major demon summoned by a too young caster. The truth though is that Eudaimonica does not use any bindings on him, the shackles on his power are of his own design; and he obeys her out of love, not fealty.
Considering her to be like a daughter, Crydiaboloch became fiercely protective of Alice, always moving to take harm for her sake due to his virtual immunity to pain and the futility of trying to kill him, not only because of his nature as an immortal demon able to reform in his hell whenever slain; but also because only a few could ever draw out the entirety of his titanic form; a form whose wings would cause an eclipse and whose flames have brought the end of days to countless worlds. However, it is not easy for him to manifest at his full grandeur, for moving so much infernal mass at once is something that there are a great many restrictions on for good reason. Manifesting the entirety of his form would require either a truly tremendous apocalypse ritual or a massive breakdown of reality itself.
In most cases, Crydiaboloch is simply a powerful servant, but hardly able to end most battles of his own accord save through outlasting any attempts at destroying him given his tremendous regenerative powers and the minute portions of his body that most foes get to interact with. To confront him in his own realm though, is a mistake few make twice. For it is a realm that he has great control over, bound to him as it is. It is also a realm where one would have to confront his demons and his hellbeasts in the totality of their numbers, in a place where to inflict a true death upon them is something that most would struggle with without the right rituals and equipment.
But he is not without weakness, such as to cold forged Iron blessed by the heavens that remains anathema to his nature and body as the power of the Choir realms always is, and of course; his dependency on Alice. Without her, his hold on the material plane weakens and he is forced to devote more of his power to trying to remain anchored without the proper rituals to remain on the material plane, making him more easily banished or bested while much of the lesser demons are banished instantly in case Alice is knocked out or worse yet, killed. Should his adored one truly perish though, Winterpyre will lose most of his desire to keep fighting for his cause; and retreat to the depths of his hellish fortresses to wallow in pity under the weight of his failure.
His devotion to the girl he has, against most rational reason, decided to adopt also clouds much of his judgement. He will abandon most other plans to focus entirely on Alice's defense should she be in mortal danger, and he continually sees threats around her to the point of sometimes being a difficulty in her life as he chases away potential dates he deems unworthy of her affection, intimidates teachers at Statesman Academy who seek to fail her or even give an insufficiently high mark, even chasing people out of movie theatres when she complains about them talking in the midst of a film. His tendency to assume the worst out of anyone who approaches her with the intention of befriending her or dating her has made her social life suffer somewhat, as few wish to risk the ire of a High King amongst Demons or his many vexing curses.
His habit of helping her cheat on exams by whispering the answers to her and doing her homework and school projects for her also has caused her actual knowledge of heroing and magic that she is supposed to learn to suffer; increasingly relying on the teachings of the Frostflame Hell directly rather than her curriculum. Something that has impeded her knowledge of Pyromancy and especially the Cryomancy she is supposed to be learning in addition to Hell magic. He also has a soft spot for Children he sees as suffering in general, a form of his atonement for the endless orphans and trauma victims he left in the past, duty bound to try and aid those he sees as being left in pain from their traumas and circumstances. Against the youth, he never fights to kill unless his foe is simply a monster wearing the form of a child.
As a High King of Demons, Winterpyre is an Incarnate being and as such has a great many resistances and immunities; and of course as a being of frost and flame, heat and cold are virtually useless as tools against him, and his physical prowess is enormous; supplemented by a vast and versatile array of magics at his disposal. However, against foes especially resistant to magic, his offensive abilities diminish, as does much of his versatility. He has not developed his connection to the Well of Furies as much as one would think for a being as old as he is, and the path of the Incarnate is something he is more academically than practically familiar with despite the numerous tomes on it in his demonic libraries. Something he has sought to alleviate.
However, his greatest shame is that he often takes it upon himself to deal with foes that Alice; who refuses to use lethal force in general; is too innocent or naive to; in his eyes; see the need to deal with permanently. A number of villains and monsters have been outright killed by Winterpyre altogether, sometimes even having their souls scourged into oblivion to make it far harder to raise them again; usually out of Alice's sight. He always tells her that he has simply sent them to be reformed in his fortresses in the Frostflame, but in truth, only some are ever sent to this place, others facing oblivion or simply having been killed on the spot by the Demon or his servants. It is something he fears Eudaimonica learning one day, and his mind is uneasy with the fear of what she will say or do if she ever finds out.
Eudaimonica's attainment of Incarnate status brings Winterpyre much relief, for he feared having to watch Alice die of old age if she refused to use her hell magics to sustain her life and youth. His emotional dependency on her is often baffling, but may be due to him not having any currently minor children of his own; all of his brood having grown up a long time ago, many opposing his turn towards the light and even doing battle with him. Something that brings him a great deal of grief whenever he proves unable to convince his still wayward descendants of the righteousness of his particular path and way.
The Midnight Club and Freedom Phalanx are well aware of what Winterpyre actually is, as is the Circle of Thorns that seeks to bind him into their service and turn him back into the world ruiner he once was. The Hellions, that infamous lowlife satanist gang, also worship him by his old titles, praying for the time that he may return to evil and the glory of whom they believe to be Satan. Those who continue to appreciate his old work bother him as much as those who believe that he may very well be putting on a facade and may still be the apocalypse demon he once was underneath it all.
Probably should tell the Heroes about the Massive Nazi Alliance that's been formed that should at least get them to realize the amount of damage coming their way
[X]: Start with prompting the Autobots to speak (Samus)
And the Autobots should tell these heroes what they know about what's happening, plus the dangers of the Decepticons and possibly other powers they are fighting at the moment.
The Empire-88 due to the Weltreich and 5th Column's Patronage has shot past basically every other organised crime group in size, scale, funding, and resources. But of course, the E-88, like the Gesellschaft and the 5th Column are simply meant to pave the way for the Weltreich's invasion alongside its allies in the Cosmic Axis; namely the Council Empire and the Empire of the Darkened Sun.
All of which are ultimately part of the agenda of the Nictus and their dreamed of conversion of humanity into ample stock for hosts.
The Empire-88 due to the Weltreich and 5th Column's Patronage has shot past basically every other organised crime group in size, scale, funding, and resources. But of course, the E-88, like the Gesellschaft and the 5th Column are simply meant to pave the way for the Weltreich's invasion alongside its allies in the Cosmic Axis; namely the Council Empire and the Empire of the Darkened Sun.
All of which are ultimately part of the agenda of the Nictus and their dreamed of conversion of humanity into ample stock for hosts.
Yeah..... we should probably tell them about this now, I mean they will be told later, but this is good to show that this is the kind of thing that will be coming for their worlds
Yeah..... we should probably tell them about this now, I mean they will be told later, but this is good to show that this is the kind of thing that will be coming for their worlds
The Weltreich of course, largely regards its White Nationalist pawns as disposable morons most of whom are much too degenerate to have any place in the new order save for slave labour.
To the Weltreich's Nordicist standards, most American whites are mongrel spawn born of unacceptable amounts of mingling between pure Germanic populace and Celts, Alpines, and Slavs. The first two of which the Weltreich redefined as being in the same category as Slavs as they needed to expand the slave labour force to keep the economy from imploding because the Weltreich is not run very well due to Nazism being rather incompatible with good governance. Soooo...most of the Empire-88's white supremacists would get a rather rude awakening when they get called uppity mutts, clapped in chains and sent to the farm fields as slaves for Aryan soldier-colonists or in the factories of the Industrialists if they manage to win.
[X]: Start with prompting the Autobots to speak (Samus)
I think I'm gonna have to side with steelwriter again. The best thing to do is point out the most apparent and immediate violent threats, the kind that aren't longer-term and will just kill everyone if a lot of people don't get their heads out of their asses right now. The other myriad of threats, especially the virus, are worrying but not the kind of thing that it's super obvious that you need to make sure nobody wastes military force unnecessarily.
The Weltreich needs to expand, if it ever stops expanding and the loot ever stops enriching the core favoured populace and the influx of slaves, hosts for their Nictus allies, fodder for their experiments or magical rituals, and technology to steal stops flowing, the Reich, across its many conquered worlds and timelines, will begin to fracture. Every single component organisation has become a state within a state, the SS, the Wehrmacht, the Sturmkorps and its Metahuman warlords, the Nictus hosts, the Thule Society, the Nazi Party itself, the Corporations backing the whole thing feasting on every conquered asset like vultures, and more all kept in a very tense peace primarily through their shared dependence on the Fuhrer himself to get things done and the constant influx of stolen treasure to smooth things over and keep living standards inflated for the lucky few of the racial elite.
If this stops and the gears are allowed to grind without constant fresh oil; the machine will break down very quickly. There are not only dozens of fracture points for civil war among the masters of the master race, but also room for a million and one rebellions and revolutions. All waiting for the placations to stop, for the illusion of prosperity for the herrenvolk to disappear, and for the propaganda to be shown for how hollow it all is beneath the surface of the rickety colossus.
The Council Empire and the Empire of the Darkened Sun are also rather similarly internally much weaker than they seem and are constantly dependent on conquest to avoid collapse. Even the Nictus Empire itself requires endless growth because the Nictus have come to want fresh life force to eat faster than nearly any intelligent species can be born to feed them.
If you jam the right wrenches into the gearworks, the Nictus' sprawling empire and cluster of fascist pawns will come apart breathtakingly fast for something of its size. They are dangerous of course, but they also have some glaring weak points.
The Weltreich needs to expand, if it ever stops expanding and the loot ever stops enriching the core favoured populace and the influx of slaves, hosts for their Nictus allies, fodder for their experiments or magical rituals, and technology to steal stops flowing, the Reich, across its many conquered worlds and timelines, will begin to fracture. Every single component organisation has become a state within a state, the SS, the Wehrmacht, the Sturmkorps and its Metahuman warlords, the Nictus hosts, the Thule Society, the Nazi Party itself, the Corporations backing the whole thing feasting on every conquered asset like vultures, and more all kept in a very tense peace primarily through their shared dependence on the Fuhrer himself to get things done and the constant influx of stolen treasure to smooth things over and keep living standards inflated for the lucky few of the racial elite.
If this stops and the gears are allowed to grind without constant fresh oil; the machine will break down very quickly. There are not only dozens of fracture points for civil war among the masters of the master race, but also room for a million and one rebellions and revolutions. All waiting for the placations to stop, for the illusion of prosperity for the herrenvolk to disappear, and for the propaganda to be shown for how hollow it all is beneath the surface of the rickety colossus.
The Council Empire and the Empire of the Darkened Sun are also rather similarly internally much weaker than they seem and are constantly dependent on conquest to avoid collapse. Even the Nictus Empire itself requires endless growth because the Nictus have come to want fresh life force to eat faster than nearly any intelligent species can be born to feed them.
If you jam the right wrenches into the gearworks, the Nictus' sprawling empire and cluster of fascist pawns will come apart breathtakingly fast for something of its size. They are dangerous of course, but they also have some glaring weak points.
well this is good, just need to do enough damage to their operation, that is something we can do, i mean the attack on Munic alone is bound to be a pretty bad loss with all the supers they lost and with the major people who can stop them learning about their operations
well this is good, just need to do enough damage to their operation, that is something we can do, i mean the attack on Munic alone is bound to be a pretty bad loss with all the supers they lost and with the major people who can stop them learning about their operations
Ziegler has also been Fuhrer for more than forty years and has Hitler degrees of personality cult centralisation around himself. If he dies just like when Hitler did, there will be a civil war between anyone who wants to be his replacement.
Of course, Ziegler isn't going to make himself easy to kill.
If you jam the right wrenches into the gearworks, the Nictus' sprawling empire and cluster of fascist pawns will come apart breathtakingly fast for something of its size. They are dangerous of course, but they also have some glaring weak points.
"Jetfire, you know this place better than I do. You should start." You said, nodding to the Autobot Air Commander. He stepped forward, white armour gleaming in the revealed sun and red helm distinctive amidst the crowd. As a nineteen and a half meter tall robot, he certainly grabbed attention; the wings of his Sukhoi alt mode blocking out some of the daylight streaming in from behind him.
"Eh you sure miss? I ain't really much for big speeches an' all that. But if ye like." He said, turning towards you while Arne
"Right lads, name's something you lot can't pronounce; but ye can call me Jetfire. Spiffin' lad, one of the right hand bots meself. But I'll be honest with you. Not much for dramatic speeches, not like Prime. So I figure, why the 'ell not. Gave 'im a call 'fore we set out and well..." Jetfire said as he stepped to the side, a hard-light holographic recreation of a figure that even you felt briefly awed to see. A blue helmet and legs, a red chest and arms, interspersed with chrome joints; armour-plated like a knight of old with noble blue optics that hit you with every second of the untold millions of years of war he had waged for freedom and justice's sake. Even in holographic form, he had a presence you could call...divine. An anointed of a higher power. The same sort of holy presence you felt from looking at the avatars of the Chozo Ancestor gods, calming and benevolent like Old Bird.
Positron and Eidolon's thoughts stilled, Arne staggered before recovering his footing, Winterpyre recoiled slightly, and all the Autobots quickly saluted. For a moment, the red hot hostility of the world seemed to just melt, and everyone hinged on what this figure, a titan of justice, might say next.
You fished out a name through his truly ancient strand in the Causeways of Destiny, a cable of inviolable fate. A name you had heard before, but only now known to associate with this figure.
"Optimus Prime." You said in a reverent breath.
"Ummm...hi." You said, a little louder, a little bolder, mind trying to analyse every mechanism, every bolt and fibre of his being in an attempt to make sense of how he worked.
"Is there...something inside you? Something else...I feel something so old and wise inside you. C-can you tell me?! I...what are your..." You realised that you were making a fool of yourself and bit your tongue, shying away a bit as you completely fumbled your first words. "I am the Hatchling of the Chozo, I have fought alongside your autobots. It is an honour to be alongside someone like yourself."
"The honour is mine. I have been shown that you are brave and wise far beyond your years, and it is quite rare for a human to suspect the presence of Primus' Matrix inside of me, even rarer without seeing me in person. Though I do not have the honour of knowing the Chozo very well, they clearly made a wise decision to take you in their care. I hope to fight by your side some day soon." He said with fatherly pride despite having just met you. You beamed beneath your helmet, offering him one of your thumbs ups as he made the effort to return the gesture towards you.
"I...hi...hello...I'm uh...Neophyte of the Alimbics...I worked with...working with your aut...I accompany her an...who uh, wow you are really tall." Arne said, his words even clumsier as he tried to fish around for any terms. "I...I'm sorry I'm interrupting." He said, shyly looking away as Optimus Prime shook his head and offered his holographic hand out to Arne and yourself to lift the two of you up closer to him, the hard-light feeling just as solid and real as any metal and giving you an approximation of the sensation of actually being on his hand.
"No. You are not. I have been told much about your valour so far. From what you have shared with my comrades in arms, and the bravery of your struggle to save worlds not your own. I could only wish to be honoured with your direct presence, but alas this long war calls me to fronts far away from your world for now. Know that you have my respect, and that while you remain separated from your caretakers, my Autobots will be glad to assist you in whatever way they can." He responded, your hand reaching out to one of his thumbs before he let you stand upon his shoulders and looked out at the gathered humans and not so humans before him, the Autobots keeping in a respectful formation around his avatar.
"Prime, gonna spoil tha' kids if ye keep this up." Jetfire said with a laugh.
"If what you told me of what they have been through is accurate, spoiling them would be the least I could do." He said with an avuncular tone as Windblade laughed and shook her head.
"Optimus Prime...is that a code name?" Positron said before Eidolon shook his head.
"Doubtful, a translation of a title. I suspect your true name would be difficult to pronounce yes?" He said.
"That would be the correct assumption. I am Optimus Prime, current Paramount Leader of the Autobot Revolutionary Alliance. My forces have been among your two worlds in hiding for many years, seeking to counter our Decepticon foes already amongst your ranks." He said, deciding to dispense with the masquerade almost immediately while Bumblebee played a "robots in disguise" jingle that you didn't recognise but were sure would stick in your head for the next few days.
"I have suspected that there were unusual mechanical presences within a great many vehicles for some time now. You are mechanical, correct?" Citadel said.
"We are indeed. We are mechanical life forms who originated in the metallic world of Cybertron in a reality far beyond your own. Our race has however, long been sundered in the throes of civil war since what you would consider to be the triassic period." He said, allowing the Hologram to show a beautiful gem of a metallic planet, much larger than Earth. A history of expansion and colonisation in all direction stretched over a truly enormous gulf of time. You almost took a step back though when the planet started to erupt in a series of detonations and swarmed with warships that spread all across what the Cybertronians considered to be the known universe. You already had an inkling of it...but seeing it in such visualised form was shocking; especially as the timer counted down millions of years, just spent in endless, ceaseless total war.
"A conflict between we who fought to abolish the caste system, the ideology of spark supremacy, and to end our history of grueling conflicts over pointless conquests; those who sought to preserve the system for themselves and maintain their aristocratic and imperial power; and those who believed that the only path for our race was the subjugation and exploitation of all of existence to rejuvenate what they saw as an ailing nation held back by weakness. The Autobots, the Imperidroids, and the Decepticons. But in the millions of your years we have fought, we have only fractured farther, our civilization stagnating as our best and brightest perished in the trenches of ceaseless conflict." He said, clearly using some sort of compulsion not to make people believe a lie, but to know that he spoke only truth. You could verify as much yourself with a brief glimpse at his enormous tendril in fate, interlocked to an impossible number of other destinies, seeing so many people entwined with his own fate come to a sudden end. Was it his Matrix? It must be...you could feel such...blessed wisdom from it. This was someone who did not take to lying often.
"So, why not speak to us about this beforehand? We could have worked together and helped stop things earlier. Hell...there's been so many conflicts we've had you could have helped with!" Positron said, not angry so much as...needing. Needing to know why.
"Why didn't you help before?" You asked, also needing to hear it from him himself.
"My apologies, we try to preserve indigenous civilizations from the trauma of being drawn into our politics as best we can. We have worked with some of your agencies in the shadows, but to drive the Decepticons out of hiding means to invite them to escalate to overt force. As devastating as many of your prior conflicts have been, it would hardly compare to the Decepticons deciding it would be easier to annihilate your Solar system to extract its resources than to take the political costs of losing access to your wealth. And once the Decepticons emerge from hiding, so will other threats, lest they risk falling behind our oldest foes' progress in attempting to usurp your world for their gain. Our revelation here already guarantees that they will begin to take greater action. Though it pains me to say it, we must be ready for a higher form of warfare. One I fear all elements of the worlds under threat may not be willing to aid us in." He said with a heavy, grave tone as he looked upon the city as if it was already in ruins and sighed.
Arne
Being in Optimus hand, even in holographic form, made you feel alive with a holy presence. Something you rarely felt amidst the secular alimbics who had taken care of you...but sweet mother Elmorni often brought you relics of your clan's faith, and that same feeling of being valued and treasured filled you now as your eyes met with Optimus' optics, even if only for a moment. It almost was disappointing to be let go by him to rest upon his shoulders, not without saying something to earn his approval. But you had your chance now.
"I...I don't think I've met any Decepticons yet. But we have direct proof of at least two of the empires trying to conquer these joined worlds. The uh...Rikti and the Weltreich. How much do you know of the Nictus?" You said, trying to focus just on what was important to say so that you didn't trip on your own tongue. Gods, why was it easier to fight to the death than talk to some people?
"More than enough to know that the Kheldians' struggle with them has many parallels with our own civil war." He said, looking to Positron who flew to a height more level with Prime.
"Nictus...Weltreich. So this is where the Nazis have been getting more superhuman muscle. People with powers who didn't fit our system. Origins that don't make sense...they must be coming here to escape the Coming Storm." Positron said, realisation flooding through him.
"That's not...that's not going to work, it's going to spread through every linked reality." You said, bluntly; Eidolon's attention focused on you now.
Samus stepped up though, knowing that of the two of you; she was merely semifunctional rather than awkward....most of the time. "You can use all sorts of powers right? Discarding them to get new ones as you need them...you can see the future, like we can, yes?" She said. "I know you don't have full control over it, but perhaps you could attempt to grasp some sort of long-term precognition? Probablistic so you can determine what's likely to happen." You added as Eidolon nodded in response.
"If I am fortunate that should be...yes..." He seemed to pause for a moment before going absolutely stock still. "I see...fortunate then that you have stopped those on the side of light from waging civil war for now." He said, looking towards Positron as he flew up, offering a hand to the armoured scion of Prometheus.
"Hey, personally; I'm much bigger on diplomacy and trade with alternate earths than adding yet another enemy to the list." Positron said as he took the hand and gave a handshake that you could just about sense the footfalls of the significance of. The sense of doom faded somewhat, probabilities becoming just a bit more likely to end in something beyond the Great Filter.
"You...have a list of other Earths you consider enemies?" He said, slightly disquieted by the idea of having so many foes that an entire list would need to be made.
"Growing constantly I'm afraid." He said as Raymond and David broke off their handshake while Legend, seemingly miffed that Positron was mostly talking to Eidolon and not him, harrumphed to move in a bit closer and offered his own hand to shake.
"I'll give you credit, not a whole lot of people could go that many rounds with Iybraa for that long." He said, Legend giving a smile and a nod.
"I had her in the bag."
"She's fifteen, please don't put her in a bag." Raymond said in a deadpan voice that took you five seconds to realise was a joke before you started to chuckle.
"She will probably adapt to Eidolon's trick though...but you two...can you pass me all the files you've got from the Reich? If the Nictus are planning something this big, I need to get ready. Got so much to worry about these days..." He said, looking to you as your suit interfaced with his for a moment. You then realised something.
His power armour didn't have the Virus. His suit was uninfected by whatever malware was being passed around the computer systems here like wildfire. Should you say something to him? Was it the fire of Prometheus that burned within him? You weren't exactly sure, but you did take the hand he offered to shake firmly.
One of the enormous dragon suits flew overhead as you passed out the data you had collected to every system in the area capable of receiving it; your armour uploading the information it had gathered at blinding speeds, compressing the information wherever necessary to fit into more primitive systems as you could feel the technology around you. Compromised in nearly every case by some malady that seemed to leech at the information you threw out to the infected systems, sending it to some distant set of networked servers and bounced around in a labyrinthine set of duds and rewirings that even you couldn't quite trace the true origin of. Not without more data to properly triangulate anyway. Whoever wrote this program was an expert at making sure that their trail would not be followed; cutting connections whenever the malware sensed your presence to leave dead trails.
You had excised all the personal information from the data you collected. You were still...unsure on whether to give out your actual name to these people for the most part, at least in public anyway. Being able to slink back into obscurity by simply not wearing your armour or using an alternate look for your suit was a nice thought. And the attention of the news crews around you made you thoroughly nervous.
"If this is only one of many dangers, then we are in grave peril. They are mobilising for further strikes that will likely fall on this city and Paragon next. Now...I know the two of you are young, but I would like to ask you a favour. Can you help monitor the situation here for some time? As we discern the extent of this linking of realities, your ability to gather information has proven to be as invaluable as your raw battle prowess." Optimus' holographic avatar said as he offered his hand for the two of you to get onto, lowering you to the ground and looking at you.
"I...yeah. We can." You said, sucking in a breath and puffing out your chest.
"I'd really like that...there's just so much here to see! It's like a museum!" Samus said cheerfully, grinning beneath her helmet while you stood yourself straighter.
"Excellent. Now, for our first order of business, I will allow Kyrion to speak. He has been an invaluable ally, and an important resource on your capabilities and what dangers may come from what you call home." Optimus said as Kyrion's holographic avatar cut in with a nod, wave and salute.
"Thank you Urglik Prime."
"You are of course welcome."
"Now...I have come to suggest the possibility of perhaps forming embassy and means ensuring cooperation. We are still a ways yet from forming a more united organisation for the defence of the imperiled worlds, but with what we have on hand...we could work something out. At least get the foundations started. This portal site seems to be as good of a place as any." Kyrion said, looking at the swirling rift between realities and then back towards you all.
"Wait...who are you?" Legend asked, folding his arms.
"Anti-Imperialist Agent, Revolutionary Subversive, and general pain in the back sides of people who would like to conquer and exploit lower tech civilisations for their benefit. You can call me Kyrion, I come from Section 13 of the Intelligence Services of the Omdyn of Democratic Council Omnipragmatist Republics. The boy there and I come from the same country, though not of the same nation. I share a home reality with the two of them you see; in the far off year of fifty thousand and fourteen." They said, spindly limbs adjusting themselves as they spoke with an almost genteel demeanour, the synthetic offering nod and gesticulating in an articulate manner you studied intently, in the hopes of coming off as sophisticated as the spymaster at some point.
"So basically space KGB?" Legend asked.
"Crude but somewhere within the ballpark." They answered, curt, polite, and efficient. All things you wish you could be with your speech. "Ah right, baseball is a bit of a passing fad of a sport...somewhere in the vicinity of the dodgeball target." They said, a shift in tone indicating a joke that got you to laugh again.
"How did you know I played dodgeball?" Legend said as the synth shrugged its shoulders.
"You've got the aim of a star player, Urglik Legend."
"So...what now?" Samus asked, speaking up and craning her head towards you.
"Yeah just let me think about...what are we supposed to call you two again? You've changed codenames a bunch...might be fine for bouncing from planet to planet but well, if you're going to stay here. Try a consistent one. It'll stick better. Even with your armour's uh, appearance changes." Legend said.
"I'd like to add another thing. If you're going to work with us; I'd like to offer my personal recommendation to the Freedom Phalanx. I've taken a moment to look over your data and well, to be frank, I'd love to have you on the team." Positron said, offering a hand. "Of course, you don't have to decide now. Have a think about it though." He offered.
"Look, we've met before and you'll be hanging around here so why not give the Protectorate or the Wards a go?" You frowned at the thought of that. Your knowledge of what pre-space faring America was made the idea of serving in its law enforcement sit in your stomach like itching powder.
"Oi well, if it's all the same...Autobots don't mind bringin' in non-cybertronians." Jetfire pitched in.
The Otmetsolsoza would probably also be interested come to think about it but...tying yourself to any one government...
"Hey, if you wanna hang out with the Starsetters well...I think you're cool!" Alice said from atop Winterpyre who gave a nod and a snort of flame.
"Could you give us some time to think, please?" You said, looking to Samus.
Hero Name voting:
Arne Choices:
[]: Nova Knight (CommNet chat handle)
[]: Eagle-Squire (Meaning of first name, rank amongst Alimbics)
[]: Ranger (Codename from mysterious black ops organisation that levelled Cylosis)
[]: Primoris (Primary title amongst Alimbics)
[]: Duskguard (Affectionate nickname from Elmorni)
[]: Sylux (Name of future alter ego)
[]: Neophyte (Prophetic title from Alimbics)
[]: Sigtyr (Name of Odin)
[]: Sarxyl Avar (Alimbic name)
[]: Go with actual name and dispense with secret identity
[]: Write in
Samus Choices:
[]: Hatching Sentinel (CommNet chat handle)
[]: Huntress (Future title from Space Pirates)
[]: Metroid (Word for Ultimate Warrior among certain Chozo dialects)
[]: Hatchling (Prophetic title from Chozo)
[]: Dawnchild (Affectionate nickname from Old Bird)
[]: Goldraven (Pet name from friends)
[]: Inheritor (Primary title amongst Chozo)
[]: Aine (Celtic Goddess)
[]: Aira-Sekh (Chozo Name)
[]: Go with actual name and dispense with secret identity
[]: Write in
Team Choice (Arne and Samus must choose the same option):
[]: Freedom Phalanx: (Independence from most governments, strong ties to primal earth, lots of mentor options, frequent free upgrades, large variety of power origins to work with, second best regular income of Incarnate components. Requires revealed identity, will be placed into Sidekick program.)
[]: Protectorate (Strong ties to Earth Bet, legal privileges on Earth bet, regular guaranteed income, access to Shard powers to study and tinkertech, comes with caveat of greater need to follow regulations and participation in schooling system. Requires secret identity.)
[]: Otmetsolsoza (The Protectorate but Soviet. Much of the same regulations as the Protectorate and the same benefits. This is more if you want to see more of Molotok and Serp and their friends.)
[]: Autobots (Strong ties to the Transformers, best mentor options, highly sophisticated technology to study and incorporate, lower numbers, lack of people in peer group, facilities have human comfort mostly as a secondary concern; politically well suited, autobots generally very experienced with working with children.)
[]: Section 13 (Strong ties to Metroid universe, most understanding of Chozo and Alimbic relics and how you operate, weakest presence on these earths so far, gives the most operational freedom to operate the way you'd expect Samus and Sylux to. Significant grab bag of upgrades to access. Very politically well suited, few people in peer group at the moment.)
[]: Starsetters (Independence from most governments, strong ties to primal earth, largest peer group due to mostly being made out of kids and people a bit outside the normal experience of humanity, no need to reveal identity, significant incarnate component access, broad range of power origin upgrades to incorporate. Socially somewhat misfitted with humans. Tends to have the least access privileges.)
[]: Vanguard (Strong ties to Primal earth, enormous array of equipment to choose from for regular upgrades and training, best incarnate income, significant salary, a great deal of freedom to operate in most cases. Tied to the Primal Earth United Nations, most militaristic, has some...morally questionable company due to their open-door policy. First target for alien infiltrators on Primal Earth. No identity policy.)
[]: Suggest starting on that new organisation (Most freedom, has to start up from scratch and puts burden of leadership more squarely on you two but can be tailored to your desires.)
[]: Ask people to make offers and show why you should join them.
[]: Remain independent for now (May be able to make choice later when opportunities arise.)
[]: Write in
[]: Autobots (Strong ties to the Transformers, best mentor options, highly sophisticated technology to study and incorporate, lower numbers, lack of people in peer group, facilities have human comfort mostly as a secondary concern; politically well suited, autobots generally very experienced with working with children.)
As much as i would love to pick this, we need to help out the others more, the Autobots don't Need our help to be effective
Also i love Dad-Prime
[]: Suggest starting on that new organisation (Most freedom, has to start up from scratch and puts burden of leadership more squarely on you two but can be tailored to your desires.)
this seems to be the best option if we want to help everyone and have no obligations or political hang-ups. plus more control for where we go
Anyway here is my picks for names
[X]: Duskguard (Affectionate nickname from Elmorni)
[X]: Metroid (Word for Ultimate Warrior among certain Chozo dialects)
