I kinda agree, actually. If I could go back, I probably wouldn't have introduced Jack since that makes a direct link between SHIELD and the Manhunters in a way that makes their lack of alien knowledge pretty hard to justify. But, what's done is done. Now I'll do the best I can with what I have.
Well at least someone's talking about it. I'd heard about dreams before, but experiencing them for yourself is something completely different. Completely different from everything else in reality. It's a trip. Why does anyone take drugs when they can just go to sleep?
The Marvel or DC universe alone would be too many crossovers if the characters in them were regarded as separate franchises. What's a few more on top of that?
This is a good opportunity to talk about namechanges. Transformers has a lot of names for things that are really cheesy. Alex thought it was fine because of characters like Nebula and the Mandarin, but I insisted that we look for alternatives. Cybertronians are Manhunters, Autobots are Autocons, Decepticons are Destrons, etc. Most individual's names are the same, because they selected them upon arriving on earth based on their personality, which is basically how the writers named them too.
The name Optimus Prime is just so pretentious, I can't imagine him picking it for himself. And I also like the idea that he's just a librarian rising to the cause. He'll only ever become Optimus Prime if or when Megatronus becomes Galvatronus.
Based off Transformers Prime. Secondarily, the rest of the Aligned continuity and the 2015 Robots in Disguise. Alex has also added Transformers to the list of wikis that he reads pages from almost daily, so bits of other stuff he's read about are bound to find their way in too. We've made it a point to forget the Michael Bay movies whenever possible.
The name Optimus Prime is just so pretentious, I can't imagine him picking it for himself. And I also like the idea that he's just a librarian rising to the cause.
i think he was given the title of Optimus Prime?
like, he doesn't really want it, but not that he's been given the name, it isn;t really something he can get rid of that easily?
but i'm assuming that either they didn't rename him, or they tried, and he went "I like the name i have already" and they just didn't officially change it, and most of the things happened with just his name being the same?
Based off Transformers Prime. Secondarily, the rest of the Aligned continuity and the 2015 Robots in Disguise. Alex has also added Transformers to the list of wikis that he reads pages from almost daily, so bits of other stuff he's read about are bound to find their way in too. We've made it a point to forget the Michael Bay movies whenever possible.
ah, so FoC happened?
....wonder if Bruce/Hulk and Grimlock could help each other?
i mean, both have anger issues and both turn into a large rampaging being when they get angry?
Well at least someone's talking about it. I'd heard about dreams before, but experiencing them for yourself is something completely different. Completely different from everything else in reality. It's a trip. Why does anyone take drugs when they can just go to sleep?
Again, wat? So, the Guardians had Manhunters, whose slogan was "No man escapes the Manhunters", and who ran on emotional spectrum energy. There is a subset of Transformers that is now being called Manhunters. These are said to run on energon, as would be expected of Transformers, but one has just said "No man escapes the Manhunters."
But i'm assuming that either they didn't rename him, or they tried, and he went "I like the name i have already" and they just didn't officially change it, and most of the things happened with just his name being the same?
Yup. He's basically the same character. He's still a Prime. He just goes by Orion Pax while on earth.
It's worth mentioning, the Manhunters only speak English on earth. So no matter what they were named by the Guardians, all their English names are self-selected.
Grimlock and Orion don't get along right now, so he hasn't been on earth in a few hundred years. If the character appears I will try to veer away from the excessively silly Robots in Disguise version.
Again, wat? So, the Guardians had Manhunters, whose slogan was "No man escapes the Manhunters", and who ran on emotional spectrum energy. There is a subset of Transformers that is now being called Manhunters. These are said to run on energon, as would be expected of Transformers, but one has just said "No man escapes the Manhunters."
Transformers = Manhunters in this continuity. They're the same thing. The Guardians created a species of robots called Manhunters that run on a variation of emotional energy called Energon and can transform to disguise themselves as local technologies from their sector.
Grimlock and Orion don't get along right now, so he hasn't been on earth in a few hundred years. If the character appears I will try to veer away from the excessively silly Robots in Disguise version.
You cast that net awfully wide. The MCU is too many crossovers for me, and then there's all the TV series it wants to include. (Fortunately they've done a pretty good job so far of recapping whatever I've missed.)
That was a poor justification after-the-fact to try and maintain some resemblance of continuity with the video games. Grimlock shouldn't have been in Robots in Disguise to begin with. It was supposed to be someone else, and then Hasbro insisted they include Grimlock to cross-promote with Age of Extinction, which also shouldn't have included Grimlock.
You cast that net awfully wide. The MCU is too many crossovers for me, and then there's all the TV series it wants to include. (Fortunately they've done a pretty good job so far of recapping whatever I've missed.)
The X-Men movies are maybe the worst offender for too many crossovers within a property that should by all rights be too small to have too many crossovers within. It's difficult to find more than two movies out of nine that actually work together without contradiction.
Let's put it this way. If SI ever goes to that Earth (unlikely), I will feel obligated to include canon plot holes between chapters.
The last few parts click into place, and then it kneels to get its newly formed head closer to mine, "My name is Orion Pax. Our mutual allies have brought you to me, because I am in need of your assistance. An old enemy of mine is on earth, and he must be made to learn that no man escapes the Manhunters."
... and then I woke up again. Damnit. As if dreams weren't horrible enough, they could even be recursive. How were you suppose to know when you were really aw-- bathroom! bathroom now!
Okay, I'm awake, I couldn't possibly feel this lucid yet this awful in a dream. But, seriously, Transformers?! There's mashups and then there's just crazy. What did I drink last night?
My comms go off in my ear, and I tap it and make groany noises. Jack laughs, "Still suffering?"
I thought I'd give you guys an extended behind-the-scenes update, since this arc is taking a while to get to where I'm satisfied enough to publish it. There are several big problems I have to avoid through the next several arcs, and I haven't been as careful so far as I need to be going forward. I need to own up to this stuff now, because shit's getting real in 2012 and I can't afford to keep making the same mistakes.
The first is Continuity Lockout. As more sources have been brought in, it's gotten increasingly difficult for this fic to be readable by anyone who is only familiar with parts of the MCU. The hope was that either SI would have to explain things to the people around her, or they would have to explain things to her, and that would supply the missing information in context. But it hasn't worked out that way. Particularly in regards to the Ten Rings plotline. The Makluan Rings were inadequately explained, and "Xavier Watches Television" is the worst kind of Deus Ex Anus for anyone who didn't watch and remember Iron Man 3.
In hindsight, putting the first Legend of Ike, Father of Jane Foster, and Manhunter Arrival chapters all in such quick succession was a bad idea. It gives the wrong impression. I should have revealed Jane's father in the first few arcs, and nothing from RWBY besides Aura is going to appear. There's only one non-Marvel/DC source on Earth 1 left to reveal that brings its own unique lore with it. That's a definite end to the crossovers, contrary to how it might seem now.
I'm going to try harder in future arcs to make sure every concept is introduced and briefly described in the fic before it becomes important to the plot. I'm also going to be more open to discussing future plans in spoiler tags. Alex isn't happy about that, but frankly I don't give a fuck. His overactive planning is part of what got us here.
So, without further ado, a complete list of the sources for canon on Earth XSI-1, in approximate order of priority. Please be considerate and only discuss under spoiler tags.
The MCU (All-In)
The Arrowverse (All-In)
Supergirl Season 1 (Excepting "Worlds' Finest". Details may vary)
Gotham (Details may vary)
Lucifer (Details may vary to fit Constantine)
Indiana Jones 1, 3, and 4. (Details may vary)
Transformers (Adapted to fit)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Adapted to fit) (Will be revealed next arc)
Kim Possible (Characters adapted to fit) (Will be revealed sometime before Winter 2012.)
Voltron (Adapted to fit Transformers) (Will be revealed later this arc)
Bionicle (Adapted to fit Transformers) (Will be revealed later this arc)
Avatar (The Spirit World and related phenomena)
RWBY (Aura only)
Smallville (Some character appearances and behaviors)
Marvel/DC comicbooks (Very Loosely Adapted)
Earth XSI-3 (Squadron Supreme/Crime Syndicate) also adapts some superpowers from the Ultraman franchise and Star Wars, but no characters or storylines.
The second problem stems from the fact that I have no fucking idea where this thing is going or how long I'll keep writing it. It would be very easy to fall into The Chris Carter Effect. With such an expansive world, there's more to do than can ever be done. There's more to see than can ever be seen. So I need to be damned careful about where I leave loose ends. I can only claim so much leeway by saying that narrative conventions are unrealistic bullshit, because whether I like it or not this is a bloody narrative. I need to be capable of pointing to something and saying "That's a plot. Follow that."
The Manhunter reveal has been bothering me too. I keep asking myself, "Is this stupid?" And I can only answer, "Yeah, it is." And while that can be justified by the MCU and Arrowverse doing equally stupid things too, it is still stupid. Alex wanted to make things more difficult for SI, and I never vetoed Transformers because Alex was in charge of the lore and he was excited. Just like the comicbook writers he idolizes, he didn't know where to stop. But just like a comicbook producer, I could have vetoed him at any stage, and I didn't. And now I'm trying to make things as not-stupid as possible in the aftermath.
A lesser problem, still worth mentioning, is how much the Jane subplot has relied on "Tell, don't show". The relationship is underdeveloped. She's a primary character in the next arc, so hopefully that will change. And the Legend of Ike thing should've been set up more, or at all, before sudden reality warping ghost. I need to remember that I'm trying to give everything an MCU-styled semi-"realistic" spin, and keep as firm a handle as I can on the comicbook absurdity.
I'll be honest. I've considered abandoning this whole thing a few times while writing this arc. My heart isn't really in it. But there are a few things afterward that I am pretty excited about, and I think we all deserve to get there. I've decided not to rewrite, retcon, or expunge anything I've already published. But I wanted to let you guys know that there's a change in the wind. Danke.
Some of it is quite interesting, some we will see. Still I hope she explains some of the series since I don't know much about robots apart from transformers.
I honestly think you've got too many crossovers here, and it's going to lead to one big mess which could only be solved by bringing in more crossovers, ad nauseum. Marvel and DC are so expansive that you don't need to bring in anything other than Xavier to have far too much to deal with.
Maybe try and narrow down the cross overs, other wise every chapter will be introducing new characters instead of advancing the plot.
Okay. Transformers. Cars that turn into robots. I put a hand to my head to ease the headache through pressure, "Manhunters? Is that what you're called? Your species?"
Where have I heard Manhunters, other than the Martian? Alex knew them. Not the Martians, but they were DC. Weren't they related to the Green Lanterns?
The robot tells me, "Yes. We are the Manhunters. We were constructed billions of years before your planet was formed, by the Guardians of Oa, to serve and protect all sentient life."
"A Manhunter named Megatronus prioritized the letter of the law over maintaining the peace. His followers slaughtered trillions and caused our entire species to be removed from authority."
There it is, "...Replaced by the Green Lanterns." The Manhunters worked for the Galactus wannabe in that one cartoon.
It's hard to read those expressions but I can tell he's surprised I know that, "Yes. But now my autocons have acquired evidence that Megatronus is on earth. Jack told Arcee about your unique knowledge, and Arcee told me that you might be able to help."
'His' autocons, the autocons are his faction, the faction against Megatronus... "Who's Arcee?"
Jack revs his motorcycle behind me, and Bo scurries around to my front away from the noise.
I turn, "Jack can you not right n…"
...Jack isn't on his motorcycle. Oh, I'm thick.
I look at the motorcycle, and it idles closer to me without a driver, "Arcee."
And then the motorcycle transforms into a robot woman a few heads taller than human-sized. She has a much more discernable face than Orion, even though it's still made of metal. She smiles, "Nice to officially meet you."
I think for a moment, "I've ridden on your back...several times."
She walks past me to stand next to Orion, who towers over even her by about two times, "We can talk about that later. Do you know where Megatronus might be?"
I shake my head, "No. I know pretty much nothing about you guys. Sorry. Wrong movie." Was the red guy called Orion back on Earth Prime? It doesn't sound right, but I can't remember what else it would've been. And wasn't he supposed to be a fire truck?
Jack takes over, "The Destrons, that's Megatronus' people, have been looking for something, scouring the whole system. It's one of seven weapons, ancient artifacts from the Manhunter homeworld. The last time the whole set was brought together, it left their homeworld a baron wasteland."
"Have you checked the dark side of the moon?"
I'm trying to remember anything at all Alex might have known about Transformers, but he only saw the first and third movies. One of them was named Jazz, I think? There was a dinosaur-shaped one. None of that is going to be useful to them. There was an artifact, in the first movie. I remember it spontaneously turned a vending machine into a Transformer. A cube?
"You're not talking about the Infinity Stones, are you?"
Orion answers, "No. Six artifacts of immense elemental power." Elemental you say? "Designed for Manhunters alone. And a seventh that can control the rest. They were forged by one of the first of our kind, using stolen Makluan technology. I've been told you're aware of the Makluans."
Um, lizard people or dragons? "...Not in detail. I know about the rings they made. A few of them are on earth."
"Then you know the devastating power their technology holds. We believe the artifact Megatronus is hunting may be the controller. It cannot fall into his possession."
Okay. Gather your thoughts. Six and one to control them. Makluans aside, that sure sounds a lot like the Infinity Stones, "The Tesseract is one of the Infinity Stones. It was last seen on earth some sixty years ago. It's a glowing blue cube, about ten centimeters across. Any chance that's what he's after?" That would make this easy. SHIELD has it, whether they'll tell me about it or not.
"Among Manhunters one and one alone can wield the power of an Infinity Stone. The Great Defender. And he hasn't existed in aeons." That sounds like a setup for a resurrection.
I raise an eyebrow, "Are you sure? He can't be hiding underground somewhere?"
He successfully stares me down, "Yes."
Arcee explains inadequately, "Thanks to Megatronus, the Defender can't exist anymore. Orion is all that we have left now."
That's an interesting way to phrase that. It makes me think there's a lot more to that story.
But right now I don't care, "Well I don't have any information. Does that mean I can go H.O.M.E. and take a nap?"
Arcee laughs, "Sorry, you're not getting off that easy. You're on the case with us now."
I groan, "What the fuck can I do for you? I don't know anything! You're giant robots!"
Orion contests, "And you are a human of earth. Jack has been one of my most trusted allies for years. And he trusts you."
I turn to Jack, "Look, I appreciate the letter of recommendation. But you've obviously got a team dynamic thing here, and I'd just get in the way."
Arcee asks Jack, "Does she always complain this much on missions?"
He shakes his head, "She's not at her most charming right now. Can we stop somewhere for coffee before meeting with the rest of the team?" I should've figured there'd be more of them. There goes my day.
Arcee transforms back into a motorcycle, "Fine."
Jack climbs on with no hesitation. And then he looks at me expectantly.
I point, "I'm supposed to just forget she's a sentient person now?"
Arcee expresses her annoyance, "Oh, just get on before I change my mind and leave you here."
I let out a frustrated sigh, "Alright."
As I'm getting on, Orion transforms back into a truck, and then the five of us get back on the road.
Yup. Jack Darby. In Transformers Prime he's a teenager who partners with Arcee more than anyone of her own species. He and his friends help the Transformers on earth, mostly in a support fashion. But Jack briefly travels to the ruins of their homeworld and holds the Matrix of Leadership, which is an important relic, after Optimus Prime gives it to him for safe keeping. He's recruited into the FBI Academy after the finale.
Useful recap!: He first appeared in this fic as an Agent of SHIELD around SI's physical age, in "The Envoy". He took SI for a ride on his motorcycle, and has appeared and been mentioned a few times since. He has high enough clearance to read SI's reports, and mysteriously appeared to comfort her when she locked herself in her room. She wants to bone him. But he holds his liquor well enough that that hasn't happened.
I can understand the juggling difficult having crossovers involve and the multiple plot threads:
1). Trying to oust Hydra from within SHIELD with less damages as possible.
2). Forming the Avengers.
3). The threat of The Mandarin and the Ten Rings who are out for Xavier.
4). The Manhunters who are looking for seven powerful artifacts.
5). The fate and whereabouts of Thor.
There are still somethings left hanging like what Dyne/"Doctor Doom" is doing in the bottom of the East China Sea. Is he looking for a dormant kaiju?If it is, would the Monster Universe (Godzilla) be added in?
After three cups of coffee I'm feeling a little more ready to face the day. We drive for a while longer and then pull behind an old warehouse, with five other assorted vehicles. The yellow Volkswagen must be Bumblebee. That's one I remember.
We get off, I let Bo back out of my jacket, and everyone starts transforming. As they do, I take note of what each of the new ones were before. Ambulance, armored truck, white sports car with blue stripes, and red sports car.
And they're all giant humanoid robots now. They vary a lot in design. Arcee is easily under three meters tall, while Orion is probably over five. Maybe over six. It's hard to judge from down here.
The ambulance has a metal jaw that seems to evoke a goatee, "Did we really need to bring more humans into this?"
No, they didn't.
Orion disagrees, "Every resource we can bring to bear against Megatronus, we must do so, Ratchet. Our failure in this mission could mean the extinction of all life on earth, and a return to one of the darkest times in Manhunter history."
Does this guy always talk in motivational speeches? He makes Gandalf seem as grounded as Arthur Dent.
The armored truck-bot leans down to look at me far too quickly for my comfort, "Hi. I'm Bulkhead." He starts pointing at his teammates, "The old man is Ratchet. Bumblebee, Smokescreen, " The blue and white sports car, "Knockout." And the red one. "You already met Arcee." That's everyone.
I list them back, "Bulkhead, Ratchet, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Knockout, Arcee." Uoh boy, this is a lot at once.
White and blue, Smokescreen steps forward with a definite youthful air that almost reminds me of Alex, "And our fearless leader, Orion Pax. One of the six Primes who defeated Unicron the first time."
I put up my hand, "Okay, if it's not relevant to the mission at hand, I don't need to know your whole planetary history right now."
A big swirly blue-green portal thing opens near us. All the, what did he call them? Autocons? All the autocons turn and watch another Transformer drive through. This one looks like a police cruiser.
The new one transforms into its humanoid form. It's a woman-bot. Why are some of them feminine-shaped? What function do metal boobs serve? They don't actually have gender, do they? They're robots.
Orion addresses the newcomer, "Strongarm. Report."
"Fixit found a lead. He intercepted a destron transmission talking about a ship that crashed here only a few centuries after our planet's destruction. It might have evidence of the location of the weapon."
How many of these assholes are there? I hope no-one expects me to remember all these names later. I really hope I don't have to call anyone's name in the heat of battle.
The police-bot, Strongarm looks at me, "Who's the human?"
Arcee answers, "A friend of Jack's. She's with us."
I would offer a handshake, but I don't want to be crushed, "I'm Xavier. But in the field you can call me Avatar. The gal on my shoulder is Bo." I guess I'm in this now, "Where's this ship you found?"
"Underground, in the region you call the Gobi Desert. We weren't able to intercept the exact coordinates before they changed frequencies."
Orion narrows his eyes dramatically, "Then we must begin searching at once, if we are to recover the information onboard in time. Tell Fixit to open a ground bridge and take Sideswipe to search the northern sector."
Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Orion Pax, Ratchet, Strongarm, Smokescreen, Arcee, Sideswipe, Fixit… What was the red one again? Fuck.
Strongarm runs back through the portal and it closes, only to almost immediately reopen. I guess this is a 'ground bridge'? It's a poor shadow compared to the Bifrost. Still, I'd love to show it to Jane and see what she thought. Seeing this kind of technology in action would make her so happy.
Orion strikes a commanding pose, "Autocons, roll out!" And then he transforms and drives through.
Arcee tells me, "It might be a little less cramped if you ride with someone else this time." Jack nods at me, which I guess means I have to mingle.
When fighting giant robots, armor is good, "Bulkhead. Can I go with you?"
He smiles wide, "Of course you can! It'll be nice to have a *?<# again."
That was... It sounded like they do when they're transforming. Mechanical banging and grinding noises. Is that their native language?
Bulkhead transforms and pops his door open. I climb into a compartment inside the body of a sentient being and buckle my seatbelt. Bo hops off my shoulder into the driver's seat.
Sigh. This is my life now.
He asks as we drive through the glowing swirly tunnel into the desert, "So this cutie's Bo? Is she any good in a fight?" The voice just sort of comes from somewhere in the cabin. Hard to pinpoint where.
I cringe slightly, "Probably not at your level. She can breathe fire, but that's about it. If Jack had told me anything about the mission I might have left her at H.O.M.E.." Maybe I should have anyway. I don't want to put her in too much danger.
"I can see a lot of love connecting you two. Maybe she wouldn't want to be left behind."
That's curious, "You can...see love?"
The rear view mirror wiggles as if to nod, "Love, compassion, hope, willpower, fear, greed, and rage. The emotional spectrum of energy that all living things draw from. Manhunters can see the rage of someone about to commit murder, or track the fear in a guilty soul. It was supposed to help us get to the truth. But the destrons use it to see the hope of anyone who opposes them, and snuff it out."
Time to change the subject. I ask, "What was that word you used earlier, to refer to me? Is that your native language?"
He's briefly confused, "What? Oh, did I switch off my translator? Sorry. There isn't really a word for it in your language."
I smile, "No word for the relationship? I know what that's like. What does it mean?"
"Manhunters were originally designed to be supported by a local lifeform. Someone who'd know the lay of the land, advise us and be able to hold us accountable to our actions if we made the wrong call. That's why we look like technology instead of people. But the inconvenience of having to pick a new one every time they died pressured the Guardians into making it optional."
I nod, "And then some of you lost touch with what you were protecting, and then Megatronus happened."
I'm suddenly very aware of how personal this must be for him. This is the tragic history of his people, "Megatronus, the destrons. A sector-wide genocide." He deliberately cheers himself up, "Anyway, the closest translation is 'paladin'. I used to have one, but… She got hurt. And even after she got better, she decided she didn't want to fight in the war anymore. Now the only one of us left with a Paladin is Arcee. But she and Jack are a little more than that."
Oh? "What do you mean?"
Suddenly he screeches to a halt, "We have company. Destrons. Ready to do some wrecking?"
…
That's it. I'm dead, "…Can I think about it a little longer?"
Now go Xavier, unleash your avatar powers and tear the ground apart under their feet. End the battle single-handedly in seconds!
.
..
...
No? Well, uh, good luck then XD
