The Crisis

Key City Outskirts, West Residence:

The sky wept blood and breathed ragged, clouds parted like the curtains at an opening show and the one blue beauty of the horizon above was stained red as invaders cut into the Earth's atmosphere like a machete digging into rough flesh. The deafening roar of engines consumed the airspace as ships began to exit the soundless vacuum of space. Some vessels stayed above, too massive to land on the planet while thousands of smaller ones (if small could even be a term) blasted through the air all heading to different locations, their dark hulls and glowing rockets trail lighting their destinations.

They didn't see him.

Not yet.

On the bare Nebraskan countryside stood a young man draped in maroon and silver, his orange hair blazing intensely as he stood still, his brow usually crinkled in amusement furrowed in concentration, his mouth usually twisted into an endearing smile was now pressed into a hard line as he stared upward into the vast ocean of crimson. The brain filled with insane pranks and humorous remarks was now blazing at a million miles per hour in hopes of figuring out a battle strategy. Soon the entire world would be under siege, the invasion now underway and the only hope left for this universe and maybe even the multiverse rested in the hands of a 17-year-old boy, his team, and any other beings that chose to rise up and defend all that exists.

Breaking the boy's raging thoughts was a rush of wind as another speedster entered the scene.

"Hey dad." Said Jai West, his own uniform on his body, cowl lowered to expose his brown hair and hazel eyes, he eyed his father with worry and Alex knew why, the reason that Jai had been sent to this time period was unfolding. It had started with Jai himself, this all began with him. "What do we do now? It's almost time."

"You get Thomas, I'll get James. Go."

Jai Walker POV: Richard Tower, Bludstone City

Richard Tower sat high in the skyline as Jai sped into the city limits, his heart raced as his feet pushed into the road sending him jetting past speeding vehicles that blurred in his speed. The city was cloaked in the same red skies as the rest of the world yet it seemed darker, more sinister befitting the reputation of such a city. Bludstone was taking safety measures the same as Key City under the light of the invasion, looking up Jai could see the shadowed silhouettes of several vigilantes as they waited for the fighting to break out.

As he reached the inside of Thomas Richards domain the speedster would shoot past the lobby and fly up the stairs at speeds no person should travel while up a staircase until he had reached the top floor. Coming to a quick halt Jairus would step up to the door and enter quietly. Thomas stood in the center of his office looking out the window as enemy ships still shot through the air to various destinations, his hands clenching when one landed in Bludstone limits.

"It's time then?" The Outlaw said, his lips pursed together in anticipation. At the speedsters' nod, Thomas would drift from the window to his desk flipping a button and exposing one of the guns he kept there. Gripping the weapon gingerly the Bludstone Angel would glance at Jai "Let me get my gear. Be right back."The vigilante would flip another switch which caused a bookcase shelf to pop open and he vanished from Jai's sight.

The speedster thought of the coming battle ahead and the losses and tragedy that they would go through in this war for survival wondering if he had done enough, if he had warned enough people, gotten enough allies. Unlike his father he was afraid, scared that his efforts had been for nothing and that they were going to lose; this battle wasn't like any seen before.

The Multiverse is at war now.

How do you fight in circumstances like that?

How can you ask people to fight in circumstances like that?

How ca-

"Stop worrying so much, it's not doing anyone any good." Thomas' voice interrupted his thoughts like a gunshot to the temple. Standing before him was the Outlaw in all his glory, his blood-red helmet snuggled gently between the crook of his arm. "Breathe and steel your nerves, you can't protect everyone."

"But what i-"

"Kid shut up before you psyche yourself out. Damian and the rest of Generation Outlaw are watching over the city, if they attack here we have enough manpower to knock them back if not keep them at bay. But what we need is an army, we can't fight back forces like this for long."

Jai would nod thinking about where his dad went "We're on that, have you ever heard of James Batson?"

Thomas' eyes would enlarge like dinner plates, a bead of sweat began dribbling from his brow at a steady pace "Wait, The Hellblazer...he's real? Ducran always spoke of him as if a myth."

For the first time Jai would smile, an innocent yet crooked grin "I-It's on his business card." And with that he would walk out of the office towards the balcony and leap off speeding towards the ground with Thomas placing his helmet on his head and following after him.

"Business card?! For what?!"

The House of Obscurity: James Batson POV

Draped against his throne was the Mage of Mystic Calamity, the Devil's Chosen and Hell's Most Despised: James Batson. The mage was clad in his usual beige trenchcoat and workshirt. As usual, a cigarette dangled from his finger as he took a deep drag. As one of the deciding factors of Mystic Stability James already knew much about the invasion on its way and he had already dispatched Ra-Shnotic to investigate further, while at first the Exorcist Supreme shared no interest in helping anyone but as time passed and the threat neared he changed his mind simply because it would be against his best interests to allow the denizens of the Dark Multiverse to invade and reign control of the Multiverse.

And so he appeared to a young speedster in his dreams and told him to seek him out when the time came and that time was now. The speedster didn't know the directions to the house but that was alright due to Obscurity never having a set location, it was everywhere and nowhere at once; existing in all planes of time and space in one. James already knew where the speedster would be and that was enough, and sure enough, less than a thought after the house had materialized there stood the boy flaunting his red super jammies and muscles as if out of some superhuman magazine photoshoot.

Jame's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he reconsidered his alignment. The boy took a moment to let his surroundings sink in around him, the mage could tell the speedster had never seen a sight such as the House of Obscurity; as his eyes flitted around the "Throne Room" of Jame's nexus of the house everything would shift from one thing to another almost as if they were traveling in different rooms simultaneously, Alex's eyes began to widen as he began to feel sick from all the spinning and shifting. Watching him was amusing to an extent but the wizard decided to help him before he blew chunks all over his Nemian Lion rug. "Oi brat, cut it out, the house is responding to your thoughts, concentrate on me and nothing else understand? We have bigger troubles than you getting sick."

Alex seemed to regain his composure at the note of Jame's voice and would nod "It's time they're h-"

"Here yeah I know I know." To fight forces as large as this one invading Earth with nothing but the far and few superhumans would be complete suicide, the Battle of New York was a testament to such things and this army was an infinite amount larger, they needed breathing room and so, of course, go to the one who could provide such an army. Rising from his chair James would walk next to the boy and spin him around -the magic of the house changing the room as he spun- until they were both in the artifact room.

Grabbing a knife from no specific place the mysticist would begin grabbing specific items from non-specific locations without even looking with Alex staring at him with wonder. James knew the boy was in relations with that Sorcerer Supreme prick Surreal but he was completely baffled by the fact that he hadn't gone to him for help, perhaps they weren't on good terms.

Once finished grabbing his supplies James would once again shift the location of the house until they resided in one of the many summoning rooms, walking slowly to the middle and summoning a table to the front of him. Setting a bowl and parchment down he would draw a knife and slice open his palm letting his blood trickle into the bowl deciding to actually pay this sacrifice. Turning to the boy he would extend his arm warningly "I would stand back mate, it's for your own good."

To the kids he moved without a word the house expanding to give James room to work and Alex space to safety. Breathing in deeply the mage would clasp his hands together and start the summoning incantation.

"Helon~Taul~Varf~heon~homonorium~Clemicach~Serucleath~agla~Tetrammaton~Casoly~Osurmy~Durmusan, with the Talisman and my bloody command appear to me now. I conjur all those in the realm of Hell who have fallen by my hand and those who have not by the names of your Lords Lucifer, Beezlebub and Belial, attend to my will now or burn forever in the Fire of Suns'."

The summoning room began to glow red and chill as unholy presence bloomed around them, and in a blaze of fire a single being -a demon- appeared before the two men bowing on knee to James and began speaking in Enochian to the Exorcist.

{The army you have willed is at your command and awaiting your orders.}

Clapping his hands the Sorcerer would nod "Bloody brilliant that is, go above ground and scatter across the planet, give aid to any superbeings who need such and obliterate any fodder soldiers they have on the battleground, give the capes enough room to handle the big threats. And disobey my commands you bloody git and I'll make your punishment worse than last time get it?"

The subordinate would scowl and bow his head again before scattering into flame.

"Demons? You couldn't have summoned Angels?" Alex asked from behind James now appearing beside him now that he wasn't in the way.

"Big Boy upstairs likes to stay out of mortal affairs, much easier to summon a demon than an angel mate, more forces too."

Alex would shake his head "Alright whatever. We need to meet back up with the others." He was prepared to grab James and speed off but before he had the chance they were already back in Key City where Jai and Thomas waited for them.

Alex would turn to them all and take in each of their faces, and for a moment James believed that the kid had what it took to get them out of this, the expression told the mage all that he needed to know.

"JaiAlex said Go check and see if all the civilians are clear of the area, Key City is going to be ground zero for this invasion." Looking up he would see the biggest of the ships -one which blocked out the entire sky- perched directly above them and Alex could feel it.

They saw him.

They saw all of them.

And they were about to attack.

Command Ship: Atlas POV

Luke Jackson stood at the helm of the command ship with his arms crossed on his chest and his eyes peering through every visible aspect of the spectrum, he saw everything conceivable and all not conceivable, a god among gods was what was brought upon this sad pathetic pale planet. A planet of weakness and choice, Luke wanted this planet, he wanted this whole universe no -Multiverse- and it would be his. Hailing from the Dark Multiverse Luke was one who had experienced a long fall from greatness. Some people are born good and always fight off the bad. Some people are born bad and become good through great effort. Others are born in light and fall to darkness. And others are born in darkness and cannot see the light. Every being fitting into one of those categories try as one might to carve their own path this was an inevitability.

Luke was one of those cases, his world being in the Dark Multiverse was doomed to fail, his life and his heroics doomed to fall as well..and it did. And once it did all that was left was darkness and evil in a god's body. Now here he was, his malicious gaze sought upon the world that scoffed in the face of his and he looked upon his forces and allies and with a nod of his head he gave them the ok. But just to solidify his decision his eyes began to glow a piercing red as he opened his mouth and spoke the magic words.

"No foe is without weakness."

The Aenean

Anderson Crofter pulled his right bracer over his fist, tightening the armored plates as he contemplated the proclamation that the Earth was under attack by disparate versions of itself. The mind-shattering implications of such a thing gave him no pause, for his thoughts and emotions were well-ordered and resilient. That was what heroism in the truest sense demanded. As he donned his left bracer, which gleamed in its excellence, his stare remained fixated on a viewscreen. Its contents? The crimson sky over Key City.

The atmosphere appeared to have been altered somehow, though this change had yet to affect its breathability. Likewise, no major city had yet to endure complete obliteration at the hands of the invading forces; from that, Anderson inferred that they were here to occupy the planet, not annihilate it. If they were truly dark multiverse humans, counterparts of them in a true sense, then their aim would not be all-out devastation, but rather the weakening of their defenses such that they could assert full control over this world and its resources. This explained why no cities had been destroyed from orbit, or why the planet had not been rendered uninhabitable.

The presence of human aims in the invaders suggested human weaknesses. Hubris, greed, sloth - all were possibilities. They would provide the Aenean's world egress from this horrifying situation, potential access points through which their attempt at conquering might be repelled. For these battle strategies - the formations of the ships over major population centers, the sudden manifestation of superior firepower - were distinctly of mankind. And that meant they were vulnerable.

One of the first actions he'd taken was to open the Keep to civilians seeking shelter. Not everyone would be saved, but in the aftermath of the last invasion of New York, there could at least be some peace. Key City had undergone an evacuation process, for they had been warned by the herald Velocity of the imminent threat. And indeed, it seemed that the bulk of the assault was centered over Key City.

That was where the Aenean's private aircraft now carried him.

As its residents scattered, a stream of vehicles exiting the Silver City by air and land, one craft defiantly made its way into the area. Downtown was cast into shadow under the immensity of the largest invading craft, a battlecruiser which dwarfed all the others and blocked out the Sun itself.

It was aboard that cruiser, the Aenean believed, that the commanding force of the invaders lurked. And so as his loyal pilot guided the aircraft to a suitable drop-off zone, the hero pressed his middle and forefingers of his right hand to his temple, using his patented telepresence technique to conduct reconnaissance as only the Aenean could. Peering through metal bulkheads and outer shielding, he extended his Sixth Sense to the interior of the helm itself. His remote vision came to rest on an armored soul who yet bore youthfulness in his twisted gaze - Luke Jackson - a reflection, perhaps, of the Aenean's own fresh face.

Velocity is younger than even me. And this commanding figure appears to be in his early twenties like myself.

So it would be youth who decided the fate of the world, he thought with a wry smile. Marking the enemy commander, he silently and imperceptibly returned to his own body, and prepared to disembark from the craft.

"Good luck, Aenean," called the pilot, giving him one last salute.

Anderson returned the gesture; "She is."

And with that he stepped out of the vehicle, plummeting from the aircraft onto the tallest rooftop in Key City and landing with perfect three-point posture, ready to challenge the invaders personally.

@alexander_west:

On the list of things to do today, Linda did not expect an invasion from some dark multiverse. But she doesn't know that yet. All she knows is that the sky suddenly turns red with ships dipping down only to spew forth energy from weapons that cause death and destruction wherever they strike.

Immediately the class of students look on with horror outside the room window only to panic and scream as they trample over each other trying to get out of the room and the school. Linda, however, is the perfect picture of calm as she opens a portal to her house, slips into her costume and portals once more into the city itself in order to face down this latest threat.

One thought comes to mind, 'Where is Alex?' Times like this, she really enjoys being a student reporter. It's never a boring news day. As she kicks one invader, two more show up wanting a piece of her but screams so loud at one of them, his eardrums burst before wails into him with a flurry of blows to the torso before ending the brief encounter with a snapping right hook. The final adversary had also been debilitated by the scream and Decibelle takes advantage of that by blasting him away with a beam of energy from her hand.

In the distance, she sees some men and makes her way over to them. Little does she know, they are James Batson and some streaks of lightning speeding away, 'There's Alex! He must be getting help.'

After fighting her way to the Batson Magician, she smirks at him, "Please tell me, A-" She nearly says his real name, chiding herself for almost slipping, "-Velocity is getting some help? Names Decibelle by the way."

XXX...XXXX...XXXX

It exists outside any known period of time; birds and crickets didn't chirp, people didn't smile, joy wasn't a commodity here. The world itself monochromatic dull and boring. Just how she liked it. Here, there were no alien invasions. No corrupt organizations, no virus', no pain and save for her--no Liafadors.

The Forgotten goddess moves through a field of crops harvesting various herbs and spices for incantations. Crops far too potent for her origin universe. She could use them to continue creation without tipping the upper-strata deities to her whereabouts. In the pursuit of knowledge, Maya found the troubling truth about existence, which remained hidden since the creation of their universe. Pawns...all of them. Pawns.

Beads of sweat cascade from the lining of her ball-cap down to the rich soil below. Setting her basket with her spices on the patio, she conjured herself a quick cup of coffee before setting down to meditate. As her eyes closed, she felt something she hadn't felt in quite a long time—the blinding rays of the sun.

Her big blue eyes opened to see a dense field of green color in the sky. Birds chirping, but most importantly, a young woman sitting just across from her. She was about 5'6, head full of curls, a brown sugar complexion with dimples.

The Liafador's head tilts back in agitation. To anyone else, this was just a woman, but to Maya, this woman was the reason she faked her death.

It's curious that a creation goddess is living in a universe that lacks well creation.

The woman didn't speak; rather, her words were pressed into Maya's mind. The Power Princess scoffed before taking a sip of her coffee, now brimming to life thanks to the unknown woman.

"I knew that if I created so much, you would eventually find me. But you found me anyway. Isn't there some rule about breaking the fourth wall?"

The woman giggled, covering her mouth in the process, much to the chagrin of Maya. "Maybe, I haven't glanced at the rules in a while. In any case, we're not in that universe. So no foul. I have to say that stunt you pulled with Cat, quite impressive."

The woman replied, crafting a yellow-red bull from nothing. "Why are you here? To try and talk me into returning? If that's the case, why didn't you just force me back" Maya's question was met with a simple nod.

"Your multiverse is going to be attacked. And I don't have power over you here. It's a Multiverse outside of my control"

"Yeah, how exactly does that work? You guys create problems for us to fix? Playing with our lives like a toy story?

Maya it's not that simple. And even you don't have the knowledge to understand it. Not insulting you, I just didn't make you that way.

The Power Princess rose from her seat, pacing back and forth on the patio. The woman's facial expressions hadn't changed at all, which admittedly pissed Maya off. "I'm not going back. I'm not going to continue to be a pawn in plans. You killed my family multiple times; It'd be just my luck I return and then you off me too."

In my defense, I killed Catalina out of fustration. My game wasn't going the way I wanted. It needed....eh impact. But I have brought everyone back. Let's make a deal. You do this for me, and I promise you; no more games. Well atleast not for you. And I won't kill you. That's a promise. Come on now, I know you'd like to see him again

"Fine, but I get to act on my own accord. Throw away whatever little character sheet you have and let me be me." The woman nodded again, extending her hand for Maya to shake. The gesture was reluctantly honored, and just like that, the woman was gone.

The nU-Keystone City

A massive crimson shower of Mystic energy hit the ground depositing the Power Princess at ground level in Keystone City.

"No need to let them come to us" She wasn't physically present in the battle of New York, but the invading force nearly leveled New York. Mostly because Selebrity and Selebrity alone challenged the aliens. Not this time.

Exploding from the ground in a roar of crimson energy. The Power Princess molest the atmosphere with her presence before breaking into space altogether. Extending her hands outward she sought to destroy the first of many would-be enemy ships with her mystic force.

@alexander_west: @decibelle_: @maya_liafador:

Within his apartment in New York, the Prince of Jaded Deceit waited for the arrival of the first being from the Dark Multiverse. Being a knowledge bearer, he was aware of what was to come, but in all honesty , he still didn't like that fact that it was here. "Well" He spoke to him and his roommate, August, a golden lab. "I have to leave you here, because the world is about to be kicked into shit." He pulled down his signature jacket, and placed his horned helmet upon his head. Being a hero, or at the very least a guardian, was new to the Storyteller. Usually most of his actions are selfish, and whether or not this one was as well was still unknown. However, this felt like something larger in plat, (Yes, larger than being attacked by another multiverse). Recent activities, the organizations, the virus, Asgard's lack of response, it seemed too coincidental..

Cosmic games was something Lance was used to, being both a piece and game master on many occasions. This felt like that, but with much larger consequences. Speaking of games, one of the ruses he played in Asgard in preparation of this event, effectively got him the piece he needed: the Norn stones (or Odin's Kidney Problem). He reached within the pocket of his overcoat, and pulled out a black box with golden accents along it's faces. He could hear the whispers from the stones as they called for him and, even to this day, that always creeped him out. Putting away the box, he headed towards the kitchen to quickly receive his Sceptre - a weapon forged from the metal of Uru and several enchantments placed by himself, (other mystical users offered, but one of the mantras he followed was never trust a mystic). He headed out, but took a quick look at his furry companion and with a simple gesture, he forced it into a mystical pocket dimension of his design along with the entire apartment building, in an act of protecting those within it.

"Let's see what kinds of aliens are here this time." Aliens always seemed so attracted to New York, as if it had a magnet that sucks them here. Not too long ago Selebrity had to stop an invasion from aliens, and if it weren't for Supernatural being on a marathon, he would've helped….maybe. He took a look outside, and on cue he felt a beam of red emerge from one of the mager. It was going...up. Up? He assumed it was one of the more powerful heroes. However, his suspicions of most heroes quickly vanished as he quickly realized that it wasn't light, but raw mystical force. 'The Sorcerer Supreme?' His first thoughts, figuring only he could duplicate that feat. He moved a bit,passively manipulating the minds of the nearby pedestrians to evaluate while he made his way, to get a closer look at the source, viewing them through mystical visions.

"By Odin's Shitty Birds" It wasn't the Surreal Mage,it was a girl. 'Who in the Hel was she?' He had some questions, but was also a bit jealous of her seemingly endless reserve of mystical energy, something he could use right about now. He wanted to compete a bit, shoot a beam of a green into the sky but he knew he couldn't. "Well that's not fair" He continued to admire the beam as he forced more civilians into his pocket dimension.

✦✧ Augusta, Andromeda Galaxy ✧✦

In the uppermost chamber of his cosmic fortress, the Prince of Power stood with both arms folded behind his back, his starlit eyes strolling into the extradimensional depths of the Hypercube. The folds of dimensions mysterious and higher wrapped around his mind, dragging it to a labyrinth where distance is immaterial - and spacetime is malleable. Authority flashed in his gaze and the Hypercube obeyed its master's command, guiding his eyes through tunnels in spacetime until his sight swept over Earth, the cosmos and the realities beyond it.

A war had broken out, swarming across the multiverse and blackening realities in the shadows of cosmic imperialism.

This was a threat beyond even his reach. For now, at least.

"I've seen enough", Leonel scowled, turning at the heel as the Hypercube receded from sight, "I'm not losing another reality to war".

||-So then, what will you do, sir?-||, a voice echoed, its cold timbre riding the lonely air as Leonel spotted Hex, Augusta's resident A.I.

"Win", the Prince of Power answered, his cape billowing in the air as Hex glided past him, changing its shape after each ticking second.

||-Ah... and you think you can? Of course, I mean no disrespect, sir-||, Hex continued.

"Well, I'm in a unique position compared to most people. I have experience fighting universal wars. I'm also one of the few beings with no universal counterpart. And I have Trinity", he smiled, his spirit as strong as steel, "There's no greater pair than she and I. So get a hold of her, if you can", Leonel commanded, "Because without her I'm strong, but with her I'm unstoppable".

Drifting through the seams of reality, the Prince of Power abandoned the ivory halls of Augusta for the cosmic spectacle of Minerva.

Los Angeles

Zoe laced up her combat boots as she stood up from her bed, dressed in her uniform as she looked at the news on her TV that showed several cities were getting ready for what was to come. Was she ready? Shoot, she didn’t know. Probably not. When was she ever read for big events? But she didn’t have much of a choice now. The balance of the world was upon the shoulders of heroes of this reality, all of them. The best thing she could do, was to go out there and lend whatever help she could. Picking up her phone she sent a text to her love, Catalina. A simple one. “Be safe.” with a red heart next to it. She knew Catalina would be out there too with The Prized Fighter. She couldn't help but give out an airy laugh. Those Dark Universe bastards didn't know what they were getting themselves into.

Tucking her phone away she let out a deep sigh, it was time. Opening her window she leaped out as she free fall for a second before her body lit up in their iconic golden flame before her body sped ahead. Her destination? Key City.

Key City

Her flames lit up the area around as she flew into Key City even with the bloody crimson sky that loomed above. The moment she made it she could spot several heroes in the area. They all seemed as ready as they could be for this fight these unknown enemies. But one person in particular caught her attention. “Maya?” There was a shock in her voice. Zoe thought she had died in the alien invasion in New York City. It’s a Liafador thing, she knew this and she shouldn’t be surprised, yet she still was. Staying in mid-air she watched as Maya launched an attack on oncoming ships.

She wasn’t about to have all the fun now! “Save some for me!” Zoe’s helmet appeared around her head as she thrust her arms forward as her body sped up higher into the sky towards the incoming ships, a streak of golden flame behind her eyes gave off the same glow. Whatever ships weren’t touched by Maya's mighty force, Zoe went after herself. She weaved through space ships as she began to throw her own flaming attacks upon them. Would they knock any of the ships down? Probably not. But she would be a nice little distraction.

Key City

Ah yes, the great multiverse battle. She was at home when she heard about it when it was first announced it was coming. Talks about it among the The Liberation Foundation members were non-stop. What should they do? Do they get involved? Do they not? Blah blah blah. So much worry and stress. They forget. We weren’t meant to save the world. Only save the souls that die in it. But many of the younger/newer members act as if they wish to become the next Thee Champion, heh.

Many other members of TLF could be seen gathering around the area as Daciana herself sat upon one of the many towering buildings in the city. Some had gone off to New York, some to Gothic and other areas that were known for high casualty. They were going to be working overtime today. But as stress levels could be seen on everyone’s face. The Ivory Reaper let out a deep yawn as she pulled out her crimson and ivory box of Maverick cigarettes, pulling a single one out before putting the box away.

Her cigarette sat in between her lips as she looked down at the heroes lining up to protect this world. Taking a lighter from her pocket out she flicked it on as it’s soft flame gave a warm glow along her face as her cigarette glowed to life. Taking an inhale of it’s toxic chemicals she put the lighter back in her pocket as she slowly exhaled, allowing the smoke to dance around her head and float away up to the sky. This wasn’t her first possible world ending event. Daciana had seen and lived through many possible world ending events, this wasn’t anything new. Just a new face with the same objective. She could see down below that a woman dressed in red began an attack. “Here we go.” She smiled as at the same time a golden flamed figure in the sky followed behind the attack as well.

Gothic City

Repairs were still underway at the hospital since the attack on her hospital when the virus broke out. But for the most part, everything had been fixed with the exception of one or two things. She had seen the announcement of the attack on this reality. It gave her horrible memories of her own home world, Reality M. Her and her brother were part of the rebellion against the evil of that world. Sadily they weren’t enough. They lost their entire universe. Now here she was in yet another war for the reality she was currently residing in. Once more she would play war doctor.

Gothic City was as ready as it could be. Some of the vigilantes that resided in the dark city suited up and stood guard, ready to take on whatever came their way. Her CVnU counterpart, Nicole, was one of them. The Knightfall Emergency Care Center became a beacon of light in the middle of the dark city. Security took their place around the hospital, armed with guns as they stood ready to fight if anything or anyone came their way. Ashley made sure the hospital was staffed and ready to face whatever came their way.

Flashbacks of horrific deaths and unmerciful attacks on innocents flooded her mind as she unhooked her tablet from her computer. She had been mostly quiet the upcoming week of this event. Chills ran down her spine. She didn’t know if her brother was still out there and she wasn’t sure if Kellan was to join the fight. The two hadn’t spoken about it, mostly due to her part not wanting to uproot old memories of losing her first love in an all too similar war. Brain- no stop. She couldn’t think of him right now. She had to remain focused.

Walking out of her office several staff members watched on the TV monitors of empty patient’s room of the event that was about to unfold in Key City. They could see several heroes standing and waiting for the war to come to them. Everyone held their breath. But the moment the woman dressed in crimson came in and unleashed her own attack upon the oncoming space vessel, it was official, the War had started.

“Everyone.” Ashley called out. “Whatever comes through that door we have to be prepared for. I thank all of you for your dedication, hard work and perseverance. I will be here with you every step of the way. Now, let’s do one more check run. Let’s go.”

With that the staff scattered in every direction they were supposed to. Doing one last run through the facility and making sure everything was stocked up. There was no time to lose.

Atlas POV:

The Godly Juggernaut sat in the control hub of the Command Ship with an idle gaze watching the ongoing events like a television series. His usual blazing eyes were a cool blue as he watched the ongoing events. Inside the control hub was bustling with movement, Luke ran his forces like the world stomping army that they were optimizing their effectiveness to the Sol'arian Supernova. The alien powerhouse was little concerned about the forces of Earth standing in his way, several Universes in the Multiverse had fallen to his hand and this backwater planet was of little difference, though they did have several beings who showcased impressive abilities Luke's forces would prove too much for them.

The low-frequency hum of brain waves sparked the Destroyers' interest as he turned his gaze to the human who dared intrude on his ship, in accord to his superhearing Atlas would activate his own enhanced sight and begin following the trail until he locked onto the one deemed responsible. The human was dressed powerfully and elegantly as if royalty, his biology on the other hand told a different story.

Mutant, skilled in his own right perhaps. He could prove a challenge to the foot soldiers.

The Acrobatic Phenomena dubbed as Aenean would begin to hear the telepathic buzz of another presence occupying his thoughts -if he had no or little telepathic resistance- as Luke began to speak to him.

{Brave efforts will not be enough.}

That was all, the crunch of the possible telepathic link would linger and vanish as Luke's attention was brought elsewhere.

"Sir! There's been an attack on our fleet! Two females! They've already destroyed several vessels How do we respond?"

Luke would turn and his brow would knit together.

He would once again turn his sight to the battle below him as he thought of his answer, he would rip this planet to pieces if he had too, Earth was one planet in an uncountable amount of this universe, the only quality unique to it was its influx of superpowered entities. But he did remember his time as a hero of this world, his time protecting it keeping it safe from threats just like this one. He remembered indeed.

It made him bitter.

Push them back down to Earth. Put the back fleet in Omega Formation and raise shield levels. Send in the Lebeau child and the females will soon realize that we're not their biggest problem right now. Make them all suffer."

"Right away sir!"

If Maya and Nova were still attacking the ships they would find their efforts much more difficult the second time around as the fleet maneuvered, dodged, and attacked back in retaliation, each attack from them an aim to push the two superheroines back down into Earth's orbit and away from the ships.

Velocity POV: Key City

Alex weaved through the streets of Key City with unprecedented speed, the Fastest Man Alive worked on dispatching as many of the enemy invaders as he could, as far as he could tell they were nothing too powerful, from what Alex could see Linda and Thomas were handling them well enough, it was how many there were that had Alex worried. Thousands of them, hundreds of thousands....

And there were still pouring out at an incredible rate.

James' demonic army seemed to be holding them off splendidly though and while the enemy army was crippling with their numbers they were at a standstill though Key City had turned into a hazard zone.

"-Velocity is getting some help? Names Decibelle by the way."

Linda.

He had been so focused on everything else that he had made note of her presence but had totally ignored her completely.

Throwing a sickening right hook at one of Parasite Troopers Alex watched as it crumpled and then sped off to where Linda and James were.

"Names James Batson luv, and your speeding boyfriend is right here."

Alex would slide to a halt and take note of them "You're both ok. That's good. Linda, hey I'm sorry I couldn't explain this to you." Attempting to grip her hands in his he would smile "Stay sa-" But his hands would be ripped from hers and his sentence would go unfinished as the Speedster went hurtling out of sight at 20,000 miles per hour by an unseen force leaving behind a trail of blood, debris and a harsh scream in his wake.

"Holy shit." James exclaimed in surprise.

William Lebeau POV: Speed Demon, Far outside the limits of Key City

Pain.

Searing fiery bursts pulsated around his body, intensifying with every passing second, jarring and brutal. With each moment the pain amplified, the bloody muscle quivered, his consciousness ebbed. Black mists swirled at the edges of his mind drawing him into sweet oblivion.

Will could see this simply by looking at Alexander, once his friend and now his enemy. He could feel his pain and he loved it. His hate for him and for his failure as a hero and a friend drove him to steal the Speed Force from his friend and use that same power to wipe him out of existence.

Taking a step forward Will would let his gaze bore deep onto Alex's unconscious form. "What a weakling." William was aware he couldn't get rid of the speedster quite yet, and while Alex was definitely out of the battle for now Will could see his wounds already begin to heal. "Well. I suppose I should get to work before you wake up."

Taking one last look at the fallen speedster at his feet William would burst into motion, his footfalls were destruction and his trail was death, he had received his orders from Atlas and was prepared to carry them out.

Chao's had reached not only Key City but the world.

What do you do against one who can spread death faster than light?

You run.

But you can't run from this.

I am the Observer. The Universal God who watches the Multiverse. This Multiverse. Like an audience member watching a play, I simply take it all in. It is not in my being to intervene with the story I sit and watch, much like it is not in an audience member's purpose to intervene with the show they watch. No, I am the Observer, the Universal God tasked with watching the Multiverse. This Multiverse' story. I watch as each universe's story unfolds in front of me: From their beginning by the Gods of Creation, to their intermission by the Universal Judges, and finally to their end by the Gods of Destruction.

This is the order of this Multiverse.

In the Beginning, there is Nothing.

Then came Something.

Until it was Nothing again.

I watched this moment of the Multiverse as I had done every moment before it. I found beauty in all of it. It is not only the Triumph of a Universe or even a character that moves one, no it is everything that moves one. Beings do not only smile, no they cry, but they also beam with anger, become engulfed with fear, and everything between these. They are moved by so much more than triumph.

So, at this moment, I watched ready to see the beauty in the Multiverse, as I had time and time again, but at a moment's notice, all I saw was Darkness.

Foreign Darkness, I had seen the Void. I had seen Pure Destruction. But this Darkness was unfamiliar to me in this Multiverse. It was unsettling as it began to consume the Multiverse before me, much like Ink covering the Multiverse' storybook.

A being such as myself came to be right beside me. Darkness had engulfed him as well. Where I found the Beauty in my Multiverse, it seemed he was consumed by the Ugliness of his. I realize now that this not the order consuming this multiverse, but chaos. Given the similar figure beside me, it is a lost multiverse. A multiverse consumed with Darkness trying to engulf whatever light it finds. I watch as invaders overtake the Multiverse, but even in this moment of Chaos, it is not in my being to interrupt the story.

It is up to this Multiverse to withstand the onslaught of their attackers. But I as I said there is an order to this Multiverse, and the invasion of a Foreign Multiverse interrupts that order, and I fear that this Dark Multiverse has opened holes that even they would seek the Light from.

New York City

New York, or at least the city, was mainly evacuated,leaving only the Jade Tongue Of Deceit. Doing what he did best, he littered the illusions of life around the premises, proficient enough to make fools of even the most intricate of machinery. He figured if the invaders were to know there were no one around, they'd simply move elsewhere. He knew he didn't have the firepower to take them all on, but he did have connections to the people who did. Borrowing power from the Norn Stones, he conjured portals that connected to the homeworld of his father, the realm of Jotunheim- able do so with the permission of Laufrey. Dozens of giants of frozen or chilled stature emerged. Armored with mystical stone and armed with magical steel, they fought the invasion not for the better of mankind, but for the reason that if they didn't hold the line here their homes would be endangered. Although their presence may be a problem after this is finished

Amidst the clashing of the ice giants and the new vessels, Lance manipulated the field casting terrestrial truthful illusions,only allowing the ice giants to see through them. However, thanks to the augmentation from the stones,he picked up the transfer of psychic link much like how one can listen in to radio waves. The producing end came somewhere over Key City, deep into space, presumably from the fleets' origin. It's great distance made the message faint, but semi-readable

{Brave...not….enough…}

That was all he could make out, but it was said with the confident tone of a leader not the angry grunt from a goon. An idea came to mind and while he couldn't connect with him now, he could potentially make a connection with them with the help of someone of massive mystical resources. His last act in New York was the spreading of the Frost Giants across the state, having them act as defenders for the duration of this invasion. Opened a green portal - a gateway buzzing with arcane energy- and entered, making his way to Key City.

Key City

The gateway closed behind him as he made his arrival and, in all honesty, chaos was everywhere. Upon his arrival he was met with a hundred of winged soldiers with the intent to kill him. But when they raised theor weapons, instead of shooting the Green Showman, they were met with the teeth of a wolf-beast the size of half a football field. August (the dog) was released from Lance's dimension, and revealed it's true nature; the nature of Fernir- the chained wolf that was previously destined to bring Ragnorak. It tore through their armor as a giant ripped through paper. During its fury A telepathic bond between the two occured, requiring no words to be spoken as he rode his mount.

{August} Lance never referred to it by its old name because he gave it a new identity with a new story. {Take me to the red one}

Obeying Lance's orders it, leapt across the side of the skyscrapers (with Lance mentally apologizing to the startled civilians as he placed them in his dimension), and quickly made its way to the Power Princess, but softened it's aggressive approach as to not alarm her. It stopped a few dozen meters from her, a bit frightened by the mystic force she had stored within her, so Lance dismounted it and gave it one simple order {Go eat}. August (the dog) gave into its primal instinct on cue of its master's orders, and proceeded to shred through any vehicle or soldier unfortunate enough to stand in his path.

Lance, unaccompanied, jogged a bit to where she was, but wanted to keep his distance from her in the case she exploded or something. If she allowed it, time would stop around the two, giving the Storyteller enough time to explain his plan. "Lance Hawthorn, I'm here to bring you a proposal. A person on that ship has opened a telepathic link, allowing me to bond with it or interact with it. Now, I can't get there one my own so I would like you, to allow me to tap into your energy reserves to project myself far enough into their mind so we can end this as quickly as possible" This was the most truthful he's ever been, not having the time to cook up a scheme or what not, or at least in this very moment.

"Build a mind sharper than any blade."The Aenean

As twin warriors ignited the sky over Key, the Aenean felt the subtle detection of his probe, and the response that came with it. A soundless voice echoed inside of his own mind, a telepathic intrusion that resonated as though they were his own thoughts.

"Brave efforts will not be enough,"they warned, and the sheer volume of the thoughts gave him pause.

This power...

The Aenean had been aware of psychic phenomena for many years and had prepared to deal with him. The ability to draw an illusory veil over the senses of others; the ability to command the actions of a target; the ability to implant unseen triggers and beliefs in the minds of others; all of these things were a potential threat to him, and so he had trained accordingly to recognize and diffuse these attacks to the best of his ability. Even so, the mere communication emanating from the starship had the power of a wave, one that threatened to sweep him away outright.

His lips twisted into a grin as he replied, both out loud and within the confines of his thoughts:

"Are they ever?"

The streets had erupted into battle. The enemy had deployed ground forces of some kind, an unrecognizable swarm that had been engaged by Velocity and Decibelle. In response, a demonic militia surged forth to meet them; whenever they clashed, bright lights scorched the air, hi-tech weapons that emitted deadly pulses of energy clashing against the tooth and claw of the Underworld elite.

For his part, the Aenean first crossed his arms in front of his chest, with his fingertips pointed skyward; taking a deep breath, he leapt from the building and dropped down towards the street. A fall that would kill any normal man was diffused by the opening of his regal cape, an electric transmission causing it to stiffen into a glider. Rolling where he landed on the pavement, he came up with two ceramic darts in his hand, launching them with hawk-like precision into the heads of two respective invaders - taking them out instantly.

Suddenly, the Aenean's preternatural danger senses kicked in. He was not the target of the incoming attack - but he was still in the immediate area, and that was more than enough to put him in life-threatening danger.

As the sinister William LeBeau tackled Velocity at incredible speeds, the wake he kicked up as he moved pulled debris through the street itself, particles of concrete, metal, and glass moving quickly enough to shred anything he passed by. That was the level of power he possessed - and it now threatened Anderson Crofter's very being.

It was the presence of his superhuman ability that saved the Aenean then, just as it had many a time before. Pinpointing the trajectory of every piece of flying chaff and lethal rubble, he dove into an evasive roll, narrowly eluding the scraps of the city that would have put an end to him then and there. Even so, the force of the man's speed nearly sucked the air out of his lungs, and the mere vibrations of the air lacerated his skin with subtle cuts.

His eyes narrowed - this one was an enemy.

Four more darts slipped into his palm, each held between his fingers. As the dark LeBeau attempted to take off with rocket-like speed, the Aenean used his fate-blessed ability to anticipate the man's trajectory and unleash a flurry of crippling ceramic projectiles, cleverly fired not at where the man was, but where he believed he would be. An impossible feat - for a human being. Not so for an enhancile.

✦✧ Minerva, MACS J1149 Lensed Star 1 ✧✦

Roaring flares of blinding light slanted through the gaps between Minerva's Dyson spheres, the Matrioshka Brain thrumming and heaving as the gravitational tidal forces of the star within stormed and thrashed against the very fabric of spacetime. Before the cosmic megastructure, its creator - the Prince of Power - hovered, undisturbed by the feeble sting of charged particles thundering towards him. Arms crossed over his chest, his cape dancing to the flow of stellar winds, Leonel stared into Minerva's heart and it and his mind became one.

✳ Your Majesty. How may I be of service? ✳

You hear it, I'm sure. After all, you're designed to speak the programming language of reality, the multiverse

✳ Indeed I do, Your Majesty. The greater cosmos is protesting this invasion, this perversion of its grand information fabric ✳

Unfortunately, even we can't be everywhere across the multiverse to manage this threat by ourselves. We'll need some help. But first, I'd like for you to run a few tasks for me

✳ Of course, Your Majesty ✳

Good. Use the Hypercube, it'll extend your senses to any location of your choice. But I want you to focus on Earth, on the invaders, specifically. Analyze the quantum information of which they are comprised, then engineer a quantum virus that will overwrite that information with code that's inoperative in the information fabric of this reality.

✳ Which will corrupt their existence here ✳

Exactly. Turn them into useless data. They won't be able to exist, not here at least.

✳ This will take time, Your Majesty. Is there anything else? ✳

Yeah. Maybe a bomb or something that will lower their sentience quotient to that of a plant. They'll be too stupid to carry out this invasion but smart enough to know where sunlight is coming from. Hex will tell you everything else you need to do. In the meantime, I'll fetch some allies

✳ Take care, Your Majesty ✳

Abandoning the union between his mind and Minerva, the Prince of Power bounded through the cosmos, outracing the photon en route to the seat of power of an old ally - Empress Nairah.

@alexander_west: @feral_nova:

"Save some for me," Zoe called out, alerting the Power Princess to her arrival. 'W-what are you doing here,' she internalized, knowing Catalina wouldn't be overly happy that the fire goddess was here. "Stay close. I'd hate for something to happen to you," Maya called out telepathically, she meant well, but it was hard to see anyone other than a pawn in a much larger game.

Both the Power Princess and the Fire goddess weaved in and out, destroying vessels that ventured too close to Earth. It was apparently some order was given from the main ship; as a result of their presence, the ships began to maneuver around to gain the advantage. Focused fire smashed into Maya head-on, sending the Creation Beauty reeling through space, throwing her hands forward, the Reactive Adaption Properties came into play.

Maya was the descendant of the "creator gods," blessed with immense talents and abilities, she was the Power Princess. She typically dealt with devices in her own 'league'.

The matters of Earth and Its aggressors didn't interest her, until now. She had something to gain. Absolute freedom.

As the ships continue to fire upon them, Maya's Mystic Force erupts from her hands, absorbing the momentum from the projectiles being fired by the ships. Teleporting across the expanse, The Scarlet Sorceress took Zoe by the waist before unleashing a wall of energy back in the direction of the ships that initially sought to pin them back toward the Earth.

"Hang On," She commanded telepathically before erupting in another red streak toward the nearest ship before Maya phased and penetrated the vessel along with Zoe.

The moment her body materialized, she fell to the ground; she'd underestimated the blast from before, which now left her weak. With her free hand, she pushed the would-be attackers back, but until she could get time too heal the rest was on Zoe. "I-I need to heal. So I'll let you deal with them, I'll help you from here" She said with her hand now resting across her sternum. "Clear out the ship. But we need it intact. I want to hack into their communications channels."

Decibelle...

For every enemy Decibelle takes out, two more seem to take it's place. 'This is crazy, how can we possibly win this? We need the Justice League Alliance or even Selebrity.' These thoughts of doubt bounce around in her head like a ping pong ball as she smashes a fist into the face of yet another multiverse invader. Someone like her simply isn't powerful enough to deal with this even if she seems to be holding her own for the moment.

Linda takes a glance at how many they are all up against and she instantly regrets it because they seemingly cover the ground like a black blanket of darkness. 'It's almost like being in a Resident Evil game dialed up to insanity!' How are they going to win this? Then suddenly as her doubts have come like some unwilling disease infecting her, she squashes it like a bug as she buries it, 'Get a grip, Linda! We can do this! We'll fight them back and we're going to win! They have an army, we have...WHAT ARE THOSE?! DEMONS?!' She screams in her head, seeing the demons James summoned and eyes wide as dinner plates. Fear pounding in her chest like a jackhammer, she thinks, 'Forget Resident Evil, this is more like plahying Diablo but more deadly!'

Although Linda cannot see the redhead running around, she knows he must be fighting this the best way he knows how. 'This is going to be one **** of a story.'

Linda smiles at James, saying a quick, "Nice to meet you." Then she walks to Alex, letting him grab her hands as she looks up into those eyes of his that threaten to cause her to get lost in them. She begins to say, with a cute shake of her head, "No, it's okay, we can--" And just like that, he's gone from her. Ripped away by a force she doesn't feel nor does she see. Forgetting herself, she screams his name, "Alex! ALEEEX!"

Decibelle opens a portal, slipping through it as she emerges from that one, only to do it again as she follows the trail of blood and destruction as she attempts to find the man who has captured her heart. And if she finds him, she rushes over to his side, 'Please be okay, be please be okay.'

The Plutonian Empire

The messenger strolls right into the council room where the Empress is holding a meeting with her top scientists and he delivers a message that a familiar ally is approaching Plutonian space. She excuses herself before walking to a relatively private section of the room before tapping some controls on a computer. A familiar sight greets her and it's Leo as she sees the long ranges sensors detect him approaching.

"Shall he be cleared to come into our space, your Royal Highness?" One of her underlings asks in a respectful tone.

"Yes and give him the proper respect he deserves. I wish for Leo to see me immediately in my throne room. Make sure he gets there." She says, snapping out an order and it is rushed to be obeyed as the servant bows before going about doing as ordered.

Empress Nairah calls the meeting adjourned with her scientists before she heads for her throne room and sits down upon it, waiting for her ally to arrive.

@maya_liafador:

The two women were knocking down spaceships left and right. The duo hadn’t worked with each other since Zoe’s time in S.T.R.I.K.E but she remembered why she liked working with Maya. She got sh!t done. But as the two fought the flying ships suddenly became more difficult to destroy. It was then that she watched as Maya was hit straight forward with a beam. “Maya!” Zoe yelled out in concern as she tried to get to her only to have a ship come at her straight on. “Oh sh-” The nose of the ship collided into Zoe, as it began pushing her back down to the Earth's atmosphere. She could feel the flames of the atmosphere begin to hit her back. She grunt, her jaw clenched as her hands grasped on each side of the nose of the ship. Her muscles began to burn from the fatigue of trying to hold back a spaceship going full throttle. Using her powers to slow the momentum of the ship before letting out a feral roar and pushing it with all her might into another vessel that was nearby, causing them to both crumble upon impact. Breathing heavily she looked back down at the city for a moment to see chaos had unleashed itself. But she had to keep pressing on the war up here.

She powered up and flew back up into the cold frigid space when Maya suddenly appeared next to her, her arm wrapped around her waist as she put forth a large crimson wall of energy before them. “Woah. Hey there.”

"Hang On,"

“Hang o-?” Bfore she could finish the two were flying towards a ship. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Zoe screamed under the protection of her helmet as she raised her hands in front of her face before slamming face-first onto cold metal ground. “OOPMH!”Thank goodness she had her helmet on. What just happened?? She looked up to see several attackers shocked just as she was to see the two heroes in the ship. Before Zoe could jump up and attack, Maya took care of them. “Oh… yeah that works.” But damn… she looked tired and hurt. “Maya, are you ok?” She walked over to her as she knelt down beside her. That blast really did a number on her.

"I-I need to heal. So I'll let you deal with them, I'll help you from here Clear out the ship. But we need it intact. I want to hack into their communications channels."

With a nod of her head Zoe stood up, her combat boots marching forward with a look of determination in her eyes. She was on the hunt. Her electric blue eyes went into a golden glow as she began seeking out thermal heat signatures throughout the ship. There were a few crew members on the ship and some were coming right towards them. They must have heard the commotion. With a smirk, Zoe ran forward to greet them. Making a sharp turn she came face to face with two in a hallway. Zoe threw a fireball at one, slammed into its abdomen as the impact sent him flying back into the metal frame of the ship. The second one came in with a right hook that landed right along her jaw. The force of the attack caught her off guard as she dropped to one knee, a busted lip seen as her blood stained the cold floor. "Is that it?" Zoe quickly stood up, leaning back on her left foot and slammed a push kick to his chest causing him to slam into the other soldier that was trying to get up from the ground.

Without hesitation, she moved forward only to walk into what seemed to be the engine room with several beings turning to her and began charging. Without saying a word she crossed her arms across her chest before forcefully pulling them away, a wave of golden flames engulfed the area including the soldiers, knocking them down and out. But uh… it also hit like… all the machine stuff in the room, causing the entire ship to tremble from the attack. “Ooopsie…” The hero whispered, hoping she didn’t break anything that they REALLY needed. Now for the pilot.

Making her way to the front of the ship the door to the cockpit was locked. The two invaders (one pilot and the other the gunner) sat in their seats, sweating as they began shushing each other in hopes the hero would go away. After a few seconds of silence, they assumed Zoe walked away. Both let out a sigh of relief before An explosive sent the metallic door flying forward and slamming into the back of the gunner, knocking him out and left the pilot gasping in shock before Zoe ripped him out of his seat by his collar and tossed him out of the cockpit causing him to slam face-first into the metal ground as his body tumbled into unconsciousness.

Zoe jumped into the seat wiggling in it comfortably. “That wasn’t so bad.” She then looked down at the controls that had a mixture of very colorful buttons and words she couldn’t understand thanks to the alien language. “Awwww hell…”

{Zoe, the ship is going to go into a spiral descend if you do not take control of it soon}

A voice spoke through her helmet. “WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?”

{My name is Jannet, I’m your suit’s AI-}

“WAIT AI!? So you’re like smart!”

{I do have access to limitless infor-}

“PERFECT! HOW DO YOU FLY THIS THING?!” she motioned to the ship. Right now wasn’t the time for chitchat. They could get introductions done after all this chaos.

{One moment… … … There is a YouTube video called “How to fly a spaceship from another world”. Would you-}

“PLAY IT!” Zoe shouted as she could feel the ship begin to be pulled towards the Earth thanks to gravity. A video popped into a HUB screen as a greasy sweaty man with bottle cap glasses began explaining something that Zoe didn’t understand. “Can you skip it to the important part?!” The video fast forward until it showed a 3D video of a computer designed space ship controls. Surprisingly they looked similar to what was in front of her. Not exact, but similar. “Perfect.” She followed the instructions and grasped the controls before pushing up on one lever while the other control was turned clockwise. The ship became stable as Zoe began turning the ship back into space. “Hey you don’t by any chance know how to like… use the communications too do you?”

{Would you like me to find instructions on-}

“Yes please!” Zoe shouted now trying to navigate through the debris that she and Maya caused from blasting the ships apart. The ship would occasionally scrape against fractured ships, causing a rumbling sound throughout. Everything would be fine, right? Yeah, sure of course they would. Hopefully, Maya would be joining her soon!

Atlas POV:

Luke paced the command deck of the ship with a cool gaze, his mouth was set in a hard line as he watched the two Terran females evade and outmaneuver his forces with exceptional skill and impressive ability. But this wasn't the first Earth that had been crushed under his heel and nor would it be the last. This reality was not to the standards of one such as Luke, and this planet was nothing more than a stepping stone, the scientist needed this universe rid of powerful beings? So be it as long as Luke had the rest of the Multiverse at his disposal. He would find his perfect reality.

And he would rebuild the one he had lost.

The Sol'arian Powerhouse clicked his tongue slightly as the females took command over one of his ships, Luke saw that the crew were none more than his parasite troopers, his apprehensions if they could be called so instantly disappeared.

"Sir what do we do about the life forms on our vessel? If we allow them to continue they could do a small but significant amount of damage to our forces an-"

Luke would flick his hand lazily to signal the subordinate should silence himself; Then he returned his arms to their resting position on his chest as he thought silently. His telepathic mind shot from the confines of his ship and traveled everywhere, he saw the battle on Earth and the heroes fighting valiantly for the defense of all that they knew, he peered inside the ship where the two women took full control of one of his vessels and his mouth curled into a cruel smile.

"Tell the rest of my Earth Division to wait for my command, and order the rest of the Earth invasion force elsewhere in this universe. I'll take the so-called heroes on myself." His lieutenant nodded and Luke briskly walked out of the command center as he approached the exit to his ship, it was foolish to place the chances of his mission on the shoulders of those who couldn't get it done quickly and efficiently, why wage war when you can end the battle in one swift motion...call checkmate before the game had even begun.

Opening the entrance doors to his ship Luke gently floated out to the confines of the infinite cosmos, A dark blanket, contrasting with blacks and yellows, and the occasional white entered his powerful view. There are stars that dot the blanket in an intricate pattern. This is space.

Setting his eyes on the heroines Luke would take flight, the non-existent gravity of space giving him no resistance, his flying was like the flowing of water. Luke pushed towards the vessels Maya and Nova piloted and set his crimson-clad boots upon the nose of the ship as he stared Zoe in the eyes.

His gaze bore deep into hers as his fist raises.

And his hand points at the Lunar body that is their moon.

And in a blur of blue and scarlet he was gone.

Setting his feet down on the moon Luke took a moment to examine the planet that overtook his gaze, a planet of life and hope, of freedom and choice. Even here he could see children with their parents fleeing the attack on their planet rushing anywhere for safety. It reminded him of the Earth that he once called home, the fluffy clouds and the bustling cities, the heroes who rushed to battle to protect others. Luke was once one of those heroes.

And he would be once again. He would gather the power to rebuild his reality the way it was, out of the dark where they need not worry about the choices of others influencing their lives and their choices.

He will get his home back and the ones he loves.

And kill anything that got between him and that.

As his feet kicked up the dust of the celestial object his body bent down until his hands clenched the rocky surface of the orbiting moon, he began to float in the air his he put his weight forward and began to push with the Herculean strength in his form. Slowly it began to move, surrendering to the power of Atlas and falling victim to Earth's increasing gravitational pull, Luke's Bio-electric aura would wrap around the moon as he held the large body together ensuring that it wouldn't be pulled apart as it reached it's Roche Limit.

Then with one more push, he let go and allowed the Moon to rapidly hurtle towards the Earth.

William Lebeau POV:

Will's body moved forward with lightning speed, but as he prepared to break off and head on his own several projectiles appeared in the side view of his gaze.

He can't really expect that to work.

With the skill of a trained vigilante Will caught the first dart in the grip of his armored hand with ease, with the reflexes of one blessed with speed and the skill of one trained as a vigilante dispatching the rest of the aerial weapons with nigh a thought. Turning to the skilled hero with a shift of his head he would inspect him.

"To any normal foe you would be deadly I'm sure." The opening of space-time caught his eye as he watches his old friend's lover rush to his side. He had never met Linda on his Earth, but he had heard stories all the same. "So you're the one who captured Alex's heart. Adorable really." Turning to face both Aenean and Linda he would shrug his shoulders in mock apology, "Such a shame your love will have to be cut short."

Bringing his hand together Will would snap his fingers at speeds exceeding sound, bracing as the sonic boom tore at the very city itself ripping glass from their windows and uprooting concrete piping with destructive force, Will stood in the middle completely unfazed, his hands now brought into fists as he waited for the dust to clear and hoping to see three corpses in his view.

But.

That's not how it went. Alex had woken up had seen what the Lebeau speedster was about to do and despite having several broken bones he had attempted to grab both Linda and Aenean to rush them out of the blast radius. Will heard his muffled shouts of agony as he placed them down and collapsed once more. The Fastest Man Alive would turn to the two and yell at them "Run! Get away now!"

The Speed Demon would casually walk up to the Fallen Angel and stomp on his leg with his boot crushing the bones in Alex's already broken femur once again. The scream tore through the boy like a great shard of glass. Will watched his eyes widen and his pulse quicken, The blood drained from Alex's face, Will could tell the pain was increasing in waves, small lulls giving false hope of an end. Each peak robs Alex's ability to speak, All he can do is writhe in agony, the occasional whimper escaping off his lips.

"G-G-GO!?" He shouts once again, and Will would lean over him as his hand began to vibrate dangerously, looking up into the sky he could see the Moon begin to rapidly grow closer to the Earth and he instantly knew that Atlas was behind it, that left him to have all the fun he wanted until that time. "You leave and he dies. And I know you don't want that. You can't win this war without him." Will was bluffing, he still needed Alex, but at this point, he knew that neither of them would call his bluff seeing what he had done to him already.

"Do you all really want to take that cha-" His words were cut off with the sound of another sonic boom that ripped its way through the sky -the sound of thunder always accompanied by lightning- and with speed befitting the god Mercury himself Will's eyes would widen under his helmet as a third party entered the scene.

BOOOOOM! Was the sound Will's face made when Jai Walker's fist connected with it sending the Demon of Speed hurtling backward, his face covering instantly shattering and his bones cracking under the force of such a punch as he shot out of sight.

Jai Walker POV:

"You stay the hell away from my parents." Jai would say, his body pulsating with the power of the Speed Force, looking at both of his parents and Aenean he would say "Are you all alright?" Waiting to hear their response Jai would nod "Good, get him to safety. The enemy knew if they ambushed him and took him out of the fight our chances of winning would lower drastically, we need to get him healed. We simply don't have enough powerful heroes on our end to do anything except hold off the foot soldiers."

Looking up at the sky Jai would suck in a hefty breath as if he had just run a marathon. "And we're gonna have much bigger problems on our hands soon."

@atlas_telos:

✯✯ Aurora ✯✯

Drifting above the clouds, Aurora - floating fortress of the American God - loomed over the world of man as the inescapable eye of its demigod protector. Aboard it, Achilles passed his eyes over a row of holographic screens, absorbing every ounce of information between the ticks of each nanosecond. As battleships from an alien cosmos stormed the heavens, the American God rolled his eyes and a sigh escaped his lips.

"Another invasion. Is it Monday already?", he scoffed, to no one in particular.

With a flick of his finger, Achilles swept the holographic screens into a data void, turning at the heel as he raced out Aurora's main chamber.

||-Achilles-||, his A.I. echoed, its voice filling the air with a timbre icy and robotic, ||-Perhaps you should request assistance-||.

"Oh yeah, why is that?", Achilles asked, his arm outstretched, fingers abuzz with a cosmic thrum that pulled Forge - his war hammer - through the air into his steel grasp.

||-The Moon is falling-||, his A.I. countered, blunt and to the point.

"What!?", the American God barked, eyes wide like saucers, heart clamoring in his chest.

||-The Moon is going to collide with the planet-||, the A.I. repeated.

Pinching the bridge of his nose as the frustration rumbled in his throat, Achilles soon steeled his heart, casting all emotion aside and thundering out Aurora with a spirit of Spartan reserve. Climbing the heavens, the American God sighted the Moon. Watching its swelling shadow mute the Sun's light the closer it drew, Achilles felt the violent tug of its gravitational might, and a thought crossed his mind.

Where's my father when I need him?

Yet as quickly as it came, it vanished within a moment's notice, replaced by the roaring determination of a hero born and bred for battle and greatness. So as he soared up the sky, Achilles harnessed the power of the Mind Lavaliere, feasting on its bottomless sea of psychic energy. Arcs of gold crackled around him, setting the sky ablaze as he stormed past the clouds like a thunderbolt hurled by Zeus himself.

Wielding the Mind Lavaliere, skill and will became one, and a field summoned by psychic powers cosmic and unrivaled wrapped over the Moon to contest its collision with Earth. Straining to hold the Moon in orbit, Achilles pushed back with a telekinetic shove, then felt the presence - the mind - that dared make the Moon a vehicle of the Apocalypse.

And the American God would answer in kind by bringing the End Times to the recesses of his foe's mind.

Dipping into an ocean of skill several lifetimes deep, Achilles roared and the Mind Lavaliere obeyed, doing all within its power to bend and curve the psionic fabric of the fundamental command structure behind the enemy's mind until naught but infinity - a thought singularity - remained. A monstrosity that would steer the enemy's mind - no matter its strength - and indeed its every future, into one eternal thought.

Nothing.

He would remember nothing. Say nothing. Do nothing. Think nothing. For it would be all to which the very core of his mind would be bound.

An eternity of null.

Keith Helios

A flash of a star in the distance and a streak of light indicated his arrival, Keith Helios was always a big fan of large entrances because he knew his grandness could only be matched by a grand entrance. Another invasion on Earth? Those were as commons as the crimes on it, but the moon being chucked at the Earth was not as rare. As he ripped through space-time with his speed, leaving the songs of the cosmos in his trail. He zipped through the invading forces hulls, blowing up a multitude of the forces before standing on top of the debris, he accumulated his Pulsar Energy into a singular point, bending the curvature of space as he did so. Holding a small orb of red, spherical, pulsating energy, he released it, like a bomb made from the intards of wormholes went off. Violent conclusive forms of energy and vicious ripples of space caused a large multitude of the vessels to be no more as they had their very quarks teared apart. All this for the second part of his entrance

His logo, not by natural result, appeared into the sky and followed by that was a message written the a cosmic light for both villian and hero to see. [Try Harder Inferiors]. Seeing how the moon was back into place, The Son Of Altair continued to zip through the hulls continue his path of justified destruction.

During his showcase of his immense power, he subconsciously mingled with the energy of an unknown source an energy that was holding the moon in place. This caused him to enter a state of Hyper Cosmic Awareness, where his already Pulsar-enhanced have begun to leave this physical plane, projecting into a state where space and time were irrelevant and where the actions of individuals were smudged by the workings of the Multiverse, and it was in this state that he saw something that scared him. Seeing more than the simple death of a multiverse he saw hands - hands void of light - of a larger entity beginning to wrap it's hands around the seams of reality.

Out of shock, he knocked himself back to the realm he was on. Awakening from his space coma, he turned around, still within the midst of battle. He knew it wasn't a dream, and he to prepare for this, but didn't exactly know how.

"Embrace the aid of those who mean you well."The Aenean

Though the menacing speedster had eluded the ceramic darts with practiced ease, the Aenean considered his attack to be far from a failure. For in so doing, the dark William LeBeau had disclosed that he shared certain human weaknesses in common with them all. He had betrayed his own arrogance, his vindictiveness, his willingness to pause and revel in his own supposed invincibility. Therein would lie the key to defeating him. His superhuman abilities may have been vast, but his undoing would be no mystery. Like any man, he was mortal in the mind.

As the new foe gloated and mocked Decibelle, Anderson subtly twisted a switch on his left bracer - the one which concealed his high-powered laser emitter. The Aenean's ability offered little insight in terms of how to trounce the high-velocity enemy directly; instead, for now, it guided him in adjusting the laser's frequency when fired.

LeBeau's attack commenced; from a distance away, Anderson sensed his salvation. For while he would have endured extreme harm at point-blank range against the speedster, another came to his rescue in a moment of serendipity. The Aenean allowed his body to go limp and be carried out of the blast zone, ferried away before the shockwave could obliterate him.

What transpired next occurred in but the blink of an eye - their savior Velocity pled with them to run, and the hostile speedster stomped on his leg - crushing it. Before Anderson could as much as speak, another unknown speedster launched the former away with a seismic rush, his arrival heralded only by the Aenean's preternatural senses.

Jai Walker asked if they were alright; Anderson nodded.

"Thanks to you."

Walker had alluded to the idea that the enemy had deliberately attacked Velocity - that he was predetermined to play some vital role in the defense of Earth.

"Let's get you feeling better, my friend."

From a compartment on his belt, Anderson retrieved a cached syringe containing a medicinal blend. He had little idea how the speedster's body would react to it, but it could at least stabilize him, and take away the pain from his injured limb.

"Hold still."

Disinfecting the area with a swift swab, the Aenean administered a cocktail of Olympus Pharmaceutical's more experimental line - something to ease Velocity's suffering while they awaited the next wave of danger.

@decibelle_:

✦✧ The Plutonian Empire ✧✦

Thundering through the cosmos in defiance of the universal speed limit, the Prince of Power swept the alien armada into his sights, and power flashed in his gaze.

A storm of gamma rays flared out his core, scorching spacetime with a roar of immeasurable heat. The energy rent the enemy battleships, ripping apart every atom until it strained against the very binds of existence. Soaring onward, Leonel wrote his symphony of destruction into the musical sheets of reality, eradicating enemy battleships for light-years on end, like a rogue star rampaging through space. But as he neared the cosmic gates of the Plutonian Empire, the Prince of Power eased all thoughts of destruction from his mind, instead replacing them with experience in diplomacy.

Diving into Niven's atmosphere, Leonel raced down the clouds, his ivory cape aglow and spread wide like an angel's wings. The air sparked in protest of his speed and rocked the sky with a smoldering shock-wave. But as the ground drew near, the Prince of Power slowed his descent, gliding into the imperial palace before being escorted to the throne room. Doors towering and gilded parted at his presence, and Leonel strode into a chamber bathed in daylight. There, he sighted Empress Nairah, sat proud on a throne that embodied the totality of Plutonian power.

"Your Majesty", Leonel nodded, his steel baritone billowing from one monarch to another, "It's a shame that our second encounter isn't under better circumstances", he lamented, "But the universe - the multiverse, really - is being invaded. We're at war. I've set some plans in motion but they'll take some time. Until then, we'll need to counter the invading army's advance through the universe".

"I have some ideas, but we'll need the Plutonian Armed Forces for force projection as no one can be everywhere at once", he reminded, "Because the enemy battleships are invading the cosmos, most of them are in outer space", Leonel paused, "Which brings me to the issue of heat management. Ships generate a tremendous amount of heat because engine maneuvers, electronics, weapons systems, heat maintenance to keep the crew warm etc. all produce heat. And at some point in battle, those battleships will start producing more heat than they can lose. So we can overheat them, especially as Plutonians have heat vision", he grinned.

"But we also need to address the tactics of open space warfare and orbital warfare against the invading army. So if you will, Your Majesty, summon your best generals. Your throne room's become a war room".

Alex had been ripped from her hands at 20,000 MPH so even if he had only made a bloody trail for only one second, that's still 5.5 miles at the very minimum. 'How did the stranger follow me?' But there is no time to even ponder the question as she hears a voice that reminds her of a swarm of angry bees on too much caffeine.

Linda knows how fast Alex is, at least she has a good guess. So when this man is about to perform his attack, she knows she won't be fast enough to escape because she's far too slow. But then a sudden rush of wind and speed takes her away from the blast radius.

As Alex screams for them to run, Linda is like a deer caught in headlights as she finds herself frozen in place. Not by some nefarious scheme, mind you. But by a cruel and vindictive man who is crushing the femur of the boy she is finding it in her heart to love.

Then when the villainous speedster warns Linda if she leaves, Alex dies, her hands slowly ball up into fists. Time seems to slow down from her perspective as she takes all of this in, allowing a long moment to pass between them. So what does a mortal like Linda do when confronting that of a would-be god? She stares into his eyes with an unblinking stare of steel-like resolve. She knows that in less than it takes to take a breath, this speedster can end her life. Yet, still, Linda faces him seemingly undaunted. In this face holds truths that Will may or may not comprehend. Linda will not back down, she is not afraid of him and she will keep going until life itself ceases. She defies him for what he is, what he could be and what he is doing. She challenges the very notion of this villain's existence and knows somehow, the good guys will win.

When Linda is about to try a new trick, by hypnotizing him with her voice, a distinctive POP is heard before a fist slams into the villain's face as if on cue. A second later, Linda's eyebrows shoot up at the sudden revelation this man who saved them is her son. Sharp reporters' instincts picked up what he said immediately. 'Wait, this is my son?! But I'm still in High School and I'm not even married yet!'

There is only one explanation for this. Time travel. "Uh, yeah." She says, barely mustering up a reply and inwardly rolling her eyes at herself at such a lame response. 'Time travel? Why do I suddenly feel like this is a Back to the Future movie?'

But before Linda can walk over to Alex's side, it's a stranger who helps him. But he's going to need more than some weird concoction. Glancing around, Linda creates a makeshift splint woth a ripped off shirt sleeve from her shirt and wraps it around Alex's leg, grabbing one of his arms and putting it over her shoulder, hopefully, Aenean does the same for her boyfriend's other side. There are so many questions swimming in her head right now, but not in front of a man she doesn't know. She looks at the stranger, "Thanks for the help."

Opening a portal, she directs Alex to it. Provided all three enter it, they arrive on the other side somewhere outside of Key City. But all of a sudden, a man in power armor from the enemy fleet flies from the heavens and grabs Linda's shoulders, hefting her up and away, "Hey, let go of me!" Using her sonic cry, she tries to make him drop her but his armor is too durable. On the flip side, though, his weapon isn't and it disintegrates in his hand. But he still has her in his other hand and is carrying her away even as she struggles against him.

【Ø】 The Plutonian Empire【Ø】

Empress bows her head in response to the respect Leo has shown her before listening to his heavenly voice spell out the danger to the multiverse. It's more of a summarization but it will suffice. One of her closest advisers whispers something in her ear, "Out scientists were correct." And with but a single hand gesture from the Empress, the man takes his leave to gather up her Generals.

With that, the Empress rises and a wave of her delicate hand, nanotechnology emerges from the floor and constructs a war table in front of her. "Taking advantage of heat is a good place to start." She says, acknowledging Leo's plan as being brilliant, "And to add to your plan, I suggest a pincer movement, attacking the enemy forces from both sides and blocking their escape routes with my ships as a distraction while some of us take to space to use our heat vision and employ your tactic." As she says this, the war table displays a holographic image of what she is talking about.

The generals arrive and the Empress repeats the plan so far and then looks to Leo for any additional tactics he may have. It's clear she's going to help and will take a personal hand in it.

The name's Duberry, Donald Duberry. Former High school star athlete turned Employee of the Month Toll Collector. IF you asked Mr. Duberry how you become an Employee of the month for collecting tolls, he would tell you with some sense (cents) and then give you a nudge with his elbow, unknowingly to him a bit too hard, but not hard enough to make a scene about it.

If you took a look at Donald, you would believe by his 6'3" stature that he played at least some sport, but then you would be reminded by his round size that that was long ago.

Currently, Donald has just awoken from an afternoon nap, which he felt more drained than from when he laid his head down after work. He yawned as he walked out of the bedroom into his one-bedroom apartment. He was a single man with a simple life and the only thing he was worried about right now was what he was going to use to defeat his rumbling hungry stomach. He opened the cupboard, and there it sat in the middle shelf, an already opened box of his favorite cereal, Frosted Flakes. He pulled the box out with a smile across his face. With a middle-aged man in his life situation, it was the small victories that carried him forward. This was one of them. He set the box on to the table and did a happy awkward dance to grab a bowl and spoon. It was a funny sight to see, even Donald knew this, but no one was around and he took advantage of it while moonwalking back to the table with a clean bowl and spoon in hand. He set the bowl down on the hardwood table, and then tossed the spoon in, as it clinked against the ceramic bowl, he grabbed the cereal box and began pouring. Still, in a chipper mood, he set the box back down on the table and began playing air guitar with sad vocal sounds in an attempt to copy the opening to sweet child o' mine. He began jamming all around his small apartment before getting right in front of the fridge and began shaking his head back and forth like some kind of rockstar. He opened the fridged to see an empty carton of milk...

With no one to blame but himself.

Just as the small victories moved him forward, damn did the small defeats devastate him. He grabbed the empty carton and chunked it into the trash can, he looked at the already full bowl of cereal resting without milk. Donald had two choices chunk it or go out and get some damn milk.

"Mama didn't raise a quitter," he said as he went to get dressed.

Mr. Duberry was on a mission, to get some milk for his cereal if it was the last thing he did.

Mr. Duberry was dressed in some brown slacks and an old polo shirt. He stepped out of his apartment building into Key City with earbuds blaring in his ear, the earlier jamming of sweet child o' mine had put him in a mood for some more rock music.

He was completely unaware of his surroundings and he didn't care as the music pumped through his ears and strutted on the sidewalk.

He began singing out loud, he was out for milk.

"Dirty Deeds...And they're done dirt cheap! Dirty Deeds and they're done dirt CHEAP!"

"YOU GOT PROBLEMS IN YOUR LIFE OF LOVE!"

"YOU GOT A BROKEN HEART! "

As he got near people on the sidewalk he would die down to a soft whisper, almost mouthing the words to himself.

Once he was away from them, he would look over his shoulder, just to make sure, and boom he was right back at it.

"DIRTY DEEDS, DONE DIRT CHEAP!"

This was a man on a mission, and he would be damned if he was going to go out with swinging. He would get his milk and he would eat his cereal if it was the last thing he did.

@amin_karrit

"The new shade of Red" Paris, France (Order of Malta Bunker)

The two sat side by side; the Chaos ensuing outside the bunker was cathartic. This new invasion provided The Order of Malta with the cover it needed, coupled with her long-time confidant; Poetic Assassin was poised to deal a lethal dose of toxin to Europe.

Ada's telepathic prowess was second only to Ziccarra Liafador, the former owner of the mind-stone; she could see far and wide; and understood that even under the austere circumstances, the world was a prize to be had. It was as if no time had passed since the last time she sat in the presence of the only person she'd ever referred to as a friend--Amin Karrit.

He and Her were kindred spirits, Idealogical twins if such a thing exists. Their stark differences complimented one another making them arguably the best (or Worst) tandem on the planet. On her own, she toppled both Valor and Grimm City, attacked South Africa, usurped S.T.R.I.K.E's leadership, and introduced the world to the Sapien Flu. Together they'd forge a stable future, one where The Order Ada and Amin held all the cards.

It was apparent that many of the surrounding members were preoccupied with the destruction unfolding just outside the walls, but Ada remained stoic. Her heart hardened to the current perils of man.

"Amin, it is such a godsend to be blessed with your presence, old-friend. I have a gift for you" Ada's eyes guided STRIKE Agent Norfleet to a bag on the far side of the room. "I earnestly prayed for a meeting sooner rather than later. With all my exploits as of late, I shudder at the thought of being captured with this on my person" As Norfleet placed the bag on the table, Ada rummaged through it to find a book.

It's hardcover laced with runes that suggest Norse origins, Latin letters, and a whole host of scribbles imperceptible to the human mind. "Before the Attack on New York, an associate of mine stole that book from the holy Court of Courts," Ada explained, taking a quick puff of her Gauloises before continuing her explanation. "Some time ago, I was visited by a Creation god. Monsieur, this is the single most powerful weapon in all of creation. And I want you to safeguard it."

As she placed the book in Amin's hands, she gave his massive hands a subtle rub in good faith before rising from her seat. Smoothing out the back of her Christian Dior Gold Cocktail dress, the De-facto leader of the II Klab took center stage to detail the series of events.

In attendance were various social elite members; bankers, corporation executives, local lawmakers, and famous socialites.

"You're all probably wondering why we've summoned you here during these turbulent times, but I assure you those questions will be answered soon enough."

The Serene Slaughterer paused for a moment as an explosion on the outside rattled the bunker forcing the esteemed guest in attendance to question their safety. Once the Innocuous chatter died down, she begins again.

"Tonight, we are going to assassinate President Luis Bernard." She paused again, yielding to the sounds of shock in awe; a not so subtle grunt from Amin soon brought them back in line.

"I can imagine with everything going on; President Bernard is in some sort of bunker. I am certain I can get to him, but not without triggering his telepathic defenses he undoubtedly has. As much as I'd hoped we could avoid unnecessary bloodshed, it appears direct intervention is necessary. Comments and concerns?

Eliminate Bernard the first phase in a layered approach to dismantling French Leadership, followed by civil unrest, toppling the economy, and lastly, a full-scale takes over from the Order.

There were no questions, rather a gesture of defiance. One of the guests stood up, shaking his head. She recognized him as a man who attended many photo-ops with the current French leader--a friend. The Poetic Assassin's head tilts back a bit, watching as the man made for the exit.

Quick enough to miss, her eyes briefly fluttered, causing the man to fall on his side with his over his heart. As she stalked him from a distance, watching as he violently convulses on the floor, she gave a new command. "You're choking on your tongue" No sooner than it left her lips, the man twitch back and forth with guttural sounds until the life was gone.

Out of the two, it was widely known that Ada had more patience than Amin; Ada was notoriously more reasonable than Amin--but when she decided to murder, no one ever saw it coming. Ada turned back toward the congregation standing over the dead member, hand extended out toward Amin to make their leave. "Forgive him, for His heart was in the right place. And now it's not"

@ada_guillaume:

♔♚ Paris, France ♚♔

Outrage.

It flared in the eyes of one of the Order's most tenured members - Fabrice Lenglet. His jeweled hand trembled into a white fist, and anger climbed out his throat, like Ares storming out the gates of Olympus.

"Ç'est de la folie!", Fabrice cursed, indignation heating his face, disgust itching his cheeks, "So now we cannot even disagree!? If we do not think as a hive.. that is our fate!?".

Around the table, eyes stunned and fearful followed Fabrice's hand as it steered their gazes towards the man Ada had so callously slain. Silence rolled through the air, laying on their skin like a poison and coaxing the fear out their heart as they sighted the Black Dahlia, her hand hanging in wait for the familiar touch of a billion dollar beast.

"You can disagree", the low rumble of Amin's voice billowed through the room, as if the bunker were an evening sky, and his cold baritone its thunder. A chill raced down Fabrice's spine, quivering the base of his courage as he dragged his eyes back to Amin.

"Maybe you prefer fish over steak", Le Commandant paused, rising from his seat, his movements slow but certain, "Vodka instead of whisky. Red instead of black".

"But not your will instead of ours".

Cracking his knuckles, Amin strolled forward, the arctic blue of his stare an inescapable winter as he inched closer, his staggering shadow bearing down on Fabrice like a night sky. Heart clamoring in his chest, sweat beading on his brow, Fabrice found Amin's gaze and struggled to steel his courage in the vastness of his monstrous shadow. Boring into his soul, power - authority - escaped Le Commandant's lips.

"I will walk to Dahlia, and the moment my hand touches hers, you will be on all fours and you will follow us out the bunker".

The dark bass of Amin's command rolled into his chest, and as Le Commandant strode past him, Fabrice - unraveled by fear - obeyed. Taking Ada's hand into his molten grasp, Amin led the Black Dahlia out the bunker as Fabrice, a longtime member of the Order of Malta, trailed after them on all fours.

Easing Ada into the backseat of a limousine, Amin freed Fabrice from the binds of humiliation with a dismissive sneer. Sliding in next to Ada, Amin shut the door, and their chauffeur steered them up the road.

Lighting a Montecristo no. 2, Amin pulled, and the rich scent of cigar smoke rode the air alongside his words, "Dahlia, you will not strain yourself breaching President Bernard's psychic defenses", he asserted, the cosmic tome Ada had gifted him resting in his iron grip, "My associate will do so on your behalf. That way, there will be no psychic trail leading back to you. They will search for a sea and they will not even find a grain".

"After President Bernard's assassination, we will spend the following evening at my chateau. There is something I would like to show you. A vibranium bomb", Amin revealed, "And a virus developed by La Société. It is engineered to kill the highest tier of metahuman. I'm told it has a tough outer protein shell, so the virus can free float in the air, like pollen, and invade the respiratory system. It causes auto-immune responses, aiming the body's immune system at its own cells, thus destroying them".

After a second pull of his cigar, Amin continued, "It triggers different auto-immune responses in different individuals, so it is not only dangerous, but difficult to predict and detect. It also causes a fatal overreaction of the immune system, a cytokine storm, spiraling the immune system out of control. If you treat the virus by suppressing the immune system, you are allowing it to hijack your cell's metabolism and protein-producing organelles to multiply unchecked until it has flooded your body and you become more virus than person".

"It is called the omegavirus, and it will be one of many swords we will point at the enemies of our new empire".

Raking his eyes over the book in his grasp, a stroke of curiosity wrinkled into Amin's mind, "So, who is the associate who managed to steal this book?", he asked, handing Ada a cigar of her own.