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Marcus Etter didn’t remember much about the end itself. The skies had gone bright with the collective energy discharge of superhuman beings, incarnations, extranormal machines, and the aliens known only as the Battalion clashing all over.
“What use is a world that we could not rule?” The Doctor had told them. It was a simple enough assessment, and the Doctor had long since broken his cadre of useless dissension or drummed out the naysayers. So, the answer was simple, the Nemesis Council would join the many heroes and villains of Paragon City to repel the invaders from many other worlds.
The fatigue of having endured a previous war with the dimensional outsiders known as the Rikti was not lost on the Council, many of them having emerged from the shadow of that war to take advantage of the chaos it had left in its wake. Schemes and plans of domination had to be put aside though, in the name of self-preservation. The mercenaries, summoned beasts, and drones constructed were redirected towards the united goal of pushing back the creatures pouring forth from landing craft all over the city.
Once more, Marcus had donned the black power armor he’d designed, built, and iterated on over the years, infused with stolen energy from the Terra Volta reactors that pulsed like neon veins over his form, incorporated looted jet boots, alien legacy weapons, and even ammunition carefully inscribed with anti-magic runes taught to him when he could cajole or provoke the more magically-inclined members of the Council into assisting his experiments. A flight of robotic simulacra duplicating most of his abilities trailed behind him, as for another run, Daring Darkstryder emerged onto the streets of King’s Row.
On it’s best day, King’s Row looked like the place where the City’s ambitions went to drink themselves to oblivion. The war had done it no favors. Several buildings around Nemesis Manor had collapsed from street to street fighting, bodies lying half buried in the rubble. A car full of Skulls gangers roared past, firing weapons into the air and trying to holler above the vehicle’s cranked up stereo. Took all sorts to handle the end of the world. With a command, Darkstryder’s drones launched into the air to fan out and find the nearest trouble zone. They didn’t have to go far. 3 blocks east, a Battalion Soldier had laid out an entire group of supers. Colorful tights and well made capes fluttered in the light breeze, tattered by energy fire from an unearthly source. The first drone moved to engage, unleashing weapons fire in enough volume to level a fortified bunker. It appeared to have no effect on the sleek, shimmering armored form, which only seemed to register the drones presence when a micro-rocket impacted it’s cranial plating. The warrior wheeled and fired a coruscating beam of energy, the drone’s feed growing brighter until it went dark.
“How are we supposed to fight these things?” doubt was creeping into Darkstryder’s mind as he converged with his squad. The Battalion was beginning to move as he and 5 robotic replicas of his armor crested the buildings. The drones began to lay out suppressing fire as he skidded to landing on the pavement flanking the alien, a hulking species with 6 burly arms managing a variety of weapons. His targeting computers painted the armor as Impervium, a metal so rare only a few known artifacts of it existed on earth. Most of his weapons would at best scratch the paint or dent it. However, the joints were not as well plated, a common enough weakness as flexibility was always a concern with power armor. A command was all it took as he stepped close, pressing his shot-gauntlet to the thing’s hip and his drones focused their fire.
“Welcome to Earth friend.” He growled through loudspeakers mounted on his helmet as he unloaded point blank into the Battalion’s joint section. Was it the first time someone had said this today? Of course not, and it wouldn’t be the last. But there was a time and place, and this was his one chance to make it sound good, even if no one else was here to hear him. The creature had but a moment to register it’s surprise before 4 shells loaded with depleted uranium buckshot ripped into its midsection while several of its joints were disabled by support fire from the drones circling. It collapsed, the wreckage of 2 drones it had managed to bring down during the assault raining around them. To its credit, the soldier slowly attempted to regain its footing, using it’s tertiary limbs to drag itself upright as it tried to bring it’s beam weapon to bear. Darkstryder snatched a hilt from his belt, a jet of flame forming a blade as he gripped it, his boots digging furrows in the asphalt as he closed around the Battalion’s form to avoid the beam. The muscle augmenting servos whirred into high gear as he pushed off from the ground, flame blade roaring to be heard over the pulse of the beam as he connected with the neck seal.
Marcus sucked in filtered air, the remaining trio of drones watching the perimeter. Sounds of Battalion chatter could be heard in the blocks around, converging on his position. He checked his ammo, he had enough to take a couple more down before he’d have to find an ammo dump or someone to cast a spell to top him off. The drones took up ambush positions as he checked the bodies of the supers the brute had brought down. None of them seemed to be breathing, and the medical fields that had provided emergency care for the city had been among the first infrastructure to be knocked out.
“Rest in peace, heroes.” someone more altruistic than he was would have to identify them and bring them to a field hospital when they could. He dared not even place a beacon for fear of attracting more of the Battalion and inadvertently setting a trap for other defenders of Paragon City. Darkstryder could hear the chatter of the drones firing on the new wave of Battalion approaching. He wheeled away from the body he had been crouched over. One of the aliens was thin and wiry, as if someone had made a Battalion power suit molded directly onto a skeleton. Another one was more lithe, with a tail uncurling to fire a beam from a mounted point on the tip. The final one was closer to standard humanoid size, but with a set of claws radiating the same exotic energy signature the beam weapons emitted.
Marcus watched as those same claws tore into his drone’s armor like a child opening a birthday gift, the drone firing uselessly into the air as it’s internal structure was compromised. The thin Battalion seemed to slip into the gaps between munitions as it curled tight and then launched at the automaton opposing it, several bursts of energy issuing from it’s torso as it dived past it’s crumpling target towards Darkstryder. The report of a .50 caliber shell reported up and down the street as he fired at its neck seal to no avail, the target weaving out of the way as he began to backpedal to create space.
With a thrust of his palm, flame shot from a projector to encircle the wiry alien in flames. Marcus caught a split second of breath before the clawed Battalion was upon him, his armor shrieking as pieces were rent aside, exposing the circuitry and flex-layer beneath. A green glow washed over the alien as backwash of nuclear energy freely poured from the gouges, starting to cook it’s Impervium carapace. Darkstryder kicked the creature away as it began to smoke, still leaking processed goo harvested from Terra Volta as his gatling-gauntlet revved up, pelting the trapped skinny Battalion with gunfire until he disabled it. A blast of energy tagged the side of his head, spinning him about and knocking him to the ground. He heard the reptilian Battalion closing the gap to finish the job. The hit could have killed him outright had the aim been better, he could feel the hot breeze blowing past his exposed skin, tingling as some of the suit’s internals leaked onto him. His vision started to fade as he felt his armor encompass him again, and the last thing he heard was the shouting of incantations...
*
Marcus awakened, the smell of scorched asphalt flooding his nostrils. He was still alive, for now at least. A woman in light clothes better suited to an arid climate and ram’s horns curling from her head was hovering over him, worry vanishing from eyes as she saw him awaken. Her lower face was obscured by a veil, but he could tell she was smiling. She threw her arms around him, a familiar and comforting embrace.
“Marcus!” She cried, “How many times have I told you not to rush off alone!?” Darkstryder sank into the embrace of his beloved, welcoming the respite.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize I’d gotten peeled off. The drones saw one and then…...doesn’t matter if it’s the end, so long as we’re together ma nuv.” He would have kissed her if his helmet was functioning properly, but instead settled for resting his head against hers. Raven’s Kiss, his wife, was strong in the mystic arts, but he wasn’t sure she could have brought him back if those strange beams had connected. An exasperated groan came from the side.
“Blugh, enough mushy stuff mom and dad, we gotta get going!” huffed a little girl with horns resembling her mother and eyes like her father. The claws were definitely from her mother’s side of the family as she scrabbled up the side of a building to get a look out. Marcus smiled at Raven.
“Our little girl of action, huh?” He scooped her up and engaged his jet boots, systems having done enough repairs for mobility and basic weapons to be online, following their little Meighan to the roof. The skyline of King’s Row was beam fire, and straight away fire. And beyond the War Walls, the rest of Paragon City didn’t look much better.
“So much destruction….” Raven murmured, displeased with the chaos unfolding.
“We didn’t start this war love, but we will finish it. Least those who can.” He replied, hand running up and down her back in a soothing motion. His radio crackled to life.
“People of Earth, this is Taskforce: TITANOMACHY. We have begun to retake Vanguard 2. Repeat, we have begun to retake Vanguard 2. Do not let up the fight versus the Battalion, all super beings must continue to occupy the bulk of Battalion’s force. Repeat, all super beings must-” The message continued on. So that was the plan?
“Use the rest of us as cannon fodder while the big guns try to take back the rail gun, huh?” Darkstryder looked up into the sky, to the faint pale orb in the sky as the sun began to dip past the horizon. As long as Battalion held the moon base, they could obliterate resistance on any part of earth they chose with it’s rail gun, in addition to whatever terrifying orbital weapons they could install up there.
“Got capes up there trying to take out the base.” He relayed the information to his family, “We gotta buy time, can’t let Battalion move their forces back into orbit.” The girls nodded, ready for action.
“You’re in no condition to take them all on yourself Marcus.” Raven said in that way where he knew she wouldn’t let him go haring off alone again. He nodded with a slight frown.
“I guess I can help you both out with support.” he rolled his neck, the armor making some creaking noises that it really shouldn’t have been making. With that, the family went back into the fray.
*
The moon was high in the sky as Darkstryder, Raven, and Meigh brought down another Battalion, the family fighting with brutal pack tactics as they gave no chance for retaliation or resistance. The gunfire had finished echoing through the streets when Darkstryder’s radio crackled to life once more.
“This Task Force: TITANOMACHY! We have retaken Vanguard 2! Battalion command has been routed! Battalion Com-*SSRCH*” A loud squelch cut off the victorious transmission as a wreath of energy pulsed out from the moon. That same multicolored band of energy that the Battalion had been firing at them all this time now came rushing toward earth, a final doomsday shot to make the victory pyrrhic? Marcus rushed to Raven and Meighan, wrapping his arms about them as the sky grew brighter, and brighter, brighter than the brightest daylight, brighter than the light of Creation, a light that threatened to rob them of sight completely. As it grew closer, a roaring, throbbing sound tried to overpowering their hearing.
“RAVEN!” Darkstryder shouted, “MEIGHAN! NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, I LO-”
*
That terrible flashing sensation came back down to a dull ache. Colors faded, resolving themselves into shapes, thoughts, coherency. Marcus Etter looked around. He was on a rooftop in King’s Row, but the roof had been converted to a bistro, a fancy little bar tucked in the corner. Diners were staring at him dumbfounded. He looked around frantically.
“Raven!? Meighan!?” His family was nowhere in sight. He launched into the air, blowing tables and patrons aside as he scanned nearby rooftops. Nothing. The skyline of King’s Row was different. Buildings were gone that should be there, and other buildings he didn’t recognize were in their place. He jetted for Nemesis Manor, a cold sweat forming on his brow, heart racing mile a minute. It was still there, but life and unlife was gone from it, the windows boarded up, a demolition notice on the front door. The old skylights were begrimed and didn’t respond to his signals to open them. Darkstryder could hear the blood pumping in his ears as he crashed through the roof, dust and debris scattering in his wake. Any wards put in place by the Council’s more arcane-inclined adherents failed to activate. That could only mean a very narrow band of options.
The jet boots screeched along with the man in the armor as he blasted out of the remains of Nemesis Manor, building materials dissolving around him like a shed skin as he soared into the skies above Paragon. A hero was approaching, demanding he identify himself. Without a second thought, Darkstryder raised his gauntlet, unleashing a hail of bullets at the do-gooder, who dodged to the side before being pelted with gunfire. A burst of afterburners allowed him time to put distance between him and the cape before he could get tied up with them. A couple more minutes of slightly less frenzied flight lead to him alighting atop a building in Steel Canyon. He scanned the apartment he shared….. had shared, with his wife and daughter. He gritted his teeth, tears now flowing freely down his cheeks. The apartment had none of the readings of his tech, no biometrics matching either of them. He sank to his knees on the rooftop, a black form stark against the bright blue day sky. Recriminations, rage, and pleas shouted up towards a world that had left him behind, that had robbed him of the family he had been a part of. Eventually, his voice grew hoarse and his tears would no longer come, and the sun began to sink below the horizon. As night came to Paragon, Darkstryder began to plan.
*
Based on his research, the best Marcus could tell, after the Battalion had been defeated, life had gone on about as normally as it could for Paragon City and the world. Attempts to research the final blast of the Battalion had proved less than fruitful, aside from the usual new crop of supers empowered by the blast’s strange energies. Time Travelers who attempted to return back to the event found that they could not, blocked by a maelstrom of temporal chaos. Marcus couldn’t go back, so he could only go forward. Several books lay open on the table as he crossed the room to another table where a figure was strapped down. His impassable mask was the first thing the man saw when he awoke.
“I’lltellyouwhatyouwanttoknowjustdon’thurtmeplease.” The man whimpered, shrinking away. It seemed Darkstryder had chosen a most pliable subject. He held up a picture of a viewing device.
“The transplanar viewer, how is it made?” He rumbled through his speakers. The man, he was an older gentleman, seemed surprised.
“Why not just use a Portal and tr-”
“TELL ME!” The speakers on his suit amplified his demand, shaking his captives innards. It also seemed to jostle loose his memory, as he began discussing resonant materials, exotic energies, and necessary fusion techniques for constructing the device. Darkstryder listened carefully, clarifying calmly when a principle wasn’t one he was specifically familiar with.
“And one last, you’ll need a cry-” The scientist’s last instruction was interrupted by the crumbling of the warehouse wall.
“Professor Orel, are you ok?” A pair of brightly dressed figures rushed to the table. One in a light tunic, wielding a blade seemingly made of gossamer, the other in a red and white spandex combo. Darkstryder stirred beneath the rubble.
“Red, get him out-” Before the blade wielder could finish their sentence, the red hero and Professor Orel were gone. With an annoyed growl, the armored form of Darkstryder loomed up out of the debris.
“Fae Blade, I thought I told you to stop meddling in my affairs.” He sized up his opponent. A magic based melee combatant, Fae Blade had been dogging his steps the past few months, this battle about to be the latest of several such clashes.
“And I told you, Dorkstryder, I do what I want!” Fae Blade launched forward, several copies of their blade lashing out. Marcus frowned beneath the mask, holding his wrists up and spurting flames to disrupt their lunge. He was preparing a counterblow when Darkstryder was blinded-sided, emergency systems kicking in as he was slammed into the wall by the red hero.
“Oh, yah, meet my buddy Red Shift, figured I could use some backup after our showdown in Skyway City.” Fae Blade continued to talk as Darkstryder tried to clock Red Shift, but the speedster infuriatingly kept moving out of the way as Fae Blade moved closer, rune-inscribed shackles appearing in their hands. Darkstryder struggled more, not about to have his plan unraveled by a jaunt into the Ziggurat or worse, depending on who Fae Blade actually answered to. Several drones smashed their way out of boxes, launching artillery and gunfire towards the heroes. Red Shift seemed to move between the bullets as Fae Blade parried several with their weapon. Momentarily loosed, Darkstryder launched several pieces of artillery of his own, moving to grab his notes from the tables that had miraculously not been totalled yet in the fray.
Red Shift had dismantled a half-dozen drones by the time Darkstryder’s grenades went off, explosions and lights and smoke crowding the air. He was turning and twisting through the smoke as Darkstryder launched into the air, firing on where he’d last seen Fae Blade, forcing Red Shift to divert course to save his comrade. Another drone attacked the duo, Fae Blade locking blades with it as it leaned forward, an approximation of Darkstryder’s menace to keep them both from following.
“Go, stop him!” Fae yelled, Red Shift on the move again as their partner did battle. Running up the side of the building, Red Shift could see Darkstryder lifting into the night sky. He bounced off the building, leaping onto the villain attempting to escape. Darkstryder thrashed as suddenly he was weighed down by another person.
“Dammit, can’t you just leave me alone!?” He snarled, flailing at Red Shift who kept not being where he was supposed to.
“Nope! Gonna bring you down!” Red Shift taunted, rapidly kicking at his jet boots, trying to disrupt them. Darkstryder fired buckshot blasts around himself, finally catching Red Shift with a shot. He fell away, more stunned than anything. Darkstryder took the opportunity to get away while the speedster brought himself down safely. He almost had everything for the next phase of his plan, but he needed to figure out the last material Orel had been referring to before the untimely interruption. He would figure out, Marcus had no choice but figure this out…
*
The transplanar viewer was actually smaller than he’d first imagined. Marcus had been expecting it to be more like an electron microscope, or even possibly a spectrometer machine of some stripe. Instead, the viewer appeared to be closer to a circuit board, albeit missing key components. As it is, it was little more than an elaborate hobby project, if hobby projects could be made with materials obtained from experimental research labs. Fae Blade and Red Shift were continuing to dog his steps, joined now in their efforts by another heroic duo, Overclock and the Star Child. What little resources he’d been able to scrounge together since his return, and the Council fall back resources he’d been able to recover, had been burned through by this band of do-gooders who had heedlessly persisted in standing athwart his plans. He simmered in a ruined lab buried deep under Talos Island. The Darkade had long since been gutted and razed after one of his early dalliances came to light, but that made old lair the perfect place to piece together the viewer away from prying eyes.
Marcus eyed the device, comparing it once more with the schematics he’d taken and the notes he’d collected from the researchers that he’d preyed upon. One final piece had been missing, and with Professor Orel in protective care, he’d been unable to run it down. Given the applications and intended possible uses, he’d managed to narrow down the final component to a list of several materials.
A tachyon core
Rikti Computing Node
Shard of Ur-Fel Crystal
Sample of Improbable Tissue
Splinter of Pandora’s Box
Some of these would be next to impossible to obtain with his current resources. Others would be obvious targets given their utility. Given the outlay, it left very little in the way of options….
***
Ur-Fel was an island that appeared off the shores of the Rogue Isles every 20 years for approximately 2-3 months before vanishing into the fog. For the past 3 cycles, the organization known as Arachnos had deployed expeditions to research the island’s unique properties. In addition to its aberrant fauna and alien flora, Ur-Fel had several different growths of crystals that formed at various places in it’s geography. Samples of these crystals had been collected and been found to have applications in several different fields of chemistry, physics, and biology. Ur-Fel Crystals, given their provenance and difficulty of procurement, were highly sought after, and highly guarded. Those not in the care of Lord Recluse’s minions had found their way in research labs on the mainland, in Paragon City. One such lab, Sharp Futures Ltd., had not been as careful as they could about keeping the nature of their research a secret. A probing of a security guard and corroborating with the research assistant she was having a fling with lead Darkstryder to the door of Sharp Futures, a door that had relied on anonymity to keep itself closed. The cloak of anonymity had been stripped away, however, and that left very little in the armorshod man’s way. One of his last squad of drones tore into the lab, while the others lurked atop the buildings outside to provide him a look out should Fae Blade and their friends decide to intervene. A tingle of excitement crept through him as Marcus stepped lively across the lab floor, casually opening fire on the meager automatic defenses that the lab had to safeguard its contents. It would have deterred a normal gang of criminals, or even a fresh from the Zig villain. For Darkstryder, the turrets were buzzing gnats between him and his redemption. Heedless of the alarms screaming, he forced his way into the materials containment area, growing more and more aware of the passing time which would allow for someone to meddle in his actions. He entered the cramped, closet like space, scanners sweeping over several mundane and exotic materials before he fixed on a shard of green crystal. Right as he was about to claim his prize, Red Shift was in front of him.
“Really? Petty theft? Thought you were past this.” The speedster as he lashed out with a series of punches. Darkstryder twitched, his countermeasure activating. A field of electricity covered him, jolting Red Shift, who quickly moved around to try from a different angle. To him, Darkstryder was sluggish, like a lagging character in a game, until he suddenly wasn’t. The black-caped malefactor landed a highly satisfying gut blow on Red Shift, doubling him over.
“H-how!?” Red Shift gasped out as Darkstryder snatched up the crystal and stored it in his suit.
“Metabolism Synchronizer. Allows me to match your output for long enough.” Darkstryder kneed Red Shift on his way out the door. He saw Overclock slowly crashing through the skylight, his drone moving to engage. As he stepped outside, he saw Fae Blade slicing through one of the other drones as several more opened fire on them. It was then the effects of the Synchronizer began to wear off. Darkstryder could feel the world beginning to catch up to him. He had hoped the device would buy him enough time to escape, but it was to no avail. He heard the crash of Overclock’s suit landing in the lab below, the gunfire of the drones attacking Fae Blade, and the high-pitched whine and proximity alarms warning him that Star Child was coming. Rather than try and flee, Darkstryder shifted stance, catching Star Child as she clanged into his armor, trying to shear it apart with sheer force, cosmic energy starting to form an outline around her.
“Wow, you must be D-U-M dumb to think you can go pound for pound with me.” She smarmed at him as the floor began to buckle, lab materials shattered and reacting to the stellar energies building in the lab. Darkstryder rolled his eyes in his helmet. Did these people get all their quips when they got their licenses? Or were they all watching the same trashy TV shows? The micro-reactors in his armor kicked into overdrive as the floor collapsed. Fae Blade took a tumble as the jet boots kicked on and Star Child remained floating, his own grip starting to give. Overclock launched towards the clash, tackling Darkstryder as energy lashed out from Star Child. Overclock seemed to be their group’s strategist, predicting his movements and actions with uncanny understanding. He hated her for it. He planted his palm against her armor as they smashed through a wall into the cool night air. Rivets whirred and sparks flew as he drilled into her carapace.
“What the-!?” Was all she could get out before her speakers cut out and her armor seized. With a series of small explosions, the rivets detonated to allow him to detach from Overclock’s armor, the payload delivered as he wormed out of her grip while she plummeted towards the ground. About this time, all her displays would be playing back a children’s show recording of “Hole in the Bottom of the Sea” as she was locked out of her armor’s systems. With her skills, she’d likely be out in an hour or so.
“RIN!” Star Child cried out as she jetted down to the seized up armor. Marcus hadn’t been sure if there were any personal relationship dynamics in their little group or how it would play out if they did, so this was a slight bonus as his armor boosted back up above the the city’s skyline. Though he would have been lying if he said he didn’t feel a twinge of sympathy as Star Child began to peel open Overclock’s armor…
****
The crystal had proven easily worked and he carefully held up the finished product, a lens that shimmered with colours that very few could describe. Satisfied, Marcus snapped the lens to the circuit board. An hour or so more, and the whole device was integrated into his helmet and monocle. His fingers trembling a little, he turned the module on. A flood of information inundated his display as the multiverse was laid bare to him. He could see infinity, and it was beckoning, oh so inviting….
Marcus ripped the helmet off, gasping for air as if he’d been drowning. He’d seen entire cosmos live and die, the knowledge of a thousand thousand tales had attempted to overwhelm him, and his mind had almost completely broken under the brunt of embracing the planar horizon. He stared at the helmet, the monocle still clicking and whirring as it focused and unfocused on different realities, searching for something. He knew what he wanted to see, but it wasn’t what he needed. He let out a harsh laugh as he began to hook the viewer up to the computers, to process the long search.
***
It’d taken weeks for the hit to come. He was almost worried it would never happen. The screen displayed a battered, dilapidated victorian house. He cross-referenced the image with a sketch he’d found in one of the tomes he’d looted from the Circle of Thorns. It was captioned:
“Prithee thou seekest the knowledge which is lost, and the things which must be kept, thou must keep company with The House of Secrets and the House of Mystery.”
He’d found one of them, a House that was a multiversal nexus point, and an arcane lodestone for the sort of objects and knowledge he would need to finish his work. He’d been unable to locate an equivalent House on his world, but an infinite multiverse meant infinite possibilities. A fire blossomed in him. It was time to go. He would return to Paragon triumphant, or he wouldn’t be coming back at all.
***
Surprisingly, accessing Portal Corp and creating his own false expedition was the easy part. He half expected they just left the system open to let troublemakers get rid of themselves by going to various death trap dimensions and the like. Regardless of apparent ease, he armored up and started making his way to the island where Portal Corp maintained it’s extensive research complex, sensors sweeping the area for signs of Overclock, Fae Blade, Star Child, and Red Shift. It felt almost like relief when he reached the portal and found the heroes waiting for him there.
“Come to say Bon Voyage?” He asked sardonically as he stared them down.
“You’re not escaping, you’ve got crimes to answer for here.” Fae Blade replied, drawing and brandishing their blade.
“Property damage and theft, hardly out of line for this city. Let me pass, and you’ll never hear from me again.” He took a step forward. None of the capes budged.
“That’s not how this works and you know it. You’ve hurt people, ruined careers, and for what? So you can go on some multiversal jaunt?” Overclock next, always pushing to understand, trying to find out what made him tick.
“It’s not just that, what I want is out there. And I didn’t have time to play nice to get what I wanted.” Darkstryder took another step forward, weapons arming.
“That’s not excuse, even if it’s life or death, there are ways to do this without causing harm.” Star Child seemed to chide him. He bristled. They were mouthing platitudes that he’d heard countless times before, maybe had even believed at one point or another, but none of that mattered now when those he’d loved most had been stripped from him. He wanted to shout about the agony he felt every morning he woke up without them there, how it had felt to come back and find that they hadn’t been lucky enough to be spared. The anger bubbled and welled in him. They hadn’t earned the right to pry into his life, and every moment they delayed him was another moment his family was dead.
“SHUT UP!” He shouted suddenly, launching forward with weaponry firing as he tried to rush past them to the portal. Red Shift was there, grabbing onto him. His defense field shocked the speedster as he side checked them, knocking them away.
“MINDER, NOW!” Overclock shouted. A machine shimmered into existence in front of Darkstryder. He smashed into it, feeling it’s many arms grabbing, trying to hold and restrain him. He looked and could see the machinery, the familiar sounds it was making.
“You reverse engineered my tech!?” He snapped indignantly at Overclock, his flame sword slicing them the patchwork of drone parts apart as Overclock summoned more ‘minders’ to ambush him. Star Child smashed into him as soon as he was free, the first minder breaking apart under their impact.
“Just do us all a favor and stay down.” She growled, ripping the chest plate off his armor. While she was taking out her frustration on him, a small device detached from his finger and flew up into her ear. Suddenly, Star Child collapsed on the ground, clutching her head and screamed.
“I would ask you to do the same.” Darkstryder maintained his footing, sparking and leaking radioactive effluent as he stumbled up the ramp towards the portal. Minders interposed themselves. Beneath the helmet, his brow furrowed. If they were his drones. His gauntlets unleashed a wash of fire, the minder’s motions becoming uncertain and jerky as the sensor data became inconclusive. He could hear Overclock attempting to defuse the sonic device he had playing against Star Child’s ear drum. He shoved a Minder aside as Fae Blade leapt over the flame to confront him.
“No more tricks.” They shouted, pressed the enchanted blade against the soft flex-layer his ruptured chestplate had exposed.
“No more tricks.” He replied, right before he tackled them through the portal, the cries of the other heroes echoing as they fell into the eternities…
***
They fell onto another ramp almost identical to the one they’d been fighting on moments before, only this one was rusty and dusty. The combatants pummeled each other, Fae Blade quickly realizing their enchantments were fading as they took several painful blows that wouldn’t have hurt them before going through the portal. They broke off from Darkstryder, reaching for their blade on the ground away from them. Darkstryder stomped on their hand. He could see the leaking radiation was already starting to affect them adversely.
“I told you to stand aside and you. Wouldn’t. Listen!” He punctuated each word with a stomp on Fae Blade. They curled up in a ball.
“J-just kill me and be done with it….” They spat. Darkstryder shook his head.
“You don’t have to die. I can’t have you bringing your friends back to follow me though.” He said solemnly. Wires snaked out to tie the hero up. He needed to work quickly, before they could fire up the Portal from Paragon again. He rushed over to the console in this chamber, not as well kept as the Portal Corp he was used to. Machines that hadn’t seen use in decades sputtered and flared to life, operating on a very rough and temporary back up power.
ENTER COORDINATES: _
The console blinked. He pressed his open palm down across the keyboard, an array of random characters filling the input. He then pressed enter. The portal crackled open as he approached the trussed up Fae Blade.
“Where are you sending me!?” They asked, fear now starting to set in.
“I don’t know, and quite frankly, I don’t care. This wasn’t even my final destination. I was just stopping off here before going to the actual universe I wanted to end up at to throw off any pursuers. I suppose, if your friends can find you, I’m going to universe 193D Stroke Gamma to obtain the Fire of Olympus. You’re Welcome.” And with a contemptuous kick before they could reply, he sent Fae Blade through the portal to parts unknown. He then picked up Fae Blades sword and swung it about a couple times. Not as well balanced as he’d like, but it could be useful. He slid the blade into his belt before smashing the portal console, deactivating it. He then hastily scrawled a note into the ramp.
“This universe is boring, went to another one. Find your friend elseverse if you want to find me.” He then set explosives to trigger the next time someone entered this chamber before he slowly exited. He didn’t plan to go to universe 193D Stroke Gamma (Wherever that was) nor were the Fires of Olympus his goal. Hopefully those red herrings would keep them off his scent while he accomplished his true goals. His armor unsteady, he made his way up and out….
***
It had appeared Portal Corp in this dimension had gone bust back in the 80s due to lack of applicable research on it’s part. The portal he’d destroyed was likely the one working prototype they had made before going under. It was a pity really, it would make getting back home with the family more difficult, but hardly impossible. More importantly, he needed resources to repair his armor, and gain access to the House of Mystery. The first would be easy as it wouldn’t be the first time he’d had to make hack repairs before making a more suitable fix. Depending on who owned Portal Corp, accessing their resources could prove advantageous. And once he figured out more about this world, he could figure how he could access the House.
He connected to the internet and began searching. It was odd to him, it seemed the Portal Corp’s resources were currently being auctioned for pennies on the dollar. Finances were a problem for future him, as long as he could buy the Corp’s facilities now. The money he’d panhandled and stolen from ATM machines would have to do for now. It felt like a bright new beginning for Marcus Etter indeed….