Chapter Text
It was the 1st of January, the dawning of yet another new year, and soon a new order. Yet for a brief time longer or more, everything still seemed to be normal, still the same and nothing less or more. At least as normal as a world filled with countless super-powered individuals could be. The Earth, the Universe itself was still blessed with its champions, its protectors, its heroes; with modern beings like unto the Gods...
During a dark torrential storm, a flash flood began to threaten the Hoover Dam and the innocent people below, until the X-Men; Angel, Beast, Cyclops, Iceman, and Marvelgirl, swooped down in order to contain the potential disaster. And by simply staring intently at the very danger itself, the eyes of Cyclops converged to forestall it with a molten miracle.
Marvelgirl telekinetically pushed various large chunks of dam and debris back into as much as place as possible, while with a wave of both hands, Iceman froze up and sealed any and all remaining leaks and sprays, one by one. As for the Beast and the Angel, they were managing to gather up and lead away the citizens towards safety.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Westview, a robbery of a convenient shop soon went awry. Assisting a few dozen police officers, Vision and the Scarlet Witch sought to prevent the crooks from any chance of escape. However, their lives would be imperilled. A silver blur began to streak in out of the blue left-field and onto the scene itself, already rushing at a speed ten times than that of a normal bullet. Quicksilver, Vision, and the Scarlet Witch, would all soon be in great need of great speed.
Over in New Jersey, Kingpin, Hammerhead, and a few Maggia gangsters were gathering outside behind a bank, preparing to shake it all down. Only to find their destructive intents intercepted and baffled by the power and wonder of indigo light, as Simon Williams, the Wonder Man, and the Power Man, Luke Cage, dashed into sight, posing and cracking their knuckles.
High among the skyscrapers of Manhattan, New York City, responding to a police scanner distress call, the friendly web-slinging neighbourhoods Spider-Man, Kid Arachnid, and Ghost-Spider swung their way together through the yonder.
At an open field in Canada, with sharp adamantium claws emerged from his knuckles, the mutant Wolverine found himself head-to-head as well as toe-to-toe with the likes of Sabre and the Inhuman Cannonball.
Out east in the wake of a mild tremour, a condemned building was coming close to succumbing to the strain of gravity, until the mighty strength of Monica Rambeau, the Captain Marvel, dashed in and forth to buttress the load, allowing some citizens to escape.
And elsewhere and all around the globe, Earth's countless modern gods, be they heroes, villains, or otherwise, engaged in feats defying beliefs. Again, everything still seemed to be normal, as much as it could be, for at least one more split-second.
But then, it happened...
The whole entire planet Earth soon found itself damped and engulfed within a flash of black light coming from nowhere, somewhere, and everywhere at once. It was ephemeral, inexplicable, and instantaneous, and nothing would likely be normal and the same ever again.