Ash walks up to towering figure of Optimus Prime. He looks up with a combination of joy and awe.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Optimus Prime."
"Greeting, but who are you?"
"Ash Grey the Doomsday. The result of human genetic engineering on this version of Earth. A fusion of human, extraterrestrial humanoid, and biological weapon. I'm also a Knight of the Kingdom of Atlantis and one of people assigned to rescue you from Cadmus Upsilon."
"Who is Cadmus Upsilon?"
"Cadmus is an organization created by a group called the Light to produce living weapons for galactic conquest. They opened portals to other universes and captured subjects to use for research." says Ash, showing his nano-edge bone spikes, "We objected to them looting the multiverse. As you would say 'freedom is the right of all sentient beings."
"I could spend hours talking about what happened to all of you, but I would prefer to talk to you back at my base. I've already rescued over nine thousand people – both organic and machine, and now it's time to save you. Autobots, it's time to roll out." says Rorschach.
Suddenly, there a loud explosion.
"Now what!?" yells Ash.
*DOOM*
1st POV
I hate being interrupted. I absolutely loved Transformers to the point I was one of the kids that shed tears when Optimus died. I watched nearly every incarnation of Transformers – 3D animated Beast Wars and Beast Machines, the very anime Robots in Disguise, the crappy Unicron Trilogy, the first three live-action films, the teen titans like Transformers Animated, and the Aligned-Universe especially Prime. My chance to meet Optimus Prime in real life is like a dream. It makes up for all the crap I had to gone through on the previous levels.
Now, some machine has gone out of control. One of those large robotic war machines with an immense arsenal of big guns, laser guns, rockets and missiles is firing on my friends.
*Tsche-chu-chu-chu-tsche*
The War Machine transforms into heavily armored and heavily armed cybertronian with a many spikes, horns, and glowing red eyes. A purple emblem marks it as a Decepticon. The massive Decepticon would make even Optimus look like a small child in comparison.
Part of me guesses this monstrosity is the result of the AllSpark. One the Klutzes must have accidentally triggered it when the exited the TV screen portal and while they caught or killed the other mini-Transformers, they didn't notice the conversion of one of giant war machines. This guy must have been waiting for his chance, but doesn't seem very bright.
The other part of me is filled with rage and the desire to hit something. With a burst of superhuman speed and a super leap, I deliver a punch to the giant's chest. There is a thunderous crack as the chest plate implodes from the force of my fist, then it flies back through the television setup. As it hits the ground covered in a shower of broken glass and fragments of metal and plastic, I leap onto its caved chest and begin to tear.
The Decepiticon screeches in fear and pain as I tear away armor plates. Its movements become even more frantic when I start tear through what's underneath those plates, sending out glowing sprays of liquid energon.
The Decepticon manages to grab and toss me away, severely damaging its arm in the process. It opens fire with everything in its Arsenal. Armor-piercing rounds, incendiary rounds, explosive rounds, plasma beams, laser beams, radiation beams, rockets, and smart missiles. It fires everything in an attempt to destroy the terrifying organic being. I can taste its fear, it would rather fight Unicorn than touch me again.
I plow through the projectiles, explosions, and energy beams. I leap at him with a long glowing red spike. The bone spike is almost like a spear that drive into the heart of the transformer. It's said a Spark is the core of Transformer life.
Cybertronian religions hold that each spark contains an infinitesimally small portion of Primus's divine essence, the equivalent of a human soul. My Soul Manipulation allows me to see the soul of a Transformer. When my spike pierces the Spark Chamber, I can see a light extinguished. I do not know if the soul will rejoin Primus, fall into the Inferno, or simply cease, but I feel a sense of satisfaction. My Inner Monster is happy once more.
The Autobots watch in shock as the dead Decepticon collapses to the ground. As the life energies drain from its cells, the Decepticon's body turns shades of lifeless gray.
"By Primus." says Windblade – a beautiful red-and-black female swordbot whose alt form is an advanced long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft.
"There is a reason why I'm called the Doomsday."
*DOOM*
Cadmus Upsilon Site
Surface
California
March 12, 2013
3rd POV
The Elastic Couple and Gen 13 Team watch as Rorschach's machine shuts down. The shield protecting them dissolves, but they are still protected by the Liberty Primes so there is no alarm.
Suddenly, a brilliant white beam of energy erupts from the center of Cadmus Upsilon. The two-and-a-half-meter wide pillar of energy only lasts a couple seconds, but it leaves a hole going from surface to the very bottom.
Seconds later, a huge portal opens up, releasing twenty vehicles and Rorschach's expanded team. The Elastic Couple and Gen 13 all evacuate the area with the Liberty Primes. Everyone leaves through expanded portals.
After everyone has left, a portal opens and drops a black sphere down the hole before closing.
Seconds after that, Cadmus Upsilon is consumed by light and darkness. An anti-metal field liquifies every nanogram of metal in the Cadmus facility and in the ground supporting it. The intensity is so intense, even silicon, aluminum, and traces of other metals in the soil ignites. The second field is a Decarbonizer which breaks the atomic bonds of all carbon nuclei down to bedrock. Every organic molecule is broken down, leaving not a single microbe, prion, or virus. On the surface, Cadmus Upsilon implodes into a sinkhole of liquified metal, dust, and lifeless dirt.
*DOOM*
Vandal Savage's House Number Six
March 19, 2013
Third POV
"Wakey, wakey, Vandal Savage."
Those sickeningly-sweet words tickling the bare edges of consciousness, Vandal Savage rose to full wakefulness and shot up, only to realize he was strapped down to a chair with an excessive amount of iron straps. Though he was stronger than the average Human, not even he could bend steel bars; and even then, even if he could, without any leverage that was all a moot point.
The immortal blinking his eyes, found himself peering into the face of Cognito Inc.'s television personality, Alexander Armstrong, the actor who brought the character of "Weird Science Rick" to life. Bereft of his blue Einsteinian wig, the gold glint of his eyes revealed that someone else "was home".
"Doctor Genus..." the immortal hummed, realizing he couldn't recall when, where, or how he'd been taken.
"Please, please. Don't get up."
The immortal grumbling, took stock of his surroundings, his eyes going wide as he beheld the rest of The Light was in the uber-genius' custody as well. Like him, they were all in excessive amounts of iron restraints, the only difference being they had what appeared to be a sort of virtual reality headset over their head. Even the brain in his tank, his mechanical pedestal locked in place with a yellow "boot" was not exempt, a plus-sized VR helmet situated over his glass brain case.
"Now, I figure you're already aware of what it is you all did to earn my ire, but I don't want to assume, so I'll allow you the opportunity to explain yourself."
" . . . "
"Fine, then I'll explain what you did wrong for you. Last week, Rorschach and his merry band rescued not only Alex Sky from Cadmus Upsilon, but the nine thousand or so trans-dimensional abductees you were going to strip for parts as well, not to mention all of your 'loot'," he said making air quotes. "Now, messing with the multiverse... that is not something that The Light or Cadmus should be doing lightly. Nay, you lot shouldn't be doing so at all. Rorschach, he wanted to kill half of you, replace them all with LMDs, and watch you twist in the wind as you try to find out who's real and who's a clone. Me on the other hand, I have something a lot more... educational in mind," the body-jacked TV personality said with another VR headset in his hands.
Didn't take an immortal caveman thousands of years wise to find out who was going to be wearing it.
"So please, sit back, relax, and... enjoy the show~" he said forcing the headset onto Vandal's head, lines of logos and text appearing before his eyes.
COGNITO INC. AMUSPHERE ONLINE
LOADING: DEAD SPACE TRILOGY
LINK START
The next moment a prismatic tunnel of technicolor lights washed over him, and then...
Chapter 16: [Fallen Stars] - Part 3 – Lost Stars.
*DOOM*
March 12, 2013 - Rorschach's Team rescued Alex Sky from Cadmus Upsilon. We also rescued over nine thousand five hundred subjects that had been kidnapped from numerous Universes. Cadmus Upsilon was then annihilated down to bedrock.
March 19, 2013 – Rorschach captured the members of The Light and explained why plundering the multiverse for anything and everything that wasn't "bolted down" is a bad idea. He did this by showing them the world they would have eventually accessed – the world of Dead Space. The members of the Light got to experience weeks of horror ending with Earth's transformation into a Brethren Moon. According to Rorschach, Klarion loved the experience and I wouldn't be surprised If I see him streaming one day.
March 20, 2013 – Rorschach's revenge for the comment I made about Entrapta and Hordak. He somehow created a Amusphere that locked me in a virtual world. I experienced being a Baby Doomsday for an entire year before I broke the system. In the real world, only two Hours, twenty-five Minutes and fifty-nine Seconds passed. I agreed to watch my comments around his daughter and he agreed not to try that again.
March 31. 2013 - The Cognito Amusphere VR Set is advertised.
*DOOM*
Mad Science Rick walks onto a white screen and snaps his fingers. The background changes into a mixture of images.
"Hey! Listen Up! This is 'Mad Science Rick'! Cognito Entertainment already gives you best films and shows in the multiverse! Now, we are giving you best games! We present Cognito Amusphere VR!"
A VR headset console consisting of two overlapping rings appears. It's on a clear plastic head that slowly rotates for the viewer.
"This is a full immersion – you experience the game as if you were a part of them. You can not only see and hear, but you can smell the air, taste the food, and feel everything! While your mind enjoys a new world, your body is safely resting with no endangerment to yourself or others."
Four images are displayed. One image is a young girl lying peaceful on her pink/purple bed with the Amusphere around her head. On the screen above, she's dressed as swordswoman slashing evil goblins to pieces (blood and gore turned off since it's an advertisement). Another image shows a young man playing a game on an inferior bulker console. In the game he's slashes an enemy, but in the real world he's beating up a friend with a remote.
"Is it safe? YES! If you die in the game, you log out. If your game loses power, you wake up safe in your bed or wherever you were playing. Power surge from supervillain lightning, your Amusphere won't be damaged. This thing has more safety features than some Cognito Medical machines and they are better than everyone else."
An image young man in stereotypical 1950s Greaser with a leather jacket and a retro-futuristic raygun looking up a silver flying saucer. The flying saucer fires an energy beam that washes over the young man and leaves behind a statue of ash that crumbles with a cartoon sound effect. The image switches to the real world, showing the player waking up, snapping his fingers, then going right back to playing.
"Want to stream your game play for your fans on the tube? No problem! All our games come with ghost camera drones that will record and/or stream your action if you desire!"
An image of a fantasy sorceress placing a floating silver eye camera in a certain position. When she lets so, it becomes invisible. Then it shows the footage being edited on a computer and a final video being uploaded to a video sharing and streaming platform.
"Don't have time to play a ton of video games? Not a problem with virtual time compression feature. You could do a six-hour stream in a virtual world and only six minutes will pass in the real world."
A young girl is do various fantasy game quests, while her real body rests in the real world. There are clocks above their heads. At first the game is moving at normal speed, while the real world is in slow motion. Then both move at sixty times speed, making the game go fast forward, while the real world is normal speed.
"What kind of games do we have?"
Rorschach holds up a game box and clips from a cinematic and gameplay trailer begin. Below is the web address for Cognito Game site to see the full trailers.
"Do you want to go to a Fantasy world become an adventurer and fight monsters. Cognito has the answer. You want to live out a Fantasy – Welcome to Tales of Varia."
Typical D&D Classes and Races fighting against monsters and demons in a very stylish fantasy world. There is swordsmanship, various forms of magic, and magical pets that can level up with you. It even shows players flying using fairy wings or flying on the back of mounts like Griffins or Dragons. There is also text "Absolutely no micro-transactions".
"Do you like science fiction? Do you wish you were part of ship's crew? To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before! Welcome to Space Trek Online."
People of various alien races onboard a spaceship. it shows characters explore bizarre world and meeting aliens. It shows a man with a phaser protecting a group of colonists from invaders. It shows a player commanding a starship.
"Do you like FPS Games? We have all First-Person Shooters. Explore the past, present, and future of warfare from the eyes of a soldier. Welcome to Universal Shooter Online."
Soldiers moving in urban combat zones. It looks like another Call of Duty, only with absurdly superior graphics, but soon more features are shown. The video shows you can pick maps form various timelines with period accurate technology. You could be a lightly armed soldier back in the trenches of World War II. You could be a modern soldier hunting down terrorists with the best modern gear. You could be an enhanced soldier in power armor fighting extraterrestrial soldiers.
"Have you ever wished to be able to do anything? To be free of all morals and laws, and commit any crime without Heroes and police ending your fun. Explore a world where you can be as bad as you want to be and burn the world to the ground if you desire. Welcome to Crime & Chaos."
A crime-filled city that could easily match Gotham, Bludhaven, and Hub combined. Cars and other structures are exploding, while players run around with stolen money and huge guns. Some are driving fast cars, some are piloting planes, and some are even on boats. There is a sign in the background that reads "Absolutely No Superheroes", while a man in a Halloween Mask destroys buildings with a giant Mecha out of some sort of anime.
"Have you ever dreamed of being a Hero? To fly in the sky, to move faster than sound, to command the oceans, or be a warrior woman bending men to her will? Maybe you dreamed of being a stealth master with an unlimited number of spy-gadgets. Pick your powers and fight for your beliefs in Heroes & Hope."
A nice day in the beautiful city is interrupted by some criminals in masks robbing a bank. They are led by a tall thin man dressed like a mime. As they leave the bank, they are confronted by a group of heroes. They are Espys of the Justice League with flying man dressed in blue with a cape, a blue-clad speedster surrounded by arcs of lightning, a green ocean-themed hero with a gold trident, a white-clad woman with gold armor and chains, and man in black dressed in a hooded cape with a utility belt.
"Fantasy Vacations"
Numerous vacation spots. Endless white sand beaches of a tropical paradise. Warm Caribbean waters filled with coral and colorful fish. Hawaiian beaches with surfers on huge waves. Snowy skiing mountains in Europe with warm inviting cabins. Immense water parks with hundreds of rides and no lines.
"We have Adult entertainment. Welcome to Cognito Adult Amusphere!"
The only images shown are Entertainment Software Rating Board's Rating of "A: Adults Only 18+). There is also a line of text that reads "If you don't know what this means, you must be new to the internet."
"We have everything you want. We are Cognito!"
*DOOM*
Doomsday Bunker
March 31. 2013
1stPOV
I'm sitting on my coach looking at the box on the coffee table in front of me. A box that I know contains a Deluxe version of the Cognito Amusphere designed for my unique physiology. Identical to the device that had me playing a "Baby Doomsday" for a virtual year.
"Not a chance in Hell."
I go back to watching my Anime. As I look through the channels, I see a My Hero Academia film. This is something you will not find with normal Cognito Cable programming. It was removed from the lists after the Cadmus Upsilon mission to protect the Quirked subjects. The only exceptions being myself and the Academia crowd themselves.
*DOOM*
Lunar Base: Rorschach's Rescue & Recovery Site
Flashback – March 15, 2013
It's been three days since the rescue of over nine thousand subjects from Project Cadmus' Upsilon Base. Since then, Cognito's robots have been tending to the medical and legal issues of so-many "refugees". Medical machines have been doing detailed medical analyzes of the subjects, screening them for pathogens, and vaccinating them against native pathogens because the last thing this world needs is an epidemic (let alone a Pandemic). However, for old or recent injuries, while they could be tended to before the subjects were all woken up, an ethical conundrum was doing invasive medical work on unwilling subjects.
The biggest issue at present was breaking the news to all of them. Waking up in a strange land, with no chance of ever getting home? A true hell on both the giving and receiving ends.
Many of the abductees... were not taking the news well. Many of them had friends, family, and responsibilities in their own worlds. To be stolen away from all of that by an amoral cabal of super-villains, physically and mentally violated with their bodies explored like lab animals while their minds were poisoned by false memories of a simulated reality, the uncertainty of what was real and "what wasn't" would be a crippling hurdle. Some of the subjects simply broke down in the face of losing "everything", and that was only among the few hundred taken in awake. When it came time to break the news to thousands of individuals stolen across from all the multiverse, the suicide rates might become astronomical.
At present, only a small number of the nine thousand-plus abductees were awake or had been awakened, predominantly those from worlds focused around super-heroism, since they would adapt the easiest, at least in the long-term. When it came to the clones, programmed to be servants to The Light and Cadmus both, were placed in quarantine as they grappled with what it meant to have true autonomy.
In the months if not years to come, Cognito Inc. would have to outsource hundreds of not thousands of competent psychologists from the world over, because the mental health programs alone weren't, and would not, "cut it". As Arkham Asylum proved, many so-called "shrinks" were closer to complete quacks or snake oil salesman, so the vetting process would have to be extremely rigorous, since these weren't ordinary people being dealt with, but trans-dimensional abductees who had been violated in one way or another; many of whom had superpowers. Even Black Canary, who was opposed to Rorschach's methods, was able to put her abrased ego aside for the sake of so many hurt individuals; especially the children, who would take the sudden change the hardest.
Among the current batch being brought out of stasis were those from the world of My Hero Academia, the Heroes and Villains respectively separated.
"Uuuuugh..." Toshinori Yagi, formerly known as All Might, groaned as he steadily came to.
"Ah, Mr. Yagi, you're awake."
"Who... are you?" the emaciated-looking man inquired as he squinted away from the light. When they adjusted, he found a fit Chinese man in a white lab coat standing over him, a tablet in hand.
"I am Accomplished Perfect Physician."
"Really? Isn't that a bit on-the-nose?"
"Says the man who used to call himself... 'All Might', was it?"
"Where... am I...?"
"You and your associates are in a safe place, though at present a few of you are experiencing symptoms of Hibernation Sickness."
"Hibernation?" Toshinori blinked, sitting up to find himself in some sort of pod, his eyes panning a clinically white, futuristic-looking room to take stock of everyone that was present.
His peers included Nemuri Kayama/Midnight, Shota Aizawa/Eraserhead, Hizashi Yamada/Present Mic, Rumi Usagiyama/Mirko, Shinji Nishiya/Kamui Woods, Yu Takeyama/Mt. Lady, and Ryuko Tatsuma/Ryukyu. His eyes went wide as he beheld many of his students in attendance as well; Izuku Midoriya/Deku, Ochako Uraraka/Uravity, Tenya Iida/Ingenium, Shoto Todoroki/Shoto, Tsuyu Asui/Froppy, Katsuki Bakugou/Dynamight, Mina Ashido/Pinky, Denki Kaminari/Chargebolt, Eijiro Kirishima/Red Riot, Hanta Sero/Cellophane, Kyoka Jiro/Earphone Jack, and Fumikage Tokoyami/Tsukuyomi from his own Class 1-A. From the other courses were Ibara Shiozaki/Vine, Setsuna Tokage/Lizardy, Itsuka Kendo/Battle Fist of Class 1-B, Mei Hatsume of the Support Course, and Hitoshi Shinso of the General Course. What worried him most was that the "Big Three" were present as well; Mirio Togata/Lemillion, Nejira Hado/Nejire-Chan, and Tamaki Amajaki/Sun Eater.
By Mirio and Izuku's worried faces, it was clear they were worried for Eri's safety, given she was not present.
"What... What happened?"
"That is above my pay grade, I'm afraid," Accomplished Perfect Physician returned. "As soon as everyone regains their bearings, everything will be explained by one of your rescuers in full."
"Rescuer...? Were we captured...?"
"In a very bad way, from what I'm told. Several suicides have already occurred amongst the other groups, so if we need to flood the room with tranquilizers, please don't hold it against us."
"Suicides?!" the former No.1 Hero cried, his students all running over toward him.
"A-All Might, do you know what's going on?" Izuku asked worried.
"I'm as in-the-dark as you are. Is this everyone present?"
"Minus Eri, we're all here. At least if the pods are any indicator," Izuku answered. "Do you... remember how we got here?"
"No. I'm afraid I'm as in-the-dark as everyone else," he answered. "Has anything happened while I was out?"
"Only that Accomplished Perfect Physician was checking on our health; 'Hibernation Sickness' he called it. He isn't any Hero I'm familiar with, and... The technology here... It's more-advanced than anything from I-Island."
"Really?" Toshinori blinked incredulously, looking toward a wall recess where Midnight ordered a fruity parfait, which appeared in a shimmer of light as though by magic.
"I tried asking Hatsume what the pods were for, and she said... Well, they were basically like the things from that old movie franchise, The Matrix?"
"I'm amazed everyone's so calm," he said climbing out of his pod, grabbing the lip for support.
"Not all of us. Kacchan tried to... extract more information from Accomplished Perfect Physician, but he just... told him to stop and induced some kind of Paralysis. At first, I thought it was something like Hitoshi's Quirk, but there was no verbal dialogue between the two, and yet-"
*Bee-doo-beeep~* the room suddenly chimed, cutting off Izuku before he could go off on a muttering spree.
"Everyone, if I could have your attention, please," a voice said over the intercom. "If you would be so kind as to follow the illuminated line to the conference room, the mandatory debriefing will take place." At this, a golden circle appeared in the center of the room before a line traced its way toward the room's singular exit. "Also, please note that any violent actions directed toward your fellow refugees will be met with fierce and immediate retaliation."
"Refugees?" Toshinori blinked.
"Please save any and all questions for the mandatory debriefing. Thank you, and have a nice day," the voice concluded, the door at the end of the room whooshing open.
"So..." Mina hummed as she looked towards the yawning portal. "Who wants to go first?"
*DOOM*
"HOLY SHIT! IS THIS THE FUCKING MOON?!" Mina cried, the first to find their voice.
Upon exiting the previous room, everyone had been admitted into a futuristic-looking hallway in tones of black, blue, and gunmetal colors. What held everyone's attention however was the panoramic-view window, showing a gray expanse of lunar soil and craters, while the Earth hung in the far distance among the stars. It took a few seconds for everyone to realize they weren't dreaming, and like sensible people, they quickly assumed it was some kind of recording on a monitor with very high image fidelity.
"Now disengaging localized gravity."
A moment later all eyes went wide as the floor fell out beneath them, only for all present to realize it wasn't the floor that was moving, but that they were! Limbs pinwheeling and bodies spinning wildly, Ochako crying out that she had absolutely nothing to do with the sudden loss of gravity, after several seconds the air began to hum before everyone was deposited back onto the floor, those that could landing on their feet while others landed less-gracefully.
"I hope you all realize the... gravity, of your situation."
"Yeah, very funny..." Midnight grumbled as she and the others got to their feet, following the golden line to the left. Along the way they passed by other groups, some with Heteromorphs, some without, clad in all sorts of clothing and costumes, talking soberly among themselves as they stared out at the stars. Some looked out in awe, but others looked despondent, like they were grappling with some impossible knowledge.
"Well, we're here," Present Mic said as the illuminated line on the floor suddenly cut left into another doorway. "So... What do you think he meant by 'refugees'?"
"Seeing as how we're on the moon apparently, the only rational course to take is forward," Eraserhead hummed. The doors opening wide, everyone filed into what looked like an ordinary-looking conference room. A little sci-fi-y, but with lots of warm-colored wood paneling and furniture, a small stage at the head of the room with a screen behind it, and more than enough seats and tables to accommodate everyone.
"Well... It seems normal," Present Mic hummed as everyone began to file in, but still finding some seating to spare.
The moment everyone was in and the door shut behind them, a swirling tide of white paint intermingled with black ink spun to life on the pedestal at the front of the room. The Pros girding themselves for battle while shoving the kids to the back, an impressively-built man in a suit, trench coat, fedora, and shifting Rorschach-patterned mask strode out, a futuristic gun resembling a barcode scanner in his hand which he holstered, the portal disappearing behind him. When the enigmatically-dressed man stepped up to the pedestal and started leafing through some index cards, the group calmed down when they realized they weren't under attack.
"Greetings, my Hero Name is 'Rorschach'. If you could all take your seats, we'll begin the mandatory debriefing," the ink-faced man stated after clearing his throat. The others, though wary, had no choice but to comply, inspecting their seats for any sort of hidden gadgetry before making themselves comfortable. "Since the majority of you are from Japan, I'm just going to get to the point: Who here has read a manga or light novel of the 'Isekai' sub-genre?"
Half the students and a few of the adults responded in turn, a little worried of where the man was going with this, but hoping they were just being paranoid.
"Long story brutally short... you, as well as countless others, have all been abducted from countless alternate worlds through a blending of science and magic by a criminal cabal who intended to either bend you to their will or strip you for parts. I also want to go on to say that no, this," he said pointing to the floor, "is not that organization. Several days ago, you were all rescued by a 'rival company', of sorts, and we brought you out of stasis after screening you for any contagious pathogens."
As was to be expected, Rorschach was flooded with questions, denials, outrage, and so-on. However, one voice in particular cut through them all.
"WHERE'S ERI?!" Mirio demanded. "I counted the pods in the other room, and there was one more vacant than there were of us, so I know she's here!"
"At the moment she's helping the good doctor with a little... science project," Rorschach alluded cryptically, those that were involved in the girl's rescue shooting to their feet before the monitor behind the Rorschach-faced man came to life. On it was an incredibly-old man with a hunched back with gray hair clad in a white lab coat, shown from behind and working in front of an impossibly-complex looking chemical laboratory. To his side was Eri, sitting on a stool and gargling some sort of chemical solution, a glass beaker in her hands, before she spat the contents back in, cutely wiping her chin with her sleeve. A moment later Eri handed over the beaker, the 'good doctor' trading it for a chocolate bar with an infinity symbol on the wrapper. "As you can clearly see, the little one is in no danger."
"Why did she give that scientist her backwash?" Nejire demanded.
"Because Dr. Genus needs a genetic base to make a 'Quirk-Erasing Counteragent' for, and backwash was the most misery-free solution," Rorschach replied, those around Mirio going dumb with shock.
"You... What...?" Mirio gawped, Izuku going slack in the jaw at what they just heard.
"Unlike that wackadoo with the plague mask, Dr. Genus isn't some hack who needs harvested tissue samples to work with Eri's Meta Ability; the DNA from backwash is more than enough to work with," Rorschach explained as Dr. Genus finished his work in the background of the feed, turning slightly and handing Eri a large pill bottle before getting up and walking out of frame, his face never once showing. "Well, that got finished sooner than expected," Rorschach said taking out his futuristic-looking barcode scanner and shooting it off above Mirio's head, Eri dropping out of frame and into the room a moment later, chocolate bar and pill bottle clutched in her arms.
"Mirio! Mirio!" the little girl beamed as he caught her in his arms. "Dr. Genius! He says this'll fix your Quirk!" she said holding out the pill bottle. "Also, good news, everyone!"
"Th-That's great, Eri. He didn't hurt your or anything, did he?" Mirio asked, the girl shaking her head before Mirio set her down and opened the pill bottle, turning out a glossy black oblong sphere the size of a kiwi into his palm. "Um... How am I supposed to swallow this?"
"You're not. It's a suppository," Rorschach replied causing those around Mirio to wince. "Do you want your Quirk back or not?"
" . . . I'm not sure if I want it back this badly," the blond admitted as he stared at the kiwi-sized medicine.
"Dammit, don't be such a baby and take your medicine like a man," Bakugou growled.
"Hey, listen, this was all cute and sappy and all... but can we PLEASE get back to the point, here?!" Mirko demanded.
"Yeah, what do you mean we've been taken to another world?" Yu called out.
"Will we have to fight a Demon Lord to get back home?" Fumikage inquired.
*CLAP!*
"All of you, focus," Rorschach said clapping his hands. "I'm trying to avoid a mass panic here."
"Holy crap!" Mina suddenly cried. "This chocolate bar's regenerating!"
At this everyone turned toward Eri, the girl's eyes, and the eyes of those around her, wide with shock as the bite she'd taken from the chocolate bar Dr. Genus gave her proceeded to fill itself back in like it'd never been bitten into in the first place.
"Don't think about the math behind it. It'll make your heads explode," Rorschach hummed.
"Rorschach," Toshinori stated aloud. "The word 'refugee' has been used a lot, and you just told us we were abducted like something from a light novel. Those people we passed in the hallway... Were they abducted as well?"
"Hold it!" Bakugou growled. "How do we know he isn't one of the kidnappers and that he isn't just screwing with us?"
"Would we have let you all out of stasis if we were?" Rorschach said frankly, Bakugou having no real answer to that which'd further his own point, the angsty teen returning to his seat begrudgingly. "Anyway, the other abductees from your world will be coming in soon for the rest of the seminar," he said as a PowerPoint titled So You've Found Yourself in Another World: What Now? came to life on the screen behind him. "So, if you could all return to your seats-"
A moment later the door opened, Rorschach rubbing the bridge of his nose as Himiko Toga, Jin Bubaigawara/Twice, Atsuhiro Sako/Mister Compress, and Dabi came into the room, receiving almost the exact reception he had expected of them if they had come in at an inopportune time.
"YOU ASSHOLES!?" Bakugou demanded as he leapt to his feet, Quirk flaring in his hands as he lunged at the Villains, only for a swirl of white and black to appear in front of him, the explosive seen sailing face-first into the wall on the opposite side of the room with a loud *THUD!*
"ORDER! I DEMAND ORDER!" Rorschach demanded waving his portal gun about threateningly. "These former League of Villain members are victims just like the rest of you-"
"Former?" Aizawa questioned aloud. "Hold on, let me guess; this world has no outstanding warrants for any of their arrests, so they aren't considered 'criminals' anymore?"
"Pretty much, yeah."
"Yeah, well, they're still criminals in our eyes," Yu huffed, rubbing at the spot on her forehead she'd taken that hit.
"And do you lot even have the slightest inclination as to why they became criminals?" Rorschach inquired. "And no, them being 'evil from the start', is not a rational answer."
"I think that was a jab at your thing," Yamada whispered to Aizawa.
"Since we'll never be able to get through the rest of this seminar as long as the giant elephant is in the room, I'm just going to clear the air," Rorschach said gesturing the "former" Villains take a seat. "And in case you decide not to listen to me, let me remind you that I can flood this room with nerve gas."
"But you'll get hit too!" Twice called out before heckling- "Dumbass!"
In response to this, Rorschach took a vial of yellow fluid from his pocket and downed it through his mask.
"Not anymore," he replied. "Now, let's get to the adorable serial killer in the stylish cardigan, Himiko Toga. Why did she turn into a quote/unquote 'Villain'? Because the complete and utter failings of your Hero-dependent society allowed for the stigmatization of what should've been an easily remediable condition; Himiko's not only physical, but mental need for blood, as shown in this artist's rendition," he said pressing a button on his pedestal.
The image to follow, the words Artist's Rendition appearing at the bottom in big bold letters, looked like a still taken from one of the later seasons of Daily Life with a Monster Girl from Cognito Cable. In the background were a line of men donating blood while chatting with one another, reading books, or watching TV; but it's wha was in the foreground that caught everyone's notice. Sitting at a table and drinking fruity-looking blood-colored beverages were a Mosquito Girl, a Leech Girl, a Lamprey Girl, a Vampire, and Himiko Toga in a schoolgirl uniform. All of them seem to be gabbing happily without a care in the world, drinking their blood-colored beverages without any fear of being judged or persecuted for their lifestyle.
"Had your world actually developed any sort of empathy for Quirks that weren't 'marketable' for a capitalist society, this is how Himiko Toga would've been spending her weekends, as opposed to, well... this," Rorschach continued showing a not-so-flattering image of Himiko Toga slurping blood out of a person's neck with a bendy straw.
"Ugh, did you have to use that picture?" Himiko groaned as everyone recoiled form her 'Oh Face'.
"In the beginning of your superhuman society, those with Meta Abilities were stigmatized up until the 'Quirk Saturation Threshold' exceeded 50%. However, since you call so completely and utterly failed to learn from your history, the stigmatization of those who were 'different' was repeated, and thus Himiko was forced into the only path left open for her. Had there been 'Blood Cafes' for her to go to alongside all the other blood-drinking Heteromorphs, she could've led a much more fulfilling life," Rorschach finished. "Speaking of which, Himiko, how were the samples?"
"Delicious~" the blood-drinking girl purred, the juice box in her hand revealed to be a Juicebox-shaped blood pack.
"Ah, so then you can't tell it's a misery-free blood substitute?"
"It is?!" the blond gawped incredulously.
"Moving on... we discuss Jin Bibaigawara, otherwise known as 'Twice'. His story is a little less tragic since it's less a failing of the society he lived in, than it was caused by poor impulse control."
"Hey, I resemble that remark!"
The next "Artist's Rendition" to appear on the screen showed multiple copies of Jin beating the ever-loving shit out of one another, if not outright murdering one another, one of them tied to a chair.
"Because Jin used his Quirk to make clones to do all the stuff hedidn't want to do, they went on a 'strike' that turned out badly. This Jin right here, being the only survivor, is weighed down by the existential crisis of 'Am I the real one, or a Clone?'"
"That's so tragic!" Himiko cried, though the sentiment was dampened by her taking a sip of her 'misery-free blood substitute'. "Can't your science guy tell him if he's a 'real boy' or not?"
"We already checked that before bringing you all out of stasis. He's the real deal."
"How do you know?" Dabi questioned.
*BANG!*
"That's why," Rorschach said lowering his sidearm to his side, Jin letting out a panicked cry as blood spurt from the wound in his gut. "Now, see!" he shouted to speak over the other man's shouting, "if this Jin were really one of his clones, he'd have melted into sludge. The fact that he hasn't however, proves he's the real deal," he said pulling out what looked like a white first aid kit with a red cross on it before chucking it at the yowling Villain. The box hitting him, disappeared amidst green sparkles as Jin's wound was not only healed, but his clothes repaired. "Moving on, Atsuhiro Sako, aka 'Mister Compress'... Okay, there isn't anything wrong with him mentally, he's just a kleptomaniac with sticky fingers who fancies himself the next 'Arsene Lupin'. Next example. Toya Todoroki, otherwise known as Dabi-"
"Wait... WHAT?!" Todoroki, and most of his peers, cried out.
"Yeah, I know, real shocker," Rorschach said rolling his eyes behind his mask. "His mental issue came from the same psychological abuse you endured, Shoto. Toya was raised with the expectation of surpassing All Might, even though he lacked the sub-Quirk to use his [Cremation] ability safely. After he was 'abandoned' as Endeavor's successor in place of the man's latest eugenics experiment, you... Well, the history speaks for itself."
It went without saying that the recent revelation had left everyone speechless. Dabi looked like he wanted to roast the ink-faced man alive, but a click of the podium revealed footage of Rorschach transforming into a plant-like creature that incinerated five Noumu-like creatures in a massive column of fire. While the footage revealed more questions than answers, they were all too speechless by this and the previous revelation to comment.
"As for why Cognito Inc. cares about whether or not you can all get along? It's because you've all been abducted trans-dimensionally, and the chances of you ever seeing home again are incredibly slim, so you need to accept the fact that you're all here, and try to make the best of a bad situation," Rorschach explained. "The 'Villains' won't be able to rehabilitate themselves if the 'Heroes' 'won't let them'."
"You said the chances of ever seeing home again were slim, but not impossible," Toshinori hummed, still grappling with the revelation that most of the League of Villain's present members were created due to societal failings, rather than willful malice.
"I did, but the chance you do have is so small it wouldn't even be worth the effort."
"A Hero's job is to overcome those odds," Toshinori argued.
"Yeah, but those are still pretty bad odds, skeleton-man," a voice said from the overhead vent, drawing all eyes upward as a lilac-haired girl's head popped out. "One-in-a-million odds, one-in-quadrillion? Those are odds that humans can still break, but those odds are nothing compared to what you're dealing with now," she said, grunting and huffing as she tried to free herself.
"Entrapta..." Rorschach chided. "What did I tell you about climbing through the vents?"
" . . . Not to..."
"And what do I see you doing?"
" . . . Climbing through the vents."
" . . . "
"Sorry, dad," she wilted.
"It's fine. Just try not to do it again," Rorschach said pulling out his portal gun and shooting a round above his head. Leaping up into it and grabbing onto something, Entrapta yelped before she was pulled up into her own vent, before being pulled down out of the portal by her ankles, the ink-masked man setting his apparent daughter to the ground. "Anyway, how about I let this little bundle of joy tell you all why you're kinda screwed," he said ruffling her hair.
"Right! So as I was saying, a one-digit code going from Zero to Nine gives you a one-in-ten odds; press a random button and you have a ten percent chance of getting the right one. A two-digit code gives you one-in-a-hundred odds, or one-in-ten-to-the-power-of-two," Entrapta said working with the podium, making numbers appear on the screen. "Zero-zero to ninety-nine. One million is ten to the power of six. Quadrillion is ten to the power of fifteen. The code for your home universe is one-hundred ninety-six thousand eight-hundred thirty-three digits long, meaning your chances are one in ten to the power of one-hundred ninety-six thousand eight-hundred thirty-three. If you were brought here with either magic, or science, Dr. Genus would've been able to find a usable trace, since there are 'frequencies' for science to read, and 'magical readings' for magic. The 'magi-tech' used to bring you here made untraceable portals that didn't leave behind the sort of 'fingerprint' needed to send you home, since the frequencies matching that universe are now in and magic traces were absorbed by the portal when it vanished."
"With science, you can see the answer with your own eyes even if its silent. With magic, you can hear the answer even if you can't see it. With magi-tech, you're both blind and deaf," Rorschach said when it looked like Entrapta was losing her captive audience.
"Right. With Science, you could read the frequency and say 'Your universe is Earth-123456'. With Magic, you could read the magic and say 'Your universe is 12th Seashell of Heaven'. With magi-tech, 'Your universe is one of ten to the power 196,833 universes'."
"If someone was taken from the Marvel Canon universe, it would be 'Earth-616'. An alternate version could be Earth-616.1. With magi-tech, it would be 'Earth-616.6632423967498371731371203610873612093132183721983127093781231203921387123071', which is 196 thousand digits long'."
"And that number is obscenely huge," Entrapta hummed as she and Rorschach filled the board behind them with loads and loads of math that had the Heroes and former-Villains going cross-eyed. "A 'Googol' is merely a One followed by a hundred zeroes; 10, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000. A googol of sand grains would fill the entire observable universe - 100,000 times over."
"The odds of Dr. Genus being able to find any of the abductees original worlds is one in ten to the power of one-hundred ninety-six thousand eight-hundred thirty-three."
"And contextually, the shape of reality is a theoretical snowflake existing in 196,833-dimensional space," Entrapta concluded.
"Um... Did anybody catch any of that? Cause... I'm kinda lost..." Kirishima muttered.
"I think half of us are still grappling with the fact that this League of Villains member is apparently Todoroki's long-lost brother," Iida hummed, Dabi refusing to make eye contact with his younger brother.
"If Nezu were here, he'd probably akin this snafu to being like solving a murder," Toshinori hummed, racking his brain for what he thought the rat/bear/cat would say. "Science is forensics checking the body for physical evidence, Magic is psychology profiling the criminal using the crime scene, but magi-tech is murder in the ocean; no body to recover, the crime scene is too big, you can't learn anything."
Not to mention the math, in of itself, was incredibly damning, and since none of them were mathematicians or quantum physicists, none of them could really seek a second opinion among their own peers.
"Damn... This other-world stuff is way less fun when you're on the business end of it..." Mina said dejectedly.
In their original world of Quirks, People become Pro Heroes for many reasons – for the fame and money, for the pride of their family, to uphold the legacy of a previous Hero. Now they have been torn away from everything – friends, family, comrades, even the familiar system that supported them – with no chance of returning.
"So, assuming I don't have to put any of you on Suicide Watch for the immediate future, you all have to ask yourselves a question; what do you believe in? If there's no money, fame, legacy, or fans to fight for in this world, will you still fight Villains to save people? Will you still become Heroes?" Rorschach inquired, Izuku somehow feeling the man's eyes fall upon him. "Mind you, while this world's infrastructure isn't in the 'Commercial Age' like your own, it is presently in the 'Corporate' and 'Government Age', although in more of a nescient state. If you still want to be Heroes, your options are Japanese super-teams, the Young Justice team in America, or one of the many Corporate Teams that Cognito Inc. has flag shipped. While Cognito Inc. has rescued you from being stripped for parts by a shadowy cabal, we won't make you feel obligated to work for us, though as you can clearly see, we have more than enough resources to give you a decent wage, and plenty of incentives to stay."
"And what about us?" asks Toga, "What about us Villains?"
"Former Villains," Dabi huffed, since Endeavor, his entire motivation for becoming a Villain, was literally 'a world away'.
"There's no warrant for any of your arrests in this universe, so other than temporary reputational issues from the anime-"
"I'm sorry, 'anime'?" Shota blinked.
"-you're more than free to get paying jobs like working adults. Jin," he said causing the man to perk up. "Your Quirk is something that politicians fearing for their lives would pay buko bucks to take advantage of. Himiko, since that blood substitute is just-as-good-as the real thing, you can go back to school and do... whatever you want. Atsuhiro, you have a clean slate now, but if you break any laws on this Earth, you'll go back to being a criminal. Dabi," he said, the scorch-marked man leering at him even as Todoroki's eyes bore onto him. "I'd recommend some therapy, a little reconstructive surgery, and more therapy."
" . . . You all heard him drop the word 'anime', right?" Kyoka asked.
"Yeah, since you're going to find out about that sooner or later... In this universe you guys are in a hit anime, which means most of your dirty laundry is already out there for all to see. As well as some... troublesome, issues," Rorschach continued, Izuku and Toshinori feeling the man's eyes on them. "But yeah, if you kids could avoid walking into any restricted areas while you're up here, the adults need to have a more-thorough debriefing."
"Can we moonwalk?" Mina asked excitedly.
"Sure. Why not."
"Wait, seriously?!" Kirishima cried.
"Entrapta, if you could show the younger crowd around, please."
"You got it, dad!" the lilac-haired Princess saluted. "Follow me, everyone! Let's get some holographic pressure suits!"
"Remember to stay away from the Moon Lander!" Rorschach called off after them as Entrapta dragged the younger set off with her. "Okay, Ash, the kiddos are gone. You can come out now."
The air shimmering in the corner of the room, many of the gathered Heroes and the former 'Villains' still present shot to their feet as a massive figure seemed to materialize in their midst. The man was taller than All Might, even more muscular, and intimidating with blood-red eyes, ashen skin with numerous chalky bone protrusions, and short spiky hair. The Pros had certainly encountered many Heteromorphic Quirks in their time, but something about 'Ash' made them think back to their worst Villains.
"Hey! Tone down the aura, Ash, You're not Batman," Rorschach said flippantly.
"Sorry," the spiny giant apologized.
"Also, what's with the beard?"
"Trying something new." says Ash Grey as he retracts the beard of bone spikes. He smiles showing his shark teeth and turns to the Pro Heroes "Hello Heroes, I'm Rorschach's best friend. You can call me Ash Grey or if you want to a full title Ash Grey the Doomsday."
*DOOM*
1st POV
"The Doomsday?" says Shota, "That's not a very heroic name."
"Hero? Who said I was Hero?" I say, then raise my hands, "Don't worry. I'm not a villain either. I'm just the guy that gets dragged into Rorschach's adventures."
"So, why are you here?" asks Mirko, the strongest bunny girl in the MHA world.
"Other than meeting all of you? My origin is linked to your situation." I explain, "The ones behind your kidnapping and the capture of the others are a clandestine group called the Light. Project Cadmus is the research and development branch of the Light. They do things like create genetically engineered creatures as living weapons, develop drugs to create super soldiers, and create clones of heroes to replace them."
"What!?" says All-Might.
"Cadmus Alpha cloned Speedy, the sidekick of the Hero Green Arrow. The clone was unaware he was a spy for the Light and the real Speedy spent time is cryo-status. Cadmus Alpha also created a teenage clone of our world's most powerful hero Superman. Thankfully, they were rescued and de-programmed."
"And You?" asks Eraserhead.
"I was created by Cadmus Beta. They accidentally created me when they combined a bioweapon with a sample of Superboy from Cadmus Alpha." I explain, "They expected a brainless monster, but I surprised them and led an escape of Beta."
"So, you're like a Nomu?" asks Yu Takeyama.
"In a way. If All-for-One had Nomu with my abilities you would have lost long ago."
"What 'Quirks' do you have?" asks Shinji.
"They are called 'meta-abilities' or 'superpowers' in this universe, but my main ability is [Adaptive Regeneration] to the point of [Resurrection]. That means whatever doesn't kill and even what does, makes me stronger. I develop an immunity to whatever damages me and I have already reached the point I'm nigh-invulnerable. It's gotten to the point I can survive a Supernova with no damage."
The Pro-Heroes have a look on their pale faces that says "Are you kidding me!? That's Broken!?"
"We're getting off-topic." says Rorschach.
"Right. There are numerous Cadmus facilities and we haven't found them all. You were part of a massive group taken from Cadmus Upsilon. A small portion of over nine thousand abducted subjects."
"Nine Thousand!" says some of shocked heroes.
"Who the Hell are The Light!?" yells Rumi.
"THAT is a long story." says Ash Grey, "Everything began with a single man – Vandal Savage."
A screen displays a photo of Vandal Savage as he appears today. Next to him is a cave drawing showing a figure with bloody scars sleeping near a glowing stone.
"While in your universe, the first metahuman was a glowing baby born in China around the 2000s, the first metahuman of ourworld's birth was far more violent. Forty-eight thousand before the common era, he was born a primitive human of a small savage blood tribe. Forty-four years later, after defeating a savage cave bear that terrorized his tribe he was exposed to the radiation of a meteorite and awoke as the world's first metahuman. His 'Quirk' was [Immortality]."
"What the hell!?" yells Hizashi, thankfully not triggering his sound-based Quirk.
"He was no longer a primitive human; he had evolved even beyond modern Homo Sapiens and possessed the mind and physical strength to make the world his. Over time he gathered his descendants and others possessing powers and founded the city of Atlantis sometime before ten thousand three hundred eight-six BCE."
"Atlantis was real?" says Ryuko. As a person who can transform into a dragon, I can imagine she would have a fascination with mythology.
Two photos. One is a magically-preserved painting of ancient Atlantis and the other is a photo of modern Poseidonis, the Capital of Atlantis.
"Is Real. Atlantis is a recognized country in this universe with a population that all possess water-breathing abilities. Primitive Atlantis was attacked by a Lord of Chaos known as Klarion who slaughtered the majority and killed Vandal an absurd number of times. They eventually made a deal, Vandal would show Klarion something amusing in one thousand years. Atlantis was rebuilt after a hundred years and he departed leaving his grandson Arion in charge. In ten thousand eighty-six BCE, he returned to find Atlantis had become a great empire with his immortal grandson Arion still on the throne. As Varl'jat, he believed the Atlanteans should conquer the oceans of the world and when Arion refused to sacrifice any of his people, he had Klarion sink Atlantis in nine thousand three hundred eighty-six BCE. Klarion didn't just sink a city, sank an ENTIRE CONTINENT. Vandal's plan was successful and modern Atlantean Empire rules seventy percent of the world's surface."
A photo of an Ancient Map with a huge red area showing what Klarion sank. The Heroes are horrified at the level of destruction. They have seen Quirks powerful enough to destroy cities, but for someone to sink an entire continent shakes them to the core.
"Vandal Savage has been many people throughout history with one great commonality, conquest and human advancement. As Marduk of Babylonia, he and his children fought off an invasion of alien space spawn called the Starro. They were the world's first superheroes – The Light. He, his children, and his followers have shaped history. He was Sun Tzu, Atilla the Hun, Genghis Khan, and Blackbeard the Pirate. He is a force that makes All-for-One look like a CHILD."
"You have got to be kidding me?"
The screen displays dozens of Vandal's identities, proving Rorschach is not joking.
"I'm not. It was twelve hundred CE that Vandal Savage as Genghis Khan would make a Deal that would decide the fate of the world. The extraterrestrial conqueror and New God of Tyranny Darkseid invaded Earth and encountered Genghis and his metahuman sons. Darkseid could have conquered and enslaved humanity, but he saw the weapon potential of meta-humanity. Vandal Savage struck a deal – Earth would supply living weapons and Darkseid would provide assistance. When all the Galaxy is theirs, they would fight to decide one true ruler of everything, winner take all."
Darkseid has an imposing figure with accentuated musculature from head-to-toe. The dull blue tunic he wears has a black accent that runs down his torso and a belt with glowing red iconography of the New Gods. The armor encasing his chin and the majority of his head completes his outfit and contributes to his air of authority, while his rock-like skin and bright red eyes enhances his menacing demeanor. The wikia couldn't have made a better description.
"This is the reason why Rorschach and Me haven't gone after the Light." I say with a frown, holding up two hands "Vandal Savage is the only person that can restraint Klarion, A Lord of Chaos can annihilate human civilization in days, if not hours. Even if we did eliminate the Light, there is still Darkseid and his army of Apokaliptans and Parademons. A war we currently can't win."
"At present, The Light is like the finger of the Dutch Boy in that dam from the old story. We plan to seal the breach, but are still getting the 'diving bell' or whatever the hell they would've used in the old days," Rorschach trailed off flipping the contents of the screen.
Photos of the fiery hell world of Apokalips with its infamous fire pits. There is also a photo of millions of Parademons. The Parademons are tall, winged humanoids with heavily built and imposing figures. They have three digits on each hand, which are also clawed. They are clad head to toe in golden armor, with helmets that have hornlike protrusions that cover most of their heads save for the mouth, exposing their sharp teeth. They look like advance Nomu to the Pro-Heroes.
"Darkseid himself is more powerful than most metahumans. Not only is he physically superior to anything on Earth with a degree of immortality, he possesses the Omega Effect. He can fire red, target-seeking beams from his eyes with ease. If they hit you, pray they disintegrate you. The other options are far worse."
"Worse?" says Yu, almost afraid to ask.
"He could teleport you to be imprisoned and tortured into his slave. There are parts of his planet's dedicated to torturing people and converting victims to Parademons much like Nomu. The absolute worst the beams can do is the Omega Sanction." Rorschach explains, "Are you familiar with the Groundhog Day scenario? It's where a person is trapped in a time loop. In the Omega Sanction, you live out an entire life that ends in pain and tragedy. Then you live another, worse life. This happens over and over. It's like you're in hell."
"Imagine the horror." I say looking into the eyes of All-Might, "You live an entire life, dying a crippled man at the hands of an All-for-One-possessed Shimura, after he murdered Midoriya in front of you. Then in the second life, you're not able to save anyone with Midori cursing your name as he dies. Then you live another hundred lives, each getting progressively worse."
The Pro-Heroes are all pale and some are shaking. My words are brutal, but they are needed. They have to know why we aren't going after the Light despite what they did to them.
"Who are the other members of the Light?" asks Shota, sounding firm. "I assume since you know of us, you ushered the children out of this room because they can't be trusted not to act rashly."
"L-1 Vandal Savage and L-7 Klarion are the core. All of the other members can be replaced with various degrees of difficulty. Currently, the members include Ra's al Ghul - the leader of League of Shadow assassins who has been alive for over six hundred years."
Photo of Ra's al Ghul with Talia and baby Damian in her arms. There is also a photo of Arabian painting depicting Ra's al Ghul surrounded by his assassin acolytes.
"Alexander "Lex" Luthor - a powerful and influential businessman, super-genius, and owner of LexCorp. Net Worth Seventy-Five Billion US Dollars."
Photo of Lex Luthor during a Metropolis business presentation. Also, a photo of Lex shaking hands with a US General with numerous advance weapons around them.
"Queen Bee of Greater Bialya. She rules a huge section of Africa and the middle east with her husband Black Adam. She is a metahuman with the ability to control the minds of anyone attracted to her, like a fusion between Nemuri and Shinso with political power and diplomatic immunity."
"L-5 was Prince Orm of Atlantis - a Pure Atlantean supremacist – but he was executed. His replacement – L-8 - is an oceanic supervillain known as Black Manta. He is considered the greatest enemy of Atlantis and their King – who is also the Hero Aquaman."
A photo of Black Manta in full armor shooting energy beams from his oddly shaped helmet and a photo of him without his helmet talking to some of his men.
"L-6 is a mad scientist known as The Brain for obvious reasons. He's the one that runs the biological and chemical experiments."
The photo of a Brain in a clear container and fitted to a cybernetic harness is disturbing to the Heroes. The Nomus are similar with their exposed brains.
"Also, unlike your world where the manifestation of Meta Abilities caused technological development to largely if not completely stagnate, in this world, in this time, technology far outstrips that of your own. Teleporters, artificial intelligence, faster-than-light travel; and that was before Cognito Inc. started making waves with our own inventions to solve the world's problems like world hunger, global warming, planetary defense, and so-on. Life-support for a brain in a jar is just barely 'a big deal'," Rorschach explained. "The reason we're being this upfront with all of you, divulging the identities of The Light's membership and the 'Final End-Game Boss' and the shadow war being fought behind the scenes, is because this world already has infrastructure of superpower-wielding law enforcement. While you do have the option to retire or get regular day jobs along with the other refugees once we solve the housing crisis, I highly doubt you'd get a boring desk job somewhere."
"This is not a luxury we'll extend to all the trans-dimensional abductees, since all this is on a need-to-know basis, and many of them simply do not 'need to know'," I add. "And obviously, Rorschach has been hypnotizing you with subliminal messaging so you can't actually leak any of this without prior clearance," I continue causing the Heroes to reel back in shock, the lot of them looking around for any mind-altering implements before realizing the holographic screen at the front of the room, was likely the best bet.
"Question!"
"Yes, Jin?" Rorschach returned.
"If I sign on with you guys, do I get free dental?" the now-former Villain asked, causing everyone to facepalm.
"You guys got a sci-fi gym around here?" Mirko asked.
"If I become a Hero in this universe, can I still get my own endorsement deals?" Yu brought up.
"Ooof, this is a lot of questions," I said as Rorschach and I were bombarded with inquiries, Jin's comment about dental opening the flood gates.
"And while you answer all of these, I'm going to de-brief the abductees from the Tiger & Bunny universe; have fun!"
"Rorschach wait don't leave me alone with them-awww... crud," I bit out as Rorschach up and vanished, off to chat up the Heroes who, in his head canon, were the forerunners of the Hero System in the My Hero Academia universe.
*DOOM*
Doomsday Bunker
March 31. 2013
1st POV
I rest on the couch. I'm not really surprised that the Pro-Heroes decided to stick with Cognito. And while I am curious to see how Dabi will reconcile with his brother, I think I'll wait for the documentary.
On a slightly-unrelated note, Japan's superhero community is lacking the same fame and recognition as the American Teams.
Hiro Okamura, the heroic Toyman, is a teenage mechanical genius based in Tokyo, Japan. He's a friend of Superman and is one of the few heroes that can make giant robots and mecha that aren't over-sized toys or complete money pits. His American counterpart Winslow Schott is a villain and sociopathic mechanical genius who specialized in deadly toys as weaponry. There are also criminals with similar names - Dollmaker, Toyboy, Toymaker, and Toymaster.
Kimiyo Hoshi, also known as Doctor Light, is the heroic female counterpart to the villainous original. She can actually channel energy of a star into brilliant light projections. She's working with the Justice League and eventually may become a recruit. She needs a better name as nobody wants to be associated with the infamous Dr. Arthur Light
Ryuku Orsono, also known as Bushido is a master swordsman that works as a hero and I remember him from a couple episodes of Teen Titans. He was also one of the three Titans killed by Superboy-Prime during Infinite Crisis. He's not interested in joining corporations or the government, operating as an independent.
Tatsu Yamashiro also known as Katana due to her possessing a cursed sword, recently became a hero in Japan and the Justice League will be approaching her with membership. I always thought her original outfit looked stupid, but the later versions were cool. Her soul-absorbing sword is impressive.
As for Big Science Action, despite being Japan's main and official team, they are called "Japan's JLA". There Super Sentai style outfits and overly long names don't inspire a lot of confidence. Some recent disasters involving a meta eco terrorist – Verdant Vindicator – has also tarnished their image.
Super Young Team is a very popular team, but not a real combat team. Seeing their powers as mainly cosmetic, the team never got involved in fights. Instead, they are like a pop group spending time at metahuman clubs in Tokyo. If they are not serious about being heroes, they should just settle for being celebrities.
"I have some news." says Jade, walking in from a shadow portal.
"What's up?
"You won't believe what your friend is up to!"
*DOOM*
April 3, 2013 – Cognito announces the creation of Meta Education, Training, and Assistance Academies. These are essentially Hero schools like the Academias of the Quirk users or the Xavier Institutes. The availability of education and business opportunities keep crime down and metahuman crime is no different. Instead of becoming super criminals, metahumans can become super productive members of society and can even become Heroes, if not regular law enforcement with legal backing to use their powers.
April 4, 2013 - Many politicians and journalists merely see this as an expansion of the STAR Academies which is preventing super-geniuses and science-savants from becoming the next generation of Rogues. Governments and corporations around the world are also expressing interest, with grant money pouring in.
April 8, 2013 – A bunch of metahuman hate groups protested the creation of the schools. They think money should be spent on locking up metahumans. They don't seem to comprehend that treating people like criminals and denying them resources and opportunities, is the very reason that some of them become criminals in the first place. These kinds of idiots are also the type to say immigrants are taking their jobs, when in reality they aren't smart enough to get those jobs, or too lazy to hold onto them.
April 10, 2013 – The criminal activities of certain members of a major hate group are revealed. The scandal causes the group to implode and disrupts the activities of other groups. Some of those crimes could mean the death sentences for the criminals. One arranged the murder of his partner and his partner's family to gain control over their group. Another committed crime against children and will probably end up with a Toothbrush shank in his neck.
Also, Cognito introduces the Heroes of Other Worlds.
*DOOM*
The Light
April 10, 2013
"Cognito is ruthless. I'm impressed with their business and political savvy." says Luthor.
"Instead of isolating the nine thousand subjects to protect them from us, they founded schools for metahumans, making everything very open and public." says Ra's, "They used their government connections to push support for those schools."
"How did they explain the sudden arrival of so many metahumans?" asks Queen Bee
"A group of Illuminati wannabes wanted to build a galaxy-conquering army and the victims ended up in this universe." Says Vandal Savage with a smirk, quoting the press release.
That raises a few eyebrows, at least who have eyebrows. Vandal clicks on a remote and a screen appears showing Cognito Cable program menu.
Avengers: Dimensional Crisis – Animated Movie – Marvel Comics – 95 minutes – 5 Stars
The Dark Illuminati - Red Skull, Hyperion, MODOK, Atuuma, and Dracula - plot to summon superhumans from across the omniverse to form a galaxy conquering army. It's up to Earth's Mightiest Heroes to Save the Galaxy.
Recent Review - "I can't believe it! This comic book stuff actually happened in another world!?"
If Earth-DR was an anime, many people would have sweat drops from embarrassment.
"A person who is open and mixes truths to form his deception can be more efficient than person who merely hides the truth and lies." says Vandal.
It's far easier to control to control a person who hides. Heroes and villains with secrets can be blackmailed. Homeless people can be taken without many people being noticed. People living away from civilization can vanish without being noticed. Metahumans going to this school are monitored and can't be simply taken.
"Some of the subjects were teachers in their own worlds, so becoming teachers in this world was a small step. ", says The Brain, trying to ignore the animated movie plot "There is a surge in Metahuman support groups and Cognito is working to shut down hate groups."
"What is really annoying is Cognito's hold on us." says Queen, "They made it so it would be advantageous for us to support the Academies and very troublesome to go against them. We are the Light, but Cognito is the darkness about to devour us."
"Cognito supports humanity as a whole. Cognito tolerates the Light because they don't want to deal with Darkseid." says Savage, "Doctor Genus actually sent me a message that made me laugh."
"What did it say?" asks Queen.
"Even if I become the God Emperor of Humanity and Rule the Galaxy, Cognito would still be telling me how things work."
A couple jaws drop at that.
*Beep*
"What did they do now?" asks Ra's.
"I AM HERE ON COGNITO CHANNELS! I AM ALL MIGHT, THE FORMER NUMBER ONE PRO HERO OF AN ALTERNATE EARTH, NOW REPRESENTING COGNITO MEDICAL!"
Vandal Savage turns down the volume before he can go deaf.
"Wait..." Luthor hummed. "Where's Klarion?"
"WHOOOO! CATNIP PARTYYYYY!"
"Oh god damn it..." Vandal groaned as the Chaos Lord whooped, galivanting about the room in a Hawaiian-print shirt and riding a plus-sized Teekl who was face-deep in a feed bag with eldritch catnip.
*DOOM*
April 10, 2013 – Heroes of Other Worlds – Some of the subjects from Cadmus Upsilon introduced themselves to the world. They talked about their worlds, how they got their powers, how the world treated them, and what they did.
Toshinori "All-Might" Yagi talked about the world of Quirks (a future alternate Earth where 80% of the population possessed a meta-ability) and how the Pro Hero system and Academies worked. He talks about his reason for becoming a hero and how he wanted people to smile. He does mention of social issues of quirk society – the racism between Quirk and Quirkless, the divide between weak and strong, and prejudice against mutants/heteromorphic metahumans as well as those whose Quirks weren't 'marketable'.
All-Might became a Meme within hours. His fan base is growing, but I don't know if he will ever reach the fame he did in his own world. Still, I'm glad Cognito couldn't only print some new organs for him, but also re-invigorate the flames of [One for All].
Jean "Phoenix" Grey talked about her world (where metahumans were called mutants) and the horrific amount of racism she encountered and about Xavier's School for the Gifted. She talks about various events including the use of Sentinels – giant mutant-killing robots – and the friction between groups.
Phoenix has a good number of followers, many enjoying the smart red-haired beauty and her words.
Althea "Wavedancer" Delgado talked about the same world, but from the perspective of a Misfit and part of the American military. The Misfits didn't come from good home disrupted by their mutation, instead many of them have darker histories. Abandonment and abuse left many of former Brotherhood broken and only the caring of a group of lunatic soldiers saved them.
Althea seems to be a popular person among the US Armed Forces, especially the Navy. She also appears to have a lot of Atlantean followers. It's kind of awkward as her mother ran off with an Atlantean noble in her world.
Taylor "Skitter/Weaver" Annette Hebert talked about Earth-Bet and its horrors. In that world, metahumans got their powers from trauma. On the worst day of your life, endless pain with no one to turn to, you get powers that will make your life worse. Earth-Bet is a world dominated by horrific villains and giant monsters called Endbringers. She talks about her own experience of being savagely bullied and then trapped in a locker filled with rotting trash, including used tampons. She talked about her desire to be Hero and infiltrating the villainous team known as The Undersiders.
Talking seems very therapeutic and there are now a lot of Skitter/Weaver fans online. She is considered a Determinator, one that doesn't give up no matter what. There are also many Entomologists who want to meet her considering her power to control all anthropoids.
Kotetsu "Wild Tiger" Kaburagi explained his world's 'Corporate Age' as 'if Heroes were like Nascar', which certainly helped the western audience understand the 'pay wall' for heroism in his world. Cognito not only agreed to sponsor him so he could raise his daughter in a good home, but he also got to help people as much as he wanted even when the cameras weren't rolling; the one thing he always wanted to do but couldn't as much as he wanted to back home because he couldn't afford to get 'replaced' by a disgruntled sponsor. The new 'super suit' that let him use his [Hundred Power] as much as he wanted with negligible stamina loss was also an added bonus, and rumors were circulating that Olympic teams were wanting to recruit him for the next games since without using his powers, he was basically "Peak Human" even by the standards of this Earth.
The other Heroes taken from the Tiger & Bunny universe, Karina "Blue Snow" Lyle, Nathan "Fire Emblem" Seymour, and Ivan "Origami Cyclone" Karelin, were also making good press, much of the pressure being taken off since 'the full set' weren't abducted. Karina Lyle got to get into music as herself instead of as Blue Rose, something she always struggled with back home, though was also embarrassed with everyone knowing about her not-so-secret crush on Kotetsu; the magazine about attracting single dads was pretty conclusive on that front. Nathan Seymour received a stalwart fanbase in the LGBTQ community, who until then hadn't had many, if any, sympathetic Heroes to relate to, and as soon as he got his bearings, he'd undergo Cognito's 'flawless' Gender Reassignment Surgery so he could become his best self. Ivan Karelin got pretty big over in Japan, which he could finally explore at-length now that he wasn't being pressured by an oppressive corporate sponsor who withheld abroad vacations. Kaede Kaburagi became a media darling and poster child for the META Academy, while Cognito announced that no "lewding" would be tolerated thanks to an experimental new software disseminated through the internet.
Katsuki Bakugou on the other hand... Yikes, when you look the words "uphill battle" up in the dictionary, a manga panel of him telling Izuku to take a swan dive off the school roof is the most subtle of references...
When it came time to release more of the abductees, the 24-Hour news cycle was going to be a media circus.
*DOOM*
April 14, 2013 – Another hate group bites the dust. This group was absorbing the members of the previous group. This time it involved several politicians and a lot of bribery. A lot of support is being pulled leaving a few people with signs and internet.
April 18, 2013 – The government is pushing new programs. It's basically support for metahumans who register with the government and law enforcement training for those wanting to become sponsored Heroes. We want to avoid the Civil Wars that occurred in the Marvel Universe with mutant and superhuman registration. So, it's heavy on "carrot" and light on "stick".
Canadian Meta-Support Groups are pushing their government to follow Cognito's example.
April 21, 2013 – Cognito opens talks with the European Union, Hong Kong, and Japan about also developing META Academies in Asia and Europe. Greater Bialya is also copycatting Cognito, creating their own government-sponsored schools.
May 14, 2013 – The Cybertronians were revealed to the World.
*DOOM*
Steel Automobiles
Detroit, Michigan, USA
May 14, 2013
3rd POV
In 1903, Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company. Ford's manufacturing—and those of automotive pioneers William C. Durant, the Dodge Brothers, Packard, and Walter Chrysler—established Detroit's status in the early 20th century as the world's automotive capital.
Steel Automobiles has had several names, but Steel was always the most powerful name. Steel invokes the image of strong metal alloy, the core building material of the city. Steel also reminds the people of the World War II Hero Commander Steel. A Hero that Hank Heywood High School and its football team "The Steelworkers" are named after. Also, the original owner of the place's surname was Steel.
This means very little as the Autobot scout Bumblebee is sent flying through the roof of the building. The young cybertronian in the form of a Chevrolet Camaro was just investigating an energon radiation reading. Cognito's computers had determined the AllSpark had been transported to a site in Detroit and all the Autobots were scanning for the vessel of their god's will.
What Bumblebee didn't expect was for a giant evil looking Transformer to burst from the ground and hit him hard enough send him flying. Thankfully, after Rorschach and Co managed to rescue the pureblood Cybertronians, Cognito was able to get enough information to repair and upgrade the Autobots. So, while that blow would have caused the old yellow bug severe damage and could have put him in Status Lock, the shiny new Bee is able to tank the hit. He just needs to pull himself off the inferior cars he landed on.
The pseudo-Decepticon that rises from the rubble of Steel Automobiles is a combiner, as there are several automobile-based transformers fused together. The armor plates resembling car parts are black, gray, and silver, but they are held together by black and purple. The massive head has numerous glowing red eyes, a maw of blade teeth, and a spiky horned helmet-head.
The mechanical berserker's right arm transforms into a mass of cannons and releases a barrage of laser beams and burning plasma bolts. Bumblebee barely has time to activate his Cognito-built shield to block the attack. It also blocks the explosions of the destroyed gasoline-soaked cars around him. The monstrosity's attack is cut off, when Jazz fires his own barrage into the joint of the arm.
The special operations soldier, who can transform into a Pontiac Solstice, is an expert sniper. His elongated blaster is also a sniper rifle, which he continues to fire. This time the shots are aimed as the eyes of the human-made Decepticon.
The metallic monster roars in apparent pain as several optical units are blown, but then it releases a salvo of missiles. These missiles go in all directions, before homing in on Jazz. The "Macross Missile Massacre" is about to spread Jazz across Detroit when an energy wave intercepts the missiles. The energy wave causes the metal to liquify and missiles explode as their fuel mixes with their thrust.
"FOREIGN DECEPTION WILL NOT STAND BEFORE THE TRUTH OF LIBERTY!"
A humanoid robot lands in front of the pseudo-Decepticon. It's one of Libertus-series units like Mark I Iron Legion and Mark II Iron Guardian, but this is Mark III – Iron Patriot. It's a shinier, sleeker, more advance looking robot in a patriotic red, white, and blue paint job. Outside its smart missiles, liberty lasers, and repulsor system it's armed with Cognito's latest creation – Variable Beam Emitters. These emitters allow the robot to fire the beams of some of Rorschach's favorite guns. This includes the Anti-metal beam that destroyed the missiles and what is now slicing through its enemy with absurd ease.
The two Autobots and one Iron Patriot battle the monstrosity for several minutes, while the surrounded area is evacuated. The evacuation is done by police officers, local heroes, Iron Guardians, and several humanoids dressed in colorful bug-themed armor. The latter group led by Sari Sumdac. When one police officer asks who they are, she replies "People tend to call us Transformers or Autobots. We are here to help."
The battle finally ends when the chest is blown open and Iron Patriot rips out the malformed Spark Chamber, crushing it. The monstrosity then collapses to the ground in pieces. It also drops a very familiar object – the AllSpark.
Iron Patriot picks it up and pauses as he's surrounded by a blue glow. He then hands the metallic cube to Bumblebee who stares at the Cube in awe.
"Are you OK, Iron Patriot?"
The face of the Iron Patriot pulls back, like the visor/faceplate on a helmet, to reveal a silver face with glowing blue eyes.
"I'm fine. Thank you for your concern citizen." he says to the shocked Transformers, his voice sounding like Peter Weller – the voice of Robocop!
*DOOM*
May 14, 2013 – The Cybertronians were revealed to the World. They defeated a Pseudo-Decepticon Combiner in Detroit. The Cadmus scientists had been transferring the AllSpark energy into special batteries, when there was a surge which resulted in the monster machine. It was defeated by a team-up of Bumblebee, Jazz, and Cognito's latest prototype – Iron Patriot.
In the process Iron Patriot has become a living cybertronian due to the AllSpark and considers Rorschach to be his father. Rorschach is taking this well and PIP (Prototype Iron Patriot) is already acting as a protective Big Brother to Entrapta.
June 7, 2013 - Cognito is handling the immigration of the Cybertronians and the techno-organic hybrids. This may lead to laws considering robots, cyborgs, and inorganic life forms. The T-O Transformers are adjusting to their changes faster than even Rorschach anticipated. I think Rorschach may be planning to create an Autobot City.
August 24, 2013 – Many groups are uncertain about the automatous mechanical life forms of a machine planet in another Universe. Cognito's open policy has relieved some of their worries as Autobot history and culture is freely made available to the human population. Even some of the Transformers franchise on Cognito Cable is still available, actually showing Autobots to be seen more honorable than most humans (and showing the US Military in a positive light).
Oddly enough, human branches of the Church of Primus have started to pop up.
September 5, 2013– The Ground Bridge are revealed to the public.
*DOOM*
Ground Bridge
Los Angeles. California, USA
November 26, 2013. Thursday
11:00
1stPOV
(3:00)
Mad Science Rick stands on a stage, next to him is Rorschach, Sari Sumdac in a formal outfit, and the Mayor of Los Angeles. Next to the stage is the towering form of Optimus Prime, the leader of the Cybertronians. There are many in the crowd amazed by Optimus as he looks like an American truck transformed into giant robot.
After explaining some things about the Transformers, Weird Science Rick gets into the main explanation.
"The Cybertronians are able to transfer objects in and out of other dimensions. So, if you're wondering how some of them can shift sizes when they transform, they are storing parts in that other dimension. It's pretty advance tech, but they have been around for millions of years and Doctor Genus is the smartest being in the universe."
Rorschach pulls out a red/blue toy cab truck slowly from his Inventory, making sure everyone sees him do it. With a tap of a hidden button, it transforms into twenty-two-inch-tall version of Optimus Prime.
"Yes, It's available in the Cognito Catalog."
Even the twenty-two-foot-tall Optimus looks surprised at his Toy doppelgänger. I guess he didn't read his entire contract and how Cognito will be exploited his image for many, many years to come.
A holographic screen drops to reveal an immense metal ring with ramps and train tracks. This diverts the attention away from the toy and the embarrassed Optimus. So that faceplate isn't just to protect himself during combat, it also hides his face during these moments.
"The space bridge is a form of interplanetary transport, allowing Cybertronians to move from one planet to another almost instantaneously without the need for a spacecraft, via a "short-cut" through an extradimensional realm." says Mad Scientist Rick, "Cognito has already created a Space Bridge in Polaris to transport things to our new colony world. It should make terraforming a little easier for Doctor Genus."
Mad Scientist Rick then points at the Ring.
"This is a Ground Bridge. A scaled-down iteration of space bridge technology, a Ground Bridge allows transport to coordinates on a single planet. You can literally drive to any place on the planet as long as there is a Ring on the other end," says Mad Scientist Rick, "A trip from Los Angeles to Hong Kong, LAX to HKG, takes sixteen hours. If you were transporting cargo on a boat, it would take ten to twenty days. Using this baby, people and cargo can make the journey in less than sixteen seconds!"
There are many sounds of amazement. Only some of them realize how important the Ground Bridge technology is. This is the kind of technology that can save or conquer a world. Getting supplies to people is vital in a crisis and cutting off supplies is vital in combat. This technology means Cognito-LA could supply Cognito-HK with the same effort as supplying someone on the other side of the city.
Suddenly, Rorschach turns, summoning a R-F Pistol, and fires an icy freeze beam that would make Doctor Freeze or Captain Cold jealous (if they weren't reverted into mundane humans). The blue-white beam strikes a hidden figure. The assassin's thermo-optical camouflage shorts out as he's entombed in ice. Through the translucent ice, it's easy to tell the assassin is Hispanic man with cybernetic implants.
"Like that would work." says Rorschach.
At the same time, I act. Up until this point, I was standing next to the stage in my bodyguard outfit. I was playing the part because I wanted to see what Rorschach was up to and I didn't want to sit with the Press. I grab a second invisible assassin by the throat. He slashes at me with some sort of special blade, but it does nothing against my skin. His blade snaps and falls through the floor. He tries punching me, but it's like someone with brittle bone disease trying to punch Superman.
"Do you mind!? Cognito clothing may resist stains, but I would rather not get blood on this suit."
Rorschach pulls out and extends a Sonic Screwdriver. He places it next to the assassin's head and when he clicks a button, a tiny light appears at the end and it makes a humming sound. The Assassin freezes up like he's having a seizure, then collapses to the ground.
"Who are these losers?" I ask looking down at the cybernetically enhanced assassin.
"Novada Cartel. I'm guessing the mission is running behind schedule."
*DOOM*