Chapter 22 - Chapter 22 – Girls and Gateways – Part 2

Chapter 22 – Girls and Gateways – Part 2

*DOOM*

The Docks

Gotham City, NJ, US

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

3POV

There are many strange heroes in the world designated Earth-DR.

The world has recently received two floods of super powered beings. Those who were transformed by Halloween Event, gaining the memories and/or powers of their costumed personas. Those who after the Day of the Dragons awakened with the Power of the Green, controlling plants in some form. Those who awakened with powers connected to the other elemental planes. Even before then there were those who gained powers through other methods be it accident, genetic quirk, alien blood, super tech, or magic.

One thing most people forget is super powered beings include more than humanoids.

Bobo T. Chimpanzee was originally an African Chimpanzee captured in 1954 by Fred Thorpe, who sought to train him for his carnival act: "Bobo the Detective Chimp". Bobo's life was forever changed when a canine hero Rex the Wonder Dog took him to the fabled Fountain of Youth. The mystical waters granted the chimpanzee the ability to speak to all living creatures (including humans) along with eternal youth and genius level intellect. He used his intellect to solve the murder of Fred Thorpe who had been killed by corrupt deputy Pete Drummond. Since then, he's been solving mysteries most among the magical communities.

Detective Chimp's current case involves a new drug on the streets referred to as Arcane Purple or "Shimmer". The main supplier and distributor were taken out weeks ago in New Orleans. The problem is that the supply of the drug was still shipped up to the East Coast. Bobo is very aware that the new drug is far more than a neo-steroid like Venom and its derivatives. The magical community has observed that the drug also boosts the magical abilities of animal based SPBs be they magical or metahuman.

What Detective Chimp didn't expect was to be getting help from a collection of super-pets.

A few days ago, due to strange circumstances, Batgirl agreed to take care of the pets, while the others were busy with missions for the League and Rorschach. Then Commissioner Gordon was kidnapped by criminals and Batgirl became more concerned with saving her father, leaving the pets in the care of Bruce Wayne's brilliant butler Alfred Pennyworth. Then, Alfred himself was kidnapped and it's up to the pets to save him.

The League of Pets is a unique mix of very intelligent animals.

Ace and Titus are the Bat-Hounds. They are two exceptional dogs owned by the Wayne family. Ace is a former victim of an illegal dog fighting ring. After Batman defeated the criminals, he took care of the injured canine. Titus is Damian's dog, who was introduced when he was puppy. Both dogs have received training from police and military K-9s.

Wolf is a huge white wolf that was subjected to Kobra-Venom experiments by the Brain. Those experiments granted Wolf - superhuman strength and durability. Additional experiments boosted Wolf's intellect and put him under the control of the super-criminals. After he was freed from the control of the Brain and Monsieur Mallah by Superboy (after the mission), he was taken home with Superboy and the rest of the Team.

Evo the Eevee is a former subject of Cadmus Upsilon before Rorschach's raid on the place. The Evolution Pokémon won the hearts of Ash's girls and became a resident of Ash's headquarters affectionally called the Doomsday Bunker. What most people don't realize about Pokémon are combat driven beings. They fight in nature to become strong and metamorphosize (inaccurately called Evolution). It's even theorized by some that the only purpose of humans in the Pokémon world is to increase the strength of Pokémon with their interactions. The over-level Eevee (way past level fifty-five) has been itching for some action.

The last is Konami the Axolotl G-Gnome. She was originally a standard G-Gnome (#573) in Cadmus Beta until Ash Grey's escape. She bonded with the nigh-indestructible monster for protection and was exposed to a virus variant when she fought against mutated Genomorphs. This mutated her into a more adorable amphibious form based on Axolotls. She has continued to grow mentally and adapt physically as her master continued his adventures and acquired more mates.

"So, why are you all here?"

"We are here to rescue, Alfred." replies Konami with her telepathy, "and make those criminals pay"

"Let's slaughter them!?" says Eevee in Poké-speak. It's creepy how it can say "Eevee" in a psychotic bloodthirsty tone.

*DOOM*

John Lee is not an impressive man. He's a 44-year-old man standing 177 cm (~5'10) with brown eyes and graying black curly hair cut very short. He's a combination of muscle and fat with a lazy eye and thick hands, a former weightlifter and boxer past his prime. He has numerous old scars from both animal attacks and human weapons. He's dressed in a dark gray shirt, black pants, and boots, with an old army jacket. Hidden under his clothing is a concealed handgun.

John Lee's life has never been easy. When he was young, he got mauled by vicious dogs and the owner turned out to be the son of his father's boss. The dog owner was arrested, but Mr. Lee's boss decided to make our family suffer. After years of financial hardship, his father committed suicide and his mother abandoned him. He tried to become something worthy of pride like a boxer, but he failed. To survive in a hellish city like Gotham, he became a criminal. At first, he was just a courier, but then he worked his way up. He even spent his time as a big-time minion to some of Batman's rogues, even escaping the Bat on two occasions. Rorschach and Cognito's elimination of the Rogues and decimation of the criminal organizations has made his job prospects unstable. The only thing he's happy about is Mr. Giorgino Giordano – his father's former boss – was one of the crime bosses that got killed by Rorschach. His current job is guarding a warehouse loaded with various drugs. He can't even smoke because of how flammable that Arcane Purple drug is.

Suddenly, he hears dogs barking and he begins to shake. Ever since he was mauled by Gino Giordano's oversized rottweilers, he's suffered from an overwhelming fear of dogs. He's hiding it well, purposely picking employers who dislike canines and renting apartments that don't allow pets. He reaches for his gun.

"I wouldn't do that."

John Lee's freezes at the voice and his eyes widen as three canines emerge from the shadows. Two are large dogs growling at him. The third is an immense white wolf the size of a large bear. The fourth to appear is a Chimpanzee dressed as Sherlock Holmes.

John Lee 's fear only increased with the primate's appearance as it could only mean either a superhero or a super villain had arrived. He could be hallucinating but considering he wasn't smoking anything that generally means your being poisoned by some masked crazy's gas. If these animals are real, it means an animal controller or robotic animals come to unleash pain upon you.

John Lee feels something land on his head and can tell it has four limbs ending in claws. He prays to God it's not about to dig into his brain. Instead of the sound of claws cutting through bone and gray matter, he hears a chirping sound, and his mind goes blank.

"My word. Cynophobia –a fear of dogs." says Detective Chimp.

"He pissed himself." barks Ace, shakes his head at the scent.

"Imagine if he saw Pokémon. He would die of a heart attack if he saw Arcanine or Granbull or Houndoom or Mightyena."

"We get it, Evo." barks Konami, perched on John Lee's head "We need to find Alfred!"

"Did you get the information, Konami?" inquires Detective Chimp

"Easy. These guys are a bunch of weak-willed morons, with no protection against telepathy. Alfred is being held on the second floor of the warehouse inside the office."

"Do you know why he was taken?"

"These idiots heard that Batman was secretly funded by Bruce Wayne on the Internet. They wanted to kidnap Bruce Wayne to force Batman to back off, but only managed to get Alfred."

"Come on! Let's Go! I want to Fight! Alfred also makes great cookies!"

*DOOM*

One by one, criminals fall.

Those criminals taken down by the Bat hounds cry out because there is no one to call them off. There is a big difference between a police officer with a trained K-9 partner and vicious military attack dogs. The men that fall are fearing for their lives as the animals clamp down on body parts. Thankfully the dogs don't kill their targets as they were professionally trained by Batman.

The criminals taken down by Wolf get to experience what it's like to be a ragdoll chew toy. Wolf is immense in size and strength, so he can easily grab criminals in his mouth and viciously shake them. Even the ones that are merely hit by the fast-moving mutated canine are hurt. Over two hundred kilos of wolf moving at over sixty kilometers per hour has considerable kinetic energy. While Superboy isn't a professional trainer, he did get help from Batman.

Detective Chimp possesses genius-level intellect and has developed his own style of martial arts suited for his size and body structure. A style that incorporates various soft martial arts and various forms of stick fighting. He even incorporated cane fighting because of Sherlock Holmes. The reason he developed the martial art is because hand to hand combat with an adult Chimpanzee can be very messy. The great ape is stronger than a human, capable of lifting 1200 pounds and can easily tear off a human limb.

Evo the Eevee has far less restraint since instead of being raised by heroic role models, he is trained by some of the deadliest people on Earth. The 6.5 kg (~14 lbs.) mammalian Pokémon may look like a fluffy "mascot character", but it's vicious with its attacks. Tackle, Quick Attack, Swift, Takedown, and Double-Edge are the main moves performed. The effects of these attacks on the less durable and far weaker humans are gruesome.

As for sweet and small Konami, as a G-Gnome she possesses strong telepathic abilities that allow her to seize control of some of the criminals and have them attack each other. Her mutation by the Kelipot virus variant not only gave her cute and amphibious traits, but also boosted her psychic abilities. As for the rare criminal that can resist her telepathy and gets close...

SCREECH!

"OH MY GOD! MY EYES! MY EYES!"

… she is a very good jumper and has sharp claws.

*DOOM*

Minutes later, a building burns to the ground. The purplish-pink tint of some of the flames indicates the burning of Arcane Purple. The number of surviving criminals is small as many of them died when the place collapsed on itself. There is also a large ship anchored at the docks that is also sinking after many barrels of an extremely flammable liquid ignited.

On the Docks, Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth stands and stares down at the collection of animal companions, some of them stained with criminal blood. Evo and Konami may be the smallest of the group, but they are soaked in more blood than the canines combined.

"I'm not sure what I will report to the authorities." he says calmly, "but I don't believe Master Bruce will be happy with the excessive loss of life."

"Batman can complain to Master Ash" says Konami telepathically, "Your wonderful food is more important than this scum."

The Pokémon and canines call out in agreement. Alfred hides a smile at the appreciation.

"I'll make a few calls." says Detective Chimp standing next Alfred, "You would be surprised at how fast paperwork goes when the one making the report is a Talking Chimpanzee. It's like people are worried about dealing with the supernatural or something~"

*DOOM*

Outer Heaven, Moon

Base Calendar: Friday, January 30, 2015

12:45

3POV

Maxima wonders what invention Rorschach will show her today. Every week he creates wonderful new inventions or adds a new division to Cognito Inc.

Last week, he created a new brand of automobiles that can switch between tires and hover above the ground. He made these vehicles some of the most fuel-efficient, safe, and luxurious cars on the market. Customers can even get power cells that will keep their vehicles running for half a million miles. He even founded an automobile insurance company specializing in insurance of his own brand vehicles.

The week before that Cognito Inc gained a new construction division, demolishing old buildings and building new buildings using advanced materials and technology. These new buildings possessed eco-friendly energy-efficiency technology ranging from transparent solar panels to precision climate control to the best in home security systems. Each building is equipped with Cognito-brand appliances and entertainment systems.

A week before that Cognito donated advance equipment to the fire department and search and rescue. The firefighters got superior protective suits with special helmets to protect them and locate survivors in a burning building. The suits even possessed exoskeletons that augment the strength of the firefighter so they can move heavy debris, break down doors and carry injured people. The kind of technology that Lexcorp would sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars to the city, Cognito Inc gave it to them for free.

A week before that Cognito released advanced veterinarian technology, equal to their biomedical technology which has spread to the hospitals. It doesn't matter what type of animal the doctor needs to treat, Cognito's technology can scan that animal down to genetics for diseases and problems. Cognito even produced larger versions of the machines for zoo animals and those found in large aquariums. Rorschach also released special implants that would allow an animal's vitals to be monitored, and position tracked by Cognito Satellites. This not only allows Cognito to protect pets and expensive animals, but also conservationists can keep track of rare endangered species.

Rorschach's mask is off for once to reveal the face of Neo. He's standing before an object resembling a black-rimmed aquarium, but instead of being filled with tropical fish, it's filled with dark purple glowing plasma. It almost looks like a lava lamp except the more solid pieces are clustered in the center and it's rectangular.

"So, what wonderous invention did you create today?" Maxima inquired.

"This is a present for you. It started off as a micro-verse battery, but with a few additions it now contains a replica of Almerac. Thanks to a hundred temporal probes collecting anachronistical data, I was able to replicate the planet down to the last grain of sand," says Rorschach as he clicks the surface of the device. First it shows a planet from orbit, but then the camera zooms in to reveal drone-like footage of a rolling ocean, mountainous peaks, verdurous forests, farming villages, metropolitan areas, and finally, an opulent but practical palace overlooking all it surveyed.

"Most men would make a ship in a bottle and call that alone an achievement. And yet here you are, creating an entire planet in a box," Maxima hummed as she viewed places both familiar and unknown to her. "An amazingly-beautiful gesture for the smartest mammal in the universe."

"It isn't just a planet in a box," Neo hummed. "Once Brainiac has been put down and things have been made secure on Earth, I can de-tesseract the interior space of this micro-verse battery and place New Almerac in the original's orbit."

"You... Huh...?" Maxima blinked, picking at her ear as she blinked widely at him; an action most unbefitting of a queen.

"Any simpleton with moderate intelligence can destroy a planet, any simpleton with enough time and money can even terraform a planet. But I'd like to think that I'm the only mammal in the universe who could remake a planet," he said before unclipping a remote with an attached cable from the side of the tank. "If you want, we can teleport in and visit right-"

Maxima grasping the lapels of his coat, Neo had expected the Queen of the Almeracian people to tear off his clothing and initiate coitus, as had become the going pattern between them after she discovered brilliance on this level with tangible results to show for it was deeply arousing.

To his pleased surprise however, Maxima tenderly embraced him, sobbing quietly into his shirt.

"I... I saw Almerac destroyed by Brainiac... I never thought... I never thought I'd see my homeworld again...~" she sobbed happily. "Even if it's a replica... to know that I can go to a place called 'home' again...~"

Not only was this Neo's gift to her; it was a gift to her entire race. And if he wound up being elevated to deific status amongst her own people, if not the entire galaxy as a "Builder of Worlds" once New Almerac was in position... she wouldn't be surprised.

"Well, glad to see you like it~"

"Like it...? I don't think I've ever loved you more...~" she sobbed happily.

"Boy, it's going to be really hard to top this~"

"Oh, I can think of a few ways," she said grabbing the previously-dropped remote, the two teleporting into the replica of the royal palace.

What followed was a resumption of a previously-established pattern.

*DOOM*

Outer Heaven, Moon

Sunday, February 1, 2015

6:45

3POV

Tali stands in her room gazing onto the lunar surface and the sea of stars above. Her room doesn't have actual windows to the lunar surface, instead the illusion is created by display screens crafted to resemble large windows. Surrounding her are numerous luxury items, though her thought is of her own situation, not material goods.

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya is a Quarian and a member of Commander Shepard's squad. She is the daughter of Rael'Zorah, a member of the Admiralty Board. Though young, Tali is a mechanical genius. These are the basic facts about her in the 2180s of her Universe.

The Quarians are a nomadic species of humanoid aliens known for their skills with technology and synthetic intelligence. Since their home world Rannoch was conquered by their own creations, the Quarians live aboard the Migrant Fleet, a huge collection of starships that travel as a single fleet. They are treated like second-class citizens by the other races of the Citadel, not unlike the Gypsies on Earth, and the majority of them aren't seen without protective gear due to being immunocompromised.

In this alternate universe to which they had been abducted, she discovered someone whose intellect dwarfs her people in every conceivable way. If Neo (also known as 'Rorschach' and 'Doctor Genus' in his vigilante and super-scientist personas, respectively) had appeared in her universe, she has no doubt he would have solved all the Milky Way's problems, even while making complete and utter fools of the Citadel Council. The Quarians would have been able to return to Rannoch, the Krogan would've had the Genophage cured, and the biomechanical monstrosities known as the Reapers would've been completely eradicated.

Waking up in the depths of Cadmus Upsilon after an alternate version of her Shepard had broken containment, she was terrified as she scrambled for her protective gear. Brief exposure to pathogens on a spacecraft wouldn't kill her, but to be planet side without her protective gear was almost assuredly a death sentence, and seeing two Shepards, one familiar and the other foreign, as well as duplicates of her squad mates with a clear line of loyalty drawn between them, did not do anything to ease her nerves as she shimmied into her protective suit and flooded her system with immunoboosters.

Shortly after dozens of enemies from the various factions they'd fought came at them, she then witnessed the impossible; a Human using a wrist-mounted implement to completely transmogrify himself into various aliens, before introducing her to a completely new world. A world resembling fictional stories from the Human home world - Earth. People possessing superhuman abilities surpassing any biotic power, some using those abilities for crime and some using those abilities for justice. While the biotic abilities of her universe can be explained by the presence of Eezo, the Super Powered Beings of this Earth have many sources she thought merely myth or pseudo-science.

Since Cadmus Upsilon unabashedly gave off vibes exactingly like Cerberus, she was all too glad to know they wouldn't be abducting anyone else, even if she and her friends were unable to return.

When it came time for everyone to undergo therapy after getting all their ails tended to, instead of being made to sit in chairs and ask how they "felt", the two squads were instead given the opportunity to witness diametric "What If...?" scenarios, courtesy of the Mass Effect trilogy of video games; a video game series that Neo had admitted, helped shape his moral alignment in his own home dimension. Getting to see how everything panned out gave them all some closure, though to learn for a fact that the multiverse was infinite and there were as-many times where the Reapers won as they were stopped, was still incredibly sobering.

Once their "therapy" had been concluded, the sum of them all were offered jobs with Cognito Inc., enabling them to do what they were good at for decent pay and benefits, but without the threat of xenophobic mechanical "cuttlefish" looming over her heads.

Turning away from the lunar view, she faced herself in a full-body mirror, beholden to a purple-skinned Quarian beauty without their environmental suit; a sight that only the Asari race remembered with any amount of clarity. Now healthier than any member of her species with a working immune system, she was clad in a loose-fitting synthetic silk robe colored like her environmental suit. Once the medical nanotech of Cognito Inc. had granted her the immunity to pathogens which would've killed anyone in her race, she had been entertaining herself with all the little pleasures her previous lot in life had denied her; the feeling of actual cloth upon her skin, eating solid food, drinking unfiltered beverages from the glass instead of with a "drinking straw", scratching her face when it got itchy, and just looking at... everything without having to do so behind a protective visor.

In honor of all she had been given, she had even changed her surname to "vas Heaven".

A beeping sound coming from her door, Tali answered- "Come in."

The man known as "Rorschach" stepping in and removing his mask, a privilege reserved for select few, the two of them looked at one another. Their relationship having grown from Rescuer & Rescuee, to Doctor & Patient, to Friend, and now... Well, after learning all the fond memories he'd had of the "Mass Effect universe" in his own world and the fondness he had for her in particular, now that she'd had time to ground herself and the two Shepards were romancing members of the opposite Shepards' squads, she and Neo were angling for something of their own.

"Tali, how have you been?" the 'smartest mammal in the universe' greeted.

"I've been doing quite well," Tali replied doing the Quarian equivalent of a 'curtsy', a fashion that had become all but completely extinct once Quarian women ceased wearing dress and skirt analogues. "And the others?"

"Well, knowing I have the best of the best in the multiverse at my back does me a great deal of good," the man replied, not-so-subtly noticing her attire. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this summons?"

"I've been thinking about the offer you made me. The 'Unitrix' that would enable me to live my life as something other than a Quarian. And I'll admit, with the staggering number of aliens I could be, the offer is certainly tempting..."

"You don't have to if you don't want to," Neo said waving his hands. "I offered because I don't want you succumbing to 'The Last' Syndrome."

"And I haven't. Even if we can never go back, I'm still alive, I am still here, and my people..." Tali said placing her hands over her heart. "My people aren't gone, they just... aren't 'here' right now."

"I'm gladdened to hear that. When I first landed here, I wasn't nearly as-composed."

"To be fair, Hub City is basically a worse-off planet side version of Omega, from what I've read."

"Oof, tell me about it," Neo said rubbing the back of his head. "Did I catch you at a bad time? I can give you a little privacy if you want."

"No~" Tali purred as she took slow steps toward him, hips swaying. "My state of undress was quite intentional. Maxima may have given me some... pointers on getting what I want~"

"Why Ms. vas Heaven, are you trying to seduce me~?"

"Hmhm~ You tell me~" Tali purred in turn as she let the robe glide off her skin and pool around her ankles.

Mentally, Neo whooped at having one of his "nerd fantasies" on the cusp of fulfilment.

*DOOM*

Centennial Park

Metropolis, NY

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

2:22 PM

3POV

"How does Kal put up with this stuff!?"

Kara as Supergirl is currently fighting a monster that emerged from a portal in the center of the recreational park. One look at the monster was enough to cause all the Metropolis citizens to run for their lives. Even those citizens that would stick around and take pictures of Superman fighting super villains and robots that could fire weapons into the crowd, are smart enough to run for their lives.

Since Kara doesn't know what the monster is, she is smart enough to keep her distance, build barriers, and make sure civilians make it to safety. She already called Cognito to do an analysis of the abomination.

It's a hideous amorphic mass of pulsating purplish-blue flesh fused with dark grey metal and translucent crystal. Over two point five million liters of semi-liquid flesh, enough mass to fill an Olympic swimming pool, flows across the ground as a hideous remake of the Blob. The mass of technology and organic flesh has numerous glowing lights and long branching tentacles of flesh. Each of the thicker tentacles in covered in rows of eyes and spikes. It also has numerous screaming human-like faces in its flesh. These faces are the same purplish-blue color with glowing eyes, but some retain their original hair.

"What the hell is this thing?"

"Analyse is complete." says the communication device in her ear. "It's a terraforming nano-organism designed to convert a distant planet into an inhabitable world for its creators. The creators loaded the minds of ten million people into its cores, so clones of those people could be grown on the planet and ready the planet for additional inhabitants."

"So, why is it doing an impression of Yeaworth's The Blob and John Carpenter's The Thing?" asks Kara as she dodges the tentacles reaching for her. She had been on a movie binge on Cognito's film channel, so she did know some of the classic Earth movies.

"The ship it was loaded on became trapped in the Bleed and after several centuries, the ten million minds awoke and went insane. They can't be saved as their minds are too deteriorated and, in their insanity, they will devour a world trying to recreate a sane world."

"How do I stop them!?"

"Cognito has already released a virus program to slow down its growth. You need to destroy the smaller cores located around its body, then destroy the main core when its barriers drop."

Kara's Gamer vision activates and suddenly she sees the world in blue, with the basketball-size cores illuminated inside the mass in red-gold. One of the cores is in a long tentacle that is reaching for a still occupied building outside the park, but Supergirl tosses a lamp post like a javelin. It pierces the tentacle and smashes the small core. It causes the massive tentacle to swell and burst into decaying fragments.

Additional objects thrown at high speed and occasional use of heat vision take care of the other cores, but once the small cores are destroyed the remaining semi-liquid mass flows towards the center and forms a towering more solid mass to protect itself. Kara uses her heat vision, but it's blocked by an energy barrier and the mass screams. It generates limbs of fleshy tendrils and attempts to crush Supergirl, but she's far too fast and her own blows are more than enough to splatter the pseudo-limbs.

"I wanted to explore a new world. I wanted to learn. I wanted to enjoy it. I wanted a new home. I wanted to have a family. I wanted to live my life." says the blob, speaking in ten thousand distorted voices. Kara can hear the voice of men, women, and children filled with fear, anger, and soul crushing despair. She feels an odd sense of sympathy for the broken minds trapped in the abomination.

She awoke to find herself alone on a strange alien world with powers she didn't understand. Kal-El, his clone-brother Connor, and little Jonny may have Kryptonian blood, but they only know of Krypton from recorders made by Uncle Jor-El. She is the last true Kryptonian possessing their blood and culture. She prays in moment between seconds that if these minds possess something resembling souls will find happiness in their next lives.

Kara unleashes the full power of her heat vision. The hideous blob once more creates a barrier to protect itself, but this time something is wrong. The beam is being blocked from touching the blob, but the intensity of the beam is so great it's heating up. The temperatures skyrocket and soon the blob's flesh begins to burn away. As the surface burns away, the protective barrier also begins to fail. As crimson beams breech the barrier, parts of the blob become plasma.

As Kara turns off her heat vision, the corrupted terraforming device leaps at her, trying to crush her under its weight or impale her with its numerous spikes or dissolve her with chemicals and nanomachines. It's an act of desperation as its entire surface is charred and cracking away, exposing its weakening insides. Kara doesn't give the abomination a chance as she unleashes a punch.

The sound of the punch can be heard for miles, shaking windows and sound like steel beam smashing concrete at terminal velocity. There is a shockwave from the impact and the blob stretches before its broken main core explodes out of its "back".

Without the Cores controlling the mass of bio-mechanical nanotechnology, Cognito's programs quickly cause the microscopic machines to turn on each other.

*DOOM*

Minutes later, Cognito Inc arrived to secure the park and escort Kara to decontamination.

As for what the press, and the public by extension would be told...

The monster in question was a malfunctioning, extraterrestrial terraforming device composed of nanomachinery. The nano-weaponry attacks in Europe proved how dangerous unmonitored nanomachines can be, so Cognito Inc. is taking all necessary precautions. We will be treating this as a wide-scale hazardous material spill, and will make sure none of the alien nano infects the local flora and fauna. We will also be screening residents and decontaminating for the next four-to-six weeks.

We would suggest the people of Metropolis wear masks, as the inhalation of nano-dust is nearly as unhealthy as inhaling cigarette smoke. If you feel ill, please contact your doctor or a Cognito Clinic for a Full Scan.

Cognito Inc. is always prepared for whatever problems the world might find itself facing, and in light of recent events are introducing the N-Blood Test Kit to the market ahead of schedule; with it, you'll be able to test your blood for traces of foreign nanotech and similar particles from the comfort of your own home, little different from how one would use a Cognito-brand blood-sugar meter.

No need to bring other dimensions into things. They already get plenty of that with their Cognito Inc.-brand cable package.

"Sooo... am I clean or not?" Kara asked as she was being decontaminated in what looked like a 'Sonic Shower'. "I kinda have a thing somewhere else."

"Almost... Just about... done..." the nearby technician hummed from their console. *Pling* "Alright, you're good to go."

After clapping imaginary dust from her costume, Kara was off like a shot.

*DOOM*

Later, in Smallville...

"Hopefully things will go better here than when I brought him home..." Kara thought as she walked down the main thoroughfare of the town that Kal-El had made his home. Switching out of her hero threads, her attire now consisted of sneakers, jeans, and a red flannel shirt with a white T underneath it. A pair of wire-rim spectacles on her face to boot, and she was visually indistinguishable from any other Earth woman you'd find in town. Prettier to be sure, but nothing explicitly "alien".

As for why she was meeting her new boyfriend for a lunch date in what most outsiders regarded as "middle-of-nowhere Kansas"... When you're dating "the man who has everything", someone who's seen both the majestic and the messed-up of the universe, sometimes a humble down-to-Earth rural town like Smallville was what the doctor needed.

Or at least that's what Ma Kent and Lois told her once the Kent household got some idea of what exactly Alexander Armstrong did at Cognito Inc.

The entire ruse seemed a bit over-kill in her opinion, but the fact that Kal and Lois both were wholly convinced that Dr. Genus, Rorschach, and Alexander were completely separate people from one another, only proved how effective a diversionary tactic it could be.

It was still a little unusual, knowing that the guy she was beginning to fall for could "parallel process" his consciousness across multiple bodies simultaneously at FTL speeds, but she was grateful to be well and far away from the drama of his Rorschach persona's marriage to the queen of the Almeracan people.

"Alex! Were you waiting long?" Kara asked as she entered the town square, her date, clad in casual clothing, was waiting for her by the statue of the town's founder.

Now self-cleaning, courtesy of Cognito Inc.

Or at least that's what the new placard said...

"No. I just arrived, actually," the acting actor greeted with a wave. "So, do you have something particular in mind, or do you wanna see where our feet carry us?"

"Martha pointed me toward a nice little diner she and Jon went to as teenagers. Place has the best peach pie in the whole county, or so I'm told."

"Sounds good," the brunette smiled. "Work was a little tiring today, so I'm glad I can just... sit down, you know?"

"Ugh, tell me about it," she sighed before linking arms with his and leading him along, happy that thanks to Cognito's recent "acquisitions", there was no shortage of Heroes to pick up the slack while she kicked up her feet and relaxed like a normal girl.

*DOOM*

" . . . All things considered, I think meeting your grandparents went really well," Alexander hummed as the two of them waited for their pie. "Although... Clark wasn't completely 'plussed' about it," he hummed scratching his cheek.

"Clark needs to realize I'm a grown woman and not his little cousin. I wasn't joking about changing his diapers."

"How was he as a baby?"

"He was adorable when people paid attention to him, but he became grumpy if he thought you were ignoring him."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. It made me wonder when I saw his costume if he made it just to grab more attention. It looks like he's running around with his underwear on the outside."

"Well, at least the Kents are warming up to me. Honestly, I kinda thought Pa Kent was going to give me the 'shovel speech'."

"It was the 'staff' speech on Krypton. Dad told the boys I studied with if they tried anything they would get the staff."

"I understand beating someone to death with a shovel and burying them, but what about your dad's staff?"

"He didn't need to say anything. He let the boy's imagination do the work for him."

"Devious," Alexander nodded. "Still though, when the topic of you going 'corporate' instead of 'charity' came up, Martha was rather insistent I take the opportunity to help her with something in the barn because Pa Kent's back 'wasn't good for it anymore'. Do I... need to be worried? Just because I have strong feelings about the Justice League's outdated policies, doesn't mean I want to actually come between anyone and their families."

"You don't need to be worried as much as you think you do, it's just... 'Big business' has left a bad taste in people's mouths around here."

"How so? I read a little about Smallville's history so I wouldn't step on any 'land mines', but the Kents have always been the steady heart of this town."

"It's their neighbors that have suffered. Companies buying up smaller farms and breaking tradition, the worst being Lionel Luthor."

"Lex's dad? I'm guessing he wasn't killed for the insurance money in this timeline. Then again there are just as many timelines where his dad's just some bum from 'Suicide Slum'..."

"I'm sure there are many in Smallville that wish Lionel had an 'unfortunate accident'," Kara admitted. "When Lionel did die, Lex pulled all the family money out of Smallville and began his rise to power in Metropolis."

"Well... Your new grandparents seem like perfectly rational people, though the real challenge will be getting Kal in agreement..." Alexander hummed. "Heroics for charity is good and all when you have a high-paying job to support yourself and rich sponsors to handle the overhead like Oliver or Bruce, but Cognito's 'Corporate Hero' structure is simply the next logical step as the number of Metas continues to increase while current supply can't keep up with the demand. I hope that in time, he'll realize doing what they do for pay won't 'cheapen' Heroics but give them more time to be Heroes instead of having to work soul-crushing white-collar jobs for most of the day. Not everyone can be high-grossing reporters for a major news outlet or be born stupid-rich. And the fewer 'Metro Men Incidents' we can have outside Interdimensional Cable, the better~"

"I'll admit, the first time I saw that movie, I thought his whole spiel of dressing up a prop from the nursing school was done just for laughs..." Kara giggled. "But then I realized Metro Man was completely right. Being a superhero shouldn't have to be a lifetime gig, but you just can't 'quit' either, and everyone but you does have 'a choice'. It's true that people need saving, but if a Hero can't save themselves..." she said thoughtfully before stopping. "By the way, aren't you worried about having this kind of conversation out in the open?" Kara asked, wondering why no-one was giving them a second glance, or even attempting to eavesdrop. Especially on the Kent family's "niece" that no one had heard of.

"Not at all, I have a top agent sorting things out," Alexander hummed looking over his shoulder, his Persona/Stand/whatever,[What Do U See?], idly weaving a privacy spell around them so no-one would hear nor care what was being discussed by the two of them. "But anyway, I'm glad I met a version of you who's mature-enough to stop and think about what you want to do with your life instead of mindlessly doing 'what all the cool kids' are doing."

"Yeah... That whole thing with Kid Flash in the alternate timeline when he 'cracked'... That was a real wakeup call..." she admitted, having been privy to the specials on Interdimensional Cable not available to the public as part of her integration to Earth. "Hey, I don't want to come across as ungrateful or anything but are you... the real you?" she asked, reaching out for his hand, her Super-Vision completely incapable of discerning whether this was one of his remote-controlled alibi-creating doppelgangers.

"I'm 'me'. And even if I weren't, is it any-less personal than talking with someone over the phone?"

"I'll admit, the 'production value' was a little over-the-top~" she chuckled. "On an unrelated note, I'm really glad you talked the Kents out of making me wear a brunette wig when I go out."

"It's like I told them, if a Hero is caught wearing a wig after it gets knocked off in a fight, everyone'll just think it's part of the disguise, but if a pretty civilian girl is seen hiding a full head of beautiful blond hair under a tacky wig... That'd just raise some uncomfortable questions~"

" . . . . I think my parents would've really liked you. My mom Moreso than my dad because, you know, he's a 'dad'," she chuckled somberly. "Actually, remembering Krypton, how the people raked my uncle over the coals when he tried to convince everyone the planet was going to explode... Kal only has recordings to go by, but I was actually there, I lived on Krypton and..."

"I'm honestly amazed you and your cousin haven't asked me to time travel in order to save them, given all they've seen me do already."

" . . . Wait, could you?" she blinked after a moment. "Not that I'm personally saying you should, but..." she paused pointedly, "could you really do it?"

"Mechanically I could... But there are millions of movies and television episodes on Interdimensional Cable that point out why that's usually a bad idea..."

"To be fair though... after looking up Earth history, I can't help but feel like if you did save a bunch of Kryptonians, that they wouldn't just push out the natives and try to make a 'New Krypton'..." she hummed looking up at the yellow sun, which had transformed her from an ordinary girl on her own world, into the most-powerful girl of countless others.

" . . . This must be really difficult. Sitting across from someone who probably could reach back in time and teleport your loved ones off Krypton and not asking them to do it. I mean, if you do it surgically-enough the paradoxes will be a non-issue-"

"Maybe, but then where would we ask you to draw the line? Not just on Krypton, but on all planets, for all people," Kara admitted. "As painful as it is to admit, Krypton had its shot, and in the grand scheme of things, nature selected the Kryptonians for extinction. Like that thing on Earth with the dinosaurs."

" . . . Kara, you know if you wanted your parents back, I'd get them for you in a heartbeat. Just say the word and-"

"Alex," Kara said putting a finger to his lips. "I don't want what we have, what we're trying to build together, to be predicated on what you 'can do for me'. It wouldn't be fair to you, taking advantage of you like that."

" . . . For the longest time, I was honestly worried I wouldn't be able to find anyone to spend my life with, being as smart as I am..." Alex hummed his fingers running through his hair. "When you know nothing matters, the universe is yours, and I've never met a universe that was into it. The universe is basically an animal that grazes on the ordinary, creating infinite idiots just to eat them. You know, smart people get a chance to climb on top, take reality for a ride, but it'll never stop trying to throw you; and eventually it will, there's no other way off."

"If nothing matters... why do... How can you care about anything?"

" . . . Because deep down inside, there's still that lovable idiot with only a triple-digit IQ in the upper hundreds. The lovable idiot that enjoys the same stupid shit that stupid people enjoy. The same lovable idiot who wants to find someone that likes the same things he does and spends the rest of his life with. Honestly, I don't know if I'm 'the Real McCoy', or someone self-aware of their place in the multiverse like Deadpool, or a copy of 'the Real McCoy' from when a fantasy writer doesn't want their character to grapple with the existential crisis of knowing their absence has 'left a hole' in the lives of those around them so they can put their everything into whatever magical world they find themselves in instead of trying to 'get home'. And maybe because the moment I stop caring for real, is the moment I go full-on Owl Man and whip up a Neutrino Bomb powerful-enough to take the entire multiverse with me."

"So, one of those... 'find meaning for yourself in a universe that has none' kind of things?" Kara asked, realizing that no matter how strong she or her cousin became, they could never even hope to bear the weight of what someone with so much intelligence had to endure. The mere affirmation that life was "pointless" was enough to make even the strongest of people give up. So, to see someone who could create duplicates of destroyed planets from scratch still grapple with these sorts of existential crises that cause denizens of more-advanced alien civilizations to shut down even when they can live a life of indolent luxury...

"I guess..." he admitted. "Still, I'm amazed that someone from the House of El is cool with dating a guy who stumbled into his own harem well after his best friend got his."

"In the grand scheme of things, polygamy and even polyamoryare nothing unusual throughout the universe," Kara shrugged. "Of course, you having access to multiple bodies probably helps with that~" she winked.

"Just as long as you don't try to wear out more than one body at a time. Even I have what regular people call 'boundaries'~"

And though their table-side discussion was a little somber, and not even remotely what she would've talked about during dates back on Krypton, Kara had a great time.

*DOOM*

The Web

Outer Heaven, Moon

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

12:43

3POV

Spider-Man is considered one of most iconic characters of the Marvel Comics universe. Marvel has shown many incarnations through various media and not just male Peter Parker.

May "Mayday" Parker is the daughter of the original Spider-Man - Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson. Her father retired after the final death of original Green Goblin (Norman Osborn) which also cost him his leg. His daughter was born a mutant whose superhuman abilities awoke as a teenager, just in time for her to defeat the newest Green Goblin (Norman's grandson -Norman Harold "Normie" Osborn).

Benjamin "Ben" Reilly is a clone of Peter created by mad scientist Dr. Miles Warren (known as the Jackal) to torment the hero. The mentally unstable Dr. Warren was obsessed with Peter's late girlfriend Gwen and wanted Spider-Man to suffer for letting her die. He broke free of Jackal's control and wandered as the Scarlet Spider, even taking Spider-Man's place when needed.

Kaine Parker was the Jackal's first attempt at cloning Peter Parker. Initially thought to be a success, Kaine eventually became deformed due to a flaw in the cloning process. Kaine has been both Peter's enemies and ally over the years, eventually taking up the Scarlet Spider mantle after Ben's death. Kaine Parker is also The Other – one empowered by a powerful totemic spider deity and even able to become a spider monster.

Gwen Stacy in many universes was the girlfriend of Peter Parker until her death, but in some universes, she was the one bitten by a Spider and transformed into a Super Powered Being. As the Spiderwoman of her world, she faced many threats and had many adventures. She also like most spider people suffered an event that taught responsibility – in her case the death of her world's Peter Parker who had mutated himself into The Lizard attempting to gain powers.

Miguel O Hara was once a scientist working for Alchemax – the evil megacorporation of cyberpunk version of Marvel Universe. He wanted to escape the evil company, but Tyler Stone (unknownly Miguel's biological father) made him genetically addicted to a drug that only Alchemax could supply. To cure himself he used his own genetic splicing technology, which due to an act of sabotage, granted him spider powers like the legendary hero Spider-Man. He would go on to defeat Alchemax and led to the world into a new Age of Marvels.

Miles Morales was an African American boy whose uncle Aaron Davis was a criminal named Prowler. Due to Prowler's actions, Miles was accidentally exposed to an altered Spider and became the second Spider-Man of his Ultimate universe. Miles didn't immediately put on the costume, as it was the death of his universe's original Spider-Man – Peter Parker – that caused him to take up the mantle. He has all the original spider powers plus a few additions like invisibility and bio-electric "Venom blasts".

Mary-Jane Watson is usually Peter Parker's second love interest and future wife in many universes, but in a handful of universes she became Spider-woman or a similar type of arthropod-themed heroine (Insect Queen, Iron Spider, Spinneret, etc.). There are even some versions of Mary-Jane that tap into her "spirit guide" Red Sonya when she must fight supernatural threats.

Jessica Drew pre-dates Peter Parker in most timelines but lacks recognition. Many years ago, Jessica Drew became deathly ill due to environmental factors. In some worlds, it was a venomous bite from one of her father's experiment spiders, but in the majority, it was exposure to radiation on her father's land. Her father – Doctor Jonothan Drew - a scientist who did controversial studies of evolution, genetics and cell regeneration, did all he could to save his daughter. This resulted in her gaining spider powers. She has been both a brainwashed assassin of HYDRA and the heroine Spider-Woman. She was also replaced by a Skrull Queen who attempted to conquer the world, an event that left her with depression.

Julia Carpenter has also been known as Spider-woman, Arachne, and Madame Web. In her world, a secretive government group called the Commission decided to create their own superhero. They "accidentally" injected Julia with a combination of spider venom and plant extract that somehow granted her powers identical to Spider-Man. She was worked alongside other heroes including Iron-Man and his proactive team Force Works. She even learned from Cognito Cable that in one animated universe she even married Tony.

Cindy Moon is a Korean American spider-woman known as Silk. She was bitten by the same spider as Peter Parker on the same day. To protect her and others from Morlun and the Inheritors – a group of energy-vampires that fed on Totems especially Spider-totems – she spent years inside a Bunker. This not only gave her mental problems but made her spider sense so sensitive she tends to ignore it. She is known as The Bride among the Totems, which meant the Inheritors wanted to hunt her down to destroy all Spider men and women.

"The Web" is a section of Outer Heaven, like the district in a city, meant for the Spider Tribe. It's inhabited by close to a hundred Spider-men and Spider-women from across the multiverse. These inhabitants torn away from their friends, families, and responsibilities are mostly crippled by depression and sense of loss. Some of the inhabitants have suffered from loss of power due to the psychological damage. There have also been conflicts between some of the Spiders due to differences between their worlds and differences in morality.

The version of Gwen Stacey found by Rorschach, a version of "Spider-Gwen" inhabited by the soul of a "real world" girl is a unique case. She, like Ash and Rorschach, has a unique perspective. Due to this detachment, she ends up mediating conflicts between different cliches in The Web.

"Why are you defending them!? They are killers." says one unstable version of Peter Parker.

"Your parents, as SHIELD Agents they killed many criminals and enemy agents." say Gwen "Bleed Spider" Stacy, "You can't apply the same morals to different worlds."

"Why!? Why did they take them instead of MJ and Mayday?" says Peter collapsing into tears. Medical robots slowly approach him.

"Honestly. Scientific value. They only wanted people with powers." replies one of the "Dark Spiders."

The Dark Spiders are some of the most murderous of Spider-Men.

SHIELD Agent Parker. A version of Spider-Man who after the brutal deaths of his uncle and aunt joined SHIELD to hunt down terrorists and super villains. His parents were SHIELD agents and he proved he could surpass them. With training and his spider powers he became a legendary assassin, spoken in whispers like Black Widow and Winter Soldier.

Mad Scientist Peter Parker-Osborn. A version of Peter Parker that became an amoral scientist. He was adopted by Norman Osborn after the deaths of his aunt and uncle in an accident. What was human in him died when Harry Osborn filled with jealously attempted to kill his far smarter brother and died in the process. Peter eventually developed a super soldier serum that he sold to the military.

Spider King Adrian Parker. The son of Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Adriana Soria (Spider-Queen). His mother was a super villainess who took over New York who transformed the inhabitants into spider creatures. During that period, which lasted months due to complications, Queen successfully mated with Spider-Man and gave birth to her Prince. When he grew up, he rose to become warlord of post-apocalyptic New York which had descended into metahuman feudalism.

The one who opened his big mouth was Black Spider.

Black Spider, also known as Eric Needham, is a weird case. He's a native of Earth-DR, an assassin/mercenary that works for the League of Shadows. A man who for his agility, acrobatics, and sadism when hunting his prey. What makes him special is meta-knowledge.

Prior to Young Justice, Greg Weisman had been co-creator of The Spectacular Spider-Man cartoon. Black Spider is voiced by Josh Keaton, who voiced Spider-Man on The Spectacular Spider-Man. This version of Eric was heavily based on the Spectacular Spider-Man complete with web shooters

Rorschach caught him and converted from the League of Assassins to Cognito. Black Spider now spends his time killing drug dealers and leaders of cartels, instead of fighting heroes. Something he enjoys immensely, since he holds a deep hatred from drug dealers. When he was younger, he robbed his father's store to feed his addiction and killed his father in the process. After he kicked his addiction, he was a vigilante for a short period before he was approached by the League of Shadows with promises.

Black Spider even got some enhancements from Rorschach, putting him on the same level as the Spectacular Spider-Man. Those enhancements are the only reason he survives the full-strength punch from Crying Spider. Spider-Man normally holds back when he fights super-villains otherwise his punches would shatter bones to powder and pulverize organs.

Cognito Medical Robots flood the place before the fight can escalate. They are towering humanoids with thick round parts. Their bodies are covered in soft white nano-polymer that makes them look like they are composed of marshmallows. The nano-polymer makes them immune to the adhesive powers of the Spiders and can easily absorb the superhuman blows of their fists. The Robots don't even hurt the patients, instead they bear hug them. Crying Spider struggles, then collapses in the soft embrace of the Robot.

"What a mess." says Gwen "Bleed Spider" Stacy. She is glad she asked Rorschach not to reside in the Web. Guilt/Revenge-driven superheroes don't have the best mental health.

*DOOM*

"I still can't believe you were able to make an exact duplicate of my original room," Gwen said when she found Alex waiting for her. "I mean, I hardly even remember my original room!"

"Yes, well, people remember more than they realize, but it's more a software thing than a hardware thing," the omni-genius hummed, having set aside some time to hang out with her, just to "reincarnators" chilling out with no other responsibilities. "So..." he said as the two of them flopped down on the sofa and turned on the TV. "How're things with the other Spiders doing?"

"The Other Spiders? Hoh boy..."

"That bad?"

"I've read some of their bios, and a common hallmark among 'Peters' is an overwhelming sense of responsibility and guilt over past failures. Hell, I'm not that different since after my Peter died, I've been swimming in guilt as much as the rest of them," the blond sighed running her fingers through her hair. "Miles is pretty stable, even when he's shouldering Peter's responsibilities, but in general, 'Spiders' tend to be a poisonous cocktail of guilt and responsibility that completely smothers the life out of us," she said reaching toward a coaster with an LED ring in the base, a cool drink teleporting into her hand. "Now that they're cut off from everything except each other, they've got nothing to focus on except for their twisted and warped reflections; and it's stressing the hell out of them."

"I heard there've been some fights."

"Not all of the Spiders have the same morality. Some will sacrifice themselves even to save the life of a villain, while others are willing to kill a hundred to save thousands. We don't handle dark reflections very well; that's why Venom is a common fear among us."

"Well, seeing as how Cognito is the only one willing to work with them without outright exploiting them, I guess it's good there aren't so-many emotionally unstable spider-powered nutballs swinging around," Alex sighed reaching for a drink of his own. "Their 'Spider-sonas' have been such an integral part of their personalities, that now that they aren't 'special snowflakes' anymore... Well... Hopefully once they've come to terms with things, maybe they'll realize they don't need to be 'Spiders' to make a difference in the world. Sometimes the person beneath the mask is all they need."

"Yeah, well, good luck with that. Superhero worlds aren't exactly bastions of mental health after all," she hummed switching channels. "Which reminds me... You've taken on... a lot of responsibility since coming here. You could've carved out your own little niche for yourself and let the world pass you by, yet you're putting fingers in all the pies. Why is that?"

" . . . . I created Cognito Inc. so I could actually change the way things in this world worked. You could be the best at punching bad guys in the face, but if the safety net that catches them is as worn and tattered as it's always been, nothing's going to change. That's why I'm dragging the world, kicking and screaming, into something better than the current age of Capes & Undies," the mad genius hummed. "Rick Sanchez's problem was that he let the weight of a universe devoid of meaning crush him, and he never bothered crawling out from under it. I... I don't want to end up like that, which is why I've invested so much of myself into this world. Because as long as there's something I 'care' about... well... All these broken Heroes, Villains, and everything in-between that Cadmus dragged into this, I'll definitely have my work cut out for me."

"Yeah... Even Heroes need a helping hand every once in a while."

"Civilians might be completely helpless in the face of... well, everything, but honestly, I think the Heroes are the ones that actually need 'saving' the most. You try to bear the weight of the world on your shoulders like Atlas, and it's going to wear you down until there's nothing left."

"At least all those people you saved have something to look forward to other than artificial memories in a fake paradise."

"Honestly, I think Ash had the right idea when he just... up and laid all his cards out for the League. If he tried to put a suit of armor around the world, the responsibility would've broken him no matter how much he knew, so instead he took all that responsibility, broke it up into parts, and handed them out to anyone with a pair of working thumbs and enough braincells to actually do something with that knowledge."

"Yeah... Looking in on it from the outside, that's actually pretty smart," Gwen hummed. "What was that saying of his?"

"Knowledge is Power. Power is Responsibility. I Share my Knowledge to set myself Free," Alexander quoted. "Free of everything, bound by nothing. Live the life that was given to you."

"Yeah... Not a lot of Heroes take the time to just... live for themselves, you know?"

" . . . While I do give the Justice League a lot of flak, some of them have their heads on straight. Superman knows that if he was 'Superman' all the time, it'd drive him nuts, no matter how much good he could do if he were 'Superman 24/7', so that's why he tries to make a life for himself as 'Clark Kent'. Wonder Woman fights for civil rights in her 'off hours', since not all the problems in the world can be solved with punching and a magic lasso. Even the Flash, fastest man alive, plays at being late when he's out-of-costume because being late for things is a very 'human' thing to do. And maybe now that Cognito is sponsoring entire fleets of Corporate Heroes... maybe the rest of them will finally realize, even in a world filled with Heroes, there will always be people that can't be saved, and that it's alright to let pot boil without watching it."

"Still... as far as 'Isekai Heroes' go, going for an Intelligence Build to completely fuck with the world's logic with a crafting system... That's pretty fucking terrifying..." Gwen hummed as she eyed her "window", the Outer Heaven listing casually along the lunar horizon. "Me, I did what was 'expected of me' after I got 'Isekai'd', but you... I don't think even the smartest 'Peter' could've done what you've done."

"And all it cost me was my humanity," he said before feeling Gwen's hands take his.

"Not all of it, I hope," she said looking into his eyes.

" . . . No. Not all of it," he replied, squeezing back as the two enjoyed their company.

The conversation reaching a lull, the two just bummed out and watched TV, letting the world pass them by, arms draped over shoulders and feet kicked up before Gwen broke the silence.

"How do you feel about 'Single's Night' for all the Upsilon Abductees?"

"Because not all of them were fortunate-enough to land here with their significant others?"

"I'm just saying... They could all stand to benefit from a little more 'normal person stuff'. Like us," she hummed drawing him in and laying her head on his shoulder.

" . . . I think that'd really help, honestly," Alex hummed thoughtfully, laying his head atop hers.

*DOOM*

[Rewind]

Rorschach's Recovery Room R

Outer Heaven, Moon

Sunday, February 1, 2015

Station Time: 10:00

1POV

The Earth-DR Universe doesn't accept all newcomers. If a person with a certain power appears in our universe and our universe say humans shouldn't have those powers, there are only four options. The first option is they die as the universe violently rejects them. The second option is they are depowered as their power can't exist in this universe. The third option is subject becomes something other than human, something that can possess the power. The fourth option is both the subject and the subject's power become something that can exist.

Some of the cases have even confused Rorschach's "smartest mammal in the universe" intellect. He's currently showing me some of his medical projects. Some of the few subjects rescued from Cadmus Upsilon are not in perfect physical health.

The Pod is Marked with the Bleach Logo.

BLEACH. In this world, what makes the world different is what happens after the death. Most of the souls that emerge are pluses – ordinary souls that eventually move on to the afterlife known as the Soul Society, but some souls linger on the Earth too long or commit too many sins in life. They lose their hearts and become monstrous serial killer ghosts called Hallows. They devour souls to feed the emptiness within themselves. In time they can even turn on each other, with hundreds of thousands fusing together to become a Menos Grande. These fusions have three evolutions – the mindless towering giants known as Gillians, the giant animals born with a single soul take over the others inside a Gillian – an Adjuchas, and finally the most powerful, the humanoid Vasco Lorde. in this world, opposing the Hallows are souls with strong spiritual powers with the main group being Shinigami or Soul Reapers. The Zanpakutō (soul cleaving sword) are the reaper weapons born from their souls, which can send pluses to the Soul Society, cleanse the souls of Hollows (who only committed unforgivable sins as Hollows), and literally send evil souls to Hell.

"Cadmus Upsilon captured several subjects from Bleach, but this one had problems."

A tall, beautiful woman standing 175 cm (5'9") with olive skin, thick eyelashes, and short messy golden blonde hair with three braided locks. She is naked and floating in the fetal position inside a liquid-filled pod.

It takes me a second to recognize the Arrancar, as she lacks the hollow mask fragments and hole that indicate the dangerous spiritual beings. The remnants of her Hollow mask should consist of the sides of her face, her mouth, and an extensive area below and around her neck extending down to, and also covering, her nipples. Her hollow hole should be her lower abdomen where her womb is located.

"Tier Harribel."

A shark-based Vasco Lorde-class Arrancar. She was the Tres (Rank 3) of Big Bad Aizen's Espada, taking the place of the former Tres - Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck. She was a loyal soldier with her fraccion (subordinates) being Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose, and Cyan Sung-Sun. She was betrayed by Aizen when he saw no further us in her but became the leader of Hueco Mundo (the Hollow World) after Aizen's defeat. The last I saw of her; she was captured by Wandenreich during the Thousand-Year Blood War arc.

"She is a Vasco-Lorde rank Menos Grande composed of millions of souls, but when she entered our universe, those souls started to separate. The core soul of her existence remained but the other degraded souls were released over time. Thankfully, those degraded souls didn't become Hollows and become a plague like they are on the Bleach world. The core soul did absorb the spiritual energies of those souls and I needed to create a physical body to house her soul."

"So, her body is a Gigai?"

"A Gigai or Faux Body is an artificial body which allows Shinigami to remain in the Human World and interact with Humans. Housing the soul of former Vasto Lorde-class Arrancer is considerably more difficult." says Rorschach, sounding a little smug, "When she wakes up, I want you to be present."

"Why me?"

"You have that Shark Affinity, and she is a shark."

"I don't think she has much trust in males. She ran the only female-only gang in Hueco Mundo."

"She may be willing. She is a very loyal person, and her aspect of death is Sacrifice."

The next pod is marked Dragon Ball.

The Twelve Universes of Dragon Ball are ruled by the Omni King Zen-Oh. Each Universe has two figures that stand above all others – the supreme kai of that universe who creates worlds in his universe and the God of destruction who destroys old worlds, like removing weeds and old trees to allow new plants to grow in a garden. The word Dragon Ball refers to different sets of crystal orbs that summon wish-granting dragons of varying power levels. These include the Dragon Shenton of Universe-7 Earth created by the Namekian guardian of Earth, the Dragon Porunga of the Planet Namek, and the immense Super Shenron created by the dragon god Zalama.

The Dragon Ball franchise (manga and anime) focus around the adventures of Son Goku, starting with Questing for the Dragon Balls, escalating to fights against planet ending threats in DBZ, and battles of God-level powers in DBS. It's a series that went from martial arts in a world of dinosaurs, talking animals, magic, and robots, to transforming warriors fighting for the fate of their universes.

The woman in the pod is a tall, curvaceous beauty standing 180cm (5'11). She has light skin and long bushy auburn hair reaching her waist. She is not a character from Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or Dragon Ball Super. She is not a character from Films or GT. Instead, I recognize her as the antagonist of the video game Dragon Ball FighterZ. She looks a little different without her red/blue asymmetrically colored clothing and glasses, but it's far less shocking than her transformed state.

"Jinzōningen Nijūichi-Gō. Artificial Human 21. Inaccurately called Android 21."

"FighterZ?"

"Yup."

Android 21's history is complicated. The original human she was based on was a brilliant scientist and lover of Dr. Gero – the chief robotics and technology expert of the massive Red Ribbon Army. The original was the mother of Dr. Gero's son, who gave his life fighting for the Red Ribbon Army. When the Red Ribbon Army was wiped out by Son Goku (hero of Universe-7 Earth), Dr. Gero became obsessed with revenge. One of those projects was the creation of bio-androids – artificial humanoids crafted from the genetic material of numerous fighters. While Cell was the first version composed of Human, Saiyan, Namekian, and Freiza's race, New Type Android 21 contains Majin material taken from Majin Buu.

"The Majin genetics is what is causing problems. They are a magical race and the evil acts that Android 21 committed in some timelines are the result of her trying to cure or being consumed by her hunger. It's this hunger that caused her to develop her evil side." explains Rorschach, "The solution was actually taken from Cell. After Cell absorbed Android 17 & 18 including their infinite power cores, he no longer needed to eat. I created a core to supply her Majin physiology. At the same time, I also locked away her true form and suppressed the psychological hunger."

"At least we won't have to fight the evil binge eater who sees everyone as sweets."

The third pod is marked Elfen Lied.

The World of Elfen Lied. Diclonius is a new species of humanity possessing horns and psychokinetic abilities that manifest as invisible arms extending from their backs. They are dangerous to humans because most develop their powers at very young ages when they don't have the maturity to control them. Many also have an instinctual dislike of normal humans. Humans in the world of Elfen Lied experiment and exterminate them, treating them like animals. There are also two types of Diclonius: Queens and Silpelits. Queens are capable of reproduction and can infect humans with a virus that causes them to give birth to Silpelits. Silpelits are infertile drones that age at twice the normal rate.

Inside the pod is the "protagonist" of Elfen Lied. She is a young woman with long cerise hair and small round white horns similar to cat ears. She floats in the liquid of the pod with her hair spread out in an artistic manner.

"Kaede or should I call her Lucy or Nyu?"

Kaede is the only known Diclonius Queen. She was a child abandoned by her parents, neglected by the staff of the orphanage, and abused by children of the orphanage for being different. When they captured and murdered her puppy in front of her, she finally snapped and released her psychokinetic Vectors. After slaughtering her tormentors, she wandered away. She found a moment of hope with a young boy named Kouta, but a misunderstanding caused her to go on a rampage. She was finally captured by scientists and was a subject for experiments (it was at the facility that she gained the name Lucy). After three years, she successfully escaped the facility, but a head injury from a sniper round gave her a split personality (the child persona earned the name Nyu).

"This one is messy. Who am I kidding!? That show was a bloodbath.", I yell in frustration, "Did Cadmus capture Kouta? The idiot she became attached to?"

"Unfortunately for her, no. She still had a bleeding headwound, so I'm guess she was grabbed from episode one. After she got shot in the head by a fifty caliber and fell in the ocean, but before she was found by Kouta and Yuka on the beach."

"So, when the innocent Nyu personality was forming. What about her Vectors and the virus?"

"I used nanomedicine to suppress the DNA Voice, as a side effect it shrunk her pineal gland. In her sub-species that actually disabled her Vectors. It's possible due to how psychic powers function differently in this world, her powers would remanifest. Her mind is currently inside an artificial reality that is attempting to rebuild Kaede into a sane person without the Dissociate Identity Disorder."

Rorschach's communicator goes off.

"New development in the botany department. Want to look?"

"Sure. It's something to do."

*DOOM*

Hallway

"Is that a Gundam?"

We are currently walking through a corridor whose special screens display the lunar surface. They are designed to replicate windows, but in truth instead of invisible glass there is three inches of alloy, a foot of lunar ferro-concrete, and a layer of artificial regolith covering the tunnel between sections. We could have used portals, but I have a feeling Rorschach is showing off.

Gundam is a universe in which the people of Earth have advanced enough to be able to colonize localized space such as space colonies in Legrange orbit, lunar colonies, and sometimes even colonies on Mars. What they have not advanced beyond is the desire for war. Earth exploits and oppresses the space colonies, while the colonies see themselves as superior to those on Earth with some even gaining supernatural abilities that make them expert pilots. The conflicts born of those different beliefs were fought using giant humanoid tanks called Mobile Suits. The most powerful and legendary of these mecha were the Gundams.

Rorschach's Gundam is hard to describe. It looks like the unholy lovechild of ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam from Gundam Seed and XXXG-01D2 Gundam Deathscythe Hellfrom Gundam Wing (my two fav Gundam eras). It is taller than either one standing 20 meters tall (65.6 feet), dwarfing the original Liberty Prime who is only 12.19 meters (40 feet) and making it 112 centimeters (about the length of a baseball bat) taller than the Strike Freedom. It's almost pure black with some white parts (following Rorschach's monochrome theme), but the majority is hidden under active cloak wings like the Deathscythe Hell.

"I got inspired after making the SOL Units."

SOL Units - Stars of Liberty – It's a fancy name for Liberty Primes designed to protect Outer Heaven and operate in space. They are taller and thicker than the Earth-born Liberty Prime variants standing 15 meters (49' 2.5") These units have special jet systems that allow them to move at massively hypersonic speeds while they are protected by a combination of advance armor and shield systems. They are heavily armed with solid project and focused energy weapons combined with smart missiles. They are even equipped with phased cloaking technology (ghost tech) that allows them to be invisible to Earth and extraterrestrial sensors, even when orbiting the moon.

"Cool. Did Kira help?"

"Nope. He's still with his group in recovery."

Kira Yamato is the main protagonist of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and the main protagonist of the second half of Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny. He was super-coordinator (a person genetically enhanced to operate in space) raised by the peaceful nation of Orb until he got pulled into the war as the pilot of the advance prototype GAT-X105 Strike Gundam, ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam, and the ZGMF-X20A Strike Freedom Gundam.

His Group includes his coordinator girlfriend (singer and leader) Lacus Clyne, his human sister who was raised a Princess of Orb (and freedom fighter) Cagalli Yula Athha, his best friend and former enemy Athrun Zala (whose also Cagalli's boyfriend), his former commanding officer Captain Murrue Ramius, and his comrade (and her boyfriend) Mu La Flaga. A curious lot considering only Kira, Lacus, and Athrun are genetically enhanced with the others being normal humans, beyond the DNA of Mu's father being used to make two famous clones – the mad man Rau Le Creuset and the tragic Rey Za Burrel.

"Are they still on the Gundam Marathon? Aren't there over 30 different series and over 1,052 Gundam episodes in the Franchise."

"Even more since Cognito only picks the best versions of the Gundam series from across the multiverse."

Cognito Cable doesn't just have anime, it has the best anime in the multiverse. This means even the worst Gundam series in our original universes, are replaced with versions as good as the best series. Cognito Medical even sells health monitors for fanboys and fangirls because there have been cases of people collapsing from binge watching.

*DOOM*

Botany Department

"These two are our most interesting samples."

The First Botany Sample is marked World: Demon Slayer.

A world of horrific demons that feast on human blood. This horror began during Heian Era, when Muzan Kibutsuji was born a very sickly child. He was thought dead at birth, and he was very weak through most of his life. One man's attempt to heal him was a medicine made from Blue Spider Lilies. This incomplete medicine transformed Muzan into the first demon, but because he killed the doctor in rage (before he could complete the medicine) he was vulnerable to the light of the sun. In a quest to obtain perfect immortality and immunity from the sun, he created many more demons, turning the strongest and most bloodthirsty into his elite Upper and Lower Moons. Opposing him are the Demon Slayers possessing special swords that allow them to decapitate and destroy Demons.

I look at the flowers growing in a plastic case. Leaves have pale stripe in the center and Individual red and blue flowers are irregular, with narrow segments which curve backwards and long projecting stamens. I recite off some botanic knowledge that is inside my Doomsday body brain.

"Lycoris radiata also known as red spider lily, red magic lily, or equinox flower. Originally from China, Korea, and Nepal, it was introduced into Japan and from there to the United States and elsewhere. It is considered naturalized in Seychelles and in the Ryukyu Islands. In Japan, they often symbolize Never to meet again/Lost memory/Abandonment. They are the flowers that grow on the shores of sanzo river, the flowers of death."

"In the world of Demon Slayer, the rare blue variant only blooms in direct sunlight. It was medicine made from those flowers that led to the creation of demons. The completed medicine grants enhanced physical abilities and the most advanced regeneration I have ever seen."

"So, no desire to consume people?"

"No. The body just requires a lot of nutrient dense food."

"I'm guessing you won't be putting this one in the pharmacies."

"Correct. If the wrong people get their hands on these flowers, things are going to get complicated."

The next botanical sample is marked World: Naruto.

The world of element-manipulating ninja began nearly a thousand years ago. An invader from another world Kaguya Ōtsutsuki landed on a planet like Earth. The world at that time was at war as the armies of various powerful lords fought over land, succession, and other things. She came to the world because of the God Tree (Shinju), a mysterious plant that devoured people to grow a fruit. A clan of horned celestial beings - Ōtsutsuki travelled from world to world growing trees that would devour worlds and consuming the chakra fruit for power and immortality. What changed in Naruto's world was her attachment to humanity and the birth of her children - Hagoromo and Hamura. She also later merged with the tree to become a monster – the Ten Tails – which would be broken into the nine Tailed Beasts.

The case is empty. Instead, there is a holographic projection of an immense tree with spiraling green-gold branches and dark brown bark.

"Shinju or God Tree is the name given by the natives of Naruto's world. It feeds on the mortal races to produce celestial fruit. The fruit allows the Ōtsutsuki to maintain their power and immortality."

"It reminds me of the Tree of Might from Dragonball Z. A giant tree that devours nutrients from everything to produce its fruit."

"I have a theory that these trees are meant to grow on higher planes of existence fed by higher energies of the upper worlds. They only cause problems when they are introduced to a normal plane because it's nutrient deficient." says Rorschach, "I'm testing my theory by growing a tree in an artificial higher dimension. This projection is just for monitoring."

"Artificial higher dimension? You created an artificial heaven?"

"Correct. Impressed?"

"A little."

*DOOM*

Gateway Station, Earth Orbit

Friday, February 6, 2015

Station Clock: 21:35

1POV

I emerge from a dimensional portal and am happy to feel the station's artificial gravity pull me to its solid ground. It's been a long chain of quests given to me by Rorschach's Gamer ability. All I want to do is enjoy my Bunker's entertainment with my girls.

"I would compare that Quest chain to my four years in Hell!"

"Your exaggerating... a little." says Rorschach not looking up from his computer screen.

"What are you working on now?"

"Psychological Help Program version 2.25.09. I have created hundreds of inventions, but this is the only thing I need to constantly update."

Superhero worlds have never been bastions of psychological health. A career as a superhero is dangerous work and it takes more than just having smarts or powers for someone to become a superhero. It requires a psychological element, a perceived injustice that normal methods can't fix or a desire to go beyond the normal limits of society.

Bruce Wayne lost his family to criminals, so he became Batman so no child would suffer the same fate. Superman is an alien immigrant trying to prove himself by being the "best human" he can be. Barry Allen tried to save his father by becoming a forensic scientist, but he wasn't fast enough and now stopping crimes as the Flash. All around the world, there are similar stories. People who lost loved ones to crime or those seeking fame and glory, put on costumes to free themselves from society.

Cognito Inc had to invest deeply into psychological care with recent events. Everything from funding psychology programs of schools to advancements in mental health technology.

The Halloween Event has thousands of people transformed into their costumes. Even those whose physical changes were permanent were left with foreign memories of worlds not their own. Those that were permanently changed had to learn to live with new bodies barely helped by those memories. In many cases, the memories and bodies didn't even match, just making problems more severe.

The subsequent Valentine Event left people feeling violated and scared that these Events would continue to plague them with no heroes to save them. While many couples just became more intimate, there were random meetings and there were many unplanned pregnancies. If it wasn't for Cognito Inc's influence, all magic users would be forced to register and would be oppressed like Mutants in Marvel.

The Day of the Dragons filled the world with fear and created thousands of refugees. Many of those refugees are dealing with trauma, mourning the loss of family, and some dealing with becoming Super Powered Beings.

Finally, there is over nine thousand subjects of Cadmus Upsilon.Thousands of people torn from their worlds with no chance of ever returning. People torn away from friends, family, loved ones, properties, and responsibilities. Every one of them feeling violated by Cadmus' machines because a secret society wanted to create weapons out of people.

Cognito Inc has more options than mental health care facilities of Earth. They can remove memories and alter brain chemistry using nanomedicine, erasing trauma and invasive memories from a person's mind. They can also deal with psychological problems caused by metaphysical elements such as metahuman abilities, spiritual powers, psychic powers, magic, curses, and demonic possessions.

Rorschach's biggest contribution to world psychological help was the Rogue Reduction Plan. He abducted most Rogues (Supervillains common to a particular superhero or superhero group) and reverted them to "factory default". The criminals were captured and stripped of everything that made them villains, both physical and psychological. A villain that was deformed by criminals and went insane, is now the same person they were before their assault. A criminal that invented a gadget and "graduated" to super villainy, is now the same criminal he was before with no memories of being a super villain and a mental block to prevent him from ever reinventing his technology.

The Rogue Reduction Plan is something that has terrified criminals the world over as they can't stand the idea of being made a normal nobody. Villains want acknowledgement for their genius, praise for their egos, money for their efforts, and power for their fights. Having everything they accomplish as a super villain reduced to nothing is horrific to them.

"So, what case confounded your AI today?"

Rorschach clicks a couple of buttons, and three files appear on the screen. He clicks the first one and two photos appear.

The first photo is a typical superhero dressed in a form-fitting red and white uniform that reminds me of the Canadian Flag with a faceless black mask and cape. He kind of looks like Captain Canada from NTV.

The second photo is a sexy femme fatale with long white hair dressed a form-fitting blue-and-white uniform with fleurs-de-lis. It took me a second to realize her outfit is based on the Fleur-de-lis - the Flag of Quebec. She is generating an icy fog around her body indicating ice powers.

The third photo is the hero and villainess out of uniform. Instead, they are dressed in primitive clothing and the aged remains of their uniforms. There physical builds have changed and there are three small children in similar clothing with similar physical features. It's clear that the third photo is a family picture.

"Canadian Hero and Villainess. She was attempting to steal a rare gemstone from a museum for a client and he was trying to capture her. The gemstone turned out to be magical and transported them to a deserted island in a pocket dimension. It also de-aged them from twenty-four years old and twenty-six years old, respectively, to around ten years, stripping them of their memories and meta-abilities. They spent twenty years together on the island, protecting each other. They eventually became lovers and had children together, then they and the children were transported back to the museum, where they regained their lost memories and powers. What complicates things is that Guardian and Madame Noir were not like Batman and Catwoman, they were mortal enemies with a lot of traumas in their backstories. They came to Cognito to get help because they want to be there for their children."

"Ouch."

Rorschach click the second file icon and the photos are switched with a new set.

Dozens of photos appear on the screen. These people range from late teens to mid-thirties, both male and female, of all ethnicities. Most of them are attractive people and they all look healthy.

Fifty thousand of years ago, Klarn Arg was born and eventually became the greatest rival of the man who would become Vandal Savage. After Vandal Savage gained immortality and began his domination, Klarn crafted an amulet from stone taken from the meteorite. He hoped he would become strong enough to fight his rival only to die at the man's hands. He was reincarnated as a member of Vandal's Atlantis tribe, but before he could plot his revenge, he was one of villagers killed by Klarion. For Fifty Thousand years, he was reincarnated repeatedly, always opposing Vandal Savage.

In the latest incarnation, Mitchell "Mitch" Shelley was captured and infected with microscopic extraterrestrial machines resembling nanotechnology. These machines resurrect him after death and prevent him from reincarnating in another body.

"Immortal Man and Resurrection Man are the same person in this world? So, what else did the Cadmus goons do?"

"Every time he dies, he resurrects as one of his previous incarnations. Different incarnations have different meta-abilities. The problem is he has no control over which incarnations and Vandal deliberately messed with his memories. After every resurrection he or she is an amnesiac."

"He or she?"

"Resurrection isn't limited to gender."

Rorschach then clicks the third file.

The photos are the Digimon hybrids rescued from Cadmus Upsilon and who are currently residing in a cyberverse created by Cognito's computer systems and the elemental plane The Metal. These people were once humans and their Digimon partners, but entering our universe was so traumatic it forced them to fuse into new entities. This has given them identity disorders and being severed from everyone they know has left them depressed. They are even isolated from other humans and Cadmus Upsilon victims due to their digital nature which can only be overcome by Amusphere technology.

"So, what's wrong with the hybrids outside of what I already know?"

"One word; 'Pregnant'."

"..."

"Due to the strange data interactions of the cyberverse their minds were consumed by lust, and they mated. All of the females are now carrying offspring."

"Strange data interactions?"

"Digimon are born from the data of the Internet. 35% of all internet downloads are related to pornography. Some sort of data entity caused the entire Digimon population to go into heat, including the hybrids."

"So more violated and paranoid in addition to the stress and fears of being first time parents. You're going to be working on psychological programs for a very long time."

"I'm considering making an Artificial Intelligence for the sole purpose of upgrading the psych-help programs, but I'm worried the programs will become sentient enough to lose their own minds."

"Oof. I do not envy you."

"Piss off, or I'll turn you into a baby for real this time."

I'd never run away from the man faster.