Cherreads

Chapter 23 - The Cores of Reality: Desperation Grows

(General POV)

Location the Void of the Forsaken, Castle Nightscream; Throne Chamber

Mao was in his throne chambers, watching everything unfold outside of the black fog, around what used to be Chicago, and everything went according as plan, as the Reds and Browns were going crazy around the chamber...much to the maid drones anguish, as the minions are cheering on their fellow Forsaken as they'd raise a little Hell.

Currently Jinx, Nomu King, and soon Abathur would put on a show, to the heroes and villains of the New Earth, enticing them to pursue the Cores more.

While the whole Flash Thompson situation was surprise, seems that in this Marvel that makes part of the New Earth, Eddie Brock is still the OG Venom, and Flash wasn't destined to become Agent Venom, seem luck was on his side, as a big Spiderman character was trapt the Void, and provided the perfect lure and beacon to force everyone to fight and kill each other for his crystals.

Right now his Chaos System, just stated [Congratulations you've just earned 12300 CP.] one of many Chaos Points that Mao was earning from all the chaos of the feeds of Flash, and the revelations of the Cores of Reality, all the fear, paranoia, greed, and anger from the desires of obtaining these Cores.

As another prompt of point came in, [Congratulations you've just earned 11850 CP.] making Mao smile, as he stretched out on his throne, Mao thought of all his Cores that he'd created and designed with his Brides and Infernal Lords.

They are called, as a whole as the Cores of Reality, as one by one he thought of the ten crystals, first is the Knowledge Prism with the concept of knowledge, it's demand, for the answer one desires, exchange for knowledge with equal merit to the question, permanently, Nature's Heart shaped in fluorite crystal in green, with the concept of nature, bending all nature of all worlds...air, earth, water, magma, ice, and lightning of the world, at the price of feeling every pain and damage of that world, acting as the heart and the planet the body.

As for the other eight of ten Cores, they are the Golden Star with a star shape in gold color, with the concept of fortune, manipulating luck, probability, and misfortune, in exchange for either causing something good to oneself or bad to another, the karma of the wielder of the Golden Star will increase for a terrible fortune, upon being deprived of that core.

Next is the Desire Ruby, a deep red crystal in the shape of a emerald, with the concept of desire within it, possessing the power of wish granting, at the cost of a amount of life force of the wisher, then there's the Emotional Beacon, having a pink color it's the more parasitic core of them all, either spreading the wielder...or better said host's emotion across a large area, or consume that emotion, or increase that emotion, that was the only crystal of the Cores of Reality, that he'll sent into space.

That will provoke the various Lantern Cores, that will be a feast for the Emotional Beacon, maybe triggering another Lantern War, making Mao excited.

Galactic Force is next, it is the purple crystal in a round shape, with the concept of force, he'll be real it slightly or identical to the Space Stone.

The Galactic Force, control gravity, space, and celestial energy, this core cost is corruption, without feeding the Core energy it'll turn the wielder into matterless energy to be devoured.

Black Matter it's the less original named, but it's power it cosmic as well, this crystal is black with the shape of quartz cube, possessing the concept over matter, capable of creating life, objects, materials and more, basically having the power of creation...at the price of consuming other matter.

Meaning that creating something, cost something else almost like alchemy from Fullmetal Alchemist, meaning to bring life, it must take lives to equal the creation, which also depends on the complexity of the creation of life.

Time Garnet a deep orange colored crystal, in the shape of large pearl, possessing the concept of time.

Basically a Time Stone, which has more control over a wide, galactic, and singular targeting, accelerating, reverting, and stopping time, and much more, the cost of the using this core, is erasing from moments in time.

If the Time Garnet, used to reverse time, than the wielder will erase himself in some moment in the past, and the same to the future in opposite usage.

Existence Spirit is a cyan colored crystal, it's shape is of a helix, the concept of this core is of the spirit.

While the Black Matter can create life...the Existence Spirit, creates souls and sentience, commanding life and death without reprocautions...with the exception of effecting one's soul, as another power of the Existence Spirit, is bend spiritual beings to it's command and consume them at desired.

Fatebender, the indigo colored crystal of the Cores of Reality, it has the concept of fate, able to utterly change the fates and paths of people, places, and objects, soo indepth that even time couldn't reverse, but at the cost of the good fate of the crystal's user, slowly being given to another.

When they'd designed these Cores, and Mao used his powers to make them as powerful, and enticing to so many people of the world...he, Doflamingo, Blackmore, and Abathur chosed the concepts that make up, all realities, that without them there can be a functioning one, with this bait dangling in front of soo many people, with huge egos, the chaos that await will be very fun, as the system alerted him, that [Congratulations you've just earned 10560 CP.] seems that Jinx and Nomu King's attack of desperation, was truly convincing, wait until Abathur join the party as well.

Location the New Earth: Outside of Ground Zero; Chicago, a SHIELD & ARGUS Outpost, Battleground

SHIELD and ARGUS was divided in focus, trying to fight against the soldiers of HYDRA, and the zerg.

With Nomu King punching Superman into the chest, making Clark gasp for air and then another fist smashes onto his back, as Nomu King starts pummeling away at Kryptonian, every blow digging him under the dirt, forming a crater with his body.

After one more powerful punch, and roar at Superman before looking Thompson, just when he was about to leap over, Clark blasted a huge heat vision laser that burn off majority of Nomu King, and knocked him back, as Superman emerged from the hole that the prime nomu buried him in, eyes blazing red, as he saw Nomu King regenerate all the damage from his heat vision.

Blasting forward, tackling Nomu King taking him at another part of the battle, meanwhile Jinx if not trying to kill Spiderman, or tormenting the Web Crawler, turning her electrified bulletstorm from Pow-Pow, onto the people around the area.

Forcing Spiderman to save the people, and risk his own life to stop her from killing people, she'd laughed as the electric bullet grazes across the spider's body, and would cause untold destruction and pain, she even said to Spiderman, "Stay still!! I'm trying to shot ya!!" as she'd switched from Pow-Pow to Fishbone, a red arrow with something blinking on the head, pierced the ground in front of her.

Jinx groaned and said, "Oh shit." as the arrow exploded in front of her, Spiderman looked around and saw a red-head archer in a red themed uniform, saying, "Looks like Hawkeye, has a lot of competition." speaking of the Archer Avenger, he has arrived along with Widow, as Superboy, and Gear stood beside their teammate Red Arrow.

Clint looked at the young red archer, and was reminded of Kate Bishop, his own little protégé, leaping out the Quinjet, and shooting newly upgraded arrows at the zerg, and less powerful trick arrows for the HYDRA goons, that's when Nat jumped out the jet as well, much to Clint's surprise.

But then a explosion happen, as Jinx appeared unharmed from the smoke of Red Arrow's explosion, holding a smoking Fishbone, she'd stomped her foot in mock frustration, yelling in a crazy but happy sounding voice, "Aww man!! Lady you should have died, in the big kaboom!!!..." then Jinx, shrugged and pointed Fishbone surging with electrical demonic currents, over at the two sky diving targets.

As she was about to fire a hex-rocket at Black Widow and Hawkeye, when Red Arrow and Hawkeye started to shooting arrows at her, which she'd ignored with little damage to her, as she was about to fire, when Spiderman right above her webbed her shoulders and pulled her up.

Not only messing her shot, but pulled her towards him, as Spiderman adjusted his feet on the Loose Cannon's chest, and using their combined weight, smashed them down both to the ground.

Just when Spiderman was about to smash Jinx, his [Spider Sense] tingle, and Iron Man called out to him to watch out, as a car was soaring towards him, jumping off of Jinx, letting her blast lighting from her hands and keep herself from crashing, looking at the direction that, that car came from, and smiled.

Since Nomu King has backed her up, waving and thanking the Infernal Lord, as she'd pulled out her Chompers, a magenta colored grenade with biting parts at the pin area, with a small laugh, Jinx started to let loose hell on everyone!!

Explosions everywhere, as Red Arrow and the safety landed Hawkeye divided their attentions on the Forsaken, and HYDRA, when suddenly Superman was launched over at a SHIELD combat vehicle, exploding it and Nomu King was charging straight at the Kryptonian, smacking and crushing all his way into gorery paste, he was going to beatdown Superman again.

But before Nomu King, could continue fighting Superman, Connor aka Superboy blasted forward and tackled the first Infernal Lord, from the side, as Superman got back up, and joined Superboy in fighting against the prime nomu.

Meanwhile the HYDRA and AIM soldiers started pushing back the ARGUS and SHIELD agents, as they started to rush over to the target, Flash Thompson, especially know that Jinx and Nomu King were more focused on fighting against the Avengers and the League, as they went over to Flash, the cores were fading in intensity of light.

This is rushing the loyal soldiers of Red Skull and MODOK, as they pushed forward shooting and blasting everyone standing against them, but then roaches and queen emerged from below along with huge slug creature, with a large bright green maw, and similar colored sets of eyes, speaking in a intellectual, broken pattern, "Eliminate HYDRA. Swarm destroy enemy. Unit Abathur. Collect Marker. Cores of Reality. Belong to the Forsaken." Abathur, he used one of his bladed-tip appendage to stab a HYDRA soldier through the chest.

While crushing another with one of his claws, spawning a small swarm of Locusts zergs, started to crawl and swarm over to the humans of HYDRA tearing them apart with sharp pincers and claws, letting Abathur to focus on collecting Flash Thompson, only for Iron Man and Green Lantern started blasting at Abathur, who barely managed to burrow out the way of missiles, green-will constructs that were aimed at the Evolution Master.

Abathur, emerged in another part of the area, right next to Jinx who saluted the zerg Infernal Lord, Abathur spoke, "Queen designation Jinx. Unit designation Infernal Lord Five. Abathur. Requests assistance." making Jinx laugh, and pat Abathur on the side of his dome, making Abathur "hmm" in his own way, as Jinx pulled out her Zapper, a electric shooting gun...which is overcharged by her own electrical power.

Blasting bolts, literal and powerful bolts at Iron Man and Green Lantern, while Abathur took command of the Swarm, making them a greater threat against the Avengers, Young Justice, League, along with HYDRA, SHIELD and ARGUS.

Things were clearly escalating out of control, three high-ranking Forsaken and the swarm of insectoid, continuously coming out the black fog dome, right beside the makeshift battleground that it happening right next to Ground Zero, Nomu King continues to fight against Superman, Superboy, and now also Shazam joining in, as he with magical lightning, and Superman with his laser vision were the only things causing damage to the prime nomu, which has forced Muscle Augmentation quirk to activate the second time in a longtime.

As a black mass of intense muscle, cover his entire form and his exposed brain, increasing his strength drastically, and protecting his body for greater level of damage, working along with his Super Regeneration quirk, he has become a greater danger for Shazam, Superman, and Superboy.

Blasting forward in such force and speed, that only Superman could track as Nomu King, hit Superboy soo hard across the face, that his skull was nearly busted open, before Nomu King could go on, both Shazam and Superman flew in, slightly pushing back the way stronger Infernal Lord.

Jinx and Abathur together were fighting against Black Widow, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Spiderman, Red Arrow, and Green Lantern, as Hal fell onto ground holding his head, as Abathur was attacking him psionically, Abathur crawled over ready to tear him apart while Green Lantern's mind was being swarmed in pain.

Unable to focus on defending or harnessing his will, only for Iron Man to save him with a repulsor blast to the side of the Evolution Master, making Abathur screech in pain, freeing Hal, who raised his green suited, ring baring hand at the zerg, ready to attack and Tony flying above them, was also ready for the follow-up.

When Jinx yelled, "Abi!!! Dig!!!" Abathur immediately burrowed, revealing a Jinx aiming her Fishbone, with the Hex-rocket and firing it, surging with untold power that Iron Man's systems were warning him, he and Green Lantern immediately flew away as Jinx fired her hex-rocket, upon impacting on the ground a huge explosion, sending a massive and powerful shockwave and the electric current, surging through the shockwave.

It was almost like a h-bomb, amassing a huge smoke cloud, covering all the battleground.

The fading light of the Cores of Reality, being the only light shining through the obstruction, even the advance surveillance systems of SHIELD, ARGUS, and MODOK couldn't pick anything up from the battle site, aside the ten lights of the Cores, when these very lights started moving, alerting everyone watching the battle attentively, those ten Cores soar high, and in a intense blinding light flash across the space...as Fury, Waller, Batman, Batgirl, Banner, and Red Skull demanded reports from their respected teams on site, all they've received is static back, as they'd had to wait to see what happened...

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