"You can stop looking at me like that, Cauley, I don't bite."
I winced.
Strange Supreme sighed
"Perhaps that wasn't the best way to phrase it."
"No."
"Regardless, the point still stands. I have no intention of hurting you."
Which was somewhat comforting to hear, I guess.
...
...No, still keeping my distance.
America and Peter stood a distance off, both chatting quietly, while Wong and Stephen had their own conversation further back.
Leaving me standing alone with the guy who I was fairly sure could blink us all out of existence.
He raised an eyebrow at me, a half-smirk pulling at his lips, and then I remembered he could read minds as well.
Damn.
"It's a little hard not to be nervous." I shook my head slowly. "Even ignoring who you are, no offence, you've seen inside my mind. You know...that..."
I paused awkwardly.
"That I'm a fictional character where you come from?"
"...Yeah."
"Don't be ridiculous."
I blinked.
"What?"
"The Multiverse is infinite, you foolish child." He actually laughed at my dumbfounded expression, a short but deep sound. "Anything and everything is possible. A world where our situations are reversed. A world where neither of us exists and a world where we both do at the same time. The knowledge you possess isn't nearly as big a deal as you seem to think it is. Hell, my
drinking buddy perceives more realities than you can imagine at the exact same time. Compared to that, you're world really isn't that impressive."
...
Huh.
Strangely reassuring to hear.
"Mind you, I wouldn't go broadcasting it by any means, but you have nothing to worry about from me in that regard. You have bigger problems to deal with. Speaking off-"
He raised his voice, loud enough that it seemed to bounce in the empty void.
"Time to move, people! You have a world to save and I have my peace and quiet to regain."
Expressions shuttered, forms tensed, and the four of them walked up to us in the same way I imagined a doomed man would walk up to his executioner.
Which was a tad dramatic, honestly. Considering that I was going to be duking it out with the Elder Jackass, they had
nothing to complain about!
"How is this going to work exactly?"
America's question was sharp, and in response Supreme raises his hands, dark smoke and burst of orange emanating from them at regular intervals.
"I'll use my own energies to activate your ability." He nodded and cut her off as she went to speak. "And yes, I'm aware of your control issues, but I can bypass them. I felt your arrival into my dimension, and I felt the dimensional resonance of your target universe. I can replicate it easily enough."
He straightened ever so slightly.
"You have everything you should need. A plan of action, resources, and all the power necessary-" He glanced at me. "To get the job done. Good luck, and may we
never meet again."
Supreme nodded at Stephen, who nodded back with a sense of finality.
I tensed.
"Uh, Doc? Maybe you should hold on-"
He stretched out his arms, arcs of black lancing out and into America's chest!
"I'm fine!" America raised a hand and Peter paused, mid-leap. "Fine. I'm fi... woah."
She blinked, eyes shining blue.
"America?"
"I feel." She shook her head. "I think.... I can..."
There was no warning.
One second, we all stood in tense anticipation.
The next, reality
shattered as the star-shaped tear in the fabric of space-time appeared.
Stephen and Wong disappeared instantly, drawn in by inescapable force. A second later Peter was gone, yell cutting off as he vanished into it's confines.
I would have been next, but I was already lifting myself off the ground, backing away even as I realized that was likely counter productive. Only America was truly unaffected, wreathed in blue light and standing still effortlessly.
"You best be going."
I looked down at Supreme Strange, eyes wide.
"Good luck, Cauley. You'll need it. And one last thing."
His eyes narrowed, and he
spoke.
"!ͥ̀̔ͮ̍!ͥ̀̔ͮ̍"͔̱͍͇̘͙͐̿͡!ͥ̀̔ͮ̍"͔̱͍͇̘͙͐̿͡"͔̱͍͇̘͙͐̿͡"
My eyes widened, even as my head erupted into
splitting agony.
"What did you?!-"
"I doubt you'll remember this anytime soon, but when you do? You'll probably
thank me for it."
Then the portal buckled,
erupted, and we were gone.
...
Kamar-Taj was a ruin.
Wong swallowed heavily as he observed the charred and burnt husk of his monastery, the destruction so complete that there was more ash and dust than solid rubble.
He was forced to close his eyes as they drifted lower and caught site of the remains of his sorcerers, impossible to mistake even in death.
Vishanti forgive him for his failure.
When next he opened them, there was no weakness in them.
It was time to end this.
He turned to the group , Stephen nodding immediately even as the children stood to attention.
"Children. You know the plan."
Risking the children in such a way hurt more than he could hope to put into words, but needs must.
America nodded.
"We go to Wundagore. Eli does...whatever he's going to have to do, while you guys work on getting the asshole back in his box, and me and Peter watch your backs."
Wong nodded.
"When we begin casting, we will be unable to shape magic for defensive purposes. Thus it falls to you to protect us from whatever abominable forces Chthon sends our way, while Eli.-"
"-Tries not to get himself slaughtered." Despite the grim words, the boy smiled weakly. Then he winced. "Anyone else have a headache?"
Peter frowned. "No?"
"It's probably nothing. Weird though."
Stephen clicked his fingers.
"Focus, please. The sooner we get there, the sooner we begin. Cauley, watch out for the signal. The moment we call for you-"
"Drag Chthon over to your binding site. You activate your ritual, and the piece of him inside of Wanda Maximoff gets sucked right out." The boy nodded. "I get it. Let's hit the damn road!"
Wong straightened.
They all knew the risks. They all knew the stakes. They were all as ready as they could would ever be.
(Once more, for the world.)
"Then it's time to begin-"
"Wait!"
Peter Parker shot him an apologetic but firm look.
"If we're going to do this...Then there's one thing I need to get."
Stephen and America exchanged confused looks, while Eli started grinning
madly.
...
"Where exactly are we, Peter?"
While Wong and Stephen had opted to wait outside the America followed behind the two boys as they ran, taking the steps two at a time.
"I used to live here." Peter called down, something heavy in his tone. "Me and my aunt, I mean. Eli told you about... The Mysterio fiasco?"
"
Yes."
She didn't have to disguise the rage in her tone.
"After...The world forgot." He almost stuttered on the words, but soldiered on regardless. "Life got that much harder. It wasn't just the memories people had of me that disappeared, right? My records, my papers, passwords and access to anything and everything? All of that just vanished. Including access to one of the few things my mentor left me."
They burst out of the staircase on the fourth floor and immediately took a left, heading towards one apartment in particular.
"I couldn't bare to just leave it as it was, so I spent months reprogramming it." He stopped in front of one apartment, breathing heavy, head low. "Only afterwards, I realized that I couldn't use it without drawing all kinds of attention. So I buried it here."
He reached for the door handle and frowned.
"Damn it. I forgot the key."
"Allow me."
"What are- Eli, don't you dare-!"
Eli grinned, glowing faintly purple, and kicked the door in with a thunderous crash!
"What?" He shrugged at the glare he got. "We're in the middle of the apocalypse!"
Peter glared a second longer before turning around and marching in. The apartment was empty, stripped bare and free of any human touch, and the fact seemed to stagger Peter. Eli's expression went from satisfaction to quiet sympathy.
"Pete."
"I'm
fine."
He strode over to the kitchen, the door creaking as he pushed his way into the bare room, America and Eli both at his heels.
Yet aside from a stove and a traditional cupboard layout, there was nothing out of the ordinary that she could spot.
Or at least there wasn't, up until Peter walked over to a bare wall, cocked back a fist and drove his arm straight through the wall.
She gaped.
Eli sniffed. "Hypocrite."
"Guess it
is the fastest way to get some things done." Peter smiled as he rummaged through the walls, the expression growing more pronounced as he felt something familiar. "Got it."
He pulled back, the damage to the wall spreading as he pulled an
object the size of a small suitcase clean through it.
What the hell?
It was sleek, smooth metal, with a pane of see-through glass at it's middle. Yet the moment Peter pressed a hand to it's top, it lit up, a cloud of... metal becoming visible as it shifted and moved within it's confines.
"What
is that?"
Her tone betrayed her fascination, but aside from a slight smile Peter gave no answer.
His hands fiddled with the latch, flipping open the top of the container with easy, practiced movements.
Then he slid his entire arm straight into the cloud of shifting metal.
A moment, then-
Gold, red and blue
surged, travelling up his arm and across his body!
She started to move, but Eli grabbed her shoulder.
"Just watch."
It was over in an instant.
The surging mass stilled, revealing sleek power armor of the absolute highest quality. Almost deceptively light, movements fluid and natural, he turned to them, posture ready.
Eli looked him up and down.
"I'll admit, that is way awesome. So you ready to go, drama queen?"
The suit shifted, face-plate retracting to reveal Peter's face, sporting a grin every bit as wild as Eli's.
"You're
bet I am"
The mask snapped shut, and
Spider-man straightened.
"
Now let's do this!"
...
Thousands of miles away, black eyes snapped open.
"Fine then. The hard way."
...
As always, leave your comments and ideas and if you don't like it, please be courteous.
Next chapter, the final battle begins!
If you feel like it, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi:
Firewillreign
