Chapter 248 - 5-8

Chapter 5: Lykos and Friends

June 10th, 2014

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

A day after meeting the X-Men, the Brotherhood, and finally Mystique, I sat down in the Nelson, Murdock, and Walters office with a document laid out before us. I wasn't reading it. Just watching the three before me react to it.

Jen, Matt, and Foggy looked as though someone had murdered a cat and laid out the organs before them.

"This is more than just stupid," Foggy said. "This might as well be criminal. Forget the rest of the world, this goes against how many amendments?"

"At least six," Jen said. She was in her green form with her hair held back into a ponytail, a pair of glasses on her face as she sat back in her chair. "To start. You see one of those rules going against my boyfriend and me?"

"Oh yeah, that one is funny," I chuckled.

"More illegal honestly," Matt said, though he still smiled as he read it outloud. "'No individual may take a form outside the human norm without submitting a permit, to be signed and released by an approved individual, with a specific time and place noted in the permit.'"

"They literally want to make it illegal for me to quick switch in the middle of a fight," I said. "Worse, they don't want me to change at allwithout it being planned out. And who the hell will be approving?"

"A government-approved member of the nation you reside in. Also in order to travel and use abilities, the authorization of your native government authority and the one from the country being visited when on foreign soil."

"So now me, Jen, Bruce, and who knows who else, all can't change without someone we don't know signing off days beforehand. And what the hell is a 'human norm' anymore between the enhanced, mutants and who the hell knows what else might come up in the future?"

"And what about us who currently can't switch at all, and have a law degree to sue with?" Jen asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Pretty sure it's made purposely broad and vague so that there is very little wiggle room to argue against it." Foggy suggested.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Matt smiled. "That'd be the pizza girl."

"Pizza girl?" Foggy said incredulously. "Oh come on! I bet you know if she's hot or not, too."

"How would I even know that?" Matt said as he pointed to his glasses.

"Because you always do!"

I got up and opened the door, finding a pretty and short Latina woman in a Joe's Pizza uniform holding three boxes. "Hey, you guys the law firm?"

"That we are," I took the pizzas in hand and passed her some cash. "That should cover it. Keep the change."

"Whoa, what!" she blinked, shocked at the fold of bills I'd handed her. "A-Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I won the lottery," I closed the door in her face (making sure to smile politely before I did). As I left, I heard her voice through the door.

"Are you an Avenger!?"

I returned with the pizza and placed it on the designated snack table, where Foggy and Matt had placed the piles of food their clients sometimes gave them in lue of money.

"Ohhh, nice!" Foggy snapped up to his feet and rushed over, placing a pepperoni slice on his plate. "So, was she cute?"

"Am I allowed to answer that?" I asked Jen.

"Only if you think I'm insecure."

"She was pretty, but not my type."

"Ohhh, good answer."

"How do you always know?" Foggy asked Matt, who only chuckled.

Jen took her own thick crust pizza, something Foggy stared at in disgust. "God, I can't believe you. Living in New York City, and you order that? Might as well spit on the Statue of Liberty."

"I'm from Cali, I don't like floppy pizza."

"Your honor, my opponent is clearly insane."

"Guilty," Matt jokingly added.

We all chuckled. Then I looked around briefly, swallowing my chunk of four-cheese pizza. "I knew this shit would be bad, but I thought we'd have more time to fight it."

"We do have time," Matt said. "This is just a proposal. They bring out the tough sell, try to force what they can. But there's going to be a lot of people fighting this. If Tony Stark doesn't have an army of lawyers fighting it, BRIDGE will."

"Same with us, honestly," Foggy lifted another paper. "According to this one 'Any enhanced individuals who does not sign will not be allowed to take part in any legal, police, military, or espionage activities, or to otherwise participate in any national or international conflict, even in their own country'. And legal meeeeeeans," he snapped his fingers and pointed at Jen.

"I'm not allowed to practice law," Jen shook her head. "Forget the Constitution, that violates the Fair Employment and Housing Act."

"Technically the Americans with Disabilities Act too," Matt took another bite of pizza.

I rubbed my eyes. "Okay… we'll do what we can legally, huh? Or, you know, the bevy of trained professionals will. And I know a few of us that are best at public speaking will be talking it over. Goddamn, and after I met the X-Men."

"The X-who? Is that a band or something?" Foggy asked.

"Don't get me started," I leaned forward grimly. "I have another meeting later on. Meeting a frie-...Former enemy? Guy who tried to kill me in his alternate persona but is apparently an okay guy in the other one?"

"You might be overthinking that," Jen said gently.

"Maybe. Anyways, before I go, you guys gonna be busy today?"

"Technically we already are," Matt slowly began gathering the papers before him, looking somewhere to the right of my head. "We have hiring today."

"Hiring?"

"It's something we've needed for a while," Foggy said, sounding a touch excited. "It'd be nice to have some real help around here."

"How many people do you need to hire?"

"6-10."

I hadn't expected that. "So many? I thought you guys were staying small for a bit."

"Dude, that is small."

Jen finished off her pizza and continued on from Foggy. "Law firms need a lot of maintenance. Don't need someone for our computers, since we cheat with X's help," she waved vaguely at the computers. "But we each need a secretary and paralegal to assist us. Then we want to hire some associate attorneys, and even if we only hire two they still need a shared paralegal and secretary between them."

"Don't forget if we add a summer associate or a law student doing an externship," Matt pointed out.

"God, do we really want a law student? They're so tiny and annoying," Foggy groaned.

"Foggy, we just stopped being law students ourselves."

"All the more reason not to add one more!"

I was once again reminded of how little I understood about the law and lawyers who defended/prosecuted people. Even for all my recent research into the topics.

"I'll leave you guys too it then," I scarfed down the last of my pizza, tossing the empty box in the trash.

"Whoa, did you finish that whole thing already!?" Foggy asked.

"I burn calories like a nuclear engine," I kissed Jen on the lips. "See you at home?"

"Maybe, depends how long this takes us," she chuckled. "Good luck!"

With that, I headed to the Raft.

The Raft was a huge round facility hidden in the middle of the ocean, built to be damn near impossible to find or escape from. I flew in through the top and entered right as the facility sank under the waves again.

A BRIDGE guard guided me through the halls of the Raft. Men and women were rushing through the corridors with various tools, with sounds of banging, drills, and welding all around us.

"Sorry about this, sir," the tall man said as we moved around a pair of scientists. "We're still putting her together. Water damage would be hell without the improvements we've been getting. Plus, the new guy, Flux? Keeps having fits and trying to find his 'mommy'."

"If anything it's a miracle it's functional enough to sink under the waves," I noted. "Is he dangerous right now?"

"If he is, nobody told me," the man sighed, stopping at a door and nodding to me. "Through here. He's excited to see you."

I raised an eyebrow.

On stepping inside, two things stood out to me. One was the force field. Shining a bright transparent yellow, looking like the one the US Army had been using to contain Hydra in Siberia. I pressed a hand to it, blinking at the feeling of static barely buzzing from it. The second thing that stood out to me chuckled.

"Interesting, isn't it?" Karl Lykos, formerly Sauron, eyed the field. I once more was reminded of Raul Julia. "This side of it is far more painful, believe me."

"You can't absorb it?" I asked.

"I haven't tried," at my disbelieving look he shrugged. "I don't want to leave honestly… How are you?"

"Good... Kind of… Lots changed, some of it bad."

While I spoke, I took in our surroundings. Behind the field, Lykos had been given a desk with a computer, two bed behind walls, a large table, and another private section in back. Nice digs for a cell. He was wearing a pale blue jumpsuit, the kind all BRIDGE prisoners were given.

"The Registration Act," he nodded. "We've been talking about it."

"'We'?"

"WAAAAAGH!" a head poked out from the private section. I stared at the goblin as he approached, noting that my Omnitrix flashed yellow. So, not one I'd encountered… oh fuck me, did he say WAAAAGH?

"Ah yes!" Lykos waved the guy forward. He was green, with hair pulled into a ponytail, pointy ears, and intelligent-looking brown eyes. He joined Lykos. "A fellow scientist. One of the visitors from that unfortunate Rio Incident. He has quite the noteworthy intelligence! Mind like a steel trap, eh Wrugaz?"

"WAAAGH!"

"That means-"

"No, I understood that," I said with a wave of my hand. The Omnitrix's universal translator was truly op. "How are you both caged up together?"

"Special permission from the director," Lykos said proudly. "We are consulting!"

"WAAAGH!"

…So many questions, not the least of which was what was the world coming to. Better make sure that I took care of as many as possible before I left.

"Okay? Well uh… Dr. Lykos, I was told you wanted to meet me?"

"Indeed, young man," Lykos looked me over. "I imagine that by now you've met my old friend."

"Charles Xavier."

"The very same! I imagine you've been having long conversations with him?"

"One, actually. More in the future though."

"Oh," he frowned. "He was so excited to speak with you, I thought the two of you would be best friends!"

"Trust me, things ended well, but we're gonna have a few more long conversations," I popped down into a chair set aside before the forcefield. "Registration being a new one. I'm worried about what will follow that. And once the news comes out about the Savage Land…"

"Ah, yes. My former domicile. Of sorts," he chuckled. "I must admit, the nomenclature escapes me for what you call a place your other half ruled over."

"Partly. Savage Land has other kings," I said, thinking of Ka-Zar and Hauser.

"Ah yes, you did end up taking rulership yourself."

"What?"

"Hm?"

We stared at each other, confused.

"What are you talking about, rulership?"

"Ah… you didn't realize," he began to pace. "You may have made a mistake. My dear hero. You must know. When you fought your way out of the Savage Land, from the clutches of my… hm, better half?"

My eyes traced his path, the goblin watching as well. "I believe that you may have had an effect you didn't realize. My memories of that magnificent land are clear. Well, somewhat. Feelings, impressions, basic facts of life. And one thing I know is that the cultures of that world look to leadership in a very different way than we do. The kingdom of the Savage Land is one that reaches for tyrants. It's what made Sauron so effective at such things. Especially the Saurians."

I thought of Gresh.

"But if you didn't take rulership of them, then the city Sauron ruled over may continue as they did."

"There wasn't much chance we could have stopped them without dismantling the whole society. BRIDGE isn't exactly the kind of organization to do that. Ideally."

"You should have, my dear hero. You should have," he shook his head. "It may be that you've left a sleeping dragon in that land."

I opened my mouth.

"No, not that magnificent beast from hell."

I closed my mouth.

"You should have taken over. As it is, Styro was killed. I imagine, with Sauron and him dead. Stend will be alive. And if no one else can take over, then he's the one willing to do so."

Stend. That asshole. Even with the heat that filled me at the thought of him, a bit of Nat's training pushed through. Putting the pieces together with his psychology.

"Sauron left something, didn't he?"

"Dozens of things," Lykos shook his head. "Textbooks, metals, technology, some of it stolen from the ruins of ancient civilizations within the Savage Land. Stend will get his hands on it."

He rubbed his forehead. "I shudder to think what could follow. All that power, in the hands of him? My other half at least wished to release things at a slow and even pace. Stend will have no such discipline."

I thought about that. Then I chuckled.

"Oh!" Lykos leaned forward, a smile on his face. "It seems my words haven't disheartened you! Good news I hope?"

"Yeah. Kind of. It's just. If Stend does end up causing trouble. The Savage Land has its own heroes to defend it. It has its own Avengers. But thanks for warning me."

"Of course. I'm more than happy to aid you," Lykos smiled. "This world. It's become very interesting recently. I shudder to think what new surprises will come around the corner. And yet, that tense sense of fear is joined with a certain excited anticipation! What an intoxicating combination of emotions!"

"I'll have to keep you apprised I guess," I frowned. "So. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about, doctor?"

"Allow me to consider that question! Let me see. We discussed my old friend. My current roommate-"

"WAAAGH!"

"My old home seems to be in good hands. Did I have anything else to speak with you about?" he chuckled. "Ah yes! I've spoken with BRIDGE before. They've requested my knowledge on certain things. But I wish for more. I have a lifetime of knowledge I wish to put to use. Dial. I wish to ask. Would the Avengers be looking for another pair of minds to join them?"

Well fuck. Didn't expect that at all.

"Ah, it seems I've shocked you quite a bit!" Lykos laughed boisterously. "What a fun result, my friend!"

"WAAAGH!"

I told him I'd think about it and left. I walked through the halls of the Raft, my thoughts racing. Fact was, Lykos was smart. Very smart. Even Tony was impressed by him. Having access to his mind for the long haul could be great. What he was asking for was a direct line to the Avengers. A way to aid us in any scientific research, and to speak with us. As of now, BRIDGE had him under tight lock and key.

His forcefield was just stage one. If that failed, then massive metal doors would smash down around him. His vents were filled with incinerators just in case that goblin was a spore kind (as far as we knew it wasn't), his communications were monitored, and since meeting Charles, Tony had started working on figuring out a way to block psychic stuff (he wasn't having much luck so far).

He was a complicated problem then. Lykos, by all accounts, was a nice guy. Enthusiastic, dramatic, and very much in what I imagined it was like to interact with Raul Julia.

Sauron though… he was a monster. He'd stood against Creel, Fantasma, and me, and almost won. I didn't know if that was in line with his comic version or not, but it was for sure powerful. If Lykos ended up getting enough energy to transform back, we were all in trouble.

And of course, the Goblin. Intelligent. Fiercely so, speaking with a familiar British accent I remembered from the WH40K series. I didn't know much, but I knew the Warhammer ones could make more of themselves through spores. This one didn't. Instead, he somehow made the laws of physics work for him. Just like Jury Rigg.

Now I had his form. No idea what to do with it though, since Jury Rigg was already in the watch, but maybe it would pop up at some point.

I'd talk to the others about it later. I couldn't make a decision for all the Avengers after all.

"Hey, you," a female voice drew me from my thoughts. I looked to my right and blinked. For a second I was reminded of Komodo, AKA Melati Kusama, the reptilian scientist who'd joined Coulson's team. This woman had a scaled appearance as well.

It was the guy in the cell next to her that made me realize who she was. After all, the Abomination doesn't need an introduction, and neither does the Aberration.

The two scaled superhumans watched me approach, Abomination leaning casually against the massive metal bars just behind a yellow forcefield, while Aberration rested on her bed.

"Emil," I said to Abomination. The ten-foot tall man grinned. "Rana," Aberration grunted. "How are you guys doing?"

"Bored," Abomination grunted. "I was hoping you were here to go a couple rounds."

"I don't feel like knocking you out today."

He chuckled. "You really think that's how it would go?"

I shrugged. He leered down at me, but I only smiled back before looking over at Rana.

"I'm getting out soon," she said, though she looked nervous. "Gonna join the Grapplers."

"Good for you."

I was honest about that. Still, she looked nervous. "I'm supposed to… but I heard about the Registration. I want to do good, Dial. I want to redeem myself. Am I going to be able to do that, or am I going to stay here?"

"...I can't make any promises, Rana."

"See?" Abomination chuckled. "We're all in the dark, baby girl. Guess you and I are stuck here forever, huh? Leaves me more time for lessons?"

"What are you learning, piano?" I said sarcastically.

"Knitting. Hahaha!"

I ignored him to focus on Rana. "This Registration is something I knew was coming for a while. We're fighting it, and BRIDGE has plans for it. And a few of the bigger countries will veto it from being the rule of law across the world. But if we have to, we set up some contingencies."

"What, are you going to run away?" Abomination asked sarcastically. I looked up at him. He blinked. "Wait. Is that really it?"

"No. But it's one thing we're considering," I said sadly. "We'll make sure anyone trying to do good can do just that. Beyond that, we aren't going to force anyone to accept us. So don't worry about it, Rana. You'll be fine."

I walked away sadly. Yeah. If a country decided we weren't worth helping, then maybe we couldn't stay there. Not as heroes anyways.

This whole thing was stupid and was only going to get worse.

Steve Rogers/Captain America

"I'm just saying, I wasn't willing to give my suit to the government before, why would I want to do it now?" Tony asked Steve as he set up a camera. The pair were in Tony's penthouse floor of the Avengers Tower, Steve sat down on a far too comfortable couch with a milkshake in his hand and his shield laid down next to him.

Steve sighed. "Tony, it's not about giving our powers to the government. You know that. I just know that people are scared. I want us to try, just try, to create reasonable laws. To adjust the system to make sure people like us can't abuse them."

"And I'm saying that's fine, but not what we're dealing with now," Tony adjusted the camera and moved to grab himself a drink from the bar. "What we've got is a bunch of government idiots trying to monopolize us. I know that I apparently agreed with that in another universe for some… unfathomably stupid reason. Probably guilt, that tracks with how I work."

Steve watched as Tony poured himself a glass of whiskey. "But here it's a bunch of idiots."

"They're scared, Tony."

"Yeah, people keep telling me that. You know scared people can be stupid too right, it's not like they get a license to make dumb decisions? Nobody cries when Jason kills the dumb teens in a horror movie."

Steve rolled his eyes. "That's not what this is. I agree that the act they've suggested is far too restrictive, but laws need to be adjusted. It's not just one guy a little stronger than others anymore. We have telepaths, storm makers, Dial even mentioned a guy who could manipulate luck."

"So we change the laws a bit. But for now, I think we can agree. If this new act becomes the law of the land, then you and I, buddy? We might need to start looking into new jobs."

"Aren't you a CEO?"

"Nah, that's more of a sidegig."

"Oh right," Steve smiled just a bit. "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Right?"

"Heh. Yeah. Yeah… I know what you're thinking. You want everyone to sit down around apple pie, talk things out, come up with a way to koombaiya. But that ain't gonna happen. The guys behind this aren't just doing it out of fear now. They're politicians."

He took a swig of his drink before continuing. "These guys, they can't be seen changing their minds no matter how logical it is. They got a precious image to hold on to. The people behind the act? Guys like this Nadeer woman, like Ross? They didn't put out this damn act because they thought it would pass. They knew it wouldn't. So ask yourself. If they knew that, what's the act they really want to put out?"

Steve thought about that idea. The idea that the draconian laws they were pushing for were so blatant because they planned for more insidious versions of those laws to replace them. Instead of wrist and ankle trackers on superhumans, a digital census. Instead of indefinite prison time without trial, years worth of time for using a superhuman power. Worse replaced with bad.

"There," Tony pointed at him. "That, right there. The things you're thinking of? I've gone over it in my head a thousand times, Steve. Going over every angle. So yeah. I don't care how scared regular people are. I'm worried about the guys making a show for voters. Guys using fear to get power. Because if Dial and his team don't get enough allies in space for us to be ready for the next invasion, the politicians aren't going to be the ones laying their lives on the line. They'll be the ones complaining the rules they made that restricted our freedoms also kept us from doing our damn jobs."

"...A cold war, then," Steve said sadly.

"You and I know that the world needs defenses. But what's the point of that if we need to sacrifice the freedoms of everyone? You and I, we made that choice, we decided to step up to the plate. But kids like the ones at Xavier's school, people like Melati who just want to be scientists, prisoners who are actually looking for some kind of redemption like Wanda? They need to have someone looking out for them."

"...All right then. I'm in."

"I knew you were," Tony finished his drink. "Now. You ready?"

Steve felt some of his good nature return. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

"Good," Tony moved to adjust himself on the couch next to the seat. Then he waved a hand and a large screen appeared before him. The camera began recording.

"What's up you nerds?" Tony said to the camera. "Thanks for joining the Capsicle and I on this whole thing. It's been, what, a month?"

"A little more I think."

"Yeesh. Time flies. Then again, we did have a little thing. Small war, got in the way of all this."

"I think it's a little bit thematically appropriate," Steve said with a hint of humour. "We stopped the series at the finale while having a finale of our own."

"Hey, ours had Godzilla, so this one has a lot to live up to."

"It wasn't really Godzilla," Steve chuckled.

Tony rolled his eyes. "He was a giant lizar- Oh, I can't with this argument again. Anyways! Avatar: The Last Airbender. Sozin's Comet. This show has been a fucking blast to watch, and I can't wait to see how it ends. I already bought the company that makes Korra too."

"Wait, wha-"

"Anyways, let's start."

"Tony, I think that's a conflict of interest."

"It better be, I'm voicing a character in the final season."

"Tony-"

"Start!"

The two friends began to finish the show together. As they did, they let go of the thoughts of doom and gloom.

For now. Only for now.

The Beginning and the End

In an AIM base halfway across the world, a computer played the live stream of Steve and Tony watching and responding to the show. It then flipped to traffic cam footage showing Dial in Bayville. Records of the Registration Act. More footage. Hulk. Aliens. BRIDGE. Watchdogs.

Thousands of records compiling. AIM's systems were being taxed, but that didn't matter. He was making more. AIM was expanding. Forcefully, in some cases.

The Evolution Project was growing. Among it's files, new folders opened, with small addendums being made as new data was found, a project that had been continuing for some time. The words 'Gamma Gene', 'Mutations', 'Alien Additions' came up at various points.

Yet another folder was opened for one simple project. Magic. Fantasma was in that folder, hundreds of hours of footage of her. But along with it, was another name.

Kulan Gath. The newest guest of AIM.

Research was ongoing on both.

In another base, blueprints were being followed. New technology.

And within the base the computer was working in, a single tube sat. It was stolen. Not the actual tube, but the design for it. It had been created by a woman named Helen Cho. A brilliant Korean doctor. It was missing a component. But that was fine. That could be stolen as well.

He was coming.

The computer froze on Dial's image. A bearded man, smiling in a group of heroes, mid-transformation into a monster. He was muscular, matching the super-soldiers around him for sheer size if not in height. His beard gave him a savage appearance despite his happy smile. For all the speed of the computers, they held onto that image of a man with an Omnitrix for a prenatural amount of time.

A single image flashed throughout AIM, on thousands of servers and screens.

A scarlet face like fire, set with a pair of glowing white eyes.

Then it disappeared in a flash. A series of 1's replaced it in a digital cloud of many angles. AIM continued its work.

Chapter 6: Into the Woods

Chapter 6

June 11th, 2014

You'd think with all the bullshit we were dealing with, I wouldn't have a random mission pop up. But you'd be wrong.

"A wild man?" I asked Maria, befuddled.

"That's what I said," she leaned back in her seat in her office, rubbing her chin.

It was a day after I'd gone to the Raft to visit Lykos. I'd spent the morning training with Ares, so my legs were still shaking. He'd spent a lot of our training recently forcing me to move between Astrodactyl and Fasttrack form, moving as fast as I could while catching or dodging his attacks. I knew that catching arrows was possible. Theoretically, so were bullets.

Turns out, bullets are not easier to catch when they're bigger. They just make bigger holes in your hand. Ares was a damn sadist. So yeah, my morning had been exhausting before Maria called me in with a request.

"It's a story that came up a while back," she began to explain. "People in a set of Canadian woods are reporting a man in leather with incredible strength and speed is running around out there fighting off an unknown group of soldiers."

"And you want me to track him down?" I rubbed the back of my neck. "Director, aren't we kinda in crisis mode? I was working on my ship when you called me."

"I know. And I wouldn't have called you if it wasn't for your contacts," Maria leaned forward. "Dial, we need to wipe the slate as clean as possible before whatever happens with this Act happens. So I'm getting aggressive. Coulson's team is tracking the Ghost Rider you mentioned down. The Grapplers are joining in an operation in China. I've got Bucky and Bobbi helping with the Luna, Crescent, and White Fox with rumors of someone trying to steal from Helen Cho. We're dealing with a lot."

"I know, Fitz-Simmons told me they ran out of tea from all the late-night building Tony has them doing."

Maria continued. "So yes. I want you to go in, find out what's going on, then come back. Thankfully you've got enough power that I can trust it will be nothing you can't handle. And since it's the Canadian wilderness…"

Ah. Yeah. That made sense.

An hour later

"And that's basically when I called you," I said while piloting the Quinjet.

"I guess that makes sense," Logan, wearing a leather jacket and jeans, grunted from the seat next to me. "Don't you have an alien that can track though?"

"Track, sure. But there is a difference between that and actually knowing the area. Plus, the reports of armed soldiers chasing whoever this guy is has me worried. With this registration act shit, I'm worried the Canadian government has some black ops groups that are getting a head start on shit."

The glower I got at that told me he understood.

And yes, of course I grabbed Logan. I needed a guy who had run through the Canadian wilderness and he was the best backup I could get.

We flew low and tight over the forest in cloak, rushing over the snow frosted trees. I stared at the GPS coordinates of the last place that our… I don't know, target? Call him a target I guess.

"So, you have any questions about alternate versions of you?" I asked Logan casually.

"You get a lot of those?"

"An unbelievably large amount when people find out I have seen their alternate selves. Usually they end after a while. It's kinda the ultimate 'what if I did "x" instead of' game."

"Then I'll pass. I lived a solid life. I can let the other versions of me live theirs."

I looked over at him. He was relaxed.

"...I have something I'm looking into that has to do with you, but I can't tell you until after the mission."

"Because it might affect me?"

"Yeah."

"Leave it then, bub," he scoffed. "Just focus on what we gotta do. Leave everything else for later."

Damn. I forgot how self-assured Logan from the Evolution universe was. Still had some issues, but he was DadWolvie instead of SadWolvie. Like the later versions of him in the comics really.

A loud noise from the back of the Quinjet made me jump. We both shared a look. A pained look. A look that told me he knew exactly what that was.

"Don't tell me…" I mumbled.

"Goddamnit!" Logan snapped to his feet and strode to the back, where the bathroom was installed. Yes, bathroom. It was an Avengers Quinjet.

"No Avenger is gonna hold it if I can help it."

Yeah, Tony had weird lines in the sand.

I set the autopilot up and got up as well. Logan and I walked over in front of the bathroom. I tapped the panel next to the door. It slid open.

"Uh… like, heya?" Kitty Pryde waved her fingers awkwardly at us. She had her laptop on the sink counter.

I slapped a hand to my face. "Ms. Pryde."

"Half-Pint, what the hell are you doing here?" Logan said with an odd combination of frustration and fondness.

"Well uh… I wanted some privacy?"

"And you choose my quinjet?" I asked, aghast.

"Yeah, cause Kurt always finds me in the Blackbird!" She got up quickly. "Like, I just wanted some peace and quiet! So I thought, if I hid in here for a little bit-"

"Why not tell us you were in here? I would have stopped and turned around."

"I… didn't want to get in trouble?"

"And what, half-pint, was your plan? To just stay in the bathroom until we went back?"

She looked between us. Then she shuffled awkwardly, looking down at the ground and rubbing her arm.

"Half-pint…"

"Leave it. You're here. Now we gotta work with it. Kitty, put on, um…" I thought quickly. "Ruby's suit. It's bullet resistant, and she's about your size. Her suit should be in the back of Black Widow's locker."

"What?" Kitty jumped in surprise, staring at me.

"What are you thinking, bub?"

From the sound of Logan's voice, I needed to have a real good explanation.

"We can't leave her in here," I sighed. "There is no telling what's out there in the woods, and that paramilitary group is running around."

"Paramilitary!?" Kitty squeaked.

"Even under cloak, I'd rather make sure we are fighting together and not getting eaten separately."

"Eaten!?"

"Calm down, I'm being overly dramatic," I kept my eyes on Logan. He rubbed his face, grumbling. Then he looked down at Kitty.

"Like… do I have to?" she squeaked.

The shorter but much more dangerous man sighed. "He's not wrong. This isn't a regular mission."

"Oh, so it's the same as all our other missions."

That little comment got a growl that made her wince. I held in a small smile. DadWolvie man.

"Like I said," I pointed at the lockers. "Ruby's costume should be in that locker. Go ahead and put it on so you've got some real protection, all right?"

"Y-Yeah!" She ran over to the locker and opened it up. Then she blinked. "Wow… this is Black Widow's stuff?"

"If you take anything, she'll know, and she'll hunt you down in the shadows."

"I wasn't going to!" Still, Kitty was much more careful about reaching behind the widow suit and gear. She pulled out a dark red uniform and ran into the bathroom with it. Once the door was locked, Logan reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

"I need to tell Charles the sprout hitched a ride."

"I thought you called her half-pint."

"Right now I'm considering calling her 'pain in my ass'."

Grumbling, he sauntered off. I chuckled a bit. Internally though, I was thinking about the mission. Kitty being here was going to be… interesting.

In a bit, we were all standing outside of the cloaked Quinjet. Kitty was wearing Ruby's suit, a red take on Natasha's usual uniform. She didn't have any of the weaponry, but she was putting Ruby's earpiece into her ear.

"First things first. Silence," I told her as gently as I could. "As long as you mumble things, Ruby's quantum earpiece will pick it up and send it, but keep the conversation to that. We don't know what we're hunting. We just know that some kind of black ops group is also after it. So stay close. Be ready to go intangible," I need to introduce her to Ghost soon. "And be as quiet as you can. Stay between us so that a sniper hits Logan or me first."

"Sniper!?" she shouted in shock. In the open air, her voice cracked across the snowbitten forest. Logan and I glared at her. She covered her mouth quickly, squeaking quietly. "Uh… sorry."

"It's fine. Just be careful. Logan?"

"On it," he took a whiff of the air. Then he frowned. "That's weird."

I didn't reply, letting him lead the way. We took a slow and careful pace, our boots crunching through the snow. I took in cold frosted breaths, and smelled the pine around us. If it wasn't for the mission, this might have been relaxing.

He spoke softly, his voice going into our earpieces.

"It's hard to track this guy. I can smell him, but it's usually easier to get a trace than this. He smells like steel. Blood. Smoke. Sweat."

Kitty pursed her lips in disgust.

"What about his pursuers?"

"Walking around like elephants, Half-pint. Might as well make this a learning experience. What do you see?"

Kitty swallowed at being put on the spot. "Um… like, can I get a clue?"

"You've been in forests. What doesn't look like it belongs in a forest?"

"I haven't been in a real forest."

Logan closed his eyes, then opened them slowly. "You've seen them on tv. Make educated guesses."

She looked a little freaked, but started panning her eyes around. "Okay. Tree. Tree. Snow… I mean, those branches are broken I guess."

When she looked back at Logan, he was smirking. "What? Like, seriously? Broken branches?"

"Like, seriously," he said sarcastically. He walked up to the branches and waved her over. Softly speaking, he panned his fingers across them. "Bear or deer might have done it, but there's no tracks, no antler scratches, no claw marks. If you look carefully at the ground, what do you think you'll see?"

"Um…" Kitty leaned down. I watched carefully, feeling a bit like a third wheel in this teaching exercise, but still enjoying the show.

Kitty slowly pouted. Her eyes were hard, glaring at the landscape.

"Calm down," Logan patted her shoulder. "It's not an enemy. Just take in all the details, half-pint. The forest is dangerous. But it's fair. And it tells its story to you long as you're willing to take it in."

Her eyes softened. She looked a bit more. Then she sighed. "Okay. So, like. The branches are broken here. So maybe they were running?"

The grumpy older man didn't reply. Kitty continued. "Chasing somebody. Over here maybe?"

She walked the perimeter and stopped in a spot of snow that looked lower than the others. I had a guess as to what she'd find. Group of paramilitary dudes, chasing someone? No way they didn't-

"Bullets!"

Shoot at the guy.

"Nice job," Logan walked over to take a hold of one of them. "I'll teach you how to tell the difference between cartridges another time. But for now-"

"5.56×45mm NATO," I cut in, cocking my head. "That could be used by a lot of rifles. I was hoping for something more specialized."

"Are they like, really common?" Kitty asked us.

"Used by everyone from the US to the Swiss and much more. Including, of course, Canada."

"Makes it harder to tell if this is one of those other countries or just Canada being Canada."

"Wait, what does that mean?" Kitty looked between us, confused.

I decided to copy one of the catchphrases of an old friend of mine. "Don't worry about it."

"I don't like the way you said that," the young girl said.

Logan took a sniff of the bullet, frowning. "All well and good to use normal tracking skills. But from here on out, it's up to me I think. The guy they're pursuing. He's good. Almost as good as me. Reminds me of Sabertooth."

"That doesn't bode well."

"Like, tell me about it!"

Logan tossed the bullet aside and started walking. "This way. Come on."

We moved in his wake, quick, but not running. Just staying on the move. Kitty started to run towards a tree, but I pulled at her arm to make her dodge it rather than run through it.

"Hey, what gives?"

"Does going through things cost energy?" I asked pointedly.

She nodded, though she still looked confused.

"Then save it. We might need your powers later. Better that you've got a full tank."

As we continued, I stared out at the forest. Miles of woods. Hundreds of them. Rivers, animals, snow, trees, all hiding secrets. I don't think Kitty had really registered what it meant to find bullets in the woods. They weren't just pursuing this guy. They were trying to kill him. Thing was, were we trying to help him? Or did he need to be taken down too?

I reached for the Omnitrix and flipped through the playlist of aliens. Speed. I'd need speed.

Kulan Gath

Within AIM, the thin and wrinkled man wearing a suit watched next to Lyle Getz as a group of men manipulated the cameras before them. Footage of soldiers moving in formation, holding guns, the cameras either flying on drones or attached to helmets.

"In some ways, technology is both inferior and superior to the magic available to me," Kulan mused.

"How so?" Lyle asked curiously. "I can understand both perspectives, but I wish to hear your thoughts first."

"Ah, a true intellectual," Kulan felt a hint of amusement . Lyle Getz was an idiot. But better than most Kulan had to contend with. "Magic allows me to unleash the forces of the elements. Few are the men who can match me. Even your modern guns cannot match them. And yet, for my single august self, you can arm thousands of soldiers with those wonderful toys."

He continued. "My spells let me not only see across the world, but to project my astral self so I may feel, smell, even affect things from miles away. But your cameras allow you dozens of different perspectives, perfect recordings, and continuing advancements to the clarity, right down to thermal imaging!"

Kulan didn't hide his enthusiasm. "Oh yes. My powers are truly formidable. But I would be a fool to discount the lessons of this new world's great gifts."

"That is good to hear. For a moment, I believed you thought me to be an idiot. Though, I suppose you still do."

Kulan froze. He turned to stare at Lyle.

The scientist didn't look at him, merely watched the screens. "I'm simply making an observation, Mr. Gath. Based on my interactions with you, I know you are far more familiar with this man than you led me to believe. In fact, he is your enemy. You kept this from me. I assume it's because any information you share with us may reveal your true goals, even your weaknesses. Which leads me to believe you do not have our best interests at heart."

"...And?"

"And nothing, Mr. Gath. After all, I cannot pretend I have your own best interests at heart. I am content to allow you to use us. As long as it is understood we are using you in turn."

"How amusing. What exactly do you believe I can offer you, if I am as duplicitous as you say?"

"The keys to the kingdom. This is a world of monsters, myths, and super-science. AIM will not lose its traction. Not after its previous failure. We will become greater than ever before. If I must shake the hand of the devil, it will be worth it when we strike at the gods.

At that moment, Kulan's estimation of Lyle Getz rose. "Strike at the gods. It makes this old sorcerer laugh, to know that blasphemies such as that are considered possibilities."

Getz looked him in the eyes for the first time. Gath felt his heart swell at what he saw. Desperation. Madness. And pure obsession. How beautiful.

"I've seen gods bleed, Mr. Gath. I know they can be killed as well. AIM can rise higher than them one day. I plan to make that happen. Now. This man we're hunting. How is he doing as much damage as this with nothing but a sword?"

At that, Gath's new admiration of Getz turned into annoyance and rage towards their shared adversary.

"If I knew that, I'd have killed him long ago."

"Fair enou- Wait!" Lyle snapped his hand at one of the cameras. "Who is that?"

The camera froze on the woods. There, Kulan and Lyle could see a single glowing symbol on an arm moving through the trees.

"Omnitrix," Lyle hissed.

"Dial," Kulan smiled. "Now that is interesting. What is he doing here?"

"No clue. We wouldn't have known if that thing wasn't glowing!" Lyle pressed a button on his watch. "All teams, avoid contact with Dial."

"Are you afraid of him?" Kulan asked mildly.

"Yes."

Kulan smirked.

"I am no fool, Gath. So far, every enterprise Dial has encountered has gotten shut down. He can turn into Godzilla damnit!"

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

To Gath's annoyance, Getz ignored him. Gath watched him continue coordinating his forces. As he did, he stroked his chin. He'd already seen Dial in action. But perhaps…

"Oh Dr. Getz?" Gath asked, his voice sweet as sugar. "I believe I may be able to offer some assistance?"

Lyle looked over at him. The scientist and the sorcerer met eyes. Lyle finally nodded. "What do you need?"

"A cow will do. This summoning will require a sacrifice. Hahahaha!"

It was time to see how the Omnitrix dealt with magic. After all, Kulan was learning quite a bit about science. Now for an experiment or two.

Chapter 7: The Future King

I hopped up into a tree, looking out over the landscape. "This guy's range is pretty damn impressive," I mumbled into the Omnitrix.

"More like crazy," Kitty complained in my ear. I could see her at the bottom of the tree, looking up at me. "This guy really hunts across 20 acres? Is that normal?"

"Not usually," Logan said back. I couldn't see him, which probably meant he was doing all right. "Most hunters range around only 10 acres in the modern day."

"Modern?" I asked, noting that choice of language.

"I'm starting to have doubts about this guy. I found arrows. Flint and wood."

Someone landed behind me. I jumped and turned quickly, only to sigh a bit at the sight of Logan. We both dropped down from the tree, landing next to Kitty. "He smells like animal skins along with everything else. But all the modern smells; Smog, plastic and such. They're new on him."

"New?" My mind raced through the list of characters I knew in Marvel who might fit the bill. "Maybe this is a caveman."

"You're joking, right?" Kitty asked skeptically.

"Only a bit. Literally anything is possible, but that just means we take in evidence without bias, not that we assume things offhand," I rubbed the back of my neck, sighing. "Still… who is this guy? And who are the people after him?"

Logan spoke softly. "No idea. But they're avoiding us."

Kitty looked around. "They are?"

"Yeah. Like the damn plague. Surrounding us, but not moving in."

"Figures," I'd noticed. I didn't have Logan's instincts, but I'd been at this for long enough to feel when people were watching me. "Let's keep moving. Sooner we find this guy, the sooner we get answers.

I saw something fly overhead. A drone, flying high. I choose to ignore it for now. Better to wait for my moment.

The three of us moved differently. Logan practically flowed through the woods, like he was a part of it, each step landing perfectly without sound. I was less used to woods. My beat tended to have a lot more concrete and street lights, but I felt pretty good about how quiet I was.

Kitty was less relaxed. She kept stepping on branches, getting leaves in her face, doing the Valley Girl equivalent of Joe Pesci cursing his head off.

Finally, I had enough of that. I reached for the Omnitrix and tapped it. In a flash of light, my body shifted. I became taller and thinner, insect wings floated off my back then wrapped around me like a cloak.

"Big Chill."

"Here, take my hand," I said to Kitty.

"Ewww!" Kitty recoiled, staring at me. "Your eyes are like, totally grody!"

I'd have rolled those same eyes if I could have. "You are being too loud and clumsy. And you don't have to be. Take my hand, Shadowcat."

Kitty still looked grossed out. Still, she took a hold of my clawed hand. "Wha-"

I shifted to become intangible. And so did Kitty.

"Whoa!" she shivered. "That feels like, so weird!"

"You're telling me."

She didn't feel like Ghost did. When Ghost and I had to interact intangibly, she felt like she was disconnecting from the world around her. Like touching a soap bubble made of power. It was there, but it could disappear at any moment.

Big Chill felt more like a cold breeze. Cold, of course, invisible, but still there. You couldn't see the air as it blew around you, but you could feel it. It was a part of the world, rather than pulling away from it.

Kitty felt like she was fuzzy. I don't know how else to explain it. She was still there, but it was like the universe couldn't quite get a hold on her. Fuzzy and hard to touch.

I lifted off, floating upwards with Kitty in tow. Kitty gasped at the sensation, but otherwise closed her mouth.

"Come on," I pulled her along, following in Logan's wake. Without thinking, I started repeating a lesson Nat had once taught me. "It's fine to learn stealth, but you have natural advantages you can take advantage of. If things can't touch you, then you also avoid making noise. Noise requires interaction after all."

We went through a tree together. "How long can you stay like this?"

"Uh, I don't know? Like, a few hours? I get tired after a while," Kitty said, floating over the snow.

"A few hours. That's perfect," I mused. "Anyways, next time you need to keep under the radar, don't be afraid to turn intangible. The stuff you'll run into has no problems cheating, so neither should you."

"Run into? Like what?" Kitty asked curiously.

That's when an arrow slammed into Logan's throat.

"Guh!" Logan fell to a knee, coughing. I pulled Kitty over to him as she screamed in horror, watching as he grabbed the arrow and ripped it out, a spray of blood following the movement.

Another arrow flew at me, but I turned intangible in time, the arrow getting covered in frost as it passed through my head.

"Grrrrr!" Logan snapped, his throat healing in seconds. "Cheap shot!"

He leaped up and entered the brush. A sound filled the air. Metal on metal.

"Who shoots arrows at people!?" Kitty shouted.

"I know a guy," I tapped the Omnitrix and shifted to Wildmutt form. I could smell Logan and one other person, the person we'd been tracking. I leaped for them, reaching the pair.

Through Wildmutt's superpowered senses, I could tell the man was tall. A giant of a man really, around Thor's height. He was wearing a deer hide as a cloak with wolf fur trimming his arms and legs, but was otherwise nearly naked, his body running hotter than most people. He had a sword in each hand, one of which had been sliced in half by Logan's adamantium claws.

Apparently he'd learned his lesson though, because he parried the claws instead of meeting them head on now, dodging when he could, and sliced into Logan several times.

I kept quiet as I lunged at him, trying to catch him off guard.

I don't know how he sensed me. But as I was about to hit him, he spun around and stabbed me in the chest, kicking me back moments later.

"RARRGH!"

Gaaaah, that hurt. Getting stabbed in the chest hurts no matter how many times it happens or whatever form you're in. You don't get used to that shit.

Logan rushed in. His right claws whistled through the air, barely missing. The large man retaliated with a stab, which Logan took in the shoulder, trading it for a chance to kick his leg. The man rolled as his leg left the ground, swords slicing out to parry Logan's follow up.

Then the two stood in front of each other and began moving at top speed. In Wildmutt form, I couldn't see it, but the sounds of the clash was clear as day to me. Metal ringing over and over, painting the world in vibrating air, bits of heat as swords and claws clashed, the breathing of the two men going fast and hard, sending clouds of warmth into the warm Canadian air. The smell of sweat and blood mingling with the muddy snow flying up around their feet.

Both of them moved faster than anyone not on super-soldier serum should have been able to, bouncing back and forth. Cuts flashed across Logan's body, healing near instantly. The man got similar wounds, but ignored them, focusing on the battle.

The man slashed downward at Logan. Logan blocked it with his forearm. The blade sliced through his flesh and stopped with a metallic clang that surprised the barbarian.

Logan smirked. "Metal bones don't break."

"Get away from him!" Kitty threw a rock. The giant man slashed it out of the air without looking and continued his duel with Logan. She then surprised me by rushing in and throwing the most clumsy punch I'd ever seen.

It landed on his cheek. He didn't flinch. He did, however, lose the hood that had been covering his face when her hand caught on it and pulled.

I was getting up, covering the hole in my chest, but I almost froze at the sight of Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a headband, with tanner skin, and much more youthful than the former California governor. But close enough that all three of us stared in surprise.

He took his chance to let loose a casual backhand towards Kitty. I knew what he expected. To send her flying, then continue his fight with Logan.

He stumbled when his giant fist flew through her with no resistance. Kitty screamed and punched him again, surprising him further.

Logan and I moved at the same time. I tapped the Omnitrix while Logan rushed him.

I still got there first.

"Fasttrack!" at super-speed, I punched Conan (Because who else could this barbarian with swords and an action star's face be?) in ribs, shifting to let Logan slash at him as I ripped a sword from his right hand.

Conan roared in rage, as loud as any animal, and parried Logan again.

I took the sword in hand and swung with superhuman speed, slicing off his cloak. Conan's eyes widened. Then they closed.

When I swung again, he parried it. Despite my superspeed.

Holy shit.

"Logan, back up!" I shouted.

"Are you kidding, brat!?" Logan snarled.

"This guy doesn't have guns!" I answered.

He understood instantly. If we were surrounded by enemies, then Logan would be the one who could detect them first. Reluctantly, Logan backed off.

I twirled my stolen sword and rushed Conan. He rushed back. And just like that, I was in another sword fight.

Conan was good. Scratch that. He was the best I'd ever dueled. Natasha, Melinda May, Clint, they would have been in for the fight of their lives.

The closest I'd ever fought that compared to him was Thor. Thor. The 1500 year old warrior, who had fought everything possible to fight. Conan was almost as good as him.

In Fasttrack form, with my blue fur getting bits of snow in it, I could match and surpass him, but I felt admiration fill me at the sight of his swordsmanship. He adjusted to my speed by slowing down, not trying to overwhelm me like he had Logan, but instead flowing with me, eyes taking in my whole body. Sparks flew with every blow, the swords in our hands shaking on every contact.

I felt bad for what I did next, but I didn't have time to waste on admiring his swordsmanship.

Conan raised his blade to slash at my neck, and I stopped holding back.

Fasttrack was not as fast as XLR8, but he was still insanely quick. If I gave Conan enough time, he might be able to counter him, clever and skilled opponents could do it. Couldn't give him that time though.

I ducked under his slash then bashed his sword with mine with all the strength and speed I had, knocking the blade from his hand. Then I swung my own sword so the blade was placed against Conan's neck, tickling his adam's apple with the point. A small amount of blood came from the point.

Conan stared at me. Then he spoke. And I couldn't understand it.

I stared at him, uncomprehending. Since I'd gotten to the Marvel Earth, the only time I'd had trouble with language had been when the Omnitrix had shut down. Conan said something else, trying a different language.

"What'd he say?" Kitty asked, confused.

"I have no clue."

"...haf na clo." Conan mumbled, repeating the words thoughtfully.

I backed away from him and tossed his sword back to him. Conan's eyes widened, catching the blade with ease. Then I tapped the Omnitrix. In a flash, I was back in human form again. He didn't seem that put off by my transformation, only raising an intrigued eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" Logan asked me, snarling. Conan clenched and unclenched the blade.

"Conan." I said.

The man in question now looked truly surprised. I pointed at myself. "Dial. Logan. Kitty."

He watched me point at each of them. Then he said something else. Gibberish. The Omnitrix fluttered with colors on my wrist. Conan added something.

"-manner of demon?"

"Not demons," I said. I raised my Omnitrix up. "You have swords. But in this world, weapons have evolved a good amount."

"You speak good now?" Conan's voice was deepas hell. He twirled his sword, not sheathing it just yet. His speech was also not what I expected. He sounded like the Heavy from Team Fortress. Slow, deep, using simple words. Like the Omnitrix was having trouble translating him.

Conan wasn't dumb. For his time period, he was a fucking Renaissance man. I had to remind myself of that as his speech was butchered to pieces.

"Weapons. Hmf! Weapons like coward. Sneak knife, metal bone, ghostly wench and beast men. You are sorcerer?"

"I know your legends, Conan. Are any of those things you haven't encountered before?" I asked.

"...No metal bones. You say not demons. Then what?"

"Superheroes. Which kind of makes us weirder than demons," I tried to joke. He didn't seem to get it, only scowling. "Look, we aren't with those guys who were tracking you."

"The worthless ones?" Conan cocked his eyebrow. He had inky-black hair I noticed, something that further separated him from Ahnold. "Hmmm."

That was a growl. A deep and rumbling one. Okay, so he was pissed.

"What want then?" He pointed at me harshly.

"Honestly, to get you out of trouble. You aren't supposed to be here."

That was an understatement. The Hyborian Age was what, 10,000 years ago? Further? Had he been left here because of the Rio Timequake?

"Who is this guy?" Kitty asked.

"A man from an age way before ours," I walked over to the sword on the ground and picked it up, noting where Logan had sliced through it. When I handed it to Conan, he put it away without looking.

"...Hmf," he turned and began to walk away.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Away. Leave me." Conan growled, continuing on.

"So you can keep getting hunted by assholes?"

He seemed surprised by the last word, stopping to chuckle. "Funny, beast-man. I Conan. Need no one."

Logan frowned. He sniffed the air. "Whatever the hell you two are talking about. Stow it. We got company."

I felt a run of frustration fill me. God fucking damnit, I had to get him out. I had no time to waste on this. Whoever was tracking him, they'd cause trouble-

Magic. It was in the air. Sudden and rushing. I was no wizard, but time with Fantasma had gotten me used to the sting of it in the air. Magic had different flavors from person to person. My favorite witch girl had a different feel from Wanda's more chaotic or Agatha's ancient and controlled versions of magic, for example.

This magic felt like a baby being strangled. It was horrific. Poisonous. And it covered us all.

Conan snarled, looking around. "Sorcery!"

Logan was looking around as well, though more confused than anything. Kitty shivered, grabbing at her arms. "Like, what is that?"

"Magic," I reached for the omnitrix, looking around with wide eyes. "Logan-"

It came from beneath me. A claw of pure ice separating the snow as it reached for my crotch with lacerating spikes. I leaped back, screaming a bit higher pitched than normal when the claws caught briefly on the armor protecting me. I slammed down on the Omnitrix.

"NRG!"

In my armored form, I grabbed the claw and ripped it upwards.

The creature was around four feet in height. It was made entirely of spiky ice except for its green eyes, the two wings on its back giving it the appearance of an imp.

"Mephit!" Conan snarled.

The creature screeched, breathing pure ice onto my helmet.

So I breathed nuclear radiation into its face.The creature didn't have enough time to respond before its grinning demon head melted.

Then the earth snapped up beneath me, another creature, this one made of dirt and stone, punching me, followed by gunshots.

"They're here!" Logan extended his claws and went to rush forward. Only to trip as the ground beneath him began to soften, pulling him under. "Crap!"

"AH!" Kitty screamed when another earth imp looking thing rose up and swung at her, getting nothing. She grabbed Logan and pulled him out of the mudlike-earth, letting go of him once he was out.

"Thanks, pipsqueak!" Logan dug his claws into the imp and ripped it in half, taking several shots in the back with spurts of blood. He rushed for where the bullets had been shooting at him from, leaping into the woods.

I grabbed my own earth imp by the shoulders and pulled, ripping its arms off before twirling them to beat the creature to rubble with its own limbs.

Then ice covered me instantly, keeping me in place. I couldn't see it, since I was frozen, but behind me Kitty yelled out again, rushing towards Conan.

The quintessential barbarian had circled around me, using me as cover from the bullets bouncing off my new icy prison, only for a water imp to flow out of the snow and soak him in a blast of fluid. He sliced through the attack, removing the lethal aspect of the attack but covering him with water. In the middle of the snow.

I raised my temperature, exploding from the ice around me as Kitty passed me and blasted the water imp, evaporating it in clouds of steam. I tried to keep my radiation contained while my heat was high, a trick I'd practiced with Bruce, and Conan sighed in relief at the rush of heat that filled the area.

"What are these things!?" Kitty shouted, letting an ice one's claws go through her before pushing it back, Conan smashing it apart with his sword.

"Conan, give me info, comrade!" I shouted in NRG's Russian accented tones.

"Mephit! Spirit of nature they are!"

That fit. We were surrounded by them. Ice, earth, air, water, imps of various types. Or mephits, I guess. A rock smashed into me, hard enough to send me stumbling back. Then ice surrounded me as a ball of wind hit Conan in the back.

A hail of bullets from the treeline was concerning as well, Logan's rage filled voice coming from that direction. The bullets went through Kitty, nearly took Conan's head off, and smashed apart an earth imp.

This was too much. We had to deal with the problems separately.

"Kitty, get Conan to Logan!" I shouted. "Conan, shut down the honorless ones!"

Conan took in the sight around us, then growled and nodded. Thank god he wasn't dumb. Logan and he could easily deal with the gunmen. But the mephits, whatever they were, required a more powerful touch.

Kitty grabbed Conan and pulled him, only for the giant of a man to spin her around and take her into his arms.

"Eep! Like, what are you doing, you creep-AHHHH!"

Conan took off, running faster than anyone I'd ever seen who wasn't on super-soldier juice, rushing past the monsters without care.

He adjusted fast, that was for sure.

"Now," I raised my fists, the armor around them beginning to glow with red hot power. The mephits around me screeched and charged. "Let us party, comrades!"

The demonic forces of nature rushed me. I ran forth and unleashed all the power within me on contact with an earth mephit, exploding in radiative power. My fist split the air before exploding inside a water golem.

Then I was dogpiled. I punched, grappled, blew fire, as the dozens of mephits clawed, blew various types of breath at me, and screeched.

"Yes, cry some more!"

Kulan Gath

"Cry some more," Kulan shook his head, chuckling. "A man after my own heart."

On a television screen in the small room he'd been given, footage of Dial fighting the mephits was playing live. Kulan hummed to himself.

He raised a hand to his beard, only to stop himself. "Oh, that would have been embarrassing.

His hand was still covered in blood. Getting that in his beard was a sticky endeavor to clean.

Kulan looked over at the calf he had been cutting into. Still a babe in truth, the living creature was bleating weakly with its entrails spread out across the floor. Its pain, youth, and blood were all feeding into the entrails arranged into ancient patterns across the concrete, bringing forth the neutral spirits of the elements and binding them to Kulan's will.

Kulan idly kicked the calf, trying to feed just a bit more pain into the spell, but otherwise smiled.

This was good. His powers were, if anything, more potent than ever. Perhaps because his particular brand of magic had less users in this world. The 'pool' he drank from had less competition.

And summoning the mephits would prove to be immensely useful. The elemental spirits were neutral, but easily binded to a sorcerer who knew what they were doing. Enough of them could cause damage, distract, and use subterfuge.

They had weaknesses. They could only be formed from their environments. Thus why Dial was only fighting spirits of ice, earth, air, and water. In the right settings, lighting, fire, and much more could be added.

Still, as a beginning test, Kulan was satisfied…

Except. Conan.

On the screen, Kulan watched as Conan approached a soldier, the barbarian savage slicing into the armored man's throat. Conan. Always Conan.

Kulan believed in Crom. How else could a barbarian somehow overcome odds over and over again, if not with the aid of a god's strength? Conan was no superhuman. He was skilled, strong, but he had no true power. And yet, he survived. He won. Over and over again.

Pain in his palms drew his attention. When Kulan looked, he had driven his pointed nails into his own hands. Kulan relished in the pain for a moment, allowing it to bring him back to reality.

Conan would be dealt with. Dial, the Avengers… and eventually, even AIM. All would become his.

Until even his benefactor would become his thrall.

Kulan raised his palm, covered in the blood of the calf and his own, and licked at it idly, smiling at the screen.

Chapter 8: Moving Forward

June 11th, 2014

Conan the Barbarian

Conan put down the witch girl once they had reached the other battle. The Cimmerian's eyes swept the field, taking in everything as a whole picture before parsing the details, a trick he had learned through many battles.

Then he dived forward, swords held high. The men before him wore black clothing armored with some strange material, and carried those metal sticks that fired arrowheads without shafts. There were fifteen, two of them firing at the steel boned one.

Conan landed before one of them, ducked under his aimed weapon, and sliced into his gut, just under the black material the man wore as armor. His sword ripped through cloth and flesh, entrails steaming as they met the cold air. The man screamed, only cut off by Conan's other blade slamming into his throat in a spray of red on the white snow.

14 men now. 12, since the steel-boned one had torn into two others with those sneak knives of his.

In truth, he preferred this battlefield to the one he had left behind. While the honorless warriors here fought with strange sticks that blasted thunder and released hyperfast beads of iron, at the end of the day they were the same as any archer. Stay out of the way of the arrow, and you would not be struck.

Mephits, while something he was familiar with, sat firmly in the realm of things Conan was wary of. Lesser spirits they are, but Conan felt more comfortable fighting men of flesh and blood than he did those elementals.

Let the shapeshifting demon deal with those. Conan had blood of his own to spill.

But not alone. As he approached the next soldier, he ended up with the steel-boned man at his back. He ignored him, focusing on his opponent.

Dodge from the path of the soldier's weapon as his hand tightened around the trigger. Swing his sword at the man's fingers, slicing them off. Followed with a stab to the throat, twisting as he pulled out.

The steel-boned one landed in front of Conan, taking a hail of arrowheads into his chest. Rather than dying, he roared, a true roar, a sound that reverberated in the air and sang to Conan's warrior blood. The short man charged forth, biceps and forearms bulging as he stabbed deep into the soldier, slashing upwards in a bloody spray that curled in the air.

Conan moved to cover the other man's back, only to shudder when the witch-girl passed through his chest. She ran through the steel-boned one as well, before landing a clumsy punch to the face of one shocked soldier. Another more prepared soldier shot the girl in the face. She yelped, ducking back despite not getting harmed in any way.

What a useful ability. Conan sliced the man who had shot the girl, metal passing through his elbow and sending his forearm flying through the air. The man screamed before a trio of unnaturally sharp blades impaled his face.

Conan looked around. There had been 12. Now there were nine. Very well.

The barbarian and the steel-boned man rushed forth. The witch-girl followed.

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

Thank god Conan, Logan, and Kitty were far away. I didn't want to risk irradiating them. Sure, Logan could take it and maybe Kitty's powers could protect her, but still! I didn't want to give anyone cancer or worse.

I took a moment to enjoy the irony. These creatures of magic, the power of the ancient world, fighting a being of radiation, the power of the modern world.

I discarded the thought to focus on the fight.

There were dozens of mephits, as Conan had called them. They had a bevy of abilities. Earth ones dived into the ground before showing up again, while ice and water ones could do the same with snow. The earth ones were also physically strong, hitting me not just with stone projectiles from their mouths but with rocky fists. Air mephits were the most elusive, constantly hitting me from just out of range with balls of air with similar force to a punch from Nat.

So to counter most of it, I unleashed the heat of my body in full. Radiation blew from my hands and feet, surrounding me in an aura of nuclear energy. Only the earth golems could approach me without just evaporating after a few moments in my vicinity. I slammed those with punches, full body slams, grabbing one by the face and melting it with a palmful of fire.

The other mephits got blasts of poisonous fire. I fired them carefully, aiming away from the battlefield where Conan, Logan, and Kitty were at. Some mephits tried to head over there. I ignored a bolt of ice that hit me in the back, instead smashing my hands into the ground.

In front of the mephits trying to head for the others, a volcano of pure radiation exploded upwards, molten rock flowing back towards us and cutting off the other battlefield. With that, I went back into the fight.

This battle was worrying. The mephits weren't very tough compared to NRG. Compared to a lot of aliens, really. But for a normal army they would have turned most battles into a massacre. I could cook the air ones with my radiation, but they were able to shift to be almost as intangible as Kitty, then come back with claws of pure air.

Earth ones could dig under the ground as though it were water, and hit as hard as a car. Ice ones could freeze things in their tracks just by passing through them. Water ones could drown a man in their bodies.

To me, they were a challenge. But there were dozens of these things. Whoever had summoned them might be able to replicate that. And this was just one of the magical species. BRIDGE had to be informed.

I covered myself in my aura of radiation and dived forward. The next few minutes were a blur. My fists shatter elemental heads and torsos, with more ephemeral mephits screaming as they were cooked alive either by my aura or my blasts. I felt like I was doing a real life horde mode. They were weak, compared to me, but there were so many. At points, they'd dogpile me, covering me enough that I couldn't see anything but their bodies for a few feet.

I kept punching- Kept blasting. The mud and snow turned to hardened earth as my heat cooked it, radiation soaking the ground like poison soaking into cake. The sound of mephits squealing filled the air, like a variety of guitar strings being abused, cut, and oiled.

The noises were grating. My armor ringing with hits, the squeals of the creatures, claws scratching at me…

"Otyebis ot menya!" I finally roared. I ripped open the helmet of my armor up and the real NRG came out.

The Mmphits died. They died merely by being next to me. I didn't hold back beyond the bare minimum to keep my radiation to my own battlefield. Earth, snow, air, and water spirits burned.

In the form of pure fire, I flew forth, passing through spirits and leaving burning holes in my wake before they dissipated. The ground cracked and split under the heat.

And the mephits all around began to fall apart. I flew through a couple more, but stopped when I realized they were all simply fading away.

One, an ice one still melting, grinning. For a moment, its eyes were… not alive. You couldn't call something with those eyes alive. I felt, for a moment, like I was meeting the gaze of a shark. An ancient apex predator.

Then the look faded. The ice spirit melted and the battlefield was empty.

And chock full of radiation.

"...This is big problem," I said, crossing arms of radioactive flame. I flew over to my armor and hopped into it. After the hood was closed, I began absorbing the radiation, cleaning it as much as I could.

I also sent a signal out through the Omnitrix. Time to get out of here.

Conan The Barbarian

"They're pulling back!" Conan roared at the short man fighting alongside him. He swung his sword in a downward arc, cutting off an arm, then stabbing with his other sword.

The man said something in that strange language of his, but his tone sounded like agreement as he sliced through the weapon of a soldier. As well as his armor, trisecting the man in three pieces.

Conan felt some envy for those blades. They seemed to cut through anything with ease. Other blades, armor, those metal weapons. To have a sword of quality similar to those sneak knives.

More soldiers shouted in the distance. They began to back up. Conan, to his frustration, took cover behind the smaller man. While the other man was smaller, Conan had seen him heal in mere moments without a scratch, while those arrowheads bounced off of his metal skeleton. It galled Conan, to take cover.

It was why he called these soldiers honorless. None of them were willing to fight like godsdamned men. They attacked from afar, shooting at him in cover, surrounding him in numbers. If he was not Conan the Cimmerian, he would have been dead long ago.

A head popped up from the ground next to him. The witch-girl. The brown-haired girl had used her powers to sink into the earth as though it were a pond. A few soldiers had been pulled into the ground as well, their upper bodies wiggling as they tried to escape. She said something to the short man. The steel-boned man scowled and nodded, then looked up at the sky, ignoring a bullet that bounced with a 'spang!' off his chin. Conan kept his eyes on the treeline, watching as the soldiers retreated.

Then the wind picked up. Conan raised his gaze and scowled.

A flying machine. Conan had seen a few since coming to this strange land. Metal constructs that flew faster than any horse, falcon or dragon. This one was different from ones he'd seen, birdlike but with those twisting blades built into the wings.

"Hn," Conan spat to the side, ignoring the witch-girl watching him in disgust. "Atlantean trickery."

The flying machine twisted so its buttocks faced them. The buttocks opened to reveal a hole. Like a castle dropping a drawbridge. Inside, the shapeshifter stood, holding one of those weapons.

"Inside, now!" the man called in a butchered version of Conan's tongue. Still, he made himself understood.

Conan leaped upwards, landing inside, the steel-boned man and the witch-girl following.

"Going, going now," the shapeshifter said, running to the front of the machine. The door shut behind them as Conan followed, stopping to watch the man sit in front of a set of windows. Ah. A saddle for the machine then. A comfortable looking one, with pillows across it.

So the many buttons and sticks were the reins.

"Conan, sit!" the man shouted.

"Don't order me around," Conan grumbled. Still, he listened.

He sat down. The shapeshifter flicked some buttons.

"AAAAAAAAAAGH!" Conan screamed when they suddenly zipped off. "Crom!"

"Wooo!" the witch-girl shouted.

The short man spoke calmly, as though they weren't moving at demonic speeds. The shapeshifter nodded. "First, drop off both you. Then, take Conan safe after. Bridge see him."

Both you? Safe after? His grasp of grammar was atrocious. And how could a bridge see Conan?

Conan the Barbarian grimaced, holding tight to his seat, looking at the shapeshifter. "Explain. Now."

Lyle Getz

Escaped. They'd made it out. Of course they had.

Dial was a goddamn Avenger. He had no idea who that girl and man with him were, but they'd displayed impressive abilities of their own. Damn BRIDGE, for somehow managing to consistently pull in superhumans.

Well. He'd have his own soon enough.

Lyle sat at his desk, staring hard at his computer. This. This was good, in some ways. They had more raw data on the Omnitrix now. They'd gotten some pings on the network whenever Dial transformed. They knew about two more assets of BRIDGE. And Kulan Gath…

No. That last one worried him more than anything. Kulan had, with the sacrifice of a calf, summoned dozens of elemental spirits. Creature of air, earth, and water. They had barely scratched Dial. They would have annihilated most soldiers.

Kulan was not on AIM's side. Lyle repeated those words over and over like a prayer for a moment.

Then a message came in. He opened it.

"...The Benefactor," Lyle mumbled. The mysterious person providing all their new advancements. They'd passed on something new. Something…

Three, maybe four months. He could build this. They just needed to gather some tech, make some chemicals. And then. Well. Kulan Gath would be a footnote.

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

"Explain. Now."

A voice like stone rumbling down a mountain peak echoed. I looked over at Conan. The man looked almost comical, holding onto his seat as the ship rocketed forward. Almost. He was still a 6+ foot man covered in muscle and radiating power. As well as irritation. Lots of that last one.

"What's Schwarzenegger asking?" Logan said.

"Thaaaat's who he looks like!" Kitty said. "That old movie actor, the funny one."

Logan and I stared at her. She stared back. "What?"

"Old?" I said, feeling a deep pain in my soul.

"Yeah, from like, the 90s. He was in that movie where he wanted to get a superhero toy for his son?" Kitty looked closer at Conan, who leaned back from her. "Wow, that's like, totally crazy."

"...Kitty, have you seen Terminator? Or Commando?"

"No. Those movies are like, ancient and grody!"

Oh dear lord, save me from Cali teens… Wait, I was a Cali teen once. Valley Kids then, save me from Valley Kids.

I pushed back the inner nerd rage. "Okay, well. I'm guessing Conan here is an ancestor of Schwarzenegger. Thus why he looks like him."

"An ancestor?" Conan frowned. "Hm. Home, I return to."

He said that with some small smidgen of relief. That was a good point. Conan being here was part of a whole bevy of problems.

"...Okay," I hit autopilot. The ship began to guide itself towards the X-Mansion. As it did that, I brought up comms and texted a message to Maria, Agatha, and Thor. Agatha likely wouldn't answer, but she did keep a smartphone to keep in touch.

"Conan, I'm going to give a brief breakdown of the last… Ten thousand years? No, let me actually start with my theory on how you got here. It all started in a place called Rio de Janeiro."

As I spoke, the back of my mind was focused on the implications of everything else. Conan in the modern age was somewhat normal. We were used to it. But those paramilitary guys and the mephits?

Marvel Canada would never stop with its bullshit. Meme or not, it was true this time.

I broke the news to Conan. As I did, I wanted to sigh. I just needed a break. A nice long break where nothing happened to me beyond the usual routine…

July 19th, 2014

High above the Earth, the International Space Station, known by many as the ISS, floated peacefully, orbiting the planet below. The astronauts within were simply enjoying the moments before a quick lunch. Experimenting, studying, doing some light exercise.

Since aliens had proven to be real, the ISS had become busier than ever. Hundreds of scans, experiments, and hours of surveillance footage, all done from there.

It was quiet despite the business. Peaceful.

Until there was a knock at the door.

A knock. At the airlock door. In space.

The astronauts, one woman and two men, shared a look of horror.

"...Uh-"

"Don't look at me," one of the men, Victor, shook his head, his dark bald head shining in the light. "I've had nightmares about this kinda shit."

"And yet, you became an astronaut anyway," the woman, Wang, snarked, just a hint of a Mandarin accent to her voice.

"You know how many people want to date astronauts?"

The other, paler, man, Douglas, leaned to look out the window. "Uh. It's one of ours. I think."

Wang looked out, Victor following. The three looked out.

A blue-gray ship. But one out of science fiction. It was huge, the size of a large house, shaped like a disc with a main body and two structures on the sides. A large gun rested on the top. More importantly, three symbols rested on it, on each structure and one more on the top.

A BRIDGE eagle. An Avengers logo. And a large number 42. Under the number was a name.

The Defiant Reborn.

The ship had an airlock tunnel extended out to attach to theirs. Lights shone across the ship. And another knock came. A series of them. Victor hummed to the tune of the knocks.

"Shave and a haircut… two bits."

"I'm gonna say they're human," Wang said just before the doors slid open on their own.

Behind them, the famous face of Dial grinned. "Ola, astronauts. We brought lunch and a gravity field. Wanna partake?"

The astronauts shared a look. Victor was shocked. Douglas pinched himself. And Wang stared at Dial.

"Um… are you real?" she finally said.

Dial's smile fell. "Wait, did you guys not get a message about this?"

Just then, a large man with short shorn hair came floating around the corner. Alexander, a large bald man, with a wide grin on his face. He spoke in a German accent. "My friends, we are going to have vis-" He stopped. "Oh, you are here already!"

Dial nodded. "Yep. And I brought gifts."

"Wunderbar!" Alexander said in excitement, the German man floated over to Dial, landing heavily when he entered the airlock. Right. Gravity field.

After some hesitation, the other three followed.

The inside of the ship was huge. Well, compared to the ISS. It had more in common with ships from Star Trek. Large halls big enough to walk through with head room. After so long in the comparatively cramped ISS, it was a relief.

Took time to get used to the gravity though. After months in space, the astronauts had to get their earth legs. Just beyond the airlock, a pair of heavy metal doors slid open, a glowing pair of turrets in the ceiling tracking their movements. Past those, a locker room rested, filled with weapons, armor, breathing equipment, and small packets labeled MRE's.

"What is all this?" Wang asked, trying to understand what was going on. "The Avengers built a spaceship?"

"Correction. Tony Stark and a team of scientists built a spaceship. For legal reasons, this belongs to me as a private vessel."

"Because of that registration crap?" Victor asked.

"Registration?" Alexander said.

"Don't get me started," Dial said. "Anyways, we needed to take a flight test, and a little birdy named Chris said you guys might enjoy a fresh meal."

"Hadfield?" Douglas barked out a laugh. "That man is way too nice."

They entered a kitchen and dining room. An actual one.

With food. Tons and tons of food.

"Dig in! Got all your favorites! Pizza, Chinese, pies, chicken wings-"

The four astronauts were already digging in. Food. Non-dehydrated, fresh, nice smelling food! Dial smiled, turning and leaving the group to eat.

Wang looked around briefly with pizza in her mouth, swallowing. "You think we can get one of these?"

"God I hope so."

With a whole army of questions ahead of them, they focused on food for now. Later they could interrogate the superhero. For now, the chicken wings were calling.