Chaika Trabant and Raven - Operations Room

Raven listened carefully to the information given out first by Fury, then by Fletcher. If what they said was true, then they had to prevent the Overlords from attaining even more power at any costs. The difficulty of the mission and the small window of opportunity meant there would be no room for mistakes. His comrades were making some questions he was definitely interested in seeing responded, but they were scattered all over the place.

"First of all, we need to organize ourselves as well as our information," the mercenary stated, arms crossed as he turned towards Armani. "I agree that Tatu is the most dangerous enemy here, but before we get to him we need to overcome the generators; so I suggest we focus on figuring out how to dispose of them before trying to determine how to defeat Tatu."

Chaika, in the meantime, seemed to be focusing less on the details of the mission, and more on the people present in the room. It was the first time she'd seen so many people gathered together in a same room, although the atmosphere could be better. She could tell some of the people of the room were a bit anxious, impatient... some even scared. Honestly, she was quite worried about what could happen as well, but she chose not to let it show, and instead decided to finally focus on the topic being discussed.

Chase Young - Overlord HQ

Even though he hadn't had the chance to respond to Tira or Kirei, Chase turned towards Tatu the moment he began his speech, while the Flash returned holding a tray with food in his mouth. The heylin warrior listened to the Nomad in silence, and his expression barely changed when the screen started flickering.

Right, no one really had taken the time to take care of the man that had launched the nukes the previous year.

"Go," the long-haired man commanded to his servant, before turning back towards the screen, the tray with food perfectly balanced on his finger. "I'm surprised you managed to survive for the full year, Breadpool. Tired of hiding in someone's basement, I assume?"

Helicarrier

   "Oh, Gavrill. A man once tried to trick me like you're doing right now. When he did it, I ended up getting really annoyed... but..."    And at this, Tatu's eyes gained a wanton look that seemed very out of place.    "When you do it, it's so enchanting."   

Tatu snapped his fingers, slinging one arm around Gavrill's shoulder.    "Tell you what. If you take that sword and stab Loki right through this chest, I won't just forgive you."    He leaned in, whispering in her ear.    "I'll give you everything he has. All of it. You will become a Goddess, with all the tricks and treats that come with the title. The history books will be rewritten to fit your desires. Loki will be forgotten forever, and all will know the aesir Gavrill, Goddess of Treachery."   

Clicking his tongue, Tatu stood besides Loki, as the god turned to face Gavrill.    "How about it?"    The Nomad whispered, just as Loki's grip on Gavrill's hand grew tighter as he looked at her with a defiant smirk, pondering what was going on through her head.

Overlord HQ

Once Tesseract made his wishes known and clear, the usually gentleman-y smile that contemplated Amon's face disappeared. A scowl appeared on its place, as his eyes focused on the hand Tesseract was using to grab him by his shoulder. "After all we did together, I deserve more respect, don't I?" He growled, leaning forward and clutching Tesseract's arm, as Carnage's tendrils began to sneak out of the pores of his human skin. "So take your hands off me    you—   "

At that moment, Deadpool made sure to scoff- loudly, at that- when Desco's attempt at mind control barely managed to elicit a reaction from him. A secondary result was that the scoff took Amon's attention, and the dictator removed his hand, the tendrils covering his face and assuming the shape of his mask as he joined the other Overlords, leaving Tesseract behind.

"Was that supposed to do something?" Deadpool laughed at Desco's attempts at magic. "And it's so nice to see that behind all that though dictatorship talk, all of you are nothing more than a bunch of cowards." He said, pointedly glaring at the ones who tried to tell their servants and young wards to sneak away.

Deadpool then laughed down at Tira. "Dry me like a fucking pig? I doubt you'd manage to even touch me. But we'll find that out soon enough. All I need is confirmation that..." The merc's jokey nature melted away when Kirei made himself known and made sure to rub his deeds on the masked man's face. "Yeah. There you are." Deadpool narrowed his eyes. "If you've got the balls, I'll be waiting for you. Times Square."

Tatu watched as the screens went to static before clapping sarcastically.    "You know, I was wondering how long it would take for his pals to show up. Truth be told, I knew about them for a long time."    He admitted in a matter-of-fact manner, shrugging.    "I needed some kind of final test for all of you. Build up a comfort zone before trying to take it down. By the way, something's missing—"   

The static returned to the television, as Tatu muttered a silent there we go, leaning back and crossing his legs as he floated in mid-air. This time, another face appeared on the screen, and it wasn't just a random head. It was literally a head, severed off from the neck, one that belonged to Nathaniel Essex.

"Ahem." Mr. Sinister cleared his throat, even though it was obvious he didn't need to do that. "Ah. Yes, I can see all of you. Such a shame that we're meeting under these circumstances. On another life, I would have jumped at the chance to work with y—" He was promptly interrupted by the sound of a gun being cocked from off screen, which made him change his subject. "Mr. Wilson is highly aware that many of you will jump at the chance to... uh, 'steamroll him'- his words, not mine- so he's made sure to... 'buttfuck all of you equally'... once more, his words, not mine."

With another batch of camera static, the image changed again, this time to a feed from a camera attached to a helmet. At first, it was impossible to discern where the feed was, but it took Amon no time to recognize the hustle and bustle of Kahndaq's capital city favorite market. " No. " He whispered under his breath, eyes widening behind his mask.

"Oh, yes." Mr. Sinister continued from off screen. "Meet Baran Flinders, or Mammoth as he's known in our community." As if obeying invisible prompts, the person with the facecam stared into a hand mirror, and the Overlords got to see the smiling mug of Mammoth. "Now, Mr. Flinders is quite the... obtuse fellow? As such, he believes his mission consists of capturing a random palace guard I invented. But the truth is that I have been secretly experimenting with Mr. Flinders' genetic makeup, injecting whatever remnants I have of one Dr. Bruce Banner. Once I activate the mechanisms I implanted within him, Mammoth will turn into a better, stronger and smarter version of himself... I won't call it 'the Hulk'- I dread the thought of associating my work with garbage."

Another static, another image change. This time, of a peaceful cherry blossom park in what most Overlords would instantly recognize as the city near the base of the Iga and Koga Mountains. The facecam was already staring at a lake, and the Overlords would see a ginger woman wearing civilian clothes. "That is Molly Hayes. Luckily, due to her genetics, she wasn't removed from this plane of existence along with most of Earth's heroes. Also luckily, and also due to her genetics, I found her extremely receptive to a gene therapy meant to simulate James Madrox, the deceased Multiple Man. Of course, I tinkered with it. Once I activate her, she will become an one-woman absorbing machine, and whoever comes near her will suddenly find themselves part of an ever-growing hivemind of individuals, their power increasing with every addition."

Finally, the static changed the image to Griffith Park in the capital of the New Zeal Kingdom. This one wasn't a facecam, but rather security camera footage, part of one of Zeal and Greed's 'security measures'. Amongst the crowds of guards and brainwashed citizens stood the Cheetah, hidden in the middle of the outdoor eating section of a burger joint. "And my majestic finale, the good Dr. Minerva, who received a batch of internal genetic components meant to mimic the abilities of the dearly departed Ororo Munroe. Except, oops, I acidental botched the composition of those genes, which means the moment I activate her, dear Dr. Minerva's body will start throwing every member of the four elements around her into haywire. Earthquakes, floods, storms, flash fires... until she will turn into one big mess which will threaten to engulf the entire western seaboard in complete natural destruction."

Once Mr. Sinister returned to the images, he did his best attempt at a frown. "Truly, it is a shame I never got to work with you."

   "I suppose that, out of anything, is a good enough threat to test—"    Tatu said, lazily pointing at the screen before Amon roughly pushed him aside.

"You said 'once you activate them'. Why is that?" Amon pointed out, clenching his fists. "Blackmail? You want us all to stay back as Deadpool gets his revenge? Aren't you tempting fate?"

Mr. Sinister raised an eyebrow. "Once I activate them? My dear, I'm not a comic book movie villain. I already activated them five minutes ago."

Holodeck

"Okay. Good."

Loki took Mordin out of the Holodeck, holding onto the alien's hand as he lead him through the compound's labyrinthine corridors. At one point, Mordin might be able to calculate that Loki was making a lot of fake turns, just to make sure no one was following them.

Finally, they got to his room: an abandoned broom closet that had a warning sign mentioning something about accidental radiation leaks. Loki didn't open the door, instead he walked right through it as if it wasn't there, pulling Mordin along. The 'door' felt more like a wavy curtain to the Salarian.

The first thing Mordin would notice was the odor around the room. It smelled old and musky (the latter was probably due to the water leaking out of the ceiling), and it was almost impossible to see the metal walls since they were covered with half burnt pictures of Loki with his Seekers. A group picture showed a team similar to the one Mordin was a part of, with a few missing members and a few oddities, like a small kid with purple hair holding a giant staff.

"Here."

Loki eagerly took Mordin to the center of the room before patting the air for a wire. Once he pushed on it, the single lightbulb that was doing a poor job at lighting up the place suddenly grew in power, immediately revealing the thing at the center of the room: a round platform, and standing in it was none other than Teridax, standing completely still at an imposing seven or eight feet.

The standing still part was the catch. From the outside, this looked very much like Teridax. But it wasn't 'awake', so to say. It could pass off as a very convincing replica, though. "Just hear me out." Loki said, standing in front of Mordin. "Before I came to this timeline, I was living under Teridax's control. When I escaped, I used a gem he had been experimenting with, one capable of powering time multidimensional travel. But right before I disappeared, the bastard tried to hold onto me, and implanted a piece of his mind in this gem."

Pointing at the blue gem at the end of his staff, Loki continued. "For the past year, I've been reconstructing the mindset of my Teridax, along with this body, which I managed to build thanks to some very dangerous alchemy." (Mordin would notice the leaking ceiling was a result of a small crater on the roof, and the old odor smelt a bit like acid). "In other words, I have created a copy of Teridax... my Teridax... who is probably smarter and older than your Teridax... and that's where the key lies." He placed the gem in front of Mordin. "If I put this inside of him, he'll wake up as my Teridax in a brand new world. And, sure, that sounds like he's going to try and kill us instantly, but... I think we can prey on his personality. We can point at your Teridax and say that he's the only thing standing in the way of him completely dominating a brand new world."

"Yes, it sounds like suicide." Loki mustered up a confident smile. "But... it could give us an inside man. We can destroy the Overlords from the inside."

SHIELD Operations Room

"Very accurate." Fury told Sasuke. "And Fletcher said it best. We're dealing with three powerful dictators here." He continued, pulling up a picture of Amon, Chase and Elsa, as a single SHIELD agent gave Toph three pictures of each of them with dents for her to 'feel out' their faces. "We don't know much about Amon. Some people say he has the power to control crowds with his voice, but... with fundamentalists, you never know. As for Elsa, the big threat is Teridax. AKA big robot man. Got Magneto when the first attacks hit, so we can presume he has metal manipulation. Chase Young... he can multiply himself. A big problem. Basically, with Amon, we can expect superpowered armies, with Chase we can expect whatever nutjobs are loyal to him, and with Elsa, uhm... she's your friend— was. You guys remember her."

Once the subject of Tatu came up, Fury sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I was kinda hoping you guys figured something out, but I got a hail mary." He opened up a 3D map of New York focusing on a single building that had been mostly untouched by the wreckage, as the agent deadpanned and gave Toph a model of the building. "This is the Baxter Building. Home to Dr. Richards and his family before all of this happened. Also means it was home to all of his inventions. Back in the day, we had to face against this guy called Darkseid, who was probably a god. Richards managed to get his hands on a weapon called the Ultimate Nullifier. It was so powerful, it managed to make Darkseid go weak in the knees and retreat."

He zoomed into the building. "We wiped every mention of it off the records and hid it deep within the Baxter Building. If we're lucky, it's abandoned. If we're unlucky, someone moved in. But it's not even mentioned in his own files, so chances are the new owner wouldn't be able to find it without some additional help. If we get the Ultimate Nullifier, I'm sure we can blast Tatu right back wherever the hell he came from. Problem is, that weapon's so powerful, if you misuse it, chances are it ends up taking you out along with your target."

"But we can't ignore it!" Sokka protested, gripping the edge of the table before taking a deep breath to calm down. "Listen. You said people can get through the generator, right? We'll send in a group... I'll lead it. Not because I think I deserve to lead it, but because thanks to Log— Wolverine's abilities, I'm a bit hard to hurt." He placed a hand on Kitana's shoulders. "Her too. We'll both lead it. We'll sneak into New York, disguised as simple citizens. We get in, get the Ultimate Nullifier, and get rid..." He clenched his fist, taking another deep breath. "... make Tatu take away all the powers he gave to the Overlords. Meanwhile, three other groups get to the generators and take him down, because once we get to Tatu, all the Overlords will try to get to us."

Training Room

"Came to... find... Sssspider-Man." The Scorpion slithered as he tried to get closer to Zuko, apparently mistaking him for his target. The prince didn't want to leave anything to chance and struggled back to his feet, trying to maintain a facade of strength (despite the fact his head was throbbing and he felt like he was about to go unconscious). "To... get... help."

"Settle down, Dr. Gargan." Said another voice, as someone else dropped from the ceiling. This time, it was a young man in a sleeveless light blue hoodie with a dark blue shirt, who was also sporting some very questionable glasses. In his hand was a large (almost comically so) gun which seemed to be brimming with a cold aura. "And you three simmer down too." He said, pointing the gun at Iroh, Zuko and... Wammu, who got an eyebrow raise out of him. "Did we just drop into the world's freakiest bodybuilding competition?"

"Sssspider-Man." The Scorpion slithered again, pointing one claw at Zuko.

"Last I checked, Peter Parker wasn't Asian. But since you've bust my cover..." The young man pulled down his hood and lowered his gun. "I'm Captain Cold. Me and the Scorpion guy over there represent the Squadron Supreme. And we're here to get your help to save the world."

Tira remained quiet as Deadpool continued. The moron on the screen kept talking and yaping. Said something to her. Then he gave his location. And it was oh so close. As the screen started flickering, Tira spun her ring blade and leaned back on it in a very particular fashion. The Overlords would not be able to tell this from the normal position she often took in this stance, but the birds, on the other hand, knew exactly what she wanted. They had heard the location the man said, they knew where it was. Deep in the back of the room, two black ravens flew from the shadows and out a nearby window. On they went to the close by Times Square, where they would take a long overhead flyby and scout out the area for their mistress.

She continued to watch, giving no sign she had done anything other then shift her position as this new, somehow even stupider looking guy started babbling on. To most of the Overlords, this development, terrorist attacks that threatened to destroy large parts of their territory, was probably highly annoying or otherwise upsetting. But to Tira, this was exactly what she wanted.

A rare smile found its way to Gloomy's face. This man had at least one person in the room rooting for him all the way. She had particular hopes that Japan would end up annihilated. She had never liked the country, and the fact that Tessy owned it now only made its impending doom all the sweeter. She held in her massive amounts of praise and complements for this guy for the moment. She had only ever told a select few of the most trusted of the Overlords what she truly wanted, for the whole world to burn in a sea of fire and blood. To the rest, she was just some insane woman who dressed funny and liked killing, and she was intent on keeping the rest of the Overlords in the room in the dark about her true dreams.

Kitana nodded as more of the blanks were filled in regarding the enemy and where they were. Armani asked another good question of Fury, and to his immense credit, he had a solution. Some hidden superweapon, right on the Overlords doorstep. Sokka wanted to lead a small squad along with her to claim it. All of this sounded like a fine plan to Kitana, and she nodded when he was done speaking.

"It is a sound plan, assuming we can locate it. However, nether of us are from this world. Nether of us had anything approaching this magic you call technology in our worlds. We will require at least one other to come with us. Someone who is more skilled with this Earthrealm technology, who can blend in with us without drawing attention, and who is tough enough to be able to stand with us. I do not want to be blunt, but we will be in the most dangerous spot on this planet. We cannot afford to be slowed down or have to watch an additional person. And whoever accepts this task needs to also understand that this could very well be a suicide mission."

edited 2nd Feb '16 2:45:18 PM by Meanken

Overlord HQ

"Well, this seems all very terrible."

As far as nonchalance went, Teridax was the very picture of apathy. He had listened eagerly enough to the broadcast, but upon seeing that none of it had anything to do with him, nor his rule on the eastern seaboard, he lost all interest. Of course there was the problem of his allies- some of them were in very deep trouble. But was he his brother's keeper? Of course not. He had received no help from them in the past, there was no reason he should ever help them.

The Makuta looked over to Tatu and shrugged. Of course, since his patron god was here, he couldn't appear to do absolutely nothing. After regarding the frowning visage of Mr Sinister for a few seconds, Teridax determined on a path of action. It took him all of one step to place himself in front of the monitor, such that he could gaze directly into the villain's eyes, and perhaps the vice versa too.

"Mr Sinister, isn't it. Your data files are so very interesting- I believe that we are much alike. Perhaps you'd like to meet? or would you like me to drop in- because that would not be a problem."

Having uttered his introduction, Teridax took hold of the television screen with both hands. He had been perfecting his machine -machine interface skills for sometime- after all, he himself was a so called 'artificial intelligence'. His mind was in code, albeit a quantum one with more layers and depths than anything the humans of the world had thus far achieved. So it helped that he had infected himself with a modified strain of the ULTRON virus, so generously provided by Lex Luthor. A fraction of a millisecond later and Teridax was in the machine- not physically; and not totally mentally either. For his code and the simple 1-0 code of human technology mixed like oil in water. Extracting information was like sucking a pebble through a very long straw.

But he had been practicing.

"There you are."

"Teridax- A virus in physical form. Manipulates shadow energy, controls lightning, able to drain energy from all physical matter; also the most powerful telepath my world has to offer."

The new voice, came from the looming giant robot currently leaning on the operations room door frame. It was Icarax- the metallic warrior that no one had seen for the last six months. He had changed- albeit subtly. The contours of his armor no longer emphasised his bulk, being ever so slightly more steam line and graceful. His chest plate no longer resembled the rib cage of a skeleton and was covered with a strange piece of red cloth. The biggest change however, were the eyes. Where once burned two hellish red pupils, there now glowed two blue optics, staring down at his fellow teammates with calm control.

"Though it irks me to admit it, we will need to once more divide into separate squadrons. However, this brings up the question of command."

Turning to regard Sokka with a critical eye, he said:

"I will not have us repeating the disaster that occurred during the battle of New York. As much as I value Sokka's enthusiasm, I will personally guarantee his permanent resignation from the line of command. There needs to be another- Urza, or- and I like this option more- Fury should coordinate our attacks from afar. Seeing that we may need Urza's considerable military strength on the ground..."

Icarax gave a nod towards Fury and left his teammates to figure out the implications.

"I'm gonna have to agree with her." Sky said when he used his thumb to point her out during the debriefing. "I definitely don't wanna relive being killed again. That's the last thing I want to have for this op."

"So sending in a few teams at once, huh?" Sasuke heard Sokka's plan out. "If that's the case, we need someone to coordinate with the rest of us to begin simultaneously."

Urza's eyebrows rose up by slow increments as Fury laid out his plan. He was also listening to Nabu's whispers inside his head. The Agent of Order was quite familiar with Darkseid as one of Order's greatest enemies, perhaps THE greatest in the multiverse. If anyone else besides Tatu was worthy of the phrase 'dark god,' it was him. And Earth had a weapon capable of weakening him enough to render him vulnerable to the level of power it currently had. The artificer suppressed the desire to lecture the director of SHIELD on how hiding away such an achievement of artifice on the level of the Golgothian Sylex and never permitting whatever made it work to be duplicated and understood ran counter to every principle and virtue of his craft. From what he understood, the attitude was quite different here and he was not on Earth to change it.

Urza nodded briefly to Icarax as the golem joined their ranks.

"I agree," he said in answer to Icarax's demand. "I would gladly go with Sokka, but I will be needed to direct and command my artifacts. I have already agreed that the humans of this world should coordinate our activities. However, I question the timing of your strategy. Three generators, three locations to defend. Once we attack them, we lose the element of surprise, the enemy will have enough spies to report what is happening. Why not use this to draw out our counterparts from New York City? That will clear the way for Sokka's team to retrieve this weapon. Once they succeed in nullifying Tatu and hopefully taking away the powers he has granted to his overlords, we should be able to kill or incapacitate our opponents with relative ease. They will not see it coming. Then we may all unite to deal with Tatu himself. It also allows for a backup plan in the event that the retrieval team fails. We have still drawn the enemy out into three separate groups. Myself and Fletcher are capable of transporting large numbers of people at once to any location. We can simply abandon one fight to reinforce another and eliminate them one location at a time. Or we could keep a group in reserve to bolster any generator location that appears close to overwhelming the enemy."

Kitana gave a nod to both Urza and Icarax as they spoke, before giving her feedback on their thoughts. "I agree, it would be wise to appoint a coordinator between the groups. I also agree that Fury would be a good choice for this role. However, I would also advise that, perhaps, in the event a group gets into trouble or otherwise falls out of contact with the man command hub, so to speak, a local commander is also appointed who will be designated authority to make decisions in the place of Fury and the rest."

"For the New York group, if you are unwilling to accept the boy as local command lead, then I will be willing to step forward to take this role. As some of you by now know, I am not an earthrealmer, and my lifespan runs far longer then any earthrealmers. I have over 10,000 accumulated years of kombat and command experience in a realm where "Kill or be killed" was all but official law, a number that only a handful among us all can match. I believe that alone speaks for my ability, but I will of course defend myself against any doubters."

Menardi - Overlord HQ

As Tatu made the grand introduction, Menardi listened attentively with barely concealed excitement. She was so close to deityhood, she could almost taste it! Menardi had the decency to blush slightly as Tatu gave her a sharp look, however. Though the others might not have noticed, it was clear to her that the Nomad knew Menardi's thoughts when it came to her family.

However, Menardi's pleasant anticipation was rudely interrupted by a survivor from a year earlier. Deadpool and Mr. Sinister...she knew of the latter by his repute. Cruel and twisted, yes, but also a brilliant scientist. She had been tempted to search for him, when her own experiments had come short. But his contingency plans showed clearly the differences in their methods.

Immediately after the presentation of the living weapons, Menardi knew where her efforts were most required. The Alchemist walked over to Queen Zeal and her consort.

"Zeal, can I use your teleporter and head to New Zeal Kingdom? While we have our differences, a threat towards one of us is a threat towards all of us, and I am the one best suited for countering Cheetah's new elemental powers."

Ideals and personal preferences lost in priority to the mission. Tatu would be watching how they dealt with these threats. And for what it was worth, Menardi and Zeal were still allies.

Training Room

-Iroh considers the man's words.-

Between me and Wamuu, we should be able to contain them and protect Zuko if they get agressi-

Dat a freezy gun 'umie? Dis day keeps gettin' better an' better!

Of course.

-As the ork points his gun in the newcomers' direction with transparent intentions, Iroh tries to defuse the situation.-

Big Wrench, would you please inform Director Fury that we have two... potential allies in the training room?

Wut? 'Oo's gonna grab their gear den?

It will still be here when you get back. Now go.

Bleedin' grotwork dat iz.

Wait, take the prince with-

-But Iroh is talking to thin air, the ork having tellyported away.-

Operations

-The mekboss reappears in a flash of light and a flurry of curses as the armor's naked wiring send electrical arcs in unwelcome places.-

Grah! Zogging piece of- Oi, bald 'umie! Da burny 'umies an' da purty ogryn iz wif a mutie an' some git wiv a freeza from a skwadron, sez ya should prolly be told 'bout it.

edited 3rd Feb '16 11:19:28 AM by Chabal2

Something that happened a long time ago- Is it you Christmas?

(This is the last part of my timeskip. It is unfinished. but worth reading.)

Teridax, Elsa and Starfire: the Christmas dinner

3 months into the Overlord’s reign.

The Teen titan’s tower. At least, that’s what the old one was called- a giant ‘T’ shaped building that had acted as the base of operations for a league of youngsters with super powers. Looking over their information, Teridax realised that these were probably potential recruits for Justice league, who had a much fancier base in orbit.

A ‘T’; a rather straight forward design. Blackfire had torn the old one down and ordered her new minions to build a new one from scratch; a new one with slightly sharper edges and a darker colour scheme; as well as red wallpaper. An act of vanity? Petty revenge? The Makuta wasn’t surprised- after all, her new minions were the teen titans themselves. Tatu had waved his magic dust over them and turned them all into mindless slaves.

All except one, and Teridax was quick to notice this exception. Name: Starfire. A teenage girl a few years younger than Blackfire herself; and judging from the naming sense, her sister too. Teridax had raised an eyebrow while reading up on her- it would seem that while Blackfire wanted slavery from the rest of the teen titans, she wanted misery from her sister.

It has been three months since he had read up on Blackfire’s crew. Christmas had arrived, the perfect excuse to do some soliciting.

The Makuta rubbed his hands; this was going to be fun. A few hours later, he was walking up the stairs of the Teen Tower. The thing was like a lighthouse, constructed on the shore of some English beach.

It wasn’t long before he spotted his prey- hunched up, almost curled into a ball, in a corner by a seaside window; content to simply gaze lifelessly into the vast body of water. Teridax patted himself down; hoodie, check; brown pants, check; shock of silver hair, check. Seeing that all was in order, he stepped forward.

“Good day, miss. Enjoying the view?”

The time around christmas is usually known for being cold. People wearing long scarves and thick sweaters to be protected from being frozen. But Starfire always stood out among the others. While others just felt the chill of the weather, admired their now visible cold breath and rubbed their hands to warm themselves, she never wore winter clothes nor did she ever complain of feeling cold. But this time not even she could ignore the frozen air near her…

Starfire was gazing at the sea with her thoughts lost in the waves. Her friends were but a shadow of their former selves; and the world had been burnt to ashes. The only hope she still had was that one day she could make things right again, somehow. But even that hope seemed to fade each passing day.

"Could it be? A friendly face in a vast sea of disappointment and bleakness," she wondered to herself when she heard Teridax talking to her after he had approached.

'''Just remembering the good old days" she sighed. "It is the only thing my sister could not steal for me," she put her hands in front of her. She turned around to watch at Teridax. In her eyes there wasn't the metallic overlord, the feared makuta; but rather a handsome white haired man with a charming face and a warm smile.

"What is your name stranger? A servant of my sister I presume?" she asked him

Teridax smiled, a pleasant thing on a good looking face. It was his smoulder.

“Not a chance,” said the Makuta. “I’d make a terrible slave.”

Walking up to the girl, Teridax crouched down next to her and offered her a hand.

“Name’s Terry, Teridax, whatever. And you are?”

"My name is Starfire, sister of Blackfire," she said with shame on her words. "But I assure you. I am nothing like her. I do not approve all this suffering she has caused."

Starfire looked down at Teridax, she crouched in front of him and then she offered her right hand back to him. "It is such a pleasure to meet you Teridax," she gave to him a shy smile. "Pardon my lack of joy, but the bleakness of this world has removed any enthusiasm from me," she looked down briefly. "But it is always a delight to meet new friends." She looked at his eyes and then she told him. “I must warn you this is not a safe place to speak.”

“I can see that- your sister for one has black hair,” mused the Makuta.

Teridax took Starfire’s offered hand, shook it; then stood up, pulling her into a standing position. Reaching out, he dusted something off Starfire’s right shoulder. He gave no response to Starfire’s bleak world outlook; but upon her mentioning the possibility that her sister might be eavesdropping, Teridax chuckled. Friends? he thought; he was a friend already?

“Not a chance. This is a perfectly safe place to talk- you’re with me.”

Teridax grinned enthusiastically.

“Anyhow, I am having a christmas dinner back at my place. I’ve got a friend there who would welcome the company- she's called Elsa. You guys would get along splendidly. Would you like to come? I promise it’s a lot more fun than sitting here and staring out the window.”

Then in afterthought he added.

“And your sister’s already agreed to let you be in my care for the next few days. Don't you worry about her.”

Starfire pressed slightly Teridax hand "I worry not for my safety, but for yours Teridax. The world has become a harsh place and I would not want you to be harmed by these overlords."

But then when the Makuta mentioned that he had everything prepared with her sister, it all started to make sense. She was told that Teridax was a metal warrior, a heartless being that knew no mercy. Someone who had seen hundreds of fallen warriors begging for their lives only to be punished by his indifference. But in front of her was this sweet young boy that was trying to comfort her in her sadness. To her surprise he was even inviting her for dinner. He was like a light at the end of a tunnel in another bleak day on an earth ruled by the overlords.

"Do you mean, you are one of them?" she said before instantly dropping his hand as if she had just left a piece of pottery fall to the ground and she had heard it shatter into the ground

"You certainly aren’t as fearsome I heard you would be," she looked at him just to be sure her eyes weren’t deceiving her. It wasn’t his new power of shapeshifting that surprised her, but his kindness.

“But I can see now that you were just misunderstood.”

She stood up and nodded to the overlord. "I shall come with you then. I am eager to be friends with this Elsa you speak of and participate in the christmas festivities."

Teridax looked at his hand, as if still getting over Starfire’s reaction upon finding him an overlord. But by the time he looked back up, he was smiling again.

“You do me great kindness, Starfire.” He said, taking her by the hand.

“I think I might have left the stove on.”

With Tatu having restored Overlord central to all it’s former glory, travel could now be done by teleportation; which was great if you needed to get from the west coast of england to the east coast of the united states in less than two minutes. This was how Starfire found herself with Teridax standing in the middle of a rather homely dining room.

Once the dizziness of such rapid teleportation had worn off, Teridax stepped back and spread his arms out wide.

“Welcome to my humble home.”

Homely, but not humble; not if the couches in the corner were real leather; not if the paintings that hung along the walls were genuine; not if the wooden furniture were all carved from the finest pine. Teridax made sure that his home had all the best the states could offer- a conqueror victorious was a conqueror who got a lot of good stuff for free. A small fire burned in a fireplace to the right, filling the room with the pleasant scent of scent of pine cones.

The Makuta-turned-child leapt onto a couch, before suddenly remembering something. There were stairs to the far side of the room, leading up to rooms above. Bounding over, Teridax looked up the stairs and shouted:

“Elsa! I’m back and I’ve brought a friend.”

Starfire blinked just before she was teleported by Teridax and just like that, before she could react she was transported into a place far away. “I am most grateful for your hospitality,” she replied to Teridax when he welcomed to his luxurious home.

She took a few seconds to feel the warmth and enjoy the smell of christmas in the air. "This such a delightful place," She commented to Teridax while she looked around watching at every little detail; looking around and admiring the beauty of the place the makuta had set for dinner. It was a bright and shiny place with a fancy table and and a familiar warmth.

"I have always admired the earth tradition of christmas. It is a time for love and hope. I enjoy partaking in the tradition of the exchanging of the presents, good wishes and the hugs" she put her hands upward, spinning around while trying to see as much as she could.

But there something was special about this place that she couldn't put into words yet. She never wore winter clothes nor she ever complained of ever feeling cold. But this time not even she could ignore the frozen yet magical air that the fireplace simply couldn’t fade. Just as soon as Teridax called Elsa she looked at the direction she had been called unsure on what to expect.

A voice answered Teridax- a woman’s voice and a soft one too.

”Is he one of your allies?”

“No, no, not an ally. And it’s a ‘She’. Starfire- come on down, she’s here for dinner.”

There a moment of silence before the reply.

”Oh.”

Then came the footsteps hurrying down the stairs. The person who emerged from the stairs was a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties. Her skin was pale; her hair matched it by being ridiculously pale gold- a platinum blonde- hung down her left shoulder in a carefully woven braid.More astonishing than her good looks was the dress she wore- it glittered a translucent blue in the light, as if it were made from glass, or ice. Two ocean blue eyes regarded Starfire with mild surprise. Elsa looked over starfire- she hadn't expected this. Then again she hadn't known what to expect, and so the mild mannered green eyed girl was a welcome surprise. She strode forward past Teridax and courtesied.

”Welcome Starfire. Please call me Elsa. I take it that you’re here for dinner- unfortunately that still won’t be ready for a while.”

“Huh.” Teridax looked a little deflated.

“Then you won’t mind if I went to check something out in the lab would you? I’ll leave you ladies to get acquainted.” Without waiting for a response, Teridax wandered off up the stairs. Elsa threw him a sidelong glance, shook her head and sighed.

”Anyway, what do you say I show you around for a bit?”

Starfire looked at Elsa as she arrived downstairs. What caught her attention the most wasn’t her astonishing gold and silver hair, her astonishing looking face nor her gorgeous blue dress. Rather it was the beauty of her eyes. They were as blue as the sky itself; like a blizzard that could chill your soul and yet, they were so sad as if she had a burden inside of her heart. A feeling she herself could relate. But for her life she wouldn’t let those villains turn herself to despair.

She was floating some inches above the ground, approaching slowly after the ice queen introduced herself. Only the sight of the overlord disappearing to places unknown made her stop looking at Elsa.

“It is a great joy to meet you Elsa,” she gave her a timid after she introduced herself. “There is no need to worry about the eating, I came not to feast but to celebrate and for the friendship. Would you like to be my friend?” Starfire then flew just in front of her giving her a bigger smile.

Then after taking a quick glimpse in her eyes again Starfire asked “Why are you so sad?” she said while looking at her. “I would be delighted to be able to go to do the wandering of this place”. She made a brief pause while she began to follow her “What can you tell me about yourself, Elsa?”

Elsa simply smiled at Starfire’s enthusiasm (definitely not an overlord, then. Elsa was glad for that. She didn’t think she could handle more psychopaths like Tira running around the place). Taking the floating girl by the hand, Elsa took Starfire up the flight of stairs.

The stairs led up to a long corridor, with rows rooms branching off to the sides. There labels on the doors, helpfully indicating the purpose of each room. ‘Gaming room’ one said; ‘Pool and Sauna’ said another. They walked past these quite quickly; after turning a tight corner to reach yet another corridor, Elsa offered an explanation:

”Oh, there-” She never finished her explanation. At that moment, a person emerged from the room two doors away. The girl, auburn hair tied in a bundle, was wearing what teens of the world were wont to wear in casual times- shirt, denims and hello kitty socks. The girl rubbed her eyes, looked over to Elsa, and opened her mouth to say something along the lines of “do you want to go to the pool today”. Only she didn't say that; she had caught sight of the other girl in the corridor- the one hovering next to Elsa, the one who had been on live TV countless times. The girl’s jaw went slack.

Elsa tried to explain: ”Rachel, this is Starfire-”

“O.M.G, it’s...you’re kidding, no…..”

The girl (identified now as Rachel), walked towards them and stared at Starfire.

“You can’t, I can’t...it’s. WOW. Um- it’s Starfire.”

Rachel turned to Elsa, still slack jawed.

“You brought Starfire with you? You know, like, know her?”

Elsa shook her head at this.

Rachel realised she was probably being rude by ignoring the person in question. She brushed back her hair, breathed deeply and extended a hand to the alien girl. Half smiling, half grinning, Rachel said:

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Starfire, in person, alive, here...um. May I have an autograph?”

Starfire held Elsa’s hand tightly as she guided her through the rooms of the house, the place was so wide that it reminded her of Titan’s tower. It seemed that Teridax not only enjoyed to be around luxuries but he also shared them with the people that he liked. But it raised some questions in her mind. Why was Teridax so focused on trying to make Elsa happy? Was she working for him?

The mysterious girl, Elsa had chosen to share very little about herself, beyond her name. She didn’t seem like a villain or someone that would be working for the Overlords. Was she a prisoner just like herself? Despite her cold exterior she reminded her about her friend Raven. The icy exterior only covered a sweet, but fragile heart inside of her soul.

While she was admiring the beauty of the place that Elsa was kindly showing her, the unexpected arrival of the new girl caught Starfire by surprise- but it was a pleasant one nevertheless.

“I am always happy making new friends!” she told Rachel after Elsa had introduced Rachel. After Rachel offered her hand, she held Rachel’s hand tightly and shook her arm so excitedly and so fast that Rachel might have felt like she was shaking hands with a drill instead.

The new girl seemed to be excited about meeting her, but she blushed while avoiding eye contact with her for a few seconds. Getting so much attention from Rachel was complete surprise. Starfire never liked to think of herself too highly or worthy of adoration. But getting such a warm welcome, and being liked so fast by the new girl was something she did want.

“It is a pleasure to meet you Rachel. Will you join us at the celebration of Christmas?” She smiled at the new arrival

“I see you are an admirer of cats. They remind me of my own Silkie. He is just as adorable“ she said after taking a peek at Rachel’s socks. Rachel’s surprise at seeing Starfire alive didn’t seem to faze her in the slightest nor ruin the joy of meeting her.

“I would be happy to provide you with what you seek. What is an autograph?” she raised an eyebrow “Is it something you eat? I will go search this creature you seek,” Starfire nodded to Rachel with determination.

Rachel on the other hand, was completely overwhelmed by the fact that Starfire was shaking her hand. She stood there in a happy trance, big warm smile on her face; unaware of the fact that Starfire was talking to her. Then after a few seconds she blinked; her brain finally processing what had happened.

“Oh…”

Rachel had never considered the possibility of Starfire not knowing what an autograph was. It took her a few moments to find the right words.

“An autograph is… is… “

Rachel looked to Elsa, who was standing to the side trying to hold down the giggles, for help. The ice queen recovered quickly, coughed, and said:

”Starfire, I believe she wants you to sign your name on a piece of paper for her.” Rachel had already produced pen and notepaper; offering it to Starfire.

“Sorry, I’m a bit, I mean really, excited to see you. I mean you’re Starfire from the Teen Titans! And you’re here! How?”

”Teridax invited her over for christmas dinner.” Elsa interjected.

“Oh…” There was somewhat of a respite in Rachel’s enthusiasm; a shadow passed over her face- a bad memory or an unpleasant thought. But the moment passed quickly- too quickly for Starfire to notice if she wasn't paying attention.

“Anyway, I just want to say that I really admire you- and what you do. How do you handle that pressure- when you have to save the world again and again? Do you ever get tired? Or need a break…?” Rachel caught herself before she started another ramble.

“Oh I see. I was not aware of this earth tradition, ” she told Elsa. Starfire then took the pen and notepaper and wrote her name “Koriand’r” but instead of using english she used what would seem to be some weird symbols to both Elsa and Rachel. Then she wrote “to my friend Rachel. Never forget to share the gift of your smile,” just below.

Rachel’s admiration only made her blush even more out of nervousness. But the sadness in Rachel’s face didn’t go unnoticed to her. It seemed like the three of them had some unpleasant memories, but she didn’t want to spoil the christmas celebrations for her.

“It is never tiring or pressuring for me. I quite enjoy having adventures and meeting new friends,” she replied to Rachel at the same time she was signing the autograph. “I know the current situation seems hopeless. But I promise I will find a way to make things right. My friends taught me that there is always hope,” she tried to reassure Rachel.

Just as she finished writing she told her, “I would like to have your “autograph as well Rachel,” she handed the pen to her with her eyes closed and an enthusiastic smile.

Rachel took the signed piece of paper, stared at the strange symbols on it, and almost swooned. A few deep breaths later, Rachel sobered up; she held the autographed paper gently by the edge- she would die before she let a crease damage it’s surface.

Then she remembered that Starfire had asked for her signature too. At that moment, Rachel decided that this was what heaven felt like. Taking the offered pen, Rachel carefully printed on the next piece of notepaper her name, written as signatures were wont- in a beautiful flowing script that barely resembled the original name. Tearing it off, Rachel hastily added :”To my hero Starfire” on the bottom. She even drew a star next to Starfire’s name.

”Starfire, Rachel,” Elsa cut in.

”Shall we go to my room till the food is ready?” Rachel looked at Elsa and nodded, grin still plastered over her face.

“Oh, and there’s still the christmas tree, Elsa; we haven’t set up the christmas tree yet. Now that Starfire’s here, we should probably be able to reach the top.”

Elsa looked at Starfire.

”You wouldn’t mind would you?”

Starfire received Rachel’s autograph with enthusiasm and then giggled after reading what she had written.

“This is such a wonderful christmas present.” She then flew towards Rachel to give her a bear hug. “I will most certainly treasure this as a symbol of our friendship.” Starfire then took her note and put her in her clothes, near her heart.

“I do not mind at all ,”She replied to Elsa. Starfire then flew to the christmas tree with such speed both Rachel and Elsa felt the air of her departure blowing in their hair. But just as she arrived she tried to carefully put the star at the top of it and then the other decorations that would be hard to reach next to it.

The trio were in Elsa’s room now- a spacious place, marvelously decorated. Two massive sofas surrounded an enormous TV (of the highest quality), underneath which lay a myriad of gaming consoles (Elsa never touched them). There was a small rock lined fireplace to the side. On the same side were a row of book shelves- books piled from floor to the ceiling. There was a window too- looking out from the highest point of Teridax’s base. It looked out over the great Saranac lakes the region was known for; and now, under the clear blue sky, the lakes glowed sapphire.

Near the door which they had entered was a huge bed- Elsa’s presumably. The sheets were meticulously folded and the pillows carefully arranged. Rachel however, had no qualms leaping on and losing herself in the pillows.

Two great boxes lay on the ground under the christmas tree. The boxes were marked: ‘Christmas lights’; one was already open- the contents of which were hideously jumbled from Elsa and Rachel’s previous attempt at tree decoration.

Elsa bent down, opened the second box, and said:

”Shall we?”

It had been a good three hours since Starfire put the star on to of the christmas tree. The rest of the decorations were duly assembled and utilized. Though they had been the first out of the box, they were the last ones to be finished. The tree was enormous, making the task of untangling, wrapping, and hanging that much harder. At one point Rachel had given up and started tangling the lights around herself. After that, Elsa had decided that a tea break would do them some good; Rachel had started up the TV and hooked on a console- a Wii U or something similar.

Three and a half hours later, the three girls got the call from downstairs- dinner was ready. A young butler had come and gently knocked- informing them that the table was set. Teridax was nowhere to be see; Elsa had only sighed and muttered: “He’s like that.”

The girls had rushed down the stairs (with Rachel stopping by her room to put Starfire’s signature somewhere special).

The dinner smelt amazing and looked even better (The Makuta had made a point of finding all the best cooks from the region for Elsa’s dietary needs- he was rather deflated when he learnt that Elsa wasn't a picky eater). Roast Turkey (Teridax couldn't tell the difference between independence day and christmas eve); roast ham, and everything in between. Rachel was practically beaming.

“Sorry to keep you all waiting.” Said a voice to the side. A door opened in the wall and the host finally appeared. Teridax was no longer in a hoodie- he had changed into a tux. Rubbing his hands, he smiled at Starfire.

“Well, how are you finding this?”

Starfire looked back at the mighty overlord, just as Elsa had hinted he liked to disappear only to make a good entrance later on . His suit had changed to reflect a more of a formal attire, leaving that cloak behind. Despite his change of attire for her, he was still that charming boy she had met earlier today.

“It has been quite a joy! Celebrating with Rachel and Elsa has been such a SHSHLORVAX (dream). It truly is the best Christmas gift I could have received” she smiled to him with her eyes closed. “Rachel is so fun to play at the videogames,” Starfire made some swinging moves with her hands to simulate the motion controller of the Wii U.

“Elsa makes such delicious tea! The little refreshment inside was quite delicious. ” She paused and showed him her palm open, only to show him the remains of a tea bag she had eaten as a snack.

But then she stopped talking abruptly; she felt it was too rude for her to start rambling. In truth she was filled with joy and gratitude because the overlord had saved her from a dreadful night back at the tower. Rather, she got to visit a gorgeous place to celebrate Christmas with her new friends. “I am grateful for your hospitality Teridax,” she leaned forward to him.

Both Rachel and Elsa exchanged worried glances upon seeing the half-eaten teabag. None of them had caught Starfire doing the deed, though now Elsa finally figured out where her missing tea bags went (she had actually left the room to look for them, but didn't mention it at the time as she thought they were simply misplaced). Rachel raised a hand; Elsa covered her mouth.

“Um..”

”That’s not…”

“how you…”

The two girls descended into silent giggles; even Teridax was momentarily lost for words, bringing up his hand to cover the amused grin on his face. He regained his speech shortly:

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this, Starfire.”

Here Teridax began the business of cutting up and serving the food. Much to Elsa and Rachel’s surprise, he didn't have to reach for the knives- they ‘’flew’’ to him instead, whereupon he caught them and began to cut the turkey into perfectly even chunks .

Flying forks graciously distributed the cut turkey onto their plates, then flew a second round to deliver everything else. Having done the heavy lifting, Teridax sat down on his chair (which, incidentally, moved on it’s own to receive him). With a flourish of the hand the table was set. Teridax was grinning, looking rather proud of his one man show. Elsa reflected that smile to a lesser degree and with an arched eyebrow. Rachel prodded her fork, wondering if it would fly again.

“I was wondering if I might interest you in staying a little longer- perhaps another few days? I know the girls would love the company.”

Starfire stared at Teridax’s floating knifes; admiring how he was able to control them with incredible accuracy and finesse. Her eyes were following his every move.

“I was not aware you had such skill with your powers,” she clapped after his demonstration.

However, as much as she admired Teridax’s skillful demonstration of telekinesis, her eyes were soon focused at the food he was serving instead. As much fun as she was having, the growl of her nine stomachs could easily be heard by everyone at the table- like a roar from a lion. As soon as her plate arrived with the food, she ignored the highly expensive silverware and began to eat the turkey (and everything edible close to her) with her bare hands instead. She was eating with such speed that the others might had sworn that her mouth was a vacuum cleaner and perhaps even wonder how could such huge amounts of food could fit inside of a very slim girl.

"I would—,"Starfire said after she swallowed the last bite in her place. “certainly be delighted to stay longer.“ She nodded to Teridax with her eyes closed and sporting a wide innocent smile.

While Rachel was transfixed by the sight of Starfire’s eating habits, Elsa daintily nibbled at her own plate one fork at a time. Nevertheless, even the ice queen was keeping a close eye on Starfire- something along the lines of ‘I wish I could eat that much without any consequences’ was going through her head. Meanwhile, the Makuta ate his portion lazily, skillfully supporting a smug smile even as he chewed. He chuckled at Starfire’s eager response- of course she would like to stay longer.

“I’ll have it arranged with your sister. I’m the persuasive type after all- you need not fear any setbacks.”

A butler had entered the room with a tray full of drinks. There was fruit juice for the girls while Teridax secured his own bottle of wine.

“Anyhow,” said Teridax while his wine was being poured, “Might we do introductions? I’d love to hear some more about yourself Starfire; I’m sure you’d like to hear Elsa’s stories too- if she won’t mind sharing them.”

”It would be my pleasure.” Said Elsa, setting her cutlery down to reach for her drink.

Teridax mention of protection from her sister not only erased any worry Starfire had inside but it also stimulated her memories; after all, as much as Blackfire had caused her to suffer, she was also the one responsible for the forming of the teen titans.

“I was-am the princess of a place far away called Tamaran,” Starfire began.

“My planet was torn in a war with an evil species called the Gordanians.” she looked up while she remembered the details.

“My sister, Blackfire sold me as a slave to them to restore peace; but I managed to escape. I was scared, angry and alone; I almost destroyed half the city, ”she touched her arm feeling slightly embarrassed.

“That is when I met them: Robin (she blushed at the mention of that name), Beastboy and Cyborg. They became my friends and we became the teen titans. Together we had many adventures saving the world and fighting villains.”

”But now my friends are somehow under my sister’s control; if I disobey my sister she could harm them.” Starfire looked sadly at the floor- her joy was spoiled by a single memory.

“But I refuse to lose hope,” she gave a very mild smile. “I shall find a way to save them and make things right.” She sighed deeply.

“I would like to know about you Elsa,“ Starfire said to Elsa. “It seems you have a wonderful tale to share with us.” She was eager to hear her story; her heart was beating at the idea of finally getting to know a little more about the reserved Elsa as the curiosity overwhelmed her.

Elsa stared into her orange juice, slightly peeved that Teridax was keeping the red wine to himself. Starfire’s introduction had been disheartening, to say the least, which is why she didn’t ask for it when they first met. Blackfire (Starfire’s sister) was one of the overlords now and no doubt the mad god Tatu had granted her the teen titans as some sort of reward. To see Starfire clinging desperately to hope troubled her more; not that clinging to hope was something to be avoided, but clinging to such hope would test the girl to her limits.

She sighed and took a sip from her orange juice. It was her turn now- she could see that Starfire was eager to know more. Nevertheless, choosing her words was important- some memories were still too raw to be so lightly touched upon; and Elsa had no intention of freezing their christmas dinner.

”My tale isn’t as extraordinary as you might hope, Starfire,” Elsa began modestly. Beside her, Rachel raised a skeptical eyebrow - yeah right, seemed to be the expression. Elsa ignored her and went on.

”I too was a princess in a faraway land. I guess I should consider myself queen now since I was coronated.” For Elsa, the jury was still out- she was queen for half a day; she wasn't sure that counted.

”Unfortunately I lost control of my powers shortly after, and I had to leave so that I wouldn’t freeze the entire country. Somehow or other I ended up here…”

Elsa really didn't know what to say- so much had happened to her; and she wasn't prepared to go into detail about her adventures with taskforce Sifuri. Rachel, however, had other ideas.

“You didn’t tell her about the spaceship.” She said in a rather audible whisper.

“Or how you’re technically over two hundred years old.”

”Rachel…!” Elsa hushed her friend, who sat back with an amused grin.

Starfire was listening closely to Elsa’s tale the fact that they had similar royalty origins made her feel closer to the ice queen. Starfire had seen brighter days, but Rachel and Elsa’s company brought to her heart that ever needed light of happiness.

When Elsa mentioned losing control of her powers and how she almost froze her kingdom, Starfire couldn’t help but give her some words of advice as she felt there were fear in her memories.

She opened her right palm upside. “ Your power is a part of yourself ,” her hand began to glow a bright color green as a sphere appeared on her palm.

“If you fight it you will only harm yourself,” she closed her palm, pressing her hand trying to close her fist. The starbolt in her hand began to shine uncontrollably as if she was cracking a crystal ball; giving the impression that it would explode and destroy the whole table. “If you embrace your power, your beauty shall shine, and you will have control,” she opened her palm again as her starbolt dissipated into many harmless green sparks around her hand.

Rachel’s teasing didn’t go unnoticed to Starfire who simply giggled. She stared at Elsa to try to catch any wrinkle in her face without any subtlety, but she couldn’t find any at all.

“You certainly do not like as old,” she raised an eyebrow confused. “Please tell me more, this is such a thrilling story,” Starfire commented to elsa, with a hand below her chin and her elbow in the table in the table.

Elsa looked at Starfire’s demonstration with a small smile hanging onto the corners of her lips. The smile struggled to reach her eyes- she knew all that now, of course; but she wished she had known all that sooner. But before all that, there was one thing she needed to correct:

”Just because I was born in the year 1821, doesn’t make me two hundred years old, Rachel. I’m still only….twenty two.” Elsa frowned for a moment and counted- she was pretty sure she was now a year older. It was all so confusing after she had joined the taskforce.

“Mmmh, hmm.” Said Rachel, still smirking. “And that’s because you came here on a reality hopping spaceship. Right?”

”Rachel, we’ve been over this- I’m not having you on.”

”You know, she really isn’t.” Teridax jumped into the conversation.

Swirling his wine, he sniffed and took a sip; only to gag and hastily swallow the bitter liquid. He looked at the wine like it was the deadliest poison and mouthed a silent ‘yuck’. Gingerly setting down the wine, Teridax smiled at Starfire. Rachel, meanwhile, shut up completely and went back to attacking her salad.

”Elsa became a part of a multiversal taskforce several months ago. She travelled with creatures plucked from all over the realities. I believe she was plucked from her own universe by a god-like being not dissimilar to the one who gave your sister the teen titans as slaves.”

Teridax looked at Elsa and smiled sheepishly.

”Sorry about interrupting.”

”Apology accepted.” Elsa looked back at Starfire.

”That’s the high and low of it. They took me from my world on the night of my coronation, so I guess in a sense they saved my kingdom.” Elsa’s smile broke a little.

”I’m sorry- my life story doesn’t have many high points.”

Starfire listened to Elsa’s tale about being from another world , as strange things seemed to become they also become more clear each time. It seemed like these “gods” Teridax had mentioned had changed their destinies forever. It certainly explained how Blackfire had gotten so much more powerful. A part of her wished she could join this taskforce with Elsa but she also got lost at hearing her adventurous life.

“I disagree, ” she looked back at Elsa while drinking her juice. “I believe that when you come back to your kingdom they will rejoice at the thought of having you as a ruler.” Starfire didn’t speak her words lightly. She was once rejected the throne of Tamaran, but she could see the good heart inside Elsa.

“Your life is of most interest Elsa,” she continued “You were scared of your past and your powers. It is fine to be scared. But you have been strong and brave, ”she smiled to her.

Elsa looked at her plate, eyes downcast. The smile on her lips quivered.

”Thank you, Starfire.”

Slowly, Elsa took another sip of orange juice and remained silent. She was feeling ever so slightly guilty about killing the mood. Teridax, for his part, shoved another piece of turkey into his mouth, chewed, and looked around.

”My turn, then?”

Elsa looked up at this.

”Indeed. Though I don't intend to leave Starfire hanging, I am curious. If you don't mind, Teridax.”

”If that’s how you feel then I won’t hold back”. Teridax leaned back in his chair, lifted his wine to his lips, thought better of it, and began without a drink.

[[gray:”First of all, I wasn’t always a human child. I was what you would call a robot- an android. And I wasn't from this universe either. We called our planet ‘Mata-nui’; but then as it turns out, it wasn't so much a planet as it was a planet sized robot. We were just the things that kept it running. It (Mata nui) made me- and a whole host of people just like me- we called ourselves the Brotherhood of Makuta.”]]

Elsa nodded at this.

”I’ve met one- he called himself Makuta Icarax.”

Teridax let out a thoughtful hum.

”Icarax...pleasant fellow. No, committed genocide on his brothers; levelled cities after losing his temper; killed the grim reaper... I’m not fond of him. But back to where I was- Mata nui- yes, the Makuta weren’t the only people running around in him- there were the laborers (we call them Matoran), and their supervisors the Toa. It was all rather nice- the Makuta acted as the brains; the Toa acted as keepers of the peace; and the Matoran were the brawn.

Teridax paused, ate another piece of turkey, then continued.

”Of course the Toa didn't always do a good job. Mata nui was making all sorts of things in those days and not all of them were good. You should have seen the Barraki- terrible warlords, they set up what was called the League of the six kingdoms. We did great battle with them for the freedom of the matoran.”

“That one called Icarax sounds like a most despicable person, ” she briefly commented with a frown on her face after hearing Teridax’s lies and of him accusing Icarax of being a genocidal killer. Starfire wasn’t a fool by any means but she was very naive. With him cheering her up, she had very little reason to believe Teridax was the monster he actually was.

“Did you manage to free your people?” she asked Teridax, curious to hear the conclusion of the battle.

Teridax grinned.

”It was a terrific battle. The Barraki had hired mercenaries to fight their war- Dark hunters, they were called; and they were fierce warriors. We marched out with the Toa and met them on a great sandy plain- you should have seen the it that day: thunder and lightning, smoke, ash and fire... Unfortunately for the warlords, one of their own betrayed them and leaked us their battle plans along with the plans of their fortress. Takadox- you won’t meet a slimier personality. He betrayed the other Barraki so that when the war was over, we’d pardon his crimes.”

Teridax thumped the table with a triumphant fist.

”Unluckily for him, he could not buy the Toa; he could not buy justice. We imprisoned them all in the Pit- hell if you will- for their war crimes. We were lucky that such organisations of evil appeared few and far between in our hundred thousand years of history.”

The two girls listened, enraptured by the Makuta’s exposition. After he’d finished, both drank their orange juice at the same time. However, it was Rachel who raised the question:

“Pardon me, but, did you say a hundred thousand years?”

The Makuta grinned and nodded.

”Indeed. I’m older than your entire species. It is a bit strange, really.” He shrugged.

”But you could say I’m still a child at heart.”

Elsa laughed at that. She turned and looked at Rachel.

”Well now, are you still going to complain about me being a two hundred year old woman?” Rachel shoved a piece of potato into her mouth and shook her head.

Starfire giggled at seeing her two hosts fighting about being incredibly old- to the point that the seriousness of Teridax tale quickly turned into laughter. She could see quite clearly the pride in Teridax of being so ancient.

“I am glad that tale had a happy ending,” she told Teridax after hearing about him taking the Barraki to justice. “I had no idea you were also a superhero,” she said with surprise. After all she had come to expect the overlords to be evil to the core but Teridax seemed to be different.

“You have not told us your story Rachel,” she turned now at her fellow teenager. “ I am sure you have quite a fascinating tale to tell,” her green eyes were now focused on her.

The Makuta sighed upon hearing Starfire’s comment.

”Not everyone saw the Makuta as heroes. The Toa thought we were trying to do their job for them- which in some cases was true, since they were not always ‘’competent’’.” The last word was spoken with a degree of annoyance- Teridax frowned slightly, before falling silent.

It was Rachel’s turn now, and as she realised she was under the spotlight she began to fidget. Elsa gave her an encouraging pat on the back.

“Well...I’m rather normal compared to...to…”

Rachel picked up her cutlery as if to get more food, then hastily put the knife and the fork down again- evidently, she had thought better of it. Hesitantly she began again.

“I was born in America- Kansas; but my parents were from Switzerland, believe it or not. We moved to the East coast after my sister- oh yeah, did I mention I had an older sister? She’s always away in some ivy league or something, so I don't see her much. Nothing exciting really happened-”

Rachel gave a nervous giggle, tried to sip her orange juice and nearly choked on it. Elsa was looking at her with a very worried expression. The girl endeavoured to go on.

“I mean, there was always something exciting on the news- the justice league, SHIELD, the Teen Titans saving the world.” Here Rachel looked at Starfire and her eyes sparkled.

“But then, a couple of months ago, the attack on New York happened. And all the superheroes disappeared.”

”Tatu’s doing. Only he has the power to utilise magic of that calibre.”

“Well, a new group of super heroes came- Elsa here was one of them. They fought the invaders in New York and saved thousands of people. Unfortunately, that was the last we saw of them- any of them. They all walked into New York; and as far as I know, only Elsa made it out.”

”I didn't make it out by my own power either.” Elsa extended her metal arm and let it rest with a ‘clank’ on the table.

”I lost my arm in the battle, and if Teridax here hadn’t stepped in, I would have lost my life too.”

”Let’s...let’s not dwell on that, shall we? It’s getting rather depressing.”

Rachel looked up, her smile now reduced to a slight upward tug on the corners of her mouth.

“Sorry. My story isn’t much good either.”

(The End.)

Tesseract - Overlord Tower

Tesseract was definitely turning down godhood. Even if he could get over everything else (and he couldn't), spending eternity with people who taunted a man who obviously had a plan without knowing what the plan was.

It seemed they thought they were a hero. When instead they were taunting a man who had lost everything. Morality did not even come into it.

Or maybe it did, in a twisted way. Both Zeal and Amon had brainwashed vast swathes of their population. Some of these swathes would die, along with major amounts of property damage. On the other hand, he had treated the people of the Empire well. The attack on his own nation was actually preserving the lives of those involved, and causing little to no damage. In fact, if they acquired Sinister, it could be reversed. All that bodymass had to go somewhere, and the minds were preserved in a hivemind.

But still, this was a problem, and it needed to be addressed. Sinister had admitted that these people didn't know what he had done to them. Which meant they could be talked down. And if he spared Miss Hayes, and captured Mr. Sinister, he could reverse what little damage had been done.

Overall, this could be spun into a massive PR coup. The "heroes" kill hundreds of civilians in terrorist attacks on civilian populations. His forces solve the problem with minimum bloodshed, and reverse the damage. He just needed to put it into action.

Tesseract's hand went to his ear, hitting one of two buttons on his earpiece. He only needed two on the earpiece: "All Channels" and "Sy Duir".

"Sy. There is a situation in the city of Kōka, Shiga Prefecture."

"Yeah, I've got reports coming in. What is it?"

"A woman named Molly Hayes has had her genetics altered. Anyone who goes near her is absorbed into her, creating a hive mind. Have the public broadcast systems alert everyone of this fact. Tell the police to create a cordon around her, but do not act against her. I want you to send your ninjas to talk her down."

"...talk her down?"

"She was altered against her will, by Nathaniel Essex. Codename: Mister Sinister. She is likely confused, scared, and not willing to hurt people. We can help her."

"How?"

"We're going to have her brought to a facility in Antarctica, where a certain Mr Sinister will be put to work reversing her condition. Have her collected, and brought to a teleportation facility."

"And if she doesn't want to stand down?"

"Escalating response. Snipers nearby, but not taking aim. Make sure a Carrier is in range, several bombers are on standby, and you have my permission to reroute the nearest Trident."

"Trident? Is it that much of a threat?"

"If she can survive the lower levels of response, she will be able to destroy the entire empire without raising her arms."

"Okay, okay. By the way, Tess? How do you know this?"

"Sinister explained it, as if making a threat. Then revealed he had already set things in motion five minutes prior."

"Someone has been watching the Watchmen."

"What?"

"Nothing, boss. You want the rest to go to the Tower? Help you catch Sinister?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Tesseract cut the channel, and looked around the room. Menardi was already offering her services to Zeal. Teridax had tracked down Sinister.

One of those mattered more to him that the other.

Leaving Sense alone with Child (who was looking slightly less brave now that Tesseract was walking away again), he stalked over to Teridax, coming to a stop behind his shoulder.

"Where is he? I would like to have words with him."
——
Fletcher - Operations Room

"Kahndaq is bordered by Yuyuko's Territories to the East, Sub-Saharan Africa to the South, and Western Europe to the North." Fletcher told Nitori. "Yuyuko doesn't have much in the way of standing forces. Mostly what survived the takeover, and because it’s the Middle East, there wasn’t much there before the takeover. She's left it pretty much alone, apart from some building projects. Officially, it’s under the control of Oscorp. Though most rebel groups mysteriously stop feeling like rebelling after they go public."

"Western Europe is mostly under the control of Blackfire. The only forces she has seem to be a younger, brainwashed version of the Teen Titans, a superhero group. She hasn't done much with it either. The exception is Vatican City, under the control of Pope Francis. Who keeps inciting Catholics to rebel, despite previously being a peaceful man, and never receiving any sort of retaliation from the Overlords."

"Technically, Sub-Saharan Africa is mostly on our side. But it's been wrecked by constant infighting, powered by Monsoon and his horde of child soldiers. No help will come from there. The one other power in the region is Wakanda, under the rule of the Empire of the Isles. Strong armed forces, strong navy. Definitely the most dangerous of the neighbours."

"The Eastern Seaboard is bordered by the Kingdom of Zeal and Greed's Territories to the West, Anubarak's Domain to the North, and the Caribbean under the Empire of the Isles to the South."

"Zeal has brainwashed the entire population, and has a large standing army. She shares it with Greed, who's been reported to be her lover. Anubarak's force composition is unknown, but most bets are on a ton of bugs and skeletons. He's nearly wiped Russia, Canada and Greenland of people. He's started stealing from Scandinavia, which is causing friction with Menardi the Alchemist. Tesseract" he spat the word. "Has a large navy and a large army. They seem to be volunteers, and mostly humans. A few sorcerers make up his elite unit."

"China has Anubarak to the North, Tesseract to the East, and Vaas Montenegro to the South. He's the Prince of Madripoor, and his soldiers are a mix third-world crap, little better than pirates and drug addicts, and second-to-first world troops in the places he’s made into client states. Unfortunately, they imported a ton of advanced weapons from the Empire of the Isles. He’s also a nuclear state, using a launch system called a Metal Gear. He controls Monsoon and his horde of child soldiers too."

"Riesbyfe has experience in field leadership." he told the rest. "So would Armani, Iroh and Ezra. As for a technology expert to go with the infiltration team, Mordin would be best. Sokka and Kitana would get through the forcefield because they don't have weapons, just natural additions. And Mordin's new powers allow him to make anything into a weapon."

Bigrench made his entrance, which jolted Fletcher out of his robotic state of information giving. Mainly because his little confidence took a blow every time someone else could teleport. Thankfully, he could actually speak "British Football Hooligan", the closest Earth dialect to "Orc".


"Iroh, Zuko and Wammu are with a mutant and a man with a freeze gun from a Squadron? Someone’s gotten into the base?”
——
Mordin - Broom Closet of Holy Shit, What the Fuck Loki?

Mordin's feelings on this plan were... mixed, to say the least.

There were thousands of ways for this to go wrong. Alteridax could kill them on sight. He could join forces with his other self. He could lose against his other self. Loki might not be able to convince him to fight himself in the first place.

Actually, that raised a point.

"When recreating mindset, could not alter morality? Make Teridax copy moral, willing to help team?"

But on the other hand, Teridax was a huge threat. Anything that weakened him was good news for them. It was a chance, but one they'd have to take.

"Must activate outside of base. If unable to convince him, only two of us will die. Not entire team."
——
Ninja of the Hand - Kōka, Shiga Prefecture

The alarm had gone out just before the five minutes were up. Those that were at home had been told to stay there, while those in the streets were being shepherded away from the incident site.

The closer the four ninja got, the more panicked the people were. By the time they reached ground zero, what few people were left were running and screaming.

Standing clearly atop a three-story apartment/retail building, the leader called down to Molly Hayes, the megaphone in his hand amplifying his voice.

“Molly Hayes! Stand down and back away from any nearby people! We are here to help you!”

edited 4th Feb '16 1:24:04 PM by GeekCodeRed

Pleasantries were put aside as business loomed close by, that amiable easy going face once more adopting the cold and aloof mask of professional soldiering. Stepping in behind the demigod, the cyborg simply sat down quietly and listened to the talks proceed.

A sting operation against the Overlords, a highly risky and yet very well detailed plan that was a long time in coming. Without meaning to, the slender man leaned his body closer to regard the important information being showcased, his analytical mind weighing the pros and cons of each suggestion.

Quite interesting how these people thought, very different mindsets clicking together like pieces of a puzzle to solve the greater problem at hand. The man leaned continued to watch and listen, waiting for a consensus to be reached. Mira felt like he didn't have the right to interpose, so out of touch with the others as it were. Best to go along with the flow for now, to aid the session along its discourse.

edited 4th Feb '16 7:45:36 PM by Makaioh

Operations

S'wut Oi just said, 'umie. If yer ears ain't workin', Oi'z got da proppa bioniks roight 'ere.

SHIELD Base of operations

"Four groups. We will need to divide into four groups to handle this task."

Icarax stroked his chin in mock contemplation. His mind at any rate, was already decided.

"Three will target the generators while the fourth focuses on retrieving and activating the super weapon. The groups will each be molded to best counter the overlord they will be facing- the three overlords in question would be Amon, Chase Young and Teridax."

Icarax gestured to the pictures of Kahndaq and China on the giant display screen. slowly, he meandered his way around the room till he was in a place all the seekers could see without turning their heads overmuch.

"For Amon, the limited information we have on him is a problem- the least we can assume is that he is in possession of certain psychic abilities. As for Chase, his powers seem straight forward- Multiplex existed long before the arrival of this upstart and has been defeated many times- I am, however, concerned about the feline that is often seen in his presence. There is footage in your archives concerning a certain battle between this overlord and a hero known as The Flash- it is worth looking over should we wish to study his preferred methods of attack."

Icarax frowned behind his mask, pondering this final foe. What would he give to do battle with his former leader- but it was not his place to construct the teams. His allies must think, plan and determine for themselves what is the better option.

"Now for the final overlord- Teridax. He will be difficult for he has Elsa. Be sure that if you assault his fortress, she will lead the counter offensive- it is not in Teridax's nature to battle in open confrontations. As for Elsa, we have seen her power first hand; according to shield estimates, she may be classed as a category five cryokinetic. She could turn this continent into a second Antarctica if she put her mind to it. She needs to be eliminated first if you wish to attack the Eastern Seaboard. Let us first form teams with these profiles in mind- we will deal with the possibility of overlords assisting each other later."

edited 5th Feb '16 12:30:51 AM by biomechtraveler

Vile, Operations room

Having taken a little bit of detour through the facility Vile arrived a little later than he expected, having arrived during ongoing discussions Vile felt that he had nothing to contribute at the moment so Vile leaned against a wall and relaxed for a moment.

Although Vile over heard a mention of people inside the base such as a man with a freeze gun, perhaps this was a chance to do something and kill so boredom.

Overlord HQ

That Deadpool wasn't here for Desco didn't bother her. Kirei was well suited to being his villain. But how her magic didn't affect him did. Was the connection through the screen not strong enough or did he have something to stop her Chaos?

Desco looked at Schala, determined to teach Deadpool not to cross her. "Come on Schala, we know where he is now so let's get him!"

Before Desco could open a portal a voice interjected. On her wrist was a little communicator in the style of a watch with a tiny screen now showing Genjuro. It allowed him to keep tabs on Desco just in case. "Hold on Desco. That is almost defiantly a trap. You should probably take Des X along with you. I'm sure you'll be fine but Schala could use Des X's Magichange."

Desco nodded to her watch. "Okay, Desco will go get Des X first!" While she was mad at Deadpool, Desco was excited at the opportunity to attack some heroes. She opened up a red portal in front of her.

Kotomine Kirei; Hips That Lie

The riposte comes easy - garbed, as I am, in the body and mind of a whore. I give my hips a voluptuous swing.

"Oh, honey. I'm not exactly sure I have any balls, especially at present. If that's what you like, though…"

Her tongue flicks against my lips.

"I'm sure I can arrange something with your corpse."

The summons makes contact. I make several crude contortions, sparing no hint of vulgarity; finish in an appropriately theatrical pose - then the streak of blue bounds through one window and takes me out the other.

"I'm not your chauffeur, you know."

Lancer's disgruntlement sours the air. I can smell it in his sweat, his sharp hound's scent. I pick the glass out of my forehead and smile wide.

"And when, Lancer, did I ever imply that? No, I believe I must clarify. This has gone on for far too long."

"Oh?"

It is all he can do to feign interest. His boots scrape a ruined billboard. We arc down into Times Square, into the tattered heart of this new world.

The smirk nearly bursts my cheeks.

"In the words of this wanton, Lancer, you're nothing but my bitch."

edited 7th Feb '16 5:38:27 AM by troydenite

Zeal, Overlord HQ

Zeal glared at Kirei when he admitted to killing Deadpool's wife, but when Mr. Sinister appeared and said that he messed with Cheetah's DNA to make her a danger to HER Kingdom, Zeal looked positively enraged. "Damn it..."

Queen Zeal glanced over at Menardi when she offered to help, and sighed in defeat. "Fine... We may not agree in our methods, but I will need help in dealing with this thorn."

"Dalton, keep a eye on my entourage," Zeal yelled out and Dalton immediately stopped his fleeing attempt.

"Yes, my queen," Dalton said to her, still struggling to figure out how to get out of this situation.

"Greed, we will need your help as well," Queen Zeal asked her husband, before opening a portal for Greed, Menardi, and herself to leave to find Cheetah and stop her.

Meanwhile, Schala would follow Desco and Des-X to fight Deadpool.

B.B. Hood & Maria Renard, SHIELD Briefing

"What type of weapon is this Ultimate Nullifier? Err, I mean its shape," B.B. Hood asked Fury, cautiously. "You will need someone who will be perfectly willing to use this weapon and who actually knows how to use a weapon like this."

"Mordin would be a good choice, but he can't blend in as a human," B.B. Hood noted to Fletcher. "Not with looking like a Grey Alien."

"If Amon is really able to magically control his population like Queen Zeal does, then the Soulsword should be able to free his people from his domination," Maria explained to the others. "It disrupts magical energies, constructs, and creatures, but has no affect on anything else."

Gavrill, Helicarrier

Tatu’s words were not having the desired effect. Gavrill found herself bristling from his touch, and the oily, patronising persona he was putting on was beginning to grate on her nerves something fierce. The poorly-chosen wording of his offer only served to exacerbate this, and she struggled to keep the raw contempt off her face. Things were fucked already, and she was getting the growing feeling that she had nothing left to lose.

There’s that word again. I’m starting to get real tired of being called a traitor. Who exactly did I betray? I don’t remember agreeing to anything. I didn’t sign up for that team, I was dragged into this nonsense against my will. I came to serve you willingly, and if you’re not going to let me do that then I suggest you kill me right now.

The power of a god? That was almost a bad joke. It was hard to imagine anyone or anything less godly than she was. Whatever else she may have been Gavrill Madaraki was a creature of science through and through, constructed and brought to life by one mad human, devoid of any sort of divine providence. Gavrill was hardly an expert, but she was fairly sure her very existence would be considered a blasphemous abomination by the kind of people who gave a shit about such things.

Sorry to disappoint you big man, but the thing is... I don’t actually want to be a god. Honest, I don’t. I’m quite happy staying as a monster. Sure it might be fun for a while, but I’m just not an ambitious person like that. I like fighting, maiming, killing, and I’m pretty good at all that stuff already. And you know what? It makes me happier than all the power you could ever wave in front of my nose. I wouldn’t know what to do with it. And if you have a problem with that, you can take your kind offer and fuck yourself with it.

Armani watched, trying to be dispassionate as Fletcher gave the full results of his reconnaissance over the years.

But, it was really not in his nature to hide his feelings, especially not now. Frustration crept onto his features, and he was forced to eventually look down. He closed his eyes, taking breaths to try and calm himself.

Why, exactly, had all this information been kept from them until now? Oh he knew the technical answer — levels of security, yadwee yadwah, nevermind that they were all there to risk their lives for them and would be the ones to actually finish things at the end of the day. Military people had their stupid protocols.

What frustrated him more than anything else, though, was the fact that these levels of security had been distributed throughout their own group. He could accept the others doing it. It was much harder to swallow that his friends had been keeping important information from him, just due to orders. He had expected it, had even asked a couple times, but now it was just being proven.

This year had changed them. They weren't the same group of fighters struggling together that they had been. Used to be they would struggle through everything together, no secrets nor withholdings between them. Just them against everything else. Now, they were divided up into different groups, some people being given a higher stance over others. It meant lines between people, lines that would be remembered even after they left here. Lines brought on by Fury

Armani's fists clenched into white. He hated this place — a years worth of frustration, frustration of helplessness, frustration of your friends being in danger. Frustration of seeing things like Elsa being corrupted on live television, frustration of so many things. The only mercy was that they would be soon gone. One way, or another.

He sighed out loud as the talks turned to individual squads. Oh boy, here we go again. The squads all made some sense, at least.

"I'm a huge hammer now", Armani shrugged, "Throw me wherever you all think best. Or save me in the back as reinforcements."

He flipped Mjolnir up, tossing it idly up and down. "The one comment I have right now is that we definitely want to try and preserve our sense of surprise, at all costs. If our foes step onto the field knowing what to expect, we might as well turn ourselves in. When attacking the generators, I would at least wear hoods or something of the like. I myself will not be using the hammer until one of the big fellows shows up. If you can similarly hide your powers until then, I rather suggest you do the same."

Overlord HQ

"Don't need to tell me twice."

Greed stood as he tried to hide his smirk.

He didn't completely share his wife's anger. Just as he thought, this Deadpool fellow had serious balls, to challenge the overlords like this.

A challenge was exactly what Greed wanted.

And so he followed Zeal through the portal.

Operations Room

While Hol Horse simply listened to all this, Glacius removed himself from the wall and took great interest in this 'Ultimate Nullifier'. He spoke up to Sokka after the youth said he would lead the infilitration group to retrieve the weapon.

"If you're infiltrating a facility to retrieve it, perhaps my abilities could be of use? I cannot pass off as a human. However, if I Liquidize and sneak in that way, I could give you another eye inside the facility."

edited 8th Feb '16 4:37:23 AM by LatverianBadger

Urza briefly looked over at the ork and his barely decipherable message. While a planeswalker's mind drank in languages like water, he had a working theory that orks didn't even speak their own language all that well. At the least, he had to work harder than usual to understand it.

"Do you know why they are here?" he asked Bigrench, "And are they attacking?" Then he turned back to the others. No matter if they were invaded, there were still matters to attend to and indeed, they were more urgent now. He knew precisely which territory he would be most useful at.

"I agree," he said, "If possible, we should conceal our identities. I have several illusion spells that would serve. And Amon's psychic abilities will not work on artifacts that do not have a psyche. He need not even see me for my machines to move against him. I have researched ritual magic that I believe will counter Elsa's abilities as well, at least for a short time, and deal with Chase's powers. But I believe my artifacts are best suited for Amon and so I should be there as well."

Operations

Said dey wanted ta help, an' dey weren't attackin' when oi wuz dere... But ya kin never tell wiv Chaos sponns, sumtimes dey just sits where dey iz fer a while 'fore killin' stuff.

Overlord HQ - Menardi

Menardi followed after Zeal and Greed through the portal from one side of the continent to the other. She didn't even bother to hide her anticipation. It had been a while since Menardi had done more than idle sparring with her automatons or humiliating assassins sent by the various governments and other factions. Finally there was a new challenge, a new opponent. She could hardly wait.

Helicarrier

Tatu watched Gavrill's outburst with a half-interested glare. When she finished, however, he gave her a beaming smile.    "Did you know I made the same offer to your lover?"    He asked, nodding over at Loki.    "He gave me the exact same answer. Well, his was more flowery, and I could swear the fool actually likes you. I guess what I'm trying to say is... you two surely were made for each other. And I can't wait to see you both die by my hand."   

Leaning forward, Tatu narrowed his eyes.    "Tell you what. I'll let both of you live. But I'm looking forward to an actual battle."    Running his finger through her chin.    "The unforgettable kind. Give me that, and, who knows... maybe I'll let you two live as my servants. Or use this chance to run away... and I'll hunt you for the rest of eternity."    Patting Gavrill in the cheek, Tatu gave her a wink.    "See you soon."    He muttered, before disappearing.

"You look awfully angry." Loki commented after seeing Gavrill glaring at nothing in particular. "Pound for your thoughts?"

Kōka, Shiga Prefecture

The closer the four ninja got, the more empty the streets would become. Instead of the usual hustle and bustle of Kōka, all that they got was a deadly silence. It was an unnatural one... no cars, no people, no noises, no animals, nothing. And then, they'd start seeing the leftovers. Bodies scattered around, as if their owners had abandoned them without a care in the world. Families piled on top of one another. Car stuck inside shops. Dead birds surrounding the trees.

It wasn't long until they saw Molly Hayes, or The Body Which Formerly Belonged Only to Molly Hayes. She didn't look any different from the woman in the picture Sinister had shown Tesseract seconds ago, except her eyes were glowing white. No, glowing was the wrong word. They were burning up, as if a stream of fire was trying to burst out of its shell. Heat lines could be seen around her as she walked through the streets, mouth hung open like a drunkard.

Sy's voice reached her ears and prompted her to turn her head and open her mouth to speak. When she did, it was an unintelligible cacophony, the sound of hundreds of humans and animals yelling, screeching, whispering, begging, all at once. Some of them were laughing, some of them were crying, but most of them were yelling in pain, burning inside Molly Hayes' mind. Thankfully, she stopped talking and resumed walking towards the city center- and the rest of the population- as tears welled up around her eyes, instantly evaporating due to the heat.

Los Angeles

The decadent and sinful nature of Los Angeles hadn't changed much since its transformation into the capital city of the new Kingdom of Zeal. There were still homeless people, just like there were still fast food chains, coffee shops filled with aspiring screenwriters and movie theaters replaying the same movies over and over. Except now the iconography had been changed to reflect the state's new owner. Banners once depicting movie stars now spread messages of love for the Kingdom's ruler. The homeless dreamed of Zeal, the aspiring screenwriters wrote about Zeal and the movie theaters were playing the latest movies about everyone's favorite eternal dictator.

Once a proud establishment, the Chinese Theater was now nothing more than a glorified propaganda machine. But that wasn't a problem, considering its life was about to end. The front of the theater crumbled as the crowds ran through the streets, away from the incoming earthquake, flood and storm. The palm trees began catching on fire before being removed from their roots by the incredibly powerful gusts of wind. People, cars, buildings, everything was being consumed by the oncoming storm: the Cheetah, floating in the middle of said storm as the four elements consumed the city.

This was the scenery Zeal, Greed and Menardi landed in, with many of the running citizens stopping to bask in the glory of their leaders. "Queen Zeal is here to save us!" They shouted in ignorant bliss, eyes glazed over with unbinding love for the woman that led them. "Queen Zeal will always be here to save us!"

Overlord Headquarters

"Sorry, are you trying to triangulate my location through a television signal?" Mr. Sinister said out loud, smiling, before sighing at the sound of another gun being cocked. "Did you not consider we might be expecting that? And, of course, you also harbor the ULTRON code within you. Which means all we need to do is..."

Teridax suddenly felt a blowback (punctuated by a low chuckle from Blackfire somewhere in the crowd) as a series of firewalls were brought on, halting his advances. At the same time, Mr. Sinister initiated his own attack, trying to get at Teridax's mind using the exact same method. Although he wasn't trying to locate Teridax, no... instead, he was trying to reach at the ULTRON virus the Makuta had absorbed a year ago, trying to put it in control of the whole thing.

"There you are."

Meanwhile, Child would feel a warm hand on her shoulders.    "Hello."    Somehow, Tatu's slim smile looked less threatening.    "I don't believe we have officially met yet. I'm Tatu, your father's employer."    He bowed in reverence.    "It truly awes me to see one of my employees taking care of a daughter. Truly, children enchant me."    He spoke, not a sign of sarcasm on his tone.

Times Square

The once proud hub of advertising and people dressed in creepy costumes had become an official relocation center, the place you had to go to if you wanted to get any work in the new New York. You walked over to a mechanical booth, put in your information (Can you lift heavy objects? was one of the machine's pointed questions) and it'd direct you to a part of town. Lie, or even worse, fail the quiz, and all you'd get is an one-way trip to the mining dungeons, looking for something that most likely wasn't even there.

Deadpool had arrived as promised, and the mercenary looked like he hadn't aged a day (probably because he really didn't). After warning all of the downtrodden citizens to get away (some of them stuck around out of interest for both the battle and the expected collateral damage- maybe they could use that to escape?) and kicking down booth after booth, Deadpool spent the rest of his time staring at where Times Square's biggest screen once stood. He remained unaware of Tira's birds, until he suddenly turned to face them, as if staring right into the eyes of their mistress.

This might have been an interesting coincidence, because not seconds later, Kirei and his 'sidekick' came flying in, grabbing his attention. "What?" Deadpool chuckled loudly, fingers hovering over the swords strapped to his back. "You're still wearing my wife's skin. Do you think that'll distract me from the fight?" He unsheathed the two swords, narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brow at the priest. "Think again."

Broom Closet

"I'm afraid that's impossible." Loki pointed out, climbing a small stool to grab something stuck inside Alteridax's body. "My Overlords were composed of powerful psychics. If we change his morals, if we change just one building block, they'll notice."

He snapped his fingers, pointing at Mordin. "It's like you. You look the same outside, but you're certainly feeling... other things inside, aren't you? At some point someone would notice you were different."

"And we are outside." Loki pointed at the ceiling. "This is a containment room I created outside, and the wall we just passed through is a portal. Trust me, if it's up to us, this pal of ours is not leaving this place." Climbing down from the stool, Loki took the gem out of his staff, giving Mordin one last glance. "And if we're seconds away from death, then, I feel like I must say... I've always thought you were a bit attractive."

G Ingerly, Loki placed the gem inside Alteridax's chest, watching as it sunk into his Adamantium body. Like waves rippling through once still water, his body slowly came to life, eyes glowing a deadly red as his fingers trembled one after the other, grasping for something to touch in the empty air around him. His eyes faced the ceiling, then the ground, and finally, Loki and Mordin. After which, Alteridax... smiled. "I never knew it'd be this easy to kill you, false god." He chuckled, before fully noticing Mordin. "And you... aren't you dead?"

Operations Room

"It's times like these I wish we didn't assign Donatello to R&D." Sokka muttered under his breath, looking at the spot the Turtleduck-Man usually occupied. Icarax's comment about his leadership, however, ticked something inside the young man. "Listen, that... how was that all my fault? Even if... even if I had done a good job, it seemed to me like everyone was following their own plan. If we don't want to fail this time, then I think we shouldn't have to rely on one person leading all of us!"

"Let's not start throwing complaints around right now, hm?!" Fury snapped, glaring at both Icarax and Sokka. "Sure, I'll lead all of you around. But considering the scale of this operation, we can't have each group calling back to me every second. And we can't be relying on Fletcher too! The enemy knows about him, and the moment they find out he's back, they'll pull out some godforsaken weapon to shoot him down. He's our ace, our secret weapon. And as for the Ultimate Nullifier... it actually looks like a small gun. Sometimes the world does make a bit of sense."

Sokka tapped the side of the table, trying to get everyone's attention. "Listen. The generators are only there to keep anything big and powerful from getting into New York, right? The only thing we want to attack in New York is Tatu. We don't need to focus on the generators... we could focus on anything else. What we need is for the Overlords to step away from the city and give us a clear path to the Ultimate Nullifier and to Tatu. That's it."

"The generators are the easiest way to get to that."

"I know, but... they seem so convenient."

Fury pinched the bridge of his nose. "I've learned that sometimes that's just how the world works. And don't start throwing a wrench into our plans! We don't exactly have time to re-plan every single step! And what now?!" He practically roared at the mekboss, waiting for someone to make the translation. "Right. Someone with... with a freeze gun. I don't really believe it but better safe than sorry, right? " Grimacing, Fury snapped a finger and pointed at some of the nearby agents (and Vile), then at the mekboss. "Can you take them to these... skwadron folk? Hol Horse can also teleport them, if necessary."

"Mordin can lead me and Kitana, or Kitana can do the job, since I'm unqualified." Sokka said the word with clear disdain, but chose to leave it at that. "I think Armani, Riesbyfe and Zuko's uncle should lead the rest of the squads. No offense, Ezra, but I think they're all suited to the situations we'll be dealing with. Armani, you should go to the Eastern Seaboard... chances are we'll stumble into Elsa and we need someone she, uhm..." He shifted a bit, crossing his arm. "... likes? Yeah, let's go with that. Zuko's uncle should go into Kahndaq... seems to me like that place will be the closest to actual war. And considering China is a wasteland filled with Spirits-know-what, then Riesbyfe and her shield are the way to go. I know she can bring down a beast like no one else."

A pause.

"I didn't mean it like that—" Sokka hastily added, before Fury stepped in.

"I've got a counter proposal. We should look into avoiding any kind of civilian damage." He said, tapping the map. "I think the people we send to Kahndaq should be capable of keeping people away from danger, even if they're trying to throw themselves into it. Crowd control's the word there. I have no idea what we're going up against in China. Chances are it'll be enough to make us regret every choice we've ever made up until today."

"And we're not eliminating Elsa." Again, disdain towards Icarax dripped from Sokka's voice, but he once more tried to keep it there. "She's... she's our friend." He reached for Armani's shoulder, as if he was talking specifically to him. "We can't leave her behind here. We fought alongside her and I think we can all agree she isn't doing this out of her own free will. We can still save her."

Training Room

"Parkerrr..." The Scorpion continued to growl, staring at Zuko.

"Why does he keep doing that?" Zuko asked from behind his uncle, glaring at the animal-themed super villain.

Captain Cold raised an eyebrow and glanced at the Scorpion. "You have to understand," He explained in his mild monotone. "Dr. Gargan spent most of his life fighting a teenage boy who mostly wore red. Apart from the whole Asian thing, you kinda look like him."

"What is that even supposed to mean?!" Zuko demanded, and Captain Cold seemed very confused at Zuko's confusion. "You keep using that word to refer to me."

Cold glanced at the Scorpion one more time, who glanced right back at the rogue. "You mean... Asian."

"Yes!"

Cold did the glance motion again. "You've never heard of that word?"

"No!"

Cold glanced one more time, his shoulders drooping with a defeated sigh. "Why do these meetings always have to get so confusing?"

edited 9th Feb '16 10:26:42 PM by Stratofarius