Chapter 14: Res Ipsa 4
After my visit to Auschwitz, the next day was a lot less… well, less like finding a secret Nazi continuing experiments.
I got back to New York and stopped a mugging, a suicide, and some guy breaking into a car before heading to Noa's apartment.
It was long enough that I hoped her visitors had gotten her through her very understandable horror at shaking hands and interacting with Essex. Fucking Mr. Sinister. Back home, he straddled the line between being a fun villain and being the kind of monster that made literal demons seem useless.
It's the difference between being scared of monsters in the dark, and being scared of a government using its citizens for experimentation. The latter was all too real, which made the fear so much worse. And Noa had interacted with someone behind the worst version of that.
So I was unsurprised when I got to her apartment and my knock at the door was answered by a woman I had never met before. She was decently tall, probably somewhere between five-eight and five-ten, and had short brown hair in a pixie cut. I glanced down and saw a badge on her hip. Huh, guess that was why she reminded me of Maria Hill.
"So you're her newest pet project, huh?" The woman looked me up and down before huffing a bit. "You've got ten seconds to tell me why my best friend can barely string a sentence together before I arrest you now and justify it later."
"Ohhhh, I like you," I said immediately. "That's not my defense, just stating that I like you for being willing to go to bat for a friend on sight. I'm Dial, I'm a superhero from two universes away, Noa was called in by Fury for political reasons beyond my control, I promised to help her with a thing that ended in horrible Nazi things, and if you want to blame anyone for her current state, blame dickhead Nazi's," Wait, I had two more seconds. "Also, whatever your name is, you should invest in cryptocurrency, but only until it's popular."
"In what?" She shook her head. "You know what? No, I'm not drunk enough for superhero shenanigans. Just… ugh." She turned and walked away from the door. I guess she was letting me in. "I'm Cate, by the way."
"Nice to meetcha. You know, I'll be honest, you're in the wrong city if you don't want superhero shenanigans," I joked before calming a bit as I followed her inside. "How is she? Seriously?"
The cop, fed, whatever she was, stopped before turning into the kitchen. "Not sure. She'll probably be fine after a good cry and a full night's sleep, but, well? It's Nazis, and she's Jewish. How do you think she's doing?"
Fair. Not like there weren't thousands of people who'd had similar responses to that level of horror. The Graveyard still left me disquieted thinking about it. I, at least, had the benefit of knowing most of the monsters in human form I'd run into had either fallen at my hands or at one of my friends'. I'd never had to shake their hands.
"Let me know if you need me to run out to get things for her. Even if you want me to fly her out to the Bahamas or something for a couple days off. And I can run interference for any shenanigans."
"We just got back from a vacation cut short. Don't think that'll help," Cate sighed. "You know what? Just… go get a couple pints of ice cream. Mint chip and Rocky Road. I'll give you some cash."
I glanced briefly inside. Noa was on her sofa, a cup of steaming liquid in her hand. Tea, presumably. Taking the cash, I turned and rushed out to do as ordered. I waited till I was out of sight to hit Fasttrack form and buzzed out.
The store I usually shopped at in the neighborhood was still there, a bit newer and less advanced. Different person at the register of course. The small act of waiting in line behind a mom and her kid, waving at the shy little girl as she hid smiling behind her momma? It helped. Made me feel a bit better about the world.
On days where I ran into horrors, simple bits of humanity really made the difference.
With my two tubs of sugary icy happiness under my arms, I rushed back to the apartment, stopping a mugging on the way. New York City, man. Knocking again, I waited for a shorter period this time before the door opened. Probably got back faster than expected.
Even with the mugging, Fasttrack lived up to his name.
Noa's friend Cate was at the door again, this time looking utterly exhausted. "Please tell me you have the ice cream." I held up the frozen goodness, and she sagged in relief. "Oh thank god. Come on, get that in the kitchen."
The door opened, and I heard a new voice talking that hadn't been there before. Funny enough, one that was actually familiar. As Cate led the way, I saw him.
"And then, the glue inside just exploded outwards. Apparently, Paste-Pot didn't account for what to do if webbing blocked the end, so the pressure blew it up and left him covered in the stuff!" Spider-Man sat in his classic resting pose on top of an armchair, relaxed as his mask shifted to show hints of a smile underneath.
"I still don't understand how someone can callthemselves that." Thank goodness, Noa was smiling now. Her eyes were still puffy, I could see that from here, but at least this was better than morose.
"The best part was what he said after! He just looks at me, covered in sticky white stuff, and goes," Spider-Man took on a very serious tone. "'I swear, this usually never happens.'"
"Oh, for the love of god," she giggled. Then she looked over the back of the sofa at me, and her smile fell. "Ah. Back already?"
"I come bearing gifts," I held up the ice cream, having forgone a bag in the hope that actually seeing the mint and rocky road on the packages would help. And if the way her eyes went wide was any indication, it did.
"Give." I handed her the rocky road. "No, not this one, the other one." I took the rocky road back and handed her the mint chip.
Noa tore it open like a demon possessed, then paused when she saw that she didn't have a spoon. She grabbed the end of her tail in one hand, looked at the ice cream, looked back at her tail.
"I can grab a spoon!" I said, almost laughing as I rushed off after Cate, who was waiting for me with a spoon in hand and a knowing smile on her face.
"Oh hey, you're that guy!" Spidey said as I came back, handing Noa her weapon of choice. She stabbed that spoon deep into the ice cream, carved out her prize, took a bite, and made a happy noise. Oh, and her tail was tapping the couch.
Cuuuuute.
"Man, you forgot my name," I teased one of my childhood heroes. "Usually the alien guy is more memorable."
"In my defense, I meet a lot of weirdos in my life."
"Fair and relatable," I sat down on the sofa. "Good to see you. Though it's funny, I thought Noa said she wasn't really involved with the hero thing. So far I've met Cap, Quicksilver, you again…"
"Yeah, she's in denial," Spidey sounded like he was highly amused. "Some of the X-Men kids think she's secretly in charge of her own private hero team."
I looked over at Noa, who was still spoon deep in her pint of mint chip and oblivious to the rest of us. Even Cate, who was apparently her best friend, and who was very pointedly not looking at Spider-Man.
"I can see it. Truly, she is a threat beyond my comprehension," I turned away from the tail-wagging, happily-humming blonde to focus up on Spider-Man. Who was looking at the gauntlet on my arm.
"So uh… how does that work exactly?" Ah. There was the scientist within the heroic jokester. "Shapeshifting on that level, I've never seen anything like it. I mean, lots of people can shapeshift, but getting powers with each one is crazy!"
"Technically, the powers are… okay, well," I held out the watch/gauntlet, the Omnitrix glowing. "This is the Omnitrix. And it was first made as a way to communicate with other species. A peacekeeping tool."
"...Is this like how people keep building nukes in the name of peace?" Peter said in a world weary tone.
"Believe me, I get it. But it's true. The man who made this was an alien named Azmuth. He lived in a universe with hundreds of species, living in a whole host of different environments."
"That's… wow. But, uh, jeeze. Your universe, this other guy's universe, probably a few more besides? Oof, yeah, you can keep this whole 'other universes' stuff. No thanks."
"..."
"You're being really quiet…" I could just tell there was a raised eyebrow under that mask. "Why?"
"SO! Azmuth."
"That's really suspicious-"
"Azmuth made a sword that could rip apart planets with a swing!" I said as firmly as I could.
"If you two are gonna technobabble, take it outside!" Noa yelled at the two of us around her spoon, pointing at the door.
Chuckling, I rose up and walked out, Peter hopping up to the ceiling to crawl easily at my pace. We headed to the roof to continue. Soon, Peter was stuck to a wall across from me as I sat on the floor across from him.
"So. He made a weapon that could destroy planets. Not because he was some kind of asshole. It was because he saw it was possible, and he did it."
"Yeah… I've met some people like that," Peter said quietly. "I mean, I tried to make explosive webbing once, just to see if I could, but… man, there's gotta be some kind of limit, somewhere."
"Azmuth would agree. When he saw what he 'wrought' as the poet guys say, he decided to make a tool of peace. The Omnitrix," I lifted it up. "His universe, like I said, had hundreds of species. And the Omnitrix has all those species. It can even absorb the DNA of species it hasn't encountered, long as they're sapient."
"So… wait, does that include dolphins?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, far as I know."
"But how?" Peter asked. "Like, is it just manipulating your DNA? Where does the mass come from for larger forms!?"
"The Omnitrix has an advanced form of energy production that it turns to mass in order to transform into larger forms."
"When you change back, is it back to your original form, or a form the Omnitrix had saved?"
"Kid, you're lucky Tony ran me through how to explain this shit-"
"TONY STARK!?"
The next fifteen minutes was like that. It was kinda fun, seeing Peter geek out over the explanation of alien technology. Course, just when it got interesting…
"So how does it interact with more primitive-" Peter cut himself off as a light on the back of his hands suddenly shone. A blinking green one. It was pretty clever actually, set into his suit almost invisibly until it turned on. Suddenly he looked into the distance.
"I hear sirens," he said. "More than one. Sounds like… ten, maybe fifteen blocks? Not an ambulance, maybe a firetruck and a squad car?"
"On it," I snapped to my feet. "Spidermonkey!"
In my latest new form with a green flash, I spoke in the more squeaky voice. "Lead the way!"
"I feel like yer making fun of me," Spider-Man said as he leapt outwards, a familiar 'thwipp' sound filling the air.
"You kidding!? I've wanted to webswing since your game was announced!" Ah man, I missed out playing that.
"My what!?" Spidey yelled. "Like a Super Nintendo thing?"
"Buddy, you have no idea!"
After we finished, I went back to the apartment alone. Noa was asleep, while Cate let me in before heading home. Which I took as a sign of having some trust in me, if not too much.
Sleeping in Goop form in the sink of the kitchen was more comfortable than the couch, so I did that. Scared Noa a bit when I stretched upwards yawning while she was cooking eggs though. Thankfully my Goop form was immune to the pan she threw at me.
After that, things were boriiiiing. Look. I have great relationships with lawyers. Even ignoring that my insanely hot green gamma girlfriend was one, Matt and Foggy were awesome. But the actual nuances of the law, important as they were, were so goddamn dry.
It had to be, though. Despite what TV taught me, most of law was very serious stuff with paperwork signing and reading heavy, hardback books, rather than a breeding ground for sexy people fighting over the moral fate of humanity with shouting matches.
Still, answering questions while Noa read up on things like immigration procedure and talked to herself about asylum and citizenship? Yeah, wasn't my kinda thing. Much more exciting was when someone came over to help her.
"Holy shit!" I said in unison with the visitor once Noa walked her in. She walked over, all 8 feet of her.
Jennifer Walters. Comic edition. Just as unfairly hot as mine. Do I even need to describe She-Hulk?
"No you do not," the Jade Giantess said with a very nice smile.
"Uh, hey," I said, looking up at her with that weird sense of familiar and new that Cap and Pietro had instilled in me. Combined with the weirdness of having had sex with her alternate, which, how do you even unpack that?
"You are buff," Jen said, walking over to poke at me.
"Thanks! Working out with supersoldiers and gods, you know. I highly recommend. You?"
"Gamma baths and working out with The Thing," she said, buffing her nails on her jacket.
"For the love of-ow!" Noa hissed from behind the door. She reached and grabbed her tail in one hand, gingerly rubbing at a spot partway up its length. Okay, that explained the 'ow'. "Jen, stop trying to eyefuck the visitor, he's seeing someone."
"Oh, I know that! He's seeing another me!" Jen gave a wicked grin. "Cmon, Noa. I know you know about the fourth wall. Me and other Jen had a chat, and she's all good if he's all good!"
"Are you seriously-" The smaller mutant cut herself off. "You know what? Sure. Fine. Whatever. After you're done helping me." The tiny mutant pointed her finger at me. "You. Go… I dunno. Go kill time somewhere. Solve crimes. Fight bad guys. I don't care. Just don't come back for a few hours or I won't be responsible for what Jen does to your spine and pelvis. Clear?"
"I never regret the things Jen does to my pelvis-" I immediately spun and jumped out of the window before whatever Noa was reaching for could be thrown, Jen's laughter following. In a flash of green I was back in Big Chill form, zipping off invisibly into the sky.
Whole new world to explore huh? First things first. I called my newest friend through the Omnitrix.
"Hey Peter, you up?" I said in Big Chill's ghostly tone.
"...Excuse me? Who is this?" The voice that spoke was not Peter. It was older. And male.
…Oh. Oh shit. This was Uncle Ben. Somehow I'd forgotten that when Peter handed me his number, it would be to his house, not to a cell. The things I took for granted about the modern day.
"I'm a friend of Peter's. One of the high-flying ones? If that makes sense?"
"...Ah. One of those, huh?" He sounded like some combination of aggrieved and warm. "He's in the middle of homework. You want me to tell him you called?"
"Sure. Just let him know Dial is down for any walkabouts if he wants. Thank you, Mr. Parker."
"Please, call me Ben."
With that, we disconnected. Thinking to myself, I finally twisted around in the air to head into the streets.
I was bored, and New York City was a treasure trove of trouble. Time to find my own fun!
New York City always seemed to increase its crime rate in relation to the number of heroes around. And this version of New York City was fullof superheroes. Comparatively at least It was honestly incredible. Back home, while we all did patrol, the number of heroes was smaller than most comic universes I knew.
Here? I ended up running into Iron Fist while he was walking on the streets below. Iron FUCKING Fist! He gave me an awkward wave which I returned in Spider-Monkey form, the two of us going our own way. I had to give him credit for not immediately attacking me.
The number of superheroes who seem to just brawl on sight in the comics…
At one point I came across Darkhawk flying over one section of the city, heading in the direction I came from.
"Mugging!?" I called out to him.
"Uh, yeah!" the armor-clad (or was he an android? Couldn't remember.) hero shouted back.
"I stopped that! I'm heading to a home invasion, wanna come?"
"S-Sure thing!" He shouted back. Twisting in the air, he joined me in flight. "I-I'm Darkhawk by the way!"
"I know. I'm Dial."
"You know who I am!?"
Ah… shit. He'd just gotten started, hadn't he? "I heard it from some guy on the street."
"Nice!" Darkhawk whispered, clearly underestimating how good Spider-Monkey's hearing was.
We dropped in on a guy robbing an old couple in their apartment. After a funny moment where he shattered a baseball bat on Darkhawk's head, we tied him up in webbing, sped the old couple to the hospital, made sure the cops got the apartment, and separated ways.
What, it was a home invasion. Not much room for excitement for those in superheroics.
More interesting was when I decided to do something nice.
"Yeah, Blockbuster is across the street from me. What do you want me to pick up?" I asked Noa through the Omnitrix. "I was gonna grab an action movie, but I figured you'd want something more uh… healing, I guess?"
I entered into the past. I mean, I'd already been there, but Blockbuster was nostalgic. The sight of VHS tapes resting on shelves all across the place, a bored redheaded female employee in the familiar blue. The place I'd found was in the Upper West Side. In my world it had been replaced by a discount store.
Here it was a thriving business. You know, until Netflix ripped it's heart out and ate it.
Walking in, the bored employee gave me a glance, before I disappeared into the shelves. Still on the phone with Noa and Jen, I continued speaking. "What do you think, Disney and Ahnald?"
"Yes to both, please!" Jen said through the omnitrix. The employee glanced up, surprised.
Oh right. No cell phones. She must have thought I was crazy.
I chuckled, waving at her before continuing to speak. "All right. They have Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermai-"
"That one, absolutely. I was too busy to see it in theaters, and I need a copy for the archives!"
Archives? "Gotcha. Oh hey. The Great… Mouse… Detectiv-"
I cut myself off. Someone else had entered the store. Not a normal customer.
He was taller than me. But part of that might have been the giant green helmet. Seriously, it was HUGE, almost glowing green, with a pair of fins poking out the sides and three small slits for the eyes and mouth. He was also only wearing a big ass chest strap of the same neon green over his muscular torso. Combined with his pants of the same color…
Well. He looked like an idiot. Even with all that muscle, his outfit was so dumb that I couldn't even laugh.
He glanced my way, then promptly ignored me, instead walking up to the cashier. Who stepped back in horror.
"Everything in the register, now!" he barked in as deep a voice as he could.
"Y-Yeah, okay!" She hurriedly began opening the register.
"...call you back," I mumbled.
"Have fun!" Jen said cheerily through the Omnitrix.
Walking up behind him, I tapped him on the shoulder. He looked at me, then scowled.
"So! Trying to be a hero are we-"
"Who are you?"
"W-What?"
"Who are you? Seriously, I don't remember."
"W-Whirlwind!" the redhead squeaked. "He fought the Avengers!"
"Whirlwind… wait, don't you have a creepy crush on Wasp?"
"It's not creepy!" his voice, previously trying to sound tough, rose a few octaves. "She loves me, she just doesn't-"
"Know it?"
"Exactly!"
"Dude, that's creepy behavior! She clearly doesn't want anything to do with you. Can you believe this guy?" I asked the employee.
"Leave me out of this."
"You son of a-" He reached out for me.
I punched him in the gut before he could touch me. He let out a gasp of pain, stumbling back and spinning around before a burst of wind smashed into me, sending me flying back. I landed in a roll and grabbed a few VHS tapes off the wall, tossing them like ninja stars while running.
"You dare!?" Whirlwind spun in place again. This time, a full on tornado surrounded his legs, sending the copies of Pretty Lady I'd thrown at him flying, followed by the shelf next to him lifting up and getting tossed away.
I ducked under a packet of M&M's that tried to brain me and grabbed the door handle, rushing through it as he followed. "Why do you guys always say, 'you dare!?' Like you're surprised someone tried to stop you?"
"I was stealing a mere pittance!" Whirlwind shouted, coming out proper into the street. "You fool! I've fought the Avengers! Giant Man himself has fallen before me!"
"What, from laughter?" I twisted the dial of the Omnitrix as I spun to face him. Damnit. I didn't remember anything about Whirlwind. Just that he was spinny. And based on how the tapes I'd tossed just bounced off his wind, I'd need a form that wouldn't just get thrown aside. Fasttrack then. Make an opposing tornado to his.
Plan made, I pushed down very politely on the dial.
And shrank down three feet. The flash of green was followed by me looking down at my hands, now a bright white in color.
"...HAHAHAHA!" Whirlwind laughed aloud, dropping down to face my now far smaller form. "Is this what decides to challenge me! A tiny robot."
He continued to spin in place, a tornado blowing trash about the street around us. I don't think he noticed how happy I was. (Also, the guy who fought Ant-Man and the Wasp underestimating me for my size was kind of hilarious).
"Well that's just too cool." My voice was autotuned now. Very reverby. Loved it.
Whirlwind flew towards me, clearly planning on running me over. I ducked aside, my small body get lifted by his wake and smacking into a car. On instinct, I activated one of my powers.
"Come here you little… uh…" Whirlwind stopped and looked at me. Then he looked at the other me. And the other. And the other.
12 of me stood around him in a full circle, all in white with green trimming. We smiled at him in unison.
"Echo… ECHOOOO▄▄▅▅!"
Waves of pure sound smashed into Whirlwind. Seeing what was coming, he spun faster in place, trying to fly away, before he got hit with everything I had. The sonic waves bounced off each other, shaking the air, turning the world around him into an echo chamber. Within that space, Whirlwind screamed, unheard by anyone. After a while, his eyes rolled into his head as he passed out, falling to the ground once the blasts holding him up stopped.
In flashes of greens, the other me's flowed into my body, the sensation very weird. I'd imagined it a few times, but feeling yourself join you is weird as hell. In another flash, I was human again.
"Is… is it over?" I looked over to see the redhead employee walk over, wincing as she dug a finger into her ear.
"Yeah, it's done. Sorry about the uh," I gestured to my own ears.
"D-Don't worry about it." She looked at Whirlwind, stunned. "Wow. You really beat him."
"Yeah, guess he was a D-lister."
"He fought the Avengers!"
"I'm pretty sure Leap Frog has fought the Avengers. It's not the pedigree it sounds like. You call the cops."
"They're on their way. Are you uh… going to run away now?"
"Hell no. I still need to buy tapes."
"...A supervillain just attacked my store, scaring the shit out of me, and now you want me to do my job?"
"Welcome to the wonderful world of retail. Seriously though, I'm willing to wait until you can help me out."
As she sighed, pulling out a cigarette, I moved in to tie up whoever the hell Whirlwind was.
All in all it was a great day.
Look, I didn't remember who Whirlwind is beyond 'fairly tough dude with a crush on Wasp.' I'm just not super knowledgeable about the guy, what can I tell ya? Funny how a dimensional journey is more like a vacation to Dial than an excuse for more huge battles. That makes the second new form in as many days. Echo-Echo is so much damn fun to write, despite the shortness of it :D Course, this means Whirlwind is gonna have a counter for soundwave attacks now. That's just how it goes.
In defense of the quiet of things. He came at a relatively quiet time in Noa's universe. Less wars and such, more casual violence that NY is used to. More than that, it's kind of the themes of Dial and Noa's stories clashing. Dial is about superheroics, big clashes, shenanigans. Noa is more street-level, dealing with law and order type things, with a small smattering of comic book ridiculousness but still built on a solid foundation of more serious stories.
Next chapter, Dial, Noa, and Jen meet with her universe experts, and we get some idea what Dial's universe has been up to. That's gonna be up on my patreon as always.
Chapter 15: Res Ipsa Part 5
Chapter 15 Res Ipsa Part 5
Later on, Noa, Jen, and I sat together watching the Little Mermaid. When we got to the scene where Ariel signed the contract, I could practically feel the distaste from the lawyers at my sides.
"Bad?"
"VERY bad," Jen agreed immediately. She'd changed into a pair of sweatpants and a shirt. Simple clothes, so of course she looked supermodel hot.
Reminding myself not to look when I was dating a version of her was a test in willpower I barely passed.
"I mean, she barely negotiated! She hasn't had anyone look at the contract with any sort of experience. Hell, she already knows what happens to people who make deals with this witch! They turn into squidgy guys!"
She waggled her fingers as she said 'squidgy', mimicking their movements. "Seriously, I love this movie, but goddamn does this girl need help."
"I didn't get to see it in theaters," Noa mumbled, hugging a throw pillow to her chest.
"Too busy?" I asked idly. "I know lawyers get into some long hours."
"Way too busy," she groused.
As I spoke, I looked at the omnitrix and brought up the holoscreen, the small light drawing Noaverse Jen's eye. "What's that?"
"Warehouse I visited," I said simply, reading the report. "So, what kept you from watching one of the best Disney movies in theaters? Classes or work?"
Jen read along with me while Noa explained how she wound up working a case that was big enough it shut down sports for months.
"And when she says sports, she means even the Super Bowl got delayed," Jen added.
"The SUPER BOWL!?" I asked, genuinely shocked. If you aren't American, that's the equivalent to shutting down the final game of the World Cup. "What sport were you involved in that shut down every other sport? Was Michael Jordan accused of being a mutant?"
The police had arrived at the warehouse. I watched through a camera as they walked in, but was mostly paying attention to Noa.
"Winner of the US Open got accused of being a mutant," she said. "… the tennis one, not golf."
"Thank god. I'd have rioted if I found out golf of all things shut down all other sports… wait, what about hockey!?"
"Stanley Cup playoffs were delayed. I got to see a playoff game on my birthday!" And now her tail was wagging. God, that was adorable.
"Awesome sauce. Who was playi- Oh, sorry, hold on, I need to check in on this."
"What is that, anyways?" Jen asked as I leaned forward.
"Sex trafficking ring. I went in as Diamondhead and shut it down."
Noa hopped off the couch and pressed pause on the VCR. "Do we need to call the FBI?"
"Cops are called already. Officers are moving in to clear the scene, all the relevant authorities are being informed, and I'm gonna work on getting the girls and guys who were brought in… um," I glanced up at the two lawyers sitting with me. "Oh my, it seems the people who were illegally brought into the country have mysteriously disappeared. Such a shame."
Jen snorted, crossing her arms. "Yeah, you probably shouldn't have said that next to a prosecutor."
"Okay, but is any jury going to believe he did all that from here?" Noa interjected. "He has two lawyers as his eyewitnesses, saying he was sitting on a couch the whole time. And it's not like either of us could explain how he did it."
"… fair." Jen leaned back on the sofa and crossed her legs. "Still don't like it."
On instinct, I went to pull her in for a hug, only to realize what I was doing and pulling back, getting a smirk. Goddamn it, I miss my hot girlfriend!
Jen's smirk just grew bigger, followed by a wink. God damn it, did she know?… stupid fourth wall breakers.
"Jen, stop eyefucking the other dimensional guest on my sofa," Noa said with a glare from over by the TV.
"Fine, fine! I'll just take him back to my hotel later."
I coughed, trying to focus on the screen and not the temptation in gamma form next to me.
The cameras I'd taken over thanks to Upgrade continued to stream footage. Crappy footage. Even with Upgrade improving the tech, it was all very primitive. The inside of the warehouse was almost destroyed. I'd removed the diamonds (Didn't need another Blood Diamond situation) but holes still covered the place.
So did bodies. I didn't kill them in order to avoid complicating things for the cops even further. But fucking hell it was tempting. They were tied up in steel girders, pipes, and more. The leader of them had a bucket placed on his head, filth pouring down over his shirt.
On the floor in the center was as much evidence as I could find, all useful for FBI, CIA, Interpol, all that good stuff, with enough opium to make 1839 Britain nervous.
"All right, nice routine finish," I said at last, sighing. "Seriously, every time I shut one of these down it's somehow both horrifying and oddly boring in the worst ways. You guys get days like that," I looked over at them. "Lawyer stuff that is important, but you've done it enough that it's more boring than sad or scary?"
"Yes," both women answered.
Thank god, I'm not a heartless monster. Just jaded.
"No, I'm jade, you've just been at this for a while," Jen quipped.
"..." Fourth wall is very tattered nowadays.
"Anywho," I put away the screen and waved at the VCR. "Let's finish the movie. We all gotta sleep early for tomorrow's meeting, right? Unless you've retracted the 'no' on me flying you there at superspeed?" I asked Noa.
"Not a chance," she said, voice flat. Then she pressed play on the VCR, hopped back into her armchair, and wrapped herself up in a blanket with just the end of her tail sticking out.
"You're adorable," Jen and I said in unison, grinning at her.
"So my girlfriend tells me," she said. "Now shush, stop talking over the movie."
All in all it was a quiet and cute night. Until, you know. The girls fell asleep.
Before I left Noa's dimension, I had to deal with someone.
I headed to the rooftop and stood for a moment, looking out over New York City. I pressed on the Omnitrix, shifting in a flash of light.
"Sandrass," I mumbled quietly out of habit. I looked down at myself. Seriously, if Jen thought my normal form was buff, this version would give her a heart attack.
With that humorous thought, I focused. I could feel it now. Sand. The connection wasn't perfect. While I controlled sand, I was in truth the Asgardian of Change at heart.
Thankfully, I was in a city. If there was anywhere that was forever in motion, it was New York City, and I could pull power from that. Sand from across the city flew towards me, flowing like air to spin around me. Through that strange sense of awareness, I could feel my target. He was in a warehouse, at the edge of town. And as I felt him, he felt me.
Rising up onto a cloud of sand, I zipped across the city, the lights of the city below me highlighting me as I flew, the sword Ares had gifted me bouncing at my hip.
My target must have thought of running. But instead, he waited after a hesitant moment. The closer I got, the tighter the connection felt. I flowed down on the sands towards an open window on the rooftop, landing on a concrete floor below.
"...Hello Flint."
He stepped out of the shadows, a prominent scowl on his face, that familiar striped green shirt on his chest. One of his hands had shifted into a bowling ball sized mace of spikes, held at the ready. "Who… what are you?"
"Dial. I helped Spider-Man fight you guys," I tapped the Omnitrix on my hip meaningfully.
He raised his fist more menacingly. Hesitated. I knew he could feel me. Through whatever mental link gave him control over all sand, he could sense me as well. "You… aren't here to fight."
"Not unless you want to spar, I guess. Can I sit?" Without waiting for a response, I moved over to a set of pallets, kicking some away with the casual strength of an Asgadian before plopping myself down. "I just want to chat."
"Why?" Flint snarled. He approached me, still scowling. "And what the hell is… this?"
"The connection between us?"
"What kind of homo bullshit is that!?" He scowled further.
"First, I know it's the nineties, but tone down the homophobia man," the hardened fugitive from the law just glared at me, so I moved on. "Second, I'm an Asgardian in this form. Like Thor. And my domain includes the sands."
"Thor. Like a God."
"Well, little g." I said quickly. "And as a part of that, I can sort of… link, with you. And because of that, I gotta say man. You are wasting your potential."
He clearly hadn't expected that. The man hesitantly sat across from me. "So what? You my parole officer? Gonna try and rehabilitate me? You know how often I've heard this speech?"
"How often have you heard it since you got superpowers?" I leaned forward, meeting eyes with him. "Flint. You have a level of power that can make you an Avenger. You were robbing banks. You could be boxing with gods."
"Like you?" He smirked, an ugly look on his blocklike face.
I waved a hand and stopped the tendril of sand he had been sending towards my back. For a moment, our control of the sand struggled. A lot.
I could control sand. But I was a very young Asgardian, and it wasn't my true domain. It was Flint's. Even with all my power, Flint Marko was a man who had the potential to survive the heat-death of the universe, to turn entire planets worth of sand into his domain.
Seriously, what was it about Peter that all his villains were fucking ridiculous?
I struggled to hold onto control, but kept my face from showing it. Bluff, bluff for your life, Dial.
"Enough," I narrowed my eyes at Flint, who flinched. He looked shocked at feeling his control over his sand pulled away from him. Hopefully enough not to realize he had a stronger claim than I did. "I came to talk. And I'm serious."
Flint relented, lowering the sand. I gave control back to him gratefully, returning to the conversation. "Even if you don't want to be an Avenger, you could be making massive amounts of money with your powers. Screw going legit. You could turn this sand thing into a whole enterprise. One week of work would leave you on easy street, legally, without needing to fight Spider-Man."
"I want to fight Spider-Man," He scowled.
"What, to play Goliath to his David?" I grunted. "Flint, Spider-Man just wants to protect people. You really going to spend the rest of your life trying to beat up a man who would kill himself to protect innocent people? Children?"
"He's a punk!"
I rested my head in my hand, staring at him. He seemed to realize on his own how petty that sounded, but he just glared back at me, crossing those massive arms of his.
"Well… I can't force you to find a better path," I rose up.
"You gonna take me in?" He asked, rising up as well.
"No. Just think on what I said, man," I stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. For a moment, our minds were more connected than before. I tried my best to use that. To send him some semblance of how I felt, that I meant it, the hope I had for him.
"Some of my best friends were thugs, bruisers, and killers. They found happiness in a better path. I found happiness that way."
Flint shrugged off my arm, but I could still feel I was having an effect. I continued. "Look. William."
He stiffened at the sound of his name. His realname, the one he pulled away from. He looked at me, eyes haunted. For a moment, just a moment, the Sandman seemed just a bit more flesh than he was before. "You've got the power to gain everything you ever wanted, without worrying about going to jail. There's a hundred mercenary outfits, hero groups, that kind of thing, that'll happily pay to have a powerhouse like you. So you can build a safe life for your daughters-"
I cut myself off, realizing what I was saying to late. "Uh, I mean-"
"Daughters?" Flint asked, shocked.
"Spoilers," I snapped out. Goddamn me and my big ass mouth. "Just, think about it man. Hell, reach out to Silver Sable, she'll take you on if you're honest."
I removed my hand from his shoulder and stepped back. "All right. I'm going to head out. Think it over, all right."
"..." Flint's skin faded into chunks of sand, then grains. Slowly, he drifted off on wind that didn't exist, floating away. The last part of him to go was his eyes. They searched me for a moment. Then they drifted away.
"...That was pretty fucking cool," I mumbled. I looked out into the city, thinking. I was still pretty awake.
"Well. New York can always use more protectors."
With that, I leapt up and out of the roof, flying out into the city to give heart attacks to its criminals, even as I felt Flint Marko disappear.
Chapter 16: Res Ipsa Part 6
Chapter 16 Res Ipsa Part 6
The next day, Jen, Noa, and I headed out to meet the experts Noa had gotten together. Or, actually, that Fury had gotten together, Noa was just relaying the info. Which led to me finallymeeting the first Marvel family! Well, two members. One of which was my favorite.
The doors of the car Noa had hired out barely closed before I started speaking.
"Look, I respect your choice, but I want it noted for the record that rap music is the voice of a rebellious generation, and your distaste for it is blasphemy."
Jen let out a little 'snrk' while looking at Noa, who just crossed her arms with a harrumph.
We'd been 'arguing' for a good while about musical taste. It wasn't real arguing, more akin to general ribbing. I was mostly trying to distract myself from my nervousness.
The fact is, I wasn't sure that I would be able to find a way home. The last time I'd tried to find my previous universe, it had somehow been locked out. My first home, the one where all this was fictional, had been completely missing from the giant kaleidoscope of universes that was out there. What if my new home, with Jen, Creel, Tony, was also just… missing?
Tony had theories on why my home universe had been locked out, but nothing concrete. Even Agatha didn't have answers, and she was powerful. Maybe if I unlocked Alien X or some similar powerhouse, I could easily get back home, but that wasn't something I could rely on.
Noa's universe seemed nice. But I didn't want to live in it forever.
So… yeah. Arguing with my lawyer about the benefits of rap music to distract myself. We didn't drive too long before reaching the Baxter Building. The closer we got, the more confused I was, until I finally had to ask.
"Is it just me being a man out of time, or do these streets seem emptier? A whole bunch of businesses seem to just be… missing? Somehow?"
"The rent in this area is dirt-cheap," Noa answered. "The problem is why they're so cheap. And that's because there's a very real chance of some member of the Fantastic Four needing to use your business as an impromptu landing pad, courtesy of the villain du jour. Usually a rogue Doombot, as is often the case, but still."
"Ah. Right. Man, I really hope the Avengers Tower doesn't end up causing the same. Then again, the FF."
The Fantastic Four was an amazingly unlucky family of badasses, no matter what verse.
We came to a stop in front of the building. There, a single familiar person stood with a pair of SHIELD agents behind her. I grinned, hopping out of the car to face her.
"Maria Hill, right? Nice to meet this version of you!"
The version of the woman who, in my universe, was a good friend, leader of BRIDGE, and all-around dope individual, gave me a look. Like she'd stepped into something gross. I felt my smile freeze a bit as she turned that same look on Jen and Noa.
"You have everything you need?" Okay, how in the fuck did she manage to make such a simple sentence sound like an insult? What?
"Uh," I looked over at Noa and Jen, the alternate of my girlfriend giving a nod like 'I know right?'
"I should be asking the same," Noa remarked, one hand on her hip. "What more does SHIELD need before you start doing your own damn jobs?"
"Your complaints have been noted," she said. "Now come on. We don't have all day."
I looked over to Noa, who was bristling.
"I hate that woman," she said through gritted teeth. "I hate her so, so much…"
"Least you don't have to talk to her every other Tuesday," Jen mumbled.
"My universe is looking better and better all the time," I added. Feeling just a bit deflated, I walked forward, nodding to the two SHIELD agents. "Dan, Storme. Doing well?"
"Uh… yes?" Dan asked, confused, following after us.
"Don't engage with him," Maria snapped.
"Yeah, I might give you dimensional cooties," I waved my fingers teasingly.
As we got into the elevator, Maria continued to glower. Noa and Jen both gave her dirty looks, and then proceeded to whisper between one another, even though Jen was a good three feet taller than Noa. I guess both of them having enhanced hearing made that possible, but it was definitely disconcerting to look at.
After the longest elevator ride of all time, the doors opened. And I felt my smile return with a vengeance.
"Morning," a man with a very cool ass voice said. He was made of orange rock from head to toe, a pair of familiar blue trunks on his waist and simple blue '4' at his hip. He smirked at us, a pair of beautiful blue eyes warmly looking across us. "Well, aintcha a cheery bunch. What happened, Jen told a bad joke?"
"Shut up and give me a hug, you idiot!" Jen laughed, stepping past Maria with a shove and clenching Ben Grimm tightly.
He chuckled, gently hugging her back. As she stepped aside, he gave me a smile. "How you doing? Benjamin Grimm."
"Dude. You are one of my fucking heroes," I said, grasping his hand eagerly. Wow. More gentle than I expected.
"He's also why my condo building exists," Noa said under her voice. "Villain used him to wreck the old one."
"Can we move on?" Maria snapped.
"Do you get paid per ounce of bitching?" I snapped, not even looking at her. I focused on Ben again. "So, where to?"
Ben's grin stretched with the sound of stone grinding on stone, the big man waving a four-fingered hand for us to follow. "Come on. Reed's bunch of eggheads are already working on theworking the problem."
As we walked along, Ben continued speaking. "So, another universe, huh? You know any other me's?"
"God, I wish. Far as I know, you joined a project Reed was heading up and kinda disappeared? I'm trying to find you, but uh…"
"Don't worry about it," Ben chuckled. "I think I'll be alright."
I wasn't sure how true that was. If he was maybe putting up a front of some kind. "We um… We're working on potential cures? Or at least, a way to control it as a transformation, using my Omnitrix. I don't know how possible it is, but-"
Ben patted my shoulder, a bit roughly. "Kid… Let it go. Whatever you plan on doing, I don't need to know about it here. Okay?"
Before I could say more, Maria Hill interrupted.
"If they're ready for us, Mr. Grimm, bring us in. We've no time to lose."
Ben grunted, leading us in. We reached a double set of metal doors that slid open as he approached. Inside was a bunch of blue ribbons stretched across a whole host of machinery. Ben walked in, looking around. "Reed! Yer newest project is here, egghead!"
"Hm?" One of the blue ribbons vibrated briefly. "Just a moment, Ben, I'm speaking with Pym in the other room!"
A door slid open, and one of the blue ribbons came out of those doors, followed by a head and a man. The blue ribbons all around us began to flow like water, zipping back and forth, putting down beakers, tapping buttons, turning on and off various screens, until they condensed into a singular man standing next to the other.
Reed Richards and Hank Pym. Reed was how I'd pictured him, wearing the blue bodysuit, a single number four on his chest, a very sophisticated bit of white hair at his cheeks, and a slightly absentminded look.
Hank, in his own red suit, looked a lot more… intense. He had a more muscular build than Reed, but beyond that, he had lighter brown hair, a bit of a five o'clock shadow, and a look that reminded me of… Fitz. He looked like an older, more intense Fitz.
What did that say about my friend?
I looked over at Noa, who seemed very tense all of a sudden. "You okay?"
She didn't offer a response, instead just furrowing her brow and crossing her arms.
Reed came over, a smile on his face. "Jen, good to see you again. Miss Schaefer, I hear good things about you from certain colleagues, Dr. Strange in particular." Then he turned to me, and the polite smile on his face turned genuine. "And you would be the man of the hour!"
"Is this the part where I suddenly reveal this was all a ruse to marry Sue?" I couldn't help but joke. "Seems to happen a lot to you."
"Please no," Noa cut in. "Namor did that in '86, he flooded Manhattan for a week after."
"Mole man tried a couple times," Ben added.
"There was that alien dude, what was his name, with the hair?" Jen asked.
"Oh, and then there was-" Hank was about to say before Reed coughed.
"Anyways!" He continued. "So. You, Mr. Schahed, are what we have been calling a Faller. Someone who has dropped in from a different plane of existence. As much as we've wanted to learn more, we haven't exactly had a Faller willing to come in for some scans, so—"
"Apologies for interrupting, but? Brief pause before you go further." Noa tapped her foot as she looked between Reed and Maria Hill. "A Faller willing to come in. Mr. Richards, how long has this phenomenon been going on?"
Maria looked like she wanted to say something, but Jen's hand on her shoulder shut her up.
"It's a little hard to say," Reed began, scratching at his chin. "I'd say… somewhere between two and four Fallers a year for the last five years?"
"I see." Noa turned her attention on Maria Hill, and walked up to the SHIELD agent. "Five years. SHIELD's had five years to come up with protocol on this, and when you finally decide to have outside counsel come up with protocol, you wait until the one time in the last three years I'm on vacation to shanghai me into this!?"
"..." I looked between Maria and Noa. Ben and Jen were grinning fit to burst while Reed and Hank had very awkward looks on their faces. The SHIELD guys tried to look invisible.
"It… I was ordered to-"
Hank coughed, tapping me on the shoulder. "Mr. Schahed. If you could come this way?"
I was chuckling as I got pulled aside, Reed quickly following. The two geniuses sat me down at a table. I looked around. "So just you two? I thought someone else was supposed to come?"
Reed winced, grabbing a scanner off a nearby table and beginning to run it over my body.. "Um, yes, indeed. Stark was supposed to come, but he is… indisposed."
"He's drunk," Hank snapped.
"Hank…"
"Reed, he's a big boy, he doesn't need you defending him," Hank said. "Tony Stark was supposed to be here. But he decided that getting both drunk and hungover was more productive."
"..." I sighed sadly. "Maybe, cut him some slack."
"Cut him some slack!? That man is one of the greatest geniuses I've ever seen, and he's-"
"Addicted," I snapped. I tried to breathe, pushing down memories of similar conversations. "He's addicted. It's a disease, not something he's trying to do, Dr. Pym. Even ignoring the genetic component, he's someone who needs help. I know what it's like. To have something horrible take control of your own mind, forcing you to do things that you know are destroying you, but still not being able to stop it."
Hank shut his mouth with a snap. He hesitated for a moment, then scowled.
"How about we focus on the problem at hand?"
"Indeed," Reed agreed just a bit too quickly. "Now, Mr. Schahed, you said that your universe has been having trouble with Fallers as well?"
"More like one giant incident with them," I said. "Rio De Janeiro got hit by a Time Quake that ended up pulling people in from all across timeline and from space as well. And ever since then uh…" I tried to remember the science words for it, but it was tough without Jury Rigg's genius intellect. "There's been like, a thinning of the walls between dimensions?"
Reed and Hank stared at me, then shared a significant look.
"Oh no," I mumbled. "Don't tell me-"
"We've been seeing something similar," Reed said, sounding contemplative. "There have always been incidents that proved our universe was connected to others, but my analysis has been that the increase of these incidents in recent years is no coincidence."
"The same thing is happening in the Microverse," Hank said, crossing his arms. "My contacts down there have been talking about intrusions from unknown people, even a portion of an army claiming to work for some kind of Warlord."
"So both of our universes are starting to have thinner walls defending them?"
Reed finished scanning me, and looked at the results. "Most likely from the same source. The energy clinging to you, once I separate it from that device," he gestured to the Omnitrix. "Is something we've been seeing for some time."
"Dr. Strange mentioned it as well. Something about the outer planes losing cohesion?" Hank pointed out. Reed scowled.
"I'm not entirely sure we can take that as evidence."
"Why, because it's magic?"
Reed gave me a look. Sighed. Then looked back at his results. Pym chuckled, shaking his head before speaking. "Finding a way to send you back shouldn't be too hard. The problem of thinning walls is our solution, in this case."
"Can you find my dimension though?" I asked, finally saying what had made me nervous this whole time. "Last time this happened, we couldn't find my last universe."
Hank scratched his chin in thought. "Well if you're doubly a Faller, then we've got no shot of finding your original original. But the one you came from to get here? That's doable."
That was a relief. "Okay. Well, if you guys don't mind, I'll jump in to help as well."
"You will?" Reed asked, brow furrowing. "I mean no disrespect, I did not realize you had any expertise on this beyond your experience."
"I don't. But one of me does." I flipped on the Omnitrix, swapping through the holograms until I landed on my boy. With an immediate press down, my body shifted in blaze of green light.
"JURY RIGG!" I brushed some imaginary dust off my AC/DC shirt and grinned up at them. "Well!? Let's do some science!"
"... Fascinating," Reed mumbled, that absentminded professor look replaced with something almost predatory. Like he wanted to grab the Omnitrix, and didn't much care if I was still attached to it. "If I could get a moment to look at that-"
"Focus, Reed, focus," Hank said, though he looked just as curious. "How smart is this form?"
In answer, I said… okay, I have no clue what I said. I could understand the science of dimensional stuff in the way that any comic nerd does. Jury Rigg, on the other hand, for all his prankster nature, was a scientist.
So when I explained my own theories on the nature of the dimensional walls, it wasn't with metaphor and anecdotal evidence that my human form used, it was with cold heart facts and numbers. Hank's eyes lit up and he made an addendum to my calculations.
Reed corrected him, reminding him of… something?
The experience of trying to remember my own genius words was hard enough without trying to remember everyone else's, damnit! When I was little, I'd read Flowers for Algernon. That fit the situation perfectly. Going from normal, to insanely smart, to normal again.
"Oh god, there's three of 'em," Ben Grimm sighed when he realized what was happening. "Wake me from dis nightmare."
"I think it's kinda cute," Jen said, grinning. "Bruce would love this."
"We don't need your brute of a cousin coming here," Maria squeezed out between hostile lips. "How long will this take?"
"As long as it needs to," Noa snapped. "Ms. Hill, if you have nothing else of value to add, remain quiet. More important people are talking."
"You-" Maria was about to say.
"Coffee!" I shouted, interrupting the argument. "I need coffee! Or energy drinks!"
"Energy what?" Ben said.
"Coffee then! We've got work to do!" I ran over to a pile of metal. "Reed, you using this?"
"I was actually-"
"Great!" I dived in. Within moments, I started pushing things together. Hank walked over. After looking over what I was doing, he shrank down to match me in height and joined in. Reed's limbs soon stretched to join us.
"I guess I'll get coffee," Ben grumbled. "Noa, Jen, you wanna join me? We got a fresh pot."
"May as well," the smaller mutant said with a shrug. "Ben apparently picks good coffee, every rabbi argues over who gets him for weekend services."
"Are you sure it isn't my winning charm and personality?" Ben said with a wink, walking the ladies off.
Maria Hill scowled at them, then at us. Finally she just stood there, arms behind her back and watching closely while we all ignored her. I did note Noa walking off, and a thought came to me. I owed her, right? So…
"One sec," I hopped out of the twisted edifice of metal we were working on. "Gonna work on a side-project."
"Is that the best use of our time?" Hank asked, growing to about ten feet in height to place a portion of our device a bit higher on the edifice.
"It's important!"
Four hours. That's how long we were at it. Reed, Hank, and I had a lot of work to do. While I wasn't knowledgeable on the exact mathematics of it, I understood some of the basics of what we did.
I explained it to Noa at some point while I drank my sixth cup of coffee.
"First, while the energies surrounding me are unique, there is always the possibility that some other version of me went into the universe of a different version of this one. So we need to make sure the universe is exactly the same. Then, we need to make sure you don't get pulled in. And I do mean you, specifically."
"I'm not a Faller, Mahmoud," she said. "I didn't get here the same way you did there, so I doubt it's a risk."
"Well, you did spend the most time with me. There's a low chance that you and I are connected in some way, that the dimensional energy surrounding me latched onto you. So unless you want a vacation in my universe, we have to avoid that. Same with Peter and the others."
"So… in the other room then?" Noa asked.
"At least when it opens. Just to make sure no one gets the succ." I ignored her wince as I chugged my coffee and poured another cup. "We also have to make sure we land on the right time period. Can't send me back too far or forward in the timeline. Landing in the nineties of my universe would be uh…"
"Bad."
"The other thing to worry about. The planes surrounding my universe. That's more your teacher's wheelhouse, but it's something to worry about," I rubbed my long red nose. "I don't want to see Hell. Not again."
"One of those days, huh?" Ben asked, walking over with his pot of coffee. "I've had those. Was it the one with lava, or nightmares of your failures?"
"Lava presided over by Mephisto."
"Oy vey. Yeah, that one sucks."
"These conversations are why Noa doesn't hang out with us," Jen whispered to me, coming up from behind to poke her friend in the side.
"You," she pointed at Ben, "have been an acquaintance at best. And you," she turned to point at Jen, "for all that you've rocketed up my besties list, I've not even known you for a year!"
"So you'll come to my poker game if I invite you?" Ben asked, sounding sincere.
"... that depends," Noa said noncommittally.
I grinned at the way she said that. Big softie. Finishing off my cup, I grabbed another before speaking. "Honestly, that's on the small side of the list of issues we're dealing with. We need to keep people we don't like from reaching back towards us."
"Otherwise, Sue might end up with another suitor," Hank walked over and grabbed his own cup.
"I wish we'd stop joking about that," Reed grumbled, his head and right hand stretching over to drink with us. "It's a real problem! Plus, last time someone wanted to wed her, they nearly sunk all of Manhattan!"
"Wait, wasn't Namor six years ago?" Noa asked.
"He tried again in August of last year," Reed revealed. "After…"
Everybody trailed off, and the collective shudder was all the context I needed.
"How much longer do you have?" Ben asked.
"Not much," Reed said. He frowned. "We're getting some sort of interference. I'm trying to-"
"Holy shit!" I snapped to my feet, an idea flooding me. "The interference! I know what it is!"
I chugged my coffee and hopped off the table, running my short ass over to the device we'd built. It had become a large white-blue ring about as tall as Ben, with a computer console on the left side of it. I began typing at it, Reed and Hank joining me moments later.
"What is it?" Reed asked. "I assumed it was some other universe, possibly-"
"Maybe it's a different traveler?" Hank asked.
"You're both right!" I shouted excitedly. "We're reaching out for my universe, right? Well, why wouldn't my universe be reaching back?"
"Your Avengers," Hank said, immediately understanding. "They're doing what we are, but from the other side."
"What, like two cars going opposite directions on the same road?" Ben asked.
"Exactly!" I pointed at him while I continued to type. I hesitated briefly when I hit a more challenging equation. Reed stepped in, easily taking over. I ran to the portal and ripped out a section. After grinding it between my teeth to adjust it, I placed it back. Hank shrank down to about an inch, hopping into the machine.
"Are you telling me another universe is attempting to make an incursion into ours?" Maria's very annoying voice cut in. "Because if so, we'll need to-"
"It's not an incursion, it's a rescue attempt!" I shouted, running over to grab at Ben's trunks. "Sorry, need this."
"Need wha-" Ben then cut himself off when I ripped off a portion of his pants, the bottom inch or so. I did the same to Noa's skirt before she could stop me, rushing back to the device. "I'll pay you back!"
"Wha- you- this was a two hundred dollar skirt, you jackass!"
"It's for a good cause, I swear! Universe things happening, can't talk! Reed?"
"There, and there," Reed pointed at the necessary sections. I placed Ben and Noa's stolen fabric as needed. If it worked, the energy pulsing through the machine would get diverted by the cloth without needing to interfere with the wires. I spat on them for luck and hopped off.
"What are you even doing?" Jen asked, befuddled.
"They're reaching for us. So instead of trying to reach back, we're going to pull," I explained quickly. "If I'm right, they'll figure out what we're doing and go with the flow."
"And if your folks try the same thing?" Ben asked.
"..."
Ben facepalmed, rubbing his cheeks with a sound of rock grinding. "Oy vey."
We waited for a moment, Reed typing, Hank hopping out of the machine to grow to normal size and help him, while I kept an eye for any changes that needed to be done. It was a tense couple of minutes. I looked over at Maria Hill and noticed that her SHIELD guys had guns pointed at the portal.
"...Hostility aside, if something comes out of there that can somehow take down Ben or Jen, what would be the point of that?"
As the SHIELD guys tried not to feel ridiculous. Maria Hill ignored me. I chuckled. God, she really hated superhumans, huh?
"Okay, they listened to us," Reed said. He stretched a single limb across the room, his left arm, and grabbed a bulky hunk of plastic that was probably the 90's equivalent of a tablet, bringing it back to hook it up to the console. "I'm going to download the control program. Everyone else should head into the viewing room."
"Unless you want to get sucked into another dimension," I quipped as I ran.
"That's more of a weekend thing for us," Ben said, opening the doors to the viewing room and waving us all in. Hank was the last one, joining us at the window. Moments later, Reed slipped in, holding that big ass tablet. "All good, stretch?"
"I believe so!" Reed said, sounding exhilarated. "Ben, these readings confirm so many of our theories! I could solve so many problems, including energy consumption of-"
"Focus, Reed," Hank said firmly. He kept his eyes on the portal. When a flash of green happened next to him, he looked over at me. Then up at me.
In Four Arms form, I clenched tightly to the floor. I looked at him.
"Look, last time I got pulled into another dimension on accident. I just want to make sure this time will be on purpose!"
Ben noticeably shifted in front of Noa, Jen joining him. Maria looked around, then hesitantly stepped behind me.
"This is so exciting!" Reed said, not noticing our nervousness. "Okay! Connection established! Portal opening! In three! Two! On-"
Blue light tinged in red fire erupted from the ring structure. I clenched the floor harder, trying to keep my eyes on the light. From it, a single long tendril appeared. I almost panicked before I realized it was made of metal.
A violet heel stepped out from the portal. She came out with a flip of her long hair, bright eyes landing on me.
"Fantasma!" I shouted, relief filling me like water after a long day.
"Weapons up!" Maria shouted. "Enemy combatants-"
"Stop, stop, it's my Fantasma, not yours," I shouted, moving towards the door.
"She's a Russian supervillain!" Maria sputtered.
"Not for him," Hank followed after me.
I ran up to Fantasma and wrapped her up in a hug, the tiny witch giggling as I lifted her up. "It's good to see you too, Dial. We missed you."
"Same for me," I placed her down, looking behind her. A long metal tentacle came forth. Then another. Then two more. At the end of them, Dr. Otto Octavius popped forth, a nervous look on his face. He looked around, then smiled when he noticed me. "Ah, young Dial! It's good to see you again!"
Otto… had his arms. I mean, I'd expected it to happen eventually, but this was something else. I hid my surprise and just nodded amicably at him.
The others joined us, various looks of surprise on their faces.
"... I'm sorry," Noa asked. "But is, is that Dr. Octavius?"
"Ah, yes, I am at that," he adjusted his glasses and stepped forward, holding a hand out to Noa. "And who might you be, young lady?"
"Another witch?" Fantasma asked, eyeing Noa curiously. "I can sense-"
"No, no!" Noa waved her hands placatingly. "I'm nobody important, honest. Just… don't mind me, really."
"How funny," Fury stepped out of the portal, his single eye looking everyone over. "I've never met anyone who wasn't important before. Dial."
"Fury," I said with a nod.
"FURY!?" Hank, Ben, and Maria said unison.
"Problem?" Fury asked, smirking.
"You're… well-"
"Oh, that's right!" Noa said, suddenly smirking. "Maria, you've never met Fury's nephew, have you? Well, I guess he just doesn't trust you enough for that, now does he?"
"Nephew?" Fury looked over at me questioningly, even as Maria Hill gave a look like she'd bitten down on a rotten lemon.
"Their Fury is white, and his adoptive nephew is, well." I waved in Fury's general direction.
"Huh. That would have been interesting to see," Fury looked over the group. "So. Looks like you've made some friends."
"Sadly, we will have to make this meeting short," Dr. Octavius said sadly. "The portal isn't stable. At most it will hold for-"
"Ten minutes," Reed said, just as sadly. "What a shame. I would have loved to discuss your methodology."
"As would I!" Otto said, moving over to him and Pym. "I'm afraid that BRIDGE isn't allowing me to send data over this portal, but I did wonder-"
"I'd also like to know-" Hank was about to say.
"Stop!" Fury shut them down, raising a hand. "Cut it short before X comes running in-"
"Already here, sir," X poked his head through the portal. He looked around briefly. "We'll need to get moving. Good to see you again, pardner."
"A… cowboy robot?" Hank asked.
"Fascinating!"
"Just leave!" Maria shouted, losing her temper. "Now!"
"...Our Maria is better, huh?" Fury noted.
"Trust me, your Maria can't possibly be as awful as she is," Noa snarked.
"All right. We'll get out your hair. Say your goodbye's, Dial."
I looked over the group. After a moment, I tapped the Omnitrix, shifting back to human form and walking over to Noa. "Hey. Thanks for taking me in. I know it was annoying, but… I had fun. You're pretty cool, Noa."
"... oh, come here, you." The tiny lawyer swept in for a hug, my back stiffening briefly before I laughed and returned it.
"You big softie," I rubbed her back, chuckling. Then I leaned into her…horn? Horn. No ears. That was still weird, even for a guy who turned into aliens. "That big box, in the corner? That's yours. Just have Reed send it to you. Provides perfect restful 8 hour sleep in only ten minutes."
"You magnificent bastard, if you were a woman I'd kiss you."
"I'll let you know if I unlock an Asari form," I pulled away, smiling. "Hopefully, if we do meet again, it'll be easier on you… Stay safe, Noa."
"You too, Mahmoud. Best you can, anyway."
"I'll avoid dropping into other dimensions," I looked over at Jen. "See you on the other side?"
"I will," she smirked. "Too bad you weren't willing to-"
"Don't even start," Ben tapped her head, getting a good natured punch in the side in turn.
"Reed, Hank, good working with you. Hill, kiss my ass."
"Just. Leave." Maria hissed angrily.
"It was lovely to meet you all!" Fantasma said, hopping back into the portal.
"I hope one day we can have an exchange of sorts!" Otto said, shaking his fellow scientists' hands.
"As do I!" Reed said. "I'm afraid my universe's version of you has been less than amicable, to say the least."
"I suppose I am the nervous sort."
"Not really the issue," Hank mumbled.
"Last train out, people," X shouted, popping his head back in.
Fury walked up to Hill. He looked over. Her back straightened. Finally he took a piece of paper out and handed it to her, turning and walking back into the portal. She put it away without looking at it.
"... Really hope that doesn't have unintended consequences." I walked up to the portal and looked back. Noa and I met eyes. I gave her a smile, she gave me a wave, then I fell backwards.
Through a waterfall of colors and waves of energy, I fell backwards. When I came out the other side, a pair of green limbs, one feminine, the other masculine, grabbed a hold of me, yanking me out and onto familiar floor.
I looked around, falling to my knees.
"...Guys."
All of them. Jen, Tony, Thor, Hulk, Sam, Creel, literally all of my friends, were standing around the room, Steve stepping forward with Sam as Jen and Hulk helped me up. Steve patted my shoulder, looking relieved.
"Welcome home."
"Good to be-URK!" Jen pulled me in, and suddenly I had an eight-foot Amazoness trying to pull my soul out through my mouth.
Sam watched as I struggled. "Well, I ain't gonna beat that hello."
Thor laughed, patting me on the back, and the floodgates opened. I pulled back from Jen, smiling brightly at her, then looked around, unable to hold back the tears as the portal closed behind us.
July 23rd, 2014
"So wait, you didn't even get to meet me?" Tony said later, sounding annoyed. "That's bullshit! You met Steve!"
"For like five seconds," I said. I was sitting on the couch next to Jen and Creel, who had Izzy in his lap. Everyone else was gathered around us to hear about what I'd gone through, and we'd gotten to the big part. What their counterparts were like.
"Better than nothing!" Tony crossed his arms, sighing. "He was too drunk and hungover to meet? That's just-"
"Like the way you used to be?" Rhodey pointed out. When Tony glared at him, Rhodey shrugged. "Hey, you're way better now, but I used to wait hours for your hungover ass to show up places."
"Well I never skipped out on science," Tony grumbled.
"You met me though?" Pietro asked, sounding excited. He'd rushed over the second Wanda told him about what happened, and was now sitting with his sister.
"Yeah. During that whole… Nazi scientist continuing his experiments, thing. Which-"
"Already taken care of," Maria, arm in arm with Sam, said with a sad look on her face. "He's arrested and his surviving subjects were taken in."
"Jesus," Steve mumbled, sounding horrified. "I was hoping that was only in the other universe."
"We have a lot more in common than I'd like," I mumbled. "I did manage to share about some of our own problems. Like the SRA… Okay, what the fuck?"
I looked around. There was a set of very uncomfortable looks on everyone's faces. Jen rubbed the back of her head, her curly hair bouncing with the movement. She finally spoke.
"We uh… wanted to wait. To tell you. There's been some developments."
Maria rubbed her forehead. Tony and Steve had twin looks of exhaustion. And Hulk, with all his bulk taking up most of the space in the room, sipped at the blender cup he was drinking from.
"Bad things," Hulk said wisely.
I took a moment to consider the implications of that.
"...Fuuuuuuuc-"
Author's Note: I always like when the world continues to change even while the protag is away, and this is part of that. From here, things get a might bit political, but first, a small mission where Dial gets back into the groove of things.
It's MOSTLY done, but I want to make sure that chapter looks good. For now, have a good one folks.