Heroes Uprising Part 5

Emmet was floating cross legged in the air above his office desk, his mind connected to the universe as he planned for any possible ways this war with Godric could go, as well as trying to peer into the future. Below him Jonathan was showing Christian the blue prints to the next mech he was planning to make.

" And he's where the nuclear reactor, hmm I wonder if I can fit in three "

" Three! One sounds dangerous enough, but three? "

" How else am I gonna power the neutron giga cannon? "

"......... "

Suddenly a knock came at the door, Jonathon sniffed the air and caught Genesis's scent. The door opened automatically before Genesis could knock again. He took a cautious step into the room, before he found himself floating into the air where he stopped in front of Emmet.

" Ah, it is time for your lessons "

" Yeah, but now isnt reall the time for that, with Godric and everything "

" Not true my Genesis, it makes it more important to help one of our fighters get ready "

"...........Can I really be called that though? "

Emmet opened his eyes and smiled at Genesis " I can see many of you beginning to doubt yourselves and your powers. Which is why special lessons have been prepared " He was happy to see that Tanesha's was going well " Genesis, you are far more powerful then you give yourself credit. Your power, lore manifestation is exceptionally rare, you can pluck characters from hisory and imbue them with powers tailored to them, most impressive indeed "

Genesis looked down " Not really, if I can't even stand at the front line, what good are my conjurings......i'm not a real mage......But, I dont want that to stop me, not anymore "

The scene shifted suddenly and Genesis found himself in a stadium, He looked and found it to be empty. Save for Jonathan and Christian, both smiling at him, threateningly. Emmet lightly touched his soldier " Someone as mature and intelligent as you should see whats going to happen "

Genesis nodded, frowning a little " I have to survive a fight with these two "

" Incorrect, you have to defeat them, doing so will unlock your true potential "

Jonathan slipped into his humanoid wolf man form and Christian's marks began glowing as he powered up. Genesis gulped but quickly shook his head, no he could do this, Emmet said so. He would never say this out loud, but he trusted Emmet more then he had anyone before, he could feel that he trully cared and had his best interest at heart. Emmet hugged him and teleported off. Genesis took a deep breath and the battle began.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Mien moved them to the arena that Tanesha and Riku were. The two of them were sitting in the stands looking at a video on Riku's phone.

Riku: Ok, so then the fifth guy shoved his dick in this cool spin trick

Tanesha: Bitch how the hell were your insides still intact?

Riku: Well one of my hearts may have switched places with my spleen but the orgasms were great

"Seems you girls are having fun." Sandra commented having coming in on the end of the conversation. Sandra quickly materialized a makeshift bed and gently floated Tanesha over over to her, laying her down. Confused Tanesha questioned Sandra. "Just get comfy babe and relax your mind, I'm going to prepare you to face Godric."

Tanesha did as told, she laid back and relaxed herself and Sandra got to work. Sandra quickly found that Tanesha already had some level of protection, maybe set in place by Riku or Emmet. However that being said, Sandra could make them stronger. Sandra worked fast placing strong psychic barriers on Tanesha's mind.

"And your done." Sandra said as Tani stood up. Tenesha asked Sandra what she did. "I increased your resistance to psychic attacks. At this stage very few telepathics will be able to take you down. SXM's Psych is one of the strongest telepathic minds around outside people like myself, and even he will have a extremely difficult task to get into your head now. However I'll be honest, Godric could still be a threat as the Goblin's power runs deeper then the Phoenix. But still, if he's to get into your head then he'll have to work for it."

Sandra gave Tanesha a smile. "Also congratulations on the power increase. Very impressive."

Just then Katy arrived on invitation from Sandra who took Katy though the same experience as Tanesha, greatly boosting her psychic resistance as well. Once done the bed vanished and Sandra introduced her friend. "Tanesha, Riku. I'm sure you've seen this lovely lady occasionally around before. Katy will be joining us in battle against Godric." The bed vanished as soon as Katy stood. Sandra didn't really need it to be truthful, she just wanted her friend/girlfriend to be relaxed and figured that was the best way.

Alternate Earth

Present Day


In Detroit, Michigan, there was much panic as an alarm began blaring from the First National Bank. A man of average height but definitely not average appearance was robbing the bank of all of its cash and valuables. His name was Mr. Cold, and his skin was a light blue due to the fact that he was using his powers. His hair, normally brown, was tinted bluish and spiked up to look like tiny ice stalagmites. He was stuffing the money into a large brown sack, which was a total cliche but got the job done. When he reached the safety deposit boxes, it was a simple matter to ice over the inner workings of the locks and pull them open.

Mr. Cold had just emptied the bank of all of its valuables when he felt a tremendous earthquake move through the building and almost knock him to the ground. Every supervillain in Michigan, particularly Detroit, knew that such an event was the calling card of the superhero Crusader. He had not operated in this area very long, but his intense power and merciless martial arts techniques had put many a supervillain behind bars. Knowing that it would be futile to run, Mr. Cold set down his bag of valuables and prepared himself for battle. Within moments, a six foot man clad from head-to-toe in black and gold armor with a silver face stepped through the vault doorway. Seeing him in full armor reminded Mr. Cold of Crusader's other name, the Knight of Valor.

Not hesitating a second, Mr. Cold began spraying Crusader with ice, attempting to freeze him solid before he could make a move against him. Surprisingly, the hero put up no resistance and was completely encased in ice within two minutes. When Mr. Cold let off on the ice, he was amazed that his strategy had worked so well. After the initial shock wore off, he began to feel jubilant.
"Yeah, take that, Crusader! I knew you weren't as tough as everyone said you were!"

Mr. Cold picked up his bag and was getting ready to stroll out of the bank when something strange began to happen to the hero-cicle. The ice started melting in spots, and where it melted, a bright white light began to shoot from it like a laser. A minute later the ice shattered completely as Crusader stood there unperturbed, shining briefly with a white aura before it died down. Mr. Cold's jaw dropped open, and he barely perceived the change in color from black and gold to red and gold on Crusader's right gauntlet.
"Give it up and come quietly," he said in a strong, masculine voice.
"Never!" Mr. Cold spat as he began blasting him with ice once more.

This time, however, Crusader was not going to let him freeze him solid. He had hoped that escaping from being encased in ice would be enough of an intimidation tactic to convince Mr. Cold to give up, but his foe was either too greedy or too stupid to realize that he was no match for him. Crusader raised his right gauntlet, which was shining with blinding white light. A blast emitted from his gauntlet that cut through the ice blasts and struck Mr. Cold square in the face. The Shining Fist of Valor, Crusader's best distance attack, threw Mr. Cold into the back vault wall before he collapsed to the ground. The concussive force of the blast had rendered his opponent harmless enough that he could arrest him, and Scott picked him up by the arm and back of the neck before marching him out the front door of the bank.

By then the police had arrived along with a squad for dealing with super powered individuals. Cuffs designed to suppress his powers were slapped on Mr. Cold, and he was placed in the back of the vehicle.
"I'll get you for this, Crusader! Just wait and see!"
The doors were shut and the vehicle drove off to a local prison for supervillains. Crusader turned and walked away, never one to get involved with the media or chat with local authorities.

Once he was a safe distance away, the armor dissipated to reveal a young man with brown hair and brown eyes. He was dressed like any average joe, although his physique would suggest that of an athlete. Scott Young's eyes were shining bright at the latest defeat of a supervillain, and he turned his attention to the alien soul that was living within his body and giving him his powers.
Our teamwork was flawless as ever, Valor.
Indeed, though I think we could have gone with something less flashy than the Shining Fist.
That was fun, though.
Valor sighed and Scott laughed, their views on combat usually at odds in philosophy but always in sync when it came to battle. Thanks to their combined efforts, Detroit was safe for another day.

Tanesha smiled, a little embarassed, but happy to hear Sandra's praise. It meant a lot to her to hear it from one of the strongest people on the planet, she couldnt wait to tell Roberta too, maybe they could all train together, Tanesha had no intentions to stop now. Riku stood, handing his phone over to Mien so she could keep watching his video, and walked over to Katy " Yeah weve met a few times, through asinine occurances but I believe this is the first officially met, Riku Darkholme, resident badass demon mage "

"pleasure. Katy Kharma. So, Darkholme is it. I believe I've heard that name before from Ms. Parker." (Amber))

Mien seemed preoccupied for the moment and and it seemed Katy was going to strike up a conversation with Riku. Sandra went over to her girlfriend. "Hey Tani if you ever feel like putting your new powers through their paces, I'll be proud to test your new limits with you." Sandra didn't even need telepathic powers to know Tani would want to start training this new power right away.

Sandra opened up a telepathic connection to Tani. "Hey Tani, I want to ask you privately. What do you think of Katy? Tanesha started replying with a "any friend of yours is a friend of mine" type of response but Sandra cut her short. No no no babe. I mean what do you really think of Katy. Cute isn't she? A great body, exotic blue hair, lovely eyes. Would you not agree?

Tani was surprised by Sandra's comment but agreed that yea, the girl was hot.

You know all her life Katy has been on the straight side of things, much like myself. And like myself, she hasn't had the best of luck with the men. At least all my marriage was doing was making both myself and Dave miserable. But Katy, her former boyfriend has tried to murder her in the past. The guy was rotten when SXM found him, but sweet Katy loves to find the good in people and with much work, turned the guy good. Or so she had thought anyway. But it seems all the guy did was spend years playing Katy as a fool, he was a good guy just so SXM would protect him. But then he got hold to a small fraction of the Phoenix Force and his true colors emerged again. I guess there is just no changing a Crosby. All I can say is that bastard Troy better keep his distance from me for hurting my girl like that.

Anyway, I know this is sudden but, to get to the point. I'm the Phoenix and I'm a natural telepath, I can be quite persuasive when I want to be. So I have a proposal. You, me, Katy. Hell lets bring Roberta if she's interested, make it a 4-Way. I'd like to give Katy a opportunity and nudge her into overcoming her fears, to show her she doesn't need a man to find love. Heck who knows, if all goes well it's not impossible she might wind up joining the 3 of permanently. But, lets take it one step at a time. Katy may be a long time friend of mine but I'm fully aware you and Roberta don't know her so well.

So, how do you feel about this?

Alternate Earth

Four years prior to Scott's battle with Mr. Cold. Manhattan, New York during the invasion of the alien Grymwar, 18-year-old Scott Young rushed from the Shadowgreen Institute in Nice, France to confront the threat he had been training to defeat for the last 4 1/2 years.


Scott sprinted from the airport, his eyes on fire with determination as he desperately tried to make his way through the crowd of onlookers. However, they were all pressed around, and there was no easy way he was going to get through without hurting someone. He directed his thoughts toward his right arm, and Valor materialized there. This drew the attention of some in the crowd, but he had no time to worry about that. He punched the ground and shot upward, covering his head with Valor Armor as well to avoid cracking his skull on the roof. Once he had punched through, he armored his feet so that he could jump off harmlessly and continued sprinting toward the city center.

Along the way, he had willed on the rest of his armor, trying to focus on getting to his enemies and not on the carnage he saw along the way. Overturned cars, destroyed buildings, and dead and maimed people were everywhere, proof of the ruthlessness of the enemy. The Grymwar had begun their savage invasion, and they would spare no one who got in their way. There was no way that he could let this continue, and as Scott ran down Broadway, he was amazed by what he saw. The mothership was so gigantic that it was the size of an entire borough, and he couldn't believe the scale of the invasion. He turned his attention to down the street as he got his first glimpses of his enemies.

The Grymwar were absolutely huge, standing at eight feet and wide like professional bodybuilders. They were brimming with muscle and scales that he could tell would make them extremely hard to hurt. They were different shades of yellow and gray on their bodies, seeming to undulate in the light while they moved forward. As they got closer, he could see slightly-raised spikes brimming over their bodies, which not only provided an extra layer of defense, but also meant that having any kind of contact with their bodies could slice you open. Their faces were twisted into ugly grins, revealing an entire mouth of sharp teeth. It was clear that evolution had picked them to be the apex predator in close combat, and he was thankful that his Valor Armor would protect him from their weapons and allow him to strike with something that could shatter even their hardest of natural armor.

Scott decided that it would not be best to allow them to make the first strike, and drew back his left leg to stomp it on the ground and send out a small quake that lifted a car a couple inches. His other foot was pointed forward, and he raised his fists in a Muay Thai fighting stance, his left fist pointed toward the Grymwar a short distance away from his face. He had his right fist higher and pointed upward before he brought it down into the same position as his left in a nonverbal fighting challenge. The Grymwar laughed at his antics, not put off by his armor or movements due to their supreme confidence in their own combat ability. The lead Grymwar foot soldier knocked a car out of his way with a back-fist strike like it was a toy, and they continued forward in a march they believed could not be stopped. They were wrong in this assumption.

In the brief time that Scott had been obscured from view by the car, he had covered the remaining distance between them. From here, he executed a back kick, an outward kick from his right leg while his upper body went backwards and turned to the left, that caught the lead Grymwar directly in the chest. The power was too much even for this being, and he flew backwards, hitting the Grymwar soldier directly behind him and knocking him hard to the ground. The one who had received the kick flew backwards into a burning building, which then collapsed on top of him. Scott saw the third Grymwar to his immediate right throw a punch at him, which he evaded with a hop that led into a pivot on his leg. As he came back around, he swept the fourth Grymwar's legs out from under him and came back around with a snap kick, a kick launched from a bent knee in front of his upper body, that landed under the chin of the Grymwar soldier that had thrown a punch at him, lifting him off of his feet and causing him to hit the ground on his back.

Scott saw that the second Grymwar knocked down by his buddy's momentum was getting up, and Scott lifted his leg to land an ax-kick, or kick that came downward from his leg being completely vertical, on its face. However, the Grymwar blocked the kick by crossing its arms and pushed back, which caused him to have to pull back his leg and reapply his right stance to avoid being knocked off balance. His savage opponent got to his feet and launched himself at him, intending to try and tear his head off with his hands. Scott countered with a left uppercut that pushed the left side of his opponent's jaw up and a spinning kick, a kick delivered after a complete left rotation of his body, across the opposite jaw with such speed that it was a flawless combination attack. By this time, his other opponents were also rising, and he hit them harder with similar combination attacks. However, even from fists and feet harder than diamonds, Scott could not keep his opponents down no matter what techniques he used.

The three Grymwar stood there amused, having lost some teeth and scales, but not suffering much real damage.
"This is the mightiest weapon of the Kasha?" one of them laughed in an ugly voice brimming with pride.
"No weapons are mightier than those used by the Grymwar! We are the most powerful race in all of existence! Even armored with a Voltari, your pathetic human body can never rival our bodies! Even the weakest of the Grymwar are more powerful than the strongest warriors of other races!"

Scott was ready to shut this egomaniac up for good. His right fist alone glowed with the white-colored energy that represented the true power caused by his union with Valor.
"I don't know your name, but you talk too much."
In a second, he lashed out with a Fist of Valor in the style of a Karate punch, a punch delivered from the hip that rotated 180 degrees, which landed flush and completely destroyed the head of his opponent. Before the other two could fully comprehend the shock of seeing their friend die before their eyes, he coated his right foot in Valor energy and threw a powerful Jeet Kune Do style kick at his opponents. The entire kick destroyed both of their heads as it passed through them, and Scott used the momentum to spin around and return to a regular standing position as his opponents bled out at his feet.

In martial arts tradition, Scott dropped fluidly to both knees, put both hands up like he was praying, and closed his eyes before bowing his head in prayer. This was an ancient symbol of paying tribute to those killed or defeated by the martial artist, wishing them peace and change in their hearts, either in this world or the one beyond. Rising up with his pants stained by the blue Grymwar blood, he began running all-out to try and get to the mothership. Having deduced that their weak point was the head, Scott killed any enemy he came across with a Valor-charged strike to the head. With his armor protecting him from their spikes and teeth, it had become an even playing field where skill was the determining factor. Though their fighting experience probably equaled or exceeded his, depending on their lifespan, his total knowledge, training, skill, and close bond with Valor gave him the advantage he needed to try and turn back this invasion.

Scott continued sprinting toward the mothership, moving with fluid grace down the ruined streets of Manhattan. His only thought was that if he could destroy it, he could end the invasion and mop up the Grymwar that were left. He coated his entire arm in Valor energy and slammed his fist into the ground, rocketing toward the ship after leaving a huge crater behind him. However, as he got closer, he saw that there were several thousand smaller ships defending it. They moved to intercept him, and he felt great impact as the tip of a space ship slammed into his stomach. He was thankful that he had Valor Armor or he would have been cut in half.

Deducing that the ships themselves would be a path to the mothership, Scott pulled himself onto the ship by doing a handstand and then launched himself feet-first toward the cockpit. His feet easily went through the alien glass and knocked out the pilot after they collided with his head. Scott then launched himself off of the pilot's chest and soared gracefully through the air to land on ship after ship. Thrown off by such an unorthodox strategy, the Grymwar were having trouble adapting to it. They shot down their fellow pilots and crashed into each other as they tried to stop him. Scott was almost to the mothership when they finally changed tactics to try and halt his advance.

Several of the ships got together and fired the most powerful blasts from their forward-mounted lasers. They hit Scott dead-on, but had no effect on his armor.
"Come on, guys, even Shell-Shock used to hit me harder than that!"
He flew toward them in a streamlined fashion, like he had been fired from a cannon. When he was close enough, he raised his right arm that was glowing and grinned behind his face protector.
"Shockwave of Valor!"

A powerful ring of white energy emanated from him and destroyed every spaceship surrounding the mothership. As a nice side benefit, it had destroyed every gun on the side of the mothership that he was going to make entry on. He crashed through the outside wall and rolled on the floor to reduce momentum, pressing his hands against the wall on the other side to prevent himself from going straight through.
"Whoo, what a rush!"
Yes, that was what you would call 'sweet'.
An alarm began sounding on the ship, alerting the onboard defenders to an intruder.

"Ah, the welcome party is on its way. Let's not keep them waiting."
The first defender that appeared caused Scott to drop his shoulder and lash out with a roundhouse kick to the left side of the head that put him through the wall to cause him to hopefully fall to his death, an example of Muay Thai's brutal power. He saw more coming as he used the momentum from the kick to return to a normal stance. He ran at them and stopped when he was in range for his attack. Using his right leg, he swept the legs of the first Grymwar out from under him and moved into a side stance as his opponent's body went sideways in mid-air.

From here, he launched himself forward off of his back foot to execute a textbook perfect Karate flying front kick. This effectively used his opponent as a cannonball against the others coming up behind him. Before they could stand up to continue the fight, Scott extended his fist.
"I'd love to keep playing with you guys, but I've got a planet to save."
He unleashed a Shockwave of Valor that effectively cut the massive ship in half. As the half he was in started to fall to the ground, Scott punched a hole through the top as he went up with an uppercut.

"Let's cut this thing down to size!"
Scott's arms began to glow and he began to breathe in deeply.
"Million Punches of Valor!"
His fists began to fly like crazy as he moved along the ship's length, smashing it literally to pieces. The rubble fell from the sky and began to crush cars, buildings, and unsuspecting Grymwar soldiers on the ground below. His last right punch delivered with a kiai, or shout, finished the destruction and launched him back toward the half of the ship that was still airborne.

As he sailed over the ship, he saw a hole on the roof that led into the cockpit. Scott landed perfectly through it and caught the pilot completely off-guard. He encased his entire arm in energy and launched a Fist of Valor strike powerful enough to not only completely destroy his upper torso, but destroy the entire front of the ship, including the control systems. Scott saw a golden staff come flying at his head out of the corner of his eye, and ducked the blow before jumping to tackle his attacker through the wall. Scott encased his fist in energy to destroy this Grymwar's head, but the energy from his fist was pushed back as his enemy raised the golden staff and it glowed with red energy. When his enemy quickly whipped the staff to the right, Scott was shocked to see that the Valor Armor had been ripped completely off of his right arm.

The surprise left him vulnerable to a punch to the face that separated him from the Grymwar. Quickly reapplying armor to that arm, he silently reminded himself that he could only do that eight more times on that arm today. His opponent made no effort to right himself from his fall, hitting the ground at high speed and creating a crater. Scott did an aerial front-flip in the air to orient himself and landed in a ninja crouch that left a smaller crater.
"That must be the Grymwar chieftain," he said, his face growing hard and determined.
Yes, Valor replied, let's kill him and finish this.

Tanesha froze when Sandra mentioned the name Troy, it all of her mental effort to lock down all of her memories of him. It could only be him, she'd seen him a few times during the last incidents that had cropped up. Thankfully things had been so crazy that there hadnt been a chance for them to meet face to face, part of her doubted he even remembered her and honestly that was for the best, given how everything went down. She looked at Katy in a new light now, she'd been with the guy too? It seems like she hadnt come out of it unscathed either, Troy did that to people.

She'd gottens sidetracked and almost forgot what they'd originally been talking about " Hmm, I'm all for group play, dunno about opening the relationship for a fourth, we'd need to have a long talk with Roberta about it, as for Katy, hmm I say we gradually broach the idea to her. Great telepath or no, it's never a good idea to mess with your friends mind " Tanesha spoke with a dgree of experience, as well as a bunch of stories about love potions and other things she'd heard from Riku that had gone horribly wrong, more so in the cases that he caused " Katy's your best friend so lets be gentle with her, who knows, maybe it's something she'd be open too "

Kaiser appeared through a door that Riku had set up, in full ninja gear. He nodded at Katy in greeting and started walking towards the arena floor. Riku clapped suddenly " Oh right, if your gonna fight with us " he grinned broadly as music started playing " Gotta go through the initiation, as you probably already know, Queen Goddess(Emmet) is supremely musically inclined, he deviced this game called " stylish battle, it's pretty simple " he led Katy down to the arena where Kaiser was already standing as enemies started manifesting. Zombie soldiers courtesy of Jericho, wielding an assortment of weapons.


Kaiser dropped into a stance/struck a pose, a scoreboard lit up overhead, reading 50 points.

" Simply dispatch the horde, while being as stylish and looking cool as possible, campy as hell I know, but it's fun as fuck too, just watch ninja boy "

Kaiser vanished and appeared mid air above the enemies,his arms crossed and shuriken in hand. Charging them with chi, he loosened them and watched as they tore through a few of the zombies. He landed in another pose, gaining 60 points this time.In a flurish of hand movements, a katana appeared in his hands. He Dashed forward, engaging a different zombie at each passing moment, his movements were smooth and his footwork was quite fancy as he danced around and continued wracking up points.

" Trie to get as high a score as possible, Emmet hands out prizes and stuff like that, other then that, lets rock! "

Riku snapped his fingers in time with the music, Yori appearing beside him with some shades on, the two danced around, clasping hands and Yori shifting into his sword form. Riku twirled, charging up energy and slashing in time with the music perfect, gaining 100 points.

Alternate Earth

Four Years Ago, the epic conclusion of the battle between Crusader and the Grymwar in Manhattan, New York.


As Scott was getting to his feet, the Grymwar Chieftain stepped out of the crater. He had the same yellow-gray coloration across his body as the other Grymwar, although parts of his entire body were covered in red-colored tribal symbols that hearkened back to a prehistoric history on the Planet Grym. He was taller than the other Grymwar, standing at ten feet, had taller raised spikes, and was even more muscular than them. In his right hand he clutched a golden staff with red jewels inlaid at each tip, not just a symbol of office, but a weapon capable of removing his Voltari armor! The creature smiled fiendishly, its eyes filled with pride. It opened its mouth to speak, paused, and then opened it again.

"I don't like using the filthy language of the conquered, so I will only say that your planet is mine and if you oppose me, you will die!"
The Grymwar Chieftain's command of English was very rough but understandable. Scott got back into his fighting stance.
"Before we begin, at least tell me your name. I don't want to kill a worthy opponent and not know his name."
The creature let out a menacing laugh.

"I am Dulzak, Chieftain of the Grymwar and Keeper of the Blood Magic. Now die!"
Taking his staff in both hands, Dulzak began closing the distance and swung his staff like a baseball player trying to hit a home run. Scott ducked under it and leaped at his opponent, throwing a Fist of Valor aimed at his face.
"Nice try, but your technique is sloppy!"
Scott's fist was thrown off by the staff coming back in a second swing and colliding with his armor, so he had not even grazed Dulzak with his attack.

Scott went for a one-legged sweep with his right leg, but suddenly felt the staff jabbing into his stomach. In the time between when he had missed the initial punch and when he was going to try a new attack, Dulzak had stepped back into a side stance and struck with the tip of the staff. Since it was glowing, it had removed the armor where it had touched and had been stopped only by his stomach muscle, which was slightly burned. Seeing that Dulzak was going to attempt to run him through with it, Scott quickly regained the breath that had been knocked out of him and jumped back, while at the same time, the staff glowed again and Dulzak pulled up, cleaving a straight line of the armor off up to the top of his head. Scott had escaped further injury, but was more vulnerable now that he could now feel the wind on his skin. Reapplying the armor, Scott had further depleted his Valor manifestations, and that was not good.

Scott tried to gather his thoughts as he avoided further strikes from Dulzak's staff. Whatever this Blood Magic was, it was able to slice through his Valor Armor when it glowed like a hot knife through butter. Counterattacks on Dulzak were a waste of time, as the staff had a reach longer than he could counter. His only way to overcome this disadvantage would be to disarm Dulzak, either by taking the staff or destroying it. When the next attack came in, he grabbed the staff in the middle with both hands, out of range of the glowing jewels. Using his enhanced strength, he gripped it and then snapped it in half like a twig.

Following up this victory, Scott encased both hands in Valor aura and aimed two punches at the jewels at both ends at the same time.
"Double Fists of Valor!"
The jewels began to glow and the red energy began pushing his fists back while also stripping them of armor. Scott encased his hands in Valor aura to protect them, trying with everything he had to push through the barrier and destroy those jewels. Suddenly, Dulzak smacked him across the face with the right half of the staff, destroying the entire lower half of his face protection. The left half of the staff came up like an uppercut, knocking him into the air and onto his back a good ten feet away.

Dulzak turned his attention to the staff and held both broken ends against one another. After a few seconds, a red string-like energy began appearing between them, getting thicker until the staff became almost magnetized together, locking back into one staff. The Grymwar chieftain planted his staff beside him with one hand like a conqueror planting a flag and sneered at Scott.
"Had enough yet, wielder of Voltari? Like all the rest, you are no match for Blood Magic!"
Dulzak's attention was suddenly attracted by the sound of the air vibrating, and Scott recognized it as the sound of approaching helicopters.

Dulzak turned his head to see a fleet of seven helicopters flying in formation. They split off and began circling him. Scott recognized them as green Apache helicopters, bristling with missiles and machine guns. As the helicopters began raining fire on a coordinated assault on Dulzak, Scott reapplied his armor and planted his feet to the ground to ride out the storm. When the dust settled, Scott could see Dulzak holding up his staff, which had created a red shield around him. Not one missile or bullet had made contact with him, being wiped from existence upon impact with the shield made of Blood Magic.

Scott watched as spaceships began shooting across the sky, destroying the helicopter fleet in the blink of an eye. Across the city, fighter jets were being downed by the Grymwar Space Battalion. The Army and Marines were having no luck on foot or in their vehicles, being ripped to shreds by an enemy nearly impervious to bullets or missiles. The Navy was trying to come in by sea, but the ships were being sunk by the GSB before they could even counterattack. The most powerful military in the world was being completely decimated by perhaps the most powerful military in existence. Scott could see more clearly than ever that the only one that could turn back this invasion was him.

The military were not the only ones scrambling, however. The news media was racing into action to document actual footage of aliens. On every news station right now was the Grymwar invasion of New York, presenting irrefutable proof that everyone who had ever believed in aliens had been correct. CNN had a news helicopter keeping a safe distance from Dulzak, and was filming the entire battle between the military and the alien leader. The cameraman watched excitedly as Scott got to his feet to resume the battle against Dulzak while a reporter did his best to provide commentary. Scott knew that no matter what, he had to destroy that staff in order to defeat the chieftain and end the invasion.

Seeing that he was up against a shield, Scott knew that the best way to pierce it would be to drill right through it. He activated his Drilling Fist of Valor, in which the armor surrounding his fist began to spin rapidly at 360 degrees. He encased it in Valor aura and jumped forward at Dulzak. When the shield came up, he tried to push through it to pierce it, but the armor was stripped off and his fist was thrown back. He re-armored that arm and unleashed his blistering Million Punches of Valor, but just like before, the armor was stripped off and his hands were pushed back. His own hands, had they not been encased in Valor aura, might have been burned to the point of uselessness by now.

Dulzak connected under Scott's chin with the staff and then stepped forward to whack him in the sternum and slam him to the ground. He raised the staff to bring the glowing tip down on his face, but Scott rolled away and was back on his feet. Scott took his fighting stance again, even though he was completely unsure what to do. Dulzak planted his staff again and laughed.
"Why do you still struggle human? It is clear-"
"Scott!"

Dulzak looked confused by the sudden interruption.
"What?!"
"My name...is Scott. If you're going to address me, at least have the decency to use my actual name, Grymwar scum."
Dulzak laughed, amused by the defiance of an enemy that did not seem to know when they were beaten.
"Fine, but name or not, it will make no difference when you die."

Using the staff like a pole vault, Dulzak leaped into the air and attempted to bring it down on Scott's head. Scott avoided it with a side roll, and did a back flip to avoid a follow up horizontal strike. Scott countered by slamming a Fist of Valor strike into the ground, causing an earthquake to shoot right at his foe. With this, he could not only attack him from a distance, but make it hard for Dulzak to get to him. Scott kept on the move, keeping out of range of the staff.
"Tell me about Blood Magic, Dulzak!"

Scott jumped to the side as his opponent came down with the staff again.
"That is not for you to know!"
Scott unleashed another earthquake, pushing his opponent back.
"If you're planning to kill me anyway, why not enlighten me about that weapon there? Or are you scared that telling me about it will give me an idea on how to destroy it?"
Dulzak laughed, holding his staff up.

"If you must know, Scott, this weapon is a tribal staff called the Rod of Ancients, which is given to all the chieftains of the Grymwar. Long ago, when the Grymwar were not large and powerful like we are now, this weapon was a means for the chief to defend the tribe from creatures that would devour us. An ancient chieftain named Yortak, bless His holy name, found a cave with mysterious writings left by even more ancient ancestors of my people. It was almost impossible to read, but the ancient Grymese word for "blood" was clearly visible. Yortak drew the symbols upon himself in the blood of his enemies, and a new power was born. The chieftain was now invincible, and though frail in body, the Blood Magic and the Rod of Ancients together allowed him to conquer the world and establish the Grymwar as the dominant species of Planet Grym."

Dulzak planted the staff once again, his chest swelling with pride.
"When Yortak, bless His holy name, passed away, his heart was cut out of his chest. Our wise women reshaped the heart and cast spells of Blood Magic upon it, making it into a Blood Jewel. In this way, the first Blood Saint was officially consecrated, and the jewel was placed inside of the rod. When the next chieftain passed away, his heart became a Blood Jewel that was placed at the other end of the Rod. From then on, when a chieftain died, one Blood Jewel was swapped out for another, and the one that was removed was buried within the cave where Blood Magic was discovered."

Scott nodded, unable to keep from being fascinated by Dulzak's culture.
"I don't understand one thing. If Blood Magic was discovered by your ancestors, then why did the first Blood Saint not know about it until he discovered it by accident in some ancient cave?"
"Truthfully, the wise women are still trying to unravel that one, but what they have discovered is not something I would share with an inferior race."
"Fine, then answer this. If Blood Magic was so powerful that it allowed you to take control of your planet, then why do you need an empire?"

"We wish to bring all of creation under the protection of the Grymwar. We pity the Kashans and their weakness, for long ago, we were like them. Under the Grymwar culture, all will become strong by following our ways."
"So the way of the Grymwar is the right way to you?"
"It is the only way! For everyone!"

Scott laughed and shook his head.
"Then this really isn't about protecting anyone. You use that as a justification to dominate everyone, who you see as being lesser beings. I enjoyed hearing about your culture, but I won't let you force it on this planet!"
"I fail to see how you can stop me. As powerful as you are, you are still no match for Blood Magic."

Scott clenched his fist, and he felt Valor's emotions uniting with his.
"The bond I have with my friend Valor will overcome you. As long as I draw breath, I will fight!"
Scott threw another earthquake at him, and kept doing it as much as he could. While the debris did not seem to be hurting him much, he hoped that Dulzak would either drop the staff or fall into a hole. However, his pole-vaulting kept him mobile enough to avoid this, and Scott was running out of Valor manifestations on his arms.

About thirty more minutes of constant fighting saw Scott finally run out of armor for his arms. Unable to keep Dulzak away any longer, he was repeatedly pummeled with the staff and stripped of his armor again and again. Eventually, Scott was left completely unable to manifest Valor, having used up all nine manifestations for each part of the armor. Dulzak proudly stood where he was, planted his staff, and laughed in triumph.
"Surrender, Scott! I want to hear you surrender before I kill you!"

Scott clutched his right arm, his heart pounding and his mind racing. There was no conceivable way to defeat Dulzak now. His power seemed to be at an end, and he doubted he could stall for an entire day to recover his power. Running away was not an option, for he would not flee like a coward, nor would he surrender. All of a sudden, a voice calmed his thoughts. Valor was speaking to him, and to his surprise, he did not sound panicked in the least.

Scott, we must try to manifest again.
"What? But Empress Enjela warned us that we shouldn't do that! We could both die!"
We will both die if we do not continue the fight against Dulzak! If we don't do something, then Earth will belong to the Grymwar!

Scott nodded with renewed spirit.
"You're right, Valor. We will manifest your armor again or we will die trying!"
Scott tried again and his arm screamed in pain. Scott cried out in agony, and as he kept trying, blood spurted from his arm. His body was battered and bloody, but no matter how much pain he was in, Scott resolved that if he was going out, he was going out swinging!

Scott continued trying to manifest Valor on his arm without stopping. He could feel their focus becoming one, but it wasn't enough to overcome their limitations. His arm continued to be damaged by the strain, his bones snapping and his tendons ripping. The pain was so excruciating that it was almost impossible to focus, but the iron discipline taught to him by Alan and Chiang was keeping his mind on the goal. Valor had deduced what the problem was, and connected his mind to Scott's mind.
Scott, you have to have faith!

"What do you mean?!" Scott shouted back, gritting his teeth from the intense pain.
The manifestation is not happening because your subconscious mind still has doubts. You don't have complete trust in me or yourself to do this!
Scott tried to manifest Valor again, and screamed in pain as his arm ripped even deeper and black blood began to pour down his arm.
Scott, you are coming perilously close to tearing an artery. If you don't banish doubt from your mind, you will die for sure, and both myself and the hope of the Planet Earth will die with you!

Scott realized that he was right, and began calming his mind with meditation. As his mind became like a still pond, everything else faded away. He remembered all of the battles back at Shadowgreen, and realized that together, he and Valor could do anything, no matter the odds. All of life would be protected and safe under the shining light of Crusader, the hero born from Scott and Valor together, and that realization banished all doubt from his mind.
"I..."
Scott opened his eyes and raised his fists to the sky, the blood dripping onto the ground.

"I have seen and wielded the shining light of Valor, bringing hope to those across existence that cry out in pain! I have faith in myself, but most importantly..."
Scott stood up and grabbed his bleeding arm, clenching the fist of his damaged arm as tightly as he could.
"I have faith that Valor can shine even brighter!!!"
As he continued screaming, a powerful aura began erupting from him. The intensity of the brightness and the shockwaves being sent out were pushing Dulzak back to the point that he had to struggle to stay grounded.

As the light subsided, Scott could be seen standing there with a brand-new Valor manifestation. It was clearly an arm of Valor, but rather than being black and gold, it was red and gold. Scott held out his arm, which had been completely healed by the new manifestation, his face determined and hard.
"This is the Forbidden Tenth Fist that represents the bond between Valor and I. This is the power that will defeat you!"
Dulzak was shocked by what had happened, and held up his staff.

"No matter what kind of arm you have, it will never compare to Blood Magic! I will destroy it like all of the others and finish you off for good!"
Scott's arm began shining intensely, the ground around him beginning to tremble from his intense power.
"No, I don't think so. This arm gives me access to a new power that your Blood Magic is no match for!"
Dulzak was stunned speechless by such a bold claim.

"Die, Dulzak, and take your Blood Magic to Hell with you!"
His arm glowed with solid brightness and was ready for use.
"Shining Fist of Valor!"
An intense golden white blast emanated from his fist, careening toward Dulzak and carrying ten times the power of a normal Fist of Valor strike. Dulzak brought up the Blood Magic shield, and the two energies met each other. He struggled against it, but Scott continued to pour his faith in the combined strength of he and Valor into his attack.

"I...have...to...touch...that...arm!"
Dulzak tried to take a few steps, but he was only pushed back further and the once-invincible shield began to weaken. Scott pushed the blast forward with his arm and began walking closer with a determined gait. The shield began to crack, and suddenly, Dulzak and the staff were caught in the intense blast. Screaming in pain, his voice was eventually snuffed out as both he and the staff were completely annihilated, not even leaving ashes behind. Scott panted as the attack died down, realized that he still had work to do, and set off to destroy the rest of the Grymwar with the CNN chopper close behind.

Over the course of the next hour, it documented how his unstoppable fist turned back an invasion by wiping them all out. Many in the military had their lives saved by the long range of Scott's Shining Fist, and the civilian populace got the benefit of the military focusing on evacuation while he did the fighting. After all of the Grymwar on Earth had been destroyed, Scott was panting and exhausted. Many news choppers landed and reporters began shoving microphones in his face, trying to get a statement from this superhero that had protected the planet before their very eyes. Scott tried to say something, but his eyes could not focus and he collapsed to the ground on his back. His new arm slowly disappeared as he fell into unconsciousness.

"While I could force her, don't worry babe, I won't. I was thinking to just assist her ever so slightly, get her over that first shy hump, know what I mean?" Sandra took note of Tani's reaction to Troy's name. "So, Troy. He did something to you, didn't he? I noticed the way you froze upon hearing his name. So what did he do? I assume whatever it is will be enough to give me a second reason to kill him next time we meet."

Tani reaction to Troy's name was out of character for her, and it worried Sandra. "If it's to hard to talk about, I could always just take a look for myself." Sandra added in that option as a way to spare Tani any painful repressed memories if she wanted. "Heck depending how bad it is, I can make Troy disappear from your thoughts entirely. It'd be like you've never met him. If you wanted me to, that was."

-----

"A style battle. Not what I'm used to but I'm game non the less."

Katy jumped into the fold starting with some close combat to show her skills. Her hands and feet became covered in tiny ice crystals and Katy took the swarm head on. Whenever she touched a zombie part of it's body from instantly. Katy used this freeze technique to freeze and shatter the heads with punches and kicks. It took a minute but Katy's movement's soon started to flow with the music as she took of the next zombies head with a spin kick.

A swarm charged her and Katy turned her body into a mist, causing the zombies to all run into each other. Katy reformed in the air and raised a hand above her head, dozens of ice crystals formed and Katy launched it into the swarm killing dozen's of zombies at one. Having fun with this experience Katy formed a slide of ice, sliding into the swarm Ice-Man style and creating a water whip.

Katy was very much into the music by now moving perfectly in tone she easily evaded in dance style fitting of the music. She moved with grace and in one slash decapitated every zombie around her. Moving from a whip to forming ice claws on her fingers, Katy took on the swarm head on again slashing their throats as she continued moving to the music.

By the time the music ended there was 1 zombie remaining. It seemed immobilized as Katy stared it down, it started bleeding from the mouth, nose, ears and eyes before it's head combusted, splattering bone, flesh, and blood all around. Katy turned to the others.

"Well that was fun. My powers are water based, ice is a natural extension of water and it's since become one of my favorite toys to use. I can convert my entire body into a water form and even a mist form. As for that zombie behind me, well.... the general human body contains a lot of water. Our bodies are actually more liquids then solids. In that guys case I took all the blood in his body and rushed to his head until he exploded. A lot of human bodies I can take control of as well kinda like how Sandra could. Difference is where Sandra achieves this though telekinesis, I do it via controlling the liquids in the body.

So, how'd I do?"

Alternate Earth

Four years ago, the Shadowgreen Institute in Nice, France following the end of the Grymwar Invasion

Scott Young shielded his eyes as the blaring sun came through the open window. His head was still cloudy and his vision swimming, but he could just barely make out a shape standing at the foot of his bed. After his vision cleared a moment later, he saw that it was a nurse filling out a chart. That let him know that he was in a hospital, but where that hospital was remained a mystery.
"Where am I?" he managed to croak out.
The nurse turned to him and regarded him with a smile.

"Well, it's good to see that you're awake. You've been sleeping for two days."
"That doesn't answer my question," Scott replied groggily, still trying to clear his head.
"You're in the medical wing of The Shadowgreen Institute, Mr. Young," the nurse replied patiently, "and you may not be familiar with it, but it is familiar with you."
In preparation for his battle with the Grymwar, Scott had battled with over one thousand of his fellow students during his time here, and they had always ended with him carrying his opponent here. He guessed it was his turn to pay a visit, maybe as some sort of karma.

His thoughts were interrupted as Yvette Duchet, the Director of Shadowgreen, came striding into the room. She was dressed in her characteristic all-black, from her stylish heels to her leather jacket, but the black shades that she usually wore were off to reveal bright blue eyes that took in all around her.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, Scott."
Scott sat up, wincing as his body disagreed with that move. Yvette sat at the end of the bed and regarded him with a neutral stare.
"Do you remember what happened?"

Scott closed his eyes, and in his current state, could not help but think back on how it all began. He had once been a regular teenager from Detroit, Michigan, but when he was thirteen years old, a day came when he decided to protect a little girl from a drive-by shooting. An alien race from another dimension known as the Kasha had been searching for a noble being that could wield the power of the Voltari, another alien race native to Planet Kasha. Seeing Scott's heroic actions, they protected him by  manifesting the armor of a Voltari in front of him and allowing it to take the bullets instead of Scott and the little girl. When the danger had cleared, they explained what had happened and gave the Voltari Soul to Scott, but warned that their gift came with a terrible price. The Voltari Soul was the ultimate weapon of the Kasha, but their age-old enemies, the violent and dangerous Grymwar, would come to Earth to either seize it or destroy it.

This danger could not be ignored, and Scott would have to master his new power if there was to be any hope of repelling the Grymwar. After a year to master the ability to manifest Valor on his right arm, he was sent to a special school for metahumans in Nice, France called the Shadowgreen Institute, where they taught him about his power. To assist his learning, the Kasha linked him to cosmic beings that would teach him their combat abilities. One was a former human hero turned God of Fire named Alan Arnan, and the other was a Buddhist Bodhisattva named Chiang Kaishu. Years of training by several talented metahumans and battles with his classmates gave Scott and Valor, who together settled on the handle Crusader, the power to face the Grymwar. Four and a half years after receiving Valor, Scott had faced the Grymwar, defeated them, and gained the Forbidden Tenth Fist that was the starting point for his next stage of power.

Scott turned to Ms. Duchet.
"How did I end up here?"
"After you collapsed on live TV, you were rushed to a local hospital. I personally flew to the United States and took you into custody after the doctors there said you were stable. It's not that I don't trust American doctors, it's just that what you did, while brave, had legal ramifications that I had to be prepared to deal with, and I wanted to make sure you would be safe during those proceedings."
"Thanks," Scott replied, not really knowing what else to say.

Mutants and augmented humans had not yet reached a point where most humans felt comfortable coexisting with them. Those that were not murdered outright were institutionalized or experimented on. To end this barbarity, Yvette's father had founded The Shadowgreen Institute, which functioned as a nation within France where mutants could be educated and live in peace. Students at Shadowgreen were technically citizens of that school, and so when Scott flew to the United States in a Shadowgreen jet without his passport, he had technically been an illegal alien. In light of the circumstances, the United States government opted not to press charges against Scott for fear of public outrage, who had witnessed his heroics live on the news. Scott was now free to return to the United States, where he would receive the hero's welcome he deserved.

Yvette nodded in response to Scott's gratitude.
"Well, it's the least we could do for the "Protector of the Earth", as some newspapers are calling you. Alan would be proud and I'm sure you'll want to celebrate, but for now, you should rest. You'll probably be discharged as soon as you get your strength up."
Scott nodded and laid back down. The Director and the Nurse left the room to tend to other matters, and all was quiet.

Scott...
Scott opened his eyes and found himself in a dark room with the only illumination being the spectral presence of Valor. The Voltari appeared as he had in life, an armored worm about the size of a tennis shoe and about a foot in length. Scott smiled, relieved to see his close friend.
Valor, we did it.
Yes, and there are those who wish to offer us congratulations.

Another form appeared, this time in the form of Enjela, the Empress of Kasha. She was humanoid in appearance with bright red hair like dreadlocks, and her dotted skin and tail were the only things that prevented her from being mistaken for a human.
Scott and Valor, all of Kasha rejoices at your victory. Earth and Kasha are saved from the threat of the Grymwar, and perhaps in time, both of our planets will be forever rid of their threat.
The Empress vanished, and Alan and Chiang appeared in her place. They had adjusted their appearance to their previous forms as regular humans, and they smiled at Scott and Valor with pride.

We knew you guys wouldn't let us down. The Grymwar have been set back considerably, and their like may not be seen again for many years. There are new threats on the horizon, but Earth is safe in the capable hands of Crusader, the Knight of Valor, my honored successor.
Alan vanished, and Chiang made a hand gesture that implied 'meditation', a mark of his Buddhist identity.
Walk always in the light.
Chiang vanished, and a blinding light obscured Scott's vision.

When he was next awake, the sun was starting to descend into evening. He felt like his normal self, and stepped out of bed with ease. Scott looked at his headboard and saw that Director Duchet had already filled out his discharge papers. Scott picked them up and headed out of the medical wing, following the hallway back to the regular school. When he stepped out, he was greeted by three familiar but unwelcome faces.
"What are you guys doing here?" Scott growled.

The people he was talking to were three mutants that had been his enemies all throughout his time at Shadowgreen. Richard Baker, who went by the nickname Rocky, had been in his graduating class and could encase his body in stone. His younger brother Nick, who called himself Shell-Shock, could fire energy blasts of different intensities from his body. Their mutual friend Michael Shreve, who called himself Sandstorm, had the ability to control and be able to turn his body to sand. Scott had battled with and defeated all three of them during his climb up the Shadowgreen ladder, and though they had not been a problem since Rocky's defeat, he was not entirely ready to forgive them for singling him out of the student populace and bothering him for years. Rocky shuffled his foot a bit, and then stepped forward to address him.

"Look, Scott, we want to apologize for how we treated you in the past. You helped us see how the way we acted was wrong, and we just want to make peace. We've both graduated, and I'm not planning to stay here for too much longer, but before I left, I wanted to square things with you."
Scott looked at each of them, and both Michael and Nick nodded to show that they felt the same way. Valor could find no insincerity in them, and Richard's words made enough sense that Scott felt it was time to end the bad blood and move on with their lives.
"All right, we're cool."

Scott shook hands with each of them, and they began telling him about what the television had shown. CNN had caught exclusive footage of his Shining Fist destroying Dulzak, and there were several shots of the Grymwar as definitive proof of alien life. The international media was buzzing about him, and Scott wasn't sure he was real comfortable with the sudden fame. After conversing with them a while, he excused himself to go to his room. It was here that he began to pack his things to leave Shadowgreen, this time with his passport. It was time for him to go home to Detroit and begin the next chapter of his life.

It was fortunate that he had big enough suitcases that he could fit all he had in two of them. Scott walked out of his room where he had lived for the last four years, looking back only once to say a silent goodbye. He passed by the vending machine he had used for food at the school to avoid going to the cafeteria and getting into fights before he was ready. As he rode the elevator down to the ground floor, memories of his training flooded through his head, and it dawned on him that he was really going to miss this place. Scott stepped out of the elevator and left the building, heading for the exit gate. Most of the students who had graduated had already left to return to their home countries, but one woman he recognized as a graduate had not done so just yet.

Gillian Welch stood there at the gate, no doubt waiting for him. Her curly red hair flowed down past her shoulders, and her icy blue eyes fixed on his green ones. She was 5'10" and built almost like a ballerina, combining with her natural beauty to make her impossible to miss. She was dressed in a frilly amethyst top with blue jean capris and brown sandals, an understated look that nonetheless grabbed attention. Gillian was unique in that during all of his time at Shadowgreen, she had been the closest to being his girlfriend.

As Scott proved his power and climbed up the rankings of Shadowgreen, more and more women had begun to desire him. Focused on his training, Scott had never dated and politely declined their advances. Gillian, however, was not one to be stopped from getting what she wanted. Using her natural pheromone abilities, she had seduced and had intercourse with Scott the week of graduation, a move that bordered on rape but had actually led to a friendship. Gillian was from Devonshire, England and Scott had believed that she had returned there a week ago, but he could see now that he was wrong. At the gate, he stopped and smiled at her, knowing this might be the last time that they saw each other.

"Well, it seems you've made an even bigger name for yourself, Mr. Protector of the Earth," she said with gentle mirth.
"I was fulfilling my destiny. I would have let you know before I left, but..."
Gillian gently waved him off.
"I know. You did what you had to do, and you did it well."

The two lapsed into silence for a minute, neither knowing what to say. Gillian had feelings for Scott, maybe even the kind that could lead to marriage and a house in the suburbs, but she knew that Scott had other priorities. He would take the mantle of Earth's Protector seriously, too seriously more than likely, and that wasn't likely to leave him time for much else. Gillian was going to return home and become a solicitor in London, a job that would not leave her much time either. They were both too complicated for a relationship right now, and she understood that. Perhaps someday, if it was meant to be, they could be together.

"Well, if you're ever on the other side of the pond, look me up. I'll show you the sights."
"Thanks, Gillian."
The two shared a hug, and it was difficult for either of them to let go. Scott felt the same way as Gillian, but he would need time before he could take on something like a relationship. As they let go, Scott looked into Gillian's eyes close up and his heart started hammering.

"Well...I've got to go."
"Yeah," Scott replied, "me, too."
Gillian gently kissed his right cheek, and was tempted to whisper in his ear that she loved him. However, she didn't do so because she was afraid she would start crying than and there, and that would have been terribly awkward for them both. Gillian began striding away, getting into a cab that would take her to the airport. Scott watched as it disappeared into the distance, and when he could no longer see it, he gripped his bags more tightly.

There were other cabs and buses to take him to the airport, but after two days in bed, he was ready for a long walk. The scenery of France was nice, and he began to feel a sense of tranquility that he had not felt in a long time. There was no longer an apocalyptic threat to prepare for, and it seemed like a big weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. When he reached the airport, he bought a ticket from a ticket lady who was trying to keep it together around him. The ticket was for a nonstop flight to Detroit, which was exactly what he wanted right now. As he boarded the plane and got settled in, he let out a big sigh of relief and thought about what he was going to do when he got back home, and what the future held for him as the new Protector of Earth.

The Avengers took the fight to the Warrior that had stopped them. The battle was a long and grueling one that was not without it's share of injuries. Ultimately where able restore Tanya's Asgardian's powers and all where able to escape the depths of Hel with their lives. Once back Tanya thanked the Avengers for their efforts before heading back to Asgard to reclaim the throne.

-----

Abby and the PDF made their way back to the SXM where Abby opted to go to the space station alone. Once there she seen massive amounts of destruction, Collin was clearly in his Wendigo state and worse had escaped his confines seeing the space station was ripped to shreds. Luckily SXM had kept the station blocked off and the beast was unable to find it's way back to Earth.

Abby would find the beast and engaged it in battle. The fight was long and Abby's efforts to reach though to Collin had little effect. Raging for hours upon hours the fight ended with a beaten and bloody Abby who could no longer keep up with the best. It was when the creature went for the killing blow that a shift occurred, Collin would not allow Abby to die especially by his own hands. A eternal struggle would lead to Collin claiming control of his soul and in turn also his curse. Retaking human form he healed Abby's would and the two headed back to Earth.

Alternate Earth

Present Day

Scott was on his way back home to a middle-class neighborhood in Detoit when he suddenly felt something strange.
Valor, what is that?
Some kind of large and stable energy source. It is circular and seems to resemble the portals Solaris created, but it's not one of his.
Solaris had been the code name for his mentor Alan when he had attended Shadowgreen and defended Earth prior to his apotheosis.
Do you sense any kind of malicious energy coming from it?

The energy is...chaotic. It feels similar to when Enjela travels from Kasha using Alan's portals.
Scott's eyes widened, grasping the implication instantly.
An inter-dimensional portal. The only question is...who opened it?
The two spent a few minutes pondering over who would have both the capability and the motive to do such a thing.

Scott could not come up with any enemies of his that fit the bill. This was not one of Chiang's spiritual Gates of Truth, nor was it one of Alan's Fire Paths. Shadowgreen was affiliated with a few alumni that could open portals of this kind, but no current or former student would risk an international incident by opening one in the United States. Valor could offer no suggestions, his large brain stumped for once.
Let's go check it out. Maybe we can find some answers if we look at it up close.

Scott took off running toward the center of the city, crossing a long-distance in a rather short time thanks to the great stamina and speed he had developed during his training. When he arrived at the portal, he saw that a crowd of curious people had already gathered around it. The portal itself was about eight feet tall and as wide as three men standing shoulder-to-shoulder. It glowed different hues of yellow and orange that moved like ripples in the water. While it certainly looked like one of Alan's Fire Paths, the energy signature coming off of it was all wrong. It was completely foreign to him, and seeing it up close still provided no clear answers.

Should we inform Shadowgreen about this?
Scott cocked his head to the side as he considered it, and then shook his head.
Getting them involved would cause bureaucratic issues we might not have time for. Besides, if this portal is dangerous, I don't want to put anybody else's lives at risk.
Assuming the mantle of Protector of Earth meant shouldering the responsibility of being on the front line whenever his planet was threatened, a task that Scott was happy to perform. No matter how dangerous the force against him, Scott was willing to battle it in order to protect the lives of the innocent.

If this portal is indeed dangerous, we had best get ready for it.
Right, Valor thought back in a determined voice.
Scott turned to the crowd of people clustering around the portal.
"Everyone, stand back!"
The people gave him quizzical looks if they paid attention to him at all, and so Scott grabbed their attention by materializing Valor on his right arm. The crowd's attention was suddenly drawn to him, realizing now who he was.

"It's Crusader!" A man shouted with excitement.
"The Earth's Protector!" A woman shouted with equal excitement.
The crowd started buzzing with excitement, some relieved that he had come to investigate and protect them if the portal was dangerous. Scott quickly materialized Valor on the rest of his body, knowing that trying to manifest the entire suit of armor at once would generate too much energy, causing damage to the surrounding area and putting people's lives at risk.
"I need everyone to move to a safe distance. Please do as I ask!"

After some more prodding, the crowd finally shuffled about fifty feet down the street. By this time, police were arriving to cordon off the area and both police and news helicopters were hovering over the scene.
Well, this turned into a real circus, eh, Valor?
Human curiosity is a powerful thing.
Scott turned around to face the portal, preparing himself for something to come through. The powers that be within Detroit had apparently thought the same thing, as both a SWAT team and a Special Investigations division, who were responsible for dealing with superpowered criminals, had just arrived at the scene.

Scott stood watching the portal intently, waiting for any sign of change. Thirty minutes, then forty-five, and then an hour passed and there was still no change. By the time an hour and forty-five minutes had passed, many of the citizens had started to disperse and head home. Scott himself was starting to get a bit impatient, wondering what he should do. After standing there for two hours, he settled on a new course of action.
Valor, we're going in.

Are you sure that's a wise course of action?
Truthfully, no. But it doesn't seem particularly wise to stand here for hours doing nothing, either. Perhaps if we venture to the other side, we'll find out why this portal is here.
It seems likely that going in is the right course of action. It couldn't be much more dangerous than what we've already faced together.

Scott strode purposefully toward the portal, surprising the law enforcement agencies stationed behind the barrier.
"He's not going in there, is he?!" one of the SWAT officers asked incredulously.
"If he is, he's one brave bastard," one of the SI officers responded.
Scott got closer to the portal and ultimately passed through it, feeling an odd tingling sensation as he did so. When he stepped through, his foot landed on a section of the street not unlike what he had just been standing on. It was hard to say how many miles of space-time he had traveled, but to him, it was just like stepping through a doorway.

Earth

After stepping completely through the portal, Scott looked around, not seeing anything unusual. It looked just like any city on Earth, although he could tell that he was not in Detroit due to how pristine it looked in every direction. Hearing a strange noise behind him, Scott turned and saw the portal close just like an eye. Turning around, he thought about their new situation.
No back tracking now.
It seems that whoever or whatever created that portal wanted us here for some reason.

Scott looked around, seeing ordinary people walking around and giving him odd looks. He heard a car honk behind him, which caused him to nearly jump out of his armor, and moved over to the sidewalk as the driver glared at him.
Are you detecting any unusual energy signatures, Valor?
I sense several mutants and augmented humans somewhere in the city, and I'm also detecting large energy signatures the likes of which I have never felt before.
Sounds like a regular party.
Scott began walking forward at the same purposeful gait, heading for the closest mutant energy signature that Valor had honed in on.

I suppose it would be too much to ask for the first mutants we encounter in this dimension to be friendly, Valor mused.
Well, if they're not, it's not like this would be the first time that we've fought mutants.
Valor was about to respond that the mutants from this dimension might have been more dangerous than the ones back home, but did not want to sound too pessimistic.
Scott suddenly stopped, uttering a sound of slight surprise.
What is it, Scott?
That mutant energy signature is coming closer to us.

Both of them watched the energy cross several miles, and when it did not veer off at any point, Valor realized that it was coming straight for them.
Maybe they're as curious about us as we are about them?
Maybe, but they might also be hostile.
Scott moved toward a basketball court at a local park, an area with plenty of room to move around in should he have to fight. He turned to face the direction in which the energy signature was coming from, keeping in a regular standing position but ready to shift to a Muay Thai stance, if necessary. Valor calculated that they would meet the bearer of the mutant energy in less than three minutes, and Scott waited patiently for them to appear.

"Halt!!" the voice of a women shouted. Scott and Valor turned in surprised, this women had managed to sneak up on them and Valor quickly realized she didn't have a energy signal. The women stood at 5'7, had black hair and wore a dark brown leather jacket over a red shirt, beige cargo pants and black combat boots. It would seem the portal had attracted attention in this dimension as well.

"I am Infiltrator of The Avengers. Stat your business here traveler." The women kept her eyes constant on Scott and her voice was strong and demanding, it seemed in this dimension that Scott was being treated like the evil invaded in this situation. The women before them certainly seemed ready to battle at a moments notice.

"Fathae path through London eventually has her within sight of the Tower of London. The old keep rises up imposingly, seemingly the tallest building despite the much larger skyline that surrounds it, old and strong. Fathae looks around the perimeter to realize entering wont be easy to heavy security. Just as she's contemplating just crashing through, a hand is placed on her shoulders. She spins ready for a fight, but before her stands the woman that was earlier with the Charlotte Hellsing."

Fathae: You...the vampire. She said you were called One?
One: Yes. What are you doing here knight?

"Fathae gives her a determined look"

Fathae: I must get into that Tower. There is an elf lord there that currently holds an item of invaluable worth.
One:...Very well, follow me.

"One simply escorts Fathae to the main gate and uses whatever authority she has within the Red Branch to allow the lesser guards at the gate let them through. The inside of the castle is a mix of renovated areas for tourists and the original keep and maintained gardens. Entering the main hall of the castle, they are faced with Celebech, holding the sword Excalibur in his hand"

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Celebech: You came. Good. Now hand me the sword of the stone

"One raises her eyebrows at Fathae as she produces Caliburn in her hand. The elf and Fathae exchange a look, when suddenly Fathae dashes forward at great speed, her armor materalizing around her as she brings down Caliburn's blade towards the elf's neck. He matrix dodges back before producing Luin. With insane reflexes, Fathae parries the blow before delivering a gauntlet aided punch to the arm holding Excalibur, forcing him to release it. But just as she grabs it with her free hand and prepares a swing while spinning, finally landing, Celebech hits the shoulder in such a way he dislocates it, making Fathae drop Caliburn as he grabs it."

Celebech: At last...
Fathae: You will not have one or the other villain!

"She brings down the sword, and with a powerful swing charged by the swords light blasts, sends Celebech right through the wall and over the fortifications, landing somewhere in the Thames just south. One approaches, sounding disapproving, yet largely uncaring, of the damage done to the keep"

One: You have damaged an important piece of cultural history of Great Britain
Fathae: I will raise the entirety of this city to the ground to protect these swords! These swords ARE Britain! What is past, and is promised!

"She punches her shoulder into place and jumps out, running past the grounds and clearing the fortifications with a jump, landing on the banks of the river before jumping onto the Thames itself, walking on water through the aid of a simple levitation spell. Celebech has Caliburn on his back and is wielding Crann Buidhe, and is also floating. With the London Bridge on the background, the two face off"

Fathae: Return that sword
Celebech: If you claim ownership of this sword, then come and take it, blood of the red dragon.

"Fathae pauses for a moment and raises her sword"

Fathae: I shall give you one final chance villain, return the sword of the Pendragons or I will be forced to unleash the holy light
Celebech: I do not fear the light of the fae, for all fair folk are my subjects
Fathae: So be it! EX!CALIBUR!

"The sword begins to glow and Fathae brings down the blade, unleashing the blinding flash of faerie light right towards Celebech. The elf summons form the powers of the sea god with the spear, creating a matching wave of water. London Bridge shakes and turns as the meeting powers threatens it's foundations, the rivers waters tossing and turning. One watches from the bank"

One: Excalibur and Caliburn...

Scott was surprised as a woman suddenly called out to him, not being as bad as the car horn from earlier but being close to it. He turned to face her, slightly alarmed that Valor had not been able to detect her approach. As he faced her, he found it impossible to read her energy signature and identify her as either a human, augmented human, or mutant. She identified herself as Infiltrator, saying that she was with a group called The Avengers. Going strictly off of the codename, Scott deduced that one of her powers was suppressing her own energy signature to aid in stealthy approaches. Since he could not read her energy, he would try to read whether her hostility was coming from caution or evil.

I told you the first person we met wouldn't be friendly.
Well, she hasn't actually attacked us yet, so that's a good sign. What kind of emotional readings are you getting off of her, Valor?
She perceives us as a potential threat and has all of the emotions consistent with that just beneath the surface. I don't sense any malicious or evil intent, however. There is a high probability that we are dealing with a hero from this dimension.

Scott took Valor's readings into account and regarded infiltrator. His facial expressions could not be seen behind his silver face protection, although he was smiling. It made his voice sound friendlier and more engaging, which would hopefully be enough to defuse this situation without needless violence. Scott raised his hands with open palms to show that he meant no harm.
"If we're going to address each other by codenames, you can call me Crusader. My friends, however, call me Scott, and if you fight for justice and to protect the innocent, you can consider me a friend."

Scott gestured with his left thumb near where the portal had been.
"A portal opened up between our two Earths, and in the interest of protecting my world, I entered the portal to investigate. That led me here, and the portal closed behind me. I assume that I was led here for a reason, and that whatever I do here will protect Earth in the dimension I come from."
Scott turned his head in the direction of the still approaching mutant energy, keeping one eye on Infiltrator.
"I expected visitors from a different direction."

Scott moved slowly down the basketball court so that a wall was behind him, minimizing the chances that someone could sneak up on him again. He had a full view of the area, and was already strategizing on how to use the environment to his advantage if outnumbered in a fight. Infiltrator did not seem like a hostile, but the visitor yet to arrive very well could have been. In this foreign land, he had begun to adapt the same way he had adapted to Shadowgreen as a new student, by trusting in Valor and himself. Scott slowly lowered his hands to his sides, deciding to try and put Infiltrator at ease by putting her on familiar ground.
"You said you were a member of The Avengers, so you must have a headquarters..."

Scott looked over in the direction of where several energy signatures of mutants and augmented humans were close together.
"...Somewhere in that general direction. Take me there and we'll talk this out. I'll remove my armor there and maybe you'll feel more at ease. A guy can't be too careful when he's on unfamiliar ground. I'm sure you can relate."

"Well I'm glade to hear you figured out we have a base and that you want to go there, because that's exactly where you was headed even if it required I took you forcefully, and trust me Crusader, I'm much stronger then I look.    Now, this way and don't try anything funny."

Infiltrator wasn't to the point of exchanging pleasantries just yet.    She would take this guy back to the Avengers where he would be questioned again separately likely by Cap and Iron Man.    They would cross reference all 3 stories to see if things checked out.    If this Crusader was inconsistent with any of them, then they had a problem.     Infiltrator gestured Crusader in the direction which to walk, clearly she wanted him to lead so she could follow.   Just like a prison guard walking behind a prisoner.

"Can you fly?" Infiltrator added.

Scott nodded as Infiltrator told him that he would be taken to The Avengers HQ. He had to suppress a chuckle as she told him that she was much stronger than she looked. It wasn't that he doubted her strength or abilities, as he had known several strong mutants and augmented humans at Shadowgreen, both male and female, who had not looked particularly intimidating. It was just that he had heard that same line so many times before and equated it to posturing. He had every intention of cooperating, but that mutant energy signature still attracted his attention.
"Hold on just a second."

Scott gestured with his head toward the energy signal that was getting closer.
"I sense a mutant energy signal closing in rapidly on our position. I don't know if that's another member of The Avengers or someone else, but I'd rather not turn my back until I know who that is."
It wasn't that he feared being attacked, since his Valor Armor was impenetrable and nearly-indestructible, it was just that he would rather meet threats head-on. Infiltrator asked him if he could fly, and he shook his head.
"Not in the traditional sense."

Scott gestured with his head toward the general direction of The Avengers HQ.
"I can launch myself very high into the air and glide, and I can launch myself long distances to reach places at great speed. However, both of those things do heavy damage to the environment around me, so I tend to just run or drive everywhere."
He looked up at the building he was standing in the shadow of and knew he could reach it with some martial arts-inspired movements.
"I can get up on that roof and jump from building-to-building while you fly beside me if that would suit you. I like that idea so that I can keep an eye on you."

"Very well, have it your way. But run and I will track you down, understood?"

This was Infiltrators first solo mission with the Avengers under her new Avenger code name and she will not see it become a failure. Her mission was to watch the portal that arrived and quarantine whatever came though. And that's exactly what she was going to do. She hovered into the air keeping a careful watch on Crusader.

"As for the energy headed our way, there are many many superhuman beings on this Earth. Unless we're attacked we have no reason to worry. Now, get a move on."

Scott gave a gentle shrug as Infiltrator threatened to hunt him down if he attempted to run off.
"Whatever makes you feel better. You don't have to be such a hard-ass, you know."
She explained to him that there were many superhumans on the planet, and that she wanted him to get a move on.
"Sounds like back home, although it's not common to see them in the streets where I'm from. Try to keep up, Infiltrator."

Scott fixed his gaze on Infiltrator and locked on to her emotional wavelength, which would ensure that he could track her movements without looking. He then turned around and looked up at the building, focusing on his target. After executing a long left leg sweep to build up momentum, he jumped upward, easily landing on the roof. As soon as he hit the ground he was running, headed in the direction of The Avengers HQ. His legs ate up the rooftops and cleared the jumps between them, looking like a professional hurdle runner. As soon as he was one rooftop away from his destination, he stopped and jumped off of the building to land in front of it.

As he was falling through the air, he tucked his legs and did two flips before landing in a ninja crouch in front of the building and getting to his feet.
"Well, here we are, I guess."
The building itself was rather understated, which made sense given that it was in the middle of the city. The congregation of superhumans was undeniable, and he prepared himself to be treated with suspicion by them, as well. Scott walked purposefully into the building, making sure that Infiltrator was not far behind him. He stopped in the lobby, deciding that now was probably a good time to shed his armor.

The armor slowly dissipated off of him, fading into nothingness. Scott himself was dressed in white tennis shoes, blue jeans, and a green T-shirt with a stencil of a wave at the bottom right corner. In this form, he looked like your average civilian, not the person one would think was the Protector of Earth back home. His face was movie-star handsome and clean of any marks, a contrast to the muscular and scarred skin that could be seen on his neck and arms, hinting at the many battles that he had been in. Scott looked into Infiltrator's eyes with his own, the smile never leaving his face.
"Where should I go now?"

"Hold here for a minute Crusader."

Infiltrator reached out and contacted Iron Man and Cap, retrieving further instructions she moved deeper into the building with Scott and into a waiting room. "We'll wait here until Iron Man and/or Cap are free to meet you." Instead of waiting in silence Infiltrator decided to start a conversation.

"Scott, forgive our suspicion. I don't know what your world is like, but this was not the first portal we've had open. We're had many, and it's usually (A) a demon invasion from hell, (B) a war of the world with aliens or people/creatures from another dimension, or (C) it's some demi-god trying to destroy us. So yea, portals put us on edge. But don't go thinking we're all assholes because of that."

Infiltrator extended her hand towards Scott for a hand.

"Look, the names Kiya. Personally I have a good feeling about you, you come off true and believable, but we need to be careful none the less."

Scott nodded as she asked for him to stay put for a minute. She then reached out to Captain America and Iron Man using an intercom, and he almost couldn't believe his ears.
Captain America? Iron Man? Valor, back home, those guys are famous but fictional superheroes.
It would seem that they are quite real in this dimension, although they might be different superheroes just using the names.

Scott nodded and followed Infiltrator deeper into the headquarters. He was ushered into a waiting room and told that one of them would meet with him when they were available. He sat down at a table across from her and expected the silent treatment, only for Infiltrator to suddenly start a conversation. She apologized for being suspicious of him and went on to explain that portals opening up in this dimension was a fairly common event, one that almost always signified a threat. She then extended her hand and gave her real name as Kiya, offering the friendship that Scott had wanted from the start. As a precaution, Scott verified her once more with Valor, found her to be sincere, and shook her hand in a friendly manner with his same characteristic smile.

"I understand about having to be careful. It's nice to meet you, Kiya. As I said earlier, my friends call me Scott. In fact, hardly anyone actually calls me Crusader. It was a codename that my mentor and I agreed upon when I was to take his place as Protector of the Earth. My identity's not exactly secret back home, it's just that my enemies aren't big on watching the news."

He let go of her hand and lowered his to the table.
"Portals aren't extremely common back home, either. Where I come from, Earth is just starting to get used to the fact that superpowered individuals not only exist but also don't represent a threat to humankind. There's a safe haven in France called The Shadowgreen Institute, and every mutant and augmented human goes there for their own protection to master their abilities and get an education needed to blend in with human society. Of the student body at Shadowgreen, less than a handful can open interdimensional portals, and none of the instructors have that kind of power. My mentor, who has been the God of Fire as long as I've known him, is the only one I know who can open those kind of portals for long periods of time."

Scott thought back to the portal he had stepped through into this world.
"That portal was not like any I've ever seen before. I think I was meant to be here for some reason, to help your world the way I helped mine."
He sat in a relaxed position in the chair.
"So, would you be willing to tell me about yourself? If I'm going to be fighting evil alongside The Avengers, I should probably know all I can about my new allies."

"As Scott is mentioning the portal was unique to him, Aaron Stark walks in, Tyler following behind, in Cap America gear, shield on his back, but mask off"

Aaron: Lucky for you then. You wouldn't believe the trouble we have with portals, most of them made by us. Aaron Stark, welcome to Avengers tower.

"He extends for a handshake"

Tyler: I'm called Tyler son. Glad whatever came out of that was friendly for a change.
Aaron: Well, what came out that we SAW
Tyler: Come on Aaron, Dr Hank swears by the skin of his teeth nothing else came through that portal.
Aaron: Still leaves the question what opened it. Was it on your end?

"Aaron turns to Scott"

"There is to much to tell at this current time" Kiya responded back to Scott. She wouldn't mind having given a little backstory, but Cap and Aaron had shown up. So the chatting would have to wait.

"At the library underneath the Museum of London, where Abby and the group are still researching, the alarms suddenly start blaring. Commander Cainhurst runs into the library from outside"

Cainhurst: We're at full alert! Paranormal activity in the Thames near the Tower of London!
Ilyrana: That...that is where

"She exchanges a look with Theo"

Theo: We may know what is behind that.
Cainhurst: Well now would be the time to divulge it. We have agents on route to intercept and

"Just then, Cainhurst gets a com"

...: There is no need. I am on the scene commander. Establish a perimeter. And bring the PDF agents and their allies here
Cainhurst: Yes agent One. You all, come with me. Collect your gear

"The guy walks out, moving to escort them all to the same truck that drove them here"

(Reminder Jay, you've got Cal and Abby here)

---

"At the Thames, water washes over the banks of the north side and rushes against the walls of the Tower of London as Excalibur's beam is overwhelmed. Fathae dodges to the side, London Bridge behind her. Celebech has summoned the chariot of the Irish sea god, now standing atop it"

Fathae: By God, that spear...
Celebech: Do you really hope to successfully defeat the weapon or a deity. Stand down now or this will be your end.
Fathae: I do not yield! Return the blade
Celebech: If you do not wield...all those on the bridge behind you will be drowned by the waters of Manannán mac Lir.

"Celebech initiates a charge as it forms a massive wave heading downstream, threatening to consume the entire bridge and everyone on it"

Fathae: NO!

"Fathae summons form every ounce of power and fires the fae beam of her weapon again, trying to match the massive deluge now coming forth"

Cal: We've learned all we'll learn here, we best go along with Cainhurt.

The team was quick to collect their supplies and headed out to the truck.