Hound55

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

Next port of call... seeing if I can get a jump on a Superior Foes post (...and reading @Roman's)

Ju-V

Yeah... we're rollin'

Ju-V

It was a cold Montana morning as an unmarked SUV drove down the I-90 in the direction of the Washington AEGIS facility.

Staring somberly outside from the back seat headrest, Quinn watched the rolling hills and forests shift by. The two agents upfront appeared to be conversing about something, although Quinn hadn't been certain what. Everything that they spoke sounded like military buzzwords, or the kind of dialogue you'd find in a spy movie. Truthfully, not knowing what they had been saying put her on edge. At least with Jackson he had been dimwitted enough to make sense of. After all, the man had been nothing more than a rural mountain hillbilly (albeit armed with quite the arsenal). But these two? Even if they were her supposed saviors, Quinn still couldn't help herself but to feel suspicious of any and all ulterior motives they might've had as they conversed amongst themselves.

"How you holding up back there, kid?"

A voice spoke, cutting through the tension like a knife through hot butter. Looking away from the window, Quinn glanced towards the front seats and came face to face with one of the agents staring back at her. Or rather, where she should have been. Cars weren't exactly made with the teensy-tiny in mind, and so Quinn sat as comfortable as she could, having held onto the headrest for safety.

"We still have a few more hours before we arrive. Why don't you get some sleep for now? You look like you need it."

Sleep—it had been awhile since Quinn had a good night's rest. But falling asleep with two strangers she had just met? That sounded like suicide. A trap to lure her into her next prison, which no matter how they tried to spin it, AEGIS sounded like.

"...I'll think about it." She spoke in return, truthfully not intending to fall asleep in the first place.

"If you say so, kid. But if you need anything, just, well," The agent paused, trying to think of a word to use as they turned back forward in their seat. "Holler, I suppose. There isn't much out here, but we'll see what we can do."

Quinn didn't bother to reply, and instead returned her focus onto the rolling landscape outside once more.

The rolling landscape that seemed to blur as the hours went by.

The rolling landscape that disappeared on and off into pitch black as she struggled to keep her eyes open.

The rolling landscape that was now replaced with an endless labyrinth of hallways that seemed almost impossible to escape from as she awoke.

---

The steady symphony of an assortment of hospital machinery.

Vanyssa Newhope lay on the hospital bed, a Jane Doe in every other sense. For want of a name they searched her person and came up with documentation that provided this name, but by all government searches into her background she didn't exist. The documentation appeared fraudulent, albeit of a quality beyond which most people would attempt to create a fake id.

So for convenience's sake more than anything, for the duration she would remain Vanyssa Newhope.

She'd captured the imagination of more than a few nurses around the Mayo Clinic Hospital in St Mary's. A few would come in break or quiet hours and talk to her as if she could hear them.

She'd arrived in a strange, bright white set of clothes which for some reason hadn't required changing. They appeared to self-clean somehow, with neither grime nor muck keeping to it. It raised questions at the time, and protocol was broken to not change her or bathe her unless to not do so would do her a direct harm - which as yet, it had not. All these months later. The tasks for duty nurses had basically been to check on her and occasionally turn her to avoid bedsores, even this task was done less frequently than usual.

Given the unique circumstances surrounding her, they speculated she was likely a metahuman. Aegis was contacted and had sent representatives, test were taken, and on their confirmation, she was entered into their database and the clinic was requested to keep them updated on her progress and when and if her condition changed.

Nothing from any of the machinery that had surrounded her, constant steadfast friends since her arrival, pointed to any impending change in the near future. It all beeped and puffed and flashed as if alive, but with the steady pacing as if keeping in time with an orchestra's conductor. Never missing a beat, forever keeping tempo.

And so she would lie there, her bright white clothes contrasting with the dark silence of her mind's activity.

Until she awoke, still in darkness, but in a new place.

---

Everything was new. And for the first time in his life, that fact scared him.

Kaiden was situated in his room, as it had always been; neat and proper, with a well-kept bookshelf occupying nearly an entire wall, and his desk taking up another slot of space within the confines, with its most notable additions being his computer and, a bit off to the side, a glass cage with its own little biome within, housing a family of moths that he had taken recently as pets. That was rather ironic now, wasn’t it? Perhaps one of them was secretly radioactive, and had bitten him to give him his powers. That at least got a chuckle out of the poor boy, breaking him from his oppressively silent stupor.

Kaiden shifted his weight on his bed. What had once comfortably supported him for nearly his entire life now felt dreadfully frail, creaking under his weight as he moved. He took the chance to look over himself again, as if to solidify that this was really happening just one more time. Just in case…Though even the simple act of ‘looking himself over’ was bizarre and different now, as his vision poured out from his many sets of eyes, almost numbering a dozen. Instantly, he felt his head swim as it tried to compute everything it was taking in; every single nook and cranny of his room, from a hundred different angles. Some of them weren’t even using the right kind of vision. It nearly made him want to hurl, but he’d had a few days to adapt. Quickly, he squeezed all his eyes shut, and with considerable focused, opened only the two on his head.

Even this was almost too overwhelming; compound eyes were quite the thing to try and adapt to, he had found out. Still, he could manage it. Barely. He looked himself over, a mass of white fur and brownish chitin, his hands ending in almost talon-like protrusions, and his legs…Well, honestly, if they weren’t where his old legs used to be, he wasn’t sure he would’ve called them legs. They looked more like sticks, yet somehow managed to support his weight perfectly. It fascinated him to some extent, but the overall disturbance of his power offset any intrigue or excitement he could’ve had. He nervously adjusted himself again, trying to get more comfortable. There were his wings, too. While it was cool to be able to fly, actually managing them was a whole different story. At the end of the day, the only way he could get even vaguely comfortable was lying face-first into his pillow, giving his instruments of flight the breathing room they craved.

…Why had this happened to him? Was it really some chance occurrence? Or was there more going on? Did the universe feel some need to spite him somehow, or was there a grander importance to this new form he’d found himself in? Kaiden just groaned. He knew the answers weren’t going to be found here, at least…And truth be told, he wasn’t confident he’d find them elsewhere. Today, some people were supposed to come around and pick him up, to take him to a facility with others like him. It was a hopeful prospect, but it also brought plenty of fear to him, as well. Were there really going to be others like him? He had no idea how he would relate to others with gifts like him, or if he even could! Or, more concerningly, he had little confidence others could relate to his own plight. It was one thing to gain powers, and another entirely to become so decidedly inhuman. He glanced off to the side, viewing himself through a dozen different lenses as his gaze fell upon his mirror closet doors. He knew he was still Kaiden, the human. He just hoped he could convince others of that fact.

Though, there was at least one person he didn’t need to convince. As his bedroom door opened, Kaiden hauled him to a sitting position on his bed, facing it intently. He’d actually already heard the footsteps approaching way before they had made it to their destination; he knew who it was. The door opened, and he was greeted by the gentle smile of his mum. Seeing her instantly made him feel better, like an anchor to his original life. Quietly, she drifted into the room and stopped next to him with a steaming mug in hand. He’d also smelt that way before she’d finished it, but it didn’t make him any less happy. “Some cocoa. I know you say that you don’t feel the cold as much now, but you’ve been spending far too much time outdoors, young man!” She took a harsh tone, but her face gave the game away as Kaiden could only chuckle, very gently taking the drink from her. ”Thanks, mum.” He carefully brought the mug up to his mouth, keeping his impulse in check. It was second-nature to use his proboscis when eating or drinking, but he had been trying to learn to reel that in. It made others uncomfortable; hell, it made him uncomfortable. After taking his grateful swig, Kaiden turned his attention back to his mum, catching the look in her eyes. She looked…Content, but sad. Not surprising; when she had heard the news, it was…

Kaiden shook his head lightly. No, it wasn’t worth dwelling on all that nasty stuff. ”Is…Something happening? Or did you just feel charitable?” The question was worded pointedly, but his tone was very much not, and his parent was easily able to pick it up, giving her own brief chuckle in kind. She reached over, stroking some of the fluff near his head as she took her own seat on the bed. “Fur or no, you’re still my baby boy. And sometimes, baby boys need a treat from their mom.” In normal circumstances, he would’ve been embarrassed; dreadfully so. But…Well, she’d chosen her moment well. Just knowing that she was thinking about him and caring for him brought a warmth even the pleasantly hot cocoa could not, and it was one he desperately needed.

The moment was broken as his mother retracted her hand, a solemn look taking her over. “...They’re here, sweetheart.” That news slammed him like a sledgehammer. They were?! He hadn’t expected them until, well…Later! At least! He jumped up, the force almost enough to jostle his mother straight from the bed before she caught herself. Kaiden hurriedly grabbed the bag he was going to take with him, a hefty thing already stuffed with plenty of books for the road…Though perhaps due to nerves, he decided on taking a few more, skillfully using his lower set of arms to shimmy a few more into the bag. That was enough to break the tension, as least for his mother, as she gave a warm laugh, looking at her son’s panicked packing. He was still very much himself. Getting up herself, she tentatively reached out, grabbing the forearm of one of his upper arms (and careful to avoid grabbing the shoulder; she’d learned that quite quickly with Kaiden’s new condition). That caught him quickly enough, hastily turning to face his mother. To his surprise, she jumped up, trying her best to get a good grasp of him as she wrapped him in a tight hug. While initially, his own fears kept him in check, he eventually found the nerve to return the hug four-fold, easily lifting his mum up before they broke the contact. She looked up at him, her eyes wavering. She didn’t want to cry, but clearly, this was even more taxing on her than it was for him.

“...Sweetheart, I want you to know that you’ll always be welcome here, even if things don’t go well at this facility. Okay?”

”...Of course, mum. If I don’t think I’m making any improvements, or if it isn’t what I thought it’d be like, I’ll be sure to come home as soon as I can.”

She nodded approvingly before swiftly turning away from Kaiden, trying her best to not let her boy see how vulnerable she was in the moment. “Well…You best not keep them waiting.”

With that, the pair of them walked out of his room and to the front door, to which Kaiden nervously grasped. But…Before he opened that door, and to whatever possibilities lie beyond it, he looked back to his mother once more. He tried his best to smile for her, as well as his new form could. ”I’ll keep in touch! I’m sure they’ll allow phone calls or some such. I’m planning on it being weekly!” That brightened her up, thankfully, as she returned his attempt at a smile. “You better! If I don’t hear back from you by next month, I’ll be raising hell on all those shady folks who took my sweet boy away!” That got the both of them laughing again, a precious moment of levity. Kaiden took in a deep breath; a final whiff of his beloved home. He didn’t know when he might see it again…But he’d be back. One day. And with that, he turned and opened the door.

---

…What? It was…Quiet? Too quiet. And not cold enough. And where was the door?! Everything around him was utterly foreign, indescribable walls closing in on him from almost every angle. Except…He looked up. He could fly! He could soar into the skies, and break free from all this! Or, well…That’s what his brain was telling him, but a more primeval sense tingled away at him, raising the hairs on his body. The last thing he’d want to do was fly into the open. Things would see him. Things that should not, under any circumstance, be allowed to see him. He felt like his insides were going to twist into a knot. What on Earth was all this?! Was…Was this even Earth? He took a closer look at his surroundings. Towering walls of pitch-dark stone scoured the landscape around him, twisting and turning in a myriad of different directions, like some kind of twisted labyrinth. Should…Should he walk around? Try and find an exit?...Would there even be one?

”C’mon Kaiden, get your head in the game!”

Kaiden whispered to himself, giving a few smacks to his chitinous face to snap himself back into place. So he was lost; that much he knew. With no idea which way was right, or if there even was a right, or if he was just completely screwed…No point panicking. He’d already done plenty of that. He took a deep breath. That soothed him, but also brought some new questions. The air here was…Off. It felt open, and fresh, yet trapped and stale at the same time. Completely alien, yet oxygen all the same. His sense of smell, too, something that he still hadn’t gotten used to…It smelled nothing, and yet a little, tiny smidge of everything at the same time. Just where was this? With a sigh of defeat, he merely trudged forward, cautiously trailing the left side of the gigantic walls. Hopefully this would lead…Somewhere.

---

Enormous, rough-hewn stone walls expanded in every direction forever, their rugged surfaces a mix of eroded curves and harsh, hand-chiseled edges. The cragged, pock-marked plane snaked away around corners, wrapping in on itself with corridors that weaved and knotted and intersected at crossroads and loops and spirals. You could walk for five hundred days and never find a dead-end, never cross back on yourself, but you'd have made no progress at all. Above was a black, empty expanse, an endless sprawl of agoraphobia that weighed down on top of you and made the stone hallways all the more narrow; claustrophobia in equal measure.

Poe, rake-thin, 3-foot-something, hair matted and greasy, curled into herself against the cold floor that was simultaneously the cold stone of the walls and a clinical vinyl linoleum tile, each version of itself straining against the other to assert their own reality; eventually, the linoleum gave way, and stone swallowed up what was left of where she'd come from entirely. She pressed the butts of her hands into her eye sockets, refusing to see what she could hear and feel and know in her very core. This was a world she was familiar with but wanted little to do with; a world she knew in glimpses and fragmented nightmares. A surreality that defied all logic regarding its incomprehensible, immutable being. It was and is and would be. It was frightening. It is dangerous. It would be navigable, would Poe simply come to understand it. Alas. Such a thing defied understanding just as much as it defied all man's ken. Poe, young and scared and of little experience of known reality, let alone this other, outside-place, could not dwell on extant metaphysics - she could only cower.

Poe, rake-thin, 5-foot-4, hair brushed and straightened and falling far past her shoulders, lay in a hospital bed, mattress soft and firm. The clean plastic and metal of the bed's frame were a stark contrast against the ragged rock and stone of the surrounding labyrinth, the muted pastel green and cream almost blinding against dark grays and blacks. The tube in her arm suggested an IV drip had at some point been in place, but such a feature was absent now - just a loose cannula draping over the edge of the bed, the last few drops of saline from the open end the last indication of any medical attention she had been receiving. She was bleary and confused, and though a part of her couldn't help but recognize where she was, how she came to be here, and the implications upon her circumstances that both fragments of knowledge imparted, there was a fog against her mind that prevented a conscious acknowledgement. She was here, she had been somewhere else, she would arrive elsewhere entirely; all were important, none felt relevant. In the haze, she merely lifted her arm, observing her pale flesh sparkle in the black starlight from above.

Poe turned away from these particular versions of herself, caught in here, ensnared in the maze. Which version of her was more true she did not know; if either were constructions, either of her own making, or the labyrinth's making, or from some further alien source, she could not place their origins and she could not recollect herself in their places. They were mirages, conjured up to frighten or threaten or elucidate or distract; it didn't matter, she didn't want them, and suddenly they were gone as the walls stretched and scraped with a great stone-on-stone grinding to finally slam closed and box both in entirely, before the corridors before her stretched away at such a pace she felt nauseous; and that was that. Out of sight, out of mind.

Distantly, distantly...shouting? Poe turned, her brows knitted together. Hallways spanned out before her but choosing was a lottery; the sound seemed to come from each in equal portion, bouncing off the rock to surround her with shouts becoming half-heard whispers. She knew, in her bones, that if she wanted to find them, she would, regardless of choice of direction, but she wasn't sure she did. Something else in her gut told her not to go looking. Which instinct to trust, which hunch to rely upon? Curiosity rallied and ignited the fire; with five passages splayed out in front of her she spread her fingers and slapped her hand hard against the rock before holding her arm out in front. Her ring finger hurt the most, so that was the way she picked.

Twisting, turning, running hands along rough stone. Shouting grew steadily closer, and though she could hear the source moving it gained no ground on her. She circled it, drawing ever-inwards as it frantically span in a frenzied search. She could hear it properly now, make out the words, although wouldn't deign to guess whether that was because she was close enough or she was now simply allowed.
"Poe! Poe, where are you?! Poe!"
Searching for her. A sliver of ice ran through Poe's chest and she nearly tripped, distracted by shock, but her hands caught herself on stone rushing to meet them and she steadied. In response, the walls shifted, and what would have been a circuitous, rounding path suddenly opened at its core and there it was, the source; a well-groomed, stern-looking older gentleman in a clean-pressed and expensive suit, flanked by a man and a woman, looking slightly less collected, in white coats and wielding syringes. Poe's eyes flared in panic as she noticed the needles; the gentleman's eyes flared in poised anger as he noticed Poe.

"Poe! Poe, come with us now."
Poe stepped backwards, scared, threatened. Quietly, the straight path shimmered and what had been, momentarily ago, an endlessly spooling corridor behind the trio, was suddenly thick with stone. Of the white-coat pair, the man noticed first. He sprung back - Poe recognized swelling panic flush across his face, a mirror of her own expression. The gentleman only glanced subtly to either side, seeming to assess his immediate surroundings.
"Poe, come on now." A calmer tone, but with the words came another advance, and his advance prompted Poe's retreat; she didn't know who these people were, didn't desire to, and her attention was fixed on the metal of the needles that still glimmered in the non-light. "We need to be getting on."

The woman ran out of patience and darted forwards, prompting the gentleman to yell out, but not before Poe was away and sprinting backwards; they were chasing, faster than she could escape - and then came that grinding of stone against stone again, and more shouts,
"Poe! Don't leave us here! Poe! Don't! DO-"
and then the stone slammed shut and there were no more shouts and Poe was alone again.

---

As she took in her newfound surroundings, an immediate wave of sheer panic set upon Quinn at the thought of being trapped again. This had to be a dream, perhaps more of a nightmare but a dream nonetheless. She was simply still in the vehicle, and just so happened to doze off in the process (despite not intending to). Surely, that was all this was.

But the eventual realization that everything felt a little too real said otherwise.

"No no no no no—" Quinn endlessly repeated, growing more and more horrified by the second. Her skin turned clammy while her heart raced a thousand times and an uneasy feeling churned deep within her gut. This couldn't be happening, Quinn continuously thought to no avail.

---

Vanyssa found herself on the floor alone in a place far from where she expected herself to be.

Sitting up gingerly, she realised she didn't remember exactly where that was in the first place. She slowly got to her feet, and feeling weak, staggered before propping herself up against a wall.

She felt weary despite her rest. Tired, beyond the sleep she had just awoken from. She was wearing some kind of loose fitting garment, which made her feel strangely nervous and violated before she realised that she was wearing clothes underneath. Clothes that she didn't remember, but felt 'right' nonetheless. She took the hospital gown off and left it where it lay. Then stopped to rub her head, the tired fog didn't seem to be lifting and she couldn't recall how she'd gotten to this place. Looking at her arm she saw a plastic wristband that gave her details and was marked with 'Mayo Clinic Hospital-St Mary's Campus, Rochester' and a date of admission. Which might mean something if she had any idea what today's date was.

She tried to think about how she'd wound up in hospital. More questions.

She collected herself and leaned her back against the wall. She didn't feel up to running, her legs... the muscles were weak. She found herself hungry. She looked around this new place and decided that anything she needed likely wouldn't becoming to her just by staying put.

Faint sensations. She couldn't remember anything, but got the sense that answers were here, somewhere, in this place. If she could just make the right turn. Her name was Vanyssa Newhope, the wristband said as much. And certain things, muscle memory things, her grasp of language which allowed her to cobble her thoughts together, some things were still there. And the other thing she could do. She knew that was still there. Even if her own past was like a forgotten dream.

She started following the right wall, in hopes that it would lead her to answers, memories of her past, or another person.

She wasn't certain which she'd prefer.

---

Kaiden continued to traverse along his left wall. It was a solid plan. No matter how big the labyrinth was, following one wall would eventually see him through to the end, even if he had to walk the whole maze. However big that was. There were doors intermittently littering this place, but just like the space above him, something terrified him about opening random doors in this place with no knowledge of where they led.

"No. Better served working within the maze first, maybe there's someone else here who can tell us more, before we go making the unknown even bigger."

At least until things get more desperate...

The left wall made sense too. After all, it's a maze. Any maze would be man-made, surely. Socially you're supposed to drive and walk down the rightside of the path... so it stands to reason, that the person who made the maze would make it so following the right wall wouldn't yield such quick results, since the maze is supposed to be difficult. Right? Kaiden thought it made a certain kind of sense anyway, and it was as good a plan as he had, so he intended to see it through.

Mazes, labyrinths, his mind kept racing whilst he followed his current plan trying to think of how others had solved his current situation. He immediately thought back to Greek lore, tales of King Minos and the minotaur. Thread would come in handy right now. But then he worried. If he did see someone down here, would they think him the monster? He made a note to speak early if he saw anyone and make sure to appear as non-threatening as he could. Wouldn't want to scare off anyone trying to help.

Then he began to think, "Anyone down here is probably looking for help as well..."

And just as he mumbled that, he discovered his plan had paid off. Walking towards him slowly was a girl, or woman - it was dark and difficult to tell from a distance - wearing some kind of bright white clothing, which seemed to give off a little light.

Kaiden wasted no time to make himself appear friendly. "Hello! Are you stuck down here too? Or do you know your way around here? My name's Kaiden!" He quickly offered his name in another non-threatening gesture.

Vanyssa saw something calling out to her from the darkness, in the distance up ahead. She could make out a silhouette, very large, not so large as to not be human, but the voice didn't seem right from something that big.

As she approached she considered her options, she was weak, but she still felt if she had to she could use her powers and put good distance between them without completely exhausting herself. At least short term. As she got closer and more of 'Kaiden' became visible, removed from the shadow of the wall and the darkness she suspected she didn't have the strength for direct physical contact with this one if it came to it.

So powers to escape would be her only option, but a good one. If it came to that.

"Hell-- Hello." She rasped at first, her voice not used to speach from the long time without use.

"I don't really know where 'here' is. I just woke up and found myself in here."

Kaiden felt relief, she didn't seem scared by him, although she did seem a little wary judging by the crack in her voice. Still that was understandable, considering the circumstances.

"Same here! I just opened my front door and wound up in here, how crazy's that!"

He was far more upbeat and energetic than Vanyssa was prepared for after just waking up. She wondered how long he'd been in here for, and how long he'd hoped to find someone - anyone - to talk to.

"So these doors... they lead to places? I hadn't been game to try any yet."

"Me either. Something about them... just gives me the heebie-jeebies unless I know exactly what's behind a door. As bad as the maze seems it doesn't seem as bad as the unknown. This place... it just-- there's things which just have this crushing sense of foreboding. Same with the sky as well... I can fly, but everything about this place is telling me that would be a bad idea."

Vanyssa nodded in understanding. She had the sense that answers and memories were around here somewhere, but doors just seemed to have this intimidating unknown factor to them. Even though she suspected what she wanted was behind A door, with no knowledge of exactly which, it seemed almost paralysing to go through this place opening random doors. At least at this stage.

"So how are we going to do this, Kaiden?"

Kaiden was confused what she was talking about. "What?"

"Well, you're pretty clearly following your left wall. I'm pretty clearly following my right. So how long have you been walking for? There's no point in just re-treading places the other one of us has been walking longer."

"Oh, I see."

He thought a few seconds about the question. He didn't have any means of keeping track of time in here, but he could guess.

"It feels like... about thirty, forty minutes?"

"Hmm... it seems we both wound up in here about the same time. It feels about that long since I woke up. Alright, I'll turn around, we'll keep following your left."

"Okay. Are you sure?"

"No, I'm not sure, it's a maze." Vanyssa responded curtly. "But I've been going pretty slow and took some time after just waking up. You've probably covered more ground if we both got here at the same time."

That made sense, so the pair continued in Kaiden's direction.

---

Quinn wandered the long halls and corridors of this place aimlessly with frustration setting in. Her short legs weren't getting her anywhere fact, and the thought of flying... something about this place made it unthinkable.

"HELL-LOOO! HE-LLOOOOO! She called out for anyone in earshot. It seemed hopeless, but again, her legs weren't getting her anywhere fast.

---

^{_{"--LOOO! HE-LLOOOOO!"}}

Kaiden stopped in his tracks and turned.

"What? What is it?"

He pointed down an intersecting path, "There's someone yelling out down there. I can hear it in my wings."

Vanyssa looked down the pathway in question quizzically. Kaiden broke and took off down the path.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait up big fella."

"But-- someone. They're calling out."

"They are. And we both go stumbling and bumbling after them we'll lose track of where we got up to. We'll wind up going around and around in circles."

"Then what should we do?"

"You wait here. I'll go. I'm probably more visible, and probably less likely to scare them off. I'll bring whoever it is back here and we can keep our place."

It made sense, albeit a little hurtful, so Kaiden stayed and waited.

"Hello! Whoever was calling out!? Are you down this way?! Can you hear me!? HELLO!?" Vanyssa called out as she got more distant from Kaiden.

Excitement filled Quinn, and she responded in kind, "Yes! I'm down this way! You're getting louder! Keep coming!"

Vanyssa rushed over and eventually met up with Quinn. She turned back and was relieved they had done it this way, Kaiden's location was not visible from where they were, and it would probably take a little effort to find him again afterwards.

After a brief conversation and explanation of the current situation, Quinn joined her in walking back to the other "Strange friend who is like us". She'd been scant with the details, but told her enough that she hopefully wouldn't be terrified at the first sight of him, as confronting as that first sight could be. She'd called out a few times just to make sure they were going in the right direction. This place was so strange she was not a little worried that the labyrinth might somehow mysteriously change in the space between them. But it hadn't.

Vanyssa also managed to convince her it might be quicker if she were carried. She didn't much care for the idea, but flying in this place felt so uncomfortable, and her gait so short compared to others that it was too impractical not to do so.

"Here he is..."

"Whoa... That's--"

"Yes. He's a mothman. This is Kaiden."

"Well... OK then." Quinn replied, realising adversity makes strange bedfellows.

And again, the three were on their way. After a sneeze from Quinn caused by Kaiden's shoulderfluff.

---

"I'm not crazy, it's been hours now, right?"

"That it has." Vanyssa replied.

"So what exactly is the plan?"

"Well, so far we're going over the maze looking to see if we can find anyone who knows their way around this place. That seems the best way to go. Until we've searched the whole labyrinth."

"But we don't know how big this place is... and even if we did, how do we know we haven't already seen all of it?"

This stopped Kaiden in his tracks.

"Won't happen. I left something at the place where I came in. We go past it again, we'll know we did a full circle. And with any luck, this place has a clear exit before it ever gets to that." She said, referring to her hospital gown.

Kaiden started walking again, pleased that the plan had a solution to that problem.

"And what if we don't find anyone who knows their way around this place? What if we get back to where you started?"

"Well, then I guess we start thinking about those doors. But at least we'll be trying our luck there knowing that we have checked this place for anyone else first. Cheer up, it may never happen."

A quick inhalation came from Kaiden up ahead, as he gasped, before whispering to the others in a hushed tone.

^{_{"There... Up ahead."}}

Sure enough, a straight haired woman crept out of one door up ahead, and started to quickly make her way down the corridor away from the trio. A straight haired woman who didn't seem unnerved by the doors in this place. And seemed to move these halls with purpose.

"Go!" Vanyssa urged. Trying to push on herself, on weary weakened legs.

"WAIT!" Quinn called ahead.

The dark haired woman turned, saw that people were in pursuit and broke into a run.

"Go! Go! Go! This is it! Don't lose her!"

Kaiden ran carrying Quinn on his shoulder. Vanyssa ran as well as she was capable. The straight haired girl ran. She turned a corner...

"No! Don't! Can't lose her!" Instead of running straight ahead to pursue the woman, she cut in front of Kaiden and used her power, grabbing on to a furry chitinous limb. Everything seemed to slow down for Kaiden and Quinn, but he cut a path at his regular speed.

"Go... gotta... just don't lose... her..." Vanyssa was rapidly weakening from the expanded use of her power in her tired state. Kaiden scooped her up and kept running, turning the corner just in time to see the straight haired girl going through an open door.

The trio gained ground, but the door was swinging closed. Once again he found something sticking to the fur of his chitinous arm, and looked up to see Quinn in the thick of his floof, reaching out to catch the door just before it could close. Vanyssa's power had ceased, and she'd collapsed in Kaiden's arm. Kaiden pulled the door open and the three fell through...

---

Vanyssa awoke on another bed, but a far cry away from a hospital.

"Are you Okay?" She heard from Kaiden before she could see him.

"Yeah. Yes, I am not. Where are we?"

"We're in... well, we're not in where I was going, but in a place like it. They said it might be easier for us to just stay at this one..."

"Waitwaitwait-- You're not making any sense. Just... Short answer, where are we."

"Aegis. We're in an Aegis facility in San Francisco, Vanyssa. Ju-V."

San Francisco..? Ju-V..? Why did some of that sound familiar? Like the sound of the bedside alarm fitting around events within a dream you couldn't wake from.

"Hang on. I didn't tell you my name."

"Oh... sorry. It was on your wrist. There wasn't much to do while you've been out. I got curious. I didn't know it was supposed to be a secret."

She sighed. "It's not that it was-- I don't remember much about anything. So my name was about all that I knew about me. So when you go and read something I've been holding back. I know it sounds stupid--"

"When all you know is your name, when others know it too, you feel like you don't have anything to yourself? Something like that?"

"Yes. Like I said, I know it sounds stupid..."

"No. I guess that makes sense. I'm sorry."

"So what exactly happened?"

"Well, we saw Poe... Oh, that's the girl we were chasing. She ran away, you used your power - which is crazy-cool by the way, we caught up. She tried to cut out through a door, little Quinn caught the door. We went through, fell through space to here. Then you blacked out, and the people who work here showed us to these rooms. Quinn... kind of freaked out. I don't think she likes the idea of being in a prison-- well, the place used to be a prison. But yeah, Quinn's in a room with Poe. I don't know how well those two will get along, or what this place intends to do with them. I know I was already coming to a place like this before, so no biggie. At least I know someone here now. I think you must have been going to as well."

Vanyssa listend, but it didn't all seem to make sense. Not with her memory of events, and these recent memories she held and clung to tightly.

"Huh--? That's not right. I was already out. Doesn't make sense."

"Well, when we fell through to here you looked up at the guy and said 'I'm here.' or 'We're here' or something like that before you blacked out, so I figured that was when you went down... Thought that must be why you were going here as well."

Vanyssa tried to think about what that could mean before her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Dinner. At the cafeteria. Now."

It seemed less like a request than a cold order. But she didn't have time to dwell on the courtesy. She was famished.

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

It's close but I can read it.

<Snipped quote by KaiserElectric>

Acceptance withdrawn.

@Sep

I might shift that blue slightly lighter in shade whenI get some time then.

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

If that blue is no good for anyone, let me know.

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

"I didn't."

The surrounding superheroes tried to make sense of this new information they were being given by the former hero, as he sat and drank tea with a cookie resting on its saucer.

"So when you say that, you mean--?"

"Exactly what I said, and I'm surprised you didn't ask her any more questions at the time."

"I don't get it." Sandy puzzled. "I thought you said Courtney went to the original Starman to get her cosmic staff improved, to better attune to her?" He asked Pat, who seemed more confused by this recent development than anyone.

"She did! At least that's what she told me... She came back and it was firing off green."

"Cosmic ROD." The older man corrected. "And it doesn't work like that. It absorbs, manipulates and emits stellar energies and light. Why would-- It wouldn't make any sense for the color of light to be changed just for, what, some kind of weird aesthetic purpose? Why would I waste my time on that? And attunement doesn't work like that either. As far as I can tell there's no shortcut to forming better bonds of attunement. That just take time. Nothing more can be done about it."

"So I think-- I guess we can pinpoint the moment when the change happened." Rick said, trying to add a brightside to recent news. "How long ago was that again--? A few weeks? Nearly a month?"

"I want to see it." The old man said, speaking firmly.

The group looked at each other as if trying to get a sense of any reason why they shouldn't. After all, it had been his own creation which brought them all here in the first place.

Beth moved first. She picked up the staff and handed it to the older man.

"Seems only fair."

Old wrinkled hands ran along the sides of the staff, he searched the controls with a furrowed brow.

"This is a weapon." He concluded.

"Well-- You designed it."

"I did NOT." He growled, even more firmly than before. Insulted by the suggestion. "What I designed was a tool. A precision implement designed with more subtle purpose. THIS is a modified energy weapon." He twisted the base, and a part of the staff broke away.

"Regenerative jade plasma cartridges. Would need re-loading after six hours of heavy usage. Twelve of latent. If you search her room or anywhere she's been ducking away to, I bet you'll find at least two or three more." He tossed the cartridge to his son.

"Jack. Who does this make you think of?"

"I don't get it. A villain--?" Rick broke in.

"No. Like I said, this is a weapon. A modified energy weapon. Nobody on Earth has technology like this. Jack has-- been further, met more 'people' than I can claim to have gotten to."

"Nothing we'd want any part of... I can tell that much. It's too crude to be Kree. But it's derivative. Which tells me all we need to know--"

"Well-- you didn't tell anyone when it died, at least. I suppose you all had sense enough for that." The older man grumbled.

"Is-- How did you know that? Is Courtney going to be alright? Is she dead too, along with whatever that thing was?" Beth asked.

Jack tried to calm the scene. As it became obvious that these two seemed to have knowledge of whatever they were dealing with, the excitement built to fever pitch for concern oer their missing friend.

"Tell me... what do any of you know about Skrulls..?"

⭐️ 🌟 ⭐️

---

H O U R M A N
H O U R M A N

---

The hulking ship slowly drifted through the black abyss of space.

Courtney awoke with a start, grabbing her shoulder, and putting her other hand on her back where she was sure the plasma had scorched through.

Phantom wounds.

Her breathing slowed as she realised the horrors of the dream, a simultaneous premonition that she had felt had fallen away and could affect her no longer.

She looked back at the device, the frame she had been connected to, and shuddered.

"Oh-- you're awake too."

Courtney jumped back, nervous about the source of the voice - a smallish, mousey man - who had addressed her unanounced.

"It's ok-- Well, no. That's a lie. It's far from ok. But I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Where are we?"

"Space, I figure... Sorry. I'm not exactly a local either."

"What happened?"

"Well, if you're anything like me, the agent version of you just died. You lost connection and it woke you out of the hyperstasis they keep you in, where they keep transmitting your memories. We should be alright, so long as we keep quiet. I'll show you how to pretend you're still tapped in soon, in just a little while. You seem a lot calmer than the last though. Guy just started screaming. Brought them all right down in here, had to hold my cover for a good twenty minutes or so. A lot more attention than I'm comfortable with."

Courtney walked over to a massive window that gave a large vista of space and a second immense ship that appeared to be travelling alongside. She felt a familiar faint draw from it.

"I don't suppose you know where we are?"

"Hmm?" She queried. How was she supposed to know?

"It's just-- your clothes. Covered in stars. Figured, maybe there was an off chance-- No? Forget I asked..."

"What's that ship?"

"Don't know. If I had to guess, I'd say another just like this one, with more people trapped, just like us."

But Courtney wasn't so sure. She concentrated and felt the draw pull stronger.

Her friends thought she was dead. She was trapped in a metal hull hurtling through space. She had to get out, and that would take two things. A plan, and time.

"Show me how to make them think we're still tapped in..."

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

@BangoSkank with the multiversal concept you could really run with any of these ideas that take your particular fancy. When you're not in the Prime universe it's really about writing what you find interesting, rather than attempting to fill any particular niché.

<Snipped quote by Lord Wraith>

What, again?

@Sep

Batman and Visa... accepted everywhere.

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

This run of night shifts has been pretty rough.

Worst case scenario there's three more to go and then I should get more free time.

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

S U P E R I O R R O G U E S
S U P E R I O R R O G U E S

<sup>"Letcher in on a secret for free, mate. Your lot may be scientifically advanced and all that over us. But for downright mean and nasty... come to us."
- George "Digger" Harkness, Captain Boomerang (not to be confused with that dodgy second rate bludger over in New York)</sup>

C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y C H A R A C T E R S U M M A R Y _________________________________________________________ The Superior Rogues of Spiders & Flash _________________________________________________________ Mercenaries, Thieves, Ne'erdowells & General Assorted Scumbaggery _________________________________________________________ Multiverse 668 - Prime | SRS&F is... Open C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S _________________________________________________________ [+] - M I S C E L L A N E O U S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► The three bars have changed hands numerous times over the years. But ownership has always remained well aware of the current customer base they serve. - P O S T C A T A L O G P O S T C A T A L O G _________________________________________________________ [+] - P O S T C A T A L O G ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ◼ -

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T ________________________________________________________________________________________ WHAT IF 'THE BAR WITH NO NAME' WAS PART OF A FRANCHISE? Three bars nationwide share mutually interested ownership. MacBeth's ('The Bar With No Name'), Manhattan, NEW YORK Only on official paperwork is 'the Bar' known as MacBeth's. With criminals being a superstitious and cowardly lot, 'the Bar With No Name's regular clientele first began avoiding use of the name on days of pulling a job. Then entirely. Sensing a marketing opportunity, ownership jumped at the notion and removed all 'MacBeth's signage until it's unofficial nom de plume spread by its regular's became it's most well known one. Now few but the oldest of its frequenters are familiar with its actual name and backstory. Made even rarer by the Bar's changes in ownership down the years. The Bar With No Name operates out of Manhattan, and is well known to the less law-abiding elements of NYC, Jersey, Gotham and Bludhaven looking for a place to wet their whistle, and a stable discreet location where work can often find them. The Keystone Saloon, Keystone City, KANSAS Opened in 1805, before Kansas had even gained statehood. A bunch of enterprising gents had travelled westward into the newly acquired but not yet organised territories gained in the Louisiana purchase, with the thought being that so much was ripe for the taking, and that whatever order WOULD be established there, would likely find the path of least resistance, to deal with the American settlers who had already staked claims and established themselves. The saloon was the first port of order, and a key locale for these new types, often of varying conscience. And so became the bar's legacy of asking few questions, and serving all sorts. Over 200 years later, and it remains very much the same. The Nolle Prosequi (Also known informally as 'The Nolle' or 'The Grassy Nolle'), Gateway City, CALIFORNIA The Nolle Prosequi started out as a lawyer's bar near the courthouse, in 1937. The swirling hustle and bustle of the era, the glitz and glamour of the time, and it's reputation for seedy clientele saw the Nolle fall behind and become less competitive as an 'It' spot for the Who's Who of the day. But their clientele still paid the bills, still kept the lights on, and even as it slowly sank away from the defense attorneys as it's original base as its reputation became too rough for them, it had forged it's own path and became an uttered meeting place, or contact point for the criminal underbelly of a lot of the coastal California crime scene whether they call Coast City, Jump City or even Star City home. P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) ________________________________________________________________________________________ Why do you want to play this character, what is the driving motivation behind both this desire and the character themselves. What do you hope to accomplish and where do you want the character's story/stories to go? This one's my fun, cut-loose and bring-the-LOLs app. Some of you might be familiar with my Blue Beetle run... think more along those lines, whilst J.S.A and Hourman are more of a love letter to the history of the comics medium. S U P E R I O R C L I E N T E L E S U P E R I O R C L I E N T E L E ________________________________________________________________________________________ The Bar With No Name, NEW YORK Expect to see the following familiar faces (amongst others) in this region: Boomerang Shocker Beetle Overdrive White Rabbit Kite-Man Keystone Saloon, KANSAS Expect to see the following familiar faces (amongst others) in this region: Captain Cold Captain Boomerang Mirror Master Weather Wizard The Trickster Heatwave Abra Kadabra Golden Glider Top Doctor Alchemy Nolle Prosequi, CALIFORNIA Expect to see the following familiar faces (amongst others) in this region: Kangaroo Ringer Paste Pot Pete/The Trapster Slyde Big Wheel Stegron Speed Demon

---

Absolute Comics Presents - What If? [A DC & Marvel One Universe RP]

Here's my character proposal, I've talked about it a bit with @Ezekiel because I know he's using the Fantastic Four, I also saw that @Hound55 has the JSA but I didn't see any current incarnation of Dr. Fate, so I hope I'm not stepping on anything he has sketched out.

Doctor Doom

C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L

Doctor Doom

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^{_{Victor Von Doom ♦ Former ruler of Latveria ♦ Independant ♦ Multiverse 668 (Prime)}}

W H A T I F...?:

---

^{"All defeat is merely temporary, the will of Doom triumphs in the end, always."}

"Doctor Doom stole Doctor Fate's Helmet?"

The story of Victor Von Doom has been told many times, in dossiers, news programs, and in a truly excruciating multi-volume autobiography totaling in the thousands of pages that was mandatory reading for all Latverian college students. The broad strokes all agree, the son of a sorceress and born into the oppressed Latverian Romani community, he displayed a brilliant mind from a young age and fought against the ruling aristocracy of Latveria. As a college student he met his lifelong rival Reed Richards, and dropped out after an accidental explosion left him with a scar and a lifelong hatred of Richards. He traveled the world, built the advanced armor suit that would become his signature look, and returned to Latveria to lead a successful revolution. Despite achieving so much, Doom never let go of his hatred of Richards and all of his compatriots, and terrorized both the world at large and the Fantastic Four in particular with a seemingly endless stream of schemes. This adversarial relationship took paused when Richards came to him pleading for his help locating his missing wife. Although Doom enjoyed seeing his great rival depending on him for help and was practically salivating at the chance to use the mystical connection he had established with Richard’s daughter Valeria to enact further revenge, all of it proved bittersweet only a few years later. The Baxter Catastrophe seemingly did what Doom could not, wiping out the Fantastic Four, leaving Doom without his revenge and Valeria without her parents. In a gesture wrapped up with equal parts ego, ambition, and genuine care for the child, Doom adopted Valeria and raised her as if she were one of his own kin.

With the Fantastic Four gone, life changed for Doom. His ambitions never truly went away, but some of the urgency did, and his life became more sedate, finding time to dedicate to ruling over Latveria and raising his adopted daughter Valeria. He was still feared and loathed by the world at large, but less actively than before, as his clashes with outside powers became increasingly infrequent, never completely absent but far from the days that established him as an international terror. Some even began to speculate that he might be softening up; those who did voice those ideas made sure they were far beyond Doom’s reach whenever they did so. All of that changed a few months ago when a revolution broke out in Latveria, one that was different from any previous resistance movement he had seen. This one had planning and intention behind it, clearly with the groundwork laid beforehand, it moved swiftly and engulfed the whole country, carefully evading his surveillance network, infiltrating and disabling his defense systems, appropriating the weapons stored away and striking at the perfect time when Doom was distracted by international business. Although he publicly he says that it was purely good luck on their part, Doom suspects that someone orchestrated it all behind the scenes, and swears that he shall have his revenge swiftly and violently for what he insists is only a temporary setback.

Having fled the country has meant Doom has had to adapt to new circumstances. He destroyed much of his infrastructure and stashes rather than let the ungrateful revolutionaries have it, but in his hurry he could only bring the barest minimum of supplies with him. Doom has much to do to rebuild his resources and status. Finding a safe haven outside Latveria proved difficult, his antics as ruler had made him a pariah in the international stage, and now without his official status few were willing to even let him into their country as a free man. With options running low, Doom began to dig deep into his endless list of backup plans, trying to find something that could give him a rapid boost in power, and decided on one of the more speculative ideas, hunting for a particular object of great mystical power.

Victor pursued a lead he had learned of long ago, one that he had never found worth his time until he was so desperate. He stole the Helmet of Fate, an ancient artifact imbued with magical power by Nabu, one of the Lords of Order. Doom cared not for the warnings or the demands it would place on him, he trusted in himself to overcome them. Doom believed in them so deeply that he forged the helmet into his armor, adding a new gold sheen to the faceplate. Unfortunately for Doom, the mystical powers granted by the Helm of Fate are not given freely. Nabu, awoken from his slumber, demands loyalty from Doom, and wishes that his powers be used to set the universe as it should be. Doom now finds himself in an uneasy place, so far unable to find a way out of Nabu’s bargain, but also lacking in other options and fighting a constant battle to stop Nabu from fully possessing his body, for the time being Doom will actually have to devote some of his time to more altruistic pursuits. Whether this will lead to change in Doom, and how the bond between Doom and Nabu will evolve over time remains to be seen.

P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ):

---

I want to try telling a story about Doom outside of his comfort zone, where is trying to pick himself up after a setback, on the backfoot and scrambling, and one where he is actually compelled to do some heroics. I want explore what effects this will have on his psyche, and if there are noble intentions buried somewhere within him or if it has all truly been swallowed up by his own ego. I’m also hoping to dive into the mystical aspects of DC and Marvel because both of those have a lot of great material to play with. Doom is going to be a roaming character, focused on investigating some initial questions at the start, and moving where those threads lead. Doom wants to find out who back the coup in Latveria, and find a way to secure the helmets power without having to deal with Nabu. Nabu is interested in uncovering the plots of the agents of Chaos, and later on I’m also going to try and look at what motivates him, delve into what are the true intentions behind the Lords of Order and the cosmic war. These could end up being tied to other characters plots or remain independent, depending on whatever people prefer, and he'd also be open to brief appearances and intersections if not actually tied into anything important.

C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:

---

I’ve been talking with Ezekiel to try and hash out some of our characters’ shared histories, hopefully we can smooth out any inconsistencies that arise.
Supporting cast is minimal at the moment, have left it intentionally vague as to where exactly he stole the helmet from to avoid creating issues for other players.

P O S T C A T A L O G:

---

TBD

@Fiber

All good. I had nothing major planned with Fate at this stage anyway.

The sum total I had for Fate was "Kent Nelson was a WWII era hero with the Helm of Fate".