Morden Man

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

C'mon, now. There's a reason we use screenshots to stir up drama. We're not thirteen year olds...

Wait... some of us might be.

What I mean is, we're better than that.

@Byrd Man

It's almost as if Byrd has something to hide.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

"Hey, uh... Silver Surfer?! Listen, we don't need to fight. Who's your master? I am sure we can find another way to resolve this without ending anymore life, you can't enjoy this anymore than we do. Help us help you."

@Sep

The Silver Surfer watched as the Flash approached him with palms upturned. He understood it to be a gesture of submission on this world. It was quaint. It suggested that one so insignificant as the Flash could ever harm him. The Surfer felt no more or less threatened by the woman with her hands in the air than he did fending off punches from the Kryptonian. With the power cosmic running through his being, there was nothing that could harm him.

Least of all an Earthbound metahuman yet to master her powers.

The Surfer cast a judgemental gaze upon the Flash. Her voice was calming, a well-practised stillness exuding from each word, and her features, obscured to those with a lesser eye by vibrating her molecules, had a sororal quality meant to put the Surfer at ease. Her efforts were misplaced – and her understanding of the Surfer's role in balancing the cosmic scales was sorely lacking.

"RESOLUTION? YOU SPEAK OF FORCES YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND, HUMAN."

The Surfer's flat, emotionless voice boomed from atop his surfboard. In more worlds than the Surfer could remember, there had been those that fought to the bitter end – raging against the inevitable until their world's were little more than smouldering embers. Some sought to bargain and beg. It always ended the same way.

Soon the inhabitants of Earth would find that out for themselves.

"ONLY DEATH AND DESTRUCTION AWAITS YOUR WORLD SHOULD YOU REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE IN MY MASTER'S TEST."

One of the Surfer's hand began to glow with the power cosmic. The power was so volatile that it's throbbing was audible even to the Flash on the ground. At the first sign of the Surfer raising his hand, the Flash broke into a sprint. The Surfer tracked her gait with his eye as he prepared to unfurl the cosmic energy in the speedster's direction.

"AND IT IS MY DUTY TO DELIVER IT."

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

Vigilante post coming soon, to have him link up with Superman and Flash. Unfortunately I'm on a family vacation and all I've got to work with is mobile Google Drive for a few days. Post should be incoming soon, though.

@DocTachyon

I think we're probably on the home straight as regards the Surfer interaction so I wouldn't stress too much about getting involved if it's a hassle.

As MB has said, there'll be plenty of opportunities to get involved in things like this in future. (By then you'll hopefully be writing posts on more than Google Drive on your cell phone!)

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

It had been a while since my last F4 post – at least by my standards – but I managed to put something together even if I wasn't especially pleased with it.

I'm up on the Surfer front too, so I'll try to work on getting something up for that either later this evening or tomorrow morning/afternoon. Apologies to anyone that's been waiting on that.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

Baxter Building, New York

Maria Hill stood cross-armed in the centre of the Baxter Building living room. Propped up against the wall with a look of well-practised disdain was Johnny Storm. His sister Sue was perched at the end of a table. Around the edges of the room stalked Benjamin Grimm. He was muttering expletives under his breath as he paced. It didn’t make any sense. The Silver Surfer had arrived on Earth – at the worst possible time for them – and here was Maria Hill asking them not to get involved. So vehement was she that they remain on the sidelines that she had made the flight from Washington DC to New York in the middle of a global crisis. The whole thing stank.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” Ben repeated for what was surely the seventh or eighth time.

Maria Hill shook her head curtly at the Thing. “I’m afraid not, Mr. Grimm.”

The words were as much of a shock to Ben as they had been the first time Hill had delivered them. They were halfway out of the door after receiving Harrison Well’s distress message when the deputy director of SHIELD had arrived at the Baxter Building to be the bearer of bad news.

Ben lifted his rocky hands to his face and buried it in them for a few moments with exasperation. SHIELD existed to keep people safe – to defend them from threats like the Silver Surfer – and here was its deputy director asking them to do the opposite. It was madness.

“But that’s the Silver Surfer out there. You know, the frickin’ herald of Galactus? The destroyer of worlds?” Ben shouted and jabbed a finger into the side of his head. “This ringing any bells in that thick skull of yours?”

If Ben’s insult phased her, Maria Hill did a good job of pretending otherwise. Her cold, emotionless eyes watched him pacing around like a caged animal spoiling for a fight. She wasn’t going to give him one.

“SHIELD are on top of the situation in Central City,” Hill said dispassionately. “Both the Flash and Superman are on the scene. That should be more than enough firepower to put this Surfer down.”

A derisive snort left Ben Grimm’s nose at the confidence in Hill’s voice. “More than enough? You’re in over your head, girl scout.”

The last two words that had slipped out of Ben’s mouth succeeded in irking Hill more than any of his actual insults. She opened her mouth to fire back an insult of her own but Sue Storm preempted the slanging match and did her best to steer the conversation back to its original topic – and to set out their stall to both Hill and SHIELD.

“What Ben is trying to say is that we are the only people on this planet that has any prior experience with Norrin. There’s no way of stopping him through force – brute strength and speed alone definitely won’t do it. You need to reason with him. On our world we managed to turn the Surfer against Galactus. If you give us a chance we’ll do it again, Maria, but we can’t do that from inside the Baxter Building.”

Hill’s crossed arms relaxed, her cold eyes softened, and for half a second it seemed as if the deputy director was about to change her mind. Then she clenched her teeth, tightened her arms once more, and shook her head in disapproval.

“We can’t risk the public finding out about your presence here,” Hill said with what approached a sympathetic look towards Sue. “It’ll raise too many questions.”

Johnny called out from against the wall. “There won’t be anyone left to ask them if you don’t let us out of here.”

The comment was met with an approving grumble from Ben. Hill let out a heavy sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose as what remained of her patience gave out. She had tried the softly-softly approach with them and it had proved unsuccessful. The deputy director stared at Johnny, who was still leaning contemptuously, and deployed a voice that she reserved for moments like these – one that Guy Gardner had been on the receiving end of not too long ago.

“There seems to have been some misunderstanding. This is not a debate. Your are guests on our world. SHIELD have been very accommodating of you given the circumstances but this time you play by our rules. If we tell you that you’re sitting this one out, you’re sitting this one out. That’s it. End of story.”

“Guests,” Ben grumbled under his breath. “Sound more like prisoners to me.”

After a few moments of silence, Maria Hill turned to make her exit. Her hand had reached the handle of the Baxter Building’s entrance when Johnny called out to her again. This time the defiance in his voice, veiled somewhat at first instance, was open and unapologetic.

“And what if we go anyway?”

It was meant as an act of hostility and Maria Hill received it as one – and reciprocated in kind.

“There were some at SHIELD that were of the opinion we should have thrown the four of you into a deep, dark hole and left you there to rot,” she said as Johnny squirmed under her gaze. “I wasn’t one of them.”

She looked to Sue whose blue eyes were determinedly softer than her brother’s and smiled begrudgingly at the Invisible Woman as if to acknowledge the unpleasantness of the words that were about to leave her mouth.

“Let’s just say I would become a lot more receptive to the idea.”

The threat hung in the air between the four of them for a few moments before Hill stepped back out onto the street. She shut the door behind her with a slam and left Sue, Johnny and Ben alone to mull over their next steps. What was a lifetime in a deep, dark hole weighed against the fate of the world? To millions of lives? How could they stand aside and let the Surfer prepare Earth for consumption after what they had seen and lived through?

They would go to Central City whatever the consequences. That much was clear the second Sue, Johnny and Ben’s eyes met once Hill had left them.

“What the hell are we waiting for?” Johnny said with a devilish grin. “There’s no way we’re letting Clark have all the f-”

He took one step in the direction of the Baxter Building’s elevators when the sound of shutters sliding downwards sounded. Every surface in the living room was suddenly covered in metal – in a manner not unlike the shutters on the Pegasus – and the three of them found themselves encased.

Suddenly Maria Hill’s voice sounded in the living room.

“You didn’t think I went to all that effort to just let you walk out of there, did you?”

Ben Grimm shook his head angrily and made a fist. He cocked his arm back and unfurled his boulder-sized hand towards the metal shutters. It smashed against them with some force. Grimm let out a small gasp as he noticed the shutters were undamaged – and weirder still, his hand was throbbing with pain. He grasped at it with his free hand and went down to one knee.

Hill’s voice sounded once more. “There’s no point in trying to get out. It’s vibranium – one of the most durable substances on the planet. You’re strong, Mr. Grimm, but not even you are strong enough to punch your way out this time.”

“Son of a bitch,” Ben muttered as he stretched out his aching fingers.

Sue placed a supportive hand on Ben’s shoulders and looked to her brother who was trying in vain to melt his way through the metal. His efforts proved to be every bit as fruitless as Ben’s had been. Hill must have designed the room to specification the second they had arrived in Latveria.

They were stuck.

Ben’s big blue eyes looked up at Sue with an earnest, if worried, smile. “Looks like it’s on Stretch to save the day again.”

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

"You want to test me? Well. Catch me if you can." She was gone in a Flash, her planned destination? The badlands. She needed open space to manuever, open space where he couldn't hurt anyone else and she could really kick up speed.

@Sep

With a gust of wind the Flash sped off into the horizon. The Silver Surfer stood impassively on his board and allowed the Flash to pull further and further away from him. She jolted from one side of the road to the other, pulling drivers from passing cars and ushering civilians to safety, until she reached the edge of Central City and took a glance over her shoulder. The Surfer's lithe metallic body had disappeared – so to had his board.

Suddenly a vice-like grip applied itself to the Flash's neck and she was lifted from the ground. The brown eyes beneath the Flash's cowl met with the Silver Surfer's dead, vacant white eyes. There was no sign of emotion, no sign of feeling to them, only a cold, resolute determination to fulfil a purpose.

"YOUR MEAGRE DISPLAYS OF SPEED ARE AS TO NOTHING TO ONE THAT HAS WALKED UPON THE SURFACE OF DYING SUNS AND OUTRACED SHOOTING STARS."

"No," The Flash muttered as she tried to pry the Surfer's fingers from her neck. "It's not possible."

The Surfer's board began to hum. The Flash's feet kicked out at the herald, sliding off of his silver skin harmlessly, but she was rendered limp and helpless by the sudden display of speed the Surfer was subjecting them to. They burst free of the city towards Central City's Badlands – and the mountain range that encircled the city.

"ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE POWER COSMIC."

The Surfer plunged the pair of them into a nearby mountain and the Flash braced herself for impact. There was none. Instead they passed through the mountain. She gasped in shock as the the emotionless Surfer dragged them through what felt like a lifetime of rock. Once they were clear of the mountains, the Surfer began to ascend. The air thinned and whipped past their heads so loudly it was deafening.

At last they burst through a thick layer of clouds and the Surfer brought them to a stop. The stillness drew all tension from the moment for a few seconds. Until it was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a plane on the horizon. The Surfer cocked his arm back and prepared to launch the Flash towards it like a javelin.

"YOU WILL LEARN, THE FLASH OF CENTRAL CITY, OR THEY WILL PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE FOR YOUR FAILURE."

With that, the Surfer sent the Flash hurtling towards the plane at a speed unlike that any the Flash had ever encountered before. He watched in silence as the metahuman had only a fraction of a second to save her own life and the lives of those onboard.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

@Morden Man, that was badass. Keep up the good work.

@Nightrunner

That's very kind of you. I wasn't very happy with that post at all so it's good to hear that someone enjoyed it.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

Moon Knight is out for this first one. No real organic way of getting him involved at this point in time, and I still have a fair amount of early world building to get through before I'm ready for that anyway.

@Hound55

That's a good call.

I don't think anyone should feel obliged to get involved. We're a long way off September and there'll be several chances to be involved in moments like these throughout the game, so if it doesn't make sense for your character to be there or it doesn't fit with what you're doing, feel free to press on as normal.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

Central City, Missouri

No sooner had Reed Richards run down STAR Labs’ defences than Harrison Wells had spun around to face him. It was clear from the look on his face that Wells had not been as oblivious to his presence there as Reed had thought. The self-satisfied smile on Harrison’s face would have been heartening if not for the threatening looking rifle in his left hand.

“Whoever you are, you spoke too soon,” he said as he pulled the trigger three times in quick succession.

Three balls of yellow electricity came sprouting from the muzzle of the rifle. It careened through the air towards Reed. He'd calculated their trajectory the second Wells had pulled the trigger. Two strikes to the heart and one to the head. It would have been enough to put a lesser man down – perhaps for good – but Reed barely had to break his stride to evade them.

The super scientist's torso bent like melted taffy and he simply ducked his head to avoid the third. “You always were one to shoot first and ask questions later.”

The STARs Labs founder primed the rifle to unload another barrage of electricity towards Reed. This time the world's smartest man was having none of it. He reached out a smacked the rifle out of Harrison's hands. It went skidding along the floor of the laboratory and came to a stop beneath a desk.

Wells clambered around frantically, searching for something else to use as a weapon, but Reed's oven-sized hands were wrapped tightly around his shoulders before he could manage it. He lifted him off of the ground and attempted to calm him with a word. It had barely left his lips when Harrison's forehead came crashing down against Reed's nose. There was a loud crunch and Richards went staggering backwards.

"For the love of God," Reed muttered disapprovingly under his breath as his nose sprang back into place cartoonishly. "I'm not here to harm you, Harrison, I'm here to ask for your help."

Harrison Wells struggled between Reed’s fingers.

“People that need help don’t break in during the middle of the night like two-bit cat burglars.”

Every time Wells managed to pluck free one of his arms, Reed’s hands would swell with size and pull the scientist’s limbs back under their control. Harrison’s face grew red with exertion but kept struggling against the inevitable. Finally once it became clear that Richards had him, Wells stopped kicking out. He simply glared at Richards with contempt.

“They definitely don’t wear the face of a man two galaxies away to do it.”

The words hit him like a sledgehammer to the chest. Two galaxies away, Reed repeated to himself in his head, as he replayed the real fate of this world’s Reed Richards. Maria Hill said that he – and Sue, Johnny and Ben – had been burned alive. It was enough to make Reed’s stomach churn.

He nodded wearily as he acknowledged Harrison’s complaint. “Ah, well I’m afraid there’s not much that I can do about that particular detail.”

There in Wells’ eyes was a glimmer of intrigue. It was all the reassurance that Reed needed. Slowly he began to loosen his grip on Wells and lower him to the ground. A few inches above it he sought some affirmation from the scientist that another barrage of attacks wouldn’t be coming his way – and he received it by way of a begrudging nod.

Wells dusted himself down and Reed took a few gentle steps back from him.

“You’re not wrong as such, Harrison. I’m not Reed Richards. At least, I’m not your Reed Richards. I come from another world. One like yours in many, many ways – in fact where I come from, you and I have met on several occasions. That’s how I knew how to find you. And it’s how I know that you offer the Flash … assistance from time to time.”

An incredulous look appeared on Harrison’s face.

“I don’t know what you’re t-”

“You don’t have to deny it,” Reed interrupted. “The people of Central City owe you a great debt. I don’t and haven’t always agreed with the methods of my Wells, but there’s no doubting his – and your – commitment to the greater good, Harrison. In both the work you do here at STAR Labs and out there with the Flash.”

Harrison Wells had heard enough.

“That’s enough.”

With a sigh he walked towards one of the hidden twenty-third floor’s walls and placed his hand against it. Without a sound the wall disappeared to reveal the Central City skyline. Yellow orbs mapping out the signs of life in the darkness. Reed watched him studying it. There was a heaviness to him, like a man carrying a secret, the weight of which Richards himself had perhaps only begun to appreciate.

Wells stepped back from the view and placed one of his hands through his thick brown hair.

“Let’s say for a moment that I choose to believe you. Let’s say that I believe that you somehow managed to crack inter-dimensional travel. Why come here? What’s so important about this world?”

This was the part that Reed looked forward to the least.

“Does the name ‘Darkseid’ mean anything to you?”

There was nothing. Not an ounce of recognition in the look that greeted the name. Richards wasn’t sure whether to feel thankful for that or to shake Wells uncontrollably. Even now Darkseid was likely ruling Reed’s home world with an iron fist. He recalled to Wells every last part of their tale – Darkseid’s arrival, Luthor’s defeat and the craft Doom and Reed had built.

“Your world,” Harrison muttered as he tried and failed to comprehend the scale of the destruction. “I’m sorry.”

Reed shook his head defiantly.

“I don’t need you to be sorry, Harrison, I need you to help me get home.”

The time craft was Reed’s only chance of returning home. Where Doom and he had failed, Reed hoped that Wells would succeed. He was a brilliant scientist. Not quite on Reed’s or even that of a Tony Stark but he had different specialisms, a different approach, and most importantly, an understanding of speed.

If anyone was capable of getting the four of them home, it was Harrison Wells – if he was willing to try.

“There’s plenty of room at the Baxter Building,” Reed promised. “If your Flash is anything like ours, she’ll be able to make do without you for a week or two.”

Wells let out a heavy sigh as if taking the decision caused him physical pain.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have some reservations, Reed, but I’ve always been a sucker for lost causes. Give me a day to get my affairs in order and I’ll be on the first f-”

A beam of light so pure and blinding seemed to stop Wells in his tracks. It had come from out there – something was moving in Central City – and it wasn’t the red-yellow blur that Wells had become so accustomed to.

Reed Richards looked at him confused. “What was that?”

Wells sprinted over to a nearby desk and pressed his thumb down against it. The table sprang into life as a thousand of holographic buttons and symbols appeared on it. In front of Wells appeared four screens with schematics of the city, a frequency scanner, and other useful tidbits of information on it.

“My sensors are going crazy,” Wells muttered as he tried to make sense of the collection of information in front of him. “Whatever caused that thing is it’s moving fast.”

It took Reed a couple of seconds to deduce how to work the panel. “Cameras?”

“I’m working on it.”

Harrison’s fingers typed furiously as he tried to find footage from the city’s many CCTV cameras that could confirm the source. Pictures and videos flashed across the screen of the point of origin of the light. Wells slowed the video over and over again until finally in the blurry image something discernible came into being.

It was a sight familiar to Reed Richards.

“Flash?” Wells called into the microphone. “Can you hear me? What’s going on? What is that thing?”

Reed reached out a hand and placed it on Harrison Wells’ shoulder gently.

“That thing is called the Silver Surfer – he’s the herald of Galactus. If he’s here, that means Galactus isn’t far behind him. Our whole planet is in danger, Harrison. We have to call in everyone – and we need them to get to Central City fast.”

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

I know @Morden Man has a very unique style, unique to me anyway, when it comes to writing that I just can't even attempt to try.

@Byrd Man

By unique, Byrd means that he tried to watch me write a post once and it gave him a pounding headache and a nosebleed.

I've heard that reading them can have the same effect.