Morden Man

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

Would it be selfish of me to make a claim for it?

I've had my epilogue written up for a while now and I feel like it'll be fairly impactful and may even help shape the direction of the next game a little. But I've played such a role in the MME that I don't want to appear to be hogging the limelight, as it where. I think @Byrd Man and @Lord Wraith are the only two people to have seen it so perhaps they could speak to my claim also.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

With Thor's arrival, we're turning the corner into the last third of the MME. The Thor-Surfer throw-down is obviously going to be pretty central to that. That's not to say that there won't be opportunities for the others to get involved, but if you're at The Raft and not named Blake Donaldson, chances are the longer you're there, the more your character is going to be focused on helping evacuate the remaining staff/prisoners from The Raft.

Not the most glamorous work, but someone has to do it.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

The Raft, New York

The light in the sky had been blinding. Though Johnny had flown Darkseid’s herald far out of sight, the sudden wave of energy that knocked the heroes from their feet could only mean one thing – he’d gone supernova. Sue’s heart had stopped the moment her brother tackled the herald. Johnny had always acted first and thought second. When he’d heard Darkseid’s name, he had seen read, and that much was understandable, but there was no way of knowing whether he’d survive that much heat.

Slowly the light began to fade and the heroes began to murmur amongst themselves. Had Johnny done it? Had he achieved alone what all of them could not do together? And if so, had he paid the ultimate price for it? No, it didn’t bear thinking about, Sue gritted her teeth stared up at the sky in the hope her brother might appear before them. But there was nothing.

Until there was.

It was a lone figure falling from the heavens. There were no flames. Johnny looked like a dead weight as he fell from through the sky at a breakneck speed. There was no way he would survive such a fall, Sue thought, her heart pounding uncontrollably in her mouth. She couldn’t lose him. She screaming to the heroes for help when the sound of an engine revving drowned her out.

”Hold onto your horses, kid! Imma comin’!”

@DocTachyon

The flaming biker revved his engines once more and took to the skies swinging his lariat. Sue muttered a silent prayer that he would reach him in time to break his fall. He inched closer by the second, close enough to throw his lariat towards Johnny, when a shock of silver energy announced the appearance of the Silver Surfer.

He looked near broken, beaten almost, the silver coating on his skin was almost at the point of dripping off him, but he was still alive. His fingers wrapped around Johnny’s uniform and snatched him out of Vigilante’s path at the last second.

“ENOUGH.”

@Byrd Man

Floating in the air atop his surfboard the herald seemed to inspect Johnny the same way a predator might inspect its mortally-wounded prey. There was no look of satisfaction to the Surfer’s gaze, only what appeared to Sue to be a detached, almost surgical desire to be done with Storm and the rest of the heroes.

“No,” Sue muttered under her breath as she looked to Reed, Ben, and the others. “He's going to kill him. Please someone do something!”

They sprung into action. Blue Beetle’s jetpack fired into life, Spider-Woman broke to swing in the Surfer’s direction, and Ben balled Reed into a sphere to launch across the open sea to the hovering herald. But there was something in the pit of Sue’s stomach that told her that they would be unable to reach him in time. They were too far out, the Surfer’s exposed pink, fleshy wrapped tightly around Johnny’s unconscious face.

“HE HAS GIVEN HIS HEART OVER TO WRATH. HE CARES MORE ABOUT VENGENCE THAN HE DOES JUSTICE. HE IS A POOR HERO. HE HAS BEEN FOUND WANTING, AND HE WILL BE DESTROYED IN THE NAME OF DARKSEID.”

@Byrd Man

The power cosmic flowed through the Surfer’s hand into Johnny’s unconscious body and he awoke with a blood-curdling scream. His limbs flailing wildly as the incredible power that the herald possessed began to course through him. Sue’s desperate screams echoed around The Raft as she watched on helpless to stop her baby brother’s suffering.

And then she remembered. The pendant.

Her fingers reached for her pockets and she plucked out the artifact she had been given after her visit to the Triskelion. How did it work? Sue’s nervous, sweaty fingers ran over it as she tried to remember what he’d said. All she had to do was say his name and wherever she was, he would be able to reach her.

For the first time in decades, Sue found herself appealing to god for help. Not the god of love or forgiveness, but the God of Thunder. “Thor…”

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

“I AM THE HERALD OF THE END TIMES FOR YOUR PLANET, CHAMPION OF ANTI-LIFE. I AM THE SILVER SURFER, AND I SERVE DARKSEID.”

@Byrd Man

The Raft, New York

Johnny Storm’s eyes widened with shock as he heard Darkseid’s name leave the SIlver Surfer’s mouth. He hovered mid-air for a moment as he tried to process the information. His eyes met with Reed’s on the ground who looked every bit as shocked as he did. Slowly Johnny’s flame began to burn brighter and hotter as his anger rose. The Surfer was working for the Apokoliptian that had murdered their world. It wasn’t their Darkseid, Johnny understood that much on some level, but as his blazing eyes rested on the herald it seemed to make no difference to him.

He shot towards the herald with arms outstretched. There was a loud thud as Johnny’s shoulder hit the Surfer square in the chest and he wrapped his arms tightly around his shoulders. What Johnny was doing was the next nearest thing to suicide, but his rage – and his desire to see Darkseid pay for what he had done to their world – far outstripped any sense of self-preservation the young man possessed.

“You want death? You want destruction? Well buckle up, you son of a bitch, because there’s no coming back from where we're going!”

From far beneath them, Johnny thought he could hear his sister calling out his name. There was no time for second thoughts. If he hesitated now, he’d be dead, they’d all be dead – just like his world. No, Johnny continued sending the pair of them climbing high above the clouds, until The Raft was barely visible, until New York looked like a scattered handful of lights along the Eastern Seaboard, and the air was so thin that Johnny could barely breathe.

He needed to be this high to do what he had planned. Ever since they had left their world, Storm had been storing up the all the rage and the loss that he felt – but he didn’t need to hold it in anymore. Even as they had thought Namor and Hector Hammond, Johnny had found himself holding back, afraid of hurting someone – or everyone. But he didn’t care if the Surfer could take it.

So long as he served Darkseid, the herald could burn alive if that’s what it took to stop him.

Johnny thought of Peter Parker and Clark Kent. He thought of Crystal and She Hulk. Wyatt Wingfoot and Medusa. He thought of all the friends and foes that had been lost to Darkseid’s murderous campaign on his world. He pictured their faces in his mind. Then he pictured all the people they had lost. A whole world destroyed and for what? One man’s greed. He felt the pain bubbling in his chest, heard it leaving his throat as a guttural scream, and prepared to let the flames tear through his every pore like he had never done before.

Supernova, Reed had called it.

The super scientist had surmised that Johnny possessed within him the power to explode into a burst of flames hotter than the surface of the sun – though he could never safely put that theory to test. Now was the time. He gripped the Surfer close to him, despite the herald’s desperate attempt to prize Johnny’s arms free from him, and gave him every ounce of power that he had. His body was shaking with anticipation. His throat coarse with screams he could no longer hear anymore. But he could feel the light.

There was a sudden silence as Johnny released the supernova. As its flames engulfed him and the Surfer he muttered one word. "Sue."

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

Alright, folks. As with yesterday, this is another last call (or at least a last call for the last call) for this round of MME responses.

From the looks of things, @DocTachyon and @Sep are the only people that have yet to contribute something to it, with confirmation from the latter of something – if not direct involvement. Not trying to rush anyone, it's just good to know people's intentions ahead of time.

@Byrd Man has graciously agreed to relieve me from Silver Surfer duty for a little while. So he'll be putting together this round's response.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

“ENOUGH. WHAT MERCY I HAVE EXTENDED YOU ENDS NOW. PREPARE TO FEEL THE FULL FORCE OF THE POWER COSMIC.”

@Morden Man

The Raft, New York

Sue Storm sent a blast of hard-light energy at the Silver Surfer that sent him careening away from the prison. The Fantastic Four landed on the concourse at what appeared to be the exact right moment. There were downed heroes scattered around the prison. The Flash appeared to be laid unconscious in a corner and the shattered remains of a blade marked where another hero had fallen. She sprinted over towards one of them, a young boy from the look of him, and helped him to his feet.

There was a throbbing sound that sounded like the unrestrained power of the Surfer’s power cosmic ahead. She looked up, gulping slightly at the sight of the herald in full pomp, and remembered the exchange they had shared at the Triskelion. There was still good in him, she told herself, despite the blast of power cosmic that was sent in her direction. They needed to reach the man inside, not beat him.

“You know, I always thought surfers were meant to be chill,” Johnny said with a smile as he sent a fireball at the herald. “Whatever happened to that? Is that not a thing anymore? When did surfers stop being chill?”

The flames seemed to do next to no damage to the Surfer but it kept him distracted long enough for Ben to throw a large piece of debris at the herald. The impact of it wobbled him slightly but again wasn’t nearly enough to damage him. The Surfer returned the gesture with a blast of his own. It hit Ben squarely in the chest and sent him flying backwards.

A wounded groan left Grimm’s lungs as he fought to his feet. “Old Chrome Dome really isn’t playing around this time. There was enough on that one to flatten me. You’d better keep your heads on a swivel, people.”

“You heard the man,” Reed shouted to the others as he assumed control. “The Surfer’s not pulling his punches anymore. If he hits you, you’re going down for the count. We need to play this one smart. Johnny, Vigilante, I want you to give him something to think about – keep your distance, pepper him with everything you’ve got, but keep moving. Ben, old buddy, I’m afraid you’re going to have to be our tank.”

“Why do I always gotta be the punching bag, eh?” Ben feigned surprise. “Next you’ll be telling me that my career in male-modelling isn’t going to work out.”

The Thing smiled mischievously at Reed before sprinting off towards the Surfer without a moment’s hesitation. There was a loud shout from behind Reed as Grimm and the Surfer traded punches back and forwards. Richards didn’t even turn to look round, instead he continued to assess the situation and the personnel he had available to him.

“Spider-Woman, we haven’t been introduced yet but I believe you’ve met Johnny. He tells me your powers work just like the Spider-Man on our world. That means you have a … what did Spider-Man call it? A spider-sense?”

The scientist didn’t even wait for a response. He looked towards the boy that Sue had helped to his feet. He was young and clearly nervous, but he seemed powerful. “Put … I’m sorry, I don’t know your name, son … put him on your back, keep swinging, use that spider-sense of yours to sense when the Surfer is going to attack, that ought to give your friend here enough time to blast the Surfer again.”

Sweat was pouring down Reed’s forehead. He was still bleeding from his side from the blast that had levelled the Baxter Building and it was affecting him more than he let him – but there wasn’t time to worry about that. There wasn’t time to think about his lost world. There was just enough time to send the Surfer back to Galactus with a stark warning: Earth will not be bullied. They had done it once, they would do it again.

“What about me?” Sue said from behind Reed. “What’s my role in this, oh fearless leader?”

“You said you spoke to the Surfer at The Triskelion,” Reed said as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. “I need you to do it again, Sue. All of this, everyone, I’m still not sure it’s going to be enough. We might not be able to beat him, but we could still reach him. Just as we reached Norrin.”

Sue smiled upon hearing her fiance echo her own thoughts back to her and then gave him a curt nod. “That I think I can manage.”

The couple sprinted towards the battle. The others had already begun acting on the plan that Reed had set out – with varying success – but one thing was certain: no matter how slim their chances were, they were immeasurably better off facing the herald with their allies at their side.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

“What value does this planet have to Darkseid?!”

@Inkarnate

The Raft, New York

The Surfer sneered in Bekka’s direction. This one he knew of before travelling to Earth. The New Genisisian had survived the master’s purge of her planet by fleeing. Her cowardice was the stuff of legends. Now, motivated by guilt by failing to stand and fight the first time around, the princess looked determined to rectify her mistake. It was a determination that the Surfer was all too happy to meet head on – and break.

She sprinted ahead of the others to meet the Surfer in battle. He stood unmoved by the New Genisisian waving her blade towards him until she was metres from him. The first swing the Surfer parried with the black of his hand as if it were more harmless than a gnat. The second swing was wilder than the first. There was anger in her eyes. This time the Surfer caught the blade between his hands.

“YOU BELIEVE THAT THE UNIVERSE OWES YOU RETRIBUTION. YOUR ENTITLEMENT CLOUDS YOUR JUDGEMENT. YOUR ANGER MAKES YOU SLOW. THE TRINKETS YOU RELY UPON MAKE YOU WEAK.”

A beam of power cosmic from the Surfer’s eyes hit Bekka in the stomach and sent her staggering backwards. Her grip on the sword between her hands weakened. The Surfer prized it from between her fingers. There was a look of shock in her eyes – almost as if the herald should not have been able to possess the weapon. She grew more shocked still when the Surfer broke the blade of the weapon into several pieces of his knee.

“YOUR WORLD WAS DESTROYED BECAUSE IT LACKED THE SENSE TO ANSWER DARKSEID’S CALL. IT WAS A FOOTNOTE IN HISTORY – IRRELEVANT – AS YOU ARE WITHOUT YOUR WEAPON.”

The Surfer scattered the broken pieces of blade on the ground in front of Bekka. His eyes were cold and motionless. With his other hand, the herald opened a portal to the Antarctic. He shunted the New Genisisian through it with a heavy kick and shut it behind her with a grin. The hilt of her weapon, the energy from the Mother Box infused in it weakening, he allowed to slip from his hands and fall to the ground.

"See if you can't keep him still!"

@Superboy

The sound of Jaime Reyes’ voice caught the Surfer’s attention. For the second time, the boy seemed poise to unfurl another blast of his cannon in his direction. Was he that dense? Had he not learned his lesson? A smirk, or as near to one as the Surfer could conjure up, inched onto the herald’s face as he prepared to redirect the boy’s energy back at hm – or one of his colleagues.

The Surfer’s had crept up into the air in preparation when he was knocked a step or two sidewards by a sudden barrage of molten bullets.

”You heard the kid! Let’s get ‘im tied!”

@DocTachyon

The Surfer grimaced. The bullets weren’t damaging him so much as annoying him. He sent a blast of power cosmic in the direction of Vigilante’s bike but he seemed to dodge it effortlessly. A frustrated groan left the Surfer’s lips as he readied himself to send another – but felt a sudden tug on his ankle. Vigilante’s infernal lariat had wrapped tightly around the herald’s leg and the vengeful spirit atop the bike was using every ounce of his strength, as well as the bike’s strength, to pull him off balance.

“WHY DO YOU RESIST? ACCEPT DARKSEID AND KNOW PEACE. YOU CLAIM TO SERVE YOUR WORLD BUT EXTEND ITS MISERY.”

It succeeded in knocking the Surfer to one knee. It was a momentary inconvenience, the Surfer thought to himself, as he reached down to free his ankle, only to find one of his hands bound by the webbing of Spider-Woman. She too summoned all the strength she could manage to prize but one of the Surfer’s hands away from his ankle and busy it.

With his remaining free hand, the Surfer sent wild blasts of power cosmic at the heroes, trying in vain to damage them enough to free himself but found their sheer number near-insurmountable. From across the prison, the sound of Jaime's voice stopped the Surfer in his tracks.

"HEY, YOU BALD BASTARD!" Reyes roared, his finger itching to pull the trigger. "GET THE FUCK OFF MY PLANET!"

@Superboy

There was a loud bang as the cannon unfurled a massive wave of energy towards the herald. It was too late to avoid it. He tugged in vain against his restraints but knew once it had left Jaime's cannon that it was destined to strike him. The awesome power that the Scarab lent the teen was unleashed on the Surfer's silver form. The herald was sent barrelling into the prison and found himself buried beneath tons of debris.

When the Surfer cleaved his way through the stone and steel that had buried him, his silver form appeared to show visible cracks. The power cosmic that seemed to crackle and teem from his every limb flickered somewhat. At first it appeared as if the Surfer's connection to the force had weakened, but from the way his hands balled into fists as he reappeared it was clear that the flickering was not weakness – but rage.

“ENOUGH. WHAT MERCY I HAVE EXTENDED YOU ENDS NOW. PREPARE TO FEEL THE FULL FORCE OF THE POWER COSMIC.”

The very ground beneath the heroes began the shake. What remained of the Raft began to crumble. The ocean around them whipped into a tempest of Biblical proportions. The shaking knocked the assembled heroes from their feet and the Surfer rose atop his board high above them. The lifeless blue eyes began to glow a murderous red as the herald prepared to let unleash the full weight of his fury onto the heroes.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

Alright, I'll have the next Surfer instalment up within the hour, hopefully.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

I'm in, I just need an hour or two, out with family ATM. That said, you can go ahead and post begore I can get something up if need be.

@DocTachyon

It's cool, I'm good to wait. I don't want anyone getting short-changed here, especially since both the Fantastic Four and Thor are going to be getting involved soon.

There's enough Surfer to go around if we do this properly.

CLOSED - Ultimate One Universe: Season One

Alright, @DocTachyon and @Superboy if you want in on this round of Surfer action, speak now (or within the next couple of hours) or forever hold your peace.

I'm going to try to respond to everything in one slightly longer post as opposed to individually as outlined above, so let me know so no one is left out before taking their shot.