JL New Wave: The Challengers from Beyond! (IC)

Laurel looked at this woman. Really? "You are joking right? We save you and now you repay kindness this way? If this whole situation wasn't so sad it would be funny."

She looked at the gun again. This time with x-ray vision to determine if heat vision might do more harm than good.

ChasNicollette said:

"I am Mira Rose Mejores, Roz-Llwelln, Acting Captain of the Nehiyawoc Transdimensional Vessel The Major. I am Major Girl. And I am commandeering this vessel in The Name of The Contiguity. Which one of you is the captain?"

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Stepping forward Kyle gave her a long assessing look. “No you’re not. This is a medical ship. That’s the Chief Medical Officer, and you are not Commandeering this vessel – or us – in anyone’s name. Now we just rescued you, and saved your life. So stop giving orders and be respectful.”

Major Priority Shift.

Wyldfire said:

Laurel looked at this woman. Really? "You are joking right? We save you and now you repay kindness this way? If this whole situation wasn't so sad it would be funny."

She looked at the gun again. This time with x-ray vision to determine if heat vision might do more harm than good.

Click to expand...

"I have greater priorities than 'kindness' right now," Major Girl replied tersely.

The weapon-- called a VYPER, but she hadn't namedropped it yet --looked bleeding-edge even compared to many of the alien and 31st-Century technologies with which Laurel had been familiar with back in Universe-11. A self-charging zero-point power source capable of a vast spectrum of effects-- including doing serious injury to someone of a Daxamite's approximate power level. Nothing you'd ever want self-destructing, especially not in a largely enclosed space like The Console Room.

Varshanka said:

Stepping forward Kyle gave her a long assessing look. “No you’re not. This is a medical ship. That’s the Chief Medical Officer, and you are not Commandeering this vessel – or us – in anyone’s name. Now we just rescued you, and saved your life. So stop giving orders and be respectful.”

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"Respect is earned," Major Girl retorted. "And-- good. A warship would be preferred. A medical ship could be... useful."

She turned to The Doctor, flexing her hand on the handle of the upheld VYPER: "I was on approach in transdimensional Kirby Space to the Earth of my Universe when some terrible cataclysm threw me here, instead, wrecking my ship, killing its onboard Metatronic Cortex and almost killing me. I need to return to that Earth immediately to assess the situation and render any assistance and evacuation that might be necessary. The Contiguity has a substantial interest there in cultivating goodwill and sociocultural renewal and I would not see needless lives lost. You will surrender your ship to me and your crew will facilitate my return."

"Given the suggested level of the event and the dire straits that it implies, I must apply my full authority as an ensign and ambassador of The Contiguity and utilize the threat of force as necessary. I will save my birth planet and my entire Universe, Whatever It Takes."

Something terrible and sad flickered across The Doctor's eyes at that moment-- a profound and aching dawning comprehension. As if millions of voices cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. "Of... course."

"But-- Major Girl-- I have to warn you, we're presently on the run from--"

And then something hit The TARDIS from outside so hard the entire interior rang like a bell, The TARDIS sent screaming away from the impact and hurtling through The Bleed, sparks flying, electricity arcing, a great and terrible bonging sound coming from deep within The TARDIS' bowels, red alert, red alert, red alert.

Then another, crunching impact, a horrible breaking braking lurch, and everything went dark, and everything went silent.

Ba-Kar stood and shifted his weight. Taking in the situation. Then the attack began. With a roar, he called deeply to The Red. Pulling on the strength of his connection, and reaching for an appropriate Archetype to call upon...

Come Into My Parlor, Said The Major to The Bug.

Lunaramblings said:

Ba-Kar stood and shifted his weight. Taking in the situation. Then the attack began. With a roar, he called deeply to The Red. Pulling on the strength of his connection, and reaching for an appropriate Archetype to call upon...

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Just as Ba-Kar was able to use his powers to augment Major Girl's insectoid/arachnid abilities, so to when he cast his senses into The Red were her abilities the brightest and strongest light--

--the webbing of a spider--

--agility, six heightened senses with an incredible awareness of danger--

--speed and strength--

--the power to adhere to walls and ceilings--

--a nearly perfect powerset to have in a careening box hurtling through directionless dimensionless void.

...as The TARDIS screamed through The Bleed, Ba-Kar might have glimpsed great and terrible creatures, predators lurking in its super-red depths. But they were too far for him to connect with their templates, too alien, and they were gone from his senses too quickly as The TARDIS' uncontrolled speed took them halfway across The Multiverse.

Major Girl's powers had been drastically artificially augmented, but Ba-Kar could copy the aspects of them that had occurred naturally, as an inborn connection to The Red.

At the moment, this might seem his best and only choice.

...and when they landed, in that dark dark place so far from home...

...Major Girl's animal presence was the only one Ba-Kar could sense.

Beyond the TARDIS' walls, he could feel no animal life.

As though The Red were gone from this place.

As though it were... dead?

Firestorm felt the first impact and then the ringing and flew just above the floor. It was easier than trying to stabilize themselves on a pitching and rolling surface. Then came the second impact and she had to quickly move as the ship lurched and began hurtle in a distinct direction. Just what that direction was she had no idea.

Of course things got worse as the place started sparking, electricity arcing from one circuit to the next and the emergency klaxons and lights going off. Then suddenly everything just shut off. Not in a good, phew everything is better way, but in a pitch black, oh god the shit has just hit the fan sort of way.

Well there was one thing she could do at least in this situation. Turning up the brightness on her flames, she radiated light without heat, illuminating the room.

"Okay Doc I have no idea what happened but I am going with it's bad," she said in what was probably the understatement of the millennium. "I felt something shut down deep within the TARDIS and I am assuming that was very important. Is it anything I can help with and if so just point the way."

Yeah he heard her talking. Heard the deperate need in her voice, but they had a need as well. To not sit in one spot long enough for psycho-shitstorm-asshat to zero in on them. “Listen babe, if this had been a different gin joint in a different..”

And the shit hit the fan.

The first lurch sent him vaulting across the room and slamming into a railing. “That’s gonna leave a mark.” He moaned as he lurched again. Doing the best he could he aimed for intersecting with Jaime, or at least getting between her and any railing or console. Protecting her was priority one. Save the girl save creation.

And everything went.. dead.

Yeah he heard her talking. Heard the deperate need in her voice, but they had a need as well. To not sit in one spot long enough for psycho-shitstorm-asshat to zero in on them. “Listen babe, if this had been a different gin joint in a different..”

And the shit hit the fan.

The first lurch sent him vaulting across the room and slamming into a railing. “That’s gonna leave a mark.” He moaned as he lurched again. Doing the best he could he aimed for intersecting with Jaime, or at least getting between her and any railing or console. Protecting her was priority one. Save the girl save creation.

And everything went.. dead quiet.

Any Landing You Can Walk Away From...

Varshanka said:

And the shit hit the fan.

The first lurch sent him vaulting across the room and slamming into a railing. “That’s gonna leave a mark.” He moaned as he lurched again. Doing the best he could he aimed for intersecting with Jaime, or at least getting between her and any railing or console. Protecting her was priority one. Save the girl save creation.

Click to expand...

In the stuttering epileptic darkness of The Console Room lit only by the sizzle and shower of sparks...

...Jamie and Kyle somehow found each other in the dark, colliding together, The Doctor attempting to assert her telekinesis to try and shield them from harm, to cushion them against any further impacts...

...and then Jon Kent was there, reaching for them both, his arms cradling them about their waists as he used his flight powers to keep them level and steady in a room that raged and stormed around them...

"I've got you."

Jamie resisted the urge to ask-- Who's got you?

Varshanka said:

And everything went.. dead quiet.

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In the darkness, The Doctor coughed and laughed softly.

"Oi, watch your hands there, mate. Cheers, though."

Aussie_Wolf said:

Well there was one thing she could do at least in this situation. Turning up the brightness on her flames, she radiated light without heat, illuminating the room.

"Okay Doc I have no idea what happened but I am going with it's bad," she said in what was probably the understatement of the millennium. "I felt something shut down deep within the TARDIS and I am assuming that was very important. Is it anything I can help with and if so just point the way."

Click to expand...

The Doctor blinked hyper-acute eyes in the light that pierced that darkness, and she nodded worriedly as Jon set Kyle and The Doctor back down. "We just got punched by something unquantifiably powerful, three guesses who. We may have to reconfigure the primary power coupling. The infant universe that powers The TARDIS--"

She hesitated.

"We don't have sensors. We don't know where we are. Or when. Or which Universe we're in. If we even ended up in a Universe. We... we could be sitting ducks."

The Essential Major Girl dropped from where she'd ended up-- clinging to the coral-lined upper dome of The Console Room-- and landed in a crouch on the gratings that formed the floor, VYPER held low and away. Whatever was happening here, Mira wanted it dealt with swiftly and efficiently so that they could get back to finding out what had happened to Earth-7.

She stood swiftly. "CMO. You recommend reconnaissance."

"Yyyyyeah," The Doctor nodded. "We're gonna have to go outside."

ChasNicollette said:

In the darkness, The Doctor coughed and laughed softly.

"Oi, watch your hands there, mate. Cheers, though."

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Blushing softly, and thankful it was mostly weird shadows, Kyle whispered. "Sorry." He wasn't. Though he did give Jamie's rather nice butt a gentle squeeze before he moved his hand to a less naughty location.

ChasNicollette said:

"Yyyyyeah," The Doctor nodded. "We're gonna have to go outside."

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"Gimme a space suit and I'll go for a walkabout. Never been outside a spaceship before, but I'll give it a whirl."

Five Things Go Wrong: Five.

Varshanka said:

Blushing softly, and thankful it was mostly weird shadows, Kyle whispered. "Sorry." He wasn't. Though he did give Jamie's rather nice butt a gentle squeeze before he moved his hand to a less naughty location.

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"Not you, Kyle," The Doctor had retorted mildly, "Superman. You don't have to watch your hands at all, except when we're working."

Jon Kent blushed as red as Rao Himself. "You know I can hear you guys. And see in the dark? Get a room already."

Varshanka said:

"Gimme a space suit and I'll go for a walkabout. Never been outside a spaceship before, but I'll give it a whirl."

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"You've spent your whole life outside a spaceship up 'till now," The Doctor reminded him. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it."

"I do have space suits. I hope you don't mind orange. But first let's see if we need them."

And with that, she tugged inward the doors...

And revealed a desolate, bleak, brown-sandy landscape, plains as far as the eye could see-- not a speck of shrub or a blade of grass, not a whisper of noise or life...

...and a cloudless sky revealed a black night sky of endless stars.

The Doctor stopped.

The Doctor stared.

The Doctor stepped out of The TARDIS, looking stricken, pale, just broken beyond all belief.

She fell to her knees in the dust and it puffed up around her.

"Oh God."

"Oh please God no."

"We're on Earth-15."

ChasNicollette said:

"Not you, Kyle," The Doctor had retorted mildly, "Superman. You don't have to watch your hands at all, except when we're working."

Jon Kent blushed as red as Rao Himself. "You know I can hear you guys. And see in the dark? Get a room already."



"You've spent your whole life outside a spaceship up 'till now," The Doctor reminded him. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it."

"I do have space suits. I hope you don't mind orange. But first let's see if we need them."

And with that, she tugged inward the doors...

And revealed a desolate, bleak, brown-sandy landscape, plains as far as the eye could see-- not a speck of shrub or a blade of grass, not a whisper of noise or life...

...and a cloudless sky revealed a black night sky of endless stars.

The Doctor stopped.

The Doctor stared.

The Doctor stepped out of The TARDIS, looking stricken, pale, just broken beyond all belief.

She fell to her knees in the dust and it puffed up around her.

"Oh God."

"Oh please God no."

"We're on Earth-15."

Click to expand...

Through the mayhem of the Tardis crashing, Laurel had put her will through her flight ring to hold herself from moving.

The Doctor had dropped to her knees and Andromeda strode out of the Tardis scanning the area with her Super senses for any sign as to what had crashed them.

"Doctor, get yourself in order please? We have all lost our universes. We need you composed."

She continued her scan looking for blue armor. Just a hunch but the Doctor was terrified when she saw him on Earth 11. "Do we have a tech genius on hand?" She asked, pulling the dead white Sun generator from her belt.

The Undiscovered Country.

Wyldfire said:

Through the mayhem of the Tardis crashing, Laurel had put her will through her flight ring to hold herself from moving.

The Doctor had dropped to her knees and Andromeda strode out of the Tardis scanning the area with her Super senses for any sign as to what had crashed them.

Click to expand...

There was a puncture in the world, off behind them. A rip in the sky through which The Bleed could be seen-- as though Superman Prime had punched them through the barrier between universes, rather than punch through with his own fists.

But no sign of Prime himself yet.

No sign of life at all.

The Essential Major Girl stepped out with them into the dust, hand flexing on the grip of her VYPER.

Could this have been what happened to her Earth, Earth-7?

Woe betide the enemy that had done so, if it was.

Wyldfire said:

"Doctor, get yourself in order please? We have all lost our universes. We need you composed."

Click to expand...

"You don't understand," The Doctor murmured, though she did rise to her feet, that shattered expression still all through her eyes. "This isn't my universe. This was-- this was Universe-15. The Perfect Universe. A utopia."

"Superman Prime killed it. Killed this whole universe. We're standing in a graveyard universe that is the site of Prime's greatest victory, his audition for The Great Darkness. The last stand of The Monitors, the last battle of The Monitor Wars. The murder of The First Lantern. The shattering of The Cosmic Grail."

"All life in this universe is gone. Snuffed out in an instant. And what arose in its place... I don't understand, though, they should be on us already, a single sign of life in this place, they should be on us like locusts, where could they have--"

Wyldfire said:

She continued her scan looking for blue armor. Just a hunch but the Doctor was terrified when she saw him on Earth 11. "Do we have a tech genius on hand?" She asked, pulling the dead white Sun generator from her belt.

Click to expand...

The Doctor plucked the generator from Laurel's hand and squinted at it.

"I can know everything anyone on my Earth ever knew, and my world was ridiculously high science. You should have met our Barry Allen, before he--"

She stopped, and sighed, and blinked something away-- "But this is a paperweight. Fused so thoroughly it might as well be monomolecular."

She tossed it to Major Girl, who caught the thing with one hand without even blinking, she'd be a killer goalkeep in proper football. Mira's eyes went half-lidded behind her yellow bug-lenses. "My nanite fleet confirms your diagnosis, CMO-- not enough technology left in it to form a cyberpathic link. It's inert."

But then The Doctor glanced at Firestorm.

She glanced at Jon, at Laurel, at Ba-Kar, at Major Girl--

--at Kyle, worriedly, but then she forcibly banished that worry--

--at Blue, and his wicked Vorpal Blade.

A plan started to form.

ChasNicollette said:

There was a puncture in the world, off behind them. A rip in the sky through which The Bleed could be seen-- as though Superman Prime had punched them through the barrier between universes, rather than punch through with his own fists.

But no sign of Prime himself yet.

No sign of life at all.

The Essential Major Girl stepped out with them into the dust, hand flexing on the grip of her VYPER.

Could this have been what happened to her Earth, Earth-7?

Woe betide the enemy that had done so, if it was.



"You don't understand," The Doctor murmured, though she did rise to her feet, that shattered expression still all through her eyes. "This isn't my universe. This was-- this was Universe-15. The Perfect Universe. A utopia."

"Superman Prime killed it. Killed this whole universe. We're standing in a graveyard universe that is the site of Prime's greatest victory, his audition for The Great Darkness. The last stand of The Monitors, the last battle of The Monitor Wars. The murder of The First Lantern. The shattering of The Cosmic Grail."

"All life in this universe is gone. Snuffed out in an instant. And what arose in its place... I don't understand, though, they should be on us already, a single sign of life in this place, they should be on us like locusts, where could they have--"



The Doctor plucked the generator from Laurel's hand and squinted at it.

"I can know everything anyone on my Earth ever knew, and my world was ridiculously high science. You should have met our Barry Allen, before he--"

She stopped, and sighed, and blinked something away-- "But this is a paperweight. Fused so thoroughly it might as well be monomolecular."

She tossed it to Major Girl, who caught the thing with one hand without even blinking, she'd be a killer goalkeep in proper football. Mira's eyes went half-lidded behind her yellow bug-lenses. "My nanite fleet confirms your diagnosis, CMO-- not enough technology left in it to form a cyberpathic link. It's inert."

But then The Doctor glanced at Firestorm.

She glanced at Jon, at Laurel, at Ba-Kar, at Major Girl--

--at Kyle, worriedly, but then she forcibly banished that worry--

--at Blue, and his wicked Vorpal Blade.

A plan started to form.

Click to expand...

Andromeda sighed. Because at this time she was Andromeda again. The only difference was that she had M'Onel's experience. "Of course it is useless. Most of Brainy's toys are one trick ponies."

She could see the pain still in the Doctor's eyes. "I used to believe in Utopia. Thought I lived in it. The Dominators and their Dark Circle cult showed me my folly. Let this man come. I will stop him or join my friends trying."

Laurel removed her flight ring and tossed it to Jon. "You have the spirit for it. If I can stop the monster that killed this place I won't be worthy of it. I will have broken the code. And if I fail, I doubt I will need it."

The Melancholy Blues.

Blue had been there all along. Unseen and ignored, which was how he preferred it most of the time. He liked being a minor, supporting character in the many dramas of the Fables. He hated being thrust into the central thrust of any narrative arc, because it had always ended up with untold millions dead. He'd been ready to emerge from the shadows behind Major Girl and snicker snack her head. He hadn't been sure if that was possible since most of the people on the ship were godlike in at least a handful of ways. Wrapping her hand in his cloak had been option number two, but in retrospect it should have been option number one.

He sighed while dancing the samba to the erratic swish smashing of the ship. The samba gave way to a jitteriness rave, but it was all music and the body. Those few times his reactions were insufficient to counteract the turbulence, the cloak's invulnerability and teleportation compensated in turn.

Blue was unveiled when the Doctor's eyes settled upon him. He poked at the barren, ashy ground with the tip of the vorpal blade. He gave a nod. "If it wouldn't make me sound so emo..." Blue started and then stopped, shrugging.

ChasNicollette said:

But then The Doctor glanced at Firestorm.

She glanced at Jon, at Laurel, at Ba-Kar, at Major Girl--

--at Kyle, worriedly, but then she forcibly banished that worry--

--at Blue, and his wicked Vorpal Blade.

A plan started to form.

Click to expand...

“We should leave, as soon as possible. If there’s no one left to save. Before.. He gets here.” Kyle wasn’t one to walk away from a fight, but he wasn’t one to hang around and try and antagonize someone into battle either. Granted the ship had sounded like it was half dead, and the power had gone out. Maybe it was rebooting? Restarting? He didn’t know enough about this ship yet to know how it worked.

Resting his hand on the wall as he stood behind the doctor and looked out the open door he murmured, “You’ll be all right. Get the rest you need.”

"Waiting for The End," by Linkin Park.

Wyldfire said:

Andromeda sighed. Because at this time she was Andromeda again. The only difference was that she had M'Onel's experience. "Of course it is useless. Most of Brainy's toys are one trick ponies."

Click to expand...

The Doctor grinned faintly. "Probably because you lot keep taking them into battle while they're still in the prototype stage. Some things are multiversal constants."

Wyldfire said:

She could see the pain still in the Doctor's eyes. "I used to believe in Utopia. Thought I lived in it. The Dominators and their Dark Circle cult showed me my folly. Let this man come. I will stop him or join my friends trying."

Click to expand...

"That's the ticket," The Doctor nodded. "But no-one's card is punched quite yet. I'm not losing another team if I can help it. Nor another teammate."

Wyldfire said:

Laurel removed her flight ring and tossed it to Jon. "You have the spirit for it. If I can stop the monster that killed this place I won't be worthy of it. I will have broken the code. And if I fail, I doubt I will need it."

Click to expand...

Jon had stepped out of The TARDIS and swept his powerful gaze around for hundreds of miles, then further still, out into space...

...and then he sank to one knee, gazing deeply into the sand and dirt on a microscopic level, looking for life... looking for anything that could possibly be alive.

There was nothing.

His six-chambered heart broke inside. Is this what had happened to his birth universe, too? Universe-247?

If this Doctor was speaking accurately, telling the truth, then how could they stand in the face of a force this powerful?

...but then again, how could they not?

As Andromeda threw her Flight Ring to Jon-- Major Girl watched it, intrigued, as it turned end over end --he caught it in the air without looking, and then rose to his feet as he opened his hand and looked at it in wonder.

"Seriously?" he blinked at her. "No, I'm not--" he shook his head.

Worry and sadness crossing his face, feeling the gravity and gravitas of the moment, he slipped the Ring onto the middle finger of his right hand. "--I'll just keep it safe until you're ready to take it back."

kizkiz said:

Blue was unveiled when the Doctor's eyes settled upon him. He poked at the barren, ashy ground with the tip of the vorpal blade. He gave a nod. "If it wouldn't make me sound so emo..." Blue started and then stopped, shrugging.

Click to expand...

The Doctor's telepathy showed her the rest of his sentence where it had trailed off aloud. And she laughed a gentle, eyerolling laugh. "Oh, yeah, me too."

And then his next question, in his head, unasked-- her eyes went into a thousand-light-year stare. "Funny story." It didn't sound particularly funny. "Exposition later, if there's time."

Major Girl squinted, and approached Blue. "The 52nd Nehiyawoc Magistratical Contiguity is superior to Earth in every way. We have mastered our genetic code. Broken the boundaries of impossible sciences and defeated incomprehensible enemies. Explored the furthest reaches of The Macroverse and The Hypoverse. We have theophany engines that run on pure belief. But we have nothing that compares to the music of Earth. Even boy bands and girl groups are... transcendent to us. There is nothing wrong with sounding... emo. Especially AFI. I like them."

Varshanka said:

“We should leave, as soon as possible. If there’s no one left to save. Before.. He gets here.”

Click to expand...

The Doctor came out of her reverie as though snapping back into her head like a rubber-band, and then shrugged. "Our motor's a bit knackered, Kyle. I need to reconfigure the primary power coupling, reverse the polarity of the neutron flow, but this is all going to take time we don't have against a foe that can just punch us down again."

Varshanka said:

Resting his hand on the wall as he stood behind the doctor and looked out the open door he murmured, “You’ll be all right. Get the rest you need.”

Click to expand...

From deep within The TARDIS, at that, there came a whining, revving sound, like an engine trying to turn over, and the lights flickered and went out again.

But then... strrrrraiiiiiining... she tried again, The TARDIS... lurrrrrched...

...Kyle would feel the coral trembling under his fingertips...

...whine, rev, flicker...

...the lights stayed on.

Dim.

Damaged.

But still on.

The Doctor nodded as if she'd had something confirmed for herself. "Oh. Well. Would you look at that? She likes you. I think she's granted you pilot privileges. You should feel... honored."

"When the Black Hood of Earth-666 stepped aboard she spat him right out on his arse. He and Canary had to get their own ride to Earth-24."

Then the Doctor spun in place, clapping her hands.

"Right. Everyone. Huddle."

"I have a cunning plan."

She pointed to each of them in turn.

"Firestorm. When Prime shows up, I'll need you to supercharge Andromeda with white sun energy. I've seen the energy signature at work, I'll give that to you telepathically. Make sure you focus it in a confinement beam so that the energy doesn't charge up anyone else-- we don't want Prime getting hold of that kind of power, and we don't want to throw off Superman's metabolism so that he can't pull off his solar flare attack."

"Andromeda. Once you're supercharged, I'll need you to go maximum burn on Prime, try to put him on his back foot if you can, keep him completely focused on you."

"Boy Blue. Major Girl. Attacks of opportunity. I need you to work together as best as you can-- float like butterflies, sting like bees-- to disassemble and structurally weaken the armor that Prime will be wearing-- it protects him from red sun radiation, which would eat into his yellow-solar batteries and weaken him. We don't have any Kryptonite, and even if we did, only Kryptonite from his home Universe would really do a number on him, red sunlight's the only Achilles heel we can exploit right now, so we need that armor off. Blue, we've learned that magic doesn't work on Prime as well as other Kryptonians, but your Vorpal Sword should still be able to cut into his armor-- teleport in, teleport out, cut and run and then cut again. Major Girl, I need you to do your best to keep Prime off of Blue-- whatever you can, all right?"

"Lord Blackstock--" she hesitated, rolled her eyes at herself, shook her head apologetically at Animal-Man, "--sorry, Ba-Kar, you just really remind me of someone a past Doctor used to know. There's no animals in this Universe-- no life, no Red to tap into, as I'm sure you've noticed. So your only option would be to copy Major Girl's powers, as she's a wee bit buggy, but you've got me and even weakened as I am I'm still connected to all life on my Earth. All of it. Including animals, and including alien and supernatural creatures that have insinuated themselves into Earth-14's ecosystem." She closed her eyes, opened her palm upward, and flickering blue-lit astral images danced on her fingertips, on her lifeline. "I'm presently channeling multiple options for you to choose. The Space Canine Patrol Corps-- The Malar, a shapechanging demonic hybrid bonded with Black Betty of House Zatara-- and-- and this is, I think, the best option-- a couple of Daemonites hiding on Earth after their civilization was destroyed by The Gravity Miners. With a Daemonite's powerset, you may be able to possess Prime and attack him from the inside, slowing his responses to our physical attacks as he attempts to eject your consciousness-- his mind is powerful enough to throw off massive telepathic attacks, though, so be wary of a really high coefficient of risk."

"Superman. When the fight starts, hang back and dig deep, get ready to throw out your solar flare attack, hold nothing in reserve, okay, but the timing's gotta be perfect-- you've got to wait until Andromeda, Blue, and Major Girl have weakened his armor enough. Then your flare will blow his armor off and weaken the boy inside."

Back to Firestorm. "As soon as that armor is off and Prime feels the burn from Superman's flare, you need to keep up the pressure with red sunlight, max amplitude, try to flood him with the stuff, eh? So he can't recover. Again, try to keep the beam confined-- you don't want to weaken Superman or Andromeda any more than they will be already from going coronal mass overdrive on him."

"I need to hang back by The TARDIS. I'll attempt to coordinate telepathically, and get anyone clear with my telekinesis who becomes incapacitated, but my full focus will have to be on using my healing energies to speed up The TARDIS' self-repair process. If none of us survive this... the mission has to continue. It has to."

The Doctor then turned to Kyle, her eyes looking heavy at this, hard and dark.

"Which. Kyle Raynor. Brings me to your job. It is literally the most important thing I can ask in this. Please don't fight me on it, don't stubborn me, don't-- please."

She handed Kyle her sonic screwdriver, pressed it into his hand.

"I need you to take this. If we all die here-- even if only I die-- you need to get aboard The TARDIS and run. Emergency Program One will activate and take you to Earth-14, where you'll find the next person to inherit the mantle of The Doctor, the next person to become the shaman of that world. I don't know-- man, woman, nonbinary-- if they'll... feel about you... the same way that I do. But they'll need you. They'll need The TARDIS. They'll need to keep on carrying on this fight, keep challenging our enemies from beyond The Speed Force Wall-- for The Authority. For the Multiverse. Are we savvy? Do we... have an accord?"

Doctor Major Girl Blue

“The Doctor” said:

The Doctor's telepathy showed her the rest of his sentence where it had trailed off aloud. And she laughed a gentle, eyerolling laugh. "Oh, yeah, me too."

Click to expand...

Blue gave a small bow, his right foot slid back six inches and his head inclined in equal measure. “At least I’m not alone.”

“The Doctor” said:

And then his next question, in his head, unasked-- her eyes went into a thousand-light-year stare. "Funny story." It didn't sound particularly funny. "Exposition later, if there's time."

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“Yeah.” Blue shrugged. It did remind him that he needed to reign in his hope. He was a coin yet to be spent, but there were far worse fates.

“Major Girl” said:

Major Girl squinted, and approached Blue. "The 52nd Nehiyawoc Magistratical Contiguity is superior to Earth in every way. We have mastered our genetic code. Broken the boundaries of impossible sciences and defeated incomprehensible enemies. Explored the furthest reaches of The Macroverse and The Hypoverse. We have theophany engines that run on pure belief. But we have nothing that compares to the music of Earth. Even boy bands and girl groups are... transcendent to us. There is nothing wrong with sounding... emo. Especially AFI. I like them."

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His mouth opened and then closed. He looked down at his hands, boyish skin hugging youthful muscle and still pliant bones. He wasn’t exactly ashamed that he had a boner from all the female attentions, the curse of eternal youth after all, but even if he’d had all the blood in the right head, it would have been hard to follow Major Girl’s technobabble.

Bigby had always driven home the notion that a gorilla fighter doesn’t worry about how many punches they throw, only that they throw the right punch at the right time. A ninja wasn’t a marine infantry unit. So he was fine not understanding what a Macroverse was compared to a Hypoverse, or even how to pronounce Nehiyawoc. The word ‘theophany’ stuck, because Ozma had been obsessed with the idea before the Nothingness took her. Even after the fiercest of their love making when desperation drove them both to dark places along the precipice of pain and pleasure. As they clutched to each other through the long nights or desperate moments, she’d talk about how some Fable’s were theophany artifacts. That the Great Powers were just better or more efficient somehow at harvesting the faith and belief of not just the Mundies but of other Fables.

He suspected if he ever became intimate with Major Girl, he’d have to hear her theories on the subject. Not that he minded.

“Wait…” Blue said, turning his full attention on Major Girl, “You lack music, but you think Boy Bands are transcendent?” He shook his head, “Wait till you hear jazz. That’s all I play.” Partially in preparation and partially to show off, Blue called the Horn of Gabriel forth and licked his lips. The Vorpal Blade wrapped around the length of the horn, as they’d been practicing.

As the doctor continued to lay out her strategy to the other people, Blue had heard enough to know his assignment. “It'd be a shame for you to die never having heard good Jazz,” then after a moment’s pause, “Or the battle cry of the Silver Host.” He shrugged and began to pour his breath into the mouth of the horn.

This place demanded a soulful dirge but he didn’t want to bring down the group before battle, so he kept his Jazz tight and popping with chaotic jumbles of sound. He riffed as a way to lift the spirits of his companions, maybe bring the Major Girl to an orgasm, and at the very least honor the fallen Silver Host of this world. Such was the infinite interior of the Horn that it was possible to fill it with an entire horn band's worth of soulful music if you were a good enough musician. And as good as Blue was at killing things, Blue was even better at playing the Horn.

ChasNicollette said:

The Doctor nodded as if she'd had something confirmed for herself. "Oh. Well. Would you look at that? She likes you. I think she's granted you pilot privileges. You should feel... honored."

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Oh he felt honored alright. After all, it wasn’t everyday that a ship tried starting itself for him. Or that he talked to a ship like it was a person. Oh this ship was far far more than just a ship. This ship was called TARDIS and she could sing. One day everyone would hear her as well.

ChasNicollette said:

"Right. Everyone. Huddle."

"I have a cunning plan."

She pointed to each of them in turn.

The Doctor then turned to Kyle, her eyes looking heavy at this, hard and dark.

"Which. Kyle Raynor. Brings me to your job. It is literally the most important thing I can ask in this. Please don't fight me on it, don't stubborn me, don't-- please."

She handed Kyle her sonic screwdriver, pressed it into his hand.

"I need you to take this. If we all die here-- even if only I die-- you need to get aboard The TARDIS and run. Emergency Program One will activate and take you to Earth-14, where you'll find the next person to inherit the mantle of The Doctor, the next person to become the shaman of that world. I don't know-- man, woman, nonbinary-- if they'll... feel about you... the same way that I do. But they'll need you. They'll need The TARDIS. They'll need to keep on carrying on this fight, keep challenging our enemies from beyond The Speed Force Wall-- for The Authority. For the Multiverse. Are we savvy? Do we... have an accord?"

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Teeth ground together as his own eyes turned dark. Dark and hallow. He’d do as she required, and then he’d come back and face her killer himself, and there would be a terrible butcher bill to pay. “The accord is accepted, with regret and.. hesitation. I need to know everything about this enemy. Everything. No holding back. Anything you know, think you know, or theorize. I need to dream up a character and weapons that can at least try to hurt this.. savage monster.”

Laurel stood, staring into the hole in reality. She reached up to her cape clasps and tapped them, the monomolecular zipper opened in the middle of the cape and the cape retracted into the clasps. As little as possible to give him something to grab to slow her down.

The Doctor was trying to give the team hope. Trying to give them drive. Laurel had the drive she needed. Keep Jon alive to create a Legion of his own. Let him have a new home to protect.

She let her mind go for a second. To remember her losses. The ones killed by the Circle and the dark God they served. Her team. Gone as well. Most of all she remembered Tasmir. That blue skinned man she fell in love with. Her Shadow Lad.

Laurel turned towards the Doctor and reached to her ear and keyed her telepathic plug to direct line. "Keep Jon safe for me Doctor. Help him build a Legion of his own. I will kill this monster if I can. I will avenge your lost Utopia."

Firestorm looked at the Doc as she explained her plan and nodded. It sounded good to her and even as she was telling her what to do a series of complex wavelengths appeared in her brain and she absorbed the knowledge easily. So that was the exact one that would supercharge Andromeda up the fastest and then weaken Prime.

Nodding her head she was just glad she had spent all that time practicing shooting cans and bottles. She was sure she could focus a tight beam on both targets, but just how much energy she could punch down it would be something she would find out. If she had to widen it a little to pour more energy in faster she would.

At least she would actually be able to practice on Andromeda first. By the time they finished with her they would know just how tightly they could concentrate the beam and pump in the power. That would mean handling Prime would be easier.

"Okay Doc got it. Power up then knock him down. We going for a win here or a knock out?"

Ba-Kar visible staggered as his mind was quickly flush with the pertinent information. But it was more than his Mind, it trickled down into his Soul. He could feel the Red again. Not as strong as he had felt it before, but it was there. He could feel it. He could sense it. And he reached out, drinking it in. As he worked through what he was feeling and sensing something seemed to almost reach out to him. The template of the Daemonites seemed nearly to call to him. He was familiar with trickery of the mind, he had grown up beside Grodd, and he was more than capable of going toe to toe with some heavy foes, having grown up fighting among the Mangani. Something about the Daemonites seemed... familiar. Seemed... Right.

And so he surged with their power as he absorbed the template, the archetype they represented. Manifesting the powers of these alien beings. The feeling was not quite the same as the Earth based animals that Ba-Kar was used to... but he could adapt.