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hermitcraftheadcanons · 3 years

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Hermitopia AU Masterpost 1 [COMPLETE]

This is a gathering place for the events of the Hermitopia AU, as well as art and writing resulting from it (art and writing listed at the bottom). Please read the AU introduction and rules here before submitting! Feel free to join the discussions on the HCHC discord server!

(Disclaimer/PSA: All points are asks contributed by the community, the mods take no credit for the ideas within them)

If you would like specific credit in the masterpost, please sign within the text of the ask! (A dash and a signature at the end should do.) Asks not signed will be treated as anonymous.

Summary posts:

Not all elements of plot and character will be summarized, but here are a few basic things you may want to be familiar with before submitting an ask! (Unless you are purposely aiming to create an [ALTERNATE] idea for a Hermit)

1 - Starting positions and each Hermit's powers (based on the submissions from Day 1)

Summary post 2 - Interpersonal connections (based on Day 1 and 2 submissions)

Make sure to check out the second masterpost here for more up to date information, including newer art and writing!

Asks:

- (copied ask) [summarized mod comment]

- Hermitopia | Scar was experimented on by Cub. He gained dangerous powers and wings that resemble a dragon’s, but he keeps both hidden. Unless someone makes him angry. He has no idea who gave him his powers. Eventually he and Cub decided that they wanted to control things beyond their corporation, so Scar ran for mayor. (there are things to fill in but im lazy) [Scar assumes he got the powers in an accident during research. He enjoys having them but has no idea that they were intentional.]

- Hermitopia AU team ZIT is a superpowered crime-fighting trio!

- owing to a very particular set of guidelines he put in place, Joe can now copy powers if he sees them in use and can reverse-engineer how those powers are used. needless to say, this is massively overpowered in the right hands.but it got worse. at some point, there was an... incident... on ConCorp grounds, something to do with a mass amount of entities causing time dilation -- and Joe was caught in the thick of it, unable to be rescued for a while.the problem is, he got out by piecing together how the time dilation worked.needless to say, Joe... has a ridiculous powerset. so he chooses largely not to use his powers anymore unless it's absolutely dire or petty enough to shrug off as a random occurrence. nobody needs to know that one of the most powerful Unaffiliated in the city is standing right in front of them... especially not ConCorp.

- doc was a former high ranking employee of concorp before he volunteered for an experiment and it went horribly wrong. since then, the company has tried to erase any evidence of his existence. doc is now seeking revenge for all that the company did to him and is determined to tear it apart

- HI ok follow up asks will be sent later when my thoughts are coherent but concept: cleo has like super messed up healing powers where she can make healing go Too Far. also i pin her as unbound, considering, like, everything - shovel-shuffle

- So, his power was meant to be super-regen, right? except things don't always quite go to plan. Someone volunteered for the powers surgeries and is arguably dead. Etho is a name shared by the many many clones that developed themselves out of the leftovers. They're not quite individuals, not quite a hivemind. Any one of them has no fear of death because the others will continue, but they all act independently around their overarching goal. (which I won't snitch about) - DragonKay

- Bdubs was a hero. Key word? Was. He climbed the ranks through the government, he was a loyal and dutiful member of society, and he used his plant manipulation powers to subdue evil-doers without hurting them. But he’s always been a friendly guy, and he couldn’t help himself—talking to the Unrestrained, especially those in custody, was interesting! ...but it’s a slippery slope to walk, being friendly with the enemy and not sympathizing to their cause. Nobody knows where he is now, but there are rumours of a vigilante with similar abilities, and his three compatriots, two of whom he helped escape from ConCorp... They call themselves the nHo. - slimetek [Bdubs deserted Concorp while helping Doc escape after his experiment went wrong]

- Concorp managed to make a device that allows animals to speak or translate their thoughts into writing. This means that the good old mayor Scar has a certain cat giving some advice on how to run the city.

- Iskall is an assasin/mercenary against their own volition. An accident they'd rather forget almost killed them, and in exchange for their freedom and free will they got to live as a cyborg. Though its hard to forget with the implant that covers their eye and the limb of cool metal hanging at their side - @ghastly-ghostie [Iskall works for Concorp off-books, bound by the debt owed to them for the life saving experimental modifications]

- so I think grians original powers could be like cloning, but something goes wrong and the clones are different people. as a result of the duplication process, some funky magic rocks are made. the clones decide to take most of the funky rocks and run off, leaving grian with one rock that gives him some new abilities and the clones' rocks give him others. also uhh mechanical wings bc yes. so grians plot is him trying to find them while also causing problems on purpose. infinity stones. update to my grian ask from earlier, I had better ideas: the rocks are old like magic things that grian finds before the cloning and ends up collecting, but his clones snatch them - simplyskipper [some of the alternate Grians are aligned with different factions in Hermitopia, while the locations of others are farther or unknown]

- Hermitopia- Impulse has solid-light powers. He has golden crystals implanted in his hands, which he can reflect light through to solidify it into all sorts of shapes. This can be used to make barriers, projectiles, and much more, though more detailed constructs take more time.- @mleemwyvern

- Hermitopia AU Poultry man is a well-known chaotic neutral leaning towards good, as a one of the unrestrained.

- I think Team ZIT should be a little be wild card-y, that's how they act after all! [they are employed by the government for standard crimefighting, but they don't always take Scar's word at its intended meaning and often play a bit on the chaotic side when given instructions]

- [Hermitopia AU] False is an antihero/vigilante type who's specialty is not defined by powers or the such, but just... the absolute skill of being able to dual wield two (more sci-fi era) short swords. Maybe someone upgrades them to be "enchanted" (electrical, fire, etc. something that tech could do well probably). She's willing to be paid-for-hire, but if you go past her moral line she's also willin' to backstab you. -- @cheshire-vex [she's a free agent who sort of drifts between Concorp, the government, and whoever else will pay her on a job-by-job basis]

- Hermitopia impulse has more connections then one may think. He has ties to people pretty much everywhere, for reasons unknown. There is a 100% someone will come and greet him wherever he goes. [the greetings are usually friendly]

- Hermitopia Au! Keralis is a hero who most people wouldn't expect to be too skilled at fighting. His power is similar to hypnosis so he has no need to get very physical. Yeah, that changed when some bastard villain decided to attack his friends shop. [that incident caused his employer Scar to realize his untapped potential for protecting people and assign him to a few more high-stakes jobs]

- Hermittopia!TFC was one of ConCorp’s first experiments and as such his powers are a bit less...refined then the others. He has geokinetic powers, allowing him to psychically control rocks and other earthen materials. He used to be one of the VEX programs top graduates, but has since parted ways with them for unknown reasons and now operates his own plans of keep crime in Hermitopia under control. -lechairpourriedegrianri [he is considered Unaffiliated and both Concorp and the government largely leave him to his own devices, since he is helping to keep the city together]

-Wels doesn't have powers. He does have a super-suit made of fire and heat resistant carbon fibre (like the material used for the space shuttle) and has a built in hologram projector. One time, he used the hologram projector to project an image of himself, which everyone thought was a clone. He didn't have the heart to tell them otherwise. (AKA everyone thinks Wels has powers but he doesn't) -Silverwolf53 [he got the suit in Project VEX]

- To follow up on the Impulse ask- Team ZIT are a space-themed superhero team. Government-aligned, at least for now.Tango has meteor-like powers, he can shoot fire from his hands and feet and often uses this to propel himself at high speeds. Zed has gravity powers! He can increase or decrease the density of any object, to the point of making small black holes. They all have space-themed costumes, and it was probably Zed's idea. - @mleemwyvern

- TFC was the first participant in project VEX

- Grian was an attempted success. It fixed some problems with Etho's unintended cloning, but at the same time created some problems of its own, seeing as the clones appeared to have a life of their own.It's fine, though. It's probably fine

- I would say Grian is unrestrained, a bit like Etho, Chaotic in his own way. Does not activily Try to hurt people, but does mostly what he wants for fun.-Ciara

- Xisuma is a civilian- he has hero friends, but despite all their teasing he’s never wanted to go through VEX training. But in the night, the unrestrained Void walks the streets [Void is a symbiotic creature made of nothingness that uses Xisuma's body as a substitute physical form]

- Bdubs was such a good man... he could be trusted to look after Doc, couldn’t he? Somebody had to oversee him, somebody who was reliable and would never, ever consider betraying the mayor and ConCorp...They let their guard down, and Bdubs got curious. Bdubs made a friend.And then they lost him.- Slimetek

- The hels hermits are considered evil by default. How do you spot these clones, how could you protect yourself? Well in the past it was a lot easier, just look for their red eyesNowadays contacts exist but that doesn't stop people trying to call the police on tango, calling him a hels. Hes netherian, they have unnatural eye colours and their iris fills the entire eye, hes not evil but if people keep doing this hes gonna be!

- Beef woke up from his brain surgery to receive telepathy powers, took one look into the mind of the overseer, and noped put of there as fast as he could go.He's on very public record. After all, the mind control he may be capable of is a very convenient explanation for anyone who turns against concorp... ~DragonKay

- Hypno can’t control minds.They say he does. It’s why he’s named Hypno, after all.In reality, he can’t control people like that... but he can control what they see.Your best friend might look like your greatest enemy. A pit of lava might look like solid ground. A 100-foot drop might look like a step down.It’s a good thing he’s a hero, and a good thing he keeps his true powers hidden beneath a guise of low-level hypnotism. There’s no telling what he could do if they let him go. [he works for Concorp, helping to protect VEX trainees from people trying to harm them before they get a chance to finish the program, as well as keeping other resources safe]

- The 9th Street Incident [referring to an earlier Impulse comment] was a friendly greeting. That particular version of Etho just thought that drawing weapons would be a friendly greeting for Impulse, but Tango and Zed seem to disagree

- They still don’t trust Bdubs. He was with the government for a long time, and things are hard out there on the run. Besides, they don’t know what he got up to there. ConCorp could have any sort of information on him, something that might scare him back.Bdubs understands this. He doesn’t want to go back. He’d hate to go back....but they think he will, and maybe there’s something he’s not telling them. An ace that ConCorp has yet to play.- Slimetek

- Mumbo works for concorp as an engineer specialising in robotics, most recently taking on the task of maintaining Iskall's cybernetics that somehow they just keep damaging. Iskall assures him they're just.. very clumsy. So far Mumbo hasn't caught on.

- Ren's power is that hes a werewolf, but he only found out when he was in his late teens with his childhood friend Iskall. He still feels guilty about it, he did kill his best friend afterall. Or so he thinks.He's lived off grid ever since, too overwhelmed with grief and guilt to rejoin society. Most assume he's dead too - @ghastly-ghostie [Ren dropped Iskall off to Concorp as a last ditch effort, running away before he could see whether they took his friend in or not. They did, starting Iskall's plotline. Iskall told Concorp about Ren's abilities, triggering a panic in the Concorp ranks at the fact that Ren is a superhuman being created by some force other than their own project]

- Where does Void come from? The same place all powers come from.Little did they know, something survived the crash and has taken a human host. Maybe it's not the only one...No, that place is not Concorp. Concorp's original goal was to develop technology by reverse-engineering from a crashed alien spaceship. These aliens did gene-editing the way some people do nose jobs, so they adapted that technology, too.~DragonKay

- i've already said a bit about it in the discord but i have hermitopia cleo brainrot. joe being there was able to save her by giving her the regen powers along with her puppeteering telekinesis power. anyways cleo is presumed dead, sent by concorp into a mission as fodder basically until zit could arrive. but now there's is one (1) bitter undead vigilante against concorp that is presumed dead

- Stress’s name has a few meanings in relation to her. Whenever she gets too angry or /stressed/, she transforms into the StressMonster, a monster that feeds off of other people’s stress to become more powerful. Luckily, the monster is rarely seen, but does terrible things when she is. She’s one of the most feared creatures in Hermitopia. Stress hates her and tries her best to hide her from her friends, but it can backfire sometimes. - @guster-animations

- to follow-up on Joe being presumed dead: remember the time dilation incident he was stuck in? ConCorp figured it was best to cut their losses and not try to send anyone in to rescue him -- it would be a pointless mission. so they abandoned him, quietly announced that he had died in the line of duty, and put the affected area under high security clearance in order to prevent any future accidents. they figured he was already dead. and Joe figures, given that they up and abandoned him, maybe it's for the best that they continue to figure just that. he changed his last name to "Hills" -- a joke about the biome containing the time anomaly -- and otherwise proceeded to stay under the radar. he still uses the time dilation area as a base of operations, sometimes; it's very useful to have a hideout that people physically cannot get into/out of without his direct assistance. is he nursing a grudge, coming up with some convoluted scheme to get back at the paramilitary group for abandoning him? or does he just want to live a relatively normal life off the grid? who knows. that's the Joe [REDACTED] Hills difference. -@betweenlands

- False has some big scary power that is almost Eldritch she just happens to prefer a sword and doesn’t really care for who she works for as long as they’re paying... (they don’t need to know of the power that had harmed the ones she loves the most)

- Keralis once encountered Void sulking around where Xisuma worked. So fearful for his friend’s safety, he used his power on Void and told him to go away. Apparently the charm is still active, because if Void spots Keralis anywhere, he’ll turn tail and run. No, it’s not because he’s scared. Absolutely not.

- Grumbot serves as a sentient supercomputer created by Mumbo for Grian. Grian is using Grumbot for... various activities, all of which harmless, but a certain evil clone [Helsknight] has reverse engineered the technology. Concorp would like for Mumbo to give them the tech, but mumbo stuck some eyes to the computer, got emotionally attached, and refuses to give up his baby boy.

- When Impulse hears his friend/colleague Bdubs has been "taken over" by the mind-controller [Beef], he wants to go on an off-the-books mission to rescue him! Just giving up like they were told to isn't in his nature.Of course the rest of ZIT are with him. Heroes save people! It's what they do!~DragonKay

- Hermitopia is a mixture of sleek futuristic and cyberpunk in terms of style. It really depends on where you live and work (ik this doesnt include any hermits but whatever) - @ghastly-ghostie

- I wonder if Cleo's overactive healing powers affect herself and if any injuries she receives immediately heal over like wolverine or deadpool

- Ren used to be friends with Cleo too, but then she died. Strangely enough, she died on the same day that Ren killed Iskall. Ren’s lost all his friends. It’s hard living in isolation when there’s no one left that even cares about you. (Unless— no, that’s impossible.)

- I was thinking about Biffa, like you do. And Biffa would totally be some robot that was created by Project VEX in its early stages, however they realised fast that it was easier to use humans and give them powers, maybe its not their strong suit with robots. But Biff went sentient and glitched and was scrapped so hes just out there doing his thing. Hes a wildcard and plays for which side he wants at the time, sometimes he'll help or sometimes hes the one causing trouble. He looks pretty similar to a android like in Detroit:Become human but hes a bit uncanny and eerie, maybe its the eyes or the blood red armour. Powerwise, he's got more strength than a human does, mainly because he isn't limited like others are. try not to get punched by him, it'll hurt! [He's convinced Concorp will destroy him if they find out he's alive and Unaffiliated] -lucodak

- Going off of my thing about hermotopia impulse having friends everywhere....this may include the nho. Okay, they beat him to a pulp on one of his solo patrols once, but theey felt bad n patched him up! He has to keep it a secret. He brings them dinner alot. And checks in on them.

- Beef is the perfect cover-up for Bdubs’ desertion. ConCorp doesn’t want any other employees getting bright ideas, now, do they? Nor do they want employees getting nosy and trying to figure out where Bdubs went. They don’t have to tell people what Beef’s powers are. They just release that he developed powers after brain surgery, and a rumour that he was spotted lurking around before Bdubs suddenly betrayed ConCorp... and people draw their own conclusions. -Slimetek

- xB is pretty sure he’s supposed to be evil.I mean, that’s what sentient AIs usually end up being, according to a quick internet search. And yet he’s... not. Or maybe he’s just on the wrong side. - Slimetek

- Yes impulse is friends with the nho....what he doesn't know? He's....easily susceptible to hypnosis. Very easily.......Of course, after impulse is basically a very tired n warm cuddle bug, so, cuddle piles tend to happen after all information is spilled. He must've fallen asleep at their apartment again! Whoops! But it's okay.....they take good care of him if he does! [Beef is using his mind reading ability on Impulse without his knowledge, to make sure that he hasn't spilled their location and to predict the government's next moves. He feels slightly bad about it but feels that it is necessary for the nHo's survival.]

- So far, Grian has only ever encountered two of his clones, NPC Grian and Robot Grian. Technically three, if one were to count Ariana Griande. Grian doesn't really, but some do. [Ariana Griande is a popular musician in Hermitopia who is building a career using the magical stone of voice enhancement she recieved through the cloning process]

- To handle the two Grumbot issue: the one working with Helsknight can be Jrumbot, a legion of robot drones meant to work as Grumbot’s physical form that ended up being hijacked by Helsknight and turned against ConCorp

- There...aren’t a lot of “normal” animals left in Hermittopia. ConCorp took one look at the animals populating the city and decided that, hey, they could make some improvements. Species after species, they modified their behavior, appearance, internal structure, whatever they could fix, tweak, or add. They were just improving their lives and the lives of the citizens of Hermittopia, after all, but the new animals quickly outcompeted the old for resources and habitats. And if it makes it easier for ConCorp to stick a camera in one or two of them, or set up robotic animals to keep a better eye on the city, no harm, no foul, right?(Bonus: there is one (1) singular cat left in Hermittopia, resulting in a spy movie-style heist where two teams of Hermits attempt to “rescue” the cat simultaneously. The cat keeps wandering away from both teams. Shenanigans ensue)- Adonis [the cat is Jellie, who orchestrated the competition between Team ZIT and Cleo and Joe for her own entertainment, getting away from both parties in the end]

- The Leak:Not all mutations are the result of controlled experiments! If some alien tech got away from the crash site, concorp never would have picked it up. It might have got into nature, not as refined as they made it in the labs but causing little changes here and there. Ren may have become a werewolf from being bitten by a mutant wolf~DragonKay

- Impulse is able to use his powers to create illusions or male things appear invisible! Sort of. After all, light dictates what we see. It takes a lot of focus, though, so it's not that practical. -@rayveewrites

- The one thing Hels wasn't able to steal was the cloning technology, hence his hostility with Concorp -- he needs the cloning device, because how else is the void going to get a body of their own? - SilverWolf53

- *glances at the hermitopia werewolf ask* okay but what if the same mystery people who made ren into a werewolf also created jevin, and maybe Etho? idk if either of them have been given any hermitopia headcanons yet lol. but im sure the same people who made a werewolf could make a sentient slime (or perhaps rescue one) or make... whatever etho is. [Since the "second organization" is an incorrect assumption believed by Concorp, Jevin was created when he came in contact with a waterway contaminated by The Leak. Concorp assumes he was created by an opposing organization and not by accident, and therefore would like to bring him in along with Ren.]

- hermitopia - mumbo and grian were friends back when cloning experiments were still happening (or . as friendly as you can be with someone who's treating you like a lab rat), but after everything went wrong and grian escaped, mumbo has his memories wiped nd thats why he's trusted w iskall's stuff? bc he inherently remembers working on high-level things without knowing where he learnt it - muscle memory, yk?anyway massive angst with grian maybe recognising mumbo, but not the other way round, and trying to rekindle their friendship? and that's where grumbot comes in? -gin [Mumbo's memory was wiped so that he would forget the deadly purpose of Iskall's cybernetics, which he was working on at the same time as the Grian project in the background. Mumbo does not remember creating Grian's mechanical wings or Iskall's arm and eye, and he has no memory of either individual previous to "meeting" Iskall as the person assigned to his repair and upkeep.]

- Etho doesn't so much have powers as he is powers. All the powers the ‘original’ had went into creating him; now he just exists, as whatever sort of being he is. Not a human one, that much is obvious. ~DragonKay [Etho has no powers beyond the hivemind and his training, due to the error in the experiment that caused the clones]

- Mumbo started the button as a joke. A nonsense social expirement to see how much people want worthless signs of status. Unfortunately things got out of hand, and violent too. But hey! It's not his fault that the five special anomalous stones were misplaced into the prize dispenser! It was just chance that they fell into the hands of the clone of the worst gremlin in the city! Don't fire him! [He was not fired, but Cub was Decidedly Unhappy with him for a good long while]

- Void mostly trashes ConCorp facilities- trying to figure out if any of his siblings survived the spaceship crash, but occasionally he’ll pilfer from a bakery, because X is a health nut and Void just wants a gods damned cookie [Void very much dislikes unseasoned chicken]

- If the Stress Monster gets too big, too dangerous, Cleo is sworn under oath to Stress to zap her with her healing powers. Cleo doesn’t like to do it, overhealing a stressed Stress makes her so calm she gets knocked out for a couple of days, but Stress can take a small comfort in the fact that at least one person out there can stop her

- Ooh with the self healing Cleo she'd be able to develop a small amount of super strength, with how the mind keeps from going full throttle because it would destroy the body once she gets over it it's hysterical strength whenever she wants [it is quite painful, but a good backup plan]

- Being a hive mind of disposable clones that can spawn new copies at will, it can sometimes be hard for the Etho Entity to remember that it is indeed a big deal for other people when they get hurt. This can make him come off as callous to those around him, placing him firmly in the "villain" category in most citizen's books, but he really doesn't intend any harm!

- Grian used to be tall, but then the cloning happened. With each clone they stole a little bit of his height making him the short man he is today. He needs to capture those clones and get his height back. [Grian isn't entirely sure how to accomplish this, but he's dead set on trying! He misses being tall!]

- While Grian was perfectly fine with Ariana Griande living her own life, he did insist on one thing.Her "older brother" getting backstage access whenever she was on tour. He's very proud and supportive of her and her music career.

- Mumbo is perfectly content working in tech, watching the other hermits get up to crazy shenanigans. Except of course, there was that one time he was out testing some new gear and accidentally saved a crowd from some villains... and there were all those times after too...But hey! It’s not his fault that people like him, and he certainly isn’t going to get caught by Concorp during his after hours activities. [Mumbo considers himself an accidental hobbyist, not thinking he has the nerve or the skill for proper hero work. Time will tell if he's right about that or not...but unfortunately, he probably is. This should be fun.]

- There’s still some people overseeing VEX, even over Cub. They’re the ones that push Cub to do certain experiments or to scrap one. They’re the ones to give Cub the decision for Iskall’s life debt. Scar was under them too for the longest time, but eventually he wanted out. Cub still wanted in. They were still in the right, right? That’s what they tell him. He’s starting to doubt it. [Cub is way too invested in everything he's built to even think about going rogue now, but he does resent and occasionally question the judgement of his superiors increasingly as his project begins to fail more and more often. He also fears that Scar's shift in career will be seen as a betrayal, rather than as a tactical attempt to gain the company influence in the government.]

- Been thinking about the impulse + nho asks and just,,, what would happen if concorp/the government found out? It cant be good with interrogation/hypnosis on both sides (incase you cant tell,, the brainrot got me as well) (apologies if this is a mess im excited) [Hypno is assigned to set up an illusionary conversation to make Impulse reveal nHo location to Concorp and government agents while thinking that he's actually talking to the nHo in a random encounter]

- The one mind Beef can't read is Etho's. Their hivemind is just too weird for him to comprehend. If he ever tries to listen in, it sounds like just a bunch of static from an old TV.

- for hermitopia au!: Out of most of the heros, the most reckless may be team zit. sure they tell themselves they'll plan out missions but it's hard when they share a braincell and tango just runs in. impulse and zed share a look everytime and have to run after him to make sure he doesn't get too hurt or overwhelmed by the enemy. in their defence its hard to plan ahead against an enemy when you dont know what they are thinking.-lucodak ["You might not have known what they were thinking, Tango, but we'd generally like you to know what you're thinking!"]

- i bet ConCorp really wants to make it out like theres some secret shady organization creating all these people with mutations, rather than their own operatives deserting and their own failure to contain dangerous chemicals... whether its malicious coverups or just ignorance to the fact they messed up, wonder what would happen if that sort of thing came to light...? [If they found out that the unintentional superhumans were a result of the poorly-contained crash site? Cub would lose his job...maybe worse. If Cub found out (and he hasn't, yet) he would do everything in his power to keep that information from his superiors.]

- (paraphrased) Impulse accidentally walks in on heroes and agents breaking down the doors of the nHo's hideout and confronting them. Scar claims that they did so on information Impulse himself provided and thanks him for his service. Impulse, feeling confused and betrayed, resists Hypno's attempts to illusion him back to Scar's side and flees the scene with the nHo, knowing very little other than the fact that he doesn't want to be manipulated by the government any more (and still not knowing that Beef has been reading his mind)

- Impulse may have been labeled a traitor. But do you really think that Impulse, secret rebel, starting to learn how dangerous and corrupted Concorp really is, wouldn't let his best friends know about the danger they might be in? I think Team ZIT is more loyal to each other than to the government. - @mleemwyvern [ Impulse's first stop after escaping with the nHo is to find a place to secretly meet Tango and Zedaph and tell them about the way he was tricked. It takes a lot of explaining and a lot of trust, but they eventually decide to believe his claims and are left with a choice: will they openly go rogue and become a target along with Impulse and the rest of the nHo, or are they better off using their established image and reputation to keep an eye on the government heros' movements from the inside?]

- (two asks combined, paraphrased) Ren runs out of supplies and decides to head back into the city, confident in his ability to stay off the grid after so many years of experience and such a long time away. Once there, he runs into Doc, and they hit it off quite quickly. However, the more Ren talks the more Doc realizes - with his ex-Concorp knowledge - that Ren matches the description of Iskall's main target exactly. He warns Ren, who is then faced with the knowledge that Iskall is alive and assigned to kill him...so many questions and so many tears to follow...

- Why did Hermitopia start needing heroes? When the Unrestrained started to appear, if course. Why did the Unrestrained start to appear? A question asked a little less. When did the VEX program start? When did they start taking more risks? When did they stop caring about certainty and safety and shift towards trying to push boundaries they weren't ready to? People can be so enamoured with the concept of superhuman abilities, something bright and glorious and good- and perhaps they could have that too- they don't ask all the right questions. It's all an elaborate game of damage control, don't let the flashy heroics fool you, they've made mistakes, terrible, terrible mistakes, and now there are villains running loose with powers they fooled ConCorp into giving them. Are they villains? Are they victims? Does it matter? They're causing problems. [Project VEX has developed into a solution to its own problems, a self perpetuating cycle...one that Cub, as a businessman, is very familiar with. It's what keeps the wheels of industry turning. It's what keeps innovation creeping forward. It wasn't intentional, not this time...but if it keeps his project alive, he'll take it.]

- One time, Jevin had narrowly dodged being captured by Concorp. He was laying low in the forest out of town, when he had a run-in with some sort of wolf creature. Thankfully, claws and teeth couldn't exactly hurt him anymore, so he just played dead until it gave up.When the moon set, the wolf-thing slowly transformed into a human being. Ren was horrified at the thought he'd lost control and hurt someone- again- but Jevin assured him he was fine. Jevin got the feeling that the werewolf needed a friend, and Jevin himself needed a place to stay for a while... -RayveeWrites [Ren and Jevin are not currently in the same location, but they each have a means of contacting each other for help if needed]

- Worm Man wasn't a well- known super, but plenty of people have noticed that he seemed to vanish at the same time Team ZIT first started active duty. Those people have also noticed that one of the members has a very similar power set to WM.Officially, that's just a coincidence. Officially.-RayveeWrites [Zedaph was trying to get some unofficial practice while still in training in the VEX program]

- A common misconception is that Bdubs conjures up his vines from nowhere. He can't.Like any plant, his vines grow from seeds. They grow unnaturally fast, when Bdubs wills it, but they have to come from seeds. Where do these seeds come from, you may ask?Well, a long time ago, Bdubs ingested some strange fruits. Somehow, in wild defiance of human biology, the seeds contained in those fruits worked their way into his muscles and germinated. Some of the roots worked their way into his brain and fused into it; the rest spread through his muscles, grew beneath his skin, coiled around his bones. Thanks to the way the vines connected to his brain, Bdubs is able to command the vines, and their magic, at will.The vines produce seeds; some stay in his body to replace the old ones when they die, and most work their way into a pair of 'seed pods' in his wrists. Bdubs provides the nutrients, the energy; the vines provide the seeds, the magic. As an extra bonus: if the vines were to be totally removed from Bdubs' body, he would be at best extremely weak, and at worst dead. The vines have grown into his muscles, to the point where they've essentially replaced them in some areas. It's fortunate that they connected with his mind so early on, otherwise he'd be dead. -RayveeWrites [Concorp developed the fruit, and the fact that Bdubs is evidence of the unlikely success of that experiment makes them all the more angry at his betrayal]

- A lot of excellent xB information (it's too long to copy but please read it it's very good)

- Iskall has exactly one (1) failed assignment. That assignment? The kill or capture of Stress. Stress and Iskall have been, or should it be were now, friends for a very long time, since before Iskall even met Ren. So one can imagine the stress this causes Iskall, to be told to kill his one remaining friend that he knows is alive. Of course, this stress is quite enough to to Stress's Stress Monster into one it's strongest yet seen forms, allowing for Stress to then get away. (1/2)(2/2) Of course, Con Corp doesn't- and can never- know the true reason that Iskall cannot kill or capture Stress. If they knew, if they subjected Stress to the same hell he's in- no, that cannot happen. So Iskall hires False to protect Stress, to interfere whenever they send him on a mission for her. Luckily, False is good at keeping secrets when she wants to, and this one she'll keep. But as far as Con Corp knows, Iskall has severe stress and trauma from being a cyborg, and that's why he fails. [This all adds up to a monumental waste of Concorp's time and money, which also results in False getting payed, so all parties involved are happy except for Concorp >:)]

- Impulse would take a bullet for his teammates, and he knows they might be about to take one for him, keeping him updated on what's going on government side of this... slander. Still, Tango and Zed are great actors, and if he didn't know better, he might be a little worried they would *actually* be hunting him down in the name of justice [Tango and Zed are now being sent on missions to retrieve Impulse, which they must pretend to lose believably. They occasionally overestimate their friend's abilities and give him a few more close calls than he'd like, but overall the ruse is holding up.]

Writing:

- Wels, Hels, TFC, and Grumbot

- Bdubs Concorp promotion and desertion

- Joe Hills in his time dilation hideout

- Etho clones, ZIT, and the nHo

- Keralis and Void

- [ALTERNATE] Reveal of Impulse's situation with the nHo

Art:

- Impulse suit design

#hermitcraft #hermitblr #hcraft #Hermitopia AU #masterpost #long post #mod Shade

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multiverseforger · 4 years

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Victor Von Doom was born decades ago to a tribe of Latverian Romani people under the rule of an unnamed nobleman called the Baron. Victor's mother was witch Cynthia Von Doom who died by Mephisto's hand while Von Doom was young. His father, Werner, was the leader of the tribe and a renowned medicine man who kept his wife's sorceress life quiet in order to protect Victor from a similar fate. Soon after Cynthia's death, the Baron's wife grew incurably ill from cancer and Werner was called to the capital to heal her. When she succumbed to illness, the Baron labeled Werner a murderer and called for his death. Werner escaped with young Victor, having realized the night before the woman would die. He goes on to die of exposure on the mountainside, cradling the boy in a final embrace and giving him his garments to keep him warm. Victor survived and, on return to the Romani camp, discovered his mother's occult instruments and swore revenge on the Baron. Victor grew into a headstrong and brilliant man, combining sorcery and technology to create fantastic devices which would keep the Baron's men at bay and protect the Roma people. His exploits attracted the attention of the dean of Empire State University, who sent someone to the camp.[49] Offered the chance to study in the United States, Von Doom chose to leave his homeland and his love, Valeria, behind.

Once in the United States, Victor met fellow student and future rival Reed Richards, who was intended to be his roommate, but Von Doom disliked him and asked for another roommate. After a time, Victor constructed a machine intended to communicate with the dead, specifically his mother. Though Richards tried to warn him about a flaw in the machine, seeing his calculations were a few decimals off, Victor continued on with disastrous results, the machine violently failing with the resulting explosion seemingly severely damaging his face.[49] It is later revealed that Ben Grimm, a friend of Richards who despised Victor for his superior attitude, tampered with the machine. He would later blame himself for Doom's initial fall to villainy and rise to power, but never revealed this information to anyone.[50] Expelled after the accident, Victor traveled the world until he collapsed on a Tibetan mountainside. Rescued by a clan of monks, Victor quickly mastered the monks' disciplines as well as the monks themselves. Victor then forged himself a suit of armor, complete with an iron mask, but before the mask had finished cooling, Victor put it on permanently bonding it to his skin, and then took the mantle Doctor Doom.[49] As Doctor Doom, he would go on to menace those he felt responsible for his accident—primarily, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. He succeeded in leading a revolution to take over Latveria from the Baron, taking an interest in the welfare of the Roma.

In his first appearance, Doctor Doom captures the Invisible Girl, using her as a hostage so the Fantastic Four will travel back in time to steal the enchanted treasure of Blackbeardwhich will help him to conquer the world and rule it peacefully, but he is fooled by Reed Richards, who swaps the treasure with worthless chains.[51] Doom then forms an alliance with the Sub-Mariner, who places a magnetic device in the Baxter Building. However, Doom uses this to pull him and the Fantastic Four into space, thinking this will rid him of those capable of preventing him from assuming control of the world's governments; the Sub-Mariner gets to Doom's ship and returns the Baxter Building to New York, stranding Doom on an asteroid. Returning to Earth after learning the secrets of an advanced alien race, the Ovids, Doom accidentally exchanges consciousnesses with Mister Fantastic; Richards, inhabiting Doom 's body, switches the two back, and Doom ends up trapped in a micro-world when he is hit with a shrinking ray he had intended to use on the rest of the Fantastic Four.[52] Doom takes over this micro-world, but leaves after the Fantastic Four end his rule. He is then thrown into space when he attempts to prevent the Fantastic Four from leaving the micro-world.[53] Doom is saved by Rama-Tut, and he returns to Earth to destroy the Fantastic Four by turning each member against the other using a special berry juice. Richards outwits Doom by using the hallucinogenic juice against him. Doom, believing he has killed Richards in a test of willpower, departs certain of his victory and superior intelligence, although saddened.[54]

During the 1960s, Doom attempted to recruit Spider-Man into joining forces with him,[55]and he came into conflict with the Avengerswhen Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch illegally entered Latveria to find a long-lost relative of theirs.[56] He stole the Silver Surfer's powers in 1967, but lost them after breaching a barrier Galactus had set for the Surfer on Earth.[57][58]

During the 1970s, Doom branched out to more Marvel titles, with a battle between Victor Von Doom and Prince Rudolfo over control of the Latverian throne being featured in Astonishing Tales.[59] Doctor Doom also attempts to use the Hulk as his slave during two issues of The Incredible Hulk.[60] The character also made several appearances in the story arcs of Super-Villain Team-Up, starting in 1975, as well as appearances in Marvel Team-Up, beginning with issue #42 (February 1976). In August 1981, Doom also made an appearance in Iron Man when the two traveled to Camelot, where Stark thwarted Doom 's attempt to solicit the aide of Morgan le Fay into defeating King Arthur's forces with an army of revived warriors who were slain by the sword Excalibur; Doom swore deadly vengeance for that interference, which stranded him in the past - this vengeance had to be indefinitely delayed in the interest of returning to the present day.[61] A particularly detailed plan saw Doom ally with the Puppet Master to trap the Fantastic Four within the miniature artificial city of "Liddleville", their minds trapped inside tiny cybernetic, part-organic copies of their original bodies. However, Doom perverts what had been intended by the Puppet Master as a chance to give Alicia and Ben a normal life into a trap, deliberately disrupting Reed's connection to his copy to make it hard for him to concentrate while "Vincent Vaughn"- Doom's alias as he monitors the project- belittles him, and the Puppet Master eventually helps the FF learn the truth and escape Liddleville while trapping Doom in the android body he had used to monitor the FF.[62]

During John Byrne's run in the 1980s, Doom attempted to steal the cosmic powers of Terrax, but Doom's body was destroyed in the resulting fight between Terrax and the Silver Surfer.[63] Doom survived by transferring his consciousness to another human, and is returned to his original body by the Beyonder[64] (who had reached into the relative future to 'recruit' Doom for the conflict on Battleworld that the FF had participated in a few months ago from their perspective). While on Battleworld, Doom attempted and briefly succeeded in stealing the Beyonder's power, but it proves too vast for him to control and the disembodied Beyonder is able to take his power back.

When Franklin Richards was kidnapped by Onslaught, Doom joined the Fantastic Four, Avengers and the X-Men to battle Onslaughtin Central Park. An enraged Hulk was able to crack open Onslaught's shell. However, Onslaught remained as pure psionic energy, separated Hulk and Banner, planning to spread across the planet. Thor Odinsonplunged into Onslaught, trying to contain him. The Fantastic Four, the majority of the Avengers, and the Hulk-less Banner followed in short order, with Doom being forced to join the sacrifice when Iron Man tackled the villain into the energy mass. Thanks to this sacrifice, the X-Men finally managed to destroy Onslaught. Doom, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers and Banner were believed dead but were instead saved by Franklin, who created a pocket dimension called Counter-Earth to keep them safe. After several months away, the missing heroes returned from Counter-Earth, except for Doom, who remained there for a time. Doom uncovers the secret power at the heart of the planet, an avatar of his arch-foe Reed Richards' son, Franklin, the super-powered youth who conjured this globe and left a bit of himself behind to guide it from within. Doom managed to convince the little boy to relinquish control of this world with little more than a few errant promises of a better life.

When Susan Richards experienced problems with her second pregnancy while Reed was away, Johnny contacted Doom for help, correctly guessing that Doom will be unable to pass up a chance to succeed where Reed failed (due to the complex events involving the then-recent resurrection of Galactus, this pregnancy is a 'repeat' of an earlier one where Sue miscarried). Doom not only saves Sue's daughter but also cured Johnny of a recent problem with his powers where Johnny was unable to 'flame off' without technological support after becoming overcharged with energy from the Negative Zone by channeling Johnny's excess energy into Sue to keep her alive. After the birth, Doom's only apparent condition for his aid is that he be allowed to name Sue and Reed's daughter, calling her 'Valeria' after his long-lost love. However, this inspires a new plan where Doom makes Valeria his familiar while seeking out her namesake as part of a deal with a trio of demons; by sacrificing his old lover, Doom is granted magical powers on the level he would possess if he had spent the past years studying sorcery rather than science.[65] With this new power, Doom trapped Franklin in Hell, immobilised Doctor Strange, and then neutralises the FF's powers, torturing the other three while taunting Reed by leaving him in his magical library, comparing it to giving a dog a road-map as he concluded that it would be impossible for Reed to master sufficient magical skill to be a threat to him.[66]However, Reed was able to release Doctor Strange's astral self from Doom's traps, allowing Strange to give Reed a sufficient crash-course in magic for Reed to free the rest of the team and trick Doom into angering his demonic benefactors, prompting them to take him to Hell.[67] Determined to ensure that Doom cannot be a further threat, Reed takes control of Latveria to dismantle all of Doom's equipment,[68] simultaneously subtly driving his family away so that he can trap Doom and himself in a pocket dimension so that he can make sure Doom never threatens anyone again.[69] However, this plan backfires when the rest of the team attempt to rescue Reed, resulting in Doom transferring his spirit into Sue, Johnny and Ben respectively, forcing Reed to kill his best friend to stop his greatest enemy.[70] Doom was returned to Hell, but Reed is later able to use the same machine Doom once tried to create to travel to Heaven and restore Ben to life.[71] Doom remained in Hell until Mjolnir falls to Earth after the events of Ragnarok as it creates a dimensional tear during its fall that allows Doom to escape, although he decides to focus on rebuilding his power base when he proves unable to even lift the hammer. The events of this were deleted from Marvel Comics continuity in the 2015 series Secret Wars.

Later, a Doombot was taken down by Reed Richards, Henry Pym, Iron Man, She-Hulk and others in New York City. Whether or not it was sent by Doom himself remains to be seen, as does his role in the overall conflict. Doom was not invited to the wedding of Storm and the Black Panther. However, he did send a present: an invitation to form an alliance with Latveria, using the Civil War currently going on among the hero community as a reason to quite possibly forge an alliance between their two countries. When Black Panther, on a diplomatic mission to other countries with Storm, did show up in Latveria, he presented them with a real present and extended another invitation to form an alliance with Black Panther. He demonstrated behavior very uncharacteristic of him, however, which may or may not become a plot point later. Panther spurned the invitation, detonating an EMP that blacked out a local portion of Latveria before Doctor Doom 's robots could destroy his ship. Later on, Doom is then shown collaborating with the Red Skull on a weapon which will only "be the beginning" of Captain America's suffering. Von Doom gave the Red Skull the weapon because the Red Skull gave Victor pieces of technology from an old German castle. The castle was owned by a "Baron of Iron" centuries prior, who had used his technological genius to protect himself and his people. The map the Red Skull used to find the castle bore a picture of Von Doom. Doom states that the technology the Red Skull gave him is more advanced than what he currently has and that he will become the Baron of Iron in his future; although he does not agree with the Red Skull's principles, the time paradox the situation causes forces him to comply. The Red Skull is currently in the process of reverse-engineering Doom's weapon for multiple uses, rather than the single use Doctor Doom agreed to.

At the end of the first chapter of the X-Men event Endangered Species, Doom is among the various geniuses that Beast contacts to help him reverse the effects of Decimation. He spurns Beast by stating that genetics do not number among his talents. In Spider-Man: One More Day, Doom was among those that Spider-Man contacts to help save Aunt May.[72] Doom also makes Latveria into a refugee camp for the Atlanteans following the destruction of their underwater kingdom[73] as well as becoming allies with Loki in his plot to manipulate his brother into unwittingly release his Asgardian allies.[74]

Doctor Doom later defends Latveria from the Mighty Avengers, following a revelation that it was one of Doom's satellites that carried the 'Venom Virus' released in New York City (which was actually hacked by an enemy of Doom).[75] In a battle with Iron Man and the Sentry, the time travel mechanism within his armor overloads, trapping Doctor and his opponents at some point in the past - Doom continues his relationship with Morgan le Fayusing his time machine.[76] He and Iron Man managed to get back to the present, but Doom has left Iron Man in his exploding castle. Despite his helping, Doom ended up falsely incarcerated at The Raft.

During the Secret Invasion storyline, Doom was among those who escaped the Raft when a virus was uploaded into its systems by the Skrulls. In the aftermath of the Secret Invasion, Doctor Doom became a member of the Dark Illuminati alongside Norman Osborn, Emma Frost, Namor, Loki's female form, and the Hood, intending to seek revenge on the world for falsely ruining his reputation. At the end of this meeting, Namor and Doom are seen having a discussion of their own plans that have already been set in motion.[77]

Doom soon allies himself with the isolationist group known as the Desturi to take control of Wakanda, attacking and wounding T'Challa, then the current Black Panther, maiming him enough to prevent him from holding the mantle again. Doom's main objective was to secure Wakanda's store of vibranium, which he could mystically enhance to make himself invulnerable. Doom was also a part of the group known as the Intelligencia after being captured to complete their plan. With the help of Bruce Banner, he escaped and returned to Latveria, damaged by this experience.

At the start of the Siege storyline, Doom was with the Cabal discussing the current problems with the X-Men and both Avengers teams. Doom demands that Osborn at once reverse his course of action against his ally Namor, to which Osborn refuses, saying that he and Emma Frost had "crossed the line" with him. Doom, loathing Thor and the Asgardians all the more due to his recent defeat at their hands, claims that he will support Osborn's "madness" should Namor be returned to him, but Osborn refuses. Osborn's mysterious ally, the Void, violently attacks Doom, and an apparently amused Loki tells the Hood that he should go, as there is nothing here for either of them, which the Hood, now loyal to Loki due to his hand in the restoration of his mystical abilities, agrees. However, it is revealed that "Doctor Doom" who had been involved with the Cabal was actually an upgraded Doctor Doombot, which releases swarms of Doctor Doombot nanites against the Cabal, tearing down Avengers Tower and forcing its denizens, such as the Dark Avengers, to evacuate. Osborn is rescued by the Sentry, who destroys the body. When Osborn contacts the real Von Doom, Victor informs him not to ever strike him again or he would be willing to go further.[33]

It has been revealed that the Scarlet Witch seen in Wundagore Mountain is actually a Doctor Doombot which apparently means that the real one has been captured by Doom sometime after the House of M event.[78] It is revealed that Wanda's enhanced powers were a result of her and Doom's combined attempt to channel the Life Force in order to resurrect her children. This proves to be too much for Wanda to contain and it overtook her. With Wiccan and Doom's help, they seek to use the entity that is possessing Wanda to restore the powers of mutantkinds. This is stopped by the Young Avengers (who are concerned at the fall-out that would ensue if the powerless mutants are suddenly re-powered) only to find out that Doom intended to transfer the entity into his own body and gain Wanda's god-like powers of re-writing reality for himself.[79]Doom becomes omnipotent with powers surpassing those of beings as the Beyonderor the Cosmic Cube. The Young Avengers confront him, but Doom accidentally kills Cassie just before Wanda and Wiccan stole his new-found powers.[80]

At the start of the story arc "Fantastic Four: Three", a guilt-ridden Doom felt that he needed to be "reborn" and was making plans to abdicate his throne and give it to Kristoff when Valeria teleported to his room unexpectedly asking for his assistance to help her father. Valeria quickly notices that Doom had suffered brain damage from his previous battle and is slowly losing his memories; she makes a deal with him to restore his mental capacities if he helps Reed and the Fantastic Four. Doom agrees to her proposition.[36]Later, Doom appears among those in attendance at Johnny Storm's funeral.[37]

Due to the agreement, Doom was recommended by Nathaniel and Valeria Von Doom to be a member of the Future Foundation.[38] Objecting, Thing attacks Doom out of anger, but the fight was stopped by Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, who welcomes Victor to their group. When Valeria asks Victor if he has a backup for restoring his memories, he reveals that Kristoff Vernard is his backup. Afterward, Mister Fantastic, Spider-Man, Nathaniel, Valeria, and Victor head to Latveria to meet with Kristoff and request his help. Mister Fantastic sets up a brain transfer machine in order to help restore Victor's memories and knowledge, which is successful. When Kristoff wants to return the throne to him, Doom states that it is not time yet because of a promise he made to Valeria. When Mister Fantastic asks what promise Doom made to Valeria, Victor states that he made a promise to help her defeat Mister Fantastic when she calls for it.[39] Doom decides to hold a symposium on how to finally defeat Reed Richards. The Thing and the evolved Moloids give an invitation to the High Evolutionary. Dragon Man and Alex Power give an invitation to Diablo. Upon receiving an invitation from Spider-Man, Mad Thinker is convinced to take part in the event. Bentley 23 even gives an invitation to his creator, the Wizard, along with two A.I.M. lieutenants. However, it is subsequently revealed that the 'Richards' they have been invited to defeat are actually members of the "Council of Reeds" (alternate versions of Reed who were trapped in this universe by Valeria a while back, possessing Reed's intellect while lacking his conscience).[81] While Spider-Man and Invisible Woman make sandwiches for the kids, Mister Fantastic, Victor, Valeria, and Nathaniel Richards meet with the supervillain geniuses and Uatu the Watcher about what to do with the Council of Reeds.[82]

Around this time, Von Doom performed brain surgery on the Hulk to separate him from Bruce Banner, extracting the uniquely Banner elements from Hulk's brain and cloning a new body for Banner, in return for a favor from the Hulk.[83] This clone is killed soon afterward.[84]Later, Doom is apparently killed by the Mad Celestials.[85] With no knowledge as to how he survived, Doom awakens in the ruins of the Interdimensional Council of Reeds, where Valeria had left him a present: the full army of lobotomized Doctor Dooms from alternate realities who were previously captured by the Council, along with two Infinity Gauntlets from alternate universes. With these resources, Doom created the Parliament of Doom, an interdimensional council charged with maintaining peace across the multiverse.[86]He later returned to again rule Latveria, upon ruling the council for a millennium.[87] An ill-fated excursion into the alternate universe of the one of Infinity Gauntlets resulted in Reed and Nathaniel Richards rescuing Doom from his own council.[88]

During the a confrontation between the Avengers and the X-Men, Doom allies with Magneto and others against Red Skull's Red Onslaught form.[89] In an attempt to atone for past misdeeds, Doom absorbs the Scarlet Witch reality-altering powers and resurrects the dead Cassie Lang, whom he had accidentally killed.[90] He subsequently makes a Faustian deal with an unspecified demon to resurrect Brother Voodoo.[91] After returning to normal, Doom is taken into captivity for his initial killing of Lang.[92]

With the final Incursion imminent during the Secret Wars storyline, Doom usurps the power of the Beyonders with the aid of Doctor Strange and the Molecule Man,[40] collecting what he can of the destroyed multiverse and forming a new Battleworld consisting of different alternate realities. He also assumes the role of God and claims complete dominion of this new world and its inhabitants, controlling them into thinking he was always the almighty force of creation; he takes Sue as his wife, Franklin and Valeria as his children, condemns the Human Torch to be the sun and Ben Grimm to be the Shield wall, and rewrites his own history to resurrect the majority of those whose deaths he caused. Richards and a ragtag collection of heroes and villains that survived the destruction of all universes challenge Doom and, with the help of Molecule Man, are able to take his power and restore the multiverse. Opting to heal rather than harm, Reed finally uses the Beyonder's power to heal Doom's face.[41]

In the All-New, All-Different Marvel, Doom returns to Latveria where he saves Tony Starkby incapacitating a group of Latverian rebels with a sonic attack.[42] Doom reveals to Tony that he is a new man and wishes to help, giving the latter one of the Wands of Watoomb to keep safe from Madame Masque. When more rebels arrive, Doom teleports Iron Man to the Bronx Zoo.[43]

Doom finds Iron Man again and teleports the two to the Jackpot Club in Chicago to confront Madam Masque.[44] Discovering that Madame Masque is displaying symptoms of demonic possession, Doom has Tony trap her in the Iron Man Armor then proceeds to exorcise the demon from her. Doom disappears before Tony regains consciousness.[45] Doom appears once again and interrupts Tony's breakfast date with Amara. Doom is trying to prove to Tony that he has changed and is trying to correct the mistakes he has made, explaining that he has arrived to check up on Tony and see if he is suffering from any side-effects from being in the presence of an exorcism. Tony still refuses to trust him after what he has done and Doom leaves once again.[46]

Following the defeat of Tony Stark at the hands of Captain Marvel at the conclusion of Civil War II, Doom discovers his calling. Remembering his dissatisfaction as a God, Doom decides that it was his role to help heal the world. Inspired by Stark, and informing his A.I. duplicate that he intends to establish Stark's legacy, Doom fights for his unique brand of justice as the third Iron Man, and later comes into conflict with Mephistodisguised as The Maker, the evil Ultimate Universe version of Reed Richards.[47] Doom goes on to join the Avengers, and later conceives a child with Dr. Amara Perera.[48]Doom's sudden change sparked grievances that resulted in a group of villains, led by the Hood, to join forces to take him down.[93]After the villains besieged Doom several times, the final battle occurred when the Hood attempted to take over Stark Industries, which happened not long after Stark had secretly recovered from his injuries. Tony confronted the Hood and stumbled into Victor. Doom took on the Hood and the unidentified demon possessing him one-on-one, and his face was severely burned by the demon in the process. Following the villains' defeat, Victor retreated to the ruins of Castle Doom.[94]

Later, a young woman named Zora Vokuvic breaks into Castle Doom demanding to see Doctor Doom. She makes it past the many Doombots that guard the palace before finally confronting Doom himself. She tells him that Latveria has been overrun with dictators and opportunists since he left and that the nation needs its leader back. Initially rejecting Zora's pleas for help, showing her his grotesquely scarred face in the process, Victor finally agrees when she refuses to give up and hands him his iconic mask, telling him that Latveria needs its true champion. Taking the mask, Doom ventures out into Latveria, quashing the civil war that is apparently raging and vowing to fix the country with his own strength – summoning magical energy as he does.[95]

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thecorteztwins · 4 years

Text

(Just a basic superhero vs supervillain brawl here between Force of Nature and the ladies of the Winter Guard, with a little twist at the end! No deep character stuff, but tagging @sammysdewysensitiveeyes because Pyro and Avalanche are in it!) Russia had the largest amount of forests of any country on Earth, even more so than the famous Amazon rainforest, boasting 55% of the world's conifers and 11% of the Earth’s biomass. And yet, the logging industry, especially the illegal side, was so rampant and unrestrained that deforestation was threatening even this arboreal giant. It was for this reason that Force of Nature was sent to attack the headquarters of one the largest logging companies in the nation, and one with the most illegal activity under its belt. It was the first mission for their new recruits---two mutants, Pyro and Avalanche of the Brotherhood, representing the elements of fire and earth. Though their origins were in the very political Brotherhood, they had the right mercenary attitude for the squad. They also got on well with the two pre-existing members. Well, no, they got on well with Aqueduct, not so much Aireo. But Aqueduct assured them that no one really got on with Aireo, and that he was just glad to have a couple of “normal guys” like himself on the team at last. “It’s not that I didn’t LIKE Theary and Terraformer,” he hd said, “But you couldn’t really have a beer with ‘em attitude-wise, you know? And I literally CAN’T with Aireo, poor guy’d die of alchohol poisoning after one glass. He’s got a real weak system, Inhuman, y’know.” They knew. It was getting him to SHUT UP about it that was the issue, Pyro had found. The skinny beanpole---for once Pyro got to call someone else that!---really got under both their skins, his and Dom’s, with his superior species bullshit. Though St. John kinda had to admit there was an irony to it, given how he’d and Dom had used to run in the Brotherhood, which preached the same thing, just with regards to a different species. And it was kind of novel how Aireo looked down on them for BEING human, rather than NOT being human like most people. Pyro would give the wind-master one thing, he didn’t discriminate against mutants, just ALL humans in general. There was a fairness in it he could respect---if it wasn’t so damn IRRITATING! That aside though, it turned out they worked well together in the field---Skybreak stayed aloft where he could be hit accidentally by Avalanche’s seismic waves, and his winds helped fan Pyro’s flames from above. Speaking of Pyro’s flames, Aqueduct could put them out if they got out of hand---a much quicker way to do it than relying on Pyro to calm them, something he always had trouble with---and he could also make mud for Dom to send his shockwaves through, which made for some interesting effects you couldn’t get with just dirt and stone. It was really just plain FUN, in Pyro’s opinion, to watch some fucker DROWN in it. Right now though, a few logging employees were drowning in the wood chips that had been knocked over by Avalanche’s avalanches...the ones that Pyro wasn’t lighting up, anyway. “Talk about burning through your profits eh?” St. John yelled to his team over the din as workers and officials scattered. One brave soul tried to spray a fire extinguisher at him, Dom’s shockwave knocked him off his feet while a breeze from Skybreaker sent foam back in the poor sod’s face, just before a wave from Aqueduct washed him away clear to other side of the room. “Come on mate, your life’s not worth whatever crap they’re paying you”, Pyro called over to the guy, though he knew the Russians likely didn’t understand him. “Yeah, nobody try to be a hero here”, added Aqueduct.

“Oh, but I think I will,” said a woman’s voice from behind him the water-wielder. It came from within the swirling black portal that had opened at his back, and poor Aqueduct turned his head just in time to get the side of his face punched by a white-gloved fist emerging from the portal, followed by a black-haired woman attached to it, wearing a red costume with a white-pointed white star emblazoned on the chest. Another black-haired woman stepped out with her, this one in a barely-there purple getup with thigh-high boots, and a younger blonde between them in a black costume with a yellow diamond star and a bejeweled headband. Pyro didn’t recognize them but he knew what they were-- “Supes!” Dom yelled. “Correct,” said the blonde in Russian-accented English, “We are the Winter Guard, defenders of Mother Russia and all her people---and we give you ONE chance to stand down and surrender!” “One chance is all I need to boil up some Russian hotpot!” Pyro proclaimed, turning his flames their way...only to have them harmlessly swallowed up by the Darkforce portal that Darkstar, the blonde, summoned to intercept them. “Wha---that’s cheating!” St. John exclaimed. “Then let’s even the score, Johnny,” growled Dom, sending a quake out from his hands towards the women...only for it to turn out THAT--- “They all can fly?!” he exclaimed. That REALLY was not fair! “They may ride the air,” scoffed Skybreaker from above, “But---can they command it?!” With that, the Inhuman hurled contained hurricanes intended to grab the women, knock them around, even break their bones inside it---or worse, hopefully. Darkstar teleported away, but the others, Starlight and Fantasma, were caught by the tornadoes. Skybreaker started to laugh, but his triumph was short-lived---a Darkforce portal appeared behind him, and he was pulled in by Darkstar, then spat out into the tornado himself, right next to Fantasma. The sorceress seized the opportunity, and seized Skybreaker himself, grabbing him and manipulating his bio-field to render him unconscious. Thus, the tornado stopped, and he dropped to the ground before Starlight or Darkstar could grab him, which Fantasma did not even try. blonde, Darkstar, ported away “Aireo!” Aqueduct yelled, “Hey, he’s got delicate bones!” “Your concern for your comrade is admirable,” Starlight commended “But you should worry about yourself,” added Fantasma “Get the ‘porter,” Pyro commanded to Aqueduct and Avalanche, having learned from what he just saw, “She’s the real threat, herd her to me and I’ll toast her!” “You like playing with fire, hmm?” Starlight had overheard, “How about nuclear fire?” And with that, Pyro found himself surrounded by flames that emanated from her body. Normally that was something he would have no fear of, quite the reverse, but this fire felt...wrong. He shrank from it reflexively, as he would something alien and dangerous. “My radiation is not something I wish to inflict on anyone---especially not one with infractions so minor as yours---but threaten the life of my teammate, and you can consider your own to be forfeit!” “Ulp,” Pyro replied, “Got it.” With Skybreaker down and Pyro caged, that left Aqueduct and Avalanche, and Pyro didn’t have much hope for them. Great guys, but not great thinkers, those two. He didn’t expect this fight to last much longer, and he was right. The last thing he remembered was one of Darkstar’s portals surrounding him, and then everything was black and cold... ...and woke up into just more darkness and coldness. “John? John!” Dom was leaning over him, his square face contorted in concern. “Ahhh...” Pyro sat up, rubbing the back of his head, “Feels like I got the world’s worst hangover...” “We all did,” said Aqueduct, “Everybody except Aireo.” “I was passed out already before that witch passed us through our portal,” Aireo said venomously. Pyro didn’t need to ask where they were. He could tell already. A prison cell. A bad one too. No beds or benches attached to the walls, no toilet, no bars, just three walls and a solid steel door. It was very, very cramped in here too, with minimal light coming only from the tiny window in the door. And he didn’t like the crusty brown rim around the drain in the center of the floor. Pyro also knew that power-dampeners must be installed, or these three would have already busted loose with him in tow. This...did not look good. Pyro had HEARD what the Russians did to mutants, even the ones who WEREN’T foreigner criminals... “Johnny, get down!” Dom yelled, and pulled Pyro away from something. Pyro turned and saw that behind him, one of the Darkforce portals was forming. “What do you want?!” he demanded of Darkstar and Starlight, who were visible within it, though not emerging due to the cell being so small. “For you to come with us,” said Starlight. “We love our country, make no mistake,” explained Darkstar, “But the present government’s treatment of the super-powered who do not serve it is inhumane.” “Even for villains,” Starlight added. “Where’s Stripperella?” Pyro asked, noting that what had been a trio was now a duo. “Fantasma...has a harder time understanding the nuances of these things,” Starlight said, “She follows the law, and believes it is good. And it is. And you broke it. You should be punished, as the law demands. But not like THIS.” “What’s...this?” Aqueduct asked. He was apparently not as well-read as Pyro about how Russia did things. “You do not know what is in store for you?” “Er...no?” Dom said. He was also not exactly on the up and up in this department. The women exchanged looks. “Better that way,” said Starlight, “Come on---enough talk.” “We’ve just shut down the power nullifiers,” said Darkstar, “Quickly, make a mess so it looks like you escaped on your own---we’ll help make sure you get through the facility, you just leave a ‘trail’ as you go.” They did exactly that, their elemental powers wreaking havoc through the facility, while Darkstar’s portals enabled them to evade being seen or caught. The portals were bad enough though; Pyro realized now why he’d felt so terrible after going through one, why he’d passed out. It was staggering to go through them, even for a second, and all four of Force of Nature quickly protested their use, preferring to take their chances being seen. “It is the Darkforce,” Darkstar explained apologetically, “To me, it is friendly, harmless---but when others travel through it, the effects are...unpleasant. It is helpful for quickly subduing foes, as I did you before, but it makes it less than ideal for transporting friends, especially those unused to it.” “Even I’m still getting used to it,” admitted the sturdy-looking Starlight, who appeared to Pyro no worse for the wear despite the multiple small trips....while he felt like he was going to drop again, and the others looked about the same. Finally, they reached the end, a wall that Starlight instructed them to burst through, which Avalanche did with ease. They walked for awhile, Pyro burning a path through the snow---the ladies had considerately brought him a lighter---til they had left enough of a trail, then Darkstar took them all for one last ‘port, in the opposite direction, to the outskirts of Moscow, where they could find a way to contact their employers and get a flight scheduled. “From here, you must make your own way home,” said Starlight. “And never return, “Darkstar warned, “Or else you may not find us so merciful next time!” Actually they would be---but they didn’t want to risk these dumb-asses knowing that and coming back.

#fic #writing #force of nature #the winter guard

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unknowntitans · 7 years

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RobStar Week 2017 - Day 2

Day 2 – Arrival (Teen Tyrants)

Dark energy arched around a small cylindrical room, runes of unimaginable complexity and intricacy were drawn into the ground in a blood red chalk. In the centre of the room sat a small shrine with a collection of items of different magical symbolism were seated on small plinths surrounding the shrine, dark energy connecting from them to the centre shrine. A few feet above the shrine hovered a sorceress cloaked in red, the energy from the shrine seeped into her body as she channelled her power. Her vibrant magenta hair contrasted majorly with her grey skin tone, her eyes were closed in concentration as she tried to pinpoint the source of a small ripple she had felt throughout reality, it was a tiny, miniscule event like a single rain droplet hitting a lake but she had felt it and the energy surrounding it seemed familiar. Repeating her mantra she felt herself approaching the energy spike and a few moments later she had found what she had been searching for, a tower, their tower.

Unclasping her communicator from her belt she held it to her mouth, “Hey dipshits! Come to the shrine I’ve got something” in a few short moments the dark, twisted team had assembled.

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Red Robin, Red Raven and Blackfire had been the first members of the team, they had all met when Blackfire had landed on Earth in an attempt to hide from the Centauri police for her numerous crimes throughout the Vega system. With the help from her two new teammates she had slaughtered the entire armada of troops that had come to try and capture her.

Blackfire had been born as Koriand’r, princess of Tamaran but due to a rare gene defect she had been born with black hair as opposed to both her red headed parents and even her brother. Because of this she had been given the nickname of Blackfire by her parents, many saw her black hair as being a sign that she was weak and inferior to the rest of her family. That mistake would cost Tamaran dearly when she willingly allowed the Citadel to invade her home planet and even took the liberty of burning the royal palace to the ground herself, Tamaran was nothing more than a wasteland when she left. Her previous capture by the Psions had granted her enough power to rival anything in the galaxy that would challenge her.

Red Robin had once been the protégé of the infamous Batman of Gotham, after being adopted by the billionaire Bruce Wayne he had learned his secret, Dick Grayson joined the caped crusader as Robin to memorialise the loss of his parents. However, over the years the crime in Gotham had gotten to Dick, nothing him or Batman ever did had any real effect. Any criminals they arrested would break out and they would have to re-capture them over and over again in an endless cycle. Dick had finally snapped when his adopted brother Jason Todd had been murdered by Batman’s most infamous villain ‘The Joker’, the pair had both been devastated by his loss but Bruce refused to take action, Dick had pleaded with him to kill The Joker and put an end to this but Bruce had refused. Acting out of grief and revenge, one night Dick had tracked down the Joker and killed him using the same crowbar that had been used to take Jason’s life. That moment had caused the last remnants of the teenager’s sanity to crack and splinter, secretly rigging explosive charges all throughout the Bat Cave, Dick bade farewell to his former mentor and father figure in an explosion so big it could be seen across Gotham. He didn’t need a mentor, what he needed was a team.

Red Raven had been born in the realm of Azarath, as she grew up she discovered the truth that the cosmic demon Trigon was her father. She became obsessed with understanding her demonic lineage and what power she could ascertain from it, one night during her studies the ethereal form of Trigon had appeared to her offering her unlimited power at his side. Being so young she accepted his offer without question and he had fulfilled his end of the bargain, granting her power that almost rivalled his own. In exchange Trigon was able to manifest and destroy Azarath, witnessing her world and her family obliterated by her own selfish action caused the young demoness to lose her mind, seeing Trigon as her only remaining family she pledged her loyalty to him. Trigon explained that using her powers she could open portals to other parallel worlds, and in connection to that he offered her another proposition; for every world she allowed him to conquer he would bestow upon her even greater power. It was an offer she could not accept quick enough.

Tempest and Arsenal we’re newer additions to the team, they were a few years older than any of the other members but still loyal and respectful of their leader. Tempest had once been Aqualad, protégé of Aquaman, after hearing plans from Black Manta and Aquaman to destroy the surface world in order to ensure Atlantis’ safety Tempest became concerned. He had visited the surface world numerous times and realised how much it had to offer, why destroy it when instead the world could just be conquered piece by piece? Killing Aquaman, Tempest convinced Black Manta of his plans and the two began their plan, slowly taking over small towns and cities under the name of Atlantis. The US government had decided that starting a war with Atlantis could be devastating and so allowed the Atlanteans their new land. After realising that Red Robin’s team had similar aspirations he aligned himself with them, under the name ‘Tempest’ because of the impending storm of Atlantis that would one day claim the world. Arsenal’s beginning was not unlike that of Red Robin, he had originally served Green Arrow as his sidekick Speedy but after seeing first hand Oliver Queen’s unwillingness to put an end to a problem he decided to rebel, taking up the alias of ‘Arsenal’ he began secretly working against his mentor, taking out criminals himself his own way with lethal force. Eventually Green Arrow encountered this ‘Arsenal’ and upon realising that this villain was his partner he found himself to shocked to react, tragically this pause gave Arsenal the perfect opportunity to strike. Putting an arrow straight through the eye of his former mentor, before leaving to make his own way in the world. Discovering that with the Teen Tyrants he found a place to call home in the ruthlessness of the group.

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“What is it?” Red Robin asked

“I have located the universe home to those pests, the ‘Teen Titans’” holding up a golden, bejewelled hand mirror the group watched as the screen changed to a picture of the counterpart team they had been defeated by.

Tempest snarled but quickly his face changed to a sickening smirk, “I’ve been looking forward to tearing that android apart”

Arsenal patted his friend on the shoulder with his own sadistic smile, “The green kid is mine…I’m gonna put an arrow through his head”

“My knock off is mine and mine alone” The dark haired Tamaranean commanded, after the discovery that the shapeshifter Gemini had been posing as Blackfire, the Tyrants had managed to track down where their alien powerhouse was being held and rescued her.

Putting his arm around his girlfriend’s waist he smirked, “Same goes for me, Robin is mine”

“Then I’ve got the other me” Red Raven added with a grin, “anyone got a problem with that?” The others smirked as they shook their heads, “opening the portal” she stated as she channelled her energy into her mirror, within moments a breach appeared.

Red Robin stepped forward to lead the charge, “Teen Tyrants!” he paused, a sadistic grin forming on his face “tear them apart”

The receiving end of the breach appeared in a street in the middle of the city, stepping through the team looked around to see Titans Tower off in the distance. “We’re miles away!” Tempest complained

“I’d like to you see you try and navigate a wormhole, fuckhead!” Red Raven replied angrily

“I wished to destroy their tower first, that would leave them with no place to hide!” Blackfire commented irritably

Red Robin stepped over to Blackfire and placed his hand against her face, “Be calm, my love. We’ll just destroy their city for a while until they get the message, then once we kill them…we can destroy their tower”

An intrigued smile formed on her face and she kissed the back of his hand affectionately, “I love it when you talk dirty to me” she replied with a purr.

“We could even claim their tower as our own…keep a portal open between realms and rule both worlds!” his voice sadistic and enticing

Blackfire threw herself at her boyfriend, wrapping her legs around his waist and clamping her lips to his hungrily, she moaned as he responded just as eagerly to her. Within moments their hands were all over each other, his under her top and hers snaking their way down to his pants.

Arsenal spoke up causing the couple to separate “Hey! Can you two save the fucking till we’re done here? I wanna kill some Titans!”

The demented couple smirked at their equally demented team-mate, “Killing them will make it even sweeter” Red Robin whispered into her ear, soliciting a shiver from her.

“Then let us make this quick” Blackfire replied, holding out her fist she charged a large purple starbolt and aimed it at a nearby car. Once the bolt had engulfed her fist she released it and it hurtled at the car, causing a deafening explosion. The sounds of civilian’s screaming nearby garnered a grin from the group. “This city shall fear it’s new rulers!”

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Robin huffed a sigh of boredom as he flicked through countless channels finding nothing of interest to watch. “How can there be hundreds of channels and still nothing decent to watch?” he muttered sadly.

Starfire, who was currently curled into his side with her head resting on the inside of his shoulder, gave him a sympathetic look. “Perhaps we could go up to the roof and look out at the city for a while?”

“And see what?” he replied sarcastically. He caught himself as he spoke and he smiled apologetically at the slightly hurt face of his girlfriend. “sorry…I didn’t mean that sweetheart…It’s just that-“

“You are bored” she finished for him, snuggling closer to him

“Yeah, and I get a bit antsy when I’m bored. We haven’t had an alert in over a week”

She pondered his choice of words for a moment, “You feel like an ant?”

“No, not like a literal ant” he replied with a chuckle, kissing her forehead “I mean I get a bit irritable when I’m bored”

“Ohh” she replied in understanding, “at least we have had more time to spend together”

“That’s true” he replied with an affectionate smile, “I love you, Kori”

“I am certain that I love you more, Richard” she challenged, lovingly

The sound of the alarm caused the couple to leap up in surprise, almost knocking each other to the ground. They looked around in shock, it took them a few moments to even remember what the alert was since it was been so long since they last heard it. Cyborg rushed into the main room and over to the control panel, he read the screen “Huh?!” he asked surprised.

Beast Boy and Raven soon filed into the room and the 4 attempted to read the panel over Cyborg’s shoulder, “What’s wrong? What’s the alert?” Robin asked confused

“It says, ‘Teen Titans attacking Jump City’” Cyborg read aloud

“What?!” Beast Boy asked in shock, “what does that mean, we’re all right here!”

Cyborg typed quickly into the keyboard and pulled up a video feed from one of the traffic cameras in the city. The 5 Titans gasped simultaneously as they saw their dark doppelgangers destroying cars and buildings around them. “Those guys again!?” Beast Boy asked panicked.

“They’re destroying stuff to try and get our attention”

“Well, they certainly have it” Cyborg replied with a gulp

“We need a plan, they were strong last time we fought them so we need to be prepared for them” Robin declared

Starfire concentrated on the video and noticed her doppelganger, “But I thought Blackfire was a spy working against them?”

“Maybe that’s the real Blackfire, Gemini was probably just impersonating her whilst the real Blackfire was somewhere else” Raven replied

“Well that means that they’re even stronger now” Robin declared with a sigh

“Evil Raven was the problem last time, she was really strong. We could deal with the others” Beast Boy commented

“Then we should focus our attention on her first, deal with her and then take out the others” Cyborg strategized

“Good plan. If Blackfire is as strong as Starfire then she should also be a main target, once they’re both down we can deal with the rest” Robin elaborated.

“Then myself and Raven will focus each of our counterparts together” Starfire added

“Red Raven shouldn’t be able to take out both me and Starfire together” Raven said with a nod to Starfire.

“Okay, that’s our plan then. Everyone ready?” Robin asked

The rest of the team nodded confidently, “Those chumps aren’t gonna know what hit em” Beast Boy added with a smirk.

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Blackfire smiled manically as she threw countless starbolts at the windows of buildings, watching the glass shatter and splinter as it hit the ground. People screamed for help from inside, begging for the attack to stop but it only spurred the demented Tamaranean further. Red Robin watched from the side, grinning at the power of his beloved, cheering for her as shops began to collapse from the barrage of blasts they had received. Shock filled his face as he saw a green starbolt collide with his girlfriend, causing her to stagger back a few feet.

“You will not harm anyone else!” the red haired Tamaranean yelled

Blackfire looked up from the ground and smirked in intrigue at her doppelganger, “Hello other me”

Starfire grimaced, “You will stop this Komand’r!”

Blackfire growled, “My name is Koriand’r!”

There was too many questions Starfire wanted to ask of her other self, “Regardless of whoever you are I will stop you!”

“Good luck” the dark-haired girl replied with a sickly-sweet mocking voice

Starfire growled, about ready to invert the other girl’s face with her fist until she spotted Red Raven landing next to her Tamaranean team mate. Turning to her friends, Starfire nodded at Raven as a signal and the two girls charged the red cloaked demoness, bolting past her doppelganger Starfire hurled a barrage of Starbolts at the girl forcing her to raise her shield in defence. With the distraction, Raven teleported behind Red Raven and focused a blast hitting her square in her back, Red Raven yowled in pain as she turned to block the other sorceress which in turn gave Starfire an opening.

“They’re trying to pick us off” Red Raven yelled to which Blackfire bolted in the sky to defend her team-mate. Raven attempted to grab hold of the Tamaranean with her powers but Blackfire was accelerating too fast to get a hold of.

“Watch out!” Raven called to Starfire

Blackfire grinned widely as she neared her doppelganger, she dodged the few starbolts being thrown at her with ease and angled her fist to hopefully break a few bones when her fist landed. However two of the starbolts collided in front of her causing a small puff of smoke to temporarily block her vision. When the smoke finally cleared her eyes went wide as her face was met with devastating punch from Starfire. Time seemed to stop for a second as her fist impacted and the force caused a visible shockwave to spread across the sky, and then in what was less than a few seconds the dark-haired girl had smashed into the ground, unconscious.

Red Robin watched his girlfriend plummet out of the sky and quickly ran to her side, “Kori!” he yelled in a panic.

Robin felt something stir within him, looking at his doppelganger he could see so many differences between them, his appearance, his mannerisms and most of all his attitude. But hearing the fear in his voice as he called out his beloved’s name definitely resonated within Robin as well. Because of this he ordered Beast Boy and Cyborg to hold off attacking Red Robin for a moment whilst he examined his injured girlfriend. Robin walked towards him, stopping about 20 feet in front of him and watching the worry filled face of the villain, “I’m giving you a chance, get her help, leave and don’t come back”

“I’d take his offer, man. Else you’re gonna end up in the same state as her” Cyborg added

Red Robin looked up at them and glared, “You’ve done this to her, you’re gonna pay for it!” he screamed. Pulling out his bo-staff, he pressed a small button and a blade popped out of each end of the staff, “You’re gonna die… Arsenal, Tempest…tear em apart!” he commanded.

Arsenal and Tempest nodded with a smirk, each stalking towards Cyborg and Beast Boy leaving Red Robin to his battle.

Retracting his own staff Robin sighed, “You shouldn’t have come here” he charged Red Robin slamming his staff against his causing the red-cladded boy to be forced backwards as he blocked the attack. Taking his own swings, he found them to be easily parried and blocked, smacking his bo-staff into Red Robin’s shin the boy growled in pain. The two of them we’re pretty evenly matched but Robin had discovered his opponents flaw, his aggression, he spent too much time on the offense and not enough time on defence. Because of this Robin only had to block his opponents hits and then he could easily counter with his own, landing blow after blow on his opponent. “Your team relies on fear…you try and scare your enemies…but you don’t scare me”

“You will be scared” Red Robin growled, “we’re going to kill your little friends whilst you watch... Starfire will be the first you’ll have to watch die”

Robin growled, “You think your threats frighten me? You’re just as weak as I am, Blackfire makes you weak just as Starfire makes me weak”

“No!” Red Robin growled attempting to block Robin’s onslaught but failing, causing him to receive a hard blow to the stomach.

“You’re scared of losing her, just like I am” Robin added, swinging his bo-staff around he smacked it into his opponent’s back, forcing him to his knees. “It’s over, she needs help…so I’m going to offer you another chance…take her, leave…and never come back”

Red Robin snarled at his counterpart but looking back at his unconscious girlfriend he softened slightly and pulled out his communicator from his belt “Red Raven, Blackfire’s injured I need a portal back”

“You’re retreating?” the red sorceress asked angrily

“She’s badly hurt, open one. That’s an order!” Red Robin commanded, his voice breaking slightly from embarrassment

Red Raven dipped out of the sky to avoid Starfire and Raven’s attacks and briefly focusing her energy she re-opened the breach they used to enter.

“If you ever come back, I’ll make sure there won’t be a way home for you…or the others” Robin said in a deep threatening voice.

Red Robin walked over to Blackfire and lifted her body up bridal style, before stepping through the portal.

Hearing a series of shouts from behind him Robin dashed off to help Beast Boy and Cyborg.

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Up in the clouds Starfire and Raven zipped around like fighter jets focusing their blasts on Red Raven, the demoness desperately attempted to fight back but every action left her open to their attacks. Growling in irritation she channelled her powers at Starfire, managing to conjure a sleep spell, because of her rush she only managed to put her to sleep for 2 minutes but it was enough to begin her offense once more. Raven dove after Starfire’s plummeting form, catching her with her energy and gently floating her down to the ground. However, this gave Red Raven ample time to recover and she began attacking full force against Raven, a blast of red energy hit hard against Raven’s chest causing her to topple backwards a considerable distance and fall beneath the clouds. When Raven managed to climb back up above the clouds her eyes grew wide in horror as she saw the demoness pulling an object towards the city. A full sized, full capacity commercial airline, was being pulled from the sky and being guided down towards the heart of the city. Using all of her might Raven gripped the plane attempting to hold it still, but she could feel her grip slipping as Red Raven used more and more of her power. Raven could feel herself being drained by the massive power usage and she was beginning to succumb, suddenly the plane left his nose dive and began to tilt back towards the cloud. Raven gave a shocked gasp as she saw Starfire single-handedly tilting the plane back up to the correct angle. Letting go of her hold of the plane she took hold of Red Raven and tossed her at high velocity into the pavement below. Giving a look of relief to Starfire the two lifted the plane back above the clouds and back onto its flight path.

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It didn’t take long for the 3 Titans to overpower the 2 Tyrants, Arsenal required range to fire any of his arrows and so Beast Boy wrapping around him as a Boa Constrictor removed any chance he once had at attacking. At the same time Cyborg and Robin focused their attack on Tempest, his water abilities proved hard to counter at first but the Atlantean had underestimated the power of Robin’s belt, swirling a vortex of water around himself he attempted to use it as a shield but a small cryo-capsule colliding with the vortex froze it solid instantly as well as the Atlantean inside of it, a single blast from Cyborg’s canon left both the Tyrants unconscious. Walking over and tossing the unconscious pair through the portal, the 3 smiled as they saw Starfire and Raven land next to them, “Red Raven?” Robin asked

Starfire gestured to the incapacitated girl over her shoulder, dropping her next to the portal they all grinned at the defeated look on her face “Your team has been defeated I suggest you lea-”

Starfire was cut off as what sounded like fast approaching footsteps came from the other side of the portal, Red Raven’s eyes widened in terror. “No!” she begged, the sound seemed to only get louder “No! Please!” she continued to beg as she backed away from the portal.

The Titans looked at her unnerved, “Is something else comi-“ Robin asked but before he could finish speaking a black and blue blur blasted through the portal and instantaneously had Red Raven by the throat. She choked and gurgled as she tried to pull it’s hand off her throat but her injuries had left her energy drained.

“You have failed me…yet again” a demonic gravelly voice spoke from the demon-looking creature.

“No…only the others did” she pleaded, still attempting to struggle

It turned around and looked over the Titans, it’s face resembling that of death, piercing black eyes looked at the group with intrigue before returning to its captive “You were defeated by inferior versions of yourselves…how embarrassing”

“Who are you?” Raven asked

The creature turned to look at them once more, dropping Red Raven to the floor and fully turning to face them. It’s suit similarly resembled that of the flash, even having the lightning bolt symbol on the chest but the normal vibrant red had been replaced by a pitch-black hue. It’s mask resembled some sort of execution mask, even having the slits in the mouth piece to allow breathing. Small sparks of blue lightning arced around the dark speedster to signify its power. Stepping towards the group they all continued to look unnerved by its presence, in less than a second it had zipped over to Robin and hoisted him up by his shirt, glaring into his eyes it laughed “You are their leader, how did you win?”

“Who are you?” Raven asked again, growing irritated

“Zoom” it replied as if its name was some prestigious title

“Put him down!” Starfire commanded stepping up to the speedster

It chuckled in its low and gravelly voice, letting go of Robin it stepped over to Starfire and pushed its face down to be level with Starfire’s “Or…what?” it asked her “what could any of you do to me?”

A small blast in its back caused the speedster to stagger forwards, it turned around angrily and looked at the terrified face of Red Raven. “I’m powerful enough to fight you” she said, her confidence failing

It laughed once more “No…” zipping forwards it lifted her up once more “…you’re not” it finished ramming it’s vibrating hand into her chest. The Titans watched in horror as the life drained from the struggling girl’s eyes and then just as quickly Zoom tossed the girl’s body through the breach.

“If they cannot kill you… then I will” Zoom declared

Robin reached down to his belt and pressed a small button, in less than 5 seconds a yellow blur arrived behind Zoom

“I don’t know who you are but you missed Halloween by a few months buddy” Kid Flash said mockingly

Zoom turned at an unnaturally fast speed, “Wallace West”

The mocking look disappeared from Kid Flash’s face, “I don’t know how you know that but you’re going down regardless” charging the black suited speedster with a punch he found his hand caught in mid-air before he had even properly thrown it. Trying again with a barrage of punches, Zoom caught every single one with the palm of one of his hands. Wally became unnerved and sprinted around the speedster attempting to find a weak point that he could land hits but he found himself terrified as Zoom was turning in perfect time so that his eyes always lined up with Wally’s. Breaking out of his circle Wally dashed down the street further in the city.

Zoom laughed maniacally as he bolted after the yellow suited speedster, he was toying with Wally like how a cat toys with it’s prey before it kills it. Zoom would always stay a few feet behind him regardless of his superior speed, Wally began taking sharp turns down roads and even running along the side of a building to attempt to tire the speed demon out but Zoom matched his pace no matter the circumstance. Eventually Zoom sped up and ran alongside Wally grinning at the weaker speedster. Wally could feel himself beginning to tire and he stopped in the back alley of a street, “What do you want?” he asked, exhausted.

“A challenge” Zoom spoke with a laugh

“You already know you’re faster than me…” Wally replied weakly

“I am faster than you, but you can be much faster”

“You’re wrong?...I haven’t got any fast in years…”

“It’s because you hold yourself back, you are holding yourself back from power”

“You don’t know me!” Wally screamed

Zoom laughed deeply, “I know you very well”, reaching behind his head and pulling the leather mask from his face he grinned at Wally.

Wally stared in horror at the face in front of him…his own face, a few years older but still so much alike “H-how?”

“I embraced my power…you squander it to be part of a team” Zoom replied

“I use my power to help people! To help Barry!” Wally replied indignantly

“And what reward do you get for this help? Most the world labels you as a vigilante. Barry Allen is weak…he is faster than you but he too squanders his abilities, using his powers he could have been a god but he chose not to. That’s why in my world I took that opportunity from him”

Wally looked horrified, “You-you killed him?”

“I discovered an ability, one that even surpasses Barry. The ability to drain others of their speed”

“So…you stole Barry’s speed?” Wally asked in shock

“I drained him of every ounce of speed-force in his body…leaving him as a statue. A fate worse than death most would assume” Zoom replied, his tone made it sound like it was a fond memory he was recalling.

“You’re a monster!” Wally screamed

“And you could be one as well” Zoom replied with a sickening smirk, “I can show you how to siphon speed, to give yourself immense power”

“Draining an innocent person of their speed-force…Barry was a good man and you killed him. I would never listen to a monster like you…”

Zoom grew angry, snarling at Wally “I have been to many Earths, met many other Wally Wests and drained them of their speed as well…are you sure you want to be the next?”

“I’d rather die than be like you” Wally spat

Zoom put his mask back on and glared at his younger doppelganger, “So be it”

Wally bolted as fast as he could along any streets, Zoom following close behind him, cackling every time he would catch up to Wally. Wally tried to focus, he needed to think of a plan he could call Barry but if Zoom was able to beat the Barry Allen of his earth then Wally couldn’t risk him draining this Earth’s Flash. He could hear his communicator ringing and he tapped a small button near his ear, “Robin”

“Are you okay?” Robin asked concerned, “Is Zoom still after you?”

“Yeah” Wally replied anxiously, “he can drain speed-force”

“Oh god” Robin replied miserably

“Can Raven channel knockout spell on him or something?” Wally asked desperatley

“Yes, but he would need to be distracted and standing still” Robin answered for Raven

“Okay, get her to come to the corner of Charles St. I’m gonna try and distract him”

“On it” Robin replied quickly

Picking up the pace, he was glad that Zoom was still attempting to toy with him. Seeing Charles St he bolted towards the corner and pretended to trip over the curb causing him to stumble to the ground. Grabbing his foot, he held as if he had broken his ankle “Ahh” he screamed in pain

Zoom slowed down and began to stalk around Wally like a lion stalking about a wounded zebra, finally the dark speedster stopped and squatted down next to him “So weak…I see now why you couldn’t be like me…I am an exception in the multiverse” as he continued to mock the injured Wally, Raven stood on a rooftop nearby casting her incantation on him. He felt himself being overtook by exhaustion and he struggled to stay awake, Raven continued to chant the spell as much as she could whilst the dark speedster continued to fight it. A speedster’s healing properties and metabolism meant that he was recovering from the infliction even whilst she was casting it, he spotted her and laughed “It won’t stop me!” he shouted.

Wally climbed to his feet and stood in front of Zoom, “It doesn’t need to stop you…just to slow you down” Wally focused his energy and began to run around Zoom in a counter clockwise formation, after a few moments the blue lightning from Zoom began to arc to Wally’s body and each bolt caused his speed to increase. Zoom screamed in anguish as he felt his speed being siphoned quickly away from him, attempting to stop Wally he reached his arm out forwards to grab it but soon the arm remained stationery, just as the rest of Zoom’s body was. After a few more moments Wally stopped and collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, he felt like a monster for what he had done but in his head, he knew it’s what he needed to do. That monster had to be stopped…

“Wally” Robin shouted as Starfire carried him to his friend, “are you alright?” he asked immediately

“Yeah” Wally replied sadly

“What did you to him?” Robin asked in confusion as he looked at the statue like pose of Zoom

“I discovered I can drain speed-force, so I drained his to stop him” Wally answered, his tone still guilty

“You had to stop him somehow” Robin replied supportively, “how did you know that you could drain speed-force?”

“Because he can…” Wally replied, climbing to his feet he walked over to Zoom and pulled the leather mask from his face.

The other Titans stood in shock as they looked at their friend’s doppelganger, “You’re Zoom?” Beast Boy asked nervously

“A version of me…he killed Barry and stole his speed, that’s how he was so fast”

“If you have siphoned off Zoom’s speed…does that mean it is yours now, Wally?” Starfire asked

“I guess so…I do feel faster. Maybe I should tell Barry about this whole ‘siphoning power’ thing, I think he’d wanna know about it”

“Is he still alive?” Raven asked, examining Zoom

“I don’t know, Zoom said it was a ‘fate worse than death’…I think he might be still alive…” Wally replied

“Then it is a fate well deserved for his actions” Starfire declared, “if he has done this to others then this shall be his punishment”

“What are we gonna do with him? I mean like, what if he gets out of there somehow?” Cyborg asked anxiously

“Throw him back through the portal…the Tyrants can deal with him if he ever gets out” Robin answered, turning to Raven “Is there any way you could stop them from coming back here again? Like take this universe off the map or something?”

“I might be able to create barriers to block off our universe. I think I’ll block of theirs as well…just to be safe” she replied with a small smile.

The End

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

Author’s Notes:

Another exceedingly long story, I’ve been wanting to write this for almost a year now and with today being Tyrant themed I thought it was a perfect time to do so.

Really hope you enjoyed it!

#robstar #robstarweek #robstar week #robin #starfire #teentitans #teen tyrants

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akutagawaprize · 7 years

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You'll talk someday about how the Port Mafia is portrayed? ( not the bightest bulbs in the chandelier huh. Not the most subtle either) im not trying to rush you, it bothers me too and im just curious. I like your analysis. Have a nice day

Haha all kidding aside, I’ve been meaning to talk about them for quite a while now. It’s just that I want the stuff I write to make sense, because usually they’re self-indulgent rambles. And this one won’t be an exception, especially since I have so many feelings about Port Mafia.

Usually it’s the protagonists who are outmatched, outgunned, outnumbered, or just generally outclassed. Through sheer force of will and nakama power perfect teamwork do they come out on top. Even then sacrifices have to be made. At the start, the Armed Detective Agency seemed like it will follow this mold, but soon we are introduced to their abilities.

On paper and in practice, the abilities of the members of ADA greatly complement each other. This means that even with few active operatives who can work on the field, they got all bases covered. If this were an MMO they’d have Atsushi and Kenji as tanks, Atsushi again and then Kunikida for DPS, Tanizaki going for Assistance/Crowd Control, Fukuzawa as Buffer, Dazai as Debuffer and of course, Yosano as their Healer. Not to mention Ranpo, the formidable brains behind their operations (with Dazai as backup, or even vice versa).

Now let’s take a look at the mafia. Not counting Odasaku, in their group who doesn’t have an offensive ability? Ace? Sure, but his ability only applies to his subordinates, and anyway he’s also dead. See the problem? Chuuya probably has the most versatile ability in the mafia right now, but it’s either he takes great pride in his prowess as a martial artist or he just can’t think of creative ways to take advantage of the fact that he can, well, manipulate gravity. There’s also Elise, who seems to be “programmed” to be able to do feats no ordinary human can, but we don’t know much about her. Outside of these two, the one who impresses is Kajii. His ability sounded like a joke sure, but he knows how to make use of it and in the right circumstances, can be that one member to watch out for. There’s also talks about another executive member or two. Whether one exists we don’t know, but I can only hope they’ll possess an ability that is a supportive one, or something gamechanging like mind reading or memory wipe.

Don’t get me wrong! It is rather refreshing to see a team full of competent people, especially in their line of work where they’ll find themselves smack dab in the middle of dirty matters the police and the military would rather not handle. That they are well-rounded means it’s easy to imagine why the government would want their help, why they get the requests they do, and why they are favored to take on cases that will pit them against criminals/evildoers who have their own deadly abilities.

But at the same time, the agency members seem almost… overpowered. They have limits and restrictions, true, but these barely influence how they use their abilities. The times they get into action, the enemies have done absolutely nothing to counter them or anticipate their movements… which is a shame really! Heroes are only as good as the villains who oppose their ideologies and this time, Fyodor has Port Mafia beat in spades.

Imagine Chapter 47 with Tanizaki using Kunikida’s note (while he can materialize objects remotely we didn’t know if anybody else could activate it or if distance was gonna an issue, but this does not break previously established rules so it gets a pass) to materialize a switchblade. Wouldn’t it have been far more interesting if one of them saw the trap, retaliated, and then caught Tanizaki off-guard, causing him to use his illusion to play mind games, make them question each other, heck make them question their own senses. But we don’t see any of it, we just see Tanizaki tricking everyone and it’s frustrating to watch, especially since they are already aware of what Tanizaki can do and have taken no measures to ensure he won’t be able to pull the same trick twice.

You see this with Akutagawa and Chuuya too, both preferring brute strength over anything else. Would it have been too OOC to have a panel of Chuuya looking/glancing around, trying to eliminate any possibilities of a trap? I’m sure Ranpo would have succeeded in luring Chuuya regardless but no matter how hotblooded Chuuya is, he’s a mafia executive still! There should be an ounce of logic in that brain. If the one at the top is this hopeless, what about the others?

I wasn’t particularly affected by that scene in Episode 4/Chapter 5 where the ADA systematically wrecks Black Lizard and mops the floor with them because I knew they were the equivalent to Red Shirts despite being properly introduced and being called commanders of an elite fighting squad… Okay, okay, reading what I just typed and looking back, it does make you wonder whether the mafia’s full of jobbers like these guys or if the ones at the top are just much, much scarier. Akutagawa was beaten by an untrained and inexperienced Atsushi who had been with ADA in just, what, a month or two? Chuuya’s an executive who looks cool and has an ability that is even cooler, but stick him next to Dazai and he becomes a sheepdog who’s all bark and no bite. Let’s not forget how he can only activate the “true” form of his ability if Dazai’s there to cancel it or else his body will give up on him. Kouyou looks like she means business, but she goes soft for Kyouka. Despite saying she’d stay in the mafia to help run their organization, one couldn’t help but wonder based on her recent actions whether she’s having second thoughts. The Black Lizard… No comment. Higuchi… She’s a badass Muggle, but a Muggle nonetheless.

Mori? Now we’re talking. In episode 21/Chapter 30 we learn that the previous leader had gone delirious and started giving out illogical orders, resulting to confusion and punishing losses on the mafia’s side. Mori relieves the leader of his duty, with a young Dazai as the sole witness. Mori has ambitions, but the exchange also implies that if the leader hadn’t let things escalate to such a sorry state then Mori wouldn’t have needed to go that far. Remember, at the conclusion of the 3 Way War Arc, he gave Kouyou the option of staying or running away. He may be coolheaded, but he’s not coldblooded. All of the actions he takes are to ensure the continued survival of the mafia, which is why unless some other canon information comes out, I’ll choose to believe that until now Mori is wrestling with the idea of killing Dazai for good or letting him be. I won’t put it past Mori to think up of a plan to convince Dazai to go back willingly, even putting his life on the line. Just as he won’t kill Dazai, he’s sure Dazai won’t kill him because once that happens there will be no turning back. So as long as the chance of Dazai returning is not at 0%, Mori will keep Dazai alive until he is sure he won’t have any need for him in the future.

Moving on, this is all rather awkward, but one glaring weakness of Port Mafia right now is just how damn good Mori is at his job. His absence leaves such a vacuum that everything is thrown out of order. There is no one to assume command the same way he can; the successor he’d groomed has long jumped ship. All other candidates for his replacement are woefully inadequate and ill-prepared. It’s a fate which calls to mind those great conquerors whose kingdoms fell into ruin not too long after they have passed away. Again, this is probably why Mori had invited Dazai back even if he was the one who chased him out in the first place.The thing is, no one has shown awareness of this. There has been no talk about any fear for the future, about what would happen post-Mori. The way the mafia acts, they think they’re invincible, that the halcyon days would never come to an end. Never mind that the ADA and maybe even the police had cornered them with their backs pressed against the wall a few couple times. To maf members, their strength and number are enough; sense, caution and tactics can come later. Ironic, considering these are things Mori presumably values and holds in high regards.

The Port Mafia has no unifying goal, so to speak. Of course, the ultimate point of the mafia is to make money, with violence as a currency they are willing to spend on those who won’t bow their heads. It’s a choice of lifestyle for those who enjoy crime and the taste of power… for those who find it easier to be dishonest… and maybe those who simply have nowhere else to go back to like that kid who became Ace’s collared subordinate. The mafia is their home, but unlike with the ADA, they didn’t join to make friends or play house. Again, most of them are probably motivated by money. That’s why when Mori was incapacitated, they didn’t have the same desperation as ADA, even with Hirotsu saying they are fighting to prove their worth by protecting their boss.

Finally, while the Port Mafia are heralded as “wardens of the night” and are comfortable in monitoring and participating in underground dealings and criminal activities in Yokohama, outside of their jurisdiction they hold little power. They have no ties to other organizations, no allies to back them up. ADA can count on the government for support for example. Add to that, Lucy and Poe from the Guild are practically unofficial members now. So how about the mafia? Is it possible that other port cities like Kobe and Nagasaki have their own mafia, and are affiliated with Yokohama’s Port Mafia? What about international ties? Knowing Mori, they should have built up a network of clients and freelancers, ones the executives or the mafia’s Intelligence Division could have called upon once it was clear Mori was in grave danger and that the enemy knows mostly everyone in their organization. Outside help, one which the enemy wouldn’t have suspected, would have gone a long, long way and would have at least messed up some of ADA’s plans.

In wanting to give the heroes some spotlight, Asagiri-san has forgotten that the mafia has just as much as stake as the agency, but are not fighting like it. They are old dogs who won’t learn new tricks, while ADA has this “adapt or die” mindset. They have smartly split up into two groups (or 3, if you count Ranpo by himself) to explore all the options that could save Fukuzawa’s life. It’s probably this difference in their way of thinking that for a “rival organization”, the mafia has become bland and underwhelming.

scanlation credit: Dazai Scans, Easy Going Scans

#bungou stray dogs #port mafia #akutagawa ryunosuke #nakahara chuuya #mori ougai #everyone else #text #idk #asks

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Trailer Unveils Rocksteady’s New DC Game

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

At last, DC fans finally have their first look at Rocksteady’s next game, which is leaving the heroes behind to focus on the villains. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League puts everyone’s favorite band of villainous DC misfits front and center in an over-the-top mission to take down the world’s greatest heroes.

The first trailer for the game, which was unveiled at the DC FanDome digital event, teases the story, gameplay, and characters fans can expect to see in Rocksteady’s latest. Check out the trailer below:

Alpha Target is in the open! #SuicideSquadGame #DCFanDome pic.twitter.com/PCFSvelXid

— Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League (@suicidesquadRS) August 23, 2020

For those who haven’t read the comics or watched the live-action and animated movies or missed Arrow, the Suicide Squad is actually a top-secret black ops initiative called Task Force X created by Amanda Waller, a high-ranking official in the U.S. government. While the name “Suicide Squad” was first used in 1959 by Robert Kanigher and Ross Andru in the pages of The Brave and the Bold #25, the better-known modern version of the Suicide Squad was created by John Ostrander in 1987’s Legends #3. The team of villains-turned-anti-heroes was later spun off into its own, critically-acclaimed series, which was written by Ostrander and drawn by Luke McDonnell.

As you probably guessed from the trailer, the team is made up of captured villains who have no choice but to serve their country and save the world in exchange for their freedom. Of course, the team is nicknamed “Suicide Squad” because their missions usually come with a high probability of death.

Mainstays of the team over the years include quite a few DC characters who have already appeared in Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham games, including Harley Quinn, Deathstroke, and Deadshot. But now that the studio has access to the full roster of Suicide Squad members throughout DC history, the team can finally explore some of comics’ most zany and ridiculous baddies — Captain Boomerang, Mirror Master, Thinker, Rag Doll, KGBeast, and so many more. The studio could even throw in some DC C-listers in there like Condiment King, Kite Man, Weather Wizard, and Crazy Quilt (at least that’s this writer’s hope).

For now, the game’s roster of villains includes Harley Quinn, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and King Shark. It’s definitely a more tame version of the team than what James Gunn is planning in his movie.

With the Suicide Squad setting sights on the Justice League, this also means that Rocksteady will be able to work with Batman again in some form, even if the intent is to kill him this time. Rocksteady confirmed that its Suicide Squad game is a continuation of the Arkham trilogy, Fans hoping for another Batman game should instead turn their attention to WB Montreal’s Batman: Gotham Knights, which was also revealed during DC FanDome.

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will arrive in 2022 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC at launch.

The post Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Trailer Unveils Rocksteady’s New DC Game appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/2QiRhcI

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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repwinpril9y0a1 · 7 years

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Divertimento #123

Video of a patient with severe Parkinson's Disease, before and after ingesting medical marijuana. Impressive. Fossilized trilobite eggs discovered. "When [President] Roosevelt heard that a torpedo was zooming toward him, he asked to be moved with his wheelchair over to the railing so that he could see it. Fearing an assassination plot, the Iowa turned its guns toward the William D. Porter — however, the crisis ended when the torpedo finally detonated as it struck heavy waves created by the Iowa’s increased speed. Walter reportedly answered with a meek “We did it” when pressed. The entire crew was placed under arrest and sent to Bermuda to face trial — the first instance in U.S. Naval history that the entire crew of a ship had been arrested." Intraoperative virtual reality may be useful in allowing lower doses of sedatives and hypnotics for surgery patients. "Today saw the release of a new study from the Grantham Institute for Imperial College London and the Carbon Tracker Initiative. It argues that solar photovoltaics and [electric vehicles] together will kick fossil fuel’s ass, quickly. “Falling costs of electric vehicle and solar technology,” they conclude, “could halt growth in global demand for oil and coal from 2020.” That would be a pretty big deal." Explanation of the floating dry-erase stick man. Impress your friends.

"The 588th was the most highly decorated female unit in [the Soviet air force in WWII], flying 30,000 missions over the course of four years -- and dropping, in total, 23,000 tons of bombs on invading German armies. Its members, who ranged in age from 17 to 26, flew primarily at night, making do with planes that were -- per their plywood-and-canvas construction -- generally reserved for training and crop-dusting. They often operated in stealth mode, idling their engines as they neared their targets and then gliding their way to their bomb release points. Myths about what does and doesn't constitute treason. "På väg mot vaken såg vi älgen göra flera misslyckade försök att ta sig upp själv. Den klarade heller inte att knäcka isen och ta sig in till land på egen hand, så min sambo, Sigrid Sjösteen, började ivrigt hugga upp en ränna in till grundare vatten. Vi turades om att hugga i omkring 30 minuter innan älgen var i säkerhet på land." (saving a moose frozen in a lake) About those little dots on your car windows. "Most importantly, it acts to prevents ultraviolet sun rays from deteriorating the urethane sealant." And "there’s another group of dots on the windshield right behind the rearview mirror. As shown in the clip below, these dots, called the “third visor frit,” are there to help block the sun as it beams in from between the two front sun-visors." Collector's Weekly has an extensive article on the history of model railroading. Everything you need to know (or not) about the baton or truncheon (also called a cosh, billystick, billy club, nightstick, sap, blackjack). "The one for daytime was called a day-stick and was 11 inches in length. Another baton, that was used at night, was 26 inches long and called a night-stick, which is the origin of the word "nightstick"." Someone did a detailed analysis of the most recent Super Bowl (LI) and determined that the ball was in play for a total of 16 minutes and 4 seconds. "There were 178 plays (including kickoffs, point-afters, spikes, etc) with the average play being only 5.47 seconds long."

Dragonfly wings kill bacteria. "...the bacteria are essentially caught in one of those sinister traps of which movie villains are quite fond. If they don't move, the bacteria might survive. However, when they do move, shear forces pull on the EPSs, ripping the membrane apart. This results in a fatal leakage of cellular contents, which causes the cell to deflate like a balloon..." How to make ice cream from snow. Why British roads are called "metalled" when they have no metal. "Gravel is known to have been used extensively in the construction of roads by soldiers of the Roman Empire, but a limestone-surfaced road, thought to date back to the Bronze Age, has been found in Britain. Applying gravel, or "metalling," has had two distinct usages in road surfacing. The term road metal refers to the broken stone or cinders used in the construction or repair of roads or railways, and is derived from the Latin metallum, which means both "mine" and "quarry". The term originally referred to the process of creating a gravel roadway. Pie chart explains pyramids. "The paternoster is kind of elevator that consist of a chain of open compartments that move up and down continuously through the vertical shaft of a building in a loop and without stopping. Passengers step into the moving compartments in the direction they wish to go and then hop off when the elevator reaches the desired floor. There is no stopping in between the floors, and passengers must remain alert and get their timing right or else get severed." China is now the world's biggest producer of solar energy. Read about Mohamed Bzeek, a foster father who takes in children with terminal illnesses.

"Now, Bzeek spends long days and sleepless nights caring for a bedridden 6-year-old foster girl with a rare brain defect. She’s blind and deaf. She has daily seizures. Her arms and legs are paralyzed. Bzeek, a quiet, devout Libyan-born Muslim who lives in Azusa, just wants her to know she’s not alone in this life. “I know she can’t hear, can’t see, but I always talk to her,” he said. “I’m always holding her, playing with her, touching her. … She has feelings. She has a soul. She’s a human being.”

Apeirophobia is fear of everlasting life. UNIT 731 (2015) "A research unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during the second Sino-Japanese War and WW2, who conducted human experiments and committed horrible war crimes. After the war, the U.S. government assisted in a coverup of their activities in exchange for the medical data they acquired." "A Utah mother has received immense amounts of praise on social media for dressing up as a man to take her son to a "dads and doughnuts" event at his school... Kittrell said she became a single parent three years ago, and eventually asked her son if he wanted to take his grandfather to the event. Her son told her no and that he wanted to take her because she was his mother and father." An argument that the phrase "Dark Ages" is inappropriate. "Far from being a stagnant dark age, as the first half of the Medieval Period (500-1000 AD) certainly was, the period from 1000 to 1500 AD actually saw the most impressive flowering of scientific inquiry and discovery since the time of the ancient Greeks, far eclipsing the Roman and Hellenic Eras in every respect." The CIA has a Flickr account with a webpage with many albums of declassified maps. The Bay of Bengal is dying. "Many once-abundant species have all but disappeared.... Fish stocks have been decimated by methods that include cyanide poisoning. The region was once famous for its coral reefs; these have been ravaged by dynamite-fishing and climate-change induced bleaching. Yet the exploitation of these waters continues without check." "Queen Elizabeth had her own “Watchers,” a network of agents who intercepted letters, cracked codes, and captured possible dissenters to protect the crown in secret. The queen’s network of spies formed the original surveillance state in the U.K., and she started it for good reason... When spying abroad, Dee signed each private letter to Elizabeth with the insignia “007”—a moniker that was later borrowed by Ian Fleming, writer of James Bond." A mother saved her baby from a house fire by strapping him into a car seat and then dropping him from the second-story window.

"Soul-crushing facts about income inequality." Why you shouldn't play dodgeball with a softball player. "Technology can also allow people to access cars long after they’ve sold them, which is enough to leave any buyer uncomfortable." "Hungry hungry humans." A discussion thread suggested this was either a corporate team-building exercise, or a Mormon youth-group activity. This Finnish resort bills itself as "the world's most enchanting Arctic resort." I believe it. Look at the photos and the videos. "There have been rumblings regarding some sort of nuclear incident—or possibly incidents—in the Arctic over the last month. Multiple reports, some of them from official monitoring organizations, have reported iodine 131—a radioactive isotope often associated with nuclear fission—has been detected via air sampling stations throughout the region." A waitress physically drags an unwanted guest from a restaurant. (this) How to use a can of tuna to cook a dinner (clever, but I asked a friend who does long-distance hikes; he said he'd rather consume the oil than burn it) This week's gifs:

Trump signing an executive order.

"It was probably for the best that they didn't see it."

The Trump handshakes. A gallery of examples. Trudeau uses his left arm to defeat the pull.

A 10-million-gallon tank at the Georgia Aquarium.

A beautiful retracting driveway gate.

Which restroom to use???

This week's embedded images are winners of this year's Wellcome Image Awards, via Digg. Info re subject matter and photographer/artist at the link. from DIYS http://ift.tt/2mDKldd

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beautifulpolicecrown-blog · 7 years

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Suicide Squad is set for release on August 5, 2016. The main competition for the film will be Pete's Dragon, which actually debuts a week later on August 12. This gives the film plenty of time to rack up an impressive opening, which is exactly what it is expected to do.

This will probably be a surprise, considering the naturally dark nature of a film that focuses on supervillains, but Suicide Squad is actually shooting for a PG-13 rating. The goal for DC was to make sure the movie would fit in with their other cinematic offerings, such as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which scored the almost kid friendly rating earlier this year. As of this writing, Suicide Squad still hasn't garnered an official rating.

The specific plot for the movie hasn’t been revealed yet, but we can expect the basic premise from the comic books to be the same. The Suicide Squad, officially designated Task Force X, is a secret team of supervillains who have been imprisoned by the United States government. The team undertakes high-risk missions for the government in exchange for amnesty. If they succeed in their mission, they live to fight another day, and get their sentences reduced. But if they fail, they can just be written off. Hence the nickname, "Suicide Squad." In the source material, team members also have micro bombs implanted inside them, which can be detonated if they try to escape or cause trouble during the mission. Whether or not this will be featured in the film is not yet known. It was announced back in September 2014 that David Ayer will helm Suicide Squad. Ayer is most famous for directing films like Street Kings and End of Watch. Most recently, 2014 saw the release of his World War II drama Fury, which followed tank operators during the final days of war in Europe, as well as the over-the-top violent cop drama Sabotage. In addition to directing, Ayer – who previously penned scripts for movies like Training Day, The Fast and the Furious and S.W.A.T. - also wrote Suicide Squad. As you can tell, his resume is primarily based around action movies, so he seems like an ideal fit for this film. During pre-production and filming, Ayer used social media to give fans looks behind the scenes, from shots of unique weapons to teasing a certain Batman-related locations.

n 2016, Jared Leto will become the fourth person to play Batman’s greatest enemy on the big screen - following in the footsteps of Caesar Romero, Jack Nicholson and Heath Ledger. We don’t yet know the specifics of how The Joker will fit into the plot of Suicide Squad, but the actor has enough experience playing unusual roles (like Mark David Chapman and Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club) that this will a doable challenge. HisSuicide Squad costars have said he went very method while playing the Joker role, and from what we’ve seen of him so far, it looks like he’ll be terrifying. In the trailer from San Diego Comic-Con 2015, it was suggested that Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller has thrown The Joker into a hole and thrown away the hole – however, all of the other footage that’s been provided of Leto in character features him out and about. It’s very possible that Joker will be locked away for a good deal of the film, and that the footage showing him outside of a cage is all from flashbacks.

She was created specifically for Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, and 24 years later Harley Quinn is finally making her live-action film debut. Originally a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum, Dr. Harleen Quinzel was corrupted by The Joker and became his assistant/girlfriend. Although Harley has primarily been a Batman character, recent years have seen her branching out into other corners of the DC universe. It was during the New 52 re-launch of DC Comics that she was added onto the Suicide Squad, and she’s been one of its primary members ever since. Harley’s only other live-action appearance was in the short-lived TV series Birds of Prey, and it’s probably best that we forget about that.

In order to keep this team of villains in check while in the field, you need a disciplined soldier leading that charge. That’s where Rick Flag comes in. A former Special Forces operative with a strategic mind, Flag has led several iterations of the Suicide Squad during the decades. He’ll do whatever it to make his country proud, even if it means having to work with these detestable villains. Flag has appeared in shows like Justice League Unlimited and Smallville, as well as the animated movie Justice League: The New Frontier.

Of all the Suicide Squad members, Enchantress is the arguably the least well-known. In the comics, June Moore was a normal teenage girl who was at a costume party at the Terror Castle. After discovering a secret passage, she finds a demon who tells her that she’s going to become a mystical hero. When she says the word "Enchantress," she transforms into a black-haired, costumed hero with magical abilities. However, despite the demon’s proclamation, June’s mind eventually snapped, and she became a criminal. This led to her joining the Suicide Squad, as she believed they would be able to help her keep the villainous side in check.

George "Digger" Harkness became a skillful boomerang thrower while growing up in Australia. He originally used this talent as a performer, but later started committing crimes. Although he’s been a frequent adversary of The Flash, Boomerang is also well-known for being a regular member of the Suicide Squad. In the early Suicide Squad stories from 1980s, his personality and racist comments often drew the ire of his teammates. He also had a tendency to sit back and watch when things get ugly out in the field, happy to just watch the mayhem. The footage we’ve seen certainly suggest that this is the version of the character that we will be seeing on the big screen

If there’s one supervillain whose name pops up more frequently than most when the Suicide Squad is mentioned, it’s Floyd Lawton, a.k.a. Deadshot. He is one of the most notorious assassins in the DC Universe, claiming to never miss his target. He is visually recognizable by his cybernetic eye-piece, which boosts his accuracy and displays information for him. Once he’s paid, Deadshot will carry out a hit no matter what circumstances come his way. He also has a death wish. While he won’t outright commit suicide, he wants to leave this world in a spectacular fashion,

Amanda Waller, nicknamed The Wall, is the woman in charge of the Suicide Squad. Originally a congressional aide, she has been the director of several agencies in the DC Universe, most recently A.R.G.U.S. (Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans). Despite not having any superpowers, Waller has proven herself a worthy adversary not to be trifled with. Her tactics may be drastic, but she’ll do whatever it takes to protect the United States from harm, whether it involves taking out a supervillain or neutralizing a superhero she believes to be a threat. As for the Suicide Squad itself, Waller only sees the team members (excluding Flag) as expendable assets. She won’t hesitate to eliminate any of them if she thinks it’s necessary for the mission. Think of her as a way more ruthless Nick Fury.

Born Waylon Jones, Killer Croc has largely been known as a Batman villain – famous for being born with a form of atavism that causes him to have reptilian-like skin and other traits. He grew up in an abusive household and ultimately turned to a life of crime, and has aspirations of being the kingpin of Gotham. In addition to having the teeth and claws of a reptile, he is also incredibly strong, and will likely serve as the heavy of the cinematicSuicide Squad

In case the name wasn’t clear enough, Slipknot is a character whose specialty rests in the "ropes" category. Also known as Christopher Weiss, he was introduced as an employee of a chemical company where he helped develop the strong ropes he would ultimately use while working as an assassin. Due to his impressive skills, he wound up on the radar of Amanda Waller,

Audiences just got to see Katana come to life played by Rila Fukushima in the third season of Arrow, but it will be actress Karen Fukuhara who will be playing the expert martial artist in Suicide Squad. If you’re trying to figure out if you recognize the name, however,

There have been multiple iterations of El Diablo in DC Comics, as the character's existence goes back to the old west - where a man named Lazarus Lane was nearly killed by a gang of thieves, but revived by a Native American shaman. He adopted the name El Diablo, and from that day forward became a vigilante. The Suicide Squad live-action take on the character won’t be this version, but instead the more recent one from DC’s line of New 52 comics. In those comics, El Diablo is Chato Santana, a former criminal who actually encounters Lazarus Lane and takes on the old west hero’s mantle.

Suicide Squad is a movie filled with bad guys and government officials with questionable morals, but there will be at least one hero present. It was confirmed by footage leaked online during filming that Batman will serve in at least a minor capacity, making this his second DCEU appearance after March’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In what is presumably a flashback, there will be a car chase scene between him and Joker that eventually results in Bats on top of Joker and Harley’s sweet ride

While it remains only a rumor at this point, with the character not yet mentioned in any official announcement about the film, it’s been heavily suggested that Suicide Squad will have a direct connection back to the events of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice - specifically through Lex Luthor. We first heard about this back in October 2014, when it was reported that Jesse Eisenberg was in discussions with Warner Bros. about reprising the supervillain character.

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