Unknown Time
The Far Shore
Rodrick Mormont
"So, that is how you arrived in this universe," revised the being known as Eternity, summarizing my story. "You grew weary of medieval life on this 'Planetos' and used a native ability—a 'Door Fruit' that allows you to open portals—and by sheer luck, you opened a door to this reality."
"That's pretty much it. The travel is entirely random on a multiversal scale. I have no control over my destination beyond planetary travel."
"Interesting… You'll do," said the three-faced cosmic being, as if it had finished appraising me and found me adequate.
Before I could ask what he meant, I was forcibly teleported closer to Eternity. He waved a hand, and the cosmos around us solidified, becoming a flat, solid plane I could stand on. Once again, the power on display in this universe was something to behold.
"I have a proposition for you, Mormont. In exchange for allowing you to remain in this universe… you will become one of my Avatars."
An Avatar of Eternity? A cosmic embodiment of time and space? His backing would serve as a warning to the upper echelons of this universe, forcing the top tiers to think twice before erasing me and earning his ire.
"I agree," I said. "Honestly, I have no choice. Without this, I'd always be looking over my shoulder, waiting for the Living Tribunal to judge me."
"Hmmm, good. As my Avatar, I will not be overly stingy with the boons I grant you. But know this: I am not a babysitter. I will not save you every time. So climb, crawl—do whatever you must to reach the top."
"Got it, Big E."
"Big E? Aren't you a riot. You are free to gallivant around the universe, but I have a particular task for you, one I cannot be bothered to assign to anyone else."
"Okay, Big E. Lay it on me."
"There is a multiversal cluster being experimented on by a powerful race of space worms called Entities. They have accidentally sealed off that sector of our multiverse because they believe it is all that exists. They have lost their imagination in their ascension to power and can no longer progress easily. They grant abilities to broken beings in the hope that they will refine them, ultimately seeking a solution to survive the heat death of the universe."
"This information is unknown to 99% of those in that universe, and those who do know of it are worse than any human you have ever encountered. I want you to either find a way to kill the male Entity, known as Zion, or find a way to draw him into our main universe so I can deal with him."
"Do not underestimate him in any way. Based on power levels and abilities, he is only a little weaker than Galactus. He exists in multiple dimensions simultaneously, so be careful."
"To ensure you do not die easily, I will grant you several boons. First, I have integrated the Tremor-Tremor Fruit into your bloodline, making it a natural ability that can even be passed on. It is also naturally awakened, allowing you to tap into the very concept of vibration, not just earthquakes."
"Second, I am giving you an ability you will sorely need. I call it Blank. It grants high resistance to information-gathering abilities, mind reading, and mind control. This can be trained and improved."
"Third, this is my actual blessing to you on a conceptual level, which will mark you as my Avatar. The others are merely extras. This one, if you play it right, will serve you forever: World Attunement. This ability makes you subject to the rules of any universe you arrive in, as if you were a native. It grants you all positive abilities and enhancements permanently. All your abilities are scaled to a form understood by that reality's concepts. Your physical strength is not reduced, but if the world has a higher physical potential, you can train to reach it. This ability also makes you a pinnacle genius—like that child from the manga you loved, Gojo Satoru—in any universe you enter."
"Finally, I am granting you an X-Gene, one I have elevated to the level of an Omega-Level Mutant. One I believe you will love and be able to do crazy things with. You gain an Omega-Level variant of Forge's mutant ability. I will leave you to explore that one on your own."
"So now you know your task. I am placing a limiter on your multiversal travel ability for the next five years. You can only travel once per year, and even then, after three months, you are automatically retrieved back to Earth Bet. This will expire after five years, kid. Now, get out of my sight."
And the colossal being conceptually backhanded me out of the Far Shore, sending me spiraling through what I can only describe as multiple converging universes and energies. As I lost consciousness, I had only one thought on my mind.
Nah, I'ma get my get back.
---
28th January 2011
The Dockyard
Brockton Bay
Assault
It's been hours since Dragon sent our Protectorate branch a notification about spatial anomalies above the Brockton Bay Dockyards. Armsmaster collaborated with Vista, our mini Shaker 9, to analyze and pinpoint the anomaly.
At first, we tried to use her powers to close the rift, but we were unsuccessful. Vista suffered a huge backlash, passing out with blood trickling from her eyes—the mother of all Thinker headaches.
Since then, the full roster of Protectorate capes mobilized and promptly escorted all the dockworkers and residents from the area, but reporters muscled their way in, wanting to be on the ground zero when everything popped off.
"It can't get worse than this, right?" said our newly graduated Protectorate hero, Triumph, who was trying to lighten the mood but was unknowingly making it worse. "What if it's a new Endbringer? From the briefing, this shows similarities to Doctor Haywire's tech, so we could be dealing with an inter-dimensional incursion. Or a new Endbringer with space powers, which truthfully sounds even worse."
These guys should just leave the jokes to m—
The rift widened, becoming unstable. Energy crackled in the air, and a force from the spatial tear rampaged, blowing many of us off our feet. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt. I turned to Triumph with a huge grin.
"It can, young Padawan."
The rift was originally over a thousand meters in the air. With it so high up, we didn't think its mere opening would generate this much force. All the troopers, capes, and reporters had already moved away from what we predicted would be ground zero.
A loud sound echoed as a man—yeah, that's a dude alright—was ejected from the rift, which quickly closed behind him. He was falling.
BOOOOOM!!!!
The sound of his impact was deafening. The man hit the ground, and the force of it sent a cloud of dust billowing into the air, obscuring our vision.
"Eyes on the target, Assault. Keep your head in the game," said Jamie, my lovely wife, better known as Battery, through our Tinker-tech earpieces.
"There's only one place my head wants to be in," I replied, smiling at how easily the joke came.
"He's moving," came Armsmaster's robotic voice through the earpiece. It never failed to make me think of the day he chose to create a voice modulator that sounded like a clanker instead of taking my Morgan Freeman suggestion.
"On it."
Miss Militia and I were given the signal to approach the possible Case 53—or, more accurately, a Case 67: an inter-dimensional immigrant. Sure, we haven't had one, but the PRT has protocols for this. As we got closer, I started noticing weird things about him.
First of all, his secret identity was toast. This motherfucker was at least seven feet tall, wearing a kimono that seemed to constantly flow and ripple like the night sky. Last, but definitely not least, he had a huge "fuck-off" greatsword that was oddly colored black and looked fucking real.
There were scars all over the parts of his body I could see, but they oddly made him more intriguing instead of uglier. As Militia and I stepped closer, his eyes—piercing yellow—locked onto us.
"I don't recognize you. This is Earth-616, right? Are you a member of this universe's X-Men or Avengers? I need to meet with Professor Xavier immediately," he said, subtly unsheathing his sword and holding it at his side as if expecting an attack.
"Assault! Miss Militia! Not a Case 53, I repeat, not a Case 53. We are looking at a possible Case 67 here. De-escalate the situation and try to bring him in peacefully to the Rig," commanded Emily Piggot, the Director of the PRT-ENE.
"On it," we both answered. I immediately raised my hands in mock surrender to show we were peaceful, stopping a few meters away.
"Hello, big guy. Name's Assault. I'm a hero. Don't know any Professor X or Avengers. This is Earth Bet, not Earth-616," I said, lowering my hands.
I noticed green flashes as Militia's power kept activating, cycling from a Glock to a rifle to a Swiss army knife. It was a tell of hers, stemming from her trigger event when she was forced to run across a battlefield to find a tripwire for explosive mines. She never wants to be powerless again, so a weapon in hand helps her keep her composure.
"Earth Bet? Never heard of you, and I've traveled to various dimensions and planets. I must have overshot my dimensional jump in my haste to escape the Sentinels," he said, looking around and seeing the containment team. "Why are there fucking feds surrounding me? Are the mutants of this Earth so retarded that they willingly work for the government? The same ones that created those things that have exterminated most of us!" he said, a cold fury leaking into his voice.
"Unknown Parahuman! Stand down!" Militia shouted, leveling a containment foam launcher at him.
Is she dumb? Or is this her 'just following orders' mode? We do not escalate fights against unknown combatants, especially ones who are most definitely a Brute and are well within his range.
I jumped in front of her to obscure her line of sight, hoping he'd see that at least one of us truly wanted to talk.
"Hey! Let's all calm down here. Look, let's just take a breath. I never got your name."
"My name is Rodrick Mormont, but my alias is Discord. One of the last mutants of Earth-6626. An Omega-Level Mutant… and I will not be contained by government dogs ever again!" He stabbed his sword into the ground and…
Did this fucker just grab the air?!
"Great Fracture!"
He pulled down, and the bay tilted. I grabbed hold of Militia and activated my power to absorb the impact as we were sent flying. The sea rose, and the abandoned boats in the Boat Graveyard lifted from the water, hovering menacingly above us before beginning their descent. Screams and hysteria erupted all around. I could barely concentrate, holding onto Militia as pandemonium reigned.
He then picked up his blade, sliced the air, and a door formed from solid nothingness, remaining open. He seemed to contemplate something before sighing and punching out his fist once more. This time, a visible shockwave of force, like a localized earthquake, rippled through the air. It proceeded to completely destroy all the hovering boats, crushing them into dust and scrap metal.
A stunned silence fell. We were all in shock at that level of destruction. It was the kind of power you expected from the Triumvirate, not some random asshole in the ass-crack of America.
As I lay on the ground, I felt him look at me, studying me, searching for something. He then sighed and said,
"That was a warning shot. Do not approach me without my permission. I will take some time to learn about this Earth. I might even explain about mine online if I feel like it."
Then, he stepped into the air-door and disappeared.
I just lay there, staring at the wreck that was the Dockyard, thinking about what a shit show today had become.
---
Glossary
Ethan (Assault)
Ethan, publicly known as the hero Assault, is a member of the Brockton Bay Protectorate.
Personality
Smart, witty, and annoyingly good with kids, Ethan is also highly observant. He was able to perceive Battery's trepidation about discussing her powers' origin, even though she tried to hide it. He was considered one of the heroes with the best chance of nudging Taylor Hebert toward the Wards program, likely by making a neutral, low-pressure offer.
Formerly the villain Madcap, he claimed to stand against everything the Baumann Parahuman Containment Center (the Birdcage) represented, leading to his career as a jailbreak specialist. However, when facing a life sentence himself, he selfishly changed sides and bargained to become a hero.
Appearance
As Assault, Ethan wears red body armor with a visor covering the upper half of his face. On one occasion when his costume was damaged, he replaced the top half with odds and ends from the PRT's stock costumes.
His costume as Madcap was the opposite: a grinning mask that covered the lower half of his face, bulky spike-studded armor, a pointed black leather cap connected to the mask, and black face paint around his eyes. He wielded discus-like throwing weights and was less muscular than his teammate Triumph.
Abilities and Powers
Ethan is a kinetic energy manipulator, controlling the energies of movement, acceleration, and motion, but only on himself and things he touches.
· He can redirect kinetic force; for example, Battery could kick off him at full power to leap in the opposite direction without hurting him, and he could use the impact energy to propel himself at high speeds.
· He can move over long distances at speeds similar to the Tinker Chariot (approximately 100 miles per hour) and can cross a room in a single leap.
· While he can't hit as hard or move as fast as a fully charged Battery, his average movement speed is faster than hers.
· He has a limited ability to resist incoming containment foam, which slides off him more easily than normal, and bugs slide off him as if he were oiled.
· He can deliver powerful but non-lethal blows, such as kicking a person across a room without injuring them or launching a desk at an enemy.
As Madcap, he used his flexible power differently:
· He could hit an armored van hard enough to make it roll or stand in front of one and have it bounce off him, crumpling as if it had hit a telephone pole.
· He could rip the doors off an armored van, rip a weapon from an enemy's hand, or smash them against the ground with a touch.
· He could smash through solid concrete walls without slowing down.
· When slammed against a wall, he could rebound as if made of rubber.
· His running speed increased with every step.
· He could make a metal chair crumple and explode.
Limitations:
His power is totally ineffective when he is in midair. It does not prevent him from stumbling over unanticipated objects, nor did it make him immune to Legend's kinetic lasers.
History
Ethan was a natural trigger. He operated as the villain "Madcap" for six years, a jailbreak specialist who committed over a hundred felonies but never directly murdered anyone. He battled Battery eight times, continuously annoying her by calling her "puppy." After she finally defeated him, he was captured and subsequently joined the Protectorate under the name "Assault."
His main requirement for joining the heroes was to be on the same team as Battery. As a hero, he continually pestered her for a date. Armsmaster struggled to deal with his harassment of her. Battery eventually agreed to a date in exchange for his help with community outreach, which she mistakenly assumed he would hate.
The two eventually married, though this was kept from the public, with some speculating he might be her brother. He was part of a team that battled Lung without success.
Hannah (Miss Militia)
Hannah, also known by her superhero identity Miss Militia, was a member of the Brockton Bay Protectorate.
Personality
Hannah remained a very steady and rational character , contrary to most other parahumans. She suspected that her power had taken her angriest, most childish, and dreamlike parts, giving them concrete form.
Skitter observed that she seemed like a person who followed the letter of the law rather than risk her job. However, Triumph noted she was the Protectorate leader due to her unwavering loyalty and willingness to not only abide by the rules but to fight for them. She didn't complain about minor difficulties, having endured the hardships of her village, and she genuinely loved the United States while recognizing its human flaws.
Miss Militia preferred not to make difficult decisions, reserving her strength and avoiding leadership roles with their extra responsibilities. Despite this, Colin (Armsmaster) said she was a natural leader.
She remembered her trigger vision but believed she was the only one who did, resolving not to mention it to anyone. She believed what she had seen was God, or an angel, granting her powers. Miss Militia is one of the few capes who can get away with using guns.
Relationships
· She was friends with Armsmaster and Chevalier. She and Chevalier briefly dated.
· She considered Taylor Hebert intelligent and resourceful, and Taylor, in turn, looked up to her.
Appearance
Miss Militia had dark hair, olive skin, and bottle-glass green eyes. Her costume consisted of a scarf and sash patterned after the American flag, along with stylized, fitted army fatigues that accentuated her curves. She had perfectly shaped white teeth, courtesy of American dentistry.
Following Gold Morning, she began wearing color-swapped versions of her military fatigues in red, white, and blue, with a hood that was "something between a hood and a scarf." As a Ward, she wore an urban camouflage tank top and a blue scarf emblazoned with a shield emblem.
Abilities and Powers
Miss Militia's power is a green and black, semi-sentient blur of energy that can form into any ordinary-looking weapon she is aware of. She can summon and dismiss these weapons at will, collapsing them back into energy.
Key Features:
· Ammunition & Maintenance: She can re-summon a weapon to reload it if it runs out of ammo or if it jams, making it easier to use non-lethal ammunition like rubber bullets.
· Weapon Proficiency: Her power enhances her draw time, aim, and subtly adjusts weapon balance. She was a crack shot, capable of accurately shooting a target's head and neck. She claimed she could re-summon her weapon from someone's hands and shoot them before they could react.
· Limitations: She can summon nearly any projectile-firing weapon and appropriate ammunition she is aware of, but not weapons that are too crude (e.g., catapults) or too large (e.g., trebuchets, attack helicopters, or tanks). The weapons are generic models, not copies of specific instances.
· Noctis Cape: A side benefit of her power is that she does not need to sleep, though she can if she wants. When she does sleep, she does not dream but instead replays past events in perfect detail, which she rarely does due to her traumatic past.
Known Weapon Options:
· Firearms: Glock, Combat Knife, M16, M1911, Barrett M82, Beretta 92, Revolver, SIG-Sauer P226, Thompson submachine gun, AK-47
· Non-Lethal: Grenade Launcher (firing containment foam), Taser
· Explosives: Fragmentation Grenade, RPG
· Melee: Combat Knife
History
Background
Hannah (originally named Hana) was one of seven children who were the only survivors of a small Kurdish village attacked by Turkish soldiers in 1985. She had her trigger event while being used as a human minesweeper. Most survivors were evacuated to the U.K., but when her power interfered with a metal detector, she was rescued by an American and brought to the United States. There, she was fostered, her name was anglicized to Hannah, and she was given a place in the Inaugural Wards team.
She formed lasting friendships with her teammates. A few years into her time with the Wards, Hannah had a short relationship with Chevalier, but they drifted apart due to their busy lives. At some point, she worked directly under Alexandria and the rest of the Triumvirate before being stationed in Brockton Bay under Armsmaster's command.