Reality Crisis

It was just like the first cataclysm. Buildings disappearing, bringing people on the street nearby with them. Not to mention the people inside. The casualties were huge. And given the tiny population on this world, Belia wasn't sure that their race could survive much more.

On a more personal level, she was blocking out memories of that first disaster and all it had claimed of hers. A husband, children, a life that was so alien to her that it must have been someone else living it. Belia Ohorek certainly wasn't that woman anymore.

No, she'd bartered away much in the way of her humanity and beliefs in fighting tooth and nail to ensure that her people survived. She had no regrets but that didn't mean that she particularly enjoyed what she'd become. Or what had become of her life.

She spent as little time as possible musing on such thoughts and instead went into action. The cities they'd all built in this area were no longer secure. Once the reality started ripping apart, they would have to move on and find a more stable spot and hope that the tears didn't catch up with them again. All the while knowing that it was just a matter of time. They could buy themselves days or weeks, possibly even months, if they moved fast enough.

She sent out messengers to Sanctuary and New Troy and even requested that the Superboy try to find Jackson. If anyone could help them find a new home, it would be Jackson.

And then she waited.

Erik was restless.

It wasn't that there wasn't plenty of things to do with taking care of Sanctuary but he wasn't used to being in one place for so long. It used to be that staying in one place was a weakness. When you were hunting the man who made you a monster you had to travel and make sure that you weren't ever left in a vulnerable position.

Now being on the move would be the vulnerable position. Erik knew that and understood that but he still would get the itch to do something that involved leaving it all behind to travel on occasion.

Instead he rearranged to take care of everything he wanted to do outside to leave him seeing what he could do to strengthen barriers and protections for his people. It was outside which was an improvement. And it meant stretching his powers. He was starting to feel a difference in what he could do with them the more he used them. Charles had been right about his potential.

For the moment he wasn't doing anything but sitting on a piece of the wall he'd put up to look back into Sanctuary and watch it from the outskirts. Sometimes you needed to see things from further away.

There weren't a lot of earthquakes in Gotham but Bruce had been through enough explosions that when the earth started to move he threw himself under the heavy duty work table to ride it out. It felt different than anything that he'd ever been through. The earth didn't just jar and shake but it moved under him like a wave.

Things crashed to the floor of the cave and the eternal rushing sound of the water from the small river suddenly stopped. Just when he thought it was never going to end there was an enormous crack and a large rock fell from the roof and split into hundreds of shards that peppered the work table and cut open his forehead.

The silence after made Bruce's ears ring and he crawled out from under the desk wiping the blood off his face. He worried about the water not flowing anymore but while he was taking stock of the stability of the cave it started to trickle down the riverbed again and then must have shifted whatever was blocking it because a huge gush of water spilled over the bank before it settle down to its normal flow again.

Nothing seemed in danger of caving in so Bruce gathered his things and heading for the exit. Dinah was out somewhere and the most likely place she'd go would be Sanctuary. If it wasn't for the fact others could be hurt and in danger he'd assume she'd check the cave but if others were in trouble she would go there first. He wasn't thrilled at the idea of running into Bane again but Sanctuary was the closest settlement. If they had it in hand he'd move on to Die Festung to help.

The path was half collapsed in places and there were trees fallen over but he was still able to get to Sanctuary. It looked from the outside like it had weathered it better than he expected. Erik's unorthodox building methods were stronger than they looked.

Rumors had come to Erik's attention about one of the young women in Sanctuary. They were saying she had fangs or could have fangs and Erik knew that she hadn't been that way in the beginning when she came here.

There were too many things that could go wrong with that if she was what it sounded like. Erik couldn't leave something like that without investigating it. He nodded to one of the men that had brought him the rumor. "Tell her to come to me."

Once the man left to go tell Enigma to come see the leader of the settlement Erik poured himself a drink and sat down to wait in a deceptively casual pose.

Erik had been unaware of the attack on Bruce Wayne from Bane. As little as he liked Wayne the man had clearance to be in his settlement. It disturbed the peace to have another with permission to be in the settlement attack another. Bane might not have known that Wayne had clearance to be there. Or it might be that he didn’t care.

That was the first thing that Erik would find out from him.

Bane was nothing if not easy to find. His mask and equipment created a unique magnetic signature when Erik looked for him. Bane didn’t try to hide. He wasn’t the hiding type but that wasn’t a drawback to Erik who also wasn’t the type to hide.

“Bane, I need to speak with you.” Erik waited until he wasn’t working or busy with anything to approach.

( Read more... )

After the talk with Selina, Dinah and Bruce had finally made it to Sanctuary and requested an audience with Erik. Dinah was tense at the idea of walking into territory that housed the man who had done so much damage to two different Bruces that she knew by now. Any feelings brought up by Selina's arrival were shelved as she focused on keeping her eyes open for any sign of Bane or Scarecrow or anyone else that might pose a threat. She stayed close as they walked through the small town and didn't move away once they were inside alone with Erik. She had her reservations about the man who ran Sanctuary, but that was just heightened now in the face of whom he was allowing to live there. She still saw good in him, particularly in the way he cared for his people and in the fact that he'd been willing to give them a place to stay. That wouldn't be forgotten. And that was the main reason why she thought it was best to see if he knew who Bane was and what he was capable of.

They didn't get much past the niceties of greeting each other before something seemed to happen. Suddenly the room shifted and she was somewhere else entirely, with her brain struggling to keep up.

It appeared to have been a parking garage once, though the cars that were left were vandalized, rusting, and some were buried in ivy or some other plant type growth.

There was something cold and metal in her hands and the coppery smell of blood was thick in the air. Worse still, Dinah looked down and realized she was standing over someone who had bled out from a wound in his chest. She raised her now-shaking hand and realized that the weight in it was a bloodied knife.

What she didn't see was the scar that ran down one side of her face. She also didn't immediately notice the scars on her arms, or the fact that she was dressed in a tank top and light cotton pants instead of bundled up for winter weather. None of that mattered. Not when she couldn't fight the feeling that the man at her feet was dead because of her.

They traded food back and forth with Belia's city on a regular basis. It was easier to get fresh things here in Sanctuary than in the city since they had the whole forest to harvest from and the gardens they had planted were starting to produce almost like there was magic helping them out. In return for fresh game, vegetables and herbs they brought back things that they couldn't get.

In this case it was protein bars and other staples that would keep longer than the fresh foods. There were also supplies for canning and storing the fresh foods. Erik made sure everything was set up for distributing and sat down to eat one of the bars while he was making a list of what might be needed for the future. There was nothing about the taste that warned him but as soon as he finished it he pushed the lists away to get up and pace anxiously. For the first time in a long time he wasn't feeling the constant pinch of hunger but the sun was starting to lower in the west. That meant it would be time for them to bring him to Dr. Schmidt soon. Every day after Erik worked as a sonderkommando he was taken to the labs to have Dr. Schmidt help him release his powers.

He never could decide which part of the day was the worst.

When the door opened and the man stepped in Erik cringed away before he could stop himself. He recognized the man standing there dimly but he wasn't wearing the German uniform and that confused him. "Ist es Zeit, den Doktor zu sehen?"

The man was one of Erik's contacts for the rest of Sanctuary and the open look of fear on their leader's face along with what he said made him stop in confusion. "Erik, are you all right?"

The English was familiar. It was difficult to remember it but after a moment Erik nodded slightly and replied in heavily accented English in return. "Is it time to see the doctor?"

"Time to see..." There was something not right with Erik. The man shook his head and kept his voice low and even like you would with a frightened child. "No, no doctor Erik. Why don't you stay here and I will be right back." After Erik nodded he shut the door and went to go see if he could get someone to help.

The forest was thick, and Bane kept hearing sounds that he couldn't explain. But the wall told him that there was somebody in here that was surviving, so he continued. He had a vague idea of how far he'd come since appearing in this world, and the direction he'd ventured from, but since pushing into the thickness of the trees, it had become difficult to know what time of day it was or how many minutes had ticked by.

He studied his surroundings as he moved, and kept a running tally of what the wall was made from. He'd noticed fairly quickly upon approach that it wasn't constructed of bricks and mortar alone. Rather, it was pieced together. As if salvaged. He had to wonder what kind of place needed a wall so badly that the inhabitants would take whatever it was they could find to make it.

Finally, he discovered what had to be the entrance, and he stood before it for a long while before raising a hand to knock. Bane thought he could force his way through, but that was no way to get information in a new place. He could play nice until it stopped suiting him to be so.

Dinah and Bruce had found Clark first. It was a good thing they had because a wizard named Carlos had found them, claiming to be sent by Peter. Both the Bat and the Canary had been hesitant to trust his story, but Clark was the human-or Kryptonian, at any rate-lie detector. Clark had been able to reassure them that Carlos was telling the truth, and that Kitty was actually Kitty when they'd run across her on their way into Sanctuary, Magneto's village.

Dinah felt a fresh wave of guilt as she realized that Kitty had been attacked, most likely by the same shapeshifter that had attacked her. She'd given Kitty and Piotr's names to the fake Oliver. She would apologize to Kitty later, not that she thought that would cover it. For now, however, they needed to band together and find a way to stop the shapeshifter.

The guards must have known they were coming. Or at least, they'd expected Carlos to bring back people, because the small group had been escorted straight to a building that looked large enough to be used as some sort of meeting hall, yet was on the outskirts of town and seemed to be well-guarded to prevent eavesdroppers she supposed.

Dinah was curious at the prospect of meeting the enigmatic leader of this little outpost. She'd certainly heard her share of rumors about Erik Lensherr, and she was unsure of his motives or of his character. But if he was to work with them on this, then she supposed she would get the chance to see more of who he was and whether or not he could be trusted.

Dinah was somber as they were let into the building. She knew that they were in for the fight of their lives and so she didn't have time for the guilt over her misplaced trust and the fact that she'd risked live because of it.

Carlos started to lead the way in the direction of Sanctuary, Magneto's settlement. Or Erik, he reminded himself. Here, the man seemed to go by simply Erik. He would explain on the way and if Peter wasn't comfortable with the idea, they would figure something else out. Whatever the case, Carlos thought it best that they didn't stay in the same place-just in case Sylar decided to return.

"You met Molly's friend, Erik," he began. "He has a settlement on the edge of the forest."

Carlos looked over at Peter.

"You read many comics back where you're from?" he asked.

That might be a good place to start, since anyone who had even watched a comic book movie or cartoon or two in the last few years would know who Magneto was. Assuming that the parallel realities all had similar entertainment of course.

"I said 'find Piotr' not 'fly off like a bat out of hell.'" Kitty mumbled softly, careful to stay aware. She'd been caught in nasty spots more often than not here, and she wasn't looking forward to more, even if she knew there would be more. There were always more nasty spots. She had wanted to surprise her Russian, or at least find out where he was going. She knew what the place was, but she wanted to see it for herself. It sounded like Genosha, but not?

"I'm going to tan your scaly butt when I get hold of you." She wouldn't. She knew it, and if the owner of the scaly butt in question heard her, he'd know it, too. She could be angry with the dragon, but she couldn't stay angry for long. They were connected in a way she couldn't explain, and thankfully, Piotr didn't push the subject. He'd accepted it; Pete, on the other hand, had always found it odd. Perhaps any other man in her life would find her connection to the dragon, the alien known by many as Lockheed..perhaps they'd find it strange, but for her, it simply was. She didn't see a time when it wouldn't, not without death or destruction, and they'd both seen a good bit of that and lived through it.

"Where are you?" She hissed.

Lockheed knew he was being "hunted," and he didn't mind it. A little adventure did a Kitty good. He'd show her to Piotr eventually, but for now, a little tracking by the "cat" wouldn't be a bad thing. He hoped. He'd save her; he'd always save her.

( What has no wings and doesn't fly? )

Piotr decided it was finally time for him to meet this man that Molly was living with. It was both an urge to protect her and make sure that she was safe where she was - and an urge to know the man whom ran the compound that had been his first home on this strange planet. Since he was visiting the forest more regularly, Piotr thought that it was high time.

So he waited near the entrance for some sign of life within. Molly didn't seem to be around currently, so there was nobody to talk to to pass the time. Instead, he sat on a rock, poking a stick gently at the ground. Gently because he didn't want to piss off fairies. A mantra he'd picked up and never been able to let go of.

When he heard the sounds of somebody walking nearby, Piotr stood again to look.

Molly needed some space. A little alone time to think over the things Erik had told her. The differences between him and Harry were staggering, even if she did kind of look at both of them in the same light. Sort of. She didn’t have the mega-crush on Erik that she’d held for Harry. Just a little one. But Erik, like Harry, never seemed to look at her that way, and Molly was used to not acting on her crush. There were similarities in the advice they gave her, but not in this one, crucial area. Carlos. Or any guy, really.

Harry had kept her from pursuing any sort of physical or emotional relationship until she had her magics under control. There had been good reasons for that since emotions and mental magics were her specialties. She’d already screwed up once that way, and if she wanted to keep her head on her shoulders, and Harry’s, she needed to not screw up again. That was a long time ago, however and once she gained control he hadn’t actively stopped her from dating. From there it had just been a natural course of events. Ahem.
( Read more... )

Since Molly had brought Carlos in to help him he'd been getting better. The venom was out of his system but the damage to his shoulder was still there. It was getting better but Erik had a habit of pushing through it and using it like there wasn't anything wrong. That meant it was probably healing slower than it should but he wasn't one to show weakness.

And since he'd been healed Molly had retreated to the edges of their shelters and the woods. He wasn't sure what was going on except he knew it most likely had to do with Molly having to go get Carlos to help him.

Erik had wrapped his arm under the shirt to give it a little support and to keep it from leaking blood or anything else while the dead skin was sloughing off. It was a little gross to look at but healing well. Meantime he stood looking out at the forest rubbing the shoulder absently with his hand wondering where Molly was.

Critters were falling from the sky. Talk about your Biblical plague. Molly would worry about the whys of that later. Right now one of those snakes that were falling had bitten and poisoned Erik. She had separated his consciousness from the pain but that was only a temporary solution. She had left part of her mind in his acting as a stop gap between him and the pain. It meant there was a constant drain on her resources. It was a slow draw, but eventually it would wear her down. Before that happened she needed help, and she could think of only one person to go to.

She stumbled her way through die Festung dodging frogs, lizards, snakes and those damn spiders! The spiders were the worst because they didn't die on impact. They just wriggled around then skittered off. Of course it was worse when they landed on you and went through their creepy dance. She pressed on though only squeaking a little from time to time for the rain or ick and breathed a sigh of relief when she got to Carlos' door.

She knew she might not be welcome and that was fine. He could hate her all he wanted so long as he helped Erik. She felt a moment of dizziness as she leaned against the doorframe, her eyes drifting shut but a sucked in breath steadied her. She grit her teeth then reached out to knock on the door. "...please be home."

The bad weather that was threatening hadn't bothered Erik much. It had sent him checking to make sure that the shelters were weather tight since the storms seemed to hit every day it was something that was shaping up to be a long term thing.

So this time around he wasn't honestly paying that much attention to the rain that was threatening. There were things he was busy with such as the water wheel that was supplying them with power. It tended to hang up sometimes which interrupted the power flow. And one of the things that seemed to help it hang up was the way the water flow fluctuated after a storm.

He lifted his head in surprise when the first creature hit the ground but didn't immediately connect it with the storm.

Until more things fell.

Ducking his head Erik made his way back toward the shelters when a snake fell over his shoulders. The impact hurt but when the dying reptile whipped around and sank its fangs into him in reaction that hurt even more.

Swearing in German he crushed the skull of the snake and ducked under a shelter.

Those people who had come to see them and left were going to be trouble. Some were trouble because they were Molly's 'friends' and some were trouble just because they seemed to be that type. Such as the blonde man who had his helmet. For now they'd left but he was certain they'd be back again and again. They seemed to be people like Charles...idealists maybe. People who saw the right path but didn't see it the way he did.

Erik knew almost everyone in their small city by name. It was useful to cement their loyalty to him to know them but it was also because they were so small still it wasn't that difficult to keep up with. They were just human. If that was what you could say about the people in this world. Were they still human? It didn't matter. They were what was left against the monsters.

Molly had stormed off so he spoke to the people he came across if they'd seen her. They were happy to point out what direction she went. They thought Molly was a little strange but she'd obviously done a lot of work to protect them just as Erik had and they liked her. She'd been upset when they went by and they told him that too.

It didn't take long to find a familiar form and her colored hair walking between the homes they'd built.

"Molly." He was still behind her enough he wasn't exactly chasing her. Just giving her the option to stop.

Murphy didn't like the idea of Harry storming into Magneto's colony to talk to him. It wasn't that she liked or even trusted the man who appeared to currently hold Molly's trust, but she didn't like the idea of Harry's temper getting mixed up in the situation. As far as she was concerned, if Molly was with the metal-manipulating mutant by choice, there wasn't a lot they could do about the situation.

All the same, she wasn't going to let him go into that without her. She hoped to be able to keep him from flying into overprotective neanderthal mode. She also didn't trust the company that was attending the summit with Magneto and Molly. She didn't necessarily dislike Zatanna, the female mystic, but she didn't trust her and she wasn't sure she liked Constantine at all. She certainly didn't trust him.

She was glad to have Carlos along, but he was from the same dark future that Molly was from which was extremely unnerving.

With all that was going on, Murphy was glad to have the sword strapped to her back. She knew, as with the last time she'd been here, that it was a risk to bring it in. She also trusted the holy sword to remain within her power.

Perhaps there was a reason that she'd been granted the Sword of Faith after all.

She had been to the colony before, so she led the others to it and stopped just outside it, waiting for Harry's lead once they had reached their destination.

It hadn't been difficult to find where Magneto and Molly were holed up. Word of their settlement in the woods had spread across die Festung. Murphy thought that it was risky of Molly to allow the settlement to happen there, but she supposed that Molly might have found a way to avoid the fairy. Or perhaps the fairy truly had left the forest alone.

There were a lot of variables and Murphy wasn't sure she liked any of the possibilities.

She had promised Harry that she wouldn't bring any metal, which meant no guns. Technically it also meant her sword, but she was hoping that the fact that it was a Holy sword would cancel out Magneto's mojo.

Besides, going out in the wild and into the forest unarmed was pretty darn close to suicide and she wasn't going to find out anything if she didn't even make it to the meeting.

It wasn't difficult to find the shelters within the forest. She was sure there would be some sort of guard and so she approached slowly, waiting for someone to show themselves so she could wave the white flag and ask to be taken to their leader.