BLACK AIR RISING

Part V: Infinity and Beyond

By David Wheatley

Brian opened his eyes and looked around, thinking that he had been dead before and this did not feel like that. It was similar but that was all. He looked at the strange alien landscape that seemed to go on forever and then looked around. The rest of the team was there, as well as the Destine siblings and Brian remembered what had happened.

Black Air had killed them. Scicluna had become a being of incredible power thanks to the Infinity Gauntlet and she had made them watch as she took control of it and then killed them. Or so it had seemed. It had been such a finely timed transition between here and there, that it had seemed as if they had been killed.

“Good one, Betsy,” he said as his sister opened her eyes and looked at him.

“We’re alive?” she asked and he nodded and Psylocke gave a sigh of relief. The plan had worked, thanks to her efforts and those of their unseen allies. As Brian checked on Meggan, who’s condition had improved and she seemed to be in a light sleep as the toll on her was lessened. The others were slowly stirring as well as the effect of the transition began to wear off and Betsy looked about.

“I take it this is the place?” she asked.

“Yes,” said the golden skinned man they had been expecting to see. His red cape and black body suit amplified the colour of his skin and the white blanks that were his eyes seemed to bore in to them. “Welcome to Soul World.”

“Adam Warlock,” said Brian and shook his hand. “It seems we owe you our lives.”

“If you and your fellows are indeed the last vestige of hope for the universe then it is a debt soon to be paid, my friend.” The team was now starting to awaken and Warlock knew they would have questions. “My companion is preparing a place for us to meet and discuss the coming battle. There is much to talk of.” Brian nodded. This was cosmic level stuff and they needed to be clear on what was happening. As he looked at them, and greeted them as they started to get up, he wondered where the missing two of their party were.

What had happened to Pete Wisdom and Adam Destine?

“How is he?” asked Adam to the scientist who was examining Wisdom in the next room. He’d come round after the trip but he was not the man he was and the two of them had been taken by the man in blue – Superman – to STAR Labs for investigation, to see if there were any ill effects from the jump. Adam’s invulnerability had meant he had been fine, but it was Wisdom who needed to be looked at.

“Tired and burnt out,” said the doctor. “However, given enough time in the sun to recharge his depleted system he should be fine in no time. We have had experience of this kind of thing before, though not on a strictly human scale.”

“Where we come from,” said Adam, a hint of sadness in his eyes, “Mister Wisdom’s ‘not strictly human’ status means he is persecuted.”

“People hate and fear what they don’t understand,” said the man who entered the room. His hair was neatly placed, and the spectacles on his face gave the impression of a more nerdish fellow – something he had seen on his own son Newton – but there was something else about him, a sense that he was more than he was.

“You must be Mr. Kent,” said Adam, shaking his hand. “Superman said you would be coming by.”

“Please,” said Kent, “call me Clark.”

“Certainly,” said Adam and he introduced himself. “So what can I do for you, Clark?”

“Well,” he said, a little sheepishly, “I’m an investigative reporter for the Daily Planet. Ever since the business with the universes in recent years, I’ve been keeping track of the comings and goings and I’d just like to ask you a few questions. You are from that reality?”

“Yes,” said Adam. “I remember the event, the ultimate battle or something like that.”

“Something like that,” said Kent. “Anyway there have been more recent crossings. Superman himself met with the Fantastic Four against Galactus.”

“And there have been others as well,” said Pete, who’d been standing in the doorway listening in. “The X-Men went a few rounds with the Justice League.”

“Yes,” said Kent, “however that was a mistake and was swiftly sorted out.”

“Yeah,” said Pete, with a trace of doubt in his voice. “So why are you here again?”

“Each crossing has been part of some kind of disaster or crisis and I’m trying to discover what the threat is this time.”

“It’s not a threat to your universe,” said Adam after a moment.

“Not yet,” added Pete.

“A group of people have some arcane rites that have altered our reality and cast the two of us adrift in reality. We’re trying to get home and find our friends – that way we can stop these people.”

“If they haven’t already been stopped,” said Pete. “Hey, where’s that bloke named Access? He could teleport us back.”

“Access hasn’t been seen in a long time,” said Kent. “He may be trapped on your side of the doorway.”

“Dimensional instability is something we can try to investigate,” said the scientist. “That way we can tell you if there’s a problem.”

“Is that possible?” asked Pete, wondering if this world had a Reed Richards type of genius.

“Since the occurrence of these kind of ‘events’, we’ve been looking at it. We can’t actually travel between dimension but we have been able to tell if they are there or not. There is a specific frequency to each world that we can monitor, and by using the equipment we have we can tell if there’s any sort of disharmony in the frequencies we’ve already scanned.”

“You say you can’t travel between worlds,” said Kent, who seemed to have gone a little pale at the possibilities. “Is that far from being achieved?”

“Unfortunately not,” said the scientist. “The theory is sound but we cannot create the equipment to do so with the technology currently available. Perhaps one day it will be, but there is also another problem. Part of the current theory means that a specific amount of power is needed and there isn’t an element that we have that create such a reaction. Frequency monitoring in itself is an immense task.”

“Okay,” said Kent, the colour returning to his face again.

“This is great,” said Pete. “You have the theory perfected but how does that help us? We’re still trapped here.”

“I don’t know,” admitted the scientist. “Perhaps someone could help. Superman, Flash, maybe Green Lantern.” Pete shook his head and was about to comment when someone interrupted him.

“You do your tests,” said Kent before Pete could utter a word, as he pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose. “I’ll make some calls and see if we can get some help. You never know.”

“That’s good of you, Clark,” said Adam, again before Pete could say anything. Kent nodded at him with a half smile that neither Pete or Adam could read. “Come on, Peter. Let’s watch.”

“Okay,” said Pete as Kent walked out of the door he had entered a few moments ago. “Let’s see what they can’t tell us.”

Back on Soul World people wanted some answers as to what was going on here.

“My friends,” said Adam Warlock, holding his hands up. “Allow me to explain. What you have been told so far is all true but there are aspects of it which you were not told for reasons of safety.”

“I can get behind that,” said Gracie as she puffed on a cigar. “But what are we doing here and why won’t Black Air come after us?”

“Let them,” said Walter, cracking his knuckles. “I won’t hold back next time.”

“Don’t be an idiot, Walt,” said Sam. “They could take us all in a heartbeat.”

“Which brings us back to the point of Gracie,” said Kylun. “Why won’t they know?”

“Because they don’t know where to look or what to look for,” said Elisabeth. “They have power over the reality gem of the Gauntlet, a power which currently overrides the hold that Adam would have using the Soul Gem.”

“You mean, you could over-power the Gauntlet?” asked Kay. “That’s a little far-fetched.”

“Not really,” said Martinique. “That bitch told us as much. The power can be wielded but someone in contact with the gem gives the power sentience. If they could do that with the reality gem, Warlock could do it with the soul gem.”

“Exactly,” said Brian. “Which is how it should have gone down, but it didn’t. Black Air got there first.”

“Can’t you beat the with the soul gem, a battle of wills?”

“Perhaps under normal circumstances,” said Warlock with a sigh. “However there is an imbalance that would not normally be there.”

“An imbalance?” asked Gracie. “What kind of imbalance?”

“Reality is wrong,” said Meggan. “Scicluna is warping reality to suit her own needs on a conscious level and is subconsciously shifting the fabric of all that is. She backs up her own power by making reality a place where the greater will is not necessarily the stronger.”

“Is that possible?” questioned Kylun, his hands resting on his swords.

“With the power of the Gauntlet, yes,” said Adam.

“So how do we stop them?” asked Sam. “If they are in control then there’s little we can do.”

“Agreed there is little we can do,” said Elisabeth, “but Adam has an idea.”

“To create disharmony between the gems we need strength of numbers,” explained Warlock. “Right here, in this place, we can get them.”

“How?” asked Kay.

“The mind gem is ours for the taking,” explained Adam. “Elisabeth, Gracie, Kay, Martinique. Your powers will grant you access to the astral plane, which in its entirety is the mind gem. You must bond with it, take control of it.”

“We’re not powerful enough,” said Gracie. “Even if we had Xavier himself we’d be hard pressed.”

“I know,” said Adam. “Which is why we have the next best thing. Ahmal, come to us.” A dark cloud appeared before them, taking human shape and they knew whom it was. Kylun’s swords were in his hands; Walter stood up triggering his transformation, Sam sheathed herself in her metallic ectoplasm, as Kay, Gracie and Martinique cowered at the presence before them.

It was the Shadow King.

“Yup, that confirms it. The dimensions are out of synch,” said the scientist and Pete shook his head.

“But what does it mean?” Adam queried.

“It means when you travelled through dimensions you almost made it home, but hit upon a barrier that somehow pushed you here. The way we understand it is that your universe and ours are like two bubbles that push near each other with their separate realities, futures, time-streams and the like. Your bubble rejected you and you were ejected here.”

“Really?” asked Pete, a hint of scepticism in his voice.

“It’s a theory,” admitted the scientist. “And we don’t know how to get you in to your own ‘bubble’.”

“Oh joy,” said Pete. “Trapped here for the rest of eternity.”

“Perhaps not,” came a voice Pete had heard before somewhere. It was powerful, yet comforting and Pete realised where he’d heard it before.

“You must be Superman,” he said looking at him. “Nice ‘S’.”

“There may be a way to return you home, but it is risky,” said Superman. “If you’d come with me, I’ll take you to our headquarters.”

“Our?” asked Adam.

“The Justice League.”

“Ah,” said Adam. Pete had mentioned them before, a team akin to their own Avengers back home.

“The teleporters are this way,” said Superman and led them to a restricted area of STAR Labs, where there were several booths. Superman stepped in one and Pete and Adam followed and in a flash they were gone.

“We’re on the moon,” said Adam when he stepped out of the booth and caught Pete’s querying look. “I’ve been here before.”

“Yes,” confirmed Superman. “We are indeed on the moon. What I’m about to tell you of now is something that very few people on Earth know of. It’s called Hypertime.”

“No!” said Psylocke before anyone could react to the presence of the Shadow King. “It isn’t the man you think it is.”

“What?” asked Martinique. “Isn’t this the same creature that’s killed off your psi powers?”

“Which you’ve been using,” said Kylun. “What is going on?”

“We got lucky,” admitted Psylocke. “When I linked us to get here, I used my powers and set the Shadow King free, but I reasoned at the time there were greater threats. When we arrived there was only one telepathic trace left on this planet – the Shadow King of this world.”

“Have you ever heard the death cry of half the universe?” whispered the Shadow King. “Including all the telepaths, the psionically gifted and the like? The cry still echoes within me even now.”

“So you changed your ways,” mocked Kay. “How very noble.”

“He has,” said Adam. “For he was also killed during the cleansing.”

“I was in-between hosts,” said Farouk. “I only just managed to escape and it was that transitional state that saved me. All that is left now is my soul.”

“What about our Shadow King?” asked Gracie. “If he’s lose it seems to me like we could use him as well.”

“He isn’t free,” said Betsy. “Our Shadow King has been trapped within my mind and against me and his alternate self he cannot break free unless we allow it.”

“Will he help?” asked Kylun. “His freedom for his help.”

“Yes,” said the Shadow King. “When I helped Elisabeth suppress him using our own weaknesses against him, I saw what he was like, how I could have become. His goals are self-preservation and the domination of others. He will help because he no longer has a choice.”

“The plan is simple enough in theory but difficult in execution. I have control over the soul gem, something that Scicluna cannot fully comprehend because she does not know the true extent of the powers. You six telepaths take the mind gem. Then there will be a disharmony within the Gauntlet of unprecedented levels.”

“But while Scicluna controls reality won’t this be almost impossible?” asked Walter.

“It won’t be easy,” acknowledged Adam, “and we will need a distraction.”

“Which,” said Brian putting his arm around Walter, “is where we come in. You, me, Kylun and Sam.”

“Where does that leave Meggan?” asked Kylun.

“My task will be the most difficult,” she replied. “I will stay here to anchor Adam and once the tasks are complete I have to break the bond between Scicluna and reality. Defeating her and stripping her of the powers of the Gauntlet is not enough. Reality must be restored.”

“Agreed,” said Adam. “Let us begin.”

“So Hypertime is basically an entrance way to every alternate reality, timeline and everything else?” asked Pete of Superman, who was there with a lady who had been introduced as Wonder Woman and another man called Batman. His was a decidedly different presence to the other two, not only in his dark costume but also in his very demeanour.

“Yes,” said Superman. “You see when the three of us were there for the first time, Batman saw a sight which may help you get home.”

“While in the Hypertime vortex I saw a kingdom that contained a version of myself with your Captain America, during a scene from the second world war. That told us that Hypertime had more potential than for just our version of reality.”

“The bubble,” said Pete. “That’s how the bloke at STAR described it.”

“Yes the bubble theory is a crude yet apt way of describing our universe and yours, however there are points where they touch. We’ve had that experience several times before, but seeing an alternate version of my world and yours means that Hypertime touches a variant of Hypertime of your own.”

“Ah,” said Adam. “You think if we can access a crossover reality we can get home.”

“Exactly,” said Wonder Woman. “However travelling through Hypertime is difficult. It is possible using a rare form of energy known as hyperium.”

“How do we use it?” pondered Adam. “The gentlemen at STAR claimed it was impossible.”

“He doesn’t know about Hypertime,” commented Superman. “They have an idea, but they don’t know what the idea is.”

“You use it with this,” said Batman, producing an armband. “It’s a device from an alternate dimension that is quite similar to our own, otherwise there would be problems with the barriers between kingdoms breaking down and starting to merge with one another.”

“I know people who can relate to that kind of thing,” said Pete, thinking of the others for the first time that day. “How do we use it?”

“Press the blue button to jump to the vortex. While it is there it will siphon the hyperium needed to power it and you can jump to another kingdom,” explained Superman. “A friend of mine obtained it. You jump in to one of the various kingdoms through the ‘picture window’ vision and travel from there. When you exit you’ll be on another part of the Hypertime gateway.”

“You should be able to get home easily enough,” said Batman. “People seem to be drawn back to their own kingdom, by some natural kind of attraction, so you won’t just be jumping blind.”

“Looks like we’ll be travelling for a while,” said Pete. “Don’t know if we’ll meet again, but thanks for your help anyway.”

“Our pleasure,” said Superman. “Pass on our regards to your friends back home.”

“Oh yeah,” said Pete, as he put the armband on and Adam grabbed hold of his shoulder. “Up, up and away,” he said as he pressed the button and they vanished.

Wonder Woman looked at Superman.

“Stole your line, Kal.”

Back in Soul World the telepaths had formed a circle and had been joined by their version of the Shadow King. He had conceded as his alternate had said he would and though they didn’t trust him, they needed his help.

As they focused, Brian slipped his hand in to Meggan’s.

“You okay?” he asked and she nodded.

“Brian,” she said. “Just in case, remember I’ve always loved you.”

“Same here, love,” he answered and they kissed as the telepaths began to become immaterial and faded away to nothing, except he could still sense Psylocke in his mind and she told him they were there. Then she broke off as he felt their consciousness’ combine to become one and fill the reality of the astral plane.

“Adam,” he said. “They’re in.”

Adam nodded and used the powers of the soul gem to bond with Meggan, the two becoming one for a moment, so that she would form an anchor for his spirit as his soul expanded to become one with the universe of the soul gem.

“I shall return you to your bodies,” he said and the remaining heroes were sent back to the corporeal world, leaving himself and Meggan alone. Then he began and took control of the Soul Gem. Through it he sensed that the telepaths had achieved their goal as well.

Then the battle for the universe began.

NEXT ISSUE: Black Air Rising concludes as Excalibur, ClanDestine and Warlock do what they have to do to defeat Black Air and save existence. All that and Pete and Adam traverse reality.