Chapter 181: Stars and Stripes
Unknown Time, Unknown space
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
“Then how did Entropy open a dimensional portal and send me away?”
“The seal still wasn’t stabilized; there were small gaps that Entropy used to send you away. But now, the sealing is complete. I can’t send you there.”
“So, that’s it? You’re going to let the multiverse be destroyed.”
The woman grimaced and shook her head, “I can’t send you there, but I know someone who does.”
“Who?”
“America Chavez”
I had no idea who that was, “And who is that?”
“She’s a singular existence in the multiverse, like you. She might have counterparts, but they do not even have a fraction of her powers. She’s a girl blessed by The One Above All, himself. Even us, cosmic entities, do not have any idea what her true potential is. But we know for a fact that she can traverse the multiverse at will. Her channeling The One Above All’s power, should be enough to circumvent to seal on your dimension and transport you there.”
“And she would just do it, for nothing in return?”
The cosmic entity laughed, “Of course not, but I suspect that after you save her, she will be grateful enough to do it.”
“Save her?”
“She’s being hunted down by a very powerful being, a version of your daughter, Wanda, who has been completely corrupted by the Darkhold and is on her way to fulfill the Scarlet Witch’s prophecy and destroy her own reality.”
I nod at her, “Then what are you waiting for. Send me there!”
“Of course, before I do. Are you sure about this, about breaking your ties with Death. The moment you leave, there's no way back. You will lose access to her cosmic powers and to her boon.”
I snort, “I can only use her energy when she gives me an explicit command, and with my universe being sealed, it’s unlikely that she’ll be able to contact me anyway. No, I’m going to do things by myself and I’m going to do them my way.”
The woman looked like she wanted to say something, but refrained, “I hope you won’t regret your decision, Morrigan.”
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
“The multiverse could be destroyed.”
I grin at her, “And I would be too dead to care about it.”
The cosmic entity looked exasperated at my response and just waved her hand, opening a portal, “This will take you to the closest place to America Chavez. One word of warning, be prepared to fight.”
I nod and step forward, going through the portal. Once I arrive to my destination, I turn around to find myself in a high tech facility, where a small teenager wearing a jeans jacket of all things with stars and stripes. It was like she got her clothes from one of the tourist shops in America. I look at her and sense the immense dimensional and cosmic energy within her, but I could also sense a distinct lack of control.
Huh, this must be America Chavez. The clothes really fit her name, don’t they?
Around me, a bunch of scientists ran away afraid of me. The only one that stayed was a woman whose face looked familiar. Oh yes, Strange’s old fling, Christine Palmer or something. Huh, small world.
The woman looked angry at me, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
I shrug, ignore her and slowly walked towards the imprisoned teenager, “I assume you’re America Chavez?”
The girl looked frightened and nodded. I answered back, “I’m going to need your assistance for something. Are you willing to help me out?”
The girl perked up, “Will you help me get out of here if I do?”
“I’m getting you out of here anyway, and all I’m going to ask you to do, is to open a portal to a particular universe. Nothing more.”
The girl shook her head, “I don’t know how to control it.”
I smile back at her warmly, “Then, I’m going to teach you. Trust me, I know a lot about dimensional energy and cosmic powers you don’t understand. I, too, am a singular existence in the multiverse.”
“Can you get Strange out, too?”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Huh, you got an alternate version of Strange with you in this mess? I know that you’re being hunted down by Wanda, I can protect you from her, but you’ll need to fill me in a little about what's happening.”
Palmer took out some kind of high tech gun and aimed in at my head, “That’s enough. Hands on your head.”
I snort, “Really, Palmer? This is so not the time for this.”
The woman was going to say something until her gun started turning into dust. She gaped at her hands, as if not processing what happened. I just snap my fingers, knocking her out.
I wave my hand at the glass prison, and the walls started to move away, leaving a doorway for the teenager to go through. The girl walked out, unsured of what’s going on.
I smile warmly at her, “Alright, kid, what happened?”
She ended up telling me her story, about her parents disappearing when she accidentally used her powers, about her travelling the multiverse with no control about when to leave and how. About being hunted down by demonic creatures trying to steal her powers and getting the help of an alternate version of Stephen Strange, trying to hide from a fully realized reality manipulator version of Wanda who wanted to steal her powers to find her imaginary children, or something. I knew that the Darkhold corrupted its user, but that’s insane even for a mad Wanda. Although, my version of Wanda destroyed her world in an attempt to go back in time and save me. So, maybe it’s a Wanda thing, not a Darkhold thing.
In the end, the girl looked at me with a resigned expression, “Are you going to steal my powers too?”
I snort, “Of course not. Trust me, I know a lot about powers, and ones like yours don’t just pop up out of nowhere, you were chosen by an entity, one of the most powerful beings in the multiverse itself. I don’t know why he chose you, but he did. Trust me, if someone doesn’t die trying to handle the power inside of you after stealing it, they would get the entity’s attention and ire. And let me tell you, there are things far worse than death, and getting on that cosmic entity’s bad side is one of them.”
The girl was gaping at me, “How do you know all this?”
“I’m like you, a singular existence in the multiverse, except I’m a lot older than I look. I dealt with a few cosmic entities before. It was actually one of them who told me about you.”
“So, what now?”
I shrug, “I’m just going to get you out of here, and into somewhere safe and warded. After that, I’m getting Strange, and we’ll figure out your powers, and I’m going to teach you how to use them at will. I’ll deal with Wanda, and you’ll take me and Strange to our own universes. After that, you could do whatever you want. You could come with me, go with Strange, decide to keep looking for your parents, whatever you want.”
For the first time since I saw her, the girl looked hopeful, “Really?”
“Really.”
A voice interrupted her, “I’m afraid not!”
I turned around and saw the weirdest group of superheroes I have ever seen. I almost chuckled at this. There was Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic. He did exist in my home universe, and I kept him under observation in case he gets powers. The man was, by far, the smartest man that ever existed. I have met with Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Nicholas Tesla, Leonardo Da Vinci, but not a single one of them compared to the genius that was Reed Richards. Too bad that he has the wisdom of a child with control issues. You know these RPG characters on video games who added every attribute point in their INT but not a single one in WIS, yeah that’s him in a nutshell.
Next to him stood the familiar face of Peggy Carter, but she was wearing an edited Captain America’s uniform and held a familiar Vibranium shield. She was also wearing a Jet Pack. Huh, kinda handy. She must have gotten the super soldier serum instead of Steve.
Next to her was a black woman wearing Carol Danvers’ costume from my world. She looked like Carol’s pilot friend, something Rambeau, I think. I look back and remember, Maria Rambeau, that was her name. She must have been the one to get the powers and then kidnapped by the Kree instead of Carol.
On her right, was the familiar face of Charles Xavier. Although, his wheelchair was upgraded, and was yellow for some reason. I do hope this one was better than the one at home.
Next to him was a man wearing a black suit. I didn’t recognize him immediately, and it took some time to put a name to the face. I didn’t really remember the man, so I cheated and used my telepathy on Peggy Carter to figure out who he was. Oh, right, this was Black Bolt, or Blackagar Boltagon, the leader of the Inhumans. Also, a man who can’t even whisper a word without creating a gigantic sonic scream capable of destroying a building.
From the light scan of Peggy’s mind, I knew that they were part of a team called the Illuminati, that pretty much sat there and tried to pretend to understand how the multiverse worked and wanted to protect their universe from high level threats. Poor guys barely knew what a high level threat even was.
I nod at them, “Peggy, it’s been a while. Reed, great to see you. How’s Susan and the kids? Charles, you’re looking older, Maria, Blackagar, I don’t know you much, I’ll admit, so I won’t pretend I do. What do I owe this visit?”
Richards was the one who answered me, “you’re trespassing in this building. I’m afraid you and miss Chavez are going to have to come with us.”
“Sorry, Reed, but I’m dealing with a crisis on a multiversal scale, and I’m not going to waste my time explaining everything to you, just so that you could try to show everyone how smart you are while trying to solve it. I’m taking the girl with me, Strange too, and leaving this universe. You should be grateful, there’s an angry Scarlet Witch on her way to capture the girl, and I don’t think you’ll survive her for long.”
Captain Marvel snorted, “We can deal with the witch.”
I chuckle, “No, you can’t. You captured Strange because you thought that he’s a danger. Trust me, Wanda would massacre you and it would only take seconds.”
Xavier tried to attack me telepathically, and I swat it away, “Seriously Xavier, that is so rude.”
I redirect his probe towards his own mind, and create a virtual paradox in his mind, freezing him in an impossibility that his mind cannot solve. It will disappear in a few hours, but for now, the man was incapacitated.
Reed looked at me, cautious, “What did you do?”
“Nothing really, just returned his little attack. It’s funny that in every universe, he can’t imagine the fact that someone is a better telepath than him. Don’t worry though, he’ll be alright in a few hours, although I expect he’ll have a headache for the next few days.”
Rambeau didn’t seem to like it and sent a photonic beam my way. I open a portal and send it towards the back of Black Bolt, who I hit with a silencing charm and a stunning spell.
Huh, that’s two down in less than a minute. Seriously, this was the Illuminati, the team who was protecting the world from higher level threats. Even my Wanda would be able to take them down alone, let alone a fully realized Scarlett Witch with years of being corrupted by the Darkhold.
I look at them with disappointment, and turn to my new charge, “Don’t worry, kiddo, I got this.”
The young girl smiled hesitantly at me, “Kick their asses.”
I smirk, who was I to say no to her?