#dr. Jackie Parker

[huffle-dork]

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 2: Switch

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix

Read Swapboys | Read Switch | Read SwitchSwap | AO3 Link

Prologue | Chapter 1 Taglist: @brokentimewatch

It's not too long before two cars pull up to the train station. Out of the first one steps a tall dark-skinned person with chin-length hair. They talk with Anti briefly, demanding an explanation but accepting that this isn't the time and leaving with Will, who Anti gives a short hug before he heads out. And out of the second one--

"Why the FACK can we not have five minutes of peace in our goddamn lives?!" Schneep looks pissed and annoyed, but he softens when he sees Bro. "Ah... good to see you again, of course, but it seems there is bad news, too."

Bro shrinks a bit at Schneep's anger but he also can't help but laugh because, same. "haha- I feel that bro..." He then looks scared and bites his lip. "Yeah... I need to find Alt... who knows what Mag is doing to him... or to one of your guys- i think... he really wanted Jameson last time, didn't he?"

Jackie sighs. "Are you okay? Anti said something about you healing really fast, but I can take a look, if you want. I've patched up this guy often enough." He vaguely gestures at Schneep.

Bro then looks back at Jackie and tries to smile, lifting up his singed shirt. "Uh- you can try, if you like. I dunno if it's like... good or not. I don't really... get checked often. Gotta keep go go going, you know? Hero work is never done..."

Dr. Parker can see the edges of the burn are a bit darker, tinged green. But the main part seems pretty much filled with healing skin, raised and pink. A bit hot to the touch but also cracking and Bro squirms uncomfortably. "Fucking shit- god i hate how it itches, jesuss!"

"Sorry," Jackie mumbles. "I didn't really bring anything to treat ichiness." He crouches to get a closer look. "...well, it's definitely healing, but there's some green... tinge here. It might be because of magic. In which case, I'm not qualified to do anything.”

Bro nods and pushes himself to sit up straighter, "S'probably the magic- green fire sucks ass, it lingers a bit longer than I would like. But thanks for checking, Doc."

"No problem," Jackie smiles. "Happy to help. If you feel up to move, we should go meet up with JJ and Marvin. I think—"

Before he can continue, Anti's phone starts to ring. Well, not ring, it's on silent, but the vibration is loud and noticeable. "Shit, sorry," he says, pulling it out. He looks at the Caller ID and frowns in confusion. Then picks it up. "What is it? Whoa!" He holds the phone away from his ear. On the other side a man is yelling. "Fucking shit, calm down! You scared the bejeezus out of me. I—what? Sam? I..." He glances at the others. "Hang on, you all keep talking." He turns to the side and listens to the call.

Bro readjusts himself after being checked on and then jumps slightly at Anti’s exclamation.

"That is probably not good," Schneep mutters. "Neither is it good that Magnificent may be in our world." He laughs. "Though I do wonder now... He has other magic, but those tricks... I wonder if..."

Jackie gives him an odd look. "I don't think we should go testing stuff like that out. We need to come up with some way to get Chase and Alt home--and Magnificent, too."

Bro looks back and studies Schneep with curiously, "Wait testing what out? You got something you think could help against Mag, Volt??"

"Heh." Schneep gives him a wan smile. "Well... a lot has changed since we got sucked into your universe. I do not... wish to discuss it too much, but I will simply say that our villain's illusions and manipulation no longer works on me." If Bro looks close, he'll notice that Schneep is playing with his hands in an odd way. Running a finger down the side of his left hand.

Bro looks excited by this and he grins, "Hey! Maybe that will work- but... I dunno- Mag's magic is... weird. I guess- I dunno much about magic though."

“How'd you get here, by the way?” Jackie asks, “Anti didn't fill in those details in the group chat. Only something about Magnificent doing shit. Do you remember anything specific? If we want to get you back home, it'd be easiest to do it the same way... probably."

Chase looks back at Jackie and nods, "Ah right- so he... he took Alt from our house, puppeted him in a super horrible way that isn't.... like him- not unless he's desperate. and he was... cuz he found this like... doorway thingy- But he needed Alt to glitch to work it. He used his magic and alt's glitches and then there was like- an explosion and i... woke up on the train tracks." He then frowns and tries to remember, "mmm... i dunno if something like that would be here... it was in some shady basement of this fucked up agency we have in our world- calls themselves Sclera."

"That's a werid name for an evil organization," Jackie says absentmindedly. "What is a shlcerla? I mean--sclera?" He sounds the word out carefully.

Schneep sighs. "Jackie, I thought you were a doctor."

"I am! That doesn't mean I know everything! Why, do you know about a sclera?"

"I do." Schneep grins smugly. "I wondered if there was a word for it in English, turns out, yes. It is the white part of your eye."

Jackie is silent for a moment. "Part of an eye... Like an iris?"

Schneep's grin fades.

Jackie turns to look at Bro. "We might have something like that here. There's this group called IRIS, they study weird shit. Anomalies. They call them ALTRs. And they... do a lot of fucked up stuff besides that." He glances at Schneep, then quickly looks away. "Maybe they'll have something to help. I think... I think I heard about them talking about other worlds..."

Bro also seems to pale, gripping slightly over his heart. "... Sclera does that too- but... with magic." He narrows his eyes and thinks, "If Iris is like Sclera then.... then yeah- that might be our best bet..." He shudders though but tries to hide it. "God- I hate places like that though- fucking freaky scientific-messed-up bullshit..."

Schneep looks at him sympathetically. He opens his mouth to say something, but--

"Fuck!" Anti shouts, drawing everyone's attention. "Okay, take Sam home and make sure they're okay, okay?! The rest of us will check on them. Yes, I'm sure! Yeah! No, stay there. Don't--don't let anything happen to you." His voice softens. "Be careful. Okay. Bye." He hangs up and spins around to look back at everyone else. "Okay. So. Chase was right. Magnificent is fighting Jameson."

Chase zips up to his feet, eyes wide, "Oh no! I hate when I'm right!" He curses and then adjusts his utility belt, pulling out his phone and looks about ready to burst into the air. "Okay where is he?? We can't- we can't let Mag get him again!"

"He's by the bus stop by his house," Anti says.

"Fuck! That's far!" Schneep curses.

"Not if I run red lights!" Jackie's head snaps towards his car, then back to Bro. "Hey, can you fly or do you need a lift?"

Bro nods and shoots into the air to hover, "I'll fly ahead! I know the look of Mag's magic by now, just point me in the right direction!"

"It's that way!" Anti points. "West and a bit south. We'll head there on our own. Remember to text us if you need to, calls might not work!"

Meanwhile, Schneep grabs Jackie and starts pulling him towards the car.

Bro nods, storing away his phone. "Right! Be careful!" He then blasts into the air and follows Anti's instructions, trying to push himself to fly as fast as he- scanning the area below for any signs of magic.

"Good luck!" Jackie calls. Then the three of them run to the car.

-----------

That was risky, JJ says.

Marvin smiles at him. "But it paid off, didn' it?" He pushes his cards back into a single deck on the dining room counter.

I suppose. JJ pauses. He somehow...drained some of my magic. I still feel...weak.

"Really? Fuckin' bastard..." Marvin mutters, then frowns. "T'at shouldn' be possible, t'ough. It should've brough' you back to the state you were in before. Did I do somet'ing wrong...?"

JJ shakes his head. You didn't do anything wrong, he reassures him. This is just... tricky.

Before Marvin can respond, there's a knock at the door. "They're here already?" Marvin says, surprised. "Okay, I'll get it." He heads into the entrance hall and opens the door.

But instead of any of his friends, Alt Brody falls into their house.

Alt was resting against the door as soon as he knocked on it- and as soon as it opens he stumbles forward, his head heavy. But, it's momentarily cleared of fog as he raises his red stained face to meet Marvin's eyes. He's still gripping his arm, magic pulsing weakly. "...m'rvin... moore...?" He slurs, confusion clear on his face. Then, he feels a wave of dizziness crash onto him that has him falling towards the ground.

"What the--?!" Marvin shoots forward and barely manages to catch Alt. He almost falls himself in the process but stays up. For now. "Jems! It's--it's t'at Anti from the other world!"

JJ rushes into the the front hall. He gasps at what he sees. What's wrong with him?!

"I don' know! Ah--a little help?" His legs are starting to go out.

JJ nods and hurries over, transfering support of Alt from Marvin to him. Living room, he signs awkwardly. Marvin nods, and the two of them move into the other room, where they set Alt down on the sofa.

There's a voice in Alt's mind. So familiar. {This is good,} it says. {Do as you would for now. But that man with the mustache...you should try to get rid of him when you have the chance. Knock him out...or worse. That'd be good, too. That would make me happy~}

Alt's eyes seem distant as something whispers in his ears, letting the others take him and move him into the living room. Even when hes out on the couch, He's still for a second, staring out ahead. Then, he shakes out this head and looks in between Marvin and Jameson. He feels really sick, his body is shaking in a way he can't really control. But... he knows these guys... right? He weakly shakes his head again and tries to stop the trembling in his corrupted arm.

"Are you alrigh', lad?" Marvin asks.

"..hngh... n-no- not... r-really..." Alt pants, feeling faint and leans back against the back of the sofa. "M-Mag... Mag did somethin' to... to m'magic... s'hurts... and I... i dunno... what's...." His eyelids flutter like he's ready to pass out again but he shakes his head to try to stay awake. "m'broth'r... i... i needa find Chase...I... I gotta s-stop Mag..."

JJ frowns. Who?

"Oh! Yes, Chase!" Marvin nods. "He was the one who isn' here, remember?"

Understanding dawns on JJ's face and he nods. Yes, he's the one Anti mentioned. Don't worry, Alt, our Anti saw him, he's fine and on his way. He uses the same name sign for Alt as the Henrik in Alt's universe: A-lightning.

"As for Magnificent, the bastard..." Marvin grumbles. "I'm sure he'll be comin' to us sooner or later. We have time to prepare."

Yes, get some rest and recover, Alt, JJ adds.

Alt seems comforted by seeing a familar sign, his chest suddenly aching for his friend. But, Hen would be in danger here... its good he's still back home. He almost wants to nod to them- he wants to relax- when he stiffens, blood starting to try to leak out of his eye again.

{Just wait here? Wait for him to come for you? No, that seems like a bad idea, doesn't it? They're trying to stop us from going after him.}

"... w-we can't j'ust wait here... w-we'll be just s-sitting ducks! We... we gotta... gotta stop him... s'mehow..." Alt's brain was fuzzy on the details- god he'd give anything to use his magic right now. He needs... he needs to get rid of this corruption.

He looks up at Jameson, head fuzzy as its assaulted with suggestions. Knock him out. Or worse. Make me happy. get rid of him. "y... you... do you know how... how to get rid'f dark magic...?" He shakily holds out his arm to Jameson, showing off the claws marks that match the ones on his own. Though, Alt's seem much more severe, pulsing with purple magic with every tremor of his muscles. JJ's are dark like stains- more just a sign of what was used to steal his magic.

JJ tries to hide his alarm at the marks on Alt's arm--and the ones on his own. We don't have to deal with black magic on a regular basis like you do, JJ says, but I'm sure I have a purification spell upstairs somewhere. I can check my book of shadows.

"T'at's a great idea," Marvin says. "We can take care of t'at, and t'en we'll talk about how to stop Magnificent."

JJ nods. He turns and starts leaving the room, heading towards the stairs.

{Go with him.} The voice comes with a bit more of a push than the last times. Some fog rolls in with the command.

Alt doesn't hesitate to push himself off the couch, the command to follow JJ filling his head with nothing else. He doesn't even look at Marvin as he stumbles after the magician.

This was good... he can get this black magic fixed... and then get rid of the magician.

"Alt...?" Marvin stares, confused, as Alt follows JJ upstairs. It's not too weird, maybe he just wants to get the magic taken care of right away, but... Was it just him, or was there something... on Alt's face? Just in case, he hurries back to the kitchen where he left the cards.

JJ glances back at Alt. Oh, you want to come? Alright, I'd be happy to show you my workroom. He smiles and continues up the stairs.

The workroom is halfway through being reorganized, with some of the books on the shelves and desks where they're supposed to be and some on stacked on the floor around the central table. And on the table itself is a black crystal sphere, nestled on a purple cushion.

Alt nods to Jameson, and looks dazedly around the house and the workroom as he's lead through.

When Alt looks at the crystal, he sees flickers of other people's faces in the reflection. They all look familiar, and yet... different. Some are wearing masks. Some are children. And there's one with a slit neck, green strings holding it closed.

Alt pauses and stares at the crystal, eyes widening slightly as he saw the visions within them. What... what was-

But none of this is important.

Oh. It didn't matter. Any concern that was trying to surface was quickly stuffed under heavy fog.

JJ goes right for the desk, sorting through the books there until he finds what he's looking for. He then skims that book, and after a few seconds, smiles triumphantly. Hand me your arm, he says, putting the open book on the desk.

It takes a second for Alt to react to Jameson, more blood slithering down his face. But, he turns and wordlessly offers his corrupted arm to him, staring intensely at his face.

JJ gently takes Alt's arm. He hesitates for a moment, glancing back at the instructions in the book. His eyes start glowing a bright blue, and that same blue light encases his hands. He carefully presses his palm against the claw marks. A cooling magic washes over the marks. It takes a couple waves, but soon the corruption of the dark magic disappears.

There we are, JJ says, letting go of Alt's arm and smiling at him.

...Wait.

Something... Something is wrong...

Jameson blinks. He squints at Alt's face. What is...

It's blood.

Jameson gasps and takes a step back. How did he not notice it before?!

{Now.}

The second the black magic is cleared, electric magic builds up around Alt and he starts to glitch again. Then, he throws out a hand and sends a wave of blue green electricity at Jameson.

Jameson lets out a little squeak--the closest to a shout he can manage right now-- and throws up a clumsy shield. Luckily, it blocks most of the electricity. What gets through isn't enough to shock him. Alt, snap out of it! he signs, backing up. He doesn't have the magic for another fight after Magnificent drained him. And he doesn't want to fight Alt! Glancing around, he rushes for the open doorway.

That familiar sign has Alt hesitating, something trying to spark in his foggy mind. But, that hesitation quickly leaves as Jameson starts to run. Alt tries to glitch in front of him, throwing out more barrages of charged magic.

Jameson skids to a halt, surprised by Alt's sudden appearance. Before he can recover or try that new teleportation spell again, Alt is throwing electric magic at him. Again he tries to conjure a shield but the magic breaks through this time. This time he manages a scream as the magic shocks across his skin.

Downstairs, Marvin's head snaps up at the sound of JJ's cry. "Jems?!" he gasps. He runs for the stairs, tightening his grip on his cane and the cards, already thinking of what combination could help. Was it Alt? Had he really seen what he thought?!

Alt doesn't hesitate again to glitch towards Jamie- and this time he attempts to grab Jameson's neck and then throw him into the wall, pressing hard against his throat. There's no recognition in his eyes as blood pools out of them. He thinks he might hear another voice- but its faint and it doesn't matter. He needs to get rid of the magician.

Jameson gasps in surprise when Alt grabs him. He pulls at his hands, trying to pry them away before something could happen--!

And he manages to push Alt away just in time. He scrambles backwards across the floor until he hits the central table. The black crystal ball is almost jostled from it's spot.

A voice comes from down the hall. "H-hang on, Jems!" Marvin shouts. He's struggling with the stairs, pushing himself faster.

Jameson nods. He ducks his head and crosses his arms. A blue dome appears around him, wavering for a second before solidifying.

Alt tsks quietly under his breath and then lashes out and throws lightning magic over and over at the shield. Trying to get it to crack-

The shield shudders with every hit, but it doesn't break. And yet JJ knows it will only be a matter of time. He feels his strength failing.

"Jems! Alt!" And then Marvin rushes forward, almost collapsing in the doorway of the room. He takes in the situation quickly--yes, he thought it was something like that.

Alt pauses in his attack to turn towards Marvin, regarding him with a slight head tilt. He's panting slightly, sweat dripping down his face and his hands trembling. His magic is being depleted really quickly so soon after getting drained by that curse. Yet, he needs to keep going. He has to.

Quickly, Marvin bends over and places three cards on the ground in a triangle formation: Five of Diamond - Six of Heart - Queen of Spade

Jameson's shield is reinforced, curving golden lines running over itse surface in a geometric pattern. He breathes easier.

Marvin hears a voice in his head. {That's not really fair, is it? Have you forgotten whose side your on? Or are you too afraid to remember?} He flinches, pushing away the accompanying fog.

At the same time, Alt hears it say something different. {A friend of ours has lost his way...so sad. He shouldn't be here. Make him leave.}

.... he lost his way? Well... Alt hated using these spells but- if they needed to convince Marvin then... Alt flares out a hand to his side, and a collection of glitches forms beside him- and then forms a wobbly electric field of magic that swirls in hues of green blue and white. Though the edges are harsher than Mag's, the colors are soothing and easy to look at. Maybe they could just lull you to sleep... make you forget all your pain, just for a second.

Marvin isn't expecting it. He looks down for a moment, fumbling with the cards--he'll need to use five or more, he's not leaving this to chance--and when he looks up again... there it is. An electric spiral hovering next to Alt. What? How... strange. But... nice. Marvin's eyes trace the spiral's motion, the ever-inward movement. His eyelids feel heavy all of a sudden.

JJ sees what's happening. "Marv--!" he tries to shout, but it breaks off into a wheezing exhale. The reinforcement around his shield stays--it will stay until the card formation is disrupted--but Marvin's other cards flutter to the floor, followed shortly by him collapsing to his knees, eyes blinking slowly...

"Sleep." Alt drones out to Marvin, watching him coldly and emotionlessly, pushing magic into his words.

He thinks he hears something slamming open from downstairs- but he's focused on his task. Nothing else matters. He doesn't even consider anything else is wrong until suddenly he's being tackled to the ground, his head hitting it hard enough for him to see spots.

"O-Oh my god, Alt!" A man in a pink mask is gasping desperately over him, looking worried. ...why...? No no wait- he's... he's important- he's so so important. Alt makes a choked noise of pain, the fog in his head hurting all of sudden. No no no its hurts- why does it hurt?

"C- Ch...!" Alt tries to choke out, shaky hand trying to grab onto his jacket.

For the others- as soon as Jameson shouted out, Bro flew past a house with bright lights flickering in different hues in the windows. He recognized the color of some of them- and it wasn't Mag... it was Alt!

He hurried down to the door of the apartment then tried to doorknob- not wanting to cause too much damage to the house. By some miracle it was open and Bro skids in and looks around, shouting out, "Alt?! ALT!!"

He sees the hues of blue and greens and doesn't hesitate to fly up the stairs- and hovers just a bit above them to see his brother trying to entrance Marvin. He yells out and tackles Alt back farther into the room- the magic bursting into pixels as the two boys crash into the bookshelves in the corner. Marvin can feel the influence leave him like he's waking up from being underwater.

Marvin gasps, starting backwards. JJ stares with wide eyes at Chase and Alt. His shield finally disappears as he stands up and scrambles over to Marvin's side. He reaches down to help him up.

"I-I... what?" Marvin shakes the image of that spiral out of his mind. "Th-t'at was—he can do t'at...?" he whispers. Then he looks up at JJ. "A-are you... alrigh'...?"

JJ smiles weakly. I should be asking you that.

"'M... fine. Physic'lly." Marvin takes JJ's hand and lets him pull him to his feet. In unison, the two of them turn and stare at Alt and Bro. "Y-you're the—the hero from the other world. Chase. Chase!" Marvin shakes his head again. "Chase, Alt's bein'—Distorter's in his head, I—oh!" And then Marvin gets back down on the ground and starts gathering up the cards. "T-try to get t'rough to him, if you can', I-I can try somet'ing!"

Bro looks back at the others and seems to relax at seeing they're both okay. "H-Hey- glad you two aren't hurt-" He then makes a face and his eyes glow with hatred as he looks down at the power that's taken over his brother. "Right... that bitch. Okay- lemme see what I can do!"

{Shhh. Shhhh.} The voice hisses in Alt's mind, like the comforting sound of rain falling. {Don't worry. You don't have to worry about anything. Shhh. Let me take care of this.}

Alt's eyes glaze over more as the voice of his friend comforts him. His hand falls back down and he lays limply on the ground, head lolling to look out past Bro. Nothing but the sound of rain blanking his mind, like what he would listen to in his headphones when sound was too much. His mind is calm and still- Even though his body is panting and shaking and trembling- he can't feel it at all.

"No No! fuck- Anti! C'mon lil bro, stay with me!" Chase whispers desperately, trying to shake Alt's shoulders.

Then, Chase hears something in his mind, too. {Oh? So where were you when your brother appeared right outside my house? Where? Why weren't you there with him? You don't care, I see. You're right not to. He doesn't care about you. He barely knows you, really, he wouldn't give two shits if you just died.}

Bro winces as the voice slithers into his head. He closes his eyes and then growls out, "No shut up! I do care- we know each other better than anyone! You're the one who doesn't care- or you wouldn't be running him ragged!"

He shakes Alt more, pleading, "Alt c'mon! Wake up!"

"Shit," Marvin curses, watching Chase and Alt. He has all his cards gathered, now he just needs to find the right ones! "H-hang on, you two! Jems, can you--I-I dunnae, help t'em?"

Distorter doesn't respond to Chase, instead continuing to speak to Alt. {Look, Anti... it's Magnificent. He's right in front of you. It's time to show him how you really feel. You're so much stronger than him, right? I believe you are.}

Alt's eyes narrow and flood with green and blue magic as Distorter makes him see Magnificent in front of him. His shoulders start to glitch, electricity building up around him. He starts to latch back onto Chase- then his arm is grabbed and-

JJ looks Alt. He doesn't have much magic left right now, but he can try. Maybe... He steps forward, up next to Chase, and grabs Alt's arm. His eyes flare blue, and frost suddenly flares from the point of contact, flashing sudden cold through Alt's system. It won't work if he's too deep in, but maybe...

It's like the gray is blown away by an icy chill, startling Alt back into his own mind with a painful jolt. He gasps, back arching as the connection breaks. He slumps back towards the floor and dazedly looks back and forth between Bro and Jameson. "..h..how did I...?" He then winces and curls his face into the ground, groaning softly. "F-Fuck..! My head...!"

Bro slumps with relief and then lifts Alt up and crushes him in a hug. "Oh thank fucking christ! God... god.... you fucking scared me Alt..." He buries his face in his brother's shoulders for a bit before letting go and helping to sit against the floor. Alt just dazedly lets him, trying to take everything in.

JJ lets go of Alt, slumping in relief. He was so glad that worked. He was so worried... But it was fine. It was all fine. It was Distorter, he explains to Alt. You remember him, right? Do you... know where you are right now, Alt? And is there... anything you need?

"I...I'm..." Alt swallows shakily and goes to hold his arms and curls up on himself. It was really hard to piece things together- but... he knows these guys. JJ and Marvin... this must be... their world. Once he thinks this though, he remembers how they got here and he gasps, looking around at the others in panic. "M-Mag-! Magnificent! He's here- he's...! He's trying to get to other universes- and-!" He then takes in the slight claw marks on Jameson's arm and he looks back at him with a pale face. "... shit- did he already...?"

"Wait what?? He already got you??" Bro asks, looking at JJ with worry. "Fuck! I flew so fast to try to stop that! Damn that slippery cat goddd im gonna skin him one of these days!"

JJ looks down at his own arm. Right... the marks. He could feel the effects, but he forgot they were visible. I'm fine, he reassured them. He did... somehow drain some of my magic, but... I'll recover with enough time and rest.

"They're righ', t'ough," Marvin says from the doorway. "We need t'stop him before that bastard does anyt'ing too big to recover from. If you're goin' to skin him, tell me so I can join." He chuckled.

Well... Jameson pauses thoughtfully. If he was trying to get to other universes, he succeeded. I don't know what we're going to stop him from now.

"Uh, how 'bout we stop him from murderin' us? Or from whatever he did to you! Or from doin' all t'at..." Marvin waves his hands around his head. "All t'at shit."

JJ chuckled, then turned serious again. You're right. I suppose I'm just a bit tired. This was a lot. He turns to Alt and Chase. Our house is warded against all sorts of nonhuman intruders. Distorter can't get in, but Magnificent might be able to. We'll be safe... briefly. Do you know of anyone else from your universe who could be here? Or is it just you two and him?

"It's just us this time," Bro sighs, "He got the jump on Alt and made him use this- weird doorway thingy! He almost got away with just Alt- god that would have been bad..."

Alt shudders and holds himself tightly, "If i was drained doing the spell... then Mag probably was too... which is why he tried to find the nearest source of magic. Then he'd... god... I... I don't know... h-he made puppets of you all once but- not even as himself... That was Distorter too... I dunno if he'd stick around for that though... and i... i dont think he'd kill you all... not yet at least. He... He likes making people useful to him. Or keeping trophies..." He grips tighter on his arms, digging his nails in. "h-he might just be trying to get to the next universe somehow... since he's experienced this one... in a way." The glitch hates that he's been around Mag long enough to know his thought pattern but... he did work with him for a long time.

Bro makes a face as he thinks and then perks up, "Oh! Yeah! I need to message the others! They were gonna be driving here! Then they uh- they mentioned someplace we can try to see might have something to help- somewhere callleedd ah fuck what was it- its like Sclera!" He scrunches his face and looks up to think. "...what do you call the colored part of your eye?"

"Iris-" Alt mutters.

"Iris! Yeah that was it!" Bro whips out his phone and sends a text to Anti. I found JJ and Alt! Mag got to JJ but hes okay- and Alt was affected by Distorter... anyways! JJ and Marvin were here so i guess we're in their house :)

Marvin and JJ stiffen. JJ looks back at him. Do you think IRIS could help?

"I... s'ppose," Marvin mutters, shuffling his card deck. "Probably. Yes. They... like t'is sort of stuff. Time and space and all t'at. So the question is jus'... which one of their places we go to t'find somet'ing helpful."

I don't think either of us are... the most qualified to answer that question, JJ says.

Meanwhile, Chase gets an answering text: Great we're reall close then. Just a few minutes and well be there.

Soon after, JJ and Marvin's phones both ding. They take them out and read the text that Anti just sent THEM.

"They're on th'way," Marvin reports.

JJ nods. Let's all head downstairs and wait for them. He turns and looks at the bookshelves Chase and Alt ran into. He frowns. You've ruined my shelves.

Marvin bursts into laughter. "Is--is t'at really your priority?"

I've spent a couple days organizing them. That one's all...ker-fobbled now.

"Did ye really jus' spell out t'at nonsense word?"

Chase looks back up and then blushes, getting to his feet, "Ah fuck! I'm sorry! I just- acted on instinct! I'm not that tired i could reorganize them if you want!"

Alt glitches to his feet and then shoves Bro towards the door. "Let's focus on the important stuff, Chase- like getting back home and stopping the evil maniac thats skulking through town?"

"...oh yeah-"

Alt shoves him more out the door, "My god you're impossible... did you take your meds today?!"

"'course I did but a lot is happening, Alt!"

Alt rolls his eyes then glitches downstairs.

Marvin giggles. Then he stops. The others couldn't hear the voice he just did. {You know fixing this won't get rid of me. We're stuck together. Embrace it now.} After a second, he shakes off the uneasy feeling and finally stands up, using his cane as support. "Yea, let's all go downstairs. We can settle the IRIS t'ing t'ere when the others arrive."

Alt finds the same space the others put him on earlier and slowly goes to curl up, holding his headphones and hiding his face behind his knees. He never thought he'd be so far away from home without his mask...

Bro watches Alt vaguely then sticks by the others, ready to help if they needed it. He wants to make sure they get down okay first- especially with JJ looking so spent.

JJ notices Chase sticking by. He smiles at him tiredly. Don't worry, I'm not actually mad. It was an emergency. And I understand the, ah, mile-a-minute effect, if you know what I mean.

"We shoul' lock you and Jems and Jackie in an empty room, see how insane you all become," Marvin mutters. "C'mon, Mr. Fantastic." He starts walking down the hallway. A bit slower than usual, but he did run up the stairs. The energy had to come from somewhere.

That's a different superhero, JJ says, following him. A fictional one.

"As far as we know! If other universes are real, perhaps all stories are, too!"

JJ smiles. He glances back at Chase to make sure he's following.

Chase laughs and then hovers over the others as they go down the stairs. “Oh yeah! Jackieboy- the one from our universe- he’s a hugeee comic nerd- gave me an earful once about my name being so close to that guy’s but I didn’t know! I didn’t read comics?? I had like… rugby to play and shit- pints to drink…”

Ah, you were one of those uni people, huh? I don't know why I'm surprised. JJ smiles again. I was a theatre major, which, I'm told, says everything about me and how I acted in uni.

"Imagine goin' to a second'ry school," Marvin says.

You mean a university?

Marvin pauses. "Well, I finished primary school, at least." JJ raises an eyebrow. "Don' give me t'at look, do you know how hard t'at was to do under my circumstances?!"

I'm very proud of you, Marvin. Sincerely.

Bro touches down to the steps once he’s sure the others are fine and then glances back at the living room. He sees his brother all curled up and his heart aches. He slowly makes his way over and sits down next to him. He waits a beat- then opens one arm to Alt’s backside but doesn’t move, waiting to see how Alt would respond.

Alt blinks up at Bro and seems to hesitate. But then he slowly adjusts so he can lay his head on Bro’s shoulder. Chase wraps a light around Alt’s back and the glitch seems to relax some.

“….I hate this.” Alt whispers weakly to Chase, trying to hide the frustrated tears wanting to leak out of his eyes. He scrubs hard at the drying blood on his face.

Chase closes his eyes and leans against Alt’s head. “I know…”

“I mean… im… im glad to see these guys again… just…” Alt shudders and curls up more. “…I know it’s good they’re not here but… I miss the others…”

“Yeah…” Bro sighs. He then presses light lips to his brother’s head, “We’ll figure it out though…”

Alt nods and hides his face against his brother’s shoulder.

Jameson and Marvin join Chase and Alt in the living room, noticing the way the two of them are acting with each other. They exchange looks, then decide not to say or do anything to interrupt the moment. "Won' be long now," Marvin says, going over to sit in his usual chair. "Jus' a few more minutes."

————

Frustratingly for Magnificent, he seems to have appeared in an area with few magicians or otherwise magic people. Sure, the city at large is very magical, but the west and south neighborhoods are odd dry spots. There are occasional empty houses full of spellbooks and the occasional talisman, but great amounts of magic are few... except for Jameson Jackson, of course, lessened as his magical signature is now that he's drained.

The dark magician curses as he comes up short on any other magic sources. Guess it was time to go back to what he knew- that Jameson could still prove useful to him, if he could find where he escaped to. And well- remembering the bonds between his puppet and his friends- where jj was- so would his failure crippled counterpart would be. It would be good to get rid of such weakness.

Flaring his eyes- he tries to locate that faint spark of Jameson’s magic.

It’s hard to find, but it’s there, glowing faintly… in the opposite direction he’s been walking all this time. How ironic.

Magnificent curses to himself- he'd been walking in the complete wrong way! Cheeky little magician... what a rookie mistake.

But as he stands there trying to locate it… he hears a voice. A voice that sounds like it’s coming from right next to him. “I knew I’d see you eventually.”

Mag freezes hearing that voice and whirls around, hurtling magic towards the voice. "You-!"

The attack misses, because Distorter is not at all where his voice was coming from. Now there’s laughter on Magnificent’s other side. Distorter is sitting on a house’s doorstep, watching casually. “Last time we met because of an accident, but not this time. You came here on purpose, right?” He stands up, head tilting to the side. “Couldn’t make it back home so you decided to try somewhere new? Hoping you wouldn’t fail as much here?”

Magnificent bares his teeth for a second but then stands up taller and tries to stay composed. He smirks, “A being like you couldn’t possibly understand my ambitions. You’re stuck as this- dead thing. But, I’m pushing past my limits. You’re just a speck in the grand scheme of things, cadaver.”

"It's funny how you think you're more than that. Cute, even." Distorter puts a hand on his cheek, a silent gesture of "awww." "You'll die too one day. There's no magic to stave that off forever. And even if you somehow find something that does, do you think it will change your core? Strip away my powers, I'm just a dead guy. Strip away yours and you're just a man with abandonment issues and a mean dad. There's a million of those."

Magnificent tries to keep his expression schooled, even as the demon claws at his inner most fears, his deepest feelings he's long tried to supress. He'd never admit it but yes- He's afraid to die. But, this was to that end. However, the last comments ignite rage in the mad magician as he lashes out with a wild yell and tries to grab where he sees Distorter.

Distorter doesn't move as Mag lunges at him, not even as his claws dig into his flesh. "Looks like I struck a nerve there~!" he sings. Still smiling. Always smiling.

Magnificent yells more and slams the cadaver into the ground, trying to choke him as his eyes light up with power. "Shut up! Don't you dare- dare compare me to any other lowly human! I am more- I am MAGNIFICENT!" He digs his claws in tighter and snarls, "I will not be judged by a being so consumed by sadness for a life that was obviously as meaningless as your very existence."

Distorter's grin widens. He doesn't breathe so the choking isn't bothering him, but he does need air to talk and so can't respond. Instead he reaches up, blackened nails scraping the edge of Magnificent's mask... and all of a sudden he doesn't look like himself anymore. He looks like Jackie--the one Magnificent remembers.

Magnificent's eyes widen in shock. It's instinctual- he lets go of Distorter and backs up, looking at him in confusion. But, then he snarls and teleports back, lighting his hands on fire to try to seem threatening. "No-! No I- I won't fall for your tricks, demon!"

Laughing, Distorter sits up, then stands. The movement is just a bit too fast to be natural. “It’s not a trick,” he says. “It’s a distraction.” And then he attacks—not physically. Mentally, psychic claws digging for a grip in Mag’s mind.

Magnificent looks caught off guard again then yells out as a powerful force is slammed onto his mind. He cries out and falls to his knees, gripping at his skull. Green light tries to ignite in his good eye, trying to push back the force. "N-No! You- You can't...!"

“I can’t? Then how am I doing it?” Distorter steps up to him, leaning down so their eyes are level. “Our goals aren’t really that different you know. And this is my home. It’d be so much easier if you let me show you the way.”

Mag meets distorter's eyes with hatred, snarling. "You- You overpowered when I was weak before- I-! I won't be bested by you ag-" He then pauses, the mental load slamming more against his mind as Distorter's logic tries to worm itself in. To Magnificent though, it feels like he's letting the wheels turn himself, figuring out a plan. Would it be so bad... to team up? They almost brought down their enemies together last time, but Magnificent hardly remembered himself. "... you... don't want to help me-" The dark magician breathes, though he seems unsure of that statement, narrowing his eyes at the other villain.

"Why wouldn't I want to? I don't hate you." Distorter's smile hides the half-lie. He does mildly dislike the dark magician, but he was so useful that he was willing to put up with it. "And helping you would help me, too. We could do so much together."

Magnificent's eyes are starting to slip- the pressure on his head becoming too much. Why- fight it though?

Because he didn't need anyone else! He was powerful enough on his own- he didn't need help!

Are you really going to look a gift horse in the mouth, sorcerer? You're in a foreign world- already weakened. Take what you can get.

Mag's furious expression starts to fall, face slacking. His claws loosen from his skull as he better looks Distorter in the eyes. "...we could... could do so much...together."

"Exactly." Distorter offers a hand to help pull Magnificent up. "I know where they are now, but I don't think they'll stay there for long. Your cub and that hero want to get back to their world soon, and the others have an idea to help them. We need to hurry."

For a fraction of a second, Mag hesitates. But then he lets himself get helped up and nods, blood welling up in one of his eyes. "Alright. Show me."

Distorter's grin widens. "I think I know where they're going. We can intercept them, take them off guard. Follow me."

[cc-tinslebee]

There’s something so. UGH about those tragic little gay people and their emotional cannibalism.

You created a monster. You created me.

The monster you’ve created in yourself to indulge in the sins you lust for has destroyed my whole life, taken everyone I care about away from me. And when that monster tells me to run away with him, I’ll consider it. For just a moment. When that monster dies and takes you with him, I’m left with nothing. Nothing except for the recipe that turned you into that monster. I take it because I have nothing left to lose. You’ll never know when it might come in handy.

We’ve spent our entire friendship integrating what’s you into what’s me. I don’t know where I stop and you begin. There isn’t a world where I’m allowed to have you, so I sleep with your boyfriend in place of you, have him tell me he loves me because you didn’t say it back. When you die and I’m out in the wilderness, desperate, it’s you I consume. The lines between us blur into non existence as I take the life you would’ve had. That’s not what you’re hungry for.

It was too painful for me to leave everything I knew to be home, never to come back again, so I tried to forget it and assimilate to my new life. I tried to forget you. And when I return, dying and alone, you’re right where I left you. I’m dying. I’m dying and your blood could cure me (it could kill me). You can’t risk that, so you take away yourself and any hope of saving me (I thought you were supposed to give people hope). I take matters into my own hands, save myself and take from you what you took away from me. I needed you.

They’re so. I want these tragic little gay people to have a happy little life together so badly. But it’s also so incredibly entertaining to watch them tear each other apart.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Determined to Endure

Switch AU

A JSE Fanfic

A shorter chapter for today. I've been surprisingly busy this week... or maybe just tired lol. In any case, the IRIS arc continues! This time we're focusing on Jackie, Marvin, and Anti. Jackie is approached with a deal, but he tries to find a way around it. Meanwhile, Anti starts to hatch a plan, and Marvin gets taken somewhere for mysterious, but probably not good, reasons. A short summary for a short chapter. I hope you guys enjoy!

More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Read on AO3 under CrystalNinjaPhoenix

Jackie had been pretty much stuck in this room for days. He was going a little bit crazy from the lack of interaction. C&C guards showed up for each meal, dropping off food, but they might as well have been robots for how much they responded to him. The longer he was stuck in here, the more tempting it was to hit one of them with a chair and scream at them to answer him. He didn’t think that being stuck in here was worse than his time spent with Distorter, but it was still awful being trapped in here.

After what felt like ages, something different finally happened. Jackie was lying face-down on the bed when he heard the door open. He assumed that it was meal time, so he didn’t even bother to lift his head. Until... “Dr. Parker?”

“Huh?!” Jackie’s head shot up. He looked over to the side and saw someone sitting at the table. Daniel, the doctor who’d talked to him when he first woke up in IRIS. The door was already closed again. “What are you—You’re back now all of a sudden?!”

“Hello again, Dr. Parker,” Daniel said calmly. “I’m sorry about the long stretch of time without anyone checking in on you.”

Jackie rolled his eyes.

“Please, come over so we can talk,” Daniel continued. 

Sighing, Jackie stood up and walked over to the other chair, sitting down across from Daniel. “What?” he snapped.

“Don’t be so hostile, Jackie,” Daniel said.

“You’ve locked me in a room while you’re experimenting on my friends! I have the right to be a bit fucking hostile!”

Daniel paused. “We don’t want you to be hurt, you know.”

“But my friends are fair game, then?” Jackie muttered.

“No, we don’t want them to be hurt, either,” Daniel said.

“...I just—” Jackie shook his head. “I just frankly don’t believe you.”

Daniel clasped his hands together and smiled, trying to look friendly. “I understand why you wouldn’t. But trust me when I say that everything we’re doing here is necessary. We want this to be as easy for all of you as possible. So if there’s anything you can tell us to help make them comfortable, it would be greatly appreciated.”

Jackie tensed immediately. “You—y-you want information from me?” he whispered. 

“No, not in the way you’re thinking,” Daniel said. “Jackie, you have the ability to help your friends right now. For example, we know that Schneeplestein suffers from some sort of psychosis, and we can figure out his medication, but we don’t know if there’s anything that will upset him—”

“This whole thing is something that’ll ‘upset’ him!” Jackie growled.

“Alright, let’s start with that,” Daniel said. “What specifically would get to him?”

“Being fucking trapped? I—I-I can’t believe that you all don’t realize this! I can’t believe that I was part of this fucking company!”

Daniel was quiet for a while. “Dr. Parker,” he finally said seriously. “If you don't help us take care of your friends, they will not be helped at all.”

Jackie blinked. “Is that... a threat?”

“It is a fact. We do not know anything about them. Not really. We know facts that we found, but we don’t know about their personalities or emotional needs. You have been the friendliest of them so far—” As Daniel said that, Jackie barely managed to hold himself back from saying ‘I wonder why?!’ “—so you are the only one we can approach with questions. We would hate for your friends to suffer more than necessary. For example, Marvin Moore has some sort of chronic fatigue, yes? If we push him too far, that fatigue might become pain.”

Jackie went pale. That certainly sounded like a threat. “Wh-what are you guys going to do, that would—that would hurt him?”

“That’s the point, we don’t know,” Daniel emphasized. “But you could help us, and help him by proxy.” He leaned forward. “Who knows what might happen if you stay silent.”

“Y-you... you can’t...” Jackie swallowed a lump in his throat. He wanted to refuse to help IRIS. But... part of him couldn’t help but worry. What if Daniel was right? What if his friends ended up more hurt because he didn’t say anything?

Then he thought about what the others would say if they knew he’d told IRIS anything about them. Much less if IRIS used information he’d given them against his friends. Anti and Schneep would be pissed, Marvin probably would too... JJ would be kind about it, but he’d no doubt feel betrayed. He didn’t think that any of the guys would hold it against him for too long, but he would feel terrible knowing what he’d done, how he’d made them feel.

At the same time, he didn’t want to anger IRIS... just in case. Maybe he could pretend to cooperate? “Wh-what do you want to know?” he asked slowly.

“Tell us about your friend Marvin,” Daniel said. “Does he have any special requirements?”

“Um... h-he usually needs support to walk,” Jackie said slowly. “It helps keep him from getting tired.”

“I see. We believe he doesn’t have any anomalous abilities, is that correct?”

Jackie nodded. “Yeah. He’s just a guy.”

Daniel frowned doubtfully. He glanced at the camera in the corner—wait, shit, those are the WTCHR cameras! They’re able to detect lying! Did they know he wasn’t being entirely sincere in his responses? Well they probably knew he was panicking now, at least!

“And what about your anomalous friend?” Daniel asked. “Our medical scans have shown that his throat is damaged.”

“JJ?” Jackie paused, trying to slow down his thoughts to piece together a response that wouldn’t give away too much information. “He—yes, Distorter attacked him. He probably would’ve died if... a friend hadn’t intervened.”

“Is ALTR 53815-A related to his anomalous abilities?” Daniel asked.

“N-no, he just... has that, I think...” Don’t imply magicians exist, don’t imply magicians exist, don’t imply—

Daniel nodded slowly. “Were any of your friends in possession of any anomalous items?”

Jackie laughed, trying to sound lighthearted and not nervous. “I think I’d know about that,” he said, choosing his words carefully. It’s not an outright denial or agreement, but it should imply something. Don’t mention the cards, don’t mention the cards— “Besides, this—that question isn’t related to helping my friends, is it?”

“Well, if your friends have been exposed to any anomalous items they could still be suffering from the effect of—” Daniel paused. His hand went up to his ear for a second. Did he have some sort of earpiece? If he did, it must have been very small, because Jackie couldn’t see it. “...Perhaps we should be frank with you,” Daniel said. “We recovered strange playing cards from one of your friends. Marvin, I believe?”

“...oh?” Jackie instinctively wanted to tense up, but he forced himself to stay relaxed.

“We separated them from him,” Daniel said. “And yet, even after we did that, Marvin has been showing strange, anomalous properties.”

Jackie sat up straight. “Huh? What sort of properties?”

“He seemingly appeared out of nowhere,” Daniel said. “But on closer inspection, it seems as though he entered some sort of time lag.”

“Time what?”

“You’re familiar with lag in a video game, yes?” Daniel said. “When it stutters and glitches. Sometimes in a game with multiple people, someone who’s lagging can appear to phase through objects or appear out of nowhere. Your friend Marvin briefly entered a state similar to that in reality.”

“...huh.” Jackie leaned back. “I... don’t know anything about that. I’m... sorry.” He paused. “Maybe it’s... caused by the anomalous cards? Did you all do something to them when you took them from him?”

Daniel shook his head. “The cards did enter a strange state, but it happened on its own, not because of anything we did.”

Jackie wasn’t sure he believed that. But he didn’t think Daniel would lie about the ‘time lag.’ It was such a specific thing. What happened? Had Marvin cast some sort of spell with his cards before they all got knocked out by IRIS? “I don’t know anything about that,” Jackie repeated.

Daniel looked at him quietly for a moment. Scanned him with his eyes. Jackie swallowed a lump in his throat and stared back. After a moment, Daniel nodded. “Alright. Let’s continue. Now, your friend... ‘Anti,’ he’s called. We couldn’t find any legal records of his birth name, which is actually extraordinary in a way. Do you know anything about him that we should know?”

Jackie hesitated. “Um.. no... not really...” He wondered how Anti was getting along, actually. He hadn’t been reacting to the situation well in that brief moment he last saw him... 

———————

This camera was made of fucking rock.

Anti had thought he’d be able to move it slightly—it seemed to be built on a hinge or a swivel so it could scan his room. If he could just jam it or something—but noooo, this might as well have been a solid piece of plastic for all it could move.

Biting back a growl of frustration, he carefully climbed down from the chair. He’d dragged it over beneath the camera so they couldn’t see him—he was fairly sure this spot directly under it was a blind spot—but they could probably still hear him. He had to be extra cautious so they wouldn’t catch on and stop him. No weird sounds or sudden movements. He’d even taken his shoes off so his footsteps would be quieter. 

Back on solid ground again, he sat down heavily on the chair, leaning back, tilting his head up so he was looking at the underside of the camera. Maybe if he had some sort of tool... Maybe the next time they came to get him for one of those fucked-up experiments—because he was sure there would be another one of those—he could try to grab something.

But he had no idea how long that would be.

Patient. He had to be patient. He had to not lose his fucking mind like he did before. That’d be... difficult. But he could try. For his friends.

———————

Marvin was trying to nap when the door opened. He sat up straight immediately, and saw a pair of guards enter the room. “Wh-what is this?” he asked, voice showing more fear than he wanted. He still vividly remembered all the strangeness surrounding the last time they showed up to take him somewhere. Putting aside the accidental happenings with his failed escape attempt and his cards, there was... that experiment. He shuddered just recalling the daze he’d been in, the way Anti kept trying to reach out to him, but his voice had sounded so distant... 

Without saying a word, the guards walked towards him. “Whoa, h-hey, back up!” Marvin scrambled backwards, but he was cornered. The guards grabbed him roughly by the shirt, ignoring his yelp, and dragged him off the bed, where they adjusted their hold so they were gripping his arms. Then they marched out of the room. In the hallway outside there was another pair of guards. They said nothing to each other, just walked down the hall, pulling Marvin with them.

“H-hey, is t’is abou’ what happened last time?” Marvin asked nervously. “You—t’ere’s no hard feelin’s, righ’?”

The guards didn’t say anything. But their tight grip on his arms felt personal, somehow.

They dragged him in the same direction he’d escaped before—going through the set of double doors into that white-walled highway, and then down to the elevator at the end. One of the guards took out a keycard and scanned it before pressing a button to call the elevator. Marvin briefly considered trying to break free while they were waiting—but then one of the guards casually took something off his belt and pointed it at Marvin. He froze. That couldn’t be a real gun. Or at least, not one that shot bullets. But it probably shot something nasty nonetheless. The implication was clear. He was not to escape.

When the elevator arrived, the guards dragged him in and quickly pressed the button second from the top. The doors closed, and Marvin tried to push back the sense of finality that came with that.

The ride was short. Soon, the elevator stopped and the guards pulled Marvin out onto a new floor. One which, bizarrely enough, reminded Marvin of a hospital. He wasn’t sure why. There was just something in the plaster walls and tile floor that caused the feeling. Maybe part of the reason was because, unlike the other floor, the elevator here opened onto an open space instead of a hallway. A big square room, with a corridor on the walls left, right, and ahead. The central area of the room had a bunch of desks with computers. 

The walls of the room also had some windowed sections, and some glass doors. Marvin glanced into the nearest one. Ah—there were smaller rooms lining this larger one, and the glass walls and doors let the people in the main room look into them. For some reason, his first thought was ‘it’s like a zoo.’ A bunch of terrariums for people to gawk at.

Which meant his stomach dropped when the guards started dragging him towards one of these smaller rooms. Inside he could see a table and two chairs across from each other, just like the setup in his room. “Wh-what is t’is?” Marvin asked, voice cracking slightly. “What are you goin’ t’do to me?!”

The guards remained silent. The one with the keycard pulled it out again, scanning it on a spot next to the glass door. There was a beep, and another guard reached forward to slide it open while the other two dragged Marvin into the room. They forcefully sat him down on one of the chairs and grabbed his arms, shoving his hands down on the table. There was a pair of handcuffs attached to the surface. “H-hey, let’s—” he started to say, but while he was talking the guards already snapped the manacles onto his wrists. They were cold and tight. He tested the strength of them, but of course he wasn’t nearly strong enough to break the chain.

And then the guards left. But Marvin could see them still hovering around outside through the glass wall. No doubt doing their job and guarding him. But... there was no one else in sight. Nobody was here to observe whatever test was going to happen. There wasn’t even a camera in the room.

 Marvin could only sit there and wonder.

———————

Anti had wondered when his sitting under the camera would draw attention. Well, it turned out, it didn’t take long. Or maybe the guards walking into the room were coincidental. Either way, he sat up straight when they appeared. “Subject, why are you sitting in the corner?” One asked.

“Trying to avoid you all staring at me,” Anti grumbled.

The three guards in the room exchanged glances. Then two of them walked forward and unceremoniously grabbed Anti, yanking him upwards. He growled, but fought the urge to struggle. He was trying to play nice to get on IRIS’s good side, wasn’t he? But it was hard to just stay quiet and let the guards manhandle him down the hallway.

They took him to the same room as last time, but now the setup was different. Instead of the U-shape of desks and that weird stone tablet in the center, there were about four loose desks all set up around a central chair with straps. Now that—that he couldn’t just go quietly into, as panic immediately kicked his fight or flight instinct into gear. Anti tried to struggle, pulling against the grip of the guards. And—he actually managed to pull an arm free! He wasn’t about to question it! He punched the other guard in the face and bolted forward.

But then—

Something pierced his side and a jolt of pain spread outwards from that spot. Anti screamed, recognizing the feeling. A taser! No! He had to—get away! 

He threw himself forward, but only managed to crash into one of the desks, jittering on the floor aimlessly. Some junk from the desk fell to the ground around him. A few pens, a set of keys, some paperclips, and... one of those L-shaped bits of metal, what were they called? An allen wrench.

As the pain from the shock faded, and the guards bent down to grab Anti, an idea hit him. He scrambled forwards, pretending that he was trying to get away from the guards, but while he was moving he put his hand on top of the allen wrench and quickly curled his fingers around it. Maybe this was the tool he needed! It’d be better than trying to mess with the camera with his bare hands, at least. 

The guards grabbed him, hoisting him up and pulling him towards the chair with straps in the center of the room. And that’s when Anti realized he couldn’t just hold the wrench in his hand the whole time. They’d notice it! And he could let go of it and lose it easily!  His mind scrambled for a solution to this, and the answer it reached might’ve been less than ideal. Anti pulled his arm free again and ducked his head, pretending like he was gearing up for a big escape attempt—but actually shoved the wrench in his mouth.

Smack! One of the guards hit him in the side of the head. Anti cried out—but managed to keep the wrench hidden, partially beneath his tongue. Good. Good, that’s... all he needed. He could slump into the chair now. He didn’t even have the energy to bristle indignantly when the guards pulled the straps across his wrists and chest.

He leaned back, breathing slowly. Okay. He just needed to make it through whatever they had planned for him. He saw a door on the side of the room open and some people in white coats walk in and over to the desks. One of them grumbled something and bent over, scooping up the junk that Anti had knocked over in his struggle. He waited, tense, but the scientist didn’t seem to notice the missing wrench. And neither did the guards or any of the other scientists. They were all busy starting out their test, flipping switches and pressing buttons on strange instruments sitting on the desks.

Anti closed his eyes. He didn’t want to know what they were doing. Even as a strange humming sound started up, he didn’t want to know. He just had to endure whatever was going to happen now.

———————

Marvin felt like he’d been waiting in the room for hours. He’d fiddled with the chains on the handcuffs repeatedly, but found there was no wiggle room at all. The metal cuffs were basically skin tight, and he hated them.

As time passed, more people showed up in the other, bigger room. Most of them were wearing white coats: more scientists. Many of them gave him constant glances, and some stared at him outright. He resolved to not look at them in turn... but his nerves about this whole situation meant his eyes kept wandering in that direction, locking onto their every movement, despite what he actually wished.

But then, while watching—

“Jackie!” Marvin gasped.

The elevator doors opened and Jackie walked out, escorted by more guards. He saw Marvin shortly after Marvin saw him, and stumbled in surprise. The two of them stared at each other. They hadn’t seen each other once since they’d been taken to IRIS.

Then the guards, frustrated, grabbed Jackie and started pulling him towards the room where Marvin was sitting. He quickly started walking again, keeping pace with the guards. They took him to the room where Marvin was sitting, scanning the keycard and opening the door, walking in with him. “Marvin, are you alright?” Jackie asked hurriedly. “You’re not hurt or anything are you?!”

“No, Jackie, I’m fine,” Marvin reassured him. “I-I haven’t seen any of you, other t’an Anti. Are you alrigh’?”

“You saw Anti?” Jackie repeated. “I-I did too, for a moment, we both got moved to different rooms.”

“Yeah I heard t’at happenin’ nearby.”

“Dr. Parker, sit down,” said one of the guards.

Jackie glanced at them uneasily, but reluctantly sat down in the chair on the other side of the table. The guards picked up a second pair of handcuffs and chained him down as well. “I’m... fine by the way,” Jackie said quietly. “Just been stuck in a room for days. When did you see Anti?”

Marvin leaned forward. “T’ese bastards did somet’ing to us.” He explained the experiment as quickly as he could. While he did that, the guards retreated from the room, leaving just the two of them inside. Scientists in white coats wandered over, staring at the two of them through the window, holding clipboards and electronic tablets.

Jackie shivered. “That’s terrible.”

“I-I still don’ know why they did it,” Marvin said quietly.

“I’m guessing that weird tablet was somehow similar to Distorter,” Jackie said. “Or... the house on Aspen Street. They wanted to see how you’d react to something similar, since you a-and Anti were most... affected by Distorter.”

“Most affected?! You got trapped in there for nine focking months!”

Jackie smiled darkly. “Yeah... but that was a while ago, compared to you two.”

Marvin nodded. “I s’ppose... w-well, anyt’ing else you have to share?”

“I saw that this is the top floor of five, so our cells are probably on the ground to third floor,” Jackie said. “Or there might be a basement, but I doubt that we’re on that floor. That might be where Volt and JJ are, though.”

“Okay... so—”

A screeching sound filled the room. Jackie winced, and Marvin cried out and tried to cover his ears, but his arms couldn’t move that far while chained to the table. What was that? Some sort of... feedback?

“Hello Dr. Parker,” a voice said from an intercom.

Jackie started. “Daniel?”

“You know t’at voice?” Marvin asked, surprised.

“K-kinda, vaguely,” Jackie said. “From when I was uh... employed here. We talked a couple times.”

“Enough times t’be on a first-name basis?”

“Dr. Parker, IRIS is very disappointed in you,” Daniel continued. “We had offered you a way to help everyone, but you rejected it, lying to our faces.”

Jackie stiffened. “Shiiiit.”

“Huh? What?” Marvin looked around. The scientists on the other side of the glass walls gave no acknowledgement to them. But they had to hear what was happening, right? This glass didn’t seem soundproof.

“During our talk this morning, you denied all knowledge of the anomalous cards found on Mr. Moore’s person. But this was clearly a falsehood.”

“They asked you about my cards?!” Marvin gasped.

“IRIS is very disappointed,” Daniel repeated. “You could have helped us in so much.”

“V-vague promises of help aren’t enough to sway me,” Jackie said nervously.

Part of the ceiling lowered, a circular glass tube. Inside of it was—

“My cards!” Marvin gasped. He stood up and reached for them, but they remained above his head, well out of reach of his chained hand

“The room you’re in is currently being monitored for signs of any anomalies,” Daniel said. “If something strange happens, we will know. And if it’s something dangerous, we have the ability to stop it.” The bottom of the glass tube slid open and the cards fluttered down to the table—luckily none of them fell off the table and all landed on the surface. “You two are going to show some examples of how these cards work.”

Marvin blinked. “Um... well, we... we don’ exactly know...” It wasn’t a lie, was it? The cards had almost infinite possible ways they could be arranged, and he didn’t remember most of them.

“Then you will figure it out,” Daniel said calmly. 

Jackie pulled at the handcuffs attaching him to the table. He looked at Marvin. “Um... sorry,” he said.

“Sorry?”

“I shouldn’t have said anything about the cards at all, but I—I thought—I-I don’t know what I thought, I guess I just... maybe they would leave us alone? I-I don’t know. I didn’t want to say anything but I thought they wouldn’t leave me alone... but I should’ve known they would find out I was hiding something.”

“What? Are you sayin’ t’is wouldn’ be happenin’ if ye kept your mouth shut?” Marvin gestured at the room around them. “Pretty sure it would happen anyway.”

“...still.” Jackie shook his head. “I don’t know. I can’t help but feel like I fucked something up.”

Marvin laughed. “Honestly, it’s possible ye jus’ got yourself in trouble wit’ t’at.”

“...yeaaah.” Jackie pursed his lips. “Well, uh... are we going to do what they asked? Figure out what your cards do?”

Marvin glanced at the scientists. They were poised to take notes. “Well... what happens if we don’?”

At that moment, both sets of cuffs started glowing white. Pain jolted up Marvin’s wrists and he shouted out. Jackie also let out a short scream.

“The less you cooperate, the higher intensity the electric shocks will be,” Daniel said calmly.

“Wh-what the fuck?” Jackie gasped. “Just—j-just completely dropping the pretense, are we? I’m not g-going to help or join any company that shocks people into compliance!”

“If either of you try anything, the other will also be shocked in turn,” Daniel continued.

“F-fun,” Marvin commented. “T’at’s probably why you’re here, Jackie. Leverage.”

“Fun,” Jackie repeated, going pale. “So... now what?”

“We coul’ continue to resist, if we wanted,” Marvin said. “But... I-I don’ know how long we could hold out. Maybe we coul’ just... try... messing wit’ the cards? Maybe we’ll find somet’ing helpful.”

Jackie nodded slowly. He looked down at the cards and took a deep breath. “Alright.” He started flipping the cards over so they were all face-down, the runes on their backs visible. “But you know they’re watching us.” He jerked his head to the side, towards the glass door. “Anything we know, they’ll know.”

Marvin nodded slowly. “But... what else can we do righ’ now?”

“I-I don’t... know...” Jackie sighed. “I’m not... good in these sorts of situations... I-I’m not a fighter like Anti, or Schneep, or even you.”

“I’m flattered t’at you t’ink I’m a fighter,” Marvin said. He also began sorting out the cards, recognizing each rune and recalling what they do. Idly, he started looking for ways they could match up. 

“You are.” Jackie nodded. “You have this fire in you that I just don’t have.”

“You have a fire too, Jackie. I don’ t’ink anyone will blame you for not puttin’ it towards fightin’ t’ese guys. We’re jus’ normal people, you know. We’re jus’... doin’ our best to endure t’is. Like we have been for so long.”

Jackie didn’t reply right away. The two of them started making patterns with the cards. None of them seemed to do anything. There were a couple that gave off a few flashes of light, causing the two of them to tense and the scientists outside to lean closer with their clipboards, but there were no obvious effects. “...I’m tired, Marvin,” Jackie whispered. “I feel like I’m losing my mind, I want to do something, but at the same time, I’m so tired.”

Marvin nodded. “I’m tired, too. It can’ have been too long in here, but I’m tired. I t’ink we’re not meant to be in a constant state of ‘desperate to escape’.”

Jackie laughed. “No, no we’re not.”

“But we can’ give up, y’know,” Marvin continued. “We have people outside waitin’ for us. No matter how distant they feel righ’ now.” He pushed some more cards into place. “We have to keep goin’, for them, and for Jems, Anti, Schneep—for all of—”

Everything turned fuzzy.

Marvin blinked. Did something get in his eye...? He reached up to rub his eyes... and realized something. He wasn’t fuzzy. His body was totally clear. It was just the world around him that was strangely out of focus. This realization was followed by the subsequent realization that he had somehow slipped out of the handcuffs. “Jackie!” he gasped. “I’m out!” He shot to his feet.

Jackie didn’t move. Jackie didn’t look up. And the scientists outside the glass door didn’t react, either. Marvin blinked. He walked over towards the glass wall. One of the scientists was pulling a strange facial expression, like they were in the middle of a sneeze. Was that... exactly what was happening? Did time freeze around him?

Marvin looked back at the cards on the table. He hadn’t been going for any specific pattern. It looked like several of them had been pushed into a vague circle. He leaned closer, trying to remember what runes were on the back—

But then suddenly he was back in the chair, cuffs around his wrists again. He gasped as the world became clear again.

Jackie’s head snapped up. “Marvin?! Are you okay?!”

“I-I’m fine, I—” Marvin looked around. What was that? He looked down at the cards again...wait a minute. Those were new. Or, not new, but they weren’t there before. The joker cards.

Jackie followed his gaze. “Oh!” He started. “What’re those ones? With the spiral runes?”

“T’ose are the joker cards,” Marvin explained. “But... what’re they doin’ here? They were in some separate room before...”

“Huh?”

“Oh, I tried to escape and found them t’ere,” Marvin explained. “Doin’ t’is weird ‘swirling around each other’ t’ing. Why are they here now?”

Suddenly, the glass door slid open and guards rushed in, surrounding the two of them. Marvin yelped in surprise as they grabbed him and pulled him away from the cards, causing the cuffs to dig into his skin as they yanked his arms forward. “Hey, what?!” Jackie shouted as they did the same to him. Two guards stepped forward and unlocked the handcuffs, then a couple more pulled their arms back.

“J-Jackie!” Marvin shouted as the guards dragged him out of the room. “Jackie!”

“Marvin!” Jackie struggled against the guards holding him back. “D-don’t panic! You—you must’ve done something! Th-that could be good!” The glass door slid closed, separating them, but Marvin could still hear Jackie shouting. “Just hang on! We’ll get through this together!”

“Y-yeah!” Marvin nodded, trying to dig in his heels. He could hear some of the scientists muttering something. What were they talking about? Something about something synchronizing? The “feed” from some sort of camera? Were they monitoring something else at the same time as they were watching Marvin and Jackie. “I’ll see you again, Jackie! I promise!”

“I’ll see you!” Jackie shouted.

Then the guards dragged Marvin into the elevator and the doors slid shut.

[mya-blazing]

“GameHouse Original Stories Color Wheel Challenge”

Finally, after a year of working on this I’ve finished it. So when exactly did I start this? I started this around June 2023. So you’re probably asking why this took so long? During June up to August was my summer break and that gave me so much time to make Lily, Sally, Tracy, and Emily. But then I was on vacation for a few days, delaying my work on Amy. Then school started, and I didn’t have much time to work on this to the point where I forgot about this. During September, I changed my art style but for this challenge I decided to stick to the old art style here in Procreate because it would look weird if I mixed my old art style with my new one. When 2024 started, I decided to come back to this art but this time it took even longer to make the other characters due to my school works and my loss of motivation for this challenge. However, I still decided to keep my words and finish this, and I did. The characters were decided with IG, and the Snuggford Stories FB group.

❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🩷

Games/Series:

Parker & Lane

Sally’s Salon

Detective Jackie

Delicious Emily

Dr. Cares

Amber’s Airline

Fabulous Angela

Characters:

❤️- Lily Parker (Parker & Lane)

🧡- Sally Milligan (Sally’s Salon)

💛- Tracy (Detective Jackie)

💚- Emily O’Malley (Delicious Emily)

🩵- Amy Cares (Dr. Cares)

💙- Amber Hope (Amber’s Airline)

💜- Brigid (Delicious Emily)

🩷- Angela Napoli (Fabulous Angela)

[peach-and-bugs]

Masterlist

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

characters that I write for are organized in alphabetical order by fandom and by name. links will lead to my complete list of posted work for said character:

willing to write for characters: romantically (➵ ) platonically (✸) or nsfw (✧)

Character Alphabets (sfw ✸ & nsfw ✧)

Ask Box Headcanons and Blurbes

Agents of shield

Bobbi Morse ✸ ➵ ✧

Daisy Johnson/Quake ✸ ➵ ✧

Jemma Simmons ✸ ➵ ✧

Jiaying ✸ ➵ ✧

Leo Fitz ✸ ➵

Malinda May ✸ ➵ ✧

Phil Coulson ✸ ➵

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina 

Hilda Spellman ✸ ➵ ✧

Madam Satan/Lilith ✸ ➵ ✧

Sabrina Spellman ✸ ➵

Zelda Spellman ✸ ➵ ✧

Doctor Who

Amy Pond ✸ ➵ ✧

Bill Pots ✸ ➵

Clara/Clara Oswald/Oswin ✸ ➵ ✧

Eleven/Smith!Doctor ✸ ➵

Jack Harkness ✸ ➵

Missy/Gomez!Master ✸ ➵ ✧

River Song/Melody Pond ✸ ➵ ✧

Simm!Master ✸ ➵

Thirteen/Whittaker!Doctor ✸ ➵ ✧

Twelve/Capaldi!Doctor ✸ ➵

Five Nights at Freddy (movie)

romantic (➵) platonic (✸) nsfw (✧)

Mike Schmidt ➵ ✸

William Afton ➵ ✸

Vanessa Shelly/Afton ➵ ✸ ✧

Killing Eve 

Eve Polastrí ✸ ➵ ✧

Villanelle ✸ ➵ ✧

The Legend Of Korra

Asami Sato ✸ ➵ ✧

Bolin ✸ ➵

Bumi ✸ ➵

Izumi ✸ ➵ ✧

Korra ✸ ➵ ✧

Kuvira ✸ ➵ ✧

Kya ✸ ➵ ✧

Kyoshi ✸ ➵ ✧

Lin Beifong ✸ ➵ ✧

Mako ✸ ➵

Opal ✸ ➵

Tenzin ✸ ➵

The Last Of Us (Games)

Abby Anderson ✸ ➵ ✧

Dina ✸ ➵ ✧

Ellie Williams ✸ ➵ ✧

Joel Miller ✸ ➵

Tommy Miller ✸ ➵

Marvel 

Agatha Harkness ✸ ➵ ✧

Bucky Barns/Winter Soldier ✸ ➵

Bruce Banner ✸ ➵

Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel ✸ ➵ ✧

Darcy Lewis ✸ ➵ ✧

Drax ✸ ➵

Gamora ✸ ➵ ✧

Hela Odendottir ✸ ➵ ✧

Hope van Dyne/Wasp ✸ ➵ ✧

Jane Foster/Mighty Thor ✸ ➵ ✧

Kate Bishop ✸ ➵ ✧

Layla El-Faouly/Scarlet Scarab ✸ ➵ ✧

May Parker ✸ ➵ ✧

Mantis ✸ ➵ ✧

Maria hill ✸ ➵ ✧

Monica Ranbough ✸ ➵ ✧

Natasha Romanov/Black Widow ✸ ➵ ✧

Nebula ✸ ➵ ✧

Okoye ✸ ➵ ✧

Peggy Carter/Captain Carter ✸ ➵ ✧

Peter Parker/Spider-Man ✸ ➵

Sam Wilson/Falcon/Captain America ✸ ➵

Scott Lang/Ant-man ✸ ➵

Sharon Carter/Powerbroker ✸ ➵ ✧

Sylvie Laufeydottir ✸ ➵ ✧

Thor Odenson ✸ ➵

Valkyrie ✸ ➵ ✧

Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch ✸ ➵ ✧

Yelena Belova ✸ ➵ ✧

Parks and Recreation 

Ann Perkins ✸ ➵ ✧

April Ludgate ✸ ➵ ✧

Donna Meagle ✸ ➵ ✧

Jennifer Barkley ✸ ➵ ✧

Leslie Knope ✸ ➵ ✧

Star Wars 

Ahsoka ✸ ➵ ✧

Captain Phasma ✸ ➵ ✧

Finn/FN-2187 ✸ ➵

General Hux ✸ ➵

Han Solo ✸ ➵

Leia Organa ✸ ➵ ✧

Luke Skywalker ✸ ➵

Padmé Amidala ✸ ➵ ✧

Rey ✸ ➵ ✧

Rose ✸ ➵ ✧

Stranger things  

Argyle ✸ ➵

Chrissy Cunningham✸ ➵

Dustin Henderson ✸ ➵

Eddie Munson ✸ ➵

El/Eleven/Jane ✸ ➵

Erica Sinclair ✸

Jim Hopper ✸ ➵

Johnathan Byers ✸ ➵

Joyce Byers ✸ ➵ ✧

Karen Wheeler ✸ ➵ ✧

Lucas Sinclair ✸ ➵

Max Mayfield ✸ ➵

Murray Bauman ✸ ➵

Nancy Wheeler ✸ ➵ ✧

Steve Harrington ✸ ➵

Will Byers ✸ ➵

misc.

Alma LeFay Peregrine (mrs peregrine's home of peculiar children)✸ ➵ ✧

Elizabeth Corday (ER) ✸ ➵ ✧

Lady Alcina Dimitrescu (RE:V) ✸ ➵ ✧

Laura DeMille/Madame Rouge (Doom Patrol) ✸ ➵ ✧

Lily Lebowski (Crossing Jordan) ✸ ➵ ✧

Marilyn Thornhill/Laurel Gates (Wednesday) ✸ ➵ ✧

Millie Rusk/MolotovGirl (Free Guy) ✸ ➵ ✧

Miranda Croft (The Flight Attendant)✸ ➵ ✧

Dr. Olivia Octaviouse (Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse)✸ ➵ ✧

Yellowjackets

Jackie Tayler (1996) ✸ ➵

Laura Lee (1996) ✸ ➵

Lottie Mattews (1996/2021) ✸ ➵ ✧

Misty Quigley (1996/2021) ✸ ➵ ✧

"Nat" Natalie Scatorccio (1996/2021) ✸ ➵ ✧

Shauna Sadecki (1996/2021) ✸ ➵ ✧

Taissa Turner (1996/2021) ✸ ➵ ✧

Travis Martinez (1996/2021) ✸ ➵

"Van" Vanessa Palmer (1996/2021) ✸ ➵ ✧

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌸 Books for AAPI Month

❤️ Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with this list featuring some of the FEW empowering, vibrant stories written by AAPI authors or starring AAPI protagonists.

🌸 What books did you read for AAPI month?

✨ 2024 Releases ❤️ Night for Day - Roselle Lim 🌸 The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years - Shubnum Khan 🏮The Great Reclamation - Rachel Heng ❤️ Lies and Weddings - Kevin Kwan 🌸 Valley Verified - Kyla Zhao 🏮 The Catch - Amy Lea ❤️ Your Utopia - Bora Chung 🌸 Tehrangeles - Porochista Khakpour 🏮 Horse Barbie - Geena Rocero ❤️ Memory Piece - Lisa Ko 🌸 The Fetishist - Katherine Min 🏮 Real Americans - Rachel Khong ❤️ The Kamogawa Food Detectives - Hisashi Kashiwai 🌸 Manila Takes Manhattan - Carla de Guzman 🏮 The Last Phi Hunter - Salinee Goldenberg and Ilya Nazarov ❤️ May the Best Player Win - Kyla Zhao 🌸 Are You Nobody Too? - Tina Cane 🏮 The Design of Us - Sajni Patel ❤️ Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop - Hwang Bo-Reum 🌸 Heir - Sabaa Tahir 🏮 Maya's Laws of Love - Alina Khawaj ❤️ Midnights with You - Clare Osongco 🌸 Vilest Things - Chloe Gong 🏮 This Place is Magic - Irene Te ❤️ Guilt and Ginataan - Mia P. Manansal 🌸 Icon and Inferno - Marie Lu 🏮 Calling of Light - Lori M. Lee ❤️ Bite Me, Royce Taslim - Lauren Ho 🌸 Rules for Rule Breaking - Talia Tucker 🏮 What's Eating Jackie Oh? - Patricia Park ❤️ How to End a Love Story - Yulin Kuang 🌸 Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White - Amélie Wen Zhao 🏮 This Is How You Fall in Love - Anika Hussain ❤️ Just Playing House - Farah Heron 🌸 The Boyfriend Wish - Swati Teerdhala 🏮 A Tempest of Tea - Hafsah Faizal

✨ Romance ❤️ Dating Dr. Dil - Nisha Sharma 🌸 King of Wrath - Ana Huang 🏮 The Kiss Quotient - Helen Hoang ❤️ Girl Gone Viral - Alisha Rai 🌸 Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors - Sonali Dev 🏮 Role Playing - Cathy Yardley ❤️ The Hurricane Wars - Thea Guanzon 🌸 Ayesha at Last - Uzma Jalaluddin

✨ Fantasy ❤️ She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan 🌸 Babel - R.F. Kuang 🏮 Daughter of the Moon Goddess - Sue Lynn Tan ❤️ The Deep Sky - Yume Kitasei 🌸 The Jasmine Throne - Tasha Suri 🏮 Kaikeyi - Vaishnavi Patel ❤️ Light from Uncommon Stars - Ryka Aoki 🌸 Klara and the Sun - Kazuo Ishiguro

✨ Mystery ❤️ Arsenic and Adobo - Mia P. Manansala 🌸 Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers - Jesse Q. Sutanto 🏮 The Cartographers - Peng Shepherd ❤️ Miracle Creek - Angie Kim 🌸 A Disappearance in Fiji - Nilima Rao 🏮 The Leftover Woman - Jean Kwok ❤️ The Widows of Malabar Hill - Sujata Massey 🌸 Things We Do in the Dark - Jennifer Hillier

✨ Young Adult ❤️ The Wrath and the Dawn - Renée Ahdieh 🌸 All My Rage - Sabaa Tahir 🏮 Forget Me Not - Alyson Derrick ❤️ Hani and Ishu’s Guide to Fake Dating - Adiba Jaigirdar 🌸 These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong 🏮 This Book Won't Burn - Samira Ahmed ❤️ American Betiya - Anuradha D. Rajurkar 🌸 Dragonfruit - Makiia Lucier

[cartoonfanaticmonsterrobotalien]

Mighty Solars Heroes and Villains (Last Post of Mine Before Someone Takes my Mental)

Korvo Solar-Opposites/Quasarblast: Invisibility and Super Shlorpian

Terry Solar-Opposites/Mighton: Super Strength and Mundane

Yumyulack Solar-Opposites/Vil-Gil-An-T: Laser Eyes, Weaponry and Super Shlorpian

Jesse Solar-Opposites/Fung-irl: Shlorpian Fungus and Flower powers and Mundane

Pupa Solar-Opposites/The Mighty Pupa: Telekinesis

Stacy G/Spikerella: Body armor and shooting spikes

Sonya Solar-Opposites/Nighthowler: Elasticity

Phoebe MacCarthy/Starburst: Wonder Woman-like powers and super lasso

Monica Miller/Lightspeed: Super Speed

Janiz Solar-Opposites/Ms. Quasar: Changing colors and super shlorpian transformation

JK-7/Mighty Robo: Super Robotic Powers

Kimber/Crushed Skull: Bone Bending and Mega Angel Shlorpian transformation

AISHA Solar-Opposites/Lady Camo: Shapeshifting and ultra cyber super shlorpian transformation

Lili Solar-Opposites/Mighty Baby: Super Cries

EVA/Syren Songstress: Superpowered Singing Voice

MAX/The Speedster: Super Speed

Evil Terry Solar-Opposites/Shifter: Just like the powers as Inque from Batman: Beyond and Venom combined into strength and Mundane

Parker/Venus Tip: Her powers are like Pidge from Voltron: Legendary Defender

Ms. Frankie/Night Saw: Wolverine claws

Principal Cooke/Trailblazer: Lightning dash

Cherie/Shining Light: Super stealth

Montez/Detroit: Electricity

Pezlie/Jessie-us: Super sonic cries

Nova/Heartstar: Super Empathy

Ms. Perez/Core Burn: Sun powers

Mia/Navigator: X-ray Vision

Kevin/Balanight: Tron powers

Sherbet/Fizziepop: Sweets Powers

Jamie Quilbard/Firewall: Fire Powers

Darcy Quilbard/Sonar Woman: Star Powers

Angela/Tsunami: Water powers

Mark Melner/Laserblast: Shooting lasers from hands

Sister Laffy/Zaffy Taffy: Sweet Bombs

Sister Hershey/Atomic Blossom: Glowing Powers

Bobby/Lightning Rod: Lightning Powers

Tracy/Firefly: Like Katie Power/Energizer from Power Pack comics

Abby/Ultraviolet: Rainbow powers

Owen/Bubbley Blue: Bubbles

Holly/Lil Butterfly: Ultraviolet and Butterfly powers *I found out Holly is Trevor’s daughter in the show, who also appears in the “Stock-a-Verse Ray” and “The Educational Sprinkler Device”, which makes her Shauna’s step-daughter and Stacy G’s step-sister*

Benedog Cumberwolf/Mighty Puppy: Like Underdog ‘07 *He’s Kevin’s new puppy from the pet Deenosuar Solar Opposites episode*

Randall/Blackhole: Voodoo magic

Travis/Bloom Surfer: Slime Powers

Avery/Diamenroto: Diamond Powers

Cheery Smithers/Bloody Sympathy: Blood Bending

Janice/Teleport Woman: Teleportation and flight

Jackie Quilbard/Thunderella: Thunderstorm powers

Pim/Soarin’: Flying powers

Jam/Razzle Dazzle: Star powers.

Keith/Behemoth: Strength and Rage Mode

Ringo/Orb Lord: Spirit Ball Powers

Theo/Techrat: Holo Powers *he is the Wallian who used to help Stephen from “Terry and Korvo Steal a Bear”

Shauna/Magma: Oozing molten green lava powers

Trevor/Slimar: Turned into walking blue goo that sprays baddies with goo.

Alice/Black Moon: Like Silk from Spider-Verse

Dr. Weathertsone/Blizzard: Ice powers

Naomi/Black Mamba: Shooting slithering webs

Glen “Dodge Charger”/Silver Knight: Heroic Silver Powers

Zylenol “Zy”/Lightning Wing: Neon Electricity Powers

Gragger/Sticky Squid: Goo Powers

Skunt/Zamboni: Spinning Ball Powers

Fivo the Ferret Halo/Ice Beast: Blizzard powers

Ruben the Rabbit Halo/Thunder Rabbit: Cyber Thunder Powers

Croaker the Toad Halo/Screaming Toad: Screaming powers

Rita the Rat Halo/Speed Rat: Technology Powers

Shelly the Turtle Halo/Shellshock: Speed Powers

Piper/Sunburn: Star Powers

Tomblr/Turbo Rider: Like the Silver Surfer but different

Sofia/Furiosa: Cosmic Fireball Powers and Speed

Gavin/Lone Defender: Strength and Cowboy-Based Powers

Hedgie/Blazing Hedgehog: Super Speed

AXL/Virus: Super virus powers *He is a new green AI OC Evil Terry created when he first appeared on Earth*

Oscar/La Vulture: Undead Reaper powers *He is Sofia’s Uncle, who was brought back to life thanks to Dodge Charger*

BO/Bonzai: An orange AI assistant Kimber made and EVA’s crush; machete powers

LOU/Bounceball: A yellow baby AI assistant Korvo built for Pupa, Lili and JK-7 as a playmate; bouncing ball powers

Mighty Solars Villains

Darkness/Kano: A legendary sorcerer from the dark side of the moon who can turn people into his own shadow slaves and has been after Shlorpians for a long time. He was return to life as Kano, a mysterious fire bending vigilante until he was finally killed off for reals thanks to Cheery’s other half and late love interest, Naomi. He even manipulated Qourra into turning against her fellow people as an exchange for revenge for her mother.

Lá Smaragdus: A jewel-themed super villainess who was once a Latino tv star, until her salary was cut and she was fired from her show. Her powers are turning people into diamond statues and making minions out of rare gems.

Screech: A muscular super villain with the power of brutal strength that can tear apart objects and innocent people.

Platinum Belt: A manipulating spiritual cyborg controlling a superhero named Blue Belt, and is known to manipulate innocent bystanders by taunting them over their issues and fears and their flaws.

Temptra: A robot disguised as a gorgeous platinum southern-accent woman created by Platinum Belt to tempt people into their own temptations, which ended up failing badly when she suffers the wraith of Qausarblast.

Sun-Yi: An evil young ninja after an ancient artifact known as the Blue Heroin and is revealed to be Blue Belt’s rival.

Piedro Blobsmith: An obese mafia boss in charge of a dangerous alien slime food company that causes aliens, including Shlorpians to become morbidly obese and the size of blimps. His main victims are Korvo and Terry aka Qausarblast and Mighton.

El Minotaur: An evil warlord and nemesis to the Resistance who is after Earth-4 by building for fortress for when he kidnaps innocent bystanders so he can brainwash them into his soldiers.

Mindreader: A villain that tortures people through their minds and send them on weird bizarre trip in the Forbidden Zone.

Simon/Tarantula Boy: A super villain teenager with the powers of a tarantula that can turn into mindless zombie army.

Zahmara Python: A famous well-known evil bounty hunter alien woman who hunts down and kills innocent aliens.

Morlak: An evil sorceress who believes in the power of darkness and sees love and family as nothing. Her powers is to make people give into their own fears and turn them into monsters.

Spirala: A teenage villainess with the power to turn teenage girls into Lust-themed zombies and also turns teenage boys into her own love-blinded slaves.

Zeus: A crook that wants to drain people’s energy for his own powered machine that can make the world entirely dark.

Candy Bitch: A cute but evil and bratty super villain based on candy sweets that has candy-themed powers, including shooting Starburst Fruit Candy slime from her hands.

Rock Fraud: A former rockstar who lost their career after it was revealed that they were lip singing this whole time. They now have the power to steal people’s voices, so they can use it for evil purposes.

Moral Blade: An evil shadow woman with the power of turning people into their worst dark selves and turning them rebellious.

Dreamweaver: A robot that turns people away from real life and put them into their own fantasy worlds from their own dreams, or worse… nightmares!

Merissa: A rogue witch who wants revenge on the human witches of Earth-4 for kicking her out because of her jealousy over newcomers and for turning her son against her.

GeenaDavisTron 4000: A robot built to help struggling students as school, but then rebels and malfunctions into a war machine after labeling humans and the Solar Opposites imperfect beings.

Empress Ophelia Darkstar: An evil empress from the planet Emeralddon that hunts down aliens for their own life sources for her corrupted planet.

Impulse: A super villain with a huge amount of blood pressure that causes her to attack citizens with passive-aggressive behavior and is very dangerous to be around with when it comes to very strong emotions.

La River Bestia: The swamp monster of Earth-4’s Swamp Forest who is revealed to be a young deranged scientist turn into a monster by his own troubles.

Magnesium: A villain who turns out to be a former head of the Bowenian Church that is revealed to be Sister Sisto’s apprentice and is after Pezlie.

Macromanser: Once a famous wrestler woman named Alya Sparks, she is a now a monstrous strong woman bent on crushing people with her own savage strength.

Pinball Brat: A teenage super villain based on a pinball machine that traps people in her house size pinball machine and makes them play the game.

Madame Luna: A witch villainess that was a former meteorologist that has powers based on the moon.

The Rose Triplets: Madame Luna’s manipulative minions who are colored in different shades of rose and are good acrobats.

Qourra- A former water bender who goes rogue and tries to blood bend people for revenge on the death of her mother. Only for her to caused an Unwitting Instigator of Doom which led to the arrival of the Silver Spades.

The Silver Spades- A villainous team of dangerous silver-shaded multi-colored villains that blew up Earth and are actually apprentices and allies of the Silver Cops that are after the Solar Opposites once they heard about their arrival on Earth and later Earth-4. The members are Maverick, the silver-green leader who is determined to take down the Mighty Solars, Loo-Loo, the silver-yellow member with the power of dangerous lightning, Bullet, the silver-purple member with strength powers that rivals Mighton’s, Zelda, the silver-red member with the power of lava and Aqua, the silver-blue member with the powers of controlling water.

Carl Rockwell: A dangerous most wanted criminal that is going after the Mighty Solars’ allies.

Dr. Van Gurbin: A scientist that tested on steroids but was kicked out of his college for testing it on innocent people. Now he is gonna use Mighton’s strength for revenge.

Sister Sisto/Black Mirror: A returned foe from the Wall, who has been revived as a super villain of dark magic and mind control.

RUTH: An evil AI assistant who is red and AISHA’s evil counterpart created by Sister Sisto. *Her voice actor is also Eden Espinosa*

Anthony/Sand Beast: A rogue Wallian who develops the power of sand and moon sand, and has the ability to turn into a monster.

Lava Master: He was originally a teenage boy who is Mark’s former crush has gone rogue and became a villain that turns into a lava monster.

The Nega-Alexes: The Solars’ snobby neighbors from “The Educational Sprinkler Device” who became super villains after forming an alliance with the Silver Cops.

The Thunder Silvers: Lonesun, Glorgax, Ventrez and Pobo, who are now super villains after being exposed for framing Glenn by Quasarblast, Silver Knight and Lightning Wing.

Stephen/Beast Man: A rogue Wallian who now has the power to command dangerous carnivorous humanoid beast minions that were once humans.

I hope you love this post and yes. Glenn is redeemed in this one.

@avaveevo, @almar4121, @themagicwolf6677, all of my watchers, I hope you love this last post of mine.

Oh and by the way, I found out Louise’s real name in the show is Shauna when Korvo give her the McNugget Buddy collection, Kevin’s Wife’s name is actually Angela and their kids are names Abby and Owen. In this version, Sofia used to have a crush on Mia but moved on because she knows how much Ms. Perez means to Mia and is happy for them and now Sofia has feelings for someone else: Nova and Phoebe *it’s a polyship in my version*. Bobby is the boy with the large glasses in some of the Solar Opposites episodes and the one Sonya has a crush, Kieth is the Solars’ neighbor from the Season 2 finale and now AISHA’s love interest and Piper is one of the Wallian girls:

This is Piper:

Also, Skunt secretly has a crush on her after she saved his life. Oh and Glenn/Dodger Charger and Zy are dating now. I hope you love my new and last Mighty Solars post guys.

And here are Sister Laffy:

And Sister Hershey:

Oh and here are Tracy, Jackie and Bobby!

Tracy (the one one Yumyulack accidentally send his mound pic too and is revealed to be Pim’s daughter; Pim is revealed to be a widower. His first wife died when Tracy was a baby)

And Bobby (he is also revealed to be Jam’s son, Jam’s first husband died when Bobby was two)

And Jackie Quilbard (Oh and she is now Jamie and Darcy’s adoptive daughter because her parents went into rehab and lost custody of her)

And this is Holly

[sporadiceagleheart]

4th of July edit and tribute to angels and missing kids Sirita Jimmina “BooBoo” Sotelo, Emma Ochsner, Saffie-Rose Brenda Roussos, Lily Peters, Lucy Morgan, Star Hobson, Olivia Pratt Korbel, Elizabeth Shelley, Sara Sharif, Charlotte Figi, Jersey Dianne Bridgeman, Sidra Hassouna, Sloan Mattingly, Audrii Cunningham, Ava Jordan Wood, Skylar Annette Neese, Lily Rose Diaz, Riley Faith Steep, Angela Bugay, Madeleine McCann, Inga Gehricke, Summer Wells, Haleigh Cummings, Morgan Nick, Shirley Temple, Judy Garland, Judith Barsi, Heather O'Rourke, Caroline Previdi and Catherine Violet Hubbard, Louis XVII, Emily Grace Jones, Makenna Lee Elrod, Eliahna Torres, Maite Rodriguez, Jackie Cazares, Layla Salazar, JonBenèt Ramsey, Destiny Riekeberg, Johnny Cash, John Denver, Michael Jackson, Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder, Jack Albertson, Toby Keith, Bing Crosby, Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Seuss, Andre the Giant, Terry Funk, Bray Wyatt, Tristyn Bailey, Andy Griffith, Don Knotts, Lee Williams, Matthew Perry, Michael Gambon, Avicii, Young Dolph, Colonel Sanders, Fred Rogers, Christopher Plummer, Ed Asner, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Paul Newman, Madge Sinclair, Robert Guillaume, Emily Grace Navarra, Lois Janes, Rose Pizem, Gracie Perry Watson, Eybymia "Effie " Babanatsou, Lily, Katelyn Nicole Davis, God told Noah it's gonna rain, Ark, Serenity Gail Elmore, Ava Cole Nichols, Emilie Alice Parker, Bella Bond, Kaylee Jade Gonsalves and Madison and Rachel Joy Scott, Barney and friends, SpongeBob SquarePants, PAW Patrol, Annie, Uncle Sam, Lord Jesus Christ, Thomas Jefferson, Assassin's creed Brotherhood, come on sunshine let these wonderful fireworks down here happen today this is for all of the missing kids and angels in heaven right now get down here lord Let us Let you know what God told Noah it's gonna rain come on angels come on saffie rose has a birthday party up in heaven now she's happy with all of the support Aubreigh Wyatt case was sad about the court but this here is for saffie rose Roussos Y'all like that? Come on let's hear it for saffie rose now I got another edit after this one more time

[theighthhorcrux]

A Thousand Yards notes:

- It being Jackie’s 60th birthday made me google Paula Newsome, and she’s apparently 62 (how??!), also I could swear she was meant to be a few years younger than Vance (born in ‘63)

- I thought of Lee Wuan Kai when Vance collapsed- something about it seemed like her

- Air Force One!!! Our very first episode

- I love these recent seasons’ Curtis Hubley resurgence, and we got a ‘probie’ mention

- Jared’s agent behavior was very sweet

- Kasie got to namedrop the title!

- Sniper on a rooftop? Oof

- Morrow family crypt, Dr. Kate’s sister mention, Chucky(!) mention, and poor Fornell- his garage is his office (also Knight needs to brush up on her history)

- How hard would it have been to get a NOLA cast member?

- McGee putting his foot in his mouth! Also McDirector returns

- Vance looking to Parker for advice like he would Gibbs was just ❤️

- I appreciated Parker’s stance on billionaires- a nice change from ‘Left Unsaid’, using the name ‘Voss’ was a risky move, considering the plot of ‘Dead Man Talking’ (also the actor was in ‘One Shot, One Kill’)

- Somebody not being able to get into MTAC- fun times

- Jared being manipulated online? Come on, seriously?

- Bringing drinks to the lab- nice Abby reference

- They missed an opportunity for the Adams House

- Everybody giving Lindsey Wexler death stares was great

- Fornell and a couch? Hmm

- Well, the conspiracy theory about Jackie was right

- Rule 39! One of my favorites

- Camera-clicking in a ball cap and another Gibbs reference!

- Gaslit? Facepalm but a GREMLIN MENTION makes up for it

- His name was Leonard Rush, writers :/, also I knew Lindsey would be the daughter of someone from the early days, but I didn’t guess him

- Threat to Air Force One- full-circle moment!

- William Baer Jr. was a relatively-obscure reference, I approve

- Driving through the gates- a very Gibbs move, more approval

- They did a great job making Vance look younger, and we got a flashback montage right back to ‘Hung Out To Dry’, although I wish they’d included Reeves, Abby, and Jenny

- Bringing up how they never get credit omg

Overall, this was a great episode that took us right back to the beginning. Here’s to all those to come

[russnightlife]

For those who need it: a full list of every name in Toast of London. Credit here:

Full list of character names from the Toast of London Universe:

Steven Toast

Jane Plough

Ray Purchase

Kenton Schweppes

Ed Hauser Black

Goodhouse

Cliff Promise

Clem Fandango

Kikini Bamalam

Beezuz Fafoon

Susan Random

Jemima Gina

Kika Brite

Acker Herron

Greta Cargo

Royce Coolidge

Mr Fasili

Ellen Toast

Mick Carriage

Howard Bugawitz

Martin Aynuss

Senna Poddington

Ricky Seasack

Derek Sibling

Danny Bear

Portia De Coogan

Thomas Ledger

Strawberry Wrathbone

Lord Fotheringham

Toby Hopkinson-Finch

Blair Toast

Commander Scott Gorham

Russel House

Chris Bread

Roy Highnock

Sookie Houseboat

Brooke Hooberman

Yvonne Wryly

Kate Kahn

Hamilton Meathouse

Poshdong Mingemuncher

Nick Swivney

Wendy Nook

Linda Praise

Warren Organ

Thumper

Lola

Paige

Ruby

Norris Flipjack

Duncan Clench

Bob Fennison

Mr. Cockatip

Ken Suggestion

Penny Traitor

Dennis Thwaits

Betty Pimples

Axel Jacklin

Basil Jet

Parker Pipe

Kerry Hammersnag

Sterling Porridge

Max Gland

Lindy Makehouse

Colin Skittles

Jackie Paper

Honeysuckle

Francis Bacon

Lorna Wynde

Una Length

Rob Continental

Sue Pressure

Peggy Plywood

Scott Chesnut

Penvelope

Rupert Howser Black

Col. Gonville Toast

Clancy Moped

Vic Titball

Pookie Hook

Bob Monkhouse

Larry Muggins

Dennis Fog

Derek Bildings

Shane Fulorgy

Frank Zammer

Ormand Sacker

Varity Map

Bill Purchase

Tony Excalibur

Champion House

Cocker Boo

Michael Prance

Church Weaver

Heathcote Pursuit

Kay Tightneck

Iqbal Achieve

Basil Watchfair

Nan Slack

Peanut Whistle

Dick Weerdly

Sal Commotion

Giuseppe Race

Howard Blackcap

Daz Klondike

Kai

Sola Mirrornek

Sue Pepkins

Neil Doobla-Decca

Des Wigwam

Dr Harold Shitman

Les Tipi

Chris Marquee

Rob Scouthut

Russ Nightlife

Kenny Ethnic

Hercule Razamataz

Ray Sober

Romley Compton

Dwight Difference

Billy Tarzana

Nina Armenian

Edward Fox

Shepherd Jerbîl

Professor Map

Sonny Sam Disco

Weech Beacon

Liberty Jerbil

Ben Egyptian

Jennifyer Madraass

Snorky

Will Willis

Phyllis Willis

Carmen

Richard Chickentoss

Hoop Kaaak

Ms Wisehunt

Mrs Greenflash

Bellender Bojangles

Barney

Hayley

Blondie

Gypsy

Old Timer Bill

Wildcat Lil

Doc Brown

Rusty Halloween

Agent Saucepan

Sorry Johnson

Wallace

Kelsey Perfume

Frank Succession

Tycoon Lancaster

Jesus Bond

August Burdock

Clint Legal

Tony Fabrizio

Hawk Fahrenheit

Mews Frumpty

Frank Forfolk

Chelsea Bladdersby

Oswald Mosley

Kate Lethargy

Fancy Alexander

Dinky Critenbers

Pig Shovely

Billy Stylish

Sir Norman Brocktight

Basil Stillborn

Kimberly Banana

DI Leonard Chaffich

Una Stubbs

Surely Residue

Warren Organ

Hissy Oversight

Ms. Crawshaft

Merrody Ferrybank

Allan Chance

Doug Birka

Martin Shore

Lolly Badcock

Jill Quear

Vigo Typhoon

Danny Laroux

Cool Black

S’en hammerstad

Gerald Selfish

Peter Nose

David Geurring

Haneth khorishi

Baz Ravish

Enty Strepsils

Comma Dora Green

Vaginta Staples

Aalan Aadams

Harvey Motel

Peter Thatchelwaite

Ryslip Tyres Dot Com

Donald Suckling

Stuart Pringle

Susan Bench

Cliff Stalways

Billy Sprayman

Trevor McGuelish

Earnest Gangly

Sydney Shipton

Barry Bouffant

Drayton Curfew

Septum Crowbar

Dick Circus

Liz Pulp

Rob Darby

Vanessa Fence

Vince Kendal

Mac Darby

Sally Joint

Welk Ashby

Maggie Gail

David Hammod

Leo Seer

Kit Blackcheek

Jackie Kak

Howard Tissue

Albert Eichborn

Peter Swaff

Rob Bonnet

Perry Bluehouse

Lee Bacon

Connie Sheik

Cliff Bonanza

Rula Bingo

Oliver Whasson

Watkins Winchester

Warwick Kineer

Ruth Lingum

Adam Haalal

Lionel Harshmaker

Gary the Plumber

Royce

[andrewmoocow]

Little Homeworld Life chapter 26: Hostile Takeover (originally posted on June 19, 2023)

AN: It has all come to this. The end begins here. The final episode of Little Homeworld Life is here at last, and after that will be Steven Universe: Snake Eyes. It has been an honor delivering such consistent quality writing to this fandom, and I'll be damned if I don't enjoy doing it again one last time before I finally decide to move onto other stories I've left to dry for too long.

Synopsis: Connie returns home from college just as Black Rutile takes over Little Homeworld and holds the Crystal Gems captive. With their alien friends in danger, the people of Beach City decide to repay the Crystal Gems by joining together to save them from Black Rutile.

Cast:

Grace Rolek as Connie

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper, Skinny Jasper, Carnelian, Superfan Rose, Hippie Rose, Shy Rose, Cherry Quartz, Biggs Jasper

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Amy Sedaris as Teal Zircon

Martha Higerada as Topaz

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball, Doc, Navy, Leggy, Army

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Casey Lee Williams as Cat's Eye

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald, Chest Emerald

Melissa Fahn as Demantoid, Eyeball Demantoid

Kari Wahlgren as Pyrope

Jon Wurster as Marty

Shanelle Grey as Sally Grove

Larissa Gallagher as Bluebird Azurite

May Calamawy as Chrome Chalcedony

Susanne Blakeslee as Pietersite

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst, Famethyst, Tiger's Eye

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, Yellow Pearl, Blue Pearl, Volleyball, Black Pearl Brigade

Shelby Rabara as Peridot, Squaridot

Jennifer Paz as Lapis, Laz, Zuli, Phoenix Lapis

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Dee Bradley Baker as Lion, Concretes

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Matthew Moy as Lars, Dante

Kate Micucci as Sadie

Indya Moore as Shep

Enuka Okuma as Rhodonite

Kathleen Fisher as Fluorite

Ashly Burch as Rutile Twins

Erica Luttrell as Padparadscha Sapphire

Mary Elizabeth McGlynn as Priyanka

Crispin Freeman as Doug

Andrew Kishino as Kevin

Reagan Gomez Preston as Jenny, Kiki

Godfrey as Kofi

Zach Steel as Ronaldo

Brian Posehn as Sour Cream

Lamar Abrams as Buck Dewey

Colton Dunn as Mr. Smiley

Toks Olagundoye as Mayor Nanafua

Joel Hodgson as Bill Dewey

Eugene Cordero as Jamie

Atticus Shaffer as Peedee

Billy Merritt as Mr. Fryman

Kristin Chenoweth as Sheena Synstylae

Nancy Linari as Martha

Brian George as Mr. Frowney

Jackie Buscarino as Vidalia

Aparna Nancherla as Nephrite, Lemon Jade

Ian Jones Quartey as Snowflake Obsidian, Bixbite

Michelle Maryk as Larimar

Auli'i Cravalho as Orange Spodumene

Kimiko Glenn as Blue Chalcedony

Tara Platt as Heaven Cubic Zirconia, Earth Cubic Zirconia

Tara Strong as Grossular Diopside

Phillipa Soo as Chrysocolla

Anika Noni Rose as Watermelon Tourmaline (fusion), Watermelon Tourmaline

Aimee Carrero as Moonstone

Gal Gadot as Desert Glass

Willa Holland as Albite

Maddie Ziegler as Serpentine

Courtenay Taylor as Beryl

Sarah Jessica Parker as Dumortierite

Cavetown as Diaspore

Emily King as Kunzite

Alex Newell as Monazite

Alyson Hannigan as Lavenderine

Avi Roque as Cinnabar

Gina Torres as Andesine

Awkwafina as Kyanite

Allison Janney as Pyrite

Zehra Fazal as Zoisite

Lena Hall as Bloodstone

Jodie Whittaker as Xenotime

Idina Menzel as Amazonite

Halsey as Tanzanite

Mia Barron as Apatite

Sarah Stiles as Spinel

Christine Baranski as Hessonite

Olivia Olson as Citrine, Citrine Twins

Lin-Manuel Miranda as President Eduardo Suarez

Wendie Malick as Vice President Theresa Maxwell

GZA as Major General Wade Grant

Tim Curry as General Lloyd Waller

John Kassir as Reginald Johnson

Stephanie Beatriz as Arleen Suarez

Xolo Mariduena as Huey Suarez

Leslie Grace as Riley Suarez

Pierce Brosnan as Bane Jones

Hugh Jackman as Beckham Jordan

James Monroe Iglehart as Coach Matt Monroe

Karen Fukuhara as Makoto Fuji

Matthew Rhys as Dr. James Brenner

T-Pain as Sam Galley

Christoph Waltz as Francis von Bowling

Rob Paulsen as Mr. Shreds

David Kaye as Collar

Roger Craig Smith as Tank

Alex Hirsch as Lawrence Abrams

Zach Callison as Steven, Onion, Cactus Stevens, Topiary Stevens

Featuring Christopher McDonald as Carl Grove

And Betsy Sodaro as Maureen Grove

--

"It just feels so good to be bad." Black Rutile gloated to the Crystal Gems as she held them prisoner in a makeshift prison. Today had quite possibly been the best day she has ever had on Earth. Black Rutile had now converted multiple Gems to her coalition of rebels, whether by force or through coercion, her enemies were now hers to torment, and their precious Little Homeworld into her newest evil lair. "I haven't felt this utterly delighted to be victorious since the siege of Tweenis 12, I feel like singing! Maestro?"

Amazonite turned on a music player at her master's command, causing Black Rutile to sing a reprise of a familiar song. "Wither the rose! Growing shadows! Sow a world of chaos! Wither the rose! Only highs, no lows! In a world of chaos!"

"Is this really the time to be singing?" Pearl muttered as she tried to break free from her chains.

"Ha!" Black Rutile laughed in response before looking out at her various enforcers. "Come on minions, hurry along! Soon, Beach City will be gone! I could squeeze myself with glee, first the Diamonds and then this galaxy! I really stopped at nothing, gaslighting, terrorism, and lying!" she declared. "Whatever it takes to get revenge, you really can't blame me for trying."

Little Homeworld soon began hovering over Beach City, casting a dark shadow over a large portion of the town while the townies had no idea what was going on. Suddenly, the water holding the Gem village in the air began firing at the humans, making them scurry in fear as Black Rutile finished her song. "Wither the rose! Growing shadows! Sow a world of chaos! Wither the rose! Don't you doze!"

"This planet is basically ours!" Aquamarine sang along.

"We have control over its superpowers!" Eyeball added triumphantly.

"You are helpless to resist!" Holly Blue proclaimed.

"There's no way for you to persist!" Cat's Eye declared.

"Saying sorry just won't cut it!" Cinnabar boomed.

"This universe will be ours, bit by bit!" Andesine stated.

"You thought you could contain us," Black Rutile sang out in victory. "but you can no longer discuss!"

"Genocide, slaughtering, jingoism, in enemy blood, we shall wade!" the seven Gems joined together in harmony. "Rutile Rebels come celebrate, as we make these foolish Crystal Gems fade!" By the time the song ended, Black Rutile looked out at the destruction below her and began making a speech. "People of Beach City, do not look away!" she bellowed to the humans below. "You witness a Rutile's revival, and the birth of her new empire!"

"What do you want now, Black Rutile?!" Lars yelled from below.

"What I want is recognition!" Black Rutile responded. "As you can see, I have officially conquered Little Homeworld and taken the Crystal Gems as my prisoners. The means as to how it can fly can all be blamed on their dear friend, Lapis Lazuli." She looked over at Lapis, who was sitting on the Warp Pad with a blank look on her face. "Despite what the Crystal Gems believed, Little Homeworld was the aspiration of idiots and dreamers! A mere tool to indoctrinate poor, unfortunate Gems who were living lives free of their tyranny. But unfortunately for them, I am far smarter than the average Gem, so I continued planning my revenge for months on end, which leads me today." She then sent out her drones, ready to attack at any moment. "Either surrender to me at once or else your pathetic little town will go bye-bye! Bye-bye."

Down below, Jasper and White Topaz were watching the carnage the entire time, lying in wait for an opportunity to strike back at Black Rutile and save their friends. "So, any idea on how to stop her?" Jasper asked her girlfriend. "I mean, it's just a bunch of us Gems that she could convert at any moment with those Blasters."

"Well, one thing's for certain, Black Rutile has gone too far this time." White Topaz declared. "We kept giving her second chance after second chance, but she always used them to try and destroy us! I've had enough of this! Once we defeat her, she's going straight to Revanche 666 where she belongs!"

"Someone's got leftover issues they need resolving." Teal Zircon added as she popped up behind the two big Gems. "Okay, Topaz and I have spent the last few minutes coming up with a plan."

"If it involves doing something astronomically stupid, then I don't want in." Jasper stopped Teal before she could finish. "What makes you think you could come up with an intelligent plan?"

"Because outside of being the obnoxious but lovable comic relief, I am actually far more observant than you think I am." TZ declared. "Which is why I am 10,000,000,000% certain that my plan will work."

"I'd like to see you try." Jasper scoffed before White Topaz placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on honey, just hear her out." White Topaz suggested. Jasper knew she couldn't disappoint her lover, so she relented with a sigh.

"Okay, proceed." Jasper groaned and let Teal explain.

"I say instead of just saving the day ourselves, we team up with the humans to save the world from Black Rutile!" Teal declared proudly. "The people of Beach City have been around us long enough to know what to do in situations like this, and we've gained a few allies over the years to back us up."

"I get what you're saying now." Jasper nodded proudly. "Like him for example!" As if on cue, Dr. James Brenner walked up to the three Gems. "I found him falling to his doom when Black Rutile threw him out. He's her psychologist, ergo, he should know exactly what she's thinking!"

"You are indeed correct, Jasper." Brenner declared. "I have been forced to watch as Black Rutile's schemes took shape, hoping that maybe my advice would get through to her, but alas, my words fell on deaf ears. Perhaps joining forces with all of you can help me redeem myself for being so powerless to help her."

"Great, we have our first recruit!" Teal Zircon cheered while giving the psychologist a hearty slap on the back. "Okay guys, I'll go gather the troops! You two on the other hand will have to find a very special someone."

"Are you pondering what I'm pondering?" Jasper then asked White Topaz.

"I think so Jasp, but Pete Rose?" White Topaz replied oddly, making Jasper raise an eyebrow at such a non-sequitur. "I mean, can we trust him?"

"No, I think Teal means we should fetch Connie!" Jasper yelled. "You and I both know she's been throwing a wrench in Black Rutile's plans multiple times! Her first invasion of Earth, the Steven monster crisis, and the alternate universe business, all of them had Connie involved and she played some role in stopping them all! You see what I'm getting at here?"

"Yeah, I get it now!" White Topaz exclaimed. "To Connie's house!" Just as the two raced off, a small black spy drone was watching the pair and quickly began following them.

--

"Breaking news all the way from Beach City!" Lawrence Abrams announced on the news. "The alien terrorist Black Rutile is once again laying waste to Beach City, and at the same time, our beloved president has been subject to a violent uprising against legions of angry Arnold Clump supporters led by the alt-right Internet personality Reginald Johnson. Are these two events connected? We'll be back after the break with more updates."

"Sweet Manila in the claws of light." Doug Maheswaran gasped in shock as he and Connie watched Black Rutile's invasion on the news. "This is probably something Steven should take care of, right?"

"Hopefully he at least knows what's going on," Connie added as she prepared to reach for her phone, only to hear a knock on the door. "Can someone get that?"

"Don't worry Connie, I'll get it," Priyanka said to her daughter as she opened the door to find Jasper and White Topaz waiting for her outside. "Oh, you must be that Jasper and Topaz who tore apart Beach City."

"You are never going to let go of that." Jasper declared. "Anyways, we need to see your daughter. The world is in danger and we need everyone we can get to save it."

"Right here!" Connie exclaimed while she raced up to the front door with her sword at the ready. "Come on guys, the Crystal Gems need us!"

"Yeah, about that." White Topaz stated nervously. "They kind of broke up because Black Rutile exposed Bismuth for poofing Lapis and is now holding them all hostage at Little Homeworld. Plus, Lapis officially betrayed them to Black Rutile and is helping make Little Homeworld fly. You know what, I think I know of a way to explain this better."

White Topaz then turned her fingers into puppet versions of the Crystal Gems to further go in depth about their situation. "Hey, what's this I hear about Bismuth poofing me and setting me on this path of torment and betrayal?!" her imitation of Lapis complained. "Oh no, the jig is up!" an imitation of Bismuth exclaimed. "Okay, I did poof you, Lapis, but I didn't mean to!"

"Saying you didn't mean it won't save you from me!" the shadow puppet of Lapis yelled before lunging at Bismuth, only for Garnet and Pearl to stop her.

"Top thirty reasons why Bismuth is sorry." The puppet version of Pearl stated. "Number 5 will surprise you."

"Top thirty anime deaths," puppet Lapis continued. "number one: YOUR BUTT RIGHT NOW!"

"I'm just here to be supportive!" a shadow puppet of Amethyst said as she took Lapis and Peridot's side in the tussle, ending with White Topaz making "whoop whoop whoop" sounds as she started twiddling her fingers into a big clump. "And scene!"

"Okay, I'm going to need a refresher here." Priyanka said, shocked at the bizarreness of White Topaz's show. "What does this all mean?"

"Look, the point is that Teal Zircon and all the Gems Black Rutile didn't convert are gathering everyone in Beach City to fight back against Black Rutile, and we believe Connie is the best possible candidate to lead them all." Jasper explained in brief. "If anyone else wishes to join, you're free to come along."

"But what about Steven?" Connie asked. "Surely he'd know what to do in this situation." Suddenly, the tracking drone from earlier emerged from Jasper's hair, making her and White Topaz wonder if it was following them the whole time, and dropped into Connie's hands to deliver a message from Black Rutile.

"Ah, Connie Meka-Leka-Hi-Meka-Hiney-Ho-Swanson, we meet again." The hologram of Black Rutile smirked at her message's intended recipient. "If you are seeing this message, then you're already well aware of my latest revenge scheme and how frequently you've been playing a part in my constant failures. I would kill you and your parents right here and now, but I believe that would be too easy." The very thought of being killed by such a madman unnerved the Maheswarans. "Which is I offer you this challenge! Meet me at the flying Little Homeworld in ninety minutes to face me for the fate of your wretched world, and bring company too. And for an extra challenge, Steven must not get involved in the slightest. Lose, I will kill each and every single one of you. Win?" She let out an evil chuckle. "The only winner will be me, no matter what. Allons-y!"

The drone then shut down and crumbled to pieces of metal in Connie's hand. Despite the threat to her life, it only made her more determined. "Take us to Beach City."

--

Later at Beach City, Teal Zircon was true to her word and had assembled the entirety of its citizens and then some to discuss their plans to stop Black Rutile. Along with all the Gems that escaped Black Rutile's earlier assault, there was the Barriga family and the Off-Colors, Sadie & Shep, the former Cool Kids, the Pizza and Fryman families, Mr. Smiley and Mr. Frowney, Jamie, Kevin, Onion and his friends, Vidalia, Yellowtail, and Sheena Synstylae. In addition, Teal had also managed to get into contact with Bane Jones, Beckham Jordan, Matt Monroe, Makoto Fuji, and Sam Galley. Now, all that was left was Connie and her parents to make their makeshift army complete.

"My my Teal Zircon, you assembled quite an assortment of characters here." Brenner nodded at all the humans and Gems gathered together to stop Black Rutile. "But do you think this will be enough to stop her?"

"Oh, I know so!" Teal yelled excitedly. "You know those kinds of movies and TV shows where there's a team of people who cannot function together, but they pull through regardless? That's what I'm going for here. On our own, we're just a bunch of misfits. But when we're together, now that's something special." Just then, Connie, her parents, Jasper, and White Topaz appeared behind her from a portal created by Lion. "And there's our girl of the hour! Let's give her a hand!"

Everyone began applauding as Connie walked up to Teal Zircon. "Uh, hello everybody, thank you for inviting me to your little get-together. I'm afraid I'm going to need some catching up to do on what's been going on. I don't think a funny little puppet show is enough."

"Then allow me," Brenner said before he spoke to the audience. "As some of you may not know, our 'dear friend' Black Rutile", He put "dear friend" in air-quotes. "has enacted quite possibly her greatest revenge plot yet, and I bore witness to the fruits of her labor overtime as I was assigned to be her criminal psychologist. She has assembled criminal masterminds, bigoted online personalities, more old enemies of the Gems, and forlorn Gems looking for a place to belong. I have tried multiple times to convince her that she wasn't doing the right thing, but she kept ignoring me at every turn."

"Online personalities like who?" Ronaldo raised his hand, making the rest of the crowd turn to him. "You mean Sally Grove? I've had tons of arguments with her about the Gems before."

"Precisely that," James explained. "I have no idea why she is so cruel, but she seemed perfect as one of Black Rutile's top lieutenants, using her social media influence to gather more human followers through the Internet. There is also Francis von Bowling and his cohorts from P.H.A.N.T.O.M, no doubt brought in for their vendetta against the Gems too."

"Well, I'll be." Bane Jones muttered in bemusement while preparing a technologically advanced shotgun.

"In addition, Black Rutile is now joined by this Marty fellow, who claims to have his own grudge because Steven took his son away from him." James continued, giving him strained looks from Greg and Vidalia. "Together, these scoundrels have converted multiple Gems through these strange blasters built to brainwash anyone hit by them!"

"It's because of those blasters Black Rutile took away my crew!" Nephrite sobbed into Biggs Jasper's arms.

"She took out almost the entire Famethyst!" Carnelian added.

"And like, tons of other quartz Gems too." Chest Rose stated. "Me, my sibs, Biggs, Tiger's Eye, and Cherry are the only ones left."

"Hopefully what the Black Pearls said about finding a way to restore them is true." Cherry Quartz nervously said, looking over at the Black Pearl Brigade.

"So, what can we all do?" Beckham Jordan asked. "We're all just a bunch of humans and Gems who have no idea how unprepared we are for this! Heck, I'm just a star basketball player who knows more about how to score a point than fighting battles! What would happen if one of us were to die today? Besides, Steven won't be here to help us!"

"I promise you all, I won't let that happen." Connie declared before unsheathing her sword and holding it to the sky. "The Crystal Temps will defend this planet to the end!"

"Wait, is that what we're calling ourselves?!" Kevin yelled from afar. "Why not something cooler like the Substitute Crystal Gems, or something?!"

"It's very sentimental!" Connie hurriedly replied. "Now who's with me?!"

"I am!" Orange Spodumene yelled while raising her hand.

"I am!" Kofi Pizza and Mr. Fryman shouted in unison.

"And me too!" Sam Galley added excitedly. "Also, just want to get this outta the way, but I have a bit of a crush on Amethyst."

"Me three!" Lavenderine shouted, followed by a wave of excitement from the gathered New Crystal Temps.

"Aw, what the heck, I haven't got that long a lifespan anyways." Kevin resigned himself to the cause. While Connie proudly looked over at the crowd united for a singular purpose, she felt a familiar hand touching her shoulder.

"I'm in too." Priyanka proclaimed, much to her daughter's surprise. "After that hospital incident, I feel like it's time for me to get involved in your Crystal Gem business and be on the frontlines."

"Well, someone's a little eager." Brenner smiled at Priyanka before looking over at Doug. "And what shall you do for this, sir?"

"I think I'll go look into the Sally Grove situation." Doug answered. "Her parents deserve to know that their daughter is basically selling out the human race to Black Rutile. But be sure to call me so I can still join in."

"Black Rutile told me that I have to meet her in ninety minutes," Connie announced while looking at her watch. "Well, this announcement went by quicker than expected. Anyways, let's save the world!" The New Crystal Temps then began cheering for their grand leader.

--

Meanwhile, in the dark void of space, Revanche 666 was now completely abandoned following Cinnabar and Andesine's escape from the prison. Black Pearl guards, Bismuths, and Peridots were locked in cells formerly occupied by members of the Rutile Rebels, surviving on a false hope that someone would come to save them. However, two particular prisoners weren't meant to be there. They just wanted to get in, stop a prison riot, and get out. But fate had other plans.

"How long has it been since we were trapped here by Cinnabar's plotting and my own recklessness?" Hessonite muttered to Citrine as the two languished in their prison cells. "Feels like we've been stranded here for eons."

"It's only been a few weeks, Hessonite." Citrine stated. "But yeah, it really has felt like forever. I mean, it would take a miracle for someone to notice that we're stuck here!" Suddenly, the two heard something crash through the walls. "Well, what do you know?"

"Hey, anybody here?!" Spinel yelled as she and Lemon Jade emerged from a spaceship they just crashed into the prison. "The Diamonds were getting worried that something bad happened!"

"Over here Spinel, over here!" Hessonite yelled to Spinel. "Hello, it's me, Hessonite, and yes, I am exactly who you're looking for."

"Yeah, we haven't seen you guys since you went to stop that prison breakout," Spinel answered while turning her hand into a ventriloquist dummy resembling Yellow Diamond. "Old Yeller was like 'I fear something might've gone horribly wrong on Revanche 666. I need someone to volunteer to investigate.' Luckily, I was there to oblige."

"And I simply got dragged along." Lemon Jade added. "So what did happen?"

"We thought Andesine and her entourage had surrendered, but it was all a ruse she and Cinnabar set up to escape," Citrine explained to the visitors. "Now we're all stuck behind bars with no way to leave, no way of contacting anyone outside this prison, and no way to deactivate our cells. Do either of you have any bright ideas?"

"I got one! I saw this on a TV show once." Spinel replied before she leaned on the wall between Hessonite and Citrine's cells and gave it a hard knock, which somehow forced the destabilizing fields guarding the two to deactivate. "Ey!" she added with two thumbs up. "You can thank me later."

"Finally!" Hessonite sighed with relief while shaking Spinel's hand as she emerged from her cell. "But what about everyone else?"

"Don't worry, I got this," Citrine said as she walked out of her cell and straight to the control room.

"So, where are Cinnabar and Andesine now?" Lemon Jade asked Hessonite.

"The two of them are currently on Earth aiding Black Rutile in whatever harebrained scheme she has now planned," Hessonite stated while the prison staff was released from their cells. "We need to act quickly if we want to stop all of them in their tracks."

"Roger roger, live long and prosper and all that!" Spinel exclaimed. "Come on Jade, let's chew bubblegum and kick some butt! And I'm all out of bubblegum."

"I'm not sure if I'm equipped for a fight, but whatever you say, I'll follow," Lemon said as she, Spinel, Hessonite, and Citrine boarded the ship Spinel crashed earlier and took off for Earth to bring Cinnabar & Andesine to justice.

--

"Ocean Town." Doug muttered to himself as he pulled into Beach City's sister town, easily identified by a sign declaring "STILL NOT ON FIRE." His journey ended at a shabby but homely-looking one-story house where he pulled into the driveway before getting out and knocking on the front door. An overweight, middle-aged fellow with a receding hairline, a barely shaved mustache, and clothes that looked like they haven't been washed in days soon answered. "Hello, is this the Grove residence?"

"What's it to ya?" the fat man said while pulling a half-eaten hot dog out of his pocket to shove in his mouth.

"Doug Maheswaran from Beach City." Doug introduced himself to the man while pulling out his ID. "I'm here to speak about your daughter, Sally."

"Oh good, I thought you were here about the body we found on the train tracks." The man sighed in relief before turning his head to call for someone. "Maureen!"

"What?!" what Doug assumed to be the man's wife hollered back.

"We got a cop here to talk about Sally!" the man replied before letting Doug inside and sitting him down and offering him a drink. "Here, have a shot on me."

"No thanks, I'm good." Doug rejected the offer before a skinny woman hiding her bleached blonde hair in a bandana walked into the living room. "Hello there miss, I'm here to talk to you about your daughter's recent activities."

"Ah yeah, Sally." The woman said as she and her husband sat down on the couch. "I always kept hearing her talk with that alien woman on her whatchacallit….computer. Anyways, my name's Maureen Grove and this is my husband Carl."

"Well, that alien woman is a known bigoted criminal who is plotting to destroy the world." Doug revealed, making Carl and Maureen blankly stare at each other in silence. "Something the matter, you two?"

"Shoulda known our girl would do something like this." Maureen Grove shook her head in shame. "If you think Sally's views were a product of an abusive upbringing or some kind of trauma, I'm afraid you're mistaken, officer. She was diagnosed with kajigger disorder or something."

"Antisocial personality disorder." Carl Grove corrected his wife. "What we're saying is that Sally is just not a pleasant person to be around, especially in this current era of that danged Internet. She thrives on being so smug & self-righteous and making people hate her, yet at the same time she wonders why everyone hates her. And we've tried our best to help her, but she always kept picking on us for stupid reasons! It's absurd, I tells ya!"

"So, she brought this upon herself," Doug said while writing down in his notepad. "Would you care to further elaborate on her behavior?"

"She also had this TubeTube channel that barely had any subscribers because people would rather watch cat videos, let's plays, and those creepy kids' videos," Maureen answered. "But then came that weird monster attack last year, where everything changed forever."

--

"Sally honey, time for dinner!" Carl called for his daughter while knocking on the door. "Mama's making chili cheese dogs tonight!"

"I can buy and sell you, old man!" Sally insulted her father from behind her bedroom door.

"Fair enough, just starve then because I'm a man." Carl casually replied as he walked away. "I swear, we have got to get her a therapist soon." He muttered to himself. "Dropping out of college I can understand, but she desperately needs to do something with her life."

"CARL, GET DOWN HERE!" Maureen shrieked for her husband. "SOMEONE'S INTERRUPTED AMERICAN IDOL!"

"They WHAT?!" Carl bellowed as he charged down the stairs to see what was going on. To his alarm, their TV show was cut off by the sudden appearance of Black Rutile on their television screen as she made a speech.

"Greetings to the civilians of this backwater planet. I am Black Rutile, soon to be supreme ruler of the Gem race." Black Rutile introduced herself to audiences around the world. "I come to you today because you are faced with a crisis that has been right under your noses for thousands of years now, and it can all be blamed on the Crystal Gems."

"Nothing that changing the channel won't fix." Carl declared as he picked up the remote and tried switching to another channel. Unfortunately, Black Rutile was interrupting the programming there, and on every other channel too. "What the Sam Hill is going on here?! Who would believe such malarkey?!"

"They have been living among your people since the dawn of man, and have brought numerous world-ending threats along with." Black Rutile's speech continued on Sally's computer, much to her curiosity. "From loads of monsters that were formerly members of their kind, to insane terraformers that stole the ocean for selfish purposes followed by nearly drowning thousands once they returned the water to Earth, a superweapon made from the remains of their own kind that remains buried under the Earth as we speak, repeated counts of abductions and the near-genocide of all organic life." Despite Black Rutile clearly spreading lies about the Crystal Gems, the desperate TubeTube user felt a special sort of parasocial connection to her. "But now we are faced with a new problem, and it's all thanks to one Gem: Pink Diamond. It's because of her that this monstrosity plaguing the Earth at this moment is running amok and the Crystal Gems have done nothing to stop it, or her for that matter. Should you believe this planet is worth saving, something must be done about the Crystal Gems, or you will suffer the consequences. That will be all."

With the end of Black Rutile's warning, Sally's life was changed forever. Her TubeTube channel was then completely overhauled to benefit from her newfound hatred of the Crystal Gems. They caused so much chaos and destruction, yet they're celebrated as heroes. Sally simply gives her opinion, and she's constantly villainized for it. To her, that simply wasn't fair. But what no one realized about Sally was terrified of growing past her bigoted, misanthropic mindset and becoming a better person because she believed kindness and compassion were signs of weakness. And she despised being weak.

--

"Ever since then, that Black Rutile yutz has been a bad influence on our girl." Carl finished his story. "Sally's been completely off her rocker because of her. Every time we tried setting her up with various lovers, she just kept abusing them. Especially this one feller named Fred who she kept saying had a small di-"

"Anything else I should know before I leave?" Doug asked, cutting off Carl before he could finish. "What other crimes has she committed?"

"What hasn't she committed?" Maureen replied. "Thankfully, she hasn't done anything super serious, but she's also formed lynch mobs online against random people she hates, and cyberbullied her so-called friends away. And let's not forget that she wrote some really disturbing fanfiction!" She cringed in disgust at the thought.

"Right, thank you for your time, Mr. and Mrs. Grove, I promise I'll have your daughter returned home so she can get the help she deserves," Doug said as he got up and prepared to leave, only for Carl to stop him.

"Hey, before you go, officer," Carl said before presenting Doug with a chili cheese dog. "care for a chili cheese dog? Can't save the world on an empty stomach."

"You know what? I'll take it." Doug accepted the dog before pulling out his phone. "Connie, I'll be coming back soon. Is everything ready?"

"Almost, Dad," Connie responded. "Bane Jones helped us get everybody weapons for the big fight. We just need to wait on you now."

--

Elsewhere in Washington D.C., President Eduardo Suarez, his vice president Theresa Maxwell, Wade Grant, Lloyd Waller, and his presidential cabinet remained in hiding from the forces of Reginald Anderson. Having just witnessed his family being held hostage, the White House being overtaken, and one of the secret service agents under his employment brutally beaten to near death, the president was naturally anxious about what to do next. What's more, there's no way he can contact the Crystal Gems at the moment. He was at an utter loss at what to do.

"Never seen Eddy this worked up in ages," Theresa muttered in wonder at her president's nervous pacing. "Last time I've seen him like this was when Clump seemed to have beat him in the polls."

"I wouldn't blame him," Lloyd replied. "Country's in crisis again, plus his family is in grave danger. Poor thing looks like he'll have a panic attack at any moment."

"I'll go have a talk with him," Wade said as he walked over to his chief and put a hand on his shoulder. "Mr. President, are you feeling alright? Do you need anything before we make our decision?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine!" Eduardo exclaimed bravely, a far cry from the nervous front he was just putting up. "I'm willing to give everything for this country, as a good president should!" However, his courageous smile was quickly replaced with an insecure frown. "But what can I do when my family's lives are at stake here? One wrong move and I could lose everything."

"You're right, he's giving us a very tough choice here." Wade nodded when he suddenly got an idea. "Wait, I know!" Whatever he whispered into the president's ear, Eduardo was liking what he was hearing. "You got that?"

"I like what you're saying." Eduardo nodded. "Let's do it." Just then, three men opened the doors to One Observatory Drive and walked in. The first man wore a nice suit and was balding, while his two associates were dressed in a tank top and a collared shirt respectively. "Hello there."

"Greetings Mr. President, my name is Mr. Shreds." Mr. Shreds introduced himself to the president. "These are my two associates, Tank and Collar, and we are here to deliver you to Reginald Johnson so you can relinquish your presidency."

"Just move along now and don't keep us waiting!" Collar said as he and Tank took Eduardo by the arms and guided him to their limo. "Any last words, sir?"

"Yes, I'd like to make a personal request to Reginald." Eduardo nodded. "I'd like to have a public debate with him, face to face."

"As absurd as your request is, I shall grant it," Tank replied begrudgingly, not knowing what he was in for as the limousine drove away.

"So what did you tell him?" Theresa asked Wade as the two worriedly watched Eduardo be taken away.

"You'll see." Wade gave the vice president a knowing smirk.

--

"Making yourselves comfortable, Crystal Gems?" Black Rutile asked her prisoners while paying them one last visit to their cell. "Doesn't matter to me, because I got special plans for you."

"What is it now?" Peridot muttered disdainfully. "Is it about how you're so much better than us because you're not us?"

"Whatever it is, just get it over with already," Bismuth added sadly. "I deserve it for what I put Lapis through."

"Yes, yes you did." Lapis harshly agreed. "You poofed me and then forced me to be the dumb little plaything that you'll always throw away when you don't need me."

"You're still depressed about that?!" Black Rutile groaned in irritation as the brainwashed Emerald pulled up a throne for Black Rutile to sit on. "I'm saying that this could all be avoided if you joined me! Over time, I began to realize that the Rutile Rebels aren't as different from the Crystal Gems as I thought. We all started out as nobodies, did something extraordinary that made us different from the rest of our kin, rose to the top, and earned the respect of the Diamonds, only to have all torn down by a person who didn't even care about them." She declared. "I'll admit, when I first heard about Little Homeworld, I wanted to destroy it so bad, especially when you locked me up here. But after spending some time trapped here, I, ever the opportunist, decided that I could make it into something better!"

"Like turning it into our new secret lair for example!" Aquamarine added.

"And we have your stupid bickering to thank for it!" Eyeball said as all the other Rutile Rebels threw their heads back and laughed.

"What I'm trying to say is that there are special people like us who should run the world, and then there are the disgusting humans who deliver our food and fight our wars." Black Rutile continued. "Which is why I'm offering you this one-time opportunity. Let us work together for once so we can truly bring Gems and humans together in peace and harmony!" To emphasize her point, she turned on a news report documenting the attack on the White House. "Refuse, and I shall make you pay with your lives! Bring out the Disintegrator!"

"Wait, the Disintegrator?!" Bismuth shrieked in terror as Sally walked in with a small, glowing boxlike device in her hands that she set on the table. "I thought that was outlawed eons ago! How did you get one?!"

"You'd be surprised what I can accomplish through mixing Gem technology with human garbage." Black Rutile stated while presenting the device. "For those uninformed, most likely you Amethyst, this was an ancient torture device built to execute criminal Gems by grinding them up into dust and dispersing them in the air in a beautiful yet morbid fashion."

"Curious, most curious." Francis von Bowling nodded with intrigue. "And how does it work exactly?"

"Allow me to demonstrate." Black Rutile responded before presenting a small rock she placed in the Disintegrator. She then turned it on, and the rock was instantly ground up into dust in a terrifying show of the machine's power, leaving the Gems horrified yet not surprised she would use something like that. "That oughta show you for brainwashing us all!"

"You're kidding me?" Pearl scoffed. "You claim we're brainwashing Gems against their and forcing them to join our side when that's literally what you are doing with those devices! Those aren't rejuvenating blasters, they're inculcating blasters! All these new Gems of yours say: "All hail Black Rutile! All hail Black Rutile!", but the Gems we teach would never say anything like that. We didn't force them to come here, they made that choice willingly."

"Kind of like how Lapis willingly joined me after I convinced her of how alone we were in the universe?" Black Rutile retorted, pointing to a sullen Lapis in the darkness. "Or how I convinced Sally Grove here to be a kindred spirit?"

"Yeah, that reminds me," Amethyst asked. "How could you team up with someone that obviously evil? Surely, you must have some tragic reason for doing so, right?"

"No, no tragic reason at all," Sally admitted without a single ounce of empathy in her voice. "I just like being hated. It makes me feel powerful."

"Hatred makes all of us powerful." Holly Blue agreed with Sally, with Cat's Eye by her side with her cat Blake in her arms.

"Very powerful." Cat's Eye agreed.

"Okay, we've had enough taunting, let's get to executing!" Black Rutile declared eagerly as she began choosing which Crystal Gem to disintegrate. However, her choice was pretty easy. "Bismuth, do you volunteer as tribute?"

"Wait, what?!" Bismuth muttered as the brainwashed Demantoid and Pyrope freed her from her shackles to be executed. "You won't get away with this, Black Rutile!"

"As a matter of fact, I've gotten away with it months ago." Black Rutile cruelly sneered while shoving the Disintegrator towards Bismuth. "Now, you might feel a little tingle."

"Lapis, please, I'm sorry!" Bismuth cried out for possibly the last time to Lapis, but she didn't seem to listen. All Lapis could do was turn away in shame. As Bismuth was about to be thrown into the machine and the other Crystal Gems cried for Black Rutile not to do it, the Disintegrator was suddenly stabbed with an epee, causing it to shut down. "What?"

"You!" Black Rutile yelled at Tanzanite for destroying her machine. "I have put hours upon hours into building that, and you made it all for nothing!"

"That's because you've gone too far this time, and I can't do this anymore!" Tanzanite yelled angrily while proceeding to free Bismuth, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and Peridot from their restraints. "Brainwashing is one thing, but executing too?"

"Are you seriously trying to talk back to your master?" Black Rutile growled angrily. "You know how Rose lied to you, you know how she left you to die and become part of a planet-destroying abomination against your will! I was there for you, and this is how you repay me?!"

"Yes, the Crystal Gems aren't honest, but their intentions are definitely real." Tanzanite declared firmly, bringing a tear to Pearl's eye before her former student was threatened with Black Rutile's bowie knife.

"Take that back and fight for me, or pay the price." Black Rutile ordered Tanzanite to stand down, and the punk purple Gem meekly did as she was told while Navy raced up to her master's side. "Yes, Ruby?"

"We got humans and enemy Gems at 12:00!" Navy yelled hurriedly.

"Did you tell them I hate them?" Black Rutile asked while turning her bowie knife into her sword. "No matter." With a superhuman leap, Black Rutile bounded out of her lair and landed in front of the New Crystal Temps before striking a pose as she drew her sword. "Well, don't stop on my account."

"Black Rutile, we've come to finally bring you to justice!" Connie declared while raising her sword in the air. "In the name of the Crystal Gems, the planet Earth, and the entire universe, we'll punish you for your crimes. And this time, we'll make it permanent. Do you yield?"

Black Rutile just sneered at Connie's bold declaration and responded with simply "I do not." With a snap of her fingers, the other Rutile Rebels, including a reluctant Tanzanite and Lapis, soon gathered behind her to counter Connie's forces. Just then, however, the Crystal Gems leaped out from behind the Rutile Rebels to join Connie and the others, followed by Spinel, Hessonite, Citrine, and Lemon Jade crashing into Little Homeworld on their ship.

"CRYSTAL GEMS!" Garnet roared while summoning her gauntlets. "Assemble." With that, everyone behind Connie roared as they charged into battle against Black Rutile and her enforcers, along with legions of brainwashed Gems, Concrete warriors, and Cactus & Topiary Stevens once again forced to serve Black Rutile. This was a day unlike any other when humans and Gems alike found themselves united against a common foe for the first time in thousands of years. On that day, everyone in Beach City became a Crystal Gem.

--

"Of course, you would find a way to ruin my plans!" Black Rutile said as she got into an intense swordfight with Connie. The battle for Earth had already gotten off to a rousing start. Bane Jones and Beckham Jordan fought side by side against von Bowling and his men, Kevin and Vidalia were up against Marty in a mechanical war suit, and Lars had a rematch with Emerald, among many other battles. "For too long now, you've always been interfering and you didn't even know it!"

"It's called loyalty Black Rutile, something you would probably never know!" Connie retorted before going in for a stab, only to be blocked by Sally Grove fighting back with a laser sword. "And as for you!"

"Don't even try to preach to me, little girl." Sally taunted in her usual high and mighty fashion. "We all know you would've found a way to call your white savior because you have no other personality outside of being his protector! You're a disgrace to your ethnicity, brat!"

"That's what you think, bullying my daughter like that!" Priyanka retorted with a sword of her own to fight Sally and Black Rutile with. "Apologize to her at once or I will reveal everything your parents told my husband!"

"What do you mean I have to apologize?! She attacked me!" Sally said before she realized what the doctor meant. "Wait, really? Oh no, no no no no!"

"Yeah, they told me some pretty messed up stuff about you," Doug said while putting out his notepad and reading what he had written earlier, making Sally writhe in agony while Black Rutile looked disdainfully at her human charge. "Let's see, abusing everyone around you, including your own parents, refusing to grow beyond your toxic personality while also blaming it on everyone around you, that disturbing fanfiction-"

"It's only disturbing from a certain point of view, having sexual relationships with your family members is perfectly normal in some parts of the world!" Sally only kept digging herself deeper into insanity in her attempts to preserve her image, unaware that Ronaldo had been live-streaming her this entire time, and her reputation was falling apart by the second. "Hey, turn that camera off!"

"No way, this is going to make a killing on Keep Beach City Weird!" Ronaldo laughed mischievously. "Wow, these negative comments expressing how betrayed your viewers must be for how much of a hypocrite you're being are coming in by the dozens."

"It's the same story I've seen so many times." Doug shook his head in disgust as Sally had an utter breakdown in front of the Maheswarans and Black Rutile, who was just as disgusted at how pathetic her partner was. "A fine, upstanding bigot. Your nose is so close to the grindstone, you can't see anything else. Meanwhile, the world changes and grows, and you're blind to it! Ignorant and proud of it too."

"Am I glad that's not me!" Black Rutile scoffed hypocritically as Sally was handcuffed and taken somewhere safe until the battle was over. "Now where were we? Oh yes!" She immediately got right back to her clash with Connie.

--

"So, calming down Lapis." Peridot muttered as she, Jasper, and White Topaz stood in front of Lapis and Phoenix Lapis fighting Laz and Zuli. "Got any ideas?"

"You're her life partner, you should know!" Jasper exclaimed while Laz and Zuli fought for their lives. "Paz, got any bright ideas?"

"I think I might have a good idea of what to do." White Topaz declared. "Bismuth, we need your help!"

"I'm in the middle of something here!" Bismuth replied while she was fighting Andesine and Cinnabar. "Oh, you want me to make up with Lapis, right?"

"Hopefully having her back on our side will turn the tide of battle!" White Topaz suggested, causing Bismuth to knock her two opponents out and walk up to her. "Just say what you need to say and hopefully she'll listen."

"This had better work." Bismuth took a deep breath and yelled "HEY LAPIS, OVER HERE!" The four Lapises then turned to see Bismuth below. "No, not you, the one who hates me!" she corrected herself.

"What do you want now?" Lapis angrily asked as she hovered on the ground.

"Listen Lapis, I know you won't ever forgive me and the other Crystal Gems for what we did to you," Bismuth said. "but I swear, if you listen and understand we didn't know what we did, maybe we can finally start making amends."

"Wait, you mean it?" Lapis's face softened in surprise.

"Yeah, we're still your friends!" White Topaz declared happily.

"And besides, I'm the only one who gets to be all sullen and betrayed here!" Jasper added before reaching her hand out. "Just take my hand."

Lapis started smiling again, bringing smiles to Peridot and White Topaz's faces as well, and began to reach out to Jasper. However, she was quickly interrupted by Cinnabar and Andesine's groups pointing their Rejuvenation Blasters at the Crystal Gems.

"Make another move, and we'll have to reset all of you." Cinnabar declared coldly.

"Now then, any last words?" Andesine smirked.

"I got one," Bismuth stated before raising her fist at Lapis's gem. "Please don't hate me for this again!" With a single punch, Lapis was poofed yet again, this time to save her from being shot with the Rejuvenation Blaster as the Rutile Rebels began opening fire, prompting Bismuth, Jasper, White Topaz, and Peridot to scatter.

"I'll be taking this to reverse-engineer, thank you very much!" Peridot snickered as she robbed Howlite of her Blaster to experiment on and ran away with a maniacal "NYEH-HAHAHAHAHA!"

"After her!" Howlite commanded and raced after Peridot with Dalmatian Jasper, Zoisite, Amber, and Xenotime behind her.

"Check it out, I got a Rejuvenation Blaster!" Peridot said to Squaridot and IQ while presenting the stolen blaster to them. "Maybe we can work together to find a way to use it to get everyone back to normal!"

"That's some good thinking, Peridot." Squaridot complimented the other Peridot's idea before the three geniuses snuck off to get to work.

--

"So it's come to this, Tanzanite, the student versus the master," Pearl said as she took a battle stance, and Tanzanite did the same. "Tell me Tanzanite, why did you join Black Rutile instead of accepting everything as it was? I understand if you felt betrayed by Rose, but this is not a healthy way of coping."

"It's because I just wanted to save everyone from what I suffered," Tanzanite revealed sadly as she clashed with her former mentor. "My friends! My family! Everything I did was for the galaxy, for the Crystal Gems! But it was all for nothing, Pink Diamond used all of us to avoid the consequences of her actions." Despite how much Pearl tried to speak up, Tanzanite kept ranting. "I had to use my skills on friends; on family; Gems that I knew. She controlled us through lies." She then let out a strained and tearful laugh. "Homeworld, no better than the rebels Rose created. I helped terrorize my people! I wanted you to stop it, I had to stop it. I spoke out. I spoke out to Black Rutile, to save everyone from you! But when I did, I only stood with a monster. You chose Pink Diamond." Now, Tanzanite was on the verge of tears as she sobbed into Pearl's chest. "You left me, gave me no choice! The Diamonds wanted to destroy worlds, and they did. Pink destroyed mine."

"Oh, poor dear," Pearl muttered sorrowfully while holding her old student close. "But do you still believe Black Rutile is good for you?"

"I'm not sure if anyone is good for me." Tanzanite sobbed. "I don't know if Black Rutile really cares for me or if she just saw me as a tool."

"Black Rutile never cared for anyone to begin with." Pearl declared before she held Tanzanite's head in her hands. "I'm truly sorry that I made you choose this path, and I promise that there will be no more secrets between us from now on. Is that good?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if I can forgive myself for this." Tanzanite agreed just as she felt the business end of a Rejuvenation Blaster pressing the back of her head.

"Another last-minute betrayal, I see." Andesine grinned while preparing to pull the trigger, only for Tanzanite to smack it out of Andesine's hands with her epee before stabbing her in the chest.

"Now look what you made ME do," Tanzanite smirked as she threw what Andesine said when she shattered her back in the red Gem's face before she poofed.

--

"Okay Mr. S, here we are." Mr. Shreds said as he pulled the limo up to the White House and let Eduardo out. "Just make it quick, I'm on a tight schedule here," Eduardo said nothing as he saw his family surrounded by terrorists and Reginald smugly standing by a video camera and a podium.

"Go on Mr. Prez, don't be shy." Reginald mockingly urged Eduardo. "Just say what you need to say."

"That's exactly what I was going to say to you." Eduardo declared before trapping Reginald in a headlock. "NOW!" The SWAT team immediately overwhelmed Reginald's enforcers while Reginald tried his best to fight back, only to be met with a krav maga kick from Theresa, coming straight out of nowhere.

"Did you plan all this?!" Reginald shouted.

"Well, not necessarily," Eduardo replied as Wade and Lloyd came to handcuff Reginald. "It's just that I'm far more quick on my feet than you'll ever be."

"Dad!" Huey and Riley Suarez cried as Theresa freed them from their restraints and hugged their father.

"Oh, mi preciosos, I was so worried," Eduardo said as he hugged them back before seeing Arlene walk towards them as well. "And I surely didn't forget you, my love."

"And you never will," Arleen replied before kissing her husband. And so, the White House was saved, thanks to the president and his quick thinking. Now all he had to do was hope that the Crystal Gems were doing alright.

--

"Must I remind you of my superiority, pretty boy?" Marty taunted Kevin while showing off the capabilities of his war suit. "Face it, hiding behind all these beautiful women won't get you anywhere in life!"

"Yeah, I'm absolutely unequipped for this, but that won't stop me from trying!" Kevin exclaimed before beginning to fight back.

"How could you, Marty?" Vidalia asked her ex-husband. "I knew you were a dirtbag, but selling out the entire human race for what? Just because you're mad we disowned you!"

"Oh yeah, I'm absolutely livid," Marty agreed. "but I'm mostly just here to get even with you guys. I don't give a damn about Black Rutile's whole rebellion business!"

Meanwhile, Bane Jones, Beckham, Makoto, and Matt were all standing back-to-back against Francis von Bowling's men. "So, when this is all over, could I perhaps get an autograph?" Bane asked Beckham. "I'm a huge fan, and I consider it an honor to be fighting for Earth with you."

"I'd be more than happy to." Beckham smiled at the offer.

"Hey boys, can we pick up the pace a bit?!" Makoto said while delivering an upside-down spinning kick to Konstantin, Pavel, and Leo at once.

Above the chaos going on in Little Homeworld, Black Rutile stood atop the whirlybird tower and was not happy with how her forces were losing. "STOOOOOP THEM!" she shrieked angrily while pulling at her hair just as she turned to see Connie, Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, Peridot, Bismuth, Jasper, White Topaz, Spinel, Hessonite, and now Tanzanite standing behind her. "You! You ruined everything again! I could've made everything perfect!"

"You didn't want to make things perfect." Tanzanite declared to Black Rutile. "You just hated things the way they are."

"This is your final warning, Black Rutile." Garnet declared. "And this time, we won't be giving you a second chance. You and your minions are headed straight for Revanche 666 after this!"

"Fine, if I can never win, then neither should you!" Black Rutile completely snapped. "Aquamarine, Eyeball, Chrome Chalcedony, to me!"

"Ready as always, Black Rutile!" Aquamarine said as she and Eyeball fused into Bluebird Azurite, while Holly Blue and Cat's Eye arrived to make Chrome Chalcedony.

"And now, for a little surprise!" Bluebird proclaimed.

"I have a little joke for you all." Black Rutile smiled dementedly while grabbing Bluebird's hand. "What do you get when you cross a depressed loner with a society that abandons her and treats her like trash?!"

"That's not a very good joke!" Amethyst replied.

"I'll tell you what you get, you get what you deserve!" Black Rutile shrieked before she and Bluebird merged to form Pietersite, now sporting Black Rutile's new pink cape and red visor in addition to her outfit now looking different to fit Aquamarine's regeneration.

"PIETERSITE LIVES!" Pietersite bellowed loudly for all to hear and cringe in fear. "AND NOW CRYSTAL GEMS, IT IS TIME FOR THE FINAL CURTAIN CALL!"

"I don't think so!" Peridot said as she fired a Rejuvenation Blaster at the two fusions, which they dodged only for the blast to hit one of Nephrite's crew and revert her to normal. "I stole one of those blasters from Howlite and reverse-engineered them to change everyone hit by them back to normal."

"I'm free, I've been freed!" the Nephrite cheered at finally being brought back to her old self.

"What?" Pietersite muttered in horror as the Crystal Gems immediately understood what was going to happen and raced down to solid ground so they can do the same for all the other Gems Black Rutile converted. "No! No no no! Don't do that, I worked so hard!"

"Stop them!" Chrome Chalcedony added as she and Pietersite tried fighting back against the enemy, but as the Crystal Gems' forces grew with every Gem turned back to normal, they were quickly outnumbered.

"Well, we're boned," Apatite muttered as she and Amazonite prepared to leave. "Let's skedaddle!"

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Amazonite replied as she and Apatite found themselves confronted by the entirety of Beach City's population, and they weren't happy.

"Goin' somewhere?" Sheena Synstylae cracked her neck and her knuckles.

"Don't worry, you're not the only ones we'll be punishing," Lars added.

"We'll finally gain an advantage over Black Rutile!" Padparadscha Sapphire exclaimed happily.

Pietersite could barely comprehend what happened, and it was so anticlimactic too. Her forces were subdued, her weapons seized and modified to fix what she had done, and now all that was left of the Rutile Rebels was her, Aquamarine, and Eyeball once again. "Please no, just give me a second chance!"

"Not likely," Lapis said as she summoned a sawblade made of water that sliced Pietersite in half, barely giving her a chance to fight because the Crystal Gems now considered Black Rutile to be that pathetic to not even consider a grander defeat. To seal the deal, Little Homeworld was returned to its rightful place outside of Beach City with help from the Lapis Lazulis.

Black Rutile, Aquamarine, and Eyeball all fell to the ground in defeat, while the rest of the Rutile Rebels were brought together in chains. "I hate happy endings."

"Well, that should about wrap everything up!" Pearl sighed in relief once the dust settled. "Now then, it's off to Revanche 666 you all go!"

"And me too," Tanzanite added, much to Pearl's shock. "Even if I changed my ways, I still need to forgive myself for siding with Black Rutile too."

"Indeed, young Tanzanite." James began one final monologue. "At the end of the day, we are all but individuals crying for fairness in our lives. You won't get everything, but you'll get something. The Crystal Gems finally restore peace, while Black Rutile hopefully realizes how futile her schemes were. In the end, we just need to decide what is fair and what isn't."

"Oh, be quiet!" Black Rutile said as Hessonite and Spinel carted her away to the ship Andesine and Cinnabar hijacked in their prison break, while everyone was left to rejoice.

--

"So, that's all that happened?" Steven asked Connie a few days later over video chat. "Wow, sounds like you had quite the adventure."

"Yeah, and that's not even getting into what happened next," Connie stated. "First, Marty's now on the run from the law and lost everything. Then, Kevin got a key to the city."

"That's a phrase I never expected to hear." Steven laughed. "What else happened?"

"The Crystal Gems have all made up with each other and the Diamonds, and they're getting the therapy they need from Dr. Sucrose, Mr. Ikari, and Dr. Brenner." Connie continued. "Speaking of which, Brenner put Sally Grove under house arrest and is writing a book about the psychology of influencers, Neil Michaels is stuck doing ChikFlix movies to recoup his losses, Francis von Bowling is stuck in prison with Reginald Johnson, the president is still alive, and finally, the Rutile Rebels are all safely behind bars for what they've done. But I kinda doubt they'll stay there for long because evil geniuses are harder to squash than cockroaches."

"Hey, Connie!" Lapis cried while knocking on Connie's window, now back in her Crystal Gem uniform. When Connie peeked her head outside, she could see the other Crystal Gems outside her house. "You got a minute?"

"I'll call you back Steven!" Connie said before hanging up on Steven and racing outside to meet with her alien friends, no doubt to go on another adventure together. In the distance, the Officer was recording everything he saw and sending it to his masters.

--

Meanwhile, on Revanche 666, the prison was restored to order as the Rutile Rebels were locked behind the destabilizing fields in their cells.

"Hey, don't be so bummed out everyone!" Kyanite exclaimed. "We can make prison life fun!"

"Oh be quiet!" Zoisite yelled angrily.

"I did pretend to get sent to prison only to get sent to prison for real!" Amber added. "I'm getting anxious!"

"Hey, is no one going to check up on Black Rutile?" Dalmatian Jasper asked while pointing at Black Rutile sitting calmly in her cell.

"She's looking even mopier than me," Xenotime added worriedly. "I hope she's alright."

Hiding from the endless chatter of Zoisite's team, a restored Emerald, Morganite, Demantoid & Pyrope who were behind bars to repent, Black Rutile gazed emotionlessly at her hand as she wondered how it all came to this. So many months of planning have now gone to waste, once again because of the Gems' human friends. This made her finally ask herself one thing. "Is this still worth it?"

--

This went way longer than I expected, and with way too many characters I put on the cast list that didn't get a line! I've recently found it to be a bad habit of mine, and I hope to remedy that in future stories. I also think I kind of rushed this to be as big as possible while still meeting my deadline. But in the meantime, I hope you all enjoyed these past thirteen weeks and I get to enjoy a break at last and maybe pursuing either a story I haven't written yet or one I still need to finish. But for now, let's see what to come in the finale.

--

"Your Highness, we received another update from Aescul!" a snakelike alien told his master, another snake alien who was far larger and resembled a king cobra, as he received the news from their deep cover agent. "He says now might finally be the time."

"Excellent work, sir." The king cobra alien said to his subordinate while slithering away. "You are dismissed." The cobra then retreated into a mysterious chamber where he met with a shadowy figure towering above him. "It's time for the Gems to enter our contest, great Lapidarist." He declared to the shadow. "Soon, we shall return your children to you."

The shadowy figure began glowing a brilliant white light as it woke up, followed by shimmering with every possible color in existence while laying eyes upon its servant.

--

Featuring Voltaire as King Cobralan Jormagundr

TO BE CONCLUDED IN STEVEN UNIVERSE: SNAKE EYES

A FINALE THREE YEARS IN THE MAKING

[huffle-dork]

Swap into the CrystalVerse Chapter 3: Switch

Co-written with @crystalninjaphoenix

Read Swapboys | Read Switch | Read SwitchSwap | AO3 Link

Prologue | Switch Chapters Taglist: @brokentimewatch

The living room is crowded with everyone in here. There's not enough chairs for everyone, but the Switches all silently agree to let Alt and Chase have the sofa to themselves. Then, of course, Marvin has his usual chair, which leaves JJ, Anti, Schneep, and Jackie standing.

"I know everyone's tired," Jackie says, looking at Bro and Alt sympathetically, "But we might not have much time. I-I don't know how good Magnificent is at tracking, but... yeah... A-anyway, is there anything anyone needs?"

Rest, ideally, but as you said, we may not have much time, JJ says.

Alt, while glad to see the others again, hasn't moved from Bro's side. Bro looks at everyone with worry but he nods, "Yeah I... I think I'm okay."

"... i need something to eat- so I can at least glitch without passing out." Alt admits quietly. "Something fast- you're right... Mag can sense magic... he might already be on the trail to this... Iris place. If it has magic."

"We have some snacks in the kitchen," Marvin says, starting to get up.

No, I'll go get them, JJ says. You stay here. And the rest of you keep talking without me, I'll still hear you. And he turns and leaves the room.

"Sensing magic, huh?" Anti repeats. "I'm... not sure if IRIS is magical. They're more on the... techy side. But, uh... Shame that JJ just left right now, but apparently their facilities have some sort of weird... not-magic-but-sorta... aura."

"He has described it as artificial-feeling in the past," Schneep recalls. "But that might not stop Magnificent."

"So where shoul' we go?" Marvin asks.

"Well, we all know about the north one, that's probably not a good idea," Jackie says, causing all the Switches to shudder at the memory. "And I know a lot about the east one, enough to know the multiverse time-space stuff wasn't their focus. Uh, Volt, what about that one in--"

"Too small," Schneep interrupts.

"Right. That just leaves the one to the west."

“Well at least that narrows it down…” Bro agrees.

Alt grips over his chest and sighs, “That’ll be enough for Mag. He can’t sense the difference between artificial magic and true magic. Anything with power- he’ll find.”

"Well that's fucking worrying, then," Anti states, concerned. "We might have even less time than we thought. Jackie, did you hear about anything that could help get them home?"

"Um..." Jackie shifts where he stands uncomfortably.

JJ returns. He puts a handful of snack foods next to Alt: a bag of chips, a bowl of raspberries, and two granola bars. I wasn't sure what you would want so I got a couple things, he says. We have more if you need it.

Alt relaxes some and smiles at Jj, “Nah this’ll help- thanks JJ.” Alt isn’t usually big on eating in front of others- but he sees the food and realizes just how hungry he is. He had to glitch a lot… he tears unto the granola bars, trying to chew quickly.

“Wait- did Jackie… did you like- work for Iris or something?” Bro asks with a tilt of his head. “…if they’re like Sclera…”

"I--It's--it's a long story." Jackie looks away, ashamed. "I didn't know about all the, uh, immoral stuff going on with them. Just their tech. I-I thought it... might be able to help protect us from Distorter..."

"It was not a bad idea on paper," Schneep says quietly. "If you do not know about what they do, you would take what you could."

Jackie clears his throat. "Anyway. Because I was focusing on Distorter protection, I didn't know much about anything else. But I think... I think I heard they were working on something to help... travel? Maybe that could... I don't know."

"Well, it's a shot, isn' it?" Marvin says, putting some cheer in his voice.

Bro nods, no judgement at all in his expression or stance. He smiles warmly at Jackie. “Hey no worries bro- I get it. Distorter is freaky as fuck. Doing whatever it takes to try to help is really brave.”

Alt pauses in his eating- though he’s practically finished everything off. “Yeah- even if nothings there… if Mag thinks there might be… he could hurt a lot of people to get it.”

He glitches to his feet and then shakes himself off, letting his shoulders and upper arms fizzle with pixels before popping back into place. “How far away is the west branch? And… you guys don’t have to come with us- if you don’t want to. Sounds like they’re a lot of hang ups around this place…”

Jackie lets out a breath, silently relieved that the two of them didn't judge him. "No, I-I have to go. I know the general layout and signs and stuff. Besides, it's out of town, so we need to drive and JJ and I are the only ones who can... assuming you guys can't."

“Fucking hate driving,” Alt mutters, crossing his arms. “Too slow-“

Bro smiles and nudges Alt a bit, “But we can… manage. We just don’t normally need to much.”

I don't know how much use I'll be with my magic still recharging, JJ says. Perhaps I should stay. I can try another teleportation if... someone gets here.

"If you are staying, I should go to help in case of a fight," Schneep says.

"Are you sure?" Jackie asks.

"Yes." Schneep nods firmly.

"Well if you're going I feel bad if I don't go," Anti mutters.

"I'll stay wit' Jems," Marvin offers. "If somet'ing happens I can protect him." He shuffles his cards nervously.

Alt looks worriedly at Jj and Marvin, “…you’ll be safe… right? Cuz of the wards- so… yeah… yeah okay.” Alt breathes and then meets the others eyes, determination bright in the glowing green ring in his eyes. “Alright. Let’s get on it then…”

Bro hesitates and then walks over to Jj and Marvin and smiles warmly, “hey- if something.. happens. Or we manage to get ourselves back home… it was good to see you all again. Youre getting really good at using those cards, Marv!” He beams, “Take care of yourselves alright? And.. sorry for all this mess.”

"We'll be fine, don' worry," Marvin reassures them. "We have a few tricks up our sleeves now." He grins, looking almost mischievous. "T'ank you for noticing the cards, by t'way. I've been rememberin' more and more."

It was good to see you, too, JJ says, smiling. Wish it could've happened under better circumstances. Maybe another time. Good luck on getting back.

Alt smirks, “…if we can figure out how to do this without dragging danger with us… it’d be nice to chill, someday.” Alt throws his hands into his pockets and looks away, red on his cheeks. He tries to pull up his mask- but it’s not there so he just blushes more. “Thanks guys… for everything.” He mutters.

"Come on, guys!" Anti is already back in the front hall. "Your cat is trying to get out!"

Marvin gasps. "Don' let him!"

"I'm not!"

Jackie laughs. "Alright, everyone, let's head out."

Bro and Alt look up at the shout and chase laughs. He waves goodbye and follows the others. Alt lingers for a second before glitching after them.

Marvin and JJ wave goodbye back. "Good luck!" Marvin calls. "An' goodbye."

Everyone piles into the car and heads out.

-----------

Mirygale is surrounded by a field. Most of the roads heading out are highways and motorways that cut through it. But out west there's just a single winding road. It's easy to tell if someone's coming. Which is why Distorter tried "convincing" Mag to come out this way. That, and he was pretty sure they'd be trying to go to the IRIS facility over here. It was the only one left when they really thought about their options.

Even influenced, Magnificent is not gonna subject themselves to walking for miles. So- he gets the location from Distorter and manages to portal them right outside of the facility. He scans the building- trying to find a magic signature to catch onto.

Distorter laughs, delighted. "That's a handy trick you have there. Makes things a lot easier." Then he turns and looks at the facility. "Hmm... this one's different than that one up north."

The facility is actually about three buildings, none of them larger than the average house, surrounded by a high chain-link fence. It used to be an old military base before IRIS swooped in and repurposed it. Right now, it looks abandoned. There are no cars or people walking the asphalt between the buildings. But... Magnificent can feel a faint signature. Not like magic, but something similar. Like the artificial taste of a cherry candy versus the real thing. One is a mere imitation. Or is it even trying to imitate anything at all? Either way, it seems to be coming from all of the buildings. Like there's something strange about the structures themselves.

Magnificent narrows his eyes as he takes in the signatures, a sour expression on his face. “…there’s faint power coming from all of them but… it’s artificial. Strange… I believe that doorway gave off something more than this…”

"Doorway?" Distorter leans closer. As Magnificent thinks about the doorway, an image of it pops up in his mind that Distorter can see. "Hmm. Never seen something like that before. Then again, I don't get out much." He giggles. "You shouldn't bet on just one mode of transportation. What if you go to a universe without magic? I doubt they'd have one of those. You need something else. IRIS is resourceful enough to figure that 'something else' out."

"hm... yes- I suppose so..." Magnificent hums in thought.

He takes a step back and scans the fence. There's a gate some ways away, but it'd be much easier to climb over the fence. Which he does, grabbing the links and scuttling up like some sort of spider. There's barbed wire at the top but he just climbs over that, too, not minding the way it digs into his skin. "Come on. You don't have to go over, of course, but come on."

Magnificent looks at the gate and Distorter climbing and makes a face before walking forward and in a wave of static appears on the other side of the fence.

Distorter grins as he watches that happen. Teleportation again so soon? After such a large jump? Yes, Magnificent is powerful indeed. Not nearly as great as his self-chosen name would suggest, but it'll be useful. Distorter drops down from the top of the fence, landing on his feet. "Well, I'm sure there's a lot that'll be useful in here. I'll keep watch. You can check out as much as you want. When they come, I'll tell you."

Magnificent nods distantly and looks towards the buildings. "Alright." He says simply then fizzles away into static to start to rifle through the buildings. What could there be here...?

Distorter watches him go. Then he walks over and hides around the corner of one building. Normally he'd be able to hide in plain sight, but they might have... that one... with them. He can't take that chance. He's hidden from the gate here and that's good enough.

...some time passes. And then a car appears, driving down the dirt road to the facility. Distorter recognizes it immediately. {They're coming,} he tells Magnificent.

Magnificent hears the warning and narrows his eyes. {Noted. Let me know if they get in our way.} He continues his search, brushing aside things, looking for any sign of- well he wasn’t sure what he was looking for. Maybe it would give off the right magic- or maybe it’d be labeled. That would be nice.

Inside the buildings is an environment of painted white walls and keycard-locked doors. Many of them have labels--identifying them as labs of various kinds--but some do not. There are also offices full of filing cabinets and storage rooms full of boxes with strange ordinary-looking tech inside: anything from CPUs to TVs to microwaves. But every single thing gives off that strange artificial magic feeling. There are cameras everywhere, visibly dangling from the ceilings.

As Magnificent walks, tiny bursts of static fizzle over the cameras as he passes. He did not want to be watched. He tries his magic to open some of the doors-

The locked doors are surprisingly sturdly. They look like wood but that's merely a facade, they're actually metal wrapped in a wooden exterior. But surely a big enough blast will knock them in. If Magnificent is willing to try.

Meanwhile, Jackie parks the car right outside the gate and gets out of the driver's seat. "Did not anticipate a locked gate," he mutters.

"At least it's only a fence," Anti adds, getting out of the passenger side. "Remember the walls up north?"

"I don't think any of us will forget those."

Even before they’ve parked all the way, Alt glitches out of the car. He shakes himself off like a disgruntled cat.

Bro doesn’t act nearly as desperate as his brother. He carefully steps out, then studies the facility. “…it looks abandoned… is that good or bad?”

"Well, good because it means we will not have to deal with them," Schneep says, getting out of the car last. "The IRIS guards and their CC group, I mean. They would be very interested in you two. I think it is bad because... why would they clear out?"

"Do you think it's a trap?" Anti asks quietly.

"Either that, or something just as bad for our health." Schneep narrows his eyes and scans the grounds beyond the fence. "How do we get in?"

"There's a keycard scanner there." Jackie points. Next to the gate is a little black box. "That's probably our best chance. I'm betting this fence is sturdier than it looks."

Alt and Bro seem to shiver at this, Alt gripping at a scar on his wrist.

Chase frowns, “They.. wouldn’t know all of us are here though so.. maybe not a trap? Unless… Distorter or Mag did something.”

“Mag has moved fast before in these places,” Alt mutters bitterly. He then glances at the others and then back at the fence. “I mean- if we don’t want to be detected- Chase can fly over and I can glitch some of you. Shouldn’t be too hard.”

"That could work," Anti says. "Are you sure that won't, uh, drain you too much?"

"I could try to work with this." Schneep walks up to the keycard reader. "Perhaps if we short it out the gate will open."

"Or maybe it'll stay closed and an alarm will start going off," Jackie says. "I think the glitch thing is safest. If it's not too much trouble."

Alt seems a bit apprehensive but he quickly nods and then offers his hands out to the others, green glowing in his eyes. “I got it- should be quick. But uh, warning I hear it doesn’t feel… great if you’re not used to it. But uh- just link up with me.”

Bro is already vaulting over the gate, climbing up some then doing some high flying parkour move to land on the other side. Show off.

"Is fine, I'm sure it won't be the worst thing." Schneep is the first to link up with Alt. Then Jackie, then finally, after a moment of hesitation, Anti.

"Show off," Anti mutters, watching Chase's fancy flying parkour moves.

Bro just waves excitedly from the other side.

Alt rolls his eyes, “He doesn’t mean to- but yeah.” He laughs. He then channels his glitches and in a quick zip the 4 of them appear in a zip of electricity on the other side of the fence. The feeling is disorienting- but it feels more like a full body shiver, like your whole body fell asleep then woke up with a quick jolt. Though, the others can feel alt breaking into pixels for a second before he snaps back together, he quickly steps back and looks around.

"Whoa." Anti quickly pushes away from Alt. No offense, but feeling someone dissolve is very, very unpleasant for him.

"Th-that was weird..." Jackie whispers, shivering.

Schneep doesn't say anything. He looks down at his hands, though.

Inside, Magnificent bares his teeth then sends a blast of magic at the door.

The door gives way, blasted off its hinges. The resulting BANG! and clatter rings out like a gunshot.

Alt glitches in surprise at the sound of the bang. He lights up electricity and looks around, already on edge. “Fuck- did Mag beat us here??”

"What the fuck?!" Anti jumps and immediately pulls out a knife. He wishes he had time to bring his gun! Even if it has been a while since he used it. "He fucking must have, jesus christ..."

Distorter turns towards the sound, annoyed. They were trying to be subtle!

"Where did that come from?!" Schneep's head darts around, looking for any sign of Magnificent--but he sees something else instead. A face that he can't identify, which is an identity itself. He gasps. "The magic man is not the only one here. It is our bitch, too."

"Fuck!" Jackie shouts.

Alt stiffens and in a panic holds out his hand towards where Schneep is looking. “No no! fucking- Why is he here?!?”

Bro narrows his eyes and tries to see if he can tell where Schneep is looking. He builds up some power in his fingers, then shoots them off towards where Distorter is, electricity rocketing out like a bullet.

Magnificent hardly blinks as he steps through the wreckage and steps inside the room, lighting up a flame on his hand so he can see.

Magnificent has found himself in a wide room--wide as in it extends far to the left and the right, seemingly along the length of this building in particular. There are mechanical work stations going in a row across the room, robotic parts and boxes of metal bits. It looks like a place where they build cell phones. Some of these parts are giving off a stronger magical signature. Particularly some rectangular red computer chips.

Magnificent quickly looks around the room, sweeping his light across the walls to try to see the magic signatures better. He sees the chips and speeds towards them-

{They're here.}

Mag curses as he hears Distorter’s warning. {Keep them distracted! I think I found something-}

The red chips have power, but as Magnificent examines them, he sees no way for them to use it. They're just sitting there, emitting a signature. Perhaps he could drain them, but they're very small. It seems they're only a part of a whole.

Magnificent curses and then grabs the chips, as many as he can stash away in his pocket. Then he sprints to try to get through the next room- seems like they were on a timer now.

Distorter barely has time to receive Magnificent's mental message before--ZAP! Bro's electricity smacks him directly in the face, knocking him into view of the group. He spasms on the floor for a moment, then laughs and goes still. "Is that a new one? Are you actually trying now?" His head turns towards the group, grinning. "Oh? Looks like we're missing some people. You just left them behind? Ah, well." He stands, going from laying on his back to a backbend to pushing himself upright with some disturbing cracking noises. "But we have some friendly faces out there. Hello, Anti. Hello, Jackie. Hello, Aodhan."

Anti stiffens. Then immediately rage clouds his face and he lunges forward. "Get my fucking name out of your fucking mouth!" he shouts. Luckily, Jackie holds him back before he can do anything stupid.

"There is no use hiding!" Schneep says, curling his hands into fists.

"I'm not hiding now, am I?" Distorter spreads his arms wide. "Welcome everyone! So good to see you."

Bro glares and puffs out his chest, standing taller. Until Distorter back bends and he jumps back with wide eyes. “Oh what the fuck?!”

Alt’s eyes widen as Anti’s name gets spoken and then he bares his teeth, electricity crackling. “Fucker! Leave us the hell alone! Why are you even here anyways?”

"I'm here because you're here," Distorter says. "You can't just forget about me and leave!"

"Why not? You--you want to be forgotten." Jackie stutters. He's pale just looking at Distorter but holds his ground.

"Not by my friends!" Distorter's grin widens. "We are friends, aren't we, Jackie?"

Immediately, Jackie's eyes start to glaze over behind his glasses. He lets go of Anti, who stumbles forward and then looks back in shock. "Jackie," he says quietly. "Don't listen--"

Distorter laughs. "I knew it." He turns to look at Alt and Chase. "I'll handle this. You handle them."

Jackie nods slowly, a single drop of red falling from his eye, and lunges at Anti. "No!" Schneep runs for Jackie, trying to pull him back. The three of them are immediately fighting. Jackie's putting his all into fighting his friends, throwing punches and grabbing throats, but the other two are reluctant to hurt him.

Alt’s stomach drops, “Jackie-!”

Distorter turns to look at the Swaps. "You know who's inside this building?" he says. "You old friend. It's just the two of you now. You can't win that fight. Maybe I can help..."

Alt stumbles back as Distorter looks at them.

Bro scoffs and crosses his arms, “We’ve handled Mag more times then you have, ya grayscale bitch.”

Alt tries to growl at Distorter, but his hands are shaking. He’s scared- he’s scared of being so close to Distorter. Of what Mag could be doing. But, he can’t let himself get distracted by Distorter. “Where is he?”

"Hmm. Somewhere in one of these buildings," Distorter says noncommittally. "And I'll point out that quantity does not imply quality. I've won every time so far. You? Not so much. Right, Blitz? Or do you prefer Impulse? Maybe you'd be able to handle Magnificent more if you had some cat tranquilizers on hand, you know."

Alt feels his blood go cold, hearing those names. He staggers back, feeling like he got punched in the gut.

“Hey! Leave him fucking alone!” Bro yells as he tries to fire another electric shot at him. “You’ve done more than enough to him today!”

Distorter laughs and tries to dodge Bro's attack.

In the background, Schneep has managed to pin Jackie to the ground with both hands behind his back. Anti breathes heavily, but looks at Jackie. "H-he's in your head, doc! You hate this, remember? Do you remember what he did to you? Fucking months, Jackie! We were all worried about you! Rama and Michelle were worried about you!"

Jackie shudders. "Anti..." he breathes. "Aodhan... it's... i-it's hard..."

Bro's attack goes wide, and Distorter just laughs harder. "Fucking useless as always!"

"Oh you shut the fuck up!" Schneep snaps from where he is. "Do not listen to him, Chase! You are one of the strongest people I know!"

Chase snorts and grits his teeth, trying to shoot out another shot. “Alt! See if you can help Jackie or try to look for Mag! I’ll handle the gray bitch!”

Alt seems hesitant, glancing at the others. He remembers that- that JJ could shock him out of it… and Jackie didn’t like the glitches. He hurries over to the others and kneels down by Jackie. “Jackie just- sorry- I think this’ll help!” He then grabs Jackie’s shoulder and tries to send a bit of his glitches and magic under his skin.

The glitches under Jackie’s skin don’t feel- great. It’s like fizzling soda but sharp, bringing a bit of an electric jolt through his system.

Jackie's eyes immediately fly open and he gasps, jolting. "Ack! Okay I'm back I'm back! Volt, let me up!" Schneep waits for a moment before standing up, pulling Jackie with him. "Th-thanks, Alt. I guess."

Alt blushes and holds up his hands, “Fuck sorry- I just… jj shocked me out of it but with… cold- god I guess that would be more pleasant…”

At once, the group switches their attention to the conflict between Distorter and Chase.

Inside, it seems like the chips are the most powerful thing in this particular building of the facility. No matter how many doors Mag breaks open, he doesn't find anything more powerful than that.

Magnificent snarls and then tries to teleport into the next building, rushing as fast as he can to try to find something- anything that he could use!

Magnificent has teleported into a building that is just one big room, lined with lockers and...what look like weapons racks. But they don't hold guns or knives. Instead, there are weird metallic boxes and collapsible staffs, handheld devices with extending prongs and loops of black metallic rope. They are all giving off that artificial magic feeling, though more electric than the rest.

Magnificent looks around the room in confusion. Fuck- tech… his cub was better with all of then him. He tries to search around to see if the chips might work with any of these. Before quickly remembering these look like phone chip cards. Okay no fuck! Time to try the last building then- he quickly teleports to the last one, starting to feel a slight drain of his magic that has blood falling from his eyes.

This next attack takes Distorter off guard and hits him square in the chest, knocking him over. His limbs jitter for a moment before he gets back up, shoulders rolling, knees bending. He looks at Chase and growls, dropping the smile for a split second. "You know you're going to die alone," he whispers. "And you know you'll deserve it." Before he tries for a blunt mental attack--not looking for control. Just looking for pure damage.

Bro feels his blood run cold as he sees Distorter’s smile drop. But before he can brace himself there’s a mental weight so severe on his mind that he doubled over and screams, curling up as he digs fingers into his skull.

Alt screams at seeing Bro fall and then glitches to try to tackle Distorter to the floor, electricity sharp and bright around him.

Distorter is so concerned with torturing Bro that he doesn't notice Alt until it's too late. The tackle slams him to the ground, Alt's loose electricity zapping him into immobility. He screams--not in pain, but frustration.

The other three all immediately rush over, following Alt. Schneep helps him pin Distorter to the ground, grabbing his blackened wrists. He's not bothered by the proximity to Alt's zapping.

"You shut the fuck up!" Anti shouts. "You shut the fuck up! Leave him alone! Leave all of us alone!"

Alt repeatedly slams Distorter into the ground, pulling him up and down by his shirt. “TOUCH MY BROTHER AGAIN!! I’LL KILL YOU İ̵̘’̵̤͒L̶̆ͅĹ̷̳ ̵̯̃F̴̩͋U̵̙͆C̵̥̆K̵̹͆I̴̗̽NG KILL YOU!!” Alt screams, voice glitching with his body as he slams more and more electricity into Distorter- his magic reaching dangerous levels.

Jackie rushes for Bro. "What happened?!" He's instantly in doctor mode, looking for injuries but seeing none.

Bro slowly uncurls and blinks blearily out, his head absolutely killing him. His whole body feels off and heavy but- there’s no fog. “hngh- yeah yeah i- im okay…” He pushes himself up and then stares at Alt losing his shit with wide eyes. “Alt! Hey I’m okay! It’s okay!”

Both Anti and Schneep stare at Alt with wide eyes--the reaction makes sense but it's more than they were expecting. "Alt, please! Stop!" Schneep tries to push Alt away from Distorter but Alt is too furious to be stopped, and Anti doesn't want to get close to the electricity.

The last building has its power off, looking locked down. This is rooms and rooms of storage of some kind. Everything in here is either on a shelf or in a box, labelled with a series of numbers or letters and a reason why it's in here instead of being used. Most of them are labeled "failed prototype" and have an attached explanation.

Somewhere in the mess is a small, phone-sized box. And inside are three devices stacked on each other that very much resemble smart phones. They are made of white metal with a glass screen, and a single power on button at the top. This box is labelled "TRVLR - failed prototype. Lack of adequate portable power." They feel like the chips do.

Mag hurries to look around and finally stumbles across the box. His eyes widen, seeing the name and then fumbling to try to insert one of the chips into the TRVLR.

The back of the TRVLR slides open easily enough, but it looks like it already has all the parts, chip included. After all, the labelled issue with it was the power source. Perhaps it just needs a jolt. A zap.

Magnificent sees the chip there already and is confused- until he remembers how they got here in the first place. He grins and laughs to himself, already feeling the familiar spark of his cub.

He grabs the device and then teleports back out into the battle, reaching out and yanking Alt off of Distorter, quickly wrapping his arm around Alt’s neck, choking him.

Alt flails and tries to claw his way out of Mag’s arms.

“Now now Anti! We really must teach you how to manage your temper~!” Magnificent laughs sinisterly and then holds up the device. “I think it’s time we had a change of scenery, don’t you?”

"Whoa, what the fuck?!" Anti aims his knife at Magnificent. "Put him down you bitch!" He knows that a single knife is not so threatening but fuck it, he's not going to let Mag get away with that!

Distorter is very shaken from Alt's attack but still tries to lunge forward. Schneep grabs him. "I have this!" He says through gritted teeth.

"The only reason you 'have this' is because IRIS fucked your brain into pieces!" Distorter spits, venom in his voice as he struggles. Schneep flinches but won't let go. A few blue sparks fly off his hands.

Jackie gasps and stands up as well. "What is that?! What does that do?!" He points at the TRVLR.

Magnificent laughs wildly, “I can feel it- this must be it! It must be how I can get to another world~! But of course, I need help from my favorite cub~!”

Alt pales and then fights more against Mag, “No! Fucking- let me go! I just want to go home!”

“But this will let us go home, Alt! Don’t you wanna help us get back to your precious family?” Magnificent whispers smoothly. Alt hesitates.

Bro struggles up and glares at Magnificent’ “Let him go Mag! You can’t keep fucking using him like he’s a battery!”

Magnificent tilts his head to the side and smirks, “But that’s all he’s good for, isn’t he? Can’t do much but hurt others with those powers of his~ at least with me, he can serve a higher purpose!”

Alt cringes and looks away, fighting a little less, a look of regret and sorrow in his eyes.

"Oh you shut the FUCK up!" Anti snaps. "Alt is more than his powers! And he doesn't need the self-delusional bullshit that you live on to convince yourself that you're more than some sad pathetic man who doesn't have anything he cares about or anyone who cares about him!"

Distorter laughs, oddly endorsing Anti's words. Schneep zaps him again.

"You don't even know if that'll work in the first place!" Jackie adds desperately. "And you don't know how to use it! You could end up somewhere terrible!"

Magnificent turns to Anti with a murderous expression, throwing out green fire towards him in a fit of rage. “SHUT UP! You know fucking nothing you second rate failure of a father!”

He then grips Alt’s arm and builds up black magic again, digging his claws in. “I don’t care- as long as it works, I don’t care! I’ll find something more than the wasted magic here.”

Alt pleads, tears in his eyes.“No! S-Stop! I don’t want to do this again! Just let us go home!” He wants to glitch away but he could set off the machine and send Mag rampaging into another world!

“Mmm how bout we make this a bonding trip, kitten? It seems like your brother will be in good hands here!”

“No- no!! Fucking let me GO!!”

Bro looks at this with fear in his eyes. He can’t let Mag just leave him here. But- he can’t let Mag corrupt Alt either! He’s gotta think- gotta think!

The fire is unexpected. Anti barely dodges it. But it does get the end of his jacket sleeve. He hurriedly pulls it off and stomps out the fire. "Yeah?! Yeah?! Tell me something I haven't heard before you piece of shit! You got nothing on me after the shit I've been put through!"

Faintly, Distorter smiles proudly. But this isn't good. They just got here, he can't lose two great asset--friends now. Schneep's electricity is preventing him from moving, but if he concentrates... he still has a hold on Magnificent.

{Let go.} The words are accompanied by a push of fog.

Magnificent growls, pressing claws further into Alt’s skin, ready to corrupt Alt fully again.

Then, the link with Distorter rushes over his mind, everything turning into fog. His eyes widen and go hazy, and he slowly lets Alt fall to the ground.

Alt doesn’t hesitate to run, then once he’s far away, glitch back over towards the others. But he does look back at Mag with confusion, panting heavily.

The others know the signs of Distorter's influence when they see them. "What the fuck?!" Schneep gasps.

Distorter looks up at him. "Did you think I couldn't--"

Schneep shocks him again and looks at the others in alarm. "We have to get out of here!"

"There have to be more of those things somewhere in here!" Jackie says, indicating the TRVLR. He glances around the buildings, noticing the small difference in the IRIS logos painted on the side. "There!" he points. "I-I think that's the storage!"

"Gotta go either way!" Anti says. "Go go go go!"

They all break into the run. Schneep makes sure to give Distorter a big shock before he runs.

Alt stares at Mag with apprehension but Bro is quick to scoop him up and then carry him fireman style after the others. “H-Hey! Chase!”

“I can run faster than you just- c’mon!”

Magnificent tries to shake his head, trying to push past the gray. He was… doing something important.

The group get stalled at the door for a moment befoer Schneep shouts "Fuck it!" and grabs the keycard scanner, jolting it with so much electricity that it smokes. Nothing happens--but now the door is unlocked. Jackie leads the way inside, scrambling through his memories. Where would IRIS store a multiverse jumping device?! It looked like a phone--somewhere they could tuck it away easily, maybe--

The group checks a couple different doors before Anti yells out. "This it?!"

Bro sets Alt down once they’re inside and they quickly help the others search. Once Alt hears that Anti found something, he glitches over.

Everyone else rushes to him. He's found the box with the two other TRVLRs. "It says they don't have a good power source--that's why that bitch wanted Alt."

Alt looks at the device curiously- and now that they have some distance from Mag… he sends a bit of his electricity into the machine. Worse comes to worse… he’ll destroy it if Mag tries to take it.

The TRVLR's screen lights up as soon as Alt sends a jolt into it. There are three white circles arranged on a triangle against a black background. The top one has an X icon, the left one has an upwards-pointing arrow, and the right one has a gear icon. "Weird," Anti mutters. He taps the gear and it opens up a screen of technical-looking text. "Nope." Luckily, there's a handy Back icon at the bottom. "What is this?"

Jackie leans over and presses the circle with the up arrow. A pop up appears, with the words Are you sure you want to initiate jump? and a Yes and No option.

"Nooooo no no, not yet." Jackie quickly presses No. He looks at Alt and Chase. "I, uh... I think that button can... get you home. If you're ready."

"What about the top?" Schneep asks.

Anti presses the button with the X icon. The three circles disappear, now replaced by a list of letters and numbers. In the middle is U-0407019SW - Current Location.

"Oh. It's a map. Uhhh... how do we know which one is these guys's home?"

"It must be close, for them to get here so easily," Schneep says. "Perhaps the one above or below?"

Alt stares at the device as the others poke and prod at it. At least he knows now Mag would have been just as confused… Alt’s heart leaps into his throat as Jackie tells them about the jump button. He nods.

Chase squints at the numbers, “god- that’s confusing… we wouldn’t know the fucking area code of our dimension! We just get dragged places…”

“What if we chose wrong,” Alt asks quietly. “What if we really do end up somewhere worse? And we… we can’t leave Mag here- he’ll…” He swallows thickly.

"Hey," Anti says gently. "There's going to be risk with this no matter what you do. Even if you could find that weird doorway, how would you know you'd go back home using it? If you'd rather stay for a while and figure this out... It'd be fine. We'd be cool with that. But...It won't make the risk go away."

"Well, uh, if it helps, you probably shouldn't go to the ones marked with exclamation marks." Jackie points to one on the lists that has a red exclamation point in front of the code. "Those are probably marked off for a reason."

Alt narrows his eyes at the exclamation points and then nods. Okay… at least they know what to avoid. “…we need to get Mag out of here… the longer we stay- the more we put the rest of you at risk-“

Outside, Distorter gets to his feet and stretches, arching his back so far that it pops. He looks at Magnificent, who is still confused. Hmm... you know what? That was a mistake. He should've taken the opportunity to get into Alt's head while he was freaking out because of the magician. But he was distracted by the shock-induced convulsions. Well, Mag will get over the confusion. For now, Distorter heads towards the building where they ran. Even if Mag recovers and takes Alt away, he might still be able to get rid of that copy of once-him.

Magnificent clutches at his head as he’s left alone. He then blinks and through the slowly clearing fog starts to stumble towards the storage building. Right right- he was looking for something- god c’mon! Think!

Distorter can hear them talking. He walks closer--slowly, he can't just hide from them with that one there. What are they talking about? Risk?

{You don't have to go anywhere if it's too dangerous,} Alt hears the voice in his head. {Stay here, where it's safe.} It's accompanied by a gentle push.

Alt pauses, the voice slithering in his head. There’s a push but Alt quickly shakes himself out of it and whips around, wide eyes looking around for Distorter. “Fuck- he’s already here?”

Magnificent digs his claws into the doorway and leans against it, dazed eyes narrowing at the group. He sees- they have the device too. He growls, pushing himself forward. His cub was going to pay for escaping him- trying to steal his victory.

Bro hears this and spins around, sliding in front of the others and holding his arms out protectively, flashing silver blue eyes at Mag. “Don’t you fucking dare, Mag.”

"Well it's all just going to shit, isn't it?" Anti mutters. "Here." He hands the TRVLR to Alt. "You should at least hold onto it."

"He's dazed," Jackie whispers, too quiet for Mag to hear. "Because of Distorter. You might not have another chance to get him out of here." He glances back and forth between Chase and Alt. "Don't worry about us. We've dealt with our bastard before, we can do it again."

“Alright, I can grab him. Then Alt- you try whatever address feels right-“ Bro replies.

“Wait i-!” Alt holds the TRVLR close and then starts searching through the addresses with wide eyes, trying not to panic.

Distorter sees Magnificent coming. He got over that sooner than expected, actually. And he can feel the link between them straining. He can't push it too far or it'll break. Fine. He'll settle for taking care of the once-him copy. If Mag takes Alt, that one will no doubt have a crisis he can use. {Well? What are you waiting for? Don't you want to get out of here?}

Magnificent sees the device is working and he yells out in wild desperation, especially as he hears Distorter echoing in his head. He tries to push past Bro to grab at Alt. Bro quickly tries to grab him, trying to wrestle him to the floor. “Choose one, Alt! Hurry!”

"Mother fucker!" Schneep spots Distorter ducking out of sight. "Stop this! I have it, you guys, go on!" He only hesitates for a moment to look at Alt.

"Good luck. And goodbye."

Alt is trying not to panic but he meets Schneep’s eyes. He nods, “G-Goodbye Volt.”

Then Volt lunges for Distorter, who shrieks in frustration and actually runs, not wanting to enter another cycle of shocks.

"Make sure you've all got a hold of each other!" Jackie advises.

There's a number close to the current location on the list reading U-1030018ST. That has to be promising, right? It doesn't have a mark and has the same prefix as this one. That means it's probably similar, right? Their home is similar, right?

Alt hesitates but scrolls to the address and thinks it looks right- but he can’t hesitate for too much longer. He rushes to Chase, who holds out a hand for him to take while Magnificent squirms and hisses in his grasp. Alt takes Bro’s hand and then looks back at Anti and Jackie. He looks scared but- grateful. “..t-thank you guys- for everything!”

He then chooses the address and clicks the jump button, confirming yes before he can hesitate further.

The others barely have time to nod in acknowledgement before Alt presses the jump button. Then, to Alt, Bro, and Magnificent, there is a split second where they area falling--through space?--it's dark with pinpricks of light--and then they are no longer here.

Anti stares at the spot where they just were, before green light enveloped them and they disappeared without a trace. "I hope they make it," he whispers.

Jackie can only nod. Then he takes a deep breath. "Let's get Schneep and get out of here."

"Yeah."

They both stare at the spot for a second longer before running out of the room.

[goalhofer]

Famous 1922 births.

Bishop José De Jesús Sahagún De La Parra (Mexican Catholic bishop)

Albert Lamorisse (French movie director & producer)

Betty White Ludden (American actress)

Agathe Poschmann (German actress)

Joanne Dru Wood (American actress)

Daniel Macnee (British-American actor)

Haskell Wexler (American cinematographer & movie producer)

Audrey Meadows Six (American actress)

Kathryn Grayson (American actress & singer)

Archbishop Hilarion Capucci (Syrian Catholic archbishop)

Ralph H. Baer (German-American inventor & video game designer)

Cyd Charisse Morris (American actress & dancer)

Karl Kordesch (Austrian-American inventor)

Carl Reiner (American actor & director)

Russ Meyer (American movie director & producer)

Richard Kiley (American actor & singer)

Doris Day (American actress & singer)(pictured)

Josephine Cottle Masterson aka Gale Storm (American actress & singer)

Michael Ansara (Syrian-American actor)

Barbara Hale Katt (American actress)

Jack Klugman (American actor)

Roscoe Brown (American actor & director)

Darren McGavin (American actor)

Bea Arthur (American actress)

Sir Christopher Lee (British actor & singer)

Baroness Sheila Sim Attenborough (British actress)

Judy Garland DeVinko (American actress & singer)(pictured)

Eleanor Parker Hirsch (American actress)

Howie Schultz (American baseball & basketball player)

Jason Robards; Jr. (American sailor & actor)

Rory Calhoun (American actor)

Friar Jules Wieme (Belgian Catholic lay brother & missionary)

Margaret Middleton aka Yvonne De Carlo (Canadian-American actress)

Isaac Caesar (American actor & writer)

Jackie Cooper; Jr. (American actor & director)

Mervyn Hamilton (American movie director)

Janis Paige Gilbert (American actress & singer)

Cardinal Roger Etchegaray (French Catholic cardinal)

Noémi Ban (Hungarian-American holocaust survivor & lecturer)

Lizabeth Scott (American actress & singer)

Dr. St. Gianna Beretta Molla (Italian doctor & Catholic saint)

Fr. Luigi Giussani (Italian Catholic priest)

Coleen Gray Zeiser (American actress)

Ruby Dee Davis (American actress & poet)

Michel Galabru (French actor)

Iancu Țucărman (Romanian engineer & holocaust survivor)

Barbara Bel Geddes Lewis (American actress & artist)

Dorothy Dandridge (American actress & singer)

Kim Hunter Emmett (American actress)

Constance Ockelman aka Veronica Lake (American actress)

Stanford R. Ovshinsky (American engineer & inventor)

Charles M. Schulz (American cartoonist)

Redd Foxx (American comedian & actor)

Maila Syrjäniemi Mioni aka Maila Nurmi (American actress)

Paul Winchell (American actor & ventriloquist)

Ava Gardner (American actress)

Stan Lee (American comic book writer & editor)(pictured)

[crystalninjaphoenix]

On The Outside

Switch AU

A JSE Fanfic

A bit of a shorter chapter this time! Short for me, at about 5500 words XD But hey, it doesn't need to be longer, y'know? We flash back a couple days to look at how the rest of the group reacted to the main guys disappearing. Jack, Stacy, and Rama all have to figure out what to do now that five of their friends are missing. They get help from an unexpected source... and one of them has an encounter with a very expected hostile source indeed. Anyway yeah. A few shorter scenes. Enjoy!

More of This AU | | First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Read on AO3 under CrystalNinjaPhoenix

“Sam? Saaam?” Jack wandered around the hospital hallways, looking around for that familiar green glow. Where could they have gone?

“Do they always disappear like this?” Stacy asked.

“I mean, I don’t keep an eye on them all the time, but they rarely leave suddenly like this,” Jack explained. “Even when they disappeared to go find Anti the first time—and I mean the first time, you know, before I even met any of them—even then, they said something vague about needing to do something.”

“This is no time for jokes,” Stacy said, slightly annoyed.

“Huh?”

“You said ‘keep an eye on them.’”

Jack stopped walking. Then he laughed. “I didn’t mean to do that.” His smile quickly fell. “But seriously. I have a bad feeling about them being gone. Maybe they’re outside?”

“Is it really a good idea to leave the others?” Stacy asked. “After all, Distorter might still be around.”

Jack hesitated. “We’ll just pop our heads outside really quick. You can stay up here if you want.”

“No... I think we should stay in pairs. Safety in numbers, you know?”

The two of them took the elevator down to the first floor, then headed out through the main entrance. Outside, the parking lot didn’t look too unusual. It was filled with cars, including a blue van parked next to the curb. But Jack started, hearing something. “Sam?” he called.

“What? Do you see them?” Stacy asked.

“No, but I hear them, so they can’t be too far,” Jack said. “They’re saying to go down the street... Sam, we can’t leave the others. Are you sure?” He paused. “Well... if it will only take a minute... They want you to come, too, Stacy.”

Stacy frowned, but didn’t protest, just followed Jack as he walked down the street.

Then down another.

And another.

“Sam, this is getting ridiculous,” Jack muttered. “Why do we need to go so far? And where are you? You’re not flying away, are you?” He paused. “Are you?” He made a face. “Sam, this isn’t funny. We might as well go back to the hospital—Gah! Okay, okay, fine! But we’re not going any farther than the street corner.”

He and Stacy stop next to a traffic light on a corner. Jack looked up—and noticed one of the lights was the wrong shade of green. “Sam! Get down here!” he shouted.

Sam flew down to the sidewalk, hovering between Jack and Stacy. “So, uh, what’s up with the wild good chase?” Stacy asked the little eyeball.

“Yeah, this really isn’t like you.” Jack folded his arms and glared at them.

Sam darted forward, up to Jack’s face.

“Whoa!” Jack stumbled backwards, pressing his hands to his ears. “Slow down, Sam!” But Sam continued to stare at him intently.

“What are they saying?” Stacy asked.

“Well, uh... I can’t remember if you know this, but sometimes Sam gets these strange feelings, this, uh... knowledge that they need to do something.” Jack bit his lip. “They suddenly had one of these feelings, and knew that you and I had to leave the hospital. But they don’t know why.”

Stacy shivered. “Maybe there was some danger?”

Jack’s eyes widened. “Maybe there was some danger... shit!” He spun around and ran back the way they came. Stacy followed shortly after. They both had the same thought. If there was danger at the hospital, the others could be in trouble. And even if they weren’t—danger in a hospital was never a good thing.

Even running, it took a while for them to reach the hospital again. And then they had to get up to the right floor and the right word. Neither of them said anything the whole way, too worried with what they would find when they returned to the room.

But what they found was... nothing at all.

———————

“They couldn’t have just disappeared!” Rama shouted.

“No, we know! Clearly something happened!” Stacy shouted back, her voice cracking.

“Can we all stop yelling at each other?!” Jack yelled.

Rama slumped. They ran a hand through their hair and turned around, pacing across their living room. “You’re right. This isn’t helping anything. I just... e-everything was going so well. Jackie was back, Anti was going to be back... fuck, how do I explain this to Michelle and Will?”

“I don’t know,” Jack said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. Whatever happened there, you two probably wouldn’t have been able to stop it.” Rama looked at Sam, sitting on the edge of the TV. “Why?” They asked them. “Why did you feel like they needed to be away from there?”

A pause. “Sam said they don’t know,” Jack said. “They never really know the reason for their feelings. But... I think we need to be out here.”

“If we were there at the time, we probably would have been taken by whoever did this, too, right?” Stacy said. “That’s why Sam felt like we needed to be away. Which brings us to the question. Who did this? Was it Distorter?”

Rama shook their head. “I don’t know much about Distorter, but from what the others have told me about him, this is not his style. He only wants to control some of them, he wants the rest dead. I have no doubt that if Distorter somehow got an upper hand in that hospital room, there would be at least one body in there. But I do not think he would be able to get that upper hand in the first place. His powers seem very... individual. I would bet he cannot control too many people at one time. He could not make them all walk out.”

“What if... what if Distorter controlled some of them, and made them fight each other?” Stacy suggested. “And the ones being controlled won, so they knocked the others out and dragged them off.”

“There would’ve been signs of a struggle,” Jack said.

“I... yeah, that’s a good point.” Stacy’s shoulders slumped. “So then... why are they gone? Who did this?”

“I have a guess,” Rama muttered. “IRIS. They probably aren’t happy that Jackie took some of their technology.”

“And Schneep... he was a subject there,” Stacy said slowly. “They would want to take him back.”

“Same with Anti,” Jack muttered. “And if IRIS specializes in investigating impossible things, they’d want to take JJ and Marvin, too. For their magic.”

“So we agree,” Stacy said. “IRIS was probably behind this. But... where does that leave us?” They glanced back and forth between Jack and Rama. “We were only able to get Jackie out of that compound because Volt and JJ went in to get him. What do the three of us do? We’re just sort of... normal people.”

“We can come up with something,” Rama said. There was such conviction in their voice that it seemed inevitable. “Stacy, don’t you have some sort of in with them?”

“Huh? I mean... I guess? Maybe? I talked with a guy...”

“And Jack, you have Sam. Surely Sam can help.”

Jack looked over at Sam, who curled their nerve-tail around them as they balanced on the TV. “I guess if we really have to, Sam could try to scout out that IRIS compound. But I don’t want to put them in danger. If IRIS likes weird things, there’s nothing weirder than Sam.”

“Hmm. True.” Rama sighed. “We will come up with something,” they said again, sounding a bit less sure than they did before.

“Do we even know where they are?” Stacy asked. “They have multiple bases, right? Maybe they’re not at that one compound you drove JJ and Schneep out to, Rama.”

Rama went a bit pale. “Well... then we’ll find them!... somehow.”

Jack rubbed his eyes. “I... I’m tired, you two. And maybe... maybe in shock. Are we... really in a mental state to plan a rescue?”

“A mental state?!” Rama repeated incredulously. “Are you saying we should take a break?! We don’t have time for that! Who knows what’s happening to them now that they’ve been fucking kidnapped!”

“Um, well, I-I think Jack has a point...” Stayc said slowly. “I don’t think... IRIS will want to hurt them too badly. They seem like a mad scientist type of group. They’ll probably want to keep them alive... for... stuff.” She shifted on her feet uncomfortably.

“So you’re saying we just stop here?” Rama asked.

“I’m saying we take the rest of the day to think about what to do individually,” Jack said. “We can meet back here tomorrow, once we’ve processed this emotionally. Then our heads will be clearer. And we’ll be ready to make a plan.”

Rama didn’t say anything right away. They turned to stare blankly out the window. Looking towards that IRIS compound where Jackie had been. Then their shoulders slumped. “Sure. Sure we can do that. Do you two need a ride?”

“The bus is fine, thanks,” Stacy said.

“Yeah.” Jack nodded. “We took it here, we can take it back to our places.”

“Alright.” Rama nodded. “See you tomorrow.”

Jack and Stacy said their goodbyes, and Sam flew over to hide in Jack’s pocket. Rama watched them leave through the living room front window. The second they were out of sight, they collapsed onto the sofa, putting their head in their hands. Tears welled in their eyes. Why did so many bad things happen? Just when Jackie had returned, he got taken away again. What bullshit was that? Did god just hate them and Jackie and their little group of friends?

They wanted to just sit there and cry for a little. But then Rama remembered that the kids were still here. Michelle and Will were home. It would be time for lunch soon. They couldn’t just not feed the children they were looking after. So they took a shaky breath and stood up. After lunch, they would have to find some way to break the news to the kids about what happened. They would have to find some way to reassure them. And then... then they would deal with their feelings.

———————

Jack had a hard time getting to sleep that night. He stared up at the ceiling of the hotel room, unable to even close his eyes. He knew it was probably a good thing that Sam had made him leave the hospital. If IRIS really was behind this, they might’ve captured him, too, for his connection to Sam. But... he couldn’t help but feel like he should have done something more. Like he should have stayed behind to help. Maybe it would’ve made a difference. Maybe not. But shouldn’t he have stayed to try?

Maybe he thought too much about helping other people. He spent more time doing that than looking after himself, he knew that. If he just focused for a while, got a real job, he could afford to rent somewhere to stay instead of internally living in hotels. But he didn’t. If he could help others, didn’t that mean he should? Especially if one of these people he could help was a family member he didn’t know existed, and who clearly had been through a lot? Poor Anti... just escaping Distorter’s vice grip on his mind only to be caught by IRIS again.

Sam didn’t sleep. They rested, but they didn’t really sleep. So when Jack noticed a slight glow moving in the corner of his vision, he thought it was them. Until he realized that Sam’s glow was green, and this was a white glow.

Jack immediately sits up and reaches for the nightstand. His phone is there, but so is a knife he’d borrowed from Anti’s apartment recently—or at least, Sam had, bringing it to him in case of self-defense. He hadn’t thought he would need it but in this situation—!

Then he froze. He stared.

Something was forming at the foot of his bed.

It started as a thin column of white light, but as he watched, it filled out, becoming wider, but also fainter. It grew into the vague shape of a person, with arms and a head, but not much else.

ck?aJ

Jack gasped. That voice! It was definitely a voice, but—he couldn’t exactly hear what it was saying. And yet, somehow he knew what it was asking instinctively. “Wh-what are you? H-how do you know my—my name?”

nilWY. chouc srmae eapl

“...call you... Whisper?” Jack repeated, brows furrowing in concentration. It was definitely appropriate. Their voice sounded like a whisper. A very, very weird whisper. “Okay. But you didn’t answer my other question!”

.m mnrT neihad se’.o etferI’i

“What do you mean? Why should I trust you?”

neiso reh’tmT. epedahsf neotnra hnon toah ma iieoTv dh,d uucho.f e rrol r

“The what?”

Bn dst t oyuaeowioud c.f’aoetitre ii , tepn eeblcut tobs’.tYn

“Th-that doesn’t make any sense!” Jack protested.

But the white light of the figure was fading. Soon, it was gone, leaving only a lingering voice in the air.

uhraP rle.sye

Jack stares at the spot where the glowing figure had been. No sign of them remained. “Uh... Sam?”

Sam popped into view. They rested in a small shoebox on the other nightstand.

“Did you... see that? Too?”

Sam told him that they did.

“Oh... okay. Good.” Jack... didn’t know what else to say. Or what else to do. He just... leaned back and went back to bed.

Strangely enough, he has a better time getting to sleep after that.

———————

“Maybe it was an illusion?” Stacy asked. “A trick by Distorter?”

Jack shook his head. “I don’t think so. Sam would have said something. Right?” He was in Rama’s living room once again, this time sitting on the sofa instead of standing. Sam, on his shoulder, bobbed up and down and told Jack that they would have. “Yeah, right.”

“But... can Sam be fooled by Distorter?” Rama asked.

“No no, it’s the opposite, really,” Jack said. “Sam is immune to his powers. That’s why Sam was trying to break through Distorter’s hold in the first place.”

“Well that begs the question, then,” Stacy said. “What was it? Who is this ‘Whisper’ person?”

“Is it even a person?” Rama wondered.

“And what do they want?” Stacy asked.

“I think... I think they want to help us,” Jack said slowly. “They mentioned the compound was to the north... they must have meant the IRIS compound. The one where the others are being kept.”

Rama and Stacy glanced at each other. “Well... that’s great, if it’s true,” Stacy said slowly.

“I can drive up there today, maybe?” Rama said. “But then again, someone has to watch Will and Michelle. And I...” They glanced down the main hallway of the house. The kids were sleeping in today. They hadn’t had the heart to wake them up at the usual time. “...I don’t want to leave them alone. Even with a babysitter.”

“What about tomorrow, then?” Stacy asked. “They have school, then, don’t they?”

Rama scowled. “Can we really leave Jackie and the others in that IRIS place for so long?”

“I... don’t know if we have a choice,” Jack said. “Oh, uh, there’s also that other thing that Whisper said. Something about, uh... we won’t be able to see the compound, but we can find it?”

Rama paused, thinking. “Jameson said that the compound Jackie was at was magically hidden somehow. That’s why he had to come with me and Volt. Well, that, and being backup.” They paused again. “Actually... I think he said it was... not magic? Or... it was some power that was similar to magic? Ah, I don’t understand any of the magic stuff.”

“So... if it’s hidden... how are we supposed to find it?” Stacy asked, getting frustrated. “How are we supposed to find anything if we can’t see it?”

“I don’t know!” Jack threw his hands into the air. “Maybe we’ll get some weird fucking magic sense! Maybe this Whisper will be there! Who knows?!”

“Alright, alright.” Rama shook their head. “In any case, if we can’t go there today, we should talk about what we will do tomorrow when we get there. I think we should scout it out first. But IRIS will probably be protected, so we shouldn’t get too close... Sam might be of some help, but as Jack said yesterday, IRIS might take an interest in them...”

“Maybe we could be more stealthy than that?” Stacy asked. “What if we find some way to sneak in under, uh, regular circumstances?”

Jack and Rama looked at her. Jack made a ‘go on’ gesture.

“Well, I thought about what you said yesterday, about me having an ‘in’ with IRIS,” Stacy said. “They really seemed helpful when I talked to that guy, you know? And, uh, sent me the cameras. Maybe... maybe I could contact them again. Tell them about more weird stuff I’d seen. Try to come up with some reason for me to have to go to one of their facilities. Then, uh, if I go in there, maybe I could look around, try to figure out if Anti and everyone are really there, and how to get them out.”

“By yourself?” Jack asked.

“Huh?”

“Are you suggesting you’d go in by yourself?” Jack repeated. “That, uh, doesn’t seem like the best idea... I know that we don’t have any special powers like the others or anything, but the three of us on this rescue would be better than just one person.”

Stacy slumped slightly. “Maybe I could... tell them about you guys? Maybe if I said you two were involved, too, we could get a legitimate way in.”

Rama frowned. “I shouldn’t be involved if we’re doing things that way. They definitely know that I’m married to Jackie. They might realize that we’re looking for him if I come along.”

“Just me and Jack, then. You can stay outside and... provide backup?”

Rama chuckled. “I was the getaway driver when we got Jackie out.”

“Maybe we could buy some walkie-talkies or something to communicate with each other on whatever heist we do!” Jack said.

Stacy blinked. “Or... we could use our phones?”

“Oh. Well, yeah, but walkie-talkies are cooler. And less noticeable.”

“I think a phone, something that everyone carries around, would be much less noticeable than a walkie-talkie, which almost no one carries around casually.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Fine. But we might need supplies, anyway. Like... self-defense weapons.”

They talked for as long as they could, before Rama heard the kids starting to stir in their room. Once that happened, they agreed it would be best to break it off for now. Though none of them were happy with waiting an extra day to go check out this location Whisper had shared with them, it was really their only option. Unless Jack or Stacy wanted to go out there without Rama, but they didn’t. They all needed to be in this together. They all wanted to be in this together. If they were going to get their friends back, sticking together would be the best way of going about this.

But still, none of them liked to wait.

———————

Jack had said he would buy some supplies that might be helpful. And Rama said they would look after the kids. So that left Stacy by herself for the rest of the day. Unsure what to do. Unsure what she could do. She was just a normal person. She worked in real estate, how was that any help? And honestly, she didn’t even like real estate. So she wouldn’t even be good at that. The most she could probably do was reach out to the freaky corporation keeping the others hostage and hope that they didn’t realize the connection between her and them.

...thinking about it stressed her out. She needed... she needed to not think about it for a moment.

When she needed to relax, she liked to cook or bake. It took up a lot of her mental energy. But she didn’t have many ingredients in her rental house at the moment. She needed to go out for groceries soon... maybe after everyone was back. But she did have ingredients to bake. After all, it was rare that she used up a whole bag of flour. So she ordered food for delivery and got out her supplies. Luckily, the rental house had a lot of things for baking, like pans and a stand mixer. For a while, she lost herself in making some cookies. Chocolate chip ones, because she had the chips to use up.

After a while, she put the tray in the oven, closing it. Now... with nothing to do... her worries returned. Really, how the hell could they get their friends out of a top-secret high-security facility?

“You don’t.”

Stacy spun around immediately. Her hand shot to the side, scrambling for something to defend herself with. But a blackened hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her inches from opening the silverware drawer.

Distorter smiled at her. That same smile he always had. “Hello, there. Been a while, hasn’t it?”

Stacy yanked her hand free. “It hasn’t been that long! We saw you yesterday! A-and that wasn’t long enough! What are you doing here?!” Her eyes darted around. How did he get in?!

“The window in your living room was unlocked,” Distorter said, like he’s trying to be helpful.

“So you do read my mind!” Stacy gasped, going pale.

“Hm... it’s also just very easy to read your face,” Distorter giggled.

Stacy narrowed her eyes. “So... you didn’t read my mind.”

Distorter didn’t answer. He just stared at her. And, after a moment, leaned closer to her. Stacy instinctively took a step back, but she backed into the warm oven. She was cornered. “I’m giving you one last chance,” he whispered. “Leave.”

His voice sent shivers down her spine, but she gritted her teeth and stared back at him. “You’ve given me a lot of last chances,” she said. “I’m starting to think you’re not actually planning on doing anything to me if I don’t lea—”

He grabbed her. Stacy yelped, feeling his hands squeezing her upper arms. Holy shit, she never realized how much taller he was than her. It had to be at least six inches of difference, right? “Don’t test me,” he said in a low voice. “I am very serious, Stacy. I don’t know what I’ll do if you stay, but it won’t be good.” Huh... that didn’t quite sound like a threat. It almost... sounded like a... warning.

What color were his eyes? Stacy stared at his face. His eyes were supposed to be blue. His eyes were supposed to be blue.

...they weren’t blue.

But they weren’t empty black pits, either.

“You know you can’t fight IRIS,” he said. “So go back home. They’re still everywhere in America. But you’ll probably be lost in the move. You can start over. Forget about all of this. Forget about all of this.”

Stacy narrowed her eyes. “Are you... trying to keep me safe?”

His eyes darkened... back into that solid black color. Stacy inhaled sharply as she felt his sharp nails pierce her skin. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he laughed. “Why would anyone want to keep you safe? Only because they need to. Only because you can’t keep yourself safe.”

Stacy flinched. She tried to keep her expression stoic in spite of that, tried to hide how much that really got to her. “Right, of course,” she said, speaking slowly to keep her voice from shaking. “It’s just more of you wanting everyone to forget about you, for some reason. Why? Are you ashamed?”

Distorter blinked, and his grip loosened slightly. “What?”

“Ashamed of what you did to them?” Stacy asked.

He leaned back. For a moment, he looked shocked.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” she persisted. “No one here ever talks about it directly. Even though they all know. Is that your doing? Do you want them to forget about it? I would. I wouldn’t want to be known as the person who killed their own fam—”

“SHUT UP!” Distorter slammed her backwards. Her head hit the edge of an upper cabinet and stars filled her vision. He let go of her—letting her sink to the ground limply—and backed up, breathing heavily. He... could breathe. How... strange. Or maybe... maybe it was more of an emotional response than an actual physical need. He looked down at her wordlessly. She looked up at him in turn, tense, waiting.

And then she blinked, and he seemed to disappear.

She didn’t get up for a while. After all, Schneep had told everyone that Distorter didn’t actually disappear, just vanished from their perspective. But, after a while, she thought he was probably really gone. She stood up slowly. After leaning against the warm oven, her back felt cold. Or maybe that was just the feeling that she was being watched.

Nothing happened for the rest of the night. But her guard stayed up. She didn’t know what was lurking in the shadows after all.

———————

Right after dropping Michelle and Will off at school, Rama drove around to pick up Stacy and Jack (and Sam, too.) None of them said much. Stacy shifted in her seat, staring out the window. The other two could tell there was something on her mind, but that wasn’t surprising, was it? There was a lot on all their minds.

Rama drove straight north. First on a highway that headed out of Mirygale. And then, when it started to turn west, they instead drove off at the first exit that went north. This winding road turned into a dirt path really quickly before dying out abruptly in the middle of a hilly field. Rama parked the car, looking around. “So many empty fields around the city,” they muttered.

“Well, we’ve been driving for long enough, haven’t we?” Jack said. “The IRIS facility has to be around here, somewhere. Maybe over one of the hills?”

“Let’s... look around, then.” Stacy unlocked her passenger-side door. “See if we can... find it. Even though we can’t see it.”

Rama turned off the ignition. “Let’s.”

The three of them headed out of the car and looked around. There was no sign of anything... so, without saying anything to each other, they headed in a random direction.

And they walked.

And they walked.

And they walked for a while.

The car was well out of sight when Sam, riding in the hood of Jack’s hoodie, suddenly popped up. “What is it?” Jack asked. Sam said they had a feeling something was nearby. “Really? Lead the way, then!”

Sam bobbed up and down, then darted to the right, flying swiftly through the air. The three land-bound humans had to run to keep up with them. They sprinted up a hill, with Rama in the lead, followed by Jack, and then Stacy in the rear. Then they ran down it, gravity speeding them up—only for them to have to stop suddenly as Sam froze mid-air. Jack looked at them, and they said that this was the place.

“Alright...” Jack said slowly. “We... don’t see anything. Can you... help with that?”

Sam whirled around to look at the three of them. They paused for a while, thinking. Then darted forward, hitting Jack in the middle of the forehead, and then quickly doing the same to Rama and Stacy. “Gah!” Rama shouted in surprise, and Stacy stumbled back. But Jack was used to Sam doing weird things like this, so he didn’t react. To that, at least. He was too busy gaping at what had just appeared.

A massive stone wall encircled a spot of land in the distance. It was huge, easily taller than the three of them combined, and encompassed an unbelievably wide area. Square white buildings poked over the top, as well as a concrete structure that looked like a parking garage. Jack could see a metal IRIS logo on the edge of one of the buildings.

And then... the whole thing faded from view.

“You... you two saw that, right?” Stacy asked.

“Sam, what did you do?” Rama asked.

Sam said that they were able to disrupt the cloaking for a moment. Jack repeated this for the other two, then added, “Can you do that for longer, Sam?” Sam considered that, and said they didn’t know. “That’s fair. You’re a tiny eyeball, even if you’re a magical eyeball. You probably don’t have enough power to keep that up for long.”

“Whatever this cloaking is, it will disappear once we actually get in,” Rama said decisively.

“How do you know?” Stacy asked.

“Well, it just makes sense, doesn’t it? It would be very inconvenient for the IRIS employees if they had to wander around invisible buildings.” Rama stared at the spot where the facility was, squinting like they were trying to force their way through the cloak. “Maybe... maybe we could go to some magicians for help.”

“Jameson did mention something about a Magic Circle,” Stacy recalled. “Maybe we could find them?” She frowned. “How... how do we find a magician?”

“Maybe they’ll find us?” Jack suggested. “Jameson has this one friend who’s into, uh, divination magic or something. Aoife. Maybe she could find us?” He paused. “Or maybe... maybe we could look through Jameson’s stuff to see if he has the contact info for her or any other magicians around?”

“Just lying around?” Stacy said doubtfully.

“No, that makes sense,” Rama said. “Jameson likes to keep things very organized and he doesn’t have the best memory. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had an old-fashioned address book or something. If not for him, at least for Marvin, who still isn’t used to, uh... phones and everything.”

“So we’re not going to do anything while we’re here, right?” Jack asked.

They were all silent for a moment. Then Stacy nodded. “That’s... that’s a lot more, uh... intimidating... in person. We need... to... plan this out.”

“Let’s hurry,” Rama said. “We have to get them out of here. And the sooner we plan, the sooner we can do that.” They looked back and forth between Jack and Stacy. “We can do this. We can do this. Right?”

They both nodded.

“You have to say it,” Rama insisted. “We can do this.”

“We can do this,” Stacy and Jack said in unison. Sam bopped up and down, also backing up the statement.

“Good.” Rama nodded. “If we... if we focus on this... we can do it.” They took a deep breath. “Back to the car, everyone.”

They didn’t want to turn their back on the facility. Not while they’re here, so close to where their friends are being held. But, though it was hard, they did. And they tried not to think about what might be going on beyond those walls. 

———————

“Have you ever experienced a terrible occurrence that has impacted you significantly?”

Jackie glared across the table at Daniel. “You know that, don’t you? I told you all—w-well not you specifically, but I told IRIS about—about everything that happened to me. You know the answer.”

“Please answer nonetheless,” Daniel said calmly.

“Yes, alright?!” Jackie’s voice cracked. “Are we done yet?!”

“Not yet, Dr. Parker. There’s one more question. Have you ever lost someone close to you?”

“I...” Jackie swallowed a lump in his throat. “I guess... my... parents aren’t around anymore...” He hated that he said that. He shouldn’t have told IRIS that. But they already knew so much about him. What was one more fact?

“Thank you, Dr. Parker.” Daniel stood up. “We will see you again soon.”

“W-wait!” Jackie lunged forward, managing to grab Daniel’s sleeve. He looked down at him in surprise. “Please. Please just—just tell me what’s happening to the others. Wh-what are you doing to them?”

Daniel shook his grip off. His expression shifted very slightly. “EX subject 1-019 is undergoing training, while the anomaly still has some tests to go through before we reach a decision.”

That meant Schneep and JJ. “Wh-what about the other two?” Jackie asked.

“Don’t worry, they are safe,” Daniel said. “We will see you again soon, Dr. Parker.”

Jackie watched him walk away. He didn’t stand up, even though he felt like he should run for the door as Daniel opened it and headed out. The door clicked closed again, and Jackie slumped forward, putting his head on the table. He wondered what that “assessment” was for. They probably wouldn’t tell him, would they? They didn’t tell him any of the plans they had for him.

Though... training, huh? What were they “training” Schneep for? And what would they do to JJ once these tests were done? What sort of tests? And... what were they doing to Anti and Marvin, if they didn’t want to say anything about it to Jackie? Would he know soon? Did they plan to do the same things to him?

He wondered if there was a way out of this place at all.

Then he pushed that thought away. There had to be something they could do! Maybe—maybe people outside would notice that they were missing. Rama would definitely notice! Surely they would do something! Maybe with Jack and Stacy too!

Surely something would give eventually.

Surely... something would give... eventually.

Whether in here... or out there. Something had to give eventually.

[mya-blazing]

Heya! I’ve finally decided to make a Discord server for all the GHOS fans out there.

I’ve seen some people asking if there’s a GHOS Discord server but unfortunately there was not so I finally made one.

I’ve always wanted to join a GHOS Discord server for years now but never existed and I had always wanted to make a Discord server for a long time now so this GHOS server should count as my first-ever made server.

Feel free if you’d like to join the server, it’s open for everyone. Enjoy ;)

Link: https://discord.gg/TfVH4Tbd

[ramblingsofamadblob]

Multiverse AU Other Characters

Jacqulyn “Jacky” Felix: meant to be the human best friend of the MC who does not get into project unearth. The MC it’s still currently an empty slot.

Ovie: I do not have a picture for Ovie but he is an alligator mutant that lives in the sewers, and it’s really sweet and likes to wear sweaters

Kelly Hannon: Dr. Hannon’s nine-year-old daughter

Benni Rat: a rat mutant that runs the sewer community, he has no relation to splinter

Juji Chumodaa: Juji is a member of the sewer community and helps finding non-humans, safe places to stay as well as ferries resources from the safe houses to the sewer community. She views Benni as her father (she is an adult)

Don Parker AKA Sewer Spider:

A vigilante that helps save non-humans from being captured by the government, and ferries them to safe houses or the sewer community. He is the grandson of his univers’s Peter Parker, and his home is one of the safe homes connected to the sewer community where he spends most of his time. He also has secret ties to the rebellion and tries to spy on government facilities or steal from them when he has the chance.

Victor Valentine and Vera Johnson: they run a safe house for other non-humans with direct connections to the sewer community. They will pose as a non-human’s foster family so that non-human can live amongst humans without their lineage being traced. (Vera is their Teenage daughter)