Post by redsycorax on May 18, 2024 3:49:14 GMT
On Earth-616, one version of the Crisis on Infinite Earths obliterated a world full of marvels, with a handful of survivors- the mutants Wolverine and Phoenix, Sue Richards and her children Valeria and Franklin, her brother Johnny Storm (Human Torch), Janet (Wasp) Van Dyne, Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel) and Tony Stark (Iron Man). Many of them have integrated well into their new lives and loves on Earth-617, alongside the members of the Justice League and Teen Titans.
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EARTH-616:
Amidst the decaying bonds of spatiotemporal, electromagnetic and gravimetric solidarity that once held together a living, vibrant universe, two individuals stood gazing at the antimatter storms and unearthly crimson skies:
"Ironic, Emma. I never thought it would end like this. Events beyond even my control."
"Magnus. Fight back. Resist this. This isn't you."
"What's the point, Emma? Look around us. This is the end of everything. What a bitter, bitter joke. Neither humans or mutants inherit the future- because there is no future. Everything I've fought for, every goal, every mutant life saved from genecide, comes to nothing."
"I refuse to let it end like this. There is a way out of this. Please, come with me, Magnus."
"Rogue is gone. So is Cyclops. Does that mean nothing to you?"
"I want to live, Magnus. Help me to survive." She blinked as Magneto's electromagnetic radiation flickered around her, boosting her own formidable psionic abilities, enabling her to permanently depart the charnel house ruination of Earth-616. As she faded, Magneto whispered: "Go well, Emma. Live on for both of us. Rogue. I wish I was here at the end with you, my love." And then the blinding white fires of antimatter claimed Magnus Linkscher.
EARTH-617:
As she materialised on Earth-617 instants later, Emma Frost looked around her. Mere seconds ago, she had been witnessing the shipwreck of a world, of cruelly truncated lives, and telepathic death cries in untold numbers, so much so that she had to deliberately numb her mind to avoid being driven mad. But now... all around her, there was blessed normality, sanctuary, peace and... yes, there were telepaths here as well, she could sense it. But fewer than she was used to. It was morning and a library with a cafe in it were around the corner, as well as Internet tables. She crossed her fingers, but it seemed that her paper money was good here, so history can't have been too different. However, as she delved deeper into this Earth's background, history and culture, she also found some profound differences. No Fantastic Four, no Dr Doom, no Spiderman, no Avengers, no Captain America, no Magneto, no Charles Xavier, no analogue of her either. She pressed on. No X-Men. No Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. She tried 'mutants', next, out of curiosity.
Human evolutionary offshoots or forerunners. And here was a miracle. There was nothing whatsoever about anti-mutantism or geneophobia. This Earth's Second World War hadn't incarcerated and obliterated mutants in its Nazi concentration camps. This Earth had no Mutant Registration Act. Robert Kelly was a minor New England politician. Edward Stryker was an obscure fundamentalist preacher from Texas. Mutants existed here, but their names were unfamiliar to her. Adam Blake, "Captain Comet", was evidently some form of spacefaring action here. Joseph Wilson (Jericho) was mute and had cognitive override abilities. Cynthia Reynolds, Gypsy, who had a range of psionic abilities. Frances Kane, Magenta- a 'mistress' of magnetism. Joshua Clay, Tempest, could shoot kinetic energy from her hands. Paco Ramone, Vibe, control over vibratory abilities. Selinda and Baran Flinders, Shimmer and Mammoth, elemental transmutation and superstrength. And... probably because of the rarity of mutants otherwise, there was no widespread prejudice. Then she saw why, as a side reference alerted her to the universality of the metagene here.
She verified the above and noticed the psionic ambience. Unlike her Earth of origin, there was no widespread hatred, fear, prejudice or homicidal rage against mutants, for whom humanity spared little thought. Magenta, Shimmer and Mammoth were not regarded as major league villains, more as aggressive adolescent villains. She could build a new life for herself here, unknown as Emma Frost. Hmmm. Perhaps not, just in case someone else from her destroyed homeworld had also made it to this one. As she found out over the next few years, she was not alone. She watched television news broadcasts the next morning and her eyes widened as she recognised those other survivors- Jean Grey. James Howlett. Johnny Storm. Tony Stark. Janet Van Dyne. Carol Danvers. Susan Richards, and her children Valeria and Franklin. Eight of them, that was all. She guessed what had happened. Scott must have sacrificed himself to insure Jean got away safely, Reed would have done the same for his family and judging from Janet's shell-shocked expression, Ant-Man must have done so for her. Tears brimmed over at the thought of Scott's irrevocable loss, but no-one in the crowd thought anything of her grief. An elderly woman even handed her a box of tissues. No-one recognised her as Emma Frost, the White Queen.
She needed to think about this. All right. Why engage in criminal activity or acts of mutant retaliation against anti-mutant violence and homicide if neither were necessary to her survival? All right, then. And with that, Talia Winters blended into the crowd, grateful for its anonymity and obliviousness.
FOUR YEARS LATER: CENTRAL CITY:
Talia was beautiful and she knew it. In a slinky black dress and high heels, she made a visible impression on the dancefloor. One figure had particular interest in her and she sensed it. Mmm. Good looking, tall, somewhat reserved. Their eyes met, than, hurriedly broke as she sensed other presences in the nightclub. One of them was a hedonistic alien princess with eyes for the man she was alongside- but in fact, the man alongside her was the problem. Johnny Storm, the Human Torch. Not the brightest member of the former Fantastic Four, but now a member of the twentysomething Titans group where he'd fallen hard for Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, Starfire, who reciprocated. As time had gone on, the former "Marvels" had acclimatised to life here and had started new relationships. Jean Grey had married Ray Palmer, the Atom. Janet Van Dyne had had a major society page wedding when she tied the knot with Dick Grayson, Nightwing. Wolverine, the Wasp and Iron Man were denizens of crime-ridden Gotham City. Sue Richards was keeping a low profile at LexCorp, and hadn't remarried. Carol Danvers had travelled to Themiscyra, the ancestral home of the Amazons, and had struck up a strong friendship with Wonder Woman, protecting her adopted homeland with perseverance and acclaim.
Suddenly, she felt a nauseated pitch at the base of her stomach and caught a stray telepathic impression of such brutality and irrational hatred that she shuddered. She knew what she had to do next, given the psychotic blur that she had witnessed. Several words stood out- Iris Allen, Picture Post News. She ran for the exit and into an alleyway. Her would-be date followed her and his eyes widened as he saw the woman take to the skies. Then, turning to a cache in the same alleyway, he hurriedly dressed, keeping scrutiny of the figure. He was thus also privy to the all too ominous yellow and red blur that suddenly materialised from nowhere and realised what must have happened. Fitting a hood overhead and assembling his weaponry, he ran after the woman and behind the searing ugly lemon yellow rip in reality. His heart hammered. He knew what he was getting into, but that woman probably didn't. She didn't look as if she needed any protection, but that other, more menacing figure had lost any right to it when he'd crossed the line earlier. If he could help it, he wouldn't be allowed to do so again.
PICTURE POST NEWS:
Iris Allen stepped out of her newsroom offices as she sighed. Why was it that her husband, the fastest man alive, Barry Allen, the Flash, was always late in civilian life? No wait, let her guess. Sorry honey, had a hurricane to deconstruct out over Colombia. Took longer than I thought it would. She could just hear him now. As if to emphasise it, she felt a familiar windstream and faint friction heat on her face as the Flash drew nearer. No, wait, something was wrong. Oh, hell. No! Not him! Not Professor Zoom. As the malignant yellow clad speedster reached for her, things happened quickly. Above her, a woman's voice yelled: "Get down, Mrs Allen!"
In the next instant, the Reverse Flash slammed into something invisible but extremely hard in his path. He was flung back by the impact, but picked himself up as a white clad woman interposed herself between him and his quarry. She snarled:
"Whoever you are, get away! This is between me and that woman you're shielding."
"I know who you are, Thawne. And your history with Mrs Allen here. And sorry, but you're not going to get a chance to repeat history"
"T-thank you..." Iris said, backing into the doorway, as a bestial Reverse Flash ran headlong toward Talia Winter, who didn't even blink- as she transformed into diamond, an instant before Eobard Thawne reached her, intending to sunder what he believed to be a fragile body apart. He was unable to adjust his own molecular density in sufficient time, and for the second time that afternoon, skidded over the pavement in front of Picture Post. And then Talia Winter's hands shone as she leapt over Thawne's stunned body and summoned her telekinetic energies outward, coursing into the other's body. Normally, she wouldn't do this, but she realised she had to neutralise this man. He screamed once, and then was still. He was still breathing, but tremors shook his closed eyes and he moaned softly. A moment later, a faint patina of ice covered him:
"You'll be all right now, Mrs Allen."
"You saved my life, whoever you are. But... how can you be sure?"
Captain Cold- Len Snart stepped from the alleyway: "Because this lady just changed Thawne's molecular biology, Mrs A. He's incapable of superspeed again."
"Captain Cold?"
"Look, Mrs A, I may be a rogue, but you've covered us enough times in that magazine of yours to know we have a strict code against killing. Thawne violated it when he killed you that first time. That's why I'm here. Civilians are off limits. And so is deliberate homicide."
"And to answer your question, Mrs Allen, my name is... Winter Queen. I'm a telepath and telekine and I've had some practice. Oh, and I don't think you'll ever have trouble with that stalker ordure again. I've made sure his molecular biology has been permanently altered. Actually, I think I might have saved his life- it seems to be different in terms of some of the chemical compounds that empowered your friend the Flash, but in his case, the mixture contains several neurotoxins. Not that it excuses his actions, but some men never learn." [Relax, Mrs. Allen. I know your husband is the Flash, but your secret is safe with me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to check out that gorgeous bad boy over there...]
As she stepped forward, Talia looked up at Captain Cold:
"Thanks for the help."
"You looked like you didn't need it."
"Nonsense. You helped incapacitate Thawne at the end when he might have used residual superspeed to make a quick recovery."
"You're quite a woman, y'know."
"Look, handsome, I'm not doing anything later tonight and I liked what I saw both on the battlefield and in the nightclub earlier. What say we get to know each other better?'
And with that, she encircled his waist and moved against him, kissing him. And in that moment, a spark ignited within the ice of the Central City winter afternoon.
EPILOGUE:
Back at the nightclub, as they watched the Central City Television News, Johnny Storm was bewildered:
"I don't get it, Kory. She was either Emma Frost, the White Queen, a supervillain from our world, or an alternate. But... she saved that woman's life."
"Not just any woman, Johnny. Iris is 'family'. Why? Was this White Queen a murderer on your world?"
"Nope, but she was a militant mutant. On the other hand, mutants were treated fairly lousily back home."
"People change, Johnny."
"I know, Kory. I just hope she really has, that's all."
[THE END : 2.55 PM, MAY 20, 2024]
++
EARTH-616:
Amidst the decaying bonds of spatiotemporal, electromagnetic and gravimetric solidarity that once held together a living, vibrant universe, two individuals stood gazing at the antimatter storms and unearthly crimson skies:
"Ironic, Emma. I never thought it would end like this. Events beyond even my control."
"Magnus. Fight back. Resist this. This isn't you."
"What's the point, Emma? Look around us. This is the end of everything. What a bitter, bitter joke. Neither humans or mutants inherit the future- because there is no future. Everything I've fought for, every goal, every mutant life saved from genecide, comes to nothing."
"I refuse to let it end like this. There is a way out of this. Please, come with me, Magnus."
"Rogue is gone. So is Cyclops. Does that mean nothing to you?"
"I want to live, Magnus. Help me to survive." She blinked as Magneto's electromagnetic radiation flickered around her, boosting her own formidable psionic abilities, enabling her to permanently depart the charnel house ruination of Earth-616. As she faded, Magneto whispered: "Go well, Emma. Live on for both of us. Rogue. I wish I was here at the end with you, my love." And then the blinding white fires of antimatter claimed Magnus Linkscher.
EARTH-617:
As she materialised on Earth-617 instants later, Emma Frost looked around her. Mere seconds ago, she had been witnessing the shipwreck of a world, of cruelly truncated lives, and telepathic death cries in untold numbers, so much so that she had to deliberately numb her mind to avoid being driven mad. But now... all around her, there was blessed normality, sanctuary, peace and... yes, there were telepaths here as well, she could sense it. But fewer than she was used to. It was morning and a library with a cafe in it were around the corner, as well as Internet tables. She crossed her fingers, but it seemed that her paper money was good here, so history can't have been too different. However, as she delved deeper into this Earth's background, history and culture, she also found some profound differences. No Fantastic Four, no Dr Doom, no Spiderman, no Avengers, no Captain America, no Magneto, no Charles Xavier, no analogue of her either. She pressed on. No X-Men. No Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. She tried 'mutants', next, out of curiosity.
Human evolutionary offshoots or forerunners. And here was a miracle. There was nothing whatsoever about anti-mutantism or geneophobia. This Earth's Second World War hadn't incarcerated and obliterated mutants in its Nazi concentration camps. This Earth had no Mutant Registration Act. Robert Kelly was a minor New England politician. Edward Stryker was an obscure fundamentalist preacher from Texas. Mutants existed here, but their names were unfamiliar to her. Adam Blake, "Captain Comet", was evidently some form of spacefaring action here. Joseph Wilson (Jericho) was mute and had cognitive override abilities. Cynthia Reynolds, Gypsy, who had a range of psionic abilities. Frances Kane, Magenta- a 'mistress' of magnetism. Joshua Clay, Tempest, could shoot kinetic energy from her hands. Paco Ramone, Vibe, control over vibratory abilities. Selinda and Baran Flinders, Shimmer and Mammoth, elemental transmutation and superstrength. And... probably because of the rarity of mutants otherwise, there was no widespread prejudice. Then she saw why, as a side reference alerted her to the universality of the metagene here.
She verified the above and noticed the psionic ambience. Unlike her Earth of origin, there was no widespread hatred, fear, prejudice or homicidal rage against mutants, for whom humanity spared little thought. Magenta, Shimmer and Mammoth were not regarded as major league villains, more as aggressive adolescent villains. She could build a new life for herself here, unknown as Emma Frost. Hmmm. Perhaps not, just in case someone else from her destroyed homeworld had also made it to this one. As she found out over the next few years, she was not alone. She watched television news broadcasts the next morning and her eyes widened as she recognised those other survivors- Jean Grey. James Howlett. Johnny Storm. Tony Stark. Janet Van Dyne. Carol Danvers. Susan Richards, and her children Valeria and Franklin. Eight of them, that was all. She guessed what had happened. Scott must have sacrificed himself to insure Jean got away safely, Reed would have done the same for his family and judging from Janet's shell-shocked expression, Ant-Man must have done so for her. Tears brimmed over at the thought of Scott's irrevocable loss, but no-one in the crowd thought anything of her grief. An elderly woman even handed her a box of tissues. No-one recognised her as Emma Frost, the White Queen.
She needed to think about this. All right. Why engage in criminal activity or acts of mutant retaliation against anti-mutant violence and homicide if neither were necessary to her survival? All right, then. And with that, Talia Winters blended into the crowd, grateful for its anonymity and obliviousness.
FOUR YEARS LATER: CENTRAL CITY:
Talia was beautiful and she knew it. In a slinky black dress and high heels, she made a visible impression on the dancefloor. One figure had particular interest in her and she sensed it. Mmm. Good looking, tall, somewhat reserved. Their eyes met, than, hurriedly broke as she sensed other presences in the nightclub. One of them was a hedonistic alien princess with eyes for the man she was alongside- but in fact, the man alongside her was the problem. Johnny Storm, the Human Torch. Not the brightest member of the former Fantastic Four, but now a member of the twentysomething Titans group where he'd fallen hard for Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, Starfire, who reciprocated. As time had gone on, the former "Marvels" had acclimatised to life here and had started new relationships. Jean Grey had married Ray Palmer, the Atom. Janet Van Dyne had had a major society page wedding when she tied the knot with Dick Grayson, Nightwing. Wolverine, the Wasp and Iron Man were denizens of crime-ridden Gotham City. Sue Richards was keeping a low profile at LexCorp, and hadn't remarried. Carol Danvers had travelled to Themiscyra, the ancestral home of the Amazons, and had struck up a strong friendship with Wonder Woman, protecting her adopted homeland with perseverance and acclaim.
Suddenly, she felt a nauseated pitch at the base of her stomach and caught a stray telepathic impression of such brutality and irrational hatred that she shuddered. She knew what she had to do next, given the psychotic blur that she had witnessed. Several words stood out- Iris Allen, Picture Post News. She ran for the exit and into an alleyway. Her would-be date followed her and his eyes widened as he saw the woman take to the skies. Then, turning to a cache in the same alleyway, he hurriedly dressed, keeping scrutiny of the figure. He was thus also privy to the all too ominous yellow and red blur that suddenly materialised from nowhere and realised what must have happened. Fitting a hood overhead and assembling his weaponry, he ran after the woman and behind the searing ugly lemon yellow rip in reality. His heart hammered. He knew what he was getting into, but that woman probably didn't. She didn't look as if she needed any protection, but that other, more menacing figure had lost any right to it when he'd crossed the line earlier. If he could help it, he wouldn't be allowed to do so again.
PICTURE POST NEWS:
Iris Allen stepped out of her newsroom offices as she sighed. Why was it that her husband, the fastest man alive, Barry Allen, the Flash, was always late in civilian life? No wait, let her guess. Sorry honey, had a hurricane to deconstruct out over Colombia. Took longer than I thought it would. She could just hear him now. As if to emphasise it, she felt a familiar windstream and faint friction heat on her face as the Flash drew nearer. No, wait, something was wrong. Oh, hell. No! Not him! Not Professor Zoom. As the malignant yellow clad speedster reached for her, things happened quickly. Above her, a woman's voice yelled: "Get down, Mrs Allen!"
In the next instant, the Reverse Flash slammed into something invisible but extremely hard in his path. He was flung back by the impact, but picked himself up as a white clad woman interposed herself between him and his quarry. She snarled:
"Whoever you are, get away! This is between me and that woman you're shielding."
"I know who you are, Thawne. And your history with Mrs Allen here. And sorry, but you're not going to get a chance to repeat history"
"T-thank you..." Iris said, backing into the doorway, as a bestial Reverse Flash ran headlong toward Talia Winter, who didn't even blink- as she transformed into diamond, an instant before Eobard Thawne reached her, intending to sunder what he believed to be a fragile body apart. He was unable to adjust his own molecular density in sufficient time, and for the second time that afternoon, skidded over the pavement in front of Picture Post. And then Talia Winter's hands shone as she leapt over Thawne's stunned body and summoned her telekinetic energies outward, coursing into the other's body. Normally, she wouldn't do this, but she realised she had to neutralise this man. He screamed once, and then was still. He was still breathing, but tremors shook his closed eyes and he moaned softly. A moment later, a faint patina of ice covered him:
"You'll be all right now, Mrs Allen."
"You saved my life, whoever you are. But... how can you be sure?"
Captain Cold- Len Snart stepped from the alleyway: "Because this lady just changed Thawne's molecular biology, Mrs A. He's incapable of superspeed again."
"Captain Cold?"
"Look, Mrs A, I may be a rogue, but you've covered us enough times in that magazine of yours to know we have a strict code against killing. Thawne violated it when he killed you that first time. That's why I'm here. Civilians are off limits. And so is deliberate homicide."
"And to answer your question, Mrs Allen, my name is... Winter Queen. I'm a telepath and telekine and I've had some practice. Oh, and I don't think you'll ever have trouble with that stalker ordure again. I've made sure his molecular biology has been permanently altered. Actually, I think I might have saved his life- it seems to be different in terms of some of the chemical compounds that empowered your friend the Flash, but in his case, the mixture contains several neurotoxins. Not that it excuses his actions, but some men never learn." [Relax, Mrs. Allen. I know your husband is the Flash, but your secret is safe with me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to check out that gorgeous bad boy over there...]
As she stepped forward, Talia looked up at Captain Cold:
"Thanks for the help."
"You looked like you didn't need it."
"Nonsense. You helped incapacitate Thawne at the end when he might have used residual superspeed to make a quick recovery."
"You're quite a woman, y'know."
"Look, handsome, I'm not doing anything later tonight and I liked what I saw both on the battlefield and in the nightclub earlier. What say we get to know each other better?'
And with that, she encircled his waist and moved against him, kissing him. And in that moment, a spark ignited within the ice of the Central City winter afternoon.
EPILOGUE:
Back at the nightclub, as they watched the Central City Television News, Johnny Storm was bewildered:
"I don't get it, Kory. She was either Emma Frost, the White Queen, a supervillain from our world, or an alternate. But... she saved that woman's life."
"Not just any woman, Johnny. Iris is 'family'. Why? Was this White Queen a murderer on your world?"
"Nope, but she was a militant mutant. On the other hand, mutants were treated fairly lousily back home."
"People change, Johnny."
"I know, Kory. I just hope she really has, that's all."
[THE END : 2.55 PM, MAY 20, 2024]
