POV Rio
I was at a briefing meant to explain the events happening throughout the Multiverse. I had a clone review the events of the X-Men Universe and could see why it was a fairly important event. But I still put this meeting off until the celebrations were over, or at least until it wouldn't be rude to slip away. Once everyone arrived, we started the meeting.
Rio: "Okay, where would you like to start?"
Yularen: "The X-Men Universe."
Rio: "Very well proceed."
Yularen: "The X-Men Universe is our only neighbor, so I have been ensuring that we have kept an eye on the situation there. The biggest event was that Thanos had obtained the 5th Gem and is on his way to Earth. He should arrive there within the week. Earth has united against this enemy and has even allied with the only other space nation to fend off Thanos."
Lex: "Then they took our warning seriously?"
Yularen: "Yes, and they have done impressive work on getting Earth ready for the invasion. The X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants have teamed up to fight the invasion. Phoenix, Magneto, Wolverine, Xavier, Rogue, Quicksilver, Darwin, and Iceman are the ones teaming up to defeat Thanos. The rest are working to defend Earth from the massive number of troops Thanos is bringing."
Sendak: "All of them against Thanos? Surely he will be crushed quickly."
Yularen: "Unfortunately, no, Thanos has created a team of mind-controlled super soldiers, mutants, and other powerful creatures. One is a mutant called Vulcan. He is an Omega-Level Mutant with Energy Manipulation and Absorption. He can also shoot energy beams, make them into constructs, and even weaken the powers of others. He can heal quickly and has super strength and endurance. And if our records are true, then he is immune or highly resistant to most forms of psychic powers."
We read the file on his powers, and I had to admit he was fairly impressive.
Lex: "He sounds like a mix of several members of the Justice League. He has the powers of the Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Superman, and even a bit of the Flash. But that is more because he can move extremely fast. The only thing he is missing is the magic of Wonder Woman and the mind of Batman. As for the other mind-controlled enemies, they are decent, but I doubt they will be that impressive."
Faraday: "What I find curious is that Vulcan has strong mental defense, and yet he was still mind-controlled."
Rio: "It's not that surprising, even Thanos is mind-controlled at this point by the gems. Or at the very least influenced. Moreover, the control is via magic, not psionics. Unless you can resist magic, your mental defense won't mean much. At least not when you are prepared to defend against psychic attacks and not magic. How they control a mind is different, not just because of the medium it is carried out in."
Yularen: "Regardless, I think we should continue observations. It can also allow us to learn what the gems will be capable of once they are all gathered."
Rio: "Yes, I suppose we are getting a bit off topic. The barrier is as strong as it can be. And I doubt Thanos will be able to get the last gem quickly. The last remnant of the Phoenix Force won't go quietly."
Yularen: "Next on the list is the war between the Federation and the Synthetic Queen. The Federation has lost over 60% of its territory, and its capital is now within striking distance of Cetana's fleets. Cetana is gathering a large portion of her forces for the battle. Odin and the 8 Realms have created a powerful army meant to defeat the Synthetic Queens' attack."
Yularen activates a map of the Milky Way, and we can see the two areas.
Lex: "They lost so fast? How?"
Rex: "The Synthetic Queen moved most of her forces away from Muspelheim. She must have calculated that it wouldn't be possible to breach it within a reasonable amount of time. So, instead, she attacked the Federation from the East and North, while maintaining some pressure in the South. Even with the Katana Fleet, the Federation lost planet after planet."
Yularen: "Then they decided to send all the mercenaries and bounty hunters on a suicide mission."
Rio: "Is Samus okay?"
Yularen: "Yes, she was the only survivor of the mission. She reported that she nearly died half a dozen times. And even after she completed the mission, the Federation spread rumors and lies about her. It got so bad that Samus had to flee the Federation."
Padme: "Wait, why would the Federation want to weaken itself by getting rid of all the Mercenaries?"
Orochimaru: "They were a threat to the Supreme Commander, weren't they?"
Yularen: "Yes, as far as we can tell, the Mercenaries were very popular as they completed many very dangerous missions and saved many lives. Samus in particular was very popular due to her disobeying orders several times to save civilians."
Rio: "The Supreme Commander had little need for heroes."
Yularen: "He also didn't pay the Mercenaries who died. Or rather, their next of kin got no money. Samus was investigating that when she was forced to flee."
Rio: "Then it makes it clearer why we cannot save the Federation. If the populace would betray a hero so easily, and their leader is so clearly mad, we can't let such a faction exist."
Tempest: "So, how long until we join the war?"
Yularen: "The Federation is only expected to last no more than a year at best. However, more realistic simulations calculate them only lasting until January."
Rio: "How are our preparations going?"
Thrawn: "We are on schedule. We will have more than enough ships and crews when the time comes."
Rio: "Good to hear. Now you said Odin has decided to join the battle, are we certain?"
Yularen: "Absoultuely. It was confirmed by at least 11 different sources. Odin will be dealing with the fleets. We have also learned some interesting info about why he is fighting."
The Holotable switches to a new file, and what I see is interesting.
Rio: "So this is the Federation's plan to end the war."
Yularen: "It seems like it. But I don't see how they will accomplish it in time. They would need at most half a year, and that would be if they rush it as fast as they can. And the product from such rushing would be questionable. And even then this superweapon would likely last a few battles before Cetana calcualeted a way to disable or destroy it."
Thrawn: "It is like they fused a few superweapons together."
Rio: "Indeed, it has features of the Death Star, Star Eater, Starkiller Base, and Sun Crusher. But it is weaker in many ways. It's like they put a bunch of ideas in a blender and then blended them, and whatever came out was what they are going to build."
Yularen: "Indeed, I can understand they are desperate, but even if Odin and his army destroy Cetana's forces at the capital, it will delay her by perhaps a few weeks or a month if they are lucky. If they had decided to sacrifice the capital to Cetana and then use that weakness to send their fleets to search for Cetana's core, then I could understand. But instead, they have given up on offensive actions almost completely."
Thrawn: "Even if they found her, they couldn't destroy her. The Juggernaut she uses as her flagship is beyond what the Federation can fight. And with their best ground fighters, the Super Skrulls becoming obsolete from overuse, they have even less capable ground troops."
Rio: "Ah, you mean the Captain Marvel Skrulls."
Thrawn: "Yes, but I have been told that they have shifted their copy target and that Odin has volunteered his DNA."
Lex: "Scoff. Please, that would never get any decent results. Super Skrulls are decent, yes, but they can't copy magic efficiently. At best, they will create a bunch of physically strong soldiers, but they would only be useful in melee. Which is not advisable given Cetana's choice of exterminator robots."
Rio: "Well, even if it is a foolish decision, it is better than nothing. After all, the Skrulls have no other use anyway. Subterfuge is basically impossible against Cetana."
Yularen: "Yes, well, next on the list is Earth-based affairs. The first is that Hydra has lost most of India. And the DPR has lost most of its troops. They do have an army of several million Mind-Controlled Slaves. Pingu has requested to buy weapons from us to equip his slaves. In exchange, he is willing to sell Africa, India, the Middle East, and Europe."
Rio: "I don't recall him owning Europe."
Yularen: "He doesn't, nor does he own the Middle East. In fact, he has not even sent troops to either of those places. Instead, what he is selling is the claims and rights to the land. The only places he has claimed as his are Indonesia and Australia. The rest of Asia is under Hydra."
Lex: "I would recommend we take the deal. We have warehouses full of old equipment that we have no use for. Most ballistic weapons are useless to us, so why not let them be used to hurt our enemies?"
Rio: "You make a fair point. Let Pingu know that we have a deal, but that we want the mainland Asia after they have cleared it of its inhabitants. If he can agree to that, then he will have his weapons."
Glitterhoof: "I will let him know."
Yularen: "The next topic is Europe. France has done well enough, given that they have all run out of modern weapons and is using cold weapons. But France is losing. The southern half of France is occupied by Spain and Italy. All sides have resorted to using Chemical Weapons. It is a very brutal war. Millions have perished already, and it shows no signs of ending."
Rio: "How do they still have Chemical Weapons? Shouldn't they have run out by now?"
Yularen: "Hydra left behind a massive stockpile of chemical weapons. France stole a large amount when Hydra stole all the weapons from Spain and Italy. France used most of the remaining weapons and ammunition, but in doing so, it has allowed France to hold its ground at this time."
Rio: "That is disappointing, but I am not too surprised given that those left outside the Imperium were those who couldn't become citizens anyway. Now, what about the US?"
Yularen: "The Civil War continues as usual. Very little progress has been made by either side. But the Enclave has gained a large amount of power and has nearly usurped the entire government of the North."
Rio: "Hmm, has the South run out of weapons yet?"
Yularen: "Nearly, but they have been resorting to using unconventional weapons."
Rio: "Unconventional?"
Yularen: "Catapults and trebuchets that lauch fertilizer bombs. They are using large quantities of fertilizer. In some admittedly creative ways."
Rio: "So they are launching flaming poop at the North and throwing poop bombs instead of missiles and grenades."
Yularen: "Yes, and they have even managed to shoot down a Vertibird by ambushing them with several catapults launching fertilizer bombs."
Rio: "Who came up with this?"
Yularen: "A group from Florida."
Rio: "Oh, then yeah, that makes sense. If I didn't already check, I would think Florida was cursed or something. But let them continue this... unique... warfare. Anything else?"
Yularen: "That was all."
Rio: "Okay, well, I wanted to let you all know that I intend on doing the DC Trial soon. So Lex, if you could, please create a list of items that would be useful for the Imperium or might be interesting to me. And also any passwords you would use if you were still in that Multiverse."
Lex: "That shouldn't be a problem."
Rio: "Okay, now does anyone else have any announcements?"
I see Orochimaru smile widely, and I can feel a great amount of joy from him.
Orochimaru: "We have done it. The Panacea is complete. The TMNT accelerated our progress, and now I can say with 100% certainty that many diseases and Viruses will go extinct."
Everyone looked surprised and then happy.
Rio: "And it is confirmed to work on any species?"
Orochimaru: "Yes, with one exception, it does not affect Alicorns. Not sure why, but everything we tried did not affect Alicorns. My theory is that because an Alicorn's Immune system is so different from any other species, and it is already immune to most illnesses, it treats the Panacea as an illness and destroys it. But if it is used on non-Alicorn's it will make the target immune to all known diseases and viruses. No one will ever get sick from the common cold or cancer. It even improves the target's ability to deal with poisons or toxins. They won't be immune to them, but they will be more resistant to them. It also improves the overall efficiency of the target's body. If our tests are correct, it should make the target non-senescent for all but perhaps the last few years of their lives."
Rio: "Congratulations, Orochimaru! You really did it. You will become the most famous person in the Imperium without a doubt. I can assure you that by doing this, you have cleared any negative Karma you may have had."
He smiles, and I can sense his mind feels lighter, like a weight has been lifted. Everyone congratulates him, and we then plan how to announce it.
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Authors Note:
If anyone has recommendations for items Rio should collect while in the DC Multiverse, let me know. And if anyone is curious, the Panacea Orochimaru invented is a genetic treatment that basically makes the immune systems of everyone nearly impervious. Also, it wasn't mentioned, but the Dolphins joined Pingu because they are evil. Seriously, never trust a Dolphin. I would rather run into a shark in the ocean than a Dolphin. Until next time, Ciao.