metaverses | CRISIS ON INFINITE DREAMWIDTHS: EVENT END

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!event end

CRISIS ON INFINITE DREAMWIDTHS: EVENT END

AT THE END OF THE WORLD

The sound isn't unlike thunder when the universe begins to crack apart. Loud, thrumming thuds that tear the sky and the fabric of reality. The nexuses are being stomped out, engulfed back into the void one by one.

Characters may be in these nexuses as they're slowly engulfed by the cracks. Some may be saying they're final goodbye's to old friends, new friends, or simply watching as the apocalypse descends on whichever world they're in.

And then, just before they're about to fall into oblivion - they're snatched away.

IN CENTRAL CITY —

Outside The Alliance HQ, Chaos Gate and the Silent Mystic stand with their eyes tightly shut, hands linked together as one. Above you the sky has turned a deep crimson. The crack is a yawning chasm as buildings are torn apart brick by brick, falling into the abyss.

If something isn't done soon then you're all dead.

This world is a nexus and this can't be changed, but it can be pulled from the 'between' it has fallen into, and restored to its proper place. This will require an enormous amount of energy. The mystics bid the gathered to join hands: they ask you to remember their world, the one they left behind and tether this world to it. Your strongest memories may bleed out, giving the people around you a glimpse of who you are, what you were.

The universally displaced are here with you. This is a last mingle opportunity. The comm will remain open so people can continue to play any threads they didn’t get a chance to during the run of the event. They too can join hands and share their memories, but as they are not tied to this dimension, when it’s restored they will either return to their own worlds or the nexuses they left behind.

CONNECTION —

Everything goes dark.

It feels endless, swallowing your sight as well as all sound as it closes in. Slowly, glowing threads begin to appear, tying one person to the next, then to the next, and so on. Only those who are linked to Metaheroes are tied with these golden glowing threads. The threads flow down to their feet and then shoot up towards the sky.

There's a boom, different to the thunderous cracks of before. The sky rushes back into place, day and night speeding by as it hurries to realign itself to the proper date and time. It's dizzying, for a moment, before it begins to feel grounding. Right.

The air feels different. Fresher, somehow. The sky is brighter; the world seems fuller, like it has been allowed to become what it should have been all along. A cheer goes up. The people are elated, relieved to see the sun again.

Players may be troubled should they have ventured into other worlds. They have seen the nexuses that have fallen to ruin, know how they too once felt exactly like this.

THE WORLD CONTINUES TO TURN —

The world has been restored to its proper place. Interdimensional communication is coming through again. The Guilds, exhausted as they were putting fires out across the non-meta cities, are relieved. Perhaps this is finally over.

With the return of interdimensional communication comes the return of interdimensional travel as well. This technology has been used in this world before; it was only with the advent of the recent powerful Confluences that it all went dark. Now that it’s back, the Guilds start to make plans immediately. It will take a little time to organize everything, but once they have a system in place, it shouldn’t be too difficult to locate everyone’s home universes and return them there. They set a tentative date for September 4th to start trying to return everyone home.

That being said, the government is none too happy with any of this. The Guild Systems were put into play by two metahumans who wanted the best for the world, as a means to protect them from those who would do them harm. Years have been spent slowly wrestling control from those two and now there is an opportunity.

Behind the scenes a storm is brewing. If they can spin this to blame the Unaligned then perhaps they have no more need for the Guilds. The Society is a thorn in their side that they’d like to finally be rid of, but they’re essentially untouchable. The Unaligned, however, are flagrantly breaking the law. Constantly putting themselves in the spotlight, making it all too easy to yank the rug out from under the metahuman leaders.

How wonderful for them that these strangers from away have made such a wreck of the trust in the systems that protected the metahumans of this world.

Mechanima is all too aware that things are about to go to hell. The Society is welcoming all metahumans, regardless of moral alignment, to join them. It is heavily encouraged among the rumor mill that the Unaligned should start reconsidering their position.

As the days go on, things begin to change across Meta.

Excelsior has become vehemently anti-metahuman. While this outrage may pass, they’re passing new AI laws in rapid succession. Limitations on what AI can and can’t inhabit. Limitations on robot bodies, on mechanical prosthetics, on the research that can be done into what gives things the spark of life. Magic is essentially forbidden within the city. Any abilities that can be mistaken as magic are treated as suspect.

Sunset Falls is worse for wear. Yet the people remain as grateful as ever to the metahumans who stepped in to save them. That gratitude outweighs any fear that they could have caused this - Sunset Falls has disasters all the time that have nothing to do with interdimensional weirdness. They continue to be unbothered by the metas among them.

Central City, having witnessed all the off-world metas stepping in to save them, is oddly grateful for this - but they haven’t forgotten what happened. The disappeared are among them again and are unharmed despite their sojourn through the universe, but the fact that it happened at all is cause for concern. Confluences are a problem. They want answers, they want solutions.

Little Love remains untouched and unchanged.

I DREAM A DREAM SO PRETTY —

Two days after the apocalypse is averted, every off-world meta will find a pillow lying on their doorstep. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you live - one of these pillows will find its way to you.

If you’re quick or wary enough, you may be able to catch a glimpse of the being that placed it there: a figure clad in blue robes. They’ll appear seemingly out of nowhere and lay the pillow down before vanishing into dust. Should they happen to notice they’ve been spotted, they’re clearly started, and lay a finger to their lips before departing.

Atop the pillow is a note: an invitation from the Dreamers of the Willow Maiden. You would have undoubtedly heard of this group: they have a presence in this world, though their reputation’s benign. They’re oddballs and weirdos, but ultimately harmless. They believe in the power of a good night’s sleep - literally.

If the note is to be believed, then the Willow Maiden herself has requested an audience with you, and this audience can only be granted in the world of dreams. Should you accept this offer, the note explains, all you need to do is lay your head upon this enchanted pillow. Sleep will come to you quickly.

Your dreams will be extremely vivid. There are recurring themes bleeding through them: your greatest accomplishment juxtaposed with your greatest failure. The moment you could have acted but stayed still. Highschool embarrassments. Falling. Flying. Here in your own dreamscape, you’ve got more control than anywhere else; you feel as though you can do anything. But beware: these dreams grab for you, both the nightmares and the fantasies. It can be easy to lose yourself and forget what exactly is real.

Luckily, the dreams grab for others as well. Sleeping metas may find themselves involuntarily wandering into one anothers’ dreams. Visitors to a dreamscape don’t have any powers outside of what they normally would, but they can reach out to the dream’s host, should they want to.

If no one else arrives, don’t worry. She is patient and waiting, and doesn’t mind that you stumble. Fall too far into the abyss, and she’ll reach out her hand to steady you.

THE WILLOW MAIDEN —

As you find your way out of the haze of your subconscious with uour allies at your side, the Willow Maiden greets you. She is a massive tree nymph, long-limbed and wooden. She is curled against an enormous tree, looking like a statue. At your approach, she lifts her head from the crook of her arm and extends a hand in greeting. Her smile is warm and motherly. You may feel distrust, but that feeling of safety and protection that guided you home radiates from her.

“You from a far away land, come to this world and made its own.” Her wooden lips don’t move, the words echo through your soul itself. “I can do little for you now but issue warning. Danger is waiting in the dawn, in the shine of her sword. You won this battle, your strength and the strength of all those you have touched has saved you… but she is coming.

She is coming.

“My time is short… your words cannot reach me as you are now. Carve yourselves a new future. One in this world and all others. Dream, and in those dreams, you shall become more powerful than even she can stand. My gift is the gift of new life, new lives, new futures… I have shielded you from her gaze until I could no longer bear it and now… I must rest. May the next time we met be true conversation.”

The Willow Maiden lays her head back down on the curve of her arms. Within moments, she’s asleep.

You wake. Not with a start, but as though you’ve been gently roused from a deep and restful sleep. The dreamsharing effect lingers, and can reoccur off and on throughout the month of September, but you will not find your way to the Willow Maiden’s realm again.

IN SUMMARY.

The fourth wall ends in a near apocalypse. Characters will have a chance to say goodbye while the metaphorical walls are closing in. They will be pulled back from the brink at the last second.

Through the collective effort of metaenergy, Metaheroes will rejoin the multiverse, tethered to the worlds which playable characters come from.

As a result, there's tentative optimism that characters will be able to go home

Anti-meta sentiment is growing across Excelsior, and within governing bodies. Government officials will begin looking to blame Unaligned heroes for various crimes and disturbances.

It's a good time to pick a side. Or don't.

Amidst all this, The Willow Maiden invites players to Meta's first dream share event. The dreaming effect lingers and characters may find themselves intermittently sharing dreams throughout September.

However pleasant this is, however cathartic - it doesn't change that things are tense in the waking world. The Willow Maiden's warning will ring in your ears, too: who is coming?

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No, I'm not.

[ Doreen has no poker face whatsoever, and can't hold back a sympathetic wince. Whether she's wincing at Spider-Man getting KO'd, or the thought of having something melted into your spine and nervous system isn't clear, but let's be honest, it's probably both. There's like a 30/70 ratio here in terms of sympathetic horror. ]

That... yeah, that sounds pretty risky. At least other people can help here, right? Not with operations, but I mean... I know your world doesn't have many super-people, but we've got a pretty great cross-section of tech wizards, literal wizards and superheroes here who can all help out if you need anything.

Yes, that's true.

[He smiles, though it's still rather forced. Though he's trying not to show it, it's obviously all an upsetting topic - to say nothing of the memory they're stuck in. That, at least, appears to be dissolving; apparently capturing Spider-Man was the main gist of this one.]

It does make me feel better. When I first got here, I'd hoped to stay away from anything too dangerous - I'm always a little worried something will happen to the new chip. But you can see how that's worked out. [Though he speaks like it happened to him, it's really all been Otto's own decisions to get involved. He just can't bring himself to stay on the sidelines anymore.] At least if anything did happen, it doubt anyone would let it get this far. That's one benefit of having to join a guild - I know the Alliance contains any members that go rogue.

[Otto would personally much rather be dealt with in-house, so to speak, by other off-world metas. He trusts them a lot more. Still, the Alliance is a solid insurance plan.]

He was fine, by the way. Showed up again that night to foil my plans.

Yeah, that sounds like him. Does whatever a spider can.

[ Does the theme song exist in his universe? That reference may not have landed. Whatever, not important.

Doreen reaches out and lightly punches him in the shoulder, broadcasting the move slowly and clearly enough that it hopefully won't set off any defensive protocols in the actuators. That would be awkward as hell, especially considering what they just watched! ]

But hey, Alliance aside, we got you, bud. You're good. This isn't gonna happen again.

[ because if it does, then by god, Otto is gonna get stopped by the power of friendship (and possibly a couple well-placed punches, depending on the circumstances). ]

Mmm. [Otto just nods; seems like it did not land.] He was going through a difficult time. I hope I didn't make it too much worse on him, in the end.

[Of course there's the whole "quit being Spider-Man briefly" thing. Otto doubts that was entirely because of him, though he probably didn't help. His death, though, and the way the future Peter had looked to see him again...he's concerned the boy blamed himself. Probably did, knowing Peter Parkers.

But there's little he can do for that now, save perhaps continuing to not die. The actuators allow the mock punch, though they are watching, and Otto smiles down at Doreen.]

Thank you. That - that means a lot to me.

[ Continuing to not die is a pretty good plan, all things considered! Doreen gives him a thumbs up in response, and grins. ]

It's all good! Just... don't beat yourself up about this too much, huh?

I wish Kraven were here. He's also doing the whole ex-supervillain thing, you guys could make a support group or something.

I'll do my best.

[It's hard not to beat himself up over it sometimes - hard not to feel like he doesn't deserve to not beat himself up. But time has helped. Otto felt so completely horrible when he first came to this world, but lately...it's gotten better. He still has his low moments, but they aren't as low, or as frequent. Time and company, he thinks.

Of course he's never heard of Kraven, but as the real world starts to fade back in around them, Otto arches his eyebrows as Doreen.]

Oh? Do you hang out with a lot of ex-villains?

[ Baby steps! The whole recovering supervillain thing is a process, buddy! ]

Sometimes! Mostly just Brian, but he stopped being a bad guy a long time ago, he just needed some repairs. He's a brain in a jar on a robot body, long story. [ As if Otto needed more confirmation that 616-verse is batshit insane! ] With Kraven, he, uh... I don't think he ever really felt bad about the whole villainy thing, but he really is trying to do better, and- oh, hey!

[ Back to normality! ]

Oh, thank god. [Otto looks around as well, grateful for the shift back to the present.] That thing with the train was probably the worst of it, but none of it was pretty.

[Otto...well, he has a lot of good memories, before a certain point, but he doubts he's lucky enough to have one of those bubble up next.]

Well. I suppose that's better than nothing. [Otto rubs lightly at the back of his neck.] There was a whole group of us, who Spider-Man was trying to help. Turning the other Curt human again, things like that. I'm not sure all of them exactly felt bad about it, but...he did manage it, in the end.

Really? Hey, that's great! That's the best approach to this whole thing, if anyone could do it, he could!

[ Wait, hold on... someone named Curt who turned into something not human, that sounds familiar... maybe he's the lizard guy? Once again, Doreen wishes her reference cards worked in this dimension! ]

... Dang, between you, Sandman and that Curt guy, you had like half the Sinister Six going on!

...were Electro and the Green Goblin part of it, too?

[There were only the five of them involved, but...well, Otto actually has wondered about that whole thing before. And hey, he even learned what Max's fake name was a couple weeks ago!]

[ She thinks about it for a sec, starts counting off the names on her fingers. ]

... Oh, my bad, I don't think that Curt guy was part of it. The lineup waaaaas... Electro, Green Goblin, Doc Ock, Kraven, Vulture and Mysterio. Honestly, they should've called themselves the Super Bad Guy Pals Club, that would've saved a lot of trouble.

Curtis Connors. We were friends in my world. He wasn't a lizard there.

[Otto's decided to believe that he won't be a lizard in the future either. For god's sake, the man was a college professor. Otto would have known if he were doing any advanced genetics research on the side, wouldn't he?

Anyway - hey! He actually knows all those names! Granted, he's only heard of Vulture from Beck, and Kraven from Doreen herself, but at least he has context for it all.]

I think my counterpart and I must have been fairly different. You saw how I was - I wouldn't have put together a team, even if anyone else had been around.

[He'd been too laser-focused on his own work. Looking back, it's hard to imagine himself making the effort to cooperate with other people.]

Yeah, you were, uh... [ HOW TO PUT THIS TACTFULLY... ]... pretty focused on doing your own thing.

[ But hey, even at his worst, Otto never went Full Maniacal Bowlcut! That definitely sets him apart! ]

Maybe it's better to think of the guy from my universe as like... a distant second cousin or something? For every one of you that ends up with robo-arms, there's probably one or two who are accountants or college professors. It's a big multiverse out there.

That's a nice thought.

[He smiles slightly. Honestly, in retrospect, he should have just gone into teaching. Too much damn ambition for his own good.

Doreen's right, though. All these alternatives and might-have-beens hardly matter now.]

I have to admit, I don't love how many people around here seem to know some awful version of me. But, scientifically speaking, you're right - there's infinite versions of both.

Exactly, that's what I'm saying! Think of the accountants, the librarians, the, uh... zoologists! Infinite possibilities, most of which don't involve your alternate selves being jerks!

Plus, a lot of the people who know the jerk version of you are from my universe, which is really skewing the statistics. Gotta think of this mathematically.

[ You can't argue with math, let alone science! ]

What is it about your universe? If we want to talk statistics, it's very over-represented here - if we were to take the Confluence as a truly random phenomenon.

[Which...well, he can't say what to make of it, but at this point it sure doesn't seem that random!]

Honestly? My best guess is that it's because mine is kinda similar to this world, in terms of the amount of superpowered craziness. Maybe that affects the number of people who get sucked in.

[ She's kinda throwing spaghetti at the wall here, but it seems decently logical! ]

Fair. I've only met one or two people whose worlds didn't have anything like that.

[And some of them, like Robin, clearly still had something going on. Maybe it was just more supernatural entities than superpowered people? Honestly, Otto has no real idea what was up with any of the 80's kids.]

I still don't think this ought to qualify as a superpower. [He clicks a claw. For once, it's not really self-deprecation; it's just that this is technology! Or, depending on how you look at it, a horrific lab accident. Hardly the same as whatever Spider-Man's got going on.] But it did bring a good amount of craziness with it.

Man, it's hard to picture worlds that are just totally normal, but they must be way more peaceful. What do people do all day? If someone tries to rob a bank in a superpowered rhino suit, do the cops just take care of it?

[ They don't have a great track record with stuff like that back home! ]

Aw, what, the squad totally counts! I mean, stuff like this is hardly ever intentional, y'know? You just roll with whatever weird circumstances you're thrown into, and make the best of it.

[ Whether you accidentally fuse robot tentacles to your back, are born with squirrely superpowers, or get bitten by a radioactive spider (not that she knows that particular origin story! ]

They just don't have people doing that. We never did, until a few years back.

[Some folks blame it on Spider-Man, but having had some experience, Otto thinks it's all coincidence. Or perhaps some kind of cosmic fate: where there's about to be some supervillains, you need a hero. He was never one to put much stock in such ideas, but that was before half his friends had literal magic.]

Really? I'd have thought people would be trying to harness that, in a world like yours - give themselves powers, or someone they could use. [A little grim, but like is he wrong]

[ That gets a wince, HE AIN'T WRONG ]

Don't get me wrong, it does happen, but unless you have some unusual stuff going on genetically or magically or otherwise, the bar to entry is pretty high. You'd have to be insanely rich and have some serious technical know-how in order to make your own super suit.

[ COUGH COUGH TONY STARK COUGH. ]

... Or else rich enough to hire somebody to make one for you. Sometimes it works out well! And, because rich people are sometimes jerks, sometimes it doesn't. Speaking of which, if someone from my world named Melissa Morebeck shows up here, avoid her at all costs, she's a rich jerk with superpowers.

Edited 2022-10-14 01:02 (UTC)

I'll keep it in mind.

[Otto briefly tries to think of anyone he ought to warn her about...but no. Anyone he can think of is already a known villain in at least a couple other universes.]

I built the actuators with Oscorp funding. Though of course this wasn't what I had in mind - a suit would have been better, if I'd decided to run around fighting crime.

[One of these days someone's just going to shoot him from a distance. Not too much the actuators can do about that.]

Yeah, if you went that route, some body armor would've probably helped. Ooh, or you could've gone full mech! Then again, that might make the supervillains upgrade to giant mechs, and nobody wants a big Pacific Rim fight in the middle of New York.

[ Did that reference land? Probably not, Otto doesn't seem like he'd be into giant robot anime or the modern cinema classic that is Pacific Rim, Doreen's just really excited about the idea of a giant octopus mech. ]

[No dice, it came out in 2013 either way. But Otto understands what a giant mech is well enough to chuckle at the picture anyway.]

God, no. No - I never would have set out to do anything like this in the first place. I thought Spider-Man did good work, but that's a far cry from deciding to become a vigilante myself.

[It's a ridiculous idea. Except, of course, he sort of has. But that wasn't deliberate, he didn't just decide that a middle-aged scientist whose greatest exercise was walking a few blocks to the nearest subway stop was the best guy for the job.]

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CRISIS ON INFINITE DREAMWIDTHS: EVENT END

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