A Zarda Shaped Void
6/2/1948, Peterson Residence, Blue Harbour
The Prince looked towards the sight before he saw that there was a list of phone numbers, but there was a call that was coming now, making him look and answer it, “Hello?” Namor asked, “Namor? You’re alive?” Zarda asked and hearing that, The Atlantean was confused, “Zarda, what’s going on? I know I don’t go to your little clubhouse every now and again, but–”
“No, I’m– I’m not The Zarda that you know, I’m from another version of Earth and– and I just wanted to talk to you.” She said and hearing that, the Atlantean looked towards the others that were starting to get up, “Hey, I need to go to Fort Erskine, I’ll be back in a little while.” he said and hearing that, the group looked towards each other before they saw that there was his ring that took him away.
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6/2/1948, Fort Erskine, Teton Wilderness
The Utopian Zarda was there with Nestor Ayala before they saw the Atlantean there, “Hey there, everyone.” the man said towards that before the Utopian smiled, “Namor! I’m so happy to see that you’re alive here!” she said towards the man who was shocked by the sight, she looked like his Zarda, but there was also so much that was different, that made the Prince want to speak.
“Alright then, so what happened, where’s our Zarda?” he asked, making the man look towards the Royal before he explained, Zarda and I were at The United Nations, we were talking and The Scarlet Centurion… some sort of Time Traveler, went and started attack everyone there and– and them there was this sword that Perun and Zarda made, it hit his staff and all of a sudden, there were two.”
That made the Prince take a breath before speaking again, “Okay, so if that’s the case, it means that we’ve got to find a way to go and swap them back, correct?” Namor asked as others started to come in, seeing that Namor was there and that there was something that they were going to have to work before the group started to think on it, “We need a deity like Perun to create a sword like the old one.
The group started to think that there was something that they could do before Joseph had an idea, “What about something from The South… maybe we can ask about any from Department H? They have experience with the divine.” he said and hearing that, the others started to nod towards that before Burr who looked towards them now, “I’ll make a call.
That made the group look towards the man while Zarda started to take a breath, “Fine, I just wish that we had someone like Magnus Golmen here.” the man said and hearing that, the General paused, looking towards the woman, “What are you–? Did you just say Magnus Golmen?” he asked, making the group look towards the man with some surprise and a hint of concern.
“Yes, Magnus Golmen! He called himself Stormbringer on our Earth,” Zarda told them “Apparently, his ancestor was supposedly a son of Thor who was granted a weapon by the god.” Zarda told the group, “I don’t know if it was true, but the weapon was made of a unique material, The Apparition said it was filled with Divine Energy.” Zarda said and hearing that, they were relieved.
“Okay… if that is the case, I know where we can get Sergeant Golmen, he’s in America and I know his CO.” Burr said to them, going to head towards one of the phones that were there and as he did so, the others looked towards the Utopian, “What exactly is the weapon?” Nestor asked of her, “I think that it’s a mace? It looks more like a hammer in my opinion.” she explained to the group.
Before they could say anything else, the General returned to them, “Sergeant Golmen said that you can meet him at his house in Minneapolis.” Burr said to the group and hearing that, Namor looked, “Namor, you can return home–” “No.” he said to the General, “My friend is lost, I want to make sure that nothing goes wrong, is that fine ith all of you?” he asked and hearing that, the others couldn’t argue with the statement.
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6/2/1948, Golmen Residence, Minneapolis
The Princess with Namor, Walter and Joseph came into the house where they saw the blonde man who crossed his arms, watching the group, “So you’re the Invaders, right?” Magnus asked them, Namor not liking how angry he looked to be there with them as the other Zarda spoke, “Wow… the Magnus from my Earth was more jovial… not to mention he never joined the military.”
That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Magnus rolled his eyes, “Look, I don’t know what you’re looking for, my family doesn’t have any sort of ancestral weapon like that.” he told the group, going and bringing a case for them to look into, “My sister, Brigitt, took some of it to New York when she married Masterson, but this is the majority of it.” he said towards them.
That made the group curious, looking through the information the items that were there when Zarda saw something, “This chain…” she said, making them all look towards her, “Oh… that belonged to this old stone hammer our dad used for splitting wedges.” he explained towards the group as Zarda looked to the chain more closely, “This was a part of the Mace.” she told them.
That surprised the group, “My sister took it, she’s in New York–” “We’ll only need the chain wrapped around my weapon, with this, all we need is to find The Scarlet Centurion and then we can go ahead and get us all switched back.” She said with a smile towards them and hearing that, Golmen looked at the chain with curiosity, “I’ll be wanting that back.” he told the group.
Hearing that, the Squadron members looked towards him before Joseph nodded, “Don’t worry, we’ll try to bring it back in pristine condition.” the soldier said towards the man who nodded, the group going and starting to walk away, as they did so, there was a moment that Golmen made sure to look like he was your average soldier before seeing them gone, he scowled in annoyance.
The Sergeant heard the stories of the Mace and how his ancestors brought it with them when they came to America, stories about how they faced beasts of legend, his sister had it, but now it was on the radar of The Squadron, taking a breath, he went to go call Thompson, “Did they take the mace?” He asked his soldier, “They took the chain it belonged to, sir.” he said with an idea in mind.
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6/2/1948, Hope Town, Elbow Cay
Zarda and the rest of The Squadron Supreme arrived in the place where they first met the Scarlet Centurion, looking around, trying to figure out where it was that the Time Traveler was and how they would grab him, “So, all we need to do now is use something that can lure that bastard here, then you can you get back your Zarda and I can get back to my Howie.” she told the group.
That made Namor chuckle, “Howie?” he asked, not trying to be rude at the statement when Zarda scratched at her chin, “There are two ways to catch him.” she explained, “The first of them is that we somehow interfere with his timeline, make it so that he has to interfere… then there’s the other way.” she told them, making Namor see how she seemed to be uncomfortable with the statement.
“And how bad exactly is the other way?” Namor asked of The other Zarda who sighed, “If we’re lucky? It’ll just be him acting like a little nuisance, at worse… he’d turn this place into a popup portrait–” “Wait, isn’t THAT him?” Joseph asked, pointing to The Scarlet Centurion who was talking to a member of The Atlantean people, someone from Talokan from the looks of it.
“Ah, there you are.” The Scarlet Centurion said towards the group, noticing as the Atlantean looked towards them now, aiming his weapon towards them, ready to fight, “Don’t worry, they’re here for me, not you, K’in.” he said and hearing that, the Atlantean scowled before he went to leap into the water, “We can talk more about the future later!” he shouted out.
That made the Squadron looked towards the sight of him talking to a Talokanil before Namor aimed the trident he brought towards The Scarlet Centurion, “We just want to swap out the Zarda’s for the natives.” He said towards the man who looked towards them, “And I should help… why?” he asked, “Why shouldn’t I just let you suffer with this new arrangement?” he asked of them.
That made the group all aim, at the ready to fight him now, but The Scarlet Centurion took a breath before he pressed a button and a new device appeared, “Luckily, I decided to acquire the services of others.” he said towards them as a man that seemed to be made out of shadows walked out from the portal that was there, wearing a grey suit with gloves and a fedora.
“Meet Eddie Emmerick, also known as The Void, he will be dealing with you all today.” he said before looking towards Eddie, “Do good and I’ll make sure that you don’t have to deal with your counterpart.” he threatened towards him and hearing that, The Void nodded as he looked towards them, “WOW! The Squadron Supreme themselves! I thought that I’d win the lottery before this happened.”
But Robert and Walter were already running forward, going to take down The Void, but the moment they got to close, the shadows that were below them started to grow and darken before they were devoured by the shadows, making all of them angry as Skymax fired a bolt of fire towards the man, but he changed the grip on the cane he held to hold it like a sword and slashed.
Creating a sort of shield to protect himself before looking towards them, “Don’t worry, there’s no need to fret about me killing you all, I’m not allowed to do so.” he said towards the group now, the shadows starting to grow and begin to become tendrils and start to approach the group and seeing that, the group began to move forward, Zarda at the lead with the chain at the ready.
She was spinning it, causing electricity starting to build up now and the air began to crackle around her as she went to slash, making the shadows start to bend and break like glass, making the Void annoyed by that as he started to vanish, appearing to disappear there before he wound up behind Namor, getting him in a chokehold while his cane was covered in a shadow–like sword.
“Now, how about we all keep calm and I don’t have to be murder each and every one of you.” the Shadow Man said towards them and hearing that, The Atlantean looked towards the shadow and as he did so, the villain started to created silhouettes who were starting to rise up, “All you need to know is that–” there was The Scarlet Centurion who looked towards the man.
“Void, I do not like my business discussed by anyone.” he snapped towards the man, “Of course, of course, they won’t been seeing me in a couple of decades anyways.” the villain told him, making the Atlantean look as he grabbed at the man, the blade cutting his skin while The Atlantean flipped over the man into the water and grabbed at his cane.
It seemed to thrash and try to attack him, but he wasn’t going to let it consume him as one of the tentacles seeped into Namor’s mind, showing there was a man who was showered in gold, a shadowy leviathan behind him and one of its tendrils was attached to the man before them, it was a beast that seemed to want to devour the world, “Say my name…” The creature and man both said.
“Take my power and become a vessel…” The duo told him and since he didn’t know the name of the golden one, he looked to the beast instead, “V– Void.” he told the beast, making it appear to almost grin as the monster went and shot a tendril into his torso, piercing though him, “You will be one of my vessels for now…” It told him as his body started to grow and thrash to become something different.
The Atlantean rose up, having dropped the Cane, but Eddie started to back away, scared at the sight, “I think we should all start to run.” he told them, making the Squadron Supreme worried as his veins became midnight black, his eyes spheres of night as he looked towards them, “I am going to enjoy tearing your atoms into cindersssss.” Namor snarled towards him.
The Time Traveler looked towards Eddie in annoyance, “You allowed The Void to infect Namor?!” he questioned in annoyance towards him before looked to Zarda, “This is an issue we need to deal with.” he said towards the woman, “If you assist in dealing with This, I will help with the swap.” he told them, making The Squadron confused, “Why the change in opinion?” Robbie asked.
But he looked towards the scene as the shadows seemed to form some sort of kraken of shadows and power that was crackling with energy, going and starting to make things darker, “The Void calls for an alliance, now then.” he said, aiming his fist towards the warrior and as he did so, the Kraken around him went to attack, absorbing the energy while The Squadron looked towards Namor.
“Don’t hurt him! Made sure that he’s not able to–” “Just hold the bastard down and I’ll get The Void back in myself!” Eddie shouted as he shot out more tendrils, more silhouettes coming out and starting to run on the tendrils and as they did as much, Robbie and Walter ran forward, rushing ahead to try and restrain the man while Skymax went to do the same, shifting into a Kraken.
The end of each tentacle being a maw that was breathing fire and making the Prince chuckle, “Let me kill The Time Traveler, we don’t need him, we only need the tool.” The Prince said towards them and hearing that, the members of The Squadron go and rush forward, Doctor Spectrum firing a blast to tear apart The Kraken as Namor started to form a shadowy Trident and thrown it.
Zarda slashed it with her sword and as she blocked the trident, the it shattered like the attack before The Utopian leapt forward, “Skymax! Can you make a springboard?” she asked, getting close to the Skrull who did as much for her, allowing Zarda to propel herself forward while The two speedsters who were distracting him with Doctor Spectrum, starting to tear apart The Kraken.
The defenses low, Zarda was able to stab into the beast, making sure that there was nothing that would fatally kill The Prince before the electricity that was flowing from the chain started to destroy the beast, hurting Namor as well and making him scream, sounding like a thousand wild beasts that had all been attacked at once, “Great! My turn!” Eddie said towards them as he shoved his hands into the beast.
It started to shrink and recede, becoming less and less before it eventually disappeared, taking away the effects that had hit Namor and made him smaller and smaller before they were all gone, leaving a tired Namor who was barely on his feet, “Hoo… alright… can we just… can we just get this over with?” he asked as Eddie went to look at his face, “And… ugh… that’s not good.”
“What?” Namor asked in annoyance, “Nothing… just… we’ll see if things are fine in 1987.” he said towards them now before looking towards The Scarlet Centurion, “So will I be heading back to my time or–?” before The Void could say anymore, The Scarlet Centurion snapped his fingers and it was as if they blinked and he vanished, making the group concerned at what was going on while The Scarlet Centurion acted.
He revealed the weapon he used against THEIR Zarda, “Well then, shall we?” he asked of them, making the group look towards the Utopian who had the weapon in her hand, “Well then, let’s hope this works!” she said, aiming towards him and swinging, making the man raise his weapon and the moment that they did so, the flash started to glow and create a similar explosion.
Reacting to this, the Prince and other members started to back away, trying to protect themselves as they had been blinded until they started to recover, the noise gone and a new voice there, “Hope Town again? Guys?” Zarda said, looking to be the one that they knew as theirs, “Zarda!” Skymax said relieved as Namor had taken a breath, sitting down breathing, whatever that Void was, it hurt.
It hurt like he went through every addictive element and felt like… like something greater than a God… and now he feels weaker, hollow almost, his hands were shaking and he hated it, wanting to get the feeling out of him as Zarda approached him, going to hug the man deeply, “Thank you for helping, Namor.” she told him with tears, making him wonder what happened to him on the other Earth.
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6/3/1948, Peterson Residence, Blue Harbour
Namor came back, taking a breath and as he did so, the Atlantean saw that there was the people he care about looking towards him with gratitude that he came back to them when Nay went and ran over, “Hey there, I’m back.” he said towards the family who were more than happy to hug the man who almost fell over, “Namor, are you okay?” Veronica asked of him.
But he just smiled, “I’m fine… I just need a cane for a little while.” he told them, making the group a bit worried while Nammu looked towards the man before walking so that she could get something while Randal went to help him sit in a chair, “Okay… what happened?” he asked and hearing that, the man sighed towards his question while Nammu came back with a stick to be used for a cane.
He sighed towards the statement, still recalling the glowing golden man and the shadowy beast before he took a deep breath, “It’s a long story.” he asked, “Involving a second Zarda as well as a monster that I think made me sick.” he told them all and hearing that, the girl and the adults looked towards the man as he started to tell the group what he could about what happened.
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Superflow Time, Temporal Observatory, The Superflow,
Nathaniel Richards returned only to find The 4–D Man play ‘Spice up your life’ and grooving, flickering and dancing with a few of the other versions of himself, at least until he noticed him, “Nathaniel!” The 4–D man said, making a copy to play with the others before he went over to speak to him, “What’ve you been up to?” he asked with a grin, his powers starting to flicker and show the real person underneath.
“I shouldn’t have used The Void.” he said towards them, making each iteration of The 4–D Man pause, “Robbie Reynolds, Eddie Emmerick, or one of the ones after?” He asked, making Nathaniel sigh, “Eddie Emmerick, you psychotic chronokinetic Dimensional Traveler.” he snarled, making the 4–D Men start to giggle, “You say the nicest things!/You’re lucky I’m attracted to bad boys./So what now?”
The fact they were not united made him annoyed, but he was more worried about the fact that The Void had another vessel that would appear in 1987, it was a danger that they would have to deal with as Kang went and started to set up a few countermeasures to deal with the situation, The Atlantean Prince with a force that destructive was not something he would deal with.
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The Void Space
The Void hungered, the Void saw that there was so much, so much to be consumed, so much that they were going to rip apart with their vessel, they lost them in 1948, but there was still 1987, and then there would be Six more in 2023… and soon there would be Legion if the silvertongue of The Scarlet Centurion would be believed, but The Void was patient.
They were patient when they, a fragment of the Anti–All, had been torn off by Lifebringer One, they had many siblings, and one day, one of them would bring forth the Oblivion that they all desired, The Void starting to hiss, extending its tendrils and preparing, ah so excited that one day they would have what they desired, and there was so so much that they could do in the future.