Chapter 92

It had been an exciting day at Lexcorp. The announcement of a potentially world changing project, one that the employees were told would keep America safe. There had been a few threats, but the security team handled them efficiently. Now that the announcement had been made, workers were congratulating one another, while still knowing they had plenty of work to do to repair Lexcorp's image and perfect the Ultron project. Adrenaline was still pumping, but things were turning back to the normal quiet of the office.

That was, until a tall green girl had come barreling in, breaking through walls, and anything else that got in her way. An intern froze. He was at the opposite end of the hallway, plenty of time to move, but all he did was stand and stare. Suddenly, his feet were pulled out from under him and the green girl hurdled over him, barely making stride.

"On Dasher, on Dancer!" Spider-man shouted. He webbed a door shut so that the curious employees inside wouldn't accidentally stray into Lyra's path, "On Prancer and Vixen!"

"Stop that!" Lyra shouted, breaking through another wall, "I know we're in a hurry! I'm going as fast as I can!"

"Sorry, little antsy." Spider-man said, zipping ahead and pulled another employee out of Lyra's path, "And that's not even a bug pun. But if we don't hurry, this place will be impossible for even Superman to break into."

WHAM

Lyra had lowered her shoulder to break through another wall, only to find it able to resist her, sending her staggering backwards.

"Static, you're up." Spidey said.

"On it." Static flew in on his disk and landed near the security console on the wall. The rest of the Titans followed after.

"Police are already on their way." Asami said, "S.H.I.E.L.D. is mobilizing."

"We've been here for thirty seconds!" Blue Beetle exclaimed.

"Luthor is a heavy supporter of the bill," Korra said, "He had to believe some kind of super powered attack was possible."

Sparks were flying and electricity crackled with Static at the wall console. "Got it."

There was a hiss, before the entire wall parted. On the other side were a dozen men with bulky looking rifles.

"Don't even try." Magik cast a spell that caused the rifles to sag at the end, as if made of rubber.

"Nicely done." Spider-man said, "Now...On Comet on Cupid!"

Lyra grumbled as she charged forwards again. The team formed up behind her, letting her clear the way. Spider-man, however, landed on her shoulder.

"Mind if I stick here and web up any of them guards and their fancy guns?"

"Fine, but no more Night before Christmas."

"Deal. But now I'm picturing us in 'Empire Strikes Back', only the green one is doing the carrying."

A short distance further, turrets descended from the ceiling. As soon as they appeared, the Web Head doused them with webbing.

They were approaching a corner.

"Straight or left?" Lyra asked.

"Uh, left."

Lyra skid along the ground to slow into the turn, tearing up floor tiles as she went. This time, the turrets were waiting on them and fired a hail of energy bolts. Spider-man webbed up a few, but couldn't stop all of them.

"Ow! These things hurt!" Lyra covered her face, still pushing forwards.

Blue Beetle dashed up and produced an energy shield. "I gotcha."

They pushed on, Spidey webbing up the turrets for the teammates behind.

"Right or straight?!" Lyra called as they faced another corner.

"Straight!"

Beetle and Spidey ducked behind the hulk as she charged straight into the concrete and steel wall, obliterating it.

"Stop!" they could hear a man shout from the other side, "The police are on their way here. You are under arrest!"

Korra blew all the dust forwards, away from Lyra and at the security team. Still able to see the guards, Beetle fired a series of weak knock-out blasts into the dust.

"Nice job team." Spider-man said. He approached a tall, thick, and intimidating metal archway. "This should be the last door. Gotta say, this feels entirely too-WAIT!"

Lyra had her fist back to break the door down.

"Spider-sense. Gotta be a kinetic shield. Whatever we hit the door with, it'll fire back."

"Magik, can you use your stepping disks?" Korra asked.

Illyana closed her eyes. "I cannot. There must be a mutagen dampener nearby."

"Find it, Blue." Korra said.

"Yup-yup."

"So, we get in the lab, smash Ultron, then what?" Korra asked, "We're gonna be in pretty big trouble."

"To that end, I'll volunteer to stay and testify what I know while you guys can Stepping Disk outta here. And I'm not trying to be all noble self-sacrificing!" Spider-man said before anyone could interrupt, "But I'm literally the only reason we're doing this, so any punishments should fall on me."

"We appreciate it, but I think I speak for everyone when I say, we're all in this together." Korra put a hand on his shoulder.

"Found the dampener." Beetle said. He fired a blast into the ceiling.

"Ready to go?" Magik asked.

"Yeah." Spider-man said, "Remember, his assistant Mercy is a martial artist, so be careful of her. Also Luthor is likely going to fight back, so even if you really want to, don't hurt him. Ultron is the only thing we're after."

Spidey was the first through the portal and his spider sense immediately kicked in. He pulled Static aside as a cannon shot nearly took off their heads. Gunshots rang out, but they bounced off Lyra with no effect.

Mercy, the woman in the suit and tie, quickly loaded a different clip of bullets. Having seen this, Blue Beetle jumped in front to put up his energy shield again, as Mercy fired strange, scattering bullets. Luthor, meanwhile, was loading another shot into whatever kind of cannon he was using. Not wanting to find out what it did, Spider-man quickly webbed it up. Korra metal bent the gun from Mercy's hands, and the two were rendered defenseless.

"Woah!" Spider-man looked at the wall behind the Titans. The blast he and Static had dodged, vaporized the wall. "I'm going to have to confiscate all toys and electronics before class." he ripped the webbed up cannon out of his hands.

"You stupid children, what do you think you're doing?!" Luthor demanded.

"Stopping you from intentionally or accidentally killing us all." Spider-man said.

"I am saving the world, you just can't see it!"

"Accidentally killing us it is." Static said.

"Alright, so what am I to break?" Lyra cracked her knuckles as she looked around the lab.

"Hm...oh! There it is." Spider-man said. He pointed to a tall humanoid robot. It had a smooth metal outer layer, three pairs of eyes, and a wide mouth turned up in an expressionless smile.

"No! Don't touch that!" Luthor exclaimed.

"Oh, Ima touch it." Lyra grinned.

"Mercy!" A little hesitant, the woman grabbed a wrench off a nearby table and charged. A stepping disk opened up and sent her stumbling into Luthor where the Wall Crawler webbed them together.

"Stuck in the middle with you..." Spidey sang.

Lyra slammed her fist into the chest of the machine, but it had no effect and Lyra pulled back her hand with a curse.

"Whatever this thing is made out of, it's damn strong." Lyra held her wrist.

Korra went up to it and put a hand on the metal shell.

"Uh, Spidey, this isn't Ultron." Asami said.

"...Yes it is."

"It can't be, I'm not picking up a single thing from it. No power. No signs of Artificial life. It's just a big metal husk."

Blue Beetle put a hand to his temple. "Can confirm. There's nothing going on inside that thing. That mean looking coal stove in the corner, however..."

The team turned to a tripod machine. It too had a smooth metal shell. Also, it had a vent in the middle of it that looked like a mouth, especially when you noticed the two lenses and a metal V that looked like a furrowed brow.

"Yeah," Asami said, "That's similar to the designs shown at the conference today."

"Stay away from that!" Luthor strained against the webbing.

"Let's hope this is easier to break." Lyra approached it.

"NO!" Luthor shouted, "You don't understand what you're doing! Everything I've done has led up to this! If you destroy Ultron, you'll doom us all!"

"How?" Spider-man asked, "This thing has killed multiple people in multiple time lines. So how does not breaking the killer robot doom us?"

"I...you...wouldn't understand." Luthor said, "I have plans in motion. They can't be stopped. And they all depend on having Ultron at the ready to command the O.M.A.C.s. There are things... things out in the depths of space. Things neither the Justice League or the Avengers can stop. Only Ultron can!"

"I don't believe this for a second!" Lyra said.

"Yeah," Beetle said "The only way Ultron or these O.M.A.C.s could even beat our team is if someone had paid a bunch of super villains to attack us, tryna to learn weaknesses ahead of time. Sound familiar?"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Luthor exclaimed.

"He's lying! The bug suit can tell."

"You're going to convict me on what some alien machine told you?!" Luthor exclaimed. "This is exactly why we need the Registration Act! You people put entirely too much trust in aliens and abominations of science."

"Says the guy mass producing an army of Brainiac robots." said Static.

"Those machines have been completely modified! We learned from them, adapted them, and use them for our own agendas. We didn't blindly throw them out and trust the will of some foreign power to do what's right! We adjusted them to hold humanity to humanity's laws!"

"I've heard enough!" Lyra grabbed Ultron, "I'm breaking this damn machine!"

"NO!"

With strain and a grimace, the she-hulk crunched and crushed the metal over head, leaving nothing but scraps and sparks.

"No! No-no-no-no-" Spider-man webbed Luthor's mouth.

"And you would have gotten away with it if it weren't for us meddling kids. Okay, we came, we saw, yadda yadda, now let's go."

"Hold on." Korra said, "Are we sure that was Ultron? It broke so easily, but this thing," she put her hand back on the humanoid robot, "It's made of Proto-Adamantium. A kind of Adamantium-Vibranium alloy."

"How do you know that?" Magik asked.

"Studied all the things I can and can't metal bend." she said, "And I can't bend Vibranium. At least not in it's refined form like this. See, even though they're both from space, there are trace amounts of what can be called 'earth' in both. When refined and forged, Adamantium keeps a lot of these elements, but vibranium doesn't. And what elements it does keep, are impossible to move based on the properties of the metal."

"Learn something new everyday." Spider-man said, "But now the question is, how the heck did Luthor get vibranium?"

"Something I, too, would like to know."

The team snapped around as Black Panther and Bruce Banner entered the lab, the kinetic shielded door now wide open.

"Th-th-that's T'Challa!" Static's voice quivered.

"You okay dude?" Beetle asked.

Black Panther walked over to Luthor and cut him and Mercy free with his claws.

"T'Challa?!" Luthor exclaimed, "I specifically asked for Shazam and Black Widow, not you."

"Mister Batson has detention today, so I came in his stead." Panther said, "Unless you would like me to leave?"

"No, stay and arrest these teenagers! They've destroyed my lab, endangered my employees, and caused millions in property damage."

"Um, mister Panther, your majesty, sir?" Spider-man spoke up, "I can explain everything. Mostly... See, I told my team to come here today, so if there's anyone responsible for all of this, it should-"

Korra lightly smacked him on the back of the head. "Stop that." she approached Black Panther and gave the namaste, which he returned. "It is an honor to meet you again, King T'Challa."

"The honor is mine, Avatar Cohort Korra."

"We should really pull that card more often." Blue Beetle whispered.

"Um, I'd just like to say that when we were coming through, it was quite obvious that the Titans did their best to avoid endangering any employees." Banner said, "The damage, however, is rather extreme."

"Yes, well, I understand you Titans had your own agenda in coming here." Panther said, "However it is no longer a primary concern of mine." he rounded on Luthor. "Two years ago, you requested five hundred grams of vibranium to study. Reluctantly, I sent it to you, only for it to be stolen en route. You request another shipment, which I obliged to. Three months ago, I ask for the vibranium to be returned, as we agreed, and you ask for deferment. Now I come into your lab and find a machine made of a Vibranium alloy. Will you tell me it is made of five hundred grams or will you tell me a kilo?"

"You can't just trust what this girl has to say!"

"She is next in line to be the Avatar, and I can." Panther said. He pulled out a dagger from his belt, "But I am a man of science, so I will test my theory." He threw the dagger. On impact with the metal body, the dagger made no sound and dropped to the floor with no ricochet. "What have you to say now?"

Luthor smiled ominously. "Fallen scepter."

A computer voice from all around said: "Voice recognized. Heartbeat recognized. Facial scan recognized." Lex chuckled. "You have three minutes to evacuate yourselves and anyone you can carry before this entire city block explodes."

"Three minutes?" a streak of red and gold led into the room, "C'mon, gimme a challenge!" The Flash had barely stood still long enough to be recognized before dashing back out the way he came. Superman flew in as he left.

"Ah, Superman." Black Panther approached and extended a hand, "A pleasure."

"Likewise." without hesitation, Superman shook hands with him.

"Wait, aren't you guys enemies?" Beetle asked.

"Shush!" Static hissed, "Don't question the king."

"It costs nothing to show respect." Panther said, "Even to one's enemies."

"Personally I don't like to think of us as enemies." Superman said, "Especially not today."

"Very heartwarming," Luthor said, "But you may want to attend to the matter at hand."

"Oh, Flash will have it handled in-"

"Done!" Flash streaked back into the building, holding a metal canister with dozens of wires coming out. "I got everyone out of the building, and I found this thing. I dunno how to deactivate it, so I figured I'd bring it to you guys. Should I evacuate the rest of the city?"

"No, I'll take it from here." Superman took the bomb and enveloped it in a bear hug. It detonated as he crushed it, letting only a small tremor escape. "So how do we want to handle this?" he let the charred bits of the bomb fall to the floor.

"I'd like to get involved, personally." Banner said. He walked over to a computer, inserted a USB drive and waited as a program scanned through some files. "Unfortunately, I've helped Luthor with the O.M.A.C. and Ultron projects. Of course we had a deal that my little girl was off the table, and I believe he's broken that agreement."

"Daaad," Lyra hissed, "Don't embarrass me!"

Blue Beetle snickered, to which Lyra snarled, "Laugh it up! I'll rip off that scarab and beat you with it."

"Banner, you can't access my company files without-"

"Please Lex," Banner looked over his shoulder, "After the stunt you pulled ripping off the O.M.A.C.s from Stark and Wayne, and stealing vibranium, you really are in no position to talk about legal affairs."

"So, uh, now that you all are here," Spider-man said, "I guess we'll just...hit the ol' dusty trail then."

"Not so fast." Superman said, "As justified as it ended up being, there's still the matter of why you attacked Lexcorp in the first place."

"Um...can I use a lifeline and call Charles Xavier first?"

"...You're serious?" Superman said.

Members of the Justice League and Avengers had agreed to meet in Avengers Tower to interrogate the Titans. As requested, Charles Xavier had shown up with a few other X-men, to confirm much of what Spider-man had to say.

"I'm going to repeat it back, so stop me if I've got anything wrong." Superman continued. "There used to be three separate Earths in three separate dimensions. You, Spider-man, existed in one of those universes, when a creature called 'Mojo' abducted both Kara and Korra here, and threw them into yours for...television ratings?"

"Yes, sir...crazy as that sounds."

"Wait!" Two Green Lanterns parted as Kara ran up and joined her teammates. "You guys can't get into trouble without me!"

"Wouldn't dream of it." Korra put an arm around her.

"What about Asami Sato?" Wonder Woman asked, "She's part of the...polyamorous relationship."

"Asami has nothing to do with this." Spidey held up his hands, "I dragged her into this like I did with everyone else."

"Except us." Kara said.

"That brings me to my next point." Superman said, "So you eventually confront this...Mojo, and discover that he has been using Cosmic Cubes from two different dimensions, and is about to fuse the aforementioned three different worlds for his own gains. You then use the cubes before he can to make a combined world that is free from his control."

"Right so far."

"The problem I'm seeing is that much of what happened in Spider-man's original world has already happened, while what had happened in Kara and Korra's world has yet to happen or is altogether different."

"Yes, I'm a bit upset to hear that the Avatar had to die before the next in line could be born." Aang said.

"Or how Lex Luthor was one of my greatest enemies in that world, but in this one he's gained the trust of the Avengers." Superman said.

"Many of us held him at arm's length." said Black Panther.

"Well, to that end, Luthor was actually a bad guy the whole time." Spider-man said, "I'm guessing he was just biding his time since there were more heroes."

"We'll get to Luthor in a moment." Superman said, "Right now we need to discuss the obvious, that three of you have in-depth knowledge of the course of our world, and the actions you've taken with that knowledge."

"Or the lack of action." Wonder Woman said, "Could you have stopped the Starro incident in New York?!"

"No! I swear!" Spider-man exclaimed, "This world has been so much different than any of our worlds, it's difficult to say 'when', 'where', or even 'if' something is going to happen. Some things are hard to see coming as our memories fade and combine. It took me a while to even remember what Ultron was. And at any rate, we've only remembered our past dimensions for a little over a year."

"He speaks the truth." Magik stepped forward, "I know this man well. If he would have known any more about my time in Limbo, I am certain he would have done everything to prevent it."

"Why then," Batman asked, "did you choose to withhold this information from us?"

Spider-man said nothing, so Kara stepped forwards. "We were concerned we would be judging people on what had yet to happen, or what might never happen at all. It took me a while to convince my team that Luthor was evil, and longer still to find any evidence to prove it."

"We'll need to think about this. It's a lot to take in." Superman said.

"You'll have to think fast." Spider-man said, "Luthor said he was building Ultron has a defense against some kind of huge cosmic threat."

"Did he say what exactly?" Wonder Woman asked.

"No."

"Well, we might be about to find out." Iron Man said, "Miss Romanov is on her way back from interrogation."

They didn't have to wait long for Black Widow to show up "Luthor confessed to a number of things, but he didn't mention specifics as far as the cosmic threat." she said, "Only that he was instigating the Registration Act to 'appease' it."

"Wait, he was 'instigating' the R.A.?" Captain Marvel repeated.

Widow nodded, "He confessed to bribing politicians to vote and make speeches. He bribed a few media outlets to alter their public polls and narratives. And lastly he used social media to spread around misinformation and doctored images."

"Why would he confess to all this?" Iron Man asked.

"According to him, it doesn't matter anymore. Apparently we're all doomed."

Not dead, just lazy