Oh my god this chapter is fourteen pages long.

31/10/17: Written By The Victors

"...what do you mean dead?"

"..."

"Damn. Okay, what about Reed? ...no contact? Same with Black Bolt? Okay, listen - we need a way out of here. Send an aircraft to the roof of the FutureCorp building as soon as you can. This is life or death. Thanks."

Ford hung up his phone.

Things were going badly wrong. The police were gathered outside the building, and he and Stan had the CEO of FutureCorp in an effective hostage situation. They had to get out, and fast.

"Alright, here's the deal," he said, "The Order of the Thirteen are sending a craft to get us out, but we need to be on the roof in twenty. We'll take Allsworthy with us - keep the police from trying anything."

"You're welcome to try," sniffed Allsworthy, "But that isn't gonna happen..."

"Can it, ya human TV Tropes page!" snapped Stan.

"You what?" asked Ford.

"I dunno, it's something Dipper mentioned," shrugged Stan.

Ford nodded.

"Well, we've gotta run," he said, "Tambry, stay here, the cops aren't after you. Allsworthy, lead us to the roof."

He held up the gun. Allsworthy shrugged, walking towards the door.

"You're really wasting your time, gentlemen," he said, "It's game over, man."

Ford scowled and opened the penthouse door.

He found himself face-to-face with General Rausseman himself, backed up by two PURITY troopers.

"Dr. Pines, how good to see you."

Allsworthy grinned, stepping forward.

"Excellent to see you, sir," he said, saluting.

"Where are the ERI override codes?" demanded Rausseman, "I must know that they're safe."

"Apart from the deactivation code, which belongs to Fulton, they're all right here," replied Allsworthy, tapping his head, "Didn't want a paper trail to give 'em away or anything."

"Very good."

He raised his pistol and shot Allsworthy in the head.

"What the heck was that for?" demanded Stan, doubling back in shock as Allsworthy's body slumped to the floor.

"I could not risk a security breach, Herr Pines," replied Rausseman, "He was a loose end. Now he is dealt with."

He smirked.

"And when the police ask who killed them," he added, "They will be told that he was viciously murdered by two old degenerates and his own secretary."

"But I didn't do anything!" exclaimed Tambry.

"Shame," shrugged Rausseman, "Soldiers, extract any information the old fools might have and then finish them off. Leave that mongrel to take the fall - they can give her a nice public trial. Report to me when you're finished."

"Jawohl!"

Rausseman nodded, walking out of the penthouse. He shut the door behind him.

"Inbound bandits - look like troop transports."

"American?"

"No sir, look like PURITY. They've got fighter escorts..."

Hill nodded, turning away from the agent at the console. She turned to Fury, standing at the centre of the bridge.

"Time's up, sir," she reported.

"Let 'em know," replied Fury.

"Yes sir," said Hill, "All hands, action stations! I repeat, all hands to action stations!"

On the flight deck, the first wing of Quinjets was being prepared to launch. Coulson was directing the loading procedure.

"Leave supplies," he ordered, "Get people off first!"

The first wave was mostly non-essential SHIELD personnel - clerks, cooks, janitors and other such people - and evacuated civilians. The Quinjets were being filled to maximum safe capacity - orders were to get as many out as possible.

There was a loud bang and the carrier was rocked.

"Hull breach! Hull breach in Sector B! They're boarding us!"

"Get the first wave off the ground!" ordered Coulson.

With a mighty roar, the five Quinjets began to lift off.

Suddenly, a flight of air force fighters - F-22 Raptors - thundered overhead, firing a salvo of rockets. Most of them missed, but one slammed into the side of the fourth Quinjet. It began to spin out.

"Mayday! Mayday! I can't control her, I can't-"

It spun down onto the flight deck and exploded in a ball of flame. Coulson winced and shielded himself from the heat.

"Get them out of here!" he shouted into his radar, "Now!"

The squad of PURITY troops advanced up the corridor, firing on the SHIELD agents at the other end. With methodical precision, they quickly wiped out the guards and reached the door at the end.

"Is this the best SHIELD has?" scoffed the commanding officer, as his men prepared to burst through, "Ridiculous."

The soldiers forced the door open. The commander smirked, drew his pistol and stepped forward. His mind slowly regarded the massive green shape advancing towards him.

Wait.

"Close the door, close the door!" he thundered, firing wildly at the advancing Hulk.

"Too late!"

The Hulk slammed into the officer with the force of an oncoming train, knocking both he and his squad over like bowling pins.

A rifle butt slammed into Ford's face. He looked up at his assailant, his head swimming.

"How does it feel, Herr Doctor?" asked the soldier smugly, "To know that you have lost. To know that everything you care about is being destroyed as we speak. What do you feel when you look up at me?"

"I...I see another typically imbecilic Nazi drone," growled Ford, "Whose too stupid to realise that my brother's already escaped his bonds and is about to slam him over the head with a chair."

"Was?"

Stan slammed a wooden chair over his head, instantly knocking him out.

"They don't make 'em very smart, do they?" he said.

"They're Nazis, Stanley, what do you expect?" shrugged Ford.

He turned to Tambry, who was handcuffed to a lamp.

"Right, release Tambry and I and we'll get going."

PURITY's troops had broken through into the cafeteria and were now fully engaged with the defenders.

It was a scene of chaos. PURITY's heavy Ubersoldaten and Shock Troopers - the latter with their heat-ray firing Zerstäuber rifles - were engaged with SHIELD's own heavies, most notably Vision. The regular PURITY troops were fighting the other defenders.

Mabel and Dipper were in cover behind an upturned table - the former was throwing rotten fruit over the top towards the enemy as if they were grenades. Not far away, Wendy was in a fistfight with a PURITY officer.

She punched the unfortunate commander out and turned around, just in time to see a couple of soldiers charging Soos, whose back was turned.

"Soos!"

Soos turned around as they approached. He screamed and covered his face.

An elongated arm wrapped around his attackers and flung them into the wall. Kamala ran up to them, somewhat nonchalantly punching out half a squad of troopers with her other fist (expanded to massive size.)

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, dood, thanks for the save," nodded Soos, giving a thumbs up.

There was a loud bang as another half-squad of troopers entered through the leftmost door.

"There they are!" the squad leader yelled, "Fire! Fi-"

A series of webs stuck to the soldiers' guns and ripped them from their hands. Before they could react, two figures - one in red and blue, one in black and red - swung from the ceiling, slamming into most of the men and knocking them out. The squad leader whipped out his pistol and frantically fired on them - he missed his shots, and the red and blue figure swung back, grabbing him in a headlock.

Peter Parker threw the squad leader into a table, knocking him out, before swinging back and clinging to the wall next to Miles.

"Well, that looked painful," he shrugged.

"Feeling bad about it?" asked Miles.

"Ah yeah, those poor Nazis," replied Peter wryly, "I mean, so much for the tolerant-"

"Attention all crew in Sector C. Evacuation now in process. Head to the flight deck immediately."

"That's our cue," nodded Miles.

The medical wing on helicarrier was being hurriedly packed up. Steven and Connie stood by one of the beds - Sapphire's gem had been placed on the pillow.

"Come on, Sapphire, we need to go," said Connie, glancing anxiously at the evacuating staff.

"They're in the main hallway!" a SHIELD agent cried, "We have to move!"

"Steven!" exclaimed Connie.

Steven swallowed, nodded and tucked Sapphire's gem in his pocket.

"Okay, I'm ready," he said.

There was a loud crash from outside, followed by sudden, terrible silence. Steven and Connie looked at each other and nodded.

"Together?"

"Together."

Amethyst lay on the side of the hallway, slumped against the wall. She could see Peridot trying to get to her feet as the PURITY troops approached. One of the Shock Troopers walked up to her, putting a boot on her stomach and aiming his rifle in her face.

"Goodnight, degenerate," he spat.

The medical wing door flew open. The troopers turned, aiming their weapons at the person emerging.

"Identify yourself! Now!" bellowed the Shock Trooper.

Stevonnie narrowed their eyes.

"Leave. My family. ALONE!"

They charged out of the doorway, shield drawn and reflecting fire from the troopers. They drew their sword and slammed the flat of it across the Shock Trooper's face, knocking him off Amethyst, before turning to his squad mates. They threw the shield - it swung through the air, knocking out three men, before returning to them. The last PURITY trooper advanced quietly behind them, aiming to take them by surprise - they turned quickly and roundhouse kicked him in the chest, knocking him down.

They turned to Amethyst, offering their hand.

"You alright?" they asked.

"Am now," nodded Amethyst, taking it as they pulled her up.

Peridot got to her feet, rubbing her head.

"Well, it was close," she said, "Good thing I was here..."

Amethyst smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Alright, let's get the heck out of dodge," said Amethyst, "Looks like we're home free..."

"Just a few more yards and we're home free!" called Ford.

He, Stan and Tambry were running up the fire escape corridor to the roof of the building. Through the reinforced glass door at the end, they could see a helicopter - a few men in tailored suits were standing next to it, weapons drawn.

"What is the Order of the Thirteen, anyway?" demanded Tambry.

"You know the Illuminati?" replied Stan, "It's like that, but mostly less evil."

"Mostly?" said Ford.

"Don't kid yourself, Ford, it's still a secret society that manipulates people," said Stan.

A PURITY trooper burst out of one of the side corridors. Stan tackled straight into him, forcing him to the ground and punching him out.

"You're not getting anything from us," he snarled.

Ford smiled. Things seemed to be looking up.

President Fulton looked up from the sheet of paper Wilder had given him.

"Who else have you given this offer?" he asked.

"Went down well in Moscow," shrugged Wilder.

Fulton nodded.

"So, I say yes to this, and PURITY will help strengthen my Presidency," he said.

"And you'll get the credit for all the...changes that happen," nodded Wilder.

The President smiled.

"Secretary Wilder, your group drives a hard bargain," he said, "But I think we can do business."

He shook Wilder's hand.

Ford and Tambry raced through the door towards the helicopter. Stan was just a few steps behind.

Suddenly, the door swung closed again, and there was the sound of a lock closing shut. Half a second later, Stan slammed painfully into the reinforced glass.

"Argh!"

"Stan!" exclaimed Ford, skidding to a halt and turning around.

A figure emerged behind his brother, sarcastically clapping as he approached Stan.

"Oh, bravo gentlemen," sneered Rausseman, "Bravo."

"Bandits coming in fast!" shouted the radar man, "We've just picked 'em up!"

"What are they?" demanded Hill.

"They're...aw crap, heavy bombers!" the radar man replied, "B-2s!"

"Helm, evade! Evade!" bellowed Hill.

"Too late, missiles inbound!" shouted the radar man.

"Brace! Brace!"

Stan turned to face Rausseman, crossing his arms.

"Let me guess how this goes," he snapped, "You're gonna take me prisoner. Probably beat me a bit as well. Then Sixer's gonna bust me out, we're gonna find you, we're gonna kick your ass and tear PURITY apart limb from limb. Because you guys are idiots, just like your moron Führer, and you never, ever win. Am I right?"

Rausseman chuckled.

"Is that what you think?" he said, "That this is gonna be like some...1960s war movie? Is that it?"

He raised his gun and pointed it at Stan's head.

"No," he said, "I think we both know how this ends. Kneel, if you please."

Stan narrowed his eyes.

"No," he spat, "Never. Not to you."

Rausseman nodded.

"Very well."

He pulled the trigger.

Six missiles slammed into the starboard side of the helicarrier. The impact rocked the massive, flying warship - the engines spluttered, roared and slowly ground to a halt.

"Critical structural damage!" bellowed one of the bridge crew, "Both starboard engines are out! What do we do?"

Fury looked down at him, a solemn expression on his face.

"You know what you have to do," he replied.

"Yes sir," nodded the crewman, swallowing, "All hands, abandon ship! All hands, abandon ship!"

"Stanley!"

Ford ran back, reaching the glass door and slamming his fist against it. Stan did not respond, his body slumping to the ground.

"Stan, come on, wake up, we have to go!" he shouted, "Come on! Don't let him do this to us, Stanley! Don't...don't let him..."

Rausseman laughed, turning to the old man.

"In a strange way, it's actually satisfying to see that you've lived," he said, "Because I think that will end up hurting you far more than simply killing you."

Ford turned to Rausseman, his face twisted with rage.

"I'll kill you," he snarled, "I swear, I'll kill you..."

"You and whose army, Doctor Pines?" scoffed Rausseman, "SHIELD? The Avengers? The X-Men? The Inhumans? Your family? All dead, doctor, and their way of life is dying with them."

"Doctor Pines!" one of the Order agents called, "We have to leave!"

"Dipper and Mabel," snarled Ford, "I still have them."

"Last I heard, my men had spotted them aboard SHIELD's carrier," replied Rausseman, "Which is now crippled and burning somewhere over the Atlantic. You are alone, Doctor Pines - you cannot win."

He breathed deeply and smiled.

"When the history of this day is written, Doctor Pines," he said, "We will be the ones holding the pen. You and your wretched brother will be remembered as aimless terrorists - and I as the hero who put them down."

His grin widened.

"It feels so good, doctor," he said, "To be the one inflicting the fear and pain."

"You're a monster," growled Ford.

"I'm a visionary," replied Rausseman, "Good day, Herr Doctor - we shan't meet again."

"No...no, you're not getting away with this! You're not!"

Ford felt himself dragged towards the helicopter by Tambry and the Order agents.

"Doctor Pines, we have to go!"

"Unhand me, damn it! Stan's still in there!" bellowed Ford, "We have to go back! We have to go back! STANLEY!"

The flight deck was aflame and fighters swarmed above.

Agents Baker and Willingham were directing people into a Quinjet. Dipper, Mabel, Wendy and Soos were bundled into the back - the last to enter before this particular jet was cleared to take off. They found themselves next to Jimmy, Stevonnie, Amethyst and Peridot - the latter was on the phone.

"...oh thank stars I finally got you! You need to leave the barn, Lapis! ...I know it's our home, but it's not safe! Just...please, we'll meet up in Wakanda, just go! ...I know, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The Quinjet rattled as it took off, hurriedly soaring away from the carrier. It shook dreadfully as a missile thundered past it, but quickly built up speed and broke away from the fighting.

Stevonnie sighed, pulling out Sapphire's gem and staring at it.

"I wish you could tell me what's gonna happen next," they sighed, "I...I feel lost."

"We all do, man," nodded Wendy.

"Did any of you guys see Timmy anywhere?" asked Jimmy, "We got split up on the deck."

"Yeah, I saw him - he's lining up for the next Quinjet. He's safe," nodded Dipper.

"Hey, come on, let's not get so down in the dumps," said Mabel, smiling weakly, "It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay..."

"Mayday, mayday, this is Quinjet Three-Five-Niner! I've lost the ailerons! I'm trying to put her down on water, but I don't...I don't know if I can do it!"

Timmy held on tightly to his seat as the Quinjet descended. He reached into his pocket, grabbing the recaller and frantically calling Dani. There was no answer - her own recaller was switched off.

He sighed, looking down at the pink and green buttons on his shirt.

"It's gonna be okay, guys," he said, as much to himself as Cosmo and Wanda, "It's gonna be okay..."

The last functional Quinjet was about to take off. Steve and Coulson stood on the loading ramp, fitting as many people into the back as they dared.

Kamala, Danny, Peter and Miles piled into the back, followed by Willingham and Baker.

"That's everyone, sir!" called Baker.

"Coulson!"

Coulson held his hand to his earpiece as Fury radioed him.

"Director?"

"Take Cap and get out of here!" ordered Fury.

"What about you, sir?" asked Coulson.

"I have too many secrets, Coulson, and I'll be damned if I let PURITY have them," replied Fury, "It's on you now, Agent."

"I...yes, sir. Good luck, sir."

He looked over to Steve.

"We need to go," he said.

Steve swallowed and nodded.

President Fulton adjusted his tie as he walked into the Press Gallery. The assembled reporters immediately began to shout questions - Fulton raised a hand to stop them.

"Before we start, I'd like to address the people," he said.

He cleared his throat.

"My fellow Americans," he said, "Today is a day of tragedy. But it is also a day of reawakening."

"Our country is sick and has been for some time. This administration has been working to fix the ills of our predecessor. Today, we make our first big steps towards a cure."

"...critical structural damage - the stern is coming away! She's going in, sir, she's going in!"

Fury and Hill stood on the burning bridge of the helicarrier, the former looking as implacable as he always had.

"Sir?" asked Hill, somewhat nervously, "Are you..."

"Hill, I'm as confident in victory against PURITY as I was this morning," replied Fury.

He offered her the faintest hint of a smile.

"It's always darkest before the dawn," he said.

"The first step is to re-evaluate our allies and our enemies. For too long, we have relied on vigilantism to protect our people. We have allowed these 'superheroes' to walk all over us. No more. Today, our tireless men and women in the armed forces have started to take our nation back."

Reed Richards coughed and spluttered as he crawled out of the rubble of the Baxter Building. He was immediately picked up by a fireman and escorted towards safety.

"Did..." Reed coughed, "Did anyone else..."

"You're the only one we've found so far, Mr. Richards," replied the fireman.

He looked towards the edge of the police cordon, where a policeman was arguing with an army officer.

"Word of advice - you might wanna skip town," said the fireman.

"The world will be ours again. We will work with our friends in Europe, in Russia, in China. We will restore order and peace, whatever the cost may be."

A soldier held up his phone, recording the burning of the X-Mansion. A friend walked in front of him - he grinned and made the peace symbol before carrying on.

"Victory is coming, my fellow Americans. For you. For me. For all real Americans, and all real humans. We will have peace. We will have dominion. We will have purity."

The Hulk wandered the lower decks of the burning helicarrier, roaring and pounding on walls as he searched for an exit.

Not far away, the Vision was flying away from the ruined ship. He looked back as he heard a sickening crunch. He watched as the ship slowly tore itself in half, like a twig being snapped. With a mournful groan, the burning fragments of the dying behemoth began to fall into the sea below. He could see the Hulk falling - from his position, the giant green monster looked to be unconscious.

The Vision shook his head sadly and flew away.

"I trust you will all have the strength and fortitude to see this through."

Quinjet Three-Five-Niner lay in pieces in the Atlantic.

Barely conscious, Timmy clung to a piece of wreckage. He couldn't see anybody else from the unfortunate aircraft - at the moment, he could only really focus on his own survival.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw a winged figure extending a hand to him.

"A...angel?" asked Timmy, weakly.

"Trust me. I'm the farthest thing from that."

Lapis Lazuli took Timmy's hand and flew off into the sky.

"Thank you."

A flight of battered Quinjets landed on a Wakandan airstrip. As they did, Wakandan troops and emergency responders immediately met them, grabbing the injured and taking them to medical attention.

Steve limped out of the last Quinjet, clutching his head. Coulson followed him, his suit dishevelled.

"What do we do now?" Steve asked.

"Resist."

The two men turned. Sapphire had emerged from the back of another Quinjet.

Before long, the small blue gem had a small crowd surrounding her. Stevonnie, the Pines Twins, Soos, Wendy, Danny, Jimmy, Kamala, Miles, Peter, Coulson and Steve - all were listening intently for what the seer had to say.

"They look invincible now," said Sapphire, "But their power is limited. They are weaker than you think."

"Not only that - their recent victory is going to make them complacent."

"General Rausseman!"

Rausseman got up from Allsworthy's couch and nodded at the officer entering the penthouse.

"Word from the UN," said the officer, "There's been an official denouncement of the purge, sir. Signed by India, Britain, Germany, Japan, Australia, Wakanda..."

"The UN? Bah!" sniffed Rausseman, "Who on Earth cares?"

He sat down again, gazing out the window.

"Tell me when something important happens."

"They think they've broken us. What they don't know is that we're the only ones who can decide if we're broken."

Ford gazed, slack-jawed, at his fellow Order members. They were much reduced - Xavier and Black Bolt was gone (word was that the Inhumans were leaving Earth in disgust - Ford couldn't exactly blame them), Reed Richards looked like a broken shadow of himself, and the other members looked almost as tired and lost.

"Scorched Earth, Ford," sighed Reed, "We can't let Rausseman have the planet. A Nazi-run Earth is a cosmic threat."

"But...but we can fight him!" exclaimed Ford, "We can beat him! It's not impossible! It..."

"The Order has voted, Ford," said Reed.

"...well then I'll no longer be a part of it," spat Ford, "I'm not a coward, Richards."

He turned and stormed out of the room.

"And while it seems like we've lost a lot, we have more than you can imagine."

"He's waking up!"

He opened his eyes. He could see the blurry forms of Lapis and Timmy above him. He shook his head.

"What...what happened?" he muttered.

"Well, it's hard to explain," shrugged Timmy.

"You might have died," said Lapis.

Stan sat up, clutching his head.

"Yeah, I remember that," he nodded, "So why am I...what, undead?"

"Don't thank us, man," said Timmy, "Thank her."

"Her?" quizzed Stan.

Lapis nodded.

"We call her...Phoenix."

"The odds are against us. There are darker forces coming - even darker than Rausseman. But here's what we're gonna do."

Some of the crowd shuffled over to make way for a new arrival. Stevonnie and Amethyst immediately ran over to her - Pearl smiled as she hugged them back. Next to her, T'Challa and Tony took positions next to Steve.

"We train," said Sapphire, "We fight back. We bring back Ruby, we bring down Rausseman and we save the world. That's what is going to happen."

"Is that one hundred percent certain?" asked Coulson.

Sapphire smiled.

"No," she said, "It's not even fifty percent certain. But when has that ever stopped us?"

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Steve turned to T'Challa - neither of them had joined in the cheers, and both looked concerned.

"Did I hear that right?" asked Steve, "Stop Rausseman then save the world?"

"Darker forces than Rausseman," repeated T'Challa, "I fear that something terrible is coming."

Steve swallowed.

"Well, let's focus on what we can deal with for now," he said, "Leave the rest for tomorrow."

Kamala walked over, looking at the sky.

"Problem, Kamala?" asked Steve.

"Not really," shrugged Kamala, "It just bugs me for some reason. It's not raining again..."

1945

There was a running fire-fight in the alpine caves, sheltered from the rain outside.

The Private clutched his 'burp gun' as his squad raced through the darkness. They were in a race against time - the fascists had stowed a prize within these tunnels, and the Western Allies were fast approaching to take it. They had to reach it first.

"Comrades, through the door!" bellowed the major.

The Private swallowed as he charged through the door. He was met by two SS soldiers - they raised their guns, but the Private fired first, mowing them down in quick succession.

He breathed heavily and mopped his brow, turning to look at the object stored in the Nazi laboratory. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the object in front of him.

"Comrades...you're going to want to see this," he said.

In a large tank marked 'Department Seventeen', the Private beheld the strangest sight he had ever seen.

It was a man made out of silver.

Deep in the depths of space, a satellite from Earth - from the Order of the Thirteen - drifted through the void. It flashed a message - like Morse Code, but in a language that would not have been spoken on Earth.

In the dark void, two eyes opened, regarding the small object and the co-ordinates it was giving him - co-ordinates to a small planet called Earth.

Galactus slowly awoke from his slumber. It was time to feed.

To Be Continued...

I laughed heartily as I saved my document.

"Oh, I love it when I get to be nasty!" I declared, "It's such fun, you know?"

I stood up.

"Well, that's it for another year," I said, "It's been a real ride - I've had a lot of fun with the arc this year, and I think I've written some of my favourite one-offs this year. Robot Wars and The Trans-European Express, I'm looking at you."

I walked over to my CD player.

"Well, thanks again for indulging me for another October," I said, "It's the people who read and review this series that make this happen. You are, in fact, the best around. Thanks again, and I will see you for Number Eight next year!"

I pressed play.

"And now, some music!"

ALL: We didn't start October,
It's some science thing,
And we don't have degrees,
We didn't start October,
But one thing can be told,
Because it's all E3's fault.

ALL: We didn't start October,
It's some science thing,
And we don't have degrees,
We didn't start October,
But one thing can be told,
Because it's all E3's fault.

FINAL STATISTICS

31 Chapters.

144 Pages.

1,265 Hits.

4 Faves.

4 Alerts.

45,429 Words.

216,823 Characters (without spaces).

Approx. 100 Hours of Work.

One Exhausted Author - who is also kind of evil.

"Wait, Dib, wait...so, if you pause and then you double-jump, you can jump forever?"

Dib, Timmy and friends were still in the creepy mansion playing video games.

"Yeah. It's...it's a thing that happens, yeah."

"But why?"

"Because this game is trash, Timmy."