Elysia - CVnU Location

@nerx:

The Omnipotent Overlord folded his arms behind his broad back, proudly displaying his thick adamant chest. His evil eyes glowed sharply as a cruel smile crept over his granite face.

"When can you start?"

@warsman:

"Now, as soon as you give me a location since you own these lands"

@nerx:

"I have recently discovered something I think you would find interesting. It is a planet thought long dead and forgotten, the missing link to our solar system. It took many hours of prying the material stream, but I managed to tear it out of the grasp of myth and legend. It is called Vulcan, a world much like Earth. I plan on moving Elysia and its people there, to be prosperous as never before. It will be the launching grounds for a new crusade of glory, one that will pave the way to a golden age,"

Caught up in the moment of his own words, Warsman did not notice that he had turned his back on his guest, electing instead to gaze upon the distant glimmering satellite that was the basis for his dreams of conquest.

"I must know that you will be trusted. While we are still on Earth, I will leave you the responsibility of culling the weak and traitorous from the flock of my people. You will be a great pestilence that will run through the land, testing the strong and obliterating the unfaithful. I grant you this on one stipulation: those who disobey the will of Warsman must die. All others will be granted life eternal upon the surface of Vulcan."

@warsman:

"Sir, I can cook your kids if you want to. There will be no problem with cooking down the undesirables in your rank. At Gulch & Gatherer. food empire we pride ourself on efficiency, that and great services that will leave our customer wanting some more. Also, we can set up delivery systems to deliver the mulch up there all the way to Vulc. But as a head of your nation, do you have any local specialties that I may incorporate into this food establishment?"

@nerx:

"My head chefs will speak with you on that matter later. For now, Vulcan awaits," opening a wormhole with a mere thought, the malicious mastermind strode from his throne room onto the surface of the hell-blasted planet he spoke of earlier, beckoning the administrator of the food franchise to follow.

"As you can plainly see, Vulcan is home to a great many natural flora and fauna," Warsman said, though what surrounded them could only be defined as organisms in the loosest sense of the word. They writhed and wriggled as if they were part of the planet itself, strangling the atmosphere in a hot mist of saliva and poisonous fumes. They were more like parasites, or smaller tendrils of a greater creature.

"Many years ago, Vulcan was classified as a Hellstar. Not many realized the true nature of the beast, but it devoured planets and left entire systems bare as it passed by. It starved once it arrived in our solar system, choosing instead to orbit around the sun in our shadow. But now, with the necromantic spells and the screams of a billion dead dark sorcerers, Vulcan lives again,"

"My people are not to be touched once they set foot on this planet. I care not where you obtain the specimens for your factories. When they come to Vulcan, they are under my protection." Warsman said, observing the gentle axis of Earth.

@warsman:From where he stands erupts a fire-bolt, one that escape the atmosphere to traverse several light-years in the same moment it takes the emperor to cross over the distance. Meeting him at the same location, same time where he began to speak. Taking a single 'step' between worlds.

"I am sorry to say but your planet seems, emaciated and malnourished at the moment. I have to admit that the restorations efforts are impressive, but if you wish I can help rehabilitate this sentient planet with the right amount of planetoids to get it back to prime shape. This deathworld as it is classified needs the right nutrition to grow. Actually I can aid you in rejuvenation should you extend our contract, these organisms are representing the condition of the planet at its core."

"I would know as some of my clients are in fact Hellstars, this one is in critical condition. Yet your magicks seem to bring it to a 'stable' rate. It is currently 'bad' but at its current stage it would not get any 'worse' so In that regard you have done a great job for a humanoid type."

@nerx:

"Consider it done," Warsman said in reference to the contract being extended.

"Once Vulcan has been made hospitable, colonization shall begin. From there, a true paradise can have a foundation."

@warsman: "Good, I am going to start by feeding it Pluto. After that I shall pull over several planets from Andromeda"

@nerx:

Warsman did not answer vocally, instead merely nodding his head approvingly. The diabolical machinations of his advanced mind continued to roar forward, unstoppable and malicious.

@warsman:

After having freshened up and gotten some food in his stomach, Hyperion entered the throne room only to find Warsman conversing with some sort of horrific abomination that he did not recognize in the slightest about...well...he couldn't quite hear what the discussion was about but he was sure Warsman would tell him all about it later. It was about that time that Hyperion began to feel...odd, something was wrong and it had nothing to do with that thing talking to Warsman. No...something else was the cause of these strange feelings and then he looked up at one of the digitized clocks hanging high above the throne room.

The date and the time, something about them felt...wrong to Hyperion, but why? Something was off, something wasn't making sense, but the more Hyperion thought about it...the more his head started to hurt. Then he felt something trickling down his nostrils and onto his upper lip, he touched the wet area around his nose and then examined his fingertips, his nose was bleeding. Panic began to rise in his chest and he nearly started to hyperventilate...

"Stop Hyperion, stop and think. You have spent the last fifty-five days purging Elysia of the nuclear filth that star-spangled bitch Lady Liberty infected this beautiful land with during the Warsman's war. It was a stressful job that required a great deal of concentration on your part and don't forget that you are still trying to recover from that heat stroke you suffered on Day 31. These problems you are now having are nothing more than symptoms of stress and fatigue, just rest for a little bit. It's going to be okay." After being reassured by his conscience that nothing was wrong, Hyperion let it all go and relaxed. He was soon approached by a Warbot holding a couple nose wipes, Hyperion silently thanked the Warbot and cleaned his bloody nose, who took the wipes back and disposed of them.

Once Warsman's guest was gone, Hyperion wheeled himself over to the Metal Monarch. "Lord. If you don't mind me asking. Who or what was that...thing and what did it want?"

@king_hyperion:

"It was a creature that is ancient beyond reckoning, something from the beginning of mankind's very concept of fear, now reborn in human form. But now is not the time to discuss potential allies. Now is the time to show you just what I found in the Beyond Realm while my soul lingered in the limbo between life and death."

@warsman:

Hyperion nodded at the Metal Monarch and followed his lead all the while wondering what he had managed to find in that seemingly endless expanse of nothing.

@king_hyperion:

"The Beyond Realm, as you know, cannot be accessed by mere mortals. The idea behind it stems from infinity, something that the human mind cannot comprehend. Infinite ways in all directions. To the Beyond Realm, our universe is but a mere drop in an endless ocean of time and space. Indeed, our entire multiverse comprised of countless varieties of universes collected together in a single reality, is as nothing when compared to the Beyond Realm. There is a definitive point to this anomaly, however, a certain spike in reality-bending energies. I have dubbed it the Heart of the Omniverse, and it will be the key to my eternal reign over all I survey. But for now, it is a simple matter of mastering the Beyond Realm in of itself, a spiteful task I assure you, for there is something guarding the realm. A being, a cosmic entity more powerful than anything I have encountered before, has impeded me at every step,"

The Iron Tyrant stops, turning around and facing his wheelchair-bound ally with a new vigor in his dark eyes.

"Until today. Death was only the beginning. Because of the Amazing Angel's bullet, I ascended the shackles of mortality and became one with the Beyond Realm if only for a fleeting instant - yet even that was enough. I harnessed but a fraction of its power, the raw foundation of all reality. Even with the Reality Gem, I could never imagine something as powerful as what the Beyond Realm had been made of all these long eternities. That is how I came back from the dead, stronger than ever, because I had become more than human - more than god! Do you not see what I can do now? The lost planet Vulcan, reclaimed for Elysia, is only the beginning. I can do anything - starting with bringing my people upon the greatest exodus known to mankind."

@warsman:

Hyperion stared at the Omnipotent Metal Monarch in awe. "That...that's amazing! Fantastic! Surreal, even. But...what about the Guardian of the Heart? Did you kill it or is it still alive? And if it's still alive aren't you the least bit worried that it will come to this reality and try to reclaim the fraction of power you siphoned from the Heart? I mean, it has been basking in the light of the Heart since probably the very beginning of its existence, it could be even more powerful than you are right now. In which case it could smash us, no, all of Elysia with ease. We should...we should destroy the door to the Beyond Realm before it has a chance to tear the walls of reality down!" At the back of Hyperion's mind, he knew he shouldn't be jumping to such conclusions, but the stress and the suffering he had endured while purifying the land had sent him into full-on panic mode, and he couldn't seem to break free of its grasp.

@king_hyperion:

"Concepts such as life and death are indeed entirely meaningless to beings such as the Guardian and myself. I would like to think that we are the same, yet I know the disparity between our power is like comparing a grain of sand to all of such sediment on Mars. I can see particles moving, Hyperion, each and every independent molecule is mine to touch and control as I see fit. Flesh is like clay and metal, mere putty!"

As if to demonstrate this, he changes one of the nearby Warbots into a man for a fleeting second, altering the iron skin into pale white epidermis and the internal mechanics into the complex human organs he memorized as a child. For all intents and purposes, the man he made had no thought processes other than what he was originally programmed to be as a robot and looked around the room in a befuddled manner.

"I can give life freely, and take it away without so much as a shred of regret," waving his hand, wiping away the artistry he had conjured, the disgruntled humanoid reverted back to his robotic self, unaware of his previous transformation and merely standing silently once more.

"The Infinity Gauntlet is nothing to me now. It is something of magnificent power, but it pales in comparison to what I have felt - to what I have seen! These gems," removing the Infinity Gems from his armor and whirling them around in a gravitational anomaly between his hands, Warsman observed them with a shrinking fascination.

"These gems were once the prize of the cosmos, now obsolete, not so much outdated but...outmatched,"

Fury suddenly overtook his heart, an emotion he had not felt in a long time. He appeared to Hyperion like a raging star, exploding in his face and leaving nothing but atomized dust and faded memories. His words burned like white fire and his eyes pierced into the cripple's very soul.

"I DARE NOT! The Beyond Realm is too valuable to cut connection from so soon! There is yet so much to learn about infinity and what it can offer me! Do you not understand?! With the raw power behind those doors, I can become EVERYTHING! I can become INFINITE! Nothing - not even old friendships - will sink this dream of mine!"

@warsman:

Hyperion glared at the raging monarch and began to yell at him. "Shut up, Warsman! Shut up and listen to me! If we don't cut the connection soon then that thing is going to get in and kill everyone in Elysia! And nothing will be able to bring them back, nothing! You and I both know damn well that those who are slain by void-dwelling abominations like this Guardian you pissed off don't just die...they end up being erased from both history and existence!" Beads of sweat started ran down Hyperion's face as he took this moment to catch his breath. "I know how much the Beyond Realm and its secrets mean to you...but they aren't worth risking the lives of your people for. The Beyond Realm isn't going to be sealed off permanently just because we closed one door. There are many locations out in space we can use to open a new door! And another thing...I am not trying to sink your dream, I am trying to protect the people of Elysia from a very serious threat! That's all! Nothing more! Now please...let me destroy the door before it's too late!"

@king_hyperion:

"Hyperion," Warsman replied, adjusting his posture.

"If the Guardian wanted to do something, he would have done it while I was still in his plane of dominance. Besides, he can enter this realm despite there being a gate or not."

@warsman:

Hyperion straightened himself up in his wheelchair and cleared his throat, which had become sore from the yelling. "Warsman...no void-dweller in existence can cross-over into another universe without a link to guide it through, they like to make people think they can come through on their own, but it's not true, trust me on this. I know how void-dwellers like the Guardian operate, I know how they think, how they choose to act and what they are capable of. They can only cross over so long as there is a stable link between the Beyond Realm and another universe, without one it is stuck in the void it came from. And as for the reason why it didn't take any aggressive actions against you in the Beyond Realm was most likely because it didn't want to risk damaging the Heart of the Omniverse. So, instead, it has been waiting for you to come back home so it could pinpoint the location of the portal once you opened it from the Beyond Realm's side." Hyperion wheeled himself to a nearby computer terminal, typed a series of command codes into it and motioned for his Lord to come over by his side. "Take a look at this, the devices that scan for energy signatures within the Beyond Realm are transmitting new data to the mainframe, now...take a look at the data we have received. There is something out there radiating a massive amount of cosmic energy identical to the power you have taken from the Heart and it is heading for the door at impossible speeds."

Hyperion looked up at his Monarch with a mixture of several emotions burning in his eyes. "It's going to ram the door open and break down the walls between our reality and the Beyond Realm and start burning Elysia to the ground while the tear it leaves behind drags all of Warstdodt into the void-space. But if we cut the connection now, the Guardian will just keep on going through the damnable void that spawned it, destroying only the scanners stationed in the Beyond Realm. Look...I know that the kind of cosmic awareness that comes with taking in the kind of power you received makes any and all threats seem meaningless and nothing to be concerned about...but that's not how it is. This is no longer an overreaction on my part, the danger is real. I implore you to make the right decision and let me break the link." Hyperion averted his gaze away from Warsman and stared at the screen monitoring the Guardian's movements as he waited for his Monarch's response.

@kaligar: Wooo!

ERIC LANDS ON TOP OF A BUILDING OVERLOOKING THE CITY

Otto von Doom overlooked his people gathered in the shadow of Castle Warstein. He sheltered them like sheep. Ever since the second World War, they knew nothing of peace. The threat of nuclear devastation from neighboring countries always loomed. Only recently did that threat become a reality, a horrible tragedy that soon turned into a miracle.

Proclaimed dead by the media, Otto found it disturbingly easy to maintain a powerful connection with the Warbots he programmed for the day of his inevitable demise. Having been deprived of a human body by the Amazing Angel, Otto vanished into an extensive mainframe of computerized thought processes that he alone understood - and commanded. Soon, a fleet powered by his old friend Hyperion cleansed Elysia of its vicious radioactive ailment brought on by the fallout of Lady Liberty's attack.

Months passed. The Elysians were eventually allowed out of their safety bunkers and rediscovered the world of their dreams. Their homeland did not disappear in the fires of war, but instead became renewed and even more beautiful! Mountain ranges thrown up in cataclysmic heaps formed an even more impenetrable barrier against would-be invaders. Wide expanses of farmland paved out by the blast offered just as fertile soil as would be found at the foot of a volcano. Villages, now rebuilt and refurbished, were defended by individual force fields so that their way of life would be better preserved.

Furthermore, their lord and master Otto von Doom finally revealed himself this day - in full, polished armor - and to the world at large.

"I am home."

@warsman: (now thats a comeback post)

@quintus_knightfall:

@warsman: Can I break into your castle to make things interesting? I'm selling the security.

the security systems in the castle made the white house's look like a wooden crack house.

*roasts marshmallows*

@darkknightdetective:

(Go for it.)

@warsman:

Everyone's current attention is on the situation of the Mexican take over, somehow making the return of the King of Elysia seem not as important to the media. They probably figure that whatever he has planned will be tomorrow's news and that for now they should focus on the situation in Mexico. Giving me the opportunity to conduct my investigation without having to avoid any interference from other forms of authority besides Elysian's. You can't simply walk into Elysia, Dark Vengeance, the masked crime fighter would get fired upon on sight but Malcolm Press, industrialist playboy would be welcomed to the nation with open arms and a gift basket. I'm sure that he will find out that I am onto him and I am sure that he will figure out that Malcolm Press is Dark Vengeance and try to use that against me to which I say: Do your worst.

I've only heard whispers and rumors about the "infinity gems" in Elysia, they are believed to be the most powerful weapons in the universe allowing you to do virtually anything. It was first mentioned by a homeless man in Gothic city who claimed to have lived in Elysia before and he rambled how they are weapons of unimaginable power that could defy God himself. I almost took him for a Bedlam escapee but I recognized that the clothing was manufactured in Elysia and he had the accent so I decided to run a background check on him, and as he said he in fact did live in Elysia for most of his life, not only that he also worked for his majesty himself as one of his head scientists, unfortunately, he vanished. Since then I've been digging around without results. When the king returned from the dead I decided to investigate the nation closely and now here we are.

If entering Elysia was difficult then you can only imagine how difficult it would be to enter Warsmans' castle, the security in the castle made the white house's look like a crack house. No blind spots in the cameras and the robots were stronger than the common vigilant kind around the villages, hacking them would probably be twice as hard so I thought ahead and brought my invisibility cloak just for this mission. The castle is endless, it took me nearly twenty minutes to find his study but I did. I looked through his pile of papers but I only found legal documents regarding his past death certificate and some fan letters. It seemed like a dead end until I saw a scratch mark on the floor, the kind of scratch mark that is found when a piece of furniture or as I suspect, a secret entrance is being constantly opened. I start scanning the wall for some kind of access granting mechanism and eventually I found an original security system which needs to run a body scan and voice recognition. I can fake his voice but not his entire body structure, I'm going to have to-Damn it someone is coming into the study.....

@darkknightdetective:

Boris, one of Doom's most loyal and trusted butlers, ascended the stairs to the study hall - a grand scheme of books and library shelves that stretched into the far distance. Lord Doom had always had a fondness for literature of all kinds. However, his mission this night did not seem to be one of spectacular importance. That is, until he heard the shuffling inside the bookroom. Normally, Master Warsman would be in his strategy den, conducting research on various points in the world so that he could attain an ultimately stronger plan for dominating it. This hour seemed peculiar for him to be reading one of his collected tomes. Of course, he could have always accessed the mystical realm deeper inside in order to read up on his magical arts. That possibility existed in a different plane of existence and very few understood its concept.

These more pedestrian records were more along the lines of personal gratification.

Boris peered into the library. He found very little in the way of comforting his old nerves. This paranoia extended to the furniture acutely maneuvered just out of place for it to crinkle the rug by a hair's breadth. Considering that his master did not grace the library with his presence, Boris became naturally worried. His mind flashed back to his persistent training as both a butler and a bodyguard. He contacted Doom via a charm imprinted on his left wrist, which disappeared once he activated it. A single rune wafted through the vale of eternity, guided to Doom's mind with a simple message:

Intruder.

Within an instant, the library along with every adjacent room on the second floor went into lockdown. Warbots on the first three levels of the castle as well as the primary floor of the basement area were put on high alert. Soon, Otto von Doom himself - the illustrious Warsman - materialized in an elegance greater than any king. Boris took his leave, accessing a hidden panel unique to the butler staff in case of emergencies such as this before closing it behind him and locking the tube from the inside.

The metal monarch remained silent. He simply waited for the intruder to reveal him or herself. The manner of how they were to be discovered remained entirely dependent on the next, critical, few seconds.

@_pow_:

A Warbot, sent with the simple mission of finding an agent named POW over in America, recorded its progress with a single utterance of success. It had found the aforementioned target. Now all that remained existed in the decision that said agent would make. Either he would decline and miss such an illustrious chance, or accept and become more powerful and attain riches beyond his wildest imaginations.

All he had to do was agree to do Doom's bidding.

@warsman: POW would static into Elsyia's main castle, holding a bag of tacos and a confused look under his mask. "Well..I didn't think it was going to do that.." He remarked the droid's teleporting.

@_pow_:

"A common misunderstanding. The Warbots are programmed for efficiency, not any particular form of exposition," Doom replied, sitting motionless on his throne.

"Now that you are here, the first part of our agreement is met,"

A second Warbot presents POW with a silver suitcase, locked with a magical spell unique to Doom.

"Inside is half a million in both American and European currencies. I will unseal the case once my problem is eliminated. From there, if your work is sufficient enough to warrant a return job, I shall call upon you at a later date." He said completely matter-of-factly, offering little if any option for POW.

However, with a sum of cash such as the one he promised, the deal seemed impossible to refuse.

@warsman: "Holy f*cking sh!t!" POW shouted while fumbling the case in his arms. In front of him was one of the enemy number ones, the armored menace, the other green hood. "Y-Yeah..Sure..Deal duder.." POW held up the case, examining it, wondering if he could pop it open himself. "Soo..I'm on call is what you're saying?"

@_pow_:

"That all depends on the quality of your work," Doom answered nonchalantly. He leaned forward, his royal hood obscuring the upper part of his metal faceplate.

"In three days, there will be a visitor to my castle. His name is Malcolm Press, otherwise known as Dark Vengeance - the vigilante who charged himself with protecting that wretched Gothic City. He will attempt to find something important of mine. Kill him. Or at the very least incapacitate him. You are free to wander the grounds under supervision of a Warbot so that you can set up an ambush for him. His investigation will happen from 8:33 P.M. to 8:47 P.M. when my butler Boris interrupts his incessant inquisitiveness."

@warsman: "Yeah sure...You got it duder.." POW raised his hand and gave a thumbs up, trembling with fear on the inside.

@_pow_: @darkknightdetective:

(Fight, fight, fight :D)

@warsman: Wait...How did you know when I was going to enter the building IC? Are you a precog too O_0.

@darkknightdetective:

(Cosmic powers tracking you across various possibilities of space-time.)

@warsman: Oh ok, so in my post do you want me to say that it is just POW disguised as you in the building or is it actually you waiting for me to reveal myself?

@darkknightdetective:

(Doom is waiting for you to reveal yourself and POW will subsequently counter-COUNTER-ambush you.)

@lady_grimm:

For a while now, bordering on a few hours, Doom tampered with the fabric of interdimensional quality unique to a select few metahumans and supernatural creatures. It seemed like a window not quite shut and offering nothing but impermeable darkness on the other side. The concept seemed simple at first: a sort of "shadow space," dark matter infused with an ancient magic derived from possibly godlike sources. Of course, Doom refused to acknowledge anything to be greater than him and ignored the possibility of gods toying with the mortals from this thin layer of existence.

He prodded the matter for thirty minute intervals, admiring the nature of the shadows, until he finally managed a breakthrough. The barrier between Earthly realm and the growing void opened up to Doom's persistent experimentations. Instead of pure dark matter he could have exploited as an infinite energy source, however, Doom had discovered a breathing darkness. The window analogy extended to the same practice as throwing a baseball through one of the glass panes, shattering it entirely. The whirling ghostly shapes wrapped around Doom's regal figure. He had no fear in his heart, for he believed himself invincible.

The master of this plane of existence, however, would undoubtedly have differing ideas concerning the man responsible for revealing her world.

@warsman:

For months on end now, Lilith had laid motionless in her black suit and purple cloak while her spawned shadows had flowed around her and streamed dark energy to her figure. The lightless oblivion was the only surrounding she ever needed for comfort and solitude. The void of nothingness that she could create from thin air was for her and her alone. Her fissure of pandemonium and endless night was extremely difficult to map, yet not impossible to find. Lilith had never had to deal with interlopers…until now.

Upon resting within the twilight of anarchy, the shadows gripped her body, cautioning her of an unwelcome intruder that pulsed an intimidating aura that threatened the evil sanctuary. Stirring quickly from her slumber, Lilith sat up with anger radiating from her grimacing face.

"It's ok my young ones. You are always shielded by me."

After reassuring her living environment she walked towards an area of the chasm and spoke in a whisper while controlling the shadows and purple fog to surround the trespasser. Knowing full well that a being possible of finding her in such a place was not one to be trifled with.

"Speak, but speak wisely. I am not in a welcoming mood and i hope you have been warned of crossing my path."

@lady_grimm:

"My name is Otto von Doom," the monarch stated, completely ignoring the incredibly powerful shadow sorceress's frightening imprint on the realm they now both shared.

"While I had hoped to find something more economically supportive, I suppose this is just as important. Grant me access to this world of yours and I shall close the portal."

Doom could sense the Space Gem integrated into his armor tugging towards the abyss. One of the Infinity Gems would most likely be hidden somewhere in the shadow space, or perhaps beyond it. Ever since his Cabal collapsed, Doom wanted - yearned - to have the limitless cosmic power of the Gems at his disposal once more. He only possessed two pieces of the puzzle now: the Space Gem and the Gauntlet.

Day and night, he obsessed over it.

But speaking to the woman before him, Doom dared not exude a shred of desire for any of this. He remained adamant and carefully benevolent. Instead, his calculating mind began to realize that she could become extremely valuable to him as an ally and - if necessary - a guide. The inky void between realities demanded investigation. Any number of treasures could be hidden there, perhaps even including a Gem if the one in his armor truly gravitated towards it.

@warsman

The abyss that Lilith resided in was so vast and limitless, that she herself had not fully understood how it worked nor what it contained. Raising an eyebrow at his offer of closing the gap that he had created to initially invade her privacy, she stood still in bewilderment.

"You breach my sanctum without invitation, Mr. Von Doom? You open up my residence and its inhabitants to the dangers of the outside dimensions and ask for passage?"

Lilith laughed softly to herself as she walked within the surrounding shadows before continuing any further,

"Closing that hole is a given, interloper. As for allowing you passage? You may do so, provided that something is offered that can benefit me."

Lilith spoke her demands while closing her fists behind her back, preparing for any disagreement that may come from her arrogance. She had sensed the immense strength of Otto as he had initially entered the realm and wanted to avoid conflict as much as possible, but if it had to come to it, She was prepared.

"What shall it be Otto? Passage for safety and something of significance?"

@lady_grimm:

"What can be offered of significance to you is avoiding the wrath of Otto von Doom,"

Raising a hand to his side, Doom began to gather the elemental necessities of the cosmos to his fingertips. A twitch could damn entire worlds to oblivion or rip the fabric of reality apart, whereas he had just snipped it before to get where he stood at this point in time.

"I shall not close it as long as you still think yourself to be either my superior or my equal. In fact, it will continue to expand wider with each passing second,"

He estimated his new opponent's raw strength based on a number of different factors. Keeping herself secret from the likes of Doom put her in the realm of ascended metahumans. Having the arrogance to defy him knowing his power could only be called godlike. She was dangerous, he knew that.

But Doom knew no fear, and refused to identify anyone as his better.

"These are the demands of Doom: surrender access to your shadow world and it will survive. Refuse, and all of its secrets shall be exposed at the price of its inhabitants' lives - including your's."

@warsman

Lilith's face remained calm and collected. She had only known Otto for a few moments, but she knew that he would clearly keep his word of destroying her home. She had known and fought world eaters before, but that doesn't mean she was willing to risk her livelihood on a fight with an unknown enemy.

"Very well, Mr. Von Doom. Your terms are…appalling, but I obviously have little choice in the matter. "

The very few people that were acquainted with Lilith would agree that she had no cares in the world and her only true desire was for complete anarchy and disarray, but thats exactly why she was so protective of her home…It was chaos and disorder embodied into a realm, and she made that realm hers and would protect one of the very few places that was so pure of discord.

"You have access to prowl through the realm of darkness as long as this portal you created doesn't expand any further. If it does, I will use the last few moments of whatever life I have to ensure that you remember me and my home."

@lady_grimm:

"Then everything is as it should be,"

Doom entered the shadow world without hesitation and folded his fingers into a mighty fist. The resulting cosmic power infused within it sealed the tear in dimensional law behind him. The primary terms of their agreement were met and, as part of Doom's honor code, locked in a mutually understood contract.

"Call me what you will and think of me what you will. I am Doom, and that means I keep my word - no matter what it is,"

For now, Doom seemed content with following the tugging sensation the Space Gem provided. He could only guess at the size of the abyss around him. Perhaps it encompassed the entirety of existence in the Vine sphere and carried him countless light years in a single step? The size of the universe could truly be mind boggling sometimes, but not for one so learned as the emperor of Elysia. His royal green cloak floated behind him, carried by the wisps of purple fog that seemed to lick his ankles like ravenous hounds. His entrance into the realm could have been more welcoming, but he had a strict schedule to adhere to.

"Sorceress, might I dare to ask for your name?"

He already had an idea of who she was, but required confirmation. Earthly metahuman records could be appallingly scrambled sometimes.

@warsman:

"Oh, my name? Apologies, my usually sharp manners tend to dull when threats are made. I am Lilith Libertina. Better known to most as Lady Grimm."

Lilith finishes her introduction with a small bow more out of sarcasm than actual respect."It seems that you came here not for me nor the destruction of this realm…Yet. So what is it exactly you seek?"

Lilith says as she follows at a brisk pace behind Otto. His green shawl flowing in front of her and concealing a large amount of his figure. She curbs the fog and shadows to snake around his frame to get a better impression of his abilities and skills, but is finding extreme difficulty doing so.Hm.

'Thats a very rare dilemma. Not too often someone can hid there skills from my shroud.'

@lady_grimm:

"Discovery, Lilith," Doom replied, avoiding her sarcasm.

He could feel her eyes on him. She suspected something, yet Doom did not dare break his agreement and destroy her realm when they already agreed that he would not. He kept her inquisitive nature at bay with a series of cosmic shields that pointed her questions elsewhere or fed her information that had no basis whatsoever, with the end result being that she could not gauge his true power without first provoking him and realizing it firsthand.

"I am a man of science and science begs experimentation. While I promised the safety of your friends, I am still intrigued by this pocket of reality unique to you. With one step, I can judge my distance to be close to that of Jupiter whereas I started on Earth. This dimension seems to abide by its own rules of distance and time. Nevertheless, I am compelled to continue,"

A few more idle steps and the Space Gem tugged a bit harder. One of its sister relics existed beyond the veil of Earth's solar system. It called out to the Space Gem - from the Andromeda Galaxy.

"This seems to encompass the entire known universe and beyond, each and every shadow being a passageway opening to countless different possibilities. This is not the Negative Zone, yet it is eerily similar - almost like a Negative Negative Zone, one outside both concepts of positive and negative matter and existing almost like a cosmic adhesive for both sides. Fascinating."

(Stop me if this is delving too much into pre established canon.)

@warsman:

I wanted to avoid confrontation with Doom due to this being a recon mission, but in the back of my head I knew this was going to happen which is why I tried to prepare myself as much as I could. I personally have never faced Doom before but the Interpol and CIA have files on him describing his abilities, at least some of them. He is one of the greatest minds in the Earth, the extents of his powers to manipulate are unknown to them, same goes for the resistance of his armor, and above all his greatest super-power being diplomatic immunity which makes putting him behind bars a more difficult task, but far from impossible.

I run at him as silent as a creeping lion and hopefully he won't hear my right cross coming at the back of his head with the strength of a truck, I know connecting would hurt me a lot more than it would hurt him with that indestructible armor of his, but this is a cheap shot to buy me some time to figure a way to override the security systems and find his laboratory or wherever he keeps his plans. The butler must have gotten out of here somehow, I need to look for some kind of panic room or passage while I'm fighting him and exit through there.

"I don't suppose this is necessary anymore".

I said as I turned off the invisibility in my suit, I expect warbots coming on my way about now to fire their weapons at me which is why I took out six explosive Vs and held three in one hand and three in the other. I can feel it in my bones, this is going to be a long night for me but I'm not scared because despite all I'll make it out alive, I always make it out alive.