Rex groaned as he pulled himself out of the wall. "I always hate the speedy ones." He grumbled, watching as the jackal based Evo continued running around the room.
Being the organizations 'secret weapon', he was no stranger to training against the occasional captured evo, even curing it if it was possible, and as such, he was no stranger to the feeling of bruises all over his body.
But it didn't help that the guy was so jumpy even Six, the guy Rex never managed to land a blow on even with giant swords, fists, and a freaking cannon, had a hard time cutting him. "Keep in pinned men. Rex, get back up, you've taken worse."
The man had a way of 'tough love', which Rex was quite done with after a couple years of it. Although given the lack of nice people, he'd take whatever love he could get.
A flash of white light caused everyone to look to the left, seeing the sight of four kids about his age. One blonde girl with heart marks on her face, one guy with a pink letterman jacket, one in a red hoodie, and another girl with a mass of green bushy hair.
"Alright latest dimension travel adventure, let's see what's in store." Every single providence gun was aimed at them. "... I take it we're not in a friendly place." The guy in pink groaned.
"Wait, keep your fire on-" While Six attempted to get everyone back on track, the Evo began to jump at the group.
"Five seconds in a new universe and we already stumble into a fight." The blonde girl sighed as she stuck her hands out. "There are some records I would rather not break. RAINBOW FIST PUNCH!"
And then, in a way to defy everything Rex has ever seen, a fist made of rainbows shot out and hit the creature, sending them flying into a wall, unconscious. "... How hard did that thing hit me? I think I'm seeing things." Rex commented.
"That's everyone's first response to magic usually." The hooded boy shrugged. "Now can we please not have a dozen soldiers aiming weapons at us?"
"Don't move Evo." A Providence agent kept their gun aimed at the group of teens.
"That's actually a new one." The girl with bushy hairs mentioned. "Mutant, freak, mutate, alien, meta, chimera. Nice to have some variety with the name calling."
"You're telling me you've never heard of an Evo before?" Rex tilted his head as he walked up to them. "Have you guys been living underground or something?"
"Long story." The girl with heart marks rolled her eyes. "What's an evo?"
Six walked up to them, gazing at them from behind his glasses, specifically on the hooded boy for some reason. "Exponentially Variegated Organisms. Living creatures who's nanites were activated."
"Wait, Nanites?" Said boy asked with a blink.
"You know, Nanites?" Rex asked. "Small machines that flooded the earth after an explosion went off, in the very air we breathe, turns people into monsters like that?" He gestured to the Jackal Evo.
"Wait, so at this moment we're breathing in tiny robots in the air?" The pink boy looked worried. "Crap, Camila's going to give us a hard time at our next check up."
"What are you worried about, everyone's been breathing them for the last four years." Rex rolled his eyes. These guys really were clueless. "If you haven't gone to Evo by now it probably won't be that bad. And I can just cure you if you do."
"Kind of sounds like this world has its own corrupted gem crisis." The blonde girl turned to their friends as the Jackal got up. "Look, we really just stumbled here by accident, so we can either pointlessly fight each other, or we can work together and take whatever that is on."
Rex looked at the thing. "Do you have anything hard and durable?"
The pink boy smirked. "Well, I'm half rock." He showed up with a pink shield he made from thin air. "Is that hard enough?" Weird sentence, but that was his life in a nutshell.
"Well, I'm not a guy for pink, but beggars can't be choosers." He pulled the slam cannon out of his arm. "Get in."
"You know, I just realized we haven't done that many fast ball specials in our own fights." The boy let himself get inside. "Huh, actually kind of cozy here."
"It seems we have reached the point in our life that we're not even going to question conservation of mass." The hooded boy muttered. "Even when this is supposed to be a science world."
"More like a sci-fi horror movie gone wrong." Rex responded, wondering if talking to these guys casually was a sign of his dwindling sanity as he fired on the Evo. The thing dodged, but it didn't expect the boy to bounce off the wall and hit it in the back. "Just keep it still and let me get a hold of him!"
"Got it!" The guy glowed pink and changed in size, getting more of a grip. "Kind of a slippery guy! Star, a little help!?"
"On it bro! RASPBERRY RIBBON LASSO!" The girl shouted out what looked like candy out of her arms and wrapped the jacket up.
"I have so many questions when this is over." Six commented, the providence soldiers just staring in dumbfounded confusion.
Rex ran up, placing his hands onto the creature, speaking to the nanites. Calm … calm … restore … Eventually the beast slowly diminished in size, turning into a labrador, giving a bark as it waved its tail happily.
"Aww, your just an adorable guy, aren't you?" The pink guy shrank as the dog licked his face.
"Adopting another stray, Steven?" The bushy girl asked with a smirk.
"Nah … I feel like this guy needs it more." The apparently named Steven handed Rex a dog.
"We don't allow pets onto Providence territory." Six deadpanned.
"Aww come on, look at the eyes." Rex held up the puppy.
"... No." He told the dog to its face. "As for you four…"
"Hold on." The red hooded kid looked at his phone as it pinged. "Emergency in duckburg. Negaduck took over Saint Carnard with an army of robots." Why did they make less sense the more they talked?
"You four aren't going anywhere." A soldier aimed their guns at them.
"... Dude, I'm gonna tell you now." The girl with bushy hair said blankly. "You fire that thing, and you will regret it." Apparently the 'bluff' was called with a trigger, the bullet bouncing off the hair and straight into a nearby wall. "I warned you.." The girl took out a sword that was somehow hidden in the hair.
"Let them go." Six ordered with a wave of a hand. "There's clearly more to the situation we don't have the context for, or the time for that matter."
"Here." Steven tossed him a pamphlet labeled 'welcome to the multiverse'. "Read it over and we'll get back to you in about a week or so!" With a wave, they all rushed away in a white light.
"... I think I just made friends." Rex smiled. They were weird, but so was he.
========================================================================
Marinette's life has experienced a few ups and downs since putting on those earrings long ago.. There were many times her social life was utterly ruined, her grades constantly shifted from top of the class to bottom of the barrel, and split between her parents bakery and her own aspiring career, she hardly had time to rest in her civilian life
But Ladybug had friends of her own, so that was a plus. And they dealt with crazier situations than akumas, even pitching in from time to time to help on their own. With them, she's helped save the entire multiverse. She's traveled to different universe's, got to relate to kids who struggled just like her. That, and Adrien FINALLY being her boyfriend, she never felt alone.
Today however… This was one of those few times she regretted the help.
"This is for being a jerk!" Amethyst, or more accurately known as 'Buzzsaw' at the moment, once more became a spinning blade as she dove to the Mayor. Yes, gems could be akumatized … although it wasn't nearly as bad as she was akumatized, but what the object was.
"It's in her gem!?" Steven shouted. Him, Ben, and the power puffs were the group helping out the miraculous duo this week, although Marinette probably should've sensed something would've gone wrong when the short purple gem had suddenly tagged along.
"She doesn't have any other object on her body." Chat shouted as he tried to block her, being pushed back. "And it wouldn't be the first time Hawkmoth Akumatized a computer. According to the Lyoko team, Xana was a disaster when Gabriel did it to the super computer."
"And then the multiple times he created robustus." Ladybug sighed. Leave it to the new Hawkmoth to find a way to up the ante.
"But Amethyst isn't a robot, even if she was created artificially." Ben called out, in that diamond head form. "Can't we just poof her like the other gems?"
"Then you'd have to bubble her until we could get Hawkmoth to willingly release Amethyst, and who knows how long that could take." Chat rolled his eyes as he blocked another attack.
"No time soon to be honest." The voice of Hawkmoth spoke up, Amethyst's body posture changing. "It's kinda funny. If you never took Chloe to therapy, I wouldn't have been able to tack in on so many little secrets … such as a gem that is one's entire existence. Sure you could always destroy it, but does the Miraculous Ladybug bring back the dead?" The voice laughed. "Even if this fails I could always go after your new friends, so many nice tricks and traumas to work with, that Star girl alone is a bundle of exploitable problems."
Well it could bring back the dead … but that was some existentialism she was really hoping to avoid, especially considering how the Monks were suddenly tossed back to reality during the Feast incident.
"Stay away from my sister!" Steven's body lit up pink. "Ladybug, is your lucky charm giving us anything we can work with?"
"I'm about to find out! Lucky Charm!" The heroine threw her yo-yo in the air…and a boom box was dropped in her arms. Even without the time limit on her powers now, her summons remained as random as ever.
"Don't tell me we're about to just dance with this thing as it tries to kill us!" Blossom shouted as she and her sisters were flying around the akuma. "Because unless we're bashing it's head in with a million of those, I don't think it's going to work!"
"I..I think I know what to do." Steven looked at the changed Amethyst. "I'm going to fuse with Amethyst, and hold her back just long enough for you guys to crack the gem. My powers will be able to heal her."
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Buttercup asked as they tossed Amethyst back. "Fusing with the enemy doesn't really end well in most of our situations."
"I know that from personal experience." Steven sighed. "But Amethyst isn't an enemy, she's my friend…my sister, and the bond I have with my family is stronger than any mind magic that gets in the way."
"Alright then." She turned the music up. "Chat Noir, clear him a path."
"Of course Milady." Her partner jumped right in front of the villain. "Hey Buzzsaw! You're looking pretty dull! Then again, you're as dense as a rock!" Even after all these years, the puns never got any better. It was actually a mild comfort to know Chat's optimism never changed.
"I'll show you dull!" The villain charged right at Chat Noir, her whip now filled with tiny spinning blades.
"CATACLYSM!" Her partner disintegrated the weapon into dust. "Steven, it's all on you! GO!"
"Come on Amethyst, we're FAMILY!" The boy shouted, jumping into her and spinning as they were both covered in light, melding into each other as a three armed figure emerged, clutching its head.
"That was your plan!? Making her stronger!? Idiots, now I have an even…wait.." The villain began shaking. "No, you obey me! You're under MY CONTROL!"
"You may…be in my head….but you don't control my heart….." The creature kept falling to the ground constantly getting back up and stumbling backwards. "Hurry … up …" The fusion spoke, a butterfly image on their face. "She's inside … all our … heads …" Pink bubbles began to pop around erratically.
"Then we'll make sure you stay put!" Ladybug used her Yo-yo to hold the fusion's arms back.
"One fastball special coming up!" Bubbles cheered as she picked up Diamondhead, twilight him in the air as she shot him at the villain, using him like a crystal covered bullet.
"Wait this guy's never been a projectiiii-" They crashed into the fusion, a large crack heard as the alien went stumbling across the ground. "Without … Cannonbolt … so much more … nausea …"
"Ow…half of me is used to the pain…the other half is feeling it for the first time." The fusion laughed as the black butterfly flew out of the cracks in its top gem, already starting to heal from the little bits of tears falling onto it. "Seriously Amethyst, you're more danger prone than Steven."
"No more evil doing for you little Akuma." Ladybug swung her YoYo, catching the dark purple creature inside, letting out a pure white butterfly. "Bye bye little butterfly." She then grabbed the boom box, and tossed it into the air like usual. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"
The ladybugs scattered all over Paris, everything that was cut was repaired, the people were back in their place, and the fusion reduced in size, turning into a smokey skinned three armed fusion. "Wow, that has nothing on Diamond healing." The fusion then turned to itself. "Also been awhile since I've been formed. Feels nice."
"Not as nice as you fighting off Hawkmoth's control." Chat Noir gave them a thumbs up. "There's barely a handful of people who can do that."
"White Diamond tried to do the same to Steven once. He thought the experience would give him an edge." The fusion shrugged. "Felt weird though. For a brief second, with that connection she had, I was in Hawkmoth's head too."
"What did you see!?" They both jumped up and shook the fusion. This may have been a stretch, but they were desperate.
"Two things. She's obsessed with that rich kid, Adrien Agreste."
"Well that narrows it down." Chat Noir rolled his eyes. That could describe half of every girl in Paris. "Heck, for all I know, my girlfriend could be Hawkmoth …" He paused. "She would look nice in spandex."
"Two, she really, REALLY hates that baker family, Dupain-Cheng, specifically the daughter." That bit of information froze Marinette in place. "Something about never being able to trick her."
"… Lila." Both Ladybug and Chat Noir spoke at the same time in the same growl, making them look at each other.
"I mean, it has to be her. She worked as Garbriel's assistant for a while, she been the cause of quite a few akuma's, heck, she's become one herself several times, each one based around her skill at deceiving people, which fits the new one's MO." Chat Noir explained his logic.
"Great, we finally know who she is." Ladybug smiled. "Now we just need to go to her house, carefully select the most emotionally stable people we know, strike the moment she transforms in case she tries to hide it, find a way to-"
"We're heading now." Smokey cracked their neck. "They threatened Star, I wanna strangle her a bit."
"..Maybe we should give this a day or two before we charge in." It was rare for Chat to come with a slow and cautious approach to a plan. Guess finally finding someone sped up the maturity.
========================================================================
Randy ducked under another blast of fire. "Great, great, lovesick witch with a vengeance on me, just what I needed." At one point he asked himself if Norrisville still needed a ninja. Yes, there was the occasional attack from Mcfist, but those were out of petty because the man was bummed about not getting whatever deal he had with the Sorcerer.
The Nomicon told him that he was still needed, and he was preparing to fight something bigger to come, but like his advice concerning having friends, he took it with a grain of salt. It wasn't until a few years ago that Randy realized just how big the universe really was, when a giant duck kid who's voice sounded vaguely like his own told him he was needed in Paris.
From there, his Ninja life allowed to make new friends, fight bigger and slightly awesomer enemies, and travel all over the world. That alone made sticking with this ninja gig worth it. "CRYSTAL DAGGER HEART ATTACK." That, and when an actual threat DID come along, it was nice to have some back up for once, one that didn't have a sixty percent chance of flaking on him mid-battle. "Okay, what's the deal with this chick?" Star asked, as she, KO, and Anne were helping him out.
"800 years ago there was a stanky old sorcerer. This is his stanky old girlfriend." Randy explained. "He's gone, so she's bitter."
"You purified the love of my life!" She shouted. "I will skin you alive and use your bones to return that sweet and beautiful corruption to this world, and it will burn in the glorious fire of our passionate embrace!"
"Dude, there's kids here!" Anne yelled as she covered KO's ears. "Don't ruin their innocence with reality!"
"Correction, soon to be dead kids!" They summoned hounds the size of buses that rushed at them.
"Anyways, her power's work kind of like the old sorcerer's, which works kind of like the akuma thing, except she's really into making dog minions for some reason. NINJA AIR FIST!" He blasted at one and sent it across the street.
"Then let's stop her with the power of friendship, that beats corruption any day." KO said as he punched one of the dog minions through a building.
"Like I would lose to such a disgusting and retiring thing as companionship." The Sourceres began pulling out chains to hit them from a distance. "Love and hatred are the only powers I need."
"Does she know how hypocritical she sounds when she's literally motivated by wanting the sorcerer back?" Anne rolled her eyes as she kicked a couple of the hounds in the snout. "Like seriously, platonic relationships can be just as strong, if not, stronger than romantic ones."
The Sorceress merely stayed silent, raising her hand as the sky darkened with clouds … followed with raining spikes. "Could we please not intentionally antagonize the person who's powers come from negative emotions!?" Randy shouted as he tried to use some ninja fire balls to reduce the danger. "Like, robots are fine and dandy, but we've all seen Dark Star, right?"
"Don't remind me. Rainbow Syrup Flytrap!" Star groaned as she used a giant trap to keep one of the hounds in place. "Hyper Flaming Candy Corn!" She shot a hail of flaming candy at the witch.
"So childish, treating your magic as if it's a toy." The Sorceress mocked them as she sent giant bolts of lighting down on Star.
Said bolts of lighting were knocked out of the way by KO, who after lighting up his fists, literally PUNCHED the bolts right back at the Sorceress, who went to duck and cover. "She's child-LIKE, not childish! It means she is creative and powerful enough to turn anything into a weapon to help people!"
"Also, magic's just a tool, that happens to get used by stupid people, like you." Star raised her power funneling in. "Hey Ninja, SUPER BOOSTING RAINBOW ARMOR!" She shot at him, his body being covered in rainbows. "Finish it with a ninja rainbow kick!"
"Holy Cheese, you guys are the bomb! And I'll do you one better!" Doing a few essential ninja mid-air flips, Randy hopped over all the dog minions they were down and sent his foot right into the sorceress face while lighting up red, sending his armor into a colorful blaze. "NINJA RAINBOW TENGU SPEAR KICK!"
KABLAAM
The resulting explosion sent the sorceress rocketing into the air spiraling as he swore she was approaching orbit. "I'LL BEEEEEE BAAAAAACCCCCKKK!" The stank from her victims vanished quickly after that, turning them back into regular powerless citizens.
"That was the cheese!" The ninja shouted, holding his hand out for a high five.
"... Yeah, I'm not cheering for that." Anne gave him a tired look
"Aww come on, it's just a normal saying." Randy didn't know why he was the only way to make sense.
"Well, as a hero, I never leave anyone hanging!" KO did the honors and slapped his hand. Childhood innocence really was something. "So how often does she come around?"
"Eh, about three times a month. She was more of a planner than the Sorcerer was. Good news at least, I don't have to fight monsters everyday before homeroom." Actually gave him time to raise that grade level to a solid c, and have the occasional date with Theresa.
"I am so glad I graduated." Star laughed. "Now come on, we can still go for smoothies before the day is over."
"Smoothie Time! Smoke Bomb!"
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Number One raised his weapon, standing next to Lars Bardinga the space pirate, one of the galaxy's most infamous vigilante figures, one of the most infamous teenage criminals in the universe, one that notably was rumored to be immortal. The organization had been taking a lot of hits within the past few years due to this man.
His face brought back old memories. Not that he was close with the teenager himself, but he was from earth, from the planet Number One had to leave behind, where he left behind his life as Nigel Uno, his friends, his family.
In front of them was a simple steel door, but behind that … the leader of the Galactic KND, which has existed for as long as children have. A force dedicated to eradicating adults throughout the universe … by any means necessary.
Throughout the past few years, Number One was forced to make tough choices. He'd seen so much life traveling the cosmos, prepared to give himself to the organization that had done so much for him. But the GKND was no mere organization.
It felt bigger, larger, scarier. Nigel often found himself wondering what his old friends would've thought of him. What Abby, Kuki, Wally, Hoagie, Phineas, and Ferb would've thought. In the end, Number One had no choice but to trust his gut that he was doing the right thing.
They opened the door, coming face to … face, with one of the most dangerous threats in the universe … Number Aleph Zero.
"Number One …" In front of them stood a creature … but unlike anything he's ever seen before. It was humanoid, but that was the only factor that made sense. It had STARS embedded into its body, an infinite cosmos that could drown someone entirely. Horns rested above their head, where white eyes, eyes that contained wisdom, innocence, and rage. "I truly hoped you would have been better than this. I knew you were leaking information … but I thought you could have been convinced to see the truth of the universe."
"I've seen the truth. I've had to see it for the past three years." He's seen kids of all kinds fighting for their right to be kids, several species that he was honored to have fought alongside and known. But he's also seen families, happy families torn apart due to this war they waged. Much as he disagreed with adults, Number One still cared for his family, adult or not. "I've been a personal witness to the destruction and deterioration this organization seeks throughout the universe."
"I seek to free children, to help them have fun …" They glanced at Lars. "But adults like you keep ruining everything … infecting the world with your ways …"
"Glad to see my personality is infectious." The pirate laughed. "You know, for a face to face meeting, I expected some actual child, not a star man."
"The term you're looking for is celestialsapien." They ran, moving with incredible speed and forcing them to duck under a blow that blew away the wall. "You know, my species has a very weird dynamic with adulthood." Aleph Zero said casually. "Almighty power to make thoughts reality … but you can't actively use it unless you become an adult. But to become an adult your head splits into two, due to the inability to properly process it … unlike everyone else who has a choice to keep their childhood, I'm on a biological clock limit." The star child droned. "The moment I grow up, I will be incapable of doing anything. Just be another moronic adult that'll constantly make the universe worse with every decision I make."
"Well you could always just pass away!" Lars pulled out a blaster and fired a few shots, which just bounced off the bare chest of Aleph Zero. "... Okay, we might have wanted to call in some more muscle beforehand."
"I've been looking for a successor for ages … you could have been it." They said, pulling on the ground and turning scrap metal that was once part of the ship into a blade. "Someone dedicated to fighting adults everywhere, doing what's needed, and holding onto that childish nature … but sad to see, I need to keep looking." He turned the scrap of metal onto him. "You could've been amazing, if you didn't grow up."
"Funny. Before I joined this galactic crusade, I've met some interesting people that have a weird thing about growing up." Nigel smirked. "They'll probably be the most childish people I know, and yet they can't wait to grow up."
"More naive souls corrupted by the world around them."
"That's one way to look at it." Number one adjusted his shades. "They'll also probably be the smartest kids I know, and knowing them, they'll make a dramatic entrance right about…" The wall stayed silent. "... Could have sworn I'd time that ri-"
Lar's hair glowed a bright pink, Steven rushing out of it as he delivered a devastating haymaker, right behind him being Phineas, Ferb, and that blue Dinosaur alien.
KAPOW
Aleph Zero crashed through the wall, the sound of rumbling heard in the distance. "Ah shoot, did I hit too hard?" The pink boy asked with a wince. "I don't want this to be another Hater instance …"
"Full disclosure, we're fighting the biological version of the Collector." Number One stood up. "That was like a small shove to the ground from his perspective, which is more than any of us can do." He turned to Phineas. "Hello, old friend."
"Double agent, huh?" The triangle headed boy raised an eyebrow. "We could've helped you a long time ago."
"Couldn't let you in on the game, had to keep my hand close." He smirked. "Are you ready for another mission?"
"Always ready." Phineas smiled as he turned to his brother. "Ferb, I know what we're going to do today." They turned their heads. "We're going to take down the Galactic Kids Next Door."
The leader of the GKND trudged back into the room, looking dazed. "Wow, you hit harder than that Number Six Six Mill. I almost tremble at what you can achieve as an adult …" Their fist tightened. "Almost being the keyword there."
"You're not the first immortal god-like being I ever fought." Steven lit himself pink and covered his hands in bubbles. "And you probably won't be the last." And in a flash of pink, the two beings became blurs, thunderous booms caused by their collisions echoing through the treehouse.
"Okay, while they're distracted, we take out all their systems. Leave them vulnerable for when the Plumbers arrive." Lars announced as they got ready to move.
"One last thing." Nigel … Number One spoke words he hadn't said in years. "Kids Next Door … battle stations." It was good to be back.
========================================================================
"DIMENSION HOPPING IS THE BEST!" Finn heard the cry of one of the newer members of the group, Molly he believed it was, as she was taken out of the way of a black tentacle by the ghost that tagged along with her.
"WHY DO YOU DRAG ME INTO THESE SITUATIONS!?" Said ghost shouted out, screaming as he tried to avoid the tentacles.
"I knew that Aleph Zero wasn't going to be the last!" Steven complained, trying to ram his shield into the latest god-like monster they were fighting. "I just didn't expect it to be a penguin!"
"That's just gunther." Jake answered. "He's supposed to be fine since he wished himself to be ice king, but I think he got hit with some bad mojo."
"Some kind of black sludge from what I saw." Finn answered as Star blasted crystal cupcakes at the once bottle smashing penguin.
"We've been dealing with a lot of enemies that possess people lately." Star mentioned as Luz slid under the baddie with a couple of ice glyphs.
"You'd think we'd just start developing an immunity to it by this point." Marco pointed out as he hit away a tentacle. "So what should we call you? Dark Gunther? Nega Penguin?"
"I'm Orgaku, the newfound terror of life and hope, a pleasure to meet you." They spoke in the most polite of tones.
"Oh great, he'll tear us to shreds, but at least he has good manners." Kelly groaned sarcastically as she chopped off a tentacle that instantly grew back. "For a second I thought he was going to be a rude villain."
"Well I can't speak for others, but I believe you should be quite intimate with the life you seek to bring despair and death to." They answered, dipping into the ground as all the grass turned black and lifeless. "After all, it's more satisfying to take away hope when it's at its highest."
"Blah blah, life's a nihilistic nightmare, like I haven't heard that before." Steven rolled his eyes as he shot out giant spiked uncles at Orgaku.
"Eh, it's more like I enjoy the silence of non-existence." The being answered as they slowly slipped off the spike that had impaled its gut. "The snake designed me after all."
"Seriously, we have got to figure out how to deal with the higher ups at some point." Star muttered as she shot some rainbows, which actually made it flinch. "Any suggestions?"
"I say we blast him with light … or just shove him in a black hole." Luz suggested, pointing to Star. "I can get it going, Star amps the epicenter, and the rest of you guys shove him in. Sounds like a plan?"
"Heck yeah, let's do it." Finn jumped up. "Come on Orgaek, let's dance!"
"I am far above petty insults…but something about getting the second half of my name wrong runs me the wrong way." The creatures breathed a pure red fire from its mouth as it sent its tentacles everywhere.
"Is this really what it's like for you guys everyday!?" Molly asked as she was happily dragged around by her ghost friend.
"Seriously, I signed up to have one overly happy human friend! No where in the contract did it talk about world ending stakes!" Said ghost shrieked. That's how everyone is at the start.
"It varies. Sometimes it's supernatural, other times it's scientific, and other times we deal with highly emotional personal attacks. We just opened up to a world of high tech monsters not too long ago." Marco mentioned as her karate chopped one of the tentacles with an electrically charged gauntlet. "Looks like he's weak to flashy attacks.
"Then how about some pink light!?" Steven shouted, covering himself in a pink bright glow, covering himself in a bubble as Jake swung him around and around until he knocked the jerk back like a wrecking ball.
"Ugh, Diamond light. I almost forgot how annoying it was." Orgaku groaned.
"What the-you met the diamonds?" Steven asked in confusion.
"Annoying pillars, still working on a counter so …" They tipped his head. "I'll do what villains rarely do, and realize I should leave. See ya."
"Yeah, not going to happen bucko." Luz smirked as a small patch of black air had formed. "Now Star, let him have it!"
"SUPER COSMIC PADDLE SWING!" Star grew six limbs and formed a giant paddle that looked like it was made out of the night sky, and swung it at the mini black whole, causing it to grow in size as it approached the villain.
"Oh poop, I talked too long. Damn it, Aku." The villain sighed as the black whole hit it, causing him to go inward as he was sucked into it. "This isn't over! The seeds of evil have been planted across the multiverse! The hat is on the attack! You'll never stop what's coming…..!" It cryptically yelled as the black hole imploded on itself.
"Funny, we always seem to do." Finn smiled. "And filing that little message under 'cryptic warnings'." A little sticky note on the front of his vault.
"That was awesome!" Molly cheered.
"From you messed up psyche, maybe." The ghost sighed as he fell to the ground. "Please tell me the rest of the day will be stress free."
"That's the plan." Luz nodded as her phone rang. "One sec. Hey mom…" Her eyes suddenly widened in horror. "IT BROKE!? But it's a month early!"
"The images are in my head again!" Steven shouted.
"Okay, okay let's stay calm, let's stay calm." Star paced back and forth. "We know where the hospital is this time, we don't have to put ourselves in another high speed chase."
"Hey, what's all the panic about?" Finn asked.
"My step mom's having a baby, I'm about to be a big brother!" Steven shouted.
"That's awesome dude." Jake went by and patted Steven's back. "Just make sure to stay in touch, otherwise there will be an eternal gap that constantly widens. Happened to me and Jerome."
"Well I did learn from the best." Steven turned to Star, who gave him a bright smile before turning to Luz. "Ready to spoil our little sibling?"
"Trust me, as long as I'm around, I'm going to smother them with all the attention in the universe." Luz stated firmly. "Kay Star, chop chop on the portal making."
"Still working on the kinks, so get ready!" She clapped her hands. "Super warp drive dimension jump-"
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It took two hours for Steven and the others to clear the fires in the hospital lobby. It was another hour before any of the staff were willing to let them back into said lobby. If it wasn't for the fact they've saved the town time and time again, and their good graces with the mayor, they probably would've been banned for life.
He gazed at the hospital door. While his instincts were screaming to rush in and go help … last time had been an eye opener on not to do that … Steven would ask Kelly about adoption if she was too uncomfortable to go through with the process. "I know it's kind of freaky, but don't worry, I've seen mom work this process over and over again with her other patients." Luz assured him. "It's completely natural. Otherwise, none of us would really be here."
"Yeah …" He sat in silence. "Was this what it was like for you Marco?" He asked. "Just … nerves firing off like crazy?"
"Well I attributed most of it to Pearl's bad driving that day, but yeah, it was." Marco answered. "It was nerve wracking, because you realize this is a life you're going to be responsible for. It's more personal than the strangers we protect when we do our thing. You feel like you can't mess up, or your entire world ends." Well that wasn't as comforting as he thought it would be.
"Here's the thing. You will mess up." Star said next, giving him a smile. "You're going to do your best to keep them happy, to shelter them, but if we've learned anything in the past few years, it's that there'll be times where you do mess up, but it'll be okay. You'll learn from those mess ups, and your little sibling will be learning right beside you."
"Right …" He always seemed to forget he could change for the better. He'd be there for them, just like he was for Star. "... Say, if Camila is the one having the baby, who's delivering them?"
"Steven?" A semi-familiar voice entered the room, and as he turned around, he was greeted by a dark skinned spectacled girl.
"Oh, hey Connie." He walked up to her. "Hey, it's been a while. Sorry if our book club got a little sidelined lately."
"Are you kidding? You're the one that's saving the world, building a whole city, and being a space diplomat." The girl laughed lightly.
"I know, for once I'd like to do something fun." He rolled his eyes.
"You and I have very different definitions of fun then." Guess that was just the case with growing up.
Kelly looked a little shocked and bewildered. "Wait, so you're Connie?" Kelly walked up, confusion on her face. "As in Connie Maheswaran?"
"Yeah. I take it Steven's talked about me?"
"Something like that." Right, Kelly was gone when he met her. She only knew about Connie through the dimensional windows that appeared, which had died down a lot recently for some reason. "I'm Kelly, Steven's girlfriend." He semi-loved how Kelly gripped his arm.
"Oh, you're Kelly. Steven never stops talking about you." Connie fortunately didn't catch on to the jealous paranoia. Like Steven was dumb enough to break up with Kelly AGAIN after all they've been through. "Sorry if I'm interrupting something, my mom likes to have me observe her operations from a distance, and says it'll make me well rounded."
"Oh, so your mom's on it." She … seemed like a trustworthy woman, if a bit controlling of her daughter's life from how he remembered Connie describing her.
"Yep, one of the few good doctors in town …" She gave a dangerous smirk. "You know, Steven once said whenever he smells the forest he thinks of you."
"I told you that in confidence!" He blushed as he felt Kelly's head resting on his own. One thing he loved was the increasing height difference.
"Oh really? Well I think of Steven everytime I smell cotton candy and doughnuts." His girlfriend hugged him from behind.
"You guys are lucky. I met this one guy back in Norisville, but since we moved we've only ever talked online." Connie sighed. "After I talked to mom, she did ease up a little, allowed me to have a curfew that's past eight, but she still expects me to become president." Connie laughed. "I mean, no duh I'm going to be president, but let me do it on my own time."
"At one point in my life I would have ran against you. Glad to see someone competent is taking charge." Star laughed before the operating light turned off, everyone becoming deathly silent.
Dr Manshwarren came out, pulling down her mask. "You can come in, but keep quiet, they need their rest."
"So it went fine?" Luz asked curiously. "Nothing happened even if it's a month early?"
"Everything went about as smoothly as it could with no major complications." The doctor nodded as they were let inside. "Mrs. Noceda-Universe, can't believe that's not made up, and her baby should be fine."
Steven cautiously led the way as he entered the room. He saw his earth dad, sleeping upward on his chair as his step mom barely had her eyes open on the bed she laid on. In her arms was a slumbering child, unaware of the dangers the world brought forth. "Mom.." Luz gently shook her mother awake. "Are they…?"
"It's going to be fine Luz…he's perfect." Camile weakly chuckled.
"He?" Everyone tilted their heads Given how many sisters and sister figures Steven had in his life, it barely registered in his mind that this could be possible.
"Yes, he." Steven…had a brother. "Steven, Luz, come meet your brother…Ian Noceda Universe."
The two of them slowly approached the bed, gazing into the tired small eyes of the baby boy. They looked close, gazing at his tiny little face. Same tanned skin tone of both Luz and Camila with the same lips and nose while having the roundish features of both him and his dad. They gave an adorable yawn, slowly resting into unconsciousness.
"... Hello there … Ian." He greeted, even if he knew the little guy wouldn't respond.
"Aww, he's so precious, like a baby otter." Luz cooed as she lightly 'bopped' his nose.
The baby just turned its head in response, blinking to reveal beautiful blue eyes, the slightest hints of a smile showing in the corners of his face. "Steven, he's so adorable." Star looked over their heads. "I would've never been able to see this if I'd destroyed magic."
"Now the little guy gets to live in an ever expanding universe with a huge family." Kelly mentioned as she patted him on the back.
"Yeah, he will." He gently rubbed his finger against his brother's cheek. A world full of danger, adventure, excitement, and love, and Steven was going to make sure he was there every step of the way to guide him. "Welcome to the family, little brother."