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NSFW Bear's Beauties - Existential Crisis (Waifu Catalog Based)(Comm by ThrowAway675
Misc » X-overs Rated: M, English, Words: 151k+, Favs: 35, Follows: 37, Published: Oct 26, 2023
2Chapter 1
Bear Sandosen
The vision of erotic beauty that greeted my eyes was a familiar one. Natural red hair, full breasts, golden tanned skin, luscious, kissable lips. It had been a while since I'd had a dream starring her, but it was always a welcome occurrence. I guess not leaving the house in a month is making me relive some old fantasies.
"This isn't a dream Bear," she chuckled.
"Right. I just happened to wake up to the adult actress of the early nineties who hasn't aged a day in the last thirty years," I couldn't resist quipping.
Tara Monroe giggled and gave a soft smile, making me try to swallow the lump in my throat. I'd had fantasies of her, just like pretty much everyone who went through puberty in the late eighties/early nineties, but something seemed different this time. I was more nervous than I usually was, but I chalked that up to the cabin fever from mandatory stay-at-home orders.
"I wanted to make sure that you'd be… agreeable to my offer," Tara explained, smile still on her face.
"I'm going to stop you right there. I've read enough online stories to know that those words always mean bad news. Even if this were real, which it isn't, saying that would make me less inclined to listen to your offer."
"Do you want proof this is real?"
"Sure, go ahead, hit me with your best shot. This is a dream so you can't."
"Name one fantasy you've had where it's been this long without our tongues tickling each other's tonsils."
"… it's a dream that's not skipping the set up?"
"Bear," she chided, a look of exasperated amusement on her face. The way she looked at me, I was feeling like I was in highschool again, trying to talk to a pretty girl. I reached up to adjust my collar, only to remember that I was wearing a t-shirt.
"This isn't a dream, Bear. I pulled you here from your sleep with an offer. If it weren't a dream, on top of the fact that we haven't so much as touched each other yet, would you be wearing just a shirt and boxers?" A glance down showed that, sure enough, I wasn't wearing pants. More proof this wasn't real.
For the first time, she looked unamused, "Alright, I'm done playing around."
She snapped her fingers and the bland, previously unimportant surroundings shifted, swirling around the two of us before coming to a stop. I took in the new surroundings I found myself in, a rather familiar set of surroundings. Lots of blinking lights, a red door, red paneled command console, and a chair that every kid since the sixties wanted to sit in… bridge of the Enterprise… finger snap…
My gaze slowly turned to Tara Monroe… or should that be Q?
"Tara is fine," she said with a small smirk.
Right, good… um… well this suddenly became much more awkward…
"So… why did a Q from beyond time and space pull me from my bedroom?" I asked, trying to be as respectful as I could and not stare at her breasts. I failed, but I made sure to pull my gaze back to her face.
"If I cared about you looking, I would have chosen a different form to appear in. Or worn clothes, for that matter. But in answer to your question, I'm here with an offer. You have three choices. The first: you wake up in your bed, forced to stay in your home while a bunch of politicians in their ivory towers make decisions that are completely divorced from the common person.
"The second choice: I send you to a paradisiacal world along with several women. You spend time with them, lower the walls you built around your heart, find happiness with them. After several years, you'd return to your world with them at the moment I pulled you out.
"The third choice is both the most dangerous and the most rewarding. I'd send you to a different world with the same women you'd meet in the second option, a world in grave peril and you'd be in a position to avert the coming Crisis and save more lives in the process than your mortal mind can begin to comprehend."
I listened to the offer, and as tempting as it was to just pretend that this could happen, I had to ask, "Why?"
Tara chuckled, the sound like windchimes in a gentle breeze, "Humans and your endless curiosity."
"Why do this? Why me? I'm a nerd in my fifties that's stuck at home during this covid pandemic, I have no clue when I'll be able to go back to work or if my company will even survive the lockdown. There's millions, hell, billions of people in more need than me. That doesn't factor in the fact that if Star Trek was even remotely accurate in its portrayal of the Q as a whole, 'doing good' isn't part of their dictionary, let alone their play book."
She sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Regarding the Q, you're right. By and large, the Q are, as you've stated in online arguments, 'complete dickwaffles.'"
Did she have to bring that up? I wrote that when I was drunk! The only time I was drunk!
"But something that Star Trek did not include was our… hmm, the closest word you'd understand would be games, or bets. Groups of two or more Q will take mortals and place them in scenarios, then try to predict how they will act or respond to the scenario in front of them. Those who guess the most accurately, get higher prestige and bragging rights. To keep things fair, there's a group of arbiters to prevent the Q placing bets from directly interfering or influencing any of the mortals in the scenario."
"A race of all powerful, all knowing, all 'experienced' beings makes bets on how mortals react when isekai'd?" I asked incredulously. It seemed so… mundane, for want of a better word.
"Don't worry Bear, you won't be hit by a truck. That Q is banned from this scenario."
"… what?"
"In this scenario's case, you'll be the only one dropped in, as the stakes were deemed high enough to not need an adversarial drop from another Q."
"… high stakes, right. I feel the need to point out that I'm not exactly the pinnacle of health anymore. Hell, I never was. Even ignoring the fact that I've always had more pounds than I should, I'm well on the downward swing. How exactly am I supposed to help out with the kind of crisis you're implying?"
"I can restore you to your prime, and then improve your health to its fullest potential. I assume that means you'll take the third option?"
"Most likely, but I'd like some more information first. I don't want to go into this blind."
"Very well, but be aware that there are rules governing how much I can tell you before you agree. Mostly in the specific details about where the scenario takes place, and what the goals will be."
"Okay, fair enough. Those were the first questions I was going to ask, but I've got some others. Will I be expected to do this on my own? How long will I have before this crisis thing occurs? Why'd you pick me? How'd you get to be the one to pick the mortal dropped into the scenario?"
"In reverse order: I spent most of the winnings I earned from the last scenario I partook in to get the right to choose the mortal. I noted your potential for this sort of scenario when you were a teenager and kept an eye on you." Tara said the last sentence with an affectionate note. "You will arrive five years prior. You will be able to choose up to six companions before you are dropped in and the potential to recruit more."
I took in what she'd told me and considered. Most of the other questions I had fell under what she'd told me she couldn't answer, but I had one that I might be able to get something out of.
"These companions… is there anything you can tell me about them before I agree?"
She was quiet for a moment, clearly considering the rules to determine what she could tell me. After a minute or so, she hesitantly said, "All I can say right now, is that everything is real somewhere across creation."
That could mean just about anything, but I had a sneaking suspicion that she was referring to something specifically. If my suspicion was right…
"I've already told you what I'm allowed, I can't confirm or deny it."
Okay, yeah, that'd be too easy. Taking a deep breath as she giggled, I said, "Alright. I'll take the third choice. I'm in. Does that loosen up the rules on what you can tell me?"
She gave a devious smirk that looked out of place on her face, before a pirate-style treasure chest appeared next to her, "Thank you Bear, you just won me a not insignificant amount of Prestige. Really, if you're so bad at predicting mortals, don't place such high bets."
The smirk, and the chest, disappeared and Tara walked, no, strutted, to me. Her arms rested on my shoulders, her breasts pressed against my chest, and her brown eyes gazed down into mine. Was Tara Monroe always that tall?
"In answer to your question," she whispered huskily, which sent blood straight to my little brain, "Your companions will be chosen from across fictional media. Well, fictional in your slice of reality. Your task… what comes to mind when I say 'The Crisis'?"
The emphasis on the article, and the fact that I could hear the capitalization of crisis… oh. Oh shit. "I'm tasked with stopping the Anti-Monitor? I… how… all of DC working together failed to stop that clusterfuck, how in the name of all things sacred am I supposed to do what the greatest heroes of my childhood failed to do?!"
"Did Washington defeat the British on his own? Did Bran the Builder lay down the ice that made the Wall while refusing help? Did Adolf Hitler push millions of people into gas chambers? Did Kirk bring back the whales without his crew? While yes, your task before you is much greater, you will not be doing so alone. You will be given all the tools you will need. If I did not think you were capable, I would not have picked you for this challenge."
I swallowed nervously. The mere thought of going against the Anti-Monitor absolutely terrified me, for fuck's sake, Superman wasn't able to stop it, and I was supposed to somehow figure out a way? But… I'd already agreed, and even if I was able to back out, I'd be condemning literal countless lives. I… I couldn't do that. Even knowing how low my odds were, I couldn't just walk away.
Letting out a sigh, I asked, "When do I start?"
Tara gave a beaming grin, before leaning in and giving me a tender kiss. Her lips were full, soft, divine. My hands went to her hips, as hers danced in my hair. Pulling back after a moment, she rested her forehead on mine, her eyes staring into my own.
"First we need to improve that body of yours," she whispered as my sleepwear disappeared.
"Wha…" I began before she shushed me.
"I believe your world has a song that describes what's needed. Sexual Healing, if I'm not mistaken."
I opened my mouth to respond, only to find it filled with her breast, my back against a soft mattress and silky sheets. Shrugging aside my confusion, I sucked on the soft flesh in my mouth, only to be surprised as smooth, rich, creamy fluid filled my mouth. The flavor of cherry vanilla ice cream burst across my tongue, and I began to such harder, even as I felt the years and pounds fade away.
"First we'll restore your youth," Tara began as her fingers traced patterns through my thickening hair, "Then we can get to the more… fun details."
I was all in favor of that. I was feeling more energized than I had in years, breathing was easier, joint pains I'd learned to live with were fading, the stark comparison of my body in its youth was impossible to ignore, or take for granted. As the nipple ran dry, I switched to the other. As I swallowed the first mouthful, possible choices danced through my head, a myriad of possible abilities and flaws filling my mind.
"Oh, you like that one? I can't say I'm surprised. Sexual Immortality has such… potential," Tara cooed, the extra pounds I'd always had fading. "Mmmm… let's make sure you can share, and I think your partners will enjoy these."
Finally, Tara pulled back, a gentle, loving smile on her face as she crawled backwards. Kneeling between my legs, she wrapped those perfect breasts around me, her voice taking a husky tone as she moved them up and down, "How many times have you imagined what this would feel like? Dozens? Hundreds? How do they compare to the real thing? Is it everything you ever imagined? No, it's better, isn't it? Having your hard, throbbing cock buried between my breasts. You're going to cum soon, aren't you? You cum's going to cover my breasts, isn't it? Let it happen, Bear. Do it. Surrender to your lust. Cum all over my chest, cum for me!"
That did it. I threw my head back with a groan as I came. One spurt, two, three. More than I could count, until, when I finished, her entire chest above her breasts was absolutely caked. Tara wasn't bothered, indeed, the look on her face resembled the cat that got both the canary and the cream. Running a finger through the mess, she popped it into her mouth with a moan.
Despite having just cum, I was still hard, and she climbed up over my hips, straddling my waist. Her fingers wrapped around my throbbing length, rubbing the head against her moist slit, before she slid down. Slowly, tortuously slowly, her wet lips spread open and took me into her. Her walls pressed down on my shaft from all sides, a soft vice that felt better than any I'd ever been with in my life. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, our hips touched, and Tara let out a breathy moan, "Now, to make sure you won't have to deal with fateweavers."
Honestly, I could hardly remember what we said after that point. My focus was on her perfect form and doing my absolute best to make sure that she enjoyed herself. Every time I found something she enjoyed, I paid special attention to that before moving on to find the next weak spot. I had vague recollections of talking about other women, but thinking about someone other than your partner while having sex is more than a little rude.
She milked me dry what felt like a dozen times, before she finally collapsed on my chest, sweat covering her body and soaking her hair. Exhausted, I barely had the energy to pull her face to mine for a final kiss.
Breaking the kiss, Tara gazed into my eyes and whispered, "I've given you all the help I can. But I'm confident you'll be fine. Sleep. When you wake up, you'll be on your way."
Sleep… that sounded really good right now.
Tara Q
Sending Bear on his way, she stood up, clothes materializing over her form. She had a guest that had been trying to intrude for the last relative hour. Now she could greet him. Letting her fellow Q in, the form of Q appeared before her, scowl on his face.
"Took you long enough, the others were getting restless," he growled.
"You're just mad that my human accepted my advances and Picard refused yours. Well, that and that you had to forfeit five thousand Prestige," she returned.
"I'll win it back. Even if you correctly predicted he'd take the offer, the odds against him are too high, and you're risking far too much on him. You spent everything you had just getting this endeavor arranged. Were it not for myself and others accepting that wager on his first choice, you'd be in debt. For what? A tiny slice of the multiverse that'll collapse sooner or later?"
"That's the key difference between us Q. You look at the shortness of their existence as a flaw. While it is in some respects, there's a line from a movie in Bear's world that so perfectly encapsulates it: 'Something isn't beautiful because it lasts.'"
"Really? Quoting an artificial life?"
"In the end, we'll never agree on this. I believe the payout will be worth it, even without the Prestige. Now, all we can do is watch. With Bear on his way, the Board will be keeping an eye for interference. I know a good place to gaze through the Bleed from. Shall we make some small wagers?"
The forms of Tara Monroe and John DeLancie disappeared from her domain, off to watch what had been set in motion.
Bear Sandosen
I woke slowly, feeling a luxurious bed under me, and three… my eyes shot open. A glance to my left filled my vision with black hair, silky smooth as the owner kissed and nibbled at my neck. A glance down saw two heads, one blonde the other brunette, kissing, sucking, lavishing my balls and shaft. A look to the right showed three women, a glasses wearing brunette, a green eyed blonde, and a blonde with red and blue dyed ends, all watching the show.
I recognized the three to the side: Taylor Hebert, Lisa Wilborn, and Harley Quinn. All three were staring at the four of us with undisguised lust, naked desire in their eyes. Before I could say anything, a calloused hand gently gripped my chin and turned my gaze to meet the green eyes and confident smirk of… oh.
"Glad to see you're awake," Nikhol Diomedes, Darth Nox, purred, her fingers exploring my stubble.
Before I could say something that would surely make a fool of myself, Nikhol pushed on my shoulder, making me lay back on the bed. Her silky smooth thighs came down on either side of my head, and my hands came up to her hips to help hold her steady. I couldn't see anything past her, but I still knew what to do. Leaning up, I reached out with my tongue, sampling the ambrosia from her heavenly gates.
"That's it…" she cooed as my tongue explored her depths, seeking to discover the treasure within.
I felt one of the two mouths lavishing attention on me lift away, before the familiar, vaguely British sounding voice of Lana Beniko spoke up, "How is he, darling?"
"Pretty good for a man. He, ooh, must have practiced, yes right there, and actually listened."
"Unlike Theron or the pirate? That bodes well for everyone," Lana's cheshire grin was audible, but if she said anything else I couldn't hear it past the sensation of whoever was down there with Lana taking one of my balls into her mouth and swirling her tongue around it. The temptation to throw my head back and savor the sensations nearly overwhelmed me, but I tightened my grip on Nikhol's hips and focused on satisfying the Sith above me.
I was glad for my focus, as the conversation with Tara Q finally began to return to me. This situation must be a result of the potpourri thing she whispered about. More than just the discussion, but also some key things I'd need to do in order to make the rest easier returned to me. That would come later, for now I had an extremely powerful dark side Force-user to bring to the little death and, come Hell or high water, I was going to do just that!
"Mmm… someone's eager," Nikhol moaned as my tongue flicked her clit, her fingers trailing along my chest as Lana took my head in her lips. Having a beautiful female Sith on my face would always flip my switch from 'control of self' to 'sweet surrender.' Despite the pleasure running through me as the two women gave me the greatest blowjob of my life, I refused to let Nikhol go without cumming herself.
I managed to succeed, the Darth leaning forward, hands on my abs. "Kriff, yeesssssssssss," she hissed as her thighs clamped down on my head and a surge of nectar flooded my mouth.
Eagerly drinking down the heavenly fluids she was giving me, I stopped trying to hold back my own impending orgasm and soon found myself erupting into Lana's mouth. Having made Nikhol cum, I let myself flop back as I felt the mouths on me leave. When Nikhol rolled off me a moment later, I finally managed to see who the mystery brunette was.
Cameron Baum? I'd been given half a blowjob by a terminator who was now being given my cum by Lana Beniko and having an orgasm from the taste? Well… I suppose there were worse ways to go. And better her than an Arny terminator.
"Hawt as that was, and believe me that was the hottest thing I've watched in a long time, anybody know where we are?" the drawling voice of Harley Quinn broke the spell of the afterglow. Looking over, I was mildly surprised to see that they had changed positions. Instead of Taylor and Lisa sitting next to each other with Harley a short distance away, Harley was now between the two parahumans, arms over their shoulders and playing with a nipple in each hand.
"He does, sort of?" Lisa said, gesturing to me while seemingly trying to ignore the fingers rolling her nipple between them.
Feeling six pairs of eyes staring at me, I couldn't help but swallow nervously. This could go very wrong, very fast if I wasn't careful.
A round of explanations followed by finding the mess hall of whatever ship we were on (and figuring out how the replicator worked) later, and the seven of us were sitting down having breakfast. Taylor, Lisa, and Harley were giving the strange amalgamation of pastel colored things on Nikhol and Lana's plates weird looks, while I was surprised to see Cameron eating.
Pulling her attention away from the alien (literally) breakfasts not three feet away, Lisa turned her gaze to me, a hint of wariness in her eyes, "Something you didn't explain: how do you recognize all of us? From what you described, it didn't sound like you were from the same Earth as Skitter and I, and definitely not the same world as them," she gestured towards the two Sith, "yet you knew who each and every one of us were."
I sighed, pushing my hash browns away so I could focus on the explanation, "The best way I can think to describe this… have you ever read the works of Heinlein?"
Taylor perked up, "Mom introduced me to his works when I was in grade school. He was a science fiction author that first rose to notoriety in the 40s and died in '88. One of his most notable works discussed the concept that came to be called the World as Myth, where he put forth the notion that all stories were true in another reali… ty… oh."
Harley turned to me, curiosity plain on her face, "Ya sayin' that where you're from we're all from books or somethin'?"
"Certainly a… curious claim. If true," Nikhol calmly said with a hint of threat, sparks dancing between the tines of her fork.
Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair before pointing to Cameron, "A T-900 model Terminator, sent back in time to protect the young John Connor so that he could go on to lead the resistance against the genocidal AI Skynet. Spent your time with him and Sarah Connor as 'Cameron Baum.'"
Moving my finger to Harley, "Doctor Harleen Quinzel, you worked to rehabilitate the criminals of Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane and were assigned to the inmate known only as the Joker. He manipulated you into falling in love with him and you took up the moniker of Harley Quinn."
"Tattletale, Lisa Wilborn, born Sara Livsey. When your brother committed suicide you gained the ability to cold read to a degree that Sherlock Holmes would trade his left arm for. You ran away from home to escape from your parents who tried to use your power to manipulate the stock market and were eventually forced to work for the villain Coil at gunpoint."
"Skitter, Taylor Hebert. You gained the power to control bugs after being shoved into a locker filled with feminine hygiene products that had been sitting there for the winter break; the culmination of a year and a half of targeted bullying by one Sophia Hess and Emma Barnes, the latter once your sister in all but blood."
"Nikhol Diomedes, Darth Nox. Dark Lord of the Sith. A slave for the Sith Empire before being sent to Korriban after your Force sensitivity was discovered. You were apprenticed to Lord Zash, and later discovered you were the descendant of the ancient Sith Lord Kallig. Zash tried to possess your body at the expense of your life but failed. You then engaged in a protracted campaign of trying to get Zash's superior, Darth Thanaton, off your back that ended with his death and you taking his spot on the Dark Council."
"Lana Beniko. A Sith Lord that served under Darth Arkous before discovering that he was a traitor and part of a secret cult called the Order of Revan. You worked with the Republic SIS agent Theron Shan and eventually with the help of others managed to defeat Revan and were promoted to the head of Sith Intelligence.
"So how'd I do?" I asked sarcastically, finally looking up to meet the six shocked gazes.
"So that's what it's like from the other side," I heard Lisa mutter to herself.
"There was a lot you left out," Lana hesitantly began, "But more or less accurate."
"There was one important thing ya left out," Harley stated with the kind of calm that came from forced calmness. "I left that abusive prick months ago. Been seven months since I've seen him on anything but the evenin' news."
"I'm glad. You deserve better," I congratulated her with an honest smile. Ever since I saw Mad Love… that was when she stopped being a recurring character, I'd met too many people in that same situation for it to not hit home.
"You stated that we are to prevent the collapse of a section of the multiverse," Cameron interrupted, "but you neglected to tell us anything about the world we will be arriving in."
"Ah, right. Of the six of you, Har… would you prefer Harley or Harleen?" I might have spent most of my life thinking of her as Harley, but if she wanted Harleen I'd adjust.
"Harley's fine. Despite the jerk it's associated with, it's catchy."
"Harley it is. Anyway, Harley's world is the closest to the one we'll be arriving in. The major difference being the year we'll be arriving. When we get there it'll be 1980, and we'll have five years to prepare. Well, once we figure out how to get there. Cameron, could you connect to the ship's computer and figure out what kind of ship this is?"
"Yes," was all she said before standing up and walking away.
"Not good with people, is she?" Nikhol drawled.
"She's essentially a highly sophisticated infiltration/assassination droid," I told her, causing both Sith to look at me in shock.
"What?!"
"Think a droid built within the human skeletal frame then given a skin to serve as a disguise and files about how to interact and behave to pretend to be human. If that were activated, there's no way to differentiate her from an ordinary human just by watching her."
Before anyone else asked any questions, there was a crackle of static before Cameron's voice spoke over the intercoms, "I have located the bridge. This ship is a space-worthy vessel built within the frame of a World War II era Japanese battleship."
Space battleship… Did Tara give me the Yamato?
"If I am understanding the readouts correctly, we are currently in the asteroid belt. If we are to head to Earth, we will reach lunar orbit in approximately five hours at cruising speed. Shall I set course?"
I wasn't quite sure where the link to the intercom in the mess hall was, so I took a gamble and called out, "Please."
"Setting course," Cameron called out before the sounds of the ship activating slowly filled the room.
"I suppose the droid will be useful," Nikhol mused aloud.
"Terminator, not droid," I corrected before calling out, "Cameron, you still listening?"
"Yes."
"Right then, continuing the explanation. The planet Earth is protected by an organization called the Justice League. This particular incarnation, I believe, has thirteen members. The most well known, back on my Earth anyway, are Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Superman, appearances to the contrary, is not human, but one of the last of a race called Kryptonians. The exact specifics vary from dimension to dimension, but on Earth he has a host of various powers," I said, ticking each off on one of my fingers. "Invulnerability. Unassisted flight. Super strength. Super speed. And the ability to project heat from his eyes the way that Nikhol and Lana can project electricity from their hands. Alexandria from Lisa and Taylor's world could be described as a poor man's version. He was first 'created' in 1938 and his abilities are all on a level beyond what she could hope for. But what makes him truly powerful, legendary, are his unshakable compassion and basic decency. If everyone had those…" I trailed off, scarcely able to imagine what the world would look like, before forcing myself to focus back on the explanation.
"Wonder Woman is an Amazon, crown princess of a tribe of women blessed by their gods with immortality, enhanced physical abilities, and a home that is appropriately called Paradise Island. Wonder Woman specifically has physical capabilities on par with Superman as well as enchanted bracers capable of deflecting damn near anything as well as a lasso that forces those bound by it to tell nothing but the truth.
"The last of the three is-"
"Batsy!" Harley interrupted me with a yell, throwing her hands into the air.
Giving her an amused smile, I asked, "Would you like to explain Batman?"
"You betcha! I know all about Batsy! He caught me dozens of times when I was still running with Joker. The last time was after I actually managed to catch him and had him dead ta rights! But he's a smart one, he played me inta calling Joker, knowin' that pasty faced, lothesome, heartless, son of a bitch wouldn't be able to handle anyone but him killing Bats."
"In many respects, Batman is the most dangerous of the three, despite the fact that unlike the rest of the Justice League he doesn't have any powers," I began, only for Lisa to snort in amusement.
"Really? Someone without powers being more dangerous than two Alexandria packages?" Lisa asked rhetorically, only for her face to pale as I thought about the Batman Who Laughs.
"Powers don't determine everything. In the version of the story you and Taylor are from, she manages to kill Alexandria."
"Wha?" Taylor asked in shock.
"Alexandria still needs to breathe, and she threatened your friends. So you drowned her in a swarm consisting of every bug in your range. Not bad for someone with a 'weak' power, wouldn't you say.
"Anyway, we're getting off topic. Part of what makes Batman dangerous, despite a lack of powers and a rule against killing that depending on the source borders on insanity, is his other title: World's Greatest Detective. There's a reason that in nine out of ten times that he and Superman fight, it's not the flying brick that comes out on top."
I was prepared to go on, when Cameron spoke up, "Bear. We have a visitor in green outside the bridge."
… it seems that we'd be meeting the Justice League in a lot less than five hours.
Bear Sandosen
Looking out the window of the bridge into space was more surreal than I'd anticipated. The design of the Yamato reflected the fact that it was meant for water, for being in the ocean. Even having never so much as having been on a fishing trawler, something about the layout of the ship registered in my head as belonging on the sea. Looking through the window, at the vastness of space, resplendent with countless stars beyond mortal comprehension…
To say nothing of the man in a green and black jumpsuit towing us with a green glowing beam of energy from a dinky little ring on his finger. Thankfully, from what I could see, his outfit didn't look anything like that awful CGI mess with Ryan Renyolds. Who with two brain cells to rub together thought that was a good look? I'm getting distracted.
Green Lantern had patched through to the Yamato's comms and we'd talked. Our arrival was bizarre enough that we'd be meeting with the full League's roster, but it was still going to be over an hour before we arrived at the Justice League's Satellite (I suspected that the reason it would be so long was to give the League a chance to wrap up whatever they were working on and get there).
In the meantime, I'd asked Cameron to pull up a map of the ship. If we were going to be spending any amount of time here, we'd better get used to it. Looking over the map Cameron had printed out showed us that, by and large, the ship was what one would expect from a WWII era battleship. Just a few modifications.
The bedroom we'd woken up in was one of the officer's quarters, as apparently the captain's quarters bed wasn't big enough for all seven of us. Much as I wanted to race to the captain's quarters at the top of the bridge tower, I stayed on the bridge to continue the dialog with Green Lantern.
"So, I realize it'll be easier to wait for the whole League, but I have to ask, who thought turning a World War II battleship into a spacecraft was a good idea?"
I couldn't help but chuckle, suspecting that the true reason for his asking was to alleviate boredom, but answered regardless, "I'll save the long version for later, but the short version is a mix of desperation and lack of other options."
"And the Bleed Generator you've got stashed in the back?"
"...the Wave Motion Engine draws energy from the Bleed?"
"You didn't know that? And you built a battleship with one as the main powersource?"
"We were given the ship, part of that long story, but again: desperation and lack of other options."
"Uh-huh. You got any shuttles in there? Because there's no way I'm hauling this into Earth's orbit. If necessary, I'll ferry you guys to the satellite station, but figured you'd probably prefer to use your own car."
I blinked in surprise, not expecting the joke, before turning a questioning glance in Cameron's direction. In the show there were shuttles, but I wasn't sure if our Yamato had them. The adorable murder machine punched a few buttons and a readout came up on the screen.
"Shuttles one through four fueled and read as fully operational," she said calmly.
"Oh good, I'll be parking your boat roughly halfway between Earth and Mars's orbits, so even if your reactor goes critical it won't do more than provide aurora across half the planet."
Considering what I knew of the Bleed, that seemed surprisingly tame, "Really? You're sure that'd be the worst of it?"
Green Lantern chuckled in amusement, "I can tell you haven't done much space travel. Even with faster than light travel, space is big. Where I'm planning on parking your ship, even a beam of light would take about 12 minutes to reach Earth. I've also given your reactor a very thorough scan, and it's easily the most stable Bleed Generator I've ever seen, so I very much doubt you have anything to worry about. But, one can never be too careful with Bleed Generators."
That was a relief. From what I knew of the Bleed, it wasn't exactly the most… predictable of dimensions. Though I thought the Bleed wasn't given that name until a decade after the Crisis we were sent to prevent. I shrugged it off. If it became important, we could address it later.
It was roughly twenty minutes later that Green Lantern 'parked' the Yamato, and the seven of us piled into one of the shuttles. Cameron piloted, though Nikhol sat in the copilot's seat and took in the various controls while carefully watching Cameron.
From there, the trip to Earth's orbit was about another forty minutes. Harley, Lisa, Taylor, and I rapidly discovered that movies and TV had lied to us about how long space travel took. Lana had pulled out a novel of some kind and seemed to be quietly drawing amusement from our boredom.
"Be glad it's a short trip. Travel from one end of the Sith Empire to the other could take over a month, even with hyperspace," she told us after Harley gave up doing handstands, not bothering to hide her amusement. Lisa, ever the mature one, flipped Lana the bird. Understanding the intent, if not the specific gesture, Lana deadpanned, "I'd invite you to use that, but the trip won't be much longer."
Lana was right, we were able to make out Earth in the distance, growing from a pale blue dot. Slowly, it grew, and my throat closed up as I stared at it. I'd heard stories from astronauts, about seeing Earth from space for the first time, but nothing can prepare you for seeing it for yourself. Even if it wasn't the Earth I was born on, I was looking down at the birthplace of humanity, of every person I'd ever known. Every saint, every sinner, every prince, every pauper, all born and raised on that blue marble.
"First time?" Nikhol's voice broke me from the spell I'd been put under, and I wiped away the tears in my eyes. A glance on either side of me showed that Taylor, Lisa, and Harley were in a similar state as me. Lana had a soft, gentle smile on her face, while Nikhol looked amused. Taking a deep breath, there was only one thing that I could think to say.
"I realize that you two are used to it, but I pray that this view never becomes mundane."
"Amen," I heard Taylor whisper.
It was at this point that the Justice League's satellite was being picked up by the shuttle's sensors, and Cameron began directing the shuttle towards it, but I caught her gaze occasionally drifting towards Earth and a gleam of emotion in her eyes. Seems that even killer robots aren't immune to seeing Earth from space.
Green Lantern directed Cameron to a hangar bay, and either he was in contact with the rest of the League, or it was the one they used specifically for meeting with space-faring visitors, because from the looks of it, the whole roster was there waiting for us.
Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman stood in front, and I blinked in surprise upon seeing that Superman looked exactly like Christopher Reeve. Okay, that was going to be surreal until I got used to it. Fortunately for my brain, Batman didn't perfectly resemble any actors who'd played his role in movies back home, nor did the rest of the League from what I could see.
The shuttle touched down, and Cameron began the process to shut off the systems before the doors began to open. In hindsight, I should have expected it, but Harley squeezing out before the doors were open, let alone the ramp dropped, caught me by surprise.
"BATSY!"
I couldn't help but facepalm. Sure, make the World's Greatest Detective paranoid. It's not like this version of him has ever been called that by anyone but the Joker. Sighing, I left the shuttle to engage in damage control. Stepping out of the shuttle, I was treated to the sight of Harley tackle-hugging Batman, while the rest of the League looked on in various levels of disguised amusement.
"Who are you?" he asked… in Kevin Conroy's Bat-voice. Okay, settle down, this is not the time to pop a nerd-boner.
"Harley, is now really the time?" I asked, drawing almost everyone's attention away from the bubbly woman.
"I just promised myself I'd give Batsy a hug next time I saw him," Harley explained as she practically skipped over to the rest of us.
Shaking my head in amusement, I looked over to the League and… they are all really tall. I'm of average height in the area I'm from, but Superman looks to be a foot taller than me, and he's not cheating by hovering. Wonder Woman had at least six inches on me, not that I would mind climbing that mountain. The others...okay I'm going to stop before I give myself a Napoleon Complex.
"Green Lantern called ahead, said you have a complicated story to share," Superman said, drawing my attention.
Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself. I had to convince the Justice League that there was a Crisis coming in five years that would destroy not only their Earth, but countless others. No pressure.
"For starters, are you familiar with the hypothesis that all works of fiction are glimpses into other universes?" I asked, figuring getting this out of the way would be the best way to start.
"Like Earth Prime?" Flash asked.
I blinked in surprise, not having expected them to already have experienced what I was expecting to be one of the more difficult to believe parts of the explanation. Huh…
"That makes this a lot easier. I'm from an Earth where everyone here is from some form of fiction, including the ladies with me," I began, prompting some surprised and curious looks from the League.
"Definitely sounds like Earth Prime," Green Arrow muttered, before Wonder Woman spoke up.
"Perhaps we should take this to the conference room," she offered without opposition.
The trip was short, and soon we were all seated around a table I'd imagined countless times in my childhood. I was glad there wasn't the Martian Manhunter here, I don't think I'd be able to handle him sensing just how much I'm refraining from geeking out.
Before I could begin again, there was a sudden weight in my pocket. Reaching down, I pulled out what looked like a Rubik's cube with a sticky note that said, To save on long winded explanations. -TQ
Well that made this easier. Placing the cube on the table in front of me, it began to glow before a hologram of Tara appeared. Clothed, thankfully, that would be awkward if she weren't.
"Greetings Justice League, I am a Q. You may call me Tara, and let me explain why I sent Bear and his companions to your universe," the hologram of Tara began, before launching into an explanation of the oncoming Crisis. What would happen without our presence. The origin of the antimatter wave, the Anti-Monitor, and his followers, the Weaponers of Qward.
"Qward. Why does it always have to be Qward," I managed to catch Green Lantern mutter.
She gave a modified version of the explanation she gave me, leaving out the bet, which was probably for the best. When the explanation finished, I tried to get a gauge for how the League felt. Batman and Red Tornado were lost causes, the former had too good a poker face and the latter couldn't form facial expressions. The rest mostly seemed contemplative.
Superman stood up, "This is something we'll need to discuss. Do you mind waiting? Feel free to explore the museum next door."
I gave a nod, standing up and trying to avoid nerding out. This was already more than I could have ever imagined growing up and now I'd get to see the Justice League's museum? The only thing that would be better would be a tour of the Batcave. I had a feeling that I'd be suppressing the urge to geek out for a very long time.
The girls who'd woken on the Yamato all rose, following me as Superman pointed out the door to the museum. As the door to the conference room closed behind us, it was all I could do to keep from running into the museum.
"Someone's excited," Lisa teased, her trademark smile on her face.
"Lisa, I all but learned to read with comics depicting the people in there. Of course I'm excited," I said as I opened the door and entered.
The museum was everything I'd imagined and more. A replica of the Bottle City of Kandor. Jesus, was that a Phantom Zone Projector? Dozens of costumes on mannequins. Souvenirs from battles. Some I recognized, more that I didn't. I… might have lost track of time, finally letting myself start geeking out over everything. Even if everything went to shit, this alone was worth taking Tara's deal!
"Bear, ladies?" the voice of Wonder Woman broke me from my nerd-haze. Looking over towards the entrance, the Amazon Princess stood there with an amused smile. "We're ready for you."
Bear Sandosen
Doing my best to appear calm and collected, while hoping that my nerding out in the Museum hadn't been noticed (or worse recorded), I took a deep breath to try to settle my nerves. Depending on how their discussion had gone, it would make the future potentially a lot more difficult. I didn't want to think they'd dismiss the warnings, but the possibility wouldn't leave my mind. That the entire Justice League was standing when we reentered the meeting room didn't make my nerves any easier, but several of them had smiles on their faces, so it couldn't be too bad, right?
"We've talked it over," Superman began, pulling our attention towards him, "and while some of us aren't convinced, the risk posed is far too great for us to ignore."
"We'll figure out the details at a later point, but for now we'd like to offer your group a tour of our satellite," Wonder Woman offered.
"I can't speak for the rest, but I'd be more than happy to accept," I spoke up. A guided tour of the Justice League's satellite, by the Justice League? I'd have given an arm and a leg if you'd made the offer when I was in my teens!
"While a tour sounds lovely, especially of a technologically primitive structure such as this, there are several details I wish to discuss before I let my inner archaeologist out," Nikhol stated, causing more than one person to give her a side look.
"Nikhol, be nice," Lana chided.
"Come now Lana, you and I have traveled from one end of our galaxy to the other countless times. A station such as this is something that would have been the find of a lifetime! A station for a society that had yet to colonize their own world's moons?"
Well, at least Nikhol's enthusiasm replaced any insulted feelings with amusement. And the context she'd provided helped smooth some ruffled feathers. Not all, I certainly wouldn't be happy if she'd called my workplace primitive… well, if it were a workplace that I'd had a significant amount of pride in.
"I'd certainly be interested in a tour, and perhaps some history?" Taylor was the next to speak up.
"I wish to speak with Red Tornado," Cameron stated with the bluntness of a sledgehammer.
One by one, we were each paired off with different members of the Justice League. Somehow, I'd ended up being paired with Wonder Woman. Just Wonder Woman. If this was all a coma dream, then it was the best dream I'd had in I don't know how long.
Nikhol "Darth Nox" Diomedes
As the others left, I fixed my gaze to the two men that remained with me in the meeting room. Neither had anything approaching Force sensitivity, but as I'd learned more than once that didn't mean I could let my guard down. Much as I'd prefer to be on a dig, I was just as comfortable on the political battlefield. None of the others, save Lana, had realized that this was a battle.
"Nikhol, was it?" Superman, the leader of this Justice League in fact if not name, asked. Bear had mentioned that he wasn't human despite his appearance. I believed him. There was something about the man's presence… an underlying current of power that didn't exist in baseline humans yet different from those strong in the Force.
"Yes, Nikhol Diomedes. I've earned several titles, but those have little bearing here. In any event, I wish to lay the foundations for the collaboration between our two groups to prepare for the coming Crisis," I laid out, long experience dealing with agents of the Republic letting me hold back the habitual and casual threats that were part of everyday conversation in the Empire.
"Understandable," Batman said magnanimously, "Before we do, Bear's Earth apparently isn't the only one that contains media of other realities."
Kriff, that could make this easier or harder depending on how much they recognized.
"While I can only imagine what Bear's home has seen of your reality, given the forty year difference, our limited exposure is enough to let us recognize your and Miss Beniko's weapons. That same exposure also tells us that there are at least two such groups that regularly utilize such weapons."
"Let me answer your question," I interrupted. "Yes, one of my titles was Darth."
"So Darth is a title, not a name?" Superman asked.
I blinked in surprise. How… how could they know of the Sith and think Darth was a name? Were there so few of us in this… entertainment of theirs? Questions for later.
"We are getting off track. The vessel we arrived in, from what I have gleaned from the databanks made available to us, is capable of traveling to realities much like our own. It would be a waste and foolishness of the highest order to not take advantage of it to recruit others to aid us in the coming Crisis," I said, laying out the bare basics of our plan.
"Agreed. One or more of the League should also accompany your group on these missions, while the rest of the League focuses on preparing here," Batman said, drawing the focus back to him.
"I'd need to ask her first, but of the entire League Supergirl would probably be the best. She'd be able to be away from Earth for extended periods with the least amount of difficulty," Superman mused aloud.
Taylor Hebert
This station was amazing, but it was talking to the two heroines acting as my guides that had most of my attention.
"So magic is real here?"
"It is, there's never been a great number of practitioners, but there's enough of us around causing trouble that the Justice League has had plenty of need for me," the woman in fishnet leggings and a stage magician's costume, Zatanna, explained.
"Well we've told you about our Earth, but now let's hear about yours: any aliens on your Earth?" the blonde woman, who reminded me uncomfortably of Glory Girl but in red hot pants and a sky blue plunging v-neck shirt with the same symbol over her left breast that covered her cousin's whole chest, asked.
"Not to my knowledge. Just humans. Well, and parahumans, if you count them differently," I hesitated for a moment, but from everything I'd seen they seemed like good people, and if we came out of this whole mess alive, they might be able to help. "There's also the Endbringers."
"Is that a group of supervillains?"
"Not quite… there's three of them. The first, Behemoth, appeared almost twenty years ago. The second, Leviathan, four years later. The last, the Simurgh, six years after. They attack cities every few months, and the best case scenario sees them driven off. Leviathan attacked my home about a week and a half, two weeks before… this," I gestured to the walls around us.
"Before the attack began, Legend, one of the most famous and powerful heroes of my world, told those that gathered to fight that if the average held true, one in four of the defenders would die before Leviathan left."
We didn't really finish the tour, I spent the next however long telling the two about the Endbringers and the Nine. The blonde, Supergirl, hugged me as I started talking about the Nine, how they'd been roaming the continent since before I was born, killing and having twisted games the entire time. By the time I finished, the two women looked at me and Supergirl made a promise.
"After this mess with the Anti-Monitor is finished. Assuming we're still alive at the end, I'll do everything I can to convince the rest of the League to help your Earth. And since Superman's my cousin, 'everything I can' counts for a lot."
I was skeptical about the League being able to do as much as Supergirl seemed to be thinking, but I appreciated the gesture.
Lisa Wilborn
Somehow I ended up paired with the least Protectorate type members of this group, yet also the ones that were most involved in actual law enforcement! [Can Stretch and Shape Body, Super Speed, No Powers, Voice-Based Blaster; Archer and Blaster Romantically Involved, Speedster Much Faster Than Velocity, Stretchin-] I pushed down my power, feeling the beginning of a Thinker headache starting to form.
"Are you alright?" the woman, Black Canary, asked.
"Thinker headache, I'll be fine," I said, powering through the forming ache.
"That means nothing to us, but from the way you said it… it's a common thing in your world for mental powers to result in headaches, probably to try to keep you from hurting yourself from overuse. The image your costume is putting forth suggests that either your power is sight based or you're going for a 'third eye' type thing. Which suggests that either you're a mind reader or very good at faking it," the arch… Green Arrow mused aloud, smirk on his face as I stared at him wide eyed.
Power, you said he was a baseline human. [Pure Skill] Well gee, now I feel humbled. Bear wasn't kidding when he said not to underestimate the unpowered members of this group.
"Not used to being on the other end I take it? Just be glad it was me and not Batman."
Cameron
"Your synthetic covering is quite impressive," Red Tornado stated.
"Thank you. Your own design is quite remarkable. I would be honored if you could provide me with a blueprint for how your processes allow for higher computations with vacuum tubes," I requested.
"An exchange? My background processes for how your systems maintain your skin?"
"Agreed."
"It is refreshing to converse like this."
Lana Beniko
My three guides, the man in green who'd escorted us to this station and two who looked like nothingless than humans with wings grafted onto their backs, all moved with a familiar ease and manner in holding themselves that I recognized. It was interesting, dealing with those who operated akin to the Aides of Wrath, but on a larger scale and with people other than Sith.
Green Lantern had just finished explaining about the organization he belonged to, when he asked, "So if you don't mind me asking, what's your Earth like?"
"I'm not actually sure there is an Earth in my home reality. I'm a high ranking member of an interstellar Empire, and was born on the capital world Dromund Kaas. For a time I served as the Head of Intelligence, but most recently I've been acting as Nox's left hand in the Alliance she runs."
"So you went from head of an intelligence organization to being one of the leaders in a non-government group?" Hawkwoman asked for clarification.
"It was originally a resistance group against a separate empire that attacked us and an enemy that we'd been fighting at the time. The leaders of the empire I was part of along with the enemy we had been fighting were still focused on eachother, so I left. I worked with others, from both nations, to help start the Alliance, and we made Nox the leader. In the end, we were victorious, but problems never stopped arising."
All three gave sympathetic nods. There was a sense of understanding, of having been through what seemed like an unending barrage of problem after problem, of taking enjoyment from the times between. There were differences, I didn't get the feeling that any of them had lived through a war, let alone one of the scale of the war against the Republic or Zakuul, but it was still there.
Harley
"Ya know, if ya'd asked me a year ago if'n I'd be hangin' out wit' two o' the League… I'da probably laughed hard enough ya'd think I'da taken a dosa Smilex!" I said with a grin on my face.
The League-guy on my right, in blue and red, gently lifted my arm off his shoulder, "I'm married."
"Good for you! Wasn't tryin' ta hit on ya," I assured.
My other guide/guard, the guy with fire for hair, stammered out what could charitably be called incomprehensible, a blush lighting up his face even more than his hair.
"Aw, relax. You're cute, but I'm not gonna do anything but tease ya," I told him while patting his cheek with the arm over his shoulders.
"That… really doesn't help," he managed to squeak out.
"Consider it training!"
"Training? For what?"
"Ya never know when a villainess'll try ta distract ya by flashing her girls at ya!"
"I… don't… see that happening."
"That's what that fat cop who's always with Gordon said just before I did it. Ya wanna free tip: spend some time at a strip club. Ya don't have to buy any services, but go there until the girls on stage stop catchin' your attention every ten seconds."
"I'm still in high school?" he squeaked.
"Then ya can put that fake ID to use for something other than drinking underage!"
The kid spluttered indignantly, while the other guy was visibly struggling not to laugh, "I don't have a fake ID! You're not helping Professor."
Harley didn't think she was meant to hear that last part, so she ignored it. Besides, she was having too much fun teasing the kid to let something like that distract her!
Bear Sandosen
I was in for a personal interrogation, probably regarding my relationship with the ladies. This was obvious from the moment Wonder Woman asked me if I'd like to accompany her alone on a guided tour of the satellite. Something in the way we interacted must have set off alarms in her head. I could have said no – in the sense that I was physically capable of producing the sound – but two things stopped me. One was being on the freaking JLA satellite! Of course I wanted a tour. Only being in the Super Friends' Hall of Justice would've been cooler than this.
The other reason was the woman giving me the tour. Wonder Woman. Princess Diana of Paradise Island. The Amazing Amazon. Whatever name you called her, she had an undeniable presence. One that ticked all the boxes on my personal "I want to worship this woman" check list. Six feet tall compared to my five-five. Bright, hypnotic blue eyes that I wanted to drown in. Breathtaking long legs leading up to the perfect curves of her hips and ass. Long, flowing black hair. Powerful arms. A more-than-ample bust. Her classic red, gold, blue and white uniform. Perfect red lips formed in a gentle smile as she watched me take her in.
Screeeeech. My thoughts hit a crash test wall.
Smiling as she watched me take her in? Fuck. I looked up into her eyes and tried to pretend I wasn't blushing as I smiled back at her. "So," I said, rubbing the back of my head, "I guess you have some questions you didn't want to ask in front of everyone."
Her smile brightened and she ran one of her hands down my shoulder and forearm, making me shiver. "Don't be afraid," she cooed. "Nothing I say or ask is intended to harm you. Quite the opposite. And, please, call me Diana"
Swallowing, I extended my arm to her, palm up. "You...you can use your lasso. Bind me to the truth. I trust you." Please don't let her realize how she's affecting me.
She took my arm in both of her hands, stroking from my elbow to my wrist with the fingers of her right hand. She realizes, I concluded as my breath hitched. She absolutely realizes.
"You have a generous spirit, to give me that trust so soon. I won't betray it by binding you that way. Your eyes on mine, the pulse racing through your arm as I hold you and the gifts granted me by my patron goddesses are all I'll need. If, that is, my intent was to question you."
"D-D-Diana," I breathed.
She took the fingers that had been stroking my arm and touched them to my lips. "I feel the attraction too, Bear."
"For me? So soon?" I swallowed. How? This must have been one of Tara's adjust–No! Don't overthink this, you idiot! When they ask if you're a god, you say yes. And when a beautiful woman flirts with you and touches you, you let her! Now shut down your damn brain and open your heart.
"I have more gifts from my goddesses than skill in combat." Her fingers moved from my lips to my cheek and I leaned into her touch. I couldn't tell if my seduction was deliberate or a natural result of us being alone like this, but she was doing it effortlessly. "I can see to the heart of a person when I choose. Yours is kind, caring. Cracked and damaged, too, but it's reaching out to make connections and there are signs of healing there." She caressed my cheek one last time and moved her hand back to my arm.
"S-self inflicted, most of the damage," I whispered. "I tried to protect my heart. To build m-mighty walls around it. Never realizing that I was hurting myself more than anyone else could.
"The entity that set me on this course, Tara, she was watching me before I was even a teenager. Said that she wanted me to start healing; tear down my walls. I know I need to but I've messed myself up for so long…"
"Thus your companions."
"Yeah, I'm to learn to love with them; from them. I'm theirs and they're mine and...each other's. We have these bracelets and chokers to symbolize that. Harley's a doctor of psychiatry. She's here for more than her playful nature and the easy way she makes people smile. I'll be having so many appointments with her. In the psychiatric sense, not the euphemistic one," I clarified, blushing again. "I want to heal, Diana. I just… What if I can't put aside the professional tone I have to use in these briefings and introductions and the diplomacy I'll have to do long enough to let them all in?"
"Will you let me help you?"
"How?"
"Did the stories you read mention the Amazon practice of 'loving submission?'" I nodded. "It's a mental and emotional healing technique far more than any sex act. Sex is part of it, of course," she said with a flirtatious quirk of her lips, "but it's the healing that matters. Will you trust me in this, Bear? Let me guide you on the first steps of my people's path to healing?"