B-Team: The Cryonic Odyssey - Part 3

Expedition

Cryogen, kicking herself for not seeing Cryonic's double-cross coming, begins trying to retrieve any data she can off of her alternate’s computer, telling the team to keep the security forces busy while she works. The B-team and Kurthol take up battle positions, easily repelling the tower's mundane security forces until Rue warns them that Evelyn and The Machinist have just exited the elavator.   The team find the technopath and his android companion quite the handful to deal with, with Eli making use of several combat drones both offensively and defensively, and Evelyn being much tougher thanthe last time Rue had faced her  . Nevertheless, Rue soon found that she suffered from a similar weakness to before, with a mid-strength fireball proving more than enough to burn away the android's shell and boil the brain within accompanied by a cocophony of agonising screams.   With Evelyn dealt with, and Rue suffering from a PTSD flashback for having to kill her again, the team quickly subdue Eli and Cryogen decides to simply rip the hard drive straight from Cryonic's computer and crack it later. They quickly begin their escape, making their way into the large, front-facing hallway of the tower and witnessing as Brainiac floats up from outside the window.   The glass before them shatters and the team prepares for what may well be a futile battle, but much to their surprise, she offers them a suspended platform made of psychic energy and says that they should come with her if they hope to live. She quickly explains that, while Cryonic had warned the team that someone may soon attempt to break into her lab and should be taken out immediately, when Brainiac had read Harmony's mind earlier that day, she'd seen exactly what they'd been told, and knew that they weren't the real threat.   Bringing them back to the old and mostly forgotten Frost Manor, Brainiac says that they can stay there until they come up with a better plan. She introduces the team to Penfold, her family's long-term butler, and he quickly gets to work making up bedrooms and preparing dinner for their guests. The team waste no time settling in, with Cryogen setting up a makeshift laboratory in the great hall as she gets to work decrypting Cryonic's hard drive.   In the meantime, the team find themselves with a night off. Rue locks themselves in their room, not handling the trauma of having murdered Evelyn for a second time all that well, Pagan dealing with some trouble between roving bands of squirrels in the garden, Kurthol making his way into the wine cellar and becoming well-acquainted with Penfold's personal moonshine distillery, and Mercy taking the opportunity to sneak into town and steal himself a change of clothes, having accidentally left his old ones in the previous universe. His night leads him into Bathala City's grimy underbelly and, by the time the morning sun starts to rise, he finds himself face-down on the Frost manner lawn, covered in glitter and clasping an expended glowstick in each hand.   Penfold calls the manor's guests to breakfast, and they slowly each make their way towards the dining table, with Rue arriving late, having taken the opportunity to get a picture of Mercy in his stupor, and the vampire himself arriving half-way through the meal. Kurthol meanwhile is surprised to see the seemingly-normal butler able to stand after the night of drinking they both enjoyed.   Once the team has gathered, Cryogen explains her plan to get them back to their reality. What she proposes is that they go back in time, to the point at which their world diverged from this one (a moment she calls the 'decision point') and make sure that things go the other way, at which point she can bring them back to the present, and hopefully arrive back a little while after they left. She says that, in order to do this, they'll need two things; firstly they'll need a new source of tachyon manipulating tech since this Cryogen never researched it and their own has run out from the supply she brought. She explains that a villain known as the Voidmaster is the only one she can find that has access to such, contained within his Vortex Manipulator, and he's being transported to his new home at Ironheath Penitentiary that day. The second thing she needs is to know what exactly the decision point is. To find that out, she suggests meeting with Rumour who appears to still be at large in this universe. She believes his ability to see visions across time will be able to tell them what the decision point is.   With their heading in place, the team take one of the Frost family's expensive cars out and proceed towards the prison to intercept the Voidmaster. They face a challenge early on when it appears one of the tunnels on the route has collapsed, trapping the prisoner transport convoy inside. Sensing something is amiss, the team move in and, using their enhanced senses, can see some sort of figure moving between the vehicles, making quick work of the Sentinel agents within. Using a mixture of their various powers, the team force their way into the tunnel just in time to see the Voidmaster impaled on the blade of a woman with red hair, clad in familiar armour.   As she discards the defeated supervillain and claims the vortex manipulator as her prize, this universe's Combat looks up and notices the group quickly making their way over to her. She remarks about what a fine disguise Emily must be wearing that she can't even sense any magic at play. Naturally confused, the hero says that she's not wearing a disguise, prompting the other to remove her mask, revealing herself to be this universe's version of Emma.   Proving herself to be a lot more amicable than the version of Combat they'd met briefly before, the team is soon able to talk Emily (as she insists on being referred) into a challenge; a one-on-one fight for the vortex manipulator, with Mercy betting a button he'd recieved from Cryogen that repairs his clothes whenever they get destroyed.   The fight between Emily and Mercy breaks out and, while he's quickly able to gain the upper hand due to his speed, strength and the assistance of his friends, Emily quickly proves herself to be just as formiddable as her main universe counterpart, stunning Mercy and taking the opportunity to extract a sample of his blood in the process. The fight eventually ends with Combat victorious but, given her sporting nature and the prize she'd already taken from the vampire, she decides to give the team the vortex manipulator anyway, agreeing to trade it for the repair button, and leaves them in peace. Though they do soon realise that they'd just let an unrepentant killer go free with the blood of a vampire, simply because she'd been civil with them. Once again, the old expression comes to bear; "Not our circus. Not our monkeys."   After resting up back at the Frost mansion, the team make their way over to the old Schurk Industries complex that was known to Cryogen to be the base of Rumour. The building is unnaturally quiet, with neither Mercy, Rue or Harmony able to make out any sounds coming out from within. The team make their way around to the side to find a large armoured bulkhead ripped free of its housing and tossed to the side. Peering inside, the building is dark and the remains of several security counter measures can be seen strewn across the floor. Peering through the walls, Rue can see the stasis pods housing all of Rumour's kidnapped victims, but not the man himself.   Rue and Harmony soon realise that the last time they'd encountered a sound-deadening effect like this, and the familiar accompanying smell of ozone, was when they fought Null, and so are immediately on edge as the team begins to make their way into the building. Harmony soon finds herself completely unable to percieve her surroundings as her vibration-sense goes dark in the building, having to rely on holding hands with Rue to help her navigate.   They don't have to move far into the building for Rue to see an area at the far end of the warehouse, past all of the stasis pods, where Rumour himself is locked in frantic combat with a person in a black suit and matching tactical mask who seems to be making no effort to block or avoid blows from the other fighter, but is continuing their advance on the supervillain like they're little more than a gentle breeze. The team quickly close in as Rumour collapses to the floor from exhaustion and fear, holding his hands out pleadingly to his assailant. As the team reveals themselves though, the black-clad intruder glances up at them, with the sound returning to the room in time for the team to hear them say "What the fuck?"   Rumour immediately begs the heroes to save him, claiming that he doesn't know why the Spider themself has come to kill him. The team question this, with the Spider telling them that it should be obvious to at least one of their group as they remove their helmet, revealing themselves to be none other than the Rue of this world.   The two Rues begin talking, the native one standing tall with a confidence that the prime universe version could only dream of as they tell the story of how, following his brutal murder of a small-time villain called Cupid, Rue realised that The Spider was only ever going to keep them around as long as they proved useful. They soon made a point to remove him from the picture. The darker iteration of Rue then lifts her top slightly to reveal a patchwork of skin grafts of many different tones covering their skin, one for every superhuman murdered, and their powers taken.   Revolted by the type of twisted creature they'd become in this universe, Rue soon found themselves unable to stand by while their doppelganger extracts their pound of flesh. The team leaps into action, preparing for a fight, but were apparently less-than-prepared for what this version of Rue had in store for them. They open with a wide telekinetic shunt that knocks several members onto the floor, and quickly capitalises on this by sinking Harmony into the floor, trapping her there. The rest of the team quuickly make their counterattack, soon finding that with every hit against their face, a small amount of makeup was wiped away, revealing the blackened flesh of Null beneath. Mercy attempts to take on the amalgamated villain in close quarters, but is quickly staggered by their hypnotic eyes and voice telling him that he's merely a statue. The distraction is enough for them to get the upper hand, tearing Mercy's head from his shoulders and turning to the others.   Despite her horror, Harmony is able to sense that the voice is a necessary part of the effect and uses her own powers to fill the villain's mouth with tar. Not so easily deterred however, the evil Rue elects to burn away the tar, relying on their immunity to heat to keep them safe as their mouth becomes a blazing inferno, dripping flames onto the floor as they continue their assault. The team has to come together to push the Spider back, snaring and assaulting them from every direction before Rue, having listened to Rachel describing her experience with Rumour and therefore knowing how his staff works, telekinetically grabs the weapon, spinning it rapidly to build up its charge, and slams it into their parallel self's chest, releasing a gigantic burst of energy. The evil Rue flies back into a wall and is knocked unconscious giving the team time to regroup and allow Mercy to revive before shifting their attention to the other villain in the room.   With little patience for any more delays, the team quickly demand that Rumour reveal to them the decision point in time so that they might make their way back to their own timeline. As befitting someone who gets visions of the past, present and future, he quickly tells them that it's not as simple as looking wherever he wants and asks why they don't just ask Harmony to find out for them.   A silence falls over the group as they ponder what he could mean and Rue's mind is brought back to the ticking sound they'd been hearing since first arriving in this universe. Harmony sighs as she pulls out a familiar stopwatch, a trinket that was usually still, but had started ticking. She clicks a button to the side of the device, and a few seconds later a green portal opens, through which steps a familiar-looking man.   Harmony reluctantly introduces the team to The Omniturge, this universe's version of The Chronaturge who, like the local version of Cryogen, specialises in travelling between universes rather than travelling in time. She makes no attempt at smalltalk or pleasantries with the man, simply demanding he give them the information they require and alluding to some serious tension between her and the wizard she soon identifies as her father.   After futilely trying to make some sort of peace with his daughter, the Omniturge eventually relents and casts a series of spells, eventually revealing to the team that the decision point in question is on the night of The Railyard Raid  , and the fateful meeting of Blue and Suplex. In this universe, the two didn't meet and that set the world down an entirely different path. With his task completed, Harmony quickly dimisses her father and he agrees to go, reminding her that he's always there for her if she wants. She doesn't dignify that with a response. With their heading decided, the team venture back to Frost mansion, with Rue offering some words of comfort to their friend, but electing not to press the issue, no matter how curious they may be.   Back at the mansion, Cryogen has apparently made the necessary preparations for their trip back in time and instructs the team to prepare themselves for departure. They thank Brainiac and Penfold for their hospitality and are about to leave when the whole frontal facade of the building is torn away, revealing the furious face of the Valiant's leader, this universe's version of The Half-Bone Lord. The team ready themselves to fight the powerful superhuman, but Brainiac quickly interjects, telling them to get through the portal and send their own Cryogen back to them, and quickly interposing herself between the heroes and Mannering.   They soon find themselves leaving the battlefield at the mansion behind and coming face-to-face with a brand new one; The Railyard on the 6th of January, 2015. A veritable army of police officers have descended upon the main hub of activity in the area and the local population has gone into full fight or flight mode. The team is surrounded by chaos on all sides. A chaos that Rue knows all-too-well, having been present at the raid themselves, though only as a scared teenager.   With no time to waste, Cryogen and Rue lead the team over to the street fighting ring where they know Rachel could be found on the night in question. They arrive to see her holding off a small contingent of officers as her fellow fighters make a break for it. While she's putting up a good fight, they can see her starting to get tired and know that she needs to get moving pretty soon if she has any chance of bumping into Blue. As such, the team quickly leaps into action, helping the rest of the fighters escape the area and making sure not to be seen by the redhead. Before long, she's satisfied that her job is done and begins to make her own retreat, the trail of unconscious police officers quickly catching the attention of Alec Upton, who quickly gives chase.   Satisfied that they've corrected the decision point, Cryogen brings out the vortex manipulator and the final piece of time-travel tech in her bag, making a few quick calculations before hitting the button. The team is transported away, but not before Rue could catch a glimpse of a familiar-looking teenager stumbling, bleary-eyed through the chaos, with dark, curly hair and clad in little more than a faux hospital gown.   Finally finding themselves back in Bathala City and looking to the roof of Vigilant Tower, the team breathe a sigh of relief as they notice the floating, purple pirate ship and realise that they're finally back in their own universe. The celebration is short-lived however as Cryogen reminds them that they still have one important task to take care of; dealing with Cryonic.   The team quickly regroups and readies themselves, making their way back to the tower and into the lift, ignoring any of their usual stops or greetings along the way. Up at the lab, the doors open and the team sees their target speaking with Blaze. Cryonic makes eye-contact with them and a profound sadness washes over her face. With a tight hug, she dismisses Blaze, sending her off before what's about to happen. The younger hero greets the team, but they're in no position to talk and Cryogen quickly tells her to get home, promising to explain everything when she gets back.   Once Blaze has left, Cryonic says how sorry she is about what she's done, explaining that it was simply in a vain attempt to spend more time with her little sister. She understands that what she's done is wrong, but isn't prepared to let go, no matter what. Kurthol, for all his bemusement at the whole situation, finally interjects, telling her that there was no excuse for leaving them to be killed in her native universe and that he hopes she fights back, because he wants nothing more than a little old-fashioned retribution right now. Naturally, this leads to Cryonic squaring up against the team, revealing that she'd kept the ring containing the alternate universe version of Mercy and had even managed to capture Agent Uranium, utilising both to help her in fighting the team.   The combat is viscious, but not necessarily long, with many members of the team electing to simply gang up on Cryonic herself. She proves herself rather slippery in a fight, her body-mounted rings able to detach and reattach to give her a mobility advantage, but it doesn't matter, and before long the three villains are defeated and bound in preparation for return back to their own universes. At this point, Cryonic seems oddly calm about her defeat, speaking amicably with the heroes and even thanking them for giving her a few more days with Blaze. Harmony wonders aloud whether simply sending her back to her own universe is really the wisest idea as she could simply try the same thing again. Cryonic assures her however that Cryogen has already considered that possibility before nodding knowingly to her main universe counterpart.   With a swift and brutal motion, Cryogen produces a dagger of ice and jams it into the other version's stomach, blood pouring out onto the floor before she's unceremoniously shoved through the portal. Noting the horrified looks on the team's face, she explains that with the two of them being just as intelligent as each other, Cryogen would have to devote all of her time to creating countermeasures against her or, when Cryonic tries again, she'll be outmatched as it's all the other version would be working towards. What both versions understood was that whichever of them won the fight couldn't let the other survive or they'd be practically guaranteeing their own demise. She states that, while she doesn't expect the team to necessarily agree with her actions, she hopes they can understand them.   With much of the team in stunned silence, Cryogen quickly gets back to work and is soon able to open the portal on the roof to send Kurthol and the Sea Hag back home. The team thanks Kurthol for his assistance, with Cryogen telling him to keep the portal rings, and Harmony even gifting him a few bags of skittles for the trip home, and he tells them that, while he couldn't exactly call it a pleasure, he'll never forget the time he'd spent with them.   With everything else taken care of, Cryogen thanks the team for their help and apologises for how it turned out. She says that with Cryonic's hard drive and the remaining rings, it shouldn't take too long for her to crack the secret of the portal technology and then who knows what kinds of adventures they could have. In the meantime however, she's decided to take a few days off to spend with her sister, and she expects the team will want to do the same. She leaves them, wishing them good luck with their upcoming debut, and says she looks forward to seeing how they get on, flashing them a somewhat uncharacteristic smile as she heads back to the lab to clean up.