From a Quake to a Tremble (mindcontrol/mindbreak, futa growth, Marvel/DC crossover)

Story by L.O.Aves

Hello everyone,

I've been swamped with other commitments, so I haven't yet posted the next chapter of A New Apartment. However, I happen to have a short story I was commissioned to write, which I hope you all enjoy in the interim while I finish up the next installment on my main project.

From a Quake to a Tremble

“Zephyr One, do you copy? The high-altitude test appears to have been a success,” Piper transmitted. Clearly, the inter-quark drive had worked. It had, at least, not wrenched the Quinjet apart, and to FitzSimmons they were grateful. Piper turned toward Quake, who, unsure of where they now were, was rapping her fingers on the console, looking intently at the scanning readouts. After a moment, the screen refreshed and a familiar coastline came into view.

“So we’re in one piece – geolocation has us over Southern New Jersey. We travelled eighty miles in five seconds. Hopefully we can rendezvous with the team just as quickly,” Quake noted, patting Piper on the back.

“Well, not quite that fast. This experimental drive has a cool-down period, and we’re not ready to jump back yet,” Piper said, looking over the temperature read-outs from the engine bay. “Yeah, we’ve definitely got half an hour or so before we can re-engage. Also, look – something’s off, Daisy. I don’t know how much time you’ve spent in New Jersey over the years, but my folks used to drag me down to Cape May during the holidays, and I definitely don’t remember a huge city in the middle of Great Bay,” Piper pointed out.

“Huh… okay, let me run another layer of diagnostics. Why don’t you take us down to five thousand feet in the meantime? Let’s get a closer look, and hopefully Zephyr One replies momentarily. Maybe we can just fly back with the Quinjet’s standard thrust,” Quake instructed, turning to select new scanning parameters. By the time she’d punched in the scan, Piper had dropped the Quinjet below the weather.

“Daisy, look…” Piper drew a sharp breath.

“That…is something different. It’s entirely possible there may have been some complications with the inter-quark drive,”

“You mean how FitzSimmons said we count get shunted off into an alternate instance of reality within the multiverse?”

“It would certainly explain why they’re not responding. I think alternate universes might be out of range of our comms, Piper,” Quake laconically reasoned. With a chime, a holographic readout of the area popped up, mottled with green overlaid on the white backdrop of the unknown city, “…aaaaaand it looks like we’re in a hotbed of activity for non-human energy signals,” Quake declared. “These are some bizarre readings. I don’t know what kind of place this is, but it’s buzzing. Here, the closest of which is outside the Northern edge of the city – there’s a forest with an incredibly strong signal. I think we should steer clear of the city, touch down, and see if we can get some answers, and maybe some assistance.

Piper interjected, “Daisy, don’t you think we should head back to New York to rendezvous with the rest of the team?”

Quake was adamant, “Zephyr One should have been tracking us, and it would make the most sense to stay close to our projected location, in case they figure out a way to patch through the comms system and reach us. Send a beacon up to synched to ping with the team, and if we’ve got half an hour, that gives me a few minutes to investigate while you keep an eye to make sure everything recharges and we can get home, okay?” Quake commanded.

Piper looked apprehensive, but followed the order. Angling the Quinjet for touchdown, Piper reminded Quake, “How often does this sort of thing ever go in our favor? We’re light on back-up. There’s no Cavalry coming to save you if something goes wrong…”

“Yep, your risk assessment is noted, Piper. I’ll err on the side of caution and assume there’s a threat that might need to be neutralized, but it would be wonderful if we were able to get some answers about why there’s suddenly an extra city the size of New York where open water ought to be,” Quake rationalized.

Disembarking, Quake stepped off the Quinjet ramp onto soft, loamy soil covered with moss. Sinking into the deep growth, she approached the large structure within the forest where her scanner showed the strongest signal. Ordering Piper to stay put and keep the comms channel open, awaiting her return. Quake wasn’t dragging her feet, but she approached the building with apprehension, and hoped the inter-quark drive would be ready for activation on take-off if things took a turn for the worse.

The building she now approached appeared similar in architecture to a museum or a zoo, with a large atrium filled with plants visible through the glass walls on either side of massive double doors. Sending vibrations rattling across the steps leading up to t

... more on the forums ...