Jump 376: Arrowverse

Jump #376: Arrowverse
>King of Cups, reversed: A charming seducer who appears innocent and understanding, but is in fact selfish and unfaithful.
>Age: 22
>Location: Central City
Gotham is a little chilly this time of year.
>Faction: Vigilante
>Identity: Philanthropist
>Drawbacks: (+800) Hellblazer, IT WAS ME, JUMPER!
The implication between these two perks is that it was actually demons. Not a very happy thing.
>Restful Sleep (1750, Vigilante)
Even though I don't technically need to sleep by now, getting rest with less time in bed is nice. Still, there's something intrinsically relaxing about a nap, at minimum.
>Concealed Identity (1700, Vigilante)
As long as I can conceal who I am from people who AREN'T close to me, it's enough.
>Born Rich (Free, Philanthropist)
Also known as "fake it 'til you make it". Surprisingly effective.
>Magnetokinesis (1500)
I am Magneto, master of magnet! ...but seriously, folks, I'm going to have all of my possible clones active during basically all the DC jumps, and one of them is going to be ripoff-Magneto.
>Super Speed (1200)
I FEEL THE NEED.
>Speedster (1000)
THE NEED FOR SPEED.
>Wealth (Free, Philanthropist)
Well, at least my bank account is padded nicely. This will stack nicely with my other two 'you own a corporation' perks from Gargoyles and the Spider-Man trilogy.
>Business Mogul (800)
Oh, and increases annually. Helpful.
>J.U.M.P. Labs (600)
Doubly helpful: I have a front to sell whatever I want in a jump to the general public. Time to pull a reverse Reed Richards and use all the things I didn't invent to make the world a better place. Screw the status quo, we've got Halo tech and terraforming.
>Armor of the Gods (200)
What a lovely coincidence, I have a wonderful suit of armor that I can import. And with it, I will finally achieve Peak Fast.
>Bulk Companion Import (0)
All the fun that could be had here, why shouldn't I bring my companions in on the fun?

So, as I was saying a moment ago, I still typically make a great deal of use of clone perks. In the Green Lantern jump, I was one full-strength corgi and eight quarter-strength corgis, through the magic of certain perks.

I'll be doing the same in this jump, of course. My primary self, that everything's getting focused on, a speedster. Because there are definitely not enough speedsters to confuse the hell out of everyone already.

One of the eight, as I said, is the magnetokinetic. Let's call him Ferrous, it's a nice generic name that no one else has used. Two of them, healers - there are never enough dedicated healers in the world - one of whom actively goes out casting regeneration and healing spells while the other heals everyone around them passively, and will typically go into a hospital and sit for an hour, then move on. One's a Batman-alike from Gotham calling himself Crow (sorry, no face paint or trenchcoat) with less emphasis on being the world's greatest detective and more on street level shenanigans. One's an electrokinetic, one's a pyrokinetic, both of those two can change their forms to be their respective element rather than simply channeling it, but it takes a lot out of them - and they have a tendency to team up. The last one, though, I just keep in reserve in case anyone needs to be swapped out.

It keeps life very interesting, especially when I'm being constantly beset by a villain-of-the-story-arc periodically, even if it is typically stretched over the course of every two years rather than every year. Which, interestingly enough, also comes with weaker opponents that my clones are stuck dealing with over similar overlapping time periods as well. Made for a hell of a story, especially the regular crossovers with Team Arrow since they weren't the only heroes in the city. And the friendly rivalry between Pyre and Firestorm.

Though I kept having demons come after my speedster entirely too frequently for my liking.

I could generally handle things without needing to involve any outside forces, even if I got strange looks from Constantine at times. In fact, every time he ran across ANY iteration of me, they got strange looks. It happened more often than you might expect, too, like one of the writers just liked to be tongue-in-cheek about it. Or maybe foreshadowing.

Things toward the end of the jump were a whole lot less jovial and a lot more grim when everything came to a head - rather than what should have been a last round of villains for everyone, they ended up with older villains who should have been retired... or dead. Instead, they had power-ups, to the point that I had to sit up and start taking them much more seriously than I had. And then when those villains were dealt with (and each got an episode's worth of time in a manner of speaking), they got demons manifest en masse.

My primary self, the speedster, got someone I was hoping not to see however. Ob Nixilis. In all his glory - his form human yet with demonic wings folded behind him, an unholy fire burning behind his eyes, black armor seeming to shimmer with unseen heat... no, it was his entire form wavering faintly. I could feel the fabric of the world screaming in protest. And when I'd encountered him in the past, I only prevailed because multiple other planeswalkers had focused on him.

In short, if he decided to go all out on me, I was a dead man unless I found a way to outrun him - the fact that he had demons dealing with all my other aspects meant he'd caught me off guard already, a walking hole in my precognition- no, in fact, for the moment that he stood before me, I felt nothing. The world had frozen around us, and nearly every last one of my abilities that I tried to pull on was... missing. Gone. Nothing but my wits against a fully fledged planeswalker. No, there was no running to be had.

How was he even here?

"This... this is impossible." I felt myself growing closer to a true panic than I had been in a very, very long time. "You can't be here. You CAN'T-"
>"͡And̢ ͜y͞e̕t heré ̀I ̨st͢a̶nd͢,"̵ he said with a cold smile, his voice... not... right. In a way that shouldn't be possible. ͝"I ̡r̛e̕al̛l̸y͝ sh́ou͡l̀d thank̷ ͟y̢o̶u͜. I am͢ unc͜h͝a̵inéd̛, my ̢spark̢ ͞r̶e̵ìgn̸ited."͝
I waved my hands around me. "No, I really mean it, YOU CAN'T BE HERE! This world isn't strong enough to deal with a planeswalker- it'll break apart!"
>A black eyebrow rose. ̢"You̸ ͡think̸ ̕Į ̶am fo͢o̢l ͢e̢ǹouģh ̨not ͝to͢ ̢k̛ńo͞w th͡e̷ ͘f͟ab̴ric of͢ ͘r̴ęality?́ ̧Th͡e l̴and͜ ̶h͠er̕e is ̷s̶o ̸w̷e͘ak ̢i͘n ̢m͢a̛na̵ a̸s͠ t͢o ͠be a ͝jo̡ké. ́N͘o͝, ͘I'̢m no̕t͞ ͜h̴er̴e̡ ̕for ̀co̧n̸qu̕es̛t̶,͡ ̧b̶u͘t̴ for yoư. I k̷n̢ow ỳou a͜r̡e̵.̷.͢. ͝unlike̢ ̸me̵.̡ N͟o ͡sp̵a͘r͝k,͠ an͡d̵ yet yo͟u͠ tr͞avel b̧y͟ othe͘r ͟me̵a̡ns. B̧ut you͢ h̷ave po͟t̸e͝n̡t͠i̵al."
I paled. "So much for hoping it was coincidence," I murmured faintly.
>With a thin smile, he said, ͟"Yo͡ư w̶ill ̵u̸n͞de̛ŕst͡and ̡in t͟i͡m̧e. ̧B̧eca̸us͟e of ̵yo̢u̸.̨.. ͝I̕ ̛h̶ave̵ ͡ẁand͢ered͢ m̕uc̨h̀ f̛úrt͡her ́from hom̸e̴ than̴ I èver̨ havè ͝bef͡ore̷.̶ Th͞ér̷e͟ a̧r̢e͘ f̀ew ţr̨u̴e ̸threat̷s̢ t̢o̢ ̸m͢e o͜ut ͘he̴re, a̷n̡d the bl̛ée̢d ͟is̀ much̶ mor͞e ̴hos͜p̡it͜a͘bl̡ȩ th͠an th͘e bl̵i͢ņd e͜ter̸nit͞i͝e͠s..͡. or ̕g̡o͘ds f̢o̷rf́e͢nd, t͢o̶das̶h ̵s͞p͜a̸ce͠.̨"
I felt my blood draining, my skin turning ashen. "Todash... how do you even know what that IS? I haven't even run across it yet--!"
>He waved a hand, unconcerned. "̨W̧or̢ry not̶,̕ ͜y̕o̧u͞'l̸l n̕ot şèe ͜i͠t͜ o͠n ̢y̶ou͘r ̛t͜r̴àv͡el͞s̛,̛ ͘c͟h́i͜l̴d̡.̡ Just be ha͡pṕy̛ th̸at͠ e͢v̴en I̸ ̡w͞a͡s̴ ne̡v͘er̡ ̧m̀a̛d ̕enough to s̵i̶d̢e̸ wi͠ţh̶ ̨th͢e ͠cr̶im͘son͢."
"Not much of a multiverse to conquer if there's no multiverse left," I remarked, nodding.
>That thin smile crossed his lips again. "You aŕe intelli̧g̢e̡n͟t, ́at le̸as̵t. C̸reat̛io̡n̛ ͞i̧s ̀m̕u̶c̴h̨ laŕg̷er t̀han y̷o̡u ha̵v̵e d̷ream͝ed͝, ͜I͘ ͡ça̸n ̸tel͠l̵ ͘yóu͜ ͢t̨ḩat͠.͡ Pla̶nes in̨ un̵ive͢rses ͡in̨ m͘ul̛ti͠v̶érs͢es ̴i͜n̶ met̀av͠e͢rse͟s an͜d...̨ ͝y̡o̧u͡ s̛ee th̶e͘ còn̨c͠ep̵t̴, ̷nes͞ti̕nǵ a̵ll̢ th͟e ͞w̡ay̸ ̡t͠o t̀h̛e̴ ̀Absolùte͘.͠ ̸You͢ ̴sęe, ͠I have ͢y͠ou ͠to t́h̴ank̸..."̴
I flinched, as he said another word. My name. A name that I'd kept to myself since I started jumping, not used, not even THOUGHT, chained away in the deepest recesses of my mind. If he knew this... and the wheels started turning. "The Kaleidoscope. When the replacement for the hedrons went up, you saw what I saw... and the paths. You found the back door I used to stabilize the network."
>He nodded. "Ve̕ry g͡ood͢.̡ Yes...͢ not̵ ̸t͠ha̴t̢ a̛ ̡pl̴an̸es͘w̶a͟lk͢er ͢c͟o͞uldn̨'̶t̷ ̴vis͞it a͟ny of t͜hem͝, ̸b̧ut yo̡u'͜l̸l ̷fínd̸ ͝th͠at̴ mo̕s̶t͡ ̧sel͘dom have͞ ̧a͜ r̨eáson ̵t̸o͡ ĺe͝av͞e. ͢Fèw̵ pla͢c̷e͜s ̢r͢ea̴chab̧l͜e ̨f̀r̴o͢m m̧ỳ h̶om̶e̢ ͡ar̶e a͜s ͡m͝ana̡-ri͜c̢h ͘as those pla͘nes̵ therȩ.. if͝ ̵one can ͘ev͘e̵n navįgate̢ past̸ th̛e bl͘i̡nd e̶t̨e̵r̵ǹities̨. Wh̵i͢ch̸ brińg͟s͝ us̕ to ̶y̴ou."
"To me," I repeated. The blood was flowing once again, my color returning.
>̡"Yo͝u h͠av̷e͝ a͢ ģre͞at d͜eal ̕of pow̕er.͞..͟ ̀a͟n͜d yet ̛non̵e.̡ ͞I̛ d̴o̷ņ't̷ t͡hink̀ ͘yo̴u ̴éven͝ re͞al͘i̶z͢è,̧" he commented thoughfully, as he stepped around me, circling as the wavering around him grew worse. "As a̢ fl̢are̷ in the ̸d̵ark͝.̸.. a͞n͠d ̧n̛o͝t͜ t̢he͟ ̴onļy on͠ę ̛I'v̸e s͢e̷en͞.̧ Y̶ouŕ p̷at̸hs ́al͞l̢ ̨s̴pir̷al͜i̸n͝g̸,̸ twis̵ti̶ng, ra͠r̡el͠y me̢et̢i͘n͝g.̀.. and so f͡ȩw ͡pla̶nes̷wa̧lķe̸ŕs awar͞e͡ ̀of͞ ̴y͘ou ͝all. A͜nd y͢ou in̸ ̵p̕art̷icul̴a͘r...͠ ͘we̕l͡l, I ͝wa͞s̵ ̀ha̕r̷d͠ly͜ ̡s͜ưb͡tl͢e͞ ab̵ou̧t ̛thi͢ng̸s̨ b̕eińǵ my fa͞ult. You͝'v̸e͞ al̕r͢ead̸y͜ pu̧t ̨tha̕t t̛og̸éthe͜r, ̵sure͢ly̷."̛
I turned to face him, his footsteps stopping as I did so. "So... what are you going to do, then? You go from plane to plane in conquest, don't you?"
>"̨M̧m̶. ̢Yóu ͜might͠ s͢ay͟ yo̸u͘'͡ve ca̴ug͠h͜ţ ͢m͝e ̴in ͢a ͝tra͘n͞si̛tio̴n̴a̸l ͞p̴erio̴d. We'l̶l ̡s͢ee̛ if th̵ere's any͝where t͢h̵át c̷a͠n ̷do̢ wi̕t́h ́ḿy.̵.͜.̶ ̶attent̕i̡ơn͝. B̴ut f̛or n̶o̢w..͘ w̶e̶ bo̕th̀ ͢ķnow̸ you'͝r̨e͡ ̨at͝ m̴y mercy̨ ͝he͡re. I ͡d͟on't h̨av̸e t͠o͞ ̢k͞i̵l͝l ͠you t͜ó ͞con̡si͢der ̛t̕h͜is a ̡vic̀t͝or͟y͘,̛ afte̴r ̸a̶l̷l."̸ He patted my shoulder, and I fought not to flinch at the contact, his form wavering and disappearing from sight after. "Se͢e yoú, şpac͘e cow̴b̀o͘y̕.̶"
And with a sinking feeling in my stomach, I placed the references he was kind enouh to drop. Realized that this was definitely not his first stop since leaving the plane where I'd met him. The implication was that he'd made a point of studying the culture I came from. And that disturbed me even more than the fact that he was following me.

The jump ended moments after that, and it was the most technical victory I have had in my chain. Running out the clock, even unintentionally, is not something I wanted to do. I will tell you, though, I've never been more thankful for time to decompress between jumps in the Slice Of Life setting than I was after that encounter.

And I am quite certain this was not even supposed to have happened, and yet it did. Damned planeswalkers. Would be awfully helpful if I ever had any sort of direct interaction with my sponsor instead of just the most vague sense of things... this encounter raises far more questions than I'm comfortable with.