Chain 164: The Free Universe

Chain 164: The Free Universe

Location: Free Choice (New York City, 1865)
Identity: [-200] Outsider
Drawbacks: [+1700] The Adventure Continues!, The Green Army's Wrath, The World Of War, Call It Peace, Terran Invasion

[600/2500]  The Adventures of Jumper!
[Free]      From Another World: Humanoid (Human)
[700/2500]  I Come In Peace
[1000/2500] Foreign Contact
[Free]      Flint Heart
[1200/2500] Endless Possibility
[1600/2500] The Infinite Frontier
[1700/2500] Casting Call: Demona and the Conspiracy
[2500/2500] Empowered (+800)
(+1000)     Trait: Mystical
(800/1800)  Immortal Ascended
(1200/1800) Crafting The Legends
(1800/1800) Bestowment

More superheroes... or at least, there will be. For now, it seems that the civil war has recently ended, but there are a great deal more things lurking behind the veil. A hellish dimension, its denizens trying to invade. An army from beneath the surface of the Earth, intent on conquering the stars just as soon as they deal with those pesky surface dwellers. A race of conquerers from the stars, intent on landing on the surface of the Earth to crush everyone under their heel. Even invasions from an alternate universe where history went in a decidedly different direction, with the intention of crushing everyone under their heel in every universe... and not only starting with this one.

And then there's M̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶S̶u̶e̶ Jenny Everywhere, who herself seems quite intent on saying that I'm behind some sort of massive disruption and insisting that I not interfere, under threats of force and imprisonment. As though this world being all but bombarded by the gods is my fault. Well, it's probably fortunate that when I arrived, it turned out that Demona and the Conspiracy had already been here for centuries and have had more than enough time to establish themselves as the local Illuminati, enough to make a difference when the few empowered people here start trying to fight back against the various forces that strike.

Of course, the local legends were permeated by the myths of myself, in a pocket realm, and when things began getting dark I found myself answering various summons - left, right, and center. And I did quite a bit, even if it was usually not a matter of me fighting directly. But creating magical artifacts? Imbuing the locals with various spells and turning them into ready-made combatants? Bootstrapping with theotech to be able to fight off invaders from another world? Even giving basic knowledge of agriculture and helping increase crop yields? I did it all.

And I stayed a part of the local mythos for over a century and a half, even as they warred against each other with powers and fantastic weapons, though they were surely shocked when they found that the powers I'd granted refused to permit themselves to be used against others with powers. And when a number of people tried to exploit this to solely fight mundane soldiers during the greater conflicts between nations, they found themselves losing their powers - in fact, a great many did worldwide, especially in the wake of the second world war. The few that kept their powers had liberated prison camps, or only acted to support with logistics, but even they found their power waning. And so in the wake of the great wars, what heroes remained were driven underground in a cat-and-mouse game between the various powers of the world.

Then another hero appeared, blew the lid off the whole operation, and I went 'screw it' and started handing out powers that effectively made everyone who was empowered a Superman expy, and that passed along the magic to any of their descendents. It's fun to curse one's family line, especially when the curse is more along the lines of cursing people with superpowers. Something something world of cardboard. I don't hear anyone complaining.

Except Mary Sue I mean Jenny Everywhere. Who insists that she thinks I should be punished for saving everyone.

Seriously, that girl needs a hobby.