Prologue: The past

The place was Wilmbury Orphanage. The person was Alan Shizer. He had been only 10 when his parents died in a plane accident in Alaska. He had been at the orphanage for about a year. He had become pretty well adjusted to things there. He even made a few friends.

"Hey Scott, you want to play some Go Fish with Hank and me?" Alan said to the little boy Scott Summers. Scott had been there longer than Alan and was a favorite of the orphanage owner, Mr. Wilmbury.

"Sure Alan, I would love to play with you guys. I'm not very good at the game though," Scott said scratching the back of his head.

"It's all right I can teach you to be better," Alan said smiling.

Eventually Scott left the orphanage on his own, as did Alan. Alan never saw any of his friends from the orphanage ever again. Alan first discovered he was a mutant when he was about 19 years old. He had been in a college class at Louisiana State University when he first experienced his clairvoyant powers.

He had a vision of a boy in his class being shot later that night. He was horrified by this vision because it had seemed so real to him. After class was over, he invited the boy over to his apartment. He didn't even really like the boy, truth to tell, but it was better than having to deal with him dying and not doing a thing about it.

When the boy came over, all and him and Alan did was drink till they passed out. They were even late to class the next day. Alan didn't have any other major visions till he had gotten out of college with his master's degree in biology, anthropology, and genetics. He was 22 and decided he was going to live a little.

He was driving down the street when he heard a popping sound. In an instant he was suddenly standing in a golden meadow. When he was looking around he saw a man standing in blazing brilliance. He was surprised and overwhelmed by the man. "Who are you?!" was all that Alan could get out.

" I am Hesper, the Greek god of the evening star, and I am your father," Hesper said, plunging Alan into a state of confusion.

"If you are a god, I must be the queen of England. I can't believe this mess you are telling me! My father...yeah right!" Alan laughed hysterically.

"How else would you have gotten here?" Hesper said, halting Alan's laughter.

"Okay, if you are my father... why didn't you save mother?" Alan said, trying to get a grasp on things.

"The Fates decreed that she would have to die if you were to live. She knew this and gladly gave her life for you. I was saddened by her death, but I was glad to see you live," Hesper said, a tear dropping down his eye.

"Okay I'll give you the Fates thing since I know a little about Greek Mythology, but if I'm a demi-god, how come I don't have any god-like qualities and why am I a mutant?" Alan asked.

"My child you are very beautiful like a god. I think you losing your virginity at such an early age should testify to that. You also have the smarts of a god. Why do you think you acquired all those master degrees in such a short time? You are a mutant because your mother was one. She wasn't a very powerful mutant like Magneto or Charles Xavier. No she had the feeble ability to change the color of her eyes," Hesper said.

"Okay, so this does explain a lot of things. Why weren't you there for me when I was growing up?" Alan asked of his father, Hesper.

"It was because the gods forbade me to. Believe I wanted with all my soul to be there for you when you were growing up, but it was beyond my power. They said I couldn't interfere with your destiny," Hesper explained.

"Okay then, DAD... what is this destiny you keep rambling about?" Alan asked.

"You are to be a hero and save the Earth from great danger," Hesper explained.

"Hold on buddy, slow down right there. I'm supposed to save the Earth. Man, you have got to be kidding," Alan said, slowly backing away from his father in disbelief.

"I know it is hard to believe, son, but you have to trust me. Before you can become a hero, though, you have to get training in the art of battle," Hesper said with a smile.

"Alright fine, I guess I can't run away from my destiny so who will be training me?" Alan questioned of his father.

"The warrior Achilles will be brought back from the dead to train you in the art of battle," Hesper told his son.

Alan spent 14 years with Achilles in Hesper's golden meadow. He grew to become a strong warrior. Then one day his father came. "You have completed your training and now it is time for you to begin fufilling your destiny," Hesper said.

"Father, how shall I fufill my destiny?" Alan asked.

"You will go back to Earth. You will return back to the moment from which you were snatched from Earth. No time will have passed at all. You will seek out Riley Halladay, Chantal Desmon, Antonio Holder, Tyler Holcomb, Lionel and Nicole Lambert, Ameshia Smith, Johnathan Ruiz, Erika Coone, and Shaquita Stalnaker. They are all demi-gods and mutants like yourself. They will become a group that you will lead. You shall call them the M-Squad," Hesper told his son, Alan Shizer.

"Then I shall go, father, and find all of them. One question though: exactly how will I find them?" Alan asked, sure his father would be able to give him a way.

"This compass will you show you the way," Hesper said as he handed it to Alan.

"Thank you father," Alan said humbly, because a gift from the gods was one to be taken with much gratitude.

"Now go my son and fulfill your destiny," Hesper said as he waved his hand.

As soon as Alan was gone, the goddess Hebe walked out of a portal. "Hesper, remember you must make Alan hate the man Charles Xavier because if you do not Alan will sway away from his destiny and join those X-Men," Hebe said. Hesper looked at her and used his power with ease to plant a hate for Charles Xavier in the mind of Alan Shizer, his son.

Alan was back in the car he had been snatched from 14 years ago. Well, at least it was 14 years to him. To everyone else not a single second had passed. All those years ago he had been going out to live a little, but now he had a purpose. A direction in his life. That was something he wasn't even thinking about 14 years ago. Alan looked down at his compass and it said something. Riley Halladay is in Brooklyn. Alan guessed that was the first person he was suppose to find.

He found Riley Halladay in the ghettos of Brooklyn. He was 17 years old and he was an African American. Riley took to Alan very quickly, though he was unlike a lot of people in Brooklyn. It was as if Riley had been waiting for Alan his whole life. Riley had the power to create life unpredictably. He could say a word such as blue and all sorts of things would pop up. Blue weasels, blue tigers, blue slime aliens, and anything else that could have blue in it. Riley had never used his power though, because it had been suppressed by an unknown person.

Alan then found Lionel and Nicole Lambert in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Nicole was 20 years old and Lionel 18. They were both African-American. Nicole had the power to change anyone she kissed into a pickle. Lionel had super-strength and optic blasts. They were the same way Riley was... it was like they had waited for Alan their entire lives.

Alan then found Tyler Holcomb in Miami, Florida. Tyler was a 24 year old Caucasian and he was a very powerful telekinetic. He could break mountains down the middle with ease. He showed Alan a stunt one time. He took iron molecules out of the air and built a miniature Statue of Liberty.

After Tyler, the 21 year-old, African-American girl, Shaquita Stalnaker was found in Washington D.C. She had the ability to change her body into any type of liquid. She was very skilled with her powers since, after all, she used them to be a thief. She would be the one that Alan would eventually fall deeply in love with.

Erika Coone was next on Alan's list. She was found in Flagstaff, Arizona. She was a 19 year old, Mexican girl. She had long, pretty hair and eyes that shined like stars. She had the ability to control the emotions of others. She was probably the most reluctant to leave with Alan because she was very much involved with her local church.

Antonio Holder was found in Panama City, Panama. He was a 25 year old, Panamaian. He had the ability to hypnotize people and gain the abilities of animals. He was the one who would eventually grow to be Alan's best friend. It was a title Riley would want to have and that would lead to conflict between the two.

Johnathan Ruiz was found in the Philippines. He was 29 years old and very short. He was only 5'1. Johnathan, though, packed a great power. Whenever he got angry anything he touched would explode with great force. He would eventually grow to be Alan's "brain trust".

Chantal Desmon was found in Atlanta, Georgia. She was 18 years old and she was an extremely light African-American. She was what people in the 1930's would have called a mulatto. She had the ability to change herself into any organism that has, does and will exist in the universe.

The last one found was Ameshia Smith. She had been found in Houston, Texas. She was 27 years old. She was a very independent woman and enjoyed her life and she did not just want to drop it all to go with this Alan Shizer. She was one of these "powerful, black women" as the term was put. Her powers definitely made her a formidable foe. She could always come up with a new power. If she wanted super-strength, telepathy etc. she had it, but there was one catch. She could only have one power at a time and she couldn't use that power again until she went through 10 other powers. After some persuading from Erika, she finally caved in and went with Alan and his M-Squad.

The Present (Four Freedoms Plaza)

"So what is this Octense Dream exactly, Alan?" Sue Richards asked.

"When the Octense Dream happens, everyone on Earth will fall asleep and when they awake they will be in the form of their inner demons. They shall be extremely powerful and Armageddon could happen as a result," Alan explained.

"Why would Maximus want to start this Octense Dream?" Karnak asked.

"Maximus believes the Octense Dream to be a mechanism that will make humanity and everything else on Earth evolve. Plus, whoever starts the Octense Dream controls the creatures that result from it," Alan explained.

"So how does this King Daloa fit into all of this mess?" Tigra asked.

"King Daloa owed Maximus a favor and Maximus promised Daloa 1/4 of his army when he became ruler of Earth," Alan said.

"Alright, now I wonder is there anything that could make this situation any worse?" Maggott asked sarcastically.

"Actually yes, there is something that definitely makes this situation all the more serious. See Maximus doesn't know that the Octense Dream is like a plague and once it hits Earth will spread to every planet in the universe. Then once done with the universe it goes off into other dimensions. The only way to stop the spreading of the Octense Dream is to destroy the originator of it, " Alan explained.

"Okay, I am sorry I even made that comment before," Maggott said, grimacing.

"How did you learn all of this?" Triton asked.

"I told you before I am a clairvoyant. For a while I knew only that I had to save Black Bolt. I had no clue where he was until I had a vision. You guys were off fighting that Supreme Evolutionary when I had my vision. It showed and telled everything about Maximus, Black Bolt, King Daloa, and the Hewan diemension," Alan clarified.

"Okay so how do we get to this Hewan diemension?" Tigra queried. Right then Maggott's eye showed excitement and he jumped up.

"Don't worry, I got that covered guys and gals," Maggott said.

"Japheth, not to be rude, but could you please elaborate," Sue said.

"Well, after I left the X-Men I went back to South Africa. While I was there I met the first South African superhero group. They called themselves the Black Titans. There were five of them. Their names were Twister, Doc Diamond, Seraph, Fervor, and Portal. Portal will probably be the most useful one to us because he can create portals that can bring you anywhere," Maggott explained.

"Great for a second I thought I was going to have to ask my father for help," Alan said.

Maggott went down a couple of floors to make the call to the Black Titans. The phone rang a few times when Doc Diamond picked up. "Hey, homie what's up?!" Maggott yelled across the phone.

"Nothing much going on here, brother! It's good to hear from you, but I guess you didn't just call to say hi," Doc Diamond said. Maggott laughed to himself. Doc Diamond was always a very forward man.

"Doc, can you assemble the team and teleport yourselves to Four Freedoms Plaza? Once you're here, I will explain everything," Maggott said, hoping that Doc Diamond wouldn't think anything fishy was going on.

"Alright Japheth, we should be there shortly," Doc Diamond said, hanging up the phone. Maggott waited for a few minutes and then a red portal opened in front of him. Out of it came the Black Titans.

"I didn't think you guys would land in the right floor," Japheth said giving all of his friends hugs.

"You should know by now, Japheth, that the Black Titans always land on their feet. Anyway, all I said was take us to where Japheth was at in Four Freedoms Plaza. We were all hoping you weren't up too high in the building," Portal laughed. Japheth started laughing and eventually all the Black Titans joined in the laughter. Maggott, after all the laughter, explained everything that had happened to them after he left them. He talked of Devious, the Supreme Evolutionary, the disappearance of Reed Richards, the departure of Johnny and Ben, joining the FF, and now of the Octense Dream.

"Well now Maggott, you sure have been a busy boy," Twister said.

"Yeah, tell me about it homes. Anyway it is time for me to show you to the guys," Maggott said.

Elsewhere

"....so that is how I ended up here," Reed said, finishing his explanation to Magneto and his X-Men.

"Wow! That is some heavy stuff," Thunderbird exclaimed.

"Well, duh, Neal! If you were hurled to some other dimension I sure wouldn't consider it light!" Boomer said, exploding at Neal Shakraa, also known as Thunderbird.

"Calm down Tabitha! Now Reed, what about the rest of your allies who were helping you fight this Supreme Evolutionary. What do you think has become of them?" Magneto asked

"Well, for all I know they are either dead or in other dimensions like I am," Reed said. He was going hysterical with grief, but he had to gain a hold of himself. He couldn't be sure that his wife was dead, but if she was in another universe, who was taking care of his son Franklin? Maybe Alicia was.

Magneto could tell that Reed was extremely worried about something. What it was he could only guess at. "Reed I do wish you will stay with us until we have found a way to get you home," Magneto said.

"Does your world have a Fantastic Four or Reed Richards?" Mr. Fantastic asked.

"Yes, we have both actually," Firestar said.

"Can you take me to them?" Mr. Fantastic asked the X-Men.

"Yes, I would gladly take you to them, my friend. I think I shall tell you first about how the FF of our world are different from yours," Magneto said.

"Well, I guess I am in for some more surprises huh?" Reed asked, knowing that he was about to hear some shocking stuff.

"Well, as of right now the FF are Mr. Fantastic, Phoenix, Diamonback and Hulk. See Ben, Sue and Johhny were all killed in a vicious battle between the FF, Avengers, and Thanos. Reed had been married to Sue before she died. They had three kids together and their names are Jonathan, Charles, and Stephanie. Jonathan is 10, Charles is 8 and Stephanie is 5. Hulk joined the FF because Reed was able to give Bruce Banner complete control over his Hulk persona. Phoenix left my X-Men and joined Reed because he was able to give her control over the raging Phoenix power within her. Diamondback joined Reed and his FF because she had an affair with Reed once and she thought she could rekindle that relationship. When she realized she could not, she decided to stay and be his friend," Magneto explained.

"It seems your world's Reed and I have some very large differences. Just out of curiosity how did you guys end up being together?" Reed asked.

"Well, when I was young and in Israel I met a man named Charles Xavier. We both dreamed of a peaceful co-existance between mutants and humans. We eventually formed the X-Men. Angel, Iceman, Phoenix, Cyclops, and Storm were our first students. During one of our first battles with a man named Beast and his group of Nasty Boys, Charles Xavier was killed. I carried on the dream. Over the years I have suffered great losses like the deaths of Cyclops and Storm by human assassins. I think my greatest loss though was when Angel and Iceman decided to stay with the Shi'ar. I couldn't understand why it hurt so bad at first, then I realized I was jealous. I had thought that Warren and Bobby had chosen Lilandra over me," Magneto said, explaining some of his history.

"Well, I guess we all got to give our life stories here and so here is mine. I use to be a servant of the madman known as Baron Zemo. I was a part of his Masters of Evil. Until the day when he was killed by Wasp and then I lost direction in my life. I wandered doing small jobs here and there for a few years before Magneto came. He offered me hope, freedom and most of all redemption," Alistaire told Reed.

" I used to be a pretty normal kid until my parents were killed by Beast and his Nasty Boys and when I found out I was mutant. I left my home state of Minnesota behind and headed to Louisiana where I became a prostitute. I eventually met up with a man called Doc Samson. He gave me counseling and pulled me out of all the trouble I had gotten myself into. He then introduced me to Mags here," Boomer explained to Reed.

"My story is a little more complicated than the rest of these guys I think. When I was a teenager I discovered my mutant powers. Shortly afterwards a mutant named Revelation from the year 2039 came and told me I was needed in the future. There I learned that Earth had been plunged into a nuclear war by a monstrous being named Conquest. I fought in that future until I was 29 and then I went back in time to stop the event that would give Conquest the means to starts a nuclear war. I stopped the assassinations of Senator Bruce Kellan and President Xian Chu of China. Then I joined Magneto and his X-Men to bring hope to the future I had lived in for so long," Payne revealed to Reed.

"Well, I used to be a servant of Conquest in the present. I was his right hand girl. He taught me everything I knew about my powers and how to control them. Before I joined the X-Men I had fought against them many times. I finally saw the light when my best friend, Cecilia Reyes, a fellow servant of Conquest was slain by him for messing up a stupid order. I then decided it was time to use my powers for the good of all mankind and mutantkind," Firestar explained to Mr. Fantastic.

" I joined the X-Men because my Mom had been a former lover of Charles Xavier and she wanted me to use my powers for the good of my fellow man. Many things have happened while I have been with the X-Men. My wife to be, Rogue, was turned to salt by a sorcerer named Kulan Gath. My best friend, Gambit, was killed in a battle that the X-Men and Avengers had with Kang. I eventually got married to Scarlet Witch, an upstanding member of the Avengers. She and I even left our respective groups for a bit to form X-Force. The group is still going strong today and the mutants Psylocke, Meggan, Cerise, Shadowcat, Jubilee, Husk, and Cannonball are all a part of it. My wife and I eventually returned to our groups, but before we returned we had two beautiful twins. There names are Neal Jr. and Jason," Neal told Reed.

"I am a warrior from another dimension and I joined the X-Men to save them from a calamity known as Armageddon Star. Nuff said!" Shatterstar exclaimed. Reed could tell that he was the quiet guy in the group.

"Wow! Man this universe is a whole lot different from my universe!" Reed cried.

"How is your world different from ours' ?" Thunderbird asked

"I don't know where to start. Well, Magneto is the arch-enemy of the X-men and ruler of a country called Genosha. Beast was one of the founding members of the X-Men. He was never an enemy of them. Scarlet Witch never knew a man named Neal Shakraa. Rogue, Gambit, Cyclops, and Storm were never killed. Baron Zemo never had a man named Alistaire serve him. Angel and Iceman never stayed with the Shi'ar. Gosh, these are just too many differences!" Reed said his mind overwhelmed.

"He was right, his universe is definitely different from our own. It's freakish I would almost say," Shatterstar said.

"That was uncalled for, Shatterstar. This universe could be just as weird and freakish to him as his is to us," Magneto said.

"It's alright Magneto no need to get mad at the boy. Lets just find the Reed Richards of this world and see if he can help me out!" Reed exclaimed.

"Yes, you are right. X-Men, let's get this Reed to our Reed!" Magneto commanded.

Franklin's Room

"Come to me, Franklin. Come to me, Franklin," the mysterious voice repeated.

"I am coming, daddy. Wait for me daddy," Franklin responded.

Meanwhile, down a floor there was a convening of heroes new and old. The M-Squad, Fantastic Four, Black Titans, and Inhumans were all poised and ready to fight the threat of the Octense Dream and Maximus. Portal was just about to open a gateway to the Hewan Dimension when Achilles and Medea came out of a portal. Alan ran to Achilles and they both gave each other a firm handshake. It had been a very long time since the two had last seen each other.

"Where is the rest of the Olympian Squad?" Sue asked Medea.

"They decided to stay behind. I wanted to, but the gods said you would all need my magical expertise. So in that case I gladly came," Medea responded. Doc Diamond saw Medea and his heart began to flutter. She was a golden maiden wrapped in white clothing. The jewelry she wore made her beauty sparkle all the more.

"Alright, if this is everyone here can we get going?" Portal asked.

"Yeah Portal, that should be the last of the bunch. Get this show started!" Maggott said.

"Portal, hear my cry! Open a gateway, oh open a gateway. Give me a road to the place where Black Bolt is being held. Give me a road to the Hewan Dimension." As Portal was saying this, a portal formed before the eyes of the heroes. They all charged into it and they were off for an epic battle.