76 War Prep

If you think its short, then it was a short time for some and if you think it is long then it might feel like a lifetime to others. It depended on the individual experiences of the people who had gone through the strange and turbulent times that the Earth was experiencing in the past few years.

To those who had lost a lot, the wars, invasions, and the frequent terrorism by the villains seemed to be never-ending. To those better off, it wasn't all sunshine and roses either. The constant fear for life, confusion, and trauma linger with them too.

But over time, like humans always do, they have begun to adapt to the changes slowly. It was largely due to the Earth Federation rising as a source of security and dependence for the populace.

There was a certain belief growing in the people of Earth that no matter what happens, the Federation will be in front of them to protect and support them. Chancellor Doom was already being deified in many rural places, although it was cracked down whenever discovered.

This trust was very delicate and the Federation was well aware of it. If the Earth Federation crumbles in this situation when the trust hasn't been solidified, the order that had been established with much effort would all break down.

"As morbid as it sounds, this war is both a huge crisis and an opportunity for the Earth Federation. We have to show the people of the Earth that they can always count on us no matter the situation. This is a war for the continued existence of the Earth and the Earth Federation."

Doom's voice echoed throughout the Earth Federation headquarters where the heroes gathered in preparation for the upcoming war.

Doom could be seen standing in the dark of space outside the stratosphere with a huge orange net of glowing lights was torn apart. The torn light seemed to be trying to mend itself but some dark gaseous smoke was eating away at the light.

"Any minute now, from behind me an army of creatures from other dimensions will pour out to invade our planet. Our homes, our families, the people, and the things we love are being threatened by these beings who see us as mere playthings and a food source.

Just to enter our planet's magical safety devices, they have already sacrificed tens of thousands of innocent lives. I don't know about you all but Doom has never been kind to those who have dared to touch his things.

To those who will be appearing to invade, all they will find is Doom's wrath. Those who can fight be should be prepared and those who can't fight should get into the designated bunkers in an orderly manner escorted by the Federation staff. Earth has now entered an emergency state."

Doom's deathly serious and angry face was broadcast all over the planet with giant magical holograms in the sky. The pressure coming off the screen was enough to let the people know the gravity of the situation and Doom's anger.

After the broadcast ended, Doom turned to look at Savant standing in front of the growing dimensional portal, calculating something. He flew up to Savant and brought out his tools to collect data for himself and the Federation.

"How many dimensions do you think will be invading us?" Doom asked while checking the instruments.

"I can feel a couple of beings on par with Mephisto. Dormamu, Cyttorak, Set, and Cthon will probably be the vanguard. There are half a dozen others who are on a slightly lower power level than them. There is no point in counting the rest, there are just too many of them.

Doom frowned. He could feel the vague energy signatures too but not as clearly as Savant, More importantly, "Can our forces even stop that big of an army?"

"It will be difficult. So I will create a mirror dimension to make the fighting easier." Savant answered while opening up a large magic circle.

"Can you keep the dimension intact during a fight with beings of that level? It might just become a distraction. It might be better to try and teleport everyone away instead." Doom retorted.

Savant was aware of the problem and had contemplated teleporting away all of humanity. But he didn't think it would be appropriate. It would send a message of weakness to the people to run away from their homes when a war approached their homes. It might become a seed of doubt against the Federation.

"I can manage the mirror dimension. We need to focus more on stopping the invaders. If we let them through, teleporting the people away wouldn't matter much anyway."

"Doom will take on Mephisto and his hell dimension." Doom declared.

"I'll beat away Set and the one who started off this chain of events, Cthon. Strange should take on his in-law Dormamu. Blue Marvel will take on Cyttorak. The other heroes, mutants, sages, and sorcerers will take on the rest." Savant's voice was now flowing into every hero's mind telepathically.

"I have created a telepathic link between all the fighting forces on earth. You can just think of who you want to speak to and you can connect with them."

Savant and Doom began commanding the heroes to get into different defensive and offensive positions.

…..

"Whoever is coming is going to get fucked. The Chancellor looks like he can't wait to tear them apart bare-handed." A teenage boy following his mother in a line whistled while looking at the broadcast up in the sky.

"Shut up and follow quietly. You don't want to get lost, do you? And don't swear, especially when talking about the Chancellor." the nervous mother reprimanded her son while trying to check how much the line had moved.

"Come on Ma. There is nothing to worry about. There are so many heroes who work for the Chancellor. Everything will be all right." The boy reassured his mother with nonchalance.

A voice interrupted the conversation between the mother and son, "How is Doom's massive ego so charismatic? Maybe I should start referring to myself in the third person too?"

When the two looked up they saw a well-known menace of a hero hovering above them in some kind of levitating platform. "Fear not Maam, Deadpool is here. Deadpool will fight for all the milfs on the planet."

At some points, heroes had begun to arrive everywhere to calm the public and aid in the evacuation process. It was also a strategic decision for the Federation to deploy the heroes starting from the most densely populated cities since they would be the prime targets.

The mother awkwardly thanked Deadpool who was posing weirdly, "Thank you, sir."

On the other hand, the boy shouted at the menace, "Go away, clown. We don't need you."

Just as the mother was trying to scold her son and cover his mouth out of fear, a gruff voice was heard, "Good job kid. But focus on the evacuation."

Wolverine appeared on another levitating platform and dragged Deadpool away while the mercenary continued to grumble about something or the other.

...

In the sanctum sanctorum of the Kamar-Taj, Stephen Strange's astral projection was drifting through the dimensions following the source of his magic to reach the Vishanti. After passing through many dimensions, he stopped abruptly in a magical dimension where three floating heads were observing him.

Two of them were similar to humans but the third was a tiger. They were the Vishanti, the three elder gods who were responsible for the creation of the Kamar-Taj and protection of the Earth.

In between the sparkling orange magical lights, the tiger headed Hoggoth spoke first, "We know why you have come in search for us Strange. We are aware of the situation."

The female head, Oshtur continued, "We will provide all the support for the upcoming war and will try to actively keep the other dimensional lords from entering Earth."

The last male head, Agomotto the son of Oshtur, added, "Go back and prepare for the invasion. I will manage the magic output from my end so fight without worries. Good luck Sorcerer Supreme."

Strange was expelled back into his body from the dimension and snapped his eyes open with magic overflowing from them.

"Sorcerers, get ready for battle. All the branches are to be prepared for large-scale spells. Mirror dimensions and shields should be at the ready for all the places where evacuation isn't possible. The Vishanti are with us, don't embarrass yourself and the sanctum by making clumsy mistakes."

"Yeah!" All the sorcerers shouted out loud in excitement. It was the greatest honor for them to be able to fight alongside the three deity figures.

On the other hand, Atri and some of the sages were deep inside the Earth's crust, singing some kind of hymn. Their words turned into magic and disappeared into the Earth. After a few lines, a ripple went through the crust, signaling some kind of change.

The sages all bowed in the same direction when a greenish-blue light flashed and an extremely beautiful woman clad in a flowing green and blue dress appeared out of it. The green looked like flowers and leaves that constantly changed, while the blue seemed to be a flowing river.

"You are the seven kids from back then. You have grown older, I see. How long has it been? And why have you come to wake me up, my children?" The woman spoke to the sages lovingly like a mother talking to her young kids.

"Thank you for remembering us. It has been four centuries Mother Gaia. We didn't mean to bother you but your sibling elder gods are trying to invade the planet and attack humanity. We need your help in expelling them." Atri explained humbly with his head down.

Gaia's eyes flashed with blue and green lights as she looked up. After a few seconds, she sighed. "So many things have changed. The children managed to destroy a lot of nature and once again learned to be in harmony with it. But the elder gods remain the same."

Gaia turned to look at the seven old men. They hadn't aged much physically, but she could see their essence, they had lived a long time when compared to most humans and become much older. They were witnesses to human progress.

"I am very happy about the progress of humanity. I don't want my children to suffer at the hands of my siblings either. Although I have lost a lot of my powers, I can still help protect my children. You can go back and join the other children." Gaia gave her permission.

Back on the surface, Atri could see massive columns of rainbow colors. Asgard had come to support Earth in the war.

Earth was quickly recruiting allies everywhere while Savant and Doom were playing tug of war at the opening of the dimensional gate to stall for more time. But they couldn't stop the invasion for much longer. It was finally beginning.

***********

Author here, had a little scheduling problem.