Within the Apple Ch15A

Chapter 15

Junkyard, Sunnydale California

Wednesday Addams watched the sun as it set over the sea with a distasteful expression on her face. She didn’t like California much, it was too cheery a place for her taste. Too warm, too inviting. Sunnydale was, if anything, even worse than most of the state in that regard, but at least it had the excuse of being a trap baited with honey, and the underbelly of the town was much more pleasant to her way of thinking.

She had to wait for nightfall, however, before any of the more interesting denizens showed themselves, which made for long days as she looked over the projects that Alexander had left in his wake after the encounter with the Hell Goddess, Glorificus.

That Alexander had, by all accounts, either killed or banished the bitch to the ether was yet another feat in his growing legend that she found herself rather taken by.

He had come so far from the little gawky eleven year old she had met so many years earlier.

Now, if he would only get home where he belongs.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar, and welcome, sound. She got up smoothly and walked, unhurried, across the room to pick up the Spellphone where it rested on the nearby desk.

“Alexander.”

“Wens,” Xander smiled back at her from the screen of the device. “Lovely to see you as always.”

She merely stared for a moment, lips pursed, “May I assume that you’re calling to inform me that you’re ready to make the next jump?”

Xander grimaced, shaking his head slightly, “Got a problem there.”

“Alexander…”

“Not my doing,” Xander defended himself. “Some local extradimensional horror has turned this section of the multiverse into his own little playground. Looks like a Hotel California situation. I’ve got Myx looking into it, and will call in some favors, but for now I can’t get out.”

Wednesday glowered for a moment before relenting, “Have you identified the horror in question? The Clan knows several…”

“None I’m familiar with, but I haven’t seen it yet either,” Xander confessed. “Just one of it’s tools. An eleven foot tall bitch pretending to be an Angel, apparently likes twisting people’s minds and using them like suicide bombers. Helps that she’s apparently a pre-cog.”

Wednesday hummed, “Disturbing.”

Of all the things that the Clan despised, mind control of any kind was among those that topped the list. Violations of free will were the one unforgiveable crime in the eyes of the Addamses.

“She’s one three, at the moment,” Xander went on. “City destroyers. The local defenders do what they can, but they lose a quarter of their forces just to push them back, and I’m pretty convinced that they’re allowing themselves to be pushed back.”

“That would be unsustainable,” Wednesday said, “What of the local Pantheons?”

“No sign of them.”

Wednesday nodded, “Give me your coordinates.”

*****

Batcave

Batman turned just slightly as a familiar, yet rarely heard, sound reached his ears.

He crossed the rough hewn floor of the cave to retrieve the magical device and snapped it open.

“What is it?” he snapped, looking into the face of the man on the other side of the conversation.

“Ran into a concerning situation,” Alexander Magus said in clipped terms.

“Details.”

*****

Four Freedoms Plaza, Formerly Avengers Tower, Formerly Stark Tower

“Hey stretch! The magic gizmo is buzzing.”

Reed Richards looked up from his work, then casually reached his arm out over twenty feet to pick up the device he’d forgotten was even in the room. Returning to his research, Reed casually flipped the device open and spoke without looking at it.

“What is it, Magus? I expected you to be home by now.”

“So did I,” Magus told him. “ran into something concerning, and I seem to be stuck here.”

“Stuck?” Reed looked up and over, “Stuck how?”

“Cthuloid horror has apparently warded off an entire branch of creation with metaphysical wards. You can get into this universe, but you can’t get out.”

Reed paused, then carefully put all of his research into a point where he could safely pause it. Magus said nothing while he worked, which he always appreciated from the other man, and when Reed was done he looked back over seriously.

“I’ll be requiring details.”

“I’ll give you what I can, but I want you to bring Strange in on this.”

Reed grimaced, “Magic…”

“What’s my name, Stretch?”

*****

Brockton Bay

Xander closed his spellphone with a click and looked out over the ocean beyond the bayhead, considering what he knew and what he didn’t.

He couldn’t ask any of his friends to come into this universe as it stood. With the sorts of powers being thrown around, he wouldn’t even be comfortable asking Superman for help. The enemy here was using something so close to magic that Xander wasn’t certain it wouldn’t affect Superman just as it would a normal human, or close enough to be lethal.

That said, alerting them to the threat was a requirement.

The likes of Wayne Enterprises, the Justice League, Reed Richards, and Stephen Strange would be able to find out a hell of a lot without showing up in person.

In the meantime, however, he supposed he would just have to keep poking around… well, that and train his cute little apprentice.

*****