It all seemed like a good idea at the time. So motivated to chase down the creature that escaped from its containment. To find Zatanna in the House of Mystery before the house changed ownership. Having a brief discussion with the first human murderer in their recorded history. That is right, human murderer. Super-Naturals had been on the Earth just as long if not longer then humans. If they came from the christian god, another world, or another dimension not even the oldest of the super-naturals knew. Lash had run down the surface of the cliff for the past hour but had the distinct impression that the cliff simply grew to accommodate him. Like a treadmill.

“Fuck it! Dawn pause the world and let me log out for a moment. I am sure this is all story so it won't continue with out me.” Lash said as the world slowed down then froze. He felt the distinct sensation of being pulled out of his own body, flew through the atmosphere, past the black box towards the stars above.

Erik opened his eyes in a pitch black room and looked around. He swapped out his dirty cloths, took a shower. When Erik stepped out of the shower he looked at himself in the mirror and saw a different person who looked back at him. He had lost nearly fifty pounds in five days, and gained muscle definition. He put on some now loose cloths and went to his kitchen to have a simple meal, he looked at his apartment window to see the sun setting. It was 5:00 pm on Tuesday, if he timed it right he could use the store in the Dream Engine when he came back. Erik had until this coming Sunday to play as much as he liked. Then he would be going back to work, it didn't mean he'd stop he'd just have to for time between. Maybe that would be a good thing. Let the soft progression skip through time a bit. Ding!

Erik gobbled down his meal, took another three daily vitamin pills and had several glasses of water. He went to his computer and logged on to his account for the Dream Engine forum. He filled out a questionnaire about his current health, mental stability, and reality. The system said he was perfectly healthy and ready to keep gaming. Oddly enough they didn't want him to fill out a report only to sign off on his engine being watched which he was fine with. Then he jumped onto the forums and scrolled through the different postings.

VERSION UPDATE. !RIFTS!

Rifts were essentially the dungeons or instanced area's of the Dream. They would be used in the single player version as testing but would be placed primarily in the multiplayer, and MMO version of the Dream. The situation was rather chaotic in itself. Thanks to the dozens if not hundreds of speedsters in the world thanks to the VI avatars running around be it good ones or bad ones they would break the barrier between the different worlds and jump realities. Because there were so many speedsters doing this the fabric of reality became frayed or torn. This would create 'Rifts' that open up into separate realities. These Rifts would be a dungeon of sorts, the Users would have to jump into the Rifts find a object or person and bring it back through the Rift to close it. The Rifts were treated like alternate time lines that were a closed bubble in time? Not actual separate realities like you see in the comics. So Erik assumed that when the Meta-humans started to develop more the Rifts would start to appear as well. Great just another thing to put on his plate.

MULTIPLAYER

Certain Beta testers had been selected to start using the multiplayer version of the game. This version you had to be selected by the Developers. Basically it was like this, every User had their own generated Dream World. When you reached a certain stage in your own single User Dream it would allow for alternate reality jumping. Once you reach that stage the idea of people coming from different realities is capable. Happened all the time in DC comics. So once your world developed Rifts, you could have invite other Users, or go to another Users generated Dream World. Their is even a chance of letting people sign off or on for 'Invasions' from another reality. Erik had to admit invading a alternate reality tickled him. He'd have to talk to Dawn when he logged in about it.

Erik spent some time to look through the different posts. He answered a few private messages about his VI avatar. That was something he hadn't known, when ever you get a new skill, spell, ability, etc in your Dream your VI avatar updates. This meant two things, if the User died early then their VI avatar of their deceased version in other peoples games will never grow. They still stay what ever rank they were and abilities. But if you continue to use the same generated character then that VI avatar continues to update. So Warden Lash Saurian were Assassin/Combat Medics in a lot of peoples worlds. In fact he had killed dozens of Users who went the villain path. So he received a lot of hate messages and people asking advice on how to deal with his Avatar. Erik didn't know if he should laugh or cry. So he just marked them as read. Answered a few messages with vague concepts of loyalty, honesty, and the fact that he would stay in-character. Lash never said he obtained a new skill or got experience out loud. Not like Dia Nyx, she did that all the time in Tartarus. Erik also made sure not to reveal his mundane identity. A lot of people asked what that was. He refused to answer, that would just ruin the fun.

Erik logged off the forum, turned off his computer and laid across his bed. He took a deep breath and let the Cube pull him back into his Dream. Erik opened his eyes to find a beautiful woman with fiery red hair laying down across a beach chair with a yellow sun floating above her. She had a string bikini on and it excited the eyes when she turned to look at him. Dawn rolled to her side and smiled, she pulled her sunglasses off to reveal a pair of dazzling green eyes. Erik walked across the black room took a knee and kissed Dawn. Much to her surprise as her eyes went wide, when Erik pushed his tongue into her mouth she moaned with pleasure as her eyes fluttered closed. She ran her fingers over his neck and pulled him in. Erik and Dawn kissed each other for a solid minute before Dawn pushed him away with a coy smile.

“Well nice to see you as well, User.” Dawn said as she sat up on the beach chair.

She waved her hand and another beach chair appeared pointing in the opposite direction so Erik could sit down and face her. He took the invitation and rested under the yellow sun in the grand universe around them. Dawn leaned back against the beach chair and put her sun glasses back on. Her breasts bounced with the movement and she smiled when Erik watched her.

“Its 8:00 pm so the store is open would you like to see the store catalog before you go down?” Dawn asked, as she grabbed a bottle of sun tan lotion and massaged the oil into her skin. Erik knew she was doing it simply for him and he didn't stop her.

“Yes please...” Erik said as he continued to watch Dawn apply sun tan lotion to her chest, abdomen, and legs. She exaggerated the movements and made it slow and showy. Once she finished the book materialized on Erik's lap.

“Before I look through this. I read the Version update about Rifts, as well as possible Invasions from alternate worlds?” Erik said with a smile as Dawn sat up and tied her hair back which made her chest bounce with movement. She continued to have a little smile on her face but never admonished him for staring at her.

“Yes, Rifts are part of every generated Dream. Unless the User specifically declines that option. Unlike other world changes Rifts are something that can be changed at any time with in the black room. You have not been selected for the multiplayer Beta test because you are among the five hundred Beta Testers who have continued to live with their first avatar.” Dawn settled back down against the chair, she reached out a hand for a drink that materialized. Erik waited for her to finish as she wrapped her tongue around the straw in an exaggerated manner.

“However, you can opt in to the 'Invasions' unlike the others the invasion will not be carried about by other Users. Just their VI avatar. Because of who you are we assumed that you would not openly attack another alternate reality. Maybe you can do that with your next avatar. Would you like to opt in for the Avatar VI alternate reality Invasions?” Dawn asked then took another pull from her drink.

“Yes please, I think it will be a great way to develop my generated Dream world.” Erik said with a smile because he knew what came next. Dawn didn't disappoint as she looked at him and said in a bedroom voice.

Congratulations User! You've obtained an Achievement: 'Future's End'. You can adapt to another dimension, alternate reality, and time-line 10% faster. When ever you visit, or when another visits you. You will be granted a small information brief on it.

Some confetti exploded in the air, along with a few stars in the ocean of blackness exploded into supernova's for fanfare. Erik smiled at the show but mostly kept his eyes on Dawn as she settled back down on the beach chair. She sipped her drink and went back to sunbathing. Erik continued to watch her for a bit longer then went to open the shopping catalog. He looked at his Dream Point total... He had a ten points! 10 DP! That is right he knew that would happen. It had been a long time via the Dream plus he had done a lot in the Dream. But ten points was a lot. He didn't have to spend them all though. He could save them.

“Dawn is there a way to buy a store coupon? Or maybe decrease the amount of time I need to wait between shopping trips?” Erik asked...The pages started to flip towards another section with a wave of Dawn's hands.

He could buy a store coupon for two DP. Or he could buy a twelve hour limit for five points, ah! He even found a DP credit card that allowed him to buy over his limit. It would just automatically pay out as he earned! He stayed away from the credit card for now but did buy the twelve hour limit. So it would be 8:00 am next time he could buy from the store. It would be eighty four days in the Dream before he could access the store again. Or he could log out and wait, but he had to work in the Dream to earn DP. Dilemma! Now he had five DP to spend.

“Dawn may I please see my Rank Status it's been a while.” Erik asked, Dawn raised her manicured hand and snapped her finger.

Name: Erik Lash, Partner Saurian. Wraith.

Title: God-Kin, (Title Consolidation Detected)

Origin: Magic. Sub-Origin: Alien

Rank: C

Skills: See tool tip.

Domains: See tool tip.

Racial Trait/Power: See tool tip.

Description: You are a powerhouse that doesn't know the limit of their abilities. How can you discover them? You have to keep pushing yourself. You still have a long way to go, and not a lot of time to do it in. The world is changing and as a hunter you must adapt with it or die.

Skills: Advance Weapon Master, Advance Martial Arts, Material Shaping, Shape Shift (Saurian), Minor Acting, Magical Perception, Beast Speak, Sensory Awareness (10 meters), Minor Other Worldly Lore, Spatial Item Shifting, Soul Bite, Dream Eater, Artist, Dungeon Delver, Advanced Enchanting, True Body (2%), Advanced Regeneration, Intermediate Damage Resistance, Calm Emotions, Intermediate Transformation, Intermediate Commanding Presence, Nullification, Intimidating Shout, Minor Skill Trainer, Intermediate Administration, Night Eye, Minor Magic Tracking, Advanced Crafting, Advanced Cooking, Intermediate Storage (10 pounds and below money, wallet, and keys), Intermediate Computers, Parkour, Sherogoth's Punishment, Rallying Call, Foresight, Basic Medicine, Size Alteration, Intermediate Natural Energy Absorption, Intermediate Pack Bond (25 miles/ 30%), Intermediate Telepathy (25 miles/ Language, and Location), Intermediate Danger Sense, Advanced Charming Presence, Minor Team Work, Basic Science, Cosmic Awareness (97% energy drain), Language Smith, Intermediate Energy Manipulation, Basic Super Human Stamina, Minor Criminal Underworld Lore, Insight, Observant Learner, Basic Sex, Intermediate Parallel Minds, Operator, Military Special Operations, Animal Riding, Meditation, Stealth, Minor True Damage (5%), Farming, Plant Control, Machine Control, Super Human Strength, Super Human Intellect.

Racial Trait: Basic Adaptation, Minor Gravity Control (20%), Glamour/ Fae Pure Blood, Awaken Trait, Daemonic Heritage: Knight.

Nature Domain: Minor Sooth, Minor Nature's Supplement, Daylight, Root of Information, Essence Imbuement, Burning, Decomposition, Minor Chameleon, Minor Nature's Passage, Entanglement, Restoration, Earth Swim, Minor Mud Marsh, Minor Nature's Kiss, Curse Break, Growth, Proximity Release, Soul Heal, Animal Eye, Minor Call Lighting, Tree Stride, Regrowth.

Technomancy Domain: Repair, Recycle, Minor Connectivity, Minor Alteration, Proximity Release, Minor Compression Transformation, Minor Virtual Intelligence (2 Tech-Spirits).

Synthesis Domain: Renew, Immaculate, Proximity Release.

Grave Domain: Lingering, Kiss of the Grave, Unburden, Judgment, Proximity Release, Soul Heal, Consecrate, Death Ward.

Transmutation Domain: Falling Glide, Minor Cat's Grace, Minor Fabrication, Panacea, Restore Youth, Reincarnation, Enlarge/Reduce.

Illusion Domain: Phantasm, False Life, Silence, Invisibility, Manifestation (Saurus Warrior), Disillusion, Compulsion.

Rebirth Domain: Soul Absorption.

Trickery Domain: Bending.

Erik frowned at Synthesis he had it for a long time but barely touched the unique Domain. The more he used it the more he would get from it. He'd have to think about it. He pushed his Rank Status away. Even after all this time he had only gone up a single grade value. Erik decided to spend one DP to bring his Rank value to C+, then spend two DP to break into B-. He expected a bit of fan fare and when he didn't he looked at Dawn who had a small smile on her face.

“You'll need to be in the Dream for it to take effect. It will also be gradual effect over a few weeks with in Dream time. You'll notice the difference don't worry. Be aware that doing this means you have out leveled the next month of Dream events. Just don't let it go to your head.” Dawn said after she took another sip of her drink.

“Most of my blood is rushing to another part of my anatomy right now.” Erik said as he watched Dawn. She laughed a little which caused her chest to bounce up and down.

Erik read through the book for a while longer. He typed into the search engine for recommended things to buy, then went to the unconventional section as well. He found two skills that were not recommended but several Users had purchased them and left notes in the book. Oh ya! That was new, people had left User remarks on skills, abilities, powers, spells, etc.

Skill/Power, Retrocognition: The ability to look at or learn past knowledge about a place, object, or being. Allowing the User to learn things that happened in the past like it was a movie to be watched, paused, sped forward, or rewound. The further you go back and the more detailed it is the more energy it takes. This skill/power needs to be activated, grows with use.

Comments: Those that do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it in the future. Though I don't think they meant this.

You've purchased a sub-section for an existing skill. Minor Skill Trainer has changed into Minor Skill/Power Trainer: Now you can train people in powers as well as print them into a person.

Sub-Effect: Watching people with powers allows you to learn about them. Please Note that doesn't mean you obtain them yourself, just means you understand how they work and can help them improve it as well.

So now Erik could learn about the past of people, places, and things. He also became a class trainer in a better sense of the word. Under the skill/power trainer was another sub-skill he could buy, spell domains. If he bought that next time he literally become a class trainer. As well as his VI Avatar. He placed it under his favorites for next time. So he would buy it as soon as the store came open again if he had DP to spend that is. Erik closed the store catalog and with out asking Dawn produced the Time Line Application.

“Thank you.” Erik replied, Dawn softly hummed at him.

Though he had paused the world before he logged out there was still a lot going on in the world that he didn't know about. He looked through the relevant information and found a few key points that he was surprised he could read about. John Constantine had been found by the Wardens, he was classified as an Occultist with possible magic in his blood. Which meant he was an unregistered super-natural being. Basically he was a lot like Lizzy in he had become a creature of magic. It should have killed him, but it didn't. He was an outlier to the super-natural community. Kara Zor-El's ship had successfully transitioned into the solar system, it would be another week before her ship came to Earth. About a month behind her was Fort Rozz the Alien prison ship. General Zod was little more then a year behind them. There were a lot of aliens and meta-aliens on the prison ship. Nuidis Vulko of Atlantis had discovered the scroll of King Atlan and was in the process of transferring it over to Mera, and Arthur. Last but not least, Human First the terrorist organization had obtained their first meta-human. Great.

Erik closed the application stood up as he did so the beach chair disappeared behind him. He took one last look at Dawn who gave him an idle wave and went back to resting. Erik leaned over her and kissed her softly on the cheek she raised a hand up and caressed his cheek affectionately. He stood up and walked towards the edge only to hear her voice before he left.

“You should visit Li'Ana before you go help Arthur. She misses you!” Dawn said. Erik paused for a moment and agreed with her. He then stepped off the edge and flew towards the Earth.

He never grew tired of this 'loading screen' as he flew into the upper atmosphere of Earth. He raced passed clouds, zipped over cities, flew towards the ground and dove through it like it was the surface of a giant pool. He soon found himself in the House of Mystery as he reconnected with his body that was attached to a cliffs edge. Lash opened his eyes as the world began to speed back up to regular time. Then a wealth of power bubbled up from the very depths of his being, it was his mind, body, and soul transitioning between C....to C+....to B-. He could feel that it would take time to complete. But even now he was stronger then he was before.

Lash activated Minor Magic Tracking and felt his senses expand far further than he had felt before. Then his Illusion Domain activated and he cast Disillusion he slammed his fist into the ground and the darkness in front of him shattered like a pane of glass. He could see the floor a few feet in front of him. He jumped off the cliff wall and deactivated Gravity Stride he oriented himself in the air like a cat would and landed on his feet.

The bottom of the chasm was a cold, dark, and moist stone floor with moss the covered here and there and the trickle of underground water going from direction to another. This was all contained with in the House of Mystery. He wasn't in some cave system in Nevada but inside a magical house. He went to his knees and inhaled. As he did this he used Transformation and turned into his were-lizard hybrid. Though he could fight in his default human form a lot of the power came from his Shape Shifting he'd have to wait a few hours before he could swap to Saurian. The big guy was still resting.

He skipped out on the Wraith disguise since he was doing a super-natural quest line. He looked a lot like a Saurus Warrior with his forest green scales, immature skull crest, shout snout, long muscular tail, raptor talons, and claws. All of which was contained with in his Warden/Daemonic armor. He had still continued to produce Nth metal every day soon he would have enough to fully customize both sets of gear. Maybe he would use Synthesis for it this time, a mixture of organic and technology would be nice to have. Bio-Mechanical armor maybe?

Lash caught the scent of the caster and raced through the clammy cavern system. He used Basic Adaptation and adjusted his body form to move on all fours. His joints shifted, as his bones moved into position he felt like a organic transformer, in a lot of ways he was. He began to speed up as he ran through the cavern system. Then from the darkness a thing jumped and tried to attach to his face, a segmented tail wrapped around his neck, then spider like legs tried to wrap his face. He sent an electrical charge through the thing as it screeched in pain and acidic blood sprayed across Lash's face? Intermediate Damage Resistance sent him a prompt but acid was not something new to him. The damage was more of an irritation than anything. Lash nailed the thing to the ground with a Fabrication spike.

“You have to be fucking kidding me! Is that a fucking facehugger!” Lash screamed at the Alien xenomorph who continued to try and run from him.

“Dawn! My Brightest Star! Why is there a Facehugger in this world?” Lash called out, frantic to figure this out.

“Hello User! As you know DC Comics have partnered with several different Comics over the decades. Dark Horse Comics where the Xemomorphs are created have been in DC spin offs many times. Because of this you will sometimes see creatures, places, objects that would not normally be found in DC in your world. However, they are exceptionally rare!” Dawn replied with an exceptionally enthusiastic reply.

“Great.... Like the world wasn't scary enough as it was. Thank you my Brightest Star!” Lash said as he looked at the facehugger continue to struggle.

“You are welcome, User! Good luck!” Dawn replied.

“Hay! I am going to pull this out. If you promise not to try that again I'll heal you. Deal?” Lash pointed at the xenomorph. He used his long lost skill Beast Speak the facehugger stop struggling as a wave of images and emotions passed through to him.

Lash pulled the spike out and dismissed it. The facehugged sprung to life but didn't run or try to attack him. True to his word Lash cast Nature's Kiss on the facehugger. The wound closed rapidly and all that was left was a visible scar that would soon fade to begin with. The xenomorph turned to look at him and sent images to him. Lash saw a mental image of it ridding on him but not impregnating him. Lash extended his hand and the facehugger scuttled up and settled on his shoulder like a giant spider.

“Alright, let us see if we can find your original home or maybe your Queen. I don't think you are suppose to be in The House of Mystery.” Lash said as he dropped to all fours again and went for a run.

Lash and the little facehugger became odd traveling companions for the next two hours. The little spider sent him images about the route it had taken. Sure enough it had slipped through a crack, or tear in reality. At least that was what Lash thought when he saw the image. Lash didn't want to destroy the little guy because he understood what it was like to be out of place, time, and life. He came around a corner and found the tear in reality. Three Drones, and one Warrior stood by the rift, when he came into sight they propelled themselves towards like a loosed arrow from its string. Lash could feel their confusion coming off in waves. They could come through the tear but not go back. Lash raised his hand up and sent images of friend, safety, and help. The Xenomorphs all stopped in their tracks and sent him an array of information.

The tear in reality had opened smack dab in their Queen's chambers. The tear had destroyed half the nest and anything in the initial formation had turned to dust. After about ten minutes of quick imagery communication the drones stood off to the side while the warrior was with in tail striking distance. Lash cast his Trickery Domain spell Bending and bent the tear to go the other way, after about an hour of work the tear snapped into place and it went from blow to suck! Lash along with all the xenomorphs were pulled back into the hatchery.

The drones, warrior, facehugger, and Lash flopped into the massive cave system with thousands of unhatched eggs and hundreds of full grown Xenomorphs who were all surprised to see something come out of the tear in reality. Lash quickly jumped to his feet and looked around at the impossible numbers. His little friend quickly jumped back to his shoulder and stayed content to just sit there. Because along the wall was a massive secreted resin that glued and stabilized a massive egg sac. Attached to his egg sac was the brood mother, the alien queen. A pulse of psychic energy went through the massive cave structure as the Queen moved its massive head to look at Lash.

“What are you?” The Queen called out to Lash. Damage Resistance sent a prompt to him that he just received a massive psychic attack. Lash gritted his teeth and willed himself not to fall to his knees.

“A predator much like yourself. I found your children on the other side of the hole. The hole is one way now and will not allow any more of your kin to go through it. With your permission I will leave and close the hole.” Lash said to the Queen. Though he didn't take a knee he did bow his head. The Queen seem to deliberate on the subject for a moment.

“What....Do you offer in return?” The Queen asked, another psychic wave attacked Lash. His Damage Resistance spiked again. If he fell here he would become another host, that may be what the Queen had in mind.

“You constantly strive for perfection, but the one issue you have is you need outside assistance to survive. What if I can give you a way to self propagate?” Lash replied. The Queen pulled its lips back to expose its fangs. But it gave Lash the impression that the Queen smiled at him.

“How?” The Queen asked, this time the psychic wave didn't hurt him. Lash sent an image to all the xenomorpsh to allow him to walk towards the Queen. Many of them screeched in protest but the Queen silenced them all and gestured him to come forward.

Lash stepped through the egg sac, many of them opened up at his intrusion but with a screech and an overpowering pheromone that filled the room all the facehuggers became docile. Like when someone blows cigarette smoke onto a spider that is contained in a glass. Lash came before the Queen, he held up his hands towards her. The Queen's mandibles dripped saliva to the ground as it pushed its head down. Its royal crest unfurled like a cobra's hood. Lash pressed his clawed hands onto the Queens head and used his racial trait.

Awaken Trait, Self Propagate: The Alien Queen now has the ability to pass on the genetic marker into the rest of its children to Propagate. When a facehugger is born it will follow its usual method of birthing. However, if the facehugger can not find a suitable host it will use its existing genetic material to cocoon and change into a Xenomorph.

Additional Effect: The Queen can choose to make a Xenomorph with no facehugger application as long as it understands the DNA structure.

Awaken Trait, Consumption Evolution: The Queen, and the Brood from now on can eat nearly anything and when they eat something useful they can adapt it to their unique physiology to make themselves better.

Lash finished the exchange of information and stood before the Queen as it digested what had just happened. Then the Queen reared its massive head and let out a screech of delight that the whole hive took part in. A massive psychic wave spread through the cavern system. After a few minutes the screech died down and the Queen leaned forward further than it had too and brushed against Lash like a giant cat would. It affectionately rubbed against him then sent him an image in request. Lash agreed and put his hand inside the Queen's mouth. She bit down ever so gently until a bit of his blood fell into her mouth. She swallowed it quickly and released his hand.

“You are my consort now. Return to your world with my thanks and love.” The Queen's voice was oddly seductive, it made Lash shiver in pleasure as he felt the psychic wave wash over him.

Congratulations User! You've obtain the Xenomorph Queen's Blessing!

Effect: Basic Adaptation has evolved into Intermediate Adaptation.

Effect: You've obtain the Racial Trait. Self-Sustenance: You can now survive in the harshest environments. Works in conjunction with Intermediate Natural Energy Absorption.

Lash smiled and bowed in thanks. He gently pulled off the facehugger that had been attached to him. The little thing was confused it seem to think that it would travel with Lash from now on. After a minute of explanation its whole body seem to droop in depression. As a last goodbye Lash used Awaken Trait and selected the Praetorian trait into the little thing. Lash noticed the Queen didn't have one. So he told the Queen about it, she assured him that it would find a host suitable for it. Lash put the facehugger on the Queen. He went back to the Rift and used Bending and went through the hole then spent the next hour slowly sealing the tear. Then with an audible POP! The tear in reality seale-->>

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