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Description
*THERE IS A STORY BELOW THE DESCRIPTION, THE START OF A BIG ONE*

I have been working toward this for the longest time.

Back when I first started to actually gain OC's (and to continuously add on to the pile), I was somewhat afraid and anxious that I'd try to go forth with a lot of storylines, handling too many for each one of them. It was a real thing to me, being aware that I wouldn't be able to stop myself, that I'd just go ahead and go for complex storylines...and I did. And it was quite okay. Then something happened as I saw that I could connect a few of them, that there might be some possibilities here and that I could seize them, make them mine and really show some ambition.

And thus I decided to do a crossover/event (yes, kind of like those in comics) with my characters and their tales, converging a lot of them together for a certain epic overtone.

A lot of parts has already been written, though I'm going to pace myself here and give you all the time to read and digest what happens in each chapter. Many artists with whom I've worked or that I've commissioned are going to draw preview illustrations, with this one being actually done by my regular collaborator and friend Gameboyred . I asked for many versions of Laura Azoulay (much like this one drawn by Sue Chan herself ) with a wilder approach to it. Here we have some pretty cool and sexy other variants of this rather well-liked character of mine...as for why it starts with this pic, well you'll have to find out for yourself by reading the tale below.

Of course, before I start, I would be remiss not to state that Gameboyred does take commissions:

And that I have a Patreon full of free material which you can check out, some of which isn't on DA: www.patreon.com/incredibleintr…

Or that if you wanna get up to speed real quick, you can check out tales in this journal: PreparationsHi everyone!It has been quite a while since I last wrote a journal entry, but this thing I've been preparing for does warrant some warning and build-up. While I do not want to oversell and over-hype the work I am doing, I have been planning something for some time now and I think it is high-time I go on and actually lay the groundwork in plainer terms.There's a big storyline upcoming, and I would like for people who enjoy my work, particularly my colorful cast of characters, to be prepared. As such, I will link here past stories of mine that will prove to be useful, that will give out hints as to what's soon to arrive.,,,,,,While the illustrations are most assuredly fun/sexy to look at, it's really the stories that people should be aware of, as some patterns and elements shall converge eventually. I will also say that not all characters involved in this are in these stories and illustrations, so those who paid attention and enjoyed past original tales shall see some payoffs much more quickly than they realize.That is all. I hope this might provide some interest. ;)

Now that this is done, go forth and check the introduction to this grand tale of mine...One called...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THE DJINNPOCALYPSE - PROLOGUE

John really wasn't in his element at all right now.

He was a super hero, Prime being his title and pride when saving innocents and fighting evil. He was supposed to be able to adapt himself to most situations, his powers able to adjust themselves accordingly given what he had gone through. Punching an evil planet, immobilizing a malevolent tornado made out of plasma, keeping reality together with sheer strength and will...he had done a great many deeds and yet this immediate situation, this predicament he was in was a little too much for him because there was perhaps one element which nobody could possibly train him for: mental health. Not that he was turning insane, but it was hard to maintain a charitable, good-willed or even neutral façade when the one who lied, manipulated, humiliated and did possibly worse revealed herself to you and then made you go with her to save the Multiverse...alongside multiple copies of not only yourself, but herself as well.

It was like an action figure commercial, the same set yet complete with different outfits and various differences. Cowboy and cowgirl, geisha and samurai, two barbarians, space adventurers, scary mutants and monsters, medieval, ancestral, mystical...all the adjectives and variants were there, including one where he apparently was a snake charmer and she was the snake. While other versions of himself did happen in some team-ups and adventures, it was witnessing different alterations of her which made this difficult as in all these other ways to be depicted...they were together. He was furious against her, feeling violated and angry, disappointed, internally destroyed and yet also somewhat a touch hopeful too, that last sentiment making things worse as this meant that he could go lower. He kept to himself, obviously having a hard time right now as he repeated to himself something he continued to repeat beneath his breath ever since they arrived here.

“Laura Azoulay...was the Sumptuous Shadow all along.”

The woman he had been dating, loving, dreaming of perhaps building a life with her, diminishing his super hero activities for her, revealing his secrets in a grand moment of vulnerability and affection...only for her to actually be aware of everything. From the start. She had toyed with him and for what? Kicks? A good laugh? Was it even genuine? He did agree to join her in what seemed like an earnest mission to save their own version of existence alongside countless others, his super hero side unable to refuse such a calling, yet as a man he felt diminished and silly, stupid and disabused. There just wasn't any way to emotionally process all of this right now, everything made worse by repeated visions of the woman who played him for a fool.

“You seem rather down...While I will not insult your integrity and make this situation seem banal, perhaps you might want to have a conversation about all of this?” A man said, arriving on the spot as he sat beside John in this floating palace both he and Laura arrived in, this lair dedicated apparently to amass others like him and her, all garbed up in the most opulent and exotic flair like the Arabian Nights as imagined by billionaires. Looking up, John saw that it was a Laura, yet a masculine and decidedly pretty boy version of her, complete with the revelatory fashion sense, a male belly dancer with sash, bedlah pants, open vest and the same white and gold palette upon brown skin, only his hair was shorter. “We went looking for you, but apparently Laura understood the importance of our plea and she did the work for us. How do you feel, John? Is it your first time seeing different variants of your being?”

“No...no it's really not. I do not mean to sound impolite...but I'm not sure you're exactly the person I'd wish to talk to currently,” John said, his good manners getting in the way of being perhaps a touch more direct in his desire to be left alone by this person, especially given that his gaze seemed to ever drift toward his midriff for some reason. It did the same with all of them, a very large quantities of Laura's baring theirs to always respect the whole “baladi” vibes they had going on. “I just had the revelation that Laura was the culprit I've been chasing for years...and I think she's toyed with my heart and feelings and it's...not a very good sentiment.”

“Ah, yes...Well, you got the whole cat-and-mouse vibe in Universe-3, so that was to be expected. A shame she had to reveal this at a very critical time...but I suppose it couldn't be helped if you were to join us,” the man said, crossing his legs over another, his demeanor a little more aloof and feminine that John could expect, doing so to cover his own exposed abdomen which made it easier for John to focus. “Allow me to introduce myself: I am Laurent Azoulay and I am a super hero in my universe, partner and husband to John King, someone you know very well given that he's another you. I know it's a lot to take in...but I fear we don't have much time for pleasantries.”

John had indeed noticed that none had taken the time to given him some form of explanation, any condensed and summarized report of what was going on. There was indeed a sense of hurry in general, very few stopping to actually notice him save for Laurent. Not quite disturbed by what this male version of Laura had said, the Multiverse being indeed quite wild and playful by nature, there did seem to be a pattern of Laura and John being linked somehow, so a super-hero duo, married at that, was a distinct possibility. “Well...I suppose I must be pretty much like your husband, then? Is that why you went to, I don't know...console me?” John said, sounding a little more bitter than he should, something he noticed as he winced and then tried to correct this instant. “Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind, as you obviously could tell.”

“Oh, believe me I know. My John is pretty much exactly like you. Too serious, empathic to an extreme, always concerned by others, lost in his head, never one to take good care of himself...that's why I'm here, you know? I'm the fun, sexy one who brings him down to earth in a sense...and I feel Laura was trying to do the same with you,” Laurent said, venturing into territories this conversation shouldn't direct itself toward, yet he was a bold one indeed, his thin smile a testament to that. “I'm here because they took my John, he fell to their hand, to this army that is claiming universes, taking whatever they want and then moving on conquest after conquest. He wasn't nearly as strong as you are, though, thus why we needed you...and Laura as well.”

It felt a little shallow to think this, yet John couldn't quite understand why they'd need Laura in the first place. He knew for a fact that he was stronger, more versatile and more accomplished than her...yet he couldn't deny that she ever managed to escape him in the past, through means unknown. “This threat that you're preparing for...What is it exactly?” John asked, prepared for just about anything, from killer psychic snails traveling through cosmic trails to the mechanical empire of Geartronz, the titan tyrant. He had indeed faced more than a few threats of this amplitude, after all, and he had survived, so why the need for so many and why him especially? “And how come I'm so important. The way you're speaking, I'm instrumental to any possible victory.”

“The Sultana knows the nature of the Prime energy and each versions of you is attuned to it...yet none seems to be able to deploy it like you do, courtesy of Laura herself,” Laurent began to explain, answering the second question before the first, which did annoy John a bit though he was too polite to point it out. “I used the same technique as her to enhance my own version of John, doing so in a pleasant and..perhaps a touch intimate way, yet I don't know how she managed to make her own technique that much more potent with you. It's really quite incredible what you've managed to achieve with her help, really.”

“What do you mean?” John asked, not quite certain what he was talking about as Laura never joined him during the many crisis and world-threatening problems he had to face. He was mostly acting alone these days in Morrison city when he wasn't out there facing challenges fit, as some journalists said, “for the gods”.

“Why, hypnosis of course. Since your power is derived from belief and focus, we use that technique to allow complete concentration and-” Laurent began to explain, yet one glance at John told him that he had made a serious mistake, with so many versions of Sumptuous Shadow and Prime out-there that he couldn't keep track of everything and everyone...including those whose relationship with mesmerism and trances were open or still secretive. “John, you have to understand that-”

He couldn't listen, not anymore. He was especially furious, a rage kept-in for the sake of appearance as everything concorded now, all could be connected and explained through that simple word alone: hypnosis. She was in control, always had been and now she was still using him, her boy toy, her servant. Of course he couldn't catch her, because she simply wouldn't let him, the chase eternal because it was just make-believe to her. Perhaps their relationship was but a pretext to further enthrall him...he felt used, dirty and being amongst version of her disturbed, disgusted him as when he couldn't help but stare at navels, he figured this was her handiwork too. A fetishist by her hand, made to be meek and servile. Anger controlling his own actions, he would have a serious talk with her...

Right now.

* * *

Laura felt terrible about all of this.

Her hand had been forced as this whole situation to the Multiverse had to be dealt with and she couldn't just go on and make John come here without spilling the beans. Her hand had been forced and the moment he came here he barely listened to the sitrep and avoided her...and she couldn't quite blame him. As good as her intentions were, as amazing as the results had been for them both, it was still all under false pretense and he was right to want to be alone right now. Their relationship would never be the same after this, perhaps it would even be over...but she couldn't prize that over simply everything else as she stared into an open window that left her with quite the sight: the cosmic nebulas and dripping of colors akin to special rainbows that composed the edge between universes. It was beautiful, a true marvel to behold and yet it did not distract her from her problems.

“Come on, sugar...let's get on with that meeting, yeah? Now that we got ourselves a big gun, we can shoot out whatever's the problem and we can all go our merry way,” a cowgirl version of herself said, a few taps on her shoulders as Laura followed that decidedly different version of hers in both manners and look...albeit the bare midriff and long braid were mainstays it seemed.

She could solve her own troubles after all of this, she thought, trying to get her head in the game as this was the reality that John ever had to deal with. So many lives to save, time being of the essence, everything mattering...no wonder he was so anxious and unable to relax without her help, she thought, trying to give herself a little credit yet it did her no good as everyone in the large throne room was accompanied with a version of John...except her. The Sultana sitting beside King John Prime, a regal-looking paragon if his armor and stance were to be believed, gazed at everyone as Laura expected there to be hundreds if not thousands of version of John and her...not merely three dozens at best.

“As you all know, it is critical that we take the initiative here. Far too many of our numbers have been converted to the enemy while the ranks of the dark being we confront only grows stronger still. We do have one sliver of hope, though,” this ruler version of herself spoke, charisma and authority exuding from this turban-wearing, opulently-dressed and gorgeous version of herself. She was a Sultana alright, the one who started it all as everyone listened intently to her, a captive of her words and message, her voice carrying a special weight that even Laura herself couldn't deny. “The duo of Universe-3 is here now, those who have vanquished evils and threats of which even all of us combined would never have been able to vanquish, much less confront. Laura Azoulay and John King of Universe-3...would you stand up for us all to witness our possible saviors?”

She stood alone, for John wasn't here. All those relationships in front of her were perhaps healthy...or even perfect, yet hers with John was possibly broken beyond repair. She put on a brave face, but with an humble and humiliated stance to go along with it. She felt weak, intimidated as she didn't have the strong bonds that they seemingly all shared, just the manipulation with good intents and results that nevertheless couldn't end in anything but tragedy as she cleared her throat in order to speak...only for the sight of John, her own by the looks of it, arriving in the room with his eyes blazing brightly. He had figured things out...and the time had come to apologize, explain and hope to god that she wouldn't end up a wreck by the end, either physically or emotionally.

“Ah, Prime of Universe-3, we were just talking about you...might you be so kind as to explain how you two did it so that we may understand?” the Sultana spoke, only fueling this anger in John as he advanced toward Laura and gave her a glare that silently said a thousand insults, yet held back a million more.

“It is simple, your highness...” he said, a little form of spite in his voice at the mention of that honorific as many were taken aback by the brash and disrespectful tone that John used. For Laura, this was nightmare, her own mistakes being compared to better, more adjusted versions of herself as if to really pinpoint what she did wrong as she tried to carry on, to take it all as it came...yet it proved extremely arduous. “It was because I was a puppet, unaware of my actions, made to be a slave, it seems...”

Chatters came in, glances thrown at Laura as she knew quite well that hypnosis ran in her many iterations...yet such manners to employ it, not many dared to go forth with. She couldn't face the crowd, staring at the window instead in order to distract her, a foolish yet logical notion as she noticed something disturbing: the colors were gone. The hues and shades of brightness were instead replaced by something else, a void-like goop of dark and purple, complete with glowing purple runes that swirled around and around. “W-what's this?” Laura asked, saying it as loudly as she could as everyone's attention turned to the windows...only for an eerie silence charged in terror to fill the room.

“She's found us...”

“All is lost!”

“To battle, everyone. We mustn't let her win without a fight!”

They all knew of the actual threat, while both John and herself were but new arrivals in this place as even John went on to gaze at this unnatural pattern, this invasion of darkness in the deep and cosmic beauty of the edge of many realities. It was, however, the Sultana herself which spoke aloud the name of the threat, the one that had been alluded to ever since Laurent and Lora had been inside her apartment to warn her.

“Sahira is here...”

Two bright yellow eyes, piercing and deep despite their lack of irises, appeared in gigantic form, many large and clawed hands of gold and jewels tore through the fabric of universes as within that abyss were launched a great many soldiers floating toward the palace, bubbles of white and gold popping up, sending spiral-shaped mist toward their bastion anchored in the space between realities. The sight of this was terror for all, John and Laura too as while they didn't know the nature of that threat, nor the powers they had to confront, there was indeed something terrible to behold in front of them.

An army of themselves.

There were a great many Laura's out there, each of them sporting a tail made of smoke, rubies on their forehead and their eyes bright. Each of them were accompanied by void-shapes which seemed to be akin in color and composition than the great and tenebrous Sahira, only smaller and more masculine. Some of John's traits could be seen here, detailed even with the ruby on their foreheads and the bright eyes too as there were far, far too many of them. Outnumbered, obviously outmatched, the sheer aura that exuded from the scene was made far worse as the palace began to crumble and a few of the windows were obstructed by something slippery and full of scales...blue and black ones to be precise. Laura had an hunch about just what it was, the colossal serpentine body keeping on wrapping itself up, crushing their stronghold with impunity and strength as its face could be seen prying into each of them...a great cobra of black and blue with an unmistakable divine aura about him.

“She got the Cobra God too...” Laura whispered beneath her breath, panic beginning to overtake her as this was the very worst situation she had been stuck in, not even the world-ending threats that her John had taken care of being comparable as she had never been in the middle of the action like this. She remembered her encounter with that divine serpent, his power rather grand as he had been able to somehow subdue both herself and John before the conditioning of the later kicked in and made him save her. His eyes were bright too, another ruby lodged in his forehead, sticking out as he was obviously at the beck and call of this Sahira, whoever she was, certainly not recognizing a descendant of his friend Naylee, the Hypnodjinn. As Laura saw the ceiling and floor start to get bent and crushed, its destruction imminent, she caught a glimpse of another horrible vision as there was another large figure in the distance, a blue-skinned woman whom she recognized as she too had the same affliction of a red gemstone inserted in her head, sticking out and making her look possessed as the aforementioned Naylee was a captive of this malevolent force too...dancing in a way that was exquisite and very eye-catching too. “No...this can't be happening...I...”

Her words died in her throat, the dance of her ancestor too wonderful to behold, occupying her thoughts progressively as she shut down everything else. The glimmer of gold, the strangely appealing motions being exquisite to the eye as she snapped out of it because of the stone and marble of the palace collapsing against the floor as she steeled herself and observed a great many terrors. Naylee was pulling many of her counterpart toward her, them being carried over as they laid entranced, unaware of everything in a dash of hypnotic wonder. There, a few of them began to get absorbed into lamps, each copies of them all with a dark design, void-like colors and swirling runes as the Sultana herself was the first to get corrupted. Other John's went on to then get hypnotized by various djinn-like apparitions of her as they were then brainwashed by navel kisses, then covered in the same goop as their radiance was shut down, turned into soldiers as the Cobra God, Naylee and the other Shadows were all enslaved. Her turn would assuredly come as a few of those unaffected began to create a swirl portal to escape...yet the Cobra God's tail crushed all in its path, deftly coiling around them as they were snatched, leaving their exit still viable and yet unused. She was about to get caught too...Until her John intervened and punched the incoming tail away.

It happened so fast, music of allure and yet sinister intent filling in as they began to pervade their mind, seducing them into complacency and submission, yet both held steadfast because they were caught in the proximity of one another. John gave her a glance that was not filled with hatred, spite or anything of the sort...but instead a certain warmth wrapped in fear. A silent apology...or perhaps simply a truce and a more earnest craving for things to get sorted out. Such an event was the catalyst for some honesty which couldn't be communicated as John then grabbed Laura, his determination clear in his eyes as he spun and then tossed her through the portal, saving her life for the moment as many figures converged toward him.

And the portal closed as Laura tumbled through the Multiverse toward an unknown destination...

Description
*THERE IS A STORY BELOW THE DESCRIPTION, THE START OF A BIG ONE*

I have been working toward this for the longest time.

Back when I first started to actually gain OC's (and to continuously add on to the pile), I was somewhat afraid and anxious that I'd try to go forth with a lot of storylines, handling too many for each one of them. It was a real thing to me, being aware that I wouldn't be able to stop myself, that I'd just go ahead and go for complex storylines...and I did. And it was quite okay. Then something happened as I saw that I could connect a few of them, that there might be some possibilities here and that I could seize them, make them mine and really show some ambition.

And thus I decided to do a crossover/event (yes, kind of like those in comics) with my characters and their tales, converging a lot of them together for a certain epic overtone.

A lot of parts has already been written, though I'm going to pace myself here and give you all the time to read and digest what happens in each chapter. Many artists with whom I've worked or that I've commissioned are going to draw preview illustrations, with this one being actually done by my regular collaborator and friend Gameboyred . I asked for many versions of Laura Azoulay (much like this one drawn by Sue Chan herself ) with a wilder approach to it. Here we have some pretty cool and sexy other variants of this rather well-liked character of mine...as for why it starts with this pic, well you'll have to find out for yourself by reading the tale below.

Of course, before I start, I would be remiss not to state that Gameboyred does take commissions:

And that I have a Patreon full of free material which you can check out, some of which isn't on DA: www.patreon.com/incredibleintr…

Or that if you wanna get up to speed real quick, you can check out tales in this journal: PreparationsHi everyone!It has been quite a while since I last wrote a journal entry, but this thing I've been preparing for does warrant some warning and build-up. While I do not want to oversell and over-hype the work I am doing, I have been planning something for some time now and I think it is high-time I go on and actually lay the groundwork in plainer terms.There's a big storyline upcoming, and I would like for people who enjoy my work, particularly my colorful cast of characters, to be prepared. As such, I will link here past stories of mine that will prove to be useful, that will give out hints as to what's soon to arrive.,,,,,,While the illustrations are most assuredly fun/sexy to look at, it's really the stories that people should be aware of, as some patterns and elements shall converge eventually. I will also say that not all characters involved in this are in these stories and illustrations, so those who paid attention and enjoyed past original tales shall see some payoffs much more quickly than they realize.That is all. I hope this might provide some interest. ;)

Now that this is done, go forth and check the introduction to this grand tale of mine...One called...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

THE DJINNPOCALYPSE - PROLOGUE

John really wasn't in his element at all right now.

He was a super hero, Prime being his title and pride when saving innocents and fighting evil. He was supposed to be able to adapt himself to most situations, his powers able to adjust themselves accordingly given what he had gone through. Punching an evil planet, immobilizing a malevolent tornado made out of plasma, keeping reality together with sheer strength and will...he had done a great many deeds and yet this immediate situation, this predicament he was in was a little too much for him because there was perhaps one element which nobody could possibly train him for: mental health. Not that he was turning insane, but it was hard to maintain a charitable, good-willed or even neutral façade when the one who lied, manipulated, humiliated and did possibly worse revealed herself to you and then made you go with her to save the Multiverse...alongside multiple copies of not only yourself, but herself as well.

It was like an action figure commercial, the same set yet complete with different outfits and various differences. Cowboy and cowgirl, geisha and samurai, two barbarians, space adventurers, scary mutants and monsters, medieval, ancestral, mystical...all the adjectives and variants were there, including one where he apparently was a snake charmer and she was the snake. While other versions of himself did happen in some team-ups and adventures, it was witnessing different alterations of her which made this difficult as in all these other ways to be depicted...they were together. He was furious against her, feeling violated and angry, disappointed, internally destroyed and yet also somewhat a touch hopeful too, that last sentiment making things worse as this meant that he could go lower. He kept to himself, obviously having a hard time right now as he repeated to himself something he continued to repeat beneath his breath ever since they arrived here.

“Laura Azoulay...was the Sumptuous Shadow all along.”

The woman he had been dating, loving, dreaming of perhaps building a life with her, diminishing his super hero activities for her, revealing his secrets in a grand moment of vulnerability and affection...only for her to actually be aware of everything. From the start. She had toyed with him and for what? Kicks? A good laugh? Was it even genuine? He did agree to join her in what seemed like an earnest mission to save their own version of existence alongside countless others, his super hero side unable to refuse such a calling, yet as a man he felt diminished and silly, stupid and disabused. There just wasn't any way to emotionally process all of this right now, everything made worse by repeated visions of the woman who played him for a fool.

“You seem rather down...While I will not insult your integrity and make this situation seem banal, perhaps you might want to have a conversation about all of this?” A man said, arriving on the spot as he sat beside John in this floating palace both he and Laura arrived in, this lair dedicated apparently to amass others like him and her, all garbed up in the most opulent and exotic flair like the Arabian Nights as imagined by billionaires. Looking up, John saw that it was a Laura, yet a masculine and decidedly pretty boy version of her, complete with the revelatory fashion sense, a male belly dancer with sash, bedlah pants, open vest and the same white and gold palette upon brown skin, only his hair was shorter. “We went looking for you, but apparently Laura understood the importance of our plea and she did the work for us. How do you feel, John? Is it your first time seeing different variants of your being?”

“No...no it's really not. I do not mean to sound impolite...but I'm not sure you're exactly the person I'd wish to talk to currently,” John said, his good manners getting in the way of being perhaps a touch more direct in his desire to be left alone by this person, especially given that his gaze seemed to ever drift toward his midriff for some reason. It did the same with all of them, a very large quantities of Laura's baring theirs to always respect the whole “baladi” vibes they had going on. “I just had the revelation that Laura was the culprit I've been chasing for years...and I think she's toyed with my heart and feelings and it's...not a very good sentiment.”

“Ah, yes...Well, you got the whole cat-and-mouse vibe in Universe-3, so that was to be expected. A shame she had to reveal this at a very critical time...but I suppose it couldn't be helped if you were to join us,” the man said, crossing his legs over another, his demeanor a little more aloof and feminine that John could expect, doing so to cover his own exposed abdomen which made it easier for John to focus. “Allow me to introduce myself: I am Laurent Azoulay and I am a super hero in my universe, partner and husband to John King, someone you know very well given that he's another you. I know it's a lot to take in...but I fear we don't have much time for pleasantries.”

John had indeed noticed that none had taken the time to given him some form of explanation, any condensed and summarized report of what was going on. There was indeed a sense of hurry in general, very few stopping to actually notice him save for Laurent. Not quite disturbed by what this male version of Laura had said, the Multiverse being indeed quite wild and playful by nature, there did seem to be a pattern of Laura and John being linked somehow, so a super-hero duo, married at that, was a distinct possibility. “Well...I suppose I must be pretty much like your husband, then? Is that why you went to, I don't know...console me?” John said, sounding a little more bitter than he should, something he noticed as he winced and then tried to correct this instant. “Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind, as you obviously could tell.”

“Oh, believe me I know. My John is pretty much exactly like you. Too serious, empathic to an extreme, always concerned by others, lost in his head, never one to take good care of himself...that's why I'm here, you know? I'm the fun, sexy one who brings him down to earth in a sense...and I feel Laura was trying to do the same with you,” Laurent said, venturing into territories this conversation shouldn't direct itself toward, yet he was a bold one indeed, his thin smile a testament to that. “I'm here because they took my John, he fell to their hand, to this army that is claiming universes, taking whatever they want and then moving on conquest after conquest. He wasn't nearly as strong as you are, though, thus why we needed you...and Laura as well.”

It felt a little shallow to think this, yet John couldn't quite understand why they'd need Laura in the first place. He knew for a fact that he was stronger, more versatile and more accomplished than her...yet he couldn't deny that she ever managed to escape him in the past, through means unknown. “This threat that you're preparing for...What is it exactly?” John asked, prepared for just about anything, from killer psychic snails traveling through cosmic trails to the mechanical empire of Geartronz, the titan tyrant. He had indeed faced more than a few threats of this amplitude, after all, and he had survived, so why the need for so many and why him especially? “And how come I'm so important. The way you're speaking, I'm instrumental to any possible victory.”

“The Sultana knows the nature of the Prime energy and each versions of you is attuned to it...yet none seems to be able to deploy it like you do, courtesy of Laura herself,” Laurent began to explain, answering the second question before the first, which did annoy John a bit though he was too polite to point it out. “I used the same technique as her to enhance my own version of John, doing so in a pleasant and..perhaps a touch intimate way, yet I don't know how she managed to make her own technique that much more potent with you. It's really quite incredible what you've managed to achieve with her help, really.”

“What do you mean?” John asked, not quite certain what he was talking about as Laura never joined him during the many crisis and world-threatening problems he had to face. He was mostly acting alone these days in Morrison city when he wasn't out there facing challenges fit, as some journalists said, “for the gods”.

“Why, hypnosis of course. Since your power is derived from belief and focus, we use that technique to allow complete concentration and-” Laurent began to explain, yet one glance at John told him that he had made a serious mistake, with so many versions of Sumptuous Shadow and Prime out-there that he couldn't keep track of everything and everyone...including those whose relationship with mesmerism and trances were open or still secretive. “John, you have to understand that-”

He couldn't listen, not anymore. He was especially furious, a rage kept-in for the sake of appearance as everything concorded now, all could be connected and explained through that simple word alone: hypnosis. She was in control, always had been and now she was still using him, her boy toy, her servant. Of course he couldn't catch her, because she simply wouldn't let him, the chase eternal because it was just make-believe to her. Perhaps their relationship was but a pretext to further enthrall him...he felt used, dirty and being amongst version of her disturbed, disgusted him as when he couldn't help but stare at navels, he figured this was her handiwork too. A fetishist by her hand, made to be meek and servile. Anger controlling his own actions, he would have a serious talk with her...

Right now.

* * *

Laura felt terrible about all of this.

Her hand had been forced as this whole situation to the Multiverse had to be dealt with and she couldn't just go on and make John come here without spilling the beans. Her hand had been forced and the moment he came here he barely listened to the sitrep and avoided her...and she couldn't quite blame him. As good as her intentions were, as amazing as the results had been for them both, it was still all under false pretense and he was right to want to be alone right now. Their relationship would never be the same after this, perhaps it would even be over...but she couldn't prize that over simply everything else as she stared into an open window that left her with quite the sight: the cosmic nebulas and dripping of colors akin to special rainbows that composed the edge between universes. It was beautiful, a true marvel to behold and yet it did not distract her from her problems.

“Come on, sugar...let's get on with that meeting, yeah? Now that we got ourselves a big gun, we can shoot out whatever's the problem and we can all go our merry way,” a cowgirl version of herself said, a few taps on her shoulders as Laura followed that decidedly different version of hers in both manners and look...albeit the bare midriff and long braid were mainstays it seemed.

She could solve her own troubles after all of this, she thought, trying to get her head in the game as this was the reality that John ever had to deal with. So many lives to save, time being of the essence, everything mattering...no wonder he was so anxious and unable to relax without her help, she thought, trying to give herself a little credit yet it did her no good as everyone in the large throne room was accompanied with a version of John...except her. The Sultana sitting beside King John Prime, a regal-looking paragon if his armor and stance were to be believed, gazed at everyone as Laura expected there to be hundreds if not thousands of version of John and her...not merely three dozens at best.

“As you all know, it is critical that we take the initiative here. Far too many of our numbers have been converted to the enemy while the ranks of the dark being we confront only grows stronger still. We do have one sliver of hope, though,” this ruler version of herself spoke, charisma and authority exuding from this turban-wearing, opulently-dressed and gorgeous version of herself. She was a Sultana alright, the one who started it all as everyone listened intently to her, a captive of her words and message, her voice carrying a special weight that even Laura herself couldn't deny. “The duo of Universe-3 is here now, those who have vanquished evils and threats of which even all of us combined would never have been able to vanquish, much less confront. Laura Azoulay and John King of Universe-3...would you stand up for us all to witness our possible saviors?”

She stood alone, for John wasn't here. All those relationships in front of her were perhaps healthy...or even perfect, yet hers with John was possibly broken beyond repair. She put on a brave face, but with an humble and humiliated stance to go along with it. She felt weak, intimidated as she didn't have the strong bonds that they seemingly all shared, just the manipulation with good intents and results that nevertheless couldn't end in anything but tragedy as she cleared her throat in order to speak...only for the sight of John, her own by the looks of it, arriving in the room with his eyes blazing brightly. He had figured things out...and the time had come to apologize, explain and hope to god that she wouldn't end up a wreck by the end, either physically or emotionally.

“Ah, Prime of Universe-3, we were just talking about you...might you be so kind as to explain how you two did it so that we may understand?” the Sultana spoke, only fueling this anger in John as he advanced toward Laura and gave her a glare that silently said a thousand insults, yet held back a million more.

“It is simple, your highness...” he said, a little form of spite in his voice at the mention of that honorific as many were taken aback by the brash and disrespectful tone that John used. For Laura, this was nightmare, her own mistakes being compared to better, more adjusted versions of herself as if to really pinpoint what she did wrong as she tried to carry on, to take it all as it came...yet it proved extremely arduous. “It was because I was a puppet, unaware of my actions, made to be a slave, it seems...”

Chatters came in, glances thrown at Laura as she knew quite well that hypnosis ran in her many iterations...yet such manners to employ it, not many dared to go forth with. She couldn't face the crowd, staring at the window instead in order to distract her, a foolish yet logical notion as she noticed something disturbing: the colors were gone. The hues and shades of brightness were instead replaced by something else, a void-like goop of dark and purple, complete with glowing purple runes that swirled around and around. “W-what's this?” Laura asked, saying it as loudly as she could as everyone's attention turned to the windows...only for an eerie silence charged in terror to fill the room.

“She's found us...”

“All is lost!”

“To battle, everyone. We mustn't let her win without a fight!”

They all knew of the actual threat, while both John and herself were but new arrivals in this place as even John went on to gaze at this unnatural pattern, this invasion of darkness in the deep and cosmic beauty of the edge of many realities. It was, however, the Sultana herself which spoke aloud the name of the threat, the one that had been alluded to ever since Laurent and Lora had been inside her apartment to warn her.

“Sahira is here...”

Two bright yellow eyes, piercing and deep despite their lack of irises, appeared in gigantic form, many large and clawed hands of gold and jewels tore through the fabric of universes as within that abyss were launched a great many soldiers floating toward the palace, bubbles of white and gold popping up, sending spiral-shaped mist toward their bastion anchored in the space between realities. The sight of this was terror for all, John and Laura too as while they didn't know the nature of that threat, nor the powers they had to confront, there was indeed something terrible to behold in front of them.

An army of themselves.

There were a great many Laura's out there, each of them sporting a tail made of smoke, rubies on their forehead and their eyes bright. Each of them were accompanied by void-shapes which seemed to be akin in color and composition than the great and tenebrous Sahira, only smaller and more masculine. Some of John's traits could be seen here, detailed even with the ruby on their foreheads and the bright eyes too as there were far, far too many of them. Outnumbered, obviously outmatched, the sheer aura that exuded from the scene was made far worse as the palace began to crumble and a few of the windows were obstructed by something slippery and full of scales...blue and black ones to be precise. Laura had an hunch about just what it was, the colossal serpentine body keeping on wrapping itself up, crushing their stronghold with impunity and strength as its face could be seen prying into each of them...a great cobra of black and blue with an unmistakable divine aura about him.

“She got the Cobra God too...” Laura whispered beneath her breath, panic beginning to overtake her as this was the very worst situation she had been stuck in, not even the world-ending threats that her John had taken care of being comparable as she had never been in the middle of the action like this. She remembered her encounter with that divine serpent, his power rather grand as he had been able to somehow subdue both herself and John before the conditioning of the later kicked in and made him save her. His eyes were bright too, another ruby lodged in his forehead, sticking out as he was obviously at the beck and call of this Sahira, whoever she was, certainly not recognizing a descendant of his friend Naylee, the Hypnodjinn. As Laura saw the ceiling and floor start to get bent and crushed, its destruction imminent, she caught a glimpse of another horrible vision as there was another large figure in the distance, a blue-skinned woman whom she recognized as she too had the same affliction of a red gemstone inserted in her head, sticking out and making her look possessed as the aforementioned Naylee was a captive of this malevolent force too...dancing in a way that was exquisite and very eye-catching too. “No...this can't be happening...I...”

Her words died in her throat, the dance of her ancestor too wonderful to behold, occupying her thoughts progressively as she shut down everything else. The glimmer of gold, the strangely appealing motions being exquisite to the eye as she snapped out of it because of the stone and marble of the palace collapsing against the floor as she steeled herself and observed a great many terrors. Naylee was pulling many of her counterpart toward her, them being carried over as they laid entranced, unaware of everything in a dash of hypnotic wonder. There, a few of them began to get absorbed into lamps, each copies of them all with a dark design, void-like colors and swirling runes as the Sultana herself was the first to get corrupted. Other John's went on to then get hypnotized by various djinn-like apparitions of her as they were then brainwashed by navel kisses, then covered in the same goop as their radiance was shut down, turned into soldiers as the Cobra God, Naylee and the other Shadows were all enslaved. Her turn would assuredly come as a few of those unaffected began to create a swirl portal to escape...yet the Cobra God's tail crushed all in its path, deftly coiling around them as they were snatched, leaving their exit still viable and yet unused. She was about to get caught too...Until her John intervened and punched the incoming tail away.

It happened so fast, music of allure and yet sinister intent filling in as they began to pervade their mind, seducing them into complacency and submission, yet both held steadfast because they were caught in the proximity of one another. John gave her a glance that was not filled with hatred, spite or anything of the sort...but instead a certain warmth wrapped in fear. A silent apology...or perhaps simply a truce and a more earnest craving for things to get sorted out. Such an event was the catalyst for some honesty which couldn't be communicated as John then grabbed Laura, his determination clear in his eyes as he spun and then tossed her through the portal, saving her life for the moment as many figures converged toward him.

And the portal closed as Laura tumbled through the Multiverse toward an unknown destination...