Good news, everyone! (set after everyone has rested from plot and slowed their collective roll)

[googledox]

[Brainy went to the Medbay and to see Dr. Ryk'rr for his post-mission debrief, as ordered. Standard procedure. But he hasn't slept. Of course he hasn't slept. He's been very, very busy. Especially since this is something that he couldn't find information about alone -- he's been putting in calls all night to countless other scientists in countless other institutions and government organizations.]

I checked four-hundred fifty different survey programs, run by various institutions and government organizations, and according to the most recent remote surveys that have estimated the size of the material universe, most data indicates that this universe is the same estimated size that it was when last assayed.

Except for every probe that has passed by a particular, distant, uninhabited sector of the Milky Way Galaxy.

Every single data compilation from every probe that passed through that sector has registered the existence of unexplained chronal and spatial anomalies, and that readings in that area indicate that the material universe is now at a size that is unquantifiably larger. It's as if this universe now simply has no end, even when its overall mass was once at a generally estimable size before.

In this sector, the fabric of spacetime is also twisted in configurations that the fabric of reality shouldn't even be capable of contorting into according to all known laws of astrophysics.

Every one of these organizations and institutions dismissed these anomalous readings as statistical outliers or equipment malfunctions. Due the probes often having long-distance sweeps that sometimes take them years or months to complete, it's only within the last few months that they started running diagnostics on their respective probes and start contacting other organizations to compare results. Since they had yet to determine a cause for such clearly impossible readings, they hadn't yet escalated notice of these readings to the appropriate authorities.

[Brainy draws in a deep breath.]

In layman's terms, something has attached itself to that sector of the galaxy. Something that has a mass larger than the entirety of this universe. Larger than the entire mass of multiple universes.

I've instructed the UP Council to bar all space travel to the area and plan to send my own probe to gather readings on the region, but as of this moment, I can say with almost 99.999% certainty, after seeing the readings I saw, that the Time Trapper was telling the truth.

There is no other possible explanation.

Comments

[nerdninja]

[ At least one person had no problem following the sciencebabble. ]

So it's not the Spiders Georg of astrophysics after all. Got it.

How soon will we have data from your own probe?

[googledox]

Within the week, but if you and any other technologically-inclined Legionnaires assist me, we can likely bring that time down to mere days.

[nerdninja]

Then you have my sword.

Well. Bo staff.

[headinjuries]

I thought space was supposed to be endless.

[ HAS EVERYONE BEEN LYING ]

[googledox]

It's not. While that size can continually increase if a universe is currently in a state of expansion, universes do have an end. They have boundaries. That's why a multiverse is possible. If a single universe was truly infinite, we wouldn't be having this conversation, because one of us wouldn't exist.

[whyarewehere]

I'm starting to miss the part of my life where magic timetravelling dudes weren't the only possible explanation for things.

[googledox]

Technically, the Time Trapper isn't the explanation, he's the one that explained the explanation.

Also technically, the gargantuan, cosmic, multiversal Devourer Worm isn't really the only possible explanation -- just the one that's the most probable.

[deafleppard]

I miss the days when all I had to worry about was paying rent and being on time for my minimum-wage job!

[ringslinging]

Welcome to cosmic superheroing, try not to let yourself get evicted.

[iamresponding]

Preaching to the choir, sister.

S'crazy to think that once upon a time -- all I had to worry about -- was making sure I didn't leave the fries in the oil too long.

[fourstars]

... No pressure though.

[googledox]

[Good job, Gohan, you've made him almost smile. At least a little.]

No pressure at all.

[deafleppard]

Yeah, we totally got this.

[iamresponding]

Brainy, you say all that like this -- is gonna be hard.

[He's breathing. That's an important thing to be said. He's breathing. After that embolism had put him back under the knife of the surgical droid while they were all fighting Galactus, he'd stopped breathing for a little while, until they'd gotten his breathing started again.]

[Rich breathes heavily now, still having trouble catching his breath, even with the oxygen he's getting through the nasal cannula. The medicos suggested he go back into one of the healing tanks, but he fussed enough to keep them from doing it. So he's in his Medbay bed, breathing hard, a little pale but getting some color back, right on that knife's edge of probably needing to be in a tank, but almooost okay enough not to be.]

[His hair's also a total mess but what can you do?]

Hey, so. I just got caught up. Watched all the footage. The news drones caught some -- pretty flattering video on everyone, by the by. And I saw the recording. Of the thing with the Time Trapper. Saw that, too.

[He's caught up enough to understand what Brainy's message means.]

I know everyone's probably thinking -- and not wanting to really say it: "The whole multiverse. How the hell -- are we gonna pull that off? Saving everything?" So, this is your probably-once-daily reminder -- that we don't have to save -- every universe ever. We just have to save the one. This one.

And one's doable. I've seen it done. More than once. I've done it.

[The corner of his lips quirk up a little.]

You guys beat Galactus. While the, uh, resident Galactus "expert" -- [he holds up quotey fingers] --was down for the count.

You did what the Avengers -- the Fantastic Four -- and what I couldn't do at full power. You got him evicted from the goddamn universe.

[He gives them a big stupid grin.]

So, like I said. Once daily reminder: We got this. [He draws a deep breath to catch his breath. Then he looks irate,] Also, what the hell -- kinda eldritch horror -- is a worm anyway? A worm. Cosmic death engines. Or tentacles. I get that. But a worm? Come. On.

What is that?

[ringslinging]

Hey, I don't know about your neck of the woods, but bugs in this universe can be pretty nasty.

[ Hal has a lot of Opinions about hideous space bugs, okay. ]

Good to see you didn't croak on us.

[headinjuries]

You slept through all the good stuff, dude.

[ Translated from teenager: oh thank god you're alive. ]

[whyarewehere]

Hey. First things first:

I fucking told you it was stupid and you didn't listen to me.

[ Priorities. Grif's glad he isn't dead, though. ]

[kingtyrantranger]

You guys really make me miss the days when my biggest worry was whether or not I'd have to peel Bulk and Skull away from someone at the juice bar.

[thethinzooline]

Get this: there was once a time in my life where I sold popsicles.

Popsicles. That was what I did. It was at a ridiculous mark up, usually after hustling someone else into paying for the base product, but: popsicles.

Now... [He waves his paws wildly and a little angrily] Now this. My life is this. Whatever this is!

[legionnpcs]

I know I haven't talked to many of you beyond asking you to join the Legion and letting you know my door is open if you need anything. I've always felt that my role with the Legion has just been being free with my wallet and quietly letting it do what it does best.

But by damn, after yesterday, if now's not the time to say something I don't know what is.

The Legion has always been a symbol of the dream of the United Planets, a group of sentients that were all different species, from all different worlds, working together for the greater good. There have been times that dream almost died -- usually after painful losses that were hard to come back from.

The one the team suffered a little over a year ago was one of them.

Seeing you all come together the way you did yesterday, people from all different species and worlds, even from different universes, trying your best to save a world that isn't your own -- it made it clearer than ever that that dream is still alive and well.

Whatever comes next, whatever threats you have to face because of this Chronoblivion, you're true Legionnaires. Already. Even those of you that are brand new. I know you'll see it through.

[googledox]

[Brainy sits at his lab table in the Science Labs, facing the viewscreen and leans his head against his hand. He looks a little less grim now, but both eyebrows raise.]

Mmm. Well.

I suppose there really is only one thing that can be said in the face of impossible odds against an impossible enemy attempting to cause the total obliteration of spacetime and the cessation of all life in the multiverse:

[The corners of his mouth quirk up ever so slightly.]

Long live the Legion.

[got_gud]

And here I thought I personally experienced every possible way to die horribly back home.

Good to know my stay in this world will continue to be a learning experience.

[Apparently snark is a thing even in Lordran]

The logistics of fighting such a foe are beyond me, but I am willing to help train our more novice Legionnaires in the art of combat, should it prove useful.

[iamresponding]

Same.

Honestly, I think we're gonna need to double down on the training. All of us with more experience should work together. See if we can't offer all we can to people with less.

[notwithoutafight]

Not to rain on this parade even further, but weren't we supposed to recapture that Spectre guy?

[captainbuzzkill]

When we freed him, we found a way to do it! But we have to find the magical artifact that was used to trap him first.