Hello everyone! And welcome to the publicly requested Crossovers edition of the Literary Challenge! I know I'm about a day late, but that doesn't matter! Cause post to all your heart's content!


Everyone loves it when heroes team up together. It turns into an epic story a lot of the time. Will the heroes clash? Will they fight each other before realising they are on the same side? Do they underestimate the other's villain? Are there conflicts between the heroes? All this plus more!

Will you use 2 heroes of your own choosing? Or will your hero team up with another! Or will there be more?



now here are the rules! Let's get it on!

The rules may change from one to the other, but I'd like to give a quick recap each time. These may grow as we move on, so feel free to also give feedback!

* Each Challenge will run for two weeks. For 2 weeks we will sticky a subject and have at it.
* There are no right or wrong entries. If you write 500 words of 3000: Write what inspired you and what your thoughts on the topic are - with one tiny mention:
* Please heed the rest of the forums' rules when submitting your story!
* Each poster can have one entry per character. Feel free to edit you post however to fix typos, add stuff or remove stuff as you see fit during the next two weeks.
* After two weeks time, the thread will be locked and unstickied.
* We'll have two threads: One to post the stories, one to discuss the stories. *I will allow cross-linking between these two threads!!*

It was a beautiful day in Millenium City. The sun stood high and many of the good people of this great town were preparing for lunch. Except for those in a office building somewhere in Westside...

Dr. Pascal Kaufmann had rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt and loosened his tie, a clear tribute to the temperature in the bright and sterile looking office. He leaned over his desk and stared at the screen of his notebook with an expression somewhere between boredom and frustration. On the desk next to him his secretary Janine Golami stared at her own computer with equal amounts of demotivation. Behind them stood a large flipchart with several names on it: The Silvestri Family, The Vandaleur Clan, DEMON, The Circle of the Scarlet Moon. Dr. Kaufmann yawned and leaned back. After paperwork, research was one of those duties as the CEO of Kaufmann Inc. that he loathed most. He'd rather be out in the field, but it had been quiet the last days. Apparently even the supervillains lost any motivation in the perpetual heat of summer. He sighed.

"Clans of magical supervillains... Janine, brainstorming. What do we have?"

His secretary looked to him and sighed. Kaufmann quickly grabbed for a pack of cigarettes and looked away from her. She had loosened the first few buttons of her blouse.

"We have 98.6 F. Notice something?"

Kaufmann lit the cigarette and shook his head.

"I know what you're getting to, but we are gonna finish this."

Janine pondered for a moment, then turned back to her notebook. Kaufmann sighed and quietly smoked his cigarette. Suddenly Janine waved him over.

"Pascal... I've found something. About the Circle of the Scarlet Moon."

Kaufmann raised an eyebrow, stood up and slowly walked over to her desk. He looked over her shoulder interested, then stopped as the video started to play.

"JANINE! That's..."

"Look closer."

"I dont care, that's... Wait is that... Talisman?"

"Yep."

"So... That's the infamous tape?"

"Yep."

"Great. Listen we really dont have time for... WOAH! What the..."

"...that's impressive."

"Uh-huh... And that is... Okay... Is that a...?"

"Yep."

"That's..."

"...hot. Do you think that really works?"

"Only if you can fly."

"...can I borrow a jetpack from the armory?"

"No."

Suddenly the office door was opened forcefully and Janine and Kaufmann both reached for the mouse to close the video. Both of them crashed together and in the following struggle, Janine fell from her office chair with Kaufmann on top of her. The Kaufmann Inc. soldier in the door looked at the scene with a disbelieving expression: Kaufmann and Janine lying on the floor, Janine's blouse half opened and Kaufmann with a cigarette in his hand, while very naughty sounds came out of Janine's notebook. A second went by, then Kaufmann jumped up and straightened his shirt and tie.

"Shall I come back later, Doctor?"

"NO!"

Janine giggled.

"If you're into that you can stay."

The soldier looked confused from Kaufmann to Janine who stood up from the floor too, fixed her buttons and winked at him.

"What is it, Wilson?"

"We have a visitor, Doctor!"

"A visi... Then give him our office hours, but..."

"It seems to be VERY urgent, Doctor. The visitor insisted to speak to you personally!"

Kaufmann sighed.

"Alright, alright. I'll be donwstairs in a sec..."

The soldier nodded relieved and left. Kaufmann grabbed his coat and sunglasses and straightened his hair and checked his reflection in the metallic door.

"How do I look?"

"Like you want to sell stocks for Area 51."

Kaufmann rolled his eyes behind his shades and went out the door and downstairs to greet the visitor. As he took the last steps and looked into the lobby he stopped in his tracks with a disbelieving expression.

"You?"

"You"

Jane took off her visor just encase her host got a little paranoid.

Nice to see you

[She couldn't help stop smiling a little bit. The look on his face was priceless. According to what she has read on him he usually maintains composure. He certainly did in their tussle with destroyer.


I was hoping for your help with the current issues of demons staging to be heroes. Its sad to see demons degrade themselves. I was hoping you could help me get them into the villianous moods they need to be. Not only that but set some of these succubi on the straight path.

He seemed taken back

I thought heroes were supposed to stop evil not inspire it. Besides I'm a little busy

he looked back at his assistant she seemed to be sprucing herself up.

Your just like my friend. How about i get you a jet pack. will you help m?

She gave him semi cute look. She hoped her purple eyes would sway him.

Besides I'll pay you handsomely in cash.

He took this into consideration. His secretary seemed jealous as well.

Okay ill do it.

Jane jumped in the air with a excited woop. turning to the secretary

Don't worry he's not my type

Kaufmann sighed audibly.

"Ladies. Time out."

He turned to the heroine and pointed at Janine who leaned in the staircase with a lewd smile.

"I'm not... We are not... We're a professional company."

He turned around.

"Janine, prepare the paperwork, will you?"

The secretary grinned, winked at Jane as soon as Kaufmann turned his back to her and fromed "Go get him!" with her lips before disappearing up the staircase. Kaufmann then turned to the soldiers who were standing all over the lobby and staring at the commotion.

"And you... do... something!"

He turned to the waiting heroine and slicked his hair back.

"I'm sorry you had to witness this, Miss. I assure you that Kaufmann Inc. is a company where we put the highest value on professionalism AND discretion. We have vast experience in all sorts of operations, ranging from simple guard duties up to and including..."

4 hours later...

The sun still burned down from the sky as they arrived at the ruined apartment block in an outskirt of Millenium City. It was one of the thousands of spots in the city where the damage Dr. Destroyer did was still visible. The bleached walls of the ruins of the apartments seemed to flare in the heat and enclosed a just as ruined inner courtyard with what may have been a playground once. Kaufmann got out of the black sportscar, ran around the car and opened the door for Jane, who climbed out of it and looked around curiously.

"And this is the spot?"

"It is, Miss. If we're about to play grim antihero, we might as well go full circle."

Kaufmann laughed lightly, but quickly stopped when he saw that she was just staring at the sun with a pondering expression. Kaufmann sighed and opened the trunk of his car to retrieve his briefcase. In that moment several black vans arrived at the scene, much to Jane's surprise. Kaufmann smiled as his soldiers started to exit the vans, lugging equipment, starting to set up perimeters and starting to prepare the ambush. He was determined to prove the professionalism of his company and his men seemed to share his attitude. After all, having a heroine as a satisfied customer was indeed good publicity. The heroine looked at the sudden bustling around her curiously. Kaufmann stepped to her.

"You pay, we deliver."

30 minutes later...

The site was prepared and Kaufmann gave the last instructions to his soldiers, then turned to the waiting Jane. He had taken off his long coat in the heat and smiled.

"As you can see, everything is progressing as expected. The yard has been mined, the ruins have been prepared with traps as well, a stealth-field generator has been brought in and activated and my men are lying in wait."

"And what is this all about?"

Kaufmann opened his briefcase, pulled a folder out and gave it to the heroine. She looked through it with a raised eyebrow.

"The subject calls himself Brimstone. A class XIII demon, who appeared roughly four months ago and has been... playing hero ever since. I am completely sure that it is just an act, but of course nobody believes the CEO of a mercenary company. Bah..."

His voice seemed bitter at the last sentence and Jane looked up from the folder. Kaufmann lit a cigarette and politely stepped away before continuing.

"In any case, we will now discover the truth. All we need is the bait."

"All great, but how are we gonna ensure this Brimstone guy actually appears?"

Kaufmann pulled a small, unmarked perfume bottle from his briefcase. A light blue liquid was in it, through which the light shone beautifully.

"Succubus pheromones, Miss."

Jane looked at the bottle interested.

"Where do you get Succubus pheromones?"

Kaufmann smiled humorless.

"From Succubi."

In that moment another black van appeared at the scene with screeching tires. Kaufmann checked his watch.

"Perfectly on time."

The doors of the van opened and Kaufmann noticed Jane tensing for a second as four soldiers in typical VIPER uniforms jumped out of it. She quickly realxed as she saw Kaufmann greeting the soldiers and complimenting the costumes though. Two more people exited the van, one disguised as a Serpent Mage of VIPER and another one who wore torn everyday clothing and had been disguised with makeup to make him look bruised and beaten up. Kaufmann greeted everyone and turned to the 'victim'.

"Wilson, do you know your lines?"

"Of course, Doctor! 'Help me, help me! They will sacrifice me to Nama!' Hahaha!"

Kaufmann laughed too and turned back to the waiting Jane and smiled, then turned back to Wilson and took him to the side. He whispered to the surprised soldier.

"Listen Wilson... Our employer asked for you to be part of this operation... I think she's got the hots for you..."

"Really? Damnit... I look like..."

"Naw, you look okay. But you smell like... Ughh..."

"Damn heat. What am I gonna do now?"

"Here, take my cologne... Should make it better."

Kaufmann gave the soldier the bottle with the Succubus pheromones and waited until the soldier had sprayed himself with it, then took the bottle back.

"Hey, it tastes good! What is it?"

"...Eau de seduction."

"Thanks, Doctor!"

"No problem, Wilson."

Kaufmann watched with a smile as the soldier strutted past Jane with a grin, then joined his 'VIPER capturers' in the middle of the yard. Jane looked at him like he had lost his mind. Kaufmann walked back to the heroine.

"Everything is prepared, Miss. All we need to do now is wait. Please follow me, I have instructed my men to prepare an observation point with an excellent field of fire."

Jane followed Kaufmann to the field of fire. It was actually perfect for her. It was a natural rock formation that rose off the ground. She sat on the rocks and took out a hilt and rag.

"what are you doing"

Jane laughed and continued wiping the instrument.

if you want to know this is my bow and energy sword. Everything i have on me is in my belt.


how do you keep everything so small"

Kaufmanm asked. his curiosity actually made her laugh.

Huh so how does all your equipment fit in that belt"

now she was getting irritated. She hired Kaufmann to help her not interrogate her.

Listen Kaufmann I'm entitled to my own secrets just as you are. My tech is my creation thats all you need to know.

Six hours later

Jane wiped sweat of her brow. She knew it was going to be hot but she usually isn't phased by the heat. this was unnatural. Something wasn't right. Then she saw it.

"Kaufmann look out.!"

Kaufmann looked around. The rocks, or rather fallen slabs of concrete he and Jane had hidden behind provided a good view of the yard in front of them. The five Kaufmann Inc. soldiers who were dressed up like VIPER shouted and pointed into the sky, while their 'victim' was struggling to get off the pole they had tied him to.

"Oh, damn. That's not included in the fee."

A large swarm of small demonic creatures descended from the skies, each of them in a shade of red, with bat-like wings and not larger than a cat. They were shrieking, cackling and skittering down on the disguised soldiers in the yard, claws and fangs ready. With them a wave of heat washed over the ruined appartments, which Kaufmann had first thought was the sun, but as the demonic swarm descended, he realized that it couldn't be natural.

"Kaufmann! What's going on? Wasn't it supposed to...?"

"I know! Just a second, Miss!"

Jane looked at Kaufmann alarmed and pulled an arrow from her quiver and aimed at the nearest imp, while the 'VIPER' soldiers started to fire their rifles into the swarm. Kaufmann pulled a walkie-talkie from his briefcase.

"All units attention! This is not part of the show! Shoot to kill on my command in 3... 2..."

Suddenly some of the imps started shrieking even louder and the swarm burst apart. A large winged figure had appeared in the middle of it and started to dash from imp to imp slashing the small creatures with two flaming swords. Kaufmann stared in disbelief as the figure continued to chase the imps away, slashing through one of the small demons with every swipe of his blades. It literally rained dead imps and the corpses of the creatures soon started to burst into flames shortly after they hit the ground, only adding the the almost unbearable heat. The remaining imps started to shriek in terror rather than bloodlust and retreated. For the first time, Kaufmann could actually see the figure closer. It was a tall man with crimson skin, long black hair bound into a ponytail, a quite attractive face with a black goatee and a dark purple tunica as his only piece of clothing. He also sported large leathery wings, hooves instead of feet and a typical devil's tail.

"Brimstone."

Kaufmann nodded, then shook his head as Jane aimed his bow on him.

"Wait. We still need evidence. And the moment of surprise. He hasn't noticed what's going on yet. The stealth field is working."

Jane grimaced and lowered her bow reluctantly. Brimstone glared down at the disguised soldiers.

"Criminals! VIPER! You are nothing but snakes crawling through the dirt! Leave this man alone!"

Kaufmann whispered into the walie-talkie.

"Abramovich... Your part is done. Operation 'Snakeskin' is complete."

The 'Serpent Mage' nodded almost unnoticable, then turned to the floating demon.

"You will pay for this, demon! VIPER will have its revenge! Nama will not be denied a sacrifice!"

With that words the five disguised soldiers quickly left the yard, appearing as if they fled before Brimstone. Kaufmann grinned and looked back to Jane, who still held her bow a little bit unsure of what to do. Kaufamnn smiled and whispered to her.

"Now comes the interesting part. Given, the imps were not part of the plan, but everything works out..."

Jane still glared at him.

"I see... You're not used to fighting like this, I guess? Well, that's my energy sword, Miss: Deception and cunning."

Jane grimaced and looked back at the scene in front of them. Brimstone floated down on the ground, put his sword in their sheats and slowly approached the disguised soldier. Jane tensed next to Kaufmann.

"He'll kill your soldier! We have to..."

"NO! We have everything under control."

"I hired you! And I say we will...!"

"Miss, the moment of surprise! We cant..."

"No, Kaufmann! We have to...!"

While Kaufmann and Jane were debating quietly, Brimstone approached the disguised soldier and raised one of his claws.

"Shi..."

Kaufmann reached into his suitcase and pulled his guns out, while Jane raised her bow ready to put an arrow through the demon. Brimstone brought the claw down and... cut the disguised soldier loose from the pole. Wilson fell down on all fours and the demon extended a claw to help him up.

"FEAR NOT! Brave citizen of Millenium City! The snakes crawling through the dirt are gone! You are safe! I, Brimstone, Protector of the innocent have safed you!"

Behind the slabs of concrete Kaufmann fell to his knees and facepalmed, while Jane stared at the scene with a disbelieving expression.

"NOW! I'm off to new heroics! Tread softly, brave citizen!"

With that words Brimstone unfolded his wings and flew away. Jane, Kaufmann, Wilson and every hidden Kaufmann Inc. soldier stared after him. Jane was the first to break the silence.

"What the hell was that about? I thought he was gonna..."

"Me too, Miss."

Kaufmann threw his guns back into the briefcase frustrated and left their hiding place. He lit a cigarette, then Wilson slowly walked over to them.

"Doctor, what the hell just happened?"

"Wilson I have no idea. You did your part good though. Dismissed."

Wilson, still with a confused expression on his face left to join the other soldiers, who were slowly appearing from the surrounding ruins, each of them equally confused. Someone tipped Kaufmann on the shoulder. He turned around to look into the furious face of Jane Archer who had an arrow pinned at him at point blank range.

"KAUFMANN! How can you! You would've sacrificed one of your own men?"

Kaufmann stared at the tip of the arrow which targeted his chest.

"As I already told you, Miss. We had everything under control."

"YEAH, I saw that! The imps, Brimstone... You had nothing under control! You would have let him die!"

"Miss, I assure you, Kaufmann Inc. does not..."

"SHUT UP WITH KAUFMANN INC.! I dont know why I even thought about hiring you! You're not better than the demons! You are no heros! You are just a band of bloodlusting mercenaries! I should..."

Suddenly Wilson jumped in front of Kaufmann and held his hands out.

"Miss, please dont point your weapon on the Doctor."

"Are you insane? He would have let you die!"

Wilson grimaced and looked back to Kaufmann for a second, who just nodded slightly. Wilson nodded back, turned to Jane again and started to unbutton the dirty, ripped shirt which was part of his disguise. Jane looked confused for a second, then openly shocked as Wilson finished and pulled his shirt off. Underneath it, various straps held a small device in place, which was clearly a standard issue force-field generator. Wilson looked in Jane's eyes.

"Kaufmann Inc. does not encourage the self-sacrifice of its members as part of the modus operandi, but the success of the mission has priority. Every single soldier of the company knows this and we trust the Doctor in his judgement. We, and he too give everything for the current mission. That's how we ensure highest quality and the satisfaction of our customers."

Wilson stared at Jane for another second, then left. Kaufmann and Jane faced each other again. Jane slowly brought her bow down. Kaufmann sighed and walked away to collect his briefcase and coat. When he passed the heroine on his way back he stopped for a moment.

"The current investigation was a failure. I will try to develop a new concept for the solution of the demon problem as soon as possible. I will contact you. Good evening Miss and thank you for hiring Kaufmann Inc."

With that he joined his soldiers who were busy loading the equipment in the black vans, which soon left the ruined apartments with screeching tires.