Metaverse Crash Course

The Story As We Know It...

A group of strangers is collected by a shadowy organization known as The Program and coerced into the top-secret Metapilot Program. Through some strange and unknown technology, these new pilots are sent into new worlds, “metaverses,” where they inhabit the bodies of avatars. But there are far more secrets than our pilots realize.

Both the Program and their mortal enemy, the Founders, descend from ancient peoples able to travel through metaverses. Those with the ability are rare and possess runes buried within their very DNA. They have been known by many names before: wizards, demigods, druids, shamans, and now, metapilots.

The pilots bring pieces of the Metaverse with them as they travel, powers that bleed through into them from their avatars. Each world, each avatar, brings the pilots closer to the truth. But these powers aren’t the only things that bleed: reality itself is beginning to break.

Season Summaries

SPOILERS AHEAD! Read at your own risk!

Masters of the Metaverse Seasons One and Two

Summary:

Rosie Harvin | Jenika | Aquamarine | Crash Jaxun

Episodes 1-8, Sentinel City

A group of strangers is coerced into The Metapilot Program, an experiment run by a secret organization. These strangers become pilots, inhabiting bodies in other realms as part of missions from “The Program.” Their first mission is to Sentinel City, where super heroes are commonplace and reality TV is trending high. Heroes are being murdered,the avatars inhabited by our pilots, a.k.a. The Alpha Squad, are the prime suspects. Just before a critical confrontation with their accuser, the pilots’ mission to Sentinel City is abruptly ended.

Back in their pods and original bodies, the pilots notice that certain things are not the same.Aquamarine demonstrates that she has retained some of her avatar’s (Lady Veil) powers. The pilots learn that they are now being sent into a new world in search of a man named Nick Krieger.

Nick Krieger

Episodes 9-14, The Kingdom of Yosemite

In a new realm with old west characteristics, the pilots make their way to the Kingdom of Yosemite to find King Teddy, the last known avatar of Nick Krieger. Nick has been hiding in this world and is so immersed in his avatar that at first the pilots are unable to reach him. During an encounter with some mysterious assailants on a train who are determined to keep them from their final destination, the team breaks through Nick Krieger’s immersion. Nick tells the pilots that The Program is using them to harvest powers from avatars throughout the worlds. He doesn’t want to return to the real world but eventually relents due to Crash’s persuasion.

Back in the real world, Nick is wheeled away as the team looks on in distress. Later that night, Crash punches though a wall and disappears. Rosie, Aquamarine, and Jenika, along with a new scout named Thomas, are sent on another mission into a world of magical space princesses. Unbeknownst to the pilots their team leader has been hijacked by a woman named Tessa who has a secret mission involving both The Program and The Founders. 

Episodes 15-19, Galaxy Force Five

Thomas | Tessa

In the world of Magical Space Princesses, the pilots become members of Galaxy Force Five, and Thomas is thrust into a new role as pilot of the avatar Chad, Magical Space Prince Esteban. With the power of friendship and his trusty turkey leg Chadblaster named Brad, Thomas helps the others to fight Queen Lorrianna who has allied with a mysterious new evil. The team is joined in their final confrontation by Nick Krieger, patched in by Crash. Tessa learns that Thomas has information she seeks and is unwilling to let the others leave the metaverse so quickly after the fight. Thomas resists but Nick reveals that Thomas was part of Nick’s team a previous world, before the others knew him, and got Nick killed during a mission. Because Nick had no body to return to, he became a gestalt entity instead, an amalgamation of memories and traits scrapped together from avatars. Nick and Crash break the pilots out of The Program and flee with the pods in a high-speed chase. Emerging from the pods, Crash demonstrates super strength, like that of Kid Titan in Sentinel City as he loads the truck. Once onboard, the pilots discover they are being recruited into The Founders, sworn enemies of The Program.

Episodes 20-24, Sentinel City

Now members of The Founders, the pilots return once again to Sentinel City in search of the truth. They are horrified to learn that Kid Titan’s old friend and mentor, Dr. Migraine, has been taking over people’s minds and killing superheroes. The group travels to visit Kid Titan’s ex-girlfriend, Molly Migraine. She knows what her father has been doing and helps the team recover the mind of Blue Streak, Kid’s friend and Dr. Migraine’s latest victim. The Alpha Squad travel to the cemetery in search of answers about Dr. Migraine’s son Mikey and are confronted and attacked by Death Blossom. Once Death Blossom is dispatched, the Alpha Squad finally realize the truth… all of Sentinel City is covered by a large dome, with no normal people inside at all, and no one remembers that this ever happened. Retreating to a brand-new Joe’s Diner to confer, the team is shocked to see themselves on live TV ransacking a hospital. The Alpha Squad confront the duplicates and barely manage to defeat them. They race back to Molly’s house and find Migraine outside mind-controlling the body of Major Tom. He accuses Kid Titan of failing Molly and everyone else. Hex uses her magic to keep him from hopping bodies, while Kid Titan knocks him out and. The team enters Molly’s house in the hopes of gaining more answers. More questions than answers remain…for both the pilots and all of us.

END OF SEASON ONE

Nathan Hill | John Stone | Scott Thompson

Episodes 27-32, 80s Invasion

Rosie, Nick, and Aquamarine along with new pilots Scott and John are sent into avatars with jury duty on earth, circa nineteen-eighty-something. While starting jury deliberations aliens attack. The pilots escape with the other jurors and make an odd discovery: none of the avatars are very skilled or powerful, and the pilots keep shunting between the twelve bodies. Fleeing from the aliens, Scott uses his avatar to attempt to strike a deal with the invaders. His mind is sucked out into the unknown and his avatar is killed. When Crash and new pilot Nathan finally rejoins the group, Crash confirms that Scott is very, very dead in the real world.

At Joe’s, one of the few places where neither the Founders nor the Program can listen, the pilots meet Cook, who confirms what Crash already knew: Avatars are real people. All the worlds they visit are real.. Reeling from this information, the stunned group finds themselves on board an alien spaceship. Crash reveals to them that The Program has killed all the avatars in this world because they are looking for something…which the pilots uncover is Brad,The Chadblaster. They take Brad to Joe’s Diner for safe keeping. After, the pilots return to the Founder’s Safe House only to see it attacked and destroyed by Program pilots. In the ensuing chaos, Thomas is killed, and his consciousness merges with the metapod system. Now, only the pilots can see him, and he can only interact physically with objects in a metaverse.

Episodes 33-38, Fartherall

After fleeing from the destruction on a boat, the pilots are sent into a locked world, previously unreachable, to learn more about it and the gods within. The pilots inhabit new avatars in the fifth age of Fartherall, and search for the baby godling Amalia and her missing binky, milk, and blankie. Along the way they meet Amalia’s sentient bunny, and a jello-wolf trying to coax an unwilling chosen one to her destiny. After nearly failing their mission and unmaking a world, the group successfully appeases Amalia and returns to their own bodies on the boat, adrift in the Adriatic Ocean.

A Megalodon out of time pushes their boat onto a small island. Inside a cave on that island, Xerates the Spartan has been waiting for metapilots for 2500 years. He tells them that The Founders created travel between metaverses and that every pilot possessed runes or DNA . Pilots used to travel between worlds, each metaverse sending their own pilots to help other worlds, slaying beasts, righting wrongs, doing things that ordinary people could not do. But then The Program rose up and became The Roman Empire in an attempt to control the metaverse. Xerates has been guarding the pillars containing The Arena mission, waiting for pilots who could journey to the world of “caged gods” and “save the world”.

Episodes 39-40, Sequelibrium and The Arena

The pilots, Nathan, Aquamarine, Thomas, and Rosie enter The Arena and find themselves in 1990s Colbie, OH where movies are coming to life and taking over the town. Jenika, Nick, and Crash have remained outside the pillars and are soon under attack by more pilots sent by The Program, led by Jebidiah Lexington, their old teammate and friend…and the person who designed the metapod system. They are about to engage in battle with him and his team when the entire island shifts violently and begins to sink. Jenika is thrown into The Arena and Nathan is forced out. Once inside, Jenika finds her avatar, previously Nathan’s, fading away. Jenika’s real self appears instead. Aquamarine’s avatar soon fades as well, while the battle on the island rages on and the sea levels climb.

Inside The Arena, Jenika and Aquamarine see a sign with four little words on it: “Welcome To Sentinel City”.

END OF SEASON TWO

Project: Metaverse Arc One

Summary:

Episode One

Four players are taking part in, what they believe to be, a simulation called Project: Metaverse. After completing a scenario where they have to take out various High Value Targets, and SWAT Team members, the players are taken to the office of the creator of Project: Metaverse…Jebediah Lexington. They are in the top fifty players and will now be placed on a team with the goal of chasing down an opposing team of metapilots across various metaverses.

The team is made up of singer-songwriter Andi Jaymes, private security specialist Maddox McPhernon, ex-con and CPA Wyatt Maxwell, and professional gamer Robert Munson. Robert aka Brony is especially eager to track down the other team when he learns that his nemesis, Crash Jaxun, is one of the members. Newly formed up, the group is sent into a new metaverse with TOM, the Tactical Operations Matrix, as their guide and assistant.

Episode Two

The new avatars are those of the Knights of Borkdom. A cross between a gumdrop and a hamster, Borks are sweet, lovable, cute, and innocent. They are also worth fifty points each and the team decides to murder the entire village before setting off to find the Eldest Bork who has taken off with the Borkstone, their true objective in this scenario. After the carnage is complete, the group realizes that the littlest Bork has escaped and resolve to burn down the forest in order to find him. Maddox is less than thrilled with this plan and takes off to save him. It is about this time that TOM steps in and removes the pilot’s immersion inhibitors. For the first time they are able to feel the full emotional impact of their avatars. It is less than pleasant to say the least, especially when they realize they have murdered all their friends in cold blood.

Reeling from this emotional wallop, the team finds the Eldest Bork and the borkstone which, when touched by Brony, turns into a doorway leading to a new metaverse. Before they can step through however, Jebediah appears in the form of a newly pubescent Littlest Bork and tells them that this is a world they have not yet been able to access at least not in that timeline. He urges them to no longer worry about points, much to Brony’s chagrin, and instead focus on gathering as much information as they can. With that he disappears and the pilots step through the door.

They find themselves in Sentinel City circa 1995. They have dropped into the avatars of various super villains, namely Balthazar the Black, The Skinwalker, Ezekiel the Undying, and Rita Riot. What first appears like a self help group for ex-villains is soon revealed to be a cover for the real evil plotting. In a hidden evil lair, behind the picture of Teddy Roosevelt on Mt Rushmore, the child named General Mayhem lays out his plans for world domination. Well, for getting rid of the superhero population anyway. He intends to erect a force field in the shape of a dome over the newly constructed Sentinel City, thereby trapping the majority of the superhero population inside. He plans to power this by using Butch Baker aka Kid Titan as a batttery, his connection to the Titan Matrix a perfect energy supply. And he just so happens to have Kid Titan tied up behind a curtain at this very moment, with his companion Rosencrantz the Superchimp.

What General Mayhem doesn’t know, and what the pilots suddenly realize, is that Rita, Baltazar, Skinwalker, and Ezekiel are all working undercover to discover and possibly prevent this evil plan. Before they can stop him however, General Mayhem demonstrates his mind control abilities by making Butch Baker shoot Rosencrantz in the head. Balthazar manages to communicate with the distraught young man and let him know that not only are they on his side but that they want to help him. Balthazar knows two key pieces of information thanks to his power of prophecy. One, the world is going to end and so a dome would be very helpful to have. And two, if Butch Baker dies so does his beloved granddaughter Hex Destiny.

Butch reveals that he has a panic button on the inside of his belt buckle which, when pressed, will summon The Sentinels. The Skinwalker is decided to be the best one to do so, after Rita and Butch get into a bickering match about their shared past. Balthazar begins to work on resurrecting Rosencrantz as the button is pushed and Butch calls Rita by her real name, Abbi.

Episode Three

A sudden sound from the teleporter reveals a strange, non super, woman named Wendy Gates. She is an investigative reporter and an anomaly in the metaverse. Every metaverse has a Wendy Gates in it and every Wendy knows what every Wendy knows. She can also sense metapilots inside avatars and confronts the team as to their purpose. She tries to show them that this world and the people in it are real but they remain unconvinced. She does however agree to help them save Butch and get out of the lair of General Mayhem.

Titan soon crashes through the wall of the lair, summoned by the belt buckle, and begins punching Ezekiel. Balthazar and Skinwalker attempt to convince him that they are not the enemy while Rita appeals to Butch. She sets him free and he tries to kiss her, but manages to just bump heads instead. A fight ensues and the team manages to calm Titan down slightly and fight off the rest of the villains. In a final push, Rita wraps everyone up in The Skinwalker and literally punches Mt. Rushmore into oblivion. Seeing this desecration of a national monument, Titan readies himself for another fight.

Episode Four

The team are suddenly aware that Andi is no longer in the avatar of Rita. When asked, TOM states that she has logged out of the system and can provide no further information. Meanwhile, Titan has decided that he is going to punch Rita, who looks very weak after this massive exertion, in retaliation for destroying Mt Rushmore. Butch pushes himself in the way and takes the full brunt of the blow. He is killed instantly and Titan suffers an acute psychotic break as a result. TOM announces that the main objective is now to save Butch Baker which can only be done by killing Titan.

The team tries their best to convince Titan to give up the Titan Matrix to save Butch but he is beyond reason. As he tries to destroy them all, TOM initiates a System Override and leaps into Rita. He then uses the Presto Gun obtained from a loot box and transfers his consciousness into Titan. He forces Hal to send the Titan Matrix into Butch Baker, transfers back into Rita just as Titan crushes his own head between two rocks at TOM’s command. His system override fails and TOM is sent back into the system as Rita looks around in confusion and goes to check on Butch. Rosencrantz, alive again, takes General Mayhem’s plans for the dome and agrees to start working on its creation which will take several years.

The Skinwalker uses her ability to change into Titan and hides his body, after shrinking it down and turning it invisible…don’t ask. The rest of the Sentinels arrive including Dr. Migraine, Armor Guy, and Cybotron. The rest of the Sentinels have no problem accepting the new Titan but Dr. Migraine knows something is amiss. Upon learning the truth from Balthazar, he agrees that the team had no choice and decides that the secret must be kept. He is introduced to Wendy Gates at this point who is horrified to feel him rooting around in her brain without permission. Disturbed by this, and the deep brokenness she senses inside of him, Wendy ejects him from her mind and spits on him. But Dr. Migraine has no trouble wiping the memories of the Skinwalker, Ezekiel, and Rita. Disturbed by this turn of events the team feels themselves starting to be pulled back to reality. But before they can be removed completely, TOM pulls them into a new place of pure white light. It is there that he tells them that they are going to help him save the metaverse and asks them how they feel about the old west?

Back in reality the pilots have more questions than answers, something that is compounded when they see that Andi’s pod is empty and there is a giant hole punched in the concrete wall. before going to speak with Jedediah, the team heads to the common room where they do an internet search for Wendy Gates. They find one who looks very familiar…and who happens to be sitting across the row from them.

END OF ARC ONE