Negaverse
The "Negaverse" is a term coined by Faulties on the forum to describe the parallel universe that is the home of and once ruthlessly ruled by Emperor Nicholas the Puissant. No other formal title has been given to this alternate dimension, so one term is as good as any other. The term is derived from the fact that many of the denizens of this universe are "mirrors" or "evil twins" of their counterparts in the GPF universe; one could say they are "negatives" of the comic's regular cast. Many characters within this realm were referred to by fans with a "Nega-" prefix ("Nega-Nick"), with numerous other variations of the same theme ("Alt-Nick", "!Nick", "-Nick", etc.). The "negaverse" term was coined to refer to the universe as a whole and eventually stuck.
Events dealing with the Negaverse are primarily chronicled in the Year Eight mega-arc, To Thine Own Self....
Not Quite Opposites
According to Trudy's counterpart, the populace of the Negaverse are not truly "opposites" of the main GPF universe, but "different parts of the same whole". Both versions of any given individual run through the same logic processes but with different outcomes. One person may choose to go left when his "opposite" chose right; one may make a mistake where her counterpart may be more cautious. As "Nega-Trudy" (or "Posi-Trudy" as some Faulties dubbed her) put it, "In all of us, there are moments of darkness and light. What shines forth is shown by the choices we make. You chose light, they dark. I need you to face your darkness within to learn how to overcome it."
There were several instances where certain characters exhibited similar traits in both universes. According to Trudy's counterpart, Agent #12 (aka Maddie O'Hara) was a "just, noble person and a faithful U.G.A. agent" and was in fact one of the few who didn't join the Emperor and paid for this loyalty with her life. Most individuals, however, exhibited at least some trait of being dramatically different from their "original". Sharon's counterpart, for example, turned out to be technophobic and willing to sell out the rebellion for the chance at a promotion, even if she was not out-right "evil" by comparison.
History Pre-To Thine Own Self...
The history of the Negaverse before To Thine Own Self... was briefly provided by Trudy's counterpart. The Negaverse evolved in much the same fashion as our own universe, save for a few apparently "minor" differences (such as China being one of the few "parts of the world where democracy flourished"). The two universes followed similar paths up until the events depicted in the March 8, 1999 strip, which took a decidedly different turn. Using a series of carefully orchestrated hacks, the Negaverse's counterpart of Nick Wellington gained control of all the world's financial markets via the Internet with the assistance of Ki Oshiro. The two silently manipulated the world financial scene until their activities came to the attention of the covert Undisclosed Government Agency.
The U.G.A. sent their top agent to investigate, and he wasn't very far off. Jason Barker (whose nickname was similar to "Fooker" but with the "same consonants, different vowels") confronted Nick. Nick, however, anticipated the move and knew Barker well enough to know he could be bribed. Before long, the entire U.G.A. was on Nick's payroll. With the paramilitary might of the U.G.A. behind him, Nick soon gained political control as well as financial control. Officials who could not be bought were assassinated. His forces met with heavy resistance, but those he could not conquer he set out to utterly destroy. As favors to those who helped him gain power, he appointed his former coworkers to high offices. Dwayne Duncan became governor of Asia, Barker general of his armies and the secret police, and Ki duchess of Europe. Nick Wellington appointed himself emperor over the entire Earth and took the title of Nicholas the Puissant.
Even with his newfound wealth and power, the new emperor struggled to maintain control over his growing domain. Too many resistance cells sprang up to oppose him. To his surprise, Barker offered a novel solution. He had been abducted a few years earlier by peaceful alien explorers. He had soundly defeated them, but kept in contact with them, just in case he needed their unique talents. The aliens were at war with their mortal enemies, another race from a nearby solar system. The Emperor quickly formed an alliance with the "Greys." If they would help him conquer the Earth, he would help defeat their enemies. The Greys, however, did not count on Nick's duplicity. Before they knew it, they were virtual slaves, their own technology used against them. The Emperor now had full control over Earth, but a new threat came from the stars.
It was somewhere during this period that the emperor, equally endowed with the Inventor's Gene, created his own version of the MUTEX, Nick's virtual reality simulator. While the emperor intended to use the machine as a torture device, he later discovered its latent interdimensional transport capabilities. He was never able to materially transport living organisms from one universe to another, but he eventually discovered he could transport inorganic matter as well as create "avatars" of living beings in other worlds. He could also covertly observe the events of other worlds. When he discovered the alternate GPF reality, he kept it under constant surveillance until he learned of Nick's free energy generator, Velociraptor. By using Velociraptor and the MUTEX in tandem, Nick was able to transport living beings from one universe to another. Determined to get his hands on this power source, the emperor sent his version of Trish Marshall to the GPF universe to monitor events and hopefully steal the secrets of the device. When Trish failed in this task, she was eventually recalled and executed. The emperor then sent the Duchess Oshiro to take GPF's Ki's place and lure Nick into the MUTEX, covertly transporting him to the Negaverse where the emperor could force him to recreate Velociraptor for his own use.
Post To Thine Own Self...
The fate of the Negaverse after To Thine Own Self... is currently unknown. A number of the GPF gang's counterparts were killed during the climax, including General Barker, Duchess Oshiro, Governor Duncan, and Trent Terrell. Dexter's counterpart escaped the emperor's palace, as did supposedly Trudy's counterpart and Chuck Walker. The Greys were engaged in a full-scale conflict with their extraterrestrial enemies over the skies of the capital as the palace's main reactor was building to an overload that would result in a "spectacular fireball the size of Kansas". It is unknown whether any of the escaping characters survived this explosion, whether the explosion happened at all, or what the fate of the Empire and Earth would be in the wake of the alien conflict.
The Emperor himself attempted to escape via the MUTEX, but Nick removed the guidance circuit right before it was activated. His current whereabouts are unknown; he may have materialized into some random other universe, or he may have simply dematerialized into nothingness.