Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Earth – 203; New Gotham
The red sky had spread over the whole Earth. Soon everything was going to disappear. In the pouring rain, Helena Kyle-Wayne aka Huntress, the daughter of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, was traveling at inhuman speed over the rooftops of Gotham. She came to the edge of the building, and saw her home, the Clocktower, which would soon be absorbed by the anti-matter wave.
Desperately, she tried to reach her friend and mentor, Barbara Gordon aka Oracle by communication:
"Oracle, it's Huntress. Come in."
"Huntress, the comms are barely functional."said the voice of Oracle by interference.
"Barbara, can you hear me?" distraught and horrified Huntress panicked.
"I need more time…"
"The wave's coming too quickly! You're gonna have to evac right now!"
"I'm sending Alfred the relevant data before the wave hits."
Then the gigantic wave of anti-matter hit the Clock Tower much to Huntress' horror. With tears in her eyes, she could only see the large building disappear through the anti-matter.
"Oracle? Oracle, please answer me."
But it was too late! The building was gone. Then, Huntress ends up evaporating in contact with the murderous wave which destroyed an entire Earth.
Earth – 214; Gotham city
The whole city of Gotham was in chaos. But not in a chaos like what the city had already been through. This time, the situation was very different. The sky had turned red, lightning flashed out of nowhere. All everyone was terrified.
Commissioner Jim Gordon was on the roof of the police station near the Bat-signal. He reached his fellow police officer by walkie-talkie.
"Harvey! What's the situation?"
"Jim, it's getting worse!" Harvey Bullock's panicked voice yelled over communication. "This thing is coming right over Gotham. It's too late… Jim, it's too…"
Then the communication had interference. Jim heard only static noises.
"Harvey! Harvey!"
Then the silhouette of Alfred Pennyworth joined the alarmed policeman.
"Commissioner Gordon!"
"Alfred," Jim said mortified when he saw the butler join him."Tell me we were able to evacuate everyone. Please tell me Lee is okay?"
Since the Crisis started, he hadn't had much contact with his wife. But Alfred was as distraught as he was.
"She couldn't have left," replied the valet in despair. "Many of people needed help. She insisted on helping them."
"Where's Bruce?"
Alfred's dread increased at the mention of one of Gotham's billionaires.
"I've no idea! He asked me to help as many people as possible! But what threatens us is destroying everything! And it's coming right at Gotham!"
A shiver ran through the commissioner's body. He had never been faced with such horror in his entire life.
"Jesus Christ!" he exclaimed.
Then Alfred handed him a phone.
"Your wife gave me this phone to reach you! I think it's time!"
Immediately, Jim picked up the phone and dialed his wife's number. There was a moment and finally, Leslie Thompkins' voice was heard.
"Hello?"
"Lee!" Jim exclaimed with a big sigh of relief. "Thank god, it's good to hear your voice! Where are you?"
He heard the very distressed voice of his wife, who must have been crying:
"I'm in the Narrows! There are a lot of accidents! People panic and go mad by this red sky! I don't know what we can do! I think this is the end! It's gonna end soon!"
"It's gonna be okay, honey! I promise!"replied the commissioner although he was completely distraught and horrified.
At that moment, the wave of anti-matter began to sweep through the buildings of Gotham. Jim and Alfred had their eyes on the phenomenon that was consuming the whole city. They could only watch in dismay.
Knowing the end was here, Jim whispered over the phone:
"I love you, Lee!"
"Love you too, Jim! Good-bye…"said his wife's voice before being cut off.
The buildings of the city were swallowed up by the devastating wave and would come straight to the police station.
Eyes wide with horror and dismay, Alfred gazed at the antimatter, whispering:
"Master Bruce…"
Finally, Jim and Alfred disappeared in the wave of antimatter.
Earth – 1; Waverider
While the timeship was still in orbit around Earth, Supergirl and Kate, dressed in her Batwoman's suit, awaited news of Thor from Avengers' Earth.
"Still no news from Thor?" the Gotham's woman asked.
"Nothing," Supergirl replied.
"The X-Men were able to help their students evacuate?"
"The whole X-Mansion has been evacuated," replied the Girl of Steel, nodding her head. "The young mutants are spread across Central City and Star City. It won't be long before Professor X and the X-Men join us."
It was then that a breach opening appeared, and then Thor appeared with several people behind him. Kara recognized it as the Avengers. Those who were left of them. Bruce Banner aka Professor Hulk. James Rhodey Rhodes in his War Machine suit. Sam Wilson aka Falcon. Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes and finally, Ant-Man and the Wasp.
Supergirl joined her new allies.
"Thor, I'm glad to see you again," she said, hugging her Asgardian friend.
"Me too, Kara." Thor replied. "Our Earth is gone. The anti-matter wave has consumed it. We have saved as many people as we can."
"There are still billions of dead," Rhodey said grimly.
"But we knew evacuating an entire planet was impossible," Bruce replied.
"Nice to see you again, guys, despite the circumstances," Supergirl said sadly. "Hi Bruce!"
"Hi Kara," Professor Hulk said, raising a friendly hand towards her. "Long time no see!"
"Hey Rhodey, it's great to see you," Supergirl added, hugging War Machine.
"Hey Kara!" Iron-Man's friend replied, hugging her back.
She then greeted Scott, Hope, Sam and Bucky. She introduced them to Batwoman.
"This is Kate! She's new!"
The Avengers waved their hands at her, while Kate just nodded.
Then Supergirl noticed that someone was missing from the group of superheroes.
"Wait… Wasn't there someone else in the Avengers? Wanda? Wanda Maximoff? Where's she?"
"I didn't find her when I helped evacuate Earth," Thor commented.
At the mention of the young Sokovian, Rhodes and Sam shared a look of sadness.
"Wanda is… she is…" stammered Sam confused.
"She what?" Kara asked, puzzled.
"She's gone," Professor Hulk replied.
Supergirl and Thor looked stunned.
"What do you mean? What happened to her?" the Asgardian asked, confused.
"We don't know exactly what happened to her," Sam replied, lowering her head solemnly. "After the battle with Thanos, Wanda couldn't live without Vision. It was too hard for her! She couldn't handle! We know she went to a government agency called SWORD to retrieve Vision's body and be able to bury him. But something weird happened… Wanda… disappeared… According to the security cameras, she transformed into a powerful red energy and when that dissipated, Wanda was gone. And Vision's body along with her. It's as if Wanda and Vision are disappear. Since, no one knows where she's."
Rhodey added:
"From what I know, the director of SWORD wanted Vision's remains to create a weapon of destruction. And he was ready to kill anyone who wanted to stop him. It allowed us to arrest him. But as for Wanda… she did something on her and on Vision… and she disappeared, leaving no trace…"
"We called Doctor Strange to locate her," Professor Hulk said in shock. "But even he couldn't find her."
"Anyway, we think she's dead. We think she joined Vision," Rhodey said.
Supergirl looked upset. She remembered Wanda, and that she was attached to Vision, the Avengers' vibranium android. She blamed herself for not going to comfort her after Thanos. And now Wanda was dead?
"Wherever she is, I hope she is happy," Kara said sadly.
"Yes," Sam said sadly.
"R.I.P., Wanda," Scott said.
"Sorry to interrupt you guys," the Wasp said. "But can we get back to the facts? I remind you that many Earths are being disintegrated by the anti-matter and that we still don't know how to stop that!"
"That's why I came here," Professor Hulk said. "I can help Shuri and Ray Palmer determine the origin of the wave."
"Yeah, and where are those X-Men and Fantastic Four you told us about?" Rhodey said.
"They will join us," answered Supergirl.
Later, all the heroes had gathered at the Waverider checkpoint. The Fantastic Four had just gotten to know the Avengers. Moreover, all had been shocked by the resemblance between Johnny Storm the Human Torch and Steve Rogers alias Captain America. His face was identical to that of the American soldier. But only the face, because it was obvious that his personality was very different. Even Sam and Bucky had declared that this man couldn't be Steve with disgusted faces.
Finally, Charles Xavier arrived at the Waverider, followed by Logan alias Wolverine, Scott Summers alias Cyclops and Ororo Munroe alias Storm. They all got to know each other. And the two Supermen and Lois joined the whole troop of heroes.
Finally, much to Shuri's relief, her brother T'Challa joined the Waverider. Immediately, she hastened to take him in her arms.
"Brother, you're here," she said relieved.
"I'm fine, Shuri," T'Challa replied with a reassuring look.
"What about our people? Our mother?"
"Everyone is safe," Black Panther assured her. "All of Wakanda could be evacuated before our Earth was destroyed by anti-matter. Our family is safe. Okoye watches over them in Central City."
All the heroes were gathered in front of the Monitor, which was gazing at Earth from the ship's portholes, then turned back to the Earth's heroes.
"We have only located five of the eight Paragons needed to save the Multiverse." he told the whole troop.
"Is that guy, the Monitor?"Logan asked, taken aback.
"Yup, that's him," Kate replied.
"He's creepy!"Johnny whispered stunned. "Looks like someone from Star Trek."
"Johnny!" Sue scolded him severely.
Then the Guardians of the Galaxy joined the heroes.
"What are we waiting for to find the other Paragons?"Rocket questioned, looking at the Paragon detector Ray and Shuri were working with Professor Hulk on.
"A machine like this isn't that simple," Ray retorted.
"It takes a lot of us to figure out how this thing works," Shuri said.
"Finding champions to save the Multiverse, it's outside my area of expertise," added Bruce Banner.
"No kidding," grumbled Rocket in a bad mood. (Turning to the Monitor.) "Do you have any other hints that would allow us to find the others?"
"The anti-matter wave continues to spread and destroy multiple Earths," said Charles Xavier. "Nothing stops it. Soon it will consume the Earth – 1 and along with us."
"Yeah, it's true," added Reed Richards. "If we don't act quickly, we will all disappear in this wave."
"We are several heroes and we still have no solutions to stop this Crisis?" Peter Parker wondered in his Spider-Man outfit.
At that point, The Flash returned to the Waverider with his entire Team, Caitlin in the form of Killer Frost, Ralph Dibny aka Elongated Man and Cisco Ramon.
"Someone call for backup?" said the Latino, joining the heroes near the Paragons detector.
Relieved, Iris came to join her husband in her arms, while Cisco joined Ray and Shuri.
"Thanks for being here, we need another genius intellect," said Ray.
"That's why I'm here." Cisco replied. (Then he gave an encouraging look to all the heroes from several Earths assembled.) "Welcome to all of the heroes here! (Then he looked at the two Supermen of Earth – 38 and Earth – 96) And that is a super doppelganger, which is super weird."
"And you haven't seen the other Spider-Men's I've met," Peter said, alluding to his adventure on Earth – 962.
A little behind, Ralph took a moment to look at the whole troop of heroes. He had never seen so many worlds put together.
"Holy all-star squadron. Hi, hi, how are ya? Ralph Dibny, Elongated Man. Ready to help kick butt."
"Who's that dude?" Logan muttered, gazing at Elongated Man with little interest.
"Nice to meet you," Charles replied with a smile.
"Ignore him," Killer Frost said, pointing to Ralph. "It's his first crossover."
Barry got his friends back on track.
"Listen, the anti-matter wave is still ripping its way across the Multiverse. We have to get everyone we can to safety."
"By all my calculations, Earth – 1 will be the last to be hit, and it will happen very soon," Reed said.
Then J'onn J'onzz joined the heroes troop.
"I just heard from Alex, Kelly and Brainy on Earth – 1. Everyone we saved from Earth – 38 and other Earths is still accounted for."
"Then we should bring as many people to Earth – 1 as we can – in the time being." added the Earth – 96's Superman.
"Let's get a rescue team together, save who we can across the multiverse. I can use my psychic abilities to stay in connection with the Waverider." continued the Martian.
"And I'll help you," Charles replied, swiveling his chair towards J'onn. "I also happen to have psychic abilities. Two psychics could be beneficial to save the world in the Multiverse."
J'onn smiled gratefully at him.
"With pleasure. I welcome your help, Professor."
Supergirl smiles with joy as she sees her two psychic friends interact.
"And I'll go as well," said Superman of Earth – 96.
"Well, parallel Earth Rory still has Jonathan." Lois added. "So I'll run comms and keep everyone updated."
"Supergirl?" J'onn said, turning to the Girl of Steel.
"I'll stay here." she said. "We have to find a way to get our world back."
As some of the heroes left the control room, Thor shared an anxious gaze with Kate. It was obvious that Supergirl hadn't given up on her plan to use the Book of Destiny to bring Earth – 38 back. It was too dangerous, he had to prevent her.
Black Panther stayed close to Shuri and the Fantastic Four. Logan began to smoke a cigarette. Ray noticed it and pointed out:
"Could you not smoke, please? The Waverider is a non-smoking ship!"
"It's the end of worlds," Wolverine replied as if it was obvious.
"Wolvy, we must all stick together if we are to fight this crisis!" Kate retorted in an imposing voice. "This is no time for smoking!"
"Hey look, your costume might scare your Gotham's criminals, Dracula, but you're not scare me," Wolverine growled, smoking.
"Logan!"said Supergirl angry. "If you want to smoke, go somewhere else!"
Swearing, the mutant with the claws left the control room.
It was then that Ray, Shuri and Professor Hulk looked elated.
"What now?" Rhodey said, noticing the enthusiasm of his friends.
"Hey, I think we did it. I think we fixed it." Ray said.
"We're finally going to be able to locate all the Paragons," added Shuri cheerfully.
"It's about time!" Rocket grumbled.
Star-Lord cleared his throat, causing the raccoon to lower his voice, while Shuri and Bruce Banner glared at him angrily.
Then Cisco came to turn on a computer connected to the Paragon detector. It was first the image of Sara Lance that appeared on the screen, as the Paragon of Destiny. Then came the images of Supergirl (Paragon of Hope), Batwoman (Paragon of Courage), Earth – 96's Superman (Paragon of Truth) and Spider-Man of the Avengers as the Paragon of Responsibility.
"Paragon of Responsibility?"exclaimed a stunned Peter struggling to accept being one of the saviors of the Multiverse. "And are we sure your device is working?"
"100% positive." retorted Professor Hulk.
"Guys, we already know all this," said Kate annoyed.
"Where are the others?" T'Challa asked. "The Paragons?"
"It's buffering," Cisco replied annoyed too. "So maybe a little patience."
Then came the image of J'onn J'onzz in his Martian form as the Paragon of Honor.
"Huh," Supergirl exclaimed sarcastically. "Why am I not surprised?"
Then the following image appeared revealing Flash of Earth – 1, the Paragon of Love.
"That's new!" Barry said stunned.
Iris gave him a look full of tenderness.
And the last image shows a young Asian named Ryan Choi, the Paragon of Humanity.
"Uh, who the hell is that guy?" Ralph asked when he saw the image of the young Paragon of Humanity.
"Dr. Ryan Choi, physics professor at Ivy Town University on our Earth." Cisco informed.
"At least we know he's still alive," Rhodey commented.
"Well, I guess we know our next stop." said Iris, looking at her friends. "Ray? Ralph?"
"Ivy Town. It's my old stomping grounds." Ray replied amused. "Let's go?"
"I'm coming with you," Shuri said with determination. "I'm tired of staying in this ship when our Earth is gone and others are being consumed by this anti-matter! We need this professor!"
Black Panther took her shoulders.
"Hurry back, Shuri," he told her worried about his sister.
"I won't be long, brother."
Behind them, the Monitor said, satisfied with the detector's results:
"With all the Paragons identified, our next priority is determining how to stop the anti-matter wave."
"And I assume you have an idea for us?" Thor snapped at him. "If you have anything to tell us about this wave or the Anti-Monitor, now would be a good time to let us know."
"Unfortunately, I don't know any more than you, Thor Son of Odin," Novu replied in a neutral tone.
But before the God of Thunder could add anything, Leonard from the Waverider's voice echoed throughout the timeship:
"Sorry to interrupt, but Mr. Diggle has arrived."
John Diggle had just arrived aboard the Waverider. He was with Sara Lance and Clint Barton near a bunk where Oliver Queen was still unconscious. The Avenger and the Legend had just revealed to Diggle what had happened to Oliver since the start of the Crisis. They told him about his death, then about their failed attempt to bring him back to life.
"How could you let this happen, Sara? You, of all people?" Diggle exclaimed distraught and furious.
"It's complicated," Sara replied.
"It all happened so fast!" added Clint wanting to calm Oliver's ally.
But Diggle was still very angry.
"It's not complicated. I wasn't there when he needed me."
"Dig, we are working on bringing him back the same way that he brought me back, remember?" Sara assured him.
Diggle was stunned, then finally understood where the young woman meant.
"You're talking about a trip to Purgatory?"
"To bring back his soul," Clint clarified. "Sara told me everything about her resurrection. If you could bring her back, we can bring Oliver Queen back."
But the young woman Lance looked anxious nonetheless.
"And there's… There's something else. Dig, it's Lyla… She's… she's gone missing."
It had been a while since no one had heard from her aboard the Waverider. At the mention of his wife, Diggle was distraught.
"What?"
"Nobody saw her leave. She was there one minute and gone the next!"
"I'm sorry," Clint said sadly, remembering the disappearance of his family after Thanos snapped his fingers.
Diggle looked worried then tried to rationalize himself.
"But she has the ability to teleport, so she…"
"So there are now infinite possibilities for Lyla's location." interrupted Mar Novu, who had just entered the medbay.
Diggle gave the Monitor a look of hatred and walked over to him.
"You. Listen to me. I am not losing Oliver and Lyla. So cut the crap and tell me how the hell do I find my wife?"
"Answer him!" Clint Barton snapped, assuming a threatening posture.
"You heard him." Sara added in a firm voice. "Where she is?"
"Harbinger could very well be with my adversary: The Anti-Monitor." Novu replied. "He hired Roger Hayden to kill the Paragons. Having failed twice, he will now seize her to reach us!"
Sara, Diggle and Clint looked at each other, all three anxious and shocked by the news.
"What are we gonna do?" asked the Avengers' archer.
"I don't know," Novu replied.
All of Team Flash were gathered at the control room with the detector computer displaying the faces of the eight Paragons. Black Panther stood near Flash and Iris. The other Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four had gone to help evacuate other Earths. The Guardians of the Galaxy stood with Supergirl, Thor, and Batwoman.
Diggle and Sara had joined the heroes in front of the Monitor. They had told them about Harbinger's disappearance.
After a moment, Cisco spoke up:
"The Anti-Monitor is that… uh… set in stone, or can we workshop that a little bit?"
"This is why I have been preparing all of you testing and pushing you to your limits."said the Monitor. "I needed your courage, your honor, your strength of will, even the truth of your convictions everything that makes you the greatest heroes on this Earth or any other, because that's what it will take to defeat our opponent."
"Why he's doing this?" T'Challa asked. "What is he trying to achieve by annihilating all Earths?"
"Yup, good question," added Killer Frost. "What exactly does this guy want?"
"To eliminate the multiverse and replace it with another universe." Novu replied.
" One that he can control just like every other megalomaniac." Supergirl said sullenly. "Looks like a remake of Thanos. I don't know which of the two is the worse."
"When will the big bad guys of the Galaxy cease to exist?" Rocket said in annoyance. "There always has to be some nut who thinks he knows the best in the Universe."
"I am Groot," replied Groot worriedly.
"We need to find Harbinger as soon as we can," Star-Lord replied. "If he hold her, we have a big problem."
"I should've foreseen my connection with Harbinger could be perverted to his ends." said the Monitor thoughtfully.
"Should have?" said Diggle grimly. "Just tell us how to get her back."
"I want to find her just as much as the rest of you," Novu said. "But I cannot rewrite what has already been written. I can only attempt to save what remains."
Following these words, Supergirl left the group, under the worried gaze of Thor and Kate, both knowing what was on her mind. She wanted to use the cosmic Book to recreate Earths. Thor was aware that this was a risky attempt.
Kate looked at Thor, who nodded, and the two left to join the Girl of Steel, wanting to reason with her.
Sara made Diggle promise to let her know if she heard from Lyla, while he left to join Clint and Mia to find Oliver's soul in Purgatory.
Cisco's digital tablet started beeping.
"Cisco, maybe you should call Kamilla back?" Frost suggested.
"No, no, no. That wasn't a phone call. I'm triangulating anti-matter wave particles on the Earth that are left."
"What for?" T'Challa said in surprise.
"I'm trying to locate the source of the wave," Cisco replied. "And according to this, it would be hidden somewhere in the subterranean region of our city, Central City and on our Earth."
The King of Wakanda suddenly looked jovial.
"If you find its source in your city, would you be able to neutralize it? If we stop this wave, we can put an end to this Crisis."
"Depending on what we find on the spot," the Latino from Star Labs told him. "But it's worth a try."
"I'll go with you," T'Challa replied, closing his Black Panther helmet from his jumpsuit.
As Cisco was about to leave the Waverider, Mar Novu appeared out of nowhere in front of him.
"Cisco Ramon!"
The latter screamed and froze in place, with a feeling of bewilderment.
"You're not a Paragon, but you do have a purpose," Novu said ignoring the man's torments. "Vibe must live again."
Cisco looked furious at the mention of his meta-human side which he had made disappear by taking the anti-meta remedy so that he could be with his girlfriend Kamilla.
"No! No!"Cisco roared at the cosmic being. "My powers are gone and there's a reason for that!"
"You must answer the call whether you wish to or not." the Monitor said in a loud voice.
"Okay, maybe you didn't hear me under those voluminous mutton chops of yours…"
Ignoring the complaints from the Star Labs scientist, the Monitor waved his hands, immediately a halo of energy surrounded Cisco… and he became Vibe again in his suit he had made for his powers. The Latino was stunned. Was he really back to being Vibe?
"Now go," Novu said,acting like nothing had happened. "Serve your higher purpose."
And he walked away, leaving Cisco dazed in amazement.
Further on, Barry and Iris spent what could be their last romantic moment together. The speedster had convinced his wife that she would join Ray and Shuri to find Ryan Choi to convince him to come join the heroes to stop the Crisis.
"Are you still sure you want me to go?"
Flash nodded.
"Yeah. Go find Ryan Choi and hurry back."
Iris kissed her husband and stroked his face looking at him with love.
Earth – 1; Central city
In the sewers of Central City, Flash, Killer Frost, Vibe, and Black Panther appeared in the depths, through a breach.
Flash disappeared at super speed.
"Where did Barry race off to?" Frost asked when he saw his friend leave.
"Perimeter search make sure this isn't a trap set up by the Anti-Monitor." Vibe replied.
"Better to be vigilant." Black Panther warned them, looking around. "We don't know what's waiting for us here. Be on your guard."
"Nice to have you back, Vibe," Frost told Cisco.
"Let's just get to Nash's work site." Vibe said, leading the group down the sewers.
Finally, they came to a wall where symbols were carved into the marble.
"That's new," said Frost.
"Do you think the source of the anti-matter is behind this wall?" Black Panther asked, looking at the symbols of the obstacle.
"There's only one way to find out, we gotta get in there." Vibe said.
There was a flash of golden light. The three heroes turned to see a figure lurking in the shadows. Black Panther widened his claws.
"Who's there?" Vibe replied in a threatening voice.
Then the King of Wakanda recognized the individual.
"It's your friend Nash, who is now Pariah. I met him when your friend Oliver Queen died. Pariah, what are you doing here?"
The so-called Pariah walked, causing Nash Wells' face to appear in the light.
"I'm here to bear witness." he replied.
"To what?" Vibe wondered.
"Tragedy," Pariah replied.