Chapter 19
Chapter 19
Purgatory
While Mia, Clint, and Diggle were delighted to have reunited with Oliver, Constantine came over to remind them of their limited time by showing them the demon map which was almost erased.
"I hate to break up the reunion, but this really is our cue to make like a tree and get Oliver's soul back to his body."
"Let's go, Dad,"Mia said.
Then as everyone was about to leave the forest, a figure came towards them.
"Oliver Queen!"
Everyone remained on their guard when the figure stood out. It was Tony Stark, wearing a simple black sweater, in sports gear. The four men stared at him in amazement. Was this man really Tony Stark? The Avenger who had sacrificed himself to prevent Thanos from destroying the universe?
"Tony?" Oliver cried wide-eyed.
"Tony?" Clint said in turn, shocked.
"Who's this guy?" Mia retorted, confused, never having seen this man.
Shocked and upset, Oliver approached the man who was once Iron-Man.
"Tony, How… how can this be? How can you be here?"
"Are you really Tony Stark? The Tony Stark of the Avengers? Iron-Man?"exclaimed Diggle.
"What the…" Clint whispered, dumbfounded.
"Hello, Clint. I used to be Iron-Man," replied the ghost. " Then I was called to a higher purpose. I have become someone else. Something else. I am a Specter."
"And what do you want from us?" Mia retorted.
"I'm sorry, but your dad can't leave, especially not now," Tony said.
"Why?"Clint cried, still shocked.
Tony turned to the Star City's archer, speaking emphatically.
"Oliver, it's your turn now. Only you can light the spark. It's your destiny."
"What is my destiny?" Oliver asked, still in shock to see one of his old friends again.
"To save everyone. Otherwise, all universes all the people you love will perish. You must come with me. You can stop the Anti-Monitor from destroying everything. But for that, you've to follow me. There is no other way."
Stunned, Mia looked at Diggle and Clint. Then Oliver thought about Tony Stark's words.
"You trust me?" said the old Avenger.
"I do," the archer nodded, knowing how much Iron-Man had inspired him to be better.
Then he turned to his daughter with a sorry look.
"I'm sorry Mia, but I have to." he said in a sad voice.
"Dad no," Mia exclaimed in tears.
"It's gonna be okay." her father replied gently. "You're gonna create your own stories."
Then he put a friendly hand on Diggle.
"It's gonna be okay." he assured him.
And he turned to Clint.
"You're a good man, Clint. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Take care of your family."
The Avengers' archer nodded with sobs.
Then Oliver turned to Tony.
"What now?"
Tony Stark's eyes turned green. At that moment, Mia exclaimed:
"Dad, wait. I love you!"
Then she, Diggle, Clint and Constantine were gone.
Waverider
The quartet of heroes arrived at the timeship, where they were greeted by the two Supermen, Lois, Sara and Peter Parker.
"What happened?" asked Earth – 76's Superman.
"Dad wouldn't come back with us." Mia said, tears in her eyes.
"Did we lose Oliver?" exclaimed Peter in shock.
Sara was distraught, then Diggle joined her with a sad expression.
"I'm sorry, Sara."
Distraught, Sara and Peter left the timeship's command center, while Constantine turned to the two similar Kryptonians.
"The others fare any better?"
"Barry's team stopped the anti-matter wave with one Earth left," answered Earth – 38's Superman.
"I need a drink," Constantine replied, leaving them.
Finally, the Guardians of the Galaxy joined them.
"So the wave of anti-matter is gone? We won?" Quill asked.
"Not yet," replied the Earth – 76's Superman.
"Now we just have to flush out the Anti-Monitor," replied his Earth – 38's counterpart.
"So we need to find this intergalactic bastard quickly," Rocket said. "Does anyone know where is located the pretty blue lady?"
Barry went to join Jefferson Pierce who had isolated himself in the Waverider's office. The hero stared at the books on the shelves, but the speedster knew he was still thinking of his missing family on his Earth.
"I appreciate you helping us, Jefferson," the young hero of Central City said sadly. "I know what you've lost."
Jefferson put a book back on a shelf and walked away grimly.
"My world… I lost the love of my life… my two daughters… Nothing will ever be okay again."
"I know," Barry said with emotion. "That Flash, the Flash from Earth – 90, he looked just like my dad, Henry Allen. He was a resilient man. He spent years in prison for the murder of my mom, a crime one of my enemies committed and framed him for. Through all that, he never lost his light. Times like this, I try and do the same."
Jefferson took into account what Flash was telling him, and answered in turn:
"My father, uh, Alvin Pierce he was a good man, too. Reporter. Spent his life giving a voice to the voiceless. He was murdered when I was 12. But I still carry the lessons he taught me to this day. I passed them along to my girls… (He was about to cry again as he thought about his daughters.) My girls… (Then he held back his sobbing while remaining neutral.) Anyway, I get it. Look. I don't think Henry or Alvin raised any quitters, so we should honor their memory and rage against the dying of the light."
"Dylan Thomas," Barry said, acknowledging the quote.
"Well, all right then, Flash." Jefferson replied, smiling for once.
Then the speedster offered his hand to the new hero.
"It's Barry. Barry Allen."
And the two men shook hands, forging a new friendship.
"Jefferson Pierce."
Thor joined Supergirl who was walking down one of the hallways of the timeship.
"Hey Kara…"
The Kryptonian turned to him.
"Listen… I know you want to save everyone. It's something I've always liked about you," he told her. "You always have hope, even in the most uncertain moments. You are generous, altruistic… I'm just a warrior… and sometimes, I would like to be like you. You're the one who showed me there's always a better way to fix it. And that is what we will do for this Crisis. We'll find a way to bring everyone back. Together. One day, Stark had asked the team how to defeat a great enemy from outer space, and Cap… had replied: «together». Stark had told him that we'd lose. And Steve Rogers retorted, «Then we'll do that together, too». What I'm saying is, we will defeat the Anti-Monitor. We will come out of this Crisis together. With all the Paragons… you… Kate… Barry… Kal… White Canary… Spider-Man… J'onn… Ryan Choi… All of us reunited, we'll defeat the Anti-Monitor."
"Thank you, Thor," Kara answered enthusiastically. "You told me that pep talk weren't your thing... I think you're doing this great."
"Like Kate, I may have found my role as Keeper of the Paragons," the asgardian replied. "But please stay alive, Kara. And don't go play with powerful forces that you don't know. This can have very unfortunate consequences. I know that for a fact."
"Thank you for being by my side," she added. "I don't know if I would still have this strength in me, without you."
"You got this, Supergirl. You are the Paragon of Hope. We were meant to meet. To become better. To become the protectors of all worlds."
Moved by Thor's words, Kara came over to shake her friend's hand. After a moment, the God of Thunder moved away from her.
"I'll check in with the others." he said. "Barry and his team put an end to the anti-matter. But we still don't know where Harbinger and the Anti-Monitor are. Our priority is to find them both."
Supergirl saw Kate walking towards her.
"Go, I'll join you," she said.
Thor left the hallway, as the Gotham woman joined her Kryptonian friend. The two women hadn't spoken from the library anymore.
Kate spoke first:
"Hey, Kara. Listen, I… I get you wanted to bring those people back. As Thor has said, you have the biggest heart of anyone that I've ever met. I just don't want to see you get hurt."
Amused, Supergirl replied:
"You know, I gotta say. For someone who was unsure that they were the Paragon of Courage, took a lot of guts to do what you did. And that's probably what got you to lift Mjolnir in your hand. Like Thor said, you've found your courage."
"Maybe," Kate replied amused.
"If I may ask you… how did you feel when you held Thor's hammer in your hand?"
Kate was thoughtful for a moment, lost in thought. Then she ends up answering:
"I don't know how to describe it… It was an amazing feeling… I'd never felt that in my life… The first time I wanted to lift it,it was like trying to lift a metal beam that would weigh a thousand tons… and when I held it in my hand, without even realizing it, it was… not heavy… It was…"
"Light as a feather?"Kara asked with a smile.
"That's right," Batwoman nodded. "It was fantastic. And although I'm supposed to be a Paragon… I don't feel that this… this hammer was made for someone like me. I'm not Thor. I'm not Asgardian. And I know I'm not Avenger."
"That's funny, that's exactly what I said to myself the first time I lifted it," Supergirl replied, remembering the day she had held up Mjolnir for the first time. "The fact that you can be worthy of this hammer doesn't take away from who you are. I trust you, as do our allies. Thor, Barry, the Avengers, even the X-Men. Everyone who's here."
"I hope there's a way to get everyone back," Kate said. "Like when you and the Avengers brought back half of the universes. And if we are to trust each other, there is one thing you need to know."
She pulled out of her Batwoman armor, a round metallic object. And Kara could see a green trail around the object.
"Kryptonite," she realized in amazement. "Why do you have that?"
"I took it from a Para-demon who was attacking us in the Earth – 99's Batcave. I unwittingly took it so he wouldn't use it against you. And I give it because I've faith in you, Kara."
The Girl of Steel eyed the kryptonite object, then looked up at her Gotham's friend.
"Keep it," she said. "I have the courage that you'll never have to use it."
"Attention. Iris, Ralph, Raymond and Shuri have returned with Dr. Choi."Leonard's voice announced from the Waverider.
Iris, Shuri, and Ralph returned to the Waverider's control room with Dr. Choi. Charles Xavier, Logan and Storm were there. As well as Black Panther, the two Supermen, Thor, Diggle, the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Monitor.
At the sight of his wife, Barry came to take Iris in his arms.
"Iris. I told you I'd come running home to you."
Ryan looked stunned to find that Iris's husband was the super-hero Flash. Shuri ran over to her brother and hugged him.
Iris was happy to find her husband alive. Thus, he hadn't perished as Mar Novu had announced. Then Flash told her the death of the other Barry Allen. From of Earth – 90.
Then came Black Lightning and Pariah.
Barry showed them the hero of Freeland:
"Everyone, this is Jefferson Pierce. We wouldn't have been able to stop the anti-matter wave without him."
"I am Groot," said Groot, smiling at the new hero.
"I am Black Lightning," Jefferson said in amazement.
Stunned, he saw the two Supermen and couldn't believe his eyes.
"Wait, so, so the Superman thing is real? Oh, damn… After all these years. "
Then he saw Professor X in his wheelchair, with his two X-Men. He was even more stunned.
"And you are Charles Xavier?"
"My fame precedes me," Charles replied with an amused smile. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Pierce."
Then Black Lightning looked at Logan in amazement.
"And you are Wolverine? Do you really exist too? I can't believe it!"
The clawed mutant smoked his cigarette, gazing curiously at the new hero.
"You have a doppelganger of me on your Earth, Electric-Dude?"
"On my Earth, you only exist in comics," Jefferson replied. "And you are wearing a yellow spandex."
"Really?" Charles asked, amused, looking at Logan.
"No kidding!" Logan replied sarcastically.
Then Black Lightning turned to Thor, looking at him with even more shock.
"And you are…"
"I am Thor, Son of Odin and God of Thunder," the Asgardian replied proudly with a smile. "One of the Avengers. Welcome, Jefferson Pierce."
Finally, Ralph announced in front of all the heroes:
"And this is your Paragon of Humanity, Ryan Choi scientist, super brain, and ready to help save the universe."
"Welcome Ryan Choi," Thor said jovially. "Your help is welcome."
Feeling tiny in the face of all these heroes around him, Ryan dared to ask in a small voice:
"How do you guys plan on doing that, exactly?"
"Well, Kara decided not to use the Book of Destiny," revealed Superman of Earth – 38.
"It was too risky," added his Earth – 76's counterpart.
Pariah spoke in turn:
"And Harbinger, unlike me, can travel anywhere she wants. So how do we find her?"
"By whatever means necessary." Diggle replied determinedly.
"Now that the wave of anti-matter is over, we need to know where the Anti-Monitor and Harbinger are," said Thor seriously. "We must know the new plans of our enemy. And for that, we need Harbinger."
Iris then added:
"Well, we can start by trying to re-task the Waverider's satellite search grid."
"So, what are we waiting for?" Rocket mumbled in a brooding voice. "The sooner we find them, the better."
"Rocket, stop pretending you're the captain of our team," Quill grumbled grumpily.
As they were about to launch the ship's satellite, a twinkling glow appeared out of nowhere, and Lyla Michaels aka Harbinger appeared in the Waverider's control room. She seemed disoriented. Relieved, John Diggle immediately joined her.
"Lyla!"
"Johnny!" his wife replied, confused and relieved.
Then he hugged her warmly. All the heroes present were surprised by the appearance of the young woman dressed in blue. Even Mar Novu was surprised.
"I'm sorry," Lyla said to her husband. "I tried to get word to you that I was doing recon on Earth – 1, but the deaths of the other Earths is affecting my abilities."
"Where have you been?"Thor asked, frowning.
Lyla turned to the heroes, who were suspicious, then stammered in confusion:
"I… I can't remember…"
As Diggle tried to reassure his wife, on the X-Men side, Charles Xavier tilted his head forward, moaning. He closed his eyes and frowned, as if lost in thought.
"Professor?" Storm asked, worried.
"Charles?" Logan added in turn.
After a moment of reflection, the professor opened his eyes again and announced in an alarmed voice:
"There's something's wrong… I felt a presence… evil… It's not a mutant, it's something else… Something I had never felt… And this cruel and monstrous thing is here…"
"What would that be?"Iris asked anxiously.
"I've no idea," Charles replied nervously.
T'Challa joined Flash, Ralph and Pariah and whispered to them in a worried voice:
"We know the Anti-Monitor got hold of Harbinger. We haven't heard from her in a while. Something must have happened to her. The Anti-Monitor wouldn't have let her go like that, for no reason. Something's wrong."
Flash agreed, responding:
"What if the Anti-Monitor wanted Harbinger back on the ship?"
"He's been controlling her the entire Crisis," Ralph added, seeing where the two men meant.
"And controlling you," said Earth – 76's Superman, looking at Pariah. "Only allowing you to appear when he wants you to see…"
"A great tragedy," Flash and Black Panther said at the same time.
Thor, who had listened to them, seemed to understand.
"If it's not Harbinger who came back, that would mean…"
The speedster turned to Harbinger, who was still with Diggle.
"Lyla?"
Thor, alarmed, began to shout:
"DIGGLE! STAY AWAY FROM HER! THAT'S NOT YOUR WIFE! IT'S NOT HER!"
"Lyla?"whispered John Diggle in confusion.
Lyla gave them a sadistic smirk with eyes that began to glow with a whitish glow. And without warning, she punched Diggle, knocking him to the ground, and hurled him a few feet away from her.
"No!" Flash exclaimed, dumbfounded.
"What?" exclaimed Charles Xavier, amazed and horrified.
Then Harbinger with his sparkling eyes began to speak in a distorted male voice as he looked at everyone gathered in the Waverider's room:
"It is time to end the age of heroes and everything you hold close."
The heroes then realized that they didn't have Lyla Michaels among them, nor Harbinger. It was the Anti-Monitor.
T'Challa straightened his black helmet, and released his claws from his armor. They all stared at their enemy with threatening looks. Diggle, who was still on the ground, looked at his wife with round eyes of confusion.
"Lyla?
"That is no longer your wife, John Diggle." the Monitor replied in a neutral voice. "She has been taken by…"
"The Anti-Monitor," Pariah finished.
"Murderer!" roared the Earth – 76's Superman angrily, rushing at the mighty foe.
But the Anti-Monitor pushed him away with such ease, like throwing back paper. Black Panther, whose armor was bulging with kinetic energy, leapt into the air like a real panther, but the Anti-Monitor easily grabbed him by the neck, and pushed him back against a wall a few feet away from him.
"BROTHER!" Shuri yelled as she ran to join T'Challa who had been thrown to the ground like a doll.
Wolverine popped out his claws and prepared to attack. Black Lightning clenched his fists, muttering:
"This is for my girls!"
Thor brandished Mjolnir and Stormbreaker and made lightning appear, covering his chest and surveying his foe with a murderous gaze.
"All these worlds you destroyed, you're going to die for that!" he roared angrily.
The Guardians of the Galaxy raised their weapons and prepared to shoot him.
But the Anti-Monitor clenched his fist, and all of the heroes groaned in pain, crippling them, preventing them from fighting and all fell to the ground. As Shuri watched over her grounded brother collapsed. Wolverine tried to struggle, stepping forward with his claws outstretched. But the attack of the cosmic being was stronger than him. The clawed mutant ends up collapsing like all the others.
Charles Xavier, in his chair, tried to use his telepathy, but the Anti-Monitor gave him a sadistic grin, and brandished his fist. The professor moaned in pain and was frozen in his chair, as if an invisible force was preventing him from moving. Charles winced in pain and tried to use his telepathy again. In vain. Because it was obvious that his enemy was not affected by psychic faculties.
"Charles Xavier! You are very persistent." the Anti-Monitor sneered with Lyla's smirk. "But your feeble skills psychic are no match for my power! I am a superior being to you! You can't stop me!"
He waved his fingers, and Charles was lifted into the air. Stunned and helpless, the Mutant Professor hovered in the air for a moment moaning in pain, straining to struggle with his telepathic powers. The pain was so strong that Charles finally screamed in pain. But the Anti-Monitor pushed him back against a wall, and the professor collapsed to the floor like a bundle.
"Charles!" Wolverine cried, pinned to the ground, forced to crawl, unable to get up.
Despite the Anti-Monitor attack crippling everyone, Thor fiercely struggled against the attack and eventually stood up moaning. He brandished his two weapons and produced a powerful bolt of lightning on his enemy. But the Anti-Monitor moved his hands, and the lightning was blocked, as if an invisible barrier prevented it from reaching him.
The cosmic being smirked at the Asgardian.
"Thor Son of Odin… Since your little kingdom is no more, you are only a fallen God!"
And he forced Thor to collapse to the ground. The Asgardian tried to get up, growling angrily:
"As long as I live, I'll fight you until you die!"
But the Anti-Monitor gave him a sarcastic look.
"No one can defeat someone like me!"
The Guardians of the Galaxy, paralyzed to the ground like the other heroes, crawled as best they could. Groot made a superhuman effort to raise his arm, causing it to widen like a huge branch of a tree.
"I… am… Groot!" the tree whispered, moaning in pain and waving its long arm like a snake at its enemy.
But the Anti-Monitor pushed back the long tree branch with ease, and pushed Groot back several yards from his teammates.
"Groot!" Rocket cried, paralyzed to the ground, attempting to use his blaster. (He bared his fangs to the cosmic being.) "You'll die for that, you asshole!"
The only ones still standing were Mar Novu and Pariah, seemingly unaffected by their enemy's attack.
"Lyla! You have to fight him, Lyla!"exclaimed Diggle who could only stay on the ground and watch in helplessness and horror.
"The fate of all humanity lies with you now, Pariah."the Monitor said calmly.
"What can I do?" stammered Pariah in despair.
"You will know when the moment arrives." Novu replied, gazing at his enemy with a fierce gaze.
And he drew a beam of orange light from his hands. However, this had no effect as the being much more powerful than him just shrugged with a flash of blue light before bouncing back his own blue beam, which quickly began to dominate Novu.
The Monitor began to falter and knelt to the ground, resigning himself to be defeated by his enemy.
"Pathetic!"the Anti-Monitor scoffed as he attacked to destroy his opponent. "It was foolish to try to stop me, Novu!"
"No, Mobius," Novu said calmly as he knew his end was near. "It was foolish to allow your creation in the first place!"
"Goodbye!" said the Anti-Monitor.
And Mar Novu, the Monitor died. His body collapsed to the ground, as the Anti-Monitor absorbed his power.
Thor had managed to stand up, with Mjolnir and Stormbreaker in his hands, and could only helplessly watch the cosmic being bring down his opponent and take his power away. Shuri managed to help her brother to his feet. Logan put Charles back in his wheelchair.
All the heroes could see the Anti-Monitor waving his hands, wondering what he was going to do now, now that Mar Novu was dead.
His eyes shone even more power.
Towards the window, where the Earth was visible, a new wave of gigantic anti-matter surrounded the planet to the horror of all the heroes raised.
"Dear God!" Storm exclaimed in horror and distress.
"Brother!" Shuri gasped in horror.
"Don't!"Thor whispered in dismay.
And the mighty wave of anti-matter engulfs the whole Earth, leaving no trace. The whole planet disappeared.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"screamed Thor mortified.
The whole Earth had disappeared. The last Earth was gone. Now, all of the occupants of the Waverider were the sole survivors of the Crisis.
"Alert. Earth – 1 is gone." Leonard's voice announced from the ship.
"Oh, dear God, no!"cried Charles Xavier, his eyes bulging with fear.
"Oh man!"Quill exclaimed stunned.
Barry stared at the window in horror.
"We're all that's left!" he whispered, shocked.
"Mother! Our people…" cried Shuri horrified and distraught. "They're all dead! What are we gonna do?"
T'Challa, speechless, was unable to answer, so much the shock of seeing an entire planet disappear made him pale with horror. Rocket joined Thor in despair.
As all the heroes gazed at the empty space where Earth stood, the Anti-Monitor said with a smirk:
"It is done. The Infinite Earths are gone. Soon only the anti-matter universe will remain."
"Warning," said Leonard's voice. "The anti-matter wave will hit the ship in 28 seconds."
At first stunned, Pariah looked determined and gazed at the remaining heroes.
"I know what I must do."
He let out a blast of energy from both hands, and several bolts of energy shot through the entire ship. Thor, with Rocket on him, was struck by the lightning and disappeared. Then, Earth – 76's Superman also disappeared.
"What's happening?" Ryan exclaimed, shocked before disappearing in turn.
Barry tried to reach for his wife's hand.
"Iris!"
But he was swept away by the energy in his turn.
And Pariah directed the lightning throughout the interior of the timeship.
"Everyone to the bridge, now." said Leonard's voice throughout the Waverider.
J'onn, who was in a hallway, heard the call. He wanted to rush to join the others, but disappeared by the energy of Pariah.
Sara and Peter were in the ship's infirmary with Oliver's lifeless body, when they were also swept away by the energy flashes.
Then Kate disappeared in turn. And finally, Supergirl in her turn.
The Anti-Monitor turned to Wells, still with his eyes shining.
"Where did you send them?"
"Somewhere you can't touch 'em." Pariah replied with a smirk.
"Wherever they are, they're gonna fight you!" declared Iris, glaring at the cosmic being.
"And they'll never stop fighting until you lose," Charles added, eyeing the Anti-Monitor with a look of hatred.
"By any means necessary." Black Lightning added.
"To their very last breath!" growled Earth – 38's Superman.
"Your anti-matter universe's going to be very short, you son of the bitch!" Quill growled, casting a murderous glance at the cosmic being.
Even T'Challa had stood up, and like the other heroes, gazed determinedly at the Anti-Monitor, with his sister by his side.
"Enjoy your victory," declared the King of Wakanda. "But it won't be irreversible."
"Go to Hell, asshole!"Wolverine growled, raising his claws in the air.
Then the Anti-Monitor summoned a new wave of anti-matter that engulfed the entire Waverider. Iris watched Superman nod his head with determination, before being gone by the anti-matter. Shuri looked at her brother with great fear, but T'Challa hugged her calmly.
"Wakanda forever," he said in a calm voice.
And the two Wakandans disappeared in the wave. Neutral and serene, Charles watched the wave, before being carried away in his turn.
Then the Guardians of the Galaxy vanished along with the others, as Groot stammered in a small, fearful voice:
"I am Groot…"
And the Waverider ceased to exist.
All Paragons teleported by Pariah found themselves in a dark place. Thor appeared near them, with Rocket, who had clung to his cloak. All were confused and observed their new surroundings. They had landed in a dark place, filled with ruins, like the remains of rubble.
"What the hell just happened?" Kate exclaimed, stunned.
"What the fuck was that?" Peter replied, shocked. "What the hell's happened?"
"Where are we?" Supergirl said as she joined the assembled group of heroes.
"Pariah transported us out of the Waverider to protect us from the Anti-Monitor," Thor said stunned by the latest events. "But I don't know where he took us."
"Awesome, so no one knows where we are." Rocket retorted, stunned.
"I know where we are," Sara replied, dumbfounded, looking around.
She recognized this place perfectly. This was where the Time Masters once stood. Until the Legends team destroyed this place, leading to the death of Leonard Snart.
"This is the Vanishing Point."
"What?"Peter wondered, confused and distraught.
"What does that mean?" Ryan retorted.
"It's a point outside of time and space." explained the young Lance.
"What happened to the Waverider and the others?" J'onn asked, unsure of their new surroundings.
"Can anyone tell us what the fuck happened?" Peter said, still shocked.
The Earth – 76 's Superman joined the other heroes by answering:
"The Anti-Monitor. He used Harbinger to attack us. Pariah must have sent us here knowing that the Anti-Monitor couldn't follow."
"Well, we have to go back!" Barry cried in dread and despair. "We have to go back right now!"
"Yeah, he's right," added Rocket in the same state of mind. "We have to go help others! We have to go back to the Waverider, now!"
"Barry, Rocket, we can't!" J'onn objected forcefully. "They're gone!"
"What?"cried Peter in horror. "Is it just us? Just us?"
Even Rocket was horrified and upset. He realized that they had just lost all of their remaining allies.
"They're gone?" said the raccoon, realizing what had just happened. "That means… No, no, no, no, not again! No, no, no! Groot! Groot! Quill! Drax!"
And he collapsed in tears, realizing the death of his family, the Guardians of the Galaxy. As with Thanos, he was now the only member left. He sobbed, repeating Groot's name over and over.
Even Peter was distraught. He realized that all of his loved ones were gone.
"MJ? Aunt May? Ned? Happy? They're gone…"
Thor gave them a sad look.
"I… I… I'm so sorry…"
"What do we do now?" Peter stammered in a trembling voice.
Before anyone could answer, Earth – 96's Superman began to feel bad. Red energy lights flashed through his body, as if killing him.
"Something's wrong," he cried, moaning weakly.
"Kal! Kal!"cried Supergirl in horror.
Even Thor was horrified by the strange phenomenon that was attacking the Kryptonian.
"Kal! No! Not you too!"
And he collapsed to the ground. Immediately, Supergirl and Thor came running to kneel around him, as the red lights enveloped his body.
"Please. Fix it! Fix it!" he moaned weakly.
"Kal, stay with us, we need you!"screamed Thor in horror.
"What do I do?" Supergirl exclaimed in despair, looking at her friends.
Thor could only shake his head in horror and uncertainty, having no idea what was happening to Superman and not knowing how to fix it.
"No, Kal-El!" he yelled distraught.
"No, no!" Kara yelled as mortified as everyone else.
Superman succumbed to the ground, as the red energy consumed his body.
All Paragons could only watch the end of their great ally. But a surprise occurred. A new body emerged in its place. Supergirl and Thor stood up and… discovered with horror and disgust that Superman's body had been replaced by… Lex Luthor with a book in his hand.
At first stunned, Lex looked around and seemed satisfied to his relief.
"Oh, I am so happy that worked." he said with relief.
Thor eyed the bald man in fury and disgust.
"Lex, what did you do?" asked Supergirl furious at the presence of her enemy.
Standing up with a natural gaze, Lex gazed at the heroes as if they were his new friends:
"Well, I held the Book of Destiny and I saw you eight Paragons due to be stranded at the Vanishing Point, (He pulled out a sheet of paper from his book.) And I thought… destiny could use a little rewrite."
He unfolded his page and revealed it to everyone. On the page were inscribed the symbols of the Paragons with the name of Lex Luthor, marked in felt-tip pen.
"You used the Book to proclaim yourself Paragon of Truth?!"Thor exclaimed outraged with a look of hatred.
"That's right," Lex replied cheerfully.
He tucked his sheet of paper back into his jacket, ignoring the stunned looks of the other heroes with him. Even Rocket and Peter stared at him in amazement. The only ones staring at him furiously were Supergirl and Thor.
Then the bald man continued in a natural tone, as if he were having tea with friends:
"So… what do we do now?"
Quantum Realm
Ant-Man and the Wasp walked through the twists and turns of the microscopic universe, spotting strange creatures. They had proposed to the heroes to use the tiny universe of the Quantum Realm to be able to cross on different Earths in order to save as many people as they can.
It had been several hours. They didn't know if the others had succeeded in neutralizing the wave of anti-matter.
"I think we aren't very far from a close Earth," announced the Wasp. "We can create a way to the Waverider through the Quantum Realm."
"What matters is to save as many people as possible," Ant-Man replied.
"I'll inform the others of our progress."
She tried to call by communications:
"The Wasp to the Waverider, do you read me?"
But she got no answer. Strange.
She repeated the call:
"The Wasp to the Waverider, do you read me? J'onn? Professor Xavier? Do you copy? Do you copy? Hello?"
Even Ant-Man attempted to communicate outside of the Quantum Realm, but got no answers, either.
"Guys? Guys? J'onn? Professor Xavier? Hello?"
Finally, they resigned themselves to giving up. Their calls went unanswered.
"I can't reach the Waverider," Hope announced anxiously.
"The same for me too, I only have interference," Ant-Man replied.
"It's like there's no more Waverider," added the Wasp.
There was a moment of silence. Ant-Man and the Wasp continued to float in the Quantum Realm. Then a concern crossed Scott's mind.
"I don't like it, Hope! I have a bad feeling! That sounds like Thanos! It's not normal for no one to answer us!"
Obviously, Hope had the same concern as him.
"Do you think something happened to the others?"
But before Scott could answer, the Quantum Realm suddenly went dark.
"What the hell's that?" exclaimed Ant-Man dumbfounded.
"I don't know," replied the Wasp.
Then red lightning flashed out of nowhere and destroyed everything in their reach.
"Damn, Scott! We cannot stay here!" the Wasp yelled, horrified as she began to fly.
She grabbed Ant-Man and flew away from the red lightning in the microscopic universe.
"What the hell's happening, Hope?"Ant-Man said as he clung to his partner's arms.
"Anti-matter!"replied the Wasp in an alarmed voice. "It's destroying the Quantum Realm! And with us!"
She flew as far as she could, but the wave approached dangerously towards them.
"Hope, there is nowhere to go! We'll not be able to escape at that!" Ant-Man yelled in a voice of despair.
Then the anti-matter began to surround them, destroying the Quantum Realm. Then the Wasp saw what appeared to be a conduit, where there was light.
"Let's enter this tunnel, it's our only chance!" she declared.
"Where is this gonna lead us?" Scott asked.
"I don't know, but far away from the wave, I hope," Hope said.
The miniature couple walked through the dark tunnel, barely escaping the anti-matter. Scott and Hope saw only darkness. As if someone had turned off the light.
"Do you think we're dead, Hope? Or are we the last humans in the whole universe?" Ant-Man stammered, still clinging to his partner's arms having no visibility around him.
"I don't know," Hope replied, sounding panicked, like him, having no visibility into the tunnel she was going through.
"Do you think we'll find Heaven or Hell at the end of this way?" replied Ant-Man.
"A place where there is no anti-matter, I hope. I don't know, Scott. I've no idea where I'm going. I've no idea what to do… We are lost somewhere in the Quantum Realm which is threatened by anti-matter. We could be the last humans in the whole universe! I'm scared, Scott!"
"Hope, listen to me, please," Ant-Man's voice said wanting to be reassuring. "I'm scared too. But we have to be strong. Until we find out what is going on outside of the Quantum Realm, we must find a way to stay alive. I've faith in you, Hope and I love you."
He heard a sob in the dark, then Hope's trembling voice answered him:
"I love you too, Scott. I hope this dark way will lead us somewhere."
"We'll find out together. Ant-Man and the Wasp! We are a team! And we are together, that's the most important!"
And the two tiny Avengers travelled in pitch darkness, ignoring the end of their way.