Legendary

"We need to leave now," Hawkman said immediately as he and Hawkwoman rejoined us. "The gods are on their way to regain possession of the land. Unless you want to be subject to their power, it is time to go."

Tony nodded and used his suit's communication system to summon the quinjets. It took some time, but when they arrived, still dripping water from the release of the Nile, we picked up our wounded and boarded quickly, leaving behind the Typhon principals to the jurisdiction of the gods. Hawkman assured us that the authorities were on the way.

It was a quiet ride back; Bruce did enough research to identify the gods who'd been conferencing; the pudgy god was Hapi, lord of the Nile's inundation whose cult center had been at Aswan, the gigantic cobra was Shai, god of destiny and fortune. The goddess with the ostrich plume was Ma'at, truth, justice, and harmony, and the ram-headed man was Khnum, god of the river's cataracts and keeper of its source.

When we landed, the news was reporting the appearance of the Egyptian pantheon and the bursting of the dam, which caused a lot of damage and casualties, although numbers were unknown. Farther down, there was enough time to call for evacuations so that fewer lives were lost. A camera had caught the appearance of several major deities--Ra, Ma'at, Osirus, Thoth, Horus, Isis, Sekmet, and Hathor--and thus the proclamation that the gods had returned to reclaim their lands and exert their rule. They issued orders summoning the country's leaders, and the world was waiting to see what happened next.

Among the news coming out of the country was a list of identified Typhon principals who had been found dead at Abu Simbel or captured. They were all taken to Thebes; the dishonored dead were abandoned in the desert and the live ones were jailed. Talia had been killed by Bastet, but R'as was taken to Thebes. He killed himself in jail before going to trial; the trials were expected to be a formality since Typhon had intended to take over the county and use it as their base, out in the open.

Before too long, the gods had appointed a new pharaoh, a young man who had gone to the temple of Hathor in Dendera when the first alarms sounded and begged the old gods to spare the people, and Ramesses-Ra, as he was known, was charged with the task of setting up a theocracy, expelling anyone who would not convert to the worship of the pantheon and razing their houses of worship. The civil service was to be maintained, as was the armed forces, but a whole new system of governance would be needed. The gods inhabited their temples, or what was left of them, and their disquieting presence did much to keep a lid on unrest, if only because the fear of the gods outweighed the desire to benefit from the chaos. The gods allowed aid workers to come help and continued tourism because it was a benefit for the people, but it was made clear that things would be changing. It came out that the reason so few people had Returned was that to get to their destination, a soul had to pass through twelve gates, each with its own trials. The most important moment was in the Hall of Judgment, where the soul recited a defense against any wrongdoings in life to forty-two divine judges and his or her heart was weighted against Ma'at's Feather of Truth. If the soul was heavier than the feather, the heart was fed to Annat, "Devourer," and that soul was cast into darkness, really cutting down on the number of people who could potentially return. If the scales balanced, Osiris welcomed them to the Field of Reeds, which was a reflection of the life they had known. The gods were to be worshiped, travel was possible, and each soul was responsible for working a plot of land, either in person or using shabtis, small statuettes of workers that were supplied to the burials of the pharaohs in superabundance. This was why grave goods were so important in their burials. Whatever they'd been buried with could come with them. Because existence in the Field of Reeds was a direct reflection of this world, the vast majority of those who were there had seen no need to return. If people wanted to accept the pantheon, immigration would be encouraged. Thinking about how freaky everything had been around the gods, I resolved not to return. I much preferred the gods I knew.

Ares and his sons disappeared from the face of the earth, and the other Greek gods retreated to Olympus and their temples. Word got through from Themyscira that Athena and Artemis were pleased. But this was an interval of peace, nothing more; these gods were immortal and could not be killed. Ares was just licking his wounds somewhere. We heard about an attack on Themyscria; during what Typhon had thought would be their big breakout in Egypt, a force of women were sent to liberate the monsters under the islands that were guarded by the Amazons, but the Amazons defeated them. Soundly.

Word didn't get out about my identity as Valkryie, probably because there weren't any recordings of the event, but that was her final appearance. Damian continued as Nightfall for a little longer, then that identity was retired for good as well. Finally, we were a normal family, although each of us in our own ways continued to support the heroes. Steve, Bucky, and Tony promptly changed their status to Avengers Emeritus, and mostly just did publicity appearances and provided guidance for the new team. Serena never could quite give up the life although she cut way back. She was in her mid 50's when she was killed in action.

I led a good life. We all worked hard, and my company became recognized as one of the best in the world. Replacing Serena, when we had to, was not easy, but we promoted her most trusted associate. It had been set up in the beginning that ownership of any of our individual businesses reverted to the company when we retired or died, with the woman or her heirs getting a payment in lieu of ownership. Eventually, it was all mine. Serena was the only one who had died; the rest of us retired. I retired in my early 60's, and I appointed Iris along with J's daughter, Clarity Barnes, to run the business. They had exciting and interesting plans, and I felt that my legacy was in good hands.

This time around, there was more time for vacations with my family, and later, just my husband. Alfred and Delara married and moved into the guest house, raising their own kids there. Two of the three followed their parents into the butlering business, and the third found a very satisfying career in education and as an entrepreneur. They were family too; Iris and Miles used to babysit them. My kids all found lives that suited them; Miles became a principal dancer at ABT and their chief choreographer after he retired. Iris took on my company. Martha worked at Valkyrie before moving out on her own, and Xander... he subsumed himself so far into Batman that I felt he had lost some crucial sense of self in service of the Dark Knight. But that was his decision, and nothing anybody could say turned his feet from his path, although he had a short-lived marriage that produced the next generation for the batcave. Damian and I told Iris and Miles about the shadow side of the family when they found the Batcave. They thought it was cool but had no interest in continuing it, and they were most interested in my wings. Miles in particular felt cheated that they weren't genetic. He would have loved to fly. Selina published her memoirs, which caused a huge stir of interest, particularly her accounts of her run-ins with Batman, who was never identified in the work. Tabby was her father's daughter and went to work for Wayne. Daniel and Diana had a pair of girls; once a year the family went to the Aegean. Daniel would sail a boat into the mist, he and Hippolyta and Antiope would chat for a bit, Diana and the girls would spend a week or two on Themyscira, and when it was time, Daniel would come pick them up and they would have a full family vacation after that. When the girls were bigger, they spent summers on the island.

Damian was a lot more laid-back this time around, less driven, although the new Stark Industries looked to be as titanic as it had been when Tony was running the first one, neither he nor Tony were so focused on work. Tony's kids were interested in taking over the business, and so he had the continuity he treasured. Damian and I spent a lot more time together, to the delight of both of us. It was our second chance together, and we did not waste it. We made the most of our time with family and friends too.

I'd only been retired a couple of years when I was killed; a new group of baddies had attacked the city as I was heading into the city for an interview. My instinct was to defend my fellow citizens, but I was rusty, and before I knew it, I was standing, looking at my body. Eira, my faithful companion, was keening, but when I moved, she saw me. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned, smiling when I saw Serena in a white dress and red cape. A winged horse stood behind her, and I recognized it. We nodded to each other. I turned back to Eira. "Don't hurry," I told her. "I want you to have a great life. I love you. You know where I'll be." The Norn had yet to prophesy another apocalypse. She whined softly, then turned and picked her way toward the Asgardian embassy.

Odin welcomed me back to Valhalla by clasping my shoulders. I blinked; he was never demonstrative. He had Serena show me back to my old quarters. Valhalla had changed; there were still scrimmages with Folkvangr, but it wasn't the driving force it had been and life was more relaxed and lovely. And the women were treated better than ever. My red cape and weapons were waiting for me on the stand that Uncle Steve had made for me. I visited Hela periodically. I stayed away from the living this time, but I did find my way into other afterlives when I wasn't working.

Some time later, I was sent out again; another mass casualty event on Earth. Damned villains. I hopped off my horse and approached my soul from the back as it stood, looking around. I placed my hand on his right shoulder, and Damian turned around.

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Thanks for hanging in there with Alex and her adventures!

There's an epilogue of sorts in Poppies, in the chapter "Interviews", and Alex and Damian are also features as supporting characters in the final trilogy, which begins with "The Descendant."