#27: Fathers and Daughters (HoM / Saxton)

Superman blinked once. Blinked twice to clear away the cloudy debris that fogged his vision. The world was all greys and browns, and he didn’t know why. The third blink was followed by the colossal effort it took to clamber onto one knee. By his fifth, he was standing, leaning precariously against a graffitied wall. The sun blazed in the sky, and yet he felt agonisingly weak, like droplets of solar radiation were condensing on the inside of his skin, and eking out slowly with every move he made.

“...Where am I?” Superman whispered, as a rogue newspaper caught itself against his shin. Clumsy fingers groped at the pages, and pulled it up to eye level. The Daily Planet headline read ‘MAYOR LUTHOR ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION AND PRESIDENTIAL BID ALL IN ONE DAY!’ and the by-line was by Lois Lane. A shiver crept up the Man of Steel’s spine. Below that, ‘TSUNAMI KILLS HUNDREDS’ was punctuated by a photo of the disaster, and it was written by foreign-correspondent Clark Kent. But why would there be any disaster, in a world where the Last Son of Krypton existed? If Clark Kent was there... where was Superman?

Memories began to bristle in Superman’s consciousness. Hazy hours became clearer, and his vision of the past joined that of his vision of the future, and he knew that something had gone terribly, terribly wrong. He looked at his hand, and then at the Sun, and his expression changed to one of sheer determination. This was not right. Not one bit.



“Where are the Justice League?” said Animal Man, rushing around the mammoth meeting hall of the new League headquarters. “I mean, where’s Superman? He was supposed to be here, right? An Omega Alarm went off? Potential end of the world scenario?”

Doctor Light rapped her fingers against the table where the team were supposed to convene, and glanced up to her teammate. “I doubt they could be late, Mr Baker. I doubt they’d be rude enough to be late... especially if the world was ending”

“They’re not late,” said Firestorm, as he pulled up a large map on the League monitors. “Each member of the League... I’m talking Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman-- everyone-- was called into a separate emergency situation a few hours before the alarm went off. And I can’t pick up any trace of them.”

“Well now you have, Firestorm.” The three Leaguers turned to see The Flash, his uniform torn, his face bloody, enter the meeting room. “Someone’s abducted the Justice League, and I know where they’ve been taken.”

“Yeah?” said Firestorm, “so let’s go get them--!”

“Impossible,” grunted the Scarlet Speedster. “Impossible without knowing the precise coordinates-- they’ve been displaced in reality... their internal vibrations shunted into another frequency. They’ve been thrown into the multiverse!”



“Ow.” Katar Hol pulled himself up from the concrete, and rubbed the back of his head. He looked around and then placed his fingers to his lip, finding blood. He’d hit the ground hard-- and his body was still tingling. The world was safe though, untouched by the electric blue onslaught that had engulfed him mere moments ago. That was a plus. He clambered to his feet, and checked his equipment-- wings were working, armour was intact. “Great,” he mumbled, before realising that a small girl was standing, mouth agape, in front of him. “Hello.”

“You’re Hawkman,” she said, nervously. The girl, barely in her teens, wore a bright orange shirt and baggy jeans. Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and her eyes were wide. “Wow.”

“Yes,” said Katar, “I am. And what’s your name?”

“You’re Hawkman,” she repeated, before gathering herself. “Uh, my name is Becky. What are you doing here?”

Hawkman looked around, and observed that they were alone in a concrete basin that ran beside a dwindling urban river. Where Hawkman had landed there were scorch marks, but no other damage. “I’m... well.” The Thanagarian shrugged. “I have no idea.”



“Bombs?” said Batman, the BatWing running on silent as he soared above Gotham City. “They said they’d set off bombs?”

Commissioner Gordon cleared his throat as he spoke into Batman’s cowl communicator. “Your point, Batman?”

“It’s so vague,” murmured the Caped Crusader, “and they had no other demands than for me to come on scene? It’s a trap, obviously.”

Dick Grayson had always hated traps. Even now, being Batman, traps still irritated him to no end. Maybe it was the decade of being referred to, in passing, as ‘Robin, the Boy Hostage’, but he didn’t like walking into something so unbearably obvious.

“Then be careful, Batman,” said Gordon. “We’ve got armed response ready to move in when you give the word.”

“Good to know.” Batman steered the Wing down, and approached the Hyde Centre, one of the tallest buildings in Gotham, when his sensors began to go wild. Energy readings began to go off the dial-- “Gordon, get your men clear, get your men--” A swirl of blue light engulfed the BatWing, and the upper half of the Hyde Centre, and then, as soon as the silent light had come, it had gone, leaving a sphere shaped absence where it had shone. Batman was gone, and no one knew how... yet.



“I can shift my internal vibrations with a thought,” said The Flash. “IttakesalotofthoughtandeffortbutIcandoit, evenwithoutthe cosmictreadmill, itjusthurtsabit more.” He paused. “Sorry, it takes a lot of energy, and I’m just... mainlining adrenaline. My thoughts are lagging.” He took a breath, and then looked at the other three Leaguers assembled. “We need to find the connection between these incidents. We need to find where the other members have gone. And we need to find them before something goes terribly wrong. And we can’t bring them back.”

“Makes sense,” said Animal Man. “What happened with you? Where did you go?”

“I...” started The Flash. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s run.”

[/b]

The Flash walked. The corridors were dimly lit, and he didn’t want to risk streaking into a situation unprepared, so he walked. He’d received a distress signal from Science City, in the middle of Nowhere, USA, and had run as fast as his legs could carry him straight there-- which was, apparently, very fast indeed. Less than a second to get from Central to Science, and he didn’t even need to check for directions.

So, the Scarlet Speedster crept through the dark corridors as best a scarlet-clad speedster could, and finally came across the massive lab that the signal had originated from. A scientist was working feverishly over a large machine. The device was made up of a large coil that spun up from a metal base and glowed blue as it buzzed and buzzed.

“Step away from the machine, sir,” said The Flash, but the scientist merely glanced up, teary-eyed, and shook his head. “Please.”

“I can’t. It’s running diagnostic. The coil, it’s hyper-magnetised, weaving a web through an atom-sized hole at the tip,” the scientist pointed to where the glow originated from, “searching for a special set of parameters. Please, please, Flash, don’t stop me.”

“The base has been evacuated, sir,” said The Flash once more. “We’re alone in here. Do you understand what you’re doing?”

“Completely, not that you’d...” The scientist looked up. “Science City is my last chance, Flash.”

“You don’t understand,” said The Flash slowly, “that Science City has been evacuated, that we’re alone in here, that an Omega Alarm has been activated. What you’re doing could tear the universe apart. That’s why the Justice League have been called in. That’s why we’re-- I-- am here.” It struck Barry then. The thought. An Omega Alarm had been activated, sure, so the League should have organised, should have met here. Barry was always on point, always the first one there, so it made sense that he was alone for the first few minutes, but now, why was he the only one present? Scenarios ran through his mind, and he finally settled onto the one, single conclusion. “What have you done to the Justice League?”

“I had to stall for time,” said the scientist, wiping the tears away, “like I’m going to do to you now. I’m sorry.” He didn’t press anything. He didn’t configure the machine or pull a lever. Barry realised, as the blue light throbbed at his chest, that this was put into play before he had arrived. He couldn’t outrun the throb, even as he tried to vibrate through the walls of Science City and get as far away as he could-- he was halfway through the exit when the throb took him, and took a sphere three metres in size from the City. “I’m so sorry.”



“--Holy!” Batman grunted as the controls went dead for a split second. He was over Gotham, but the skies were clear and the world was quiet. It was daytime-- what had just happened? He brought the Wing up, soared above the clouds, and then regained control. He was about to open channels to communicate with Alfred, when a man, clad solely in white, floated in front of him, a grim look on his face. “What on Earth...?”

“I don’t know who you are,” said the flying man, “and I don’t know what you’re supposed to be. But you aren’t supposed to be here. So power down, and land that thing. Or I’ll land it for you.” The man looked familiar-- the posture of Superman, but the face... the face was the thing that horrified Dick Grayson-- it was Bruce Wayne’s. And he looked angry.

“Bruce?” whispered the Caped Crusader.



Katar and Becky sat on the edge of the river. “This isn’t my world. Back there, air currents are different. I had finally got used to them, and then I get shunted across dimensions. Typical.”

“The fact that you really don’t care is really, um, thrilling,” said Becky, Katar noting the distinct sound of sarcasm in her words, “but shouldn’t you be doing something?”

Katar smiled, and shook his head. “I could go to this world’s Justice League, sure. But I can feel, in the pit of my stomach,” he tapped his lower torso, his armour ringing, “that things will turn out fine. My body is out of synch, as it were. I’m trained to know everything. To have mastery over myself and my surroundings. I think I’ll be fine. Besides, shouldn’t you be at home?”

Becky blushed. “Home? Nah, there’s no point.”

“I can relate,” said Katar, before catching himself, “but you really should go home. Someone’s bound to be worried.”

“There’s no one to worry,” she said, looking down at the river.

“Oh,” said Katar. “Oh.”



“We need to get back to Science City then,” said Firestorm. “We need to find that scientist. Do we have any information on who he is?”

Doctor Light nodded. “I know the man. Doctor Robert Schwartz. He was working on multiversal travel. It’s all very hush-hush, but they wanted to use light refraction to pierce the... veil, as it were. He was making major headway until...” Kimiyo cleared her throat, “his daughter died. Car accident. Someone just... ploughed right into her. He was never the same.”

“He lost his daughter?” whispered The Flash. “Oh, God.”

“So you think he’s trying to take the whole world down with him?” asked Animal Man. “That can’t be right.”

“Well,” said The Flash, a horrid feeling reeling in the pit of his stomach, “he has to be stopped, whatever he’s doing. So we need to touch down in Science City. We need to shut down that machine. Kimiyo, can you handle that? Do you know what to do?”

“I know the science, I had to read up on it because I wanted to know if I could help. We can’t destroy the machine, know that. If we destroy it, whatever he’s opened up can’t be closed. But we need to get him away from the controls. If we can do that, we have a chance.”

“So there’s no way we could just... pull the plug?” Firestorm inquired.

“Not unless you want to see the entire universe swirl round the drain.”

The Flash shook his head. “Alright, guys, looks to me like it’s sink or swim. Let’s get to it.”



Superman wrapped himself in a trench coat he had found in a garbage can. He looked through that old newspaper, and found no mention of superheroes, of the Justice League, of anyone. But if Clark Kent was here, Lex Luthor as well... what was going on? The blue light that had struck him, made him shiver to the bone and dragged him here... he’d been taken somewhere. Somewhere not-quite-right. The Sun up above was all wrong too. It was yellow, sure, but it wasn’t doing anything for him. He felt weak. Clumsy. He stumbled out onto the street and careened into someone. He didn’t recognise who. The man spat curse words at the Man of Steel, and then went on his way. What was this world? He looked up to the Daily Planet, and pressed onwards.



“It should help your focus, Hal,” said Wonder Woman, as they floated above the Himalayas.

“I know, I know,” replied Green Lantern. The two of them were meditating. Hal was itching to move, to fly, but Diana simply breathed, in and out, and Hal was drawn into this. For her, he would do this. And if it helped better himself, great. “Wait.” He looked at his ring, flashing again and again, and turned to the Amazon Queen. “Emergency in Coast City. They want Green Lantern.”

Wonder Woman smiled that smile that drove Green Lantern a little crazy sometimes, and nodded. “Then they’ll also get Wonder Woman. How fortuitous.”

“Fantastic,” said Green Lantern, as they hurtled toward their vanishing. And across the world, Hawkman and the Atom were pulled into a blue glow as Schwartz’s machine struck. Aquaman was pulled from the waters of his kingdom, the Martian Manhunter was yanked out of reality-- and then the Justice League were three...



“...He was hit by a car,” Becky said finally, “and I was alone. My mom, she died when I was little. Cancer... And my dad, he was always there for me. Always the best he could be. When he died... well, I don’t have any other family on either side, so I’m just... existing, you know? Existing in foster care. Existing in life.”

“I’m sorry,” said Katar. “I can’t begin to think...” Hawkman paused, and then tipped his helmet over his head. Becky smiled as she saw his face, and his expression made his sentiment clear. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“I’m fine,” she said, shaking her head. “Nothing I do is going to bring him back. So... yeah.”

“You’re strong,” said Hawkman, “so I’m going to let you in on a secret. Because I feel I can trust you. My name is Katar. And I see nothing but good things in your future. You’re smart, you’re capable, and you didn’t bat an eyelid when I crash-landed in front of you. That takes strength.”

“Or maybe I’m suicidal,” shrugged Becky.

Katar went red. “What?!”

“I’m joking!” said Becky. “Don’t worry. Hawkman... on this world... since I first read about him... you... you’ve always been my favourite member of the Justice League.”

“Thank you,” said Katar, settling down.

Becky’s lips twisted into a smirk. “I think it’s the chest. You should really do something about that.”

Katar groaned. “Not you too.”

[/b]

The glow of teleportation faded as Animal Man, Doctor Light, Firestorm and The Flash materialised outside the cordon erected by police around Science City. They were allowed through, and they moved slowly toward the massive concrete bunker.

“What is this place, anyway?” asked Animal Man.

“The Prof wants me to tell you that it’s where the government funds mad science. You get all the public work done in Midway, where Blue Beetle is working out of, but Science City... is where it’s all at, government-wise,” said Firestorm. “He’s been asked to work here on-and-off for the past decade.”

“Weird. Never heard of it before today,” said Animal Man.

The Flash shook his head. “Very few people have. The Justice League get called in here every couple of months or so. Not only is their vetting process awful, but mad science tends to lead to some mad results.”

“Barry,” said Doctor Light slowly, “I have a question... Where did Schwartz send you? You didn’t answer before... you were able to get yourself back on track, but where did he send you?”

“That’s the thing,” replied The Flash, “took me a few hours, and hopping and skipping from one world to another as I got my vibrations back in sync with this world, but it was nowhere bad. Nowhere terrible. It was the middle of nowhere, but not in the midst of some kind of superhero war or something like that. Kind of serene. The only reason my costume got into such a mess was because I landed myself on a few worlds where it was... hectic.”

“So he didn’t send you away to get hurt?” said Animal Man. “Now, that is weird. The mad scientists I’ve met kind of like to inflict a bit of hurt by way of their experiments.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” said The Flash. “Alright, game faces on. We’ve got a League to save.”



The BatWing crumpled like paper under Bruce Wayne’s grip. Batman ejected out, didn’t even bother activating his parachute, and instead, threw himself out of the seat and onto Bruce Wayne’s back. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he hissed, “I don’t mean you any harm.”

“No one knows my name. You using it with such frivolity doesn’t fill me with confidence,” replied the angered hero, grabbing Dick by the cape and throwing him at the wreck of the plane that he was still holding onto with one hand. “What’s your game?”

“I’m Batman,” replied Grayson, “have been for a good year or so now. I took over the role from you because you died. I’m not of this world, so don’t, hgg,” Batman pulled himself up, and stared Bruce in the eye, “so don’t go unnecessary hero-on-hero fight. Let’s talk. First off, I’m a stranger here, so what name should I use? Superman? Are you Superman?”

“Superman? No. Ultraman. Ultra as in plus. More-than-man,” said the white clad hero. “As in more than getting a little bit irritated right now.”

“Weird,” said Batman, “and that colour scheme works on you. Not that you’d let me tell you back on my Earth.”

“Your Earth? What are you talking about?” snapped Ultraman. Dick glanced down to see that they’d approached the ground, and that police were coming in fast.

“I’m from another universe. Have your scientists discovered the mul--”

“Multiverse?!” Ultraman grabbed Batman by the neck. “That’s classified infor-” Bruce’s eyes opened wide, and he released Dick instantly. “You’re from another Earth. My God.”

“Sanity prevails!” groaned Batman, clutching his aching throat. “Can we try again? I’m Batman.”

“Ultraman,” replied Bruce. “Let’s get you out of here, before the police arrest you.”

“What about my plane?” said Dick, glancing down at the wrecked BatWing.

“Sorry,” said Ultraman.

“For what?”

Ultraman’s eyes flashed green, and the wreck melted away into nothingness. “That.”



Wonder Woman looked across the ocean. “We’ve been shunted across the multiverse.”

Green Lantern let out a low laugh. “Explains why I can’t access my power battery or the Book of Oa. God, how come this keeps happening to me?”

“Luck,” shrugged Wonder Woman. “But we’re not in any immediate danger. Is your ring picking up anything?”

“No life signs in the vicinity. We’re on a desert island, Diana. In the middle of nowhere. What do you suggest we do?”

Diana touched her stomach, and then turned to Hal. “You felt the shiver too, correct? Before we left Earth-One?”

“Yeah, my ring is running diagnostic as we speak, but the amount of raw data... could take some hours before it’s done. What are you thinking?”

“We’ll see soon enough,” replied Wonder Woman, as she sat cross-legged, and began to meditate.



Doctor Schwartz cursed his own lack of speed. Fingers fumbled over the device, and he couldn’t keep up with his calculations. “Where are you?” he whispered. “Where?”

“Here.” Animal Man knocked him aside with a speed-burst courtesy of The Flash, and then pointed a finger at the cowering scientist. “Sorry to play bad cop, but you kidnapped our friends. Again... sorry. But we can’t let you continue down this road. The entirety of the universe is at stake.”

“No!” he shouted, as a blue flare began to shine at the tip of the coil. “No, no, you need to... you need to let me work!”

“You kidnapped the Justice League, Doctor,” said Firestorm, “that’s not entirely precedent for letting you continue down this route.”

“My daughter... my daughter,” whispered Schwartz.

“What about your daughter?” said The Flash, stepping forward. “What about her?”

Schwartz stumbled over to The Flash, and bowed his head at the speedster’s shoes, sobbing. “She’s in there... somewhere... She’s in there!”

“What?”



Superman bumped into Clark Kent on the way up the staircase that lead to the bullpen of the Daily Planet. They looked at each other for a moment, like gazing into a mirror, and Clark Kent exhaled heavily. “Oh, no.”

“Clark..?” said Superman, slowly. “I know this might sound strange, but...”

Clark shook his head, and began to pace around the stairwell. “Last son of a dying world. Sent to Earth. Powerless. You’re me, aren’t you? From another universe.”

“How do you...?”

“Jor-El, my biological father, he thought that the yellow sun of this planet would supercharge my system. Grant me powers beyond those of mortal men. But it didn’t. Something went wrong. And I’m just... powerless. Seemingly human. In... in his crystals, he had so many theories, and in one... he surmised about multiple Earths, all these things, and I’m just...” Clark slumped inwardly, before looking up at Superman. “Why am I like this?”

“I... I don’t know,” said Superman, “but I’ve read your work, Clark. You do amazing things. You don’t need powers to do great things.”

“Ha,” said Clark, “you sound just like-”

“Pa,” finished Superman. “What can I say? He was the most important man in my life.”

Clark blinked. “Was? Past tense?”

Superman nodded his head. “I... I want to see Lois.”

Clark opened a janitor’s closet, and motioned to a suit hanging in there. “Spare suit. I’m very clumsy. Go.”

Superman smiled, and then couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re a good man, Clark Kent.”



“Impossible,” whispered The Flash, a feeling in his chest throbbing like no other. “Im-impossible.”

“No. Nothing’s impossible,” said Schwartz. “Infinite worlds, infinite possibilities. Out there, somewhere, is my daughter, alive, and I need her, Barry. I need my daughter back. I’m half the man I was without her. I’m... not half, I’m nothing. I’m nothing.”

Doctor Light’s hand found The Flash’s shoulder, and Firestorm nodded slowly. The Flash knelt down in front of the cowering Schwartz, and spoke slowly. “Where are the Justice League?”

“Safe. I sent them to harmless universes. Desert islands, familiar sights. They’ll be back. But I knew that if I tried this, with what the other scientists have said... well, you reacted to the Omega Alarm, didn’t you? Barry, I just want my daughter back, I know you’ll understand, won’t you? There has to be a universe, somewhere, created by the fact of that crash. Divergent branches of that event. Instead of her dying, I die, instead of her being hit, she survives, she’s alone-- somewhere, she’s alone, and I’m alone here, and I want her back.”

Animal Man was nodding slowly. “We’ve got to find her.”

Doctor Light turned at that. “What?”

“I have a daughter, Kimiyo. And a son. And I don’t know how far I’d go if I lost them. And traversing the multiverse to save a little girl a life of being alone... I don’t save universes, I don’t fight in crises, but this... I can understand this.”

“We don’t play God,” said The Flash. “It’s not our place. We can’t save everybody. If we start this, right now, what’s to stop us doing it again in the future? What’s to stop us from stopping caring, simply shrugging and coming to this machine and bringing the people who we lose in the crossfire, or in battle, from another Earth to live in our own? Divergent realities, where we can cherry pick who lives and who dies? We don’t have the right!”

“The machine pinches reality into place, Barry,” said Schwartz. “To do it again, it would tear all that we know apart-- This is my one shot, and I can’t fail. I can’t...”

“Too easy,” said The Flash, “too convenient. I don’t... I don’t think we can do this. It’s not fair to the balance of the world.”

“Please,” begged Schwartz, “I lost my wife, and I lived with it; I mourned because it was her time to go, but my daughter? She was barely fifteen! It wasn’t her time. It was a travesty. She’s alone in her world, isn’t she? The divergent path? I can save her where I failed before. Please.”

The Flash watched Schwartz sob. He knew what the man was going through. He understood. After an agonising minute where he thought through every scenario, every possible fallout, he put out his hand to the scientist, and bit his bottom lip. “Let’s save your daughter.”



Bruce Wayne’s floating headquarters was somewhat familiar to Dick Grayson. For a multiverse with ultimate potential, sometimes things stayed intrinsically the same. Bruce Wayne was a hero. The same... but different. In this world, Gotham was... safe. A strange thought. “So, you’re Ultraman. What’s up with that?”

Bruce typed some words into a massive super-computer before him, and then turned to face the Caped Crusader. “My father was a scientist--”

“Was?” Dick blurted out, without thinking.

Bruce nodded. “He died last year. My mother still lives at the Manor... Anyway, my father came up with a serum. I drank it. Here I am. I fight crime, I save the world.”

Dick looked at all the marvels on display in this place”Are there others? A League? A Society?”

“Titans,” replied Bruce, and this thought made Dick grin. “Like-minded individuals fighting to protect the world. Not that there any threats. The odd mugging here and there. No villains like there are in the comics. We make the world a better place.”

“Fantastic,” replied Batman. “Now, if you could... I know this is a leap in trust, but could you show me what you know about the multiverse? I’m a bit rusty... and I need to get home.”

“I... trust you,” said Bruce, “for whatever reason that is.”



“Firestorm, you need to keep that hole stable. That’s how Schwartz is venturing into the multiverse.” Doctor Light turned to Schwartz. “You’re sending out, what, a parameter search? Across the Bleed? Searching for a specific set of parameters before you make the transition?”

“Yes, but, the computer, it can’t process the searches fast enough, and the longer the hole is open, the more likely we are to have... problems.”

“Problems, heh,” said Animal Man, “that’s what I was expecting.”

“I can handle the processing,” said The Flash, cracking his knuckles. “I need a monitor.”

Schwartz pulled a computer console out from a desk, and typed in a code, and The Flash was away at work. Firestorm kept a steady hand, and Animal Man could see the Nuclear Hero sweating-- the hole kept fluctuating, blue light strobing stronger and stronger.

“It’s just energy,” whispered Firestorm, “energy can change, change into air or pixie dust or glitter; just got to think, got to concentrate.”

“Something...” Doctor Light’s brow creased, “something’s coming across the threshold! Something’s coming!”

Animal Man concentrated on tapping into the morphogenetic field. He reached out for an animal, something close by, something he could use. “You handle the machine, guys, I’ll take whatever we’ve got paying us a visit.”

“We just need to complete the search,” muttered Schwartz, “then things’ll snap back into their proper places.”

There was a hiss, and then an explosion of light as something hurtled across the room, eyes red and raw, blood dribbling from its open mouth. “Nuuuhhhh!”

“Oh, my God,” whispered Animal Man. “Is that... Superman?”



Superman, dressed in an ill-fitting suit, found Lois Lane heading out into the street. “Lois!”

“Smallville, good work on the tsunami piece last week, glad to see you’re home. But I got places to be, stories to chase.” She leaned in close, and Clark could smell her perfume... God, he thought, across dimensions, she’s still... Lois. “Got a lead on the Luthor presidential bid, and tell you the truth, it’s a big one. Something isn’t quite right about his campaign. He’s crooked like a bad tooth, and I’m going to play dentist with the front page of the Planet.”

Superman’s ear piqued up. A car screeched round the corner. His stomach began to turn. The shiver he felt on transit was back. “Lois,” he whispered, as the car neared. He couldn’t think of the words. He could hear the clickety-clack of weapons being loaded. “Write your story.” He span around, and tore open his shirt at super-speed, revealing his costume, and grabbed the car before it could get any closer to them. He lifted it up by the bumper, and used his heat vision to disarm the crooks from underneath. They howled in surprise, and then as soon as they’d been disarmed, the car slammed to the ground, knocking them straight out. Police neared, and Lois Lane was left wondering-- what just happened? And where was Clark?



“Weird,” said Hawkman, looking down at his body. “I think... I’m going back, Becky.”

Becky nodded, and smiled. “It was nice meeting you, Katar Hol from another universe.”

“And I-- Becky?!” Hawkman looked over to the young girl, and saw a blue swirl form in her chest. She looked down, her eyes following Katar’s panicked look, and then she cried out. “Hold on--!” Hol pushed himself forward, but was dragged out from the reality, and sucked into the abyss--



Wonder Woman’s eyes opened. “It’s happening.”

“I feel it too. My ring’s telling me that our vibrations are returning to normal, we’re transitioning back.”

“Get ready,” said Wonder Woman, taking the Lasso of Truth from her hip, “we were taken from Earth-One for a reason.”

Hal’s ring sparked, energy just waiting to be released. “Ready when you are, beautiful.”

Wonder Woman’s eyebrow rose up. “Hal?”

Green Lantern simply grinned. “I’m talking to my ring.”



The red-eyed Superman leaped for Animal Man, but he latched onto a grasshopper and sprang behind him impossibly fast. “That’s not our Superman. The costume is different, but he’s got a mad on for us--!”

The monstrous Kryptonian spun around. “Nuuuhttt gggguuuinggg baaacckkk.”

“Yeah, about that,” the monster-Superman didn’t have time to turn as a C4 pack went off on his back, shunting him face first into the ground. Batman grinned. “I’m back. Who missed me?”

Animal smiled, and put up his hand. “Nice to see you, Bats.”

The monster-Superman lurched up, ready to attack, when a new player entered the game--

“I’m sorry,” said the other voice, and the monster span around and was confronted with the true Superman of Earth-One. “But you’re going down.” One punch sent the monster-Superman careening through the walls of Science City. Superman looked over to the other members of the League. “Interesting workday?”

“Keep him away from the machine,” said Doctor Light, “workday isn’t done with yet.”

“Yes ma’am,” replied Superman, shooting away to face his imposter.

As they spoke, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern materialised, followed by Aquaman, the Martian Manhunter and the Atom. They looked at the carnage being created by the two Supermen, and leaped into battle.

The Atom looked up at the machine generating the blue strobe effect, and his eyes widened. “I recognise that science. That’s the same principle as the Time Pool! What just happened to us?”

“Long story,” said The Flash. “I’ll give you the keywords later, but first-- Schwartz! I found it! I found the Earth we’re looking for! A billion parallels away, but you just need to transition her!”

Schwartz nodded, and began to activate a secondary machine, all the while chaos reigned behind them. The monster-Superman was impossibly powerful, and even the combined might of the Justice League were struggling. Debris flew, and a shard of metal was dragged up by pale, beastly fingers as the monster-Superman swatted Green Lantern away, and threw the shrapnel at the machine. It collided through the coil, and The Flash’s eyes opened wide.

“No!” cried Schwartz, “NO!”

The Flash moved faster than he thought possible. He grabbed the components that came apart on impact, and began to place them back together, his fingers burning under the heat of the blue strobe effect. He winced as burns began to spread across his hands, his friction-proof aura coming apart. But nearly as soon as he had begun, the job was done, and Doctor Light created a soft light cushion to catch the falling speedster.

The monster-Superman burst free, and went to finish the job, when--

“Now, Schwartz,” screamed Light, “do it!”

--Hawkman reappeared, snarling angrily, and brought his mace down upon the creature’s head, shattering his weapon against its skull. The blue strobe went white, and Schwartz prayed. The Justice League barrelled down on the monster-Superman, Green Lantern imagining a thousand ton chain-link that slammed the creature into the ground. Wonder Woman tied her lasso around his limbs, and it struggled, but finally relented, as the League stood triumphant. Superman allowed himself to turn to look at the strobe as it blinded everyone else, and his eyes began to water. “What’s going on?”

The strobe exploded, the coil came apart from every angle, and Green Lantern threw up a shield in front of everyone present. Science City went silent for a second as another impossible sound was created-- and then everything was quiet, like the aftermath of a storm.

“Did we... did we do it?” asked The Flash, his burns already healing. “Did we?”

“D-daddy?” Becky Schwartz’s eyes were filled with tears as she saw her father, standing there. He dropped to his knees as she ran toward him, and he welcomed her with open arms. Wonder Woman looked down to see her lasso empty, and Firestorm nodded. Everything was back to normal. “Oh, Daddy, I missed you, I thought you were gone! And then Hawkman, he came, and then--” She broke the hug, and looked her father in the eye. “Am I dreaming?”

“No,” he whispered. “No, you’re not. You’re here.”

Hawkman looked at the Justice Leaguers, and then to Becky, sobbing in the arms of her father. “Seven Devils,” he whispered, “what just happened?”

“Yes, I think that’s a question we’d all like answering.” Superman looked to Doctor Light, a confused expression on his face. “What happened?”

“We saved someone’s world,” she said. “Like we’re supposed to do.”

Superman looked to The Flash, who had his back to everyone, and then to the other members of the League. “I’ll go talk to the authorities. Firestorm, you’re with me. I need some blanks filling in.”

“We did good,” said Animal Man, looking at Wonder Woman, “I know we did.”



“I’m not sure I like the implications of today’s events,” said Aquaman. “We enabled the kidnapping of a girl from another dimension? What about that world’s authorities? That world’s Justice League? We could have just initiated Multiverse World War One.”

“I understand your concerns,” said Hawkman, “but that girl... I don’t know how, but by some twist of fate, I was on her Earth. I spoke to her. She’s better off here. The machine though... has it been dismantled?”

“And melted down by J’onn and Clark.” Arthur said with a nod. “Gods,” whispered the King, “the risks we ran.”

“It wasn’t our call to make. We weren’t there. And I would support Barry till the ends of this Earth. I know you would too. His judgement was not flawed.”

“No, not flawed,” said Arthur, “compromised? Schwartz isn’t the only one to lose a daughter, remember?”

“I remember,” said Katar, “I’ll always remember. The risks we run, not only today, but every day. And the losses we incur.” He placed his helm over his head, and flapped his wings. “I’m putting a tick in the win column. I’m going to take the victory where we can, this time around. I’ll see you at the next League meeting.”

“Of course,” said Aquaman, gazing out across the city that they were standing atop. His thoughts wandered across the sky, and toward the future, and what it would hold.



“Barry... are you alright?” said Wonder Woman, as The Flash looked out across the skies. The floating-city headquarters of the Justice League was resting on top of a cloud formation, cloaked, but still humming away as it travelled the skies of the world.

“I don’t know,” replied The Flash. “I don’t know. That man did everything he could to save his daughter. Risked the world. And my Carrie... my little girl, that I’ve... that I’ve lost... is living a life years into the future. With a loving family. With a loving husband waiting in the wings. I wonder, did I do enough? Could I have done what Schwartz did?”

“You did what was best for your daughter,” said Wonder Woman, “you gave her what every parent strives to give. Happiness.”

The Flash nodded. “I hope she is,” he said, his voice nearly a whisper, “I pray she is.”

“You know she is, Barry,” said Diana. “Because you made her so.” Wonder Woman stood beside The Flash, and they watched the sun rise together. “Here’s to tomorrow,” she said, as golden strands of light flecked the sky. “And to every sunrise.”



NEXT ISSUE: What's wrong with Firestorm? What's wrong with the world? Buildings shiver and shake across the world as something effects the elemental fields that hold the Earth together, and the Justice League need to figure out what-- or who-- would spark such an event! And if this mysterious incident repeats, will the poles of the Earth shatter and send the world hurtling into the Sun? Be here for the first instalment of the three-part BLACK COLOSSUS![/b]