JSA Annual #1: Crisis on Two Earths, Pt 7

Earth-One…

His face twisted into a horrible paroxysm of madness and fury, Black Shazam bore down upon Jade, his hands locked around her throat. She battered him with desperate, unfocused spurts of emerald energy, but her Power Pulse was weakening, and her very consciousness was fading, throttled out of her by the mad wizard.

“You think you brats can attack me here? On the Rock? Where I am strongest?” His voice rose in pitch, ringing throughout the halls of the Rock of Eternity; he pressed his face so close to her that spittle sprayed her. His eyes were wide and shot with blood. “I will destroy you first, and then your friends. Then I will have my way with this world, and everyone in it!”

Jennie-Lynn panicked. He was killing her, and she was the only thing that stood between him and the others, who were trying to hijack the dimensionally-compromised Rock in order to avert a catastrophic multiversal feedback that would destroy most of the Solar System. She had to find the strength… Her father would never quit, she knew, and neither would she.

But then her vision went to black--- and she thought she had died. Except, Black Shazam was shrieking and the pressure on her throat was suddenly gone. Gasping greedily for air, she heard a familiar voice say: “Stay away from my sister you lunatic…!”

The darkness was not natural. It was Obsidian.

She followed the sounds of their struggle, feeling in the rapport she shared with her brother the enormous amounts of energy he was channeling. But Black Shazam was like no opponent either one of them had ever faced--- the power he wielded was almost unimaginable, and Todd was going to need some help. Calling on every reserve she had, she burned as bright as she could and threw herself back into the fray…!

JSA Roll Call!

Captain Marvel (Billy Batson):With one magic word, the World’s Mightiest Mortal battles the enemies of man with the power of Shazam! New Chairman of the JSA!

Green Lantern (Alan Scott): Dark things cannot stand the light of the original Emerald Gladiator!

Flash (Jay Garrick): The emotional core of the team, this original super-speedster is proud to mentor the next generation of heroes!

Wildcat (Ted Grant): The champ with nine lives, always ready to deliver the knockout punch to crime!

Sandman (Wesley Dodds): Donning a gas mask and a fedora, this haunted dreamer delivers the sleep of the just to wrongdoers!

Doctor Fate (James Brendan Corrigan): Separated from the Spectre, the ghost of Jim Corrigan dons the magical artifacts of his missing friend Kent Nelson as an agent of the balance between Order and Chaos!

Power Girl (Karen Starr): All the powers of Superman--- and twice the attitude! Her past is a mystery, but her future seems to be with the JSA!

Commander Steel (Henry “Hank” Heywood III): Grandson of the Golden Age Indestructible Man, this super-soldier with a cybernetic titanium-alloy body is unstoppable on his crusade for justice!

Young All-Stars Roll Call!

Atomika (Jo Morgan Pratt): Daughter of the original Atom, this Mighty Maid packs a nuclear wallop!

Jade (Jennie-Lynn Scott): Daughter of Alan Scott, she has internalized the power of the Green Flame, and just may be one of the most powerful beings in the universe!

Obsidian (Todd Scott): Son of Alan Scott, he controls the dark flipside of the Starheart, the Shadowlands, the quintessence of terror!

Cyclone (Jesse Chambers): Daughter of Golden Age heroes Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick, when she speaks the formula 3X2(9YZ)4A, she becomes the fastest woman alive!

Ray (Ray Terrill): Son of the Golden Age Ray, this brash young hero dazzles with the power of pure light and his razor-sharp wit!

Starman (David Knight): Son of the Golden Age Starman, the newest wielder of the Cosmic Rod inherits a proud legacy of heroism and sacrifice!

Icicle (Cameron Mahkent): Son of the original Golden Age villain, he needs no ice-gun to shoot freezing blasts or send the temperature plummeting!

Tigress (Artemis Crock): Daughter of an illicit affair between Wildcat and the Golden Age villainess the Huntress, she is a master of exotic weaponry and a dozen fighting styles!

Hourman (Rick Tyler):The brand-new Man of the Hour, a Miraclo-powered dynamo!

Northwind (Norda Cantrell):Godson of Hawkman and warrior-prince exile of Feithera, searching for his place in the world!

Terminus, in the Nexus of All Time and Space…

In the tempest of their howling anti-matter simulacrums, the heroes of the Justice League and Justice Society gazed up in horror at Parallax--- now revealed to be the Ultra-Humanite. The former foe of the JSA, one-time ally of the Anti-Monitor, had stolen Earth-Two Hal Jordan’s body, ring and identity and had embarked on a mad scheme to pick up where Omegaddon had left off, to make himself the Master of the Multiverse.

“My moment of triumph is at last at hand,” the exultant supervillain gloated, showing a mouth full of teeth. “My armada of cybermechs have begun the conquest of Earth-Two, the Omega Machine will be online in moments, and when Black Shazam arrives with the Rock of Eternity, I will have all I need to reign supreme over all--- in this delectable new body, of course!” He yanked on the chain in his hand which led to the de-powered Power Girl, mockingly clad in the blue and red uniform of her former identity as Earth-Two’s Supergirl. “And my revenge against the JSA is complete, bringing you here to witness my ultimate victory--- your ultimate failure!”

“This isn’t over yet, Humanite!” Jay Garrick seethed, clenching a fist. Alan Scott moved up to stand at his oldest friend’s elbow, his ring flaring with pent-up outrage. The entire assemblage of heroes poised to rush into action, but the Ultra-Humanite only sneered, unafraid.

“You’re already dead, old man. All of you. Look at you,” the contempt dripped like acid from his voice. “All gray hairs and broken-down bodies against the greatest mind in the Multiverse paired with the ultimate weapon--- and soon an indestructible body! You never stood a chance! Shadow demons--- destroy them!”

Above them, the whirling anti-matter simulacrums wailed in long-denied release. They dove for the heroes and the battle for the fate of the Multiverse was joined!





Captain Marvel stood in the chamber at the heart of the Rock of Eternity, wind and rain from the hole blown in the side whipping his cape about him. In his hand was the crystalline Core and crumpled all around him were the battered bodies of the heroes who had tried to stop him.

Sandman, Tigress, Hourman and Cyclone were frozen in despair at the chamber’s entrance: before them was their only chance to seize control of the Rock and pilot it from Earth-One before the dimensional paradox it was creating started a chain reaction that would collapse the entire Multiverse--- but first they had to take it from Captain Marvel.

{Cap, listen to me,} Sandman pleaded, unholstering his gas gun but not yet pointing it. {If we don’t move the Rock of Eternity out of this universe, it’s going to tear itself apart, killing every living thing on the planet! Give me the Core!}

The World’s Mightiest Mortal stared with wild eyes back at them, casting a nervous glance around the chamber where the others were stirring; Atomika was pulling herself to her feet and Icicle shared a desperate look with Tigress, who nodded tightly.

“Don’t!” Cap warned, holding the shining Core above his head. “Or I will crush it to powder in my hand!”

Just then, the Rock spasmed, causing many of them to nearly lose their footing, shaking down loose stone all around them. But Cap remained steady, suspicion and fear at war on his expressive face.

“You lie! This is a trick!” Cap growled, but even the Core in his hands throbbed and pulsed erratically now. They all stared at it. Only moments remained. Soon the Rock of Eternity would be no more.





Black Shazam had fled to his throne room, harried by the lashing power of dark and light wielded by Obsidian and Jade. They were hot on his heels, alternately burning and freezing him, blinding him and terrifying him, keeping him off-balanced and unable to regroup.

His coming scattered the minor demons and imps that gamboled in the hellish throne-room, and he threw himself at the feet of the statues of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Men. Shadows flickered in the light of the braziers and firepits, making the statues seems as if they were alive, swaying to and fro…

“These damnable Children of the Starheart,” he hissed, looking over his shoulder for them; but they hadn’t caught up yet. “Together they wield a power that is almost equal to the gods! Lend me your might, my old foes, and you shall have this world for your playground!”

We have been at play there since the dawn of time, Wizard. You offer us nothing we do not already own.

A jet-shot green light was building up the long hall to the throne room. They were almost upon him. Black Shazam pressed his hands together in supplication.

“Name your price!”

Your soul.

The mad wizard laughed, pathetically relieved. But before he could open his mouth to accept their offer, a phantasm appeared before him, his mirror image, only one not bent with corruption.

“Do not do this,” the supplanted Shazam of Earth-One beseeched his twisted Earth-Two manifestation. “Please. You will commit yourself to a monstrous and profound separation from every living thing in existence.”

“Bah! What do I care of that?” Black Shazam crowed, whirling back upon the statues of the Seven Enemies. “Take it! My soul is thine!”

And when Jade and Obsidian burst into the chamber a moment later, they were faced with a horror that threatened to rip away their very sanity...




Surrounded by enemies with battle raging all around him, Superman felt within himself the reawakening of hopes long denied: Kara was alive, and Hal had not fallen into despair and evil. For so long he had lived with the knowledge that his cousin had given her life that he might live, that his friend and teammate had made a mockery of a life of heroism and noble sacrifice. Though he was beset on all sides by shadow demons, Superman’s heart was welling with a kind of joy he usually associated only with Lois, Jon and Zara.

“Clark, look out!”

Batarangs whizzed by him, and a concussive blast repelled the anti-matter simulacrum flying towards him. Superman returned the favor by scooping up the armored Dark Knight just as a pair of them were about to converge upon him.

“Matter and anti-matter are antithetical to one another!” Batman yelled after Superman set him down on an upper battlement of the fortress. “Your doppelganger will be attracted to you, and vice-versa, but stay away from it! The trick is to go after someone else’s!”

“I’ll keep that in mind, old friend,” Superman waved a thanks to the exasperated Batman, who was already leaping back into the fray, and raked the area with his x-ray vision, searching for some sign of the Ultra-Humanite and his cousin, hoping it wasn’t already too late: the villain was going to put his brain in Kara’s body! There was no way Superman was going to lose her again after just finding her.

But the Ultra-Humanite and his prisoner had fled and were nowhere to be seen. There was a subtle shift in the vibrational pulsing that was coming from the Anti-Monitor’s Machine, barely perceptible even to the Man of Steel’s super-senses--- but he picked up on it, nonetheless. Not hesitating, he rocketed towards the Omega Machine, nursing the fragile hope in his breast.





{Cyclone, get the Core!}

No sooner had the words from Sandman reached her ears than Jesse Chambers was blazing across the chamber in the spaces between heartbeats. The world shunted into slow-motion for her, and everything took on a laser-focused clarity: if she couldn’t get the Core from Captain Marvel, the Multiverse was doomed. With the speed of Hermes, Cap was fast--- his eyes flicked towards the blur she had become, tracking her approach while everyone else seemed to be frozen in place--- but Cyclone ran faster than she ever had before, and she was even faster!

When she was close enough, she leaped, leading with both hands and snatched the glowing orb, wresting it from his grasp. Nothing else mattered except that she had the Core, and she fell out of superspeed, crashing forward in her momentum, rolling in a fetal position, her whole body wrapped around her prize.

Time came crashing back. Captain Marvel’s roar echoed in the chamber, drowning out Hourman’s fierce cheer of pride. At the same time, Starman, the Ray and Icicle blasted at Cap. Hawkman and Northwind had come to, and together pounded on him with everything they had. Atomika reached Jesse first, pulling her to her feet just as the ghost of Jim Corrigan materialized.

“Get us out of here!” Jesse extended the crystal sphere towards Corrigan.

“I can’t, I’m not alive! You’ll have to do it, but I can help you!”

Spectral fingers intertwined with Jesse’s, pressing them firmly upon the Core. She felt his consciousness intertwine with hers, as well, giving her instinctually the trigger to move the Rock.

“Now, Jesse, command it!” cried Corrigan.

So Jesse took them where they all wanted to go: “Take us to the Justice Society!”





Aquaman dodged a shadow demon, pinning it to the stone wall of the fortress with his harpoon appendage, and swung wide the Trident of Neptune, keeping another at bay. Like most of the others, it was all he could do just to stay alive, fighting back-to-back with Wildcat and Commander Steel, and watching out for each other. With her customary prowess, Wonder Woman tore through the anti-matter simulacrums, avoiding the one she knew to be her doppelganger, just as Batman had warned them. Alan Scott and the Flashes--- Jay, Barry, Wally and Carrie--- were all holding their own, and Batman seemed untouchable in his armor, launching batarangs from afar. Only Superman was missing, though Arthur had seen him fly up towards the Omega Machine.

A shadow demon got past him, bouncing harmlessly off Commander Steel’s impervious body, but Wildcat growled to him, “Hey, watch it!” as the master pugilist wrestled a shadow away from them.

“Sorry!” Aquaman was experiencing an odd feeling that was dangerously distracting him. A feeling that he could not ignore, that demanded his attention elsewhere… “Cover for me!” he broke off from the battle and sprinted away.

“Oh, fer cryin’ out loud…!” Wildcat took out his frustration by bashing a shadow demon into a wall.

But the Sea King never looked back. He dashed across the courtyard, ducking attacks. Seeing his intention, Jay Garrick ran interference for him, clearing the way. The interior of the Anti-Monitor’s fortress was not lit, but having lived most of his life at the bottom of the ocean, this wasn’t a problem for Aquaman. The place was enormous, hollowed out of the dead rock of the broken moon itself and built for giants, and Aquaman made his way unerringly towards his destination.

Arthur Curry was a telepath. Not on a level with some, like J’onn J’onzz, and mostly with sea creatures, but it was also how Atlanteans communicated with each other, and Arthur had a latent rapport with those closest to him.

One such rapport was calling to him now. One he had not felt in years. One he had only dared to hope for since learning the true identity of Parallax.

The laboratory of the Anti-Monitor was not empty. Cybermechs patrolled the Ultra-Humanite’s command center, but Aquaman hit them fast and hard. He made quick work of the guards, then found what he was searching for. Breathlessly, he stood before the glass canister, in which floated a human brain in a thick bluish solution, connected by electrodes to speakers and sensors.

“Neptune’s Beard…! Hal, is that you…?”





Flying fists first, Superman knew if he did nothing else, he had to destroy the Omega Machine. It was a device of ancient parascience from a primeval time, built by corrupt and depraved minds--- he had encountered it before in their battle with Omegaddon, and there was no telling what cataclysm it was capable of igniting.

He hit it with all of his speed and strength--- and was unexpectedly hurled back by the Machine’s reinforced adamantine shielding. Recovering quickly, he circled around it, and hit it again--- then again, and again, searching for a weak spot from all sides. Mocking laughter floated down to him.

The Ultra-Humanite stood gloating atop the flat pinnacle of the Machine, Power Girl prostrate at his feet. He pointed up into the sky, where the very air seemed to be charged, shimmering with a sudden dimensional intrusion.

The Rock of Eternity materialized over Terminus, looming hugely over the fortress and Machine, and Multiversal harmonics rang out as if a tuning fork had been struck.

“You’re too late, Superman!” Crowed the Ultra-Humanite. “This is where I win! This is my apotheosis!”





Within the Rock, the dimensional jump had disoriented Hawkman, Sandman and the Young All-Stars, but Captain Marvel knew only a bright-hot fury. Hourman and Tigress bounded towards him from behind, each of them wrapping themselves around one mighty arm, to little avail: he dragged them through the air with him as he barreled into Cyclone and Atomika. Jo tried to fend him off the still-shaken Jesse, but Cap brushed her aside with a back-handed swat that sent her sailing across the chamber.

“Give it to me!” Cap bellowed, reaching for the Core of Eternity in Jesse’s hand. She tried to evade him, but he anticipated her, his outstretched hand clothes-lining her. She crumpled.

“Don’t you touch her!” Hourman yelled, pounding repeatedly at the World’s Mightiest Mortal, though it was all he could do just to hang on to him. Tigress was yanked bodily from the grip she had on Cap’s bicep and was slammed into Rick Tyler. Cap actually laughed as the two went down.

He turned, just as Starman, the Ray and Icicle rushed at him, blasting with everything they had. Using a move he’d picked up from Black Adam, he wound up and brought his palms together hard enough and fast enough to create a sonic concussive blast that knocked down every living thing in the chamber, shattering eardrums and shaking free loose stones.

Cap scooped up the Core of Eternity from where it had rolled out of the dazed Cyclone’s grasp, and without a backwards glance at his fallen foes, he flew straight through the wall of the Rock, exploding in a shower of stone out into the Nexus.





As Superman watched, a portion of the Rock of Eternity blew outward, and Captain Marvel emerged in a spray of debris and dust. In his hand was a crystalline sphere, glowing like the heart of a star. Cap took one look at his surroundings, spotted Superman, and rage suffused his face. He forgot the battle he’d been waging within the Rock, and streaked towards his new opponent.

Superman took a deep breath, cocked his arm and flew to meet him.





Amidst the ruins of the Anti-Monitor’s fortress, the heroes of two worlds looked up at the sudden appearance of the Rock of Eternity in the skies above.

“That can’t be good,” Carrie Allen skidded to a halt at the overwhelming sight.

“No, it’s reinforcements,” Wildcat leaned against a crumbling wall, exhausted from the battle that still raged with the shadow demons. His knuckles were blackened, burned and raw from interaction with the anti-matter simulacrums.

As they watched, Captain Marvel burst from the Rock--- and immediately attacked Superman! Wildcat’s relief died. “Oh. That can’t be good.”





Aquaman raced through the ancient halls of the fortress, the brain canister tucked beneath his arm. He met little resistance, even cybermechs fleeing before the regal might of the King of the Seas and his fearsome Trident.

“He stole my body, Arthur. The bastard cut my brain right out of it…!” Came the synthesized voice from the canister, but there was no mistaking the outrage and the fierce will.

“We’ll get it back, Hal. I swear---.”

“No, we don’t have time for that!” All that remained of Hal Jordan was focused into a single purpose. “Once he activates the Omega Machine, we’re doomed. Take me to the Central Power Battery!”

Once the power source for the entire Green Lantern Corps, the Central Power Battery was stolen from Oa by the Ultra-Humanite masquerading as Hal Jordan, greatest of the Guardian’s champions. It was a source of almost unlimited power, and had been used to destroy the Corps and to power Terminus. The Ultra-Humanite had much to answer for…

In moments, they had reached the courtyard where the enormous lantern sat, bathing everything around it in a pure emerald light.

Even without a ring to channel it, the sentience of Hal Jordan latched onto the familiar energy of the Battery, and it embraced him like a lost lover.

“I need to be closer!”

Trusting his friend implicitly, Aquaman did as he was asked. The light from the Battery was so intense, he had to turn his head away as he approached it, arms outstretched with the canister. The Battery responded, thrumming with life, tendrils of green fire like solar flares whipping out to embrace Hal and Arthur.

And Hal began to speak words he had not uttered for far too long. “In brightest day, in blackest night…”





“You must be the Superman of Earth-Two,” Captain Marvel floated menacingly close to the elder Man of Steel, the Core of Eternity blazing like a beacon in one hand. “I’m looking forward to going toe-to-toe with you.”

“You don’t have to do this, son,” Superman held out an arm placatingly. “I know you’re a good man, your teammates told me so. Together we can stop this madness. Whatever’s controlling you, fight it!”

“The only thing I want to fight is you!”

The World’s Mightiest Mortal lurched forward with the Speed of Hermes and slammed fist first into Superman. But the Man of Steel was not unprepared. He seized his foe’s arm and spun in midair, using Cap’s own momentum against him, then released, watching as Cap tumbled end over end into the Omega Machine. Cap rebounded off the Machine’s indestructible surface, shook the blow off, then threw himself back at Superman. This time, he barreled into Superman, catching him up in a bear-hug, pinning Superman’s straining arms to his body, and head-butted him hard in the face!

“No one’s controlling me, I just don’t believe in the things I used to!” Cap hissed into the stunned face of Superman. “It’s boring being a paragon of virtue, I’m going to try on some vices for a while--- Argh!”

Twin beams of heat from Superman’s eyes blasted into Cap’s face, causing him to release Superman and fall back, covering his smoking face with his hands. Superman rubbed an arm, his entire body in agony from Cap’s crushing hold.

“I’ll tear you apart for that, old man,” Captain Marvel dropped his hands, his face a burning red. “There won’t even be enough of you left to bury.”

Superman could see he wasn’t getting through to him, and resigned himself to a brawl. “Son, as my daughter likes to say,” he raised his arm and beckoned with his hand. “Bring it.”





Like the rumblings of the greatest thunderstorm ever, the battle between Superman and Captain Marvel raged in the skies above Terminus, every blow and counterblow shaking the stones below and the very air itself. Alan Scott glanced upward and longed to help, but he had his hands full, beset on all sides by shadow demons. The light of his green beam seemed to be the most effective against them, repulsing them, even shattering some like ebony glass. But his own simulacrum stalked him, seeking to merge with him in mutual annihilation, and it was all he could to fend it off.

When Terminus shook again, he thought it had something to do with the battle above--- but it was too close. From the other side of the fortress, something had detonated, and the resulting fireball that rose above the intervening battlements was a geyser of green flame…!

For a moment the battle with the shadow demons ceased, even the anti-matter simulacrums pausing in the pregnant stillness of the blast’s aftermath.

Then, like an archangel rising from the abyss, a glowing jade figure emerged. It was a being of pure green fire and willpower, but it had taken a familiar shape, and on its fist blazed an even brighter spark of emerald.

Barry Allen picked himself up from where he had fallen, gazing in disbelief up at the apparition--- and a smile spread across his face.

“Welcome back, buddy.”

The spirit of green flame turned its head and the transcendent being that Hal Jordan had become winked at his old friend. Then he raised his fist and directed his attention to the remaining shadow demons.

“Beware my power.”

He flung his arms wide and a light so intense and pure flooded the courtyard of the Anti-Monitor’s fortress, like a tidal wave of green evanescence. It washed over the heroes doing no harm, though they were forced to turn their heads from the brilliance. Then the light dimmed, and when they opened their eyes, all that remained of the shadow demons were dark smears on the blasted, colorless stone.





Atop the Omega Machine, the Ultra-Humanite was busy at a control panel set into a podium. Behind him, Power Girl strained against the glowing green chains that secured her to the rooftop floor, anxiously watching Superman and Captain Marvel pounding on each other in the distance.

“Don’t bother,” Ultra-Humanite snarled over his shoulder at her. “Your time in your home universe--- where you should no longer exist, thanks to the Anti-Monitor’s blast all those years ago!--- drained your powers. Oh, they’ll return eventually, but by then, it will be my indomitable brain in that invincible body of yours.”

“Pervert!” Kara spat back at him.

“Don’t flatter yourself, my dear, I have no use for you in that regard,” he sneered, then glanced up at the battle in the sky before them. “Oh, I may take a lover eventually, someone like that fine specimen,” he gestured towards Captain Marvel who had just broken a hold by Superman and was lashing out wildly. “But in the end, I am interested only in power! And as soon as Shazam’s champion brings me the Core of Eternity, I will have the ultra-power!”

“Ultra-power? You did not just say that…” scorn dripped like palpable disdain from Kara’s words. “You jumped-up little twerp, as soon as I get---.”

A green gag clapped over her mouth and the Humanite returned to making his final calibrations: the Machine would be ready in seconds…





The shadow demons vanquished, the luminescent Hal Jordan floated gently to the ground to the gratitude and cheers of the assembled heroes. Barry Allen was the first to him, pulling his old friend into a rough embrace.

“How is this possible?” Wonder Woman wiped away a tear, unable to stifle her joy even amidst such a desperate hour. “Parallax--- I mean the Ultra-Humanite has your body…”

“I no longer need a body,” he told them, holding up one translucent hand that burned from within with emerald fire. “The Central Power Battery has been rebelling against the Humanite for years, and it latched onto me as a former Green Lantern. I’ve bonded with it now on a subatomic level--- I exist on pure willpower alone. I am the Central Power Battery.” The cocky grin that followed was one the Justice League remembered from a young ringslinger.

“That’s amazing,” Aquaman rejoined them, eyes welling at the sight of his friend. “So you don’t even need a ring to direct the energy?”

“My subconscious creates one for me, but no, not really. Not anymore. Still,” he turned his head towards the Omega Machine, his jaw clenching. “I want my old one back. Sentimental value.”

Just then, there was another detonation, one louder than before, one that shook the entire moon, causing all of them to cover their ears and look to the heavens. A gaping hole had been blown in the side of the Rock of Eternity, and the whole structure was listing to one side. As the heroes watched, the damaged Rock began to lose altitude, descending steadily towards Terminus.

“My god, it’s coming down right on top of us…!” Commander Steel breathed in astonishment as the shadow of the Rock darkened the whole of the Anti-Monitor’s fortress. “Scatter!”

They had time for nothing more than a mad dash to avoid the mountain falling down on them. The Rock hit the fortress at an angle, crushing sweeping towers and flying buttresses. Debris pelted the ground and the Rock continued to fall. The sound of grinding stone and crumbling rock was everywhere as the Rock demolished the primeval fortress, gouging the surface of the moon, and embedding itself deep into it. The heroes escaped the conflagration, but just barely--- the Rock was nearly the size of the scrap of moon itself, and it came to a rest, with its open side up.

Two winged figures burst from the gaping wound in the Rock, Hawkman and Northwind, both of them looking the worse for wear. They were immediately followed first by Starman and the Ray, then by Cyclone, racing over the surface of the fallen Rock, carrying a limp Hourman.

Jay and Barry rushed to Jesse’s side, taking up the injured Rick Tyler, even as something big and horrific emerged, crawling over the lip of the exposed wound in the Rock, tentacles writhing, a hundred eyes all glaring lidless, and emanating an unspeakable foulness.

“In Hera’s name, what is that…?” Wonder Woman took a tentative step forward as all others blanched away from the monstrosity. Looking grim, she hefted her huge double-bladed axe.

“He is me,” an old man materialized before them, his eyes filled with a profound sadness. “Or rather, he is the part of me that has rejected all virtue and sanity. He is the Black Shazam.”

The monster slithering across the surface of the Rock emitted a high-pitched squeal, something that sounded like a challenge. And now they noticed it wasn’t alone. Clutched in its coils were Sandman, Tigress, Icicle and Atomika, and flying about it were Jade and Obsidian, blasting it with the power of the Starheart. With an inarticulate cry, Alan Scott flew off towards it, tracing green flame in the air.

The others made as if to follow, but the wizard called out after them: “Wait! A greater danger is before us! If that Machine activates, the man who calls himself Parallax will become the Master of the Multiverse!”

“Help us.” Batman came forward, a demand in the voice coming from his bat-helm. “Whoever you are, you obviously have power.”

“Alas, no,” the wizard shook his head. “The power that has been given to me is in my champion, Captain Marvel,” he glanced upwards at the battle in the sky, “And as long as my darker self is transcendent, so long shall my Captain be his thrall. Only then can the magic lightning cleanse his spirit, if he but speak my name.”

“Translation?” Wildcat growled.

“We take out the monster and get that big, red cheese to say the magic word,” Batman shot back impatiently.

“Then we find some way to stop that Machine,” said Wonder Woman.

“And I owe the Ultra-Humanite an ass-whoopin’,” said Hal Jordan, smoldering emerald.

At the same time, Bruce and Barry said: “I have a plan.”





Alan Scott had had enough. First, he and his teammates had been manipulated into a scheme of revenge and conquest, and now some other-dimensional beastie was trying to kill his children. His children…!

Jade and Obsidian now writhed in the tentacles of the abomination that had been Black Shazam, crying out in pain. Sandman and the others had been discarded for dead, but Alan could spare them little attention, enveloping himself in a blazing penumbra and articulating a longsword that glinted in the light of the universes above.

But Black Shazam saw him coming, rearing his bulk upward and lashing out with wildly thrashing appendages at him.

“I have looked into the Abyss of Forever at the edge of all time and space, warrior,” came the high-pitched voice of Black Shazam, “Do you think I fear the like of you?”

“All dark things fear the light,” Alan Scott raised his fiery brand and flew at his enemy.


*******


The punches came at superspeed, blocked and returned faster than a human eye could follow. The air was a blur of blue and red as Superman and Captain Marvel slammed into each other, neither holding back blows powerful enough to pulverize worlds.

“I will break you,” Cap gritted through his teeth, hurling Superman away from him, to catch his breath.

The Man of Steel wiped flecks of blood from his mouth, his own breath coming in ragged heaves of his mighty chest, but he faced his opponent unbowed. “No. You can pound on me until the end of time, and you would never break me.”

A frustrated grunt of disgust escaped the World’s Mightiest Mortal. There was no escaping the steely resolve in Superman’s eyes, and for the first time Cap realized that here was a foe that could not be made to submit. This would have to be fight to the death--- and he wasn’t sure if he could win it!

“The Core!” an amplified voice reverberated in the thin air of the Nexus. “Bring it to me, Captain Marvel, and sit at the right hand of the new master of the Multiverse!” From atop the Omega Machine, the Ultra-Humanite beckoned.

Captain Marvel looked from the glowing, crystalline orb still clutched tightly in his left hand, to Superman, then to the distant figure of the Ultra-Humanite. A wicked smile spread across his face.

“No---!”

Superman reached for him, but it was already too late: with the speed of Mercury, Captain Marvel streaked towards the Omega Machine.





Back at the Anti-Monitor’s ruined fortress, a ragged and bruised band of superheroes lingered a moment as their teammates flew or ran off to enact their desperate plan.

Hawkman set down near to Batman and the wounded Young All-Stars. Jay had already sped off towards the Omega Machine with the rest of the Flashes, and Alan was leading the fight against Black Shazam, so Carter addressed himself to Wildcat, “I leave you guys alone for five minutes and look what happens,”

Ted Grant pulled off his leather mask, sharing a rueful smile with his old friend, “What’re ya talkin’ about, bird brain; this is just another day in the life. C’mon, kid,” this to Commander Steel who was looking anxiously after the others, binding Hourman’s obviously dislocated shoulder. “Who wants to die of old age, anyway.”

Grinning in the teeth of their dire straits--- Wildcat’s sangfroid was infectious--- Commander Steel left Rick to Northwind and followed after the veteran JSAer as he trudged up the slope of the fallen Rock of Eternity, throwing back over his shoulder, “Easy for him to say, he’s got nine lives!”

Batman grunted, then directed his attention back towards the Omega Machine, the lenses built into his helm magnifying the action.

“Everyone is almost in place,” he muttered. “We’re only going to have this one chance,”

Hawkman took a deep breath, shaking his head at his own failing reserves, but in the next moment he extended his wings and kicked off the ground.

Batman looked a question at him.

“You heard Wildcat,” shrugged Carter Hall as he once more flew into battle.

It was hard to argue with that kind of logic. His helm hiding the toothy, grim smile, Batman activated the hitherto unused jet-pack thrusters of his armor and blazed into the sky, streaking past the surprised Hawkman straight for Black Shazam.





“Uncle Barry, are you sure this is going to work?”

Five speedsters of three generations raced across the surface of Terminus towards the Omega Machine, none of them more than a streak of red or yellow. They were staggered, with Barry out in front, followed closely by Wally and Jay, Carrie and Jesse bringing up the rear.

“It’ll work,” Barry shot back, leading them around the base of the Omega Machine. He didn’t have to say that it had already worked once before--- it was, after all, why he had been presumed dead all these years--- but with the other’s help, would it be enough to once and for all destroy the doomsday device? “Last time I was just a wrench in the works--- with all of your help, I can blow it to pieces!”

Wally shared a look with Jay, both of them hearing that same fatalistic note in Barry’s voice.

“Just stay on me!” Barry called out to them all.

Two seconds ago, they had broken the sound barrier, the booms echoing out across the Nexus. A second after that they were approaching the speed of light, and time and space bent around them as they circled the Anti-Monitor’s Machine. They existed between nanoseconds, all of reality grinding to a halt outside the relativistic vortex of their speed trail.

“Carrie, now!” Barry called out to his daughter.

Carrie reached out to Jesse, who took her hand--- the Young All-Star sent a silent godspeed their way as Carrie triggered the specific vibration to complete the maneuver Barry had taught them a scant few moments ago. To the others, it looked like Jesse had been immobilized, frozen in place, but in reality Carrie had stolen her velocity, shunting her out of the Speed Force and they were simply circling her 10 (to the ninth power) times per second.

“I’ve got it!” The Flash of Earth-Two’s JLA cried in wonder. “I’ve got her speed!”

Carrie Allen looked and felt more alive than ever, the Speed Force mainlining through her as never before. The look that Barry Allen shot back at her was not a smile but it held a fierce pride.

“You did great, sweetheart…! I love you--- tell your mother…” Barry was unable to finish the sentence, his voice breaking. “Jay, do it now!”

Jay Garrick reached for Carrie, vibrating his molecules at exactly the right modulation and even as she cried: “Dad…!” Carrie Allen was ejected from the Speed Force, caught in amber just like Jesse Chambers, Barry, Wally and Jay racing around them as if they were statues.

Now it was Jay’s turn to feel the rush of exponentially compounded Speed. The weight of all his years fell away from him, and he easily caught up to Barry and Wally. In his mind’s eye, he was seeing his wife, his Joannie, even as the tower of an ultimate evil loomed above them, an old foe returned to threaten not just everything he held dear, but everything everyone held dear. The Ultra-Humanite was the JSA’s responsibility, and he had caused so much suffering to Barry Allen and his world already…

“I should be the one,” Jay called to them, his eyes bright and clear. They were so young, and he had had such a good life… “I’m going to do it. Let me---.”

As fast as the Speed-engorged Jay Garrick was, he was not prepared when Barry simple reached out and tagged him. The combined speed of Jesse, Carrie and Jay flooded into Barry Allen even as Jay Garrick froze in place; there hadn’t even been time for the surprise to register on his face.

“He’s a good man,” Barry said to Wally; they lapped the Tower once every quadrillionth of a second now, but Barry had to rein himself in, straining now with a geyser building inside of him.

“He is,” Wally nodded. There were tears in Wally West’s eyes when he looked over at his mentor. “But you were always my hero, Barry. Thank you.”

Before Barry Allen realized what his former protégé intended, it was done: Wally’s hand barely brushed Barry’s arm, but it was enough. All of the speed drained from Barry and was absorbed by Wally, jolting the silver-helmed, former Kid Flash forward faster than any single one of them could have managed on their own.





Like a dragonslayer of old, Alan Scott hewed at Black Shazam with a blade forged of pure emerald willpower, lopping off tentacles and eyestalks and causing the air to be filled with the keening wail of the transmogrified wizard. Others had joined the fray, too: Batman buzzed around the monster on a jetpack, launching explosive batarangs, Aquaman ran astride the beast, swatting aside grasping tentacles with his trident, and slashing at the mottled hide, and Wildcat and Commander Steel helped to pull away their wounded teammates as Hawkman wheeled over the fray, diving in and slashing with the wounded Nothwind’s scimitar, drenched in the ichorr of Black Shazam’s thick, dark blood.

The ghost of Jim Corrigan watched helplessly from a rocky crag nearby. The heroes of the JSA and JLA had only moments left to save the Multiverse, but first they had to take out Black Shazam--- and as hard as they pressed the atrocity, as much as they hurt it, drove if backward across the surface of the ravaged Rock of Eternity, it was filled with the malice of the Seven Deadly Enemies of Man--- an inexhaustible well of power--- and it kept rising to meet them.

“He has truly blackened my name for all time,” The kindly, if powerless, Earth-One version of the wizard appeared next to Corrigan, a profound sadness in his voice. “But he has made a fatal error. By accepting the power of the Seven Deadly Enemies, he has splintered himself from communion with every other living thing. Including me, and my infinite manifestations. Even the Rock would reject him now. Thus I was able to secure these from the throne-room, where they fell.”

Corrigan turned to look at him as the wizard held out the Helm of Nabu, the Cloak of Nergal and the Amulet of Anubis… the lost Artifacts of Fate.





Atop the Omega Machine, the Ultra-Humanite set the final calculations and surveyed the battlefield. The fall of the Rock of Eternity had badly destabilized Terminus, and parts of it had already begun to disintegrate, crumbling off into the Nexus. Soon, the Anti-Monitor’s fortress would be no more. But no matter--- he would have no need of it, anyway. His ally Black Shazam had descended into madness and abomination, but he didn’t need him any longer, either: Captain Marvel was flying towards him now with all he needed. The Core of Eternity would be enough to power the Machine and make him a god.

From his perch atop the Machine, he did not see the Flashes circling below.

Cap was getting closer, but Superman was right behind, gaining on him! Well, if the Humanite needed to take matters into his own hands, that was perfectly fine with him! He leveled his power ring and unleashed a torrent of emerald energy at the incoming Superman. The green beam washed over the Man of Steel with all the virulence of decades of hate and ambition. Superman was caught in a constant stream of bright, green pain, crying out in sudden agony, stopped dead in the air and constricting into a spasming ball.

“That’s my cousin, you creep!”

All but forgotten behind him, Power Girl rose up in her chains and slammed into the Ultra-Humanite. Still de-powered, she did little more than knock him off balance, but it was enough to break his concentration and his assault on Superman.

“Kara!” Superman yelled in anguish.

The Humanite whirled on Karen Starr, lashing out with a vicious ring-powered backhand that sent her sprawling. He advanced on her, but the sound of someone clearing his throat made him turn back, flinging his arms wide, to receive Captain Marvel and the gift that would make him a god.

But it wasn’t Captain Marvel that awaited him, floating in mid air, one hand extended, palm up.

“I believe you have something that belongs to me,” said Hal Jordan.





The ectoplasm that had allowed him a physical form annihilated by Black Shazam in a risky gambit to escape imprisonment in the Rock of Eternity, Doctor Fate was little more than the disembodied Artifacts--- but they had a puissance all their own. He arose--- the Cloak flaring, the Helm and Amulet gleaming--- before the hideous form of Black Shazam.

Alan Scott lowered his dripping sword to make way for his teammate, even as the monster reared back in alarm.

“Begone, little sorcerer,” came the high-pitched whine of Black Shazam. “Lest I deliver you a death from which there is no resurrection!”

Hovering in the air in front of the monster, ankh-shaped sigils of mystic power sparkled around Doctor Fate. <Last time you ambushed me, caught me unawares in the crossing between Earths. But I see you now, monster, my eyes are open.>

Heaving its bulk forward, Black Shazam brought all his tentacles and eyes to bear on his enemy. “I took your eyes once before, I shall have them again!”

<I think not.>

One of the ankhs abruptly expanded, the loop on the top bright with an interdimensional portal, much like the one that had brought the JSA to Earth-Two. With a barely perceptible tilt of the Helm, Doctor Fate sent the ankh-portal hurtling at Black Shazam. The monster was too large and too slow to avoid it. Its screech filled the Nexus as the loop on the top of the ankh descended upon it, swallowing it whole! In a second, the leviathan had been completely devoured and the ankh flared out of existence.

On the ground, Jade and Obsidian, who had been clinging to each other in their distress, sent up a ferocious cheer.

Batman on the other hand, wasted no time. “Now, Diana!” he called into his communicator.





Captain Marvel was so close…! Thanks to the blast of green energy from the figure atop the Machine, he had eluded Superman, but now a green glowing figure had interposed himself between him and the Tower, confronting the Ultra-Humanite--- and suddenly Captain Marvel wasn’t moving any closer at all! Stunned, he realized he had been caught in the links of a golden lasso, all forward motion arrested.

He turned in midair, the lasso pinning his arms to his sides, and followed the length of it back to a warrior woman in golden armor, purple eyes blazing back at him beneath the beak of an eagle war-helm.
“Speak his name!” Wonder Woman yelled at him, yanking hard. “The Lasso of Truth compels you!”

It was a barely audible whisper, but the word left his lips before he even realized it.

“Shazam…”

Out of the vast nightscape of the Nexus, a magic thunderbolt crackled, sounding like the detonation of a bomb. In the coils of Wonder Woman’s lasso, the World’s Mightiest Mortal was replaced with the form of a stunned little boy, the Core of Eternity clutched in one trembling hand. But Diana did not let him fall; she pulled him in close to her, even as Billy Batson sobbed, “He’s gone… I’m free.”





“No!” The Ultra-Humanite cried as the Emerald Apparition of Hal Jordan floated towards him. He raised the ring and sent blast after blast at his foe, but Hal merely swatted the attacks aside, pushing the Humanite backward. “Stay away from me--- it’s mine!”

Hal touched down lightly atop the Omega Machine as the Humanite stumbled, falling onto his backside.

“It was never yours, Humanite,” Hal Jordan reached out and the ring flew off the Humanite’s finger with the alacrity and joy of a living thing. It settled neatly on Hal’s finger, and Hal raised his fist to look at it. “It was always mine. And now, in a way, it’s just… me.”

Superman and Wonder Woman, with Billy in tow, landed next to Hal, flanking him as the Ultra-Humanite’s handsome face, the one that belonged to their old friend, crumbled.

“I had it all… I was so close…” the supervillain moaned, gnashing his teeth and pounding the top of the Machine.

“You never should have messed with the Justice League,” said Wonder Woman, as Superman gently helped Power Girl to her feet, the two hugging tightly.

“Or the Justice Society,” Karen shot back proudly over the shoulder of her cousin.

The Ultra-Humanite faced them all with bleary red-eyes filled with hate and a certain grim satisfaction. “You fools, we’re all doomed! The Omega Machine is still on a build-up to activation, and without the Core of Eternity to power it, it will feed on the ambient energy of the Nexus, causing it to collapse into itself like a massive black hole!”

“What are you saying?” Wonder Woman demanded.

“What I’m saying, you trollop, is that the Nexus of All Time and Space is about to unravel--- and when that happens the Multiverse will become unhinged from all natural laws. Uncounted trillions will die! If I cannot be its master, I will see it ripped asunder!”

Hal took a step towards the cowering Humanite, his ring--- his whole body!--- glowing hotly. “Shut it down. Now!”

“I couldn’t even if I wanted to!” cackled the supervillian. “This is the single purpose for which Omegaddon created his Machine--- once activated, it can only run its course. We have moments, at best!”

“He believes what he says,” Wonder Woman told them. As if to underscore her words, the Omega Machine itself began to thrum with from within, the air around it suddenly charged with portent. “One of us has to take the Core, finish the process the Humanite started---.”

“Shazam!”

Thunder pealed again, and beside them was no longer 13 year old Billy Batson but Captain Marvel--- except now his brow was unfurrowed, his eyes clear; even his uniform was a brighter red. He still held the glowing Core of Eternity.

The others eyed him warily, but with Black Shazam banished, it was immediately obvious that Cap was drawing power from the benevolent wizard once again.

“No, Wonder Woman. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. No one person--- mortal or immortal--- is meant to wield that much power. We would save the Multiverse only to subject it to a mad, tyrannical god. The end result would be the same.”

The Ultra-Humanite’s laughter became more hysterical. Power Girl detached herself from her cousin, lifted her former captor one handed and slugged him hard across the face. He slumped, unconscious, and she let him fall back down.

“I’ll be glad when my strength returns,” Karen Starr muttered, rubbing her fist.

“Bruce, have you been listening?” Wonder Woman touched her ear-piece, gazing out over the plain of Terminus, towards the fallen Rock of Eternity. “We need a plan, and quick!”

“The Flashes!” came the voice of Batman.





Wally West became not just the fastest object in the universe, but in the place that was the wellspring of time/space he became a kind of Speed-Savant. Calculations sprang into his head with a crystalline clarity: he knew exactly how fast he had to run, the precise speed in which to vibrate the molecules of his being in order to release his pent-up speed in order to destroy the indestructible Omega Machine--- and he knew that would not leave him any speed to escape the conflagration.

All he had to do was maintain long enough until the Speed Force within him was at critical velocity and could not be contained--- then he would plunge between the molecules of the Omega Machine and release the pent-up Speed Bomb like an atomic payload, destroying it--- and him, it could not be helped--- once and for all.

He didn’t mind. He was saving his world--- the Multiverse, even. He was saving Barry.

Even with the combined stolen speed of four other Flashes he needed a little more momentum. He stayed the course, encircling the Machine, getting closer to his target each nanosecond… He watched as first Jesse, then Carrie and Jay and finally Barry fell away, all of them staring in a horrified wonder at the undulating wavelength that he had become. If all relativity had not dissolved around him, he would have had to run for weeks, months even--- but he knew he was almost there. He could see the finish line at last. His destiny awaited him between this heartbeat and the next…





“Go, go, go! We have to get off this rock!” Batman’s voice called urgently to them all.

The evacuation of Terminus began instantly. The heroes of the JLA and JSA fled with all haste back to the damaged Rock of Eternity, even as huge chunks of the moon broke away, tumbling out into the Nexus.

Passing the Core of Eternity onto Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel joined Superman at the base of the Rock of Eternity, pulling it from the ruins of the Anti-Monitor’s fortress. Together, the two titans lifted it from the surface with a rending crack of crumbling stones. It rose slowly into the nightscape, even as the Omega Machine emitted a glaring evanescence, its humming filling the entire Nexus.

At the base of the Machine, the Flashes of two worlds were huddled together in grief and triumph. But they were not alone: Hal Jordan and Alan Scott arrived at the same time.

“Wally?” Hal called, taking stock instantly, though he could see it in all their eyes.

“He’s using the Speed Force to destroy this thing!” Jay called out over the cacophony of the Machine’s imminent activation.

“Hal!” Barry Allen called to his friend, his blue eyes wide and bright. “Don’t… don’t let Wally…”

Hal nodded sharply. Barry didn’t need to finish that sentence. “No one dies today,” he promised. The Green Lanterns shared a look, and Alan Scott used his ring to encase Barry, Jay, Carrie and Jesse in a protective bubble and he flew them to safety as Hal Jordan disappeared into the solid surface of the Omega Machine itself.





With his entire being focused on that moment, Wally hit the critical momentum and without hesitation plunged into the Anti-Monitor’s doomsday device. Instantaneously he shunted out of the Speed Force and released his exponentially compounded energy like a slingshot, and it whiplashed from him like a spiderweb of static lightning. It rebounded and ricocheted crazily within the confines of the Omega Machine, absorbing and transforming any other energy it encountered.

At once, the Machine started tearing itself apart. Fireballs blossomed from within, blowing out the sides: the only thing in the Multiverse that could destroy the Omega Machine was Omeggadon’s mad creation itself. Wally West was a first-hand eyewitness to it all, the end of an ancient and seemingly insurmountable evil… Tears welled in his eyes and in his breast a relief and hope so profound that he almost forgot to wonder why he wasn’t dead already.

That’s when he noticed that everything was tinged in green. He had been cocooned in a ring-generated force-field, and before him, a grinning Hal Jordan saluted proudly as he flew the two of them through the firestorm of the self-destructing doomsday device.





They gathered on an open ledge of the free-floating Rock of Eternity, watching in solemn silence as the Omega Machine was riddled with multiple explosions. It toppled and disintegrated even as Terminus itself broke apart, and the last lingering malice of the Anti-Monitor dispersed with the dead stones out into the Nexus.

Now it was the Ultra-Humanite’s turn to be bound in glowing green chains, forgotten and miserable as he curled up into a rocky niche. The old wizard had taken back the Core of Eternity, and was preparing to move the Rock from the Nexus.

“What happened to Black Shazam?” Superman asked, one arm still around the shoulders of his long-lost cousin. Karen Starr had her head on his chest, for the first time in her life basking in the glow of family. But she knew it could not be for long. Thanks to the curse of the Anti-Monitor, remaining on Earth-Two would not only sap her powers, but ultimately cause her to cease to exist altogether. Still she would enjoy the moment while she could.

“The Multiverse is infinite, Superman, and of infinite divergence,” spoke the collection of the disembodied Artifacts of Fate that was the ghost of Jim Corrigan. “I banished him to a dead universe called Kornugia, where his madness and corruption will find only a lifeless void. He will do no more harm.”

The Man of Steel nodded slowly, satisfied.

The last sounds of Terminus’ and the Omega Machine’s destruction faded and the Rock of Eternity drifted serenely in the Nexus. There was an easy, relaxed silence for a moment.

“Well, that was a heck of an adventure,” Jay Garrick rubbed the back of his neck, glancing around ruefully, “But we seem to have come out of it okay,”

“Better than okay,” Carrie Allen reminded them, hugging her father, and beaming at Hal and Wally.

Superman nodded and squeezed Power Girl’s shoulder, looking out at the assembled heroes before him. His chest swelled and there was no mistaking the pride in his voice when he said, “We should do it again sometime.”

“Agreed,” said Captain Marvel, reaching out to clasp the hand of the original Man of Steel, as if sealing an alliance. With the other hand, he rubbed his jaw, where a bruise was forming. “Only next time, let’s just have dinner or something.”