Post by redsycorax on Sept 10, 2018 22:58:36 GMT
Once, it had been a universe of marvels.
But now, all too familiar crimson blood red skies and deadly antimatter storms were closing in on the world known to the Greater Multiverse as "Earth-616."
As the antimatter influx appeared blindingly over the horizon, Tony Stark felt desolation well up inside him. To think it would end this way, after all that this world and the heroic figures that defended it had been through together. He had witnessed enough acts of futile heroism to last him a lifetime- the Hulk, dead as he had tried to uphold a collapsing skyscraper and protect the fleeing inhabitants of that city. Even Asgard's deities mourned the loss of Thor as he fought to save a last remnant of humanity from the relentlessly advancing scourge on earth and in the sky, but was consumed. At Westchester's Xavier Institute, Magneto fought a determined attempt to save the school's mutant charges from obliteration, but lost his last valiant battle. Doctor Doom. Captain America. Spiderman. The list seemed endless, stretching inexorably into eternity.
"It's no good," said Carol Danvers, now alongside him, laying a placatory hand on his shoulder,"although I can't fault you for trying to find some way to reverse this ordeal."
"Yeah, I know. I just saw Elektra, of all people, trying to marshall people into one of the new transmatter alcoves that Stark International provided. She paid with her life. Matt would be proud of her, if he were still around. How many made it to the rendezvous at the Baxter Building?"
"Mr Fantastic, Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Franklin and Valeria Richards, Jean Grey-Summers and Scott Summers, Wolverine, you and I, Hank Pym and Janet. That's all. The others have been cut down where they stood. Damn it, Tony, for it to all end so senselessly and violently like this."
"Come on, Carol. We did our best. We've even managed to rescue some of this world's inhabitants. Now we have to look after ourselves."
"Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Clint and Thor all deserved so much better than this, Tony."
BAXTER BUILDING:
Mr Fantastic finished overlooking the last preparations for interdimensional travel, hoping that the fragile vessel would be able to endure the storm that it would shortly be launched into. Henry Pym cleared his throat: "We have a problem. Maximum mass. It can only carry nine occupants at maximum."
"I'll stay."
"It can't just be you, Reed. It won't be. So there are two of us who won't be making the final cut."
"Are you sure?"
"All I've ever been is a burden to Jan. She deserves a chance to survive, a clean start."
"Sue and the children are all that matters to me. Scott?"
"Hank McCoy provided me with some flight specs. If I fire my optical blasts into its propulsion fuel sequencer, it'll have a greater chance of escaping intact."
"Have you told Jean, Scott?"
"Have you told Sue, Reed? Or Jan, Henry? So it's settled then. We stay so the others can live."
"I just wish I'd been able to save Ben as well. Fortunately, Carol is a former pilot."
"Or Kitty and Piotr. That was so damned unfair, they were just starting their lives out together and now this."
"How long to total gravimetric and electromagnetic disruption, Reed?"
"Three minutes."
Reed kissed Sue and his children goodbye as Tony helped her onboard. Phoenix looked longingly out the window at the last moments of the world she had grown up on:
"All my power, as Phoenix and I couldn't save any of them. Yet I was capable of mass murder and genocide."
"Slim's cutting it awful fine out there. This is gonna be close." Logan exclaimed, as the blinding Cherenkov light from the antimatter storms cast an eerie silhouette. Ultimately, however, the vessel had its full compliment- Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Sue, Franklin and Valeria Richards, Johnny Storm, Phoenix and Wolverine, and the Wasp. And then, without warning, the hatch closed:
"Reed!"
"Come on, Sue, I think I know what those idiots are planning to...my psionics don't work."
"Nor do my force projection abilities. Jan?"
"Oh, no. Oh, Henry, please. Don't do this."
"Sorry, honey. The rescue craft could only take nine of us. And the children need one of their parents, at least."
"Scott? Don't let it end like this. We only just returned to each other. Please."
"Henry? Have you nothing else to say?"
Reed spoke for all of them: "It's nearly time. I'm sorry, Sue, my love, but the vessel needed someone to launch it and guide it to the Bleed and to safety."
"Ignition" So saying, Scott (Cyclops) Summers removed his visor and red optic light cascaded from his eyes, building the energy reserves of the vessel up past its initial fuel ingestion. As Jean Grey watched and hammered at the transcarbon windows of the lifeboat, her husband's energy output became prodigal and then fatal. As the light died from his eyes, he slumped from the ground and remained motionless. From the vessel, Janet said to the receding form of her husband I love you.
I love you too, Janet. Be safe.
Sue stared out at the chaotic landscape as the antimatter storm swept closer to the Baxter Building. Ultimately, it hit. Reed smiled at her one last time before he was submerged in the deadly flow of energies that ate at the very fabric of Earth-616. Carol and Tony looked at each other as the vessel hit Earth and then solar system escape velocity, then lightspeed and then broke through into the silence and calm of Bleedspace. Elsewhere, behind them, Earth- 616, once a world of marvels, faded from existence as its last atoms were extinguished and it underwent total gravimetric and electromagnetic disruption.
Shakily, Carol said: "We made it. But oh god, at which a price. So where do we go from here?"
"It looked localised. Perhaps a world that was cognate with our own? Where we could have lives very much like the ones we left?"
"With all its faults? Like anti-mutant prejudice, Europe's extreme political fragmentation, predatory cosmic presences?" Carol replied.
"I know what you mean, Carol, but we need to get a sanctuary world soon. Whatever did this could still be out there."
"Why didn't the Watcher or one of the cosmic sentiences stop this?"
"They're all gone, too. In any case, our world was the lynchpin of our sector of the multiverse. Whatever destroyed our world might come after the cognates next."
She noticed something: "I'm getting some sort of high energy reading. An abundance presence of metahumans. What about it, Tony? At least they could protect us."
Tony Stark nodded: "Let's reinsert her into that universe's space-time coordinates and see what it offers. Is that okay with the rest of you?"
Bleakly, Jan commented: "Do we have any choice?"
They emerged into a blessedly clean cislunar void, with no roiling antimatter clouds, no debris and no fleeing crowds. Below them stood a tall lunar-based tower.
Inside the Watchtower, the Justice League had monitored the arrival of the newcomers. Batman was triangulating the arrival of their vessel:
"Hostile indications?" Superman asked.
"No weaponry, but it's full of metahumans, including two children. Which would suggest that it may probably be a multiversal refugee vehicle."
"Hell, I know those people. They're from Marvel Comics. Or, probably, a universe where they're real human and nonhuman beings. Let's see... Susan Richards, Valeria and Franklin Richards, Jean Grey, Logan, Johnny Storm, Janet Van Dyne, Tony Stark and Carol Danvers."
"Dude, that is definite nerd territory" Flash riposted.
"But, nevertheless, plausible. In an infinite multiverse, there must exist every possible formulation of reality, so it looks like Kyle may well be correct. Are any of them possible threats?"
"Jean Grey is Phoenix, a powerful psionic mutant, while Tony Stark's tech expertise would render Ray and Bruce green with envy. Also, drinking problems. The others are okay."
"Those kids and their mom need sanctuary and reassurance. J'onn, Kyle, with me. Bruce, what probably happened here?"
"It looks like there's antimatter residue and scorch marks on the vessel. I'm guessing something like our Crisis on Infinite Earths. J'onn, can you provide us with Kyle's intel on these people so that we can provide resettlement and risk assessment for them."
[Hello. We mean you no harm. One of our number has assessed you as being refugees from a multiverse disaster that consumed your world]
"One of them is a telepath!" [I'm Jean Grey. So you've encountered something like this before?]
[Unfortunately, yes. We are members of an organisation designed to fight crime and insure Earth's planetary security against global and interstellar threats, the Justice League of America.]
[We belonged to several such organisations on our home Earth- the X-Men, Avengers and Fantastic Four. We...think we're our world's only survivors...]
[Please, avail yourselves of our assistance. We will be only too glad to assist you. If it is any consolation, I too have lost my homeworld and I am not the only one amongst us who has done so.]
"The rest of you heard that?" Jean turned to the others, who had been kept aware of what was happening through aural and visual relay. But Johnny was staring outside:
"Holy Hannah! Superman, J'onn J'onnz and a Green Lantern guy?!"
"Fanboy much, Johnny?" Sue said, but she was relieved at their newfound sanctuary.
After the lifeboat landed, introductions were made. Superman said: "Look, my wife Lois and I have a son, Jon, about the age of Franklin and Valeria. What say you bunk down with us until you find a job and a new place to live, Sue?"
"Thank you, Clark, if it wouldn't be too much trouble...?"
He winked: "I'm told I'm quite good at home alterations."
Wonder Woman cleared her throat: "No men are allowed on Paradise Island, but I'd be honoured if Phoenix, Captain Marvel and Wasp accepted my offer of sanctuary there."
"It looks absolutely enchanting, Diana. Thank you so much for the offer."
"Wow, that invisible plane of yours looks cool, Diana. Any chance I could, er, borrow her once we get settled in?"
Jan sighed to herself: "While your offer is extremely kind, Diana, I need to get out there and rebuild my life. So I'll take Bruce up on his offer and relocate to Gotham."
"Looks like a challenging city, bub. But hey, I like challenges" Wolverine said taciturnly, nodding at Batman. The two had taken the measure of one another and respected and admired what they saw in their self-presentation and combativeness. Not that either would admit it. Wasp's decision had startled some of the others, though.
Wally patted Johnny on the back: "Dude, you've got a choice. Kyle there or me."
"You then, good buddy. We have a lot to discuss..."
Later, Clark, Bruce and Diana debriefed:
"Well, it looks like we have a new intake of alpha grade powered women into the League, with Phoenix and Captain Marvel onboard."
"Possibly Sue as well, although she'll take time to get over her husband. Still, at least she has her children with her. I think I might also get Ray to spend some time with her, given what happened to Jean Loring." Clark replied to Diana.
"I think Gotham will welcome our new additions- I like the attitude Wolverine has, and he seems to have considerable combat experience under his belt. The same applies to the Wasp, given her Avengers experience. Although she doesn't seem to be taking what happened to her husband all that well. Jean Grey and Sue Storm are at least mourning. And then there's our new prolonged adolescence superhero."
"They can't all be like Nightwing and Donna, Bruce. Wally has expertise with Barry and the Teen Titans, and it might be good for the young fellow to join the latter. He'd be an asset, given Starfire's departure for Tamaran." Clark responded.
"All in all, I think we handled this situation well." Diana concluded.
"I wish I could be as certain as you are. What if we're wrong about this being the Anti-Monitor?"
"With the failure of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Anti-Monitor suffered a major power outage. He's far weaker than he was when we first confronted him, and the confrontation with Darkseid over Earth-3 weakened him still further. The Hall of Heroes discloses no further antimatter storms. If it was the Anti-Monitor, he was only able to consume a single universe and even the effort of doing that may have resulted in his temporary incapacitation. According to our new colleagues, there were numerous cosmic sentiences that would have fought him" Clark said, motioning to their strategic screen.
"I just hope you're right, old friend." Bruce mused.
As it turned out, things did get complicated. The Human Torch integrated well with the Titans, and comisserated with Kyle over the state of his relationships. Carol grew to love life on Paradise Island and her friendship with Diana deepened, especially as Carol was willing to protect Diana's homeland while the Amazon fought injustice and crime in the distant United States. Wolverine and Batman had some boundary discussions about what was and was not permissible within Gotham, related to how far the Canadian mutant was willing to go. As long as Wolverine predominantly used his adamantium claws for incapitation and intimidation in susceptible cases, that was fine. Phoenix met J'onn J'onnz near Titan one morning and they reflected on the fragility and beauty of the Earth. as Jean Grey flowered apart from the ever-present constraints that anti-mutant discrimination had placed on her and the other X-Men on Earth-616. Tony Stark became an asset to the Justice League after Bruce Wayne provided him with the resources and technology that Karen (Power Girl) Starr had accumulated before her return to Earth-2, as well as his own and Reed Richards legacy research. Which, oddly, left Janet Van Dyne, now renamed the Black Wasp. One evening, she crossed the path of one Richard Greyson and the two of them sat down for dinner and unburdened themselves:
"I never used to be like this, Dick."
"People change. I was a button-cute boy sidekick once."
"As opposed to a hunk now. Oops, sorry, wine talking."
"Seriously, though, I can see that you might want some time apart from a group setting. And striking out on your own sounds like a good idea too."
"My husband Henry was the core of my life, although there were some moments when his mental illness made a mess of it. Fortunately, seperating myself from him the first time caused him to sort himself out. After that, we remarried, until... it happened."
"Yeah, I can relate. I've never settled down. There were a couple of times with Barbara and Koriand'r. Hell, I even got down the aisle with Kory. In the end, it's never worked out. Not like Wally and Linda, lucky bastard. Or Roy and his daughter Lian from his relationship with Cheshire, an assassin. See, things are a hot sticky mess on this Earth, as well. So few of us tie the knot or stay hitched or get to raise kids here. It's damned difficult trying to juggle metahumanity and ordinary lives at the same time."
"I always envied Sue Richards her life with Reed and her children for the same reason, Dick. Now, we're almost on a par. I just feel so adrift here. You don't think I'm overdoing it with the Wasp stings, do you?"
"If it's light incapacitation for criminals and heavier settings for terrorists, pedophiles and murderers, then I don't have any problems and I imagine Bruce doesn't, either. So you're a strong woman? You'd have to be, given what Kyle's told us about your Avengers and your near-continuous membership of the organisation. Nothing against that at all. I served alongside Donna/Wonder Girl/Troia in the Titans and Bruce and Diana are good friends." Dick stopped as Janet leant across the table and kissed him. He returned the kiss and embrace.
Several kilometres out of Smallville, however, Sue Richards had her own revelations: "Guess what, I got a job!"
"Great, honey. Who's it with?"
"LexCorp." Lois and Clark exchanged worried glances.
"Have I said something wrong? Oh hell. He's one of your adversaries, isn't he? Look, I'll..."
"Susie. It wasn't your fault, you didn't know about the history between Lex Luthor, Clark and I. Which is intense. He's tried to frame and even kill Clark numerous times, he's a rabid xenophobe and he'll try to exploit your knowledge for self-serving, harmful objectives."
"I thought he was a former member of the Justice League, though?"
"Yes, and even US President at one point. But that doesn't change the fact that you have Franklin and Val to support as a single mom. Clark and I just want you to be sure about what you're getting into. Does he know about your invisibility skills, or the fact you're from an alternate universe?"
"Not yet. But I suspect that might come up on the background check."
"It won't. Bruce had our mutual friend Oracle hack into the LexCorp database and bend its search parameters slightly, and entered your details in numerous public databases. And actually, Clark? It wouldn't be at all bad if we had an internal LexCorp spy available. But right now, Lois, you and I need to sit down and have a really thorough talk about who Lex is, what he's done and what he's capable of."
Phoenix and Ray Palmer were having dinner:
"Thanks, Ray. I haven't been off Themiscyra since we landed here. And... thanks for the talk about Scott."
"It's okay. You provided me with an opportunity to talk about my Jean as well, Jean Loring. At least you had a long and happy relationship and marriage with Cyclops."
"Well, yes. But you're a good and decent man, Ray. None of what happened to your wife was your fault. I know schizophrenia is hard to manage, but you did your best. And while what happened to Sue and Ralph Dibny was heartbreaking, people make wrong choices sometimes. You sought help for her when you became aware of the extent of her problems. That's all anyone can do. Just because we're superhuman doesn't mean that we don't have personal dilemmas and heartbreaks of our own. Like Arthur, Mera and their poor baby, or Bruce and Clark's parents, or Dinah and Larry Lance's death, or Kyle and Alexandria's murder. Or, Tony's alcoholism, Jan's domestic problems with Hank Pym, what happened with Peter after the Green Goblin murdered Gwen Stacy or the death of his Uncle Ben in our neck of the woods."
"God, Jean, it just feels so good to be able to talk to someone about all this."
"Better that than holding it in. And at least you know how to balance work and personal relationships. Unlike Hank, dear as he was and able to change."
"I learnt that the hard way."
"I know that we're both on the rebound after what happened to your Jean and Scott. But I'd really like to see you again."
But elsewhere, in the debris and blinding white void that had been Earth-616's former universe, a familiar immense figure roused itself from its cryopod. Galactus observed the quantum traceries of his former opponents and smiled to himself as he witnessed the distant silhouette webwork of Earth-0's universe. Galactus had been considerably weakened by the effort it had taken to overthrow the presumptuous Anti-Monitor, but ultimately, he had prevailed and set to work obliterating the world of his hated adversaries the Fantastic Four and their colleagues. However, he was uneasy at what he now had to face- after all, had not the Omega class mutant Jean Grey/Phoenix obliterated the D'Bari solar system and slaughtered the sentients there? Still, there were no signs of antagonism or turmoil on that new world. However, it had an uncomfortably high number of metahumans. Moreover, there were fewer interstellar empires than in the void that had been Universe-616. What if these Khunds and Dominators had access to advanced metasentiences or cosmic sentiences that might conceivably challenge him? Or defeat him, unthinkable although that seemed to the ageless malevolence? He pondered this and then made for the new universe that would shortly face his depredations.
"Whoa! Something damned big just entered our universe."
"Why did the Hall of Heroes not alert us?"
"They may be otherwise distracted. This isn't good. What's worse is that it entered effortlessly through the breach in the Source Wall."
"What's its trajectory, Clark?"
"...Exactly the same as our newfound meta refugees from the demise of Earth-616, Bruce."
"Phoenix, Tony, Carol, did you get that?"
"Oh, no. No. It can't be. It must have died when our universe was destroyed. It must have."
"What's she talking about, Tony?"
"It...survived the end of the Big Crunch of the universe prior to our own. It is a creature called Galactus. It attacked our Earth countless times."
Diana frowned: "But it's using the Anti-Monitor's modus operandi. Unless..."
"Unless, it has met and destroyed the Anti-Monitor. We need intel, folks. What stopped Galactus beforehand?"
"Chance. Fate. Other cosmic sentiences- the High Evolutionary, Uatu the Watcher, Lord Chaos and Master Order, beings of that magnitude."
"All of which presumably perished or left Universe-616 before Galactus destroyed it. Added to which, there's been a substantial increase in the magnitude of his abilities. Beforehand, he was able to destroy inhabited planets, nothing on this scale."
"Are any of the life forms you mentioned parauniversal?"
"Yes- the Watchers. They represent an interdimensional civilisation. And there was also some conflict against the Asgardian pantheon- Thor was a sometime Avengers member on our world."
Diana exclaimed: "Of course! That means that if one pantheon could battle him to a halt, then so could another.
Abruptly, Galactus found his way to Earth-0 obstructed. He raged at the elder, muscular figure that blocked his entry, but was flung back:
I am Zeus, king of the Olympian pantheon.
-I am Galactus. I am progeny of a universe that existed before this. I predate you. Have a care that you do not test my patience and capabilities, oldling.
I will not permit you to enter this universe.
I will not permit you to halt my arrival in pursuit of quarry from my universe.
You destroyed quadrillions of sentient entities. You will pay for that crime almost beyond comprehension, but not accountability.
And so the two behemoths joined battle with each other. Whether their immemorial clash lasted milliseconds or millennia is unknown, for space and time have no meaning outside the worlds of the Multiverse and the Bleed. And then, in a matter of instants of whatever duration, it was over. Zeus seized Galactus and flung him into the Source Wall, which congealed and encapsulated him before he could cry out.
EPILOGUE:
Cue: Sue Richards role in the indictment and prosecution of Lex Luthor
Cue: Valeria Richards marriage to Jonathon Lane-Kent, Superman II.
Cue: Phoenix vaporised Apophis before it could impact on Earth.
Cue: Dick Grayson married Janet Van Dyne in April 2020.
Cue: Wolverine was acquitted of the manslaughter of the Joker in June 2025 after the psychopath tried to obliterate Metropolis with a dirty nuclear weapon.
Cue: Franklin Richards and Tony Stark won the Nobel Prize for trans-Einsteinian physics in February 2028.
Cue: Johnny Storm prevented a tsunami that might have obliterated Miami in 2023.
True to their past and heritage, the newcomers from a ruined Earth truly brought marvels to the world they adopted.
THE END.
But now, all too familiar crimson blood red skies and deadly antimatter storms were closing in on the world known to the Greater Multiverse as "Earth-616."
As the antimatter influx appeared blindingly over the horizon, Tony Stark felt desolation well up inside him. To think it would end this way, after all that this world and the heroic figures that defended it had been through together. He had witnessed enough acts of futile heroism to last him a lifetime- the Hulk, dead as he had tried to uphold a collapsing skyscraper and protect the fleeing inhabitants of that city. Even Asgard's deities mourned the loss of Thor as he fought to save a last remnant of humanity from the relentlessly advancing scourge on earth and in the sky, but was consumed. At Westchester's Xavier Institute, Magneto fought a determined attempt to save the school's mutant charges from obliteration, but lost his last valiant battle. Doctor Doom. Captain America. Spiderman. The list seemed endless, stretching inexorably into eternity.
"It's no good," said Carol Danvers, now alongside him, laying a placatory hand on his shoulder,"although I can't fault you for trying to find some way to reverse this ordeal."
"Yeah, I know. I just saw Elektra, of all people, trying to marshall people into one of the new transmatter alcoves that Stark International provided. She paid with her life. Matt would be proud of her, if he were still around. How many made it to the rendezvous at the Baxter Building?"
"Mr Fantastic, Human Torch, Invisible Woman, Franklin and Valeria Richards, Jean Grey-Summers and Scott Summers, Wolverine, you and I, Hank Pym and Janet. That's all. The others have been cut down where they stood. Damn it, Tony, for it to all end so senselessly and violently like this."
"Come on, Carol. We did our best. We've even managed to rescue some of this world's inhabitants. Now we have to look after ourselves."
"Steve, Bruce, Natasha, Clint and Thor all deserved so much better than this, Tony."
BAXTER BUILDING:
Mr Fantastic finished overlooking the last preparations for interdimensional travel, hoping that the fragile vessel would be able to endure the storm that it would shortly be launched into. Henry Pym cleared his throat: "We have a problem. Maximum mass. It can only carry nine occupants at maximum."
"I'll stay."
"It can't just be you, Reed. It won't be. So there are two of us who won't be making the final cut."
"Are you sure?"
"All I've ever been is a burden to Jan. She deserves a chance to survive, a clean start."
"Sue and the children are all that matters to me. Scott?"
"Hank McCoy provided me with some flight specs. If I fire my optical blasts into its propulsion fuel sequencer, it'll have a greater chance of escaping intact."
"Have you told Jean, Scott?"
"Have you told Sue, Reed? Or Jan, Henry? So it's settled then. We stay so the others can live."
"I just wish I'd been able to save Ben as well. Fortunately, Carol is a former pilot."
"Or Kitty and Piotr. That was so damned unfair, they were just starting their lives out together and now this."
"How long to total gravimetric and electromagnetic disruption, Reed?"
"Three minutes."
Reed kissed Sue and his children goodbye as Tony helped her onboard. Phoenix looked longingly out the window at the last moments of the world she had grown up on:
"All my power, as Phoenix and I couldn't save any of them. Yet I was capable of mass murder and genocide."
"Slim's cutting it awful fine out there. This is gonna be close." Logan exclaimed, as the blinding Cherenkov light from the antimatter storms cast an eerie silhouette. Ultimately, however, the vessel had its full compliment- Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Sue, Franklin and Valeria Richards, Johnny Storm, Phoenix and Wolverine, and the Wasp. And then, without warning, the hatch closed:
"Reed!"
"Come on, Sue, I think I know what those idiots are planning to...my psionics don't work."
"Nor do my force projection abilities. Jan?"
"Oh, no. Oh, Henry, please. Don't do this."
"Sorry, honey. The rescue craft could only take nine of us. And the children need one of their parents, at least."
"Scott? Don't let it end like this. We only just returned to each other. Please."
"Henry? Have you nothing else to say?"
Reed spoke for all of them: "It's nearly time. I'm sorry, Sue, my love, but the vessel needed someone to launch it and guide it to the Bleed and to safety."
"Ignition" So saying, Scott (Cyclops) Summers removed his visor and red optic light cascaded from his eyes, building the energy reserves of the vessel up past its initial fuel ingestion. As Jean Grey watched and hammered at the transcarbon windows of the lifeboat, her husband's energy output became prodigal and then fatal. As the light died from his eyes, he slumped from the ground and remained motionless. From the vessel, Janet said to the receding form of her husband I love you.
I love you too, Janet. Be safe.
Sue stared out at the chaotic landscape as the antimatter storm swept closer to the Baxter Building. Ultimately, it hit. Reed smiled at her one last time before he was submerged in the deadly flow of energies that ate at the very fabric of Earth-616. Carol and Tony looked at each other as the vessel hit Earth and then solar system escape velocity, then lightspeed and then broke through into the silence and calm of Bleedspace. Elsewhere, behind them, Earth- 616, once a world of marvels, faded from existence as its last atoms were extinguished and it underwent total gravimetric and electromagnetic disruption.
Shakily, Carol said: "We made it. But oh god, at which a price. So where do we go from here?"
"It looked localised. Perhaps a world that was cognate with our own? Where we could have lives very much like the ones we left?"
"With all its faults? Like anti-mutant prejudice, Europe's extreme political fragmentation, predatory cosmic presences?" Carol replied.
"I know what you mean, Carol, but we need to get a sanctuary world soon. Whatever did this could still be out there."
"Why didn't the Watcher or one of the cosmic sentiences stop this?"
"They're all gone, too. In any case, our world was the lynchpin of our sector of the multiverse. Whatever destroyed our world might come after the cognates next."
She noticed something: "I'm getting some sort of high energy reading. An abundance presence of metahumans. What about it, Tony? At least they could protect us."
Tony Stark nodded: "Let's reinsert her into that universe's space-time coordinates and see what it offers. Is that okay with the rest of you?"
Bleakly, Jan commented: "Do we have any choice?"
They emerged into a blessedly clean cislunar void, with no roiling antimatter clouds, no debris and no fleeing crowds. Below them stood a tall lunar-based tower.
Inside the Watchtower, the Justice League had monitored the arrival of the newcomers. Batman was triangulating the arrival of their vessel:
"Hostile indications?" Superman asked.
"No weaponry, but it's full of metahumans, including two children. Which would suggest that it may probably be a multiversal refugee vehicle."
"Hell, I know those people. They're from Marvel Comics. Or, probably, a universe where they're real human and nonhuman beings. Let's see... Susan Richards, Valeria and Franklin Richards, Jean Grey, Logan, Johnny Storm, Janet Van Dyne, Tony Stark and Carol Danvers."
"Dude, that is definite nerd territory" Flash riposted.
"But, nevertheless, plausible. In an infinite multiverse, there must exist every possible formulation of reality, so it looks like Kyle may well be correct. Are any of them possible threats?"
"Jean Grey is Phoenix, a powerful psionic mutant, while Tony Stark's tech expertise would render Ray and Bruce green with envy. Also, drinking problems. The others are okay."
"Those kids and their mom need sanctuary and reassurance. J'onn, Kyle, with me. Bruce, what probably happened here?"
"It looks like there's antimatter residue and scorch marks on the vessel. I'm guessing something like our Crisis on Infinite Earths. J'onn, can you provide us with Kyle's intel on these people so that we can provide resettlement and risk assessment for them."
[Hello. We mean you no harm. One of our number has assessed you as being refugees from a multiverse disaster that consumed your world]
"One of them is a telepath!" [I'm Jean Grey. So you've encountered something like this before?]
[Unfortunately, yes. We are members of an organisation designed to fight crime and insure Earth's planetary security against global and interstellar threats, the Justice League of America.]
[We belonged to several such organisations on our home Earth- the X-Men, Avengers and Fantastic Four. We...think we're our world's only survivors...]
[Please, avail yourselves of our assistance. We will be only too glad to assist you. If it is any consolation, I too have lost my homeworld and I am not the only one amongst us who has done so.]
"The rest of you heard that?" Jean turned to the others, who had been kept aware of what was happening through aural and visual relay. But Johnny was staring outside:
"Holy Hannah! Superman, J'onn J'onnz and a Green Lantern guy?!"
"Fanboy much, Johnny?" Sue said, but she was relieved at their newfound sanctuary.
After the lifeboat landed, introductions were made. Superman said: "Look, my wife Lois and I have a son, Jon, about the age of Franklin and Valeria. What say you bunk down with us until you find a job and a new place to live, Sue?"
"Thank you, Clark, if it wouldn't be too much trouble...?"
He winked: "I'm told I'm quite good at home alterations."
Wonder Woman cleared her throat: "No men are allowed on Paradise Island, but I'd be honoured if Phoenix, Captain Marvel and Wasp accepted my offer of sanctuary there."
"It looks absolutely enchanting, Diana. Thank you so much for the offer."
"Wow, that invisible plane of yours looks cool, Diana. Any chance I could, er, borrow her once we get settled in?"
Jan sighed to herself: "While your offer is extremely kind, Diana, I need to get out there and rebuild my life. So I'll take Bruce up on his offer and relocate to Gotham."
"Looks like a challenging city, bub. But hey, I like challenges" Wolverine said taciturnly, nodding at Batman. The two had taken the measure of one another and respected and admired what they saw in their self-presentation and combativeness. Not that either would admit it. Wasp's decision had startled some of the others, though.
Wally patted Johnny on the back: "Dude, you've got a choice. Kyle there or me."
"You then, good buddy. We have a lot to discuss..."
Later, Clark, Bruce and Diana debriefed:
"Well, it looks like we have a new intake of alpha grade powered women into the League, with Phoenix and Captain Marvel onboard."
"Possibly Sue as well, although she'll take time to get over her husband. Still, at least she has her children with her. I think I might also get Ray to spend some time with her, given what happened to Jean Loring." Clark replied to Diana.
"I think Gotham will welcome our new additions- I like the attitude Wolverine has, and he seems to have considerable combat experience under his belt. The same applies to the Wasp, given her Avengers experience. Although she doesn't seem to be taking what happened to her husband all that well. Jean Grey and Sue Storm are at least mourning. And then there's our new prolonged adolescence superhero."
"They can't all be like Nightwing and Donna, Bruce. Wally has expertise with Barry and the Teen Titans, and it might be good for the young fellow to join the latter. He'd be an asset, given Starfire's departure for Tamaran." Clark responded.
"All in all, I think we handled this situation well." Diana concluded.
"I wish I could be as certain as you are. What if we're wrong about this being the Anti-Monitor?"
"With the failure of the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Anti-Monitor suffered a major power outage. He's far weaker than he was when we first confronted him, and the confrontation with Darkseid over Earth-3 weakened him still further. The Hall of Heroes discloses no further antimatter storms. If it was the Anti-Monitor, he was only able to consume a single universe and even the effort of doing that may have resulted in his temporary incapacitation. According to our new colleagues, there were numerous cosmic sentiences that would have fought him" Clark said, motioning to their strategic screen.
"I just hope you're right, old friend." Bruce mused.
As it turned out, things did get complicated. The Human Torch integrated well with the Titans, and comisserated with Kyle over the state of his relationships. Carol grew to love life on Paradise Island and her friendship with Diana deepened, especially as Carol was willing to protect Diana's homeland while the Amazon fought injustice and crime in the distant United States. Wolverine and Batman had some boundary discussions about what was and was not permissible within Gotham, related to how far the Canadian mutant was willing to go. As long as Wolverine predominantly used his adamantium claws for incapitation and intimidation in susceptible cases, that was fine. Phoenix met J'onn J'onnz near Titan one morning and they reflected on the fragility and beauty of the Earth. as Jean Grey flowered apart from the ever-present constraints that anti-mutant discrimination had placed on her and the other X-Men on Earth-616. Tony Stark became an asset to the Justice League after Bruce Wayne provided him with the resources and technology that Karen (Power Girl) Starr had accumulated before her return to Earth-2, as well as his own and Reed Richards legacy research. Which, oddly, left Janet Van Dyne, now renamed the Black Wasp. One evening, she crossed the path of one Richard Greyson and the two of them sat down for dinner and unburdened themselves:
"I never used to be like this, Dick."
"People change. I was a button-cute boy sidekick once."
"As opposed to a hunk now. Oops, sorry, wine talking."
"Seriously, though, I can see that you might want some time apart from a group setting. And striking out on your own sounds like a good idea too."
"My husband Henry was the core of my life, although there were some moments when his mental illness made a mess of it. Fortunately, seperating myself from him the first time caused him to sort himself out. After that, we remarried, until... it happened."
"Yeah, I can relate. I've never settled down. There were a couple of times with Barbara and Koriand'r. Hell, I even got down the aisle with Kory. In the end, it's never worked out. Not like Wally and Linda, lucky bastard. Or Roy and his daughter Lian from his relationship with Cheshire, an assassin. See, things are a hot sticky mess on this Earth, as well. So few of us tie the knot or stay hitched or get to raise kids here. It's damned difficult trying to juggle metahumanity and ordinary lives at the same time."
"I always envied Sue Richards her life with Reed and her children for the same reason, Dick. Now, we're almost on a par. I just feel so adrift here. You don't think I'm overdoing it with the Wasp stings, do you?"
"If it's light incapacitation for criminals and heavier settings for terrorists, pedophiles and murderers, then I don't have any problems and I imagine Bruce doesn't, either. So you're a strong woman? You'd have to be, given what Kyle's told us about your Avengers and your near-continuous membership of the organisation. Nothing against that at all. I served alongside Donna/Wonder Girl/Troia in the Titans and Bruce and Diana are good friends." Dick stopped as Janet leant across the table and kissed him. He returned the kiss and embrace.
Several kilometres out of Smallville, however, Sue Richards had her own revelations: "Guess what, I got a job!"
"Great, honey. Who's it with?"
"LexCorp." Lois and Clark exchanged worried glances.
"Have I said something wrong? Oh hell. He's one of your adversaries, isn't he? Look, I'll..."
"Susie. It wasn't your fault, you didn't know about the history between Lex Luthor, Clark and I. Which is intense. He's tried to frame and even kill Clark numerous times, he's a rabid xenophobe and he'll try to exploit your knowledge for self-serving, harmful objectives."
"I thought he was a former member of the Justice League, though?"
"Yes, and even US President at one point. But that doesn't change the fact that you have Franklin and Val to support as a single mom. Clark and I just want you to be sure about what you're getting into. Does he know about your invisibility skills, or the fact you're from an alternate universe?"
"Not yet. But I suspect that might come up on the background check."
"It won't. Bruce had our mutual friend Oracle hack into the LexCorp database and bend its search parameters slightly, and entered your details in numerous public databases. And actually, Clark? It wouldn't be at all bad if we had an internal LexCorp spy available. But right now, Lois, you and I need to sit down and have a really thorough talk about who Lex is, what he's done and what he's capable of."
Phoenix and Ray Palmer were having dinner:
"Thanks, Ray. I haven't been off Themiscyra since we landed here. And... thanks for the talk about Scott."
"It's okay. You provided me with an opportunity to talk about my Jean as well, Jean Loring. At least you had a long and happy relationship and marriage with Cyclops."
"Well, yes. But you're a good and decent man, Ray. None of what happened to your wife was your fault. I know schizophrenia is hard to manage, but you did your best. And while what happened to Sue and Ralph Dibny was heartbreaking, people make wrong choices sometimes. You sought help for her when you became aware of the extent of her problems. That's all anyone can do. Just because we're superhuman doesn't mean that we don't have personal dilemmas and heartbreaks of our own. Like Arthur, Mera and their poor baby, or Bruce and Clark's parents, or Dinah and Larry Lance's death, or Kyle and Alexandria's murder. Or, Tony's alcoholism, Jan's domestic problems with Hank Pym, what happened with Peter after the Green Goblin murdered Gwen Stacy or the death of his Uncle Ben in our neck of the woods."
"God, Jean, it just feels so good to be able to talk to someone about all this."
"Better that than holding it in. And at least you know how to balance work and personal relationships. Unlike Hank, dear as he was and able to change."
"I learnt that the hard way."
"I know that we're both on the rebound after what happened to your Jean and Scott. But I'd really like to see you again."
But elsewhere, in the debris and blinding white void that had been Earth-616's former universe, a familiar immense figure roused itself from its cryopod. Galactus observed the quantum traceries of his former opponents and smiled to himself as he witnessed the distant silhouette webwork of Earth-0's universe. Galactus had been considerably weakened by the effort it had taken to overthrow the presumptuous Anti-Monitor, but ultimately, he had prevailed and set to work obliterating the world of his hated adversaries the Fantastic Four and their colleagues. However, he was uneasy at what he now had to face- after all, had not the Omega class mutant Jean Grey/Phoenix obliterated the D'Bari solar system and slaughtered the sentients there? Still, there were no signs of antagonism or turmoil on that new world. However, it had an uncomfortably high number of metahumans. Moreover, there were fewer interstellar empires than in the void that had been Universe-616. What if these Khunds and Dominators had access to advanced metasentiences or cosmic sentiences that might conceivably challenge him? Or defeat him, unthinkable although that seemed to the ageless malevolence? He pondered this and then made for the new universe that would shortly face his depredations.
"Whoa! Something damned big just entered our universe."
"Why did the Hall of Heroes not alert us?"
"They may be otherwise distracted. This isn't good. What's worse is that it entered effortlessly through the breach in the Source Wall."
"What's its trajectory, Clark?"
"...Exactly the same as our newfound meta refugees from the demise of Earth-616, Bruce."
"Phoenix, Tony, Carol, did you get that?"
"Oh, no. No. It can't be. It must have died when our universe was destroyed. It must have."
"What's she talking about, Tony?"
"It...survived the end of the Big Crunch of the universe prior to our own. It is a creature called Galactus. It attacked our Earth countless times."
Diana frowned: "But it's using the Anti-Monitor's modus operandi. Unless..."
"Unless, it has met and destroyed the Anti-Monitor. We need intel, folks. What stopped Galactus beforehand?"
"Chance. Fate. Other cosmic sentiences- the High Evolutionary, Uatu the Watcher, Lord Chaos and Master Order, beings of that magnitude."
"All of which presumably perished or left Universe-616 before Galactus destroyed it. Added to which, there's been a substantial increase in the magnitude of his abilities. Beforehand, he was able to destroy inhabited planets, nothing on this scale."
"Are any of the life forms you mentioned parauniversal?"
"Yes- the Watchers. They represent an interdimensional civilisation. And there was also some conflict against the Asgardian pantheon- Thor was a sometime Avengers member on our world."
Diana exclaimed: "Of course! That means that if one pantheon could battle him to a halt, then so could another.
Abruptly, Galactus found his way to Earth-0 obstructed. He raged at the elder, muscular figure that blocked his entry, but was flung back:
I am Zeus, king of the Olympian pantheon.
-I am Galactus. I am progeny of a universe that existed before this. I predate you. Have a care that you do not test my patience and capabilities, oldling.
I will not permit you to enter this universe.
I will not permit you to halt my arrival in pursuit of quarry from my universe.
You destroyed quadrillions of sentient entities. You will pay for that crime almost beyond comprehension, but not accountability.
And so the two behemoths joined battle with each other. Whether their immemorial clash lasted milliseconds or millennia is unknown, for space and time have no meaning outside the worlds of the Multiverse and the Bleed. And then, in a matter of instants of whatever duration, it was over. Zeus seized Galactus and flung him into the Source Wall, which congealed and encapsulated him before he could cry out.
EPILOGUE:
Cue: Sue Richards role in the indictment and prosecution of Lex Luthor
Cue: Valeria Richards marriage to Jonathon Lane-Kent, Superman II.
Cue: Phoenix vaporised Apophis before it could impact on Earth.
Cue: Dick Grayson married Janet Van Dyne in April 2020.
Cue: Wolverine was acquitted of the manslaughter of the Joker in June 2025 after the psychopath tried to obliterate Metropolis with a dirty nuclear weapon.
Cue: Franklin Richards and Tony Stark won the Nobel Prize for trans-Einsteinian physics in February 2028.
Cue: Johnny Storm prevented a tsunami that might have obliterated Miami in 2023.
True to their past and heritage, the newcomers from a ruined Earth truly brought marvels to the world they adopted.
THE END.