Post by redsycorax on Jan 31, 2019 22:28:17 GMT
In the multiverse, there are many worlds whose existence centres on the outcome of the Second World War. On many of them, Nazi Germany was defeated and fell to Allied and Soviet forces in 1945, like Earths 0 and 33. On Earth-X, however, after Franklin D Roosevelt died prematurely from polio, his fiscal conservative successor President John Garner reined in the "New Deal" and expenditure on Operation Manhattan, with the result that in 1945, both Nazi Germany and the United States had nuclear weapons- and so the war continued until the Nazis used a mind control device to subdue humanity in 1969, even if that only lasted four years. Its successor, Earth-10, was not so fortunate, as Nazi Germany had its own metahuman alliance, the New Reichsman, and they fought the Freedom Fighters, a metahuman US resistance organisation. On Earth-945, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was assassinated by madman Guiseppe Zagara in 1933, which led to the same scenario, but without metahumans, ending with the destruction of Washington DC by the detonation of a nuclear device, named Kleiner Junge ("Little Boy") by Heisenberg, the bomb's creator and the consequent Axis occupation and partition of the United States, as well as a Nazi/Japanese Cold War over the next few decades.
Earth-939 was a different world altogether. On many other alternate Earths, George Elser, a Swabian rural worker, narrowly failed to kill Adolf Hitler through detonation of high explosive hidden in an ornamental column behind the platform where the Fuhrer gave a commemorative address at the Munich Beer Hall where he and other Nazis had tried to launch an abortive putsch against the Weimar Republic. In 1933, the Nazis won an election and launched a coup d'etat, launching Adolf Hitler into his career as Chancellor. But their vanity and addiction to vulgar spectacle led to an unexpected outcome on this Earth. On Earth-33, Elser's explosive went off, but hours after Hitler unexpectedly left the beer hall early to take care of other business. On Earth-939, he decided to stay at the venue and launched into his habitual long, rambling speech. He was still talking an hour and twenty minutes later when Elser's bomb went off and buried the Fuhrer underneath two floors of fallen masonry. The bomb also ended the lives of much of the Nazi hierarchy also assembled there- Joseph Goebbels, Rudolf Hess, Reinhard Heydrich, Robert Ley, Alfred Rosenberg, August Frank, Julius Streicher, Hermann Esser and Heinrich Himmler. Instead of narrow failure, George Elser's plan succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Always engaged in interneccine battles, the various factions within the Nazi hierarchy collapsed into acrimony and chaos, their leadership decapitated and with no chain of command. Hardly believing their luck, a clandestine network of Wehrmacht high command personnel launched a coup d'etat in Berlin, taking advantage of the sudden collapse of the Nazi leviathan. It succeeded and suddenly, Germany's nightmare was over. The New German Republic ended the occupation of Czechoslovakia and Austria, ended the racist and anti-Semitic Nuremberg laws and either paid reparations to Nazi Germany's Jewish victims or arranged for paid travel to Israel. The consequences were immediate elsewhere. Churchill welcomed the sudden end of his nemesis. Stalin was bewildered and hurriedly called off plans to invade Poland and Finland, risking exposure and isolation if he went ahead with those avaricious plans. Imperial Japan found its own pacifist and other anti-regime factions revitalised by the abrupt Nazi collapse. It negotiated to retain the Chinese puppet state of Manchukuo and occupation of Korea and did not attack Pearl Harbour in 1941, nor did it launch any 'co-prosperity sphere,' other than through trade.
The subsequent history of this world was one of peace and stability, but at a cost. It never developed nuclear weapons, never fought a Cold War, never underwent decolonisation of former British and French African and Asian territories apart from India, never experienced a weakened Britain or France, but in the end, it did dispose of racist legislation in the Southern United States, South Africa and elsewhere. Without an arms race, it was able to spend the money on space exploration and greater technological development.
As for its metahumans, the absence of military mobilisation provided greater staffing opportunities for domestic law enforcement within the United States. Superman, Batman, Doctor Occult, Crimson Avenger, Sandman and Zatara began their respective careers, but that was the sum total of metahuman development in this slower, gentler world. As it was, however, that turned out to be enough.
+++
Part One: 1939:
"I wish we knew why there are so few other mystery men or women around, Bruce."
"I know, Clark. Still, at least there are fewer costumed villains around to vex us. I'm not sure why they adopt such garish outfits. For entertainment? For psychological reasons? In any case, what brings you to Gotham?"
"Does the name 'Doctor Death' arouse any memories?"
"Are you saying he's been active in Metropolis as well as Gotham, Clark?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so, Bruce."
"Thank you for that. Do you want me to take care of that, or will you?"
"I almost wish there'd been a war, Bruce. At least that way, some of the more routine criminals we encounter would have been drafted into the armed forces. Still, I'm grateful that there wasn't the attendant loss of life that would have accompanied that. The Nazis or Japanese might have developed their own mystery men or women and perhaps any such war would have escalated."
"Given my workload in Gotham, I wish I had a full-time partner. The effort is becoming more than enough for one man or woman alone."
"Say, you've seen that Flying Graysons act. I'm thinking of taking Lois along when they reach Metropolis."
"Funny you should say that. I busted up an extortion ring and brought in a notorious local gangster, Boss Zucco, who were trying to introduce a protection racket in that context. I think it convinced Commissioner James Gordon, the new man in the GCPD, that I'm no vigilante and I'm serious about tackling organised crime. Gotham's taking longer to recover from the Depression than Metropolis."
"So, have you met those other mystery men yet, the Crimson Avenger, Sandman, Dr Occult, Rose Psychic and Zatara?"
"Zatara, Occult and Rose Psychic all seem to be actual magicians. They don't rely on cheap parlour tricks and they are interested in ending criminal activities."
"There are almost enough of us to organise some sort of league, or society."
Occult nodded to his long-time companion: "Rose? What can you see?"
"Red skies and storms of unearthly energy. And a strong sense of foreboding and screaming crowds."
"Alien invasion? Hellspawn? Darkfaerie?"
"It will not happen for decades, but it will happen. The problem, Richard, is that we may still be alive to witness it."
"I thought we could avert it. Which is why this world exists, it was supposed to be a realm of innocence and benevolence, after we intervened in the assassination of the German dictator."
"It may be beyond our ability to forestall, Richard. If even a prodigious mystery man like this "Superman" cannot prevent it, what can we do?"
"But if it is not for decades, then perhaps we have the ability to train for that contingency."
"The question is, do we tell these others? If it happens in the time of their children or grandchildren?"
"And have we done the right thing, slowing this world's social development and technological progress?"
Part Two: 1945.
And in the news today, Prime Minister Atlee defeated Sir Winston Churchill to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after a Labour Party landslide. The state funeral for Franklin Delano Roosevelt will occur on August 5 after his polio complication death, and German Chancellor Goerdler said that he would welcome a visit from French Prime Minister Laval to discuss trade and greater regional cooperation in Western Europe. There will be an announcement in Moscow today rumoured to be tied to the development of a Soviet mystery person organisation akin to the Society for Justice in America. Negotations for projected Indian independence are continuing between Congress Party leader Mahatma Gandhi and the new British government. If successful, Britain will relinquish control of India in 1948 or 1949.
"Clark? How much do you know about the situation in Moscow?"
Superman shrugged: "I wish I knew, Richard, but my telescopic vision and superhearing have a finite range. I imagine the White House knows better than we do, with those artificial moons they launched last year."
"I wonder how long it'll be before the Germans, Soviets, British, French or Japanese join us?"
"I hope we can undertake cooperation with them. It'd be swell if we could increase the scope of membership past our territorial limits."
"Yes, true. Although I hope we're not getting into some sort of mystery person 'arms race.' With Miraculous in the United Kingdom and Marianne in France, that would mean that four countries now have their own mystery people. No doubt there'll be more. I'm just grateful the international situation has eased, apart from those troubles the British have in Africa."
Part Three: 1956
There have been severe problems in British East Africa today, as Imperial Air Arm suppressed an anti-settler revolt in Kenya from the Maumau terrorists. At the same time, the Soviet Union has sent troops into its restive Ukrainian republic, after anti-Russian protests broke out in Kiev. In Washington DC, President Truman expressed deep satisfaction at the imprisonment of former Republican Senator Joseph Macarthy, convicted of perjury and misleading the House of Representatives and Senate over his abortive 'anti-communist' crusade. After conversing with Senator Phillip Randolph, President Truman said that if there were any more racialist riots in the Deep South, federal troops would be sent in. Finally, Indian President Mahatma Gandhi is to visit Washington in April 1957, New Delhi announced.
"This has nothing to do with you. Stay out of this area. We are managing things here. How would you like it if we intervened in your British colonies, or in Algeria, Marianne?"
The embodied symbol of French identity and pride frowned:
"Exactly what is that supposed to mean, Stakhanovite?"
"You know what it means, ma cherie. Algeria."
Marianne bit her lip: "That has as little to do with you as the Ukraine has to do with us, Stak. Please, can't we at least talk about this? I know the USSR is going through a rough patch after the death of Premier Stalin, but if it's a matter of food shortages..."
"Nyet, Marianne. We do not want or need agricultural help from the West."
"That's not what I've heard." Miraculous snorted, earning him a stern glance from Marianne.
"Yes, rather like the Kenyan concentration camps for Maumau 'terrorists', then, Michael?"
"You shouldn't believe everything you read in Pravda, mate." Miraculous said coolly.
"Do you really want the United States to interfere in Eurasia and Africa, either of you? All of us have strategic interests here and colonial possessions or satellites we want to retain. It's bad enough that the Americans helped Chiang Kai-Shek to pulverise Mao and his communists in 1948 because they wanted their own Chinese surrogate to counter Japan's influence in Manchukuo and Korea. What if they decide to agitate in areas like British Arabia, or in Algeria and the French Community next?"
"You may be right, there. I've seen Superman and Zatara conducting reconaissance activities in the North Atlantic. But look, Nikolai, if you really want food assistance, you only have to say."
Part Four: 1968
The British Army has accepted the surrender of the South African armed forces at Johannesburg after the final rout of the South African armed forces at the Battle of Pretoria. Miraculous and his daughter Miraclegirl were on hand for the signing of the peace treaty. Other dignitaries were President Arafat of the British Mandate of Palestine, President Meir of Israel, President Indira Gandhi of India, Prime Minister Kirk of the Australasian Federation, and President Robert Kennedy of the United States. Many of the other world leaders congratulated President Kennedy on winning the recent presidential election. In California, Governor Nixon...
Superman and his daughter Superwoman stood over the grave of Bruce Wayne, with his son, Bruce Junior, shaking their hands:
"Thank you for coming, Clark and Lucille."
"I can't believe it. I was talking to Bruce only yesterday."
"He concealed it from mother and I well. It was a cardiovascular episode. He wanted to keep fighting until the end."
"It's hard to believe the Batman is gone. You have no inclination to follow in his footsteps, then, Bruce?"
Bruce Jr shook his head: "It's a complex situation, Clark. Over time, Wayne Enterprises activities have become more and more diversified. Even with mother presiding over our charitable arm, the Wayne Foundation, it's a full-time job."
Superman nodded: "I wish he'd told me."
"I hope you're not disappointed, Clark. Especially given that few of the old guard are still alive. Sandy has taken over from Wesley, Zatanna is now the Earth's foremost magician and their predecessors are living in retirement. However, I've had a word to Lucius. You know we're involved with the Liberty series of interplanetary craft to Jupiter's Galilean satellites?"
"Yes, a whole new final frontier for international rivalries. British Europa, Indian Io, Russian Callisto and our ANSA installations on Ganymede. It's all so senseless."
"Nothing is the way it was, Dad. Look at that student massacre at Kent State- damn Tricky Dicky and what he's done to California."
"He is the Governor, Lucy honey."
"Is that any excuse for what he's doing, Dad? Just because he failed to win the presidency in 1960, we have to endure his tyranny over our largest state.."
Part Five: 1976.
The United States is celebrating its bicentennial. However, the rest of the world is in turmoil. Britain's restive African colonial possessions are now in full-fledged rebellion, as are France's own colonial territories in Indochina and Africa. Russia's crop failures have become increasingly severe, while Japan has been thrown out of Manchukuo. After thirty years, the international situation is becoming unstable. President Humphrey defeats George H.Bush as the Republican presidential candidate in the election that year. Superman mourns the death of Lois Lane as he retires from active heroic endeavour. Superwoman heads the new League for Justice in America...
As Superwoman overflew the devastated Californian countryside, she bit her lip. There had to have been a better way than this, no matter what she had said in the past. Nixon had turned California into an armed camp, but had finally gone too far when he tried to secede from the United States altogether. President Hubert Humphrey requested SJA assistance, but the organisation was polarised over proposed intervention and fell apart. Rose Psychic joined Superwoman as they neared the wartorn, burning city of Sacramento
"Is Nixon still alive?"
"Sandy extracted him three days ago. He's now a prisoner in Leavenworth, awaiting trial for treason. And two hundred thousand people are dead."
"Including Dad's old ally, the Crimson Avenger, caught in the crossfire in San Diego. I almost can't believe this has happened. Civil war. On American soil."
Rose sighed: "I thought we were headed for a better world after we averted that Second Great War in the thirties. Now look at us."
"Be careful about what you wish for, you may obtain unwanted additional results."
Part Six: 1985.
Germany's Chancellor Berent today warned Russia over the continuing crisis in Poland, stating that he had evidence of Soviet interference in the affairs of the wartorn Eastern European nation. For his part, Soviet Premier Khrushchev made reciprocal accusations about German armament shipments to the resurgent Chinese Nationalist regime in Beijing, and being behind terrorist attacks in Vladivostok. There are reports that the United Kingdom has used chemical weapons in Mogadishu and Khartoum, but Prime Minister Enoch Powell refused to confirm or deny whether that was the case. Delhi commented that "a line had been crossed" if that were the case. After his final US Supreme Court appeal failed, former California Governor Richard Nixon was executed at Leavenworth today for high treason...
"I think the question is, what do we do about Britain's actions in Northeastern Africa?"
"Good question. It is horrific. This Powell is a murderous authoritarian dictator and despot. We cannot tolerate this. Thousands of people died in the immediate attacks on Khartoum and Mogadishu."
"You didn't say that initially when it came to Algeria, Marianne."
"No, but I did speak up against that war and refused to participate in what Paris wanted while it was trying to hang on to its ill-gotten possessions." Marianne said pointedly, as Stakhanovite sighed. She was probably quite aware that he didn't have clean hands, given his 'peacekeeping' operations in the embattled rebellious Ukraine and Poland. (Surely she didn't know about what had happened in Warsaw...?!)
"Superwoman? If we violate Britain's national sovereignty, there's a possibility that London could use its intercontinental ballistic missiles and target Washington, or Moscow, or Paris, or Berlin. I can't believe Miraculous is a party to this."
"He never did think deeply about foreign policy issues and I'm afraid Mike is a man of his time when it comes to unacknowledged racism and imperial nostalgia. But Miraclegirl? I'm surprised she's actively loyal to the regime."
"So much for our greater moral fortitude and breadth of vision"
Part Seven: July 1985:
Red skies and tachyon class particle bursts have been reported from interstellar space. The Liberty Two spaceprobe beamed back these pictures of Anthorann, the outermost planet of the Alpha Centauri solar system, and panicked broadcasts were also heard from Alpha Centauri's three inhabited planets, Hebos, Sfar and Rann, before contact was lost with humanity's first interstellar probe. Given the growing earthquakes and volcanic activity on our own planet, the world's mystery men and women have brokered a cease fire between otherwise burgeoning hostilities between the Great Powers.
"Kal?"
"It's not good, Marianne. I've used my telescopic vision and that tachyon pulse is coming from an almost universal antimatter storm. And it's affecting time travel as well. We can't escape into the distant past, because this is occurring throughout history."
"How could this have avoided our attention? Dear Liberty, to think that we were obsessed with our own selfish national squabbles while a crisis of this magnitude loomed above us..."
Miraculous sighed: "By the time I reached Enoch, he was hanging in his office. Couldn't face what was happening."
"Dad? What do we do? That thing's even consuming other metasapients out there." Superwoman said, biting her lip as she watched Ariane Strange, the Earth-born hero of Rann, make a last stand against the blinding white antimatter storm as it started to consume Ranagar, her adopted city. As Ariane cradled her Rannian partner Alayn and their children in her arms, the storm swept over them. She could watch no more.
Dr Occult and Rose looked up at the growing whiteness of the skies above as the antimatter storm began to eat at the solar system's Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt:
"We...knew this was coming." Dr Occult confessed.
"We have known for almost four decades. Nothing can stop this."
"We could have, if you'd let us know, damn it." Stakhanovite snapped.
"No, you could not. Even worlds with nuclear power and technologies beyond our own have been powerless. This phenomenon is not just limited to one universe, it encompasses the entire multiverse."
"Right, to hell with this. I don't care what Rich here says about what's happening up there, I refuse to accept it. Let's go down fighting, lads and lasses."
Superman, Superwoman, Miraclegirl, Dr Occult, Rose Psychic, Stakhanovite and Zatanna nodded. As one, they rose into the increasingly blinding night, trying to forestall the gaping maw of the apocalypse. Of course, they did not succeed, but it is the valour and selflessness of their deeds that counts in this context. They had protected their world for nearly five decades. They were heroes to the last, and because they were heroes, they made the ultimate sacrifice. Even if it was only minutes, they brought Earth-939 some solace and purpose as it met its end, consumed by the onrushing turmoil and multiversal armageddon of the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
THE END
Earth-939 was a different world altogether. On many other alternate Earths, George Elser, a Swabian rural worker, narrowly failed to kill Adolf Hitler through detonation of high explosive hidden in an ornamental column behind the platform where the Fuhrer gave a commemorative address at the Munich Beer Hall where he and other Nazis had tried to launch an abortive putsch against the Weimar Republic. In 1933, the Nazis won an election and launched a coup d'etat, launching Adolf Hitler into his career as Chancellor. But their vanity and addiction to vulgar spectacle led to an unexpected outcome on this Earth. On Earth-33, Elser's explosive went off, but hours after Hitler unexpectedly left the beer hall early to take care of other business. On Earth-939, he decided to stay at the venue and launched into his habitual long, rambling speech. He was still talking an hour and twenty minutes later when Elser's bomb went off and buried the Fuhrer underneath two floors of fallen masonry. The bomb also ended the lives of much of the Nazi hierarchy also assembled there- Joseph Goebbels, Rudolf Hess, Reinhard Heydrich, Robert Ley, Alfred Rosenberg, August Frank, Julius Streicher, Hermann Esser and Heinrich Himmler. Instead of narrow failure, George Elser's plan succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. Always engaged in interneccine battles, the various factions within the Nazi hierarchy collapsed into acrimony and chaos, their leadership decapitated and with no chain of command. Hardly believing their luck, a clandestine network of Wehrmacht high command personnel launched a coup d'etat in Berlin, taking advantage of the sudden collapse of the Nazi leviathan. It succeeded and suddenly, Germany's nightmare was over. The New German Republic ended the occupation of Czechoslovakia and Austria, ended the racist and anti-Semitic Nuremberg laws and either paid reparations to Nazi Germany's Jewish victims or arranged for paid travel to Israel. The consequences were immediate elsewhere. Churchill welcomed the sudden end of his nemesis. Stalin was bewildered and hurriedly called off plans to invade Poland and Finland, risking exposure and isolation if he went ahead with those avaricious plans. Imperial Japan found its own pacifist and other anti-regime factions revitalised by the abrupt Nazi collapse. It negotiated to retain the Chinese puppet state of Manchukuo and occupation of Korea and did not attack Pearl Harbour in 1941, nor did it launch any 'co-prosperity sphere,' other than through trade.
The subsequent history of this world was one of peace and stability, but at a cost. It never developed nuclear weapons, never fought a Cold War, never underwent decolonisation of former British and French African and Asian territories apart from India, never experienced a weakened Britain or France, but in the end, it did dispose of racist legislation in the Southern United States, South Africa and elsewhere. Without an arms race, it was able to spend the money on space exploration and greater technological development.
As for its metahumans, the absence of military mobilisation provided greater staffing opportunities for domestic law enforcement within the United States. Superman, Batman, Doctor Occult, Crimson Avenger, Sandman and Zatara began their respective careers, but that was the sum total of metahuman development in this slower, gentler world. As it was, however, that turned out to be enough.
+++
Part One: 1939:
"I wish we knew why there are so few other mystery men or women around, Bruce."
"I know, Clark. Still, at least there are fewer costumed villains around to vex us. I'm not sure why they adopt such garish outfits. For entertainment? For psychological reasons? In any case, what brings you to Gotham?"
"Does the name 'Doctor Death' arouse any memories?"
"Are you saying he's been active in Metropolis as well as Gotham, Clark?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so, Bruce."
"Thank you for that. Do you want me to take care of that, or will you?"
"I almost wish there'd been a war, Bruce. At least that way, some of the more routine criminals we encounter would have been drafted into the armed forces. Still, I'm grateful that there wasn't the attendant loss of life that would have accompanied that. The Nazis or Japanese might have developed their own mystery men or women and perhaps any such war would have escalated."
"Given my workload in Gotham, I wish I had a full-time partner. The effort is becoming more than enough for one man or woman alone."
"Say, you've seen that Flying Graysons act. I'm thinking of taking Lois along when they reach Metropolis."
"Funny you should say that. I busted up an extortion ring and brought in a notorious local gangster, Boss Zucco, who were trying to introduce a protection racket in that context. I think it convinced Commissioner James Gordon, the new man in the GCPD, that I'm no vigilante and I'm serious about tackling organised crime. Gotham's taking longer to recover from the Depression than Metropolis."
"So, have you met those other mystery men yet, the Crimson Avenger, Sandman, Dr Occult, Rose Psychic and Zatara?"
"Zatara, Occult and Rose Psychic all seem to be actual magicians. They don't rely on cheap parlour tricks and they are interested in ending criminal activities."
"There are almost enough of us to organise some sort of league, or society."
Occult nodded to his long-time companion: "Rose? What can you see?"
"Red skies and storms of unearthly energy. And a strong sense of foreboding and screaming crowds."
"Alien invasion? Hellspawn? Darkfaerie?"
"It will not happen for decades, but it will happen. The problem, Richard, is that we may still be alive to witness it."
"I thought we could avert it. Which is why this world exists, it was supposed to be a realm of innocence and benevolence, after we intervened in the assassination of the German dictator."
"It may be beyond our ability to forestall, Richard. If even a prodigious mystery man like this "Superman" cannot prevent it, what can we do?"
"But if it is not for decades, then perhaps we have the ability to train for that contingency."
"The question is, do we tell these others? If it happens in the time of their children or grandchildren?"
"And have we done the right thing, slowing this world's social development and technological progress?"
Part Two: 1945.
And in the news today, Prime Minister Atlee defeated Sir Winston Churchill to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after a Labour Party landslide. The state funeral for Franklin Delano Roosevelt will occur on August 5 after his polio complication death, and German Chancellor Goerdler said that he would welcome a visit from French Prime Minister Laval to discuss trade and greater regional cooperation in Western Europe. There will be an announcement in Moscow today rumoured to be tied to the development of a Soviet mystery person organisation akin to the Society for Justice in America. Negotations for projected Indian independence are continuing between Congress Party leader Mahatma Gandhi and the new British government. If successful, Britain will relinquish control of India in 1948 or 1949.
"Clark? How much do you know about the situation in Moscow?"
Superman shrugged: "I wish I knew, Richard, but my telescopic vision and superhearing have a finite range. I imagine the White House knows better than we do, with those artificial moons they launched last year."
"I wonder how long it'll be before the Germans, Soviets, British, French or Japanese join us?"
"I hope we can undertake cooperation with them. It'd be swell if we could increase the scope of membership past our territorial limits."
"Yes, true. Although I hope we're not getting into some sort of mystery person 'arms race.' With Miraculous in the United Kingdom and Marianne in France, that would mean that four countries now have their own mystery people. No doubt there'll be more. I'm just grateful the international situation has eased, apart from those troubles the British have in Africa."
Part Three: 1956
There have been severe problems in British East Africa today, as Imperial Air Arm suppressed an anti-settler revolt in Kenya from the Maumau terrorists. At the same time, the Soviet Union has sent troops into its restive Ukrainian republic, after anti-Russian protests broke out in Kiev. In Washington DC, President Truman expressed deep satisfaction at the imprisonment of former Republican Senator Joseph Macarthy, convicted of perjury and misleading the House of Representatives and Senate over his abortive 'anti-communist' crusade. After conversing with Senator Phillip Randolph, President Truman said that if there were any more racialist riots in the Deep South, federal troops would be sent in. Finally, Indian President Mahatma Gandhi is to visit Washington in April 1957, New Delhi announced.
"This has nothing to do with you. Stay out of this area. We are managing things here. How would you like it if we intervened in your British colonies, or in Algeria, Marianne?"
The embodied symbol of French identity and pride frowned:
"Exactly what is that supposed to mean, Stakhanovite?"
"You know what it means, ma cherie. Algeria."
Marianne bit her lip: "That has as little to do with you as the Ukraine has to do with us, Stak. Please, can't we at least talk about this? I know the USSR is going through a rough patch after the death of Premier Stalin, but if it's a matter of food shortages..."
"Nyet, Marianne. We do not want or need agricultural help from the West."
"That's not what I've heard." Miraculous snorted, earning him a stern glance from Marianne.
"Yes, rather like the Kenyan concentration camps for Maumau 'terrorists', then, Michael?"
"You shouldn't believe everything you read in Pravda, mate." Miraculous said coolly.
"Do you really want the United States to interfere in Eurasia and Africa, either of you? All of us have strategic interests here and colonial possessions or satellites we want to retain. It's bad enough that the Americans helped Chiang Kai-Shek to pulverise Mao and his communists in 1948 because they wanted their own Chinese surrogate to counter Japan's influence in Manchukuo and Korea. What if they decide to agitate in areas like British Arabia, or in Algeria and the French Community next?"
"You may be right, there. I've seen Superman and Zatara conducting reconaissance activities in the North Atlantic. But look, Nikolai, if you really want food assistance, you only have to say."
Part Four: 1968
The British Army has accepted the surrender of the South African armed forces at Johannesburg after the final rout of the South African armed forces at the Battle of Pretoria. Miraculous and his daughter Miraclegirl were on hand for the signing of the peace treaty. Other dignitaries were President Arafat of the British Mandate of Palestine, President Meir of Israel, President Indira Gandhi of India, Prime Minister Kirk of the Australasian Federation, and President Robert Kennedy of the United States. Many of the other world leaders congratulated President Kennedy on winning the recent presidential election. In California, Governor Nixon...
Superman and his daughter Superwoman stood over the grave of Bruce Wayne, with his son, Bruce Junior, shaking their hands:
"Thank you for coming, Clark and Lucille."
"I can't believe it. I was talking to Bruce only yesterday."
"He concealed it from mother and I well. It was a cardiovascular episode. He wanted to keep fighting until the end."
"It's hard to believe the Batman is gone. You have no inclination to follow in his footsteps, then, Bruce?"
Bruce Jr shook his head: "It's a complex situation, Clark. Over time, Wayne Enterprises activities have become more and more diversified. Even with mother presiding over our charitable arm, the Wayne Foundation, it's a full-time job."
Superman nodded: "I wish he'd told me."
"I hope you're not disappointed, Clark. Especially given that few of the old guard are still alive. Sandy has taken over from Wesley, Zatanna is now the Earth's foremost magician and their predecessors are living in retirement. However, I've had a word to Lucius. You know we're involved with the Liberty series of interplanetary craft to Jupiter's Galilean satellites?"
"Yes, a whole new final frontier for international rivalries. British Europa, Indian Io, Russian Callisto and our ANSA installations on Ganymede. It's all so senseless."
"Nothing is the way it was, Dad. Look at that student massacre at Kent State- damn Tricky Dicky and what he's done to California."
"He is the Governor, Lucy honey."
"Is that any excuse for what he's doing, Dad? Just because he failed to win the presidency in 1960, we have to endure his tyranny over our largest state.."
Part Five: 1976.
The United States is celebrating its bicentennial. However, the rest of the world is in turmoil. Britain's restive African colonial possessions are now in full-fledged rebellion, as are France's own colonial territories in Indochina and Africa. Russia's crop failures have become increasingly severe, while Japan has been thrown out of Manchukuo. After thirty years, the international situation is becoming unstable. President Humphrey defeats George H.Bush as the Republican presidential candidate in the election that year. Superman mourns the death of Lois Lane as he retires from active heroic endeavour. Superwoman heads the new League for Justice in America...
As Superwoman overflew the devastated Californian countryside, she bit her lip. There had to have been a better way than this, no matter what she had said in the past. Nixon had turned California into an armed camp, but had finally gone too far when he tried to secede from the United States altogether. President Hubert Humphrey requested SJA assistance, but the organisation was polarised over proposed intervention and fell apart. Rose Psychic joined Superwoman as they neared the wartorn, burning city of Sacramento
"Is Nixon still alive?"
"Sandy extracted him three days ago. He's now a prisoner in Leavenworth, awaiting trial for treason. And two hundred thousand people are dead."
"Including Dad's old ally, the Crimson Avenger, caught in the crossfire in San Diego. I almost can't believe this has happened. Civil war. On American soil."
Rose sighed: "I thought we were headed for a better world after we averted that Second Great War in the thirties. Now look at us."
"Be careful about what you wish for, you may obtain unwanted additional results."
Part Six: 1985.
Germany's Chancellor Berent today warned Russia over the continuing crisis in Poland, stating that he had evidence of Soviet interference in the affairs of the wartorn Eastern European nation. For his part, Soviet Premier Khrushchev made reciprocal accusations about German armament shipments to the resurgent Chinese Nationalist regime in Beijing, and being behind terrorist attacks in Vladivostok. There are reports that the United Kingdom has used chemical weapons in Mogadishu and Khartoum, but Prime Minister Enoch Powell refused to confirm or deny whether that was the case. Delhi commented that "a line had been crossed" if that were the case. After his final US Supreme Court appeal failed, former California Governor Richard Nixon was executed at Leavenworth today for high treason...
"I think the question is, what do we do about Britain's actions in Northeastern Africa?"
"Good question. It is horrific. This Powell is a murderous authoritarian dictator and despot. We cannot tolerate this. Thousands of people died in the immediate attacks on Khartoum and Mogadishu."
"You didn't say that initially when it came to Algeria, Marianne."
"No, but I did speak up against that war and refused to participate in what Paris wanted while it was trying to hang on to its ill-gotten possessions." Marianne said pointedly, as Stakhanovite sighed. She was probably quite aware that he didn't have clean hands, given his 'peacekeeping' operations in the embattled rebellious Ukraine and Poland. (Surely she didn't know about what had happened in Warsaw...?!)
"Superwoman? If we violate Britain's national sovereignty, there's a possibility that London could use its intercontinental ballistic missiles and target Washington, or Moscow, or Paris, or Berlin. I can't believe Miraculous is a party to this."
"He never did think deeply about foreign policy issues and I'm afraid Mike is a man of his time when it comes to unacknowledged racism and imperial nostalgia. But Miraclegirl? I'm surprised she's actively loyal to the regime."
"So much for our greater moral fortitude and breadth of vision"
Part Seven: July 1985:
Red skies and tachyon class particle bursts have been reported from interstellar space. The Liberty Two spaceprobe beamed back these pictures of Anthorann, the outermost planet of the Alpha Centauri solar system, and panicked broadcasts were also heard from Alpha Centauri's three inhabited planets, Hebos, Sfar and Rann, before contact was lost with humanity's first interstellar probe. Given the growing earthquakes and volcanic activity on our own planet, the world's mystery men and women have brokered a cease fire between otherwise burgeoning hostilities between the Great Powers.
"Kal?"
"It's not good, Marianne. I've used my telescopic vision and that tachyon pulse is coming from an almost universal antimatter storm. And it's affecting time travel as well. We can't escape into the distant past, because this is occurring throughout history."
"How could this have avoided our attention? Dear Liberty, to think that we were obsessed with our own selfish national squabbles while a crisis of this magnitude loomed above us..."
Miraculous sighed: "By the time I reached Enoch, he was hanging in his office. Couldn't face what was happening."
"Dad? What do we do? That thing's even consuming other metasapients out there." Superwoman said, biting her lip as she watched Ariane Strange, the Earth-born hero of Rann, make a last stand against the blinding white antimatter storm as it started to consume Ranagar, her adopted city. As Ariane cradled her Rannian partner Alayn and their children in her arms, the storm swept over them. She could watch no more.
Dr Occult and Rose looked up at the growing whiteness of the skies above as the antimatter storm began to eat at the solar system's Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt:
"We...knew this was coming." Dr Occult confessed.
"We have known for almost four decades. Nothing can stop this."
"We could have, if you'd let us know, damn it." Stakhanovite snapped.
"No, you could not. Even worlds with nuclear power and technologies beyond our own have been powerless. This phenomenon is not just limited to one universe, it encompasses the entire multiverse."
"Right, to hell with this. I don't care what Rich here says about what's happening up there, I refuse to accept it. Let's go down fighting, lads and lasses."
Superman, Superwoman, Miraclegirl, Dr Occult, Rose Psychic, Stakhanovite and Zatanna nodded. As one, they rose into the increasingly blinding night, trying to forestall the gaping maw of the apocalypse. Of course, they did not succeed, but it is the valour and selflessness of their deeds that counts in this context. They had protected their world for nearly five decades. They were heroes to the last, and because they were heroes, they made the ultimate sacrifice. Even if it was only minutes, they brought Earth-939 some solace and purpose as it met its end, consumed by the onrushing turmoil and multiversal armageddon of the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
THE END