A/N: I don't own Disney or DC Comics
Prologue: A Game of Good and Evil
"Blast!" Mirage cried out furiously as she watched what was unfolding before her via her crystal ball "and these fools call themselves servants of evil!"
From her pocket dimension of Morbia, Mirage, evil incarnate, watched as yet again the forces of good triumphed over evil as they always did. In her centuries of being the embodiment of evil, Mirage had seen time and time again as heroes from across the multiverse rise up and defeat the forces of darkness. It wasn't like evil hadn't been trying since her time away from being on the battlefield either. There had been several contenders for villains in the past that even she herself considered to be an even grander villain than herself. from the devious dream demon, Bill Cipher, to the cruel and strategic Toffee, to even the brutal and ruthless warlord, Lord Dominator, Mirage held hope that through villains like these that evil would finally have its victory over good.
But alas, that was not meant to be, for like so many times before, heroes rose up and rescued their worlds from dire peril. Mirage was no stranger to failure, for long before she decided to sit on sidelines and watch and influence dark forces in the worlds around her, she herself was once out in the field and wreaking havoc across the world, only to be stopped by a certain street rat and his band of idiotic friends. However, while she was handed defeat after defeat at the hands of the little urchin who vexed her, she had time on her side and soon enough, the boy's mortality had caught up with him. But by that time, Mirage had chosen to remain in her world of Morbia and merely be a whisperer in the ears of evil, being that little push for those who were tempted by the darkness.
"Another loss?" a sudden voice inquired "you must be tired of this by now"
The cat-woman's head shot up from her crystal ball as her green, cat-like eyes began to scan the shadows of her darken temple. The moment she heard that voice she knew exactly who had come disturb her, though she was still perplexed as to why he had come here in the first place.
"Alright, show yourself!" she sneered with narrowed eyes "I'm in no mood for games"
Out of the shadows stepped a tall, gaunt man wearing a blue suit and cape, a dark blue fedora and medallion around his neck. Mirage let out a cat-like growl at the man's sudden intrusion, a clear way of showing her unwanted guest that he was not welcome here. The man merely looked back at her with his usual stoic expression in his eyes, a silent sign that he was not going anywhere despite her protests.
"The Phantom Stranger…" Mirage regarded with venom dripping from every word "And to what do I owe this unwelcome visit?'
The apparition said nothing in response, only keeping his stony gaze locked on the cat-woman before him. The Phantom Stranger was a power entity that was the spirit of justice and the right hand of God, though he wasn't permitted to enter heaven directly. Mirage glared back at the entity before her, knowing full well that whatever his reasoning for being here was, it would not bode well for her.
"Well?" the cat-woman insisted sharply "Answer me!"
"You know why I am here, Mirage" the Stranger finally answered "It is time for you to step down as Evil Incarnate"
The embodiment of evil visibly flinched at that, though she knew it to be true. After taking over the previous incarnation of evil's position, Mirage had held onto the title longer than anyone else before her. As Evil Incarnate, it was her mission to make sure that the forces of evil were constantly scheming against the light so that the balance between the two could be maintained. However, every new millennium, a new avatar of evil would take the previous one's place to keep the balance going. But Mirage had held onto the title for too long and it no doubt had disturbed the other cosmic beings throughout the multiverse.
"Right, and I suppose you've come here to persuade me to do so?" she gathered
"Be thankful I was sent instead of the Specter" the Stranger replied "he would have…less than kind words with you"
"Oh, of that I have no doubt" Mirage agreed with an eyeroll "But you see the thing is: I don't want to step down"
"It's not a matter of what you want Mirage, it's a matter of—" the ghostly being attempted to explain
"Yes, yes I know 'maintaining the balance'" the sorceress cut him off "you sound more like a Lord of Order than a voice of God"
"Regardless, your time is up. Stand down now" the Phantom Stranger insisted in slightly tensed voice "do not make me force you to do so"
"Now see here you spectral interloper, I am Mirage! The embodiment of evil itself!" she proclaimed as she shot up from her throne "and I shall not relinquish my title so…so…"
Mirage's words trailed off as she suddenly lurched over forward and began to let out a series of loud, haggard coughs. The Phantom Stranger stood silently and watched as evil incarnate was forced to sit down in her throne once more. Mirage shot a glower back at him in an attempt to keep up her fierce visage, but the Stranger stood unfazed, for he had seen more than enough to prove his point.
"You've held onto that power for far too long" he told her "how long as it been eating away at you now? three hundred years? four hundred?"
"It's nothing I can't control" she defended before coughing again
"Holding onto the very essence of all the evil in the entire multiverse is a burden no one person can bear for too long" the Stranger reminded her
"It's not a burden if you like it" the cat-woman retorted with a weak but sinister grin
"Like it or not, it is killing you, Mirage" her adversary said "even with your immortality, you cannot hold onto that power for much longer before it eats you alive from inside out like a cancer. You must—"
"There is no one else!" Mirage exclaimed in a fit of rage and sadness "I tried to find the perfect candidate to pass the title over to, but every time I think I find someone worthy some hero comes along and kills them!"
Immediately after her outburst, Mirage erupted into another coughing fit. Had she not been the embodiment of evil itself, the Phantom Stranger would almost pity her right now.
"I will not step down!" she said defiantly before coughing again "without me, the forces of evil would be lost!"
"I sincerely doubt that" the Stranger admitted "the forces of evil that hail from my universe are more than capable of handling themselves without your unseen guidance"
"Well the same can't be said from the villains I watch over" Mirage mentioned dryly
It was then that the cat-woman had the spark of an idea strike her mind. There was still a chance that she could walk away with this with what she desired first. But first, she had to convince the Phantom Stranger to assist her in what she would attempt to do.
"Perhaps it is time to put our respective sides to the ultimate test" she began "you've always claimed that good will always triumph over evil, but let's see if that still holds up when their all sharing the same universe"
Now it was the Stranger's turn to be taken aback. Whether it was a last-ditch effort to save herself or she was trying to get the last laugh before her retirement he couldn't say for sure, but either way, it was not something he could take lightly. However, the spirit of justice knew that if he didn't take her up on whatever game Mirage was playing, the multiverse could suffer dearly for it.
"What are your terms?" he finally said
"I'll explain in a moment" Mirage replied before holding her hand out to him "But first, I'm going to need your help with a little…redecorating"
Central City
Barry was having a pretty good day so far. Since he had woken up today, he had visited the orphanage, made an appearance at the Flash Museum and had stopped Dr. Alchemy from poisoning the city's water supply by turning it into acid. All and all, it was a pretty good Tuesday. To make this perfect day complete, he was going to top of the day with a lovely dinner with his wife, Iris, at an upscale restaurant on the east side of town, one that he normally wouldn't be able to get reservations for had he not been friends with a certain billionaire from Gotham. As he continued to zip through the streets at the speed of sound, he could only think to himself that there was no way that this day could possibly go wrong.
And that's when he saw it…
At first, Barry thought that it was only seeing things, like a trick of the light from the speed he was running at, or perhaps Alchemy had done something to him during their battle. But when the scarlet speedster halted his race through town did he realize that what was going on around him was no trick, but an all to horrifyingly new reality. All around the Flash the buildings were being pushed to one side to allow different, more oddly structured buildings to suddenly materialize right before him. What was even more shocking than the surprise expansion of the city, but also what began to form along with them. like the buildings, strange, humanoid beings also started to materialize on the streets, only these strange new comers were not human, but what looked like anthropomorphic ducks, dogs and other animals.
For a moment, Barry assumed that this was some invasion force and prepared for a fight, but when he saw the fear and confusion that was written on the humanoid animals faces, he quickly understood that they had no understanding of what was happening to them as well. As one would imagine, fear and panic gripped Central city like a lightning bolt. In a matter of seconds, the Flash found himself surrounded by a cacophony of screams, shouts and cries of confusion and pain. Knowing that he couldn't solve this problem alone, Barry quickly did the only thing he could do in this situation: call for backup.
"Flash to Hall of Justice, I need immediate assistance!" he stated in a hurried voice via his COMM-link "I don't how else to say this, so I'll just say it: there's a bunch of duck people just popping in the streets!"
"Manhunter to Flash, we copy" Martian Manhunter's voice replied "and you're not the only one…"
The Hall of Justice
It was utter chaos…
As the members of the Justice League watched the madness continue to unfold on the monitors before them, they were all collectively perplexed as to what was causing these sudden appearances of these strange beings. Like Central City, other cities like Metropolis, Gotham and Coast City were also being reformed with new buildings and being filled with other strange lifeforms as well. However, the Justice League did not view these newcomers as a hostile threat, at least not yet. It was clear from the panic that they themselves were going through that this was not a fault of their own, not that still begged the question: who or what was responsible for all this? as the team still tried to grasp any and all theories that could possibly explain what was happening to their world.
In the midst of all this confusion, the Justice League went into action. Calling in every reserve member who was available, they immediately went to work on trying to help as many of the affected cities as they could, but with the arrival of these strangers, it only added to the number of people who needed saving. Seeing that they needed to try and figure out what exactly they were dealing with, the main seven members of the League, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, the Flash, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, returned to the Hall of Justice to try and figure out what caused this event. Upon seeing enough from the monitors, Superman gestured to Manhunter to kill the feed so that he could speak to his team members.
"Ok, so here's what we know so far" he began "several cities across the globe are being reformed with new building. Some of them appear like modern structures while others aren't. Along with these buildings, thousands if not millions of new beings are suddenly materializing in the affected cities as well, many of them appear human while others are not. Although we don't know where they come from yet, they do not appear to be hostile"
"That remains to be seen" Batman commented
"And this isn't just happening on earth" Wonder Woman continued "we've just received word from Orion that New Genesis is also being merged with another world as well"
"It's happening on Oa to" Green Lantern added on "Before I got here, the guardians told me that something called 'Star Command' had suddenly appeared on the planet"
"Who or what could be capable of doing something like this?" the Flash questioned
"I am" came a voice
The team collectively turned around to see the Phantom Stranger stepping out of the shadows. Superman and the others were perplexed as to what the spirit of justice had meant by his words. As the Stranger walked closer to them, he suddenly stumbled to the ground, instinctively making the members of the League rush over to his side and help him back to his feet, surprised that one of their universes most powerful beings appeared to so weak.
"What's happened to you, Stranger?" Wonder Woman inquired "were you attacked?"
"And what did you mean by what you said earlier?" Batman added in a suspicious voice
"Because what is happening to our universe is partly my fault" the spirit confessed "I was coerced into a game by a being of great evil from another universe"
"Who is this person?" Superman asked
"And what's this about a game?" Aquaman insisted
"Her name is Mirage" the Phantom Stranger replied "She is evil incarnate in the universe she hails from, as such it's her duty to help maintain the cosmic balance of the multiverse. But the time had come for her to step down and I was sent to make sure she did so"
"But it looks like she got the best of you" Hal commented
"Mirage wanted her final act as evil incarnate to be a contest of good and evil between our two universes, and I was honor-bound to help carry out her last request" the spectral being answered "But instead of merging two universes, she used my own power against me and merged several with our own"
"So, you willingly agreed to this Mirage's scheme?" J'onn surmised "That was incredibly reckless for a being such as yourself!"
"J'onn's right, how could you do this to us, Stranger?" Diana demanded
"The rules of gods are far beyond the understanding of the likes of you" the Phantom Stranger replied coldly "Mirage wanted to prove that she was still worthy of holding onto her title, and it is my duty above all else to help protect the balance"
"Well because of your code, we all may suffer for it!" Batman sneered with a pensive look "and you still haven't told what exactly this game Mirage is playing at"
Suddenly, the skies outside the Hall of Justice suddenly flashed bright green. Sensing danger, the League raced outside to face whatever had arrived at their doorstep. Once they stepped outside, they saw that not only had the entire sky had changed into a dark green color, but there was an image of a cat-woman in what appeared to be clothing of Egyptian origin. No doubt this was the being that had tricked the Phantom Stranger into playing her wicked game. It wasn't just the main seven members of the Justice League, but also the rest of the now merged universe as well.
"Greetings. I am Mirage" Mirage began in a sinister tone "I am the one who has merged your worlds together for the ultimate test of good and evil. The game is simple: the heroes and villains of this new universe shall go on a bit of a scavenger hunt for twelve items of power"
With a wave of her hand, Mirage creature images of the items that the two sides had to set out to find, and while one side didn't know all of the items that were shown, the other side certainly new the other half of them.
The Infinite-Sided Di.
The Spear of Destiny.
The Phoenix Gate.
The Orb of Ra.
The Ninjanomicon
The Emerald Eye.
The First Dime of Scrooge Mcduck.
The Trident of Poseidon.
The Staff of Opar.
The Helmet of Fate.
The Wand of Mewni.
The White Lantern Ring.
"Each side must attain all twelve items for the game to be complete" Mirage continued "the side who wins shall be granted seven wishes by me"
Superman and the rest of the team were shocked by the news. The idea of someone like Lex Luthor or the Joker being granted a wish be the embodiment of evil, but seven was pure madness and was no doubt a ploy to get the villains from the two universes to immediately get to work on locating those twelve items at once.
"Oh, and one more thing…" Mirage added "until the game is finished, the worlds shall not sperate!"
With a wicked cackle, the cat-woman's image faded along with the green glow in the sky. The Justice League knew right then and there what they had to do: play Mirage's game and win. It would be difficult, but they had faced events like this before and triumphed, and this time something told the League that they wouldn't be alone in this endeavor either.