The House of Dragons

Wales, UK

Earth-44

2018

)o()o()o()o()o()o(

The blood colored skies were filled with the scent of thick, rancid smoke and ozone, energy snapping, crackling with immeasurable charged potential. Fires raged unchecked throughout the grounds of what was once the educational center of Mythical Britain. Crumbled masonry was all that remained of large swaths of the ancient castle that stood for centuries on the physical site of what was once the greatest citadel of the legendary Pendragon himself. Towers that once stood proud, reaching out towards the Welsh skyline now found themselves to be molten slags. Trees that had absorbed the nutrients of the valley for over a thousand years were uprooted. The adjoining forest, once the home of so many strange and magical creatures was reduced to ash.

The courtyard of the ancient edifice was littered with dozens of bodies. Mythical practitioners, some new to their Craft, but eager to assist the Elders of their order lay on the ground, sightless eyes looking out towards the devastation. Senior practitioners, the majority of whom were highly proficient in their respective areas of magical expertise were reduced to piles of ash, a result of drawing on too much energy from the wards in an effort to cancel out the overwhelming tsunami of force that had been arrayed against them. The ruined forms of the adepts, traces of their crimson ceremonial robes still visible on what was left of their corpses were heaped on top of each other in a macabre display of grotesque artistry.

However, they were not alone.

Across the scorched and desolate scene, scores of men and women possessing combative skills or connections to powers not altogether dissimilar to the wide array of gifts displayed by those blessed with magic also littered the courtyard, a silent testament to the magnitude of the threat facing the world...and their unpreparedness to face it.

Though their names were not known to wizardkind or to the wider knowledge of the non-magical populace, the names that they forged to protect their anonymity now served as the sole indicators of their existence until this fateful battle:

Constantine, Dr. Fate, Arsenal, the Red Hood, Supergirl, Kori'andr, Nightwing, Kid-Flash, Vibe, Killer Frost, Batgirl, The Huntress, Artemis, the Orphan, Steel, the Martian Manhunter, Stargirl, Citizen Cold, the Ray, Batwoman, Vixen, the Legends, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, Donna Troy, the Guardian, Spartan, the Green Arrow, Mon-El, the Red Robin, the Atom, the Green Lantern...their broken and shattered bodies a testament to the overwhelming power of their foe.

In between the bodies of the dead however, a few individuals stirred. Half buried under a large pile of rubble, the wizard Adam Emrys-Sinclair watched the unfolding tableau with horrified eyes. His mocha skin was ashen, blood trickling from a jagged gash along his temple. Having lost his staff in a clash with the creature that wizardkind and mortals, law enforcers and vigilantes had unified to defeat, he could only look on helplessly at a lone figure in a red and gold uniform scrabble at the broken stones and gigantic craters formed by massive blasts of energy and dig into the earth beneath to drag himself forward as he inched closer and closer to the the small incline of the hill where a giant armored figure watched dispassionately at the hundreds of heroes whose blood stained his gold and azure metallic armor.

The man— if he could even be described as a man— was nearly seven feet tall. His skin was of a tone similar to Adam himself, bald headed except for what appeared to be three intricate braids or organic ridged protrusions that connected at the forehead before arching away in three different directions. His gold and azure colored armor gleamed even in the smoke darkened night air. He was broad shouldered and clearly possessed incredible strength. Just the sight of him was enough for Adam's heart to grow cold, for to his sight, this being blazed with roiling energy that permeated deep into the Earth and extended to the skies, endlessly. His eyes burned with barely contained power, yet he was silent and very still in his observation of his fallen foes. It was not until the scarlet masked man managed to push himself to his knees that the being deigned to grace the devastated man before him with the barest attention.

"So you still live, Flash," Adam heard the gargantuan being say as he stared down the defiant hero at his feet. "Your power and resilience is stronger than I expected."

"What—", panted the man identified as the Flash, voice trembling with grief and deep seated rage as he glared at the being which he knew could so easily blot him out of existence as he did to the others who dared to do battle with him, "—have you done? What have you done?!"

"I have done nothing," replied the armored figure dispassionately. "You and your compatriots however, have failed. And now you will reap the consequences of what you have sown."

The stark pronouncement sent chills down Adam's spine and he couldn't prevent the half strangled gasp that escaped him at the being's pronouncement. Yet neither of the two speakers facing off bothered to glance in his direction, and Adam mentally sobbed his thanks to all of the Gods above and below as he set his mind to recording what was playing off before him. If the Scarlet Speedster should be struck down, whatever revelations that would be made would reside within his mind.

"What we have sown?" echoed the injured Flash incredulously. "All we have tried to do is to protect this world and the people in it, as we have always endeavored to do since we gained the power to make a difference! All we have tried to do is stop you from destroying thousands of lives! Why do you insist on destroying us?"

But the giant merely cocked his head to the side, eyeing the Flash as if he was little more than a pouting, misbehaving child.

"I have destroyed nothing," he said with finality. "You have destroyed yourselves. You dared to interfere where you should not have, and now you have paid for your arrogance and foolish overreach with your lives."

Injured as he was, Adam's anger spiked at the callous words falling from the mysterious entity's lips. They were responsible for this destruction? They were to be blamed when all that they were trying to do was to protect their world from imminent threat?

He saw the Flash slam one of his bleeding hands into the crater pocked earth in his rage. Even as far away as he was, his senses allowed him to detect the sharp spike of power that abruptly began to emanate from the crimson colored hero. He was briefly distracted by the faint moan that fell on his ears. Twisting his head as far to the left as his trapped form could manage, Adam observed a man with a half torn mask that resembled a bat, bleeding heavily from a gaping wound at his side struggle to move towards a similarly masked woman with dark red hair who lay eerily still with her arm at an unnatural angle. The look of naked despair on the man's face was so potent that Adam couldn't bear to look at him any longer, and he turned painfully back to the unfolding spectacle as the Flash confronted their foe.

"You planned to create a singularity containing the potential energy to wipe out the entire Earth's population and rip the planet apart!" charged the Flash furiously. To his and Adam's (as well as the wounded Batman) shock though, the being appeared completely unperturbed by the accusation.

"Incorrect," said the being. "The potential energy of the singularity which I will ignite will have the energy to tear the universe asunder. It is unfortunate, but it is necessary."

"In what way?" demanded a hoarse voice from several feet away. Surprised, the Flash, Adam, the Batman and the as of yet unidentified being all turned towards the voice, to see a tall man clad in a skintight azure bodysuit. At the center of his uniform was a embossed and raised symbol that looked remarkably like an 'S', with a ripped and burned crimson cape that fluttered in the wind. Blue eyes were reddened with tears, and blood dripped from a gash across his cheek.

Strangely enough, the being's eyes seemed to soften at the sight of the swaying man and he inclined his head in a shocking sign of respect. "Kal-El," he murmured quietly. "The Last Son of Krypton. So you too have survived. Your story is legend, even with the Universal Elders. I am pleased that you had the strength to endure my onslaught, for it bodes well for my purpose."

"For what? The destruction of our universe?" demanded the Flash. The being turned back to him, an honest look of confusion crossing his eyes for the first time.

"The destruction of the universe?" he echoed before shaking his head in mild disbelief. "I haven't come here to destroy the universe. I've come here to save the Multiverse."

Adam gasped again, only to quail as both the man identified as Kal-El and the being turned towards him. Burning eyes briefly seared into his soul as the being studied him briefly.

"The son of the Enchanter," he said. "So you too have survived. Perhaps...perhaps my plan will prove successful after all."

He inclined his head briefly to the startled wizard before turning his attention back to the Flash.

"It is clear that you do not truly recognize the peril that your world, that all worlds are facing even now. Even now the fabric of the Multiverse frays and crumbles as a result of a forbidden act that left unchecked will bring about the decimation of all life within every universe. I have been charged with the task of preventing that tragedy from fully manifesting. Come, it is time I acquaint you with your true Enemy."

At that, he raised his hand and a golden wave of energy emerged from his palm striking at the Flash as well as the trapped and injured Adam, the Batman, and Superman. When the light faded, Adam opened his eyes only to gape as he found himself floating in the vacuum of space, completely uninjured, clad in the ornate gold embroidered and bronze ceremonial robes of his family line. He turned in shock as he saw the Flash, the Batman, the man identified as Kal-El, an armored East Asian woman with a white mask over her upper face, and a woman who was clad in crimson armor shaped as a bodice with a strange armored skirt and silver gauntlets.

"Since the dawn of the Multiverse," began the clearly cosmic being with little preamble, "it has been my solemn duty to monitor the myriad realities that form an intricate link in the Grand Design. I have done so for eons untold and will continue for eons to come. I observe to see the potential of worlds and prune that which serves no longer. Your planet," he said, briefly meeting each of their eyes, "is ultimately of no consequence to the Grand Order of the cosmos. Millions will live, but millions more will die. Wars will rage, famines will strike, salvation will arise, hope will continue to spring anew. The cycle of life, death and rebirth will continue on and on. That is the natural way of Order and Chaos. Yet when one overruns the other, the inevitable result is multiversal destruction. That is the threat that will consume us all."

With a flick of his massive gauntleted hand, an explosive riot of color hit Adam's eyes as below them the void of space twisted and formed a ghostly mirage of six colored gems; one red, the other blue, then green, then purple, then orange and finally yellow. The gems danced in intricate patterns as wheeled throughout space. Adam held one hand over his face, obscuring the brilliance of the gems. The waves of pure energy wafting from the deceptively small gems were nearly inconceivable. He had seen in his relatively short life a great deal of powerful artifacts, but none compared to the vision that he was witnessing. He glanced over at the Flash, at the one called Kal-El, at the man dressed as a Bat and the others by their side. All were displaying similar looks of shock and awe.

"In a universe not dissimilar to your own, these six Stones were all that remained of the cosmic birth of the Multiverse. Concentrated ingots of unimaginable power, each stone represents an aspect of the Multiverse: Reality, Space, Time, Power, Soul, and the Mind. Only the most powerful and dangerous of beings are capable of safely wielding an Infinity Stone, and even at such occasions, only at a most terrible price. They have been scattered and guarded in hidden locations for millennia untold, until recent days when one by one each stone located itself in Earth and were wielded by individuals who sometimes proved themselves to be worthy, but more often than not proved to be the very opposite. This phenomena began to attract Our attention and we saw to our dismay that one being stood behind the scenes, leading the hunt for these Stones. A powerful warlord of ancient years who was the sole survivor of his people. Determined at any cost to correct what he saw as the inevitable self destruction of worlds and ensure the prosperity of the universe that he found to be overpopulated and facing imminent extinction, this Mad Titan embarked on a quest to gain all the Stones and with its combined power blot out half of all life in the universe."

With another imperious motion, the mirage of the Stones dissolved and shifted into another striking image...but one that struck Adam with a thrill of horror. Gasps echoed through the void as his companions beheld a humanoid creature who was also clearly a cosmic being. Similarly to the entity before them, the creature was gargantuan, reaching at least seven feet if not more. He was heavily muscled, with purple skin and gleaming blue eyes. His attire was that of a warrior, with golden boots, an azure undershirt of unknown material accentuated with gold. Bald headed and swarthy, he possessed a terrifying sense of menace. But it was the burning determined light in his eyes that struck Adam most strongly, for he appeared completely assured of his mastery as in his left hand, he clenched an intricately crafted golden gauntlet, with noticeable hollow crevices that appeared to be just the right size to be filled with each of the Stones which had been revealed to them moments before. Indeed, as the thought passed his mind, one by one each stone re-materialized in each crevice of the gauntlet. As they reappeared, they gleamed balefully.

"Scattered throughout the universe, bands of individuals with unique and powerful gifts much like yourself banded together to put a halt to his madness. However their efforts ultimately proved futile. The Mad Titan triumphed and has successfully utilized the Stones to wipe out half of all life."

Adam's head reeled at the implications of what he was hearing. The Earth itself contained nearly seven billion souls, just counting the human race not to speak of the hundreds of thousands of divergent species in the plant and animal kingdoms as well as parallel dimensions. To hear that half of all life on Earth was wiped out was beyond devastating, even if that Earth was an alternative reality. But half of a universe?

The cosmic being gave a grim nod as he observed the looks of horror dawn on their faces.

"Were it only that universe," continued the entity, "it would be a terrible fate for the hundreds of trillions of sentient lifeforms that perished. However, it appears that even the Mad Titan underestimated the power of the Stones. His act of decimation has not only affected the universe he operates in, but has affected the entirety of the Multiverse, ripping at the very fabric of existence. While the spread of this wave, this...anti-matter has not impacted the other universes yet, it is only a matter of time. In six of your months, this universe will be similarly decimated. And in three Earth years, the darkness will spread throughout the Multiverse, and it's effects will be irreversible. Your world-all worlds will wither and die. And every reality will unravel. Such is the destiny we all face."

Adam's heart froze. Near him, he could see the Flash shaking his head in a vain attempt at denial. The crimson armored warrior looked as if she would collapse on the spot. The others sported similar devastated reactions to the bald pronouncement.

"What-", said Kal-El, "what can be done to stop this? To reverse this? There has to be something that can be done, that we can do. You wouldn't have shown us this if that wasn't the case. We can't allow such loss to stand."

The entity smiled, a slow and unpleasant sight.

"That is why my actions are necessary Kryptonian," he said. "There is a potential way albeit one that is fraught with the great risk of being easily derailed. It will take immeasurable power and and tremendous amount of suffering on your part, but it can be done. I have received leave to attempt a merger of realities. By merging that universe with the universe that you hail from, I will be able to reset the timeline. However even if I do so, it will prove to no avail as none will have the knowledge of what will be. None will be able to prepare those who have fought and died to prevent this Decimation from occurring. That is why I summoned each of you to the access point, what those you call wizards refer to as ley lines. It was my intention to mark each of you so when the worlds were reformed and merged into one, you would have the memory and foreknowledge to find and prepare the champions of this new world and prepare for the onslaught of the Mad Titan. I hoped that you would be able to shift the tide. However your unintentional attempts to prevent what you saw as unbridled destruction has made this strategy nearly impossible. Too many have perished, and though they will be reborn in the new world, they will be completely ignorant of the fate that awaits them...that awaits us all."

"That's why you said that we failed," breathed the Flash in disbelief. "That's why you said that we've destroyed ourselves."

The magnitude of that truth hit Adam like a tidal wave, and if they had not been floating in space, he would have dropped straight to the ground. How much death could have been avoided if they had just sought out the truth of what this entity had been trying to accomplish? How many young ones could have escaped needless destruction and ruin? Tears prickled angrily at his eyes as his gaze strayed to the other shell shocked individuals assembled in the void, shoulders trembling as silent tears streamed down his face. Guilt stabbed ferociously at Adam. How many of his fellow housemates had he witnessed die before his very eyes because they didn't delve to discover the full truth?

"Then tell us what we must do, Monitor. Tell us how we can make this right?"

At the raw, challenging tone, Adam's eye fell to the woman wearing the ornate Mediterranean influenced armor, red rimmed eyes steely as she willed herself closer towards the cosmic entity. His eyebrows rose as he read the determination and willful defiance in her posture and her voice. The being noticed it as well. He stared impassively at the statuesque warrior for some time, before a small but genuine smile crossed his face for the first time since their disastrous meeting.

"Bold, willful, determined. You are in truth the daughter of the Skyfather of Olympus," he said approvingly before casting his gaze out to include the others. "Though my designs have been thwarted unintentionally, with your willing aid, I believe that a different outcome to that which is even now plaguing the fabric of the universe can occur. So I ask each of you, what are you prepared to do to ensure that the worlds remain intact? What are you willing to sacrifice to ensure that what you have heard does not become the ultimate reality?"

The challenging words fell like a great stone upon Adam's spirit. Warily, the small group of survivors exchanged glances as each one considered what the cosmic being was asking of them. What would they be willing to give in order to ensure their world's survival, as well as that of the very Multiverse itself?

Adam turned towards the man costumed as a bat, who studied the image of the Mad Titan with the Stones for a long moment before he exchanged a wordless debate with the armored woman and Kal-El. After a few moments, he turned his gaze to the Asian woman also masked and clad in armor. They stared impassively at each other before she gave an imperceptible nod. He then turned towards the costumed figure known as the Flash, who stared helplessly at all of them before his eyes hardened and he too gave a curt nod of agreement. Then calculating eyes fell upon him. Adam read the unspoken question, and his answer was swift and unequivocal.

"I see that you have all reached a decision," remarked the being known as the Monitor, looking briefly at each one. "What say you? Are you willing to risk your lives, your very essences in order to ensure that our Multiverse remains intact and whole? Will you allow me to complete the task that I have set out to accomplish? Or will you defy my mission and risk the destruction of all life, throughout all realities?"

The Monitor focused his gaze on the dark masked man, who willed himself forward. The pair faced off as the rest of those gathered waited with bated breath.

"What say you, Batman?" asked the Monitor once more. "What say you all?"

The Batman's hands clenched into fists before slowly they slowly unclenched, his eyes burning with unbridled emotions.

"We will do whatever we must," he rasped at last. "If this is the only way...then we won't interfere."

The Flash made an aborted motion with his hands, but he remained silent. The Monitor however simply smirked before he motioned with his hands. A flash of bright light found them once more on the pitted, devastated grounds of the ancient site of what once was Camelot, surrounded by all of the dead. That is, until with a wide sweep of his arm, all of the bodies dissolved into blue tinged vaporous light that quickly dissipated, leaving the seven survivors and the cosmic entity the only sentient beings left standing.

"Peace," intoned the Monitor as the surviving men and women quickly tensed and began to set themselves for a potential fight. "Your compatriots and loved ones will not be harmed any further, I assure you. They will re-awaken in a new world, with no memories of the trauma that they suffered at my hands. They will be free to make their own paths as they were when they descended upon this hallowed ground. You will be reunited with them shortly."

Then without any further words, he abruptly began to levitate above the scorched earth. His form irradiated with a searing light, he gazed down at the stunned figures below.

"That which has been shall no longer be," he said with a terrible finality. "What was once separated in space and time becomes one."

With that, the flare of cosmic energy caused all save for Kal-El, the Mediterranean warrior, and the Flash to attempt to shield their eyes. The Monitor's body dissolved into a crackling column of energy that surged towards the atmosphere. Adam would have stumbled back in genuine fright, but his feet was rooted into the ground beneath him. He threw a startled glance at the other heroes who seemed to be experiencing a similar phenomena. The winds quickly picked up, until they were hurricane force gales, accentuated by searing flashes of lightning and tremors caused by the deafening cracks of thunder.

As Adam witnessed the cosmic conflagration, pain arced through his head. Without warning, a series of broken images began flashing through his mind, images of a boy in his late teens, dressed in a black leather jacket bordered with a crimson stripe down the shoulders, and a dark colored shirt in what could only be a modified car used in drag gunning down a hilly slope with several other similarly dressed teens in souped up vehicles. His laughing eyes and irrepressible energy drew Adam's attention like a moth to the flame. Adam watched, captivated by the visions as the younger teen suddenly slammed on the brakes, forcing himself to a stop, frowned a bit and turned around as if he was looking for something, or someone. Looking quizzically at his rear view mirror, his chocolate colored eyes bore unknowingly into his own, eliciting a shuddering gasp from Adam as he saw a strange familiarity in his physical features and his eyes that sharply reminded him of someone once close to his heart. Suddenly Adam felt a strange surge shoot through him, and to his own shock, he saw the ring on his left hand, an heirloom from a dearly loved and departed loved one begin to glow with a burning and fierce light.

Adam's eyes snapped incredulously to the teen staring at him in his visionary experience as his mind exploded with a sudden comprehension as he realized the identity of the teen whose image he was beholding.

He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but then all thoughts or words left him as the air exploded in a incandescent flash of burning light.

And the last thing he registered was the satisfied tones of the Monitor's final words as his voice resonated throughout Adam's being, echoing in his head:

*The realities now become one. Go forth son of the Enchanter, and walk the path of your new destiny.*

And then, Adam knew nothing more...