One
Legacies
Somewhere in Earth's orbit, an Elder One ship hovers above the planet. Onboard, a Elder One stands on the bridge looking down on the planet. "Has the Sentry Drone scanned this multiverse?" she asked.
"Yes and this multiverse contains the resources needed to restore Earth Prime. However, there could be a problem. This multiverse contains too many super powered beings and they could pose a threat to the cause," an Elder One answered.
"Hmm, send a squad to investigate one of the parallel Earths. I'll join you shortly," she said.
Elsewhere, I find myself in a dumpster and covered in trash. "Great, I end up in dumpster and it smells like raw fish." I then hear someone speaking Mandarin. "Oh, Chinese restaurant, that explains a lot," I said.
Dania then walks over to me. "How's the landing?" Dania asked.
"Don't mention this to Molly or any of the others. Tell them I landed on a disused mattress once we get back home," I said.
"What goes in this alleyway stays in this alleyway," Dania said.
I got out of the dumpster. "I don't suppose you got some idea where we are, do you?" I asked.
"Not in the slightest, Carter. I can go airborne and do aerial recon," Dania answered.
"Do it," I said.
She tried to use her powers, but she can't. She tries again, but she still can't. "Okay, that's new," Dania said.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"My powers aren't working," Dania answered.
"So we're grounded, no matter." I check to see how many arrows I got left. "I got twenty arrows left. We should get out of here and figure where we are. But first, we need a change of clothes," I said.
Sometime later, we left the alleyway and head into the city centre. We head over to a nearby coffee shop. We had some drinks. "I'm glad this Earth still recognises dollars," Dania said.
"I don't recognise the city. The architecture matches to the buildings I've seen in New York and Chicago," I said.
"We're definitely not in either of those cities. I tried to contact the Mansion earlier, but I got no response," Dania said.
"That leaves some options, we either time travel to a few years or months into the future or we're in a alternate dimension," I said.
"I'll go with the alternate dimension theory. It would explain why my powers aren't working," Dania said.
We then heard gunfire and explosions. We head outside to check out the disturbance and discovered the Elder Ones have arrived. "That's not good," I said.
"How did they get here?" Dania asked.
"If you recall, they're capable of travelling to other multiverses and they're attacking everything in sight." We went over to where the fighting is the heaviest. "Well I'll be. This parallel Earth does have superheroes," I said.
We saw a group of heroes taking the Elder Ones. "It's clear that they don't need our help," Dania said.
I saw a group of kids trapped inside a school bus, surrounded by Elder Ones. I joined in the fight by firing an arrow into the Elder One and defeating them. I opened the door and let the kids out. "Are you going to stand there looking pretty or are you going to help clean up this mess?" I asked.
Dania joins in the fight and takes a couple of them. "I may not have my powers, but this feels wrong," she said.
"This is like New York all over again," I said.
"Which part?" she asked.
"There's me, standing on a rooftop, taking the Dark Gods out. Now it's different, this time with Elder Ones coming out of the corner." I saw a Elder One cornering a costumed hero. I fired a arrow into its head and it dropped dead. "Ooh, eight ball in the corner pocket." I rushed over to her and helped her up. "Are you okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm Batgirl," she said.
I fired an arrow from behind and killed an Elder One behind me. "I'm glad their heroes in this city. Can you explain to us what's happening?" I asked.
"They came out of nowhere. One minute, the alarms were going off, the next they appeared," Batgirl answered.
I think for a moment. "If there are heroes on this multiverse." I then realise something. "Uh-oh. We need to get you and your allies out of here," I said.
"Why?" Batgirl asked.
"Look, we'll do introductions and explanations later. Right now, we need to get out of here," I said.
"My friend isn't that far. Follow me," Batgirl said.
We head further into the city to find her friend crushed under some rubble. "Is he okay?" she asked.
"He's Aqualad, he should be fine," Batgirl said.
I notice more rubble at the top. "I don't think it's a good idea to move him. If we do, the rest of the rubble will come tumbling down. Trapping the two of you, fortunately I got something that should do the trick," I said.
I get a grenade out, throw it and it triggers a miniaturised gravitational pull. Pulling the rubble in and freeing Aqualad. He gets up. "I think thanks would be in order," he said.
"We're not out of the woods, yet. Something's up," I said.
Batgirl receives a message on her communicator and she listens to it. "There's some people you want to meet with you," she said.
She gets a couple of syringes out and injects something into our necks. "What gives?" I asked.
I and Dania fell into a coma. Hours later, I found myself in a interrogation room, with my hands handcuffed behind the chair I'm sitting on. Another costumed vigilante enters the room. "You seem to know a lot about our alien invaders," he said.
"If that's Batgirl, then you must be Batman. Am I correct?" I asked.
"You are correct. That was quite a show you pulled off. You killed at least five of them before helping out the team, why?" Batman asked.
"It seemed to be honourable thing to do. Also, I and my friend aren't from here. You might find this hard to believe, but we're from another multiverse. Those creatures your team encountered are Elder Ones. I and my friend were part of a team trying to prevent their release, but we failed. Shortly after they're escaped, we got separated and ended up on your multiverse," I answered.
"I find it odd you're being honest with me," he said.
"We're on the same side, aren't we?" I asked.
He leaves the room and heads outside the room. "Manhunter, what do you think?" he asked.
"He's telling the truth. However, there's a portion of his memories I cannot access," Martian Manhunter answered.
"Repressed memories?" he asked.
"Possibly or there's a portion of his past he doesn't want any of us to find out. I ran their fingerprints through all of the known databases and we didn't find any matches," Martian Manhunter answered.
Batman then enters the room again. "Good news, you're free to go," he said.
I got up and put the handcuffs on the table. "Well I'm glad we got that sorted out," I said.
"You sat there and took it. What would've been your plan of escape?" Batman asked.
"First, I would slam the table into your gut; snatch your key, if you got one. Get Dania out and figure out a way of escaping," I answered.
"You're resource, I'll give you that. Your friend is waiting for you outside," Batman said.
We left the room and headed into the command centre. "Whoa. You lot give Special Projects a run for their money. How did you lot fund this? On the second thought, its best not to know," I said.
Dania then met up with me. "So, what did you tell them?" she asked.
"Only the truth, where're the others?" I asked.
"Aqualad is in med-bay due to a broken leg. Thanks for getting him out," Batman said.
"We share a common foe. Our focus should be finding their chain of command and take them out," I said.
"I agree with out," a person said.
We turned around. "I was wondering when you were going to show up, Superman. Carter, meet Superman," Batman said.
"That was some impressive work back in Gotham. I wish the results were like that around the world," Superman said.
"Why? What's happening?" I asked.
"Sometime after you two appeared, the Elder Ones you called them began attacking everything in sight," Batman answered.
"We still don't know why they're doing this," Superman said.
"What's worse is that the other teams stopped reporting in," Batman said.
I think for a minute to gather my thoughts. "It looks like they're getting rid of any resistance who poses a threat to them. It's the only explanation I got. I'm not a thinker where I'm from. I just point and shoot and save the world on an occasional basis," I said.
"I understand," Superman said.
"There's something else, I noticed a drone flying in the sky during the Gotham attack. I was able to take it down and remove the self destruct protocol," Martian Manhunter said.
"Can you show us?" I asked.
We head over to the lab and Dania examines the drone. "It doesn't match anything I've seen during my trips across dimensions. However, the black box is intact." She removes the black box. "I may be able to hack the black box. I need a laptop, as for the hacking tools. I got that covered," Dania said.
Superman rushes back and out to get her laptop. Dania takes the laptop off him, plugs the black box in and powers the laptop. "So how will the black box help us?" I asked.
"Since it's a drone, it contains data regarding recon work and where it's been. All right, I'm in. This drone has been busy. It's been to five different multiverses and ten parallel Earths. There's some video footage. I'm playing the footage," Dania answered.
Dania plays the footage. "It looks the drone was observing our activities. It lists us as a threat," Martian Manhunter said.
"There's been some communication between it and the ship it came from. The last transmission says keep on observing. The other drones are observing prisoner escorts," Dania said.
"I did see one or two Elder Ones escorting young metahumans to a ship," Superman said.
The alarm then goes off. "It's from the other teams." Batman then plays the transmission. "This is Tigress, Miss Martian and Robin have been taken prisoner. I and the others need evac," Tigress said.
"We need to bridge them back here," Batman said.
"I'll stay here and carry on hacking the drone," Dania said.
We rushed over to the teleporter room. We arrived and Batman turns the teleporter on. The other team arrives and they were badly injured. "What happened out there?" I took a look at the wounds. "This isn't caused by bullets or lasers," I said.
"Get everyone who's injured to the med bay," Superman said.
Sometime later, I was in the room where Dania is still busy hacking the drone. "I feel bad about what's happened. In a way, its our fault. We should've prevented this much sooner," I said.
"We were so busy getting use to the limelight that we forgot to head down to earth. So much has happened in the last several months. Months ago, we were nobodies, now we're full-fledged superheroes. Going out there, saving the multiverse and now, we're stranded in another multiverse. Blake would have a field day with this," Dania said.
"I agree, the science behind interdimensional is much bigger than we anticipated. Did you find anything else within the drone?" I asked.
"It looks like the drones and the Elder Ones received an extermination order to cleanse this multiverse of all life. They view the people in this multiverse as a threat," Dania answered.
"Are they insane? I guess Legion is right about them and their ideology," I said.
"This is interesting; this drone is still carrying access codes to one of their ships. That can be useful at a later date. You miss her, don't you?" she asked.
"I am. I should be there, at home, picking the colour to paint the baby's bedroom. I and Molly are currently thinking about buying a bigger house. A nice house with a garden, something for the kid to play in," I answered.
"We'll get back home," she said.
Batman then enters the room. "I take it discovered something?" he asked.
"Access codes to one of their ships. As for which one, I need to figure that one out," she answered.
"Tigress was able to record footage of the battle." He inserts a thumb drive into a computer and plays the footage. "It's not much to go at it. It should give us a idea how to fight them," Batman said.
I watched the footage and I noticed something. "Pause it at fifty eight seconds. There." He pauses the footage. "I've seen these tattoos before. Legion has something like that on his arms," I said.
"You're right and she's an Elder One. Something doesn't add up," she said.
"Now we're making progress. I know you have trust issues with me and Dania. Most of your team is either benched or captured. But right now, we're your only hope to resolving this," I said.
"I know what you're suggesting, but now I need to inform the League of the day's events," he said.
He leaves the room. "I know what you're thinking. We don't know what abilities the Elder One has. It's best we wait here," she said.
I played the footage and I noticed something else. "She's injured, hmm. I'll be in the med bay, getting acquainted with the other heroes." I left the room and head into the med bay. I watched the doctors and nurses getting to work patching them up. I check my bag to see if I got any arrows. "Ten shots, not enough to take down an Elder One." I left the cave and head over to the area where the Elder One was injured. I noticed a blood trail and I followed it into a forest. I found her, still staggering about. "You know, for an Elder One, you sure have Light or Dark God tattoos on your arms," I said.
We engaged in a fight. "How did you find me?" the Elder One asked.
"It wasn't that hard. Something tells me there's more to you," I said.
We carried on fighting. "You can't keep up. You're injured and you're getting flimsy. Which makes it easy to do this." I fired a ice arrow into her, putting her into a frozen prison. "Let's talk," I said.
"Talk about what? You got me and you should be the one to end my life," the Elder One said.
"Do you honestly think I'll do that? If I do, I'll be no better than the Elder Ones or Eon. Let's start with my first question, what are you?" I asked.
She calms down. "It's been years since I talked about my birth, let alone my parents. My mother was a Elder One, while my father was a Light God. He fought in the war and I was born during that conflict. My birth caused controversy among both the Light Gods and Elder Ones. The Elder Ones called a blasphemy, while the Light Gods called a disgrace. At time, it makes my stomach turn when I call either a Light or Dark God a blasphemer," the Elder One answered.
"Why are you doing this? What's in it for you, personally?" I asked.
"Do you think I wanted to join with them? I joined with them because the Empress executed my mother in front of my eyes. She spared me if I joined their cause. Do you think I'm proud of what I did? Every time when I killed someone, I shed a tear or two," she answered.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Sari," she answered.
"What's was your father's name?" I asked.
"Dolan," she answered.
"Look, I understand what you're going through. I had to make a lot of hard choices. There're the choices I regretted making. You're not the only to take a life. I took forty eight lives, not counting the Dark Gods or aliens I killed. Before all of this, I've done a terrible deed. A terrorist organisation murdered a friend of mine. So I went after the people who committed the crime and massacred the entire cell. All it took was the cries of a child to snap me out of my rage. The aftermath was different, it didn't take my girlfriend long to figure out what I did. Then, I did the unthinkable, I hit her and I couldn't stop. Henry Walsh saw what was happening and took me down. I spent a month in the brig for what I done," I said.
"And I thought I had it hard. From the tone of your voice, you've been given a second chance," Sari said.
"Yeah, soon I'm going to be a father and I want to get home," I said.
Sari begins to cry. "For the first time in years, I feel compassion for you, not since my mother's death. I want to help to make amends," she said.
"How long have you been listening?" I asked.
The Martian Manhunter walks up to me. "Two minutes, maybe more. That would explain why I had trouble accessing certain portions of your mind earlier," he said.
"Can you do me a favour and don't mention this to the others. I don't want them to get the wrong impression," I asked.
"Understood," he said.
"Now that we got everything out in the open. We need to get out of here. I'm injured and I'm not doing so well," she said.
"No teleportation, please. I get teleportation sickness," I said.
We head back to the cave. Sometime later, I stood outside a cell where Sari is getting treatment and Batman walks up to me. "I can't believe you went off like that," Batman said.
"No offense, but I'm not part of your team. She would be dead if I haven't ran off like that earlier. Also, she wants to help," I said.
"I don't like it," Batman said.
"Neither do I. Look, if we're going to have any success in rescuing the other members of your team. We need to operate on the same page," I said.
"It's times like these when you're right. We need to trek carefully from now on," Batman said.
I head over to where Dania is still working. "Nice job of convincing an Elder One to defect," Dania said.
"She's not like the other Elder Ones. I just hope this gamble pays off," I yawned.
"When was the last time you slept?" Dania asked.
"I'll sleep once the Elder Ones are defeated," I answered.
"Get some rest. You look tired," Dania said.
I did what she said and I got some sleep. I woke up a few hours later after experiencing a night terror. I head into the kitchen to grab a drink. "Couldn't sleep," a voice asked.
"You could say that." I turned around and met the person. "I don't think we're formally introduced," I said.
"My name is Superboy. You must be Carter, the one who saved Batgirl and Aqualad," Superboy said.
"Right, I take it you don't get that much sleep?" I asked.
"I tend to experience nightmares when I sleep, the scary kind," Superboy answered.
"Sometimes I tend to get night terrors. I started experiencing them after I did something terrible. And it's something I'm not too proud of," I said.
"I'm more concerned about my teammates and the things we went through," Superboy said.
"That's the thing about war. You experience the worst stuff and the next thing you know, you feel fine. Something tells me you been through a recent tragedy and its affected Tigress hard," I said.
"So you noticed. Come with me." We left the kitchen and headed into a room and it looked like a memorial was set up. "That's why. A while back, she lost her boyfriend when he sacrificed his life to save the world," he said.
"Who was he?" I asked.
"His name was Wally West and he was the Kid Flash," he answered.
"Didn't I saw someone who looked like him in the med bay?" I asked.
"That's Bart Allen; he took up the mantle in Wally's memory." Seeing the memorial reminded of the time when I attended Pierce's funeral. All of the sudden, the memories back pouring back into my head. I couldn't breathe and I had an anxiety attack. "Carter. Carter!" he shouted.
Minutes later, I rested on a bed. "It's been ages since I had an anxiety attack. Seeing Wally's memorial reminded me of a funeral I attended months back," I said.
Dania placed her hand on my head. "You're running a fever," Dania said.
"I'll go and get some medication," he said.
Superboy then leaves the room to get some medication. "Why didn't you mentioned about the anxiety attacks. Did the Dark God Incident cause them?" she asked.
"No, it was the massacre that started it. Aside from the anxiety attacks, I also experience night terrors every time when I sleep," I answered.
"You've done enough. Get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning," she said.
I slept for the first time in a dozen hours. I woke up feeling better. I enter the command centre. "I see you're awake. I heard you had an anxiety attack," Batman said.
"Seeing memorials does that to do me," I said.
"Our new friend has been telling us what she knows," Batman said.
"Your friends are being held on a Extractor. Its a ship designed to extract parts of a multiverse or a parallel Earth. The access codes Dania acquired matches to the Extractor where your friends are being held. What's worse is that's Rad's ship," Sari said.
"Who's Rad?" I asked.
"Rad is an Elder One general. He tends to favour scientific study over murdering his enemies. Also, he's the Empress's chief scientific advisor," she answered.
"There's I have to ask. What do the access codes do exactly?" I asked.
"The codes allow safe access onto that Extractor. The last time I heard, Rad is somewhere in this multiverse," she answered.
"So bringing him here isn't going to be a easy task," I said.
"There might be a way. The Sentry Drone you put it sends out a distress beacon when it gets shot down, correct?" Dania asked.
"Yes, unfortunately the beacon is malfunctioning," she asked.
"Not quite, I can repair it and make it send out a distress signal," Dania said.
"I see where this is going. We're going to make them think Sari has captured us, we'll board the ship, get your teammates out. Escaping is going to be a problem," I said.
"We'll teleport the lot of you off the ship," Martian Manhunter said.
"Figures you would say that. Now then, let's go save the world and your team," I said.