Disclaimer: X-Men owned by Marvel (even though they're currently treating them like shit and seem intent on killing anything X-Men or mutant related because of some petty bullshit with Fox over movie rights). Justice League owned by Warner Brothers/DC (who don't seem to be as petty as Disney/Marvel is).

Author's Notes: Okay, this was kind of an offhand drabble idea I had and I just kept writing it. Not sure if I like the final product, but here ya go. Hope you like it...though some people might be pissed at what I did here. Also, this story is set post-Thanagarian Invasion and is set somewhere in the first season of Justice Leaugue Unlimited (some time after the Task Force X episode). Long story short, in this rewritten reality, New York took the brunt of the Thanagarian invasion while the League were detained/on the run and other metahumans (and a few mutants) fought back. This will be referenced in other chapters.


"And we have no idea who this person was?" Superman asked as he quietly landed atop the apartment building that Clark Kent lived in.

"Not at this time," J'onn J'onnz' voice replied over the earpiece communicator. "Aside from the fact that he has enhanced reflexes, enhanced stamina, enhanced regenerative abilities, has access to teleportation technology that cannot be tracked, and bares a striking resemblance to Hal Jordan...that is all we know."

After taking a quick second to change into normal clothes that he had pulled from a hidden compartment attached to the maintenance shed that was next to the stairwell entrance, Clark Kent arched an eyebrow. "Sarcasm, J'onn?"

"It's been a trying day," J'onn said. "I'm still not sure what I witnessed when I scanned his mind. But something's not making sense."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure," J'onn admitted, uncertainty could clearly be heard in his voice. "I keep feeling like I'm missing something...that something's different...or I could be exhausted from putting in too many double shifts since the theft of the Annihilator armor."

"Still don't know who was behind that action?" Clark asked as he opened the door to the stairwell and started to walk down towards his floor.

"Oh, we have a pretty good idea, just no proof."

Clark nodded in understanding. He knew exactly who J'onn was talking about. "Well, as much as I'd like, we can't just go kicking in CADMUS' front door," he said.

"Well, this should cheer you up. According to Batman, one of CADMUS' key allies seems to be having problems."

"Really? Do Tell?"

"Apparently, LexCorp is coming under attack from Worthington Enterprises, they are attempting a hostile takeover of Luthor's subsidiary companies in New York."

Clark let out a resigned sigh at the mention of New York. "Not sure how I feel about that," he said, a slightly defeated tone in voice. "A lot of people are finding themselves being forced out of New York. But I really can't blame them given that they took the brunt of the invasion."

"I don't think I need to point out that locals are still burning Hawkgirl in effigy."

"No, J'onn, you don't." Clark sighed again as he remembered the devastation New York had suffered at the hands of the Thanagarians. On the other hand, part of him couldn't help thinking that the metahumans of New York brought it on themselves because they put up such open resistance that the Thanagarians figured it would be an appropriate response to bombard Ellis Island and blow up the Brooklyn Bridge. But he immediately shoved that thought aside because he also knew that those people fought back because the Justice League foolishly allowed themselves to be led into betrayal by one of their own. By the time the Justice League had broken free and taken the battle to the Thanagarians, the damage had already been done and an entire city viewed them as 'the heroes who let them burn' while other metahumans, some of them super powered criminals, took up the fight and paid the ultimate price. "It also doesn't help that Archangel has pretty much told us to stay out of HIS city."

"Yes," J'onn mused before chuckling slightly. "I sometimes wonder if Batman has a twin or doppelganger in New York."

Clark suppressed a shudder at that thought. Bruce was bad enough, but it would be really bad news if Archangel was an equal counterpart to the Dark Knight. He decided to change the subject as he opened up the door to his floor. "Speaking of Worthington Enterprises, they're also looking at purchasing the Daily Planet."

"And how are the employees taking that?" J'onn asked.

"Some are worried, but that's to be expected," Clark replied. "Lois is confident that we're safe, but Jimmy seems a little concerned despite Perry's assurances that no one's going to be cut. I'm even more curious now since you mentioned Worthington's attempts to take over Lex's New York based companies."

"Why's that?"

"Because Warren Worthington himself is coming to pay us a visit tomorrow. Perry seemed convinced that it's a done deal and the man is coming in to, as Perry put it, 'to check out his new kingdom before delivering his new edicts from on high'."

"Sounds to me that Mr. White might be a little concerned."

"We all are, J'onn," Clark admitted. "It's no big secret that his company, along with MaxCon, and Osborne Consolidated spent most of the last year financing the major rebuilding of Manhattan. And now they're focusing outside of their area...why now, after all these years?"

"Sounds like some of Batman's paranoia is rubbing off on you," J'onn said, amusement creeping back into his voice again. "On the other hand, look on the bright side. Should you lose your job, you can start pulling extra monitor duty up here."

"Not funny, J'onn," Clark snapped as he approached the door to his apartment, though he couldn't help smiling at that. "Wait...did you just crack a joke?"

"Who said I was joking?" J'onn asked before he terminated the link.

Clark shook his head and chuckled while he unlocked the door. "J'onn suddenly getting a sense of humor...when did that happen?"

"Probably when I decided to screw things up," rasped a voice in the darkened apartment. Before Clark could react, someone turned on the lamp to reveal a very haggard looking…

"Mxyzptlk?" For a moment, Clark felt the sense of alarm he usually felt when he encountered the fifth dimensional imp, but that rapidly dissipated into concern at the sickly being standing in front of him.

"Hey, Supes," the imp coughed. He pulled the brown overcoat he was wearing around himself a little tighter as sat down on Clark's couch. "Or can I just call you 'Clark'? Or would you prefer 'Kal'?" He coughed a couple more times before shaking his head and leaning back against the couch. "Does it really matter though?"

"Mxyzptlk?" Clark asked again.

"Jeez, Clark, you sound like a broken record. Yes, it's me...fifth dimensional pain in your ass...the guy who likes to fuck with you all the time for shits and grins...yeah, that guy." Mxyzptlk coughed some more, then brought his right hand up and frowned as he noticed it starting to fade in and out of existence again. "Shit...really don't have much time." He closed his eyes for a moment, concentrating heavily before he opened them again to look at his now solid arm. "Okay...think that'll work. And dammit, Clark, don't just stand there. Pull up a chair, ask me why I'm here, what is going on, or...what have I done...you know the usual shit you ask me."

For a moment, Clark stood there and stared at what he considered to be one of his 'casual' enemies and realized that something was wrong...very wrong. The imp looked like he was dying.

"Mxyzptlk, what happened to you? You look like hell."

"Nice of you to notice, Supes," the imp shot back. "Look, I don't have much time, but I just want to say that this is all your fault."

"My fault?"

"Yeah, you're fault...I spent too much time messing with you that I took a page out of your book and tried to do something good for a change." Mxyzptlk paused for a moment as he considered what he just said before shrugging his shoulders. "Well, maybe not good...I guess it depends all on your perspective. Some people might say I really screwed things up."

"What did you do?" Clark asked. For some reason he felt a sense of dread, but he wasn't exactly sure why.

"Can I ask you something Clark? If you saw a bunch of people suffering, being screwed around with, or just being flat out tortured by beings like...well...beings like me, would you try to stop it?"

"I usually do," Clark replied, unsure where the imp was going with that question. "But what's that got to do with this?"

"You know this is not the only universe out there in the multi-verse, right? Oh you're familiar with alternate realities and parallel versions of your world, but there's so much more. There's multiple multi-verses with multiple realities out there. There was one that was so different, and yet so similar to your own. You did not exist, but others did. I loved hanging out there and watching them and all their different mutlti-dimensional counterparts. But there were a select group of them being screwed with by beings such as myself. I stayed out of it as I watched them literally being 're-written' only to go through different versions of the hellish lives they kept going through before."

Mxyzptlk paused again, a faraway look in his eyes. To Clark, it looked like the imp was replaying everything that had happened over and over again in his head. Then, a second later, his eyes came back into focus and he looked straight at Clark.

"But then the powers-that-be over there decided to pretty much kill these people off," he continued. "Or, if they didn't kill them, just permanently alter these people to the point that they never really existed at all. I couldn't let that happen, not to these people...they suffered too much...hell, the Parker kid alone has so much fucking emotional baggage, I'm surprised he didn't turn into a miniature Bruce Wayne.

"But I'm getting off track here. Long story short, I literally ripped all the versions of these people out of their universe, took them through the Bleed, and grafted them to this universe. In short, I effectively rewrote reality."

"You did what?" Clark asked sharply.

"Don't get your panties in a knot, Supes," Mxyzptlk snorted. "I took great pains to integrate them into this reality as much as I could. You people, the originals here, won't even notice it...in fact, it has already happened and the world's still here. Those I integrated, they will have memory flashes, but those will be diminished as they accept this as their main reality; only a few, including the Green Lantern look-a-like, know the truth. And by the way, that it his real face...though there was this time where he was cursed to look like Tom Cruise, but that was more of a running joke and a punishment for him."

"So you decided to play God and tried to re-write the universe because you felt sorry for a few people?" Clark wasn't sure if he sounded surprised or pissed off.

"Spare me the whole moral/ethical bullshit," the imp snapped. "Don't tell me you wouldn't have done the same thing. At the very least, you would have tried to save as many as you could if you saw what I saw. And that's exactly what I did." He started coughing again, this time more violently and his body started convulsing with each cough. "And, like you," he rasped, "I'm willing to pay the price."

This time, Myxzptlk's whole body shuddered and started to fade in and out.

"What's happening?" Clark's anger was once again replaced with concern. He reached out to gently grab the imp by the shoulder, but his arm passed through the now spectral looking imp.

The imp gave him a sad smile. "The one consequence of rewriting the universe, Superman...everything gets rewritten, especially the guy doing the 're-write'."

"No, wait, there has to be another way," Clark said. For a moment, the imp had become solid and Clark managed to get a grip on his shoulder. "Stay with me...you're not going out like this."

"Nothing you can do this time, Superman," the imp half-chuckled/choked. "Funny, I've always enjoyed saying that, but now...not so much." Then his expression became serious. "One life for everyone else, Clark. You'd have done the same, right?"

"Yeah, but..."

"But what, I'm not a hero?" Mxyzptlk shrugged, wincing again as his body started to become incorporeal again. "You're probably right, but I still think it was the right thing to do. I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Just do me a favor, will ya?"

"What is it?" Clark asked.

The imp looked confused for a moment. "I...I'm having trouble remembering how to say it...Kl...Klpt..."

"Kltpzyxm," Clark said softly.

"Heh, yeah...thanks... Kltpzyxm." It was barely more than a whisper, but the effect was almost instantaneous. But instead of fading out and disappearing in flash of light, the imp seemed to ripple like a holographic image before dissipating into a mist like form that faded away completely.

"See ya around, Clark." The voice was faint and echoed slightly before fading out as well, leaving Metropolois' man of steel staring down at a now empty couch, a somber look on his face as he realized what his one-time foe had actually done and what he had given up.

"Goodbye, Mxyzptlk."


End Note: And yes, Archangel is who you think it is.