Chapter 20
With A Little Help From My Friends
…
The eighteen people eyed Oleander silently. They weren't angry or quick to act, they just stood their ground like they would be there for a while.
After a few seconds of this, he braced and charged quickly at them all. "Raaaggghhh!" He screamed, blue energy shooting from his palms. Iris remained calm as he did this. When he was within range, she unleashed a right hook, colliding with his face and sending him off to the side. Dirt spluttered in his mouth as he looked up at the smiling reporter, her eyes now returned to normal colors.
"You thought you could control us," she said. "Understand and then destroy us. But the truth is, you can't. I'm sorry about how your life was, Oleander." She knelt down to get at his level. "But you need to stop, right here, before this gets worse."
Oleander sneered at her like a snake. "Forget it. I won't stop until I unite everyone." He spat at the ground in front of where she was kneeling.
In response to this, she sighed, got up, and took some steps back to the rest of the group. "Have it your way," she said. Iris looked at Harry, nodding for him to do something. Seeing her signal, he moved to stand in front of the skeleton.
"Alright," he said. "I bet you know everything about me. Dark lord, bad luck, the boy who lived and all that?"
"Yes," growled Oleander.
"Well, here's the thing," Harry replied. "You say you want to make everything better, but you aren't. You're only caring about what happens to you, not taking into account what everyone else living in the Multiverse thinks." He glanced at the rest of the coalition, making sure to think about everyone who he had joined with. "Are you sure you want to do that? I've known people who thought they were doing the right thing, but all it did was make things worse."
"This isn't you," the Flash said. "With those powers, you could actually help people. Isn't there a part of you that wants to do that?"
Oleander stared at the ground, lost in thought, then looked at them all. "Yes, I'm sure."
If that's how it's going to be, the scarlet speedster thought. He sighed. "Well, if you aren't going to change, then we'll have to stop you."
"How are you going to manage that?" He sneered.
"Simple," the Doctor replied. "All this time, you used your powers to try to merge everything. Doing that killed the beauty this planet once had. I reckon it would take the powers of the lost Omniversals to restore it." As he said this, he whipped out his sonic and scanned the barren surface.
The skeleton gave a heartless laugh. "So what? I killed them all."
Belle moved closer to the Doctor, her brown hair shining even in the dark conditions. "Except your father gave us his powers when you stuck him with us," the brunette said, "and I bet because he was the last Omniversal – beyond you, of course – "
"- We can do a fraction of what your dad did," finished Bill. Smiling, she said, "How about you think about what would happen with us having his power?"
The look of smug satisfaction on Oleander's face melted into a priceless gape. "What- no!" He yelled. "You can't!" He made to run right at her, but it was too late. Bill dropped to the ground and touched it with her hands. Her eyes glowed white before a surge of blue power went through her arms into it. A sudden tremor appeared, knocking Oleander onto the ground, but this one was different. It felt better…healthy.
"Let me help," Jyn said. She knelt down on the ground, spread her arms out, and made contact. Her own white energy went into the planet, creating another shockwave of power. Soon, both realized that everyone else was doing the same thing. More shockwaves peppered the ground, creating rips but not affecting the group in any way.
Once each one of the waves had subsided, the white energy left the group and hovered in mid-air, looking similar to a floating cloud of white vapor. It seemed to be looking at Oleander, who, upon seeing it, cowered in fear.
"No! No!" He screamed at the cloud, holding his hand up in fear and for protection. The cloud took no hesitation before darting at him. When it collided with the skeleton, something strange happened; blue energy left his body like a phantom, one wisp of it leaving at a time. Every moment this happened, he screeched in pain.
"What is happening to him?" The Beast asked, his eyebrow cocked in curiosity."
"Friends," said Eleven. Seeing how confused he was by her response, the Doctor decided to elaborate.
"What she's trying to say is that by attacking him with our energy, we've unleashed the ghost energy of the Omniversals. And every time we brought back some of Aris, they come out of him."
Just as he said this, the last of the blue phantoms exited from Oleander, who doubled in pain all the more. They all glared at him, looking slightly different and yet all the same. Fear was plastered on his face, and upon seeing them, he felt something off. He looked to his hand and was shocked to see it starting to disintegrate. Harry thought the process looked a little similar to what happened to Voldemort when he had been defeated.
Slowly in pain, Oleander gave the group a look of regret. "Oh…god," he said, "I…forgive me…please…" The disintegration continued to spread across his body. His chest, arms, and hands faded like blue ashes into the air. When his face was last, he attempted a sad smile, and then there was nothing.
Once he had disappeared from the scene, the sixteen blue spirits turned to the group. They made a small notion with their arms and bowed stoically.
"They're..bowing?" Kimberly noted, a little confusedly.
"They're thanking us for saving them," Green Arrow stated. Supporting this inference, the spirits gave them another sign of thankfulness before rising higher in the sir. A good distance above the heroes, they spread out and, to the viewers shock, disintegrated into the air.
Their ashes, unlike Oleander's, began to spread across the broken and dark landscape. They merged with the surface like nutrients. Several seconds later, the land began to gain color. Lush green fields sprouted out of the rot, replacing the devastation once there. The wrecked pieces of exposed land went back to being whole in the ground, the cracks vanishing as if never having been there in the first place. Finally, the blue trees sprouted to their proper places, and this time were accompanied by a bright blue sky. When all of the changes were done, the heroes stood there in awe, gaping at the result.
"It's back," Mike said supposedly.
"It looks like Earth a lot," said Felicity. "Wonder if they have wi-fi?"
Belle and Jyn looked at her confusedly, both asking simultaneously "Earth?"
Felicity realized the errors of her comment, mainly based on their backgrounds and times. "Uh…never mind."
The Flash smirked when she said this. "Sure," he said amusedly. On his left, the Beast knelt down and felt the grass. He stroked the grains before something came to his mind.
"If Oleander brought us here," he mused, "and he's gone, then how do we get back?"
At this proclamation, the group suddenly thought about it. How were they going to get back? It wasn't like they had the resources to do it themselves. Were they doomed to stay here, be left on the revived planet forever?
Luckily, fate had other plans in mind. Eleven pointed towards the other direction, saying "Look." Everyone turned and saw a miraculous sight; nine portals of blue transdimensional energy lay floating in the air. As the group dispersed to gaze at them, some members felt a connection to each portal themselves. Looking at his, the Doctor suddenly smiled; his TARDIS was in the other side.
"Great!" He exclaimed happily. "Bill, the TARDIS is in there!"
She moved next to him and saw the same thing. "You're right!" She said, excited as well. "Does that mean we can go home now?"
"Guess so," replied Jason, looking through his own portal to Angel Grove. "The spirits…they must've done this for stopping Oleander."
And the portals were true, as each one showed destinations ranging from Central City to the Leaky Cauldron. Everyone was glimpsing there homes so much that they had almost forgot their companions. That is, until Kimberly spoke up.
"So this is where we part ways?"
The wizards, superheroes, and ordinary people suddenly felt a personal pang as they realized what she was talking about. This journey they'd been in, it'd been hard and scary. But at the end of the day, they'd gotten to know one another and ultimately have a fun adventure. Now it was time for things to end, but could they really?
Nobody spoke until Laura moved forward towards Eleven. She gave her a silent look and then, to everyone's surprise, a hug. Although initially startled, Eleven relaxed into it.
"Adios," said Laura quietly.
"Friend," Eleven replied. Both girls embraced a little longer before letting go. The small mutant then glanced at Mike.
"It was nice to know you," Mike said earnestly. Laura simply nodded and then headed over to her father. A couple of feet away, Cassian made an effort to shake with the Doctor.
"While we never got off on the right foot," he said, "it's been a honor to meet you."
"Likewise," The Doctor responded. "Good luck with your rebellion. Love to help if I could."
"I think we'll be fine," said Jyn. "But thanks for the offer, gramps."
"Gramps?!" The Doctor bellowed. Jyn bit back a giggle at his priceless reaction.
Belle walked over to grasp Felicity's hands. "It was a pleasure to meet you!" she said excitedly. "I hope to understand your… technology someday."
"That's fine," Felicity said. "I bet a bookworm like you has cooler adventures than that in the works."
Both women laughed at the joke, not noticing the Beast watching their conversation. He was happy that Belle had made such a good friend, even if this... magic was too much for him to grasp.
"Thinking about something?"
Harry appeared at his shoulder, a smirk on his face.
"Nothing important," the furry figure remarked. "This excursion was…interesting, to say the least."
"Sure was," Harry agreed. "Never thought this kind of stuff was possible, but then, life isn't linear." The teen wizard extended his hand and attempted to pat the Beast on the shoulder, landing on his rib. "Good luck, wherever you're going back to. I get the feeling you'll need it."
As the wizard walked away, the prince felt a tinge in his heart. Was the young magician right? One thing was for sure: this experience was making him cautious about everything.
Harry walked towards Jason and Ginny, both giving their final farewells. "Hope you stay out of trouble," the witch teased.
"Don't worry," Jason replied, "we Power Rangers are tough. Nice to know magic exists, though." He gave her a smile and wandered towards Kimberly. Hearing a crunch in the grass behind her, Ginny whirled to find Harry there.
"What would I do without you?" She asked happily.
"Ditch a date at the Leaky Cauldron and head over to see George at the joke shop?" Harry asked whimsically.
"I'll take you up on that," she said.
At this point, everyone had gathered in front of their respective portals in pairs of two. Granted, some would see each other soon – like the Flash and Green Arrow – but for most, it was the final goodbye.
The Flash stepped forward, the light of the now healthy planet shining on his suit. "Guys, I want you all to know this experience was awesome. The beginning was hard, sure, but we all came together and made things better for a place that needed it. And even though this might be the only time we ever see each other, I'll never forget it. Till next time." The speedster waved a hand in salute at the others, returned by the various outcasts and heroes that made up the group. One by one, they began to walk through their portals. Some gave fateful last glances before leaving, attempting to give the adventure a good memory moving forward. Each gateway slowly faded, leaving the landscape as it was. When everyone else was gone, the know ones remaining were the Flash and Iris.
"Ready?" He asked.
The reported gave him a smile. "Yep. After all, we've got a future to change."
Barry picked up his fiancé, gave her a kiss, and quickly sped through the portal. It fizzed out of existence, leaving only the lush surface of Aris in its place.
And so, everyone returned, more or less the same. They all remembered what had happened, regardless of their encounters or opinions of Oleander. Some moved forward in life, while others gave up themselves in tragic heroism.
The meeting had been wrong in so many ways. But in the end, it had cemented bonds and created possibilities.
It was a Potluck, after all.
So after so long, and a lot of work, this fanfic is pretty much done. It was really fun and rewarding, mainly being my first piece and a dream crossover. Thank you to the constant readers and reviewers, particularly Shian1998. And so...
There's more! I know, I said this was done, but if you want to know what I'm planning next, get ready for the epilogue coming to this soon!
And with that, I drop the mic.