Only two more chapters left, my faithful readers. The story's almost over.
Chapter 27: Return to Earth-16:
S.H.I.E.L.D. Research Facility, Location Classified
April 8, 2014
9:00 A.M. EST
Compared to the last time that Wally and Artemis tried to go home, the amount of people who showed up to see them off was triple what it was last time. During the Siege of Trauma Zentrum, everyone they'd worked with in the hospital had found out about his powers and the fact that they were from another universe (the fact that Wally had to eat most of the food in the kitchen to keep up with his metabolism quickly gave them away), and had all been sworn to secrecy. But now, their fellow survivors had come to say goodbye and wish them luck. The Wests appreciated the gesture, and ended up trapped in a large group hug with the other evacuees.
"Alright," Tony called out as the group hug broke apart. "We're all set. Time to get this show on the road." After saying goodbye to everyone one final time, Wally and Artemis strapped Jai into his suit before stepping inside their own after a quick kiss. Wally took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He couldn't believe it. After almost two years, he was finally going home. He wished everyone luck with the war against HYDRA as Tony ran through the final checks on the Tesseract's energy levels and began counting down towards when the jump between universes was supposed to occur.
"Good luck to you both," Thor hollered to be heard above the high-pitched whine of the cube's containment field.
"Thanks," Wally and Artemis shouted back in unison as Tony finished counting down and the O.R.P.H.E.U.S. Suits were enveloped in a sudden flash of blue light. When the light faded and everyone could see again, the suits containing the West family were gone. Tony crossed his fingers while Thor folded his hands in what was probably a prayer to the Norns (the Norse equivalent of the Fates from Greek Mythology) that the Wests made it home safe. They had no way of contacting them once they made it back, so the inhabitants of this Earth had no option but to hope for the best. After all, it had worked before.
New Hampshire
April 8, 2018
10:00 A.M. PST
"We are approaching the scene now," called out the team of A.R.G.U.S. agents into the radio as they approached the site of another energy surge exactly like that kind that had heralded the arrival of the O.R.P.H.E.U.S. Suit from another universe. Nightwing was torn. On the one hand, he desperately hoped that Wally and Artemis had finally come home with their baby in tow. On the other, he had to be prepared for the worst and accept the possibility that a supervillain in the Avengers' universe had gotten ahold of the technology to jump between universes.
As the SUV carrying himself and a squad of A.R.G.U.S. agents towards the site of the surge pulled to a stop, he climbed out of the car and marched towards the crater that had formed two years ago when the suit had first arrived in this universe. Amanda Waller was monitoring the situation from back at A.R.G.U.S. Headquarters in Star City, but when he heard the location of the surge, he insisted on coming himself. If Wally and Artemis had finally come back, he wanted to be the first one to welcome them home personally.
As he climbed up to the top of the crater, he held his breath as he looked down at three different models of the O.R.P.H.E.U.S. Suit. Two of the suits were adult sized, while the third was clearly designed with extra reinforcement to protect a small child. One of the adult-size suits was shorter than the other, but from a distance, the proportions looked close enough that Nightwing was almost certain that they had been explicitly designed for Wally and Artemis' size measurements. His suspicions were confirmed when the tallest suit popped open and his best friend/surrogate brother climbed out.
Wally quickly stepped over and pried open the child-size suit and pulled out a one-year old boy with short blonde hair. As Wally pulled his son out of the smaller suit, Nightwing grinned happily as the other suit popped open and Artemis sat up. His brow furrowed in confusion, however, when Artemis had to pull herself out of her suit with her hands. Understanding quickly dawned on him though, when Wally placed their son in her lap and scooped her up to carry her up and out of the crater. The two of them looked up to see their old friend and waved.
"Welcome home," Nightwing called out with a smile.
Yay! They're finally back in the Young Justice universe. Next chapter is the welcome home party, and then comes the epilogue. Expect lots of feels next chapter.
