Chapter XXXV: Infinity Crisis Act II: The Paragons Part 1: The Pariah

Wally was the first to wake up. He and the others appeared to be on some kind of empty field of grass. But the sky looked like a blank canvas, devoid of any clouds or celestial bodies. Against his better judgment, he briefly left the group to perform recon. But no matter which way he ran, he couldn't find any signs of civilization. Nothing but grass. Once he decided to run back, the rest of his companions were beginning to wake up.

Hornet had removed her mask to check on her son and Speedster-Man. Shawn - while equally confused by the situation - seemed to be taking it better than the younger speedster. Bart sounded as if her were going to suffocate under his mask, so Shawn lifted the hem of it over his mouth.

"Bart, are you okay?"

"I… I don't know, Wally." Bart stammered, unnerved by the mind-boggling situation. "The last thing I remember was… we failed. Everyone started… walking around all weird. Then there was that light, and… I mean, you're here, Sharon's here, m-my dad's here. But where's Aunt Joan? Where's Felicity? I mean, is this… is this Heaven?"

Wally shook his head. "If it were, I'd be sharing a bottle of chardonnay with some U.S.O. girls."

"Oh, god… then, is this Hell? Wally, are we in Hell?!"

"I don't know, Bart! Just stay calm. Relax." Wally tried his best to sooth his partner's worries. "This is no time to panic."

"This is the perfect time to panic!" Bart snapped back, tearfully. "You saw what was happening to everyone else! For all we know, Felicity, Aunt Joan, my mom and aunt are still on Earth with that monster! Who knows what's happening?! And it's all our fault! We failed!"

"No, Bartholomew. You didn't fail… I'm the one who failed." Donna hugged her knees to her chest, sobbing loudly. "I was the one who had the weapon to kill Darkanos… but I was selfish. I wanted to make him suffer for what he did to me. And now look… I lost Mjolnir… I let him wipe out free will!"

"Alright, everyone just calm down!" Emerald Man announced. "Obviously, we're all worried about what just happened, but we have to-"

"This is your fault, Jordan!" Everyone turned to see Max Von Havoc of all people. "Your kind attracts monsters like these! And now, the whole world has gone to Hell!"

"I didn't see you doing anything to help, Max!" Tony blasted at Hyperman's greatest villain with a concentrated blast from his ring, only for it to be swatted away by a yellow energy whip. As it turned out, four other villains from the Masters of Doom had also survived Darkanos' snap and were now in the same boat as the heroes.

"ENOUGH!" Everyone froze at the sight of a hooded figure descending from the sky. The heroes and villains stared in awe as this stranger removed his hood to reveal his enlarged cranium and glowing blue eyes. The mysterious figure bowed to greet the gathered humans. "I am the one who brought you here… welcome to Earth-Prime."

"Earth-what?" Tod asked.

"Earth-Prime. My home. The very first Earth in the multiverse. Long ago, I was once a man named Uatu Mossa." He introduced. "But to the multiverse, I am simply the Pariah."

"Multiverse?" Sharon asked. "You mean the multiverse theory is true?"

"Multiverse theory?" Sandstorm didn't understand. "Cisco, Noriko, what are they talking about?"

"Allow me to explain, child." The Pariah offered. Suddenly, with a wave of his hands, he created an image of what appeared to be planet Earth. "Shortly after the Infinity Rings of this universe came to be, life began. And over millennia, life gained sentience. And with sentience came free will. And with free will, came many of the first decisions." Suddenly, the image of Earth spawned a mirror image. "But with every decision, there are multiple outcomes. And every time a sentient being has made a decision -whether mundane or monumental - it has created an alternate Earth. One Earth where they reached one outcome, and another Earth where they reached a different outcome. And each Earth is created with the same number of sentient beings capable of making decisions as the one it was created from. Millions of beings, making millions of decisions, which in turn creates infinite Earths."

"Whoa… does anyone else have a headache?" Stereo asked to no one in particular, earning a stern glare from his adoptive sisters.

"So you've brought us to your Earth." Emerald Man carried on. "But how were we not affected by the Anti-Life Equation?"

"Because, the Equation - like the Infinity Rings - comes with an innate safeguard." Pariah explained. "Each universe's Anti-Life Equation can only affect the sentient beings within its own universe."

"And how do you know all of this?" Von Havoc asked, skeptically.

"Because I… am the creator of the Equation." Pariah answered, solemnly. "In my youth, I arrogantly wished for the power to control my own people. I foolishly sought out a tool to give me that power… instead, I took away everything that made people who they are."

"So that's what that was?" Shawn shuddered. "My wife and my sister and everyone else on Earth are just a bunch of zombies now?!"

"Shawn, calm down." Sharon pleaded with her son, trying to maintain her own composure.

"Wait, Sharon, didn't you go to the future?" Selina asked. "If you still had free will then, doesn't that mean everything's going to be okay?"

"No, that can't be true." Sharon shook her head. "The historic archives never even mentioned any of this happening."

"That is because in your universe - like others - time is simultaneous rather than linear." Pariah went on. "Events are constantly shifting and changing. That is how beings from your world such as the Flag, Red Zoom and even the Hornet and her children have been able to travel through your universe's timeline."

"So is it true?" Tony gulped, thinking of his wife and daughter back home. "Everyone in our universe who aren't here… they're gone?"

"Not quite." Pariah sighed. "The Equation leaves behind a small sliver of consciousness within the minds of those it infects. But it isn't enough to fight it. Without their own will, the people cannot think for themselves. They cannot care for themselves. My Equation destroyed my world and everyone in it… everyone except me. But it seemed that the multiverse itself decided that death was too swift of a punishment for my crime. Thus, the cosmic entities of the multiverse cursed me to observe every single Earth in existence. A silent watcher who can never interfere with them… until now."

"But why?" Wally asked. "Why now?"

"Because the cosmic entities have deemed it unfit for any other being in the multiverse to possess such power ever again." Pariah replied. "While I cannot interfere with your world, I can guide you to those with the power to help you take back your world."

"How?" Donna whimpered. "If you've been watching us, then you must have seen the power Darkanos has, now! What could possibly stand up to him?!"

"The Paragons." Pariah replied.

"The what?" Captain Hyper's eyebrow arched.

"The Paragons." He repeated. "Seven individuals throughout the multiverse who embody everything needed to counter and destroy the Anti-Life Equation. Justice… Truth… Freedom… Honor… Hope… Humanity… and Love. With these powers combined, you will not only be immune to the effects of the Infinity Rings, but you will have the power to destroy the Equation once and for all."

"How do we find them?" Emerald Man asked.

Pariah waved his hand, opening six new portals. "These gateways will take you to the Paragons' respective universes. Additionally, once you pass through them, you will have the ability to sense who they are when you meet them. This is all I can do for you. I'm sorry, but the fate of your universe now lies entirely in your hands."

"Wait, you said there are seven Paragons." Hornet pointed out. "Why are there only six portals?"

"All will be revealed… in time." With that, the Pariah disappeared back into the void.

"Well… that's just lazy writing." Harley Sin pointed out to the author.

"Okay… okay." Tony nodded. "Six portals, six teams. We'll each split up, find these Paragons, and meet back here to plan our attack."

The superhumans looked back at the portals, noticing each one had a distinct number labeled in light on them: 626, 636, X, 1611, 14512, and 5732. While everyone formed their own teams, Baron Zero beckoned for the Flag to come to him. Reluctantly, Wally left his people to talk to H.I.D.R.A.'s grand leader. Hornet, Speed-Marine, Speedster-Man, and Rom-Ulus watched cautiously as Zero removed his mask. The heroes recoiled in horror at the sight of his frozen blue flesh. "I should be dead." Zero snarled.

"That wasn't my fault." Wally replied.

"I don't much care who's fault it is." Zero went on, putting his mask back on. "All I know is that you had a hand in my father's death. And once my associates and I have helped restore humanity to our world, you and I will be back to business as usual."

"You're going to help us, Von Havoc?" Karen crossed her arms, bitterly. "I find that hard to believe

"Of course, we'll help." Von Havoc scoffed. "This Darkanos is nothing more than another alien trying to steal what is rightfully mine. If anyone's going to take over the universe, it's going to be me."

"... great." Tony nodded, sarcastically. "Good moral compass there, Max."

Now that everyone was in agreement, the groups began to form. Emerald Man, Thunder Woman, and Harley Sin would travel to Earth-626 to find the Paragon of Justice. Gargoyle, Black Cat, and Hybrid would keep the Masters of Doom in check while searching for the Paragon of Truth on Earth-636. The Flag, Speedster-Man, Hornet, Speed-Marine, and Rom-Ulus would travel to find the Paragon of Freedom on Earth-X. Captain Hyper would lead Firehawk and Knightwing on Earth-1611 to bring back the Paragon of Honor. Kyle Alexander would take Stereo and Sureshock to Earth-14512 to retrieve the Paragon of Hope. And lastly, Darkstar, Mirage, Sandstorm, and Moon Dreamer would find the Paragon of Humanity on Earth-5732. That only left the Paragon of Love, but without knowing which universe they resided in, they would have to worry about it later.

"Alright, I know we all think our chances are slim." Wally began. "And maybe we're right. But we do have a chance. I mean, we were literally just given a second chance to stop Darkanos by a higher power. We all know the mission; find the Paragons, bring them back home, destroy the Anti-Life Equation, and kill that son of a bitch for what he's done to our world."

"He's pretty good at that." Sureshock said to Speedster-Man.

"Right?" Bart nodded.

With that, the groups split up and went through the portals, prepared for whatever awaited them.

To Be Continued!

Next chapter: The All-Justice Squad of Earth-626!

Uatu Mossa aka The Pariah (Pariah/Watcher)

Author's notes: Special thanks to JTR01 for helping me come up with different universes and characters to combine for these next few chapters.