Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville, Arrowverse, DC Comics, or anything pertaining to the mentioned franchises.

Here is the third installment in the "Alternate Events" series. As of the beginning of the story, it's May 2018 and takes place three weeks after Barry and Conner's return to Earth-1.

For any newcomers who haven't read "Alternate Events: When Heroes and Universes Collide" and "Alternate Events 2: One Year Later", I recommend doing so before reading this story. Otherwise, certain plot points may be confusing.

Chapter 1

(The Monitor's realm)

"Am I dead and in the afterlife?" Courtney Whitmore wondered, taking in her strange surroundings in awe and confusion.

"I must be in heaven," Laurel Lance muttered, also observing her strange surroundings with a similar expression.

"I assure you that this is not heaven, Laurel Lance," Mar Novu told her. "You and Courtney Whitmore are no longer among the deceased."

"What?" Courtney asked, even more confused.

Laurel's frown deepened. "No longer among the deceased? So I did just die in the hospital."

"Correct," Novu answered. "I'm responsible for your resurrection."

"Resurrection?" Laurel repeated. "How did you bring us back? You couldn't have used the Lazarus Pit because, last I checked, it was destroyed."

"My method of resurrecting you both was much more complicated than the use of a Lazarus Pit," Novu stated. "By traveling through time and between universes, I've retrieved your corpses a week after your respective funerals and restored you both to life, all the while ensuring that the history of your Earths remained relatively undisturbed."

"Earths?" Laurel questioned, confused as to why Novu was using such a word in plural form. "You say like there are more than one."

"Actually, I think there are," Courtney said, and Laurel turned to her. "I heard that a friend of mine once went to another Earth, one where he was apparently evil."

"You're referring to Superman of Earth-21," Novu said, giving Courtney a knowing look as she looked at him with surprise. "I'm well aware of his brief journeys to Earth-64 several years ago."

"Earth-21? Earth-64?" Laurel said, still confused. "And who is this 'Superman' person you mentioned?"

Courtney looked at her incredulously. "You don't know who Superman is? Earth's greatest hero who flies around in red and blue?"

"Can't say that I do," Laurel answered.

"There is no Superman on the Earth that Laurel Lance is from," Novu explained. "Kal-El of Earth-1 perished with the rest of his species when his universe's Krypton was annihilated."

"That's sad," Courtney said, at the thought of a version of her Kryptonian friend and teammate dying with the rest of his planet. As another thought occurred to her, she turned to Laurel once again. "Wait, Laurel Lance? Any relation to a Dinah Lance by any chance?"

"Well, my first name is Dinah, and so is my mother's, which is why people call me Laurel," Laurel explained.

"She is not the Dinah Laurel Lance you know, Courtney," Novu stated. "She is from Earth-1 and you are from Earth-21."

"What's with the numbers?" Courtney wondered. "And how many of these other Earths are there?"

"There are an infinite number of Earths in the Multiverse," Novu answered.

"Seriously?" Courtney asked, incredulously.

"In the beginning of time, there was only one, a single black infinitude," Novu explained. "Then the infinitude found release, and finally, the darkness broke, filling it with life. With the Multiverse. Every existence multiplied by possibility, and spread out before space and time in infinite measure."

"Apparently resulting in these infinite Earths," Laurel said, taking in Novu's explanation. "Even if I were to accept that all of this is true, what do infinite Earths have to do with you bringing Courtney and me back to life? You must've brought us back for a reason."

"Indeed," Novu admitted. "The reason I resurrected you two and brought you to the present is because your deaths were premature and you're both needed for a crisis that is imminent."

"What crisis?" Courtney asked, as her and Laurel's frowns deepened again.

"One that will require the most worthy champions or perhaps as many heroes as possible to save the Multiverse entire," Novu said. "Someone is coming. Someone far, far more powerful than myself. I mean to prepare."

"And part of your plan to prepare for this crisis you say is coming included resurrecting us from the dead," Laurel said in understanding, throwing a glance at Courtney before turning back to Novu. "We must be pretty important."

"How do we know you're not just making this 'crisis' crap up?" Courtney asked, eyeing The Monitor warily.

"My only interest is preventing the destruction of all that exists," Novu stated. "This is a matter that must not be taken lightly."

"Are there more people that you brought back besides me and Courtney?" Laurel wondered out of curiosity.

"You each have a strong attachment to a key player who is instrumental in defeating my adversary," Novu explained, ignoring Laurel's question due to its irrelevance. "Your return to their lives will better help them, as well as yourselves, prepare for what's coming."

"Them?" Laurel questioned. "Who are you talking about?"

"The ones you each love the most," Novu stated. Glancing at Laurel and then Courtney, he added, "Oliver Queen and Conner Kent."

Laurel frowned incredulously. "Ollie? Wait, Ollie's one of these key players?"

"And Conner too?" Courtney asked.

"Before I send you both to Earth, there are more matters that we must discuss," Novu stated. He turned to Laurel. "That includes a meta-human ability you've gained upon resurrection. The same ability that your counterpart from Earth-2 possesses."

Laurel looked intrigued, wondering what this mysterious newfound ability of hers could be.

Earth-1

(Central City)

The living room of the West house was filled with pink balloons and other decorations of the same color, with the sign reading 'Welcome Home Baby Girl West' hanging above the table of food and drinks.

Barry, Oliver, Kara, and Cisco were standing near the couch laughing and conversing, while Wally was talking to Iris in another part of the living room and Conner was helping Caitlin set up the refreshment table.

The door opened and Joe walked in with Cecile. Joe was carrying a car seat with his and Cecile's infant daughter inside it. Everyone almost immediately gathered around them, leaning adoringly towards the newborn baby.

"Aww," all the females in the room cooed simultaneously.

"There she is," Iris gushed.

"She's so cute," Kara added, with a wide grin.

"Hi," Barry waved at the baby with a wide grin of his own. He turned to his foster father. "Joe, she's beautiful."

"Just like her mother," Joe beamed.

"I think this calls for a toast," Barry said.

"Yeah, definitely," Conner nodded in agreement.

"Good idea," Wally also agreed, before he sped around and stopped a moment later now holding a tray with glasses of champagne on top.

After everyone each took a glass, Barry raised his own and announced, "All right, to the newest member of Team Flash..."

"Jenna Marie West," Cecile finished, also holding up her glass.

"Welcome to the family," Barry said.

"Cheers," everyone said simultaneously, as they clinked glasses and drank their champagne.

After the toasting was done, everyone went their separate ways. Cecile sat down on the couch with Jenna in her arms and Cisco, Wally, and Iris sat next to her. Conner and Caitlin moved off to one side, smiling at each other. Barry went to sit in the armchair by the window, with Kara joining him a few seconds later.

Joe walked up to Oliver. "Queen, do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?"

Oliver frowned, wondering what it was about, and nodded. "Sure."

The two men stepped out of the living room.

"What is it?" Oliver asked.

"I owe you an apology," Joe said.

"For what?" Oliver asked.

"My treatment of you over the last few years," Joe admitted. "You're aware that I haven't exactly been a supporter of your methods."

"I am, not that I let what other people think affect my actions," Oliver said. "I do what I do to keep my city and the people in it safe, plain and simple."

"I know and I get that now, which is why I came to realize that I may have been too harsh on you in the past," Joe said in understanding. "I was wrong to call you crazy or judge you for crossing certain lines, especially when I've done the same while in the line of duty. I should've realized it before, but what you do for your city is no different than what cops like me do for ours. The only difference is you use a bow and arrows instead of guns and get things done much more efficiently. You're as much a hero as my son and he's lucky to have a good friend like you in his life."

"Thank you, Detective West," Oliver said. "I really appreciate that."

"Call me Joe," the detective insisted.

"Okay, Joe," the younger man nodded. "And call me Oliver."

"Okay, Oliver," the older man nodded back.

Oliver held out his hand and Joe shook it. After that, Oliver walked away and headed back into the living room over to Barry and Kara.

"What was that all about?" Barry asked, curious.

"Joe and I came to an understanding," Oliver replied.

"Okay," Barry nodded, having a pretty good idea what the understanding was about.

"Barry told me what happened to Felicity and some of your other teammates," Kara said to Oliver. "I'm sorry for your losses."

"It's been really difficult coming to terms with the fact that they're no longer with us, but one thing you learn in life is that some people, they come and they go," Oliver said, with a sigh.

"Unfortunately," Kara agreed. Producing a smile, she then said, "Well, I'm glad to have you guys in my life."

"We're glad to have you too," Barry said back, smiling lovingly at his girlfriend as Kara smiled back at him.

Meanwhile, Iris looked uncomfortable as she caught the sight of Barry and Kara smiling at each other. She had learned about their relationship from Barry a few days after he had returned from Earth-38. Although she understood he no longer loved her romantically and only loved her like a sister, it hurt very much seeing her ex-boyfriend in love with another woman, but unfortunately there was nothing she could do to make Barry come back to her. For that reason, a part of Iris had considered not coming back to Central City to attend her baby sister's party, but she ultimately didn't want to disappoint her father by not showing up.

Suddenly, the opening of a portal resembling a dark cloud in the middle of the living room got everyone's attention. Everyone stood up and faced the portal, tensed as they prepared for whatever would inevitably come out of it. They watched as a tall, imposing dark-skinned man in an elaborate uniform containing a long cape and two blonde woman emerged from the portal, which closed a moment later.

Conner's eyes went wide the moment he set sight on the young woman in blue. It couldn't be... "Court?"

"Conner," Courtney responded, forming a smile on her face.

Not believing his eyes, Conner approached Courtney and placed his hands on her cheeks.

"You certainly feel real, but you also felt real that time when I used the Spear of Destiny," Conner said.

"You're not hallucinating, Kon," Courtney assured him. "It's really me."

Conner still wasn't entirely convinced that his girlfriend was real, but he embraced her nevertheless.

Meanwhile, the others were eyeing the woman in black with looks of disbelief. The only person who didn't have an incredulous look on her face was Kara, since, unlike the others, she'd never seen either of the two female newcomers before.

"Hi, Ollie," Laurel greeted him with a smile.

"Laurel?" Oliver said, surprised by the sight of the woman in question – or at least a woman who looked like her. Given the existence of shapeshifters and alternate Earth doppelgangers, it wasn't easy to tell right away if this person was indeed Laurel (or a Laurel, for that matter) at all.

"In the flesh," Laurel said as she walked up to Oliver and embraced him. "It's me, Ollie. Your Laurel, the one from this Earth."

"The Laurel of this Earth has been dead for two years," Barry pointed out. "If you're really her and not a doppelganger, how are you alive?"

"I have him to thank for that," Laurel said, turning to the man in the elaborate uniform.

"Who are you?" Oliver asked, eyeing the man warily.

"I am Mar Novu, also known as The Monitor," the man introduced himself.

"The Monitor?" Cisco scoffed. "A name like that makes me think of someone who sits behind a computer screen all day monitoring what's going on."

"You're the one who brought Courtney back to life?" Conner asked Novu.

"Correct," the cosmic being confirmed. "She is indeed Courtney Whitmore of your Earth."

Conner seemed relieved upon hearing Novu's answer, but there was still some doubt in his mind. The idea of his girlfriend returning to life was simply too good to be true.

"How did you bring Laurel and Courtney back to life?" Barry asked the question that was on all of their minds.

"Through the use of my ability to travel through time, as well as between universes," Novu answered. "As I already explained to Laurel and Courtney, I've retrieved their corpses a week after their respective funerals and restored them to life."

"I'm not sure if you realize it, but there are consequences to using time travel to bring people back from the dead," Barry pointed out.

"I am well aware of the implications, Barry Allen," Novu stated, causing Barry to blink in alarm at the man calling him by his full name. "However, my brief actions on Earths 1 and 21 did not impact the histories of those universes in any noticeable ways."

"Why did you bring Laurel and Courtney back? I assume there's an agenda behind what you've done," Oliver said, eyeing Novu suspiciously.

"Because the fate of the Multiverse depends on it," Novu answered, causing everyone to suddenly grow concerned.

"Here we go," Cisco groaned.

"What do you mean by that?" Kara asked.

"Novu believes that a crisis that could destroy the entire Multiverse is coming and bringing me and Courtney back to life was a part of his plan to prepare for it," Laurel explained.

"Barry Allen, Oliver Queen, Kara Danvers, and Conner Kent, you four are among the champions who show potential from what I've observed thus far," Novu stated, surprising the heroes that he seemed to know their identities.

"You know who we are?" Barry asked.

"Indeed, and I can only hope that your potential will become more by the time this impending disaster arrives," Novu stated.

With that, he disappeared into a portal that opened behind him. Now, it was time to resurrect another person – the person who would become his Harbinger.

Wally glanced at the others around him. "So do we believe that guy about a crisis that is supposedly coming?"

"The Monitor himself sure seems to believe it," Cisco said.

"We may not have a choice but to believe it," Oliver stated.

"For all we know, he could be the one plotting this crisis himself," Caitlin pointed out.

"If that turns out to be the case, we'll stop him together," Barry said with determination. "We're not gonna let Mar Novu or whoever will be responsible for this crisis, if or when it happens, succeed."

"Failure is not an option," Oliver said, also with determination. "Neither is losing. We are gonna win like we always do."

"Especially since we're stronger together," Kara added.

"Yeah," Barry nodded.

Oliver turned to Laurel. "I need to be one hundred percent certain. If you're really the Laurel Lance that we lost two years ago, tell me something only she would know."

"Um, not that I meant it, but when we had our first conversation after you returned home from Lian Yu, I said, in these exact words, I hoped that you'd rot in hell a lot longer than five years," Laurel said, wincing at the reminder of her irrational behavior at the time.

Everyone else looked at Laurel in disbelief. "You actually said that?!" Cisco asked her.

"I did and I know now that my behavior at the time wasn't rational," Laurel admitted, with a remorseful sigh. "While Ollie did cheat on me with my sister, what I said, as well as blaming Ollie for Sara's apparent death, was uncalled for."

"I understand, Laurel," Oliver said. "You had a right to be very angry with me back then."

"True, but I treated you like crap after you got back without considering everything you had gone through while you were away," Laurel said, looking down in shame.

"You didn't know my secret," Oliver pointed out.

"That's not the point, Ollie," Laurel said. "Whether I knew you were the vigilante or not, I was out of line and, if I could relive that point in my life, I'd do things very differently."

"You have a second chance at life now," Oliver told her. "You can't change the past, but you do have an opportunity to make up for it and be better that what you were."

"Which is exactly what I plan to do," Laurel said, with a smile. "I'm never taking another day of life for granted again."

Courtney looked over at Oliver incredulously. "Wait, you're Oliver Queen?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded.

"You look so different here," Courtney commented. "I wonder what the Oliver from my world would say about this."

"Actually, Court, they already met," Conner told her. "I guess you have a lot to catch up on."

"Considering that it's been four years since my death, I guess you're right," Courtney said. "Including the fact that you're living on this Earth now?"

"Long story, which I'll tell you all about when I get the chance," Conner said.

Cisco turned to Laurel and extended his hand. "Well, it's great that we have our favorite Black Canary around again."

"Favorite, huh?" she replied, shaking Cisco's hand.

"Let's just say that we prefer you a lot more than Black Siren," Cisco said.

Laurel frowned. "Who is Black Siren?"

"It's what we call your Earth-2 doppelganger," Iris clarified.

"Oh," Laurel realized. "Mar Novu mentioned that my Earth-2 doppelganger was living on this Earth and that I could turn to her to teach me how to control my Canary Cry."

"Holy frak, you have a Canary Cry?!" Cisco geeked out. "You're gonna be even more awesome than before!"

"Thanks," Laurel said, flattered. "This way, I won't need a sonic device whenever I'm out in the field from now on." A thought then occurred to her. "Wait, this Black Siren isn't evil, is she? If that's the case, would she even be willing to train me to use my power? That's something Mar Novu forgot to mention."

"Mar Novu didn't mention it because your doppelganger isn't evil anymore," Barry said. "She redeemed herself."

"Good to know," Laurel said, relieved.

"While there are several differences between you two, you and the other Laurel are a lot like in certain ways," Oliver said.

"I'm looking forward to meeting this other version of myself," Laurel said.

Kara held out her hand. "I'm Kara Danvers, by the way."

Laurel shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Kara. That's a really strong grip you have."

"I'm a superheroine known as Supergirl," Kara explained. "Not only that, but I'm also from another Earth even though I help out here sometimes too."

"Nice," Laurel said.

She hugged Barry and did the same to Caitlin before shaking hands with Iris, Wally, Joe, and Cecile.

"And I'm Conner Kent," Conner introduced himself, as he was the last to be acknowledged by Laurel.

"Conner Kent," she repeated, remembering Novu mentioning that name alongside Oliver's. "Nice to meet you."

"You too, Laurel," Conner said, as they shook hands.

"You have a strong grip too," Laurel noted. "Let me guess, you're also a superhero."

"Yeah, Superboy," Conner nodded.

"Superboy and Supergirl?" Laurel said, looking at Conner and then turning to Kara. "Is there any relation between you two or something?"

"Conner and I are different Earths, so not really," Kara said.

"But I am related to the Kara on my Earth," Conner clarified.

"Okay," Laurel nodded. "This multiple Earths stuff is starting to give me a headache."

"You'll get used to it," Cisco assured her.

"All right, Laurel, you're ready to go home? I'm sure your father and sister, as well as Roy and Thea, will be happy to see that you're alive," Oliver said.

"Roy?" Laurel frowned. "Wait, I thought he..."

"That's something else we'll have to catch you up on," Oliver said. He turned to Cisco. "Do you mind?"

"Sure thing," Cisco nodded, as he held out his hand and opened a breach.

"Come on, Laurel," Oliver told her, and the two, along with Cisco, entered the breach before it closed.

Barry turned to Conner. "You should go to your Earth and let Clark and the others know that Courtney's alive again. If you want, I'll come with you."

"It doesn't matter to me," Conner said. "Whatever you wanna do."

"I wanna come," Kara volunteered, eagerly raising her hand. Glancing at Barry with a loving smile, she suggested, "Why don't the two of us go with Conner and Courtney together?"

"You know, that's not a bad idea," Barry agreed, smiling back at her. "Wally will be on the lookout for any possible trouble while we're gone."

He turned to Wally and the younger speedster nodded.

"I'll be back, I have to get my extrapolator," Conner said.

"Or we could just use mine," Kara offered, pulling out her device and opening a breach.

Conner nodded and, grabbing Courtney bridal style, followed Barry into the breach. Kara entered the breach last before it closed.

Earth-64

(Hall of Doom)

As the alert alarm was blaring throughout the headquarters, Ultraman, Andrea, Inertia, Icicle, and Volcana rushed into the main room where Owlman was seated at one of the computers.

"What's going on, Owlman?" Ultraman demanded in his usual authoritative tone.

Owlman typed on the keyboard and surveillance footage of a vibrating human-shaped yellow figure with glowing red eyes standing on the Hall of Doom's rooftop appeared on the screen a few moments later.

"See for yourselves," Owlman replied.

As the group looked at the footage, they almost immediately realized that the mysterious intruder was a speedster of some sort.

"He's a speedster like me," Inertia noted.

"He must be pretty stupid coming here of all places," Icicle said.

"Whoever he is, he better have a damn good reason for trespassing on our premises," Andrea said.

"My guess is he's calling us out," Owlman said.

Ultraman glared and clenched his fists. "Let's see what this intruder wants."

Without saying another word, he flew out of the headquarters and his team soon followed after him. They quickly arrived on the rooftop, surrounding the vibrating speedster.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" Ultraman demanded.

The speedster stopped vibrating and the red glow in his eyes disappeared. "Ultraman and the Crime Syndicate, we meet at last."

"There are only two ways things will end for you," Andrea said. "You join us or you die. Your choice."

"What is it going to be?" Ultraman asked, folding his arms against his chest.

The speedster removed his cowl, revealing a young, handsome face that residents of Earth-1 would recognize as belonging to one Barry Allen. "What if I informed you all that there is a way to conquer more than one universe?"

All the members of the Crime Syndicate suddenly looked interested.

"You know about multiple Earths?" Ultraman asked, in hopeful tone but still wary of the speedster.

"Oh, yes, more than any of you in fact," the Barry Allen-lookalike speedster answered with a twisted grin. "I understand that, not so long ago, you attempted to use your Fortress to breach to your doppelganger's Earth."

"I tried, but unfortunately it didn't take," Ultraman asked. "I'm afraid dear old Dad was just too angry and stubborn to listen to me." He peered at the speedster. "How do you know about that anyway?"

"Let's just say that I've been keeping a close eye on you all for a while," 'Barry' admitted. "Anyway, enough of the chit-chat. Let's cut to the chase, shall we?"

"What are you talking about?" Ultraman wondered. "You still haven't given me a reason not to end your life where you stand."

"If you do that, you'll never learn about my means of getting you all to another Earth, one where I plan to introduce you to some interesting allies whom I'm sure would enjoy having you and your team as reinforcements," 'Barry' said. "What do you say?"

The Crime Syndicate members exchanged glances between each other.

"Should we trust a word he says? For all we know, he could be leading us into a trap," Volcana pointed out.

"Yeah, I'm a bit on the fence listening to a man we've just met," Icicle shared his girlfriend's sentiments.

"Look at it this way," Owlman said. "There are six of us and one of him. Besides, this speedster may as well be our only opportunity to access other universes and get new allies while we're at it."

"Owlman's right," Ultraman agreed. "This is the exact opportunity we've been waiting for. If there's the slightest chance that this speedster could indeed give us what we want, we must take it. Who's in agreement with me?"

"You know for a fact that I am, hon," Andrea said, smiling lovingly at Ultraman.

"I already made my answer clear," Owlman stated.

Inertia raised his hand. "Count me in too."

"Same here," Icicle added, also raising his hand.

"What about you, Volcana?" Andrea asked.

The fiery meta-human raised her hand as well. "I guess Ultraman and Owlman both have valid points."

"So everyone is in favor, good," Ultraman said with a smirk, before turning to 'Barry'. "Let's get started. But I am gonna warn you. If this plan of yours backfire or if you betray us in any way, you're gonna regret having crossed paths with us. Is that understood?"

"Trust me, Kal-El, it will work," 'Barry' assured the Kryptonian. "I just need yours and your speedster member's help."

After a minute of 'Barry' explaining to Ultraman and Inertia what they needed to do, the two speedsters and one Kryptonian combined their speeds as they ran around the vicinity in circles. After about twenty seconds, a portal finally opened. 'Barry' and the Crime Syndicate entered the portal before it closed, all of them no longer on Earth-64.

That concludes the first chapter. The next one will focus on Courtney and Laurel's reunion with their friends and family, and also reveal where Barry's doppelganger took the Crime Syndicate.