The Wastelands (Year 2033)

Sonic just sat there with a confused and horrified expression on his face. After a few seconds he took Prower's hand and stood up.

SONIC: Tails?

PROWER: Prower.

SONIC: Huh?

PROWER: I go by Prower now.

SONIC: Why?

PROWER: Tails died a long time ago.

Sonic was confused by this but he just nodded his head. Sonic then looked surprised.

SONIC: Wait! What year did you say it was?

PROWER: 2033.

Sonic was shocked and took a few steps back. How did he not see it. Tails was basically as tall as him.

SONIC: Y...You're so big!

PROWER: I know. Now come on. We have to go before more Outlaws show up.

Sonic struggled to walk. Prower saw this and put Sonic's arm over his shoulder. They began walking when Sonic then began to talk.

SONIC: What the hell happened here?

PROWER: Alot happened. We'll explain at HQ.

Sonic then looked back at the bodies.

SONIC: You didn't need to kill them.

PROWER: Things are different here Sonic. Those aren't people anymore. They've been mutated by The Maestro. They are beyond saving, I did them a favour and ended their misery.

Sonic looked in shock at what he just said.

SONIC: What happened to you?

Prower just looked at him with a serious expression on his face.

PROWER: I grew up.

As they continued to walk, Prower heard the sound of a motorbike coming from behind them. He looked behind and saw two Outlaws on Gammabikes. They had green smoke coming from the exhausts and they had human skulls with green which lit up from within them on the front of the bikes.

PROWER: Shit.

SONIC: Prower!

PROWER: What? I'm 24, I can swear if I like. Now stand back, you're in no condition to fight.

Prower placed Sonic down and walked towards the bikes. As they charged closer, Prower just smirked and removed his chain. Once it hit the ground, it was engulfed in a blue flame. His left eye was then emanating a blue flame. He ran forward and slammed his chain onto the ground, which caused a shockwave of blue fire to strike the bikes which caused them to crash and send the Outlaws flying right off them. The Outlaws landed harshly on the ground and Prower turned around to face them. They both got up and Prower smiled.

PROWER: So, who's first?

One of them then charged at Prower, preparing to punch him. Prower smiled and lifted his chain up and spun it around in the air above his head. He then brought it down and it hit the Outlaw, slicing him down the middle. Both sides of the Outlaw fell to the ground and the second then charged at Prower. Prower simply struck the Outlaw with the chain, which sent him flying. He tried to get up but failed, Prower just walked over to him and wrapped his chain around his neck and began adding pressure. The flames of the chain were tearing into his flesh and going right through his neck. Prower then pulled the chain all the way through, the Outlaws head simply slid off and hit the ground. Prower kicked his body over and walked over to Sonic, who had a horrified look on his face. Prower saw this and had a look of sorrow on his face.

PROWER: I'm sorry you had to see that, bro.

Prower then lifted Sonic up and put his arm around his shoulder and they began walking.

PROWER: Come on, let's get out of here.

They began walking, Sonic just stared at his "little brother". He began to realise that this wasn't the same Tails he's always known. This was someone very, very different.

Resistance HQ

The two arrived under a bridge and walked under it. Sonic then saw a memorial of fallen heroes. He let go of Prower and limped over to the memorial. He then saw all who had fallen. Tony Stark, Mario, Goku, Knuckles, Vegeta and more. He then saw the one person he wished he didn't see. Princess Sally Acorn. Sonic took a few steps back as tears began to form in his eyes. He then punched the ground in anger, which caused his fist to bleed. Prower walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. Sonic then looked up.

SONIC: H...How did this happen? HOW?!

PROWER: We'll explain once we get inside.

Prower then walked over to a set of flowers and moved them, which revealed a hand scan. He placed his hand on it and it scanned it. The wall then shifted slightly. Prower moved to the edge of the wall and opened it. It was a door. He then grabbed Sonic and they walked through the door, which closed behind them as they entered. They walked down a set of concrete steps and entered through a concrete archway. Sonic then saw a bunch of computers against the wall, a fighting ring to the left hallway and the sleeping quarters to the right hallway. They walked straight and entered the command room. He then saw a round table with a holographic interface, a gun rack and more monitors on the wall.

?: Well, look who showed up.

They turned around and saw Deathstroke.

SONIC: Deathstroke?!

PROWER: Hey Slade.

SONIC: You're working with him?!

?: Times have changed, fur ball.

He then turned and saw Logan leaning against the wall.

SONIC: Logan?

?: Hello old friend.

Sonic then turned around and saw Batman standing there with Bulma.

SONIC: Bruce? Bulma?

BULMA: Hey Sonic.

BATMAN: Welcome to Resistance HQ.

Sonic then walked over to the two and shook their hands.

SONIC: Wow, you guys look….

Batman then smirks.

BATMAN: Old.

SONIC: I was gonna say ya look like crap, but whatever.

Sonic then turns to the others.

SONIC: So...Does anyone care to explain what happened here and why I am in a dystopian future?

Batman then walks over to the monitors.

BATMAN: Sonic, you might wanna sit down.

SONIC: Why?

BATMAN: What I'm about to tell you, is a lot to take in.

Sonic then sits down on a nearby chair. Batman then projects images onto the monitors.

BATMAN: After the Dimensional War against Doom, everything went quiet. Doom was gone, Eggman was never seen again. Things were peaceful. That is, until 3 years later in your timeline.

The monitors then show several Apokoliptian ships across the world.

BATMAN: Darkseid returned to Mobiearth. Except this time, he was ready for us.

The monitors then display an image of Parademons, except they look like Doomsday.

SONIC: What're those?

PROWER: Paradooms. A hybrid between Parademons and Doomsday.

BATMAN: They overpowered us in every aspect.

The monitors then display an image of a battlefield, with all the heroes who were on the memorial, lying there dead. Some were decapitated, others were ripped apart. Sonic felt sick just by looking at it.

BATMAN: That day. We lost.

LOGAN: And everything went to shit.

BULMA: After the battle, there was some resistance, led by Sally Acorn. After Darkseid had learned of this, he attacked Castle Acorn. That was….

Bulma was starting to cry. Batman put a hand on her shoulder.

BATMAN: That was the day Sally died.

An image was placed on screen. It was an image of several dead bodies, but in the centre was a charred skeleton of a chipmunk. Sonic pieced it together and began to break down.

BATMAN: Sally wasn't the only one who died that day. Sonic, you went after Darkseid. And you never came back.

Prower placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder. Sonic calmed down and Batman continued.

BATMAN: A few years later, three factions rose to power.

Three images were projected onto the monitors. They were images of several soldiers with silhouettes of each faction leader. One looked like a certain angry Avenger. The next looked like a Metal Sonic, except different in a way Sonic couldn't describe. And the last was a horned creature with silver metallic armour all over his body, except his hands and face. Under each image, a name was displayed above each faction name. The leader of the Outlaws was known as The Maestro. The leader of The Brotherhood was known as Metallix. The general of Darkseid's army was known as Steppenwolf.

BATMAN: Each faction rose to power, and we have been at war with them ever since.

SONIC: Okay, but that doesn't explain why I'm here.

BATMAN: You're here Sonic, because you can prevent all of this.

SONIC: How? Changing the past doesn't change the future. How am I going to prevent this?

BULMA: Like Dr. Banner said, you can't change the future, but you can erase this timeline.

SONIC: Huh?

Batman then projects an image on screen. It shows the timeline, with a separate darker line diverging from it.

BULMA: Thanks to Dr. Strange. We have learned that this timeline, this future, is a paradox.

SONIC: What does that mean?

BATMAN: It means that this future was never meant to happen. Someone created a paradox and created this alternate timeline.

SONIC: But that doesn't mean it will be my future.

BATMAN: We thought that too, but somehow….

The image changes, it shows the timeline slowly merging with the alternate timeline.

BATMAN: Someone has done something to the timeline, it is slowly merging and becoming part of the set course of history and not its own timeline. Someone is trying to make this future inescapable.

SONIC: So, what you're saying is. This future timeline will happen no matter what?

BATMAN: Yes, unless we erase it before it becomes part of the main timeline.

SONIC: How can I possibly know when this happened?

BULMA: We have pinpointed the source of the paradox here.

She points to a specific time. June 23rd, 2024.

BULMA: There was a certain event on that date that caused all of this.

SONIC: Wait, that's my birthday. What happens on my birthday?

BATMAN: We don't know. We don't have records on what happened on that date. But we do have the events that led to that date.

BULMA: We believe that if you change these events, it will hopefully change the course of history and stop the paradox from occurring.

Batman then hands Sonic a drive.

BATMAN: This drive has all the events that occur which lead to June 23rd. But they only have the names they were known by, you'll have to figure out what happens and hopefully prevent this paradox from occurring.

SONIC: Okay, so now what?

BATMAN: Now we get you home.

BULMA: Slight problem though. When we used the Time Gate to bring you here, it kinda short circuited and is no longer operational.

DEATHSTROKE: Can't you fix it?

BULMA: I wish I could, but The Brotherhood used specific items to create the Time Gate, item we don't have.

SONIC: So I'm stuck here?

BULMA: Not necessarily. The good news is that we only need three things to get the gate working and I know where we can get them.

SONIC: Great.

BULMA: The bad news is that each item is in the hands of one of the faction leaders.

SONIC: Crap.

LOGAN: What do we need?

The monitors then show the three items they need.

BULMA: First we need a Chaos Emerald to power it, which are in short stock since Darkseid destroyed them all, except for one. It is in the hands of The Maestro. Second, we need a microchip which is filled with the history of Mobiearth, so we can pinpoint the exact date and time we pulled you from. The only one is in the hands of Metallix. Finally, we need a Motherbox so we can stabilize it. We could use it to send you back, but none of us know how to use it. Steppenwolf has his claws on it.

SONIC: So, we go in, Collect the items we need, and then send me home to prevent a dark and twisted future? I'm in.

DEATHSTROKE: Where do we start?

Bulma then pulls up a map. It shows the three areas the factions run.

BULMA: Well, The Maestro runs The Wastelands, Metallix has turned Mobotropolis into his own Metal Utopia and Steppenwolf has turned New Metro Zone into his own Apokoliptian Fortress.

DEATHSTROKE: We are already in Maestro's territory, so it makes sense to go for him first.

BATMAN: Then it's settled. We infiltrate each faction's base of operations and retrieve the item they possess.

SONIC: Sounds like a plan.

BATMAN: We leave in a few hours. Gear up and remember. Not only are our lives on the line here, but our future hangs in the balance. We cannot fail, otherwise everyone loses.

Apokoliptian Fortress

Steppenwolf walks into some sort of chamber with a circular pool of blood in the centre. Steppenwolf then speaks.

STEPPENWOLF: DeSaad? DeSaad! I call to thee.

The pool of blood then swirls around and rises up, it then begins to form a figure. DeSaad appears as a blood hologram.

DESAAD: Steppenwolf? Have you begun the conquest?

STEPPENWOLF: This world is divided. They're a primitive species, unevolved and at war with one another, too separate to be one. Their freedom has been ripped from them, like the other worlds. Given...absolution in one glorious belief: to serve him.

DESAAD: And what of The Resistance?

STEPPENWOLF: They are weak. They fight a battle they cannot win. Each day my Parademons find more members of their feeble Resistance. Once they are dealt with, this world will be completely claimed for his lordship.

DESAAD: Yes. Mighty Steppenwolf...Who might have sat here by the side of the Great One...But undone by his self-pride.

STEPPENWOLF: DeSaad...I fall before you. Let me make a plea to him, that I may come home...after I take this world, in his name.

DESAAD: YOU BETRAYED HIM! Your own family...

STEPPENWOLF: I SAW MY MISTAKE! I slaughtered those who sought his throne!

DESAAD: You still owe the Great One 50,000 more worlds.

Steppenwolf then looks down, saddened and defeated.

DESAAD: He will hear your plea...when you pay your debt.

STEPPENWOLF: It shall be paid, all in his name. The Resistance will be erased. This world will finally be claimed for his lordship after so many years of defiance. No protectors here. No Kryptonian to defend them. This world will fall, like the others.

DESAAD: For Darkseid.

The blood hologram disconnects, the blood splashes down back into the pool.

STEPPENWOLF: For Darkseid...