Chapter 13
Reaction
Peter yawned and opened his eyes to find himself back in the dining room. This puzzled Peter, as the last place he remembered being was the theater room before passing out again.
"Glad to see you're awake," a voice said.
Peter turned to see Oliver. Behind him stood Dinah and Megan, who looked both sad for some reason.
"Yeah...um how did I get here and where is everybody else?" Peter asked, puzzled.
"The others are back in their rooms. As for your first question, well, that's what we wanted to talk to you about, Peter," Dinah answered and came over to sit next to him.
"Peter, earlier when today you asked us about the Avengers," Oliver said next.
"Yeah, and you acted like you've never heard of them. Which is odd since everyone in the world knows who they are," Peter replied.
"Well that's the thing, the Avengers are known to the world. But not on this one," Megan said to him calmly, then continued. "Earlier, when Dick introduced us, and he said that I could figure out what you were saying. Well I did, but we didn't tell you how I did so."
Peter watched as she took a deep breath before continuing.
"You see Peter, I have powers that allow me to read a person's mind and see their memories."
"...Um I'm sorry, but how is that possible? I know there are those who have superpowers, but I haven't heard anything about those with mind reading abilities," Peter asked as he tried to understand.
"That's because you haven't encountered any where your from, but there are many like myself here." Before he could ask her about that, Peter watched as Megan transformed to a green skinned woman. Her clothes also changed to a black colored suit with a red x across the torso, and a blue cape with and hood were attached.
"How did you do that?" Peter asked, eyes wide.
"It's because...I'm a Martian from the planet Mars. And before you ask about this, there's something more important that we need to talk about. Using my powers. I was able to see your memories, and with help from Zatanna, we saw the events that you went through. Including what happened on Titan."
Oliver went next as he got Peter's attention. "We all watched as you and your allies fought against Thanos. And also saw the aftermath as they faded away before you did too."
Oliver's words felt like a gut punch, and as he took in what Oliver said, he remembered. He remembered holding on to Mr. Stark, feeling so scared and helpless. Then he remembered saying "I'm sorry," before dying. He had died.
"Hold on," he thought. "I...died on Titan, because of him. How is it that...I'm still alive?"
This was a lot to wrap his head around, and a it seemed like a million questions filled his mind all at once. But no matter how many times he tried to come up with an answer, nothing matched. This was soon followed by him feeling scared and he had trouble breathing.
"I...I need some air!" Peter said quickly as he ran out of the room.
The three wanted to go after him, but they knew that the young hero needed some time alone to process this. Until then, they would wait.
Running down to the beach, Peter was feeling scared, angry and so many other things as he ran towards the shore line. Once there, Peter dropped down to his knees as he broke down. He screamed in agony as he repeatedly punched the wet sand.
"WHAT THE HELL DOES THIS MEAN!" He shouted in a loud tone, before sobbing alone as the water touched his legs.
Peter never felt so alone in his whole life, the last time he felt like this was when Uncle Ben passed away. That had a been a tough time for him and Aunt May. He had manged to pull through it. But this...how does one deal with dying, then coming back to life.
The young hero wondered this as he looked out at the horizon, watching the sun enter what he guessed was time when it was about to start it's descent.
As he watched this, Peter wondered if Aunt May, Ned, Mr. Stark or the other Avengers were still alive, or if they too were dusted away with half of the Universe. That thought made him angry, knowing Thanos succeeded with his plan.
He wondered if Thanos winning was part of the future that Strange saw.
"How could we win by losing?" Peter said to himself.
While thinking, someone approached him from behind. Turning to his left, Peter saw it was Dick, who was wearing a short sleeved black shirt and blue shorts. He saw his new friend offer him a beach towel.
"Thanks," Peter said in a quiet voice as he grabbed the towel.
" I had a feeling that you would come here," Dick said as he looked at the young hero. "Look Peter, I want to say I know what your going through, but I won't."
This was not what he expected to hear, as Peter assumed he was going to say something else.
"What you went through seems so unreal. But when things look impossible, a way can always be found," Dick said, trying to sound wise.
"That sounds like something from a fortune cookie," Peter replied, which made Dick laugh.
"Yeah, I guess it does. But in all seriousness, we will find an answer to this,"
This made Peter feel a little better. "Thanks Dick... So earlier, your friend Megan said she was from Mars. I was wondering if you knew this and why Oliver and Dinah didn't seem surprised by that?" Peter asked as he changed the conversation.
"I did know that, and so did they. Because that sort of thing is normal here," Dick replied, before taking a deep breath, then spoke again.
"Peter, what I'm about to say may sound crazy, but it is the truth. You are in another universe, one that's different from where you came from," Dick said, then told Peter about some of the differences, such as the heroes of this earth. He first spoke of the Justice League, an organization of the world's greatest heroes that were made up those from Earth and other planets in the galaxy.
Peter learned that Oliver and Dinah were part of this group, known by their hero names: Green Arrow and Black Canary. He also found out that Superman,Wonder Woman and Aquaman were three of the group's founding members who worked with other heroes that Peter never heard of.
Once he was done, Peter looked at his new friend with look of shock. "Yeah I know it's a lot to take in, but..." Dick said before Peter interrupted.
"So...your telling me that the Multiverse is real, and I'm on an Earth that's not my earth?" Peter questioned.
"Well...you're right in one way, yes, you are on another earth. But according to my friend Zatanna, you are from another Universe that is part of something called the Omniverse."
A look of puzzlement then appeared as Peter was confused. He had heard about the theory of the multiverse where alternate versions of people, places and etc. But this Omniverse, as Dick called it, was completely foreign to the young Avenger. He wondered if Mr. Stark or Doctor Strange knew about this.
"I take it there's no way to send me back is there?" he asked with a sigh, looking at Dick.
"At this time no, but while it may seem like all hope's gone, that doesn't mean we won't find a way to send you home. Until then, you're welcome to stay here," Dick said as he extended his hand to him.
Peter was unsure at first, but so far he and others had been nice to him since arriving. He accepted it as he got back up. "Thanks Dick. It's going to take me sometime to get used to this world."
"I hope so, there's a lot see here." After this, the two walked back to the hotel.
Back in the room where he woke up in this morning, which seemed like a lifetime ago. Peter changed out of his clothes. He took a shower, washing away both the sand and the negative feelings he felt before.
Stepping out, Peter found a new set of clothes waiting for him, and he guessed that Dick left them. Once dressed, the young hero realized that he was going to have to start his life over again which meant new clothes, education, a place to live and so on.
While he was thinking, a knock was heard at the door. "Peter are you dressed?"
Peter recognized Dinah's voice. "Yeah, I'm good." he replied, as the door soon opened.
Dinah and Oliver came into the room and sat on Peter's bed. "Are you feeling better?" Dinah asked with a concerned look.
"Yeah, I'm doing a little better now. Sorry for running off before."
"That's alright kid, I would have done the same thing." Oliver said, offering him a smile.
"Indeed, but there's something we need to talk to you about," Dinah added, looking serious.
"Peter, we know that you're a long way from home and are wondering what you will do now. Well, we might have a solution to that problem."
"And what is that?" Peter asked.
"If it's okay with you, Dinah and I would like to become your guardians," Oliver replied.
This was quite a surprise for Peter. He didn't expect the two people that he had meet this morning to offer him this. He was unsure how to answer.
"We understand that you might need some time, so we will wait for an answer," Dinah said gently.
"Okay, thanks. Oh and Dick said that we were going soon, do you know what that's about?" Peter asked, which made the two realize that Dick hadn't told him about the visit from the police earlier.
They told Peter how the resort was going to be closed due to their investigation and that everyone would have to leave. Oliver said that he was taking the others to California to spend the rest of their vacation and that Peter was welcome to come along.
"Ever been to the golden state kid?" Oliver asked, to which Peter shook his head.
"Oh you'll love it, the sun, the sights, and the women of course."
That last part made Peter blush hard, which made Oliver laugh a bit.
"Hey, the last thing he needs to learn is your old ways of attracting women," Dinah remarked, looking a little irritated.
"I'm kidding Dinah, relax. Now then, let's get you all set." Oliver helped Peter grab his suits, which were put into a spare duffle bag that he used for his arrows and bow. "All right then. The bus should be arriving soon," The blonde billionaire handed Peter the duffle bag, then left to get his and Dinah's suitcases from their room.
"Shall we?" Dinah asked as she gestured to the doorway.
(Khuiten Peak)
In the mountainous region of Western Mongolia lies a secret lair, hidden deep inside one of the mountains. In one of the rooms is a vast library filled with numerous books, scrolls and other works of literature that are thousands of years old.
Going through one section of the room is the man who created this vast collection: Vandal Savage, a tall man with long black hair and muscular build, wearing a dark blue coat with black pants. He was one of the oldest humans on earth and also the first Metahuman due to being immortal.
Throughout his life, he had been many things. A warrior, leader, tycoon, businessman and etc. Now he was the leader of the Light, a secret group that consisted of the most powerful and dangerous villains & beings on Earth.
For years, the Light had planned and manipulated events from behind the scenes, which was part of their plan to control the Earth and the Universe. While there had been setbacks due to the interference of the Justice League's covert team of young heroes, things were still proceeding according to plan.
As he was looking through one of his volumes, Vandal heard the door to the room open as one of his subordinates entered. "Pardon me for intruding Master Savage, but I have something that you might wish to see," the man said as he approached Savage with a computer tablet.
"And was is it that you wish me to look at?" Vandal asked as he took the device, looking at the information.
"Our satellites detected an unusual source of energy which appeared as a storm, over the lower east coast of America," the servant responded.
"Interesting. Were we able to find out what caused this storm to appear?"
"Not yet Master, but the strange thing is, as soon as the storm appeared, it disappeared quickly." This last part made Savage raise his eyebrow.
"Storms don't just appear then disappear, that's completely unnatural," Savage thought as he looked at the data closely.
"Do we know in which location this unknown anomaly appeared at?"
"It was above the oceans near Miami, Florida."
After he was done with the tablet, Savage handed it back to his servant. "I see...if something like this happens again. Let me know immediately!"
"Yes Master, we shall begin to analyze the date to determine what caused this unusual event." The servant bowed then left the room.
Once alone, Savage sat down in his lounge chair. "What does this mean? It could either mean trouble for the Light, or perhaps a new opportunity for us," Savage said to himself before grabbing one of his books to read.
To Be Continued.
(Author's Note)
Hi everyone, I wanted to say that like many fans of Young Justice. I am saddens me that the show was not renewed for a fifth season, due to the changes happening with Warner Bros.
I've enjoyed the series since it started in 2010 with the first and second seasons. I was glad that many of its fans were able to help bring it back with season three in 2019 and four last year.
But like many animated TV shows out there, it will live on with its fans. Hopefully one day, the series will return. In addition to Young Justice, my other favorite DC Comics shows are The DC Animated Universe, The Batman (2004), Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl.
The next Chapter will be up within time. Til Then, Stay Tuned.
