Chapter 75: Coda

"So. Much. Candy."

"Supergirl."

"I love candy. I love it so much."

"Supergirl."

"Marry me, candy, marry—"

"KARA! ALIEN INVASION!"

"Alright, alright," Supergirl groused, storing the rest of the candy away in a hidden pocket, "Don't get your panties in a twist, 'Manda. I'm already on my way to Russia as we speak. I should be there in, like, ten minutes."

"Good, because Flash has already shifted his course to Asia. We can't afford anymore delays."

"And there won't be any. Once I get to Russia, it'll be a quick zip through the remaining cities. Just like how Flash is doing right now."

"DODGE!"

The Flash stumbled to the ground, watching as an RPG flew over his head and impacted one of the Dominator ships. Idly, he took out another calorie bar and shoved it into his mouth.

"Quick zip through, she said," He almost buried his head into the mud, "Bleh."

Green Arrow groaned. Black Canary, who was sitting next to him, gave him a sympathetic look before handing him a ration bar. Her partner nodded his thanks, taking the offering and slowly unwrapping it with trembling hands.

They, along with the rest of the initial wave, had retreated back to a recovery center near the edge of the city that had been set up before the battle started. In turn, another wave of fresh troops, having been held back specifically to replace them, had marched in, covering their escape. Now the two vigilantes, along with their surviving comrades, were recuperating from their long battle, preparing themselves for the possibility that they would have to be sent out there again.

"Hey," Black Canary turned around to see Quentin standing near her, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, "thanks for the save back there."

"Don't mention it." Canary replied, once again grateful for the voice modulator, "You would've done the same for me."

Before they could continue their conversation, they were interrupted by an audible "Ugh!". They turned their attentions to Green Arrow, who was trying to pick himself up using the bench he was sitting on as leverage.

"Arrow, what are you doing?" Black Canary asked, suspicious.

Arrow didn't bother to look at her as he replied. "I'm going back out there."

That immediately alarmed both Canary and Quentin, with the former immediately sliding over to push him back down to the bench.

"No. Absolutely not," Canary said firmly, "You're exhausted, and can barely move, Arrow. You'd be no help at all out there."

"But—" Arrow tried to protest, but this time it was Lance who cut him off.

"But nothing. You've spent the past two years protecting this city every night, just like you have today. Just this once, let us protect you."

Green Arrow gaped at him, both stunned and slightly touched. Canary took this opportunity to shove another ration bar into his hands, hoping to distract him from trying to make another break for the battlefield.

Shit. The Flash thought, feeling that brief pull of the temporal plane. Gotta slow down.

Spotting a small, nearby alcove next to a hill he was passing by, he jumped forward, tumbling forward until he crashed into the rock wall. He took in several deep breaths, feeling his legs begin to cool as the adrenaline left him.

If I went any faster, I would've time traveled. He shoved his hand into one of the compartments of his suit, searching for one of his increasingly more rare calorie bars. Or burned up into a crisp.

"Flash? Are you alright? Our sensors have indicated that you stopped moving." Amanda's much unwelcomed voice floated over his comm, and Flash resisted the urge to groan.

"I'm fine. I was just going too fast and needed to catch my breath. I'll be heading to Dubai in a few minutes, so don't worry."

"Good. Supergirl has already finished up in St. Petersburg, but a ship went down there and crashed into a section of the city. She's currently too busy trying to rescue soldiers from the debris to help you."

"Really?" Flash grunted as he got back up. "I better get a move on then."

"See that you do. Waller out."

"THEY'VE BROKEN THROUGH THE LINE!"

Immediately every head in the recovery tent shot up, with many soldiers taking to their feet. Among them, Green Arrow and Black Canary held onto each other for support as they made unsteady attempts to stand.

"Well, looks like you'll get your wish after all, Arrow." Quentin quipped as he reached for his gun.

This is almost as bad as New York. Flash thought as he ran through the streets of Dubai. Already he was beginning to tire, but the streets didn't seem to end. There were still so many Dominators he needed to tag in this city before Amanda could activate the disks and end the invasion. The fate of the world was literally riding on his shoulders right now.

So, with nimble fingers, he grabbed his last calorie bar, chomping through it as quickly as he could without choking. Psyching himself up, the Flash one last deep breath, before sprinting through the streets, careful to keep his speed just under the necessary velocity needed to time travel. He tagged every Dominator he could find in Dubai, tapping them just long enough for the disks to attach to their skin.

However, the energy was burned through quick, and as he reached the last Dominator, he could already feel himself stumbling. Slapping the alien with the final disk, he fell to the ground, struggling to breathe. So distracted, he barely noticed as the Dominator aimed for his back, ready to the pull the trigger…

"Ma'am! Saturation confirmed!" The tech called out to his boss. "Approximately 95% of all invading forces currently on Earth have been tagged."

"Your orders, ma'am?" Another agent asked.

Amanda smirked darkly. "Let's send 'em home."

The Flash waited for the pain to come and then… nothing.

He watched as his assailant fell to its knees, screeching an unholy sound as its elongated fingers grabbed at its head. Soon another Dominator mimicked him, and then another, and before he knew it, every Dominator in Dubai was on the ground, screaming. They clawed away at their faces, at an invisible force they couldn't hope to touch, too distracted to continue fighting. Some of the soldiers took advantage of that and shot dead the invaders, but most were too enraptured at the sudden turn of events to do the same.

This wasn't just happening in Dubai. It was happening all around the world. One minute the Dominators were bearing down on Earth's forces, seemingly endless and unstoppable, and the next they were all on their knees, writhing in agony. Some attacked, but people mostly watched, disbelieving and hopeful that this would finally be the end to all the fighting.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, but was most likely just a few minutes, a decision had been made. One by one, Dominator after Dominator was teleported off the battlefield. Very soon, the Earth was Dominator free, and as the ships began to warp away, a sudden silence fell upon humanity. After what seemed to be an unending fight for their survival, the unthinkable happened.

They had won.

There was no way to know who started it. But a single yell of victory shook the people awake. And then another and another, and screams and cheers and clapping and slapping, and very soon the entire world was celebrating victory. Against all odds, they had won.

In Starling City, Green Arrow and Black Canary embraced, while in St. Petersburg, Supergirl helped a fallen soldier up. Dubai saw the Flash riding high above all others as he was picked up and put on shoulders. The people of Metropolis swamped Black Lightning, while Vixen roared a victory cry side-by-side with Detroit citizens.

The Martian Manhunter stared up at the sky as Hub City relished in their victory. Amidst the furor, he stood silently, unable to sort his feelings.

"You alright?"

He turned around to see it was one of his fellow soldiers, a Hub City citizen like himself. J'onn thought the question over, and immediately his mind led to his lost wife and children, his dead planet.

He smiled softly, and nodded. "I will be."

Above the applauding world float Astra Zor-El, who had discreetly removed herself from the proceedings once victory had been assured. She stared down at the celebrating humans, before taking out something from one of the compartments of her suit — the spy beacon, whose partner she had shared with Kara all those years ago. She fiddled with it with one hand, clasping it tight, before flying away.

Done. Finally. I now officially hate big battle sequences. Hopefully the next one I write won't be so complicated.

So, there's about two chapters left in this act, and then I'm taking a bit of a break while I plan out Act II. I already have a general idea of what's going to happen for the rest of the arc, it's just a matter of organizing it all into chapters.

In others news, Spidey may no longer be in the MCU. Thankfully the next Spider-Man movie wasn't going to be for a while anyways, so maybe Sony and Disney will reach a new deal eventually. Neither of them want to deal with fan outrage — remember when Disney fired James Gunn for dumb comments he made well over a decade ago? Yeah, they don't want a repeat of that.

Also, you guys are making a really big deal of the joke at the end of last chapter. Now this isn't a knock on you, but I don't understand the humor in it. Turning the bomb into candy was what Jax and Stein did in canon — though admittedly I think they turned it into gumballs instead of chocolate.

Please comment and review! Also, update the TV Tropes page! Oh, and the contest is still on, but I'm tired of posting all the details so just search it up in an earlier chapter!