This is the concluding epilogue to this story. Thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited it and read it until the end and I hope you have enjoyed reading this story to its end as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Arrowverse or Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the aftermath of the battle, the Wakandans, Amazons, Ravagers, the army of the Ten Rings, Masters of the Mystic Arts and others had gone home but some of them, that being members of Team Arrow, Team Flash, the Avengers, Defenders and few others had decided to stay in New York as Tony offered them to get some sleep in the Avengers Tower for the night. After all, the following day was going to be a new day. A dawn of a new age in the entire multiverse.
Avengers Tower, New York
Fitz was pacing around nervously as he, Bobbi, Daisy and May stood at the balcony near the landing platform.
"He's completely freaking out." Daisy whispered.
"Can you blame him? Hunter didn't really sleep half of the night." Bobbi said.
"What did he…" Daisy trailed off, when she saw the smirk on Bobbi's face and shook her head, blushing slightly and Daisy waved her hand and shook her head, purging the mental image from her mind. "You know what, never mind, forget I asked."
"They're here." May said as they heard the engines and a moment later Quinjet landed on the platform. The back door opened as the ramp lowered and Fitz stilled as Jemma Simmons exited the plane.
"Fitz?" Jemma called out as she looked around for him wildly until she saw him.
"Jemma." Fitz breathed as they stared at each other for a few moments, even though it felt like eternity for them, like if they had not seen each other in lifetime.
Neither one of them was sure who made the first step but then they rushed at each other and kissed passionately and fiercely with tight hugs, never wanting to let the other go, as if they would lose each other if they did.
"You're really here." Fitz whispered, sobbing.
"You're really here." Jemma said, her own voice breaking as her eyes were getting wet. "You came back to me."
"I'll always come back to you." Fitz said as he pulled away. "Nothing could ever keep me away from you forever. No matter how many lightyears away are we from each other, no matter how deep under the sea we end up, we'll always be together. I thought we were cursed once, but I've realized… the universe can't stop us."
"When I lost you…" Jemma took a breath as they met each other's eyes, while she wiped the tears off her cheeks. "It broke my heart. But… we found a way back to each other. And I don't care if it was luck, science or time travel. It's a miracle. Us coming back to each other, it's a miracle."
Fitz nodded as he and Jemma hugged each other again. Daisy, Bobbi and even May, who wouldn't admit it, felt their eyes get wet as Daisy wiped her cheeks and Mack just smiled, happy to see Fitz and Jemma reunited after what had happened, permanently this time.
"Should we tell him about the wedding?" Daisy whispered.
"I think he'll purpose her later anyway." Mack said.
"I guess we should prepare for another FitzSimmons wedding." May added with a smile.
In the med-bay, Barry was sitting on a stretcher, his right arm hanging on a shoulder sling, while Caitlin was checking him over with a hi-tech handheld scanner, while Wally, Cisco, Harry, Oliver and Patty stood nearby.
"Are you sure your speed is gone?" Wally asked.
"There is no Speed Force signature detected inside Mr. Allen's system." Gideon said.
"Gideon's right." Caitlin said as she looked at the computer.
"I'm sorry." Harry said.
"Don't be, if that was the price for stopping Thawne and Thanos, it's a price I'm willing to pay." Barry said.
"No, not for that." Harry shook his head as everyone realized what he meant.
"That wasn't your fault, Harry." Cisco assured. "No one could've seen coming that Thawne had become a Voldemort or whatever the hell that was and that he'd possess you."
"I know. Still, I can't help the way I feel. I tried to fight back, I swear I tried but…" Harry sighed.
"Dwelling on what could've been isn't going to help. No one is blaming you for what Thawne did. So don't blame yourself." Barry said and Harry nodded after a moment of consideration.
"At least we got rid of the Reverse-Flash forever this time." Cisco said as everyone nodded.
"I guess this is it for Team Flash, though, right? I mean, there's no Team Flash without the Flash." Wally said.
"Who says there's no more Flash?" Barry pointed out as he handed Wally the Flash ring Harry had made him.
"What's this?" Wally asked, confused as he picked the ring.
"It's the Flash ring I made for Barry." Harry said.
"I don't really need it anymore. It's supposed to keep your suit in until you need it. And Central City will always need a Flash, Wally. And if it isn't going to be me anymore…" Barry trailed off and Wally considered before he nodded as he smiled at Barry, honored by the privilege.
"I'll do my best, Barry." Wally promised.
"You'll be making mistakes. You'll be second-guessing yourself at some turns, wondering whether what you're doing is right or wrong but what matters is that the good that you do will outweigh the bad. Being the Flash isn't going to be easy. But there's no one on this Earth better suited for this job." Barry said as Wally pocketed the ring and offered his hand and Barry took it as they shook their hands.
Barry then turned to see Peter at the window, talking with someone on the phone.
"So… you were fighting against aliens and all those people again?" Aunt May asked over the phone.
"I know what you're gonna say and I know it was dangerous but… if I hadn't… you'd all still be gone." Peter said as he took a breath. "I understand if you're gonna ground me or—"
"No." Aunt May said, much to Peter's shock. "It's just… I'm just having a hard time believing you could do it but… I always knew you could do great things and your parents and Ben believed in you too. You have a gift. You have power."
"And with great power there must also come great responsibility." Peter said.
"I knew you could do it, Peter. I knew you could take that responsibility. Your parents and Ben would be proud of you if they could see you right now." Aunt May said.
Peter felt his eyes getting wet as he took a breath and wiped his tears. "I… I'll be home soon. Don't worry about me. I love you, May."
"I love you, my sweet little boy." Aunt May said as she hung up.
Peter looked outside the window as the sun was rising, while Barry approached him.
"Feels like a lifetime ago since we've seen sunrise." Barry said.
"Yeah." Peter nodded. "And the funny thing is that only few people will believe that a 16-year old kid was able to do all this with others."
"You weren't the only kid there." Barry pointed out as they chuckled.
Peter then turned to Barry. "Don't you miss the running? Now that you don't have your powers anymore?"
"Well, not as much as I thought I would." Barry admitted. "I mean, it is awesome but there will always be a Flash." He glanced at Wally. "And after what we've been through, I think I've earned myself a rest."
Peter nodded. "So what's next for you?"
Barry turned to Patty. "Settle down. Have a family. The life I've always wanted. With the people I love."
Patty noticed Barry looking at her as they smiled at each other.
Zor-El looked outside the window as Kara approached him. "Are you alright, Dad?"
"This place isn't that much different from Krypton." Zor-El said as he looked at the technology in Stark Tower. "Just like me and your father, they have potential to so much greatness. Do good by their people. Uplift their kind and help each other. But just like Zod, they are easily susceptible to corruption. Prone to give into their anger, resentment, their darkest desires and let their ambition blind them. I suppose that's a universal truth. Everyone is convinced that they walk down the righteous path. That they know better than everyone else and want people to see things their way. But there are only few people doing their best in a universe, where it is far more easier for everyone to do their worst."
"That's what I had to learn the hard way, too." Clark said as he stepped next to Zor-El. "It wasn't that long ago, when a friend of ours died because we'd put humanity on a pedestal. A human was infected by a beast and we tried to save him… but the human was too far gone. And he killed our friend despite that we'd separated the man from the beast."
Kara looked down and wiped her tears, remembering when they had lost Jimmy because of Davis and thinking about how she had killed Titan.
"I killed him." Kara said, looking ashamed of herself. She knew it was either her or him but she didn't know she had such dark side inside of her and she felt like if she had compromised what she stood for.
"It was either him or you." Zor-El pointed out as he held her shoulder. "He would've killed us all otherwise."
"I know that things aren't as black-and-white as I'd thought before. And I usually try to find a different way but when I killed him…" Kara took a breath, on verge of tears as she met her father's eyes. "I felt better after that, when I shouldn't. And I don't regret it. I try to save everyone without letting anyone die, no matter how evil they are and I know now that some humans are even worse than Zod or Thanos…" She said, remembering Lex, Lockwood and others. "But I kept telling myself I was better than them and that I'd never stoop down to their level by killing everyone who gets in my way."
"What you're feeling right now, the fact that you doubt yourself is what makes you different than them, what separates you from the monsters you fight. That's what makes you a good person and better than them, Kara." Clark said.
"Titan was a vicious monster that would've killed us all without second thought or any regret or remorse that you feel right now." Zor-El pointed out as he held her by her shoulder, while Kara had a contemplative look on her face. "Killing shouldn't be the first option but sometimes, it's either them or us and you have to do whatever it takes to save lives, even if it means compromising your beliefs but that doesn't make you just as bad as them, as long as you hold on to that doubt and find a way to rise above that darkness. Doing whatever it takes to protect the people you care about doesn't make you a monster, as long as you can still see where's the line between right and wrong and where are the shades of grey and you hold on to that doubt that you're feeling right now, that what makes you a good person."
Kara considered what her father and cousin had said. She had never thought about it that way. Maybe it was time to be open to more options than believing what was right.
"But there is still hope. We've seen it recently." Zor-El pointed out as he placed his hand on Kara's shoulder and she looked up at him, while Clark turned to him and Zor-El turned to the Avengers. "You've shown it. You are symbols of hope. Without hope, we have no future. Without future, why are we still standing here? What is the meaning of everything?"
Clark and Kara smiled appreciatively as they turned to Zor-El.
"I'm sure Jor-El would be proud of you two. Just as I am proud of our children. You two are the embodiment of the best of both Earth and Krypton." Zor-El said as he embraced Clark and Kara, who hugged him back, smiling. "Look after each other."
Clark and Kara pulled away as they looked at Zor-El in confusion.
"What?" Clark asked.
"Wait, you're not going to stay?" Kara asked.
"Asides from you two, there is nothing waiting for me here. And you said Argo was somewhere out there." Zor-El looked up to the sky before turning back to Clark and Kara before he held Kara by her cheek. "My home isn't here. It's with your mother, Kara."
Kara sniffed and took a breath before she nodded, with tears rolling down her cheek as she hugged Zor-El. "I just hope I'll see you again someday."
"I hope so too." Zor-El said as he hugged Kara, letting the moment sink in before pulling away as Zor-El flew up in the air. "Goodbye… and look after each other."
Kara leaned onto the railing as she wiped her tears, letting out sobs, while Clark placed his hand on her shoulder. "Goodbye, Dad."
Oliver and Natasha were at the balcony, leaning onto the railing.
"We've come a long way since Russia, have we?" Oliver asked.
"Yeah." Natasha said as they turned to each other. "And there are only few people in the entire multiverse I'd love to have at my side, but there is one person that I want with me forever."
Oliver chuckled. "Well, that's funny. Me too." He took a breath. "Nat, when we first met back in Russia, I had no idea my life would change so much back then. We both had been through painful crucibles and neither one of us had believed that we deserved any happiness but we've helped each other through thick and thin. And after Shado and Sara, I was scared to let anyone in as much as them. But you are one of the strongest women I've ever met, with willpower only few women in the multiverse can match."
"You don't need to say anything—" Natasha began but Oliver cut her off.
"I have to." Oliver said as he held her by her cheek. "I love you, Nat."
"I love you too." Natasha said as Oliver considered.
"Do you want to have children? I'm thinking of adoption." Oliver said as Natasha considered.
"Well, it's not a bad idea." Natasha said.
"Oh, so now you're thinking about a baby?"
They turned to see Yelena approach as they chuckled.
"Well, I hope you will let Aunt Yelena take care of your little rebenok if you need a sitter." Yelena said jokingly.
"If you start teaching our kids throwing knives or loading guns, I'm gonna kick your ass." Natasha said.
"And does the same count for your husband or Uncle Clint teaching them archery?" Yelena asked as they chuckled.
"I doubt I'm gonna teach them how to be a vigilante." Oliver said.
Natasha and Yelena were laughing before Oliver spotted Helena at the bar. Oliver approached her as Helena was staring down at the glass in her hand.
"You're not happy? I thought you'd want to celebrate." Oliver pointed out.
"I am." Helena said, looking unsure though. "It's just that… I liked it. Being a hero. Helping you. But…" She took a breath, looking ashamed as she looked down. "It kind of doesn't feel like I deserve to be it after what I tried to do. Is there any redemption for me?"
"Look at Sara, the Black Widow, the Winter Soldier and Loki and tell me that there's no redemption for you." Oliver challenged as Helena looked at them and considered.
"It's just that… I know they call me a hero and welcome me now but I don't even know if I deserve to call myself that. I mean, it's not like I'd fit with the Avengers or Team Arrow or Team Flash." Helena said.
"Maybe there are other people who'd accept people like you. People willing to give someone with checkered pasts a second chance. You can help people just as lost as you, if you're willing to work with the right people." Oliver said as Helena considered.
"Who did you have in mind?" Helena asked.
"You came back." Matt said as he and Sara smiled at each other.
"I'm not so easily killed." Sara said.
"After losing Elektra twice I'd given up on hope." Matt noted as he held Sara's face and listened to her heartbeat.
"I understand. But what matters is that you haven't given up on me. Just like Ollie wouldn't." Sara said.
Matt smiled as they kissed for a moment before pulling away.
"Whatever happens, if we stand together, we can face it head-on, Matt. And I'm not going to leave you anytime soon." Sara assured as they had each other in their arms.
Sharon was looking at herself in the mirror, while taking off the band-aid on her face, glad to see that most of her injuries had healed, when Steve approached her.
"You look a bit banged up." Steve said and Sharon smiled as she turned to him.
"Well, not everyone has Super Soldier serum inside them and they don't heal as fast as you do." Sharon said as they chuckled at each other. "I guess the adventures with the Howling Commandos and Aunt Peggy weren't as bad, were they?"
"Well…" Steve trailed off. "There weren't gods or aliens, I'll say that much."
"So what now? What is the next adventure for the great Captain America?" Sharon asked.
"I think that after saving the entire multiverse, Captain America has earned some rest." Steve said with a pointed look at Sharon. "Steve Rogers, on the other hand, hasn't gone out on a date in seventy years, since he hasn't found himself the right woman yet."
"The right woman, huh?" Sharon teased as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Well, I think that the right woman would be open to that date, if he had the courage to invite her."
Steve smiled at Sharon as they kissed briefly before pulling away.
"Dinner at your apartment or mine?" Sharon asked.
"You know, when the Avengers got together the first time, after the battle we found ourselves a good shawarma restaurant few blocks away from here." Steve said as he and Sharon chuckled.
"You know, if it hadn't been for the Sokovian Accords, this probably could've been avoided. You could've beaten Thanos the first time." Sharon said.
"I'm not arguing with you there." Steve said.
"Funny you should mention the Accords." Tony said as he hung up his phone and approached Steve, who groaned. "No, you'll want to hear this. That was Lyla. Apparently, the UN is facing a PR nightmare and most of the countries participating in the drafting have withdrawn their support to the Accords. Plus, I might have had FRIDAY hack Ross's old databases and leak his involvement in the gamma experiments and failed restart of the Super Soldier Program, alongside the illegal imprisonment in the Raft without trial."
Tony then picked the remote and turned on the TV, where Ross was in Capitol in front of the Senate subcommittee, standing trial for his illegal manhunt on Bruce and covering up his involvement in the battle between Hulk and Blonsky in Harlem years ago and founding a black site prison and putting people into the Raft without trial.
"Ha! Exactly what he deserves!" Sharon said.
"Send me a copy." Bruce smirked.
Tony then noticed Jessica, who was at a bar, about to pour herself another shot of whiskey as he approached her. "Jessica Jones?"
Jessica turned to Tony as she narrowed her eyes. "Oh, great. If you're gonna charge me for smashing—"
"I heard your sister was locked up in the Raft and given that the Accords are being overturned now, someone wanted see you." Tony said as he gestured to around the corner as a blonde woman appeared and Jessica stared in disbelief.
"Trish?" Jessica asked, shocked.
"Hey, Jess." Trish smiled.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Jessica demanded and Tony coughed 'language' under his breath as Steve rolled his eyes and the original Avengers and Oliver snickered.
"I… I heard what you did and…" Trish wiped her tears. "Since getting locked up and the Snap, I had a lot of time to think about. And… I know it won't make up for anything but…"
Jessica looked conflicted as she saw Trish on verge of a breakdown, while Tony left, deciding to give them some privacy.
"There were so many nights when I wished I'd listened to you instead. That I hadn't done what I did to your mom and Salinger or tried to get my powers. You shut me out because you had your reasons because of your trauma with Kilgrave. I shut you out because I was selfish and stupid. And I told myself that I could be a better hero than you, when you saved everyone. And all I did was betray you, hurt you and turn my back on you and try to kill you and I wish I could take it all back." Trish said, her eyes getting wet and cheeks getting red and Jessica could feel tears in her eyes too. "I've been slipping into the darkness all this time. And after every heartbreak, failure, loss… I sank deeper into the dark water. But when I heard what you did, I realized I'm not any of those things. I want to be, but I can't be. I know that now. So…" She swallowed and stiffened. "Please, don't hate me, Jess."
Jessica stared as Trish walked over to her before both girls hugged each other with tears falling down their eyes, finally deciding to put their past behind.
Queens
Peter opened the door to the apartment as he called out. "May?"
Aunt May went out from the room as she looked at Peter. To her, it had not been that long since they saw each other the last time but Peter looked at her as if he had not seen her in ages, staring at her. Tears filling his eyes, Peter dropped his backpack as he and Aunt May rushed to each other and hugged each other tightly, sobbing.
"You're back…" Peter whispered.
"You're back…" Aunt May whispered, barely able to hold back her tears.
New York
"So this is your new archery school?" Clint asked, while Roy and Thea were setting themselves up in a vacant building they had bought.
"Figured we could teach other people archery." Roy said as they were preparing targets for practice, when the doorbell rang and a dark-haired girl in early 20s, around Roy's and Thea's age, in a purple jacket with a recurve bow and a quiver of arrows entered.
"I'm sorry, is this place open?" The girl asked.
"We're a new school, we're just setting ourselves up but if you want to register, we've got papers ready." Thea said.
"Why don't you show us what you've got?" Clint asked as the girl widened her eyes at him.
"Oh, my God. You… you're Hawkeye!" The girl exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Busted." Clint shrugged.
"Awesome." The girl said.
Clint cleared his throat as he gestured to the target at the wall.
"Yeah, right." The girl got ahold of herself as she approached and stood in front of the target and prepared her bow, positioned her legs into a proper stance and picked an arrow from her quiver and notched.
"Not a bad form." Thea noted.
The girl fired the arrow as it hit bullseye.
"Great!" Clint praised, when he saw his wife Laura and children Lila, Cooper and Nate at the door and smiled at them.
"Thanks." The girl said as she turned to Clint, Roy and Thea. "I got JOAD Olympian Achievement Award at the Silver level by USA Archery but I want to hone my skills."
"Well, ask him. I gotta go." Clint said, turning to Roy before Clint approached his family, while his children hugged him and Clint hugged them back, while he and Laura kissed.
"OK." Roy picked the registration form and a pen as the girl approached him. "What's your name?"
"Kate. Kate Bishop."
Culver University
In late afternoon, Bruce was walking down the campus, while taking it all in. It had been eight years since he had been here the last time and people around him stared at him, recognizing him as the Hulk but Bruce ignored the looks, while he continued taking a trip down memory lane.
"Bruce?"
Bruce recognized the voice and tensed as he turned to see a dark-haired woman with blue eyes that he had not seen in years as he smiled at her. "Hi, Betty. It's been a while."
"Eight years, to be precise, so I'd say more than a while." Betty said, their eyes locked in longing stares, neither one of them sure what to say and while it was just a few moments, it felt like an eternity before Betty spoke up. "So… how have you been?"
"You must've heard from others or seen and read from the news already." Bruce pointed out and Betty nodded. "And you?"
"Asides from coming back from being dusted and hearing that my Dad's facing a trial, I'm fine." Betty assured and Bruce looked at her guiltily.
"Yeah. I'm sorry I allowed it to happen but at least we undid it." Bruce said.
"So, considering that Hulk is apparently a hero now, you two are… good? You have it under control?" Betty asked.
"We're still working on it but we've made peace. You were right. Hulk was never my disease. He was always a part of me." Bruce said and Betty nodded.
"I'm glad." Betty said.
Bruce then considered, remembering when they had last seen each other, that Betty had a boyfriend. "So, what about you and that shrink?"
"Oh, we… tried but… it was never gonna last for long. Is there anyone special in your life?" Betty asked.
"Not really." Bruce shook his head and he and Betty shared longing looks for each other, looks they had not given each other for years. "How about if we went for a coffee?"
"I'd like that." Betty said as they made their way down the hallway, holding each other's hands and smiled at each other, just like when they used to go out together.
Around the corner, neither one of them was sure who had moved first but next thing they knew, Bruce had Betty pinned to the wall as they kissed each other fiercely and passionately.
Chikara Dojo
Colleen and Laurel were in tank tops and sport pants with training gloves, exchanging blows. Colleen had grabbed Laurel by her arm but Laurel used her weight and slammed Colleen to the ground, while Colleen smiled.
"Improvising. Good." Colleen said as they got up.
"So, what? Am I being as good as Ollie and others?" Laurel asked.
"Close to it." Colleen said as they resumed their sparring session. "But if you want to be a vigilante, you still have a lot to learn."
Laurel blocked Colleen's kick but Colleen spun around and kicked Laurel in the head, knocking her down, while Laurel got up as she grabbed Colleen by her arm and twisted but Colleen flipped, freeing herself from Laurel's grip as they continued trading blows.
It was then, when Matt, Sara and Tommy entered and they stopped.
Laurel felt her eyes get wet as she rushed to them, all of them together in a tight hug with eyes getting wet.
Los Angeles
In her house, Chloe had gone out from her room, when she heard the doorbell ring. Chloe approached the door and opened it as she smiled happily.
"Hello, Detective." Lucifer said.
Chloe breathed and felt her heart with relief and a lot of emotions that led to her wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss before she pulled away. "I thought… I thought you were gonna leave me again. This time, forever."
"Leave you? Forever? Nonsense." Lucifer said as he and Chloe chuckled at each other.
"So… you're not leaving anytime soon?" Chloe asked.
"Well, Maze is going to take my place as my regent in my absence and I have to return soon but for now I decided to celebrate the return of everything with you. And I'm not going to leave too soon. So you're stuck with me for now, Chloe." Lucifer said as he held her by her cheek.
"We're stuck with you." Chloe corrected.
"We?" Lucifer repeated before he heard cooing and he looked at Chloe. "Are you babysitting for Amenadiel and Linda?"
"No." Chloe shook her head as she stepped aside and let Lucifer in, while she gestured to the nursery room.
Lucifer entered the room, where he saw a crib in which was a baby girl wrapped in a wool blanket and it certainly was not Charlie or another one of Amenadiel's children due to the color of her skin. Lucifer took a closer look to see that the baby had some features similar to Chloe's and Trixie's but as he looked into her eyes, he realized she had his eyes and in that moment it hit him.
"Her name's Aurora." Chloe explained as Lucifer turned to her, while she approached the crib and picked her daughter up, while turning her to Lucifer, rocking her as Lucifer smiled, remembering.
"You once told me if you ever had another daughter, you'd call her 'Aurora.'" Lucifer said.
"Say 'hello' to Daddy, Rory." Chloe said as she picked Rory by her arm and waved it as Rory smiled at Lucifer, who smiled back, tears filling his eyes.
"Our little Aurora…" Lucifer said, smiling with joy he had not felt since realizing he was in love with Chloe as he and Chloe laughed, finally spending time together with their daughter for the first time.
"When you went back to Hell the last time, I realized that I was pregnant, so I took a leave in the department." Chloe said.
"Does anyone else—"
"Just Linda and Amenadiel. I made them promise not to tell you, since I wanted to tell you if you came back. When you came back." Chloe corrected.
"I'm back." Lucifer said as he held his daughter for the first time in his hands as he looked into her eyes. "And I promise I'm not going to leave you anytime soon, Rory."
Rory giggled in Lucifer's hands as he and Chloe smiled at each other.
Avengers Tower
In the lab, the Avengers, T'Challa, Oliver, Sara, Matt, Barry, Caitlin, Cisco, Harry, Constantine, Zatanna, Fury, Clark, Kara, Diana, Strange, Quill, Nebula, Diana and Loki had gathered as they all looked down at all of the six Infinity Stones that had been gathered on the table.
"You all know why we're here." Steve said, getting directly to the point.
"We're going to decide what to do with these Infinity Stones." Oliver said.
"Wouldn't it be better if we just destroyed them? I mean, Wanda managed to do that with the Mind Stone." Pietro pointed out.
"No, we can't. That would have very catastrophic consequences." Loki pointed out as everyone turned to him.
"The bloody trickster is right, mate." Constantine said.
"The Infinity Stones have existed since the beginning of time, they are the cornerstones of the very existence itself." Zatanna said.
"Destroying only one could have cataclysmic consequences, not only for this universe, but for the entire multiverse." Strange pointed out.
"Yeah, let's avoid that." Cisco said.
"We still have to make sure they don't fall into the wrong hands, like Thanos's, ever again and the best way to do that is if they are not all together." Clark said.
"So the question is who takes which Stone to protect it." Kara said as everyone nodded.
"The Time Stone has always been guarded by the Masters of the Mystic Arts. It comes with me." Strange said.
"Thanos took the Space Stone from our people." Thor said as he and Loki looked at each other and nodded. "Asgard will make sure that never happens again."
"I'll take the Mind Stone to Wakanda." T'Challa said. "This time we'll make sure no one of the likes of Thanos ever gets their hands on it ever again."
"The Amazons of Themyscira will protect the Reality Stone." Diana said.
"And the Power Stone?" Quill asked. "I mean, there's no way in Hell I'm taking that thing on my ship again."
"We'll take it." Kara said.
"No one will find it in the Fortress of Solitude." Clark assured as everyone nodded, considering Clark's and Kara's Kryptonian resilience and what had they seen them both do.
"And this one?" Oliver asked as he pointed at the Soul Stone, which was the last Stone left.
"Father came to Vormir with Gamora. He took the Soul Stone in exchange for her life. A soul for a soul." Nebula said as she mourned for her sister and Quill mourned the woman he was in love with.
"I'm going to put that thing back where it came from." Constantine said before turning to Robbie with a smirk. "And I think I need to pay a visit to an old friend."
Robbie grinned, knowing who was Constantine talking about.
San Francisco
Scott and Hope entered the Lang's house as Cassie rushed to Scott and he hugged her in his arms, while Paxton and Maggie also approached them as they welcomed Scott back home.
Avengers Tower
Fury and Hill were sitting aside, when Oliver, Steve, Natasha, Thor, Clint, Tony and Pepper approached them.
Fury was about to open his mouth, when, before Steve or Tony had the chance, Pepper punched him in the face with enough strength to send him to the floor as the eyepatch fell off.
"That's for keeping secret from us that Phil was alive!" Pepper snarled.
Fury put his eyepatch back on as he got up on his feet. "I understand that you're mad—"
"'Mad' doesn't even begin to cover how we're feeling right now." Steve growled.
"You lied to us for years." Clint sneered.
"You—" Fury began, when Tony cut him off.
"I swear to God, Nick, if the next words coming out of your mouth are gonna be 'needed a push', I'm gonna put my armor on and punch you, which is gonna hurt a lot more than Pepper's punch." Tony snarled.
"We were willing to give you the benefit of the doubt during the Hydra uprising because you weren't sure who to trust when you faked your death and didn't tell us." Natasha sneered. "I trusted you and respected you but you're no better than the people in the Red Room who had used me and Yelena since we were children."
"You and Amanda Waller have much more in common than I'd thought." Oliver growled. "I do keep secrets from the people I care about too, but the moment my secrets begin hurting them and affecting them, I come clean. You, on the other hand, keep to yourself whatever secrets you have, so that you can play us all like pawns on a chessboard, consequences be damned. We deserved to know that Coulson was alive."
"We're done dancing to your tune, Nick. That trust we used to have, as of right now, it's gone." Steve said.
"You're right." Fury admitted as he got up to his feet and put his eyepatch back on, shocking them all.
"Wow. Nick Fury admitting he's wrong. Am I dreaming?" Tony asked sarcastically.
"You had every right to know about Coulson but I decided to keep it a secret from you for years, which is a decision I regret." Fury said.
"We understand that you're angry and we'll also understand if you don't want to forgive us but we're sorry we never told you." Hill said, looking guilty.
They looked at each other and considered before turning to Fury and Hill again.
"After what we've been through, I think it's best to put the past behind us." Steve said.
"We're not ready to forgive you yet… but we're willing to start over." Oliver said.
"But if you want us to trust you, you need to earn that trust back and you both have a very long way to go." Tony said and Fury and Hill nodded, knowing it was more than they deserved.
Later, Norway
Loki was sitting on a rock, on the very same spot where he and Thor had seen Odin die and Hela arrive, while Thor stood behind Loki as Sif approached him.
"This is where father died. On this very spot, right in front of me and Loki. I think this place is suitable as our new home." Thor said.
"I think you're right. And we shall guard it as we guarded Asgard." Sif said.
"Sif, you're talking to me as if I'm your king." Thor said.
"But you are." Sif reminded.
"I know. But right now, I need you to talk to me like if I'm like any other person." Thor said as he turned to her. "We've known each other since we were children and Loki, me and our parents treated you like our own family. Jane helped me find my way as a hero and a king. I'll never regret meeting her… but we were never going to last." He then looked at Sif with a look she had never seen in his eyes before. "But you… you're the one that can be by my side, no matter what. And you're the one that I want by my side. When you were banished, when we were fighting together against Thanos, when I thought I was about to die… I wasn't thinking about Jane. I was thinking about you."
Sif looked at Thor with feelings she had never felt before… or to be more precise, she had buried lifetimes ago and never though that they would come back to the surface as they stared at each other and next thing they knew, they were kissing and holding each other by their cheeks and necks.
The Playground
In his office, Mack was talking to the brunette sitting across him, who was in a black dress with straps.
"Are you sure you want to join us?" Mack asked.
"Oliver said this place offers second chances. And I thought it might be good place for me. I know I have a long way to go but I hope you'll give me a chance. I'm trying to be better." The woman said.
Mack considered after a moment. He had been told she was unstable but she also needed guidance and was willing to change. And if they vouched for her, maybe she deserved a chance. He then pulled the drawer in the table and picked up a S.H.I.E.L.D. badge with an ID card as he put them on the desk.
"Very well. Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D…. Agent Bertinelli." Mack said.
Helena picked the badge and ID card and nodded appreciatively as she and Mack shook hands.
Rene Ramirez's apartment, Star City
Rene was babysitting Zoe and William, who were playing video games, when they heard the doorbell ring and Rene opened the door before turning to William. William turned his head and smiled as he rushed to Samantha, who hugged him tightly as he hugged her back.
Weeks later, A.R.G.U.S. Detention Black Site
Slade was walking down the corridor, nodding at the posted guard, who nodded back as he let Slade pass. When Slade stopped, in front of him was a glass wall with metallic frames and faint electric buzzing coming out from it, with the electricity pulsing through the glass and at one wall was a shelf filled of books, when the lights turned on, revealing a prisoner in the cell, sitting on the bed and staring down.
"Hey, kid." Slade called as the prisoner growled, not looking up. "Joe."
Joe Wilson, who had been going by the name of 'Kane Wolfman', raised his head as he got up to his feet and neared the glass, seething and glaring at Slade. "Don't call me that. That's not my name anymore."
Slade sighed, eying his son sadly, since today's visit was no different from any other one in the past few weeks. After the Snap was undone, it didn't take long for S.H.I.E.L.D. and A.R.G.U.S. to catch Kane and they later contacted Slade, so that he could visit his son.
"I finally found him." Slade said as Kane raised his brows. "Grant. Your brother. Wasn't easy to track him and your mother down. He's starting high school now."
Kane smirked. "So, you finally know I was lying. What happens now?"
"We have all the time in the world now, kid. You're my son and I love you… and I'm not going to give up on that one day, you will come to your senses and see reason." Slade said.
Kane just scoffed, turning his back on Slade, who sighed before he took a breath and walked away as the guard accompanied him out.
Hell
Maze, now Regent of Hell in Lucifer's absence before he would return was walking down the endless row of cells, where the souls of the damned, sinful, wicked and otherwise corrupted and evil ones were screaming in agony in their eternal torment, when Maze turned her attention to one cell in particular.
On the rocky plateau on the cliff of Vormir, where three stone pillars stood, Thanos was looking down at Gamora, tearful after the Stonekeeper, the Red Skull, had told him that he had to sacrifice something he loves in exchange for the Soul Stone, while Gamora chuckled in satisfaction at the universe getting back at Thanos.
"All my life, I dreamed of a day… a moment, when you got what you deserved. And I was always so disappointed." Gamora said as she paced behind him. "But now…" She neared Thanos. "You kill and torture and you call it 'mercy.'" She looked up at him. "The universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize, and it told you 'No.' You failed. And do you wanna know why? Because you love nothing. No one."
Thanos turned to face her, with a tear rolling down his cheek, while Gamora resisted the urge to laugh.
"Really? Tears?" Gamora gloated.
"They're not for him." Red Skull corrected as the smile disappeared from her face as the realization dawned onto her and Gamora began backing away as Thanos neared her.
"No." Gamora whispered, shaking her head in denial. "This isn't love."
"I ignored my destiny once. I cannot do that again. Even for you." Thanos said.
Gamora looked down, hoping for this all to be some sort of a sick joke of the universe and a nightmare from which she would wake up at any moment before she looked up at him and shoved him back before turning around. Gamora pulled out the dagger Thanos had given her when she was a child and his forces had slaughtered half of her people and tried to kill herself but Thanos used the Reality Stone to turn the dagger into bubbles as Gamora felt tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, little one." Thanos said before he grabbed Gamora by her arm and dragged her over the cliff, while she vainly tried to struggle out of his grip and kept hitting him before he approached the edge of the cliff and threw her over as Gamora fell down to her death, while Thanos looked sadly as he closed his eyes, but when Thanos opened them, he was facing Gamora and the Stonekeeper again, his back towards the edge of the cliff as Gamora laughed.
"All my life, I dreamed of a day… a moment, when you got what you deserved."
Maze smirked as she passed by Thanos's cell, his soul trapped in his greatest torment for all eternity as a punishment for what he had done.
Vormir
A portal opened as Constantine and a dark-haired man in motorcycle leather jacket and pants went out from the portal.
"Why did you want me here?" The man asked.
"You'll see, Blaze." Constantine said as they walked down the valley before a man floating in the air in a hood approached them.
"Welcome, John, son of Mary. Johnathon, son of Barton." The man in the hood said as it stepped out from the shadows to reveal the face of the Red Skull.
"We've come here to return the Soul Stone." Constantine said.
"That's why." Blaze realized.
"Indeed, Johnny." Constantine nodded.
"Follow me." Red Skull said. Constantine and Blaze followed him before he accompanied them to the top of the mountain to the edge of the cliff, where three pillars had been where Thanos had sacrificed Gamora for the Soul Stone as Red Skull looked down. "Throw it down over the cliff."
"That's it?" Constantine asked.
"That's it." Red Skull nodded.
"Alright then." Constantine said as he rotated his arm and flung the Soul Stone as it flew in a curve in the air until it fell down the cliff until it disappeared from their sight and ended back in the Soulworld, where it belonged. "What happens to it now?"
"Anyone else who wants the Soul Stone must pay the price and sacrifice what they love the most. Just as Thanos did." Red Skull said.
"We can't let that happen." Constantine pointed out.
"It is how it is and it is not up to you to decide otherwise." Red Skull said.
"No, it isn't." Blaze said, when Red Skull turned to him as flames appeared in the pupils of Blaze's eyes.
"What… you have something else within you…" Red Skull said, clearly terrified, a feeling he had not felt in decades since he had touched the Tesseract with his bare hand and ended up on Vormir as the Stonekeeper of the Soul Stone as a punishment for trying to wield the Infinity Stones.
Constantine smirked at Blaze, who nodded as flames surrounded his head, burning the flesh and revealing a skull on fire. Ghost Rider picked the chain wrapped around his jacket and pulled, unwrapping it before throwing it at Red Skull, restraining him.
"Ever since I saw you, the Ghost Rider sensed the guilt in your soul… all that innocent blood that you spilled… all the evil you've wrought…" Ghost Rider growled as he pulled Red Skull to him. "And now the bill comes due! Feel the pain that you have brought with your sins, guilty one!"
Red Skull screamed as Ghost Rider opened its mouth, while Red Skull suffered under the Penance Stare of the Spirit of Vengeance, engulfed in flames until he was turned into ashes, blown away by the wind.
"Blimey…" Constantine whispered. "And here I thought Luci punishing the guilty is a bloody piece of work to see."
"Lucifer may be powerful but Mephisto also has his tricks." Blaze said as he turned normal. "I may visit this Lux nightclub in L.A."
"Speaking of which, do you want a drink?" Constantine asked.
"I sure do." Blaze said as he and Constantine chuckled, while they left.
New York
Oliver, Natasha, Matt, Sara, Barry, Patty, Steve, Sharon, Tony and Pepper had decided to go out and celebrate more privately as they ended up eating a dinner in a fancy restaurant where Tony had reserved places for them.
After what they had been through, they decided to celebrate with their friends and family and the people they love, more privately as they spent the night mingling, talking, hanging out and bantering with their closest friends before they walked to the balcony, with each one of them having their beloved at their side as they looked into the skies.
The threat of Thanos was gone. And while they still have many challenges ahead of them, the one thing they had learned is that when they stand together, they can face anything head-on. And if a new universal threat like Thanos was ever going to come, the heroes of all worlds, planets, universes and realms would assemble to face it.
Some of the reunions and fates of the Infinity Stones are inspired by Aragorn II Elessar's 'Heroes stand united', Stand with Ward and Queen's 'United we stand' and 'Crisis on two earths' and Raptor2216's 'Worlds Collide, Heroes Unite', Michael Weyer's 'Infinity Crisis' (I know, same story title but I couldn't think of a different title) and I hope you've enjoyed the interactions and reunions and such.
In Arrow Helena showed herself to be remorseful of her crimes and willing to reform and I didn't really have much to do for her but I thought she would be good with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., sorry if it felt rushed but I kind of didn't really have much to do with her here and don't get me started on how Guggenheim shelved her aside every season despite promising a great comeback for her because he was too focused on Olicity, until the Huntress wasn't available anymore because of DCEU and Arrow hinting that Helena had been killed off in Season 7.
I know why other people have issues with Arrowverse version of Supergirl, considering how self-righteous she is, since we basically got a genderbent Superman without some of his more noble qualities but I like Melissa Benoist, she is a great actress, even if the writing fails her and I find it easier and better to remove her self-righteousness and ego and have her be more open to morally questionable things, just like a lot of people fix wimpy Barry post-Season 2 of The Flash and have him be darker and open to morally questionable things and killing if necessary, so I do the same thing with Kara. Sure, Kara was still a bit judgmental and had a stick up her ass at some instances later post-Season 3 but I think those were more understandable instances outside of Crisis on Infinite Earths, which just ruined her, which is no surprise, considering that Guggenheim wrote it and he ruined most of the live action DC Comics icons like Welling's Smallville Clark, Conroy's Batman etc. to prop up Arrowverse, which is inferior in many ways.
Trish's character arc made sense in Jessica Jones but stupid Disney cancelled the show alongside Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and The Punisher before Trish could get some redemption arc and what annoys me is that the shows got pulled from Netflix and moved to Disney+, *sighs* At least Charlie Cox got to play Matt in his cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, so I hope we get to see others someday in MCU again.
Slade's send-off in Season 6 was great, but Joe and later Grant showing up in Seasons 7-8 ruined it and Grant's appearance in Season 8 makes no sense timeline-wise, since he would've been a teenager, with what Joe had said to Slade and if you put into consideration 'Star City 2046' episode from Legends of Tomorrow. The part with Slade and his son is taken from my one-shot 'All's Well That Ends Well' with some minor rewrites.
The part with Lucifer and Chloe is inspired by the final season. While Chloe was pregnant, when Lucifer decided to return to Hell permanently and promised he would come back to her when she would die of the old age and then he would meet Rory one day, I always thought it would've been good if Lucifer at least got a chance to meet his daughter when she was a baby. There were minor issues I had with the final season of Lucifer but otherwise it had a good ending, if anything, the way they went about it could've been handled a bit better, since they rushed some things.
And Thanos gets exactly what he deserves, staying in Hell, trapped in his greatest regret, reliving killing Gamora over and over again and the part with Constantine and Johnny Blaze (Ghost Rider) returning the Soul Stone to Vormir and giving Red Skull what he deserves is from Aragorn II Elessar's 'Heroes Stand United' and of course that Johnny Blaze is played by no one else than Nicolas Cage.
I figured Kate Bishop could make a small cameo, since I like her in comics and I was worried she'd overshadow Clint in the Hawkeye show or that Clint would be nerfed but Kate turned out to be a fun character and Laurel now has some motivation to train more to become a vigilante, training with Colleen.
So, this is it. I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing this. Originally I had planned more stories prior to this, starting with 'The Hood and the Widow' but my plans and ideas got blown due to what a mess Black Widow film was, at first I was willing to do my own spin but then the finale of first season of Loki happened, which was just weird and made almost no sense at all, making me disappointed with Disney phase overall, the only good things so far have been Spider-Man: No Way Home and Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings and Hawkeye, which were more or less decent but not outright horrible either. At this point I don't put much faith and stock in MCU anymore but I think that there might still be a few good things like those that I've mentioned, so I wouldn't write it off completely but overall the MCU I love and enjoy ended with Endgame and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., which gave us much better and satisfying ending than Crisis on Infinite Earths and Arrow.
In Arrowverse, the only good thing at this point is Superman & Lois, despite the annoying family drama, even though given Arrowverse's track and CW's overall, I should wait for the other shoe to drop, but I'll enjoy it for as long as I can. I am not really in a mood to do rewrites of canon events and seasons of Arrow anymore and don't really care about Supergirl or Legends of Tomorrow or Batwoman or Black Lightning, with The Flash there are some ideas but another thing would be to plan them out properly and as for Arrow, if anything I'd like to write stories where Oliver would be paired with anyone else outside of the Lance sisters, since given how many Oliver/Laurel or Oliver/Sara stories have I written, where they had main focus or were in background, I'm just tired of writing stories with these pairings but I'm willing to pair Oliver with other alternate interests, like Helena Bertinelli, Talia al Ghul, Nyssa al Ghul or Natasha Romanoff or Faith Lehane for example and I'd like to thank marcus97L who had asked me to do Oliver/Natasha back in 2019 and I hope you have enjoyed this story to its end.
I'd also like to thank Aragorn II Elessar, Stand with Ward and Queen and Michael Weyer too for their stories giving me inspiration to this fic.
I may write Oliver/Natasha again or other pairings for him in the future, so stay tuned.
So, with this concluding chapter, I would like to say 'goodbye' to this story.
See you next time with my next story.
Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed the story to its end.
With regards
Bl4ckHunter