Baltimore, Maryland
Hours later, the quinjet landed a few blocks away from Edgar Allan Poe's house, and Sparrow turned back towards Andy and the rest of the group.
"Ready, mates?" Jack asked, flashing a gold toothed smile.
"No, but time isn't a luxury." Andy admitted. "Listen guys, if we die from this, I just want to know, it's been an honor knowing each of you. Including Jack, even though I haven't known you long."
"Pleasure's mine, Barclay." Jack grinned, and the group exited the quinjet and began walking towards the old home.
Nica, Alice, and Fury walked down the hallways in the Dollhouse, discussing what they could do.
"Director, how can you be sure Andy will be alright?" Nica asked, worried for her husband.
"Shouldn't you trust him more than I do?" Nick asked, turning towards Barclay's wife. "He should be fine with… Constantine and Lucifer. That was their names, right?"
"Yes." Nica answered. "But if Edgar Allan Poe can change reality with that- that book, what can he do to them?"
"Don't worry." Fury reassured her. "From what I heard, Andy's other half has fought off world ending threats before."
"What do you mean?" Alice asked.
"Well, I have had agents research the multiverse ever since Jack Sparrow ended up in this world, and we found the doppelgangers of you, your aunt, and your uncle." Fury replied. "There, we discovered the history, where that half of you all not only fought a demon, but also a man with the powers of a god."
"Anuboll and Damian Darhk." Nica confirmed. "And Alice fought a speedster, aliens, and an evil version of Andy."
"That was one Hell of a week." Alice smirked, then got serious. "So you knew about Poe this whole time. It wasn't an accident you recruited Uncle Andy six months ago."
"No. It wasn't." Nick admitted, before activating his communications device. "Agent Barclay, what's the status?"
"Just a block away, Director." Andy replied, and the group stopped just across the street. "Well guys, this is it."
Right before they continued towards the house, the front door was thrown open, revealing Edgar Allan Poe to everyone.
"Gentlemen." Poe greeted, holding out his book of reality. "Welcome to my humble abode."
"Fuck you." Andy spat, pointing his pistol at Poe's head. Unfortunately, Poe simply twisted his hand to the side, and Andy's gun hand involuntarily moved towards his own head, resting the barrel against his temple.
"Andy Barclay." Poe smiled. "The man who has gone toe to toe with gods and monsters. Your luck ends here."
"What about mine, mate?" Constantine asked, lighting his hand on fire and throwing a fireball towards Poe. As quick as lightning, Edgar opened the book, conjuring a type of shield that stopped the fireball mere inches from his face.
"Valiant try, demonologist." Poe complimenting, but his eyes widened slightly, as Lucifer telekinetically launched his pentecostal coin at the flame, somehow causing an unnatural explosion that brought Poe to the ground, simultaneously granting Andy control over his body again.
"Stand down!" Oliver ordered, readying an arrow in his bow. "You're outnumbered!"
"Not quite." Poe sneered, and shadows erupted from the book. At first, nothing happened, until the ground suddenly cracked open, creating a fissure, where hands of the damned from Hell began climbing out.
"Shit." Andy cursed, as the door to Poe's home supernaturally closed on its own.
"Uh, guys?" Jack said worriedly, watching as demonic hands tried to grab at his ankles. "We're about to have company."
"Dammit." Andy swore again, shooting at one of the hands. "Try to hold these things off as long as possible! I'm going after Poe!" the rest of the team nodded and began fighting for their lives, while Andy charged the house, busting the door down with a single kick, and forced his way inside.
"Fury, the apocalypse has kicked off early." Nick heard Jack tell him into his earpiece. "Looks like Poe is raising the dead."
"Damn." Fury muttered. "Try to hold out. I'm calling in the Avengers." Fury cut comms and was about to make the call, but turned around, seeing Nica on her phone.
"What are you doing?" Fury asked, as he dialed Tony Stark's number.
"Calling some backup." Nica replied, as her own call was made. "Hi, Jessica? Get Luke and Danny, and head over to Baltimore as quick as you can. Andy needs help…"
Ash, Jack, Constantine, Oliver, and Lucifer circled together, back to back, and fought off the monsters attacking them. All around them, demons, skeletons, zombies, and even past villains rose up from the deep crack in the street, ready to fight the team of heroes. No matter how hard they fought, with each enemy they put down, it seemed ten more took its place.
"We're not getting out of here." Constantine realized, conjuring a shield around everyone.
"Have a little faith, Johnny." Lucifer quipped, as he flew out of the shield and attacked the demons, before grappling with Mephistopheles, the one who created the Ghost Rider.
"Don't worry, help is on the way." Jack reassured everybody, as he took out a pistol and shot an African American version of Wilson Fisk dead in the heart.
"Help from who?" Ash asked, firing his boomstick. "Santa Claus?" As soon as he said that, a fiery portal opened, and Robbie Reyes stepped out, igniting his flaming skull and brandishing his Hellchain.
"Ah, the Rider." Jack greeted, then looked behind him, noticing a few familiar faces. One of them wore a leather red suit with a horned mask, there was a woman in a leather jacket, an African American man in a hoodie, and a blonde haired man with a glowing fist. "I see you brought the Defenders with you. Bit surprised the Devil on our shoulders is back."
"Just like when we faced Thanos in Harlem, I came back for one last dance." Matt Murdock grinned. Just then, Lucifer flew down, approaching the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.
"You must be Daredevil." Lucifer explained, grabbing Murdock's hand and shaking it. "Saw all three seasons of your show on Netflix. Big fan!"
"Uh, thanks?" Matt said, confused. "Wish I could see yours?"
"What's going on?" Oliver asked, as he saw another portal open, this time with Doctor Strange coming out, followed by the original members of the Avengers. "Did we get sucked into some type of movie?"
"Blimey, that's a colorful bunch." Constantine noted, eyeing Doctor Strange. "And didn't you hear, Queen? In this world, we exist in their televisions, and vice versa for them in our world."
"If only Dig could see this." Oliver muttered, approaching Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye. "He'd get a heart attack from this."
"Nat's going to be laughing about this one for a long time." Hawkeye agreed, and the two archers turned around and fired explosive arrows at a zombie like version of Damian Darhk. "The guy with the most kills wins."
"Bring it." Oliver smirked, drawing back his bow with another arrow. Just then, a blue portal opened, and a streak of yellow lightning ran through the area, followed by a red and blue blur.
"Barry, Kara. Glad you could make it." Oliver grinned. "Where's everyone else?"
"Still on our Earth." Barry replied. "Whatever's happening here is also happening over there." Everyone's blood ran cold, realizing their worlds were beginning to collide.
"Uh, guys-" Iron Man called out, looking up. Every hero followed his gaze, seeing what appeared to be a mirror image of a city hovering over them, but hanging upside down. Oliver and Constantine squinted, noticing some friends, such as Wally West, John Diggle, and Superman were inhabiting that city, hanging upside down as if gravity was reversed. Even with Thor repeatedly slamming his hammer down, Captain America using his shield to protect innocents, and Iron Fist keeping the demonic creatures at bay , more or less everyone else stood with their mouths hanging open. It wasn't until the Hulk roared with pure rage, and Barry Allen through endless lightning bolts, did Jessica Jones utter three words that were on everyone's minds.
"What. The. Fuck?"
Andy quickly swept through each and every room of Poe's house, before hearing footsteps upstairs. With no time to lose, Barclay dashed up the stairs, and upon hearing the sound of pacing behind a bedroom door, he furiously grabbed the doorknob, twisting and pulling at it, but it was locked.
"Edgar Allan Poe!" Andy yelled. "I know you're in there! Come out now, you fucking coward! I'm not scared of you, nor am I impressed by what you're doing!" Andy finally lost his patience, and he kicked the door down, suddenly being transported to a pocket dimension that appeared to be an endless void.
Andy looked down, noticing he was standing on top of a floating, solid black mass, and in front of him, was Poe, with the book closed.
"Amazing." Poe commented, turning towards him. "You have no powers, yet in both realities, you have been able to fight against the demonic and the supernatural."
"Maybe it's just luck." Andy suggested. "Why are you doing this?"
"I was testing your universes." Poe explained. "Because you have forgotten what true horror feels like. Mortals cower behind the likes of super powered individuals, or those with an abundance of technology, to solve their problems for them."
"Sometimes we need superheroes to fight demons." Andy protested. "Do you think the average human can take on someone like Damian Darhk?"
"You could!" Poe snapped, and his eyes began burning with a dark fire. Still, Andy held his ground. "Where were these superheroes during the Dark Ages? Where were they when the Bubonic Plague wiped out thousands?"
"So that's what this is about." Andy accused. "You're all pissed off because we're not afraid anymore. Because people like the Avengers, and the Green Arrow and Flash give us hope."
"Precisely." Poe admitted, opening the book. "If you all cannot remember how dark and cold the world is, then I will show you!" Dark energy flew out of the book and all around Andy, and he was temporarily blinded. A small window to the outside world was created, and he watched outside, helpless as his friends were fighting off hordes of demonic forces.
Constantine was the first to see it, having paired up with Doctor Strange and casting spells left and right.
"Wait… what the bloody Hell is that?" Constantine asked, watching a black smoke exit a window of Poe's house and float into the street, taking the form of a figure in a red and black robe with a pale mask. Strange squinted, as the mask, having blood stained eyeholes, was being taken off, revealing the figure had no face. As soon as the mask came off, the robe crumpled to the ground, as if nothing happened.
"Well, that was odd." Constantine muttered, throwing a fireball at what appeared to be a resurrected Davy Jones, while Sparrow took the opportunity to cut off the monster's many tentacled head. "And considering there's a literal floating city above of us, that's saying something."
"Wait." Strange warned, and his mind clicked. He knew about that figure before. Some type of short story from one of his classes when he was younger- "The Mask of the Red Death." As soon as he said it, the doctor began choking, and he collapsed onto the ground, while his face broke out into blisters and boils. Blood began seeping out of his ears and nose, and Strange started to violently convulse in the middle of the street.
"Uh, Doc?" Constantine gulped nervously, but he started to feel something was off. John looked at his hands, now also covered in blisters. Horrified, the demonologist reached to his nose and pulled back, revealing blood on his fingertips, and he looked around him, noticing all the other heroes, even Supergirl and Lucifer, where having the same effects.
"Oh, bollocks…" Constantine whispered, and he collapsed in the street, beginning the convulsions.
In the bunker, Nica, Alice, and Fury waited patiently with Tommy and Laurie, trying to figure out what just happened.
"Williams, come in!" Fury shouted into his comms, but all that came out was static. "Sparrow! Stark! Anyone!"
"What's happening?" Nica asked, suddenly terrified.
"I don't know." Nick said truthfully, for once not having all the answers.
"No!" Andy screamed, attempting to run and tackle Poe. "Stop this now!" Edgar chuckled, and simply raised his hand, freezing Andy in place.
"Intriguing." Poe lamented. "To think you can yell loud enough, you can control a god."
"You're no god." Andy spat out. Angered, Poe pulled Barclay closer to him, grabbing him by the throat.
"Am I, though?" Poe asked. "I have brought forth a plague to wipe out these pitiful 'superheroes'. I have orchestrated the event that will collapse multiverses. If that is not the power of a god, then you best come up with something better."
"Look, you win, okay?" Andy pleaded. "You wanted to remind people that the world is dark. Well, my whole life has been filled with pain, and suffering. Like you, when I look into my heart, all I see is chaos and darkness. I thought that I had gotten rid of that darkness long ago, but it will always be apart of me, it is who I am. But people like the Avengers, Flash, Supergirl, the Green Arrow. Even my own wife and the pirate, Sparrow, they inspire people to be better. They have inspired me to at least try to be a better person."
"What are you trying to say, Barclay?" Poe asked, interested.
"What I'm saying is that the world doesn't have to be dark." Andy elaborated. "It can have light as well. One must act as a counterbalance to the other. And if you can't see that light and dark have to be balanced in any and all universes, then as far as gods go, you're not a smart one." Poe genuinely smiled at Barclay's monologue, and began chuckling.
"Funny that you should mention your wife and niece," Edgar told Andy. "Because they're not really your family." Andy's eyes widened in shock.
"What?" Barclay blurted out. Poe sighed, waving his hand, and a cloudy vision came up, showing what appeared to be a crowded movie theater. The screen was already playing, and Andy squinted to see what was being shown. Once he did, he wished he could unsee it.
"Hi, I'm Andy." a kid that looked like Andy as a child said enthusiastically. "What's your name?"
"Hi, I'm Chucky, and I'm your friend till the end." a familiar doll with red hair blinked its deep blue eyes. "Hi dee ho! Ha ha ha!"
"He's something, isn't he?" a woman who looked exactly like Andy's late mother asked.
"No. It can't be." Andy moaned, horrified as the scenes switched from him and Kyle running in the Good Guy doll factory, De Silva teaching him how to shoot, getting Chucky in the mail the day before his birthday, and finally, almost shooting Nica, who was possessed by Charles Lee Ray in Harrogate.
"Deep down, you know it's true." Poe taunted cruelly. "You know that where the Green Arrow and the Flash are from, heroes like Spider man, Thor, and the Hulk are fictional characters in movies. And where the Avengers are from, Oliver Queen and Barry Allen are played by actors in television shows. By that logic, you know that somewhere, in some type of universe, you are just a movie character, played by a lesser known actor named Alex Vincent-"
"Enough!" Andy shouted, startling Poe for the first time. "Undo all this!" Poe merely laughed, and handed Andy the gigantic tome.
"I cannot be forced to alter something I do not desire." Edgar told him. "Only you can make your dream a reality. But be warned, it will come at a hefty price."
"What was the price you had to pay?" Andy retorted, beginning to open the book.
"Being cast out of the elder council." Poe revealed. "In order to maintain the balance, I was banished once I bonded with the book." Andy nodded, and turned a page, as darkness began to seep from the paper.
"You said I must give something up to reverse the damage of universes colliding." Andy reminded Poe. "What if I separated all the universes to the way they were before? Where we only exist in those movies or television shows? Including the erasure of these multiverses, and the memories of them?" Poe simply looked at Andy, and gave him a small nod. Smiling in thanks, Barclay stared back at the book and concentrated, as darkness continued to pour out of the pages. After what felt like an eternity, Andy shut the book and turned back to the small window, seeing that the upside down city was gone, the fissure in the street had closed up, and all his friends and heroes were getting up, good as new.
"Are you ready to hold up your end of the bargain?" Poe asked, holding out his hand.
"May I please have time to speak with my wife- Nica?" Andy asked, catching himself. Poe sighed, but reluctantly gave Barclay a silver pocket watch.
"One hour. No more." Edgar instructed, and with a wave of his hand, he transported Andy back to his home in Baltimore.
Andy woke up on the floor of the bedroom, and in an instant, he ran outside to find all his friends were perfectly fine.
"Andy, you old bloke." Constantine smirked, lighting a cigarette. "I knew you could do it."
"Thanks, John." Andy grinned, before he suddenly heard Nick Fury's voice in his comms.
"Barclay, what the Hell just happened-" Fury tried to say, but the communication was quickly taken by an unknown person.
"Andy, are you okay?" Nica's voice sobbed through the earpiece. "Alice and I were worried that you-"
"I'm fine, Nica." Andy reassured her. "Hey, could you and Alice meet me at Josie's bar in Hell's Kitchen? I need to talk with you guys, it's urgent." After hearing his wife say yes, Andy shut off communications, before turning to the other heroes.
"Thank you all for your help. I don't think I could have done this without you." Andy said truthfully. Everyone murmured in agreement, before beginning to leave in various portals.
"Hey, John." Andy called out, and the demonologist stopped. "You mind if you, Lucifer, Oliver, and Ash tag along for a bit? You guys gotta know something."
"Of course, Andy." Constantine grinned, stamping out his cigarette. "As long as you're buying the rounds." Lucifer and Oliver chuckled, while Ash whooped excitedly. Andy shook his head in amusement, and after finding the transdimensional device, set the location for Hell's Kitchen, New York, and the five of them walked into the portal to meet with Nica and Alice.