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All characters are the property of Marvel and DC Comics.

Chapter XXIV

Thor slowly and almost laboriously opened his eyes to a bright light shining done on him. For a split second, he thought he'd fallen in battle and was welcomed to the hallowed gates of Valhalla. That wasn't the case as his eyesight slowly came back into focus and he noticed that the light was only a medical lamp. This was enough to tell Thor that he wasn't on Apokolips, and he didn't feel the influence of Darkseid. Thor had some trouble moving his limbs but his face grimaced as he tried to collect his thoughts. Then a young woman with platinum-color hair and dark blue lips suddenly appeared directly above Thor's face as if examining him.

"Can you hear me? You're safe now." she claimed.

Thor labored a response and replied, "Where am I?"

The woman replied, "You're at S.T.A.R. Labs. My name is Caitlin Snow."

Thor closed his eyes for a moment and asked, "Why is your hair white?"

Caitlin had no idea how to respond to Thor question without… opening old wounds. "It just… is," she said before looking away from Thor. "Dr. Banner…"

Thor reopened his eyes at the call of the familiar name, and then Bruce Banner appeared in the medical room and looked over Thor. "Hey, big guy. How're you feeling?"

"Ugh…. I feel as if I've lost a thousand rounds in a drinking contest with Volstagg." Thor said as Bruce and Caitlin helped him to sit upright.

Steve came into the medical lab with Superman behind them, and Steve quickly approached Thor. "It's good to have you back, buddy."

Thor gave Steve a nod and replied, "Captain… where is Doom?"

"He's still on Apokolips and even we wanted to go back and get him, I doubt the League would let us." Steve said while he glanced at Superman.

Superman simply said, "We can always change our minds."

"Besides, getting you back was a higher priority. Do you remember anything?" Steve asked.

Thor seemed to linger on his thought and shut his eyes in disgrace. "I remember everything. By Odin's beard, what have I done?"

Superman stepped up to speak directly to Thor. "It's not your fault, Thor. Darkseid has ways of worming his way into the minds of anyone and everyone he's ever faced. No one knows that fact better than I do."

Thor stood up and appeared to be slightly unsteady before he righted his stance. "I betrayed those who our most dear to me. I haven't the right to call myself an Avenger."

"Well, you are an Avenger, Thor. Nothing and no one's going to change, ever… not even Darkseid." Steve proclaimed while placing a hand on Thor's shoulder.

Thor gave Steve a slight smile that quickly faded into a mask of terror, as if something had suddenly come to his attention. "Oh no!"

"What is it, Thor?" Steve asked.

"We must gather everyone. Now!" Thor said.

There were times when Cisco just couldn't help himself, and one of those times was happening at that moment when he tried to lift Mjolnir off the desk in the operations room. Cisco silently cursed Wonder Woman off for dropping the hammer on the desk beside all of the computers. This was Cisco's 'place of business' as he put it, and in walked this 'ultra gorgeous Amazon princess', also how Cisco put it and she casually placed the hammer on his desk. Cisco sometimes thought it was a sign of a lack of respect, but he wasn't going to even say that to Wonder Woman of all people. So he just set about continuing to try and lift the hammer even as Barry zipped into the room. A hint of bewilderment washed over Barry's face when found Cisco trying to budge Mjolnir.

"Cisco, are you still trying to lift that thing?" Barry asked.

"Can you really blame me? Wonder Woman just dropped it hear and left. She didn't even ask if she could leave it here."

"Uh… Cisco…" Barry said with wide eyes.

"I'll tell you, Barry; sometimes I think Wonder Woman is arrogant and self-absorbed and full of herself and she's…" Cisco stopped once he saw Barry's trouble gaze. He knew why instantly. "She's standing right behind me, isn't she?"

"What gave my away?" Wonder Woman asked, and Cisco slowly turned around and gave the Amazon a timid smile before backing up.

Wonder Woman cocked an eyebrow before she reached toward the hilt of Mjolnir and picked it off the desk with ease. She walked over to a pedestal in the center of the room that once displayed the hat worn by Jay Garrick and set it there. The hammered seemed to hum a very faint sound as it was rested down on the pedestal. Cisco took a few steps forward but was cautious not to anger Wonder Woman any more than he figured he already had. Wonder Woman stepped aside to allow Cisco to come that much closer to the hammer, and no sooner was he close enough to touch, Tony entered the room.

"Not bad, huh, Cisco?" Tony said.

Cisco lightly breathed a sigh before he replied, "The composition on this hammer is literally out of this world. The metal is something that doesn't even come close to anything on Earth. This Earth anyway."

"Thor once told me that his father told him about how this hammer was forged in the heart of a dying star." Tony said.

"Oh, I would trade both my gauntlets just for one small piece of this bad boy. Whoa, what's this?" Cisco drew Tony and Barry's attention to the side of the hammer.

As a series of characters appeared, Barry said, "Looks like an inscription but I can't read it. If I had to guess, it's probably Norse."

"It's actually Asgardian, Barry." Wonder Woman said.

"How do you know, Diana," Barry asked, and Wonder Woman gave him a look. "Oh, never mind!"

"Whom so ever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor. That's what it says in the inscription." Wonder Woman said.

"I'm impressed." Tony said.

"Glad you think so," said Batman as he walked into the room with Cyborg and Aquaman in tow. "It's time you went back where you belong, Stark."

"What about Doom? He's still hanging around with Darkseid on Apokolips." Tony stated.

"We agreed to help you rescue your friends, and the Justice League has honored that agreement. We're not going to conduct a second mission to capture one of your enemies." Aquaman claimed.

"You don't know Doom like the Avengers do, Aquaman." Tony said.

Batman claimed, "But we do know Darkseid. Sooner or later, Doom will likely outlive whatever usefulness Darkseid sees in him."

"You would be wise to consider Batman's words. The time has come for you and your allies to return to your universe, metal man." Aquaman added.

"Fist of all; it's pronounced Iron Man. Secondly; I don't take orders from a guy wearing an orange and green jumpsuit who can talk to fish." Tony stated.

Aquaman took a step forward with his trident in hand, and he met Tony face to face. "I suggest you measure your next words very carefully." he said.

"Why? Because you may not like them?" Tony challenge.

"Because you may not live long enough to take them back." Aquaman replied, but Tony wasn't about to back down.

Cisco could only comment to Barry, "Oh, we got a super power beat down coming."

"Yeah, that's not good." Barry replied.

Just as Tony and Aquaman were about to come to blow, Superman, Steve and Thor rushed into the room and Steve shouted, "Stand down, Tony."

Superman moved in between the two and held them back. "This isn't the time. It turns out that we've got much bigger problems than we realized."

"What problems?" Wonder Woman asked.

"Invasion!" Thor replied.

"Wait, an invasion? I thought New Genesis prohibited Darkseid from attacking Earth." Barry surmised.

"I'm not speaking of this Earth, Barry Allen," Thor clarified. "Darkseid has targeted our Earth."

Carol started to open her eyes and noticed the light shining down on her. She thought she was dead at first but knew otherwise once she started moving her arms. Carol reached up for her throat and tried to feel for any bruises before she noticed Hal sitting beside her bed on a chair construct. Either he was showing or he really was that good at focusing his willpower. Hal opened his left and instantly sprung up to meet Carol as she was starting to move.

"Hey, you're awake." Hal said.

"Yeah, and think I lost my voice too. What happened?" Carol asked.

Hal sighed briefly and replied, "Well, we got your friend back for starters and now, we're back at S.T.A.R. Labs."

"And Doom? Did we catch him?" Carol asked.

Hal was a bit more hesitant to reply. "Uh, he choked you unconscious. I had no choice but to get you and Banner as far away from him as possible. Doom's still on Apokolips."

Carol dropped back to the bed and sighed in frustration. "You should've taken him down and not worried about me, Hal."

"Hey, it was either him or you. I did what I thought was the right thing and I got you and your big green friend out of harm's way." Hal said with a slight hint of annoyance in his tone.

Carol shot back up in her bed and shouted, "I'm not some god damn damsel in distress, Hal. I'm a soldier. I knew the risk, and you didn't have to get involved."

"I'm a soldier too, Carol, and I didn't get involved just to help you fight Doom. I got involved because…" Hal hesitated for a long moment that felt like an eternity.

"Because what?" Carol asked.

"Because… I care about you, Carol. I… already lost one Carol and I'm not ready to lose another." Hal admitted.

Carol appeared shaken but she moved to the edge of the bed and took a seated position across from Hal. She took his hand in hers and said to him, "You should know by now that I'm not easy to kill. Besides… I really care about you, too."

Hal looked up at Carol and managed to crack a slight smile. He slowly began inching closer to Carol and she did the same. Both were hoping that Barry wouldn't interrupt the moment again. Barry never appeared this time, and Hal and Carol drew closer to each other. Hal cupped Carol's cheeks and drew her just a little closer to him, and Carol didn't fight it. She cupped his cheeks and they both shut their eyes. Just as their lips were about to touch, Caitlin casually walked into the room without pause.

"Hal, Carol, Superman wants you two to…" she said and suddenly stopped once she caught the pair in the middle of… things. "Oh… sorry!"

Hal and Carol pulled away at the last moment when Caitlin appeared. "It's fine, Caitlin. Nothing happened. We were just…"

"Uh, we were just… uh…" Hal stammered.

"Uh…" Carol stammered as well.

"Uh… okay. Superman needs everyone gathered in the lab right away. I'll see you two there… unless you need some time alone." Caitlin said, as if hinting that she was aware of something.

"Thanks, Caitlin," Carol said, and Caitlin left the room. Carol then asked Hal, "You think she noticed anything?"

Hal blurted out, "Probably not."

Doctor Doom stormed into the throne room where Darkseid sat patiently on his throne. "You had the Avengers and Justice League in the palm of your hands and you simply sat by and watched them retreat with Thor."

"You have no right to address the Lord Darkseid in such a…" Kalibak snapped before Doctor Doom backhanded him into a pillar.

"Shut up, monkey," Doom snapped before returning his rage toward Darkseid. "For a man who believes himself the Lord of such a wretched wasteland, you've spent far more time sitting upon your throne and watched the Avengers and Justice League tear your legions apart."

Darkseid rose up from his throne and walked down the steps with a cool and aloof demeanor, while Doom tilted his head to one side with no hint of being impressed or intimidated. Kalibak was starting to come to his senses and watched his father walked by him without a second look. Darkseid was only focused on Doctor Doom and soon was standing less than several inches from him. The difference in height was obvious; Darkseid loomed over Doom but Doom didn't flinch or take a step back. Then without hesitation, Darkseid reached forward and grabbed Doom by his tunic. He lifted the dictator up off the floor, and Doom actually had to grab Darkseid's one arm to steady himself in his grasp. Darkseid's eyes became like the fires of Hell. Aside from struggling to stay steady, Doom showed no fear.

"You are a bigger fool that I believed possible if you think you can intimidate me." Doom defiantly declared.

"You should be intimidated, Doom," Darkseid stated as he set Doom back to the floor. "You should also know by now in any great battle, it is necessary for a general to sacrifice his soldiers for a higher purpose."

Doctor Doom dusted himself off the residue Darkseid left on his person and stated, "You allowed the heroes to escape."

"The battle that only took place was merely a diversionary tactic to blind the heroes from my true plans: absolute conquest of the universe from which your Avengers came. As we speak, my armies are preparing to open a Boom Tube that will send them to your Earth, one upon which New Genesis holds no sway and thus will be unable to prevent me from accomplishing total dominion." Darkseid explained.

"And what of my place in your supposed new dominion? Or was I merely used as your pawn all this time?" Doom wondered with no small hint of anger in his tone.

"You shall have your place as equal to me, Doom. We shall be two monarchs ruling over a single universe, the first of many to be conquered… a new Apokolips." Darkseid claimed.

"And what of the Avengers and the Justice League? Thor will have likely told them of your plans by now." Doom pointed out.

Darkseid sauntered to the window and looked out at the massive battle cruisers rising up into the red sky. "As powerful as your Avengers may be, even alongside the Justice League, they are still merely a few while my armies are many. In the battle to come, they shall all fall to the full might of Apokolips." He proclaimed.

Doom approached Darkseid and stood beside him, looking out at the battle cruisers with veiled interest as they continued to rise up. He crossed his arms, marveling at the sight. But in the back of his mind, Doom was absolutely infuriated. Darkseid had played him for a fool from the very beginning ever since he arrived on Apokolips. Doom now had a score to settle with Darkseid as well as the Avengers. All he had to do was wait for the right moment.

"Please tell me you're yanking my bow, Thor!" Clint begged after hearing what Thor had to say about his time on Apokolips.

"Tis no jest, Barton," Thor replied before going on to repeat what he'd told his team. "Darkseid has assembled an army mightier than what you all faced during your attempt to rescue me from his influence. His plan was to invade our universe."

"You know this for sure how?" Natasha asked.

"Darkseid was quite arrogant enough to tell me himself. Doctor Doom is likely aware of his plans as well. Your initial arrival on Apokolips was a part of his plan." Thor explained.

Steve paced slowly with his arms folded, one hand beneath his chin as if in deep thought. "So it was all a trick. We'd played right into his hands."

"All the more reason why I should regret my own actions." Thor mused.

"None of this was your fault, Thor. If nothing else, we're all to blame for this. The Justice League warned us about Darkseid and we didn't listen to them. Now, our own universe, our Earth, is in danger of being taken over by a despot."

"I hate to say we told you so, Captain." Superman said, and it was clearly not meant as a joke.

"We did tell you so, but you decided not to listen and now, you're universe is paying the price for your arrogance." Aquaman snapped.

"I'm sorry, but don't you have a Megalodon to hunt in the Bermuda Triangle, fish face?" Clint snapped back.

Aquaman pointed his trident in Clint's face and replied, "Maybe you'd like to see the Megalodon up close."

"That would be scientifically improbable as the Megalodon shark is extinct." Vision stated.

"Is it?" Aquaman said with a cocked eyebrow and wicked smirk.

Clint sighed and readied his bow with an arrow, but then Batman stepped in between them. He turned and directly faced Aquaman, stunning the King of Atlantis. "Now is not the time for more infighting, Arthur." Batman proclaimed.

"Did that just happen?" Clint asked Barry.

Barry replied, "Yep!"

Batman gave a menacing glare and compelled Aquaman to retract his trident before addressing the rest of the heroes. "It doesn't matter anymore who was right or wrong, because now the stakes are even higher with Darkseid targeting the Avenger's Earth. If he takes their Earth, that'll only be the first of many more."

"History has proven the very real possibility of a Multiverse. Barry and I have been to several of them before but we last counted at least 52 of them." Cisco explained.

"But you're hypothesizing that there's an infinite numbers and every is similar but different from each other in various." Tony added.

"Yeah!" Cisco said.

"That's why I like you, Cisco." Tony exclaimed.

"Look, talking about the Multiverse theory is fascinating but we've got bigger concerns," Steve said before he personally addressed Batman. "Batman, I understand that we've had our differences before and we've already asked for your help in saving one of our own. But right now, we need to ask you for your help in saving our world from Darkseid."

Batman stared Steve in the face as if he was about to burn a gaping hole through the flesh and bone. "It was never going to be a debate, Captain."

"Why the sudden change of heart, Batman? You were so hellbent on sending us back home without Thor, and now you're willingly coming with us just because I asked." Steve stated.

"This entire situation is bigger that individual egos. The Justice League aren't about to let Darkseid win. Besides, you and your team were going to return to your world one way or another. So we're all going to make sure that the Avengers a world to return to." Batman stated.

Steve stared Batman down and replied, "Thanks... I think."

"You've been guests in our universe. It's about time the Justice League evened things up. It might actually be interesting." Superman said.

"It wouldn't be the first time I traveled to another Earth." Barry said.

"My conscious is pretty clear. Count me in." Cyborg added.

"Me too." Hal said, and Carol gave him a slight smirk in response.

"Arthur?" Superman turned to Aquaman said.

Aquaman huffed and sighed, "Just as long as they return to where they came from."

Clint rolled his eyes before he spotted Raven sitting in the corner and he walked up to her. Kneeling down beside her, Clint asked, "You okay, kid?"

"I'm fine, but I almost put everyone in more danger that just against Darkseid. If my father had gotten free…" Raven said.

"We'd be seriously screwed. But this is hardly the first time we've been down that road and it won't be the last time." Clint stated.

"I'm too dangerous, Clint."

"Maybe so, but I think we're going to need you to be dangerous to help save our world." Clint replied, and Raven gave him a nod to signify her allegiance.

Meanwhile Tony walked up to Cisco and asked him, "You up for a trip to the other side?"

"Seriously? You want me to help you guys." Cisco said with beaming eyes.

"Assuming that you can handle yourself in a big fight, yeah." Tony replied.

Caitlin said, "If Barry and Cisco are going to help fight, then so am I."

"You sure about this, Caitlin? It might be too big a risk that the Killer Frost side of you might come out." Barry said.

"Everyone has a dark side, Barry. It's just a matter of how you use it." Caitlin stated, looking at Bruce Banner.

Bruce responded, "That's actually pretty inspiring."

Natasha joined Steve and Tony and said to them, "Well, I guess that settles that. All we need to do now come up with a damn good plan."

"I thought we could just make it all up as we go." Tony quipped.

Steve chuckled at the comment Tony made while Wonder Woman smirked at the seemingly universal agreement between the heroes before he sight settled on Thor. Thor was standing over Mjolnir as it rested on the pedestal and was motioning his hand over the hilt. There was a certain hesitance in his movement and Wonder Woman knew the reason. She approached him, and Thor didn't even look up to meet her gave. He just stood before the hammer and contemplated his next move… or even he was going to make one at all.

"You should take the hammer, Thor. It belongs to you." Wonder Woman said.

Thor still appeared apprehensive to take the hilt, telling Wonder Woman, "I am no longer certain that I'm worthy to wield Mjolnir, not after I betrayed those closest to me."

Steve came up to Thor and told him, "That wasn't you, Thor. As far as I'm concerned you're still worthy."

Wonder Woman reached and grabbed hold of the hilt before holding the hammer up to Thor, as if waiting for him to take it. "There's only one to find out."

Thor looked at Wonder Woman as she held the hammer right in front of him. He then gave Steve a look, and Steve returned a subtle nod of approval. With the faith of his fellow Avenger bolstering him, Thor took the hammer from Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman released her grip and the hammer remained in Thor's grip without dropping to the floor. Thor tightened his grip on the hilt and he gave Steve his own nod. Steve smiled and patted Thor on the shoulder.

"Welcome back, Thor," he said before turning to the rest of the Avengers. He declared, "Avengers, it's time to go home."

Author's Note: I know, this one took some time since I've been busy as usual. This chapter came at a slower pace than the previous ones just to get everyone's bearings, myself included.

Darkseid's true master plan is revealed, as he's coming for the Avenger's Earth. Doom isn't taking kindly to being used.

Thor is back where he belongs, and poor Hal and Carol's tender moment is interrupted again… this time by Caitlin. It also looks like Vibe and Killer Frost are going to join the fight.

Oh yes, the finale is approaching. So get ready and please leave some reviews.

P.S.

I found my ending theme, and I think you might like it.