"You dare defy me, O-Neill?"

Anubis raised himself to his full height. Colonel Jack O'Neill was, as usual, undaunted.

"You know me, Anubis. Of course I dare."

O'Neill fired his phaser, sending this version of Anubis back to his home universe, along with a Bizarro version of Lois Lane.

"There was a bizarre couple," Daniel Jackson murmured. He paused only briefly in firing his phaser. "No pun intended."

"They were indeed bizarre, Daniel Jackson. But no more so than our basic situation."

With his thumb, O'Neill gestured to his large friend. "What Teal'c said."

Next to O'Neill, Teal'c fired his specially enhanced staff weapon which now fired rays to send displaced persons and creatures (the "lost") back home. With each direct hit made by the staff weapon, a lost one returned to his or her indigenous universe.

In firing his special staff weapon, Teal'c used his cybernetic hand, similar to one worn by Victor Stone (aka Cyborg). The cybernetic hand became necessary after an encounter with a displaced Darth Vader.

"Wow," Daniel said. "Sorry. Don't mean to be distracted but...Wow."

"Wow what, Daniel?" O'Neill said.

"I just never thought I'd be working with the Avengers and the X-Men."

"That's nice, Daniel. But let's concentrate on getting everyone home. Including us."

After a simple nod, Daniel started shouting in other languages, offering words of encouragement and reassurance to some of the lost.

Teal'c was more reserved in his speech. "These 'Guardians of the Galaxy' seem most formidable though also unpredictable."

"Can't believe I'm working with a talking tree," O'Neill muttered.

O'Neill, Teal'c and Daniel fired phasers from the base of the Empire State Building where the Avengers, along with the Guardians of the Galaxy, held back an army of the Joker's Time-Blasters. Nearby, the X-Men fought displaced creatures, which included Orcs and giant Gremlins.

Above all that, Major Samantha Carter operated the power source for Teal'c's staff weapon, the phasers and Wolverine's enhanced claws. She did this aboard the time-bubble of Brainiac-5.

Below that time-bubble, Wolverine ran and leaped and waved his claws, which gave off waves of energy.. All around him, the lost vanished. That's because Wolverine's claws were now like Teal'c's staff weapon, able to send away Jaffa, Klingons and Terminators with a simple wave.

This is how the Joker usually does things, O'Neill thought as he continued to fire away.

Jaffa, Klingons and Terminators. The Joker seemed to favor those. Daniel said it was because evil had a limited imagination. Witness the Empire and two Death Stars.

While lacking imagination, the Joker was still annoying. He had made New York City ground central for a temporal invasion. A series of portals allowed the "lost" to pop up in Manhattan. Looking quite lost when they did.

Which meant the Joker was losing his power. Usually, he got the "lost" in a properly enraged state before he sent them somewhere unfamiliar. That way, they would unthinkingly fight anyone they ran into.

Now all you had were different version of Harry Potter, Doctor Who and Superman, among others, popping in and looking confused just before being zapped home. Of course, there was still the possibility of a universal breakdown. And it didn't help to have all these giant Gremlins and roaring Klingons running around.

Roaring Klingons? Why were they roaring?

"Are they caveman Klingons?" O'Neill wondered aloud. Briefly, he thought of when he and Carter went primitive and she wore this tiny tank top number.

No more chance to reflect. Above the colonel, Nightcrawler "bamfed" all over the area. Confused folks would show up—among them different versions of Catwoman, Riddler, Two-Face, Lex Luthor and Daredevil—and Nightcrawler phasered them home.

Thanks to the added help, the lost were soon no more, and New York was calm, at peace. Relatively speaking.

"And hopefully the folks here appreciate the absence of Klingons and giant Gremlins," O'Neill said with a wave of his cap. In his mind, he pictured the Joker with a sullen pouty look on his giant clown face.

"All clear, sir," Carter said from the time-bubble.

As O'Neill stepped aboard with Daniel and Teal'c, he thought of Clark. Daniel said Clark was "glued" to Prime Earth now. When Daniel explained what that meant, the colonel had only pretended to listen and understand.

As the time bubble sailed through the void, O'Neill said, "It'll be good to have Clark back and put an end to all this."

Which raised the question: What was Clark doing?

"Hey, Clark. Welcome back to the land of the living, man."

As he rubbed his eyes, Clark Kent struggled to orient himself. But even in the dark he knew the voice of his best friend.

"Pete?" Clark whispered in a groaning sleepy voice. "Am I...home?"

"Not exactly. This is a Time Protector Ship in invisible orbit around Prime Earth."

"Of course it is." As Clark sighed, Pete chuckled.

"You'll find the ship is a lot like home. It's got rooms just like the ones on your parents' farm. There's even a loft." The figure in the dark laughed. "Just none of the animal smells."

Just like Home Base, Clark thought. But then he saw there was an Elmer Fudd night light, and in the glow he saw he was wearing Snoopy boxer shorts.

"If this isn't actually home, how did you get here, Pete?"

Again, the young man laughed. "I'm not actually Pete Ross. Just a cosmic being taking his form. Some would call me Cosmic Pete."

"I'll just call you Pete," Clark decided.

Activating automatically, like a mechanical version of Daniel reciting the Background, a computer program droned about how the Silver Surfer's people from Universe X had agreed to become these shape-shifting impersonators known as "insights," though more commonly called the Cosmics. It was a way for the people to make up for all the worlds Galactus had devoursed while sparing their own world. Clark not only ignored the droning but held his ears.

"Hey. That's just like something Colonel O-Neill would do," Cosmic Pete said with a little laugh in his voice. "Anyway, here you are." He held out his hands. "All this is courtesy of the Q and the Ancients."

"Nice of them to take time out from holding all the multiple universes together," Clark said. "And how did I get here?"

"Team MacGyver brought you. You know, your friends the 'Big Bang' guys?"

Clark had some hazy memory of being in Belle Reve. After that, a timemobile. Then images and names popped into his head.

"Raj...Howard...Leonard...Sheldon," Clark said.

"Who could forget Sheldon, right? That's good, Clark." Pete nodded and smiled. "Your brain's been all jumbled up, thanks to the Joker. But stuff is starting to come back to you."

Clark shook his head. "Galactus. Q. The Ancients. I'm kind of tired of all this strange weird stuff. Get me back home to meteor freaks, Sam Phelan type guys, and Perry White."

Fake Pete laughed again. "Careful, Clark. You're starting to sound a lot like Colonel O-Neill."

"I don't know if that's a compliment or not."

C-Pete gave him a tap on the arm. "Don't worry about S-G-One. The Joker split them up but they got back together."

"Good to know the band's back together. Speaking of the old gang, how do I get back to them?"

"Some other people will give you the four-one-one on that a little later." He gave Clark another light tap. "For now, try not to worry if you're a little disoriented. The Joker hit you with a lot of red kryptonite. I mean a lot, man." He chuckled. "Just be glad that even though you're now 'glued' to Prime Earth, you can spend the decades of recovery on this ship instead of wandering around homeless. 'Cause even with powers that would still suck, man."

Suddenly, Clark felt a wave of dizziness. Once it passed, he looked around. "Hey, this looks like my room at Home Base."

"Yeah, you're still a little bit out of it." Pete smiled as he waved to the door. "Come on, Clark. I'll show you around."

"Let's go." Clark started for the door. With a bemused smile, Pete held out a hand.

"First, you might want to put on something other than Snoopy boxer shorts."

"Right," Clark said. "I think I might have something in red and blue," he joked.

But as he moved to put on clothes, Clark felt pain, searing physical pain and excruciating mental agony.

Fortunately, it was brief. But it might be a while before he could do any more time travel super-saves.

For now, Clark went on the tour.

"Here's the kitchen," C-Pete explained cheerfully. "And this is our cook Neelix."

"A cosmic duplicate of Neelix, actually."

As the fake Neelix spoke, Clark imagined Daniel telling him Neelix was an alien aboard the lost Federation starship "Voyager."

The figure with mottled skin and bright friendly yellow eyes looked like a large cheerful elf. "How do you do, Mister Kent? Would you care for a dish from your homeworld of Krypton?"

"No. Thanks."

"How about a Vulcan dish?"

"Just some pancakes would be fine." In his still-hazy mind, Clark wondered. Was there a cosmic duplicate of Ryan? How about Shelby?

"Coming right up. Let me just deliver this other order." Neelix held a cup and a plate as he moved across the dining room. "Coffee with honey and pancakes with powdered sugar."

Clark looked at a nearby table. Sitting there were two familiar figures. A tall blond-haired man and a petite red-haired woman.

Clark bolted. "Mom? Dad?"

The one who looked like Jonathan smiled. "We're actually cosmic beings taking the form of your parents."

"Of course you are." Suddenly, Clark felt a huge crashing headache. A moment later, it was gone.

"We're here to guide you through this crisis," fake Martha said.

Clark offered a wry skeptical grin. "Thanks just the same, I'd prefer my real parents."

Cosmic Jonathan laughed. "I think you know they're frozen in time along with Perry White and everyone else in Smallville. At least until the Joker is put out of business."

"I'll be glad when this is all over and they're unfrozen," Clark said in a slightly sullen tone.

Holding up a finger and briefly standing on his toes, C-Pete smiled. "Sounding like Colonel O-Neill again."

"He certainly does, Pete." After a slight chuckle, C-Jonathan turned his attention back to Clark. "Listen, Clark, there's no doubt that your parents are very capable people. But they aren't able to deal with a situation like this."

"Who is?" Clark said. Briefly, he recalled when he once ran away from the team and ran home, only to find Smallville looking like a scene from "The Langoliers." Only instead of an empty town the people were there, just still and frozen.

"The Joker has made you very sick, Clark," C-Martha said. "You need your rest."

Clark wanted to protest but felt numb, dizzy and hot all at once.

"And you're going to get it. Decades of it, on this ship." C-Jonathan had the same gentle insistent laughing tone as Clark's real dad. "Doctor's orders."

"You're not a doctor," Clark said.

"Your real parents aren't doctors," C-Pete said. "These two are."

Clark found himself unable to respond. Not just from being dazed and confused. From temporary paralysis. That could get annoying.

Oh. There. Back to normal. Clark breathed a sigh of relief.

C-Jonathan explained more. "Occasionally you will go out to help people on other worlds. You'll also help people in the altered timeline."

Clark made a face. "Why would I help people in a timeline that's going to be changed back?"

C-Martha gave him a look. "Because, Clark, there are people who need hope. You can give it to them."

Briefly, Clark considered. "Okay," he said. "But you're not my real parents. You didn't find me in tht cornfield."

"No, we didn't," C-Jonathan said.

"You found us," C-Martha said.

There was a reason Clark had to help people in the altered timeline. Daniel had explained it once. When a timeline is changed, people instinctively remember the lost timeline and try to bring it back. That was why many of the same people were born, many of the same events still took place.

But people in a new timeline might also experience some trauma when the timeline was changed back.

That's why Clark's new mission was important. The more Clark could help people in the altered timeline, the less traumatic it would be for them when the original timeline was restored. The more hope he could give people in general, the less traumatic for everyone.

So over the decades, Clark slept aboard the Time Protector Ship. Occasionally, he left to help different people in different time periods.

As Clark popped up helping people over the decades, a legend developed of an anonymous figure who gave people hope.

That figure became known as the Hero.

Tess Mercer huddled under her sea-blue blanket, the one given her by her friend Linus, despite the protests of Linus' crabby sister Lucy. Linus said it would give Tess a feeling of security.

Tess' stepfather complained bitterly about the gift. Tess sometimes wished her talking doll would come to life and push her stepfather down the stairs. Or maybe her friend from school, Crazy Norman, would actually go crazy and do it.

Under her blanket, Tess entered another world. Sometimes she pretended she was the daughter of a billionaire and she helped save the world from an interplanetary invasion. When a big red fireball planet hovered in the sky, Tess was part of a super-team that helped save the world. Just like in the "Star Team" books.

But on this night, Tess did something new. She pretended she was "The Little Mermaid."

As part of that, she softly sang "Part of That World." On other nights, she sang a song of greeting to Sebastian the crab, a song that repeated the phrase "how do we do." When she sang to Sebastian, Tess pretended she was a go-go dancer in a green and white dress. There was even an Elvis impersonator present to sing along with her.

But on this night, Tess sang "Part Of That World." It was while she was in the middle of the second verse that her stepfather walked in.

At first, Tess gasped then she whimpered, "Oh, no." How hard would she get hit tonight? Would she have to go to the hospital?

As she cowered under the sea-blue security blanket, she couldn't stifle her gasps as she waited for the inevitable blow.

But all she heard was a voice.

"You don't want to do that."

She heard her stepfather make a noise, a confused grunt like "huh?"

Tess looked out. A tall figure in black had her stepfather by the wrist.

"If you ever touch her again, I'll be back."

Then the tall one in black was gone. Tess felt a gust of wind in her face.

After giving Tess a quick terrified look, the stepfather quickly left.

Wow. Tess thought if she was ever on a super-team, she wanted someone like that guy with her.

Tess went back to singing. A little more loudly this time.

"Daniel Jackson?"

At first, Doctor Daniel Jackson looked startled by the appearance of the tall man in the long black trenchcoat. Then, as he pushed his glasses up, Daniel looked and sounded mildly peevish.

"I'm sorry. Now is not a good time. If you can come back during regular office hours..."

As Daniel moved toward his office door, the figure in black spoke in a quiet even tone. .

"I just wanted to let you know that even though people don't accept your theories now, one day you'll see that you were right. About everything."

The voice was calm, authoritative, matter-of-fact, reassuring.

In his tweed coat with patched sleeves and his sharp-edged futuristic-looking glasses, Daniel looked slightly flustered.

"That's all good and fine thank you very much. But now still is not a good time."

Daniel moved to close the door. But then he saw the man in black was gone.

As he plopped down in the wooden swivel chair behind his desk, Daniel started thinking he should get more sleep. Otherwise he might start hallucinating ascended beings and such.

During a brief visit to another world (he couldn't be away from Prime Earth for very long thanks to the Joker and his manipulations), Clark stopped a Terminator from taking out Howard and Marian Cunningham. The situation so unnerved them that they did not have their planned romantic evening.

Consequently, on that world, Chuck Cunningham was never born.

"Sheldon Cooper?"

"Oh, what fresh hell is this?" the tall lanky boy genius muttered. As he turned, he bowed his head so that he only glimpsed the tall man in black. With long lanky arms slightly bent at his side, young Sheldon stood with eyes directed at the ground.

"Whatever it is, get it over with," he said.

"Don't worry, Sheldon, I'm not here to hurt you. I just wanted to let you know that even though things are tough for you now, they will get better."

"How would you know? Are you from the future?" Abruptly jerking his head up, Sheldon lit up and gasped. "You are! You are from the future! Oh, please take me with you. Please, please, please!"

The tall man smiled. "You have your own future to go to, Sheldon."

"I bet it won't be as good as the one you're from."

"It'll be fun."

A slight bow of the head again. "Well, now is not fun."

"Maybe this will make 'now' better." The tall one held out a take-out container. "Try some Thai food."

When the stranger suddenly disappeared, Sheldon did a slight double-take, briefly moving his head back and forth. After that, he was so busy munching on his new food he didn't have time to think of a possible explanation. .

Thai food. Not bad.

It'd be even better if it was made to exact specifications. Most things should be exact.

As he reflected on this, Sheldon sat near his locker, on the left end of a wooden bench. His usual spot.

"Here's what I don't understand." Officer James Edwards marched back and forth in the dimly lit alley. Members of the notorious gang, the Bugs, were up against the wall. "Why you Bugs got to be coming down here to my part of town raising all this ruckus. Snatchin' up purses and stuff. Don't start nothin', won't be nothin', I always say."

While the Bugs stood in handcuffs, Edwards held up his badge. "See this? N-Y-P-D! That means I will knock your punk anterior down!" Edwards had been fined by the Global Consortium often enough that he'd learned to clean up his language.

With his partner briefly absent checking out a disturbance, Edwards knew he had to sound tough. To keep the Bugs in line. What tough thing should he say next?

A clatter, a commotion. Edwards whirled and aimed his weapon. At the sight of a lone figure, he lowered his revolver, but only a little. .

Briefly, Edwards glimpsed the young man in Bug colors, the one who lay unconscious at the feet of the tall figure. Looking up, Edwards saw the long black trenchcoat and the familiar white "S" on the chest.

"You," Edwards said. "The Hero."

The figure in black smiled. "In Metropolis they call me the Blur. How do you know me?"

"Everyone knows the Hero. You've been popping up in different cities for years. Ever since the Depression. You saved that what's-her-name, the science fiction writer." Now the gun went down completely. "Man, how old are you now?"

"You're only as old as you feel." The tall one grinned as he held up a forefinger. "Just wanted to tell you something, Jay."

"Only my partner calls me Jay."

"Maybe someday you'll get a new partner, doing something new." Now he pointed his finger. "That's what I wanted to tell you. If you get a chance to be a part of something new, something big, take it."

He was gone, leaving only a slight gust of wind.

In almost the same moment, James' partner returned. Even in a police uniform, the tall Kate Beckett looked like a model.

"Jay, what happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened, Kay: while you were off checking the area, the Hero was here."

As they escorted the cuffed Bugs to a squad car, "Jay" told "Kay" the story.

In response, Beckett grinned. "Maybe we should leave that out of the official report."

"Maybe." Edwards also grinned. "He said someday I'd have a new partner. With my luck, it'll be a grumpy old man."

"And I'll get someone full of wild theories."

"Oliver Queen?"

The tall blond-haired man lay on his side in the shadiest part of the island. He struggled to lift his head to look at the tall man. Actually, with the sun to his back, the tall man was more like a tall dark silhouette.

"It's all right, man," Oliver said weakly. "I know you're not real."

Real or not, silhouette guy had a pleasant enough voice.

"Just wanted to tell you someday you'll get off this island. And you'll help save a lot of lives."

"Look forward to it," a sweating Oliver gasped. "But now still kind of sucks. Hey, man, wouldn't happen to have a cheeseburger on you, would you?"

"As a matter of fact..."

As Oliver ate, he still insisted the tall figure in black wasn't real. I mean, who wears a long black coat when it's this hot out? The cheesebuger seemed real enough, though.

While on the island for three years, Oliver was at times subject to hallucinations. Sometimes they involved a native tribe that taught him how to shoot arrows.

Other times they involved a figure named Deathstroke, an exploding plane, a submarine with a Doctor Tivo, and even secret missions with a slim black woman named "Amanda Waller." Though sometimes she was a very large black woman.

What Oliver didn't realize was that the island had weak points between dimensions, and his hallucinations were really visions of other worlds, other realities. Some involved an Oliver Queen from "Starling City" who worked with such people as Felicity Smoak, John Diggle and Ray Palmer, also known as the Atom.

Later when he got off the island, along with one Tess Mercer, Oliver heard that his old schoolmate Lex Luthor had spent time on a deserted island. What Oliver did not know was that Lex had his own hallucinations on that island.

Lex's hallucinations involved a young man named "Gilligan" who, through sheer clumsiness, kept everyone else from getting off the island. Everyone else included a skipper, a movie star, a millionaire and his wife. And the rest.

There were also survivors of a plane crash, among them a Jack Shepherd, a "Freckles," and a Sawyer. They all encountered a polar bear walking around in a tropical climate.

There was also Lex's invisible friend, the mysterious and obnoxious Louis.

By the time he left the island, Lex forgot most of his hallucinations. He remembered only the psychotic Louis.

During his time as the Hero, Clark never visited Lex on that island.

"Michael Westen?"

Michael turned just in time to see the tall figure in black drop someone on his couch.

Naturally, Michael already had his gun pulled. The tall one already had both hands up.

"Think it through, Michael. If I got in without you noticing and I wanted to hurt you-"

"You already would have." Michael lowered his weapon but did not holster it. Then he had a look of realization, and awe. "You're him. The one who saved Edie Kirk. She modeled Cyrus after you."

"You know your 'Star Team' books."

"Those books helped me through a lot when I was a kid."

The Hero smiled. "Even though you're not a spy any more, you're doing a lot, making a difference using your spy skills to help everyday people."

"Glad to hear it." Michael attempted bravado in his voice, though he still looked slightly stunned and awed. Unusual for him.

"I kind of owe you one, Michael."

"How do you figure?"

"A friend and I were visiting Miami, and we got in the way of you meeting with a contact. So here he is." The Hero nodded to the figure on the couch. "What are you and Sam going to do to get information from this guy? Pretend to throw someone out a window?"

"Something like that."

"You're a hero in your own way, Michael. From now on, I'll try to keep my friends out of your way."

Leaving only a gust of wind, the tall one vanished.

"I think we'll be all right," Michael said quietly.

"Who are you?" Clark asked.

The woman wore what looked like a white evening gown with a toga-type top. Her curly blond hair was up, and she had a sweet smile.

"It's me, Kal-El. Your mother."

Clark was so disoriented he let the use of his Kryptonian name slip right by him.

"You're not Martha Kent."

"No, I'm not," she said with a slight laugh. "I don't know who that is." Then came a look of slight concern and confusion. "Are you all right, my sweet Kal-El?"

That was when Clark recognized the voice. When he was held involuntarily at Summerholt, scientists experimented on his mind, and Clark relived his earliest memory. (Actually, Clark only knew this and other events from watching episodes of "Smallville" with the "Big Bang" guys. Since Clark was pulled out of his timeline after he ran away from Perry White, Summerholt hadn't happened for him yet.) In this early memory, his Kryptonian mother put him in the ship, and Clark heard her say, "Goodbye, my sweet Kal-El."

"Lara," Clark said.

She made a face. "Please do not be so familiar with me, my son. Call me 'Mother.'" She studied him closely. "Kal, what has happened to you?"

"I feel fine," Clark said absently. He recalled that he said that when he first met Lois Lane. Again, he knew that from an episode. It was so weird knowing about his future from a TV show. No wonder he was such easy prey for the Joker and his mind games.

Now what was the situation here? Had the Joker somehow transported him to Krypton?

Clark looked around at the white triangles on the wall. From yet another episode, he knew the architecture.

"Is this...the Fortress?"

Again, Lara laughed. "I don't know what a 'Fortress' is."

Clark wondered how his Kryptonian mother would feel if she knew the loft in his barn was called his "Fortress of Solitude."

"This is Krypton," Lara said, holding her hands out.

"I get it. The Joker's trying to change my past here. Just like Brainiac did once."

Lara frowned. "My son, what are you talking about? Brainiac saved our planet."

Now Clark frowned. "That's not right. Krypton was destroyed."

"Oh, Kal, of course it wasn't."

His "mother" began more earnest pleading but Clark wouldn't have any of it.

"This isn't real," he insisted. Raising his fist, he leaped through the air.

As he flew, various figures leaped out at him. Greg Arkin. Jeremy Creek. Tina Greer. Ian Randall. Justin Gaines. Sean Kelvin. "Help me, Clark," Chloe pleaded as she held out chained hands. As the pleading Chloe vanished, Pete jumped out at him with stretchy arms.

Once Pete vanished, others swooped in and tried to grab Clark. The "Big Bang" guys as members of the Borg. Lex. Brainiac.. Bizarro. Doomsday. Zod.

"This isn't real!" Clark roared.

Dodging all his attackers, Clark flew through the ice wall, creating an explosion of shards.

Once through the wall, Clark briefly flew. Once he landed in the field where his ship was found, Clark made a super-leap in which he landed on top of a moving semi. There, the Joker, one hundred feet tall, looked down on the kneeling Clark.

"Let's re-enact a scene from 'Speed,'" the Joker said. Bouncing his head up and down, he spoke in a voice that was screechier than usual. "I'm smarter than you, Clark, I'm smarter than you! And I'm taller, too!"

"Don't let him get to you, Clark."

Turning to his left, Clark saw O'Neill giving him a reassuring look. Someone tapped him on the right shoulder. When Clark turned that way, he found his dad.

"You can do this, son," Jonathan said with calm authority.

After nodding to each man, Clark made another super-leap. At the height of that leap, the Joker descended on Clark, briefly taking the form of Dark Phoenix as he loudly screeched like an eagle. Briefly, Clark and the Phoenix-form struggled. Once the Joker reverted back to his usual form, the two flew through the air spinning around and wrestling. Just like when Clark fought Zod-inside-Lex on Dark Thursday.

When Clark and the Joker landed inside the Kent barn, they created a giant zig-zag in the ground, like an earthquake had hit. On that broken ground, they circled each other like Kirk and Spock fighting each other on Vulcan, sans weapons (as Chloe might say). Just like in the episode "Amok Time," Clark and the Joker did their fight dance, and music from that episode played loudly in the background. Wooden support structures in the barn vibrated. The huge crack in the ground sealed up.

Despite all the chaos and distraction, Clark struggled to form a few coherent thoughts. Just like Daniel and Teal'c had taught him to do. From experience, the two had determined thinking clearly was a good way to counter a mental attack by the Joker.

So Clark focused on basics. The Joker's central targets were Smallville, Stargate and Starfleet. All three were extremely influential in the Prime Universe. Smallville paved the way for the Age of Heroes and later the Legion. Through its early interplanetary exploration, SG-1 eventually paved the way for Starfleet.

Even Smallville impacted Starfleet. Early transporter research began with the study of Alicia Baker's teleportation ability.

As Clark thought on these things, images briefly appeared. The Justice League. Alicia. Kirk and Spock. The Legion. The Joker swatted at the images, sending them away.

Still, Clark focused. SG-1. Smallville. Starfleet. Attacking these meant maximum damage to the Prime Universe. That meant maximum chaos. And the Joker was all about chaos. He thrived on it. And changes to the timeline made him more powerful.

"That's why S-G-One and I are on the front lines," Clark muttered as he and the Joker continued to circle each other in the barn.

"Really?" The Joker's eyes widened dramtically, like some Tex Avery cartoon animal. Stretching his neck, he looked back and forth. "I don't see all of you together."

"We'll be together again," Clark insisted. He was barely heard over the noise. "We'll change everything back."

"Good luck with that, Clarkie-boy," the Joker said in a squeaky voice.

"You won't win, Joker."

"Enough of this!" The Joker rose and began kicking Clark, Matrix-style. The sharp kicks brought Clark down to the ground, where the Joker, cackling loudly, towered over him.

In the background, people cheered. This included students from Smallville High, clad in red and yellow. Tina Greer, Ian Randall, and Eric Summers were at the forefront.

Starfleet crew members were also there, all of them clad in bright blue, red and yellow. Sulu from the Mirror Universe was there; Clark recognized him by the scar and evil narrow dark eyes. He once watched that episode with Daniel, Sheldon and Leonard.

Also present were Stargate Command people in drab green. At the head of the Stargate crowd were Sergeants Silas and Harriman. The two shouted odds as they collected money from Starfleet and Stargate people alike. .

Ignoring the obvious distractions, Clark used his heat vision to try to zap the Joker. Unfortunately, the clown moved back and forth with Bart-like super-speed. He even briefly sprouted Bart's head.

"Bad aim there, Stretch," he said in Bart's voice. "Smell you later." Then back to the Joker head and laugh.

Clark was about to land a punch when the Joker then assumed the form of Ryan James.

"You didn't save me, Clark," he said in Ryan's voice.

Clark staggered back. "I couldn't," he said weakly. Then he gritted his teeth. "No, Joker. I won't let you—I made a difference in Ryan's life. Whatever happened to him later, I got him away from his stepfather. I made a difference in his life.."

The Joker then morphed into Edith Keeler.

"Just like you did mine."

At first, Clark staggered back a little. But then came a look of determination.

"We'll change it back!"

Edith-Joker blinked his/her eyes. "But, Mister Kent, I'm living such a nice life in Smallville. You won't take that away from me, will you?"

Clark was too stunned to respond. That was when the Joker returned to fighting Matrix-style. It was all Clark could do to block the kicks. The Joker had weakened him, no doubt about it.

The fight rapidly switched to the Gate Room of the Stargate Command base.

Clark found his fists made no contact: the Joker teleported like Alicia, each time leaving green wisps behind which Clark could only grab at. When there was a break in the action, Clark slowly turned around. A mirror showed him he had a large black eye. .

"Ha! Take that, Clarkie-boy!" The Joker dived down from the top of the Stargate. His gloved fist made contact, causing Clark's face to stretch like rubber. With loud squishing noises, his cheeks expanded and wobbled.

As Clark wobbled slightly, General Hammond's voice carried over a loudspeaker.

"Doctor Jackson! Put a stop to this! Now!"

A frowning Daniel stood between Tina Greer and Mirror Sulu.

"Uh, sure," he said. Looking slightly confused, he lifted a finger. "How exactly do I stop them?"

Lana, wearing a red Starfleet uniform, appeared in front of Clark.

"You can't win, Clark," she said.

Clark erupted. "Get out of my head, Joker!"

"Take him out, Clark," O'Neill said with his hand on his left shoulder.

Jonathan had his hand on Clark's right shoulder. "You can do this, son."

Clark turned to the Joker with his most steely look. Once again, he leaped with his right fist raised, just as he had done with the Bizarro-Phantom.

"Oh, that old trick again?" the Joker said in a bored voice. Casually, he put out his right hand to block Clark's punch. Using his other hand, he gestured yawning.

Clark got him with the left. The mighty punch sent the Joker flying, burrowing a tunnel out of Cheyenne Mountain and screeching loudly as he did.

That's when Clark woke up. As he slowly rose, he saw he was in a dark alley. The skyline at the other end suggested he was in New York City. Another reminder of how he saved Edith Keeler. The Joker trying to discourage him. But he knew he'd set things right with SG-1.

As Clark stumbled toward the nearest space-time tunnel, he thought how he'd won a battle with evil. But only for now. In any battle with evil, there was no once-for-all victory. Any such battle was always ongoing.

Jack Bauer pointed his gun at Lex Luthor. Next to Jack, Clark looked concerned, even alarmed.

"Jack, what are you doing?"

"I'm doing my job, Clark! Don't interfere!"

Clark considered his options. With super-speed, he could quickly grab the gun from Jack, just like he did once when Pete, under the influence of the Nicodemus flower, pulled a gun on Lex.

Clark's eyebrows wrinkled up as he frowned. That thing with Pete only happened a couple of years ago, it felt like. But how could that be? Clark had been a government agent for years, often working with Jack and NCIS.

Next to Clark, the Counter Terrorist Unit agent kept his weapon on Lex as he spoke in an angry snarling voice. "What do you know about the nuclear bomb Peter Kingsley tried to set off in Los Angeles?"

Though he had his hands up, Lex also had that air of defiance about him. "Look, I didn't know anything about a bomb. I only invested in Kinglsey's oil interests. That's it. That's the truth." He shifted his eyes to his friend. "You have to believe me, Clark."

Clark held out an open palm to his friend. "I believe you, Lex." Sure, he could grab the gun. But maybe he could just let this play out. Jack wouldn't actually shoot Lex. Would he?

To Clark's relief, Jack lowered his weapon to his side. He spoke in a grim tight voice.

"If I find out you had anything to do with that nuclear bomb, or the case we're investigating now, you will wish to God you never set foot in Smallville. You believe me."

Clark couldn't help thinking that something about this situation was not quite right.

"Clark," someone said.

Clark turned. "Pete," he said.

Yeah, it looked like Pete, except this guy was glowing. For a moment, Clark's X-ray vision activated, and he could see Pete's muscles. Just like when he and Pete were climbing ropes in gym class and Clark's new see-through ability was first developing.

And that happened just a couple of years ago.

"This isn't real," Clark said. Jack, Lex and the inside of the Luthor mansion all faded away. It was just Clark and Pete in the gym at Smallville High.

Pete smiled. "Yep. That's right, Clark. This is another mental illusion by the Joker. You know, the kind where you think it's really happening and you've lost all memory of the real situation."

In response, Clark smiled. "Easy to do when the real situation has so much that's unreal."

Pete chuckled. "There you go again, sounding just like Colonel O-Neill."

"Can't help it when I've been around the guy so long."

Pete slapped him on the back, which felt real even here. "Let's head out, Clark," he said as he guided Clark toward a red door. "We need you to get back to reality."

"Can we go to the Talon instead? A virtual Talon could be fun."

"I'm glad you're getting better, man. And I'm glad you're more accepting of the situation." Another tap on the back.. "But there's some people you need to meet and some very important things for you to do."

"Let's do this," Clark said.

While Clark went on missions to other times and had adventures on other worlds, three figures climbed Mount Doom in Middle-Earth.

"Sam, Frodo," Batman said in a tone of urgency. "You go on ahead. I'll deal with the Joker and Sauron."

After a cordial nod, Sam lifted Frodo in his arms and cried out in a great voice. "I may not be able to carry the ring, Master Frodo! But I can carry you!"

"Oh, now what is this?" O'Neill groaned. He and his team had just emerged from a portal. Carter, Daniel and Teal's opened fire on nearby Orcs, Klingons and Jaffa.

In the middle of all that, Batman hurled a batarang. Teal'c easily caught it in his cybernetic hand.

"Who are you?" the Dark Knight demanded in his deep raspy voice.

"Doesn't matter," O'Neill said. He fired his phaser and sent Batman back to Earth One.

Looking quite irked, Sam put Frodo down. "What have you done with Master Batman?" he demanded.

"Are you trying to get my ring?" Frodo clutched his ring hand as he turned away from the team.

O'Neill simply sighed. Using the Restart Device, he pressed "wipe." Sam and Frodo would forget Batman, forget Klingons and Jaffa, forget SG-1.

Two Stargates and three space-time tunnels later, the team was back at Home Base.

"Short trip to Middle-Earth," Daniel commented. "I wonder why the 'Star Wars' galaxy takes so long?"

"It doesn't if the Joker sends you there," Carter said.

O'Neill then saw they had a visitor.

"Hey, guys," Clark said.

"Clark," O'Neill said as his head moved back slightly. "You look older, buddy."

Clark grinned. "That's what happens when you spend decades sleeping on a Time Protector Ship."

"Long nap. Must be nice," O'Neill said with eyebrows up.

"You back for good?" Daniel asked as they made their way down the Stargate ramp.

Clark shook his head. "No, can't stay long."

"Still glued to Prime Earth, eh?" O'Neill said.

Clark nodded. "And I still have some recovering to do from the Joker's attacks."

"What have you been doing as part of your recovery?" Carter asked.

A slight shrug from Clark. "Just helping people in other times, other worlds."

"Sounds like good practice for the hero business," O'Neill said as he removed his backpack.

A slightly impish grin from Clark. "Don't worry, guys. We'll be back together soon enough."

"Who's worried?" O'Neill said.

Looking cool and authoritative, Daniel crossed his arms over his Stargate Command jacket. "'Soon' being a relative term in time travel, you understand."

A slight groan from O'Neill. "Daniel, don't start with that, please."

Carter smiled at Clark. "It'll be good to have you back. We'll need you there when we fix the timeline involving Edith Keeler."

Here, O'Neill made a face. "Yeah, I never got that. Why is it that the person who messed up the timeline has to be there for us to turn it back?" He turned to his archaeologist friend. "Any thoughts on that, Daniel?"

"I don't make the rules, Jack, I just work here."

"It's probably something built in by the Joker. Or even the Q," Carter suggested.

O'Neill shook his head. "Joker. Q. One's as bad as the other."

With a beatific grin, Teal'c offered a slight bow. "It is good to see you again, Clark Kent."

"You, too, Teal'c." Though he had lines and wrinkles on his face, Clark spoke with the gentle quietness and earnestness of youth.

O'Neill's eyebrows shot up again. "So what's new, Clark? You and Lana get married, have kids, move into a nice house with a white picket fence?"

Clark responded with a bemused smile. "Nothing like that." His own eyebrows wrinkled up. "By the way, I hope after our last encounter we're okay."

"We're good. But I'm packing green kryptonite just in case."

More of the bemused smile. "That seems fair."

O'Neill waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Besides, for you that argument was how many years ago? So we're good."

Daniel smiled. "If Sheldon was here, he'd say 'Good what?'"

With a slightly annoyed look, O'Neill turned to Daniel. "Thankfully, Sheldon is not here." He then turned to Teal'c. "But be standing by, Teal'c, just in case."

"I will be in readiness, O-Neill."

Daniel's slight smirk was replaced by a blank look. Briefly, he closed his eyes. When he opened them, he spoke.

"Guys? The Guardian says something big is going to happen in Clark's timeline. You know, the Edith-Keeler-lives timeline."

"We know which timeline you mean, Daniel. What's the situation?"

With arms crossed, Daniel wore his worried-concerned look. "Apparently Lex Luthor becomes Emperor of Earth, and he invents time travel."

"That doesn't sound good," O'Neill said.

"It's not," Daniel said.

In his own way, Clark also looked worried-concerned. "There's no telling what Lex would do with that kind of power. He could really mess up a lot of things."

"We already have the Joker to do that," O'Neill said.

"If Lex changes events in the past, Clark could end up being raised by Lionel Luthor or die inside his spaceship," Carter said.

"Clark could even end up on another world," Daniel said.

"Or end up in the Soviet Union. Become a Communist," O'Neill said. "Commie Clark."

"Clark Kent could even become a Jaffa," Teal'c said.

"The possibilities are endless," Carter said.

"And not very good," O'Neill said. "We need to put the kibosh on that."

Daniel wore his usual intense face.

"Ah, the Daniel look," Clark whispered as Carter grinned.

Wearing that look, Daniel addressed the group. "The Guardian says when Clark rejoins the team he has to confront Lex as Emperor of Earth." He then turned to Clark. .

"I'll be there," Clark said.

"We all will. With bells on," O'Neill said.

"How will the wearing of bells help?" Teal'c asked.

"Oh, it'll help, trust me," O'Neill said. "And if there's one thing we don't need, it's Lex Luthor with time travel. We need that like we need a zap to the head." The colonel lifted a forefinger. "Which, by the way, is something I'd like to do to the Joker."

A portal appeared, and Clark prepared to step inside. As he did, O'Neill put two fingers to his cap in a casual salute.

"See ya," he said.