The multiple universes crisis was over. Dark Spock was gone, and so was the Joker's power.
Feeling particularly generous for a moment, Q arranged awards ceremonies for the key participants.
"Look at this," Leonard said as he stood in the center of the Shire.
He and his three main friends were surrounded by a colorful sea of Starfleet crew members alongside DC and Marvel superheroes. All mingled with inhabitants of Middle-Earth.
Briefly, Leonard recalled that shortly after he met Penny he dressed as Frodo for her Halloween party.
"Here comes King Aragorn," Raj said with a big smile.
"How about that?" Howard said. "He looks just like Viggo Mortensen."
"Oh!" Sheldon said. "Let's do like the hobbits did in the third movie."
"Let's," Leonard agreed with a little laugh in his voice..
As Aragorn approached, the four smiled as they started to bow. But the bearded Viggo-looking king lifted his hands.
"My friends," he said gently and quietly. "You bow to no one."
All present, including the king, bowed deeply.
"Yay," Howard said.
"This is so cool," Raj said as he practically beamed.
"It is," Sheldon said with a wide-eyed look of childlike awe.
"Yeah!" Leonard enthused.
On a nearby plane of existence, Clark and SG-1 stood in a giant throne room.
"What is this place?"
"It's from the awards ceremony at the end of 'Star Wars,' Jack. The first movie. 'A New Hope.'"
"'A New Hope?' What is that, a soap opera?"
"It is the subtitle of the first 'Star Wars' movie," Teal'c noted.
"Not to be confused with 'Episode One,'" Daniel said.
"'The Phantom Menace,'" Teal'c said.
As he fingered the medal Princess Leia had given him, O'Neill made a slight sigh. "Look, I appreciate the gesture. But I've never even seen the movie."
"Sir, you've been to Tatooine," Carter said.
"Yeah, I didn't like the sand or the bugs." O'Neill said.
"You didn't complain like this on Abydos, Jack."
"Let us simply appreciate this moment."
"Teal'c's right, guys," Clark said as he smiled and took a small bow. Behind him, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker clapped while Chewbacca roared, R2-D2 chirped and C-3PO jerked his body back and forth as if doing a low-key awkward version of the Twist.
Their audience consisted of superheroes mixed with Starfleet crew members and uniformed Stargate Command staff. All those present continued their applause, even as the "Big Bang" guys ran up on the stage.
"We decided we wanted to be part of this one, too!" Sheldon exclaimed.
"I want a medal from Princess Leia!" Howard shouted as he ran with his hand raised.
Once the guys got their medals, they stood with Han, Luke, Leia, Chewbacca and the droids. Each one of them wore a big smile, Sheldon most of all as his head bobbed.
"I want a souvenir photo," Raj said.
"That won't work, Raj," Daniel said. "Just enjoy this while you can, guys."
"SG-One and I still have one last thing to do," Clark said.
"Which is to undo all this," O'Neill said with a slight sigh of relief. "Finally."
Some time later, Colonel O'Neill had this to say.
"I really don't want to shoot you. You're us, and I kind of like us."
It was an odd sight, to be sure.
SG-1 stood facing SG-1.
Both SG-1's stood at the base of the Stargate ramp. The ones pointing phasers were the time-traveling SG-1, of course. The ones unarmed and looking a little bewildered were SG-1 from the past, the SG-1 that existed just before the arrival of Clark Kent greatly disrupted their lives.
Lives which were now about to be un-disrupted.
"You're not taking this base," the unarmed O'Neill said.
While holding his phaser, O'Neill used his free hand to gesture to other parts of the gate room. "Look around. Our super-speeding guy took out all your guards just like that."
"I was a super-speeding guy once," other O'Neill said. "It's not that big a deal."
"We all were once," other Daniel said. "Three of us were."
Other O'Neill shrugged. "See? Not that big a deal."
"I know," O'Neill said. "Trust me. I know."
The other SG-1 stared. Only for a moment.
"Do you think he's an alien or an android?" other Carter asked. "Or maybe some kind of mental illusion?"
"Not sure, Sam. But he certainly sounds like Jack," other Daniel kind of muttered.
"Indeed," other Teal'c said. "If he is an android, he is most convincing and lifelike."
"Do you think Harlan is behind this? Or maybe Urgo?" other Carter asked.
Other O'Neill waved his hand. "I'm putting a stop to this right now."
"Hey, hey!" O'Neill shouted, thrusting his phaser forward. "Keep your hands where I can see them...me."
Other O'Neill made a face. "Am I seriously supposed to believe that's a real weapon? If anything, it looks like some kind of plastic toy from 'Star Trek.'"
"It does look a lot like a phaser," other Daniel conceded.
Behind them all, the Stargate activated, and the iris closed.
"Look," O'Neill said. "All we want is to stop someone from going through the Stargate then you can go back to your nice normal lives. You won't have to go on a bunch of weird missions which we had to actually go on. And you do not want that, trust me."
Other O'Neill gave him a look. "If you don't mind my saying, you sound a little crazy. Like you've lost it. Gone nuts. Not in full possession of your faculties. A few fries short of a Happy Meal. Wacko!"
"I don't think I like your tone, other me," O'Neill said. He raised his phaser and fired but it only sputtered. "Aw! That figures. I've fired it often enough."
Other SG-1 moved forward.
"Teal'c!" O'Neill shouted.
Swiftly, Teal'c fired his staff weapon four times. Other SG-1 joined the guards in a face-down snooze.
Daniel wore a slight squinty-eyed frown. "Bit quick to shoot us all there, weren't you, Teal'c?"
As he spoke, Teal'c bowed to each team member. "My apologies, O-Neill. Daniel Jackson. Major Carter."
"Hey. Wasn't me," Carter said with a slightly impish grin.
"I believe, in fact, it was, Major Carter."
Behind the now unconscious SG-1, the Stargate, with iris closed, shut down.
"It's easier with only one us," O'Neill muttered then he shouted up to the control room. "Clark! Almost done up there?"
"Almost." Using super-speed, Clark undid the rewiring he had done earlier. Over the years, Carter had guided him through several Stargate "makeovers."
As Clark ended his super-speed, Beckett leaped out of the sole conscious technician. The bespectacled Air Force sergeant looked up at Clark and blinked in confusion.
"You okay?" Clark asked.
"I think so."
The teen from Smallville, who had a very old soul, smiled.
"Let's make sure. What's your name?"
"Uh, Harriman," he said. "Walter Harriman. Uh, sir."
"I'm not a 'sir.' No uniform."
"Not yet," Beckett quipped.
Clark gave Harriman a light tap on the shoulder. "You helped a lot of people today, Walter."
"Really?"
"Yep," Clark said. "Just like you do everyday."
"Like we all do," Beckett said.
Walter considered then smiled uncertainly. "Thanks."
Clark applied a light tap to the forehead, and Walter was out.
"Sweet dreams, buddy," Clark said quietly.
Clark and Beckett went to join the others.
"The famous gate room," Clark said, holding out his arms.
"The real one," O'Neill said, lifting a finger. "Not some fake imitation."
Beckett was more subdued as he spoke in his low quiet way of talking.
"You know, guys. I don't feel like I was that much help in all this."
"Of course you were, Beckett," O'Neill said.
"You were the only one who had experience in leaping around in time," Daniel said. "You were a big help, Sam."
"He means the other Sam. Major Sam," Clark said as he gave Carter a sly glance.
"Our own time travel experience was quite limited," Teal'c said. "Previously, the Stargate, under the influence of solar flares, sent us to the year nineteen-sixty-nine."
"We did get a note from the future once," O'Neill said.
"And Daniel and I are the only ones who had experience with alternate realities," Carter said.
Clark gave Beckett a light tap on the shoulder. "You can't really prepare for something like this. The things you taught us were a big help, Sam. Other Sam." The sly glance again.
"Your leaping around was a big help, too," O'Neill said.
Beckett smiled, a low-key smile. "Thanks, guys."
"And even though we won't be a time travel team any more, we can still make a difference," Clark said. "Just by helping people in our everyday lives with whatever we have."
"Just like the guys did," Daniel said. "Just like Team McCoy did."
The Stargate, with iris open, activated. Just to show off, Clark let himself be bathed in the lethal wave that popped out.
O'Neill clapped. "Nice one, Clark."
Cast in the glow of the Stargate, Daniel folded his arms. "Here's something you don't see every day: the Stargate activated by Q himself."
"Indeed," Teal'c said.
"At least the guy can do something good," O'Neill grumbled.
Carter smiled. "He also stopped Clark from crashing into the iris, sir."
"The other Clark." This time, Clark gave a sly glance to O'Neill..
"You know what? I'm getting a headache," O' Neill said. "Let's just go home. Q said some big white glow would take us there."
As they walked up the ramp, Clark wrinkled up his eyebrows as he posed a question.
"Hey, guys. Have you ever thought that when you visit these other worlds, instead of walking, you could drive? They have these things now called 'cars.'"
"Maybe S-G-One is working on their intergalactic driver's license, Clark," Beckett quipped.
As the others grinned, Daniel glanced back at Clark.
"Well, one thing's for sure, Clark. The way your family goes through vehicles you won't be the one doing the driving."
As Clark smiled in response, Carter gave him a sly glance, and a grin. "Besides, Clark, some of us need the exercise."
"We're not all super, you know," Daniel said.
As a great white glow from the Stargate engulfed them all, they stopped and faced each other.
"You're wrong, Daniel," Clark said quietly. "You guys are super."
"As are you, Clark Kent," Teal'c said with a slight bow of his head. Next to him, Carter and Daniel grinned.
With the Stargate glowing behind him, and Beckett imitating him, O'Neill lifted two fingers to his cap in a casual salute.
"See ya," he said.
The white light swallowed them up.
All memory of that white light was gone—indeed, all memory of his time travel adventures was gone—when Clark talked later with his mother.
"What if I save someone and I'm not there to set it right?" Clark asked.
With the Perry White incident some weeks behind him, Clark sat in the kitchen having one of his usual heart-to-heart talks with his mother.
"You just have to do the best you can," the red-haired Martha Kent said with a slight shrug. "Think of all the people you have saved. Me. Your dad. Lex. He's turned out to be a really good friend.":
Clark was silent for a moment. Then he said, "I liked it better when your answers were 'yes' or 'no.'"
"Me, too." Martha started to leave with the cookies but Clark rose and said, "I can do that."
"Would you make sure at least one of them makes it to the barn?"
"Yes!" Clark said with a smile. Once he had his jacket adjusted, he gave his mother a thoughtful look.
"Thanks, Mom."
As he walked to the barn, munching on a cookie, Clark looked to the stars. As he once told Lana on their way to a Radiohead concert, he liked to imagine other worlds and how his life might be different on each one.
As he looked to the stars, Clark was filled with an incredible sense of assurance and confidence.
Whatever challenges he might face, whether in the near-future or the distant future, he was not alone. The influence of his friends and family would always be with him. When he found new allies along the way, their influence would stay with him, too.
Whether on this world or any other.
Clark felt like, no matter what, somehow everything would be all right.
On another world, SG-1 was in a firefight. Again.
After spraying bullets at Jaffa armor, O'Neill ducked behind a barricade.
"It's times like this I wish we had Superman on our team!" he shouted.
"I do not believe Superman is available to join our cause, O-Neill," Teal'c said.
"That's too bad!"
"Besides, is he not a fictional creation?"
"I've always felt he could be real somewhere."
"You would think that, Daniel."
"It could be worse, sir."
"I suppose that's possible, Carter. Let's not test that theory."
"Agreed, sir."
"It's okay, guys," Daniel said as the fire died down. "Even without Superman, we'll make it to the Stargate. We'll make it home. Just like we always do."
Far from that battle, a young woman climbed some stairs.
"Hey, guys. What are you up to?"
The neighbor of Sheldon and Leonard, known simply as Penny, stood at the top of the fourth floor stairs holding her laundry basket at her side.
"Oh, hey, Penny," Leonard said. "We have this new role-playing game we made up where we're time travelers and we work with MacGyver."
"And we're doing it in the hallway so we can get out of the apartment," Sheldon said.
"Yeah," Leonard said. "And so in this game we help Clark Kent and S-G-One."
Briefly, Penny wore a bemused smile. "'S-G-One?' What's that?"
"It's a team."
Penny made a face. "What kind of name is that for a team?"
Leonard shrugged then clutched one hand with the other hand. "Anyway, that's what we're doing. Just a role-playing game with S-G-One and Clark Kent."
"Clark's kind of a cool guy," Howard said. Next to him, Raj smiled and gave two thumbs up.
Sheldon looked thoughtful. "I remember once Clark told me I should appreciate those around me."
Penny smiled, nodded, turned to go. "You guys have fun."
It was about when Penny put her laundry basket down and began unlocking her apartment that Sheldon approached her and said, "Penny?"
"Yeah?" As Penny turned toward him, Sheldon awkwardly extended his long lanky arms. With a little effort on her part (like moving toward Sheldon a little), Penny found herself in the embrace of a rare Sheldon Cooper hug.
"You guys, look," Penny said in a kind of surprised whisper-squeal. "Sheldon is hugging me."
"Yeah, he is," Leonard said with a smile. "You know, we also got to meet Chloe Sullivan."
Still in Sheldon's arms, Penny made a face. "Who's Chloe Sullivan?"
"Doesn't matter," Leonard said quickly with a nervous little shrug. "Nothing happened."
Another Leonard on another world had a different story, and a different outcome.
"Hello, Leonard."
The unshaven Leonard Hofstadter looked up from his seat on the curb.
Chloe smiled at him but inside she felt horrible about how sad this Leonard looked. She was glad the Leonard from Team MacGyver was happy back in his Pasadena.
"Who are you?" Leonard asked. As his head bobbed, he wore a pouty look. It was like he could barely look up.
"Just someone who wants to help. May I sit down?"
"It's a free...whatever."
Chloe sat. "I understand your dreams of being an experimental physicist didn't quite work out."
When Leonard frowned he almost looked like an ape. A bewildered confused hurt one.
"How would you know about that?"
"I have my sources," Chloe said. "I'm here to offer you another destiny. Would you consider being a teacher? On another world. In the past."
Glancing up, Leonard made a face. "How would that happen?."
Smiling, Chloe rose and extended her hand. "I'll need to explain some things. But we have a lot of time."
While Chloe took Leonard to her world, crew members aboard the "U.S.S. Enterprise" lived out their lives in their part of the Prime Universe..
As part of that, Captain Kirk had a dream he was floating above his bed.
As Q observed this, he thought about the time Clark Kent floated above his bed during a dream about Lana Lang.
These mortals and their trivial preoccupations.
Ah, well. Captain Kirk was needed in this timeline. So it was necessary to give him this little thing so he could go on.
As Kirk dreamed, Q pointed a glowing finger.
In a rapid series of images, Kirk lived an entire lifetime with Edith. Or "Edie," as he called her.
Together, he and Edie met a boy, Perry White. (Later a tall lanky young reporter and then a pot-bellied middle-aged reporter.) They met Cassie and the Kent family. And even after Bones, Edie and Spock were all gone, Kirk met eighth-grader Chloe along with Clark and Lana. Among many others.
Kirk opened his eyes. He was in sick bay. Bones and Spock stood with him, one on each side. Watching over him obviously.
Kirk reached out and grabbed the wrist of each man. At this, Spock raised both eyebrows.
"Jim," McCoy said. "How are you feeling?"
"Bones, Spock," he said, lifting his head. His eyes were moist but he smiled. Gently, McCoy placed a hand on his chest to help him lie back down.
"I had a dream. Edith and I, Edie and I lived together. A place called 'Smallville.'" As he moved his head to face Spock, there was the trace of a tear. "I didn't think I could go on. But now..."
"That's fine, Jim," McCoy said soothingly. "I think you still need more rest, though."
Being as subtle as he could, the doctor injected the captain with a hypospray. Still smiling, Kirk closed his eyes and slept.
McCoy observed the peaceful serene look on his sleeping friend's face.
"I have to admit it, Spock. For a while there, it was touch and go."
Spock nodded. "The death of Edith Keeler affected him quite deeply."
"Not surprising. Jim not only loved her, he had to facilitate her death.." Briefly, McCoy checked the instruments above his sleeping patient. "It helps that I understand now why he did what he did. Holding me back like that. Must have been the most difficult decision of his life."
"The circumstances were indeed tragic and unfortunate," Spock said.
McCoy wore a thoughtful grin. "I only knew Edith for a short time but she seemed like quite an extraordinary woman."
With eyebrows up, Spock again nodded. "Among many other attributes, she possessed remarkable insight."
McCoy's smile was wistful. "I'm sure she'd be a great lady in whatever reality she was in."
Spock responded with a mild frown. "A most curious thing to say, doctor."
"Yes, Spock. I know. It's not very logical but somehow it seemed appropriate." McCoy checked Kirk's pupils then his pulse. After that, he smiled. "I think Jim's going to be all right after all. Especially if we guide him through the aftermath of all this."
"He has weathered other unfortunate events." Spock folded his arms. "What of this place 'Smallville' he spoke of?"
McCoy shrugged. "Tomorrow or the next day we'll encounter some unusual lifeform or some strange new world. And Jim's dream of 'Smallville' will be all but forgotten."
"Quite so, doctor."
As Jim Kirk slept, Spock stayed at his side to keep watch over his captain, his friend.
Unknown to the Vulcan, Kirk had another dream. In it, Spock was very old, and he talked to some people who seemed familiar from somewhere.
Somehow Kirk knew their names. For example, Major Carter and Daniel Jackson.
"You watched over us," Carter said with a hint of awe.
"All those years," Daniel said quietly.
Carter looked almost sad. "It must have been very lonely."
Incredibly, Spock almost smiled. "Not as much as you might think, Major Carter. I mind-melded with each one of you. Together, in our minds, we went on missions together to many other worlds."
The scene shifted to a grassy meadow and a few trees that looked like they had faces.
"All right, that was Middle-Earth," Colonel O'Neill said. "Where to next?"
As the "Big Bang" guys excitedly shouted suggestions, O'Neill waved to the three figures standing nearby.
"Hey!" he shouted. "Captain Kirk. Mister Spock. Doctor McCoy. Would you gentlemen care to join us?"
As he stepped forward with his friends, McCoy practically beamed. "We'd be honored, Colonel O-Neill."
"Where we going, Jack?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, where are we going?" Sheldon asked eagerly as he jumped up and down.
The colonel turned to his tall friend from Smallville. "Clark. You're from Kansas. How about we visit a land once visited by a girl from Kansas?"
Clark smiled. "That's a go, Colonel Sir."
As the "Big Bang" guys cheered, and Carter, Teal'c and Beckett simply grinned, O'Neill lifted a finger high.
"To Oz!" he said.
The team moved out. They did not have to go far. A glowing white portal engulfed them, whisking them away to a wondrous new world.