Chapter 6
Most of them thought they would have landed on a battlefield, or somewhere that had been torn by war. How surprised they were to touch down on a peaceful farm.
Superman was the first one to arrive, followed by Batman, and then the rest of the team. When they were all settled, the Flash entered himself.
"You guys can't contact me, at all," he informed them. "The only way to get you guys back is for me to come here again and find you."
"Don't bother," Batman said. "If we aren't back in three weeks at most, and Thanos hasn't attacked, assume we are dead. Do everything you can to protect the Earth."
Barry nodded, and shook Superman and Batman's hands. "I may be powerful, but you two are the world's finest. Don't lose your cool out there." He waved to the rest, and in a Flash, he was gone.
As soon as the Flash was gone, Batman began barking out orders. "The plan is simple. We're going to survey the landscape, staying low and hidden. Any direct confrontation will likely result in a defeat for us, so we're going to do this the hard way. We're going to gather information on Thanos from any survivors left here, and if that doesn't work, then we'll head to space, and see if there's anyone left there. Understood?" The team nodded, and Superman used his telescopic vision to search for anyone that might still be alive.
"There's a farmer in that house," he said, pointing in a direction.
"Then that's where we start," Batman growled, and the group began the journey. Although Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter could have gotten to their destination rapidly, it was understood between them that they shouldn't use their powers unless the situation was life or death. If there were any sensors in space, or satellites monitoring the Earth for superheroes that remained alive, they could be hunted down in an instant.
When they were near the farmhouse, an old man came out with a shotgun to greet them. Seeing they looked to be heroes, he heaved a sigh of relief, and lowered his weapon.
"Ya'll with the 'Vengers?" he called out.
"The who?" Wonder Woman asked, mildly amused.
"The Avengers," the farmer repeated. "Don't tell me you folks ain't never heard of 'em."
"Consider us reinforcements," Batman said, reaching out to shake his hand. "We're the Justice League."
Hearing this, the farmer erupted in roaring laughter. "No way you people call yourselves that."
"What happened on this Earth?" Superman asked, changing the subject.
"What happened?" he said bewildered. "Where in the world have you been?"
"We're from a parallel Earth," Wonder Woman explained. "We've come here because one of your heroes was sent to our Earth, deceased. A patriotic looking one."
"They got the Captain?" he asked, shaking his head. "God bless him. Last I heard, he was in New York with the rest of the 'Vengers, fighting off the invasion."
"We're going to need you to tell us how everything started," Batman said seriously.
The man sighed again, and made a gesture towards his home. "Let's go inside."
"It started with London, actually," the old man began. "None of us thought it would get as bad as it has."
"The invaders touched down in the good ol' UK, hitting the capital first, and then branchin' out to other major cities. Manchester, Liverpool, you guys know," he continued. "Wait, is there a UK in your world?"
"There is. The only noticeable difference between our worlds is yours has the 'Avengers', and ours has the Justice League," Batman observed.
"How do you even know this, sir?" Green Lantern asked. "No offense, but you don't look like the type of guy to keep up with this stuff." Wonder Woman hit him for being rude.
"My son," he said darkly. "He was informin' me." The team could tell from the way he said it, the son was dead.
"Anyways, they got rid of Britain, and before you know it, they're in France. At this point, I guess they somehow got a message through to the leader, and a group of alien 'diplomats' were sent to Italy. Like in that ol' Star Wars movie though, it was a trap, and everyone died. I think. And then, the president announces there's gonna be a draft, to send Americans to the frontlines in Europe. My Pa used to tell me how it felt like getting drafted for World War Two, and now I was thinking I was gonna fight the aliens. That was when we thought we had a chance.
"Then I get the call from my son. He gets called up, and he's put in a special army group. Me and his Ma get real emotional, but we still think he's coming back. Then, a week later, all of Europe and most of Asia goes dark. Guess the big man thought it was goin' too slow. We get the call a day later, and they tell us, our son is dead," he says, choking up, but composes himself.
"My wife dies a day later from the grief, and I'm left all alone. After that, it gets real blurry, but I hear over the radio that the 'Vengers are makin' their final stand in New York City. Don't know what happened in the Big Apple, but they probably lost from what you said. That and there are always alien ships flying overhead."
"Do you know if there's still anywhere that functions?" Batman inquired. The man shrugged.
"You go far 'nuff up north, you'll get to Canada. Aliens probably haven't touched it, it being a wasteland, even before everything," he replied, and then replied truthfully. "There was a message that went out to head to New Jersey, but those poor souls are probably long gone."
"Thank you, Mr.-" Superman told him. "What was your name?"
"Kent," he replied. "Jonathan Kent." Everyone looked at Superman, and didn't make eye contact with the farmer.
"Thank you," Batman said, and he excused himself. Everyone quickly followed him out.
Once everyone was out, Green Lantern was the first to speak up. "There's no way that was Clark who went out to war, right?"
"He does look like my father," Superman admitted, "but I haven't seen my father since he passed away, years ago."
"It's possible this world's Martha Kent was able to conceive a child naturally, and Superman never landed from the stars," Batman theorized.
"Do you think Krypton still exists then?" Superman said suddenly, but Batman shook his head.
"We don't have time to find out," he remarked. "We're here on a mission."
Superman nodded in agreement. "You're right."
"So are we headed to Jersey?" Jordan groaned. "Never did like Jersey."
"Wait," Superman said, before rushing back into the house of the man who shared his surname. When he returned, he informed them of what he learned. "Jersey's that way."
Above the Earth was a massive spacecraft, owned by none other than the mighty Titan himself. His troops had detected an interdimensional portal open on Earth, but he had chosen to watch what would unfold in front of him.
He knew there was chance that whoever had just arrived was the man who had helped his troops get to the parallel earth, in the failed invasion. But it could also be someone new.
There was an interesting energy signature emanating from a being who emerged from the portal. But the fact was, there hadn't been any contact with the being since it arrived. It amused Thanos, and he decided he wouldn't destroy it just yet. He would toy with the being, and see what it would do. In any case, however, he would send a squadron of Chitauri to scout the newcomer, and as he sent the order, Ebony Maw entered the control room.
"My liege, why have we not crushed the invader?" the slim alien asked.
"I wish to see what it will do," Thanos responded. "Now leave me, Maw, and do not interrupt again unless I order you."
"Of course, o mighty one," Maw bowed, and left the room.
To the mighty Titan, it was an annoyance when the Power Stone had been sent to another universe, but it had been a huge delay when the Time and the Space Stone had been taken from him. Now, those heroes that held on to them dearly were hiding away, ever since Earth had fallen, protecting the stones. With the new visitor from another universe, he hoped by letting it live, it would quickly become acquaintances with the remaining heroes, so it could lead Thanos right to them, and he could finally wipe out his universe. Then, he would continue the cycle with wherever the being came from. It was only a matter of time...
"Do we really have to walk all the way?" Green Lantern complained. "We can fly the rest of the way, while I carry Aquaman, and Supes carries Batman."
"What part of 'undercover' do you not understand?" Batman hissed.
"Jeez, Bats, no need to be so grumpy," Lantern muttered, and then asked himself, "Why are the team missions always so boring?"
Superman ignored Jordan's remarks, and instead began to utilize his telescopic vision again to scout the upcoming terrain. While he did, a bored Green Lantern purposefully got in his way.
"Move out of my way, will you Hal?" Superman requested. "I can't see with your green aura blocking my vision."
"Lantern, you fool!" Batman said, as he raised his voice.
"What?" Jordan was confused.
"Your will-powered energy can be traced and detected," Batman growled. "We're more than likely being tracked at this moment."
"Sorry, Bats," Hal apologized, realizing his mistake. "I always wear the aura around me, as protection."
"If we've been located, why have they not attacked?" Wonder Woman pointed out.
"They're playing with us," Batman said, showing a hint of concern in his voice. "Which means they either don't know who we are and are curious, or are more powerful than all of us, and don't consider us a threat."
"So what's the plan?" asked Aquaman.
"We continue," Batman grumbled. "There is no plan."
"Have we had any contact with them?" asked the archer.
"Negative," came the reply from the once director of SHIELD. "No visual either."
"Then don't let them in when they get here," the man without fear said. "They might be agents of Thanos."
"It's unlikely," the webslinger said. "The Chitauri never venture in such small groups."
"Then who could they be?"
"With hope," the director said, "Help."
"Wait," Superman beckoned, using his super vision to peer into other spectrums that are invisible to ordinary humans. "There's something strange up ahead."
"What?" Batman asked sharply.
"It's a force field," Superman said slowly. "It's like the one Barry built for Arendelle, but I can't see what's inside it."
"Manhunter, you're up," Batman ordered as they neared the barrier, and the Martian phased himself to pass through the invisible wall of energy.
It took a long moment, but finally, he returned, looking as stoic as ever. "There are four people inside."
"Anyone that can be a problem?" Batman questioned.
"Nobody that could defeat us," the Manhunter informed.
"Their powers?" Batman inquired.
"None in two of them, one is blind, and the last has increased muscle strength," the man from Mars reported.
"Is the one with increased muscle strength naturally strong, or super serum?" Batman asked.
"He's a mix of both," Manhunter responded. "It's a bit unnatural, but it seems his DNA mutated to give him strength. However, it wasn't at all like the serum."
"Then we take them," Batman proclaimed. "Lantern, give everyone a force field around them, just in case."
"Sure thing, Bats," Lantern said, and proceeded to wrap every member in a green aura that would protect them against almost anything unless he lost his concentration.
"Hang on," Superman said. "I can see inside now."
"Then it's time," Batman said, and all of the members started moving towards the now gone force field. It was a small industrial building, almost resembling a factory, but not quite. As they entered where the force field had once been, it suddenly reappeared.
"It's a trap," Batman muttered, and suddenly, a speaker system activated.
"That it is," came the voice, seemingly besides them. "Identify yourselves at once, or we will take lethal action."
"Please," Lantern snorted. "Surely you couldn't beat me in a fight."
"We are the Justice League," Batman communicated. "We're here to stop the one you call Thanos."
"How do we know you weren't sent by Thanos?" the voice interrogated.
"We have the Power Stone," Batman responded. "And we will fight to keep it out of his hands."
There was no response, but rather, the doors to the building opened.
From it emerged a man in a red and blue costume, with massive white eyes. Though only Superman could see, the archer was in the corner, his bow ready to fire.
"You won't need your sharpshooter today," Superman dismissed. "We come in peace."
"Yeah, well," Spider-Man sighed, revealing he was the voice on the speakers. "Can't take any chances."
The friendly neighborhood hero quickly launched a barrage of webs at Batman, who incredibly caught them all, and the eyes of the man who attacked him widened even more than they already were.
"How...?" Spider-Man said, in disbelief.
"We said we came in peace," Batman grunted, getting the webs off his gloves.
"You can't believe everything you hear around here," Spider-Man said, looking around.
"We need you to tell us what really happened here then," Superman said seriously. "There's a great probability Thanos will come after other Earths after he finishes with this one.
Spider-Man nodded. "Come inside."
"Since you're not from around here, I guess a few introductions are in order," the webhead thought. "I'm Spider-Man. Once the guy who defended New York and the world."
"Maria Hill," the woman with short hair stated bluntly. "Ex Director of SHIELD."
"SHIELD was a secret government organization dedicated to keeping the world safe," Spider-Man explained.
"I'm Hawkeye," the man with blonde hair said, as he jumped down from his perching spot to greet them. "Resident marksman."
"The name is Daredevil," the man in all red said, not moving towards them.
"We are the last known survivors of heroes on the planet," Spider-Man informed the League. "Maybe the universe."
"What happened?" Batman inquired, while the webcrawler guided them to a table with chairs.
"It went south so fast," the director said, as she shook his head, remembering the past. "We never saw it coming."
"The Nova Corps had been offline for a few days, and no one made any investigation into why we hadn't had contact with them, except for Jessica Jones. She looked deep into why they had disappeared, and before she could discover the truth, she was murdered, and found at the shore of a river."
"Her death was strange, with incisions all over her body, and we made Doctor Strange find out what had killed her. Turned out it was a young Chitauri who was growing in a nearby cave to where she was investigating, but we didn't know that until after everything happened."
"Some time after her death, the first monsters appeared in London, but they weren't from space. They were breeding here on Earth, right under our noses. Tony Stark, a genius in our time, then had the idea of sending out an SOS message to the multiverse. Vision was adamant of exploring the possibility of an excursion to other worlds, knowing he could bring heroes from other universes to help us, but Tony argued the invasion could grow stronger if any of us left. So instead, we had the Scarlet Witch send out a message, in the form of a vision, to the multiverse."
"That must be what the Reverse Flash saw when he was in the past with Barry," Wonder Woman whispered to Batman.
"Speaking of Tony, he was a strong advocate of not interfering in what was happening. He knew the Avengers had to hide the Power Stone they had found a while back on another planet. 'We need more time', he insisted. If he were still alive, I bet he would have looked back and regretted his actions.
"Because after two weeks of war in Europe and Asia, everything there is annihilated. Gone. Wiped off the map. By now, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, everyone is working together. Even the government. They lay all their options on the table in DC, when the monsters attack New York City. Everyone was scrambling, but the four of us you see in this room were already at the battle scene. We were fighting, when Spider-Man here saw Thanos land on the Earth. He urged everyone to escape, but most of us kept fighting. Only the four of us managed to get out, knowing we would be the Earth's last hope. It was obvious at the time we wouldn't win the battle, but maybe, just maybe, we could win the war. As we heard Iron Man die, we silently cheered, because he had just transported the good Captain and the Power Stone off to another universe, preventing Thanos from taking it."
"I'm guessing your Iron Man had been working on the interdimensional portal for a while?" Superman guessed.
"Yes," Daredevil responded. "It was a last resort."
"So now what?" Superman asked.
"Iron Man made a physical copy of the blueprints for it, and left it somewhere safe in New York," Maria Hill explained. "But there's no way we can get to it. Not without Thanos finding us."
"So that's the mission now," Superman proclaimed. "We find the blueprints, we rebuild the machine, and we take Thanos to an empty universe, where he can never escape."
"Wait a minute," Spider-Man said doubtfully. "How did you guys get here in the first place?"
"A friend of ours brought us here, and we told him to not return for us under any circumstances," Batman said with no other explanation.
"That sounds too good to be true," Hawkeye commented. "Friends from another world?"
"If we do not help you, then we put our world at risk," Wonder Woman argued.
"If we can save your world, we will try our best," Superman added.
"There's nothing left to save," Spider-Man muttered, as he walked away and everyone watched.
"What's his deal?" Aquaman asked.
"His wife was caught up in the battle of New York," Hill said, quietly. "He's lost his any hope things will get better."
"Then why is he still here?" Lantern said.
"His wife's last words to him were to keep going. To keep fighting," Hill illuminated. "He's keeping that promise to her."
"What are your team's powers, anyways?" The question came from the man who couldn't see.
"Four have super strength, four can fly, and a few other power sets. Telepathy, light based shields," Batman answered.
"Where can we find Thanos?" asked an eager Green Lantern.
"It's not that simple," Hawkeye said, shaking his head. "The big guy is never on Earth, and if he is, it's never for long."
"And he's always protected by his army of Chitauri," Hill chimed in.
"We're the Justice League," Lantern dismissed. "We've taken on Darkseid and his army before."
"Can you demonstrate your powers?" Hawkeye asked curiously.
Each member of the League went on to provide a demonstration of their abilities, and the members of the Avengers were left stunned.
"We may have a chance," Hill said thoughtfully, and looked at Batman. "What are your powers?"
"I'm Batman," the Dark Knight answered.
Green Lantern flew to her, and whispered, "He doesn't have any. He's just really rich."
"What our Lantern meant to say was that Batman here is the team's strategist," Superman cleared up. "He also provides funding for our team."
"So then you'll be able to find a way to get us to New York to retrieve the plans without being detected, correct?" Hawkeye questioned.
"I'll need more information about this world for that," Batman grunted.
"Don't worry about that, it's mostly rubble," Hill said. "We've got the times the Chitauri legions regularly scout near here if you need them."
"I have a question," the Martian spoke. "We met a man who told us of alien diplomats who met with representatives of Earth. You have not mentioned them. Why?"
"Those 'representatives' consisted of world leaders, and a select group of SHIELD officials," Hill said, irritated. "The Russians, Chinese, Germans, and Nick Fury."
"Nick Fury?" Batman repeated, as he met her gaze.
"The old SHIELD director," Hawkeye told him. "We all used to work for him. Well, at least Maria and I."
"What went wrong?" the Martian pressed.
"Thanos was one of the 'alien diplomats'," Daredevil apprised. "He made sure there were no survivors before they left. It was the reason everyone followed Iron Man's plan, instead of SHIELD's."
"You had no Plan B or anything?" Lantern asked, half serious.
"We had no time to prepare," Hill snapped. "Everything had gone downhill before we knew it."
"Look, what matters now is the mission to retrieve those blueprints for the portal," Superman said firmly. "What's keeping this place hidden anyway?"
"We have a force field generator," Maria Hill answered. "It's lasted us since we got here two months ago, but the fuel source is running out, and in two weeks or so, we'll be sitting ducks."
"That's a problem for another day," Batman ignored. "We need you to give us clear directions to New York, so we may travel to it tomorrow."
Hill nodded. "Understood." Shortly after, only the League remained in the small conference room.
"We all know you wouldn't ignore the fact this place will be revealed to Thanos soon," Wonder Woman pondered. "What are you hiding, Bruce?"
"If we run out of time, then Superman, you'll be up to power the generator," Batman illuminated. "And they cannot know we have been tracked thus far."
"But we don't even know if we've been tracked yet," Lantern protested. "Don't you think they ought to know, in case bombs start dropping?"
"It's not them he's after," Batman theorized. "It's us. Those people may have powers, but they aren't a threat to Thanos."
"What about the portal, Batman? Can you make it?" Superman asked.
Batman stood still, and answered, "I had developed several ideas for interdimensional travel before. This was one of them. So yes, I can."
"Well then, let's get to New York, New York!" Superman declared, and everyone who heard him rolled their eyes.
"Here is the rough route," Maria Hill said, as she spread out a physical map, with lines on it, and pointed to a circled spot. "You make a stop here, because it provides shelter from the Chitauri troops, and once you've exterminated them, you move on."
"Now, finding where the physical blueprint won't be hard, because it's in this building here," she said, pointing to another spot on the map. "The Sanctum Sanctorum. The problem is actually finding it in the building."
"Why?" Superman questioned.
"Well," she hesitated. "No one knows what's actually in there."
"It's magical, isn't it?" Batman deduced, leaving Hawkeye who was watching, mind blown.
"Indeed," Hill nodded. "The building used to belong to Dr. Strange, the Supreme Sorcerer, who enchanted the building with spells, and showed no one what was inside, in case Thanos caught anyone with the information and tortured them for it."
"So this guy is also into torturing. Why are all the bad guys into torturing for information?" Hal Jordan asked, annoyed.
"If you do not know what is inside, then how do you know the plan is inside?" The Martian inquired.
"Tony had informed us before New York that he had asked Doctor Strange to hide many objects and prototype weapons of high value in his mansion, because the building is protected. It was the only building to survive the destruction, actually," Hill confirmed.
"What, did you guys drop a nuke?" Jordan quipped.
Hill ignored him, which made Hal think there was some truth to his joke.
"We don't actually know if the blueprints are even in there," Hill admitted, "but we are 99% sure they are. Tony put a lot of powerful things there he thought could make things worse if they fell into the wrong hands."
Spider-Man snorted. "It's not like things can get any worse."
"How are we meant to get in, if it's magical?" Superman asked.
"We don't know, we've never even been there," Hill said.
"Then how do you expect us to find your things for you?" Jordan said, rolling his eyes. "We may be powerful, but we have no magic users, at least not here."
"All of our magic users were at the front of the battle, and were the first to go," Hill recalled. "You are absolutely positive you can't even send out a distress beacon to your world?"
"We are cut off here until we find a way back," Superman said.
"Then we have no way to get in," Hill said, shaking her head.
"Yeah we do," Spider-Man grunted, as he got up from the chair he was seated in. "That key the doc left somewhere."
"We can't retrieve that, and you know it," Hill said, shooting a glare at him, and he responded, "Why not?"
"What are you talking about?" Wonder Woman asked with caution.
"It's something I didn't want to bring up," Hill sighed.
"What is it?" Batman repeated, giving her a standard Bat-glare, causing her to yield.
"It was a magical key enchanted with the power to open the door to the Sanctum Sanctorum," Hill explained.
"But it was found by the Chitauri army pretty quickly, and they've been keeping it safe in the heart of good ol' New York City," Spider-Man grumbled.
"That seems like a dumb thing to do," Jordan pointed out.
"No," Batman said, understanding. "It's clever. It's a tactic to try and lure the remaining heroes into a possible trap, where they can finish off the little resistance that remains."
"It's not even heavily fortified," Hawkeye chimed in. "There's only a few legions of Chitauri guarding it."
"Then we'll have to sneak in," Batman said.
The plan would be simple. Send in Green Lantern as bait, steer the guards away from the prize, and have Superman swoop in for the key, with backup from the rest of the League and Avengers if needed. The key itself was supposedly able to be picked up by anyone, but only those who knew the magic word could use it, which was why the invaders hadn't yet been to the Sanctum. It would prove to be a challenge nonetheless.
"Hey, Hill," Daredevil said, as he pulled her to the side before she left.
"What is it?"
"I don't trust them," he told her. "They're not telling the whole truth."
"How so?" she asked, suddenly very aware.
"There's something about them that doesn't sit right with me," he growled. "They may be here to help, but they have an ulterior motive."
"Yeah, they said they want to save their own universe," she said, confused at what he was getting at.
"No," he said, not able to find the words. "Just keep an eye on them."
Superman had made quick work of the Chitauri legions near the home base, and the group had quickly moved at night to New York. Everyone's powers were off, so there wasn't a way Thanos or anyone could use to track them. It was just a quiet walk through the wreck.
"So do you guys have - or, had, anything like Starbucks on your Earth?" Hal said, trying to make conversation. The only response from the Avengers was an eyebrow lifted by Maria.
"I guess not," he said to himself.
As the group walked more and more, the fog began to thicken around them. The roads became more and more cluttered with cars that were rusting, and charred skeletons of stragglers were evident all around them.
"What happened here?" Superman asked in disbelief.
"The Chitauri happened," Spider-Man responded. "They burned a lot of people after the invasion was over."
"But why?" Aquaman shuddered.
"To send out a message to the people who remained," Hill said, without looking around, until she motioned everyone to stop. "We're here."
"I don't see anything," Jordan whispered.
"That's because there's nothing left," Hawkeye said, as the fog finally cleared.
The destruction was incredible to see. Once massive, towering skyscrapers now lay dormant forever on the ash ridden ground. The corpses were everywhere, and the streets were no longer visible. As they went further in, they found no Chitauri present, and soon, they could see why.
The center of Manhattan was turned into a pitch black crater, with dozens of Chitauri legions guarding what they assumed was the key they were after.
"Lantern, you're up," ordered Hill.
He gulped. "If I don't come back, tell my children I loved them."
"You don't have children," whispered Wonder Woman. He saluted and flew right to the horde.
"Hey everyone, I heard you guys are aliens!" he taunted. "Guess what? I've seen my fair share of aliens, and you guys are by far the ugliest ones I've ever seen."
If the Chitauri were mad just by looking at him, they were furious at seeing a small green man insult them. They instantly grabbed their weapons and charged at him.
The team caught a classic Hal Jordan wink that was directed towards them, and they knew that was their cue. The Green Lantern began to fly in the opposite direction from where they were, and there were only a dozen or so soldiers left behind.
Superman went in first, and quickly rounded up the evildoers in a circle, and knocked them out for good.
Superman waved to the team the site was clear, and when they arrived, he explained the problem.
"Guys, I already used my X-ray vision to search for the key, but it's not here," he said.
"Everyone, look around this area for the key," Hill commanded.
After a brief search, no one had found anything when they all reunited.
"It's not here," Superman said, shaking his head.
"Then it's a trap," Batman realized, and as he said that, the sky thundered, as a being appeared in front of them, while Green Lantern was floating beside him, unconscious.
"You would be correct," he said, giving them an ugly grin.
"Maw," Spider-Man hissed, readying himself for a battle.
"Still haven't gotten over your MJ?" he mocked, infuriating the webhead even more. "Well unfortunately for you, I'm not here to fight. Though, I must say I would undoubtedly win."
"Then why are you here?" Batman called out, getting his Batarangs ready.
"It's simple," Maw responded, and pointed at the four Avengers from his position in the sky. "I'm here to collect them."
