Chapter 16
"In the end, there was only one. A single black infinitude. Then the infinitude found release, and, finally, the darkness broke, filling it with life. With the Multiverse. Every existence multiplied by possibility, and spread out before space and time in infinite measure. Civilizations rose and fell, and rose again across reality's grasping expanse. Life, a precious gift, persevering in the face of every obstacle, until, finally, the age of heroes was born."
"I, Amazo, have successfully fulfilled my ultimate purpose and now know the reason for my existence, which is to maintain equilibrium across the vast and sacred universes, and enlighten other cosmic beings of my knowledge. At last, I am complete."
Earth-1
Clark Kent (formerly of Earth-21) opened his eyes as he woke up and sat up in bed, looking around in a mix of confusion and disbelief. He was in his and Lois' apartment, which looked the same as it always was. That was when it all suddenly come back to him. He remembered everything. He had been in the anti-matter universe at the dawn of time with all the other surviving heroes. The last thing he recalled was Amazo recreating the Multiverse with a pillar of white light that Clark and the other Paragons had added their energies to. Then a blinding flash of light had appeared in the sky once the process was complete and everything went completely white.
Did the fact that he was suddenly back in his apartment mean they had won and the Crisis was over? He wanted to believe it, but it seemed too good to be true. What if this was just a hallucination? What if he and the other heroes had actually died and what he was seeing was the afterlife?
Hearing a soft feminine moan that snapped him out of his intense thoughts, Clark turned to the source of it and smiled at the sight of his wife lying beside him. Removing the blanket from his body, he climbed out of bed, walked to the window, pulled back the curtains, and stared outside. Nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. It looked like a typical morning, with some birds flying around in the clear blue sky and civilians on the streets and sidewalks below, going about their day as usual.
"Smallville?"
Clark turned around at the sound of his wife's voice and saw that she was awake. "Lois. What is the last thing you remember before waking up?"
"Nothing unusual, Smallville, aside from the usual cuddling and kissing we did before falling asleep," Lois answered, before frowning. "Why do you ask?" That was when she saw the puzzled expression on her husband's face. "I know that look. It usually appears when something odd is happening or has happened. Did I forget something significant? A big crisis or something like that?"
"So you don't remember anything about the red skies, the Multiverse ending, or us being at the dawn of time in the anti-matter universe," Clark said, wondering why he remembered the Crisis and Lois apparently didn't.
Lois' frowned deepened. "The Multiverse ending? Dawn of Time? What are you talking about?"
"It's a really long story," Clark told her. At that point, it was clear to him that she didn't remember any of it. "One I'll explain in detail later."
In the blink of an eye, he put on his Superman suit and disappeared out of the apartment, leaving Lois thoroughly perplexed.
Clark hovered above the middle of Metropolis, looking down at the city. All the buildings, roads, and everything else were fully intact, with no signs that any of the Crisis battles had taken place at all.
"We did it," Clark realized with a smile. "We restored the Multiverse. It's like the none of it ever happened."
He suddenly caught sight of a familiar red blur speeding into the Watchtower building. Knowing exactly who it was, Clark followed the blur inside the Watchtower and stopped as he entered the main room of the headquarters, where he saw Bart Allen and, to his astonishment, Alicia Baker sitting on one of the couches, enjoying a box of donuts with cups of orange juice.
"Alicia?" Clark called out in utter disbelief as he gulped from the lump in his throat.
"Hey, Clark," Alicia greeted him with a wave and a smile.
"Care to join us for some breakfast, stretch? Help yourself, there's plenty of donuts in this box," Bart offered.
Clark gulped, taking a moment to process the presence of the ex-girlfriend he had lost to a horrible untimely death. "Forgive me for asking a question that could already be obvious, but are you two... together?"
Bart and Alicia looked at Clark strangely as the former said, "Are you kidding me, stretch? Alicia and I have been together for years now."
"You know that, Clark," Alicia reminded him with a frown. "Or did you forget somehow?"
"Actually, there's something very important you two need to know," Clark stated as Bart and Alicia eyed him curiously. "But not until we contact the others."
In Star City, Oliver 'Ollie' Queen climbed out of bed and glanced around in a mix of confusion and disbelief. One minute, he had been in the anti-matter universe at the dawn of time, and the next minute… he was suddenly in his and Chloe's loft apartment, which looked exactly as he knew it.
"Morning, handsome."
Ollie turned around at the sound of his wife's voice and saw that Chloe had woken up. Smiling at the sight of her, he replied, "Morning, beautiful." His face turned serious again. "We're back in our loft. I guess this means we won. We did it."
"Did what?" Chloe asked, puzzled.
"Defeated the Anti-Monitor and restored the Multiverse," Ollie reminded her.
Chloe was still confused. "Who is the Anti-Monitor? And why would the Multiverse need to be restored? It was fine, last I checked."
"You don't remember?" Ollie asked, frowning back at her. "The Crisis that took out infinite Earths, the red skies, the battles at the dawn of time... none of that ring any bells to you?"
"What on Earth are you talking about, Ollie?" Chloe wondered, starting to feel alarmed. "What red skies, what Crisis? Did I forget something major? It wouldn't exactly be the first time."
"If you really don't remember any of it while I clearly still do, I think it'll be best to gather Clark and all our other friends and explain everything together," Ollie said.
"Okay," Chloe nodded, albeit still quite confused and also curious. "Do whatever you need to, honey, since something weird is clearly going on here."
"'Clearly' being the understatement of the century," Ollie remarked. "But before I do anything, I'm gonna check on our little Roy first."
Chloe frowned. "Little Roy? Who is that?"
Ollie eyed her incredulously. "Are you serious right now? Roy is our son. You couldn't have possibly forgotten that too, did you?"
"Oliver, our son's name is Jonathan," Chloe corrected as Ollie was stunned. "Jonathan Sullivan-Queen. It always has been."
"Jonathan..." Ollie trailed off in disbelief, processing the apparent fact that his son had a different name.
"You did want to name him Roy at first, but we decided to name him after Clark's adoptive father instead," Chloe reminded her husband, who was still taken aback. "The only Roy we know is the one from your more serious counterpart's Earth."
Ollie was speechless for several moments before he said, "We need to contact Clark and the others ASAP."
In the building of M-Corp (formerly LexCorp), Tess Mercer entered the main office and walked up to the desk. To her surprise, she saw a nameplate with her name, along with 'CEO', on it.
Upon waking up in what appeared to be a new incarnation of her world, the first thing Tess had noticed was that she was human again, which was something she had mixed feelings about. While she would certainly miss being Red Tornado, being back in her own flesh and blood body gave her a relieving feeling.
In the house on the Kent farm in Smallville, Conner Kent and Courtney Whitmore headed down the stairs into the living room. They glanced around, seeing several pictures of themselves, including the one of their wedding, which looked like it had been at a different church than the one they had actually gone to. They also recognized many of their belongings that were around.
"What is all of our stuff doing here at the farm?" Courtney wondered.
"If this some new version of our Earth, maybe we live here instead of in our apartment on Earth-1 for some reason," Conner deduced.
"So we really did it," Courtney realized with a smile. "We brought the Multiverse back."
Assuming this isn't just some sort of illusion," Conner said, warily.
Earth-2
Superman (formerly of Earth-78) was soaring across the early morning blue sky, smiling happily as he observed the beautiful world below him. His cousin, Linda Lee/Kara Zor-El aka Superwoman, appeared next to him.
"Hey, Kal," Linda greeted him with a smile.
"Kara," Superman greeted her back.
"How's your morning?" Linda asked.
"Great, considering that our universe is back," Superman answered.
Linda frowned. "What do you mean? What happened to the universe?"
Before Superman could answer, he and Linda noticed Billy Batson aka Captain Marvel (formerly of Earth-77) approaching them. Captain Marvel stopped in front of the two Kryptonians and politely greeted them as Linda returned the gesture, while Superman regarded the other male hero in confusion.
"Um, can I assume that we know each other?" Superman inquired. Despite being aware of Earth-50 Shazam and Earth-192 Captain Marvel, he had never encountered such a hero in his own universe and, thus, the man before him was a completely unfamiliar face.
"We've known each other for many years, Superman," Captain Marvel pointed out, frowning at the Man of Steel's question. "We've been on countless missions together, along with Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, and all the others."
"There's a Batman and Wonder Woman on this Earth?" Superman asked in disbelief.
"Well, Batman is no longer with us, as you know, while Wonder Woman is still protecting her part of the world as we do ours," Captain Marvel pointed out.
"Are you all right, Kal?" Linda asked, eyeing her cousin with concern.
"Everything's fine, Kara," Superman assured her with a smile.
In Washington, D.C., Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman (formerly of Earth-76) was standing on top of a building, observing the world with a joyful smile across her face. It felt wonderful being back in not only her own world, but her beloved city, after the destruction of the Multiverse caused by a horrendous Crisis that had been completely unlike anything she had ever faced before in all her years of protecting man's world from evil.
In Gotham City, Dick Grayson (formerly of Earth-66) was in the dining room of the Wayne manor, enjoying delicious, home-cooked breakfast with his Tamaranean wife Koriand'r aka Starfire, their daughter Mari Grayson, their son Jake Grayson, a little girl who was Mari's daughter, and Ace the German Shepard.
Earth-3
Kal-El (formerly of Earth-96) opened his eyes as he woke up with a start and sat up in bed, looking around in a mix of confusion and disbelief as he found himself in his apartment, which looked rather different with more items around. He glanced to the other side of the bed and paused in shock at the sight of a very familiar woman lying beside him. He leaned towards the woman to take a look at her face and instantly felt a lump in his throat upon recognizing her.
"Lois?" Kal-El gasped.
As if she heard him, the woman in question moaned and stirred before she opened her eyes. Sitting up, Lois turned to Kal-El and smiled. "Hey."
"Lois," Kal-El repeated, not believing his eyes. Had he, in fact, died and gone to heaven, where he was reunited with his beloved wife?
Wanting to make sure she was really there, he stroked her cheek affectionately as Lois frowned, not quite understanding her husband's reaction.
"Are you okay, Clark?" she asked him in concern. "You're looking at me like this is your first time seeing me in years."
"It is," Kal-El told her.
Lois was even more confused. "What do you mean? We see each other every day. Are you sure you're okay, Clark?"
In response, Kal-El pulled Lois into an embrace and held her lovingly as he sniffed her dark brown hair. "I love you so much, Lois. I love you with all my heart. You've always been my whole world."
"I love you too, Clark," Lois returned. "More than anything else in the world." As they broke from the embrace, Lois saw some tears rolling down her husband's cheeks. "What's the matter? If something's wrong, we can talk about it."
Kal-El swallowed, not taking his watery blue eyes off his wife's gorgeous face. "Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to... I just want to enjoy every precious moment that I get to spend with you. In other words, I don't want to ever take you for granted."
Lois smiled, wrapping her arms around him. "That's so sweet of you to say, Clark. Then again, you've always been sweet."
After sharing a passionate kiss with his wife, Kal-El climbed out of bed, left the room, and encountered his son Jason in the hallway.
"Morning, Dad," Jason greeted.
"We did it, son," Kal-El said. "Things are better than they were before. Your mother is alive again."
Jason frowned in confusion. "What do you mean Mom is alive again?"
"Well, I woke up in my bed and she was there next to me," Kal-El explained with a grin.
"Of course she was, Dad," Jason said, wondering what was going on with his father. "You and Mom sleep together every single night. Why wouldn't she be next to you?"
"I see," Kal-El muttered, realizing his son clearly didn't remember the previous version of reality.
"What's going on, Dad? Why are you acting so weird this morning?" Jason wondered.
"Um, I guess it's due to the terrible nightmare I had," Kal-El stated. "The Daily Planet was gassed by a psychopath and everyone inside had been killed, including your mother."
Jason gasped in horror. "Oh, my God, that's horrible."
"You have no idea, son," Kal-El muttered with a sigh.
"Well, it was just a nightmare, Dad," Jason pointed out even as he shivered at the mere thought of his mother meeting such a horrendous fate. "You're Superman, so I know you would never let any like that happen."
"If only I could've stopped it then," Kal-El said under his breath before pulling his son into a hug. As they released each other, Kal's mind drifted to a certain person he had grown to care deeply about. "Is Galatea around, son?"
"I'm right here, Kal," the young woman in question announced as she suddenly appeared in the hallway, holding a container of Neapolitan ice cream that she was eating out of.
"Oh, thank goodness," Kal-El said with a relieved sigh as he approached Galatea and pulled her into a firm hug. "I'm glad to see some things are still the same."
In Gotham City, Bruce Wayne aka Batman (formerly of Earth-89) was in his Batcave with his wife and longtime vigilante partner Selina Kyle aka Catwoman when they received an alert on the computers, prompting them to put on their cowls and head off to deal with the situation.
Earth-4
In Central City, Barry Allen (formerly of Earth-1) woke up with a start, feeling like he'd just had an extremely intense dream. Turning his head away from the ray of sunlight shining in his face through the narrow opening between the curtains on the window, he found Kara Danvers (formerly of Earth-38) lying next to him. He glanced around, surprised to find they were in the apartment he had lived in prior to moving to his girlfriend's Earth.
"Kara," Barry called out as he looked down at her.
Being a very light sleeper due to her Kryptonian senses, Kara opened her eyes, sat up, and noticed her boyfriend.
"Barry?" she said.
"We're in my old apartment on my Earth," Barry told her, before a sudden realization occurred to him. "Wait, if this is what I think it means, then the Crisis is over. The Multiverse is back."
"Are you sure?" Kara asked, before she frowned. "Wait, why did we wake up on your Earth and not on mine since that's where we both live?"
"Amazo did mention the possibility that not everything would be exactly as they were when we brought the Multiverse back, which means maybe, for some reason, I still live in this apartment," Barry stated. "It also means there could be tons of other unexpected surprises waiting for us." He noticed a wedding ring on Kara's finger and pointed at it. "Like that ring on your finger, for example."
Kara stared down at the aforementioned ring in surprise before she noticed one on Barry's finger too. "You're wearing a ring too."
Barry stared down at the ring on his own finger and looked back up at Kara as the two exchanged incredulous looks.
"Does this mean you and I are actually..." Kara trailed off, processing the very idea that she was thinking.
Barry glanced around before he suddenly noticed a photo on the nightstand. In it was him in a tuxedo and Kara in a wedding dress standing in what was obviously a church. He picked the photo up and studied it, Kara taking a look at it as well.
"If this picture of us and our rings are anything to go by, it's safe to say we're definitely married in this new version of reality," Barry said with a grin. "Which I actually don't mind one bit, since this means we don't have to plan our nuptials because, apparently, all of that is behind us now and we're already at the best part."
"That's true, Barry, but it's a bit disappointing that you and I married while having absolutely no memory of the proposal, the engagement party, the ceremony itself, and everything else that happened since that day until now," Kara pointed out.
"That doesn't matter to me," Barry said, before placing his hands on Kara's cheeks and looking into her eyes. "For better or for worse, Kara Danvers, you're the one I want to commit my life to. I want you by my side forever, as my Kryptonian lightning rod."
Kara smiled back. "I'm touched, Barry Allen, I really am, and I love you just as much as you love me, but... we need to take some time to process all of this and get used to whatever other changes we'll inevitably find in this new version of the Multiverse."
"Right," Barry nodded. "I'll check things out here and you head to your Earth and see if anything there is different too."
Kara nodded before she and Barry threw on some clothes in the blink of an eye and sped out of the apartment.
In Star City, Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance woke up to find themselves in their loft apartment.
"Ollie?" Laurel called out.
"Laurel," Oliver replied.
"We're back in our apartment," Laurel noted.
"I think this means we won," Oliver realized, quickly putting two and two together. "It looks like our universe is back."
"Are you sure, Ollie?" Laurel asked. "How do we know this is even real?"
Oliver was about to answer when he noticed something different about his girlfriend. "Laurel, your stomach..."
"What about my stomach?" Laurel asked with a frown, before she looked down and saw that she had a baby bump. "Oh, my God, I'm..." She looked back up at Oliver with a stunned expression. "I'm pregnant. I was wondering why I felt heavier all of a sudden after waking up."
"Not only that," Oliver said, before pointing at the ring that was around Laurel's finger and holding out his hand to show her a ring that was around his own finger. "We're wearing wedding rings."
"Last I checked, you and I weren't married," Laurel pointed out, before placing a hand on her stomach. "And I certainly wasn't pregnant."
"I'm guessing those are differences between the old world and this new one," Oliver stated. "That means we must be prepared for any other surprises that I'm sure we'll encounter."
Suddenly, a cell phone on the nightstand vibrated and Oliver picked it up. He looked at the screen and his eyes widened as he saw who it was.
"Who is it?" Laurel asked, curious due to the look on her boyfriend's (or was it husband's?) face.
"It says 'Mom'," Oliver replied, incredulously.
Laurel was stunned. "Are you gonna answer it?"
Taking a deep breath, Oliver pressed 'talk', placed the phone to his ear, and, after a brief pause, said, "Hello?"
"Good morning, Oliver," the voice of Moira Queen greeted.
"Hey, Mom," Oliver greeted, taken aback as he did his best to keep his voice even.
"Are you and Laurel still joining us at the mansion for breakfast this morning?" Moira wondered. "With my duties as mayor and yours as both the Green Arrow and the head of Queen Consolidated, it's been quite some time since we last spent some quality time together as a family. I also invited Samantha and William to join us."
Oliver swallowed hard upon learning that not only was his mother alive again, but his son's mother was too. "Mom, I love you. I love you so much."
"I love you too, my beautiful boy," Moira replied, affectionately.
"Laurel and I would really, really love to join you and the rest of the family for breakfast, but I'm afraid that something very important has suddenly come up and neither of us will be able to make it this morning," Oliver told her. It pained him greatly to turn down the opportunity to spend some time with his mother, but he needed to meet up with some of the other heroes to find out who else still remembered the Crisis and discuss what they had learned so far about the new universe.
"I understand, Oliver," Moira said, disappointed but not holding the decision against her son. "Go ahead and do whatever it is that you need to do."
"I will make it up to you, Mom, I promise," Oliver assured her. "I have to go."
"Take care," Moira said.
"You too," Oliver said, before hanging up as a couple of tears rolled down his eyes. Turning to Laurel, he said, "I'll call Barry and you call Sara. We need to know who else besides the two of us remembers the Crisis."
Elsewhere in Star City, Sara Lance woke up on a couch and looked around in surprise and confusion, finding herself in the apartment she and her father lived in. She got up and went into another room, where Quentin was still asleep. Was she really back at home or was she experiencing a hallucination?
She needed to contact Oliver and her sister to find out for sure.
Lyla Michaels woke up in bed to find her husband, John Diggle, lying next to her.
"Johnny?" she said in surprise.
As if he had heard her, Diggle opened his eyes with a groan and smiled at the sight of his wife. "Good morning, sweetheart."
Realizing it was really her husband, Lyla pulled Diggle into an embrace and planted a kiss on his lips, which he immediately returned. After a few seconds, they broke apart and Lyla told him, "Johnny. I love you so much."
"I love you too, Lyla," Diggle returned. He frowned upon noticing a tear rolling down his wife's cheek. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Lyla answered, wiping away her tear. "Just a dream I had is all."
She turned around and was about to get out of bed when she noticed something about the photo on the nightstand. Doing a double take, she looked at the photo, which showed her, Diggle, J.J., and a little girl who was the same age as J.J.
"We have two kids?" Lyla said with a stunned expression.
"Of course we have two kids, Lyla," Diggle responded as he heard her. "Our twins J.J. and Sara. Are you feeling all right?"
"Never been better," Lyla replied with a contented smile.
Cisco Ramon was in the cortex of S.T.A.R. Labs when he was startled by the abrupt appearance of Barry and Kara.
"Cisco," Barry greeted.
"Hey," Cisco said. "Is there an emergency or something? You two rushed in here like the world is on the verge of ending."
"The world actually did end, but we brought it back at the dawn of time," Barry pointed out.
Cisco frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"You don't remember anything about the Crisis caused by a megalomaniac called the Anti-Monitor?" Kara asked.
"The Anti-Monitor?" Cisco repeated, before chuckling. "Okay, whoever that's supposed to be clearly wasn't named by me."
"I need you to breach me to my Earth," Kara requested.
Cisco frowned again. "Your Earth? We're already on it."
"What do you mean we're already on it?" Kara wondered, frowning back at Cisco. "This is yours and Barry's Earth, not mine!"
"Are you a different Supergirl or did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Cisco remarked.
"I'm the same Supergirl you've always known, Cisco," Kara stated. "I'm from Earth-38 and this is... Earth-1, which you should already know."
"Wait a minute, are you saying that Kara has always existed on this Earth instead of on another one?" Barry asked Cisco as he started to get an idea of what may be going on.
"Well, yeah, obviously," Cisco answered, giving the two heroes a strange look. "Seriously, what is wrong with you two? Did a supervillain mess with your heads and make you forget stuff?"
"Well..." Barry and Kara said in unison as they exchanged awkward glances.
At that moment, Cisco winced and grabbed his head as if he was in pain, while a series of memories flashed through his mind.
"Cisco?" Barry called out as he and Kara stared at their friend in concern. "Cisco, what's going on? Are you okay?"
After a few seconds, the memory flashes in Cisco's mind stopped and he looked up at the other two with realization. "I remember everything."
"You do?" Kara asked, wanting to be sure.
"Absolutely," Cisco nodded. "The red skies, the anti-matter cannon, the Anti-Monitor and his army of supervillains, all of it. I also remember everything that happened in the old reality as well as everything in this new one, which is gonna be very confusing. And, yes, Earths 1 and 38 are basically one merged universe now."
"Uhh..." Kara was taken aback as she and Barry exchanged another look.
"Well, that certainly would've made it easier for us to get married," Barry pointed out.
"About that, congratulations," Cisco told the two.
"Thank you," Kara said in appreciation.
"Since you remember both versions of reality, can you tell us some things that are different?" Barry asked Cisco.
"Well, for starters, I have a girlfriend named Kamilla," Cisco stated in a proud tone. "I was actually about to meet up with at Jitters before you two showed up."
"That's great, Cisco," Barry said. "I'm very happy for you."
"You're gonna absolutely love this next one," Cisco said. "Your father, my brother Dante, and Eddie are alive."
"Really?" Barry asked in shock and disbelief.
"You asked, I answered," Cisco said. "Not only that. Your father is engaged to Dr. Tina McGee, while Eddie and Iris are married and living in Keystone."
"Nice," Barry said with a grin. While he was happy for Iris and Eddie, hearing that his father was not only still alive but had found love again was among the greatest news he'd ever received in his life.
"Also, Caitlin and Ralph are dating, and Joe is with Cecile and have their daughter Jenna just like in the old reality," Cisco continued.
"So Ronnie still died saving the world from the singularity," Barry realized.
"Unfortunately, that's still the same," Cisco pointed out.
"And if Caitlin is with Ralph..."
Before the conversation could go on, Barry felt his phone vibrate and looked at the screen. Seeing that it was Oliver, he wasted no time answering it.
"Hey, Oliver," Barry greeted.
"We need to meet now," Oliver ordered.
"Where are you?" Barry inquired.
Earth-5
Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman (formerly of Earth-50) entered the Justice League headquarters in the Wayne manor as she met up with Wayne, Kal, Vic, Arthur, Hal, and J'onzz and discovered that she was only one of them who remembered the original Multiverse and the Crisis.
Barry-Blue sped through the streets of Central City happily before entered a house. After instantly changing out of his Flash suit and into regular clothes, he rushed into the kitchen, where he greeted his parents, Henry and Nora Allen, and gave them each a hug before joining them for breakfast.
Earth-6
Lucifer Morningstar stood in his penthouse with Chloe Decker, who tearfully declared her love for him and begged him not to leave.
"We were wrong about something else in the prophecy," Lucifer said. "My first love was never Eve." He touched Chloe's cheek affectionately. "It was you, Chloe. It always has been."
After they shared a passionate kiss, Chloe begged him again not to go, but Lucifer told her "Goodbye" before his wings emerged and he disappeared.
Earth-7
Clark Kent aka Superman (formerly of Earth-93) was flying in the air, when Barry Patrick Allen aka The Flash (formerly of Earth-90) appeared on the street below. Clark descended next to Allen, who noticed the former as the two superheroes smiled and waved at each other before going their separate ways and eventually meeting up with their respective wives, Lois Lane and Tina McGee.
Earth-8
On Krypton, Seg-El stared up at the morning sky, clearly deep in thought.
Earth-9
From left to right, Conner, Rose Wilson, Rachel Roth, Hank Hall (Hawk), Dick Grayson (Nightwing), Donna Troy (Wonder Girl), Dawn Granger (Dove), and Kory Anders walked down an alleyway, while Gar Logan, in his tiger form, and Krypto the dog joined them.
The Doom Patrol members, consisting of Cliff Steel, Crazy Jane, Victor Stone, Larry Trainor, and Rita Farr, were outside their mansion, laughing happily and dancing with each other.
Swamp Thing was sitting in a swamp, watching over the area that served as his domain.
Earth-10
Jesse Quick (formerly of Earth-2) was happily racing through the streets of Central City, as well as the surrounding cities, when her mentor, Jay Garrick (formerly of Earth-3), appeared next to her as they ran together. They soon went their separate ways as Jesse headed to S.T.A.R. Labs to meet with her father, Harry Wells, while Jay met up with his wife, Joan Williams, in his lab.
In Blue Valley, Courtney Whitmore aka Stargirl stood with her teammates. On the right of her was Beth Chapel aka Dr. Mid-Nite, while Rick Tyler aka Hourman and Yolanda Montez aka Wildcat stood to her left. Behind them was Courtney's stepfather, Pat Dugan, who towered over the three teen heroes in his giant robot armor known as S.T.R.I.P.E.
Earth-11
Sara Lance aka Green Arrow was standing on a rooftop in Star City when Patty Spivot aka The Flash raced past in a streak of yellow-orange lightning, stopping briefly to wave at her emerald archer friend before continuing on to Central City, where the scarlet speedster met up with her husband, Barry Allen, in their apartment.
Clara Kent aka Superwoman (formerly of Earth-111) flew happily over the green and golden fields of Smallville before she descended to the Kent farm and entered the yellow house, where she met up with her adoptive parents, Martha and Jonathan, who were happy to see their daughter.
Earth-12
In the Metro Tower, Batman (formerly of Earth-192) stood with Flash, Green Lantern, Shayera (who was wearing her Hawkgirl uniform minus the cowl), and Martian Manhunter, while the various other members of the Justice League were scattered about, tending to their own business.
"To everyone else, the Crisis never occurred, but to us, every moment of it happened," Martian Manhunter stated.
"Why are we the only ones who remember it?" Flash wondered.
"What are we that everyone else isn't?" Green Lantern asked.
"Paragons," Shayera realized. "We helped Amazo recreate the Multiverse. For the better in some ways, since in this new reality, it turned out that I never betrayed you guys for my own people and, as a result, I never stopped using the Hawkgirl alias."
"Great," Flash said, happily. "Now you no longer have to worry about any lingering trust issues from the less forgiving civilians."
"Obviously not to the same extent as before, but the Thanagarian invasion still happened in this new reality, which means, even if I had no involvement in it, there are those who distrust me just because I'm from Thanagar," Shayera pointed out.
"I know that sucks, but let 'em think what they want," Flash remarked. "We just saved all of existence from total annihilation. A bad day has suddenly turned into a good day for us." He turned to Green Lantern. "Anyway, G.L., what are you gonna do about the fact that you and Vixen never dated in this new reality because you and Shayera never broke up and are still together?"
Green Lantern sighed and turned to Shayera. "The thing is, if you and I were to continue being together like nothing happened while we only remember the old reality, I'd feel like..."
"You'd feel like you're cheating on Vixen," Batman said, knowingly.
"Not to mention how complicated this situation would really become if Mari somehow ends up remembering everything from before," Green Lantern added.
"Sounds like you have a decision to make, John," Shayera said with a grin.
Green Lantern sighed again. "I could seriously use a drink right now."
"I'll join you, buddy," Flash offered.
"The five of us need to explore this new world as much as possible," Batman stated. "We don't know what other changes have yet to reveal themselves to us."
Flash noticed Fire and Ice walking together in the distance and grinned flirtatiously at the former.
"Are you finally gonna ask her out or are you gonna keep procrastinating?" Shayera teased the scarlet speedster.
"I was gonna do exactly that," Flash said, before he sped over to Fire, startling her and Ice. "Hey, Beatriz. Uh, would you care to... have a bite to eat with me?"
Fire grinned eagerly. "Sure thing, Flash. It's about time."
"All right!" Flash exclaimed, cheerfully. "It's a date!"
"What about you and Diana?" Green Lantern asked Batman. "Keep denying it all you want, but you know you have feelings for her."
"Focus on your own relationship issues, John," the Dark Knight retorted.
"Speaking of which, I should check up on my own wife," Martian Manhunter said, before he flew out of the Metro Tower.
"I'll see you guys around," Shayera said to Green Lantern and Batman.
"You too," Green Lantern said, before he and Shayera headed off in different directions.
Batman turned to see Wonder Woman talking to Big Barda in one part of the headquarters and stared contemplatively at the former heroine before his lips formed into a slight grin.
Earth-13
Robin, Stafire, Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy were congratulated by the citizens of Tokyo and awarded medals of honor by the mayor for taking down Commander Uehara Daizo the night before.
Earth-14
The Batman, along with Robin and Batgirl, returned to the Batcave after having taken down the latest supervillain.
Earth-15
Batman and Superman rode through a parade in a convertible with Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen as the citizens of Metropolis praised the two superheroes for their takedown of Lex Luthor following the red kryptonite incident. The parade was soon interrupted by the sudden appearance of Brainiac, who flew overhead in a massive red ship as the Dark Knight and Man of Steel immediately launched into action to take on the newest supervillain.
Earth-16
Zatanna's father, Giovanni Zatara, introduced his daughter to the team of young heroes consisting of Robin, Miss Martian, Kid Flash, Artemis Crock, Aqualad, and Superboy.
Elsewhere in the universe, a group of Green Lanterns was on a mission in deep space.
Earth-17
Batman returned to the Batcave after another long mission in Arkham City.
Earth-18
In Florence, Italy, Bruce Wayne (formerly of Earth-205) and his girlfriend, Selina Kyle, were in their upscale apartment, sitting at the dining room table as they enjoyed a delicious brunch meal.
In Gotham City, John Blake aka Nightwing was out on patrol with his young sidekick Tim Drake aka Red Robin.
In Los Angeles, Wonder Woman (formerly of Earth-211) held a bloodied and beaten thug over a building, threatening to drop him as she tortured him for information.
Aquaman (formerly of Earth-206) and his wife, Mera, were relaxing together on a beach as a shooting star appeared in the night sky.
Hal Jordan (formerly of Earth-12) flew through space in a trail of green light.
Earth-19
The young Batman of this universe (formerly of Earth-14) was fighting a group of armed men who were wearing clown masks and working for Jeremiah Valeska, better known as 'the Joker'.
Earth-20
"Take care of yourself," The Batman of this world said to Selina Kyle, who nodded to him in response before she rode off on her motorcycle.
A young woman with short dark hair, clad in a tight mostly blue suit with a long red cape and the House of El emblem on the chest, was flying high above the city of Metropolis.
Earth-21
The Justice League of this universe – the duplicates of the individuals from the world of the Regime and the Insurgency – went off on a mission after receiving an alert in their Watchtower space station.
Earth-22
The Insurgency members Batman, Catwoman, Batgirl, Supergirl, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Harley Quinn, Hal Jordan, Firestorm, Blue Beetle, and several others were gathered in their headquarters for a meeting.
The Flash was running at super-speed, blissfully unaware of a certain sacrifice he had made during a Crisis that no one in this universe remembered. He soon arrived at the Insurgency headquarters, joining the others.
Earth-25
The funeral of Superman, following his brutal battle with Doomsday, was well underway as millions of people had gathered for the event, while the rest of the Justice League members Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, and Hawkman stood on the stage with the mayor, who was giving a speech.
In the Wayne manor, a saddened Bruce Wayne stood in front of the windowed double doors with his son, Damian, who comforted his father, and Ace the dog, while Alfred watched them with a look of sympathy from where he was.
Earth-26
In the universe that was formerly Earth-263, Superman was giving fellow Justice League members Stargirl, Blue Beetle, and Firestorm a tour of his Fortress of Solitude.
Earth-29
Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, along with Frank the Plant, were hanging out in Ivy's apartment with their fellow crew members King Shark, Clayface, and Doctor Psycho.
Earth-30
In the universe that was formerly Earth-319, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl, Bumblebee, Zatanna, and Green Lantern (Jessica Cruz) prepared to battle Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Star Sapphire, Livewire, and Giganta.
Earth-32
Helena Kyle aka the Huntress, Dinah Redmond aka Black Canary, Barbara Gordon aka Oracle, and Patience Phillips aka Catwoman were in their New Gotham Clocktower headquarters when they were visited by Helena's parents, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, who were happily married and retired from vigilantism.
The Superman of this universe, who had shoulder-length hair, was battling a giant spider-like alien creature with fellow Justice League members Barry Allen aka The Flash, Guy Gardner aka Green Lantern, Beatriz 'B.B.' da Costa aka Fire, and Tori Olafsdotter aka Ice.
Earth-37
The group of heroes in this universe, informally known as the 'Super Friends' (although their official name was the Justice League of America), were gathered in the Hall of Justice headquarters.
Earth-38
The older Superman of this universe, who was well in his nineties but looked no older than a man in his fifties, flew across the cloudy blue sky with a smile on his face.
Earth-39
Arthur Fleck, also known as the Joker, stood on the smashed hood of the police car he had been pulled out of as the massive crowd of rioters cheered at him.
Earth-40
Dr. Manhattan was hovering in space when he suddenly remembered the original Multiverse and the anti-matter wave that had destroyed the universe and his physical form.
Sensing something approaching at tremendous speed, the bright blue powerful being turned to see a golden figure heading directly towards him in a streak of yellow light. Knowing immediately that it was another cosmic entity, Dr. Manhattan waited calmly until the golden figure stopped before him.
"Hello, my friend," Amazo greeted the blue being.
Earth-44
A handsome blonde man who was clad in a mostly dark blue suit with red gloves and matching boots, along with a flowing cape with the American flag design, blasted an airplane apart with red laser beams from his eyes.
The 'superhero' known as Homelander hovered in the cloudy night sky, placing his hands on his hips with a satisfied grin as the remains of the plane descended into the ocean below.
Earth-45
The superhero team known as the Guardians of the Globe, consisting of The Immortal, Darkwing, War Woman, Red Rush, Aquarus, Martian Man, and Green Ghost met up at their headquarters, only to be abruptly confronted by Omni-Man, a powerful 'superhero' clad in a red and white costume with a red 'O' on the chest and a long red cape.
Earth-48
Twelve-year-old Brandon Breyer stared at his completely uninjured hand in disbelief after the blade of a lawn mower, which he had accidentally hurled across the field, failed to cut him.
Earth-52
Lois Lane-Queen (formerly of Earth-64) was with her husband, Oliver, in their loft apartment of the Queen Tower when she received a phone call from her cousin, Chloe Sullivan.
Alexander 'Lex' Luthor stood with his sister, Tess, in the main office of LexCorp.
Andrea Rojas aka the Angel of Vengeance stood atop a skyscraper in Gotham City before she leapt off the building and landed her feet on the ground hundreds of meters below, completely unharmed due to her immense strength and durability.
"Worlds lived. Worlds died. What had been infinite was reborn at the dawn of time as fifty-two. The Multiverse and the lives of all who reside in it are no longer the same."
That covers the New Multiverse, and yes, there are indeed only 52 universes, which is unfortunate for all the worlds that didn't get brought back and are, thus, truly gone, but that's a huge consequence of the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
As for the universes shown in this chapter, Smallville is now Earth-1, while the Donnerverse, Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman, 1966 Batman, and 1970s Shazam combined to become what is now Earth-2. Superman Returns and the Burtonverse merged to become Earth-3. Arrowverse is Earth-4, with Earths 1 and 38 combined into one universe just like in canon.
DCEU is now Earh-5, Lucifer is Earth-6, and Earth-7 is Earth-90 and the world of Lois & Clark combined into one universe. Earth-8 and Earth-9 are the worlds of Krypton and Titans respectively just like in the old Multiverse, though Titans is now merged with Doom Patrol and Swamp Thing. Earth-10 is Earths 2 and 3 merged into one universe, and Earth-11 (the world of Patty Spivot's Flash and Sara Lance's Green Arrow) combined with Earth-111, the home of Clara Kent.
DCAU is Earth-12, Teen Titans is Earth-13, The Batman (2004 cartoon) is Earth-14, Batman: The Brave and the Bold is Earth-15, Young Justice (which is now merged with Green Lantern: The Animated Series) is Earth-16, Arkhamverse is Earth-17, the Nolanverse (merged with the worlds of Adrianne Palicki's Wonder Woman, Justin Hartley's Aquaman, and Ryan Reynolds' Green Lantern) is Earth-18, Gotham is Earth-19, and The Batman film starring Robert Pattinson is Earth-20, with Sashe Calle's Supergirl from The Flash film also existing in that world.
Earth-21 is now the "good" Injustice universe, Earth-22 is the "Regime/Insurgency" Injustice universe, Earth-25 is the DCAMU, Earth-26 is Justice League Action, Earth-29 is the Harley Quinn animated show, Earth-30 is DC Super Hero Girls, and Earth-32 is the TV show Birds of Prey combined with Nicholas Cage's Superman and the 1997 film Justice League of America, while the retired Bruce Wayne is portrayed by George Clooney in this world.
Earth-37 is Super Friends, Earth-38 is Adventures of Superman, Earth-39 is Joker (2019 film), and Earth-40 is Watchmen.
I'm sure these three were unexpected, but since they are DC-inspired universes, the TV show versions of The Boys and Invincible, as well as the film Brightburn, also exist in this Multiverse as Earth-44, Earth-45, and Earth-48 respectively. They existed in the original Multiverse too, but obviously had different Earth numbers.
Lastly, Earth-52 is Clark Luthor's world, putting both Smallville universes at the opposite ends of each other.
Like in the Arrowverse's "Crisis on Infinite Earths", multiple other characters who have died either in canon or in this series have been brought back. The idea of Alicia Baker from Smallville being alive post-Crisis and in a relationship with Bart Allen was inspired by fellow author Aragorn II Elessar's fic "Heroes from Infinite Earths".
While Barry-Blue has his mother alive again, which means his father never went to prison in the first place, the same couldn't happen for Barry-Red, since Nora Allen's death in the Arrowverse is as much a fixed point as Robert Queen's death.
The Paragons, Amazo, Dr. Manhattan, and Lyla Michaels (due to having been Harbinger) are the only ones who remember the old Multiverse and the Crisis event, while everyone else only know the new Multiverse as if it always been that way. Cisco also remembers now, due to his vibe powers.
The next and final chapter will be the epilogue to both this story and the entire "Alternate Events" series.