Disclaimer: I do not own anything you may recognize
Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.
Thanks a lot to Brainstorm Sorcerer and Stand with Ward and Queen for their help with this chapter.
So, I've changed the series title to 'When Legends meet', as 'When Heroes meet' felt too similar to 'Heroes'. Some individual stories could have the 'Heroes' word in them, but I decided it was best to change the series name to make it 'Legends' instead, and it follows Stan Lee's quote at the end of the trailer for this series better too.
Enjoy.
TW: Thanks for the review, glad it was fantastic. Indeed. Glad to hear it.
Gallifrey 22.3: Thanks for the review, glad it was very good. Yep, all are here. You'll see.
THWA: Thanks for the review, glad you're intrigued. Very true on Talia there, and no kidding there either. Glad to hear it.
Guest: Thanks for the review, and I know MK 1 is great, I plan to play it in time, or see a walkthrough if I can't, and good to know its that good.
Chapter 6- Haunted
Earth-21, Metropolis, Watchtower
"What?" Lois Lane asked, the horror in her voice clear. "They're gone! Where?"
"We don't know, Lois", Chloe said sadly.
"You shouldn't have asked him to look into that", Lois told her.
"We didn't think it would get this bad", Tess confessed.
"Calm down, Lois", Chloe said gently. "We can't lose our heads if we are to bring Clark and Bart back."
Lois took deep breaths, trying to get herself in control. "Yeah, you're right, we need to think this through."
"Maybe I should pay Lex a visit", Oliver snarled.
"While that is very tempting, its not gonna go over well", Tess pointed out. "Lex can just call it harassment."
"We need to find out where they went first, then try to get them back", Emil said the obvious. "Problem is, while we have experience with the Multiverse, we don't have this much experience with it."
"Well, whatever it is, its up to us to figure it out", Chloe sighed. "Clark and Bart are depending on us."
"I just hope they're fine, wherever they are", Lois hoped.
Earth-1, S.T.A.R. Labs, Central City
Jefferson Jackson aka Jax had arrived after what he had been told.
"I'm really glad you decided to come", Barry said.
"I thought S.T.A.R. Labs had to shut down", Jax said while looking around at the place.
"It's under new management", Barry shrugged.
"Whoa", Jax saw the treadmill that Barry used to run. "What kind of treadmill is that?"
"Cosmic", Cisco boasted.
Jax laughed softly. "Cool." He walked to the rest of them. "So, let's get started. You got some kind of "Billion Dollar Man" technology that gonna fix my knee?"
"Actually, Jax, this isn't about fixing your knee", Barry confessed.
"What are you talking about?" Jax was confused.
Stein spoke up from where he was sitting. "When the Particle Accelerator exploded, the energy wave that collided with you is known as "dark matter.""
Caitlin joined the conversation. "And it didn't just hurt your knee. It-it changed the molecular structure of your body."
"Whoa, hold on, Grey. So you're saying I'm like one of those meta-humans I keep hearing about on the news?" Jax asked in shook.
"Yes, I am", Stein shrugged. "Please, call me Professor."
Barry said. "We think you have potential capabilities."
"What kind of capabilities?" Jax asked.
Caitlin revealed. "The same as Professor Stein: the ability for your body to process fission and fusion."
"And you can harness excess energy and turn it into these massive nuclear blasts", Cisco added excitedly. "And you can fly. There's also that."
Jax turned to Stein. "So you're saying you can do all this?"
"Only during times of convergence with a willing partner", Stein said.
"Convergence?" Jax asked. "You and me?"
"Yes."
After a few moments, Jax laughed as he walked off. "No, this is crazy."
"No, Jax, this is your chance to right the wrong that was done to you", Barry said and he stopped.
"Yeah, sorry, you got the wrong guy", Jax told them. "I don't want nothing to do with this."
"Wait a second, we are giving you the chance to be a superhero, and you're gonna say no that quickly?" Caitlin inquired.
"Yeah, not my kind of thing", Jax said immediately.
Stein started. "If the man isn't willing to participate—"
"Look, I saw your test scores, Jax. Your grades were good enough to get into college, but you didn't go. Why?" Caitlin asked, her tone accusatory. "Is this the type of guy you are? One setback and you fold? Well, then maybe you're not the guy for us anyway."
Jax responded angrily. "Well, maybe I'm not."
He walked off.
"Jack—"
"Maybe this just wasn't meant to be", Stein sighed before walking away.
Barry turned to Caitlin. "Cait, come on, I mean, Jax could be our last chance at saving Professor Stein."
"He said no to being a superhero", Caitlin told Barry. "Who does that? I mean, you didn't say no when you had the chance." She turned to Cisco. "Cisco, would you?"
"Chance to have superpowers? Sign me up", Cisco shrugged.
Strider had been silent so far, but now he spoke. "You are thrusting a huge burden upon him without giving him much time to think, everything he has known will change. He needs time to think about this."
Caitlin started. "But he also-"
"And for why he did not go to this place called 'college' in spite of having the means to do so, perhaps something happened with him that took away his chance", Strider pointed out. "Did you think about that before accusing him of cowardice?"
Caitlin tried to speak, but no words came to her mouth.
"You know, he does have a point", Barry agreed. "We don't know everything about his life, there could be other things he is struggling with."
"Oh my God…" Caitlin whispered, ashamed of herself now as she realized she had made a judgment call.
"This isn't you, Cait, what's the matter?" Barry inquired.
"I guess…I thought everyone could be like Ronnie", Caitlin realized. "I wanted Professor Stein's new partner to be just like him, because he was a hero. I guess Jax refusing made me react like that. I shouldn't have done that."
"Hewitt, he does not seem to me like the kind of man who can be trusted with such power", Strider said.
"What do you mean?" Cisco asked.
"Just look at how disappointed he seemed on realizing he cannot be this Firestorm", Strider pointed out. "A wise man humbly accepts his shortcomings. An arrogant man is the one who is filled with rage when such a thing happens."
"He is right, Hewitt's personality, not really something I liked", Barry agreed.
"Thank you, Strider, I think I needed to hear that", Caitlin sighed, knowing she was taking out her issues with Ronnie's death on Jax. She started walking out.
"Where are you going?" Cisco asked.
"To apologize to Jax", Caitlin said, and then she was out.
"Man, I like having you around", Cisco said happily as he pointed at Strider, who chuckled alongside Barry.
"Where is Jay?" Strider then asked.
"He said he'll be resting", Caitlin told Strider. "We only call him for help when it's a meta-human from his Earth."
"All right", Strider said with a nod, turning around and walking through the hallway. Jay helped only when the meta-human was from his own Earth.
He found that, not quite right. Jay was supposed to be like Barry, wasn't he? So why did he not try to provide any kind of aid when Barry was facing his own Earth's enemies?
Not to mention, that would make Barry stronger too. But against Snart and Michael, he had been no help. Strider was sure even without his powers, he could have some insight.
He himself was completely out of his depth in this world, due to the advanced technology that he was still trying to grasp, yet he did his best to help in any way could.
Why was Jay not doing the same?
Universe-208, Tatooine
Blade's eyes opened as he gasped, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings. He was alert and alarmed, knowing this was not any good.
At that moment, Pre Vizsla walked in, not wearing his helmet.
They locked eyes for a moment, both hardened and cold, neither speaking. But Blade did move, and he stood up, not backing down from the obvious challenge, refusing to appear weak.
Vizsla finally broke the silence. "Who, and what are you?"
Blade ignored the question, his yellow eyes peering through Vizsla. "Where am I?"
Vizla was almost amused. "You're not in the position to ask questions."
"I just did. And I'm waiting on an answer."
"And I'm under no inclination to answer. What truly intrigues me though is what causes a man to fall through a hole in the sky, with no comms, no map, and only a sword and several weapons I've never seen before on his person. Tell me, if you were me, how would you react?" Vizsla asked, a dangerous edge to his voice.
"I'm not you, and I don't rightly give a fuck what you think", Blade spat back, his voice having the same dangerous edge.
"Strong talk for a man who had a hole in his chest", Vizsla mocked.
Blade grabbed Pre Vizsla by the neck and raised him off the ground, making him gasp at the sudden movement, and the man's strength. "I think I can back them up."
Then he dropped Vizsla. Blade turned and walked back to his cot, to hide the pain in his chest, as he felt the shrapnel move in his body, slowly being pushed out.
Vizsla was angered but intrigued as he continued. "That same hole, where I saw regenerate, by itself, with no bacta."
"What is this, twenty questions?"
"Can't afford to be too careful on this planet."
Blade mouthed to himself, "Planet?" Then he turned back to Vizla. "Where's my gear?"
"As long as you're in my camp, you may not carry a weapon, but that does bring me to another question." Vizsla pulls out from a pouch on his belt, a bullet. Blade recognized it, he made it after all. Vizsla tossed it to the Daywalker, who easily caught it. "I've never seen anyone choose a slug over a blaster."
Blade kept his eyes on Vizsla, but the words he was using, planet, blaster. He didn't understand. The only theories he had, well, they were outrageous even for him.
And he was there during the Battle of New York.
"Every moment I look at you, I only gain more questions."
"Then you should stop looking, or you'll never find answers."
Vizsla peered at him hard, tilting his head, looking him up and down. Hard muscles, the way he moved, spoke, he was a warrior, Mandalorians could recognize one a mile away. With this in mind, and what else he'd seen of this stranger, it led to a question that would determine this man's fate in Vizsla's camp. "Are you a Jedi hunter?"
No word passed his lips, and no expressions was made on his stoic face, but Blade definitely knew, something was wrong. Jedi? Maybe his theories weren't so wild.
"I'm a hunter."
It was an answer yet a non-answer, all the same, the leader of the Mandalorians nodded. Now he at least understood this enigma better. "My name is Pre Vizsla." His tone was now less harsh and accusing than it was before.
Blade noticed the change, and for once, he decided he needed to play nice. "Blade."
The name made Vizsla smirk. "Until your wounds heal, you may stay in my camp. However, I would warn you about wandering too far, Tatooine isn't friendly to the vulnerable, the Tusken Raiders would see to that."
Without another word, the armored Mandalorian left the tent, allowing the Daywalker to see what looked like a jetpack on his back. After several moments, to make sure Vizsla was really gone, Blade groaned, falling back on his cot and clutching the bandages on his chest, blood staining the white fabric as his inherited healing pushed more shrapnel out his body and cut through the bandages.
It was not the pain that made Blade's eyes widen. It was what he saw through the flaps of the tent when Vizsla left.
Two suns in the sky.
Planet. Blaster. Jedi. Tatooine. Tusken Raider. He understood none of it. But now? Did those Vampires send him to another planet?
"Motherfucker."
Earth-1, Star City
Team Arrow were now in their new base, that being Sebastian Blood's former lair. Oliver had also told his team he planned to run for Mayor, to their shock.
"Now, our new masked friend", Oliver started. "Waller is after him."
"You mean the guy who beat all our asses?" Laurel inquired, still salty about that.
"He was trying to make a point", Oliver shrugged. "And he was right."
"Oliver, we don't know much about him", Diggle started.
"He knows who I am and he hasn't done anything about it yet", Oliver pointed out. "Not to mention, he figured it out on his own. Any help I give him won't make him anymore dangerous than he already is by knowing this."
Laurel started. "But Ollie-"
"You are mad because he took you down", Oliver simply told her. "You're not Sara, Laurel. You can't be her just by wearing that mask."
Laurel now looked angry. "That was uncalled for, Ollie."
"It wasn't, if lack of training is going to get you killed out there", Oliver pointed out, and Laurel had no response to that. "Anyways, he is from another world. The Singularity in Central City opened up pathways between our worlds and others. He fell through one of them."
"Wait what?" Thea asked in shock. "Other worlds?"
"And this started in Central City", Diggle groaned. "My life was somewhat normal before I met Flash."
"We need to protect him from Waller, and make sure he finds a way back, which Team Flash could help with", Oliver said.
"So we got Darhk, Takeo and now this", Felicity sighed. "You really love attracting danger."
"I'm sorry, what?" Oliver looked at her incredulously. "Are you blaming me for all this?"
Felicity realized what she'd just said. "Oh no, Oliver I am-"
"Bad things happen, Felicity. I am here to stop them from happening to more people", Oliver told her, when the computer beeped, and she started reading what was there.
Earth-199999
Parker and Hardison sat across from Nate and Sophie, the latter two both looking utterly shocked.
"Another world? Really?" Nate asked, just to be sure.
"Yeah, that's where Eliot fell, into a different world", Hardison confirmed. "I tracked his phone down to where it was last before he disappeared."
"You intend to rescue him", Sophie noted. "We'll bring him back."
"We?" Parker asked, confused.
"You really think we won't go when one of ours is missing?" Nate asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't think you should come", Hardison replied. "You two are retired, and-"
"He'd do the same for us", Sophie pointed out.
"Because he is capable of doing it", Parker countered with her own point. "It's a new world, who knows what we'll find?"
"And like I said, you two stay here, Eliot would get angry that you two put yourselves in danger for him", Hardison told them.
Nate and Sophie realized the two had a point. Eliot was the hitter, he was the protector. The two of them retired, if they came back in the game just to rescue him, he wasn't going to like that.
"I asked him to keep you all safe", Sophie remembered what she'd said to Eliot the day she and Nate had finally left the team. "But now, bring him back safely, please."
"And we're all going to get together the moment he comes back", Nate added in a tone that left no room for argument.
"That we'll do", Parker quipped.
"And you be safe too", Sophie added.
"That agent is a goddamn daredevil. With him around, I don't think anything is gonna happen to us", Hardison assured both. "Don't tell Eliot I said that."
All of them chuckled, before Nate hugged both Parker and Hardison tightly, and they hugged him back. "Good luck, and bring him back to us."
They nodded before parting, before sharing a hug with Sophie. "Good luck. I look forward to the get together."
As they parted, Hardison said. "We'll all be back together."
With that, Parker and Hardison walked out, waving to Nate and Sophie, who waved back, holding each other's hands as they shared a look, hoping Eliot would be brought back.
Later, Earth-1, Star City
Oliver walked into the warehouse, and looked around, not finding Eliot. At that moment, Eliot leapt behind him from above, and grabbed him in a chokehold.
Oliver tried to free himself but Eliot let him go. "Don't drop your guard."
"That is right", Oliver agreed, turning around.
"First time seeing you in normal clothes", Eliot quipped as both chuckled. "Any reason you came to see me?"
"I know you're from another world", Oliver revealed.
"Right", Eliot muttered.
"And well, the one who sent those ARGUS Agents after you, she wants to recruit you to be part of a Squad of dangerous people with useful skills she has", Oliver continued to tell him. "Your consent won't be something she'd require. She is a dangerous woman, and one of the many who made me what I became. And she threatened an innocent family to get me to work for her."
"Damn! Sounds like a piece of work all right", Eliot had to say. "And I've seen plenty bad."
"I continue to see you were right. I'm working on your advice, but I couldn't defeat some corrupt cops today", Oliver commented, shocking Eliot.
"Did you die on that vacation or do you enjoy being a joke?" Eliot had to ask now. "How are you going to protect this city if you can barely protect yourself from some punk kid and a cop?"
"There was another man there with us, I guess I held back because I wanted him to see I'm trying to be better", Oliver said, sitting down. "But now I've realized, I need something between my old approach and my new one. And what you'd told me, it is convincing me that's the only way. So thank you."
"No problem", Eliot shrugged. "So, you gonna help me when this woman's thugs come after me again?"
"I've as much beef with her as you do", Oliver pointed out. "If she makes a move, well, this is my city, she won't get away with it."
Eliot chuckled. "I have two friends. If she goes after me, and they come here looking for me, well…I almost pity her."
"I wouldn't want to be her when that happens", Oliver noted, when his cell phone rang, and he picked it up. "Hello…..slow down…okay, I'm coming."
He cut the call, turning to Eliot. "Those cops, they took someone. Are you coming?"
"Do you even have to ask?" Eliot shrugged as he put his mask on.
Earth-199999
"Really Ethan? You're gonna go to another world and not take us with you?" Luther asked his friend, not looking pleased about it.
"The Syndicate is not going to stop its operations while I'm not around", Hunt pointed out to him. "You two need to stay here and continue go after them."
"How exactly?" Benji wondered. "They have not been very forthcoming, in case you haven't noticed."
"I know, but we will get them", Hunt assured the two, before holding out his hand. "Anyways, I need to go."
Luther shook his hand firmly. "You come back from there in one piece, or I'm gonna beat your ass."
Hunt chuckled. "I don't doubt that." Next, he shook hands with Benji too. "See ya, Benji."
"I really want to know what its like there", Benji said, sounding very excitable, to Hunt's amusement.
"I'll make sure to let you know", Hunt assured him.
Earth-1, Star City
Liza Warner's team were loading up their van, when one of them turned to see Laurel as Black Canary standing there.
The guy aimed his weapon, but now Laurel's sonic device had been upgraded, and nothing happened. She let out a cry, sending the corrupt SWAT flying back into the van.
"New frequency, same cry."
Thea leapt down behind another one, striking his face with her bow. The other one aimed his gun and fired, but Thea flipped away, the net trapping the SWAT guy instead.
"Let's get out of here!" Warner said, making to leave, when an arrow struck a SWAT guy, taking him down. Liza looked up to see Oliver nocking another arrow. "Sergeant Warner, you have failed this city."
And then Eliot kicked her from behind, sending her falling on her face. "What he said."
She got up and turning around, tried to strike him with her wrist blades, but Eliot side-stepped to dodge, then grabbed her wrist before spinning and elbowing her face, dazing her, and then he flipped her to the ground, before kicking her face hard, knocking her out at last.
Oliver fired at Quentin's restraints, freeing him, when an arrow was fired at him, but he deflected it with his bow, looking up to see Takeo Yamashiro there once more.
"You…" Oliver sighed as Takeo leapt down with his katana that Oliver blocked with his bow, then backed to avoid another strike before spinning as he got on Takeo's other side and elbowed his back, throwing him forwards.
"I'm going to kill you for what you did", Takeo snarled as he got back up.
"So you hate him, huh?" Quentin said, making Takeo turn to him now. "And what about you, you never done anything wrong?"
"Shut up!" Takeo roared, trying to fire at him now, but Oliver deflected the arrow with his own instead.
"All of us have done terrible things, but I believe we are not beyond redemption", Quentin continued. "And I got to believe we can still be saved, as can this city."
"Nice speech", Takeo snarled, as he made to charge at Oliver, only to be kicked on the face by Eliot, and it sent him back. Before he could get up, Laurel let out a Canary Cry, and he covered his ears in pain, being sent back again.
He saw Oliver, Eliot, Thea, Diggle and Laurel all standing against him, and knew he couldn't win this. And so, he threw a flashbang grenade to the ground, blinding everyone.
When it cleared, he was gone.
"This is becoming predicable now", Oliver sighed, while Eliot walked off.
"Thanks for the help", Oliver said.
"No problem", Eliot told him, when Oliver tossed him a phone that he caught.
"To stay in touch?"
"Yeah."
"Got it."
Earth-199999
"Well unfortunately, we don't have a way to stop your disintegration. The only way to do that is to send you two back", Banner sighed. "Which is going to be tough."
"I mean, we can try, because you two vibrate at a different frequency from the people of this Earth", Tony revealed.
"Wait, so I guess you're gonna try to make something that tracks our world by frequency?" Bart inquired. "Because that'd be cool."
"Only play we have", Tony pointed out, when Clark and Bart 'wigged' again, Bart groaning in pain while Clark resisted.
"I think we need to do it fast", Clark said urgently. "Bart, I think we should help them make this thing."
"Yeah, sure", Bart replied, Clark noting the unease in his voice.
"What's the matter?" He inquired.
"What?" Bart asked. "I'm totally fine."
"You've been acting quite off ever since we met today", Clark wasn't buying it. "Is there something going on?"
"Why do you have a radioactive isotope on you?" Banner asked Clark all of a sudden. "It has quite a long life too."
"Yeah, that's the courtesy of Lex, my former friend and now my biggest enemy", Clark said with a sigh.
"I know how that feels", Steve said sadly, thinking about how Bucky was brainwashed into being Hydra's assassin for years.
"I guess you noticed because you are an expert on the matter", Clark said to Banner about the isotope.
"Yeah, biggest expert on the planet here regarding radiation", Tony said with a smirk, Banner simply shaking his head.
"Its there to track me 24/7, so I can't even go home with that on me", Clark groaned.
"Wow, this Lex is like a crazy, obsessed ex", Natasha had to say. "A little less bad though."
"Is there a way to remove it?" Clark inquired.
"Let me think", Banner said, sitting down to do just that.
"Trust me, no one knows radiation like him", Tony assured Clark.
"So, what's your story?" Tony asked the two, making them look up. "Not the sordid details or anything."
"Well, I was born on a planet called Krypton, but it was destroyed. My parents sent me to Earth, where I was raised by my adoptive parents", Clark told them. "Because of what they taught me, and my experiences in my hometown of Smallville, as well as training from an AI based on my birth father, I finally became Superman."
"Must be really good parents and people in the town", Steve commented.
"There was some good, some bad, for years, but all of it made me who I am today", Clark smiled.
They turned to Bart, who pointed at himself. "Me? Just got this speed somehow, but don't remember anything from before that."
"Really? That's weird", Clint commented. "So, a bit of an amnesiac there?"
"You can say that, amigo", Bart sighed. "And what about you lot?"
"I used to be frail and sickly, and wanted to enlist during World War II", Steve revealed, Bart's jaw dropping while Clark look at him in shock. "But then I got selected for a Super Soldier Program by Dr. Abraham Erskine, who made me promise to remain a good man with my strength. The experiment made me this, and after a few years battling Hydra, which was the scientific branch of the Nazis, I was frozen in ice for decades, and came out just a few years ago."
"So, a Super Soldier from World War II", Clark said in awe. "Even with all that I've seen, this is something."
"Thank you", Steve smiled.
"I'm surprised you didn't go first, you love the sound of your voice", Bart said to Tony, whose eyes were wide.
"Well, who wouldn't if they'd my voice?" Tony quipped. "Besides, better than you, you chatter fast."
Some chuckles went around before Tony said. "My company traded my weapons in my name under the table while I was too busy partying to care, until a terrorist organization abducted me to make a missile for them. But with the help of their other captive Yinsen, I made a suit of armor instead. Yinsen sacrificed himself and told me to not waste my life. I escaped that cave, returned home, shut down the weapons division, and then became the fabulous and invincible Iron Man standing before you."
He raised his hands to either side with a smirk as he finished his story.
"I think you're pushing it", Natasha told him, making him turn to her. "I've seen your ass being beaten a few times."
"I'm just a former Agent of SHIELD turned Avenger, and I'm good with a bow and arrows", Clint shrugged.
"I know someone who is really good with those too", Clark said.
"I'd love to meet him", Clint smirked.
"And what is SHIELD?" Bart asked.
"It was a worldwide espionage organization", Clint revealed. "But turns out Hydra is still around and was infiltrating us for decades, growing under our very noses."
"We had to make things public, and at the end, SHIELD had to go down as well for Hydra's plan to fail", Natasha told them. "Now we go after their bases one by one to stop them."
"Damn! Sounds like a mess alright", Bart muttered.
"How did you deal with it?" Clark asked Steve out of curiosity.
"All I could do was face it, and try to do better", Steve said simply.
"As for me, well, a lot of things happened, then I became an Agent of SHIELD, and then an Avenger", Natasha told Clark and Bart, the two noting she did not want to talk about her past much.
Steve looked at her and gave her a nod, which she simply returned.
Clark noted their dynamic was of two people who knew each other well, having worked together and fought side by side for a long time.
Yet, there was something more to it, which both seemed to avoid. Clark knew it, because that's exactly how it had been with himself and Lois.
Though he wasn't going to comment on it.
"Me, I was a physicist with 7 Ph.D.'s. My girlfriend's dad was a general who wanted my help in an experiment that could make humans immune to radiation", Banner explained. "Turns out he was just trying to recreate the Super Soldier Serum that made Cap. It failed and the exposure to it gave me a...green problem, you can say. I was on the run for a few years, got into a huge mess, then I was needed by SHIELD to track something, then the world was threatened and I joined the Avengers, both of us."
"Like amigo said before, you lot are like the Justice League of this world", Bart commented.
"And, 'tourists' have been popping up quite a bit", Tony said.
"Containing them has been hard without SHIELD, but we're doing our best", Clint told them. "Especially since people like Hydra would love to get their hands on some of them."
"Yeah, I know some people like that", Clark said, thinking of Lex, and Checkmate.
"Also, where is Thor?" Natasha asked suddenly.
Steve revealed. "He said he had to go to Norway."
Bart suddenly raised his hand. "Excuse me, sorry for interrupting, but did you just say "Thor"?"
Earth-1, Star City
Oliver sat across from Felicity, as she looked down. "You really think that?"
"Yeah", Oliver told her. "Don't take this the wrong way, but this really is not working out."
Felicity sighed, a few tears in her eyes. "I wish it did."
"I wish that too", Oliver told her. "But it just can't. You're trying to make me something I'm not, and something I can never be."
Felicity wanted to deny it, but knew he was right. "Guess the image of you as a Knight in shining armor, I never got it out of my head."
"I had an image of you too, Felicity", Oliver said. "Seems like we're both disappointed."
"Yeah, we are", Felicity agreed. "But, I hope we can remain friends and teammates."
"Always", Oliver assured her, giving her a hug that she returned.
He'd thought it'd be harder. But he felt relieved now, because this relationship was becoming toxic again, and both were free of its burden.
Earth-199999, New York, Avengers Tower
Tony was working on the 'breach' device for both worlds, with some help from Banner, when the latter suddenly spoke up. "I think I've figured out a way to get rid of the isotope."
"Really? What?" Clark inquired.
"Well", Banner turned to Bart. "The energy you harness when you run, if you can strike Clark with some of its power, it will destroy the isotope."
"So, your powers", Clark realized. "They can do it then."
"Right", Bart muttered. "So, I've to run then?"
"Don't think there was some other way to it", Tony pointed out.
"Is it necessary?" Bart asked now.
"Okay, that's it", Clark finally said. "You're going to tell me why you've been acting weird all day. What's the matter, Bart?"
Bart looked up at Clark with haunted eyes, his entire demeanor nothing like the fun-loving individual Clark knew. "It is after me."
"What?" Steve asked.
"Something, a….a Demon, of…of the Speed Force", Bart confessed while stuttering. "Its always waiting for me….every time I use my superspeed."
"Then why haven't you mentioned it before?" Clark inquired.
"Because it hasn't always been there before", Bart explained. "I always thought my speed had a ceiling…..but when I didn't have any choice but to run fast than I ever had before….when my life was on the line…"
"When Lex tortured you for stealing LuthorCorp secrets", Clark realized, remembering the time he had teamed up with the League against Lex.
"That's when I saw it", Bart spoke. "Right there. Waiting. Watching. This thing…this….I don't know. Speed Demon? Black Racer? Just on the other side of the glass."
He looked at Clark gratefully. "But I couldn't stop moving."
"So when I saved you from the cage…." Clark realized he'd saved Bart from this thing as well.
"Wait, so let me get this straight, this Speed Force has a Demon that's coming after you?" Tony inquired, when suddenly Clark and Bart wigged again, Bart falling to his knees while groaning, as Clark helped him up, resisting the pain.
"And there is this to deal with too", Clark sighed.
"I think we're gonna need Thor", Steve said firmly. "He might know something about this thing, or at least a way to deal with it."
Suddenly, a beeping sound was heard, and JARVIS spoke. "The area around Shawarma Palace is under attack, sir."
"Give me the view", Tony said, a holographic screen appearing, and their eyes widened at what they saw. "Please tell me I'm not the only one seeing this."
"No, you're not", Natasha assured him.
It was a giant creature that looked like a watermelon, lumbering around with its weight, having what looked like a blindfold around the spot where a human would have eyes, and in its hand it had a stick that it used to bash a car until it was nothing but scrap, the people running around in fear.
"What in the…?" Clint trailed off.
"Let's go take on it", Steve said, turning to the team. "Clark, evacuate the civilians nearby. Tony, you hit it from above. Me, Nat and Clint will distract it, then Clark and Hulk can take it out."
"What about me?" Bart asked.
"You just said you're being chased by a Demon every time you run, so I'm not involving you in this", Steve shook his head.
"But I wanna help!" Bart said.
"I'll carry you there, but unless its really urgent, no running", Clark told him in a tone that left no room for argument, and Bart shrugged in a 'fair enough' way.
"Let's go", Steve said, all of them moving out.
Earth-1, Star City
Quentin had just agreed to spy on Damien for Oliver, when he remembered something. "Also, there is a new player in town, he killed a cop a while ago."
"Anything specific you can tell me about him?" Oliver inquired.
"He used a throwing star, ya know, like the ones you see in ninja flicks?" Quentin asked, Oliver nodding. "Know anyone who uses 'em?"
Oliver thought about it. Takeo was the new guy in town, and even dressed like a ninja, but he hadn't seen the guy use a throwing star so far. Plus, he was really only going after Oliver when he was out on missions, what would he get from killing a cop?
"Not really", Oliver confessed. "But I'll look into it for sure."
Same time
Liza Warner was being transported to Iron Heights by an entire police unit. She was cuffed and in the back of a police van.
"You used to be good", the cop next to her noted. "Can't believe you fell this much."
"The city is dying, and you know that", Warner simply sneered.
Outside, the roof of one of the police vans was blown up by something. The van skidded to a stop and the cops inside it walked out.
Warner was confused now. The cop next to her tensed. They suddenly heard screaming and gunshots. Warner looked here and there, seeming distressed.
She then heard a sword slicing people and a woman whimpering.
Outside, a lone figure walked to Warner's van while all the cops lay dead around him.
The cop opened the door and was impaled on a sword the next moment. It was the Throwing Star killer! He dropped the cop's dead body on the ground and looked at Warner, whose eyes were wide in horror and recognition.
"I did what you wanted", she said in fear. "I gave you the arrows used by the Arrow from the lockup! Why are you after me now?"
"You tried to kill Green Arrow by coming into conflict against him", the Throwing Star killer told her.
Next moment, he threw a shuriken which hit Warner in the neck, killing her instantly.
"Only I can kill him."
With that, he turned around and walked off, leaving the bodies of the cops and Warner behind.
Earth-199999, New York City
The watermelon creature bashed another car, before kicking one more away, the people all running around in terror, when Clark appeared, using his speed to get them out of harm's way.
The giant watermelon seemed angry, when a flying blur struck in on the head, before flying into the raised hand of Captain America, revealed to be his shield.
He stared at the creature resolutely, before charging it, and with a leap, bashed it with his shield, but it didn't even budge.
The watermelon raised its big stick, and brought it down upon Cap, only for him to put the shield in the way, a loud 'clang' ringing out from the impact.
An arrow then struck the watermelon and exploded, making it turn towards the source, which was Clint with a raised bow, watching in utter shock. Natasha fired her guns at it, and it still remained unaffected.
"Hey, melon!"
The creature looked up, and Tony fired two powerful repulsor blasts at its face, making it stagger back by a bit now, and then he flew towards it at full speed, punching it with all of his power, but to his horror, it only staggered back a little at best.
Before Tony could recover, the creature bashed him with the stick, and he was sent flying off before crashing to the ground, groaning.
"Multiple contusions detected, boss", JARVIS informed him.
"I detected those too, J", Tony muttered with a pained groan.
"What is this thing?" Clint muttered, having an arrow nocked, but not firing it for obvious reasons.
A roar was heard and then Hulk leapt, punching the creature right in the face, sending it stumbling back by a few steps. The creature tried to bash Hulk with its big stick, but Hulk grabbed its arm, the two of them struggling with each other now, Hulk's teeth gritted.
At that moment, the watermelon suddenly held out its other hand, and a green ball of magic flew out, exploding on Hulk's chest and throwing him away.
Tony staggered up, aiming his palm to fire a repulsor, when the creature threw down two more balls like that. They exploded near Steve, Natasha and Clint, and Tony respectively. Steve raised his shield to protect himself alongside Natasha and Clint but the explosion was still powerful enough to throw them away by a few feet, while Tony was thrown off too.
"We're being trashed by a watermelon? Is this a parody world we ended up in or what?" Tony wondered, when a flying blur struck the watermelon creature hard, making it fly off by a few feet, then roll on the ground.
Clark straightened in the air before landing, staring at it resolutely, before unleashing his Heat Vision, which struck the watermelon creature, beginning to burn it a little while it screeched in pain, kneeling on the ground.
Then, it raised its hand, and Clark was surrounded by a green barrier. He tried to punch it, only to gasp as he felt pain in his hand.
"Magic", he snarled with gritted teeth, before he got the wigging feeling again, and that made him gasp once more.
Hulk rushed at the creature and gave it a punch that made it stagger back once more, before it struck his face with its stick, turning his head the other way, and then it struck his chest with the green magic ball again, hurling him away.
At that moment, a portal opened, and the watermelon rushed into it.
Bart couldn't contain himself any longer and rushed after it at high speed, recovering from the pain of wigging out. "STOP!"
He would have made it, when he heard the dreaded sound.
"BAAAART!"
He saw its terrifying visage in front of his eyes, and stopped, falling to the ground, covering his chest with his arms, shivering in terror, while the watermelon creature disappeared into the portal.
"It…..it almost got me…" Bart was whispering to himself, as the green barrier around Clark disappeared, and he stood back up, sighing, before rushing to Bart, grasping his shoulder.
"Bart", he nudged his friend.
"Please don't let it get me, Clark!" Bart pretty much begged.
Clark turned to see the others had finally gotten back up, Tony muttering. "Can't believe we got our asses beaten by a giant watermelon!"
"It was clearly more powerful than expected", Natasha noted.
"Clark, take Bart back to the Tower, he can't help in this state", Steve said gently. "Then come back to us. We'll have to find the creature again and stop it, before helping Bart."
Earth-1, Star City
Thea had shown Oliver his speech, and he was going through it when she gestured to someone. "Oliver, I'd like to introduce you to your political strategist- Adrian Chase."
Oliver looked up from his speech to see a tall man, about the same height and age as him, dressed in a suit, walking towards him, hand held out.
He shook his hand as Adrian Chase said. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Queen."
"You too, Mr. Chase", Oliver replied pleasantly before they dropped hands.
"It's time for your speech", Adrian then said, folding his arms.
"Right", Oliver nodded. "Thanks for the reminder." He walked towards the podium, thinking to himself that there was something off about Adrian.
Or maybe he was being paranoid.
Eliot watched Oliver's speech from the warehouse where he was at.
"I certainly don't have a traditional background for leadership, but I can tell you this- after five years in hell, I returned home with only one goal. I wanted to save my city. And with your help, I can. With your help, we will restore our home to the shining beacon we know it can be. But how we're going to get there isn't a mystery. We will overcome our challenges with help from our friends, our family, our loved ones.Those we trust, and those we will need to trust again in order to prevail. Because the only way that we are going to return our home to greatness is to do so together. United."
The crowd cheered and applauded, and Eliot realized he was doing the same.
Oliver Queen, he was a good man. And with the right help, he would be the one to save this city.
Central City
Strider sat in the cortex, alone, as the others had retired for the day. Or just not shown up for the day, in the case of Jay Garrick.
Hewitt had gone insane after getting his powers, but Jax had agreed to merge with Stein, and they had taken Hewitt down alongside Barry.
Strider was still wondering why Jay had not provided any aid. The way the man presented himself, and the way he handled things, they just did not seem right to the Ranger.
Not to mention, he had not seen Jay in the lab today, so where was he?
These questions continued to plague his mind.
Barry Allen watched the man take off his hood, and his jaw dropped.
In front of him stood Harrison Wells.
Suddenly, a figure jumped behind Wells, and boxed him on the head, knocking him out.
And now Barry was even more shocked to see Batman standing before him.
"Barry Allen", Batman spoke, shocking Barry more at the fact that Batman knew who he was. "We need to talk."
And this one is done at last.
I did not think Aragorn could contribute much to the Firestorm plot, so I just had him help Caitlin with her Ronnie issues, and continue to suspect Jay.
While I love Caitlin, 2x4 is one of those times where she annoyed me too with her attitude towards Jax, and even her apology to him wasn't written well frankly.
Oliver and Eliot bond further, and while Oliver has taken Eliot's advice, it will take some time before he can consistently fight the way he used to before.
I dislike Olicity a lot, so I had them break up finally and remain friends, since while I dislike the pairing, I don't have the burning hatred towards it that I have towards WestAllen. Oliver has woken up enough to realize this relationship's toxicity, and end it.
And now he knows there's a new player in the game too, while Adrian Chase appears. Him being Oliver's political strategist is inspired from Stand with Ward and Queen's now deleted story 'Sara's aberration' so thank you to him.
Hate that I couldn't change Oliver losing to the cops but couldn't think of an alternate way of doing the Quentin stuff, so I threw in another psychological reason for that loss. But now Oliver is free of all these constant criticisms that the team (hypocritically) keep making about him, and won't let them effect him psychologically again.
Batman is in Central City at last, so 2x5 is gonna be something.
Now, for the watermelon creature the Avengers, Clark and Bart fought, it's an enemy in Final Fantasy series called a Tonberry, and currently its being fought as part of an event in the game 'Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis'. It is very powerful.
I struggled to beat it with a party of Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart and Zack Fair, and all three of them are more powerful than the MCU Avengers (especially pre-IW) even individually, so if they struggle to beat this thing, the MCU Avengers will have a big fight on their hands too. And even in story, its pretty clear the characters have struggled against it, and then it gets up and escapes still, showing its resilience.
Most Tonberries are standard foes, but some more powerful ones are boss battles, and this is one of them.
So with this Tonberry, 'Compilation of Final Fantasy VII' seems to have joined this series already.
Also, how sad is it that I can make the Avengers, Clark and Bart fighting a giant watermelon mutant look serious, while 'Love and Thunder' made a joke out of the 'Gorr the God-Butcher' plotline of all things?
Blade and Pre-Vizsla carry on like usual still.
Next to next chapter Buffyverse and Supernatural shall come back into the game too.
Hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter.