DC: Cosmic Wars

All characters are owned by DC Comics and Warners Bros, as well as

Disney and LucasFilms.

This is an idea inspired by free man writer's Infinite Wars story. It's a wonderful story and I recommend it strongly.

Prologue: the Ending is just the Beginning

It was a time of Crisis.

The evil Anti-Monitor's rampage through the multiverse has come to the dawn of time. Heroes called the Paragons arrived in the Anti-Matter Universe in that time to stop his rise. If they do not… then the multiverse is fated to fall...

Ever since he was eleven years old, Barry Allen had seen a lot of strange things, and done a lot of them. His life was strange since he had seen a tornado of red and yellow lightning take his mother's life. It only had gotten stranger after lightning, powered by the dark matter from the particle accelerator explosion, had hit him, and he became The Flash. In that time, he's done and fought a lot of weird things.

But being in the Anti-Matter Universe, at the dawn of time, about to fight a monster who murdered entire universes, including his own…this was for the books. Still, he knew this was their last chance, maybe their only one, to set things right.

He was in good company, though, with one exception. Sara Lance, the White Canary, captain of the Legends of Tomorrow, and the Paragon of Destiny, J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, and the Paragon of Honor, Kate Kane, Batwoman, who was also the Paragon of Courage, Kara Danvers/Zor-El, Supergirl, and the Paragon of Hope, and outside of his own team, one of Barry's closest superhero friends, Dr. Ryan Choi, the Paragon of Humanity, and finally, Lex Luthor, who had stolen the role of the Paragon of Truth from a Superman of another Earth. Barry almost snorted, as he and the others ran towards the shadow demons, ready to hold them off, until Oliver was ready.

Barry still couldn't believe it. Oliver Queen was one of the best people he knew, and he still proved it. He had died, going down fighting the shadow demons while the others were helping getting people off the doomed Earth. And he came back to help in this fight, but not as the Green Arrow, but as the Spectre.

Barry went into superspeed mode, as Kara took off into the air to give them support with her heat vision, and Sara started beating down demons with her batons. Lex was blasting them…with powers Barry wasn't aware Lex had. He suspected that Lex might've given himself powers when he rewrote himself into the prophecy with the page he'd stolen from the Book of Destiny. Ryan was just punching them, and J'onn was flying around and punching shadow demons.

"Die, you creepy shadow things!" Ryan yelled as he punched a demon into smoke, while Sara kicked a demon away.

"That's for Oliver!" she snarled as she got ready to fight the next demon that came at her.

"Idiots!" Lex yelled out, "If anyone is going to take over the universe, it's gonna be me!"

The fight went well, with Barry speeding around to take out demons, but he wasn't sure how long they could hold the line until Oliver was ready.

--

Oliver watched impassively as his friends fought the Anti-Monitor's army. He felt pride and hope for them, even as he felt their enemy approaching him from behind.

"It is too late," the Anti-Monitor gloated, "After 10,000 years, I shall be victorious."

"No," the new Spectre replied, "You won't be."

The Monitor almost smirked, "Such confidence. You believe Corrigan prepared you for this fight."

"I believe my entire life prepared me for this fight." Oliver said with the confidence he felt.

"All life ends," the Monitor said, "Only death is eternal. Only I am eternal."

The former Green Arrow removed his hood, "We'll see about that."

Then they both leapt into the air, confronting each other with their power, before knocking each other onto the ground.

They landed, rising to face each other.

--

The fight was going pretty good, Barry thought, as he zoomed around the area, taking down demons. Even at the speed he was running, he could still hear his fellow Paragons conservating.

"Is this typical for you guys," Ryan asked, as he punched another demon down, "saving the world?

"Yes!" J'onn said, as he took out a demon, and followed up to take another one down.

"No!" Lex yelled, the only bad guy in the team, as he blasted a demon down.

"My team and I usually mess things up," Sara said as she smacked down another demon down with her baton, "For the better!"

Barry halted long enough to say, "Focus! We're in the fight of our lives here," and then he zipped off again.

--

The Anti-Monitor fired a blast at Oliver, who erected an energy shield. He gritted his teeth at the effort. The Monitor was not holding back, as rocks and boulders started to lift and spin around them.

--

Barry ducked a demon's attack, and delivered a superspeed punch on another. He could see Lex blasting another, and Kara using her heat vision on another demon, and continued to zap more demons down, as Sara delivered a kick to a shadow demon.

--

The Anti-Monitor started to advance on Oliver, who decided to drop the shield and meet his enemy, grasping him by the shoulders. Around them, energies began to spark and light afire. Oliver glared at him, his determination clear in his eyes, and his enemy's hatred clear in his eyes.

"You have failed," Oliver snarled, paraphrasing his famous catchphrase, "this universe!" And with a yell, he threw his head back, and let out all of the Spectre's energy into the sky.

--

Suddenly, the shadow demons disappeared into nothingness.

Lex looked around, assuming this fight was over, "We—we did it. So this is what being a hero feels like. Interesting."

Kara rolled her eyes at her nemesis, as Barry looked around, and asked, "Where's Oliver?"

Kate pointed at what she saw, "There!"

"Oliver," Sara said worriedly.

J'onn asked, "What is that?"

It was Barry who realized the answer, "'I'll light the spark…while you fan the flame.'"

Kara turned to Lex, "He said you would know what to do."

Lex sardonically replied, "I think dying kind of messed with his head."

"Well, think," Kate retorted, "You're meant to be the genius."

J'onn added, "A genius who's had the fortitude to read the Book of Destiny and retain his sanity."

"I think the jury's still out on that one," Ryan snarked, as Lex pulled out the page he'd stolen.

"The Book of Destiny," Lex said, "I made myself the Paragon of Truth. What if truth can tell us what we need to do?"

"Being what?" Kate warily asked.

Lex held up the page, "Use what's left of the book to fan the flame."

"How do we all use the book?" Barry asked.

Kara realized what they needed to do, "We focus. A singular, laser-like focus." She walked ahead, watching the fight unfold.

Ryan was confused, "On what?"

"Humanity," she said, looking at each of the Paragons, "truth, love, destiny, honor, courage, and hope."

Led by Kara, the Paragons filed into a line, facing the Anti-Monitor and Oliver, focusing all their will into each of their respective roles.

As the battle raged, the ground began to rumble, with the Anti-Monitor crying out, "NOOOO!!!!"

Oliver knew this was his chance, as the lava-like energies swirled around them. With a final roar, he released all the energies he had, as the monster who had murdered universes without a single thought of the lives within them cried out at his approaching defeat.

Suddenly there was an explosion of light, momentarily blinding the Paragons, and when they could see, the Anti-Monitor was gone, but Oliver fell to the ground.

"Oliver!" Barry cried.

Sara turned to her friend, "Barry, get us there!"

The Flash complied, grabbing her by the shoulders and sped them to Oliver's side.

Taking his mask off, Barry and Sara rushed to Oliver, kneeling by him. "Oliver," they cried, looking at the state of him.

Oliver coughed as he began to speak, "I…I need both of you to watch over my family."

Sara shook her head, unwilling to accept this, "Hey, Ollie. They're going to be fine, all right? You're going to be fine."

Oliver didn't answer, looking at the sky, "You—you did it. You all did—did it."

Sara was confused, "Did what? What did we do?"

Oliver said, "Just look." They turned their heads up to see a swirling hole of yellow.

"Ollie, we saw," Sara said, "But what is it?"

"It's the new universe, " Oliver said in slight awe.

"It's kind of small for a universe," Barry observed.

Oliver had to hold back a chuckle, "Wait for it, Barry. It's almost time. Almost time."

He watched it unfolding in a way only he could see, "There. You did—"

He stopped suddenly when flashes of red lightning emerged from the hole, "Something's wrong."

Barry and Sara looked again, seeing the red lightning flashing across the sky, their foreheads forming in frowns.

Oliver now looked worried, almost panicked, even, "Something's interfering, I don't know what. But it's not supposed to be like this."

The yellow hole now darkened into red, and the lightning to strike at the ground around the Paragons, before they struck each of the Paragons, with Kara being first, crying out in pain.

Sara and Barry looked around at the universe, now changing, before they looked back at Oliver.

"Ollie," Sara spoke in concern, her tone tinged with panic, "What's happening?"

Oliver looked at the dark red sky, "I don't know. I'm sorry, Sara, Barry. I'm so sorry."

Barry looked around, then up at the sky, just as red lightning hit him and Sara, and shockingly, Oliver.

He had felt pain from red lightning before, but not like this. Whatever it was, it wasn't the Negative Speed Force. He screamed, and knew no more, darkness overcame him.

Before he hit the ground, Barry thought he heard a voice… "The Force has need of you and your friends, Barry Allen. A galaxy at war has need of you."

And Barry Allen, the Flash, knew nothing more.