CHAPTER TWELVE
THE NEW HALL OF JUSTICE, METROPOLIS. MONITOR ROOM.
Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne sat in front of a large super-computer, scrolling through files of known villains compiled from the JLA armband.
"How about Flint Marko?" Tony asked.
"Bruce Wayne purchased the facility that would've been conducting the radiation testing the night of his prison escape and shut it down, preventing him from ever being turned into Sandman," Bruce replied. Tony still wasn't used to Bruce's occasional tendency to refer to himself in the third person as a way of differentiating from his nocturnal alter-ego. "Flint has been returned to a correctional facility but we've arranged for more supervised visits with his daughter and a financial assistance program for his family. How about Aldrich Killian?"
"We have him working with a private think-tank that also includes Otto Octavius, Samuel Sterns, Hector Hammond and Victor Fries," Tony replied. "You know by getting to these guys before they go crazy and giving them the proper guidance and materials we're on our way to multiple scientific breakthroughs that can really benefit mankind? Hey, what about that clown character you were looking into… the Joker, wasn't it?"
"There must be a glitch in the files for the Joker," Bruce said, clacking away on the keyboard. "It says there are three of them, but that doesn't make any sense."
"Hmm. We'll have to get that cleaned up," Tony said, folding his arms and looking dismayed.
The double doors into the monitor room slid open and Superman walked in.
"He's awake if you want to come see him," Superman said.
Bruce and Tony looked at each other. They both knew who he was talking about. They stood up and without another word followed the Man of Steel out of the monitor room.
. . . . . .
HALL OF JUSTICE MED BAY.
Steve Rogers blinked his eyes a few times, trying to will the world around him to come into focus. Everything was blurry, and he couldn't feel his extremities. His teeth were chattering, his head was throbbing, and he was trying to remember where he was and how he got there. He moved slightly. He was still wearing his Captain America costume, but it felt wet and stiff. He could hear the sound of melting ice dripping off of him and onto the floor.
"Captain Rogers? Can you hear me?" It was a female voice. Gentle with a slight accent.
He tried to focus on the woman standing in front of him. Her hair was black, gently framing her face, her features soft but well defined. She was tall, lean and muscular. She was wearing… what was she wearing? He wondered if he was dreaming.
"My name is Diana," the woman said. "I was chosen to be the one to welcome you back to the world because we are alike in many ways. We have both seen the horrors of war, yet choose to believe there is goodness in the hearts of men. We have both sacrificed much to protect the world… both had to leave behind people that we care about." Steve felt her warm hand touch his, the first sense of warmth he had felt in ages. "I do not know how to tell you this gently, Steve. You have been gone for a very long time. Decades have passed since you fought the Red Skull. But you did it, Steve. You stopped the bombs and helped to end the war. You succeeded in your mission, Captain Rogers."
"Where… am I… now?" he asked.
"You are in a place called the Hall of Justice. And you are among friends," the woman said. "Please rest. It will take time for you to understand. Right now I just need you to know that you are safe."
From several feet away, standing in the doorway of the med bay, Superman, Bruce Wayne, and Tony Stark watched this tender moment between Captain America and Wonder Woman.
"Not the worst way to wake up," Tony remarked. "You guys can freeze me for 70 years if you promise to unthaw me in front of a goddess in a star-spangled bikini."
Diana turned and glowered at Tony.
"He was right where the files said he would be?" Bruce asked.
"Yes," Superman replied. "Frozen in the cockpit of the crashed aircraft, not far from the coast of Newfoundland. Perfectly preserved in a state of suspended animation thanks to the ice and the super soldier serum.
"I wish my old man was around to see it," Tony said.
"Excuse me, um, Superman?" a voice from the hallway behind them spoke up. They turned to see Peter Parker standing there. Peter adjusted his glasses. "Can I talk to you?"
"Of course, Pete," Superman replied. "What's up?" He gave Bruce a nod and patted Tony on the shoulder as a way of silently excusing himself, and stepped out into the hallway with Peter Parker. The two began to walk and talk.
"I've been doing some reading up on the previous timeline. You know, on how things unfolded originally, before Darkseid went back in time and changed everything? It's all recorded on those files on the JLA armband."
"Okay," Superman said. "Is something wrong?"
"I guess I was wondering… why didn't you save Lex Luthor this time?" Peter asked.
"What?"
"It's just, in the original timeline, there was a newspaper article about how you saved Lex Luthor's life when he accidentally drove his car off a bridge in Smallville. But this time you didn't do that. Lex Luthor died in that accident. Why didn't you save him? Was it because you knew he'd end up turning evil?"
"No, it's not that at all," Superman said as they continued to walk the corridors of the Hall of Justice. "Lex and I were actually good friends, once upon a time. I didn't intentionally choose not to save him. I was in the Fortress of Solitude, completing the training to master my powers. It didn't occur to me to make sure I was on that bridge in 2001 this time. I suppose it should've. I was so focused on increasing my powers to make sure I'd be ready to take on Darkseid again that I didn't think about the fact that a lot of people I'd saved originally… Lex included… would be in danger now without me there. But Pete, it's going to be okay. I'm going to fix everything."
"What do you mean?"
"After I defeat Darkseid this time, I'm going to use the Infinity Gauntlet to set everything right again. I'll put everything back the way it's supposed to be."
Peter stopped walking.
Superman took a few more steps before he noticed that Peter was no longer beside him. He paused and turned back to Peter.
"What do you mean, 'the way it's supposed to be'?"
"All the things that were changed due to Darkseid tampering with time. I'll fix them all and put everything right."
"Everything?"
There was a long silence.
"Superman, you know that Bruce and Tony have prevented a ton of villains from ever turning evil, right? You're not going to undo all that work, are you?"
Superman did not answer.
"And what about my Uncle Ben? I know that in the original timeline, he was murdered. It's part of why I decided to fight crime as Spider-Man. In this timeline he's alive and I get to see him every day. You're not seriously thinking of undoing that, are you?"
"Peter, look, you just don't understand," Superman said. "This world isn't supposed to exist. It isn't supposed to be this way."
"Maybe not, but it does, and it is. This world is real. And a lot of things about it are better than what they were. Maybe not everything. I'm… I'm sorry about what happened to your parents," Peter said.
Superman looked away.
"But you can't pick and choose," Peter said. "And you can't take away what people have now. This world, it might not be 'real' to you. But it is to the rest of us. It's real now."
"I'm sorry, Peter," Superman said. "But when the time comes, I'll do what I have to do."
He continued solemnly down the hallway.
Peter just stood there as if he'd been punched in the gut.
A few minutes later, Peter walked into the monitor room. It was empty now, but Tony and Bruce had left the JLA database open on the main computer screen.
He typed in a few commands and pulled up a schematic of the Fortress of Solitude.
. . . . . .
HALL OF JUSTICE MEETING HALL, LATER THAT DAY.
Superman walked into the enormous meeting hall. It was vast with high ceilings and had a sense of grandeur to it. Multiple tables had been set up throughout the room, as well as a stage with a platform and lectern so that someone could address the whole room. Flags and banners with logos and insignias for the various heroes that had already joined the League adorned the walls. As he walked through the hall he nodded at some of the others who were congregating here. Bart Allen was attempting to flirt with Natasha Romanoff. Bruce Banner was comparing notes on a theorem he was working on with Ray Palmer. John Henry Irons was making some modifications to the arm-cannon on Jim Rhodes's War Machine armor.
Kara was leaning against a table and sipping a cup of coffee.
"Hey, cousin," she said. "Everything all right? You look uncharacteristically glum."
"I'm not sure," he said. "I had a conversation with Peter Parker earlier today that… well… it's making me question some things." He looked around the room. "And now, looking at all of this, what we've built here…"
"Yes?" she asked.
At the other end of the hall, Steve Rogers, now wearing a t-shirt and jeans, was sitting at a table with Tony, Bruce, Oliver and Victor who were all hanging on every word he said.
"We really are building something incredible here, aren't we?"
"We absolutely are," Kara assented. She furrowed her brow. "What's going on, cuz?"
He heard an ear-piercing noise that was specifically attuned to his super-hearing, even though it was coming from three thousand miles away.
"The Fortress," he said.
There was a whoosh as he took off faster than a speeding bullet.
. . . . . .
THE FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE.
Superman zipped into the Fortress just in time to see Peter Parker picking up the Infinity Gauntlet off the dais where it had been on display.
"Peter. Put the gauntlet down."
"I can't let you do it, Clark," Peter said.
"Nobody calls me Clark anymore," Superman replied.
"I know. That's part of the problem. You've become too detached. You're looking at the world from above, like a god. But it isn't something that needs to be saved. It's fine the way it is."
"You're wrong," Superman said. "Pete, I need that gauntlet to defeat Darkseid when he comes back."
"And when will that be?" Peter asked, hugging the gauntlet to his chest protectively. "You keep telling us we need to prepare for him returning. Where is he?" He looked around sarcastically and shrugged. "I don't see him anywhere, do you?"
There was a glint of red in Superman's irises.
"Peter. That gauntlet is one of the most powerful weapons in the universe."
Peter raised his right hand. "So is this," he replied. The Green Lantern ring on his middle finger glowed slightly.
"I'm only going to say this one more time, Pete," Superman said. "Put the gauntlet down. Now."
Peter slid his left hand into the gauntlet.
Superman let loose a blast of heat vision. Instinctively Peter raised his right fist and the ring created a brief protective shield which deflected the blast. The distraction caused him to fumble the gauntlet slightly. In a burst of super speed Superman was on him, grabbing him by the neck and hoisting him up. The gauntlet fell from Peter's grasp and clattered to the floor.
"You're lucky I got here when I did," Superman said as Peter Parker squirmed in his grip. "The gauntlet isn't something to be used lightly. There's no way you would've known what you were doing with it."
"You're wrong about that," Peter said through clenched teeth. "It's actually surprisingly easy to use."
Superman raised an eyebrow. "And how would you know that?"
Suddenly Peter vanished from his grip, leaving Superman with a fist full of empty air. He looked around in confusion.
Peter Parker was on the other side of the fortress, wearing the gauntlet.
"The reality gem let me create that illusion to buy me a few extra seconds, for example," Peter said.
"Peter..! Don't!"
Peter closed his hand as the time, space, and reality gems all began to glow simultaneously. An eerie haze of green, blue, and red began to envelop Peter Parker. With another burst of speed Superman shot across the room and was upon Peter in a fraction of an instant. He clamped his hands down tightly on the gauntlet even as the beams of light were wrapping themselves around Peter and starting to pull him away. A gale force wind began to blast at the two men from every corner of the fortress, shoving and pulling and tearing. The fortress began to spin and swirl around them as if they were being sucked down a drain. The colors began to merge and blend and everything eventually went white.
Peter and Superman vanished, leaving the fortress empty and silent save for the howl of the Arctic wind.