CHAPTER THIRTEEN
AN ALLEY IN METROPOLIS. NIGHT.
Superman and Peter Parker crashed down onto the wet pavement, splashing into shallow puddles of hot rainwater. A haze of misty drizzle hung over the humid Metropolis night. Superman sat up and wiped drops of water off of his white costume.
"Peter!" he exclaimed. "What did you do?"
"Ugh," Peter said in response, sitting up as well. He looked around. "Where are we?" he asked.
"A minute ago we were in the Fortress of Solitude," Superman said, annoyed. "And then we were whisked away because you messed with…" He paused for a moment and looked around. A few dozen feet away, lying unceremoniously in a puddle of dank water, was the object that had brought them here. "…the Infinity Gauntlet," Superman finished.
In a burst of speed he ran toward the gauntlet.
Just before his fingers touched the golden glove a green barrier clamped down over it, keeping it from the Man of Steel's grasp. He spun around and glared at Peter.
Peter Parker, still sitting on the dingy pavement, had a fist held out toward Superman. The Green Lantern ring on his middle finger glowed brightly, casting the emerald barrier that was keeping Superman from reaching the gauntlet.
"Drop the barrier," Superman said through clenched teeth. "Now."
"I can't do that," Peter replied. "I can't let you have the gauntlet, Superman."
"Peter, you don't want to do this," Superman said. "I'll take that ring from you by force if I have to. You won't win."
Peter slowly rose to his knees, then, wobbling a bit, he got to his feet and stood tall. All the while he never lowered the ring for an instant. "Try me," he said, defiantly.
Superman folded his arms across his chest. He hovered a few feet off the ground, his cape flapping slightly in the breeze. His eyes flicked to the left, something catching his attention in the distance. He frowned and furrowed his brow.
"Hold that thought," he said. He slowly lowered back to the ground. With some concern, he walked down the alley toward whatever had just caught his eye.
Peter, wary of some kind of trick, did not move. He stood statue-still, keeping his gaze and the ring trained on the gauntlet.
At the end of the alleyway was a newspaper vending machine with that day's edition of the Metropolis Inquisitor. Superman grabbed the vending machine's front door and ripped it off. He grabbed the current copy and studied the front page.
The headline read "R.I.P. Lex." A subheading read "Search Called Off – Funeral Friday." It was accompanied by a large photo of Lex Luthor.
"This… doesn't make sense," Superman said. "Lex Luthor, presumed dead…"
"What are you talking about?" Peter said over his shoulder. "You know that Lex is dead in this timeline. You never saved him when he drove his Porsche off that bridge."
"Not this timeline," Superman said. "'Missing billionaire Lex Luthor presumed dead after private jet crashes over the ocean,'" he read from the paper. "This is when Lex went missing after Helen Bryce tried to kill him."
"What? How is that possible?" Peter asked.
"The gauntlet," Superman said. "Right before we disappeared, the time, space, and reality gems all lit up. We could be anywhere right now, Peter. Any time. Anywhere. Any reality." He looked back down at the newspaper. "And if this timeline is anything like the one that I'm originally from, then this newspaper means I'm currently walking around Metropolis, wearing a red kryptonite ring and calling myself Kal."
"Someone mention me?" came a voice from behind them.
Superman turned. So did Peter, to the extent that he could do so without taking his focus off the gauntlet.
Standing in the mist was a younger version of Clark, wearing a black button-down shirt and blue jeans. The top few buttons of his shirt were open, revealing a hint of a nasty burn scar across his chest. On his finger he wore a class ring containing a glowing red gemstone.
"Who are you guys?" Kal asked, looking back and forth from Superman to Peter Parker. "And why the hell do you look just like us?"
"Us?" Peter asked.
A second figure stepped forward out of the mist. He looked exactly like Peter Parker, but with gel-slicked hair that swooped down across his forehead nearly to his eyes. He wore a black blazer over a black button-down shirt and a pair of dress slacks. This darker, "Emo" version of Peter straightened the lapels of his blazer and smirked. "I don't know who these guys are, Kal," he said. "But they certainly don't have our sense of style."
Superman let go of the newspaper and allowed it to blow away in the wind.
"Peter," he said cautiously to his version of Peter Parker. "I need you to listen to me. We need to grab the gauntlet and get out of here."
Kal looked down the alley at the barricaded gauntlet. "What is that thing?" he demanded.
"It's none of your concern, Kal," Superman replied.
"Well that just makes me want it even more," Kal replied. He nodded toward Emo Peter. "You know what to do."
"Yeah," Emo Peter said with a mischievous look. "I'm gonna put some dirt in their eyes." He did a backflip and clung to the nearby alley wall. Pressing his fingers into his palms, he launched a barrage of impact-webbing projectiles at the other Peter.
Peter yelled and ducked, instinctively dropping the construct he'd had over the gauntlet and putting up a shield in between himself and Emo Peter. Some of the impact webbing ricocheted off the shield, some stuck to it like big globs of glue.
With the gauntlet now exposed, Superman and Kal both sped toward it at the same time. Kal reached it first and grabbed it, but Superman gave Kal a colossal shove and sent him careening into a wall. Kal dropped the gauntlet and sent it clattering across the pavement.
Emo Peter narrowed his eyes. Something that looked like a sinister slime slithered its way up his body, seemingly seeping out of every pore. It took the form of a costume, covering him with a slick black version of the Spider-Man suit. He leapt off the wall and fired off a webline, swinging down the alley with his hand outstretched as he approached the gauntlet.
"No!" Peter Parker yelled, spinning around and firing a concussive beam of green energy from the ring. It hit the black Spider-Man in the back, stunning him and causing him to lose his grip on the webline. He landed harshly on the pavement with a grunt and a snarl. He skittered around on his hands and feet like a startled spider, crouching and glaring menacingly. Peter kept his ring trained on the black Spider-Man like a pistol, bracing his wrist with his other hand.
Kal super-sped over to the gauntlet, but before he could pick it up Superman was upon him once again. He grabbed Kal and shoved him roughly against a brick wall.
"I have a lot more experience than you, Kal," Superman said. "And I know a few tricks that you don't know yet." He pursed his lips and blew a stream of sub-zero air at Kal, freezing him to the wall. Kal's eyes went wide in astonishment.
"I'll have to work on that one," Kal said. He gritted his teeth, flexed his muscles, and with a surge of strength he busted out of the frozen enclosure. Shards of ice and brick went flying like so many miniature projectiles. Peter Parker ducked and generated another shield around himself.
The black-costumed Spider-Man saw his opportunity, leaping through the hailstorm of ice and brick with his hand outstretched, using his spider-sense to dodge the debris as he twisted and contorted his body. He fired off a webline. It struck paydirt, affixing itself to the gauntlet on the alley floor.
Superman stepped into "bullet-time." Spider-Man was suspended in midair like a statue, and particles of ice and brick dotted the sky like a photograph of raindrops. Superman reached up and grabbed the webline. He gave it a strong downward yank. He stepped back out of bullet-time as the gauntlet went flying into the air and Spider-Man slammed head-first into a parked car, setting off its blaring alarm.
Superman took off into the air after the gauntlet. Kal leapt after him, grabbing him around the waist in a football-tackle and bringing him crashing back down to the ground. The two smashed into a lamppost, sending it toppling over like a felled tree as a shower of sparks shot forth from the base. The gauntlet clanked and clattered as it bounced and then rolled across the street.
The dark Spider-Man pulled himself from the dented-up car and ran after the gauntlet.
The gauntlet rolled and rolled and rolled and came to rest beneath a big black boot that suddenly clamped down on it.
Spider-Man stopped scrambling and looked up in surprise at the figure wearing the boot. It was a man dressed in tactical riot gear including a helmet with a face shield. He was brandishing a humongous sonic cannon. There was a logo on his armor. Three stylized capital letters: TVA.
"Hurr?" grunted the dark Spider-Man.
Without so much as a word, the TVA agent fired the sonic cannon at Spider-Man. The noise that came out of it sounded like a rocket launch taking place at a heavy metal concert.
Spider-Man screamed. The symbiote recoiled and retracted off of Emo Peter, attempting to hide in the folds of his clothing and the pores of his skin. Emo Peter fell to his knees, covering his ears even as the deafening sound waves pushed him away like a hurricane wind.
"Hey!" Kal yelled, back on his feet now and marching toward the TVA agent. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Two more TVA agents appeared out of nowhere and jumped Kal. One stood behind him and pressed a nightstick-like baton against his throat. The other clamped a bracelet onto Kal's wrist. The bracelet had a glowing blue rock affixed to it. Kal thrashed around and attempted to subdue his attackers, but suddenly found himself without his powers. One of the TVA agents punched him hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and driving him to his knees.
A portal with an orange hue appeared in the middle of the street. Several more TVA agents came filing out of the portal, each of them carrying either a nightstick or a gun. They grabbed Kal and Emo Peter by each arm, and in a mere matter of moments, dragged them both kicking and screaming through the portal.
Superman and Peter Parker just looked at each other, utterly bewildered by what had just happened.
Another man stepped through the portal. Rather than riot gear, this white-haired, mustached man wore a simple tan business suit.
"Wow," he said. His southern accent made it sound more like wa-ow. "It's really you guys." He smiled. "I'm Mobius, I'm from the Time Variance Authority." He extended a hand for a handshake. Neither Superman nor Peter accepted the handshake, though this was out of confusion rather than disrespect. "Ah, I get it. First time dealing with alternate timelines?" Mobius asked, withdrawing his hand.
"Well… not exactly," Superman replied, recalling an event with a Kryptonian Mirror Box. "But I am a little confused about where we are right now."
"Ah. Nasty little timeline that's been on our 'to prune' list for a while. One where you never gave up the red kryptonite ring, and Peter Parker never gave up the symbiote. Don't worry, we'll have things cleaned up here in just a moment."
A TVA agent was kneeling on the ground, setting up a device that contained a glowing translucent canister of some sort. It began to glow more brightly as the agent finished configuring it. Another agent had picked up the Infinity Gauntlet and placed it inside what was essentially a giant Ziploc bag. The agent showed it to Mobius.
"Catalog that and file it in the archive room, would you please?" Mobius said. The agent nodded.
"Um, we need that, actually," Superman said.
Mobius shook his head. "No can do, compadre," he said. "The TVA is cracking down on artifacts that allow time travel or manipulation of reality, and Infinity Gauntlets check both of those boxes. Y'know just last week we confiscated a 'time sled' from this little English guy in a bowler hat? Claimed he was friends with a version of you from another universe, actually."
Peter surreptitiously slid the Green Lantern ring off of his finger and slipped it into his pocket. Although the ring couldn't traverse time or warp reality – at least, not as far as Peter knew – he thought it wise to conceal the ring for the time being as a precaution.
"How are we supposed to get home without the Gauntlet?" Superman asked.
"Let's walk and talk," Mobius said, noting that the other TVA agent had finished setting up the glowing translucent device on the ground. He gestured for Superman and Peter to follow him through the portal. They looked at each other with trepidation and concern. After a moment, however, they reluctantly followed him through the orange doorway.
. . . . . .
THE TIME VARIANCE AUTHORITY HEADQUARTERS
Mobius, Superman, and Peter Parker emerged through the other side of the orange door in quite a different location than the one they'd entered from. The headquarters of the TVA was an immense, labyrinthine structure that stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction. The architectural style seemed to be a jarring fusion of retro and futuristic. Tall, imposing columns lined the halls, supporting ceilings that were adorned with intricate patterns that in some places resembled hieroglyphics. There was a bustle of activity going on inside the ornate office, with men in business suits running around comparing readouts on dozens of monitor screens.
After the last of the TVA agents had also passed through the portal, Mobius took a handheld device akin to a small tablet out of his jacket pocket. With a few taps on the screen of the rectangular gray device, the time door promptly closed behind them. Mobius went to place the remote control on a wall filled with similar such devices. He tilted his head to one side upon noticing that one was apparently missing.
"Did somebody check out remote unit 17?" he called out, pointing to an empty slot on the wall. He looked around. "Loki, do you know where remote 17 is?"
A tall, slender man with jet-black hair that came down nearly to his shoulders poked his head around the corner. He wore suspenders and a tie.
"I haven't a clue," Loki replied. "Perhaps it's out for repair? Have you checked with O.B.?"
"Good call, I'll ask him," Mobius said.
"Oh, by the way, I have a message for you," Loki said. "Rip Hunter called. He's wanting to know if you can assist in upgrading the time drive on the Waverider. Something about a software patch for Gideon that won't take."
"I'll call him back," Mobius replied. "Did you happen to note what year he was calling from? One time I returned his call before he'd actually called me, and that got confusing real fast."
"I'll check," Loki replied.
"Thanks, Loki," Mobius said. Then, to Superman and Peter, he motioned for them to keep following him. "This way, please, gentlemen. This way."
They walked down the long, elaborate hallways and corridors of the TVA. Every now and then some of the agents would stare or whisper to each other when they caught a glimpse of them walking by. Mostly though everyone seemed immensely preoccupied by their work, keeping a close eye on whatever they were tracking on their monitor screens and computer printouts.
"Um, excuse me, Mister, um, Morbius, was it?" Peter spoke up.
Mobius laughed. "It's Mobius, not Morbius," he replied. "Please don't confuse me with the living vampire from Earth 688."
"Uh, right. Mobius," Peter said. "Earlier you said you've been confiscating items that can manipulate time, and you mentioned Infinity Gauntlets, plural. I don't suppose you've come across someone named Darkseid who also has one?"
"We are aware of that situation, yes," Mobius replied. He seemed to hesitate a bit, as if his choosing his words carefully.
"Then you know that we need our Infinity Gauntlet in order to defeat Darkseid," Superman interjected. "He used his to change events in the past, like killing my adopted parents and preventing Peter from ever becoming Spider-Man."
Mobius nodded. "The TVA has been monitoring that situation closely," he said. "Large changes to history tend to get on our radar pretty quickly."
"Then why haven't you done anything about it?" Peter inquired.
"Follow me through here please, gentlemen, and all your questions will be answered." Mobius pushed open a large metal door off the main hallway that opened into a smaller room. Superman and Peter Parker followed him inside.
The room was quite dark. It seemed to be empty.
"What's this room for?" Peter asked.
"I'm awfully sorry to do this to you, boys," Mobius said, a note of regret in his voice.
Two glass enclosures slid down from the ceiling, trapping Superman and Peter Parker each in a separate cell. A red sun lamp switched on, illuminating Superman's cell.
"Hey!" Superman yelled. He banged on the walls of his enclosure with his fists, but the red light had already negated his super strength. "What is this?!"
"Like I said, we've been monitoring the Darkseid situation for some time," Mobius explained. "And I know you think that using your own Infinity Gauntlet against him will solve everything, Superman. But the thing is, you're wrong. Time travel can be a real pain in the ass. You can't see it right now because you're smack dab in the middle of it. But you and Darkseid are stuck in a chronal loop. Every time you think you've beaten him, the loop repeats itself and it starts all over again. Superman, you don't realize this, but you and Darkseid have already fought each other 7,963 times."
Superman stared wide-eyed at Mobius. "What?"
"And every time the cycle loops back around, reality is stretched that much thinner. Things warp and change and become further removed from how they're supposed to be. And unfortunately we here at the TVA can't allow you to keep doing that. So until we can figure out what to do with you guys… you're going to have to stay put."
"Mobius, you can't do this!" Superman yelled, pounding on the enclosure.
"I'm sorry, man. I really am," Mobius said. "But this is how it has to be."
He walked out the room and shut the door, leaving Superman and Peter Parker all alone in the dark, save for the eerie glow of the red sun lamp.