The World's Greatest Superheroes..... IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME
JLA #23- December, Year 2	by Curt Fernlund

 

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AquaMan	Atom	Batman	Black Canary	Firestorm	Flash
Green Lantern	Martian Manhunter	Red Tornado	Superman	Wonder Woman	Plastic Man

 Somewhere in Time…

Kyle Rayner was in agony!

Pain shot through him. Agonizing pain, like a fire eating away at his very being. His body was bathed in sweat and vibrating with tension. His mind was a blur as he tried to focus on the glowing green lifeline that stretched out and away from his power ring, vanishing into the soft glow of the force field that he had erected about the Cosmic Treadmill and his friends.

He could feel the presence of Alan Scott, the Earth’s first Green Lantern at the other end of his tether. The older man’s energies were keeping them all locked on course and in touch with their past, but with each passing second that spark that was Sentinel got smaller and harder to grasp. Rayner gritted his teeth and buckled down, trying to focus on the task at hand.

He had to keep in touch with Scott, as well as keep the rest of the JLA alive within the bubble of force that he had erected. Violent energies crashed into his field, the forces of the Time Stream trying to batter him down. Every moment was hellish agony, but for all that he was feeling he knew that it was worse for the Flash.

Wally West was a crimson blur, running for all that he was worth to propel the Cosmic Treadmill to the farthest reaches of time itself. Their destination was the end of everything, a point farther than any of them had ever gone before. Even Barry Allen, the greatest Flash of all had never gone all the way to the end.

Kyle looked about the platform, but his friends were just vibrating blurs weighed down and buffeted about by the massive swirling forces of the Time Stream. The Black Canary had collapsed, Wonder Woman kneeling at her side, holding her in place. The Batman was almost crumpled under the support bar that he was gripping, hanging on for dear life. Plastic Man was a puddle on the platform. Only the Red Tornado seemed unaffected, the robotic shell of his body standing tall and erect, a swirl of air arching out of his form and away. Rayner had no idea what he was doing, but he was hoping that it helped.

Kyle wanted it all to end, but somehow he knew that they were a long way from finished. Worse, he knew that he would have to endure it all again if they survived. They still had to get back home…

The Future…

Bart ‘Bartholomew’ Allen was on his way to the local Learning Center when he felt something strange. He was kicking a pebble along the conveyer, feeling low and put upon for having to go to ‘school’. He was the grandson of the  Fastest Man Alive, and though he did not really know just what that meant- not yet at any rate- he knew that he was something special.

He looked around, wondering what was happening. It felt as though he had just passed through a ripple of heat, but as always the temperature was a pleasant 73 degrees. Still, the air seemed almost to shimmer, and as he glanced up he saw a flash of lightning arch across the clear blue sky.

He stared in amazement, wiping his long and unruly hair from his eyes, hoping to see another, but the cloudless sky remained calm and content as programmed. The moment had passed…

Bart sighed, and with a shrug he continued on his way. He was going to be late as it was. A strange legacy for the grandson of the Fastest Man Alive…

Dawn Allen gasped, feeling the tears welling in her throat. She grasped at her stomach, feeling her unborn child kicking in the womb. Running…

As always her brother was at her side.

“Dawn?”

“Don…”

“What is it? What’s wrong?” The slightly elder Tornado Twin glanced at the heavens, hearing the receding thunder but too late to see the flash of light. His sister was crying-

“It felt… It felt like someone just stepped on my grave. Hold me Don. I’m scared…”

Don Allen did all that he could do and wrapped his arm about his sister, holding her close. He had no idea what had just happened, what he had missed. Dawn had always been the smarter sibling…

XS blinked feeling the sudden wave of energy as it washed over her. She was running full tilt, flat out and the sudden surge made her stumble and falter. She tripped, her burden falling out before her far and wide as she went crashing and tumbling into the dirt.

From a distance Thom Kallor saw his teammate stumble and fall. He willed his Flight Ring to change course and sped back down to the surface of the ravaged planet, landing softly at the side of his friend in a cloud of ash. He dropped to his knees and placed a hand on her shoulder-

“XS! Are you all right?” She looked up at him, her eyes wide and full of fear-

“I- I don’t know! EverythingjustsortofspedtogetherandIgotwashedalonglikeitwasariverorsomething! I’m cold, Thom! So cold…”

Starboy pulled his teammate close and held her. She shivered in his embrace and started to cry. He held her tighter; whispering in her ear, telling her it would be all right.

Somehow he did not believe it…
 

Eobard Thawne paced the small confines of his cell at lightning speed. He was little more than a blur to the myriad sensors that kept an unfaltering, unblinking eye on his futuristic prison. He did not care. Let them look!

Eobard Thawne was the greatest villain to ever live. The arch-enemy of Barry Allen, the Fastest Man Alive-

“Humph…”

The Second Fastest Man Alive! The fastest was Eobard Thawne; the Reverse Flash! Professor Zoom to the news vids! Eobard Thawne should have been the Flash! He should have had the glory, the tribute! The women should be falling in his path, in his wake. It was only natural…


Thawne stopped abruptly, the disgruntled after images of his rapid pacing slamming into his suddenly still form. He looked up and about, sensing the passing of something great. Something awesome! It was like a rip in the Speed Force, and Thawne could feel the energies leaking out-

And just as suddenly it was gone. Thawne wondered what it was, and more importantly, how he might exploit it. He was most assuredly tired of pacing the tight confines of his prison cell and felt that whatever was happening was probably meant for him.

Eobard Thawne resumed his pacing, a smile curling his lips, a plan forming in his mind. He would be free soon.

He would be the Flash…

The Fastest Man Alive…

but it was not only the speedsters that sensed the disturbance…

Booster Gold heard the sudden alarm and ran for the Main Exhibit Hall of the Super Hero Museum! Lights flickered and flashed as he pounded down the hallway, and he could hear the sounds of muffled explosions in the distance.

“Skeets! What the frak is happening?”

The small skittering device that flew along at his side whistled and hummed, analyzing the data that it was receiving.

“Undetermined Booster. There is a power fluctuation, and scanners are receiving an inordinate amount of temporal energy.”

Booster Gold rounded a corner and shielded his eyes with his arm. The Main Exhibit Hall was awash with light. Lightning flashed across the ceiling, and thunder boomed shaking the very foundations of the building. In a far corner, the Time Cube created by Rond Vidar shattered and burst into flame. The reproduction of the Flash’s Cosmic Treadmill was bouncing about like it had a mind and will of its own. In fact, everything even remotely connected to time travel was acting up, all save the Time Sphere of Rip Hunter. The great bathysphere-like device simply sat there crackling with energy…

And then it was over.

Vidar’s Cube smoldered, destroyed. The Treadmill was wrecked, smashed against the far wall. Even the Legion of Super Heroes Time Bubble was shattered. Booster Gold stared at the devastation, wondering what he should do. Sure as night followed day he would get blamed for this disaster.

After a moment’s consideration, he knew what he had to do…

Timothy Hunter stared out over his domain, the shattered world that he now ruled. He glanced aside when Yo-Yo took wing in a flurry of feathers, sensing the pass of magic, taking heed…

Gone-

Gone as quickly as it had come.

Timothy Hunter stared out at the world, his domain, and he smiled.

Life was good…

Nabu opened his eyes and stared blankly at the sky. Something had passed. Something awful and powerful. The Helm sneered, grimacing, trying to smile-

SLAVE! DON ME!

A whimper from the shadows-

“No…Please…Not again…”

PUT ME ON YOU MISERABLE CUR! I WOULD FLY!

The creature crawled forward on bloody knees. Its body was withered and worn, scabrous from the hell that was the sun and the things still lingering in the air. It reached up and grasped the Helm, vomiting as it felt the thing writhing in its grip. Woefully, with a mournful wail it slipped the helmet over its head-

Light!

Knowledge!

Nabu stood, binding the weak bones as they shattered under his weight. The host body cried out in agony, but he did not care casting his gaze to the heavens. He searched…

There!

The slightest flicker of green! A flash of lightning! A lick of flame!

RISE…

It was gone now, but it would be back. He was certain!

And when it returned, he would be ready.

It was Fate!

He was Fate…

Nura Nal screamed and sat upright in her bed. She was shaking and sweating. She had never felt such a strong premonition of doom in all of her life.

She sensed death, and worse…

She sensed emptiness eternal…

Thom Kallor waved his hand and a dim light enveloped the room. He looked over to his wife, the High Seer of Sorcerer’s World, the former Legionnaire Dream Girl and gasped. He had never seen such a look of pure terror on her face. Not during the time of the Great Darkness! Not during the Magic Wars! Not during the Durlan Purge! Her eyes were wide, almost popping out of their sockets. Her mouth flapped but no sound came out. She was convulsing in seizure-

Thom Kallor grabbed his wife and threw her to the bed. He held her down and fast, trying to keep her still, trying to keep her from biting through her tongue. Her teeth were chattering in cold terror-

“Nura! Nura!” He slapped her! “Wake up! It’s just a dream!”

Nura Nal screamed a final piercing scream then collapsed back onto the bed. Her chest was heaving as she gasped for breath. Her eyes were wild from fright-

“Thom…” she gasped. “Oh, Thom! Hold me! Please hold me…”

Starman took his wife in his arms and held her close, rocking her as the tears flowed and the fear slowly faded. Oddly, just for a moment he thought of his old, deceased teammate, XS…

The Madchild Abhararakadhararbarakh looked up at the sudden surge of power as it passed.

The others sensed it, he was sure that they did. They did not seem to care though. They did not recognize it for what it was.

But he did. Oh, yes indeedy. He knew…

Abhararakadhararbarakh grabbed hold and pulled, tasting the wild magick as it passed, laughing in its wake. He took hold and drew himself up and out, following the flicker of green dwindling back into the distance.

It was a wild ride.

A long ride. Round and round and round she goed…

Where it might stop, nobody knowed…

Part 16: The Crisis at the End of Time!

The End…

Wally West groaned and heaved, the last little bit of the curdled contents of his stomach spewing onto the platform at his feet. He was exhausted. He had never, ever run so far and so fast for so long. He collapsed over the support bar of the Cosmic Treadmill and gasped for a breath that would not come. He moaned…

He could hear the others stirring behind him, all around him. His comrades and friends in the Justice League seemed in no better shape than he was. The turbulence of the Time Stream had been worse than he recalled it ever being, and like a raging river the fury had tossed them all about as though they had been riding a home-made raft of wood. And actually- figuratively speaking- that was just what they had done.

West had rebuilt a variation of the Cosmic Treadmill- a creation of Barry Allen’s- with the help of Jay Garrick and Max Mercury based on improvements suggested by the sometimes hero Steel and the Martian technology of J’onn J’onzz. They had expanded on the treadmill’s size, built it to accommodate the baker’s dozen JLA that would be making the journey. They had increased the power potential, incorporating three inter-locking treadmills where Barry had only used one. The extra power was to help them all traverse the Time Stream, which had become more akin to a Time Hurricane since the Cosmic Crisis of a few years ago. The Crisis that had taken the life of Barry Allen- the second Flash!

Still, the device with its modifications had seemed to work. As far as he could tell, they had arrived at the far reaches of eternity, at the End of Time! And best of all it sounded as though they had all survived. It had been his job, being the resident speedster in the JLA, to propel the treadmill through time. To steer the device really, matching his own power with the speed provided by Max Mercury and Garrick- the original Flash, drawing from their own connection with the Speed Force back in the Twenty-first Century. West was the only one of the group to have ever actually traversed time, as far as the Thirty-sixth Century. He was the only one who actually saw the marvels and wonders of the Time Stream, the fantastical swirling energies of the Speed Force during their journey. He had had to ‘see’ where they were going of course, while the others traveled blindly within the protective bubble that Green Lantern had erected about the treadmill. Even so, even with his personal connection to the Speed Force, the flashing energies had been almost overwhelming. He was certain that a lesser man would have gone blind. Maybe even mad!

The Flash stood upright on shaky, trembling legs. He was still weak from the ordeal, but he was finding his breath again and the flickering spots dancing through his sight were finally starting to fade. He turned about, still gripping the cooling support bar and looked to his friends. A gooey red substance had somehow oozed in through Rayner’s protective bubble and was coating everything, dripping everywhere and ankle deep on the platform. He wondered what it was, as he had never experienced such a thing before, and if Barry had he had never mentioned it. West saw Kyle Rayner closest to him, kneeling in the goop and holding his ring-bearing hand up with all his might. Rayner was gritting his teeth and sweating bullets, straining to retain his hold on the power of the ring- trying to keep the bubble intact as well as hold onto the lifeline he shared with Sentinel back in the past. He needed help, and without a second thought West stepped off of the treadmill into the slop-

There was a scream, and Wally West yelped in shock, jumping back onto the treadmill. He stared again, wide-eyed at the rubbery red substance coating the platform. It was moving, pulsing… breathing! Wally West felt bile rise into his throat.

Dear God! It’s Plastic Man!

“Watch- Watch yer step, Twinkle Toes…”

Wally West glanced straight down and saw a face, a pair of goggles forming-

“I’m coagulatin’ here…”

The face grinned, leered, and the Flash understood. During the rough and tumble journey Plastic Man had expanded his pliable body, turning almost liquid and flowed out and about the rest to help buffer them and hold them in place. West could see that his friends were almost all where they had originally started in position. Plastic Man’s quick thinking had probably saved them all!

The others started to stir and stand as Plastic Man gathered his body back into a reasonable form. As soon as the platform was clear, West raced to the side of the Green Lantern. Dropping down beside his friend, he saw that Rayner was still locked in concentration. His eyes were blank, staring off at something that none of the others could see. His body was tense and shaking from effort, rock solid. Tentatively Wally West reached out, placing a hand on the shoulder of his friend-

“Kyle! It’s over man. We made it! Ease up…”

West saw Rayner blink, felt his body shudder. The encompassing globe of energy flickered but did not fall as Kyle Rayner gasped out the breath that he had been holding the past several millennia. He sagged from exhaustion suddenly, and would have fallen if not for West’s support. Still the Flash noted that he kept his ring up and glowing. He kept doing his job-

“How is he?”

Wally West yelped again as a dark shadow fell across him. He glanced back over his shoulder to see the imposing form of the Batman towering over him. He felt his heart racing as he tried to gain control of his pulse again. He hated when the Dark Knight did that.

“Fine, Batman…” the Flash said with annoyance. “We’re both fine.”

“Good. Get yourselves right. We don’t know what to expect, and I’ll need you both soon.”

The Batman turned then to see to the others. Flash sighed, shaking his head and saw that Kyle was staring at the Batman as well. The Green Lantern forced a smile and rolled his eyes-

“Whatta Prick.”

Wally West struggled not to laugh outloud, biting his tongue as he nodded in agreement.

The Batman made the rounds of the crowded platform, taking a quick head count and checking on his allies. The Black Canary and Zatanna had both passed out from the strain but were otherwise none the worse for wear. Plastic Man had gathered his body back to some semblance of normalcy and seemed fit again. He had saved most of them from serious injury with his quick thinking. The turbulence of the Time Stream would have battered them all about had he not buffered them. Doubtless the likes of Wonder Woman and the Martian Manhunter would have survived unscathed, but the less defensible members might have been damaged to the point of uselessness in whatever they would soon face. The Batman suspected that he would need them all fit all too soon. He made a note to acknowledge Plastic Man’s actions in the mission log when- if they returned.

The others seemed well enough. The Red Tornado had apparently been unaffected and Firestorm had used his unique powers to somehow compensate throughout the wild ride. Aquaman complained about a headache- a feeling that the Batman could identify with- and if Wonder Woman or J’onzz were injured they did not mention it. They healed faster than the rest at any rate. The Batman would have to take it on faith that the Atom had survived, hidden away at microscopic size within one of them. There was no way to check on the Mighty Mite unless he contacted them. No news- in this case at least- was good news.

Batman approached Wonder Woman and the Martian Manhunter, both of whom still stood beside the ‘coffin’ that held the bogus Superman. They had remained at their posts, the Martian keeping in mental contact with the hopefully still unconscious doppelganger, the Amazon on hand just in case. She was reeling in her Magic Lasso from about the others. A bit of support- linking them all together and apparently unneeded thanks to Plastic Man. She looked up at the Batman’s approach, repositioning her tiara and removing her long hair from her eyes-

“Status?” Batman asked, glancing at her and the Martian briefly before turning his attention fully on the containment case.

“It’s still in one piece, Batman. We all are.” If the Batman heard the sarcasm in the Amazon’s voice he ignored it.

“The doppelganger still sleeps, Batman. Zatanna’s spell remained intact despite her incapacity.” J’onzz sounded cold and annoyed as well, but the Batman had no time for hurt feelings. He had no idea what to expect, no idea what they might face beyond the security of the Green Lantern’s defensive field. He needed them ready-

“Good. Get the case ready for transport.” Batman glanced at Zatanna then and saw her leaning on Firestorm, slowly recovering. The Black Canary was still sitting down on the platform and rubbing at her temples. She looked up and scowled, but nodded. She would be ready. She was a good soldier, attitude aside.

“Lantern?” he called out, turning to the Emerald Guardian. He and Flash were both on their feet. “Are you ready?”

Rayner swallowed. “I think so-“

“Well, let me know when you’re certain!” Batman snapped. “We might not get a second chance at this.”

“I’m ready!” Rayner snapped back. He was on edge. They all were…

“Then prepare to drop your shield on my mark. Tornado-“

The Red Tornado turned his robotic head towards the Dark Knight. It was somewhat unsettling the way he moved. Whatever humanity he had once held seemed all but gone recently, though he had seemed normal enough when he had first rejoined the League. The robot had been through his own hells; the Elemental Wars that had involved the Swamp Thing, Nereid and Firestorm as well, his brief time with the Leymen when he had been disassembled and disincorporated, and only the Tornado knew what else. It was something else that the Batman would have to investigate, but later-

“I sense… atmosphere…” the robot said without prodding, knowing what Batman was going to ask, “and…gravity. There is movement… wind… and something…
else.”

“Atmosphere? Can we survive?”

“It is weak… Yes…”

Batman nodded, looking at each member of his team one final time. All were up on their feet. All were ready-

“Lantern! Drop your shield.”

A sudden glaring light flared as the Green Lantern’s protective shield vanished. Everyone save the Tornado gasped, hissing through clenched teeth as the glow blinded them, burned them. They heard a whistling sound and felt the sting of sand and grit as a fierce wind whipped at them all. It felt cold, the temperature suddenly dropping dramatically. Those that had to gasped for breath, finding the air thin and stale. There was a slight taste of iron on the wind, and a stench of sulfur. Then, slowly, one by one their sight returned and each in turn stared in awe and wonder at the devastated land that lay before them.

There were no stars in the dead black sky. As far as they could see the blackness stretched on and on to every horizon and beyond. There was light however, and only a handful of the assembled heroes could make out the source; a pinprick in the dark far and away that seemed to be gathering what light still remained into its maw. The Flash could see impossibly thin streams of radiance stretching into infinity. The Martian saw the lingering flashes of radiation invisible to the humans being sucked into the great cosmic swirl. The Red Tornado sensed the motion, lost in the frictionless space to all but him. It was a Black Hole- the Black Hole at the end of time itself, the center of all that remained, drawing back everything that it had once spewed forth. There was little left.

They stood on a world long since scoured all but clean by the ravages of time. It was far worse than any planet that they had ever encountered; more desolate than Mars, more barren than the most inhospitable deserts on the face of the Earth. There was no water that they could see. There was no vegetation or life of any kind. The ground was cracked and brittle, a thin layer of grit rolling unopposed across the wastes caught in a wind that never tired or died. If there was a hell, then surely this was it…

And as in Hell there stood a city. Just short of the horizon there stood one remaining structure, a huge edifice that had withstood the ages. It appeared gray at first, then black, dull and sparkling all at once. Its walls were high and imposing even from so far away. A great tower rose from within those walls, stretching for the cold, empty sky. A dim glow flickered within the eye of the tower, a green flame winking, threatening to dwindle and die. The structure seemed to radiate despair, an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, and a bitter emptiness void of emotion. As one the League seemed to sag, for they knew that they had reached their goal.

“We have to go in there?” Flash’s voice sounded high and frightened as his head whipped about frantically. “This is insane!”

“I dunno, man…” Kyle Rayner placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I feel… it feels right somehow. I can’t explain it.”

“You’re nuts, pal!” The Flash batted Rayner’s hand aside. “There ain’t nothin’ right about that place!”

“At ease, Flash. I need reconnaissance.”

“No way, Batman! I’m not-“

They all turned as Zatanna dropped to her knees, sobbing. Firestorm was at her side at once, as was the Black Canary, holding the magician’s face in her hands-

“Zee? What is it? What’s wrong?”

Zatanna looked up, tears welling her eyes, her breasts heaving as she tried to draw breath-

“It’s gone, Dinah!” she gasped, sobbing, close to hysterics. “No magic! It’s all gone!”

“Easy, Zee…” Firestorm said sheepishly, not knowing what to do as the Batman stepped up. His cold voice cut through the woman’s cries-

“What is it, Zatanna? What do you sense?”

Zatanna swallowed, trying to regain her composure. “Nothing, Batman. I can barely f-feel Sentinel’s t-tether, but that’s all. There’s n-n-no magic here. I’m powerless…

“I’m s-sorry…”

The Batman scowled, turning away even as the Black Canary held her friend closer, trying to comfort her. One down already, and they had barely started.

Batman approached the Flash, noting the wild look in the man’s eyes. His was anxious, nervous, licking his lips. Batman grabbed the speedster’s arm and spun him about, staring him down-

“I need a survey, Flash-“

“No way!” he yelped, glancing at the citadel in the distance. He shivered in the Batman’s tight grip. “I’m not-“

“Now!”

The Flash stared into the Batman’s unwavering gaze for as long as he could, finally forced to look down and away. He nodded, swallowing-

“All right...” he sighed, taking a deep breath. “All right. Let me go.” The Batman complied and the Scarlet Speedster vanished in a crimson blur.

“Keep an ‘eye’ on him, J’onn.” The Martian said nothing, but Batman knew that he would do as he was told. And just as suddenly the Flash reappeared-

“Nothing!” he said, trembling and gasping for breath in the thin air. “I circled that thing- it’s about ten miles away- and there’s nothing as far as I went. It’s a desert. I didn’t go out of sight of the treadmill, but-“

“Fine. Any mental activity J’onn?”

“None, Batman. It is a wasteland as the Flash said.”

“Wonderful…” Aquaman stepped up to the edge of the platform, staring out across the emptiness. “A desert. I should be a big help here.”

“You can stay behind with Zatanna if you like, Arthur. If you’re afraid-“ Aquaman glared at the Batman, the gilded harpoon that was his left hand pointed at the Masked Manhunter’s face-

“Don’t push me, Batman! I’m not West! I don’t need you messing with my head to get me to do my job!” Batman smirked slightly, quickly-

“Never doubted you for a moment.”

“And I’m not staying behind either, Batman.” Zatanna was standing again- with the help of the Canary and Firestorm- but more or less in control.

“I don’t know just what kind of help I’ll be, but I’m coming with you.”

“Fine.”

The Batman gave a final long look at the structure in the distance, trying to fight back his own feelings of apathy. He had to be strong for the others. He would be strong-

“Pair up people. Those that can fly, carry those that can’t. J’onn- Diana- you have the casket! Let’s get this done!”

And then they were gone, a flurry of motion and determination moving across the otherwise empty plane.

And somewhere, something older than time started to laugh…

To Be Continued…
 

Next Issue: Some live!  Some die!  No, really!  It’s all here in War at the End of Time!  Be here for the chilling Double-sized Anniversary conclusion!  You won’t regret it…