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The Redeemer

Chapter 37: House of M part 2

Gamora was knocked back by the swing of Deathblade's scythe. She landed in a crouch, her sword grinding against the floor. Black Dwarf ran to her side, hefting his axe onto his shoulder. The children of Thanos glared at the new arrival, the man in black and red armour, the top corner of his mask shattered to reveal a tuft of blonde hair and a glowing red eye. An eye that shined with the sins of the two space warriors, whose body count reached into triple digits. Within seconds he saw entire populations mowed down, purged, galactic heroes assassinated, members of the Nova Corps, Beta Ray Bill and the now extinct species he protected, the Red King of Sakaar. It would have been enough to break any man's mind, not his.

Zack looked at the man in front of him, his father's rival, the nightmare of the Avengers when he began his grand hunt. The boy remembered the severe pressure the man's killing intent could generate. He had been paralysed in fear once watching Cade Hunter fight the Avengers and groups of villains. Then his fight with his father, the way he had pushed him to his limits. Zack remembered the stories Lazlo and James told him about Cade Hunter. All of the dead bodies he had left in his wake, the lives he had ruined, men and women whom he had taken from their families.

'They're better off without them,' he heard it once said.

The excuse of an executioner, a man who thought it his right to judge all whom had committed sins. At least that was what Zack initially thought, but when Zack looked at Cade's back, he felt something very different. Not the blood lust of a killer, but the determination of a protector. His stance and air said 'everything will be all right.' Zack made a move to stand, but Cade turned his scythe, looking over his shoulder at him.

"Stay down Zack, I'll protect you for now," Cade said.

Gamora and Black Dwarf ran forward, the hulking monster threw his axe. Connected to a chain, it travelled across the room. Deathblade deflected the axe, chains materialised on the handle of his scythe and he wrapped it around Black Dwarf's axe. He swung the axe and scythe down, on top of Gamora. She blocked with her sword and Black Dwarf took his chance to jump towards Cade. Deathblade moved the axe and scythe, wrapping the chains around Black Dwarf. Then with a tug he threw Black Dwarf into Gamora, knocking both into the situation room monitor. Black Dwarf immediately ran out of the rubble, dragging his axe across the floor. He swung at Cade, who deflected the axe again and again. It was a testament to his strength, he had been fighting and was laboured in his movements. But he still had the strength to deflect Black Dwarf blow for blow. Black Dwarf attempted to punch Deathblade, only for his arm to be cleaved off. Cade the delivered a savage upper cut that threw Black Dwarf to the floor.

"Damn you," Gamora seethed, pushing against her sword to sand up.

"I will break you in two little man," Black Dwarf snarled.

"No, we cannot win this fight, and the Chitauri are being drawn back, we must regroup for now," Gamora said.

She removed something from her waist, a box of some kind.

"Where did you get that?" Deathblade demanded.

"You fools are not the only visitor interfering with other worlds, Mother Box, take us away from here," Gamora said.

She raised the box, creating a portal above herself and Black Dwarf. They jumped through, just as Deathblade swung an energy blade at them. When the portal disappeared, Cade huffed and turned to Zack.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Zack backed away from Cade, looking at him cautiously.

"I understand, the last time we met I was killing people, how did you end up here?"

Again Zack remained silent, even raising his hands defensively when Cade took a step towards him.

"Listen kid, I know right now you think of me as one of the embodiments of evil, and that's right you should, but I'm not here to harm you," Cade explained.

"How can you be here?" Zack demanded.

"A sorceress cast a spell on me, I've been to six other worlds before this one."

Earth 8

Deathblade felt the same sensation that he had felt at castle Gray skull, the same that led him to the dimension of the Fantastic Force. The same sensation he had felt when he was dropped into a world of Mortal Kombat. He walked through the alleyways of what he knew to be New York city, and then looked up at the sky. Parademons flew around the streets, shooting at heroes. Some kid in a brown suit swung across the streets, if not for his antenna, Cade would have assumed he was Spider-man. A man in brown armour shot down multiple Parademons, but was attacked from behind by a few more of them. Energy blasts slammed into the demons, and a blonde haired woman in red and silver clothes flew back to back with the armoured hero.

"Danvers," Cade whispered, seeing a precise resemblance between this woman and the Ms Marvel of his world.

"Thanks Major Max," the armoured hero said.

"No sweat Machinehead," the woman said, before surrounding herself with cosmic energy and flying into a swarm of the Parademons.

Lightning rained down on the Parademons. A bald man with a red beard came down from the sky, he was holding an axe over his head, wore black armour with a red V on the chest and a yellow cape.

"Keep up the lightning barrage Wundajin," a man on the streets said.

He wore a gold helmet, an energy shield glowed on his right arm. The man, his chin very similar to Steve Rogers, wore silver mail and armour underneath a white tunic that had a red cross on the shoulder. Next to him was a red haired woman in a brown body suit, she looked nearly identical to Natasha Romanoff. A blue skinned man was shooting arrows from his bow, remarkable considering his eyes were covered by a band with a direction arrow on it.

"Red Dragon, you and I will secure the streets, Deadeye, keep providing us with cover," the man with the shield said.

"Roger that Crusader," Red Dragon said.

"Retaliators RETALIATE!"

'Spoken just like Rogers,' Cade thought, brandishing his scythes.

House Of M

"That's when I realised this wasn't going to stop. The Sorceress wasn't sending me back home, or to the previous Earth I had been on before Eternia, rather she was sending me to the Earth I needed to be on," Cade explained.

At this point, Zack had become more relaxed, still frightened of Cade but not on edge as he was before.

"I see, so do you have any ideas about why you would be brought here?" he asked.

Cade looked at his hand, seeing it beginning to glow blue. A light was beginning to surround him. He knelt slightly to Zack's level, taking him by the shoulder.

"This world may not be all that it seems Zack, don't trust your grandfather, this one or our version, the only difference between this Magneto and ours is that he got what he always wanted," he explained before he disappeared.

Zack could still feel Cade's grip on his shoulder. The words rang in his ears, concerning both versions of his grandfather. He considered the men, both the enemy of the X-men and the rival of his father. They were complicated men, men whom had done evil things. But perhaps they had not been the true villains that Zack had been told stories of. Then there was Cade's ominous words, concerning the House of M itself. Somehow, Zack had the suspicion that Deathblade was right. Not all was as it appeared.

Ultimate Universe

Wanda stood on the balcony of Tony's office. Or Antonio as he went by in this universe, it still felt odd seeing the man kicking back drink after drink. It saddened her too, she had tried to bring it up with the billionaire genius, but he laughed her off. The Ultimates decided to call in a specialist to assist them. In the mean time though, they had to wait for the specialist to get there. Whilst Drumm spoke with the Colonel and the Wasp, Wanda remained on the balcony and waited. She watched Aeon fly away, having merged with Thor.

"So what is our son like?" Wanda heard her younger counter part behind her.

She half smiled at her, the 'Ultimate' Wanda removed her crown and cloak, placing them on a nearby table before she stepped out to Wanda's side.

"I knew that there were other Earth's, but to know that there are other world's where Sven and I fall in love," the younger woman's voice drifted as she looked into the city.

"Sven and I aren't together on our Earth, it's a complicated story but..."

"We've got time," Ultimate Wanda grinned.

"My powers grew out of control, I grew out of control. The stress of being an Avenger, of not being able to have kids with my first husband got to me. I hurt my family and friends, and I even rewrote reality. It was in that reality when I fell in love with Sven, and he fell in love with me. Only because the love of his life didn't exist there."

"You mean Faith, I've heard Cade Hunter call her Sven's greatest love. They were together for some time but, Sven, he chose me, he fell in love with me, he may choose you Wanda!"

"Not likely!" Wanda sighed.

"Oh, is Faith in the way?" Ultimate Wanda asked.

"No, she...Sven's not with Faith," Wanda said, knowing he wouldn't appreciate her revealing the details of his dead wife and son. "Sven's dating my best friend Carol."

"You don't mean Danvers right, isn't there a ten year age gap between them?"

"No, besides I'm not even sure if Carol does age anymore," Wanda said.

"Why wouldn't she age?"

"She absorbs energy, sometimes she turns into Photonic energy."

"Your Carol Danvers is super human? Now that definitely puts her one up on our Danvers."

"Your world is weird," Wanda commented.

"Ditto yours," the other Wanda rolled her eyes and they both laughed.

On the floor below them, Drumm drew a few symbols with chalk on the floor. He tapped his staff and the runes lit up with fire.

"Consider this your early warning system in case what is attacking our world attacks yours," he said. "No offence to Strange, but I'd rather put the runes in place myself."

"Oh don't worry, offend that charlatan all you want," Wasp said.

"Charlatan, is he not the sorcerer supreme of this Earth?" Drumm asked.

"He called himself that, but he wasn't exactly the ideal sorcerer supreme, so it went to someone else," the Colonel said.

There was a great boom and a rainbow light came down from the sky. A few moments passed before Thor and Aeon emerged, followed by someone wearing the cloak of levitation, and green and gold armour.

"Oh, I forgot, do you have a history with..."

"LOKI!" Drumm yelled, interrupting Wasp.

Wanda widened her eyes, seeing the god of mischief grin as Drumm aimed his staff at him.

"You, you're the sorcerer supreme?"

"Oh trust me, if you met this Doctor Strange, you'd understand why it was necessary for one such as myself to take over," Loki said. "Anyway, I may have a solution to your predicament, it requires just one thing from the two of you."

"And what is that?" Jericho demanded.

"Ask me nicely," the Asgardian said.

Thor face palmed and both Jericho and Wanda looked at the god of mischief in dismay. He crossed his arms and tapped his foot against the floor, waiting and waiting for them to respond. Wanda flew off of the roof, using her powers to slow her fall and land in front of Loki. She glared at him, beginning to walk towards him, hex powers flaring in her hands. Thor took a few steps back, Steve readied his shield with Janet behind him and Aeon took a cautious step towards her. Suddenly, even Loki was shocked by what Wanda did next. She knelt in front of the sorcerer supreme and asked:

"Please, help me find my son!"

Sven looked at Svein Renner, playing with his daughter. She really did look like Kate, minus the dark hair, a trait of her mother. Zatanna didn't look like Wanda, but Sven could tell there were certain similarities. The young woman smiled and waved at the girl.

"We've had some encounters with alternate realities before, but none that have any similarities to yours," Zatanna said.

"Don't suppose there's a magic wand you can wave to send me back there," Sven said.

"Sorry, but magic doesn't work that way," Zatanna said.

"We also need to do some searching ourselves," a voice said above Sven.

He looked up and saw Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. Superman though wasn't in a blue suit and cape, he was wearing a white suit and was composed of blue electricity. Wonder Woman was in her common, red, blue and gold gear and Batman was wearing a blue and grey suit.

"He looks a little like you Svein," Superman muttered.

"But he isn't," Batman said.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Wonder Woman asked, wrapping her lasso around Sven's arm.

"Aeon, I'm from an Earth some designate 616, I'm looking for my son, and he's not here," Sven said, gritting his teeth together.

"That is half the truth, impressive, you're using raw will power to resist the girdle of Hestia, not many are capable of that," Diana said, slipping the lasso back onto her waist.

Eon slid his helmet back, revealing a dark haired man with a subtle resemblance to Sven. The two men looked at one another for a moment before grinning.

"Your dad a famous S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?"

"A.R.G.U.S. actually, spirit of heroism right?"

"Of course, do you have a friend called Cade Hunter?"

"Karl Hunter, does yours act as judge, jury and executioner?"

"Executioner, he mostly skips the jury part, Deathblade?"

"Death-Arrow actually!"

"He uses bows and arrows?"

"Yeah, he kind of makes Green Arrow seem useless!"

"I HEARD THAT SVEIN!"

Batman suddenly clicked his fingers between the two men.

"Can we focus now? Do we need to expect more incursions?" Batman asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there was, there is a war going on in the Multiverse, darkness against everyone else. You guys haven't had any massive invasions by dark armies lately?" Sven asked.

"None," Superman said.

"Not yet," Batman added.

"Well I would like to stay and explore, but I need to find my son, and he isn't on this world," Sven said.

"We may be able to help, Flash can you get the treadmill from your museum?" Zatanna asked the speedster.

"I don't have time to exercise!" Sven slid his visor over his face, eyes flashing red.

"Oh trust me, you'll want me to get this treadmill," Flash grinned.

House of M

Zack stood in the barracks of the young red guard recruits. He remained silent as the youngsters cheered. Magneto and the other heroes had driven away the Black Order. They were in full retreat, and the media sang praise of Magneto's efforts in tearing apart several ships. Zack looked to the entrance to the barracks and saw Hellion/Scion, Wind Dancer and some of the other Hellions and New Mutants. It felt odd to see Sooraya not in her traditional garb, instead wearing less modest clothing with Jubilee.

"You missed all the fighting," Sofia said.

She seemed to have Julian's attitude.

"Ease up Montega, you know they aren't going to let Magneto's son fight beyond simple self defence," Surge said.

"You were all out there?" Zack asked.

"On a covert basis," Magik said.

"All right maggots listen up!"

They looked to the doorway and saw Logan standing there. He had with him Mystique, Toad, Rogue and Jessica Drew.

"The New Mutants and Hellions will be drafted into my squad, after your performances last mission brass decided you'd be joining us in a counter attack on the Black order," Logan explained.

"We're hitting the big leagues," Scion said.

"The rest of you are to be deployed on covert ops, suit up and report to Moonstar for your missions, New Mutants and Hellions, take ten and meet us in the briefing room," Drew explained.

As the other teenagers in the room began to disperse, Logan and Mystique walked over to Zack.

"Not you Prince, you're to go to the palace and stay there with your Aunt Lorna," Logan said.

"An invasion is happening and you want me to sit this out, I've had training from my father, and you taught me a few moves in my world too Mr Logan," Zack explained.

"This comes from the top, Toad will escort you to a transport," Mystique stated.

"Sorry kid, I've got me orders," Toad said.

Zack shook his head in frustration, but lowered his arms. He waited until Logan's squad had left and walked with Toad through the corridors of the building.

"I get it, you're like your father that way, always needing to help, it got him in some trouble at times," Toad began ranting.

Despite his curiosity on the House of M version of his father, Zack focused instead on his escape. He wasn't anywhere near his mother's level, but he had a subtle control of his hex abilities. Just enough to tilt odds just a little bit. Enough for a nearby janitor to spill the contents of their bucket, enough for Toad to slip on the water. Zack broke off into a run, charging himself with the energy of his soul. He knocked down a door and threw himself through a window. Upon going outside, he rebounded off a building and jumped into the air.

'Maybe everything isn't as it seems,' Zack thought.

He jumped between buildings, moving like a pinball, using Sentinels as walkways and launching off of flag poles that had Magneto's flag on them. Then he ran across a rooftop, and landed on a gargoyle head.

'But what could Deathblade have meant by that?' Zack wondered. 'Also, why do I get the feeling I'm being watched?'

The boy scratched his head, and the crosshairs were moved away from him. Far away, on another rooftop entirely stood the Punisher, Frank Castle of the House of M.

"Castle stop," said his ally, Misty Knight.

"I'm just keeping my eyes on him," he said.

"Not necessary," the House of M Hawkeye leant against a nearby wall, sharpening one of his arrows.

He was followed by the rebel Avengers Luke Cage, Tigra, Shang-Chi and Iron Fist, all of them in their original outfits. The House of M Black Cat looked over her gun, and former detective Sam Wilson had strapped to his back a pair of carbon wings.

"Just keep an eye on him," Luke said, crossing his arms together. "See if he can figure out what's wrong with this world by himself!"

Ultimate Universe

The Sorcerer Supreme had drawn several circles onto the floor, much to Tony's chagrin.

"At least it isn't blood," Janet said to Tony, who huffed and continued his drink.

"We can go with you," Aeon offered Wanda.

"No, you guys need to stay in your world for now, this is our problem," VooDoo said.

"All right, just add a few incantations, 'Krefter i Multiverset, øynene til seerne oppsøke sønnen av Aeon," Loki began to chant.

"Does he have to use old norse?" Tony asked.

"That's actually Norwegian," Steve corrected him.

"Twenty bucks says he's just doing it for dramatic effect," Hawkeye said.

"That Barton is precisely why he's doing it," Thor chuckled.

"Cosmos, Cronus, jeg ber deg, Finn sønn av Aeon, Ta ham foran oss, nå flott Cosmos, Cronus, nå flott, Jeg trollmannen øverste, Påkaller denne spell!"

Loki clapped his hands together and the circle glowed. Green sparks filled the mansion, causing it to shake. The Sorcerer Supreme, and god of Mischief grinned as he slammed his hands into the ground. Trails of energy ran from his finger tips to the centre of the circle, creating a pillar. That pillar slowly began to form the silhouette of a person, a boy specifically. Wanda held her breath, her eyes filled with hope, imagining holding her son again. But her eyes narrowed when she noticed something about the form that Loki was conjuring.

"It's not tall enough to be Zack," she whispered.

Drumm widened his eyes and began walking towards Loki.

"You fool Loki, you didn't..." he shielded his eyes as the pillar exploded, releasing smoke across the room.

The Ultimates and two Avengers stood their ground as the summoned figure emerged from the smoke. He wore a pair of baggy dark blue cargo trousers, which had a black line running down them. A dark blue, sleeveless hoodie was worn over a long sleeved grey shirt. On the back of the hoodie was a red kanji symbol for spirit, blue gloves covered his hands. A grey and red sword suddenly materialised in his hand, the blade was thick and large, invoking images from Japanese RPGs. The red and grey parts of it seemed like armour and reminded Wanda of Aeon's own armour. The wielder rested it on his shoulders, his youthful face framed by the silver hair drifting over his eyes.

"Ah, perhaps I should have put a bit of context into the spell, I should have specified which son of Aeon I wanted to summon," Loki nervously chuckled as Thor's eyes glowed.

His hammer suddenly flew into his hand.

"Brother, lets calm down now," Loki said.

"LOKI!" Thor yelled.

"Hey wait a sec, where the hell am I, why is Loki wearing Strange's cloak?" the new arrival asked, holding his sword out front. "Stark's a poster boy for sobriety, why is he drinking? And why are there two Scarlet Witches?"

"He doesn't look like me," Aeon said.

"Master," the boy gasped.

Wanda stepped between Aeon and the new arrival, recognising him despite his younger features and the clothes and his hair. Siegfried Wallace, adopted son of Sven Reilly, his apprentice and the one who sacrificed himself to save their universe. Only this was a younger version, perhaps prior to his encounter with the X-men and the Phoenix.

"Just what's going on here?" he asked.

Earth 16

Something very strange was going on with this Earth. It was valentine's day, and Artemis Crock, as well as struggling with the death of the man she loved, couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong with her memories. Every other member of 'the team' as it was called had that feeling too. Blue Beetle, Wonder Girl, Robin, they remembered being captured by the Reach and something else too. They remembered being imprisoned alongside other teen heroes, but they didn't know how they escaped, or if they even escaped. Thankfully it wasn't interfering with their day to day lives. They had been able to expose Granny Goodness and were working on exposing Lex Luthor and the light. Only real life was taking a toll, and Artemis was seeking a very magical solution. So she went to Zatanna and M'Gann, and with Raquel they went to the park where Zatanna would meet with her father every year. Only this time she had something else in mind. She never got to say goodbye to Wally.

As Artemis argued with her friends, Cade Hunter appeared on this Earth. He shook his head, cursing the spell that was sending him across the Multiverse. Then he witnessed this conversation, a woman desperate to say goodbye, and friends willing to deceive her to give her that closure. As Zatanna began her incantation, Cade realised why he was here.

"Siht si tsuj a wohs fo thgil dna dnuos! This is just a show of lights and sound, seriously?" Cade appeared beside Zatanna, grabbing her wrist and stopping her spell.

"Who are...wait a minute, Zatanna!" Artemis aimed a glare at Zatanna.

"So not what we should be focusing on right now," Zatanna said.

Cade removed his helmet and let go of Zatanna's hand.

"Let me guess, you make the light show, and the psychic here, by the way don't look into my mind any further or..."

Red sparks appeared around M'Gann's head, causing her to flinch.

"That will happen, anyway, I'm assuming the shape shifter there was going to put you into a type of mental limbo, a representation of what you think the afterlife would be like," Cade explained.

"M'Gann is that true?" Artemis asked.

"There, there's no real way to access the afterlife Artemis, we...

"After everything we've been through, everything you risked keeping secrets from Conner and the Outsiders?" Artemis glared at her friend, who looked down guiltily.

"Don't be too harsh on them kid, they're your friends and I'm sure they were going to tell you later. Besides, sometimes a lie is better than a truth, sometimes the truth only hurts more...you need closure, and I was sent here for a reason so..."

"Who are you?" Artemis asked.

"Cade Hunter, now it's been a long week, in short I'm a reality hopper, I'm stuck here until I finish my mission. It's no coincidence that one of the places I've been sent to it here, right at this moment. So I'm going to help you, you lost someone right? Boyfriend?"

Artemis said nothing, and the other two leaguers beside her stood their ground.

"You don't need to say anything, it's written across your face, it's the face of someone whose lost something that truly matters to them, I've seen it on the face of a friend, and in the mirror," Cade said.

The three women paused, looking at the man in shock.

"I lost someone I loved, a friend, I never got to say goodbye. Now your friend is wrong, there is a way to access the afterlife," he said and the four women gasped. "Not before you rush to conclusions I'll warn you, there are countless representations of the afterlife, many of them only shape themselves based on what we believe the afterlife to be, kind of like their being multiple versions of hell and the devil," Cade explained.

"What?" they looked at him with confusion.

"You haven't gotten to that point have you, how green are you guys? Actually don't answer that, anyway, I can get your spirit to one of those worlds but I need to lay some things down. One, most souls do not linger, the majority of the dead, despite how they die are capable of passing on, unless they possess a particularly strong motivation for remaining or unfinished business that they cannot let go, two, I need context to find the soul that you're looking for, I need details, what kind of person he was, his name, how he died? And three, the afterlife changes souls, don't expect the spirit you meet to be the same person you lost."

"I don't trust him Artemis," M'Gann said.

"Then I'll drop my mental defences, but it'll be difficult to concentrate carrying two people, although if your emotions both guide me, then it might make it a little easier," Cade said.

"Please help me," Artemis said. "What do I need to do?"

"Close your eyes, focus on who you lost, who he was, what he meant to you and how he died, focus and let me guide you into the spirit realm," Cade's eyes glowed as he touched the sides of Artemis's head.

Likewise M'Gann did the same with him. The three turned into ghostly apparitions and the world around them faded, replaced by a dark void.

"Oh my god, is there..."

"Some people feel that there's nothing, focus girl, focus," Cade said.

Gradually the emptiness was replaced by light and the scenery of Mount Justice. Artemis appeared in her old green costume, and M'Gann in the first form she appeared to with the team. Cade himself appeared in his hard suit, his eyes glowed.

"I can sense our emotions, this guy was a good person, annoying as hell though," Cade huffed.

"Yeah, that's Wally all right," Artemis smiled.

"All right, let's get this over with," Cade said.

He drew a ring with his hands, creating a portal that led into a field.

"Figured the field representation would be soothing, also..."

"You're a Gladiator fan," M'Gann said.

"What do you think shaped my view of the afterlife."

"Look, the apartment that Wally and I shared," Artemis pointed across the field.

She began to run, only for Cade to grab her hand.

"Going off alone without a guide is dangerous, you can open the door, but you'll need us at your side."

M'Gann touched Artemis's shoulder, Cade didn't care much for it, but he could see that Artemis was forgiving the girl. In an instant, they were in front of the door. Artemis reached for the door handle and whispered.

"Wally!"

But when they opened the door, they found nothing. Just an empty apartment. Tears rolled down Artemis's cheek as they reappeared in the park. M'Gann hugged her and Raquel touched her shoulder.

"What happened?" Zatanna asked.

"He's moved on, I need to move on too," Artemis said.

"Is that what you got from that?" Cade asked and huffed.

"Hey, don't make fun of them," Raquel said.

"I'm not, it's no surprise, only people who know the spirit realm can recognise the signs," Cade said.

"What signs?" Artemis asked, drying her eyes.

"The signs that a spirit has never been in the spirit realm, how exactly did Wally die? And I need the precise detail."

So they told him, of the Reach, of Artemis and Wally coming out of retirement when they invaded. Told him about the bombs that the Reach had spread across the world, and how in trying to contain one bomb, Wally...

"Wait, he disappeared...no explosion, he just went...poof?" Cade asked.

"The Flash told me."

Cade sighed, running the palm of his hand across his face.

"Now I know you guys are green, heck, your entire universe must be green."

"What did I say about making fun?" Raquel demanded.

"YOU CAN'T TRUST DEATH!" Cade yelled. "You need to see it with your own eyes, a body, every gory detail, otherwise you can't trust it, even then, sometimes death isn't a permanent end," Cade explained.

"What are you talking about?" Artemis asked.

"I don't want to raise your hopes needlessly, but I have a feeling that your boyfriend isn't actually dead!"

Elseworld

Virgil stepped through the portal, Hellion, Mercury and X-23 both behind him.

"If we're going to rescue the other teen heroes, we should take him with us," Virgil said.

"We can't exactly call him a teen hero can we?" Julian asked.

"Maybe it shouldn't all be in the hands of kids," Wally said, emerging from the hilltop he had run up.

It was the dead of night, and the young X-men could barely make out the new arrival.

"Says the guy who calls himself Kid Flash," Virgil huffed.

"I'm not Kid Flash anymore," Wally said.

He finally stepped into the moonlight, revealing the great change he had made to his costume. His once yellow top and cowl were now red, whilst his gloves and the lower part of his costume were a darker shade. A silver lightning bolt was on his chest, and silver lightning patterns decorated his arms and legs.

"Let's just say I've outgrown that name, it's a long story but I've got my speed back, I understand it better now too. I'm not a teen hero anymore, I am the fastest man alive, I am the Flash!"

Next Chapter 38: House of M part 3

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, have watched Young Justice: Outsiders, which inspired me for this chapter, and some chapters to come.

Sieg: first introduced in The Cry of the Phoenix, Loki's summoned a version just prior to those events, a 'son' of Aeon which I thought would be a good way of drawing the arc out and to also show a fresher version of Sieg.

Wally of Young Justice has grown up and fully accepted his new role, see his path to becoming the Flash in Brave New World: We are the Flash a crossover between Flash comics and the Flash CW TV show.