Somewhere on (A)Earth

Jake woke with a start.

He blinked a few times, slowly rising to a sitting position in his bed, and looked around. The morning sun shone in through his window, and he could faintly hear the chirping of birds. His room was the same as ever, with nothing out of place, and he could the TV playing downstairs, along with the muted voices of his parents. It was as though the events of the past few days had never happened at all.

Naturally, his paranoia came in full force.

He swung out of bed and carefully walked out of his room, examining everything on the way. The floor felt as it always did under his feet, and the wall was still smooth when he ran a hand over it. Making his way downstairs, he saw his parents sitting on the couch, their eyes glued on the TV.

Jake's father turned his way, almost absentmindedly. "Morning, son."

"Morning," Jake replied, carefully measuring his words.

"Is something wrong?" his mother asked, her brow scrunching with concern. "You don't look well."

Of course I wouldn't, after helping save the entire multiverse from a literal comic book villain, then meeting the guy writing my story, he wanted to say.

"Didn't get much sleep," he muttered, rubbing his eyes for added effect.

"That's what happens when you spend too much time on that computer of yours," his mother said, shaking her head. "I take it you already heard the news, if that's the case."

Jake's eyebrows shot up. "What news?"

His father chuckled. "Been on every channel since we woke up. Look."

Jake turned to the TV, and his breath caught. The screen showed what was clearly the inside of the White House - he knew that from personal experience - in the diplomatic meeting room. The President himself was sitting at the table, other officials at his side. Across from him were...

No. It couldn't be; that didn't make any sense...

He blinked his eyes, as if to try and dispel the illusion, but the trio of blue centaur-like aliens still remained, as if in defiance of common sense.

"According to the talking heads, they call themselves Andalites," his mother said. "This is exciting, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "Uh, could I check in with Marco about this? I don't think he has a TV anymore, since his dad became unemployed."

"Sure thing," his father replied. "Just be sure to be back before dinner."

Jake was already out of the door, breaking out into a light jog as he headed in the direction of Cassie's barn.

A

"Uh, does this make any sense to you, Ax man?"

The aristh stood with his arms folded, enjoying a light breakfast as his hooves fed on the grass beneath his feet. (It does not, Marco. Unless I was mistaken, this planet should be recovering from an invasion, not unaware of one in the first place.)

"Maybe we just had a bad dream or something?" Rachel offered. "It's all I got."

"But that couldn't have been a dream," Cassie protested, strolling around the interior of the barn. "We all remember it perfectly. We. How could've we shared a hallucination or a vision? And how does Tobias have a human body again?"

"I'm not complaining," Tobias said. "Now I can be a hawk when I want to, instead of just, you know, all the time."

"It would've been neat if Superwoman left us with an autograph or something, just to remind us that it was real," Marco said. "Does anyone remember what happened, after we had that weird post-modern chat with the Author?"

"No," Jake replied. "I just remembered waking up in my bed, as if all that stuff had never happened. Maybe we can ask the Chee and see if they recalled a horrible invasion going on."

"Sure, let's go talk to the dog-robots when people are trying to look for aliens," Marco said. "And the Andalites would also be pretty suspicious, too."

"Wait, that reminds me," Cassie said. "Are the Andalites going to recall Ax and the morphing cube?"

(It is only a matter of time. Though I still do not know why my people have contacted yours, and why there seems to be no response from the Yeerks.)

"I believe I have an answer for that," another voice said.

The group turned at once, already knowing to whom the voice belonged to. A ephemeral figure materialized in the center of the barn, serenely looking at the group with electric blue eyes.

"Ellimist," Jake said.

"You have learned the good news, I take it? Andalite and Man, branching out across the stars to join together. Oh, I imagine there will be some rough spots here and there, but it shouldn't be bad in the long run."

"Were you responsible for any of this?" Cassie asked.

"Not as directly as I would've liked," the Ellimist replied. "After you left, I did as much as I could to minimize damage done to your world, while still keeping balance with Crayak. Quickly, however, I learned that I could use that same connection we made to get you across in order to spread my power even further through time and space, further than the one galaxy I had been limited to. I branched out into another reality, where my power could grow even further... and Crayak left."

(Left?)

"In a fashion. We dueled once more, but I was stronger; the balance between us that had existed for so long had finally been upset. After a great deal of damage was done, Crayak decided to leave for another reality, an empty one, where he could play God for as long as he liked."

"So what happened next?" Jake asked.

"As I said before, a great deal of damage had been done. The details of it are rather hard to explain to anyone who lacks a good grasp on the nature of space-time, but the gist of the matter is that the extent of my power was diminished severely in order to drive Crayak off. Most of my remaining power went into repairing the damage to your world, and the worlds affected by our duel. I am but a shadow of what I once was, now; it will be some time before I can simply use my powers to bring about a golden age."

"So you set this up," Tobias said. "You did some playing around, and got the Andalites to contact us."

The Ellimist nodded. "And now you understand what has happened."

"Does that mean we actually did go on a massive quest to save the multiverse?" Marco asked. "And, by proxy, that means actually teamed up with the Goddamn Batman?"

"I'd assume so. I was unable to observe your adventure."

"I think I can finally die happy," Marco said, a giddy look on his face.

"What does this mean for the Yeerks?" Jake asked.

"With the wholesale disappearance of their fleet, the remnants still in this reality have surrendered. I'd imagine there would still be some resistance, but for the most part they have opened peace-talks with the Andalites. Civilians tend to be more progressive and willing to accept change than military; it's a trend I've seen on a thousand worlds."

"That means Mom might be freed," Marco said. "And Jake, Tom might be alright."

Jake sighed. "I can only hope so."

The Ellimist smiled. "I bid you all farewell, at least for the time being. The Anati will need some subtle help if they wish to develop starlight within the century. Oh, and I do believe there will be a nice surprise for you tomorrow, if everything goes as I have predicted."

The figure faded into mist, then nothing. Jake stared at where the Ellimist had been, then glanced at his friends.

"Does anyone know what he means by that?"

(No, Prince Jake.) Ax shook his head, and headed for the door. (I must be at my scoop, to await the Andalite fleet. No doubt they will have many questions.)

"They're going to flip if they learn the whole truth," Marco snickered.

"I'm just wondering what the Ellimist meant by a surprise," Cassie said. "Any idea?"

"Nope," Jake said. "But I have a good feeling about it."

A

The Next Day

"Can't believe this shit," Marco muttered, leaning in to talk with Jake. "Biggest event in human history, and we still have school?"

Jake sighed. "The education system is not intimidated by alien contact. Bad weather, but not aliens."

"Guys, be quiet," Cassie hissed. "The teacher's saying something important."

Jake fixed himself in his seat, and propped a hand to hold his face as he listened to the teacher drone on.

"-and we will be holding a project on astrobiology, since everyone is curious about our new alien friends. One essay, three pages long, in MLA format. Each of you also needs to make a trifold display about something that interests you involving astrobiology."

A collective groan.

The teacher continued on, seemingly oblivious. "And to celebrate the Andalites' arrival, we will be watching the official welcoming ceremony at the UN on the auditorium's projector screen."

A few murmurs at that. Jake wished he could share their excitement; the ceremony would be dull without the novelty of seeing an alien for the first time. Still, it would be better than just going through a normal school day.

"After all the crazy crap we went through, this is actually pretty boring," Marco commented. "I mean, it's fantastic and all, but I can't help but feel like my brain's oozing out from my ears."

Jake shrugged. "We met our childhood heroes and saved the entire multiverse. I think everything's going to be downhill from here. That's pretty good, though; I'd take boring over scary every day. Who would want to fight Yeerks instead of just hanging out?"

"Rachel."

"Besides Rachel."

"Ya know, I still don't know what kind of surprise the Ellimist was talking about," Marco said. "Surprise Taco Tuesday? Hork-Bajir holding a massive rave down at their place?"

"Teacher. Talking," Cassie whispered through gritted teeth.

"-and this massive occasion still does not completely brush away other school events. Like, for example, the new student teacher for this class."

Jake perked at that. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Marco had done the same.

"Something struck a cord about that," Cassie whispered. "Anyone else?"

Before Jake could answer, the student teacher in question walked in, and his breath caught.

A tall woman now stood in the classroom, her blue eyes scanning the group through thick glasses. Her curly black hair was rather messy, framing her narrow face, and she seemed to have a considerable slouch that gave her an almost skittish look. She wore a simple long-sleeve blouse and jeans, and she unslung a bulky satchel near a desk as she stood in the middle of the room.

"I-is that.." Marco whispered, his eyes as wide as saucers.

"How is it even possible?" Jake murmured. "I thought we were separated for good."

"Now class, I would like you to meet your new student teacher: Mrs. Hebert."

"I'm glad to be here," said Mrs. Hebert, a wide smile on her face. "I know you're all excited about what happened yesterday. I mean, who would've thought that we would ever actually meet aliens?"

For the briefest moment, Jake could've sworn he saw her smirk.

"Now, we're going to be working together for a few weeks," Mrs. Hebert continued. "Hopefully, we'll get along well."

Her eyes briefly darted at Jake and the others, and her smile widened. Marco teetered, as though he would collapse at any moment from the sheer excitement coursing through him.

"Actually, I think we're going to get along perfectly."

G

Outside Wall Maria, (T)Earth

Eren rose to his feet, rubbing his face wearily. A grassy field surrounded him, with gently sloping hills in the distance. The sun beat down warmly on him, and he took a moment to simply soak it in. Armin and Levi were close by, similarly groggy, and he could see Gamera's massive form out of the corner of his eye.

"Where are we?" Armin asked around, scratching the back of his head.

Levi elbowed him and gestured to a point beyond the hills. "Home."

Sure enough, Eren could see a small settlement across the field from them, smoke rising from chimneys as people milled about. Behind them, much further back, he could make out Wall Maria on the horizon.

"That's where we last saw them," he murmured. "Before those monsters rounded them up to work in the mines."

"Looks like we definitely won, then," Levi said. "Otherwise we would've been chopped up into mince already."

"Someone's coming," Armin said. "Look. They're heading down the hill towards us."

Eren looked to where Armin pointed. A small group of people was walking towards them, already close enough for him to see their faces clearly. The one leading the group wore dirty and torn clothes, with some scratches on her face, but she still had an air of dignity about her as she strode forward.

He recognized her immediately.

"Mikasa!"

O

Aboard the Lying Bastard

"The transmissions have been sent," Speaker declared. "Our worlds now have the specifications for the Quantum II hyperdrive."

"Fantastic," Louis said, smiling. "After all the craziness we went through, that's a nice consolation prize."

"Of course, now we shall return to the Fleet of Worlds," Nessus interjected. "The revelation of countless universes, including ones free of dangerous species or galaxy-cleansing supernovae, is one that the Hindmost will take great interest in. We will provide you with a method of returning to your homeworlds, of course-"

"Actually, I think I'll stick with this ship," Louis interrupted.

"Why? With the basic repairs made to the ship, it is no longer state of the art."

"I concur," Speaker added. "With the fame and fortune that will come with your accomplishment, you could easily buy a ship superior to the Liar."

Louis shrugged. "True. But we still have that modified hyperdrive."

Nessus quailed, his entire body shuddering. "After everything we've been through, you still wish to go to other realities?!"

"Sure. It was pretty scary, sure, but you seem to have forgotten what the Author said about the worst being over for us."

"The Author?! You earnestly believe an extra-universal entity that looks like a young male of your species?!"

"As surreal as the experience was, it appears that the Author is trustworthy," Speaker rumbled. "He possessed a great deal of knowledge about our expedition, as well as the worlds of the others we encountered. A cowardly species such as yours would not want to take the risk of believing him, but Louis and I don't appear to have such qualms."

Louis chuckled. "Don't worry; we'll drop you off at Hearth before anything happens."

Nessus visibly relaxed. "As long as the safety of me or my species is not hampered, then you may engage in whatever insanity you desire."

"Good," Louis said. "Now Speaker, do you want to come with me? You could return to your home planet and get that name you earned by saving the multiverse."

"My curiosity has been piqued, admittedly," Speaker said. "If there are universes where your stories are real, then there must be universes where my people's legends are true. Such knowledge would be a great boon to the Empire."

"Is that a yes?"

"Of course. After I return to Kzinhome and get my name, of course."

"Swell. I wonder what we'll find out there. Think we'll meet Superwoman again?"

"Perhaps. I also wonder what happened to the one called Bjorn."

Y

Elsewhere

Monsoon season had come again. Thunder rumbled in the distance as the time of the rains was born anew, and Yama could see the black clouds rolling in over the valley, obscuring the jungle in darkness. A few drops pattered down on the dirt path, and he redoubled his efforts, using the strength granted by his armor to pull the bulky machine behind him. He had to hurry, before the path became muddy and impossible to traverse.

It was almost too late. The rain was pouring in buckets as he finally made it to the monastery, roaring as it bore down on the land, pulping the leaves on the trees and reducing the path to a mudslide. He stepped into the old temple, dragging the machine behind him, and only paused to dry his brow before starting his work.

The old machines were still there, untouched since he had used them last. It was an hour's work to get them working again, repairing damaged circuits and replacing spent energy cells. By the end his hands were black with grease, and he could feel the start of a dull ache in his fingers and hands. He ignored the pain and pressed on. Time was of the essence, and there was not much of it left.

It was not easy work to get the Dreadnaught onto the platform; he had to use pulleys to lift it, and even then he still had to remove the sarcophagus and leave the rest behind. Finally, however, it was time to remove the stasis device.

He pulled the small gadget off the metal hull of the sarcophagus, and time resumed for an old warrior. A few tense moments passed, then Yama could hear the click of a vox activating.

"Where the fuck am I?" Bjorn demanded.

Yama smiled. "You're on a world where Heaven was overthrown, o Fell-Handed. My world, to be exact."

"Does that mean we won, then? Is that punk bitch of a Primarch gone?"

"He was slain by the efforts of Godzilla and Gamera. He received a blast of nuclear plasma down his throat."

"Heh. He'll need cough drops in the Warp for that. What of the others? How many did we lose?"

"The Race lost their commander, and one of our ships was crippled," Yama replied, connecting the sarcophagus to the necessary equipment. "Otherwise, however, we managed to endure the worst of it unscathed."

"I'm actually surprised by that," Bjorn admitted. "I was expecting at least three quarters of us to be dead, and that's optimistic."

"It was close," Yama said. "Very close. Darkseid was moments away from enslaving all of the multiverse, before we managed to counter it with embodied concepts. After that... we met the Author."

"Author? Author of what?"

"Our story. At least, that's one way of putting it. There is one world, one reality, that sees all others, and transcribes their tales into what would be called fiction. We met the boy who transcribed our adventure, while we were in the heart of reality."

"Just what the fuck were you getting up to while I was out? You didn't take anything from a Slaaneshi cultist, did you?"

Yama chuckled. "It was indeed a strange experience. Tis a shame you were unable to share it with us."

"It's also a shame I'll be dead in a few minutes," said Bjorn. "But we can't always get what we want, do we?"

Yama finished attaching the last electrodes, and began to check the antenna's operational capacity.

"A man once went to the Buddha, and told him 'I want happiness'," he said, glancing back at the old warrior's sarcophagus.

"What does the Buddha have to do with my current situation?"

"You'll find out," Yama replied.

"Hrrrm."

Yama continued on, even as his hands danced over the console. "The Buddha then told the man to remove I, for that is ego. He told the man to remove want, for that is desire. After that, he said, all you had left was happiness."

The antenna hummed to life, and he aimed it at the sky.

"You will not die the real death, o Fell-Handed; I will see to that."

"How, exactly? In case you haven't noticed, my life-support is leaking pretty badly."

"I have noticed," replied Yama. "I will transmit your atman, your soul, into the planet's magnetosphere. There, you will be free from the vices and temptations of the world. You will be free from worry, or lust, or hatred, but you will also be free from love and other positive emotions. All that is left is peace, tranquility. You of all people deserve such a rest, after everything that has happened."

"Something tells me it's just a temporary gig."

"Indeed it is. I will repair your broken body, as well as your fearsome Dreadnaught chassis. Once that is said and done with, I will pull you back from Nirvana, and we shall work together to help your world."

"You intend to unfuck the Imperium? Mightier men than you have tried."

"Perhaps. But if there is anything I learned during my time fighting beside Great-Souled-Sam, it is how to make plans that span in the decades. Your trillion-man armies recycle and die in the space of a decade. But if a smaller army spaces themselves out, over decades and even centuries, then victory may be achievable, in one form or another. We may look to other worldlines for assistance, and they may be able to tip the scale."

"Even in death, I still serve," Bjorn echoed, thoughtful. "Alright, do it. Maybe we won't be successful, but it's better than not trying at all. If only we could get that healer to the Emperor..."

"There may be time yet for that," Yama replied.

"Heh. Maybe."

The final connections were made. Yama powered up the antenna, and prepared to transmit.

"For the Wolftime," said Bjorn.

Then, he fell silent.

Yama glanced down at the console, waiting. Finally, a green light blinked, and he breathed a sigh of relief. The transmission was a success.

"We'll meet again, friend," he said wistfully.

He straightened, and stepped down the platform. There was much work to be done.

-/-\-

Prefillo, Home

Risson, Emperor of the Race, stood on the balcony of his chambers, eye turrets gazing at the bustling city below him. Tau Ceti hung massive over the horizon, tingeing the sky a deep orange as it set.

"My Emperor?"

Risson turned to see one of his aids standing in the doorway. The young Hallessi male had a nervous look about him; no doubt the recent news had shaken him to the core. The Emperor could not pass judgment, considering how he himself had felt when the news came in.

A Tosevite spacecraft, here to engage in diplomacy with the Race. In all of Home's millennia of existence, there had never been such an occurrence. And it had flown faster than light itself to arrive here.

"My Emperor, have you heard what the Tosevites have said? About the possibility of entire universes separate from our own?"

"Yes," Risson replied, a low hiss escaping him. "I take it our scientists are examining the data as we speak?"

"Yes, my Emperor. It... it appears that they are speaking the truth."

"As I feared," the Emperor said, clicking his tongue in consternation. "The public would be distressed to learn of such news."

Of course, they would be panicking if they knew the full story, as the Emperor himself only knew. To think that the remnants of the Conquest Fleet had actually visited one of the other realities, all to stop a threat to Home itself...

"Are we to inform them, then, my Emperor?"

"That will be for me to decide, later," replied Risson. "For now, however, we must deal with the other news brought in, regarding the death of Viceroy Atvar."

"Some of the... more distasteful councilors have expressed that the Viceroy's demise may have been a blessing in disguise. That someone who failed you, and the Empire as a whole, deserved such a fate."

Risson clenched his fists. "No."

"No?"

"Despite what many feel about him, I know that Atvar did what he could to guarantee the safety of the Colonization Fleet, as well as the sanctity of the Empire. If he did not act as he did, how many innocents would have lost their lives in nuclear flame?"

"Truth, my Emperor," the aid said quickly. "Unfortunately, many do not see it that way."

"Then they are wrong, and fools as well," Risson declared, raising his head. "I have heard they are to bring his remains back here, for burial on Home. We shall give him full honors, as intended for all triumphant Fleetlords."

"Triumphant? Though he saved the Colonization Fleet, he also failed to secure Tosev Three, my Emperor. Such honors are intended for Conquerors, not Fleers."

"Truth," the Emperor said. He turned back to watch the sunset, sighing. "He is not Atvar the Conquerer. He is, and shall forever more be known as, Atvar the Defender."

The aid nodded. "Yes, my Emperor. I'll see to the burial preparations."

"Good," said Risson.

The aid left, and the Emperor watched as the sun set. Home could never know of what happened, of the sacrifices that had been made to save them.

But they would remember them, in one way or another.

O

Aboard the Lying Bastard

"Ready?" Louis asked.

Chmee nodded, hands dancing over the controls. "I wonder what we'll find, out there."

"I don't know, but I can't wait to find out," Louis replied.

"Indeed. Where are we to go first? A reality we have already visited, or somewhere new?"

Louis grinned. "Let's blaze a trail."

With that, Chmee activated the hyperdrive.

==/*\==

Chichi-jima, (E)Earth

Shinji sat on the beach, watching as the turquoise waters of the Pacific gently lapped at the shore. Asuka sat beside him, an arm draped over her shoulder.

"They're gone, now," he said, pulling Asuka close. "The souls she took. Whatever happened in the heart of reality or whatever it was called, they're back in their places, ever last one of them."

"That's good," Asuka murmured, snuggling up against him. "Think we'll ever meet them again? Superwoman, Batman, all those wacky guys we fought with?"

"I don't know," Shinji replied. "Maybe we'll see them again, one day. I'd like to think that's the case."

"Maybe we could all hang out here," Asuka offered. "Lister set up that hot dog shack of his nearby; he's been making a lot of money by selling to the staff back in the facility."

"He must have been so disappointed to learn that our Fiji is underwater," Shinji murmured. "At least he's got a place of his own in the Pacific, like he wanted."

"I don't think you've ever had a hot dog before," Asuka said. "Let's head down there tonight and see what you think."

"That sounds good," he replied.

The ground shook gently, and they turned to see Godzilla stroll down to the beach. The King of the Monsters stepped into his personal lagoon, sinking up to his waist, then turned to look at them, his fiery orange eyes burning in the warm evening. He nodded, as if to honor their contribution to the fight, and gave them a small roar.

Then, he disappeared under the waves.

S

Somewhere on (A)Earth

"So this is the nineties," Amy said softly, pressing up against me. "I don't see what the fuss was all about."

"Me neither," I replied, laying back in bed with her. "At least we don't have to be here all the time."

"Part-time gig in another universe," Amy muttered. "Brilliant idea of yours."

I pressed my lips against hers, silencing any further protest, and cuddled closer with her. Her soft skin was still slick with sweat from the summer heat, while I didn't even feel hot or tired in the slightest.

"I'm heading over to meet with Jake and the others," I said. "Important matters. Grades, projects, protecting the world; that kind of stuff."

"Fiiiiine," Amy said, rolling on her side. "Just be back before I go to sleep. Oh, and Dragon wants to go over some stuff in the morning."

I chuckled, then kissed her again. Rolling out of bed, I dressed in a hurry, pulling on my uniform and securing my cape. The neighborhood was quiet when I flew out; everyone was either asleep already, or out doing something else.

It was a simple matter to find the barn. Jake and the others were already there, anxiously pacing around. Their eyes widened when I gently touched down on the grass outside and walked over.

"So, just what is actually going on?" Tobias asked.

"As it turns out, Yama gave us a log of all the universes we traveled through," I replied. "It was a quick matter to find yours."

"Oh, so this isn't a case of all our Earths merging together," Marco said. "That's a relief."

"Still leaves the question of why you're here," Jake said.

I smiled. "The worst is over, but that doesn't mean we can just rest on our laurels, right? I have a feeling there's still going to be a lot of trouble, especially with whatever is out there. The Andalites seem friendly enough, but what about the other species that don't have such warm feelings for you guys?"

(She does raise a fair point,) Ax admitted. (My people have encountered many alien species, some of which have advanced technology, yet we've only explored a bubble of space that extends for several hundred light-years from our homeworld.)

"So you're here to help us through that, huh?" Rachel said. "Going to help us punch out whatever alien baddie crops up next?"

I shrugged. "Not just me. We're going to take rotating shifts through here, so we don't leave our world undefended. Dragon, Batman, Legend; we're going to make a few appearances here."

"Superwoman as our teacher," Marco muttered. "Maybe Batman will be a surfing instructor or something, in a place where we least expect it. That totally seems like something he would do."

"It actually does," I said, grinning. "Keep an eye out for him."

"I can't believe we're actually going to work with the greatest superheroes ever," Jake said, his voice full of disbelief. "It's like something out of a dream."

"Well, then I guess I should wait before suggesting it..." I began.

"What? Suggest what?" Tobias asked.

"You've shown yourselves to be top notch," I said. "You work together really well, you're good at plans, and you have an ability that could be applied in a lot of ways. The Justice League could definitely benefit from someone like you."

Marco opened his mouth, as if to say something, then closed it. He wobbled slightly, as if he was going to faint at any moment.

"Superwoman just asked me to be on the Justice League," Jake said. "My life is now complete."

"I think we should calm down a bit and discuss some other stuff," Cassie interjected. "What happened to the others, like Shinji and Yama?"

"They're out there somewhere," I replied. "We'll find them, and reconnect with them. I have a feeling that will be a long way away, though. In the meantime, we need to focus on the now."

"It's funny how Jake mentioned dreaming," Tobias murmured, looking down at his hands. "So much has happened, in such a short time... you ever wonder if the Author was wrong, or lying? What if we are just fictional characters?"

I glanced at him, then took a deep breath.

"If life is but a dream, then I am part of the dream, and therefore the dream is real to me."

(Interesting view on the matter,) Ax said.

I smiled. "I'm not the only one who sees it that way. Now, if you excuse me, I have some other stuff to handle."

With that, I glanced at the sky, at a spot only I could see...

...where I see you...

"Holy shit, it's just like in the comics," Marco squeaked.

...and winked.

You have been reading:

CRISIS

A/N: It's finished. Done. Not perfect, admittedly, but it'll do for now. Big shout-out to Chuckman; his fanfic The Crisis of the Infinite Shinjis inspired me to write this fic, and he is a far better writer than I am.

This was an imaginary story. But aren't they all?