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2099:
The Legion of Galactic Guardians gather in the team clubhouse, ready to find out what emergency was great enough to warrant summoning the entire legion. 'Lectron, the current chairperson, waits for a moment of silence before beginning.
"As you all know, the number of temporal anomalies has been increasing at an alarming rate. Since January 2099, the Earth has experienced several such events. Starting with our encounter with the 20th Century Spider-Boy, the disappearance of the Substitute Four's Golden Torch, and the arrival of American Girl, whose amnesia prevents us from knowing exactly where or when she comes from, the time stream is becoming more unstable every day."
"Last night, Gatecrawler and Martinex-5 discovered the existence of a parallel team of Legionnaires. The problem here is that they do not exist in an alternate reality; they originate from our own universe and seem to overlap our own existence!"
Martinex-5 nods, barely acknowledging the conversation. He is far too busy trying to determine the properties of the artifact lying on the table before him, an object that appears to be the legendary mace of Thorion the Hunter.
Darkstar rises and offers a possible explanation. "We have long known the time stream may take many paths. These other Guardians might have come from one of these If-Worlds, created by some point of divergence in the recent past."
"What else could it be?" suggests Universe Boy, "The multiverse is already charted. Is it so hard to believe that more than one reality could produce a Legion like ours? There's too many..."
Universe Boy stops in mid-sentence, suddenly aware of a subtle shift in reality. Nothing he can quite put his finger on, but something is different.
"Too many what, UB?" Living Lightning Lad tries to prompt his friend.
"Huh? Nothing, just saying Darkstar may be right."
Shadowstar frowns slightly. "Who?"
"You, Shadowstar. Sorry about that. I... must have dozed off."
"While you were talking?" Paste-Eater Pete wipes his mouth and grabs another jar of Elmers. "This is serious. Ever since Spider-Boy appeared things have been getting worse."
"We still don't know what happened to Bouncing Ball," Fantastic Lad declares. "And now we have this!" he says, motioning to the artifact on the table before them.
All eyes focus on the current dilemma. Here, inside the Legion of Galactic Guardian's clubhouse, is the cryogenically preserved body of one of the greatest heroes of the 20th century. Apparently trapped in suspended animation, Super-Soldier stands at attention, looking as if he waiting for the command to resume his post.
Universe Boy can't get over the nagging feeling that this frozen relic of the past wasn't there a moment ago. But he draws a blank when trying to figure out what was.
1999:
In a dimly lit alley near the piers in New Gotham, the clacking of steel-toes boots echoes in the silence. The man running is Blackmasque, one of the many crime bosses in the city able to keep Mayor Fisk off his back. Tonight he and his gang were to receive a shipment of fenced diamonds for distribution among several of Blackmasque's legitimate holdings. Instead of the captain of the Immer Essen though, he was greeted by a caped shadow that struck down eight men before anyone even knew it was there.
"DarkClaw isn't suppose to be here!" Blackmasque thinks out loud as he tries to find his way to his safe house on 38th Street. "He's involved in that thing on the Moon right now!" Constantly looking over his shoulder, the mob king almost collides with the dark figure that has appeared suddenly before him. "Ahhh!"
"Wait a minute. You're not DarkClaw! Is this some kind of hustle?" Blackmasque isn't about to let some joker in tights con him!
Blackmasque's confidence falters when he gets a good look at the glowing red eyes peering at him through the darkness. A guttural, sub-human growl is the only answer his accusation receives. And the equally glowing claws that manifest around him make the criminal's resolve falter further. Maybe the real DarkClaw wouldn't be so bad after all.
2099:
The Legion of Fantastic Substitutes, more commonly referred to as the Substitute Four, gather in preparation. "In light of Mister Elastic's untimely demise," Brick Boy begins, as if delivering a eulogy, "I can see no choice but to travel into the past and recover the Golden Torch."
The Infectious Girl agrees. "His abandonment of the team left us woefully under-manned, and unprepared for Chronos-Tut's attack. Even if the traitor cannot be brought to justice in the present, he must not be permitted to continue jeopardizing the structure of time by his existence in 1999."
Laura Parker, a.k.a. Spider-Girl, is intrigued by her teammates' proposed course of action. The newest hero provided to the Subs by the Legionnaire Moraturi Project, she was created to be the Golden Torch's replacement. She is not quite confident enough to suggest travelling through time, but the prospect of meeting Linda Drew, the original Spider-Girl, fills her with a sense of wonderment that makes her look forward to missions like this.
Brick Boy prepares the Time-Buoy for take-off. Although he's piloted the craft before, none of them have ever used it without Mr. Elastic's guidance. The Time-Buoy was made to seat four comfortably, but none of the LFS have any illusions about bringing the Golden Torch back alive anyway.
1999:
Spider-Boy pops open a can of Soder-Cola and offers it to Bouncing Ball. Since the Young Justice League Avengers-Next formed last fall, they have had a number of adventures together, often of the lighter, more amusing, variety than Spider-Boy, Sparrow, or Mercury has on their own. Despite all this Chuck Baldwin has never seemed happy. Now, as he retells the story of his lost future history for the benefit of Arrowcaster II, Wondercat, and Cloud, Snapper Jones cannot help feeling there should be some way for them to help their teammate.
"I've got it!!" Snapper suddenly exclaims, interrupting Bouncing Ball's narrative. All eyes stare at the team leader, wondering if he's thought of a way to get Chuck home.
He fails to disappoint them. "Your reality fell apart during an altercation between the Legion, the Time-Pharaoh, and Spider-Boy. But you were saved when your quantum bubble bounced you outside the timestream, and you emerged into the present." Even Sparrow has stopped chewing her gum, waiting to here what will come next.
"What if... what if it was possible for us to return you to 2099? Not by traveling into the future, though, you've already seen what replaced your history. I mean by retracing your steps; exiting the flow of time now, and re-entering it at the point when Chronos-Tut attacked. If we could stop the assault from throwing Spider-Boy into the future- your future- and back again, we might be able to prevent whatever didn't happen next from not happening!"
"Snaps," Spider-Boy is the first one to speak. "I'm the one who made all those time trips, and I still didn't follow what you said."
"The Mansion of Justice is full of trophies from the JLA's past exploits. When I was inventorying the storeroom I discovered a time square used by War Monarch. Maybe it still has some..."
The sentence is never finished. The six teen heroes are already on their way to the sub-basement. Jones follows as best he can in the hover-chair.
2099:
Moon-Bat patrols the Sea of Tranquility Asylum, a home for the criminally insane erected on the Moon to make prison breaks less likely. She never signed on as warden; she merely assumed the role after the riots earlier this year killed almost all the staff.
As her rounds take her closer to the Moon's surface alarms start flashing for the lower grids. Immediately the tessaract cells close themselves off from the main prison, isolating the inmates in individual pocket dimensions keyed into the Phantom-Negative Zone. "Status report!" she calls out into a comm box.
A cold, automated voice responds. "Prisoner THX-1138 is not in his cell."
"What is his current location?"
"Prisoner THX-1138 is not presently on the Earth's Moon."
That's impossible, Moon-Bat thinks to herself, the force field surrounding the Moon prohibits all forms of teleportation. Who is this guy?
Moon-Bat hadn't realizes she had been talking out loud, but the computer answers anyway. The reply gives her much more to worry about than her state of mind.
"Prisoner THX-1138 is self-designated 'Professor Kang'"
1999:
General Immortus prepares a pre-emptive strike on Ra's A-Pocalypse' stronghold in North America. As the wizened master of Limbo, Immortus desires to see all temporal instabilities removed from the time stream. In the past this has pitted him against Niles Cable and the Ashkani, and later Niles' Exciting X-Patrol. This time he seeks to abolish the only significant remnant from the Age of Apokolips. If this works, Ra's should revert to being Warlord Ghul and the anomalies associated with him will cease. Either that, or the Nth World created by Apocalypso will become the dominant timeline, and erase everything that happened afterwards. One way or another, continuity will be preserved.
"What do you think you're doing?" a powerful figure booms. The General finds that his calculations were somehow thrown off: instead of Ra's A-Pocalypse' lair, he has arrived in the home of Vandal Diablo, another immortal. One who likes to keep his privacy.
Immortus seizes the opportunity. "Let's make a deal."
2099:
Super-Soldier VII grimaces as Hour-Father tracks the Judgement Legion: E with the Chronoscope. "Is it as bad as we feared?"
"Worse," the Spirit of Vengeance relays, peering over the android's shoulder. "Rokara was so hell-bent on trying to stop itself from blowing up the Earth it triggered a Catastrophic Event. World bit the big one a decade sooner now."
"How long until the Event Horizon reaches 2099?" The green-skinned Gammazon nervously crushes her seat.
"The first shockwave has already hit."
"How can you tell?" Super-Soldier wants to know.
"Because," Universe Boy answers while handling an antique weapon from the twentieth century, the Cosmic Rod of Thorstar, "I have a very keen sense about these things. And I sense that if we can't stop the anomalies, things are going to be getting worse, real soon."
To Be Continued...
Disclaimer: "1999 - 2099: The Hundred Years War" non-profit fan fiction created for the Untold Tales Of Amalgam fan group, and is the intellectual property of Crazy Ivan. Amalgam Comics and all Amalgam characters, names, and related elements are jointly held trademarks of DC Comics and Marvel Comics, Inc. and are used without permission. Blackmasque, Legion of Fantastic Substitutes, Golden Torch, Legionnaire Morituri, Moon-Bat, Sea of Tranquility Asylum, Arrowcaster II, Cloud, Vandal Diablo, & Gammazon created by Crazy Ivan. Gatecrawler Created by Jeremy B. Judgement Legion: E & Captain Albion IV created by Jac Milnestein. Hour-Father and some American Girl elements created by Mikel Midnight. Young Justice League Avengers- Next and elements of Darkclaw Tommorow created by Omegabeast.
IRS ---Ivan Ron Schablotski
There Came A Time When The Old Gods... Changed!