Previously, in case you're just joining us...

Actually, if you're just joining us there's not much hope of catching you up to speed. Suffice it to say a lot of problems involving the years 1999 and 2099 have been building up, leading to a confrontation in the Vega system. With the Young Justice League Avengers-Next, Legion of Galactic Guardians, the NoWhere-Men, Judgment League Excelsior, Omega Guard, and more teams from alternate hyper-cross-times than anyone could ever guestimate, the Thanagarians were grossly outmatched... until Captain Albion IV destroyed the Aggravator, unleashing the power of the Silver Twist! Just try to keep up until you get a chance to read some of the tie-ins. At least read The Hundred Years War #1, YJLA-Next: HYW #5, and HYW: The NoWhen-Men #4 before attempting to understand this one.

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1999:

No wait, make that 2099:

Actually, it's a little bit of both.

But mostly neither:

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Cold Space:

It has many names: the Aleph, Yggdrasil, Nexus of Realities, Hyperspace, the Vanishing Point, The Crossroads to Infinity, Limbo, Unreality, time beyond time, space beyond space. Cold Space is as good a name as any other. It is in Cold Space that Nathaniel Braddock, a.k.a. Captain Albion, has been waiting. For what, he knows not, nor does he know for how long. He knows only that he waits in this place that is not a place, where not even the passage of time exists.

And so it is of great interest to him when a swirl of cold space begins taking shape, providing the first stimulus he's been able to perceive since he can remember. The swirl gathers in size and consistency, forming into a vortex that assumes a two-dimensional property.

"A surface!" Braddock exclaims. He floats to the still-developing plain, hoping for a chance to actually stand. What a change from hanging suspended in nothing for so long!

The surface is no more than eighty feet in diameter. As Captain Albion nears it, its properties change. More like a giant mirror now, Brian can see himself through the looking glass. Not just himself, though. Flashes of his own past are reflected within. Flashes of others' pasts are, too, as are glimpses of futures he may never hope to experience for himself. As he concentrates, subconsciously, on seeing the future, more futures flicker past.

Flash! Cosmi-Tron and Mentor 5 try to warn the rest of the Imperial Legion that Korvellax has invaded the 30^th century, but the heroes are defeated with seeming ease.

Flash! A man who hates heroes called Marshal Dred takes charge of the League of Mega-Heroes, just in time to witness an alien attack.

Flash! The Ashkani welcome Captain Marvel Boy and the Human Robot Man of the Judgment Avengers Experiment into their fold, preparing to launch a strike against Warlord Ghul's stronghold.

Braddock discovers the window into other worlds is growing. Either that, or he is actually progressing toward it.

Flash! Mr. Super leads the Fantastic Legion A on a mission to stop the spread of the Minuteman virus back in the 20^th Century.

Flash! Rachael Summers, who Captain Albion once knew as the Bird of Paradise, helps Dark Claw and Magneto ransack an abandoned Project Cadmus lab to give America one last hope against the terminator terror of the Manhunters.

He has tries to fly in Cold Space before, but with no reference point, motion was irrelevant. Now he has something to aim for, but his access to the Ley Lines of Great Britain is gone, leaving his quantum powers at their lowest levels of energy.

Flash! The Legion of Galactic Guardians gather inside their rocket clubhouse, around an artifact they all hold to be sacred; the cryogenically frozen body of Super-Soldier.

Flash! A slightly different Legion of Galactic Guardians gather inside their own clubhouse, around an artifact they all hold to be sacred; the astro-mallet of Thorion the Hunter.

He is getting closer! Nathaniel's ability to tap the quantum field is weak here, but he can tell that the energy of the vortex is having a greater gravitational pull on his molecules!

Flash! The Justice Battalion of Avengers-Next unsuccessfully tries to disarm a bomb, condemning a nation to metamutant hell in the process.

Maybe it's not just a window. Perhaps it's a portal to these other worlds. Could this be how others have left Cold Space?

Flash! Roundman and Doorgirl are the only members of the Legion of Substitute Greats left to stand against Baron Mordru and the Masters of Fatality!

Braddock refuses to admit it to himself, but he desperately hopes he will see some sign of himself in these If-Worlds, some shred of evidence to suggest that he will make it back to reality!

Flash! Professor Kang, imprisoned within a cell that exists in the Phantom-Negative Zone, performs an unholy ritual that frees him from the man-made chamber. The time-traveling speedster offers his soul to the devil Neron, who sends the madman back to Earth attached to him, joined in a demonic amalgam that will come to be known as Vengeance!

Ah, this one I recognize, he thinks. Or does he say it out loud? Vengeance, he knows, has harassed Speed Demon in the present. Or is it the past? Either way, this is clearly a scene from his own timeline!

Flash! Kirk Skywalker and Han Sulu escape the clutches of the Borg Empire's Death Cube aboard the Millennium Enterprise, with dozens of Drone Fighters in pursuit!

Almost there now, another moment more and he can dive in! He may not make it home, but anywhere is better than nowhere!

Flash! Sandria Darque of the H.A.R.D.C.A.T.S. discovers a wave of unreality sweeping backwards through time. They escape by traveling into the past, homing in on a distress signal generated in 1999.

He can touch it now, but does he dare to? If it proves to be only a screen, a one-way reflection of worlds to come, then his last hope of escape will be crushed.

Flash! The Lantern Corps of the Galaxy gather to combat Terminestro and the Living Erasers of Qward. Both sides are struck by the WhiteOut effect that folds their very reality backward onto itself!

He extends an atrophied right arm, raising his palm parallel to the portal.

FLASH! All at once sound and light explode forth, followed closely by matter! Spacecraft of various shapes and size, yet all somehow similar, appear simultaneously, each one coming within a meter or so of colliding with him. The brief influx of cosmic particles surrounding the new arrivals feeds the Quantum Field, giving Nathaniel Braddock the boost he may be able to use to propel himself through this one-shot stable opening!

And he cannot do it. "Damn it all!" he swears into the void. His infernal moral code prevents him from jumping through while so many more are about to become prisoners. Even before he can attempt to reach out with his powers to the starships, the portal moves on, flashing more quickly than ever before, until it winks out of existence.

Rokara Soh, thrown outside the Paran Katar by the explosion of the Aggregator, hits the ground with a thud. Several of the space ships crash as well, while others land safely, or remain afloat despite the lack of space, gravity, or other mediums of substance they usually required to operate.

Ground? Yes, a large plain extends forever, less than twice as far from Nathaniel Braddock than the vortex had been when it first manifested! Could this landmass have just now come into existence? Or was it there all along, unseen by a man who could not even perceive direction for so long?

The Quinrocket hovers inexplicably above the flatland. F'Oxel and Vision 5 offer to scout it out for hospitability before the others test the surface.

"No," Snapper Jones tells them. "There's no need for you to risk yourselves. That's what we came for."

The 'we' Jones refers to included Mercury, Neuron, Stick, and Kang the Time Conqueror. This fearsome five arrived on board the ship scarce seconds before the Silver Twist was unleashed, hoping to gain control of the situation before just such an event could occur. The Legion of Super-Avengers eye Kang distastefully. His appearance is too similar to that of Kang the Time Collector, whom they know all-too well would betray the Earth to further his chronal collection of historic moments.

"I will join you," Red Vision tells him matter-of-factly. Snappers can tell it is not merely a request. Red Vision has also encountered Kang's villainy before, and doubts his motives now. The six individuals board the Zoomcycle (as Jones has taken to calling it) and warp down to the planarscape below.

The Galactic Stranger stands ready to meet them. "Things are proceeding... differently than I anticipated. The Quintessence must be notified."

Snapper Jones can't tell if the big guy was talking to himself or addressing them. "What's he talking about? Who is the Quintessence?"

Kang scowls at the thought of them. "The Quintessence of Realities: a body of five beings elected by those who endure among the Endless Beyonders to govern the development of the timelines. Sort of a Cross-Time Congress. I've never met them as a unit, but they've done enough to earn my enmity."

"Anyone who has earned your enmity," concludes the Red Vision, "must be worthy of great praise."

"Yeah, guess those Elder Gods know how to pick em." Neuron's comment precedes the appearance of four other cosmic entities, which obviously represent the full of the Quintessence of Realities. "The Galactic Stranger, Eon the Wizard, Heimron, Uatu the Guardian, the Wavelord." His knowledge of cosmic beings is sketchy at best, but Ted Reilly succeeds in naming them all. "Before this moment I never believed any of you were real!"

"What is real in one perception is often illusory in others." That Heimron sure can dole out the double-talk!

By now nearly everyone who entered the rift has joined them on the plateau. Most of those present are from one future or another, although the Omega Guard, Imperial Suicide Squadron, the Thanagarian armada, Young Justice League Avengers-Next, and Captain Albion are all among them. John Carter, in his identities of Stick and the Golden Torch, represents the heroes of both the present and future. "So, great and powerful Oz-types! Fixing this mess should be a snap, right? How about getting us all back where we belong?"

Eon, the only human among the Quintessence, glares at Stick, looking the most alien of them all with his all-knowing stare. "What transpires here is beyond even our domain. Actions set into motion by several players have interacted in ways that should not be, even in the Hyper-Cross-Time!"

"So," sneers Kang, "you're saying there's nothing any of you can do about General Immortus."

"Oh, you're wrong there, time-jumper." Heimron remains sitting in his Rainbow Chair, looking somewhat like an intergalactic analog to Snapper Jones before his own hoverchair was cannibalized to build the Zoomcycle. "General Immortus erected a lock at the end of your 2099 AD as part of a bigger plan, one designed to eliminate all timelines in which humanity took to the stars. A counterpart of his serves those who fear Earth and its potential, and set all this into motion. I have sent Thorion of the New Asgods to help others who represent the Judgment League Avengers of various realities to deal with that situation." [As seen in Marvel Comic's AVENGERS FOREVER #12!]

Hour Father, who served Heimron before allying himself with the Judgment Legion, cries out in horror. "It was I! My own transmission to the future interacted with the time barrier, triggering the chain reaction that has destroyed so many timelines already! I am sorry, Heimron, I have proven unworthy of the Chronoulog!"

"Nonsense," Wave Watcher, an agent of the Wavelord, consoles his fellow anachronaut. "The Silver Twist initiated the problem, which was expurgated by Captain Albion's selfish quest to save the Earth. Had these never occurred, no other paradox would have made a lasting impression on the timestreams."

"Still," notes Heimron, "perhaps the burden of containing the Chronoulog within you was too much to ask for. Your reconstruction of Black Atom confirms as much."

The Asgodian waves his hand, and Hour-Father lifts above the ground. He twists and bends in and out of his three-dimensional form, until a glowing mass of energy rests in front of him, moving across the plain toward Heimron.

Kang is not one to ignore such an opportunity. He ignites his jetpack, rocketing into the Chronoulog. Nathaniel Braddock, unsure of what role he has played in this (but certain that Wave Watcher fingered him as responsible for it all), blasts forth to intercept the embodiment of the space-time continuum. So does Rokara Soh, who is quite sure of the role his misadventures with the Judgment Legion: E played in destroying the space-time continuum.

Kang is thrown backward, landing unconscious far from the Chronoulog. Braddock and Soh become locked by their own quantum powers, unable to split the fused energy field binding them. Their amalgamated quantum shell expands outward, enveloping the Chronoulog as well.

"I see," Wavelord declares to his charge, "that you misspoke again. It is now that Captain Albion dooms reality, not the events of the past. If you insist on interfering in the natural course of things, at least be more precise."

The Earthling and the Thanagarian merge, amalg... no, that would be too easy. Their quantum fields absorb a portion of the Chronoulog, which explodes in an atomic reaction that succeeds in separating them. It also fractures the weakened Chronoulog, leaving only...

Both Captain Albions recognize the demonic, horned mercenary that has manifested as a result of their interaction. Spider-Boy knows of Gog, servant of Mister Mojopytlx the Micromite. He heard rumors about the assassin during his brief time in the Microverse. The rest can only wonder at what new threat has arrived, a threat that forces even the Quintessence to shrink back!

"Well, this is real cozy, you all gathern' like this fer me. Makes me want to do sumthin' special for all of you!" Gog stamps his cloven hoofed-foot down, breaking up the delicate structure everyone is standing on. "I think I'll kill you all real nice and slow, and then bring you all back to life so you can die again. Sound like fun?"

Snapper Jones acts frantically. He may not have any powers of his own, but with the Zoomcycle he may be able to strand Gog somewhere nice and safe-- like Apokolips. "Guess you're pretty hot, now that you have the Chronoulog. Couldn't cut it as a villain before, huh?" he taunts while powering up.

"Pretty lame, human. Why should I care about controlling the map to third dimensional space-time when I already have mastery over the fifth dimension? This is just one piece to a much bigger puzzle." He sends a blast of force at Jones, knocking him off the bike and the fractured landscape.

Heimron, Wavelord, and Uatu the Guardian send their seconds; Hour-Father, Wave Watcher, and Universe Boy (who had no idea he was connected to Uatu until this moment!) to stop Gog and restore the Chronoulog. The Galactic Stranger summons his own servant, the Space Phantom Stranger, to join the battle.

Eon stares down at his sandals. "I KNEW I forgot something." He mutters, thinking of some way to acquire a field agent in short notice. He looks at Snapper Jones, who is 'swimming' back to the Zoomcycle. "Open your Boom Tube, I must contact one on the other side!"

"Dunno if I can access anything outside of Cold Space, but here goes!" The Boom Tube rips apart space, creating a tunnel of pure chaos. Snapper Jones cannot say whether the tunnel leads back to space-time, but if it does he would be a fool not to use it to bring some big league help. This caper has 'Judgment League Avengers' written all over it!

"No!" Gog, distracted though he is fighting four time masters, notices Snapper's escape route. He releases the Chronoulog energy as a powerful beam intended to return its target to the dust from whence it came. Here in Limbo, Eon cannot counter Gog, but he can send his mystic lightning bolt of super-science energy into the Tube before it closes, hopefully reaching Captain Marvel or Mary Marvel Girl.

"Will I do?" Captain Marvel Boy asks, emerging from the tube just before it collapses.

Eon wonders that his bolt went so off course, and opts to blame it on the instability of the time stream. "You'll do fine, boy! Now give that rogue what-for!"

Captain Marvel Boy, last seen on Earth in the 1960s as a member of the Judgment Avengers Experiment, provides an element of raw force that compliments the cosmic abilities of the Space Phantom Stranger, Wave Watcher, Hour-Father, and Universe Boy. Gog begins to waver against so much power.

The other heroes see that Gog is not as all-powerful as they had feared, and join in the fight. Gog seems on the verge of defeat, until he re-aligns time, placing everyone back at his or her starting positions. The only difference from the way things were when he first arrived is that Captain Marvel Boy's presence remains.

Eon, now in possession of an emissary, has no need of Snapper Jones or his Boom Tube. But that doesn't stop the leader of the Young Justice League Avengers-Next from thinking of using it anyway.

The Zoomcycle powers up, alerting Gog to the threat again. But this time all five agents of the Quintessence of Realities are on him, and he can spare no effort to eliminate the boy.

Once more the gathered heroes attack in unison. And again Gog resets time. And again. And again.

"This will not happen again!" the Guardian declares. Uatu was once one of Oa's universal protectors, wielding the power of the Emerald Flame. He used it to create the Starbrand Corps, a cosmic police force overseen by him. He lost control when Mandarinestro corrupted him, leading him to murder all the Corps members who 'stole' his power. It was only after Speed Demon slew him that his reign of carnage was ended. For one such as he, though, death is not final, and he rose again in madness. This time he merged with Dr. Strangefate, amalgamating into the Sun-Eating Stranger! Their 'Final Onslaught' on the Earth's solar system was halted by 'Prof' Richards using a Mother Cube and the Nexus of Realities, accessed through Bat-Thing. Since that time Uatu has dedicated himself to the impartial task of observing that which transpires without involving himself. His creation of the Uncle Universe energy represented a violation of this oath, but he made up for it by making the energy force completely autonomous.

Uatu realizes that the survival of Hyper-Cross-Time itself may rely on his interference now. Here in the Crossroads of Infinity, the Nexus of Realities exists all around them. And Heimron, like all New Asgods, would never leave New Asgard without one. "I have need of your Mother Cube," he informs Heimron. "Together, the five of us may yet defeat Gog."

With each of the Quintessence feeding the power of the Cube and focusing on a separate pathway through the Nexus, they plan to dispel Gog and scatter him among the plains of Yggdrasil. The heroes all back up, waiting to see what happens next. Gog himself warps the Chronoulog into the Forever Crystal, an aspect that allows him even greater control of space-time than before. He splits, shattering like a glass and carried away to five new portals that have opened to meet the task.

Then he reforms, restarts time once more, and allows all to take place again, watching himself of four seconds past get sucked into five separate realities. "I love it when a plan comes together," he mutters, and then slowly rewinds the event.

Instead of Gog's body and soul, waves of energy channel back through the gates, orienting on the current Gog. Wavelord curses his pride for not having seen how they were all being manipulated. "Anti-Time, Anti-Space, Anti-Matter, Anti-Magic, and Anti-Thought. We five have just given Gog the means to unlock the Anti-Life formula!" They all know that the Anti-Life Formula, when manifest within a body capable of wielding such power, can unhinge the structure of reality on levels as yet undreamt of by even the gods!

In an instant the five swaths of energy come together in a brilliant display of color no human can perceive in real space. Gog stood in the exact spot of the convergence, until he was pushed out oft he way by a hero willing to sacrifice himself to stop him. Snapper Jones cringes in pain-- his attempt to blindside Gog met with defeat when he fell from the Zoomcycle, reminding him that he no longer has the use of his legs. Universe Boy glows with the power of Uncle Universe, in its pure form for the first time since he came to have it. His ability to utilize any single power he could imagine, as long as it is used for good, shielded everyone from the bizarre energies, himself included.

One man, a boy really, lies paralyzed by the light/anti-light surrounding him. He stands slowly, at once feeling the pull of gravity and the push of anti-gravity. Other forces interact inside and outside, causing him to stumble away from the glow...

...revealing a nineteen year old wearing a black leather jacket over a red spandex suit and holding a gun that shoots webbing. "Whoa, what a trip. They should outlaw stuff like that!" says the understating Ted Reilly, also known as the Scarlet Scarab.

"Neuron, you okay?"

"Yeah, Stick, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

Gog rages at the haphazard hero. "I must have the secret of Anti-Life! I'll rip it from your body if I have to!"

Remarkably, Neuron refuses to fear Gog. "About that. You see, I've been studying time travel for a while, and I'm pretty sure your plan couldn't have worked anyway. When you created a doppleganger of yourself by restarting the Mother Cube attack, you actually undid the effects of the Nexus. Since the Cube couldn't overpower the Forever Crystal, it could only banish your soul or your body, not both. Obviously it took your body, but without your soul the energy you desired would have needed another spiritual catalyst. The only way to do that would have been to send your own soul."

Gog's eyes bulge out, and his mouth hangs open in a half grimace. "But-- but-- you just said the Cube couldn't take both my body AND soul!"

"Yeah, but there were two of you for a while, and each one had a Forever Crystal. So you could have released your present soul, leaving your body here, while past-you lost its body, remaining here in spirit. Then you could have decoded the formula with your old soul occupying your new body, and all five anti-elements would have joined you."

"Shut up!!" Gog raises his staff to blast Ted Reilly with a beam of hyper-cross-time energy. "See how you like being a zygote!"

"Yeah, I kinda figured nothing would happen. Right now we're all outside the timestream, and any chronal transformation would require a temporal reference point to evolve or devolve from, as appropriate. All you did is move me backward in time, which is the equivalent of moving me backward in space here. And while we're on the subject, moving me that far back in space-time also moved you, hence your appearance proximity to me. So you've been moved to a point prior to the merging of the quantum fields, negating your presence here altogether."

"Wha.. NOOO!!" Gog grabs his head and simply-- ceases to be.

"Now THAT was impressive!" John Carter slaps his partner on the back. "What did you do to him?"

"I guess I talked him out of it."

POW!! "Guess again!" Gog comes at him from everywhere at once. "Not giving you a chance to B.S. your way out of this! Grabbing the Scarlet Scarab, he retreats into the ether above, out of sight of the encroaching heroes.

"Your fancy talk almost tricked me out of existence, till I realized that time only flows on the outside. Whatever you're doing must have something to do with the Anti-Life formula, so I figure I'll take you back to the Microverse with me and make you spill your guts!"

"But I can't tell you what I don't know!"

"Who said anything about talking? I'm literally gonna make you spill your guts!"

"Oh." Suddenly the power of cosmic con artist seems about as useful as the antique Web-Shooter gun he stole from the Action & Adventure Museum.

Captain Marvel Boy, Gladiauron, Stick, Wonder, Fabulous Boy, Primix, Captain Albion (both of them), and several other heavy hitters catch up with Gog before he can access the crossroads. Stick grabs the dangling Neuron (careful, those hands are HOT!) and lands while the others confront the villain.

They attack as one, and still lose ground as Gog overpowers them all. "Shoulda kept the geek-boy around," Gog taunts them. "That gibberish of his might have been able to protect you from me!"

Braddock is distracted by the dimensional pathways opening and closing around them. This is what he's been looking for, ever since being lost in Cold Space. He could get out right now, but what would happen with Gog?

But as more images wink in and out, he knows what he has to do. "This isn't working! None of us is a match for Gog. We need to shift the balance in our favor!"

Universe Boy sees an opportunity as portals to both Legion of Galactic Guardians realities appear. His own memories are split between the worlds, as he remembers each one being the 'real' timeline. "Okay, how do I do this? We only get one shot!"

"SPLIT!" Captain Marvel Boy orders him. Jonah Samuel does just that, using the Uncle Universe force to create a duplicate of himself. Each Universe Boy heads for a Legion portal. Captain Albion-- both of them-- grab onto the multi-legionaire to keep him/them from being trapped outside the Nexus.

Universe Boy reaches into the Legion's clubhouse, catching hold of the Galactic Guardians' most precious treasure: the hammer of Thorion!

While at the same time, in practically the same space, the other Universe Boy tags a relic from his own past, the preserved body of the original Super-Soldier!

And with Gog only now realizing what they are doing, Universe Boy merges himself back into one being, causing the parallel worlds they are connected with to amalgamate as well. It also brings together the two artifacts, connecting Super-Soldier with the hammer. The Astro-Force flows forth, finding in yesterday's man of tomorrow a warrior worthy of the power of Thorion.

The Man of Liberty reaches out from his decades-long slumber, and accepts the mallet's call. He becomes one with the Astro-Force and assumes the mantle of the New Asgod of Thunder, looking like an amalgam of both heroes.

He doesn't ask what is going on, or even bother with introductions. He can sense Gog's evil, even before he sees the extra-dimensional miscreant. 'Superion' unleashes all his might against him, hurling Gog beyond the range of even the assembles heroes' vision. And faster than a speeding lightning bolt, he races off in pursuit.

Primix, leader of the UltraFour, comes from a timeline that never had Super-Soldier or Thorion. So his admiration is genuine as he comments for everyone. "That was AWESOME!"

The collected heroes rejoin the others on the surface below. Ted Reilly is experimenting with his new powers. He cannot create or destroy matter, but he can cause things to happen or not happen. Nova Primus wonders if this is the fabled Anti-Life formula Gog was so intent on possessing, concerned that anyone should wield such energy.

Captain Marvel Boy offers an explanation. "Neuron's body couldn't process the whole Anti-Life equation. He only absorbed the Anti-Thought and Anti-Time, amalgamating within him to become Anti-Logic. The laws of reality were his to command, provided he offered some pseudo-intelligent rational that we were capable of accepting as real."

Neuron, Stick, and everyone else stare at the hero from the past, wondering if he isn't using some form of Anti-Logic himself to conjure up such a story. "Cosmic Awareness. Don't leave the Ashkani without it."

Heimron approaches Hour-Father, who is busy gathering pieces of the twin Forever Crystals. "You did fine, for a first mission. A little work and you'll be warping the timestreams like a pro!"

"I.. I don't know if this is for me."

"Nonsense! We just need to find an aspect of the Chronoulog that's easier for you to maintain. How about this?"

"A scythe? I don't understand."

"Then try harder, android. The scythe is symbolic of the conceptual figure Father Time. As my replacement among the Quintessence, you will someday need such a form of existence."

"My existence as Hour-Father is already more than I can handle. I cannot even presume to be your predecessor."

"All in good time, man. First we've got to work on this 'humility' kick of yours. It really isn't becoming at all." The Asgod disappears as his Rainbow Chair enters a Boom Tube. Hour-Father follows, bearing the Scythogog.

Wonder Cat points out what everyone else seems afraid to acknowledge. "So how do we mend reality? Can Neuron use his psycho-babble powers to make it all better?"

Wavelord shakes his head. "The worlds that still exist will continue, past the year 2099. With General Immortus' plot defeated, removing the barrier was easy. Uatu and I can see that you all return to your proper places in the timestreams."

"But what about the worlds that were destroyed?" Bouncing Ball insists on knowing. "What will happen to them? Are they all to remain here in Limbo?"

"No," the Galactic Stranger offers. "Time heals all wounds. Those with nowhere to go will be absorbed into the timelines that remain, gaining new existences somewhere, somewhen."

"Then I choose to go with them." Bouncing Ball indicates his Legion of Galactic Guardians.

"Are you sure, Chuck? You'll always have a home with us." Spider-Boy reveals more emotion than he intended to.

"No, I belong with them. Wherever, whenever we end up, I'll be back with my family at last."

With that the Legion of Galactic Guardians fades away, Bouncing Ball included. Other Legions follow suit.

Snapper Jones, back in the driver's seat of the Zoomcycle, speaks to Captain Marvel Boy. "Not really sure how you showed up," he admits, having no knowledge of the trip into the Boom Tube that Gog erased, "but if you don't have anywhere else to go, the Young Justice League Avengers-Next would love to have you."

"But I'm alre-- oh yes, I've played this hand before. Might as well get this over with." Captain Marvel Boy snaps his fingers, revealing another form altogether. "You see, I'm.."

"You're me! But when-- how?"

"About ten minutes ago, if I remember correctly. Eon's lightning and Gog's time beam merged with you inside the Boom Tube, combining you with the spirit of Captain Marvel Boy. Don't worry, the Ashkani won't even miss him. Now all you need do is snap your fingers and.."

Snapper does just that, becoming Captain Marvel Boy in a flash of electricity. "Impressive! This beats yelling 'KREE!' at the top of my lungs like that other Marvel has to do! Looks like we found Bouncing Ball's replacement!"

The YJLA-Next disappears as well, followed by the NoWhere-Men, Omega Guard, and Imperial Suicide Squadron.

Finally, the Thanagarian fleet disappears. Without their precious Aggregator death-ray, they don't even try to attack the Earth. Rokara Soh isn't sure what happened, but it has a clear impression that Earth just became a bigger threat than ever before.

**********

2099:

At the clubhouse of the Legion of Galactic Guardians, Living Lightning Lad shakes hands with 'Lectron as members of both teams stand in silence. "You new recruits have meant a lot to us," he tells his younger counterpart. "I wish you and the rest of the Galactic Legionnaires the best of luck."

"Thank you. With this many heroes under one roof, it was just a little too crowded around here. I hope that the Galactic Legionnaires will be ushering in a new era of space exploration for all of Earth!"

He joins the others in boarding their space rocket, as Bouncing Ball and the rest of the original Legion wave goodbye.

**********

1999:

Captain Marvel Boy steps foot inside the Mansion of Justice for the first time. With a snap of his fingers he becomes the crippled Snapper Jones. A playful smile crosses his face. "I'm not just the president of the Young Justice League Avengers-Next," he announces to the rest of the team as he snaps once more, "I'm also a member!"

"Won't be the same without Chuck though," Sparrow hangs her head sadly. "His... buoyant personality really made a difference around here."

"Speaking of different," Spider-Boy is eager to change the subject. "How about Cloud? Power of an immature sun, all rolled up in one cute little package!"

"Thanks-- I think. But I don't really think I can be Cloud anymore. Stardust is what I'm made of, not water vapor."

"Then 'Stardust' it is." Wonder Cat is glad for her friend, and encourages a growth experience like this rather than suppressing who she is.

"With all the power-houses you guys have, I feel out of my League," Mary Jane says, already changed into her street clothes. "Insect Queen would just get in your way. Don't hesitate to call Project Cadmus if you ever need me though."

"Hold it!" Mercury can't stand seeing his family falling apart. "First Bouncing Ball leaves, now you're walking out on us? What's going on?"

"Look," she tries to explain rationally, to herself and them, "You guys are great, even Spider-Boy. But I belong in a lab with my uncle, not in a dimensional vortex surrounded by temporal impossibilities and conceptual beings. I'm an entomologist; I study bugs. That's really what I want to do with my life." With that she returns to her room to finish packing.

If any of the others try to talk her out of his, Mary Jane Watson can't hear them. She is too busy trying to quiet her own inner voices, screaming at her not to walk away from the best thing that ever happened to her.

**********

2099:

"That was a close one!" Mister Elastic declares. The Substitute Four expected to find Chronos-Tut when they answered the alarm in the Morituri Mountain log room. Instead they found Black Tom Savage and the Shaggynaut, two malforms from two hundred years in the past. Only through quick thinking were Mr. Elastic, Brick Boy, Infectious Woman, and their newest member Insect Queen 2099 able to best the villains and send them on a trip back to the past, via a one-way time-buoy.

**********

1999:

Ted Reilly looks at his teammate John Carter as both realize they have rematerialized inside the Vogue Theater. A glance at his watch tells the Scarlet Scarab that they have returned to the moment just before Sgt. Sutherland of the St. Louisville Police Department calls to report a disturbance at the zoo.

They both hold their breath. The phone never rings. "Guess we did it, somehow. If the Legion of Fantastic Substitutes never came after me, that should mean Mr. E is okay back in the future." The Golden Torch is relieved that his former teammate is okay, or will be in one hundred years. However it works, he feels much better about it.

"The NoWhere-Van!" shouts Ted. He sprints to the back room, behind the stage. There sits the black and white 1968 VW van, complete with time-buoy components added in, and an assortment of odds-n-ends gathered by Neuron from the Donavon Scott Museum of Action and Adventure. As John joins him inspecting their unexpected treasure, Ted ponders, "If the van made it back okay, then that can only mean it was never stripped in the future to build that Zoomcycle. So that Web-Shooter I was carrying around never got lost in Hyper-Cross-Time!"

The gun doesn't show up. "What was all that? You knew the Web Shooter got left behind. Oh, that Anti-Logic thing. No dice, eh?"

"Yeah, maybe it only works in Limbo. Oh well. Hey, check this stuff out!"

**********

Cold Space:

Everyone has faded, re-entering space-time at one point or another. Even Superion, with an unconscious Gog in tow, departs, though it is unclear whether he will return to 2099.

Which leaves only the Galactic Stranger and two others. "So," one of them addresses him. "When do we get to go home?"

The Galactic Stranger looks upon Nathaniel Braddock and Rokara Soh, the present and future Captain Albions. "All in good time, Captain. All in good time."

END!

**********

This is it, the final chapter in a long, drawn out story conceived over a year ago. I hope it was worth the wait for most of you. I know a lot of other projects, of mine and others, were delayed or canceled thanks to the Hundred Years War. What can I say-- time is a fickle master.  Thanks to everyone for supporting me in this grand folly.

I'm flattered that the Amalgam Assessments poll named the Young Justice League Avengers-Next as the book most in need of an on-going series. I wish I could commit to such a project, but work and other real world evils conspire against me. In fact, February 16^th I leave the country for 6 months, and I honestly do not know if I'll have any access to the Internet during my absence. Remember, though, that Omegabeast created the YJLA-Next, not I, and his invitation to write the team was extended to all fan fic writers. I know that Jono Hex, current writer of the JLWest, Generation Hex, and the Lobo the Duck one-shots, intends to write some YJLA-next stories. I have reserved the team for the EIGHT DAYS OF JUDGMENT crossover, which Loborine is organizing. Gee, no one ever told me these crossover things could be organized!

The NoWhere-Men will be back. NoWhere-Man's Land is almost done (heard that before, have you?) and the next major story arc is already started, with a special page connected to it. I realize Neuron and Stick don't have the same following the YJLA-Next do, but with these guys I can do more than just parodies of someone else's ideas. Every aspect of them is completely original to me, and I have total freedom to do what I will with them! Gotta love that kind of power; I don't think anyone would take it too kindly if I were to kill off Wonder Cat or Insect Queen.

If anyone has any comments, criticisms, or complaints about the way I wrapped the HUNDRED YEARS WAR up, please email me or post somewhere I can find it! I'd love the opportunity to defend my decisions, or at least explain what I was thinking at the time.

I'll be back soon-- I owe Loborine a VRY2K story about the Imperial Suicide Squad. But until then...

Always Ask About Amalgam!

PS: So sorry for the extra day-and-a-half it took to fix and repost this story. Hopefully the additions and corrections will make things a little more clear just how everything turned out.

**********

Amalgamations:

I refuse to list them all here!! If you wanna know the amalgamations used, check out The Hundred Years War Sourcebook!

 **********

All character owned by Amalgam Comics (property of Marvel & DC Comics) except as noted in the Sourcebook. This fan fiction is created for non-profit, entertainment purposes, and is an original intellectual property of Crazy Ivan.

---

Ron Schablotski <[email protected]>

The Amalgam Crisis Center

There Came A Time When The Old Gods... Changed!

-- THORION AND THE NEW ASGODS #1

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