Age Of Miracles | Pietro Maximoff

Chapter Twenty-Eight: What You Do Once They're Gone

Music is "Main Theme" by Howard Shore from the Lord of the Rings OSTs.

Picture is Jane Levy as Glory.

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"Everyone loses someone they care about, Doctor Snow. The real test of character is what you do once they're gone."

- Dr. Harrison Wells aka Eobard Thawne, Reverse-Flash

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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The last hour spent on Earth-1 is a long but exciting one. After the teams head back to the Cortex to showcase our findings, all of us being successful, we share what each of our worlds was like. To escape the confusion between the Infinity Stones and their replacements, we started referring to the new set as Gems instead of Stones.

Barry, Cisco, and Elaine told of a world vastly different from ours, a world where technology hadn't moved past the Dark Ages. They discovered their Gems, the Deity Gem in place of the Power Stone and the Eternity Gem in place of the Time Stone, in a temple of a Roman goddess. They fell from the heavens thousands of years ago, and the natives had worshipped them ever since.

Jessie, Trillium, and Iris's adventures took them to a futuristic world on an alien planet. Humanity had found the Cosmic Gem, a replacement for the Space Stone, on Mars after they colonized it. It was buried, remaining there for who knows how long. It was kept in a laboratory where scientists studied it.

Wally, Caitlin, and Eddie found their version of the Soul Stone, the Spirit Gem, on a Earth where there was a so-called Justice League. The Spirit Stone was uncovered in Antarctica and was kept in a secret facility owned by Lex Luthor. With the help of Caitlin and Wally's powers, they were able to break in and steal it.

Those were fantastic stories; how we know the Gem's names and what they do is even more fascinating. Just as Elaine told me to do, I had connected with the Memory Gem on a conscious level. The Gems were living beings, conscious in a way not unlike our own. Once we returned, I discovered she had done the same thing with her two Gems, Deity and Eternity. She had conversed with them and told them our predicament, recruiting their help.

After Aspen, Pietro, and I returned to Earth-1, we did the same with the other Gems. Spirit, Cosmic, and Dimensions: we talked to them all. Each has their own personality and voice. Some were very willing to help, such as Spirit and Memory; they had a loving and gentle nature. Dimensions was not well put together, having a very confused voice, just as Memory foretold; eventually they helped as well.

Eternity is wise, speaking in parables and sayings; when we tell them of our problem, they just sigh and speak of how it is always the same problems. With some effort, Eternity eventually agrees to help us. Cosmic is angry at the state of the universe, but also agrees to assist us. Deity is by far the most arrogant and proud. I almost give up on them entirely, but Elaine wins them over. 

And now, almost ten hours into our journey on Earth-1, it's time to say goodbye. No one wants to leave so soon, least of all me, but I know that the longer we stay here, there is another moment that we leave our Earth unprotected.

We've gathered into the portal room to say our goodbyes, payload in separate containers and all the information we'd ever need to use them. Team Flash has been an indescribable help; I will carry the memory of them and what they did to save my world forever.

With teary eyes, I turn to my new friends. "I don't know how to thank you," I say.

Barry smiles proudly. "We're just glad to be able to help someone in need."