The world around them then cracked and shattered, and the Monitor satellite returned around them.
Everyone was still staring at them, their attention fixed on the pair for the few seconds the genjutsu had lasted in the real world.
Max looked at Thena.
Thena looked back at him.
Max then raised his hand and tapped her forehead.
Thena's eyes widened for half a second before she crumpled. Max caught her and looked down at her in his arms for a moment.
"I'll take her."
Cyborg stepped forward.
Max looked at him briefly before transferring Thena into his arms.
He then turned toward Terra and stopped before her.
"Terra."
His voice was soft.
"This is where my journey ends."
Terra's breath caught in her throat.
"I'm sorry that it has to be this way. I'm sorry that you have to be here for this, and I'm sorry I can't give you any more time than this."
Tears began flowing down Terra's cheeks.
"But I need you to hear me out. Whatever happens, know that I will always love you, no matter what. I wish you a happy life, Terra. A full one. Everything you've ever wanted."
He smiled.
"You deserve it all."
Terra stared at him for a few moments before closing the distance and wrapping her arms around him.
Max returned the embrace.
"And I will always love you too, Dad."
After a few seconds, she pulled away.
Max stood and walked toward the Miracle Machine, placing a hand on its surface.
The machine glowed brightly.
Red strings of energy converged into a single point before forming a portal that revealed Earth on the other side.
Max stepped back from the Miracle Machine.
His body had already begun turning transparent.
"So we're going to get fused into one?" Superman asked, directing the question to no one in particular.
"Not necessarily."
A figure in a green cloak suddenly appeared beside him.
"Oh my God, that's the Spectre," Black Canary muttered.
The Spectre continued.
"He has created a new stable multiverse with finite Earths that can no longer branch outward, so long as there is no excessive temporal interference."
"A fresh start, in simple terms," Max added.
Superman nodded.
"That's all I need to know."
He walked through the portal, followed by Lex Luthor and the others.
Soon only Batman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, Superman, Terra, and Max remained.
Superman stepped forward first.
"I know we've had our differences in the past, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a pleasure knowing you, Max."
He offered a small smile.
"Farewell."
With that, he walked through the portal.
Cyborg followed shortly after, still carrying the unconscious Thena in his arms.
Batman simply offered Max a nod of acknowledgement before turning around and disappearing through the portal as well.
Soon only Max, Terra, and Diana remained.
Wonder Woman stepped forward.
"I've never met someone like you in my long life. So strong, courageous, brave, and yet so kind."
She smiled sadly.
"A gem of a person."
She paused.
"Perhaps in another life, if there is one, where the timing is kinder to both of us, things will be different than they are now."
She slowly raised a hand toward his cheek but her hand passed through him.
Max reached up instinctively, trying to touch hers.
His hand passed through hers as well.
For a moment, neither spoke.
"Goodbye, Max."
Wonder Woman offered him a bittersweet smile before turning and walking toward the portal.
Terra followed behind her but stopped just before entering.
She turned around and gave Max one final wave.
Max returned it with a small smile then she stepped through.
The portal closed behind them as silence returned to the Monitor satellite.
Only Max and the Spectre remained as Max turned towards the Spectre and spoke.
"Did you come here for me?" he asked.
"Partly," the Spectre replied. "I was mainly here to witness the birth of a new multiverse. Seeing the anomaly from beyond was a secondary objective."
Max's body began to dissipate into motes of light from the feet upward.
The Spectre watched silently for a moment before speaking again.
"Where exactly do you come from?"
Max remained silent for a while as his body continued dissolving away.
When only his head remained, he smirked.
"It's like you said," he replied. "From beyond."
With those final words, he fully dissipated.
The Spectre hummed thoughtfully.
----------------
Max found himself in a dark void.
He wasn't even sure if it was actually dark or if it only seemed that way because he was blind. After all, he no longer had a body. Either way, he was far too deep in thought to care.
The moments that had led him to this point flashed through his mind one after another.
'So this is how the story of Max Schiller ends.
Who would've thought it'd be such an adventure? Getting a second chance at life, fighting alongside the Justice League, saving the world multiple times...
Quite the journey indeed.
Looking back on it all, he couldn't say there was much he regretted.
Sure, it had been rough at times.
But that was life.
Everyone had problems.
Still though...
I wonder what someone back home would've called a story like this. One of those fan-made stories...
Hmmm...
A faint smile formed in his mind.
'Maybe something like...
DC: The Template System.
Yeah.
That sounds about right'.
Then a voice suddenly spoke from nowhere.
"Leaving without saying goodbye?"
Max suddenly found himself in a completely different white space.
He had a body again.
Standing before him was Didi, wearing a soft smile.
"I knew you would win," she said. "I was rooting for you, like I said I would. After all, I've been a little busier than usual lately because of that guy."
"Was there ever any doubt?" Max asked with a smirk.
"Not at all," Didi replied. "It was to be expected. After all, you have a peculiar ability to grow stronger and evolve in the middle of fights."
She smiled, only to notice that Max's eyes had become unfocused.
Didi shook her head, an amused smirk appearing on her face.
"No matter which version of you it is, you're all the same with the staring."
Max blinked.
For a second, he had found himself daydreaming about something.
He quickly cleared his throat, eliciting a chuckle from Didi.
"So... what now?" Max asked.
"I guide souls to the afterlife, but you don't belong there, so this is the best I can do," Didi replied.
She snapped her fingers.
A door appeared beside Max.
"Where does this lead?" he asked.
"It's a mystery," Didi said with a small shrug. "But it's basically where you're supposed to be, so it could be anywhere."
Max walked toward the door and grabbed the knob.
He twisted it open, revealing a blinding light pouring through the doorway.
He paused and turned back toward Didi.
"Thank you, Didi. And goodbye."
"Byee," Didi replied with a wave.
Max smiled one last time before stepping through the door.
End of Chapter
Chapter 54:Back home?
Chapter 55:A poweful stranger
Chapter 56:Confession