The End of one Campaign, and the hint of another.

And so ends the three-year-long campaign, which took a fledgling group of metahumans from being students in a government school in New York to the halls of the gods.  In the process, we dealt with numerous unexpected twists, both on the gaming table and in real life.  We had great victories and tragic defeats, with Mary, Ken, and Mel persevering through things that would have ground other individuals to dust.

Now Darkseid is dead, and the cosmos has lost a great threat, but evil lives on.  Earth is in the grips of a growing authoritarian government, with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the New Earth Government trampling civil liberties underfoot in the name of recovery and rebuilding.  The Sword Nations, rebelling against the fascists, have maintained their fragile alliance despite the odds being stacked against them.  And things will only get harder from here.

Though this campaign is over, the story of these characters and their descendants will continue.  After a Transformers game run by Jenny Xenotropos, we will return to this crazy crossover universe with Young Justice: Avengers 2050, abbreviated YJA2050.  Thirty years in the future in the island enclave known as San Fransokyo, four young people start a new heroic career, balancing their own dreams with the legacy of being related to the legendary Mythic Avengers...

...but that will have to wait.  In the meantime, I'll be taking a break from the blog for a few months.  Eventually, however, I'll be posting more "YJA Moments".  This time, setting the scene of 2050. This campaign will be inspired by Batman Beyond, the various incarnations of Marvel 2099 and A-Next, Blade Runner, Aliens, Avatar, and various cyberpunk, and science fiction media.  And, of course, Big Hero 6.

Some of the topics discussed will be: What are the new Treaty States?  What lengths have S.H.I.E.L.D. taken to control their populace.  Who are the new heroes and villains of this time period?  How many more crossovers can I jam into this universe? And what is the history of the Treaty State of San Fransokyo, the artificial island nation created to house refugees in the aftermath of a pacific-wide kaiju invasion?

Thanks for reading the world's most unknown blog.  Until next time.

A YJA Epilogue - Regent of Outland

While in the other Treaty States, life continued relatively independent of each other, on Outland it was a flurry of activity.  As the central hub of the Sword Nations, work was already beginning on ambassadorial housing, an official meeting area, as well as expanding the portal network backbone to handle both transportation and broad-band communication. Before the Gotham vote, even before this whole alliance had formed, things were hectic, but now events were happening with breakneck speed.

It was a race against time to get the Sword Nations stable and working together. Even with the referendum agreeing to join as a Treaty State, the citizens of Gotham would be going to the polls in a few years.  History had taught the pundits that if S.W.O.R.D. couldn't bring stability to the city, they'd vote for some populist who would march Gotham right back into the hands of the New Earth Government, along with as much of the alliance's secrets as they could carry.

There were also some rumblings from the other States about the economic and military strain recent events were placed on them.  While Regent Kentauride had little to worry about with Queen Diana and the Quiet Council, she was less certain with King Orin or Black Adam. While Teth-Adam's impulsiveness was well known, Aquaman's years-long insurrection by Ocean Master and the Sub-Mariner was making his allegiance less certain.

For Ken's part, the end of the Final Shadow War was a giant weight off her shoulders. Sure, building the Sword Nations was a monumental task, but it was one she felt wasn't her burden alone.  She had still blamed herself for the Apokolips Incursion a few years ago and with the final end of Darkseid, her revenge was complete.  Now all that remained was to convince the rest of a hurting world that a fascist regime was not the solution to the current situation.

A Krakoan Life Seed had been planted in the designation plot of land in the ambassadorial enclave.  In the ever-fertile soil, it grew quickly forming a grand villa that would serve as the Embassy of the Mutant Nation.  There Kurt Wagner, the newly-appointed Krakoan ambassador to the Sword Nations would make his residence.. at least officially.  It was no secret that he had a close relationship with the Regent, and most expected he'd make his home in Castle Wyvern..., especially with a ring and upcoming nuptials to prepare.

A YJA Epilogue - The Crowns of Asgard

  In the wake of the Final Shadow War, the Fourth World had collapsed upon itself and the Fifth World had exploded from its ashes.  The metaphysical shockwaves disrupted the flows of magic, acting almost like a wake-up call for the cosmos.  In the Kingdom of the Nine Realms, the event signaled the last big event in the War of the Realms, the last trumpet in the complete victory for the forces of Asgard.

With the death of Odin, the ascension of Thor to the Final Gods, and the crowning of the former God of Trickery to the throne of Asgard, various enemies of the Golden Throne had emerged for power and revenge.  Initially, without the Odinforce, King Loki initially struggled in the conflict, but when the Dark Elves were forced to join Darkseid's army, Laufeyson used the opportunity to bring the Jotuns and Sons of Muspell to heel.

Now with the Realms at peace, Loki and Melinoe look to the next pivotal event - their coronation.  While they are both the rightful monarchs of Asgard, they had never officially been given their crowns.  Now, a party to end all parties has been planned in the Hall of Ithavoll, both to eulogize the end of the War, but also to crown and celebrate the new regents of the Nine Realms. In order to fund this soiree. Loki has opened the vaults of Asgard, filled with the plunder of the defeated.

If there was one thing Loki and Mel were both good at, it was celebrating.  Yet, this wasn't the only reason that the people were gathered.  Loki wanted to formalize Asgard's stance in the affairs of Earth and signed the Treaty of Midgard with Director Thaddeus Ross of S.H.I.E.L.D. to not interfere in Earth affairs. 

Then Loki signed a pledge with Regent Kentaride to defend the Sword Nations from any threat.  The King of Asgard, and let the New Earth Government know that he would not sit idly by if they decided to reclaim the Treaty-States by force of arms.

A YJA Epilogue - The Mantle of Life

In the hours after the battle with Darkseid had been one, the White Lantern ring began to go dark.  In the middle of the night, Mary awoke as cracks began to appear with the ring quickly crumbling into dust. Lifebringer appeared before Mary in spiritual form and spoke to her.

"It is done. The balance has been restored and a new era of divinity dawns.  Anti-Life has been vanquished; I can feel it now scurrying to the darkest corners beyond my sight.

"Long before I revived Endor, a part of me knew I was dying.  The web of life that I once nurtured with the outflow of my power, was now drawing me into itself in an attempt to be one.  But if I do that, my raw essence could have torn everything I built asunder.  I think that is why I decided to sleep, to slow my demise until there was someone to take up my Mantle.

"Ring was always a crutch, to allow you to learn to use the power within.  And if I am to be fully honest, it was a catalyst too, separating the Mantle from the Person.  The Lifebringer needs to exist for life to exist. I cannot exist forever, however, because nothing can. So a compromise needed to be made.

"You can live your life Mary anyway you want to.  That isn't to say you have no power in this world, only that the exercise of that power is completely up to you.  Unlike the other Mantles of Divinity, the role of the Lifebringer has no inherent duties or responsibilities.  It only asks that you live so others may live.

"Mary, you now are the Lifebringer.  You will have no worshippers, but all who praise nature are praising your name.  You are a god, but you are apart from all the other gods of the five eras of divinity.  You are for a time immortal, but one day you must choose to pass on the Mantle to another, and walk the Path Beyond Life.

"Now I return to my children, to be one with the trillion trillion things that I gave life to.  I'll always be around you, watching the wonders you will accomplish.  And maybe, in a time of need, you will hear my whispers of advice, encouragement... and yes, praise.  Good Bye."

And then the Lifebringer was gone, leaving Mary, the new Goddess of Life, to ponder her new role.

A YJA Epilogue - A New Dawn

As soon as Apokolips left their dimension, the Fourth World was in its final moments.  With New Genesis destroyed and the Final Gods effectively interlopers, the only thing keeping the realm alive was its connection was the essence of Darkseid, coalesced into the last of the Infinity Gems.  When Thane absorbed the power of the Entropy Stone, the final tether was lost and the Fourth World collapsed in on itself.

While the Fourth World was birthed in fire, it died in unbearable silence.

In its wake was a spiritual vacuum that all supernatural beings seemed to feel.  The universe had lost something important and few would realize what that was. This agonizing loss lasted for only a few moments before it was replaced by a feeling of revelation.  In the dimensional void came forth great prismatic lights and a new dimension screamed into existence.  When it coalesced, the differences were clear - where the Fourth World was a black void, this one was filled with light.  An endless shifting, multicolored nebula filled space, covering everything in a surreal, eternal, glow.

The Fifth World had come.

Ejected from the dying prior World, the Starlit Citadel found itself in the dimension they were always meant to inhabit.  The crystalline space station where the gods dwell looked even grander as it refracted the hues of the polychromatic nebula around it.  Here the Final Gods - the Champion, the Savant, the Sentinel, the Time Master, Thunderstrike, and Umbra the Afterworld - found their home.

On the other end of the dimension lay a desolate world even more sinister looking than Umbra itself.   A rainy, rocky world that seemed to drain the color from the space around it, turning the normally prismatic nebula into darker shades of purple and red.  This was Wraithworld, and it was the home of The Destroyer, the Final God of Entropy.

The YJA Finale - End of Worlds

Mary would set the tone for the conflict, sending the remains of the Sanctuary III crashing down upon Darkseid, destroying his Palace-City, and crushing him under tons of metal and wood.

Exploding from the debris angrily, he lunged towards the Avengers was held at bay but repeated blows from Superboy, Supergirl, and Mary Marvel; who delivered vicious fly-by attacks.  This allowed a pincer movement by Ken and Mel, who gravely pierced him with their weapons - The Sword of Power and the Sandblade of Dreams.

Reeling from the attack, he launched Omega Beams at Kentauride, but she barely deflected them away with her Sword. She returned that with impaired him in his stomach with her artifact blade.  Even the god of Apokolips could not withstand the might of these wounds.  As a cloud of ash borne from Unicron's attack covered the sky in further darkness, Darkseid collapsed to his knees.  A surprised look appeared on his face.

With Orion erased from existence, he had assumed there was no one who could defeated him.  Superman, one of the most powerful heroes in the galaxy, had tried and failed on numerous occasions.  How was this Olympian, Centaur, and young Human able to best him in this way.  Attempting one last time to fire his Omega Beams, he was instead quickly dispatched by Kentauride and Melinoe.

Then Darkseid, son of Zonus, Lord of Apokolips, died.

With his death, Apokolips also was in its death throes.  Feeling compassion for the parademons and other former slaves on the planet, Mary Marvel used the remaining power of the White Lantern to generate a wave of Lifebringer energy.  This wave turned Apokolips into a verdant world and transformed the White Dwarf into a main-sequence G-Class star.  The parademons, now freed of their conditioning and implants, began the process of creating a new civilization.

From the corpse of Darkseid emerged a sickly black stone, wreathed by the red energy of the Anti-Life Equation.  Thane, who had quietly joined the battle with his Chitauri honor guard, stepped past the collected heroes to claim his birthright.  He reached out and grabbed the Entropy Stone, tearing it from the crimson halo in which the stone was suspended.  The Anti-Life Equation screamed as Thane drew the power into himself, sending the thing-that-should-not-be scurrying back to the dark fringes of reality.

Thus Thane, son of Thanos, became The Destroyer, the Final God of Entropy, and the master of New Apokolips, also known as Wraithworld.

A YJA Moment - Dark Fractured by Daylight

Unicron bit deep into Apokolips, shattering a portion of the planet's crust, spilling fire and debris out into space.  In complete disarray, the Army of Darkness attempted to concentrate their fire but were hindered by a counter-attack by the reinvigorated and regrouped Army of the Light.  Then Unicron transformed into his humanoid form and plunged his hand into one of the Hell-Pits, as the other one swatted away Shadow vessels and Star Destroyers.

Then Darkseid floated up from the planet, his eyes flaring with energy.  His Omega Beams cut through Unicron repeatedly, causing terrible damage to its systems.  Despite being heavily wounded, the giant Transformer repeatedly struck the world, threatening to split it completely open.  Eventually, it could not stand the attack any longer and mighty Unicron retreated, and its scarred and wounded form left the battlefield and entered Hyperspace.

The damage was done.  Apokolips was in ruins and the Army of Darkness was in full retreat.  The mighty swarms of parademons swiftly moved to the fore and were able to momentarily stem the advance, but the fleets of the Light, backed by the massive firepower of Warworld Nul, seemed unstoppable.  The bodies of hundreds of thousands of Parademons burned up in the Apokopian atmosphere, a literal rain of fire in the sky complimenting the inferno on the surface.

The Mythic Avengers had been trying to seek out the Lord of Apokolips to confront him, but the massive scale of the planet had initially made that task very difficult.  With his emergence to deal with Unicron, they knew exactly where he was.  But was the Sword of Power, the Whtie Lantern, and the Mark of Cain enough to deal with the Omega Beams?  With the combined power of the Mark and her godhood, she could probably survive a singular blast...but would they need to put that to the test?

As they descended towards the Palace-City, they saw Darkseid standing on its roof.  He looked out into space and gazed upon his fractured armada and the unrelenting advance of his enemies.  With little visible emotion, he turned to the arriving Mythic Avengers and smiled darkly.  

"You wish to end this and so do I.  The Fourth World is ending; Let us decide who chooses the Fifth". 

With his eyes glowing with the Omega Effect, he clenched his fists and readied himself for combat. The final Battle was about to commence.