Elias sat on the edge of the Grand Canyon, dangling his legs over the precipice. The sun was setting, painting the rocks in shades of burning orange and deep purple.
It was quiet.
For the first time since he had arrived in the DC Universe—since the truck hit him, since the alleyway, since the war with Darkseid—there was no crisis. No ticking timer. No angry god trying to rewrite existence.
He took a bite of a chili dog. It was perfect. The bun was soft, the chili was spicy, and the onions were fresh. He had run to Chicago to get it five seconds ago.
"So," Elias mumbled with his mouth full. "I broke the universe."
He swallowed.
"And then I fixed it. Sort of."
He pulled up his System interface. It was different now. The sleek, techno-futurist design of the Game System was gone. Now, it looked like a comic book panel. The font was bold and hand-lettered. The borders were jagged ink lines.
Current Status: Free Roam.
Active Quests: None.
Passive Effect: The Chaos Factor (Stability: 100%).
"The New 52," Elias mused. "Or Rebirth. Or Infinite Frontier. Honestly, DC reboots so often it's hard to keep track. But everyone seems... lighter. Superman smiled. That's a good sign."
He finished the chili dog and wiped his hands on his gloves.
"But what do I do now?"
He had spent his entire second life chasing Emeralds to survive. He had been running from Batman, running from Luthor, running from Darkseid. Now, he didn't have to run from anything.
He lay back on the red rock, staring up at the first stars appearing in the sky.
"I could be a superhero," he thought. "Join the League. Get a chair on the Watchtower. Sit through three-hour meetings about budget allocations and intergalactic treaties."
He shuddered. "Boring."
"I could go back to Gotham. Mess with Batman. See if I can get him to crack a smile."
He considered it. "Dangerous. Even in a reboot, the Bat is scary."
"I could just... explore."
He held up his hand. He focused. A small green sparkle appeared in his palm. It wasn't a Chaos Emerald; it was raw magic. The Archie Sonic powers were weird. He could essentially do minor reality warping just by thinking about it.
He turned the sparkle into a butterfly made of green energy. It fluttered away.
"I have the power of a god," Elias whispered. "And the attention span of a teenager."
Suddenly, a thought struck him. A memory from his old life, from the comics he used to read.
In the Sonic comics, Sonic didn't just fight Eggman. He traveled. He went to different zones. He fought wizards. He fought mammoths. He went to space.
"The Multiverse," Elias sat up.
In DC, the Multiverse was a map. Earth-3 (The Crime Syndicate). Earth-10 (The Nazi Earth). Earth-26 (The Cartoon Animals).
"Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew," Elias grinned. "There is literally a universe of cartoon animals in this cosmology. I'd fit right in."
But he couldn't leave just yet. This Earth—Prime Earth—felt like home base.
He stood up and stretched. The blue quills on his head bristled in the cool desert wind.
"I need a base," he decided. "Not a sewer. Not a cave. A real base. Maybe a floating island? No, too conspicuous. Maybe a hidden zone?"
He tapped his foot.
"I'll figure it out. For now... I'm on vacation."
He adjusted his gloves.
"I've saved the world. I've beaten the boss. I've unlocked the cheats."
Elias looked out at the vast, open expanse of the canyon.
"Time to start the New Game Plus."
He crouched low. The blue bio-electricity crackled around him, but this time it was mixed with the comic-book "Kirby dots" of energy—pure visual style.
"Let's see if I can find the Flash. I bet I can steal his lunch before he notices."
ZOOOM.
Elias vanished into the twilight, leaving behind a trail of dust and a sonic boom that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
[END OF STORY ARC 1]