Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Call Me Kara

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 60:

Kara and Caitlin followed Bruce Wayne quickly, slowly to Kara’s taste, down a large corridor, surprised to see the place went even deeper than she had imagined. Taking a look with her vision, she could see four stories below and three stories up until the ground which was littered with rubble that must have been a sky scraper. She had no doubt the building stood out in the middle of Kansas but Kara couldn’t say anything. Her Justice League wasn’t that subtle about using S.T.A.R. as a base of operations either. She knew Barry, her daughter and Charlie were behind her by the sound of their heartbeats. Eliza and Jeremiah were closing in and she heard the rest of the League decide to follow since no one else appeared to take them anywhere.

Batman opened a sealed door and the cold hit Kara immediately. Though it didn’t bother her she knew what this was, a morgue, and wondered how many bodies were behind this door.

“Alex?”

“Yeah, I got her. C’mon with me Lexie dear. We got a lot to explore.” Lexie hopped from her Daddy’s arms into Aunt Alex’s and Kara handed Charlie to Winn and walked inside. As she suspected there were multiple bodies and she didn’t have the heart to ask who they belonged to.

“Where is he?” she whispered.

“Here.” Bruce walked over to a table in the middle of the room. A large table was in the middle, a body on top covered by sheets. Barry pulled the sheet back gently and Kara gasped. She had prepared herself for this, but seeing him not breathing, no heartbeat, she could always hear his heartbeat.

“I… I’m sorry Kara.” Bruce whispered. “He saved my life, many times, and he became one of my best friends. He was a good man, one of the greatest I have ever known and he loved you so deeply… he died a hero.”

“He’s not dead. I can’t see through him.” she pointed out.

“Let me look.” Cait told her, feeling for a pulse and then trying to pinch his arm. The man was naked but at least he had a sheet over much of his body.

“Lois wasn’t sure what to do, she wanted you to come… she wasn’t sure if he should be sent to space or buried in the ground. We haven’t touched his body since he came in, other to undress him, hoping we could find some Kryptonite in him, something we could remove to save his life.”

“He was beaten to death?” Barry asked.

“Yes, Doomsday struck him directly in the chest. He had multiple bruising and lacerations before this but I think that was the blow that stopped his heart and caused traumatic brain injuries.”

“Yet the lacerations are gone.” Kara reminded him. “No bruising. Cait, do you see bruising?”

“No, I don’t. He is healing.” she whispered. Batman looked surprised. They had laid Kal El in this morgue of fallen heroes and left him undisturbed after Lois had tearfully looked at him one last time.

“I hadn’t noticed…” the man admitted.

“What the hell is going on in here?” a new voice asked, walking in. All turned to see a large white man, dark hair and eyes, probably in his mid forties walking in quickly. He seemed to be in decent shape, broad shoulders, large muscular arms and obviously strong.

“Dr. Michaels, thie is Kara, Kal…”

“I know who she is. The whole world does.” the doctor admitted, his anger falling away quickly. “I apologize for my rudeness. I wasn’t sure who was… there are family members of the support team and staff staying here and I didn’t want anyone disturbing your cousin. My condolences… I understand it is Mrs. Allen now?”

“Yes doctor. We don’t believe he is dead. I understand that he has no heartbeat or brain activity at the moment but…”

“Ma’am I understand. I know the two of you were close. He was a great man…”

“He’s not dead.” Caitlin told him.

“And who are you?”

“Dr. Caitlin Snow.”

“And you are a medical doctor?”

“No, I am a bio engineer and the foremost expert on Kryptonian physiology. He has been healing, the bruises are gone and he is still indestructible.”

“He is Superman, of course…”

“He isn’t a machine. When I first met Kara, the Kryptonite inside her nearly killed her. It prevented her from metabolizing the sun’s energy and weakened her body. Have you ever performed surgery on a Kryptonian Doctor?”

“No but… she needs air, doesn’t she?”

“I have studied Kara’s cells for the past five years. I know what makes her tick, I know when her powers are in danger of blowing out, I know when her cells aren’t metabolizing solar rays at an acceptable rate. Whenever she is in battle I watch every vital sign and how every part of her reacts, down to her normal blood pressure when using heat vision. When she is harmed by Kryptonite she can be weak, she can be killed. Once the Kryptonite is gone she is fine. He probably doesn’t have any further signs of life because he is underground with no solar rays. I need a scanner to be sure but if his cells are obviously still emitting some power and there is no Kryptonite in him, he can be brought back, the same way a drowning victim can be brought back after being in freezing water for longer than ten minutes.”

“You are not going to scan his body. Has Lois found out about this Bruce? She is his wife. Supergirl is having a difficult time coming to grips with this and if you fill her with false hope…”

“Sara?” Kara asked, noting the blonde was standing behind the doctor. Sara slapped the man’s brachial artery from behind and Ray caught him, gently placing him on the ground.

“No offense Bruce, but I don’t need anyone telling Caitlin what she can’t do. She is a miracle worker. He has a point though, keep Lois away for now, have someone get whatever sun room I am sure you have here ready and let the good doctor sleep it off. Oh, and we need that cellular scanner please. He has been like this too long and though he is healing we need to kick start it, if it will be safe.”

“Kick start it how?” Bruce asked, while sending a text to Lucy to bring the device Kara needed to the morgue quietly without alerting suspicion and to have someone prepare the sun room.

“I was near death, my heart actually stopped because of the Kryptonite in my body and Caitlin used a defibrillator on me. She saved my life. No Kryptonite or red sun rays, no death. Even when I blow my powers out my body heals before my power comes back. If he took the beating you say he did then he is probably in a comatose state, one that resembles death, but he is not dead. If he was placed underground, no sunlight at all or like he is now, eventually his cells would depower and there would be no coming back. Thats why time is of the essence.”

“So we need a defib?” Batman asked.

“My husband is the strongest defibrillator in any universe.” Kara told Wayne, pulling Barry close to her. Barry just looked at Kal El, his mind going back a little over five years ago, seeing Kara on that operating table and thinking that this could have been her. She was injured so severely, the Kryptonite in her system weakening her, blood leaving her body, that there would have been no coming back.

Lucy was surprised to see the entire League here, only expecting Barry and Kara. She recognized them all from Nyssa and Alex’s wedding.

“Kara? I am so glad to see you, but you shouldn’t be here… Is that your dog Winn is holding? Where is Lexie?”

“With Alex on the level just below us.” she said, her eyes still on Kal El.

“You brought her here?! Kara this planet could explode…”

“Not going to happen Lucy. I went through a lot of trouble to save this world once. I’m not letting some galactic goon destroy it now. I have a lot more help now also. Alex and I both do. We will win. Just have a little hope, okay?”

Lucy nodded and directed the two new men to roll the cellular scanner inside, not knowing why Kara wanted it and trying to ignore the fact that Dr. Michaels was passed out on the ground. Considering the blonde standing over him, she doubted he fainted. It was obvious by the way Caitlin had pulled open Kal El’s eyelid that they were looking for signs of life. Lucy had been comforting her sister for days while also trying to organize some sort of attack and defense of this base and knew it was hopeless. Perhaps this was Kara’s way of coming to grips with it.

Cait moved the scanner over Kal El’s body, looking at the screen. She checked the magnification a couple times while Jeremiah and Eliza joined her.

“He is emitting power.” Caitlin concluded. “It is weak though. His body may continue to heal but he is going to need a jolt and a lot of solar rays or it could eventually use up all the stored energy and true death would begin. No Kryptonite or other radiation in his system so we should be good. Barry, you are up. If we can’t get him breathing before his cells run out of power all the solar rays in the universe won’t bring him back.”

Barry stepped up and took off his gloves. He laid his hands on Kal El’s chest and began vibrating. Everyone in the room stepped back except for Kara. Lighting was swirling around him and his form was less solid. Barry for his part, never took his eyes off Kal, and reached for the man’s cells. He strained to get through, his body different than Kal’s. He and Kara had an easier time matching vibrations when… he let that thought go and concentrated.

Once he felt joined to the man, Kal El began blurring as well. The table he laid on shook but did not break. The lightning began to break the light bulbs and everyone backed out of the room completely, Batman dragging the chief of medicine for the Justice League out into the hall.

Kara stood completely still next to her husband, ignoring the lighting around him.

Barry screamed as if he was in pain. Kara nearly stopped him until the entire room lit up, even her hair standing on end and Kal El’s body glowed. Barry stopped, becoming solid and fell into his wife’s arms. He as breathing heavily, taking Kara’s attention away from the table until she heard it.

Kal’s heart was beating, slowly but there. He took a shallow breath and continued, his chest slightly rising and falling. Kara steadied Barry who was smiling.

“That was not easy. He is a big guy. Looks like it worked though.” he whispered, out of breath. The gathered crowd walked back in slowly, Batman and the support team shocked to see the Man of Steel breathing. Kara picked her large cousin up in her arms.

“Where is the sun room?”

“Two levels up. Get a rolling bed…” Bruce ordered before realizing Kara was gone. She had made it up the two levels, taking the stairs she had seen earlier and used her X ry vision to find the solar powered bed, the same type she was very familiar with. It could have been the one she used at the old DEO. Turning the lights to full strength, she stood by his bed, watching every breath he took.

“You can wake up anytime now. I know you like to sleep when I am trying to save the world but I could really use you this time.” she whispered in his ear.

“Kara?”

Kara turned and saw Lois in the door, Cat by her side.

“What are you doing here?” Cat demanded.

“Saving this planet and my husband and best friend are saving my cousin’s life.” she answered.

“Saving…” Cat started before Lois gasped, looking around Kara. On the solar bed, her husband was breathing.

“How…”

“He wasn’t dead, just in a very deep coma. The power in his cells were keeping him from completely dying. If he can’t be cut or injected then he is still alive. We Kryptonians are hard to keep down, unless radiation is affecting us like Krytponite. Or magic. Yeah magic definitely sucks. Caitlin figured it out and Barry gave him a couple million volts of electricity directly into his cells. He started breathing and his heart started beating. He just needs time and sun, a lot of sun. “

Lois threw herself at Kara, wrapping the woman in a hug that had she been human, would have crushed her.

“He’s really going to be okay?” she asked, tears streaming down her face.

“He really is. We all are. Take care of him. I need to find out everything about this monster in the spaceship so I can beat the hell out of him.”

Kara moved towards the door but stopped, calming down, her emotions and adrenalin on high, she stopped in front of Cat and wrapped her arms around the woman.

“Adam and Carter are safe. They know what to do if we don’t make it back and we have friends left behind who will help them. As soon as this is over, we will get them back to you, I swear.”

“And your daughter? Is someone taking care of her who knows how special she is?”

Kara sighed. “My daughter is here.”

“What?! Do you not realize this planet could blow up any second?”

“I couldn’t leave her behind. Too many people would be out to get her if they found out we were gone. If it looks bad, Cisco is getting her and everyone else out. The planet won’t just blow up randomly. When a core becomes unstable, there are earthquakes all over the world. Massive earthquakes, underwater as well. The seas boil, volcanoes erupt, random wild fires happen, animals will die in mass, then the real big earthquakes really begin and do not stop. Sinkholes open up around the world, tectonic plates shift and tsunamis occur all over. Trust me Cat, I know the signs. I lived them and it won’t happen here.”

Kara moved off, looking for Bruce Wayne. She needed to find out exactly what was going on and formulate a plan to stop it.

While Kara’s husband and friends were bringing Superman back from near death, Lexie was wandering the halls of Watchtower, holding Aunt Alex’s hand. The halls were brightly lit but the place had the feel of a Cold War fall out bunker.

Neither said anything until they walked into a room called the Hall of Honor, judging by the plate on the door. Walking inside, Alex was shocked, not only due to the size of the room but the artifacts in it. Picking up Lexie, the two looked around, seeing costumes on mannequins and photos on the cases.

“What are these? Is this where they keep their costumes like we do at the big circle?”

“I’m not sure.” Alex told her until the two walked up to a glass case holding a red spandex body suit. Alex couldn’t quite place the fabric but the date under the name of birth and death told her what she needed to know. The name Eel O Brian meant nothing to her but the words Plastic Man underneath gave her an idea that he had been a League member.

“He was a good guy.” a deep voice told the two. They turned and saw who Alex thought was Victor Stone. She remembered him from Kara’s wedding but he did not look like this. Half of him was robotic and she understood the name Cat Grant had given him now.

“Victor right?”

“Yep. Pleased to see you again, Alex. Wish it was in better circumstances. Now you little lady, the last time I saw you, you were a little pea in your Mommy’s belly.”

“You are like half robot.” Lexie whispered in awe. Alex internally groaned, hoping Lexie didn’t say anything too offensive.

“You look soooo cool.” she said a bit louder, causing Victor to smile. “Your eye is red. Can it burn like mine?”

“Burn? Oh you mean like your mommy? No, I don’t shoot lasers from my eye but I do have a really big gun that I can attach to this arm where my metal hand is now.”

“Sweet! Can I see it? I wanna see it. Want to see me burn eyes? If Mommy or Daddy are here I can show you and then you can show me the big gun. You should see Aunt Alex’s helmet! It is so cool. I played with it yesterday. Can you make things turn red? I can see people in her helmet but they are red. I like looking through things better but it…”

“Who told you that you could play with my helmet?” Alex interrupted. Lexie looked at her, frozen for a moment, then smiled.

“Unca Ollie.”

“That figures. So, I guess this is to honor the members who are no longer… with you?”

“Yeah some of them. Others are still around. We haven’t had a chance to put Kal’s suit up yet. Lois couldn’t handle it right now anyway. Poor woman has been a wreck. But some of them are just reminders of heroes who went above and beyond, risked their lives for others or saved a lot of people at once. Check out the far wall.”

Alex walked around the different mannequins, noting some of them had no birth or death dates, glad not all of them were gone. Her breath stopped when she walked around the last mannequin and saw the uniform she had not seen outside of the capeless one in Kara’s private room at S.T.A.R.

The bright blue top and red skirt were present, as well as a replica cape. It was framed and on the bottom a plaque that read Kara Danvers, Supergirl. She saved the world. Next to it was an enlarged photo, probably from the video Diggle had seen at Wayne Manor of Kara lifting Fort Roz into space, one of the top three worst days in Alex’s life.

“Is that Mommy? I sort of saw that costume in her room but it was tore up real bad. She would never tell me how that happened.”

“Yeah, thats your Mommy. She told you about different Earths like the one we are on now? This is where me and Mommy and Grandpa and Grandma lived, on this Earth. That big thing she is lifting was something that was going to hurt a lot of people. Mommy sent it into space.”

“Cool… why doesn’t she wear the costume anymore? Its pretty.”‘

“I think she likes to match your Daddy.” Alex said, not wanting to get into that story.

Victor laughed quietly at the girl’s wide eyed wonder. It must be something, having female role models like she had in her family. “Check out the one next to it.” he told Alex.

Alex hadn’t noticed the frame next to it but she did now. Her old DEO uniform was inside, including two service weapons she had used when she first joined. Next to it was a photo of what looked like a satellite photo of Kara’s pod… and Kara floating in space. She looked back at the frame not wanting to relive that moment. It was then she noticed the engraving on the bottom of her framed suit.

Alex Danvers, Supergirl’s hero.

“I wanted to put Alex Danvers, she kicked Alien ass but J’onn said no. He is the one who put it together. He said of all the things you both did, that was the bravest thing either of you had ever pulled off. It is something, Alex.”

“Mommy always says Aunt Alex is her hero. She said Daddy and Caitlin are too, but Aunt Alex is her biggest. She said I wouldn’t have been born if not for Aunt Alex and not being born would have stunk. Did you know we have the same name?”

“Yeah, J’onn talks about all of you all the time. Did Aunt Alex ever tell you about getting your Mommy from space?”

“No, but Mommy did. She tells the coolest stories. She said she got lost in space and Aunt Alex helped her find her way home again. I’ve never gotten lost. I have really good eyes and can see far away.”

“We all get lost at some point in our lives. When you got good people like you have watching over you, then you will always find your way back home. Why don’t you guys come up to the top level. I know a lot of people will be glad to see you.”

Alex nodded and let Lexie slide down as she obviously wanted to. Standing up straight, the little girl straightened her mask, checked her boots were on the right feet and twisted a bit to see if her cape was appropriately swooshing. Finding everything in order, she took Alex’s hand and followed her out.

“This is gonna be fun huh? I’ve never got to save a world before. Do we get to do this a lot?”

“More times than I would like.” she told her niece.

On the top level, the Justice League of Earth 3 who were not in the field stood in the cavernous room. The level was a circle with work stations and giant monitors covering every inch of the walls, monitoring situations around the world. Vasquez sat in the middle, next to Oracle, keeping track of the world and the members fighting while Barbara continued to try to hack into one of the four stations, or the space ship above and having no luck. Many of the heroes had just returned, being replaced by others to battle the android armies and help the population centers blasted by the ship above. Others were evacuating towns and cities when Diana couldn’t steer Doomsday from a populated place. The entire room looked as if it were playing multiple sci fi war movies but these were real. The elevator opened and most of the room turned to look, knowing Batman had greeted some breachers and wondering who they might have been.

Valkyrie and her short sidekick in a blue suit and red cape stepped out behind Victor Stone.

“Oh crap, some villain must have shrunk Kara. We are screwed.” Dick Grayson whispered.

“What does screwed mean? Like with a screw driver thing?” Lexie asked Alex, hearing Grayson from across the room. Not that is was hard considering silence had filled the space the conversations had been.

“Hi everybody?” Alex offered, waving slightly. The door that led to the stairwell opened and the larger version of Kara walked out, the Flash by her side, followed by Batman and the rest of the Justice League.

Kara picked up Lexie and walked around, looking at the screens, smiling at people who said hi. Dick gave her a soft hug, not wanting to press Lexie and shook Barry’s hand. Batman made quiet introductions, not wanting to cause a big scene. Work was going on, battles were being fought and this wasn’t time for a party. The party would happen when they had won. He had all the pieces he needed now. He had made a gamble, one he felt was necessary. The solution to the problems they faced were not more superheroes, more soldiers, more weapons, more powers. The solution was having the right people in the right places at the right time and it could be dealt with quickly.

The Lanterns had been fighting this Darkseid for two years and tried to take him out using brute force. Brute force was not the answer. He had taken a risk sending off the pod. He wanted to send Dick or Dinah but neither wanted to leave the fighting and he himself was needed here. He also knew J’onn would try to stop him. The minute J’onn had left to join the fight in Wyoming, Batman had given Cat Grant what she wanted. The woman wanted her sons safe and Kara and her daughter safely away from the fighting. Bruce gave her one of those, betting that she wouldn’t get the second and he was right. As expected Kara and Barry Allen had come, those loyal to them following as he had no doubt they would. The two inspired people.

While the new arrivals and current residents took one another in, two women locked eyes.

Slowly making their way across the room they met in the middle.

“It’s really you. I mean… not… but it is.” Dinah told her sister. The girl who despite their differences and Sara’s wild lifestyle she still loved and grieved for after all these years.

“Yeah it… wow.” Sara told her, tears streaming down her cheek. “I never thought I would see… I know its not you but it kind of is, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Dinah admitted. The two stared at each other, those around them not existing at the moment.

“Uh… I know that we aren’t really the us that we know or whatever but could I… hug you?” Sara asked.

Her Laurel threw her black clad arms around Sara, both of them gripping onto each other as if they were afraid the other would disappear again. Everyone in the room knew what was happening and walked away, conversations quieted while the two shared a moment. Oliver watched from across the way, hood up so no one could see him cry, Speedy didn’t hide the emotion in her eyes.

“Unca Ollie? Why is Sara cryin?” Lexie asked, having heard Unca Ollie upset, something she was not used to hearing. Thea picked up the little girl.

“One day, I bet you are going to have a little brother or sister.” she told Lexie. “When you do, you will understand why there is nothing siblings won’t do for each other. Despite the differences and the arguments and brothers almost beating to death a guy you were seeing, nothing will ever break that bond. Laurel and Sara are sisters and haven’t seen each other in a long time and are happy.”

“But they found each other now? Kinda like how Mommy and Aunt Alex always find each other?”

“Exactly like that.” Thea agreed.

“Then be happy Unca Ollie.” Lexie hopped out of Thea’s arms and raced to her Daddy, jumping on his back in one leap. Barry grunted a bit, surprised but knew it was her. He let her stay for the moment since nothing was being talked about at the moment that was gruesome. He and Kara were listening to Bruce give them a run down of events. Oliver walked up to them, pulling Lexie off of Barry’s back, holding the little caped super heroine but focused on Bruce.

“Lets cut to the chase Bruce. What is your plan?” the Arrow asked.

“What makes you think I have a plan? It doesn’t appear as if I am having any luck.” Bruce said neutrally.

“Because if you didn’t have a plan you would have sent us a warning to prepare for war in our universe. Instead you brought us here. If you wanted us here it is because you need us for a specific job, a job you think can win this thing. You always have a plan Bruce, so tell us what you need. I have appointments next week and am arranging a showing in Coast City Kara doesn’t realize she is having yet.”

“I am? You are? I told you…”

“That you don’t like to spend time away from Lexie to do an exhibit but since you have a very nice penthouse there now we can all make it a weekend getaway that will not require leaving your daughter. You can even bring Charlie. He will help out the free spirited artist rep I have been building for you. Lets get to business.”

“Kara!”

The blonde turned to find her sister in law, walking up, not happy. Then she saw why.

“I came to battle, not babysit your dog! Take him.”

“I thought Ray had him?”

“He did and passed him off to Jefferson who caught me by surprise and tossed him into my arms. Now no one will take him.”

Kara took Charlie from Nyssa and Bruce indicated they should all follow him.

“I need to know where the lab is that is working on the Doomsday creature. I need to know everything about him. I have to figure out a way to kill it.” Jeremiah argued. Bruce looked at Lucy, who escorted Jeremiah away, Eliza following.

The team walked through an exit door that slid up as Wayne approached and were immediately in a giant conference room. Some were already seated, a host of characters Kara had never met before including one guy in a hat and overcoat that resembled a detective from the forties. The hat covered his face and he looked down at the table so she couldn’t be exactly sure of his facial features but he seemed mysterious if nothing else. Another man had a gold helmet on and a gold cape, the rest his body covered in blue.

Everyone took a seat, including Lexie.

“Uh, Kara we have a play area for the kids of employees…” Bruce started before being interrupted by the little girl.

“I’m stayin.”

“Lexie why don’t you let…” Sara tried.

“I’m stayin.” the girl told her again.

“Aren’t you hungry though? We could get you some lunch? Do you like chicken nuggets?” Dinah asked. Lexie’s ears perked up.

“I’m listenin.”

“We have french fries…”

“Curly or straight?”

‘Both.”

“Straight are borin. Any ice cream?”

“I bet we can find some.” the Black Canary told her with a smile.

“Lets go Sara. By Mommy and Daddy. Come find me when I am done eaten then we can save the world.”

The two Canaries walked out, Superwoman junior between them, leaving Bruce Wayne actually smiling.

“Okay, first I deeply thank you for all being here. I recognize the sacrifices and risks you are all taking. Oliver was correct, I do have a plan, but I needed you all. I especially needed you Zatanna.”

Zatanna looked up from her nails, surprised. “Me?”

“Yes. I will explain shortly. The situation as we have it…” Bruce stopped talking when the door slid up once again, two men walked in, one black and one white, dressed identically in black and green costumes, the green glowing. Kara noted both men had rings on their right ring fingers, glowing bright green as well. Barry tensed and began vibrating, nearly standing up, thinking they may be Kryptonite.

“Calm down Flash. No Kryptonite, just epic awesomeness. Hal Jordan, pleased to meet everybody. I was actually supposed to join up with you guys a couple years ago but we have been busy getting our butts kicked across three universes in the past few years. Hopefully when this is over we can hook up. I heard you guys were the fun Justice League. That would be a change. Only one brooding guy and he doesn’t have a bat fetish right?”

Bruce sighed.

“Everyone, the man who never shuts up is Hal Jordan. He is a member of the Lantern Corp. Next to him is the man who is much smarter, John Stewart. John is a founding member of our League.”

“Excuse me, Lantern Corp? Who does the naming around here? I know Cat Grant can do better than that.” Cisco pointed out.

“Our power comes from… our corp is known by many titles in many languages across the universe. The best translation in English is green lantern. The color is referring to the glowing radiation that powers our rings and gives us the power to confront the forces of evil who threaten to destroy the balance and harmony of the universe. The lantern translation is because our corp is s symbol of hope of light in the darkness for those…”

“Look at the symbol on our chest guy. Look at the glow. Green Lantern. If you can do better I am all ears. I’m not married to it, okay?” Hal offered, cutting off Stewart who could be kind of preachy at times. Cisco nodded his head in respect.

“I’ll give it some thought before you get to us, Hal. I can tell you are going to be much more fun than this dude.”

“I am not here for fun.” Stewart told him calmly. “Many Lanterns have died trying to defeat this creature. This is not a game.”

“If it was I would question your strategy.” Oliver told him.

“Excuse me?”

“You have been fighting this battle for three years, lost many of your brothers and sisters and still are not any closer to winning while billion of lives are being destroyed. Bruce, you were saying something about a plan?”

“Have a seat you two. We can do introductions for everyone who is not familiar later. This is our situation. A ship breached our universe two years ago. We watched it move closer to our planet but were not aware of its intentions until John told us. The ship had been siphoning off heat from the liquid outer core of the Earths and any planet that had a liquid or outer liquid core. The man in control of the ship calls himself Darkseid. We believe he uses the power to further fuel his weapons and is storing some, perhaps for some planet of his own. Regardless when John told us this…”

“Why were we not called immediately?” Kara asked.

“Because… Because Diana, J’onn and Kal El wanted you all to not be at risk. They were convinced we could handle this. Some of us wanted to contact you immediately but we couldn’t exactly overpower the three most powerful members of our league. I convinced J’onn to allow the work on the pod to continue in the event that if defeat was imminent we could send a warning to you all. Once J’onn left yesterday to assist Diana, I sent Carter and Adam with Cat’s blessing. She thought her sons could convince you to stay away. I knew better. Now that you are here we can end this.”

“Thank you. So this ship entered your orbit?” Barry asked.

“Yes, and once it did, it struck quickly. We knew it was coming of course but it accelerated. The Lanterns have been attacking by the thousands, the reason the sky glows green at night. They have yet to breach the hull. He was able to send massive armies to the ground through a teleportation device of some sort.”

“He actually beamed them down? Cool… I mean horrible.” Cisco corrected.

“The armies are android from what we can tell, powered by the ship remotely. There are humanoids with them, women of differing superpowers who John calls Furies. One is stationed at each base. They spread out and set up bases within ten hours of landing. The bases are impossible to get into. The androids stay outside of the field with a Fury who seems to be in command. We aren’t sure who is inside the bases. The base is a giant half globe from the outside but inside there is a mechanism that is drilling into the Earth and setting up reactors to absorb heat. These bases are in Yellowstone National Park over the Yellowstone Caldera, Lake Toba in Indonesia, Aira Caldera in Japan and Taupo Caldera in New Zealand. From what Barbara can determine these reactors are going through the easiest paths to get to the core, the super volcanoes already present. We all know what happens if even one of these erupts. If the molten lava is pulled out, the outer core hardened from loss of heat, the tectonic plates fall in on themselves, magnetic poles shift, eruptions happen all over the world and eventually the Earth actually loses its integrity, collapsing then…”

“Exploding.” Kara finished, fighting off the shiver she felt. She would always remember the explosion of her planet as she left but she would also always remember the quakes and boiling seas.

“Yes. The androids outside aren’t the most technically advanced, but they are tough. It takes a more than a few shots to kill them and anything less than very high caliber weapons won’t put a dent in them. The superpowers the women have differ, we can go over them shortly. One of the problems we face is the power plants themselves. We have no idea how many androids or creatures are inside. The heat signatures underneath makes infrared obsolete. We do suspect that if one is turned off a defense mechanism will send the others into immediate shut down mode. Barbara is guessing this is a worst case scenario. That means lava is sent back into the core, at an uncontrolled rate, still causing massive casualties on the planet. The eruptions and shifting of plates would bring extinction level events. They all have to be turned off at the same time to be safe, meaning four teams have to breach these bases and take control at once. Arthur has the Atlanteans ready in Indonesia, and Queen Hippolyta has offered us the services of an Amazon strike team in New Zealand. I will take one team in myself and I was hoping your League could take another? The militaries of the world have agreed to do as we ask. They have realized they cannot defeat these androids. It isn’t just that they are hard to kill, they are also easily replaceable, never seeming to diminish in number and have weapons including rifles that can take down fighter jets with one shot. They can’t beat this army but they can distract them.”

“And how do you plan to bring down the shields?” Nyssa asked.

Bruce sat back and grinned. “Magic. Meet Dr. Hector Hall, the man once known as Hector Hall anyway. He is now known as Fate…”

“Doctor Fate!” Cisco added quickly. “Thats mine. Too cool not to have a doctor in it.”

Bruce ignored him and continued. “This lady,” he indicated to a corner no one, not even Kara had noticed anyone in, “is known as Raven.”

A slim woman walked out, her body covered in a tight black dress with slits up the side high enough that if Barry ever saw Lexie in something like that he would forbid her from ever leaving the house. She had stilettos on underneath adding to her height but the real mystery was her face. No one could see it, covered by a simple black hood over her head, and a long flowing black cape that reached the ground and wrapped around her arms.

“Good name.” Cisco admitted.

“And this man is… well, how should I introduce you?”

The man in the overcoat and brown fedora hat looked up from the table. At least everyone thought he looked up.

“How many people are we going to meet that have no face?” Barry asked before Kara kicked him under the table.

“I have been called many names throughout history.” the eery disembodied voice told the room. It seemed to emanate from him. “The walker, the ghost, the phantom, the stranger…”

“Phantom Stranger! Called it. You are welcome. Be glad its me and not Cat okay? She would have given you something totally lame, trust me. Like Captain Faceless or some equally unimaginative crap… she isn’t near right?. Probably not, Okay so yeah Phantom Stranger.”

Everyone in the room looked at Cisco, who threw up his hands.

“I’m done, okay? But c’mon we came to this universe to save their butts. I got us here. I think I should be allowed to name a few, right?”

“He has a point.” Carter admitted. “Did you say your name used to be or is Hector…”

“We can talk later Khufu. Yes I know you and your priestess. Let us concentrate on the task at hand, then I can tell you all you want to know. Now that we have a fourth powerful sorceress, we can take down the walls at once by linking our magical energies even from great distances.”

“You can’t just teleport a team in? Zatanna can.” Ray bragged.

“No I can’t. I had a hard time getting through Shadow Walker’s dark matter field to bring John back. Without knowing exactly how strong this energy field is and what exactly is on the inside I could open a portal inside a reactor, killing them the second they appeared. It has to be brought down and the team has to enter, unnoticed. I’ve never linked magic. My spells work through speech…”

“Because you honor your father. We will help you break that block tonight, if you will work with us.” Fate offered. “You are more powerful than you think. You only limit yourself.”

Harry stood up. “That is a wall of energy. Energy can be manipulated overcome, blocked, countered. No magic is needed.”

“I assure you our brightest minds have come up with no physical solution to the problem Dr. Wells.” Batman told him.

“Your brightest minds are idiots compared to Martin and I… and Lexie. I will go and… she… we aren’t going to base the fate of this world on magic. I need to be there… she is our team…”

“Give it up Harry, we all know you two have been sleeping together for years.” Ray told him, his mind already on a solution to the problem at hand but tired of the back and forth these two played. If he was worried he should just say he was worried.

“Whatever…” Harry took a deep breath, looked at Zatanna and sat back down. “I’m going with her.”

“You can’t. I need you here Harry.” Barry told him.

Before the man could ask why, Stewart spoke up. “You have forgotten about one small thing, Bruce, the very large ship above. It is in orbit but can be anywhere in minutes. It has a massive weapon, a laser than reaches a quarter mile in diameter and destroys anything it touches. Trying to breach the ship is impossible. If one gets to close the weapons automatically fire, powerful enough to breach our protective barriers. Many of us have died trying to get into that ship,”

“Then I guess we find another way. You are sure that Darkseid is a man?” Kara asked.

“Yes, from what we can tell.”

“And the only humanoid figures you have seen on the ground are super powered females?”

“Yes.”

“Then I will breach the ship. Winn can you hack it?”

“He won’t get a chance to.” Oracle told the group. “The system is not using our satellites or wi fi towers. It is using its own form of communication. I know it is cybernetic in origin but I don’t have a target to hit. Whatever form of wi fi he is using I can’t find. If we can get in, from what I have heard about Winn, if anyone can crack an alien ship it is him. We just don’t have a way.”

“And if I can get a device of some sort onto the ship, is it possible to establish a connection?”

“Possible. I don’t know. He could be running the ship on magic for all I know.” Oracle admitted.

“Okay. I will figure it out when I am on board.” Kara decided. Barry dropped his head but didn’t say a word. He knew what they would both be facing and had somehow come, not to terms but an acceptance. Neither thought this battle would be fought from the safety of Watchtower.

“On board?” Stewart asked. “You plan to find a way on board that has eluded the most powerful force for peace in the Universes and take on a monster while hacking into its system and disabling the weapons? Your cousin could not stand up to those weapons and can’t fly in space. This man landed on the first Earth he destroyed with his invasion force. Ten Lanterns attacked him and ten Lanterns died. He is more powerful than anyone in this room or the Lantern Corp.”

Kara looked over at Hal Jordan and winked. “I’m glad you are coming to join us too, Hal. You seem to be the fun Lantern. I need a way to communicate with him. Can I at least send a request he may pick up?”

“I can handle that Kara. I can’t send a line to him but I can broadcast a series of radio signals that I am sure his sensors will pick up.” Winn offered.

“Take Barry and me with you, Kara.” Oliver asked quietly.

“You are needed on the ground Oliver. Our League have to take one base. Barry has another job. No matter what Jeremiah finds, he isn’t going to be able to kill this thing, is he Bruce?”

Bruce shook his head.

“Who created this monster again? Are there any others we are going to have to worry about?” Barry asked Batman quietly, looking at the desk.

“We watched Luther in prison, thinking he may have had someone who could have taken this creature from the Order to hide. That was a dead end as he is kept in complete isolation in a high security black site prison. Next we looked at Max Lord. Since Max was kicked off of Dr. Danver’s team we suspected he would try something. Instead he did nothing. It was business as usual, selling rich men’s toys and high tech gadgets, out in public, holding press conferences and basically being Maxwell Lord. After Doomsday appeared we tracked him down and he was at a beach house in Maui. Then it occurred to me, that a man who was zealous enough to take a brain dead girl and turn her into an exact replica of Kara would not just give up. I did a little more research into those around him. Three days after Maxwell Lord’s removal from the inter dimensional travel project, his Chief Operating Officer Simon Garrett, died in a small plane crash over Alaska. Bodies were found but unrecognizable and because of personal items on the bodies DNA checks were not done. I believe this was due to bribes or carelessness of local investigators. Garrett’s age, height and weight were similar to Lord’s. Lord disappeared for a few months, maintaining a low profile then emerged once more, making headlines, glorifying himself. It didn’t fit. I tracked down the so called Maxwell Lord, who I deduced was actually Garrett and beat him until he gave me the location of the real Maxwell Lord. Helena and I found him in lair built into a cavern in New Mexico. He and a small staff had been working with this monster, improving it so to speak. He had been working with the Order and given control of Doomsday three days before we arrived at the final Cadmus hideout. They didn’t think the creature could be controlled under Metropolis much longer. He began to feed on energy and the energy of the city made it difficult for him to be drugged. Massive amounts of sedatives were continuously administered on his cross-country trip.”

“And the lack of an abundance of electricity in New Mexico made him easier to handle right?” Wells guessed.

“Yes, and when the energy fields went up around the enemy bases, Lord figured Doomsday could feed off the energy and destroy the armies. He was certain a neurological implant would give him complete control over the monster. He was wrong. Instead the creature went for the nearest city and began a path of destruction that hasn’t stopped. Lord was holed up, not having any plan or anywhere to go.” Wayne finished.

“And where is he now?” Alex asked, desperately wanting the man in front of her so she could beat him to death.

“In Nanda Parbat. I have recently become reacquainted with Talia Al Ghul…”

“Reacquainted themselves for a few weeks right here at Watchtower.” Cyborg added. “Reacquainted all night sometimes. This place isn’t as sound proof as Bruce seems to think it is.”

“Regardless…” Batman continued, scowling at his friend…” Talia was kind enough to take him off our hands. He is in the hands of the League of Assassins, her League and will be subject to her justice. That is all I know and all I care to know. He will not be a problem again. Barry, what do you need from us? I know you have given this thought since you found out…”

“I’ve been thinking about this for five years Bruce. Diana is fighting this thing now? Donna, can you and Firestorm accompany me to their location? I am sure she needs a break and we need to lure this thing to the Coahuila Desert in Mexico.”

“Barry…” Caitlin started then gave up.

“Its largely uninhabited. Where is the creature now?” he asked.

“Diana has it in Utah at the moment. She managed to bait it into the salt flats. She is nearly done but won’t come in.” Victor told the man.

“I will take her place.” Donna told them. Jax and Stein stood up and touched hands, the room growing much warmer as they merged.

“Tell Diana to come back to Watchtower and rest.” Kara told her friends. “I need her as healed as possible. Also if anyone can figure out a way to wake up my cousin in the next 24 hours I would appreciate it. If he sleeps through another world ending scenario I’m so done with him.”

The meeting broke up, Kara and Barry finding Lexie, who had just finished off her 24 chicken nuggets, two orders of curly fries and pint of strawberry ice cream before the wide eyes of Dinah Lance.

“You get used to it.” Sara told her sister with a soft laugh, looking adoringly at the Justice League Princess with her mouth covered in pink.

“Hey princess.” Kara greeted her. “Ready to get cleaned up? Daddy is going to have to go for a run in a little bit and then we are going to play for a bit, take a bath and go to bed.”

Barry picked up his daughter, who wrapped her arms tightly around him.

“Don’t go. Please?”

“I have to but I will be back soon. I am going to beat up a bad monster so he can’t hurt anyone again.”

“Me and Mommy can come!”

“Not this time. You both have your own jobs to do. This is your first mission, right?”

“Yeah…”

“Mommy is going to have to fight another bad guy and you are going to have to protect everyone here. Cisco, Harry, Winn and Caitlin, Grandma and Grandpa, you understand? Only use your powers if you have to but you won’t. Just do what Grandma tells you. She will let you know if you need to use them. If she says to follow her through one of Cisco’s big breaches you need to do that to and Mommy and Daddy will be right behind you.”

“Why would I leave?”

“Because if there are too many bad guys you have to get them away. Thats why Cisco is going to help you. You have to protect them right?”

“Yeah I guess. Is Charlie staying here too?”

“Yeah, he is. We are going to give you both baths and put you both to bed so you can be strong tomorrow.” Kara told her.

“Do you have to leave right now, Daddy?”

“No he doesn’t. We will get a head start Barry. It will take us that long to get to the battle site.” Donna offered, walking up behind her with Firestorm. “You will know when we are there and can be there in seconds. I think you should probably rest. It may take us all night to get him where he needs to be. You are going to need your strength. Rest and spend the night with your wife and daughter. When we have him where he is needed you will know.”

“I can’t let you…”

“Barry, we got this.” Jax told him, then walked out behind Donna to figure out a way to the top so they could fly.

“Lets find a place to let her relax. Alex could you talk to Dad? I know he won’t stop trying to find a way but explain about Max Lord. He needs his rest, they both do. In case Lexie has to protect them tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll talk to him.” Alex told her, giving her a hug and walking out. Cat found the family and began charming Lexie, taking in the beauty of the little girl. It had been too long since she had seen her but as expected, she was an angel, adorable dressed up like her mother. Even her golden hair was nearly as long as her mother’s falling past her shoulders in little soft waves. Barry took their daughter and Charlie to a room Lucy had arranged and Kara stayed back with Cat, knowing the older woman wanted to speak privately.

“There is nothing I can say, is there?” she began. Kara crossed her arms and looked at the ground.

“No. I know Cisco can get her out and we have Amazons on our Earth too was you know, who will be waiting to hide her and our family if they return without us. She won’t be alone. Thats the most important thing.”

“The most important thing is you living Kara.” Cat told her quietly. “She needs you, both of you.”

“She needs a planet that won’t be blown up one day by this Darkseid. So does Carter and I am going to get him back to you. I know its dangerous and I know the risk we are both taking but it has to be done Cat. Something like this can’t be fought safely. People have already died, my cousin died technically. He didn’t but he would have eventually. This has to happen.”

“I know.” Cat admitted. “I just wish it wasn’t you. Of course that is what makes you who you are. I have two great sons, but I always wanted a daughter. You filled that role for me. Even when I couldn’t get to you, knowing that you were safe, happy, it was enough for me. I knew you might come but I hoped Lexie would hold you back. I didn’t want this Kara.”

“And I don’t want you to die, or Bruce, or Lucy or anyone. I want to end this and go home. Now that we know the frequency, we can hang out again. I can show you the ridiculous prices my art is selling for. I actually made a pretty big profit last year. I’m apparently having a show or something soon. I’d like for you to be able to be there. So I am going to beat this, we all are. We are going to survive. You have to believe in me, okay?”

“I always will. Go be with your daughter. I suppose you want to talk to this monster? I heard Winn asking Barbara about a radio signal?”

“Yeah, I have a plan, a reckless plan but better than anyone else has seemed to have. It will work, it has too.”

“Then go rest, be with your daughter, find me before you go to save the world, okay? I love you Kara.”

“I love you too Cat. I missed you so much.” Kara told her, hugging her mentor. Checking with her vision, she held back a laugh watching Barry two floors below, singing Thriller for Lexie while Moonwalking. Lexie was going through her Michael Jackson phase for Daddy but had just gotten over demanding Pink songs from Mommy. She was sure Rihanna wasn’t too far away.

While Kara and Barry sang to their daughter and kept her thoroughly entertained through bath time, Diana Prince was still fighting a battle against an enemy the likes of which she had never faced. The thing that killed her friend, that had killed countless. She had lost track of time days ago. She knew the sun rose and set but not how often. Her body hurt and she had not slept in a very long time but still she kept moving, using her shield to block strikes, slicing, stabbing the creature, lassoing him, until the energy was too much for her to even hold onto.

She had wounded it and it healed. She had been wounded but was healing slower and slower. The only way she could continue to fight this thing would be to completely heal herself, dropping to the Earth and drawing the power of Gaia straight into her body. Such an act took much out of her, leaving her vulnerable for over an hour. She simply couldn’t afford to take the time.

Instead she blocked another swing with her shield and slammed her gauntlets together, the blast forcing both woman and monster back. Diana tried to stand, raising her sword, preparing to strike when she saw that Doomsday had made the first move and swung towards her on the ground.

Wonder Woman raised her shield, prepared for the blow but it never came. Dropping her shield, she saw the arm of the creature had been lassoed from above.

Donna Troy. Doomsday prepared to jump towards her, until his head was struck by a blast of nuclear energy by Firestorm, high above. Firestorm continued firing, Donna releasing her lasso so the creature could follow him.

“He feeds off energy! Jackson will make him more powerful! He is going to get killed! What are you both doing here?”

“Saving you. You look like hell. Don’t worry about Jax. He and Stein know what they are doing. We are just going to bait him a bit, a couple hundred miles anyway. We don’t have long.”

“How did you get here?”

“Why didn’t you bring us sooner would be a better question.”

“This is not your fight!”

“It is now. Go back to Watchtower but heal yourself first. We have this. Once we get him in place he will be ended.”

“How?” Diana asked, taking her sisters arm and standing.

“Barry is going to kill it.” Donna explained. Diana did not need further explanation. She knew when her and Kal El could not take this thing that Barry Allen would be the only person who could possibly do what was needed to destroy the monster. She also knew that he could very well die in the process.

“Alexandra is in Watchtower, I assume?”

“Yes and Cisco is ready to take him and Kara’s family back at a moments notice. Once they are back, Mother has arranged for our guard to accompany them back to Themyscira. She will be safe.”

“Then I shall continue to fight with you. Give me an hour to heal and I will be…”

“Kara has a plan. She needs you at Watchtower, ready to move when the time is right. By the way, Superman isn’t dead. Barry brought him back to life. Or I guess he never really was dead, but was just… I’m not that into science. You can probably ask your friend in black.”

“He is alive?”

“Yeah so if you know any tricks to help him wake up Kara could really use him too. Go, we got this. Trust me sister.”

Diana took Donna in. It has been nearly three years since she last the girl and she was no longer a girl. She had a warrior’s look in her eye.

“I do.”

Donna grabbed her sisters forearm in acknowledgement and left, taking to the air. Diana, exhausted, lay face first on the ground, pressing her hands deep into the soil as she prepared to heal.

That night in a field near a secret escape tunnel entrance to Watchtower Nyssa Zorel, lay on the grass looking at the stars, ignoring the green lights to the North and focusing on the constellations to the South sky. She was deep in thought but still heard the sounds of her wife’s footsteps even over the soft grassy ground. She said nothing when Alex lay down beside her, gently taking her hand.

“Deep in thought?”

“I try not to be. Its peaceful to let your thoughts, your worry and fear go, but unfortunately tonight I am unable. We leave at Dawn, teleported by Zatanna to a location I have never been before, faced with thousands of robots and super powered women in command, all in attempt to raid an alien dome with a world destroying machine underneath it, not knowing what forces we will face. The odds of all four teams doing this successfully are…”

“Pretty damn good. If these Atlanteans are all like Arthur Curry and we know the Amazons won’t lose, we should be fine. Wayne has his team ready, you have yours and we will win.”

“I did my best to ignore the assumption Wayne made that Oliver was in control of our team.”

“Yeah, I knew that pissed you off, but at least Oliver corrected him. He and Speedy have been fighting for the last hour in their training room. It’s their method of bonding I suppose. He trusts you to lead his friends and him. I can’t imagine that is easy for him.”

“Perhaps. Alex, no matter what happens, you cannot protect me tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I know. You can’t protect me either.”

“Yes I… listen, you have to swear, under no circumstances are you to take any brave actions to save me if I am in danger. Alex, I don’t want to live without you. I would rather die. If you should fall, know that I will be behind you.”

“What? Nyssa you can’t…”

“I can and I will. I won’t lose anymore and I won’t go on without love. You are the only woman I will ever love. Without you I have nothing. So if you want me to live, fight for your own life. I will not leave this Earth alive if you are not alive as well.”

“You are the leader. If I fall you still have to lead, you have always known that.” a shaken Alex told her.

“And I will lead. I will fight to my last breath to do everything I can to see us successful. However you are the only one skilled enough to disable this machine. Oliver will not have Felicity in his ear, being his brain. Harry will be with Barry, and while we will have Cisco, his focus will be on his family, especially Lexie and Barry and Kara.”

“Winn has Kara.”

“My point is in the past we have fought together. This time we will be split, working with unknowns. working with soldiers, fighter planes, tanks… those who have not trained with us. It will be difficult enough for us to get through the battle field,,,”

“Oh, you haven’t heard?”

“Heard what? I am the leader of this expedition. There is nothing to hear.”

“I uh…” Alex started, wondering how to put this gently…”I thought you knew or would at least assume. I was upstairs finalizing the plans for the… plane.”

“Plane? I am not a fan of planes unless I am in First Class.”

“Yeah but, our teams could be destroyed going through the battle. It will be waged on all sides, especially since once the shield goes down, the base will be very vulnerable. The military has orders not to attack the base, only the androids if possible. We can’t risk going in through the battle. We are going to have to jump. Once the field is down we enter from above. There are exhaust vents we think we can rip apart. The Atlanteans are going under the lake and the Amazon’s are attacking en masse to form a path through but since we don’t have super powered magical shields and swords and thousands of horses in battle armor, us and Wayne’s team and parachuting in. We are going to hopefully do this before sun up in a few hours. Zatanna is sending us to an airfield.”

“I did not agree to this!” Nyssa told her, turning on her side, taking in her wife and praying she was joking.

“It’s the only way Nyssa.”

“I’ll be damned! I don’t even know how to… jump out of a plane! This is ridiculous!”

“You are going to jump with me. You will be strapped to the front of me and I will handle everything. Tandem jumps are not a big deal. We have this, so relax.”

“I will not relax. You plan to carry me as well as guide us… we could end up anywhere.” Nyssa continued to argue.

“No we won’t. I trust you in everything especially on the battlefield. Now you need to trust me. Wayne said J’onn is already on site. If we get taken by a strong crosswind and caught in trees he can help us and get us to the base. But it won’t happen. I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”

Nyssa took a deep breath and nodded. “I will always trust you, love.” The woman laid back, Alex leaning over, placing her head on her wife’s chest and relaxing, focusing on her wife’s heartbeat. If she didn’t she would worry about her parents, her niece, her dorky brother in law and her even dorkier sister who was planning something crazy. For now, for the next few hours as the moon moved across the sky, she only focussed on Nyssa’s breathing. It was enough right now.

Barry and Kara lay inside the underground complex, Lexie finally having fell asleep between them, alternating looking at her and each other.

“Barry, if this actually works and I can pull it off, at least the first part, if I die…”

“Kara…”

“Run back in time, and let me know this is a bad idea, okay?”

Barry laughed, already having planned to do that, unless… he wasn’t around to make it happen. He wasn’t naive. He knew Jeremiah’s concerns, he and Harry had talked about the risks, but he also knew he had no choice. He could end this before that monster killed anyone else or more heroes died trying to kill it.

“Barry? That was a joke. If I can take this ship down, don’t do a thing. Who knows if every plan I come up with is not going to work? What if you accidentally change something that hurts other kids, causes them to lose their lives or even our daughter? She is the number one priority. If this fails, take her, take our family and leave. Do you understand?”

Barry gritted his teeth but said nothing.

“Barry? Swear to me. She is more important than I am. She has to be. If I die taking this thing down then leave it alone unless he succeeds in destroying this Earth. We all know the risks. I love you, I want to spend eternity with you and I do not plan to die but I have to know she is going to be safe, no matter what. Swear to me.”

Barry took a deep breath and looked at his daughter lying between them, sleeping peacefully, still in her Superwoman suit she refused to change out of. Lexie was on a mission and if Mommy and Daddy were dressed for bad guys she would be as well.

“I swear.” he whispered. “Please come back to us Kara.”

“Make sure you are around when I do, okay?”

Barry nodded his head, hoping he could keep this promise. Though he knew he could run fast enough, he worried what would happen to him, to the planet, to the universe. He wanted to be there for Lexie and Kara, but the Flash could not allow a creature to live who was designed to kill his wife and now daughter.

“Kara?” Winn’s voice cut into her com.

“Yeah?”

“He has responded. He has sent a wave out that I can break into and initiate conversation. I guess he is curious.”

“Thank you Winn, I’m on my way.” Kara turned off her com. “Only two hours. He is full of himself.”

“What was the message you had Winn send out?”

“Kara Zor El challenges you. Anybody with that big of a ship has to have an ego to match. Stay here with Princess. You can listen on the com.”

Kara moved, the League and support teams clearing a way for her to enter. She didn’t recognize many of the heroes, she knew some were aliens but did not recognize the species. She asked for the lights to be dimmed and everyone stepped against the wall. She also noted Jordan and Stewart, in all his brooding greenness, had walked in.

“Cut me in Winn.” she told him then took a deep breath. The lights turned completely off except for one lone light above Kara. She was the only visible object in the room the camera could capture. She wondered how long it would take Winn to cut in and didn’t wait long. The monitors all went dark except one, the one with a face of a demon on it. He was as described, grey, thick skin resembling an alligator or perhaps what dinosaurs looked like. He was humanoid but she had no way to tell how tall he was, only that he was large from his width. His skin was gray and his lips and eyebrows darker and his eyes were a deep blood red and very large with no pupils. She had heard enough from the Lanterns to know what he could do with those eyes.

Around his head and under his chin was some sort of blue armor leading into an armored chest. While his body was most likely protected by this dark blue armor his face was open, no doubt to not interfere with the powerful blasts emitted from his eyes.

“ Kara Zor El. Shall we speak in Kryptonese or do you prefer English? Perhaps Latin? You studied the language in High School correct?”

Kara was impressed by his mastery of Krytonese, even his accent was correct. She was not happy that he knew her educational records.

“English will be fine. Earth is my home.”

“I suppose you had to find a home somewhere. Since unfortunately your cousin died due to mankind’s abomination, I suppose I should thank you. I devised my plan to take energy from planet’s cores from Krypton’s success. Of course I wouldn’t commit such a foolish action on my own planet. Our core has been dead for many centuries. Borrowing from others seemed more prudent if I want to keep the ground under my people’s feet intact.”

“Borrowing? Interesting term for committing genocide. How do you know about me?”

“I have studied this planet’s heroes. If you had not saved the human race before it would have been much easier to follow through with my plan now. Not that I mind. I live for the glory of battle. Of course you ran off to another universe, didn’t you? I am a breacher, I felt you reenter. Have you come to try and stop my army?”

“If you live for the battle, why do you hide behind your defenses on your ship?” she asked, ignoring his question.

“Because I do not wish to waste my time with these annoying space enforcers. I need a real challenge. Should I battle them, they would no doubt bring thousands against me. Not honorable, these so called warriors.”

“So you let women lead your armies on the planet’s surface.”

“The green… what would be the word in English… idiots? The green idiots are more interested in trying to find a way to destroy my ship than attack my armies. They leave the battle on the ground to heroes but chase a battle they cannot win in the sky. As far as my Furies, they are very special, trained and completely loyal to me. I have collected them from different universes and given them a home and purpose. Something you have not truly had in a long time. Has your new universe tried to kill you as this one did?”

“Not yet. So are you offering me a job?”

“A job? You are the one who challenged me. Or were you not the one who sent the radio wave? A crude method of communication but successful.”

“We both have something the other wants. You do not have a woman as strong as I am. If I were left to my own devices, I may not be able to destroy your armies but I could certainly kill your Furies. You want me. I want you to leave this Universe and my Universe alone. I propose a battle. If I submit I will serve you. You have my word as a daughter of the House of El. If I win, you leave, find uninhabited planets, I really don’t care. You leave my Earths alone.”

“Why? Where is my incentive? I can continue on. My machines have been fitted and activated. If you were to destroy one now the Earth dies regardless.”

“I’m your incentive. If I’m not enough, I give you my word that if you defeat me, the Lanterns will leave you alone. You can leave your ship as much as you want, not be confined or attacked by thousands.”

Kara heard Stewart hiss in the background and heard Bruce whisper in his ear to shut up. Thankfully Stewart listened.

“You have that authority?” Darkseid asked doubtfully.

“I do. My cousin is dead and I have been asked to travel from my universe to here for the task of defeating you. Since they have had no luck, they have no choice to follow my commands. If they continue to hound you afterward, I will of course, as your servant, destroy them all. We both know as long as the sun is yellow, I cannot be defeated by them. I have gone through changes in my new universe. Not even Kryptonite can harm me now. Those are my terms. Do you agree?”

“Where is this battle to take place? Planet side, no doubt?”

“Of course not, I do not take you for a fool. I will board your ship. The Lanterns will disengage, your weapons will not stop me and we shall battle there. Just the two of us. Do you agree?”

“Yes, I accept your challenge. Having you as a Fury will be… entertaining.”

“For one of us, no doubt.” Kara told him, shivering at what something like him would do to a woman enslaved to him.

“I shall send a transport…”

“Don’t bother. I am tracking your orbit. In one hour, the Lanterns will leave, your defenses will be turned off and I will be there.”

“How do you propose to get to me?”

“I’m flying to you. I’ll make my own way. I don’t trust anything you would have on a transport and I doubt you would trust me not to bring a friend, despite my word. See you in an hour.”

Winn cut the transmission and double checked that it had not been backtracked nor were they being listened to now. Bruce activated Watchtower’s own scramblers ensuring privacy and the lights were turned back on. Kara dropped her head, taking a deep breath, until she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was not a pat on the back. Stewart attempted to turn her. He failed. He tried once again and Kara turned quickly, locking his wrist and twisting his arm, forcing the Lantern to the ground.

“Touch me again without my permission and I take that arm and the hand that pretty ring resides on.” she hissed. The room quieted as she let go of Stewart, only Hal Jordan in the back, snickering.

“What gives you the right to make decisions for the Corp!? You had no right!”

“Of course I didn’t. But you guys are going to have to back off to make him think you are following through with your end. I need him to not shoot me out of space while I am flying. So back your forces off. I won’t yield. He will have to kill me first and I do not plan on dying. Have your Lantern Corp ready to move to my location when I get him here. Have some of them assist the militaries and our teams who will be fighting. And make sure Diana Prince and Kal El, if he is awake, are present when I have him on the ground. I could really use Firestorm and Donna once Barry takes over.”

“But you gave your word as a member of your house that if he defeated you that you would serve him.” Stewart reminded her.

“Yeah, I lied. A guy destroys a planet, kills billions then destroys another, I could give a damn about the honor of my word. I want to win. I had to get up there so I played to his ego. I’m blonde with a great body. He has females who control his armies and are most likely slaves to him. He couldn’t resist. Now do as I say and call your Lanterns off. Once I am there, the battles on the ground begin, Barry takes care of Doomsday and I am going to hold him off as long as I need too.”

“Until what?” Bruce asked, thinking Kara planned to defeat him in battle or fly Darkseid out of his ship and having to hope that she was strong enough.

“He is probably stronger than me. I have to assume he is and I can’t win. But I can battle and he cannot be allowed to do this to anymore universes. I will hold him off until Winn figures out a way to crash the ship. Get the teams ready. When I am on board, Winn will be able to hack into its system. I told him an hour, so we have that long to prepare. I need to see my Husband before he risks his life to destroy Max Lord’s monster and we both need to hug our daughter. Lets move people.”