One moment there was nothing but the emptiness of space. The next moment, without flash or fanfare, that emptiness was shattered as almost a dozen figures simply blinked into existence.
They huddled together for a moment and then, linking hands, a single figure took the lead, his speed increasing with every heartbeat until finally he did that which it had been said could not be done…he broke the light barrier!
Traveling faster than the speed of light, his speed still increasing, he pulled the others along behind him, no strenuous task in the weightlessness of space, as he laid in a course…for Earth!
The Continuum War
So it was finally here. The reason she had come to this place, forsaking her own world…her own time.
“Ari, I want you to do mommy a favor.” She held her little girl, hugging her tightly. “I want you to go to your hiding place and wait there until Daddy or I come and get you. Can you do that?”
“Why?” The little dark haired girl reached up with a small hand and touched her tear-stained cheek. “Why are you crying mommy? Is it the red clouds?”
“It’s nothing, Ari.” She tried to smile, knowing that she was failing miserably. “No, you have to promise me…you’ll stay in your hiding place until Daddy or I come and get you. Promise me!”
“I promise.” The little girl sighed, though it was clear in her tone that she did not want to.
“Good.” She stood and took the little girl and led her to the hiding place. “Now, remember you promised.”
“I promised.” The girl nodded. “I’ll stay here ‘til you or Daddy come and get me.”
“Right.” She gave the little girl a final hug. “Ari, just remember that Mommy loves you. Mommy will always love you.”
“I love you too, Mommy.” Ari’s face showed that she did not understand, but she knew enough to begin to worry.
Once Ariella was safely tucked away, Linda Danvers, aka Supergirl, the wife of Superman and mother of their daughter, stepped out of the Fortress of Solitude and stared up at the darkening, red sky.
The others had already gone so she would have to hurry. If she remembered the story right, she had to be there in order to save her husband and this world, thus making it possible for her world to eventually come into existence. And to do all that, all she had to do was…die!
Steeling her nerve, Linda donned the breather she had brought with her from the Fortress, an apparatus Kal had developed to allow her to work with him in space, and leapt into the angry red sky!
The Continuum War
With a flash of light, the figures neared Earth and rapidly decelerated.
“We’re just in time!” Zal El called out, his voice carried to the others via the rings Alan Scott had supplied to them all, just before they had entered the portal. The rings were energy constructs that simply allowed them to communicate easily in the airlessness of space. “Look!”
Kara Zor-El and the others looked to where Zal was pointing in time to see a small figure in white and blue break free of the Earth’s gravity well. Alan Scott, the only non Kryptonian or Daxamite in the group, waited until one of those blessed with telescopic vision let him know what was going on.
“That’s her all right.” Kara Zor-El, the elder, shook her head. “Damn fool, she has no business being here!”
Rogue glanced at Kara and then turned and looked at the other elder Kara: Kara Gand from the Inheritors’ Universe. Like Rogue, Kara G. had noted that the Multiverse Kara was getting testier…More tense as they approached their destination.
With a sigh, Rogue glanced around at the rest of the group that had followed them through the Great Portal.
These were some of the mightiest beings in five realities.
There was, of course herself, Kara Zor-El, and Lar Gand from the Multiverse. The Inheritors’ Universe contributed Kara Gand and Sam Kent…Superboy. There were some uneasy feelings in that mix. Kara Gand had long been seeking her lost husband, the Lar Gand of their universe. And seeing the Multiverse Lar, married to Jennifer Walters, had to be hard on her.
Another, younger version of Kara Zor-El represented the Realm. This was the same girl whose rocket she and Kara Zor-El the elder had found floating in space in the Realm, just before their unexpected trip to the Alterverse. They had set the rocket back on course, bringing it up to speed to allow the hyper drive to kick back in, and then continued on with their own journey. Of course, neither of them could have foreseen the next events that had transpired in the life of the young Kryptonian. Instead of landing on Earth, her rocket had landed smack dab in the middle of Bifrost, the rainbow bridge that connected Asgard, the home of the Norse gods, with Earth. And now, here she was, complete in medieval garb and carrying Moljnir! The Hammer of Thor! There was a story there and Rogue, for one, could not wait to get it out of the young girl.
And from Alterverse there was Kira. The young Alterverse Kryptonian was turning into a fine young hero…more than worthy of the title: Supergirl! With her had come the original Sentinel himself. Alan Scott. Why he had not gone ahead with Faith and Team Sentinel was anyone’s guess. If you asked him, he simply smiled and said some one had to be the brains in this muscle bound group. But then, he was also the only one in the group who could control the Great Portal.
And, of course, there was Zal. The cousin of Kara Jor-El, the Superwoman of an alternate reality in which the sexes of major characters seemed to be reversed. Now the Superman of the Otherverse Earth. And a newlywed on top of that. Married to the Otherverse Kitty Pryde just days before she and Kara had spirited him and Sherri Pennison, Dr. Fate, away from Otherverse to help deal with this situation.
And finally…the Twins and Lanie Kent. Karen and Carrie. Daughters of clones of alternate Kara Zor-El Supergirls, the two girls were actually exact copies of the same person. Not true twins at all. Now they lived in Multiverse, with Kara and herself acting as parents. Lanie, the Multiverse Earth-2 Power Girl, was the daughter of that world’s Superman and Lois Kent, thanks to some DNA manipulation by her godfather, Lex Luthor. Now, seventeen years after the death of her parents, Lanie had insisted on accompanying the people she had already accepted as family back, as they put it, into the breach!
Kara had tried to get the three of them to go with Team Magic but both they and Team Fate had objected…rather forcefully. Like their adoptive mothers, the twins were as susceptible to Magic as any normal human. That would put them at an extreme disadvantage with Team Magic. Surprisingly enough, Rogue had sided with them when Kara tried to put her foot down. So they had tagged along.
Rogue smiled as she recalled the first meeting between the twins and the Inheritor’s Superboy. Faith, seeing the looks, had made it abundantly clear, in a very subtle manner that Sam Kent was taken.
“I would say she has as much business here as we do.” Zal’s droll response to Kara’s comment brought Rogue back to the present. “So, do we stop her now or do we follow?”
“We follow.” Rogue answered before Kara could. She was accessing the memories Kara had of that fateful day and not finding them pleasant. “We can’t afford to disrupt anything until we get into the Anti-Matter Universe. We are going to have to sneak in right behind the MHR team as the gate is opened! If we tried to stop her now it wouldn’t do any good and it might also cause a delay that we do not need.”
Kara looked at her and then nodded, looking back to Zal.
“We follow.” She agreed.
Zal led the way, with the others falling in behind. As Rogue prepared to follow, she felt a touch on her arm. The young Kara from the Realm.
“My Pardons.” Though her voice matched the tones of both the Elder Kara Zor-El and Kara Gand, it had a distinctly younger sound and the speech patterns were somewhat strange. Almost archaic. “I wish to know if I have offended in some way.”
“Offended?” Rogue shook her head. “How could you have offended?”
“I know not.” The Realm Kryptonian shook her head. “Yet that one that you call Kara Zor-El, doth rarely look upon me, nor will she speak more than terse words.”
“It’s not you, Kara.” Rogue touched her arm. “You must understand that. In another reality, Kara” here she inclined her head towards the elder Kara Zor-El, “died fighting the menace we are going to face. It was her destiny…and now she is seeing it happen all over again.” She looked back at the young girl. “She lost her whole world, her life, and those she loved that day. And it is only by a miracle that she has been able to put some pieces of her life back together again. And now this.” She shook her head. “And to top it off, this reminds her of the day she lost one of the most precious things to her. Her hero…her cousin Kal-El.”
“Almost I wish I had offended.” The Asgardian Kara sighed. “‘Tis a heavy burden to bear for one so honorable. And indeed do I understand the longing for family. I have not yet discovered whether mine own cousin doth yet live!” She made her way back until she was with the twins. Rogue hid a smile, at least the young Kara didn’t have the archaic speech pattern when she spoke Kryptonian!
The Continuum War
“Linda?” Kal-El, the Superman of Earth-1 took a deep breath. “I thought you were going to stay in the Fortress with Ariella?”
Linda squared her shoulders and resisted an urge to look around at the gathered heroes. She had seen them on her approach. There were many she knew and several that she knew only from reputation.
Like Dr. Light. The woman, a villain some called her, that had recently donned the mantle of Light after the Monitor changed her—forced her to take the role of Dr. Light.
Others were close friends. Mon-El and Wildfire from the 30th century. The Superman from Earth-2 and his cousin, Kara Zor-L, the Earth-2 Power Girl, along with the Green Lantern and his daughter Jade.
Lady Quark, the only survivor of her reality.
Captain Marvel from Earth-S, The Ray, Captain Atom, J’ohn J’onzz—the Martian Manhunter, Firestorm, and the Earth-1 Wonder Woman rounded out the team that would transfer to the Anti-Matter Universe.
She squelched the lump that rose in her throat. Of them all, only she knew how it would turn out. They all wondered if they would succeed, or even if they would return alive. Only she knew that only one life would be lost this day…hers!
She forced a smile and motioned for Kal to hush as Harbinger, Pariah, and Alexander Luthor gave some last minute instructions.
As they talked she ran things over in her mind. Something was not quite right. Something about this image did not match the image the Spectre had shown her so many years ago.
The memories had not faded over the years and Linda wondered if that wasn’t due to the Spectre’s meddling.
So what was different? She played the memory over and over, looking at the two versions of the future she had seen. One with Kara doing what she had to do…and dying in the process…and one in which Kara did not appear…
KARA!
Linda whipped her head around to glance at the Earth-2 Superman and his cousin…Kara Zor-L! Power Girl. In no images the Spectre had shown her had Power Girl appeared.
In Linda’s own time, Power Girl was not a Kryptonian…or so she claimed…though there was little enough difference. But here, in this pre-crisis reality, Power Girl was, on Earth 2, what Supergirl was on Earth-1…or would have been had that Supergirl been Kara Zor-El!
Power Girl was not supposed to be in this gathering!
She was given no more time to ponder what this might mean. For at that moment she caught Alexander Luthor’s final words:
“NOW! DO IT NOW! I…DON’T KNOW HOW LONG I CAN KEEP THIS PORTAL OPEN!”
So startled had she been at her discovery, she had not noticed the tremendous outpouring of energy that had opened a portal between the Matter and Anti-Matter Universes.
The assembled heroes leapt from their perch on the asteroid, following their guide, Pariah, into the breach…
The Continuum War
“There they go!” Kara Zor-El the elder spun to face her team. “Remember, over there, we are not invulnerable. Highly resistant, yes, but we can be hurt. And X-ray vision does not work. Physical laws are different. So be careful!”
She sighed and grabbed Zal’s hand, motioning for the others to lock hands.
“Okay Zal, it’s up to you. Get us through that Portal!”
The Continuum War
“Kara, Slow down!”
Kara actually stopped and turned as Alan Scott flew towards her.
The group had come through the portal well enough, though the younger ones had taken the transference rather hard.
Once through though, they had not barged right in, as Kara had intended.
Instead, at Alan’s urging, they had stood off from the massive floating Fortress, observing what occurred.
While the X-ray vision of the Kryptonians might not work, their telescopic vision still worked normally.
“If we barge in, we’ll disrupt everything.” Alan explained. With the others, he watched from a distance, attempting to stifle the sudden ripples of fear that threatened to overwhelm him. And he looked to Kara Zor-El the elder, Kara Gand, Rogue, and Lar Gand and wondered how they were dealing with it.
Though of them all, only Kara Zor-El the elder had experienced this…place…first hand. It had to be worse for her.
Kara Gand, though the reincarnation of another Kara Zor-El, had not lived through it…she had memories that she, unlike Faith or her own Multiverse counterpart, Kara Zor-El, seemed capable of dealing with. She understood that, no matter how vivid those memories might be…they were still the memories of another person in another place and time. Much like the memories Alan himself had of this hellish Anti-matter Universe.
Rogue, of course, had never experienced this, but from what he was given to understand when he learned her story so long ago…and because he had been aware of how Rogue’s previous mutant powers had worked…it took an effort to suppress the memories she had absorbed from Kara. Of course, that had been before she had gotten help from her friends in her original reality. There, after a brief period of believing that she truly was Kara Zor-El (Author’s Note: A pre-Otherverse story that never made it to the web. Who knows, maybe someday it will.), Professor Xavier and Jean Grey had worked with her, gently altering her mental patterns, allowing her to compartmentalize Kara’s memories. One of the side effects of that mental manipulation had been the almost complete destruction of the persona of Rogue the mutant. The new persona, Rogue the Kryptonian, had flourished and all but wiped away the old Rogue. But the manipulation had succeeded in its purpose. No longer would Kara’s memories overwhelm her. In fact, from what he was given to understand, those memories could not surface on their own. Rogue had to actively access them, much like a person has to actively access files on a computer.
That, of course, did not make them any less real. Once accessed, Rogue witnessed those memories as if they were her own. She was, however, better able to deal with them than Kara…simply by reminding herself, over and over, that they were not her memories.
Alan now looked towards Sam. The young Inheritors’ Superboy may have memories of the Crisis, but only peripherally. From what Alan could tell by the young man’s facial expression, he was merely experiencing a severe case of the willies. Much like a mild arachnophobe might experience while watching a spider walk across the floor from a distance.
And then there was Lar Gand. Another unusual case. For this Lar, he had learned, had two sets of memories. He was, in effect, two different Lars merged into one. One, a young man doomed to an eternity of non-existence within the Phantom zone when his reality went through crisis and ceased to exist. Freed from the Phantom Zone and cured of his terminal lead poisoning by Reed Richards, the young man had later joined with Rogue on the mission to rescue the twins. There they encountered and adult group of heroes calling themselves the Legion of Super-Heroes. One of which had been an older version of Lar Gand. This was the future, or one version of it, that the younger Lar should have had…remaining in the Phantom Zone for a thousand years to be released and partially cured by Querl Dox.
While fighting Mordru, both Lar Gands had been injured, neither expected to live. It was only by the intervention of Lorra, the Kryptonian Goddess that one survived…and then only because both were merged into one being.
The elder Lar had been present at Crisis…had seen Kara Zor-El’s body as Superman carried her out of the Fortress after the Anti-Monitor escaped…fleeing to the Beginning of Time.
The younger Lar had not experienced that. Thanks to the efforts of Professor Xavier and Jean Grey, whose work at mental healing had allowed the surviving Lar to overcome the madness brought on by the merging of two sets of memories, this Lar was now able to look on this immense Fortress of evil impassively, aware of what he had experienced, and yet detached from it, as if it had happened to some one else.
So much for those that might have memories of this dreadful place.
Alan now turned his attention on the younger ones for whom this would be a new, frightening experience. And the first one his eyes rested on was the young Kara Zor-El, the Supergirl from the mystical, non-technological reality known as The Realm.
She floated close to the twins, with Moljnir, the hammer of Thor, ready in her hands as always. For a brief instant Alan wondered if that mystical hammer would be of any use in this strange, Anti-Matter universe in which the laws of physics were so different, even from the reality from which she hailed.
She was scared, that much was obvious, but no more so than anyone else. Though she was a virtual younger duplicate of the elder Kara Zor-El, she seemed to find more comfort in the company of the Twins, Lanie, and Kira. Not surprising since the twins, at least, were closer to her own age.
Yet even now, her eyes swung back and forth between the two elder Karas and Alan could guess what she was seeing and thinking. She was seeing herself…or rather futures that could have been hers in another place and time. And then realization that such a future could still be hers and she wondered how she would approach it.
If Alan was any judge of character, he had to smile at the thought; she would face the challenge with every bit of stubbornness, selflessness, and combativeness that the two elder Karas had met their fates.
Next was someone he was no stranger to. Kira Jor-El.
The girl had grown over the time he had known her. And Alan knew that, while he and Lyla had played major parts in that growing process, Rogue and Kara Zor-El had added to it. Lyla might be mother…but Kira saw Kara as, if nothing else, an older sister. Another of her role models.
Of them all, Kira seemed to be the one most in control of her feelings. Her face was impassive, as if nothing she was seeing was having much effect on her.
It was a mask. That much Alan was sure of. He knew her, knew the signs. The tenseness of the muscles, the clenching of her fists. He would not say she was frightened…but she was damned sure antsy.
And then there was Lanie. He didn’t know this girl. Only what he had learned in the few short moments between arriving from Alterverse and departing for this…hell.
It was enough for Alan to make a snap judgment. For years, thinking she was the only one left, the only Kryptonian left alive, she had suddenly been thrust into events beyond her imaginings with people that, in other times and places, might have been her family!
Though Lanie had met the Inheritors first, it was easy to tell by the way the girl kept looking to Kara or Rogue and almost seemed to hover over the twins protectively, much like Kira was doing at the moment, where her allegiance lay. Not surprising. Kara would be the closest thing she would have to a family.
Alan looked over at the blonde Superman from Otherverse. The newlywed, Zal-El, had no memories of this place so it would not bother him like it would some of the others. Indeed, though he seemed anxious, casting worrying glances at Kara, whom he considered a sister—not surprising since the two had discovered the horrible remains of the Argo City in Otherverse. There they had seen the bodies of a family they knew well. The family of Zor-El. Yet there was a difference. Instead of the expected three bodies, they had found four! While Zal had been an only child in his reality, and Kara an only child in her reality, in Otherverse, Kara and Zal had been sister and brother!
The worry Zal felt also extended to the twins, whom he thought of only as nieces. And it seemed that worry was going to expand to cover Lanie as well, going by the concerned looks he shot in her direction every so often.
And finally the twins themselves. The young daughters of clones of Supergirl from alternate realities. Though they were called twins, they were, in actuality, not even related. Though if any one were to check their genetic make up, they would find no difference at all. None. Not even twins were that identical!
They had lived through the Crisis in their own realities, but due to the nature of their survival, had no memory of it. Very few that passed through Crisis could recall that it had happened…or what life was like before it!
Alan could tell by the looks in their eyes…and by the occasional sharp glance from Kira, that the twins were trying desperately to control the empathetic feedback that sometimes occurred when one or the other got upset. All things considered, Alan thought they were doing a great job. He wished HE could cut loose and gibber like an idiot himself. This place was…sick!
“There they go!”
Kara’s words broke through Alan’s thought, dragging him back to the present.
“Dear Rao!” Rogue breathed. “It’s like the Fortress is alive!” She shook her head slightly, never taking her eyes and her telescopic vision off the scene. “The Walls are attacking them. They tear them apart and they just reform and attack again!”
“I remember.” Kara Zor-El whispered, wrapping her arms around herself.
“That isn’t all, though!” Kara Gand warned, her eyes widening. “There are Shadow Warriors and Thunderers in there as well!” She turned to look at Alan. “They weren’t there in the Crisis I went through!”
“Nor were they in Kara’s.” Rogue added, quickly accessing the memories. She frowned as something in those memories caught her attention…and then it was gone. It was not something she was accessing directly so it had been on the peripheral. For some reason…Rogue thought it might be important. Something she had over looked…something about Kara’s experience…She would have to try to access it on the fly because Kara was moving.
“There!” Kara was saying as she started forward. “Kal, Pariah, and Dr. Light just entered the inner Fortress. We have to go now…there won’t be much time.”
“Right.” Alan nodded, catching the attention of everyone else. Quickly he laid out a plan and waited while they all absorbed it and nodded agreement.
They would fly in with Kara Zor-El, the elder, Kara Gand, Rogue, and Kira in the lead. The rest would work to the side to keep off the Shadow Warriors, the Thunderers, and the living fortress. When they caught Linda, the Twins and Lanie would guard her; Zal and Sam would get the Earth-1 Superman out of harm’s way and he would take care of Dr. Light and Pariah. That would leave the three Karas, Rogue, and Kira to handle the Anti-Monitor.
Right. Alan shook his head as he joined the flight towards the Fortress. Now if the plan worked. But then, he had never known any plan that survived contact with the enemy! And he had no way of knowing just how cooperative the people they were there to help would be. Alan didn’t like that…not in the slightest!
The Continuum War
“Linda!”
She turned to see the Earth-2 Superman approaching, his cousin, Power Girl, and Lady Quark at his side.
The voice, so familiar, yet slightly different than the one she had grown used to over the last eight years caught her attention. For a moment fear gripped her heart at the sight of the Kryptonians.
Both appeared slightly battered, Power Girl with a seeping scratch over her right eye, the Earth-2 Superman with a rivulet of blood streaming from his nose.
It had taken her some time to get used to the levels of power held by these Kryptonians as compared to the Superman she had known in her own time and place. They were so much more powerful…and though she had seen them hurt before, each time it took her breath away and made her realize how vulnerable she herself was.
“Where’s Clark?” She demanded before either could speak, forcing the fear down. She had read their faces and knew already that things were not going their way.
“We can’t get to him, Linda.” The older Superman shook his head. “He, Dr. Light, and Pariah, found a way into the center of this mess…but every path we try is blocked.”
“He’s in there with that…that thing?” Linda’s heart leapt to her throat. Images, the Spectre had shown her so long ago, came unbidden to her mind. “I’ve got to get to him!”
“We can’t!” Lady Quark shook her head.
It was at that moment that Power Girl froze, her face going pale. Linda had learned to read the signs…the Earth-2 Kryptonian was picking up something with her Super-hearing.
“Good Lord…the Anti-Monitor’s killing him!” The Earth-2 heroine gasped.
“He needs me!” Linda headed in, oblivious to who, or what was in her way, panic lending strength and, apparently, a modicum of luck! At that moment, all fear that she had been feeling, all dread at what lay before her, fell away in the face of something more important to her than life it self…that was her man in there! The father of their child…her husband…and by Rao nothing was going to stand in the way of her reaching him!
“Linda!” The Earth 2 Superman started after her and then stopped. “Kara…” He began.
“I’m on it!” The Earth-2 Power Girl sped off after the Earth-1 Supergirl, overtaking her easily. She did not try to stop her, but kept pace with her, as if she were acting as an escort.
“Should we not stop her?” Lady Quark demanded. Though she could empathize with the need of a wife to be with her husband, she knew, instinctively, that this Supergirl would not be able to stand up to the trials that might await her deep within the stone fortress of the Anti-Monitor.
“No. Let her go.”
Both lady Quark and the Earth-2 Superman spun, their jaws dropping at what they saw.
“She’s doing what she has to do…what has to be done.” The total lack of emotion in the voice of the blonde woman sent chills down the Earth-2 Superman’s spine. “Don’t worry; she will be stopped, but not yet. The Anti-Monitor is expecting her. If he does not see her, he will become suspicious. We might lose him.”
“Lose him?” Superman was totally confused. “What are you talking about? And who in the blazes are you?”
The blond looked at him and her voice was, if possible, even chillier.
“I am Kara Zor-El.” She answered. “And I know what I am talking about.” With a motion of her head, signaled those with her to follow as she dove into the living fortress after Linda and Power Girl.
“Kara Zor…EL?!” Lady Quark looked to Superman, her eyes narrowed. Then widened as she caught sight of the three girls bringing up the rear. “Those are children!” She gasped. “They couldn’t be over fifteen or sixteen!”
The Earth-2 Superman had noticed. And if the situation had not been as bad as it was, he might have even been more concerned with the outrageous costumes they wore! But then, they were really not that much worse that what his Kara insisted on wearing.
Now, however, their clothing was the last thing on his mind. He had recognized at least two of the members of the group following.
Looking around he stopped…There, in the distance, he could see Mon-El, with Jade and Alan Scott, trying to battle their way through the fortress. And yet….
“Come on,” he signaled all those around, “let’s do what we can to keep the Anti-monitor’s attention on us! That, hopefully, will give them a chance with the monster.”
The Continuum War
Something about Linda!
Rogue continued to rifle through the memories, angry at herself and knowing that she was hampering her search by her own haste.
That and these particular memories all seemed to be tied together in some fashion. And Rogue could not just pull them up and look at them like a person at a computer terminal could pull up a file and look at it. Each time she accessed a memory…she lived it. For that split second she was Kara Zor-El.
Sighing with disgust, Rogue tried another tack. She replayed her own memories of the past few hours. Particularly those memories of the gathering in the JLA satellite just before they entered the portal to enter the MHR Universe.
She paid close attention to Kara’s reactions as news of what was happening came in, a piece at a time as Alanna popped back and forth between realities, conveying news of what the recon team had discovered.
“Oh, Dear Rao!” She caught the sign…the clue she needed to access the proper memories. Looking up and over she caught Kara Gand’s eye and, with some slight eye movements, indicated that she wanted the Inheritor Kara to stick close to the Multiverse Kara and watch her.
Kara Gand gave a slight nod and moved closer to Kara Zor-El the elder while Rogue dropped back alongside Alan.
Kira, who had witnessed the silent by-play gave Rogue a nod in passing and moved up to take her place on Kara’s other side.
Flying next to Alan, Rogue indicated with hand signals, that she wanted to talk privately. She did not want anything she said now to be broadcast through the rings Alan had fashioned to the entire group.
Frowning, Alan did as requested.
“What’s wrong?” He demanded before Rogue could say a word.
“Kara.” Rogue answered matter-of-factly. “Alan, we’ve got problems. Kara might not be who you think she is.”
“WHAT?” Alan almost faltered in his flight. “What in the hell are you talking about?”
“Kara might not be the Supergirl you have memories of.” Rogue clarified. “Similar, yes, so similar as to make little difference, but not the same.” She took a breath. “What we are seeing here? Not being here, but the situation that would have occurred had we not interfered? Kara has already lived it! This is not the Crisis you remember. This is the Crisis SHE remembers…or one much like it!”
“You’re going to have to better than that, Rogue.”
“Okay. Kara is the little girl that Linda tried to save!” Rogue put it bluntly. “In her time, Fatalist did as he did here. He screwed with her rocket, sending her to a post crisis universe! The Linda she met there tried to save her but failed. That Linda had to return to her own time and send Kara back. The Fatalist blanked Kara’s memories of it, but did not remove them. So she grew up and eventually died in Crisis. But now those memories are coming back!” She pointed towards the Superwoman in question. “I’ve got all her memories…even the blanked ones. But unlike her, I have to dig to uncover the blanking effect. She no longer has to…she knows…Alan. She knows!”
Alan thought for a moment and then nodded, as if to a private thought.
“Okay. I can buy that.” He told Rogue. “The question is, will this affect her ability to do her job?”
Taken aback, Rogue could only gape at Alan’s coldness…and then drew a ragged breath. The Alterverse Sentinel was right.
“I don’t think so.” She finally said. Then she grimaced. “In fact, it will probably just spur her on to make sure Linda survives.”
“That is what I was thinking.” Alan agreed. “But we’ll keep an eye on her anyway. And Kara Gand as well. Both are too much emotionally involved for my taste.” He thought for a moment and then glanced back behind him towards the younger ones. An instant later he changed the frequencies again, this time adding the young Kara Zor-El from the Realm to the connection he had with Rogue.
He called her forward and motioned towards the elder Kara.
“Kara, I want you to move up beside…damn this is confusing. Next to Superwoman. Take Kira’s place and make sure you stick next to her. Make sure she sees you there, but try not to be too obvious. Can you do that?”
Young Kara thought for a moment and the intelligence behind her eyes was proof enough that she was, indeed, Kara Zor-El.
“I can do this.” She proclaimed, though her look was questioning. “But I must ask the why of it.”
“I’d like to know that myself.” Rogue said.
“I’m giving Kara something else besides Linda to focus on.” Alan smiled. “Herself!”
And then there was no more time for talk as they neared the fortress.
Alan held his breath as Kara placed a hand on the Earth-2 Superman…sometimes…sometimes memories were hell. They had never truly met and yet, in his mind, Alan was speaking to the graying man in red and blue. “It’s good to see you again…old friend…” and then they were past, Alan forcing himself to follow rather than stop and grab the aging man of Steel…as if to hold on to a piece of the past….a past that was not truly his in any case.
Only the younger ones were surprised that the Anti-Monitor’s Fortress held a breathable atmosphere. The elders, those that had been here before, understood that the Thunderers and Shadow Demons….as well as the machinery that the Anti-Monitor was utilizing to disrupt the vibratory speeds of the five remaining Earths…all required oxygen.
“Watch OUT!” Sam put on a burst of speed and smashed through a wall that had come to life…reaching out towards Kira.
Soon they were all engaged, battling the living fortress and the shadow demons that seemed to spring from nothingness.
“CARRIE!” Karen spun as a column of stone spread out and then engulfed her twin.
Rogue spun at the cry and then stopped as two white figures flashed into existence next to Karen and instantly attacked the stone, scattering it to the four winds and freeing Carrie…before the girl, totally unhurt, had had a chance to fight to free herself.
“Fang! Pantha!” Karen breathed a sigh of relief and then her eyes narrowed. “Sic ‘em!” She ordered, pointing at the shadow demons swarming over Sam, Zal, and Lar.
Within moments they were able to resume their forward progress, with Fang and Pantha, the half Kryptonian animals developed by Lord Ian in Otherverse months earlier, guarding their flanks and Sam, Zal, and Lar blasting and smashing anything that got past the animals.
“There they are!” Kara shouted, pointing straight ahead. Alan looked and shook his head. Linda and Power Girl were back to back, trying to hold off the Shadow demons and rock monsters that seemed bound and determined to overwhelm them.
The group swarmed around the duo, blasting back the enemy until they stood together. Power Girl and Linda were clearly confused at the sight of these newcomers.
“And just who the hell are you?” Linda demanded.
“Kara!” Kara the elder announced. “Kara Zor-El. Though where I am from, I am known as Superwoman!”
“Kara….” Linda looked at her and then looked back towards Power Girl. And then her eyes rested on Kara Gand and the younger Kara. At the last, her eyes grew even wider. “You! You shouldn’t be here…”
“She’s not the same girl you tried to save.” Kara Gand cut in. “She…and the rest of us, come from alternate realities.”
“But how…why….” Linda began, her voice trailing off as she looked closer at Rogue, Kara, and the twins.
“I know you!” She whispered as an old memory, long buried when she and Matrix had split, began to resurface. Her eyes widened when she looked at Lar Gand and they then snapped back to the twins “YOU!” She began, her astonishment cut short by Kara.
“There’s no time, Linda.” She spoke softly. “But we’ve got a plan. DO you trust us?”
“Trust you…Yes…I…” Whatever else she would have said was cut off as, moving faster than the eye could follow, Kara shot a fist at the younger woman’s chin.
Linda’s eyes glazed and she slumped while Kira and Kara Gand moved to restrain the shocked Power Girl.
Before Linda could hit the ground, Kara the elder scooped her up and laid her out gently. She then touched her cheek and brushed a few strand of brown hair that had escaped from her wig from her eyes.
“Forgive me.” She whispered. “But this isn’t your battle. It’s mine.”
She stood and…stepped back at the dour looks she got from two Karas and Kira.
The three stood in her path, blocking the way.
“Wrong.” Kara Gand was blunt. “It’s not your battle and you need to get over that like right now. Your battle was long ago. It killed the body you wore then…but you won the battle. You did what you had to do to save your universe.”
“It’s our battle now, Kara.” Kira put in. “We’re in this together. You are not going to go into this alone.”
“Indeed.” The younger Kara nodded wisely. “Else why didst Sif send me hither?”
For a moment Kara was taken aback…and then she actually smiled.
“Great. Instead of one…now I have four Mother Hens.” She quipped, inspiring the others to relax a bit. “I’m surprised you haven’t put your two cents in, Rogue.” She looked around and the smile faded. “Rogue?” She spun, looking in all directions, cursing when she tried her x-ray vision, knowing before she did that it would not work. “Rogue?” She focused her super-hearing.
By now they were all looking around but the red-head was nowhere to be seen.
“She went on in!” Power Girl surprised them all by announcing.
“NO! ROGUE!” Kara started forward.
“Fang! Pantha!” Carrie, fear welling up in her heart, called the animals. “Rogue! Find Rogue! Go!”
The animals, one a canine, to all appearances, and the other a feline larger than the largest Terran feline presently in existence…seeming more like the large saber tooth lions of prehistoric times…bounded forward, quickly outdistancing Kara and disappearing from view.
Before long the sounds of the animals engaging in battle reached the group, causing them to pick up their speed.
“Rogue!” Kara’s horror filled cry rang through the fortress as they came around a corner to find Fang and Pantha, their hides glistening with the blood from numerous cuts and scratches, standing guard above the still form on the ground, rubble and the fading bodies of Shadow demons scattered all around.
“NO!”
Kara Zor-El fell to her knees beside the still body, gently pulling the limp form into her arms, tears of anguish streaming down her face. She hardly noticed Zal slowly falling to his knees beside her…one hand stretched out as if he could not believe what he was witnessing.
“D-don’t c-cry.” The words, so softly spoken, were enough to cut through the pain and grab her attention.
Fluttering weakly, Rogue’s eyes strained open to look up into Kara’s face.
“I—couldn’t let you face him again.” Rogue whispered. “I had your memories, I knew…wanted to spare you that. The dreams….I had them too.”
“Damn you, Rogue.” Kara whispered back, her hand gently caressing her lover’s battered face, smearing blood and wincing as her fingers moved over deep cuts.
“Love yo….” Rogue’s voice trailed off and her eyes closed once again.
“Rogue?” Gently Kara shook the body in her arms. “Rogue? Damn you Rogue! Don’t you die on me! Don’t you dare die on me! I need you! I still need you! ROGUE!”
For what seemed an eternity she knelt there, the heroes of five different realities standing quietly around, sharing her grief.
Hesitantly Karen and Carrie moved forward, the shock and grief they felt so apparent on their faces that Kira’s heart went out to them. Tears in her own eyes she gathered the younger girls in to her arms, feeling their bodies tremble as the grief broke through in great, gasping sobs.
Lar stepped up beside Zal, laying a comforting hand on the Otherverse Superman’s shoulder. His own eyes were clear of tears…but shone with hatred…and a vow of vengeance.
It was during this grief stricken moment that Power Girl and a recovered Linda caught up to them…Linda rubbing a tender chin as she took in the scene.
It was then that Kara raised her head. There was no grief apparent in her eyes…only murderous rage.
“ANTI-MONITOR!”
Her voice rang out, unconsciously echoing the words of her cousin so long ago when he had held her in his arms.
Slapping away the hands that sought to restrain her, she leapt into the air, flying deeper into the maze of reality and unreality.
So focused was she on her rage, she gave no notice as Kara Gand, the young Kara Zor-El, and then Kira Jor-El, dropped in on either side of her, taking up positions as her wingmen.
And then they were all there. A massive arrowhead bulldozing through whatever obstacle the Anti-Monitor or his shadow creatures might throw in their path.
No one spoke, yet worried glances were cast back and forth amongst several of the team.
“Kara, you can’t take him alone!”
The arrowhead stopped and Kara slowly turned to face the speaker. Alan Scott.
“He is mine.” Kara’s voice was as cold as space, though her eyes burned with a hate that would rival the hottest pit in hell.
Alan hated doing what he knew had to be done, but too much rested on this…too much to allow Kara to throw it all away in her blind rage.
“Why?” He demanded. “So you can die again? Does Rogue’s death mean so little to you?”
The words were barely out of his mouth before Kara reacted. Her arm swung back and she back handed the Alterverse Sentinel, sending him crashing through the ever changing walls of the fortress.
“NO!” Alan’s voice called out as Kira, Kara Gand, and others moved to restrain the Multiverse Superwoman. “Leave her alone.”
He flew back to float before the enraged Kara. He was unharmed, but obviously shaken. The power of the Green Flame would protect him…to a degree.
“How dare you!” Kara hissed, clenching her fist.
Though she had obeyed Alan’s orders, Kira tensed. Here were two people that she truly admired…but if push came to shove…she did not finish the thought. Naturally she would side with Alan, but the thought of tangling with Kara, especially here, was not something she looked forward to.
“How dare I what, Kara?” Alan did not back down. “Try to stop you from throwing away what chances we might have to stop this monster in your rage? Kara, I would love to let you vent…the gods know you have the right…but you do not have the right to endanger our efforts to save our realities…those that can be saved. There is more at stake here than just your past. There is more at stake than any one of us…including Rogue. She knew that, Kara…and so do you! Our futures are at stake.”
“He’s right, Kara!” Zal slipped up beside Alan, his face still wet from his own tears. “We need you…but we need you to be in control!” His face showed the emotions the ripped through him…the desire…no, the need…to rend and tear the author of the pain…and the clear understanding of what rash actions could bring. “I’ve watched one Superwoman die…I’ve seen one Kara killed….I’ll be damned if I see another die needlessly!”
Kara looked around and saw the agreement in the eyes of the others…though the young Kara Zor-El they had recently met and Kara Gand were obviously agreeing only reluctantly. They knew! They understood! Yet still they agreed.
“Kara…Mom…what would Rogue say?”
She spun to see Karen and Carrie beside her, tears in their eyes.
“She was a mother to us…just like you.” Karen whispered.
Kara’s rage was not quenched, but those words were enough of a cold douse of water to cool her down. She did not trust herself to speak so she nodded sharply.
“Good.” Alan gave a sigh of relief and then looked around. “Sam, I want you, Power Girl, Lanie, and the twins to get Rogue…” He could not bring himself to say ‘Rogue’s body’ “…out of here. Take the animals with you. Get her out of the fortress and wait for us.”
Sam nodded, albeit somewhat reluctantly. Power Girl, Lanie, and the twins, however, were a bit more stubborn. It finally took Kira persuading the twins and Linda persuading Power Girl to get them to agree.
“Girls, this is going to be hard enough on Kara as it is.” Kira told the twins. “Just think how much harder it will be if she is worrying about you? And don’t say she doesn’t need to worry about you. She’s a mother…that is what they do!” She attempted a smile, only to fail miserably and give it up. Lanie, seeing the twins reluctantly agree sighed and nodded her agreement as well.
Linda finally had to resort to curses and demands to before Power Girl agreed. While she did not really know these people…one of them had just died trying to save her…and her universe. She would be damned if she let Power Girl die as well…especially since she shouldn’t be there anyway!
“She goes too!” Kara Zor-El, the elder demanded, pointing at Linda as the others departed.
“I don’t think so, Lady!” Linda had to reign in her response. Though she was not certain, she was pretty sure this…Superwoman…had just lost her lover. That alone deserved some respect. “If I am not there, then this universe…and mine…cease to exist!”
“Are you saying this is not your universe?”
Everyone spun as Wonder Woman made her way through the rubble. Behind her Lady Quark and the Earth-2 Superman continued to push back the living, attacking fortress.
“It is hard to explain.” Linda tried to hedge.
“Actually, it isn’t all that hard.” Diana shook her head, her smile oddly out of place in this dreadful fortress. “I’ve known where you came from all along. We Amazons have our ways.”
She turned to look over the rest of the group, her eyes finally resting on Alan.
“Alan Scott.” She nodded her head. “Yet not the Alan Scott of Earth 2.”
“No, I’m not.” Alan shook his head. “I, we, all of us, come from other realities.”
“That,” the Amazon began, lifting an eyebrow, “I find highly unlikely.” She gestured at the fortress around them. Already the space cleared by the fierce battles of first Rogue and then the animals was beginning to shrink, as the fortress gathered itself for a renewed assault. “I have been to all the remaining five worlds…and you did not come from them: that is obvious. And of all the others…those that are now gone…only a handful have survived. You are not from among those.”
“You say you are aware of where she comes from…how is that?” Alan tried to side-track her, trying to pull the focus back to Linda.
“The gods may not reveal certain things.” Diana shrugged, refusing to be led. “They have only said that she comes from a future to save the past.” She left unspoken that the gods had not informed the Amazons the nature of that future from which Linda had come.
“And that is exactly what she is going to do…with a bit of help!” Kara Gand cut in. “We don’t have time for this. We do not have the time to debate the issue with you, Wonder Woman. We need to get moving…and we are going to go…with or without your permission.”
Putting words to actions, the Daxamite Inheritor spun and, slapping the Multiverse Kara on the shoulder, leapt into the air, arrowing in towards the inner fortress.
Alan shrugged his shoulder and, catching the eyes of the others, indicated that they should follow. Then he smiled at the Amazon.
“We can discuss this later, Wonder Woman.” He told her, a twinkle in his eye. “Unfortunately, it seems I have to be going…you know how women are.”
He took off after the others, leaving Diana to stare after them, a perplexed look on her face.
The Continuum War
“SAM!”
Lanie’s warning was all it took for Sam to jig, allowing the crushing wall of stone to smash past.
“Thanks.” He called as he dove straight through the blockage.
He, Lanie, Power Girl, Carrie, and the animals were running escort as Karen gently carried Rogue from the field of battle.
They had seen none of the other heroes of the Five Worlds on their slow retreat, that team having already moved further into the fortress.
This far out, the fortress was already regrouping, making progress slow as they attempted to battle their way into the clear.
“She moved!”
Karen nearly dropped the torn and broken body in her arms as she fumbled to a stop. The others stopped as well, gathering around her.
“Karen…Movement is not uncommon….” Sam began. “Air escaping from the body…nerves…”
“No!” Karen shook her head. “She moved. And her eyelids twitched!”
“She’s right!” Lanie helped the girl lower Rogue to the ground while Carrie ordered Fang and Pantha to guard. “I’ve had some medical training.” Lanie mumbled as she felt a pulse along Rogue’s neck. She shook her head. “This isn’t possible….” She whispered. “There was no pulse…nothing.” She looked up. “But now there is. Weak…and unstable…but she’s alive…Alive!” She fell quiet and her face told the story. “But not for long. Weak as it is…it’s getting weaker.”
“The Kryptonian regen ability.” Karen sighed. “She was never dead…just in stasis while the regen attempted to heal her…this is as much as it could do.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Carrie demanded, pushing her way through the others. “You’re saying she’s still going to die? She’s alive…she can’t….”
“Carrie…we don’t have the means to help her.” Lanie tried to explain. “Maybe, if we could get her back to my fortress…or yours…or if Arisia was here. Perhaps Alan. But he’s needed where he’s at.” It was still strange for Lanie to think of Arisia as Arisia and not Helen Jordon the woman that had all but raised her after the death of her parents. For the longest time…she had been Helen or simply…Mom.
“Arisia?” Power Girl looked to Sam.
“A Sentinel. Similar to your Jade.” Sam answered in a distracted manner, gazing down at Rogue. To come so far…
“Jade?” Power Girl perked up. “Jade could help her?”
Lanie nodded.
“If she’s anything like Mom, yes. She could put her in a stasis field. It would at least keep her alive until we could get her out of this anti-matter universe and under the rays of a yellow sun.”
“Rays?” Power Girl thought and then smiled. “I’ve got an idea…wait right here…” She started to take off, stopping when Sam grabbed her arm.
“There’s no way you can make it through that alone.” He told her. He glanced around and then shook his head. “Lanie, you stay here with the twins.” He looked at Carrie. “Carrie, can you tell one of those animals to follow me?”
Before Carrie could answer, Pantha stalked over, slapping him with her swishing tail to get his attention.
Astonished he looked down into the feline’s eyes…and saw the intelligence there. With a very deliberate movement, the Kryptonian feline nodded once and then moved to stand beside Power Girl.
“Well I guess that answers that question. Mama Cat will never let me live that one down.” He shrugged and, with a last worried glance down at Rogue. “Lanie, on second thought, see if you and the twins and…Fang?…can get Rogue out of here. Just get her out of the fortress and we’ll find you.”
“Will do.” Lanie nodded. “And Sam…” She glanced down as Karen once again lifted Rogue into her arms. “…Hurry!”
The Continuum War
“Where are we going?” Sam demanded as he, Power Girl, and Pantha battled their way through the living fortress.
“Jade is here.” Power Girl called over her shoulder. “The Jade from my world. And there’s a guy named Ray here as well. If we can get to them and convince them to come with us…we might be able to save your friend!”
Further conversation was not possible as the three slashed and smashed their way through the attacking rock walls, moving further into the maelstrom from which they had just pulled Rogue.
“Power Girl!”
Sam turned his head toward the call as Power Girl veered and he was taken aback…Faith? And then he remembered…Faith’s physical form had been patterned on Jennie-Lynn’s, with subtle differences that appeared only when unpowered. But powered, this Jennie-Lynn could pass as a twin for Faith! And Sam remembered the Jennie-Lynn of Clark Kent’s universe…the champion of the Starheart of the primordial universe.
“Jade!” Power Girl called back as the trio neared the green woman. Further in, green energy flaring, the Earth-2 Alan Scott—the Green Lantern—continued the battle. At his side, a man in yellow and red…Sam recognized him as Firestorm…another hero that, in his own universe, had perished. There was also a silver colored man…Captain Atom, if Sam’s guess was correct, and another man dressed in yellow…This must be the Ray that Power Girl had mentioned.
“Jade, we need your help!” Power Girl continued as she drifted up beside the young green woman. Jade, for her part, was looking at Sam with a quizzical expression, but the look she gave Pantha was pure apprehension!
“Who…?”
“No time, Jade.” Power Girl shook her head. “We need you and Ray…We’ve got an injury and we think the two of you might be able to help!”
Jade thought quickly and then nodded.
The Continuum War
“LEAVE MY HUSBAND ALONE!”
Linda flew through the hole Kara Zor-El the elder had made in the wall, pushing past the others in her…eagerness…to reach the monster that still ravaged the semi-conscious Superman of Earth 1.
“Kara?”
Kara Zor-El, the elder, stood still, her gaze locked on the scene before her. It was obvious to all, however, that she was not seeing what was there…but the scene replaying in her memory.
“Right.” Kara Gand sighed and turned. “Zal, you and…Lar get Dr. Light and Superman out of here…NOW!” If there was a catch in her voice when she mentioned Lar’s name, those around her either didn’t hear it or ignored it.
With a quick glance between them, Zal and Lar did as ordered. Lar snagged the struggling Dr. Light while Zal scooped up the limp Man of Steel in his arms, speeding both out of the generator room.
“The Machines!” Dr. Light was yelling… “They have to destroy the Machines!”
“They know.” Lar tried to calm her as he zig-zagged to avoid the attacks of the fortress. “Believe me…they know.”
Back in the room, Linda continued to pound on the Anti-Monitor.
“You’re the one responsible for all this insanity!” She growled as she rained blow after blow. “For all those deaths. Well you’re not going to kill my husband, my daughter…or my world!”
“ENOUGH!”
A single back-hand sent Linda tumbling through the air to slam up against a far wall, her yellow wig flying off to reveal her natural, shorter, brown hair.
“I WILL NOT AGAIN BE TOUCHED BY ONE SUCH AS YOU!”
The Anti-Monitor stepped forward out of the rubble that Linda’s blows had forced him into…to all appearances completely unscathed.
“YOU HUMANS RUSH MADLY INTO DEATH. I SWEAR, THOUGH, IT WILL COME SOON ENOUGH. BUT YOU, AT LEAST, SHALL LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO SEE ALL YOU HOLD DEAR DIE BEFORE I SEND YOU TO OBLIVION!”
Kara Zor-El the elder had remained motionless after her initial entry into the chamber.
It all came back to her…the diversion into that future Earth, thanks to the Fatalist…her return to her own time…her life, her friends, her family…her death.
And there was the cause of it all…the Anti-Monitor.
She was aware of the machinery only peripherally…the massive solar collector that had already drained the suns of so many near by systems in this…unreality of the Anti-Matter universe…that was, even then, reducing the vibratory differences between the remaining Earths, bringing them ever closer to that catastrophic instant when all five would phase into existence in the same spot, at the same time…at the same vibratory speed! Bringing them ever closer to annihilation!
Annihilation!
Her eyes tracked away from the Anti-Monitor to fix on the Machinery. The machines had been destroyed in her own time during her final attack on the Anti-Monitor…the attack that ended with her being distracted…and taking that last blast…the blast that had killed her body!
Destroy the Machines!
“…send you to oblivion….”
The Anti-Monitor’s words ripped through Kara’s memories, tearing her away from the past and jerking her back to the present.
“I’ll be damned first!” She hissed. Her head snapped around, her eyes already glowing from barely suppressed heat vision. “Alan, get her out of here…Now!”
Alan opened his mouth to object…and then closed it when he became the object of four cold stares. He nodded and, before the Anti-Monitor could react, reached out with the green flame, enveloping the stunned Linda and whisking her away and out of the room.
That accomplished, Kara turned her attention back to the Anti-Monitor. The Monster was only then beginning to understand that something was amiss…that these women that stood before him should not be.
Kara’s lips turned up in a cold smile and her eyes flashed.
“Take him!” She ordered!
They watched from a place beyond realities…and they saw what needed to be done.
“You can not do this, my husband!” Lorra, Goddess of Krypton, did not sound very convincing. Though those below knew her by other names…they were still her children.
“I can…this once.” Rao looked upon the tired and nearly beaten heroes. “This monster cannot stand much longer…and they deserve this! Besides…are you not the one that brought them all together for this…behind my back?”
He stretched forth his hand…
Time seemed to freeze and Zal, Lar, and Alan watched with amazement from beyond the break in the wall they had just passed through as a golden glow seemed to spring up and surround both Kara Zor-El the elder and the younger, Kira Jor-El, and Kara Gand.
The glow brightened, becoming so intense that the three could no longer watch, having to duck or cover their eyes.
“WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?” They could hear the Anti-Monitor bellow.
They began to turn back as the glow began to fade, staring in awe at what was finally revealed!
It was Kara…and it wasn’t. It would only be later that Alan would put it all together for the others.
“She was all of them…and none of them.” He would tell them. “She was the essence of all the versions of Supergirl that had met the Anti-monitor…or suffered because of him.”
The amalgam Kara did not hesitate.
Diving in, she began to rain blow after blow on the Anti-Monitor.
Moving faster than any of the separate entities could move, she pummeled the monster over and over.
And the others, staring in mute disbelief, could hear the words as each blow landed.
“…For Kal…For our universes…for Rogue…for….”
On and on it went until finally the Anti-Monitor…fell.
The figure…the Ultimate Supergirl…lashed out one final time with her foot. “For us!”
The Anti-Monitor sailed backwards, crashing to the floor…even as the Ultimate Supergirl dropped to her knees.
The golden glow reappeared and suddenly, they were separate.
“He’s still moving!” Lar observed the Anti-Monitor.
The monster struggled to rise: its containment body nearly destroyed, its energy spewing forth to scatter. Yet even in its current state, its evil and hatred of all living things still blanketed them all as it crawled towards its escape rocket.
“I NEED TIME TO HEAL!” Even muttering, its venomous voice rang out. “IT IS NOT OVER. I SHALL STAND TRIUMPHANT AT THE DAWN OF TIME!”
While the rest struggled to find the strength to move, Kara Zor-El, the elder, lurched to her feet and stalked shakily towards the Anti-Monitor.
“Like hell you will.” She growled.
The monster had crawled to his hands and knees and was groping out with a hand when Kara reached him.
“And this, you son-of-a-bitch, is just for me!”
Doubling her fists together, Kara brought them down on the Anti-Monitor’s back with all of her power.
A resounding crack echoed and the Anti-Monitor sprawled face down, his body falling apart.
“Go to hell, you bastard!” Kara hissed, bringing her foot down on the junction of neck and body.
Alan…looking on…watched with horrid fascination…only at the last moment did he realize what was about to happen.
“KARA! NO!”
As fast as he was, the protective bubble that he willed to form only had time to cover himself, Zal, and Lar before…The universe exploded in his face!
The Continuum War
“Easy now…come on. Open your eyes.”
Alan groaned and tried to sit up…felt himself pushed back down.
“Not yet, my friend. Take a moment and get your bearings!”
Alan opened his eyes…to find Alan Scott…the other Alan Scott, the Green Lantern, bending over him.
“Are you tracking?” The Green Lantern gave him a quick scan with his ring and then nodded. “Okay…you can get up…but take it easy…you took a nasty wallop there!”
Alan kept quiet at first, looking around. The Fortress was no longer attacking. Instead, it seemed to be falling apart around them.
“What…” He stopped, shaking his head, despite the pain. He could feel the green flame continuing to heal him. And then he remembered. Kara Zor-El’s final blow to the Anti-Monitor!
It had been more than the Anti-Monitor could handle…and that energy...all the energy he had held and that energy that had been poured into him from THIS Qward, had been released…in one blinding instant!
“We don’t know how you people did it, but you killed the Anti-Monitor!” A figure Alan vaguely recalled was named Wildfire, a member of the 30th century Legion of Super-Heroes, spoke. He had no facial expression; one had to have a face for that and Wildfire only had a dark face plate on the suit that contained his nuclear molecules. “According your friend, the blonde Superman, it was his death that caused the explosion that knocked you and them out. It also completely destroyed the machinery that was threatening the five Earths!”
“So the Universes are safe?” Alan breathed easier.
“They are.” The other Alan nodded. “With the machinery gone, the Earths are returning to their proper places and vibrational speeds.”
Alan took in a deep breath and looked around. All around them, the fortress seemed to be crumbling. Here and there a hero flushed out the stray Shadow Demon or Thunderer, but other than that it was relatively calm. The heroes, tense with the need to succeed, now fell into a calm determination born of obvious victory.
Yet…
He looked around again, frowning this time.
He was alone! Not alone in the sense that there was no one around…but alone in the sense that none of his group were in sight.
“Where…” He began, stopping at the apparent unease in the other Alan’s eyes.
“When the explosion occurred, your energy protected your Zal and Lar. You didn’t have time to extend that protection to your other teammates.” He explained. “From what we have been able to determine, the force of the blast threw them away from the Fortress. At least that is what we are hoping…neither of our Supermen or Captain Atom could find evidence that they were…atomized.”
“Killed, you mean.” Alan gritted his teeth. To come so far…
“Killed.” The Green Lantern nodded. “They could have been, but even so, their bodies were ejected from the Fortress. Your Zal, Lar, and Sam are busy doing search sweeps…trying to find them…or their bodies. Those of our group not involved in mop-up are aiding in the search.”
As if on cue, Zal swooped in for a landing, his face full of concern. In his arms the limp figure of…
“Kira!” Alan took a step and swayed, causing the other Alan to put out a steadying hand.
“She’s alive.” Zal announced. “But hurt.”
“As is this one!” Alan turned his head as Sam flew in, the young Kara Zor-El of the Realm in his arms, her blond hair flecked with blood.
Alan scanned them both quickly.
“Mostly superficial injuries.” He said. “A doctor could tell more, but I don’t believe there is anything life threatening. In any case, there’s not a thing we can do until we get them under red solar lamps. And even that won’t help too much with Kira.”
“That won’t help Kara, either.” Zal growled. Alan knew that he was talking about the Kara Zor-El he considered a sister. And then Alan remembered. Neither she nor Rogue lost their powers under a Red sun at all…or rather; they didn’t lose them at once. They faded over a period of days.
“Here comes another one!” Wildfire announced, causing Alan to turn.
Lar Gand was slowing to touchdown nearby. Alan had to smile. Ironically, he held the Inheritor’s Kara Gand in his arms.
“I think she’ll be okay.” Lar said as he shifted her in his arms to gently lower her to the ground.
The movement was enough to slightly awaken the injured Daxamite woman.
“Lar?” She whispered weakly. “I knew I’d find you.” She lifted her head enough to gently brush her lips to Lar’s…and then fell back as the darkness claimed her once again.
“I….” Lar began…looking up at Sam.
“Don’t worry about it.” Sam shook his head. “She’ll probably think it was a dream…and if it lets her rest easier…what harm?” He shrugged.
Lar looked at him for a moment and then nodded as he finished laying her out. He paused and gently touched her cheek, not understanding what he was feeling…and not daring to examine those feelings too closely.
“I hope you find him.” He whispered, not caring that both Sam and Zal had hearing that could pick up the low spoken words. “I hope you find him and I hope he realizes how lucky he is.”
He straightened, glaring at Zal and Sam, daring either of them to say a word. Neither chose to take the dare.
“Now what about our Kara?” He turned, looking towards Alan.
“They’re still searching.” The other Alan answered.
“And we’ll stay until we find her!” The Sentinel declared.
‘That might not be a good idea.” Sam cut in, his tone almost apologetic. “Depending on how long it takes. Jade and Ray are doing what they can, but Rogue can’t…”
“Rogue?” Zal and Lar blurted simultaneously.
“You didn’t tell them?” Sam looked at the other Alan.
“I have been a bit occupied.” That Alan shook his head. Sam sighed and looked at the Otherverse Superman and the Multiverse Lar Gand.
“Your Rogue isn’t dead. She’s hurt. Bad. But she’s alive. Barely. She needs medical attention as soon as possible. The longer we stay here, the better the chance that we’ll lose her.”
“Maybe we won’t have to stay much longer.” The Alterverse Alan announced, gesturing.
Lar turned to see Linda approaching, her husband, the Superman from Earth-1, and the Superman from Earth-2 on either side of her.
And in her arms…Kara Zor-El!
Pain!
Images and figures flashed through her mind. Faces and names.
Sounds and colors flowed together in a psychedelic kaleidoscope.
Then…a face…a face long gone and far away.
“Kal?”
“I’m here Kara. Just rest.”
“You’re safe?”
“Everyone’s safe, Kara. Just rest now.”
“You mean so much to me…to the world.” Had she said those words before? “Did…did we stop him? Are the worlds safe?”
“You stopped him. And you destroyed the machines. The worlds are safe now.”
“Thank Rao.” Rao? “Am…am I dying?”
“No. You’re going to be okay, Kara. Now rest. You’re safe…with family!”
Family? Rogue? Oh Rogue!
Darkness.
The Continuum War
“MOMMY! HER EYES ARE OPEN! MOMMY!”
Kara shook her head, instantly regretting the action as pain lanced behind her eyes.
“Shh…drink this!”
She felt the rim of a glass pressed to her lips and gulped without protest, grimacing only when the glass was removed.
“Gahhh. What…”
“A Kryptonian restorative. At least that’s what Clark called it.”
Kara opened her eyes again to see Linda hovering over her, her face a study of emotions as concern, relieve, disbelief, and other indiscernible emotions battled for supremacy.
“Where…”
“You’re in our Fortress of Solitude.” Linda told her, putting a hand on her chest to keep her from trying to sit up. It was no contest, Kara noted, seeing the red light that bathed the small room in which she lay and remembering that Linda would not suffer the same power loss. “We had to track down Zatanna to accelerate your loss of power under red sun light. You were injured pretty badly. But you’re going to live.”
“The others?”
“Kara Gand, Kira, and the young Kara are already up and around, if a bit sore. You took the brunt of the blast, being at ground zero, as it were.” Linda assured her.
“Zal? Lar? Alan?”
“They’re fine. They, Sam, Lanie and the twins are all fine. Though Lanie seems to be having a problem with me and Clark.” She started to continue, stopping when the door to what Kara was finally able to recognize as one of the infirmary rooms of the Fortress of Solitude slid open.
“How’s she doing?” A male voice asked and Kara’s breath caught. Linda noticed and gave a slight smile.
“Why don’t you come ask her yourself?” She called.
Kara turned her head slightly, squeezing shut her suddenly tearing eyes at the sight of the man that stepped through the door. Kal-El!
The man known to this world, indeed in this entire reality, as Superman walked to the bed side, neither his eyes nor his face betraying any of his feelings.
“How are you…Kara?” He looked up and Kara caught a slight blush on Linda’s face…it was only then that she recalled what she had learned. Linda had come back to this reality, this pre-crisis world to take the place of a young girl named Kara and had, at first, tried to pass herself off as Kal’s cousin Kara.
“No.” Kara reached out a shaky hand and touched Linda’s arm. “No need to be embarrassed. You did what you thought right. You tried to save me…save your Kara, rather. You tried to find a way…it’s…”
“…what heroes do.” Linda finished the line for her in a whisper.
The energy it had taken to make that little speech exhausted Kara and she closed her eyes for a moment.
“How bad…”
“Bad enough.” Kal answered the implied question. “Both you and Kara Gand had massive internal injuries, some of which required surgery. Kira and the young Kara escaped those kind of injuries…and I think it is because Kara Gand tried to shield them with her own body.” He paused and sighed. “Barry was in bad shape as well but….”
“Barry?” Kara opened her eyes. “Barry Allen? The Flash? What does he have to do with this?”
Kal looked at Linda, who shook her head.
“I haven’t had time to tell her much.” Linda shrugged.
“Barry Allen was being held captive in the ship that the Anti-Monitor used…and was trying to reach when you…killed him.” Kal grimaced but Kara met his gaze levelly. The blank look on Linda’s face said she was staying clear of that one. In this time and place Kara knew Kal had a code against killing. A code she had once shared. No longer. The world…the universe…had changed and she had changed with it. The world she had left, the existence she had once had, was gone, taking with it the innocence of the time.
“Barry?” She prompted.
Kal sighed and forced a smile, as if he, too, recognized that they came from different places, different times.
“The four of you were blown clear of the fortress by the explosion.” He explained. “But we didn’t realize that until we searched the area first. It was during that search that we found Barry.”
“Mommy?”
A small voice sounded and Kara turned her head to see a small, brown haired girl edge through the door, her wide eyes catching hers before she scampered to hide behind Linda.
“Our daughter.” Linda smiled, pulling the little girl around in front of her. “Ariella.” She shook her head. “Lanie might have a problem with Clark and I, but she and the twins get along great with this little rascal.”
“They would.” Kara sighed. “Lanie and Ariella are half-sisters, in a way. Just as Sam would, in the same way be Ariella’s half-brother.” She caught her breath as she realized what she had said and it was her turn to blush.
“So we are given to understand.” Kal smiled his understanding. He looked up at Linda and Kara could see the love there. “Just a little look at what might have been had Linda not come along. I for one, however, am glad she did.”
He looked back at Kara.
“Though I don’t know how our Lois would react to meeting Lanie.” He sighed. “She did forgive me, eventually. And even married and has children of her own. But Lanie might stir up some hard and painful memories for her.”
“Give the woman some credit.” Linda snorted and looked at Kara, shaking her head. “Men. Earthlings or Kryptonians…they’re all the same. Think the whole damned universe revolves around them.”
Their life must be real interesting. Kara thought to herself. Kal with his pre-crisis innocence and Linda with her post-crisis, no nonsense attitude.
“He’s just lucky that it does.” Linda regarded Kal warmly. “And so are we.”
“So what happens now?” Kal asked, looking extremely uncomfortable at the conversation’s direction. “Your Alan has explained a lot…but it was obvious to us all that there were some things he wasn’t telling us.”
“Now?” Kara made the effort to sit up. “Now we go home.” She sighed and her eyes watered with tears. “We…I…have…” She stopped and shook her head, the tears falling freely now. “I have to say good-bye to someone.” Oh Rogue!
“And just who would that be?”
The voice came from the open doorway, immediately shocking Kara.
“No…..” She whimpered. Then her eyes grew big as a smiling Carrie and Karen pushed a wheel chair in to the room. A wheel chair occupied by…
“ROGUE!”
Pushing away the steadying hands that reached for her, Kara staggered out of the bed, nearly falling on her face as she tottered the few feet to her lover, collapsing on the floor at her feet, her arms wrapping around her waist, her head in her lap…sobbing uncontrollably.
-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2004 by Dylan, John, and Eldric
-- and may not be reprinted without permission.
-- The Continuum Worlds Concept is a joint creation of
-- Dylan Clearbrook and Eldric.-- Otherverse and Multiverse, as depicted in the
-- Continuum Worlds, are original creations of Dylan Clearbrook.
-- Alterverse and The Inheritors, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,
-- are original creations of Eldric.
-- The Realm, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,
-- is an original creation of John P.
-- Some characters in Continuum Worlds stories are original creations
-- of Dylan Clearbrook, Eldric, Michael Liebhart, Jake H., Jason G.,
-- Andrew Shields, Kyle M., Brian, or Jason Froikin and may not
-- be used without express permission of the respective author.
-- All DC characters are property of D.C. Comics.
-- All Marvel characters are property of Marvel Comics.