Prologue Captain
Sherri Penison cursed herself for the thousandth time that day as she tossed
the reports on her desk. She could not
believe that she had actively sought this job.
Now, five years later, she could not understand how she had ever thought
she could make a difference. Worse, she
could not understand why she did not just walk out…resign. Five
years ago, she had been determined.
Convinced that she, as captain of a police precinct, she could get a
handle on the rising rate of crime. For
a while, she had seen some real positive results. In all of Kansas City, her precinct had shown the most dramatic
drop in violent crimes. Then it had all
turned around and the percentages were higher now than when she had taken the
job. Of
course, she was not alone. It was the
same throughout the country and, if one could believe the news, throughout the
world as well. Ever since the
appearance of the first of the so-called Super Crooks three years earlier, all
law enforcement agencies were suddenly fighting loosing battles. “Captain!” A white-faced orderly rushed into her
office, heedless of protocol. “They’ve killed the President!” “What?” She spun in her chair, grasping through the
mess on her desk for the remote and flicked on the television. She didn’t have to bother about finding a
particular station. The picture opened
on a scene of massive destruction. “…ead. We repeat, it has now been confirmed that
the President and his family as well as the VP and her family are dead. Workers have now recovered all the bodies
from the wreckage of the White House.”
The view panned and then settled on the tear-streaked face of the
reporter. “We are still trying to discover the exact cause of this catastrophe,
but, according to eye-witness accounts, it appears a group of what the media
has labeled Super-Crooks descended on the White House a matter of hours ago
and. …Well, you can see for yourself.” The camera once again panned back to the
pile of rubble. “While we can…” Sherrie
flicked off the set and, for a long moment, sat staring at the blank screen,
stunned. Minutes later, the orderly
tossed his badge down on the desk beside the other gleaming badge there and
followed his now ex-boss out the door. Chapter 1 11:59:56pm
December 31, 1999 “…4…3…2…1.HAPPY
NEW YEAR!!!” At
Times Square, thousands of people cheered as the great silver ball dropped,
signaling the end of one millennium and the beginning of the next. At
Pier Four, a crowd that numbered only in the hundreds cheered just as loud as
fireworks sprang from the top of the FF HQ, followed by a large fiery streak
that sped out over the bay and seemingly burst into a bright new star. Kara,
using her telescopic vision, smiled as she watched Johnny Storm light up the
night sky. “He
really does like to show off, doesn’t he?” Rogue stage whispered in her ear. They,
along with Jennifer Walters, had joined others for this celebration atop the
Fantastic Four headquarters. Looking
around, she could see Captain America deep in conversation with his Avenger
teammate, Ironman. Over there, Jenny
had her arm linked through that of her cousin, Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, as
he and Reed Richards talked. Standing
quietly to one side, Dr. Strange appeared mildly amused as he watched the
others. There were others, many that
Kara had only heard of till now, that stood or wandered in small groups. “Hey
girlfriend.” Rogue jabbed her in the
ribs and she realized that she had started to slip into the depressed state
that had plagued her lately. “This is
party time, girl.” “Just
thinking.” Kara replied, looking back
out over the bay. Johnny Storm, AKA the
Human Torch, was allowing his bright flame to dim and was already making his
way back to the roof. Below, the noise
of merry makers was muted to a dull roar.
She sighed and pulled her shoulders straight and tried to smile.
“Thinking of the past…or rather, my past.”
“Well stop it.”
Rogue said, only half jokingly.
Though she had said nothing, Kara knew that her depression was worrying
her friend. “Let’s go find Reed. He
said he wanted to talk to us.” “When did he say that?”
“Oh, when we arrived.”
Rogue said, somewhat evasively.
“Come on.” She grabbed Kara’s
hand and half drug her through the crowd of partiers. “Ah, there you
are.” Reed smiled as the duo
approached. “So this is the infamous Kara.” Bruce raised a glass of champaign in toast. “Happy New Year.” “Happy New Year.”
Kara responded automatically.
“What do you mean infamous?” She
rounded on Jenny. “What have you been
telling him?” Jenny laughed and Bruce put a hand on her arm. “Nothing bad, I assure you.” He claimed, “Only that
you are the reason that the X-men find them selves minus one of their strongest
members and the Fantastic Four here,” he saluted Reed, “find themselves minus a
backup member.” “Oh.” Kara
replied, smiling slightly. “I suppose I
have shaken things up a bit. “I’ll say.” Reed
mock groaned. “First you turn Rogue
here into a Kryptonian, and then you some how get Jenny to become this
universe’s version of a Green Lantern.” “Hey now!” Kara
protested, laughing. “I had nothing to
do with that last.” “Right!” Jenny
drawled. She concentrated slightly and
an emerald green S symbol appeared in the air above them. “Sure you didn’t.” “Whatever.” Kara
grinned at her friend and turned back to Reed.
“Rogue said that you wanted to see us?” “Yes indeed.” He
beckoned to Sue Richards and, his arm stretching the length of the roof, he
placed his empty glass of champaign on the bar. “I’ve been working on something
with your father and want you to see our progress.” “Hi Kara, Rogue.”
Sue smiled at them as she walked up, slipping her arm around her
husband’s waist. She looked at him and at Bruce and then sighed. “Well, I kept
you out of the lab for a bit, anyway.”
Her smile took any sting out of her words. “Now Sue…” Reed began. “Oh hush.” Sue
laughed and pushed him away. “You’ve
been dying to show off for a while so go right ahead…but don’t you dare stay
there all night.” “Yes dear.”
Reed’s reply was somewhat meek as he placed a hand on Kara’s arm. “C’mon.
This you have got to see.” “Okay, What have you and Dad been cooking up in
here?” Kara asked as Reed and Bruce led
her, Jenny and Rogue into the lab. “First a little background.” Reed held up a hand and then, turning to a blank screen. “Are you there, Zor?” The screen came to life with a full sized image of Kara’s
father, Zor El. “Right here, Dr. Richards.” Zor replied. His eyes
moved and Kara realized that she must been in range of the transmitter’s pickup
when he smiled. “Happy New Year, Daughters.”
He said. Kara smiled and glanced
over at Rogue. Rogue was smiling too,
though in a more feeling manner. She
had still not gotten used to the fact that Kara’s mother and father had officially
adopted her. In the city of Kandor, she
was listed now as Rogue Zor-El and could claim all the perks and privileges
that came with the name. “Happy New Year, Dad.”
Kara replied. Though the
Kryptonian year was almost three times longer than a Terran year, Kandor had
long ago adopted the Earth calendar. It only made sense, seeing as how Kandor
was no longer on Krypton. “What mischief have you and these two” She jerked a
thumb at Reed and Bruce “ been up to?” “Why daughter, you wound me!” Zor placed a hand over his chest and took on a hurt expression. “I might if someone doesn’t tell me what’s going
on.” Kara growled, looking around at
Reed and Bruce. “But I’ll start with
these two.” “Okay okay.” Reed
laughed. He waved Bruce over towards a
bank of consoles. “This started with a
conversation you had with your father on New Krypton.” He began.
Kara grew thoughtful, quickly going over in her mind what had been said,
months earlier when she, Rogue, and Jenny, along with a little aid from a deceased
Hal Jordon, had rescued a major portion of the inhabitants of New Krypton by
shrinking them once again. “Refresh my memory.”
She said, still shaking her head. “The Phantom Zone, Kara.” Zor said. “An interesting concept.” Reed mused. “First we had to recreate the mechanism…. the
Projector that your uncle, Jor El, developed.” “As I told you, I had worked with Jor on the project, so
I was able to contribute what knowledge I had and then help Reed and Bruce fill
in the missing pieces.” Zor explained. “However,” Bruce continued, making a few adjustments on
the console, “Zor could not give us a detailed schematic of the finished
projector. We had to use the trial and
error method to refine the projector.
But we finally got it.” “You’ve been working with them?” Kara noticed that her fist were clinched and
consciously willed her hands to relax. “To some small degree.”
Bruce confirmed. “I specialize
in energy and radiations. When Reed
mentioned the project to me, I was interested.’ “Tony Stark was involved as well.” Reed broke in and Kara was again keenly
aware of just how much she owed to Tony and Stark Industries, the Fantastic
Four, Dr. Strange, Prof. Xavier, and to Rogue and Jenny. With an effort, she jerked her thoughts back
to the here and now. “So you have a working projector?” She asked. “We do.” Reed
confirmed. “And we have tested it
thoroughly.” He motioned to Bruce. “In fact, we are going to give it a final
test right now and wanted you to be here to witness it.” Bruce punched a couple of buttons and the room was
plunged into darkness. Then, from the
overhead lights, a reddish glow sprang forth, bathing everything in it’s
light. Kara frowned slightly. It was obvious that Bruce had just activated
Reed’s Red Sun simulator. Reed had used
it early on to strip Kara and Rogue of their powers long enough to get blood
samples or to administer some medication.
Yet, ever since their meeting with the Silver Surfer, Red sun light no
longer had the same effect. Actually,
they had discovered that their powers were no longer dependent on the type of
sunlight they bathed in. Yellow sun or
red, or orange, or even blue. The
effects no longer varied. She held her tongue as a section of the floor opened and
an examination table rose. She felt she
knew what was coming and, before she allowed anyone to become a test subject to
be projected into the Phantom Zone, she would destroy the projector first. No one, however, made a move for the table. “When ever you are ready, Bruce.” Reed called out. While Kara’s attention had been on the table rising out of the
floor, he had palmed a hypodermic and stood waiting. He caught the eyes of Jenny and Rogue and nodded. Neither moved, having positioned themselves
purposely on either side of the spot where the table would be. “Here we go.”
Bruce warned as he twisted a dial.
A purple beam stabbed out of the ceiling and enveloped the table. For a long moment, it appeared as if nothing
was happening and then, oh so slowly, the outline of a man began to take shape. Kara gasped, her eyes wide and one hand over her mouth as
she watched. Quickly the figure gained
solidity, seemingly forming before their very eyes. “Now!” Reed
called out. Instantly, Bruce cut the
beam. The figure, his face a mask of
agony doubled over even as Rogue and Jenny acted. Grasping the figure by the arms, they pushed him back on to the
table and held him flat while Reed advanced with the hypodermic. “Neck.” He barked.
Jenny responded by tilting the man’s head, exposing his neck and an
extended carotid artery. Reed jabbed
the needle in and pressed the plunger.
He steeped back and Kara could see by the movement of his lips that he
was counting to himself. When he
reached 20, he waved an arm at Bruce.
Instantly the red glow was replaced by regular lighting. Kara studied the man, her eyes somewhat misty. His face was relaxing and, though his body
was still wracked with spasms from remembered agony, it was apparent that the
pain was fading. “Lar?” Kara
stepped forward, uncertainly, only to be blocked by Reed. “He’s going to be out for a bit, Kara.” He told her gently. He took a breath and then went on. “I want to be sure that you realize that he
is not going to know you.” “Of course he will.”
Kara glared at him briefly and then looked back at Lar. Reed’s words, however, made her think it
through. Yes, they were from the same
reality. But she, personally, had not
met Lar until her first trip to the 30th century and the Legion of
Super-heroes. She let her breath out,
not even aware that she had been holding it.
And of course this was still the 20th century. Well, technically it was now the 21st. So of course he would not know her. He had been, according to her memory of
events, trapped in the Zone for over a thousand, years, being released by
Brainiac 5 when he had learned of Lar’s existence and then developed cure. But now that would never happen. “You’re right.”
She said, straightening up. “I just had to think it out.” She glanced at the hypo still in Reed’s
hand. “Something for the lead poisoning?” “Exactly.” He
tossed the hypo in a disposal chute and then turned back to his patient. “A two
pronged attack, you could say. First, a
batch of biological nanites programmed to clear the system of any traces of the
poisoning. Then a second to immunize
against further exposure.” “How did you know….” Kara let it trail off, seeing the
smiles on Rogue and Jenny’s faces.
“This was not the first time you’ve pulled him from the zone.” She concluded. “Right.” Jenny
nodded, turning her attention back to the Lar.
Kara noticed the way her fingertips absently brushed a lock of hair away
from his eyes. She smiled, realizing
that her new friend was obviously taken with Lar. Jenny caught herself and, snatching her hand back,
cleared her throat and continued. She
never noticed the amused glances that passed between the others. “As I was saying,” she went on, “Reed called us in here
last week.” “I wanted them here just in case the red sun simulation
did not work on Daxamites like it does on Kryptonians.” Reed explained. “Thankfully, it does. We
pulled him out long enough for me to get a blood sample to work with and then
we stuck him back in.” He paused to
look at the man on the table, shaking his head. “Three of them.” He
muttered, looking over at Bruce. “A year ago, we didn’t have one, now we have
three that could easily be considered among the most powerful beings in the
galaxy.” Bruce merely shrugged. He was, at the moment, looking at his
cousin, clearly amused and thinking that Reed had possibly miscounted. “Well.” Reed
clapped his hands together, startling everyone. “Let’s get him down to the infirmary. He’s out of danger but I want to let those nanites and that
recuperative ability Daxamites seem to share with Kryptonians have chance to
work.” Not to long after transferring the patient to the
infirmary, Kara and Rogue decided to return to their Arctic home. It came as a surprise to no one when Jenny
opted, instead, to remain and help out with the patient if needed. “Hey, Reed might need me here to keep him under
control.” She had justified
herself. Though she was amused, Kara
had to admit as she and Rogue soared up and northward, that with the power of a
Green Lantern, Jenny would, indeed, be able to handle Lar. A Green Lantern was only as strong as his or
her will and Jenny was extremely strong willed. “Do you think you and Rogue could join us here? Right away?” The communication had come in early two mornings
later. Stepping out of the shower, Kara
had paused only long enough to wrap a towel about her upper body as she
answered the insistent buzzing of the comm. unit. Though she had no problems with wandering through her home with
nothing but skin, she had learned over the years that most Terrans were
uncomfortable around flagrant nudity.
She was thankful that neither Rogue nor Jenny seemed to have that
hang-up. For Rogue, the ability to go
around in skin was still a wonder.
After having to have most parts of her body covered at all times while
around other people, the freedom to go without was still a novelty to her. Jenny, on the other hand, preferred to wear
something….usually the skimpiest thing she could find. Once again Kara paused to consider her relationship with
these two. Since her rebirth, as she
preferred to consider it, Rogue and Jenny had been her closest friends. And with Rogue, there was still an
undercurrent of attraction that neither had acted on. They had both, over the months, dated and neither was about to
give up men. Yet still…. “What’s up, Sue?”
Kara brought her attention back to the screen. Sudden apprehension struck.
“Is something wrong with Lar?” “Oh no.” Sue
Richards was quick to assure her. “But
it seems that Reed and your father have
stumbled onto something. They want your
input. Yours and Rogues.” Kara looked up as a chime sounded. “Come in.” She
called. The door slid aside as Rogue
stepped through, devoid of clothing, vigorously toweling her hair. She must have just gotten out of the shower
as well. “I’ll tell Rogue and we’ll be
there as soon as we can, Sue.” She
spoke to the screen. She had spoken
more to warn Rogue not to wander into pickup range of the screen rather than to
answer Sue. “I’ll tell Reed you’re on your way.” Sue confirmed as the screen darkened. “Something up?”
Rogue asked, planting herself on the edge of Kara’s bed as she continued
to dry her hair. Kara looked at her for a long moment then stepped away
from the comm. unit, letting the towel drop.
Why not? “Nothing that won’t wait for a bit.” She replied in a husky voice as she
approached the bed. Rogue and Kara
angled in over the bay to touch down on the roof of the FF HQ. “You sure took your time.” Reed groused. Rogue’s
sudden blush startled him but the steel in Kara’s eyes warned him to leave it
alone. “Well, come on. I’ve got something to show you.” “First, how’s Lar?”
Kara demanded. She knew Reed
well enough by now to know that his sense of priorities did not always match
hers. “Well enough.”
Reed answered as he moved them towards the elevator. “I believe he and
Jenny are out site seeing.” “What?” Kara
exclaimed. “I thought you said he was
going to be out for awhile!” “He was.” Reed
responded. “He was out for the better
part a day. A long time considering
he’s a Daxamite.” “And now he’s well enough to be wandering the city?” “Actually, yes.”
Reed replied in a somewhat irritated voice. They rode the elevator in silence. “It was while we were in the testing phase of the
projector.” Reed started explaining as
the elevator doors opened. He led the
way to the lab and pulled up a seat before the same bank of consoles Bruce
banner had worked two nights earlier. He pulled up a series of images on the main
screen and leaned back. “We had to pin-point
Lar’s location within the zone but before that, we had to find the correct
settings to access the zone. Rather
than do this manually, I had the computer run through the various settings. It would change the settings, activate the
projector, take a snap-shot picture, and then move to the next setting.” “I can see how it would be faster to do it that
way.” Kara nodded. “Running through all possible settings
manually would have been extremely tedious and time consuming.” “Exactly.” Reed
touched a control and the screen zoomed in on one picture. From what Kara could
see, it was nothing but a white blur. “This is what most of the snap shots
show.” Read explained. He touched the
console again and this time a shadowy figure appeared. “This snap shot matched the search
parameters I had entered into the computer so it stopped there.” He turned in his seat. “Yesterday, out of idle curiosity, I entered
new search parameters. I told the
computer to search through the snap shots it had taken and highlight those that
were significantly different from the white nothingness you saw on the first
picture.” He adjusted the controls once
again and the screen zoomed in on a dark picture. Kara’s eyes widened as she registered what she was seeing. In the center of the darkness, a small
splotch of light resolved into a man made space station. “This is what popped out.” Reed was rubbing his chin now.
“At first, I thought it was simply a picture of some satellite in
orbit.” “It’s not?” Rogue
asked. “Actually, it appears to be an incomplete space
station. From the looks of it, It is a
simple torus affair..” He turned to
Kara. “Much like the station of Tony
Stark’s you helped repair on the day of your coming out.” Reed responded. “Just not one in our reality or in any of
the alternate realties of our group that I have been able to identify. And no,” he held up a hand to forestall any
remarks from Kara. “its not a satellite
from superman’s reality or any of it’s alternates either.” “Then what?” Kara
was clearly confused now. “That,” he pointed at the screen. “belongs to yet another reality.” He smiled.
“An Otherverse, as Sue called it when I told her about it.” He continued to talk as he worked the
console. “Since I had ordered the computer to save the settings to each
snap-shot, it was simple to reset the projector and use it to take pictures
from different angles.” His face was
serious now. “This is what I got.” The group of pictures that now cycled across
the screen showed a world in turmoil. From the perspective of the picture, it
was easy to see that several spots on the globe that was now depicted
glowed. Obvious nuclear strikes. “Looks like they have done what we have barely
escaped.” Rouge whispered. “Nuclear war.” “Not really.”
Reed shook his head. “Those
strikes were the result of desperation on the part of the inhabitants, not the
result of a thermonuclear conflict.” “How do you know that?”
Rogue demanded. “Once I had the settings and enough pictures, I took the
next step. Using the projector, I sent
in a robotic probe and then, after a calculated elapsed time, I used the
projector to recall it.” He
sighed. “What it found was disturbing.” But even that is not as bad as what occurred
next.’ Kara merely raised an eyebrow,
inviting Reed to continue. “I made a mistake.”
Reed acknowledged. “When I
retrieved the probe I was too anxious to find out what it had discovered. I left the projector on…and a native
stumbled in.” “What?” Kara
demanded. “You mean some wild animal
was yanked out that world into this one?” “Not exactly.” He
stood and beckoned the ladies to follow him.
“I said native and I meant native. Double checking to insure that no
further accidents would occur, Reed led the way out of the lab and back into
the elevator. Since the Lab was near the top of the tall FF HG building, it was
no surprise that he was taking them further down. They were surprised, however when they by passed the floor that
held the living quarters and stopped on the next level down…the guest
level. When they emerged from the elevator, the first thing they
saw was a harried looking Johnny Storm standing guard before one of the guest
rooms. “Thank God!” He
groaned as they stepped out into the hallway.
He jerked a thumb at the closed door behind him. “That…person is an obstinate…Woman!” “Oh?” Rogue
remarked, unable to pass up the opportunity.
“Find a woman that can resist your boyish charms?” “Not funny.”
Johnny was as close as a grown man could come to pouting without looking
ridiculous. He turned his attention to
Reed, almost pleading. “Reed, she’s
tried to get out three times. She’s
jimmied the locking mechanism twice, completely hosing it up the second
time.” He sighed. “It would have been easy if you would have
allowed me to flame on and scare her back in.” “Scaring her is exactly what we don’t want to do.” Reed shook his head. “And right now, any further show of our
abilities will do just that.” Over his
shoulder to Kara and Rogue, he explained.
“I had to wrap her up in a hurry when she stepped through the gate I
left open.” “Well, let’s see this…obstinate woman.” Kara smirked at Johnny and stepped past him
and Reed to the door. “Watch out!”
Johnny called as she slid the door aside. At the same instant, a missile consisting of room furniture
sailed through the opening.
Instinctively, Kara reached up and plucked the flying chair out of the
air as she stepped into the room. Rogue
followed her, holding up a hand to warn the men to stay where they were for the
moment. Kara sat the chair in the center of the room, straddled
it, and rested her arms on it’s back as she studied the woman in question. Rogue simply leaned back against the wall by
the door, willing to let Kara handle this. The woman was backed into a corner of the room, her eyes
darting around, seeking an avenue of escape like a cornered animal. She was, Kara estimated, probably in her
late thirties to early forties. Well
muscled, crouched in an easy manner that suggested professional soldier. Her brown hair was cut short, strengthening
that suggestion. She should have asked
Reed if she had been carrying a weapon when she came through the gate. Kara was willing to bet she had been. She stood and, with a foot, slid the chair
towards the woman. “Feel like throwing it again?” “Why have you brought me here?” The woman hissed in response, her voice a deep contralto. “Why
don’t you just kill me and get it over with.”
She sneered now. Oh Yes, this
one was definitely a warrior. “Or does
your kind get its kicks out of torturing normals now?” “What are you talking about, Lady?” Kara was truly puzzled now. If she found out later that Reed had not
told her all he knew…But, then, she had hardly given him the opportunity, had
she? She held up her hands. “Look, I don’t know how things are where you
come from, but no one is going to kill you.
And we certainly aren’t going to torture you.” “You were brought here by accident.” Rogue spoke up from where she leaned against
the wall. “Reed can send you back, but
not if you insist on destroying his equipment.” “How simple do you think I am, you mutie bitch?” The woman barked. She then gasped as she felt her self hauled into the air. One instant Rogue had been leaning on the
wall, now she was floating near the ceiling, holding the woman by the front of
her khaki jacket, her nose barely and inch from the flailing woman’s. “I don’t know how simple you are, but you are showing you
are rather stupid.” Rogue hissed. “For
most of my life I’ve put up with this anti-mutant bullshit…” “Rogue.” Kara’s
voice was soft, but it penetrated.
Taking a deep breath, Rogue gently lowered the shaking woman back to the
floor where she promptly collapsed to her knees. “Sorry.” She
said, more to Kara than the woman.
“Lady, a piece of advice. Watch
your mouth. It’s a free country and you
can say what you want, but you best be prepared to take the consequences of
your words.” “What Rogue means” Kara cut in smoothly, “is that there
is no reason to insult. And if you do,
then you can expect to get a negative response.” She stepped closer and squatted down before the woman. Her voice turned harsh as she
continued. “In other words, don’t piss
us off, lady. Especially since we are
trying to help you.” “Help me? That’s
a laugh.” The woman was trembling in
obvious fear, yet still there was not an ounce of back down in her. Kara studied her for a moment and then
motioned to Rogue. “Grab an arm.”
She said. “I think it’s time we
gave our…visitor a tour of the city.” With Rogue holding an arm on her left and Kara holding
the right arm, the woman had no choice but to stand as they hauled her
effortlessly to her feet. Then, despite
her attempts to dig her heels in and struggle, they hustled her out of the room
and past a flabbergasted Reed and Johnny. “I’ve seen some of the pictures of what your home looks
like.” Kara was saying as they drug her
into the elevator. Kara hit the button
for the roof level and went on. “A lot
of destruction, hot spots from nuclear strikes, and creatures that should, by
all that’s holy, never exist. That
about sum it up?” The woman refused to
answer, though she had ceased struggling.
The elevator opened and they stepped out. “Ready?” Kara
asked, looking over at Rogue. At her
nod, she bunched her muscles. “Then
let’s grab some sky!” As if they had
practice the maneuver, they both leapt upwards, soaring out over the city, the
woman held firmly between them. They
would have to make it short, Kara knew.
Despite the obvious muscles in the woman’s upper arms, the weight of her
body would soon become painful. “Take a good look, lady.” Rogue had to raise her voice to
be sure the woman heard over the sound of air streaming by them. “Does this city look like anything in your
world?” Before the woman could answer, even if she had been so
inclined, a green bubble surrounded her, lifting her to take the strain off her
shoulders and arms. Kara and Rogue
paused in their flight and waited as a streak of green shot upwards from the
city to intercept them. “Whatcha got here?”
Jenny asked as she joined them in their hover. Neither Rogue nor Kara answered.
Instead their attention was on the person that had followed her up. Gone was the costume of red and blue.
Instead, Lar Gand was dressed in a manner more appropriate to site seeing
without attracting attention to himself.
Their charge momentarily forgotten, Kara released her hold on the woman
and drifted forward to clasp Lar’s hands in her own. Smiling, Rogue brought
Jenny up to date while Kara and Lar became acquainted. “I know you don’t know me.” Kara began, somewhat flustered.
To see some one she remembered.
To know that it was the same person, even if he did not know her,
had sent emotions running through her.
With a small cry, she pulled him close and wrapped her arms around him,
hugging him tight. Somewhat awkwardly,
Lar returned her embrace. “Jenny has told me all about you, Kara.” He said, stroking her hair. “She and Dr. Richards tell me I have you to
thank for my rescue from the Zone. They
also told me about what happened with history in our reality.” He pushed her away a bit so he could look at
her tear-streaked face. “From what they
tell me, because of that change, I would have been stuck in there forever if
not for you. Thank you.” Kara smiled through her tears and gently
touched his cheek. “It’s going to be hard.”
She said. “Having memories of
you that you don’t and now never will.” “Uh, we weren’t…uh…” Kara laughed as he blushed. “Oh no.” She
said, pushing him away and wiping her face.
“Just good friends. You
had…other interests.” Visions of Lar
and Tasmia Mallor (Shadow Lass) passed
briefly through her mind yet she elected to keep quiet about it. Especially now that she could see the relief
in his eyes and the way they kept darting back towards Jenny. Smiling she turned back towards the woman
Jenny now held in a green bubble of energy. “Let’s get our
guest here back to Reed’s lab and back to her own world.” She said. End of A World
Without Heroes - Chapter One. A World
Without
Heroes
In a world without heroesThere's nothing to beIt's no place for me -Music From the ElderKISS
