In a world without heroesThere's nothing to beIt's no place for me -Music From the ElderKISS
Chapter 11
“Got it!” Ben had to almost yell to hear his own voice. He flipped the communicator shut and slipped it on his belt. He always felt that he should say something like “Kirk out.” The communicators could easily have passed for the type they had used in the early Star Trek shows.
At the moment, both he and Johnny were huddling behind the huge mound of dirt and boulders that had been excavated by Jenny’s Lantern energy.
Johnny, living up to his nickname of The Human Torch, was blazing brightly as he peered around the mound. Like Ben, he did not like hiding, but what was going out there was much more than either he or Ben could handle.
Jenny, her feet planted firmly, stood with out stretched arms, her face dripping with sweat. Kara had her arms wrapped around Jenny’s middle, adding the support of her strength.
“I’m losing it!” Jenny yelled to be heard over the crash and thunder. Before her, the twin columns of energy were twisting and turning, as if some outside force were trying to wrestle control of them from Jenny. Which was exactly what was happening.
“You’ve got to hold it, Jen!” Kara yelled back. Though the physical effort could not be getting to her, she was obviously under strain herself. “Don’t let the Shard get control or we’ve had it!”
Gritting her teeth, Jenny focused her thoughts, forcing the energy to do her bidding by the strength of her will alone. After a moment, the twisting began again.
“Shit!” Jenny cursed and, snarling in defiance, shut the energy down altogether. Instantly the columns of energy dissipated. She sagged in Kara’s arms and allowed herself to be gently lowered to the ground.
“I finally got a good grasp.” She said. “It tried to gain control again, but this time I had enough control to shut it down.” She shook her head and looked up at Kara. “We’re going to have to do this the hard way. There’s no way we can risk using my energy again. And the closer we get, the harder it’s going to be.”
“Which means we have to get to it quickly and destroy the damned thing!” Kara stated.
“Kara!” She looked up as Ben and Johnny came running from behind the mound. It was Ben that had called out.
“I just talked to Reed.” He went on, as he and Johnny got closer. “He says we can’t destroy the Shard. If we do, we destroy everything!”
“What?” She frowned at Ben, suspicion obvious in her eyes. “What do you mean, not destroy it? And how the hell would he know?”
“Look lady,” Ben had a look on his face that said Kara was being just a bit too bossy for his tastes. “Reed may be a geek at times, but he knows his stuff. He says the Shard almost stopped him from telling us…but Sue put a force field around the Station that cut off the Shard’s influence.”
Kara was thoughtful for a moment, and then nodded. It made sense. Thinking it through, it made sense. As did something else as well.
She thought back to all that had happened since she and the others had come to Otherverse. She had never been so close to a break down. Never had she felt such depression…a sense of loss and hopelessness.
“Jenny. Reed may be right.” She said after a moment.
“Did I say I doubted it?” Jenny attempted a smile but fell far short. “What are you thinking?”
“We came into this with the understanding that the Shard was a twisted piece of the Great Battery. I don’t think that is the case at all.”
“You’ve lost me, lady.” Ben groused. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“How could a piece of a device constructed by beings with almost godlike power to be a force for good turn to evil? It couldn’t. Despite it’s power, the Battery was never truly sentient. Therefore, it could be neither evil nor good. It was how it was to be used by PEOPLE that made it a force for good. “
“So?”
“So what we have here is a piece of a machine with a strong sense of preservation, yet at the same time, a strong desire for oblivion.”
“You’re not making sense, Kara.” Jenny shook her head. “If the Lantern was not sentient, then how could a piece of it have any senses at all?”
“Feedback.” Kara answered instantly. “Hal Jordon drained the Battery, pulling the energy into himself. He then used that energy to destroy the Battery. Feedback. What energy is bleeding off the Shard is energy that was filtered through Jordon at that time. And what was he feeling? Betrayed. Loss. Hopelessness!”
Johnny and Ben turned to look at Jenny with growing alarm.
“Oh, no need to worry about her.” Kara saw their looks and understood what they were thinking. “The energy he gave her had been filtered over a long period of time. If anything, Jenny would be feeling a need to help…to atone. But she isn’t the Shard. She IS an intelligent being. The energy is subservient to her will. Such is not the case with the Shard.” She reached out a hand to Ben. “Give me your communicator…I’ve got to talk to Reed.”
“This is where you were being held?” It was a small room. Barely large enough to hold the two massive marble tables upon which the girls had been confined. Though she could not put her finger on just how she knew, Linda had the feeling that the girls had been bound by nothing other than magic. Those bonds had probably weakened when Mordru’s attention became focused on Dr. Strange and the others.
She stooped down and hefted a large section of a tabletop, examining it closely, her eyes narrowing.
Though broken and shattered, enough large pieces remained that she could make out some details. Details like the grooves carved in to the surface. Grooves, Linda knew, that were meant to channel blood.
“This was a sacrificial altar!” She announced, not even trying to hide the disgust in her voice. She shuddered, hoping that neither of the girls had psionic talents. While she had never displayed any talents in regards to psychometry, the ability to pick up psychic impressions from non-living objects, the images of death and torture suffered by countless victims on these altars threatened to overwhelm her.
She tossed the hunk of table down with enough force to shatter it into even smaller pieces.
“Okay,” She turned to the girls. “I don’t have your super hearing.” She stepped away from the piles of rubble that had been sacrificial altars and then, with a grimace, looked back, it took no more than a generous amount of applied TK pressure and the piles were flattened even further, leaving nothing but gravel and bellowing clouds of dust.
“As I was saying.” She turned was again to the girls, striving to keep her voice calm. “I don’t have your hearing so I need you to tell me exactly what you heard.”
The girls exchanged uneasy glances.
“You don’t have super hearing?” Carrie, the bolder of the two asked, almost hesitantly.
“No.” Linda answered. She realized it had come out sharper than she had intended. “No, I don’t.” She spoke in an easier tone. “It’s a long story, but right now, we don’t have the time to go into it. I’ve got to get you out of here, but first we have to see if there are any others.”
“Right through there.” It was Karen that spoke now. She was pointing through the doorway, to the wall on the opposite side of the room in which she and Carrie had been held. “We heard a boy’s voice and sometimes we thought maybe a woman’s as well.”
“The walls must be lined with lead cuz we couldn’t see through them.” Carrie added.
“Because, not cuz.” Linda corrected absently. She turned and studied the wall. She knew what was bothering the girls. They saw her as Supergirl…but were expecting her to exhibit powers they associated with the Supergirl they had known. “Well, lets see if we can find a way to get to that room on the other side.”
“Why not just go through?” Carrie demanded. Without waiting for Linda to answer, she flew into the room, landing by the wall. She drew back one fist and slammed it into the wall. Mortar crumbled, revealing a badly dented lead lining. Carrie drew back again.
“Carrie! NO!” Linda started towards the girl, knowing she would be too late. The girl’s arm came back and shot forward, crashing through the lead wall.
Carrie screamed, in obvious agony as the hellish green light flowed from the break in the lead lining, washing over her. Green Kryptonite.
Linda felt the dizziness wash over her as she snatched the girl away from the deadly mineral, sending her flying towards Karen.
“Both of you keep back!” She yelled as she herself backed away. She faced the wall and…felt herself being lifted in a pair of strong arms.
“Lara?” Linda blinked her eyes. Never before had she faced such concentrated amounts of Green Kryptonite. It didn’t make sense. She shouldn’t even be affected by Kryptonite that could affect the girls.
“Magic, Linda.” A strong, feminine voice whispered. “This kryptonite was developed by Mordru long ago. It’s neither of their reality nor of yours. But it would eventually kill even you.”
Linda was carried from the room and set her on unsteady feet. She turned shakily to see a tall, dark haired woman kneeling beside the unconscious Carrie. The woman placed a hand on the girl’s temple and nodded.
“She’ll be okay.” She told a wide-eyed Karen. Even as she spoke Carrie was beginning to stir, moaning as she sat up and opened her eyes.
“That was dumb, wasn’t it?” She asked sheepishly, looking over at Linda.
“Yes. Yes it was.” Linda did not try to sugarcoat it. “You should never have tried to punch through something you couldn’t see through. You had no idea what was on the other side? What if it had been an unpowered human leaning against the wall with his or her head where your fist went through?”
“Enough, Linda.” The strange woman's firm voice was filled with confidence and pride. “She’s young, She will learn.” She smiled at both girls. “You won’t believe the good these girls will do, Linda.” She touched Carrie’s cheek. “This one will be the Supergirl for a world that is yet to be, Linda.” Next she touched Karen. “And this one. This one will be called Powergirl.”
While the girls looked at the woman in wonder, Linda pulled her to the side. Using her Tk, she put a shield of buffered air around them that not even the girls’ super hearing could hear through.
“What’s going on?” She demanded. “And who are you? You sure aren’t Lara Night!” Looking closely, she could see the woman was dressed in a strange dark robe with unfamiliar gold markings. Markings that reminded her of something she had seen before…something Superman had shown her! “You’re a Kryptonian!”
“Linda.” The woman smiled and put a hand on Linda’s shoulder. It was an act that reminded Linda of a motherly figure comforting a smaller child “You are right. I am not Lara Night. Lara Night’s part in the history of this world is over. Indeed, she has already gone else where….to places beyond even my ability to see. You may call me Lorra!”
“Lorra?” Linda’s mind went into high gear as artifacts Kal-El had shown her and stories he had told her surfaced. “The Kryptonian Goddess of the Moon! The Love Goddess. But…”
“But I don’t exist.” Lorra smiled. “It has been many centuries since a child of mine lit a candle in my honor, yet I have not forgotten them. And the time comes when I will be remembered! And as more than just the Goddess of Love. My children have forgotten much over the years!”
“But…” Linda glanced over at the girls. “You are here for them, aren’t you?”
“In part.” Lorra inclined her head slightly. “Though there is more here than you can possibly know and understand. And there is much I cannot tell you.”
“But you just told the girls….” Linda started. She stopped, staring at the girls. They were both staring straight ahead, looking at the space Lorra had occupied before she had pulled her away.
“They won’t remember seeing me.” Lorra explained. “Not yet, at any rate. But the time will come when they remember. When all the Kryptonains of The Continuum that will be shall remember me! And these two shall talk about it. They will even remember that it was I that first called them by the names they will willingly take for themselves. But for now that memory must not be allowed and you must not mention that you have seen me. When the time comes, I shall reveal myself. But not before!”
Standing there, Linda could only gape in awe as the woman took on a regal glow. She could see the fierce gleam in the woman’s eyes and knew, with out a doubt, that Lorra was not one to be trifled with.
“It is not time.” Lorra concluded. “Now you must hurry. You must get these and the others away quickly.”
Linda looked at her for a long moment then nodded.
“Right.” She turned, releasing the TK barrier. At the same instant both girls seemed to sag, as if they had been released from a trance. “So what do we do?”
“We go through the wall.” Lorra announced, to Linda’s surprise. Lorra glared at the wall and the two girls gasped as lightning seemed to spark from her eyes.
“Stand back.” She warned. “Linda, be ready to incinerate anything that gets past me!”
“Right.” Linda felt somewhat at a loss. With little effort, she focused her power, her cape transforming into bright fiery wings
Lorra nodded in satisfaction and then turned her attention back to the wall.
“Here we go!” She warned. Linda gasped at the tremendous amount of finely focused electrical power that shot forth from Lorra, playing over the entire wall. Huge chunks of mortar, lead, and kryptonite were vaporized; smaller pieces were flung around the room. These were subjected to the wrath of Linda as her fires swept the room, searing everything into harmless ash.
In a matter of seconds, a new doorway had been blasted and melted through the wall.
“Linda!” Lorra called. “The edges! Melt a cover over the edges!”
Focusing her power, Linda did as instructed. She was somewhat startled when twin beams joined with her fire to create a molten cover to cut off the kryptonite. She turned to see both Carrie and Karen using their heat vision to help her out.
“Thanks, girls.” She said when they finished. “That was very good.”
“I’ve….” Both girls started…they stopped and looked at each other, smiling tentatively. ‘We’ve had practice at using heat vision. It was one thing mom said we had to get right so that we would not endanger others with it.”
“Your mother was a wise woman.” Linda said before thinking.
“Was?” Carrie’s face fell yet Karen’s held a look of resignation.
“She’s dead, isn’t she?” She asked.
“Yes and no.” Linda tried to be as honest as she could.
“And you’re not really Supergirl, are you?” Carrie demanded.
“I am. Just not the one you remember.” She looked through the hole in the wall. Lorra had already stepped through. “Look, we’ll have time to talk soon. But first, we have to get this over with and get out of here. Just trust me until then, okay?”
Both girls looked at each other and then nodded, Carrie a bit slower than Karen.
“Good, now let’s go see what Lo…let’s go see what’s on the other side.” She stepped through and had to stuff the palm of her hand in her mouth to keep from screaming. Instantly she blocked the hole, keeping the girls from entering. “Oh dear god!’ She choked.
This room, like the one where the girls had been held, contained the same type of altar/tables. This room, however, was larger, holding four of the vile things. And each was occupied. From where she was, she could easily see that one of the tables held a middle-aged woman while the other three held men. Or rather, two men and a boy of sixteen or seventeen. What had shocked her at first were the costumes one of the men and the boy wore. They were slightly different versions of the costume Superman wore!
Looking closer, she had to stifle a reflex to gag. The man was graying at the temples but nonetheless looked like her Superman. His throat had been slit. The table had been tilted to allow the blood to drain into the channels carved into the table and from there into a bowl suspended under a funnel. She could not place the other man, though he looked strangely familiar. Like the man in the superman costume, his throat had been cut.
As far as she could see, there were no wounds on either the boy or the woman.
“Who…?”
“Like Carrie and Karen, they came from realities that pre date yours, Linda.” Lorra explained. She indicated the red haired man that looked so familiar. “His name was Alexander Luthor. It was his power that made it possible for the heroes to finally defeat the Anti-monitor. And he…he was the Superman of one of those realities that ceased to exist after the anti-monitor was defeated.”
“My god!’ Linda exclaimed, getting a good look at the woman. “That’s Lois Lane!”
“She was Superman’s wife.” Lorra nodded. “In the end, tired and unable to continue in a world that seemed so familiar yet so different, she and Superman had traveled with Alexander to live out the remainder of their days in a more peaceful place. They never reached that place. Mordru got to them first.” Linda again looked at Lorra. It was not hard to see the signs of an anger that wanted nothing more than free reign to destroy!
“And the boy?”
“Superboy. Also from a reality that ceased to exist when the realities merged during that time of crisis.” Lorra explained. “He elected to travel with the others. And, with them, ended up here.”
Lightning crackled, causing a thunder blast that threatened to deafen Linda. When the smoke cleared, she saw that all four tables had been pulverized beneath their inhabitants. The inhabitants now floated in the air. Lorra gently lowered the bodies of Superman and Alexander to the floor and swept the other two through the hole into the waiting arms of Karen and Carrie.
“It’s time to go.” She announced.
“But the bodies!’ Linda protested. “And Querl….”
“The bodies are just that, Linda.” Lorra told her. “Mere husks. Their spirits are long since departed. As for Querl, don’t worry, he will live again, thanks to you.”
“What? I don’t understand.”
“By saving those two girls, you have insured the future of Otherverse and the Continuum that Shall Be! You have also firmly planted a reality in which much of what once was can be again.” Lorra said. “That is as much as I can tell you. With this exception. What you have done here is equally as important as what Kara El and Jennifer Walters are doing now. If you were to fail here, or they fail there, then all would be lost.”
“Kara?” Linda felt chills travel up her spine. For Kara to fail would mean Kara was dead! And then her mind caught on the name. “Kara…El?”
“Not yet, perhaps.” Lorra smiled. “But Kara was ever the strong willed one.” Then her smile faded. “But that is not your worry.” Lorra took her arm and almost shoved her through the hole. But we must hurry. You and the others must return and be there for the final act. You, in particular must be present.”
“Why?” Linda demanded.
“You have something Kara and Jenny are going to need.” Lorra smiled and refused to say more. “Now, let’s get out of here. We’ll go through the halls and out the way you came. I’ll take the lead, you bring up the rear, keeping the girls between us.”
“Right.”
As she had followed Querl into the depths of this forsaken castle, now she followed the Kryptonian Goddess back to the surface
By the time they had reached the surface, both Superboy and Lois were starting to show signs of regaining consciousness. Once those first signs appeared, Superboy’s recovery was rapid. Not unexpected, considering his Kryptonian origins.
“What?” He opened his eyes, looking around wildly.
“Shhhhh. You’re okay.” Carrie whispered, lowering him to the ground.
He sat up, rubbing his face and looking around. For a long moment, his gaze rested on Carrie, he then took in the others. He did a double take when he got a good look at Karen, causing him to look back and forth between the girls. Then it registered on him exactly what Karen’s burden was.
“Mrs. Kent!” He exclaimed. Though he wobbled a bit, he made it to his feet. Carrie stood near him, ready to catch him if he started to fall.
“She’s okay, Superboy.” He turned to the voice and stopped.
“Supergirl?” He looked around at the others, confusion obvious in his eyes. “But…”
“You know, this is getting real tiring.” Linda frowned at him, purposely ignoring the smile Lorra was not even trying to hide. “No. I am not Kara.” She explained. She started to say something else then stopped. Her eyes widening as she turned to Lorra.
“Reed Richards and the others were wrong!” she exclaimed. “Otherverse was not created by the Shard! It never was just a buffer zone!”
“No, it wasn’t.” Lorra agreed, though she didn’t offer to explain further. She didn’t have to. The mind that had made Linda Danvers a good detective now went into gear, putting together all the facts she had ignored since her first visit to Otherverse.
“He was, correct, when he said it was no more than fifteen years old.” She mused. “But he had the cause of its creation wrong.” She looked Lorra in the eyes.
“Otherverse, as you call it.” Lorra confirmed, “was created the instant your reality was created, Linda.” She made a gesture with her hand that took in their surroundings. “This place resides in that small non-space that exists between closely related realities. Between your reality and Otherverse. It was here, in this non-space, that the spirit of the Kara you have come to know wandered after her death. It was here that people found themselves when the multiple versions of your reality merged. Indeed, it was that merger that forced the creation of Otherverse. It was here that countless others found themselves after Parallax attempted to remake the Universe to his specifications.” She paused and moved closer to Linda, taking her face in her hands and forcing her to look up at her.
“And though, through the generations it will be Kara and the others that are remembered for bringing life back to Otherverse, those generations will owe as much to you as they do her.
“Because of them?” Linda asked, glancing over towards Carrie and Karen. The girls were busy trying to explain what they could to Superboy and the now reviving Lois.
“Because of them.” Lorra agreed. “And because you helped Kara hold onto her sanity, when even Rogue could not. Kara may have been the driving force of her time, but she could not have become that force had you not been there when she needed you.” She stepped back. “Now, let’s get beyond those walls. We have a long way to go and there is something I want to do first.”
They gathered the others and took to the air, Superboy flying under his own power now with Karen still carrying Lois. Once over the walls and some distance away, Lorra stopped and turned.
Linda watched in awe as lightning sprang from her eyes. The Goddess spread her arms and lightning arced around her, from fingertip to fingertip and around again. Before long, the crackling energy was crashing like thunder as it traveled faster and faster around the circle until it seemed that Lorra had become the center of a swirling mass of energy. Then, without warning, the energy surged out, slashing back to the castle in one destructive bolt of pure energy.
The resulting devastation was complete. With one blast of power, power far more intense that Linda had ever seen unleashed, the castle had been reduced to a smoldering crater.
“Lorra!” Linda was shocked, staring at the crater. “There could have been people still in there.”
“There undoubtedly was.” Lorra nodded, her entire attitude showing her lack of concern.
“Oh God!” Linda stepped back.
“Linda, you may have saved Otherverse, but it is not, nor ever has been an idyllic place. It will always be a darker world than the one you are used to.”
“You just killed….” Linda trailed off, unable to continue.
“Those in that castle were either creations of Mordru,” Lorra waving her hand towards the crater. “or beings so vile they took service with him willingly.” Her voice shook with anger. Linda watched as she controlled her anger. “We have no more time to discuss it. We must go. Everyone gather close.”
Linda started to reach for Carrie’s hand.
“No need to touch.” Lorra said. “And now we go.”
In an instant, only the sound of a fading thunderclap remained.
Mordru cursed as a pair of hands protruded from the ground behind him to grasp his ankles. He started to fall backwards and then, with a flash of light, he was thirty feet away, teleporting himself out of harms way.
White clad arms followed the hands as the dark haired girl rose from the ground.
Phase scowled at Mordru and then dove headfirst back into the ground, phasing through the solid rock.
Mordru lifted his hands and sent bolts of power streaming outward to strike the Legionnaires charging towards him.
Their numbers were fewer now. Behind them, the ground was littered with the dead and injured.
Jo Nah, the one known as Ultra, rolled on the ground, his hands holding his neck as he tried to breath through a crushed windpipe. He boasted all the powers of Mon El and Superboy, yet he was restricted to using only one power at a time. At a time when using his Super-strength instead of invulnerability, Mordru had struck.
Reep Daggle, The Chameleon, writhed in agony as magical energies swept through his body, disrupting the native born ability to change his shape, leaving him a shapeless blob.
Gym Allon, Colossus, lay motionless, his gigantic body rising like a new mountain on the featureless plain.
Shrinking Violet, Spark, Projectra, Cosmic Boy, and others had fallen already.
Lar Gand, helpless in the grip of his lead poisoning, huddled over the motionless body of Umbra, his lover.
Now those that remained, with the added strength of Rogue, tried one last attack.
“We can’t hold out much longer.” Imra Ranzz noted. She was weary, being supported by an equally drained Dr. Strange. Earlier on, she had tried again and again to attack Mordru psionically. All to no avail.
“I was too confident.” Strange remarked, bitterness evident in his tone. He was not, however, one to dwell overlong on errors. Already he was contemplating different plans.
“Imra, see if you can pull Rogue out of that. I think I have a plan.” He left Imra, once he was satisfied she could stand on her own, to make his way to where Lar Gand huddled in pain.
“We need your help.” He stated, not unkindly. “I believe you and Rogue can trap him like you once did before.
“With what?” Lar looked up. “When Kal and I trapped him, we had already fashioned the two halves of a shell. They were made double steel walls with earth between the walls. When we trapped him, Jo used his heat vision to weld them together. And in case you haven’t noticed, Jo is dead. Your Mon is dying and I can’t do it alone.”
“You won’t have to.”
Both men turned, as did everyone else, at the thunderclap that signaled the arrival of Supergirl!
“Mordru!” Linda called, dragging his attention to them.
“No!” Mordru’s face twisted with rage. With a single burst of energy, he sent those already attacking him flaying or rolling away from him. Rogue, alone, withstood the blast and, gritting her teeth, prepared to plunge in again, ignoring Imra’s command that she withdraw.
“Rogue, your heat vision.” Linda snapped, hoping she would take the hint and stay out of the lie of fire. She did. Swerving, she completed an arc until she was ranged along side the Earth Born Angel.
Instantly two bolts of hell poured from the Rogue and Linda, engulfing the mage. Not to be left out, Dr. Strange once again lifted the Eye of Amagotto, adding a destructive beam of light to the fray.
In the center of the maelstrom that had washed over him, Mordru raised his hands and sent bolt after magical bolt of death hurling towards the women.
With a grunt of pain, Linda felt herself slammed to the ground, her world darkening. The darkness was brief, yet when she opened her eyes, she could see that only Rogue remained. Dr. Strange was out of it. From where she was, she could not tell if he still lived.
“This time you die, Kryptonian!” Mordru screamed. For the first time, he appeared truly angry.
“I don’t think so.” Rogue smiled and, to the astonishment of those still conscious, stopped her attack. “Good-bye, Mordru.”
Taken off guard, Mordru lowered his hands. What was this woman up to? So centered was his attention on Rogue, the mage failed to noticed the three figures racing across the landscape towards him. One to his left and two to his right. So great was the speed of the figures that, in a mere instant, they had traveled the vast distance. Those watching were struck speechless as two girls, each carrying half of a hollowed out earthen sphere, came together, scooping up the mage as the two halves joined. The third figure, his blue and red form a blur, spun around the sphere, his heat vision welding the two halves together. Then, before anyone could take a breath, the girls heaved together, sending the sphere sailing up and out to sail through the void.
Mordru was gone!
The boy didn’t stop moving. Instead, he flashed back along the route he had followed until he vanished from site. Within moments, he was once again returning. This time at a slower pace and carrying a fourth person.
Linda breathed a sigh of relief as she climbed to her feet. Lorra, with Carrie and Karen in tow, was already checking out Dr. Strange and Rogue. Making sure they were okay, she then turned her attention to Mon. His breathing shallow and ragged.
“Lar, come here.” She called to the older version of the same person.
“What are you going to do?” Linda demanded.
“I’m going to help them.” Lorra stated flatly.
Lar, his face contorted with pain brought on by the effort to move, shuffled closer to Lorra.
Lorra reached down and placed a hand on Mon’s forehead and held out her other hand without saying a word. Lar took the hint and placed his hand in hers.
Instantly Mon convulsed, his back arching upward even as Lar dropped to his knees. Linda watched, horrified as both faded. She started to move forward stopping when a single figure started to materialize.
“I could have healed them both.” Lorra was commenting. “Yet there would still be a paradox. I have corrected that.”
Linda gasped as Mon lifted his head. Lorra had somehow, joined the two! This Mon was older than the Mon that had accompanied her Rogue, and Dr. Strange, yet younger than the Lar Gand that had stood there moments before. And there was no sign of the injuries Mon had suffered or of the Lead poisoning that had been killing Lar.
“What did you do?” Linda demanded.
“I corrected an impossibility.” Lorra explained. “Obviously, these two could not co-exist. Nor could the younger Mon die. Had he died, the Older would have ceased to exist. Now they both continue. But there will be difficulties.”
“I remember…” Mon’s eyes were haunted as he looked around. Slowly he sank to his knees, his hands clutching his head.
“Lorra?” Linda started forward, only to be stopped by Lorra’s outstretched arm.
“He is okay.” She whispered. “But he has conflicting memories. He remembers spending a thousand years in the Phantom Zone, and yet he also remembers being saved from the Zone by Reed Richards. He feels the love he felt for Tasmia Mallor,” She indicated the body of the blue skinned Umbra, “and yet he also feels the love that was beginning to grow for Jennifer Walters. They will, in time, work themselves out, but do not assume that this Mon El will be like the one you had known.”
“I really hate to interrupt, but could some one tell me what is going on?” They both turned to see Superboy glowering at them, hands on his hips. Beside him, in almost the same pose, Carrie waited for an answer as well.
“Who ARE you people?” Superboy went on. “And who are all…” His voice trailed off as, before his eyes, each and every member of the Legion of Super Heroes, dead, dying, and uninjured, faded away.
“Lorra?” Linda looked around, confusion evident in her expression.
“They’ve gone back to their own place.” Lorra explained. “That is the best way I can explain it. If Kara is successful, then their existence will be assured.” She turned to Superboy. “You must go now. Linda and the others will explain but now you must return to your own time and place. The events, which allowed this in-between place to exist, have changed. As it fades, so will all in it. Without Mordru’s power to sustain it, it will soon be gone.
Strange, nodding his agreement, even though Lorra had not addressed him, once again brandished the Eye of Amagotto, using it to form a glowing doorway.
“This will take us back to Otherverse.” He said. He looked to Linda. “That is, unless you wish to be dropped off in your probability.”
“No.” Linda shook her head slightly, still looking at Lorra. “I have one more thing to do.”
Ben Grimm eyed the hole nervously.
“Ever get the notion we’re outta our league?” He asked Johnny. He turned to look over to where Kara and Jenny huddled over a comm. Unit, talking with Reed Richards.
“Not a chance.” Johnny answered, though there was no real conviction in his voice. “We’ve gone up against Galactus. This is a cakewalk.” Ben didn’t bother to correct him. Sure, they had confronted Galactus. On more than one occasion. But each of those times had resulted in a concession by Galactus thanks to Reed. Had they relied totally on muscle and powers, Galactus would have had Earth for lunch…literally. Instead, they had relied on Reed’s intelligence.
Though he liked both Kara and Jenny, he personally did not believe that either had the intelligence it would take to tackle such a task.
“Right!” Kara flipped the communicator shut and tossed to back to Ben as she and Jenny once again approached the hole. Kara had a determined look while Jenny’s was not so self-assured. Kara must have seen that as well.
“Confidence, Jen.” She whispered. “Remember, it’s a matter of willpower.”
“Willpower. Right.” Jenny grimaced. “Have you ever seen me try to pass up a box of chocolates?” Kara laughed and put a hand on the giantess’ arm. Standing almost 7 foot, Jenny towered over the shorter Kryptonian.
“What’s the plan?” Johnny asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.
“Simple. Watch!” Kara smiled and dove head first into the hole Jenny had started. Already the hole, a tunnel actually, stretched several hundred feet. It had traveled straight down for about a hundred before angling off.
“Scooch over!”
“What?” Kara veered, scraping against a wall of the tunnel as a green and yellow clad figure zoomed in to take a position at her side.
“I thought you could steer better than that.” Rogue grinned. “So, what exactly are we doing?”
“Rogue!” Kara threw her arms around the other woman, sending them both tumbling. “Where’ve you been?” She demanded as they came to a stop on the tunnel floor.
“Miss me?” Rogue’s eyes were full of mischief.
“You know I did.” The response was quietly whispered and ended with Kara pulling Rogue close to press their lips together in a quick passionate kiss.
“Well, you’re obviously feeling better.” Rogue smiled as they parted. “But do you really think this is the time and place?”
“What? Oh!” Rogue laughed to see Kara actually blushing. “You’re right.”
Kara took a deep breath and went on.
“We’ve got to dig through about fifty more feet.” She said. “And then we break into a lead lined chamber at the end.” She paused and her attitude was serious now. “The Shard is in that chamber.”
“Oh lord.” Rogue gasped. “And what exactly are we going to do then?”
“That’s where I take over.” Both women turned to see Jenny hovering in the middle of the tunnel behind them. They had no idea how long she had been there, but the amused look on her face told them it had been long enough. “Why Rogue, did you know you blush almost the same color as your hair? Though not as bad as Kara.”
“I’ll get you, you green skinned….” Rogue trailed off, giggling, as Jenny wagged a giant, energy-spawned finger at her. She quickly got herself back together.
“Well, all we lack now is Mon.” Kara stated, almost sarcastically.
“Mon is,” Rogue hesitated, frowning for the first time. “recovering. He had a very trying time.” Kara looked up and saw the worry in Jenny’s eyes and knew that something had happened. Jenny would know since she had been up top, but she wasn’t saying anything right now.
“Okay. Then I suggest we get this over with so he can recover in peace.” Kara relaxed her hold on Rogue and once a gain sprang forward. This time Rogue joined her as she sped forward. “We’ve reached the end. Shield yourself, Jenny, we may be shooting debris out behind us.”
Clenching her hands into fists, Kara dove at the wall, smashing into it with enough speed and power to plow through the solid granite. Dirt, dust, and stone chips plumed up behind the pair, all but obscuring jenny’s vision as Kara and Rogue continued to slice through. There was only a brief wait before…
“We’ve reached the chamber!” Kara called out. Instantly there was a loud crashing sound then the scream of tortured metal. “Open!”
Jenny sped forward now, pausing only briefly to glance at the ripped edges of the opening Kara and Rogue had forced.
“Now what?” Rogue whispered. She was pressed against the inner wall of the chamber, her hands pressed to her temples. In the center of the chamber, setting on a pedestal encased in glass, was the Shard.
Even with the device Reed had constructed for her, Kara could feel the waves of depression flowing from the damaged artifact. She knew what Rogue, unprotected, had to be feeling.
“Now,” Jenny took a deep breath and planted herself before the Shard as she answered. “you and Kara leave and seal the chamber and tunnel behind you.”
“What?” Rogue looked between Jenny and Kara, her eyes wide with disbelief as Kara nodded.
“It’s the only way, Rogue.” Kara told her. “We’ve got to leave Jenny in here with the Shard. She’s the only one that can handle it.”
“But what if….”
“I fail?” Jenny’s voice was already strained as she began to exert her will. “Then we’ve lost. Now get going, please!”
Kara grabbed Rogue and pulled her back through the ripped opening. Then, using her hands and heat vision, she pulled the ragged edges back together, wielding a perfect seam.
“Now we just wait?” Rogue demanded.
“No.” Kara shook her head. “Now we fill in the tunnel.” She held up a hand as Rogue opened her mouth to protest. “Just trust us. We don’t like it either, but it is the only way to insure a least a margin of safety for those people topside.”
Rogue looked at her for a long moment then nodded. Together, they started back to the surface, caving in the tunnel behind them.
Jenny waited until the sounds of the collapsing tunnel had moved off into the distance, becoming muffled by the tons of dirt and rock filling the empty space.
“It’s just you and me now.” She muttered towards the Shard. Gritting her teeth, she hurled blast that shattered the glass surrounding the Shard. Then, before her better sense caught up with her and made her turn tail and run, She sprang forward, grasping the Shard in her hands, it’s jagged edges slicing into her palms. Without her ring and the memories it held, she had no way to tell that she was re-enacting a scene the Shard had seen and felt before. Jenny exerted her will, drawing more and more of the energy of the shard into herself.
Green bolts of lightning sprang from the shard, arcing throughout the small chamber, striking Jenny again and again…only to be absorbed with no damage taken.
Jenny gasped, falling to her knees as raw power filled her, threatening to overwhelm her, and yet still she continued to drain the Shard.
“Get everyone…” Kara was yelling as she burst from the ground, Rogue on her heels. “…clear.” She finished weakly, her gaze taking in everyone that stood nearby.
She ignored Ben and Johnny, sparing only a quick glance to Dr. Strange and Linda as her gaze fell on the three youths.
Linda, completely unaware of the event taking place far below them, smiled.
“Kara, I believe you’ve met this Superboy, before.” She nodded to the white faced youth. He was looking at Kara as if he had seen a ghost. “But these. These are Carrie and Karen. Your daughters.”
Kara felt herself slumping and would have fallen had not Rogue caught her around the waist with an arm.
“You knew?” Kara looked at her friend, shock dulling her eyes. “This is what you’ve been doing?”
“Yeah.” Rogue whispered softly. “Though I have to admit both Strange and I and Mon were a bit shocked to see Linda with these girls in tow. We went to rescue one, and found two.”
For their part, Carrie and Karen were equally speechless. They had, in their own separate realities, witnessed the funeral of the woman that now stood before them. This woman that was an exact copy of the woman they had each called mother.
“No,” Karen’s analytical mind corrected automatically. This woman had been the original; their mothers had been the copies.
The surreal scene was shattered as the ground heaved, bringing Kara back to the present.
“Clear out!” She commanded. She turned to Rogue. “You too. I’ve got to stay here but there’s no need….”
“Perhaps not.” Rogue broke in. “But I’ll be damned if I let you boss me around like that.” She smiled, taking the sting out of her words, but her meaning was clear, there was no way she was going to leave without Kara.
Dr. Strange quickly ushered everyone away, putting more distance between them and the area directly above the chamber where Jenny wrestled with the Shard.
Kara frowned and started to order everyone back further when the ground erupted beneath her feet.
With a scream that could and did shatter glass for miles around, Jennifer Walters smashed up and out, her body shimmering with the green glow of energy that filled her.
“Jenny!” Rogue started forward, only to be caught by Kara.
“Keep back!” Jenny’s voice was rough and distorted as if it were modulating up and down the scales. “I can’t hold it! It’s too much!”
“You have to hold it Jenny!” Kara called.
“No!” Her eyes gleaming wildly, Jenny swung her head back and forth. “Too much power!” Her voice held agony now.
She screamed again and then…went totally still.
“Jenny?” Rogue asked, cautiously.
“I can fix it!” Jenny’s voice was the merest whisper. When she looked up, the wild look was still there. “I have to release it, but I can use the energy to fix everything!”
“Jenny, NO!” Kara stepped closer. “Jenny. Hold on to it, we’ll think of something, but you can’t use it that way.”
“But I can!” Jenny almost sneered the words. “I can undo all the damage. I can recreate everything. I can …” She trailed off as Kara stepped closer.
“You can what, Jenny?” She asked. “Play God? Wipe out all that has happened so you can impose your perception of what should be?”
“Yes!” Jenny hissed. “I have the power to do it. Why shouldn’t I? Isn’t that what we are here for? To fix things?”
“Not at the expense of those you would destroy.” Kara shook her head. Then, without taking her eyes from Jenny, she called out. “Linda! Come here!”
Instantly Linda was at Kara’s side, her wings spread in alarm.
“Give me the ring.” Kara told her.
“What?”
“The ring you took from Jenny. Give it to me. You probably put it in the inner pouch of your cape.”
“How did you know….”Linda began as she let the wings fade once again in to a long red cape. She had the grace to blush slightly as Kara looked at her. “Of course, you had one as well, didn’t you?” She fished around and then held the ring out to Kara.
Kara, after looking the ring over then tossed it to Jenny. Jenny instinctively reached out to catch it.
“Before you do anything, I would access the memories in that ring.” Kara called out. “You once wondered how Hal could have done what he did. What you are suggesting is the exact same thing.”
Jenny’s eyes closed as her fingers closed around the ring. When they opened, they were clearer.
“Oh my god.” She whispered. “I’ve got to get rid of it, Kara.” The last was almost a whimper. “It’s too much. It’s burning me up.”
Kara thought quickly.
“Filter it, Jenny.” She said after a brief moment. “Filter it and put it back. Use it to cleanse and repair the Shard. Use it to create a new Great Battery!”
As Kara was talking, Rogue leapt into the hole Jenny had erupted from, reappearing and instant later carrying the Shard. At this point it was now nothing more than a lifeless green hunk of metal.
Rogue placed the Shard, pedestal and all, before Jenny and backed away once more.
Jenny looked at Kara for a moment and then with a final scream of pain, focused all the energy into a single, massive flow into the Shard…
End of A World Without Heroes - Chapter Eleven.
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