In a world without heroesThere's nothing to beIt's no place for me -Music From the ElderKISS
Chapter 9
Otherverse (Just outside Smallville)
“I think that’s got it!”
Both Jenny and Kara stepped back to review their handiwork. It had not taken long, working together, for the two of them to reassemble Ma Kent’s home. After the attack by Dr. Doom’s Doombots, there had not been much left. A pile of extra long toothpicks, Mon had called it before he and Rogue had transferred back to the FF HQ with Krypto.
“Land’s Sake.” Martha Kent smiled as she saw what a Kryptonian and a Green Lantern could accomplish together. Grabbing their hands, she started through the door. Inside, the place looked much as it had before the destruction. At her insistence, Kara and Jenny sat and waited in the living room while she prepared some tea for them.
“How are you doing?” Jenny asked, looking Kara over carefully.
“As well as can be expected, I suppose.” Kara’s voice was quiet, almost subdued. She, like Jenny, was recovering from what Linda had called Shard Poisoning. While it was understandable that the Shard would affect Jenny, it was a puzzle to everyone why Kara would be the most affected while Rogue felt only a mild irritation.
A puzzle, that is, until Linda had returned to Otherverse and brought Kara back to some semblance of sanity. It was then they had learned of the Spirit of this probability’s Superman and his attempt to contact Kara. That, in addition to all the other stress in her life and the influence of the Shard had sent her over the edge.
“Any idea what we should do now?” Jenny had, like all the others, thought that by cornering and catching Lex Luthor, they could find and remove the shard with no difficulty. Yet with Luthor’s escape and the destruction of the Fortress of Solitude, that idea had wilted.
“Yes.” Kara stood and walked to the door. She glanced toward the kitchen where Martha Kent was still working at the tea. “We stop playing around. We stop letting ourselves get distracted. We go after the Shard and remove it. Then we can concentrate on the rest.”
“And I suppose you have a plan?” Jenny demanded, somewhat exasperated.
“Not really. Actually, I was thinking of taking a page out of Ben Grimm’s book.” Kara smiled, but there was no humor in the gesture. “We can start by leveling LexCorps.”
“That might not be such a bad idea.” Both women jumped. The voice, one they recognized, had come from the empty space between them. As they watched, Sue Richards, AKA the Invisible Woman, faded into view.
“Are you trying to give us heart attacks on top of everything else, Sue?” Jenny demanded, her tone only partially joking.
“Not really.” Sue replied, unperturbed. “Just trying to avoid undue notice.” She held out a manila folder. “Reed sent me to bring you this. His latest readings.”
Kara took the folder, flipping it open to scan the sheets within.
“According to this, he has developed a method of tracing the energy of the Shard!” She exclaimed.
“He has.” Sue confirmed. She nodded in Jenny’s direction. “He hypothesized that the Shard energy would not be noticeably different than the energy Jenny uses. It took him awhile to discover that Jenny’s energy is tainted with a minute amount of Gamma Radiation. Once he filtered that out, he was able to get a reading on that energy.” Taking the folder back, she flipped through several sheets and withdrew one.
“This is what he discovered. Two readings. The stronger of the two he discovered was right here. The other, faint, is centered in Metropolis.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” Jenny frowned. “I know that I have more energy than the average Green Lantern, and that I don’t have to worry about recharging, as they do, but I would assume that the shard, a piece of the Great battery, would have even more energy.”
“And you would be assuming correctly.” Sue nodded. She tapped the sheet. “It is Reed’s opinion that the Shard is being kept in a shielded room. Most likely lead lined.”
“Which would explain why I would not be able to find it with X-ray vision.” Kara mused. She shook her head. “I should have thought of that. Of course Luthor would have hidden the Shard from Superman and how else could he do it but in a lead lined room?”
“So what do we do?” Jenny asked, her exasperation showing again. “Do we bust into to every room you can’t see through?”
“No.” Sue answered before Kara could. She then produced two small devices suspended from chains. She slipped one over Kara’s head and the other over Jen’s. “You use these.” She tapped the device now hanging from Jen’s neck. “This is a mask. It is in constant communication with the other.” She tapped Kara’s next. “This one is a sensor. In effect, it will act as a receiver. It will sense Lantern energy and allow you to triangulate on it. As long as Jen is wearing the Mask, it will ignore any energy she puts off. thus allowing you to get a fix on the Shard.”
Kara held up the receiver and looked at it for a long moment before turning her attention back to Sue.
“Reed has been working on this for some time, hasn’t he?” She asked.
“Ever since you made the first trip here.” Sue acknowledged.
“While we have accomplished nothing. Nothing.”
“That is not quite true.” Sue countered. She pulled another sheet from the folder. “These are more of Reed’s findings. He believes that the Shard is partially self-aware. And he believes that it will take action to protect itself. To that end, he believes that the Shard has actively been attempting to distract you. It has tossed obstacles in your path that seemingly have no connection to it. Nothing you could point at and know that it was the Shard’s work.” She paused. “It is also Reed’s impression that it sees in you two the greatest threat. You, Kara because it connects you to this Probabilities Superman. And you, Jen, because in you it senses the energy wielded by Hal Jordon when he destroyed the Great Battery.” She paused and then went on. “Lex Luthor believes that he has been using the Shard to gain the power he craves. It would be closer to the truth to say that the Shard has been using Lex Luthor. We believe that is why it has brought Dr. Doom to the Otherverse. With his new found fixation on Linda, Lex was becoming a less than useful tool for the Shard.”
“Whatever.” Kara waved that aside as having no importance. “We can sort out all the sordid details later. Right now. Let’s get Rogue and Mon and go after that hunk of metal.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”
All three women turned as Xavier, followed by Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm walked through the door.
“It seems that Dr. Strange…drafted Rogue and Mon for something.” Xavier continued. “There’s no telling how long they’ll be gone.”
He paused and looked straight at Kara.
“You, however, can’t wait.” He slid his hover chair as close to Kara and Jenny as possible. “I’ve analyzed all the date I was able to get from Linda. And it appears she was correct, you are both suffering from what she called Shard Poisoning. The sooner you take care of the Shard, the better off you’ll be.”
“I think we had already come to that conclusion, Prof.” Kara replied, her tone dry.
“Yes, I was certain you would. However, have you come up with a method of battling it? Or were you just going to go charging off with the hope that you would not flip out again?”
“Well I have come up with something.” He told them when neither answered. He raised a finger. “I want you both to look at the tip of my finger. Keep your eyes on it. See it getting larger and larger….”
“So Rogue and Mon are out.” Kara said later, after Xavier brought them out of the hypnotic trance in which he had placed them. It was not a sure fire cure, but the suggestions he had given them would help them to keep their cool and stay focused for a time. Hopefully it would be long enough. “I suppose Reed has some suggestions for approaching this?”
“As a matter of fact, he does.” Sue answered. “He suggests you hold off until Mon and Rogue return before you try to tackle this.”
Kara looked at Jenny who gave a slight shake of her head.
“We can’t wait, Sue.” Kara said, “As it is, Jenny and I are just barely holding it together. Knowing that it is the Shard is helping hold the…call it insanity…at bay. But we can’t hold out for long. We have to get this settled. The longer we wait, the better it is…for the Shard, not us.” Instead of appearing concerned, Sue actually smiled.
“Reed knew that would be your answer, so he came up with an alternative.” She indicated Ben and Johnny. “He said if you had to go after it, then you would need help, so he sent some.”
She had no idea where she was, but she recalled all to clearly how she had gotten there.
She had been letting off steam. It had taken a few years, but she had finally gotten control of her powers. Luckily for them, her mom had been wise enough to move out into the countryside as soon as she had learned that her daughter had inherited her full Kryptonian abilities. She had half expected that would be the case. There was no reason to assume that the exposure to yellow K that had robbed her of her powers would affect her children. Of course it had, but not in the manner that would have been expected. Instead of being born without powers, she had been born with immunity to yellow K.
To her, it had only been yesterday that she had been doing the chores at superspeed. For the past three years she had basically been on her own, taking care of the home and the small farm her mother had started. She still went to school, though now she worked at the small burger joint in the town. Money had had never been a problem. Yet she had not felt right using the money her mom received on a monthly basis for her own pleasure. She would use that money for feed for the animals or groceries or some other expense for the home and farm. But she felt it only right that she earn her own money to buy the particular brand of clothes she wanted, or to buy the latest album by her favorite group.
She finished her last duties, making sure the horses were groomed and well fed and headed back to the house. She had to change and zip up to the hospital. It was Mother’s day and she was determined that she was going to spend the entire day with her mom, no matter what the nurses or doctors might say.
Oh, she knew there was little chance of her mom coming out of the coma. For three years she had lain there. The experts all said that she was brain dead. That there was absolutely no activity. Yet, even with out being hooked to life support, she continued to live. If you could call being rolled and turned by nurses every few hours to avoid bedsores that she would never feel even if she got them living. She had just stepped out of the house, getting ready to fly up to the hospital when she had been snatched up by some unseen power.
It was a struggle, but soon, Carrie was able to force her eyes open. As yet, her limbs refused to move. It was as if invisible restraints held her fastened to the cold slab upon which she lay. For a moment, fear threatened to overcome her. She fought it off, thinking of the stories her mother had told her. Always honest with her, her mother had told her the truth of her origins. She had been a clone of a great super-hero. Complete with her memories and abilities, yet twisted in the mind. That hero, called Supergirl, had stripped her of her power and then, with the help of her cousin, Superman, healed her mind. Her mother had told her story after story about Kara Zor-El. She remembered the first time she had seen a picture of Kara in the newspaper. She had kept looking from the picture back to her mother as she cooked breakfast…they were identical! She remembered huddling before the television tears streaming from her face as she buried her face in her mother’s shoulders the day Batgirl had delivered Kara’s eulogy. She had always thought that, somehow, Kara’s death was linked to her mother’s coma, even if the two events were five years apart. She remembered her determination to take Kara’s place when she got older. She would not try to replace her, but perhaps, by using her powers as she did, to help others, she could honor the woman that she considered to be her other mother, even if she didn’t know it! All of this ran through her mind, keeping the fear that had threatened to engulf her in check. What would Kara do in this situation?
Thinking had helped to regain her calm, but not before a single low sob had escaped.
“Who’s there?”
Carrie was shocked into stillness. She had not realized there was anyone else with her. Who ever it was, she seemed to be as immobilized as she, unable to even turn her head. Yet…there was something familiar about that voice…
The darkness that had enveloped them lasted only a brief instant.
“Shirack!” A blinding flash of light that swept back the tide of darkness accompanied the snapped word. “I am not so easily taken, Mordru.”
Rogue turned her head to see Dr. Strange stepping forward, the Eye of Amagotto held high. The golden disk glowed as the eye opened once again, this time to release a beam of light that lashed out to strike the wizard. Strange’s eyes widened as the beam seemingly struck Mordru and…dissipated.
“Fool.” Mordru sneered. “You seek to match magic with one that has taken the power of the Wizard World into himself?” He lifted a hand, pausing as both Rogue and Mon moved, putting themselves between the two sorcerers.
“Linda. Go!” Rogue sub vocalized, pitching her voice so that only Linda would hear it.
“Where?” Though every ounce of her being told her she should stay, she was willing to let Rogue lead on this.
“Anywhere. Just get away from here. Try to find anything that might look like a place where the girl could be held.” Rogue dismissed Linda from her mind as Mordru’s face took on a look of rage.
“YOU!” He snarled. He was looking at Mon. “You are dead! You…ahh.” The rage turned to a sneer. “You fool no one, Daxamite! The cursed Kryptonian is dead. “ His attention turned to her, his eye narrowing. “And you…you are not who you appear to be either.”
“I didn’t think it would work.” Rogue muttered. “Oh well.” Without further hesitation, she launched herself at Mordru. She fully expected to be slapped down before she could reach him. She was surprised however, when she connected, sending the startled mage flying backwards.
“I’ve covered you with a protective shell.” Strange called. “It will not last long. Make the most of it!”
Even as Rogue was attacking, Linda was slipping away. Her wings gone now, she was once again the image of what Kara would look like in her Linda Danvers personae.
“Find a place that a little girl could be held.” She repeated aloud. “Right. I’m standing in the middle of nothing but swirling color and I am supposed to find a particular place.
“Perhaps I can be of assistance.”
Linda whirled, trying to find the source of the voice.
“Here.” A figure, covered in shadow, stepped out of the maelstrom of color. “It’s all illusion, you know.”
Linda stepped closer and though the shadow lessened as she neared, it never quite lifted completely.
“Who are you?” Had she in truth been Kara, she would have already prepared herself to either attack or defend. She was not, however, Kara. Linda was more trusting, more optimistic. Though she was wary, she would not adopt a stance that might be taken as threatening until the other gave her reason to.
Though the other made no move, it was apparent that it was her will that dispersed the shadows, giving Linda a clear view.
Her skin was almost bone white, her eyes slanting to the outside and running into antenna that swooped upward. Yet, there was something about her….
“We have not met, Supergirl.” The woman was calm personified. “I do not believe an incarnation of myself exists in your reality as yet. Yet you have met an incarnation of my sister. Nura Nal.”
“Dream Girl!” Linda exclaimed. “The Legion of Super-Heroes!”
“In a manner of speaking.” The woman nodded. “In my time I was Mysa Nal. Called the White Witch.” She turned sweeping her arm to indicate the maddening swirl of color, as if to say that line of discussion was ended.
“An illusion, you said.” Linda took the hint. “What did you mean?”
“Exactly that, Supergirl. Mordru has cast an illusion to befuddle you and any that come here.”
“Wouldn’t Dr. Strange have warned us about that?”
“It would have done no good.” Mysa shook her head. “It is the nature of this illusion. Each individual must work to see past the illusion on his or her own.” She turned her gentle yet penetrating eyes back to Linda. “You have it within you, far easier than the others, to dispel the illusion. You have demonstrated that power once simply by entering this place.” She paused and then stepped back, the shadows once again covering her. “I must go now. I am needed…elsewhere.”
“But…” Linda trailed off. Mysa Nal was gone. “An illusion.” She mused, turning back to the problem at hand. She considered Mysa’s words and then ran backwards. “…to enter this place!” She smiled and let her form flow. No longer was she Linda Danvers. Now she stood revealed, for all to see that could, as Supergirl, Earth Born Angel. Floating amid the colors, radiant wings blazing through the kaleidoscope, breaking through and dispersing the swirl.
Gasping, Linda took in the view that lay revealed before her. She was floating above the most desolate landscape it had ever been her misfortune to look upon. Stretching for miles in all directions she could see nothing but bare rocks, gravel, and wind swept mounds. Nothing she saw even hinted that there had once been more.
“And now it is my turn.”
Linda spun in the air. This time, there was no shadows or colors to obscure the speaker. Her eyes widening, she beheld a winged woman, obviously of Native American descent, hovering in the air.
“Dawnstar!” She breathed in relief. A relief that was short lived. For while this person appeared to be the Dawnstar of the Legion of Superheroes, there were differences. The most apparent being her age. This woman, for woman she was, had to be in her late twenties or early thirties. Not the teen Linda knew Dawnstar to be.
“Yes. I am Dawnstar.” The woman was all business. There was little of the warmth Linda had felt from Mysa. “Though I am not who you believe me to be.” She gestured for Linda to follow. “There is no time to discuss it now. We must hurry. She took a brief moment to orient herself. “This way!”
As far as Linda could see, the winged woman had chosen a direction at random. Yet, if she were, as she said, Dawnstar, then her natural navigating and tracking abilities would lead her where she needed to go. Linda followed, matching the woman’s speed as they flew over the bare, dead landscape.
“I ain’t to sure about this.” Ben Grimm grumbled. He was looking around nervously, taking extreme care not to look down. He was, at the moment, surrounded by a green bubble, the sides against which he braced himself. “Are you sure you got this Green energy stuff all figured out?”
“Actually, I’m still learning,” Jenny commented winking at Kara. “So far I’ve been able to carry up to two hundred pounds for about thirty minutes before giving out.”
“Give out?” Ben turned his head and glared at Jenny. “And what happens then?”
“Oh no big deal. The energy just switches off for a brief moment before I re start it.”
The look on Ben’s face told them all that, if it were possible, it would have turned green.
“She’s ribbing ya, Ben.” Johnny storm, AKA the Human Torch, laughed. He was flying along side the bubble. “Jenny’s gotten pretty good at being a…what did you call it?”
“A Green Lantern.” Kara called out. Her tone was that of a person only partially paying attention. Indeed, she was being extremely cautious as the quartet sped towards Metropolis. Using her Super hearing and sight abilities, she was scanning the sky and the ground for any indication that they had been noticed. “Heads up!” She called out. “Looks like we’ve got a welcoming committee just this side of the city limits. She pulled up, hovering with the others, as three huge machines waded out into the open. More of the giant Doom-bots. She swallowed. The last time she had battled these machines, they had literally stomped her, Rogue, Mon, and Jenny. And yet, some how Linda had been able to disable a pack with out raising a sweat.
“Kryptonite!” She snapped her fingers. Then frowned. “Yes, they could be powered with Kryptonite. That would make both Rogue and I vulnerable. But why had Mon or Jenny not been able to…of course. “ She drifted closer to Jenny.
“Those thing may be built by Dr. Doom,” She said. “But I’m betting that they are being protected by the Shard.”
“Makes sense.” Jenny nodded. “That would explain why my Lantern Energy had no effect on them.” Kara went on to detail her thoughts on the Kryptonite.
“And I would venture to guess that Dr. Doom has added something to them that slightly nullifies Mon’s immunity to lead.” She said. “I think these three we let Ben and Johnny handle.”
“Sure thing, girlie.” Ben drawled. “Just as soon as lean mean and green there puts my feet back on ever lovin’ Terra firma!”
“Aw com’on, Ben, where’s your sense of adventure.” Johnny teased.
“I’ll give you adventure, Matchhead.” Ben growled as Jenny gently lowered him to the ground, causing the bubble to dissipate even as it made contact with the ground. Jenny then touched down herself, letting the energy fade.
“Jenny?”
“Hey, girlfriend.” Jenny smiled up at Kara. “I haven’t always been a Green Lantern. Perhaps it’s time I remembered that I was She-Hulk long before you or Hal Jordon showed up.”
“Now yer talking, Girlie.” Ben smiled, balling his fist as he strode towards the approaching metal monsters. “C’mon…It’s Clobbering Time!”
“I knew he was going to say that!” Johnny groaned. He shot upwards, trailing a tail of fire, and angled back down towards the giant Doom-bots. From his out stretched hands, blasts of flame shot forth, completely engulfing the lead monster.
Jenny and Ben split up, each making towards one of the other two behemoths. As he approached his target, Ben stopped, hands on hips, glaring up at the towering mass of animated metal. The machine, intent on it’s target, which, apparently, was Kara, paid him no head. One huge foot rose and crashed downward. It was not a conscious attack, merely another step taken without any thought of who or what might be in the way.
The Bot was jerked to a stop as the foot halted its descent a full seven feet above the ground. Hands held up over his head, Ben grasped the giant foot. With a snarl and a curse, he twisted. He hoped that who ever had built these things had built them to withstand the kind of punishment he was dealing out at the moment. He didn’t want the foot to tear off in his hands. Instead, he wanted…yes! The giant swayed and began to fall to the side as Ben applied pressure, turning the foot until the bot swiveled and fell, sprawling to the ground.
Jenny was not so neat. While it was true she had been She-Hulk much longer than she had been a Green Lantern, it had been months since she had performed any major feats with out the Lantern Energy that coursed through her body. As she waded in, she wasted no time. Using techniques she had picked up from Kara during their Koh-Re lessons, she lunged forward, hit the ground with her hands, and sprang up to strike the bot’s mid-section with both feet. Unable to counter against the massive power unleashed in that strike, the bot tumbled backwards, dirt and debris flying as it crashed to the ground.
Jenny did not let it lie there long. As soon as she had regained her feet, she had leapt upwards to land on the things chest plate. Her hands pumping like jackhammers, she struck the plate again and again. First causing it to buckle inwards and then tearing, the metal shrieking in protest against the pounding it was being forced to endure. Even then, Jenny did not let up. Grasping the jagged tear in her hands, she heaved them apart, widening the rip and yanking huge chunks of metal away. She then plunged her hands in, tangling them in the mess of gears and wiring and pulled. Handful after handful she pulled out and tossed aside. To any observer, it would seem she was dismantling the giant bot…from the inside out!
Johnny Storm was not having as much luck with his target. Though his initial blast had melted and sheared off any external sensor devices, leaving the behemoth deaf and blind, he could not unleash enough power to stop it. That much power, he quickly realized, would have vaporized a good section of the nearby city, killing more innocents than the bot would have.
Kara, watching all this, noted Johnny’s dilemma. She thought for a moment and finally hit upon a plan. Since the bots were obviously constructed with minute particles of Kryptonite sprinkled into their metal husks, it was obvious she could not engage them physically. Yet perhaps she could do something indirectly. Scanning with her x-ray and telescopic vision, she quickly spotted what she was looking for. A building under construction. Pouring on the speed, she flew to the site and found just what she needed. Suspended from a crane, lifting slowly upward to be fitted in place, was a large I-beam. She didn’t stop to ask permission. With a quick swoop she had slipped the beam from it’s cradle, making sure that it would not snap upward, injuring any bystanders, and sped back to the battle.
Already Ben and Jenny were putting the finishing touches on their machines. Johnny, however, was still frustrated, it would be so easy to melt it to slag, but the cost in innocent lives was not a cost he was willing to pay.
“Johnny, heads up!” Kara called out as she zoomed into position over the monster. She took quick aim and hurled the I-beam downward like a massive spear. The roar of thunder as the projectile crashed through to sound barrier an instant after leaving her hands was followed by the sound of explosive energy being released as the beam bashed it’s way through the domed top of the Doom-bot, continuing on through, vaporizing much of the insides. The projectile sped on, striking the ground and traveling a good half-mile downward.
For an instant, Kara feared she had used too much power, fearing that the shaking ground was the prelude to an earthquake she would be responsible for. The tremors subsided, however, leaving behind an eerie quiet. Of the bot, only bits and pieces remained, and those were fused together beyond recognition.
Despite his own accomplishments, Ben Grimm stood beside the wasted hulk of his target, gaping at Kara as Johnny quietly landed beside him.
“Impressive, huh?” Johnny was aware of the awe in his own voice as he whispered to Ben.
“Yeah. Remind me not to get that lady mad at me.” His eyes were busy traveling from the hole in the ground, to the melted bits and pieces of bot, to Kara and back again. “Damn.”
Seeing that all three machines were disabled, Jenny stood atop the one she had destroyed, grinning up at Kara. Clutching crushed pieces of bot in her upraised hands, she made a scowl.
“Me Hulk! Me Smash!” She warbled in her most guttural voice.
“Oh Puh-leese.” Kara groaned, rolling her eyes. She was, however, unable to hide her smile.
“Always wanted to say that! Cousin Brucie always got the good lines!” Jenny had reactivated her Lantern Energy and risen to hover near Kara. Almost instantly the mischievous smile left her face and she was once again serious. “Doom can’t have too many more of those. But there’s no doubt who’s in charge at LexCorps now.”
“And he damned sure knows we’re coming.” Kara agreed, her tone grim. “What we’ll be facing now are the regular Doom bots and LexCorps security!”
“And we have yet to see any metas.” Jenny added.
End of A World Without Heroes - Chapter Nine.
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