Rising Starr

© Eldric 2013

Chapter 10: The Three Faces of Arisia

The Tradus Constellation; Darkstar vessel Alpha 17

As Alexis Graves entered the airlock to Commander Arisia Rrab’s ship from deep space, she heard the airlock cycle.  Having no urgent need to breathe, she waited patiently for the chamber to fill with air.

She felt the air surround her, blowing her long, straight raven-colored hair over her black costume with its white cape.  The large red ‘S’ embedded on a white background on her chest and her cape had been Ellen Starr’s idea.  Alexis had been loath to wear the symbol, but there was no denying the power she had been gifted; her genetics had come from the House of El of another reality, one where the Kryptonians had been far more powerful than the native Kryptonians of the current timeline of MVP-3.

Mxyzptlk, the mystic imp, once told her that he was responsible for her genetics: that he had used non-mystic means to optimize her genes, so that she would be his champion, far more powerful than the already defeated Phantom Zone prisoners she had been bred to fight.

She knew the imp had lied to her.  He had his own reasons for watching over her; she wondered what they were.  She wondered who she really was. 

Idly, she cast a small spell, small enough that she was sure it wouldn’t be noticed: a small light, similar to the spells she cast as a child to keep away the darkness on a starless night.  Her sister, Lexie had reveled in calling her stupid for wanting her little nightlight.  But then, Lexie preferred the absolutely concrete.  Lexie excelled in the more brutal forms of Amazon combat, but strangely had never developed the discipline to wind-glide.  Of course, with the inherent mass of a Kryptonian form, wind-gliding had never been as easy for Alexis as it had for their mother.

Alexis felt the little spell warm her soul: just a little white magic: not one of the more powerful spells she had mastered.  The libraries on Themyscira were vast and offered much refuge to someone like her.  Her mother suspected that she had spent much time there looking for images of men…she wouldn’t deny that she had, but she was intellectually curious as well.  And she read far more quickly than her mother had ever suspected, trying to prepare for the day when they would all have to answer the call to save their planet.

She wondered if the gods of Themyscira would guide her, so far away from Earth.  She wondered if it even mattered.  Ultimately, her motivations had to be her own. 

Dysfunctional or no, she loved her family.  She thought about the friends who had reached out to her: Mary & Billy Batson, Mayday Parker, Ellen Starr, Ricky Grayson, and even the Batman.  She knew that she frustrated the Dark Knight, but she was starting to find that to be a pleasant personal challenge.

Alexis realized that the day’s challenges would bring her in contact with beings so much more powerful and so much more experienced than she could even imagine: the Sentinels, the Kryptonians from the other probabilities, several Guardians, and more than an entire Green Lantern Corps.  Jennifer Gand, the She-Hulk, would be leading her strike-force to Oa to deal with the Guardians.  From what Alexis had understood, Jennifer Walters-Gand and her fellow Sentinel, Arisia Fentura-Gand of MVP-2 could simply choose become the ultimate Sentinel, Senturia, yell “Senturia Smash,” and break Oa into little bits.

The thought make her chuckle.

Alexis ended her super-speed musing as the airlock opened into the ship.  She ended her little spell as her disciplined Amazon-trained mind turned to the dangers of the day: the insane Guardians of Oa and the results of her latest scouting run. 

RISING STARR

“…no firm direction from the Controllers,” Commander Arisia Rrab of the Darkstars, the ship’s commander, explained to Alexis as they spoke in her ready room.

“Really?”  Alexis Graves questioned.  “I hope they are taking this as seriously as we do.”

“The Controllers have been around for billions of years,” Arisia explained.  “They’ve had to be very careful when dealing with the Guardians.”

“But that’s not exactly true,” Alexis asserted, shaking her head.  “This reality is no more than a dozen and change years old.”  She concentrated, stepping towards the bulkhead, while driving her X-Ray and Telescopic vision through it.  “It came into existence just after Mixie activated the probability device the last time.  Anyone, or anything, that existed only in the past before that moment has never actually existed…at least not in quite the same way.”

“So my grandparents,” Arisia eyed Alexis with suspicion, “who died more than forty years ago, never actually existed.  And I might only be a couple dozen years old.”

“I…”  Alexis began to respond, before her reality shifted.

“Isn’t she so pretty…”  A carefree Arisia held her, smiling down at her reassuringly.  “Just like…”

As the reality shift ended, Alexis refocused on Arisia, engaging the full spectrum of her vision.

“You saw something…what did you see?”  Arisia asked.

“A scrap of a memory that I shouldn’t have, Commander,” Alexis confided as she continued to scan.  “Something is wrong with the substance of reality around us…I can’t explain it.  It’s like reality is trying to shift again, but can’t…aftereffects of the probability device they are trying to find.  Our probability is unstable.”

“Not good,” Arisia acknowledged.  “Anything else you can share?”

“Yes,” Alexis admitted, “I might be wrong about your grandparents…we’ve both existed before, so they did, too.  I just don’t know which iteration of this probability it was.”

“I wonder…” Arisia mused, “I wonder how terribly much we’ve all lost.”

“I don’t know,” Alexis exclaimed.  “I’ve wondered that, too.  I can only hope we can survive this mess and find a way to begin again.  There has to be a way to get through this.”

“That sounds awful damned optimistic,” Arisia observed as Alexis glanced through the bulkhead.  “Too much like the overly-optimistic Kal-El,” Arisia warned.  “He died in his own home because he forgot to shut the back door.”

“Hopefully, I’ve learned that lesson,” Alexis glanced back at Arisia.  “But I wasn’t raised on a Kansas farm.  I was raised by the last of the Amazons, who taught me the Amazon ways of war…how wars are fought, what they accomplish and what they fail to do.  My mother always drilled it into me…never just react…plan, always plan.  Fortune favors the prepared.”

“Still,” Arisia prompted, “you are very new to this…there is a big difference between theory and what happens on the battlefield.”

“Arisia,” Alexis shook her head, sighing, “that is my greatest fear…what have I missed because I don’t know any better?  And who gets hurt when I make a mistake?  But I can’t stand down…as Ellen would say, this is the hand we’ve been dealt and there is no one else.”

“We certainly haven’t heard anything from Maxima of Almarac,” Arisia chortled.  “You could have genetic relatives out there…remember, she collected Kal-El’s sperm.”

“On that unpleasant note,” Alexis shook her head, smiling ruefully, “I think it’s time to get back out there.”

Arisia stepped over to a console, speaking commands into it.

“About twenty minutes, Commander,” the console returned, “or so we’ve been told.”

“Go…”  Arisia prodded Alexis, nodding.

Deep Space

Jennifer Walters-Gand flew beside Arisia Fentura-Gand, her fellow Multiverse Sentinel, and the other half of Senturia: the most powerful cosmic-powered Sentinel who had ever lived.  They flew in front of the task force assigned to battle the Guardians at Oa…the full Green Lantern Corps of the MVP-2 probability, along with a pair of Guardians from that probability.

And that was just the beginning; a Hal Jordan who had been freed from Parallax, the Guardian Ganthet of MVP Probability 9, the post-crisis Earth, and the bulk of the Legion of Super Heroes from the future of the MVP-1 probability.

Jenny wondered if it had been wise to include the Legionnaires.  The lives, the future they remembered in MVP-1, were the results of timeline corruption emanating from MVP-3.  They came from a future that could not exist and would not exist for them to re-enter.  By joining the battle, they had already become casualties of it.

She would meet the Darkstars at the Tradus Constellation.  The Darkstars were continuing to scout Oa and members of the Terran delegation would be there to meet them: the MVP-3 versions of Barbara Gordon, Jimmy Olsen, and Arisia would all gather there in the near future.  So odd to meet an Arisia that was not a Green Lantern.  Of course, Jenny’s task force included the remaining members of the Wasteland Green Lantern Corps: Arisia Rrab, Stel, and T’cher.  Like the Legionnaires, they had no home to return to.  Alterverse had made them a good offer, but they would be three among many in a universe that was already stable.

Whatever happened this day, Jenny suspected this universe could desperately use the services of any hero who would be willing to stay: that is, if they survived the day’s battle.

Two more variables she had to consider: Alexis Graves, the Midnight Angel, who likely would have been Supergirl in any other realm and the troublesome imp, Mxyzptlk.  Rogue stated that the young woman seemed disciplined and effective, if inexperienced, but the imp had sponsored her creation and would likely not be too far away.  Jenny would not look forward to his interference. 

Jenny suddenly regretted not taking at least one of the other Kryptonians for her team; she had only Ultra Boy, who could only use one power at a time.

RISING STARR

They were Legion, most of the future legion of MVP-1 that had ventured to explore the time distortions of MVP-3.  Marie Santel had led them here: Mercy Luthor, the Matrix, artificial life-form, who had pretended to be Sec-Pol Commissioner Marie Santel of Metropolis, long enough to give birth to the Legion…a Legion that should have been birthed without her interference.  Despite the timeline changes, she had been able to foster the Legion genesis.  Amazingly, she had been able to recruit many of the same members as had joined in the uncorrupted timeline.  Unfortunately, team-building had been limited and missions had been few before the Legion had been forced to intervene in the current crisis. And in some ways, the individual team members were not the same as their original counterparts, for good or bad.

Almost half the Legion had been left back at Earth, including all of the founders of this legion and Dawnstar.  The remaining half featured Princess Projectra, Ultra Boy, Alchemist, Apparition, Invisible Kid, Inferno, Chameleon, Umbra, Wildfire, Leviathan, Dreamer, White Witch, and Starman. While each certainly had the power to make a contribution, the team was mostly unbloodied, had little experience as a working unit, and lacked any leadership beyond her own.  And she doubted that she could effectively lead the Legion team in battle.

While Santel would have preferred to have Brainiac-5 on her team, she knew the Earth team took priority. 

Maybe part of her apprehension was that the Mercy Luthor of this world raised the Kryptonian who would be part of the effort.  How would the girl relate to her mother’s doppelganger?

“Something,” Mysa Nal, the White Witch, exclaimed, “something is wrong…time distortion is getting worse…no…something else.”

“Ultra Boy?  Jo?”  Marie prompted.  “Can you see anything?”

“Not seeing anything…except something seems missing,” Jo Nah replied.  “We might be seeing the same thing, Mysa.”

“Nura?”  Santel nudged Mysa’s sister, Dream Girl.

“Nothing…nothing makes sense,” Nura Nal relayed.  “We may no longer be working with the Green Lantern Corps…”  She turned to face Mysa.  “You have to believe the liar and save the angels…the sole survivors of what was before.”

“All right,” Mysa tried to digest Nura’s information.  Not how Nura’s power normally worked, but this was an odd universe.  But then, she was an oddity herself, the only one of her peoples to not be naturally precognitive.  Instead, she had used her intellect and talents to learn magic.

This universe was so different…so infused with magic.  She wished she had been able to study the Supergirl of Earth, Lexie Luthor, to see if she had mystic as well as physical gifts.   

Mysa kept her spells at the ready.  The Green Lanterns provided their transport, and Mysa took pains to plan for the effects of Nura’s warning.  She had other nagging concerns; this universe’s Guardians were tied to a mystic yellow Starheart.  The Guardians themselves used yellow energy.  How would the yellow-vulnerable Green Lanterns hold up?

“This is boring,” Drake Burroughs, Wildfire, complained.  “When is something exciting going to happen?”

“Sooner than you think!” Warned Dream Girl.

“Promises, promises,” Drake trumpeted as Marie Santel shook her head.

RISING STARR

“Won’t be long, now!”  Arisia Fentura-Gand called to Jennifer Walters-Gand as they approached the designated rendezvous point.

“Let’s call a halt,” Jenny signaled the Green Lantern Corps leadership and moved to contact the accompanying Guardians.  She and Arisia flew towards where Shandra of MVP-2 and Ganthet of MVP-9 had stationed themselves.  “Guardians, what are you sensing?  Are the other Guardians aware of us?”

“Most odd,” Ganthet intoned, “there is something blocking us from reading them and, I believe, they are no more able to read us.  Still, I do believe they have to be aware of us.  They must know what has happened on Earth and they must be preparing their defenses.”

“I would think they are aware of our numbers,” Shandra added.  “Too many of their Manhunters have been diverted to Earth…they may be preparing to make a final stand at Oa.”

“Still…” Jenny continued.

“Incoming!”  Jenny’s ring blared.  “Manhunters!”

“Take out the ships!”  Jenny yelled as she willed her energy to track the incoming Manhunters.  “Avoid the yellow weapons!” 

“Not that simple…” She heard a Green Lantern complain as the Manhunters engaged the Green Lanterns.  “Far too powerful.”  The Green Lantern had sent an image of its battle scene as it dodged a yellow ray fired by a Manhunter vessel.  The ship had been too close; Jenny could see the face of one of the Manhunters.  And there were several more ships just behind it.  “I could sure use an asteroid or two!”

Thousands upon thousands of Manhunter ships poured out of Hyperspace, firing yellow energy weapons at the Lanterns.  As far away as Jenny was from the battle, she could see the yellow glow in the distance, spreading, the evil   yellow glow growing as weapons discharged towards the Green Lanterns.

Jenny’s mind strained to process the sheer magnitude of the attack.  They had to provide cover and weapons for the Green Lanterns.  To defeat the yellow threat indirectly, the Green Lanterns had to have tools.  And that meant providing cover until the Green Lanterns could enter the closest asteroid field.

“There,” Jenny directed the Guardians.  “Can you direct power in that direction?  Just enough so that we can shield the Lanterns until they can reach the nearest asteroid field?”

“Yes,” Ganthet observed while nodding agreement.  “Shandra, we are too close to their Oa.  We must move closer to the battle to provide the most energy to the Lanterns.”

“Aye,” Shandra agreed.  “Their Guardians may be more powerful, but we will have the advantage of the Green Lanterns’ willpower.”

“Right now,” Arisia argued, “we just have their speed…more move…less yak!”

As the Guardians began to move off towards the battle, the Green Lanterns began to weave and dodge towards the asteroid field, trying to trick the Manhunters into firing at each other.   

The occassional explosion made clear to Jenny that the approach sometimes worked.  Unfortunately, Lanternless rings floating towards Shandra proved that it didn’t always.

“This is more evenly matched than I had expected.”  Shandra admitted.

“A little help here!”  Jenny heard Arisia’s voice from across the battlefield.  The Wasteland version of Arisia, Arisia Rrab, had called for assistance.  Arisia Fentura-Gand used her power to generate the hologram of her counterpart; the Wasteland Arisia dodged between four separate Manhunter vessels.  Only the experienced Green Lantern’s speed made her escape possible.

“Always happy to help myself!”  Jenny heard mirth in her friend’s voice next to her.  She and Arisia did not have the weakness to yellow; they would both be able to fight the Manhunters directly.  Arisia moved off to aid her Wasteland counterpart.

RISING STARR

The legionnaires had integrated themselves into the battle; Umbra dove between ships, blinding the Manhunters, and forcing the androids to recalibrate their sensors while the Green Lanterns attacked.  Wildfire, Ultra Boy, and Star Man fought more directly.  While there had been Green Lantern casualties, the teams were working together…it would take time, but victory would be theirs and then it would be time for the final attack on Oa.

And then a streak of white and black dropped out of Hyperspace at super-speed, lasers firing and diving directly into Manhunter fleet.  Darkstar vessels followed as they dropped out of Hyperspace, adding to the firepower.

“This is Commander Arisia Rrab of the Darkstar fleet,” Jenny heard over her comms.  “Is there a Jennifer Walters-Gand out there somewhere?”

“That would be me,” Jenny responded back.  “Sorry we were delayed…welcome to the party.”  Jenny wondered just how many Arisias she would meet this day.  Jenny’s Senturia counterpart Arisia made one, the Wasteland GL Arisia made two, and the native MVP-3 Arisia made three.  How strange…one for each of the MVP prime realities.

“What?”  Ultra Boy yelled suddenly.  “Look!  There is something wrong with the Lanterns!”

“Shandra?”  The MVP-9 Ganthet called.  “I no longer sense her!”

“Arisia!” Jenny called, focusing her will on contacting her friend.

“Everyone from MVP-2 is disappearing!”  Hal Jordan called.  “Everyone!”

“Except me!”  Jenny heard Arisia Fentura’s voice as she looked around, trying to spot the Green Lantern Corps and Shandra.  What could possibly have taken them all?  But those who remained had a more immediate problem; the Manhunters refocused on them.

Their situation had become unexpectedly grim: a handful of Wasteland Green Lanterns, one Guardian, part of a Legion, the Darkstars, and the Angel remained to fight the battle with Jenny and Arisia.  The Angel moved closer to the Legion, forming a more unified front while the remaining Green Lanterns fell in behind.

“Commander Rrab!”  Jenny heard a voice she knew had to belong to the Angel through her comms.  “We have to regroup!  Strongly suggest contacting their leadership and getting everyone out of here!”

“Damn it,” Jenny swore to herself as the Manhunters closed in on the little group, “Guardian, we need to provide cover so we can get our team out of here!”

“Quite right!”  Ganthet floated towards the assembling team as Jenny called to her Arisia.  Jenny was taking a calculated risk; integrating into Senturia burned out both Jenny and Arisia if they held the form too long.  But there was no help for it; some of the legionnaires had stopped moving.  Was it already too late?

Jenny concentrated, calling out to Arisia with every fiber of her being.

And everything went incredibly wrong.

Jenny felt sick.  She felt confusion until she realized that she had indeed called Arisia…three of them…one for each of the prime realities, with the Wasteland Arisia filling in for the MVP-1 counterpart.  Arisia Fentura had ties to Jenny more than MVP-2, but still…and the very confused Darkstar Commander, native to MVP-3.  This space had mucked with everyone’s powers…Jenny had not been immune.

Too many minds…too much power…an extra Green Lantern ring and the power for Commander Rrab’s Darkstar uniform…not in the same league as Senturia, but together, just enough to disrupt Senturia...

RISING STARR

“The Commander just vanished in front of us!”  Alexis heard through her comms as she blasted the nearest Manhunter vessel.  There were just too many of them…without the Green Lantern Corps, this was a suicide run.  These people deserved better.

“Stay with me just a little longer,” Alexis requested, “keep on evasive maneuvers and we’ll get the survivors to you.  Then we’ll get out of here.”

Alexis knew she had absolutely no authority to issue any orders.  She was counting on the Darkstars to see the logic in her direction…she would take the blame if her decisions were flawed.  But there was no time to craft a new strategy and coordinate it.

“Aye, Ma’am,” she heard from the bridge of Arisia’s ship.  “Standing by.”

“Hal?”  Alexis called.  “I’ll keep distracting if you’ll…”

“Stel, T’cher, and I are on it!”  Hal responded.  “Guardian?”

“We seem to have a problem with our task force leader,” Ganthet advised, motioning.  “She began the transition to the super-Sentinel, Senturia, but accessed more than one counterpart Arisia.  The energy patterns are unstable…I would expect a tragic outcome.”

The guardian’s words seemed slower and slower to Alexis.  She realized that she was accessing more of her super-speed, tearing though Manhunter vessels as she tried to relieve pressure on the rest of the team.

Watching the last of the team board the Darkstar vessels, she prepared to give the order to depart.  She would have to do something about the fallen leader, but the remaining teammates’ survival had to come first.

“Angel!”  She heard Hal’s voice.  “We’re aboard!”

“Ready to depart,” Alexis heard the Darkstars.  “Angel, are you ready?”

“Angel, if you will let me work with you,” Alexis heard Mysa Nal’s voice for the first time, “we may be able to help Senturia.  No others are needed.”

“Done.  Darkstar Vessels go!”  Alexis commanded the Darkstar vessels.  “We’ll rendezvous as planned.”

“Good luck, Angel!”  She heard Hal’s voice as the Darkstar vessels rocketed into Hyperspace.  The Darkstars would make more than a few jumps to make sure they had thrown the Manhunters off their trail.  Then they would jump to where the original rendezvous should have occurred and wait for two hours.

Now, how to find the Legionnaire.  The unprotected Legionnaire would likely try to stay undetected, but would have to take the risk of triggering her comms when…wait…Alexis sensed the presence of white magic.  White magic ran through all living things, but this was particularly strong.  She followed the thread to the smooth face of the dark side of an asteroid, gesturing a request to enter.  A very surprised White Witch ended the illusion, floating out to meet her.

RISING STARR

“…curious how you saw through my spell so easily,” Mysa related to Alexis as they flew back towards Senturia.

“It was extremely well done,” Alexis complimented as she focused on Senturia’s inert form.  The Manhunters were getting too close to Senturia for Alexis’ comfort.  The Sentinel had to be moved, and quickly.  “If it were not for the pulse I could feel of the white magic, I would have been completely fooled.”

Mysa gazed at Alexis, focusing on her with mystic sight.  Not a high-level mystic as power would be measured on Zerox, but more than capable enough to make Mysa’s task viable.

“Cora is completely blind to magic,” Mysa explained.  “My fear was that I could not exchange information with you quickly enough for what we must do.  But you do not need the translation and you have at least rudimentary mystic defenses of your own.  This task has become less dangerous for all.”

“Good to know…my sister could never understand why I was so interested in magic.”  Alexis related.

“Mine either, actually,” Mysa could not help a grin.

RISING STARR

“Senturia is going to start releasing waves of energy,” Mysa explained as they examined Senturia.  They had found asteroids with naturally bizarre enough energy readings that the Manhunters would have trouble spotting them.  “Huge waves of Electro Magnetic Energy Pulses—you might call them EMP waves.  The trick is that Senturia must release the energy, but as soon as she is fully done, she will break apart.  I can shield them at that point, if you will provide the transport.”

“I can do that,” Alexis agreed, pondering.  “Is there any way you can focus the energy release?”

“I believe so,” Mysa considered, “do you have something in mind?”

“I have extensively scouted Oa,” Alexis explained.  “If we can keep Senturia safe, I bet we could do a lot of damage.  And you’ll get a free tour of the ugliest planet in known space.”

“Oh, this will be fun!”  Mysa’s eyes gleamed with excitement.  “I think she will be pleased…she may wake with a hangover, but nothing like what the Oans will experience.”

RISING STARR

‘Senturia smash!’  Alexis had meant it as a joke.  But the damage done by Senturia’s EMP blasts was no laughing matter.  Large gouges in the planet’s surface…Alexis had been careful to point Senturia as far away from the habitats of the servant races as possible, but she knew that innocents had died.

At the same time, they had managed to topple significant portions of the Oan infrastructure, destroying much of the Oan command and control.  Oa had lost control of its Manhunter fleet.  Still the Manhunters were individually dangerous, just not as cohesive in larger units.

After only minutes over the surface of Oa, Senturia had fallen apart into her four components: Jenny and the three Arisias.  Alexis and Mysa had sped away with them long before Oa had a chance to respond.  As they retreated, Mysa gazed down at the Carnage one last time.  While the planet still held together, flames from below reached high into the sky.  Explosions continued to spark across the surface.  Mysa wondered how much damage Senturia could have done when conscious…this was cosmic power beyond anything the Legion had seen before. 

RISING STARR

Retreating never sat well with Hal Jordan, especially when it meant leaving teammates behind.  Hal had been part of the Parallax that had given Jennifer Walters her powers originally.  He felt responsible for whatever happened to Jenny, even if he had no control over it.

And now he was no longer Parallax, simply a Green Lantern.  He and his had been forced to run from a massacre.  Well, not absolutely forced.  It had been a strategic and well-timed retreat after most of their fighting force had vanished.

He had to give Alexis credit; she saw to it that her team was safely away before she took on the uglier task of dealing with Senturia.  And she did it by bluffing the Darkstars when she had no authority.  Hal had to respect her for that.  He just didn’t know why he hadn’t done the same thing.

Well, it wasn’t too late.  They still didn’t know what had happened to the MVP-2 Green Lantern Corps.  The Guardian was doing some of his standard mumbo-jumbo.  In Hal’s mind, the Guardian thought too much and acted too little.  So it was time for Hal to take matters into his own hands.  He would come back when Jenny or Alexis called, but he didn’t think that would be too soon. 

RISING STARR

“Hey Scientist boy,” Hal addressed Drake Burroughs.  “I understand you know a lot about space…what makes it up.”  He gazed at the uniform without a real face.  He had heard the tale; Wildfire was an energy being who was created during an accident by an anti-matter blast.  Most people forgot he was a skilled Astroengineer.

“More than most,” Drake responded.

“We still don’t know what happened out there,” Hal explained.  “By now, the heat’s off.  It won’t hurt to go back and look.  I’ll provide the transportation.  You’re hard to kill, anyway.”

“Not sure I get a warm-fuzzy from you,” Drake retorted.

“You won’t,” Hal admitted.  “But it’s better than waiting with nothing to do.”

“You got me there.”  Drake admitted.

RISING STARR

“I’m not seeing anything unusual,” Drake explained as he examined the readings of Hal’s ring-generated devices.  “No dark matter, no dark energy: everything seems normal.  Maybe it’s not the space.  Maybe it was the MVP-2 folks.  Remember, we didn’t lose anyone from any other reality.”

“Maybe not,” Hal agreed.  “I wonder if the problem is bigger than this reality.”

“The way this is going,” Drake offered, “that would not surprise me in the least.  Most of us are here because of the threat this probability causes the others.  Maybe something big shifted out there, somewhere.”

“Maybe so…”

RISING STARR

“…not sure what happened,” Jenny heard Ganthet’s voice.  “Everything connected to MVP-2 seemed to vanish at the same time, almost as if the entire Probability rolled out of phase with this one, taking everything connected to it.  At the first opportunity, I will attempt to contact the MVP-1 Guardians…I am still being blocked here and that concerns me.”

“We’re probably safe enough for the moment,” a voice that was Arisia’s, but not, suggested.  “I realize my ship is a little cozy, but I’ll bet it’s comfortable enough for the moment.”

“Stel is flying reconnaissance with the legionnaire, Ultra Boy,” another voice that was another Arisia’s confirmed.  “Stel will protect him while he uses his optical powers.”

“We should be safe for some time,” Ganthet related.  “The damage done by Senturia was substantial enough to blind them…the danger of being as reliant on technology as they are.”

“I wonder if we freed them from Brainiac,” one of the Arisias spoke.

“I’m not sure they wanted to be freed,” commented the other as Jenny fell back to unconsciousness.

RISING STARR

“Don’t worry,” Mysa related to Alexis as they walked with Nura Nal through the halls of Commander Rrab’s ship, “we’re all weird in our own ways.  You’ll fit right in.”

“You might find Commissioner Santel to be a bit of a trip,” Nura informed Alexis.  “She’s the Mercy Graves of our probability…immortal because she is an artificially gestated life form created by Lex Luthor.”

“Sounds like we might have something in common,” Alexis considered thoughtfully.  “And my mother is millennia old, just like Santel, even if she isn’t an artificial life form.”

“And we’ve had our challenges with our Mercy Graves, too,” Mysa related as they stopped next to a bulkhead door.  “Come on in, Santel’s busy elsewhere and the gang really wants to know what we’re really facing here.”

RISING STARR

“Good Morning, Sunshine!”  Jenny heard the voice of Arisia…hers, she imagined, as her eyes opened.  “Never have I been surrounded by such beautiful people!”

“Three of you, at least,” Jenny sat up, feeling surprisingly refreshed.  “What the Hell happened?”

“We’re still trying to figure that one out,” Arisia explained, handing Jenny a cup of tea.  “From what we’ve been able to tell, MVP-2 is no longer connected to this probability the way that it was…it may have moved.  Then,  when you triggered the transformation to Senturia, you sucked in three different Arisias at once.  We were a bit too much for you.”

“Felt like it,” Jenny groused.  “What happened after that?”

“The Darkstars cleared our teammates out, while we got to visit the lovely planet of Oa,” Arisia’s expression showed distaste, “not that I remember any of it.  Right now, I’m counting my blessings.”

“What…happened…” Jenny pressed.

“We were going critical…the Angel and the White Witch jumped us into Hyperspace and hauled us out to Oa,” Arisia relayed.  “I know…the Angel should have had to get much farther away from the sun before jumping…but her rules are different than our Kryptonians.  The Angel got us there and the White Witch focused our energy discharge where it would do the most damage,” Arisia chuckled.  “The Angel knew right where to point the discharge.  We EMPed most of their infrastructure, including the communications and the power to the little coffins the yellow Guardians occupy.”

“Severing their link to the Manhunters,” Jenny smiled ruefully.  “While Brainiac could control a couple dozen Guardians, he can’t control the entire Manhunter fleet from so far away.”

“Yes,” Arisia agreed.  “We did a lot of damage.  Once the energy fully drained, four-faced Senturia fell apart and the girls brought us back here.”

“I’m sorry, Arisia,” Jenny shook her head sadly, “I didn’t mean to…”

“Hey, what are friends for?”  Arisia hugged Jenny.  “Besides, the ship’s Captain is to die for…and that female Wasteland Green Lantern…Wow!”

“There is that,” Jenny chuckled.  “A pity the job is only half done…we have to take out those Guardians once and for all.”

“I know,” Arisia agreed, “and that won’t happen without Senturia…the real Senturia.  So let’s get to it.”

RISING STARR

Jenny and Arisia stepped towards the war room, listening to the chatter.  Ganthet chose to focus the conversation.

“We have two primary tasks,” Ganthet explained.  “The first is to take the Guardians completely out of the equation.  The second is to anticipate and neutralize more direct interference by the Starheart of this universe.”

“While trying not to get sucked out of this universe,” Drake Burroughs, Wildfire, intoned, sarcastically.

“That is always a possibility,” the Guardian admitted as Drake prepared to continue his rant.

“Seriously?” Alexis countered, leaning on the table in front of her and glaring at Drake.  She spoke forcefully, confidently, with reassurance in her voice.  “With the exception of the Guardian and Senturia, you good people come from an alternate future that can’t exist, a universe that no longer exists, or are the accidental by-product of a Continuum War.  That means your argument is irrelevant.  You are here now, your lives matter, and you don’t have my permission to return to a state of meaningless non-existence.  Am I understood?”

Jenny held Arisia back, curious to watch the power dynamic.  Commander Rrab, clearly annoyed by Drake, stood close to Alexis.  Nura and Mysa Nal moved towards the Angel, flanking her.  Projectra, Apparition, and Umbra, smiling, beamed their support.  Starman shook his head, Jo Nah chuckled.

Jenny supposed that Drake was grateful for his featureless mask at the moment…no expressions to betray his emotions.

“Guys?”  Drake hinted, gazing at Reep Daggle and Lyle Norg.

“You’re on your own, Pal,” Jo Nah retorted.  Hal Jordan flashed a friendly ‘NO’ expression to Drake.

Marie Santel watched the interplay with concern.  She had not expected Drake Burroughs to be shut down so easily.   The young woman had simply backed him down, instead of accommodating him.  Why did that bother her?  Why were the other legionnaires so comfortable with her?

“Mr. Burroughs?”  Alexis queried with confident humor in her voice.  “I can repair your audio hardware if you would like.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Drake assured her as a snicker or two sounded in the room.  “I’m glad to know we don’t have your permission to fade into non-existence,” he added graciously.

“You’re certainly welcome,” Alexis responded with good humor.  “Ready to help save a universe that badly needs it?”

“More than ready,” Drake conceded, nodding, as the tension in the room began to evaporate.  The contest now over, Jenny and Arisia stepped into the room.  The time for final planning had begun.

End—The Gathering Storm: Engagement

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2015 by Eldric

-- and may not be reprinted without permission.

-- The Continuum Worlds Concept is a joint creation of

-- Dylan Clearbrook and Eldric.

-- Otherverse, Multiverse, Primalverse. and Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes,

-- as depicted in the Continuum Worlds, are original creations of Dylan Clearbrook.

-- Alterverse, The Inheritors and Rising Starr,  as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,

-- are original creations of Eldric.

-- Wasteland, The Sorority, and Otherverse 2.0,  as depicted in the Continuum Worlds

-- are original creations of Nomad (Jake H.).

-- The Realm and The Web of Shadows, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,

-- are original creations of John P. and Jason G./ Andrew Shields respectively.

 -- DCM: The Merging, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,

-- is an original creation of Chip Caroon and the stories therein remain

-- the property of the respective writers.

 -- Some characters in Continuum Worlds stories are original creations

-- of Dylan Clearbrook, Eldric, Michael Liebhart, Jake H., Jason G.,

-- Andrew Shields, Kyle M., Brian, John P., DTO,  or Jason Froikin and may not

-- be used without express permission of the respective author.

-- All DC characters are property of D.C. Comics.

-- All Marvel characters are property of Marvel Comics.