Arrival

© Dylan Clearbrook

 

Chapter 3:

Discoveries and Prophecies

Part 2

Space

Sol system vicinity

The two vessels floated in space, far beyond the orbit of the outer most planet of the solar system and, deliberately so, beyond the range of sensors placed by the inhabitants of the third planet of the system.

The vessels were different as day is to night. One, a bright, shiny near spheroid, the other a fat, long dark vessel brimming with weaponry had bits and pieces of green, glowing mineral plastered to its pitted, scored hull.

The dark vessel had been derelict, a fugitive from another probability, its online computer fried by the recent upheavals in space and time.

Left on its own, it would have drifted forever, a piece of tragic history from a world and probability that in all likelihood no longer existed.

Such was not to be.  Discovered by the spheroid ship, what was left of the dark vessel’s memory banks were lifted and studied.  Then the work had begun.

Robotic workers had swarmed from the spheroid, covering the dark vessel, repairing tears and cracks.

Specialized robots floated through the airless corridors of the vessel, repairing engines, installing new system hardware…and new programming.

Soon, the dark vessel lived again, this time with a new purpose added to its ancient quest.  And the two ships parted, the spheroid remained motionless while the dark vessel turned and headed in system…towards destiny.

Undisclosed Location

“Well?  Do something damnit!”

Kara stood, frozen, her fingers clasped around the throat of the man that had, to her at least, epitomized evil!  Lex Luthor had always been, to use a terran saying, the devil incarnate as far as she was concerned…and here she had him.  Just close her hand.  That’s all she would have to do to rid herself and this world of a true monster.

On the other hand, a small voice shouted to be heard over the rage and hatred screaming through her soul, who then would be the monster?  What if what these others said was true?  What if, in this world, Lex Luthor was truly a force for good?  Who then would be the devil incarnate?

Rogue, watching, started to step forward, although she had no idea what she would do.  She remembered the Lex of Otherverse, and could access Kara’s memories of Lex, though she did not feel the extreme hatred her mate did.  Another step…and Prof. Xavier caught her eye…shaking his head ever so slightly.  This was something that must happen…however it turned out, Kara and Lex had to get this settled between them…now.

Mercy, however, listened to no one other than Lex…and he only when it suited.  Now it did not suit.

The woman, smaller than both Lex and Kara, pushed her way between the two, yanking Lex away and sending him spinning across the room and away from Kara.

Then, rather than turning to face the blonde, she followed Lex.

“Lex Luthor, You are sometimes the most insufferable fool I have ever met!  Do you truly have a death wish?”  Lex looked at her…astounded…as the woman stuck a finger in his face. “I don’t give a damn who you think this woman is…she is not more important to this world than you.  And if she does not have the intelligence not to jump to conclusions when faced with a totally different situation, this world does not need her!”

Mercy continued to harangue Lex and so did not see Kara react as if she had just been slapped!

And that little voice grew louder.

It was only then  Kara noticed her arm was still stretched out, as if the fingers were still wrapped around Lex’s throat.

Slowly the arm lowered, as if against its will back to her side.  She turned at a touch on her shoulder and saw that Rogue had moved up beside her. 

The redhead smiled her understanding and gestured towards Prof. Xavier.  Kara finished turning and saw that the wheel chair bound telepath had positioned himself once again behind his desk and that Zor-El was still observing the situation through the computer terminal.

“Daughter, believe me.  It was hard for us to believe as well.  But the proof is irrefutable.”  He looked off to the side and nodded and then turned back. “Tell me, Daughter, do you have any clue as to where you are at this moment?”

Even as Kara shook her head,  memories returned.  Little tell-tale signs.  The infirmary, which had clearly always been an infirmary, where equipment had been moved out and other equipment moved in. The interview room that had been hastily converted from something else…the old furnishings moved out.  A sinking feeling welled in her heart and she knew what her father was going to say next.

“This is the Fortress of Solitude, Kara.”  Zor told her, his voice soft. “This was the home away from home of this world’s Kal El.  This world’s Superman.  And Lex Luthor was his adopted brother!”

Any response Kara might have made to this revelation was abruptly forgotten as the door to the infirmary slid open and Reed rushed out, pushing the iron womb/stasis unit in front of him.  All other conversation ceased as Lex gently put a finger over Mercy’s lips, silencing her.

“Well?”  He demanded, his demand echoed by Kara!

“The baby is alive.”  Reed nodded, his eyes haggard. “We had to work quickly.”  He took a deep breath. “We are hoping that, in our haste, we did not damage Jenny’s ability to produce future children…but we don’t know.”  He glanced at the womb.  “I have to get this down to the lab and set up with a permanent power supply.  The stasis unit has to have a steady and continuous flow of energy…a fluctuation could mean the death of the child.”  He started to wheel it out and stopped.  “We were almost too late.  As it is, we will not be able to shut down the stasis unit to perform future tests. If that unit comes down…we better have a cure ready in an instant…because the baby will not survive long enough for the stasis unit to be reactivated.”  He sighed and looked at Kara.  “Stephanie and Sue are putting Jenny back together.  They should be done in another hour or so.”  The door slid shut behind him as he wheeled the womb out in to the passageway.

“Dear Rao.”  Kara sighed and felt behind her for a chair. She did not notice Lex moving one up for her as her hand found it and she settled heavily into it.

“Rao?”  Lex looked over at Rogue.

Rogue returned the look, her own common sense battled with the hatred she felt…even if it was not to the same degree as Kara’s hatred.

“Rao.”  She nodded sharply.  “The Kryptonian God.”  She replied.  “Not all Kryptonians had given up belief in the gods.  There were those that truly believed that the gods and science did not cancel each other out…but complimented each other.  Zor raised Kara in such a way.  Rao is the Kryptonian Sun God.  Lorra is the Moon Goddess.”

“Clark never knew.”  Lex whispered.  “The Kandorians here had no religion.  No belief in anything other than science.”

“You have Kandorians?”  Rogue ventured.

“Had.”  Lex shook his head. “Their city died about the same time Clark did…seventeen years ago.”

Lex was thoughtful for a moment and then he pulled a chair around to face Kara’s.

“I understand that you have every reason, in your own mind, to hate me.”  He said.  “I can only hope that you will give me a little time to show you that I am not what you believe me to be.  Come with me.  Let me show you around Clark’s Fortress.  And let me show you why this world lost something the day he died… Perhaps I can convince you this world needs that something back…that spirit…that hope.  Hope I believe you, Rogue, and your daughters and Jenny and Lar can give it…but most of all…you.  Kara Zor-El, the Cousin of Superman…let me convince you that this world needs…a Superwoman!”

Stunned, Rogue watched as Lex rose, extending his hand to Kara.  Equally stunning was the fact that Kara took that hand and allowed herself to be led from the room by Lex!

Exchanging wondering glances, Rogue and Mercy scrambled out the door to catch up.

Metropolis International Zone

Sec-Pol HQ, NAU Division

“Anything?”

Damien Tyler shrugged into his overcoat and glanced sourly at the umbrella in the stand.  All the technology they had mastered over the past seventeen years and the weather guys still couldn’t make an accurate prediction.  Today was supposed to be sunny but, true to springtime unpredictability, the rains had come.

His assistant, rifling through a sheaf of papers, began to shake his head and then stopped.

“Nothing concerning President Luthor.”  He finally spoke up in answer to Damien’s question. “But one of our operatives in Gotham did get an unusual request from Nightwing.”

Damien turned, a question in his eyes, and the assistant shook his head.

“No, the operative is undercover.  Working with us at Wayne-Richards.  Yet Nightwing singled him out as he was leaving work.  Shook him quite a bit.”

“Nightwing.”  Damien had to smile. “I remember when he was Robin.  At least I think it is the same person.  Not long after the Batman died, he took on the name of Nightwing.  I remember a lot of people wondering if he would eventually try to take Batman’s place.  At the time, though he was still the Teen Wonder.”  He shook his head.  “I don’t think he’s as good as the Batman was, but if we can ever find a way to recruit him for Sec-Pol, you can bet your ass I’ll do it!”  He picked up an umbrella and propped it up over his shoulder.  “So what kind of request did Nightwing make of our operative?”

“He wanted to know if anyone had ever heard of…Batgirl?”

Damien froze.

“Batgirl?”  He shook his head.  “I haven’t…is there anything in our databases?”

“Actually, there is.”  The assistant nodded.  “Just prior to the appearance of Robin, Batman was seen with another partner.  A female wearing a costume similar to his.  A red head that went by the name of Batgirl.” Ironically enough, the FBI, finally discovered her identity, but only after she was killed in her civilian life…by the Joker.”

“Excuse me?” 

“It seems the Joker planned to kill the then Police Commissioner of Gotham City.  Instead, he shot his daughter, Barbara Gordon.  She lived for about a week in a coma…and would have been confined to a wheel chair even if she had survived.  A later investigation, led to the discovery that Barbara Gordon had been Batgirl.  After that, Batman stepped forward and admitted that she had been Batgirl…and the night she was killed had been the night he had finally decided he could no longer risk the daughter of the Police Commissioner…so he sent her home…where she was caught in the Joker’s trap.”

“The poor man.”  Damien shook his head.  “Can you imagine the guilt he must have lived with after that?  I imagine that you authorized the operative to pass on this information to Nightwing?”

“We did.”  The Assistant nodded.  “Though Nightwing seemed to think that it was unconnected.  The Batgirl he claims to have seen was no girl.”  The assistant hesitated and then plunged on.  “There is one final item and it is directly related.”

“Yes?”

“Later, we decided to go back and check to see if there was any more information in the Data bases.  Instead we found no references whatsoever.  No mention of Batgirl, no mention of any Barbara Gordon in connection with Batgirl or the police commissioner, nothing.”

“But you did find a reference for Barbara Gordon?”

“Oh yes…hundreds of them.”  The assistant sighed. “Each and every one of them a different person….with the same name.  Even right down to the middle initial or even middle name.  And at least a hundred and fifty of them would match the description Nightwing gave our operative.”

“Interesting.”  Damien’s eyes narrowed.  “Could Nightwing have had anything to do with it?”

“Possibly, but after the information he turned over to us as payment for the information we gave him, I doubt it.”

“Information?  What information?”

“Nightwing pointed out three UIA agents within Wayne-Richards to our operative.  He also gave names and descriptions of two UIA agents within LexCorps…and names and descriptions of two UIA moles…within Sec-Pol.”

The assistant beat a hasty retreat while Damien threw his temper tantrum!

 

Aries Station, Mars Orbit

UEG Command

Terraforming Project

Commander. Frayer was still buttoning the shirt of his uniform as he stepped into the control center.  This was the middle of his sleep cycle and he did not appreciate being called out of a well deserved sleep.

“What the hell is going on?”  He demanded as he stepped into the room.  His tone made it clear that there had better be a major catastrophe in the making or he would have someone’s head.

“Not sure, sir.” The officer of the watch shook his head and gestured for the commander to join him at a console. “Deimos station was reporting a loss of communication with the surface stations when we lost their signal.”

“You woke me up for a signal loss?”  The commander’s tone was icy and the officer of the watch merely shrugged.

“It is a bit more than that, sir.”  He replied. “We attempted to regain the signal.  We couldn’t raise Deimos Station and a further check showed that we can’t raise the surface stations either.”  He shook his head, as he pulled up the logs.  “Here you can see that we then tried some scans.  We were able to get good readings on the surface stations…but not Deimos.   Then, a little later, we lost the surface stations.  It’s as if there is something out there blocking our scans.”

Commander. Frayer frowned and scanned the logs and then turned to a control panel and began to tap buttons.  He stopped and looked at the screens to see the results and  tapped again.  Finally he stood straight and glanced towards the large forward view-screen.

At the moment the screen was blank.  Not surprising since normally the screen depicted some scene being broadcast from one of the ground stations.

“We tried every scan frequency we could think of.”  The officer of the watch explained.  “Nothing seems to work.”

Frayer continued to stare at the blank screen, as if it could give him some answer that was being exceptionally elusive.

He stepped closer to the screen and then turned to the officer of the watch.

“Feed the external vids to this screen.”  He ordered. “The scanners may be out, but maybe we can eyeball something.”

The officer of the watch’s face showed that he doubted they would be able to see anything at this distance.  In space, true visuals were close to useless when one took into account the distances involved. Nevertheless, he did as ordered and within moments the blank screen sprang to life, showing a dark, star sprinkled field of space.  Mars, a large red orb, hung off the lower left corner of the screen and in the center….

“Oh shit!”

Commander Frayer had enough time to take a single step towards the main console and the alarms before Aries Station ceased to exist.

Lunar / Mars way station

3 hours later

The Lunar / Mars Way Station, or Midpoint to those that lived and worked there, housed over ten thousand men, women, and children.

A true colony in space, the O’Neil Colony acted as a rest and refueling station for ships in transit between Mars and the Moon.

A civilian venture funded entirely by LexCorps, Midpoint had little in the way of weapons…not that they would have been useful.  You can’t shoot at something if you don’t know it is there.

Death came for Midpoint with not a single person even aware it was near.

Antarctica

Superman’s Fortress of Solitude

It was an unreal experience, as far as Rogue was concerned.

She and Mercy followed as Lex led the bemused Kara through the entire fortress like a little boy showing off his favorite toy.  Talking non-stop as he explained little things that Kara stopped to look at…not even realizing that Kara was only hearing half of what he said.

Rogue took a moment to do something she rarely did…She delved in and gave herself to the memories she had taken from Kara so long ago.  She saw what Kara saw.

It was Kal’s fortress…there was no denying that.  Here and there the little tale tales that had Kal’s touch…intermixed with items that seemed to bear no relation whatsoever to the Superman she had known.

Through to the control room…where Kara stopped to look at an empty stand, energy and oxygen cables dangling loose from the ceiling.

“This is where Kandor was.” Lex spoke quietly.  As Both Kara and Rogue turned their eyes to him he shrugged. “They’re all dead. I…I couldn’t leave the bottle here so I had the robots place it with…Clark.”

Through corridors and rooms that seemed to have as much of a woman’s touch as a man’s…Lois.

Kara stopped before one door, noted Lex’s unease and did not press the issue.  It was a master bed room…the room Clark and Lois had shared when they spent time here together.

Further down Kara grew white as she passed through what had obviously started out as a nursery and then changed over the years to a young girl’s room.  Stuffed toys still littered an unmade bed.

“Lois wouldn’t allow the robots to make Lanie’s bed.”  Lex said.  “She insisted that Lanie do it herself.”  He gave a soft smile and Kara noted the way Mercy stepped up to wrap an arm around his waist.  “I left it as I found it…somehow it makes it seems as if…as if she’ll come running back in any moment, rushing to give her uncle a hug.”

“Lex adored Lanie.”  Mercy spoke up.  “And I think the feeling was mutual.”

“Yes…well.”  Lex cleared his throat and roughly rubbed his eyes and gestured for them to continue to the science lab where Reed was busily hooking monitors and power to the artificial womb / stasis unit holding Jenny’s baby.

There they learned, from Reed, that the baby was approximately thirteen weeks old.  Several weeks older than it had been when Jenny had had the miscarriage in Otherverse…a miscarriage that now, it seemed, had never occurred.

Kara made a mental note to discuss that with Stephanie and Prof. Xavier.  Though her body might not remember having the miscarriage, her mind did…Jenny would recall every excruciating moment and all the mental…baggage…that came with such a sorrowful event.

From there, Lex gave them a tour of the zoo.

Rogue watched as Kara moved from exhibit to exhibit, studying the strange beasts that were now in suspended animation.  When she came to the last exhibit she stopped…disbelief clear on her face.

“Krypto.” Lex looked with her into the empty cage. Kara looked at him, her eyes full of questions. “A white animal?  He would appear to be an earth dog?” 

“Yes.”  Lex nodded. “When he first showed up, Clark was amazed.  But he was also cautious.  He kept Krypto here for several weeks while he studied him.   Finally he released the animal.” Lex gave another whimsical smile. “ When Lanie came along, Krypto adopted her, becoming her furry guardian.  And before you ask, no…we don’t know what became of him.  The last time I saw him…he was playing with Lanie right here in the Fortress.  I …no one has seen him in seventeen years…no body was ever found, or if it was, it was never reported.”

They moved down further into the lowest level and here Lex stopped.

“This….” He cleared his throat. “This was Clark’s trophy room.  Most of the exhibits are now on display in a museum in Metropolis.  When I brought Lois and Lanie here…I had the area cleared out and the things shipped to Metropolis.  This area…this trophy room…became their tomb.”

Kara held her breath as Lex palmed the door open and stepped inside.

The first thing that caught Kara’s attention was the wrongness.  There was something that just did not fit.  It took Rogue speaking up for her to put her finger on it.

“There are no Kryptonian burial banners.”  Rogue muttered, looking around at the bare ceiling.

Kara looked at her and nodded, that was the problem.

The center of the room was taken up by three slabs upon which rested three bodies.  All were covered in a transparent film that seemed to conform to the shapes.  Kara purposely avoided looking at the smaller shape…as did Lex.

It was Kal.  Kara moved alongside the body, her hand tentatively reaching out…stopping mere inches from the film covered face before dropping to her side.

He looked as if he slept a natural sleep and could wake at any moment.

Beside him, looking as regal as she always had, Lois appeared to slumber as well.

“That covering will keep them like that forever.”  Lex muttered, gazing down at the peaceful faces, tears streaming down his cheeks.  Then his face contorted into barely suppressed fury. “Damn them…damn them to hell!”  He cursed before turning to stalk out of the tomb.  Kara made a move to follow, only to be stopped by Mercy.

“Give him a few minutes.”  Mercy told the blonde Kryptonian. “Even after seventeen years he can’t forgive them for what they did.  I don’t think he ever will.  And if he can find a way to get back at them, you can bet he will not rest until they are all dead!”

“Who are they?”  Rogue demanded, looking down at the diminutive Mercy.

“I’ll leave that for Lex to tell.”  Mercy shook her head, refusing to say any more on the subject.  Kara looked at her and then gently removed the woman’s hand from her arm and moved towards the exit.  Mercy and Rogue followed.

Outside the tomb, they found Lex leaning against a wall, his fists clenched and his breathing ragged.

“Damn who, Lex?” Kara demanded as she moved to stand by him. “Who did this?  What happened seventeen years ago?”

Rogue was surprised.  There was none of the harshness in Kara’s tone that had been there earlier…but her words still rang with command.

Lex took several deep breaths and then looked at the blonde.  Rogue was mildly amused to see that he did not cower.  Instead he looked at Kara as an equal…not someone he should be awed by or in fear of.

“Yes.”  He nodded. “I told you I would try to convince you why we need you…why we need a Superwoman…especially one that can honestly claim to be Clark’s cousin.”

“I am not your Clark’s cousin.”  Kara shook her head. “My Cousin was Kal-El…Clark Kent…true…but here.”  She gave a gesture that took in the entire fortress. “With the exception of a small bottled city, there was nothing Kryptonian about your Clark.  He did not, it appears, even acknowledge his true name.”

“Clark did not have much access to Kryptonian knowledge…he did not have much information to go on.”  Lex defended. “And the Kandorians?”  He shook his head with a snort.  “He did what he could for them out of a sense of duty…and they accepted his help as if it were their due!  As if he had been put here specifically to wait on them.  They did not consider him Kryptonian…he was a barbarian.  A Kryptonian that had been raised amongst us primitive Terrans and thus little better than us. I think they would have rejoiced if Zod had won!”

“Zod!”  Kara’s hand was on Lex’s arm, gripping enough to make him wince.

“Kara!” Rogue spoke softly. “Careful.”

Kara looked at her hand and slowly eased her grip before moving her eyes back to Lex.

“What do you know about Zod?” She demanded.

“Lex!”  Mercy elbowed her way through to Lex’s side, her hand pressing to an earpiece in her left ear. “Dr. Strange and Sue are out of surgery…they would like Kara and Rogue to return to the infirmary.”  Lex looked at her and nodded before looking back to Kara.

“I will tell you everything.”  He told her.  “But let’s go see about your friend first.”  He started down the hall and Kara followed, resisting an urge to grab him and shake the information out.

MV-1

 

“She’s resting and probably won’t come out for another six to seven hours.”  Stephanie informed Kara and Rogue.

After their impromptu and informative tour of this world’s late Superman’s Fortress, Kara and Rogue had been led by Lex and Mercy back to the interview room to find Stephanie and Sue sitting in chairs, both clearly exhausted.  There was no sign of Prof. Xavier and the screen that had been connected to Zor was now blank.

Kara and Rogue took seats near the two women and waited for them to continue.  Both were still in a mild form of shock and focusing on Jenny allowed them to momentarily take their minds off of everything else.

“I’m pretty sure that Jenny will be able to bear children in the future, but I am not sure she will be able to carry any child to term.  Only time will tell.”  Stephanie shook her head.  “She needs to rest now and I plan on keeping her mildly sedated for at least a week.”

“A week?” Rogue frowned.

“All six of you were tremendously dehydrated and weakened by your…transfer…to this world.”  Sue explained.  “That means your recuperative abilities may be impaired.   You may be super individuals, but you are still mortal and you still need to take it easy…especially Jennifer Walters.  Going through such an ordeal and then undergoing surgery was not the wisest course…even if the necessary course.”

The infirmary door opened and Prof. Xavier wheeled out.  Kara looked at Stephanie and raised an eyebrow.

“Near the end of the procedure Sue noted that the twins were getting restless.  Tossing and moaning in their sleep.  So we called the Professor in to see what if anything was amiss.” Stephanie told them.

“And?”  Kara looked at Prof. Xavier now.

“I am not sure.”  Xavier rubbed the bridge of his nose. “The girls are empathic, there is no doubt of that.  What one feels the other can feel…though it appears they can tune each other out to some degree.  But right now, it seems they are both sharing the same nightmare.”

“Nightmare?”  Kara and Rogue looked at each other. Neither girl had ever mentioned having nightmares before.

“Indeed.”  Xavier nodded. “A particularly nasty one that resisted my attempts to…derail.”

“What kind of nightmare?”  Kara demanded.

“I am not sure…but I was able to get one image clearly.  And, as I watched, the image grew larger, indicating, I assume, that the image was getting closer.”

“Can you show me what they are seeing?”  Kara asked.

In way of answer, Xavier broadcast and image to both Kara and Rogue…and image that caused both women to gasp with recognition.

“That’s a Hunter Killer!”  Rogue shook her head, trying to erase the image from her mind.

“A hunter killer?”  Mercy instantly went on the alert.

“A ship.”  Kara explained.  “A Daxamite weapon of destruction created in the 2^nd or 3^rd Daxamite Wars.”

“There is no Daxam here.”  Lex shook his head.  “Or rather, not anymore.  It is a lifeless, radioactive ball from what I understand.”

“The Hunter Killers were constructed thousands of years ago!”  Kara went on.  “Talk to my father, he had to do a quick study on them a couple of years ago.” (Author’s note: See To Save A World chapters 1 and 2 in the Otherverse Story directory.)

“But why would the girls be dreaming of a Hunter-Killer?”  Rogue wondered.  “They had not yet been rescued when we tangled with one.  Hell, Lar was still stuck in the Phantom Zone then!”

“Given that they are known empaths…at least where each other is concerned,” Xavier mused.  “It would not be a stretch of the imagination to assume that they may have acquired a limited sense of precognition.  Perhaps an after effect of the transfer to this Probability. And, if they have never shown signs if precognition in the past, it is most likely temporary.”  He spread his arms. “Or, it is entirely possible that they picked the images from your minds during the transfer.”

“Precog…” Mercy looked at the Professor.  “You mean they are seeing the future!”

“It is possible…though they will have to be tested, of course…” He trailed off as Kara turned to Lex.

“If there were trouble, my people would notify me as soon as they spotted it.  Unfortunately, I have not tied the Fortress computer systems into the sensor arrays through the System.”  He shook his head slightly. “This is the first time I have been back here since…since we brought Lois and Lanie and laid them in the tomb.”

“I think I would find it…difficult myself.”  Rogue agreed.  She was still not quite sure of what to make of this…Lex Luthor.  Though a good part of her still screamed that he was evil and should be destroyed, a greater part was more than willing to admit that he was not like the Lex Luthors Kara had known and the one she had come to hate.

She looked at Kara and sighed.  If she were still having difficulty, imagine how SHE felt!

For her part, Kara was having the same feelings as Rogue. The man before her was Lex Luthor and deep inside she knew…knew…that he would show his true colors sooner or later.

And yet that little voice that had screamed at her earlier, now talked in a soothing fashion.  Yes…wait…give it time.  One way or another, this Lex will prove himself.  Until then, she would have to take him at his word…and, if he was not an enemy, as part of her insisted, then why go out of her way to make him an enemy?

She knew the history…knew that Clark and Lex had been close friends as boys.    But something had gone wrong…something that had turned Lex into a murderous monster whose one goal in life was to erase first Superboy and then Superman from the world.

But, the other voice reasoned, that other Lex had not been raised by the Kents, side by side with Clark!

For a moment Kara had to smile at the wonder that these two simple people…farmers born and bred…could impact so many lives…not just Clark…but all the lives Clark would touch and save…all because of the simple values taught him by Jonathon and Martha!

For now, at least, she was willing to give this Lex the benefit of the doubt…for now.

She pushed out of the seat and headed towards the infirmary door.  No one stopped her as she stepped through and waited for the door to slide shut behind her as she made her way to stand between the tossing, twisting girls.

MV-1

Lex watched the door slide shut behind Kara and then turned his attention to Rogue.

“It is going to take time.”  Rogue told him, knowing what he was going to ask. She glanced at Xavier. “I am sure you realize that she has every reason to hate Lex Luthor.”

“And you?”  Lex leaned forward. “Xavier has told me some of it…as far as she is concerned, but not you.”

Rogue again looked at Xavier, this time with surprise in her expression.

“I did not tell them everything.”  Xavier shook his head. “Only what they absolutely needed to know to determine that you were no threat to us or our world.”  He told her.  “If I may?”  He gestured towards Lex and Rogue nodded…a bit sharply.

“Rogue has a copy of Kara’s memories, up to a point.”  Xavier told the listeners.  At that moment Reed walked back in and Lex motioned for him to be quiet and then turned his attention back to Xavier.  Xavier began relating the tale.  Soon, however, Rogue took it up, explaining to them the resurrection of Kara Zor-El, her own past and how she was transformed from a terran mutant to a full blooded Kryptonian…complete with Kryptonian attitudes and morals and values, Jenny’s transformation from She-Hulk to Green Lantern, the rescue of the Rokynians…Or Kandorians as they had reverted to calling themselves, the rescue of the twins, how they had ended up in Otherverse and eventually the approach of the Probability Ripple that had transported them to this world.

She very often skimmed things, giving only the sketchiest of details…and yet Sue raised her eyebrows at one point and even blushed.

“You….”  She began, clearing her throat and blushing even more.  “You and Kara are…I take it…lovers?”  She ventured.

Rogue turned to her and was quiet for a moment.

“In a manner of speaking.”  Rogue admitted.  She turned to look at Sue. “Shortly before the Ripple hit, Kara and I performed a simple Kryptonian ceremony.  Kara’s mother, as the Council Chairman of the Kandorian ruling council, officiated. By Kryptonian laws, Kara and I are now married.”  She paused and looked around at the group.  No one, it seemed, had a problem with the news.  But then, she would have been surprised if they had.  She then started talking about Kryptonian culture, drawing on every memory of Kara’s that she had stashed in her mind.  She knew Kara needed some time alone, and the longer she could keep these people occupied, the more time Kara would have.

Her eyes kept moving back to Xavier…and when he straightened in his wheel chair, she knew something was up.

He spun his chair towards the infirmary door.

“Someone else is in there!” He warned.

Stephanie bolted from her seat and headed for the door, followed by Sue and Lex…only to be blocked by a sudden immovable object in their path.

Moving faster than the eye could see; Rogue stepped before the door.

“I think we’ll just wait a few minutes.”  She told them.  The sudden red glowing in her eyes was all it took to discourage any argument.

MV-1

With her super hearing, Kara could hear Rogue talking and silently thanked her, making a promise to herself that she would show her appreciation later.  Rogue knew she needed some time and was buying it for her.

Standing between the girls, she closed her eyes and let her mind clear. She had only been awake a few hours and already she felt as if she had gone days without sleep.

She reached into the breast pocket of her jacket and felt the reassuring stiffness of the Trump Card Ian had given her. 

Her first impulse was to contact the Amberite and have him pull her and everyone else back into Otherverse.  But would that solve anything?  Or would her presence there merely trigger another Ripple?

And what of the dream?  What if this was truly the place Rao and Lorra wanted her? And what about Zod?  What did that despicable monster have to do with this place?

Sighing, she opened her eyes.  No, she couldn’t go back to Otherverse.  With Zal there, she was not truly needed.  And if he needed her, he would always be able to contact her and she would be more than glad to lend a helping hand. 

She looked at the girls, remembering how she and Rogue had nearly quarreled over whether or not to bring the girls to Otherverse or leave them in Xavier’s school.  Even now she could not say she had made the right decision.

But now…what of this place?  Should they be here…where no one knew the score?

She made the decision almost instantly.  She and Rogue would stay.  Jenny and Lar could decide when they were both awake and could talk it over.  But the girls…

She pulled the card from her pocket and looked down at the likeness of Ian, concentrating on him…willing the communication to open.  When the card grew icy cold in her hands, she knew the Amberite had heard and was answering.

MV-1

The door slid open behind Rogue and Kara stepped up behind her.

“It’s okay…they can come in.”  Kara told her.  Rogue moved to the side as Stephanie and Sue rushed in.  Lex, Mercy, Reed, and Xavier merely looked at them.

“Whoever it was is gone now.”  Xavier informed them.

“What is going on?”  Lex demanded.  “Who was in there and how did they get in?”

Before Kara could answer, both Stephanie and Sue returned, their faces cold as stone.

“Jennifer Walters and Lar Gand are unchanged.”  Stephanie informed them, though she was glaring daggers at Kara.  “But the girls are gone!”

“I sent them back to Otherverse for the time being.”  Kara told them.  “I have no right to keep them here until I know they are going to be relatively safe.”  She looked straight at Lex.  “Those girls may have my powers…but they are still girls…and for better or worse, Rogue and I are all the parents they have.  I am going to look out for them as any mother would her children!”

Her announcement was greeted by silence, though Lex was in a red-faced, near apoplectic state.

“I…demand…to know how someone got in and out of this fortress without setting off the intruder alarms!”  He all but snarled.

“You can demand all you wish.”  Kara’s tone was icy.  “But if you utter even one more word that sounds like an order or a threat….”  She bit off the rest as Rogue laid a hand on her arm and Mercy elbowed Lex.

“Calm down, Lex.”  Sue advised.  She looked at Kara.  “And you too.”  Her head turned to regard Lex again. “Lex, it is not the smartest thing in the world to antagonize a person that can squish you like an over ripe watermelon…especially if that person has despised you most of her life!”  Then back to Kara. “And you…I think maybe you should take a step back and see if you would like it if a visitor in your home brought in an uninvited guest with out your knowledge…Remember, this is not YOUR fortress…whatever you might think of Lex, this is his place…all that he has left of Clark.  Look at it in that light and perhaps you can understand his anger!”

“She’s right, Kara.”  Rogue surprised her by agreeing.

“I was not aware that you could travel at will between different probabilities.”  Reed stepped into the sudden silence.

“We can.”  Kara answered shortly and then took a deep breath, letting the anger go as she looked at him. “But only to a certain degree. We can only travel to probabilities that are adjacent to each other under our own power.  To go from, say here to Otherverse, requires a little more.”  She looked at Lex. “Our friend, Lord Ian of Otherverse, has the ability to go where he wishes.  I simply called him and had him return the girls to Otherverse until we are ready for them.”  She looked at Stephanie. “Time runs a bit differently in Otherverse.  The girls are there, awake and already spending time with their Uncle Zal.  They are aware of the situation.”

“Time runs differently?”  Mercy shook her head. “Impossible. I can understand different calendars, but for time to actually run at different rates?”

“It is not impossible.”  Lex shook his head, as did Reed. “Time is not as constant as we would all like to believe.   And something as dramatic as the Ripple that Rogue described could well have played hell with the time sync in this Otherverse.”

He looked at Kara and nodded ever so slightly.

“I apologize for my outburst.”  He said…and Kara could tell, true to form, that apologizing was not something Lex did easily. “I would request, however, that you warn me should you feel the need to make any more of these…communications.”

“No promises.”  Kara shook her head. “But I will try not to violate your…Fortress further.”  She drew her self up straight and looked Lex in the eyes.  “Now I believe you were about to tell us why you believe this world needed us….”and her eyes narrowed and her voice grew cold as space “…and you were going to explain…General Zod!”

Farside Base

Luna

“Nothing.”  The tech pushed away from the scanners with a look of disgust. “There is not a damned thing wrong with the equipment…but we are restricted to a scan area that comprises only of the Lunar surface…and that only in LOS (Line Of Sight).”  She shook her head. “Anything over a couple of miles over the surface is completely blanketed.”

“That goes for communications as well.”  The Comm tech looked over his shoulder at the Base commander, confusion clear in his eyes. “The equipment checks out perfect…but once beyond LOS, nothing. Everything is cut off.”

“What you are telling me,” the Commander looked back and forth between the two techs, “is that we are effectively cut off from outside communication.  That is not acceptable, people.  We have a shuttle due in from Midpoint at any moment.”

“Sir, it is not us.” The Sensor Tech shook her head. “It has to be an outside interference.  And if it is, then that shuttle will have to fly right through it.”

“Which means their scanners and communications would probably be affected as well.”  The comm. tech added.

The Commander thought for a moment and then reached for a wall comms unit.  According to the Comm tech, inner base communications had not been affected.  He spoke for a few moments and then turned back.

“We’ll see if there is anything out there.”  He muttered and peered out the large window that gave an over view of the entire base.

Both techs turned and watched as five small fighter units lifted from the base and shot skyward.

The Sensor tech bent over her instruments as the Comm tech raised the fighters.  Both reported loss of contact at the same moment.

There was a brief wait…and then one of the fighters, trailing thick black smoke through the airless void, dove back into scan and comm. range.

“Mayday…we are under attack!” the voice, near panic rang through the control room. “There is a single mother of a ship out there and it is on a direct…” the communication ended and the entire sky lit up as a beam shot from space to destroy the crippled fighter.

Instantly, the Commander was on the inner base comm.  This time, when he finished speaking, a single fighter lifted from the base, traveling low over the lunar surface, across the horizon at break neck speeds.   The techs looked at the Commander with questions in their eyes.

“We have no way to communicate.”  The Commander told them. “Whatever that thing is up there, it just destroyed five advanced fighter units.  It is most likely the cause of the sensor and communication outage.  “He shook his head.  “Whatever happens here, I had to make sure someone else was aware of the danger.  That fighter will travel until it is able to establish comm. with another base…and hopefully that base will be able to contact Earth.”

“If that thing decides to be hostile to the base, that won’t do us much good, sir.”  The sensor tech’s voice quavered.

“No.  No it won’t.”  The Commander looked at her. “But then, I didn’t think it would.  If it is hostile…then we are as good as dead…but at least others will be warned it’s on its way.”

Metropolis

Central Park

“Are we in the right place?” The red headed man stuck a finger in the collar of his shirt and grimaced as he tried to pull it away from his neck.

Beside him, a slightly shorter blonde woman, frowned up at him and swatted at his hand.

“Stop it, you’re attracting attention.”  She hissed.

“It itches.”  He told her.  “These clothes are…rough…and constrictive.”

“Deal with it.”  The woman told him, returning her attention to their surroundings.

They were at the entrance of the Superman memorial exhibit, watching with curiosity and more than a little awe as people came and went.

“Why isn’t there a Superman now?”

The woman turned as a little blond girl tugged at her father’s sleeve as she looked up at the gigantic statue of the Man of Steel.

She wanted to hear what the father told her but at that instant another couple sauntered up to them.

“This place is absolutely fabulous!”  The man, a dark haired individual, his arm around his dark haired female companion exclaimed.

The red-head glared at the dark haired man, noting that he seemed to be completely at ease in his choice of clothes.

“Don’t get used to it.”  He said.  He then turned back to the blonde. “Are we in the right place?”  He asked a second time.

“I believe so.”  The blonde nodded; looking around again…and then looking up into the clear, blue sky.  “Though we might be a couple of hours early.”  She looked at her three companions and made a sweeping gesture with her hand.  “Take the opportunity to look around.  We are about to see history unfold!”

The dark haired couple started to take off when the blonde stopped them, looking closely at the woman.  She rummaged through her purse quickly and came out with a make-up compact.  She eyed the woman and then applied a touch up near her lips.

“You have to be careful.”  She told them, glaring at the man. “You rubbed part of her make-up off!”  She handed the woman a tube of lipstick and then used a napkin to wipe off the man’s lips.  Behind her, the red-head grinned. “We can’t afford to be discovered…not yet at any rate.  Do you know how these people would react?”

As the dark haired couple wondered off, the red-head placed a hand on the blonde woman’s shoulder.

“Take it easy.’  He told her. “Just remember, whatever happens, we cannot get involved!”

The woman nodded and, as the man now did, looked to the sky.

 

End of Arrival: Chapter 3

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-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2003 by Dylan Clearbrook

-- and may not be reprinted without permission.

-- The Continuum Worlds Concept is a joint creation of

-- Dylan Clearbrook and Eldric.  Otherverse, Dark Earth,

-- and Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes, as depicted in the

-- Continuum Worlds, are original creations of Dylan Clearbrook.

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

-- are original creations of Eldric.

-- The Realm and Shadowverse, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,

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

-- Some characters in Continuum Worlds stories are original creations

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

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

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

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

-- All Marvel characters are property of Marvel Comics.