A Note From Lara: I've been searching through fan fiction archives all over the internet, and I've noticed a certain deficiency. I have never, not once, found a story about or involving Moon Maiden. Laura Klein is more or less my idol, and when I realized how completely ignored she is as a character, I was absolutely outraged.
Everyone focuses so much on the more mainstream DC heroes, like Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash... And yet, there is, in my opinion, not a single character in either the DC or Marvel universes, that has made a sacrifice of the same magnitude as Laura's.
Therefore, I'm going to bring Moon Maiden back to center stage. This is a kind of rewrite of her final battle with the Centurion and subsequent return. Enjoy!
Laura Klein, also known as 'Laurel' the Moon Maiden, smiled bitterly. The senior members of the Justice League had insisted that she remain in reserve for this battle, which was already being dubbed 'The Century War'. Ironic, as it had only lasted four days. Only, ha! Amazing how such things could change your perception.
She suspected Wonder Woman had something to do with her 'reserve' status. The Amazon had long had a soft spot for the young woman. They were so alike- the immortal woman born of clay on a mystic isle, and the strange girl created through alchemy on the moon.
But Laura wasn't a child any more. And no matter what Diana might say, no matter what they all said about the Centurion having made this personal for everyone, this was her fight. But no, like fools, the more powerful members of the JLA rushed ahead, throwing themselves ineffectually at the Centurion. They'd never win.
Laura had begun having dreams lately, and she had an inkling of what they meant. They were linked, she and the Centurion. The Hundred had created them both. He had forsaken their ideals of goodness and life, and the Hundred had created her as a safeguard against his terrible evil. She was destined to be the end of the Centurion- if he could be stopped at all.
His powerful Erasure Weapon frightened her. All he had to do was aim, focus, and whoever was the object of his intent was... gone. Not simply dead, but completely erased from history. No memories of them, no past, as if they'd never existed.
She and she alone remembered those who were gone, and it was she who had alerted the rest of the League to the danger. Yet she was kept in the back, protected and shielded. It wasn't right.
Laura looked around, brushing her curly violet hair out of her eyes. She was standing on the edge of a tall cliff, about a mile away from the actual battle, which was taking place halfway between here and Keystone City.
Some of the newer members of the League were back here with her- Faith, Nightwing, Element Girl, and others. Even Supergirl was trapped back here, which surprised Laura. Normally the rash Krytonian was at the forefront of any battle.
Faith walked over to her. "How you holding up, Laurel?" she asked kindly. Laura pursed her lips for a moment. Most members of the Justice League succumbed easily to Faith's aura of peace, but the psychic effect didn't work so well on her. "Not so great," she muttered. "This is my fight, but I'm being stuck back here."
Faith smiled wryly. "I know what you mean," the older woman said. "I've been with the League for almost six years, and I've been in a total of three fights." Laura nodded. "Yeah, I've heard. If they actually need you, it's really going badly," she said. Faith sighed. "Kind of sucks to be the JLA's big guns."
The two metahumans turned away from each other, staring out across the plain to where flashes of light signified the fight taking place.
Laura narrowed her eyes. If she really focused, she could just make out the dark form of the Centurion silhouetted against the cloudy sky. There were three or four figures surrounding him. She wasn't sure who all was on the front lines, but she was relatively certain that some of the more influential heroes had been kept in reserve- anyone in the thick of it was in danger of being erased.
Supergirl wandered over. "Man, this sucks," she said petulantly. Laura nodded, not looking at her. "So what's their reason for sticking you back here?" she asked absently, still intent on the fight in the distance. "They're claiming that this battle requires more tactics than most, that I'm too hasty," she said, kicking a pebble into orbit.
"Well, at least they've given you a reason," Laura said. Kara looked at her, and finally Laura looked back. Kara shivered faintly; the older girl's metallic irises were always faintly creepy to her. The rumor among the League was that when Moon Maiden's powers had manifested, her appearance had altered as well, hence the vibrant purple hair and silver eyes.
Suddenly, the Flash appeared in a cloud of dust. "Damn Barry, slow down before you blind us all!" Kara called good-naturedly. "Says the indestructible girl," Laura muttered. "You look like hell, Barry."
He nodded. The speedster was limping slightly, and the half of his face they could see beneath his mask was gray, haggard, and covered in stubble. "I feel like hell," he said, and sighed almost inaudibly. He bit his lip and closed his eyes momentarily, then said hesitantly, "Faith... they need you. They can't beat him."
Kara gasped. "But... how is that possible? It's at least twenty to one!" Barry looked over his shoulder, back toward the battle. "I don't know... he's more powerful than the last time Laurel fought him. I just... don't know."
As Faith rose gently into the air on a platform of psychic energy, Kara narrowed her eyes. "They don't need Faith yet. There's always me." Laura grimaced. That was so typically Kryptonian, that 'I can do it myself' attitude. Her cousin was exactly the same way.
Supergirl rose into the air, following Faith toward the battle. The Flash sighed, but he knew it was no use to argue with the teenager when she got focused like this. He turned to zip off again, when Laura put her hand on his shoulder. "Barry... how bad is it, really?" she asked. He smiled sadly. "Honestly? I have no idea. I think some people have been... deleted... but I can't- I have no way of knowing, do I?" Laura nodded sadly.
"Laurel... they won't like me telling you this, but honestly? This is making the battle with Doomsday look like child's play. This Centurion guy is absolutely... nuts. They don't want you out there, but I think we need you." Laura narrowed her eyes. "Why, and why?" she asked, referencing both statements. Barry rubbed his temples. "Honestly, not one of us has a chance of beating this guy. He's just too damn powerful. And... I think it's because of the link between you and the Centurion. Batman thinks that because you were created so closely, it might... influence your actions."
Laura gasped. "Does he really--? The nerve! The fucking nerve!" A boulder nearby imploded, as she channeled her um-bridge and fury into creating an intense anomaly in gravitational forces around it. "I can't believe he'd think that. And that the rest of them would go along with that asshole's paranoia! Look, Barry, thanks for telling me. And... I'm going in. I really doubt even Faith will be effectual against the Centurion. I'll take my shot at him, okay?"
The Flash nodded, disappearing in another puff of dust. She assumed that he was already back at the scene of the battle, telling somebody higher up what was going on. Laura closed her eyes.
After a moment, she had correctly adjusted her personal gravitational field. Her silver eyes popped open, her knees bent, and she rocketed into the sky faster than the human eye could see.
Thirty seconds later, she touched down in the front lines of the battle. She could see Supergirl fighting the Centurion one-on-one a short distance away. "What's the situation?" she asked J'onn J'onzz.
"Not good," he replied in his strange Martian accent. "I've seen the Erasure Weapon fire three times since the start of this battle. Obviously, I don't know who, but--" Laura nodded. "Any non-Erasure casualties?" she asked. The tall alien nodded. "Lots of minor injuries, non-life-threatening but enough to take them out of battle. Batman's unconscious, serious blow to the head. Zatanna's in critical condition, and Doctor Fate is dead." Laura sucked in her breath. It was even worse than she'd thought.
A badly bruised Superman and Wonder Woman stepped forward from the survivors of the furious battle to face her. "Laurel, you're not supposed to be here," Diana said, clearly upset. "I don't care!" Laura said. "People are dying, disappearing forever. I can't just not do anything."
"No," Superman said gravely, in his commanding tone. "No, Laurel, we can't have you here. I don't necessarily agree, but Bru- Batman thinks that because of your close link with the Centurion--"
"Bullshit!" Laura burst out. She was sick of it, sick of being the baby of the Justice League, sick of being always coddled, kept in the back. She was a teenager, sure, but so was Supergirl. It was because she was the good girl, the model daughter, they all expected her to simply be their backup in case the real heavy hitters couldn't take it.
She raised her voice so that everyone "Bullshit, Boy Scout. You might be the all-powerful Last Son of Krypton, but judging by that shiner, you didn't do so well against the Centurion. Sure, I've got a link with him, but I'm not ruled by it. Look, the best of us are getting pummeled here. It looks like I might be the only one here who has a shot at beating him. Maybe it's the link of our creation that would let me defeat him."
There was deafening silence when she finished speaking. Not many people had the guts to speak up to Superman when he was being a headstrong idiot. Well Laura Klein might look like a little sweetheart model daughter, but people had to stop judging by first impressions.
Suddenly, there was a smack, and Laura turned. The Centurion had backhanded Kara across the face. She flew backwards to land in a heap among her companions. "Supergirl!" cried various voices among the crowd. Even from where she was standing, Laura could see that she was unconscious and in poor condition. Her cousin hurried to her side.
Laura plunged ahead quickly, trying to finish her statement, trying to gather the courage, looking around at the crowd of superheroes in various states of disrepair. "Look, he can completely reverse everything any of us has ever done with little more than a thought. What if the next person he erases is Superman? He's saved the earth solo a million times and more. If he goes... the entire planet is gone. We can't let the Centurion's rampage continue. And not one of you has been able to finish this. So I will."
She took a deep breath, her silver eyes sad, but flashing with resolve. Laura knew what she had to do. This battle had raged for days now, still with no conclusion. She saw that there was only one way to end it. The Centurion could easily destroy the entire universe with a single blow, if he got a clear shot at Superman, or one of the Green Lanterns present. It had to end. Now.
Then, with a final sad look across her teammates, her friends, she turned, and leaped into the air. The Centurion had been diving toward the Justice League's delegation, evil intent clear on his face, but he pulled up short as she rocketed upward towards him. "So, little Laurel at last!" he said, chuckling to himself. "I was wondering how long it would take before they'd get desperate enough to pull you in."
Laura raised her chin, continuing her headlong flight upward. He would not get the best of her. She heard her teammates screams of "Moon Maiden, stop!" and "Laurel, no don't!", but she ignored them. There was nothing else to be done. It was up to her now.
"Come on little girl! Let's see what you got!" Centurion taunted her. Laura's silver eyes narrowed. He wanted a fight? Fine. He had one.
The maniacal villain lowered his weapon, aimed, focused his intent... but the shot never came. Laura crashed into him with all the force of all the gravitational pull she could muster. The shockwave caused by their impact cleared the sky of clouds for a mile in every direction.
The Centurion was momentarily stunned. It wasn't long, but it was all she needed. Seizing him by the hair, she dragged him skyward, high high above the earth. The air was getting thin. Finally, when she looked down, Keystone City was simply a tiny dot miles and miles beneath them.
The Centurion was struggling in her grasp. She wouldn't be able to restrain him for much longer. It would have to be quick, then. She closed her eyes.
Laura raced inward, reaching deeper into the processes of the Lunar Villa than she ever had before, reaching farther into the longest recesses of her consciousness that she hadn't even known existed. Somehow she found the power. It was there, inside her, waiting until this last moment to reveal itself.
Those startling silver eyes snapped open, and as the Centurion looked at her, he felt a twinge of something he had never experienced before- fear. Her eyes shone with the light of the full moon, and her entire body blazed with an inner light. She turned her brilliant gaze on his weapon- the deadly Erasure Weapon.
Gravity shifted. The earth spun a little slower, the moon halted in its orbit. The tides stopped, and the currents of the ocean froze in their paths. The air above Keystone warped and flexed with the tension of the massive amount of gravitational pressure Laura was exerting on that tool of evil.
Too late, the Centurion realized her intent. "No!" he screamed. But it was too late. The weapon exploded in a burst of brilliant silvery-white light, carrying away both him and the Moon Maiden in a single moment of deadly glory.
The sky was lit for a moment with a light brighter than the sun; then everything returned to normal- dark clouds, rain. The plain below was completely silent, and completely empty. The Centurion was gone. And so was Laura Klein, the Moon Maiden
The next day...
Hugh Klein sighed, and looked at the picture frame in his hands. The day before, the picture inside had showed him, his wife, and his adopted daughter Laura. But now it was simply himself and his wife.
Laura had sacrificed herself, her life, and all memory of her for the world. He knew it had had to be done, but... A single tear dripped from Hugh's eye. Laura had been everything to him since the Hundred had entrusted her to him on that fateful lunar mission.
And the worst of it all, he thought bitterly, was that he was the only one who even remembered her. She had been so special- intelligent and strong and brave- but not a single other person would ever remember her. In fact, she had never even existed. The explosion of the Erasure Weapon had completely removed both her and her mortal enemy from history.
The Justice League didn't know what had happened yesterday. The heroes that had been erased were returned now, with no memory of being gone. Doctor Fate was alive and well. There was nothing to indicate the massive battle that had raged just outside the city for days. Not even his wife remembered their adopted child.
Nothing remained of her. There was nothing left of her. Nothing but his memories. Memories of Laura...
A Note From Lara: Okay, I know this doesn't completely adhere to how the battle happened in the comics, but that's sort of the point- I'm rewriting some points. But then, how many of you comic book nerds (join the club, btw, we have T-shirts) actually even remember that particular post-crisis event? Not many, I'm betting.
This will be updated as soon as I can write the next chapter. I start school again in a few days though, so don't expect it to be quick... lol. And, as always, I'd really, REALLY appreciate some reviews. Tell me how sorry you are to have forgotten Laura, just like everyone else, tell me what you think of my interpretation... whatever you want to say...