Chapter 1
She could remember everything.
Katherine was being called. It wasn't something obvious, like her name ringing out with the voice of a loved one she'd lost, or anything all that tangible in any significant way. In fact, it felt like she was being pulled along. Like a rope had attached itself to her stomach and someone was tugging. Kat couldn't explain it any better and, you could call her a fool, but she followed it anyways.
It had been happening all week. Always in the same spot just under her ribcage in the center of her chest. It bothered her at first, but the more she concentrated the more she felt like it was pulling rather than just a squeezing sickness coming on. Katherine was a responsible, if haughty, young girl of 15. But God help her that haughtiness came with a sense of adventure she couldn't sate working weekends at a corner store and having the history of dead presidents crammed down her throat. So this time, she let the pull take her, just to see if it led to a more exciting day than sitting around watching the new Supergirl season on Netflix.
After a few minutes of walking East, towards the outskirts of her part of the city, Katherine found herself becoming increasingly agitated. She no longer needed to focus on the pull as the sensation grew stronger with each step. Katherine wanted to reach her destination, the anticipation was going to drive her insane at this rate. Finally, when it seemed like she was going to burst, she rounded a final corner into a back alley behind an abandoned warehouse.
She was shocked by the sight in front of her. It looked like, like a tear in reality. As if something had carved out a hole in the air itself. An inky swirl of purplish energy maybe seemed to be rolling out of the tear.
Now, Katherine would never call herself a coward but seeing something like this was enough to disquiet the usually unflappable girl. She observed the tear tensely, wondering what it may be and feeling the aching pull in her midsection driving her onward.
What is this she thought to herself is it some kind of portal.
Hesitantly she reached out towards one of the spiraling tendrils of energy, letting it brush against her pale skin.
The reaction was immediate. Dark energy swirled out violently, lashing itself onto the helpless girl. She shrieked before being suddenly dragged into the emotionless void before her. The tear closed behind her, never to be opened again. A cosmic anomaly she simply couldn't understand at this moment.
Then all she could remember was the inky blackness. It felt so long, being trapped there. The pain was almost unbearable, only becoming tolerable after so much time had passed she could barely notice couldn't think clearly enough to ascertain it's nature. All she knew was that it poured into her, into her very being and remade her- body and soul- into something new. What the changes may be, she couldn't tell then, she couldn't focus enough to look. She had nearly given up on being released form this place.
Until, beneath the pain but apart of it, she felt a familiar tugging sensation. A voice whispered, as if from all directions.
"You are ready"
ready ?she thought furiously as the pain began to abate. Ready for what?
"To begin, to end"
what does that mean?
"All existence, in all the multiverse, exists in contradiction."
I don't understand. What is happening? she begged from her mental link to whatever this being was.
"You will." the voice seemed almost amused "Or you won't"
But…
"You are being given a chance. A chance to aspire for something more. A chance to change a world you well know by your presence. A chance to start at the beginning of something new. A chance to show others that you and your kind can always rise above."
Okay she grit through the pain why me, why tear me away
"Because, you were always meant to be what you are, just as you were never meant to be what you were."
can you, for a moment, attempt to be a little less unclear?
"Yes."
Will you?
"yes and no"
"Naturally…"
she trailed off as her body suddenly lurched forward by the invisible rope in her sternum. She saw a bright white light a short distance away.
"Because you were the only one who could."
Katherine woke up face down on the pavement. The first thing she noticed was how bright everything was. So bright, in fact, that her eyes stung from the intensity. She struggled to rise, evidently having curled up during her fall. Her white hair fell loosely in front of her face…
wait, she thought cautiously white? My hair is red… but there it was, proof right in front of her face. Stark white tresses with faint streaks of magenta, as if she highlighted the tips. Taking stock of herself from her seated position she noticed a few other oddities.
She was wearing an all white outfit, adorned with purple hued flair on it's edges and linings. The material was mainly a thick leather and heavy cloth worn tight. Her whole body was covered, for some reason, and she had a hooded cloak on her back that reached down to her feet. It was, stylish, in a way. More so than she would normally care to admit out loud, but mainly she was confused by just exactly had happened.
"Get out of the road!"
What?
"Move! Move!"
It was only then did she realize where she was. Distracted and disoriented, her eyes widened as she quickly assessed her situation. People were lining the streets staring at the girl who seemed to appear out of nowhere, and a few were shouting at her to run.
Panicking she quickly stood and stumbled under an intense bought of vertigo.
Damn it, I can't…
She turned just in time to see the car barrelng at her. To fast and to close to stop in time. She already knew, she closed her eyes ,instinctively reaching her hands up in a futile effort to shield herself from the impact.
30 seconds. I was only here 30 seconds and it's over. but just as quickly as her hopelessness settled did a new emotion snap into it's place. A boiling rage unlike anything she had ever felt.
No. It can't be this way. I won't let it. I want to know what's happening. I want to know where it sent me.
"NO!"
The light that surrounded her was mystifying and shocking at the same time. A purple haze of swirling energy that burst forth from her hands and smashed into the speeding car. The car crumpled, likely killing the driver instantly, and bounced off the shield towards the pedestrians nearby on the street. Many dived away, but many were also injured by the fast moving debris.
Katherine stared at her hands with a look of shocked disbelief dancing across her plaid features. Purple tendrils still coiling around her hands and linking her to the shield she only now noticed had formed a bubble of protection around her.
"How could I have. What's happening to me" she whispered to herself. the momentary lapse of concentration dropping the shield from around her.
Scared and confused Katherine began to take in the turmoil around her. The car had caused a lot of damage, to the point where the burning wreckage had already caught the building it had careened into ablaze. People were hurt, many weren't moving at all. Other cars had swerved and caused a pile-up in the streets. She could here sirens coming and panic once again flowed through her.
Desperately, the snow-haired girl began moving down the road away from the direction she could hear the sirens. People moved out of her way in fear and horror. Unbeknownst to Katherine as her emotions swelled now pale purple eyes began to glow a vibrant lavender color, giving her a startling image of someone with power.
Katherine had nearly made it to the end of the street and rounded the corner away from the destruction she had caused when a police car screeched to a halt in front of her, followed by a second.
No she thought angrily how'd they get here so quickly, am I next to the damn police station?
"Hands up, villain, and don't try anything"
"Villain? I'm just a…" a girl with powers who just busted half a street "It was an accident, I swear"
"Sure it was" yelled the officer in disbelief "I haven't heard that a thousand times"
"But it was, I was…"
"Shut up. You have the right to remain silent, nut job, I suggest you use it" The officer, Bradly Cullin, quipped as he slowly approached ,covered by his partner.
"You're not going to listen to me are you. I was sent here… I just want"
"Sounds to me like a confession. Sent here to destroy the town for some big wig boss of yours. Well you picked the wrong city sweetheart."
"Don't call me that asshole. I have rights, I will not… I will not be cornered like this and blamed for something I couldn't help."
"Like hell"
"back off NOW! Or I make you back off."
Bradly paused in his slow approach toward Katherine, seemingly unsure of what to do next. Katherine was sure she was in a world where powered people wasn't unusual. But which one, she had yet to ascertain. Judging by this cops reaction, she wasn't likely to get do process. So knew she had some power...
maybe I'll test it out on you then, asshole.
Katherine locked eyes with the cop searching them for ah, there it is… fear, hesitation. She didn't know exactly how she knew that, or that she should look. These things seemed to be coming naturally to her. As natural as the itching feeling bubbling in what felt like her soul itself, begging to be set loose upon this fool of a man.
wait what? she suddenly stopped her thoughts cold where did all that VENUM come from? I, need to get a handle on this, but I can't do that with this half assed mall cop in my way. Maybe just a little…
Katherine followed the instinct. A flash of something in the back of her mind as she twitched her arm outwards toward the officer, bending her wrist and hand slightly downwards as she did so. Purple energy surged down her arm and outwards in an instant, rocketing towards the officer. Bradly dove sideways just as the energy streaked by and collided with the cop car behind him smashing it's whole side to pieces and tossing it roughly backwards. With his partner nowhere to be seen, Bradly and the other two officers who had arrived with him fired their standard issue sidearms at whoever this new super villain was.
Katherine, shocked for a moment, barely reacted in time to shield herself in another bubble of purple energy. The bullets ricocheted off the shield as she contemplated her next move. Again, in a flash of inspiration, Katherine new of another ability she could tap into. She reached deep into her new well of power and let it surge into her limbs and lifted skyward.
In her haste, she lost focus on the shield around her. A bullet grazed her side as she spun upwards. The pain was as immediate as the hot rage she felt at having been injured. Roaring, she cast another blast of energy, this time at the building above the officers. The explosive power sent debris raining down around them allowing Katherine to rocket skyward and away from the sight of her arrival.
She travelled this way for only a few minutes, quickly distancing herself from the destruction she caused. Guilt began to make it's way into her mind and her side ached and slowly stained red. She soon spotted what she needed, a taller building that she could land on that was miles away from where she started. It wasn't ideal, of course, but with her injury and confusion, and the flashes of "thoughts" in her head she needed to be somewhere where she could reorient herself. Her landing was rough, as she stumbled over the concrete roof of the office building. She sat herself up against to low stone railing on it's edge and shut her eyes.
"less than three minutes here and you're already screwing things up. Nuke half a block, way to go Katherine." she paused in her self-depreciation.
"Ok Kat, you know you're from another world and you have powers now. You apparently know how to use them, because something keeps telling you how. Or maybe I'm telling me how and I just don't remember? I don't know, this is so confusing."
"Maybe I can help?"
Katherine's eyes shot open at the deep voice that suddenly spoke up around her. Her energy flared to life once again on instinct ass she attempted to rise in defense of herself. Unfortunately, her side spiked with pain and she ended up crashing and cursing on the ground instead.
"You should be more careful, that injury looks pretty bad."
"Yea, well, that tends to happen when bullets are shot at you. But thank you for that marvelous advice mister…" Katherine's voice trailed off as she finally looked up at the apparent good samaritan. Her eyes once again widening and her jaw going slack.
H-How she thought to herself How can this be.
Her entire world had just changed in an afternoon, but even that wasn't shocking compared to the surprise in front of her. Because flaying boldly, nearly 6 feet above the roof, was a tall man in a blue and red outfit, a red cape, and an S shaped sigil on his chest. The greatest superhero in any universe was standing in front of her, looking at her with a mixture of disappointment, wariness, and compassion.
In an instant all her fire had gone out. The energy she had pulled forth from the depths of her soul pulled back into her, the glow in her eyes vanished. She couldn't fight this man, even if she wanted to she would never win. In her old world, and how strange was it to think of the world of 10 minutes ago as her old world, superman was a legendary hero told in comics for decades. He was never real, though, just a story to tell kids how to live good lives. If he was real here though, then what did that mean?
She knew one thing. Superman was unrelenting but generous. There was only one way out of this predicament now.
"I'm sorry…"
Superman's eyebrow raised a fraction before he slowly lowered himself to the rooftop. never dropping his guard he asked "What are you sorry for?"
"For what happened today. I don't… I can't explain it… well but, this is all new to me." she held her hands out in front of her, almost defeated. "Everything's changing. I'm confused and I'm lost… I know this all must sound crazy."
"I've heard crazier." he smirked
"You haven't let me finish yet" she quipped easily.
"Granted. But maybe we do this somewhere else."
"Yea, you're probably going to take me to jail or something right?" the fear was creeping into her voice now, something she wouldn't normally allow. Her hand still covered the bullet wound on her side.
"No, as it happens my friend J'onn was nearby and got a read on you're. Well,lets say he's good at reading people for now. He told me you were troubled. I wanted to help, but only if you were willing to help yourself."
Katherine chuckled wryly "That sounds like you."
"You'll need to explain how you know me"
"I can. I will"
"And we will need to deal with the damage you caused"
"I understand. I… am I some big name super villain now?"
"People have done a lot worse than trash a few cars and buildings." he answered lightly "Don't worry. The league was there, no one got seriously hurt."
"The whole league?" Katherine paled
now it was superman turn to laugh "Just a few of us. Some friends were visiting."
"Oh. Ok"
"Relax. You're not a super villain and you're not going to jail. We're going to help you. But to do that, you need to trust us." he held out a hand to the girl, kindness in his deep brown eyes. He looked every bit the classic homegrown farm boy he was claimed as in the comics.
Katherine stared for perhaps a bit to long before glancing down at his hand and replying "well, I would love to accept this symbolic and highly dramatic gesture, normally I love a good flair for the dramatic. But, uh, I actually am in a fair bit of pain so could we…"
Superman's expression turned sheepish as he reached out to lift the girl bridal style "Of course, but…"
"I'm willing to try, Mr. Superman" She cut in
"That's all anyone can ask"