Of Kryptonians and Queens

By Michael Weyer

Sorry it's been so long since the update, got distracted by other post-IC tales. Here's another chapter to make up for it.

Alex just had to stare openly at Merlin. "You summoned…a demon…from Hell?"

Merlin looked downcast. The group was once more around the main briefing room of the DEO, all fixing hard gazes on the wizard. "In retrospect, it wasn't my brightest move…"

"In what exactly respect would it be?" Brainiac pressed. He had arrived from another mission in time to be brought up to speed and naturally found it hard to compute what Merlin was saying. "That you brought some creature from another plane…"

"Hell," Merlin said. "At the time, it was very harsh conflict with some monstrosities Morgan had created in 1170 in England. I needed an edge. Thus, I summoned Etrigan."

"In what world is summoning a demon a logical answer?" Kara demanded, leaning on the briefing table.

"It was a harsh situation," Merlin defended himself. "At the time, I thought I could control Etrigan, use him as a weapon and then send him back." He brushed at his face. "It wasn't…exactly as I imagined. Etrigan stopped Morgan's attacks all right…then went on a rampage of his own. He tore up half the countryside before I finally stopped him. However, as per the deal we'd made, I couldn't just send him back. I did the next best thing by bonding him to a shopkeeper named Jason Blood."

"Bond?" Alex pressed.

"They share a body," Merlin explained. "Jason mostly has control but with an incantation can let Etrigan out. Etrigan transforms, Blood is in the back of his mind. It's a bit tough but they manage to make do and Blood has retained some control over Etrigan."

"Fascinating," Brainy stated. "You managed to integrate two different beings into one composite body. How did you do that? Gene-splicing?"

"Magic."

Brainy waved a hand. "Yes, yes, I know. To those in that even more backward time period, it must have seemed magic when it was truly advanced science."

Merlin closed his eyes as if in pain. "Wonderful, that idiotic Clarke's Third Law thing exists here too."

"I am merely…" Brainy's words were cut off as Merlin waved his hand. In seconds, a blue rabbit was sitting in the chair Brainy had been in. Alex, Lucy and Kara all jumped a bit at the sudden transformation. J'onn had to fight to subdue a smile. Merlin counted to five, then waved his fingers again to turn Brainy back to normal. He sat there, staring off. "That was…How could I retain my intellect when my entire body was…" He clearly had no idea how to compute what had happened to him.

"As for Blood," Merlin went on as if absolutely nothing had happened. "He did control Etrigan, which extended his life span. To Blood, it's more a curse and he and I don't get along very well. The last I heard, he got involved in an exorcism gone wrong and sucked back to Hell."

"How'd he get here?" J'onn asked.

Merlin spread out his hands. "I have no idea. But between his demonic half and the spells he picked up along the way, he found a path into this world. Now ,she has him and by now, has no doubt awakened his worst half."

"What does she want?" Lucy asked.

"That I'm not sure of," Merlin admitted. "Obviously, she needs a power source but it's tricky to find…" He stopped as he saw Kara and Alex exchanging looks of troubled understanding. "What?"

Kara let out a sigh. "We…might have an idea…"

Earth-19999

Two months earlier

Kara held the blue stone in her hand, studying it carefully. That this was once a cube and then an item of incredible cosmic power was hard to take. Yet somehow, she could sense the power from it even in her palm. She looked up at the men before her. "You're sure about this?"

Captain America nodded. "We can't keep them all in our universe. We can't risk someone trying this again. The way we see it, putting them in separate universes is the best bet."

Superman was holding the small case with the purple Power gem inside it. "What of the rest?"

"Strange won't give up the Time Stone," Tony stated. "And we still need the Miind stone for Vision. That Soul Stone is gone but Strange thinks it can come back. That leaves these three."

The Flash of Earth-1 was holding the red Reality stone in his own hand. "You trust us with these?"

"We trust that you'll find a place to hide them where they'll be safe," Steve confirmed. "Where no one can get them and get them connected to the other."

"I know a place like that," Superman noted. Kara had to nod as well. "We won't let you down."

"I know." Steve was grim. "Just make they're kept safe."

J'onn stared at Kara. "You have one of those things here?!"

Kara nodded. "At the Fortress. Kal agreed it was the best place."

"The best place is off this world!"

"We were getting to that," Kara defended herself. "Kal was going to take it with on his next trip to Argo. It's just been a bit crazy since as you well know." She saw Merlin's glare. "Look, Lena…Morgana…may be powerful but even she'd have a hard time breaking into the Fortress."

"That doesn't mean she won't try," Merlin snapped. "We need to get there right now."

Kara nodded. "I'll fly ahead and…"

"No time." Merlin whispered as he waved his hands. A shimmering of light flew over him, Kara and Alex and in a flash, they had vanished.

Brainy blinked at the sudden exit. "That is…quite a remarkable feat. I must learn more of his science and how it pertains to this current era!"

"I'm going back to Mars," J'onn announced to no one in particular. "I don't care if it's a mostly barren and lifeless wasteland, I'm going back."

The Arctic Circle

The fur lining of her cloak seemed little protection against the bitter cold but Morgana was handling it well. She had a staff in her hands as she gazed out at the massive mountain of ice before her. Beside her, Etrigan shivered, a bit of steam rising from his body. "What chill is this, oh queen of the dark? It does not well for Etrigan's mark! Hell's heat is what I call home, not this place better fit for a gnome!"

"Gods, I'd forgotten the damn rhyming," Morgana muttered. "You are the most annoying poet I've ever met. And I once had dinner with Oscar Wilde."

Etrigan noted the huge golden door with a massive keyhole before it. "A door so grand and bold, made of such shimmering gold. How to enter this icy lair and gain what lies in there?"

Morgana smiled. "As it happens, that's something I've been figuring out for some time." She brought a small vial out of her cloak. She popped the cork to pour a pile of dust onto her staff. Whispering an incantation, Morgana pointed the staff at the door. A beam of light struck out, hitting the force field about the area. It seemed to resist but then cracked open just enough to allow Morgana to head in with the Demon behind her.

"I've been working on ways to get in here for so long," Morgana stated. "Remembering my true abilities just made it easier." She smiled as she looked about the icy environment. "Cold. Alien. Fascinating how a woman as warm as Kara came from a culture like this."

"Enough of this talk and dawdle, where do we find this bauble?"

Lena pursed her lips as she looked about. "It should be…"

Before she could continue, a flash of light echoed and Merlin, Kara and Alex were there. The latter was happy her suit also contained an interior heating system to handle the chill as she grabbed her gun. Etrigan's eyes flashes as he took in Merlin. "At last! Centuries long have I waited but now my thirst for blood will be sated! Make peace with thy deity as you will not feel my pity!"

He opened his mouth to unleash a blast of pure flame. Kara leapt to intercept it, gasping at the sudden shock. She was used to heat but this was something else. Morgana was already moving, sweeping her staff outward to knock the gun out of Alex's hands. Alex dodged her counterstrike and unleashed a blast from her gauntlet to send Morgana back. She rolled about before unleashing a blast of fire from her staff that Alex dodged.

Merlin was moving to back her up, firing off a blast of his own that Morgana dodged. "You're not getting it," he hissed.

"You don't even know what I want," she fired back.

Merlin was about to mention the Stone but then realized it was better to keep quiet. It was just possible that Morgana was after something else and he didn't want to risk her knowing a bigger prize was around. "Whatever it is, you won't get it," he covered. "Just give up, Morgana."

"And return to you?" She snorted. "I didn't do all this just to give up now, Merlin. And not to you." She slammed her staff down, unleashing a shockwave of energy that knocked everyone back. Taking advantage, Morgana whirled about to focus on the main computer of the Fortress. She moved to its console, her fingers racing over the various crystals.

In a blur, Kara was grabbing her hand. "Stop it, Lena!"

"Morgana." She slammed the staff into Kara's face, causing a blow that rocked harder than it should have. "You have no idea what I went through. How I wanted to get what was mine, the power to remake the world. Only to have everyone turn on me." She shook her head. "Wait till it happens to you."

"It won't."

"Just wait, Kara. I know it will. I've seen the signs and heard the whispers on those against aliens. The common people you claim you champion? They're the ones who will turn on you first. Who will attempt to destroy that which is different."

Kara shook her head. "That's the future. For now, I'm stopping you."

"That you believe you have a chance is what makes this more laughable."

Kara was moving to stop her only for Etrigan to grab her cape and yank her back. He punched her in the face, Kara cursing at the blow. Alex fired a blast from her gauntlet to knock at Etrigan's head. He snarled as he unleashed a blast of fire at her. Merlin was there, blocking it with a shield. He flexed his hands to send a wave knocking Etrigan back.

Morgana's eyes gleamed as she fingers found a certain slot on the console. Her hands easily slipped out a crystal. "Perfect." She turned and coughed. "Etrigan! We're leaving!"

"The job's not done, the wizard's alive, the Demon shall not stop his bloodlust drive!"

"Dear God, does he always do that?" Alex snapped.

"Sadly, yes," Merlin sighed as he unleashed a blast to knock Etrigan back.

Morgana rolled her eyes as she waved her hands. Etrigan suddenly howled in agony, shaking hard. "No…thous shall….gone...gone…foul Etrigan…and rise once more the form of man!"

A blast of flame covered his body combined with smoke. When it faded, Jason Blood was there, heaving for breath, his suit singed with smoke. Another shockwave of magic sent Kara, Alex and Merlin back as Morgana grabbed Blood. "Sorry to cut this short but must dash," she announced before once more vanishing.

Alex cursed as she rose to her feet. "What did she take? It wasn't the Stone."

Kara moved to the console, looking over the crystals. "Let me see…It's tricky but…" She blanched. "Dammit."

"Oh no," Alex sighed. "When you curse like that, it's bad."

Kara looked to her. "It was the crystal file on the experience Kal and I have had with inter-dimensional travel. From the Phantom Zone to that battle on the Avengers Earth."

"Why would she…" Alex's eyes widened. "This isn't about some new power source."

"She doesn't care about your world at all," Merlin said, understanding where Alex was going. "This is about getting back to hers."

Lucy frowned hard as the trio returned to the DEO. "You made it sound like Morgana was out for nothing but power."

"It's what I assumed given her history," Merlin explained. "I should have known better. Morgana was always tied in to the England of our world. She always wanted to claim it as her own. To just try and take over another version wouldn't be enough."

"Damn," Alex muttered. "She suckered us."

Merlin made a sad smile. "Trust me, she's had a lot of experience at that. The woman was always a master at making you misunderstand her motives." He shook his head as he walked off. "I need a break to recharge before we can go on the hunt. And to figure out her true plans."

He stepped out on the balcony and stared at the city before him. He became aware of Kara coming behind him but didn't face her. "You're pretty intense on this," Kara noted.

"I failed to stop her before. I can't make that same mistake again."

"What happened wasn't your fault. You have to know that."

"In a way, I do." Merlin looked over as Kara joined him. "I stopped blaming myself totally centuries ago. But every now and then…I keep thinking I could have done more. Reached out to her, tried to stop it. That maybe had I seen the signs of her fall to darkness, it could have been prevented." His voice was wistful and clearly filled with memories of happier times.

"She wasn't always like this, you know. The Lena Luthor you knew…that was her once. Someone who cared for others. Who was bright and funny. Oh, she had the aristocratic air but she still seemed to care." He sighed deeply. "It was circumstances that warped her into what she is now. Time and trouble just wiped out the great lady I knew."

"I'm still wrapping my head around it," Kara stated. "That she was a friend and now…"

"She isn't," Merlin agreed. "I know how it feels. In every way. In a way, you're lucky. It was fast, instant, nothing you could do." He looked out at the city again. "For me…there were so many signs I should have recognized…so many chances I had to stop it…And I didn't. I just had to watch that wonderful and kind woman transform into a cold-blooded monster."

Kara stared at him for a long moment as she put it together. "You loved her. Didn't you?"

Merlin looked down in answer. "I did. I never realized how much until the end. When it was too late." He looked off at the skyline. "Maybe if I'd told her….If I'd just been brave enough to try…It could have changed a lot of things."

Kara was silent before speaking. "I haven't been around as long as you have. But I have been through enough to know that trying to replay the past almost never works out for you. And I have a friend who can tell you first hand that even if you do try to fix it…it can just make things worse."

"I suppose." Merlin gazed at the city before him. "I really thought she was gone. I wanted her to be, to finally put the whole thing to rest. Not just for me but her too." He looked down. "I'd hoped maybe she'd finally found the peace in death that eluded her in life."

"I am sorry," Kara stated. She leaned on the balcony with him. "I know what it's like, you know. To lose it all. To be one of the only survivors of an entire society. I grew up like that. I know how it feels to have your world end. And I know you have to keep moving on. To remember them but not be held back."

"I know." Merlin smiled. "Arthur will return one day. Oh, I've had to wait a while but I know it. I just have to be ready for him."

A coughing got their attention as Lucy was in the doorway. "We just got a report from the team we sent to search L-Corp." She tapped her screen with a dark expression. "We found Lilian Luthor. Or, what was left of her."

Even a cast-iron Kryptonite stomach nearly turned at the sight of the figure that appeared to have been twisted inside-out then back again. "Oh, Rao…"

Merlin nodded. "Cutting off the last ties to her past." He looked to Kara. "Still think she can be saved?"

Kara shook her head. "I'm still not killing her. I'll stop her but by non-lethal means."

"Fair enough," Merlin said as they entered. "We just need to figure out her plan before it gets too bad."

"Can't she just….cross dimensions like you did?" Lucy asked.

Merlin shook his head. "My powers are different than hers. Stronger in many ways but also working along different spells. Even then, crossing to this reality was no easy feat. It took a bit out of me. With Morgana, her powers are still not as strong as they once were after she posed as Lena for so long. She needs something else, a…boost of some kind."

"A boost…" Kara's brow wrinkled. "I need to get to my office, I think something there could be the key." She began to walk out with Merlin following as Lucy once more wondered if rejoining the DEO hadn't been a bit of a mistake.

Blood sat inside the circle, gazing at the symbols on the ground. "Your work has improved," he noted in a dry voice. He noted the field surrounding him, guaranteeing he couldn't exit the circle in either form.

"I've had plenty of experience," Morgana stated. She stood by a table, flipping through a large book as well as tapping on a laptop computer. "Mixing magic and science?" Blood stated. "That rarely works well."

"Simply integrating what I knew as Lena with my own pas experiences," Morgana answered him. "I needed a certain conjunction to pierce the dimensional barriers before. That won't be happening for a bit in this universe so I have to make do. Luckily, the word of my…true identity hasn't spread far yet so I still have contacts to use." She smiled at a data screen popping up. "Ah, here we are. Just what I needed."

Blood shook his head. "All this just to get back home. For what? You can't win, Morgana. You never could."

"That was before," she snapped. "You've felt it, Blood. The way reality itself has shifted. Magic has been altered, not just here but across the planes. Before it settles down, that's a major opportunity I can use."

"For your own England? Not this one?'

Morgana shook her head. "I want that one. The land of my birth. And his."

Blood smiled. "And that's the truth of it. This is about Merlin. About showing him up at last. You could claim this entire planet but that wouldn't be enough. No, you need to shove it in his face."

"Are you defending him?"

"I have no love for the man. Not after he struck me with this damned curse." Blood crossed his arms. "I'm just amazed that you still retain such…affection for him."

Morgana laughed. "Affection? The man almost killed me!"

"A thin line between love and hate."

"There's no love in me, Blood. Especially not for him."

"Methinks the lady doth protest too much."

"God, I would never have fed Shakespeare that line if I'd known it was going to be used so often."

"Just saying, Morgana…You could have killed him centuries ago if you were as powerful as you say…yet you never did. Why? Still harboring an affection for the young man you knew so well?"

She glared at him. "The only thing I ever loved died a very….very…long time ago, Blood. Because of him. Whatever I may have felt…once…is in the past. The future is what matters now." She tapped the keys and nodded. "Here we go. Just need one more ingredient to get what I want."

"And what happens to me?" Blood asked. "Keep in mind, threatening to kill me won't do much good. I'd accept death as a blessing after all I've been through."

"There are worse fates, Jason, as you well know." Morgana moved toward him, her wicked smile in place. "For now, be assured…you'll still get Merlin's hide before this is through."

Jason sighed as he felt Etrigan's desire well within him…and hated to admit how much he agreed with his demonic half for once.

Merlin had to look Kara over with interest as they rode up the elevator for CatCo. "Glasses? Really?"

"I know, I know," Kara said, adjusting it as she wore her usual skirt and sweater. "Half the time, I can't believe it works either. But it does." She led him into the office, surprised it was mostly quiet. Her eyes quickly focused on the larger office where it looked like the staff was all gathered. "Huh. James must have called an emergency meeting." She led Merlin to it, pushing past a few of the people inside…and freezing in place.

"Oh, good, Keira, you're here." Standing behind the desk like a queen on her throne was a quite attractive older woman in a designer suit that blistered with inner power.

"Ms. Grant?" Kara babbled.

"I see your turn to a reporter has improved your senses," Cat Grant said in her usual imperious tone. "Thankfully, I had just begun this meeting so you haven't missed much."

"How…I mean…I thought you were…"

"White House Press Secretary?" Cat nodded. "I was. However, when you turn into dust in the middle of a press conference, it alters your thinking on your future career choices. I decided my place was not being the continual mouthpiece for one administration. It was to once more take up leadership of this media empire. To use it to fight against the rising tide of anti-alien feelings and other issues that can ruin this society."

"Um, I think tide is a bit much," Kara muttered. She found herself once more locked on the receiving end of a Cat Grant stare. She found it odd how much she'd missed it.

"Ah, Keria, how I missed your lovely naivety," Cat sighed. "So adorable." She looked over the others. "There, I'm back, we're getting on track, I expect new material and fresh ideas by the end of the day. Chop-chop!" In a rush, the staff moved out, leaving Kara standing with Cat. "Keria," Cat statd. "Something on your mind?"

"Just…I mean…where's James?"

"Oh, he's still working here, in his office," Cat returned. "I already talked to him, this was no reflection on his work. I just felt it was overdue I make my return."

"Ah..so…am I…"

Cat smiled. "Yes, Keria, you're still a reporter. I am very happy about your recent work and will be more than appreciative you continue."

"You realize her name is Kara, right?" Merlin stated. He had faced centuries of conflict, monstrous creatures, evil witches and sorcerers, a few dragons and, literally, Hell. Yet one sharp glare from Cat was enough for him to actually back up a step.

"I am aware, it's a game we've played for years. She likes it."

"Um, actually…"

Cat waved her hand. "To work, Kiera! I have much to catch up and whip back into shape!" Kara nodded as she headed to her desk. Merlin followed her, his eyebrows raised. "Fascinating woman. I know quite a few kings that would be hard-pressed to tame her."

"Yep, she's back in form," Kara said as she sat at her desk. She moved to her computer to check on some files. "I know there was something about this, I was marking it among the research for a new project at WayneCorp. It had to do with a new energy source…"

"Which Morgana may be interested in," Merlin noted. "If we can find it first…"

The sounds of screams cut through and the duo looked up. Marching into the press room was Morgana in full regalia with Etrigan behind her. The Demon let out a burst of flame that sent workers scattering as Morgana slammed her staff on the ground. "Kara Danvers!" she yelled out. "I believe we should be settling this!"

In her office, Cat looked up at the chaos outside. "A badly-dressed psychopath trying to cause destruction. Now I really do feel like I'm back home."

A bit shorter but was doing a bit more set-up here. Including the return of Cat Grant as who doesn't love having her around?