I do not own any of this. Supergirl belongs to DC, Hellsing belongs to Kouta Hirano and God belongs to himself.
Kara didn't know how long she simply laid there, but then again, she supposed it didn't really matter. After all what was the rush? No one needed her, and she hadn't felt the need for anything. And by that she did mean anything.
She felt no hunger, the need to relieve herself was nonexistent, and she felt no cramps or discomfort from staying in the same position for what felt like hours on end. As a matter of fact she felt she could continue to stay like this for years had she truly desired to do so.
It was that train of thought that made her realize that even though she really had nothing else to do, staying around here and sleeping for the next couple years was not something she herself was comfortable doing. Staying idle had never been attractive to her in life and death would not change her opinion on the matter. No matter how comfortable the grass seemed to be.
With new purpose (or perhaps the need to find any purpose), Kara Zor-el Finally opened her eyes.
Wherever she was, it was breathtaking.
She was in what she could only guess to be a garden, but it was like no garden she had ever seen. For one it was bigger than any garden she had ever seen. It seemed to go on forever and then some, stretching to the horizon and beyond in every direction she turned. Trees bearing every type of fruit she had ever eaten and some she was pretty sure were exclusive to wherever she was now, were planted in what could only be described as an organized random pattern in every direction. Of coarse fruit didn't simply grow on trees alone, she see vines and bushes filled with them too, along with vegetables and flowers that all seemed to follow or complement that same random pattern. The oxymoron would have boggled her mind anywhere else but here it only seemed natural.
The aforementioned flowers were truly a sight to behold as well. What really stood out was the sheer variety. Not only were there different shapes and colors, but there also seemed to be no particular limit to what climate type the flower had belonged to. Flowers of the Mediterranean grew and blended with flora she had only ever seen grow in south America. The most mind boggling to her though was what had to be the symbolic sunflowers (the state flower of Kansas) sharing the same soil bed, with a type of flower she knew for a fact was kryptonian. Apparently this place had no discrimination against the flowers of other worlds either because Supergirl had spotted several other species that had no place on any earth climate. No, here all the flora planted their roots on the same soil and swayed with the same breeze under the clear blue sky.
Yes, her first statement was a correct description. Had she still needed to breath then this place would have stolen her breath away. She had never really read the bible in depth while she was alive, but she had no problem imagining this place to be the fabled Eden that Christians often mentioned in their myth of creation.
"You're not to far off in that assumption child," A familiar female voice broke the peaceful silence. Supergirl nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden start and slapped a hand over her heart to keep it from jumping out of its ribcage only to realize again that she was dead and a racing heart would no longer trouble her.
In life she had come across many mind - readers, so she did not feel as alarmed as she could have been when it seemed that someone else besides her now had access to her hidden thoughts. Usually it only took a warning or two to set them straight on what was and what wasn't acceptable in what most supers liked to call mind-walking courtesy, however there were, of course some who knew what they were doing was wrong and had no intention of stopping. Kara really hoped it was the former of the two options. Trying to set one straight in the case of the latter usually lead to one big headache for her, especially when some turned out to be rather mind-crippling telepaths.
Whether the mind reader had heard that last train of thought or perhaps simply ignored was unclear to Kara since the voice simply went on as if she had thought nothing at all.
"This place follows the same basic structure of my most famous garden, however as you have probably guessed, the vegetation of krypton was noticeably absent from my first design. Their inclusion was exclusively for your comfort Ms. Zor-el," now Kara realized where she had heard the voice before. After all it came from her own vocal chords every day. Supergirl's head whipped reflexively to the right, to where she had determined the voice to have originated from.
What she saw boggled her mind for what seemed to be the millionth time in the last half hour.
There, sitting Indian style, leaning against the trunk under the shade of a fruit tree that seemed larger than the others, was herself. Supergirl had dealt with a clone or two before, but if this one could read minds then she was going to be at a serious disadvantage here. Batman had once told her that in a situation like this it was best to not think and rely on instinct alone, but Kara had never truly honed hers to the sharp tool that he had and Kara had a feeling this would be easier said than done…
"As good as it is for you to be prepared for such an occasion, you should know that I have no desire to fight," The woman wearing her face assured her. Kara did not let her guard down.
"Then what do you want?" She asked in what could barely be considered a civil tone. There would be no chances taken here.
"To welcome a cherished child into my home, and to honor a the sacrifice of a true hero," the sheer amount of sincerity in the mystery woman's voice was enough to release the tension her body had unintentionally built up for the expected conflict. Any doubt the blonde had about this woman's honesty was immediately erased after seeing the loving smile on her face. After all it was the very same she used when she was sincere. But that still left the question of…
"Who are you then," A name would be a nice start.
The smile remained on the not- Kara's face as she stood. For the first time Kara noticed the not-Kara's dress. There was nothing super elaborate about the style. It was a simple, short-sleeved peasant style dress that brushed just past the knees, which led to bare feet. No, the style was not what grabbed the now deceased blonde's attention; it was the rather unnatural color scheme. After all, not many tailors or textile companies could dye a living color spectrum onto cloth, if it was cloth at all. The rainbow of colors moved and changed slowly in no particular pattern whether the not- Kara was in motion or not. Had the not- Kara spoken again Supergirl might of very well stared at the rainbow dress for the next couple hours (or days; she really had nothing better to do..).
"I am the beginning, the end, the alpha and omega," the woman spread her arms wide, "The universe is my creation. It is my kingdom, and I am its master," The not- Kara's voice no longer just came from the direction of the woman speaking. It now took on an echoing quality that seemed to come from every corner and direction of the endless garden.
It took Supergirl a moment to recover from that particular answer.
"Doesn't that make you...?"
"Yes."
Kara's legs collapsed and she numbly fell to her knees. She could deny it, yes, but the answer given seemed make more sense than anything else. That and somewhere deep inside her very soul, she recognized the being who created her.
In a situation like this one would think that the first thing they would ask would be something like 'what is the meaning of life?' or maybe 'have I lived my life right?' But all Supergirl could think to say was:
"Why do you look like me?"
The not- Kara continued to smile that gentle smile and said, "There is a little bit of God in all of us. I am always with you."
"I always thought you would be a man," Kara blurted thoughtlessly.
"Form means nothing to me," The creator of the universe replied.
"Well I never read that far into the bible but I know that it said you created the first man-,"
"-In my image," The king of kings finished, "Yes I am aware. While most of the lessons taught in that book are my word, it will always be a book that was written by the hands of bias men during the time of Constantine," by now the Everlasting Father was standing just in front of Supergirl.
"Stand Kara Zor-el. You have earned the right to face me eye to eye," The almighty spoke with Kara's voice in a tone of such regality, that Supergirl was almost positive she would never be able to match herself.
Kara did as she was told and stood face to face with the almighty and looked straight into her eyes. This was a mistake on Kara's part since she was not yet ready to handle the onslaught of visions that came from looking into the windows of God's soul.
"Do not look away Supergirl," Supergirl didn't, but she wished she had.
Within God's eyes she saw the end of the Crisis. She witnessed Barry Allen: the Flash's, death along with several others. She viewed multiple earths merge into one and as a result learned of the many heroes, including her that were simply forgotten or erased from existence. The horrifying movie seemed to continue on for an eternity for Kara until Jehovah finally closed her eyes. When she opened them again Supergirl saw nothing but an exact copy of her own blue orbs staring back at her. This time when she looked upon the master of the universe's face, it was no longer smiling.
"I wish I could tell you that it was another victory for the 'good guy'," God whispered mournfully, "but had it gone any other way reality could have very well ripped itself apart for those earths."
The almighty planted her hands the shoulders of the now trembling blonde. Kara who was only now coming back to herself realized that she was on the ground again with her hands now wrapped around her arms in a futile gesture to hold herself together. Her knees had once again given out. This time, however the creator of all things kneeled down with her to keep her steady. Despite the overwhelming comfort Supergirl felt from the gestures of her creator, she could no longer stop herself from falling apart.
There and then Supergirl fell into God's loving embrace and cried. She cried for the death of her friends, she cried for the suffering of her family, she cried for her own death and finally she cried for being forgotten. She wailed and pounded on Jehovah's chest without fear of breaking her. After all who could truly injure God?
Throughout Kara's entire 'super' breakdown the King of the Universe simply held the girl close and slowly stroked her back the same way Kara's mother used to before her departure to Earth. The gesture both comforted her and made her cry even harder, but never could anyone call God impatient. She had all the time in the world to let Kara release her pent-up sorrow.
And so both the Girl of Steel and the King of Glory sat in the garden for a time. God whispered assurances that they could stay like this as long as she needed to, while Kara came in and out of uneven, random fits of tears. She took in big heaving breaths only to let them out again in pathetic sobs mixed with tears and mucus. The lapse in dignity never bothered her comforter; it only made her hold on tighter.
Neither counted how long they sat there; after all they had the rest of eternity ahead of them and perhaps even longer. However Kara didn't need that long. Eventually the blonde heroine figuratively ran out of tears and started to pull herself together. She pulled away from the Lord of Lords and weakly smiled at her.
"Are you finished?" there was no bite in her voice, just love.
Supergirl shakily picked herself up, placed her hands on her hips, firmly planted her feet on the ground and straightened her back out in a stance that Clark would have been proud of.
"Yes. Thank you; I'll be alright now," Kara reassured.
"Are you quite sure?"
"I may never truly get over this, but I'll shed no more tears on this matter," Kara took a deep breath, "Kal El, or at least the Kal I knew anyway, he would want me to move on. He wouldn't want me to cry for him, and none of the other friends I lost would want to hold me back from true peace."
"You had wonderful friends then," God smiled, "and more importantly: they had a wonderful friend in you." Supergirl blushed under the praise.
"Which, brings us to a problem of mine…" The Creator of all things trailed off, her peaceful expression morphed into a pensive one. Kara's eyes widened at the sudden mood shift.
"What do you mean?" the former heroine couldn't help but feel a shiver run up her spine at the thought of whatever could trouble the Master of all Things.
"Well," the Blessed Hope pursed her lips, "as you have recently experienced, there is more than just one Earth and there is a complex multiverse that makes up all of creation," she gave Kara a compassionate glance, "you sacrificed you life to protect these worlds.
"However those several earths you fought for were not the only ones in existence, in fact there are some worlds that would not have been affected in the slightest, had the anti-monitor succeeded in its plan," Kara's jaw dropped, but God continued on, despite the massive revelation she just caused.
"In some of these alternate earths the concept of 'superheroes' are found only in the works of fiction and the realm of the truly imaginative. In some worlds still the word superhero has never caught on," this little fact caused the blonde kryptonian's eyes to nearly pop out of her head. This time the Former of all Things allowed her young confidant to take in the knowledge she had just gifted her with.
Kara took a small step back in order to steady herself and to prevent from falling down again.
"Who protects the innocent then? You know, from the threats that law enforcement can't handle alone?" God simply smiled again, but it did not have the same intensity as her earlier grins.
"Without superheroes to push crime forward, there are no super villains. There was no need for criminals to push themselves that far," the Glory of Israel shrugged, "this, however does not mean that these worlds are all without their threats. Just because these do not fall under the clear cut category of super villain does not mean that there are no beings of above average power and skills," God warned with a stern wave of her index finger.
"Then who takes care of those clowns if they're above law enforcement's reach?" was Kara's passionate, if not somewhat predictable reply. She couldn't help it. According to her loving creator there were a whole slew of worlds that had no one above mere police to protect them. She really meant no disrespect to law enforcement, but she had grown up in a world where police were almost hopelessly dependent on her kind. The thought of police actually standing up against the above average thug was almost alien to her. There were always the exceptions, like the police commissioner of Gotham that Batman gave nearly glowing praise to, which in itself was extraordinary. Unfortunately there were not nearly enough men in uniform like him in her world as for as she knew.
The King of Saints must have read her thoughts again when she asked, "will it ease your mind if I tell you that the police in most worlds are usually much more capable and resourceful than the ones you have encountered on your home earth?"
Kara snorted and replied rather sharply, "What makes them so good compared to ours?" before widening her eyes, "I mean-,"
The Light of Nations chuckled softly. The sound practically danced around the clearing and if possible made the garden bloom more than its already bountiful state. Birds –doves- that she had not noticed before sang in reply to their beloved maker's mirth.
"There is no need to apologize Kara Zor El. Your skepticism is justified," God assured. She placed a hand on Supergirl's cheek. The appendage then brushed other blonde girl's hair back, which had come to obscure her face. When Her Majesty on High pulled her hand back she began to speak again, "However you should remember that these worlds for the most part do not have the same conditions yours had. While the law enforcement where you came from had the luxury of cheering on heroes and heroines like yourself as they stood on the sidelines, the men and women in uniform on other worlds were adapting and compensating for their lack of 'super' allies. Please be assured that the above average threats on these other worlds are hardly getting the free rein you seem to imagine that they are receiving."
The super blonde released a relieved breath she had no idea she was holding. She would trust God on this, even if it was nearly impossible for her to imagine such a world that her look- alike had just described.
"Well if you say they don't need us then I'll believe you," The Redeeming Angel beamed at the former heroine's admission and if it was possible, the garden they stood in almost glowed with its master's happiness. Kara herself couldn't hold her own smile back.
Unfortunately, the smile on the Lord's face didn't last and eventually melted into a mournful frown. The atmosphere of the garden responded in kind to its creator's mood shift. The once clear and sunny blue sky clouded over slightly. The sun still peaked through leaving random skylights that highlighted both the Spirit of Grace and the deceased blonde, but the almighty's joy and love no longer seemed to resonate throughout the small lush world. The flowers didn't shrivel, but they did seem to almost fold in on themselves and the various fruit and vegetation no longer bore its fruit. The comforting breeze that had seem to comfort Kara on a subconscious level seemed to still, taking its reassurances with it.
"Perhaps, but there is one world I know that could probably use someone like you."
"Hey wait! You just said-," The Eternal God held up her hand and Kara found she could no longer speak.
"This world would still survive if I left it be, however I cannot in good conscience rest knowing that I could prevent the massive body count that is to come when I had a prime chance to stop it," a wave of nostalgia washed over Kara. After all, how many friends and other fellow heroes had she heard say the same thing or at least something close to it? For the first time since the deceased heroine arrived, she felt could now feel an idea of what God was truly going through, whatever the problem may be. For the first time since she had arrived in the afterlife, the Supergirl understood what God was trying to tell her.
"There's something I can do isn't there?" it wasn't a question.
"I won't force you into anything," the Righteous One replied. "The right to choose will always be a gift to my creations. You can stay here you know. You may find eternal peace and bliss with your fellow friends and fallen comrades." The God of Jacob waved her hand to the side where a beam of sunlight shone through from the cloudy sky above. The sunlight however did not make a spotlight like the others. Instead the light weaved into many colors until it settled into an image of another part of the otherworldly garden that Kara had not seen. There she saw Aquagirl (1), Barry Allen (2), Kole (3), Kid Psycho (4) and several other superheroes that she had learned died in the crisis, either by witnessing it herself or from the visions God had given her earlier. She saw the joy in their faces and the freedom of their burdens in life no longer reflected in their, now care free, demeanors. "You may wait until your cherished cousin passes through the heavenly gates for your long-awaited reunion." The image now rearranged itself until she could see the familiar form of her famous cousin. All breath sharply left her like she had received a punch to the gut. Despite her earlier words she could feel traitorous tears prick at her eyes again. "You don't have to involve yourself with a world that is not your responsibility. You have no obligation to this particular universe."
Kara reached out for the image of her closest relative. She was hardly surprised when her hand passed through the illusion, but was shocked when her cousin seemed to stop flying and survey his surroundings. Superman was about to resume what she assumed would be his patrol over metropolis when she almost unconsciously whispered:
"Kal…" He froze in mid-air and a shiver visibly traveled up his spine. This time when he surveyed his surroundings again he looked her way.
Time seemed to stop for both heroes of steel when Clark caught her eye. Kara didn't move, didn't breathe, didn't do anything; she feared losing the fragile connection too much to do anything else.
"Kara…" the name tumbled from the hero's lips before he could recognize what he was saying.
Then just as soon as he said the word it was almost like a spark died in his eyes and he resumed his patrol.
"Wait!" the distraught blonde fell to her hands and knees, "KAL!" Her head swiveled to the King of Heaven, "You said he forgot me. Why did he know my name, why could he see me!?"
"Have you never heard of being haunted?" God asked, "As for why he knew your name, he may have a new life in this new universe, but a piece of the old Kal El will always remain within his soul. Only when he meets his end will he truly remember every part of his rather convoluted life." There was no smile on the Holy One's face, but an unreadable mask.
"Why did you want me to see that?" Kara asked
"To let you know that although Superman may not remember you now, he has not forgotten you and there is still a chance at a true reunion in the afterlife Kara. I want you to weigh all of your options before making the decision to include yourself in this universe's affairs or not."
Supergirl had no idea whether to thank the other woman or not. Clearly her opinion was important in this matter which she could appreciate, but Kara knew in her soul that she could not turn her back on anyone who needed her help. If there was truly a way she could help those living on this alternate earth, then dammit she was going to help! And nothing was going to stop her, even her own family and friends.
"Thank you for the thought your Holyness," said Kara, "but I can't, in good conscience ignore those in need."
God lifted her head and grinned at Supergirl, "Once again you have proved to me just how right I was to choose you for this."
"What do you mean?" asked a rather perplexed Supergirl who cocked her head to the side.
"The person I choose for this will have to be strong of will and be willing to put the needs of other before the desires of themselves no matter how much they deserve it. This world is harsh and those who cannot adapt have been crushed before," The stony eyes of her almighty creator bored into the super blonde and she gulped, "this will be as much a trial for you as much as help for this planet."
Supergirl replied with a fist to the palm and said, "Bring it on then."
Well here yah go! Writing god is HARD, but it sure was fun using all those names and guess what? Those were only the ones the Jewish/Christian God! Anyone who has a problem with me only acknowledging the jewish/christian god should be reminded that this is a HELLSING fic. The christian god if paladin anderson is anything to go by seen as a VERY real god in their respective universe. I was originally going to write more but here just seemed like a natural place to stop and so I listened.