Disclaimers
All characters appearing in D.C Comics & Time Warner, Marvel Comics, Gargoyles/Gargoyles: the Goliath Chronicles, cartoons created by Murakami Wolf Swenson Inc. & IDW comics, media created by Joss Whedon, DIC Entertainment and Toei Animation & Akira Toriyama are property of their respective owners. No infringements of these copyrights are intended, and are not authorized by the copyright holder.
All original characters and concepts are the property of Celgress.
Legion of Superheroes – Episode Three Interlude One: Space Odyssey of Hope Part I
By
Celgress
The Docks of Gotham City mid-January 2016, night: one week before the events of the previous chapter
"C'mon you mugs get the lead out. The Bat or his little playmates could happen by at any moment. We got to make tracks." The dummy called Scarface barked orders from his position perched on the right hand of Arnold Wesker aka the Ventriloquist. Nearby a group of ten burly goons loaded heavy crates into a waiting flatbed truck.
A batarang swung silently through the air slicing into the two of four tires of the truck. A smoke pellet then hit the floor. Scarface, Ventriloquist and their henchmen were soon enveloped in a thick bank of purple-black smoke.
"Watch out mugs Bats is here!" Scarface warned to no avail. In well under a minute the ten goons lay sprawled unconscious on the wet floor. "Dammit," Scarface lamented.
"It's over," Batgirl said stepping out of the slowly dissipating bank of smoke a stern expression on her face. "You two will be back in Arkham by dawn."
"The wuss can do whatever he likes. But, I ain't going back there ever again girly," Scarface said.
"What do we do sir! Our men have been defeated!" Ventriloquist squeaked in fear. His eyes darted around the warehouse searching desperately for a way out.
"Chill loser I got this. I used some of the coin from our last heist to buy us real help for a change." Scarface said. "She's all yours boys enjoy."
Shocker, Beetle, and Rhino suddenly appeared out of the gloom. They quickly encircled Batgirl. Collectively known as the "Wrecking Crew" these three exosuit enhanced baddies posed a serious challenge for any lone superhero, especially one unaccustomed to with their tactics. Scarface and Ventriloquist escaped while Batgirl seized up her opponents.
Batgirl scowled she was in no mood to deal with these three low life creeps. "You're in my way, big mistake." She said narrowing her eyes. The Wrecking Crew members merely laughed at her angry words.
Rhino lunged forward at Batgirl but she jumped out of his way delivering a kick to his head as she did so. Beetle fired his shoulder-mounted laser blasters at her which she dodged. Shocker fired twin sonic pulses from his gauntlets which hit a wall when Batgirl again dodged. Enraged Rhino charged forward. This time Batgirl failed to fully evade his attack. One of his shoulders clipped her torso. She was sent spinning across the room. Before she could regain her footing Shocker fired a second round of sonic pulses these disorientated Batgirl who then could not stand without falling. The world spun wildly around her.
"Easiest money we ever made." Beetle said in his electronically enhanced voice. "She's a pushover compared to Spider-Man or his equally annoying buddies."
"Maybe next time it'll be the Bat." Shocker said.
"Yeah, I don't know about you guys but I came to Gotham looking for a real challenge, not some imitation bat bimbo," Rhino said cracking his gloved knuckles followed by his thick neck.
"I'm not a bimbo," Batgirl growled while again falling flat on her face.
"Whatever you say, honey." Shocker laughed.
"Let's finish her and be on our way." Beetle said powering up his full array of weapons. "Who gets the honors?"
"We'll flip for it." Shocker said fishing a silver dollar from a hidden pocket of his suit. "Rhino and I go first then the winner of the first flip takes on Beetle."
"Sounds good," Beetle said.
Shocker flipped his coin in the air. "I call heads."
"I call tails," Rhino said.
The coin never came down instead a flash bag did. When the dazzled eyes of the three recovered Batgirl was nowhere to be seen. They searched the warehouse but could not find her.
A Roof Top a block away, not long afterward
"Why did you do that?" Batgirl said while leaning against Nightwing. "I had everything under control. I was just about to rally."
"Sure you did," Nightwing said propping up his longtime girlfriend. "They were on the ropes. I could tell when they flipped a coin to decide who would get to kill you. I suppose you were lulling them into a false sense of security before you pounced, right?"
"Something like that," Batgirl said softly.
"Babs, what is wrong?" Nightwing asked. "This is the fourth time I've had to bail you out of serious trouble in as many weeks. Why are you acting so recklessly? You're not Jason, you've never been this out of control before. I'm worried."
"Don't be I'm fine," Batgirl said. "You can stop being my babysitter any time, Dick."
"I'm not your babysitter, I'm your boyfriend," Nightwing said. He was somewhat hurt by her comment and it showed. "I thought we were supposed to look out for each other, Babs?"
"We are," Batgirl said with a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, Dick."
"Is this about Kara?" Nightwing said. "Are you still having trouble accepting her death."
Batgirl strongly considered lying but saw no point. Nightwing knew her too well. The young crimefighters had been together their entire adult lives and then some. "Kara and I are more than friends. She is like the sister I never had. I feel she isn't gone Dick, at least not forever. I can't explain it to myself let all own anyone else. I just feel I need to help her somehow." Batgirl said having recovered enough to stand again on her own two feet she gently pushed Nightwing away. "Pretty messed up huh?"
Nightwing picked his words carefully before he spoke. It troubled him greatly how Batgirl refused to talk of Kara in the past tense. He knew her obsession with somehow resurrecting Kara was extremely unhealthy. "Kara is gone, Babs. Her body was completely disintegrated by a Martian atomizer bomb (see "Music of the Spheres"). Kara sacrificed herself to save Earth, the Universe and us. You've read the Justice League after-action report. You've heard the testimony of Clark & Bruce Banner about their fight with Kryptonian Hulk Eradicator and J'onn J'onzz's about the nature of the weapon Kara used to destroy Eradicator and herself." Nightwing shook his head sadly. "There is no way any being we know of could have survived being at the epicenter of that blast not ever one as resilient as Kara."
"You don't believe me," Batgirl said turning away.
"I want to believe you, I really do," Nightwing said putting his hands on Batgirl's shoulders.
"But you don't," Batgirl said.
"I'm sorry. I can't. It is impossible." Nightwing said being the first apprentice of the man often called the world's greatest detective Nightwing's mind simply refused to accept such an unbelievable possibility without hard evidence to the contrary.
"I owe her everything, Dick. I can't give up on Kara until I've exhausted every possibility for bringing her back no matter how remote." Batgirl said. "It was Kara who found the alien technology that restored my full mobility by mending my severed spine after, after, what happened..." Her voice trailed off unable to continue. She turned around and put her arms around Nightwing. She clung to him as if she was afraid to let go.
"I know," Nightwing said simply as he pulled the sobbing Batgirl close to his body. Only this past Christmas a full four months after Kara's apparent death had Batgirl shared her deepest secret with the man who hoped to one day be her husband.
Roughly five years ago the Joker had shot Batgirl following one of his many escapes from Arkham Asylum as part of a sick game to corrupt her father Commissioner Jim Gordon. His vicious attack left her paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheelchair for six months. She should have raimed there her whole life. Halfway through her stint as "Oracle" (the information agent of the Batman & Robin) Barbara had attempted suicide, a fact she was deeply ashamed of. If Kara had not paid her best friend an unexpected visit that day Barbara would likely have gone through with her plan. Barbara could not pull the trigger of the ghost gun she had purchased with Kara staring at her in disbelief. Later that day Kara departed into space after vowing to somehow heal Barbara. Three months later Kara returned and made good on her promise a promise no one else believed at the time she could fulfill.
"What do you want to do?" Nightwing said after letting Batgirl have a good long cry on his shoulder.
"I want, I need to see if there is any alien tech that might restore Kara. I know it is unlikely but I have to try." Batgirl said wiping her red puffy eyes.
"You're not going into space alone. If we can find a lead, I'll come with you." Nightwing said.
"But what about your job with Spyral?" Batgirl said. "You've already taken a longer leave of absence than they want." Nightwing in had returned to Gotham in September once he learned of Kara's death to comfort Batgirl.
"They'll understand or I'll walk away," Nightwing said.
"No, Dick," Batgirl said. "I won't have you give up your dreams because of me."
"Without you in my life Barbara my dreams mean nothing," Nightwing said smiling at Batgirl. "Now let's see if we can locate any viable leads, shall we milady?"
"Let's my knight," Batgirl said smiling back.
A Suburb of Star City in Washington State one day later, afternoon
"Thanks for seeing us on such short notice J'onn," Barbara said. She and Richard in civilian clothes sat on a love seat across from J'onn and Majin Girl or "Rose" as she went by in human form. The pair were seated on a sofa meanwhile J'onn's teenage niece M'gann, also in human form, sat in a nearby chair playing a video game on a big screen HD TV.
"M'gann please turn that down we are trying to carry on a conversation." J'onn who was likewise in his human guise said. The three aliens were supposedly conducting "research" by living among typical humans although some of the freshly minted Legion of Superheroes had their doubts thinking instead Martian Manhunter and Majin Girl had developed a romantic attraction.
"Sorry, Uncle J'onn," M'gann said decreasing the volume significantly. "Is that better?"
"Much," J'onn said.
"Do you think there is actually technology somewhere that could restore a person killed by an atomizer device?" Richard asked not beating around the bush.
"Possibly," J'onn said thoughtfully. "I've heard rumors of such technological knowledge existing in Dimension X."
"Oh, Dimension X is a nasty, nasty place," The pink haired and pink-eyed Rose said. "I wouldn't go there if I were you."
"You've been there?" Barbara asked.
"Before I reached Earth I fell through wormhole. I was only in Dimension X a few days before I found my way out. Lots of bad people in there." Rose said shivering at the memory.
"Indeed," J'onn said. "Dimension X is home to the Kraang, a race of cyborg clones under the command of a banished Utrom warlord of the same name, as well as the so-called 'New Gods or New Titans' of Apokolips who are ruled over by warring tyrant brothers Darkseid and Thanos. It is an exceedingly dangerous and lawless realm."
"But there could be tech there to restore Kara?" Barbara said ignoring the warnings of her hosts.
"Possibly," J'onn said. "If so your best source of information on finding such technology would be an old acquaintance of my mine, a sentient robot named Fugitoid. He specializes in rare information and is a master of exotic technologies of all descriptions. His a bit eccentric but can always be very helpful."
"Where exactly in Dimension X might we find this Fugitoid?" Richard asked.
"I'm unsure. He moves around a great deal." J'onn said. "I'd try Stump Asteroid. Fugitoid is a huge fan of the Intergalactic Wrestling Federation which has its primary arena there. Be warned the promoters who operation the Federation, Stump and Sling are less than scrupulous individuals. They are constantly on the lookout for new talent and have been known to press gang the unwary into competing in their arena."
"We'll keep that in mind," Barbara said.
"Do you happen to have a map of Dimension X or know where we can locate one?" Richard asked.
"I'll get you a copy of my personal volume of star charts by tomorrow," J'onn offered helpfully.
"I hope you succeed," Rose said brightening. "I'd love to meet my sister Kara." Majin Girl had a small fragment of Kara's essence imprinted on her not long after her arrival in this reality.
"I hope we do too," Barbara said smiling herself. For the first time since learning of Kara's tragic death in August she felt a spark of hope.
Secret Joint Wayne Enterprises/Star Industries Hangar outside Gotham City three days later, night
Richard and Barbara stealthily loaded their equipment and provisions into the Space Dart. The cutting edge prototype built with reserve engendered Kryptonian, Martian, Kree and Skrull technology was a joint project of Wayne Enterprises and Stark Industries. Only a select few knew of its existence, luckily there was a file about it on the Bat Computer.
The sleek craft was shaped like an elongated tear drop. It was the color of liquid silver. It had a front facing cockpit along where the elongation started to thin into a needle shape.
"Do you think Bruce will be angry when he finds out that we've borrowed this prototype?" Barbara asked.
"I have no doubt he'll be livid once he reads the note we left behind in the Batcave," Richard said. "But, he'll get over it."
"Maybe I will," A familiar deep voice said.
"Oh hi there Bruce," Richard said laughing nervously.
The billionaire industrialist stood there in a blue business suit watching the pair his gaze icy. His arms folded across his broad chest. "I could have you both arrested you know." He said.
"Bruce please don't blame Dick it was my idea," Barbara said.
"I know," Bruce said. "I read your note. I don't know what troubles me more; that you almost stole from me or that you didn't come to me for help."
"You'd really help us?" Richard said.
"After everything we've been through how can you ask that question? While I think this is a fool's errand, I understand why you are undertaking it." Bruce said actually smiling for once. "I'll start by getting you some real spacesuits." Bruce gestured at the plain dark blue jumpsuits the two wore.
"What are you going to tell Tony about the Space Dart?" Richard asked.
Bruce shrugged than smirked. "I'll tell him it is on an extended test run." His smiled then faded. "Just promise me you'll bring her back in one piece kids."
"Will do," Barbara said. "Thanks, Bruce this means a great deal to me."
"Proving me wrong is all the thanks I need," Bruce said.
"Bruce, don't tell Clark or Lois what we're doing. I don't want either of them getting their hopes up." Barbara said.
"I wasn't planning on telling them," Bruce said. "I know some things are better left unsaid until one is absolutely sure of results. No reasons to reopen old wounds unless they can be fully healed." He briefly thought of the death and subsequent resurrection of the second Robin Jason Todd and how those events had impacted him.
The Next Day, morning
The Space Dart with her well equipped copilots blasted off into the bright winter sky with a thunderous boom. Once free of Earth's atmosphere they engaged the warp drive. In a wash of multicolored energy, the vessel vanished as it left our solar system behind headed for Dimension X.
To Be Continued