CHAPTER SIX: APOKOLIPS NOW!
Core Boring Station #5, Apokolips, Anfer'al System, Mu'ok Galaxy, September 30, 2009
"MOVE! You call this working, you dogs? Would you bring the Shadow Lord's wrath on us all?"
The boiling air under the toxic twilit sky of Apokolips was enough to choke any soul, the ultra-industrialized planet's triad of core-vents spewing tons of poisonous fumes and volatilized metals into the atmosphere. At the edges of one of the city-slums was one of the massive Planet-Bores, gigantic drilling-machines capable of piercing the planet's mantle all the way down to the core, and siphon energy and materials vital for the vast war-machine that supported the planet's empire.
As the Planet-Bore drilled away, starting a fourth core-vent, a twenty-man squad of monstrously-muscled humanoids in high-tech flight armour – the deadly Parademons – encircled the dozens of labourers that lugged ore-chunks thrown up from the Bore into the processing center, to wring out any resources the Bore had missed. The labour force was a veritable hodgepodge of sentient life: some were scaled, some hard-skinned, some multipedal…and two were pale-skinned.
Furious with the slow pace, the foreman stormed towards one of the pale creatures as he hefted one large ore-chunk into a cart. "I said MOVE!" With that, he lifted his energy-lash above his head, and brought it down.
As the lash impacted his back, already laced with whip-scars, a soot-coated Clark bit back a strangled cry, and fell to his knees. His ire growing, the foreman lashed out again, his strike buckling Clark's knees completely, sending him crashing to the ground.
Just a few feet away, another worker, apparently human, lean and tall, with a bald head and green eyes, in only basic grey uniform slacks, stepped away from his cart with a grimace. "He's doing the best he can, foreman!"
The foreman whirled on him. "Back to work, Free, or you're next on my list!"
The human had already moved to Clark's side, helping him to his feet. "The day's almost over, pal," he whispered. "Just another hour or two…"
In only his uniform pants and belt – his cape and uniform shirt long since shredded – Clark shook his head wearily. "And then the next one starts…"
"Oh, dear. Is someone having a rough time?"
At that falsely saccharine croon, everyone froze, especially Clark and his friend, as a stoutly-muscled, slightly short elderly woman, in a black-yellow armoured bodysuit and cape, with short grey hair and cold dark eyes, casually walked past the Parademons. The foreman instantly saluted. "Mistress Goodness!" he exclaimed. "To what do we owe this honour?"
"Oh, Granny just wanted to check up on her newest orphan," the woman – Granny Goodness – answered, her gaze settling on Clark. As she saw his comrade, she frowned. "I hope you haven't been a bad influence, Scott. The Shadow Lord has such hopes for him, and it would be just awful if I had to punish you, again."
Scott scowled. "So what else is new?"
Granny was the picture of dismay. "And now I will have to punish you," she said. "Oh, why do you force Granny to be cruel to her children?"
Panting, Clark caught his breath enough to talk. "You…wouldn't have come down here…just for that, Goodness."
Granny smiled. "Oh, aren't you the smart one! Granny's so happy to see your mind's still intact, after all the sessions Desaad had with you!" she exclaimed. "Granny also wanted to see if you remembered anything. Remember, it's very important!"
Clark shook his head. "I've told you before, Goodness. I don't know anything about that…"
Granny sighed. "Oh, how Granny wishes she could believe you," she crooned, "but I'm just not convinced." Her sympathy vanished. "I'm afraid I won't be able to keep Desaad away, anymore." With that, she nodded to the Parademons.
As the mutated soldier-fanatics stalked towards him, Clark began to panic. "No, no, no!"
Stricken, Scott looked to Granny imploringly. "Goodness, that's four sessions since yesterday! And most go mad after two sessions with that sadist!" he begged. "Give him a break..!"
Granny shook her head. "Backtalkery and trying to run away, Scott?" she sneered. "You're definitely a bad influence. Granny's going to have to use the Box, again." She turned back to Clark. "Granny just hates to see her favourite orphan get punished, sweetie. Will you at least try to remember, this time?"
As the Parademons grabbed him, Clark tried desperately to break free, but under Apokolips' dull red sun – older than even Rao – he was powerless. He could only struggle in vain as he was dragged off, while his mind began to drift, to happier times…
XXXXXXXX
Green Hills Apartment Complex, Metropolis, New York, September 26, 2009
Clark felt himself stir as the morning sun's light grazed his eyelids through his bedroom window. With a quiet yawn, he started to sit up…only to smile and lie back down as he remembered who was using his arm as a pillow.
Lying face-down next to him, in only her favourite blue panties with his crest on the front, Alison sighed sleepily, her eyes shut tight as she nuzzled into his arm, her hand resting on his bicep, her hair beautifully tousled around her face. Clark couldn't help but smile. "Good morning, beautiful."
With a piteous moan, Alison half-opened one eye. "Clarkie…it's too early..."
Clark took a look at his bedside clock with his free hand. "Taushi, it's 10:00 AM."
"So? It's your day off, and I don't have classes."
Clark chuckled. "We still have patrols and Institute sessions," he reasoned. "Plus, you have your homework."
Alison pouted. "Jerk," she replied. "You'd better not be expecting anything tonight. Last night wore me out, as it is, and now you're making me wake up before noon. Some boyfriend you are."
Clark laughed. "Well, maybe I can help you with that last one." Gently, he slid his arm from under Alison's head, and slowly moved to straddle her from behind, his hands caressing her sides.
Alison closed her eyes with a smile, relaxing under her lover's touch. "I like where this is going – ooh!" Her gasp came sudden as Clark's hands moved to her bare back, his fingers gently working her tense muscles along her spine. "C-Clark..!"
"I figured that after yesterday, plus the sudden move, you'd be tense," Clark said, as he massaged his beloved. "Sounds like I called it right."
As she arched her back with a tiny squeak, Alison felt herself melting, barely able to form a coherent thought. "I've…been worse," she murmured, as her hands scrunched the pillow, "but this – aah – definitely helps."
As he worked a particularly tense spot under his taushi's shoulders, Clark placed a kiss on the back of her neck. "Good to know."
Alison was writhing under him, by now. "Tausha?" she cooed, as she turned around to face him, smiling happily. "Consider me un-stressed."
Clark smiled slyly. "That was fast."
Alison giggled. "I have a great therapist." With that, she reached up to grab his right hand, and guided it down to the rim of her panties. "But I still could use a bit more therapy."
Clark's grin grew. "Happy to oblige," he whispered, as he leaned down to kiss her, his fingers sliding under the stretchy material, inching towards her…
The sudden canine groan startled them both. Exasperated, Clark looked over his shoulder. "Not now, Krypto."
Krypto's second annoyed grunt made Alison laugh, despite the impending frustration. "Krypto, Gadget's just trying to be your friend. Be nice!" she chided.
From his napping spot on the blanket beside the foot of the bed, the wide-awake Superdog grunted his irritation as Gadget continued to snooze happily on Krypto's back. The third complaint made Clark roll to the side. "I suppose we should get up and feed these two."
Alison sighed, as she grabbed Clark's white t-shirt and threw it on, her slender frame almost swallowed up by it. "Think this is what it's like to have kids?"
Clark chuckled as he moved to the cupboard where he kept Krypto's kibble. "I think that's a bit more complicated, Aly. With these two, we just need to feed them, play with them, and keep them from fighting, plus walk Krypto and change Gadget's litterbox."
Alison shrugged as she changed Gadget's water and refilled his dry and wet food. "Feeding, activities, rivalry, and messes – basically, kids!" she insisted. "If we can handle these two, we should at least be off to a good start for later on, right?"
Clark knew it wasn't fair, but the happy thoughts of a family with Alison were swept away by the memories left behind by the false life he'd imagined under Doom's influence. "I…I guess."
Alison was in the middle of giving Gadget a mid-meal scratch when she caught his tone, and realized her mess-up. "You're thinking of Jay and Lira, aren't you?"
Clark could only give Krypto an absent ear-scratch as the Superdog chowed down. "I know, I know," he whispered. "They weren't real. I know that in my head, Aly, but I still remember them." He smiled wistfully. "The day Jay took his first steps; the first time Lira called me "Daddy"…or "Doody,"" he chuckled, "and then the day she and Jay disagreed over who could play on their miniature kri'nura – I know babies are supposed to be fussy…"
"Let me guess: Lira proved to us she took after me in the tantrum department?" Alison hazarded with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. At Clark's second laugh, she took his hand in hers. "I know you miss them, baby," she soothed, "but it's like I told you: we still have lots of time. They still have a chance."
Clark sighed. "I know that, Aly," he agreed. "My head gets it, but it's my heart that's slow on the uptake."
Alison's smile was loving, as her hand moved over Clark's heart. "You'd make such a wonderful father, Clark," she cooed. "I just know it."
Clark's hand moved to cover hers. "And you'd be an amazing mom."
At his words, Alison went rosy. "Wow, this sure got serious."
Clark felt a bit flushed, himself. "Yeah," he agreed. "Still, it's better to talk about these things sooner than later, right?"
Alison nodded…right before her stomach growled. "Right, but it's probably best not to talk on an empty stomach," she said with a sheepish grin. "Waffles?"
"Sure. I'll pour the juice – apple or orange?"
Alison moved to the cupboard and got the toaster. "Apple's fine," she said. "So what was that message Sentrius sent you, last night? You know, before we turned in?"
Clark had already poured a glass of apple juice for her, and a glass of orange for himself. "She was just relaying a deep-space communique from the Four," he answered. "They've reached Saturn, and they've encountered an indigenous society on Titan, one of its moons!"
Alison was just putting the waffles back, holding two in her mouth as she turned to him, her eyes wide. "Srrsly?"
Clark chuckled, both at her response and at how he'd understood. "They plan to observe these people sometime this afternoon."
As she popped the waffles down, Alison absently tied her hair back in a ponytail. "Wow. Go Reed and Sue!"
Clark sat down, and took a sip from his glass. "And how are your sketches going?"
Alison groaned piteously. "Fine, other than the fact it's like pulling teeth, at times!" she complained. "I swear, when I'm designing uniforms, it comes so easily, but with the stuff we're asked to do, it's like my brain goes on vacation!"
Clark looked thoughtful. "Well, maybe you could incorporate some of your uniform-design features into your sketches," he offered. "They could be a jumping-off point."
Alison chewed her lip. "Maybe," she agreed. "I still have some sketches like that: unused ideas for my uniform, edits to yours…"
Clark froze. "Wait a minute. What's wrong with my uniform?"
Alison looked guilty. "Nothing."
Mildly cross, Clark folded his arms. "Aly…"
"Well, it's just…after we started dating, I…jotted down a few ideas that came to me about it," Alison confessed. "Don't get me wrong, I love it! It's just…they were only ideas!"
Clark relaxed. "I suppose I can understand," he relented. "So, if you could, what would you change?"
Alison blushed. "Not much. All in all, there's only one thing I'd call a no-no."
Clark arched an eyebrow. "And that would be..?"
Alison took a deep breath. "Baby…your uniform's underwear is on the outside."
His annoyance returning, Clark was about to refute her statement…until he thought about it. "Holy smoke," he murmured. "I…I never even thought about it…"
Alison shrugged helplessly. "If it helps, I never thought about it much, either. I only noticed by accident."
Now Clark was a bit red. "I'd thought that just the suit would draw too much attention to…the lower region," he said. "The shorts were meant to fix that."
Alison giggled. "Oh, Clarkie."
"What? I did!"
Alison shook her head. "You really thought a pair of bright red tight-shorts would decrease the attention paid to your lower section?"
Clark paused. "Uh…"
Alison giggled. "Fortunately, your bod's hot enough to pull it off; on anyone else, it would look ridiculous."
Clark sighed. "Well, I suppose that's something."
Alison quickly changed the subject. "Did you hear that Ororo and T'Challa are getting ready to set a date?"
Clark shook his head. "It's news to me," he admitted. "Do they have any ideas?"
Alison sighed. "I think they're still trying to work around Ororo's instructing schedule," she said. "After the past few weeks, I think she feels guilty about taking any time off."
Clark looked grave. "I hope they can work through it," he said. "Now more than ever, we should all celebrate what joy we can find…"
He was cut off by the sound of his belt-computer's beeping, prompting him to answer quickly. "Superman here."
"Commander El, Beacon is detecting a silent alert from the 1st National Bank in downtown Metropolis," Sentrius reported. "Alerts on the MPD frequency places the perpetrators approximately five kilometers south-by-southeast of your present location."
Clark grimaced. "Have any available members of the League converge on that location! Power Girl and I will be on-site!"
"Understood, Commander. Sentrius out."
Alison had already overheard him. "Duty calls?"
"It looks like it!" Clark was already moving to grab his uniform. "Krypto, we need to get moving, now!" Krypto perked up at once, prompting Gadget to hop off. In less than a minute, Superman and Power Girl had suited up, and darted out of the window, with Superman shutting it behind them once Krypto was clear.
As they flew, Superman frowned to himself. 'We're going to have to be careful about coming and going from there.'
In minutes, the three of them were flying over Metropolis, with the daily traffic racing to get clear of a lone van careening around corners, trying to get away from the pursuing police car. As his eyes scanned the street ahead, Superman quickly formed a plan. "Krypto, see that metal stick on the back of that van? Fetch!" he instructed. "Aly, once Krypto and I stop that van, pry those goons out of it! Let's move!"
At his master's command, Krypto dove out of the sky towards the van, and grabbed its rear bumper with his teeth, which caused its tires to skid, dragging the Superdog behind it. While Krypto slowed the van, Superman darted to a nearby fire hydrant, grabbed one of its nozzles, and unscrewed it with one hand. As the hydrant sprayed water along the street, soaking the van's tires, Superman let loose a burst of freezing breath, turning the water to ice, and causing the van's tires to spin uselessly, their traction completely gone. With the van immobilized, it was easy for Alison to slice off the rooftop with a precision eye-ray, and then peel it back, to reveal the three masked men within. "Hey, boys. Did any of you forget your debit cards?"
The crooks panicked predictably. One drew his revolver, and opened fire on Power Girl, while the other two made a run for it. Power Girl quickly shrouded herself in a light-barrier, blunting every single shot; once the crook's magazine was empty, she morphed her barrier into a light-vice to grab him up. With the duffel bag containing their ill-gotten gains over his shoulder, the leader of the trio tried to run for an alley, only to almost run into the Flash. "Somebody call for backup?" The crook tried to double back, but Flash had already darted ahead, racing around him to kick up a mini-cyclone that spun the crook into the air, and dropped him flat on his butt. "Seriously, dude?"
The last crook was racing for the nearby subway entrance – he was only inches away when something yanked him off his feet by his collar. Frantic, the crook tried to run in place, but Superman kept his grip on his jacket. "Put me down, you alien freak!" the crook shouted.
Superman sighed and shook his head. "Be happy to," he remarked, as the police car pulled up a few feet away. "If you'd prefer to deal with the police, I'd be glad to oblige!"
By then, the two policeman in the patrol car had gotten out, prompting Power Girl and Flash to drop their collars over by Superman, while Krypto spit out the chunk of rear bumper he'd ended up biting off. The police sergeant scratched his head with a tired smile. "Thanks for the assist, guys. This could've gone pretty bad if you hadn't been here!"
Superman smiled back. "Just glad to be of help, Sergeant. We're all on the same team..!"
BOOOOOM!
Superman's voice was lost in the thunderous boom of a rip tearing in the fabric of space mere meters away. The rip quickly morphed into a rippling tunnel of white energy, which deposited five beings – one huge, bulky-muscled grey-skinned humanoid in a black armoured cuirass, one hunched, muscled being in brown-green armour, with a thick beard, and three misshapen humanoids clad in high-tech armoursuits – in its wake. As the portal vanished, the hunched being looked around with a scowl. "Is this it, Grayven? Is this the planet that Father spoke of?"
The gray being – Grayven – nodded sourly. "Without a doubt, Kalibak," he answered, checking a data-readout from his gauntlet. "The presence of inactive Bio-Converters confirms it." He scowled as the readout changed. "Someone has altered them."
Kalibak bristled. "Who? Who would dare..?"
"An accounting of that will come later, brother. For now, we must complete our task quickly, lest the looming mechanical monstrosity become wise to us." Turning towards Superman, Grayven pointed to him. "Kryptonian!" he barked. "Our Lord and Master demands your presence! You will accompany us!"
Superman arched an eyebrow. "And who exactly would your master be?"
"Our Father is the Great Lord of Shadow! The Bringer of Order to Chaos!" Kalibak declared. "He is the Master of all Creation!"
Power Girl put her hand to her head. "Okay, psycho much?"
"Does he have a name?" Flash urged.
Grayven sneered. "His true name is not for the likes of you, or even us!" he shouted. "Those who would stand against him know him as Darkseid."
The name echoed through Superman's mind, as his entire body went cold. "WHAT did you just say?"
"You heard us, Kryptonian whelp," Grayven growled. "You are summoned, now obey!"
Flash blinked. "Okay, am I missing something here?" he asked. "Who exactly is this guy?"
Power Girl's hands moved to her mouth. "Someone that most on Krypton didn't believe was real," she murmured. "Someone very, very bad."
Superman steadied himself. "I don't care who your master is, pal – we're not going anywhere with you."
Kalibak snarled with rage. "That was NOT a request, insolent whelp!" he boomed. "Parademons: seize ALL of them!"
Instantly, the three armoured abominations screeched their compliance, their armour propelling them into the air. The lead Parademon flew at the three crooks, and scooped them up with almost no effort, tapping its belt to summon another rippling portal. As the Parademon flew for the portal, Flash ran to stop it, but Kalibak slammed with with a tackle, giving the Parademon time to escape with its quarry.
The second Parademon flew at the policemen, but Power Girl darted ahead of them, illuminating herself brighter than a magnesium flare. Blinded, the Parademon lost control, and crashed into a nearby building, its armour shorted out. The third Parademon tried to charge, but Power Girl let loose a hard-light sphere, smacking it right in its face. As Power Girl paused to catch her breath, she let out a cry as Grayven darted behind her, yanking her backwards by her hair. "You are as fearsome as you are fair, woman of Krypton. You would make a fine concubine for…"
WHAM!
Superman was on Grayven in seconds, his fist slamming into Grayven's face and sending him flying across the street, minus Alison, as well as a few teeth. "You so much as touch her again and you'll be eating through a tube for the rest of your life!" he roared.
Getting to his feet, Grayven spat a mouthful of bile-coloured blood. "Whelp, I will enjoy watching Desaad break you!" he shouted. "Parademons, NOW!"
At that call, both Parademons – ignoring their earlier injuries completely – charged Superman with lunatic desperation, each uttering the same battle-cry. "FOR DARKSEID!" Darting upwards, Superman evaded the charge of the first, but got clipped by the second before he could plan his counterattack. Kicking the Parademon away, Superman readied an eye-ray, but the first tackled him, driving him towards the portal. The second flew at him again with a force only pure fanaticism could inspire, keeping him off-balance enough for their masters. With Superman distracted, Grayven and Kalibak saw their chance, and ran straight at him.
Flash went pale. "Big Blue, you got incoming..!"
Power Girl was already flying after him. "KAL, LOOK OUT..!"
Both of them were too late. Grayven and Kalibak's double-tackle knocked Superman and the Parademons into the event-horizon, vanishing from Earth…and emerging somewhere else.
As he came through the portal, Superman immediately knocked Kalibak, Grayven, and the Parademons away with a back-hand strike, before he took to the air…and immediately dipped in altitude. Quickly, he looked around…and froze with horror.
The world he floated above was as far removed from Earth as any world could be. Factories, quarries, slums, and smokestacks lined the skyline as far as his eye could see, combining with the dull red light of an ancient sun to paint the planet a smoky red-black. Seconds after he took in the horizon, his hearing was assaulted by an unending cacophony of anguished screams, seasoned with incessant propaganda – not even Earth's daily chatter at its noisiest had ever plagued him so. His ears ringing, Superman trained his eyes on the nearest cry for help out of reflex…and what he saw stopped his heart cold.
His X-ray vision had rested on the nearest factory, looking like some unholy spike jutting out of the blackened soil. The interior was filled with hundreds upon hundreds of high-tech-looking chairs, each holding an individual within its manacles. The prisoners of the chairs gazed at holographic screens – the source of most of the propaganda exhalting Darkseid – with their eyes forced open, while intravenous lines fed mutagenic chemicals into their bloodstreams. The chairs on the lower levels held prisoners of all species, while the higher levels held only one type of creature: the end-product of the horrific process.
Parademons.
As familiar screams filled his ears, Superman spotted the criminals he'd collared on the lowest level, being dragged into those horrible chairs by the first Parademon. He tried to focus on them, but the collective howls of the entire planet distracted him…
"Magnificent, is it not?"
From the ground below, Grayven and Kalibak stood calm, now flanked by dozens of Parademons. "We all too often forget the extent of our Lord Father's empire!" Grayven remarked.
Kalibak snorted. "My Lord Father, you mean," he sneered, which caused Grayven to scowl.
Superman's horror turned to fury. "You call that "magnificent"?" he thundered, fighting to stay aloft under the red sun's light.
Grayven shrugged. "What we call Apokolips matters little, whelp," he said. "What matters is that you now call it home."
And as he spoke, the portal behind him shrunk to nothing, winking out of existence.
A new kind of horror gripped Superman, as he realized he was now stuck on a world with a red sun; he had only minutes of power left. He had to get the portal-device – the Boom-Tube, he realized – from Grayven or Kalibak, and figure out how…
"Welcome to my domain, son of Krypton."
At that voice – echoing like a wind from hell – Superman froze. Part of him wanted to deny it, deny who that voice belonged to. He wanted to say that he was nothing but a myth…
…but he couldn't. On some level, he knew who this was.
The kneeling Grayven and Kalibak all but confirmed it. "My Lord!"
Slowly, Superman turned around, and saw him. He loomed over seven feet tall, all muscle, his skin the colour and texture of granite, dry and cracked, with infernal red light leaking from his body. He wore a simple, dark blue-black armoursuit, with a rounded helmet, and black gauntlets marked with a symbol resembling a Greek Omega symbol…
…and his eyes were the red of blazing hellfire, glowing with both infernal power and devilish intelligence.
As he stood upon his floating chariot, flanked by legions upon legions of Parademons, Darkseid smiled coldly at Superman. "I believe we have much to discuss."
Superman tried to stay cool. "I have nothing to say to you."
Darkseid chuckled – a truly chilling sound. "Oh, but you do," he corrected. "Your knowledge will mark the end of a long quest of mine – a quest you WILL aid me in."
His cold smile vanished. "So resist if you will – most who answer my summons do," he said. "It matters little, for in the end, you WILL call me Master…"
XXXXXXXX
Watchtower, Earth orbit, September 31
To say the atmosphere aboard the Watchtower was tense would have been the most colossal understatement of the year, if not the decade.
The entire Justice League was present, all working tirelessly. Batman and Hawkgirl were both on the monitors, assisting Sentrius in scanning the planet for any sign of their missing comrade. Green Lantern and the Martian Manhunter were on comms, calling every contact across the galaxy they had, looking for any hint of who could have attacked Earth, while Aquaman, Green Arrow, and Flash coordinated the search-effort with their allies planet-side. Wonder Woman and Spider-Man were just returning from Themyscira and Doctor Strange's Sanctum, respectively, hoping to gain insights from either the Olympians or the Vishanti…and finding neither. As for Supergirl, she was coordinating with Tin Man and Sentrius' avatar in the vehicle-bay, trying to prepare a response for when they located Clark's abductors.
Everything that could have been done was being done…and it did not make Power Girl feel even the slightest bit better.
The past few days had been the absolute worst days of her life.
As she walked in, still in uniform, Power Girl absently rubbed her stinging eyes before she steadied herself. "Lantern, is there any news?"
Green Lantern looked as grim as ever. "Hal's coming in with Admiral Whitemane, and a few Space Police personnel, along with a delegation from New Genesis," he answered. "They should be arriving in the next ten minutes."
Power Girl nodded. "Wonder Woman? Spider-Man?"
Diana shook her head sadly. "I am sorry, Alison. Mother consulted every oracle in every temple. None could shed any light on where this…Darkseid could have taken Clark."
Spider-Man scratched his head. "Likewise, Aly. Doc Strange drew a blank," he reported. "You'd think a guy as nasty as this Darkseid's supposed to be would leave a bigger footprint."
Alison felt her insides twist. "What about Kara, Kurox and Sentrius? Have they made any progress?"
As if she'd heard Power Girl – which was more than likely – Supergirl walked into the command center, followed by Sentrius and Kurox. "We're good, Alison," Kara said. "Kurox has gathered together all the components necessary to install energy-armour generators, Trans-Warp Drives, and ECMs on the Perseverance and the Ardor. Once Sentrius brings them here, we can begin work on them."
Power Girl nodded. "And you're sure you can install them?"
"Affirmative, Mistress Ka-Lir," Tin Man stated. "As my memory banks contain both Master Jor-El's and Master Kal-El's research notes, I am sufficiently certainly we can successfully duplicate the installation procedures."
Green Arrow gulped. "You plan on beefing up two of those big honkin' mega-ships?" he asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'm all for charging in guns blazing to save Clark…but isn't that overkill?"
"Unlikely, Green Arrow," Sentrius replied. "The Resounding Glory-Class was specifically designed to combat Class Six threats such as Darkseid. If anything, we are under-prepared; we opted to upgrade two Superdreadnoughts as that was the most timely and effort-efficient course of action. Were more time available, we would upgrade all of them."
Now Flash looked nervous. "This guy's really as bad as Galactus?" he asked. "The guy that chomps on planets?"
Supergirl was suppressing tears. "If anything, Darkseid is worse," she said. "Our history is a bit fuzzy about the specifics, but legends describe him and his forces as the most terrible threat that Krypton ever faced! He once invaded our system, and it took everything we had to force him back!" She sniffled. "And now he has my cousin!"
That reminder almost brought Alison to tears, until Batman's voice brought her back to the moment. "Even if we upgrade the Superdreadnoughts, we still need a location," he observed. "Do we have any idea where he could be?"
Supergirl scrunched her eyes in thought. "The location of Darkseid's home system was never made public on Krypton," she replied. "Aeons ago, the Kryptonian Defence Force joined forces with New Genesis to impose an armistice between Darkseid's forces and ours; once the armistice was sealed, New Genesis' people relocated their planet to another galaxy. New Genesis has been our ally ever since."
Flash was a bit bug-eyed. "They moved a planet?" he exclaimed. "How the hell did they pull that off?"
Before anyone could answer, a thunderous BOOM echoed through the Watchtower, as a terribly familiar white portal formed just a few feet away. Everyone was instantly alert, but as Hal Jordan walked through, they relaxed. Once Hal emerged, he was followed by Admiral Whitemane, who supported himself with a cane, and then by two young men – one lean and tall, with short black hair and brown eyes, clad in a blue-black bodysuit, while the other was more strongly built, also with black hair, but green eyes, clad in a dark red bodysuit, and a blue cape. The last two to emerge from the Boom Tube portal was an old man, over seven feet tall, and well-muscled, in a gold-black armoured suit, with a silver headband upon a thick head of grey hair, followed by a younger man, in black pants, a red vest, and a silver winged helmet, with a gold-silver belt encircling his waist. Green Arrow arched an eyebrow. "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that's how."
With a low whistle, Hal looked around. "Gotta say, those Boom Tubes sure save time." As he spotted his fellow Lantern, he turned serious. "We got here as soon as we could, John."
Aelfyre looked like he'd aged ten years. "Is it true?" he whispered. "Was Kal-El taken by Darkseid?"
Choking back a sniffle, Power Girl nodded. "It's true."
The old man's eyes scrunched with anguish. "Light preserve us," he whispered. "Is there no end to his treachery?"
J'onn arched an eyebrow. "You are familiar with Darkseid?"
The helm-clad man bristled. "Be mindful of your words, green man!" he barked. "This is Highfather, leader of the Nation of New Genesis! He has fought Darkseid for longer than any..!"
"Orion." Highfather's calm tone quickly silenced the impending tirade. "Please friends, forgive my son; he is often rash, but means well."
Supergirl nodded, as she bowed. "Of course, Highfather; we are honoured that you would come!"
Highfather waved her back. "Do not bow, daughter of Krypton. Our peoples have been friends too long for such formality. All of New Genesis remember the friends we gained when the accursed stalemate between us and Apokolips was broken."
Spider-Man blinked. "Wait, what? When did Apocalypse come into the picture?"
"That is the name of Darkseid's planet, fool," Orion snapped. "Once, Apokolips and New Genesis were one planet, but when Darkseid – then but mortal – murdered the Old Gods and took their power, the resulting Godwave tore the planet in two, leaving two worlds endlessly circling each other…and endlessly in conflict."
Green Arrow's eyes were wide. "This guy…killed gods?"
"That was the only word we had for these beings, in that time," Highfather said. "After endless aeons, the gods had grown complacent, frivolous and cruel, which let Darkseid strike at their weakest. The Godwave that ensued imbued some of the Old Gods' power to those that now follow Darkseid, as well as to we who oppose him."
Batman folded his arms. "And how exactly do you know this?"
Highfather sighed. "I was there, man of Earth," he admitted. "Darkseid is my brother."
Lantern Stewart flinched. "Damn."
"Indeed," Highfather agreed, as he met Power Girl's eyes sadly. "I failed to stop my brother's cruelty in that ancient time; whatever I and my people can do to rescue your comrade, you need only ask and we will do so."
Aelfyre nodded. "As will we," he added. "As we speak, several Commonwealth cruisers are en route. They should arrive within the hour."
"Sounds good," Flash said, "but what about these two?"
The blue-black-clad youth saluted. "Constable Rokk Krinn, Confederate Space Police Force," he said. "This is my squadmate, Constable Lar Gand; once the Confederacy was alerted to the situation, we were dispatched to assist!"
Hawkgirl frowned. "With respect Constables, you two were all that the Confederacy sent?"
Lar looked grim. "We were all that could be presently spared, Colonel Hol," he said. "The diplomatic situation between Gordania and Thanagar is growing steadily worse."
Shayera flinched at that.
"We appreciate the assistance, friends," Wonder Woman said, "but all the allies under Olympus will matter little if we do not know where Darkseid hides."
Orion chuckled. "Why do you think we came, Earth-woman?" he said. "Out of everyone present, we know Darkseid's schemes most."
Highfather gave his son an exasperated frown, before he nodded. "Mere days ago, our spies reported a sudden mobilization of Darkseid's armada around Apokolips itself," he confirmed. "Such an action can only indicate that he is preparing for an attack, though we know not where. He is likely waiting for some crucial intelligence."
Power Girl paled. "And he plans to get that information from Kal?"
"Undoubtedly," Highfather replied. "I do not know what my brother hopes to achieve, but should he gain any of Krypton's science, the damage could be catastrophic."
"No kidding," Flash agreed. "So where is he?"
Highfather took out a small holographic map, depicting a system with five planets, focused on one hellish-looking world. "Apokolips is located within the Anfer'al System, at the heart of the Mu'ok Galaxy," he said, as the map zoomed out to show the galaxy. "Mu'ok lies a few hundred light-years from Xerius."
Lantern Stewart peered at the map. "If I'm reading this right…that's the epicenter of the Big Bang," he noted. "This "Godwave" you mentioned…"
"We can worry about that later!" Power Girl declared. "Sentrius, do we have a World Gate in that system?"
As she projected a holographic list of Gate-sequences, Sentrius skimmed through it. After a few minutes, she came across one, but it was highlighted in red. "My apologies, Citizen Ka-Lir. The only reference to an Anfer'al Gate has been locked out of the network. Even if we were to use the back-door program, it could not access this Gate. I can only hypothesize that this Gate was only used in the Apokolips-Krypton conflict, ages ago, and was immediately decommissioned."
Power Girl frowned. "So how do we get there?"
Sentrius brought up a map of two galaxies: Mu'ok and Xerius, with a Gate-symbol highlighted at the edge of Xerius. "By utilizing the Val'Haorik Gate, we can move the Superdreadnoughts into sufficient proximity to the Mu'ok Galaxy that Trans-Warp travel is possible. From here, a day's travel will take us into Mu'ok."
Highfather looked concerned. "That is true, Sentrius, but this path will also take you through some of Apokolips' most well-defended territory," he observed. "Our spies have a much safer route…"
"And how long will it take?" Supergirl asked.
Highfather paused briefly. "Approximately five days."
Power Girl shook her head. "Sorry, Highfather, but that's five days too long!" she said. "We'll risk the faster route!"
Orion shook his head. "Be reasonable, woman; that territory is near impenetrable even by Boom Tube! Almost no-one has passed through unscathed!"
Batman arched an eyebrow. ""Almost" no-one?"
Orion hesitated. "There was one tale of an individual that breached the most heavily defended areas, a few years back," he admitted. "He got into the dead-zone behind the secured systems before Darkseid's Parademons caught him."
"And who was this person?" J'onn asked.
Highfather looked thoughtful. "We never heard the name," he said, "but I believe it was a Czarnian…"
The entire League groaned at once. "Oh, don't tell me we need Lobo's help!" Power Girl exclaimed.
"Oh? You know this person?" Highfather asked.
"More than we care to," Wonder Woman muttered. "Where is he?"
Hal checked his communicator, bringing up a data-feed. "Our last intel puts him on Almeraq."
Power Girl wanted to scream. "Of course he is."
Lantern Stewart sighed. "Okay, so we just need to give the Perseverance and the Ardor an upgrade, grab Lobo, Gate to Xerius, and run Darkseid's blockade," he said. "Difficult, but potentially doable…"
The beeping of the Watchtower's comm-line interrupted him, as Batman put the call through, projecting Cyclops' face on the view-screen. "Scott calling Watchtower; we've got a new problem, guys."
Power Girl put her hand to her head. "Now what?"
Cyclops looked just as frustrated. "Apparently, between Superman being M.I.A., and all the activity up there, the International Oversight Committee's a bit spooked. They want to know what's going on," he said. "Add in the trips to and from Sentrius…"
Wonder Woman was aghast. "By Hera, Scott, surely you joke!" she exclaimed. "They want a report now?"
"Hey, don't tell me, tell them!" Cyclops defended. "We tried getting them to lay off, but you know how politicians are! They're meeting in an hour, so if you can spare anyone…"
"I will go," J'onn said.
Aquaman nodded. "Same here."
Power Girl's eyes narrowed. "And me."
Diana looked worried. "Child, are you sure?"
Batman frowned. "You can't afford to be emotional in that situation, Blaire."
Alison glared at him. "In case you haven't noticed, Batman, we're all emotional, here!" she snapped. "Except you, but so what else is new?"
Batman never flinched. "This is what I'm talking about," he said. "You flying off the handle will only make matters worse."
Power Girl's fists clenched. "You want someone to make it clear to those stuffed-shirts what's at stake, right?" she snapped. "Because I'll make that point! Clear and loud!"
Aquaman grinned. "She gets my vote."
J'onn was suppressing guilty laughter. "We'll try and keep ire as a last resort."
Batman frown never wavered, but his gaze turned to Kara. "Do you think you can complete the refit by the time they get back?"
Supergirl nodded. "We should be done in an hour."
"Good!" Power Girl declared. "Keep the engines warm, because we won't be long!" With that, she, Aquaman, and the Manhunter headed for the vehicle-bay.
As they walked, Aquaman's good humour vanished. "No kidding this time, Aly: are you sure you're up to this?"
"Dead sure, Curry."
J'onn looked worried. "Gratifying as it may be, Alison, yelling at these dignitaries will do little good."
"You think I don't know that, J'onn?" Alison countered. "I'm perfectly willing to be reasonable with the committee as long as they're reasonable."
Her eyes hardened. "But Heaven help them if they start giving us trouble about a rescue-mission," she vowed. "Clarkie's done so much for this planet – I don't think them doing something for him is too much to ask."
"Hey, we're not arguing," Aquaman said. "We just don't want to make matters worse."
"The only way things could get worse is if they try and stop us from going," Power Girl said. "And there's no way I'm letting them do that."
And she meant it with everything she was. It had been her fault Clark had been taken – she'd been careless, and her tausha had paid for it. If she had to go through hell itself to save him – which sounded an awful lot like what Apokolips was like – then she would do it.
As she happened to glance out a window, Alison felt her eyes sting, her mind imagining the sorts of horrors her beloved was enduring on that hell-world. 'Hang on, baby; we're coming…'
XXXXXXXX
Apokolips
The spring breeze was warm and soothing on his face as Clark sat on the verdant hill, his eyes closed peacefully. The sounds of the forest – the wind, the leaves, the swaying branches – all washed over his senses, but only one sound drew his attention like no other.
"Clark!"
The sound of his beloved's voice prompted Clark to stand and turn, in time to see Alison, radiant in a diaphanous white dress, running towards him, smiling happily. An equally joyful smile on his face, Clark ran to meet her, his arms open to catch her in an embrace…
The wind suddenly shifted, as the sky turned dark, the woods now black and gnarled. In mere seconds, the horrific form of Darkseid appeared behind Alison, his hellfire eyes blazing before the Lord of Shadow unleashed his Omega Effect. The deadly beam twisted and winded through the air, streaking towards its master's target…who was now meters away from Clark. Frantic, Clark tried to open his mouth to call out, to warn her…
…but it was too late.
The Omega beam pierced through Alison's abdomen, already burning her to dust before it emerged from her stomach. Alison could only let out a choked cry, and fell, her legs disintegrating before she even hit the ground. Clark felt his heart rip in two. "ALISON!" he screamed, rushing to her side. "NO, NO, NO!" He reached her in seconds, but there was nothing he could do. His love – his taushi – was crumbling away, and there was nothing he could do..!
"It's not real…"
Alison's dying whisper made Clark freeze. "A-Alia?"
Alison's eyes were glassy, her body disintegrated almost up to her chest. "What you see isn't real, Clarkie," she whispered. "You have to hold on…"
Clark was in tears. "I can't…not without you…"
"You can," Alison gasped. "I believe in you…"
And with that, the Omega Effect reached her head, turning the last of her to dust.
Clark couldn't breathe. Frantic, he pawed at the dust that had been his beloved. "N-No," he whimpered. "No, no, NO, NO, NO!"
"Well, that was interesting."
Clark was still screaming as Desaad's holographic torture-chamber powered down, the chair's manacles opening to dump him on the floor. Still gleeful as he finished working the control-console, the robed, hooded High Inquisitor of Darkseid's regime walked to his latest victim. "Out of all the friends I've mined from your memories, watching that one die seems to have affected you the most!" he chortled. "Obviously, she's the key to cracking you! Won't Lord Darkseid be pleased!"
Clark could only cough. "I…don't…know…"
Desaad sighed as he flexed his claw-gauntlets. "You were right, Goodness. He's a stubborn one."
It was then that all of Desaad's audience walked into view. As she looked at Clark, Granny Goodness shook her head sadly. "Oh, why can't you just cooperate?" she asked. "It breaks Granny's heart to see her child like this."
Next to her, a tall, lean, handsome man in a golden robe, with blonde hair, light skin, and sharp green eyes, smirked. "Don't fret, dear Granny. I'm sure Desaad will straighten him out."
"Oh, thank you, Godfrey. It always warms Granny's heart to hear her best student – her Glorious Godfrey – say that."
To Goodness' right, a lean, older man in an ornate uniform and a monocle, scowled. "There is no time to waste, Inquisitor! Our Lord demands an answer!"
"And he will have it, Virman!" Desaad hissed. "The memory I just mined holds the key to this brat's resistance! All I need is a bit more time, and I'll have him eating out of…"
"Kryptonian SCUM!"
Unable to contain his rage any longer, Tyr'uk broke from the others and started kicking Clark, over and over. "How does it feel, scum?" he roared. "How does it feel to be powerless against a foe superior in every way? How does what you did to my father FEEL?"
With a scowl, Grayven nodded to Kalibak, as they both grabbed the Dheronian boy commander and yanked him back. "Control yourself, Dheronian whelp."
Kalibak sneered. "We still need him alive."
Tyr'uk was beyond enraged. "Why? Why is he still alive?' he roared. "My people were promised vengeance against our enemies! I was promised vengeance against the killer of my father, and he lies there, now! Let me kill him!"
Chuckling, Glorious Godfrey patted the youth's shoulder. "Easy, friend. You speak as though we are coddling him," he soothed. "Desaad is the most consummate master of his craft! Whatever punishment any of us could devise is child's play compared to the most benevolent of his musings!"
As it always did, Godfrey's poisonous charisma ran its course, quieting Tyr'uk's fury. With one last contemptuous glare, he spat on Clark, and stepped back. "Very well."
His eyebrow arched, Godfrey looked to Clark. "Of course, Kal-El of Krypton, you could save us some aggravation – and yourself some agony – by simply telling us what Lord Darkseid wishes to know."
Clark took a wheezing breath. "How…many times…do I have…to say it?" he gasped. "I've never heard of…the "Anti-Life Equation.""
Virman fumed. "You think us stupid?" he bellowed. "You expect us to believe that your kind wandered and charted the cosmos and heard nothing of the Equation? The power to rewrite the universe itself?"
"Calm down, Wunderbar!" Granny snapped, before she turned her croon on Clark. "Dearie, you can't keep playing dumb; Granny can't protect you if you don't cooperate."
From her perch behind Granny, a lithe, voluptuous, ruby-haired young woman, in a scanty, bikini-like robe, giggled cruelly. "Leave him to me, Granny," she purred, casting a hungry eye over Clark. "I can make him feel better."
Godfrey rolled his eyes. "And keep whatever secrets you pry for yourself, sister?" he mocked. "The only thing "Amazing" about you is your stupidity, Grace."
Grace's plump, rosy lips twisted in a sour frown. "Oh? And who was it that ferreted out the leader of the hunger-dogs' little rebellion, a week back?" she hissed. "I didn't see you manage that!"
Godfrey laughed. "Yes, you've quite proven that the simple minds of those gutter-dwellers easily fall prey to anything with an ample chest. You must be so proud."
As Grace was about to spit her reply, Desaad sighed. "If you children are finished, I must prepare my next session," he said. "Would you care to take our guest back to his quarters?"
His fiendish smile came back. "I believe he needs to re-think his stubborn ways."
With cruel chuckles, Grayven and Kalibak waved in a couple of Parademons, who roughly grabbed Clark and hauled him away, down the hall and out into the choking air. They dragged him about a mile to another factory-like building, heavily fortified and surrounded by Parademon guards.
Granny's Orphanage.
The Parademons dragged Clark into the Orphanage's main lodging-chamber – which had nothing except one horrific communal bathroom – and tossed him onto the floor, with the other two-dozen prisoners, some of which were only half his age. Once the Parademons left, Clark tried to get to his feet…and immediately fell back down. He considered just lying there, until a hand touched his shoulder.
In his dazed state, Clark thought he saw a gold-haired, angelic face smiling at him. "Aly..?"
A chuckle answered him, as his vision cleared, to reveal his fellow prisoner. "I'm afraid not," Scott said, as he pulled Clark to his feet. "I've never seen Desaad take such an interest in anyone, before." His chuckle turned grim. "Not even me."
Clark struggled to catch his breath, wincing as his bruised ribs ached with each inhale. "They…they wanted information from me," he said. "I couldn't give them anything, so they sent me back."
Scott looked worried. "What did they want?"
"Something about an equation; I didn't know what they were talking about."
Scott grimaced. "The Anti-Life Equation?"
Clark stared at him. "You've heard of it?"
"Only that the day Darkseid solves it is the day all life as we know it ends," Scott muttered. "Legend says that it will let him dominate the entire cosmos, friend. Be thankful you didn't have it. That monster Desaad would have stopped at nothing to get it out of you."
Memories of past tortures and Desaad's earlier promise flooded Clark's thoughts, whipping up a maelstrom of anxiety and utter despair. "Who's to say he won't?" he lamented. "He's only getting started! Equation or not, he'll never let up!" He fell to his knees. "It'll never end!"
Scott was silent for a few seconds, before he knelt with Clark, leaning in close enough to whisper. "Maybe it can."
Clark was a second away from tears when he heard that. "What?"
Scott looked him in the eye. "This goes no further than us," he said fiercely. "What I'm about to tell you, you take to the grave, got it?"
That demand focused Clark enough to nod. "Got it."
"Good." Scott looked around, to make sure the coast was clear, and leaned back in. "I may have a way for us to escape."
Clark paled. "What?"
"Ssshhh!" Scott shushed him. "Every chance I get, I've been poking around the compound's perimeter. Just before I got caught, last time, I found a weak section in the west wall of the mining pit, and I managed to hide it before Goodness snagged me. If I can trade for a grenade with one of the workers in the munitions dump, we should be able to blast out during a guards' shift-change!"
Clark was dumbstruck. "Really?"
Scott nodded. "That's why you have to keep this quiet!" he insisted. "If I'm right, we can be out of the pit before Goodness catches on! From there, it's a quick run straight to the shuttle-port! All we have to do is hotwire a shuttle, and we're out!"
Clark started to smile. "That…that could work!"
Scott grinned. "All we have to do is keep hope alive for just a little longer!" he said. "We can make it if we hold on!"
"…you have to hold on…"
Scott's words – an eerie echo of the ghost-Alison's plea – struck at Clark's deepest level. His eyes firm, he nodded in agreement. "I can do that," he said.
And he would. For Alison, for his friends, and for his home, he could do that…
…no matter what Desaad did to him.
XXXXXXXX
UN Headquarters, New York, Earth
"Well, here we are."
As she, Aquaman, and the Manhunter emerged from the Javelin, Power Girl felt her jaw clench as she saw the U.N. Headquarters. "So who exactly are we meeting with?"
J'onn looked pensive. "The oversight committee uses a rotating membership," he said. "I believe that this committee consists of the Ambassadors for Kasnia, Markovia, China, Germany, and Iran."
Aquaman arched an eyebrow. "Anyone we need to worry about?"
"Nothing that comes to mind."
Power Girl took a deep breath. "Then let's go." With that, the three of them headed into the building.
After a short walk, they entered the meeting room where the committee had gathered. As she spotted them, the Kasnian Ambassador nodded briefly. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us on such short notice."
"Of course, Ambassador," J'onn replied. "We would be glad to address your concerns as quickly as possible."
"Of course." The Iranian Ambassador coolly folded his arms. "One of our main concerns was the level of activity we have all observed in your orbital headquarters."
"Ambassador, our comings and goings from the Watchtower are hardly anything to get worked up about," Aquaman said. "As you said, it's our headquarters. Given our deployment across the planet, that's normal."
"In most cases, yes," the Chinese Ambassador remarked. "But over the past few days, we have observed most of your organization remaining there for extended periods. That, Prince of Atlantis, is not normal."
Power Girl flinched. "Our responses to global crises haven't changed, Ambassador," she said. "Are you taking issue with how we spend our off-hours time, now?"
As the Chinese Ambassador flushed, the Markovian Ambassador spoke up. "There is another issue that concerns us, Miss Blaire," he said. "Over the past five days, we have not seen Superman even once."
Power Girl paled, but Aquaman stepped in. "I don't see how our teammate's whereabouts are any of your business, Ambassador."
The German Ambassador frowned. "It is certainly our business!" he snapped. "With his abilities and access to the kind of destructive technology he has, your Kryptonian comrade is potentially one of the most dangerous individuals on the planet!"
Power Girl's fist clenched, as her fury re-focused her. "He is also one of the most trustworthy individuals on the planet, Ambassador," she said. "As he has proven time and again."
The Iranian Ambassador smirked. "Forgive us for not taking your word," he rebuffed. "And that still does not answer our question."
The Markovian Ambassador sighed. "I believe what my colleague means, Miss Blaire," he said, as he sent a warning frown at the Iranian Ambassador, "is that we have heard rumours that Superman was accosted and abducted by an unknown foe five days ago. Is there any truth to this?"
J'onn closed his eyes in resignation. "Unfortunately, yes," he said. "Five days ago, several operatives from a world hostile to Krypton, her ancient allies, and the Confederacy, assaulted downtown Metropolis. During our attempt to repel them, Superman fell into the event horizon of their escape wormhole."
The Kasnian Ambassador paled. "And where is he now?"
Aquaman grimaced. "Based on recent intel, we believe he is on said world, for reasons unknown."
The Chinese Ambassador's eyes narrowed. "This is unacceptable."
"We agree, Ambassador," J'onn said. "That is why over the past five days, in between missions, we have been organizing a rescue effort. We were just about to depart when we received your summons."
The Markovian Ambassador arched an eyebrow. "What resources do you intend to mobilize?"
"Our rescue team consists of myself, Supergirl, two Green Lanterns, two Confederate Space Police constables, Sentrius' avatar, the A.I. overseeing the Fortress, and two representatives of Krypton's remaining allies," Power Girl said. "We intend to deploy two of Sentrius' Superdreadnoughts – the Perseverance of Von-El and the Ardor of Yuna-Lir – along with the Argo and one allied vessel."
The Iranian Ambassador shook his head. "Absolutely not."
Aquaman arched an eyebrow. "Maybe you didn't hear us," he said. "Our teammate is behind enemy lines…"
"…and likely dead," the Chinese Ambassador finished. "If this threat is real, your efforts should be focused on defending against it."
Power Girl clenched her fists.
"We do not know that, Ambassador," J'onn said. "And since this is an extra-planetary threat, we are fully within our purview to deploy Sentrius' resources to combat it."
"Against direct threats to Earth, yes," the Chinese Ambassador said. "But this is not a direct threat to Earth. You are engaging in – as you put it – a rescue mission. For the sake of one man, even Superman, you would provoke a further attack against Earth?"
"Ambassador, this wasn't just some misunderstanding. These guys came here specifically to attack Earth!" Aquaman exclaimed. "You want to talk about threats? These guys likely plan to try and pry secrets out of Superman! We can't afford to just sit around!"
The German Ambassador calmed, somewhat. "We see your point, Aquaman," he conceded. "Still, you can understand our apprehension. If this threat can abduct Superman, are any of us truly safe?"
The Iranian Ambassador nodded. "Perhaps it would be prudent to secure some of the more…sensitive locations on this planet," he offered. "The polar outpost, for example – we would be happy to supply additional security personnel to…"
"No."
Power Girl's response was immediate and firm. "No concessions. No "supervision." No using this crisis to worm your way into the Fortress. Any of you."
At his colleague's sputtering, the Chinese Ambassador glared at her. "You do not speak for the League, young lady."
"She may as well be, Ambassador," Aquaman said. "We're not about to let anybody start poking around in the Fortress. Besides, if somebody's capable of breaking in there, your men aren't going to be of any help."
Power Girl nodded. "And as for our rescue mission, this meeting is nothing but an F.Y.I. call. We're not asking your permission," she snapped. "We have a plan. We have a location. We have the resources. We're going. End of story."
She swept a glare across the entire committee, pausing on the Chinese and Iranian Ambassadors. "And if anyone here tries to stop us, I will personally come back here and make you pencil-necked butt-kissers wish you were dealing with Zod," she hissed. "Got it?"
No-one spoke for several minutes, until the Markovian Ambassador coughed. "I believe that answers all our questions."
The Kasnian Ambassador nodded anxiously. "We wish you luck, then."
"Thank you, Ambassador," Power Girl said. With that, the three of them turned, and headed out.
As they walked out, Power Girl sighed. "Okay, I admit it: I could've handled that a lot better."
Aquaman was suppressing laughter. "Don't apologize, Aly; personally, I thought that was classic!"
J'onn was also controlling guilty chuckles. "Under the circumstances, I think we can make allowances," he said. "I just hope this doesn't colour our future dealings with them."
Power Girl scrunched her eyes. "Kal would be so disappointed with me."
Playfully, Arthur nudged her shoulder. "I think you helping to save his butt will cover that."
With a semi-annoyed half-smile, Power Girl was about to nudge Arthur back, when the roar of the Blackbird's engine overhead filled her ears. The stealth jet touched down next to their waiting Javelin, before Cyclops, Phoenix, Shadowcat, and Wolverine emerged. "We just got word about the meeting," Cyclops said. "Is everything okay?"
Aquaman shrugged. "Sure, except for a bunch of greasy diplomats that need to go change their underwear."
Shadowcat blinked. "Huh?"
Power Girl folded her arms. "They tried to stop us from going after Kal, and then they tried to weasel into the Fortress," she muttered. "We had words about it."
Wolverine snorted. "Damn. Wish I'd seen it."
Phoenix looked worried. "So who did this?" she asked. "We heard that you found out more about whoever attacked you."
Power Girl suppressed a gulp. "Darkseid."
Cyclops arched an eyebrow. "I'm guessing that name means something?"
"Kitty, you said that, during the mission to retrieve Sentrius, Kal told you guys about Class Six threats, right?"
Shadowcat paled at Alison's question. "Well, yeah; he said that Krypton only ever faced two of those," she answered. "Galactus – the planet-chomping jerk – was one of them."
"Yes he was," Power Girl agreed. "Darkseid is the other."
Cyclops' jaw dropped. "Holy shit."
"Yeah."
Phoenix shivered. "So what exactly are we dealing with?"
"From what we've heard, he's at least as powerful as Nur, plus he has access to Boom-Tubes, and a space-navy that gives New Genesis pause," Aquaman said. "His homeworld – Apokolips – sounds like it's as nasty as its name suggests."
Shadowcat blinked. "Wait…the planet is called Apocalypse?"
"Yeah, that one made us a bit bug-eyed too, Kit," Arthur said. "There's no relation…I hope."
J'onn looked equally grave. "Our new contacts have provided us a route that should get us there quickly, but it is well-guarded," he said. "Fortunately, we know of one who has gotten through."
"Okay," Cyclops said. "And the bad news?"
J'onn sighed. "That one is Lobo."
Shadowcat buried her head in her palm. "Oh my God."
Power Girl nodded. "Yeah."
"Do you at least have a location on Lobo?" Phoenix asked.
Aquaman groaned. "Almerac."
Wolverine whistled. "It just gets better and better, huh?"
Cyclops scratched his head. "And you're sure you don't need any of us to go with you?"
"We're sure, Scott," Power Girl said. "If the worst happens – like Darkseid or his goons coming back – we'll need plenty of backup on-site."
Phoenix nodded. "Then I guess you'd better get going," she said. "Good luck."
Power Girl smiled weakly. "We'll need it." With that, she, Aquaman, and J'onn headed to the Javelin, and got on board.
In a matter of minutes, the Javelin was airborne, and flying back to the Watchtower. The flight down to Earth had been uneventful, but the return flight was another matter. As he took in the sight of the two Superdreadnoughts dwarfing the Watchtower – the Perseverence with its red-yellow-blue colours, and the Ardor with its dark blue and deep violet scheme – Aquaman whistled. "I'm never going to get used to seeing those."
Despite the severity of the situation, Alison had to nod in agreement. "Yeah."
A familiar computerized voice came in over the radio. "Citizen Ka-Lir, report to the Perseverence immediately," Sentrius ordered. "Please position the Javelin-3 to within 1 light-second of the Perseverence's port bow. We will teleport you aboard."
J'onn smiled gently. "I believe that's your cue."
With a teary return smile, Alison hugged her teammates. "We'll be back soon," she promised, "with Clark, safe and sound." By then, the Javelin was within range of the Perseverence's teleport; instantly, the blue-white wave swept through the Javelin, taking Power Girl with it.
As the teleporter wave deposited her on the bridge of the Perseverence, Power Girl found Supergirl, Sentrius, Kurox, Orion, the two Lanterns, Aelfyre, Rokk, and Lar already waiting for her. "I'm assuming we're good to go?" she hazarded.
Supergirl nodded. "Both Superdreadnoughts have been refitted, and the Argo is waiting in the Ardor's fighter-bay," she reported. "Admiral Whitemane's ship should be waiting for us at the World-Gate, by now." She chuckled. "Sentrius even supplied some extra firepower!"
At those words, a small, crystalline sphere with glowing-gold circuitry and a green positronic eye in its central section, rolled out from behind her, spinning forward with two sections on its centre along an axis it had extended out from its sides. Power Girl blinked. "Um…who's that?"
Sentrius didn't look up from her post at a nearby console. "Kolth Sur'onon."
Lantern Stewart did a double-take. "Wait…that's Old Grouchy? The gigantic mother that stomped the Kree and Skrulls at the Pole?"
Power Girl was equally surprised. "Wow, Grouchy. You've…lost some weight."
Orion snorted. "I admit, your ships are impressive, but I fail to see how this dinky toy can possibly be of any help!"
At that, Grouchy's eye flared red. His wheel sections spun rapidly, as he propelled himself hard into Orion's shin. "Arrgghh!" the New God howled, hopping on one foot. "You miserable little pile of scrap!" Old Grouchy just answered with a barrage of angry electronic chatter.
Hal chuckled. "Well, he lives up to his name."
As Orion still fumed, Kurox spoke up. "Given that we will likely encounter significant resistance on Apokoliptian soil, Kolth Sur'onon will provide invaluable cover-fire from any ground and air forces mobilized by our arrival," he reasoned. "Since the size of Kolth Sur'onon's battle-mode is prohibitive to transport, he will remain in infiltration-mode until deployment."
Lar gazed curiously at Old Grouchy, who gazed back with a warning yellow eye. "How much bigger can he get?"
"Big enough to step on Kree and Skrull troop-transports," Supergirl answered, before she turned to Sentrius. "So, are we going to get a move on?"
Sentrius finally turned around to face them. "There is one more matter that must be addressed," she stated. "Regardless of the situation, I cannot willingly place Kryptonian citizens in danger by allowing them to accompany us on a mission as this."
Power Girl went red. "WHAT?"
Supergirl was equally irate. "Sentrius, you can't be serious!"
"I am indeed serious, Citizen Zor-El. Allowing uncommissioned citizens into an active combat zone against a Class Six threat is an express violation of the Defence Force Code."
Hal groaned. "Red tape. Great."
Aelfyre looked grave. "Sentrius, surely you must realize that if any are qualified, it would be these two!"
"That does not change matters, Admiral."
Power Girl felt ready to explode. "Lady, if you think we're going to just sit here and wait on our butts, you're glitched!" she yelled. "Why'd you even agree to this if that was the case?"
Sentrius' expression never changed. "Because, Citizen Ka-Lir, given your accomplishments, training, and experience, you have an option that other Kryptonian citizens do not." She turned to Kurox. "Servitor Kurox, you are witness. Prepare to validate Defence Force Protocol 10963."
"Acknowledged, Command-A.I. Sentrius. Validating Protocol 10963…done. Proceed when ready."
Power Girl blinked. "Huh?"
Kara paled. "Sentrius…isn't Protocol 10963..?"
"…the Field-Commissioning Protocol," Sentrius finished. "Commissioning Protocol initiated. As Acting Fleet Admiral, I will commence in absentia." Tapping one of her thigh panels, she opened it, and reached inside, to withdraw two crystalline studs. "Citizens Alia Ka-Lir and Kara Zor-El, step forward." Confused, Alison and Kara did so. "By the authority vested in me as Fleet Admiral, and in the spirit of Krypton, her people, and the Kryptonian Defence Force, I hereby award you both Field-Commissions as Warship Captains." And with that, she pinned a stud to Alison's uniform at the shoulder, and then did the same with Kara; instantly, each stud adhered magnetically, and morphed into a single line, with two pointed ends – the designation of Captain's rank.
Power Girl was in mild shock. "Sentrius, I…I don't know what to say…"
"You need not say anything, Captain Ka-Lir," Sentrius stated. "For the duration of this mission, you will be in command of the Ardor; Captain Zor-El will command the Perseverence. I will remain on board the Perseverence and provide tactical assistance."
Lantern Stewart nodded. "Sounds good."
Supergirl was as bewildered as Power Girl was. "Sentrius…thank you," she whispered. "We won't let you down."
Sentrius has already turned back to her console. "Captain Ka-Lir, I am bringing the Ardor into teleporter range; I will teleport you, Lantern Stewart, Kurox, and Constable Krinn aboard momentarily. Once you have assumed your post, we will depart."
Power Girl nodded. "Understood, Sentrius." Seconds later, she and her comrades were engulfed by the teleporter wave.
Once the teleporter released them, Power Girl looked around – with the exception of violet holographics in the consoles instead of blue-red, the bridge of the Ardor was identical to that of the Perseverence. Spotting the command chair, Alison took a deep breath, and walked to it, sitting down. 'Here we go,' she thought. "Kurox, take the helm and sensors," she instructed. "Lantern, Constable, be ready to deploy; if Lobo's still on Almerac, chances are we'll be under fire as soon as they see us coming."
Rokk looked quizzical. "Captain, with all respect, I doubt that the Almeracis would be foolish enough to open fire on a ship of this caliber."
"The Almeracis may not, but their Queen is another matter," Alison said. "Hopefully, she's cleaned up her act, but Maxima and I did not part on good terms. We have to assume as if she's still hostile."
By then, Tin Man had interfaced with the Ardor's systems. "Captain Ka-Lir, I am reporting all systems in the green," he said. "Armour generators report 100 percent ready. Trans-Warp Drive is fully operational, and the new ECM core is at 110 percent of expected output, with no sign of exotic-matter reactions."
"Good. Patch us through to the Perseverence," Power Girl instructed. Once the comm-line was open, she spoke again. "Sentrius, Captain Zor-El, we are good to go; awaiting your confirmation!"
"Acknowledged, Captain Ka-Lir. Prepare to jump to rendezvous point in thirty seconds. Upon arrival, you are to dial the Giriod System World-Gate, and proceed through. Perseverance out."
As the comm-line closed, Power Girl looked back to Kurox. "You heard her, Tin Man. Begin step-through calculations; target is the World-Gate."
"Understood, Captain. Commencing pre-jump calculations, twenty seconds to jump." Kurox's processors whirred for a few seconds. "Calculating…done. Step-through in five…four…three…two…one…jump."
At that word, everyone felt the familiar, semi-nauseating sensation of a step-through jump, as the Ardor's view-screen showed them a few light-seconds away from the World-Gate, along with a fairly large Kymellian ship to their starboard bow. "Attention Kryptonian vessels: this is the Kymellian Light Cruiser Trail of Liberty. As per Admiral Whitemane's orders, we are here to render assistance. Please respond."
At Power Girl's nod, Kurox opened a channel to both the Trail and the Perseverence. "Trail of Liberty, this is Kryptonian Superdreadnought Ardor of Yuna-Lir, Captain Alia Ka-Lir commanding," Power Girl replied. "We are grateful for your assistance. Admiral Whitemane is aboard the other Superdreadnought, the Perseverence of Von-El; Admiral, would you please confirm?"
Aelfyre's voice promptly came through. "Acknowledged, Captain Ka-Lir. Trail of Liberty, your orders are to follow us through the World-Gate, and hold position for further orders," he instructed. "Ardor, you may dial the Gate at your discretion."
"Acknowledged," Power Girl said. "Tin Man?"
Kurox was already ahead of her. "Initiating back-door program," he reported. "Dialling Giriod Gate sequence."
The view-screen showed it all: one-by-one, the crystalline units of the Gate sparked to life, before its central hub spun and opened, pulling open a stable wormhole. Power Girl took one last deep breath. "Kurox…take us in."
With that order, the Ardor's engines opened up, propelling the mighty ship through the wormhole, followed by the Perseverence, and then the Trail. Once the last ship was through, the World-Gate powered down, closing the wormhole behind them.
XXXXXXXX
Apokolips
"Oh, Barda, Granny can't say how glad she is that you could come visit."
In her usual caped armorsuit, Big Barda, tall, curvaceous, and athletic, her long ebony hair held back by her headgear, kept outwardly calm, despite her apprehension at visiting her co-commander and former headmistress' chamber. "I was honoured to visit, Mistress Goodness," she said, "but I am a bit confused."
Putting aside her latest status reports, Granny rose from her seat. "Of course you are, dearie. Granny never said why she wanted to talk, did she?" She sighed to herself. "Granny's just been so worried lately." She looked Barda in the eye. "About Scott."
Barda paled. Scott. She should have known that it would be about him. "What about him, Mistress?"
"You were in the Orphanage with him, weren't you?"
A trickle of sweat trailed down Barda's temple. "Yes, Mistress," she confessed, "as were countless other children."
Granny chuckled. "Oh, dear – you must think Granny's accusing you!" she exclaimed. "No, no, sweetie. Granny doesn't think you have anything to do with Scott's antics. You're one of Granny's proudest achievements – the youngest ever to join the Furies." She frowned. "Scott, however, is one of Granny's most abysmal failures; even now, he still refuses to accept that freedom is futile. It makes Granny's head spin."
Barda's confusion doubled. "With respect, Mistress, that still doesn't explain why I am here."
Granny turned, and walked to an impressive canine skull hanging on the wall. "After Granny graduated, she was given a war hound," she reminisced. "For years, Mercy and I pursued Lord Darkseid's enemies, those who would rebel against him. Then, when I was allowed to ascend to his elite, I was given one final test of devotion."
She looked Barda in the eye. "I had to kill Mercy."
Barda's eyes went wide. "I…I didn't know that, Mistress."
Granny looked back, and placed her hand on the skull. "It almost broke Granny's heart to do that," she said fondly. "I even considered killing my examiner instead…but I knew that Lord Darkseid would inevitably kill me if I did." Her smile grew. "But since I obeyed, I, along with Bernadeth, was allowed to form the Female Furies. That is the way of Apokolips: obey Darkseid, and prosper; resist…" She let that statement trail off.
Barda clenched her jaw. "Mistress?"
Granny turned back to her. "Scott doesn't understand that, dearie. He still has a chance to make a contribution to our society, if only he stops this nonsense," she said. "Granny had hoped that you could make him see that."
Barda's eyes went wide. "Me?"
Granny nodded. "Oh, once upon a time, Granny used to worry about you, too, dear. Granny knows that your squad-record is impeccable, but Bernadeth used to tell me that you always had this look in your eye – like you were only paying lip-service to orders," she continued. "But now, you just may replace Bernadeth or I, one day!" She smiled her terrible smile. "Granny just thought her former problem-child could help fix her current one."
At that moment, Granny's communicator buzzed. "Begging your pardon, Mistress Goodness," a voice snivelled, "but you had asked us to inform you if Scott Free got up to anything."
Granny's smile grew. "Granny certainly did," she said. "Good work; we'll be along shortly." With that, she switched off her communicator. "Scott's ears must have been burning; this saves us some time," she cackled. "Would you mind, dear?" With a curt nod, Barda activated her Boom-Tube, and projected a wormhole, allowing Granny and herself to walk through.
The energy-tunnel deposited them both in the detention level of the Orphanage, where two Parademons kept Scott pinned to the floor, while the warden looked on. As Granny walked over, the warden bowed and backed away, while Scott glared at her. "Goodness."
Granny sighed. "Granny will never understand why you insist on giving her headaches, Scott," she muttered. "What was it, this time?"
The warden gulped. "We found him trying to sneak out of the Orphanage again, Mistress," he said. "He was heading for the Breeda's factory."
Granny shook her head. "Oh, Scott. If you were that curious about girls and boys, you needed only to ask Granny."
Scott's scowl grew. "The day I ask you for anything will be the day I throw myself in the fire-pits, Goodness."
Granny's sigh came again. "Why do you always have to say such hurtful things?" she asked. "Why can't you be more like sweet Barda?"
Scott's defiance dimmed. "Leave her out of this."
Granny chuckled. "I'm not the one who brought her into it," she purred. "Barda, dearie? Maybe you can talk some sense into him."
Barda felt sick to her stomach as her feet moved her in front of Scott. "Scott, what are you doing?" she whispered. "Why do you keep doing these…futile things? There's no way out!"
Scott smirked. "That's only what Goodness wants people to think, Barda," he said. "Remember that time when we were kids? How we got outside the Orphanage?"
"I remember that the Parademons blocked up that hole, and that we got the Box for days," Barda answered. "I learned not to look for something that doesn't exist!"
Scott looked her in the eye. "Is that so?"
Scott's defiance made a trace of a tear well in Barda's eye. "Scott…if you keep this up, she'll kill you."
Scott grinned. "No she won't."
Granny scowled. "Well, you're sure of yourself, aren't you?"
"Actually, I am!" Scott agreed. "Because if you do kill me, you'll have to admit you can't break me!"
Barda felt her heart stop.
Granny Goodness' eyes narrowed. "Well, now you've done it," she hissed. "It's the Box for you, Scott Free." With that, she reached into her cape, and pulled out a small, holographic cube, before handing it to Barda. "Punish him, dearie."
Barda stared at the Box, and then looked into the eyes of her childhood love.
Scott's expression softened. "I know you have to pretend, Barda. It's okay," he soothed. "Just promise me something."
Granny glared at him. "You're not in much of a position to make demands, you naughty child."
Scott ignored her. "I know they haven't been able to beat all the resistance out of you," he said. "Promise me that you won't give up, Barda; promise me!"
"Enough!" Granny shouted. "Barda: the Box!" Stricken, Barda took the Box and threw it at Scott. Instantly, it surrounded him…and began to shrink.
As Scott was forced to his knees, Granny smirked. "That'll teach you to try and sneak out of Granny's care."
Scott just laughed. "I wasn't caught trying to sneak out, Goodness! I was caught sneaking back in! I made it into the factory!" he mocked. "I talked with Big Breeda about how she'd birthed almost all the children on Apokolips!"
Granny snarled. "You want a prize for that? For learning that every child – servant and hunger-dog alike – was born by the Breeda at Darkseid's command?"
"Wrong, Goodness!" Scott shouted, as he was forced to curl in on himself. "Out of every child born on Apokolips, Breeda birthed one out of love – out of a desire to create something good!"
Granny flinched. "Be silent!"
Scott grinned. "Barda, do you know who that baby was?"
"Don't you dare say another word, Scott Free!"
Scott's smile was genuine as he looked at Barda. "It was you," he said. "I asked her about you, and that's what she told me! You're unlike any other child born to..!"
"SILENCE!" Granny shrieked, as she banished the Box with a wave. "Oh, you've really made Granny upset, Scott! Now Granny's going to have to think up a very special punishment, just for you! Parademons: take him away!"
At once, the Parademons started to drag Scott off, but not before he managed to call out once more. "Don't forget, Barda! You're better than all of this!"
Barda could only stare after Scott, before Granny stepped in front of her. "Dearie, you mustn't believe such malicious lies," she said. "Not even Granny could imagine that Scott could be such a wicked, horrible child!"
Barda gulped. "What will you do to him?"
Granny's scowl came back. "Oh, he will be punished, sweetie," she vowed. "Scott's punishment will be so horrible, so horrendous that Granny doesn't even know what it is, yet!" She took a deep breath. "Just return to the base, sweetie. Granny's too upset to do anything but visit the Arena; pounding some hunger-dogs always helps Granny's mood."
Barda bowed. "Of course, Mistress."
Granny smiled. "Such a good girl," she crooned. "Granny would just be heartbroken if you ever did anything like what Scott did; she might have to do something she would regret." With that, Granny Goodness turned, and walked off. Alone with her thoughts, Barda could only shudder, both at Granny's veiled threat…
…and the fact that Granny considered her "good."
XXXXXXXX
Giriod System, Tol'Naer Galaxy
The twisting, shifting sensation of World-Gate transit lasted for only a few seconds before the Ardor emerged from the Giriod System Gate into the middle of the system, giving Power Girl a few precious seconds to catch her breath, before the Perseverence and the Trail followed. 'Well, that was fun,' Power Girl thought, before she brought up a holographic sensor-feed from a panel in her chair. "Tin Man, scan for any inbound Almeraci vessels, and try and make us look as non-threatening as possible," she instructed. "Ardor calling Perseverence: any sign of Lobo?"
"Affirmative, Ardor," came Supergirl's answer. "Sentrius is reading a Czarnian bio-signature coming from the royal palace in the capital. She's recommending we use the Argo for a stealth insertion."
Power Girl sighed. "Probably the best call," she agreed. "Understood, Perseverence. Teleport me aboard as soon as you're in range. Ardor out."
A few minutes later, Power Girl was swept up by the familiar teleporter wave, depositing her in the Speeder's cockpit, alongside Lantern Jordan and Admiral Whitemane, with Supergirl in the pilot's seat. With Power Girl aboard, Supergirl pushed forward on the thrust control, guiding the Argo away from the rest of the formation, before she powered the Trans-Warp Drive; instantly, the Speeder flitted away at trans-light speeds, heading for Almerac.
As the Argo dropped out of Trans-Warp several light-minutes from Almerac's sensor-range, Kara quickly engaged the cloak, and rendered the ship invisible. "I'm getting Lobo's life-signs," she confirmed. "He's definitely in the royal palace, which means Maxima has him; what do we do?"
Power Girl put her hand to her head. "I'd rather not give that psycho brat any reason to bother us, so just taking Lobo is off the table for now," she said, while mentally adding 'Thank God.' "We'll have to sneak in, grill him for info, and get out before Maxima realizes."
Aelfyre looked over the palace's readout. "Hmm…the chamber he's being held in looks like it's reinforced with trintonium alloy – very difficult to get a teleporter lock through," he mused, as he tapped an adjacent chamber. "We'd best teleport into this chamber first."
Hal nodded, as he scanned the bio-signatures throughout the palace. "The guards' patrol looks regular enough," he added. "There looks like a window of minimal presence in that chamber – only one guard stationed there for thirty seconds every ten minutes. If we 'port in during that window, we can take out the guard and get in!"
"Good," Power Girl said. "Take us in, Kara." With a nod, Supergirl guided the Speeder into a stable re-entry, flying it past the bulky cruisers and satellites in orbit, oblivious to the Argo's presence.
Within minutes, the Argo had cleared re-entry, and was gliding across the Almeraci city-scape, passing over a bustling megalopolis with towering metal spires that gleamed in the red light of dusk, darting in and out of the daily hover-traffic. At first, the traffic was mostly commercial and civilian, but as they flew, the pedestrian vehicles were replaced by bulkier military vehicles, until the Speeder hovered over the impressive royal palace. As she took her hands off the controls, Supergirl readied the teleporter. "I'll hold position here," she said. "Radio me when you need extraction."
"Got it," Hal said, as he kept his eyes on the guard-patrol. "Everyone, be ready to grab our lone guard when we 'port it! Wait for it…GO!"
The teleporter wave shone again, depositing Power Girl, Aelfyre, and Lantern Jordan in the middle of a vast chamber next to a huge, ornate door, with only one other person there. By reflex, Power Girl and Hal unleashed twin light-constructs, lassoing the witness – a woman – with emerald, and gagging her with golden light. It was only after they'd attacked that Alison recognized her. "Vira?"
Sure enough, it was Maxima's handmaiden that they'd snagged, looking absolutely petrified. Guiltily, Power Girl raised her free hand in a soothing gesture. "We're not here to hurt you or your Queen, Vira," she said. "I'm going to ungag you, but only if you don't scream, okay?" With a gulp, Vira nodded.
Hal flinched. "You sure about that, Blondie?" he asked. "She looks like a screamer…"
"Trust me," Power Girl said, as she dissipated her gag.
To her credit, Vira kept calm, though she looked like she wanted to scream by reflex. "Y-You? What…why are you…what are you doing here?"
"Be at ease, young lady," Aelfyre soothed. "We came in search of the Czarnian, nothing more."
Vira paled. "You…you want Lobo?"
"Just his intel," Hal said. "Once he talks, we'll leave, and your Queen can flay him to her heart's content. All we want is a little quiet." He pointed to the door. "Time's a wastin'."
Vira panicked. "N-No! You mustn't!" she squeaked. "You cannot go in there!"
Power Girl frowned. "Vira, this is serious," she insisted. "We need to know what he knows."
"Then come back in an hour!" Vira wailed, her pallor now a rosy flush. "I will submit a formal request on your behalf, but you cannot go in there!"
Hal rolled his eyes. "We're not asking, missy," he snapped. "We'll be gone before you know it." With that, he formed two giant emerald hands from his ring, and pried the door open.
Power Girl was the first one in. "Listen up, Lobo! You have info we need, and we're not leaving until you – AAAAUUUGGGHHH!"
Power Girl's threat died as a strangled squawk of incredulous horror, as she realized her error: the chamber wasn't a prison cell.
It was a bedchamber.
Specifically, it was Maxima's bedchamber; lying nude under a red satin sheet, Maxima sat up with alarm, covering her bare chest with the sheet…
…as an equally naked Lobo sat up beside her.
Power Girl let out a faint choking sound, her eyebrow ticking.
Maxima's surprise turned to fury. "YOU!" she roared. "You DARE intrude upon my chambers, you miserable half-breed harlot? I'll have you boiled in..!"
With a smirk, Lobo moved closer to her, his hands on her sides. "Hold the phone, Maxie," he said smoothly. "No sense lettin' a golden opportunity go to waste: who says she don't wanna join in?" Casting a gaze at Power Girl, he winked. "How about it, sweet thing? Finally tired of Fanboy, huh?"
Power Girl didn't know how she kept herself from barfing.
Thankfully, her teammates had caught up. "Captain, what is the…oh. Oh, cosmos," Aelfyre stammered, as he quickly looked straight up. "This…this is not what it seems, Queen of Almerac."
Hal was close behind. "Sheesh, what's all the fuss about…oh." He fixed a gaze on Lobo. "Damn. Not bad, Lobo."
Lobo's smirk turned to a scowl. "Oh, frag! The munchkins put you on my ass again, Greeny Jordo?" he groused. "What the frag is it, this time?"
Hal chuckled. "Believe it or not, Czarnian, I have better things to do than tail you," he shot back. "All we want is some of your intel."
"Then schedule a fraggin' appointment! The Main Man is workin', here!" Lobo growled. "An' if you or the shrimps on Oa or Fanboy don't like it, you can kiss my ass!" He was about to turn back to Maxima, but paused in confusion. "Where is Fanboy, anyway? Last I checked, him and that sweet thing were joined at the nads."
With a smirk, Maxima saw her chance, and pushed Lobo back. "So, Kal-El has finally seen reason, has he?" she declared. "He sent all of you to regain my favour and ask for my hand?"
Lobo grumbled. "What the frag am I, babe?"
Maxima rolled her eyes. "A distraction," she dismissed. "Nothing more than an available phallus with which I might amuse myself – hardly a mate worthy of the throne."
Lobo smirked. "No commitment, huh? Works fer me!" he chortled. "Seriously, though, where's Fanboy? Figured I might as well ask if he could line up another job as sweet as the last one, since, y'know, I helped him drag that big-ass battlestation all the way to Earth!"
Power Girl felt her throat clench as she spoke. "Darkseid took him."
Lobo blinked, and then laughed. "No, seriously, babe! Where is the feeb?"
"She is not joking, Lobo," Aelfyre said, his tone grave. "Apokolips' shadow is looming against the free worlds of the cosmos, once more."
Lobo's smile evaporated, as he turned even paler than normal. "Frag…tell me you ain't serious, Hooves."
"He's dead serious, Lobo," Hal replied. "You think we'd look you up for just a social call?"
Maxima was equally horrified. "D-Darkseid? He…he exists?"
"As much as Kal does," Power Girl murmured.
Lobo gulped. "So then why the frag are you lookin' fer…oh, FRAG no!" he yelped. "You gotta be jokin' now! You think just 'cause I managed to get away from that piss-hole – barely – I'm gonna help you bust Fanboy out? Not happening! Warworld was one thing, and the World-Chomper was another, but facin' down fraggin' Darkseid? Did somebody drop you on yer head, sweet thing?"
Power Girl glared at him. "I didn't come here to debate this, Lobo. We are bringing Kal back, and you are helping us. End of story."
"Ha! You got the "end" part right, babe!" Lobo scoffed. "Hate to break it to ya, but Fanboy's well an' truly fragged!" He arched a lecherous eyebrow. "So, if you need a shoulder to cry on…like I said, there's plenty o' room…"
Seeing that Alison looked ready to explode, Hal stepped in. "Okay, Czarnian: how much will it take?" he asked. "It'll take a day, but I'm sure I can persuade the Guardians and the Confederacy to finance…"
"Sorry, Jordo; ain't enough green in the whole fraggin' verse that'll get me back there!" Lobo declared. "You feebs wanna go chasin' after Fanboy's corpse? Yer funeral!" He turned back to Maxima. "Now, where were we, babe?"
Aelfyre smiled wryly. "Oh?" he asked. "Then the rumors are false?"
Lobo paused. "Huh?"
"Supposedly, you're – and I quote – "the toughest S.O.B. this side of the Magadon Cluster,"" Aelfyre remarked. "Is that or is that not true?"
Lobo grimaced. "Yeah, Hooves, it's true…but Darko's on the other side of the Cluster," he answered. "The Main Man's tough, but he ain't stupid, which is what you'd have to be to go up against Darko…"
"We don't have TIME for this!"
Power Girl's scream of fury startled Lobo just enough for her to snag him by the neck with a luminous lariat, before she projected a pair of light-plyers that shot towards the sheets…and grabbed something that made Lobo cringe. "Are you listening now?" Alison hissed. With a whimper, Lobo nodded. "Good, because I'm only saying this once! You are coming with us! You are going to show us how you got so far into Darkseid's territory undetected! You are going to help us get my tausha back…because if you don't, so help me God, I will rip your bloody junk off and FEED it to you!" She smiled sweetly. "Clear?"
Lobo smiled nervously. "You make a compellin' argument, babe," he said. "The Main Man is intrigued." Satisfied, Alison released him, which let Lobo recover his bravado. "You feebs are in luck! Since the Main Man's been gettin' ass as fine as Maxie's fer the past little while, he's willing to make this little frag-up his Good Deed of the Decade!" His smile vanished. "Mark yer calenders, 'cause ya ain't gonna see it happen ever again!"
Power Girl rolled her eyes. "Whatever."
Energized, Maxima started to rise from her bed. "The Almeraci Royal Fleet will accompany you!" she declared. "Once Kal-El sees that I aided in his rescue, he will surely..!"
"Don't bother, lady," Hal said. "You'd never be able to keep up."
Maxima bristled. "Excuse me?"
"Darkseid's forces are capable of giving even Kryptonian vessels pause," Aelfyre said. "Do you truly believe that your vessels can last more than a minute upon first engagement?"
Maxima just frowned.
Standing up, Lobo grinned. "If that's it, I'd like to suit up now," he said. "Jordo, Hooves, you two can take a hike, but if sweet thing wants to stay…"
"No thank you!" Alison snapped, already turning around. "Walking in on one horrifying scene was enough for one day! Just meet us in orbit on that junk-heap you call a bike!" She tapped her communicator. "Kara? We're good! 'Port us back in – Lobo will be following shortly!"
Supergirl promptly answered with the Argo's teleporter wave; once the three of them were back aboard, Kara guided the Speeder back up and into orbit. "How'd it go?"
Alison still felt nauseous. "You don't want to know."
Supergirl looked worried. "He refused?"
"Oh, no. He agreed," Hal said. "We just…probably didn't do as detailed a scan as we should have."
Now Kara was confused. "What?"
"It was not a prison cell that we found him in," Aelfyre said quietly. "It was Maxima's bedchamber."
"What? Why on Krypton would he be in – oh, sweet merciful RAO!" Supergirl wailed, as her hands flew to her ears. "I didn't hear that, I didn't hear that!"
Hal put his hand to his forehead. "Let's just hope that his intel is good," he groused.
Once they were in orbit, it took a few minutes for Lobo's space-hog to catch up to them. Power Girl had to suppress a fresh cringe as Lobo's voice came over the comm-line. "Okay, feebs: you wanted the best, so here he is!" Lobo chortled. "Tell me you ain't plannin' on goin' after Fanboy with that dinky thing!"
Power Girl frowned. "This "dinky thing" managed to hold off the bulk of a Kree/Skrull invasion force, Lobo," she said, "but no, we didn't come with just the Argo. Jump to the edge of the system; that's where the rest of our force is waiting for us!" At a nod from Power Girl, Supergirl powered up Trans-Warp, and the Speeder streaked away, to the edge of the system.
After transiting back to normal space, it took another few minutes for Lobo to catch up. "Hey! Give a guy some warning, babe!" Lobo groused, before his tone turned more respectful at the sight of the Superdreadnoughts. "Frag. You feebs ARE takin' this seriously. Okay. We're cool."
Supergirl guided the Speeder towards the Ardor. "Okay, Aly; I'll just 'port you guys aboard. Then you can have Lobo dock his bike in the hangar…"
Alison sputtered. "Now hold on a minute! Why am I automatically stuck with him?"
Supergirl frowned. "Well, I'm sure as Rao not listening to him for the entire trip!"
Lobo spoke again. "Hey! Am I just 'sposed to float out here? Where do I park?"
With a sigh, Power Girl answered his hail. "Head to the Ardor, Lobo."
"Come again, babe?"
Power Girl rolled her eyes. "The blue and purple one." She fixed an annoyed glare at Kara. "You owe me so big for this, Zor-El."
Kara couldn't argue. "I'll port you to the Ardor," she said. "Once Lobo talks, Sentrius should have a more detailed plan; hail us once he's aboard."
Alison nodded. "Got it." With that, she was engulfed by the teleporter, once more.
As she emerged in the Ardor's bridge, Tin Man was there to greet her. "Captain Ka-Lir, what are our orders?"
"Our orders are pending, Kurox," Power Girl answered, as she took her seat. "Sentrius should have an updated plan shortly."
"Understood, Captain. Alert: Citizen-designate Lobo is attempting to dock with us."
Power Girl sighed. "Let him in, and 'port him to the bridge."
"Acknowledged."
A few feet away, Lantern Stewart grimaced. "Lobo's coming aboard?"
"Unfortunately."
Rokk looked perplexed. "Is he difficult to work with?"
John shook his head. "That's putting it mildly, kid."
It was then that the Ardor's internal teleporter activated, depositing Lobo a few feet away. Lobo whistled. "Not bad," he remarked, before he glanced to Power Girl with a leer. "Knew you couldn't keep away, sweet thing."
Power Girl was in no mood. "Lobo, this ship is capable of launching Nova Javelins."
Lobo got the message. "Awright, awright! Sheesh!"
Looking to the view-screen, Power Girl hailed the Perseverance. "Ardor calling Perseverance. He's here."
It was Sentrius who answered. "Acknowledged, Ardor. Uploading intended route." The view-screen shifted to a holographic map depicting several star-systems spread across two galaxies. "As previously mentioned, from here we will access the Val'Haorik Gate to reach the very edge of the Xerius Galaxy, which will put us within Trans-Warp range of the Mu'ok Galaxy…"
Lobo was all business, now – or at least as much as he ever got. "Lemme guess: yer gonna breach through the Tol'Dro System, then the Im'Vok System, before ya charge to Anfer'al?"
"Correct."
Lobo scrunched his eyes. "Fraggit, I was afraid o' that," he muttered. "Okay, robo-babe, listen up. Darko's got eyes an' ears all through Tol'Dro – we're talkin' recon-drones, spy-satellites, scout-stations, the works. You so much as fart in there, and Darko'll hear you coming."
John crossed his arms. "It must have some weakness."
"Yeah: the central station. It controls the whole fraggin' setup. Short that out, and everything goes blind," Lobo said. "My first time there, I grabbed some blueprints before I bailed, just in case I ever came back; stashed 'em in my hog."
"Understood; you will upload them prior to departure."
Lobo scowled. "Yeah, yeah, robo-babe. Keep yer chips on," he grumbled. "If by some stroke of fraggin' luck we make it past Tol'Dro an' into Im'Vok, that's where things get really fragged up. Darko's got a whole fraggin' mess of space-mines all through the system; didn't want to chance on just the radiation keepin' feebs out. Worse, they're all linked by direct beam transmission: one goes boom, the rest learn about it, an' start trackin' the shmuck that did it. That's how Darko knew I was comin', the first time around."
He looked Power Girl in the eye. "After that, it's straight to Darkseid's home turf," he finished. "An' that's as far as I go, babe. I don't care if you chop the Little Man and patch 'im on my ass, I ain't settin' foot in Anfer'al! Meetin' Darko once was more'n enough for me!"
Power Girl frowned. "He actually scares you that much?"
"Frag yeah he does, babe! The Main Man ain't too proud to admit it!" Lobo said. "An' if you knew about him, you'd be spooked, too!" He gulped. "Ya heard how the Main Man got booted from the place downstairs, right?"
John nodded. "Rings a bell."
"Right. Point is, the guy in charge was plenty capable of kickin' my ass; the lesson just never took, so he tossed me to get some fraggin' peace an' quiet!" Lobo said, before he looked haunted. "But when Darko did whatever he did to make Apokolips like it is now, Old Scratcho came callin'…an' Darko scared him off."
Power Girl blinked. "You're saying the devil is scared of him?"
Lobo nodded. "Yeah, the Main Man thought it was bunk, too, until I met the guy," he said. "See what I'm gettin' at?"
Despite the chill on her spine, Power Girl turned firm. "Well, thanks for the heads-up."
Lobo was bug-eyed. "Yer still going?"
"Sentrius, we are charting a course for the Gate. Dial as soon as you're in range," Power Girl said. "I'm commencing pre-flight checks on the Trans-Warp Drive. I'll update you once we're through."
"Acknowledged, Captain. Proceed to the Gate."
As the transmission ended, and Power Girl tapped a few keys on her armrest, Lobo snorted. "Frag. Heard blondes were dumb, but not that dumb."
Power Girl turned to glare at him. "Why? Just because we're still going after Kal?"
"Well…yeah."
John looked equally irate. "We don't leave men behind, pal."
"Primary Directive: preserve the House of El and all living members," Kurox reported.
Rokk nodded. "If Commander El is still alive, we must rescue him!"
Lobo was dumbfounded. "All this fer one feeb?"
Turning her chair, Alison stood up, and got right in his face. "Yes, Lobo. We're going to take this insane risk, and face this madman for him, because we know he'd do the same for any of us," she snapped, as tears leaked from her eyes. "And as for me? I love him. I'd follow him to hell and back! So this Darkseid prick had better hope he is a god, because that's the only way he's going to survive us kicking his butt up and down that hellhole he calls a planet!"
Lobo could only blink, before he sighed in resignation. "Said it before, an' I'll say it again: fraggin' Fanboy's contagious."
By then, the Ardor had reached the Gate, with the Perseverance and the Trail close behind. "Ardor reporting ready, Perseverance. Dial the Gate at your leisure."
As before, the World-Gate came to live, its sections sparking before it pulled open a wormhole large enough for them to fly through. The Ardor was the first to enter the Gate, followed by the Prseverance, and then the Trail. Once they emerged in the Val'Haorik System, Power Girl resumed their pre-flight check. "Kurox, confirm: all Trans-Warp-related systems report green."
"Confirmed, Captain. Trans-Warp Drive is ready to deploy."
Power Girl opened another hailing frequency. "Perseverance, we are ready for Trans-Warp. Have the Trail move into formation; I'm prepping the Ardor for flight-synch."
"Acknowledged." The view-screen clearly showed it all: the Perseverance gracefully glided above the Ardor, overlapping it perfectly, while the infinitely smaller Trail moved between them, to take advantage of the synchronized Trans-Warp fields, as both Superdreadnoughts extended glowing pylons along their port and starboard hulls. "Formation achieved, Captain. Initiating synchronization. All hands, secure yourseves. Trans-Warp jump in one minute."
At Sentrius' words, the Ardor's governing A.I. took over, synching with her sister ship under Sentrius' guidance. Quickly, John sat in one of the available seats. "You're gonna want to sit down."
"Trans-warp jump in thirty seconds."
Nervous, Rokk did the same. "What exactly is Trans-Warp like?"
"Trans-Warp jump in fifteen seconds."
John chuckled. "It's a hell of a kick, for one."
Lobo snorted. "You feebs are just a buncha babies. I let Fanboy drag me and my hog along, once; hardly anything to write home about..!"
"Jump in 5…4…3…2…1…Trans-Warp jump."
Instantly, the Superdreadnoughts' pylons lit up, accelerating them to hundreds of times the speed of light. Still standing, Lobo took the full brunt of the momentum. "HOLY FRAG!" he yelped, as he was thrown back against the wall and sandwiched there by the Ardor's acceleration.
From her seat, Power Girl could only wince against the thrust with her teammates, until the ship's inertial dampeners began to compensate, relieving the oppressive force. Glancing back, Alison smirked. "You were saying, Lobo?"
In a heap on the floor, Lobo could only scowl. "Shut the frag up."
Still standing, Kurox moved to a console. "Trans-Warp achieved, Captain. At present rate of travel, we will arrive at the Tol'Dro System within twelve hours," he reported. "It is recommended that you all achieve a minimum of six hours' rest during that time. Individual quarters have been prepared."
Power Girl sighed. "Kurox, I haven't been able to sleep for any length since this happened…"
"Then it is highly recommended, Captain."
Green Lantern quickly jumped in. "Look, Alison, we've all been burning the candle at both ends," he said. "If we go into this tired and at half-capacity, we won't help anybody."
Despite her anxiety, Alison couldn't argue. "Fine," she relented. "Kurox, wake us no later than three hours from Tol'Dro. We'll need everyone on-deck to plan our attack."
"Acknowledged, Captain."
Reluctantly rising from her chair, Power Girl gazed out at the view-screen, watching starlight streak by as they flew…not nearly fast enough for her liking. 'Hang on, Clarkie,' she silently pleaded. 'Just hang on; we're coming…'
XXXXXXXX
Apokolips
"Alright, you dogs! Pack it in! You've got another day of this tomorrow! Move!"
At the foreman's end-of-shift yell, Clark could only shuffle out of the mining-pit with the other workers, gradually dispersing to their respective lodgings. By the time he reached the Orphanage, Clark could see that the dim sunlight was already gone, leavings only the fires of Darkseid's industrial complex to paint the dark sky a dingy orange. Wincing with every step, he made his way into the Orphanage, and was about to head to his bunk, too exhausted to even eat, when he heard it.
"WAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
Startled, Clark looked around, trying to find the source of the wailing. Walking around a corner, he found his answer: a little girl, no more than 7 or 8, in a tattered, dirty violet dress, her short blond hair in two tangled pigtails, sitting in a corner, bawling her eyes out. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" Clark asked…before he realized just how stupid that question was.
The little girl couldn't stop crying enough to form a full sentence. "I…I…I can't, anymore!" she wailed. "It's…too hard!"
His heart wrenching at the girl's cries, Clark knelt by her. "What's too hard?"
"H-Having h-hope!" the girl blubbered. "It's…it's never going to get better!"
Clark grimaced. "Oh, no, honey," he soothed. "Please don't say that…"
"Why not? No-one's coming to fix anything!" the girl cried. "Nobody can make anything better!"
Clark was almost knocked over by that. He was almost ready to say that there was someone who could make things better…but he stopped himself.
There was no yellow sun here.
There was no Justice League.
There was only him…and he could do nothing.
Barely suppressing tears himself, Clark gave the girl a gentle hug. "I know it seems that way," he whispered. "But…but if we just give up, then life doesn't mean anything…"
The girl sniffed. "Maybe it doesn't."
Clark scrunched his eyes. "I won't believe that," he said. "I…I have to believe that things will get better." Stepping back, he smiled at her. "Just…don't give up, okay, sweetie?"
The girl wiped her eyes with a sniffle. "Okay." With that, she shuffled away.
As Clark walked back to the bunk-room, he found Scott just heading in, too. "Damn. You look worse than usual," Scott remarked.
Clark couldn't argue. "A little girl was crying," he answered. "She was only 7 or 8."
Scott shook his head. "I swear, they get younger and younger, each day," he remarked. "Purple dress and pigtails?"
"You saw her?"
"In the quarry, loading carts," Scott confirmed. "This must only be her second day."
Clark closed his eyes. "Only two days, and on the verge of giving up…"
Scott's hand was on his shoulder. "You don't have to tell me, Clark," he agreed. "This place kills your soul if you let it."
Even more tired than he was a minute ago, Clark headed to his bunk. "So where were you? I saw a few Parademons take you half-way into the shift," he remarked. "Wait…does Goodness know..?"
"Nah. That was just a social call; her latest attempt to break me." Scott was half-grinning. "Just making that old witch lose her temper is enough of a victory for me." His grin faded. "Even though she involved Barda."
"Who?"
Scott sighed. "Long story."
As he dropped onto his bunk, Clark propped himself up on his elbow. "I've got time."
Scott sat down on his bunk. "You sure?"
Clark nodded. "Dead sure."
Scott's eyes were hard. "Don't say I didn't warn you," he said. "For as long as I can remember, I've been here, Clark…but everyone I ever asked said I came from somewhere else, kinda like you did. It didn't really matter much, on account of how I got put through the wringer like the ones that came out of Breeda."
Clark could only grimace, as he recalled the day Scott had told him of the Big Breeda. "Is that why Goodness has it out for you?"
Scott snorted. "That's as good a reason as any," he muttered. "To this day, I'm not sure why she singled me out. Maybe I just looked at her wrong, or maybe she was just constipated that day. Bottom line is that I became her go-to whipping-boy." He smirked to himself. "It didn't take me long to figure she wanted me to break, so I just decided not to, if only to spite the old hag."
Clark nodded. "And Barda?"
Scott's bitterness melted away, as he gave a genuine smile. "Honestly? She was – and still is – my first love," he confessed. "Although I didn't have a word for it, back then. She was in the Orphanage at the same time I was; we were inseparable." He laughed. "We were always getting into trouble, and getting busted for it!"
Clark smiled. "Aside from being here, it sounds like two kids anywhere," he noted. "So what happened?"
Scott wilted a bit. "I'm not sure, really," he murmured. "Maybe she couldn't take it, though I sure hope that's not the case, or maybe she just figured she could do better than our lot. Whatever the reason, Barda stopped giving Goodness grief, and eventually got handpicked for training with the Female Furies."
Clark gulped as he thought of that dreaded paramilitary unit: female only, and each as fearsome as Granny herself. "And that was the last you ever saw of her?"
"Except for a handful of times like today, yeah," Scott finished. "And that's the pathetic story of Scott Free, my friend: tragic, but so is everybody on Apokolips." He glanced at Clark, an eyebrow arched. "And what about you? Do you have someone like Barda, back home?"
Clark smiled warmly. "Yeah, I do," he said. "Her name's…"
"Whoa, pal. Keep the specifics to yourself," Scott warned. "Goodness and Desaad have ears everywhere. The last thing you need is for them to turn that against you."
With a flinch, Clark went silent. "Right. Thanks."
Scott leaned forward. "So why does Darkseid think you know about the Anti-Life Equation?" he asked. "Desaad's grilled prisoners about it before, but never on a daily stretch like you."
Clark lowered his head. "It must be because I'm Kryptonian."
Scott's eyes widened. "Seriously?" he asked. "I thought they were all wiped out."
Clark shook his head. "Not quite. A handful of us survived." His face hardened. "But I know that Darkseid had a hand in it: the Dheronians who destroyed Krypton did it with Apokoliptian technology."
Scott nodded. "That makes sense. I've heard rumors that, years ago, a "great enemy of the Shadow Lord was wiped from existence," or so Godfrey's propaganda said," he replied. "And since you guys were known for exploration and tech, he figured you'd know something."
"It wouldn't be the first time my people's reputation got me in trouble," Clark muttered.
Scott sighed as he leaned back. "Reputations tend to do that," he agreed. "Anyway, there's another day, tomorrow."
Clark could only groan. "And one after that, and one after that."
"Hey, don't think like that," Scott said. "Remember?"
Clark shook himself. "I remember," he said. "Sorry."
"Hey, don't apologize. This place can break people fast," Scott assured him. "Most people that land here don't last half as long as you, and that's without the daily sessions with Desaad!"
With a grimace, Clark shut his eyes. "Somehow, Scott, that doesn't really make me feel better…"
XXXXXXXX
Tol'Dro System border, October 1
Despite Sentrius' advice – which was really a politely disguised order – Kara couldn't sleep.
After lying in her quarters – a small but pleasant one-cot chamber with a view-screen, a teleporter access-panel, and a replication unit – for most of the travel-time, Supergirl knew she had to get up and move, before she went insane. Standing up, she strode to the teleporter. "Core Control Chamber," she instructed. The blue-white wave engulfed her moments after, taking her away.
Emerging from the wave, Kara found herself standing in front of the Superdreadnought's newly-installed ECM. Contained within a massive force-shield, with a second field within it to focus the power-flow to the ship's EPMs, the Entropic Cascade Matrix spun, its three huge Amplifier rings constantly boosting and feeding back into the crystalline core, which released more ordering energy that was either funneled out for use, or caught by the rings.
Closing her eyes, Kara let memory overtake her. She could remember the last meeting with all her family: it was a meal at her father's estate on Argo, just before the Tragedy. Everyone was there: her parents, Uncle Jor, Aunt Lara, and even Grandfather Saer-El, who'd kept back, and said absolutely nothing to any of them. Her father had told Uncle Jor of their plans to excavate a section of the old city, to try and find the Sword of El. Jor-El had congratulated his brother, and revealed his concept of what would become the ECM, which now stood before her, completed by his son.
By Kal-El. By the cousin who'd rescued her, helped her find the Sword and prove her father right, and then rearmed and retrieved Sentrius…and who was now missing, taken by their people's oldest and most fearsome enemy.
Despite herself – despite her best efforts not to – Kara felt her eyes sting with tears. She was the older cousin. By all rights, she should have been looking after Kal, not the other way around. She should have been there to stop this from ever…
"Captain Zor-El?"
Quickly wiping her eyes, Supergirl turned to find Constable Gand – Lar – standing behind her. "Admiral Sentrius said I would find you here," Lar said. "We should be arriving at the Tol'Dro System shortly."
Kara nodded. "Yes, I know, Constable. Thank you."
Lar looked worried. "Is everything alright?"
Supergirl looked away. "Yes, of course," she lied. "I'm just…well, we're all on edge…"
Lar's expression saddened as he moved to stand next to her. "You're related to Commander El, aren't you?"
Kara covered her eyes. "He's my cousin," she admitted. "My younger cousin, according to the calendar."
Lar blinked. "Oh," he said. "Well, it's just…from what I'd seen from reports…"
"He looks older. I know," Supergirl replied. "You can blame that on my being stuck in cryo-stasis for a few decades."
"I see," Lar said. "Still, I doubt that's what's bothering you."
Supergirl managed to look him in the eye. "It's close," she answered. "I'm supposed to be older. It should be my job to look after Kal: to help him learn his lessons, or tell him that girls aren't scary…"
Lar caught on. "…or keep him safe from galaxy-conquering warlords."
Kara sniffled. "My Uncle Jor would have expected me to look after his son," she murmured, "and…and I let him down so badly!"
Lar's hand on her shoulder soothed her. "You couldn't have done anything," he said softly. "Nobody could have predicted this: neither you, nor your cousin, nor your uncle, nor anyone else!" His smile was gentle. "You're traveling across the universe to save him; I sincerely doubt that your uncle would expect anything more from his niece, especially if he loved you as much as it sounds like he did."
Kara's sniffles began to fade. "Thank you, Constable."
Lar grinned. "You can call me Lar, Captain."
Kara smiled back. "In that case, you can call me Kara."
"Fair enough." Looking up at the ECM, then around at the ship, Lar's smile grew. "Part of me still can't believe I'm standing in a Kryptonian ship," he said. "The legends did not do your people's technology justice – you're as much artists as you are scientists!"
Kara blushed at the compliment. "Well…thank you," she replied. "Did your people have many dealings with us?"
Lar sighed. "Only once," he said. "Centuries ago, your people visited Daxam on some expedition." His grin was sheepish. "We weren't exactly the most gracious hosts."
Kara's eyes went wide. "You're a Daxamite?" she exclaimed, before she covered her mouth. "I-I'm sorry! It's just…I mean…"
"…you never thought that you'd see one of us leave our home planet, let alone our galaxy?" Lar supplied. "That we'd stay on Daxam forever like a bunch of backwards-thinking, xenophobic fools?"
Now Kara was beet-red. "We never thought that about you…"
"Why not? You'd be right!" Lar muttered, leaning on the rail, his eyes closed. "All those years ago, my ancestors met a race of people from across the stars! They could have learned so much that day…and what did they do? Told them to get off their planet, and stuck their heads in the sand!" He sighed. "And the saddest part? Most of my people look back on that day as one of national pride!"
Kara's expression was sympathetic. "If it helps, we were disappointed, too," she answered. "Your people were starting to develop solar-powered abilities similar to ours, so we were excited to document such an incredible evolutionary shift!" Her expression turned confused. "So how did you join the Space Police?"
"Just a few years ago, a Confederate diplomatic vessel crash-landed on Daxam," Lar explained. "When their rescue-ships arrived, my people caught on to what happened. The Confederacy made its usual invitation to join…and as you'd expect, Daxam's leaders refused." He smirked. "Unlike with your people, however, some of mine weren't going to let this opportunity pass!"
Kara blinked. "You went with them?"
Lar nodded. "Not all Daxamites are backwards-thinking," he said. "A handful of us left Daxam. Some went to the diplomatic corps, some went to universities…and I went to the Space Police."
Kara looked sad. "But…what about your family?"
Lar's smile faded. "My family's likely the oldest of Daxam's old-guard," he muttered. "My mother's a historian – although she sounds more like a propaganda-author – and my father's head of the "Commission of Cultural Integrity."" He snorted. "He was the first to tell the Confederacy to go, just like my great-great-great-etcetera-grandfather told the Kryptonians to go."
"How did he take your decision?"
Lar's eyes scrunched closed. "He told me to go and never come back," he whispered. "I'm sure that, right now, Mother is filling my younger sister's ears with all sorts of stories about how her brother is one of the greatest traitors in Daxamite history."
At those words, Kara felt her heart wrench. By some reflex, her hand moved to his shoulder. "Lar, I…I know what it's like to have a family member that…seems to hate you," she whispered. "It's their loss, Lar; theirs and Daxam's."
Lar smiled. "Thank you, Kara," he answered, as he looked up…and their gazes met.
"Captain Zor-El, Constable Gand, report to the bridge."
Sentrius' order dispelled the moment almost as soon as it had started. Still red, Supergirl stepped back. "W-We should get going!" she stammered.
Lar was just as rosy. "Of…of course!" he agreed. "Please, lead the way!" With a nod, Supergirl headed to the teleporter control-console, with Lar following.
Once the teleporter had taken Supergirl and Lar to the bridge, a frowning Orion glared at them. "You two certainly took your time."
Aelfyre was more sympathetic. "Is everything alright?"
Supergirl nodded quickly. "Of course!"
Sentrius never noticed the squeak in her voice…or if she did, she never acknowledged it. "We will arrive in the Tol'Dro System within five minutes," she stated, as the central console brought up a tactical hologram of the system. "The Tol'Dro System is a six-planet binary star-system with no indigenous life-forms, making it ideal for long-range reconnaissance and observation." As she spoke, several locations on the six planets became highlighted, along with dozens of tiny locations throughout the system itself. "Long-range sensors have detected observation outposts on each planet, and each outpost is equipped with a long-range subspace communications array, which makes each one capable of alerting Apokolips to any activity within the system. Furthermore, each outpost's comms array has a failsafe system that links them: if one goes offline, the others automatically hail Apokolips and sound the alarm."
Lantern Jordan grimaced as he looked over the countless smaller dots. "And I'm guessing those are the spy-satellites that feed to the outposts?"
"Correct, Corpsman Jordan," Sentrius answered. "Each one projects a circular series of cone-shaped sub-spatial scan-waves, rendering it capable of detecting any vessel within one light-second of it. Alone, each satellite is an effective recon unit; when networked, the satellites render a system utterly impermeable."
Aelfyre looked worried. "What about the Argo's cloaking technology? Could we find some way to interface it with the rest of our..?"
"That is not a viable option at this time, Admiral," Sentrius said. "Given time, we could theoretically match the phase of the Argo's cloak to the satellites' scanners, which would render it effective. In our current time-frame, however, that is not possible."
Orion scowled. "Then your cloaking tech is useless."
"Against this kind of detection, yes."
Supergirl frowned. "Does Lobo have any ideas?" she asked. "He didn't have anything like our tech, but he managed to get through!"
"I believe so, Captain Zor-El. I have him on the line, now." At Sentrius' gesture, the view-screen projected a holographic image of Lobo's face. "Lobo, we are approaching the Tol'Dro System. Your intel is required."
Lobo scowled. "Yeah, yeah, robo-babe, I get it. You wanna know how the frag I got past all the satellites, right?" he groused. "Darko's spy-net ain't as all-seein' as he thinks; it's got seams in between, if ya squint at 'em."
Hal blinked. "Sentrius, can you highlight the space between satellites and magnify?" With a gesture, Sentrius did so. Squinting behind his eye-mask, Hal shook his head. "I'll be damned. He's right!"
"Damn straight I am, Greeny!"
Moving closer, Supergirl stared at the image, clearly depicting a gap between the scan-ranges of the satellites. "Are there more of these gaps?"
"Frag yeah, sweet thing! Followed 'em all the way through on my hog!"
Orion wasn't impressed. "Those gaps are barely large enough to get a single fighter through!" he said. "How are we supposed to get these ships past them?"
Sentrius remained nonplussed. "The control-signal for the satellites is emanating from a space-station on the dark side of Tol'Dro IV," she reported. "By following these dead areas, it should be possible for a small team to reach it, gain access, and disable the satellite network long enough for our ships to move through."
Aelfyre looked thoughtful. "It would have to be a small vessel – even smaller than the Argo," he mused. "Lobo, how many can your vessel carry?"
Lobo looked like he'd swallowed a sock. "Fraggit, how'd I know you were gonna ask that?" he grumbled. "In a pinch, my hog can pull three or four, but the speed takes a beating."
"Speed would not be required for this kind of mission," Sentrius stated. "Admiral Whitemane, your ability to alter your density should help us infiltrate the station's airlocks. Once inside, I should be able to hack the station's systems and access the network. Captain Zor-El, you, Lobo, and the Admiral will provide cover, should we be discovered." She turned to the view-screen. "I will relay instructions to Captain Ka-Lir to hold position with us at the edge of the network. Lobo, you will meet us in the Perseverence's vehicle-bay. Perseverence out."
As Sentrius ended the transmission, Supergirl took a deep breath. 'Okay…here we go…'
Lar caught on to her anxiety. "You'll be fine," he said. "From what I've heard you've done plenty of missions like this."
Supergirl's smile was strained. "I appreciate the thought, Lar," she answered, "but none of us have had any missions like this one – not with so much at stake."
"Point taken," Lar agreed. "In any case, good luck!"
Kara nodded. "We'll need it." With that, she, Aelfyre, and Sentrius headed out of the bridge towards the teleporter console.
After the teleporter dropped them at the vehicle-bay, the three of them had to wait several minutes before Lobo and his hog were 'ported in. "I still can't fraggin' believe it," a sour Lobo muttered. "Pullin' a sob-story job like this is bad enough, but fer free? My rep'll never recover, if this gets out!"
Supergirl glared at him. "Last I checked, Lobo, you were doing this to avoid a butt-kicking!" she snapped. "Of course, if you want to back out, I'm sure Aly would understand…"
"No, no, no! I'm good!" Lobo said. "Just prefer if everybody kept this under their hats, is all!"
Sentries was already handing disc-shaped units to Supergirl and Aelfyre. "These Atmospheric Generators will provide breathable atmosphere for the duration of our EVA," she stated, before she pointed to Lobo's bike. "Lobo, the coordinates for the station have been uploaded to your nav-system. Once we are away, proceed with all caution."
"Yeah, whatever," Lobo said. "Okay, feebs! Time to siddown, shut up, and hold on!" At that, Sentrius calmly walked to the bike, and sat down behind Lobo. With more than a little trepidation, Supergirl hopped on behind Sentrius, prompting Aelfyre to hop on at the very edge of the seat. "Fraggit, I got two babes on my bike, an' I can't even enjoy it," Lobo muttered. "Gotta be the end o' the whole fraggin' 'verse. Robo-babe, let's just do this thing."
"Acknowledged. Engaging teleporter."
The very second Sentrius spoke, the blue-white wave engulfed the bike, depositing them in the void of space, just ahead of the Perseverence's bow. Despite the Atmospheric Generator, Supergirl flinched at the chill of the vacuum just beyond her reach, but she quickly calmed herself. Completely silent, Lobo was all business, as he powered his bike forward into the system at a relatively slow, steady clip. As they flew, Kara couldn't help but admire the desolate beauty of the system. It might have been devoid of natural life, but the Tol'Dro System's gas-giants, nebulas, and rocky planets had their own kind of rugged appeal…
…and then they saw the satellites.
Mere meters ahead of them, the ocean of black-metal, claw-shaped satellites loomed threateningly, spinning on their axes, their probing spikes projecting scan-beams, like terrible sea-predators looking for their next meal. With a clenched jaw, Lobo reduced speed, and flew towards them, adjusting his angle of approach just the tiniest bit, to take his hog just outside the one satellite's view, before he quickly turned to evade the next one.
The next few minutes were nerve-wracking, as Lobo's path twisted and undulated through the web of satellites, leaving Supergirl never sure if they'd been spotted. Finally, the station became visible as they rounded the gas-giant that was Tol'Dro IV. With surprising concentration, Lobo steered his bike towards it, weaving in and out of several dozen more satellites, until they cleared the network at last. As they drew close, Lobo spotted an airlock on the claw-shaped station, and cut speed, before he leaned back, letting his bike magnetically adhere to the hull beside the outer hatch. Looking over his shoulder at Aelfyre, Lobo thumbed towards the hatch. With a nod, Aelfyre hopped off, and assumed gaseous state, flowing around the hatch, probing for just the tiniest of gaps in its structure…until he found one.
Ever so slowly, Aelfyre's vapour-form flowed into the wall through the gap, until he was inside. After several minutes of no activity, Kara feared the worst…right before the outer hatch slid open, and a solid Aelfyre beckoned them inside. Powering down his bike, Lobo clambered inside, followed by Supergirl and Sentrius. The hatch quickly shut behind them, as air flowed back into the airlock, pressurizing it. "Oh yeah!" Lobo crowed. "Can the Main Man fly, or can the Main Man fly?"
"Ssshh!" Aelfyre shushed him. "I saw two sentries pass by, but a minute ago! We must be silent!"
Supergirl could only look around the station's interior with a sense of dread that had been growing since she'd seen it. "Sentrius…doesn't this tech look familiar?"
"Affirmative, Captain. Initial scans of this station show a 100 percent similarity to the vessels used by the Dheronians."
Aelfyre paled. "By the Maker…you mean..?"
Supergirl's eyes stung. "Yes, Admiral. It was Darkseid who backed the Dheronians. He was the architect of Krypton's death."
"Lemme guess: ya want payback, right?" Lobo asked. "The Main Man can respect that, but we gotta get this show on the road, first." He looked to Sentrius. "Robo-babe?"
Sentrius had already jabbed her nano-edged fingers into the nearby console. "I am cross-checking this base's schematics with the plans Lobo provided," she reported. "There appear to be few remodelings, so the plans should be accurate."
Supergirl tried to calm herself. "Okay," she said. "So what do we do next? Is there any way to disable the satellites?"
"Negative, Captain. An unscheduled deactivation of the network would trigger an alarm," Sentrius said. "However, it is possible to have the network run a simulation for an incoming gamma-ray burst."
Lobo blinked. "And that helps how, babe?"
"A gamma-ray burst would short out the systems of any active electronic device in its path," Aelfyre reasoned. "In order to avoid damage to the satellites, this outpost would have to deactivate the entire network temporarily until the burst passed!"
"Correct, Admiral," Sentrius stated. "The main control-center for the network is three levels above us. We can access it via the elevator several meters to the left."
"What about security?" Supergirl asked.
"Internal alarms appear to be minimal in this section of the station," Sentrius answered. "However, the command-center is somewhat expansive…and well-manned."
"Then we will have to exercise a great deal of discretion," Aelfyre said. "Lead the way, Admiral Sentrius." Disengaging from the system, Sentrius sent one last command before she removed her nanite-claw, just as the airlock's inner doors hissed open. With his plasma-rifle draw for good measure, Lobo made sure the coast was clear, before they all filed out, heading left.
They had only just sighted the elevator when Supergirl heard footsteps behind them. "We have incoming!" she whispered. "Hurry!" Darting to the controls, Sentrius jabbed her finger into the console, while Lobo and Aelfye took defensive positions on both sides. The guards were just about to round the corner when the doors slid open, allowing them to zip in, out of sight, allowing the lift to take them up.
Once the elevator reached their destination, the four of them emerged into an empty circular corridor, with open doors at regular intervals leading into a vast chamber. Peering in, Supergirl saw that the chamber was composed of four circular walkways around a pillar of red energy that emanated from a sparking black spherical machine at the bottom. The walkways were dotted with computer-consoles manned by spindly-thin grey humanoids with clawed hands, in lab coats, while bulkier creatures – Parademons, she believed – stalked the walkways. The central station at the base was the most heavily guarded of all, with scientists working non-stop, with Parademons at every entry-point. "So this is the command-center?"
"Affirmative."
Lobo cleared his rifle with a grin. "Time to start kickin' ass and takin' names, right?"
Aelfyre glared at him. "Did you hear nothing that was said? Attack them outright, and this mission fails!"
Lobo scowled. "Fraggit, I can't have any fraggin' fun, today."
Supergirl looked over the chamber. "What's the plan?"
Sentrius quickly generated a holo-map, highlighting three points along the upper walkways. "In order to trigger a simulated shutdown, we will need to access these terminals," she said. With that, she flexed her fingers, and turned three of them rigid…before she plucked them off her hand, and handed one to each of them. "You must insert these into the consoles' main data-ports. Once all three are inserted, I will have access."
Lobo looked queasy as he took one crystal. "Fraggit, babe, warn a guy, will you?"
Sentrius had already regenerated her digits. "Simply simulating a shutdown will not be sufficient," she continued. "As one would expect, all activity related to the network is scheduled and logged within the system. If the network runs an unscheduled simulation, someone will notice. In order to avoid detection, I will have to access the station logs and edit them to include a shutdown." She gestured to the main workstation. "And the only place the logs can be accessed from is there."
"Well, that settles it. We're fragged," Lobo said. "With that kinda security, nobody's gettin' in unseen!"
"You are correct, Lobo," Sentrius said. "Any attempts at covert access using my avatar's present hardware will fail. That is why I will attempt an overt access."
Lobo looked dumbfounded. "You just blow a gasket, babe? You're gonna walk right up to 'em and ask fer a computer?"
Sentrius' smirk was knowing. "Actually," she began, before she activated her holo-emitters, shrouding her crystalline frame in light, until she looked exactly like one of the spindly scientists. "Yes, I am."
Lobo's expression turned flat. "I swear, the stuff your guys' tech does just gets weirder and fraggin' weirder."
Supergirl wasn't entirely reassured. "Sentrius, just looking like one of the researchers won't be enough. What if you get stopped, or have to provide an access code?"
"Captain Zor-El, my current frame is based primarily on that of a Commando Drone, which includes updated versions of their infiltration protocols," Sentrius said. "I am more than reasonably certain that I can gain access."
Aelfyre nodded. "In that case, we should get underway," he said. "Best of luck to us all." With that, they split up.
As she watched one guard walk past the entrance, Supergirl waited until he was clear, and then slipped past, to glide up to the top level. Once the Parademon on patrol had walked past, Supergirl hopped up onto the walkway, and darted behind one of the support columns, keeping out of sight of the researcher at his workstation. Taking a deep breath, Kara waited for him to turn…and then blurred towards the console, inserted the crystal, and then darted away, back to the entrance, out of sight. At the breeze that hit his face, the researcher looked up…and saw nothing. With a perplexed shrug, he looked back to his work, oblivious to the crystal inserted into a data-port on the side.
Turning himself to vapour, Aelfyre easily wisped into the chamber, flowing under the central walkway and out of sight until the Parademon passed him. With the coast clear, Aelfyre floated onto the walkway, and massed himself, shrinking down to miniscule size, bearing the crystal on his back. At that size, it was easy for him to engage his speed, zipping right up to the side of the console unseen, where he used his gravity-power to float it into the data-port and plug it in. Satisfied, he turned wispy again, and floated under the walkway…and froze with horror.
Just below, Lobo had been sneaking along, ducking behind the columns to stay out of sight, until he was a few feet from the console. He had just drawn his chain, and was about to snap it around the researcher's neck like a whip, until he spotted Aelfyre frantically waving his hands to stop him. With a scowl, Lobo put his chain away and ducked behind a nearby column. Poking his head out, Lobo squinted at the console, and held the crystal like a throwing-star, before he pulled back – ignoring Aelfyre's waves completely – and threw.
The crystal spun in mid-throw several times…before it reached the data-port, sliding into the slot and docking perfectly without a sound. With a smug grin, Lobo pumped his fist, while Aelfyre let out a sigh of relief, as they both made for the exit.
The entire time, the disguised Sentrius had been walking towards the main workstation, checking the data-pad her holoform had in hand, while discreetly updating her access to the station's systems. As she drew close, she saw one of the scientists swipe a key-card in front of a terminal before he was allowed in. Discreetly generating a holographic card, Sentrius held it in front of the terminal…which concealed her finger jabbing into the terminal, to hack into it.
The buzzing alert of her failed initial attempt drew the attention of a Parademon guard. With a scowl, Sentrius shook her holo-card, and tapped it against the terminal – all the appearance of a worker with a normally-working card – but the Parademon still walked towards her, growling. Satisfied that her hack had been working long enough, Sentrius swiped her card again…
…and the resonant ding of acceptance answered her.
Putting her holo-card away, Sentrius glared at the Parademon, who just snorted, before he muttered in the Apokoliptian tongue with a casual salute, allowing her in. Moving to the nearest open terminal, Sentrius got to work, pretending to synch her data-pad to the main system, while inserting her finger into a data-port under her holographic clothes. In minutes, she was in, weaving through the security to access the station's logs. After she checked her three finger-drives – already in place – she remotely triggered a simulated shutdown drill to occur within five minutes, before she inserted a log of that shutdown into the station's records, with none the wiser. She was about to disengage from the terminal, until she reconsidered; after all, this was a golden opportunity to gain new intel.
A brief scan of the station's database revealed tantalizing results, but the most sensitive files were heavily encrypted – hacking them would require more than five minutes, if she wasn't discovered. Looking at the lower-priority files, Sentrius opted to copy the Apokoliptian lexicon – to help decipher the files stored back on her station-self – before she detached from the terminal. As she moved to head out, the surly Parademon moved to stop her, but she responded by tapping her data-pad impatiently. The gesture was enough to cow the Parademon, who moved out of her way with a grumble.
Once Sentrius was out of the command chamber, she headed up to the middle level of the outer chamber, to rejoin her comrades and deactivate her camouflage. "Any luck?" Aelfyre inquired.
With one last system-check, Sentrius confirmed the time-frame of the shutdown, before she sent a wireless command that would shut down and disintegrate her finger-drives. "Mission accomplished," she said. "The network will shut down in three minutes, forty-five seconds, giving our task-force a window of two minutes to jump through." She tapped the side of her head, which caused her hair-foil to momentarily flex into a comms-dish, before relaxing. "I have already sent an encrypted message to the Perseverence and the Ardor, notifying them and providing rendezvous coordinates. We must now depart immediately."
Lobo looked uneasy. "You ain't gotta convince us, babe," he groused. "Let's blow this slagshow while we can!" No-one argued, as they hurried back to the elevator.
Thanks to Sentrius' access to the internal sensors, the four of them were able to avoid the guard-patrols, and make it back to the airlock. Once they were outside, they quickly hopped onto Lobo's hog, prompting Lobo to cast off, and ride for the rendezvous coordinates. After about three minutes, Lobo cut power, coming to a dead stop…seconds before the Perseverence, the Ardor, and the Trail jumped into view, just a few meters ahead of them.
After the Perseverence had teleported the four of them back to the bridge – and Lobo's bike to the vehicle bay – a wary Supergirl looked out through the ship's view-screen. "Did it work?"
Orion nodded grudgingly. "Given that none of Darkseid's Parademons are running themselves ragged in pursuit of us, I would assume it did."
Sentrius was back at the main console. "Sensors indicate that the network is inactive," she reported. "However, it will reactivate within one minute, fifteen seconds. We must jump clear of it prior to re-entering Trans-Warp; otherwise, we will be detected."
It was only after Kara felt the nausea-inducing wrench of a step-through jump, followed by the mind-boggling lurch of the Superdreadnought accelerating to Trans-Warp speeds, that she allowed herself to breathe easier. "Well, that's one hurdle cleared."
"Don't break out the Bgztllian brandy just yet, babe!" Lobo warned. "Yeah, we jumped Big D's spy-net, but we still got his gi-fraggin'-normous minefield to worry about!"
Aelfyre looked wary. "The Im'Vok System is mined?"
"Frag yeah it is, Hooves. Darko's got the place covered with big-ass mines!" Lobo said. "Nasty ones, too: we're talkin' proximity-triggered, heat-seeking mobile quantum explosives – real top o' the line stuff! They're what fragged me up, the first time I came through!" His frown turned to a sheepish – for Lobo, anyway – grin. "'Course, tryin' to swipe a few probably didn't help that much."
Lantern Stewart groaned. "You didn't."
"Hey, those were some sweet-ass explosives, Greeny! A couple of those big honkin' mothers would've kept the Main Man solvent fer a good month!"
Supergirl sighed. "So how do we get past them?"
Lobo gulped. "That, babe, I'll have to see once we're there. Chances are, Darko's got the setup changed around since my run-through," he said, before he frowned. "Y'know, on account of nobody else being dumb enough to come at him on his own turf." He looked to Sentrius. "You'd better hit the brakes about 5 light-seconds from Im'Vok, robo-babe. Any closer, an' the mines could pick us up!"
"Acknowledged," Sentrius stated. "Be advised: ETA 5.6 hours."
Sentrius' report – coupled with Lobo's description of the next obstacle – sent Kara's anxiety flaring, until Lar's hand on her shoulder calmed her. "We'll get through it," he assured her.
Supergirl managed a wan smile. "I hope so," she answered, while offering a silent prayer. 'Rao, Uncle Jor, please look out for Kal…and Kal, please, just hang on…'
XXXXXXXX
Apokolips
Earth was all but fallen.
Across the blue planet, legions upon legions of Parademons screamed through the sky, overtaking every defended position. Governments had surrendered, and armies had been crushed, leaving the citizenry fleeing for their lives, even though there was nowhere to flee to.
Only one position remained.
Its guns blazing as it hovered over the Atlantic, the Helicarrier bravely fought off the Parademon legions as best it could, while the last of Earth's costumes warriors – the X-Men and Avengers – held the deck with all they had. Cyclops' optic blasts dropped Parademon after Parademon, while Phoenix's psychic flames set the fanatic monsters' minds ablaze, rendering them easy prey for Thor's lightning and Iron Man's repulsors. Sighting his target, Captain America let fly with his shield, while Nightcrawler hopped onto the vibranium disc in mid-flight, leaping off as it connected and ricocheted, to kick a Parademon lining up a shot before bamfing away. As Cap recovered his shield, Black Widow darted to his side, guns blazing to drop the Parademon closing on him. Shadowcat had taken over a gun-turret from a downed soldier, and was taking down one Parademon after another, while Avalanche, Rogue, Spyke and Gambit covered her. One Parademon, mortally wounded by gunfire, raced at her turret in a death-dive…until a sudden pain in his ear caused him to swerve, missing the Helicarrier completely, as Wasp darted out of his ear canal. Two more Parademons dove at Shadowcat, but they were intercepted by Giant Man's car-sized fists that knocked them to the deck…where an enraged Hulk was waiting for them.
Sensing the spike in resistance, the Parademons suddenly parted, allowing a new figure – tall and muscled, clad head to toe in dark blue-black armour, his head covered by a red-visored helmet, and six cylindrical crystals on the belt, with only a crimson scarf and a swirling red 'S' on the chest to identify him – glided down to the Helicarrier, his fists clenched. Taking aim, Cyclops opened up a massive optic-surge that took the stranger full in the chest…but the armoured newcomer didn't even flinch. As her lover regrouped, Phoenix unleashed a telepathic assault…but her psychic wave washed off the newcomer's mind as if he wasn't even there. Recovering fast, Phoenix let loose a TK-barrage, all aimed at this stranger. His patience exceeded, the stranger darted to the side just an inch, evading the telekinetic salvo, as his visor dropped down, revealing a pair of furious sky-blue eyes that flared nova-red, unleashing a wave of blazing energy.
Phoenix never even had time to scream, let alone raise a barrier. The eye-surge effortlessly washed over her and Scott, leaving only ash behind.
Horrified by his teammates' deaths, Nightcrawler glared at the stranger, as his anguish turned to rage. Vanishing in a sulphurous cloud, he reappeared behind the newcomer, slamming him with a side-kick…which had about as much effect as striking a steel wall. Undeterred, Nightcrawler 'ported away again, this time opting for a drop-attack above the stranger…who simply leaned back, letting Nightcrawler hit the space he'd just been in, before grabbing him by the neck, and squeezing.
The resulting crack was audible across the deck.
His eyes narrowed, Captain America charged at the stranger, shield ahead of him. Dropping his visor, the stranger fired another heat-ray, but this one rebounded against the vibranium, flashing back at him. Cap took devastating use of the advantage, slamming his shield's rim into the stranger's face, and following with a flip-kick. Irritated, the stranger countered with a lightning-fast punch, but Cap managed to block it, and was pushed back, despite his shield absorbing the impact. As his opponent did what he'd expected, the stranger drew one of the crystals from his belt, the crystal instantly morphing into a chakram-like blade-disc at his touch. The stranger quickly aimed, and let the crystal blade fly.
Shield at the ready, Cap waited for the disc to impact and ricochet…and gaped as it suddenly veered away. Under its own power, the disc impacted a munitions crate to Cap's right, and ricocheted behind him, before it hit the floor, to ricochet right at him, slicing his right carotid, and then return to its master's hand. As she watched her lover stumble from his wound, Black Widow let out a cry of alarm, racing to his side, reaching for her med-kit as she ran. With a tap, the stranger morphed the disc into a handgun, lined up a shot, and sent a single neon-green laser through Black Widow's head. His eyes wide at the sight of Black Widow's slumped form, Cap tried to get to her, barely able to drag himself to her side, before his eyes began to close, the last of his life's blood ebbing away.
The vision of his teammates falling sent Thor into a rage. With a berserker's roar, the son of Odin dove at the stranger, to slam Mjolnir into his skull, the impact echoing like a thunderclap, as the shockwave of the strike knocked two dozen Parademons from the air. The newcomer was knocked senseless for a moment, but recovered quickly enough to block Thor's horizontal smash, straining against the Asgardian as he pushed the electrified hammer ever closer…which gave Iron Man the perfect opening for an attack-run; diving low, Iron Man unloaded a full salvo of micro-missiles into the stranger's back.
Sent flying, the stranger slammed into a stationary F-22, and skidded several feet, before he did a handspring. With an irate puff of breath from under his helmet, he drew another crystal, morphed it into a handgun, and then merged it with his other gun, morphing it into a rifle-type weapon. As he took aim at Iron Man, he tapped a panel on the barrel, causing several of the rifle's facets to shift and rearrange themselves, before he fired. Like a missile, the small dagger-shaped crystal shot towards Iron Man, tracking his every movement, and then shot past him, to burst into fine powder. Confused, Iron Man flew through the dust, apparently unhurt…until crystal barbs started to shoot out of his armour, his suit's HUD going staticky with eerie alien code racing across his sight, before going black. In mid-air, the Iron Man armour froze, hovering in place as its back popped open, dumping a screaming Tony Stark out into open air.
Now under enemy control, the Iron Man suit turned on Thor, pasting him with repulsors and forcing him onto the defensive. As Thor blocked the energy-beams with Mjolnir, the stranger reconfigured his weapon again, firing a bolt of mauve energy directly at the war-hammer. His shot connected, magnetizing Mjolnir for just a few seconds…but that was enough for the hammer to pull the Iron Man armour down to it, irreparably fusing them together into one lump of metal, ruining Thor's balance. Dropping his hammer, Thor charged forward, ready for hand-to-hand, but the stranger had had enough. With one tap, he reconfigured his weapon again, and fired a tiny magenta dot into Thor.
As the miniature shot impacted, Thor paused, and checked himself. As he realized he was unhurt, he was about to charge again…at which point the Phantom Zone singularity expanded, sucking him into the Zone before it collapsed on itself.
With his weapon out of power, the stranger separated it into its component crystals and put them back on his belt, before he strode towards Shadowcat's gun-turret. Thinking fast, Rogue tapped Spyke to copy his powers, at which point they both let loose a maelstrom of bone spikes. After several bony projectiles struck him without effect, the stranger tapped two of his remaining crystals, which instantly morphed into diamond-shaped attack drones. Floating around their master, the drones intercepted several spikes, before they returned fire with deadly accuracy. Rogue managed to dive out of the way, but Spyke wasn't as lucky: one drone's laser-fire pierced him through his heart, killing him in seconds.
While Rogue gaped with horror, Avalanche and Gambit moved to cover their teammate. Avalanche quickly generated a localized tremor, but the stranger just stomped his armoured boot hard, his shockwave canceling it out. Gambit was already in motion, drawing his bo-staff and pole-vaulting behind his opponent, charging his staff in mid-air. With a perfect swing, he struck the armoured killer square in the temple, his charged staff unleashing a controlled explosion on impact…but the strike did no damage. With a cold sweat, Gambit recharged his staff and struck again, but the stranger blocked it with his forearm, before he grabbed the staff and stepped into it, to encircle it with his other arm and spin Gambit clear off. Disarmed, Gambit could only get to his feet…just as the stranger flipped the staff around…and stabbed it right through his chest, piercing a lung, before he kicked him away.
As Gambit landed next to a screaming Rogue, the stranger turned towards Shadowcat's turret with a gesture, prompting his drones to open fire. Shadowcat was barely able to phase herself clear of the exploding turret, keeping herself phased to evade the drones' lasers. Curious, the armoured monster gestured, signalling the drones to scan her. Sensing an opening, Shadowcat ran at the stranger, and phased right through him, to side-kick him in the back…but her foot impacted his armoured suit harmlessly. The stranger countered with an automatic back-fist strike that passed through her head without injury; fighting tears and grief, Shadowcat tackled his legs and phased, sinking him into the floor, before climbing out…just as the stranger kicked free.
The stranger clenched his fists in rage, but calmed as his drones beeped in an alert, sending data to his suit. With a low chuckle, the stranger tapped a button on his wrist-computer, which bathed his fists in an eerie neon-green glow. Frantic, Shadowcat tried to phase-tackle him again – all the way through the Helicarrier, this time – but the stranger casually grabbed her wrist, lifting her clear off the deck. Shadowcat tried to break free, kicking and punching the stranger with desperate strength, but her strikes had no effect: with a gesture, the stranger morphed one drone back into a crystal, and then into a multi-bladed dagger, which he then plunged into Shadowcat's neck, before he dropped her.
Surprised by the lack of pain, Shadowcat fingered her wound, and found no blood. For a moment, she felt relief…until she noticed veins of white streaking through her skin, spreading out as the trillions of voracious nanites began to feast upon her body. She screamed, but that scream died away, as her entire body turned to crystal…and then collapsed into dust. The sight of his disintegrated girlfriend snapped something in Avalanche; with an inhuman roar, he raced straight at the armoured monster, who simply stapped his nano-dagger backwards. Following its master's strike, the nano-blade extended its tapered point, right into Avalanche's neck – in a matter of seconds, he had shared Shadowcat's fate.
As she realized that she was the only X-Man left, a tearful Rogue looked to her gasping boyfriend, and made her choice. With a sniffle, she pulled him close to her, and gave him one last kiss – both to copy his powers and to end his suffering – before she ran at the stranger, shrieking with fury, and grabbed him by the torso, pouring endless waves of kinetic energy into his armour, until both her skin and his suit glowed an angry pink.
BANG!
When the suit's charge reached a critical point, it released its stored energy in one massive blast. Slowly, the smoke cleared…revealing the armoured stranger, completely unhurt, standing in front of the ashes that had been Rogue. With only three targets left, the nightmare figure turned towards Giant Man, and blurred into the air, smashing his windpipe with a punch that rippled the air. As Giant Man stumbled back, gasping for air, the stranger darted behind him, grabbed hold of his shoulder, and tossed him off the Helicarrier with a judo-throw. A frantic Wasp raced to help her teammate, prompting the stranger to gesture at her; at that signal, the remaining drone locked onto Wasp and fired, incinerating her in one shot.
As he powered down his nano-dagger and drone, the armoured figure turned to face his last obstacle. With a roar that shook the Helicarrier, the Hulk came barreling at him, unleashing an uppercut that knocked him over a hundred feet into the air. The stranger tumbled head-over-feet skyward for several minutes, and then righted himself, darting straight down, to slam fists first into the Hulk's skull. The impact of the strike drove them both deep into the Helicarrier's vehicle-bay, where they were forced apart when they collided with a jet. With two fist-imprints in his skull, the Hulk was initially groggy, but regained his senses fast, his wounds mending in seconds as he roared again. The stranger was unprepared for the Hulk's alarming speed as the green juggernaut closed on him in seconds with a tackle that connected, allowing the Hulk to grab hold, lift him over his head, and crack him in the back with a knee-strike.
Dazed, the stranger rolled to the side, but the Hulk wasn't finished. With a few stomping strides, the Hulk was on him again, pounding his fists into the stranger's chest, cratering him deeper into the concrete, before he grabbed his arm and swung him around, bashing him into support-columns. Smashing him down again, the Hulk readied one last punch, but this time, the stranger was ready; moving to a kneeling position, the stranger managed to forearm-block the Hulk's strike, and then twist towards him, breaking the Hulk's grip and kicking him straight into the chin. The Hulk was taken completely by surprise as his front teeth connected off-centre, chipping one tooth off while the stranger gained the precious bit of distance he needed. With berserker fury, the stranger pummeled the Hulk with a lightning-fast barrage of punches, followed by a roundhouse to the head, a toe-kick to the sternum, and a sweep-kick-back-kick combo that knocked him slightly airborne before he was sent flying across the vehicle-bay.
The Hulk was knocked senseless for a few moments, but as he saw the green behemoth start to heal, the stranger knew he had to act fast. Drawing his last two crystals, he morphed them into a deadly-looking spiked spear, before he flipped it around…and stabbed it straight down into the concrete. On contact, the nano-weapon extended its crystalline spike deep into the Helicarrier, twisting this was and that as it headed towards the Helicarrier's main power core, until it breached the inner containment chamber, and started budding a tiny, spherical entropic module – a miniature, inactive EPM – just above the core. The Hulk was just getting back on his feet when the stranger fired a narrow eye-ray into his weapon – shooting through the nano-conduit, the solar energy reached the module in seconds, priming it and triggering it to detach and fall into the core. His task done, the stranger retracted and deactivated his weapon, returning the crystals to his belt before he turned and flew out of the hole he'd punched, just before the Hulk could grab him. Snarling, the Hulk was about to leap after his quarry, when he noticed the tremors rippling through the Helicarrier.
Primed by its master's eye-beam, the entropic module readily absorbed the energy of the Helicarrier's core, which started a cascading reaction that perpetually generated more and more energy, until it was too much for the tiny unit to hold. In mere seconds, the unit overloaded and detonated, unleashing an explosion that utterly annihilated the Helicarrier and everyone still on it, while the armoured warrior, along with the remaining Parademons, flew up into orbit, where the command ship waited for them.
As he landed in the docking bay, the armoured warrior strode further into the ship, ignoring the salutes of the Parademons, until he came to the throne room, where almost all of the Shadow Lord's inner court awaited their master. At the sight of their comrade, Glorious Godfrey smiled in greeting. "I trust that now Earth is properly subjugated, my friend?"
With a tap to his chestplate, the last Kryptonian – renamed Kale by his Lord – retracted his helmet, revealing his face, handsomely chiseled and hardened by his years of service to Apokolips, his dark hair now a bit longer. Free of the stifling helm, Kale smirked. "It was hardly even a challenge," he answered. "If those were what Earth called "heroes," then I wonder if it was even worth it to take this rock." His eyebrow arched, he glanced to the two other generals. "Why exactly did you two have such trouble, again?"
While Grayven sputtered from the remark, Kalibak glared at him. "Forgive us for not relying on such frivolous toys, "Brother.""
Frowning at the other princes, Granny moved to Kale's side, to put her hands on his shoulders. "Don't pay them any mind, dearie," she crooned. "They're only jealous."
Kale's grin turned a bit more genuine, as he took Granny's hand to place a kiss on her knuckles. "Are you surprised?" he teased. "How could I be anything but a success, from your teachings?"
Godfrey chuckled as Granny pretended to tear up from the compliment. "And here I thought only I could butter her up," he said. "If I didn't know better, friend, I might think that you had designs on my position."
Kale laughed. "Be at ease, friend; I haven't your patience for statecraft!" he joked. "Leave your paranoia where it belongs: with your sister!"
As Godfrey laughed in turn, Bernadeth – tall, and razor-slim, with angular black hair and cold black eyes, in her usual green armoursuit and knife-belt – scowled. "If you're through with your chatter, o Prince, perhaps we might discuss the outcome of this operation in more detail," she hissed. "Your armour performed as expected?"
Flexing his fist, Kale nodded. "Better than expected, Commander. The Entropy Aegis amplified my solar abilities to the point where none of those human dimwits could touch me. It seems my idiot birth-father's armour research paid off, once I adapted them with Apokoliptian technology," he said, before he frowned thoughtfully. "However, even though the augmentation systems are fully functional, I'm still not satisfied with the suit-to-weapon interface. I still must initialize and operate Kryptonian weapons manually instead of through the Aegis' operating system." He shrugged. "I suppose I shall have to adjust the OS, again."
Granny clasped her hands. "I'm sure you'll have it sorted out in no time, dearie," she said. "You always were such a smart boy – such a delight to teach!"
At her colleague's fawning, Bernadeth rolled her eyes. "Perhaps I should record your antics for use in my brother's tortures, Goodness," she muttered. "The way you get on certainly makes ME sick…"
"Enough."
The Shadow Lord's command quieted them all. As the Ruler of Apokolips stepped out of the darkness, all those before him knelt, their eyes low. Casting his infernal gaze over his inner court, Darkseid faintly scowled at his two older sons – failed generals, both – before he turned to Granny, Bernadeth, and Godfrey, his face turning flat. The sight of Apokolips' newest prince, however, brought a dark smile to his face. "Rise, my son."
Kale got to his feet, but did not dare lift his face. "My Lord honours me," he replied. "How might I serve?"
"You have already served, child. I did well when I salvaged you from Krypton's corpse," Darkseid chuckled. "Look at me, boy. I'll not have an heir who cannot meet my gaze."
Sheer surprise bade Kale to meet Darkseid's eyes. Kalibak and Grayven both bristled, but Darkseid's stare stilled them. "M-My Lord, I know not what to say…"
"Nothing need be said, boy," Darkseid answered, as he turned and strolled away. "Walk with me, my son." With a bewildered nod, Kale followed him.
Darkseid led Kale to his private quarters, stopping in front of the vast window from which he gazed upon newly-conquered worlds. "Speak plainly, boy. What is your opinion of my empire's newest world?"
Kale was confused. "It is a populous world, my Lord," he hazarded. "Earth will supply billions of recruits for both your armies and industrial complexes."
Darkseid's expression was wry. "Yet you still do not approve," he said. "Do not think I am blind to your thoughts, my son. Speak them now."
Kale flinched. "It is merely that I cannot grasp my Lord's strategy," he replied. "Yes, Earth is populous, but so are other worlds with greater resources, both natural and technological. I am only confused as to why this meagre planet merits my Lord's attention."
Darkseid smirked. "You will understand in time," he said. "In the future, you will have but one mission." He pointed to Earth. "Somewhere on that planet is something of great value to me. Locate it and bring it to me, and your place at my right hand is guaranteed."
Kale nodded with a salute. "It shall be done, my Lord!"
"Good." Darkseid grinned. "For now, your service shall be rewarded," he chuckled. "Though your brothers' campaigns failed, they managed to retrieve a lovely little prize from Earth. They each wished her for themselves, and Goodness saw a potential Fury in her, but since you have served me so well, I have decided she is yours." He turned away. "Return to your chambers, General, and enjoy yourself. I will summon you when I have need of you."
Kale bowed. "As my Lord commands," he replied. With that, he turned and headed out.
As he reached his personal quarters, Kale tapped the control panel to open the door. As the door slid open, he stepped inside…where he saw her. The girl was willowy of frame, with ample curves, lithe legs, and a firm backside. She had been dressed in a concubine's shimmery, semi-diaphnous blue robe, her long, wavy gold hair tied back behind her head, with a veil over her face…and an Obediance Collar clasped about her throat, which left her crystal-blue eyes dull. Gasping at the sight of him, the girl bowed. "Greetings, my Master," she cooed. "I am your servant. Have you any commands for me?"
With a smirk, Kale gave the girl an appreciate look-over as he shut the door. "You may help remove my armour, to begin," he ordered, as he tapped the Aegis' chestplate. Instantly, the armour retracted completely, leaving Kale in only his black leggings, the chestplate now loose over his muscled torso. As Kale extended his arms, the girl eagerly obeyed, helping to lift the armour off of him. "Very good," Kale remarked absently. "Your name?"
The girl paused. "M-Master?"
Kale sighed. "What is your name, girl?"
The girl looked stricken. "I…M-Master, I am only your servant. That is all."
Kale frowned. "You still have a name, don't you?" he snapped. "Or shall I simply call you "girl," for the rest of your life?"
The girl chewed her lip. "I…um…"
Kale rolled his eyes. "Never mind, then!" he barked. "Obviously, you were not chosen for your intellect!" He pointed to the bed. "Lie down and undress."
This roused the girl's enthusiasm. "As Master commands!" With haste, the girl lay down upon the bed, tossing off her robe, which revealed her gloriously naked body. Kale followed, and mounted the bed, holding himself over his new prize. Smiling, the girl glided her hands over his muscled chest. "Master, your body is magnificent…" she cooed.
Kale smirked. "Yours isn't so bad, either," he said, before he leaned down to kiss the side of her throat, right above her pulse. His ministration had the intended effect: the girl gasped and arched her back, pressing herself against him. Now certain that she was sufficiently aroused, Kale leaned back, to look on his prize as he claimed her…
…but something was different. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something felt…wrong. Shaking his head, he looked back to the girl, only to find that her vacant expression was gone – she looked ready to burst into tears. "This isn't you," she whimpered. "I know it's not."
Kale blinked. "What are you babbling about, wench?"
"None of this is real, Clark," the girl continued. "Don't believe it; don't let them twist you."
Kale scowled. "What name do you call me, Alison?" he demanded…before he paused. "Wait, what? How did I..?"
The girl – Alison – smiled at him. "I believe in you, Clarkie," she said. "I know they can't break you if you don't let them. You just have to hold on…"
And with that, her pleading gaze vanished, returning to her vapid expression. "I am ready for you, Master," she purred. "Perhaps afterwards, you would share your cares with me?"
Kale barely heard her, as her earlier words set free waves of memory that rushed through his mind. His hands went to his aching head. "What…what's going on..?"
The girl lost some of her glazed look, as she stood up. "Please, Master, sit with me," she said, her tone more sure. "Perhaps you would tell me what our Lord wishes of you?"
She might as well have never spoken. With his memories free, Kale was shattered, and Clark broke free of the illusion…and wished he hadn't. The visions of what he'd done to his friends swimming in his head, Clark fell to his knees. "AAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!"
The faux-Alison mode to his side. "Master..?"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Clark screamed, jumping back. "You're not real!"
The fake looked stricken. "But Master…"
"STOP IT!" Clark roared. "Stop wearing her face! Who are you?"
Dropping all pretense of idiocy, the fake smirked. "I suppose I shouldn't have expected you to be as stupid as the hunger dogs," she said. "Disengage hologram."
And at that command, the entire illusion evaporated, leaving Clark in a vast, empty chamber – one of Desaad's devices – standing in front of Amazing Grace, who was now putting her robe back on. "You!" Clark shouted. "How did..?"
"Desaad thought he'd try a different tactic, in this session," Grace said. "He figured he'd let this simulation soften you up while he stepped out." Her smile was salacious. "I just thought I'd join you, that's all." Her gaze dropped low. "You didn't seem to mind."
Clark was doubly sickened by what she'd nearly tricked him into. "You stay away from me!" he growled, as he moved to the door. "Open this door! Now!"
Grace giggled. "Oh, don't be like that," she purred, stepping closer. "I'm sure I can fill in for whatever toy you have back on Earth." She shook her voluminous ruby locks. "I wouldn't even mind dying my hair, if that's what you prefer."
Clark was ready to retch. "Don't you even touch me, you psychotic hag!"
Grace paused, as confusion wrote itself across her face. "You're…refusing me?" she asked, before her expression twisted with utter hate. "YOU'RE refusing ME?"
Her screech of fury came just before Grace struck with surprising strength, knocking Clark clear through the transparent viewing-window. As he tumbled across the floor of Desaad's torture-chamber, fresh cuts from the glass lining his arms, Clark watched as a furious Grace followed him. "You don't refuse me, you worthless little bastard!" she screamed, as she stormed towards him. "I am the most beautiful thing on this planet! I am what every one of you dream about! If anything, I refuse you!" As she straddled him, she slapped him across the face, before she grasped the rim of his uniform pants. "Now when I tell you to do something..!"
"What is going on here?"
Grace froze as a furious Desaad stormed in, followed by Glorious Godfrey. At his sister's present state, Godfrey sighed, shaking his head. "Really, Grace?"
Grace scowled back at him. "I have things under control, "dear brother.""
Desaad looked ready to spit fire. "I had him in a simulation," he snarled. "I was about to finally break him. I stepped out for a few minutes to re-stock my supply of hallucinogenic agents…and now I find you in here ruining my work?"
Godfrey smirked. "The story of my childhood, Inquisitor," he remarked. "Grace always was prone to tantrums, especially when her pride was struck."
Grace's expression was positively murderous. "I almost had the information out of him..!"
"What information?" Clark shouted. "How many times do I have to tell you people? I don't know ANYTHING about an "Anti-Life Equation"!"
Desaad's patience snapped. "You think us fools?" he thundered. "Do you expect us to believe that you meddlers spent aeons bumbling about the stars and heard nothing of the Anti-Life Equation in all that time..?"
"Desaad."
At the sound of Darkseid's voice, all the three of them dropped to their knees. "M-My Lord!" Desaad stammered. "We…t-that is to say, I was interrogating the whelp, and was making progress, when..!"
Grace jumped in to save herself. "Great One, I saw that Desaad's methods were failing, so I acted to..!"
As he strode into the room, Darkseid silenced them all with a wave of his hand. "Desaad," he began, "am I to understand that, all this time, you have been asking Kal-El about the Anti-Life Equation? Those EXACT words?"
Desaad was confused. "Well…yes, my Lord."
Darkseid's face twisted in cold rage. "IDIOTS."
His reprimand came just seconds before beams shot out of his eyes, undulating to strike all three of his underlings, sending them collapsing to the floor in utter agony. Once Darkseid's wrath passed, a stricken Godfrey spoke first. "My Lord, I do not understand! Were we not following your will? Did you not wish us to extract information on the Equation from him?"
Darkseid ignored Godfrey, and walked to Clark, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him up to his eye level. "My poor boy," he said. "It seems we are both victims of my minions' stupidity."
Clark glared back at him. "Then you believe me now?" he snapped. "You finally get that I don't know anything?"
"Oh, but you do," Darkseid chuckled. "But since Desaad has been asking the wrong question, you do not know that you do." His infernal gaze bored into Clark's eyes. "You see, whelp, what I call the Anti-Life Equation…your people called the Computation of Rao."
At that statement – that reference to one of Krypton's most ancient legends – Clark gasped.
Darkseid smiled. "You see, my Inquisitor? Now we are getting somewhere."
Clark shook his head. "You're insane!" he cried. "That doesn't even exist! It's only a legend!"
"As was I, to some of your people, before we crossed swords, all those aeons ago," Darkseid said casually. "And if it is a legend, then tell it. Now."
Clark knew he had to keep quiet – if there was even a chance the legend was true, then he had to keep Darkseid away from it. "Is this why you had the Dheronians murder my people?" he accused. "To further this insane crusade of yours?"
"When first I encountered your kind, boy, I knew they were the perfect pawns," Darkseid said. "Your curiosity and desire for knowledge and exploration made you the perfect tools to unearth the Equation's whereabouts. I knew that, were you allowed to survive, you could serve my purpose better than if I smote you." He frowned. "I did not expect you to thrive to such an extent, and so I had to cull you, lest you turn against me." His smile returned. "But now you know what it is to oppose me, and what it is to serve me, thanks to Desaad's machinations. You may choose to serve me, and thrive, or you may resist, and perish like the rest of your kind. Either way, I will have that secret."
Darkseid then chuckled. "But I am reasonable; I shall give you one day to consider this," he finished. "You may have until tomorrow to give the information freely. Refuse again, and Desaad will give no quarter…and bear in mind that he now KNOWS that you know." With that, he dropped Clark and walked away. "Take him back to the Orphanage. I am done with him, for now." Horrified beyond belief, Clark didn't struggle as two Parademons walked in, to take him away.
After the Parademons dropped him outside the Orphanage, Clark could only stumble inside in a daze, heading to his bunk. Scott was already settling into his own bed when he saw his friend. "Whoa…Clark, what happened? You look even worse than..!"
"I am worse than before," Clark whimpered. "I was wrong, Scott! I do know something about the Anti-Life Equation! I just didn't know it by that name!"
Scott paled. "Then you keep quiet about it," he urged. "You've held out this long; that's longer than anyone else has ever…"
"Because I didn't KNOW what they wanted, Scott!" Clark cried. "If I had, they would have gotten it out of me! Now they know I know!" He looked Scott in the eye, as he dropped his voice. "Did you get that explosive?"
Scott nodded, as he lifted his pillow. "Just made the trade today."
"Good," Clark said, "because we escape tomorrow."
Scott flinched. "Clark…"
"We can't wait, Scott! Darkseid himself gave me a day to think it over! Starting tomorrow, Desaad pulls out all the stops!"
Scott looked as horrified as Clark was. "Okay, then. Tomorrow, we break for the space-port."
"Yeah, but with one change," Clark said, looking Scott in the eye. "If this goes wrong, and if we're about to be captured – or it even looks like we're about to be captured – you have to promise to kill me."
Scott was incredulous. "What?"
"It's the only way!" Clark insisted. "I cannot let even a clue about the Equation leak to Darkseid! Not if it really is what I think it is!" He lowered his voice. "Promise me, Scott: if it comes to it…"
"It won't come to it, Clark," Scott vowed. "We're both getting out of here. That's all there is to it."
"I hope so," Clark said, "but if we can't…"
"We will."
Clark kept going. "But if we can't, Scott…just promise me."
Scott looked ready to cry. "I won't have to," he murmured. "We'll both get out."
"Scott…"
His face scrunched, Scott nodded quickly. "I won't have to."
Clark smiled wanly. "Thank you."
Scott moved to his bunk. "Thank me when we get out of here," he said. "After that, I'll smack you for making me promise something that stupid."
Clark chuckled. "Deal." With that, he moved to his own bunk, to turn in. Today had been the worst day yet, but it was almost over. Tomorrow, he would be free…
…one way or another.
XXXXXXXX
Im'Vok System border
'I don't know if I can take much more of this.'
Ever since she'd returned to her assigned quarters for the duration of the trip to Im'Vok, Power Girl hadn't been able to sleep for more than five minutes at a time, if that. With no prep-activity to occupy her thoughts, all her fears and doubts came pouring in with a vengeance. 'He's okay. He has to be okay…'
"Captain Ka-Lir, please report to the bridge. We are approaching the target-zone."
Kurox's warning stirred Alison from her dread enough to get up. With a deep breath, she took the teleporter to the bridge, where Kurox, Lantern Jordan, and Constable Krinn were waiting, along with Sentrius on the view-screen. "What's the situation, Sentrius?" Power Girl asked.
"Our long-range sensors indicate that Lobo's prior assessment is unfortunately correct," Sentrius reported, as her image shifted to show the Im'Vok System alongside it: a nine-planet system scattered with large, silver-black metallic spheres, each with four spikes in a tetrahedral pattern. "The system is laden with high-yield, mobile, proximity-triggered, space-to-subspace quantum mines, each one with a payload sufficient to cause considerable damage, even to our Superdreadnoughts. Furthermore, such a detonation can potentially cause subspace interference, which will inhibit our ability to go to Trans-Warp."
Hal whistled. "So if even one goes off near us, we're stuck."
"Correct, Corpsman Jordan. In addition, the mines are programmed to emit an alert signal prior to detonation," Sentrius said. "Should one detonate, it is a certainty that Apokolips will be alerted to our presence." The image shifted to show a map of the entire system. "Given the current dispersion of the minefield, and the apparent lack of any control facilities, our only option is to manually clear a path for our vessels."
Rokk gulped. "How so, Admiral? You said yourself that we cannot get close to the mines…"
"Not by utilizing our vessels, Constable Krinn. Further analysis of the mines' systems suggests both rudimentary electronic countermeasures and an inability to detect organic molecules."
Power Girl caught on. "You're saying that if we go EVA, the mines won't detect us?"
"Affirmative, Captain Ka-Lir." The image zoomed in on one mine, showing an access terminal built into it. "If either you or A.I. Kurox accesses this terminal, you should be able to disable it without difficulty, at which point it can be safely moved – as a safety measure, the mines are programmed not to detonate when they move into closer proximity to each other."
"That still doesn't solve how we actually get to them," Hal said. "They may not go off on living tissue, but I'm pretty sure my ring will draw their attention, same as the Argo or Lobo's bike!"
"That is correct, Corpsman. However, it is unlikely that the mines will respond to a simple increase in electromagnetic radiation, such as that resulting from Constable Krinn's powers."
Now Power Girl was confused. "Come again?"
Rokk looked sheepish. "Yeah, I probably should have mentioned this before," he admitted. "I'm a Braalian – we can manipulate magnetic forces."
Hal blinked. "Huh. That would help."
Sentrius continued her briefing, as she highlighted a central section of the minefield. "In order for our ships to proceed undetected, we will need to relocate the mines in these sectors of the field," she finished. "Captain, you, Lantern Jordan, Constables Krinn and Gand, Kurox, and Orion will disembark to clear the field. The Constable will draw mines to you and Kurox to disable, at which point Corpsman Jordan, Constable Gand, and Orion will move them clear." Two disc-shaped units materialized in front of Power Girl. "Captain, for this mission, you and the Constable will require Atmospheric Generators. Please activate them immediately; they will also enable you both to remain in contact with your teammates."
Power Girl nodded. "Understood." Taking one disc, she clipped it to her belt and tapped it to activate it, before clipping the second to Rokk's belt. "Okay, Sentrius. We're good to go."
"Acknowledged, Captain. Deploying in 3…2…1…now."
The teleporter wave shone over Power Girl, Kurox, Hal, and Rokk, depositing them in the airless expanse just ahead of the Ardor, with only the glow of the nebula and Hal's faint ring-aura to light the way. Several hundred meters to their right was the Perseverence and the Trail, with Orion – his helmet now sealed tight – and Lar – with his own Generator – in front of the former. Concentrating, Rokk reached towards them…and they began to move in their direction, reaching them within minutes. Taking a deep breath, Rokk then turned and reached towards the distant mine-field, and began to draw them all towards it.
It must have taken at least ten minutes for Rokk to pull them into the mine-field. As they floated towards the nearest mine, Power Girl hopped onto the central rim around its center, where she found the main terminal. Drawing her communicator, she docked it with the terminal, and established a link to Sentrius, who quickly did the rest. In seconds, the light of the mine's systems went dead. "Okay, that's one," Power Girl said, as she pointed to a mine just a few clicks to their port side. "Rokk, toss Kurox at that one. Once he shuts it down, we should have enough of a dead-area to start moving these out of the way." With a nod, Rokk pointed his arm at the mine in question, propelling Kurox towards it. As soon as he was in range, the Kryptonian A.I. hopped onto the rim, and jabbed his hand into the terminal, shuting the mine down.
As soon as Power Girl had hopped off, Orion tapped his belt, which instantly expanded into a jetpack-like apparatus. "Finally!" he declared, before he flew at the mine and slammed it with a punch, sending it hurtling off into the field, before he powered down again.
Hal winced. "Christ, man, be careful! Those are quantum explosives, not pool-balls!"
Orion sneered. "Don't fret yourself, Corpsman. You heard the machine! They won't detonate if they bump into each other!"
By then, Rokk had pulled a third mine into sufficient range, allowing Power Girl to board, deactivate it, and hop off as Rokk repulsed it clear. As he saw Rokk pull a fourth mine into range, Kurox leapt off, his positronic brain instantly calculating his angle and the mine's trajectory, to land perfectly on the rim, where he disarmed the weapon, prompting Green Lantern to hurl it clear once he'd disembarked.
They proceeded like that for fifteen minutes, disarming and relocating a significant number of mines in the process. As she hopped clear of a mine so that Lar could hurl it clear, Power Girl hailed the Perseverence with a smile. "Power Girl calling Perseverence: we seem to be making progress! In the next few minutes, you, the Trail, and the Ardor can begin your approach…"
"That would be inadvisable, Captain Ka-Lir. I am presently detecting two mines on a ballistic course towards us. Any engine activity will worsen the situation."
Power Girl gasped. "How could they have detected you?"
"They have not, Captain. They were knocked off-course by a collision with one of the disarmed mines – specifically, one of those removed by Orion."
At that revelation, Power Girl glared at their New Genesisian comrade. "Way to go, Bucket-Brain! You knocked two mines towards the ships!" she snapped. "Rokk, stop what you're doing; we've got two runaway mines that need..!"
"That won't be necessary!" Orion said. "I'll send them back!" Powering up his backpack, he launched himself towards the mines, cutting power when he was halfway to them…
…but unfortunately, that hadn't been soon enough.
The moment Orion came into their sensor-range, the mines stopped floating towards the Perseverence, and began to float towards him, their lights pulsing more and more as they drew close. "Dammit!" Power Girl cursed. "Rokk, yank him back here! Hal, Kurox, keep shutting those mines off! Lar, with me!"
Summoning as much as she dared of her energy without alerting the other mines, Power Girl flew at the approaching mines, with Lar close behind, straining against the lack of a yellow sun. His momentum cut by Rokk's magnetism, Orion was yanked backwards hard, while Power Girl and Lar darted past him. Landing on one mine, Power Girl quickly disarmed it, letting Lar push against the other mine. The very second the first one went dead, Power Girl leapt to the second, and deactivated it. "Okay," Power Girl panted. "We should be good."
"I don't think so, missy! We've got more incoming!" Hal shouted. "Somebody noticed you two!" Looking back, Power Girl could see three more mines floating towards their comrades' positions. Crouching low, she and Lar leapt out into the black, flying towards their comrades.
As soon as Orion was back in formation, Rokk put everything he had into stopping the advance of the curious mines, but holding off three at once was taxing his reserves – the quantum explosives were inching closer. With his current target disabled, Kurox sprinted along the rim and leapt off, to land on one mine, sprint, and leap again, to land on the closest advancing mine and deactivate it, before he leapt to the second and then the third, deactivating each one in turn.
For a moment, Hal breathed a relieved sigh…until he realized that Kurox's actions had drawn the attention of two more mines – these ones far too close for the A.I. to reach. "Dammit!" Hal swore, as he realized he had no choice. Powering his ring, he fired a green beam that pushed both mines far out of range…which drew the attention of five mines. "This is getting out of hand, Sentrius! We're gonna have to e-vac and fall back..!"
"So long, suckers!"
Hal's dread turned to bewilderment at Lobo's voice over the comm-lines, right before his space-hog roared above them, flying right through the middle of the mine-field. His run had the expected effect: instantly, every single mine that was still active turned, and flew right at him, leaving Power Girl and her team behind. Power Girl was as gobsmacked as Hal was. "Lobo? What are you doing?"
"Savin' yer feeb asses, is what!" Lobo chortled. "An' don't go gettin' all mushy on me – I ain't doin' this fer you or Fanboy!" He whooped as he dodged one approaching mine. "Thanks to you feebs sweepin' half o' these things, I actually got a chance to dodge 'em long enough to cart a live one home! I'll be high on the Bgtzllian hog fer months!"
Rokk's expression was flat. "You cannot be serious."
"You bet yer pasty ass I'm serious, rook!" Lobo yelled. "Now get yer fraggin' asses outta here! The longer those big-ass ships of yers stay put, the more likely a mine'll crash into one, and my profit-margin's fragged! BEAT IT!"
Hal sighed. "He's saving us and screwing us over, all at the same time. Only Lobo," he muttered. "You heard him, Sentrius! Come get us so we can get out of here while the getting's good!"
Seconds after the teleporter wave deposited them all on the bridge of the Ardor, all three ships jumped into Trans-Warp, with the mines none the wiser. Once they were aboard, Power Girl breathed a semi-relieved sigh. "Well, that's it."
Hal nodded. "No turning back now. It's just straight on to Darkseid's door."
"Affirmative, Lantern Jordan," Kurox stated. "At present velocity, we will reach the Anfer'al System within another six hours."
Orion folded his arms. "Well and good, but once we arrive, Darkseid is hardly going to just roll over and surrender your friend," he remarked. "These vessels are impressive, yes, butDarkseid has an entire armada, plus legions upon legions of space-mobile Parademons! Are these vessels truly capable of withstanding such odds?"
Power Girl looked Orion dead in the eye. "Orion, ships like these were built specifically with threats like Darkseid in mind," she snapped, "and on the off chance they're not?" She gestured, summoning the ship's holo-interface. "We came doubly prepared."
At her touch, the interface summoned a viewing-screen, depicting the full contents of the Ardor's vehicle-bay: over two-dozen Stealth-Speeder and Fighter battlegroups, all ready to deploy. "The Resounding Glory-Class doubles as a fighter-carrier," Power Girl finished. "Before the Ardor, the Perseverence, and their sisters were first dry-docked in the Zone, they were outfitted with a full fighter complement in addition to Sentrius' standing ship complement. Each Superdreadnought is a fleet unto itself."
Orion blinked at that, before he grinned. "Perhaps we shall succeed, after all."
"There's no "perhaps" about it, Orion. We will succeed," Power Girl vowed. "We're going to get Kal and bring him home…"
She turned a forlorn gaze out at the blurring lights that their ship passed by, as she finished her vow. "…because we are not coming back without him."
XXXXXXXX
Imperial Palace, Apokolips, October 2
As the dull red sun painted the black of his world the colour of blood, Darkseid was waiting for it.
Standing in front of his chamber's lone window, in full armour, Darkseid stared at the sun in silent contemplation, while his chosen concubine – still in the grips of terror – extricated herself from his bed, holding her robes to her chest as she fled. Darkseid ignored her, too consumed with the prospects of the day.
Finally. The Equation was within his reach. Once he had it, he would bring the entire universe to order…
A knock at his door dispelled his tranquility. With a frown, he looked over his shoulder. "Enter."
At once, the door opened, to reveal Godfrey, Desaad, and the Dheronian boy – Tyr'uk –already kneeling. "We beg your pardon, Great One," Godfrey said, "but we had thought you would wish to know of this. Some six hours ago, there was an incursion at the Im'Vok minefield."
Darkseid's face hardened, his eyes narrowed as his mind played out a thousand possibilities. Had the Kryptonian whelp's comrades come to his aid? "Who?"
Tyr'uk gulped as he spoke. "From what we saw of the alert, my Lord, it was a Czarnian…"
With a chuckle, Darkseid turned away, his worries gone. "Ignore it," he ordered. "I am familiar with the dolt Lobo. He poses no threat, now. Once the Equation is mine, he will be brought to account."
"Of course, my Lord," Godfrey said. "There is another matter I wished to discuss with you. In my initial reports of Earth, I had observed activity around many of your old Bio-Converters and Pyroforming facilities." He gulped. "One of the Converters has recently become active; further study suggests it has been repurposed."
Darkseid's scowl returned. "This is more troubling, Godfrey. You will continue your investigation of this matter, and identify the interloper. I will dispense with him once I have the Equation." He looked to his Inquisitor. "I trust your methods are prepared, Desaad?"
Desaad nodded hastily. "Of course, my Lord!" he declared. "In a few hours, I will be ready to extract the information from the Kryptonian!"
Darkseid wasn't convinced. "You have made similar boasts before, Inquisitor. What assurances of your success do you have now?"
Desaad looked embarrassed. "I admit, Great One, I was unprepared for his resistance before! Even yesterday, when part of his conscious mind accepted the illusion, some part of his unconscious rejected it! It is as though there is some part of him connected to something that "refreshes" his memory!" he said. "Now, however, I know that he knows what you need! Rest assured, I will get it from him!"
"And if this "part" continues to bolster his resistance?"
Desaad's tick in his jaw gave away his uncertainty. "I…I am sure I can improvise sufficiently, my Lord!"
Darkseid glared at him in warning. "For your sake, Desaad, you had best hope so." He turned away. "Once you have broken him, you will send him to Military Officer Processing. Indoctrination should make him more pliant with regards to the rest of his kind's secrets."
Godfrey and Desaad both bowed their heads at that, but Tyr'uk was frozen to the spot. "What? But…aren't you going to kill him?"
Over his shoulder, Darkseid cast an indifferent gaze at the Dheronian brat. "He is yet of use to me, boy."
Tyr'uk's teeth clenched. "My Lord, you promised my people and I vengeance against – ARRRGGHH!"
Tyr'uk screamed as Darkseid's Omega Effect shot from his eye, engulfing the Dheronian whelp and sending his entire nervous system into a maelstrom of agony. "Did I not give your people technology and power, saving them from annihilation?" he snarled. "Did I not grant them a victory over Krypton, as their enemies burned with their world? Did I not let you stand above one of them as he was tortured?" With that, he banished the Effect, letting Tyr'uk collapse to the floor. "You and your kind owe EVERYTHING to me, brat. Never forget that, for what I give, I can just as easily TAKE. Am I clear?"
Coughing, Tyr'uk struggled to his knees. "Perfectly, Great One."
"Good." Darkseid's gaze returned to the horizon. "Leave me." Bowing, Godfrey and Desaad left his chambers, followed by a hobbling Tyr'uk.
Alone again, Darkseid let his thoughts wander as they would. The Equation was just within his grasp. At long last, dominion over the entire cosmos would be his…
…and he would bring order to the universe, as the Old Gods never did. He would rule the cosmos, and not get foolish, or complacent as they had.
He'd waited aeons for this moment. A few hours were as nothing…
XXXXXXXX
The morning began as any other did on Apokolips: Clark, Scott, and the other Orphans were dragged from sleep by the morning's propaganda-filled PA wake-up call. They were herded to the vast cafeteria-style chamber for a meal of slop, before Parademons came to shove them out the doors to their daily labour. Clark had only a scant few minutes to talk with Scott, who gave one instruction: "Cause a distraction, and get the guards' eyes on you for five minutes, then find me at the west side of the mining pit after the blast."
After the daily hike, Clark found himself back at Core Boring Station #5, chipping away at the bedrock samples brought up by the Bore. Instead of being consumed by despair, this time Clark was alert, looking for some way to cause a stir. He'd just been looking at several carts of ore, and wondering if he could tip them over in his state, when someone bumped into his shoulder. "Sorry," Clark muttered absently, looking back at the other miner…when he recognized him.
He was still as tall as he'd been after the Kree-Skrull invasion, but he was gaunt, his blue skin now more like a dirty grey, his Accuser's robes tattered down to almost a loincloth. His eyes were vacant, utterly lost.
Clark almost choked. "Ronan?"
Ronan barely even blinked. "Must…go…" he murmured, in a daze. "Core…samples…"
Clark moved ahead of him. "Ronan, what happened to you?" he cried. "How'd you get here?"
His memory stirred, Ronan looked at Clark. "Ship…attacked…wanted information…" he said. "Taken here…" His eyes blinked, and seemed to clear. "You…know you…"
Clark gulped. He'd been looking for a distraction, but one seemed to have found him. "Uh…you must have me mistaken with someone else…"
His eyes now fully clear, Ronan's face twisted in hate. "YOU!" the Kree Accuser screamed, as he tackled Clark to the ground, his hands around his throat. "YOU did this to me! You RUINED my life!"
Clark could only cough, as he tried to get a hold of Ronan, to break his grip. "Guard…guards!"
His feebly cry was just enough to draw the attention of the foreman. "Dammit, what now?" the foreman roared, as he signalled the two Parademon guards to follow him…which gave Scott the chance he needed to break away and run for the west side of the pit.
The Parademons closed on Ronan in seconds, and yanked him off of Clark. Ronan stumbled back, but recovered quickly. In a mad rage, he charged at Clark again, but the lead Parademon quickly drew his side saber. Clark was horrified. "NO..!"
The Parademon ignored him, stabbing Ronan in the gut as he charged. Ronan's roar turned to a gurgle, his eyes wide with horror as he fell, to land face-down in the dirt.
Despite everything Ronan had done, Clark felt sick at what had happened to him – Apokolips was a fate he wouldn't have wished on anyone. The foreman wasn't so compassionate. "Blast it, you little Earth-whelp, you just cost me a decent worker!" he thundered, whip at the ready. His arm was raised for a lash when the lead Parademon stopped him with an angry hiss. The foreman just scowled. "Yeah, yeah, I know: Lord Desaad needs him intact!" he groused. "Well, then, he can have this brat early! Get him out of my pit!"
Clark's horror doubled at that. "No, no, no!" he howled, as the Parademons grabbed him by the arms. With desperate strength, he pulled free, and kicked one Parademon away, before punching the other in the face. Both of the mutated soldier-fanatics stumbled back, but regained balance fast, hissing with fury. As he saw the leader draw his saber again, Clark knew he was in for it…
BOOOOOOOM!
The massive explosion rippled through the mining pit, throwing dust into the air and knocking most of the workers to the ground with its shockwave. The Parademons were momentarily dazed by the blast, which gave Clark his opening. With all he had, Clark raced for the west wall, through the clouds of dust, until he found Scott by the main bore controls…next to an impressive hole in the wall. "It worked?"
Scott grinned. "You doubted?"
Clark felt his elation wane as angry shouts filled the air. "We're going to have Parademons on our asses in seconds..!"
"Way ahead of you!" Scott declared, as he pressed a few buttons on the control-panel before anyone could stop him. Instantly, the Bore whirred to life, the massive drill turning in its path, and grinding across the path Clark had just taken, blocking anyone who wanted to follow. "By the time they dig in here and realize what happened, we'll be long gone!"
Clark could only grin in awed triumph at that…until the cries of the workers on the other side of the Bore filled his ears. "Don't leave us!"
"Please, take us with you!"
"You can't just abandon us here!"
Seeing Clark's anguished expression, Scott grabbed his shoulder. "We can't do anything for them! We have to go!"
Another sound had already filled Clark's ears, only this sound was nearby. Following the sound of crying to its source – under one of the mine carts – Clark found a little girl there – the same girl he'd found crying, before. "Come here, sweetie. I'm getting you out of here," he whispered. With a sniffle, the little girl crawled out, and let Clark hoist her onto his back, piggyback-style. "We're taking her with us!"
Scott grimaced. "Clark..!"
"Non-negotiable, Free! We're saving everyone we can, today!"
Scott groaned. "Fine, then! Let's GO!" Clark didn't argue, as the two of them – and their passenger – darted out through the hole, to emerge in a paved street leading away from the refinery. "Stay in the shadows!" Scott urged. "The space-port's this way!" With that, he hurried off, prompting Clark to follow.
'This is it,' Clark thought. 'We're going to do it. We're getting out of here!' As he ran, sustained by that hope, he felt as though he were flying again…
XXXXXXXX
Anfer'al System Border
"Alert: we will contact the Anfer'al System in three seconds…two seconds…one…contact."
Sentrius' warning report came just seconds before the Ardor exited Trans-Warp with the Perseverence and the Trail. In the command chair, Power Girl braced herself. "On-screen."
The view-screen instantly brought up the visual of the ship's sensor-feed…but all they could see were shadows. There was hardly any starlight in the vast distance. Lar was bewildered. "Where are the the planets?"
Power Girl squinted at the screen. "Kurox, can we refine the sensor-sweeps?"
"Affirmative, Captain. Increasing scanning sensitivity."
At Kurox's response, the black of the Anfer'al System shifted to shadows of varying depth, enough to give more detail of where they were. They were between two smaller planetoids – both little more than balls of dead rock – with a blackened gas-giant looming ahead of them. "Okay," Power Girl mused. "Which one is Apokolips?"
Orion scowled. "Neither, fool girl," he snapped. "Apokolips lies at the heart. We will not see it until we round the orbit of In'cendir – that gas giant."
Power Girl frowned, but otherwise ignored the shot. "Ardor calling Perseverence and Trail: we're plotting a course for deeper insertion. Match our heading, and stay alert. We're right on Darkseid's doorstep, now; once we clear this thing, chances are he'll see us."
Slowly, the Ardor glided towards the gas-giant, followed by its sister-ship, and then the Trail. As they rounded the planet, hints of crimson light began to appear at the edges of its blackened atmosphere, until something else in the distance drew Power Girl's attention. "Kurox, lock onto that and magnify!" Power Girl ordered. "Is that what I think it is?"
As the screen showed the enhanced image of the crystal ring, now stained grey with space-dust and blaster-scoring, Kurox nodded. "Affirmative, Captain. This is the Anfer'al World-Gate, still inactive."
Hal whistled. "After all this time, it's still here," he murmured. "You guys sure did a hell of a job on those things."
Power Girl was about to reply, when the Ardor cleared the gas-giant…and she saw deep into the system's heart. "Oh my God…"
Other than the planets they had seen, only one world remained in the system's heart. Surrounded by the remains of its brethren, Apokolips loomed in a dangerously close orbit around its sun. Its surface was blacker than pitch, lit only by the veins of fire from its core, cracking from the three massive plumes of flames that spewed up from its heart, spreading out over the rest of the planet.
Rokk gulped. "Is that..?"
Orion nodded. "Apokolips."
Power Girl did her absolute best to keep from crying. 'My Clarkie's been imprisoned down THERE for the past week?'
A warning klaxon interrupted her anguish, followed by Sentrius' latest report. "Alert: I am detecting multiple target-locks," she said over the comm-line. "We are being targeted by Apokolips' orbital defence network." The view-screen followed her warning, showing dozens upon dozens of spiked satellites around the hell-planet, coming to life and taking aim. "Tactical analysis suggests their shielding may be resistant to Polaron weapons and Trans-Phase fire; conventional weapons are recommended at this time."
A new voice came in over the comm-line. "Trail calling Perseverence; Admiral Whitemane, Admiral Sentrius, we may be able to evade the satellite-fire long enough to get a close-range scan of them! We should be able to provide an advantage!"
Orion nodded. "Send me out – I can provide cover!"
There was a moment's pause before Sentrius answered. "I concur," she said, as the view-screen shifted to show dozens of large blips on an intercept course from the other side of the planet. "As Darkseid's fleet is approaching, our fighter-resources are best conserved until after the satellites are neutralized."
Aelfyre didn't sound thrilled as he responded to his ship. "Proceed with utmost caution, Trail; we will cover all of you as best we can!"
Orion had already sealed his helmet, and extended his backpack. "Well? What are you waiting for?"
Power Girl nodded, as she tapped the controls on her command chair. "Ardor: teleport Orion outside, two light-seconds off our starboard bow!" she ordered. "Deploy armour, and activate all defensive turrets, and arm forward weapons – fire at will!"
Instantly, the teleporter wave swept over Orion as he powered his backpack, which sent him rocketing towards the satellites the second he was in the black, with the Trail in hot pursuit. Now fully armed, the satellites opened up on the intruders in an endless hailstorm of laser-fire. The two Superdreadnoughts responded in kind, their defense-turrets blistering, to intercept half of the incoming fire, while their shields condensed, covering the crystal colossi in a metallic sheen that refracted most of the impacting lasers. With their defenses set, the Superdreadnoughts opened fire, sending twin comet-plumes of plasma energy into the defence-grid.
As one satellite was blown apart by the Ardor's shot, the Trail darted through its flaming corpse, scanning its innards as best it could before breaking away, to evade a missile salvo from another. Reacting fast, Orion closed on the missiles, his pack's weapons blazing as he shot down every single missile. With the Trail safe – for now – Orion turned and raced at another satellite, rapidly firing as he charged. His weapons pinged against the satellite's shields, diverting more and more of its shield-energy to one spot, before he plowed into the shield from an adjacent spot, tearing through it and smashing into its hull, to plow through and emerge from its other side, before the satellite erupted in a massive explosion.
Aboard the Ardor, Power Girl was nearly knocked from her seat as another laser-salvo impacted the ship. "Kurox, status?"
Kurox almost shook as another shot connected. "Armour integrity at 87 percent, Captain. It is presently holding, but prolonged combat with these satellites is not advised."
'No kidding!' Power Girl thought. "Trail, do you have anything for us?"
As it barrel-rolled out of the way of one satellite's shot, the Trail fired a barrage of missiles at its attacker, followed by two shots from its main lasers. The attack failed, as every shot impacted the shield without effect…but it did give the Trail time for another scan. "Captain Ka-Lir, judging by their shield output, all these satellites utilize a multi-phasic generator! They continually vary their shield frequencies, but they seem to cycle between 413, 289, and 635 kHz! Is it possible for you to adjust your Disruptor to compensate?"
Power Girl didn't even try to do that math in her head – that was Clark's department. "Sentrius?"
"Affirmative, Captain. I will require one minute to make the corrections to the Wave-Cannon."
Power Girl grimaced. "Is there any way we can buy some time?"
The Trail answered. "We have also scanned their comms frequencies; they use a channel on the 61 MHz frequency to communicate with each other! Jam that, and they can't share their sensor-feeds..!"
"…and they go from a cohesive unit to just a bunch of machines shooting blind!" Power Girl finished. "Kurox, jam that frequency!"
Kurox was already ahead of her, his hands blurring over the section of the holo-interface for Countermeasures. "Initiating signal-jam." The effect was immediate: the impacts against the Ardor's armour dropped by half, as the satellites' aim went from marksman-class to blind-drunk. With the satellites disrupted, it was considerably easier for the Trail to zip in and out of their lines of fire, racing back to the safety of the Superdreadnoughts, while Orion covered their Kymellian allies, peppering the satellites with laser-fire.
"Attention: shield-frequencies matched. Orion, deactivate your flight-pack immediately."
Sentrius' warning came seconds before the Perseverence fired its Polaron Wave-Cannon. As the massive surge of electrostatic energy shot towards the satellite-grid, spreading out with each second, Orion turned and flew towards it, shutting off his pack seconds before the wave hit him, and then reactivating it after it had passed, leaving him untouched as the blast surged through every single satellite. One-by-one, the satellites all exploded, as the Polaron wave fed back along their shields to cause a catastrophic blowout of their generators, which spread to the rest of their systems in seconds.
With their path clear – for the moment – it was easy for the two Superdreadnoughts to move into a stable orbit over Apokolips. Power Girl felt her heart clench at the sight of the hell-world. "Sentrius, is there any sign of Kal?"
"Affirmative, Captain. I am detecting one Kryptonian bio-sign."
Hal grimaced. "Okay. Now all we have to do is dig him out before Darkseid's fleet gets here. Piece of cake."
"That will not be necessary, Corpsman. I am detecting Commander El's bio-sign outside of one of the city limits; he and two other bio-signatures are fleeing a large number of Parademons."
Power Girl beamed. "He's trying to escape!" she cheered. "He's okay!"
"Only for the moment, Captain. I am also detecting an equal number of Parademons on an intercept course; the Commander is about to be boxed in."
Alison's elation turned to horror, then to a mix of determination and fury, as she rose from her chair. "Hal, get out there with Orion! We'll need you to hold our position until we get back with Kal!" she barked. "Ardor: deploy all available fightercraft; hold defensive positions until hostiles close!" She turned to Kurox, Lar, and Rokk. "You three, with me!" she finished, before hailing the Perseverence. "Sentrius, send Kara, Aelfyre, and Old Grouchy over here in the Argo to pick us up! We're going after Kal! Lantern Stewart can help keep Darkseid's fleet back until we're done!"
"I concur, Captain. I will remain aboard to coordinate the orbital defences," Sentrius answered. "In addition, I recommend deploying Kolth Sur'onon from your re-entry; his kinetic dampeners will absorb the energy of his free-fall to power his combat systems." Alison could practically hear Sentrius' smirk. "It is only logical, since Kolth Sur'onon was meant to be deployed in the same fashion as a mass-driver."
It took only a minute for the Argo to clear the Perseverence's docking-bay and reach the Ardor; as soon as Power Girl, Kurox, Lar, and Rokk were teleported aboard, Supergirl piloted the Speeder towards Apokolips, into a fast re-entry. "I've got a fix on Kal's location!" Kara reported. "Optimal position for deploying Old Grouchy in one minute!"
From the floor next to Power Girl, Old Grouchy whirred, his optic flaring yellow. Power Girl glanced at the readout. "Be sure to aim just off-center from Kal's position," she advised. "Okay…now!"
The teleporter shone again, dropping Old Grouchy just ahead of the Argo. Caught in re-entry, Old Grouchy began to glow red-hot, as the same glow began to edge around the Speeder's shields. Looking down at the hell-planet, Power Girl tried to calm her shrieking heart. 'We're almost there, baby; just another minute, that's all!'
As she thought that, she could only watch as the crystalline sphere ahead of them began to glow from the inside, and start to get bigger…
XXXXXXXX
A few minutes earlier
"Goodness. Barda. Report to my location immediately."
Barda had only gotten that message over the open channel when Granny burst into her quarters. Her expression was sour, as it always got when Virman bothered her. "Barda, dearie? Please boom us to Virman's location so that I can have words with him about this."
Barda donned her armour as fast as she could, before she got a fix on Virman's transponder. With a tap on her Boom-Tube, she generated a portal that brought her and Granny to an open-roofed shuttle, manned by Virman Vundabar and a full squad of Parademons. "I assume there is a good explanation for this, Virman," Granny said, her voice warning. "It must be, to summon me as if I were at your beck and call."
Virman was smirking, unaffected by Granny's fury. "Vhere are all your Orphans, Goodness?" he asked. "Do you know?"
Granny's patience had reached its limit. "Of course I know, Virman! All my children are accounted for!"
"Oh? You are not missing two of zhem?" Virman challenged. "Have you done a head-count since the explosion at Boring Station #5?"
Barda was too focused on their location: a refinery, just a short distance from the space-port, with several legions of Parademons circling it. "What's going on?"
Virman grinned. "An asset of mine contacted me moments ago – two of Goodness' charges attempted an escape," he said. "One of them was the Kryptonian…whom our Lord specifically said not to lose."
Granny sputtered. "Impossible!" she shouted. "You're not fooling anyone, Vundabar!"
"Oh no?" Virman raised his communicator. "Stay down, Malice," he instructed. "Parademons: open fire, now!"
At once, the Parademons on the shuttle took aim, and fired into the refinery, blasting apart a storage-facility…which sent Clark and Scott running, with Clark carrying a little girl on his back.
Granny's mouth dropped open in alarm. "WHAT?"
Virman was chuckling. "Surround zhem!" he ordered. "Take us down!" At once, the airborne Parademons encircled the fugitives, cutting off their escape, while the shuttle landed a few feet away, allowing Virman to step out. "Well done, my dear!"
Clark was confused. "What are you – ARRRGGHH!"
His query ended in a howl as the girl bit his shoulder and hopped off, running to Virman's side with a smile. "Did I do good, Daddy?"
Virman smiled back. "Very good, Malice."
Scott blinked as he recognized the name. "Wait…you're Malice Vundabar?" he shouted. "The Malice Vundabar that betrayed the Fifth Hunder-Dog Uprising?"
Dismayed, Clark dropped to his knees. "All of it – your crying – was all..?"
"I told you the truth!" Malice retorted with a nasty smile. "Having hope gets you nothing! The only thing you can do is obey!"
Granny looked fit to be tied. "SCOTT FREE!" she screeched. "Oh, you've really done it, this time!" She calmed a bit as she looked at Clark. "You've disappointed Granny so horribly, dearie! After Desaad is finished with you, I'm going to have to send you both to the Lump!"
Scott sighed. "Well, I guess it's back to the drawing-board."
Granny gritted her teeth as her eyebrow started to tick. "You still defy Granny?" she spat. "When will you learn, Scott? You will NEVER escape!"
Scott shot back just as fiercely. "Yes! I! WILL!"
Virman shook his head with a dry laugh. "Vonce again, Goodness, I shall haff to do your vork for you!" He gestured at Scott. "Parademons: ready arms..!"
"No," Granny said, with cold finality. "I have a better idea." She turned. "Barda? Kill him."
Barda paled. "What?"
Clark inched closer to Scott. "Scott, you know what to do…"
"No! There's…there's a way out!" Scott insisted. "We can find it..!"
Granny glared at Barda. "You heard me, dearie. Scott's finally exhausted Granny's patience. You have to make an example of him," she said. When Barda hesitated, Granny's eyes narrowed. "This is an order, Barda. Kill him. Now."
Slowly, Barda turned to look at Scott…and as her eyes met his, all her memories with him – the few moments of joy she'd had in her life thanks to him – came flooding back. As she turned to look at Granny, all the cruelty she'd suffered – at Goodness' hands – flooded her.
With that, Barda's eyes narrowed, as she made her choice.
Barda's war-cry was enough to terrify even the Parademons as she side-kicked Granny, which sent her stumbling into Virman and Malice. With desperate speed, Barda drew her Boom-Tube and opened a wormhole just behind Clark and Scott. Drawing her sidearm, she squeezed off three shots, felling the Parademons that were moving to stop her, before she tackled Clark and Scott, knocking all three of them through the portal, to land on the other side, just a brisk walk to the space-port.
Scott was grinning as he stood up. "I knew it!" he whooped. "I knew they couldn't break you!"
Barda was fighting tears as she looked at both of them. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "I'm so, so sorry!"
Scott was already hugging her. "Forgiven and forgotten, Beautiful Barda," he said, using her old nickname.
With a wan grin, Clark nodded. "Help us get off this rock, and we can call it even."
Her tactical training kicking on, Barda looked to the space-port. "You were trying to steal a shuttle, weren't you?" she asked. "I can get us in without triggering alarms!"
Clark pointed to her Boom-Tube. "What about that?"
Barda grimaced. "The planet has Sub-space Disruptors; they prevent long-range Boom-outs! This was as far as I could get us!"
Scott gulped. "Then we need to get going! Come on!" No-one argued, as they all raced for the space-port. Despite everything that had happened, Barda had to smile, if only for a moment…
…because, at long last, the sickening self-disgust she'd had for so long – that had made looking in the mirror feel like gazing into a black hole – was gone.
XXXXXXXX
"Come on! We're almost there!"
As they ran across the space-port's landing-pad, Clark felt his wary hopes start to flare. Malice's betrayal had almost wrecked their plan, but now that Barda was with them, things had changed for the better. The former Fury had practically walked them through the port's security, and onto a landing-pad with a fully-fueled shuttle. With their escape in sight, Scott laughed. "Clark, we made it!" he cheered. "We're finally getting off this..!"
BREEEEET! BREEEEET!
The space-port's alarm klaxon drowned Scott out, as the auto-defence turrets around the base whirred to life…and turned inward. "Goodness must have figured out where we were going!" Barda cried. "Everyone down..!"
SSHHEEEEW!
The turrets' lasers seared across the landing-pad, tearing into the shuttle and blasting it apart, which knocked all three of them on their backs. With a cough, Clark got to his feet first…and what he saw made him want to fall back down again.
The shuttle was totalled, with no other craft in sight. The turrets were all pointed at them, with the legions of Parademons off in the distance; they would arrive in minutes.
Scott's expression mirrored Clark's. "Barda…can your Boom-Tube get us out of here?"
Barda checked the device. "If I had more time to let it recharge," she said. "And even then, we wouldn't get far enough away from them."
Scott smiled apologetically. "Sorry I dragged you into this."
Barda smiled back. "It's where I should have been all along," she answered.
Slowly, Scott took her hand. "Maybe this time, it won't be all bad, with you there…"
"Scott."
Clark's whisper drew Scott's attention, as Clark looked at him bleakly. "Clark, no," Scott pleaded. "We still have time…"
Clark shook his head. "It's the only way."
Barda was lost. "Scott, what's he talking about?"
"Clark, you can't," Scott begged. "You can't ask me to..!"
"Darkseid cannot know what I know, Scott!"
Horrified resignation crossed Scott's face. "Barda…give me your knife."
Still confused, Barda looked at Clark…and understood. "No…"
"He knows something about the Equation, Barda. If Darkseid gets it, the universe is doomed."
Near tears, Barda drew her serrated knife from her belt. "I'm…I'm so sorry…"
Clark nodded. "I know."
Scott was openly weeping. "We still have a chance," he whimpered. "We can find another way to escape!"
Clark smiled sadly. "I believe you'll escape one day, Scott," he said, "and I would like nothing more than to help you." He shut his eyes, and tilted his head back to expose his neck. "But that takes time I don't have. I cannot – will not – put the entire universe at risk for the sake of my own life."
Scott sniffled, as he knelt in front of his friend, and inched the knife closer to his throat. "F-Forgive me, my friend…"
"Look!"
Barda's cry came as the alarm changed its tone, while the turrets all aimed up, firing on something falling from the sky in a massive ball of fire. Perplexed, Scott lowered the knife. "What is that..?"
Barda was busy tracking its path…and gasped as she realized where it would land. "DOWN!" she screamed, as she darted ahead of Scott and Clark, tapping her wristband to generate an energy-shield, just as the massive thing smashed into the ground a scant few miles from the space-port.
BOOOOOOOOOM!
The explosion of the impact threw up a maelstrom of dust with its shockwave that would have broken all of Clark and Scott's bones, had it not been for Barda. The port's walls and turrets were all blasted apart, while Barda strained to keep her shield up, until the shockwave dissipated. When the air cleared, Barda lowered her shield, just in time to see an enormous crystalline sphere roll through the gap in the wall. The sphere suddenly came to a stop…and extended four colossal spidery legs, before it stood up, its half-spherical head, with a lone positronic eye, rose up out of its torso, its eye flaring green as it saw him.
Clark couldn't believe it. "Old Grouchy?"
By then, the endless wave of Parademons were only seconds away, but their screeches were quickly drowned out by a familiar whirring…right before the Argo buzzed overhead, its teleporter shining for a second as it flew straight at the Parademons, its hull turning armoured as its Trans-Phase Lasers blazed, felling a dozen Parademons in one swoop.
The teleporter dropped five people in front of them, but Clark only recognized three…including one that barreled straight at him, to tackle him with a hug. "CLARKIE!"
As Power Girl knocked the wind from him, Clark could only stammer. "W-Wha..?"
Tin Man was right behind her. "Master Kal-El, it is good to see you are undamaged."
"K-Kurox?"
Scott was a bit more alert. "Friends of yours?"
Aelfyre nodded. "We assume you two are, as well."
As Power Girl hugged Clark with all she had, peppering his face with kisses in the process, one of the newcomers looked to the Parademons with a gulp. "Uh, Captain?"
"Gimme a minute, Rokk!" Alison snapped, before giving Clark one last kiss and standing up. "Admiral, Rokk, Lar, Kurox, we have to keep these bastards away from Clark until Kara lines up an e-vac run! Kurox, engage Military Protocol: override code Nyak Ju'Roth Cru!"
Tin Man's form instantly shifted to a combat-ready state. "Command accepted. Battle safeties off."
Looking up at Old Grouchy, Power Girl smiled sweetly. "Grouchy? You know what to do!" At once, the titanic WarBot's eye flared red, as colossal cannons popped up from its knee-joints, and fired massive laser-plumes into the endless mass of Parademons. Realizing it needed to up its game, Old Grouchy uncoupled its neck-joint and powered its anti-gravity generator, letting its head float free, connected to its body by a crackling energy-tether. As it floated into the Parademons, Old Grouchy's head charged its Polaron Generator, giving its shield an electrostatic charge that surged through every mutated fanatic that impacted it, while the head fired its point-defence lasers and its sonic cannon constantly.
Following his fellow A.I.'s lead, Tin Man armed his Plasma-Cannons, and opened up on the Parademons, pausing briefly to vent them before firing again. The Parademons not felled by the Warbot or Tin Man swarmed towards their attackers, weapons blazing. Concentrating hard, Aelfyre reached for the incoming energy, and absorbed it with a sweep of his hand. The Parademons fired again and again, but Aelfyre easily redirected and consumed it. Sensing that Aelfyre was nearly full, Rokk unleashed a magnetic surge at the Parademons, while Lar shot into the air. Held in place by Rokk's magnetism, the Parademons could do nothing as Lar bashed them across the space-port with one flying punch after another. Once he had finally concentrated his stored energy, Aelfyre blurred into the air at light-speed, into the middle of the swarm, and unleashed all his energy in a wide-field blast, felling every single Parademon in the swarm.
With the Parademons in disarray, Power Girl thought they were nearly in the clear, when a Boom-Tube portal roared into existence, and Granny and Virman stepped through. Looking around, Granny scowled with murderous fury, before she tapped her communicator. "Goodness to Fleet Command: the invaders are attempting to extract a prisoner with vital information! Do not let them leave orb – AAAACK!"
Her order was cut off as an infuriated Barda charged her, her Boom-Tube morphing into a lethal war-club, which forced Granny to duck under her strike, drawing and extending her war-staff. "For YEARS!" Barda screeched, unleashing an overhead strike that Granny blocked. "For years you turned me into your war-hound! No more, Goodness!"
As Barda whirled into a backspin strike, Granny quickly parried it and countered with a sweep-strike, knocking Barda on her butt. "You've turned into such a disappointment, dearie," Granny crooned, as her staff sprouted clawed blades for the kill-strike. "Granny warned you what she'd do if you ever…"
FWASH!
Distracted by her tirade, Granny never saw Power Girl run at her until the flash-bomb she'd thrown was right in her face. The concussive blast staggered both Granny and Barda, which gave Power Girl enough time to close and bash her hands over Granny's ears, which had the double-effect of popping her eardrums and releasing the piezoelectric surge she'd directed through her quartz-inlaid gloves. As Granny toppled backwards – wide-eyed and sporting a hairdo that would have made her a shoe-in for the lead role of the Bride of Frankenstein – Power Girl turned and fired an eye-ray at Virman, which forced him to block it with his cavalry-blade. Helping the dazed Barda to her feet, Power Girl tapped her communicator. "Grouchy, prep for e-vac!" she ordered. "Kara, get back here now! We've officially overstayed our welcome! Bear in mind: we've got a couple extra hitchhikers!"
At Power Girl's command, Old Grouchy's head linked back with its torso, as the WarBot pulled back into its ball-mode, and began to shrink, until it was back to the size of a basketball. The Argo was already flying back towards them, its teleporter ray shining, sweeping up Grouchy, Aelfyre, Rokk, Lar, Scott, Barda, and Kurox. As Alison ran at him, embracing him as the beam engulfed them both, Clark could only gape in bewilderment. It all seemed too good to be true…
…and that thought sent a fresh wave of horror coursing through his mind…
XXXXXXXX
The teleporter wave left Alison and Clark on the floor of the Argo as Kara piloted the Speeder straight up, putting as much distance between them and the hell-planet as possible. "Did you get him?"
Tears of joy in her eyes, Power Girl nodded. "We got him, Kara!" she replied, as she looked back to Clark. "It's okay, Clarkie; we're getting out of…"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!"
Clark's roar shocked everyone, and nearly ripped Alison's heart in two. "Clark, what are you..?"
"All of you, get away from me!" Clark screamed, horror and anguish on his face as he backed away from all of them, shouting up at the ceiling. "Oh, you're good, you're good, Desaad! You almost had me fooled!"
Tin Man stepped forward. "Master Kal-El, there is no-one named Desaad in the vicinity."
Scott scrunched his eyes. "He thinks this is another of Desaad's mind-games."
Lar gulped. "And Desaad would be..?"
"Darkseid's Inquisitor and torture-master," Barda answered. "The bastard uses a mixture of physical torture, immersive holographic illusions, and psychotropic agents until his victims barely know up from down."
Alison's anguished heart completely shattered. "He…tortured..?"
Scott nodded grimly. "He wanted a secret about the Anti-Life Equation," he explained. "Desaad wanted it, and Clark wouldn't give it to him."
Alison fought tears, as she took one step towards her tausha, and then another, and another. "Clarkie…"
"Who's that? Is that you again, Grace?" Clark snarled, pressed against the back wall. "You're still using her face, are you? Well it won't work! Nothing you all do to me will work, you understand? I'll kill myself before I talk!"
Finally close enough to him, Alison grabbed Clark's hands, and held on tight, before she pressed her forehead against Clark's with a whimper. "Baby, it's me," she sniffled, hoping against hope that their empathic bond would convince him…
At first, Clark feebly fought against her, but slowly, his thrashings began to calm, until his wide eyes were looking into hers. "A-Aly?"
Tears falling from her eyes, Alison nodded. "Hi, baby."
Clark was silent for several very long seconds…until he fell to his knees, his face buried in her stomach as he burst into tears, holding onto her for dear life. "UUUUUWWAAAAAAGGGHH!" he wailed. "Oh, God…oh, GOD!"
Alison couldn't help but cry, herself. "I'm here, Clarkie; I'm right here!" she cooed, as she hugged him tight, wincing as her hands found way too many scars on his back. "Oh, God, what did those monsters do to you?"
The rumble of the ship caused them all to stumble before Clark could answer. Over her shoulder, Alison saw it all through the Argo's HUD. They were just clearing orbit, with Stealth-Speeders, Fighters, and Parademons all buzzing around them. As they cleared the atmosphere, five Parademons flew at them, but both Green Lanterns caught them in an emerald net, allowing three Righteous Furies to blow them away with Positron Torpedoes. Desperate, twelve Apokoliptian fighters raced at the Speeder, but the Trail, Orion, and two Stealth-Speeders intercepted them, the Speeders disabling their ships with Polaron waves, making them easy targets for Orion and the Trail.
By then, the Argo had entered the safety-blanket of the Ardor's defensive fire, which let the Speeder dock with relative ease. Once everyone had been teleported to the bridge, Power Girl moved to the captain's chair, while Clark moved to her side, using the chair to hold himself up. Sentrius' image came in over the view-screen. "Commander El, it is good to have you back with us."
By then, Clark had started to come back to himself. "It's…good to be back, Sentrius."
Power Girl took a deep breath. "We're all back aboard, Sentrius! Recall all our forces, and get Orion and the Lanterns back inside! Once we're all packed, we need to get into Trans-Warp pronto!"
"I have already initiated a full recall, Captain. However, we are presently unable to go to Trans-Warp. Due to the extreme strain placed on the Superdreadnoughts' armour by both the Parademons and Darkseid's capital ships, we do not have sufficient power, even with the ECMs; the only way to reach the power-threshold for Trans-Warp would be to disengage the armour, and that will drop our probability of successful egress from 0.59 to 0.08."
Supergirl grimaced. "You mean we're stranded here?"
Power Girl refused to believe it. 'Dammit, we've come too far to fail now! There HAS to be a way!' she mentally shouted. 'Dammit, if only this system had a bloody working..!'
And then it hit her. "Sentrius, does the Anfer'al Gate still work? Can you use the back-door program on it?"
Sentrius frowned. "That is not advisable, Captain."
"But CAN you?"
Sentrius paused to calculate. "I predict with a 0.78 probability that the back-door program will work on the Anfer'al Gate."
"Then do it!" Power Girl said. "Use the Gate to dial home! It's our only option!"
"It will also give Darkseid's fleet an opportunity to follow us through the Gate," Sentrius countered. "I cannot discount the probability that their scientists will discover the back-door program, and if we depart, we will not be able to deactivate the Gate, again."
Power Girl grinned. "Not even if we drop a Nova Javelin behind us and program it to hit the Gate after it closes?"
Sentrius ran the calculations, before she smiled wryly. "I predict with a 1.00 probability that a Nova-detonation will destroy the Gate after we pass through," she replied. "Activating long-range communications; accessing World-Gate reinitialization program."
By then, the Fighters and Speeders had all fled back into the Superdreadnoughts, their shields and hulls badly battered and depleted. Orion, the Lanterns, and the Trail were close behind, right before the two colossal ships turned, and powered away at top speed, racing for the inactive World-Gate, which suddenly flared white in the distance. "World-Gate has been reinitialized. Accessing back-door program."
The Superdreadnoughts were halfway to the Gate when it responded, spreading wide enough to let the mighty ships through, its units sparking to life after so many aeons, before its central hub spun open, pulling a stable wormhole into existence. "Ardor, you will proceed first," Sentrius ordered. "I will deploy the Nova Javelin."
With the Apokoliptian fleet firing desperately, trying to catch up to its fleeing prize, the Ardor glided through the wormhole, while the Perseverence dropped a single, dart-like weapon behind it – tiny in comparison – before following its sister. The warping sensation of Gate-travel lasted only a second, before they arrived in the Sol System, the Gate still active. "Transmitting activation code," Sentrius reported. "Deactivating Gate now."
At that, the Sol Gate, still connected to its long-lost brother, powered down, the wormhole winking out of existence…but not before a thin plume of blazing plasma-energy roared out of it, the resulting shockwave shaking both Superdreadnoughts as it dissipated. Dazed, Rokk got to his feet. "I'm assuming that means the Gate's taken care of?"
Kara rubbed her head. "That and probably Darkseid's entire fleet."
Barda snorted. "Good."
Alison couldn't have agreed more, after what that monster and his cronies had put her tausha through. Managing a smile, she looked to Clark. "We made it, Clarkie," she whispered. "We're home."
Clark didn't answer her – he only stared dazedly out through the view-screen at the distant images of Sentrius' station-self and the blue world that was their home. As she nibbled her lower lip, Alison hoped that was a good sign…
…because if it wasn't, she didn't know what she could do.
XXXXXXXX
Sentrius Battlestation, Sol System
Initiating damage-assessment…done. Perseverence of Von-El: ECM power-reserve at 30 percent; main engines, 45 percent; forward plasma-cannons, 50 percent; torpedo-launchers, 60 percent; defensive turrets, 29 percent…
As she listened to her automatics' damage-report file, Sentrius saved it to her memory banks for review, and continued on her way to Station Command. The moment she'd stepped back aboard her station-self and re-synchronized with it, she'd been inundated with enough data to keep her processors occupied for weeks…but not even the prospect of tactical analysis could delete what she had learned from the Argo's flight-recorder.
Section 6396, Competency Subsection 876-4, Mental Health Subsection 39-8.
The thought loomed in her main processor, drowning out all else.
By then, her avatar had reached Station Command, and walked in, where the complete rescue-team, the rest of the League, and Highfather had gathered. Only Commander El was absent – presently in the infirmary sector being assessed. "You are certain Kal is alright?" Wonder Woman asked.
A teary Power Girl nodded. "Sentrius assured me that her med-drones could handle his treatment," she sniffed. "He's mostly just exhausted and malnourished, but…but those scars..!"
Aquaman looked ready to weep, as well. "He'll pull through," he said. "He always does."
"Physically, yes," J'onn said, his expression forlorn. "Mentally, however, he will surely need all of our support."
"He has it," Scott said. "Whatever you all need from me to help him, you have it."
Power Girl managed a thin smile. "Thank you, Scott."
Highfather froze. "Scott?" he repeated. "Scott…Free?"
Scott arched an eyebrow. "How'd you know?"
Highfather didn't answer, but his face drained of all colour, as if he'd seen a ghost. Orion was confused. "Father?"
"I…I am fine," Highfather answered. "It is just…there is something I must attend to, shortly."
Spider-Man gulped. "Okay…now for the other elephant in the room," he said. "Is this Darkseid guy gonna try anything again?"
Supergirl hugged herself. "I wouldn't doubt it," she muttered. "If he orchestrated Krypton's death, there's likely nothing he wouldn't do."
Flash flinched. "Jesus…you mean..?"
"His ships match up to the Dheronians' perfectly," Lantern Stewart said. "He backed the hit on Krypton."
Batman's eyes narrowed. "Which also means that he has had a presence on Earth, before," he reasoned, as he looked to Barda. "Can you supply any information on the facilities we've encountered, or on your Boom-Tube technology?"
Barda shrugged. "I'm a warrior, not an engineer," she replied. "I could probably give you the unlock codes for my Tube's more advanced systems, but that's it."
"Could that information be used to develop a countermeasure?"
Barda thought about it. "Apokolips uses Boom-Inhibitors planet-side to restrict unauthorized Boom-outs, so it's possible."
Power Girl turned to Tin Man. "Kurox?"
"Understood, Mistress Ka-Lir. I will resume study of the Boom-Tube in the Fortress, with greater focus on wormhole inhibition."
Power Girl nodded with relief. "Good," she said. "For now, we need to get Kal home…"
"No."
Sentrius' flat refusal startled them all. "Sentrius?" Aelfyre asked. "What do you mean?"
"My course of action is not definite, as I have not debriefed Commander El formally," Sentrius replied, "but if matters are as I suspect, then I cannot in good conscience allow Station Commander Kal-El to leave this station; under Section 6396 of the Defence Force Code, Competency Subsection 876-4, Mental Health Subsection 39-8, any officer exhibiting overt signs of mental instability and suicidal ideation must be held under strict observation, and relieved of active duty until a full assessment can be carried out."
Supergirl sputtered. "Kal's not suicidal!"
Sentrius did not respond, except to play back Kal's earlier statement: "I'll kill myself before I talk!"
Power Girl went pale. "He…he didn't mean it!" she said. "He just thought we were an illusion..!"
"If that is so, Captain, then my assessment will clear him for duty," Sentrius said. "However, until an assessment is carried out, I cannot discount the possibility that Commander Kal-El is a risk to himself and possibly others."
Hawkgirl shook her head. "He wouldn't hurt anyone, Sentrius!" she insisted. "Let us talk with him..!"
"With respect, Colonel Hol, you are all too close to the issue to be objective," Sentrius countered. "You may of course visit him and speak with him, but in this matter, I will determine if Kal-El is fit for duty."
Power Girl shook her head. "You can't be serious…"
"I am quite serious, Captain Ka-Lir," Sentrius replied, as she spoke the words that caused her processors to register a sensation she could only classify as "dread." "Personally, I do not wish this to be the case, but the fact remains: if Commander El is mentally disturbed, then I will have no choice but to confine him here indefinitely."
XXXXXXXX
Apokolips
As the skies outside his palace rained fiery debris from the earlier attack – the earlier disaster, Darkseid corrected himself – Darkseid sat upon his throne and glowered down at his inner court, all still grovelling with agony from his Omega Effect. "Am I to understand," he began, "that not only did you all lose the Kryptonian – my key to the Anti-Life Equation – but you also allowed his allies to strike at the heart of MY empire, and then escape, demolishing more than HALF my battle-fleet in the process?"
Godfrey could only give a shakily subservient grin. "It…it sounds terrible when put that way, my Lord…"
"Is there ANOTHER way to put it, Godfrey?" Darkseid snarled, his fingers going to his temple, trying to ease away his headache. "I am disturbed, my subjects. Like never before, I am most profoundly disturbed."
With a tremble in her voice, Granny spoke up. "T-This is only a minor setback, Great One! We need only recapture the whelp, and extract the secret from him!"
"So easily? When now the boy and his allies KNOW of us? When our greatest asset – surprise – is lost to us?"
Tyr'uk kept his head low, and his voice quiet. "If we'd just killed him, then this wouldn't have – AAAAAARRRGGGHHH!"
His remark hadn't been quiet enough, as Darkseid punished him yet again. "Your impertinence begins to tire me, Dheronian whelp. I begin to wonder if another could lead your people better than you OR your sire."
Kalibak spoke next. "Father, permit me to attack Earth!" he pleaded. "Once the fleet is rebuilt, I will rain hellfire upon that ball of rock until the Kryptonian surrenders!"
"No, Kalibak. Until we have sufficient means to counter the Kryptonian station, I will not needlessly waste my resources," Darkseid muttered. "Certainly not with a boy who brought the Kryptonian here by sheer luck."
Grayven snickered at that, while Kalibak scowled. Godfrey spoke again. "Even with the Kryptonian watchful, my Lord, I still have eyes and ears upon the Earth! Permit me to return, and I shall bring news of his actions to you! Another opportunity will present itself!"
Darkseid glowered at him for a moment, before he nodded. "So you are not so foolish after all, Godfrey. Very well," he said, before his crimson stare fell on Godfrey's sister. "Perhaps you might learn from your brother, Grace. Had it not been for your lustful stupidity, the Equation might be in my hands, by now." Grace sputtered at that, which elicited a chuckle from Godfrey, both of which Darkseid ignored. "Leave me."
At once, his inner court all filed out as quickly as they could, leaving Darkseid alone. Reaching for a secret panel in his throne, Darkseid withdrew his own personal Boom-Tube, and tapped a pre-set destination. The wormhole boomed into existence in front of him, allowing him to step through…
…and he was instantly at the furthest edge of the known universe, with only the tiniest bits of rubble, ground from the world of the Old Gods. From his perch on a small, barren slab of rock, with the barest traces of breathable atmosphere, Darkseid could clearly see the black of space end just a few light-seconds ahead of him, where it met a glowing, fiery wave of energy and matter…with enormous, screaming faces embedded in it.
The Source Wall. The burial ground of the Old Gods – the place he'd cast their bodies when he'd struck them down…
"Hello, brother."
With a smirk, Darkseid turned to face Highfather. "I knew I would find you here," he said. "This always was neutral ground for us, wasn't it?"
Highfather looked pained. "Is there such a thing as neutral ground, after what you've done?"
"Interesting, considering it was Krypton's children who struck at me."
"Do not play coy, brother! We both know it was you who broke our treaty, years ago and a week past!" Highfather accused.
Darkseid dismissed him with a wave. "A treaty that serves my purpose no longer," he said, as his smirk grew. "And it was my son that fought in orbit, wasn't it? He has a rage fiercer than any Parademon; I see you could not beat that from him."
"I did not try to beat anything from Orion, brother. I loved that boy exactly as he was," Highfather retorted. "It's more than you can say." Now Highfather smirked. "I see you couldn't beat Scott's hope from him!"
Darkseid scowled. "You try my patience, brother. Say whatever you wish to say and begone."
"I will say what I have said before: New Genesis stands with Krypton's children!" Highfather declared. "If you strike at Kal-El and his allies, we will consider it an act of war!" His eyes narrowed. "And I wonder if you are in any position to endure it."
Darkseid glared back. "More than New Genesis is," he countered. "So we are at stalemate again, brother." His smirk returned. "For now."
Highfather shook his head. "You have not changed, Uxas."
Darkseid pointed a finger at him. "That name has no more meaning than "Highfather," brother. I am Darkseid. Remember that."
Highfather looked grim. "And what of Suli?" he pressed. "Did she mean nothing, too?"
"ENOUGH!" Darkseid barked. "She served her purpose, as has this conversation! Leave me!"
Highfather sighed in resignation. "So be it, brother," he said, as he turned to go. "I only ask that you remember one thing."
"What is that?"
"Just as there came a time when the Old Gods died," Highfather said, "so must come a time when Darkseid must die."
And with that, he powered his Boom-Tube, and was gone.
Alone again, Darkseid turned back to the Source Wall, to gather his thoughts. His brother was wrong. Suli's death had been hard, but it had served the greater goal: to put him in power, to bring order to Apokolips.
And so he would bring order to the universe.
Even if that meant trampling the brat Kal-El and his "Justice League."
XXXXXXXX
Author's Note:
Normally, I'd apologize for taking so long, but not this time. This was unquestionably the toughest chapter I've ever written; I'm amazed I could write it at ALL.
Oh, and kudos to Circus Child for giving me the inspiration for my version of Lar Gand! Thanks!
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go lie down and cry for a day or two.
Coming Soon:
With the Man of Steel incapacitated, it falls to the rest of the League to keep the peace…
…but when a young villain-in-training declares a vendetta on a certain wall-crawler and his teammates, our heroes will need all the help they can get…
…as Spider-Man comes face-to-face with his own demons.
Be there, when the "Dark Infection" drives a hero to the brink, coming to your computer soon…
