The Reboot
There were no words to describe what Kara was feeling at the moment. The man she hated more than anybody else in the world was behind everything had happened today. Kara listened on as Hippolyta explained that Darkseid and Lex Luthor were both in league and were planning on destroying Kara. She had less than twenty four hours to stop imminent destruction. Problem was Kara did not know how it was going to happen or where it was going to happen. She was wondering how the Amazons knew that Lex and Darkseid were behind all of this.
"How did you find this out?" she asked a bit suspiciously with her hands crossed to her chest.
Hippolyta answered. "We have one of their own in our captivity. We are still debating whether or not we should kill this man for trespassing on our soil. But we did interrogate him and the information he presented was extremely overwhelming especially when it concerned mostly you."
"Who is this man?"
"You've met him before. One of Darkseid's soldiers…Desaad."
Kara felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. Desaad, a ruthless minion of Darkseid, one whom possessed the power to torture his victims so gruesomely and painfully. Kara was astounded that he was here and she wanted so much to see him and give him a severe beating. The only problem was he would enjoy it. Kara dealt with Desaad before but the one thing that bothered her was that he was already dead. She had killed him. It could have been a clone of the original.
"In case you're wondering how he is here, he is a prophet. An immortal. If he dies, he will come back at a certain time."
Kara let that sink in. She found her voice yet again as something else occurred to her.
"I don't understand. How did you extract information from him? From my own personal experience, Desaad is not one to divulge important details of a potential act of destruction without some serious intimidation tactics." Kara stated.
Queen Hippolyta turned her head over and soon a woman came to her side. A woman then appeared next to Hippolyta and Kara had to roll her eyes at the sight of the woman. Wearing a red and blue chest plate that went down to her waist, it was Diana, who stepped forward.
"Say no more." Kara nodded.
Kara knew full well that Diana possessed a lasso that when it was wrapped around a person, he or she had to tell the truth. Diana was a very popular figure among a certain league but that did not mean that she respected her. She along with the major figures of the JLA, agreed that she be banished from the current timeline they were in until they can determine that Kara possessed self-control and responsibility. Kara could not believe she was here now.
"Pleasure seeing you again, Supergirl." Diana said as she approached Kara. Although there was no sign of happiness on Diana's face seeing Kara.
"If you knew my past circumstances, you know that my name is Kara. I'm no longer that kind of 'Supergirl.' Kara said with force.
"Of course you're not. You have become a powerful, corporate woman that orders many other subsidiaries and its peoples to do exactly what you want them to do-"
"-to make the city, better yet, the world safer! I had no choice but to take charge otherwise this world would have been destroyed. You already know what happened before Luthor stepped down!" Kara yelled.
"Yes and so many of your forces have driven many of us, the major heroes away. I'm one of the few…exceptions." Diana began to say what she needed to say. "I'm here on a temporary basis only. It is probable that you hold a grudge against the league for forcing so many limitations and restrictions upon you."
Kara had to laugh. "You were the ones who said to me that you did not want to become part of the problem. I said time and time again that we are the solution. I never saw it as 'payback.'" she said shaking her head.
"Going to the point then, your recent actions only mean one thing: you are now seen as a potential enemy."
Kara was beyond surprised at having heard such a ridiculous statement. But it wasn't one she hadn't heard before. Already she was hearing how reckless her actions have been when it came to changing every way the world worked. Certain people have said that she was not close to being a tyrant, she was a tyrant. Kara refused to believe she had become a Lex Luthor. Kara nevertheless, let what Diana said sunk in. She shook her head and gave up. She had no otherexcuse.
"I take it from your silence that I'm not that far from the truth." Diana said with her hands on her hips.
Kara looked at her with hatred in her eyes.
"Enough." Hippolyta said while raising a hand. She then stood up.
Having a reluctant look on her face, Hippolyta spoke. "Kara Zor-El. Obviously you are the only powerful enough who can resolve this current predicament. Kal-El could certainly come and do this quickly. I do wish he was here now. But he told us that you are the only one can stop this. You and the forgotten ones need to save the Earth. Think of it as a test..."
Kara tried to make clear of what she was saying before Hippolyta went on.
"It is the only way you can be a hero again." Hippolyta said a bit dramatically.
It was as close as a goal and she had to take it. Knowing full well what was at stake, Kara immediately understood and began to fly away but not before throwing a scornful look at Diana who gave her a serious look as well, and flew off. She only had extremely limited time left. It felt good somehow that her cousin had faith in her. It was a blessing he gave and it gave her hope. It gave her more determination than she ever had.
She sped back to the city with no time to waste. Paying no attention to the construction team, doing repairs on the side of the building, Kara walked in with a lot of confidence. First thing she had to do, was cancel all her appointments. Second thing, Kara wanted everyone in 'the room' immediately.
Everybody was seated and some looked eager to know what was going on, while others were a bit confused. They were all waiting for Kara to come in.
Immediately she did and with no time to waste, she went onto the point. "We have a war coming. In less than twenty hours, we're about to get hit hard." She said basically.
"What?" Jade asked.
"Lex Luthor is back." She stated and Kara knew everyone on the table would give surprised expressions. Some began to mutter out loud. "I just received word from the Amazons. They told me that both Darkseid and Luthor are working together to plan something big. The female furies were just the beginning. They're in league with Luthor and now they have my crystal. We need to stop them."
"But how? I agree we should act but how are we going to do that without any leads?" Dinah asked.
"This is probably an army of some kind." Timmy Olsen suggested.
"We don't even know where they are. This is like fighting an invisible war." Tim frowned.
"It wouldn't be that difficult..." a voice said from behind them. Everyone turned around to see the Annihilator walking casually towards the table. "if you have the right people."
"Devyra, glad you could join us." Kara said and she was almost suprised that she actually meant it.
"I assume you're here because you actually care about us now?" Dinah bit out.
"Not all of you." she smiled. "But until I'm reprogrammed somehow to enjoy power again, I do not want to see certain brutes taking over this planet instead of me."
Not impressed, Kara went ahead. "Yeah, yeah, that's nice. Look you want these guys taken down. Then cooperate for once. Tell us what you see in the future." Kara said.
"Besides great destruction and death?" she smirked.
"Yeah... but how does it happen?" Tim asked while Dinah ahead scoffed with a nod.
"I wish I could refuse to tell you so that I can enjoy watching all of you squirm. Your plans have a certain flaw to them. First of all, Luthor and Darkseid...are not working together directly."
Kara frowned. "Hippolyta told me Luthor has it. The rest of the Amazons told me the furies went off with it. Doesn't that mean they were in league?"
"Do you really expect that a new god like Darkseid would take sides with a mere human?" Devyra quipped. "Every villain only cares about one thing."
"Power." Kara answered. Now she had to assume that Darkseid was using Luthor for something else entirely.
"I have one way to find out where the crystal is." Kara said.
"How?"
"I'm going to the Fortress. My uncle Jor-El has technology that can detect the presence of any kryptonian person or object here on Earth. It was how Kal-El found me." she said sadly.
"But aren't you like banned from gping to the fortress?" Dinah asked a bit worried.
Kara knew that the fortress was sealed off to everyone but her cousin. Infiltrating it would be one option but then she would risk getting ambushed by the weapons' systems it had.
"I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, we are gearing up. We're not going to be fighting blind on this. We're no longer going to be seen as drop outs. We're going to be the ones who will end this! Better put, we're ready." Kara stated. Everybody agreed and stood up with renewed strength like Kara's and soon everyone marched off and set out their plans.
The glass display holding the broken green lantern ring sat unmoving on its small pillar. Ever since the crisis that occurred years ago, the ring had ceased to function. Jade went to go to Oa for a replacement after the war, but the elders saw her as incompetent and inferior for letting the ring get destroyed in the first place and so hence, they told her she was no longer worthy, that she did not have the necessary will to do what needed to be done.
It was a blow to the face indeed and so now, stuck with a broken ring and broken pride, Jade wondered what her purpose on Kara's team really was. She knew she was a bookworm. She always had been. However, being intelligent was one of the main reasons why she liked Timmy a lot, together they were both outsiders. But now Kara had asked her to do something she wasn't sure she could do.
Jade and Timmy were instructed by Kara to repair the damages done to the ring. Kara had even stated that she wished she could have done it a long time ago. Hearing what Kara said made her nervous now. But Kara adamantly stated that she needed her second best teammate back. It surprised Jade greatly. She remembered what led to the ring's damage in the first place.
Dark Crisis
Wearing a dark suit along with red glowing eyes, a young blond woman immediately sent out wave after wave of destruction all around her. In a downtown secluded area, a dark figure made her way down the street. A bruised and beaten Jade was lying spread eagled on the ground and yet slowly raised her head towards the woman walking toward her. Suddenly everything went black as she quickly became unconscious.
As she awoke, Jade looked around and saw that she was in a vast black and golden chamber. Omega symbols were shown practically everywhere on the walls. Several candles were lit up on top of small pillars lining up from a certain door to where Jade was bound. Jade looked up to see that her wrists were shackled towards the ceiling. She yanked on them hard but they did not break and so she realized that she had no strength. Looking at her right hand, Jade grew worried when her Green Lantern ring was not on her finger. Looking in front of her to survey the room she was in, it looked like a demented version of a wedding ceremony. Outside of the chamber she was in, Jade had heard constant blast fire and muffled explosions. The war was still going on.
Jade could see another figure chained to a wall to her left. It was a young teenager with an innocent looking face. Turning his head slightly, the young boy began to come to. He groaned.
"Hey, are you alright?" Jade asked.
"W-Where am I?"
"I'm not sure." Jade was uncertain but she can only assume that it was Darkseid's palace somewhere. "What's your name?"
"Timmy. Timmy Olsen."
"Hello Timmy, I'm Jade." Jade said a bit meekly. She knew it was not the right moment to make acquaintances. "Don't worry, whatever this is, we're going to get through with it. I promise."
Suddenly the door opened revealing, a dark purple hooded figure made his way in. Another figure came in beside him. It was Kara. She came in casually as well. Jade had to struggle against her bindings a bit. The hooded man came up the stairs toward Jade and pulled back his head revealing a grim faced old man.
Kara stood down the stairs looking at Jade above, whom was placed in an altar.
"I never had a Green Lantern as a victim before." The terrible man whispered to Jade's ear.
"Kara, do not do this." Jade muttered. Kara only gave her a mean smirk.
Jade did not completely hate Kara, then Supergirl. She knew she was under the influence of Darkseid. Because she was one of them at the moment, Kara had given Darkseid and his soldiers information about what her cousin and his friends are planning and in doing so, she was changing the tide of the war. Jade was of the sympathetic type and knew that there was a way to bring her back to the side of good.
"There's no use in persuading her. She is one of ours now, a great tool and a prophet for the great darkness." the hooded man replied.
Suddenly Jade could feel every bone in her body bending as well as every nerve burning inside. She screamed for what seemed like a long time. The pain stopped and she was left sweating and breathing heavily. Desaad gave her a seductive smile as he began to circle around her like a predator.
"You're strong. But that pride of yours will only be your undoing." he whispered. "Do you really believe that this Earth won't be a literal Hell? Innocent people have died now and that so called...Man of Steel can save so much."
"You really need to be in a straight jacket." Jade spat.
The pain suddenly came back more intense than the first time which caused Jade's eyes to roll back on her head. She could hear Timmy's voice yelling out 'stop! stop!'. But it was no use, Jade was beginning to lose consciousness now. It was a long while before she woke up again. By then it was pure pandemonium.
Everything happened so fast, the ceiling gave away, sending debris down to the ground. Everyone tried to get out of the way. Jade saw the opportunity to run and get her power ring. She did not see who had come or who was fighting whom. Still lying on the ground, she tried her best to get up. Just then a hand grabbed her by the shoulders. Looking at the boy, Timmy, whom wasted no time in putting the ring on her finger, gave him a look of gratitude. He understood and said.
"Go! The dark energy weapon! It has to be destroyed."
Jade knew exactly what he was talking about and gave him a nod that suggested 'thank you.' The threat then consisted of multiple dark control beacons stationed all over the Earth. They all had to be destroyed. She activated her green energy field around her body and went off with Timmy in a blur. He led her out to a platform where on the tower where Jade could see all around below that several cities were on fire and smoke billowed in the air. The sky had turned a fiery red. It was Hell indeed.
A control console that indicated that of a large tube looked as if it was operating itself. It was sending weird looking energy into the atmosphere. Jade did not see any way of stopping it and did the only thing she could do. Using the last of her willpower, she began to recite the oath. "In brightest day, In blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight, To those who worship evil's might, beware my power…"
Struggling to say the last line, Jade knew somehow that by what she was about to initiate, it was going to have devastating consequences but the madness had to stop right now, and so she screamed. "GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT!"
A wide ray of green energy brighter than she had ever ignited before came out of her ring and blasted the dark energy. Jade gritted her teeth in concentration as she sent every ounce of strength to work. The dark energy was soon surrounded by Jade's green will energy and now both forces grew hotter and brighter. Jade hardly had enough energy left within her to produce a shield. As soon as the platform exploded, she was knocked back several feet. Her vision was blurry and at a certain area of the room she landed in, Jade could make out a few figures in the middle of the room.
"I know your weakness!" Desaad hissed.
Blue light surrounded the chamber room she was in. Kara was now under the negating effects of blue kryptonite. But it did not bother her. She seemed determined to beat the hideous man. Desaad threw rather weak punches to her which she blocked effortlessly. She gave him a combination of punches and kicks that were already leaving Desaad tired and bloodied. Kara then grabbed him with both hands and led his face to a glass window, shattering it. Apparently Desaad was no match for Kara and that did not faze her one bit, she continued to beat him mercilessly.
So Kara was good again. She did not know how it happened. Jade exhausted and depowered, crawled over to the scene. She had to stop the act before Kara did something she would regret. Pointing her right fist forward, Jade tried to intervene but she then looked at her ring finger and saw that it had a large crack in the middle. It was broken. Weak and tired, Jade collapsed but not before hearing a voice saying. "You killed him, Kara. He's dead."
All she saw was a certain tall man wearing a red cape before Jade collapsed and remembered no more.
Now...
"So you ready to do this?" Timmy asked Jade who was still staring at the ring. She stopped remembering and looked at Timmy whom had unexpectedly showed up in front of her.
"Let's do it." she said with no hesitation.
Kara could not believe she was having another problem. As soon as she felt any sort of confidence, it was suddenly taken away. She went into her office to get ready and she needed to be in a positive light to not just everyone but to the world. She had to get her kryptonian suit that she had rightfully earned long ago by Kal-El. Only to find the compartment completely empty. Who could have done this? she thought.
Her suit was stolen. Kara had no other alternative but to go with her next option. Opening another hidden compartment next to the obvious one, Kara looked at a black and silver copy of the original red and blue. The 'S' was silver along with the utility belt. The cape was red in front while it was black in the back. Two lines of silver that stretched on from certain points of the 'S' symbol were outlined on top of the entire cape. The rest of the outfit was black including the tight shorts and boots. Frustrated that she was going to go with a dark choice, Kara wasted no time and putting it on.
The suit hugged her curves appropriately and showed off certain toned parts of her body. Her midsection was revealed showing off her heavily tanned stomach and abs. She was literally dressed to kill, or in this case apprehend and defeat, if the situation called for it. Right now, she had to get the location of her crystal. Flying off and going faster than the speed of sound. Kara arrived to the arctic north. Seeing the crystal-like palace, Kara headed on in with no hesitation. Walking inside, Kara could see all around that it was darkish and empty. She made her way over to where the console was. She touched one of the crystals and it made her miss hers even more. Making her way to a snowy clearing, Kara gave a deep breath out. Clearing her throat, she began to call out to Jor-El.
"Uncle Jor-El..." she started.
"I know it's been a while since I was last here. There were so many things said. I understand it if you do not want to show your face but...I need your help. No violence and war has lasted for only a while. Today suggests otherwise. Peace has been compromised and now a new threat has come that will result in the total destruction of this planet. I need to find my crystal that my father gave me. Certain people have stolen it. You're the only one who can locate it."
Kara stifled back a few tears running down her face as she went on.
"I admit it. I became reckless and careless. I thought I could make a difference just as Kal did. I always wanted to prove my father wrong by saying I wasn't weak. But now I know I was...Training and bettering myself was the only way I could prove him wrong. I wanted to be better than Kal in a way. But there's still so much I need to learn. But I'm trying to make things right again. I don't want to be seen as a tyrant anymore! I need to find the crystal."
"You mean this crystal?" a voice called out.
Kara saw an aged Lex Luthor coming towards her.
"Give it to me!" Kara said.
Rolling the crystal in his hands, Lex began to talk. "You know, I have to hand it to you. You turned out pretty good for a big businesswoman now. In a way, you now know what it means to be like me."
"Save your breath. I know what you're trying to do. I will stop you."
"My plan is to try and destroy this miserable planet so we can then start over again. It's called a reboot! We all need this! No more human mistakes are going to be made in the new world, now that we know what we're capable of. Violence. So now...I'm amped for this!"
"Still crazy." Kara shook her head in disappointment.
"Crazy enough to kill you." Lex quipped.
Suddenly a large howling abyss coming from a circular portal opened in thin air. Kara remembered what it is. It was the portal to the Phantom Zone, an alien prison Jor-El created.
"I'm going to fight you to the death. One of us may go in here." he pointed to the opened portal. Lex took off his old business suit and underneath it was a metallic robotic suit of armor powered by Kryptonite.
"Bring it!" Kara cried.