Clark looked around the apartment he'd been sharing with Lois for the last four years. It looked bare, with all of her things gone. It was strange. Lonely. For the hundredth time that day, he looked at the one-word note she had left him on their bed. Goodbye, he thought. How can we say goodbye? He shook his head, the tears pricking at his eyes. He wasn't going to do this now. The League needed him to be present, objective. They would expect it from Superman. Suddenly, I don't feel so super.

"You really are turning into me," Bruce said. Vera turned around in her chair to look at him.

"I am?" she asked.

"It's after three in the morning." Vera frowned, and glanced at her watch.

"Huh. It is, too." She sighed. "I traced Lois to London, where she switched to a flight to Berlin. That's where I lost her. She's doubled back, but she's somewhere in Europe."

"Go get some sleep. I'll keep this going." Bruce nodded at the screen.

"What about you?"

"I'm Batman." Vera shrugged.

"Ok then. Well, if you find something..."

"I'm going to let you sleep through it, and tell you when you wake up. You need to rest." Bruce's expression changed to one of concern. "J'onn thinks this case is affecting your health, mentally and physically." He paused. "And I think it's hurting you emotionally, as well."

"It's hurting us all," Vera whispered. "What about Clark? Lois just left him, and she left him a note that only said 'goodbye,' not to mention she's..." Vera's hand tightened into a fist on her lap.

"It's your concern for everybody else that's hurting you the most." Bruce spoke softly.

"That's never going to change."

"No. I don't expect it will." He smiled then, a sad sort of smile. "That's your Kryptonite." Vera looked away from him.

"Perhaps it is," she replied quietly. Bruce looked at her carefully. Her burgundy hair, while it still shone in the dim lighting around the Cave, was duller than it had been before. Her skin was duller, as well. Everything about her, since she had died, was duller than it used to be. She had always been radiant, especially in recent months, but something had happened. And now, in little flickers, he could occasionally see her lost light return, but then it would be gone. Now, as he was looking at her, he noticed she had even lost weight. Vera had always had nice curves to her – she was a very attractive young woman, Bruce had to admit – not for himself, of course, because she practically his daughter, but he could acknowledge with pride and protectiveness that Wally was a very lucky man, indeed. Now, while the curves were still there, they were smaller, and her clothes seemed a fraction looser than normal.

"Have you been eating alright?" he asked. Vera shook her head.

"When nobody's looking, I just don't eat. I haven't had the appetite," she confessed.

"How long has this been going on?" Their eyes met. Hers shone with the glaze of tears making their way to her cheeks.

"Since I died." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Bruce, there's something..." She was interrupted by Lex Luthor appearing in the entrance, looking flushed and excited.

"We've got him!"

"Jimmy Olsen?" asked Bruce. Lex grinned, and nodded.

"He's upstairs right now." Vera bolted, and sped past Lex Luthor, and she disappeared in a blur of black and red.

Clark was sitting with Jimmy Olsen, who held a cup of tea in his hands and had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The Flash blinked in disbelief when Vera appeared at his side in a blur.

"Super speed, huh?" he murmured. Vera nodded.

"What happened?" she asked. Jimmy looked up at the sound of her voice. His eyes were somewhat unfocussed and cloudy.

"Vera?"

"Hey, Jimmy," she replied softly, and sat down on his other side. "How are you feeling?"

"Me? I'm fine."

"Uh-huh, and that's why you look like you've been driving under the influence of drugs and had an accident." She paused. "You haven't, have you?" Clark looked at her reproachfully. She shrugged.

"We found him in Suffolk, England," said Batman.

"Lois..." Jimmy started. He choked on his words.

"Tell us," Vera said, soothingly. Wally felt an odd pang when he saw her hand on Jimmy's shoulder.

"She's gone," he said hoarsely.

"What do you mean, gone?"

"She's... I'm sorry, Clark." Clark froze. "They took her and..." Jimmy finally burst into tears. "I couldn't do anything to help her." Vera looked up at Bruce and Batman.

"You're safe now," said Bruce. "And we will find Lois." His eyes met Vera's, and they silently agreed to say no more.

"We did not find a body," J'onn was saying. Vera looked up from her coffee. It was her sixth cup that morning. While everyone else had gone to sleep after Jimmy had been brought to the mansion, Vera had stayed awake, even with Wally beside her. Eventually, she had kissed him on the forehead and went back to the Cave, finding Bruce and Clark there.

"I don't expect there would be," she said now. "After all, if this really is Lois' work, she would have set the whole thing up. And if not... the real kidnappers would be keeping her with them so they still have some leverage."

"Where did you find her last?" asked Superman.

"She doubled back at Berlin. She's somewhere in Europe." She paused. "Presumably. At the rate she's been going, she's probably on a flight to Australia already."

"She's got to sleep some time," Wally pointed out. Superman nodded his agreement.

"Lois can't sleep when she flies."

"Ok. So maybe she's not quite on a flight to Australia yet."

"We've got eyes on every airport in the world. If she turns up at one of them, we will know within minutes what flight she's on," Bruce said. Vera nodded. Looking back at her coffee, she felt intense eyes on her. She industriously studied the cup she was holding and the froth and chocolate powder in the coffee whilst everyone else continued talking. She was almost completely zoned out when Superman said her name. She snapped her eyes up to him.

"Isn't that right?" he was asking. Vera nodded. She glanced around the Cave. Her mentors, fiancé, Lex Luthor, and their doubles all looked at her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Vera rubbed the bridge of her nose. "What about the worlds colliding? Where are we on that?"

"No closer than we ever were," Lex replied, regretfully. Vera sighed.

"Thank goodness it's happening slowly, then." She frowned at her coffee. "Although, if it's all connected, we can't solve one problem until we've solved the other."

"She has a point," Batman said gravely.

"Yes, I do."

"So, what do you propose we do?" asked Hawkgirl, somewhat sceptically. Vera looked at her coolly.

"I would recommend prioritizing finding Lois Lane, but since there's not much left for us to do but wait, the point would be mute. Maybe we can work on keeping our two universes separated, even if it's just a temporary solution until we know what to actually do..." Suddenly, her mind lost its train of thought, and she was remembering Lex's lab. She didn't notice that her hands were shaking, or Bruce taking her cup of coffee away from her. She was lost in memory until Wally knelt in front of her and took her hand.

"Vera?" he asked. She blinked, and looked into his eyes. "Are you alright?" She could only nod in response. She noticed then that everybody else was talking about what they should do, although Batman, the Supermen, the Flash and J'onn were casting her worried glances.

"Get her to bed," Bruce said to him in a low voice. Wally nodded, and helped Vera out of her chair and through the Cave. It wasn't until they were inside the mansion that Vera finally collapsed.

Vera woke with a cry. She opened her eyes, and took a moment to register her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was that it was dark. The second thing was that Wally was next to her in her bed, stirring awake at the sound of her cry.

"Vera? What's wrong?"

"I..." Vera sat up, breathing shakily. Wally sat up, too, and placed a strong, gentle arm around her shoulders. He held her close until her shaking subsided.

"You're ok. I'm here." Vera nodded.

"I just... I had a bad dream. That's all." Wally looked at her closely.

"Ok." They slowly lay down together again, and Wally drew up the blankets again. "You're fine. I'm here, and nothing is going to hurt you." Vera pressed herself against him for warmth and comfort. She fell asleep again quite easily, but Wally didn't close his eyes until he the shadows at the windows were gone.

Bruce looked up as his daughter entered the living room. Vera looked better rested than she had yesterday. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," he smiled.

"Good morning." Vera looked around.

"Wally's been called to Central City. He'll be back tonight." Vera nodded.

"He left a note. And everyone else?"

"Either at work or in the Cave. Except for the boys, they're out riding. Jimmy is with Clark." He looked at her. "You were saying something, before we were told he was here. What was it?"

"Oh... Nothing. Just... I love you, I guess." Vera smiled at him. He smiled back.

"I love you too, Vera." He looked at her carefully. "Wally said you were having bad dreams last night."

"I guess a couple, yeah..."

"Did you see anything unusual when you woke up?"

"I... No. Why?" Bruce looked concerned.

"No reason."

"Bull-!" She was cut off by the Flash arriving.

"You might want to suit up," he said to Bruce. He glanced at Vera. "And I don't know if you're awake enough for this, but..."

When Vera and Batman arrived in the Bat Cave, the others were gathered around the computers. On the main screen was a video. Vera's heart froze. On the screen was an image of Lois Lane. She was gagged, beaten, and dirty.

"What's going on?" Vera asked Superman.

"This just turned up on the internet. It's a threat against the Justice League. Specifically... You." His tone was sour.

"Huh. Well, I'm doing my job right, then. Go ahead, play it." In the video, Lois was still seated, but a masked man was behind her, holding a knife to her throat. As Superman had said, the man threatened Vera, and offered to spare the lives of the rest of her friends if she complied with his conditions. He then proceeded to cut Lois' throat.

"There goes that theory," Hawkgirl said awkwardly.

"Not exactly." When the heroes turned their questioning eyes to her, she sighed. "The knife is a fake. A movie prop. I used them in high school plays. The brand is on the blade. There would also be... more of a mess, if she were actually being killed."

"Why don't you already work in law enforcement, again?" asked the Flash.

"The old man here is over-protective?" Vera nodded at her Batman. He glared at her, fondly.

"Right."

"For now, we can still theorise that Lois is the enemy. This just adds a new theory to the mix."

Vera was alone in the Bat Cave, waiting for the Justice League to return. She sensed someone behind her, and smiled. "Wally, don't sneak up on me like that." She turned around, but it wasn't Wally. It was her. Jenny. Blood stained everything – her smooth, pale skin, the black satin dress she'd been buried in, and her blonde hair which hung around her shoulders. The look in her eyes was not a look Jenny had worn often. It was dark, and evil, full of a hatred and anger she only let show on rare occasion.

"You've forgotten me." Jenny started towards Vera, arms outstretched.

Vera woke with a start, and gasped for air. She stood and looked around the Cave – nothing was out of place, and she was completely alone. "Oh, God," she said to herself, putting her face in her hands.

"God won't save you." Vera whipped around, and jumped back. Just as in her dreams and nightmares, Jenny stood there. "I would know." Vera tried to speak, but no sound could leave her throat. Jenny took a step forward. "You've forgotten me, Vera." Vera shook her head.

"No," she sobbed. "This isn't real."

"Oh, it is."

"No."

"You've forgotten me." Vera looked up into Jenny's dead eyes. The girl was right in front of her now. Jenny reached up to touch Vera's hair. "So pretty. But so... dead." Jenny grinned at the word. "Like me." Her bloodied hand went to Vera's cheek, and down her throat to her chest. Vera shuddered and raised her head, and Jenny's hand went through her skin, through her bones, and around her heart. Jenny squeezed, and Vera cried out in pain. She looked back into Jenny's dead, hateful eyes.

"Please," she rasped.

"Let me guess, next you'll say you're sorry? Won't help you, Princess." As Vera saw and felt darkness surrounding her, and her knees began to buckle, she thought she saw a glimpse of red, green, and black. Jenny leaned forward to whisper in her ear as she fell. "Your friends can't save you, either." Then Vera saw and felt nothing.

Wally sat next to the bed. He looked at his fiancé fearfully. It was definitely not the first time he'd seen her unconscious, but this would have to be the worst. He, J'onn and Batman had found her collapsing, a blonde, blood-stained girl reaching into her chest. Jenny. Then she had disappeared, leaving Vera to die.

"How is she?" asked Clark, now.

"She's healing quickly. It's a wonder she's alive, even though we found her when it happened," J'onn replied. He looked over at Wally. "However, I can give her nothing for the pain she is currently suffering." At that moment, Vera started sobbing, crying and tossing and turning. Then her eyes flew open. She gasped for breath, and winced at the pain. She looked at Wally, and her hand went to his face.

"Maybe you two should get married now, before one of you dies," Clark said, worriedly. Vera glanced at him, and back at Wally. The rest of the Justice League, Batman's protégées, with Batgirl holding little Sam, and the Luthors looked on curiously as the two silently conversed between themselves.

"But will you be on your feet by then?" Wally asked, aloud. Vera looked at him scornfully, and pulled herself to a sitting position. "Alright, alright, you've proven your point." He looked back at the others. "The wedding is next Saturday."

"I didn't expect that to work," Clark said, surprised.

It was only a few hours later that Vera was able to breathe, talk and walk without feeling as much pain again. She had explained what happened, and Wally had held her closely. Now, she was looking at wedding dress designs with the Wonder Women and Barbara Gordon while Shayera milled awkwardly near them. Barbara and the Amazons sat on the couch, while Vera sat on the floor in front of them with Barbara braiding her hair. Her laptop computer sat on the coffee table in front of her, open on a page of bridal gowns online, and she, Shayera and the Amazons each had a catalogue of designs that Bruce had picked up in the city. "What about this one?" Diana pointed to a simple, elegant white gown. Its silhouette was an off-shoulder-strapped A-Line, with a breath-taking bodice. The bodice was laced and embroidered, and hugged the model's figure. It ended with an embroidered gold ribbon tied around the hips, higher on one side and sloping to the other and coming into a bow. From the bow, lengths of gold ribbon hung down the side of the skirt.

"Nice," said Bruce, looking over their shoulders. Vera raised an eyebrow.

"Do you mean the dress or the girl in it?" Bruce looked again at the page Diana held out.

"Both," he decided. Vera nodded in agreement.

"Bookmark it," she said to Diana. "That one was from the really big place here in Gotham?" Bruce and Diana nodded together.

"Vera?" called Wally.

"Yes?" Vera didn't look up from the dress catalogue.

"For the cake, do you want chocolate mud, or...?"

"You really need to ask me that?"

"You're right, chocolate it is." Vera grinned. Her smile stopped when she noticed her glass of water on the table shaking. Her eyes narrowed, and it stopped. Then the glass exploded in a rush of water. Vera turned her face away just in time for several shards of glass to miss grazing her cheek. When she was sure it was safe, she looked back at where the glass had been sitting. Water pooled on the table, and glass was scattered on the table and the floor. Shayera moved Vera's laptop away from the water.

"That was weird," she murmured. Vera nodded slowly.

"Nobody's been cut by any glass?" Bruce asked. The women shook their heads. It was then that Vera's ear-bud started to hum with a high-pitched whining in her ear. She pulled it out of her ear before it, too, exploded in her hand.

"Ouch," she said irritably.

"That shouldn't have happened," Diana said, a freezing tone in her voice. Then Wally ran in.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Someone's trying to kill me," Vera shrugged. "Seems to be the norm these days." In the corner of her eye, she saw a flicker of blonde hair disappearing from the window.

"Who have you ticked off that badly?" asked the young Lex. Vera glanced at him.

"You mean, as of late? Well, Jenny, I guess."

"Three attempts in one day? And making things explode? Not her style," Shayera said.

"Neither was squeezing my heart, before today," Vera pointed out. "In fact, before recently, murder in general wasn't her style at all." She glanced at the other Justice League's collective expression. "Out of the two of us, Jenny was the sweet lamb. I was... Well, she made me look like the Joker."

"Is that why you two get along so well?" wondered the Flash. The Green Lantern slapped the back of his head.

"Yes," Vera replied. "One psychopath does what the quieter psychopath tells him to do. And to answer your next question, I'm not locked up in Arkham because Bruce knows there would be no point. He also knows I would enjoy the company too much." She returned to the subject at hand. "I don't believe that this is really Jenny at all. I mean..." She frowned. The room had stopped, and everybody was staring at her. No, behind her. She turned, sensing a presence that hadn't been there before. Then she jumped. The crystal blue eyes looking at her steadily weren't the fierce, bloodshot eyes she had looked into earlier that day. Now, instead of a blood-stained black dress, Jenny was wearing a clean, white one. Suspiciously, Vera took a step back. Jenny stayed where she was.

"It's me," she said.

"I can see that," Vera said shakily.

"No, it's really me. Not that... evil cow you've seen."

"Cow?" Vera echoed.

"You're right, that was harsh," Jenny said thoughtfully. "I'll apologise... no, I won't. She's trying to kill you." Vera just stared at Jenny. "Oh! You haven't figured this out yet. I should explain. This is the real me. Sweet, innocent lamb Jenny. The me that's trying to kill you isn't me at all, just a manifestation of your evil side and fears brought to life by that Kryptonite mix, taking on the form of me. I've been protecting you from that."

"What was the last thing you said to me?" Vera asked abruptly.

"I told you I would come back to you," Jenny replied simply. Hesitantly, Vera stepped forward, and reached to touch Jenny's face. When she felt the warm skin underneath her fingertips, she drew her hand back.

"How-?"

"It's complicated."

"But it's – it's really you?"

"Yes." Jenny nodded.

"Oh, my god," Vera gasped. She pulled Jenny into a tight hug. When they finally drew apart, Vera looked back at the others. Wally stepped forward, and immediately Jenny was wrapped in another hug.

"Wally!" she exclaimed joyfully. "Congratulations! But what took you so long to propose?" Wally's eyes widened.

"I..." Jenny just laughed and shook her head.

"Ok, we'll come back to that later." She glanced back at the Justice League and Luthors. "I see everybody's getting along splendidly." It was then that the Luthors got a good look at her.

"I know you!" said the younger Lex. "You were the girl in the bar!" He frowned. "That's a first."

"What, you don't normally remember blondes you meet in bars?" Blushing, Lex looked down at his shoes. "Yes, that was me. Inter-dimensional travel. It's fun, actually."

"So... Wait. You knew about all of this?" Vera asked. Jenny looked into her eyes. It was dark in the Bat Cave, but Jenny seemed luminous. Her eyes, especially, shone in a way that Vera didn't remember them shining.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could have told you more before now. The only way to reach you before today was to turn up in your dreams, and only for a few seconds. Now that I'm here, I guess I can tell you what I know."

"Please do," said Bruce. Jenny grinned at him.

"Going to pretend you're not glad to see me?" Bruce just looked at the blonde girl for a moment, then smiled and stepped forward to hug her. "Alright, I'll get to the point."

"Good gracious!" exclaimed Alfred, walking into the Bat Cave with tea. He stared at Jenny for a moment, then turned to Bruce. "I'll fetch an extra cup, shall I, Master Bruce?"

Jenny sipped the lemon tea. "Oh, my God! Do you know how long it's been since I last had tea?" she exclaimed to Vera.

"At least a year and a half, I'm guessing?"

"I don't remember, that's why I was asking." Vera burst out laughing. When she was able to breathe again, she turned to her friend. "Ok. I don't know everything, like why the collision of worlds is connected to Lex or Vera, but I can fill in most of the gaps. Where do you want me to start?"

"When you died," Vera replied quietly. Jenny's lips twitched.

"Ok. So, I was shot, you know that. But the bullet was magic, and it allowed me to... I guess you can say it allowed me to live, just not... here. I could see things happening in alternate universes, if I wanted to, but I couldn't make contact or travel between them. It was like I was a ghost, and I guess I was. Until the universes started clashing. Something had happened to upset the balance of the scales, something that shouldn't have happened. But anyway, it opened up an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I found a portal of some kind; it allowed me to contact you. Of course, the gods found out, and allowed me to come to you again, and travel. Seeing as I knew someone who could stop the end of all existence, they figured they might as well. So, I recruited Lex, and opened the portals for these guys," Jenny nodded at the younger Luthor and the other Justice League, "to come through. And yes, when it's over, you will immediately be returned to your world, moments after you left, so it'll be like this never happened. The JLU are very capable, of course, but your world needs you."

"Upset the balance of the scales? The gods?" asked Diana. Jenny smiled.

"They're kind of like your gods. There's a god of justice, a god of life, a god of death, and a god of balance. If you die by a mystical cause, if you were chosen to, you are allowed into this dimension outside of time and space, and they make a judgement on your life. If you get a bad judgement, you are sent to hell according to your beliefs. If you get a good judgement, like I did, you get the choice of either both serving and living in that dimension, or going to heaven according to what you believe. I chose to serve the gods of balance and justice. They share their servants, since they have to work together to keep the peace – it works, surprisingly. That was how I found out about the scales. I don't know what happened, but it did and it shouldn't have." She glanced around at the blank faces. "Ok. Let me draw you a map." Batman passed Jenny a drawing pad and pen. "Wow. You actually keep things handy, don't you?" She got to work drawing. She drew several lines and circles on the paper. "So, say your world is here, yours is here, and Lex's is there. My dimension is here, in the centre. Now, these circles are other universes, all on an axis or scale, if you will. Something happens here," she drew an X on the circle she had designated as Vera's, "that shouldn't happen. The balance of good and evil is uneven, and so that puts more weight on this world. That tips the scale, and we all know what happens when more weight is dropped on one side. Anything on the other side gets tipped along with the scales."

"I see," Wally nodded. Jenny grinned at him. "So... We get rid of the unevenness, balance it all out again, and then it's all hunky dory?"

"Something like that."

"Well, that was simple," Vera blinked.

"Well, we still don't know what happened to the balance."

"I think I do." She looked up. "You said the Kryptonite mixture I was exposed to allowed my evil side to manifest itself into a physical form?" Jenny shifted uneasily.

"I wish I could confirm that that was it. But something else has happened, as well."

"And you don't have any idea what that could be?" asked Bruce. Jenny sighed.

"Every universe I've seen... Lois and Clark are happy together. Except for here."

"Do you think that's it? Lois betraying us wasn't supposed to happen?" Vera asked. Jenny's eyes looked doubtful.

"I think it could be a combination of the two. In every world I've seen, none of this happened. Lois doesn't betray the good guys, Vera... You don't exist in most of the other worlds. In the few that you do, you don't exist as you do here. You're not involved with the Justice League."

"What? How on Earth do they live without me?" Vera gasped in mock horror. She grinned and shrugged when Wally shot her an amused smirk.

"Not as well as these guys have," Jenny admitted, gesturing to the other half of the combined Justice League. "But then, they don't work together as well, and they don't have the Justice League Unlimited, among other things."

"It sounds like we have our work cut out for us," said Bruce.

Vera and Jenny sat on the balcony outside Vera's window, each holding a glass of mulled red wine. "So," said Jenny, looking out over the garden view, "you and Wally are finally together."

"What do you mean finally?" Vera asked, leaning back on the stone railing.

"Oh, come on. I was rooting for you guys to get together the whole time. When you fell pregnant, I thought that you would finally get out of your bubble. He adores you, and you didn't do a very good job of hiding your own feelings."

"I thought..."

"I wanted you to move on," Jenny said firmly. She smiled. "I know that what we had was special to you. It was to me, too. But I see now that we're not meant to be together. I know you felt it, too." Vera looked down at her wine.

"I mean... I loved you, and you'll always have that part of me..."

"We knew we wouldn't last forever." Vera nodded. "It was good while it did last, but we're better off as friends." When Vera finally looked back up at her, Jenny grinned. "I'm so happy for you! When is the wedding?"

"Next Saturday."

"That was fast. Have you at least got the dress sorted?"

"That's what we were doing before the bitch tried to kill me," said Vera with a slight grin. Jenny shook her head.

"You enjoy this life, don't you?"

"How could you tell? Was it the secret costume hanging up in my closet? Or the references to private jokes with the Joker?" Vera looked out over the garden. She could see Clark out there, trying to gather his thoughts together. "You didn't hear that," she said in his direction. He turned and gave her a thumbs up, then turned away again. She turned her attention back to Jenny.

"It's the way you look when you talk about it. The littlest things. Your face lights up and you have that little grin. Even when you'd first started training, all of that was there. There's a new kind of energy about you."

"That could be the Kryptonite. I hear it does wonders for the human health."

"You know what I mean." Jenny's clear blue eyes looked at her pointedly. "You were starting to change in the beginning, I know that, and I know a lot can change just in the amount of time I was gone... But something happened to bring it to a whole new level." Vera thought for a moment.

"You did." She looked into her friend's eyes. "You died. That was what pushed me. Then everything else that's happened in the last year... That just pushed me harder."

"And now it's pushing you too hard."

"Perhaps," Vera agreed quietly. "But I'll live."

"You died before."

"Then that's proof," Vera grinned. She raised her glass in a toast. Jenny raised hers as well, and the girls took a drink.

"You know, there's one thing I didn't mention earlier."

"What's that?"

"Now that I've left the realm of the dead, I can't go back. So..." Jenny glanced at Vera, and the two young women laughed.