Zoning In

As Kara opened her eyes, she found herself looking at a dark, gray sky which made it look very ominous and depressive. It was enough to cause miserableness. There were no clouds and occasional light would come in. Even though it had no clouds, the sky looked as if it was swirling. Kara felt the ground underneath her, her hands ran through it. The ground was rough and little pebbles of rock were all around. She felt she had been out for hours and all she could remember was being pulled into the vortex…along with Lex.

"Lex?" she called out. But the only response she could get was an echo.

Getting up, Kara got a good view of the area. She saw tall, gray mountains all around. She was in an empty field full of small craters and ponds with no water. She looked all around for Lex but found absolutely no one with her. She was confused. Kara was sure he would have landed beside her. Kara had been to the Phantom Zone before so this was nothing new to her. She had to find the escape hatch and so she began to head northbound. She had to get out as soon as she could. Having no power whatsoever, Kara had to be wary of other criminals. Back on Krypton, Jor-El had sent every dangerous alien from every galaxy to this one place. Those very criminals were still in the Phantom Zone.

At the same time, she had to find Lex Luthor. Kara knew he was a dangerous enemy but at the same time, she did not want him to suffer such pain and torture at the hands of the one enemy that Kara was afraid of: Zod. General Zod was in charge of the military guild back on Krypton. She knew her uncle Jor-El and him had been friends long ago but somehow Zod had turned corrupt and almost sent Krypton on the verge of war and destruction. It was then that Jor-El had sent him along with his minions to the Phantom Zone where they will stay there forever. Kara had to stay focused and hoped she didn't encounter the man. The man was still a trained soldier and made him a dangerous foe.

Kara remembered the last time she went up against Zod the first time. She was more than lucky to get out of the zone. Kara thought she would have stayed there forever. It was a short reprieve. Hopefully she will get another chance to escape.

Frustrated beyond measure, Kara moved along. Perhaps she would meet Lex along the way. Suddenly as she got a few feet ahead, she felt a sharp pain in her legs and she fell down with a yell. She felt her legs were useless now and they could not obey her command to get up. Turning forward, she saw the reason and gasped. There stood along with a number of other hooded figures was a tall man in a long black coat. He was athletic and had an apparent mustache and beard. A 'Z' was emblazoned on his black suit.

"Kara Zor-El…" he said with a British accent. "How fortunate to see you once again..."

Kara could not believe it. It was Zod. It was bad enough worrying about the man, it was another to appear right after she was thinking about him. On impulse, she sent a fist towards him only for it to be caught and backhanded, putting her in a kneeling position again.

"If you come to this place, you better be expected to kneel…" he sneered. He then turned and walked away.

Immediately without warning, Kara was harshly grabbed by her shoulders and was led to where Zod was heading. There was no use struggling to escape. Kara knew there was no chance of attempting it.

It was a busy night and in the middle of the street, the Annihilator was perplexed at what had just occurred. Everything in the city looked remarkably different. There was no decay and no House of El logos. She ignored the beating of cars motioning for them to move away. Timmy was standing right next to her. He was still bruised but he had sustained no serious injury. She felt an emotion that could only be described as shame over what she did to Timmy and she had no idea why she felt it. She always attacked without feeling anything afterward in the process.

"So, Welcome to Earth-2 you guys. I take it you guys need some help?" Power Girl asked even though she knew the answer to that question.

"More than you know."

"First of all, I demand to know why you chose to commit such a reckless action in provoking me into killing you." Devyra said once she turned to look at Timmy.

"Well, you're still technically evil. Only a person who's good can stand up to such an evil being. Because I did what I did, we have ..." he pointed at Kara who gave a smile. "transported to Earth-2."

"We're in Earth-2 now? I did not expect this." The Annihilator gasped.

Timmy held up a strange metallic box in his left hand. It had Kryptonian symbols on it. Devyra was starting to suspect that it may be what she thought it was.

"That couldn't possibly be?" Devyra stuttered. "No wonder I didn't see it. I cannot see Kryptonian objects in my mind." she said with a murmurr.

"Umm...is she ok?" Power Girl frowned.

"Hopefully." He then spoke to Devyra. "I'll tell you why you're so troubled right now. Because you're too full of yourself." Timmy went on. "You didn't see my future because you thought I was irrelevant and so hence, you didn't bother. I really hope one day you will understand the feeling one gets when they contributed to the world, when they saved a child from a burning building or when they're standing up to people."

The Annihilator looked confused and felt overwhelmed now. "So how do we go back to our world?"

"I'm the only one who can see your potential. You're going to have to prove it." Timmy said seriously. "The only way to go back is for someone else to do a brave thing. I already did it. It's your turn." He then nodded to something he was seeing beside her.

Devyra turned to look at a homely couple with their arms around each other walking on a sidewalk while a suspicious looking man in a brown trenchcoat was following them intently.

A cavern, dark and eerie with a style that implied mysterious, along with many passageways that led to many other unusual places was where a detained Kara was being kept. Kara looked at her accommodations and of course, she sighed at the surroundings. Looking at her black suit, she saw that it was torn in several places. Kara did not say anything as she was led to her cell. Time and time again, she was always put in difficult situations and she was tired of it. Kara thought that she now, will never amount to anything.

The door opened and in came in the man most hated on Krypton and Earth. General Zod. Putting his hands on his back, he circled around Kara and it was clear he was surveying her black suit. There was no silence and Kara wondered what was about to happen.

"The House of El..." he began as he looked at the dark emblem on her chest.

Facing Kara now, he spoke. "You have grown strong... and beautiful still. You know, your uncle was a great man and a legend on Krypton. He was foolhardy but yet applicable in most occasions. I still yet to see beneath that hard exterior, that you matter."

Kara was confused.

"Do you believe you could be as great as your father or your cousin?"

Kara said nothing and just stared back.

"Your silence suggests you do. But you cannot resist the darkness in you. That is why Darkseid is planning to destroy you."

Kara looked shocked now.

"Yes, even though he was my enemy back on Krypton, Darkseid has come to me and told me what you have done. The plan is already in place. Your adoptive world will be destroyed soon enough. But you will not be there to save every single, worthless human. Long story short, you are going to die here. But not quick enough.

The door opened again and a bald man who struggled against his captors came in. He was wearing a familiar metallic green suit. It was still damaged.

"Unhand me!"

The guards pushed him and locked the door. As he turned around, Kara stood with a grim expression. Lex Luthor was in a cell with her. He too, was equally surprised.

"This man..." Zod stepped toward Luthor. "...is also an enemy of you and Kal-El." he muttered and frowned at the man. "Your mind is great, human, but it will not make me respect you anymore than a mere ant on the ground. You too will die here." Zod then stepped aside and exited the cell but not before turning his back and told them.

"Enjoy these last moments together." Zod whispered. He then stepped out and immediately metallic bars appeared on the doorway.

"Well, I can't say I'm happy to see you." Lex replied.

Kara ignored him and instead she paced around the room she was in. She could not believe that her arch-enemy was with her. She tried as hard as she could to focus on something else. Kara thought there had to be a way to escape.

"Right of course, you have all the reason to hate me…"

Kara turned back toward him.

"But you're going to need me if we're going to get through this."

"Do not talk as if you actually care about my well-being. You're about to destroy Earth in a few hours! What makes you so helpful?" she asked with venom.

"I'm trained as an escape artist as well. I told you before and to your cousin…" Luthor then began to take off the shards of his suit leaving him in a white flannel shirt and black pants. "Mind over muscle." He then tapped his head in emphasis.

"Let me guess, you're asking me to trust you." Kara got ahead of him. "What assurances do I have that if we somehow make it to the escape hatch, you won't pull something and leave me here? You were the one who wanted to send me here."

"I don't think you have much of a choice. They're using you so you can open the gateway to Earth. But Zod here still holds a grudge against your cousin which I can relate..." Lex turned back to the door. "But because you're not him, he wants to see you suffer first instead. You're actually going to need my expertise."

Kara knew where this was leading to. "Don't bother with more dramatic semantics. I know Zod's going to put us in a gladiatorial arena. I know he wants to make an example of us. He hates me and he hates humans."

"Did I ever tell you you're very optimistic?"

Kara had to roll her eyes. Lex asked something.

"Why would they bother putting us in a gladiatorial arena when they could use you to escape?"

"Two reasons. Darkseid and you." she said furiously.

"I guess Earth is already being invaded..." Lex said. "Zod is not going to bother going to an Earth that is about to be destroyed."

"Shut up!" Kara yelled and sat on the corner. She closed her eyes and put her hands in her hair in frustration. She could hear Lex chuckle.

Jade barged into Timmy's office and looked around. He was nowhere in sight. What caught her eye was the broken window. She looked outside and fearing the worst, looked for a body. She saw nothing and looked back at the room. She saw several shelves broken and random material on the floor. It was then that Jade spotted a small box by the window. Jade picked it up and looked inside, nothing was in there. Jade realized that Timmy had somehow activated the Kryptonian Alter Box. It was a device that allowed the user to go to alternate dimensions. But only someone committing a worthy act could open it.

Timmy what did you do? she thought.

A loud shaking occurred around the room. Jade was totally unexpected for it and looked outside where a sky had suddenly turned red and lightning occurred all around. Looking outside the window, Jade's eyes turned wide at the sight of massive fleet of unknown ships floating in the sky. The ships were cone-like and had a hard, jagged surface.

"Oh my God!" she cried.

Dinah Lance came into the room, looking outside the window as well. She also had a look that was beyond shock.

"It's starting." she said as she stood beside Jade.

As the night turned darker, a couple wandered off in a secluded area in the city. Everything felt calm and the illuminating lights gave the feeling of warmth. The couple walking on the sidewalk were having a discussion.

"Sally, do you really believe that?" the man chuckled.

"Of course I do. It's pretty obvious. Science and Religion can both get along. There are some things in this world that can't be explained by conventional scientific methods."

"How do you explain the concept of the Big Bang Theory? No scientist can properly explain when Time actually happened." The man countered. Suddenly their romantic moment was changed for the worse when a few gangmembers demanded their valuables.

Fear and panic spread through their faces as two thieves came out of nowhere and each producing a gun and pointed them at their direction. The man had no choice but to comply. He was about to give him his items.

"You will do better by just leaving them alone." A voice cried out behind the criminal.

A woman wearing a black skin tight suit and a black cape came appeared at the end of the alleyway. She walked casually towards him. Her face was full of anger and determination.

"Hey you want to be a hero?"

"Unfortunately I have to." With a wave of her hand, the gun was smacked out of the robber's hand.

"What the-?"

The robber's face hit the brick wall next to him. Devyra looked at the man's body in the ground satisfied. She was unfazed when she heard a gunshot on her head. Turning around, she saw a gang member holding a gun towards her. It had fired. The bald gang member looked surprised that the bullet hit the ground. Opening her palm, Devyra gave him a shove to his chest that sent him flying backward to the surface of a dumpster. As soon as the men were subdued, she began to walk away.

"Wait!" the woman spoke to her.

Devyra turned around to face the couple.

"You saved our lives…"

"And?" Devyra knew it was obvious.

"Thank you…you're proof miracles do happen."

Devyra did not know how to take that response. At first, she wanted to kill the couple herself. But now saving them which was the first time she ever did, the Annihilator was feeling conflicted. She wanted to leave now and so she did, without a response.

A laser blast hit the side of the building sending debris and mortar to the ground. It was one of many laser blasts that came from one of the mysterious ships in the sky. The city was getting ravaged and people all around were getting killed by the incoming fire. The United States Marines were already getting overwhelmed by the tremendous fire coming from a powerful force that fell from the ship's hangers. An army full of black armored sporting omega symbols on their chest marched in the street and fired upon the innocent people.

Dinah in her full Black Canary outfit sent out waves of screams that took down half the army. She sent a few kicks and punches to the soldiers and even fired a few rounds from her two pistols. Tim Drake, as Robin came in his motorcycle and fired several rounds to the dark soldiers, who fired their own weapons back. He received a graze that almost knocked him off his bike. Drake was a bit rusty. It was a long time since he put his fighting moves to use. He sped forward and after dodging several blasts, Tim made his bike fly and hit a quarter of the army. He had since jumped off and saw his bike explode amidst the soldiers. Taking out a sharp blade shaped like a bird, he swung it to a nearby soldier in his chest, bringing him to the ground.

The soldiers seemed to be cyborgs of a sort. As soon as Robin stabbed a soldier, electricity from its chest came spewing out. Trying to go as fast as he could, he took out an extra blade and slashed away at the cybernetic soldiers. The numbers kept increasing as new ships entered from a vortex in the sky. Both Dinah and Tim looked up.

"Oh f-" Dinah began to say when she was struck from an explosion near them. She grunted and felt her leg. It was injured.

"Come on!" Tim who had lost his eyemask in the fight, grabbed Dinah by her arm and put it around her. He helped her walk. Several more explosions occurred all around. They had to go to an area where they wouldn't be detected for the battle was getting worse.

"What the hell are these things?" A frustrated Tim asked out loud as he leaned by a wall in a random alley.

A ship that looked like a small Harrier jet landed in front of them. It was battered and full of blast points. Jade came out and looked at them.

"It's getting bad!" she cried.

"What the hell are we going to do now?" Dinah yelled. The explosions were still going off. Looking up they heard a sound and it belonged to several cyborgs landing in front of them. They shot their weapons at them and a few went down. Jade hopping out from her plane, produced two small guns and fired them at the cyborgs.

Suddenly one of the large ships crashed landed on the street sending out dust and debris. They all coughed and got up to avoid more dust. Dinah, Tim and Jade ran to the other side of the building where they were clear.

"What brought that down?" Dinah asked confused.

Tim pointed up. "Look!"

The three looked up to see two figures floating and fighting off several cyborgs. On top of the ship, Devyra appeared and began to tear the ship apart from the outside. Smoke then occurred and the ship began to plummet down. Their eyes were mostly on the woman wearing a white suit and a red cape.

"Is that Power Girl?" Tim asked.

"How can she be here?" Jade asked.

"I brought her here..."

They all turned around and saw Timmy who was out of breath but determined nevertheless.

"They're retreating. Let's go!" Timmy motioned them to follow them.

Timmy along with newcomer Power Girl and a pensive annihilator returned back to the Room. The Room was heavily damaged and in need of repair. The others were already waiting for them. Jade was deeply overwhelmed at the sudden appearance of Power Girl. She waited for an explanation.

"The reason I came is because Timmy has the heart of a hero." Power Girl explained and had a look that signalled that it should have been obvious.

"Not following...' Dinah frowned.

"Might as well explain..." she continued. "Timmy activated the 'Alter Box' which you know can be done by...dun, dun, dun!" she added a dramatic drum roll.

"A person committing an act of bravery and courage." Jade responded with her hands to her chest.

"Only Kara or 'you-know-who' can activate it effortlessly cuz you know they're already destiny 'fulfillers.'" Power Girl added with air quotes.

"So yeah, thanks for almost killing me." A smiling Timmy said looking at Devyra, who gave a look that signalled she was annoyed.

"Listen umm...Kara." Jade said with difficulty. She still found it awkward that although Power Girl was technically Kara as well, Jade had to remember that she was from an alternate Earth. "I understand this may be a strange transition or turn of events I should say-"

"Are you kidding? I'm glad I'm back here. This is where the fun is!" she said joyously and looked longingly at Tim Drake.

"Welcome to the team..." Tim spoke as he cleared his throat. "In case you're unaware of this so called mystery, lemme fill in some blanks: a piece of Kryptonite was stolen, the man who acquired it has been taken and Kara's super suit has been stolen."

"That's quite a dilemma." Kara said with her eyebrows raised. "The fact that all of this was stolen can mean only thing ladies and gents, someone is out to systematically destroy Kara. They're out to degrade her and tarnish everything she stands for." Power Girl then walked around the room.

"This... Jake Anderson Darkseid took. Obviously he holds no true, grand purpose. My theory goes like this: Darkseid would never take a human alive, Anderson is going to be used for something big. A vessel of some kind."

"That's quite a theory." Tim asked.

"Still, we're only few. We need more help. We have about fourteen hours left before whatever happens, happens." Dinah said exasperated.

"I'm already to trying to re-activate the GL ring. I repaired it. Now...all it needs is someone worthy to wear it." Timmy said while looking at Jade.

Jade sighed and looked down.

"But seriously though, something tells me we're going to get through this." Power Girl smiled.

"You really think we will? Because if you do, you're incredibly naive." Lex sneered. He was holding a large sword in his hand.

Lex and Kara were both dressed up in gladiator wear on their shoulders, elbows and legs. They were in a narrow corridor and facing a door where they could only hear the chanting from millions of spectators. Kara did not really want to hear what Lex had to say. She only cared about getting through what lay behind the door. As the door opened, Kara gasped and realized she might not be getting home.

"Great..." Lex sighed as he was looking at the same thing.