Invasion Earth Chapter 20, a dc elseworlds fanfic

Chapter 20

Ursa stands next to Kara Zor-El, a position she is most uncomfortable with. There was just something about Kara that irked her. Always had. She had never understood why her General had given Kara command of the Kandorian Guard. Saying that she had never truly understood this favouritism he had shown the members of the House of El. The House, in her opinion, should have been dissolved like all the others of the ones that opposed them but no. Her General decided to take in the whining, screaming infant son of Jor-El and raise the little brat as his own son.

True she had gotten much enjoyment from bulling him for years or she had until their meeting yesterday. She could still feel the impression of his fingers on her neck. How and when he became so powerful Ursa has no idea and now she will have to see more of Kal-El because from what she hears General Zod is taking him home to be 're-educated'. Personally she would just kill him and get it over with.

Ah General Zod has finished his speech. Now they can get to the good part. Ursa always did like a good execution.

"Now the sentence of the Justice League will be carried out with all of you to bear witness to the fate of those foolish enough to reject the greatness of the Krypton," Zod announces. "My son Kal-El will start with the decapitation of the one known as Wonder Woman. Kal-El."

Ursa observes Kal-El straightens up like he is at attention.

"Carry out the sentence," Zod commands.

She watches Kal-El raise the sword back and hesitate. She can hear General Zod remind Kal-El what will happen if he doesn't carry out the execution. Kal-El chimes in obedience and then exchanges some words of affection with the woman which she finds meaningless. He is still a foolish child after all it seems. She watches as Kal-El swings the sword. Head comes away from body but not the one she was expecting. She moves forward in horror at what Kal-El has done but she only gets a few steps forward before she feels a sharp pain rip right through her. Blood spills from her mouth as she looks down to see the point of a sword sticking out of her chest where her heart is.

The last thing Ursa hears before the darkness claims her is Kara Zor-El smugly whispering in her ear. "Told you to watch your back."

Kara stands next to Ursa while suppressing any urge she has to kill the dark haired bitch and to concentrate on the upcoming executions. She has to be professional and hope Kal is not going to do what she fears he might do. Fears strong enough for her to call in a couple of extra ships from her battle-group that she had been keeping hidden on the edge of the solar system just in case something unforeseen came up. She looks around and judges that she has succeeded in having her troops outnumber the ones belonging to the Argosian Guard. Good. That's good. It will make it easier just in case Kal does the monumentally stupid which he won't. Nope. It is just an irrational fear she has. Kal knows better. Kal would surely know what would happen next if he did the unthinkable.

Rao how long can General Zod whitter on?! It seems like hours since he started this speech. She locks eyes with her cousin for a moment and can see the anguish in his eyes at what he is being asked to do. He always was far more sentimental and compassionate than a proper Kryptonian should have been. On top of that he had let slip yesterday that this woman had had a far deeper influence on him than she should have had but she has faith that in the end he will do the correct thing. And in case she is wrong she has made the appropriate arrangements. Oh thank Rao. General Zod has finally finished his speech. Now onto the good part.

Kara observes Kal straightens up like he is at attention.

"Carry out the sentence," Zod commands.

Kara watches Kal-El draw the sword back and then hesitate. Oh Rao no. He isn't going to do this. General Zod reminds Kal-El of what will happen and her cousin responds that he will obey. She relaxes at his words but only for a moment as he exchanges vows of love with the princess on her knees. Damn her cousin to Apokolips. She knows instantly what he is going to do. She touches her communicator on her wrist to send the signal just as Kal-El swings the sword. Head comes away from body. Kara catches Ursa move forward and in one swift motion she draws her sword and drives it into Ursa's back and right through her heart with great satisfaction. She had been wanting to do this for a long time. She takes one moment, and only one moment because she knows she won't get another, to whisper in Ursa's ear smugly. "Told you to watch your back."

Then all hell breaks loose.

Diana is on her knees before Kal who holds in his hand her sword. General Zod is prattling some garbage about the greatness of the Kryptonian Empire but she is choosing to ignore most of it and focus her attention on Kal. She can see this is breaking his heart. She herself has mentally prepared for this moment and death holds no fears for her. Only sadness at not seeing her mother and sisters again and great sadness at not seeing through to the end what she and Kal have together. It would have been interesting to see if it could have worked. After what seems an eternity General Zod seems to finish his speech.

Diana observes Kal straightens up like he is at attention.

"Carry out the sentence," Zod commands.

Diana watches as he draws the sword back. This is it. Then he hesitates for a moment before General Zod whispers to Kal a reminder of what he will do if Kal doesn't kill her. He looks down at her with a gaze that begs forgiveness which she silently gives.

"I love you," he says.

"I love you," she says in return and closes her eyes and awaits whatever will greet her in the next life. Her hearing picks up her sword cutting through the air...over her head?

Her eyes fly open just in time to catch head come away from body. Then at the back of the stage she sees Kal's cousin murder some dark haired woman. Then all hell breaks loose around her.

General Zod delivers his speech to the assembled masses and to those who are watching on the broadcasts. He will show these humans the glory and greatness of the Empire he created out of the ashes of the civil war that almost destroyed Krypton. It was all about glory or more accurately restoring it. The council that ruled Krypton before his victory had no vision at all. They were all happy to oversee the slow but gradual decline of the Kryptonian race. A decline that would have led to its eventual extinction. That was a fact of the universe. Races that did not change or adapt died and Zod would not allow that.

His people could be great. After they were few beings in the universe that could match the power of a Kryptonian so there were few obstacles to them reclaiming that greatness and their rightful place as the dominant force in the universe. That is all Zod had ever wanted. At first he tried reform by peaceful means but the council refused to listen to him, especially Jor-El. They remained steadfastly opposed to his ideas and stuck in the old ways so he had no choice but to resort to a violent takeover.

Yes he regretted that some would die but better some than all. After all he did it for the long term good of Krypton and in the end he was right. Look at Krypton now. It reached out across the stars bringing all the benefits of its knowledge to those not so fortunate to possess them. It brought order to a chaotic universe. His leadership had achieved this and the skill and leadership of those underneath him whom he had appointed. Those like his son Kal-El who before now had been an excellent soldier and leader. He had obviously been corrupted by this Wonder Woman whom he had been keeping in his quarters. Zod had allowed her to stay there until the time of her execution. It made little difference really as long as Kal-El put her to death when the moment came. The moment being now.

"Now the sentence of the Justice League will be carried out with all of you to bear witness to the fate of those foolish enough to reject the greatness of the Krypton," he announces. "My son Kal-El will start with the decapitation of the one known as Wonder Woman. Kal-El."

Zod observes Kal-El straightens up like he is at attention.

"Carry out the sentence," he commands.

Zod watches his son raise the sword back ready to strike. Good. It seems Kal-El is going to obey him. The alternative if he refused was unpleasant but if necessary Zod would order the destruction of the human race. Then he can see that Kal-El is hesitating or having second thoughts. Unacceptable. Zod steps forward.

"Kal-El," he hisses in anger and disappointment. "Remember what will happen if you don't do this," he reminds his son.

"Yes General," Kal-El chimes in obedience. Better Zod thinks to himself before he catches his son utter some declaration of love for the woman. Yes Zod will definitely have to take Kal-El back to Krypton. He needs a severe re-education on what is expected of a Kryptonian especially his own son. Kal-El swings the sword...over the head of the woman!!??!!

Before Zod can move an inch or react in any way Kal-El has swung all the way round and Zod registers the sensation of the blade slicing through his neck. The last thing he sees is Kal-El looking at him with steely blue eyes full of hate, anger and...surprise?

Kal-El can't let Diana die no matter what so he listens to his heart, summons all the hatred and anger that he has been storing up for the last few days in regards to his father and swings around 180 degrees and slices through his father's neck. He blinks in shock and surprise as his father's head comes away from his body. Despite the decision he had made it is still a surprise to him that he actually did it. Both fall to the ground and blood begins to ooze out, spreading out across the stage leaving one question screaming through Kal-El's mind. What has he just done!!??!!

So in shock is Kal-El that he barely notices the chaos that suddenly erupts around him. Kryptonian weapons are suddenly going off in all directions. Next thing he knows is that he is being shoved to the ground. He is surprised by who it is. "Kara?"

After dealing with Ursa Kara pushes her cousin to the ground before he gets caught in the crossfire. Kara had made sure to equip all her extra troops with weapons specifically designed to kill fellow Kryptonians. They emit a beam of intense red solar energy stripping the target of their abilities and then the energy discharge of the weapon does the rest. They are actually her own creation. She has many times over the years ended up doing Zod's dirty work in killing those Kryptonians he considered enemies that had managed to flee Krypton and will Kryptonians aren't east to kill with all their abilities. Hence the red solar light. The signal she sent was a pre-agreed one she had swiftly arranged over night to let her troops know to carry out what she had instructed them too if Kal did the unthinkable. Kara knew they would obey her. Kara has been in command long enough and they have been through so much together that their loyalty to her outweighs their loyalty to General Zod and to the Empire.

Kara turns her immediate attention back to her cousin. "You are just stupid beyond belief! Do you know that?!" she almost screams at him.

Kal-El narrows his eyes in anger at her tone of voice as he gets over the shock of what he has done. He is a soldier after all and he knows how to make himself focus on the here and now. "Don't start Kara," he warns her. He looks around and sees Diana on the ground flat in front of him. "Diana!" he shouts as he moves next to her keeping low. He lifts her head up and sees she is alright so he breaks the bonds that are holding her.

Once free Diana throws her arms around Kal's neck and squeezes for all she is worth. She can't believe he did that for her.

"Enough already!" Kara shouts annoyed. "If you haven't worked it out Kal those weapons could kill us if we are caught in the crossfire."

Kal-El looks around. Kara's soldiers are fighting those loyal to Ursa and Zod and getting caught in the crossfire are all the innocent people who had come to watch the execution. Rao there must be dozens of humans dead at the very least if not many, many more.

He ducks lower and makes sure Diana does too. "What about the Kandorian ships in orbit?" Kal-El asks his cousin.

"Ooh good point," Kara says like she had forgotten about them which she hadn't really. The signal she sent was for her ships as well for them to destroy Zod's ship and his escorts. She activates her communicator. "Zara," she says addressing her lieutenant. "Report!"

The sounds of explosions can be heard in the background. "We have managed to destroy two of the ships before they could react," Zara reports. Another explosion goes off.

"Zara!" Kara shouts with real concern.

"We're having problems penetrating the other two's shields," she reports. "They are a new design we weren't aware of."

Kara looks at her cousin with concern. Kal-El acts instantly and activates his communicator. "Captain Kond-Ah. Respond," he orders.

"Kond-Ah here," is the reply. "Commander. The Kandorian Elite ships have fired on General Zod's cruiser and the escorts," he reports.

"I know. I want you to aid them in their attack."

"Commander?" Kond-Ah asks in surprise.

"That is an order Captain," Kal-El says with commanding authority before he adds in a softer tone. "Please Kond. If our friendship means anything then do as I ask."

Kond takes a few seconds to think on it before answering. "As you wish Commander. Kond-Ah out." Kond-Ah turns to his weapons lieutenant. "Power up the weapons immediately and target the Argosian ships," he orders. He turns to his communications officer. "Order the other ship captains to do the same," he tells him. He isn't sure how many will obey. Most of them will be as shocked as he is right now. He had been watching the broadcast of the execution and saw Kal kill Zod. He could barely believe his own eyes when he saw it.

He pushes such thoughts to the back of his mind as he turns his attention to the battle raging in orbit. The Kandorian ships had the element of surprise but now that the other ships have their shields powered up the battle wasn't going so well. Even though it was 3 against 2.

A Kandorian ship explodes. 2 against 2 now and Kond also noticed the red light the Kandorian ships were bathing the Argosian ones in but wasn't sure what it was for. It did, though, remind him of the red glow of the Kryptonian sun.

"Weapons powered up," his lieutenant informs him.

"Fire!" Kond-Ah orders.

As his ship fires Kond is pleasantly surprised to see the majority of the rest of the fleet open fire too. With such overwhelming fire-power the Argosian ships' shields soon collapse and the ships explode in two huge fireballs. It was over in one sense. In another it was only just beginning. "Inform Commander Kal-El that the ships are destroyed and the get me Lieutenant Asha Del-Nar on the surface," he orders.

"Yes sir," the communications officer pipes in obedience.

"And connect it to my communicator using encryption protocol Kond 34G," he instructs.

"Yes Captain," the communication officer responds.

"I'll be in my quarters," he informs his lieutenant mostly so he will take over. Kond-Ah then turns and heads off the bridge because the conversation he is about to have with Asha is definitely one that needs to be in private.

Back on the planet surface Kal-El receives the news of the destruction of the Argosian ships with relief. He turns his attention to Kara. "Thank you," he tells his cousin.

Kara shrugs. "Don't mention it. I had a feeling you were going to do something like this."

"Why did you assist?" Diana asks Kara because to Diana it made little sense from what she knew of the Kryptonian woman.

"Because Kal is family," Kara replies simply.

Diana stares at Kara briefly wondering if perhaps she has misjudged her slightly. Loyalty like that was not an attribute Diana thought Kal's cousin possessed.

After awhile the shooting stops and the 3 of them get to their feet. Kara dusts herself down while Kal-El checks Diana over. "Are you ok?" he asks her.

Diana takes a moment to assess herself. "I believe so."

Kal-El throws his arms around her in relief. "Thank Rao. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you."

Diana wraps her arms around him and places her hands on his back and soothingly rubs up and down. "Me neither but I'm fine and you're fine..."

"And Zod is dead," Kara not so helpfully reminds everyone.

Kal-El lets out a sigh, releases Diana and looks at what he has done. He looks at his father's headless body lying in Zod's own blood. He can still barely believe he did that. He listened to his heart and forgot all about the consequences of his actions. Now he has to deal with them.

"Lor will not rest until we're dead now. You know that," Kara says interrupting her cousin's musings and basically airing one of the consequences he now faces.

"I know," he confirms for her that he is aware of how his brother will react.

"Diana!"

Kal-El turns his head to see Hal Jordan walking over to them holding his hand over a wound on his left arm.

Diana moves quickly over to Hal. "Hal! You're hurt!"

"It's just a flesh wound," Hal says dismissively. He had been grazed during the fire fight by an energy beam. "Some of our friends weren't so lucky," he tells Diana.

Diana looks along the stage and sees immediately 3 of her friends in the League lying still quite obviously dead. She makes her way over to them. Michael Holt, Mari Jiwe McCabe and John Henry Irons also known as Mr Terrific, Vixen and Steel but above all they were her friends. Diana closes her eyes and utters a silent prayer for their souls as well as one for all the innocent people who were caught in the crossfire. A brief summary of the scene she had made had showed it obvious that the death toll was going to be quite high.

Once done she turn back to Hal. "The others?" she asks.

"Saved although one or two are like me. A little bit worse for wear."

"Saved?" Diana asks with great puzzlement. "Saved by who?"

Hal indicates with his head for her to look behind her. Diana turns round and bursts into a smile. "Flash! J'onn!" she shouts before she leaps down from the stage to greet them. She had wondered what had happened to them after hearing of Gotham's destruction. She knew that is where they must have gone after the base in Metropolis was overrun. "How did you survive?" she asks her friends.

"Luckily old Bats built his cave to survive anything," Flash explains in his own way.

"I never even noticed you," she admits although to be fair she was trying to keep her head down and not get killed.

Flash grins. "Fastest man in the universe princess."

"Oh it's the universe now is it?" Diana queries with humour in her tone. Gods if Wally's ego wasn't big enough already he wants to up his claim from the fastest man on Earth.

"Sure is," Flash confirms for her. "I'm faster than your boyfriend there."

Diana's face colours "How did...um I'm sure not boyfriend is the correct term Flash."

"No?" he queries sceptically. "So the two of you didn't declare your love for each other just before he was about to cut you head off?"

"Well no. We did but I'm still not sure boyfriend is the right term and you heard that?" she asks in some surprise.

"Kinda hard to miss from our front row position," Flash tells her.

"You were here the whole time?"

J'onn answers that one. "Hidden in the crowd. We were just waiting for the right moment."

"Yeah," Flash says in confirmation. "We just didn't expect that your boyfriend or partner or whatever you are calling him. We didn't expect him to be the one to provide it."

"Where are the others?" she asks.

"In a building on the edge of the park," J'onn says as he points in its direction. He and Flash had moved them there as it was the closest enclosed space. Frankly J'onn was amazed they managed to do it. They had survived Gotham's destruction and then had heard all about the public execution that was taking place so they came disguised as part of the crowd and like Flash said they waited for the right moment. As the Kryptonians set about killing each other that seemed to be the right moment and he and Flash then moved with all the speed they possessed to rescue their friends. Unfortunately some of them were caught in the crossfire before they could save them along with many of the innocent people who had showed up to witness the execution. J'onn would mourn greatly for all their losses later when there was time but luck seemed to be with them in one sense. He and Flash at least managed to rescue most of their friends.

Diana can see Kal and Kara in discussion with another Kryptonian. "I'll check up on them later. I...we need to know what will happen now with Kal's brother. He might send a fleet here after him and maybe us too," she explains from what she assumes Kara meant when she said Lor would not stop until they are dead and well Lor may harbour a wish for vengeance on the people of Earth as well. She can't rule it out. She makes her way back over to Kal and Kara and catches the end of the conversation.

"All enemy soldiers killed commander," the soldier informs the two commanders.

Kara nods in approval. "Good. Well done. Return to the ships, carry out repairs and let us get ready to leave this little pit of a planet."

"Yes commander," the soldier chimes in obedience before leaving swiftly.

"Leave?" Diana asks with slight confusion. She had never considered that option.

Kal turns to face Diana while Kara leaves him to it. "Yes we must leave," he tells her. "As soon as Lor hears about this he will send every ship loyal to him after us and Earth will almost certainly be destroyed in the crossfire. The only way we can ensure that the inhabitants of Earth are safe is to leave as soon as we can," he explains. Lor will inevitably hear about it. He has spies everywhere. That is what he and Kara were discussing. That and what to do now. They hadn't gotten far in that discussion since neither he nor Kara were sure what to do now. They both realised that Lor will come after them and staying here where he knows where they are is probably not the best idea. So they must leave to save themselves and to protect Earth. It occurs to Kal-El that Lor will probably fixate on him since he was the one that carried out the act of killing their father so the best way to protect Earth is to leave. Lor will send his fleets to wherever Kal-El is. Also he has already allowed so much death and destruction to befall this planet that is home to the woman he loves so the best way for him to prevent anymore is simply to leave. Whereto he hadn't worked out exactly yet but since it will take a few days to remove the bases on the surface he has a little time to think on that.

Gods! Leave. He is going to leave. He is going to leave her! Diana rebukes herself silently. She is letting her emotions run away with her. What he is saying makes perfect logical sense despite the fact it will break her heart that he is leaving her. In response to his declaration she can only come up with the rather bland statement "If you think that is best."

"It is." Kal-El places his hands on Diana's arms and rubs them gently. "You should pack."

"Pack?" she queries not sure what Kal means.

"Of course," Kal-El says like he is saying the obvious. "You should bring whatever you need to my ship."

Understanding dawns in Diana's consciousness. "You want me to go with you."

"Yes," he says expectantly. It is blindingly obvious to him that she must come with him. He can't see any future without her in it.

Diana shakes her head and says words that breaks both her and Kal's hearts. "I'm sorry Kal. I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?!"

"My place is here," she explains. "Helping my world to recover."

"But...but I thought you loved me."

Gods the pain in his voice is killing her. "I do love you Kal but you can't seriously expect me to leave after millions of people have died and a major city has been essentially wiped from the face of the planet. This planet is my home and it will need hope. Hope that I and the League can bring."

Diana turns away and tries to wipe away the tears that are filling her eyes. Gods help her. She does love him but she can't leave no matter how much she may want to be with Kal. She turns back to face him and can see the pain and anguish in his face all too clearly. She rushes forward and kisses him passionately, deeply and for what she believes will be the last time. This is the most heart wrenching decision she has ever had to make but there is no other option. Earth needs her right now. Their lips part. She touches his lips with her fingers to stop him saying anything. Prolonging this will only make it harder. Tears run down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she sobs out before she turns her back to him, takes to skies and flies into the distance leaving behind one Kryptonian with tears streaming from his cerulean blue eyes and down his cheeks. One Kryptonian whose heart she just shattered into pieces.

Author's Note: Like I wrote in the last chapter the course of true love never runs smooth and with this ending that is an understatement. Wonder how this will end up? I guess I better go and write how it will end up I suppose. Thanks to all those who wrote reviews.