Where is Supergirl?
"We're gonna have to assume for argument's sake that someone, not any of us, just saved the day." Dinah spoke. She along with the rest of the team were positioned on top of the rubble and plaster that once was Luthorcorp Tower. The team looked out at the horizon where the sun was making a beautiful display to the sky. However, none of them were too happy about it.
Timmy looked at the beautiful sky and instantly he had a million thoughts swarming in his head. Everything terrible had lead to this and it wasn't even done by them. Something was out of place. 'I wish you were here, Jimmy. I could use your help right now."
"Any likely people who did, assuming of course, the world is saved, could you think of?" Drake said.
"Off the top of my head, I would have to assume it's Luthor…" Olsen said coming up behind them along with 'Linda'.
"We still haven't even found him."
"So what's up right now?" Dinah asked Olsen as she turned around.
"Well, Jade and Devyra are doing the repairs to the city. Fast as they are, they are doing a great job."
"Gluing everything back into place." Dinah nodded. "Never knew it was that easy."
"This was unexpected. The whole thing wasn't easy and I don't trust that the threat has stopped. Something just doesn't feel right." Drake said.
"What also doesn't feel right is all the... inconsistencies." Olsen pointed out and sat down as if trying to go over something. "From the very beginning, it seemed too random, the female furies, the battleships, Bizarro, Cir-El, and now a happy setting."
"That's exactly what I was thinking." Drake sat down next to Olsen with a confused expression on his face.
"So basically what you're saying is, where is this going?" Dinah asked.
"I don't know. But it doesn't make sense. I agree…" Olsen looked at Drake. "I don't think it's over yet."
"Jake Anderson, I still have to find him." Linda spoke up behind them.
"That's another problem." Olsen said. He got up and stood with Linda.
"What's going on with you, Linda?" he asked.
"I have no other purpose but to find Jake Anderson." she said a bit adamantly.
Olsen cleared his throat. "Why do you believe that finding Jake Anderson would give you completion in your life?"
Linda simply looked away as she tried to think of an answer. "It seems to be my only purpose in this world."
"Linda, we have more than enough reason to believe that if you met Anderson, the entire world would be destroyed." Drake said as he came up to her.
"Don't sugarcoat it, at least." Olsen muttered to him.
"I don't understand. Why would the world be destroyed..." Linda asked curiously as she looked from Drake to Dinah and Olsen. As she started to wonder, Linda's knees felt heavy and dropped down until she was kneeling.
"Linda! What's wrong?" Olsen cried. The other two, concerned, went to her side as well.
Grimacing through the pain, she responded as best she could. "There are flashes... thoughts in my head. They really hurt ..." Linda managed to say before she passed out.
"What you're saying is...Darkseid is about to come up with something big in the next three hours?" Power Girl asked Imra. Earlier, Power Girl had a run-in with the Legionnaire as she appeared out of nowhere, informing her of what's about to happen. Earlier, Power Girl gained a revelation that Jor-El was influencing things somehow. He had brought her back to the alternate Earth. But she developed a pessimistic approach about how events were going. So far, Power Girl's suspicions were correct when Imra told her that the battle was not over.
"Right, you have to find Cir-El as well. She technically is not supposed to exist anyway. You have to find her and-"
"And what? Take her down? She's a hero! She's one of us!"
Imra spoke quickly now. "Karen...she's not the daughter of Lois Lane and Kal-El, that was just a ruse made by Brainiac. She believes though, that they are her real parents but they're not. She's a laboratory experiment. The prophecy meant differently. She's the one, not Kara who will make the world and the universe end."
"What about the crystal bit? That was just to get the random ball rolling?" Power Girl asked in a frustrated tone.
Irma grew exasperated and nodded. "The crystal corrupted Kara, that's true. But that was for a different reason, her father Zor-El wanted her to be better than the humans on Earth. The crystal over time influenced her slowly. Because believe me, if this was due to a prophecy, that crystal's effects would have been instantaneous and she already would have beem controlled."
"What about Darkseid though? Doesn't he believe that this prophecy meant both Jake Anderson and Kara?"
"Does he? He merely used them to get the real people to come forward."
"Cir-El and another man we don't know are the ones that will bring about this...destruction and death?"
"Exactly."
"Darkseid just attacked me recently. He said since the original Kara is gone, I'm the one he wants."
"Darkseid said that because he was frustrated that his plan was not coming to a proper climax. He assumed that the clone of Kara..."
"Wait! How exactly did he get a piece of Kara's DNA?"
"Kara's Supersuit was stolen by an enhanced Bizarro. He found traces of her DNA on it and used it to create a copy of her." Imra explained.
"This just doesn't make any sense.." Power Girl said putting a hand to her forehead and pacing at the same time.
"That was exactly Darkseid's plan. All these random attacks were initiated to put the team off guard. The Kara that just arrived here has no identity of her former self. She's Darkseid's creation. But here's the one thing that Darkseid doesn't know about her: she's not evil and she can never be.." Imra said with a smile. "Ironically, Darkseid came up with something good rather than evil."
Power Girl frowned and seemed to understand something now. "Nothing is unpredictable than uncertainty."
"But there is another major problem..." Imra started.
The Flashback
"This planet is not what I thought it was. It's actually to my liking, Kal-El." Kara said to her cousin as they stood on top of the highest mountain on Earth. Kara was busy enjoying the sunset.
"I'm glad you enjoy it Kara. I just hope you adjust well here."
"So far, I am." She said and began in a floating position now. "Thanks to the yellow sun, I have powers that enable me to protect myself."
Kal-El frowned. "You should not be dependent on your powers Kara. I understand it's wonderful having them but showing them, flaunting your powers is a sign of vanity and others, be it humans or superhumans will see it as an ego problem. It can be seen as an insult to them. Showing others that you are above them can suit you ill. I know…because I remember what it was like not having powers."
"What? What happened?" asked an astonished Kara.
Looking down at the ground, he paced. "It's a long story. It was mostly a rite of passage for me and somehow irrelevant now. But what was important was how I felt emotionally from that point. At first, my powers taken away felt as if someone took my soul. I became worried as to how I would protect the people I cared about. I grew desperate to get them back. But in a way, I was glad my powers were taken away because now I can understand what human beings go through every day. It's not easy being human. The whole thing felt like a test, a trial. When it came time to face my enemies, I knew I stood no chance so I had to discipline myself, train myself not to be a Super…man." he grimaced saying the name before he went on. "…but to be a Man of steel."
"Man of Steel?" Kara frowned.
"It's a nickname." He stated. "But it's a nickname I will never forget. Before I got my powers back, I worked out, I trained myself. I reshaped my body to adapt, for it to be a source of intimidation to my enemies. Being strong was the true power."
Indeed Kara could see that Kal-El's musculature was amazing. "Your form is impressive, Kal-El. I just wish I can look like you one day." Kara said. "I want to be more than a Supergirl. I want to be a Girl of Steel! I want to prove to the human women here that they can be just as strong as men."
Kal-El then said. "In order for you to be a 'girl of steel', you want to show people you're tough on the inside and the outside, prove it, show it to them.
Linda's eyes snapped open and now she was gasping in shock. Olsen was trying to calm her down. "Linda! Linda! What happened? Are you ok?"
Gasping for air, Linda tried to respond as fast as she could. "I had a vision. A dream about a man wearing a red cape."
"She's having memories about-" Dinah was about to say before she was cut off.
"What was 'he' doing?" Olsen asked carefully. 'Linda has memories of Kara, how is that possible?' he thought.
"Explaining to me about how to adapt on this planet..." Linda muttered as she tried to go over again in her mind what she saw. "Why do you want to know?"
"I don't know. It's just we all wish 'he' was here now."
"This 'Man of Steel'? Who is he?"
"The greatest hero the world has ever known." Drake responded quietly.
Linda began to say with hesitation. "Am I...the 'Girl of Steel'?" she looked around at the team waiting for answer. 'Maybe I have a different purpose.' she thought excitedly.
For that, nobody answered for a while.
As soon as Jade was busy reconstructing a certain building using her ring powers, Devyra was glad she was on her own now. She did not want anyone seeing her at the moment. Inside an abandoned building, Devyra looked completely exhausted.
"What is happening to me?" she asked herself. Going through her neural net, she began to search for the symptoms of her condition and what was the cause.
"My energy is depleting slowly…" she murmured as she went through her data in her brain. Eventually she finally found the cause for her deteriorating state. "Doomsday's blood, I injected it myself now it's killing me…"
"I must not be destroyed. I'm indestructible!" she cried. She flipped back to looking around the barren room she was in. "I must not tell the others this. I have to maintain a level of intimidation toward them."
After punching a few certain keys on the control module, Luthor was almost finished. The device was twirling around like a gigantic metallic onion. Lex began to gaze at it.
"I don't like doing this. Bringing you back. But we do...what we have to, to get what we want." he said thinking out loud.
A light then emerged right in the center. Soon it was getting brighter and brighter until it was the size of a small orb glowing white.
The swirling on the pad continued to spin faster and soon wind emerged and static electricity was beginning to be apparent, for that Luthor stood back a safe distance.
The wall in back of him blew open, making Lex fall down to the ground. When he came to, he turned around and saw Anderson, looking stern and emotionless. "You!" he cried out in disgust. Getting up, Lex got ready. He then began to pace around the building while looking at Anderson who was also contemplating his next move.
"Jake Anderson, I don't know if you remember but you used to work for me." he began.
Anderson remained silent.
"Having this power, it's intoxicating, isn't it? But it won't end good for you. I know that. I lived it myself."
Lex did not have time to be sparring with Anderson, not when he was so close. He barely had enough time to dodge out of the way from an energy blast that Anderson gave off from his body. As Anderson was about to recharge and sent off another wave, Lex came at him with a jab to his face and a kick to his abdomen, sending him several feet away. Right now, he did not have the chance to relish in how he can beat an opponent no one else could, so Lex took the chance to go back to his console and make sure whatever was materializing was being stabilized correctly.
Looking at his computer, Lex saw that he had several seconds before whatever was materializing would appear. He did not know how he was flying backward, hitting the wall of the mill. Seeing stars, Lex could not let Anderson damage what he was doing, so now he ran outside where he was going to take the fight. He had to lead Anderson away from his experiment.
'Besides it is outside where my trap for Anderson is set."
Lex constructed a way to destroy Anderson in the form of a unique trap. Should he encounter Anderson again, his trap would make sure he was gone.
Despite the crowd of people in the street, Lex had no time to shout his pardons and merely pushed through the myriad of people. There was the usual 'hey' and 'watch it' from wherever he ran. He also heard gasps from some people pointing out whether that was really Lex Luthor. He simply frowned and continued to run.
People started to murmur out loud as something sped across the sky. Everyone soon ran out of the way for fear of being innocent bystanders. Anderson flew above Luthor and landed right in front of him. Lex stopped and prepared for what he was about to do now.
Anderson was encased in what appeared to be a transparent pod. No matter how much he pounded on the glass, it had no effect. "I remember I stole this technology from my archenemy one time…" he thought. Smiling, he was about to deliver the coup de grace.
A surge of powerful electricity flooded inside the entire pod. Inside Anderson seemed to scream in pain. Whatever Luthor was doing seemed to be having a significant effect on Anderson now. Luthor then saw to his disappointment that Anderson was now becoming infuriated and looked determined to get out of the glass cylinder he was in. With a loud yell, he begin to do just that.
The pod then smashed opened. The force was enough to send Luthor back several feet on the ground. He sighed in frustration as Anderson re-emerged unscathed and willing not to be put down again.
"It can't be…" Luthor shook his head in disappointment. 'I could have destroyed him.'
The crowd of people began to shout in terror as Anderson picked Luthor up singlehandedly by his lapels. Anderson's right fist was pulled back, ready to hit him.
Lex looked at Anderson square in the eyes waiting for the hit to come. 'I want it quick.' He thought. Just then, Anderson's eyes seemed to be focused on something else. From Luthor's point of view, he could tell Anderson was looking at something else up ahead.
Assuming someone from the team arrived, Luthor seemed to have a content front now.
"Is that who I think it is?" someone called out.
"It can't be?"
Luthor struggled to turn his neck and look at the supposed newcomer.
It was a blond woman. A woman he was very familiar with. "Kara!" But Lex could tell she was different somehow. She was wearing a steel outfit similar to medieval armor. Lex in disdain, saw the 'S' shield on the armored chest. Her cape had a dark tone to it as well. Luthor ascertained that her arrival was due to his experiment he was conducting. "It worked..." he said in wonder.
"I heard certain people were looking for me, well, I'm here...I'm back." she said.
Anderson let go of Luthor and begin to walk toward Kara. As he stood face to face with her, he put a hand to her face and caressed it. Kara did the same. Luthor looked on the two in complete confusion.
Suddenly Lex could not believe what happened next. It was enough to make his world change.
"All these...interdimensional walkthroughs and portal entries have left tears in the space-time continuum. It's making the universe collapse any minute. The rest of the Legion back in my time does not know this either but I do. I could not tell them because if they did they would stop me."
"What?"
"The only way to fix all this is to go back to the past..." Imra suggested.
"You're saying you want to alter the future?" Power Girl asked incredulously.
"There is no future." Saturn Girl shook her head in sadness. "I'm suggesting we alter these current events so that this ultimate destruction does not come to pass. I'm sorry. But it has to be done. Someone has to go back and prevent all this from happening."
"Ok...but if we do this what's to say we-" Power Girl's words were incomplete as she saw a stunned and panicked Saturn Girl being pulled away into the sky and disappearing in the blink of an eye. An object had fallen and landed near Power Girl's feet.
"What the hell just happened?" Power Girl shouted to the heavens.
Lex looked on in horror as Kara did something he never believed she would ever do. She had killed someone. Luthor saw Kara's fist inserted into Anderson's abdomen so far that it went out the back. Blood smeared on her fist as she pulled it back. Anderson then dropped to the ground, dead. Lex then saw as Kara kicked Anderson away to a parked car, leaving a dent on the door.
She smiled in a way Luthor could not imagine. Kara looked on at the spectators. "Well, that's taken cared of." she said and wiped her hands. Luthor frowned at what she did. She then began to talk. "You're all wondering 'what's up with this?' 'Supergirl never killed before.' she said a bit mockingly. "You all know what I have tried to do once I became the new corporate titan at this guy's..." she pointed an arm toward Lex. "interesting empire." Kara begin to pace now.
"I..." Kara raised a finger to the sky. "have managed to keep you all safe and yet you humans all seem to retain an affinity for reckless acts that can cause your own destruction. I became in charge because I wanted crime, rebellions, violence, burglary and war to be done for. But that can only happen under the laws I give out. You have not listened to me..." she shook her head.
"I guess I need to take a violent route if you all will not comply by my ways!" she said and for that her eyes had turned red. The people in Metropolis began to shout in horror.
"You need to deal with me first..." Lex spoke up. Kara looked at him as if he was irrelevant. Luthor chuckled and nodded as if in agreement about something.
"I do believe you have the audacity to commit such authoritarian actions now. But you have an obstacle still, me and you have no idea what I'm capable of..." he smiled.
"Bold words, but you're still all talk and no walk, Lexy." she then sped to him and threw him aside so far that he hit a wall in an alley. Lex was unconscious now.
"Now where were we?" she looked back at the fearful people.
"You were going to stand down..."
Furious, Kara turned around to see her new challenger.
"Bitch!" the figure finished.
It was Cir-El with a weapons equipped Derek at her side and dozens of would-be soldiers behind them.