Chapter 37: War for Metropolis Part Three.

Vandal Savage stood, arms folded over. His gaze remained locked onto Superman's, and he took a deep breath, before he turned to address the Man of Steel.

"So, I've been gone for twenty five hundred years?"

Savage chuckled when the expression shifted in his eyes.

"Actually closer to fifteen hundred years, but I guess that arithmetic is not one of your super powers."

Superman shook his head to clear his mind and rubbed his temples nice and hard.

"It's funny that I fought the Justice League many times throughout the years. Actually, you weren't the first group of heroes that I have fought. There was one like you that has come along every generation. But you must have been among the most persistent of them. The only other group that was even more troublesome was a quartet of magic users who lived in a castle, but that is beside the point."

Savage kept his gaze on Superman, and Superman stared back, not taking his eyes off of the immortal caveman for one moment. The criminal never knew the Man of Steel to look more human, more vulnerable, and in another life, Savage would have pounced on the ability to rub this latest defeat in Superman's face. However, years and years of clarity offered Savage time to think, and time to repent. He had never thought he would ever be so glad to see one of these do-gooders.

"At one time, I thought that humans had gone soft, and I tried to correct that, to make it survival of the fittest. Well as it turned out, I was incorrect, and the world that you see before is the cause of that."

Superman's face contorted into a nasty scowl. "You were the one who caused this, caused all of this heartache. I should take you out right here and now."

"You should," Savage agreed. He took a step forward, and stared Superman directly in the eye. "But we both know that this will offer neither of us the clarity that we deserve. What's done is done, and you can't change the past by destroying me."

Superman turned around, and looked up at the red sun. It beat in the sky above him. There was just something taunting about that fact.

"It wasn't completely me, it was mostly Luthor, despite Power Girl's constant warnings you should take a stronger hand with him, the Justice League chose to ignore her, until it was too late," Savage remarked. "I did play my role, but Luthor was savagely violent. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it; even if it is another planet's history they have failed to learn from."

"So, where are they?" Superman asked. "I get a feeling they would still be around somewhere."

"Oh, you mean your cousin and her family," Savage answered, and there was a long pause where Superman nodded. "They left a few hundred years ago, to find a new home, a new life. That was when the very last people died out, although among those who did get consumed by the roach people."

Clark felt his stomach twist at how casual Savage stated this fact. He took a step forward, and looked him in the eye.

"How could you be so casual about this?"

Savage gave Superman the most brutally honest answer he could. "It's something you grow accustomed to over time."

Clark had been among the final survivors of two planets, and that was a bitter pill to swallow. The worst part of all was that it was hard to believe that he got blasted into the future by Toyman.

"I'm guessing Toyman didn't quite comprehend what he created, when he sent you to the future," Savage added, and Clark responded with a nod. "It wasn't a disintegrator beam; it simply tore a hole through time and space where you stood. The circumstances of that particular meeting sent you here, but it could have sent you anywhere at any time. It was unfortunate it did not send you hours or days into the future."

"Yes, that was unfortunate," Clark agreed, his gaze burning into Savage.

Savage took a moment to reflect. "Your funeral was one of the biggest events I've ever seen, and I've lived through them all. From the initial Olympics in Greece all the way to Moon Landings, and everything else that was in between. I still have the DVD, and watch it from time to time."

"I'm touched," Clark droned.

Savage snapped his fingers suddenly, and looked at Clark.

"So, do you want to come over to my house?"

Clark was caught off guard by this, and Savage looked at him, crossing his arms, and a smile spread over his face.

"I have salvaged much technology from the planet," Savage added at this moment, and Clark looked at him. "What if I could send you back?"

"I'm listening," Clark said in a calm and crisp voice. He was not completely sure about trusting Savage one hundred percent of the time. "You did have a time machine…"

"Yes, and it was stolen by the roach people," Savage agreed, and the two men continued their brisk walk. "However, I may have found a replacement. Deciphering Kryptonian writing has become a past time of mine, but I can only go so far without a reference. And you might be that reference. If we can get the time portal working, then…"

"We can figure out how to send me back, before this all started," Superman remarked, feeling a bit of hope. "And this entire world will never happen."

"My thoughts exactly," Savage answered, pleased that Superman was getting it now.

Clark was visited by another thought, and he decided to ask Savage.

"So, I'm under the assumption that Patronus Incorporated created this device?"

"One of the last before they left the planet," Savage informed the Man of Steel.

Savage decided to keep his mouth shut about the details, especially the entire New Krypton thing. Something told him that was destined to happen regardless of what happened should he send Superman back, or not.

"Why didn't they use it?" Clark asked.

Savage turned to the Man of Steel with a sad smile on his face. "Kal-El, as much as I would enjoy giving you a lecture of the mechanics of time travel, I doubt that either of us would get much from that. To make a long story short, we cannot travel to a time where we exist. However since you no longer exist…"

"I can," Clark answered, getting it immediately.

Savage nodded, pleased to see that the Kryptonian was getting the message.

"Let's get to work," Clark answered swiftly.

"Right this way," Savage told him, pointing the direction, and the two of them made their way through a set of doors, before they made their way through towards the lab where Savage had kept the final invention of Patronus Incorporated before they left Earth safe and secure.

The Justice League stood at the edge of the tunnel. Batman held a tracking device at the palm of his hand, and turned around. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Flash stood behind him. The Martian Manhunter followed not so far behind, and Hawkgirl followed, with Lobo behind them. Hawkgirl and Green Lantern turned around, keeping a close eye on Lobo.

"We're very near," Batman told them, and the League stood, ready to go at his word. "Stay alert, we're in close quarters. The last thing we need is to cave the tunnel in."

Even Lobo was not going to question what Batman said. Green Lantern sent an energy construct down the tunnel to get the attention of the men. They turned around, and Flash rushed in front of them.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Flash asked. The thug tried to punch, but the Flash ducked it. There were a few more punches, but the speedster dodged them. "Ah, too slow, too slow, and too slow."

Flash knocked the thugs down at super speed. Wonder Woman picked both of them up and hurled them. They continued to move down the hallway. There was a set of metal doors that had been sealed shut. Hawkgirl raised her mace, and swung it over her head. With a huge swing, it knocked through the doors.

Black Mask and his men stood high above them. He had the tech that he stole from Intergang.

"So, Batman, you decided to come after me," Black Mask growled, and he stared down Batman. He tried to use the detonator to blow up the bomb. However, the button was not responding.

Batman tried to attack Black Mask, but the mobster had managed to avoid it. He pulled out a really big gun, and fired at the Justice League. Lobo rushed forward, without any regard. A large robot got up on its legs, and knocked Lobo back with a missile. Lobo caught it in his hands, and flung the missile back, causing the gang members to scatter.

"You fool, you'll collapse the tunnel!" Green Lantern yelled.

"Hey, we'll survive, and we'll take these guys down with us," Lobo remarked, with a shrug.

He slammed himself into the mobsters at the tunnel. Lobo continued to fight.

Supergirl, Power Girl, and Arcane made their way down the tunnel, and stopped at the grisly sight they arrived to.

'And the tunnels are about to collapse,' Kara thought, and she saw the cracking and shifting rock. The blonde Kryptonian curled her fists, and gritted her teeth. 'Great, that's just wonderful.'

'Just focus on it, we'll hold the tunnel up, and clear a path,' Harry thought to them.

'Right, we need to help the League still get out of here,' Karen thought to them.

The three of them used their rings, combined with their inherent magical powers, to shift the rocks back into place. There was a lot of straining on the rocks, from the explosions. Someone had drilled up from underneath, and caused everything to become unstable. The three Potters rushed forward, and continued to hear the sounds of combat. The three of them moved forward, and went further and further into the tunnel.

There were more explosions, and the three had stopped outside. Kara and Karen used their X-Ray vision to scope out the situation. Harry used a scanning spell to get even more information, and they saw Black Mask and his gang use the Intergang tech to really give the Justice League some problems.

Harry waved a hand, and a pulse had taken out the machines. Some of them malfunctioned, and he gave the signal to the members of the League who nodded. He saw Flash knock them backwards, and some of the mobsters had dove down the hole, to escape for another day.

Black Mask took a step forward, and offered a few more parting shots to the Justice League. He tried to find his way down the hole, but found his path block. Black Mask reached into his vest, and pulled out another weapon.

"See that, I'm going to take you with me…."

A blast had knocked Black Mask backwards, and the gun had exploded into his chest. He landed against the wall with a solid crack. Batman walked over to him, and suddenly Black Mask started beeping.

"Run!" Batman ordered, and the League did not need to be told twice.

The Justice League ran, with several shields being put up to keep the tunnels from collapsing. The explosives went off, and caused a shower of rocks to fly everywhere. Harry cleared it with some well placed charms, and the entire group had climbed out of the hole. The gold had been saved, and thankfully the security had been evacuated. The explosion echoed for miles around which everyone heard, and the entire group looked around, breathing in and out. It was a moment before anyone stopped.

"That was too close," Flash breathed.

"That much is obvious," Hawkgirl said, taking a moment to regain her composure.

"So is there any hope that we're actually going to be done for the day?" Flash asked, and there was another explosion that had rung out and echoed through their ears. The assembled group stood tense, and saw that there were still a few pockets of resistance.

There were a few groans, and the fact the situation only seemed to get worse.

"We could only be so lucky," Hawkgirl remarked.

There were more explosions that echoed throughout the city, and Karen, Kara, and Harry looked at each other. They were prepared for anything, and hopefully things calm down soon. What started as the merest trickle had turned into a flood. Normally civilized people had been turned into savages, and the hardest part of all would be to separate the rioters from the criminals.

It was a chaotic scene, and a mess, the police tried to move in, but they had been trampled in the chaos.

"Spread out, and move into teams," Harry replied, taking charge of the situation.

"Since when did he get put in charge?" Green Lantern asked.

"Do you have a better plan?" Batman countered, in a stoic voice.

Green Lantern would have had to grudgingly admitted that Batman had a point. There was no time for argument; rather it was the time for decisive action.

"This could very well work."

Superman looked at the time portal, and analyzed it to the best of his abilities. While he was not the most technologically savvy person in the world, he did in fact have a clear idea as to what worked, and what did not work. This time portal was one of those items that could in fact work, at least in theory. Of course, what worked in theory, might not even work in practice. There were times though where one had to throw all caution to the wind.

"Do you really have anything left to lose?" Savage asked Clark, and Clark suddenly looked at Savage at this point. "After all I've seen, and all I've done, this is a chance to right many wrongs, and to save the world. The Justice League will need you, you are a pillar to them. Learn from the mistakes of the past Kal-El, and don't wait it is until too late to correct a problem."

Clark just stood on his feet; killing should have never been an option. Yet, for some reason, it was sadly the only choice. Not that it was a choice he could see himself making.

"In other words, I want you to take me out like the mad dog that I am, if you get the chance," Savage replied, trying to impart the wisdom on Clark.

"I had assumed that you were immortal," Clark fired back towards Savage. If Clark was going to kill, he wondered what step to take to take out someone who was immortal.

"Then I would offer this up as an exercise of your creativity to find a way to put me down, or there is always that Phantom Zone dimension, should you fail to come up with something, ' Savage offered. He took a few steps forward, and looked Clark straight in the eye. There was just something about that gaze that seemed cold. "If at the very least, we can both agree that Luthor is a menace that needs to be put down, even if he was not one hundred percent responsible for the events you see before you. He did deal a crushing blow. The longer he lives, the more time he has to creatively enable a plan."

"Somehow I don't think that taking Luthor out will solve all of our problems," Clark remarked.

Savage shook his head at this instant, and stood in front of the time portal. The portal had completely warmed up. Deriving what little power that they could that was left in this dismal world.

"No, but it will solve many. I have given the matter much thought. Throughout history, there will always be those who will destroy the world. And among the most dangerous, are those who attempt to save it beyond all reason. There is much damage that can be done by trying too hard. Remember to choose your battles wisely Kal-El, and take decisive action."

Among the last people that Clark thought he would be getting life lessons from was Vandal Savage. The future was the strange place. Savage was not done.

"On October 30th 2001, I will steal white dwarf star matter from a scientist named Ray Palmer. That would be nearly two weeks from the time I'm attempting to send you back. It is not the fatal blow, but it is one of the shots that will severely impact the Earth and lead to the future that you see before you."

Clark nodded, and filed that information away from later use.

"From there, I cannot give you much more foresight, as the future will no longer be set in stone, should you stop that theft," Savage continued.

"I understand," Clark answered, bracing himself to stop this Earth where he could.

"Delay, and later you will pay," Savage added as an afterthought. "And you should not delay your return trip back through the time portal."

Clark stiffened and nodded. It was time to go back, and change the world one step at a time.

"I should warn you," Savage said, and Clark looked over his shoulder to look at the would be conqueror caveman. "There is a slim chance that this time portal will send you back to a time where you already exist, and thus you will cease to exist."

Clark decided to throw Savage's words back at him at this point.

"What do I have left to lose?"

Savage nodded, and watched Clark take that huge step forward. Time seemed to stand still, and Kal-El had disappeared, to return to the time where he had already meant to be. The caveman could wait, and watch, to see what happened next. Time continued to tick by, and Savage saw the remaining energy fade from around the time portal, before everything went dead. There was no power left in the lab, and Savage had hoped that there would be a sufficient amount to send the displaced Man of Steel back.

Savage waited, and watched. Time stood still, and so did he. Every single moment ticked by, and Savage had thought for the briefest instance that his last ditch gambit had been all for nothing. He would be doomed to live in a world surrounded by past mistakes. Doomed to live in a world where most living things had long since ceased to exist. He had resigned himself to this fact a long time ago. Yet the savage man had hoped, and waited.

Something wonderful happened at that moment. Everything began to change around Savage. The torn streets had been replaced by well paved roads. The futuristic Metropolis, seemingly built by Patronus Incorporated had come into life. Savage watched, and heard the cheerful screams of children. The caveman never thought he would be so grateful to see a bunch of little brats, yet their screams and cheers were like music to his ears.

Everything locked back into focus, and Savage felt himself pulling away. There was hope that the world had changed for the better, and that the mistakes had not been made. It was hard to tell when things turned around, but the greatest healing factor was time and space.

The only bad thing was that he no longer would have had his mistakes to reflect on. So also lost in time would be the redemption of Vandal Savage. That was a small price to pay to ensure that humanity thrived and survived for thousands of years to come.

Savage saw the world shift, as he shifted out. There were three words that he spoke, before he faded off into the distance.

"Thank you, Superman."

Savage had disappeared into the mist. His past self would battle the Justice League in the future, in his past, but thanks to the knowledge that he handed to Superman, there would be a day where he would no longer be a threat.

That was a story for another time, however.

The good news was that the gang war was mostly been dealt with. There were a few stranglers in each faction that had caused some panic inside the city. Harry, Kara, and Karen used their rings to blast through the debris and create a barrier. The Justice League swooped in, and the teams divided and conquered. Every enemy was sent flying. The entire team had been run ragged. It was not from a physical standpoint, all of them were used to that.

Lobo blitzed through, nearly taking out half of the city block in the process. It was events like that, which caused their mental facilities that be ultimately taxed. The explosions rang out throughout the city.

"Alright, let's dance," Lobo grunted, and his punches sent every single person flying in his wake. Lobo decided to pick up two cars and smash an Intergang member who was in a huge robotic battle suit. Sparks flew in every single direction, and the gang member was down.

Lois Lane was in the thick of things meanwhile. Kara had spotted her, and it seemed like she was just there to cover the chaos as it unfolded.

'No regard for her own personal safety,' Kara thought to Harry and Karen.

'Would Lois be Lois if she was?' Karen thought to them, torn between amusement and despair.

'No,' Harry and Kara both thought at the same time, and a combination of heat vision and magical attacks caused everyone to fly backwards with the attacks that had been made. The explosions rang out, and several more enemies had been taken out.

"Hold the line!" Green Lantern yelled over the explosions.

"Believe me, John, we're trying," Flash said underneath his breath, and he looked up. "Wow, that's a big one."

Flash zoomed forward at the speed of light, and began to hammer away at his enemy. There were a series of rapid fire punches, and the robot began to back off, but did not go down even for an instant. The Fastest Man Alive took a step back, and tried to attack the robot again.

Kara, Karen, and Harry all smashed through the attacker at once. The pilot tried to eject himself, but was knocked out by one well-placed Batarang to the head. Batman stood over the attacker, and the entire League moved forward. Things were finally beginning to cool down, and now that the numbers had been heard.

The mercenary known as Deadshot stood in the shadows, a gun in hand. He had spotted Batman on the ground, and knew he could not pass up this opportunity. Deadshot would get Batman as a notch on his belt, even if it was the final notch he would put on said belt. He held the gun and aimed.

"Bang, you're dead."

Deadshot took aim, but his bullet did not make it far. It had been caught. Everyone spun around, and Batman disarmed Deadshot once again. Harry knocked Deadshot off of the ledge of the building, and he fell straight to a grisly fate.

It took everyone a few seconds to realize who hovered above them. The entire Justice League, along with Supergirl, Power Girl, Arcane, and Lobo all looked up into the sky. They had looked like they seen a ghost. Even Lois had turned away, and her mouth opened in shock, opening and closing several times.

It wasn't a bird, it wasn't a plane, it was Superman. The Last Son of Krypton arrived on the scene, in the flesh, so to speak. He hovered in the air, with his cape in all of its tattered glory. The Man of Steel looked down at the entire group, with a wide smile on his face.

"Did you miss me?" Superman asked, suddenly.

"Kal, how did this happen?"

Two more straggling mobsters tried to escape. Superman flew in front of them, and picked them up, before he flew them across the city. He then returned, and dropped right in front of his cousin. Kara stood before him, and there was a moment before she spoke.

"This better not be a sick joke," Kara said in a firm voice.

The two cousins stared each other down, and Kara waited for her answer.

"It's not a joke Kara," Clark replied, a smile crossing his face.

There was a moment where Kara stopped, and paused, before she nailed Clark with a huge punch to the face, to send him flying down to the ground! Everyone was shocked, and Clark landed on the ground with a thud. Clark massaged his jaw, in a great deal of pain.

"Kal-El, you idiot, I told you to be careful!" Kara yelled at him, and Clark winced, before Kara flew over, and hugged her cousin. "I'm so glad that you're alive."

"We're so glad that you're alive," Karen corrected her.

"That's a sentiment that we can all share," Harry answered, looking down at Superman.

Superman just looked at the Justice League, who had walked over to greet him.

"You had us worried for a while," Wonder Woman stated, breaking the silence.

"Indeed, we had assumed that you had perished," The Martian Manhunter offered, relief flooding him.

"You should have seen your funeral," Flash answered. "It was amazing."

"How did you survive?" Hawkgirl wondered.

"Toyman blasted me to the future with his gun, and caused my particles to get blasted hundreds and hundreds years into the future," Superman explained to the group, and the Justice League were taken off guard by this bit of news. "And I got help from Vandal Savage of all people."

The Justice League members blinked, in surprise at this one.

"You're kidding me," Green Lantern said.

Superman just folded his arms over, and Batman turned to him.

"So how about you? Did you miss me?"

"How could I?" Batman asked. A shadow of a smile appeared on his face. "I never believed that you were dead to begin with."

Superman looked at Batman, and a wide smile spread across his face. He turned to his friend and fellow Justice League member.

"I guess I should have known that you would have faith in me. And know that someday that I would find my way back. And it was thanks to these three that I returned. It was their invention, even if Savage pointed me out."

Superman looked at Kara, Karen, and Harry, who looked pleased that they had allowed Superman a way to return home, even if they technically did not do it yet. And they might never have to, given that he was here. Time travel was rather confusing.

Lobo walked over to the group, a big wide smile on his face, and he looked at them all.

"That's just great, the entire gang is back together," Lobo said, and he put an arm around the waists of Superman and Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman quickly disengaged herself, quite painfully, and Lobo's elbow snapped back. The Main Man grimaced, but played it cool. "All eight of us."

Superman felt it was necessary to correct that notion.

"You're not a part of this team, and if I had to guess, you caused more damage than you helped," Superman replied, and Lobo looked surprised. "So, why don't you do us all a favor, and leave."

Lobo clutched his fists, and looked at Superman. His teeth gritted, a bit insulted by the spurn, but he recovered.

"That's gratitude for you, the Main Man fills in while you were gallivanting around in the future, and you decide to give me the cold shoulder. Well fine, I'm not going to take this anymore. You can consider me quitting this team, and I ain't ever coming back."

Lobo whistled into the air, and his motorcycle came back down from the sky. Without another word, Lobo mounted it, and his ride shot up into the air, as far as he could go. The Martian Manhunter stood on the ground below, and offered a few parting words.

"We never wanted you to join anyway!"

"Yeah, I think he's long gone, J'onn," Flash replied, and he turned to Superman. "So, I'm loving the beard."

"Are you keeping it?" Wonder Woman asked.

Kara just pulled a face, and looked at the growth on her cousin's face. "I hope not, because it looks ridiculous."

Clark turned around, getting a good look at himself with the beard in the mirror of a car. He would have to agree with his cousin's assessment. His hair was also rather greasy and unkempt, and there was something to be said about how a nice shower and a meal would be good right about now. Superman walked over, and saw Lois standing there.

"I should have known you would have been in the thick of things," Clark told her.

Lois just offered a smile, and a nod. "Well you know me, I can't just stay out of trouble, no matter how much I try."

Clark scooped up Lois in his arms, and the two flew off.

"I think it's time we visit my parents, to let them know that the rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated," Clark remarked, after they had hit the air.

"I was about to say the same thing," Lois told Clark. "Your mother was distraught. It was a good thing that the memorial was beautiful."

Lois had to admit, that she kept looking into the sky, hoping against hope that Clark would return. And now that he did, she found herself scarcely believing what had happened. Yet, seeing was in fact believing.

"Please tell me you're going to take a shower," Lois added, as she wrinkled her nose. "Because no offense, Smallville, but wherever you have been, you reek of something."

"I'll do that, trust me," Clark said, but first he had to stop in and check in on his folks, to make sure they were fine.

A smile crossed over Kara's beautiful face, with the blonde Kryptonian resting against Harry's broad chest in the sitting off at their home. Despite everything, it was good to be back, and one hundred percent. Kara's face contorted into a slight smile. Karen was helping with the clean up crews for Metropolis. Harry and Kara both insisted on helping themselves, but Karen disagreed and sent them home to get some rest and relaxation. The two of them enjoyed the full benefits of that.

"Everything turned out alright after all," Kara said out loud, and Harry stroked Kara's golden blonde locks in his fingers.

"Everything was more than alright, I think," Harry answered to her, and he wrapped his arms around Kara, and she leaned into him, a bright smile appearing across her beautiful face.

"Batman didn't seem surprised that Kal came back, but then again, I'm sure he suspected what happened," Kara answered with a bright smile across her face. She turned over, and straddled Harry's lap, before looking him in the eyes. Bright blue eyes met Harry's green eyes, and she leaned towards him. "You had an idea what happened, didn't you?"

Harry had to be perfectly honest with Kara, and a smile crossed his face.

"There was always going to be a chance that Clark would survive what happened," Harry told her and Kara nodded. "I thought about what happened, and the death seemed too clean. There wasn't even a sample of blood. In case I was wrong…"

"You didn't want to tell me, to get my hopes up," Kara said quietly. Her hands were on Harry's chest, and Kara just smiled at Harry nodding. "Yeah, I can see why you would do such a thing, and really I understand. Just glad that everything turned out for the better, and I'll be honest, I felt like a failure."

Harry grabbed Kara's wrists, and looked firmly in her bright blue eyes.

"Kara, you can't save everyone, especially your cousin," Harry said, before he added. "He should really have known to duck."

A smile spread across Kara's pink lips, and she nodded.

"Yeah, he really should have known when to duck," Kara agreed with Harry, and Harry pulled her in to a long and deep kiss.

No matter how many times they kissed, Kara always felt it was special as the first time they had ever met. Perhaps it was even more so in many ways. She got so much enjoyment at the touches of her husband, the caresses on her skin, and just everything that went along with a relationship.

The two continued their kisses, and Kara began to work Harry's shirt over his head. She traced circular patterns on his stomach and abs with her fingers, and offered light little kisses to it. She traveled south, and Harry saw down the cleavage baring top Kara wore. He felt himself stir, and he was ready to make love to his first wife.

Kara got the message, and squeezed Harry to get to work.

Smut/Lemon Begins.

-PROFILE

Smut/Lemon Ends.

All three Potters remained entangled on the couch. Harry had an arm wrapped around each wife as they rested on his broad chest. He stroked their hair lightly, and the time ticked away. The weekend was here tomorrow, and that meant that all three of them would have the entire time to themselves.

Harry planned an erotic weekend, and they would offer each other nothing, but pleasure.

To Be Continued in the Next Chapter "Alternate."