Distant Cousins

By Michael Weyer

Apologies for the long delay, tied up with other fics and work/personal issues but hoping more on track here.

The hologram of the DEO command center was dominated by an image of one of the more nightmarish creatures imaginable. From its hulking demeanor to the grey skin, the bones jutting out all over its body and the spiked knuckles, it was a nightmare. But worse was the face, the sheer lack of any heart or pity and an aura of a creature who not only caused mass destruction but relished in it.

Natasha shivered at the sight and the fact she, as hardened a secret agent as possible, felt actual fear just off an image was notable. She whispered in Russian before speaking in English. "That..is Doomsday?"

Astra nodded. She still seemed a bit weakened but was doing her best to stand straight as she stared at the hologram of the creature she had been describing to Alex. "Yes. As best as I can recall. I'm going off old records and descriptions. It's possible it may actually be larger and more mutated."

"Dear God," Pepper whispered as she took in the hologram. "It makes the Hulk look like a child."

Astra let out a heavy sigh. "As I said, this 'Hulk' may be bad but compared to this monster…it's nothing."

Alex shook her head. "Even Luthor can't think he can actually control this…thing."

"Maybe he doesn't have to," Kara noted. "Just rile it up, drop it off and let it go wild to hopefully take out me and Kal."

"For a man so brilliant, he can be an idiot," Astra snapped. "There is no stopping Doomsday once it's unleashed."

"That's Lex," Lena noted with a sardonic scoff. "Always so obsessed with Superman, he can't see anything else beyond it. In this case, the idea he can't control Doomsday won't enter his mind."

"It has to have a weakness," Kara insisted. "It's from Krypton, can Kryptonite do anything to it?"

"I doubt it," Astra mused, rubbing her chin. "It's just…the powers of four worlds threw all they had at this monster and they barely stopped it."

"If we can't stop it," Kara pondered. "Maybe we can just get rid of it? Send it into the Phantom Zone?"

Astra considered the suggestion. "It's possible. Very possibly but still difficult." She looked up at them. "And even if we could use the projector, just getting him to be affected can be a challenge."

"We can help," Carol noted.

Astra gave her a dubious look. "This is not some easy foe to face."

Carol smiled. "Hey, not my first monster. I mean, fought Thanos and spar with the Hulk and Thor, this should…"

In a blur, she was knocked back on her rear, gasping in surprise. Astra stood over her, not caring about the half dozen agents pulling up weapons until Alex waved a hand to back them off. "Aunt Astra!" Kara gasped in surprise.

Carol was rising to her feet in anger with Astra merely standing with arms at her sides. "You are a warrior. I can tell that. You are strong and you are proud. I can respect that." Her eyes narrowed. "But you just got caught off guard by someone who's spent the last two years in a deathlike coma. Doomsday will not hesitate, it will not stop and it will not allow you a chance to process or strategize."

Carol glared at her hard before slowly nodding. "Fine…fine." She rubber her jaw. "You hit hard."

Astra smirked. "I was holding back."

Carol arched an eyebrow. "Damn…I actually like you even as I'm pissed at you."

Pepper looked to Kara. "Your aunt is….scary."

Kara shrugged. "Actually, I think death has mellowed her."

"Finding Luthor is the key," J'onn announced. "If we can stop him before he releases this, we may have a chance."

Lena let out a sad sigh. "I'm sorry to say but if Lex already has it, then he's already set to unleash it. The man doesn't have a master plan, he has a dozen at once, each with their own twists and contingencies. As much as we may think we have him, he's several steps ahead."

"Any idea where he could be?" Kara pressed. "You know him better than any of us."

Lena rubbed her chin. "There are a few tricks…he may still be leaving his old data trail in the Lexcorp systems and that might be something."

"The energy signal of him opening the vault might also be an alert," Astra noted. "We can try and track him down that way. But again, as soon as Doomsday is unleashed…"

J'onn looked to Kara. "I think we may need some bigger guns."

"I sent the signal to Argo half an hour ago," Kara confirmed. "Hopefully Kal gets it soon."

"Best to get ready," J'onn stated. He looked to Lucy. "You should call your father, maybe try get more soldiers here."

Lucy winced. "Great, more fuel for his anti-alien bias. I mean, he's not awful most of the time but he still has that problem thinking Superman and Kara are more trouble than they're worth."

Pepper arched an eyebrow. "So the military can be mistrustful of folks who put their lived on the line constantly just because they're not in uniform. Nice to know some things are constant in any universe."

"At least we're not trying to register them yet," Lucy fired back as Pepper winced in conceding the point.

Astra rubbed at her face. "I'm not trying to mock any of you, truly, it's just that the stories of this creature are horrific and they may not even be capturing its full power."

"For now, "Lena said as she walked up toward Astra. "I believe that we need to keep checking you out. You can keep the updates But I need to make sure that you don't have any remnants of the Kryptonite in you." Astra nodded as she went with her.

Alex looked over to her sister. "Are you…okay?"

Kara sighed. "I just…so much was unsaid between us and now…"

"I get it," Alex replied. "Even after all that happened, she's family."

Kara looked back at her. "Are you ok? I mean…I know I was hard on you after what you did but to see her back…"

Alex rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm not sure. You'd think I'd feel absolved now that she's alive but I feel….More guilty."

"A crazy idea," Carol piped up. "Maybe you two ought to, I don't know, talk to her rather than each other?"

The Danvers looked at each other, nodded and headed off to the medbay. Carol saw Natasha raising an eyebrow and shrugged. "Just…figure they needed a reminder, use time when you can."

Natasha's face was softer than usual as she knew what was really on Carol's mind. "How's Maria?"

Carol rubbed her own face. "She's fighting…I knew she would, she always was but it's still tough. Monica is being there for her which is good, I visit between missions." She held up a glowing fist. "Look at this. I can punch a hole through a mountain if I wanted to, I can fly through space…" She let it open as her power faded. "And I can't do a damn thing when my best friend has cancer."

Natasha rubbed her back. "I know. I've lost people too."

"Does it get easier?'

Natasha's smile was thin. "Easier? No, it never does. But at least you still have time with her." The smile became more heartfelt. "When we get back to our world, take your own advice, take some time with her."

Carol smiled back. "See, you can be nice when you're not so chilly and cold in the field."

"I have a rep to maintain. Being nice ruins it."

J'onn was shaking his head as Lucy came up, checking a pad. "Oh, in all the chaos, forgot to tell you guys. That weird spider thing you brought with you? Seems it created some odd…offspring, for lack of a better term, caused a mess at a science lab downtown."

"Anything serious?" J'onn asked.

Lucy shook her head. "No, thankfully, we got it settled fast. We're bringing it over now but hopefully not much in the clean-up."

"At least that's one less disaster to worry about," J'onn sighed. "Now just have a dozen more…" He turned to head off. "I'll be in my office, I need some meditation."

Pepper looked to Lucy. "He meditates?"

Lucky smirked. "That's what he calls eating Oreos."

Carol was studying an image of Eve on one screen with Brainiac going through the data. "Hmm….something about this…can't quite put my finger on it…"

"It is curious," Brainiac stated as he studied his pad. "We have records of this Leviathan organization throughout history. There's rumors some of them possessed superhuman abilities, even behind some disasters in the past."

"Huh," Carol said. She looked over his shoulder to see one image of an ancient drawing. "Wait…is that…"

"Pompeii," Brainiac stated, pointing to the large figure in an odd suit of armor standing before an erupting mountain. "You have it on your world?'

"Ours was just a volcano," Carol stated. "You're saying this one was…that?"

"According to legend," Brainiac confirmed. "It's possible that one of their number caused these disasters back then. For what purpose, we cannot tell but the power they have is remarkable."

He looked up to see Carol staring at the figure, noting its large shape with an unusual face and a darker skin color. "Yes, it is not human," he replied. "It's possible that they are aliens, but from where I cannot tell…"

Carol barked out something in a language Brainy didn't understand but the sheer anger and venom in her voice made him realize something far more serious was going on.

Kara and Alex entered the main lab to see Astra lying on the bed with scanners moving over her. Lena was nearby checking on a monitor. She saw the pair enter and swallowed. "Ah, I can go."

"No, stay," Kara insisted. "I've cut you out of the loop enough as it is, not adding to it." Lena smiled back as she went back to her scans.

Kara licked her lips. "How…how are you?" It seemed a rather foolish thing to ask but it was all she could think of.

Astra shrugged. "I suppose better, considering." She looked at Kara. "So…Non truly attempted to use Myriad?"

"He did." Kara bit her lips and then spoke up. "Aunt Astra, how could you ever think that was the best thing to do? Either on Krypton or Earth?"

Astra lay back, looking up at the ceiling. "I….I thought the division was what kept Krypton from uniting as we could have, to prevent its destruction. Then I see Earth even worse, the bias, the idiotic fights over differences, on politics, on religions, genders, sports teams for Rao's sake." She looked at her niece. "I thought to make people forget all that…They could fix so many things of their world."

"And what would be the point?" Alex snapped. "I was under Myriad myself for a bit. I knew what it was like. It was not caring about my mother, about my friends, even about Kara. Yeah, emotions and personalities are complex and they can be horrible in the wrong people but guess what? That's what makes us human."

"And it was the same in Krypton," Kara added. "Aunt Astra, think about it. You use that, children won't recognize their parents, parents won't recognize their kids. You'd be creating nothing but a world of automations, no freedom, no creativity, nothing worth living for." She leaned in. "Is that really the world you'd want?"

Astra returned her gaze and then looked away with shame. "No," she softly said.

Kara took her hand. "I know…you wanted what was best. But Aunt Astra, you have to know, the fastest solutions are almost never the best ones. Believe me, I feel tempted to take shortcuts but it never works."

"And the choices you think are right at the time," Alex softly said. "Are often the ones you regret."

Her works affected Astra, who stared at Alex for a long moment. "I forgive you."

Alex blinked, clearly not expecting that. "You do?"

"You were trying to help your sister. What you did was out love. I can't blame you for that." She looked down and sighed. "I made…so many mistakes, Kara. I really thought I was doing what was right."

"I know how you feel," Lena spoke up. "I've done things I'm not proud of."

Kara sighed. "Lena, there was…"

Lena cut her off with a hand wave. "No, Kara, I'm not using Morgana as an easy way out. Remember, I crafted my own identity to be separate from her which means the choices I made were the same I'd have done in any world." She looked to Astra. "I hurt people. I made some decisions that were horrible and told myself it was for the best, which isn't that much different than what Lex does all the time. It took nearly dying myself to realize all the defense in the world can't make up for your mistakes."

"Guess the whole 'paved with good intentions' line isn't just for Earth after all," Alex had to note.

Kara reached over to squeeze Astra's hand. "What matters…is you have a second chance to do something about it all, Aunt Astra. Trust me, that's something you don't want to ever lose."

Astra smiled warmly. "You've grown, little one. You're doing your mother proud."

Kara moved to embrace her as Alex and Lena shared smiles.

The door burst open as Carol marched in, looking more harried than usual. "We need to find Lex, now."

Kara snorted. "We already knew that…"

"Not like this," Carol pressed. "Because it's not Lex we have to worry about. It's something far worse."

National City Midtown High School

As he walked the halls of the school, pushing his glasses up his nose, the young man sighed deeply. At first glance, he was as stereotypical the image of a nerd as possible with a slight build, unruly hair, dressed in slacks and a sweater and even a pocket protector. He knew the reputation he had but didn't truly mind it. After all, when the jocks and homecoming queens were fighting to find decent jobs, he'd be on track at some research center or even owning his own company.

At least, that's what he told himself after the occasional drink thrown in his face or regular bullying. It was rough but he put up with it, knowing it was better to just get through the day than rue on his problems. It was how he was raised and he couldn't ignore that sense of responsibility.

He was passing a classroom when an arm reached out to literally yank him inside. He gasped, wondering which football team member was about to pound on him. He blinked in surprise at the highly attractive blonde-haired girl in jeans and a loose blouse. "Stacy? What the hell?"

The girl looked around the hall before locking the door and drawing a blind over the small window. She turned to him and he was struck by her surprisingly serious face. "Pete…I need help."

"Wait…from me?" he gawked. "If this is some kind of joke, Stacy…"

She held up her hands. "Pete, listen, I know I've been…okay, not as nice to you in the past…"

"Actually, you'd have to have acknowledged my existence to be either nice or mean."

Her eyes flared with anger. "Hey, we were friends…"

"Until junior high when you decided hanging out with the popular clique more important," he snapped, letting out clearly long held-in anger.

"And I regret that. Really." Stacy sighed. "Pete, look, I need your help, you're the smartest guy in school and really…I don't know who else to go to."

Pete frowned. He was realizing the woman looked almost…scared yet also exhilarated. "Why? What's going on?"

She waved at herself "Do I look different to you?"

"Stacy…"

"I mean it."

Pete frowned before looking her up and down and arching an eyebrow. "Well….a bit." It was true. While the blonde had certainly been attractive, it was more the classic model type. Now, he could see muscles under the arms of the blouse and (as much as he tried not to look too hard) it appeared her body was also more curvaceous.

"Listen, remember me fainting yesterday? After the science lab thing?" As Pete nodded, the blonde was removing her shoes. "Doctors said I was fine, went home, no big deal. I wake up this morning and suddenly, I'm crushing a bottle of hair spray in my hand."

Pete blinked. "Wait, what?"

"I know, it's crazy but it happened. Then, I miss my bus, I'm running to catch it, tripped over a manhole and suddenly realized I'm about twenty feet ahead than I should be."

Pete was still confused. "What are you saying?"

"I was then heading through the alley, heard a car backfire and…well…" Stacy was now moving to the center of the room. "Okay….try not to freak out." Taking a deep breath, she bent and then leapt upward, somersaulting in the air. Her feet landed right on the ceiling and then stuck there. She hung upside down, her blond hair falling past her face.

Pete's jaw dropped as he took in the sight. "I…how…."

"Oh, that's not all." The blonde reached out a hand, clenching her fist. From the underside of her wrist fired what looked like a tendril of some kind. It struck an old-fashioned pencil sharpener lying on a desk. With a tug, the woman yanked it upward so it landed into her hand. She then clenched it to crush the device like an empty soda can.

Staring up at her, Peter Parker's mouth moved up and down. "How…what is this?"

The woman known as Gwen Stacy shook her head. "I have no idea, Pete. I just have no idea."

The music of Queen echoed as Lex Luthor danced around his office, humming along. "I want it all…I want it all…I want it all…and I want it now…" He whistled to the music on the loudspeakers as he looked out the windows into the chamber where the monstrous creature was being placed into a massive metallic harness under heavy guard. "Once more, my compliments to your organization for their fast work."

"We try our best," Eve remarked, arms crossed as she fixed Luthor with a solid glare. "But don't you think we should be doing more right now? It won't be long until they find us, you know how annoying the DEO can be as well as your sister."

Luthor waved his hand. "Soon, soon. We just need to ship this baby out then figure where to drop him." He tapped a finger to his chin. "Metropolis might be a little too obvious…New York, maybe? Or Chicago? Maybe Kansas City? Ah, what am I saying, wipe out Kansas City, it'll take months for anyone to notice."

Eve was studying the monitors in the office showing the monster whose eyes could clearly be seen glancing about in its mask. "Controlling that thing is going to be hard."

"I don't want it controlled, I want it angry and loose, the better to fight it off."

Eve looked at the monster in the chamber. "You really think you can beat it? After it takes out Superman and Supergirl?"

Luthor waved a hand. "I've been studying up on this thing for a long time. It's based on Kryptonian science and no one has devoted more time or money than me to killing Kryptonians."

"Not like this one."

"Eve, I did not get this far being foolish. Trust me, I have several contingencies to handle whatever happens and that includes this creature." He smiled warmly, rubbing his hands together. "Ah, this is going to be great….Unleash it, let it cause chaos, take out those damned Kryptonians…"

"And then Lex Luthor swoops in to save the day," Eve dryly said. "You really think it will work?"

Lex gave her the smile a teacher gives a particularly slow student. "Ms. Tessmacher, let me tell you what people are. People are sheep. They are stupid, gullible sheep who can be easily manipulated and need someone to lead them around. It's what Superman has done, made them think he's a grand hero and put their faith in him rather than relying on themselves." He held up a finger. "Mark my words…one day, he will be gone and the world will realize how much he took from them in their drive and progress." He shrugged. "I'm doing course correction on humanity's future."

Eve raised an eyebrow. "You really believe all that, huh? That you're helping humanity. That you're going to be the hero."

Lex appeared honestly surprised at the question. "I've always been the hero, Ms. Tessmacher. The world just needs to see it."

Eve was checking her pad. "Hmm…by the way, sounds like the FBI is talking to Baker so you might be out a future President."

"It won't matter. Once Doomsday has done its work, I'll have any two-bit politician begging me to endorse them." Lex grinned. "Why waste time with all that boring stuff Presidents do when I'm more effective as the power behind the scenes?"

Before Eve could reply, a loud alarm sounded. She was quickly looking at a nearby screen. "What the hell….we've got incoming!"

Lex's frown was deep. "I thought you had this cloaked for any scanners and your own set up to track any alien contacts!"

"We did!" Eve protested as she hit several keys on the screen. "Dammit, I can't understand…"

A loud booming echoed as well as a rumble. In moments, smashing through the side of the mountain came an all too familiar blue and red blur. It flew downward, scattering several guards. Behind her was another familiar form of Captain Marvel, firing off energy blasts as the other guards tried firing at her.

Lex was turning just as a shimmering light formed and a portal opened. Rescue was the first out to intercept the blasts from the gauntlet Lex had slipped on to fire at her. She formed an energy shield out of her own gauntlet to hold up as Alex followed in her suit, firing off a pistol of her own with Eve dodging the shots. Natasha was behind them and already spinning to attack the trio of bodyguards in the room. She easily kicked one back as she unleashed her Sting to electrocute another. The third was moving in only for a repulsor blast from Alex's weapon to knock him back.

Pepper adjusted her controls and Lex yelled as he felt the gauntlet on his hand being pulled forward by a powerful magnetic force. He hissed before releasing it to avoid his fingers being broken. As Pepper caught it, her smirk was evident in her voice. "My fiancée figured out to mask a radar signature when he was in high school. Your system was no problem."

The windows smashed inward as Kara and Carol flew into the room. Lex sighed as he brushed at his suit. "Honestly, you have to make a fuss of all this?" He looked to Alex. "And if you're going to hang around this bunch, you don't wear a costume too?"

"He's got a point," Pepper noted.

"Please don't bring that up again," Alex snapped. She focused back on Lex. "You're under arrest, Lex," Alex announced. "For…oh, hell, for breaking just about every law that ever existed."

Lex smirked. "Please, like I wouldn't be out in an hour anyway." He looked at Kara and snorted. "You really think you're going to win here? Every time you beat me, it just proves me right."

"Oh, please, continue," Kara said in a sarcastic tone.

Lex didn't seem to notice as he pressed on. "When the people see you shove me in jail, you know what they see? Some self-righteous, self-appointed alien harassing a humble human! Once more proving how you and your damned cousin only care about showing your superiority, making us all feel so beneath your feet!" His face was turning red as the hate in his voice was overwhelming him. "God, I wish you could just lift that annoying mask, reveal your true face!"

"This is my face, Lex," Kara snapped. "Just as with Kal, you won't see it."

Lex rolled his eyes. "Just like him, acting humble and trying to be human when your every move is all about holding us back." He pointed at her. "It won't work. This is our planet, not yours and humans have slain gods before."

Carol cocked her head as she studied him. "Damn…you really are nuts."

Lex snorted. "The common pitiful insult from a smaller mind."

Carol shook her head. "I wish you were unique, I do. But no, seen your kind on so many worlds in so many ways. Sad little men or women who think they're a bigger deal than they are. The ones who have to act more powerful and cling to their pathetic view of the world just to maintain power. And, most importantly, project their own bigotry and selfish views onto anyone who doesn't agree with them."

Astra was clearly doing her best not to just lunge forward and throttle Lex on the spot. "Rao, you and Zod have so much in common, it's terrifying."

"I am nothing like any Kryptonian," Lex snapped.

"Ready to wipe out anyone who doesn't match your views of what the world should be?" Astra smirked. "You really should have studied him more."

Lex smirked. "This is nice, being psychoanalyzed by someone not even from this planet."

"Oh, I'm not from this Earth but I'm human." Carol paused to shrug. "Mostly. But it's people like you who give us all a bad name."

"Carol," Natasha said, her weapon aimed at Eve. "Maybe we should get to…"

"Right, right," Carol focused on the pair before her. "One chance. Shut it down, give it up and we'll go easy on you. Don't…and you pay for it."

Lex actually yawned. "Lady, if you think I'm going to give up…"

"I'm not talking to you, asshole," Carol snapped, motioning to Eve. "I'm talking to the person really in charge."

Lex blinked in confusion, looking to Eve, then back to Carol, then back to Eve, then back to Carol. "Um…huh? Sorry, did you use too much peroxide this morning?"

"Wow, really, blonde jokes, Lex?" Kara complained.

Carol glared at Eve. "I kept wondering why anyone would do all this. Throw in with some lunatic like Luthor, okay. But unleash some force you know can never be controlled? Ruin their own world? So I took a closer look at you. Your genetic baseline may read pure human."

Her eyes narrowed. "But if there's one thing I know when I see it…it's a Skrull."

Eve stared at her for a long moment before her lips curled upward in a smirk. She began moving, her body changing as it did. In moments, the human was gone, replaced by a green-skinned figure Carol knew very well. She threw out her hands, unleashing a blast of force that knocked everyone back with even Kara taken off-balance by the unexpected attack.

Eve looked out at the chamber below and yelled out something in a strange language. Below her, the various guards began to transform, turning into the same green-skinned figures in purple uniforms, bristling with new power.

For once, Luthor's cool arrogance was gone, replaced by a rare look of absolute shock. Eve glanced at him and smirked. "It's like you said, Lex…Humans are nothing but stupid sheep who can be easily manipulated. All I had to do was play to that ridiculous ego and make you think you were right about this idiotic vendetta of yours and I could play you like a Centurian harp."

Kara couldn't help but enjoy the rare sight of Lex Luthor looking completely dumbstruck. "Well…I hate to sound like I'm rubbing salt in the wound…oh, what the hell, I'm going to pour a tub of it in and point out how in your zeal to take out the 'evil aliens', you allied yourself with a pack of them."

The doors blasted inward as a pack of Skrulls entered, firing off weapons with one unleashing a blast from a high-tech gauntlet. Carol moved to take the burnt of the blasts, the energies flying off her force field but her wincing before firing a blast of her own.

Alex ducked behind a fallen desk, hissing as the laser fire tore over her head. "Dammit, didn't know they were this advanced!"

"They shouldn't be!" Carol retorted. "I didn't expect genetic augmentation!"

Alex winced at a blast coming by her. "Shit, knew I should have brought extra armor!"

"I can help!" Pepper activated a command on her suit and a small compartment by her hip opened. She reached inside, removing an object that in moments had grown into what appeared to be a square belt buckle. "Tony and Scott whipped this up for some kid heroes from another dimension a bit back. Convinced me to bring it as a backup in case but…"

She tossed it to Alex, who appeared more bemused than anything else. As another blast ripped past her head, Alex dodged, rolling to come up to a corner. She placed the buckle at her waist, quickly figuring out how to activate the switch.

A shimmer flew over her body as advanced nanotechnology instantly took in Alex's size, measurements, and body chemistry to rework her suit. It flowed over her, transforming from pure black to streaks of blue going down her torso. A hood worked itself over her hair as Alex gasped out with a visor forming over her eyes filled with readouts. One Skrull was firing a blast which struck the suit, Alex hissing but surprised that it seemed to absorb the blast's power. Her hands were now encased in gauntlets much like Pepper's own. On instinct, she raised one and unleashed a blast to knock that Skrull back.

Kara's own eyes were as wide as her sister's as she took her in. "Holy…that looks…wow!"

Alex glanced down at herself in wonder. "What is this?"

"Well, Tony insisted on some crazy acronym as usual," Pepper said, smiling under her helmet. "But I code-named it….Sentinel."

Alex had to let out a laugh as she unleashed a blast from the gauntlet to knock a Skrull away. Kara laughed herself, feeling joyful seeing her sister embracing a superhero motif at last.

Lex had activated his own suit, letting his armor flow around him. He began marching toward Eve, ready to attack her. "You…you dared try to use me?"

"Try?" Eve giggled. "Oh, we did more than that." She dodged Lex's blow, leaping out the broken window and onto the nearby catwalk. Lex followed, his rage overcoming him to fail to realize that Eve seemed to be playing with him, leading him out over the huge chamber where the monstrous creature rested.

She dodged his punches as she continued. "We needed you to find a way to get Astra back and then use her genetic code to open up the vault." She nimbly leapt to avoid one of his blasts. "Oh, the whole 'unleash it and then stop it" plan is good. It just needs the tweak of taking you out as well and leave this Earth open for us."

Lex snarled as he attacked. "So this entire organization is just a front for aliens?"

"Oh, no, it existed before us," Eve corrected. She extended her body to avoid another blast, completely nonchalant about it all with her torso nearly ten feet from her legs. "We just co-opted it for our own ends. And thank you very much for your help."

Lex's face was flushed as he kept blasting at her. "No one makes a fool of Lex Luthor! You think I'm going to let you have this planet?"

"Let?" Eve openly laughed. "You really don't get out of your league you are. You were so busy looking ahead to your plans, you missed what was under your nose. Such as me…and how I got a look at exactly how that precious armor of yours worked."

She tapped at her watch and Lex gasped as a sudden pain overcame him. He fell to his knees, heaving for breath as his armor began coming apart around him, falling in segments. Eve marched forward to kick him in the face and knock him onto his back. "Gods below, how I had to put up with your idiocy, your foolishness, your blindness. News flash, Lex, Superman does not spend every hour of the day thinking about you! This ''rivalry'' exists because you made it! Without you, Superman would go around helping this world and not giving you a second thought. Without him...you have nothing to justify what you do and the world will recognize you as the small, miserable, twisted man you are."

She knocked him back again. "And that you can't even see the truth about who he is…that is utterly pathetic. It's staring you in the face and you won't accept it! All your boasts of greatness and of being so superior but your vision is so small."

Lex was getting to his feet, trying to gather both his strength and dignity. "You know...I should be grateful, Eve. Or whatever your name is. Knowing you're not even human means I'll feel even less bad about killing you than I was going to before."

He was cut down by another punch knocking him to the catwalk's surface. Eve towered over him, her grin larger than ever. "You act like you're the only person on this world who matters but to us, you are just a pawn. Convinced you're the greatest man on Earth when the universe couldn't give a damn about some flea. You…you are nothing but a criminal, Luthor." She spread out her arms. "And we? We are conquerors."

Kara, Alex, Carol, Pepper and Natasha stood at the open window, staring at the scene. "Should we…do something?" Pepper asked.

Kara watched Eve kick Lex in the crotch. "…In a minute." Alex nodded in agreement with Astra smirking. Carol and Natasha looked to each other and shrugged.

Lex was rising up as Eve kicked at him again, this time with more force. "You are a truly pathetic excuse for a human, Luthor and I've seen a lot of them," she gloated. "So wrapped up in your petty jealousy of Superman.."

"I…am not…." Lex literally spat out along with some blood.

"And you can't even accept that jealousy makes it sadder." Eve raised her hand, letting it form into an axe-like shape. "Die knowing no one is going to mourn you."

In a blur, Kara was grabbing her hand and pulling Eve away, throwing her across the catwalk. She looked to Lex and shook her head. "The worst part? Me saving you does shit-all to change your views of me but I'm doing it anyway."

The Skrulls below were firing off blasts but Kara dodged them, unleashing a blast of heat vision at the bars holding up the catwalk. It came apart to send it crashing downward, scattering the Skrulls. Pepper flew outward, firing off her repulsor blasts to drive more of them back.

Lex was trying to get up as Astra grabbed him by the chest. She brought him in close, her eyes tinged with red. "I am…so close…to burning your face off for what you did to me…" She glanced to where Kara was battling Eve, then back to Luthor, her heat vision dying. "But for her…I won't. Because she's a better excuse for a human than you could ever hope to be."

She threw him toward the waiting Natasha who expertly smashed Lex with a trio of punches to knock him unconscious. She brushed at her hands as she saw the annoyed look on Alex's face. "Seriously? You're not even from this planet, could have saved him for us…" Natasha just made a mocking smirk.

Eve had transformed herself into a massive creature resembling a large hedgehog although the sharp quills were obviously enough to cut through steel. Kara flew upward to dodge her blows as she fired off a blast of heat vision.

Shifting back into her human form, Eve was barking out commands in her own tongue with Carol's eyes widening. "Kara, get out of here now!" Before Kara could react, the spotlights above suddenly shifted to a green color. Kara gasped in agony as she felt the Kryptonite radiation wash over her. Above, Astra was likewise crying out and falling to her knees with Alex moving quickly to try and protect her.

Pepper quickly grabbed Astra, rocketing up toward the ceiling to bring her out of the hole they'd created. In a blur of energy, Carol was lifting Kara, the two Kryptonians shaking as they recovered in the open air. "God, that stuff sucks," Kara moaned.

Below, Natasha and Alex looked down into the chamber to see Eve making her way toward the apparatus holding Doomsday. Each was lowering their weapons before a bevy of blaster rays from the Skrulls forced them to fall back. Eve was activating a series of commands, easily breaking through the firewalls Lex had set up.

With a series of booming sounds, the clasps locking Doomsday in were released, accompanied by hisses of steam. It lunged forward, breaking the chains and clamps still holding it down. It let out a monstrous bellow as it looked about, as if searching for something.

Eve giggled as she hit another button on her pad. Doomsday seemed to straighten before looking upward at the hole. It bent its legs and then leaped upward, its form flying upward in a way that reminded Pepper of the Hulk but with a more savage gait. It landed on the ground outside and then took another bounding leap, covering hundreds of yards with each jump.

Carol was down the chamber in a blur, slamming Eve against a nearby wall. "What did you do?" she hissed.

Eve smirked. "Lex did the legwork but we refined the process. A little subliminal touch in its mind, a bit of directing of its rage. Right now, we directed it right toward National City. So, it's a choice. You can stop me or…."

Her voice was shut as Carol's energy-powered fist smashed into her jaw to knock her out cold. She spun around, unleashing a massive blast of energy that rolled over the remaining Skrulls, taking them all down. Looking up at the room above, Carol called out. "Alex! Better get your buddies here to round these guys up, tell them to be careful!"

"Don't worry, we've handled shapeshifters!" Alex assured her. "What about…"

Already, Carol was taking off, finding Kara and Astra slowly recovering. "I want to ask if you're okay but we don't have time." She looked to where in the distance a figure was bounding, covering over a hundred yards with each of its jumps. "That thing…"

"We know," Kara winced as she rose to her feet, taking a deep breath. "We have to stop it now."

"It may not be enough," Astra warned. "Against Doomsday…"

"It'll have to be," Kara said as she bounded and flew into the sky with the other three quickly behind her.

Pete was shaking his head as he followed Gwen around the streets of the city. "You know, my aunt and uncle won't be happy if they find out I ditched the last two classes."

"Oh, please, like you haven't finished all your homework anyway," Gwen said. She was now wearing a light jacket over her outfit. "Besides, I had to get out, get some legwork going. I still feel….I don't know how I feel."

Peter adjusted his glasses. "I still say you should check yourself out, some lab…"

"And get turned into some sort of freaky experiment?" Gwen shook her head. "Come on, Pete, you know the horror stories of aliens being misused, how are they gonna take me?"

"Gwen, come on. I may be smart but this is a bit much." Peter glanced at the notes he'd taken. "From my first look at your blood, my guess is whatever bit you must have caused a mutation. If it was some spider creature, then it makes sense you've gotten some of those attributes. Enhanced strength, speed, agility…."

"And the freaky…webs, I guess?" Gwen absently flicked her wrist to send one such glob at a nearby trash can, neatly sealing the top of it. "Wow, I think I'm getting good at this!"

"I admit, I was worried about testing it at targets in the gym," Peter stated. "But it seems after exactly sixty minutes, it simply dissolves, maybe outside your body, it can't maintain the same thickness and cohesive bond…"

"You realize you're bordering on very disgusting right now."

"Sorry," Peter intoned. "They seem good but you might need aid directing them, maybe some device to focus the fluid shooting more..."

"The border is being crossed."

"But again, I still say a professional lab is better."

"Maybe," Gwen acknowledged. "I still don't want my dad to figure this out. You know him, Pete, he's a cop, always so strict law and order, might not take it well."

"Come on, Gwen, your dad's a great guy," Peter argued. "He'd understand, really."

Gwen sighed. "I still don't know about this…."

"Gwen, you have to tell someone else. You can't keep something like this secret long."

"Hey, I can try! I mean, not like I'm going to publicly out myself as the Spider Woman."

"Hey, it's catchy," Peter intoned. He looked to her, his face softening. "Why me, Gwen? And don't say just my smarts. Why trust me?"

Gwen was quiet for a moment, her eyes showing shame. "I got wrapped up in all, Pete. The popularity, the cliques, it felt easier to just…give in rather than be more unique." She shook her head. "That was a mistake. I should have stayed to how I was, not become some Barbie type." She looked to him with regret on her features. "I forgot what a good friend you were. You and MJ, we were all so tight and I left it behind. I need to make good with her too, hopefully, she doesn't punch me over it."

"Last I heard, she was trying to get that band of hers together." Peter softly smiled. "Maybe you can try playing the drums again? You weren't that bad."

"Thanks," Gwen replied. "But again, I just went too far in it all. I think this can be good, give me a new push and-"

"Whatever else she was about to say was cut off as she stopped in place. Her eyes widened as what felt like a massive buzz cut through her head, screaming out at her. She looked around, staring upward just as a loud whistling sound echoed through the air. She spun around, grabbing Peter, and on instinct, threw out her hand to fire a piece of the "webbing" (for lack of anything else to call it) at a rooftop. Peter let out a yell as she swung them out of the way just as a hulking shape smashed into the street below them.

Peter was catching his breath before looking down, staring in horror at the monstrous figure picking up a nearby car and sending it flying into a storefront. People were already running in terror as a police car pulled up. The two officers stepped out, firing their guns but the bullets were useless against the creature.

With surprising speed, it was on them, one spiked fist smashing an officer's face to mush while the other sent the second officer flying thirty feet against a wall with a sickening crunch.

"Oh my God," Peter whispered as Doomsday continued to march forward, punching cars and buses as it stormed across the streets. "What the hell is that?"

"I don't know," Gwen said. She took him by the hand and fired another web to lower them to the ground. She stared at the creature storming ahead and set her face. "But someone has to stop it."

"What the hell are you doing?!" Peter demanded as she saw Gwen moving forward.

"What was it your uncle used to say, Pete? With great power comes great responsibility?" Gwen swallowed. "All these years, I've tried playing a role and I hate it. I don't want to be a high school queen bee. I want to be something else and this may be the way to do it."

He stared at her then took a deep breath. "Okay…but if you're going to do this, can't just on your own, the cameras will see you." He glanced around, seeing a now empty sports store with a window shattered. "Come on," he pulled her to it as Gwen followed with a newfound sense of duty in her heart.

Kara was tapping her earpiece as she rocketed at the fastest speed she could. "Lucy, what have we got?"

She could hear the chaos at the DEO even over the commlink. "J'onn is already heading over and we've got the tac units not handling the Skrulls moving but this thing is…Dammit, it's something else, we can't even track its power levels!"

"Just hold tight, Luce, we're almost there." Kara pulled ahead, gritting her teeth as she saw Doomsday about to hurl a truck in the air. She unleashed her heat vision, blazing it right at Doomsday's back. Kara slammed into it with the power of a dozen locomotives and was naturally jarred when Doomsday was knocked forward only twenty feet. She dodged its blows, amazed at how fast it was before punching it.

Kara gasped in agony as she felt her fists aching against the skin. She stared at her fist, stunned to see scarped knuckles. That left her open for a punch from Doomsday that sent her flying back. She landed in Carol's arms as the other woman was quick to keep flying her toward the fight.

Pepper was unloading a bevy of rockets and repulsor blasts with Kara briefly noting how someone called "Rescue" sure backed a lot of firepower. She couldn't complain as it was trying to drive Doomsday back only for it to lunge forward at her. In a blur, J'onn was there in full Martian form to knock the creature off-balance.

He turned to offer her a hand which she accepted even as she looked him over. "Huh. So this is the real you? I like it." Off his look, she chuckled. "Trust me, seen a lot weirder."

Carol was flying down, bringing her hands together to unleash as strong a blast as she could spare in public. She grunted as it struck Doomsday head-on, a power ready to smash a hole through a mountain if it had to.

The creature backed up under its power, wincing as Kara joined Alex, firing off her heat vision. Without warning, it jumped outward, seemingly shrugging off the dual blasts. The two women were unprepared for its speed as the creature smashed them both away, Kara crashing through a bus while Carol was tossed into the fourth floor of a nearby building.

The crackle of a portal opened as Alex and Natasha stepped out, J'onn taking in the former's new uniform with a simple nod. "God…" Alex whispered as she took in Astra flying down, grabbing a nearby car hood and throwing it at Doomsday. The monster knocked it away before letting out a savage bellow with Astra launching a kick at its face. "That thing…"

"Lena is still working on a possible solution with the projector," J'onn told her. "We need to hold it off until she can."

Doomsday had grabbed Astra by the leg to fling her toward another office building. It then lunged forward, smashing its fists against the building, causing it to shake and begin to fall onto the prone Astra. People were screaming as they tried to run with a large block of cement falling at a woman and two children.

Before J'onn could react, what looked like odd strands of webbing flew out to grab the block and push it aside just as a figure swung outward, grabbing the trio and moving them out of the way. Rising up was a female form in what appeared to be a dark blue tracksuit with a white jacket and hood which was pulled up tight around her head. Her face was covered by a ski mask with reflective goggles to further conceal her looks.

Carol took in the form and rolled her eyes. "Oh, God, don't tell me..."

The teenager nodded to the trio. "Run, just get clear!"

"Thank you…." The woman said in a gushing tone. "Just…whoever you are!"

"Me? I'm…." She caught a reflection of herself in a window in the makeshift costume and realized the mask did a better job than she expected hiding her voice. "Call me…Ghost Spider." The name popped into her head and At least it's a hell of a lot better than Spider-Girl.

A roar got her attention combined with the buzzing in her head as she spun around to see Doomsday charging. Seeing the monstrous figure storming toward her, Gwen could only swallow. In retrospect…maybe I should have just stayed in bed this morning.

Sorry for long delay but getting this out helps and yes, the idea of Ghost Spider in Supergirl's Earth was in the cards for a while. For a visual, imagine Dove Cameron.

Hopefully not as long for wrap-up chapter and hope you all enjoyed.