Distant Cousins
by Michael Weyer
I figure time to wrap up at least one story so here we go.
My thanks to Marcus S. Lazarus for some tips.
Kara had been in hard fights before. There was Reign, Thanos and a few others who had given her a hard time. But a blow from Doomsday was unlike anything she'd ever felt before.
She gasped as she was sent flying into the side of a bus, the vehicle crumpling under her. She did her best to crawl out, shaking her head to try and clear it. Astra was leaping forward to smash a pair of fists into Doomsday's face, her own tight in anger and rage. Despite that, Kara could see the pain in her aunt's eyes as her knuckles were scraped against the rocky hide. She barely dodged the oncoming blow from the monster.
Carol was flying down, unleashing a blast of energy at Doomsday. The monster winced but still managed to charge through the attack to lunge at Carol, who gasped in pain at the punch. She rubbed at her back as she looked at Kara. "We need to rethink this."
"Ideas?"
Carol paused before touching her communicator. "Nat, you hear me?"
In a buzz, Natasha's voice echoed in her comlink. "I do. What do you need?"
"I know Skrulls. They never go into something like this without some sort of backup. They sure as hell wouldn't be unleashing Doomsday if they didn't think they had a way to somehow control him. It has to be at that base."
"We're on it," Alex broke in. She paused. "Kara...just...hang in there, I'll be over as soon as I can."
"I'll be fine," Supergirl did her best to be upbeat as she flew back on the attack against the monster. Bounding behind her, Ghost Spider was leaping over some wreckage to fire off a web at a nearby lamppost. It let her swing forward, kicking back a piece of debris that had been sailing toward a nearby building. Landing nimbly on her feet, she fired off another webline to grab a nearby trash can. With effort, she sent it sailing out to smash at Doomsday's head. It didn't seem to affect the monster too much but did make her feel better at contributing.
Kara looked to her. "You're doing ok?"
"If by okay, you mean scared out of my damn mind, yep, sure," Gwen replied as best as she could.
"How long have you been doing this?'
Ghost Spider made a show of looking up at a clock on the wall of a bank. "Um, five minutes give or take?"
"Then you're doing fine," Kara assured her. "Right now, help with crowd control, get folks out of the way."
"Out of the way, got it," Ghost Spider intoned, firing off a webline to sail off toward the onlookers. Kara flew back into the fray as she hoped some help for this mess was coming.
Metropolis
For a city often home to some wild moments themselves, the citizen of Metropolis were still taken aback at hearing of the chaos in National City.
In the newsroom of the Daily Planet, reporters were gathered around TVs and computers, trying to keep up with the news reports. Several openly winced at the sight of the costumed figures hurled about with ease by the hideous creature who defied description.
"Damn," one young intern whispered. "Supergirl...she may be outmatched here."
"Lane!" everyone turned at the familiar bellowing of Perry White as the veteran newsman stuck his head out of his office. "Where the hell is that husband of yours?!"
Lois Lane managed a cool smile amid the chaos. "You know, Clark, Perry. He's always in the thick of things."
White just shook his head. "Honestly, where does he keep going...?"
In an alleyway behind the Planet building, a figure raced as he pulled at his shirt and slid off his glasses. In a blur, a pile of clothing was left behind as a red and blue streak of light flew faster than a speeding bullet.
The RV had pulled over to the side of the road somewhere in Kansas. While it appeared the usual type of nondescript vehicle on the outside, the inside was a high-tech powerhouse packed with top-of-the-line electronics from video screens to a makeshift workshop. One screen was showing the images of the battle in National City with the van's adult occupant staring with interest.
Next to the handsome, bald black man, a teenaged girl looked at the screen and winced seeing Supergirl being punched. "Damn. We didn't have her back home but she still looks to be taking a beating."
The man stroked his chin in heavy thought. "Something like this is big...too big to ignore."
"Sir," echoed a friendly female voice from a loudspeaker. "I thought your focus was on Superman."
"He'll be showing up," the man intoned as she rose to his feet and headed to a nearby door set in the closet. He punched in a code as it slid open. "And I'll be there."
In the chair next to him, the eyes of the black teenager widened. "Dad...it's too dangerous!"
The computer seemed to agree with her. "Sir, my analysis of that creature indicates its strength levels may be too much for you."
"I've been setting up my armor for a major threat," the man intoned as he took in the object inside the specialized cabinet. "Guess it's time for a field test."
The teenager shook her head as she rose to her feet. "Dad, come on, the field testing still isn't ready..."
"We designed it for him, it should handle that thing." She opened her mouth only for him to give her a sharp look she knew so well. She sighed as she moved to help him remove what was inside. "Okay, fine, but remember to get the stabilizers set right and don't overuse the power too much."
"You know, I did design this."
"Yeah and that's why I'm worried."
He managed a small smile as the pair began working in haste. He got the sense the computer voice wanted to say more but merely held its electronic tongue as he reached for the item inside the booth.
Black Widow and Sentinel made their way through the hallways of the hidden base. Each was stern and determined as they saw a dozen figures stepping before them, clad in matching black uniforms. "Think everyone here is a Skrull?" Alex asked.
"We'll see," Natasha replied as she charged forward. She threw out her hands, a pair of small discs flying from them, one landing on the floor and the other attaching itself to a wall. As soon as one guard came near one, it erupted with electricity to shock him. He yelled, shaking before landing on the ground, his features twisting into a Skrull.
Natasha was already moving, dodging another attacker to leap up, wrapping her legs around the neck of another as she spun. She took him down, landing on her side to roll around. She was back on her feet to kick another guard down as Alex stood behind her, unleashing blasts of energy from her suit and grinning at the response.
As a guard came after her, Alex grunted as he grabbed her around the throat. She put her feet up on the wall and used the suit's enhancements to let herself walk up the wall and even the ceiling, escaping the man's grasp. She landed on her feet behind the startled guard to slam his head into the wall.
Natasha was still moving in a blur, firing off blasts of her Sting at the guards as another was electrocuted by the sensor she had on the ground. She ducked another blow to kick a guard before dodging a blow and then smashing a guard's face into the floor.
"Down!" Alex called and Natasha instinctively ducked, allowing Alex to send out several shots from her gauntlets that knocked the remaining guards back. She paused as she saw Natasha crouching down, one leg askew and throwing her head back. "You realize you do a lot of posing?"
"What?" Natasha frowned as she rose up.
"Posing," Alex returned. "You land and you do a weird pose."
"Um...no, I don't."
"Hey, it's fine, Kara does the same thing when she lands sometimes."
"I do not pose!"
"Yep, she denies she does it too."
Natasha was opening her mouth to argue when another wave of guards raced in, several having already dropped their human guises to be full Skrulls. As the two women set themselves, a form suddenly leapt from behind them, landing in a somersault to attack the guards. Her moves were much like Natasha's, quick and efficient, including planting her feet upon the wall to kick out and strike down one attacking enemy. She managed to pull a submachine gun out to fire at the rest, several Skrulls sent down while the others scattered.
The woman landed on her feet and turned to face the pair. She appeared to be a few years younger than Natasha, her blonde hair done up in a braided bun to offset her attractive, if stern, face. She wore a nearly identical jumpsuit as Natasha, only in white with a bomber jacket over it. Her lips were curled in a smirk as she looked at the stunned Natasha. "You cut your hair. It's better that way."
"Yelena?" Natasha blurted. Instantly, her jaw set as she strode forward to slam the woman against the wall, his forearm to her throat. "I don't know how you knew about her but if you don't drop that face..."
The woman simply spoke in Russian. Alex couldn't tell what she was saying but it clearly had an effect on Natasha as her eyes widened even further before she backed up. "It's you..." She whispered. "How the hell did you get on this Earth?"
"Oh, long story," the woman said in an accented voice. She looked Natasha over again. "The suit needs improvement."
"At least I'm not wearing that stupid jacket," Natasha returned.
"Pockets!" the woman defensively said. "You know how much I can fit in here?"
Natasha saw the puzzled Alex just staring at them. "Ah, right, Alex Danvers, this is Yelena Belov, my...sister."
"Adoptive," Yelena informed the other woman. She looked to Natasha. "To answer the main question, someone else has been tracking these Skrulls. Our paths crossed when I was on a job and she decided to get me to come along."
"To another Earth?"
"You know me, love to travel." It was clear to Alex the woman possessed a light sense of humor Natasha lacked.
There was a rush of footsteps before another woman scampered into the hallway on her tennis shoes. She was attractive with short blond hair wearing a long coat over a light shirt with rainbow-colored suspenders attached to her long trousers. Her face broke into a wide grin as she saw the others. "Oh, hello there! Sorry, wait..." She held up some sort of device which let out a whirring sound. The woman paused as she looked at the device and nodded. "Right, both human, sorry, can't be too careful."
"Who are you?" Alex demanded.
"Oh, I'm the Doctor," the woman said with a cheerful laugh.
"The Doctor..." Alex paused before her eyes widened. "Wait...as in...the Doctor?"
The woman appeared surprised. "You've heard of me?"
"We work with alien species, every one of them has stories about you," Alex replied. She paused to look the woman over. "Huh. Thought you were a guy lately."
"Well, might be, I mean, possible another me here or maybe there isn't, I'm just sort of popping in anyway." The Doctor waved a hand absently. "Sorry to interrupt but been keeping an eye on Skrulls causing some ruckus across the multiverse. They had been making some trouble in Russia on..." She paused to look at Natasha, who got the feeling the Doctor wasn't just looking at her with physical eyes. "I guess you must be from her Earth too."
"I am," Natasha answered. "You were there?"
"Briefly," the Doctor stated as if inter-Earth travel was like hopping a train. "As I said, these Skrulls have been causing a bit of a fuss across various Earths. Not sure what they were up to on your Earth but managed to get a lock of them here and so here I am and I'm sorry, who did you say you worked for?"
"Department of Extranormal Operations. DEO?"
"Sounds like a bad band from Ursa Major," the Doctor mused. "Well, I've been doing my best to keep a step ahead but it's a little hard with this lot and from the way you're looking over my shoulder, there's a lot more coming, aren't there?"
She turned to see another pack of guards racing at them. "This is our scene," Yelena remarked as she charged forward, Natasha at her side. In seconds, they were brawling back-to-back, easily working together with Yelena rolling over Natasha's back to kick a guard. She then ducked between the legs of another, sliding down the hall as Natasha smashed two more Skrulls down.
Alex was firing off blasts from her gauntlets, one streaking over Yelena's head. She smirked at Natasha. "Her outfit's cooler."
"It is not!"
"Do you have ray guns? No? Then it's cooler."
"I don't need ray guns."
"Everyone needs ray guns. I had ray guns, I'd be using them."
"I have my skills."
"Ah, your skills, right, you still don't know you keep posing."
"I don't pose!"
"Keep saying that, poser."
Alex had to laugh at the realization that, whatever else, these two were definitely sisters.
As the trio moved down the hallway, smashing guards left and right, the Doctor was nonchalantly stepping over the fallen bodies as she held a bizarre-looking scanner in her hands. "Let's see, let's see, has to be here somewhere..."
"What?" Alex called out as she ducked a guard's blow to smash it against a wall.
"They're using some sort of power to direct that creature," the Doctor stated. "We arrived just as they were letting it loose so I couldn't stop it. However, as dim as they may be, Skrulls aren't suicidal enough to let out something that could turn on them."
"Carol was suggesting the same thing," Alex noted. "Maybe it's a way to stop it?"
"Or, at the least, slow it down until something better comes along."
"Kara's hoping we can figure a way to send it to the Phantom Zone."
"There?" The Doctor frowned. "Now, that's an awful spot, one of the worst vacations of my life. No, wait, there was the time I was in Ipswich..."
Alex wasn't sure what to make of this strange woman yet had to note this still wasn't the most bizarre conversation she'd ever had. She followed them as they continued their way into the complex, battling Skrulls as they went.
Kara spat out a bit of blood and wiped at her jaw. Pain was still something she was getting used to and it showed how dangerous Doomsday was. She saw the creature lunging forward, barely able to dodge its sharp blows. Carol was still firing off blasts but it was clear she was also feeling the effects even as Doomsday seemed to brush off the assault.
Kara fired off some heat vision which didn't seem to slow Doomsday down. "Carol, can't you hit it harder?"
"Dammit, I can't go bigger than this!" Carol snapped. "Not without threatening folks around us!"
She was cut off when Doomsday made a backhand slap that smashed against the energy field around Carol, causing her to cry in pain and fall back. The monster was moving faster than Kara anticipated, grabbing her by her hair and yanking to crush her against a bus. It reared its fist back to strike her again.
The red and blue streak flew out at such high speed that the sonic boom of his arrival would take several seconds to be heard. His double fists slammed into Doomsday with the force of a hundred stampeding elephants. The monster howled as the famed red and blue-garbed figure nailed him another punch to send him back.
Kara winced as she got to her feet, smiling as she saw her cousin attacking the creature. "Kal."
"Good to see you," Superman stated with that light smile. He saw Doomsday rising and moved forward, unleashing his heat vision to burn at the creature, who howled in a rare dose of pain. That let Carol move in to fire another energy blast to drive him off.
Astra was stepping forward, her eyes on Superman. "Kal-El?" As he turned, she smiled. "Yes...I see it. You have your father's eyes."
"Alura?" Superman seemed surprised. "I thought you were on Argo."
"It's Astra," Kara quickly explained. "I'll explain more later. Right now, we have a bigger problem."
Superman nodded, clearly wanting to speak more but agreeing with Kara. He turned in time to see Doomsday charging, the three Kryptonians flying off to avoid his strike. Superman fired off another blast of heat vision with Astra adding her own. Behind them, Rescue unleashed a wave of repulsor blasts at the monster.
The Martian Manhunter flew over to add a few punches to Doomsday. The beast knocked him back with a punch sending him flying out where Superman caught him. Doomsday began another charge when a streak of grey material flew outward and over its eyes. Ghost Spider was landing on an overturned car, staring in wonder. "Wow...did I just do that?"
Superman smiled at her. "Good job."
Ghost Spider blinked at him. "You...you're..."
"Talk to you later." Superman moved at blinding speed to grab Doomsday by the shoulders. He tried to lift them up, hoping to get the monster, if not in orbit, then at least out of the city. He grunted, surprised at the weight and how it almost felt like Doomsday was somehow resisting his efforts. That was enough for it to smash a spiked fist at his face. Grunting at the pain, Superman lashed out with a boot to smash into one of the spurs sticking out of Doomsday's right knee joint.
The creature howled in agony as the spur shattered off. The realization it could be hurt after all galvanized Kara, allowing her to fly forward and hit him with two blows to the face. Behind her, Astra grabbed the bone spur and leapt forward, planting it into Doomsday's right eye. The monster's howls were even louder before it threw out a fist, nailing Astra in the gut.
She gasped in pain, grabbing her stomach as she fell back with Kara moving to catch her. "I'm okay," Astra winced even as she held up her fingers to see them stained with blood.
Kara pulled her away as Doomsday and Superman began exchanging punches, the impacts so great that nearby windows shattered. Ghost Spider saw some panes falling toward civilians and fired off a line of webs to protect them.
Nearby, Peter was moving to try and keep out of danger himself. "Damn, wish I had a camera for all this," he muttered. He heard a cry and looked over to see a five-year-old girl whimpering as she curled into an alleyway. "Hey, hey, it's okay," Peter said as he walked toward her. He bent down, offering a smile. "Come on, it'll be all right, let's get you to your mom, ok?"
The girl was still scared as Peter scooped her up in his arms and began walking out of the alleyway. They saw a frantic woman coming up. "Cassie!" she screamed as the girl cried out "Mommy!" Peter was heading toward the woman as the building around them rocked from the impact of Doomsday slamming into it. He heard a grinding sound and looked upward to see a large neon sign coming loose from the impact of the blows around them.
Peter didn't think in the least. He pushed the girl into her mother's arms and then pushed them forward, her crying out just as the sign crashed down around him. His yell caught Gwen's attention as she turned and her eyes widened in horror under the mask. "Peter!" she screamed as she swung her way over.
She landed by the sign, seeing his still form. She knelt down, grabbing it from underneath. With a strength she could never have imagined possessing a day ago, Gwen pulled at the rubble, ignoring the pain in her back and arms.
In an instant, Kara was at her side, also grabbing the rubble to help pull it off. Peter lay still, his glasses shattered as Gwen knelt by him. "Peter? Oh, God, Peter, please be alive..."
Kara did a quick glance with her X-ray vision and winced at the shattered bones and spinal column. She was no expert but the damage to Peter's body was severe. "Dammit, it's bad."
Gwen moaned. "Peter...dammit, Peter..." It was obvious to Kara that whoever this kid was meant a lot to this costumed figure.
He moaned out, his face contorted in agony as he spoke. "The...the kid..."
Gwen looked to where the girl and her mother stood, the woman holding her daughter's gaze away from the sight. "They're okay, both of them."
"Good...good." Peter moaned as Ghost Spider looked to Kara, her anguish clear even with the mask. "I...I'm afraid to move him and the fight..."
Kara felt another shake and sighed. "I hate to say it...but at this point, he's better moved than staying here."
Gwen paused and nodded. "Okay." She moved to lift Peter up as gently as she could, hearing him moan. She slung him over a shoulder as she fired off a web. "Be back as soon as I can..."
"National General is three blocks north."
Gwen gave a grateful nod as she fired a web line to swing off. Kara was quick to wave the woman and her daughter away before turning back, feeling anger at what happened. She sailed forward, letting her heat vision strike Doomsday before joining Superman in attacking him with further blows.
Rescue was firing away with her repulsors, doing her best to remain calm. Training with Tony was one thing but having her first major battle be against a creature that made the Hulk look like some street punk was something else. Still, working for Tony all those years meant adapting and Pepper was an ace at that.
Doomsday swept out both its arms, sending them all flying away. It was moving forward when a loud whistling sound echoed in the air. What appeared to be a giant metallic hammer flew from the sky to strike Doomsday in the face, sending it back several steps.
Carol briefly wondered how Jane Foster had gotten her way to this Earth before realizing the hammer wasn't Mjolnir. It flew back to be caught by a figure landing hard on the pavement. It was a large and powerful suit of dark armor with some odd patterns on it. The face was covered by a thick helmet with a tinted visor and faceplate obscuring the occupant's features.
Supergirl frowned as she looked to Rescue. "Is...he with you?"
Pepper rolled her eyes behind her helmet. "As much as Tony would love to have it be otherwise, we don't have a trademark on folks wearing armored suits."
The figure looked to Superman and Carol could swear there was tension in the male voice booming from the speakers of the suit. "I figured you could use an extra hand."
Superman nodded. "We'll take it. Just who are you?" Even a cursory glance told him the armor was lined with lead so even bothering with X-ray vision was useless.
"Call me...Steel." The figure hefted the large hammer in his hands as his helmet scanned the creature. "Huh...a mix of Kryptonian DNA...I wonder..." He adjusted the small dial of controls on the handle of the hammer and lifted it, letting it fire a beam of energy from its tip. Red energy spewed out to strike Doomsday and the creature seemed to howl in true agony.
Superman was surprised but nodded. "That's pretty good."
"Something I've been working on," Steel replied. Despite his friendly tone, Kara couldn't shake a feeling of worry at this stranger boasting such tech. She brushed it off as they prepared to take on a weakened creature.
Alex fired off another blast from her gauntlet to cut a charging Skrull down. She, Natasha and Yelena had fought their way to a control room in the upper levels of the facility, engaging in a running battle with Skrulls along the way. She was impressed by how easily Natasha and Yelena were working together, the pair handling the attackers with practiced ease together.
"You've finally fixed that blind spot," Natasha stated as she kicked a guard back.
"I never had a blind spot, you just thought I did," Yelena snapped as they each took a guard and slammed their heads together before a synchronized pair of kicks knocked them down.
The Doctor winced at that as she shook her head. "I'm generally not a fan of violence like this, I hope you all realize that. I'd much prefer talking it out but some people are just so blasted stubborn..."
She saw the doorway ahead of her, holding up the strange device in her hands. "Ah, there were are!" She pointed it at the doorway, which let out a beeping sound before it opened. The Doctor led the trio of women inside to see a high-tech command center with a single figure freezing just as the group entered, hovering near the holographic table.
Alex's eyes widened, then narrowed. "Otis Graves. Still doing Lex's dirty work, huh?"
The tough man shrugged. "It's a living. I just figured he could use some help with the whole Doomy thingy."
"Oh and no qualms working with Skrulls?"
Otis frowned. "Who?"
Natasha stared at him. "Skrulls. You know, the green shape changers filling this base?"
Otis cocked his head. "I figured it was some weirdo masks. Ya know, like a uniform?"
Alex saw Natasha and Yelena tense and snorted. "Relax, he's not a Skrull. They can't replicate that level of stupidity."
"I can confirm the human part," the Doctor said, brushing past Otis and to the console. She aimed her sonic screwdriver at it as it beeped. "Right, has to be something in these files..."
Alex looked at the device with interest. "Just what does that do?"
"Oh, pretty much whatever I want, whenever I want." The Doctor aimed it at a section of the console as the screws became loose and popped open. The Doctor chuckled. "You know, first time in centuries I've actually unscrewed something with this thing?"
She knelt down to adjust a few wires and with a hum, the holographic table activated. The Doctor rose to see an image of Doomsday with a score of marks next to it that Alex guessed was Skrull writing. Natasha and Yelena were moving to grab Otis who (in a very rare dose of intelligence) offered no resistance. He did smirk as they cuffed him. "Ya know, I've had dreams like this."
The pair looked at each other and hand up their fists. They shook them and then opened, Natasha's flat while Yelena was sticking out two fingers. With a smirk, Yelena punched Otis in the face to knock him out.
The Doctor waved the screwdriver as the writing transformed to English. Alex was studying it carefully, her years of experience noting the science involved. "Okay, we've got Kryptonian DNA at its heart, maybe Kryptonite will work..." She leaned in and cursed. "Dammit, no, more resistant to that."
"You're looking at the physical side," the Doctor noted as she focused on another part of the readout. "It's the mental side we have to..." She clicked on a line to bring it up. "Ah-ha...yes...yes, possible a trigger phrase inserted as a last-minute failsafe."
"Why didn't they use it when Doomsday went crazy?" Natasha stated.
"Maybe they didn't have time before it attacked," Alex noted. Her face soured. "Or the same experiments caused its brain to regrow new neural pathways so it wasn't effective."
"It's still a chance," the Doctor stated. "We find the phrase, use it, maybe it won't shut this thing down but stall it enough for the back-up plan you mentioned."
"Yeah, just one problem," Alex snapped. "Anyone who knew that phrase? They've been dead for about 25,0000 years on a planet that's nothing but radioactive rocks now. There's no way we can find out what it was."
The Doctor's grin was bright and infectious. "Oh, I love this part. I do, I admit it, I just love showing off me being clever and all that." She began moving down the hallway. "Come on, come on, this will be a nice trip!"
Natasha frowned at Yelena. "What is she doing?"
Yelena grinned. "Oh, you...are going to love this." Natasha sighed, knowing that smile so very well.
The Doctor led the way down the hallways to a room holding a large blue box with the words POLICE CALL BOX on the top. She swiftly unlocked the door to enter. Yelena followed with Natasha frowning but Alex smiled. "Oh boy...if the stories I've heard are true, this is going to be something..."
They entered, Natasha's eyes taking a moment to adjust to the light. As soon as she did, her jaw dropped open and she whispered in Russian. She was standing in a room easily a hundred times larger than what the box should have been, looking rather high-tech with a strange steampunk-like vibe to it. The Doctor was racing to a console, hitting buttons as the large rotor at its middle began moving up and down with a loud grinding sound.
"Wha..." Natasha blurted.
"The TARDIS," Alex answered, looking around with wonder. "I'm guessing it's some sort of tesseract dimensional engineering to fit this into a stable holder capable of transport."
She saw the Doctor wearing a small frown. "You know, I really do enjoy the reaction of people seeing it the first time. The whole 'it's bigger on the inside' thing, I never get tired of that."
"Should I go outside and come back in?"
"Oh, never mind, the moment's ruined." The Doctor adjusted some controls as the TARDIS began to move. "Right, let's get ready for a unique trip..."
It took Supergirl a few moments to realize Steel, whoever he really was, was a very capable fighter. He was slamming the hammer hard against Doomsday, cracking it onto the monster's face as he fired another blast of red energy. She was joining in with Alura to fire off heat vision while Rescue was living up to her name, flying around to make sure any civilians in the area weren't near the fight.
Steel flew ahead on his rocket boots to smash the hammer into Doomsday's face, the monster howling at the shot. Superman flew ahead to crash into Doomsday as well, punching the creature, feeling it weaker than before. The problem being, it was still a brutal warrior that had plenty of power left to spare.
Seeing Doomsday about to charge once more, Superman flew ahead to tackle him. He grabbed Doomsday by its arms and gave the beast a full-on close-up blast of heat vision. It screamed out as Kara was about to move in when the communicator in he ear buzzed. "Kara!" Lena's voice echoed in her ear. "I've got it! The Zone projector, it's tricky and can't say how stable it'll be but..."
"But it might be enough," Kara agreed. She glanced to Astra, who nodded before she flew off in a blur. Kara called out to her cousin. "Kal! We just need to hold it for a few moments!"
Superman nodded even as he fought against Doomsday. He glanced to Steel. "Hit it with the red sun energy!"
"You're in the way!" Kara barked.
"Do it!" Superman yelled. The fact Steel didn't even hesitate to lift up his hammer to fire off the blast at the pair threw Kara a bit. At the last moment, Superman was able to turn Doomsday around so it took the full burnt of the blast on its back. That caused it to let out yet another howl of agony but didn't seem to slow it down.
"Shit," Carol muttered as she flew next to Kara. "Just like the damn Hulk, the angrier it gets, the stronger it gets!"
Kara shook her head. "Even if we get the Zone projector, getting it in there..."
"Isn't it the same as the one that other Superman used?" Carol asked as she fired a blast at Doomsday while Steel threw his hammer at its head.
"Sadly, it's a lot bigger, not as easy to handle and we had an issue with the last version," Kara explained. She paused, her hearing catching a strange grinding sound coming through the air.
From around a fallen bus, Alex and Natasha ran forward, accompanied by two women Kara didn't know. "Kara!" Alex called out to her sister. "I think we've got it!"
Yelena's eyes widened taking in the two flying people attacking Doomsday. "This world has some unique people..."
"Which is saying something from home," Natasha pointed out.
The blonde-haired woman in the strange coat was racing forward, adjusting a device in her hand. "Okay, okay...we've got the frequency, adjust the language barrier, the control issues..." She glanced to Alex. "Ah, maybe step back juuuuuust in case this doesn't work."
Alex stared at her. "You promised it would!"
"Promise is a very strong word..."
"It's literally the one you used!"
"Right, let's just move past that." The Doctor held up her sonic screwdriver and hit a button. A high-pitched signal emitted from it, causing both Kara and Clark to wince in pain and clutch their ears. Doomsday appeared more affected, shaking and howling louder than ever before as it staggered about.
In a whoosh of air, Astra was there with a complex apparatus in her hand. "Everyone stay back!" she called out as she aimed it at Doomsday. She hit a button, causing a wide beam of dark light to wash out and over Doomsday. It shook hard as a tear in space opened up behind Doomsday. With their vision, Kara, Clark and Astra could all see shapeless forms in the darkness, the creatures of the Phantom Zone whirling about. "We can't keep it open or something gets out!" Superman yelled.
Sharing a look, the trio flew straight at Doomsday, their combined power taking it off its feet and sending it toward the portal. Steel was leaning forward to watch and if Alex didn't know better, she'd have sworn this figure seemed almost anticipating something happening.
Kara could feel the chill of the Phantom Zone's energies calling out to her and steeled herself, ready to move at the signal. "Now!" Superman called out and she joined him and Astra in pushing Doomsday as hard as they could. The beast let out one more bellow like a monster from an old movie as it floated into the darkness and shadows of the Phantom Zone.
Unseen by anyone, Steel's hands tightened on his hammer as his helmet stared at Superman's back. He was slowly beginning to pull it back when Alex hit the button that shut off the projector. There was a pause before the portal shut down and the air returned to normal.
Kara sighed as she bent over, her hands on her knees and taking a deep breath. Alex was by her side, rubbing at her back. "I'm okay...ugh, that was horrible..."
Superman looked to Steel and extended a hand. "Thank you. I don't know who you are or why you came but...we needed the help."
Steel stared at the hand before taking it, exchanging a slow handshake. "It was...an honor," he spoke up. He backed up. "I'll be in touch." His boot jets activated as he roared up into the sky.
Kara watched him go and then looked to her cousin. "Any idea who that really was?"
"I don't know." Superman smiled. "But I get a good feeling about him." Kara seemed a bit unsure but shrugged to trust her cousin's judgment. She brushed it aside as she looked around, taking in the damage and let out a long breath at the clean-up that was to follow.
As he flew upward, the armored figure was silent before the computer voice echoed in his ears. "Sir...I sensed you were tempted to attack him at the last minute."
"I had a shot," Steel intoned. "To dump him in there, free this planet...maybe if I'd acted..."
"It may not have made a difference," the teenaged voice joined the computer's in his helmet. "Your power cells are drained enough as is, picking a fight with him and Supergirl at the same time could have been damaging."
"It was still an opportunity. I wasted too many in our world, remember?"
"If I may be so bold, sir," the computerized voice interjected. "I would suggest his allies would not be understanding of your motivations."
"Maybe not...Now, I have to worry about more of them. We never had a Supergirl on our world or the other one. If they join him..."
There was a pause before the younger woman spoke in a softer tone. "Dad...he's not hostile yet."
"Neither was ours until it was too late," he snapped in a bitter tone. "But now...this actually worked out. He trusts me now, I can use that. I can get close, keep an eye out and the second his guard is down...I can take him."
"Sir...how can you be certain it will be the same on this world as on ours?"
"If there's even a one-percent chance Superman turns into a monster, I have to take it as certain." With that, John Henry Irons fell into silence and his computerized aide and daughter Natalie joined him.
It took hours for the clean-up to finally be close to completion. Superman and Supergirl aided cleaning up the damage in the city while Astra and J'onn attended to the wounded. The Skrulls had been rounded up with Carol ensuring they were under careful lock and key in the DEO until they could figure a way back to their Earth. Which, it turned out, was surprisingly easy.
The Doctor was whistling as she sipped at the cup of tea in the briefing room of the DEO. "Oh, yes, no worries, not the first time I've had a pack of Skrulls locked in a room. Wow, that was a crazy New Year's..."
"Any chance they tell us how they got here or their plans?" J'onn asked.
Carol shook her head. "Skrulls are notoriously tight-lipped. Used to be easier to use mental conditioning on them but they learned to toughen up fast. And even if you tried torture, kinda hard to hurt someone who changes their entire body shape." She tapped her chin. "And that's the Skrulls I know, these are...different somehow."
"Possibly not from your universe," the Doctor stated. "Which again is a very high concern."
Kara smiled at her. "So you went back in time 25,000 years to the lab where they made Doomsday to get that signal code that would immobilize him?" She frowned. "Forgive the obvious question but..."
"Why didn't I just stop them then?" The Doctor shrugged. "There are fixed points in time, things that are meant to happen. No matter how much you can try to change them, one way or another, Doomsday was going to be created. And if I had tried to change it..." She winced. "Well, that never goes well."
Kara's frown deepened. "Yeah but met the Legends, they talk about altering time a lot..."
"Oh, right, I've met them. Well, I haven't yet but I will. Anyway, their take on time travel is..." She cocked her head in thought. "Let's see, how to put this...completely insane and idiotic. And trust me when I say that says a lot coming from me."
J'onn had reassumed his human form as he looked to her. "So these Skrulls were pulling the strings of all this? Why?"
"Now that, my dear Martian, is the question," the Doctor mused. "One I have been looking into for longer than you can imagine."
"Didn't this all start after the Dusting?" Alex asked.
"Yes but I bounce around the timeline a lot," the Doctor said. "I wonder if maybe I'm looking into it in the future, that would be interesting..."
"You do," Brainy announced. "The Legion has met a few versions of you although I'm not certain where they fall in the timeline..."
"Spoilers," the Doctor said in a light tone. "Again, these Skrulls are a growing concern I need to focus on."
"I know a few folks in our universe we can talk to," Carol said. "They can be a good help on this." She handed over a small pad. "Also, this should help with any scans you have to find anymore on Earth, they have a specific signature."
"Again, we're used to shapechangers," Kara assured her. She smiled. "It was good to meet you guys. I mean it." She extended a hand with Carol shaking it. "Hope next time, we Danvers can talk on better terms."
"Amen to that," Carol said with a smile. "Right now, I've got a good friend back home I'm overdue talking to."
"That includes Peter," Pepper said. "Our Pete, I mean. I'm not exactly looking forward to telling him of a version of himself that got crushed in this fight. And I still feel guilty about that kid..."
"Maybe avoid it?" Natasha suggested. "I mean, we know he's got a self-guilt complex that can be seen for miles."
"He can handle it," Pepper assured her. "But he would be interested in this Spider-Girl..."
"Don't worry about this Peter," Kara stated with a light smile. "I think he'll be taken care of well."
Alex looked to Pepper. "Um...are you going to..." She waved at the suit.
Pepper shook her head with a grin. "Nah, keep it. It fits you better and Tony has plenty of spares."
"Oh, thank you so much, this is so damn cool, I didn't want to give it up!" Alex gushed with Pepper chuckling.
Lucy rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Alex, you're being a little crazy about that."
"Oh, actually, I have a spare too," Pepper said, offering another buckle. "It'd be different but if you were-" She was cut off by Lucy eagerly grabbing the buckle out of her hands.
Yelena coughed. "Ah, we should be going back to our universe. No offense but the aliens? They're weirding me out."
"Gee, no reason to be offended there," Kara dryly stated.
Carol looked to Kara with a raised eyebrow. "By the way, maybe talk to your boss about the name?"
Pepper rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Carol, you're getting too wild on the name. It's not like that version from another reality calling herself Ms. Marvel."
"Sure, no one ever mocks you on your name, Pepper."
Kara chuckled. "I'm also tempted to see how Cat misinterprets your names..."
The Doctor rose up, brushing off her hands before going around shaking the others. "This was marvelous, love to stay longer but you know how tricky dimensional travels are so best to be going."
"I'm getting the feeling I'm going to see you again," Kara stated.
The Doctor just made a light wink before walking off. Kara watched as the Doctor led Carol, Natasha, Yelena and Pepper toward the large blue box standing in the middle of the room. With a final wave, they entered and with that strange grinding, the TARDIS vanished.
Kara looked to Astra and then hugged her. "At least one good thing coming out of this entire mess."
"Believe me, feeling gratitude toward Lex Luthor isn't fun," Astra dryly stated but still smiled. She let out a sigh. "Of course, now that I'm alive, no idea what to do next..."
Lucy coughed. "I hate to bring it up but technically, there were those crimes hanging over her when she died..."
"I'm reasonably certain my mother can get her a pardon," Kara laughed.
"I do want to see her," Astra stated. "We have so much air we need to clear up. Plus, again, what to do afterward."
"You can crash with me for a while," Alex offered. "I mean, until you find your own way."
Kara looked to J'onn. "An expert in Kryptonian science and military would be helpful..."
He rolled his eyes. "You're going to keep annoying me about it until I hire her, aren't you?"
"You know me."
"Oh, I do," he said. He looked at the monitors of the city's damage and sighed. "All that mess and we still don't know why they came here. I hate loose ends."
"Speaking of, I need to get back to CatCo," Kara announced. "Cat is already eager for a scoop on that armored guy who helped us out."
"Think he'll show up again?" Alex asked.
"You know how it is," Kara summed up. "Somehow these little mysteries grow into something even bigger."
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor whistled as she adjusted the control. "All right, ladies, a bit of a jump but we should be back soon!"
"Good," Yelena said. "Because I need to get back to the job I was on when you dragged me into this."
Natasha smirked. "Who are you working for now?"
"Confidential," Yelena intoned. She leaned on the TARDIS console to fix Natasha with a glare. "You know, I still don't get what you're waiting for."
Her foster sister frowned at her. "What?"
"With the Ten Rings," Yelena pressed. "All right, you took out the Mandarin but the rest of them are still out there. It's getting worse as they're hitting AIM hard while the Scriers are consolidating more power."
"The what?" Pepper blurted.
As if not hearing her, Yelena continued. "That's not to mention the mess the Thieves and Assassin Guilds are making in New Orleans or the Hellfire Club making their moves." She shook her head. "And of course, there's Dracula."
She looked up to see Natasha just staring blankly at her. "Dracula," she flatly repeated. "As in...Count Dracula? The vampire."
"He's keeping to himself for now but you never know when he'll strike." Yelena brushed her head back. "Throw in the Zodiac and the remains of the Red Room..."
"Yelena...what the hell are you talking about?"
Yelena looked at her, taking in Natasha's look of utter confusion. Her smirk faded as she glanced to Pepper and Carol and saw the same expressions on their faces. Yelena's own face became one of stunned disbelief. "You...have no idea...about any of this, do you?" She let out a short bark of laughter. "Oh my God...all this time, I thought you were staying out of it or it was politics or gaining intel but..." She shook her head. "There's a damn war going on and you don't even know the sides exist."
Pepper was baffled. "You're telling us...vampires are real?"
"Vampires, witches and various other nightmares, not to mention a half dozen major criminal organizations fighting for power." The matter-of-fact way Yelena mentioned it was enough to make it sound real.
Natasha shook her head. "I can't believe this is all happening under our noses."
Yelena scoffed. "You've been in the spotlight too long, sister. You forgot the real conflicts happen in the shadows."
Before Natasha could speak further, the TARDIS shook. "Ah, here we are," the Doctor intoned. "I'd say gather the Skrulls and such, I'll take a fast look-see."
She stepped out of the TARDIS, ignoring the raised voices arguing in Russian inside. She saw she was in an alleyway and recognized Avengers Tower nearby. "Hmm, just a bit off but close enough."
She was turning on her heel when she felt, more than heard, a very familiar energy signal surge. She turned back the see a portal open as exiting were a pair of figures in black uniforms with masked helmets. An attractive black woman led them, kneeling down to place a strange item down on the alley ground. She activated, it backing up slowly.
The Doctor leaned on the wall as she watched the device slowly hum in power and building up its energies...and then with a loud whine, fading into nothing. The woman let out a curse of frustration.
"It's not going to work." The woman jumped up, the two soldiers raising their rifles but the Doctor didn't move as she spoke in a calm tone. "Let me guess...this is...what, the tenth time you've tried to prune this timeline? The twentieth? Fifty?"
The woman stared before speaking in a flat tone. "One hundred and thirty-seven."
The Doctor blinked. "Right...that's disturbing on several levels. I had sensed a few tries, not just here but elsewhere." She paced forward, her hands in her pockets to appear non-threatening. "So you've been trying over and over for months to prune this timeline but it's not working. Not only that but all those other timelines you thought you pruned, the billions of lives you winked out? Not only are they all back as they were but they're branching out into their own variants which branch out more and so on and so forth."
The look on the woman's face and the glance between the guards told the story. The Doctor shook her head as she stepped forward. "I've been following you lot for a bit. The TVA. I let you go because, frankly, I had other and far more important matters in hand. Because I knew all this pruning of yours wasn't going to do anything in the end."
She fixed the woman with a hard gaze. "Time is nature. You can prune it, you can mold it, you can try to alter it...but you can never, ever control it. Not even me." She smirked. "Oh, don't tell anyone that, I have a reputation." The smile faded. "What's happened...is beyond your control. It's beyond anyone. You can't keep trying to prune these timelines, they'll find a way to survive, it's the way of the multiverse."
"It's chaos," the woman hissed. "We have to control it, we have to maintain the Sacred Timeline."
"And just who decides that sacredness, hmm?" The Doctor pressed. "Just who do you answer to?" The woman was silent as the Doctor sighed. "Listen, I have a lot on my plate right now but be assured, you keep this nonsense up...it's going to make me cross. And that's not something you want."
The woman just glared before activating a device at her belt. Behind her, a portal formed and, not keeping her eyes away from the Doctor, the woman slowly backed into it with the guards.
The Doctor watched them go, pausing for a long moment before heading back to the TARDIS. She stuck her head in to smile. "Right, all clear, nothing to worry about, let's get going , shall we?"
Carol was dragging the Skrulls, bound together by special dampener collars and electronic chains, from the side room, Eve snarling at her. "Sure it's okay dropping them off with those SWORD people?" Natasha asked.
"Maria still has connections to call on and I can reach out to an old friend to handle them," Carol explained. She glanced to the Doctor. "Things are set, right No problems?"
"Oh, no, no problems at all," the Doctor said with a grin. "You just go your way, I go mine, things should settle down for your universe for a bit."
She had to reflect on how the older she got, the far better liar she became.
Lena had never been a fan of hospitals but did her best to handle the smells and general feeling of foreboding as she walked the hall to the small room. The initial wave of chaos from patients coming in from the Doomsday attack had subsided with doctors handling the wounded well. Sadly, National City had become quite used to major disasters in the last few years.
She knocked on a door and peeked her head in. She saw an elderly couple both glancing at her, surrounding the bed where Peter Parker lay. The young man had a tube in his nose but otherwise didn't appear to be in bad shape as he blinked in confusion. "Lena...Luthor?"
"Hello there," Lena said in a friendly voice. "I'm sorry for popping in but I wanted to check on you."
"On me?" Peter asked in wonder.
The man stepped forward, extending a hand. "Hello, I'm Ben Parker." He motioned to the woman. "This is my wife, May." Lena shook hands with each. "We're Peter's aunt and uncle, we've raised him since his parents died when he was a toddler."
May coughed. "Ms. Luthor, I'm sorry for being blunt but...why are you here?"
"Well, I was listening in on the battle earlier," Lena stated. "And I heard what Peter did." She looked to him with a light smile. "It just so happens that the woman whose daughter you saved works at my labs, she was gushing about the young hero who helped them."
"I'm no hero," Peter quickly said. "I just...did what I had to do."
Ben chuckled. "Ah, just like your father, always so modest."
"Anyway, I wanted to thank you for that," Lena said. She paused, uncertain how to continue. "I...spoke to your doctors and heard of your...condition."
"You can say it," Peter said in a bitter tone. "Spinal damage, crushed femurs, likely to never walk again."
Lena licked her lips. "I also looked up your records at school. Your science skills are...well, quite remarkable, reminding me of someone I knew." She leaned forward. "I want to offer you a job."
Peter blinked. "A...what? I mean, still in high school..."
"You could quite likely graduate earlier," Lena stated. "I pride myself in looking for talent, Peter and I see a lot of it in you. This isn't charity," she quickly added. "It's an actual job under a supervisor who may be...problematic but very good at his work."
She leaned in to look at the young man. "I see so much potential in you, Peter. I don't want you to fall into some funk because of what happened, you can become a great person no matter what and I want to help you."
She handed a card to Ben. "Here, my card. Call when he's ready to leave, I can help with any additional needs he has at home." She smiled. "And don't worry about the hospital bill, it's already taken care of."
"Why, thank you!" May moved to embrace her, Lena surprised but welcoming it. She nodded to the Parkers before leaving.
Ben held up the card and shook his head. "The Parker Luck. I can never figure it out."
"It'll be a help," Peter said, trying his best to shift on the bed with his limp legs. "I know it's going to be harder now at home, the expenses I'll be bringing..."
"Peter Parker, you stop that this instant!" May snapped. "I have never been prouder of you than I am right now. You risked your life saving that young girl, don't ever think you're going to be a burden to us."
Peter softly smiled. "You always know what to say, Aunt May."
Ben sat next to him, holding Peter's hand, his expression one of pure pride. "I always tried to give you a sense of responsibility, kiddo. I'm glad you took it."
There was another knocking on the door and they looked up to see an attractive redhaired teenager in jeans and a jacket stepping inside. Beside her with a handsome man with dark hair in a nice shirt, jacket and slacks. "Hey, tiger," the redhead smiled.
"MJ," Peter grinned, then looked to the other man. "Harry...you didn't have to come..."
"Are you kidding?" Harry Osborn said as he moved in to clasp a hand to Peter's shoulder. "My best friend nearly gets killed saving some kid from a monster and I don't show up?"
Mary Jane Watson placed a bouquet of flowers with a teddy bear at the table. "Um, best they had at the gift shop," she said before hugging May.
"It's good to see you guys," Peter said.
Harry sobered. "How are you, buddy?"
"Well, I was never a good dancer so no real loss there." Even in his state, Peter felt sliding into jokes was second-hand nature.
MJ hugged him. "Dammit, so worried about you."
"I'll be fine," Peter said.
"Gwen was here earlier," May spoke up. "You just missed her."
MJ's face soured. "Not...a fan of talking to her now."
"Hey," Peter said. "Give her a chance, MJ. She's sorry for how she treated us. Come on, we were friends once, she deserves another shot."
"Maybe," MJ allowed. She shrugged as she handed over a card. "Here, we got it signed by a few kids at school."
Peter opened it, reading the names inside and surprised how many were there. "Wow, did Harry bribe some of these people to pretend to know me?"
"Story spread about what you did and let's just say a few folks feeling a little sorry for how they treated you over the years," Harry stated. He pointed at one entry. "See, even Flash had something to say!"
Peter read it and raised an eyebrow. "'Hope you're back soon, Parker, I need someone to copy from.'" He chuckled. "Same old Flash."
May put a hand on her nephew's shoulder. "See, Peter? You really are loved. Don't forget that." He had to smile back in happiness even as he wished one person in particular was there. He suddenly spied a shape in the window and his smile grew as he realized she was.
Gwen was oddly becoming far more comfortable than she expected hanging onto the wall of a twenty-story building. She leaned on the wall, her feet attached to it was she gazed out at the city. She still felt guilty with Peter, adding to the pain of her actions. She still wasn't sure about this hero thing but being out there today felt...it felt good.
A coughing sound got her attention and she looked up to see Supergirl floating before her. Gwen started but was sensible enough to keep her grip on the building. "Um...hi?" She swallowed. "Look, sorry I didn't come back to help, I was trying to after I dropped Peter off but there were these people trapped after a shockwave from the fight crushed a roof and couldn't leave them..."
"It's fine," Kara said in a friendly tone as she floated in the air. "Listen, I'm respecting your privacy, I'm not looking past the mask but I can hear and the way you reacted to a name so not a huge jump to who you are." She looked Gwen over. "I'm guessing you're not up for getting a check but if you ever need help, the DEO can give you aid, no questions asked."
"I'll keep it in mind," Gwen stated, still not believing she was having this conversation. She looked to the room and sighed. "If he hadn't been there...because of me. You know, this whole thing," she waved at herself. "Was his idea, not mine. The costume, that is, I was ready to go in on my own."
Kara smiled. "That just proves you've got the heart for this." She looked Gwen over before flying to her side to hand her a card. "Here. A friend of a friend from Gotham who handles some specialized suits for folks, asks no questions and doesn't really expect payment. He can get you hooked up with something nice, form-fitting, comfortable but still be able to protect you." She raised an eyebrow. "And maybe something a bit more spider-themed if you're keeping up the motif."
Gwen held the card in her hands before looking to Supergirl. "You think...you think I can do this?"
"Gwen...Superman told me he saw someone today he hadn't seen in a long while. Someone willing to fight the good fight without question." She smirked. "You're going to make Superman a liar?"
Gwen was taken aback. "Well, damn, you're gonna play that line, I can't really refuse." She paused. "It's still something...I've got school and my dad is a cop so I don't know how he'll take it."
"There's a friend of mine named Kara Danvers," Supergirl stated. "She works at CatCo, a reporter, always looks at the bright side of things. She's already writing up a story on the Ghost Spider, maybe you can reach out to her, get folks on your side more." She reached out a hand and Gwen shook it. "You've got a good head on your shoulders. Keep that and you'll be okay. I'll see you around...Ghost Spider."
With that, she flew off into the air. Gwen watched her go before stealing a last glance at the hospital room. She took a breath before kicking herself off the wall, firing off a webline and swinging off into the night, thinking all the while.
"My name is Gwen Stacy. I never asked to be bitten by that weird alien spider or to be given its powers. I was a superficial high school queen bee. But now I know that with great power comes great responsibility. And I'm going to use it...with some style. I'm Ghost Spider."
As he sat in his prison cell, Lex Luthor mused on the events of the last day. Okay, so trusting Eve (or whatever she was) was a mistake, he could see that now. But no one was infallible, not even Einstein or Ceasar. If nothing else, this was an experience to learn from. From here on in, no taking on any partners and stop underestimating his employees.
He would wait in his prison as usual. He'd bide his time but knew eventually he'd have another chance to rid the world of those damned Kryptonians and their allies and...
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden intake of air in the cell and a crackling sound. Lex looked up to see a circle appear in the air before him. From it exited a tall man in an expensive suit with a flower lapel. He appeared several decades older than Lex, the lights shimmering on his bald head. What struck Lex was how incredibly familiar this man was as if...
As if he was looking at himself thirty years in the future.
The man smirked at him. "So...Lex Luthor. Huh...weird, you remind me a little of this idiot nephew of mine..."
"Who the hell..." Lex began.
"Ah, now it's far better to show you than to tell you," the stranger said. "This portal won't hold long and best to be off before the guards show up." He waved a hand toward it and while unsure, Lex decided it was better to take a chance than to sit around in this cell for months on end.
He was used to teleportation yet the feeling of cold and heat alike walking through the portal was still difficult. His eyes adjusted to how he stood in a high-tech center littered with monitors showing various locations, several quite strange to him. It was dominated by a large round table not unlike a boardroom. Around it sat a half-dozen men, all in a variety of suits, all with bald heads and all once more striking Lex as shockingly familiar.
"Introductions," his rescuer began, waving at himself. "Lex Luthor of Earth-1978." He pointed to each one in turn. "Lex Luthor of Earth-1992..." The tall man in a green bodysuit with a pistol on a holster at her shoulder smirked. "Lex Luthor of Earth-1979." A man in a complex purple and green battle suit let out an arrogant sneer.
"Lex Luthor of Earth-167..." The youngest of the group nodded. He waved to a man not far off in his own age in a darker suit. "Lex Luthor of Earth-2006." His focus shifted to a man who appeared ill-set with his bald head and suit but doing his best to settle in his seat. "Lex Luthor of Earth-1940." He finally came to the man who had a dark smile on his face. "And Lex Luthor of Earth-51."
Lex stared in wonder. "You're...all...me..."
"In some ways, we're better," Lex-1992 said in an arrogant voice.
"Hey, I was President of the United States!" Lex-167 fired off.
Lex-1992 scoffed. "And just as I thought, that only held us back." Lex-167 shrugged as if conceding a point.
Lex-1979 motioned Lex to a seat. "We try to keep the numbers of this low. As you can imagine, getting most of us together causes...friction."
"Meaning each of us trying to stab the rest in the back to get power for themselves," Lex stated.
The others all nodded. "However, with the multiverse changing, we believe at the very least touching base is best," Lex-2006 stated. "A way of learning from each other, which can be helpful."
"At least that one who tangles with a Superboy is being ignored," Lex-1978 stated in a dry tone. "He was so petty in his desires."
Lex-1992 snorted. "This from the man whose grand epic scheme was basically a convoluted real estate swindle."
Lex shook his head with wonder. "I always knew the multiverse existed but to see versions of myself..." He frowned. "I assume you all have a...you know who?"
The joined scowls were all the answer he needed. "You want to hear something crazy?" Lex-1940 stated, waving at Lex-51. "On his Earth, Superman poses as...get this...Clark Kent."
Lex let out a laugh. "Wait...really?"
The others all chuckled. "I know, it's nuts," Lex-167 stated. "Hell, me and Kent were friends as kids, least that's what folks tell me, buying him as Superman?"
Lex-51 let out the tired sigh of a man who'd long ago given up trying to explain something so blatantly obvious and logical to others. Lex-1940 leaned in toward Lex. "Just to let you know, he's a little...off..."
"Tell me about it," Lex-1992 groused. "He reminds me a bit too much of the Joker."
Lex-1979 smirked. "Now you know why the rest of the Legion of Doom never wanted him around. Scarecrow and Riddler are bad enough, I don't need that clown."
"To get back to business," Lex-1978 spoke up as he adjusted his suit and smiled to Lex. "The chaos in the multiverse recently has been a grand opportunity. And if there's one thing all of us have in common, it's to see an opportunity and grasp it."
Lex leaned back in his chair. "Well, it's tempting, I admit but you know I can't trust you and you can't trust me. So what do we have to offer each other?"
"A very simple question," Lex-2006 said as he leaned in. "Why just stop at the satisfaction of killing one Superman...when we kill a multiverse of them?"
Lex looked at his counterparts and then smiled broadly. "All right then...let's get talking." With that, the Council began their unique board meeting.
As rudimentary as its intelligence was, Doomsday was still understanding he was in a strange place of danger. A few of the creatures of the Phantom Zone had approached it already and paid the price in severed limbs and torn-apart bodies. Doomsday marched across the landscape, no real goal or destination, merely a beast ready to attack anything in its path.
It stopped suddenly as a trio of figures stood before it. Two were mostly impassive while the third showed a rare dose of fear on his face before trying to crush it. Doomsday merely growled at the trio, prepared to lunge forward.
Standing beside Darkseid and Zod, Thanos raised an eyebrow at the monstrous form before them. "Well...this should be a challenge."
Yep, the Council of Luthors: Gene Hackman, Clancy Brown, Stanley Jones (from the Superfiends cartoons), Michael Rosenburg, Kevin Spacey, Jon Shea and Jesse Eisenberg. And yes, I love the idea that, as nuts as he is, Lex-51 is the Luthor with the sense to accept the Clark-Superman connection.
Adding Steel was a late addition but worked out nicely into things. As did the TVA and how suddenly they can't handle the changes to the multiverse. And yes, plans for Peter's new job and path while Gwen continues to learn to be a hero.
This was longer than expected to wrap up but turned out to be better than if rushed to work in different elements so hope you enjoyed and more to come for IC Phase One.