Time for a Change
By Les Bonser
This is a work of non-commercial fan fiction. The characters used in this story remain the trademarked property of their respective owners. No trademark infringement is intended and no profits are made by the author for writing or distribution of this work.
No permission is given to anyone other than the author to archive this on any website. No permission is given to anyone other than the author to repost this on any newsgroup.
Chapter 17
Catwoman stopped struggling with Batman as the entire world faded away. She was surprised when an entirely different world faded back in. Her eyes took a moment to adjust from the nearly pitch black penthouse suite to the brightness of the room she now found herself in.
The bearded fellow that had been with Batman stepped forward and spoke with a black man with funny eyes. Batman simply stood there, feeling superior as always. "Where are we?" she asked.
"It's a long story, Selina," he said.
She'd never known him to use her real name before. At least not when addressing her directly. Now, he'd done it twice in the last couple minutes. Something must really be wrong, Catwoman thought.
Just then, several other people came into the room. The man in the lead was bald and older, and his body language clearly told Catwoman that he was in charge here. With him were two women. One was wearing a coat, sort of like what doctors wear, but in blue instead of white. The other woman watched her intently. Catwoman felt uncomfortable being the center of attention.
Batman finally let go of her and walked down from the platform they'd appeared on. "Captain Picard," he said, "I'd suggest you assign a security detail to watch her."
The bald man seemingly ignored Batman and instead walked forward, closer to where Catwoman still stood. "I'm Captain Jean-Luc Picard," he said. "Welcome to the Enterprise. It's going to take a little while to bring you up to date on where you are and why, but trust me, you will not be harmed in any way and we'll do everything we can to get you home safely."
"Where am I?" she asked, again.
"We're about 400 years in the future," Batman said. "The Lion's Soul gemstone you stole had some sort of strange power," he explained. "It scattered us to different points in time." He settled for the simple explanation for now.
"So that's why I was stuck in the early 80's, huh?"
"Yes," Batman said.
"So, Captain, was it? Who are all the rest of these people?"
Captain Picard made the introductions. "You know Batman of course. The other man that retrieved you was Commander William Riker, my second in command."
The bearded man smiled at her. Now, in the light, she could see that he was actually a very handsome man. She smiled back.
Oh, great, Picard thought. Riker's starting in already and she hasn't even been onboard for two minutes. "And this is Dr. Crusher, my chief medical officer, and Deanna Troi, our ship's counselor. And Commander La Forge, our engineer."
"We're on some sort of ship?"
"It's a space ship, Selina," Batman said. "We're hundreds of light years from Earth right now."
"How is that possible?" Catwoman asked, overwhelmed by everything she heard. She held her head in her hands and shook her head.
Counselor Troi and Dr. Crusher moved to the woman. "It's okay. We'll explain everything in due time," Crusher said. "Right now, I want to do a quick scan..."
"You're not probing me!" Catwoman said. "I know what you aliens do to abductees!"
Batman shook his head, embarrassed. He wouldn't have thought Selina was one of those people that believed in UFOs and alien abductions. "They're not aliens," he said. "Well, at least not these five..."
Catwoman marveled that something could actually make Batman speechless. He didn't talk a lot, but when he did, it was always with authority and never with the least bit of hesitation.
"Please, Selina," the doctor said, "I'm not going to 'probe' you or anyone else. This is just a medical tricorder. It reads your blood pressure, heart rate, those sorts of things. I don't even have to touch you with it."
"Really, it's quite safe," Troi said. "And we need to assure that you're okay after your trip through time."
Catwoman was still confused, and didn't put up too much fuss. The redheaded doctor waved the scanner gizmo in front of her and that was it.
"Doctor?" Picard asked.
"She's got a slight amount of cellular deterioration, but not bad. I am picking up evidence of a recent head injury, though. I'll want to watch her closely, but I think she'll be okay after a few day's rest. You come to me if you see any symptoms, okay?"
All Catwoman could think about was what the doctor had first said. "Cellular deterioration?" Catwoman asked.
Batman explained, "The effects of time travel. It affects all of us."
Catwoman pulled off her cowl and ran her hand through her thick black hair. It was a nervous gesture.
"Catwoman," Picard said, "Miss Kyle, Batman here has said that you are a criminal. However, since you have no criminal record here in the Federation, I'm going to trust you to remain on your best behavior."
"How do you know my name?" she asked, indignant. She looked at Batman with hate in her eyes. "Of course," she spit out. "And did he bother telling you *his* name?"
Picard continued, "We need your assistance to complete our mission. We'll fill you in later, after we settle you into your own quarters and let you rest or eat, or whatever. Perhaps some new clothes," he pointed at her tattered costume. Her unintentional swim in the ocean had pretty much ruined the leather in the boots and gloves and there were several places where the seams had begun to rip out. "But I need your assurance that you'll behave yourself."
"Don't talk to me like a child, old man," Catwoman snarled. "I could break you in two."
Both Geordi and Riker tensed, ready to pull the woman off the Captain should she attack. Batman was at the ready as well, but not as obviously as the others.
"We do have a well equipped brig, if necessary," Picard said, ignoring the threat. "And I'm sure Batman will be keeping his eye on you," he said, smiling. It was a wicked little smile. "Do you understand?"
Seeing that she was outnumbered, Catwoman accepted the conditions. For now. "Yes," Catwoman spit out the word.
"Number One, please escort Miss Kyle to her quarters and see to her immediate needs," Picard commanded. Picard would have preferred someone else, but it was the first officer's duty. And he needed Crusher and Troi here. And Riker was strong enough to take care of himself. Although he didn't actually believe Miss Kyle's threat against himself, Picard was concerned that she was probably physically more than the match for his counselor and doctor.
"Yes, Captain," Riker said, a sly smile on his mouth.
"Will?"
"Yes, Captain?"
"Met me in my ready room as soon as you're done," Picard said.
"Understood, sir." The smile disappeared from Riker's face.
As Riker lead Catwoman from the room, Picard turned back to Counselor Troi. He waited for the doors to slide shut and then he asked, "Counselor, your impressions?"
"She's scared."
"That was obvious," Picard said.
"And she hates authority, and therefore you," Troi continued.
"And that, likewise, was obvious," Picard said. "Is she trustworthy? Will she behave? Or is it like Batman claims."
"She's confused right now. That was the overwhelming sense that I got from her. But she respects Batman. I think she'll do whatever he asks."
"You must be wrong, Counselor," Batman said. "Selina Kyle is a unrepentant thief. She has no respect for me or the law."
"Oh, but I think she does," Troi said, standing up to the tall dark man. "You don't have a clue do you?"
"A clue? About what?"
Troi laughed. "She loves you. That was very obvious."
Batman held up his left arm, showing her the gauntlet. "Do you see these scratches?"
Troi nodded.
"That's from where she tried to scratch out my eyes," Batman told her. "Does that seem like the action of a woman in love?" He mimicked covering his face with the gauntlet.
Troi simply smiled, "You've never seen a Klingon in heat, have you?"
Batman simply stared at the woman. What is it with these people and their fascination with Klingons? he asked himself.
"Nevertheless," Troi continued, "She does love you. I don't know about you, but for her, the antagonism between you two is just a form of courting ritual. A way of teasing, flirting, if you will."
Ancient Greece
Clark Kent stretched as he awoke. He'd only slept a couple of hours, but he awoke refreshed. To his Kryptonian physiology, sleep was more a psychological need than a physical one.
He saw Hercules was already awake. There was a small fire already made and the Greek hero was heating up some gruel for breakfast.
Clark looked around and saw that Xena and Gabrielle were still asleep, as was Iolaus. He stood and walked over to where Hercules sat in front of the fire. "Good morning," he said.
"Good morning," Hercules said.
The group had camped out last night. They were on the road from Larissa to the point where Hercules claimed there was an entry point into Olympus. Clark would have thought that the man's claims were ludicrous, but he'd heard too many of Diana's stories and seen too much in his career as Superman. Hard was it was for the farmboy from Kansas to accept, the Greek and Roman Gods were real.
"We're almost there?" Clark asked.
"Yes," Hercules said. "Less than half a day's walk."
Hercules had explained the situation a couple days before. He said that his evil half brother, Ares, the god of war, was attempting to unseat Zeus as the king of the gods. Apparently, Ares had obtained something that could kill even the king of the gods. It was up to Hercules to stop him.
And since having the god of war on the throne of Olympus would result in endless war and suffering on Earth, the rest of the group were just as opposed to Ares' plans as Hercules was.
It's funny how everyone has their nemesis, Clark thought. I have Luthor, Bruce has the Joker, and Hercules has Ares. He wondered if any hero existed anywhere that didn't have their one unique nemesis?
Several hours later, everyone was awake and the group was approaching a hilly portion of the foothills around Mount Olympus. Hercules had explained that the mountain men called Olympus was real, and that the realm of the gods co-existed with the mountain, but on a different dimensional plane.
The group had gotten cautious as they got closer. He didn't say anything, but it was obvious that Hercules was expecting some sort of ambush or confrontation.
They soon entered a clearing. On the far side of the clearing was the entrance to a cave. It didn't look special in any way. There were small caves all over these foothills.
"There it is," Hercules said.
"Doesn't look like much," Gabrielle said. "I was expecting some a bit more ... opulent, I guess."
"Don't let the appearance fool you," Hercules said. He knew that true gods needed only to transport themselves to Olympus. But this simple cave was the only naturally occurring link between Olympus and the mortal plane.
"That's right, Gabrielle," Xena said. "Aren't you the one that always says to not judge the scroll by the ribbon it's tied with?"
"So, what do we do, Hercules?" Iolaus asked.
"We enter the cave," Hercules said.
Just then, a flash of light appeared and as it disappeared, a man stood before them. He was dressed in black leathers, with a sharp little beard running from temple to temple, and across his cheeks and chin. "Well, little brother," the man said. "You expect to interrupt my plans?"
"I do, Ares," Hercules declared.
"I don't think so," Ares said. "I knew you'd come here. So I took a precaution this time."
"And what was that?" Iolaus asked.
Ares walked forward and stood in front of Xena. "Hello, Xena. It's so good to see you again?"
"Hello, Ares," the warrior woman practically spit out the man's name. All the muscles in her body were tense. She wanted nothing more than to run her sword through the man, but she knew that her steel was no match for the god.
"When I'm king of the gods, I'll be back for you. You'll make a wonderful queen."
"In your dreams," Xena said.
"You bet!" Ares said. "Every night," he teased, a slimy smile on his face. He leered at the dark-haired warrior woman.
Getting no reaction from Xena, Ares finally turned and confronted his brother. The two men stood toe to toe and stared at each other.
"You won't succeed, Ares," Hercules said.
"Oh, but I will," Ares said. "You're the only one that even has a prayer of stopping me. But to do that, you have to get into Olympus. And the only way for you, a simple little half god, is through that portal." He pointed to the cave. "And you can't walk through that cave."
"Sure he can," Iolaus said, defending his friend.
"Oh, but he can't," Ares bragged. "And nor can any of the rest of you."
"Why not?" Xena asked.
"I've placed an enchantment on the cave. No one, male or female, that was born of a *mortal* woman, can *walk* through *that* entrance. All of you are stuck here." At that he laughed and disappeared in flash.
The group stood looking at the cave entrance for a long time.
"Damn him to Hades," Xena finally said. She threw her sword down in anger and began pacing.
"Looks like he's beat us this time," Gabrielle said.
"I hate to admit it," Hercules said, "But you might be right."
"No."
"What?" Hercules said.
"I said, no he hasn't," Clark said.
"You know something we don't?"
"Yes, I do," Clark said, smiling. "Remember what he said. How he emphasized certain words."
"He said none of us could walk through the cave entrance," Gabrielle said.
"No," Clark said. "He said no one that was born of a *mortal* woman could *walk* through the entrance."
"Yeah, and that means all of us," Iolaus said.
"It doesn't mean me," Clark said. "I wasn't born of a mortal woman."
"I knew it!" Xena said. "You're a demon for sure." She snatched up her sword and headed for Clark. Hercules held up his hand and stopped her.
"No, I'm not a demon," Clark said. "It would take too long to explain." How could he explain to these people that he was an alien and had been born from a Kryptonian birthing chamber and not from his mother's womb? These people didn't even have knowledge that other planets existed, let alone other civilizations and other peoples.
"I don't know what you are," Hercules said. "But if you were a demon, Ares would have sensed it. He pretty much ignored you."
Clark smiled again. "And I don't have to *walk* either."
With that, he levitated into the air and flew toward the entrance of the cave.
Due to his Kryptonian physiology, Clark was practically indestructible, but he was vulnerable to magic. He didn't know what would happen when he entered the entrance of the cave. But as Superman, he'd been around Dr. Fate and Zatanna enough to know that magic was usually very dependent upon the specific words used. He hoped that Ares' magic was as literal as the god of war had said.
He encountered no resistance at all when he entered the cave. The entrance of the cave was maybe 15 feet across and it lead deep into the mountain. About fifty feet or so inside, it opened into a small cavern. And beyond the cavern, the cave continued into the mountain. A dim light came from the interior.
Clark landed on the floor of the cavern and looked around. It was just a plain old cave, as near as he could tell.
What else was it that Ares had said? Clark asked himself. "No one, male or female, that was born of a *mortal* woman, can *walk* through *that* entrance." Ah, Clark said to himself. "*That* entrance," he said softly. Ares hadn't said anything about any other entrance.
Clark turned about 45 degrees from the entrance and flew forward as hard and fast as he could. He held his clenched fists ahead of him as he slammed into the wall of the cave.
The limestone rock shattered at the impact. Clark backed up, and repeated the process several times. Eventually, he broke through the fifty or sixty feet of stone required to form another entrance to the cave.
Hercules and his friends stared in amazement as Clark exited from his hastily made entrance and flew back to them. Clark's shirt was pretty much torn to shreds from the sharp limestone chips he'd created. He pulled the few remaining cloth scrapes from around his shoulders.
"Ares said you couldn't enter through *that* entrance," Clark said, pointing to the natural opening of the cave. "He didn't say anything about *my* entrance."
"Well, everyone, you heard the man," Hercules said, smiling. "Let's go." And he headed to Clark's new entrance.
The group easily entered the cave and continued on down into the depths, toward the light. Even though they were deep within the mountain, somehow, the light was coming from the air. They walked out onto a plateau high above the clouds. Clear blue sky shone above them, but there was no sun. The entire sky just seemed to glow.
"Welcome to Olympus," Hercules said.
He hurried off to the major building before them.
The buildings were of gleaming stone, that shined almost as bright as the sky. The group followed Hercules.
Inside the building, they found Ares standing over a helpless and barely conscious Zeus. Behind them, laid Hera, the queen of the gods, unconscious. The god of war held a black dagger in his hand and was about the plunge the dagger into this father's chest.
Behind Ares stood Callisto, Ares' companion and the current goddess of chaos.
"Ares!" Hercules bellowed as he ran into the room.
Startled, Ares turned and Zeus weakly crawled away.
"Damn you, brother. I don't know how your retched group got here, but I swear you'll pay for your troubles with your deaths," Ares said. He gestured and a bolt of energy flew from his hand and struck Hercules in the chest.
The big guy went down, but wasn't out. He dug his hands into the marble floor and pulled up a block of the flooring. Hercules threw the marble at his half-brother and struck the god in black. Ares fell back, but was likewise not hurt.
Xena ran forward and confronted Callisto. The two fought with a ferocity that equaled or even surpassed that of the men.
Unable to fight, Gabrielle ran forward to help Zeus and Hera. Iolaus tried to help Hercules get up. Hercules was finally able to shake off this half-brother's attack.
"You won't win, Ares, you never do," Hercules said.
Ares dusted himself off. The marble had shattered when it had hit him. "I will this time, little brother. Hephaestus himself forged this dagger. It can kill any god; nothing short of direct sunlight can affect it. And there isn't any sun here in Olympus. I'll use it to kill you and then I'll kill our father. And then I'll be the king of the gods."
Hercules knew about the dagger. He couldn't advance and take on Ares directly. That would put him in Ares' reach. Even a scratch from the dagger would kill. If only there was some way to get the sunlight here, Hercules thought.
"Uh, Ares?" Clark asked.
"Sunlight affects the dagger?"
"That's what I said, you simpleton," Ares yelled. "I say, brother, your companions get more stupid every day. And I didn't think you could have anyone worse that Iolaus."
"Clark, the dagger was forged by the blacksmith of the gods, Hephaestus. It's a metal that can only be softened by sunlight. Nothing else will affect it."
"Thanks, Herc," Clark said. "Let's see if that's true."
"What do you mean?" Hercules asked.
Clark didn't answer, but he turned to Ares and unleashed his heat vision toward the god of war and the dagger. Since his body stored sunlight, Clark thought perhaps his heat vision, being a form of sunlight, would do the trick.
Ares screamed in pain. The dagger began to glow with the heat of Clark's super heat vision.
Callisto saw that her benefactor was in trouble and decided to leave. She disappeared in a flash, just as Xena swung her sword. Xena spun completely around from the inertia of the blow. It left the warrior woman frustrated.
Clark continued his assault. The dagger continued to glow brighter and brighter. Eventually, it began to sag and melt. Bright drops of molten metal dripped from the point of the dagger. Ares continued to scream in pain and in frustration over his default.
Zeus, leaning on Gabrielle, said "Enough, Ares. You are banished from Olympus." And with a wave of his hand, the king of the gods removed his errant son from the realm with a flash of light. The dagger remained behind and fell to the floor in a puddle of half-molten metal.
Clark stopped his heat vision. He took a deep breath; the continued assault had taken a lot out of him. And with no sunlight here to recharge his body, he felt weak.
"I told you he was a demon," Xena said, eyeing Clark.
"No," Zeus said. "He is a hero of Olympus on this day. And a hero of his world in his own time." The king of the gods obviously knew more than he was willing to speak.
USS Enterprise, in the Beta Quadrant
"Is our latest guest comfortable?"
"Yes, Captain," Riker said.
"Good." Picard paused, unsure how to raise the issue. "Will, I realize she's a very attractive woman. Try to keep your distance."
"Sir?"
"This mission is too important. I need you focused on the mission, not on your libido."
"Yes, sir!" Riker said. It was obvious that Picard was embarrassed by the need to discuss the topic. Riker took a perverse joy in making his captain uncomfortable.
"Very good," Picard said. He quickly moved on the next topic, "I understand from Data that the temporal anomaly has shrunk in size and the disruptions throughout the Federation continue, but have slowed in frequency. It appears the Vulcans were correct. As we remove these individuals from the various points in time and various universes, the effects are reversing themselves. We need to continue our efforts. Step them up, if possible."
"Understood," Riker said. "Dr. Crusher indicates that Batman seems to be resistant to the cellular deterioration. She is theorizing that there may be something about his proximity to the gemstone at the time of the incident that is protecting him. If so, perhaps the other individuals are also resistant."
"Are you suggesting we send this Catwoman on the next mission?"
"Yes," Riker said. "Batman can keep her in line. And Dr. Crusher has already moved you and Lieutenant Dax off the mission list. She's concerned about the effects the cellular deterioration has on the symbiont. And at least half of the command crew of both ships only have one more mission based on the doctor's criteria."
Picard pondered the situation for a moment.
"What is your impression of Batman? How did the mission go?"
Riker laughed. "He's arrogant and bossy," the first officer said. "But he's also the best commando I've seen. He'd give Worf a run for his money in any combat situation. His major failing is that he doesn't communicate what his intentions are. But given what Stark has told us about what these costumed vigilantes do, that also gives him a tremendous edge."
"You probably won't believe it, Jean-Luc, but he was able to ascend a 15-story building in just under a minute with that grapple of his. And that was while carrying me," Riker said.
"Carrying you?"
"He just fired the grapple and grabbed me. I didn't have a chance to agree or disagree."
Picard shook his head, "Beverly said he was strong. You may be right. I'm glad Benjamin made Mr. Worf stay back at DS9. I'd hate to think what would happen if the two of them butted heads."
Riker smiled, "And knowing our Mr. Worf, they probably would. Literally."
For the first time since the mission began, Picard smiled also.
Batman stood in front of the door to Catwoman's cabin. He still didn't exactly believe Counselor Troi's accusations. But he had to admit to himself that he knew little about what drove woman. He'd spent his entire life preparing to fight crime, he'd never had much real experience with woman. Granted, as Bruce Wayne, he had a reputation as a playboy, but truthfully, most of those women were motivated as much by his money as by anything else.
He pressed the announcer button. A moment later, Selina Kyle came to the door.
"What do you want?" she said. She was now wearing a Starfleet issued jumpsuit. She'd selected a dark red jumpsuit and it contrasted nicely with her black hair and her green eyes.
"I wanted to debrief you. I thought you'd rather talk to me than the 'aliens'."
"Are they really aliens?"
"No. Well, some of them are. They are representatives of a Federation of Planets, sort of a galactic United Nations. There are aliens, but all of the ones I've met so far look basically human."
"Well, I do have a bunch of questions," Selina said. "I guess you might be able to answer some of them."
"Let's go to Ten-Forward," Batman suggested.
"What's that?"
"A lounge at the front of the ship. You might enjoy the view."
Selina followed Batman through the ship's corridors. They passed a few Starfleet crew in the corridors. "This is a really big ship," she commented.
"They tell me that there are over a thousand people aboard."
They passed another couple of the Starfleet crew. Selina was surprised that the crew didn't give Batman a second glance. "You don't seem to scare anyone here," she noted.
"These people are the best of their kind. They are professional soldiers and explorers. They've probably seen things that would even scare Superman."
"Speaking of which," Selina said, "I finally figured it out. That was him, wasn't it. Back in New York. I still have bruises." She rubbed her arm. "It couldn't have been anyone else. Only two men in the world can move that fast. And that wasn't the Flash. Ergo, it was Superman."
Batman didn't say anything, but Selina took his silence as acknowledgement that she was right. If she'd been wrong, surely he'd have told her how wrong she was. He liked doing that. Every time they encountered each other, he was always so disapproving.
They arrived at Ten-Forward. He had been right, Selina was impressed by the view. She walked straight to the window and stood there for several minutes, mesmerized like a child standing in the window of a toy store.
Eventually, she broke herself from the window and joined Batman at the table he'd selected.
"Wow," she said. "I never realized..."
"They have the ability to travel all over the galaxy. This Federation of theirs has hundreds of populated worlds in it."
"Was that another ship I saw out there?"
"Yes, there are two ships here to research this problem."
"What problem?" Selina asked.
"There's some sort of time displacement occurring. It's what throw us out of New York. It's causing problems throughout the universe." He was still trying to keep this on as simple a level as possible. Let her get her mind around one universe at a time, he thought. And time travel was enough to give anyone a headache. Let along traveling through time and across universes at the same time.
"Where were you?" she asked. Selina frowned for a moment. She put her hand on her forehead and rubbed her temple.
"Are you okay?"
"Just a little headache. So where were you?"
Inwardly, he smiled. There's that time travel headache already, Batman thought. "Los Angeles. When it was still little more than a Spanish mission."
"Cool!"
Just then, some of the Defiant crew came into Ten-Forward. The Defiant was strictly a fighting vessel, with few amenities for the crew.
Batman watched the group. Lieutenant Dax was with Sisko's second in command, Kira, he thought her name was, and the doctor from the Defiant. Dax was holding hands with the doctor; apparently he was the boyfriend she'd mentioned. Ezri saw Batman and waved, trying to catch his eye. She pulled the man she was with over to Batman's table. The other woman followed.
"Batman," Ezri said. "This is Colonel Kira Neyres and Dr. Julian Bashir," she introduced the other two officers.
"And this is Selina Kyle."
"Hi," Selina said. The look on her face showed that she was obviously glad to talk to someone besides Batman. "Please Ezri, Doctor, Colonel Neyres, have a seat."
"That's Colonel Kira, Miss Kyle. Bajorians have their family names first."
"I apologize. Colonel Kira," she said, extending her hand. Selina saw the strange tattoos on Dax's face and the little bumps on the other woman's nose. "Are you aliens?" she asked.
Bashir laughed. "I'm not," he said. "But these two are."
"Really?" Selina said.
"Yes," Kira said. "I'm from Bajor, and Ezri here is from Trill."
"Wow," Selina said. "Real aliens...who would have thought?"
"Need I remind you that several of the JLA are not from Earth?" Batman said.
Just like him to point out the obvious, she thought. "Oh, those fuddy duddies," Selina said with a sneer. "But this is different. Spaceships, stars, neat stuff just like on Futurama or the Jetsons."
Bashir had a tricorder with him and he was quietly taking readings of Batman.
"What are you doing?" Selina asked. "What is that thing?"
"It's a tricorder. It allows me to take medical readings."
"Oh, yeah, the woman doctor scanned me when I came on board," Selina said. "Can you use it to find Batman's sense of humor? I think he lost it years ago."
Ezri chuckled, but Kira frowned. Being a Bajorian, she didn't like it when anyone made fun of anyone else. She remembered the insults and jokes trust upon her and her fellow Bajorians during the Cardassian occupation.
"Exactly what are you scanning?" Batman asked, staring intently at the young doctor.
Bashir stammered, obviously intimidated, "Uh, you," he said.
"Why?"
"Well, um, Dr. Crusher was commenting about your physical condition," Bashir explained, "I just wanted to compare your readings with my own."
"Yours?"
"Well, yes," Bashir swallowed hard. "You...um, you see, I was genetically enhanced as a child. Sort of changed into the peak of human physiology, as it were. Dr. Crusher said you were the most perfect human specimen she'd ever seen, and well, I just wondered how humans compared between our universe and yours."
"What do you mean, 'your universe'?" Selina asked.
"We passed through dimensions as well as time," Batman explained. "This is actually a different universe as well as 400 years in the future."
"If this isn't even our universe and you don't even know these people, why are you still wearing your costume," Selina asked.
"Because you're still here. And when we get back home, I don't want you knowing more than you need to."
"But I already know something better than who you really are." Selina smiled smugly. "I recognized the woman that Superman was with. I saw the two of them kissing before I ran out of the alley. I know Superman's real name..."
"Careful, Selina," Batman growled, "Remember, curiosity killed the cat."
Riker came in to Ten-Forward and walked straight to the table where Batman and the rest were seated. "Ah, Batman, Selina, I've been looking for you both."
"Yes?"
"Dr. Crusher says you and Selina have the least cellular deterioration. We'd like you two to go on the next mission," he explained.
"'Cellular deterioration'?" Selina asked, indignant. "What else haven't you told me?"
"It's what Dr. Crusher was scanning you for when we arrived. The interaction between universes causes some cellular damage."
"And why didn't you tell me?" Selina rubbed her temples again, her headache was getting worse. But then, Batman had that effect on her.
"I would have," Batman said. "I told you I had to debrief you."
"What else?" Selina demanded. "Right now, tell me right now, everything else."
Riker spoke up first, "Miss Kyle, we have to retrieve the rest of the people before the temporal fluctuations cause major problems in this universe and yours. After retrieving Tony Stark, you, and Batman, the problem has been reduced, but we have three additional people to find. The process of going into each universe creates cellular deterioration in all of us. You and Batman have the least amount of cellular damage. So we'd like to send you both."
Selina sat in silence trying to absorb everything Riker had said. She finally spoke up, "See, what it that hard?" She stared at Batman. "Thank you," she told Riker.
"When do we leave?" Batman asked.
"As soon as possible."
Batman and Catwoman dematerialized from the Enterprise transporter room and rematerialized in a dense forest. Commander Riker had helped Selina recreate her costume.
Batman had one of those tricorder things and was scanning. Catwoman looked around. She felt slightly uneasy; she'd grown up in the city and wasn't used to the great outdoors.
"There's a reading," he said. "This way," he pointed and started to walk.
They walked through the forest for several minutes before reaching a small clearing. There was a stone outcropping at one side of the clearing and a cave entrance sat in the outcropping. About 15 yards away, was another opening in the stone, apparently blasted out with explosives.
"Where's the reading from?" Catwoman asked.
Batman pointed inside the blasted out opening. "But it's moving closer," he said.
They waited for only a minute and five people walked out of the opening. One of them was a shirtless Superman.
"Batman," he exclaimed.
"Hello, *Superman*." Batman intentionally emphasized his name.
Superman looked suspiciously at Catwoman. "Were the both of you thrown here too?"
"No," Batman said. "But we have a way home. It's kind of hard to explain." He looked around at the other people. There were two men and two women. The tricorder showed them as being native to this universe.
"These are my friends," Superman said. "They only speak Greek, I'm afraid. This is Hercules and his friend Iolaus and this is Xena and Gabrielle," he motioned to each in turn.
"Hello," Batman said in Greek. "I'm Batman and this is Catwoman. We're here to help Superman get back home."
"Superman?" Gabrielle said, "But I thought his name was Clark?"
"Clark. That's what I thought," Catwoman said, in Greek.
"You speak Greek?" Batman asked, surprised.
"Of course," Catwoman said. "Who do you think buys all the stuff I steal? Usually some rich Greek dude."
"Thank you, Clark," Hercules said. "We couldn't have defeated Ares without you."
"I was glad to help, Hercules."
"Fare well," Iolaus said.
"Yes, fare well on your voyage," Gabrielle said.
They all turned to see what Xena would say. "I still say you're some sort of demon," Xena said. "But one of the bravest and must selfless demons I've ever met."
Superman walked over to the warrior woman and clasped her on her shoulder, "Thank you, Xena. Coming from you, that means a lot."
"Fare well, friends," Superman said. He then walked off with Batman and Catwoman following.
A few minutes later, the trio were out of the clearing and into the forest. "We have problems," Batman said, switching back to English.
"I assumed as much," Superman said, looking at Catwoman.
"Besides her," Batman said. "The universe is collapsing. Actually there are more than one and they're all in danger."
"What can we do?" Superman said.
"Well, we've hooked up with a group that's trying to fix the problem. We all got thrown into different times and different universes. You, me, Catwoman, Bond, and your wife. Somehow, each of us in different universes, where we don't belong, is causing a temporal anomaly that threatens everything. As they've found Catwoman and I, things have begun to repair themselves. But we still have to find Bond and Lois."
"How did she figure out who I am?"
"You boys can stop talking like I'm not even here," Catwoman snarled. "I recognized your wife. Everyone that reads a newspaper knows who Lois Lane is. Lois Lane-*Kent*, that is."
Batman and Superman both looked at the cat burglar.
"What?" she said. "Surprised that I can read? It took me a little bit to realize who you really were though, but after seeing how fast you grabbed the gemstone when I dropped it and then feeling how strong you were, it wasn't hard to put two and two together." She rubbed her arm again.
"Does she know...?" Superman asked.
"No."
"What are we waiting for?" Catwoman asked. She snatched the recall device from Batman's hand and pressed the button. A second later, the three of them disappeared.