"The quiet sense of something lost"

Tennyson

Kara pulled the black car slowly onto the street, her hands rested carefully on the steering wheel as she listened to Diana's soft voice as they headed towards the highway. As they merged onto I-70, Diana tapped play on her phone and music filled the vehicle as her fingers rested on Kara's thigh, giving it a gentle press, causing the woman's foot to fall closer to the floor and the Mercedes to shoot forward.

Maxwell Lord entered the cabin's kitchen, finding Bruce, Victor and Alfred gathered around the bar, sipping on coffee. "How are you this morning, Master Lord?" Alfred asked in a soft and pleasant voice, a slight English accent highlighting his politeness.

"Does Wayne Technologies have a cure for jet lag?" Max asked with a half-smile.

Victor held up his cup in a mock salute, "yeah, in Gotham, we call it coffee. Want a cup?"

"Please," the man almost begged.

Bruce watched the interaction carefully, studying the man, and his reaction to Victor. Maxwell seemed relaxed, a little off balance, but that was understandable, based on his situation. "So Mr. Lord, I've read your business plan and we had your equipment moved from Gotham last night into a more secure location a few blocks from Wayne Tower."

The smaller man choked on his coffee, "th-that fast?"

Bruce smiled, waving his hands around the room, "as you can see, we have the means to accomplish a great deal. I do have two questions for you though."

"Of course, as I told Diana, anything you need," Max answered, without looking up from his cup.

"First, do you have any-abilities left from your time as the Wishstone?" Bruce asked calmly, already certain of the answer.

"No, none," Max answered quickly, looking up. "Barbara and I have tested multiple hypotheses, and each one has failed spectacularly."

"Good, now that we have covered that, what are you doing with those portal plans from Lex Corp?" Bruce stood up straight, his imposing figure seemingly filling the entire room in one smooth motion.

"That's easy to answer, Bruce," Barbara's soft voice sounded from behind them, as she entered from the living room. "I stole them, shortly after Amanda Waller showed so much interest in them."

Bruce turned towards the small blonde, his eyes narrowing, "Does Diana know?"

"No, and if she must be told, I will tell her," Barbara hissed. "Waller wanted me to steal them for her, I don't trust that woman at all and that made those plans dangerous."

Victor eyed the small woman and whistled, "damn, you have a lot of nerve, Dr. Minerva."

Smirking, Barbara purred, "thank you, you are too kind and much, much too young."

Victor blushed and dropped his head, Max snorted into his coffee and Bruce eyed the woman appreciatively.

Barbara smiled at him, blue eyes soft as she sensed the pain behind those intelligent hazel eyes.

Bruce glanced away first, feeling the sadness that had consumed him since Selina's death, forgotten for a moment by the look in the untamed blue eyes of Barbara Minerva.

"You may have the plans, Mr. Wayne," Max smiled, interrupting the moment. "Consider it a down payment for my business operations."

Bruce chuckled, pouring a cup of coffee and sliding it, along with cream and sugar, towards Barbara, "that's not necessary, consider me an investor." Bruce reached across and shook the man's hand, "Victor will take you to your new building later today, it's already been fitted with the technology he created for blocking whatever signal the creatures are using to track you. He will also fit you for a personal version, so that you can have a life outside Lord Technologies."

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne. I'm going to go back to my room and get ready," Max said politely as he headed back to his room.

"That was a polite way of getting rid of him, Bruce," Barbara smiled into her coffee.

"I don't like the idea that he could be used as a weapon against us and I'm not overly thrilled that you two have plans for Lex Luthor's technology in an unlocked file cabinet," Bruce responded tersely.

"You know, you sound like Max," Barbara smiled brighter. "You simply assume those are Lex's plans, his ideas."

Bruce turned his piercing eyes on her, "what the hell are you talking about?"

Rolling her eyes, and speaking sarcastically, "L. Luthor? Lex Luthor?"

"His name is on the building," Bruce responded, voice tight. "Are we playing a game?"

"Not at all, Brucie," Barbara responded sharply, standing up and allowing Cheetah to show in her eyes, "Waller told me who developed the technology, as a matter of fact, the young woman and her girlfriend are still working on it, even now."

"Dammit, Barbara? Who?" Bruce demanded.

"World's greatest detective?" Barbara scoffed, "it's obvious isn't it? Lena Luthor."

"Lena Luthor is a physicist and has a half dozen other degrees, but she's not a mechanical engineer? So, who's the other one?" Bruce demanded, bringing his palm down on the bar.

"Her name's on the paper, did you only look at the plans?" Barbara smiled with a shake of her head, completely unperturbed by the outburst.

Victor stood stock still for a moment as his brain quickly scanned through what he had read, "Alexandra, Alexandra Danvers."

Bruce's head dropped as he swore, "fuck."

"MIT, sir?" Alfred asked without the least bit of sarcasm.

"Within the hour, and make sure Dr. Minerva's favorites are on board as well," Bruce shook his head.

"Oh how delightful, another time zone," Barbara whined.

Lashina headed deep into the cornfield that made up the back forty acres of the Kent's farm. She checked constantly over her shoulder, making sure that no one was following her. As she reached the middle, she knelt down and slowly swept her hand over the soil, watching with a small smile as the Earth parted, and a tiny device rose up and settled in her hand. She waved her hand over the activation light and a small two way portal opened between her location and Granny's office on Apokolips.

"Lashina, you are early. Do you have information for me?" The old woman asked, cackling wickedly.

"Yes Granny Goodness, it is a minor thing. The Kryptonian, Kal-El is alive and his betrothed is pregnant," Lash reported calmly.

"So there are two Kryptonians and one is pregnant?" Granny asked, clearly accepting the news that Superman was back, but trying to clarify the rest of the information.

"No, Granny Goodness, his betrothed is a human, the child is not…" Lash froze at the sound of footsteps somewhere in the field, "I have to go!" She whispered harshly, swiping her hand over the red light and deactivating the device, watching it fall to the ground. Waving her hand, she watched the dirt start to settle as she stood and made her way through the field and away from the approaching noise.

Eliza and Lois made their way through the field walking slowly and carefully as they spoke in hushed tones about the baby growing in Lois' womb.

"So Lois, I know we discussed a possible timeline," Eliza said quietly, watching as Lois slowed even more and turned her body to face the doctor.

"But?" Lois asked suddenly, as the reporter in her took over.

"Based on my analysis, you are not going to carry hope for nine months," Eliza smiled. "At her current rate of growth, we are looking at closer to five and half to six months."

"What?" Lois asked, her eyes widening, "we aren't ready! We-we don't even have…"

Eliza chuckled, "Lois, take a deep breath and relax. You and Clark are not the first couple to be unprepared for the baby's arrival. Of course, in your case, it isn't as if anyone could predict the growth rate of a Human/Kryptonian hybrid."

"She? Will be okay? Right?" Lois asked, breathing deeply.

"Alex built the equipment to my specifications, and all the data we have collected tells me, the baby will be perfectly healthy. So just relax," Eliza encouraged.

"O-Okay," Lois whispered, releasing a shaky breath.

Eliza Danvers smiled and stepped forward, wrapping her arm around Lois' shoulder. They were turning to walk back when she noticed something shining from under the dirt in front of them. Squatting she swept her hand over the device, watching in fascination as it rose up from the ground. Her eyes widened as she cocked her head to the side, "this looks like? This is alien technology?" Eliza stood up and looked at Lois with fear in her eyes, "we need to talk to Bruce and Clark, immediately."

Lois looked up and whispered, "Clark!"

Almost as fast as the words left her mouth, Superman landed, "Lois, are you okay?" He only had eyes for the woman in front of him as he checked her from head to toe, listening to the baby's heartbeat.

"I'm okay, we…" Lois answered as she softly placed her hand on Clark's forearm.

"We found this," Eliza said, holding out the device. "We need to call Bruce, and maybe let Alex check it out?"

"You okay with a quick hop, doc?" Clark asked with a smile, then wrapped an arm gently around Lois. "We'll call him after Alex looks at it, just to verify it's not something from my pod, okay?"

"Deal," Eliza Danvers responded, closing her eyes as he took off into the afternoon sky.

At Paradise, Mara and Atlanna were sitting comfortably on the front porch, both dressed comfortably in sweats, watching an approaching storm. Mera huffed, taking a sip of her tea, "this is boring."

Laughing, Atlanna shook her head, "after so many years, surviving the trench, I'll take boredom."

"Pfft, boredom? With Arthur's father here, how are you bored?" Mera teased.

"Because, just like you, Princess, my lovely Atlanna craves action," Tom Curry said as he stepped through the door, looking out as his eyes caught movement in the cornfield across the road. "Who is that?"

Mera leaned forward, "I think that is Clark's farmhand, Lash."

"Why is she headed away from the farm?" Tom asked.

"I don't know," Mera responded as she stood and turned to head into the house, raising the communicator that Bruce had left her when he left to go to Gotham the night before.

"Vulko?" Arthur asked as he floated above the throne. "What are we doing today?"

"Today sire," Vulko responded, shaking his head and hiding a laugh. "Today, we are inspecting the troops of the combined armies of Atlantis."

"Great, more moving among the people," Arthur grumbled.

"Arthur!" Vulko snapped, "they crave interaction. You won the throne by rite of combat, but you need to show them that you are truly-worthy of the throne of Atlantis."

Aquaman's shoulders sagged, "I know. I know Vulko, but I crave action. I feel stagnated."

"You've been king for less than a week, you will be fine Arthur. Just, relax, grab your trident and let's take a walk," Vulko laughed, clapping the larger man on the shoulder. Then he looked down at his feet, floating several inches off the floor, "metaphorically speaking."

Shaking his head in defeat, Arthur swam behind his friend and mentor, laughing as he followed.

Bruce and Barbara exited the sliding doors of Logan International Airport holding the keys to a large SUV. "You have a real thing for black, don't you Brucie?" Barbara teased as she slid into the passenger seat. "Doesn't it kill the whole secret identity thing?"

"I've survived this-this lifestyle for longer than anyone without powers could imagine," Bruce stared out the driver's window, while the car warmed up. "People see what they want to see, the secret is right there, in front of them. Most people can only see the money and the flash that goes with it, they don't realize that it is just a mask."

"Sheesh, I was just teasing, Bruce," Barbara smiled. She turned serious with her next question, "Why? Why is this so important to you?"

Bruce was staring straight ahead, guiding the vehicle through traffic robotically, "fifteen years ago, it was still about my parents, finding the scum that killed them." His voice took on a harsh tone as he continued, "then I found him, alone in that fucking alley in Gotham. It was so easy…"

Barbara's eyes widened, "you, you k…"

Bruce's hands tightened on the wheel, "snapped his neck and left him lying in the gutter, just like my mother."

"Bruce?" Barbara saw the look of shame in the man's eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Bruce continued, "Jason had recently-and then Selina-my techniques weren't working. The bastards needed to be reintroduced to fear."

"I'm so sorry, Bruce. What changed, why now?" Barbara asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"Superman happened, he showed me what it means to protect this world, no matter the cost," Bruce said, casting his eyes towards her for a moment, determination causing them to shine in the afternoon light. Then he was focused on the road again, moving into the far right lane and taking them closer to Lena Luthor.

Alex took the strange looking orb from her mom, "where did you find it?"

"We are fine, Alex. Thanks for asking," Eliza smiled as her daughter ignored the comment, concentrating on the alien object that she was turning over in her hands.

"Is there a possibility it's from my pod?" Clark asked.

Alex located a small access port, pressed the release, and peered inside the device, "no crystals that I can see, and the wiring doesn't appear to match anything else mom has seen as far as Kryptonian technology." Alex looked up from her inspection, "Where did you say you found it?"

"In the back forty, along the same track as my pod, that's why I was curious," Clark answered, looking back toward the cornfield. "We better call Bruce." He headed into the house, up to his bedroom and found his communicator, resting on the shelf where he'd left it. The small indicator light was flashing and he flipped it over, noticing that he had been contacted by Mera, also noting that no message had been left. 'I'll call her after Bruce,' he thought to himself.

Barry Allan reached the outskirts of Smallville, slowly slightly as he saw a vague human form, a woman, walking down the middle of the road as he approached Paradise. Victor had asked him to check in on a few of Bruce's guests and stick around a few days to perhaps see what was going on with some new research that they had chanced upon.

"Hey Clark, what's going on?" Bruce asked as he and Barbara made their way towards Lena Luthor's lab.

"We found something, Bruce, a piece of alien tech," Clark explained. "Alex says it's not Kryptonian."

"Anything of interest then?" Bruce asked, no concern in his voice.

"Not yet, but we haven't tried to activate it, she just opened it up to compare it to other alien tech she has seen," Clark explained.

"I will be there in a few hours, with another expert on alien technology. Ask her to study it and make notes, but don't activate it," Bruce responded. "Two hours, maybe three."

"No problem, we'll set her up in the barn at Paradise," Clark nodded his head, even though Bruce couldn't see him. "Want us to meet you at the airport?"

"No, I brought one of my special toys on this trip, I can land behind Paradise," Bruce laughed into the phone.

"Okay?" Superman answered, curiosity tinging his tone..

"Three hours, Clark. See you then," Bruce said as he disconnected the phone.

Clark headed downstairs, and met Alex at the door, "Bruce asks that you not activate it, but make notes. He's bringing another specialist in."

"Who?" Alex asked.

"I have no idea," Clark answered honestly.

Kara and Diana were making good time, having cleared the Colorado border and entering Utah.

"Want me to drive for a bit, Kara?" Diana asked, pressing her lips to Kara's cheek.

"I'm okay, your highness," Kara answered with a smile, without taking her eyes off the road. "This is-fun."

Diana smiled and checked her phone, noticing a text from Etta.

E: 'Diana, how about Vegas instead of NC.'

D: 'Sorry I missed your message, we are about six hours out.'

She sat for a moment, hoping she hadn't missed her friend…

E: 'We? Bringing a friend?'

D: 'Her name is Kara, she's from home.'

E: 'Home? As in home?'

D: 'Yes, home. Where are you staying?'

E: 'I have a two bedroom suite at the Venetian. Do we need another room?'

D: 'No, Kara and I are together.'

E: '...'

E: '...'

E: 'About time, I'll see you in a few hours, I'll leave the key at the desk.'

D: 'I'll call when we get close, thank you Etta.'

Diana locked her phone, blushing and smiling brightly, and turned to Kara, "only about six more hours. My friend has business in a city closer to us. Are you sure you want to drive the whole way."

Kara turned her head a fraction, smiling, "I could use something to eat, and then-maybe I'll let you drive."

"There is a diner off of the next exit, why don't we enjoy this outing and stop to get something gross and greasy," Diana smiled. "I'll also be able to kiss you properly."

"As you wish, your highness," Kara smiled as she turned her eyes forward.

Bruce Wayne was about to open the door to Lena's lab, when Barbara held up her hand and shook her head, "don't be so rude. We knock." She rapped lightly on the door, stepping back, and placing her hands demurely in front of her. "Now, be patient."

A quiet voice called out from the other side, "one moment." The two people stood tall as they heard soft footfalls from within the lab. Bruce heard a lock click and watched as the door slid open slowly, Bright green intelligent eyes peered from behind black rimmed glasses and the wisp of a woman's lips opened in a surprised 'O'. Her mother's lessons quickly came to mind, and Lena Luthor shook her head, swallowed and greeted her guest, "hello, what can I do for you?"

"Ms. Luthor, I'm Dr. Barbara Minerva and this is…" Barbara began.

"Bruce Wayne, yeah I know. It's an honor to meet you though Dr. Minerva, your thesis on crystals helped with the basis on one of my holographic projects," Lena gushed, her eyes barely turning to face Bruce. "Is there something I can help with, or-" Lena sputtered to a stop.

Barbara looked up at Bruce and shrugged an apology, "actually darling, while it's amazing to meet a fan, Mr. Wayne has some questions for you." Barbara smiled, then softened the blow, "but when you two are done, maybe we can talk."

Bruce pulled a set of plans from his jacket pocket and made his way to a small table inside the doorway, "can you explain these, Ms. Luthor?"

"Where did you get these, I deleted those files from every server except my own," Lena turned towards Bruce, looking up at the larger man and poking her fingers into his chest. "You might intimidate everyone else, but I grew up in a household that included Lex and Lillian Luthor, so don't you think for one minute that the big, bad Bat is going to scare me. Now where the hell did you get mine and Alex's plans?"

Bruce backed away a step, as Barbara stepped between them, "Lena-Ms. Luthor! I stole the files. I removed them from a secure location in the upstate to keep them out of the hands of someone else."

"Amanda Waller?" Lena asked sarcastically, "she asked for them a year or two ago and I told her I didn't have access to any of Lex's work. I wasn't aware that they had access to the infamous Cheetah."

"How do you know who we are?" Bruce asked from over Barbara's shoulder.

"Lex's files were very thorough," Lena answered. "He has information on, I'm sorry, he had information on every known Meta on the planet, and several that are still hidden. I assume you have the same information Mr. Wayne, since your equipment left a sizable footprint on his servers."

"What? How?" Bruce asked, dumbfounded.

"When Lex was arrested, our 'mother' approached me and demanded that I erase all of Lex's data off of the company servers. The company servers were easy, however, Lex has backups all over the world. So I made copies of all his files and stored them on my personal server," Lena explained. "I have the other locations as well, but they are stand alone computers and I haven't been able to get to them."

Bruce, looking suitably impressed, "I apologize, Ms. Luthor. It seems I may have misjudged you."

"People normally do, Mr. Wayne. I am not my family, and I have no desire to be. I am a scientist with the aim to make the world a better place, and step out of the shadow of the people that raised me." She took a deep breath, "now, what is it that I can help you with?"

"Can you make this work? Can you create these portals?" Bruce asked.

Lena perked up immediately, "we can, and we have. Let me show you!"

Bruce actually smiled at the woman's excitement and Barbara simply shook her head, memories of her own college experience bringing a large grin to her face. She followed the young woman to a large lab table with two intricately designed machines at each end, "show us what you've got, Lena Luthor."

Fifteen minutes later, Lena was headed towards her dorm, to pack for a trip of at least several days. Twenty minutes after that, they were headed to the airport, the key to Lena's lab resting in Bruce's right jacket pocket.

Lash entered the town of Smallville, keeping to the shadows and making her way towards an abandoned house on the western side of the town. She checked over her shoulder as she approached the front door, making sure she was still alone. Pushing the door open, she slid into the shadows moving towards the back room. From there she made her way down into the basement, searching for her secondary communication device, finding it hidden in the old boiler.

Pulling the device from its hiding spot she frowned at the huge crack in the activation crystal.

"Jandin' afipoa!" She swore as she threw the device into the concrete wall, shattering it. She rubbed her eyes and sat down on the dirty floor, pulling her knees to her chest.

Victor was sitting in Maxwell's office, fitting the man with a small chip, having found the frequency he was searching for. "This will keep you under their radar for the time being. I can't figure out how to erase the Wishstone's signature from you completely, so until this is over…"

"I have a target on my back," Max replied, a wry grin on his face. "It's my own fault."

Victor leaned over to pat Max on the back as his communicator went off, "hey Bruce, what do you need me to do this time?"

"Sorry, Vic, I do have a tendency to call you for the heavy lifting every single time, don't I?" Bruce laughed.

"It's not a problem, Bruce. Do you know how much tech I have had a chance to play with since I started working with you?" Vic responded. "Where am I headed?"

"MIT. Lena Luthor's lab. I need everything brought to the Smallville farm," Bruce requested.

"No problem. Can I take Max? We can probably turn it over in about four hours, unless there is something huge?" Victor asked.

"Yeah, if you and Diana can both vouch for him, no problem," Bruce smiled into the communicator.

"Okay, boss, we will see you in six hours, max," Victor responded. "Cyborg, out."

Amanda Waller strolled down the high security wing of Blackgate Prison. She stopped in front of Floyd Lawton's cell and tapped her nails on the bars, pulling the man from sleep. "Hey, Floyd, how's the arm and leg?"

"Sore," the man answered from behind the bars. "You going to get me out of here?"

Amanda appraised the man, "hell no, you took a job from an incarcerated individual. I'm not crossing the Bat or Wonder Woman and her new friend on this one."

"So you are hanging me out to dry?" Floyd whined.

"You're a free agent, Lawton, figure it out yourself," Waller smiled as she turned away and headed down the hallway.

She walked through an airlock type passageway that led to the most secure area in the prison. The redheaded prisoner she was searching for was in the very first cell, pacing back and forth in the ugly grey prison jumpsuit, Maxima looked pissed off. "Hello, your 'highness,' is the room not to your liking?" Amanda asked, a smirk rising to her lips.

Maxima turned to the reinforced glass wall and threw her fist at Waller's smiling face, dropping to her knees as her bones cracked under the impact.

"That wasn't very intelligent, Maxima," Waller said with a laugh. "Of course, neither was allowing yourself to be captured by Wonder Woman and her Kryptonian friend."

Grimacing in pain and holding her damaged hand, Maxima growled, "I didn't know! Luthor forgot to mention there was another one."

"That's what I thought," Waller smiled. 'Lex really isn't aware,' she thought to herself. Mentally she shook her head. "That's not actually the reason I am here-I have an offer for you, something to get you out of your current accommodations."

"I'm listening?" Maxima replied, her wounded hand completely forgotten.

Bruce's small plane made a silent approach to the farm in Smallville. He expertly landed it behind the large barn and lowered the boarding steps. As he opened the door, he noticed Clark and Eliza standing a short distance away. Smiling, he waved them over, then stepped down as Barbara made her through the door. Then a small brunette followed her, stopping in her tracks as her wide eyes looked at Clark Kent then fell to the tall blonde woman beside him.

Eliza was stepping forward to greet Barbara when she saw Lena. Her smile grew large and she opened her arms as Lena charged down the stairs, feeling the woman's arms close around her. "Hi sweetheart, I assume you are Bruce's expert?"

"Mmhmm," was all Lena could get out as she burrowed in Eliza.

Barbara stopped in front of the two women, "hi, I'm…"

"Dr. Barbara Minerva," Eliza said, resting her chin on Lena's head. "My girls, Alex and Lena are huge fans."

"Alex! Alex is here! She said you two were working on a project, but couldn't say anything else." The words tumbled from Lena's mouth, "why isn't she here? Where is she? What are you two working on?"

Eliza coughed to hide a laugh, "she in the barn, sweetheart. She has no idea you are here."

"Oh really?" Lena smiled deviously as she released the older woman and made her way to the barn door. "Hi Mr. Kent, you look really good for a dead man…" then she was gone as she quietly opened the door.

Alex was hunched over the workbench on the other side of the room, her specialty tools laid out like she was performing surgery. Lena watched her for a few moments, amazed as always by her girlfriend's ability to focus on a task. "Alex," she whispered. She got no reaction and stepped closer, whispering again, "Alex."

Alex stopped what she was doing, her head coming up slowly. She spun the stool around, her eyes locking on Lena, dressed in her usual lab clothes and frowned, wiping her eyes, "Lena?"

Lena cocked her head to one side, "already forgot what I looked like?" She tried to frown, but it was impossible as Alex stared at her in confusion. "According to your mom, I'm the expert that you need?"

"Lena?" Alex stood slowly, "you're here?"

"Yes silly, I thought I just covered that," her smile grew even larger. "Are you going to come over here and say hello?"

The redhead stood on shaky legs and made her way across the barn, her hands reaching up and taking Lena's face in her hands. "Oh my god, I've missed you," she whispered out as she pulled the smaller woman towards her and pressed their lips together.

An hour later, everyone gathered into what was slowly becoming Lena and Alex's lab. The alien device was in the center of the room, sitting on a small table that Alex had found earlier. She and Lena were standing on either side, each holding clipboards full of notes and formulas.

"Everyone has met Lena, correct?" Bruce asked, watching as everyone nodded. "The device in front of us was found on Clark's farm. So," Bruce continued, "what are we thinking?"

"It is a two way portal communication device, allowing the user to speak and possibly pass information to a person at the other end," Lena explained, reading off of Alex's notes.

"Is it good for anything else?" Eliza asked.

"It records messages as well," Alex explained. She pressed a small button on the side of the device, playing the last message sent by Lash, hours before.

As the recording played to the end, Clark, red faced, and holding Lois close, asked, "Where is she?"

"She was headed towards town, about three, maybe four hours ago," Barry volunteered. "I saw her as I was coming in."

"I contacted you when we saw her headed out, but you never called back," Mera spoke up.

"We'll find her, Clark, I have a satellite targeting Smallville at all times, she couldn't have flown out without either myself or Victor being notified," Bruce spoke in a calm voice, watching as Clark relaxed.

"Can it be activated, maybe one way?" Barry asked, zipping forward to study the device.

"Honestly, I don't think so," Alex huffed. "We don't know what will happen if we activate the device."

"Should we try?" Atlanna asked, her brows furrowed.

"How quickly can it be deactivated once we power it on?" Barry asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Unknown, to both questions," Lena responded, dejected. "Alex and I have been working on something resembling this technology, however, and it takes several minutes for our equipment to activate and deactivate."

"Well we are all here, and it's highly unlikely that they could send troops through the device, correct?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, sir," Lena and Alex nodded together.

"Let's try it," Bruce ordered.

Alex took a deep breath, and waved her hand over the red activation crystal on the top of the device, holding it as the machine powered up.

"Lashina," a high pitched voice spoke over the device, she saw Clark's visage through the portal's two way. "Kryptonian!"

Alex immediately waved her hand over the device, watching with relief as the machine shut down.

"Well that wasn't good," Barbara hissed.

"We have the location of the device, Lord Darkseid," Granny Goodness cackled. "And the Kryptonian is close by."

"Send a detachment, including two of your Furies," Darkseid commanded. "Even if they are unable to kill the Kryptonian, make certain they target the human and the child."

"Yes, milord," Granny said with a bow.

"If they fail," Darkseid threatened, "You will pay for it, Granny Goodness."

Swallowing hard, Granny Goodness bowed once more and choked out, "yes, milord."

"Did we just contact another world?" Lena asked, surprise showing in her wide eyes.

"I-I think so," Alex answered, the look on her face mirroring Lena's almost exactly.

Clark smiled at the girls, then turned serious as he faced Bruce, "you think they will send troops?"

"I'm sure they will," Bruce sighed. "Victor will be here within the hour, but Diana and Kara are almost two states away."

"We have to learn to work together without always counting on Diana and Kara," Atlanna said, taking the floor to herself. "Mera and myself, though not as strong as them, are trained warriors. Clark is Superman and Victor, Barry and Bruce are all quite formidable. The only unknown is Barbara."

Bruce looked across the room at Barbara Minerva and nodded. She turned towards the girls, and Eliza, "Ladies? You may want to prepare yourselves for a bit of a surprise." As the words left her mouth she shifted, releasing her cheetah form.

Lena's eyes grew even wider than before and Alex stared, as one word rolled from her lips, "cool."

Barbara smiled, her canines flashing in the light, her eyes flashing a deep red. She purred ever so slightly and morphed quickly back into her human form.

"I apologize for my earlier comment, Barbara," Atlanna smiled.

"Apology accepted," Barbara smiled back.

Granny Goodness marched into her orphanage screaming for her Female Furies, "girls! In here, now!"

Thumpa, the largest of her Furies entered the room first, causing the stone floor to vibrate as each foot stomped on the floor. She was a large woman, solidly muscled and equal in size to the recently deceased Kalibak. The warrior was covered in orange from head to toe and carried no weapons since she was a walking demolition ball.

She was followed by her sister in battle, Killsandra. A darkly dressed, tall and thin woman wearing a black bodysuit. For all the bulk that Thumpa carried, Killsandra seemed catlike in her movements. She was armed with a large silver trident, it's center point large and slightly darker than the rest.

"Yes, Granny Goodness," the two women spoke at the same time as they came to rigid attention.

"Lord Darkseid has a mission for you two," Granny began. "The Kryptonian has been located, and has become aware of your sister, Lashina."

Both women tensed, failure during a mission was punishable by death at the hands of Darkseid himself. "Are we to save her, Granny?" Killsandra asked quietly.

"Lashina is to be brought before his lordship upon completion of your mission. The male Kryptonian is to be killed and his mate is to be brought here to the orphanage," Granny commanded.

"Troops?" Thumpa asked in a deep voice.

"You will be allowed one nest," Granny responded, "they will locate each of your targets and find Lashina. Once those targets are found, you will return here to the orphanage. AM I CLEAR?"

"Yes, Granny Goodness!" The two women yelled.

Alex and Lena were looking over the communicator with Barry peeking over their shoulders when the portal opened. Faster than thought, Barry grabbed both the women and passed into the Speed Force. Pausing just a moment, he quickly counted the number of demons and took in the two women that stepped through behind them, then disappeared from the barn.

Bruce burst through the back door, bare chested, with the lower part of his body covered by his armor and boots, utility belt tossed over his shoulder. Atlanna and Mera came running from the front of the house, followed by Tom, "what the hell?"

Barry slid to a stop, releasing Alex and Lena, who fell to the ground, landing on their knees. Lena held her hands over her mouth fighting an overwhelming feeling of nausea while Alex looked up at Atlanna who was holding her trident, "portal-in the barn-there're-there are monsters coming out. What the hell?"

Mera dropped to one knee, drawing from the moisture in the air, allowing it to wash lightly over the two students, calming Lena's churning stomach. "Tom-Master Curry-take them to the lower level of the house, please. Quickly!"

Tom got the girls to their feet, pushing through the powerful group of heroes, his fingers gently caressing Atlanna's waist, "be careful, love."

Atlanna's harsh gaze shifted to softness, as a small smile lit her eyes, "of course, beloved."

The group had barely gotten through the back door when the entrance of the barn exploded outward peppering the small group of heroes with splinters of wood. Without a thought Mera threw up a bubble of hard water, stopping the explosion and saving the heroes from being impaled.

Three miles away, from the air over Smallville, the Man of Steel paused in his search for Lashina and turned his head.

Barbara Minerva, seated on the porch with Eliza and Martha Kent, shifted, allowing the Cheetah to emerge. "Eliza!" She hissed, "Everyone inside, get to the basement, now."

"Barbara?" Martha hesitated, taking a breath as she took in the majestic looking hero. The Cheetah's fierce red eyes turned to face her, softening as Martha Kent whispered, "be safe."

Nodding sharply, the woman turned back towards Paradise and stepped off the porch.

Back at Paradise, Thumpa and Killsandra stopped, taking in the heroes arrayed in front of them. They each tilted their heads as the shirtless man, the leader they assumed, spoke, "take yourselves back to your master and leave this planet in peace, or else."

Thumpa chuckled deeply, "empty threats little man."

Killsandra raised her fist and three groups of parademons shot from the barn, the first group of twenty shot up and turned towards Smallville, their howling cries filling the skies and alerting Superman to their arrival. The second group and Thumpa peeled away, headed towards the Kent farm and the final group of fifteen landed hard behind Killsandra and raised their weapons.

"Bruce, you and Barry head towards the other farm, Mera and I can handle this," Atlanna cried out over the chattering of the demons. Barry snatched Bruce, entered the speed force and launched them towards Superman's farm.

Over Smallville

Clark watched the demons from above, watching their formation as they flew under him. He scanned each one, looking for the faint green light that indicated Kryptonite. Seeing none, he pushed forward, approaching the creatures from above their right flank. Taking a lesson from Kara, he let his heat vision build up, holding it behind his eyes, waiting for the right moment to strike, when suddenly the creatures veered to the east and started to descend towards the playground of the elementary school. In the middle of the playground, sitting on a bench, watching the children at play, was Lash…

The Kent Farm

Barry and Bruce stepped out of the Speed Force directly next to the Cheetah. The woman barely turned her head as she purred, "greetings little speedster, nice of you two to join me."

"Are you okay, Barbara?" Bruce asked, listening to the tension in her voice.

"We are not prepared for a fight like this one, they are strong. Stronger than anyone but Kara, Diana and Clark," Cheetah hissed. "I can smell her power, Bruce."

"We can do this, Barbara, you have to believe that we can do this. We have Clark," Bruce grimaced as the aliens landed, shaking the ground beneath their feet.

Barry swallowed hard, and stepped up beside Barbara, "we just need to keep her really, really busy till Clark gets back, right?" He smiled weakly and started to vibrate, drawing power from the speed force and feeling the lightning crackling on his fingertips…

Paradise

Mera and Atlanna stood back to back, Atlanna's five pointed trident spinning in huge figure eights, keeping the creatures at bay. "Atlanna, this will not do, we are on defense, we have to fight."

Yelling over the demon's screams, "remember what Kara asked, if we could bend water as a weapon!"

Mera smiled, remembering what Kara had shown her, she focused her powers and closed her eyes, drawing in the moisture from the ground, the air and the two parademons who made the mistake of getting too close to the cyclonic force of the water witch's power.

The two bodies crumpled to the ground as the moisture drained from their bodies.

Smallville

The parademons landed in the schoolyard, Lash standing behind them as Superman landed. Around them teachers and students ran for the building. Clark moved faster than the eye could follow as his body deflected burst after burst of the creature's energy spears. The creatures listened as Lash ordered them to all fire as one. Energy flashed from twenty weapons, three of them focused on Clark pushing him back, stopping him from reacting as fast as he normally would.

He screamed as the final blast caught a young teacher in the back, throwing her into the wall. He caught the body and slid her gently to the floor, his vision going red as his heat vision lit up ten of the alien bodies, watching as they turned to ash.

His muscles tensed and he jumped forward, stopping only when he crushed the first demon that his sun enhanced body impacted against.

Paradise

Mera's hands started to spin, watching as Atlanna trapped the water, spinning it, forming it into a disk. As the circle of water spun faster and faster, Atlanna pushed forward, throwing it at the demons in front of her.

Mera's timing was perfect, solidifying the circle, pushing it past two hundred miles per hour and watching with satisfaction as it cut down five of demons, smirking as headless bodies fell to the ground.

"Kara would be proud," Atlanna growled as she jumped forward and speared one more demon through its chest.

Mera reached for her power again. 'NO!' She thought loudly to herself, 'Kara is going to be pissed.'

The Kent Farm

"Where is the pregnant female?" Thumpa growled as Barry released his stored lightning, frying three of the demons and driving Thumpa to her knees.

Bruce jumped forward, pulling his collapsible staff from his belt and pressing the activation button, bringing it down with all the weight his considerable muscle mass could generate, crushing the creature's head. He landed, spun and lashed out with a booted foot, catching Thumpa in the head, grunting as she snatched him by the ankle and flung him across the yard.

Barry grabbed the fallen staff and poured on an extra burst of speed as he held it up and sliced through two of the demons. He spun the staff at Thumpa's head and watched the staff break and spin across the yard.

Cheetah shook her mane, and watched as the remaining demons moved into a rough semi-circle around Thumpa. "Well boys, guess it's my turn," she growled, her teeth bared, and charged forward.

Paradise

The last of the demons fell to a combination of Mera's magic and Atlanna's trident. Both women spun around, facing Killsandra.

"I've been trained by the greatest teacher on Apokolips," she gloated. "You think you can stand against my might? My trident?"

"You talk way too much, bitch," Mera sniped back, as twin blades of water shot forward at her command. The first was easily deflected, but the second caught the other woman in the stomach, dropping her to her knees. Blue blood seeped from the wound as she grunted and forced her body back to her feet.

"Very good," the woman swallowed hard against the pain. "Not good enough!" Her trident came up quickly, the point glowing as a beam of red energy exited the tip, aimed at Atlanna.

"NO!" Mera screamed as she pushed off the ground, her shoulder connecting with Atlanna's upper body, pushing the Queen to the ground. The beam of energy caught the princess in the hip, spinning her around and driving her into the foundation of the house. Mera lay still as Atlanna rolled and returned to her feet.

Smallville

Clark looked around as he tore the wings from the last parademon. "Where are you, Lash?" He snarled, his eyes still glowing red.

"Right here!" She teased, as she stepped from the shadows of the school's entrance, her hand wrapped around the throat of a helpless looking blonde haired teenager.

"Let her go!" Superman bellowed, his rage overwhelming him as he stepped forward.

"Stop!" Lash called out calmly. "Or I will kill her."

"Over my dead body," Clark threatened. "We can end this peacefully, just let her go."

"Or what, Superman?" Lash asked with snide confidence. "You'll kill me?"

"YES," the Man of Steel responded harshly.

Lash swallowed hard as she put her back to the wall.

The Kent Farm

Bruce stood up as the final demon fell, two batarangs sticking out of its clawed head. Cheetah shook black blood from her claws while Barry continued to vibrate, building up energy, collecting it for their next attack.

"I'm only here for the Kryptonian's mate," Thumpa smiled, baring pointed teeth that had blackened over time. "Get in my way, and I'll end you."

Bruce's upper body was covered with scratches, a few very deep, and blood poured down his chest. Barry's body was clear of injuries, but the constant jumps in and out of the Speed Force were taking a toll on his body. Barbara's body was still fresh, but she was struggling with the constant killing, the Cheetah had kept her promise time and again and now, she felt free of those confines and both halves of Barbara's personality were scared.

"Fear suits you, little cat," Thumpa's voice was cold and hard, and she sniffed the air.

"That's just you," Barbara answered with a smile of her own, her canines glinting in the sunlight. "Hanging out with those little bugs will do that to a-girl?"

Thumpa yelled and charged Cheetah, veered off at the last second and snatched Bruce up by the arm, shaking him until she heard his shoulder pop from its socket and threw the body at the little cat in front of her.

Barry released the lightning he had gathered and launched himself at the space between Barbara and Bruce. He misjudged Bruce's weight and felt himself tumble, cushioning the Dark Knight as they rolled across the lawn and landed in a heap.

Paradise

Killsandra was tiring, her blood staining the dirt as deflected blow after blow from Atlanna's trident. "You fight well, earthling."

"Atlantean!" Atlanna yelled, as she brought her trident down across the woman's chest, causing three fresh wounds to bloom.

Killsandra stepped back, trying to hold her chest together. "You?"

Atlanna looked over her shoulder, "she is like a daughter to me, and you hurt her. The least I can do is to hurt you back."

Killsandra raised her weapon, its hum could be heard over the silence stretching between the two adversaries. Atlanna never hesitated as she jammed the tip of her trident into the other woman's weapon. Killsandra's eyes went wide as the weapon started to tremor in her hand.

Atlanna dove to Mera's side, and closed her eyes, drawing upon her own little secret. She felt the surge of power as the symbol on her upper arm throbbed. She pulled quickly and formed a bubble of hard water around herself and the injured redhead and watched in grim satisfaction as the weapon in her enemy's hand exploded and they both disintegrated.

As the energy surge died down she released the water and lifted Mera's head onto her lap. The younger Atlantean's eyes opened in obvious pain, but she smiled and murmured, "what did I miss?"

Scooping the woman into a hug, Atlanna sagged in relief.

The Kent Farm

Barbara moved from spot to spot, her claws drawing blood with every strike, but the large woman kept moving forward. She dropped into a crouch and caught the woman's ankle with her right hand. But she caught a boot to the chest for her trouble.

Barbara rolled back, coming up on all fours, a growl of pure fury rising from her throat.

"Get out of my way, little cat," Thumpa threatened. "I want the woman…" She stopped as a smile found its way to Barbara's face.

"Over my dead body, bitch!" Martha Kent yelled as she released two rounds from the shotgun she was currently wielding.

Thumpa fell back, her hand sweeping across her chest and activating the portal switch embedded in her uniform. "NOOO!" The monstrous woman screamed as she disappeared.

Barbara transformed instantly and rushed to Barry and Bruce, "Barry are you okay?" She checked Bruce's pulse, relieved that it was still strong and steady.

"I'm fine. Sorry I missed the end," Barry waved her off. "Damn he is heavy."

Eliza Danvers slid to a stop at Bruce's side, checking his vitals, "he's fine except for the cuts and the shoulder. Are you okay?"

Barbara shook her head slowly, a slight giggle coming out of her lips, "thanks to Annie Oakly up there, we are all fine." Then she stared down at Bruce's unmoving form and thought to herself, 'Diana and Kara are going to be all kinds of pissed.'

Smallville

The blonde girl whimpered as Lash's grip tightened around her throat. "I just want to go home, Superman."

"Let her go, and we can discuss it," Clark answered, his voice tight with a mix of fear and anger. He watched her fingers twitch on the girl's neck and knew in his mind how this would have to end. He flashed back to Zod's body, twitching on the floor of the subway in Metropolis. "I don't want to kill you, Lash."

"You think quite a bit of your abilities, don't you?" The woman laughed, placing her free hand on the other side of the girl's head.

Time slowed down for Clark. He watched as silent tears rolled down the young woman's cheeks. He felt the air change with each beat of the three heartbeats he was focusing on. He smelled the happiness flowing off of Lash's body at the thrill of the kill. He tasted the air and the bitter taste of fear filled the back of his throat.

Lash's hand started to move, and Clark stopped thinking, covering the distance between them in the flap of a hummingbird's wings. He caught her hand, the one applying pressure to the side of her face with his right, while his left hand punched her in the chest, driving her back into the wall, and snapping her neck due to the speed of her impact.

With the young woman in his arms, Clark looked up, tears streaming down his cheeks at what he had done.

Diana and Kara exited the elevator and made their way down the hallway, sliding their keycard and entering the room.

Etta Candy was sitting on the couch and looked up at their arrival, a look of anguish in her hazel eyes.

"Etta?" Diana asked, concern lacing her words, "Etta, what's wrong?"

"There was a battle in Smallville. Aliens, Superman-he's alive?" Etta answered with a shaky breath.

Kara sat down staring at the television, "what in Hades name?"