Once Harry had his body back and fixed Clark he had practically screamed at the entire city about their behaviour. Utilising magic he was able to speak to every citizen of every age.

Miya stood behind him with her ladle, poised to attack… just in case her husband got carried away.

Having told them off and informing them of how things were going to be from now on he left them in the hands of his North Korean government.

Amara was stuck at the Themiscyran Embassy in Japan dealing with the ambassadors from the countries that she had publicly offered to take part in investigating the Martian Situation and trying to ignore the threats from the rest of the world.

The newspapers and TV pundits were having a field day raising public hysteria over life on Mars that may or may not be a threat and of course, they were intent on crucifying the Japanese-North Korean-Themiscyran alliance for excluding the rest of the world because they were so 'sensitive'.

Harry had made it quite clear to Amara when he gave her the task of informing the UN about Mars that he had a zero tolerance policy for morons, insults and threats, anyone who was less than polite was to be excluded.

Loki would have been helping as well but she had something that required her personal touch. Chloe had come to her with evidence that wasn't a result of her truth ability that proved Lionel Luthor had murdered his parents for insurance money to start his business. Loki had told her that their best course of action was to take the evidence to the authorities.

"I don't understand why Harry doesn't just kill Lex and Lionel and impersonate them or something. He's killed people for less." Chloe asked with frustration.

"Eliminating Lex and Lionel will not solve the problem. We need to deal with LuthorCorp as a whole, killing the Luthors will leave a vacuum and considering what we know about LuthorCorp practices we should assume that whoever takes over will be just as twisted."

"Will they need me to testify? Can they keep my identity secret?" Chloe asked.

"I imagine you will need to testify, they will try to keep your identity hidden but we both know that the government is filled with corruption. You're safety and identity will be at risk."

"Nothing new there."

"You're doing the right thing Chloe." Gabriel spoke up from the other side of Chloe. "Our Lex deserves justice and so do all the people they've wronged."

"Do you think you could get them to let me interrogate the Luthors on the stand?" Chloe asked with an evil grin. "Imagine the secrets I could get them to spill with my abilities."

"Brings a whole new meaning to the oath: the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Gabriel chuckled.

Loki smiled but shook her head. "That won't be possible, but we will work on how to answer questions with a question. You can't question the Luthors but there isn't any reason you can't weasel information from the lawyers."


Chloe was clearly not going to be able to join the girls on their world tour of nursing schools for Lana. She insisted that they still go and she would join them when she could. The current group going was Lana, Kyla and Chiho. The Cuckoos had begged off saying that they wanted to relax and spend sometime on the farms.

Travelling in human cities was a bit of a chore for the Cuckoos. They were assaulted by the thoughts of the city's millions of residents and visitors and the strongest ones were usually lecherous fantasies directed at them. The residents of Smallville knew them well enough by now that they were just another set of siblings.

It helped that no one wanted to get on the wrong side of Principal Frost and Coach Summers, their official parents.

Clark discovered that the Sekirei were instituting their own rota for guarding him. Miya had attempted to use a volunteer system but Musubi and Tsukiumi both wanted to spend everyday with him. Occasionally he would ask his current bodyguard to swap out with someone else if he needed their abilities, often this mean switching someone out for Matsu.

Today was such an instance when he received a call from The Vision to meet him at the Kawatche Caves.

"Clark, Matsu, thank you for coming." The Vision greeted them with Brunhilde. "I have come as far as I can with the Jor-El AI and I believe we can now begin to allow interaction between the two of you." He told Clark.

"What exactly have you done?" Matsu asked.

"Not as much as I hoped." Vision admitted. "I managed to code some simple laws of preservation of life and liberty but I have yet to convince it that it is wrong. It still believes you are to conquer the world." He told Clark.

"If this fails we'll call it a loss and scrap it for parts." Clark decided.

"Are you sure Clark? This could be your last link to your birth parents." Brunhilde asked with care.

"Anyone who says I should rule a civilisation like Earth through might and fear isn't worth the time."

"Harry does it." Matsu argued.

"No, he storms in and takes over but he doesn't rule with fear. He brings hope and safety to the people." Brunhilde corrected.

"He has been known to use intimidation, but that depends solely on the nature of the civilisation involved." The Vision added. "The Skrulls and the Breakworlders both required a persistent show of force."

"It doesn't matter, I don't trust Jor-El and I have no intention of doing something because he says I should. He hasn't earned my trust one bit." Clark said firmly. "Let's boot him up and see what happens."

The Vision opened a box he was holding to reveal the key to the ship that he offered to Clark. Clark held the key in the palm of his hand and they watched as it floated into the air on its own before shooting into the recess in the cave wall.

A crack in the cave wall formed and a blinding light bled out. Brunhilde waved her hand causing the light to dim.

Matsu looked at her curiously.

Brunhilde just smiled. "There is no known scientific reason that there should be a light that bright coming from the system in the cave. Therefore it is likely just to inspire awe. Logan made that spell when he got tired of wannabe challengers to Harry's power."

"Have you decided to talk like a civilised person, Jor-El?" Clark asked clearly.

"Kal-El my son-"

"Why don't we try with honesty, Jor-El?" Clark interrupted. "You are not my father. You are a poorly made artificial intelligence."

"I am an imprint of Jor-El."

"Yes. But Jor-El is dead. Now, are you going to cooperate or do we strip you down to components?"

"You have not changed your mind on fulfilling your destiny." The AI said with disappointment.

"I have not changed my mind on fulfilling your interpretation of my destiny. I will rule this planet, make no mistake." Clark said firmly as he stepped forward. "But I will do it my way. I will turn Earth into a beacon of hope for the universe and other planets will beg to be led by me."

There was a moment's silence from the cave.

"We have an accord."

Matsu raised an eyebrow. With her ability to access systems she had often assisted Laura, Brunhilde and The Vision when working on the AI. She never expected to hear the AI compromise or Clark say he intended to conquer the planet.

"You must still perform certain tasks." The AI continued. "There are items of great power and knowledge that are spread across the planet that you must find before they can fall into human hands."

"What items?" Brunhilde asked.

"There are three stones of power that contain all the knowledge of the 28 galaxies. When combined they will form the Stone of Knowledge. They were made in case the race of Kryptonians could ever be resurrected. When they are discovered they will emit a beacon of the House of El meant for Kal-El so that he may claim them."

"And you have no idea where they are now." Brunhilde sighed.

"It is imperative that these stones be found by you Kal-El." The AI stated firmly.

"Do you at least know what they look like and any other abilities they have? How they got to Earth or even what they are made of?" The Vision demanded.

"What purpose would this knowledge serve?"

"We could search the Internet for images of the stones as well as the chronicles of history. If they were sent to Earth through space then knowing when they were sent and the speed they travelled would enable us to determine where they landed. If we know what they are made of we can construct sensors to detect them." The Vision said with a hint of irritation.

"I will give this information to Kal-El."

Nobody had a chance to respond as a beam of light shot out of the cave and lifted Clark off the ground. Matsu moved to help her Ashikabi but Brunhilde held her back.

Clark was obviously struggling against the hold the AI had on him and Matsu was now struggling against the stronger Valkyrie to get to him.

"Patience child. Some battles are Clark's alone." She said soothingly.

It was little comfort to a Sekirei who loved her Ashikabi.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning shot out from Clark's chest and into the cave causing the beam to vanish and leaving Clark floating on his own power as he glared at the console.

"Vision, Brunhilde… feel free to rip the computer out of there and do what you want with it. I am finished with Jor-El."

"Clark!" Matsu threw her arms around him. "What was he doing?"

"He gave me the knowledge of the stones but then he tried to implant something else… a new personality. If my birth father would really do something like that to me then I want nothing to do with him."

It was clear Clark was emotionally hurt by yet another attack from his biological father. Matsu just held him tighter.


An indictment had been filed against Lionel Luthor by the City of Metropolis for the murder of his parents. Chloe was currently the FBI's favourite person and they had at least one set of agents shadowing her at all times for her safety.

They sucked at stealth as even Chiho managed to spot them. Unfortunately it also meant Chloe couldn't use magic around them.

With things quietening down Harry raised a subject with his family and the Kents.

"I need to take Clark on a trip. A very important trip, I'm not sure how long we will be gone though as we will be travelling on my power only."

"You need to travel in time?" Neville asked.

"I need to visit Ignotus Perverell… and his brothers."

Xander and Neville stared at him with wide eyes.

"I never thought of that." Xander chuckled. "I wonder if you would have done it even if Nicky hadn't told you you had."

"I would have." Harry said adamantly. "I can feel the pull."

"For those of us not in the know… ?" Emma asked.

"When I became Death properly it was because of three special items called the Deathly Hallows. An unbeatable wand, a stone that could summon the dead from the other side and a cloak of invisibility. These gifts were given to three brothers who had outsmarted death and then passed down from generation to generation.

"As of this point in my timeline, I haven't actually dispensed these gifts. I need to do it fairly soon."

"I thought you were always Death?" Kyla queried.

"It's one of those time travel things." Neville spoke up before Harry could respond. "So-called 'higher beings' like gods and phoenixes can barely grasp the concepts of time travel. Harry can't do it without major amounts of alcohol!"

"This is one of those things that would make our brains drip out our ears, isn't it?" Matsu asked.

"For someone like you it could put you in a coma." Harry said seriously. "Your analytical mind would get caught in an infinite loop trying to solve the puzzle."

"For first hand accounts see The Vision." Dani said with a grimace.

"Dani, all he can tell them is he doesn't remember a certain time of his life." Scott pointed out. "The second they mention trying to understand how various timelines resolve themselves he'll change the subject."

"You make it sound like you re-programmed him. I thought you wouldn't do that to an AI like The Vision." Lana frowned.

"Actually we consider The Vision an AL, Artificial Life Form."

"Or Alf." Xander grinned.

Scott just glared at him. "Adding a new set of sub-routines was the only way to save him. He knows we added them and why, he also knows not to try and look too deeply into them."

Chloe gave a sudden grunt of annoyance causing everyone to look at her curiously. "Sorry, I was trying to work out how the cycle of Harry being Death works… it really does give you a headache." She blushed.

"Why do you need Clark?" Matsu asked.

Harry sighed thoughtfully before answering. "What I am going to do is very important, it is a defining moment of not just my existence but the entirety of existence. Clark should be there to witness it as my Apprentice and brother."

There was a loud sniffle. "You're not taking me? Your dear old pappy?" He said as he mimicked crying.

He stopped suddenly as he found himself being comforted by Kusano.

"Don't cry Grandfather." She said as she stroked his head like the adults did when she was sad.

"Aw Ku, I was just playing." Xander grinned. "But thank you for caring for me." He said as he kissed her head and pulled her to sit on his lap so she could see the room.

"This is going to be something unique." Harry said seriously. "I thought about who I could bring and it felt wrong for everyone but Clark. But don't worry, we can show you the memories when we get back."


Harry and Clark didn't waste anytime and they left the following morning. Harry had wanted to leave that night but he was faced with several very angry women… most of them his wives.

"So what year is this?" Clark asked as they appeared outside an old castle that looked just like Harry's in his home universe.

"About 1210, this should give us enough time to get ready for the Perverell brothers." Harry nodded in approval as he surveyed the castle.

"And when will they be by?"

"In about forty to fifty years."

"WHAT!"

"You heard me." Harry smirked.

"Is this another one of your tests?" Clark scowled.

"Yep, you and I are going to spend the next half a century here building up the persona of Death. You will use the time to train yourself and get used to being without your girlfriends. Who knows, you might even get a new girlfriend."

"I hate you Harry." Clark scowled.


Chloe was not enjoying her time as a star witness for the prosecution. The FBI had decided she and her dad were in far too much danger and insisted on moving her to a safe house for the duration of the trial. This meant she would be away from her friends and her sisters, but Amara had requested she do it and there was no way an Amazon would go against their Queen… not one who was an equal to their goddess.

They pulled up to the out of the way house in government SUVs and Chloe and Gabriel were ushered inside. Ten seconds later and the place was decimated by an explosion.

When the smoke and debris cleared, lying in the middle of the wreckage was a naked little baby girl crying her eyes out as the soul of her father sang to her softly, even though she couldn't hear him.

Suddenly several women appeared, Kyla, Helen and Tess.

"Oh my god, is this Chloe?" Kyla asked as Helen gingerly picked up the baby and began checking it.

"Yes, she must have been killed and reborn." Helen confirmed. "Where's Gabriel?"

Tess threw out a hand and cast a spell to find any living beings.

"No one survived." She said sadly. "Let's get out of here before the authorities arrive."


Harry looked up as the door to his and Clark's home opened and shut. They'd been living in the current time period for nearly ten years. Clark was highly proficient with magic now; he found that he could do everything that a regular magical user could except on a greater scale. He was nowhere near Harry's level of power but he could level buildings with a magical blast.

The only apparent difference was that most of his spells seemed to be infused with an element of his divinity, a combination of how gods and goddesses like Aphrodite use magic. It also meant his stealth sucked as most of his spells and magic was accompanied by lightning. He still had trouble with going invisible.

"How'd it go?" Harry asked from where he was reading scroll of parchment.

"Pretty well, they are burning all the bodies of pests they find." Clark said as he sat down in the living room.

The whole room was filled with pictures the pair had conjured of their family.

"The plague will probably still happen but hopefully the death toll will be a lot smaller." Harry sighed.

Clark and Harry had spent a lot of their time discussing what they could change without insulting the Aspect of Time. They did what they could but tried to restrain their impulses to save the whole world. This led to Clark trying to help out with the start of the plagues.

"I was thinking of going on a trip for a while." Clark said seriously.

"How long is a while?"

"Maybe a decade or two."

"Why would you need- you want to see if there is a Krypton in this world!" Harry laughed. "I told you there was no other life in this universe."

"No, but the planet might be there. Or there might be a system in its place. I'm just curious. I might see what is supposed to be where Oa is."

"Well just remember to come home each night for dinner at least." Harry insisted.


With the attack on the Sullivans a lot of decisions had to be made. Gabriel and Chloe's funeral needed to be arranged and an explanation for how Chloe would come back from the grave was also needed.

"Can't we hold off the funeral until Chloe is older?" Lana asked. "She's going to want to say goodbye to her father."

"No, we will arrange a standard funeral for them both but when Chloe is ready we will honour him with a ceremony on Themiscyra." Amara promised.

"I'll handle the funeral." Lorna said quietly. She knew Gabriel the best and enjoyed the man's sweet nature. She would also have to inform Chloe's mother of his passing.

"Thank you Lorna." Scott said heavily, this event weighed on them all. "Now we just need a suitable story for Chloe's survival."

"Jean, as she grows up she can learn like a normal child, right?" Kyla asked curiously.

"Oh yes, its how she learns to talk and walk."

"So if she was to learn another language do you think she would retain it when she remembers who she is?"

Jean smiled in realisation. Chloe had been struggling to learn Japanese fluently so she didn't have to rely on the translation charm.

"She could also learn a few languages. You're proposing sending her to Japan and claiming we sent her there for protection?" Jean asked.

"It's a good plan." Xander mused. "The Prime Minister already offered sanctuary when he heard Chloe's situation, we can just say she survived the explosion and took her to Japan for treatment, it would be better if we pretended she was dead for now though."

"I was thinking that she could stay at that resort MBI owns, its private and the Sekirei and Ashikabi know about us so we wouldn't have to worry about explaining how she is growing up so fast." Kyla explained.

"I would be happy to take care of her." Neville spoke up. "I wanted to give Pamela some more exposure to the world and this sounds like a good time."

"I'll work with Takami and the Prime Minister to sort out the details." Loki offered.

"School is out next week, when are you girls headed off on your world tour?" Dani asked happily.

Lana and Kyla shared a sad look.

"We were going to leave it until next year so Chloe could join us." Lana answered.

"She will remember her childhood." Neville said pointedly. "Take her with you."

"But we can't explain how she will be older before we leave the country, what about passports?"

"Forget conventional methods." Dani scoffed. "Travel with magic and use conjured passports. You aren't looking to cause trouble or commit crimes so the authorities don't need to worry about you."


Clark had managed to travel all the way to Krypton in about five years. He had used the journey to push his limits on his speed. He didn't travel everyday as Harry had insisted he spend the weekends at home on Earth. All he found at Krypton's location was the expected red sun system but no signs of life. He was now headed to Oa.

"What did you do today?" Clark asked as he sat down at the dinner table when he had teleported home for the day.

"I took a trip into Hogwarts. Put some spells on Slinky the Basilisk so it can't harm anyone with its eyes, just petrify them." Harry answered with a shrug.

"Won't that affect the future in a substantial way?"

"One person died as a result of Slinky being released. I set the charms to wear off about the time I am born and they are linked to my magical signature."

"Harry, why don't we just make a side trip on our way home and make sure that one person survives due to an explainable reason rather than causing you and your family a headache in trying to explain the improbable. Besides, you'll wind up giving the person a reputation like you had."

"I'll make a note then." Harry sighed.

Neither man had made any close friends and Clark stayed clear of any women on purpose as he had no desire to fall in love only to break his heart when had to leave.

Harry spent a lot of time travelling the world and helping people as they reached the end of their lives, fulfilling his role as Death.


Lionel Luthor sat in his cell in the super-max prison with his head shaved bald. He knew the hit on the Sullivans was a success but he couldn't understand why the charges hadn't been dropped.

He had called Lex to meet him but that had been nearly a week ago. He had finally turned up with a smug smile.

"You've become too much of a liability Dad." Lex said condescendingly. "All these charges laid against you over the past few years have damaged the companies image. That is why I gave the FBI all the files I could find on your parents as well as any other evidence I had of crimes you have committed."

"A coup, Lex?" Lionel scoffed. "You can't honestly believe that I won't beat these charges."

"You will try, but every time you make some headway a new piece of evidence will crop up." Lex said dismissively.

"What is it you want Lex?" Lionel asked seriously.

"Want? I have what I want, Dad. I have LuthorCorp, I have you out of the way and I have all the information you had on Veritas."

Lionel's eyes widened. "Careful Lex. I don't know how you found out about Veritas but you are beginning to delve into things that are very dangerous."

"More dangerous than a being capable of shooting fire from his eyes and lifting buildings with his bare hands? Don't bother calling on me again, Dad. We are through." Lex turned and headed for the exit. "If I'm feeling generous I might attend your funeral." He paused as he put his hand on the knob. "Try not to make it occur too soon." He said pointedly.


"I've travelled for some time, far beyond Oa and Krypton and there doesn't seem to be any form of life, not even bacteria." Clark sighed as he sat down at the dinner table they had been there for forty years now. "How is that even possible?"

"I have a theory, but it's fairly flimsy… just the only theory I can think of."

"Alright… let's hear it." Clark offered.

"All life in this universe was tied to me, I never saw the need to travel beyond the planet unless life was already out there. As a result, no life developed elsewhere."

Clark frowned. "Do you have any supporting evidence?"

"We did attempt to colonise a few planets. Only one took and it was the one I decided to live on personally for a few centuries… it died a few centuries after I returned to Earth."

"I suppose its possible." Clark mused doubtfully.

"Like I said: flimsy."


"Diana, why haven't you been home in the past week?" Amara asked as she greeted her Princess and sister wife on the Amaterasu.

Kusano was currently hugging Diana. "We wanted to prepare to return home, we've done what we set out to do and we all want to spend substantial time with our families."

Amara could see a lot of the crew nodding; this meant the request she needed to make was a lot harder. "Harry and Clark have gone on a trip through time and space. They aren't back yet but they hopefully won't be too long. We were hoping you could take a detour to Oa until they return so Superman can be there to greet you."

Diana was incredulous. "Why would they go now?! They knew we were due to return."

"Harry was feeling a pull, much like when he travelled back and became embroiled in the Sekirei situation. He didn't have much of a choice."

"But why take Clark? If Superman was still here we could have returned."

"Again, Harry felt a pull."

Diana sighed. "Amara, I can't ask my crew to stay out for what might turn into weeks."

"We will stay if it is required of us, Commander." The ships Chief Scientist from Japan said respectfully. The others nodded resolutely.

"I know you would, and I appreciate it but it doesn't make it right, Lord Death and Lord Kal-El would not want you to do this, they would want you home with your families." Diana turned back to Amara. "There has to be a way to fix this. Could we not have someone impersonate Superman? He is the only one needed to be present."

"We would need to ask permission from Odin." Amara said thoughtfully. "We can't just go around impersonating gods."

"I would be willing to make the request myself." Diana said firmly.

"I will speak with Loki, and ask her to arrange a meeting."


Harry and Clark had observed the journey the three Perverell brothers had made through what was known as Death's Territory. It stretched from the Welsh Brecon Beacons all the way to Bath in England. Nobody magical or non-magical dared venture through the territory for fear of being attacked or killed.

Any bandits that entered the area looking to find innocent individuals to harass ended up on the borders of the territory. Well their heads did. The same happened to pirates that tried to sail up the Severn River between Wales and England.

Any innocent who accidentally stumbled into the area found themselves on the border nearest their destination with no recollection of how they got there.

Idiots seeking adventure and treasure usually ran screaming and telling tales of a huge dragon and the spectre of Death himself.

Harry had kept an eye on the Perverell family ever since they had arrived in the time period. He had watched them grow and attend Hogwarts with other children. Now they were adults, young men really, they had travelled to London on business and where now returning to Godric's Hollow. They would have to either pass through Death's Territory or take a long and circuitous route and the older brother was against the longer route. He insisted that they were three powerful wizards capable of handling wraiths and dragons.

The various dangers in the area were all conjurations by Harry and Clark but tied to them. They would only exist so long as they were in this universe. This was at Clark's suggestion so that they wouldn't have to worry about clean up after they returned to Clark's home universe.

The three brothers managed to defeat every obstacle that the Master and Apprentice had erected before they arrived at the edge of the territory near the fledgling town of Merthyr Tydfil. It was here that Death appeared to them.

"Tell me young mortals, should I congratulate you for defeating or escaping the protections on my land or should I punish you for trespassing?" Death demanded as he floated before them, his features hidden behind a hooded tattered black cloak.

"My Lord, please have mercy!" The oldest brother pleaded. "Our father is deathly ill and the only way to reach him before he passes is to travel the route we took."

"Ah, Antioch your father is indeed nearing his time. Although his bed may seem harsh as his twilight comes to an end, he will soon be granted leave for the next great adventure." Death mused with a gravelly voice. "Perhaps I shall be lenient. You meant no ill will and your father will have some joy in seeing his sons before he passes on."

"Thank you My Lord." Antioch said with a deep bow.

Death raised a skeletal hand. "But you have succeeded where all others have failed. Traversing my lands and surviving. I believe a reward is in order." There was a hint of a sneer in the voice.

But only the youngest brother, Ignotus, heard it.

"We would be honoured, My Lord." Cadmus, the middle brother spoke up.

"But what do I know of Mortal desires other than that of avoiding me!?" Death cackled, his laugh was grating and terrifying. "Tell me children, what should I give you each as a gift?"

Ignotus grimaced at the greedy looks on his brother's faces.

"My Lord, if it pleases you, I would desire a wand beyond all others. One that can never be defeated." Antioch said reverently.

"A warrior, are you?" Death mused. "Or are you merely a man who believes strength and power are the only way to live?" He then waved his fleshless hand dismissively. "No matter. You have made your request and I will grant it." He held his hand palm up and in it appeared a wand. "Elder wood and Thestral Hair, a fitting combination for one who has beaten even Death."

The wand floated smoothly over to Antioch who began admiring and caressing the wand in a manner that was far too inappropriate. The look in the man's eyes spoke of greed and ideas that would bring him all he wanted.

"What of you, Cadmus? What gift can Death give to you?"

Cadmus actually looked sad and desperate, but there was no mistaking the fact that he knew what he wanted. "My fiancé, she died. Could you give her back to me?"

Death clucked his non-existent tongue. "I am merely the gatekeeper between this realm and the next. I have no power over souls once they leave this realm. But perhaps…" Death trailed off as he held out his hand and finally crafted gem appeared there. "When turned over three times, the spirit of the one you hold in your mind will be called forth and you may speak with them."

Again the gift floated to the brother, Cadmus held the stone reverently but there were tears in his eyes. "Thank you My Lord."

Death nodded and turned to the youngest brother. "Ignotus, the youngest and perhaps… the most noble of the Perverell Line."

Ignotus' glance darted to his brothers, fearful of the jealous glares, but they were so enraptured by their gifts that they paid him no heed.

"What can I gift you with child?"

Ignotus bowed low. "My Lord, no gift is necessary, we were trespassing and are not deserving of gifts for committing such a crime."

"Perhaps." Death allowed. "But you have shown impressive skill. Show me your wisdom Ignotus as you have shown me your nobleness. What gift do you desire?"

Ignotus' shoulders sagged in resignation. "My Lord, I wish only to live out my days until my mortal life has ended."

"You wish only for what you are entitled to." Death nodded. "Very well." Death reached down and ripped part of his cloak off. It expanded and became a finely embroidered hooded cloak. "This cloak will hide you from all including Death. We will see if you have the honour and integrity to greet me properly when your time has come."

Ignotus graciously accepted the cloak.

"Farewell young mortals. Again I congratulate you on your accomplishment… but do not think to tempt fate twice." Death warned as he faded out of sight.


As the three brothers walked away Clark dropped his invisibility standing next to Harry who pulled back his hood and cancelled the illusion.

"'Young mortals'?" Clark asked with a teasing smirk.

"I have to sound large and powerful." Harry rolled his eyes.

"You should have just quoted Shakespeare. Brunhilde and Loki say you have a tendency to rip off and mangle classical works when you make a speech."

"Traitors." Harry muttered. "You can go and tail Antioch for that. He's supposed to be offed tonight."

"What? Why?"

"I need to personally collect their souls, remember?"

"I thought we were going home now? I'm over sixty years old now! It was bad enough when I was over a decade older than Ku, now I'm going to be-"

"Clark!" Harry snapped lightly. "Antioch and Cadmus will soon be dead. We can then travel in time to deal with Ignotus. Just a few more years is all it will take."

Clark growled unhappily. "When we get home you can explain to my wives why I am over a century older."


Kyla and Lana had decided to travel to the medical and nursing schools in America first, they wanted to leave the rest of the world until Chloe was old enough to appreciate it and remember it, they also planned to take Kusano with them so that Chloe had a friend their own age.

The Amaterasu had successfully landed with The Vision impersonating Clark. They had arrived with a new friend, the Green Lantern Kilowog who was sent by the Guardians as their guide and also to consult on the Mars issue.

The countries not invited to participate by Amara, mainly western counties, had tried to form their own coalition, but they fell to in-fighting and could agree on nothing. They couldn't even agree where to hold the meetings.

Each country was still working on their own plans and this put pressure on the Alliance and the invited countries to act first in case the West managed to doom the planet.

Lorna and Cassandra where no longer holding their school in the castle. They had taken over the main magical academy in the Hidden City. At first they met a lot of hostility as they were the invaders. The North Korean personnel who were overseeing the various aspects of government had to be held back by some of the Japanese advisors when the North Koreans became enraged at the lack of respect shown to their ruler's family.

It didn't help that the rulers were able to display a control of magic they had never dreamed of.

"Heads up everyone! America just launched a missile at Mars."

The family was spread across the globe at the moment; it was Kyla who had just sent the message.

"Are you sure it was headed for Mars?" Scott asked quickly.

"As soon as it launched I phased into the complex and from what I saw it's going for Mars."

"Where the hell are you? What sort of nursing-"

"We were visiting the Hoover Damn." Lana interrupted Xander's rant.

"Everybody report back to the castle immediately!" Emma ordered.


"The bad news is that the US Government has unilaterally launched an attack on Mars with three high yield nuclear rockets." Scott announced to the large group seated in the Great Hall. Attending this meeting were the Emperor and Prime Minister of Japan as well as the usual castle residents.

"The good news is that we have a month before they hit the planet."

"Do these missiles still have their original payload?" Neville asked.

"Unfortunately they do." Emma scowled. "These missiles have been developed over the past year or two, likely in response to the news of Superman and other aliens. We didn't catch them when we disarmed the world's nuclear arsenal."

"Forgive me, what do you mean, 'disarmed the world's nuclear arsenal'?" The Japanese PM asked.

Seeing Dani about to relish the explanation and possibly unnerve or insult someone, Emma jumped in. "Using covert techniques we scoured the world and governments for the location of all nuclear arsenals. We then proceeded to replace the nuclear material with… a fairly innocuous substance.

Emma glared at Neville as the Phoenix waved a hand and everybody had a bowl of blue jelly in front of them. "There are a lot more safety protocols in place but the nuclear missiles are pretty useless as anything other than a scare tactic." Neville explained as Dani and the others dug in.

"Including Japan's?"

"Yes, the last thing we need is a rogue agent or leader suddenly giving us a nuclear winter." Scott nodded.

"These new missiles are enhanced with Kryptonite." Laura moved the conversation back on course. "They are very fast and will reach Mars within the month."

"The question is what shall we do now?" Amara posited. "Do we intercept the missiles, do we inform the public or do we sit back and leave it in the hands of the American government?"

"If we act then the US will just keep arguing about us acting on our own without input from the rest of the world- and yes, I am aware that that would be completely hypocritical but lets face it… that's what they are." Jean sighed.

"If we don't act then we get to rub this in their faces when it all goes to pot." Dani grinned.

"But we also risk putting the entire world in danger." Phoebe warned.

"If we act now we can stop this before anyone dies." Mindee continued.

"If we wait then there will be an army of aliens on planet Earth." Celeste finished.

"If we act now then yes, we will save some lives this year." Lorna argued. "But eventually the planet is going to want to make contact and if Harry is right then we will have a war anyway. Better to let this play out now and let the US Government learn their lesson."

"I cannot say I have much sympathy for the American Government, but I don't believe any of us wishes to let the civilians suffer for mistakes that were not theirs." The Emperor said sadly. "Not twenty miles from here is a town where you have cultivated friendships, there has to be a better way."

"Easy. I could go up there and wipe out every single life form on the planet."

Everyone turned to see Clark and Harry standing at the entrance to the Great Hall.

Females instantly swamped both men.

Kyla and the Sekirei were surprised at how affectionate Clark was. He always gave them hugs and kisses but usually in private.

"Listen to me, I love you all and I have missed you so much." Clark said as he picked up Kusano who buried her head in his neck.

"Clark? What happened?" Yume asked with concern.

"We've been gone for the better part of a century." Clark said wearily.

"A CENTURY!"

This scream came from both Clark and Harry's wives.

"If they do that again I'm throwing silencing charms at them." Xander grimaced.

Logan grunted in agreement, his girls had been part of the scream, what with Harry being their adopted father.

"We are going to have a long talk Mister." Dani glared at Harry along with most of the women.

"Do it later please." Neville called out. "Our current impending crisis needs addressing first."

Harry was manhandled to the table along with Clark. Harry's girl's took their seats but Clark found Ku on his lap, on his right was Kyla, on his left was Aphrodite and arrayed behind him were his Sekirei.

"Where's Chloe?" Clark asked suddenly.

"Say 'Hi' Chloe." Lana bent down to the little girl on her lap who appeared to be two years old.

"Hi!" She grinned toothily.

"Well that explains why Gabe is hovering around without a body." Harry muttered as he waved a hand. "Anyway, as I was saying, I could handle this on my own. We could call in the Lanterns and deal with it. We could have the Amaterasu blow the missiles up right now.

"But then humanity would never learn."

"And the people who will die?" Clark asked.

"Get to go to the other side where the US Government and other idiots are not in control." Xander shrugged.

"Harry, get Gabe's body off the table." Lorna snapped.

Sitting in the middle of the table where a pair of feet that were steadily growing the rest of Gabriel Sullivan.

"And give the man some clothes." Amara glared.

Harry just grumbled as he waved a hand causing the feet to vanish.

The Emperor and Prime Minister shook themselves as they realised they had been staring.

"If we are to let things play out then surely all we can do now is prepare our countries for war." The Prime Minister frowned. "But we do not have a nuclear arsenal anymore."

"You wouldn't want one." Clark said with a dismissive wave. "The only thing you achieve with a nuclear weapon is destroying the Earth. We need to think outside the box. What would others do, like the Green Lanterns? They don't use explosives, they just use light constructs."

"We can not re-design decades of modern warfare in less than a month!" The Prime Minister objected.

"Don't worry, we'll help." Dani said far too happily.


A/N:

Just a reminder that there are only three chapters left before I have finished year three. I think I am coming to the end of year four, I currently have 67,244 words written.

For those of you who are still harping on about 'America Bashing'... you are going to hate most of Year Four... although I have finally gotten to the point where some decent people make an appearance in government and they should be sorted by the beginning of year five.

I do feel the need to point out a few things about this 'America Bashing':

1. I bash all countries equally... North Korea was conquered because they were cruel to their citizens, Themiscyra had their Queen banished because they tried to kill Harry and Clark and Japan's Emperor nearly got smited before Amaterasu put him in his place.

2. THESE ARE FICTIONAL GOVERNMENTS! Seriously, if you have an issue with the way I am writing about America then why are you reading a fan fiction based on DC Comics or even Marvel Comics? Have you not read how Marvel's US government treated Mutants and Super Humans? How about Smallville when Checkmate shut down the original heroes led by Hawkman? Maybe you haven't noticed but everyone from The Simpsons to Homeland likes to say bad things about the US Government... evil governments make stories more interesting as they give the heroes a tougher enemy to fight. It's why Rowling wrote the Ministry of Magic as more of a Ministry of Morons.

3. Have you been watching the news lately? The American Government is in shutdown because of... well... blackmail and extortion. The British Government are being accused of 'under-spending' on military budgets (which is apparently a bad thing... who knew?) And you think I'm 'bashing' a government in a fictional story about a fictional government in a fictional universe of which you are NOT a citizen? Do yourself a favour and find a new story to read... it'll only get worse for the next year of this story.

4. You all seem to have missed the point. My fictional US Government might be run by a bunch of morons... but Americans are the ones saving the world... Bruce Wayne - American. Clark Kent - American citizen. Barry Allen - American. Hal Jordan - American. The X-Men - American (Except Wolverine who is Canadian and Amara who is... roman? Not sure what Laura is.) And let us not forget the very first hero I used for this story and who made Harry as Death possible... Xander Harris - American.