I don't own any of the characters in this chapter.

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Liberty

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Clark Kent stared through the portal at the person staring back at him. The similarities between them were quite obvious. Both were solidly-built men clad in a caped jumpsuit, neither was wearing a mask and both had a large icon on their chests. Red featured in both of their outfits, his cape and the unknown man's bodysuit…

…and both were standing in mid-air.

"Hello." Clark said, staring at his apparent counterpart and the scene behind him, where a black-skinned purple-clad man was finishing tying up a man wearing a tech-enhanced green-and-purple jumpsuit. "Ummmm, I assume that's a villain?"

"Yes, his name's Cyber Lord." The other flying man said, glancing back to where his fellow hero was giving him a thumbs-up to signify that the criminal was restrained. "He was working with Evil Brain on a way to breach the dimensional barrier and recruit his alternates to help him… may I ask who you are?"

"Superman, independent hero with affiliations to most of the super-teams of my reality, but their names would probably mean very little to you." Clark supplied. "That's Forge over there, working on stabilizing the Gate so that it doesn't implode and cause considerable damage with the resulting energy release. And you are?"

"Crusader of the Liberty League, and behind me is Darkblade." The man responded. "You seem to be taking this very calmly… and you seem rather well-prepared…"

"We've been working on a way to re-direct dimensional transfer portals to a specially prepared base where we can make contact with whoever's on the other side, then either formalize inter-reality relations or simply drain the Portal's potential and collapse it." Clark shrugged. "I think you're the… hmmm. Black Ink… Justice League, two of those… Planetary… twelfth reality to contact us? Forge?"

"Sounds about right." Forge called back as he shifted his arm into its cyber-form in order to interface with the console in front of him.

"Huh." Crusader managed. "And I thought we had issues with alternate dimensions."

"May I come through?" Clark asked and Crusader floated backwards to give him space. "Thanks. Just out of interest, do you have a Superman in your reality? Real or fictional?"

"No, but it's an interesting name." Darkblade mused, then his gaze sharpened. "Your friend just placed a force-field around your side of the Portal."

"Basic security protocol." Clark explained as he touched down, glancing behind him. "The people joining him are one of the super-teams I mentioned, the X-Men. They'll secure the Portal from their side if you can find someone to secure it on this side too."

"I think I can have someone help." Crusader smiled as he tapped the small earbug he was wearing. "Major Might? I was wondering if you could help us… a situation has come up and… great! Thanks."

Clark raised an inquisitive eyebrow and Crusader shrugged.

"I've sort-of taken him on as an apprentice… kind of. A bit like Dagger… sort of."

At Clark's quizzical look, Crusader hurried to explain. "Um, Dagger is Darkblade's sidekick and will eventually become Darkblade in turn…"

"Ah, a legacy position." Clark nodded. "We sort-of have those. After Angel died, The Falcon took on the name Angel II in order to keep his legacy intact… then Angel returned from the dead…"

"We have that happen to us too." Crusader rolled his eyes. "I think I've died… twice?"

"Three times." Darkblade said as he joined them. "Your wife went back in time to save you once."

"I was counting that time… wasn't I?"

"Crusader!" A new voice called and another man swooped in. "Sorry it took so long, I had to catch a jet and… whoah, another recruit?"

"Major, if you and Dagger could guard Cyber Lord and the Portal for a while, it would be quite useful."

"Sure thing!" Major Might grinned. "Hey, Dagger!"

"Major."

Clark blinked in shock at the sight of a dark-haired masked man in a black bodysuit and red cape standing close to the portal. "Where did he come from?"

"He's getting good at that." Darkblade said proudly. "Come on, Cyber Lord shielded this building, we'll need to get outside to use the teleporter."

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"And that's the result." Clark said, looking at the holographic representations of the leaders of the higher-ranked super-teams. "The Liberty League has taken possession of Dome 22 and linked it to their satellite base. Most of their technology seems similar to that which we've encountered, although their teleporter is worthy of a closer look. As for their metahuman level, it's fairly low by Alpha standards, but most of them are quite powerful."

"Another reality." Zod stated thoughtfully. "I must say, godson, life in the Sol System is full of the unexpected."

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Authors Afternote – I probably won't be using Crusader et al in any future mainline stories, but if you haven't read about the adventures of Mark (aka Crusador) and Abby in the webcomic Love And Capes ( loveandcapes dot com), then I would advise you to look it up and start reading.

Go on!