Disclaimer: I do not own Justice League, nor any of it's associated characters. All original characters are copyright me, and may not be used without permission.
"Don't worry guys, we'll be home soo..." the SUV slid to a halt, and then sqealed it's tires as it backed out of the path of an oncoming tree. Kara jabbed a button on the dashboard, and a second later the entire vehicle vanished, teleported to the hangar bay of the watch tower. "Take my children to the Daycare. I have to get back down there." Kara passed them to one of the support staff, someone she knew and trusted. The woman nodded, and watched the huge vehicle disappear in the blue white energy stream.
Kara arrived on the scene with an indelicate, and completely unsubtle two handed blow to the face. Sinestro reeled back, and brought his ring up for a return volley, when a golden bolt of energy crashed into his chest. A series of smaller silver blasts caused him to twitch for several moments. Kara hit him again. This time he recovered in time to slap her from the air with a huge hand, sending her skidding through not only the lawn but the sprinkler system as well.
"Kara, heads up." Zatanna's voice rang out across the lawn. From the bottom of the pile of wreckage, a blast of heat vision ignited several propane tanks floating behind Sinestro. This time he was thrown forwards, and met by another energy bolt, and a multi-colored orb. The two collided on impact, and she saw his energy field short out. He dropped to the ground in startlement, then reignited his protective field, then flew up and away. Kara half started to follow, then decided against it. She turned, and headed back to the door of the house, wincing at the lawn. Earth lawns took forever to recover after that, even with a magical green thumb.
"Is everyone alright?" Kara asked. Fate shook his head, as did Adam. Zatanna nodded. A blonde girl just sat on the front stoop and shuddered.
"I believe I have broken several ribs. But Iappear to be elsewise uninjured." Fate winced, even though his face was obscured by his helm. Adam was shredded, bleeding from a dozen places, and had a dislocated shoulder. The bleeding was stopping even as she watched, but the shoulder was a different story.
"This is really going to hurt." she warned. He nodded, and braced himself. She took ginger hold of the shoulder, and then gave it a sharp tug. He tumbled to the ground, and passed out. Kara skimmed him with X-ray vision, and then turned to Zatanna. "Who is the girl?"
"I don't know. She seems to have just shown up. He said he opened the door, and she collapsed into his arms. Fate says he felt a magical disturbance, and arrived to find the house engulfed in flames. When he broke contact between her and him, the fire faded, and she passed out. Just after I arrived, she came too, and called him father. Then Sinestro arrived. Skipping the boring and gory details, you know the rest."
"Mother? What's happening? Why can't I remember?" The blonde broke Zatanna's grip, and threw herself into Kara's arms.
An hour or so later, after a brief, but very loud conversation with Fate, Adam had been able to touch the girl, who had under Kara's calm, tender questioning, revealed her name to be Juliana. After a few moments, he pulled back.
"Genetically, she's our daughter. She shares the identical genome, and all the connective markers the twins have. Even the thurmaturgical signature is identical. The only thing that's not correct, is her dimensional markers." Adam replied, after a second in which he stared at the wall.
"Dimensional markers?" Zatanna asked. Fate answered.
"As we were born here, in this world, and at this time. We are encoded with certain markers. They are a part of our DNA, though they are only visible to magic, or very, very advanced science. Often, if the magic user is knowledgeable, they can be used to return to one's home dimension. Others, like myself, and our friend here, use a dimensional anchor as a point of reference. In inanimate objects, the dimensional markers are much more visible. But they can change, if the object changes dimensions. Which can lead to some... difficulties." Fate answered.
"Yeah, you can end up in the wrong leg of the trousers of time." Adam grinned.
"So, if... I'm not from this..." Juliana started, then stopped.
"Dimension." Kara supplied gently.
"Right." the girl nodded. "If I'm not from here, where am I from?"
"Dimension 674." the two male magi chimed in.
"A dimension in which I appear to be a Green Lantern, and where Kara is..." he coughed.
"What?" Kara asked.
"Kryptonian." he answered. Kara stared.
"How?" she asked.
"Hard to say. I know I'd normally never qualify as a lantern, and here you're Argonian." Adam replied.
"Perhaps if the child will allow me to sift through her mind, I can learn something helpful." Fate offered. It was agreed to let him do so, but not right away.
"She needs some food, and a good night's rest." Kara said firmly. "Then we'll see what we can do." Juliana smiled, and nodded. Fate bowed his acknowledgement, and took his leave.
"That sounds, very nice." she admitted.
"Where are the twins?" Adam asked.
"At the tower." Kara replied.
"Ace and Becca are..." Juliana seemed surprised. "I forget... I'm sorry." she looked about ready to collapse again, but Kara embraced her.
"Should I go get them, or..." Adam asked. Kara started to nod, then looked back at the girl in her arms.
"Don't worry, I don't mind." the blond smiled up. Kara was obviously having a bit of difficulty adjusting.
"How about this, Juliana, why don't we go get them together, and leave Kara to open the windows in the guest room. We don't have visitors often, so it's a bit dusty. You can clean up while we're at the station, and I'm sure there's something that we can find for you to wear." Adam offered. Juliana nodded.
"I'd like that." she smiled. Mentally, he spoke into Kara's mind.
:I'm not trying to dump the house work on you. But you need a moment don't you?: she nodded almost imperceptibly. :Want Zatanna to stay for a bit?: another slight nod.
"Hey, Zatanna, can you check and make sure Mr. Yellow Belly didn't leave any traps behind?" he asked aloud.
"Huh? Oh, sure, it won't take long." she stepped outside, knowing full well what he wanted. Sinestro wasn't the trap kind of villain. Juliana walked over to him, after brushing her lips against Kara's cheek. Kara smiled, and waved them away. They vanished in a flare of light. She collapsedonto the couch. Zatanna re-entered.
"Okay, go ahead." she offered. "I can see you're upset."
"He's been acting weird lately, more than usual." Kara replied. "I don't know what it is."
"Stress maybe?" Zatanna suggested. "I have to say, working with magic day in, and day out is pretty hard on mind and body. Maybe he's just wearing down. And I hate to say it, but the League does tend to get frustrating. We spend all our time running around, answering other people's problems, and just when we have a few moments alone, it always comes crashing down on us." she shook her head.
"And just when we have a chance for a vacation, something comes up, that we HAVE to deal with. We just wanted to spend a week in peace, and bed, and we had a giant robot crash through our hotel." Kara shook her head. "And now... my DAUGHTER, just appears from out of nowhere, and Sinestro is after her."
"You're having a hard time handling that." it was a statement of fact, rather than a question. "I can understand that. I spent a year hunting down my father, and it was hard to accept that he was dead." Zatanna laid a hand on Kara's arm. "I know it's a lot to handle, but she obviously is counting on you to make it better. And I know you can. But when this is over, you need to demand a real vacation. Take your kids, and take your husband, and go somewhere that the league can't interfere with you." Zatanna suggested. "Have you visited his family?"
"No, we spend most of our time with my family. He's suggested we go before, but something always came up." Kara smiled brightly.
"Good then. Make sure you insist. I'll make arrangements to be sure you get that leave." Zatanna showed her an evil grin.
"Oh, that's not necessary." Kara objected, but Zatanna waved her off.
"Honey, I work in show business, and no matter how often you're strapped for cash, which is really, really often, sometimes you have to take a break. I recognize workaholics, and you two, are classic cases." Zatanna shrugged. "Now, do you want to start dinner, or do the guest room?"
"Let's go get dinner, the guest room is never closed up. He just wanted an excuse for me to stay here. I think he saw through me." Kara shrugged.
"Yeah, sometimes even guys manage to see things like that. So what's for dinner?" Zatanna asked.
"No idea, I haven't looked in the freezer." Kara shrugged.
"What? No fresh home cooked meal?" Zatanna snorted.
"Cooking was never a strong suit of mine, and when you have heat vision, it's usually easier to eat a microwave dinner." Kara shrugged. Zatanna grinned.
"Then go sit down and relax, Mama Z's gonna cook you a meal fit for a king." Zatanna ushered a laughing Kara out of the kitchen. "What's so funny?"
"You, and Betty Crocker." Zatanna laughed out loud, and waved her away.
Some miles away, three figures patrolled over a city. Two green figures, occasionally performing complex tricks, that the other would match or surpass, while the third was winged, and had a more serious out look, patrolling in a calm pattern that seemed a cross between a military combat air patrol, and that of a bird of prey. Which was rather fitting to anyone who knew who she was.
"Oh, I forget how much fun it can be flying just around the city, without dodging something or..." a blast of weapons fire sliced through the air in front of her. Snarling in a definitely sub sentient manner, she plummeted, lit mace behind her. The weapon crashed through the gun, and into the thug weilding it. He flew back into the wall at the end of the alley, and dropped into the dumpster there. Spinning, she brought the mace up and around.
Almost smashing her husband in the face. He leaned back grinning, and then fired a blast past her head, flicking another thug into the trash. "You missed one." he smiled.
"I did not. He wasn't there before." Hawkgirl shrugged, and smashed her lit mace against a thug sneaking up behind him. "I think this was an ambush."
"I think you're right." John replied, and unleashed a second blast. "Shall we call for assistance, or let him miss the fun?"
"Call him in, he said he's been bored, so let's let him have some fun." she laughed, and stepped around Lantern, putting her back to his. A bolt of laser fire was deflected off the mace, into a high wall. The wall crumbled, knocking the thug out. She heard a bolt of ring energy discharge. Then a green light swept the alley, as Kyle arrived.
"He says there are at least three in the building, and some lead shielding." John passed on the message.
"Must have been expecting big blue." Shayera offered, then "Let's not disappoint them."
"Watchtower, can you send Big Blue to my location?"
"Enroute." the voice answered.
He arrived a short time later, flying in rather than teleporting. Appearently it was less work to fly. John joined Rayner above, while HawkGirl, and Superman burst through the doors. A few moments later, the Lantern's burst through the roof. The gang members had been ready for three enemies, not four. A ring blast resealed the Kryptonite in lead. Superman tore apart the energy resistant netting. The mace disrupted the suspension field keeping John frozen in space. The thugs surrendered.
"Not at all fair." Kyle complained. "I'm not even a member of your league, but I have to help babysit the prisoner?" John shrugged.
"We're most qualified to handle this guy. Shayera won't touch him, and Superman is too likely to punch him out. Besides, now I can give you the tour." John grinned, leading the leader of the gang, who had numerous organized crime ties, not to mention a record of working for super villains. So, the police had asked the League to keep him somewhere safe, until they could arrange hearing and a high security cell.
There wasn't really a chance for him to go anywhere even if he got free.
Almost before we had completely materialized, Juliana had let go of my hand. She stared around the station in wonder. I'd left most of that behind by now. A large hunk returned when I noticed something distinctly different. Two huge steel spars now jutted up around the teleporter, and steel cable was being strung between them and the ceiling. "Umm.. installing new drapes?" I asked, looking around.
"Defense." One of the support staff, holding a long rope, answered.
"And since you're here, you can help us test it." came a voice. I turned and saw Superman standing just off to one side. He grinned. "They were going to make me do it."
"Cousin Clark!" Juliana half-charged down the ramp, and lunged into his arms. He half looked nervous, but didn't say anything about it. "Wow, you're older than I remember."
"Juliana, can you stand over there with him for a few minutes, I have to make a mess." I called. She grinned.
"Sure Dad, we'll go watch you break stuff." she led him away, and I waited for the signal from above. When it came, I gave a thumbs up, and saw a flash of light as the shielding activated around me. The first move was an opening blow with a hand. The return force nearly shattered my arm, but I smiled, in some pain, up at the control panel. It would be fine for fighting super people. Lightning came next, as the most powerful force I could muster, especially after that bit of utter stupidity. The field held.
"Ready to max it out?" I called. I got the nod. "Do it." The field solidified, pulsing with energy. I was forced to retreat to the center of the bubble, or face extreme pain. Which may well be a minor annoyance to anyone else. I let myself retreat into the space in the back of my mind, and searched across the field for cracks, or gaps. It was completely egg shaped, and a kinetic blow caused it to flex, and pitch it back to me. I caught it successfully, avoiding more damage. I drew back and sliced into, and then threw my arms apart, tearing the shield open. It dispersed suddenly. I stumbled then recovered.
"So?" asked a woman. I struggled momentarily to identify her, and then realized it was Booster's wife, failing to remember her name.
"I pierced it with a four hundred and twenty-five joule sonic discharge, power shaped into a penetrating weapon." I answered. "And the maximum setting for pain is insufficient. It needs to be nearly killing severity on a normal person."
"That wasn't maximum pain." she replied.
"I meant the pain inflicted by maximum setting." I answered, trying to stand upright, and finally succeeding after three tries.
"Dad? You alright?" Juliana asked.
"Fine, I just hurt myself again. Let's take you to your mother's room, and you can use her shower." I let her walk in front, so I could walk, slowly, with Clark.
"Did I miss ten years?" he asked. I laughed as much as I could without pain.
"Not exactly. She's not from our dimension, and about 15-20 years ahead. Fate is going to skim her memory in the morning, but she's coping fairly well. She showed up earlier, and nearly killed me, though not through any fault of her own. Sinestro tried to take her shortly after she arrived, so..." I shrugged delicately.
"Is she going to stay with you guys tonight?" he asked, and I nodded. "Do you want guards?" I shook my head.
"Kara's having a bit of a hard time dealing with this, so it's best not to anger her. Zatanna's there, and I know she's going to over lay my wards with hers, and I know Fate enhanced his before he left." I replied. "Take a right." Juliana turned down a side corridor, and we followed.
"What do you mean?" Clark asked. He wasn't bad at science, but he didn't share the view that it was no different from magic.
"It's like a magical alarm system. Any thing passes through, I get a warning about it. Zatanna's are set so she get's a warning, and Fate's work the same way. But we each use a different magic, so what eliminates, or distorts one, probably won't catch the others, and if mine is eliminated, I get... feedback. It's kind of like a static shock. I'm not sure what happens to them, but they say they do know when a ward is destroyed, or eliminated.
Anyway, Fate trusts me less than you do, so he's long since warded my house. Now though, he's juiced them up so if anything enters the ward, he can be there in less than a minute." I looked around sneakily, and grinned. "I tapped into his wards, so if anything hits them, I'll know about it too."
"And I thought Bruce was paranoid." the blue clad Superhero shook his head. "So, can you tell anything more about her?"
"No, I've been scanning my memory, and there's a lot up there, but she's not in there. Not entirely though. There are bits and pieces of her, but never in one place." I sighed. "This is it. Give me a moment, and I'll remember the code." I scoured my mind for it, and punched it in. The door slid open. Given that it was a space station, it wasn't really possible to 'air out' the apartment, but it wasn't really needed. Kara and the twins often spent the day up here, and with my rooms cluttered with magical equipement, much of it dangerous even to me, she prefered her room, or the Day care. So it was clean, if a little untidy. "Bathroom is off the bedroom, and clothing is in the wardrobe, so healp yourself. Unless you can't find something you like, then we'll go bug someone else until we find something." I grinned, and she shot back a look, and rolled her eyes, but was also grinning.
"I'll be back in a few minutes." she disappeared through the door to the bedroom.
"What I do know about her, is she comes from a place where you're in Kara's Place, and she's in yours. I'm a Green Lantern." Clark laughed. "Ha ha. I was as surprised as you are. Anyway, that's all the info I can come up with. I'm assuming there's more to it if Sinestro is after her, and it's likely that we'll find out the rest." I finished, sighing as Clark continued to chuckle. "Can you wait here while I get Ace and Rebecca?"
"Sure, take your time." Clark waved, seating himself in a chair, and flipping on the television. I knew he enjoyed this sort of thing. No one would interrupt him with a mission, unless it required him to save the world. As much as he loved Lois, and his son there was only so much togetherness a man, even a superman, could take. So I left him, and sailed through the corridors to the daycare. Arriving there, I found things flying about the room. It wasn't a fight or temper tantrum, but instead several of the children were tossing toys back and forth from forts hastily erected out of cushions. Some of the staff were watching to make sure there were no serious injuries. I knew where the twins would be. Ace stood behind one 'fort' wall, directing his 'troops'. Rebecca knelt behind her wall, tossing toys like grenades, landing in the fort far more often than her brother's offerings.
"Having fun?" I asked. Grins, and laughter met my arrival. A few faces were a bit disappointed that I was alone, I was still swarmed with adoration. Zatanna and I always found a warm reception here, since we could never resist at least a small act. "Alright, alright, I can't stay long, so only one trick tonight, but I'll make it a good one." I looked around. "Requests?"
"Toy Parade!" I grinned, hearing the name of the single favorite trick. It was the only one I could do, that Zatanna couldn't duplicate to their satisfaction. I lifted my hands dramatically, purposely catching my hands on my sleeves. I reached up, and pushed them back, then did it again. The sleeves fell back. I sighed, took off my jacket, and tried once more. This was a slieght of hand, rather than magic. Sleeves fell out of my short sleeve shirt, catching again. I tugged them off. Applause greeted my successful dramatic arm raise. I waved my hands, and wiggled my fingers, and spoke.
"Dance." Two huge soft teddy bears stood up in the corner, and started dancing. What happened there always varied, so it wasn't always the same. "Attention." every toy in the room, except the bears, stood upright, no matter how impossible that may be. "Fall in." they promptly toppled forwards. I sighed exaggeratedly. "I said 'Fall in', not fall over." the toys stood, and marched into production line. They spent a few minutes parading around, some performing acrobatics, then returning to their original positions to racuous applause. "Alright, Ace, Becca, time to go." the usual sorrow filled good-byes followed, even if they knew they'd be back the next morning. Like their parents the children were natural hams. As we walked out, Ace looked up.
"Daddy? What's for dinner?" this was a subject of contention. As much as I might love my wife, she had super taste buds, and could differentiate a thousand different tastes at once. The trouble came when she tested out new recipes. They could often be a massive mix of tastes, that tasted to everyone else, awful. Fortunately...
"Aunt Zatanna is there." I answered. Where we refused to admit that Kara wasn't a particularly fantastic cook, Zatanna always demanded edible food, but offered to cook so as not to hurt any feelings. The twins sighed in relief. Now four years old, they were beginning to develop abilities like their mother, which meant the only possible day care was here on the station. Any other daycare would be hard pressed to deal with the fact that Rebecca seemed completely immune to just about everything, and that both were as strong now as some full grown humans. I hadn't seen any evidence of magical ability, but that meant nothing. Most didn't develop power for years. "Hey guys, I need to talk to you about something." I sat down on a bench near Kara's room, and the twins sat to either side. "We're going to have a guest staying with us for a little while. She's your sister, and I want you to treat her like that."
"We have a sister?" they both spoke up at once.
"Yes, but it's a long story. She's having a bit of a hard time remembering things, so if she does strange things, don't bug her about it, alright?" nods. "Alright, her name is Juliana, and I want you two to be nice. I don't know how long she's going to stay, and it might be a little weird. Mom's having a hard time adjusting, so if you can be nice, I'll be she'll feel better, alright?" they nodded again.
"When can we meet her?" Rebecca asked.
"In just a couple of minutes. She's going to wear some of Mom's stuff, since her bags got lost at the airport." I grinned. Rebecca rolled her eyes. She knew I was lying, and was one of a few that could always tell. She was too smart for her own good. I grinned, and winked, telling her it was a secret. She nodded sagely, and pursed her lips. I led them back to the room, and let them watch television with 'Uncle Clark'. I wandered into the kitchen, and was digging in the refridgerator for something that didn't have it's own plastic straw.
Not that I have anything against them, but I get yelled at for drinking them all. And I was thirsty. I had yet to find anything drinkable, when the door opened from the bedroom. Juliana stepped out, hair still slightly damp, and draped down her back, wearing a dark blue T-shirt, and jeans. Something about her was different, and I saw instantly what it was. A ring identical to the one surrounding my finger, wrapped around her right ring finger. "That was wonderful. Best shower I've had in a while."
"Hi, nice to see you're feeling better." Clark commented.
"Yeah, what wonder's a shower will do for you." Juliana grinned, and turned her attention to the twins. "Hi guys."
"Hi." the twins responded instantly, growing certain of her within moments. I let them talk for a few minutes.
"Everyone ready to go?" I asked. Heads shook, then sighs followed.
"Yes dad." came the answer from all three. Clark choked on his drink. We had an uneventful trip back to the teleporter, and arrived outside the house. Upon entering, the smell of steak greeted us. Kara was almost asleep on the couch, and came awake as we entered the house. She greeted the twins, and Juliana and lead us into the kitchen. Since I already knew Zatanna was staying, seeing six places set at the table was not a surprise. Somehow, Zatanna always managed to have dinner ready at the exact moment for anyone to arrive. I'd seen it happen dozens of times, and yet it was still a mystery. She'd even already sliced the twin's steaks into strips. I helped serve, and we settled down for the meal.
---
"I just don't understand just what the problem is." Kyle Rayner commented. For half an hour, neither he nor John had been able to activate their rings, and neither could figure out why. Kyle lifted his ring again, and it activated. John's remained non-functional, until Rayner recharged it with his own. Approaching the telepad, they ran into Superman.
"Hello Clark. This is Kyle Rayner, I think you've met?" John offered by way of introduction.
"Yeah, during that trial of yours." Clark replied, and offered his hand. Rayner shook it with a grin. "Hey, I should warn you, Sinestro's on planet. He attacked Adam and his daughter."
"His daughter? Was Becca hurt?" John asked.
"Not Becca, another daughter of his. Juliana." he related the incident. Rayner tilted his head.
"I think a slight change of plans is in order." he suggested. John nodded.
"I'll go down with you." Clark offered. The telepad descended them outside the Marcae household, and Kara greeted them at the door.
"Hi Clark, you should call before you come down." she chided mockingly. "Or did you forget to call home?"
"Yeah, I can't stay, but we'll come over this weekend." Clark promised. She kissed his cheek, and waved him off. She turned to John.
"New friend?" she asked. John chuckled.
"Old one. You might remember him from the incident with Amazo." Kara crossed her eyes, and then grinned.
"Right you were the one that wanted to blow up the planet." she accused. Rayner grinned sheepishly.
"We weren't exactly thinking clearly." he conceeded. "We've changed." she laughed.
"So what brings you here?" Kara asked, planting her hands on her hips.
"Sinestro." answered the pair.
"Figures, come on in, you'll want to talk to Adam and Juliana." Kara lead them through the door, and into the living room. The instant the pair entered the room, they dropped to their knees, wrenching the rings from their hands. The two green rings glowed brightly, then went dark. They lifted them, and replaced them. There was no response.
"Are you alright?" came an unidentified voice. The two lanterns looked up into a pair of deep green eyes.
"Yes milady. We seem unhurt."