I do not own any DC Characters used herein, and am only employing them in a story meant for entertainment purposes only.
Man Of Steel
Original Story by LJ58 (Inspired by Twisted-Wun)
Edited and Reposted (With Permission) by LJ58
17
She woke abruptly, wracked by memories of fear and cold. Bitter, dark, unending cold. She looked around, but didn't recognize the chamber she was in as she rose from a narrow, metal cot, and noted she was still wearing her green body-stocking that had been all she had left in the end when they fled to Argos, hoping to escape the madness and chaos after Krypton had exploded.
She remembered the turmoil of those last days. Of hearing her parents talk about options that were fast running out even as they were mentioned. Of hearing that one moon after another was being shattered by the impacts of massive planetary fragments that were all that remained of Krypton.
And everywhere, people were sick and dying from the green sickness that drove most of the survivors into hysteria.
They were mad from pain and fear, and in that pain and fear, no one was safe.
Rather than focus on survival, far too many fueled the cacophony leading to the predicted death knell of an entire race. A death knell predicted, and ignored despite being raised by a family cousin who had tried to warn them all. In vain.
She stumbled to the door, stared in astonishment when it slid back at her approach, and stared past the panel at the strangers in garish costumes.
A woman with wild, green hair. A man as bald as he was hideous, and one who scowled like one of the madmen who had slain her father's friend when he had been trying to help.
She backed up, and gaped as she realized they weren't speaking a tongue that she knew, or had ever heard.
"Rao," she gasped, looking around, and seeing a pale, blue sky lit by twin yellow stars beyond the window, and realized this could not possibly be Argos.
She circled around the small group watching her as intently as she watched them, and reached for the door that did not open at her approach. It was on the wall with the window, though, so she was reasonably sure it had to be the way out.
She turned, looking quickly for a lever. A knob. Something. It was just a flat panel.
Her own rising fear had her banging on the door.
She was genuinely shocked with her small fist warped the thick panel, and a second blow knocked the damaged panel completely from whatever hinges or tracks held it.
The bald man was saying something to her, but she couldn't understand. She didn't bother to try to communicate. She turned, and fled.
Only to be once more surprised beyond measure when her flight had her traveling so fast the world seemed to blur around her.
She stopped, and realized she was at the far edge of a city that looked out across a vast, lush meadow filled with flowers that defied description. She stood and stared, then slowly looked up. The sky's two small suns lit the landscape in a manner she had never seen on Krypton. Not even on Argus, once a lovely oasis beyond the icy plains of her homeworld had ever looked this….green.
"Calm down," a voice called out to her in Kryptonian from behind.
And above.
She turned, staring up into the sky, and gaped as a tall, almost divine figure in primary colors hovered before her before landing.
"Jor-El," she rasped, turning to stare at the impossible figure. "Rao, did you make it, too? Where is Lara? What of….?"
"Slow down," the man smiled. "I am not Jor-El. I am Kal-El. His son," the man said as he walked toward her, some of those strangers behind him approaching on foot, and she glanced between them as she shook her head.
"Kal-El? But…. No. Kal is just a baby. He…."
"I grew up on a planet called Earth. It has been many years since Krypton died. I found you in a stasis pod on what remained of Argos."
"My….parents," she choked, looking around at the growing number of strangers.
"I'm sorry. You were the only survivor," he told her.
She said nothing as her blue eyes filled with tears, and her shoulders sagged.
"Can you tell me your name. Our hosts were concerned you might have suffered some problems in spite of the medical treatment that eased most of your obvious trauma."
"I…." She stared around her as the garishly clad people, humanoids for the most part, stopped just short of approaching her. Obviously giving her space. "I am Kara. Daughter of Zor-El."
Kal-El smiled warmly now.
"So, we are cousins. Quite the coincidence, it would seem."
"Is this….Earth," she asked, looking around the idyllic planet.
"No. This is New Genesis," a muscular man in red, wearing bio-armor told her in a tone that suggested he had seen hell, and spit in its face.
For amusement.
"New….Genesis?"
"I came here from Earth with several companions to seek aid against a threat that may well threaten our new home," Kal-El told her.
"Our….? So, they will….welcome me, too," she asked quietly, looking only at Kal-El now.
"Definitely, babe," a lean, young man in red with a curious sigil on his chest grinned.
Not that she understood a word he said.
"Try to behave, Flash," J'onn cut in. "The young woman in still in shock, and rightly so."
Kara stared around. "How is it none of these people speak Kryptonian, and yet you understood me," she turned to the armored warrior.
"I am Orion," the New God told her. "Son of the Highfather, and I used Motherbox to translate for us. Now, allow her to translate for you, too," he added.
"Mother….box," she frowned, and the man pulled off a small, rectangular box that chirped, and glittered with pulsing lights as he held it out.
"Motherbox is connected to the Source. She is a living, sentient being, just as we all are, and if you wish, she had aid you in learning your less….civilized companions' tongue."
"That might be….helpful," Kara murmured, but still hesitated about touching that curiously pinging device.
For a moment, it almost sounded….musical.
Then, steeling herself, she reached out, took the box, and felt a rush of warmth and security sweep over her as her head tingled slightly.
Even as her bodysuit suddenly wavered, and became a snug, blue replica of Kal-El's own costume, though with a much shorter cape.
"My clothing…..?"
"Motherbox can also alter your garments. Apparently, she detected your subconscious desire to emulate your cousin's uniform," Orion said with a faint smirk.
She held up the box as she heard Flash declared quite clearly, "Now that is a super-babe!"
"Flash," the woman in the strangely abbreviated armor glowered.
"I….understand," she frowned as Orion took the living computer back from her hands.
"Motherbox is a living miracle. There is very little she cannot do," Orion told her.
"While we do appreciate your hospitality," Kal-El cut in, eyeing Kara, and then turning to speak to Orion. "When will we get to speak to your father."
"The Highfather will see you when he is ready. He is communing with the Source. He will not make any decision until he is finished."
Kara sighed.
"I do not understand any of this," she sighed.
"Don't feel bad," Flash moved abruptly, suddenly standing beside her with a wide grin. "I feel like that all the time around some of these guys."
Kara frowned at him.
"You are very…..childish," she told him.
"Yes, he is," Diana told her. "But he can be a good friend. We all wish to welcome you. Just as we welcomed Superman to our ranks," she said, pointedly eyeing the Kryptonian.
"Superman," the girl giggled. "They call you….?"
"It's his hero name," Flash beamed, and stabbed a thumb at his chest. "I'm the Flash," he said, and zipped around her, then back. "See?"
Kara just stared at him.
"I am Diana. A warrior of the Amazons," she told her proudly.
"As we are introducing ourselves, I am J'onn J'onzz. The last of my race, too."
"He's a Martian," Kal-El told her as Kara eyed the green-hued humanoid who stood before her.
"Really? Wow. And what are you," she asked Shayera who had been standing back behind the others, saying nothing.
"I am Shayera Hol. Thanagarian," she finally told her when her new companions turned to eye her. "And recently a refugee on Earth, too."
"This Earth seems to collect quite a lot of….."
"Superman," Captain Atom floated down from the sky where he had just flown over to join them. "The Highfather is ready to see you."
"What's he," Kara frowned. "An android?"
"No. He's human," Kal-El told him. "He helped save your life," he added.
Kara stared at the silver man, and slowly nodded.
"Thank you," she murmured, and then turned to look back toward Kal-El.
"So, you have to see this Highfather to save your new planet, or we lose another home?"
"It is our hope to avoid that occurrence," J'onn answered when Kal-El only grimaced. "Which is why we are here."
"So, finding me was….an accident," she realized.
"Not…..quite," Diana smiled. "It seems Superman can be just as deceitful and manipulative as any other male in the universe."
"Huh?"
"He planned this trip around a visit to Krypton just to seek survivors," Captain Atom told her. "I believe he was planning that visit even before our emergency came up, but….it seemed our agendas dovetailed rather neatly, and so here we are."
"This way," Orion now cut in. "If the Highfather waits, we should go see what he has decided at once."
"Agreed," Diana nodded as they turned en masse to head back into the city.
"Let's just hope it's good news."
No one replied to Flash's comment.
MoS
"Any word from them," Black Canary asked as the blonde walked into the communications room where the hooded archer in green sat manning the console.
"Nothing. But, hey, I'm not the only one that thinks they all flew off into oblivion, songbird," he called her. "We're talking long odds here, and….."
"I see you're still overflowing with optimism," Dinah said, rolling her eyes.
"I prefer to consider myself a realist," he muttered.
"Then why did you join the League," she quipped. "Because this is just about as unreal as it gets. I mean, a floating headquarters in orbit. Aliens. Super villains. I keep waiting for someone to show up, and declare they are filming a reality show here."
"That was last week," Oliver Queen quipped. "You just missed casting."
Black Canary glowered, but said nothing.
"So, anything going on below?"
They both eyed the monitors that scanned the entire planet looking for hotspots.
"There was a new crime wave in Gotham, but Batboy says he has it covered. To, and I quote, 'Stay where we belong.'"
"Sounds like him. Doesn't give an inch, does he?"
"He makes Wildcat seem downright cheerful," he remarked, naming an aging hero who had been less than happy of his declining status as age caught up to the once tough crusader.
"Anything else," Dinah asked, studying the monitors herself.
"Surprisingly quiet, so far. If someone noticed the big guns were missing, no one is taking advantage of it. Yet. Even Central City has been quiet, which is surprising, too," Oliver smirked.
Black Canary understood.
Sometimes it seemed like Flash had more villains chasing him that Batman. Which was saying something.
"What about that Intergang lot Superman clued us about," she asked as she continued to study the monitors that spanned the globe below their orbiting headquarters.
"That new Superboy has been cleaning their clocks pretty regularly. For a kid, he's pretty tough. If a big raw, and careless at times."
"Careless," the career heroine frowned.
"He was so busy punching on some robots he almost let a bus load of kids smash into a fuel tanker. Fortunately Metropolis has attracted a few other heroes of late, too."
"More newbies?"
"Some clown in a metal suit. Calls himself Steel."
"Steel? You're kidding?"
"Metal suit? Seems to fit," Oliver shrugged.
The blonde simply shook her head.
"So, not one word from our envoy as yet," she asked again.
"Not yet. But Intergang has been laying low for the most part, so that's good news. Just the occasional high-tech robbery, and a few arms shipments."
"I don't know," Canary murmured. "Something about their actions seems…..orchestrated. Suppose we're not seeing everything."
"Like what," Green Arrow asked as Dinah walked over to the computer, and began to tap in commands.
"Like the connection I've already made," Batman said as he walked onto the bridge behind them. "Bring up the last intercepted shipment," he instructed her as Black Canary merely nodded over her shoulder, and plugged in the data.
"Now, correlate all known intercepts we've made," he instructed. "With every robbery."
"Good…..lord," Oliver rasped, seeing the truth himself as he stared at the points on the map. And the connections they made.
"They're not arming Intergang alone. They're using the robberies to divert us from their deliveries. They're arming the street gangs. All of them. Considering we've not gotten half of all likely shipments," Batman added, "Then we're looking at a potential attack that is being planned right under our noses if those gangs aren't already out there using those weapons. One that implies a prearranged signal. One that could be coming at any moment."
"If the gangs are cooperating on that kind of scale, it could be a slaughter," Dinah realized.
"I'd be more interested in knowing who has the muscle to force that kind of cooperation," Oliver put out, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "Without Luthor…. Unless….he's back?"
"I've got the feeling he's really gone," Batman told them. "But someone else is out there. Someone very adept at pulling strings. If we don't find them, we could be facing a nationwide disaster, because the tri-city area would only be the launch for this attack."
"You're certain….? Of course you are," Arrow grumbled as he turned to eye Batman. "So, what do we do?"
"We need to get inside."
"How," Oliver asked.
"We have to bring someone in that knows the inner workings of the gangs, and can make them talk."
"Oh, no," Dinah grumbled. "Not her."
"We don't have a choice."
"Choice? Uhm, what are you two…..?"
"He's talking about Huntress," Dinah told him.
"You have to be kidding. She's tried to kill all of us at one time or another," the archer pointed out. "And since you pretty much dropped her on her proverbial, and literal backside the last time you met," he reminded Batman, "I don't see her being all that cooperative."
"She may be a bloodthirsty vigilante, but at heart, she does care about the people she champions. It's a gamble, but I think she'll stand with us this time."
"You said that the last time, and she tried to put an arrow in your back," Dinah retorted.
"No, she only pretended," he countered.
"Looked pretty real to me."
Batman glowered at the both of them.
"While I am good at evading attacks, have either of you ever known her to miss? Completely?"
"He's got us there," Oliver nodded agreement.
"So, how do we find her? Even I don't know who she really is. Let alone how to…."
"Break the ice yet, darling," a darkly clad woman in very form-fitting leather drawled as she sauntered into the chamber.
"You brought her up here," Dinah almost seethed now, eyeing the dark-haired woman openly carrying a crossbow on her back, and a belt she knew was loaded with lethal weaponry.
"We need to discuss our strategy."
"And you know how to Batman likes to…..control everything," Huntress purred.
Batman only glowered at her.
"Come with me. It's time we learned just what is going on behind the scenes."
Huntress tossed a mocking salute, but followed him.
They both paused to eye Dinah.
"Coming, Blondie? You're supposed to be my liaison, after all."
"I'm what," Black Canary hissed.
"You don't think I'd send her in alone without backup," Batman asked in a low growl.
"Or a watchdog," Huntress corrected with a faint querying tone.
Batman didn't reply as he turned, and led them to a conference room.
Oliver just sighed, and turned his attention back to the monitors.
"Suddenly, I'm glad to be on monitor duty this week," he murmured thoughtfully.
MoS
Connor looked up from the open history text, and stared out the window.
He didn't have super hearing like Kal, but he had a sense for things going wrong. Something, just now, felt wrong.
He glanced out the window again, seeing nothing, but couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Something, somewhere was going wrong.
He just knew it.
And he was stuck playing high school kid in this very boring class listening to a guy drone on and on about things that had no relevance to anything in his world.
When he first started school in his new 'cover,' he felt like it was a new adventure in and of itself. He was being a regular kid. Just another normal human being.
Then, he realized more and more he wasn't regular. Or normal.
Smashing through the Intergang thugs and their windup toys was proof of that.
Only he couldn't stop replaying that last battle in his head. Or the metal man's words.
"You almost let a bus load of innocent kids barbeque," the seven foot metal giant had growled at him after saving said kids during his face-off with the robo-brigade. "For what? To hammer a couple of robots? That is not being a hero. That is being a showoff. And we have enough showboats in this business," the armored man had told him. "If you want to be a real hero, and live up to the ideals we should represent, then you better get your priorities fixed."
He had flown off without even letting Connor respond.
Not that he had a reply. He had not even noticed the out of control bus. Never heard the screaming kids skidding toward death as their driver had been knocked out by flying debris after inadvertently entering a battle zone.
He forced his attention back to the text he was supposed to be reading when the teacher glanced his way, and gave a curt clearing of his throat as his way of warning you. His attention still wasn't on the book, though.
What had caught his attention?
Why?
It was almost as if…..
"Sir, I need to go to the restroom," Connor said, sitting up, raising his hand, and already heading for the door before he finished speaking. "Sorry, emergency," he said, and quickly headed down the hallway once he was out of the class.
He waited until he was in the restroom before he pulled the transceiver out his pocket, and pushed it into his ear.
"Superboy," he murmured.
"Good. Dubbilex got your attention," Jim Harper's voice sounded almost at once. "We have a situation."
"Define situation," he asked.
"Cadmus is talking about putting down some of the more extreme genomorphs in the Vault. They're arguing now, but Dabney wants them terminated by the end of the day. I think he's already made up his mind."
"Crap," Connor spat. "What can I do?"
"Before he left, Superman showed us some caverns in the area."
"Right. He told me about that."
"He also came in through a tunnel he dug to reach my quarters. If you can extend the tunnel to the Vault, and get them into the caverns before security finds out, I can divert them long enough for you to get those in danger out."
"I'm on my way," Connor said, and grateful he had carried his backpack with him, quickly changed into his now trademark black tee, and leather jacket.
Even as he was pushing a window open, a boy opened a stall, and stared as the teen flew away.
"Cool," the boy grinned, filming the hero flying off. "I am so going to post this on the web next period."
Continued…