REIGN
By FAH3
Lois couldn't help but whistle as she entered the large Catholic cathedral. As she gazed at the high arched ceilings, she couldn't help but feel more like she was entering a large gothic castle than she was a house of worship. And at the end of the room, in between two high podiums was a large alter with a giant painted statue of Jesus crucified on the cross. Los wasn't heavily religious, but she did go to church when she could. But she could remember being a little girl growing up, and being scared of the large crucifix statues that were in some of the large churches. Since she was an army brat, most of the churches she went to consisted of a small room of a house or a mess tent with a cross and a soldier with a white collar. But being in a place like this would usually make her more scared of God than in awe of him. One of the reasons she didn't go to church that often. Too many "Men of the Cloth" focused on how much of a screw up you were that you were going to go to hell no matter what you do.
"Can I help you?" a man in his late thirties asked as he stepped out of the confessional. He was wearing a black T-shirt and slacks, was holding a small bible in his hands, and had a white band in the collar of his shirt.
"Father Bishop?" Lois asked him.
"Yes?"
"I'm Lois Lane, from the Daily Planet. I called earlier about the piece I'm doing on the Superwoman cults?" she asked as they shook hands.
"I remember. I was a little surprised to receive your call, though." The priest said.
"I'm interviewing various people in the religious community to get their take on the recent cults that have been growing in number. I've already interviewed Rabbi Stein, and he suggested I talk to you."
"Yes, Roger and I are good friends. I must admit, I've reluctantly taken on the role as the main shepherd here. But so far, everyone seems to be satisfied with the work I'm trying to do." Father Bishop said. "Would you mind if we did this interview at the coffee shop on the corner? It's been a long day, and the coffee pot I keep here recently bit the dust."
"Not at all." Lois said, with part of her being relieved to be in a setting that was less – biblical.
"Father Bishop, are you worried about these cults at all?" Lois asked as she sipped on her coffee.
"At first, I wasn't. But I assume you've heard the recent activity the SCU has had to deal with lately? The different factions fighting with each other?" Father Bishop asked her.
"Yes, I have. The cultists following the cyborg clashed with the ones that follow the young Supergirl. Several had to be hospitalized." Lois said.
"What I worry about is what will happen is that they may trty to fight people of other faiths. I mean, these people are trying to kill each other because of which one they think is Superwoman. What will happen if these cultists are near one of our church fundraisers? Or one of our festivals we throw?"
"You mean, you're worried that one of the cults might use violence against other religions?" Lois asked him.
"History is filled with such incidents. Look at the Crusades. Even during the time of the Roman Empire, early Christians were thrown to the lions for entertainment."
"But people are smarter than that now."
"Are they really Miss Lane?" Father Bishop asked her. "A person? Yes, a person is smart. But people gathered in a crowd can become frightened, stupid, and very easily driven to panic. Especially when their views on faith is questioned or challenged. Sometimes, faith is the only thing people have."
"Father," Lois began as she took another sip of her coffee. "Rabbi Stein mentioned something to me when I interviewed him. He had said that one of the priests at your church had joined one of the cults?" Lois asked him.
"I'm afraid so. The priest he was speaking of was Father Connery. He had been at our church for over thirty years before he joined the Cyborg cultists. In fact, our church would have been shut down ages ago if it hadn't been for his dedication and hard work." Father Bishop said.
"Thirty years, and he turned his back on his faith just like that?" Lois asked him.
"He didn't turn his back on it, Miss Lane. I'm not in support of these cults, but I think they made his faith stronger now than it ever was. As well as the belief of many Christians right now."
"Father, they're worshiping a fallen hero as a God. How is that strengthening Christianity?" Lois asked him.
"Miss Lane, our church was built to hold a maximum of five-hundred people. When Superwoman fought that monster, Doomsday; we had over seven-hundred gathered in our cathedral as they prayed for the monster to be stopped. And during her funeral, we had almost one thousand as they prayed for her soul in the afterlife."
"I still don't understand, Father." Lois said to him.
"Then look at it from our point of view; a shepherd tending to his flock. Our religion is based on the teachings and acts of a man who looked and appeared to be like everyone else. But he had fantastic abilities that no one else had. And instead of using them for himself, he used his abilities to help others and teach people by example on how to better themselves. And then, he died a horrible death for everyone in the world. People he had never met and never known. And miraculously, he rose from the grave and it has been written that he would one day return."
"Okay, so far I'm with you." Lois said, knowing the story about Jesus Christ.
"Now, in a time when people need hope and faith the most; a individual emerges that looks like one of us but has amazing abilities. Abilities that are far greater than those of mortal men and women. And instead of using them for her own gain, she used her powers to help others. She was so dedicated to helping people, that she too dies a horrible death for people she's never known or met. And without anything to suggest how or why, it would appear she has risen from the grave. And amazingly enough, four have appeared claiming to be her." Father Bishop said.
"You mean to tell me that a bunch of these people think that Superwoman was the return of Christ?"
"It's merely an idea, Miss Lane. But there is also another, even more frightening one."
"Which is?" Lois asked him.
"Many people believe that this is the time when the Apocalypse may happen. And in the book of revelations, it speaks of four horsemen that will arrive during this time. And in the wake of Superwoman's body going missing again, four people are claiming her symbol. Four, Miss Lane. If these are the four horsemen that the book of Revelations speak of, then we have to ask what kind of horrible hell on Earth awaits us in the future?" Father Bishop asked her.
As that thought entered her mind, Lois couldn't help but try and gulp down the lump she felt in her throat. The fear she felt as a child whenever the preachers would speak of Revelations seemed to return with a massive vengeance. Even the hands that was holding her warm cup of coffee began to quiver as she thought more and more about it.
"Thank you for your time, Father Bishop. I think I have more than enough for my article." Lois quickly said as she stopped her recorder, shook the priest's hand, and began to walk out of the coffee shop without a second glance.
As she stepped outside, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. It wasn't any secret that, like everyone else, Lois was scared of death and the possibility of the end of the world. But with Father Bishop comparing Superwoman's death and supposed return like Christ and the book of Revelations, her fear seemed to skyrocket almost out of control. She hadn't been this scared since her father was shipped off to Desert Storm. Lois could feel herself trembling as she tried to wipe her hair out of her face as she leaned against the wall and began shuffling the items in her purse around.
"I picked one hell of a day to quit smoking." She said to herself as she tried to see that maybe a lone cigarette was resting at the bottom of her purse from a previous pack.
"Miss Lane?" Father Bishop asked as he stepped outside, causing Lois' heart to jump into her throat. "I didn't mean to scare you back there. But I just wanted to get my point across. Many of my parishioners have been asking me if these are the end times because of what I just said." Father Bishop said.
"I'm sorry for just walking out like that. You kind of freaked me out a little."
"I know. But I would appreciate for you to use your words wisely when you write your article. The last thing I want is to be responsible for a mass panic."
"Don't worry, Father. I've done this before." Lois said and gave up looking for a cigarette. "Can I ask you something, off the record?"
"Of course." Father Bishop said to her.
"Do you think these four super beings are the prelude to something else?" Lois asked him.
"Miss Lane, I have seen many things that just can't be explained. All I know is that the Lord works in mysterious ways. If something bad is coming, then maybe these four beings are his way of giving us a heads up. His way of telling us to be ready."
"I know what I sensed! As much time as we spent around each other, you should know better than this. Kim Possible is alive!" J'onn said as he confronted several of the founding members of the Justice League.
"J'onn, we've run scans for several hours. Not even Guy Gardner's power ring can find any sign of her. Maybe you were daydreaming." Josh said.
"Need I remind you that what you know as dreaming and day dreaming is completely different from how I dream?" J'onn asked as his eyes began to glow red.
"J'onn, it's just not possible. You were there when we retrieved her body from Cadmus, and you didn't sense anything. Why would she show no brain activity until now?" Diana asked her.
"You all forget that like me, Kim is not human. She may look like one down to the finest detail, but she is an alien. There are many we don't know about Kryptonian physiology. Including with her cells still full of solar radiation. And – I may have been wrong." J'onn said.
"What do you mean?" Shayera asked him.
"When we retrieved her body, I thought I sensed something. It was small, though. I had barley noticed it. Kim may have been trying to regain consciousness." J'onn said.
"But you're still not sure, are you?" Diana asked.
"In the Javelin, no. But I know what I sensed on the bridge. It wasn't a hallucination. Kim is alive." J'onn said.
"I think we should get some rest. We've been really busy in trying to fill the void since Kim passed away and trying to find out more about these four want-to-be heroes. Maybe we should just take a break." Monique said.
"Perhaps you're right. We do need some time to collect ourselves." J'onn said, tired of arguing in circles.
"Sounds good to me. Anyone want to join me in the cafeteria for a malt?" Josh asked.
"Maybe later, Josh." Shayera said as they all stood up to leave.
J'onn watched his friends leave the conference room one by one, making sure they were out of sight. As soon as he was sure he was by himself, he closed his eyes and began to concentrate. He hadn't tried to directly communicate with anyone in a while, so he hoped he wasn't rusty at it. This was too important.
Hanna had gone down these stairs into the bat cave so many times, that she wasn't sure she could count that high. And all those times, the lack of light or gloom of the passageway had never affected her in the least. But now, knowing that Ron was still upset with her, made it seem ominous. When they had returned, Ron had deleted any access Hanna had to the batcave and to her gear. Ron had known that grounding her like a normal teenager wouldn't work, so he had decided to forbid her from being Batgirl. But Ron didn't say for how long, which really had her nervous. Just to be in here now, she had to wait for Dick to leave. And that was another can of worms she was trying to fix.
Dick wasn't happy with her at all with being locked inside the cave. It turned out that Ron didn't arrive home to let him out for over eight hours. Dick had been giving her the silent treatment for two days before the finally began talking. If talking meant they were shouting at each other as loudly as they both possibly could. One of their arguments had gotten so bad that Barbara actually gotten hold of the water hose and hosed them down. Even now, Dick was still mad at her. Of course, the main thing she was worried about right now was how mad Ron still might be.
When she reached the bottom of the steps, she could see Ron sitting at the large computer. It looked like he was working on a few of his case files for the moment since it looked like he wasn't wearing his cape and cowl. Hopefully, that might be a good thing. Both Dick and Hanna had noticed that when Ron was angry, he wouldn't change out of the bat suit for hours. It looked like this wasn't so this time.
"You can stop hiding from me." Ron said to her.
"I'm going to have to find out how he does that." Hanna though to herself, wondering how he knew she was already there. "What are you doing?" she asked him.
"Updating a case file." Ron said as Hanna walked up to stand beside him and read the data on the screen.
"Who's Baby Doll?" she asked him.
"That's her alias. Her real name is Marion Louise Dahl. She was an actress." Ron said.
"I've never heard of her before."
"Yes you have. She was on a popular sitcom called Love That Baby." Ron said to her.
"Oh yeah, I've seen the re-runs. Wasn't it a rip off of Denise the Menace, but with a girl?" Hanna asked him.
"More or less. When they wrote a character named cousin Spunky, she thought she was being replaced and quit."
"Shouldn't you update her picture?" Hanna asked as she saw the picture on file. The picture showed a very miserable nine-year old girl with several freckles on her cheeks and long blonde hair on the screen.
"That's her most recent mug shot." Ron said.
"What? That show was canceled nine years ago. She'd have to be about twenty now." Hanna said.
"Actually, she was eighteen when the show went off the air. She's twenty-seven now."
"But,"
"She suffers from a rare form of hypopituitarism. The condition has severely stunted her growth and left her looking like a child. She tried to find work after leaving Love That Baby, but she was typecast as her character Baby Doll. The only work she found was in a production of MacBeth that was widely panned by critics."
"What happened to her?"
"She tried to get her show back on the air, but all the networks turned her down. After that, she went into the cooperate office of the network that had originally created Love That Baby with a few guns and a bomb. I was able to stop her before anyone was killed. She was sentenced to a mental hospital after the court found her to be mentally unstable." Ron said.
"Did she escape?" Hannah asked.
"No, she was released. She's on probation right now, but I don't trust her."
"No offence, but you don't trust anyone." Hannah said.
"Lately, it looks like I have a reason not to trust anyone." Ron said as he turned to face her. "I still can't believe you went to Metropolis and did that."
"Ron,"
"There's no excuse for it, Hannah. She's young and inexperienced, but that was no reason for you to attack her like you did." Ron said.
"But she doesn't deserve to wear that symbol! She's a little freak that's doing this for the glory! She's no better than Booster Gold!"
"But that doesn't give us the right to play judge, jury, and executioner. You're my daughter Han, and I know you've got my temper and Yori's determination. How far were you going to take that fight?" Ron asked her.
"I,"
"You stole the Kryptonite I kept locked away. How far?"
"I – I don't know."
"Because you weren't thinking. You let your anger think for you." Ron said as he took a deep breath. "I thought you were ready to fight with me, but I was obviously wrong. Until I say so, Batgirl is dead."
"What?" Hanna asked him in shock.
"You heard me. I can't trust you out there anymore, you're actions proved that. Until I'm sure I can trust you again, Batgirl is no more." Ron said to her.
"You can't do that!" Hanna protested.
"Watch me!" Ron said.
"But she – she"
"She what, Hanna? You've been obsessing over this since Kim's body went missing. What are you going to do if make the clone stop? Go after the others?"
"No!"
"Then why her, Hanna? Why her?"
"BECAUSE SHE ISN'T MY MOM!" Hanna screamed as a very worried look came over Ron's face.
"What do you mean she's not your mom?"
"I mean Kim! I mean – for once just think about it, Ron! Whenever someone talks about their mom or dad, I think of you and Kim. And since you really are my dad -" Hanna said as tears began to fall.
"But what you did,"
"She has no right! I don't care what DNA says! Mom did too much for everyone! She died to save everyone! And that – that – poser has no right to ruin everything mom worked so hard for! For what she died for!" Hanna shouted as more and more tears began to fall and her crying became uncontrollable. "I WANT MY MOTHER BACK!" Hanna finally screamed as every emotional damn she had placed in her head finally broke and gave way.
It wasn't long before Ron was holding Hanna in his arms as she began to break down. Hanna had always been too much like him, even when it came to their feelings sometimes. He knew she had cried when he had gotten shot, but he couldn't recall her crying when Kim had been killed. He didn't know why, but she had chosen to be the strong one for their small family. And it looked like Hanna finally had all she could take.
"Just let it all out, Han." He whispered as he patted her back gently and held her tight.
"I miss her, dad. I miss her so much that it actually hurts." Hanna said as her breath began to catch in her throat from her crying. "It always feels like – like I'm broken. Or I'm the one that stupid monster pounded on. I want my mother back." Hanna said as she continued to cry.
"I know, Hanna. I want her back, too. More than you can ever know." Ron said to her as kissed the top of her head.
"Ron, can you hear me?" J'onn's voice said inside his head.
"This is a bad time." Ron said out loud.
"What?" Hanna asked.
"It's J'onn."
"Ron, this is important. You need to get to the North Pole." J'onn said.
"J'onn,"
"Trust me, Ronald. You need to get to the North Pole. NOW!"
Ron let out a deep sigh before answering him. "I'm on my way." Ron said as he let Hannah go. "I've got something I need to do. We'll talk more when I get back." Ron said to her.
"Okay." Hannah said as Ron went to go get changed.
"Are you sure about this, Miss Gough?"
"I'm positive." Sheila said as she and her mole descended deeper into the bowels of the massive complex of Cadmus Labs.
The entire facility itself was built deep underground, and composed of untold levels. Each deeper level had its own project, and almost every part of Cadmus dealt with genetics. The last time Sheila had been here, Cadmus only had a few underground levels. But that was when she was a teenager and a naïve hero. Now she was back as a hardened businesswoman, scorned lover, and still a villain in certain circles. But she wasn't here because these heartless government bastards had stolen her DNA. She came here to find out how her new employee, the Supergirl, was created.
The young clone told her about the sudden fight with Batgirl and the discovery of her new found powers. She took the ruined uniform the young heroine had worn and had it tested. Sure enough, the energy signature from the burned uniform was almost an identical match to hers. Cadmus had somehow given a Kryptonian clone not only immunity to Kryptonite, but also a way to generate its radiation like her body could. And there was only one man she knew who had experience in that field. She thought he had been arrested an imprisoned for tax evasion, but she had been wrong. It took a lot of digging, burning bridges, and a lot of bribes and threats, but she found him. And now, she was going to confront him for the first time in over ten years.
"If Mr. Harper finds out about this, I'll be eating my meals in a cell from now on." The mole said to himself.
"Calm down, already. As long as no one notices that you jammed the security systems, you'll be fine." Sheila said to him.
"Here we are." Her mole said as the elevator stopped, and the doors smoothly opened with a small hiss. What she saw in front of her was something she was all too familiar with.
"A detention block?" she asked.
"Not entirely. Some of the people that work with Cadmus require certain environments that the rest of the facility can't provide. Certain cells at Arkham Asylum for Gotham's more notorious were our first prototypes." The mole said.
"I'm guessing you're referring to Dr. Victor Freis?" Sheila asked.
"Among others." The mole said as they began to walk down the hall. Shego saw what she had assumed had been people at first. But when they entered the light their cells had, she could see she had been wrong. Some creatures looked almost like people you would see in a freak show. Others looked like they belonged in various science fiction films. She had no doubt that these were some of the DNAliens she had heard about.
"How much further?" she asked.
"Not much farther. In fact, here he is." The mole said as they came to a large glass like cell that seemed to be a combination of a lab and small sleeping quarters. The lab was lit, but the part of the cell that was for rest had the lights out. She could see something moving in there, but only a silhouette. Nothing definitive.
"Are you sure this is him?" Sheila asked.
"I'm positive." The mole said and activated the two-way comm system. "You have a guest." The mole said before backing away and letting Sheila step closer to the cell. From inside, a distorted chuckle arose. It was very horse, but also had another kind of strange distortion to it.
"I never expected to see your face ever again." The man inside the cell said.
"It has been a while. Hasn't it, Dr. D?" she asked.
"No one has called me that for years." the figure said as it stood, but remained in the shadows.
"Somehow, I knew you had a hand in creating her." she said.
"The little Supergirl? Of course I did. No matter what these Cadmus fools say, she was my finest creation. An ode to the proof I once had of alien life on Earth. Proof that would have made me wealthy beyond the dreams of any politician or business man. That is, until you took all of it away from me." the figure growled.
"Let's face it, doc. You stumbled onto that proof by pure accident. You couldn't even make a decent pot of coffee without it exploding in your face." Sheila said.
"Still a sharp tongue I see." The figure said. "I read the newspapers, Shego. I know you have the clone in your pocket. So why are you here?" the figure asked her.
"Something happened to her the other day. She's different from Superwoman."
"Of course she is." The figure said.
"Damn it, don't play games. You're the only one that knows how to alter Superwoman's DNA. You did the same thing to her that you did to the replicant years ago. You added something to her, didn't you?" Sheila demanded.
"Superwoman's DNA chain gave Cadmus the opportunity for them to create the perfect weapon. A powerful super soldier that would make countries tremble with fear. But there was a flaw in the DNA. A weakness in the armor, as it were. And I don't mean the cellular breakdown like the replicant had." The figure said.
"Kryptonite."
"And Cadmus was determined to make sure that the flaw was eliminated. And after they failed again and again, they finally turned to me."
"How many failures?" Sheila asked him.
"Not counting her? Twenty-three all together." He said, making part of Sheila cringe as he did so. "However, I couldn't remove the gene they hated without compromising the clone. So I augmented it with a unique sample Cadmus had in storage." The figure said with a small chuckle as Sheila face came over with realization. What he just said was confirming her worst fears about Supergirl.
"How? I torched every sample they had." Sheila said as she began tog rind her teeth.
"Do you really think that Cadmus wouldn't keep back-ups of their prized DNA samples?" the figure said as Sheila's eyes began to widen in fear.
"They kept cloning – how many versions of me have died?"
"I don't know. I wasn't involved with the projects involving your family's DNA. I was only involved with this one." The figure said.
"And what do you get out of helping them play Frankenstein? A get-out-of-jail-free card? Money?"
"Salvation." The figure said.
"What?"
Sheila could hear the figure inside the cell take a few steps closer to her, but still remained hidden in the shadows if his cell. What was he trying to hide?
"Do you remember a notorious criminal named Clayface?" the figure asked her.
"Which one? There was more than one Clayface." Sheila asked him.
"The second one. The actor known as Matt Hagen." The figure said. "He had been horribly scarred in a car accident, and was convinced his career was over. Until a nefarious business man named Dagget created a new wonder cosmetic known as New-U. Hagen became his guinea pig." The figure said.
"I remember. He overdosed on it, and it – changed him." Sheila said. That was the only decent way she could put on what had happened. He became a living blob of soft clay that could mimic anyone or anything.
"He became a true shape shifter. An ability that I wanted. With my various connections, I was able to obtain a tissue sample of Hagen, and I thought I had figured out a way to bestow the same properties onto myself." The figure said.
"You didn't!" Sheila said.
"I did." The figure said as he stepped into the light, and allowed Sheila to see what he had become.
Sheila gasped at what she saw in front of her. The figure was wearing a heavily modified survival suit, covered with respirators and bionic enhancements. The helmet was nothing more than a massive glass dome that had two air hoses connected to it along with some strange filter in the back. The head inside the helmet truly looked like it had come from a horror movie. The "skin" was a sickening yellow that seemed to look like it had the appearance of melted wax. The skin hung so loose and low around the right eye socket that it looked as if the eye itself was threatening to fall out. Around one corner of its mouth, the gums had even melted off to reveal teeth and the bone jaw they were set in. Its nose almost wasn't visible at all if it wasn't for the nostrils, and the black hair that once sat on the top of his head was completely gone.
"I had miscalculated the formula, as you can see. My skin took on a putty like form while my bones and a few organs remained solid, except for my lungs. Since they could no longer function on their own, I have to rely on a modified environmental suit." The figure said as it removed a glove, and revealed that the skin on its hand looked more like an oversized latex glove. "My skin also took on a more – deadly role." He said as he placed his hand against a metal table he was standing next to.
"Inorganic matter I can touch. But organic," the figure said as he grabbed a steak that was on a dinner plate.
As soon as his hand made contact, the steak began to sizzle, bubble, and then began to melt. Soon, not even the T-bone within it was hardly recognizable as he withdrew his hand. "If I help them and their little suicide squad, they agree to help me find a cure for what I have done to myself. So, I gave them what they wanted. I just didn't know she would be as arrogant as her mother." The figure said and placed his glove back over his hand.
"But that doesn't explain how you were able to alter her DNA. I stole all the data you had on Superwoman. I made sure of that." Sheila said.
"Except what was in my head. Didn't think I had a photographic memory, did you?" he asked with a small laugh.
"What else did you do to her?" Sheila asked her.
"What do you mean?"
"I know you, Dr. D. What else did you do to her?" she asked him.
"You mean a suicide gene? Please, Shego. In a syntho-drone or a replicant, yes. But this is was different. If I had put a kill switch in her, don't you think I or Cadmus would have already thrown the switch by now?" he asked her.
"Do you swear? On your mother's life?" Sheila growled.
"On my mother's gray old head." The figure said as he sat back into the shadows. "Do come again, Shego. I rarely get visitors." The figure said as Sheila backed away from the cell and walked back to the elevator, where her mole stood waiting.
"Did you get what you need?" the mole asked her.
"Yes. Now get me the hell out of here." Sheila said.
"If you don't mind me asking, who was that guy?" her mole asked her.
"One of the stupidest men alive." She said as she took a deep breath. "He used to be known as Dr. Drakken." She said as her cell phone rang. "What is it?"
"It's Mercy. We need you back at the office, immediately." Mercy said.
"I told you that I'm taking a personal day." Sheila said.
"I know, but this is big. We need you here right now!" Mercy said. Sheila noticed that her assistant actually sounded panic. If there was something that could scare Mercy, then there had to be something wrong.
"I'll be there in an hour." Sheila said as she hung up her phone.
"You have got be kidding me. Please tell me that all of this is a sick joke or something." Kim said as she looked at the recorded news broadcasts of all the four Super beings that were wearing her house crest.
Kim still couldn't believe she had been out for almost six months. She remembered her fight with Doomsday and what she did to finally stop him. She also remembered being in Ron's arms and what she had told him before she passed out. After that, everything was fuzzy. There were strange dreams involving Ron when he was Batman, and then a field with both of her fathers there. The next thing she knew, she was waking up in the medical lab of the fortress. That had been almost a week ago, and she had been crying almost non-stop. Every time she remembered what Doomsday had taken from her, she would collapse into weeping heap. Every time she thought about her lost child, the pain that followed was unbearable. It was as if something was ripping out her heart and tearing it and shattering it all at once. She knew she needed to focus on what had been happening while she had been unconscious in order to deal with the pain. But when she found out about four people claiming to be her, she was about ready to blow the top of the fortress itself.
"I guess there was no gentle way of telling you." Kal said to her.
"Kal, has the whole world gone insane? Do people actually believe one of these idiots is actually me?" Kim asked him.
"I can't be sure. But a lot of the cultists seem to support the Cyborg Superwoman." Kal said to her.
"Cultists? What cultists?" Kim asked him.
"Crap, I was hoping you already found out about them." Kal said to himself. "After you died, a lot of people believed you were this world's messiah. Something about a second coming. They wear blue robes with the El family crest on the front, and most of them were camped out in front of your tomb. Ever since the Fortress robots brought you back here, there numbers have skyrocketed." Kal said to her.
"Oh my God." Kim said as she held her head in her hands. When she had first decided to become Superwoman, this was one of the things she was afraid would happen. She had done her best to let people know there was nothing God-like about her. The last thing she needed was to be some golden calf or martyr. "You mentioned the cyborg. What do you know about her?"
"Not much. I've had the computer recording any information it can find about the other Superwomen." Kal said to her.
"Smart thinking." Kim said as she sat back in her chair and looked at the giant computer in front of her. "Computer, tell me everything you have about the Cyborg Superwoman."
"Cyborg Superwoman appeared four and a half months after the discovery of Kara Jor-El's body was no longer inside the tomb in Metropolis. Cyborg claims to suffer from amnesia from a death and a subsequent rebirth. Recent tests conducted at STAR Labs and Middleton Space Center confirm that her DNA matches that of Kara Jor-El while her machine half is confirmed to be of Kryptonian make and origin.
"However, recent actions has raised some doubt amongst Superwoman supporters. Cyborg has displayed use of excessive force with the apprehension of criminals with no concern for criminal health. Recently, the Cyborg has been equally praised and shunned for killing Winslow P. Schott; Alias, the Toyman."
"She did what?" Kim asked as she turned to Kal.
"The Toyman had been kidnapping children and tried to give them a new home in some kind of wonderland he created. When one of them helped a bunch of the children escape, the Toyman killed him for it. Toyman was arrested, but the Cyborg took him high above Metropolis and dropped him." Kal said to her.
"Sweet Jesus." Kim said to herself.
"Kara, this thing scares me. It shows no emotion for some of the things it's done. I know it's not you, I've known for a while. But how the hell can a Kryptonian cyborg appear out of nowhere? The fortress is the only place on Earth that can do something like that, and it's been focusing it's energies on keeping you alive." Kal said to her.
"I don't know, Kal. J'onn once told me a Kryptonian scientist may still be on Earth. But if he'' been hiding this long, I doubt he'd try to do something like this." Kim said as she looked at the displayed images of the cyborg. Something about her chilled her to the bone. "Computer, what can you tell me about the other Superwomen?"
"The young teenaged Superwoman claims to be a clone, created by Cadmus Labs. Various government sources have confirmed her allegations and that she was created in secret while former Cadmus director, Paul Westfield, was under house arrest. She is currently being financially backed by Gough Industries."
"Great. Shego finally has a superhero in her pocket." Kim groaned to herself. "What about the last one? The one with the visor."
"All data on Galatea is classified." The computer said.
"What do you mean classified? I – Galatea?" Kim asked herself. Why would the computer lock her out, and how did it know this final Superwoman's name? The only one who had access to her computers was –
"Override restrictions. Authorization Kara Jor-El." Kim said as she glared at Kal and saw how he began to look away.
"Restrictions to file overridden. Retrieving information." The computer said as it began to list detailed information about Galatea.
"Subject's real name is Galatea. Galatea is a genetic replicant of Kara Jor-El created by Drew Lipski, alias Dr. Drakken. Replicant was supposedly destroyed several years after her creation by Justice League member J'onn J'onzz. Replicant then reappeared during the battle with General Zod and disappeared after Zod's defeat. Replicant's whereabouts have been unknown until after Kara Jor-El's battle with Doomsday. With the help of Kal-El, the fortress was able to perform massive genetic reconfiguration to repair most of the genetic abnormalities. However, subject Galatea's eyes are now unable to process light. Modified visor is now needed until problem can be rectified."
Kal gulped down a ball of air he swore that had been stuck in his throat as Kim turned to face him. The look on her face wasn't calm as he thought he heard her growl as she stood and walked toward him. As he began to slowly back up, he wondered how much time he had to try and fly out of the fortress before his cousin lost her temper completely.
"The Bizarro clone? The last Superwoman is the crazy bitch that tried to kill me years ago?" Kim demanded as she began walking towards Kal at a faster place.
"She really has changed, Kara. Besides, she's a very charming woman." Kal said as he began to smile nervously.
"Charming? She's a back stabbing, manipulative bitch! And she's been staying in my fortress? And now she's posing as me?" Kim demanded.
"Kara, give her a chance. She's been doing the best she can." Kal said.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill her and beat the living piss out of you?" Kim growled.
"Because – because," Kal started.
"I'm still waiting." Kim said.
"Because – I love her." Kal finally said.
Kim stood frozen in the spot she was standing as her eyes bugged out of her head. Kal began to worry a little as his cousin stood motionless for several minutes before he saw her hands ball into fists.
"What – did – you – do?" Kim asked slowly.
"Kara, she's – she's my girlfriend." Kal admitted.
"I didn't ask that. I meant, how far have you gone with her?" Kim asked him.
"Um – well." Kal began as he began to blush.
"YOU SLEPT WITH HER?"
"Kara,"
"DO YOU KNOW HOW SICK THAT IS, KAL? IN SOME PERVERTED WAY, YOU WERE SCREWING ME!"
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Kal shouted loudly with his voice echoing off the fortress walls. "For your information, nothing happened until after the genetic modification. And if there is any resemblance to our families bloodline, she would be a distant enough cousin for our relationship to be fine! So you can get off your high horse, Kara. I love you, but not like that! I love Galatea because of who she is!" Kal shouted as his nostrils flared from his deep heaving breaths. As his temper began to cool, he started to shiver from the cool air inside the fortress.
Kim closed her eyes and took in a deep breath to calm herself before she began talking to her cousin again. "How do you know she isn't playing you, Kal? How do you know she just won't leave you after her eyes are better?" Kim asked him.
"I don't. But she's stayed with me this long, and she's even said that she loves me as well. Kara, she makes me feel – complete, somehow. It's like I feel like I'm not alone on Earth anymore. I'm in love with her, Kara." Kal-El said to her.
"Oh, boy." Kim said as she rubbed her temples.
"KP?" a voice gasped in shock, making Kim and Kal turn toward the entrance of the Fortress.
Kim looked, and her eyes lit up as a smile, the first genuine smile she made in six months, stretched across her face. Her heart began beating faster as she saw the one person she cared for more than anyone else on the planet. Maybe even in the galaxy.
"Ron?" she asked as she saw the frozen figure standing in shock.
To make sure he wasn't seeing things, Ron quickly ripped the cowl from his face and looked again with his own eyes. Even though he knew she was alive, even when Dr. Fate confirmed his suspicions, it was still unreal for him at that moment. After spending so long believing she was gone, being told he would never see that smile and that glow in her eyes ever again, she was standing in front of him. Alive and breathing.
"KIM!" he shouted as he began running toward her.
Within moments, he held her tightly in his arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck. As she buried her face in the crook of his neck, he breathed deeply and relished the feel of her warm skin and the tickle of her red hair under his nose. It was her. It was really her. She wasn't a dream or an illusion, but it was really her.
"Please, don't ever leave me again." Ron wept as he held onto her as tightly as he could.
"I won't." she said as they stood there, just enjoying the fact that they were together again. "Ron?"
"Yeah, Kim?" he asked her.
"I don't know why, but why do I have this urge to beat Yori into a pulp?" Kim asked him.
"That's a long story." Ron said to her.
"I hate to interrupt." Kal said, making the two star-crossed lovers look up from their embrace. "But the fortress computers just intercepted some strange images from one of Earth's orbiting satellites." Kal said as an image was displayed on the main monitor.
"What in the world?" Ron asked as he saw the image.
"Kal, is that?"
"It's an alien vessel all right. But here's the weird thing. It's a unique design." Kal said to them.
"What do you mean, unnique?" Ron asked him.
"Most of the ship's design matches technology from a planet that's listed as War World."
"That doesn't sound good." Kim said.
"It shouldn't. The world's social structure is similar to the Roman Empire's reign, but with more brutality and violence. But some of the components are – what the hell?"
"What is it?" Kim asked him.
"They've been heavily modified and upgraded, but I could almost swear that some of the ship's components are – Kryptonian." Kal said.
"How's that even possible?" Kim asked him.
"Did Krypton ever have dealings with War World?" Ron asked him.
"Not that I know of. But some of our colonies did have dealings with raiders when they were first established. It's possible that whatever the raiders took, they adapted and traded." Kal said.
"Here's the important question. Where's that ship heading?" Kim asked him.
"According to the sensors, the computer projections shows that it's headed to Coast City. Great Rao, Galatea!"
"Who?" Ron asked.
"I'll tell you later. Kal, contact the Justice League." Kim said.
"I've already tried. I don't believe this! They're jamming the Watchtower's systems!" Kal said.
"And their orbit is on the other side of the planet. That means the League doesn't even know it's there." Ron said.
"I hope your girlfriend can handle this." Kim said.
"So do I." Kal said.