Author's Note: I just wanted to say that this may sound a little soap opera-ish. But, I'm trying to get the story wrapped up and I really want to write the epilog. I still hope you enjoy it.
Metropolis
It had already been two weeks, but the world couldn't stop talking. It was like everyone was trying to make sure they weren't dreaming. Superwoman, the real one, was alive and well and back to saving lives. Every news organization on the planet was telling the story of how the Cyborg Superwoman had been the real monster this whole time and why she and her minions had destroyed Coast City. The Justice League and several other organizations from all over the globe were involved in tearing down Engine City piece by piece with the Green Lantern Corp at the helm of it all. Several members of the Justice League suspected that the Green Lanterns were in charge so they could mainly make sure certain countries didn't get their hands on the tech and try to reverse engineer it. There was also the story on how Superwoman's clone, the Supergirl, saved Metropolis from the giant missile that had been launched from Engine City. But there was still one question with that story. What happened to Supergirl?
Miss Gough could answer that. For the past several days she had stayed in one of the major labs that sat underneath the foundations of her building and even beneath the subways of Metropolis. She had her employees bring her water, food, and fresh clothes whenever she needed them. But she would not leave that laboratory no matter what. Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week she sat in the lab and looked at the large cylinder in front of her that was filled with the latest in medical fluids that would nurture the body and support the healing process if not try to speed it up. An artificial womb as it were. Inside of this creation of medical science was a young and pale redheaded heroine that had saved Metropolis from certain destruction.
When Sherri's people had found her, she was covered in severe burns and bruises and had been unconscious. She was also partially buried deep within the confines of a garbage barge in the middle of Hobbs Bay. Apparently, she tried to distance herself from the missile after she changed its heading and was caught in tail end of the blast. Thankfully, it appeared the young woman had Superwoman's ability to heal at a fast pace. Sherri still insisted that she be placed in the nutrient bath to increase her odds at healing and to fight any infection she may have gained from landing in the middle of a trash heap. So Sherri had been glued to this spot and waited for the moment for the young girl to wake up.
"Anything new?" Sherri's assistant, Mercy, asked her.
"Still the same." Sherri said as she suppressed a yawn of exhaustion. "She'll have scars, but they won't be too bad." Sherri said as she sipped a thermos of coffee and popped her back.
"At least they can be covered by a set of clothes." Mercy said as Sherri sipped her coffee again. "Miss Waller keeps trying to barge her way in here, Sherri. From the way she acts, you'd think Supergirl was a piece of property."
"I know why Waller wants her. It'll be a cold ay in hell before I let that fat cow take a piece of her just so she can start an arms race with the Justice League. And you can tell her I said that." Sherri said as she stood and walked toward the tank so she could make sure her legs didn't fall asleep.
"That woman scares me, Sherri. How did you ever get into business with her?" Mercy asked.
"It was one of the times Global Justice had me imprisoned; when I was still working for Drakken. She recruited me to be on a special task force. We were sent on missions and into situations that no sane soldier would ever accept or even attempt. She called it the Suicide Squad. When she formed her organization, CHESS, she threatened to reveal my past if I didn't join."
"She could still do that. What are you going to do if she reveals who you are when you don't let her see the kid?"
"Let her. I've got enough money and resources now to expose her dirty little secrets. Including the weapons projects she plans on using against the Justice League." Sherri said as she glanced at Supergirl again. "I don't care what purpose Cadmus made her for. She deserves to have her own life and I'm not going to let them treat her like a lab rat. Not like they did to me and my family." Sherri said.
"Miss Gogh! The readings are changing!" One medical tech said from the various machines that were keeping an eye on Supergirl's progress.
"What's happening?" Sherri asked as she rushed to them as fast as her feet could move.
"Heart rate and brain waves are on the rise. I think she's about to wake up." One of the medical personal said.
"Then get her out of there and in a room right now! I want everyone monitoring her around the clock, do you hear me?" Sherri ordered as the tank began to drain. "I want to be the first one she sees when she wakes up. If I haven't personally given anyone clearance, they don't go anywhere near her. And I want security ready if Waller shows her face here. Let's see if that lard ass likes it when I personally roast her like a marshmallow." Sherri said as Supergirl was removed from the tank and placed on a mobile hospital bed.
"Aren't you going a little overboard?" Mercy asked.
"The last thing she needs is for anyone to find out she's vulnerable to fire. And I want to make sure I've got a good reason to give Batman a swift kick in the balls with a steel toed boot."
Watchtower
Most, if not all, of the newly expanded Justice League stood in the main command center in eager anticipation. Incredible things had been happening for the past two weeks. The truth about the Cyborg Superwoman had been revealed as well as the rest of the Justice League had returned after learning their rescue mission was a fake. But what was more exciting was the fact that the real Superwoman was alive and well. Not only that, she had the support of Batman and several other super beings saying that she was indeed the real Superwoman back from the dead. To prove that this claim was real, Superwoman would arrive with Batman and let the computers inside the Watchtower confirm her identity.
When the Cyborg Superwoman had arrived, Doctor Emil Hamilton had confirmed that she had been the real Superwoman with the help of Dr. James and Timothy Possible. Those machines were limited. If they had taken a closer look, they would have noticed that the tissues were only a little more over two years old. The computers on the Watchtower would be able to tell almost every detail about the tissue it was testing and compare it to the information on file. So this was the one test that would tell them is Superwoman was truly back from the grave. When the transporters, or Zeta platforms as they were now called, began to activate, everyone held their breath. With a flash of light, Batman stood tall with his long cape covering his body. As he stepped down from the platform like a moving shadow, most of the gathered heroes let out a small gasp as they saw the young red headed heroine follow him. She was wearing a new uniform that looked to be a flexible armored body suit as a long red cape flowed behind her with her shield on the back of the cape in black. It looked like her and moved like her. But they had all been burned before, and many weren't sure what to think.
At the main computer interface stood the original members of the Justice League. Wonder Woman, Hawk Girl, Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern Will Du and still bandaged here and there from his fight and with his arm in a real sling, The Flash, Batman, and Monique. Kim could easily tell was uneasy and not so sure about what to think. Kim was surprised that she had trimmed her once long hair into a pixie cut and she could see in her eyes that she had aged. No doubt it was from everything she had been through. In fact, Kim was sure just about everyone here had been through so much since her fight with Doomsday. Kim couldn't think about Doomsday. Not right now. If she thought about that monster, she would begin to think about other things that would upset her and this was not the time or the place. Later, she would let those feelings out again with Ron and her mother's help. But now, she had to show that she was whom she claimed to be.
"You know the drill." J'onn said as he did his best to try and fight a smile from forming. "In advance, it is good to have you back." J'onn said inside of her head.
Kim couldn't help but smile as she took a deep breath and placed her bare palm against the cool smooth screen in front of her. The pad began to glow as it scanned her palm and a few other traits as everyone looked to the overhead monitors. Within a few seconds, the pad went dark as the symbol for the House of El was displayed on all the monitors.
"Identity confirmed. Recognize Superwoman JL-001" the computer said.
The cheers that went out following the computers announcement that it even made Batman flinch slightly. As the rest of the heroes cried out for joy, Wonder Woman grasped Km in a firm hug and lifted her off the ground before setting her back down as the rest of the founding members of the Justice League gathered around her.
"It is good to see you again, my sister." Diana said.
"You've got to tell me how you're alive again. I was at your funeral. Both of them!" Flash said.
"Both?" Kim asked Ron.
"I'll explain later." He mouthed as Kim turned back to Flash.
"I'm still trying to figure it out myself, guys. When I find out something, you'll be the first to know." Kim said.
Hero after hero kept trying to talk to her about what she had seen at Engine City, congratulating her on coming back. But the one thing many of them wanted to know was if she had really died or not. Did she see a light or did she see God on the other side? So many questions and not enough answers were driving Kim insane. After talking to so many heroes, Kim finally had a moment to herself as she stood on the observation deck and gazed at the Earth below. No matter how many times she looked at this view, it always amazed her to see something so beautiful. She had seen holograms of Krpyton in the fortress, but wondered if it would have been just as beautiful looking at it from this height?
"It's a little ironic. This is where I stood after I thought I lost you." Batman said, walking up behind Kim and stood next to her.
"If you haven't noticed, we always come here to have a moment alone together." She said with a small smirk. "So what were you thinking when you stood here?"
"Do you honestly want to know?" he asked her.
"Yes."
"That the world could take care of itself from now on. If they wanted help, they could all help themselves. To hell with the Batman." He said as his face grew solemn.
"Yet you still wore the cowl."
"Hanna helped. Everyone helped. I – I just couldn't,"
"I know, Ron. I know." Kim said as she placed a finger on his lips to silence him. As she removed her finger, both began to lean in close for a tender kiss before they were interrupted when another hero landed on the platform. He was tall with a broad chest and well defined muscles. He wore a red body suit where part of it also looked to be some kind of armor. He wore a gold belt, gauntlets, and boots with a large lightning bolt on his chest that looked to be containing energy inside of it. Around his neck was a hooded white cape with gold trim that hid part of a broad face that seemed to be grinning like a kid.
"I don't mean to interrupt. I just had to meat you, Superwoman. It's a real honor." He said as quickly as he could.
"It's okay. It's nice to meet you – what do you call yourself?" Kim asked.
"Shaza – I mean Marvel. Captain Marvel, at your service." He said.
"Here's hoping we see more of each other, Captain Marvel." Kim said.
"That would be awesome!" he said with a very excited grin before he caught himself. "I'll – let you get back to – what ever it was you two were talking about." He said as he floated in the air and flew off as quickly as he arrived.
"Captain Marvel?" Kim asked.
"He was recruited not too long after your funeral in Metropolis. He's a bit of a smart ass at times, but he reminded the league of you in a few ways." Batman said.
"Which reminds me. Dick and his friends actually did a good job back there."
"I already told them that."
"But it got me to thinking. We're training these kids to be future heroes when they're older, but we hardly give them a chance to prove themselves."
"I think recent events proved themselves in more ways than one." Batman said.
"Exactly. I think it's time they earned some more responsibility, and we step up their training a little." Kim said.
"I was thinking the same thing. And I know just the place." Batman said as they looked down on the Earth as the sun began to set.
Undisclosed Location: Two days later
"Recognized. Kid Flash and Robin." The computer said as the zeta platforms transported the two young heroes into a wide chamber where the rest of the younger heroes that had worked with stood in their uniforms. And all of them seemed to be just confused as everybody else.
"Does anyone know why we're here?" Beast Boy asked.
"More importantly, does anyone have any snacks?" Kid Flash asked, earning a few looks. "What? My mom forgot to get me some at the store, okay?"
"Robin, do you know why we were called here?" Starfire asked.
"All I know is that Batman said it was important." Robin said.
"And it is." Batman's voice said as the lights came up, revealing more to the chamber than they actually thought.
"Whoa." Speedy said as he took a look around. In front of them, hiding in the shadows, were their mentors. Flash, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Batman, Black Canary, Wild Cat, and Superwoman all stood tall and proud as they gazed at the young men and women before them.
"You efforts at Engine City have not gone unnoticed. Your mentors and myself could not be prouder of you. You managed to function as a team and accomplish your mission."
"Praise from Batman? I think I'm going to faint." Beast Boy said.
"However, you still have a lot to learn. In not just your combat skills, but in tactics and many other fields as well." J'onn said.
"What you need is training, and here is where you're all going to receive it. Black Canary and Wild Cat have volunteered to be your tutors for three days a week. Unless there is an emergency, their classes will be mandatory. When we think you're ready, you will be assigned missions of your own." Batman said.
"Wait. You mean real missions? Like Justice League missions?" Cyborg asked.
"Not all the time. But just because you won't be going up against super criminals doesn't mean they won't be important. When given a mission, you follow our orders to the letter. If we don't think you're ready, you stay grounded. Is that understood?" Batman asked.
"Yes, sir" they all said, but not at once.
"Good. This is Mount Justice, the original headquarters of the Justice League before the Watchtower was completed. This will now be your base of operations where you will train and where you learn. Treat it with care and respect. A chaperone will be assigned to monitor your progress and to help maintain the base. For those of you that do not have a secret identity, this will also be your home." Superwoman said as she gazed at mainly M'Gann, Starfire, and Raven. "But you have to remember this. If you thought it was ahrd before, the difficulty in your training has now increased. You are being trained to be heroes and possibly future members of the Justice League. And I will not lie to you. There is a strong chance that many of you will probably never make it that far. We don't do this for the glory or the fame. We do this because we believe it is the right thing to do. Are there any questions?"
"What do we call ourselves?" Raven asked.
"You decided that back in Metropolis. From now on, your team's designation is the Titans." J'onn said to them and smile as he saw the excited looks on all of their faces.
"One more question?" Speedy asked as he raised his hand. "Have you guys found out anything about Supergirl yet?"
That was when most of the heroes, Superwoman included, looked down and became silent. The looks on their faces alone gave the gathered teen an obvious answer.
"I'm afraid not." Superwoman said as she did her best to fight back a tear. How she wished she could have gotten the chance to know the young clone more. "If that's all your questions, your training starts now. Wild Cat, Black Canary?" Kim asked as the others began to part as the two other heroes stepped forward with Wild Cat popping his knuckles and a wide grin on his face.
"I don't care how old Grant is. That guy is still built like a brick,"
"Have we found anything about Supergirl at all?" Kim asked, interrupting Josh's statement. Even though they weren't related by blood, it was amazing how much he and his nephew Wally had in common sometimes.
"I'm afraid not. From what we can tell, she may have landed in the Metropolis harbor but we haven't found any signs of a body or remains." J'onn said.
"Is it possible Cadmus picked her up like they did with Superwoman?" Green Arrow asked.
"It's possible. But our contacts within Cadmus are tight lipped at the moment. Cadmus is under new leadership again, and Jim Harper is nothing more than just a figure head now." Batman said.
"Damn." Kim said as she took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves. She had been informed of Cadmus taking her when she had been entombed and that the young clone had been a result of their examination of her. Every time she thought of that, she almost felt violated. Treating her as an experiment or one of the frogs she had to cut open in high school after every thing she had done for the people of Earth. No, she couldn't dwell on that now. She had to focus. "Let's keep our ears open for anything. They deserve answers, and I want to make sure I can give them something." She said.
"We won't give up. I promise you." J'onn said.
"Good. Let's give the kids a few moments alone." Superwoman said as the heroes headed to one of the main exits outside of the base.
"You do know we need to talk when we get a minute." Batman said.
"I know. How about we talk later tonight at your place?" Kim asked.
"All right. I'll see you tonight."
Gough Tower
"W-where?" the young girl moaned as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and squinted against the light that was shinning above her.
"It's about time you woke up." A very familiar voice said to her. She slowly allowed her eyes to open in an effort to try and let them adjust to the light around her. When she finally had them opened, she immediately recognized the person leaning over her. "How do you feel?"
"Miss Gough?"
"Yeah, it's me." The older woman replied.
"I feel like there's a Metallica concert playing inside my head after someone hit me with the Titanic." The young teen said as she groaned against the soreness in her body.
"Well, my grandmother always thought that a wound had to hurt if it was going to heal."
"She sounds sadistic." The teen said before her eyes bolted open. "The Missile! There's a,"
"I know. I know. You stopped it."
"I did?" the teen said as she did her best from letting her jaw fall open.
"Yes, you did. You almost didn't make it, but you stopped it. You saved the city."
"Wow." Was all she could say as she let the news sink in. She did it. She actually deserved to be called a hero this time. She stopped the missile that was heading to Metropolis and she survived. That was just amazing to her. "I did it." She said to herself. "The others! I've got to get back to California!" the teen said as she tried to get out of the hospital bed and found herself falling down onto the floor face first. "What the hell?"
"You've been unconscious for almost three weeks." Sherri said as she helped the girl off the floor.
"Three weeks?!" the teen exclaimed.
"But everything's okay. They won. They stopped the invaders." Sherri quickly said, trying to ease the look of panic that was in the young girl's eyes. Sherri felt a sense of relief wash over her as she saw that the teenager was starting to relax at hearing this.
"They did?" Supergirl asked in disbelief. "What about the Cyborg? Is she,"
"She's dead. Everyone's safe. The Justice League is working with the government to dismantle Engine City as we speak." Sherri told the young heroine.
"Thank you Jesus." Supergirl said with relief as she sat backwards in the bed and began to relax. "Was anyone hurt? Besides me?"
"A few. But it looks like they're going to make a full recovery. Just like you." Sherri said with a small smile and put a loose strand of the teenagers red hair back into place. "Get some rest. You've been through a lot. I'll have someone bring in a TV for you in a little bit." Sherri said as she stood and left the girl alone.
"I see she's going to live." A very harsh voice said that made Sherri start to partially heat the doorknob and slightly warp.
"Remind me to fire the security guard that let you in." Sherri said as she turned to face Amanda Waller. "You are not taking her."
"If you hadn't noticed, she's Cadmus property. And as of last Monday, Cadmus Labs is now under my command."
"She's also a living, breathing, sentient being. She has rights."
"Technically, she was never born. No birth certificate, no family, no nothing. She doesn't officially exist and therefore she's an un-person and has no rights." Waller said.
"Don't push me, Waller. You know what I can do."
"Is that a threat? Shego?"
"I don't care if you tell everyone I'm Shego. I've got enough shit on you that you'd have to borrow yourself to the Earth's core in order to find a moment of peace. You've got more people looking for you than I do." Sherri said and smirked as she saw the scowl that formed on the large woman's face. She knew Waller was no dummy and was calculating a way to either get to the girl, get ahold of Sherri's dirt, or both. As Waller let out a snort of frustration, Sherri couldn't help but compare her to an angry bull that just had their nuts tied up in a rope.
"You can't keep her safe. I doubt anyone can keep her from me short of God himself." Waller said as she and a personal body guard that had been hiding in the shadows turned and began to leave. As they did, Mercy walked up to Sherri with a bloody nose and a black eye.
"I tried to stop them. Her goon is faster than I thought and shot three of our guards in the head."
"Take care of the clean up. I've got some thinking to do." She said as she began to walk away.
"What are we going to do about the girl?" Mercy asked.
"She said only God could keep her safe. But I think there's someone else that can. I've got a lot of thinking to do." Sherri said and left.
Gotham City
Kim stood in Ron's bedroom and wore a white gown as she looked at the moon shinning high above the ocean that the house overlooked. She had arrived a few hours ago and spent some time getting to know Barbara and chat with Hanna and Dick once they returned from their first training session at Mount Justice. Knowing she would be staying here once again, Kim went ahead and made herself comfortable. She just had to wait until Ron returned home from his patrol. Speaking of which, she could hear his heartbeat inside the study. He must have just come home not too long ago is he's coming out of the cave now. After a few more minutes of waiting, Ron stepped into the room with her.
"I saw the reports earlier. About those who were hurt in the fight against Doomsday." Kimberly said and heard Ron let out a sigh. Knowing him, he didn't want her to see that until she had time to adjust to everything around her. But what could she say? She was stubborn and did things her own way. That still didn't help the guilt she felt after reading what was in the Watchtower's archives. "Red Tornado?" Kim asked.
"We haven't found all of his pieces yet. Ted's trying to assemble new parts, but he might need Wade's help. Even then, there's no guarantee it'll be the same hero we knew." Ron said.
"And Monique's still going through physical therapy." Kim said.
"She's lucky to be alive."
"And Hawk Girl?" Kim asked.
"Her wing was broken and she had to spend some down time. Her Nth metal belt was destroyed, though. I think her new one is already finished."
"What about Ice and Booster? I couldn't find anything about them." Kim said. When Ron said nothing, this made the guilt and worry in Kim grow even more. Ice was like a little sister to many of the Leaguers and more than that to the hero named Fire. And while Booster may have been a pain in the ass fame seeker, he was still a team member. "Ron, please. What happened to them?"
"Booster is still in a coma. They had to preform surgery on him several times to reset and mend the bones that were broken. He was hurt even worse than Monique. His heart stopped beating more than once while they were treating him. They don't know if he'll ever wake up." Ron said.
"What about Ice?" Kim asked and waited for an answer on baited breath.
"Her wounds were more severe than what they thought. She had to have surgery to repair some of the damage. But," Ron said and stopped.
"But what?"
"She didn't make it, Kim. She died on the operating table."
Kim covered her mouth with her hand to stop her gasp as she felt fresh tears begin to form. She soon let her hand drift down to her mid-section where she found she had been holding it for most of the evening as she tried to fight the tears from falling.
"Why are you holding back?" Ron asked her.
"I don't know." Kim said softly and soon felt Ron wrap his arms around her. He had almost forgotten how much he enjoyed holding her like that.
"Kim, please don't hold it in. You need to let it out if we're going to get past everything that's happened to us." Ron whispered to her. "Is it what I said about Cadmus?"
"A part of it." Kim said as she took a deep breath. "I can't believe they would do that to me. They poked and prodded at me when they thought I was dead. It makes me feel so violated. So dirty." She said as Ron held her tighter. "Thank God they couldn't cut me, otherwise they would have hacked me up like a turkey."
"I know that's not all." Ron said, knowing what was hurting her the most. It was something that almost killed either of them when they would start to think about it.
"He took my baby, Ron." Kim said as she began to cry. She turned in Ron's arms and buried her face in his shoulder as they both held each other tightly. "That monster took my baby." She said as her sobs grew worse. "He took our baby from us, Ron. Why? Why did that have to happen? After everything we've tried to do, why would something like that happen?!" Kim said as the tears flowed down her face like two miniature rivers. Ron didn't say a word at all. He just stood there and held her tightly as he allowed his own tears to fall. This was the pain that no one should have to face. The pain of what would have been and what almost was that had been so savagely torn away from them. "I-I wanted to kill Doomsday so much for what he did to me. What he did to us. I wanted him to hurt worse than what he had done to – to everyone."
"I know, KP. I know too well." Ron said as they both stood there and cried in each other's arms.
"And I'm scared. I'm so scared because when I did kill him, I felt so much better. I don't want to be a monster."
"You're not. You're never a monster, KP. He was the monster, and he wasn't going to stop. Heroes always have to make a hard choice when they're saving someone. And there just wasn't any other." Ron said as he stroked the back of her hair as he let her cry.
How long did they stand there? A few minutes or a few hours maybe? They didn't know how long they stood frozen in each others arms. The sun could have risen and set more than once and they could care less. All they wanted to do was just let the pain that had been building finally run its course and be freed from them once and for all. To finally let their shattered hearts begin the slow process of trying to piece themselves back together again.
After a while, both had finally stopped crying as they tried to wipe away the tracks that their tears had left. Both decided to get some rest and crawled into the large bed and turned out the lamps and let the light of the moon fill the room. Ron lay on his back with his mind still turning as Kim placed herself on top of him and felt his hand rest in the small of her back.
"Have you been seeing J'onn?" he asked her.
"Of course. I know he's as good as any shrink, but it still feels weird trying to talk to him about some of these things."
"We can trust him." He said as he kissed the top of her head. "What are we going to do about you?"
"What do you mean?" Kim asked, playing dumb.
"KP, you know what I'm talking about. There's still people missing in Metropolis, and your name is still on that list. How are you going to explain being gone for so long?" he asked her.
"I wish I knew. I've been trying to keep busy and not think about – certain things. I've also been trying to help with the recovery effort in Metropolis. I didn't know Doomsday and I caused so much damage." Kim said.
"A lot of it is still unbelievable." Ron said as he reflected back on what he called those dark days.
"You're telling me. Just today, I found several kids that had been trapped in a basement since Doomsday's rampage. Good thing it had been a converted," Kim said and stopped as she began to think.
"A converted what?" Ron asked her.
"A bomb shelter. It was a converted bomb shelter." Kim said as she sat up and turned the light on. "Remember in high school when they taught us about the Cold War?" Kim asked.
"Vaugley. Why?"
"When the Cuban Missile Crisis happened, a lot of people were convinced that the United States would go to war with Russia any day. So a lot of people and businesses built bomb shelters. Including Metropolis. But instead of getting rid of them later on, a lot of them were either buried or new buildings were built around them." Kim asked Ron.
"Making them as part of the building." Ron said as he began to follow her train of thought. "I have a feeling that tomorrow morning, Superwoman and Kim Possible are going to meet face to face."
Metropolis
Lois sat at her desk and looked at the nearly full pack of cigarettes that she had been hiding in her purse. The last time she had a smoke was when she interviewed that priest about the Superwoman cults and how he compared the four Superwomen with the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. Ever since then, she hadn't really felt like a cigarette lately. The only time she really smoked them was when she was stressed. With everything that had been happening out there in the world, the cigarettes didn't help anymore. If anything, all they did was irritate the living hell out of her now. She groaned to herself as she crushed the pack that was in her hand and tossed them into the garbage can beside her desk. Everything just seemed to be spinning and zig-zagging like you wouldn't believe.
Lois removed her cell phone from her pocket and opened the folder that contained several photos in it. She flipped through several until she finally found the one she was looking for. The infamous girls night out she and Kim had that felt like it had been so long ago. How she missed her friend. It wasn't just the bond of friendship she missed either. It was their competitive streak that they shared. Each doing their best to try and out scoop the other on a story or trying to get the best angle. Even after Lois found out Kim's secret, Lois still thought she could out scoop Kim any day of the week. The result of that little competition of theirs was that Kim had two Pulitzer's awards and Lois had three.
Now look where they were now. Like everyone else, Lois was hesitant when the announcement was made that there was a third Superwoman. After the whole deal with Coast City and all this other mess, everyone left and right was agreeing and confirming that this was indeed the real Superwoman who was now alive and well. Lois was happy. In fact, she remembered cheering for joy and cracking open a box of wine to celebrate. It was during her hangover the following morning that she realized that even if "Superwoman" was back, her friend and co-worker "Kim Possible" was still declared legally dead. She had been listed as one of the several countless people who had been lost in the wake of her supposed death match with that thing that was called Doomsday. Kim might have been able to pull an excuse or two out of her butt before to make up for time gone while she wore her little red cape. This time was now completely different. There was no way she was going to,
"MISS LANE! MISS LANE!" Jimmy Olsen shouted as he ran across the bullpen to get to her desk. When he finally got to her, he paused for a moment or two as he took several deep breaths and wiped away the large amount of sweat that had built on his forehead. Just from the color of his face alone it looked like he was fixing to pop a lung.
"How many times have I told you to"
"To call you Lois. I forgot." Jimmy said as he took several more deep breaths. Did he run up the stairs or something? "Miss Lane, you've got to turn to WGBS." He said as he finally caught his breath.
"Why would I want to watch Cat Grant reporting on a story?" Lois asked him. There was another rivalry on its own. Cat had gotten her start at the planet, but was soon made a news anchor for WGBS because their owner, Vincent Edge, thought she was a good piece of eye candy. Well, Cat was still a reporter first and did her best to get a story. That was what pissed Lois Lane off. She acted like a somewhat ditz on TV, but she still had a way of out scooping Lois. She had to put that aside for now as Cat tried to get over the death of her son by Toyman. Lois didn't like how the Toyman was killed, but she Cat probably felt some satisfaction when she heard he had been killed.
"Trust me. This is big!" Jimmy said with the utmost seriousness he could muster into his face.
With her curiosity now peeked, Lois signed onto the internet and checked out Global Broadcasting's internet sight where they had all the latest news updates for any of their broadcasting locations. Lois clicked on the latest broadcast for Metropolis and began to watch. As she did, her eyes began to open slightly wider and wider as she watched the broadcast in front of her. "I don't believe it!"
"This is Cat Grant with WGBS News. Moments ago, part of the street you see behind me began to collapse. This is not too far from one of many buildings that suffered heavy damage by the creature Doomsday several weeks ago. Superwoman has just arrived on the scene to help work crews and,"
Cat jumped slightly as she heard another loud crash behind her. As she turned, she saw Superwoman was now trying to dig through the street.
"I'm not sure what's happened, but Superwoman is actually digging through the damaged road and is trying to go deeper into the ground. Whatever the reason may be, it must be important."
"Holy crap. Get the freaking medics out here!" one of the workers shouted as he and several others began to wave them over. They were soon joined by several paramedics as movement could be heard and not seen. Within moments, Superwoman began to emerge as she helped a very disheveled person exit the hole.
"Oh my God, I don't believe it. Ladies and Gentlemen, Superwoman has managed to save another survivor of the Doomsday attack. However, this is one person we in the news industry thought we would never see again!" Cat said as she and her cameraman, as well as several other reporters, ran in to get a closer shot. Superwoman tried to keep them backed away as the paramedics put a blanket around the person. When the person looked up, they could see it was none other than Kim Possible herself!
"Miss Possible! How is it you're still alive?" Cat asked her.
Kim coughed a few times and adjusted her broken and somewhat dirty glasses and adjusted her dirty and matted hair which hadn't been washed in several days before she answered. "B-bomb shelter. There was an old bomb shelter not too far from where I was buried. It still had some supplies inside of it. Thank God you found me. I was starting to run out." Kim said as she coughed a few more times.
"Please, give her some space and let the paramedics do their job." Superwoman said as she pushed them aside. After a few moments of checking her out, they loaded Kim into a ambulance and drove away while Superwoman took to the skies.
"There you have it. Daily Planet reporter, Kim Possible, is alive. With the help of Superwoman, the one and only, another survivor has been saved from certain death. This Cat Grant for WGBS news."
Inside the ambulance, one paramedic kept an eye on Kim's vitals as they drove further and further away from the scene. After about ten minutes, the driver looked at the EMT in the back and nodded his head at him.
"I think we can stop this illusion." The EMT said as his eyes turned red, his skin turned green, and his clothes seemed to melt and reform themselves into a black body suit with a blue cape.
"I'm so glad. I was scared I was going to blow everything." Kim said as her body and face shifted and turned green while here tattered clothes changed into a similar body suit that resembled her uncle's. "Sis I do a good job, Uncle J'onn?"
"You did marvelous, M'Gann. You do know you have been trusted with a very valuable secret now, don't you?" he asked her.
"Yes, Uncle. I swear that I'll take it with me to my grave if I have to." M'Gann said.
"I don't know if you'll have to go that far, M'Gann. But Kim and I both thank you." J'onn said before he turned to the ambulance driver. "Can you drop us off at the nearest Zeta platform?" J'onn asked the driver.
"Sure thing, J'onn. The sooner I get back into my own clothes, the better. I These uniforms are so damn itchy, I don't know how these paramedics can stand them." Oliver Queen said as he kept his eyes on the road.
"So what do you think Superwoman is doing now?" M'Gann asked her uncle.
"Knowing her, it's probably something important."
"How does it feel to be back among the living again?" Barbara Gordon/Oracle asked as Kim flew high above Metropolis.
"It actually feels great. Of course, I just need to fin another place to live and buy new stuff. Almost like when I first came to Metropolis." Kim said.
"I don't think it'll be that hard. I'm sure Ron's already got it covered."
"But my old apartment's bound to have been leased to someone else by now." Kim said.
"Let's just say that Ron had trouble letting go in more ways than one."
"More ways than one? Are you telling me he leased my apartment?" Kim asked.
"Actually, he bought the entire building. No one's been in your place since they moved your stuff out."
"I don't believe him." Kim said with a laugh as she flew above the Daily Planet and saw someone trying to flag her down. "I've got to go, Oracle. I need to talk to an old friend."
"Oracle out."
Kim flew around the building one more time before she landed on the roof and came face to face with Lois Lane. Lois just shook her head while Kim did her best to hold back her smile and failed miserably at it.
"I should have known you would have thought of something." Lois said to her.
"How else was I going to get my job back? Besides, I learned from the master." Kim said as she acted like she was tipping a hat to Lois, making the reporter chuckle. "You do know you owe me an exclusive now. There's no way I'm letting you out scoop me this time."
"An exclusive as who?" Kim asked Lois and received a look in return. Kim had a feeling she knew which person Lois wanted to interview. "Can you give me a day to come up with a story?" Kim asked.
"You've got five seconds." Lois said as she pulled out a small tape recorder from her pocket and hit the record button. "Start talking."
One Week Later
Sherri just kept looking at the door to Supergirl's room and felt nothing more than anxiety. Waller was still trying to fins a way to take Supergirl away from her and Sherri knew that the old cow wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted. Waller was dangerous. Not because of who she was, or what power she had. It was because Waller firmly believed in her cause with both her heart and soul. And people who believe in something that much, be it hero or a villain, is dangerous. She had said that only God could keep her away from the clone. Sherri didn't know God. In fact, she still had a few bones to pick with the all mighty creator. But there was someone so powerful on this Earth that those nut balls in the park thought she was one. But this meant Sherri would have to come clean about the girl's origins. And reveal more secrets than one. Sherri took a deep breath and took the first footsteps forward. The girl needed to be safe. And sometimes to do keep someone you care for safe, you have to send them away. Sherri took another deep breath as she grasped the door knob and turned it. Inside, she could see the young girl had just finished putting on a set of fresh clothes and was listening to some music on her small phone.
"Morning, Miss Gough." The young woman said with a small smile as she began to look for something to cure her boredom.
"You might want to sit down for a minute. We've got a lot to talk about." Sherri said as she closed the door behind her.
Kim finally put the last book into place on her bookshelf and gave it a brief glance before nodding her head. There were still a few things missing, but she could always replace them. The important things, like cherished keepsakes or photo albums, were all back where they should be. Ron, Dick, and Hannah offered to help move everything back into place, but she turned them down. She wanted to get everything exactly as she wanted it. She actually surprised herself. Not because she took her time and put everything in its place at a normal speed, but because she was actually satisfied that for once, everything seemed to be resembling what her life had been several months ago. Months. It was so hard to believe so much had happened in what could almost be half a year.
Kim let herself sink into her couch cushions and enjoyed how they felt. Ron's place wasn't bad, but she missed her home. Of course, how much longer would this be home? Ron still wanted to marry her, and she still wanted to marry Ron. But where were they going to live? She just couldn't stay in Metropolis and fly back and forth to his place every weekend or so. And she couldn't make him move here, even though she knew he was willing. But Gotham still needed the Batman. It wasn't ready to stand on its own yet. But was Gotham big enough for Batman and Superwoman? Was it ready for Superwoman? But she couldn't leave Metropolis unprotected either. She saw how crime skyrocketed once she was gone. For a little bit, Metropolis was no better than Gotham city. She had to find someone to take her place when the time was right. But who? In the back of her mind, she could hear it telling her the answer to that question. But was she sure about it?
Kim's thoughts were disturbed when she heard someone knocking hard on her door. She raised an eyebrow in confusions as she heard the knocks again. Ron and the others were in Gotham and her family was still in Middleton. So who could it be? Kim stood to her feet and put on a new pair of glasses as she tried to think about who it may be. Maybe it was Lois with a bottle of wine to welcome her home. Kim just smiled a little at the thought of Lois trying to get her drunk again. Kim had tried to explain to her partner more than once that she couldn't get drunk because of her physiology. Lois just saw it as a challenge that she wouldn't refuse. As Kim opened the door, she was surprised to see who it was.
Supergirl was standing in her hall way. She was wearing a black shirt with the house of El crest on it, and a pair of blue pants that looked similar to the kind that she used to wear in high school. Her hair was a slight mess which meant she either flew or ran here at top speed. But what had Kim worried was the fact that the young woman had obviously been crying since her face and eyes were still red. She was ecstatic to see that the clone was alive, but what had made her so upset?
"Supergirl, are you okay? What's wrong?" she asked as she placed a hand on the teen's shoulder.
The young woman looked at Kim and tried to say something, but she looked confused. She tried to say something again but started crying as soon as she tried to get the words out. As more tears began to fall, the teen ran forward and hugged Kim as hard as she could without trying to hurt her. As Kim returned the hug and try and comfort her, Kim was shocked when she heard the young woman say one word in particular.
"Mom."
Sherri always took this view for granted. She had forgotten how beautiful the city looked at night. True, the night sky was the color of coffee after you had added too much cream to it and you couldn't see the stars at night. But the way everything was lit up actually made it look beautiful. As she tried to relax in her chair, she felt like something behind her was watching her. She could turn around in her chair and take a look at what was behind her. But since her office was at the very top of her building, she had a likely guess on who was watching her. She reached over to her desk to what looked like an old VCR remote and pressed a button on it. Within moments, the window opened up and she heard a set of footsteps enter her office/apartment.
"It's been a while, Kimmie." Sherri said without turning.
"I know we haven't gotten along, Sherri." Kim started, but was interrupted when Sherri scoffed.
"That's a bit of an understatement." Sherri said as she finally turned to face the person that she once considered her friend. "If you recall, I blamed you for my mother's death. Because when you came here, you brought that miserable rock that changed me and ended up killing her."
"And I've told you that I had no control over it. I know it doesn't help, but I am sorry." Kim said and saw the state Sherri was in. She wasn't drunk, but Kim could tell she wasn't happy to see her either. But Kim had to push on and she had to know the truth. "The girl is at my apartment right now, and I need to know. Is what she just told me true?" Kim asked her.
Sherri looked up for one brief moment at Kim before she tossed something at her. Kim easily caught the object and looked at it. It was a jump drive with no labels or anything on it. It wasn't a trick, it wasn't a bomb, it wasn't anything but a simple little data drive. "It's everything I've gathered about Cadmus Labs and their project that was codenamed Phoenix. Everything you want is there." Sherri said.
"So she . . . the girl's my," Kim said but couldn't say it. She knew Sherri wasn't lying, she could hear her heart beating at a normal rhythm. But it was still hard for Kim to accept after everything that had happened for her. "Sherri, I just need to actually hear it."
"Damn it, Kimmie. Why are you making me do this? I already explained it to her, don't make me explain it to you." Sherri said as she wiped away the tears that were falling. "The kid's your daughter. Cadmus cloned what was left of the baby you lost. She's yours." Sherri said as she turned her chair around so she wouldn't have to face Kim again.
"My daughter." Kim said. "But why is she so pale? And why does she have your powers? She didn't tell me that." Kim said.
"Because I didn't tell her. As soon as she heard that you were her mother, she bolted out of here faster than I could stop her. She's a little upset that I didn't tell her the truth. Especially when I told her about who I used to be." Sherri said and couldn't stand the silence that followed. Why Kim just go and look at the data? Why did she want to hear it from her? "You've got a brain, cupcake. Use it!" Sherri said, hoping she would leave. But it was no use. She could still feel her eyes looking at her, even now. "Shit." Sherri whispered as she took a deep breath.
"They didn't have a full sample. There were gaps in the DNA chain. You were dead, but they still couldn't get a DNA sample from you to fill in the gaps. And they didn't know who her father was. So they used the closest thing on file that could fill the gaps." Sherri said.
"They used your DNA." Kim said. "That means a part of you is in her as well." Kim said.
"Part you, part me, and part Ronald." Sherri said and heard Kim's small gasp. "Kimmie, I've known for a while so don't act so shocked. This is already weird enough for all of us as is." Sherri said. How do you explain to a teenager that they have three biological parents?
"You tried raise as your own. I know you lost your baby with Lex, so why did you choose to tell her the truth now? Why not let her stay with you?" Kim asked her.
"I needed to keep her safe." Sherri said as she stood and walked way from the window but still refused to face Kim. "Amanda Waller. That's all you need to know. I'm sure Ron has all the information he can get on her, but that's why. Whatever you do, don't let that woman anywhere near her. You can keep her safe, but I can't. Please, Kim. Don't ask me to explain anything else. This hurts enough as is. Kim?" Sherri asked and finally turned to see that she was alone in her office again. Sherri didn't bother closing the window. She just slumped to the floor and let herself wallow in her loneliness. She wished she could have a drink so much right now.
"Sherri was right, KP. I've got an entire file dedicated to that woman." Ron said as he sat at the computer inside the cave and tried to let the news sink in.
"Then why is Sherri scared of her?" Kim asked on the private video chat.
"She's been involved with various Government agencies. The kind the Government doesn't like to admit exists. She's been the head of an agency known as CHESS that's been using super criminals to accomplish black ops mission all over the world. From all the data I've recently gathered, it looks like she's the new head of Cadmus Labs."
"Why does she want the girl?"
"I don't know, Kim. What ever the reason is, it's not good." Ron said and paused. "Kim, what's her real name?" Ron asked her.
"She doesn't have on yet. But since she's our daughter,"
"Lara Stoppable. That's what you were going to name her, weren't you?" Ron asked.
"You don't mind?"
"I'm not going to lie to you, KP. I'm a mixed bag on this. Do I hate her? No. Do I hate how she was brought into this world? Yes. Do I hate how everyone's been trying to use her? Hell, yes." Ron said as rubbed his eyes.
"We need to give her a past, Ron. I want to make sure Waller can't get her." Kim said.
"I'm already on it. I'll set up birth certificates, paperwork, the whole thing. Until now, we'll say she's a cousin of mine that just lost her family." Ron said.
"Ron, she looks like me. How do we explain that?" Kim asked him.
"We'll say that she's also a distant relation to you, I guess."
"Ron,"
"I'll think of something, Kim. But if Waller tries to get a hold of her then I'll cram a batarang so far down her throat, I'll have to take off her shoes to ring her neck." Ron said.
"Already in father mode, are we?" Kim teased.
"I've had some practice lately." Ron said.
"I'm still going to give Yori a piece of my mind when I see her again." Kim said.
"One thing at a time. I'll contact Wade in Metropolis and get to work on making a paper trail for Lara right now." Ron said.
"Okay. We'll be out there as soon as we can. I'm just going to let her get used to things first."
"I'll make sure Dick and Hanna are ready for the news as well." Ron said.
"Okay. Take care, Ron."
"You too." Ron said and de-activated the link.
Kim set the old Kimmunicator back inside her desk as she made her way to the living room and saw the teen sleeping on the couch. Kim walked, almost hovering, close to the sleeping girl so she wouldn't wake her. The hair was of course hers. She could see some of Ron in the face and eyebrows, but most of her features looked like her mother Lara Jor-El. Her skin was pale, but it the green hue was so slightly that it was hardly noticeable at all. Kim still shook her head as she thought about it. Her daughter was there in front of her and grown into a teenager.
Kim wanted to find Cadmus and tear it apart for stealing so much from the girl and herself. No memories of growing up, of school. No first words, no first steps or even birthdays. But that was going to change. This child wasn't a lab experiment anymore. This was her child, and she would kill to keep her safe. It was amazing how fast those motherhood instincts were surfacing. She leaned in and lightly kissed the girl on the forehead as she stroked the red hair out of the child's sleeping eyes.
"Good night, Lara." Kim said.
Floating through the endless vacuum of space was a single asteroid. It had been sent on a course that would avoid any known inhabited worlds for many years. Why? Because of what was attached to the asteroid itself. Welded to the space rock by cables constructed of the strongest metals the planet Earth had to offer was none other than the creature that so many races in the Universe feared. It was made to be the perfect weapon of death and destruction. To many, he was known as the Creature of Armageddon. To the inhabitants of the planet Earth, it was known as Doomsday. It's gray body was lifeless with its protruding bone shards still covered in the blood of its victims from its rampage on the small blue world. It had been placed there by one of the four claiming to be Superwoman. While the act was to try and convince the people she was the true Superwoman, the real reason was fear. Fear it may not be dead and could not risk it going on another rampage again.
When the cybernetic imposter welded the beast to what would be his coffin in space, it was able ton construct a small device. Unnoticeable to those looking on and unnoticeable to the creature was an alarm system. It was a small beacon that would let the cybernetic being know if the creature should ever return. It had been placed on the back of the neck and at the base of the creature's skull. But ever since the cybernetic being's supposed second death, the small device had been blinking at a steady pulse for several hours. Now, the blinking stopped and the light changed to a bright red. The top of the device opened and several small tendrils snaked out of the device and began to borrow into the skin on the creature's neck. For several moments the creature was not moving. Just laying still as if he were dead. That changed when one eye twitched before it was followed by the other. As if he was having a massive seizure, the monster's head began to jerk up and down, back and forth. It was like the monster was trying to battle an unforeseen force that was trying to control and manipulate him like a puppet.
Three times he bashed his own head against the asteroid before the monster's head stood still and slumped lifeless again. Slowly, the monster raised its head one more time and opened his blood red eyes. The creature's mouth began to move and form the first full sentence it had ever spoken in its long and violent life. And if we could bend the law of physics and allow sound to exist in the vacuum of space, we would have heard the monster say this sentence.
"Brainiac systems on-line."