Chapter 47: Nevermore Part Two.

Waiting for the other shoe to drop was something that Clark felt he should have gotten used to, at least by this present time, but the truth was that he was not used to it. Lana remained on the couch, immobile, and really only responding by some light, shallow breaths. The entire situation went through Clark's mind, countless times, and there was only one obvious conclusion that could be drawn for it. Lana had taken a bullet for him, and it was a shot that could have destroyed a normal human.

Not that Lana had it all that easy, and Clark realized that better than the next person, taking a moment to make sure that Lana was still breathing. Otherwise, he sustained a constant vigil over Lana's body, as she remained prone on the sofa, not even moving, and not even budging from her present state. Clark did wonder if things were going to get better, for they sure as could not get much worse.

The door opened, and Clark heard a whoosh, with Chloe standing there behind him at that moment, just moving over to check on Lana. Clark had barely even heard that Chloe had turned up, to be honest, his mind was elsewhere. Chloe gave Clark a moment to collect his thoughts, before clearing her throat and pulling Clark out of the deep funk he was in.

"Hi, Clark," Chloe managed in a soft voice, serious, and trying to get his attention, and Clark turned around at that moment, swallowing the lump in his throat and blinking. "I would ask how you're holding up, but that sounds like a stupid question the more I think about it."

Clark just nodded, appreciating the sentiment none the less, and he leaned forward, hoping for one brief moment that Lana exhibited some kind of signs of life. However, it was nothing but false hope, and Clark was brought back to the harsh reality that Lana would not be waking up for another couple days. The young man tried not to think of what might happen if Lana would not ever wake up ever again.

Clark shook his head that was an attitude of a defeatist, he couldn't think like that, Lana would be okay. She had really gotten blasted pretty hard and Clark could not help, but recall that shot was meant for him. Lana did serve the duty that she had been given by Kara and Harry, a bit too well, and it could have cost her something near and dear, her life.

"So, I'm guessing that there is a reason why you're here other than checking up on me and Lana, to make sure we're okay," Clark muttered at that moment, and Chloe offered a brief nod, almost swallowing the lump that appeared in her throat. Chloe took a brief moment to collect her own thoughts, and then stepped forward closer to Clark, sensing the despair radiating off of him.

Given Chloe's powers that was too much to bear, but she could worry about that later. She thought for a moment that her healing abilities might help Lana, and sure enough, Chloe decided that it was worth enough to try.

There was nothing, some kind of barrier had blocked Chloe's powers from even working on Lana. Chloe felt a stinging sensation in her hands and staggered back from the pain. Thanks to her Herald of the Herald powers, healing someone would no longer knock her out, but she would still feel every bit of pain.

"Chloe, I don't know if you should have done that," Clark offered, and Chloe rubbed her temples, they throbbed heavily, but she managed to stir herself back to life.

"No, Clark, I had to try," Chloe argued harshly, knowing what Clark would have done the same thing had he been in the position to do so.

"And I'm sure Lana appreciates the fact you tried," Clark answered, and he looked at Chloe, swinging the conversation back to its intended purpose. "I suppose that's why you came, to try and see if you could use your powers to help Lana."

Chloe knew that she had some unfortunate explanations ahead of her, but through true strength and courage, she pushed through, looking Clark dead on in the eye when she talked to him.

"Yeah, that's most of the reason, but there's another reason, we might have a bit of a problem," Chloe said, and this statement got Clark's full attention, especially with how seriously Chloe had said it. Now that she was sure that Clark's full and undivided attention was on her, at least for the moment, so Chloe continued to speak. "It has to do with those over-powered goons that jumped you and Lana."

Clark was almost afraid of that and even though he would live to regret asking this question, he had to ask it regardless.

"So, prey tell how big of a problem are we dealing with?" Clark wondered, once again feeling a mortal dread coming on and judging by the look on Chloe's face, he was about to be proven grossly and utterly right.

Chloe's sigh was long, and her expression serious, before she turned to Clark. "I'm guessing the absolute end of the world could be a good place to start."

Clark's head snapped up at these words, Chloe would not have said such a thing, unless it was serious, but there had been many storms that had been weathered by him over the years. Somehow Clark thought that this would be far worse than any previous situation, and his breath remained rather shallow, before he invited Chloe to continue.

Chloe did continue, for better or for worse, explaining the full scope of the situation to her best friend.

"So, I suppose I should give you the Cliff's notes version of what has been going on, and what we might be up against," Chloe answered, and Clark once again invited her to continue. Chloe did so, speaking in a slow manner, because there was a lot of it that did not make that much to sense to her. "Essentially there's this really powerful demon who sired a young girl sixteen years ago, and now wants to use her as a vessel to take over the world, turning it into a place where he can thrive, and those three super powered minions were after her."

Clark just allowed all of this to be reconciled in his mind, before asking the obvious question.

"Do you know where the girl is?" Clark asked, and Chloe let the answer out at that moment, without pausing at the slightest.

"She's at the Shining Light Foundation, Harry and Kara have her in the most secure room that they have," Chloe responded, before she took a moment, and added as an afterthought. "You know, the one that that the two of them kept you in when you tried to break into the Shining Light Foundation, remember that one?"

Clark cringed at the memory, and winced. That was not one of his finest hours and he was glad that Kara did in fact forgive him. There were times where Clark did not forgive himself. He looked at Chloe and answered in a deadpan. "Vividly."

"Yeah, I don't know how well that's going to hold, the way that girl was talking, she seems to think that the end is near, regardless of what we do," Chloe answered, speaking quickly, without taking any kind of breath.

The fact of the matter was that Chloe knew that this situation had the potential to turn south rather quickly, and just hoped that Clark could get his head in the game. She could sense the doubt coming off of him; one did not need mind reading abilities to sense that level of angst. A frown curled across Chloe's lips, and she floated forward, before looking Clark dead on in the eye.

"None of this is your fault, Clark," Chloe said in a firm voice, and Clark just nodded. Chloe doubted the sincerity of his nod and decided to press forward, a bit of a pained smile crossing her face. "I could say that a hundred times, and you wouldn't believe a word I said, would you?"

Clark offered her a smile, even though it was rather strained, Chloe had him pretty much pegged, and the truth was he should not really blame himself for what happened. Yet, he did, and Lana had to suffer for his indecision. The only crime she committed was taking a rather prominent hit for him. The angst, and the guilt pounded into his head with the force of a meteor over it, again and again, with Clark closing his eyes at that thought, and turning towards the window.

He opened them up at that moment, and saw the picturesque beauty of a summer day before him, taking a moment to reflect upon it. It was hard to believe that the end would be before them "It's such a beautiful day."

Chloe smiled, hopefully that it would encourage Clark to pull his head out of his ass and stop beating himself up.

"It will be a beautiful day, and the next day will be as well, and the next day, and every other day," Chloe commented, turning around, and taking a moment to just appreciate how beautiful it was. "So do I have your word that you won't beat yourself up over what happened, or do I have to fly over there, and pin you to that wall until you give in?"

Clark's face cracked into a bright smile, one that Chloe returned at that moment, the two friends taking a moment to stare each other down.

"I don't think that it will be necessary."

"Oh, well then there's always a next time," Chloe answered barely keeping a straight face as she shrugged her shoulders, and she looked at Clark. She could see that he was tired, even for his abilities. "You've been sitting there all day and all night, haven't you?"

"I have to," Clark agued, but Chloe shook her head, and turned to Clark.

"Just get some rest right now, I'll take over for a few hours."

"But…"

Chloe put a hand up to silence him, not in the mood to argue with Clark, and certainly she was not in the mood to deal with his self-pity. She stared Clark dead on in the eyes, and she did not blink at him at all. "No buts, Clark, do you hear me?"

Clark nodded, he was tired, not to mention hungry, and catching a whiff of himself, he needed a shower. Boy did he ever need a shower. It was obvious at least that much when he had caught a whiff of his arm pit, so Clark spun around, and at super speed, he went back up the stairs.

Chloe just offered a bit of a smile, and checked on Lana, hearing her heart beating, that was a good sign. The truth of the matter was that even though she tried not to show it, Chloe was rather worried about the end that was coming. What little information they had been able to find on Trigon had not been promising.

"Rest easy, Lana, hopefully there will still be a world here when you wake up," Chloe offered her friend in a soft voice.

There was no amount of time where it went by where Chloe thought more and more about the fact that the world could be ending at any moment, but her confidence had to be put on Harry and Kara's abilities to get through. The third Herald was also capable sure, she supposed, although the third Herald had many issues to work through, many, many, issues.

For the moment, Chloe continued to take Clark's place watching over Lana, so his personal needs could be taken care of. Super powered or otherwise, Chloe felt that Clark should not neglect his life, and she suspected that he would at the expense of Lana. Not that was not an admirable trait, but Clark should think of himself sometimes.

Rachel sat in the secure room in the Shining Light Foundation, wishing she could have enjoyed more of the chair she sat in, along with the rest of the room. The comfort level was fine, and there was a television for her use, but entertainment did not suit her, it seldom did. The sandwich, crackers, and juice she had been given seemed to be of good quality, even if the young girl found herself picking at them more or more, rather than eating them.

She supposed that she should eat something, but nerves tended to be a hostile thing that wrecked the mind and spirit of even the most well-adjusted. After her past, Rachel was not well adjusted and Rachel most certainly was not really that normal. She offered a long and labored sigh at this point, and folded her arms, staring at the sandwich intently.

"I could get you something else, if you like, if you don't like what you have."

The polite voice indicated that Megan stood on the other side of the glass, and used her access key to shift inside, before entering the cell. She took the bean bag next to Rachel, and offered her a warm smile. Rachel was fingering the raven pendant she wore, and just shook her head. Her dark eyes snapped up into the green eyes of the young girl. Rachel wondered how such a girl could have such a sunny deposition given what was about to go down and what she could cause.

"The food is to my liking, I just find it hard to eat because of everything that has been happening, and what I could bring upon the world."

Megan nodded in understanding, before she leaned forward, addressing the young half demon in a pacifying voice. "I think you'll find that Harry and Kara won't let anything happen to you."

Rachel did not doubt their capabilities, but the fear of Trigon had been put in her during her entire life. She knew this day was coming, it was hard to really deny what was coming, she preyed it would never come, but now it was going to be hard to escape.

"It isn't anything happening to me that I'm concerned about, rather what may happen to the rest of the world," Rachel answered without missing a beat, and Megan had to feel where she was coming from with this sentiment. "Do you think that they can stop…what is coming?"

Megan did not even pause for the slightest second, and she offered Rachel an answer with the brightest, hopefully most optimistic, tone that she could manage. "I don't think they can accomplish something, I know that they can. That's just what they do."

Rachel shifted on the chair, remaining silent, just pondering over several matters, and knowing that it was nice that someone had some level of optimism, because she surely did not. Optimism was something that failed her at every single moment, and Rachel's next sigh became long, before she shook her head. She could almost sense him creeping up on her, taunting her, and tormenting her very life. While Rachel had not heard his voice as of yet, she could only imagine what he was like. Cold and sadistic, extremely brutal, and horrific, he was a darkness that burned everything that was pure and good upon his path of destruction.

The easiest way was for the three Heralds to just take her out right now, before his hold could be given over her. Rachel knew that Trigon would not rest until he claimed what was his, and the fact she descended from something that vile revolted her to the stomach. The worst part was that Rachel could feel all of the emotions around her, pouring into her, and knew that as Trigon used her body, a part of her would always feel the despair as her soul had crumbled to dust.

That thought depressed her, and Megan just leaned on the beanbag chair, offering a smile, and asking in a rather reluctant manner. "So um, do you play video games or anything?"

Rachel was caught completely off guard by this line of questioning and she gave the young girl a queer look, before answering in a dull and deadpan voice.

"No," Rachel replied in a swift voice, shaking her head, knowing that the other girl was trying to make conversation. And Rachel, not being one for tact, decided to cut the chase. "I know what you're trying to do, and I appreciate it, but it doesn't distract me from what I am, and what I have been created to do. To think that I could be responsible for countless deaths in the next day, and they will be coming, unless they destroy me, it's just…well words don't describe it, do they?"

"I'm sure there are a few words that could describe it, but I try not to think of those words," Megan replied, and she looked at Rachel, with an honest expression on her face. Megan offered a bright smile, but it was an expression that Rachel did not return. "Try not to worry about everything, you're not a monster."

Rachel gazed at Megan with a look of abject disbelief, trying to reconcile the fact that she was anything, but a monster. Megan, on the other hand, did not need her mind reading abilities to sense that there was some kind of doubts within the mind of this girl, so the red haired girl leaned forward and continued to talk to Rachel in a gentle whisper.

"You might think you are, because of how you were born, but none of this is your fault," Megan responded, trying to speak in a light and pacifying voice. "Your father is the one that is the monster, for what he did, and what he's planning on doing. The people who came before you are the monsters, but as a wise person once told me, it is your actions that define you, and that makes you who you are. It doesn't matter if you're human or otherwise, that's just how things go."

Rachel once again wished she could believe this to be true, but doubts flooded her mind like a current, in a flurry, much unlike anything that she ever could imagine. The dark haired girl took a moment to reflect, and leaned back in the chair, taking a bite from her sandwich, just letting it all sink in. It actually did taste quite nice and if this was a final meal, at least that much would be a happy memory to go out on.

"I wish I could live for the future," Rachel mused, and there was a moment where she rubbed her temples. It seemed to relax her, but only slightly, and then she continued to speak. "But all I'm living for is just a doomsday that is coming in the present."

Megan felt depressed just a little bit given the vibes that were coming off of Rachel and tried to pacify her just a little bit, to calm down the grim mood.

"There will be a tomorrow, Rachel," Megan responded with conviction, patting the other girl on the hand, and trying to be a calm influence. Skepticism danced in Rachel's eyes, but Megan continued to speak in a firm voice. "That is what Harry and Kara are doing in the other room, they are building a better tomorrow, and I hope that if I can help in any way, I'll…I'll see what I can do."

Rachel offered a crisp nod, but wished there could be more that she could say, and more that she could do, but to be honest, she was scared to death. Despite these reassuring words that had been given to her by Megan, the young half demon felt like a part of her was always in the control of some dark and malevolent influence. This influence sought to twist her, even if Rachel had the best intentions.

She tried to fight that inner darkness within her, but it continued to twist and torment at her, pushing her closer and closer to the brink of sheer darkness, despair, and feeling like there was nothing to live for. Rachel remembered the words that her mother said, about how it was always darkest before the dawn, but there was no point in fighting after what happened.

The pendent Rachel's mother gave her served as a reminder of where she came from, and the people who had strength beyond all measure. That was where she had half of her heritage from, even if the other half of the heritage came from a complete monster. She was half demon, and the fact kept ringing out in the back of her head, taunting her, and if she closed her eyes, she could see them.

Each and every one of them, she could see, the victims that had been punished because she had been able to keep a few steps from the knights of Trigon. That was something that resounded out for her and continued to torment her. Guilt was a harsh thing and her emotions, kept under control so tightly, nearly faltered.

Rachel's blood ran cold, there were young girls suffering because they were not her, so that terrible trio had put them down hard. The dark haired girl took a step forward, and tried to reach for the door latch, but Megan grabbed her hand roughly, and spun Rachel around, stopping her from leaving. Yet, despite this blockage, Rachel's breathing got heavier and heavier, and the walls rattled slightly from her powers.

Rachel's face contorted into an expression of pure desperation, and panic, her heart thumping loudly across the chest. The fact was that she needed to get out, lives were being put in peril, and the half demon tried to communicate this much to Megan.

"I need to get out of here, now, before those three attack anyone else."

Megan crossed her arms, and the expression on her face remained rather firm. The young girl stood, standing and staring down the half demon, she would not back down, she was fearless. "No way, no way, no way at all! I can't let you out of here, I won't let you out of here!"

"I don't see how a normal girl like you is going to stop me, if I want to escape, now stand aside," Rachel said, not wanting to hurt this girl, but if she had no choice, Rachel would not hesitate to do so.

Rachel's eyes flared with even more power, but so did Megan's, if they had come to some kind of fight, the battle could tear down half of Metropolis. The half demon backed off, realizing this and realizing that Megan was not as normal of a girl as she thought.

Meanwhile, Megan had took a few calming breaths, it had been a long time since she had nearly lost control of her own abilities in such a way. It was as if Rachel was not the only one who had problems keeping her inner nature at bay and Megan took a step back, offering an apologetic smile, weak as it might be towards Rachel.

Suddenly, as if on cue, a dark voice echoed through the back of Rachel's head, and a tormenting tone spoke, causing the back of the hairs to stand up on her neck, with her fists curling, and her blood ran cold.

"My dear sweet, Raven."

"No, you can't be here,' Rachel answered in a panicked voice and Megan's eyes widened when she sensed the sinister psychic presence from the other end of the room.

"Baby girl, you thought that you could escape me, couldn't you? No, you can't, for Daddy's coming home."

The sadistic laughter of Trigon cut through the senses of all that heard it like a white hot knife and Rachel and Megan both got goose bumps.

"You felt that too, didn't you?" Rachel asked Megan, who stood, eyes widened, and glued to the wall, practically transfixed, and her mouth opening and shut.

Megan was shell shocked and shaken, but at the same time rebounded rather quickly, sensing the fire, which caused her to become paralyzed. That was a nightmare that she did not want to relieve, and Rachel cleared her throat, snapping Megan back to what resembled reality.

"Um, yeah, I did," Megan responded, shaking her head, and trying to take a moment to really get her mind back into order. The presence of Trigon was not one that she would recover well from any time soon "I'll be right back, but remember the right choice is something that you can make. It is what separates us from them."

Megan moved off to report the strange presence that she felt inside the cell for a brief moment. Granted, it was repelled by the defenses, but Megan had no idea how long those were going to hold, if they had been completely tested. This was information that the three Heralds needed to know.

Rachel sank back on the chair, taking a book in her hands, but she was not really reading it. Rather, she pondered upon Megan's words, taking them to heart, and really wished that she could make the right choice. People made it seem so easy, but it was the hardest thing in the world to do. Rachel understood that and felt the horror, the torment, and everything that had gone along with making the right decision.

Yet the right choice was something that was hard to come by. That was one thing that the half demon understood and one thing that continued to torment her until her dying day.

"So, you heard it is as well?"

Megan nodded her head up and down, answering this inquiry from Harry, and it was Kara who chimed in the words.

"I think all of us did, in fact, I think that half of Metropolis did as well."

Kara and Harry, as they so often did, locked eyes, understanding what was at stake. They were reaching zero hour and the arrival of the terror of Trigon, and they only were getting together what passed as a plan at this very moment. The presence was looming closer, and closer to them, and there was no question about it, the three were in crunch time. Karen stood in the background, hovering awkwardly, before she leaned forward, and spoke in a slow and concise voice.

"So, do we have a plan, or not?"

Thinking quickly was a specialty of Harry's, even during his first year at Hogwarts, Harry had been able to keep cool in the face of certain danger. While others worried, Harry thrived, pulling out some kind of plan. Sometimes it was through sheer dumb luck, but whatever caused everyone to go home alive. This time, Harry had a bit of a plan that required on this blind luck, but it was better than nothing.

Harry enlightened his fellow Heralds on the plan, what passed as a plan anyway. It was cobbled together based off of a chance, but it just had to work.

"I think if we get Rachel to another dimension while Trigon tries to possess her, it should be easier to defeat him, and perhaps expel him," Harry explained to both of his fellow Heralds and Karen crossed her arms over her chest, skepticism danced within her eyes.

Karen wondered if Harry even thought this plan through, and thought about all the ways where it could have gone wrong. She still hung onto her belief that Trigon could be destroyed if the vessel was destroyed, and her eyes snapped towards Harry, unblinking and ice cold.

"Yeah, sound plan, but there might just be a few tiny holes that I might want to poke into it just a little bit," Karen responded, pausing at that moment, before she decided to speak. "Trigon will still come, he'll just reek havoc elsewhere."

"Phantom Zone," Kara answered quickly, as if that solved anything.

Karen was gobsmacked by this suggestion and Harry even looked at Kara with a quizzical eyebrow, but then Karen just smiled long and hard. It did show some potential and that would be the one place where no one would shed any tears if Trigon had destroyed all life. She found herself a big fan of this plan.

"You're going to take a teenage girl into the Phantom Zone, and try and trap her demonic father there?" Karen asked, raising an eyebrow, actually pretty impressed by that plan, it did have some merit, providing no unintended variables got in the way.

Kara mistook Karen's look for questioning the plan, and jumped in a defensive manner. "Hey, it's loads better than actually killing the young girl."

Karen really hated when someone contradicted her, especially if that person was herself and a scowl crossed her face, before her eyes snapped towards Kara's face.

"I didn't say it wasn't," Karen argued, and suddenly she offered a bright smile on her face, towards both Kara and Harry, her two fellow Heralds of Death. She then spoke once more. "I just hope that this plan won't backfire in any way."

Kara and Harry suddenly felt some chills entering their body based off of this innocent statement from Karen and the two of them blinked suddenly, hoping that they had not just got screwed over in the worst way.

"Oh, please don't jinx it," Kara remarked with a sigh, taking a deep breath, and putting her hands in her face, but Harry patted her on the shoulder. This small action reassured her at this point and caused Kara to relax, ready to fight the battle at hand.

"Don't worry, it will all balance out, you'll see," Harry answered, giving Kara a reassuring glance and a smile, that only mildly alleviated her nerves.

No one dared to ask, what could possibly go wrong, because all of them knew better. That was just going to open up the floodgates for all kinds of problems and they had enough problems without inviting even more on to face them.

And even if they did ask, the answer was creeping up behind them, with an aura that filled the air. It was almost like Dementors had crashed the party, but it was less cold. Despite the fact that the aura was less cold, it still caused them to be startled. The three Heralds immediately stood up high and proud, on their guard for whatever these enemies had in store for them.

The three Heralds of Death stood ready to go, and the defenses held for a moment, but they would only hold long enough for the three Heralds to leap into position to defend their strong hold. Harry erected a few more defensive wards, hoping that they would hold the ground, while the two other Heralds looked ready, and focused their heat vision.

The three possessed minions of Trigon entered the room through a flash of dark light, and the three of them charged forward arms extended. They sensed the power and the presence that was within these three.

"It is them, the Heralds of Death."

"Even they could not stop the master's plan."

"The vessel will be his."

The minions rushed forward to engage the Heralds, and all six stood facing each other off, before they all charged at each other. The six of them clashed with each other, and the six of them repelled back. Three heralds and three minions slid back on the ground, and the six of them stood, with illuminated hands and began firing blasts of light as the Heralds did all they could to keep this battle on this one particular floor of the Shining Light Foundation.

Karen aimed a blast of heat vision at one of the minions, who created a shield to block it. Intensifying the blast of the heat vision, Kara tried to get through, but again, it bounced off. The blonde Kryptonian tried again and again, and each and every individual attack was blocked again and again.

On the other end, Harry engaged another minion, and tried to banish him back to where he came, but it was not that simple. Death had warned him that there would be extremely powerful forces that would seek to take him down. This minion was one of them, and Harry channeled more power into his attacks, trying to crack down the shield.

Kara flipped herself up into the air, and nailed the minion with a double foot to the face, and the minion flew to the ground. Harry and Kara joined hands, and combined their attacks, blasting the minion with a beam of light. The intense blasts stunned him, taking him down, but it did not take him out. The enemy was back to his feet and mean, nasty, and cruel as ever.

The minion struggled, refusing to get reaped, when Karen sped in at that moment, and joined the attack. The power of three was able to barely defeat the one, but he did disappear into a flash of light. The explosion sent the minion beyond and the three Heralds could not help, but think that one had been knocked down, so there was only two more to go.

The three Heralds flew back, having been knocked down, and drained. They staggered at that moment, and one of the minions tried to make an escape for it. He did not want to experience the same fate of his others.

A blur of light sped into the room, and Clark decided to join the party, while Chloe was watching over Lana. The minion blasted Clark backwards, sending him flying to the wall, but that allowed Kara, Karen, and Harry to jump in, taking out minion number two. The three scythes cut into the minion and caused him to explode in a blinding flash of light, sending his particles spreading across the wider multiverse.

The minion's soul was already doomed the moment that Trigon had been let inside it that much was for certain when the minion blew into dust particles. The minion vanished into the light, never to be seen ever again. The attack drained the before Karen turned her attention to Clark, who was staggering, punch-drunk from when the minion had attacked him.

"What are you doing here?" Karen demanded of Clark, and Clark raised his hands into the air, a bit defensively.

The two Kryptonians stared each other down, neither backing off from their stance, and Kara took a step forward, in case she needed to break something up between her cousin and her "sister", for lack of a better term.

"I heard what was happening, and I needed to help," Clark replied, just narrowing his eyes at the older version of Kara, he about had it with her and her attitude, but Kara made sure to put herself even further in the middle of them, before things got ugly. There was no time for any petty disputes, especially with one more minion there.

"Whatever problem you two have, settle it when the world isn't about to end!" Kara snapped, shaking her head, and sure enough, Harry was fighting against the final minion. The clashes of magical energy illuminated the room and Harry tried to break through his enemy, but damn if this sucker wasn't going to give a fight before he went down.

True to form, the biggest, toughest, most sadistic demon was the one who was going to be the last one, he was the main one out of the three. Harry understood what was on the line, and he kept fighting, until he could not fight any longer. Harry was going to go the distance, and so was this demon, so it was a battle of extremely strong wills, pushing and battling against each other.

Kara rushed over at that point, and Karen rushed over as well. The method to defeat the other two minions did not work with this one, and he continued to press forward, engaging the three Heralds in the attack.

The taunting laughter of the minion echoed for all in the building to hear, and the teeth of the three Heralds gritted as they pushed back the attacks. More blasts of light could be seen, and Clark tried to jump in, but he was slapped to the side like an overgrown fly.

"You cannot hope to stop this, for the balance will be disrupted when the master is released," the minion said in a deep voice that did not fit his frame.

"Hold him off; I'm going to try something!" Harry yelled to both Kara and Karen, and before either blonde Kryptonian could ask what was happening, Harry was off at the speed of light.

Clark tried to blast the minion with a super powered attack, but his strongest punch had the effect of a spitball striking the side of a battleship. The Kryptonian winced his knuckles cracked off of the face to no avail. The minion laughed at Clark's efforts, and knocked him back, causing the Kryptonian to connect with the wall.

Kara and Karen responded to that attack amplifying their heat vision, and burning him with an attack. The minion staggered back, but a field appeared around them, immobilizing the two Heralds in place. The two slammed their hands up against the energy field, trying to kick and punch their way out, but they could not do it.

Kara and Karen flew at the field, banging their shoulders against it, trying to fight their way through. Attack after attack was fired in their attempt to break through the field, but each attack lead to nothing, other than sore shoulders from the blonde alien beauties.

Clark tried to super speed at the wall as well, but it was an equivalent for striking head on into a brick wall for him. The Kryptonian staggered, and Kara and Karen forced their way through the wall, flying up the hallways, going after the minion was getting closer, and closer to his destination.

Soon the master would be released, and the world would experience what the true meaning of what terror was.

Harry arrived in the room, where Rachel sat on the chair, and leaned back, hands folded over her lap, and she offered a bit of a sigh where Harry had entered the room. There was no delaying the point and Rachel clutched the side of the chair, skin whiter than she had been previously and she bit her lip, keeping her powers in control.

"You heard the statement," Rachel answered, and Harry responded a nod, trying to keep his face neutral and trying not to betray how worried he was about what was going to happen. "Then you know that he is coming."

"Yes, that's what he intends to do," Harry said, without any means to sugarcoat the statement. Determination that Harry was known for crossed into his voice and he looked Rachel dead in the eye. "And I intend to stop it."

Rachel just put her hands on her face, and leaned her head back, offering a brief sigh. "Unless you have some mystical magical plan that you're going to pull out of thin air to stop him, I doubt you'll be able to do that. Not that I'm offending you or anything, but the fact is the Herald of Death powers…"

"They have a few surprises," Harry cut in, and Rachel felt when he looked into her eyes, he was peering into her very soul. There was only a slight amount of reassurance that Harry was giving her, but it was going to work. "I don't want to tell you that everything is going to be okay, because that will be insulting both of our intelligence."

"You're a great motivator, you know that," Rachel answered in a brisk voice, but she barely concealed the smile she had on her face. It was the first one she had…well as long as she could remember and her memory went back a long way.

Harry knew that it was gutcheck time, this was do or die, the fate of the world was in the palm of his hand. No pressure or anything, but still Harry's eyes flashed with a fluid determination that was not matched by many.

"I'm a realist, no matter what, but in this cell, he may break through, I'm sending you to another realm, hopefully that will delay Trigon's coming, and with any luck I can trap him there," Harry said, and Rachel's skepticism was something that spread across her face rather quickly.

"Okay, I'll trust you, but I still recommend finishing me off before there is a chance," Rachel answered, but Harry once again cut in with what he was a perfectly logical statement.

"And what makes you think Trigon won't use another vessel?"

Rachel did not answer that question, for because there was no time to, and the loud explosion from outside had caused Harry to turn around. Outside of the hallway, Kara and Karen had been knocked back by the demon, who was determined to fulfill his objective by any means necessary. While he could not kill the Heralds, he could really make them suffer.

Immediately, Harry sped through the wall, shifting his density through it, and with another movement, sent the minion flying back. The minion was knocked back into the wall, down, but far from out. The minion spun around, staggering, before he lifted a hand, and knocked Harry, Kara, and Karen back onto the ground. The laughter of the minion echoed through the hallway, and the minion peered down.

"Your attempts to stop the inevitable are quite quaint."

"So is your inability to keep your mouth shut," Karen retorted, and with a fury, she blasted a hard flurry of attacks, knocking the minion into the wall, but the minion knocked her off.

"Death needs three heralds, and all of them are incompetent children, the master shall…"

The minion screamed suddenly when Harry, Kara, and Karen blasted the minion with everything that they had, utterly annihilating him. The three dropped down to their knees, having used the full force of their powers to banish him from where he stood, and he was sent to the afterlife to be picked apart by the higher ups there.

The smoldering ashes of once what was a demon fluttered on the ground, and the three Heralds stood, side by side, the magic still flowing in the air. It took everything they had and then some, but the three disciplines of Trigon were defeated. Harry looked down at the ash remains, and offered one final statement that hoped would serve as good advice.

"The first rule of having an evil plan, make sure we're dead before you start running your mouth!" Harry breathed, and Clark took a step forward, but suddenly, Rachel dropped down to the ground. She screamed in blood curdling agony and grabbed her hair, rocking back and forth in frantic fury.

The girl's eyes were glowing, and they rolled up into the back of her head. Rachel was chanting underneath her breath, and Harry immediately swooped in, when a dark vortex opened where she stood.

With swift speed and agility, Harry grabbed Rachel, clutching her tight, and several flaming skeletons appeared from the portal. Harry transported both himself and the half-demon girl into the Phantom Zone, hopefully at least stalling Trigon's plan.

Kara and Karen used their super breath to blow out the fires, and Clark decided to add his input by going at super speed with them. The skeletons had been knocked back, crumbling to dust. He had taken his aggressions out on the day these demonic creations, smashing them with ballistic fury, and punching them.

Suddenly, Clark had been struck by a bolt of dark magical energy, once Harry had transported Rachel of harm's way.

"Clark!" Kara yelled, trying to grab onto him, but Karen held Kara back. It was a struggle, but Karen's strong grip was around Kara's waist and she was trying to elbow her way out to save her cousin.

"No, you'll only kill him," Karen answered, eyes widened showing fear and concern, and suddenly Clark fell down to the ground, his eyes rolling into the back of his head, before he began to speak in a deeper voice.

"Not quite the vessel I was hoping for, but it is adequate."

Kara and Karen understood one thing, and that was that Trigon had just missed possessing his daughter, so he grabbed onto the next most convenient vessel.

Said vessel was Clark Kent, and Clark stood up laughing coldly and high.

Kara froze up completely, not knowing what to do. There were a few different ways where she could have expelled Trigon off hand immediately, but they all had to do with hurting the vessel, with potentially lethal means.

Karen on the other hand, dove at Clark's body with reckless fury, slamming him into the wall, trying to use her crystal to expel Trigon from the body, but Trigon used Clark's hand to smack Karen back. The impact rattled the entire Shining Foundation Building and sent Karen flying back with a huge crack.

Karen flew head over heels, but Kara caught her before she crashed on the ground, and stood her up. Then a concussive blast had knocked both of them down, and sent them flying to the ground and sent both blonde Kryptonians crashing to the ground.

"I will deal with you in due time, but for now, this pathetic realm is mine for the taking," Trigon declared, laughing in a thunderous manner.

Karen and Kara were sprawled on the ground, and they caught a glimpse that only seemed to be capable at this present time with some kind of demonic possession, before the two completely blacked out.

Clark took flight through a window that had been removed, and continued to pick up his flight.

"Nothing can stop me now!"

Megan watched Clark fly off having heard the commotion and her mouth was a gap, green eyes glowing at that moment and she spotted Karen and Kara knocked out on the floor. The White Martian gave a sigh, as she watched Trigon use Clark as a vessel to transform Metropolis into a hellish nightmare, where the skies turned red and the people turned to stone.

'We'll see about that.'

To Be Continued in "Nevermore Part Three."