LXXXVII
Summation
"I'm a mutant?!"
After hearing of his arrival into existence, the glowing spirit of Clark seemed horrified.
It had been incredibly hard for him over the past two days… He had gone from the most powerful being on Earth to nothing but a mere reflection of himself. His one and only love had been assassinated, he had been poisoned, had failed to save his friend who now lay dying against an enemy who would not even fight Clark out of pity, and had been cast aside by the evil Ra's al Ghul who now inhabited his body.
And finally his true origin had been revealed by a father he never knew he had.
"Not a mutant, my son. Genetically engineered. The practice was very common on Krypton… not to the degree that Zor-El had taken it, of course. You were made to be stronger, faster, invulnerable.
During these past years I have searched for you upon the Earth and grown old. There is a fear of science there. I suppose at one time, the same could have been said of Krypton… But for us, there was only self-preservation and knowledge while we lived.
Emotions could be purchased, memories transplanted from father to son. That is why the members of the Council scoffed at me when I explained my hypothesis of the soul… These things were already achievable through technology. What need of ghosts?
No my son, you are not different. You are better." Jor-El smiled proudly at the shade of his son.
"And I think you have much larger problems than having been genetically engineered." Barbara Gordon was moving her hand back and forth through the spirit of Clark.
"Would you please cut that out?" Though his cheeks could show no color, she was sure he was blushing.
"Alright... We have some time, let's try and brainstorm a little, shall we?..." Barbara looked around at the sorry lot surrounding her and took a deep breath before continuing…
"Scott and Barbara Free are New Gods, very powerful. There are other New Gods in a place called New Genesis that can save Scott and perhaps help us against Trigon.
Clark – or Kal-El - is an alien who is also immensely powerful who's been pushed out of his physical body by Ra's al Ghul. Jor-El is his long-lost father who has built a suit that allows him to travel dimensions and protect his soul.
Azar was the wife of Ra's al Ghul. She was the founder of Azarath and is one of its spirits who reside in Raven. Raven is the wife of my boss and the daughter of that big red thing that bitch-slapped us into Elysium. She's much more powerful than she looks. And Arella is her mother, who can use magic.
Are we good so far?"
Everyone nodded.
"I'm Barbara Gordon, vice-president of Wayne Communications - if it still exists. Now let's go over the opposition…
Lex Luthor is the President of The United States. We know he blew up someone I deeply cared for, even if he isn't with the League of Assassins - he is an evil bastard through-and-through…"
"Amen to that." Clark agreed.
"What happened to Scott, Barda?"
"He fought Black Adam for my honor." Barda grimaced.
"Where is this Black Adam guy now?"
"In Hell."
"…Fair enough. Let's continue… The sultry Talia al Ghul is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul. She can do that whole soul-takeover-thing but seems less scary compared to her father, who's a thousand years old, and maybe a little insane…"
"His consciousness is a thousand years old, my child." It was Azar this time. "He has lived in the bodies of many men through the centuries, claiming their physical structures as his own."
"Noted… And then there's Trigon. What do we know about him?... Azar?"
"When first I created Azarath one thousand years ago, we leaned how to cleave the negative emotions from our souls, to become beings or love and light. We cast the negative halves of our souls through the Great Door into the void beyond. These emotions became Trigon…"
"That doesn't make sense," continued Barbara. "From what we've seen, souls are incorporeal." She moved her hand through Clark again to prove her point while the shade stared into space. Even his soul felt warm. "Trigon is definitely a physical presence. He may consist of the dark halves of your souls, but he's no spirit considering he was able to sire Raven from Arella. How did he become real?"
"I do not know."
"Jor-El, you called him a soul singularity. If he were a true singularity - of the black hole variety, it would be doubtful he could even move of his own free will. Does he consume souls? Use them for power?"
"Likely," answered Jor-El. "I used the term singularity as most souls seem unable to escape his event horizon. What happens to these souls… even the greatest scientists could not say. They do not escape, that is certain. And he is a near-omnipotent physical being, I am certain of that. It is probable he is able to harness power from souls, much like Kryptonians had done with technology."
"Azar, what was the plan for defeating him?"
"Our hope lies in Raven… If the souls of Azarath are able to reclaim and embrace their dark side, to balance the evil that created Trigon, he can be stopped."
"But he's taken more than just the souls of Azarath, correct? What was the population of Krypton, Jor-El?"
"Around three billion souls, give or take."
"So the question is, does he keep the souls or just eat them?"
"Both." It was a groggy Raven who answered, holding her head in her hands. "Did we make it to Elysium?"
"We did, thanks to you…" Azar replied.
"Ouch…" Raven Wayne forced herself slowly to her feet. "I have to go save Bruce…"
"Wait!" There was urgency in Barbara's voice. "…Trigon was waiting for you. He tried to pluck us out of the dimensional stream. He knew you would try to save us."
"It is true that there is a danger should I shift near him… that he could simply reach out to snare me. But Bruce is in Washington."
"I think it's you he wants. And according to Clark's father, there's no rush… Time hardly moves in Elysium."
"Time does move differently in the land of the dead… but we will not be welcome here, Barbara Gordon. We are of the living, the strands of fate run through us still."
"It's been pretty quiet so far…"
"Then you have not truly looked." Raven spread her arm to the scenery around them. As her hand crossed the landscape, spirits from the ages appeared… Roman senators, great warriors, robed women of all ages… all staring enviously at them.
"…Damn, that's creepy… But if Scott goes back into regular time, he won't last long… Raven… Please… Barda has a proposition for you. She desperately needs your help."
The tall woman approached Raven, and fell to one knee in front of the young woman, grasping Raven's small hand within her two. Imploringly, blue eyes looked across into Raven's indigo eyes.
"Please… as a woman… as a wife… help me to save him. I will pledge myself to your cause, I will beg to the Highfather himself to defeat the evil you would battle alone. Just help me save him Raven, and I will rally the heavens themselves to your side…"
"Barda, I could not ask others to risk their lives for my battle…"
"It is not your battle, girl. This man who walks Elysium, Jor-El, he has lost his entire planet to this demon! Azar has lost Azarath, the Earth has lost Kahndaq and now is in peril, how many other worlds has this devil destroyed in his dark reign? How many more will he destroy if he is not stopped?! This is a battle of ALL life versus death eternal. The New Gods will fight for Life!"
Raven moved forward to take Barda into her arms, embracing the large woman in all her warrior's passion. For Barda, it was strange to have another's emotions coursing through her, but at least they were the right emotions. Raven spoke to Barda's ear…
"Of course I will help, Barda… I know what it is to be a woman and wife in love. But first I need to see my husband. Just to know… I'm afraid I'll lose myself if I don't see him… to know he's alright and alive. Can you understand?"
"Just hurry..."
"…Trigon will be aware of your arrival child, and will seek to prevent you from leaving." This was wise Azar.
"I will travel as my soul self in the guise of the dragon across dimensions. I will be succinct, Azar."
And with that - before other objections could be raised - she was gone.