Author's Notes: In Greek and Roman Mythology, Charon is the ferryman who carries the souls of the dead across the river Styx and Acheron. 'Charon's obol' is a term for the coin placed in (or on) the mouth of a dead person before burial to pay for Charon's passage.

XCVIII
The Barbara Gordon Gambit, Part One

The concern on Barbara Gordon's face was far too obvious as she watched the dark figure in the distance approaching in slow motion. Scott had some time, perhaps as much as an hour, but certainly not as much as she would have liked… Jor-El stood beside her, also watching the Black Racer, his long white hair flowing in the gentle winds of Elysium.

"It's up to your friends now. We can only hope they arrive in time, Barbara Gordon of Earth..."

"Is there anything your Kryptonian technology can do to help him?" She glanced over at Scott, who was still lying still on the fields while a group of spirits had circled around him, realizing perhaps that he was something more than mortal.

"All that survived of Kryptonian technology is this suit I wear, the little suit Jor-El wore, and the suit I built for my wife… which she never wore. Yet it still exists as a shrine to her in this land of the dead. The suits may protect mortal souls… but I would not attempt to move him as he is. The mother box provided by Barda seems to be the only thing giving us these moments... and I would not want to explain to her that we may have been responsible for its malfunction."

"Nor would I... Jor-El, I'm sorry for your wife … And the loss of your world."

"Thank you, Barbara Gordon. When one predicts the end of the world, it's better to be wrong... There is something of you that reminds me of her though, my lovely Lara… you are similar to her when we first we met upon bright Krypton. She had your eyes and your physique, your fierce spirit, some even said she was stubborn…"

"Not to her face, though."

"Never to her face, no. She was strong in all ways." He smiled, remembering his lost love… until the sadness came upon him once more. "To lose her… the loss of my world seemed almost bearable… until that time I knew she would no longer stand upon it…"

"Your son, Clark… Kal-El… also suffered the loss of a loved one. Her name was Lois Lane... a great leader." Barbara glanced over at the sun spirit called Clark who had also attracted a flock of the brave dead as he hovered in the air, eyes on the horizon.

"Yes… I sense the unbearable sadness in him…" The old Kryptonian sighed. "Fair Barbara Gordon, would you indulge an old father?"

"Perhaps, but I hear I can be stubborn."

"My wife reborn!" Jor-El winked at her, smiling once more. "But please, it would mean the world to me… to help my son… He was meant for greater things. Too often have I dwelled upon them, an old man's folly… But despair is a powerful foe for any of us when we face it alone. I know this only too well. And if despair takes any of us now, we may never free ourselves from its black grip. Indeed, once one falls, it will grasp for others…"

"Of course, Jor-El… I would be happy to talk with Clark. We could all use a little hope."

The old man's radiant smile which beamed across the gentle air of Elysium was pure, genuine love… Barbara should have realized it earlier! Jor-El had been with these spirits for what must have seemed like centuries to him. All of his hopes, his dreams of a lost world… they became carried in his son. A son he had an eternity to dream of, to aspire to, but never to see.

Jor-El had told her that there was enough power left in his suit for one more trip to Earth, a place where the gravity was heavy for him and the air was overwhelming. He did not know where his son had disappeared to on the other world of the living. So he had chosen to live with the dead and dreamed of grand adventures for Krypton's greatest son… if only to pass the time. To wait for him. And now, to see him like this… Barbara suddenly understood… Clark was truly everything to him.

She walked over to the glowing spirit who hovered five feet off the ground, now watching the Black Racer, lost in his own thoughts.

"Penny for your thoughts…"

"Better make it an obol..." His eyes never moved off the Racer.

"Obol?"

"A coin for Charon... Sorry, bad joke."

"If we're in Elysium, odds are that the ferryman probably does exist. But we've already made it past the Styx. Or maybe you're just looking for a way back?"

"I am… But do you think I could drive his spirit back out of my body, Barbara?" The shining spirit meant Ra's al Ghul, who had taken over his physical body. Although Clark was a being of immense physical power, she knew he lacked the spiritual strength to overcome a force like Ra's al Ghul.

"By yourself?... No… He's had a thousand years of practice."

"I don't like our chances. Ra's will go after Raven immediately. He knows she's the only one who can stop him."

"What about Trigon?"

"I don't think he intends on leaving anyone alive, except Raven."

"I think you're right... Surely Ra's must expect that a monster like Trigon would not spare anyone…"

"He must! It's genocide allowing a demon like that to come to Earth. But how do you have a Plan B for something like Trigon?"

"You don't… but... Unborn life!"

The gears in Barbara's mind began to whirl even faster… Clark hadn't been the only one lost in thought moments ago. Barbara had been attempting to piece together the motives of Ra's al Ghul, who seemed far too practical to make deals with Trigon. The League had a plan after all...

"Sorry?"

"Clones. Frozen embryos, whatever. The seeds of humanity… He could have them stored across the planet. All the League DNA, ready to be reborn to an unpopulated Earth…"

"Eden... My God, he was actually planning on Trigon killing everyone!"

"That was his Plan A. Only Ra's needs to survive and then he can take his time raising frozen embryos, or whatever he has stashed away, generation by generation. He probably has a whole infrastructure in place…" In her mind's eye, she envisioned robotic clone factories, ready to jump into production when the world came to an end.

"It makes sense... If the League were to instigate a biological threat or nuclear war, what sort of Earth would they inherit? A poisoned Eden... Much easier to have everyone's soul sucked out of them. By the time he had a sizable population, all that would be left of seven billion people would be dried bones."

"He wants a slow rebuild… A re-set on humanity and nature. He's a tricky devil, I'll give him that. I believe we're going to have to outfox Mr. Ra's al Ghul."

"Outfox is not a strategy I'm familiar with, Barbara…"

"Luckily, we Wayne employees are very familiar with it. Have a seat on this rock, young grasshopper." She patted the spot on the rock beside where she had seated herself. "I'm beginning to formulate a plan…"

Clark floated down beside her to approximate sitting on a rock so as not to materialize within it. Barbara turned to look steadily at him…

"Clark, I want you to understand one thing… You mean everything to your father. He's had centuries to contemplate your role in the fate of your adopted world. You're not only his sole surviving son, but the only surviving son of Krypton… a hero."

"And look at me now." Clark held out his semi-transparent arms in front of him, grimacing.

"We're going to fix that." Barbara smiled at him as the radiant glow from his spirit reflected in her pale blue eyes - like fire on ice. Then she turned serious once more. "But I'm going to have to ask too much of your father…"

"But you said yourself that you don't believe I can force Ra's out of my body."

"You can't. He's going to leave of his own free will." That beautiful and enigmatic Barbara Gordon smile appeared once more.

"But how?"

"Trickery, my dear Clark, trickery…."

In the glorious throne temple of New Genesis, Barda and Raven waited impatiently outside of Orion's private chamber. The pair, who had traveled across the Universe itself, watched the New God as he carefully prepared for their journey and battle against Trigon. The tempestuous Barda could hold her tongue no longer…

"I believe the Highfather said reckless haste, Orion!"

"Aye Barda, he did. But anxious Orion is like the bride on the eve of her Wedding, quivering in anticipation of the day to come..."

"If noble Orion is the bride!" Lightray suddenly materialized in Orion's chamber, his arms hanging around the massive warrior "then prepare to meet thy groom, anxious maiden!"

"Too late by far, friend Lightray. This bride has been wooed by a different shaft …" Barda smirked as she watched Lightray's boastful jaw suddenly drop in profound dissatisfaction.

And then she saw the shaft that Orion had selected from his war chest… it looked like a larger version of her Mega Rod except that it was attached to a war hammer. She had never heard of such a weapon…

"Is that a Mega Rod, Orion?" It was Raven who asked.

"Like a Mega Rod, fair Raven… But I wear my Mother Box upon my person. This shaft is a weapon of New Genesis I had constructed, but only to bear the true prize... From the Old Gods themselves! Many years did I search for such a weapon as this mighty hammer…"

"In this age of wonders, glorious Orion would choose a hammer to face the Great Scourge?!" Lightray seemed perplexed.

"Aye, friend Lightray. And the sad, worn gauntlets that lay beside it. The inheritance of a mighty warrior found in one of my many early sojourns into the Wastelands."

"Thou hast heard of cosmic lasers? Impacters? Planetoid bombs?... Even a young Highfather once equipped himself with a power staff…" Lightray was obviously worried for his friend.

"Do not worry so grievously, handsome Lightray." He placed a caring hand upon Lightray's cheek. "It will not serve to have your fair countenance twisted such. Orion leaves to face Destiny with a hammer of legend, to forge a new fate for man and god alike. There is power here to tear the skies asunder and vanquish the mightiest foe. Now let us proceed noble friends, battle awaits!"

The warrior of Apokolips did not need to be told twice. Using her Mega Rod, Barda Boom-Tubed herself, Orion, Lightray and Raven back to Elysium… By the Gods, it was good to be able to do that again!

More Author's Notes: The hammer Orion has selected is of course Mjölnir and the old gauntlets are Járngreipr. Orion also possesses Thor's magic belt, Megingjörð an artifact which doubles his strength, which he never removes from his person. In Norse mythology, these were Thor's three crucial possessions.

In my AU, Kirby's Fourth World is indeed the remains of Asgard torn asunder by Ragnarok and some of the old gods' possessions are still buried among the ruins of New Genesis and Apokolips. In his early days upon New Genesis, Orion would often scour the planet for artifacts such as these, attempting to learn more of the power and weapons of the Old Gods.