The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Millma Verse
Disclaimer: As always, this story is loosely based on the Arrowverse and DC Comics in general.
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The Hero Collector
Kayla walked into the Vortex of STAR Labs to find both Prime and Mutant's Cisco there; Prime's Cisco holding on to a young girl with pig tails that Kayla knew to be Skylar, Barry's daughter of this world.
"Vibes, what's going on?" Kayla asked.
"I'm playing a special hide-and-seek with daddy," Skye stated before the Cisco's could answer.
"Oh?" Kayla asked, eyebrow raised as she looked to the two Vibes.
"Watch. Skye, go find daddy," Prime's Cisco said, letting go of the little girl who wasted no time in running off, a speed trail following her. It wasn't even a minute later when another speed trail appeared, with Barry now holding Skye.
"That was amazing, Skye! I was on the other side of STAR, in the fields," Barry said, smiling at his daughter.
"What is going on?" Kayla asked.
"Speedster connection," it was Vibe Junior who talked now. "We have always known Speedsters can sense each other – especially when they use their powers – but the connection between parent and child is enhanced. We have seen it in Rae and Leona, the way they can sense each other. Well, we decided to try some experiments using Skye, Alura, and Nora. Leona a little too young to join in still and obviously so is Kent."
"And no matter where their speedster parent is, the three can find them," Vibe continued.
"What does this have to do with saving my… mom?" Kayla paused for a moment, thinking of going back to her home world and freeing her mom from her captor, i.e., the Flash of her world.
"The same should work for Raes and Jays," Junior continued, confusing Kayla even more. "I have been spying on your home world to get the lay of the land and how to save Alura and the Flash has her in a cryogenic chamber as he experiments on her. It's like nothing I have ever seen before, so I started looking through the multiverse and found a world with a similar device. There's one problem though: it's not in the hands of heroes."
"Do you know of the villain Brainiac?" Vibe asked.
"The guy who collects cities?" Kayla asked
"On most universes, yes, but on this world, he collects heroes. He attacks a planet and sees who goes to defend. Then, he takes the heroes and puts them in these chambers, frozen as his collection," Vibe explained. "We were going to vibe onto his ship but we can't lock a portal through his shields."
"And the speedster kid experiment?" Kayla asked.
"Well, he attacked Earth a long time ago and the heroes of the planet defended and lost," Vibe Junior said. "Including Jay Garrick."
"Rae," Kayla said, realizing what was going on.
"Rae should be able to run fast enough she breaks into the Speed Force and exit at the location of her dad. Once there, she can activate this device to let me open the portal into the ship. We defeat Brainiac, free the trapped heroes, and from our last, vibe Brainiac not that far from Earth. We can direct the ship back to Earth then and I can study the chambers," Vibe Junior said.
"Sounds easy enough," Barry joked having remained silent since he came back.
"What about the multiverse code of honor?" Kayla pointed out. "We don't interrupt unless they ask for help?"
"Well, maybe we don't release the previous worlds heroes," Vibe Junior reasoned, sharing a look with his counterpart.
"What's a Brainy-wack?" Skye chose that moment to ask.
"He's a bad guy by the sounds of it, darling," Barry explained to his daughter.
"Oh. Be careful, aunty Kay-wah," Skye said to Kayla, getting what was going on.
"I always am, sweetie," Kayla smiled at the girl before looking to the two Vibes. "Let's just do this, guys," she decided.
"Sweet," Vibe Junior smirked as he opened a portal for himself and Kayla.
"Good luck! If you need me, let me know," Vibe said as Vibe Junior opened a portal for him and Kayla to leave. Skye waved as the two left and the portal closed.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
Kayla and Cisco exited the portal in a large, dark room.
"Where are we?" Kayla asked; even though the room was pitch black, Kayla's eyes could see the room had computers and other equipment and there were rows of motorcycles nearby.
"I think this is where the Earth's current heroes meet," Cisco voice.
"You think?" Kayla asked.
"I spent more time of my vibe on Brainiac, not on…" but before Cisco could finish, an arrow headed right for him which Kayla caught in her right hand without even turning. The lights turned on one by one and the two were suddenly surrounded – most of the faces were familiar; Kayla recognized her own face – this one had blonde hair, but it was dirtier blonde than other Karas – Oliver was clear, along with Thea, Laurel, and Sara; Ray Palmer in his ATOM suit and either a Caitlin or Crystal as an ice meta was present.
There was only one person Kayla was unsure of: a man in a red and blue vigilante suit and a black mask over his face. His body type was familiar, but the mask was lead-lined so Kayla could not use x-ray vision to look through it to confirm who she thought it was.
"Hold," it was who Kayla assumed was Kara spoke, looking at Kayla. "Who are you?"
"Depends. Is your name Kara or Kayla?" Kayla asked.
"Kara," Kara said.
"Of course," Kayla said. "I'm your alternate world twin sister, Kaylar Zor-El, but I go by Kayla Lane."
"Wait, an alternate world? Like the multiverse," it was the vigilante Kayla was unsure of spoke, and his voice didn't help since he clearly put a voice changer in affect.
"Yes, exactly. It's my power to jump worlds. We come in peace," Cisco said, arms raised.
"Cisco…" the vigilante said. "Caity, it's Cisco." The vigilante finally took off his mask and hood to reveal Barry under the hood. That made both Cisco and Kayla look at each other.
"Barry, you're a vigilante?" Cisco asked.
"Yeah, why? Not on your world?" Barry asked.
"You're usually a speedster," Kayla supplied, realizing this Barry was also younger than other versions of him. As was Kara and the others – she suspected this world was maybe around 10 years in the past, meaning Rae here would still be in her teens, maybe approaching her 20s.
"Like Uncle Jay and Rae. Cool," Barry said. The others seemed to relax as well, with Ray taking off his helmet and Caitlin turning into her normal hair color. Ray put an arm around her.
"So, where's my alternate?" Cisco asked, taking in those in the room.
"Last we saw him changing diapers," Caitlin said. "Him and Lisa had kids together," Cisco seemed stunned by that and didn't know what to say.
"What exactly are you doing here?" This was Oliver who asked it.
"Where exactly is here?" Kayla asked. It wasn't any place she had known heroes to work from. It looked like a very large warehouse but the only warehouse she knew was a STAR Labs owned one which was not this one. Mutant had converted theirs to a prison, while Prime had theirs as their Central City-based ARGUS facility.
"This? It's a warehouse we bought for the new heroes of the world to hide, meet and train," it was Ray who answered. "A headquarters of sorts. We're building up this world's heroes one by one since… well, all the heroes of old disappeared a long time ago."
"After an alien attack. No bodies, just… gone," Laurel said. Barry went over to Kara who was looking down at her feet and put his arms around her; Kayla realized Clark had to be one of the missing heroes and felt for this Kara. At least she knew there was hope for this world's Clark, given the information the Ciscos had given before they travelled here.
"Well how would you like to get the heroes of old back?" Cisco spoke up, and Kayla could see the looks. Some were angry, as if Cisco was lying, while some were just disbelief; and several were hopeful.
"They're dead, what do you think you're playing at?" Oliver asked.
"They aren't dead," Cisco said. "One of my powers is what I call vibing other worlds. I can see into them, and I know for a fact your heroes are alive. That alien who attacked his named is Brainiac and he collects the heroes who defend the worlds he attacks. They are alive in a cryogenic pod, and we have a plan to get them back."
"This is why you're here?" Kara asked. "To help us. Is this what you do?"
"Yes and no," Kayla spoke up at this. "We have helped a lot of worlds in the past, but not normally like this. Usually, we are either asked for help and we see if we can do it without crossing a multiverse code or we're just there and things go to hell, so we jump in. But this time is different – see, a villain has my mom in a similar type of pod and to save her, we need to see them to free her."
"Mom," Kara mumbled.
"Kara, how old were you when Clark was taken?" Kayla asked.
"It was right after we arrived – my little sister Zia and I. Clark left us with Martha Kent and said he would find us someone more age-appropriate to stay with, but then he was just gone. My little cousin, I…" Kara started.
"You didn't fail," Kayla said, remembering the words of her alternative mother on her most recent world-hopping trip. "You were children, and he the adult. You couldn't do anything. But now you can. Together, we can save Clark. We can protect Kal-El and return Superman to Earth. Then you will help me save our mom."
"Wow, thank you," Kara said, a little taken aback at this as Kayla held out her hand and Kara took it, bringing Kayla closer until they were hugging.
"You can't make that deal. You are not our leader," Oliver spoke up at this. "And I'm not convinced they are telling the truth."
"You're not our leader either," Barry pointed out. "We're a democracy. We put it to a vote. Five yeses mean we go forward, four or less and it's rejected. Who wants to accept the help?" Barry raised his own hand and Kara's hand went up. Caitlin and Ray's hands were fast going up too, then Sara's hand went up.
"Sara?" Laurel asked.
"Sorry, but a chance to get back the older heroes. We've got go for it," Sara reasoned.
Thea's hand also went up. "Sara's right. It's a risk worth taking," Thea stated.
"Six yes, so we move forward," Barry said. "If you don't want to, Oliver, you can leave."
"I am a man of honor. I said I would fight with everyone, and I will honor the vote, but if this blows up on us, I will put an arrow in both of them," Oliver said.
"Fair enough," Kayla stated, knowing Oliver's arrows couldn't hurt her regardless.
"Olly, never changes," Cisco whispered though, and Kayla had to smirk.
"I volunteer as leader for the mission," Kara spoke up, eyes still on Kayla.
"Any objections?" Barry asked.
"She's too close to it," Oliver said. "So, I object." Kayla couldn't help but roll her eyes to that one.
"Any second to the objection?" Barry asked and no one spoke up. Oliver turned his head to look at Laurel.
"Sorry Olly, if we're doing this, I think Kara should be in charge. Not only is it saving her cousin, but she's the only alien and this mission deals with space," Laurel reasoned, and Oliver gave a nod.
"Objection rejected. Supergirl will oversee the mission," Barry said giving Kara a nod.
"This is not how Justice Leagues normally work," Kayla spoke up now, shocked with all the voting. Justice Leagues normally only voted on members, which is what New Justice did, but there was a leader that controlled everything else.
"Justice League? I like that name," Barry said.
"If you're looking for names there's also Justice Society and Justice Alliance," Cisco spoke up. "Oh, and Justice Legion but I think that one a little too…" he noticed the faces at that and laughed.
"Later, Cisco. Now, you must have a plan," Kara said, looking between Cisco and Kayla.
"Yes, well, his ship is shielded, and my powers can't penetrate it, but this will enhance my power," Cisco held up the device he and his Prime double had been working on. "We get on it and push and we can attack Brainiac head on."
"How do we get it on the ship?" Ray asked.
"You skipped the crucial part," Kayla said. "The speedster kid experiment…"
"Oh yeah," Cisco mumbled.
"Speedster kid?" Barry said, and he seemed to be getting fidgety.
"To make a long explanation short, speedster kids and parents have a connection. Rae can run into the Speed Force and exit wherever her father is," Kayla stated.
"And Brainiac can't block the Speed Force," Cisco added. "Where is Rae anyway? I expected her to be running things here, like she usually does."
"Rae… isn't a hero," Barry said, shaking his head. "After Uncle Jay vanished… well, things didn't go right for Rae. Her mother took her powerless twin sister and abandoned her for Pure Human."
"Pure Human?" Kayla paused at this.
"An anti-meta and alien cult," it was Caitlin who answered the question, disgust on her face as she talked about. "Those against Meta Humans and Aliens, they call themselves Pure Human and shun those different to them. Joan and Jay always had a bit of a strenuous relationship, but Joan stuck to it due to the kids, but when Jay vanished that was the last straw. She took Rae's sister and left…" Kayla had to roll her eyes at another example of Joan being the worst. There were few worlds where she was alive and good, but those were rare. She hoped Rae's grandparents were here as they were always lovely.
"Rae was left with us and when her father disappeared and mother left, and well she stayed," Barry explained. "And things… well, Ray show them the video."
"Already have it up," Ray said, having moved over to the computers and had brought a video up on the wall. He pushed play on what seemed to be cell phone footage.
"Well cops," it was a robber wearing a rabbit mask and holding a gun. There must have been a few of these thugs, with one obviously filming. "I didn't like what you did. No, I think we need to show a lesson. Piggy!" He called to a large man wearing a pig mask. "Pick a hostage."
The man went over, looking through the people and then brought forth a familiar face: He was young, a teenager, but it was definitely Barry, and Kayla could see Nora, Henry, and Rae in the background. Rae was possibly a pre-teen. "Excellent choice!" The rabbit robber said and pointed his gun. Kayla heard the shot and before the bullet hit Barry there was a flash. Then Rae appeared next to Barry and was holding the bullet. Her face was in full view before she ran right at rabbit mask. He was on the floor and his gun in her hand. She vibrated it until it broke.
There were more gun shots directed at Rae, but they all failed as Rae hit hard into a pigged mask baddie – then, two others who had been off camera until then. A female wearing a bird mask and another man in a frog mask were down, Rae breaking and tossing the remains of their guns on the floor. The camera was on Rae.
"Rae run!" It was Henry who said it. Rae looked over at her uncle for a moment before she ran out. The footage ended there.
"She was exposed," Kayla said, getting it. There had been no way she wasn't – even if Henry hadn't shouted her name, her face had been in full view. The dots would have been connected.
"To save me," Barry said with a nod. "We had no choice. We needed to admit Uncle Jay was the Flash and Rae had inherited his powers. And the world went nuts."
"I remember it over in Starling – even my school was celebrating. They thought we had a new Flash," Thea said.
"We had news media on our lawn," Barry mused. "People stopped using her name and kept referring to her as Flash. I remember mom and dad having to have conversations with the school about using her name and about a science teacher who wanted to do a lesson on the Flash's power and have Rae demonstrate. It was madness, and it really affected Rae who honestly only caught that bullet because I was the target," Barry looked sad at this. "She needed to get away so one day she played hooky – I mean who could blame her – and that day a couple of her classmates, plus some older students, decided to test the new Flash. It wasn't Rae fault. They had been planning a school shooting for longer than Rae had been outed. Their plans were just enhanced because of Rae."
"They took the majority of the school hostage," it was Kara who continued, seeing Barry needed a break and Barry gave her a nod as a thank you. "In the auditorium. They put explosives and other devices around the entrances to make it Flash-proof, but they didn't even need to. Rae wasn't in Central that day or looking at news report. She didn't show, no matter how much police and news reporters asked. I wish I had come, but I was still a teenager myself and there were no heroes left. The police went in on their own and all the Flash traps went off."
"It's the deadliest school shooting in history," Caitlin now continued for Kara. "Every hostage in that auditorium died – either by bullets from the shooter or blow back from the Flash trap. The ones who didn't were severely injured with life-long complications. The school itself was also ruined."
"And the world finally realized Rae wasn't the Flash," Barry took over the story. "They realized the only hero act she ever did was saving me, her cousin. Well, the fallout was bad. Protestors on our lawn then – people wanted Rae charged, but there was nothing she could be charged with. No law that a teenager must protect people by putting herself in danger, no matter the powers she has. In the end Rae asked to move in with her grandparents."
"Emily and Richard?" Kayla asked, shocked by all this information but hopeful that it was Emily and Richard that Rae moved in with.
"Yes, their daughter might be terrible, but they helped mom and dad raise Rae. Always had her over. They became grandparents to me too," Barry said with a little smile. "It was for the best that she moved in with them. Their grounds are big, they have the money for private tutors and security. We still saw her a lot and things calmed down. She's still with them and has no intention of being a hero."
"Wow that's… just wow," Cisco was the one to say this.
"That was just terrible," Kayla supplied too, trying to wrap her head around all this new information. It put returning her world to save her mom in some perspective, too, for her.
"But this is getting her father back," Kara spoke up, thoughtfully. "We have to go to her. Ask her to help. Barry, we're going to need you. You're the only one she has a relationship with here. You two can come as well," she nodded to Cisco and Kayla. "Everyone else, wait here for us to come back." Kara picked up Barry and flew out.
"Come on then," Kayla grabbed Cisco and went to follow.
She gave a chuckle as Cisco mumbled: "I could have vibed us all there."
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
The young Rae was to be found in the grounds of her grandparents' home, a bird was perched on a chair whom she was talking to.
"Well, what do you think?" Rae asked a large grey bird who was perched on a chair. The table had a lot of different foods on it; Rae had been cooking many different things. "Chocolate or vanilla cake?"
"Both?" The bird responded.
"You're right," Rae said, taking a piece of fruit and holding it out for the bird to eat. She barely paused as Kara and Barry landed before her. She did blink, however, when two other people joined. "When did you get a slightly older and slightly darker-haired twin?" Rae asked Kara.
"They are from the multiverse," Barry explained, and could see the empty look in Rae's face. "Oh, see there is this theory of parallel Earths separated by different vibrations. The Earths are like what we know but have other histories and other…"
"It's like Sliders," Kayla said, cutting Barry off, seeing the explanation wasn't working.
"Now that I understood," Rae said. "Barry was just rambling."
"Shut up, stupid," the gray bird said again.
"Gary, that's not nice," Rae said, but was laughing anyway. "Say sorry."
"Sorry," the grey bird, now known as Gary, said.
"Had to teach him to say sorry. Grandpa taught him too many bad words and insults," Rae said.
"What's with the birds?" Cisco asked as he went to touch the bird but stepped back when it went to bite him. "Is he a meta or Kryptonian bird?"
"No," Rae said giving Cisco a weird look. "Just a normal bird."
"Rae likes birds. Grandma and grandpa transformed the guest house into an aviary, and she has many different species. She taught them all to talk, if they could, and takes care of them like they are her babies. What's Gary again?" Barry asked, taking some of the food that was on the table – some type of pasta dish – and started to eat. Kara herself also took a roll. Kayla had to smile a bit at Barry calling Emily and Richard 'grandma and grandpa'.
"An African Grey," Rae said. "My only African Grey. So, what do I owe the visit? I didn't think you were coming until next week. Sit, eat. I finished all my studies so was just having fun. Was about to make a cake," Cisco took a seat and gladly grabbed some of the food. Kayla too, joining. Rae sat next to the chair Gary was perched on.
"Barry, maybe you should…?" Kara began.
"Yeah. Well, the thing is, Rae we just found out… well, Uncle Jay is alive," Barry said.
"Okay," Rae said, not seeming phased at all.
"Your father is alive," Barry reiterated, not getting why his cousin wasn't jumping for joy.
"I know," Rae said confusing Barry. "I never felt him leave. I know he didn't die. So?"
Kayla and Cisco shared a look at the wording, confirming that speedster kids really could feel their parents – and vice versa.
Barry seemed unsure what to say to that, so turned to look at Kara. "These two have a plan to save him and all the heroes with him," Kara continued for Barry, and indicated Kayla and Cisco to explain. Cisco had his mouth full, so Kayla rolled her eyes and took the lead.
"Jay's being held by an alien baddie named Brainiac – a sort of living computer – who likes to collect heroes. You can run fast enough that you will break into the Speed Force. Once there, you can direct yourself to him, to your father, through that connection you have that lets you know he is not dead," Kayla explained. "Once there, you activate this." Kayla held up the device Cisco had previously had. "And Cisco here can zone in on it and open a portal for the heroes of this world to go save the kidnapped heroes."
There was silence for a moment as Rae seemed to take this in.
"Nah, I'm good," Rae said, shaking her head which shocked Kayla.
"I'm sorry?" Kayla asked, completely confused.
"I'm not a hero and I have no interest in becoming one," Rae said, petting Gary.
"I understand you went through a lot, but this is your father. Look my world – my original world – was overrun with villains. I watched my sister and cousin die, but now my mom is there, captured by a villain and… well, I have issues with going back, but I am going to go. I am going to save my mom and then leave again. You can do the same. One act doesn't mean you'll be a hero forever. You've got to save the people you love," Kayla said.
"Nice speech," Rae said. "But there's one flaw with your theory: it hinges on me loving my dad. And I don't." Kayla could see that even Barry was shocked by this. "As far as I am concerned, he can rot." Rae stood up. "Help yourself to whatever you want. Gary, come on," Rae held out her arm and Gary jumped on it and Rae ran off.
"What the…?" Kayla looked to the others. She knew a lot, if not most, other Raes were raised without her biological parents, but even the likes of Rae from New Justice would have saved her dad if she could – and she'd never known her father.
"She went to the aviary," Barry sighed.
"What now?" Cisco asked, knowing their plan depended on Rae running to Jay.
"I'll talk t…" Barry started.
"No, I will," Kara said, standing up and moving out. She was a little hurt that Rae couldn't see the bigger picture.
….
"There you go. Back home," Rae said putting Gary down on a branch of a tree; Emily and Richard had went all out transforming what was once the guest house into this aviary for Rae; there were multiple different species of birds around this place, and there were other rooms as well, with other birds. There were toys, branches, perches, and food. All her grandparents asked was she kept it clean and took care of everything. With her powers it was easy.
"Blu Bell, you should be in the parrot room." Rae seeing, the small parrot. She kept the smaller birds in a separate room than here where bigger ones were.
"What is with you and birds?" Rae wasn't surprised someone had followed her, but she expected it to be Barry or one of the new multiverse people. She was kind of surprised as Kara was closing the door as Rae went to get the tiny parrot.
"I like them. They talk to me. They keep me company and don't care about my powers or what I do with them," Rae said, and Kara had to admit the answer was heartbreaking. Since Rae had been exposed, she had been very isolated from peers. People had always wanted something from her.
"I'm sorry," Kara asked as Rae went to put Blu Bell back in the right room.
"For?" Rae asked, confused, coming back to the room.
"When you were exposed, I should have come to you," Kara said. "I was able to understand. We could have been there for each other and maybe things for you would have been different. But I was young myself, and not ready to be Supergirl yet."
"I don't blame you for anything," Rae said, having honestly never thought of that before.
"I know," Kara said. "But I wanted to say that and say I get it," Rae tilted her head and waited for Kara to continue. "I get why you're mad at your dad. And maybe if I had been exposed like you, I wouldn't be so gung-ho to be a hero myself. So, I won't ask you to save your father. Instead, I am going to ask you to save Clark."
"Who?" Rae asked after a pause.
"My cousin. Superman," Kara said as Rae now frowned. "He's there too. When I was 12, my parents asked me to protect my baby cousin and an accident threw my pod off-course and when I arrived, he was already Superman, and I was the younger cousin. It wasn't long later he was once again taken, and I couldn't do anything. I can protect him now, but I need your help to do it. I know you don't know him, but you love your own cousin – you love Barry. It's why you exposed yourself to protect him, and your speed trail is hard to miss with my eyes. I have seen you spying on him when he's a vigilante. You worry about him, but you know I would die for him. I protect him as best as I can while we're out. I'm asking you to return the favor. Not for Jay Garrick, not for the Flash, but for Clark."
Kara gave Rae a nod and then left.
"For Clark?" Rae mumbled. She hadn't realized the heroes who had vanished had connections to people she knew, people she appreciated.
"Clark," Gary called out.
"I didn't teach you that," Rae said to the bird and then other birds started copying Gary, yelling out 'Clark' as well.
…
Having not waited for an answer, and just hoping her words had reached Rae in some way, Kara returned to Barry, Kayla, and Cisco.
"So?" Barry asked as Kara returned.
"I had a talk with her and left her to think," Kara said, taking a seat again. The seat Gary had been on wasn't the only one in this area.
"I hope it doesn't take her too long to think," Cisco mused at this, to looks from the others.
It was several, however, moments later that Rae returned – with no birds this time. She now had with her a shot glass and a bottle. Kayla raised an eyebrow, since she was too young to drink, but then again, as a speedster that would do nothing to her. Rae poured the alcohol into the shot glass and turned and looked at Kara. She raised the glass.
"For Clark," Rae said, and then drank the whole thing. After that, she put the shot glass down and then ran out.
"She's doing it," Barry said with a smile.
"But she didn't take this," Cisco said, now holding up the device and everyone looked at him and then back where Rae had been standing.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
The ship was large. There were cryogenic tubes with different people frozen inside organized by which planet they had been taken from – and there was one lone occupant in the ship, sitting in the middle, eyes closed, with tubules attaching himself to the ship. He had green skin – if it could be called skin – and seemed at peace. That was, until lightning appeared in the ship and a humanoid appeared out of nowhere – her pants on fire.
"Ah damn," the girl said, putting out the fire on her pants. "Well, this is something…" the girl wiped off the front of one of the tubes so she could see the face within.
"This is new," the occupant of the ship said, moving forward, the tubules removing themselves from him. His eyes were pure black. "A hero come to challenge me? Getting into my ship?"
"Brainiac, I assume," the girl said, and held up her hands. "I come in peace. I'm no hero."
"You are not?" Brainiac said, seeming surprised. He had been ready to fight and take a new hero for his collection already.
"You're close enough to Earth. Check your databases. Look up Rachel Garrick," she said, and Brainiac remained silent, what looked like writing appearing flying past his black eyes – Rae had to remind herself that he was a living computer, after all.
"You are not a hero," Brainiac said, after a moment, his eyes returning black. "You refused to be one. What are you doing here, Rachel?"
"Call me, Rae," Rae said. "And if I got this right, since I am not a hero you can't freeze me. I would ruin your collection."
"Correct. What are you doing here?" Brainiac asked, seeming intrigued.
"That's my dad you have on ice there," Rae said, pointing to one of the cryogenic tubes. "The new heroes of Earth wanted me to help save him since I seem to be able run to him no matter where he is, but the thing is I kind of hate the guy… and I want to tell him… to his face. Can't exactly do that with him frozen. Think you could give me a word and then you can refreeze him?"
"If I unfreeze him, I can't refreeze him or he will die and I don't want my collection dead," Brainiac stated. "I can't do it."
"Then why do you even keep them?" Rae asked, putting Brainiac off-guard. "I mean you have no interest in the planets you attack to get them. That attack that took them on Earth, not one person killed, not one city majorly destroyed – the damage was superficial. The only thing was our heroes were gone. So, why do you want them?"
"You interest me," Brainiac said, smirking. "I am a living computer. I don't have emotions. I only care about self-preservation and collecting knowledge. I went to take a city once from a civilization and I saw those who went to defend it. It interested me, people willing to put their lives on the line to protect others. They fascinate me. So, now that I attack and let the heroes come to me. After letting them fight and observing the strongest, I take them. Your Earth heroes were very interesting – especially your father."
"You like observing organic life, then you should want me to talk to him," Rae said.
"Explain," Brainiac said.
"You have taken heroes, frozen them in place, where they don't know what has happened to them or the people they left behind. You will get to see one of your heroes learn this. Maybe see him break," Rae said.
Brainiac looked at the frozen hero.
"He will be weak for a while," Brainiac stated. "I can control him until he can be refrozen. You do anything to save him, and you will be in a tube next to him."
"Understood," Rae said as the tubules came back down to join the living computer, a light coming to his black eyes. The same light appeared around Jay's tube. Then, it opened, frozen air escaping as Jay stumbled forward.
"What…?" Jay said after a moment clearly weak as he held onto the tube. Rae didn't move to help him.
"Hello dad," Rae said, stepping closer to the man.
"Dad?" Jay said looking up at the young woman. "Rae?"
"You've been gone a long time," Rae explained. "People who are not frozen, age."
"Fr…?" Jay started but stopped. Brainiac looking at him and for a second detected an unusual sound but dismissed it as Jay said to his daughter: "Rae, I love you."
"Love? You left me! You choose to think of everyone else but me," Rae said. "Things haven't exactly been peachy since you left and it's all your fault."
"I'm…. I'm sorry," Jay tried.
"It's too late for that and I only came here to tell you I hate you. You might be a hero but you're a lousy father. Uncle Henry and grandpa are twice the man and father you are," Rae spat.
"Give me a second chance," Jay tried, although didn't sound too convincing.
"You don't deserve it," Rae said. "All you deserve is this!" With speed, Rae punched Jay right in the face, knocking him down even more. "You can control him until you freeze him?" Rae spat, turning back to Brainiac as she said this.
"Not to worry. He's too weak and his powers won't recharge enough before he can be refrozen without damage," Brainiac explained, and mechanic ropes went around Jay as if to hold him in place.
"Good, the new heroes of Earth won't be too happy with me, but screw them," Rae said.
"Earth has new heroes?" Brainiac asked. "I can be there in a matter of minutes."
"Have fun," Rae said, giving him a half wave and then there was a flash of lightning, and she was gone.
"Your daughter is very powerful to be able to do that so easily," Brainiac said of her vanishing in lightning. "Too bad she is no hero. She would be fun to fight and freeze, but alas you will see the new heroes of your world fall before you are refrozen." Brainiac smirked, turning to move his ship to Earth.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
"What do you mean she left without the device?" It was Oliver who said this.
Kara, Kayla, Barry, and Cisco had to return to base and let the others know what had happened with Rae – that she had left even without the device. "Why didn't you order her to take it? You are leader of this mission!"
"First off, she's too fast," Kara responded. "Second off, I can't order her around. She's not a member of our group. She's not a hero."
"You better believe it," a voice spoke as Rae appeared in the base.
"Does everyone know where this base is?" Oliver asked, now clearly annoyed Rae was able to run in here.
"You forgot this," Cisco said, holding the device.
"Nope, didn't forget," Rae said surprising the group. "Your plan sucked and was just going to get me frozen, and that device destroyed. I had a better idea."
"Care to share?" Kara asked.
Rae held out one finger as if saying wait a moment, annoying the entire group. When Cisco now tried to ask her why they were waiting, it was only to be met with a 'shush' and a glare. Rae then held up five fingers.
"Five," Rae said, putting down one finger. "Four," she put down another finger. "Three, two, one, and now." Rae looked over at the monitors, but nothing happened.
"What was…?" Oliver was cut off as there was an alert sound and the monitors turned on.
"Your systems are a little slow, Barry and Ray. So much for AllenPalmer Tech," Rae said to the two.
"That's the ship!" Laurel cried this, the group ignoring Rae's comment. "The same one that…"
"You lured him back to Earth?" Kara said, getting what Rae had done.
"Earth has what he wants: More heroes," Rae said. "You wanted a chance to save your cousin. Well, there it is. I planted a seed when I was there, but I'll let you lot figure out what. Good luck – and oh, tell him I meant everything I said," with that, Rae had run out.
"I know she's been through a lot, but I don't know if like that Rae," Kayla couldn't help but voice. She was very different to the Raes she knew in the multiverse.
"Never mind her," Oliver said. "We have a handful of vigilantes, an ice girl, and a Kryptonian. We can't defeat that ship if the heroes of old couldn't. She's mad to think we could do this her way and not even help."
"Two Kryptonians," Kayla corrected.
"And me," Cisco said.
"Well, we'll have to make do," Kara said, wondering about Rae's last line. "Black Canary, go with Ice Maiden – maybe your scream will help against the ship," Caitlin's hair had turned white and her lips blue as the two nodded to each other as they left "Atom, go," Ray was in his Atom suit and had already flown out. "Gadget, is your new bike ready?"
"Flash Bike, yep," Barry said, getting on of the bikes that had red and lightning symbols on it. He pushed a button and protective panels closed around his feet. "Haven't been tested a lot but here we go…" the bike started and there was a speed trail behind Barry as he drove out.
"Flash bike?" Cisco asked.
"Gadget?" Kayla asked.
"He always has a gadget for everything. It's how he's a vigilante. And I don't know what he put in that bike to make it fast," Kara explained. "Kayla, you're with me. I think we're the VIPs here." Kayla gave a nod. "Arrow, Speedy, White Canary, do what you can." The two Kryptonians flew out of the warehouse.
"Come with me," Cisco said, opening a portal for the four of them.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
When Cisco, Oliver, Sara, and Thea got to where the ship was, Kara and Kayla were already fighting as the ship itself was attacking the Kryptonians – sending blasts and firing at the heroes. The Kryptonian's powers letting them dodge, and heat vision seeming to be useful. Caitlin and Laurel were on an ice bridge that Caitlin was making and encircling the ship, with Ice Maiden throwing out crystal and Laurel using her sonic scream to defend against weapons. Ray was firing his weapons from his Atom suit.
There was a flash of lightning, and the motorcycle Barry was on appeared, the lightning coming off as Barry was using the bike to toss other attacks at speed at the ship.
"I've got to get the specs for that bike," Cisco said, but suddenly the bike stopped.
"Damn it!" Barry was heard yelling at it skidded to the stop and crashed out of sight.
"I'm going to check on him and get civilians inside," Sara said, running off to where Barry had disappeared to.
"Maybe exploding arrows could help," Oliver said. "But the ship is too high."
"Then aim into the portal," Cisco said opening a portal before them and the other portal opened near the ship; Oliver and Thea sending arrows into it and letting them explode against the ship's shields. "Damn, nothing we're doing is making a den–" Cisco stopped as the ship moved randomly. "What's going on…?"
"Did we do something?" Thea asked, putting her arrows down as she watched as suddenly the ship started to fall, crashing down onto the ground – it was lucky they were on the outskirts of the city and not inside the city.
"How did that go down?" It was Barry with his voice manipulator, he and Sara driving up on the motorcycle.
"How are you not injured, and the bike not destroyed?" Cisco asked.
"Oh, personal forcefield. Only works once per generator," Barry said pointing at the device on his person. "And the speed aspect of the bike is down. I'm going to have to fix it."
"Can we go see what's going on?" Thea asked and Cisco opened a portal to the wreck. Barry drove his bike through the portal first then Oliver and Thea followed; Cisco went last. There was a hole on the side of the ship and Kara and Kayla had Brainiac. Ray shot the computer as Crystal tossed ice and Laurel screamed.
"I think he's down," Kayla said, dropping the enemy and rubbing her ears.
"What happened?" Oliver asked.
"Ask them," Kara said pointing – the group just noticed the other familiar faces standing outside the ship – it was Jay, Diana, Clark, Mon-El, King Arthur of Atlantis, and Bruce, in their superhero outfits, looking just as they had the day they had been caught. Kara, though, had a smile on her face as she went and brought Clark into a hug.
"Guess we're the same age now," Clark joked hugging Kara back. "Who's she…?" His eyes were on Kayla.
"Long story," Kara said.
"Uncle Jay," Barry said getting off the bike; Jay Garrick looked at the man.
"Barry?" Jay asked, seeming shocked.
"Shush," Barry said, noticing civilians were finally coming up after the end of the battle. He had managed to make sure no one connected Gadget with the Flash. "I'll tell you later..." Jay, nodded understanding.
"But how are you not frozen?" Cisco asked.
"I can explain that…" Jay said. "It started when I woke up with Rae in front of me…"
-A few minutes earlier-
"What…?" Jay said, feeling weak as he slumped down in the tube, he was in. The last thing he remembered was fighting a large ship and being taken inside. Now he felt weak. He wasn't sure he could even summon his powers.
"Hello dad," a voice spoke, and Jay saw a teenage girl with brown hair coming closer to her.
"Dad?" Jay said looking at her, his vision was a little fuzzy. "Rae?"
"You've been gone a long time," Rae said. "People who are not frozen, age."
"Fr…?" Jay started but stopped when he heard a voice talking, too fast for most to hear.
"He can't hear me if I talk at this speed. If you can hear me, tell me you love me," it was Rae. Her lips barely moved as she sped-talked the words.
"Rae, I love you," Jay said, following the instructions. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew this was his daughter. He would trust her.
"Love? You left me! You choose to think of everyone else but me," Rae spoke in normal speed. "Things haven't exactly been peachy since you left and it's all your fault." Then, at speed Rae said: "I have a plan to get you and all the heroes out of here, but it will be dangerous. If you're in, tell me your sorry. If you're not, tell me you had no choice."
"I'm… I'm sorry," Jay said.
"It's too late for that, and I only came here to tell you I hate you. You might be a hero but you're a lousy father. Uncle Henry and grandpa are twice the man and father you are," Rae said, but at speed she said: "Good. I am going to lure him back to Earth. Once he is there, the new heroes of Earth will distract him. That's your chance to react. He can't refreeze you yet. The panel at the end there will de-freeze, I hope. It reacted when he woke you. No idea if it will work for you. But you can attack him or try to get your allies. Up to you, but if you fail the new heroes will be frozen as well – they include Barry. Ask for a second chance if you understand. If you need any more details, say you did nothing wrong."
"Give me a second chance," Jay said, still following instructions but impressed by his daughter.
"You don't deserve it!" Rae said, then at speed she added: "I'm going to give you a recharge, but this will hurt…" Jay was confused for a moment as Rae said at normal speed: "All you deserve is this!" With speed, Rae punched Jay right in the face, knocking him down even more. While he felt the pain of the punch, Jay also felt the transfer of speed force energy – not a lot but enough to help speed up his recharge so he was at full power fast and so Brainiac couldn't detect the transfer. Rae had turned to Brainiac. "You can control him until you freeze him?" Rae turned back to Brainiac as she said this.
"Not to worry. He's too weak and his powers won't recharge enough before he can be refrozen without damage," Brainiac explained, and mechanic ropes went around Jay as if to hold him in place. Jay wasn't worried though; when the time came, he could phase through them.
"Good, the new heroes of Earth won't be too happy with me, but screw them," Rae said.
"Earth has new heroes?" Brainiac said. "I can be there in a matter of minutes."
"Have fun," Rae said, giving him a half wave and then there was a flash of lightning, and she was gone.
"Your daughter is very powerful to be able to do that so easily," Brainiac said, nodding to Jay. "Too bad she is no hero. She would be fun to fight and freeze, but alas you will see the new heroes of your world fall before you are refrozen..." Brainiac turned to move his ship to Earth. Jay was barely paying attention to the man though as he waited for his opportunity, eying the panel that Rae had explained.
-Presently-
"…and once we were here, you all had his attention I moved. I phased through the things holding me and punched him. I then went to the panel Rae indicated and it worked. I released Diana first; I knew her powers would heal her fast and she was good in coming to fight Brainiac so I could release a couple of more. Together on the inside of the ship, we overpowered him and managed to crash the ship," Jay explained.
"Unbelievable!" Oliver said. "It was a risky plan – a million things could have gone wrong, but it was brilliant. Get the heroes of old on the inside, while we fight on the outside."
"It would have been nice if she told us her plan though," Kayla mused.
"Well, she's not even a hero. It wasn't her place to tell us. How did she come up with that, though?" Laurel asked.
"She's Rachel Joan Garrick," Cisco said. "No matter the world, she's good."
"Rachel Katarina Garrick," everyone from the world said together, but some of the heroes of old who had no idea who they were talking about.
"Oh, Rae and her million middle names," Cisco moaned. "The point being, it's just who she is no matter how reluctant she is to be a hero."
"Where is she?" Jay asked, looking for his daughter.
"I think we need to talk and catch you all up on current and past events," Barry said, knowing he had to fill Jay in on everything and now understanding what Rae meant by tell him I meant what I said: she wanted them to tell her father she wasn't acting when she said she hated him. They may have worked well together, but she still despised the man, it seemed.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
Kayla was sitting in the superhero headquarters. The new heroes had explained everything to the old heroes, to catch them up, and then they had left to gain some part of their past life and she was on her own.
Cisco was with Brainiac's ship; Kara having worked it out with the DEO to let him study the freezing devices and help get the other heroes within the ship unfrozen. Brainiac himself seemed to be deactivated, with the DEO here taking him.
Kayla eyes were now on the TV – the world knew the old heroes were back and Jay was fast in getting his face on a news.
"I am disappointed in this world. Putting a child – my child – through what they did because of her powers and who her father was," Jay was saying. "It was despicable of all. It's affected her mental health, her family, her life…"
"Jay worked fast," Kayla had to muse.
"Sort of his thing," Kayla had heard Barry and Kara come in, so wasn't so surprised.
"Are the old heroes joining your League?" Kayla asked.
"Well, Bruce has problems with the way we set it up with the voting, but we made it clear we're not changing and he's not going to be a dictator. We're not sure about him, but Clark, Diana, and Mon said they are in. King Arthur went to check on his Kingdom of Atlantis," Kara explained. "And there are a couple of other older heroes still frozen inside the ship Jay didn't unfreeze before taking the ship down, so we'll see how much we grow."
"Where are Clark, Diana, and Mon?" Kayla asked.
"Went to go say thank you to Rae for masterminding their freedom. They went to the aviary and all the birds started screaming Clark," Barry said a smile on his face. "He seemed to love it though. Diana and Mon were trying to get the birds to say their names. Rae was protecting Gary, who Mon took an interest in."
"How are they coming back to life without exposing their identities?" Kayla asked.
"Diana said she has done this several times over her long life and she will be fine. Mon didn't have much of a human life – as for Clark, the DEO agreed to help him. I think they're going to say he was in witness protection program, so a story is going come out about that," Kara explained.
"Well, I am going to leave my nerd here to look over the ship – I think he'll be a while – but I've got to go meet up with my own Mon," Kayla said.
"Thank you," Kara said quickly, "for getting my cousin back."
"I did very little," Kayla said, a small smile on her face.
"I hope you save your mom," Kara said – she hadn't forgotten the reason Kayla and Cisco had come to this world – and Kayla gave a smile and hugged this Kara before taking out her world hopping device and leaving on her own.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
Kayla hadn't gone back to Prime, instead she found herself on Hero Earth where, a few minutes later after calling him over, her Mon was given a tour of their double-Sanctuary, with the warmer climate in one dome, and the colder in the other. She met with the older Kara, who ran the Sanctuary, to have a word with her.
"So, how was the world hop?" Mon asked as Kayla came over and gave him a kiss.
"We're one step closer," Kayla said. "Once Cisco comes back, I'll be ready to go and free my mom. If he ever gets back – that's a lot of new technology on Brainiac's ship."
"Yeah, Prime Barry told me about the plan," Mon nodded, having been kept in the loop regarding Brainiac having cryogenic pods like the one Villain Earth had Kayla's mom in.
"You know, I got to write my journal entry while the adventure is still fresh, and then meet Kara over at the birds. Mind sitting with me while I write?" Kayla asked her partner.
"Always," Mon said as they found a bench and Kayla took out her journal and began...
I may be ready to save her, but to be able to free my mom, there's specific technology Cisco needs to get his head around – and a new world happened to have the very technology we're looking for: a cryogenic chamber. Brainiac there collected heroes and took the heroes of old of that Earth. But Rae was able to run to her father and came up with a plan to save the heroes and take out Brainiac. Kayla paused at this. That Rae went through a lot, but I don't know whether I like her or not. She didn't share her plan and by so doing could have risked the life of her own Barry.
You see, Rae there is very reluctant to be a hero as, after being exposed as a speedster child, she became very anti-hero – especially after she was blame for not stopping a school shooting and bombing. That was horrible. She's also very into birds, so I think she is lonely. I hope she likes the gift we are giving her.
"What gift?" Mon asked, reading over her shoulder.
"Hey, butt out of spying on my writing," Kayla teased the man. "But it's why I decided to meet up with Kara by the birds," Kayla said with a smile. "I've got to choose one."
"Oh," Mon said. "Continue, then..."
Kayla smirked as she started to write again. I think, besides her reluctance, she will end up a hero one day. It's just in her blood. She just needs to get over a few things, like her hatred of her father. It was very easy to hate him when he wasn't in her life, but now that he's back, she'll be forced to confront her feelings eventually.
But anyway, the heroes there run differently from anything else I have seen. They vote on everything – no real leader, with people volunteering to lead missions or even start a mission. It's a very unusual system. I wonder how well it will work with larger numbers than just their original eight, especially with the old heroes back. She wondered if two versions of a League may end up forming from the ashes; it wasn't unknown with worlds like Old Justice and Kingdom Come having more than one League.
Barry is not a speedster, though – he's a vigilante called Gadget. Yes, I did think Inspector Gadget for a split second when I heard his name. He made a speedster bike, which was cool, and portable shield. He apparently always has a gadget and I think he and Ray are in business together? They did mention 'AllenPalmer Tech'. I wonder if he will be a speedster someday…? Maybe if he's involved in a serious accident with that bike, he may end up one. She wondered where Barry got the power to speed his bike and if there was a connection there to the Speed Force – it was very unusual not to have a Barry Allen who wasn't connected to the Speed Force in some way.
I think Cisco is going to name this world Reluctant Earth, because of Rae's reluctance though. Might need to find other reasons for the name, but I'll leave that to him. Anyway, we're one step closer to freeing my mom… even if it does mean returning home.
Kayla put the pen down and closed her journal, taking a breath now. It was almost upon them now, returning to Villain Earth. She just hoped this rescue went quick.
"Sounds like an interesting world. Sorry I missed it," Mon spoke now.
"It's good you stayed back, anyway. If things had gone sideways, we both might have ended up in Brainiac's collection," Kayla reasoned, still wondering what could have happened should Rae's plan to free the old heroes hadn't worked. "Come on, let's go see Kara," Kayla said, and Mon stood up and held out his hand to Kayla who took it; Mon leading them to where the birds were kept. The older Kara of this world was waiting for them.
"Hey," Kara said. "Okay, so several of the birds are very interested in going to a bird-savvy owner and helping that owner teach human birds more words. You've got a choice of three. Rowling, Verne, or Roald."
"Like JK Rowling, Jules Verne, or Roald Dahl?" Kayla asked, knowing Earth authors some.
"We name all birds after authors," Kara said. "Which parrot do you want?"
"Choices, choices…" Kayla smirked as she looked to the birds, each having something to offer her.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
The day after helping save the heroes of old, Rae went downstairs and paused as she saw a large cage with red lights and a large parrot inside.
"Grandma, grandpa?" Rae called; her grandparents came out from the kitchen and paused at the bird. "Did you get that…?"
"No. Maybe your father is trying to make amends?" Richard suggested.
"No," the bird said. "I am Roald. I am from Hero Earth. Kayla and Cisco say thank you for the help. I am a gift from them."
"You talk well," Rae said, shocked at the full sentences.
"I am Kryptonian. I am smarter than Earth birds. Outside these red lights I will have powers. I will help you train your birds to talk more," Roald said, and Rae gave a smile as she went over to the cage.
"This is the start of a beautiful friendship," Rae said happily, and her grandparents just smiled.
Post Chapter Note: I hope you liked this chapter. Millie got very into writing it. What do you guys think of this new version of Rae – maybe not wanting to be a hero, but still did what needed to be done to stop Brainiac and free the old heroes.
Please REVIEW.
Karry Co-Master and Master OUT!