The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Millma Verse
Disclaimer: As always, this story is loosely based on the Arrowverse and DC Comics in general.
Copyright: Millma Verse
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Note: While in previous chapters Kryptonian has been bolded, there's a scene in this chapter where Kayla and her mom talk where the speech will not be in bold. This is simply because there's only the two of them in the scene and, because of that, there's no point having the conversation in bold. It does state at the start that it's in Kryptonese, however. Enjoy!
All Those Who Wander
Kayla jerked awake from sleep to banging on the bedroom door. She and Mon were still on Krypton and, judging by the clock, had only been asleep for about four hours. They'd been on Krypton, however, for about a day since their adventure on Villain Earth.
"What's going on?" Mon muttered sleepily as Kayla got out of bed and put on a nightdress. Being on Krypton, she didn't have her powers so couldn't see through the door to find out; the room was hotel-like, with a main bedroom, a bathroom, and a little kitchenette.
"Give me a minute and I'll see," Kayla yawned as she moved to the door, momentarily fumbling with the lock as a precautionary measure before giving up and opening the door anyway. "Barry?"
Barry Allen stood at the door, looking surprisingly worn out for a speedster and still in his Speed Force Speedster outfit.
"Kara... Labor... Need cover... Power Girl... Bad guy," Barry panted to Kayla, almost comically.
"Kara's in labor so you need cover back on Earth?" Kayla surmised. "But my mom... What about Rein?" By this point Mon had gotten out of bed too, only putting on his underwear, however.
"Remember Harry's lab in Starling?" Barry stated, a little quicker than usual, having finally caught his breath.
"Let's say I do," Kayla frowned. She'd never really paid attention to the wider Super Family on Prime.
"Palmer Tech built a special facility for Harry to run in recent years, given his skills back on his original world with his own STAR labs and one of his employees... well, said employee is now a large monster and the Justice Society needs a true Power Girl as the actual one is vacant, Rein is still learning, and the Flash... well, I need to be here," Barry explained in one breath. "Jesse and Wally can fill in the Flash side of things anyway."
"Okay," Kayla sighed, looking back to Mon. She didn't know about the Harry thing, but it wasn't like she really knew Harrison Wells – despite being Kara's adopted father here. "I suppose–" but there was a gust of wind and, turning back, Barry had gone. Kayla couldn't help but chuckle.
"Need my help?" Mon asked.
"Sure. The people of Prime are used to Valor turning up every so often, plus, by the sounds of it we need all hands-on-deck," Kayla stated, getting changed quickly. "I just hope we won't be gone too long..."
"Your mom is under the best care Krypton has to offer – she will be fine. Plus, this world's Alura and that older Kara promised you they'd treat her as one of their own," Mon stated. It was true, upon finding a version of Alura who had been essentially tortured for her powers, the House of El had rallied around the multiversal Alura to help her. It wasn't that big of a surprise since they had done the same for Twin Astra who had a similar history, with this Earth Ha-Pri having taken an interest in her.
"I know, it's just..." Kayla mused.
"It's your mom, I get it," Mon stated, pulling Kayla into a quick hug. "Come on, the sooner we get to Earth the sooner we get back," Mon added, now heading to the door to get to the transport to Ceres which would get them to Earth.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
Kayla and Mon arrived in the Secret Sanctuary on Prime, surprised to see both Ciscos still there.
"Junior?" Kayla paused. "I thought you'd have gone home."
"Nah, way too fun here," Mutant Earth's Cisco spoke up. "Besides, obviously there's a bit of a situation…"
"I know, you have a person-turned-monster…?" Kayla asked as Mon and Prime Cisco remained quiet for now.
"Yeah, probably best you just head out there and see for yourself. It's one thing the Flash not being there but Power Girl… well…" Junior looked to his Prime double but didn't say more. Kayla knew that Rein Zor-El was trying her hardest to pretend to be Power Girl, but it seemed a little sad they weren't giving her a chance.
"I think I may need to help Rein, and show her a few things," Kayla voiced.
"In the meantime…" Prime Cisco decided not to question Kayla as he put on the coms. "Hey Rein, head back to the Secret Sanctuary – Kayla's back as the official cover."
"Ah, okay," Rein could be heard back on coms. "Welcome back Kayla, I hope your mom is okay?"
"She's fine – or will be," Kayla couldn't help but chuckle as she turned on her hologram Power Girl outfit; Mon was already in his tight outfit, but Kayla tended to just go by hologram these days.
"Heading back now," Rein stated on the coms as the other teleporter on in the room – one out of two, the other being the one Kayla and Mon had come through from Ceres – came to life and Power Girl herself came out; Rein also having holographic technology to look like her sister.
"My turn," Kayla smiled to Rein as she gave the girl a nod before heading to the teleport herself, Mon by her side. She'd have a word with Rein once this was over.
Appearing in the city center of Central City – the teleport technology on Prime being more site-to-site, like Star Trek, than the Zap Tunnels on other worlds – she was confronted by a humanoid creature, about three times the size of a human now, and somehow growing. Prime's Firestorm – Martin Stein and Jefferson Jax – was throwing fire at the creature, while Jesse and Wally were both speeding around it. Oliver was present, giving orders in the absence of Kara and Barry, along with Laurel; the former was throwing exploding arrows out at the creature, while the latter used her sonic scream on it.
"What's the deal with this guy?" Kayla asked, taking to the air to blow freeze breath on the thing.
"Dr Rudy Jones," one of the Cisco's explained in her ear as Mon now threw punches at the thing. "According to Harry they were researching an ancient amoeba frozen in the poles. Something was in that amoeba that made him…"
"A parasite," Oliver's words took over, causing Kayla to pause.
"He's right!" Jesse called over coms. "Every attack we throw at it – him – he seems to be absorbing and using against us." It was all they could do to stop Rudy from destroying the city center, with Jesse and Wally's speed keeping him back. It seemed that whatever had affected this Dr Jones had made him as mindless as he was now big, roaring at his attackers as he tried to fight back.
"Anything we do will only be fought back in kind," Oliver agreed over the comms.
"I have an idea," Kayla stated. "But it requires as many heroes with powers as you have…"
"That may be a problem," Cisco said over the coms. "But what's the idea?"
"We need to overload him. Maybe that way he can revert to normal, and Harry can help him," Kayla explained, now floating back as Mon, the Flashes, Firestorm, Arrow, and Black Canary kept the mutated man busy.
"Maybe not superpowers but what about nuclear power?" A Cisco said on the coms – Kayla assumed this was her Cisco as he was responded by the other Cisco.
"There's a power plant about 30 miles from Central to the east, but we can't be sure it won't kill him instead," Prime's Cisco stated. "Or radiate the area around but it's the only other plan we have. I'll order an evacuation of the facility."
"I'll send you the location," Mutant Cisco added, sending the location to Kayla's person.
"It's the only plan, and I'd like to get back to Krypton sooner rather than later," Kayla pointed out. "Mon, Laurel, get Parasite in my line of sight, I can do the rest with strength and flight."
"On it," both Mon and Laurel could be heard as Kayla flew further backward – with this bad guy's absorption powers, she needed to make sure she had enough flight and strength on her to get this guy to the nuclear power station before it absorbed the powers she used against it and stopped her.
"Ready!" Mon called, Kayla now about a mile away from the fight but able to see Laurel, thanks to her superior Kryptonian sight, use one last sonic scream to knock Parasite back. She wasted no time in flying directly at the giant purple monster and in one strong, quick move, picked him up, flying as quickly as possible to the location sent to her just now.
The creature roared in Kayla's grasp, and she could feel herself getting weaker as it took her powers, but she concentrated on everything as the nuclear power station got closer. Finally, she forced all her power to stop her forward momentum but let go of Parasite, using the forward velocity to send the creature the last mile or so and directly into one of the giant chimneys protruding from the site.
The chimney collapsed under the weight of the creature, and for a moment Kayla thought nothing was going to happen. Then came the explosion. For a second there was a blinding flash of light, then suddenly it was gone as Parasite absorbed the nuclear explosion, screaming aloud as Kayla gasped, wondering if she did the right thing as he swelled before seeming exploding himself.
"Kayla…?" a Cisco said over the comms. "What's happened…?"
"I… I don't know…" Kayla stated, knowing the worst was over as she now flew down to the site; if it was radioactive, it wouldn't affect her, but it was Rudy Jones she was looking for – if there was anything left of him.
She found him, naked, small, and unconscious in the rubble of the chimney – and using her x-ray vision quickly, she saw he was alive, although his heart was barely beating, and he seemed to barely be breathing.
"He's alive. He needs medical attention," Kayla stated. "I'll fly him to… where?"
"ARGUS Headquarters outside of Central," Prime Cisco stated quickly.
"The same place the meta prison is on Mutant," Mutant Cisco added for direction.
"They have the medical facility for him," Prime Cisco added.
"On it," Kayla stated, having picked up Rudy already and flying back in the direction of Central City. She wondered if this world's Kara would have had the same plan, or if Rein would have come up with it. It was, she supposed, lucky she was around.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
Arriving back at the Secret Sanctuary, it was to find the other heroes already gathered there; Olly was at the computers, reading up on the articles that were already out on that morning's events, with Laurel reading over his shoulder; Martin and Jefferson had separated and were individually talking to Jesse and Wally, respectively. Mon was talking to Rein while the two Ciscos were at their computer.
"Nice job, Kayla," Oliver called, looking around the from the computer. "The name Parasite is already trending for this guy."
"He was an unusual one," Kayla agreed.
"I know I would never have thought to overload him," Jesse mused.
"You need to teach me some of those moves," Rein stated, her hologram off now and looking like herself.
"Don't worry, sister, I will," Kayla smirked, the young woman smiling at the sister comment. "I have some things to show you. Maybe tomorrow?"
"Please," Rein grinned at this.
"How is Parasite, then?" Kayla asked, the rest of the room.
"Dr Jones is stable. Very weak. It seems that the amoeba was destroyed when you overloaded it," Prime Cisco spoke out.
"And there wasn't any… radiation fallout?" Kayla asked, wondering if exploding a nuclear reactor in the heart of the United States might not have been a good idea, in the end.
"None," Mutant Cisco stated. "Only one reactor was destroyed in the attack, the others are being kept safe and the destroyed reactor's radiation was absorbed by Parasite."
"Honestly, it's very fascinating how that creature worked and a shame it seemed to be one-of-a-kind," Professor Stien spoke up at this. "I mean, according to the incoming ARGUS reports, Dr Jones doesn't show the slightest trace of radiation and the parasitic amoeba was destroyed in the final absorption."
"Yeah, the research on this will take time," Jefferson nodded, interrupting Martin as science wasn't really his thing.
"Well, if you excuse us, we have a kid to get back to," Jesse spoke up, smirking to Wally who grinned back.
"Francis loves being with his granddaddy, but you're right," Wally stated, as he and Jesse headed to the transport to head home.
"We better head off too," Laurel stated, slapping Oliver lightly on the shoulder to pull him away from the computer. "Team Arrow can wait, but Robin can't," she stated, as Olly nodded to this, the pair also leaving for their own child, too.
"Seems the party is breaking up," Jefferson stated. "This has been a blast," he nodded to Martin as he too left.
"Rein, I wonder if I can show you something I'm in the middle of?" Martin stated once his partner-in-crime-fighting had left, the girl was only too happy to follow the professor out of the room and deeper into the facility. Kayla frowned at that but decided not to question it.
"Well, now that that's done, I think it's time I head back to my mom," Kayla smirked at this, but paused at the look from the Ciscos. "What…?"
"Well, we've been talking among ourselves," Mutant Cisco stated.
"An extraordinary feat, I'm sure," Kayla chuckled.
"Oh ha, ha," Prime Cisco spoke up.
"No, it's about our hitchhiking," Mutant Cisco spoke up, causing Kayla to raise an eyebrow to her Mon. "The Paragons have been in touch, you see…"
"About?" Kayla asked, Mon by her side.
"Rule-breaking," Prime Cisco stated, bluntly at this.
"I think I know where you're coming from," Kayla sighed. "But in my defense, that was your decision to help the world with that reluctant Rae on."
"We know," both Ciscos chorused in that.
"But go, visit your mom," Prime Cisco stated, nodding to the teleport that would take them back to Ceres, and then to Krypton. "We've got a few more worlds to talk to first."
"Okay, but I will be back to discuss this further," Kayla stated as Mon moved to start the portal for them.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
Back on Krypton, Kayla was alone now as she entered the private room in which her mom was being kept; Mon had decided to stay back on this one, as he didn't want to over intimidate Alura – given the woman had been through a lot – and given this would be Kayla and Alura's first proper meeting since Kayla had been a teenager. He had gone back to their hotel-like room to catch up on sleep.
Alura was sitting up in bed, looking better as she read a book and looked up when Kayla knocked on the door to grab her attention.
"My girl," she spoke up, still in Kryptonese, putting the book down and grinning at Kayla.
"Hi mom," Kayla smiled, speaking back in her native language. It had been a long time since she had used this language for long conversations – her thoughts were even in English now – so she took some time to remember words. Luckily, she had recently been reminded of this language when speaking to her alternative mom on that In'Dak world and, of course, when she'd first freed her real mom from her cryo-pod.
It wasn't as weird as she thought it would be though; her actual mom being here, as she had since got used to a multiverse of Alura's – especially Prime's Alura who was one of two of the eldest Alura's along with the Alura from the In'Dak world, now.
"I see you're settling in well," Kayla stated.
"It's so unusual to be back on Krypton," Alura stated, bemusedly. "The me of this world explained a few things, such as how the Krypton here never faced destruction, and I even met the older Kara of here," Kayla paused at this, to the mention to a Kara, "not to mention her wonderful daughter named after my own sister, but still… why are you standing there in the doorway? Come and sit," she indicated the chair next to bed, which Kayla moved forward to and sat on.
"Mom…" Kayla started, unsure where to go from this.
"If it's about Kara and Kal…" Alura began, Kayla not sure where to go from here.
"It is," Kayla tried.
"It's not your fault," Alura stated simply, causing Kayla to pause. "I know they're dead," she confirmed at this.
"I don't… how did you know?" Kayla asked.
"Simply the fact that you alone are here and not with Kara and Kal, not to mention what I picked up from that man who… well…" Kayla knew her mom meant Barry and wondered if this Alura would have an issue with Barry's going forward. She'd ask about that in a minute.
"You understand English?" Kayla asked, wondering about this comment.
"Yes and no. I picked up a few things, but it looks like I need to learn the language to survive," she winked at Kayla for this, who didn't return to the cheerfulness of her mom.
"They were heroes though, Kara and Kal," Kayla spoke up quickly, "they saved so many lives before their own lives were taken."
"Then they are living in eternal paradise in Rao's light," Alura stated, firmly at this. "If there's one thing Rao treasures, it's those who look out for others – something you've been doing well in recent years, from what I gather."
"What do you mean?" Kayla paused at this.
"The other Alura here told me you cover for other Karas when they're pregnant – the amount of lives you've saved alone in their names… you will see your Kara and Kal one day when Rao opens his arms for you – and your father," despite Kayla not having thought of their Kryptonian god in years, these words did bring comfort to her and she couldn't help but shed a tear at these words. Alura moved forward, wincing a little, to bring Kayla into a hug.
"What happened to you, then, mom?" Kayla asked, wanting to move on. "Dad's gone too?" She hadn't missed that comment.
"Unfortunately, yes. My Zor… Well, where do I start?" Alura mused, sitting back now in comfort but the shadow of sorrow on her face too. "I suppose the day we sent you, Kara and Kal to Earth."
"I'm all ears," Kayla smiled weakly at this, but was also intrigued as to where this story would go.
"Your father devised a way to save Argo City, but we weren't too sure if it would work, which is why we sent you, your sister and cousin to safety, just in case," Alura began. "But your father's plan worked, and Argo was thrown from Krypton at the moment of its explosion, safe and protected under the very best technology. But our euphoria wasn't lasting. The ground beneath our feet soon turned to poison, slowly killing our eldest and youngest survivors first…"
"Kryptonite?" Kayla realized, causing Alura to raise an eyebrow. "The remains of the planet were radiated through space and became poison to its previous inhabitants. Humans have since named it Kryptonite."
"Kryptonite… An appropriate name," Alura mused. "Well, we had some space pods left, and a few old ships, but no means of escape unless we deactivated the dome that was protecting the city. It was the worst choice. Your father… he put me in a pod, helped hundreds of survivors into escape ships and other pods and turned off the dome. He, too, is now in Rao's light…"
The news her father was dead hadn't come as a complete surprise to Kayla, even his means of death too, as by some unknown law of the multiverse, Zor-Els tended to get the raw end of the deal. It was a surprise with so many Karas and a Kayla as Paragons, who rebooted the multiverse, but maybe there were some things even the Paragons couldn't control.
"I set my pod to track you, to send me to Earth but something went wrong – I was pulled into the Phantom Zone," Alura continued, her story almost parallel to Kayla and Kara's now, "but I was protected by Kryptonian technology. I had no choice but to wait, to place myself into an induced sleep until my pod was released from the Zone. Unfortunately, when I woke, I wasn't where I thought I'd be – the vibrating man had me in that cryogenic chamber, wired up with needles and Rao-knows what else being done to me. I had no clue what was happening but then you turned up and well… here we are now."
"That must have been so… I can't even imagine," Kayla breathed at that, taking in the story. More history of her home world she never knew. "Did you ever see the face of your torturer?"
"Only the vibrating face," Alura confirmed. "And the voice was strange. It's all very confusing still."
"I'm sure," Kayla nodded at that. Hopefully it meant she shouldn't connect Barry to the man, at least not right away. Kayla wasn't sure it was right to keep the identity of her torturer a secret but for now they could let Alura heal first and then let her get to know a good Barry and if she started connecting the dots, they could then tell her the whole truth.
"But now I'm here. I have you, safe, and a multiverse of extended family, apparently," Alura stated, smiling a little. "It will take me a little while to heal – not just from the experimentation done to me, but that Kryptonite poisoning as well, so I'll be here for a while."
"I'll visit you every day," Kayla smiled at this.
"You will not," Alura countered, sharply, causing Kayla to pause. "If I'm not mistaken, you have a beau who you love dearly, not to mention a life of your own. I don't want to interfere with that. Besides, Astra Da-Ver, my sister's namesake, comes here often enough and your sister's older double seems fascinated by a younger version of her mother. Besides, this Krypton also has some old friends of mine whom I wouldn't mind seeing how their lives turned out. I need to decide what I will do after I heal though, as I'm not sure staying here is an option. I might look for somewhere in the multiverse."
"Well… I'll visit as often as I can, then," Kayla decided not to question her mother. "And I can give some multiverse suggestions."
"Of course. Anyway, I'm not the only person here you need to visit today," Alura smirked at this, momentarily confusing Kayla. "You were covering for a pregnant Kara, after all."
"Of course, Prime Kara was giving birth!" Kayla realized, standing now.
"Go, my girl. Give the newborns my love," Alura smiled, Kayla giving her mom one last hug and a kiss before leaving the room to find where Prime Kara was.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
It wasn't hard to find the maternity ward with the special wing dedicated to the noble families. It also seemed that, since going into labor earlier in the morning, Prime Kara had since given birth as, after speaking to the reception and finding the correct room, it was to see Barry and Kara alone in the special room, Barry holding one baby, the other in a cot by the exhausted mother.
"Hello…?" Kayla stated, knocking on the door to grab their attention.
"Kayla," Prime Kara seemed to have been dozing but looked up at her multiverse sister. "Come in. How's mom – well, your mom?"
"Recovering, thank you," Kayla stated, looking to the sleeping baby in the cot and smiling at Barry holding his own newborn. "How's the new mom?"
"Tried," Prime Kara stated. "But happy."
"Meet the babies," Barry moved forward, handing the baby he was holding to Kayla as he went to pick up the other.
"That is little Eden," Kara stated to the baby now in Kayla's hold, the woman looking at the sleeping little child in her arms. "Eden Grace Allen."
"Oh, what a sweet name," Kayla couldn't help but remark with a smile.
"And this is little Rueben," Barry showed her the other baby.
"Rueben?" Kayla paused at this. "I thought you guys were going with Jordan?"
"Yeah, we kind of fell out of love with that name," Kara explained nonchalantly.
"Rueben Bear Allen, in fact," Barry explained.
"Bear...?" Kayla paused at the unusual middle name.
"Rueben works with a Kryptonian name too," Prime Barry smirked, Kayla raising an eyebrow at this. "Rue-El."
"Interesting. Which makes Eden…?" Kayla asked.
"Eden Allen-El," Kara stated, Kayla chuckling at this.
"Has Skye been to visit?" Kayla asked, carefully placing the girl in the cot now that Barry had Rueben.
"Not yet. She's fine with Grandpa Seg and Grandma Nyssa. In fact, I think they're bringing her over later with Rein," Kara explained.
"We're not too sure how she'll get on not being the center of attention going forward," Barry mused, "but I'm sure she'll adapt. I mean, she already considers Nico a sibling as it is," he referenced Caitlin and Ray's son, Nico Palmer, who was born a month or so after Skye and had the meta human ability to transform into various animals – a little like Garfield on Karry, except not green.
"Skylar Allen-El is of the House of El, she'll be fine," a new voice spoke, and Kayla turned to see the older Kara in the doorway now, surprising the hitchhiker. She'd only met her older sister a handful of times, and had recently met an older version of herself on In'Dak, but it was still weird seeing an older version, regardless – almost like looking into a distorted mirror.
"Hey," Kara smiled at her older version.
"I just came to welcome the latest additions to the House of El," the older Kara stated, moving in to pick up Eden from the cot, used to babies herself.
"Of course," the younger Kara smiled at this; Barry too seemed grateful.
"Well, they are adorable," Kayla smiled at the room, "but I better be–"
"Would you ever consider children, Kaylar Zor-El?" The older Kara suddenly asked, a little bluntly.
"Oh," Kayla didn't know what to say to that, her mind instantly going to In'Dak and the three children of herself and Mon she had seen there. Part of her had wondered if she ever had kids with Mon if they would be the same, but part of her wasn't sure if she even wanted to be a mom. "I… well… I mean, I have Mon now but…" she finally replied.
"The union of Krypton and Daxam, on any world in the multiverse, will be a joyous occasion, I know," the older Kara continued, Kayla finding herself going red at this.
"Urm, we'll see you later then," Barry said to Kayla, a little loudly in a way to let Kayla know she could run from the situation – which she did, and promptly, not even seeing the look shared between Prime Kara and Barry at such a situation, or the confusion of the older Kara.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
Returning to Prime now, a little flustered, it was to find only Mutant Cisco now in the Secret Sanctuary's main lab. She wondered if this was on purpose given their earlier conversation.
"Are you ready to talk about what you didn't want to talk about earlier?" Kayla asked, causing Cisco to pause at this. "About our Hitchhiking?" she prompted, definitely not wanting to think back to her short conversation with the older Kara.
"Oh yeah. Are you okay?" Cisco couldn't help but notice Kayla was still slightly red in the face.
"I'm fine," Kayla dismissed quickly, Cisco obviously knowing not to question further by now.
"Well, my Prime double and me were being talked to – well, being talked at," Cisco explained, and Kayla raised an eyebrow. "My Prime double had Karry on hold earlier, we didn't want to involve you while we were still mid-conversation," he added.
"Well, this sounds serious," Kayla said.
"It is," Cisco nodded. "And yes, it's about the multiverse code of honor." Kayla sighed – she would be lying if she didn't think this was coming, not to mention what she'd been told earlier by the two Ciscos. "Well, the general consensus is we play a little fast and loose with the rules."
"We do?" Kayla asked. "As far as I remember, the only time we broke rules was on New Daxam and then recently you wanting to help that reluctant Rae free her dad so we could get the ins and outs of the cryogenic tube. Speaking of, where are the other cryo-pods?" She only realized the other four pods had gone from earlier.
"There's in storage for the moment a few decks below," Cisco dismissed, reminding Kayla they were on a boat. "But back to the code of honor, we have blurred the lines several times. New Daxam, for sure, and Lockup too are obvious cases," Cisco explained, and Kayla paused, having forgotten Lockup – they had squeezed right next to the line that the code of the multiverse kept to, too. "But this time we flat-out broke the rules; and no one is saying we shouldn't have saved your mom – many would have gone to Villain with you to save her for a thank you for all you have done… but the Paragons are thinking we went too far killing their Barry though."
"Okay… so, technically Villain Earth is my home world and the Barry I killed was from Villain, so no rules were broken," Kayla pointed out at this.
"That's a loophole and you know it," Cisco couldn't help but smirk. "You haven't lived on Villain for a long time, though. Besides Barry, we also went too far on Reluctant."
"We're officially calling it that?" Kayla paused at this name.
"Well, there's that reluctant Rae and we keep calling it 'the world with the reluctant Rae' so, I mean, Reluctant is becoming the go-to name for the world," Cisco jabbered.
"Right," Kayla nodded, not arguing with that, and shocked she understood his babbling. "Anyway, I said we were breaking the rules there," she pointed out. "We could have got mom's cryo-pod from Villain and brought it back here and then figured out how to free her after, you know."
"Maybe, but what if the pods were designed to kill the moment it was disconnected?" Cisco said and Kayla hadn't thought of that herself but hadn't questioned the Ciscos when they wanted to go to Reluctant anyway. "Getting the ins and outs before hand was the safest option. Everyone agrees it was necessary," Cisco finally settled upon this, and again, Kayla didn't argue, "but from now on, now that your mother is safe, the Paragons wants us to keep to a line in our exploration," Cisco said. "The Multiverse Code. It's been put in the system. Come, look," he indicated the computer behind him which Kayla moved over to read.
"Rule One: We do not impose our own beliefs or morals on other worlds," Kayla read out. "Okay. Rule Two: We do not help another world unless they ask for help." She couldn't help but smirk at this one. "Rule Three: We can offer help and advice, but if told to leave, we leave. Unfortunately, sometimes you need to butt in to let them know you mean no harm and can help," she sighed, but read on regardless. "Rule Four: We do not change the balance of power on a world. Well, that one seems obvious."
"Oh, and New Justice Rae added a rule 5," Cisco added, scrolling down the page to an addendum. "Rule 5: If the Speed Force or one of her siblings give you a mission, you are allowed to break the former rules – it's now being called the Seven Forces Loophole."
Kayla had to laugh at that one. "Well, that's very Rae considering her recent experiences with the Seven Force of the Universes," Kayla reasoned.
"There is one other clause," Cisco bit his lip now. "About you..." Kayla raised an eyebrow.
"It's not listed on here," Kayla mused, but frowned at Cisco expression now.
"That's because I needed to tell you officially before we added it," Cisco explained, Kayla now folding her arms at this. "If you wanted to go home and fight for your world, no one would blame you – you can choose to go there right now if you want and I'll send you there – but if you choose to stay in the multiverse, continue being our Hitchhiker, continue being a part of this weird multiverse family, then Villain Earth is no longer your world. The rules will apply to you there if you ever go back. You can visit Lois if you want, but you can't break the rules."
Kayla took a deep breath with this new information – it was something she wondered would ever be mentioned about, but given her recent excursion home, it made sense it was highlighted.
"I gave up my world a long time ago," Kayla decided.
"Are you sure?" Cisco asked. "This is a one-time offer. If you stay, you are one of us. You can't return there unless the partisans take over."
"When we left, the partisans who left – me included – were told we couldn't come back. I knew that when I ended up on Paranormal… or Extranormal, whatever it was called. And recently Cindy and Lois gave me the choice to come back, and I will tell you the same thing I told them: My life is here now. I have Mon, I have my mom now, I have multiple Karas and Clarks I love as much as my own. And… I'd miss you, too," Kayla didn't want to admit it, but she did like Mutant Cisco most out of all the Ciscos she knew.
Cisco gave a sheepish smile at this now. "I'd miss you if you went," Cisco said, the two standing there awkwardly for a moment before the moment passed. "Well, I'd better go home for a bit. STAR Museum needs me, for once, but I got leads on our next hitchhike…" Cisco stopped as the computer made an alert sound, Cisco going to look at it. "Amelia added something to the multiverse rules."
"Karry Amelia?" Kayla guessed.
"Yep," Cisco said.
"What did she add?" Kayla asked, moving to look at the computer too.
"Disney Parks on any world are allowed to be visited – no matter what," Cisco quoted, and Kayla couldn't help it – she started laughing so hard her sides started to hurt. Cisco joined in, but not as heavily. "We might have a Disney hitchhike soon then," Cisco smiled as he opened a portal and left.
-Hitchhiker's Guide-
Kayla was back at the Prime Beach House with Mon. Skye, Rein, Seg, Nyssa and Colin the Clark Clone had all left to visit Barry, Kara, and the newborns on Krypton, along with the dogs, leaving the home rather quiet. Amela Ivy still lived in the guest house out the back, so Mon and Kayla had the house to themselves. They had the TV on, and Mon was watching some older British comedy show.
"You know those two remind me of your grandparents," Mon chuckled at the latest joke on the TV between the two leads. Kayla looked up, having her journal in hand, just to acknowledge Mon's comment. She didn't quite see it, personally, but she let it go.
No hitchhiking today, Kayla began her journal, but something to update the journal on, given the adventures I've had of late: my mom is safe. She's now on Krypton on Prime and, while it seems her recovery will take some time, she'll be fine. It's horrible what she's been through. Not only did she initially survive Krypton's destruction thanks to my dad saving Argo City, but the city became poisonous thanks to, what I suppose we should call the Kryptonite effect – the land beneath their feet became Kryptonite, slowly killing them all.
My dad sacrificed himself to save as many of the survivors as possible – including my mom, Kayla wasn't sure if she had quite processed that fact. It seems some sort of unsaid multiverse rule that my dad doesn't usually survive with only a handful of worlds seem to have a Zor-El still alive. Still, it's not a major thing, I suppose. Luckily, mom doesn't remember Villain Earth Barry being her tormentor either, as it seems he kept his face and voice vibrating when he experimented on her.
I hope that she never joins the dots to Villain Barry and other Barrys though, given the importance of Barry in any Kara or Kayla's life, Kayla had been worried about that one, but mom is smart and mature, she would be able to disassociate one bad Barry from a multiverse of good Barrys given time. Besides, it's not like I judge the multiverse on my experiences on Paranormal Earth.
That's not all though, Prime also had their twins today: Eden and Rueben. Interesting names, but not for me to debate over. The worst part was the older Kara coming in and asking if I wanted kids. Honestly, I've never seriously thought about it, but I wouldn't say no if a little Mon-El turned up at some point in the future, she smiled as she looked up at Mon, who was laughing at the TV again.
Lastly, the Multiverse Code of Honor. She paused at this one, remembering the rules she and Cisco had talked over. It seems our adventures this time have finally caught the eyes of the Paragons – they must feel more protective over the multiverse, to be fair, given they were the ones to bring it back after Crisis – but they've enforced some rules that we mostly play by. I suppose we just have to be a little more careful in future, but honestly it was the Ciscos fault, manly – they were the ones who wanted to examine the cryo-pods on that world Jay was being held captive on – by the way, officially named Reluctant Earth – so it's on them more than me.
But if I ever wanted to return to Villian Earth, I need to play by the rules there, too. Seems fair, I suppose. Anyway, as much as I miss Lois there, I don't think I could ever return. Not really. I have my life now. A hard-earned life but one I enjoy immensely.
At that, she closed her journal, the letter from her Lois sticking out from the previous page. She didn't have much more to write and given what she'd been through of late, she wanted to enjoy her time with Mon as she was beginning to really realize that every moment was precious – especially with loved ones.
Post Chapter Note: I hope you enjoyed this. No real hitchhiking in this chapter, but a lot of fun and a good conclusion to this plot; not to mention some cover for Kara seen, information on Kayla's mom's past and, of course, the Prime twins were born. And yes, for those who remembered they were going to be Eden and Jordan, well Superman & Lois forever ruined the Jordan name for me, so I went to Rueben instead as something more fascinating anyway.
Up next in the Millma Verse: Beautiful will return! YES!
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Karry Co-Master and Master OUT!