After the destruction of its research facility, the DeSaad Corporation went into receivership. Its research arm was immediately discarded, largely due to the public outcry caused by the exposure of the illegal human experimentation conducted at Michael Canto’s direction. Lois Lane had reported every gruesome detail on the pages of the Daily Planet and for a time, its custodians considered changing the name of the company entirely. However, once the furore had died down and compensation made to the families of the victims, DeSaad slipped out of the public consciousness and the company kept its trading name even if it had been whittled away to a shadow of its former self.
Six years since that day, DeSaad had rebounded from those troubling times and while no way the juggernaut it had been in the past, it was now operating at a profit. Its resurrection from bankruptcy had come in the form of its new CEO, Grace Good. Grace had gained her reputation as a corporate raider who had taken several companies on the brink of insolvency and through some smart cost cutting, saved them. Grace was willing to invest her own money and had taken DeSaad from grateful government auditors who were happy to relinquish control. With Grace in charge, DeSaad tapped into the burgeoning ‘smartphone’ market that exploded into a billion dollar industry. Leading the company’s charge into the telecommunications industry, she made DeSaad a viable force once again.
As a result of this, Grace had grown accustomed to her autonomy since being assigned to Earth. Kanto's departure had infuriated Darkseid and the only thing that had kept their master from obliterating Kanto into atoms had been the revelation of a live Kryptonian on the planet. Darkseid's orders to her had been specific; observe and report the Kryptonian's activities on Earth. It seemed simple enough except that the said Kryptonian had disappeared without a trace. For five years, Grace busied herself with DeSaad, making alliances with Brainiac to find him.
Unfortunately, when the Kryptonian did return, it was at Brainiac's expense. Not only did the AI have to content with an equal, the Kryptonian was no longer a raw, undisciplined youth. He'd returned to the world, with his powers fully realised and revealed to the world as Superman. Brainiac's disappearance soon after indicated that he'd confronted Superman and was bested. Grace was realistic; she was out of her league and didn't even bother to make such an attempt. Capturing and claiming him for Apokolips was beyond her and she suspected might even require the direct intervention of Darkseid himself which her master was not prepared to do. Yet.
However, the presence of a second Kryptonian, a child, changed everything.
From Lashina's report, the girl was young, little more than a teenager. Younger than even the Swan had been when Kanto brought her to Apokolips. A child with those power levels under Granny's tutelage? The possibilities were endless. To say nothing of fact that her DNA could hold the answer to the riddle of the Anti-Life Equation Darkseid had sought for so long. All this could be possible if they could acquire her.
Unfortunately at present, that was proving to be more difficult than Grace or the Furies had anticipated. It had been a week since their confrontation with the girl named Kara at the Kent home and there was still no trace of her anywhere on the globe. Grace had the Furies had used all the resources available to them to find her but so far, it had availed them nothing. They'd even watched Lois Lane under the hopes that the reporter might lead them to Kara but it appeared that this was expected since the human made no move that could give away the girl's location.
“This is boring,” Mad Harriet grumbled as she sat perched on top of the leather sofa in Grace's penthouse office, flicking through the channels of the big screen television “Why can’t we just carve up the girlfriend until he gives us the girlie?”
“Don’t be stupid,” Lashina retorted. “He’ll be expecting us to come after her and unless we can reach her before him, we’ll be at a disadvantage.”
"I can take him," the Swan smouldered, still wearing the bruise on her skin delivered her to her by the Amazon interloper who had turned the tide of the battle at the Kent home. They almost had the child! The Swan's ego smarted from the loss.
"We aren't sure he'll be alone," Grace pointed out as a matter factly. "The Amazon is almost as formidable as he is and you barely held your own against one of them."
Swan strode over to Grace, dropping forward against the oak desk and glared at the woman. "I can take you apart..." she through hissed teeth.
"ENOUGH!" Lashina snapped her whip around Swan's throat and pulled her away from Grace. "Grace is right and the girl is too valuable a prize to lose."
"Oooh the pretty bird's had her wings clipped,” Mad Harriet sang gleefully from her seat.
Swan yanked the whip off her throat and flicked it aside, her expression stormy but was disciplined enough not to attack her captain while on mission. When they returned to Apokolips, there would be a reckoning, Swan promised herself but not now. She turned away from Lashina and was about to teach Mad Harriet a lesson when suddenly her eyes caught sight of something on the screen...
"STOP!" She barked sharply.
"What?" Harriet asked innocently.
"Give me that," Swan did not answer, instead closing the distance to Harriet and snatching the remote from her hands. Turning the device to the screen, she pressed the buttons that retraced the steps of Harriet's channel surfing.
"What is it?" Lashina demanded, wondering if the Swan had spotted something else that could be useful to them.
When the channel she'd sought finally came into view, the Swan adjusted the volume controls so that she could hear what was being said regarding the broadcast.
".....despite Mr Wayne's reputation as a philanderer, Judge Maria Vargas stated that Wayne had made an impassioned plea to the court to be appointed as Dick Grayson's temporary guardian until a more arrangement can be reached. It’s a matter of public record of course that Wayne had suffered a similar tragedy when his parents Thomas and Martha Wayne were shot and killed in front of him as a child.
"I lost my own parents as a child," Wayne has been quoted to have said to Judge Vargas, "I understand what Dick is going through and I can help him. If I can do this, then at least my parents’ death will have some meaning."
"Uggh," Harriet complained, grimacing at all this over sentimentality. "I'm going to be sick."
"I know him,” the Swan declared and then swung around to face Lashina. "I KNOW him. He is friends with the Kryptonian! He was at the farm, I remember him there."
"Bruce Wayne?" Grace said with scepticism. That wastrel was a friend of Superman? It was hard to believe. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she nodded with utter certainty. "He was at the farm along with the Kryptonian."
"If that's the case," Grace mused, an idea forming in her mind as she saw Bruce Wayne walking down the steps of Gotham's Court House with the young boy he had adopted. "Then the Kryptonian must consider him a good friend, if Wayne knows the truth about him."
"They are close," the Swan nodded, uncertain how she could be so sure of this. She just felt it in her gut that it was the truth.
"Well then," Grace looked at Lashina who was starting to smile because the Fury captain was starting to guess where Grace was going with this. "We might have added a new piece to the board. What was the boy's name again? Dick?"
***********
Martha remembered the first time she saw Clark fly.
He had just shoved her to the ground after telling her that her son was dead. The complete emptiness in his eyes, so lacking in feeling or warmth had near shattered her heart. When he took the sky, the wonder of what he had done was entirely lost upon her. All she could think about when he disappeared into clouds was that Jor-El had stolen her son. The loss was temporary of course and eventually Clark returned to her but the moment was lost and even though she’d seen him fly countless time since as Superman, Martha still regretted missing that first flight.
Fortunately today, Martha had the chance to see another Kryptonian take flight and this time, she could fully appreciate the moment.
It had been a week since Diana had brought Martha and Kara to Themyscira, the island paradise that was home to the Amazons. Martha didn’t remember very much of those first few days. Her injuries had kept her groggy and sequestered to the Isle of Healing where she’d been under the care of Epione, the chief Amazon healer. Nevertheless, she soon learned that despite being isolated from the modern world, Amazon medicine was surprisingly sophisticated. Thanks to Epione’s expert skills, her convalescence was nowhere as painful and lengthy as it could have been. In fact, she was soon well recovered enough to return to the main island and be attended to at the Queen’s palace.
Martha was grateful for this because she was eager to see how Kara was doing. While she’d been healing, Diana brought Kara to visit her every day and although the girl appeared to be in better spirits than before, Martha still wanted to be close by. Diana had also explained that she was showing Kara how to deal with her powers, teaching her to manage the strength and speed she now possessed. While there were some lessons that only Clark could teach, Diana was still a good substitute for the time being.
This morning, Martha was admiring the breathtaking view of Themyscira as she watched Kara’s latest lesson. The island was very much the paradise that Lois had described in her writings. The city was constructed on the remnants of an extinct volcano that hand long ago exhausted itself. The results of its final expulsion had left the earth rich and the Amazons had cultivated this to feed its population. The island maintain much of its conical shape though the northern edge had collapsed upon itself and created a crescent shape bay. The architecture of the city was pre-Hellenic and slanted towards the Corinthian period with terraces that culminated at the Temple of Athene which was its peak.
From where she’d been situated by Epione, who was part nurse, part drill sergeant, Martha was able to watch Kara and Diana as she rested against the daybed placed there for her benefit at one of the balconies attached to the palace. Martha took in the sight of Kara with a mixture of awe and pride as she saw Kara taking to the skies, her gold hair billowing in the wind and the soft fabric of her blue toga swirling around her. Even from this distance, she could see the unbridled joy on the girl’s face as she delighted in her new powers.
It was the first time Martha had seen Kara really happy.
Diana was hovered close by, circling the girl like a mother hen in case Kara need help. As Martha understood it, Diana had taken to flight no sooner than she had learned to walk. It was so unlike Clark who had learned by the most extreme of circumstances. It made Diana the perfect tutor to and as Martha watched them both, flying through the sky like two majestic birds, she couldn’t help feel the same jubilation that Kara must be experiencing at that moment.
“I never tire of watching her,” a voice declared behind Martha.
Glancing over her shoulder, Martha saw the Queen approaching her. Even thought she was dressed in a short everyday toga like everyone else and her crown was absent, Hippolyta projected royalty. It was in the way she carried herself, Martha had decided. Everything about her epitomized the gravitas of someone who commanded with exuded wisdom and compassion.
Martha had met presidents who didn’t have half as much presence as this Amazon Queen.
“She’s beautiful,” Martha agreed with the same pride that could only be shared between mothers, “you must be very proud.”
“I am,” Hippolyta answered, unashamed to deny it as she took a seat on the far end of Martha’s daybed. “However, my pride comes from the love in her heart. Her other gifts would mean little without that.”
“I understand,” Martha appreciated the sentiment most intimately. “I feel the same about Clark.”
“You also have reason to be proud,” Hippolyta complimented, sincere in her admiration of this very mortal woman who had raised a god. “Diana thinks most highly of your son. It is not easy for us Amazons to trust men but he has shown us uncommon kindness and courage.”
“He is father’s son,” Martha admitted, refusing to take all the credit for Clark when so much of his nature was due to Jonathan’s guidance. “Jonathan was a good man and we raised Clark to be the same. Of course it was not always easy.” She added with a little laugh thinking on the mind field that had been Clark’s childhood and adolescence.
Sympathising completely, Hippolyta broke in a smile and nodded in complete agreement. “When one raises a child who can take to the skies when lessons bore her or run as fast as the wind, there are always challenges. I imagine you had similar difficulties with Clark.”
“I did,” Martha nodded before her expression softened. “It was very hard for him. We had no idea where he had come from, what the extent of his powers were. All we knew was that he needed us and we needed him. We tried to help and guide him as best we could but we were always afraid that that once people found out about him, they were going to come to take him away from us.”
She fell silent recalling the day when she and Jonathan had summed up the courage to take Clark to a doctor, to see if medicine could explain his powers. However, at the last moment she’d lost her nerve, having been struck with the cold fear that if they exposed Clark to anyone else, he'd be taken from them and they’d never see him again.
The silence prompted Hippolyta to reach for Martha’s hand and squeeze it lightly, sensing that there was some pain behind it. Hippolyta felt a kinship with Martha, aware that this woman understood all too well that raising an extraordinary child was not without its own dangers and difficulties. Even with all their powers, neither Kal nor Diana were truly invulnerable. Furthermore, their destinies constantly placed them at odds with beings who were almost as powerful and capable of defeating them both.
“I do not think anyone else could have done so well for him as you and your mate, Martha,” Hippolyta spoke. “We all feel the need to protect our children from what we believe might harm them. I myself worried that when Diana was a child, growing up in an island where everyone around her were millennia old might have made her feel isolated and alone.”
“Oh I don’t think she could have felt alone,” Martha was quick to assure the queen, not after what she’d seen since being here. Her gaze swept across the island, thinking that aside from its beauty, this was a close-knit community that reminded her of Smallville in many ways. “Just the way all of you have welcomed Kara since she’s been here tells me that no child growing with all this could ever feel alone.”
Martha's remarked serve to jog Hippolyta's memory of Diana's childhood and what her birth had meant to her Amazon sisters. “Truth be told, my sisters are rather delighted to have another child here to fuss over and indulge. It has been a long time since Diana was a child. She was the first infant born to this island and she did not belong only to me but to all of us.”
“It shows,” Martha replied, thinking that Diana’s sweet nature had to do with the positive environment in which she had been raised. “Kara’s been through so much. It’s bad enough that she’s arrived on a new world but she’s lost everything and everyone she’s ever known. Seeing her smile and laugh,” Martha’s voice choked with emotion thinking the change in Kara's demeanour since being here, “I can’t thank you enough for that. Not just for giving us a place to hide but for helping her see she’s not alone. She needs that now more than anything.”
“It is my pleasure Martha,” Hippolyta said glad to hear that. “Kara’s stay benefits us as much as you. Furthermore, Diana considers Clark family as do I. Your son helped my daughter defeat Ares and saved my people. You and yours will always be welcome here.”
“Thank you,” Martha said genuinely touched by the emotion. Glancing up at Diana once more, she sighed, “Clark and Diana are so much alike. Their powers allow them to understand each other in a way I don’t think anyone can truly appreciate. Clark’s never really had that kind of connection.”
“Diana as well,” Hippolyta admitted and then frowned, “however it is her romantic connections that give me pause.”
“Ah,” Martha rolled her eyes and tried not to smirk because this feeling, she knew well too. “Diana’s like most young women. There’s just something about the brooding, silent type…”
***********
“Keep up little one,” Diana called out to the girl even though the Amazon princess knew the taunt would return to haunt her, if what she had seen of Kara's ability was any indication. Leaving Kara behind her, Diana soared higher and higher into air, until she was punching a hole through the clouds, leaving Themyscira a rapidly shrinking speck beneath her.
“No fair!” Kara shouted after her, trying to make herself heard over the sound of roaring wind in Diana’s wake. “I just learned how to fly!” She pouted and became even more determined to catch up.
Yet even as she said it, Kara knew she had no fear, not any more. Not only that but she was actually flying! Beneath her was Themyscira and the higher she got, the greater this feeling of freedom spread across her chest until it felt like she might explode from the sheer power of it. Kara glanced down and saw the island disappearing into the vast blue ocean that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see. This world was so different, not at all like Krypton and definitely not like the containment of Argo City. It was big and it was beautiful and she want to run or fly across it so she'd all of it.
The realisation made her laugh, made her understand why Father wanted her to come here, why he was willing to lie to get her here. She wished she could tell him and Mother how wonderful it was to be able to do this. However, since she could not, she would do the next best thing. She would honour them by living the life they had sacrificed so much to ensure she’d have. Since coming to Earth, Kara had been so afraid. She thought she was alone but these past few days had taught her she was anything but that. There was Kal, Martha, Lois, Diana and all the Amazons who welcomed her with open arms since coming to Themyscira and Earth. Every one of them had extended their hand to her in friendship.
She had only to take it and in doing so, she was set free.
Diana had taught her how to use her strength, taught her how to pick a cup without shattering it and how to hug a person without breaking every bone in their body. Diana had taught her how to use her speed, how to defend herself, how to move so fast, she was almost invisible. The simplest things she’d taken for granted needed to be relearned and though he knew her training was nowhere complete she was eager to master it all. After what had happened to Martha because of those horrible women, Kara was determined to become the warrior she needed to be to protect the people she loved.
Diana’s most important lesson however, had nothing to do with her powers.
“Your powers make you strong little one but they are not all you are.”
Those were words that could have come from her father and Kara paid attention. Diana was right, these powers were amazing and what they allowed her to was just as amazing but she could never forget who she had been before she had them. Her parents had raised her to care for people, to be kind, to be a person of good conscience. Those women had tried to take her so they could turn her into a monster. They’d almost killed Martha to achieve that end and that was a crime Kara could not forgive. Her outrage added fire to her determination to gain control of these powers. They were never going to take her and they certainly weren't going to hurt anyone else trying.
Kal was out there right now, Diana told her, protecting the humans as Superman. Kara had been powerless to help her parents and Argo City. She would not fail her new family now that she had the power to protect them.
Tucking one arm beneath her chest, Kara outstretched the other forward, aiming herself like a comet as she streaked through the sky, white hot and unstoppable. She didn’t realise that she was going faster and faster, not until she reached Diana and started to pass her by. Kara flashed the Amazon a smile of mischief, waving once before another surge of acceleration had her explode forward, leaving Diana behind. A loud boom exploded around her and the clouds scattered as if they were trying to get out of her way as she pulled further away from her teacher.
Up this high, there were no clouds and the colour of the blue sky began to darken. The air around her thinned and felt cooler though she did not notice. Staring ahead, she could see the heavens beyond the earth, twinkling their amusement at her audacity. Laughing, she performed a series of loops, squealing in delight with each new manoeuvre.
The shockwave from the sonic boom disrupted Diana’s flight and she called out after the girl, aware that would be a point where she would not be able to keep up with the Kryptonian. Kal was able to break the gravitational pull of planet to brave the vacuum of the exosphere, Diana could not. While she was pleased that Kara was pushing her limits, the girl had less than a day of flying experience behind her and Diana did not want Kara to lose control of the situation by impetuousness. Besides if she experienced any difficulty up there, Diana might not be able to retrieve her.
“KARA! COME BACK NOW!”
She thought Kara might disobey because the girl was riding a wave of euphoria that was difficulty to rein due to her youth. Diana herself remembered just how intoxicating it was to fly for the first time and her heart swelled with pride that she'd been able to help Kara realise that ability but like any teacher, she was cautious. For the first time, Diana began to understand Hippolyta’s anxiety that same day. Life is a circle, Diana sighed inwardly and felt a surge of relief when she saw Kara heading back towards her.
Instead of stopping, Kara tackled Diana in a big hug that had them both plunging downwards a little before both women regained control of their flight and pulled apart to hover in place for the moment.
“Diana, that is so amazing!" Kara gushed, oblivious to the fact that with the wind velocity around them, she was barely audible at 200 thousand feet. "I can’t believe it! I could see the stars Diana! If I’d gone any further, I could have been in space! Can I go into space? Has Kal done it?” She asked firing all of these questions as quickly as she could think them. Suddenly, Kara couldn’t wait to see Kal again. She had all these questions for him. Had he ever gone into space? Did he have to wear breathers? Was it cold? Would they feel the cold out there? Could they fly in a vacuum? So many questions! Her head was almost bursting with them.
Diana laughed because Kara’s excitement was so infectious. Diana barely heard half of what Kara was saying and suspected that it had not occurred to Kara that she did not possess the hearing of a Kryptonian. As it was, it was only Kara’s super hearing that allowed her to hear Diana’s earlier call. Instead of trying to answer, she gestured Kara to follow as they began their descent to return home.
Understanding that it was time to head back to the island, Kara nodded and smirked again before diving towards the ground, leaving Diana behind her again. She couldn't wait to tell Martha everything that had happened today.
Diana shook her head and smiled, suddenly feeling the need to find her mother and apologise to Hippolyta for her entire childhood.
Thanks to the holidays, there was no need for Lois to return immediately to work when she returned to Metropolis. To avoid explaining to Perry how she'd gotten hurt, Lois decided to stay at her apartment to recover. She'd already planned to take a few days for her stay in Smallville and saw no reason to change that when the timing was so opportune. Besides, there was plenty for her to do even if she'd promised Clark she'd take it easy. Despite his concerns for her wellbeing, both of them knew that the current situation with Valerie needed immediate action.
Of course what that action could be was another question entirely.
Bruce had promised to help but he was distracted by the welfare of his young charge and Lois didn’t want to impose on this time any more than she had to. Besides, he already done more than enough by sending Diana to the farm when he had. Lois shuddered to think what would have happened if the Amazon hadn't arrived. Kara would have been spirited away to that alien world and both she and Martha would be most likely dead. There had been no way to help Valerie when she'd been taken and the thought of the same thing happening to Kara was more than Lois could stand. Valerie had turned into a monster although there was a part of Lois that wasn’t ready to believe she was an irredeemable one.
The billowing drapes riding a sudden gust of wind through the balcony doors told Lois that Clark was back. Immediately snapping her laptop lid close, she fumbled for the remote and hastily switched on the television before lying back on the sofa, feigning rest and recuperation before he stepped into the apartment. C been insistent that she get some rest even though Lois felt by now, he really ought to know better. Still, she didn't want to hear the complaining so it was better to play the part.
Clark zipped through the balcony doors faster than the eye could see, mostly to avoid being seen by anyone outside before the building. Still in the suit, he saw Lois on the sofa, pretending to watch Oprah and rolled his eyes, perfectly aware of what she had been doing prior to his return.
“Give it up Lane,” he scowled as he joined her on the sofa. “You know I have X-ray vision right? I can see before I even get through the doors.”
Lois made a face at him and stuck out her tongue in retaliation.
“Oh very mature,” Clark shook his head before leaning forward to plant a quick kiss on her lips before pulling back again. “How you doing?”
“I'm okay really,” she assured him, aware that his worry for her had largely to do with her fragile, human self. Clark often took too much responsibility for any injury she sustained believing he had failed in some way to protect by being unable to prevent it. Reaching for his hand, she ran a thumb over his knuckle in affection and saw his earlier ire wanning. “Besides you know me. When I have ever been able to sit around and do nothing?”
She had him there, Clark decided conceding defeat. Lois was a bundle of energy that sometimes left Clark with his Kryptonian physiology, in the dust. Then again, she had been that way since he met her. Clark had lost count of how many weird escapades she’d dragged him into, even before they were paired up as partners at the Daily Planet. Of course when he was in Smallville, she'd driven him crazy with her antics while these days, he wondered how he didn’t adore her from the start.
It always made him smile to remember that when she'd been giving him the speech about saving for a bike, it was she who ended being his Harley.
“Okay so assuming that you've been working all morning,” Clark declared getting to his feet to make her lunch because knowing Lois, she'd forget to eat or would end up calling for some unhealthy takeaway. “What did you find out?”
Glad to give up the facade, Lois grinned and reached for her laptop again, “Not much about three super powered psycho fembots unfortunately but I did look into DeSaad Corporation. You know it’s become a telecommunications company since we exposed the human experimentation they were conducting seven year ago.”
Clark was aware that DeSaad was back in business but he also knew that Bruce would have kept close eye on the company following its collapse after Valerie was taken. However due to his five year absence, he couldn’t say that he was completely up to date on its recent status. “You think they might be still connected to Valerie and those aliens?” He asked from the kitchen as he heated two slices of bread with a burst of heat vision.
“I don't know,” Lois replied with a frown, unhappy that she couldn't see the connection using the only resource available to her at the moment. She needed to be out there, talking to contacts, checking sources, and really investigating to get at the truth. One could only Google so much. “I mean the company was struggling for years after Valerie and then a last few years ago, they got bought out by a corporate raider named Grace Good. Since then, Good’s taken them into the smart phone market and put them back in the Fortune 500 lists again.”
Clark was aware of the name in passing as he stepped out of the kitchen, carrying Lois' meal of eggs and toast. “What do we know about her?”
Lois sat up a little straighter at the aroma of hot coffee and could help but chuckle at the sight of Superman in her living room, serving her lunch.
“Not much,” she said as she made room for the tray he was putting on her lap. “Grace went to Vassar, spent most of the Noughties as corporate raider who was famous for buying and breaking up failing companies. She amassed a sizeable fortune doing it so when she came aboard DeSaad; it was assumed she was going to break it up. Instead, she restructured the company and put their remaining capital into smart phones. It paid off.”
“Really,” Clark poured her a cup of coffee and sat next to her again. It seemed too convenient but then again, the woman could simply be very good at what she did. It definitely bore more investigation. “Since you're not going to get any rest, how about you try and find out what you can about her. I mean the information that's not in some annual company report.”
“Aye, aye captain,” she offered him a salute. “You should talk to Bruce see what he’s got on them. Also, find out if he's heard from Diana. I'd like to know how Mrs Kent and Kara are doing.”
“Yeah I'll check in with him,” Clark agreed. Truth be told, they had been in close contact. Diana's last report to Bruce had revealed that his mom was healing well and Diana was helping Kara master some of her abilities. Clark felt guilty about being teach her himself. After all, she was his cousin. Still he suspected Diana had the temperament to be a good teacher and Kara might relate to a friend better than family, for instruction.
“I gotta go,” he leaned forward and kissed her again. “I'll be back this evening. What do you want for dinner?”
“Ooh Szechuan!” Lois exclaimed excitedly because when Clark got Chinese takeaway, he didn't get it from Chinatown but from downtown Shanghai. Hey there had to be some perks to dating the man of steel.
“Okay,” he laughed. “The usual then. Call me if you need anything.”
“Don't worry,” she winked at him. “I'll turn on the Bat signal.”
Clark gave her a look, “very funny.”
***********
Bruce had returned to Haly's Circus twice since the murder of the Flying Graysons.
The first occasion was to examine the crime scene after the media frenzy had died down. Gordon had given him access to the crime scene before it was catalogued and cleared away by forensic technicians. Truth be told, Bruce would have conducted his own investigation whether or not Gordon paved the way. Prior to his alliance with the Commissioner, Bruce had often intruded on crime scenes to conduct his own forensic analysis but he had to admit it was easier to do when he didn't have to avoid a bunch of cops.
The second time was only recent, when he had followed Dick here after the boy had left the manor to return to the scene of his parents' death. The child had tried to understand why his parents had died and had thought seeing the place where they had fallen might give him answers. Unfortunately it had not. However, Dick had come away from the encounter knowing that the Batman was on the trail of his parents’ murder. Bruce believed it had helped.
Tonight, Bruce's visit to the circus had little to do with the crime scene and more to do with its owner, C.C Haly. It hadn't taken much deduction for Bruce to reach the conclusion that the death of the Graysons had little to do with them and everything to do with where they had died. From what Bruce had been able to learn about the family, Jonathan and Mary had been good upstanding people who took pains to raise their son with all the opportunities that they were able to provide. They were loved by those who knew them and had no reason to earn the hatred that provoked their callous murder.
This meant that their deaths were a warning to someone else.
Normally he'd keep the place under surveillance, infiltrating the performers’ ranks by wearing one of his many guises but time was of the essence. It wouldn’t be long before Gordon gave them permission to leave Gotham and with the grim cloud of tragedy hanging over the circus, he suspected they would not hesitate to put this city behind them. Once that happened, potential witnesses could scatter to the four winds and Bruce would never get the answers he needed. He knew in his gut that if he didn’t solve this before they left town, he may never solve the crime at all and he was determined to solve for Dick’s sake.
***********
Charles Carnegie Haly poured himself another drink from the half empty bottle of whiskey sitting on the Formica top table bolted to the floor of the his aging campervan. Raising the glass to his lips, he sipped the amber liquid, taking comfort in the burn that ran down his gullet as his eyes brushed over the once colourful posters adorning the walls of the motor home. He was working himself into a good drunk and knew that it would take only another glass or two before he passed out for the night. It was the best possible outcome after too many sleepless nights of late.
Like other performers in the circus, Haly’s nights were filled with nightmares of Jon and Mary, tumbling to the sawdust, their lives ending with a sickly splatter of shattered bone and muscle. They’d been watching the performance, riveted as always, watching them in awe and wonder before it all went wrong and all he could remember was the shock and horror. Even now, the memory of it made him wince, leaving his throat dry and causing his heart shrivelling in his chest. It was almost hard to breathe.
It shouldn’t have happened, not to them, not in front of Dick.
Sixty-five years in the business and he’d never seen an accident like this. He’d always tried to be better than most, treated his performers like family and like any good father, he made sure they were safe. The deaths of his favourite children had broken his heart and would likely follow him into death. He knew it would never the same again, the experience had poisoned the joy the circus had brought to his life, souring it forever.
He let out a shudder of anguish and drained the glass quickly, suddenly deciding that the drunk wasn’t coming fast enough. He wanted to drink until he was passed out or numb, he no longer cared which came first. Reaching for the bottle, Haly wanted to chase the last swallow with another when suddenly the lights inside the camper went dark and he was sitting in pitch dark. He froze in mid-reach, lowering his hand cautiously as a single thought crossed his mind.
They’ve come back.
Something moved across the floor of the motor home like wraith in haunt. He didn’t know where the dark shape had originated, only aware that it was slowly approaching him. Haly opened his mouth to speak but was incapable of making a sound. Suddenly a beam of light pouring through the window caught the odd shape emblem on the figure’s chest. It was the angular shape of a bat. The intruder paused a few feet away from the table and Haly saw a cowled figure, shrouded in a long dark cloak spoke with a voice that sounded like brittle glass.
“Jonathan and Mary Grayson were killed to send a message to you.”
The words hung in the air for a few seconds and Haly almost opened his mouth to protest but as it sunk in; he fell silent again because despite the delivery, it was the truth. He couldn’t deny it no matter how much he wished otherwise.
“Who were they?” The dark shape demanded with finality, sounding as if it were a foregone conclusion with no need for Haly’s confirmation, where his answer was merely formality.
“I don’t know,” Haly muttered weakly, guilt driving the lie. “I don’t.” He insisted, trying to convince himself more than the thing waiting for an answer in the shadows.
Silence followed for a few seconds before the intruder spoke again. “Dick deserves the truth.”
Haly’s shoulders sagged as if the words were a thousand pound weight that had just landed on him. It drove the wind of any protest or argument out of him and made the words die in his throat. He couldn't fight the truth of that simple utterance and he knew he owed it to the dear friends who had died to tell this creature anything he wanted. Justice demanded no less.
“I didn't think they were serious,” he confessed at last, feeling his voice becoming strangled with emotion. His breath escaped him in ragged pants like the revelation was sapping his will. "I swear I didn't think they'd hurt anyone."
The Batman showed no reaction to the man's tortured statement or offer any words of sympathy. That was not what he was about. He spoke for the victims and ensured they received justice even in death. The wreckage left by the crime was not his to attend.
He waited in silence for Haly to compose himself and continue his dark tale.
“They came to me the night before the show. Two men who looked like something of a bad mob movie. They even spoke like they were putting on a show."
"What did they want?" the Batman asked although he had a good idea.
"Money," Haly said bitterly. "They said that with all the celebrities attending the gala performance I should have fat ticket sales. They wanted 60 percent. They said it was the price of doing business in Gotham." In the shadowy light of the campervan, Haly's expression crumpled with grief. "I thought it was a joke! I wasn't afraid. I didn't take them seriously. God help me, I didn’t take them seriously....” His words descended into anguished sobs.
"Did they give you their names?”
The question stopped Haly’s tears and he raised his head to stare at the stranger with blue eyes that had become darker of late. “Not intentionally. They didn't use names when they were speaking to me but I heard one of them when they were leaving.” The visual of the two men appeared in his mind, one who was all muscle and said little except an obligatory grunt here and there while the other, with the slick back hair and the expensive suit, smiled like a hyena and did all the talking.
“I heard one of them call the other Tony."
***********
Tony Zucco.
The Batman knew him well. Anthony Zucco was one of Sal Maroni's chief lieutenants in Gotham, a thug who was a lot smarter than he looked. Zucco had risen in the ranks of Gotham’s underworld during power struggle following the arrest of Carmine Falcone. Zucco's speciality was extortion and had almost bled parts of Gotham's Little Italy dry until Gordon became commissioner and adopted a zero tolerance policy towards the crime. Before that, those who didn’t pay would live to regret it. Zucco never went after them directly but it was always a loved one that got hurt or killed. He was not only vindictive but also an egotistical son of a bitch.
He liked the notoriety.
Bruce could only imagine what fury Haly had unknowingly provoked by not taking Zucco seriously. Zucco didn’t take slight to his ego well and the message to Haly, written in Jonathan and Mary Grayson's blood, was a display of power, to show Haly who he was dealing with. It was very much in keeping with Zucco's modus operandi.
The Batman was determined to see Zucco enjoy all the notoriety he could wish for when he dragged the mobster to the Courthouse steps.
***********
The Batman watched the strip joint called the Sin Kitty Club from the shadows of an old margarine billboard perched atop a dilapidated building across the street.
Bruce had taken down Carmine Falcone during his first year as Batman. Falcone had held Gotham in a death grip for decades and had done so by bribing everyone from judges to beat cops to ensure his supremacy. His sudden removal had resulted in a power vacuum that sparked bloody violence through the underworld as numerous factions jockeyed for position. After gang warfare had left countless dead, Sal Maroni, a former Falcone lieutenant had emerged to take his master’s place and with him was a new cabal of hungry, vicious gangsters, all vying to be his chief lieutenant.
Tony Zucco was one of these.
Bruce was convinced that extorting coin from Haly's circus on the night of its big showy, extravaganza with all of Gotham's luminaries, was Zucco’s bid to top the list of contenders. It was certainly not the action Sal Maroni would have condoned. Maroni was nowhere as bold as Falcone and preferred to keep his shady dealings out of public view. When Thomas and Martha Wayne had been gunned down years before, public outrage had led to an awareness of the criminal cancer in the city. While Jonathan and Mary Grayson did not possess the profile of his parents, the result could be the same. Shock like that had a tendency to shake people out of their complacency.
Still, it infuriated Bruce to think that Dick's parents were murdered because one man had decided to impress his boss.
Maroni owned the Sin Kitty Club and was known to conduct his business from the premises. If Bruce wanted to find Zucco, this was the best place to do it. He was preparing to spend the next few hours keeping the club under surveillance when he felt his cape flutter around his ankles, a tell tale sign he had a visitor.
Still staring at club frontage with its gaudy neon pink lettering and cartoonish image of a cat lying in a cocktail glass, he did not look over his shoulder when he spoke.
“What are you doing here?” Bruce asked coldly. “I'm working.”
How did he do that? Clark grumbled inwardly as he descended onto the grimy roof after scanning Gotham’s roof top for the last hour. He supposed he could have called but if Bruce was working, the man would not appreciate having to answer his cell phone.
Nevertheless, Bruce’s frosty reception made Clark think twice about seeking him out tonight. It wasn’t unusual for Clark to drop in on Bruce when he was working and while the Batman always seemed aloof, Clark knew his visits were welcomed. Tonight however, his manner was all business.
”I'm sorry to bother you," Clark apologised immediately. "I just came to ask you something.”
“This is not a good time,” Bruce retorted curtly without looking back at Clark and continued to his vigil over the Sin Kitty Club.
Only years of friendship gave Clark the courage to ignore Bruce's abrupt dismissal. Bruce had a tendency to keep things bottled up, unleashing it on the deserving criminals of Gotham. However, Bruce was his friend and the loyalty they gave each other would not allow him to withdraw, even when Bruce was at his most obdurate. Something was bothering his friend and he wasn't going anywhere until he knew what that was.
"What's going on?” Clark asked again, avoiding the use of Bruce's name. They never addressed each other directly when they were talking to each other in the open. “You know I won't go until you tell me.”
Bruce grunted a muffled curse under his breath. His best friend could be the biggest pain in the ass sometimes even if he was one of the few people who was unafraid to call Bruce out on his behaviour. Bruce attributed Clark’s stubbornness to his Kansas upbringing which could be a real nuisance to someone as solitary as he. However, he also knew that having a friend like Clark was what kept him grounded when it was easier to give in to rage and disconnection.
“The mobster who killed Dick's family is down there,” Bruce replied finally, nodding in the direction of the restaurant.
“Oh,” Clark exclaimed quietly, understanding the situation entirely now. “Are you going to bring him in?”
“Not yet,” Bruce's words dripped with venom. “But I will.”
“Can I help?” Clark offered, forgetting Kara and their current predicament for the moment. This was important to Bruce and so it was important to him too.
Bruce's shoulders relaxed slightly and when he spoke again, the edge to his voice was no longer as sharp and without even hearing him say it, Clark knew Bruce was touched by the offer. “I can handle it myself,” he said looking over his shoulder for the first time. “But thank you.”
“Anytime you need me, I’m there,” Clark reiterated.
“I know,” Bruce replied with a nod.
“Alright,” Clark said deciding to shelve the question about DeSaad for now. “I'll leave you to your surveillance.”
“You came here for a reason,” Bruce stated turning to face Clark before the man of steel flew off. “What did you need?”
Clark hesitated but Bruce's tone was now friendlier than it had been a moment ago. “Lois has been looking into DeSaad Corporation. It’s under new management but she's wondering if there's any reason to think it could still have the same affiliations as Michael Canto.”
“It’s possible,” Bruce had considered the possibility by his investigations into to the company had gotten side-tracked after his encounter with Dick at the circus. “It’s easy enough for anyone to fake their credentials if they had knowledge and the resources. Michael Canto certainly did. I'll look into Grace Good when I get back to the cave.”
“Thank you,” Clark said appreciating the effort, aware that Bruce was more focussed on getting justice for his new ward. "How is he doing?”
“Not good but...” Bruce started to say and then needed a moment to articulate what he wanted to say because it was never easy for him to talk about the emotional subjects. “He's got heart. He wants me to find the killers so they don't hurt anyone again. It took me years to be able to get to the point where I could see past revenge and this kid; he gets it better than I ever did.”
Clark heard the affection and pride in Bruce's voice and knew that it was unlikely that Bruce would ever relinquished his guardianship of young Dick Grayson. The boy was not only a kindred spirit but he connected with the implacable man that was Bruce Wayne far deeper than anyone had ever managed to so. Even more so than Chloe, Dian or even Clark himself. Dick was someone he understood, someone he could help because he had suffered the same anguish.
However, the difference between Bruce and Dick's process of healing was blatantly obvious to everyone, but the world's greatest detective.
“That's because you're there for him Bruce. You and Alfred. You were there to pick up the pieces straight away because you understand what he's going through. Sometimes just that makes all the difference. You and Alfred being there has made it better for him, not necessarily easier but still better.”
Bruce didn’t know what to say to that and Clark took his silence as a signal to leave. When confronted with an emotion he found to difficult to cope with, Bruce found it simpler to withdraw.
Saying it out loud was harder than trying to bring Zucco to justice.
***********
It was just before dawn when Bruce finally drove back to the manor.
Zucco had made an appearance and Bruce followed him for the next few hours, filing away the man’s nocturnal habits and where he’d call home. Tomorrow, Bruce would begin a more invasive surveillance effort. Zucco would be able to take a piss without Bruce knowing about it. He wanted to ensure that whatever information he gathered would hold up in court and he might need Gordon to achieve that end.
Driving through the darkened woods that made up part of the Wayne Estate, Bruce took the familiar path to the cave, thinking that he might catch a few hours sleep before he had to deal with the day’s efforts. Having Dick in the house meant he couldn’t emerge from his bedroom in the mid afternoon as if he were continuing his playboy lifestyle, not when he wanted to be Dick’s permanent guardian.
The boy hadn’t made the decision yet and Bruce had no desire to pressure him. At the moment, he was just grateful to be able to keep Dick out of foster care.
The tumbler rumbled through the cascade concealing the cave from the outside world with a burst of acceleration. The car which was a bridging vehicle was able to traverse the drop between the water and the ledge with ease, landing on the shelf of rock with its usual clumsy grace. The headlights illuminated the darkened cave most likely annoying the several thousand bats that lived within in. However, Bruce had a suspicion that they had grown accustomed to sharing the cave with him since they no longer swarmed as much as they used to when the vehicle arrived.
After securing the vehicle, Bruce made walked down the ramp that led to the series of metal platforms he had constructed throughout the cave, connected by more walkways and ramps. He built the framework to match the interior of the cave, so he didn’t have to bring down heavy drilling equipment to make more space. The final platform led to the mechanical elevator that would take him to the south west wing of the manor. Two centuries ago, these very caves had helped runaway slaves to their freedom.
Upon stepping off the ramp that led him away from the car, he stripped down to his underclothes, leaving the suit along with the boots on a pile for Alfred to deal with in the morning. Slipping on the robe he left on a workbench for this purpose, Bruce ran his fingers through his hair and decided he needed a shower before bed. Reaching the elevator, he stepped inside and noted its creak as it ascended.
Going to have to fix that, he thought to himself. The last thing he needed was for Dick to hear creaking noises coming from nowhere in a big, gothic manor. That will make a kid sleep better.
The minute he walked into the east wing of the manor where his bedroom and that of Dick’s was located, Bruce felt something was wrong.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on what exactly had set alarm bells off in his head but instinct had saved his life on numerous occasions so he no longer questioned it. Nothing seemed immediately out of place as he walked down the hallway adorned by ornate sculptures and priceless artworks. The manor appeared as it always did, pristine under Alfred's expert care. It was only when he turned the corner did he feel his breath catch in his lungs.
Slumped against the doorway to Dick's room, was Alfred Pennyworth. His head hung limply forward while his arms rested on either side of him while his legs were stretched out in front of him. The front of his usually impeccably starched butler's white shirt was stained crimson. If it were not for the blood, Alfred might have resembled a wino who had fallen asleep drunk in someone’s doorway on a cold night.
"ALFRED!"
Bruce was running before he had even cried out, skidding to his knees when he reached the older man. For one who was never overcome by a situation, Bruce’s heart was pounding like a drum in his chest. The very idea of Alfred being dead was more than he could dare entertain. He crushed the thought mercilessly in his mind, refusing to give it any thought. He couldn’t. If he succumb to the possibility of losing Alfred, he’d shut down and be of no use to anyone. He loved this old man more than he loved anyone in the world and the thought he could be dead....
"Master Bruce....." Alfred's head jerked up at Bruce’s touch. “What did I say about running in these halls...”
Bruce let out a short laugh that was half relief and half anguish. “You’re going to be alright, I’m going to get you help.” He said trying to check the older man’s wound without hurting him any more than he had to. He could see the cut through Alfred’s shirt, the wounds were deep and the blood in his shirt and in the carpet below the man told Bruce he had lost a lot of blood. Unfortunately, Bruce couldn’t tell if any vital organs were also damaged. This was too much for him to deal with. Alfred needed a hospital and soon. “Just rest Alfred,” he clutching Alfred’s stained hand, “I’m going to get you help.”
"Master Bruce," Alfred croaked refusing to sit still, not until he told Bruce what he needed to. "I couldn't stop them. They took Master Dick..."
Dick. In his panic at seeing Alfred, Bruce had forgotten about Dick.
"What?" Bruce exclaimed before jumping to his feet and rushing through the door to the boy’s room.
The struggle that left Alfred so grievously injured was immediately apparent when he stepped into the room. A window had been smashed, the pattern of glass indicating the intruders had come from the outside of the house. Glass fragments covered the floor beneath the window sill. They’d crossed the floor towards Dick’s bed, upending the side table, probably in the struggle to get the boy out of it. The vase and irises it contained was smashed against the rug and then crushed underfoot in the struggle. The bound copy of Treasure Island which the boy been reading was splayed open next to the bed with the sheets pulled off the mattress.
They’d dragged him out of his bed.
As he studied the room, his blood turned cold at the message they’d left for him.
‘GIVE US THE GIRL OR WE WILL RETURN THE BOY IN PIECES.’
His head hurt.
He could feel the pain pressing against the walls of his skull, a dull throbbing ache that made him wince. One side of his body felt cold and his limbs ached, adding to the general discomfort forcing him into lucidity. His thoughts were foggy but not simply because of the pain. It felt like the lethargy of waking up except it didn’t feel like he awoke from a restful sleep. There was something not right about it and it bothered him being unable to articulate the sensation.
Blinking once or twice, he lifted his head and a groan escaped his lips in reflex.
The sound felt muffled in his ears as Dick Grayson took stock of his surroundings and found this was definitely not the comfortable surroundings of his room at Wayne Manor. His body ached because he was lying on a hard, stone floor in a windowless room resembling a dungeon one saw in those movies with knights and wizards. There was a bed mounted against the wall not unlike the ones in the trailers of some of the circus folk at Haly’s. The stainless steel bowl of a toilet protruded from the walls on the other side with the button to flush also built into the rock.
He was in jail.
The thought sparked a jolt of clarity and in a millisecond, images flashed before his eyes like he was viewing his very own picture show. They broke through the window and took him! Alfred tried to stop them, Dick realised and then a wave of despair remembering how one of the strange women, the one with razors on her fingers (like Wolverine!) attacked him. Like the night he saw his parents die, watching the crazy lady slashing at Alfred, his impeccable butler’s shirt staining with blood was more than he could stand.
Dick sat up with a start and another groan of a pain escaped his lips.
Sitting up did clear up the fog in his head and when it did, he recognised another sound. Crying. He was alone in the room but he could still hear the soft, pitiful sounds of tears coming through the walls.
Rolling onto his hands and knees, he crawled across the stone floor to the metal door that sealed him inside this room. At the foot of the door, there was a slot, presumably for a food tray to be slid in. It was way to narrow for him to use as an escape but it if he got right down against the floor, it allowed him a look outside the room. Pressing his cheeks against the floor, he pushed the slot open and peered outside. Perhaps it would help him figure out where he was.
Beyond his cell, Dick saw a long corridor that stretched as far as his limited view could see.
Against the walls were more doors like the one he was trapped behind. They ran along the walls as far as the eye could see and it took every ounce of strength he had learned to develop since his parents died, to not allow his eight year old self to descending into panic.
Don’t be afraid Dick, his father used to say when he was on the fly bar. Just think what comes next. If you panic, you’ll fall.
Thinking about John Grayson wasn’t helping. If anything, it made him want to cry even more. It made him miss not just father but also his mother, whose embrace he wanted to feel more than anything in the world right now. He blinked and felt angry that there were tears on his cheeks. He had to be brave, he told himself. He was in a bad place and he had to be brave if he wanted to survive it.
Another thought exploded in his head, like artillery shells at that moment. The Batman! The Batman promised to find out who had hurt his parents. The Batman was the world’s greatest detective right? He’d know if Dick was kidnapped! It was a foolish, fragile hope to assume that the Dark Knight who promised to find his parents would also be his guardian angel but right now, Dick would cling to any shred of hope he could get.
Instead, he forced away his fear and focussed on the sound that had drawn him to the door in the first place—the crying. He sniffled away his own anxieties and strained to listen. After a second, he was rewarded with the same muffled tears being shed close by.
Perhaps as near the next cell even.
“Hello?” He called out gingerly, realising only after he had spoken that his jailors might answer instead.
Luck was with him because the crying paused abruptly and an uncertain voice replied back after a few seconds.
“Hello?”
It was another kid! Dick thought excitedly, his chest swelling in hope.
“Hi, I’m Dick,” he introduced himself quickly. “What’s your name?”
Dick heard a loud sniffle and guessed the other child was pressed against the floor speaking through the slot as he was doing. After a few seconds, he received an answer.
“Doe,” came the soft voice.
“Doe? That’s pretty,” he said back and wondered if the other kid was a girl. Doe sounded like a girl’s name but it was hard to tell. “Doe, do you know where we are?”
“No,” Doe replied in a small voice and Dick suddenly had the feeling that the other child was much younger than him. Doe sounded like a baby.
“How did you get here?” He asked instead. He hoped Doe’s experience might share some light on where they were.
There was another pause and it seemed like Doe had to think before answering Dick’s question. “I don’t know. There was a fire and someone carried me out but I don’t remember anything else.”
Definitely a baby, Dick thought impatiently.
Doe started to sniffle again and Dick was sure Doe was a girl. Only girls cried like that. Once again, he remembered what John Grayson said about girls and being nice to them.
“Its okay,” he assured her even though he was frightened himself by this place and the situation they were in. “Don’t cry. I have a guardian angel you know like Warrior Angel except he’s a bat and he’s real smart. He said he was going to help me so if I’m lost he’s sure to come looking.”
Doe didn’t answer straight away but did stop crying. “Warrior Angel? Who’s Warrior Angel?”
“He’s a hero,” Dick explained and then went on to explain the whole story about Warrior Angel and his battles with Devilicus, his arch nemesis.
Dick was confident that just like Warrior Angel, the Batman would come to save them both.
At least he hoped so.
*****
“How is Alfred?” Lois Lane demanded when Bruce opened the door to the manor.
As soon as they learned what happened, Lois insisted on Clark bringing her to Gotham even though she knew he wanted her to remain at home in Metropolis and recuperate. Clark had initially intended to make the journey alone, suspecting he would need to Bruce from going off the deep end in his efforts to rescue Dick.
As it stood, Clark felt bad enough that Dick was taken because of Kara.
“He’s alive,” Bruce answered, turning his back on them as soon as the door was open, fully expecting the duo to follow him. “He’s lost a lot of blood because of the deep lacerations but he’s in serious condition.”
Bruce’s tone indicated that even if he wasn’t wearing the cowl, he was operating with the mercurial calm of the Batman. No doubt it was the only way he could handle this kind of emotional turmoil, Clark thought silently.
“Bruce, should he be here?” Lois asked. Since Chloe’s death, Lois had become very fond of Alfred Pennyworth. The man was a warm presence in this cold house and Lois feared for what would become of Bruce without him. “Wouldn’t he be better off at a hospital?”
“I can’t take him to a hospital. They will take one look at his wounds and call the police. None of us here can risk the exposure.” His voice was bitter and Lois knew it was twisting him up inside being forced to take that into consideration when Alfred’s life was in danger. “Not to mention that the police will know Dick is missing. Fortunately and old friend of mine was able to treat him and she’s willing to remain discreet even if she’s not very happy about it.”
“Leslie?” Lois ventured a guess, knowing something of the woman.
“Leslie?” Clark stared at her, unfamiliar with this particular acquaintance.
“She’s an old friend,” Lois explained hastily as they followed Bruce up the stairs.
During the five years where he was absent, Lois and Bruce had bonded over their losses with Chloe’s death and Clark’s departure. They would have been family if not for Chloe’s death and in the aftermath, develop a friendship that was almost as keep as blood. Bruce had let her into his world so Lois knew something of Doctor Leslie Thompkins even if the two women had never met.
Doctor Thompkins had been young Bruce Wayne’s counsellor in the months following his parent’s death. While she was never able to repair the trauma done to his psyche, she and Alfred took on the role of surrogate parents to give Bruce some semblance of the family he’d lost.
“Bruce I’m sorry about this,” Clark felt compelled to apologise. He felt tremendously guilty that two people Bruce cared about so much, was harmed because of Kara. “I shouldn’t have…”
Bruce halted in his ascent and glanced over his shoulder.
“Clark, you didn’t break in here and attack Alfred nor did you take Dick.” His voice was even more brittle than usual. “This was all Valerie. She’s obviously remembered me from six years ago. It would have happened whether or not you came to me for help with Kara.”
“Exactly!” Lois declared, never having any patience with recriminations or apologies when they had a situation on their hands. “We’ve got to think of what to do. We’ve got to get Dick back and figure out how to keep Kara out of those psycho aliens’ radar. We can’t keep her on Themiscyra forever.”
“Spoken with your usual eloquence,” Bruce remarked, unable to help adore the hot-headed woman who might have been his in-law if Fate had been kinder. Her impetuous, balls to the wall bluster was the perfect complement to Clark’s calm, sometimes overly cautious manner. Furthermore, she had a way of cutting through the bullshit far more efficiently than any person Bruce had ever met.
“You’re right Lois,” Clark agreed begrudgingly as they reached the top of the stairs and started down the long hallway toward Alfred’s room. “We’ve got to get ahead of this. Bruce, did they give you any idea how to contact them to make the exchange?”
“Not yet but I assume it will be coming,” Bruce frowned, thinking on those bloody words on the wall. “They’re probably letting me stew first.”
“We need to talk to Diana and get her to bring Kara back. Agree to the exchange so they’ll bring Dick back and then deal with them.” Clark suggested.
Lois let out an involuntary exhale, showing her dislike at the idea. Years ago, they lost Valerie because Michael Canto had technology that had caught them unawares, resulting in Valerie being literally spirited away beyond their reach. Who knows what precautions they would take with a Kryptionian in the mix? Canto had shown that he knew how to neutralise Clark with blue kryptonite. Who was to say Dick’s abductors wouldn’t be prepared for the same with any exchange for Kara?
“No.” Bruce surprised them both with that one statement.
“What do you mean no?” Clark stared at him. “Bruce, they won’t show with Dick unless they see Kara.”
“I know that an exchange is our fall back position.”
“Then what do you have in mind?” Lois asked, throwing a sidelong glance at him.
No doubt his formidable intellect had been working on a course of action well before they arrived at the manner. In the face of adversity, that what Bruce did, Lois thought silently to herself. It was how he coped with pain—by making sense of it with a plan.
“We find out where Dick is first. Then we bring him home,” Bruce said firmly. “We’re not sacrificing one for the other.”
“Okay,” Clark was fully supportive of such a plan. “Where do we start?”
Bruce’s eyes narrowed, “I have a few ideas.”
***********
Grace was a light sleeper.
She wasn’t this way because she possessed any natural aversion to a deep slumber but because the nights on this Earth was more difficult to tolerate than the waking hours. While she could train her mind to ignore the sanitary sentimentality of the humans during the day, at night, she was at their mercy. The sounds of the night were so alien to her; Grace found she was unable to fully relax.
There was no ever pervading scent of poisoned atmosphere, not pounding or grinding of heavy machinery, not even the flap of para demons on route to enforcing Darkseid’s commands. Worse of all, there were no screams of pain, no pleas for mercy and no cruel taunts of rejection. These were the sounds that nursed her to sleep at night when at home but there was none of this on Earth and it served only to remind her how fragile she was.
She heard a sound, almost soundless in its delivery, like the near silence of cloth being dragged over the floor. At first she thought it might have been the rustle of a curtain because of an open window. Grace quickly discounted it because she occupied the penthouse of the Desmarcher Building and that high up; there were no windows that could be left open without high velocity winds rushing through the place. No, it wasn’t any window.
The thought prompted the mechanism of her waking mind into operation and she blinked awake, her eyes bleary from the restless sleep. Her room was shrouded in darkness and only vague shapes of her bedroom furniture came into focus at first. Grace’s instincts immediately kicked in and she knew there and then she wasn’t alone.
She had only a split second to do anything with this information because without warning, something clamped around her ankle and yanked back hard. Panic filled her as she was suddenly dragged across silk sheets, her nightdress rolling up her body as she edged the bed and landed with a light thud on the carpeted floor.
Grace tried to fight back but her assailant had other ideas. With her dress rolled up above her arms and the force of the grip on her ankle, Grace found herself dragged out to the next room before she was release. She tried to sit up but the boot was planted firmly on her sternum forced her back down again.
“What the hell is going on?” She demanded haughtily.
The room was shrouded but even in the darkness, Grace made out three figures in the shadows. Two were standing a few feet away but one was closer, standing over her. A glint of light pouring through the window gave her silhouettes she recognised immediately and gave her some sense of confidence, now that she knew who she was dealing with.
“Where is the boy?”
The voice that asked was cold like ice. It was barely a hoarse whisper but the command in it was unmistakable.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Grace replied smugly, “Mr. Wayne.”
If her statement was meant to unnerve the man in the cowl, it did not. Instead, he repeated the question. “Where is the boy?”
“What boy? Why have you attacked me in my home? I don’t know anything about any lost child.” She assumed their investigations into DeSaad led them here, that somehow the detective had pierced through her identity to guess that she was affiliated with Canto and responsible for the abduction of the child.
“Yes you do,” Bruce repeated himself. “You have no history before five years ago and what credentials you do have, you faked. You’re not local Miss Good.”
“You know all about false credentials don’t you Mr. Wayne,” Grace retorted snidely.
The Batman didn’t rise to the bait and that galled Grace. Compared to the other two, he was puny, inconsequential and yet she could see the other two reacting to her words while the man in the cowl remained unmoved.
“You went out of your way to acquire DeSaad, Miss Good and instead of dismantling it like all the other companies you’ve acquired, you’ve kept this one alive. In fact, you’ve nursed it back into prominence. I suspect that it was your intent all along.” He said.
“I made sound corporate decisions Mr Wayne,” she insisted on using his name, hoping to shake him. “Something you appear incapable of by this foolish display. By morning, I’ll have every law enforcement agency after all three of you. Heroes aren’t supposed to resort to coercion.”
“Let’s get this done,” the Kryptonian spoke up impatiently. “She’s just trying to bait you.”
“I know,” the Batman said and through the darkness, Grace thought she might have seen the gleam of teeth exposed in a smile. “Where is the boy?”
Grace’s patience stretched thin and then snapped, “even if I knew where he was, why would I tell you? Are you going to torture me? None of you weaklings have the mettle for that.”
“Now that’s where we have a surprise for you,” this time it was the Kryptonian speaking. “Do it Diana.”
There was no point hiding their identities because this woman obviously knew who they were. Of course by revealing that, she had given herself away and cemented Bruce’s theory that Grace Good originated from the same place at Michael Canto. Proving that she was complicit in abducting Dick was one thing—getting her to tell them where he was taken, was another matter.
Diana hated binding another sister and forcing her to their will but this woman had information they needed to save not just one child but two and that overrode Diana’s natural feminine solidarity. Uncoiling the golden lariat hanging from her belt, she pulled Grace into a sitting position and wrapped the cord around the woman.
“What are you doing?” Grace demanded, unfamiliar with the Amazon as she was with the Kryptonian and this human.
Diana ignored her, making certain that the lariat was coiled several times around Grace and holding her in place. It would take a god to break through the chain and Diana’s instincts told her that while Grace had her secrets, she was mostly human.
“You’ll get nothing from me!” Grace spat. “All you’ll succeed in doing is ensuring you never see the little brat again.”
Bruce ignored the taunts, aware that the woman was unnerved because she had no idea what Diana was up to. When Bruce had first suggested that they focussed their search on the enemy’s corporate face, he had asked Diana to return to the Patriarch’s World. Her golden lariat was the only way they could guarantee the truth about Dick’s whereabouts. As much as he cared for the boy, Bruce couldn’t sacrifice Kara for Dick but he was not about to doom Dick to the same hell that turned Valerie Beaudry in a monster either.
“Where is he?” Diana asked, her voice calm and almost soothing.
“Go to He….!” Grace started to say when suddenly the words died in her throat and for a moment, she seemed confused at the sudden detachment from her train of thought.
“Where is Richard Grayson, Grace?” Diana repeated herself, pleased that the lasso of truth given to her by the gods of Olympus proved its worth.
“Gone,” Grace said simply, blinking as if she were trying to dispel her fugue state.
Bruce’s chest tightened. “Gone? What do you mean gone?”
“They took him away,” she answered, “Somewhere safe where the Kryptonian wouldn’t be able to find him.”
“Where is that?” Clark asked this time, seeing Bruce’s jaw part slightly in horror.
“Granny’s Orphanage,” Grace answered more easily this time, as if the fight if there had been one, was all but gone from her.
“Granny’s Orphanage?” Clark exclaimed, wondering if the lariat was making the woman a little crazy. “Where’s that?”
“Its where we were all taken,” Grace explained, still staring into nothingness, that vague expression solidifying with some focus. “Granny teaches us how to be great warriors, so we can fight for Darkseid. The boy was taken there. Granny will make him one of us.”
Darkseid.
Bruce remembered the name from six years ago. During the confrontation with Michael Canto, the man had spoken of his master, a dark god named Darkseid who was searching for something called the Anti-Life Equation. This Darkseid was convinced that Clark’s Kryptonian DNA held the answer and was wiling to dissect the Kryptonian to find out. The thought of Dick in the hands of such a monster was an even worse fate then Bruce had imagined for the young boy.
“You were going to trade him for Kara,” Clark spoke, aware that Bruce was too overcome with horror to do so. “How were you going to do that if you plan on making him one of you?”
“We were never going to return him. No one leaves Granny’s.”
Diana cast a glance at Bruce and Clark, feeling her own rage escalating at this latest bit of intelligence. Who were these people who could not even honour their own terms? “Where is this orphanage?” She demanded.
Grace stared at her and replied without hesitation, “On Apokolips of course.”
***********
They left Grace Goode in her penthouse and returned to the farm after ensuring she revealed everything of value to them, thanks to Diana’s lasso of truth.
Grace originated from Apokolips, a savage world where its citizens were bred for war. Her master, a powerful being named Darkseid, ruled over the planet with an iron fist and cultivated a bloodthirsty army within the walls Granny’s Orphanage. Children that showed promise were brought to the orphanage and forced to undergo brutal training to mould them into Darkseid’s elite.
It was here, that Valerie was taken after Michael Canto abducted her, six years ago and turned into a ruthless killer.
It was also the place where Dick Grayson would be similarly groomed if he were not rescued soon.
Grace’s intelligence extended beyond her revelations about Apokolips. More importantly, they learned that Dick was been taken to Apokolips by means of a point to point transport system that spanned stellar space. Grace was able to communicate and travel to Apokolips using a device called a Mother box. Bruce and Clark remembered seeing Canto step through the portal years ago and realised that he must have used the same technology.
Liberating the device from Grace after forcing her to show them how to use it, Bruce dosed Grace with enough stun gas to ensure that she would remain incapacitated for at least a day. This gave them that much time to get to Apokolips before she could raise the alarm.
At farm, Clark found himself facing Kara who had insisted on returning to the Patriarch’s World with Diana once she learned what had happened to Dick Grayson. His cousin was determined to help in anyway she could since Dick was abducted because of her.
“But I can help!” Kara insisted as she stood before Clark inside the barn.
“Absolutely not!” Clark declared, wondering how in a space of weeks, the frightened young girl he had found in Miller’s Field had become this headstrong teenager. “Kara, we don’t know anything about this Apokolips!”
“Kal,” she said staring at him with impatience, “I know about space faring races than you do! My school teachers were Kryptonian!”
Clark frowned because she did have a point there. As much as he might like to think he had the benefits of age, Kara was raised in a Kryptonian city with all the benefits of an education provided by a highly advanced civilisation.
“That doesn’t mean anything!” Clark countered refusing to entertain the idea of allowing her anywhere near Apokolips, especially after what had happened to Valerie. “These people have blue kryptonite. Kara, they stripped me of my powers once before, I won’t let that happen again, to either of us.”
Kara fumed, “Kal, if this place is as dangerous as you say then I should be there! Diana has taught me a lot of about controlling my powers and you could keep me as a secret weapon! I mean I’ll go with you and keep out of sight, they won’t know I’m there! Please Kal! I don’t know this Dick but he’s just a little boy and he’s kidnapped because of me! I already saw Martha and Lois get hurt, I don’t want anyone else to suffer. Please let me help,” she pleaded.
Clark wanted to refuse her but then remembered what he had been doing when he was fifteen years old. Hadn’t he been rushing headlong into danger without a moment’s thought despite Jonathan and Martha Kent’s advice to the contrary? How cautious had he been when it came to helping other people.
“Kara, I don’t want you to get hurt.” Clark tried to make her see reason.
“And I don’t want to see you get hurt either,” she poked him in the chest. “You’re all the family I have in this world. My father and mother sent me here so we could take care of each other! Please Kal, I can’t help!”
Kara eyes were glistening with tears and against that, Clark had no damn defence.
“I’m so going to regret this…” Clark shook his head, feeling himself cave into those tears.
“Oh thank you Kal!” She hugged him hard. “I swear I’ll stay out of trouble. I won’t do anything unless you tell me to! I can help! You’ll see! I promise!” She jabbered on and once again, Clark found himself praying he wasn’t making a dreadful mistake by agreeing to let her join them on this rescue mission.
Still, he could not ignore the advantage of having another Kryptonian at their side when they ventured into enemy territory.
“He’s thin and weak.”
The old woman with the gravelly voice, wild white hair and the armour plated clothes looked Dick over with disdain, examining him the way one would examine a horse at market. Without asking, she pinched his forearm, pulling the skin back to illustrate the lack of meat on his bones before eyeing him again. For a moment, Dick had the awful notion she was going to check his teeth or something.
Instead, she broke into a smile that split her face from ear to ear. It was meant to be kindly but made her look maniacal instead, like Jojo, the clown at Haly’s who sometimes drank too much and tried to frighten you away from his trailer. Dick hated clowns, there was nothing about them that made you smile.
“Don’t worry Dick,” she said looking down at him. “We’ll pair you up with Doe here and you can two can be my Wonder Twins, Deadly Dick and Dreadful Doe…hmmm,” she regarded the young girl standing next to him with a frown. “That’s not your name,” she declared after a moment. “They were calling you Donna. You will be Dreadful Donna.”
Donna glanced at him nervously, not at all liking the moniker that she was just bestowed with. It sounded as terrible as Deadly Dick.
Dick was wrong when he thought Doe or rather Donna was a baby, she wasn’t. She was by his guess, maybe six years old. Even so, she was awful pretty with shiny black hair and blue eyes. There were bracelets on wrists, cruel iron things he was sure was biting into her skin. He wondered why she had them when he didn’t.
She was also wearing weird clothes, the kind you saw in gladiator movies. It was black and held together with a clasp on her shoulder. There was something about the fabric though. If you looked at it hard enough, it sort of glittered. Like the stars.
Donna looked frightened and he wished he knew how to console her but after seeing where they were, he wasn’t sure if he could managed to be comforting when what he saw scared him much as her.
They were taken out of their cells and brought out into this large courtyard. Dick had been living on the hope that once he knew where he was, he could figure out how to escape. Except once they were outside in the open and Dick was able to see where they were, he realised that hope was a child’s fantasy.
There was no escape.
Dick raised his eyes to the sky and knew immediately, he wasn’t on Earth anymore. His young mind couldn’t process how that had come to pass but the proof of it was undeniable. Gazing up into the amber sky filled with ash and smoke, against a hellish backdrop of grim looking buildings and smoke stacks so big and wide, they resembled mountains. Even more incredible was the lack of a moon in the sky. He couldn’t see it and the sky was amber, not like evening but like there whole planet glowed like a hot piece of coal.
Above them were spaceships! Not just spaceships but men wearing some kind of armour, with wings. It was like he’d woken up into a futuristic space movie like Star Wars, except this was real. It wasn’t a dream. It was worse than a dream, he realised as he saw the cruel world he found himself—it was hell.
“Now you’re going to show Granny what you got and maybe, maybe you’ll get to live long enough to serve.”
“Serve who?” Dick finally found courage enough to ask though he regrated it as soon as he spoke the words but by then it was too late and he continued talking, “Where are we?”
Granny shot him a look of venom that dissipated quickly back into her smile, though it still appeared cold and humourless. “So many questions little Dickie, maybe if you do well, I’ll answer them!” She said sharply.
Dick flinched sensing real menace in her words and wished he hadn’t said anything at all.
Donna reached for his hand and held it, trying to offer some comfort. They had kept each other company all night and though it was the first time he saw her face, their captivity had created a bond between them.
The gesture was not lost on Granny who did not like the show of sentiment one damn bit. She narrowed her eyes and lashed out, striking Donna across the cheek, hard enough to send the little girl sprawling.
“STOP IT!” Dick shouted and turned towards Donna when Granny’s arm clamped around his arm and dragged him away from her.
“I won’t have any weakness in my children!” She hauled Dick away from Donna who was still on the ground, too dazed to be aware of what was going on.
Dick tried to break free but his struggles were no match for the woman whose grip was like iron. She took him to the edge of the courtyard where an opening into the ground waited. Guessing what she intended, he fought harder and harder, not all liking what might be waiting for him in the darkness.
“Let me go!” He demanded futilely only to hear her mocking laughter in his ears a second before she flung him towards the maw into the dark.
Dick landed on the cold of a metal chute and slide down the narrow ramp into the depths. The last thing he saw before the sky disappeared above him was Granny looking down at him, grinning.
***********
Lois never imagined that there could be anything worse than losing Clark to the fortress, until now.
As she stood within in the shadows of the cave beneath Wayne Manor, preparing to send Clark, Kara, Bruce and Diana to the world that had swallowed Valerie Beaudry whole, she tried not to feel afraid or so terribly human. More than anything, she wanted to be able to go with Clark through the portal to help retrieve Dick but she was smart enough to realised she’d only get in the way. Where they were going was dangerous enough for Clark without her becoming a liability by his need to keep her safe. She could do something by staying behind and looking after Alfred.
No matter how hard it was.
“Pick me up a souvenir Smallville,” Lois said to him, hiding her anxiety beneath her usual flippancy.
Clark saw through it of course. Before they were even a couple in Smallville, he learned to recognise her tells. Life with the General had conditioned Lois to always hide her feelings, to show no weakness to a father who had little patience for it. That and helping raise Lucy ensured Lois project a façade of control even when she hiding anguish. Clark had learned to see through the cracks that sometimes appeared, to see a vulnerable and insecure woman who wasn’t always as sure of herself as she’d like everyone to believe.
“I will,” he said leaning over and kissing her gently on the mouth. He savoured the kiss, took it in and stored it in the heart, a keepsake he could use to remind himself of her and home. It would be the impetus that would drive him to get back to her. “We’ll be back. I promise.”
“I’m going to hold you to that,” Lois swallowed thickly, trying to sound hopeful when her head was filled with thoughts about Valerie and what had happened to her on the other side of the portal. “Come back to me,” she said as he held her in his arms.
“Nothing would keep me away,” he replied gently before pulling himself out of her embrace. He wished he could assure that this wasn’t as dangerous as it appeared but he couldn’t.
“Don’t worry Lois,” Kara stepped forward, trying to lift the mood because she could see Lois was hurting. She hated that Kal had to risk his life because of her when everyone had been so kind to her since arriving on Earth.
“I’ll make sure he’s safe.” She said firmly, her chin rose in defiance.
Since returning from Themiscyra, Lois noticed a definite change in Kara. The Amazons’ teachings had shown the girl the power she possessed, giving Kara the courage she needed to step out of her frightened shell. The waif who lashed out at their assailants in Smallville was gone. Here was a confident young woman, perhaps requiring a little combat to temper that enthusiasm, but no longer lost or certain of her place among them.
Lois couldn’t help smile at the girl’s earnestness. It was so reminiscent of the Clark she met when she first arrived in Smallville.
“Thanks Half-Pint. I know Mrs Kent isn’t here but if she were, she’d be telling you to be careful. Stay on script okay kid?”
“She will,” Clark frowned, still in two minds about taking Kara with them on this trip. She was powerful but then again, the people on the other side of that portal had rendered Clark powerless once. It was not an experience he wanted to repeat and certainly not one he wanted to see inflicted on Kara.
“I’ll be good,” Kara nodded, her eagerness settling into understanding. “I want to help the boy. He’s in trouble because of me and I wouldn’t feel right if I couldn’t do something to make it right.”
Her sincerity was so very much a part of the Kent DNA. Whether or not she knew, it Kara shared more in common with her cousin than just their Kryptonian heritage and powers. She had his heart too.
“Okay,” Lois brushed a strand of hair out of Kara’s face and leaned down to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. “Come back safe, the both of you.”
***********
Behind them, Bruce looked away, giving them their privacy even though he was impatient to leave. His mind kept looping back to Grace’s words, that Dick was even now, being moulded into an efficient killer. He didn’t want that for the boy, didn’t want Dick to lose his childhood any more than he already had. He took in Dick to prevent that very thing, to temper his rage and salvage some part of the person he’d been before that terrible night at the circus.
Bruce wanted some part of Robin Redbreast left.
“He’ll be safe Bruce,” he felt Diana’s fingers slipping against his gauntlet to clutch his hands.
Bruce blinked and saw the beautiful Amazon Princess who for some unfathomable reason loved him. Probably the same reason as a Chloe, he thought. While they were two very different women, it was their heart and optimism that connected them. Both had the ability to reach into his often closed off heart and beam sunshine into his soul. Until he met Chloe, Bruce never realised how much he needed the light and what losing her would do to him.
Then Diana entered his life, a hero in her own right, powerful beyond measure and dazzlingly beautiful but at the core of her, was her heart. No woman that beautiful had any reason to be kind or compassionate but she was. Diana’s greatest power, whether she knew it, was her capacity for understanding and love. She made people feel good about themselves because she had faith in them. He sometimes worried that the ugliness of the world would sully that naiveté but Diana seemed immune to it, holding steadfast to the belief that everyone had the capacity for kindness.
“Thank you for coming so quickly,” he answered, aware that she had her own adventures and her own enemies to fight but she had dropped everything and come when he asked. If it wasn’t for Diana, Kara wouldn’t ready be in Valerie’s hands and both Lois and Martha Kent would be dead. Then again, he had no doubt that should she make the request of him, he would be at her side too.
“A child is in trouble. A child you care for, I might add. I would be here no matter what. We will find him Bruce, we have been to Tartarus and prevailed. At least this place is in the mortal realm.”
“I admire your ability to make the distinction,” Bruce almost smiled beneath the cowl. “I need to bring him home. It’s not too late for him like it was for me. The first time I saw him, he bounced around like a beam of light. He was….”
“Enchanting?” She finished off for him. “I did not grow up with other children but since being in the Patriarch’s World, I have seen many and yes, they are enchanting. I understand at last why I was spoiled so terribly by my mother and sisters.”
Kara’s presence on Themiscyra, even for a few weeks had a similar effect. The lack of men meant no children were born on the island but that didn’t dull the maternal instinct. Diana wondered after being in the Patriarch’s World where so many children, particularly girls, were left in terrible circumstances, whether the key to their salvation might be on Themiscyra. The Amazons would love nothing more than to have children to teach and nurture. Perhaps there was something Diana could do to satisfy that desire and give a new lease on life to forgotten children.
It was a question for another time.
“I can understand that,” Bruce stared at her through the white slits of the cowl with affection and was rewarded by that dazzling smile.
Diana kissed him lightly on the lips and pulled back, aware that he was uncomfortable with such displays when he was in the cowl, even in this vulnerable state.
Clearing his throat almost sheepishly, Bruce turned to Clark and Kara, “We need to get going. “
***********
Something was breathing in dark with him.
He could hear the snort of its nostrils as he got to his feet. The ramp deposited him at the bottom of the chute when he finally came to a stop almost a full minute later. Dick glanced up and saw the pinprick of light that was the sky of this hellish world. He spent a few futile minutes trying to climb back up the ramp but it was too slippery and steep. Dick kept sliding back down again, landing on the hard rock of the ground and driving home the realisation that it was no way out.
He could see light up ahead but its source was distant and barely penetrating the darkness surrounding him. The faint light illuminated the ceiling and little else. The ground beneath him was some kind of smooth rock. He felt hard under his bare feet. He could feel the cold from the surface running up his body from the soles. Dick shivered when it reached the centre of his back. He was inside a cavern of some kind.
It was then he heard the snort of something alive followed by its slow, stealthy movements as it stalked him.
Dick froze, being around enough circus animals in life to recognise the sound. Even if it was unlikely it was a creature like Sher Khan, the tiger from his Haly’s, he knew without doubt it was an it, not a who. He spent hours watching the animal during rehearsal and knew the sounds its paws made against the sawdust. The thing in here with him made the exact same sound.
Trying not to let his fear get the better of him, Dick stared at the light ahead and started to move slowly away from the monster. When he took a step forward, the thing in the dark moved too. His heart turned cold in his chest and a fear so paralysing gripped him that taking the next step felt next to impossible.
Don’t panic! Batman’s not afraid of the dark! He uses it!
He used it to move around and that’s what Dick had to do. The dark knight promised to find his parent’s killer and that meant he was a good guy, someone Dick could trust. Like Mr. Wayne and Alfred. All of a sudden a surge of longing ran through him. Dick realised he wanted badly to see both men again. His parents were gone but Mr. Wayne and Alfred cared about him. Maybe even loved him.
In the dark with the monster, that understanding infused him with more courage than he imagined possible. It forced Dick to grit his teeth and started moving again.
His movements were slow and deliberate so as to maintain the illusion that he wasn’t afraid or aware that he was being followed. The terror running through him was like blood pulsing through his veins. Dick stood on the knife’s edge between calm and panic for several torturous minutes as he approached the light. His bare feet made no sound against the stone floor. He supposed that was some consolation he supposed unlike the monster that was not so quiet. Big paws slapped against the rock as it continued to stalk him.
When Dick got close enough, he saw the light was emanating from an open doorway. It poured out like a beacon, illuminating the darkness and confirmed that Dick was indeed in some great cavern. It also showed him what was following behind him.
It was a dog.
At least it looked like a dog but if so, it was the biggest one that Dick had ever seen. It was almost the size of a bear. Next to it, Dick felt small and insignificant. With a russet pelt and a collar with spikes wrapped around its neck, the beast glared at him menacingly with ears pricked up. Its panting kept its jaws parted and Dick caught sight of large, fingers-sized sharp teeth. A glance was all his sanity could manage before his nerve gave away completely.
He didn’t even realised he was running until his feet were already moving.
Breaking into a sudden sprint was exactly what the creature had been waiting for and it immediately took up the chase. Dick didn’t dare to look behind him as he heard its paws pounding against the floor behind him. The monster was growling and Dick imagined feeling its warm breath against his neck. Fortunately, he still had presence of mind to not lose his senses completely and he ran like he never ran before.
Run, Dick, Run! He imagined his dad telling him. RUN!
Heart pounding, Dick poured every ounce of terror into his legs and reached the doorway soon after. It was more than big enough to let the creature through and Dick knew reaching it did not offer salvation, the monster would follow him through. It would catch up, he thought with horror. No sooner than he crossed the threshold however, the creature came to an abrupt halt as if it could not pass.
What relief Dick took from this was brief because no sooner than he had entered the new chamber, his presence prompted some mechanism into operation. The grey room, this time resembling the engine room, inside a big oil tanker or something was brightly lit but Dick did not miss the stench or the stains of blood on the walls and the floor. He heard something over his head and stepped back just as giant mashers emerged from the ceiling and slammed hard against the floor, making his teeth chatter on impact.
Dick took a step backwards towards the doorway when he heard the growl of the monster behind him. Trapped between the danger in the cavern and the death trap in the chamber, Dick saw the masher retract into the ceiling before dropping again, with only a gap of seconds before starting the cycle again.
Beyond the mashers, metal spikes protruded from each side of the walls, meeting each other in the middle in similar deadly fashion as the mashers. Always with a gap. Beyond them were blasts of flames from unseen jets in the grey wall. Dick stared at it in horror and realised he had nowhere to run. He either went forward or backward and both directions meant death.
Breathing hard and standing in front of him, Dick knew he had no choice. He was going to have to go through. He didn’t have much time to consider how he was going to get through but he was an acrobat who understood the importance of timing. Reminding himself that as a member of the Flying Grayson, he had made quick decision regarding when it when it was safe to jump and when it was not. This was no different.
He watched the mashers come up and down a few seconds, counted under his breath the number of seconds he had to get though. The spikes were slower and they were thick. They did damage if you tried to run through them, Dick told himself. Finally, he took a deep breath and darted forward, just as the mashers hit the floor. By the time they pulled up, he was right beneath them and sprinted across before they came down again.
The spikes were waiting for him. Dick grabbed onto one while it was fully extended and using his acrobatic skills, clambered over them as they were pulling back. He was almost half way past them when they retreated into the wall for a second before beginning their speedy emergence. He used the time to clear them.
Once across, he saw the jets of flame flaring across the wall and knew that he had no choice, he would have to make a run for it. He couldn’t see what was on the other side but he didn’t care, he’d gotten this far. He was ready for what was there too. He could do this. Batman was a regular guy but he was able to dodge bullets and take down bad guys, so Dick could do this too. Bracing himself, Dick bolted forward.
The heat rushed over him. There was pain. His soles screamed against the hot floor but he couldn’t let that stop him. He remembered Henri the Firewalker. Henri was always fast and Dick knew to get past this, he had to be faster. He ran forward, felt the flames wash over him, felt the heat through his pyjamas. Don’t think, just run. RUN, DICK, RUN! Reaching the other end, he saw lasers beams crisscrossing the long corridor as if waiting for a target, searching the floor.
Without thinking, he continued to run and didn’t stop as he put more power into his strides that gave him enough speed to launch into a series of somersaults. The lasers tried to reacquire the target but Dick switched into cartwheels for a short distance before switching back to somersault and forcing the computers to recalibrate once more.
Dick felt something singe the back of his leg and it brought him down but he managed to get to his feet because he was almost there. This time, he ran but moved diagonally. At one point, he jumped against the wall and used his good leg to propel him to the edge of the corridor, beyond the reach of the weapons.
When he left the corridor, he was once again shrouded in darkness but before he could take stock of his surroundings, he heard the slamming of a door behind him. Spinning around, he saw a cage door locking and with sinking sensation, realised he had run straight into the cage that was positioned at the mouth of corridor. He was trapped like an animal once again. Light flooded the area and Dick was able to see the steel cage that surrounded him.
Peering at him through the bar was Granny.
She was smiling and Dick didn’t know if this was a good thing or not. Was she glad that he hadn’t been killed so she could do it herself? As she drew in closer, Dick shrank back until his back was pressed against the bars. He was in pain, his leg hurt real bad and he knew his skin was burnt. He was trapped again. The anguish at that was more than he could bear.
But I made it through! A small voice inside his head wailed in protest. I escaped!
“Well done my Deadly Dick,” Granny said with a wide grin. “I expected you to be eaten up by my darling demon dog but you managed to survive the entire course! You’re the only one who’s managed to do that since we had High Father’s little whelp here.”
A test, this was all a test? Tests weren’t supposed to get you killed. You got marks or gold stars! You didn’t get dead! What kind of crazy place was this?
Pain and fear made Dick bold and he burst out in anger. “You did this just to test me?” He demanded, properly provoked into a self-righteous fury.
“Of course we did and you performed splendidly!” Granny complimented, not at all upset by the question. In fact the obstacle course, which was standard for all recruits, appeared to have brought out the boy’s truth worth, not to mention his spirit. Almost all the children who ran The Gauntlet never survived or if they did, what emerged on the other side was of no use to her anyway, but this boy…
This boy had potential.
“What am I being tested for?” Dick asked confused by all this. Was that why they had abducted him?
Now that the boy had some value, Granny was happy to answer his questions. “To become one of Darkseid’s Elite of course.”
When Grace Good called this world Apokolips, Clark was convinced it was merely a tool to make the world sound more menacing to its enemies. After all, a world called Apokolips conjured images of a hell with fire and brimstone, crumbling cities and writhing bodies. His presumption ended the instant he, Kara, Diana and Bruce stepped through the portal.
The name was absolutely appropriate.
The grey, concrete like roof they emerged upon gave them a bird’s eye view of a world that could have what Dante Alighieri imagined when he first put pen to his Divine Comedy. Clark had never imagined hell as a real place even though he thought there were parts of Gotham City that sometimes felt like it. It was still was nothing like this world.
Even as he stood there, the oppressive nature of the place pressed down on his shoulders like a great weight. He breathed in its darkness and shuddered at the chill it created down its spine.
As Clark scanned the landscape as far as his enhanced vision would allow, he discovered a sprawling city that might very well cover the entire planet like a gauntlet of iron and rock. There were no signs of natural vegetation, waterways or even mountains. Not one trace of natural terrain existed. What this world might have been was buried beneath a vast, mechanised ecumenopolis.
The air was barely breathable as gaping wounds of molten fire, surrounded by high containment walls, spewed ash and smoke into the air across the landscape. Clark suspected those fissures of volcanic heat covered the entire planet’s surface. As a result of the fire pits, a deep amber sky, probably red during the night, glared down at them from above. There were no clouds that might bring life-giving rain, only dark puffs of smoke.
If there were stars above, Clark could not see them through the toxic atmosphere.
Despite the foreboding nature of the city, it was clear that a highly advanced society existed here. Even as he scanned the city, he could hear the evidence of heavy industrialization by the constant humming of machinery in the background. Transport vehicles flew across the skyline in the same fashion that cars sped up and down the highways while soldiers, borne by powered harnesses across their backs, patrolled the sky, armed with exotic weapons.
At the epicentre of all this however, was the towering fortress that stood above every other structure in the city. Like an ancient gothic castle, with a mixture of jagged and needle sharp spires that stabbed at the sky, it was surrounded by high walls, buttressed by ramparts and sealed with enormous iron gates. Overlooking the city from this monument was the carved statue of a being Clark knew without doubt to be Grace Good’s master.
This was Darkseid.
“Jesus Christ,” Clark whispered staring at the dark god he never wanted to meet. Clark didn’t scare easily but if this statue of Darkseid was intimidating enough without having to meet the actual entity face to face.
He was not alone in feelings about the city because when he glanced at Diana who seemed to be surveying the landscape, he could empathise with the expression of dread on her lovely features.
“This world makes Tartarus seems kinder in comparison,” Diana said tearing her gaze away from the metropolis, unable to reconcile herself with the idea of this place being home to anyone.
Kara and Bruce did not seem as affected Clark noticed. The teenager’s nose was wrinkled in disgust but its impact on her didn’t seem as marked. If anything, the expression of her face reminded Clark of those times when Martha would drag him along to visit a sick relative or worse yet, go shopping for shoes when he would rather be hanging out with his friends.
“Yeah it’s pretty awful,” Kara shrugged, not bothered by what she was seeing because at school in Kandor, she’d studied about alien races. Not every world was pretty by their standards and this one resembled a typical totalitarian society, like the Khunds or the Dominators. She stepped to the edge of the roof and squinted in the direction of the pits, even though she had the same enhanced vision as him. “It looks like they’ve got anti-grav tech and I think those pit things drawi power from the planet’s core.”
All three stared at her.
“Kara, you are familiar with these technologies?” The girl’s abilities now that she was drawn out of her shell continued to impress Diana and she was secretly proud at how far Kara had come in such a short time.
“Oh yeah,” she tossed Diana a smile and answered the Princess as if it was common knowledge. “I grew up on Kandor. We learned all about alien cultures in xeno-anthropology class. Although on Kandor, we used Zero Point energy, not this clunky stuff.”
Like Kara, Bruce was unfazed by this city because he’d been living with its primitive counterpart on Earth for years. Gotham was not all that different from this Apokolips. At night, the urban sprawl of that city was like a jungle and those who moved through its alleys and dark corners did so at their own peril. On every street corner and in every abandoned building, there were human monsters lurking in the shadows. As far as Bruce was concerned, the only difference between this world and Gotham was geography.
“We should get moving,” he said shortly, turning to the others after he’d conducted his own observations. While they were studying the city, he was examining the roof of the building they were standing on. Within seconds of their arrival, he had already determined where the exit was and how close it was to the next building if he needed to leave quickly.
“Agreed,” Clark answered. “Everything about this place tells me we need to find Dick and get the hell out of here. I don’t want to be here any longer than we have to be.”
Clark was uneasy, Bruce realised. It took quite a bit to shake the Kryptonian’s square-jawed resolve and anything that might unsettle Clark Kent was something they did not want to encounter. Besides, he agreed with Clark. The sooner they found Dick the better.
The idea of Dick being condemned to remain in this terrible world if they failed to rescue him was a failure Bruce couldn’t even begin to process. Upon seeing this place, he understood what forces shaped Valerie Beaudry from the shy, young woman they knew to the villainess that was willing to bring down a plane to escape. This world turned people into killers and Bruce would die before allowing the same thing to happen to Dick.
“Grace said this ‘Mother Box’ would take us where we needed to go,” Bruce explained as he studied the odd device resembling a futuristic version of a smart phone. “If that’s true then this building should be the orphanage she talked about. Clark can you scan what’s beneath us and make sure we’re in the right place?”
“On it,” Clark replied automatically glad for Bruce’s direction. Lowering his gaze to the grey, steel-plated floor, he focussed his X-ray vision and began searching.
What he saw horrified him as much as everything else in this world. This orphanage that was apparently home to alien children of all ages, from toddlers to teenagers resembled a dystopian version of a Dickensian workhouse. The upper levels of the building were segmented into rooms or rather cells, where the children were kept like prisoners. The further down he went, he saw the facilities that were designed to turn them into highly efficient killers.
Tutors in classrooms bombarded the children with gruesome images of death and deadly obstacle courses that were designed to put them through brutal tests of endurance. They fought holographic opponents in savage simulated environments or worse yet, they fought each other. He saw them pummelling each other in combat that left them bleeding and broken.
If this was what they put their children through, then what did they force Valerie to endure?
Clark had to ignore all this or else he’d never find Dick. Recalibrating his search, it didn’t take him long to find the boy once he did so. Fortunately, Dick was not undergoing one of these trials but was instead trapped in a cell. The boy was huddled on his bunk, hugging his knees to his chest.
He was so young, Clark thought and was immediately reminded of Ryan James, the young boy who had been like a brother to him. The boy’s death had devastated him and seeing Dick with his leg wrapped in mid-thigh because of an injury infuriated Clark. Had they made him go through one of those obstacle courses?
“Clark?” Bruce demanded at the sight of his jaw clenching.
“He’s here,” Clark said shortly. “Three levels down. He’s hurt but not badly I think. This isn’t an orphanage, it’s a training camp. There a hundreds of children here.”
“If this place turns children into monsters such as the one who almost killed Martha Kent and Lois, we cannot abandon them.” Yet even as she said those words, Clark saw the dismay that settled in once the reality of the situation sunk in.
“We may not be able to save them all Diana. We will be lucky to get Dick out as it is.” Bruce hoped she understood he wasn’t being selfish but a realist. This planet had technology beyond their comprehension and during their last encounter with its inhabitants on Earth; both he and Clark were nearly killed. He wasn’t about to underestimate them on their home soil.
“We must at least try,” Diana insisted but Bruce could hear the wavering in her voice as the truth settled over her.
“Diana,” Clark said gently, knowing they all shared the desire to save others but they were each of them out of their depth on this world and they knew it. “We’ll do what we can but right now, we need to get to Dick first.”
Leaving the grownups to their ‘discussion’, Kara scanned the sky, trying to do something useful in the meantime. Kal had already surveyed the building so she kept watch on the sky. These people must possess some kind of surveillance tech to keep watch on portals opening up on their world. She could not imagine them not taking safeguards with the existence of such technology. It did not take long for her to see that her instincts were right.
“I think they know we’re here!” Kara announced sharply to the others, silencing their debate in mid sentence.
Following her gaze, Clark saw a swarm of soldiers flying toward them, led by familiar faces on the transport leading the charge. The two women who attacked Martha and Lois were accompanied by a large, brutish man wearing futuristic armour and carrying what appeared to be a mace. Only Valerie was in the air flanking the transport, her wings flapping as she glided toward them.
“Clark, can you and Diana hold them off?” Bruce asked quickly, assessing the situation and laying down a hasty plan.
“Yeah,” Clark answered, guessing what he intended. “You and Kara go get Dick. We’ll keep them distracted for as long as we can.”
“But Kal!” Kara protested immediately, not liking the idea of turning tail and running when her cousin might need her help.
“No arguments Kara,” Clark said firmly. “They may not know you’re here and I want to keep that advantage to ourselves for as long as we can.”
“Kara, go now,” Diana insisted as the attack force closed in.
Kara frowned and nodded unhappily, turning around to see where Bruce was only to find that he was already crossing the floor towards the exit.
The Batman would have preferred to do this himself but he could not ignore that just like Clark and Diana, he was out of his depth. Utilising Kara’s abilities to retrieve Dick would be safer than the girl attempting to engage the forces approaching in combat. Despite her strength, she was still untested and this was too steep a learning curve for her first fight.
“Come on,” Bruce said to Kara when she reached him, “we don’t have a lot of time.”
Somehow he suspected that Clark and Diana were only facing the first wave.
After what Michael Kanto had said, there was every chance that Darkseid himself might make an appearance for opportunity of capturing Clark.
***********
The transport holding the women Clark had come to know as Lashina and Mad Harriet sped towards them and was less than a hundred feet away from the roof’s edge. While he knew that he could overcome these two quickly, the man with them made Clark cautious. The man towered over Lashina with brutish features that looked savage and menacing. Something had come through the portal seven years ago, an energy beam more powerful than anything he had ever experienced had almost killed him. If this man had access to that power, then Clark had reason for threading carefully.
“Don’t attack until they show their hand Diana,” Clark warned. “We don’t know what these people are capable of but seven years ago, they knew how to take away my powers.”
“Great Gaea,” Diana whispered because there were few things that could harm the last son of Krypton and anything that could strip him of his great strength was nothing to take lightly. “I will follow your lead Kal but once we fight, we cannot give them quarter. If these people are as dangerous as you say, then it is us or them.”
While Clark would never consciously kill anyone, he also knew that circumstances might not give him that choice and he accepted Diana’s advice as something to consider.
“I understand,” Clark answered although he was not agreeing to nothing yet. “We just need to stall them long enough for Bruce and Kara to get Dick so we can get out of here.”
He concluded that statement in time for Valerie and his friends to finally reach them. The transport hovered a few feet away from the roof and a quick scan over his shoulder left him satisfied that Bruce and Kara were nowhere in sight. He noted that the distance from the transport and the edge of the roof was close enough for its occupants to make the jump across. Meanwhile, the soldiers in the air broke formation and quickly spread out to encircle the roof, their weapons poised to fire.
“Well, well, well,” Lashina exclaimed, glaring at them both. “We intended to carry out business on Earth and were quite surprised when our sensors indicated a boom tube had opened from Earth. We thought our Amazing Grace was coming home. Imagine our surprise to find you three instead.”
Three, Clark let out an inward sigh of relief. They didn’t know about Kara.
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Clark said politely, using his typical mid-Western affability which seemed so alien compared to Lashina’s mocking tone. “We’re here to get the boy. This doesn’t have to get ugly but if you try to stop us, you’ll get hurt.”
The response came not from Lashina but the man at her side. His voice was gravelly and deep as he spoke and his eyes fixed on Clark with unmistakable challenge.
“Then hurt us, Kryptonian.”
The man launched himself off the platform with surprising speed and landed within a foot of Clark, swinging the mace before his feet even touched the ground. It cackled with energy as it struck Clark in the gut and the power behind it was enough to lift the Kryptonian off his feet and send him crashing into a nearby wall.
Stunned, especially when the pain from the blow was far more intense than anything he had felt in recent times, Clark needed a moment to regain his equilibrium. His attacker did not give him a moment to catch his breath and immediately rushed at him again. This time however, Clark recovered faster. His recent battle with Ixion had improved his ability to take substantial hits and knowing the capability of this opponent, allowed him to react in kind.
“Kal!” Diana cried out when she saw the attack on Clark but had no opportunity to intervene because Lashina swung into action. A crack of sound ripped through the air and something coiled around her throat. Lashina’s whip burned her skin but Diana who was more accustomed to pain than Kal reacted quickly.
Grabbing the whip, she yanked it back hard and would have dragged Lashina off the transport if the woman hadn’t wisely let go. The whip went slack in Diana’s grip as she launched herself into the air, flying to intercept the vehicle.
Lashina got to her feet to see the Amazon flying toward them and shouted to the troops. “ATTACK!”
The soldiers who were waiting for the order to fire, unleashed a deadly barrage of energy at Diana who found herself being struck on all sides. The sheer number of them made it impossible to deflect them all, though she did try. The bracelets, fashioned by a god, were more than capable of absorbing and deflecting the beams but there were still too many of them.
Taking advantage of the Amazons’ brief preoccupation, Lashina turned to Mad Harriet who was itching to get into the fight but no match for either opponent. Even the Swan was unable to intercept the Amazon without wandering into the parademons line of fire and using her voice was not an option either.
“Go after the other one!” Lashina ordered.
“The other one?” Harriet stared at her blankly. The Fury was already disappointed at not having a second chance at the Amazon but she was somewhat puzzled because the other one was the Kryptonian. Even Mad Harriet wasn’t insane enough to get between Kalibak and his prey.
“If these two are here then the Batman is here too! He’ll be trying to reach the boy!”
“Oooh,” Harriet grinned, liking the odds in that fight. Leaping off the transport, she landed on the roof and rolled onto her knees. “I get to play with the Bat!”
Despite the commotion, Diana heard Mad Harriet’s gleeful exclamation and realised that the insane creature was going after Bruce. If she did so, she would not only intercept him on the way to rescuing Dick but also discover Kara. Diana had no doubt that the entire planet would be mobilised to retrieve the young girl once that fact came to light.
Deflecting more bolts of energy out of her way, she tried to intervene but was hindered by the lash of another whip in her direction. Fortunately Diana saw it before it struck and she veered out of the way. It struck harmlessly at the space where she had been occupying a short time ago.
Rethinking her strategy, Diana noted that Valerie had yet to use her powers although she was flying to intercept Diana in the air. Realising that Valerie could not use her powers without compromising the soldiers in the battle, an idea formed in her head. Eyes narrowing with calculation, the Amazon accelerated in a burst of speed that created a sonic boom.
The sound distracted Valerie and Diana wasted no time, taking advantage of her momentary lapse. There were too many soldiers in the air and even though she had yet to see the progress of Kal’s confrontation with the man, their blows against each other exploded like artillery shells. Speeding forward, she slammed into Valerie and drove her into a nearby building with enough force to shatter masonry beneath the female Fury.
Valerie uttered a disorientated cry of pain but still did not use her power. Diana threw a fist at her, her knuckles making contact with Valerie’s chin. Had she desired it, Diana could have easily put her first through Valerie’s skull because for all her enhancements, Valerie was still human. However that was not what Diana had in mind. She had no use for Valerie unconscious.
Diana needed her angry.
***********
Bruce didn’t need Kara’s super hearing to know that beyond the walls of the orphanage, a ferocious battle was raging, the outcome of which was still uncertain. As much as he thought of both Clark’s and Diana’s abilities, the forces arrayed against them were formidable. He and Kara had little time to waste in retrieving Dick Grayson.
The battle alerted every security system in the building and klaxons screamed their warning through the air. The ferocity of the fighting was causing the structure to shudder, sending tremors through the rock and causing lights to flicker as electronic systems were disrupted from assault of concussive force. Whatever stealth Bruce hoped to use in order to reach Dick’s cell was lost as more and more troops began to appear in the corridors leading to the level Dick was presently imprisoned. There were enough corners and shadows for him to hide with Kara but it wouldn’t be long before the corridor would be filled with soldiers.
Thinking quickly, Bruce knew he had to find another way and while he so wanted to be the one to rescue Dick, at this moment, his ego would have to take a backseat to the best course of action.
“Kara,” Bruce turned to her while they took refuge in what appeared to be alcove for a security station, “can you see him? Can you see Dick?” He asked in a whisper.
Puzzled by the reason for the request, she complied nonetheless. “I can try,” she answered back just as quietly.
She was still becoming accustomed to using her X-ray vision but Martha’s instruction during their time on Themiscyra had helped her refine it. Apparently the woman helped Kal in the same way when he first developed this power and Kara was grateful for the instruction. She was no longer seeing everyone as a walking collection of blood, fluids and bone. Even better, she wasn’t seeing them naked.
Concentrating, she stared at the floor and immediately saw the steel becoming translucent before disappearing entirely to show her the level beneath. Her stomach hollowed as she saw the other prisoners being held captive in this place and wished more than anything that she could help them. However she knew that they could only do so much and their objective was to get the boy who was taken because of her.
It did not take her long to find him because Bruce showed her his picture when they were at the mansion in Gotham. Seeing him in real life was even more disturbed. She understood why Bruce wanted him back so badly.
He was just a little boy.
“I see him!” She exclaimed triumphantly and then reminded herself to keep her voice lowered. “I see him,” she repeated herself, trying not to smile despite the situation.
“Alright,” Bruce replied, exhaling loudly to say the words he wished he did not have to but Dick’s life came first above all else. “Kara, you can move at super speed. I want you to leave me and go get him. I’ll be right behind you but you need to reach him first.”
Kara’s eyes widened and her face showed her anxiety at the request. At that moment, Bruce remembered how young she was too. While she may be able to juggle cars like tennis balls, at the heart of her was a fifteen year old girl who had just discovered her powers.
“But…but…” Kara started to protest. She wasn’t ready to be on her own and he was just a regular human. She had to keep him safe too. “But I don’t want to leave you!” She burst out.
“I can take care of myself,” he replied, astute enough to see the worry beneath her protests as well as the genuine concern for his safety. “You need to get to Dick first. If you do this right, you’ll be there and back before anyone knows what happened.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” she continued to argue. “You’re Diana’s boyfriend. If I let you get hurt…”
It was very hard to maintain his grim façade with someone was calling him that but Bruce managed nonetheless. “Kara,” he said firmly, “I need you to do this. Please.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll do it,” Kara grumbled not at all liking the idea of leaving him. Kal said the Batman was the smartest person he knew but he was human and in her eyes, vulnerable. Still, she had to believe he knew what he was doing and she was too new at this to second guess him. Besides, he was right about one thing; she could get there faster.
Stepping away, she cast him a glance and made a parting request, “Try to catch up.”
With that, she sped away in a burst of acceleration that had his cape billowing behind him as she disappeared in a streak down the hallway.
***********
Emerging from the alcove after she vanished, Bruce continued down the corridor and found that the ceilings of these passages were largely exposed, crammed with conduits, wires and thick piping he assumed was for sewerage and water. The floor was constructed with steel deck plates that conducted sound quite efficiently, particularly when jackboots were marching against it. It allowed Bruce was able to hear the guards before he actually saw them.
When he heard the stomping approach by the gatekeepers of this so-called orphanage, Bruce took refuge within the maze of wires and conduits until they passed beneath him. Some of them were transporting children back to their cells and though these kids did not appear to be human, Bruce could still tell they were young. Despite his earlier pragmatism at being unable to save all the children here, seeing them made him less comfortable about the decision.
After the passing of another trio of guards, Bruce was about to lower himself back into the corridor when suddenly he heard a cackling laugh with an altogether unsettling familiarity.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” a female voice reeking with madness taunted him from further along the passageway. “I know you’re here Batboy! Show yourself so Mad Harriet can play!”
Bruce let out a sigh. Why did he always get the crazy ones?
Control.
His whole life could be distilled into that one word. For as long as he could remember, he had to learn it, fear it and most of all never lose his grip on it. In Smallville, learning control of his powers, even when new ones seemed to appear every other week once he hit puberty, had been an absolute must. In a small community of farmers where gossip was almost as much a crop as corn, he had no choice. Control was necessary to continue the idyllic childhood he shared as Martha and Jonathan Kent's son.
Later on, when he discovered he was in actually fact, the child of Jor-El of Krypton, control took on another meaning. His father, or rather the computer matrix in the fortress, sought to control him by throwing one manner of trial after another at him. All of which were designed to make him stronger and more Kryptonian. It took years for him to understand that the matrix was in actual fact trying to teach him but was piss poor at explaining it.
Thanks to Jor-El, Clark had finally learned how to control his great powers so that he wouldn't be moving through his life like a bull in a china shop, breaking everything and everyone in sight. In recent years however, Clark discovered that there was one more lesson he needed to learn about control and that was how to let go of it.
When the punch connected with his jaw, he was propelled through the air, off the roof and into the street below. He hit the ground at full force, ploughing through metal and stone, creating furrow lines before skidding to a stop. The pain was fleeting and he shook his head, shedding the disorientation when he heard the shudder against the ground of his opponent landing a few feet away from him.
"This is barely challenging," he sneered, his mouth pulled back to revealed big teeth that reminded Clark of a cow's. "I thought Kryptonians were supposed to be stronger."
Clark ignored the taunt and glanced at the sky behind him to see Diana doing battle with the soldiers and the rest of this man's companions. He had to get up there and help her but first he needed to deal with this.
Dusting himself off, he glared at the man and threw back a reply, "I'm not here to be a challenge."
Clark launched himself forward at super speed, moving so fast that he was little more than a red blue streak to the naked eye. The man never saw the punch that connected with his gut and flung him into a wall and then through it. Brick and mortar crumbled as the force of the blow continued to propel him through wall after wall until the building itself was in real danger of collapsing.
Clark had no idea whose dwelling it was and scanned it to ensure that its occupants were gone. Fortunately they had wisely chosen to scatter when they realised how close they were to the fighting. The Apokoliptan had emerged from an exterior wall and was now in the alley behind it. Clark flew through the crumbling building, not pausing to give him any quarter before striking another blow. This one drove the man through the concrete like street, through several sublevels.
Clark followed him down into the darkness. It was dimly lit and the stench was rank and vile but didn't appear to be a sewer. Instead, the sublevel seemed vast with high ceilings. Around him, Clark could hear the drone of machinery. Upon closer investigation, he realised they were surrounded by alien machines he did not recognise. It felt like he was in the city's engine room. Huge turbines whirred while pistons moved rhythmically in and out, carrying out some unknown purpose.
He started to survey the area for any signs of life when he was hit in the back by the enemy wielding that damned mace. It sent spasms of agony throughout his entire body. Clark uttered a grunt of pain as he staggered forward. His hearing detected footsteps closing in again and managed to turn around before he was struck again.
This time, Clark caught the weapon in his hand before it could connect with any part of his body. The energy running through it was similar to the deadly beams of energy that pursued him through the portal seven years ago when Valerie was taken. It scalded his palms even as he gripped it and Clark grit his teeth as his flesh burned. Pain was something he experienced too infrequently to control it like Bruce did.
"Cry for Kalibak, Kryptonian," the man grinned wearing that stupid sneer which only served to infuriate Clark even further. That is until the next words came out of his mouth.
"When I am done with you, I will go find the girl, the one with the golden hair and find out if she is as easily broken. I shall enjoy tasting that sweet morsel more than sparring with you."
Hell no. Clark's eyes flared in red heat.
"THAT…WILL…NEVER…HAPPEN!"
That was the last warning Kalibak got before a blast of heat exploded from his eyes like a sun going nova. It rushed over the weapon like a solar flare and turned it red hot whilst still in Kalibak's grip. Kalibak screamed as he let it go and watched it hit the ground, clutching his scalded hand. Staggering backwards, he could only watch a Clark's heat vision turned the weapon's casing into slag that soon liquefied over its inner mechanism. As the molten metal reached the power source, the device exploded with a flare of brilliant white light that lit up the whole level.
"No!" Kalibak screamed impotently as the explosion rocked the sub-level, bringing down chunks of concrete from the ceiling and the street above.
Outraged by the threat to Kara, Clark didn't give him much time to mourn his weapon and slammed another fist into his face before the explosion diminished. Kalibak was driven into one of the turbines, his bulk denting thick metal and caused the machine to sputter in protest at the damage. Ruined metal and conduits spat sparks across the debris covered ground.
"You'll never get anywhere near her! Do you hear me? NEVER!"
Clark threw another punch, this one aimed squarely at Kalibak's head. The Apokoliptan rolled away at the last minute, avoiding having his skull staved in by a living jackhammer. Clark's fist swished past him, impacting against the iron dent in the machinery and went through several segments machinery before coming to a stop. The turbine crumbled like paper and Clark pulled back his arm, seeking out Kalibak who was getting to his feet again. When he saw Clark approach, he reached for his belt and threw a small disk like object onto the ground.
The device exploded, sending sharp spikes in all directions. Clark shielded his eyes and hissed in pain when he realised they were able to penetrate his skin. Fortunately his Kryptonian density protected him from the worst of it but he could feel the dozen cuts across his flesh and warm blood oozing through the fabric of his suit. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse, Kalibak went on the offensive, renewing his attack and connected with Clark's jaw again. The Kryptonian staggered backwards as Kalibak leapt forward, feet first, against Clark's chest and brought down him.
"You are weak!" Kalibak growled as he started to pummel Clark repeatedly before Clark had chance to retaliate. "You Kryptonians thought you were so much better than us! Look at what happened to you, what happened to your world! Where were all that arrogance when your sun turned all of you into ash?"
Kalibak was incredibly strong. Not quite strong as him, Clark knew without doubt but strong enough for those blows to hurt him. He could taste blood in his mouth and feel bruises forming against his skin. Remembering what defeat would mean for Kara, Clark's rage bubbled to the surface once more and he growled in a voice not quite his own.
"I don't need to turn you into ash to end you."
Grabbing both of the man's wrist, Clark hovered off the ground, lifting them both until he was far enough aloft to stand upright. Kalibak squirmed to get free but Clark's grip was iron and he pulled the man forward to slam his skull against Kalibak's own. He heard bone crunch before Kalibak uttered a guttural cry of pain and indignation. Then Clark clenched his hands into fist, pulverising the bones of the man's wrist and drawing another sharp scream from the man's lips. He glared hatefully at Clark and was about to speak when Clark planted a kick in the middle of his gut and let go.
There was an instant when Diana's words about not giving the enemy any quarter surfaced in his mind and he debated maintaining his grip on Kalibak's hands when he delivered the kick. He could have easily ripped both arms out of Kalibak's sockets until an even more cherished memory surfaced in his mind and forced him to let go. The man was flung through the ceiling and kept going, sailing through the air and over buildings. Clark didn't see where he landed but doubted that would kill the Apokoliptan. It would hurt him but not kill him.
It would have been so easy to do so but Jonathan Kent had taught his son better.
The memory of that man was too precious for Clark to ever sully and so Clark drew in his breath, steadied himself and flew out the torn opening in the ceiling to go help Diana.
***********
Diana had told her that Kal was fast but until Kara tested her powers in Themiscyra, she didn't realise how fast she could move. As she sped past the guards in their dark green uniforms and oversized boots, she flew so quickly she was little more than a rush of air easily dismissed as the environmental controls in the building being cranked up a notch. They were already distracted by the thunderous sound of fighting outside with walls shuddering and lights flickering as trails of dust shook lost from the fortifications.
Kara herself found it hard to ignore the battle outside when her hearing was shaper than most and forced herself to keep from worrying about how Clark and Diana were faring out there.
I promised Lois to keep him safe, she thought to herself and then remembered the task was given was also important too.
There was a boy trapped in this terrible place because of her and she was going to save him if it was the last thing she did. Her father, Zor-El, sent her to Earth to save her life at the cost of his own and Kara was not about to let someone else suffer the same fate on her behalf. At least this time, she was in a position to do something about it. For the sacrifice made by her parents so she would survive Kandor's destruction, she owed it to them to be better.
Bruce was right, she thought when she reached the third level where Dick was imprisoned, less than a minute after leaving him behind. She did get here faster without him. She would have been even faster but she was careful not to give herself away when she was passing the soldiers to avoid giving herself away. Scanning the numerous cell doors along the wall with her X-ray vision, it didn't take long for her to find the boy.
It's okay Doe. Don't be scared. Just listen to me talk okay?
The boy was talking to someone, Kara discovered. He was crouched next to the door, speaking through a slot at the bottom. It took her but a moment to determine who he was addressing when she detected the voice of another child, except this one was crying.
By Rao, they were both so little.
If Kara had thought Dick was young, then the child he called Doe was almost a baby. Hearing the little girl's distress and Dick's attempt to be console her, filled Kara with an even greater determination to rescue him from this place. Reaching the door, she paused in the so far empty corridor and looked about furtively. She had gotten this far without detection but there was no way to maintain that stealth with what came next.
"Hey kid," she spoke to Dick through the door. "I'm a friend of Batman's, I need you to step away from the door."
At first Dick Grayson thought the voice on the other side of the door was another one of Granny's tricks. After what he'd gone through today, he wasn't at all surprise if this was another cruel test. Still, the mention of Batman made his heart leap up in excitement. Peering through the slot, he saw a pair of feet wearing blue Kedds. He couldn't see very well but what he was able to make out didn't look at all like Granny.
"How do I know you're not messing with me?" He asked suspiciously. "You could be one of them."
Kara rolled her eyes even though he was right. He had no reason to believe her but she really didn't have time to convince him either.
"Look I'm here with Superman and Wonder Woman, okay?" She replied impatiently, remembering what she'd been told about keeping their identity's a secret. "Now step away from the door."
Dick knew he was powerless to do anything to stop her if she really wanted to come in and with a sigh of defeat, he stepped away from the door, retreating to the other side of the room. Bracing himself for whatever indignity Granny may intend for him if this was a trick, he was suddenly startled by the loud bang that exploded in his ears.
The metal door buckled in the middle by the impact of whatever had made that bang before it was yanked away from the frame and tossed aside along the corridor with another deafening roar. The alien hinges and door locked hissed and spat in protest as the door was ripped away and Dick's eyes became saucers at the sight of the pretty blond girl in the half cut t-shirt and jeans.
"You…you…did that?" He managed to ask, staring at her in amazement.
"I did," Kara answered before breaking into a smile. "I'm Kara and you're Dick. I promised Batman I'd get you to him. So let's go." She extended her hand towards this.
"Batman," Dick declared, his chest feeling with relief because not only the dark knight had promised to find his parents' killer but he had kept a close enough eye on Dick to be able to rescue him from here. "Where is he?"
"On his way," Kara answered. "Come on we have to go."
Suddenly Dick remembered Doe and before Kara could say anything else, he darted past her and hurried out cell into the corridor.
"I'm not going anywhere without Doe!" He hollered back, expecting her to follow him.
"Kid, we don't have time!" Kara shouted back but was convinced that plea wasn't going to satisfy him. "We can't save everyone or else we won't be able to escape!"
"I'm not going without her!" Dick stated defiantly as he skidded to his knees and stuck his fingers through the slot of the door next to his cell. A small hand emerged from the narrow opening and their fingers found each other.
"Doe! Step away from the door!" Dick ordered.
"What's happening Dick?" A small, frightened voice asked.
"Someone's come to help us," he said looking up at Kara. "Right?"
Kara stared into his intense gaze and supposed there was never any question that he wasn't going to get his way. "Right," she agreed.
Kara knew that Kal, Diana and probably Bruce weren't going to be very happy about this, especially after she'd overheard their fight about this very matter. However, Kara couldn't bring herself to refuse the boy or leave the little girl to rot down here especially when the two children appeared to have grown somewhat attached.
"Step away from the door Doe," Dick repeated himself, letting go of her hand so she could do as he asked.
Kara scanned the other side of the door to see the girl had done as told before she stepped up and crumpled it in one punch. The force of the blow ripped the door from its frame before falling flat on the floor. It teetered precariously on the dent she created with a fist but moved no more after a second.
She's like Superman or Wonder Woman, Dick thought and then his brain caught onto the fact that all the noise that he and Doe had been hearing outside the walls of their cell could have been the two heroes. When Kara arrived, he'd been consoling Doe who was frightened at the commotion although truth be told, he was helping himself too because he was no less scared.
Kara stepped into the cell and found a little girl with jet black hair staring at her with cerulean eyes. She was definitely younger than Dick, Kara thought indignantly. She was six years old, if that and human. In fact, other than Dick, she was the only human Kara had seen on route here. There were bracelets clamped around her small pudgy wrists but unlike Diana's, these did not celebrate her Amazon heritage, these were shackles.
Why didn't Dick have them?
The question was forgotten as Dick brushed past her and entered the room.
"Doe it's okay, she's here to save us."
At the sight of Dick, Doe's hesitation evaporated and she broke into a happy smile. She got to her feet and rushed to greet him with a hug.
There was no time to allow them a reunion and Kara was conscious of the sounds she could hear approaching the corridor. If they didn't know she was here before, they certainly knew it now or would when they arrived to discover two of their prisoners missing.
"Come on you two," she said hastily ushering towards the open doorway. As both children obeyed her and started to move, Kara noted that the bracelets were cutting into Doe's wrist and decided there was time enough for her to do one thing at least.
"Hang on kid," she stopped Doe and dropped down to her knees.
It didn't take much to snap the things off but she noted they were more than just shackles. There was some kind of electronic circuitry running through it, beneath the external casing. Kara didn't know enough about the tech to recognise its purpose and considered keeping a piece of it for Batman to look at later.
"Thank you," Doe said meekly as she rubbed rubbing the red welts the shackles had left behind.
"You're welcome," she smiled at the girl before stepping through the doorway first.
The hall was clear for now but Kara's enhanced hearing could detect the voices closing in on them. She had to get these kids out of here now. Wasting no time, she turned around and picked both children up, one in each arm.
"I can walk," Dick grumbled, his eight-year old self feeling quite annoyed that he was being picked up like a baby. It was okay for a girl…
"We're not walking kid," Kara winked at him and without warning, pushed herself off the floor and flew down the corridor, eliciting squeals of excitement and surprise form both children.
"Awesome!" Dick exclaimed.
They sped down the corridor, flying past the group of soldiers converging on them. Travelling at super speed, she flew over their heads before they even realised they were there. With two passengers however, she couldn't move as fast enough to remain unseen and while they were unable to stop her, they definitely saw her.
Once she left the soldiers behind and approached the spiral staircase that led to the other levels of the building, Kara slowed down enough so she could speak. "We should be meeting up with Batman soon," Kara explained.
"He really came," Dick declared, deciding that the Batman was the greatest detective there was if he was able to find Dick here. Even though the Batman promised Dick to find out who hurt his mom and dad, Dick had truly not expected him to find him in this awful place.
"Yeah, he's been going crazy worrying about you."
"He has?" Dick asked, puzzled. Something about that statement that lingered in his mind, like a pregnant drop of water waiting to fall. He wasn't sure how to articulate but it was there nonetheless. Since his mom and dad died, support had come from places he never expected. The night they died, Dick had thought he was all alone but now there were people who cared for him, who wanted nothing but to help. The Batman, Alfred and Bruce…
His eyes widened as understanding flooded his mind like exploding artillery shells.
But before he could do anything about it, everything went crazy.
An explosion, a real one, detonated behind them. Its effect, beyond the deafening noise was immediate. Suddenly, they were no longer in the air as Kara abruptly let them go, seconds before she crashed into descending staircase. Dick who knew all about falling, tucked in his legs and protected his head as he landed, rolling across down the staircase for a few steps. His body ached from hitting the corners but nothing was broken.
Recovering quickly, he got to his feet and scanned the area for the others. Doe was further along the staircase. She was lay flat on her back but was already starting to sit up when he approached. She looked unhurt and mostly dazed. It was a condition he shared himself. His own disorientation made the narrow space swirl somewhat and he shook his head to clear it.
"Doe, are you okay?"
She was about to answer him when her gaze shifted further down the steps. Dick followed it to see what she was looking at and realised Doe was staring Kara sprawled, face down against the staircase. Her white t-shirt was smoking as she was struggling to get to her feet. Someone shot her!
"Kara!" Dick left Doe and hurried over to her, bending over to grab her so he could help her up when he caught sight of a figure descending the staircase, brandishing a formidable looking weapon that lit up the stairwell with its crimson glow.
Granny, Dick realised with dismay. Bathed in red light, the woman seemed even more deranged and menacing than ever. She stomped down the steps; her eyes narrowed in calculation, wearing that cruel sneer he knew would follow him into his dreams for years. Turning back to Kara quickly, he tugged her arm with even more urgency.
"Come on Kara," he insisted. "You have to get up. She's coming!"
At the sound of his frightened voice, Kara lifted her head and met his eyes. "Take Doe and run," she ordered weakly, her words segueing into a groan.
Dick didn't like that idea at all. "But…" he started to protest.
"RUN!" She snapped, becoming more animated. "Take Doe and go!"
The sharpness of that order made him release her and step back. He saw Granny closing the distance and knew with a sinking feeling in his gut that Kara was right. If he and Doe didn't go now, they would get captured. Turning away from her, he ran to Do and took her hand. The little girl looked just as dismayed to leave Kara but she offered no protest when Dick started leading her away.
"We gotta go!" He insisted.
Kara watched them leave and sucked in her breath to steady herself. Her back stung with pain but she also knew she could overcome it. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the enemy approaching and knew she had to give Dick and Doe a chance to escape. She was going to have to fight and even though she wasn't ready for it, she was not about to let the two children pay for her inexperience.
Once she was on her feet, she saw the woman raising her weapon to fire again but this time Kara didn't give her the chance. Exhaling all the air in her chest, the force of her super breath tossed the woman backwards. She landed hard, the weapon in her hand clattering down the steps as Kara aimed her heat vision on it and unleashed a blast of heat vision. The weapon turned red hot and then started to sizzle as the metal melted.
The woman sat up and observed the proceeding for a second, but instead of appearing furious at the ruin of her gun, she grinned instead. That frightened Kara more than anything else.
"Now you," she addressed Kara in a gravelly voice that could have belonged to a man, "you I can work with."
Staying where he was didn't seem to be an option when it was clear the woman taunting him from the hallway, was perfectly aware he was here. Bruce considered his options briefly, concluding he would have a better chance of facing her than the dozens of troops that would undoubtedly come to investigate if she kept calling him out. As it stood, he wasn't certain they wouldn't come anyway.
Lowering himself into the corridor, he found himself facing the woman referring to herself as Mad Harriet. With unruly green hair, wild wide eyes and tattoos all over her face, Bruce found himself thinking about the threat Eris made to him when he helped Diana defeat the war god Ares some months before. Eris alleged his dreams would be filled with a harlequin's smile. Was she referring to Mad Harriet? The woman certainly resembled a deranged clown.
"There you are," Mad Harriet grinned triumphantly before bolting forward, brandishing elongated razor sharp claws that looked like something out of a Freddy Krueger movie.
Bruce wasn't about to underestimate her because of her gender and retrieved a smoke grenade from his belt and tossed it against the floor before she reached him. The ceramic ampule shattered, filling the narrow space with thick, grey smoke that blunted the visibility provided by the harsh lights above. Taking advantage of the cover, he sidestepped Harriet who slashed wildly at the thick grey fog, trying to dispel it.
Obviously a creature of impulse, the wild swipe did little to disperse the cloud and Bruce took advantage of her efforts, getting behind her so he could land an elbow against her back. She stumbled forward, cursing indignantly at being caught by such a simplistic ruse. Spinning, she attempted to regain the upper hand but Bruce was one step ahead of her, dropping to his haunches before he swung out his leg and swept the legs from under her. Bruce jumped to his feet and retrieved his batarang when she landed hard on her rump, determined to knock her out.
Unfortunately, Harriet recovered with surprising speed and launched herself at him before he could make the throw. Like a coiled snake, she landed on him with enough force to bring them both down. Her legs locked themselves around his waist, straddling him and she lashed wildly at his chest with her claws. She through the Kevlar of his suit with ease, almost breaking skin. He felt the heat of the energy cackling against his skin, singeing the hairs of his chest.
Bruce twisted hard and flung her off him, sending Harriet tumbling across the floor while he got to his feet. This time he was able to throw at her the batarang he had modified in the style of a bolas. The batarang split in mid-flight, each piece connected to high tensile wire that circled Harriet's feet before tightening. Once again, Harriet was brought down and but his victory was short-lived. Without skipping a beat, Harriet sliced through the wire wrapped around her legs like it was paper.
"Gotta do better than that Batboy!" Harriet cackled. "This is Apokolips! Not your primitive backwater!"
Once she was free, she rushed him again and by now, the gas cloud he created to give him cover was gone. There was nowhere to hide. She swung her claws at him and Bruce bent back, avoiding the sharp steel as it sailed over him before he straightened up and planted a fist right in her face before she had a chance to attack again. She staggered back as he felt bone crunch but instead of groaning in pain, she was laughing.
Bruce moved in again, going on the offensive, telling himself that she was no ordinary woman as she jabbed at him and he sidestepped her blades to grab her wrist and slam another elbow against her jaw. He kept a firm grip on her and delivered a side kick that landed forcefully beneath her ribs. If she were any other opponent, the move would be disabling but Mad Harriet wasn't a human and in their combat so far, it was clear she could take substantial hits without injury. His only way to defeat her was to outthink her.
Harriet was driven to her knees but she didn't stay there long and reacted the way a trained combatant would do despite her manic behaviour. She sprung upright and launched herself at him again, cackling insanely. Bruce dodged her attempts to cut him to pieces, sidestepping her claws since she relied on them to do most of the damage. He observed fleetingly that the guards who came, quickly withdrew once they saw who was causing the commotion. Their fear of her was obvious.
"You're good for human Batboy, but not good enough!" She hissed as she lunged at him.
Bruce avoided her easily, using the wall to give his own momentum added velocity as he used one leg to propel himself over her head. He landed behind her and threw another powerful kick, this time shoving her against the wall. Forcing himself to remember that she wasn't human, he slammed her head against the wall repeatedly, hoping it would disorientate her enough for him to use something capable of incapacitating her so he could get away.
It was not lost on him Kara wasn't back yet.
The blows against her forehead did little to slow the Apokoliptan down and instead of being disorientated, she used the wall to brace herself as she pushed herself backwards, driving herself into Bruce. He lost his grip on her which was all the opening she needed. Spinning about at lightning speed, she closed the distance between them and delivered one powerful swipe before he could react. The razor tip claws cut through his Kevlar and met flesh with ease.
The pain was white hot as it tore across his lower abdomen. If it wasn't for the suit offering some resistance, she would have succeeded in disembowelling him. Yet her claws didn't just cut, they delivered a charge of energy making his entire body spasm in agony. Bruce stumbled back, his heart pounding as he felt it fibrillate. Trying to regain some measure of control despite the pain, he was vaguely aware of Harriet's grinning as she moved in for the kill.
No, not while Dick was still trapped in this place, he screamed defiantly in his head.
That thought alone forced his fingers to the belt and he retrieved another one of his tools, aiming it at Harriet as she prepared to deliver her killing stroke.
"What are you going to do?" She sneered, staring down the barrel of the device, her eyes narrowing in calculation. "Fire your little gun at me?"
"I don't use guns," he replied before pressing the trigger.
Two tiny darts ejected from the barrel of the Taser and landed in Harriet's neck. The effect was instantaneous as 25000 volts surged through the woman's body. Superhuman or not, unless she was Clark, her body was no match for that much electricity. She jerked about violently as the current rushed through her. The electricity appeared to have also disrupted the energy source giving her claws their charge. There was sparking and hissing at her arms before the tiny mechanism short-circuited entirely, sending tendrils of smoke into the air as it burnt himself out.
Harriet screamed as she collapsed against the floor, her body convulsing, her claws flailing about like someone drowning. Bruce watched her go down, his own injuries starting to overcome him. The tightening spasms he could feel in his chest was a clear indication of cardiac arrest. Fumbling for his belt through the haze of pain, he retrieved a miniature electronic disc and slapped it against his chest.
It was one the few items he kept in his first aid compartment but this particular device had never been field tested before. Capable of delivering one massive electrical charge, though not in the dangerous levels of the Taser he just fired at Harriet, it served as a defibrillator.
Bruce didn't know how long Harriet would be down for the count but he did know he didn't have much time. He had to be back on his feet before she woke or before the guards found him. Putting a bite guard in his mouth, he pushed the dark button on the face of the device and let it do its work, praying it didn't knock him out entirely in the process.
It did.
***********
If they stayed in the corridors, they were going to get recaptured.
Dick came to this conclusion rather quickly after Kara told him and Doe to run. Unknowingly taking the same route she had used to reach him from the roof, Dick emerged from the staircase into the very next floor and saw guards moving up and down the hallway. Grabbing Doe, he darted into the first safe place he saw—a room with lots of screen, like the security guard station at the mall.
So far everything about Granny's orphanage told Dick no one escaped this place and if they did, it was probably because they were dead.
After a few minutes of careful consideration, Dick decided the only way to remain hidden was to travel above the corridor rather than through it. The pipes and conduits running along the ceiling were barely wide enough for a grown up person to traverse but Dick was an acrobat and moving along narrow beams was second nature to him. Doe was understandably frightened and dubious about the plan but she had so far maintained her composure so Dick was convinced she was up to the task.
After he used the handholds provided by the grooves and edges on the terminal's computer panelling to hoist himself up, he able to convince Doe to the same who surprised him by her ability to keep up. Once aloft, they crawled along the pipe, freezing in place each time a guard walked through the corridor, like mice trying to sneak by a cat. Dick's plan was to make it the end of the corridor and reach the other staircase Kara claimed would lead to the roof. On the way there, she was sure they'd run into the Batman.
She was right, but not in the way she imagined.
The first thing Dick saw was not the Batman lying against the wall, seemingly unconscious—it was the blood. The woman lying on the other side of the corridor barely registered. If he had noticed her, he would have noticed she was one of the women who had abducted him from the manor and hurt Alfred. At this moment however, none of that mattered.
Not when Dick saw the Dark Knight lying there in a pool of his own blood.
The parallels to his parents were too close for Dick to be able to stand. Just like that night not so long ago, he was staring down at someone else he cared for, prone and bleeding. Not even thinking twice, Dick dropped down into the corridor, leaving Doe where she was. Dick vaguely remembered telling her to stay put but it was all a blur against the imperative to reach Batman. Dick scrambled over to the hero, gripped with the terror the hero might be as dead as his parents.
No! Dick let out an anguished wail inside of him, almost equal to the one he screamed the night his parents fell to their deaths.
"Batman," he shook the man's arm frantically, "Wake up!"
The Batman did not stir, heightening Dick's panic another notch.
"Please!" Dick shook his arm even harder, all efforts not to cry like a baby since this ordeal had begun, discarded, "You have to wake up! We need you to wake up!"
Dick had started to cry and he didn't even notice.
"Please," Dick shook his arm again, weeping and not caring if anyone saw. The tears ran down his reddened cheeks and he wiped his eyes before trying once more to wake the man, "Please wake up. Alfred needs us Bruce."
When Kara had told him that Batman was worried about him, a flash of insight that was more emotional than logical told him why this was so. This man, this hero, had been there since the first night his parents died. When no one else understood, Bruce did. He didn't try to say things would get better, or Dick would forget with time. He didn't say it because he knew it wasn't true. Bruce had lost his mom and dad too. When he was in the Batman's presence, Dick felt the same empathy radiating off the man, as if he knew revenge or words would never heal the pain of their loss, only justice.
Bruce was already starting to rouse when he felt the small hand shaking his but when the boy used his name, he was fully alert. He stirred lightly, sitting up slowly, a grimace stealing across his face as consciousness returned with the awareness of pain. The agony inflicted by Mad Harriet returned in full force but it felt inconsequential in light of Dick's words.
How did the boy know? Bruce wondered and then realised he didn't care. He'd been honest with Dick since they'd met and this was no time to start lying to him.
Without hesitation, Bruce pulled the cowl of his face and faced Dick Grayson, little Robin Redbreast who had come to mean more to him than he could possibly imagine. He could almost feel some great cosmic mechanism slipping into the place, telling him this was the right thing to do. The only other time he felt such assurance was the first time he met Chloe Sullivan. This young boy had slipped into his heart effortlessly, just like Chloe.
Without thinking twice, Dick threw his arms around the dark knight and embraced him hard, sniffling away his tears at the same time. The ferocity of the boy's reaction made Bruce's heart melt in his chest and despite the pain he was in, hugged the boy back.
"I'm okay Dick," he said quietly. "I'm alright."
Glancing over Dick's shoulder, Bruce saw that Mad Harriet was still unconscious. He'd put 25000 volts into her and a normal person would be unconscious for some time but she wasn't a normal person.
"We have to get moving," Bruce said uncoiling the boy's arms from around his neck as he righted his cowl over his face again. "Where's Kara?"
Dick's face fell. "She told us to run. Granny shot her."
Damn, Bruce cursed inwardly.
Getting to his feet, the pain lanced through his body and he reacted with a grunt of pain. Mad Harriet's claws had cut him deep but fortunately not enough to keep him down. He'd attend to himself once he got Dick out of here.
"Are you hurt real badly?" Dick asked, his eyes fixed on the blood on the floor and across Bruce's chest. The dark knight felt a pang of regret at allowing Dick to find him this way. Bruce was sure the boy was seeing parallels to his parents' bodies lying against the sawdust not too long ago.
"I'll live," Bruce replied and then looked at him. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"
"Nah," Dick shook his head. "I got hurt a little but only because I didn't move fast enough. Is she dead?" He glanced at Mad Harriet behind him.
"No," he shook his head, "but she'll be up soon. We've got to go find Kara."
He wasn't about to sacrifice one child for another. Kara for all her strength was a child and she'd rescued Dick. Bruce owed it to Clark to return the favour.
***********
"There's no need for all this dear," Granny said to Kara, her voice calm and almost sweet, as she stood over the Kryptonian teenager, no longer caring that the other two children had escaped.
They would be found soon enough, Granny thought confidently. The real prize was right in front of her and Granny was not about to let the girl slip through her fingers. What this child could do would make all her other Furies seem inconsequential in comparison. "I have no desire to hurt you, my dear. In fact, I want to help you realise your true potential."
"No thank you," Kara shook her head, looking about her with X-ray vision to see more soldiers converging on this staircase. Granny was calling for reinforcements but Dick and Doe were well away, Kara thought scanning the area quickly. Clenching her knuckles, Kara knew she was going to have to fight her way out of here. "I'm recognising my true potential just fine."
She turned to super speed out of there when Granny threw something at her. It was some kind of net and it moved with such speed that Kara didn't realise she was caught until she fell flat on her face. The netting glowed with odd green hue that immediately made her sick. Her stomach heaved and she hadn't felt this awful since…she couldn't even remember.
As she struggled to get to her feet to pull the thing off her body, Kara was horrified by the realisation that she couldn't. Her great strength seemed to be wanning, draining like someone had let the water out of a sink. Amidst her distress, she saw Granny approaching her and with a surge of panic, Kara realised she was about to be captured alive. Just like Kal feared.
Oh No! She almost cried. She didn't want to be like Doe, locked in a cell with shackles.
"I did try to do it the easy way," Granny looked down at her. "I would have preferred that you came to me willingly but then again, no one makes the right choice the first time out. No matter, you'll learn."
She reached Kara and brought her foot down on the young girl's back, pinning her to the ground.
Kara uttered a soft cry of pain as she felt the woman's boot pressing down against her spine and glared at Granny defiantly. "I will never choose you." She grunted.
Granny's face, curled up into a menacing scowl and she kicked out, the tip of her boot connecting with Kara's face.
Kara's jaw flared in agony and her head swim with dizziness. There was the taste of salt in her mouth and Kara knew instinctively it was blood. Tears welled up in her eyes and the urge to weep was great but she maintained her dignity, refused to show this woman weakness because it was Granny expected from her. Kara wouldn't give her the satisfaction.
"Now," Granny said leaning down to pick her up, "we'll put you in a nice little cell where you can have a few days to think about your situation."
"I don't think so," a new voice suddenly entered the equation and Kara blinked in recognition.
Without warning, something dark move over her head and Kara's saw Granny being thrown backwards, away from her. The woman uttered a howl of indignation as she slammed against the steps, a few feet away from Kara. On the steps with her was the Batman. He had gotten Kara away from Granny in a full body tackle and was in his feet faster than the Apokoliptan.
"How dare you strike me?" Granny bellowed. "You're nothing but a human! A pathetic human!"
The Batman didn't waste time bandying words with the woman and immediately aimed his Taser at her but Granny wasn't like Mad Harriet, she wasn't reckless or insane. Granny saw the weapon and dodged the electrodes coming at her at the last minute before closing the distance between Bruce. She was stronger than Harriet and Kara knew that she was right, Batman – Bruce Wayne, was only human.
"Kara," she heard Dick behind her and Kara turned around to see Dick and Doe emerging from the shadows. "You're hurt." Dick said worriedly.
"You shouldn't be here," Kara exclaimed panicked at the sight of the two children so close to this.
"I know," Dick replied but was already trying to find the edge of the net. "We came to get you."
With Doe's help, Dick lifted the net off Kara, thinking it felt the beaded seats in a taxi cab, all noisy and made up of pebbles. It glowed with a strange greenish hue but Dick ignored it, knowing that it had to be bad if it allowed Granny to hurt Kara.
"You're bleeding Kara," Doe said worriedly in her small voice. Her pudgy fingers dragging the net off the teenagers shoulder with Dick's help.
"I know," Kara replied and immediately felt the sickly sensation relinquish its grip on her as the two children drag the net and cast it away. As soon as Kara was free of it, she felt her energy return and she was able to stand up, albeit shakily at her. Her X-ray vision returned too and she saw the guards running down the corridor about to spill into the stairwell. It was a small miracle that they weren't here yet.
Meanwhile Bruce was holding his own against Granny if holding his own meant, staying on the defensive as he sparred with the woman and gave Dick time to help Kara. Bruce explained to Dick that the net had to be removed from Kara at all cost because it hindered her great powers. It took no clairvoyance to know that the netting was Kryptonite based.
"This has been amusing human," Granny retorted as she saw Kara being freed from the net. "But you're hurt and you can't keep this up."
She was right although Bruce was not about to admit it. He could see droplets of blood on the floor, his wounds were continuing to bleed and he wasn't as fast as he should be. Even the shot of adrenaline he gave himself to get here was reaching its limits. He could only evade her for so long. As the thought entered his head, one of her blows connected with his body where Mad Harriet had cut him open. The pain was agonizing and he felt fresh blood gushing from the wound. It forced the air from his lungs and he staggered back.
He hit the wall and stayed there for a few seconds.
"See," Granny said closing in to deliver her death blow. "All too human."
"Get away from him!" A streak of red and blue rushed past him, taking Granny with it.
Why couldn't they leave her alone? All she wanted was to begin her new life on Earth, with the only family she had left. Wasn't it enough that mother and father were dead, that all the people she'd grown up with were gone? Did they have to take the family she made on Earth too? The blood she could still taste in her mouth made her want to gag and the humiliation of Granny's boot on her back provoked a white hot fury she could not contain. It exploded out of her like an erupting volcano, turning her eyes crimson with heat.
Slamming Granny into the stairs so hard, the steps beneath the woman crumbled into rubble. Granny appeared dazed but Kara hardly noticed. She was beyond enraged and just like Diana taught her, began pummelling the mistress of the orphanage with jackhammer blows, one after the other at super speed. She didn't even notice when bones started to crack.
Bruce sat up, shaking off his disorientation when he saw Granny and Kara further along the staircase. Granny was trying to fend off the girl's punches but Kara's speed prevented her from mounting any kind of defence. One after the other, her punches were hard enough to make the walls shake and Bruce blinked, realising the girl didn't know her strength. Granny was strong but she was not Kryptonian.
Forcing himself away from the wall, he stumbled forward and took unsteady steps towards the two.
"Kara!" Bruce called out. "Stop."
From where he was, Bruce could see the reddish glow from the girl's eyes and it wouldn't take much to tip her over the edge. That edge would see Kara incinerating the woman where she lay. She was still trapped in that haze of rage and Bruce glanced at Dick and Doe, the little girl his young charge had rescued, watching the proceedings with growing anxiety.
"KARA!" Bruce closed the distance between them and grabbed the girl's shoulder. "STOP."
Kara reacted as if scalded. She stared at Bruce, almost uncomprehending for a moment, until the anger subsided as the read heat in her eyes cooled to their normal blue. She blinked as she regained control of herself, looking at him and then looking at Granny, covered in blood, like her hands. Granny was barely conscious
"She hurt us," Kara tried to explain.
"She has," Bruce agreed. "But we still don't kill."
Kara's hand flew to her lips, covering the gasp of horror escaping her lips. If he hadn't stopped me, Kara realised, I would have killed this woman. I would have beaten her to death. Diana and the Amazons taught her to mind her temper, unchecked rage could have consequences and until now Kara didn't realise what those consequences could be.
"I almost killed her…" Kara whispered. "I didn't meant to." Her eyes welled with tears.
"Its okay Kara," Bruce put his gauntleted hand on her cheeks and wished Clark was here. Clark was better at offering comfort than he was. This girl had powers Bruce couldn't hope to understand but he suspected it was the first time, she realised what a responsibility it was, how important it was to maintain control. He could give her a speech about how she'd learn to manage this in time but this wasn't the moment for it. They were still in the lion's den.
"I know you didn't mean it but we need to get out of here now." He said firmly, hoping that was enough to help her regain her composure.
It was.
Kara nodded, realising that he was right. They needed to get away from this world with its cruelty and darkness. This place turned everyone into killers. She wouldn't let it make one of her too. "Okay," she nodded quickly, drying her eyes. "Let's get out of here."
Giving him no time to protest, Kara grabbed Bruce by the arm and pausing long enough to collect the two children before she was speeding towards the roof. All they had to do was get to Kal and Diana and they could leave this world for good.
Kara had enough of Apokolips.
When possible, Diana avoided combat.
Battle was a last resort, employed only when reason and patience was exhausted. It was the Amazon way to use tolerance and love as weapons which often could be as effective as some the sword for the same purpose. When Diana fought Ares, it was not her strength that allowed the mad god see reason. It was the truth and her choice to use words to subdue his hungry lust for destruction.
Because of this, enemies made the mistake of forgetting the Amazon princess was not merely an ambassador for her people, but she was their champion. Even if it was ordained by the gods long before she was born, Diana still won the right to wear the standard of her people. She was a warrior, with all the power of Olympus behind her and this day, on the stygian world of Apokolips, she was allowed to show it as never before.
The flying soldiers Diana heard being described by Lashina as parademons, swarmed around her like the Stymphalian Birds that once plagued the ancient world. They fired their weapons at her, hoping to disrupt her relentless battery of the Silver Swan, whose persona of Valerie Beaudry was lost forever.
Diana deflected their blasts with her bracelets, forged from the shield called the Aegis. In its day, it was carried by both Athene and Zeus, created from the hide of the great goddess Almathea, the daughter of a titan. It allowed nothing to penetrate when she raised her arms in defence.
The Aegis allowed her to maintain her ruthless battery of the Swan while fending off the parademons. While Diana did not wish to harm another sister, the current situation gave her no choice. She did not know where Kal was and Bruce needed time to rescue the young boy Dick. The parademons surrounding them were too numerous and the longer this engagement continue, the more their numbers would increase.
As formidable as Valerie had become as the Swan with her sonic powers, she was still no match for Diana in unarmed combat.
As Diana continued to throw devastating punches, she could see the Swan's attempt to retaliate grow wilder and more frenzied, Any minute now and Diana knew her temper would explode and so would her power. The Amazon was counting on it.
"Get off her!"
Someone latched onto her back, pressing an across her throat in a powerful arm lock. Diana turned her head long enough to see it was Lashina who returned to the battle, possibly suspecting her strategy in her focus on the Swan.
Wasting no time with distractions, Diana snapped her had back in a sharp, forceful jab. The back of her skull impacted against Lashina's face, temporarily disorientating the lead Fury. She grabbed the arms encircling and tore them from her neck. While Lashina was stronger than most, she was no match for Diana who could go toe to toe with Kal if necessary. She had no trouble dislodging the woman. When she turned to face her attacker, Lashina's face was a smear of blood and her teeth were bared in fury.
"I'll split you apart you Amazon bitch!" She lashed out with Diana with one of her whips and this time, it cackled with energy.
Diana blocked the strike with the bracelet of one hand while throwing a punch a second later, once the energy from the lash dissipated. It connected with Lashina's jaw with enough force to send the woman flying across the sky, her body limp as she smashed into some kind of tower nearby. The dark stone crumbled, raining down on the street below.
"That's it!"
It was the Swan's enraged voice and Diana turned to see her hovering a short distance away.
Taking advantage of Lashina's attack on the Amazon, Valerie was able to recover somewhat but the fury inside her had reached boiling point.
"It's my turn now bitch!"
It was about time, Diana thought as turned not to face the Swan in battle but to clear minimum safe distance. As expected, the Silver Swan unleashed the full torrent of her rage upon her Amazon opponent in a powerful, world-shattering scream. Diana covered her ears, bracing herself for the auditory assault even though she suspected it was going to do little good. Instead, she braced herself for it and found herself a safe place to take refuge.
The Swan's scream tore through the ears of everyone in vicinity, shattering rock and glass, sweeping away the Parademons in the air like they were leaves in the wind. Dropping like flies in mid-air, Diana's discomfort of the Swan's ear splitting cry was blunted by the satisfaction of knowing her gamble worked. The Swan had removed a sizeable portion of the forces rallied against them far more effectively than Diana could have achieved on her own.
As she watched the destruction wrought by the Swan from behind the safety of a tall, obelisk type building shuddering like a tuning fork, other structures did not escape unscathed. Some of the weaker constructions gave way under the attack, blown away as if a god had swept them aside with wave of his hand. Explosions erupted across the city as dwellings and buildings were decimated, hover crafts were knocked out of the sky, spiralling out of control before crashing into debris filled streets.
The skyline of the dark, desolate world came alive with blue tendrils of energy as power lines and conduits were ruptured in the sonic onslaught. Her unwitting assault on the city made the nearby fire pits darken and only then did she return to some semblance of herself. The Swan hung above the open decimated terrain, surveying her handiwork with some measure of trepidation, Diana notice.
Diana's ears were still ringing but she saw an opening and flew at top speed towards the Silver Swan, intending to deliver a disabling blow now that her enemy had cleared the area of the parademon swarm.
It would have been a good plan if not for the fact she was struck by something that had the power to swat her from the sky like an insect. Not since her battle with Ares had Diana been so completely overwhelmed and the pain gripped her like a fist, refusing to let go as she dropped from the sky. The world spun around her, creating a whirlpool of disorientation as she spiralled down. Struggling to regain her senses, Diana saw the ground rushing to meet her….
"I got you Diana!"
Kal, swooping seemingly out of nowhere, caught her in his arms, saving her from a violent landing. Despite this, Diana still felt a surge of embarrassment at being rescued like a helpless female. Now she understood why Bruce had such a problem with it. Nevertheless, pain had a way of putting one's pride in perspective.
"What struck me?" She asked as they gained altitude over beleaguered city.
"I was about to ask you the same thing," he replied. He'd returned from his fight with Kalibak and saw Diana's strategy reach fruition. Like Diana, he was affected by Valerie's scream and had to withdraw until the worst of it was over or run the risk of blowing out his eardrums. He was just recovering his senses when he saw Diana falling to the ground, out of control.
He scanned the area and saw Valerie, no not Valerie, he decided. Valerie was gone, destroyed by the horror of this place, all that was left was the Swan and Clark's infinite capacity for compassion had waned when she helped them still a young boy out of his bed. She'd used the friendship of six years ago to exploit them, telling him that Valerie was beyond redemption.
Perhaps she always was.
At the moment however, the Swan was hovering in the air, keeping her distance. In fact, now that he looked deeper, the sky was devoid of anyone except himself and Diana. No reinforcements had come to take the place of the parademons the Swan had sent scurrying with her furious display of powers.
The sky was eerily empty of for a place that was teeming with activity and life when they first arrived. Now, columns of smoke rose from burning buildings and even the fire pits were oddly dark. After the disaster the Swan had caused, there should be people wandering the streets, trying to find help and loved ones but there was nothing.
Clark started to get a very bad feeling.
Then he saw the Lord of Apokolips for the first time and understood why. They were hiding.
The being standing the foot of the statue bearing his name could be no one else. He stood at least 14 feet in height, broad chested, with limbs like tree trunks and grey skin with the texture of granite. The sculpture had perfectly captured the stony expression on his broad features and he radiated authority and ruthless menace. This world with its fire pits and dismal industrial sprawl, covered in despair and oppression could only be ruled by someone like Darkseid.
Six years ago, an unknown assailant had shot at him through the portal that brought Valerie here, with a beam of energy so strong, Clark had barely escaped it. The way Diana was knocked out of the sky told Clark he was now face to face with his attacker. Darkseid made no move towards them, patient in his expectation of their eventual attack.
Clark wasn't stupid. Bruce had drilled into his head over the years that rushing in where angels feared to thread was not always the best solution. For once, the best way to win this battle was not to fight.
"We need to get out of here." He didn't care how it sounded. Every instinct he had told him taking on the lord of Apokolips would end badly for all of them.
"What is it Kal?" Diana shook off her disorientation at hearing the apprehension in Kal's voice. If the strongest among them felt fear, then it was not wise to ignore his advice.
"Darkseid," Clark replied as Diana wrestled free from his arms now that she was stronger. "He's here and I'm pretty sure he's the one who attacked you. He's waiting for us to attack and I think we should not give him a chance to take us down."
He scanned the roof top of Granny's building and was grateful that it was still standing after the Swan's outburst. He glimpsed Bruce with Kara and the children. They were making their way to the roof and would be there in a matter of seconds.
"Son of Krypton," a booming voice shook the sky. "Surrender to me now and your comrades will be allowed to leave Apokolips. Fight me and I will annihilate all of you, except the girl of course. She could yet be useful."
The idea of Kara being twisted into a deranged monster the way Valerie had been was more than Clark could stand. For the first time, he felt real fury bubble up inside him. Kara was his only connection to Krypton and the house of El, more than that, she was family. The image of the frightened girl in the ship surfaced in his mind, the one who needed so much love and thrived when she got it. Even though he had not wanted her to come to Apokolips, she'd stood her ground and demanded to help save Dick Grayson who'd been taken because of her.
She was just as headstrong and idealistic as he had been. Clark would not allow Darkseid or this terrible world to break that spirit. For her, he was willing to fight.
"Diana, Bruce and the kids are almost to the roof. Get to him and tell him to open the portal. I'll be right behind you."
"Kal no! We do this together!" She protested, not liking the intent in his eyes.
"I'm just going to keep him distracted but we need to think about the children. I'm not letting Kara or Dick stay in this place one damn minute longer. Open the portal and I'll be there, I promise. I don't plan on staying here either."
Diana was dubious about his plan but she also knew that Kal was right. Darkseid had knocked her out of the sky like fly being swatted. If he attacked on his terms, none of them would get off this world alive. Clark's idea of a distraction was the only hope they had and she prayed it worked.
Nodding reluctantly, she hovered in the air briefly before breaking away and flying towards the orphanage.
"Follow us Kal! I will hold you to that promise."
Clark inhaled deeply, steeling himself as he went to face Darkseid.
***********
With Kara's help, they were able to make a swift departure from the hallways of Granny's orphanage to the roof top. Carrying Dick on her back, while holding onto Bruce as he carried the girl named Doe securely in his arms, Kara zoomed past Granny's guards, who were barely able to register them speeding by. Of course, the sonic storm created by the Silver Swan beyond the walls of the orphanage contributed to their distraction.
Like everyone else, she'd faltered at hearing that terrible scream, crashing against the floor as it pierced her ears. Her super hearing made her more sensitive to it than anyone else but fortunately, the lapse did not cause their escape catastrophic harm. As it was, the building shook and some sections of it did buckle. Mortar shook itself free from brick, filling the hallway with dust. Fissures appeared like veins across the walls and ceiling as the structure heaved in protest from the assault.
They were almost to the roof when it happened and Kara recovered quickly once the sound had evaporated. Thanks to her speed they were able to make up for lost time and soon emerged on the rooftop, without incident. Her ears still ringing, she knew the guards were busy securing their prisoners and with a heavy, heart Kara knew she could not help any of the children trapped in their cells.
Remaining on Apokolips any longer than necessary was a risk she could not take. Kara had already seen what one moment of unrestrained fury could cause and she had no wish to be in Granny's clutches for that rage to be exploited. She didn't want to be a monster the way this Silver Swan had become. There was so much good she could do with these powers, she didn't want this world to twist that into something terrible.
Besides, she promised Lois to take care of Kal and even if she didn't make such a promise to Diana, she felt the same obligation to Bruce Wayne, the Batman.
Despite his protests to the contrary, Kara knew he was badly hurt. The bleeding beneath his suit had not stopped and with her x-ray vision, she could tell just how serious the lacerations were. No to mention, his heart was beating erratically thanks to Mad Harriet's electrified claws. He restored himself to some semblance of mobility thanks to his gadgets but Kara knew enough about human physiology to suspect he needed proper medical attention and soon.
Of course, he showed none of this and his almost mercurial manner reminded her of Uncle Jor‑El, though Kara would never tell Kal that. Ever the scientist, Jor-El was always able to make the hard decisions, despite the personal cost. His plan to send Kal to Earth while he and Aunt Lara remained behind was typical of this. Kara wondered if her father's own plan for her was an effort to mimic his brother's practicality.
On the other hand, Dick Grayson seemed to have forgotten he was abducted from home and brought to an alien world, subject to an ordeal of torture and captivity. As he clung to her, she heard his gasps of excitement as they flew, making her remember that as resourceful as he was, Dick Grayson was still a typical little boy who craved adventure.
"Kara!"
Kara glanced up and saw the Amazon Princess descending before them.
"Awesome!" Kara heard Dick exclaim behind him.
"We're okay," Kara assured her and then remembered Bruce. "Mostly. We need to get Batman back to Earth right now. He's hurt."
"I'm fine," Bruce grumbled, disliking the focus on his injuries when he knew he was capable of managing without their help. Mostly. His ire grew even further when he saw pall of worry fall over Diana's face. He hated being weak in her eyes.
"We just need to get home to the manor, that's all," Dick letting himself down from Kara's back and hurrying to Bruce's side. "Back to Alfred."
Dick had completely forgotten he was talking to Wonder Woman because he remembered how he'd found Bruce earlier, almost dead. The idea of losing Bruce just as he lost his parents was enough to temper his excitement about seeing a real life Amazon princess.
Since his parent's death, Bruce Wayne had been the only person who didn't try to make him feel better with platitudes. Instead, Bruce remained at arm's length, giving Dick the time to grief but was also close enough in case he needed comfort. As the Batman, he promised Dick justice for his parents and finding out the two were one and the same made all the sense in the world to the young boy. He no longer felt totally alone.
Diana threw Bruce a quick glance, momentarily taken back by the fact the boy knew his secret identity. What she did saw familiar however, was the affection in the boy's eyes. Oh she knew that feeling well.
"Do not worry, little robin." That was how Bruce had described him to her, a little robin on a branch, bouncing with life. "We are all going home."
"Where's Kal?" Kara looked around, expecting Kal to follow Diana.
"He has gone to face the Lord of Apokolips who has entered the battle." Diana's expression became grave. "Kal said to open the portal and go. He will follow us after providing a sufficient distraction for our escape.
"Oh for Christ's sake!" Bruce growled, ignoring the fact he was in the presence of minors. "This is why I don't let him make plans. That is a bad plan. Darkseid wants a Kryptonian, if he can't have Kara, he'll take Clark."
"Bruce!" Diana chided, seeing the dismay on Kara's face.
"First things first," Bruce said putting down the little girl in his arms so he could retrieve the mother box in his belt. "We'll get the kids of out here and go get Clark if he's not behind us."
Diana didn't argue with him. It was pointless, instead she turned her attention to the little girl no one had explained. The little waif appeared terrified, with eyes that darted about like a frightened fawn. She was so young.
"And who is this?"
The angry red scrapes on her wrists rankled Diana all the way to her Amazon core. They were reminiscent of the scars Diana saw on her mother and Amazon sister, reminders of their captivity by Herakles millennia before. Even though the bracelets won by the Amazons concealed the scars, their mark upon the skin was unmistakable.
"Her name is Doe," Dick said helpfully, feeling bad that he hadn't introduced Doe although, he did notice she and Diana looked a lot alike. They both had the same luminous blue eyes and dark hair. "But Granny called her Donna."
"I think I like Doe better," Diana dropped down and touched the girl's wrists. "When we return home, I will take care of these. We Amazons know about such wounds."
The little girl blushed and uttered a mumbled word that sounded like thanks. Her gaze was fixed on the tall, beautiful woman before who seemed so familiar. Doe tried to remember but a fog always descended over her mind when she tried to access the memory, frustratingly vanishing into nothingness.
BOOM!
The sound startled them all as the portal activated. It formed in mid air, close the roof top floor, a circle of bright, intense light, cackling with power. Spidery strands of blue white energy discharged at its edges as the wormhole between the worlds stabilised.
"Alright," Bruce straightened up, gesturing at Dick and Doe to come forward so they could make the crossing when he noticed something which made him stiffen with realisation.
"Where's Kara?"
***********
"This meeting has been a long time coming Kryptonian. My servants should have brought you to me six years ago."
Clark approached Darkseid cautiously, alluding to a confrontation he did not intend to make. He was taking no chances. He was only going to provide Darkseid with a distraction until the others escaped, then he would be right behind them leaving this terrible planet. Using his peripheral vision, he noted Darkseid's forces were holding back, most likely at their master's bidding. It appeared Darkseid wanted to deal with Clark himself.
The memory of the energy beam that chased him across Metropolis six years ago, told Clark the man was more than capable of doing just that. Clark had encountered nothing as powerful since that day and the ease by which he'd knocked Diana out of the sky proved time proved time had changed none of its potency.
"So you could turn me into a monster, like you did Valerie?"
"We freed her," Darkseid responded as if he were addressing a petulant child. "While she was on Earth, she was weak and frightened, at the mercy of strangers she was forced to cling for protection. Fear kept her from fully realising her powers, fear and some deluded notion of morality. The universe was created by great power and only a fool denies its potential. The girl you knew as Valerie has grown into the Silver Swan, one of my greatest warriors as you will soon be."
"Never!" Clark snapped defiantly. "I came here to get the boy your people stole! I will never join you and even if you do manage to take me, you better be prepared to use me without my powers because the instant I get them back, I will fight you. I will never stop fighting you!"
"Perhaps I will not waste my time attempting to break you," Darkseid replied, unperturbed by Clark's steadfast refusal. "Perhaps the girl will be more malleable. The young often are."
The malice in which he made that threat twisted in Clark's gut like a hot knife. The idea of Kara becoming like Valerie, now completely lost to them, was enough to waver his restraint.
Intensifying his assault on that sore point, Darkseid continued to speak. "Children are made for the shaping. Your Kara is new to your world, she would be more accustomed to this one, with technology similar to her own world, instead of your backwater ball of mud. Furthermore, I am aware of her existence now and you cannot protect her forever. One day, you will let down your guard and we will take her. What will you do then when I send her back to you, as a weapon of your destruction?"
"YOU STAY AWAY FROM KARA!"
His temper exploded like Rao going nova. Clark forgot his plan to keep his distance and flew towards Darkseid like streak of red and blue. Flying faster than the naked eye could register, a tiny voice in the back of his head cautioned his actions, told him the was being reckless but Clark couldn't stop himself. The threat to Kara had hit home.
His parents spent much of his youth ensuring that he was safe. Years of anonymity was made bearable by the friend he'd made. Kara had lost everything, her world and her family. He wanted Kara to have some semblance of family on Earth and that would not be possible if she was hiding from Darkseid's clutches.
Slamming into Darkseid with the force of a locomotive, the tremendous impact against the dark king created a boom that echoed though the air and made the statue above them, shudder. Darkseid was thrown backwards, skidding across the stone floor into one of the legs of his enormous statue and cracking it. Instead of being lain out flat or rendered unconscious as Clark expected, he rolled onto his knees, stunned but still standing. Clark watched in horrified amazement as the Apokoliptan straightened up, ready to fight.
"You'll have to do better than that, Kryptonian. I have fought gods and strong as you are, you are not a god."
Without warning, Darkseid's eyes glowed a split second before a torrent of energy blasted at Clark. What hit Clark was nothing like his heat vision, it was the energy beam from six years ago. He realised he mistakenly believed Darkseid needed a weapon or his hands to discharge it. In fact, he had been poised to avoid any blasts but the eyes had caught him off guard. This time, there was no avoiding it and Clark was barely able to remain in the air as the pain wracked his body. Instead, he made a rather undignified landing onto his hand at the steps of Darkseid's fortress.
"You are no match for me boy," Darkseid crowed as the Kryptonian as he approached.
Clark saw Darkseid closing the distance between them and forced himself to get to his feet. He had to fight. For Kara's sake, he had to beat this monster. He wasn't the boy from six years ago, he was fully trained in the use of his powers. He was Superman. Concentrating, twin beams of crimson energy escaped his eyes and found Darkseid's.
"ARGHHH!"
Darkseid screamed at the pain from Kryptonian heat vision, halting him in his tracks. The titan reeled, clutching his face as Clark took advantage of the pause to regain his balance. Still, Clark knew |he could not linger long. He may not have fought Darkseid before this but how the dark lord reacted to his initial punch was telling. Launching himself at Darkseid, Clark intended to throw another punch when Darkseid turned sharply to him and struck him once again with his own energy beams.
Clark slammed into the stone floor, cracking the paving and creating a fresh crater beneath him. He landed just shy of Darkseid's feet and raised his head just in time to see the man throw a kick. The heavy boot caught him on the jaw and spun him around from the sheer force of it. Clark tasted metallic salt in his mouth. Blood. He was tasting his own blood.
"You dare think you can defeat me? You maybe a Kryptonian but I AM A GOD!"
He prepared to stave in the Kryptonian's skull when suddenly something struck him in the side, causing him to tumble haphazardly across the floor in stunned surprise.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
Clarity returned to Clark in the surge of panic that came hearing Kara's voice. He looked up, his jaw aching and turning dark with bruised skin to see his cousin flying towards Darkseid, no comprehension of what she was fighting.
"Kara no!" He shouted, trying to warn her but it was too late.
Darkseid wasted no time unleashing the same power on her that he'd used to beat Clark down. Except its effect on Kara was worse. This was Kara's first test in combat and had developed the skills needed to fight an enemy like Darkseid. She had only just learned to control her powers. Clark watched in horror as she was struck down. Kara hit the floor hard, not moving at all.
Darkseid wasted no time walking towards her, ready to claim his prize. His plans for Kara now within reach and this forced Clark to get to his feet. Using his heat vision, he halted Darkseid in his tracks with another blast of power.
Darkseid countered with a similar blast of his omega beams and uttered a thundering order to his minions. "Parademons attack!"
The swarms held at bay during the fight were now unleashed and Clark didn't need to see them to know they were flying towards the battle.
Halting any attempt by the Kryptonian to reach the girl, Darkseid's omega beams quickly overcame the heat vision, forcing Clark to break off to avoid being struck. The young man's determination to reach the girl made him predictable and Darkseid was a seasoned a warrior who knew how to exploit that weakness.
Clark braced himself to take a hit, knowing it was his only chance at reaching Kara before Darkseid spirited her away out of his reach. As he flew towards Kara, with Darkseid recalibrating his aim, he prepared for the worst until something or rather someone intercepted him. There was an explosion of sound as Darkseid fired energy bolts out of his eyes but instead of being struck, it was instead refracted back at him with a deafening roar and flash of brilliant light.
"You are not the only god in this universe, Lord of Apokolips," Diana said standing between Clark and Darkseid, her bracelets crossed, its gold cackling with energy. "These bracelets were given to me by gods far older than you. You may have caught me unawares now, but it will not happen again."
Being struck by his own power had flung Darkseid backwards and when he got to his feet, he bellowed in outrage, the sound of his voice like thunder from the heavens above. From the fury Clark saw in the god's eyes, it was clear no one had knocked him on his ass for quite some time.
"I will crush your bones into dust, you impudent slag!"
"Clark, get Kara," Diana ignored his insults and ordered Clark instead. "Get to the portal."
This time, it would be she who would hold Darkseid back. Still, she was realistic at how long the bracelets could offer protection. Her brave words aside, this being was a god. She could feel his power and knew that a sustained battle would see her defeated. If not by him then by the hordes of parademons closing in on them.
This was only the first battle with the lord of Apokolips. There would be another fight soon enough.
She was sure of it.
***********
From the distant burst of loud booms he could hear from the rooftop, Bruce wished he could have gone after Diana when she opted to go retrieve Kara and Clark. However, as determined as he was about going after Clark, she was equally determined that he return to Earth with Dick and the little girl. The children's safety should come first before all else. As much as Bruce hated to admit it, she was right.
"Come on," he ushered the two children towards the open maw of the portal, resolving to come back as soon as he had them squared away safely.
The parademons were swarming towards the tall statue of Darkseid where the battle was undoubtedly taking place. He hoped both Clark and Diana had sense enough not to try and fight the Lord of Apokolips. It was still not lost on Bruce how these people had once managed to strip Clark of his powers. As for Diana, the memory of how battered she had been after her confrontation with Ares was still living in his mind. He never wanted to see her in that condition again.
Dick and Doe were about to enter the portal when Bruce was thrown sideways by a powerful kick that almost sent him toppling off the edge of the room. Only his training kept him from going over completely but the pain wracking his body was hard to compartmentalise in his weakened condition. He could feel fresh gushes of blood from his lacerated flesh and sharp pain in his chest intensified.
"You didn't think I was finished with you yet, did you dark knight?" Mad Harriet sneered at him from where she squatted, like a frog about to spring.
"Well I am," Bruce retorted, looking over her shoulder at the two children, staring at the scene in fear, their small hands gripping each other's tight. Flipping upright, Bruce landed on his feet and went for a batarang, throwing it as she leapt at him. Her quick movement made it a miss but offered enough of a distraction to allow him to land a powerful kick to the sternum that sent her to the ground on her rear.
She uttered angry screech, like the mad banshee she was and jumped to her feet, brandishing her claws, charged with energy. She sprung again, this time like whirling dervish of limbs, moving so fast that it was hard to see when one swipe began and another ended. It was this tactic that left him in his present state of injury and Bruce took care to avoid another strike.
"Come on Bat Man. I thought we were going to dance."
"You're not my type," Bruce sidestepped her latest swipe and slammed and elbow on the back of her skull, causing her to stumble forward. She recovered quickly, dropping to her haunches and kicking out her leg, catching his ankle as he pulled away. It was only a tap but more than enough to make him trip. Bruce landed on the ground and started to turn when he felt lash at his back, energy following her nails across flesh.
He convulsed, the pain in his chest intensifying until he thought he could hear his heart pounding in his chest from the protest.
"Batman get up!"
That voice was Dick's! Bruce looked over his shoulder sharply and he saw the young boy leaping onto Harriet's back, his hands covering her eyes. Clinging to her like some wild animal, Dick was trying to give him time to recover. Bruce didn't waste it and got to his feet, ignoring the pain in his determination to reach Dick before Harriet did him serious harm.
"You little insect!" She snatched Dick from her back and flung him across the floor.
Dick who was a trained acrobat knew how to fall and rolled across the roof gracefully, even as Harriet closed in on him.
She never reached him. Instead, she was gripped by the ankle and swung through the air like a rag doll. Bruce watched in astonishment as Harriet flew over the building, spinning like a human Catherine wheel before crashing into another building some distance away. Standing where she had been was Doe, looking at him meekly.
"I didn't want her to hurt you."
"That was so awesome!" Dick exclaimed hurrying over to her. "You're strong!"
"Uh huh," she nodded. "That's why they made me wear those things on my hands."
Bruce finally reached the two children, proud of both for how they'd handled themselves. "We'll talk about this later," he rasped, "We've got to go now."
The portal was still open and waiting impatiently for them. As he said words, he looked over his shoulder and saw a red blue streak flying towards them. Was it Clark or Kara? And where was Diana? He saw no sign of the Amazon princess in the sky behind the approaching Kryptonian.
Kryptonians, he realised when he saw that it was Clark, carrying Kara in his arms.
"GO! GO!" Clark shouted , waving Bruce forward with one arm.
"Where's Diana?"
No sooner than he made the demand, he heard another explosion of sound and light and saw Diana retreating towards them. Pursuing her from the bow of a hover vehicle of some kind was Darkseid. The dark god of Apokolips was blasting away at Diana with beams erupting from his eyes and Bruce recognised the energy form as the one they'd encountered six years ago. While she appeared to be fending him off, he could see her starting to struggle.
She would not be able to keep Darkseid at bay indefinitely.
Bruce scooped up both Dick and Doe in his arms, ignoring his injuries because he cared only for getting them through safely. His last glimpse of Apokolips had Diana breaking lowering her bracelets to make a beeline for the portal, zigzagging through the air to avoid being struck by Darkseid's terrible power.
Stepping through the portal, Apokolips vanished behind him. There was a blinding spectrum of rainbow coloured light followed by the ear splitting boom that preceded their arrival at a new destination. In a matter of seconds, they had left Apokolips behind and were now standing on the grounds of the Wayne Estate. Even though there was every chance Darkseid and his servants might follow them back, at least the location of the manor was somewhat remote and would keep bystanders from getting hurt.
The air was filled with the stench of burnt grass as the portal's energy burned the natural terrain and illuminated the woods surrounding it. Bruce stepped through, still holding Dick and Doe in his arms and quickly turned around to see Clark emerging a second later, with a still unconscious Kara in his arms. Like Bruce, his gaze immediately turned towards the wormhole, waiting apprehensively for Diana and fully prepared to go back if she didn't appear.
"SHUT THE PORTAL!"
Diana's voice followed her abrupt exit through the portal. Bruce's reacted instantly, acting the mother box to collapse the passage between the two worlds. Diana's arrival was followed by bolts of energy, some from Darkseid, and some from parademon weapons. One stray blast hit a tree, igniting it like a candle. It light the darkness with amber as Bruce took cover, shielding the children in his charge even if it was likely one of them didn't need it.
The portal continued to shimmer and cackle with frantic energy as it began to contract and collapse. In a final act of defiance, it spat out a few impotent strands of energy before winking out of existence completely. Once it was gone, only the fire behind them provided any illumination.
Bruce made his way to Diana who appeared exhausted. Through the amber light, he saw the wounds on her skin, the mild burns left behind by weapon's fire. Throughout all this, Diana had come to his and Clark's aid without a moment's thought because she loved them both and Bruce felt remarkably privileged to have her heart.
"Are you alright?" He touched her cheek in concern.
Diana leaned into his gauntleted palm, "I will live. You on the other hand, are not."
"I'll live," he offered her a little smile and leaned forward to give her a kiss on the lips. "Thank you Diana, we wouldn't have done this without you."
"I wouldn't have expected you to," she returned. "You two cannot stay out of trouble unless I am there to rescue you."
Bruce couldn't argue with that.
"Is Kara going to be okay…Mr Superman?" Dick went over to the Kryptonian who was leaning over his cousin, who appeared to be coming out of it. Despite the situation, Dick was struggling not to completely lose his mind over the fact that he was standing next to SUPERMAN.
"I think so," Clark looked at the boy, finding a smile at being addressed as Mr Superman. "She's just needs a moment."
He could hear the increased rate of Kara's heartbeat and even as he said those words, she was starting to regain consciousness.
"Will they follow us?" Doe asked, staring at where the portal had been.
The three heroes exchanged glances and it was Bruce who answered. "Possibly, but I think not right now. The mother box can take us anywhere on Earth and I don't think they'd risk coming to the manor again unless they're sure we're there."
"But they will be coming," Clark said softly.
"Yes," Bruce was not blind to that. "Maybe not today or tomorrow, but they'll be coming."
'And we will be ready for them," Diana said firmly, looking not at just Clark and Bruce but also at Kara, Dick and even the little girl named Doe. "All of us."
Returning to the Luthor Mansion after what had taken place there wasn't easy for Lex.
If nothing else, he'd learned just how vulnerable his family was to the whims of modern gods masquerading as superheroes and aliens. The memory of how helpless he'd been while his daughter was threatened was branded into his mind. If not for Superman, and the idea of being saved by another alien galled him, he would have lost his family and possibly his life.
Still, a month later and there was no further sign of the attackers who had invaded his home in the dead of night and threatened his family. The alien ship he'd recovered remained in his Section 33.1 facility, undergoing all manner of tests to unlock its secrets. Lex knew now, those alien attackers had been after that ship because it held a passenger. Where that passenger was now, was a mystery he intended to solve.
Seated at his desk, he reviewed the most recent reports regarding the ship and frowned at the difficulty for any kind of analysis due to the dense nature of its atomic structure. Not even lasers seemed capable of penetrating its shell. There were gaps in his memory which Lana revealed was the work of the alien impersonating his father. She explained its origin, its desire to release an evil onto the world that required his company to do it.
It made Lex all the more determined to unlock the secrets of the ship, to protect his family if not the world from other alien creatures that might choose to attack them.
"Lex," Lana poked her head through the doorway, making him lower the table he'd been reviewing onto the desk. "Laura's bed time is in thirty minutes, she wants her daddy to read her a story."
Despite his reading material and the disappointment it revealed, that simple request brought a smile to Lex's face. Five years in prison had taught him how precious such moments were and he'd sworn then, he'd never waste any of it. "I'll finish up here and join you shortly."
"Good," Lana smiled. "Hey I'm going to watch a movie after, join me?"
"Will there be popcorn?"
Lana gave him a look as if he were mad to even suggest that the contrary. "Of course! What's a movie without popcorn?"
"Then consider it a date," Lex flashed Lana a warm smile, once again swept away by the unadulterated joy at knowing this was his life.
Lana blew him a kiss and went on her way, leaving Lex with the sobering realisation that it was Lana who kept him in the light, who kept him from indulging the darker parts of his psyche. She reminded him that power was only valuable if it allowed you to protect the people you loved. He glanced at the report once again and told himself the research would continue, they would unlock the secrets of the ship eventually.
They had to.
Suddenly, the French doors to the garden blew open and appearing in front of his desk, in a blink of an eye was a visitor Lex never expected to have. Falling back into his chair, his lips somewhat parted in surprise, Lex found himself gaping at Superman. He'd seen the man briefly that night when the three had come to his house and despite himself, felt a begrudging gratitude to the man for saving Laura.
Now Superman stood before him, his cape billowing slightly from the night's breeze stealing in through the open doors. He really did look like a god among men, Lex thought silently and hated himself for the thought.
"This is unexpected," Lex finally found his voice.
"For both of us," Superman replied. "I hope your family has recovered from the attack."
"For most part," Lex replied, thinking on the nightmares Laura had experienced a few days after the ordeal. Never had Lex wanted to rip anything apart with his bare hands as he had wanted to do to the Swan for harming his child. "Thank you for what you did, you saved my little girl and there are no words to describe how grateful I am for that."
Superman seemed to stare at him, taking in his apology as if the words were sinking into his invulnerable skin like a sponge.
"I know you are testing the ship you found in Miller's Field."
Lex stiffened and glance instinctively at the table in front of him. "That's classified."
"I don't care if it is or not," Superman returned. "I'm guessing you need access to its systems and it locked you out. Am I right?"
Lex maintained his poker face, "if it were, then it would be little danger to anyone would it? Still if I were in possession of such a ship, my immediate question would be, where is its pilot?" He stared at Superman in accusation.
"The pilot doesn't matter," Superman returned automatically, brandishing a poker face just as impenetrable. "What does matter, is in exchange for you abandoning any search for one, I am willing to help you unlock that ship. "
Lex blinked in surprise. "Why?"
Superman drew in his breathe, the S-shield on his chest, heaving in response. "You need it to get the world ready. The three people who came to your house that night, they were just servants. Their master will be on his way in due course."
"Who is he?" Lex found this whole thing surreal. Was Superman really here asking for his help?
"His name is Darkseid and if I'm not making myself clear on how dangerous he is, I am going to tell you now, I can't take him alone. This world is going to have to stand together because when he comes, he'll bring an army and if we can't fight him, we lose the planet. Do you understand?"
Lex thought of the people from the black ship, Milton Fine and the destruction caused by powerful aliens coming to Earth. The feeling of helplessness returned, settling over his chest like cement. "I understand."
"I am putting my faith in you Mr. Luthor, I am trusting that you care about this world and the people on it, more than ambition and power. I hope I am right in thinking you're a good man or you trying to be."
Lex didn't know what to say. There was something about the way Superman said that words that felt familiar, even comforting but Lex couldn't explain why.
"If what you say is true, if this Darkseid is coming, then I'll do whatever I can to protect my family and this world. I give you my word on that."
Superman nodded, an expression on his face that was still trapped in that limbo between certainty and scepticism. "I'll be in touch."
***********
It was a month since their return from Apokolips. Upon returning home, Clark had allowed Kara to be taken to Themyscira, out of fear that Darkseid might come for her. During that time, each member of the heroic trinity, held their breath in anticipation of an attack from the master of Apokolips, but no such attack came.
Grace Goode, Darkseid's agent on Earth had vanished and it seemed for now Apokolips interest in Earth and Kryptonians was in abeyance. Still, they needed to be ready. Kara's time in Themyscira was spent training in how to use her powers more effectively, so that she could properly defend herself if they came for her. Unlike Clark whose powers bloomed over time, Kara was in possession of all Kryptonian abilities and with Diana's tutelage, she became quite the formidable combatant by the time they returned to the farm.
The absence of a return visit from Apokolips led Bruce to the deduction that Darkseid was taking his time, now that their advantage was gone. Any incursion from his minions now lacked the element of surprise, especially since the mother box in Bruce's possession could instantly warn them of a wormhole opening anywhere on Earth.
During their interrogation of Grace Good with Diana's lasso of truth, they learnt that he had been in contact with Milton Fine or rather the Brainiac program, while it was masquerading as Lionel Luthor. In exchange from freeing Zod from the Phantom Zone, Fine would give him Kara to continue his experimentation on the anti-life equation and aid any invasion plans of Earth.
Apokolips had already annexed dozens of civilisations across the stars, claiming them under its dark banner. Earth, with its resources and dense population was perfect for colonisation even without the attractive incentive of Kryptonian DNA. It was no longer a matter of if Darkseid invaded, it was a question of when.
In learning about Fine's alliance with Darkseid, Clark finally learned the secret the construct had taken to its grave when Clark destroyed its program. Fine knew about Kara's ship buried in Reeve Dam for all those years. It explained why the construct needed to impersonate Lionel Luthor and frame Lex for Chloe's murder. While in possession of LuthorCorp, Fine could be assured of free access to Kara's ship. Undoubtedly, he would have used her genetic code to open the portal to the Phantom Zone.
Unfortunately what Fine did not anticipate was the fact the ship needed Kryptonian DNA to activate and even worse yet, his murder of Chloe would drive Clark to complete his training, leading to a five year absence.
"I don't know if it was wise bringing Lex into this," Bruce said from atop the roof opposite the Sin Kitty Club where he was continuing his surveillance of Tony Zucco.
"Despite his actions, Lex has always wanted to protect the planet from alien threats, he just didn't know which ones," Clark explained, needing to talk to someone after his meeting with Lex. The whole thing had been surreal for him, reminding him of his early relationship with Lex before things went wrong because of Lana. "It didn't help that he was taken over by Zod, attacked by Kryptonians and manipulated by Fine. Its no wonder he became convinced he had to get the world ready for an invasion."
"And this is different how?" Bruce stared at him. Clark's belief in people could border on delusional which worried Bruce who was more pragmatic. Then again, it was also a quality Bruce admired at the same time.
"I gave up on him a long time ago. He asked me not too but I did because of my feelings for Lana. I got so jealous at them being together, I shut him out at a time he needed my friendship the most. It will never be like that again, but maybe this time, if I help him instead of lie to him, it can be different. I have to try. I owe him that."
Bruce said nothing but Clark was right, Lex had resources. While Wayne Tech could do much, Bruce walked a fine line with how much he could involve his company, without risking his identity. Lex had no secret identity to protect and needed to explain nothing if his company started working with alien technology.
"Alright. It's your call and I trust you."
"Thank you." Clark joined him at the ledge and stared at the club Bruce was watching so intently.
"He's in there? The guy who killed Dick's parents?"
"Yes. He works for a mob boss named Sal Maroni. Tonight, I'm going to pay Mr. Maroni a visit and let him know that unless he surrenders Zucco to the cops, I'm going to devote all my time to ensuring every one of his illegal operations in Gotham is shut down. He won't see a dime in profits while Zucco's on the payroll."
"I hate to be on your shit list," Clark did not envy either Zucco or Maroni one bit.
"Don't swear, you sound like a nun trying to be a hooker."
Clark threw Bruce a gesture instead.
The Batman smirked, "That's better."
***********
It was fall in Kansas when Martha finally returned to the yellow house on the Kent Farm.
The Amazons had been more than hospitable during her stay and being in their world was an experience Martha would cherish forever. Being the wife of a farmer, Martha found much kinship with the women of Themyscira. They shared a love and respect for the land, for the fruits of hard work and the belief that compassion and kindness were never outdated forms.
The friendship she formed with Queen Hippolyta was also something she wanted to maintain, though how Martha had no idea with the distance between them being so vast. They were two strong women who raised extraordinary children, mothers who still worried for them, no matter how powerful they had become. By the time she left, promises were made to keep in touch through Diana and possibly future visits.
The idea of a queen visiting the Kent Farm made Martha smile.
Still it was good to come home to the farm even if it always felt emptier without Jonathan. With her career as a senator behind her and Clark now living in the city with Lois, Martha had expected a quieter life. Yet, she now found herself in charge of a super-powered teenage girl who was finding her feet living on a new planet.
"Mr Pennyworth," Martha glanced at the butler who was presently setting the dining table as she reached the last leg in her preparation of Sunday dinner. "You don't have to do that. You're a guest."
"I'm afraid it's a force of habit Mrs. Kent," Alfred glanced at the woman as he continued what he was doing. "I don't think I know how to be a guest. Besides, this is certainly more palatable than some of the other duties I perform around Wayne Manor."
"I can imagine," Martha laughed, aware that aside from being the family butler, he also aided Batman's war on crime in Gotham. "Still, I'm glad you decided to join us. It's been awhile since I've had a full house for dinner and let's face it, after everything we've been through together, we're family."
The comment brought a smile to Alfred's face and he thought how ironic that Clark Kent's mother should also be named Martha. It made her comment about being family all the more poignant. Glancing out the window, he saw Kara driving the tractor across one of the paddocks, with Dick and Doe taking the ride beside her. All three were laughing and the sound was music to his ears.
Even if this wasn't at the manor, Alfred would take it. After the death of Thomas and Martha Wayne, it was a sound he never thought he'd hear again.
"Miss Kara seems to be adapting to life on the farm quite well."
"I think so," Martha stood up from the oven, the roast she'd made filled the house with tantalising aromas. "She knows she's not alone and that helps."
"Well she certainly does have an extended family. Although I do believe Master Dick has something of a crush. He was most excited to see her and Miss Doe of course. It was good of Diana to bring the little girl back from the island for a visit."
"Yes, she is a sweet little thing," Martha added as she put the roast on the bench and glimpsed the child, with her blue dungarees and ponytails, giggling excitedly next to Kara.
It was a far cry from the traumatised little girl she'd been when she first arrived in Themyscira during Martha's stay. She'd been a prisoner in Apokolips longer than anyone so young had a right to be and it had taken all of Queen Hippolyta's love and patience to draw her out of her shell.
"That smells delicious Mrs. Kent," Alfred said taking in the aroma and finding it more satisfying that for once, he wasn't doing the cooking.
"Thank you," Martha said appreciatively, aware that aside from his numerous talents, Alfred was also a master chef. "Do you mind calling everyone in for dinner? Believe it or not, even with super hearing, I still have to call Clark in for dinner."
Alfred sighed, "At least he comes to dinner."
***********
"Well I called Ollie," Lois declared, looking up from Clark's telescope in the loft over the barn.
"You told him what's happening?" He asked, making a face at a freshly mounted poster on his wall. Taylor Swift? What the hell was Taylor Swift doing on his wall? Then it occurred to him this loft was no longer his fortress of solitude. When he wasn't here, it was Kara's.
"Yep," she lowered herself onto the chair next to the telescope, sitting on it facing the back. "He said he'll give you a call so you work out the details on where to meet up. It will need to be somewhere central if you want everyone to show."
"Everyone?" Diana asked puzzled. Dressed for the Kansas fall, she was comfortably situated on the sofa, leaning into Bruce's shoulder while holding the arm draped around her shoulder.
"Yeah," Clark answered. "Even before I went away to train, Oliver was gathering people like us together, people with powers. Ollie believed we needed to stand together."
"He's right. I've kept an eye on what he was doing even though we've never met."
The Green Arrow and his group of heroes had been travelling the globe, ignoring international treaties to reach the people who needed help. Even though the governments whose sovereignty they violated were vocal, it was nowhere as loud as the applause for the good they did. If it was not for his responsibilities in Gotham, Bruce might have considered lending them a hand on occasion.
"There's Arthur, Bart, Vic, Dinah, J'onn and Zee, just to name a few." Clark explained to Diana who had yet to meet any other hero beside himself and Bruce . "They're friends and they'll come if we ask."
"You guys could be the new Justice Society," Lois suggested.
"I think we should meet first before deciding to start a club. I don't know when Darkseid's coming but we need to be ready," Bruce made a face, utterly hating the idea of a name. Then again, Lois named things so badly, she might end up calling them the Superfriends or something.
"We will be," Clark said confidently and spied Alfred leaving the house. "Oh looks like dinner's ready. Better get Kara off the tractor."
He'd been happy to show her how to drive the vehicle, and the girl who could fly, found it immensely satisfying that she was being allowed to handle any kind of vehicle. It must be a teenage thing, he told himself.
"Is it safe for her to be driving?" Bruce asked.
"She'll fly off that thing long before she crashes," Lois teased. "Besides, they're having fun."
"Congratulation by the way," Clark declared as they got to their feet, ready to go down for dinner. "I hear the court awarded you with permanent custody of Dick."
"Well he's my ward," Bruce was unable to keep the smile off his face at the announcement. "But it is good that he'll be able to stay with me and Alfred permanently."
"I think it's wonderful," Diana said leaning over and kissing Bruce on the cheek. "He adores you, you know."
"And yet he sleep in Superman pyjamas."
"So does Lois," Clark chimed in, aware he's going to catch hell for that revelation.
"HEY!" Lois nudged him in the ribs as they descended the steps to the floor of the barn. "How is Doe finding Themyscira?" She asked Diana.
"Oh," Diana rolled her eyes. "My mother is utterly smitten of course and so are all my Amazon sisters. They love the idea of having another child to teach and spoil. It has been very good for Doe to, she's improved much since her arrival from Apokolips."
"Any idea where she came from?"
"We're still unable to determine her origins and it appears her memories before Apokolips were intentionally suppressed. There is no doubt she is human even if her abilities are not. Aside from her strength, she is able to fly, although not as well as Kara but her speed is considerable."
"I wonder how she came to be Apokolips, she's just a baby." Lois mused as they saw Alfred waving the children towards the house.
"We may never know but we are convinced her powers might originate from our older gods. Menalippe, our priestess, senses she could be a child of the titans, gods that predate the Olympians.
"Give it time," Bruce suggested. "She's very young and she's had it tough. Maybe a little normal is what she needs to get it all back again."
As normal as it can be living on an island with Amazons, Clark thought to himself.
***********
"Dinner is served," Alfred announced as he met them in front of the house with Kara, Dick and Doe.
"That was so much Mr. Kent!" Dick exclaimed, glancing back at the tractor. "Did you really drive it when you were ten?"
"Yeah, my dad taught me," Clark said feeling a spread of warmth across his chest at the memory. "Once I grew tall enough to reach the pedals that is. When you get taller, I'll be happy to teach you."
Then with a smirk, he added, "Of course Bruce might want to teach you how to drive the Bat mobile first."
"Oh no fair!" Kara burst out, "if Dick gets to learn how to drive the Batmobile I want to as well and hey I can already reach the pedals!"
Bruce's expression at the thought of a teenage girl getting behind the wheel of his precious car was priceless. It was worth the menacing glare he received from Bruce as both Lois and Diana sniggered quietly.
As always, Alfred came to the rescue. "Perhaps we shall talk about it after dinner."
"Yes definitely after dinner," Bruce returned hoping not to have the conversation at all.
Diana picked up Doe. "Did you have a nice time, Little Sister?"
The way her mother had taken to this child, Diana did not think the title was incorrect even if philosophically, all women were her sisters.
"We had the bestest time," she nodded, her small arms wrapping around Diana's neck, while her twin pony tails bounced up and down on either side of her head. "We saw cows and there was a boy on a horse. He talked to Kara."
"A boy?"
Kara's cheeks turned red. "Yeah Adam Foster, he's says he's lives in the farm across from ours."
Clark did a quick mental calculation and blinked. "That used to be the Lang place."
Lois nearly choked on her spit and couldn't resist asking, "Did you tell him you were going to be starting at Smallville High next week?"
"Uh huh. He said he'd show me around…apparently he's a quarterback or something?"
"Is he cute?" Diana asked as the three women disappeared into the house.
"Oh he is!" Kara giggled, " He's got the cutest dimples…"
"Hear that Clark?" Bruce leaned in for a dig, "dimples."
Clark was still stuck on boy and quarterback when he heard dimples. Dimples? There were dimples now?
As they shuffled into the house, Bruce was grinning. And they said he didn't know how to have fun.