It was a day different from most others, for Wanda was in the kitchen, preparing deviled eggs, baked beans, and her famous potato salad while Simon was on the phone jealously guarding the recipe for his special sauce. Not long after the first of the guests arrived, and as always, Steve was first, toting flowers and a nice bottle of wine.
“Happy 4th of July!” he said as he held out the flowers, presenting them to Wanda, a beautiful mixture of red, white and blue roses. “For the lovely lady, of whose beauty is equal to Lady Liberty herself.”
Holding up the bottle of wine to Simon, he continued. “Not for you, but your guests. Perhaps after drinking it, they will be able to tolerate your scruffy looks.”
With a smile on his face, Simon accepted the bottle. “Who’s scruffy looking?” Laughing, he gestured inside. “Come on in Steve.”
As they were shutting the door, a female voice rang out. “Hey, Steve isn’t the only one with a dramatic entrance.” Steve pulled the door open once again. There stood the beautiful and striking Clara Barton with the weeks catch. “By the way, I brought a date. This is Hal everyone.”
The young man’s expression turned very bleak. “My name is Cal, Clara,” and extended his hand towards Simon and offers a true introduction. “My name is Calvin Stiles, but my friends call me Cal.” He glanced sharply towards Clara, “but some others call me Hal.”
With the introduction over, Clara blushes slightly but pulls her beau closer. “I’ll make it up to you later, dear.”
“Welcome, make yourself at home.” With a keen vision that came from being Wonderman, Simon spotted the limousine driving up the street. “Dear, Dane and Karly are here.” And surely enough, a few moments later, Dane Whitman, owner of Whitman Industries, along with his alluring, world-renowned, model fiancée, Karly Rivers stepped up to the door. The look of excitement was evident on the young woman’s face. She threw her arms around Simon’s neck.
“Thank you so much Simon. Your word goes a long way in Hollywood. I start production on ‘The Sisters of Battle’ next week, and I got the leading role.”
Simon looked down and spoke gently: “Hon, you did it all yourself. I never said a word.”
As Karly’s eyes fill with joyful tears, Simon gave a playful wink to his friend Dane. “But enough of shop talk. Come on in. Wanda made potato salad.”
With a voice that could be heard out of state the next visitor’s words rang true. “She had better have made ten gallons, cause I art hungry!”
With a long expression Simon calls out: “Come on in you smelly Olympian!” Giving a slap to Simon’s back that would have sent a normal man through the wall, Hercules walked through the door. “Everyone relax, I am here now!”
The barbeque was a success except for a minor argument over the origin of Simon’s secret barbeque sauce, whether being from Beverly Hills or Mt. Olympus. After what seemed hours of general conversation between good friends, the business of separation was now on the table. Steve, being the most vocal about the split simply stated that America needed its own private team. He had spoken to James and Heather about putting a team of Alpha Flight inside the U.S.A. but with no success.
The vote was quick and unanimous. Team One was going to lose its five most senior, if not powerful members. Then, the phone rang. Wanda casually walked to the kitchen and answered it. From the time the phone was lifted until it hit the floor was nothing short of eternity.
She turned to face the awaiting friends gathered at her table, and taking what strength left in her body to speak those most horrible of words. “That was Heather. America is under attack…by Superman.”
“Oh god, No!” Steve said as shock and anger pervaded the room. “We gotta get back to Ottawa and get the team together. We have to end this before it gets worse.”
Simon gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in fury. “We may have to kill him.”
“I don’t want to even think like that right now, Simon,” Captain America said as everyone gathered their things and were heading for the door. “Kal-El is a good friend.”
“He….might…haaavvvee…beeeeennn…bbbuuuuttt…”
The room came to a grinding halt. The air did not move, smells ceased to exist, and the people did not even breathe. The sky above had turned to an emerald green. A form encased in silver energy glanced around momentarily, then vanished.
There was Captain America, smashing his way into their midst. Alongside him was the Olympian, Hercules. Fighting as many as he could handle, was Simon Williams, also known as Wonderman. Emerging from under the ground, you could see a large green-skinned alien. He was the Martian Manhunter, J’onn J’onzz. Whizzing around stopping only to pummel someone was Barry Allen, The Flash. Defending himself against a pair of weapon-wielding metahumans was the Black Knight, Dane Whitman. In the hyper-advanced Vindicator battle suit designed and built by James and Heather Hudson was their son, Sam. Launching arrow after arrow was the delectable Clara Barton, known as Hawkeye. Fighting side by side, their powers perfect opposites of each other were Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen, known as Cloak and Dagger. As one of the most flamboyant of the team, Warren Worthington dove like a hawk into the fight. He was Archangel. And finally in the back weaving his spells, was Marc Spector, the current Sorcerer Supreme known as Moonknight.
Beyond them stood a mass of metahumans, their faces twisted with rage and insanity. Each of them wore the symbol of their leader, Superman. Despite their power not being as great as Alpha Flight’s, their sheer numbers were obviously giving them an advantage. They pushed the heroes back, further and further until, a large metahuman caught the Flash unaware and sent him crashing to the ground. He then picked up Barry’s unconscious form, and with an expression of utter delight snapped him like a twig.
It was that moment when Alpha Flight pulled back and began coordinating their efforts and striking blows to disable or kill. They began to push the deranged metahumans back, dropping those that they could and simply walking past them. It was then there was a slight lull in the battle, when Moonknight conjured a spell. Just as he is about to unleash it as a ball of searing light, twin red beams lash out from off screen and slice the sorcerer to pieces. Hawkeye turned and unleashes a pair of arrows only to have Superman walk calmly up to her and twist her neck into an odd angle. She dropped where she stood.
Supposedly not having any fear at all, Vindicator yelled out to his teammates as he charged the insane Kryptonian. Captain America also turned, as did Dagger while the rest continued the battle they were already in. Vindicator flew in, swinging time after time, impacting his powerful blows against the supposedly insurmountable target.
Finally fed up with this human’s efforts, Kal-El grabbed the young man and literally dismembered him, alive and screaming. It was that very moment that the shield of Captain America impacted against the Kryptonian, but with little effect. The two men had no words for each other as they charged, their intent clear. One of them had to die.
Kal-El reared back and with all his might, and swung at the American Icon. With little choice, Captain America blocked the punch with the shield. He probably would have felt some satisfaction on seeing the Kryptonians’ hand visibly break on impact, but Steve Rogers was knocked back into a building, his mortal body shattering against the hard concrete, killing him instantly.
With nothing but a pause to shake off the pain in his hand, Superman rushed forward and grabbed Dagger by her throat after she launched a series of light knives into him. The camera caught his lips snarling at the young woman for a moment, just as the remaining members of Alpha Flight turned to face him. Wonderman had just begun his mad dash at the Kryptonian, knowing his own strength to exceed that of Kal-El’s. Hercules on the other hand, saw what was coming and grabbed his nearest companion, the Black Knight, and huddled down, using his own body to protect the mortals’.
Right before Superman began to tear Tandy apart, a flash of light began to erupt from her body, about to release the massive life energy she contained. But it didn’t. The blue sky above them had suddenly turned to a greenish hue capturing many of the combatants’ attention. But not Kal-El’s.
The surge of energy and the resulting shockwave could just barely be seen impacting the face of Kal-El and even he had not yet closed his eyes completely. Yet the energy did not explode. No sounds could be heard through the core of the state capital, no birds flying above, no drips of blood from the dead and dying. Nothing. Again, the glowing silver being silently observed the frozen scene before disappearing.
Jenny, her feet planted firmly, stood with out stretched arms, her face dripping with sweat. Kara had her arms wrapped around Jenny’s middle, adding the support of her strength. “I’m losing it!” Jenny yelled to be heard over the crash and thunder. Before her, the twin columns of energy were twisting and turning, as if some outside force were trying to wrestle control of them from Jenny. Which was exactly what was happening.
“You’ve got to hold it, Jen!” Kara yelled back. Though the physical effort could not be getting to her, she was obviously under strain herself. “Don’t let the Shard get control or we’ve had it!”
Gritting her teeth, Jenny focused her thoughts, forcing the energy to do her bidding by the strength of her will alone. After a moment, the twisting began again. “Shit!” Jenny cursed and, snarling in defiance, shut the energy down altogether. Instantly the columns of energy dissipated. She sagged in Kara’s arms and allowed herself to be gently lowered to the ground.
“I finally got a good grasp.” She said. “It tried to gain control again, but this time I had enough control to shut it down.” She shook her head and looked up at Kara. “We’re going to have to do this the hard way. There’s no way we can risk using my energy again. And the closer we get, the harder it’s going to be.”
“Which means we have to get to it quickly and destroy the damned thing!” Kara stated.
Jenny sped forward now, pausing only briefly to glance at the ripped edges of the opening Kara and Rogue had forced on their way to the chamber itself.
“Now what?” Rogue whispered. She was pressed against the inner wall of the chamber, her hands pressed to her temples. In the center of the chamber, setting on a pedestal encased in glass, was the Shard.
Even with the device Reed had constructed for her, Kara could feel the waves of depression flowing from the damaged artifact. She knew what Rogue, unprotected, had to be feeling.
“Now,” Jenny took a deep breath and planted herself before the Shard as she answered. “you and Kara leave and seal the chamber and tunnel behind you.”
“What?” Rogue looked between Jenny and Kara, her eyes wide with disbelief as Kara nodded.
“It’s the only way, Rogue.” Kara told her. “We’ve got to leave Jenny in here with the Shard. She’s the only one that can handle it.”
“But what if….”
“I fail?” Jenny’s voice was already strained as she began to exert her will. “Then we’ve lost. Now get going, please!”
Kara grabbed Rogue and pulled her back through the ripped opening. Then, using her hands and heat vision, she pulled the ragged edges back together, wielding a perfect seam.
“Now we just wait?” Rogue demanded.
“No.” Kara shook her head. “Now we fill in the tunnel.” She held up a hand as Rogue opened her mouth to protest. “Just trust us. We don’t like it either, but it is the only way to insure a least a margin of safety for those people topside.”
Rogue looked at her for a long moment then nodded. Together, they started back to the surface, caving in the tunnel behind them.
Jenny waited until the sounds of the collapsing tunnel had moved off into the distance, becoming muffled by the tons of dirt and rock filling the empty space. “It’s just you and me now.” She muttered towards the Shard. Gritting her teeth, she hurled blast that shattered the glass surrounding the Shard. Then, before her better sense caught up with her and made her turn tail and run, she sprang forward, grasping the Shard in her hands, it’s jagged edges slicing into her palms. Without her ring and the memories it held, she had no way to tell that she was re-enacting a scene the Shard had seen and felt before. Jenny exerted her will, drawing more and more of the energy of the shard into herself.
Green bolts of lightning sprang from the shard, arcing throughout the small chamber, striking Jenny again and again…only to be absorbed with no damage taken. Jenny gasped, falling to her knees as raw power filled her, threatening to overwhelm her, and yet still she continued to drain the Shard. With a scream that could and did shatter glass for miles around, Jennifer Walters smashed up and out, her body shimmering with the green glow of energy that filled her, the Shard grasped firmly in her hand.
“Jenny!” Rogue started forward, only to be caught by Kara.
“Keep back!” Jenny’s voice was rough and distorted as if it were modulating up and down the scales. “I can’t hold it! It’s too much!”
“You have to hold it Jenny!” Kara called.
“No!” Her eyes gleaming wildly, Jenny swung her head back and forth. “Too much power!” Her voice held agony now.
She screamed again and then…went totally still.
“Jenny?” Rogue asked, cautiously.
“I can fix it!” Jenny’s voice was the merest whisper. When she looked up, the wild look was still there. “I have to release it, but I can use the energy to fix everything!”
“Jenny, NO!” Kara stepped closer. “Jenny. Hold on to it, we’ll think of something, but you can’t use it that way.”
“But I can!” Jenny almost sneered the words. “I can undo all the damage. I can recreate everything. I can …” She trailed off as Kara stepped closer.
“You can what, Jenny?” She asked. “Play God? Wipe out all that has happened so you can impose your perception of what should be?”
“Yes!” Jenny hissed. “I have the power to do it. Why shouldn’t I? Isn’t that what we are here for? To fix things?”
“Not at the expense of those you would destroy.” Kara shook her head.
“Oh my god,” she whispered. “I’ve got to get rid of it, Kara.” The last was almost a whimper. “It’s too much. It’s burning me up.”
Kara thought quickly. “Filter it, Jenny,” she said after a brief moment. “Filter it and put it back. Use it to cleanse and repair the Shard. Use it to create a new Great Battery!”
As Kara was talking, the skies around them turned a familiar shade of green. At first they all thought it was a simple side effect of the Shard’s power and returned their attention to the event taking place before them. But their movements slowed, their words hung on lips, and everything around them ground to a halt. The silver hued being floated in the skies above them, her eyes glued to the small hunk of metal that Jennifer Walters held.
“All of this…everything…over that damned piece of metal,” she thought before fading away.
Everybody whirled to face the newcomer, instinctually fanning out in case it was hostile. He was a small, completely bald man dressed in gold and garments like an ancient Egyptian monarch. Taking the lead position, Ariel took a step forward. “Who are you and where are they?”
“I am Omega. And the slaves you speak of are within me of course. I consumed their souls. They were but a morsel of a meal, but one nonetheless.”
Kitty was now clenching her fists in anger, barely containing the anger his words brought to her. “Then in the name of humanity, you are under arrest for mass murder.”
Omega smiled, bringing his hands into full view. “That would be marvelous. I like a meal that struggles.”
With no warning, a shimmering wave erupted from Omega’s body in all directions. Although it did not seem to affect anyone else, Artemis and Paradox were thrown to the ground, both curling up in fetal positions. Artemis screamed in pain, shaking all over, while Paradox was attempting to regain control over himself.
With a cry of anger, Kitty flew into the small man, fists cocked back, ready to strike. With blinding speed, Omega caught the young woman in the air by the throat. What happened next caused all to gasp in surprise. They could literally see the energy being siphoned off of Ariel, who apparently could not move.
“Kitty!!!” Brian yelled and charged with Solitaire right behind him. Sherri wove a mystical symbol in the air, rising above the ground, sending bolts of pure magic into Kitty’s assailant.
Sensing the impending threat, Omega stopped his feeding and twisted, catching Exodus’ fist as he swung on the demi-god. Also at that very moment, the first of Sherri’s bolts struck him, but to no affect.
“So…Nabu finally established his power? Too bad, sorceress. Here is a gift.” With seemingly great ease, Omega threw Kitty’s unconscious body into Sherri. Though she had her shields up, the two women were catapulted onto the ground. The force of the blow knocked Sherri out, despite the protections she had.
Meanwhile, Omega had begun to feed on Exodus’ energy, and he cried out in pain, unable to break the smaller man’s grip. Solitaire, attempting to help her friend grabbed onto the leech, and began trying to shut his powers down.
Instantly, Omega realized she was a threat. With but a thought, he tossed her away. Making a quick gesture, and she sailed through the air, several hundred feet up. Unfortunately, Legion had already begun his attack run. He was the only one who could have caught her. She landed, trying to roll with the force of the impact, but was unsuccessful. Her legs shattered, sending the young redhead into shock. With all of her remaining strength, Rachel sent out a telepathic scream, hoping that it would reach its target.
Back at New Independence, Zal was still in conference with Peter and Jim, discussing the implementation of some of the ‘gifts’ Lord Ian had left just a couple of weeks earlier. Suddenly, Zal heard a voice in his mind. He recognized the summons from Rachel, a desperate cry. “Zal! Help us!” Without explanation to the leaders gathered in the room, Zal tore through the roof, almost instantly reaching his maximum speed. He exited the atmosphere, achieving ungodly speeds to reach his friends. He reentered just milliseconds later, dropping back into the atmosphere like a comet.
Meanwhile, Legion dove in determined to break the grasp of this monster from Brian. Repulsor blast after repulsor blast struck the demi-god, forcing him to stagger slightly. Brian was now completely limp in its hands, but the visible energy was still pouring off of him. “Let him go! Now!”
Omega pointed at the armored man with his free hand. “Do you think a skin of metal will stop me child? I am the God of Destruction! Nothing can stop me!”
“Yeah? Let’s test that!”
The demi-god tossed Brian to the side, leaving him a crumpled pile of flesh. Legion charged, swinging and blasting. Omega made no attack at all, simply dodging and ducking the blows. At the precise time Legion was the most off balance, Omega struck.
“Metal man! Now you shall know death!” Omega plunged his fist into…and then through the armor, Withdrawing his hand, Syren and Frostfire saw blood spewing from the armor as it fell backwards onto the ground.
“NO!!! You bastard!” Syren screamed and unleashed the blast she had been holding back until now. The brilliant energy washed around Omega, and soon was joined by the intense heat from Frostfire.
Walking with effort, Omega made his way through the energy towards Sara, who redoubled her blasts, attempting to keep this monster away. It was to no avail. Omega swatted her with his massive strength, sending her flying. If it weren’t for the mystic armor she wore, Sara would have been killed instantly. She impacted against a prefabricated building, bouncing off its wall falling face first into the sands.
Turning to his last remaining opponent, the demi-god Arakis began to absorb the energy that this human was throwing against him. Marcus realizing that his power was being leeched away by this creature, decided to turn the tables against him. He thrust his hands forwards to suck all heat out of him. Omega smiled - this child might be useful in the future, if ensorcelled properly he could be a wandering herald, sucking out the life of others by proxy, continuing to spread his power. The demigod brought up his left hand and a ball of violet light flew out towards the metahuman. Frostfire’s sixth sense was screaming at him as this approached.
Superman saw the energy blast strike Frostfire. The young man fell backwards onto the sand completely immobile. The violet light continued to shimmer around him.
Without another moment’s hesitation, he dove on the unsuspecting demi-god, driving each fist into the man’s small form. Zal landed blow after blow, forcing Omega back with each punch. Throwing his power behind a single uppercut, Zal sent the man to the ground surprised that any person had so much power.
Superman stood back, allowing Omega to rise. “A bit more of a challenge than you expected?” he taunted, goading him into attacking angrily, therefore poorly.
Omega's eyes sparkled as he felt the energy from this new opponent. “Yes… you will be a fine meal indeed.”
“Bring it on, little man.”
They latched onto each other pummeling away. Zal was getting the upper hand when Omega just stopped, trying to siphon the power off of this being. His eyes went wide, now knowing just what he was dealing with.
“No! It is impossible! No one can use Ra’s energy in this manner!”
Not caring what he said, Superman continued his assault. With a well-placed punch, he sent Omega back by several yards. Instantly, he lashed out with his heat vision. Knowing the damage it could cause; Omega tried to roll out of the way, but was still caught across the shoulder. Roaring in pain, Omega turned back to the Kryptonian.
“My turn!” Raising both hands, Omega used and amplified the fire that Marcus used against him. Zal threw up his arms in defense, but feeling no adverse effects, allowed the assault to continue. In no time at all, Zal to begin glowing red hot, then as Omega increased his power, white-hot. Superman’s skin took on a near-transparent sheen, now being close to the heat of the surface of the sun.
“Wow. This guy is good. I am actually beginning to get hot.” Zal thought. “I think he is about tapped out, so let’s end this.”
Omega let up on his attack, satisfied on what his efforts had gotten him. Superman wasn’t impressed.
“Please. I have swum in the core of a star! Do you think that would hurt?”
Raising an eyebrow, Omega retorted. “Perhaps not. But this might.” Rapidly completing the intricate gestures, Omega unleashed the second prong of his attack.
Instantly, Superman was blasted with a magical cone of cold, enveloping him in its eerie, blue-white light. The agony was simply unbearable. Along with the damage the magic was doing, the ultrafast cooling of his body was causing untold destruction within Zal.
Paradox and Artemis awoke to a primal scream of pain. The sound was deafening, louder than human ears could bear. Thankfully, these two weren’t quite human. They both turned and saw the grisly scene, but their eyes diverted upwards to the sky. A sheen of green had enveloped everything. Glancing at each other and shrugging, the two heroes continued their advance. Their assailant, Omega, was standing over a kneeling Superman, bombarding him with a magical blast. They could see Zal’s skin begin to split, causing numerous wounds to bleed all over him. Drop after drop of blood splashed onto the sand each one slower than the next until finally, a drop fell from the Kryptonian’s skin and never made it to the ground.
The silver-clad being hovered nearby as, yet again, time ground to a halt. Pondering the results of the battle, the being’s silver glow intensified for a moment before vanishing.
Just as she began to look around for her teammates, Kitty froze. Not ten yards in front of her stood one of the most respected members of the old Alpha Flight in full costume, Captain America. His stance was unnerving, and his gaze unsettled her drastically.
“Masterfully done, Katherine,” he said as she slowly circled him, unsure of this imposters’ motives. “You are becoming more like him every day. How soon until you are murdering in his name just as his followers did years ago?”
Kitty shook her head, but remained in her defensive crouch. “I don’t know you. Even if you are Steve Rogers, you have no idea why I do what I do.”
“But I do, Katherine. I had never imagined you as the type to have a teenage crush, but it is inevitably so. He has set one half of this nation against the other in his schemes of world conquest.” He held out his empty hand towards her. “Join back with me, Kitty. Together we can rid this land of him. Together we can bring peace to all the people of America.”
“No! You don’t understand! You’re being deceived, Cap! Luthor is a tyrant! We need you, we want you to help us rebuild what America is supposed to be!”
“I know what America is supposed to be. A land free of Superman’s oppression! A land that Lex Luthor is the legitimate President of. And therefore the man that I support until death.” Unable to stand listening to his words, Kitty lunged at the person she had looked up to, trained with as a teenager. She was scared. Steve Rogers had only ever been personally defeated once, and that was on the day of his death against a vastly more powerful foe. Her first blow she rapidly had to pull for he quickly raised his shield and blocked it. He leapt over her foot sweep and pounded his fist into her back, succeeding in only hurting himself in the process. Katherine was confused for just a split second. It wasn’t like Captain America to make a mistake like that. As she lashed out with her foot, Captain America found out a moment too late that the blow was a distraction. She had a hold of the pavement beneath his feet and tossed upwards, sending him rolling back, already on his feet again ready for her next attack.
Throwing the shield at her in order to recover his offensive position, he wasn’t concerned that it only bounced harmlessly off of her invulnerable skin. Due to the massive training that his father Lex Luthor had given him, and the practices that he constantly endured, he was positive that he would be able to defeat her in a fair fight. But her invulnerability made it quite an unfair fight, in her favor.
As she rushed back into the fray, Captain America was forced to block and dodge her blows, until he had her off balance. Grabbing her wrist and her now loose hair, he spun, thrusting his hip into her stomach and tossed her down with all his might. She simply bounced and rolled back to a ready position, poised to attack again.
“Kitty, this is getting us nowhere. I can fight you to a stalemate any day of the week, and you know this.” Captain America eased the fingers of his shield hand over to the compartment in his glove, ready to withdraw his ace-in-the-hole. Looking decidedly around the area, he saw the massive amount of men and equipment that were now in play against his father’s attack force.
“I must admit he has done well, subverting as many loyal American men and women as he has. This will most definitely dampen his plans of reunifying the nation now…” He turned back to the leader of Alpha Flight, his eyes deep pools of concentration. “…but that is still inevitable. You may be able to win this battle, but you cannot win the war.”
“My teachers at the original Alpha Flight School taught me that symbolism is what rallies armies together. Whether it be a flag, a person, or an idea didn’t matter. This army rallied around you…but I will show them and you that honor and justice are the ideas that describe the symbol I wear. Not tyranny, not madness, not pain or suffering. These are the things that Lex uses to subvert people like you, Steve.”
Without another word, she charged, knowing she had to defeat this man once and for all. Kitty knew it was going to be downright impossible and had hoped that at least one of her teammates could get free to help her. This was Captain America. The Captain America.
The clone of Steve Rogers had no choice. He had to end this fight so he could go and lead a counterattack against their forces. He withdrew the small chain with an attached blackish stone from the pouch at his cuff and held it up in her path. The wash of radiation slammed into the enhanced mutant. Very rarely had Kitty felt agony as she was now. It was as if every cell in her body cried out from the torture and refused to function. Her charge was stopped dead in its tracks as she doubled over with pain. She tried desperately to get away from him, knowing that somehow Luthor had found out. Black K.
Captain America stood over her as she tried to crawl away. “See? This is what I mean. You are forcing me to resort to methods that I find…unneeded. All you had to do was join with me…” His voice began to grow louder with every word. “…but instead you have chosen to side with America’s enemies, Katherine! I have no choice but to see you neutralized for the good of America.” Grabbing her hair, he lifted her head from the ground and looped the chain around her neck, locking the clasp. He watched as the sigils glowed briefly, confirming the magical aura around the chain itself, insuring that Superman would not be able to remove it.
Kitty cried out in agony, but there was nothing she could do. Clutching her throat, she tried desperately to remove the chain, but to no avail. Slowly, she curled up in a fetal position and began to shudder from the pain. “I…I will…see you…in hell.”
Cap just shook his head. “I think not, Katherine.” Raising his shield, Cap threw his entire strength into the blow, sending her into unconsciousness. Another blow simply ensured that she would not be waking anytime soon. When he raised his hand for a third blow, he was not able to complete it.
Matt had seen all he wanted to. Although he had been tied up for most of their battle, he was able to keep tabs on his teammates and now rushed to rescue one. His first energy bolt splashed across the shield, throwing the imposter off of their leader. A second was also blocked, but now forced the American Icon back even further. As he threw the last bolt, he saw the clone was now withdrawing and regaining his composure, his advantage lost. He turned once well enough away and called back to them.
“I will return to finish this, no matter that it takes an eternity. You will either join our forces against that Kryptonian, or force us to bury you beside him!” Captain America turned and began to run for his headquarters, but stopped and looked upwards, transfixed by the now green colored sky. Had one of the metahumans caused that?
Back on the ground, Paradox worked frantically to save his friend’s life. He tried himself to remove the chain, seemingly easy to break, but as the metal strained, it glowed briefly. He started to simply infuse her body with more energy to fight off the effects of the radiation, but a stray thought finally caught up with him and with a wave of his hand, he encased the small stone in a block of lead.
When Kitty opened her eyes, she was relieved only for a second. Instinctively, her hands went to her throat and felt the chain still attached, her eyes darting in confusion. All three breathed a sigh of relief at her recovery. But as they exhaled that sigh, their breath all slowed and came to a halt as had all other activity. The silver clad being stepped out of nothingness and looked down at the prone form of Kitty Pryde sadly before again vanishing.
“No difference,” He said, brushing that part aside “That was not Steve Rogers that you faced. Luthor has corrupted that image of him and made himself a pawn to use against you.”
“He is an imposter? I fought him myself and he was no pushover…defeated me easily, Simon.”
“There is something I am working on right now that I can’t yet provide details to. But I will be glad to try and help against this ‘thing’ if I can.”
“If you are working on a project that will help bring about the downfall of Luthor, or supplement the peace that we are trying to attain, don’t worry about it. We’ll have Zal back in a few days and he should…”
Simon held up a hand. “Wait a sec…who is Zal?”
“You haven’t heard? He is the new Superman. He’s been around for a while now.”
“WHAT??!!”
Everyone in the room realized at the same time how much of a mistake that was. Simon roared with displeasure as he vented his anger. “What do you mean, new Superman? If that piece of shit is back, I’ll kill him myself this time!”
Wanda put a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him. “Honey, he’s not like that at all. Even with my skepticism, he has gone above and beyond. Just like Kal-El did in the beginning.” But apparently Simon wasn’t listening.
“Where is he?! I’ll kill him right here!”
Kitty stepped forward. “Wonderman…he isn’t who you think he is. He is one of the good guys…” Kitty revealed the symbol on her chest for him to see. “And he is my husband.”
Simon’s tirade ceased instantly as he closed the distance with Kitty. “How dare you! How dare you wear that symbol after what you have seen him do! After all the people he has murdered!”
“Simon!” Kitty protested. “It’s not like that!”
“I’ll teach you where your loyalties should lie.” Grabbing the front of her tunic at the symbol, Simon ripped through the Kryptonian linen, tearing it away from her. Kitty was forced to cover herself with her arms as he held up the piece of cloth in front of her. He tossed it to the ground and stepped on it.
“That’s the only place that symbol deserves to be! You should be ashamed of yourself!” Without another word, he stormed to the front door. Just as he reached it, his wife caught up with him. He turned to her as he opened the door, but suddenly he realized something was wrong. Looking outside, his gaze was firmly affixed to the heavens, which instead of blue, had turned a deep green. Even Wanda had paused and looked beyond her husband to the perplexing sight.
And yet again, time came to a screeching halt, freezing everything in place.
The glowing being stepped into existence and knelt down at the defiled symbol of the House of El. This story had been told to her before, by Carrie and Karen. But soon enough, all it would be is a memory. The silver clad girl vanished without another thought.
In the pre-dawn light, Zal-El stirred at the cusp of consciousness. His dreams of late had been good ones to say the least. It had only been a month since the end of the Battle for New Independence, probably the single most massive battle in the history of the world. But apparently many allies had known of the significance of what was about to happen and they brought enough power with them to counterbalance the enormous forces that Luthor had brought to bear on their small city.
Kara and Rouge, Carrie and Karen had made the journey to help. Alongside them was a Green Lantern by the name of Alan Scott, and most importantly, to him at least, was his great, great granddaughter, a girl by the name of Chasity Hudson. She had brought her allies from five hundred years into the future: Superboy and Batgirl. And together, they had beaten back the military and the massed metahumans arrayed against them.
It had been too short a time that he got to spend with Chasity. He would have loved to known the outcome of everything he fought for, but alas, he understood when they were forced to keep that information from him for fear of erasing their own timeline. Instead, he was able to spend a day getting to know the young lady and her him. It would be a fond memory he would have for the rest of his life.
But then…something caught his attention, waking him fully.
Zal-El’s eyes opened to first rays of sunlight as they caressed the sleeping form of his wife, Katherine. She was starting to stir herself but something in the back of her subconscious said something different. Kitty rolled over and snuggled closely to her husbands’ warmth, sighing at how their nude forms touched. He smiled softly and reached up and stroked her hair as the rest of his senses took in everything that she was. Her eyes fluttered open, but just barely.
“Good morning, Sweetheart,” he whispered. “By Rao, you have no idea how much I love you right now, Kitten.”
“Mmmm.” She smiled and curled closer. “I love you too, Zal.”
He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, almost too tight.
“What is it,” she asked, sensing something was on his mind.
“I can hear it.”
“Hear what?”
His hand drifted purposefully down until it rested on her lower stomach, just below her slender waistline. “I hear his heartbeat.”
Kitty’s eyes opened fully as she gazed into his eyes. “You mean…I’m…”
“…with child,” he finished.
“Oh, Zal,” she whispered and wrapped her arms around him. “That’s wonderful!”
As the two embraced, they failed to notice that the sky had turned an emerald green color outside their bedroom windows. Moments later, everything froze in place with the two lovers staring happily into each others’ eyes.
Moments later, a pair of slowing silver boots landed on the floor of the room. For the first time, the being smiled as she approached the couple. She reached out and placed a hand on each of their unknowing shoulders.
“Goodbye, you two.” Then her gaze shifted down to Katherine’s’ abdomen, despite their comforter covering them. “And you too, Great-Grandfather. You couldn’t have asked for better parents.”
Straightening, the glowing silver woman paused for one last moment before vanishing.
Chasity’s head swung around at the familiar but distasteful voice. “Bobby Wallace…what do you want?” Her stomach just turned at his presence, as he had never gotten over his severe infatuation. She tried to get to her comb, now lying halfway between her and Bobby. But realizing it was too late; she gave up that endeavor.
“You know me baby. Just want to spend some time with my girl.”
“Didn’t I tell you last year that I didn’t want anything to do with you?”
“Aw, c’mon. Everyone in the school knows you have a crush on me, but you’re just afraid to show it. And I don’t know who this other guy you’re hanging out with is, but I would have him back off if he knew what was good for him.”
Chasity couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of Bobby Wallace trying to punch Clark, only to end up hurting himself on his invulnerable jaw.
“WHATS SO FUNNY?!”
“You are. You actually think I want anything to do with you.”
Reaching into his pocket, Bobby quickly withdrew his ace-in-the-hole. The heavy plasma pistol would have intimidated most anyone else, but for a girl who had taken several shots from the tank-sized versions, this was just another laugh.
“This is for that punk who you are with. You tell him to back off, Chas.”
Now thoroughly perturbed, Chasity simply shook her head at Bobby’s arrogance. “Look, I have a lot of work to do here. Can we possibly do this another time?”
“You just don’t get it do you?” Bobby stated, his words getting more volatile. “Even your schoolwork takes a second seat next to me.”
“No it doesn’t.” Chasity said and turned, the computer displaying its last composition readings.
“Really…” he said, her words apparently sinking in. “Then I guess you wouldn’t mind if I ruined it for you.”
Chasity turned just in time to see him reach into the containment field of the analyzer. “NO! Bobby! Don’t take it out!”
But her words came too late.
The wash of the radiation bathed Chasity in its deadly caress. She felt her knees quake as they began to lose the ability to hold her up. As a severe headache raced up her temples and then down her back, she found it very difficult to even breathe. Involuntarily clutching her abdomen due to the pain, Chasity tried to steady herself now that her muscles were protesting this abuse. As she stumbled back away from the object of her agony, her thoughts began to race. This was her first exposure and now she wondered if it would be her last as well. Kal could be thousands of miles away and nobody was scheduled to be in the lab other than her.
“Please…Bobby. Put it back,” she groaned as she leaned against a bookshelf.
Bobby Wallace was absolutely dumbfounded. He had never seen anyone act in this manner. Being a geology major, he had studied the properties of many different substances both inert and radioactive. But this had his mind racing. “What’s wrong with you?”
As her vision began to blur, she felt her mouth go dry. Hardly able to keep her thoughts clear, Chasity had to concentrate enough to not only keep herself stable, but also try and convince him to end her torture. “Put it back Bobby. It’ll kill me.”
“Kill you? Yeah right.” Bobby looked at the crystal for a moment, turning it over as if that would shed some light on the situation. “This is just a piece of Kryp….” Stopping himself in mid sentence and glancing at Chasity as she slumped to the ground. He watched for a moment as her skin took on a pale blue pallor. “…tonite.
Placing the crystal on the table, Bobby walked over to her and knelt down, careful not to touch her. “Well, well, well. Now I see why you began changing your hair. I have to admit the disguise is perfect. Nobody would have ever suspected you, would they…Supergirl?”
“Bobby, please. I can’t take much more of this…”
“Oh, don’t worry. I know exactly what to do.” Placing the pistol on the ground, he grabbed Chasity by her sleeve and the front of her blouse, tearing the fabric in opposite directions. Satisfied on seeing the black silken material and the symbol of the House of El, he sat back up and marveled at his prize. But despite the blue glow, another glow, this time green came shining through the window. Confused, he picked the pistol back up and walked over and looked at the sky. No longer blue, he pondered for a moment before turning his attention back to his prey, who thankfully has slipped into unconsciousness. Just as he began to undress the prone girl, time halted in place.
The woman that was watching sighed in relief. Although she had the power to stop it, she knew it made little difference. Plus she did not want to have to relive this moment again anyway. Turning her back and walking away, the silver energy vanished as she faded from view, step by step.
“Look, I was sent by my brother to calm fears.” Alysa admitted after taking a sip from her drink. “Despite everything that your great-grandfather did, people are still afraid that your return might herald the end of our civilization…again.”
Clark held up a finger trying to give her pause. “Alysa, I was there five hundred years ago. I saw the devastation. That’s why I decided not to stay.”
“Then can you see that people think war is coming?”
Chasity interrupted. “War is upon us. Our only option is war. Our only answer is war.”
Alysa sat back in Heath’s arms for comfort. “Do you see any other way?”
Chasity shook her head. “Harbingers we may be, but the three of us still share…”
Heath huffed. “Excuse me, there are four of us here.”
When the other three gazed at him, Heath continued. “Look, I may not be able to move mountains or disappear or anything, but I will help you all in any way that I can.” He pointed to Clark. “You even said that I was a hero, so don’t any of you even think that I can’t hold my own.”
“Okay, buddy.” Clark said, calming him down. “As we were saying, the four of us share something unique. We are willing to lay down our lives to ensure that humanity survives whatever may be coming for it. In a world that I visited occasionally, I saw what Earth was meant to be like in the future: a utopia. And it took just a few people to give people the nudge in the right direction.”
Chasity nodded. “You’re talking about what Jor-El said to us.”
“Jor-El?”
“My father and her great, great, great uncle.” Clark answered.
Alysa sighed. “Your family is weird.” After a bit of a laugh, she motioned for Chasity to go on.
“He said once that he sent Kal-El here to act as a guiding light. He said humans were a great people if they wanted to be, they only lacked the light to show the way. For that reason above all others, I sent them you, my only son. When Kara and Rogue first came to this world, they saw a tragedy that had to be fixed. Later, when they brought Zal here, he was told that it was he who was destined to be that light. A different Superman for a world that had gone mad. And together with the people of Earth, strove to reforge the world of men into that utopia that we all hoped to see.”
Alysa nodded, her words having more weight in her mind than they could possibly know. “That’s one hell of a legacy, Chasity.”
“Was Batman any different?”
“No. I have been training my entire life to continue the fight for humanity’s future. I was born for this work.”
“As were we. So let us join together and walk that path, the way our parents did long ago.”
“Hey guys…” Heath asked as he lifted his glass in a toast. “What’s going on with the sky?”
The other three paused and looked outside the diner’s large windows, seeing the green tint that suffused everywhere.
“That’s rather strange, Clark said, concern etching his features. “Doooo…yooouuu…ssssuuuuuppppoooossssee…thhhaaaa…”
And time stood still.
This time, the silver clad woman was not alone. An equally silver glowing man, looking in his late thirties stepped out beside her. As their gazes rested on the four heroes, a sense of nostalgia swept over their immortal forms.
“And that’s it,” Paradox said to his daughter. “All time has ended. Everything has ended. It’s time to reforge a new world, Chasity.”
She nodded. “I just wanted one last look…before the end, Father.”
Paradox put his arm around his new Harbinger. “It’s not the end, Chasity. It’s a new beginning.”
Wow. It has been a long time! It is with mixed feelings that I see the end of the Original Otherverse. It has been many years since I first conceived of The Otherverse. Originally intended to be the primary “playground” for my resurrected Kara Zor-El (the Rebirth), The Otherverse was my very first attempt to create a new world for fan-fiction. Born of my love for Supergirl and post-Apocalyptic stories, Otherverse incorporated aspects that came from several sources….The men’s adventure Ashes Series by William W. Johnstone (from which came Buddy Raines and Raine’s Rebels) with tidbits tossed in from several other post-apocalyptic novels and series that were all the rage in the Eighties. However, novel that had the most influence on Otherverse was a book by Stirling Lanier called Hiero’s Journey.
Needless to say, there were a LOT of issues with trying to fuse these post-apocalyptic stories together and THEN introduce characters based on those from both the DC and Marvel universes.
Some of those issues were never resolved and, eventually, I decided to leave Otherverse and take Kara to a new playground: The Multiverse.
But that was not the end of the Otherverse. Since I started it, several other writers had dipped their toes into the pool. Some did not mesh well and so their stay in Otherverse was short lived. (One such was Eldric (now Ella) but rather than just leave, Eldric took inspiration and created Alterverse. Both Otherverse and Alterverse served as the beginning of what soon became the Continuum Worlds.)
But one writer, Nomad (Jake H.), was not about to let the Otherverse fade away just because I was gone. So, with my blessings, he took the reins and pushed on! Eventually, even Nomad moved on and the Otherverse continued for a short time under another writer (Bob Young).
It has been several years since the Otherverse has been revisited. But, as we wind up this phase of the Continuum Worlds and prepare to leap into the next phase, Nomad returns to Otherverse. This chapter marks the end of the Original Otherverse. There will be no more stories or chapters for the “Original” Otherverse ever posted in the Continuum Worlds. Reading through this and knowing that this is the end of my original creation is bitter sweet….but it was time. I can only thank Nomad (and yes, all the other writers that contributed to the Otherverse) for the care he took…and the love he showed for the Otherverse.
--- Dylan (Clay) Clearbrook
-- Story written and copyrighted (©) 2018 by Nomad
-- and may not be reprinted without permission.
-- The Continuum Worlds Concept is a joint creation of
-- Dylan (Clay) Clearbrook and Eldric (Ella).
-- Otherverse, Multiverse, Primalverse. and Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes,
-- as depicted in the Continuum Worlds, are original creations of Dylan (Clay) Clearbrook.
-- Alterverse, The Inheritors and Rising Starr, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,
-- are original creations of Eldric (Ella).
-- Wasteland, The Sorority, and Otherverse Redux, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds
-- are original creations of Nomad (Jake H.).
-- The Realm, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds, is an
-- original creation of John P
-- DCM: The Merging, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,
-- is an original creation of Chip Caroon and the stories therein remain
-- the property of the respective writers.
-- Some characters in Continuum Worlds stories are original creations
-- of Dylan (Clay) Clearbrook, Eldric (Ella), Michael Liebhart, Jake H., Jason G.,
-- Andrew Shields, Kyle M., Brian, John P., DTO, or Jason Froikin.
-- All DC characters are property of D.C. Comics.
-- All Marvel characters are property of Marvel Comics.
--All other characters remain the property of their respective creators/authors.