A Day In The Life

 

 

By

Jake H.

 

In the pre-dawn inactivity of New Independence, a lone man strolled through the snows of late March. Snow in this area wasn’t uncommon for this time of year, and the inhabitants enjoyed it. The peace and tranquility appealed to the man who walked the streets by himself and he coveted the time alone. He reminisced about the previous three months, and the activity that has happened within that time.

 

First, the inflow of people coming in from Lex Luthors United States had slowed to this area of the S.U.S.A. This town alone had grown to over 50,000 and there were other settlements now. They had arisen around the areas that the Rebel Brigades set up their headquarters. One in International Falls, MN where the Rebels 1^st Brigade now resided, another in Cedar Rapids, IO where the 2^nd Brigade set up, and the last at the former Ft. Braag in North Carolina. The base was recently renamed to honor the S.U.S.A’s first king, and now is known as Ft. Raines. None measured over 5000 civilians, but it was enough to show growth and improvement.

 

Second, the confrontation between Lex and Buddy had seemed to calm down, as neither had really encroached on each other’s territory since the incident here in New Independence. The lines had stabilized and only the group of metas known as Alpha Flight made regular patrols outside of their home territory. Although it could be considered military action, they had been specifically targeting individuals and groups of metas terrorizing honest people just trying to survive.

 

Lastly, the very symbol that the people feared the most, the stylized ‘S’ shield of the House of El had become a commonplace sight in New Independence, and due to his sacrifices and selfless acts of bravery, the population had come to accept him and some even adored him. Zal had been busy, but lately it seemed that his role had changed a bit. Even though he still performed his heroic deeds, he had also become a spokesman, a diplomat, and a civil engineer.

 

Zal calmly flew up and landed on the East wall of the city. He enjoyed sitting here watching the sunrise. He had just taken a seat when he heard them coming. Even though the watch sergeant knew he came here often, procedures still had to be followed. The assault squad took up positions as the sergeant walked up to the young man.

 

“Good Morning Zal. How are you doing this cold morning?”

 

“Just fine Jim. How are you and the guys doing?” the young Kryptonian said as revealed the platter from beneath a cover. “I got some biscuits and sausage here for you and your guys.”

 

At that, the men stood up and walked over and took the breakfast sandwiches and began eating. They all thanked the Kryptonian and quickly resumed their patrol of their section of the wall, leaving the young man alone. Zal closed his eyes and breathed deep. He sat pondering the future. He had felt something just over the horizon, something that was going to happen, but he didn’t know what. His attention was diverted when he heard the bugle go off at the barracks signaling for the soldiers to rise and prepare for the day. He listened as each battalion rushed outside and assembled in formation.

 

Zal smiled as he saw Lt. Col. Harrison and Col. Pennison walk out and took their places in front of the battalions. After a rundown of the duty assignments, they lined up and began their morning run around the city. Zal had just turned back to watch the rising sun when he heard another set of footfalls coming towards him. With a quick glance around him, the answer was obvious.

 

“Good morning Hope.” Zal said to the beautiful young woman who walked up and sat next to him. A girl that formed an essential part of Alpha Flight.

 

The young woman just smiled and shook her head. “Zal, what in god’s name are doing out here?”

 

“Just relaxing. I have a funny feeling this is going to be a very long day.” He noticed the aura of heat coming off her. “Nice trick you have there.”

 

“It helps keep me warm,” she said as she drew her knees to her chest. He sensed she had something to say, but was unsure of how to draw it out of her. Instead, she began to speak, getting the weight off of her chest.

 

“I was altered early on, before the shard had taken effect on most of the population. I didn’t learn to control it until several years later. My parents got severe burns for even getting close to me.”

 

Zal was about to say something when she began again.

 

“When I was twelve, my father threw me out of his house and killed my mother. I lived on the streets of Metropolis, scrounging what I could. I was saved from the rape gangs simply because they couldn’t get close enough.”

 

“Well, I don’t get hurt by too much Hope. I guess that comes with my somewhat unique physiology.” Zal said trying to lighten the mood. “But what can I do for you?”

 

“Between you and Peter, the laws have written to govern most anything around here…except marrige.”

 

Breathing a held breath, Zal began just as the first rays of the sun broke over the horizon. “So…you wanna get married?”

 

With a humorous gleam in her eye, Hope turned to the Kryptonian. “Was that supposed to be a proposal? Pretty weak if you ask me.”

 

Zal sat there dumbfounded. “That wasn’t…I mean, it was just a question. I wasn’t proposing.”

 

Giggling at flustering the most powerful man in town, Hope covered her mouth with a hand. Finally she recovered and spoke. “I’m just playing with you, Zal. Me and Brian have been seeing each other socially since we met.”

 

Zal grinned as he put the pieces together. “Strong and athletic. Kinda quiet, and would lay down his life for those he cares about.” He nodded and looked back to the sunrise. “A good choice.”

 

“I thought so.” Breaking from her confessions she turned to her companion. “So what’s on the agenda today Godfather?” she said with a half-smirk.

 

Sighing, Zal shook his head but let the comment slide. “Well, we have a group of refugees coming in that will be here in about 2 hours, 3 housing complexes going up, and of course we need to deliver some supplies to the railroad crew. If I am not mistaken, you guys finished the area patrols the day before yesterday, correct?”

 

Suddenly, from behind the pair, came a familiar voice. “Yep, they are all done for this month.”

 

They both turned with a start and looked up seeing Kitty, Brian, and Rachel. They were all still in civilian clothes and all bearing coffee. Hope immediately jumped up and into Brian’s arms. Zal did the same, but in a much slower and methodical manner. Kitty looked into his eyes and gave him a quick kiss.

 

“We are available except for Frostfire. He is off doing something for Lord Ian. And it seems there is a lot that you need us to do.” Kitty said as she slid around and faced the rest of her teammates.

 

“Yeah, I can use you guys today.” Zal said as he pulled a slip of paper out of his pocket. “How about this: You four can process the refugees, Matt and me can help with the housing, and we can send Legion to do the supply run. What do you guys think?”

 

“Sounds good Godfather.” Rachel quipped.

 

Without missing a beat, Zal clasped his hands together and in his best Marlon Brando accent, retorted “Please, call me Don Corleone. I’m just a simple man blessed with many friends and I have an offer you cant refuse.”

 

Even though they all laughed, Kitty was the first to say it. “Zal…don’t quit your day job. You make a lousy comedian.”

 

 

A couple of hours later, the entire city was bustling. In the three months since Luthors attempt to reestablish control over the city, it had almost tripled in productivity. It had added more manufacturing, businesses, government buildings, housing, and had established their own police and fire departments along with a hospital and schools.

 

Although Buddy had reopened the oil fields and refinery in Texas, the fuel they produced was used almost exclusively for the military. Therefore most people kept horses as their transportation which pleased Ian, as it was more environmentally friendly.

 

As for the assignments that Zal had handed out earlier, all was going well save for one exception. The tribe leaders of the new Indian nation out of the Dakotas had come to town seeking assistance in writing up a constitution of their own. Peter and Zal were glad to help and sat down with them and began going over a basic structure of laws. Although there were no strings attached with the help, the leaders suggested an economic alliance that was ratified almost instantly.

 

Outside of City Hall, at the new housing development, Paradox was busy. He was transforming the air between pieces of steel into one solid structure saving the welders a lot of time and adding to the overall strength of the structures. Legion had overseen the loading of the supplies onto two platforms, which had helicopter lift harnesses attached. He grabbed the harnesses, and took off towards old Nashville, where the railroad crew was trying to build a pair of locomotives that ran not on fossil fuels, but on two chunks of Green K that Zal had given them. It was a monumental task for the scientists, but with equipment from a nearby abandoned nuclear power plant, the work was almost completed on one engine.

 

At the main gates of New Independence, Ariel, Solitare, Exodus and Artemis were greeting the band of refugees that had come seeking asylum from Luthor. They had checked each one carefully and had registered their identities. After all that, each person was given a hot meal and some money to shop with, and allowed to go into town under police escort. Other people it took longer to process, especially anyone claiming to be from Metropolis or the D.C. area. Thankfully there was only a single couple with a small child today, and they were quickly approved. For those awaiting housing and assignments within the city, there was a series of motel-like rooms set up at the entrance for people to keep out of the elements.

 

But, on this particular day, there was one person who had no intentions of staying. She had come here for one purpose: revenge. She was one of the few people who could be considered a meta and normal person all at once. Although her partner had been captured and had been controlled by Lex Luthor, she had managed to keep out of his grasp. Then, two months ago, when Luthor sent him into New Independence to kill this new ‘Superman’, both she and Lex lost all contact and had to assume he was killed in action.

 

Her name was Sara Pezzini, a former detective for Metropolis, but she long ago had been chosen to wield an ancient, mystic weapon. The Witchblade. Others had tried to take it from her, only to find themselves mauled or dead. As Sara calmly strolled around the entrance to the city looking for her prey, she happened upon a newly constructed marble marker.

 

“New Independence: The home of Superman.” Sara said quietly. She huffed and fingered the bracelet on her right wrist. “Not for long.”

 

So far she had only seen two women in costume. One had the ‘S’ symbol on her chest and the other was in a black costume with long gloves and boots. She had also watched the armored man take off with materials, and could see a man glowing silverish as he welded at one of the housing complexes.

 

“Damn! Where is he?” she said under her breath. “This is supposed to be his city, his home. And it’s said he stands at the gates greeting people.” Sara sighed and resumed her apparent wanderings, keeping a close eye for her prey. She had barely begun when she found him.

 

He was wearing a full black bodysuit and was carrying a massive wooden crate. At his side was a blonde woman asking people to move from in front of him. She caught herself from striking right then, for after all the years she spent as a detective, it taught her to be patient.

 

Sara watched as tables were brought out. A moment later the blonde woman simply waved her hand over an area and all of the snow melted revealing a pad of concrete. The tables were set up and the crate was set down and opened. The two metas began to pull trays of food and beverages from the crate and in a matter of moments were serving the people staying at the ‘transient’ motel.

 

Impressed that these people were simply giving away more food that she had seen in a year, it did nothing for her resolve. But she needed to wait for the proper moment to strike. She got in line and was allowed to get as much or as little as she wanted. Just as she was getting a stein of hot ale, a woman carrying her child came up to the blonde. After a quick conversation, the child was set down and it was clear that his leg had been broken. The blonde’s hands began to glow with light and she touched the boy’s leg and it began to heal.

 

When the boy got up and walked and jumped around, the crowd of people began to applaud. Sensing that now was perhaps a good time, Sara glanced over and saw the man she assumed was Superman throw a snowball at some nearby kids who were in a snowball fight. A couple of seconds later, he was pelted with about twenty in return. When he gathered a snowball two feet in diameter, the kids squealed and scattered, laughing the entire time.

 

He tossed the massive snowball and it struck the wall of the city and powderized. Sara sensed that the time was right for her to strike. He had his back turned to her gathering another snowball and wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings. With but a simple thought, the bracelet she wore rapidly expanded and encased her hand and arm up to her shoulder. The mystic metal also wrapped itself around her shoulders, chest, stomach and legs and encased the sides of her head. Not really caring that the process pretty much shredded the clothes she was wearing, considering that the ‘armor’ maintained her modesty.

 

Since the transformation was practically silent, he hadn’t noticed her yet. Sara gathered her energy and with a scream, let loose on her target.

 

“DIE YOU BASTARD!!!” The energy lanced out and caught Exodus in the back, driving him with unearthly force in to the city wall. The surrounding people all turned and gasped with surprise, but instinctually backed out of the area.

 

Sara noticed that one blast hadn’t done the job and charged and released another at the recovering man. “You took his life and I will take yours!!! Justice be done!!!” The bolt struck him in the small of his back making him arch with the force and grunt in pain.

 

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Sara saw the woman wearing the ‘S’ flying towards her and the one in black running this direction also. With another glance, she noticed the blonde had concentrated a ball of light in her hand and was screaming.

 

“What in hell are you doing!?” Artemis cried when she saw Brian go down. She tossed the light grenade and in awe watched the armor enclose over her eyes, protecting them from the blast. Moments later Kitty got in range only to be blasted out of the sky. Solitare leapt in with a kick, only to be blocked and a hard left hand impacted on her jaw.

 

Seeing that the women were temporarily out of it, Sara charged and struck Exodus with another blast, this time in the chest as he was getting up.  Tossed back into the hole in the city wall, Exodus shook the cobwebs out of his head and charged just as another of Artemis’ light grenades went off at his assailant’s feet. He watched as she turned and blasted him down again. This time the blast caught him in the face and hurt him.

 

Sara went over to the downed man and knelt over him. The gauntlet formed into a menacing-looking blade, its tip held at his throat.

 

“Now you die.”

 

Brian looked into the woman’s eyes. Seeing the tears and the hurt anger in her expression along with the possibility of his own demise carefully spoke to her. “What did I ever do to you?”

 

“It’s not what you did to me Superman. Its what you did to my partner.”

 

Brian just blinked and shook his head slightly. “I… I am not Superman.”

 

Sara took a deep breath, unsure of her next move. “What?”

 

“I’m not Superman. My name is Exodus.”

 

A sudden realization hit her like a ton of bricks. But a simple mistake wasn’t going to stop her from her goal. “Tell me where he is and you live.”

 

“I am right behind you Sara.”

 

Sara whipped around saw who spoke. The man she saw wasn’t what she expected to see. He was almost a spitting image of the Superman she knew before, just a bit smaller. She had expected someone who was an imposter or just another Kryptonian here on Earth. After a moment’s hesitation, she stood and charged her energy blast.

 

“Don’t bother. You will never hit me.”

 

“We shall see, won’t we?”

 

“Look Sara, I know who you are because Solitare is a telepath. You are here to avenge the death of your partner. And I can tell that the artifact has not corrupted you. But I don’t remember ever crossing you before. So if you can tell me who you are referring to, I would like to know why you want me dead.”

 

Keeping her offensive posture and her energy charged, Sara began to explain herself. “Two months ago, Luthor sent my partner here to kill you. He was a cyborg built by the Metropolis PD. After Luthor took over, he grabbed the project computers and reprogrammed them so he had to follow his orders. I had the portable terminal that was uncorrupted, so he stayed out of sight until the control took over. I could still pinpoint his location and communicate with him because Luthor controlled the computer portion of his body, not his mind. After he got here, both me and Luthor lost all contact due to the fact that you killed him.”

 

Zal and Kitty looked at each other. They knew what she was talking about. They both remembered too well the day Sherri showed herself as Fate. The day Alpha Flight was born.

 

“He didn’t want to attack, did he?”

 

Sara shook her head. “No. We had both heard about you and knew you had taken up where Kal-El left off. That is until you killed him.”

 

Zal smiled, knowing that this confrontation just came fully under his grasp. “Your partner isn’t dead.”

 

The energy faded and a look of confusion crept over Sara’s features. “But… there were no signals at all…”

 

“That’s because I destroyed the satellite that was controlling him.”

 

Sara’s eyes went wide. “No! Dammit! That was his power source also. It collected solar energy and used a microwave beam to send it to him.”

 

“Do you want to see him?”

 

“What?”

 

     “Yeah, we have him in a containment lab at the prison. I have been working to revive him since that day.”

 

     Sara stood up straight and allowed the armor to be reabsorbed into the bracelet. Fortunately, there was enough of her clothing remaining not to embarrass her. Zal took off the trenchcoat he was wearing and draped it over her shoulders. “Come on. I will show you where he is.”

 

 

After learning that the cyborg’s name was Douglas, Sara and Zal meticulously went over his schematics part by part. Zal had used a Green K bullet recovered from the scene where Rogue disappeared months earlier and reenergized the cyborg’s computers. He was amazed that his battery guzzled the energy but needed more. Most of his circuitry had been fused and all of the servos had been fried. The good news was the fact that his bioorganic parts had survived unscathed, but were severely weak. But no matter what they tried, they could not get him to regain consciousness.

 

“What a mess.” Sara sighed and sat down in a nearby chair. “Why in hell did you do this to him?”

 

Zal was finishing connecting the power generators and the medical sensors to the unconscious man. “To tell you the truth, I never touched him. This was a side effect of Ariel phasing through him.”

 

“Do you realize just how much it will cost to repair him?”

 

Zal stopped what he was doing but didn’t turn to face her. “It won’t cost a thing. I will help rebuild him.”

 

“What can you do? You are just a boy.” Sara said as she buried her face in her arms.

 

     He turned slowly, not allowing the insult get under his skin. “Sara, if you don’t want my offer, you have the opportunity to take him and go back to Luthor if you so desire. I’m sure that he will do everything in his power to fix him and allow you two to leave unhindered.”

 

     Sara jerked her head up and glared at the much larger man. If by instinct, the Witchblade instantly encased her again, gathering its energy for an attack. “How dare you!” she said as she rose to her feet. Even though Zal knew the danger he was in, he didn’t even flinch.

 

     “How dare I what? Offer sanctuary and help to someone who obviously needs it? I never knew that was a crime.” Zal said calmly.

 

     Sara paused as his words sunk in. “Why would you do this to someone who has tried to kill you?”

 

     Zal smiled. “I have faith in people. I want to see this world become the shining example of peace that I know it can be.” Zal turned his head to the side and glanced at Douglas one more time. He knew she was on the verge of actually accepting, but needed a push. “How much did you know about the other Superman?”

 

     “Kal-El? I knew him pretty well. We worked together on several occasions. I also know that you are quite different than he was.”

 

Intrigued, Zal raised his eyebrows. “Really? Like what?”

 

“Well, one is that until he went mad, Kal-El never killed anyone. I have seen footage of you killing several people.”

 

Zal’s brow wrinkled and his features grew dark. It wasn’t that he was upset of what he had done, but the fact that Luthor still had ways of monitoring him. It was a comment he had to file away for future use.

 

“Second is that you are obviously not affected by Kryptonite, at least not like what affected Kal-El. I heard that Luthor had to create special labs to reproduce the kind that does hurt you.”

 

“Interesting.” Zal nodded at the comment, but deep down was slightly frightened. Luthor was mass-producing something specifically designed to kill him. Apparently he felt a threat as severe as Kara and Rogue. But overall, he was pleased he had become a thorn in Luthor’s side. “Anything else?”

 

“Yes.” Sara said as she let the energy blast dissipate. “You and your sisters have your work cut out for you.”

 

Zal locked gazes with the older woman. “You got that right. So when are you going to trust me?”

 

“You have given me no reason to trust you yet.”

 

“Fair enough.” Zal immediately turned around and opened a double door panel in the wall. Within contained a terminal and what appeared to be a safe. “Computer, this is Zal-El. Override code Epsilon Lambda for voice recognition.”

 

“Code Accepted. What is the requested function?”

 

“Unlock the radioactive containment vault.” Zal said, never taking his gaze from the woman in front of him.

 

“Affirmative. Vault unlocked.”

 

Sara’s eyes went wide. “What are you doing?”

 

He held up a hand and stepped to the side. “Don’t worry. It won’t hurt you.”

 

She slowly let her gaze fall on the door, and then back to him. Before she could speak, he explained.

 

“You needed to know you could trust me. This came to mind first.” He gestured to the door. “Open it and I will be incapacitated and completely at your mercy. I couldn’t even get away before it was too late.”

 

Sara stood there just gazing at the door. She could hardly believe of what just happened. Either this man was completely naïve…or maybe he was sincere. “What would I have to do if we stayed here?”

 

“Contribute to society in the best way you can.”

 

“Would I be watched or harassed?”

 

“No.”

 

“But I have nowhere to go and nothing to give in return for this.”

 

“The only thing we require is you. Just do your best.”

 

Sara retracted the armor back into the bracelet. “How much time are we looking at in repairing him?”

 

At this point, Zal let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding. “I don’t know. It could be months…maybe years.”

 

She walked up and touched the flashing red button on the console marked ‘Relock’. She stuck out her hand. “Okay. You won me over.” Sara smiled as Zal shook her hand. “I don’t think I will fit very well into your society, though.”

 

Zal laughed. “Let me officially introduce you to Ariel. I think she may have a place for you.” They headed for the door after Zal closed the double doors to the console. A console that only he knew did not contain any Blue K. “Oh, after you apologize to Brian. I think he was taken off guard a bit by your attack.”

 

Sara grinned. “Yeah. I imagine it would.” As she walked out the lab door, Zal disconnected the power siphon and removed the bullet. He noticed that it had lost all glow and had turned completely black.

 

“Black Kryptonite,” he said as placed it in a small, lead box. “Now I may be able to finish my studies from so long ago.” He placed the box in a pouch in his cape and left the room, Zal turned to see the cyborg glowing a slight shade of green.

 

 

 “Yeah Kara, it’s going pretty well. Not too much out of the ordinary.” Zal said as he sipped on some iced tea. “Just the usual…people trying to kill you, corruption run rampant, maniacs going wild, wars being fought.”

 

“Oh you are just hilarious, Zal.” Kara said as she continued to relax. She had expected her ‘brother’ to stop by today, but didn’t even bother to get formal. She lay on a lounger in a terrycloth robe with Rogue at her back playing with her hair. The twins happened to be out and Jenny was on Oa.

 

“Hey, in all of this, you gotta have a sense of humor or this would drive you mad.” Zal said as he stretched out. The motion reminded Rogue of a cat stirring from slumber. “That reminds me,” he said as he pulled out the small, lead box from his cape. “Do you mind if I try a small experiment real quick?”

 

The conversation caught Rogues attention. “What kind of experiment?”

 

Without a word, Zal opened the bow and removed the bullet and held it up for her to see. None felt any adverse effects although Kara could feel Rogue tense up a bit. “That’s what I thought. It is no longer radioactive to you anymore. I drained the energy off of it.”

 

“Black K.  What do you think it can be used for?” Kara said as Rogue relaxed again.

 

Zal shrugged. “I don’t know. It seems to have changed density also. It’s very hard and practically shatterproof. Maybe Buddy can find a use…as soon as I am done with it that is.” He replaced the bullet and the box to where they were.

 

“Well guys, it has been fun. But I need to get back.” Zal said as he stood and gathered his things. Take care!” He walked to the door and took to the sky. The women watched his departure, still admiring the speed he could produce.

 

Kara felt Rogues hands playing with her hair and her thoughts turned lusty. “You know, the girls wont be back for hours.”

 

Without a word, Rogue slowly undid the belt holding the robe closed and allowed her hands to search what was underneath. Kara closed her eyes in pleasure and grabbed Rogues head and locked her in an embrace, feeling her tongue duel her own.

 

 

Meanwhile back at New Independence, Sara was getting to know the members of Alpha Flight. Legion had not made it back yet, but Frostfire had. They had first sat down and discussed their life stories and were finishing their lunch as Fate walked up. She had not seen or heard of Sara yet.

 

“Alright guys. I finally got out of my briefing. Ready to begin our training session of the day?”

 

“Well, that depends Sherri. Are you ready to train a new member?” Kitty said as came around the table to stand next to her friend.

 

“A new member? Who is he and why?”

 

Brian leaned forward and steepled his fingers. “She is good enough to fend off four of us at the same time and has a blast that hurts, believe me.”

 

Sherri made a shrugging motion. “That tells me why, but who is she?”

 

Kitty motioned towards Sara who stood up. “Sherri, let me introduce…” Her words were cut off by Sherri herself.

 

“Sara Pezzini, Metropolis Homicide Division.”

 

The rest of Alpha Flight slowly turned and looked at their oldest member, most of their jaws dropped in awe. Before anyone could ask how she knew, Sara took a step forward.

 

“I’m sorry, do I know you?”

 

Sherri turned to Kitty who was still listening in confusion. “Is she cleared?”

 

“She has a legit story with evidence, so I would say so.” Kitty spouted, nodding her head the whole time.

 

Sherri turned back to Sara and removed her helmet. There was an almost instant recognition. “Sherri Pennison of Kansas City PD.” The two women made their way to each other and shook hands. “Your reputation has preceded you.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Sara looked back at the rest of the team. “How did you get mixed up with something like this?”

 

Sherri grinned. “I co-founded this group. You might say I couldn’t stay away from police work for very long.”

 

Sara giggled in amazement. She averted her eyes and looked back at Kitty and Sherri. “Okay, I’m in. If Sherri here is doing this, then I know you guys are legit.”

 

Several minutes later, as the team walked out of their headquarters building in downtown New Independence, Sherri was briefing Sara on what would have to happen. She would need to meet Peter, and of course Legion when he got back. She would have to know the procedures and work on teamwork with the rest of the team.

 

By the time they arrived, it had been decided that Sara would face each of the other members in a fight to see what she could do. As almost always they drew a crowd, mostly kids as school had let out just as the team was passing by. They had learned by now to stay far enough back from the sparring circle as things could get quite energetic and dangerous. And also there were the enterprising kids who covered bets made on the bouts.

 

The first to spar was Solitare. They had started with testing their martial prowess, but it was soon obvious they were evenly matched. Solitare with her Shorin-Ryu, and Sara with her superior boxing abilities.

 

The next was Artemis who had forgiven her for attacking her boyfriend. It was soon discovered that the armor pretty much shut out most of the heat and light damage, but Sara was still stunned by a light grenade that impacted on her chest.

 

Sherri had discovered that nothing, not even her magic could directly affect the gauntlet, but the person beneath was vulnerable if not on guard. Ariel tested her reflexes and resilience versus her own massive strength. Exodus had already gone one-on-one with her so he set up to empty an AK-47 into her. As expected, each shot was deflected but Sara claimed that the force still hurt quite a bit.

 

To test her energy blast, Frostfire concentrated his fire and cold blasts against hers, and they were joined in a brilliant display of conflicting energy. Sara was able to hold out for almost 45 seconds before she tired.

 

When it was Paradox’s turn, everyone made sure that Sara knew nothing about his abilities. The two stood face to face, Sara readied her energy bolt while Matt allowed his power to permeate from his right hand, turning it a silver/black color.  When Kitty yelled out to begin, Sara fired. But Paradox was faster. He instantly encased her hand in a large plastic bubble and then, to everyone’s amazement, faded from view.

 

“How in hell did he do that?” Sara said as she melted the plastic from her wrist.

 

Matt reappeared in view, but behind Sara. “You are tricky Sara, much like the sirens who lured men to their deaths in legend.”

 

Sara turned and unleashed another bolt. Paradox simply held up a hand and created a steel plate in the path of the blast. To his surprise, the blast pierced the armor and knocked him to his butt. She strolled over to him and helped him to his feet.

 

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

 

“You didn’t,” Matt said as he brushed himself off. “But I thank you for your concern my dear. Sara stared into the ageless man’s eyes, unsure of his tone and motives. They locked gazes, but Sara broke away when the kids rushed in, congratulating them all on a fantastic show. But she did watch as he walked out of the crowd and collapsed to his knees with Artemis right behind him.

 

 

Later that evening, Kitty and Sherri were discussing operations and internal politics with Sara. They were also trying to come up with a name she should call herself in public. Even though most of Alpha Flights identities were public knowledge, there was a need to have different names than their civilian ones in case they were to have to sneak into a place like Metropolis.

 

“Look, I don’t know what you two are arguing about. Its ultimately my choice what I go by,” Sara stated. She swirled the crimson brandy in her sifter and took another sip.

 

The founders of Alpha Flight glanced at each other and rolled their eyes. When they glanced at Sara, she was doing her best to look innocent, but couldn’t maintain the facade for long and soon they all broke out in laughter.  Kitty dismissed herself and strolled into the kitchen. She rapidly made some more hors d’oeuvres and drinks, and brought them back into her den for her guests.

 

Kitty had just sat back down and handed out the snacks that she had made when they all heard the front door open. Sara looked questionably at Kitty who shook her head.

 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s probably just Zal coming back from the fortress.” Pretty much ignoring the sounds of Zal rifling through the kitchen making him some dinner they went on with the conversation. “So have you decided on one yet?”

 

Sara sat back and pondered on the days’ events. Her thoughts turned to the battle she had with Paradox, and some of the things he had supposedly taunted her with. “Yeah. Matt said something today that has stuck in my head. He said I was tricky…like a siren of ancient legend.” She adjusted the Witchblade on her wrist. “And it makes sense to me. So I have decided to go by Syren.”

 

Sherri gave a nod of approval. “Syren? Sounds good to me.”

 

“Agreed. I think the next thing we have to do is tell his Majesty who you are and register you as one of the group.” Kitty said.

 

Out of the blue, they all heard Zal call out from the kitchen. “Hey Kitty? Where is the oregano?”

 

Sherri and Sara stifled their laughter as Kitty turned to the door. “You have x-ray vision, why don’t you use it?”

 

Sherri leaned over to Sara and sighed. “Kids. What do you do with them?”

 

“I heard that!” came echoing down the hallway from the kitchen. On that note the three women giggled once again. They had gotten a bit serious and began discussing next month’s operations when Zal came back carrying a small Caesar salad, lasagna, and some garlic bread. In his other hand he carried a small lead box. He sat down in a recliner, and put his food to the side and set the box down. He listened to the operations planning while he ate. They were still going at it when he finished, cleaned up and sat back down with the lead box.

 

“Whatcha got there Zal?” Sherri asked as he sat back with the box, not opening it as of yet.

 

“Oh, not much. It’s just an energy-depleted piece of kryptonite. I used it to help Sara’s partner.”

 

Her brow wrinkling in thought, Sherri continued. “Does it still affect you?”

 

“No. But it was a piece of green K anyway.” Sherri nodded at the statement and turned back to the maps of the area Kitty was going over, plotting their next patrols.

 

“Look, it is simple. We need to maintain the randomness of our movements. We should hit Louisville then check along the lines of the railroad. With the new Indian Nation around, perhaps we should go and clear a supply route. And maybe we should go to Columbus to check on the…” Kitty stopped in mid-sentence, looking down and holding a hand to her breast.

 

“Kitty, you okay?” Sherri asked tentatively. She threw down her glass and rushed to Kitty’s side when she doubled over with pain.

 

Zal was there almost as quickly. He picked her up and laid her on the sofa, doing a quick scan of her vitals. “What’s wrong, I don’t see anything.”

 

“I…I don’t know. It’s like a heart attack and a severe headache all in one.” Suddenly she spasmed and accidentally grabbed Sherri’s wrist. Fearing that she would get her arm shattered against Kitty’s tremendous strength, she tried to break free, but felt her grip slacken, never getting more pressure than a woman of her size could ever do.

 

“Zal, she has lost her strength.” Sherri said as Kitty passed out. Quickly she turned to Sara. “Go get Hope and hurry!” Without a word, Sara turned and ran out of the house, searching for Artemis.

 

Zal was practically beside himself. “I have seen these symptoms before. This looks like a case of…” he paused and turned to look at the lead box and the bullet he was scanning with his microscopic vision. “ Kryptonite poisoning. By Rao, she is being affected by it!"

 

He rushed over to the box and bullet and placed it inside and shut the lid. He came back over to his girlfriend and monitored her. Slowly, her heartbeat returned to normal, her muscles slacked, and the color began to return to her face. After a few more minutes, Kitty began to stir, moaning slightly.

 

“Kitty? Talk to me. Are you okay?”

 

About that time Hope burst through the door followed closely by Sara and Brian. A few seconds after that, Matt also came in, and everyone cleared from around Kitty other than Zal and Artemis.

 

“Hold her still, I will do a full body heal just in case.” When Superman nodded, Hope held her hands together and began gathering her power. She put one hand on Kitty’s temple and one on her stomach and bathed her in a near-blinding light. When it faded, everyone held his or her breath. Kitty slowly opened her eyes.

 

“Why is everyone looking at me like I was dead or something?”

 

With a sigh, Zal clasped her hands. “Kitten, don’t ever do that to me again. You almost made me go haywire.”

 

“I hope I won’t have to. That was a trying experience. What did it anyway?”

 

Before he answered, Zal turned to everyone in the room. “This information does not leave this room, do you understand?”

 

Everyone gave their acknowledgement; Zal turned back to her. “Kitten, you were the first human ever to contract a case of kryptonite poisoning. There is something about you that has made you susceptible to Black K.”

 

“Wonderful,” Kitty sighed. “That’s all I need. An exploitable weakness.”

 

“It will be alright. “I have managed my entire life with that.”

 

A few moments later, everyone including Sherri and Sara left, leaving the two alone. Zal brought some lasagna to her and waited patiently downstairs as Kitty took a long bubble bath. She came back downstairs and reclined on the sofa, nibbling on her dinner. Afterwards, they curled next to each other and began to relax.

 

“Did you have a hard day at the office?” Kitty purred, half teasing her friend.

 

Settling into her arms, Zal shook his head. “No Kitten. Its just another day in the life of a hero.”

 

“It’s more and more like a life that I always wanted to lead, just the benefits are much greater then I could have expected.”

 

“Sleep now Kitten. Tomorrow is going to be another long day.”

 

It was the next afternoon when Kitty came to call on Zal. He sat on his balcony overlooking the city, the activity and the peacefulness.

 

“Hey Zal, are you busy?” she asked with a certain calmness in her voice.

 

“Katherine, you know I will always have the time to talk with you. Sit, be comfortable.”

 

Instead of sitting, she knelt beside him and took his hands into hers. “Zal, we’ve been through a lot together and have seen some really crazy things. But everything happening recently has gotten me thinking.”

 

His interest fully peaked now, he turned and gave her his undivided attention. “About what?”

 

“I have been pretty happy being with you, sharing that casual kiss, but when I see you at your best, doing what you can for anybody that needs it, my heart soars. It is a feeling I have never felt before and I want to feel again.” Her head dipped and her eyes focused on the ground for just a moment before returning her gaze to his.

 

“Zal, I love you. I don’t know when it happened, but I know that I do.”

 

The young Kryptonian could not believe his ears. “You don’t know how long I have waited to hear those words Kitten.”

 

“I know. That’s why I decided to say something now. I want to be with you, now and forever. And don’t you dare say no to me, because I think I would just die.”

 

Without hesitation, she leaned over and brushed her lips with his, building the moment. When they met, both could feel a spark of electricity as they finally surrendered to each other. She stood and curled up in the recliner with him. They laid there holding each other tightly, not wanting to let go.

 

“Zal, will you marry me?” Kitty did not bother to raise her head from his chest, but did hold her breath in anticipation.

 

“Of course, baby. I would be honored to have you. Now and Forever.”

 

The end of A Day In The Life

 

-- Story written and copyrighted (C) 2002 by Jake H.

-- and may not be reprinted without permission.

-- The Continuum Worlds Concept is a joint creation of

-- Dylan Clearbrook and Eldric.  Otherverse, Dark Earth,

-- and Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes, as depicted in the

-- Continuum Worlds, are original creations of Dylan Clearbrook.

-- Alterverse and The Inheritors, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,

-- are original creations of Eldric.

-- The Realm and Shadowverse, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,

-- are original creations of John P. and Jason G respectively.

-- Some characters in Continuum Worlds stories are original creations

-- of Dylan Clearbrook, Eldric, Michael Liebhart, Jake H., Jason G.,

-- Andrew Shields, Kyle M., Brian, or Jason Froikin and may not

-- be used without express permission of the respective author.

-- All DC characters are property of D.C. Comics.

-- All Marvel characters are property of Marvel Comics.