Chapter 33

Super Nova Part 4

Flamebird Part 1

 

© Dylan (Clay) Clearbrook

 

Multiverse

Fantastic Four HQ

(Moments Ago)

 “So what was once the Shard in Otherverse is in control of Senturia.  What does it need with Kara?” Rogue demanded.

“I believe it wants her to act once again as Jenny’s Conscience.” Reed responded.  He looked as if he would continue when Sue called out in alarm.  She had been keeping an eye on a monitor that gave her a view of the med bay.  She now spun the monitor around so everyone else could see.

On the screen, they could all see Kara and Senturia facing each other…and then Senturia reached out to take Kara’s hand….

“OH!” Everyone turned at Barbara’s involuntary gasp…and could do nothing as she faded from view in a light green glow.  On the monitor they could only see Senturia.

“They are with me now.” Senturia’s usual double toned voice now sounded as if two other voices had been added. “They will be safe, but there is something that now must be done!” On the screen, Senturia’s head moved slightly so that she appeared to be looking through the screen towards Rogue. “Fear not, Rogue. If we are successful, Kara will be returned to you here…as will Jennifer and Arisia. We must go now!”

“IF? What the hell?” Faster than an eye could follow Rogue was out of the room and appearing on the monitor in the med bay…just as Senturia faded from sight.”

 

Some Where on the Fringes of the Multiverse

This was not the way things were supposed to be.

From past discussions with Jenny and Arisia, Kara knew that when the two formed Senturia, they would merge completely.  It would be a single consciousness, not two distinct consciousnesses that just happened to inhabit the same body.

Yet here they were…not just two distinct consciousnesses, but four.  There had been five, but the consciousness that was Jenny seemed to have been absorbed or joined with that Power.

Of course that was liable to change at any moment. Already in the short frame of time, that power had already absorbed Babs and then swapped her with Jenny.  Though present in the…holding pen was the only term Kara could come up with…Babs was somehow separate from her and Arisia.

There waiting time was not long before Jenny reappeared beside Babs, her eyes closed and head thrown back as if reliving all that she had just learned.  Kara was not surprised when Arisia vanished and then, just as briefly as Jenny’s absorption had been, reappeared beside Jenny and Babs.  She steeled herself, knowing what was coming next.

“Is it that difficult, my child?” The gentle voice spoke and Kara opened her eyes…

She was no longer in a state of limbo, floating in a green fog but rather in a field of grass ringed by tall trees…but there was something off about them. Then, with a gasp, she realized what she was seeing.  The grass and the leaves of the trees were not green but blue…and the sun that shown in the sky…

“Krypton!” She breathed.

“For this moment in time, yes.”  The voice said. “Our home.  Krypton as it was so many ages ago.”

Kara turned, her eyes widening as they took in the smiling visage of a dark haired woman dressed in a regal style that had gone out of fashion on Krypton ages before its inhabitants had once again clawed its way back into the stars!  She knew this woman.  There were statues of her in most homes that honored both Rao and Lorra.  Admittedly the worship of Lorra alongside Rao had been once again on the rise by the time Krypton exploded.  The fact that she had been remembered despite the best efforts of the early patriarchal society to wipe her out said a lot.

“No, child.” Lorra shook her head as Kara started to kneel. “Let’s not get all formal.  Let us just take a moment to enjoy our world for a moment, for we are running out of time and there are things that must be done.”

“It was you.” Kara declared. “From the beginning it was you.  You set the stage for my…rebirth!”

“Yes, child.” Lorra nodded. “You have sacrificed so much in my service, even though you did not know it. In every possible age and reality, you and the various versions of you have always been my chosen champions!”

In the air before them a window shimmered, showing different versions of Supergirl throughout the different realities: young Kara from Probability 4, Kara Zor-L from Probability 5, Kira Jor-El from Alterverse, Kara Gand from the Inheritors Universe…and so many more.

The window vanished, as did the Kryptonian meadow and she was once again floating in a green haze.

“It is unfortunate that we cannot spend more time together, my child, but time does not wait even for the Gods.” Lorra’s voice sounded in her head though she was no longer in sight.

“What is it that I need to do?” Kara asked, bracing herself.

“At this point in time, my child, all you must do is remember what I tell you.” Came the amused answer.  “This task is not yours but it will be…uncomfortable…for your friends.” Suddenly Kara was no longer alone. With her in the haze were Jenny, Arisia, and Babs. All three apparently unconscious. “The one you call Babs will give birth soon and her discomfort will be natural for such an event.  These others, however, will be different, for I must take something from them.”

“Senturia.” Kara guessed. “But how…”

“I have ways, my child.” Was the response. “But yes, I must take this construct of theirs to perform tasks that must needs be done. It will not be returned but, after those tasks are done, they will indeed be able to form a new construct just as every time they merge they construct her!”  There was a pause. “In time you will learn of all that must be…and it is my hope that you will, in time, forgive me for not being able to do more.  But for now, it is time to return you to where you must be. Be well, my child.  Remember!”

 

Multiverse

Fantastic Four HQ

(An Instant Later)

By the time Reed and Sue Richards, Stephen Strange, Charles Xavier, Mercy Vengeance reached the Med Bay, the scene had changed again.

Rogue and Kara were supporting Barbara, who was very much in pain, and Jennifer Walters-Gand and Arisia Fentura-Gand lay crumpled on the floor.

“What the hell is going on?” Reed demanded stopping and blocking the door at the sight.

“Get out of the damned way, Reed!” Sue demanded, pushing him from behind with enough force to make him stagger away from the entrance to allow her and Mercy to squeeze through and rush to help Kara and Rogue settle Babs into a bed.

Sue ran a quick scan while Mercy bathed the pregnant woman with her reddish healing energies and then turned to check on the figures on the floor.

“End of the world or not, that baby is coming now!” Sue declared, tossing aside the scanning unit and drew a curtain around the bed to hide Babs from the view of the men still present and indicated that Rogue should help her remove the pregnant woman’s clothes.

“But they just left!”  Reed exclaimed, looking at both Charles and Stephen, as if they could explain what was going on.

“Jennifer and Arisia are physically sound, but they appear to be in a state of induced unconsciousness.” Mercy announced as she straightened to play her energies over a sagging Kara.

“We were…kicked out.” Babs explained as, thanks to Mercy, the pain began to ebb. She held up her arms as Sue slipped a hospital gown over her. “Both Jenny and Arisia went unconscious and Kara disappeared and then the next think I knew…we were back here.”

“Where’s Tony?” Sue demanded, ignoring everything else that was not directly related to Babs impending delivery.

“Oa.  Probability One.” It was Rogue who answered as she pulled Kara back out of the way and held her close. “When Senturia came back for me, it seems she sent the ship we were on, as well as what remained of the combined fleets from Probabilities One and Two, back to Probability One and back in orbit around Oa.” She regarded Kara for a moment and then looked towards Reed, Charles, and Stephen.

“It isn’t possible, you know.” She said.  She nodded towards Babs and then towards the unconscious figures of Jenny and Arisia who were being moved into separate beds by Mercy. “What she said about Senturia, I mean. Jenny and Arisia make up Senturia. Senturia has no consciousness of her own. Either one or the other or both together is always in control.  If one of them goes unconscious, the other can keep Senturia going for a short time, but if they are both out, then Senturia will instantly dissolve into their separate forms. Senturia is not a separate being.”

“Possible or not, Babs is right.” Kara finally spoke up, straightening in Rogue’s arms. “Something happened in there and I know that I will remember, when the time is right, but I do know that Senturia planned on putting Babs back in Probability One before taking off to where ever it was we had to go.”  She shook her head. “That isn’t what happened. First Babs was absorbed into Senturia, and then Jenny and then Arisia.” She paused and then shrugged. “I know that I was there as well and that I saw and learned something. But whatever it was, it’s blocked But I seem to know that the block will be removed when the time is right.” She glanced over towards Jenny and Arisa. “Senturia should not be able to exist without them…yet that is exactly what is happening.” She looked at Charles. “You were only partially correct, Professor. Yes, the energy from the Otherverse Shard is there…but it is not in control and it obviously isn’t the Starheart. Something or someone else has taken control of Senturia!” She shook her head again. “I don’t know who or what, but I can tell you that it seemed…familiar!”

 

 Within The Bleed

“Awaken, Little One. We do not have much time.”

For the first time in her existence, she opened her eyes to behold her surroundings. For a brief moment there was…uncertainty. Not about where she was but rather WHO she was!  Memories were there, but they were not hers…she could not say how she knew that, but know it she did. The memories were familiar. Memories of lives as Jennifer Walters and Arisia Fentura as separate beings and then merged memories of them together as Senturia.

Senturia!  That is who she was!  No.  Senturia was the name given by the Starheart to reference the combined being formed by Jenny and Arisia. But neither of them were present. She ‘felt’ around within herself and quickly discovered the presence of what had been the Otherverse Shard before Jennifer Walters had filtered it and caused it to form a Great Battery within Otherverse.

Yes, it was there but there seemed to be no sense of consciousness within that entity. So who had awakened her?  More importantly, HOW had she been awakened in such a manner?

“How can I…” she began, only to stop in confusion as, for the first time ever, she was aware of the concept of ‘I’ and ‘ME’ rather than the ‘US’ or ‘WE’ that had been her normal.  She was AWARE.  Not aware as a construct of the Starheart merely to contain the combined consciousnesses of Jenny and Arisia…but aware as herself, independently!

“Calmly now.” The gentle Voice spoke within her mind once again as the new sensations of self-awareness threatened to overwhelm her. “There will be time to revel in your newness later, but soon action will be forced upon us and we must be ready.”

“Who…where…” She stopped and took a grip on herself and took stock of her surroundings.

She knew exactly where she was, according to the memories she had from Jenny and Arisia.  This was the destructive maelstrom known as the Bleed. Yet she seemed to be unaffected by the savage raging…oblivion…that swept around her much as a sea will break and swirl around an immovable rock in its path.

“I…I am not Senturia!”  She announced.

“No, my Little One, you are not.  Rather you are no longer that which was called Senturia.”  The Voice said. “For those who made up Senturia are no longer with you.”

“If they are not here…then how can I be?” was the next logical question.

“Because I willed it so, Little One.”  The Voice responded. “But I cannot very well continue calling you Little One, can I?” There was amusement in the Voice now. “I believe I shall call you what I have made you.  From this point on, if you will, then I will call you Flamebird!”

“You Made me?” was the part that she fixed on.

“In a manner of speaking.” Was the reply. “But time runs short. I am sure that you are aware of the energy that now lies dormant within you. I need you to access that energy now.”

“How?” She turned her attention back to the Shard Energy from Otherverse. She had distinct impressions that Jenny had known this energy had attained self-awareness, but there was no sense of that now.

“Simply grasp it and pull it into yourself.  Merge yourself with it.”

At the mention of the term ‘merge’, she shied away. If she merged with this would she lose awareness once again?

“No, my little Flamebird.” The Voice laughed now. “Whatever consciousness that may have been part of that Shard Energy now fully resides in a Great Battery in Otherverse. This Shard was pulled from Otherverse at the same time the Ripple first struck Otherverse and I have held it ready for this time…for this event.”

Tentatively she ‘reached out’ and pulled the energy into the core of her being…and the one who had been Senturia Screamed!

After an eternity of agony that lasted mere seconds Flamebird once again opened her eyes. She was still floating within the Bleed, but she was no longer alone.  Beside her was an ageless woman with dark hair dressed in the style of ancient Kryptonian women.  This she recognized from the memories she had from both Jenny and Arisia from their time spent on Daxam with the Kandorians.  She knew who this woman was…and she now knew the significance of the name that woman had bestowed upon her for not only had merging with that energy given her that power, it had also given her knowledge.  Knowledge prepared for her by this Woman.

According to ancient Kryptonian myth, Flamebird had been a construct of the god Rao to act as a destructive force of nature.  But this woman, the Kryptonian goddess Lorra, had taken that myth, rearranged it, and bestowed it upon her. 

“No, you are not an agent of destruction as the original Flamebird had been.” Lorra responded to the unspoken thoughts. “You are much more than that, but at this point in time, you are to be a Shepherd!”

She waved a hand and Flamebird saw the bleed part to reveal not only the Multiverse but the entire Continuum with its innumerable Continuverses stretching into infinity.

Lorra motioned again and the focus once again shifted until she found herself looking down from above at another figure within the Bleed and the various Continuverses that were in closest proximity to him.

“Paradox.” She dredged the name up from her previous incarnation as she looked down at the figure, marveling that, even as she watched, he seemed to swell in size as energy from the exploding Multiverse Starheart and the ancient Mega-starheart that had exploded and brought the entire Continuum into existence eons upon eons ago.

She looked at him and a fragment of memory came to her.

“The Probability Device.” She pondered.

“Is no longer of any consequence.” Was the reply. “With the first on rush of energy Paradox nullified its power.”

As she watched, a glow began to spread over Paradox until he was no longer visible beneath the energy that enveloped him. Though it should have been quite impossible, she could swear that she could hear him scream out his agony and exultation as he flung his arms wide and energy flowed from him in an ever widening circle that would defy the laws of time and space as it spread. This was the origin of the Ripple!

She glanced down at the Multiverse and her eyes widened as she noticed the weakened barriers around the Continuverse that kept it separated from the Bleed.

“It will not survive the Ripple.” She mused.

“In the here and now, no it will not.” Was Lorra’s sad reply. “Though he was not aware, the Imp did much more damage to the integrity of the Multiverse than was previously thought by your heroes.”   She motioned towards the Multiverse and then indicated the approaching Ripple once again. “The Ripple, at this time of its birth, is a powerfully raw force of both Constructive and Destructive nature. It will strike through the entire Continuum time and again through the ages; Past, Present, and Future.”  She shook her head. “But in the here and now, those Continuverses closest to the epicenter will unfortunately be subjected to the more…destructive…energies of the Ripple.”

“You are a Goddess…could you not stop it or at least shield the Multiverse?” Flamebird asked. She was, she was surprised to discover, completely emotionally separated from the discussion. Her question was one of mere curiosity, not one of blame or demands.

“Were I allowed to physically intervene moreso that I have already, yes, I could.  But what would the consequences be?” Lorra responded.  Not as a Goddess to a devote worshipper but rather as a mother to a beloved child who must be nurtured and taught. “Even the Gods must abide by our own set of laws of nature. No, I could not stop the energy of the Ripple.  I could deflect it so that it would not strike the Multiverse…”

“But the deflected energy would simply strike another Continuverse.” Flamebird finished the sentence, nodding as she gained understanding. “You would sacrifice one or more Continuverses just to save one.” She gazed down at the Multiverse. She should feel sad, she knew, but there was nothing. “You are masking my emotions, aren’t you?”

“I am Little One.” Lorra responded. “It is necessary for what must be done.”

“What? Float here and witness the end of all that I…we…have known?” Flamebird felt something then…and it was anger. “Were I still Senturia, I would have no emotions that were separate from those of Jenny or Arisia. Have you awakened me just to have me witness their destruction?”

“No, my Little Flamebird.” Lorra’s tone was no longer gentle but full of resolve. “You are not here as a witness.  Though in the future you may fill other roles, in the here and now you are the Shepherd and there,” She indicated the Multiverse, “there is your flock!” 

Understanding finally came to her.

“You cannot intervene directly.” She spoke slowly. “But through me…” She trailed off, unsure of where to go with that thought.

“Through you…with you…” Lorra spoke no longer like the loving mother, but rather as the Goddess she was. “We cannot save all, but together we can, through you, save some.”  She turned Flamebird’s attention to another Continuverse.  This one, Flamebird knew without being told, was the Continuverse that had been pulled into the Continuum and had attempted to manifest within the Multiverse.  This was the Continuvere Mercy Vengeance had called the Primalverse.

Her perspective changed again and now she was looking upon a Continuverse devoid of life…devoid of anything.  A mere empty shell that had once contained a vast multiverse itself.   This, then, was all that remained of what had once been known as the Wasteland Continuverse.

Her attention came back to the Multiverse just as the barrier that had separated the ten Primary probabilities from the rest of the Multiverse vanished.

She became instantly aware of the being known as Lord Ian and, she was sure, he became aware of her in the same instant.  She felt his strange energies…energies that did not quite fit in with either what was commonly called cosmic or mystical energies but rather a unique mixture of both…much like she was now, thanks to Lorra.

“He gathers together those worlds which he has marked with the Pattern of Amber.” Lorra sniffed.

“You dislike him?” Flamebird was surprised. “I thought he was a good friend of your Kara.”

“He was.” Lorra admitted. “And I have no ill feelings towards him…it is just that those of Amber are…separate.”  She would say no more on that and took Flamebird’s hand. “Our time is upon us and we must act soon.”  She declared.  She directed Flamebird’s attention back to Primalverse.

“It is an incomplete Continuverse.” She declared. “Much of it has been destroyed and those two Probabilities, as you call them, that remain are heavily damaged.  They will not survive if they are allowed to manifest as they are.  What will you do?”

It was then that Flamebird understood what her role was truly to be.  She was the Shepherd.  It would be her decisions that affected the flock! And she knew what she had to do.

Spreading her arms wide, the one that had been Senturia transformed. Where once had been a green-skinned blonde woman there now floated an immense green and yellow feathered bird bathed in green flame that resembled a mythical creature of ancient Earth more than anything else: A Phoenix! In that instant of her transformation, time stopped!  The Ripple, just reaching the barriers that enclosed the Multiverse, seemed to freeze in place. Worlds stopped in their orbit around their suns.  Entire spinning galaxies ceased to spin.  Time was Stopped.

“Not quite a Kryptonian Flamebird, but it will do.” Lorra drawled. “Go now, my little Flamebird.  Do what must be done!”

 

To be Continued in Flamebird Part 2…….. 

 

 

-- Story written and copyrighted (©) 2025 by Dylan (Clay) Clearbrook

-- and may not be reprinted without permission.

-- The Continuum Worlds Concept is a joint creation of

-- Dylan (Clay) Clearbrook and Ella, and Jake H.  

-- 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, Megaverse, and Green Lantern Beyond,

-- as depicted in the Continuum Worlds,are original creations of Ella.

-- Wasteland, The Sorority, and Otherverse Redux,  as depicted in the Continuum Worlds

-- are original creations of Nomad (Jake H.).

 -- 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.

-- The Realm, as depicted in the Continuum Worlds, is an

-- original creation of John P

 -- Some characters in Continuum Worlds stories are original creations

-- of Dylan (Clay) Clearbrook, 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.