He needed to make sense of his thoughts. He was a clone created to replace Superman, or maybe not? That seemed to have been the cover the real reason, whatever that was. He had been expected to be as strong as him, one of the most powerful beings known though he was part human. Were those expectations also lies? That would have been nice to know the same day he left his pod. Until recently he believed his human half came from Superman's greatest enemy, Lex Luthor; a power hungry, sadistic villain of pure evil. He wasn't exaggerating. After one short talk with him he still couldn't stop the feeling he was going to come true on that promise of splitting his genetic strands to the winds. This wouldn't be hard to do at that time. If it weren't for the borrowed Kryptonian armor, he would be falling apart. Though it was nice to know he wasn't related to Luthor now he was being plagued by questions which were too dangerous to answer. Who made him? For what purpose was he created? And from whom did his human DNA come from?
To add to all of this, he had forgotten most of his life. He wasn't sure who his friends were anymore. Wally and Artemis were no longer with the Team. Nightwing, once Robin was nothing like the kid he used to know. He and Kaldur seemed to have grown apart. And Miss Martian… he wasn't sure what to think about her anymore. She had tried to do something horrible to him and she had paid for it. Though she claimed they were friends, he could tell it was more out of years of working together than anything else.
He wasn't sure what had become of his life, or if he liked it. Had he thought it through since he found he didn't age? Did he really want to work a civilian job? Then there is the jackass that took over Superman's place who is planning to restore Krypton by destroying the Earth Oh and Superman's cousin was helping him. Oh, and he almost forgot, they both hate clones.
Who the hell did he piss off for his life to become such a mess?
They made it to the base where the League was still planning on how to break into the Fortress of Solitude. It was a few miles away from the actual Fortress. Not far, the Blue Beetle and Thorax stood talking in a mixture of Spanish and English. They were not happy the League was excluding them from the planning.
"Superboy," Blue Beetle seemed to relax when he spotted him. Thorax in the other hand was watching Superman as he went to join the rest of the League. He was still upset that they were being excluded.
He flew towards them and landed before the Blue Beetle. He had known of another Blue Beetle, but he looked nothing like him. According to what he had learned; him, the new Kid Flash, and Red Robin had left the Team and become a team of their own.
"How did the talk with Luthor go?" Blue Beetle asked looking towards the League. They were standing by their ship. It seemed he had the great idea to join a bunch of amateur heroes and cut ties with the League and the Team. What had he been thinking? Though he was admittedly strong, resources were also needed to operate; otherwise they were no better than the amateur vigilante.
"H'El wants to use Earth as a base to launch a ship through time and save Krypton, but at the same time that would destroy the Earth and out galaxy" he explained and watched for their reactions. He got a glare from the Beetle, one of annoyance. It was not his fault he didn't like the answer.
"Hombre, that's awesome!" Thorax had said before they both looked at him questioning his sanity "I mean, you guys have experience with time travel and all that, Que no?"
"Not so loud, you know how the League thinks about that," Blue Beetle said before looking at the League with uneasiness.
He had to bite his tongue from asking more, they time traveled?
"Don't you mean Wonder Woman? I thought she would never leave us alone," Thorax said looking up at the sky, "never thought I would say no to a woman like that."
"She wants Thorax to join the Team," Blue Beetle told him with a wary tone.
"She was very persistent, used her Amazonian charms, and I don't mean she batted her pretty long eyelashes. By the way, are the armors good against magical Amazonian swords?" Thorax said shuddering at the memory.
"We will check later, either way Bart is out of reach. He knows more about that stuff than us. The League is jamming our signal. I can't even get hold of Tim for tactical advice," Blue Beetle said closing his eyes, "Nightwing probably. He can be too protective of Red Robin. Not many can go against Khaji Da. Got any ideas?" Blue Beetle asked him.
"We should leave this to the League," he told him before both looked at him in shock.
"What?" Blue Beetle was the first to ask.
"You aren't ready to face someone like that, I don't think even –"
"Hold it there, what's wrong with you?" Blue Beetle stepped up and poked him on the chest. A few members of the League turned their heads to look at them, the rest were much discreet.
"What?" he asked as he slapped his hand away.
"The Superboy I know wouldn't say something like that," Blue said with narrowed eyes.
"True that, you went behind the League's back to ask the Posse to help Jaime with La Dama. A real badass. Right now you are acting like a little-"
"Paco," Blue Beetle said.
"But is true!" Thorax had shouted before he noticed the League was watching them "what're you looking at!"
"The Fortress is impenetrable. It's impossible to get in," he told them.
"We have done the impossible before, stand back," Blue Beetle said before he turned to face towards the Fortress, "impossible my cojones."
"What's the Bleed?" Thorax asked tilting his head.
"I will get us into the fortress!" he shouted at them and the League before he disappeared in a rip in the air.
"How did he do it?" he heard Flash ask checking his communicator. He realized Blue Beetle had connected to them.
"I am nowhere near the control room, but Khaji-Da is weakening the force field. I think I can reduce it enough for Superboy to break through it with his T.K," Blue Beetle announced.
"Then Flash can vibrate through," Batman said before getting a nod from the speedster.
"But my T.K," he was sure Superman would have told them his powers were not the usual at least.
"Just try," Superman said placing a hand on his shoulder. How could they have so much trust?
Moments later they were all rushing towards the Fortress. Superman and Flash split from them. He had to guess it was part of the plan they were not briefed on.
"Stay close kid, the outer defenses are no laughing matter," Batman said to Thorax as he carried him by the arms.
"This is not the first time I go out for a night of bashing skulls," Thorax said with a short laugh.
"We had planned a three-pronged attack to get past the force field," Batman explained, "our frontal assault will work as a distraction to get you close enough to the force field."
He was about to ask him if he had in mind from the beginning to use him in their plan. But, he noticed Wonder Woman who was flying close to him was studying him. Could she also tell something was different about him?
They reached the surroundings of the Fortress and saw an army of copper colored robots with drills for hands all waiting in perfect lines.
"What the heck are those?" Thorax asked dropping Batman to the ground.
"Kryptonian Worker-Drones," Batman said, "usually used to maintain and expand the lower levels of the fortress."
"I guess they aren't here to invite us in," Thorax said before his armored hand turned into an energy canon.
"You better not mess this up," he snapped his head to look at Wonder Woman. But, her sight was set on the army of drones before them. "You better handle this better than how you handle your teammates. Blue Beetle's actions could have caused H'El to take the offense."
"I am not their babysitter," and he was no leader. Kaldur had been their leader back in the day and now was this Red Robin.
"I know you think they know what they are doing, but they don't. You are just children," she said unsheathing her sword.
"Or maybe you are just getting old," he said looking for a path among the now marching drone forces.
"I will make sure to bring flowers to your grave," he heard Thorax had said before Wonder Woman gave a loud battle cry and they raced towards their enemy. Fighting almost felt like a relief at that time. He only had to rip the drones apart and keep advancing towards the Fortress. His hands tore through the metal like paper and threw the remains against more drones delaying them until he got to them and ripped their metallic heads up. The flying made it much easier for these were not ordinary drones. They were organized enough to try to corner him. However, they were designed for construction, not battle.
He kept an eye out for Thorax, but it seemed his armor was more than capable of protecting him. However, he kept close to Batman as he was told. The man jumped among the drones with speed and agility. These were not the dark streets of Gotham, but he knew how to handle himself. He wondered if he had previous battles with the drones because for some reason the man knew the right place to hit to disable them all together.
He watched Wonder Woman ahead of him swinging her sword left and right, jumping between the drones and taking ten or more down in one move. Her strength and rage were frightening. She could cut through the metal as if it was no better than butter and pull limbs off as if they were no more than insects. Once or twice he caught her studying his movements. Never did she stop frowning. He wasn't sure if it was because he chose to leave the League, but he guessed she didn't like him much.
She jumped over him and cut from top to bottom a drone that had been standing behind him ready to attack.
"Don't waste any more time," she told him before he realized he was in front of the barrier. He didn't bother to reply and placed his hands over the shining barrier.
Please work, he begged as he looked for that something he had forgotten. At first there was nothing. He felt like an idiot and he stood there for almost a minute doing nothing. Then, there was a flash behind his eyes. A spark before a small memory took over his thoughts. He had been lying on a dessert watching the full moon night, much like the one he was under. He was afraid, and also excited because of these new powers. There was a feeling of déjà vu, much like when he lost track of the time back in Metropolis. It was a warm and generous sensation that surrounded him welcomed him with open arms. It completed him. It told him he had meaning and belonged. He embraced it and closed his eyes. He could feel everything around him. The drones, his companions, the layers of snow, and then there was the barrier that refused him. He concentrated on the barrier and lost himself on it.
The next thing he knew was a sharp pain through his body. He knew this barrier had been designed for him. H'El's doing, of course, he thought clenching his teeth. He could only remember meeting him a few hours ago, but he already despised him greatly. He was getting Psychic backslash, his thoughts were getting shredded. The memories and warm feeling were turning into a rain of shredded metal in his senses. But in the middle of the pain and his own pain filled screams he found he couldn't stop. He either pulled this or he was going to die when H'El destroyed their world. He heard a drop fall to the ground before more followed it. Blood was pouring out of his nose and he could swear from his eyes too.
"He did it!"
Next he was falling back, and someone caught him. He looked up and saw Batman looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
"My head…" he said as Batman helped him stand straight. But it wasn't just his head, everything hurt, but it wasn't his body. It was something else. He just didn't know how to explain it.
"Flash!" Wonder Woman shouted. He turned his head sharply and cursed under his breath as he almost lost his balance.
"No need to tell me twice," Flash said appearing before touching the fortress. He was meant to find Supergirl and get her as far as possible from H'El's influence. He started vibrating through the fortress until he was no longer visible.
888
He was barely in his thirties, but these kids made him feel old. He missed the old days when Batman would chew them out for the most basic of things. All the kids that had started on the Team were now on a level equal to theirs, and the new ones were also getting to that point. They were still young, but without a doubt making progress in boundless leaps. He had known Superboy to be ready for quite a few years, the reason why he nominated him to join the League. Kid Flash though barely two years with them showed incredible resolve and skills beyond those his speed provided. Red Robin was already a genius before getting involved with Batman. The past few years only expanded his views which made him a great leader. If he decided to go back at any time, he knew he would have no trouble finding a place to fit in as a tactician. Blue Beetle, sincerely he had his doubts about him until recently, but where they had been looking for a way to break into the fortress and losing time, he had jumped right into the fryer, gone back, and pulled him with him into one of the many chambers of the fortress.
"No going back," Blue Beetle said as they stepped out of the rip he created in reality, "if I do that again, we are getting lost in the Bleed."
"The control rooms are this way," he knew the place like the back of his hand, "have you been able to establish any further connection with it?" He was surprised there was technology on Earth that could communicate with the Fortress.
"Khaji-Da has limited information on Kryptonian technology; I will work as fast as – what!" Blue Beetle jumped back just in time to evade a beam from piercing his leg.
"H'El has been going through the chambers," he said before looking through the chamber with his x-ray vision. He localized the robots in no time. They were surrounding them.
"You were keeping killer droids from Epsilo-18?" Blue Beetle said after a moment. Of course, his armor would know of a group of robots that once had been known to move from one world to the next eradicating all life they came across and building more of their kind. That had been one long summer.
"Not the time," besides he did disassemble them.
888
Wonder Woman had literally kicked the fortress' door down. Thorax flew closer to him.
"You still look kind of dizzy," he said though he was keeping his eyes on the frightening Amazon.
"Right," he couldn't help rolling his eyes though it hurt almost as bad as breathing.
"Our objective is the trophy room. Superman keeps some Kryptonite in there," Batman said as they ran down the main hall.
However, they didn't get far. Right head there was a new army of worker drones waiting for them.
"Go ahead; I will take care of it," Wonder Woman said rolling her shoulders and she stepped forwards.
"Let's go," Batman said before Thorax picked him up and they flew over the drones that shot at them with energy blasts.
"Is it really okay to leave her behind?" Thorax asked with a frown.
"If you want to live long enough to tell, never get between Wonder Woman and a fight," Batman said before they heard a new battle cry followed by explosions.
"Why do I get the feeling we were actually holding her back?" Thorax asked before Batman actually smirked. They actually had.
888
"You know you have a hoarding problem, don't you?!" Blue Beetle said as he blasted the last of the killer droids from Epsilo-18.
"I prefer to think of them more as souvenirs," he said as he stepped on the still working hand of one of the droids. It had been trying to assemble itself back.
"Not you too," Blue Beetle sighed as they flew out of the room and started flying down the long hall.
"Some of this stuff is too dangerous to destroy. The rest I thought would come in handy later on," all the chambers they flew by were filled with weapons like the droids they just destroyed. Their separate parts were just as dangerous as the whole package.
"Not so much anymore," they stopped ahead in front of one of the main chambers. More killer droids from Epsilo-18 were waiting for them and they had made themselves at home. They had incorporated into their arms some of the weapons he had confiscated over the years.
"None of them could be left behind; they would just fall to the wrong hand eventually," like H'EL's.
"And why not give them to the League," Blue Beetle asked him with a frown.
"Too much responsibility," he said before he flew straight into the mass of murdering droids.
888
"How big is this place?!"
He was wondering the same thing. He had only seen some of the central rooms. It was getting harder and harder to keep his astonishment every time they entered another chamber.
"This place is awesome," Thorax said as his pupils moved seeing things they couldn't. "My Scarab doesn't know what half of this stuff is but keeps telling me to stay away from it. It's like a candy shop."
"Not here to take a tour. We are running out of time," Batman said before they entered a chamber not much different from the rest with the exception that it held little things here and there. On the side, they found a broken container which had been standing in the crystal pedestal. The Kryptonite was gone.
"He is planning to use it," Batman said with a frown.
"Shit! What do we do now?" he asked looking around the room. There was no more of the green rock he knew could take down any Kryptonian.
"We don't give up," Batman said lifting his hand. Thorax didn't waste any time to take it and carry him out. He followed closely.
"That isn't a plan! What do we do now!" they kept calling them kids, but the ones that couldn't come up with a real plan were them. Hoping and wishing was not enough!
"For once, we don't give our position away," Batman said throwing him a disappointed look. That actually hurt.
"Harsh," Thorax said.
"We have to take H'El by surprise," Batman said as they reached another chamber.
"Would that thing work?!" Thorax had asked before they spotted Superman and Blue Beetle flying around a machine out of 'War of the Worlds' which was trying to blast them. All that the rays touched became undone and disappeared
"Kon!" next thing he saw was one of the rays coming for him and then Superman getting in between. His shocked face started to become undone, like a puzzle being broken apart.
"No no no. Superman!" he reached for him but was soon being pulled back by the rest.
"It's a teleporter Superboy. He is still alive. We just don't know where he is," Blue Beetle said as they flew around the robot, it could only concentrate on one target at the time.
It was his fault Superman got taken either way. He knew they wouldn't be able to defeat H'El without him.
"Superboy, don't!" he heard Batman shout as he jumped straight into one of the rays. He had to get him back.
888
It's wonderful to welcome you
New life mysterious to me
Though, I know you can't hear me
"I can hear you," he said opening his eyes. A wave of dizziness invaded him immediately and nothing seemed to make sense to him. The proportion of his body kept changing as if he was inside a surrealist painting.
"Then tell me what are you doing here?" Superman said floating close to him. He hadn't realized he had been flying. He couldn't even tell where the sky and the earth ended. Superman like him had no fixed form.
"Huh?" had he imagined it? "I am here to help you."
"You shouldn't have come," Superman said turning his back to him, ouch.
"Why? Because you are Superman?" he snapped at him.
"The rest needed you," Superman sighed, he was angry at him, good. He wasn't too happy about having to go after him. No one asked him to try to save him, "you are here now." He didn't like the resignation in his voice. It made him feel unneeded.
"So where are we exactly?" he asked trying not to turn his head too fast. Everything seemed to shimmy and shake when he did.
"It's a group of linked pocket dimensions. The device was used by a space pirate to imprison his enemies. I haven't had the time to study it further," Superman said sounding frustrated, and he could tell he hadn't been frustrated at him, but his own lack of foresight. He should have checked this machine further before letting it gather dust in his fortress.
The world started spinning and going down a turbulent drain, then through a straw in less than a second. If either one of them screamed, it was lost in a pocket of time. Like everything that has been going on, they were dropped in the middle of nowhere unceremoniously.
Warmth touches my skin
The winds comb my hair
Rest on my mounds
Take a new breath
At least he made it through in one piece, his sanity; not so much. He stood on what seemed to be a wheat field which went for miles in every direction. Looking at Superman standing among the tall stalks seemed kind of natural, which he found odd. The sky above them was a brownish color like the stalks and everything else around them. Strange plumes of vapor floated about the making it feel like a dream.
"This fog is damping my vision," Superman said before he too tried his one enhanced vision. "At least this place matches our perception of physical space."
"Yeah, because we don't have bigger things to worry about," he said before he tried to fly but a moment later he fell to the ground like lead. Superman tried the same with the same results.
"Jumping it is," Superman said before taking a great leap, he followed shortly after him. He couldn't help remembering his meeting with Superman on the bridge so many years ago, but only a few months to him. "This brings old memories."
"Does it?" he said rolling his eyes.
"Before I could fly this is how I got around. It was around your physical age," Superman said with a short laugh. How could he stay so composed with all that was going on?
"That's great, I just need to grow- oh that's right, I don't," he said jumping ahead of him. Superman didn't bother with a reply. His anger dissolved in Superman's self-control. He made him feel like a little child and he hated it.
"There's something that resembles a home ahead, we might find help," he said before he spotted it too.
With their luck, he was starting to doubt it. The world might have given them these incredible abilities, but it wasn't shy about throwing the worst possible at them. Still, Superman kept positive. As they jumped over the immense fields, he saw as Superman looked about in wonder. He didn't see much out of the ordinary.
"I grew up in a place like this, a farm. We spent the holidays there; you, Kara and me," Superman said when he noticed he was watching him. "No matter how many worlds I have seen, it surprises me farms can be found in just about all of them. Such fundamental necessity, yet overlooked by so many."
"You grew up on a farm?" he asked wondering if that's why he looked so in place.
"You lived there for a few months while learning to control your new powers," Superman told him
Nooo!
The voice returned screaming this time. Then, in mid landing a giant hand made of dirt and boulders erupted from the earth capturing them in an iron grasp.
"I have heard of sentient planets, but I never-" Superman gasped before he broke free from the giant hand by breaking the fingers. He was fast to help him free him and both landed on the Earth before more hands started erupting trying to catch them.
Leave!
They have seen you!
They will make me hurt you!
Please stop!
He had been hearing this world and he knew it was not bad, merely being used by someone. For a moment, he wondered if it was H'El, but it didn't seem right.
Please stop!
"She is crying," he said evading another hand.
"She?" Superman asked as he broke through the earthly hands like a wrecking ball.
"The planet!" he shouted evading more of the hands.
But it wasn't a her, right? It was the world… but it had a mind? He could feel her pain and frustration all around them. It was similar to how he felt when taking the barrier down. Either way, they opted for running away, a rare sight. They hurried in jumps towards the house they had spotted earlier.
"She is being used!" he said on the weeping voice's defense as from the once peaceful plains creatures made out of earth started to emerge. They had no eyes to speak of, just large mouths filled with teeth made out of boulders. They were the owners of the giant hands. They caught up with them and had him on hold with two hands trying to crush him. He faced the eyeless being and tried to free himself.
Make it stop, please.
He could feel so much more every time he heard that weeping voice. He could feel a longing for something good, not this. He had to help her. Next thing he saw was the creature tore in half. The remains were covered by a red essence which he knew belonged to him.
"Your powers are back!" Superman said as he knocked more of the giants back.
"Not entirely," he said with a smirk. He could now feel the armor was damping his powers, like a cloak restricting his movements. Still, he had gained enough control to rip apart the remaining giants.
They hurried the rest of the way to the home. They made it to the entrance but the moment the door opened they met with a warp that pulled them in. They were again dropped somewhere, but this time it was no peaceful hills. They met with a graveyard of ships and naked skeletons from beings he couldn't start to name. The earth had a poisonous green tone. Fuel and decay from the ships stained everything. He could hear her weep for the loss of that once beautiful place.
They could fly in this new location and they discovered in great time. The skeletons, earth and pieces of ships started to rattle like snakes ready to strike. They started fussing into creatures with wings, large claws, and fangs. They screeched like banshees as they launched at them in the sky. When he hit them, he felt the bones crumble, the metal twist and the earth groan as in pain. He heard one after another crash to the ground.
"Superboy look!" he heard Superman shout before they saw those they had already defeated start assembling themselves again.
They fought on, but it seemed every time they knocked one down, two more were formed. They were actually getting overwhelmed and he could feel his senses slipping. He was glad they weren't actual living beings. His temper was slipping every time one of them actually managed to land a hit on him, and it was happening more often by the minute. It didn't help he could hear that world cry the whole while.
Make it stop!
He landed on the ground pinned by the beasts. They pulled at the armor and his skin trying to tear him apart. His face was shoved to the dirt the moment he attempted to use the heat vision. The moment his flesh touched the earth he could hear her ten times louder. She was begging for release of this torturous task which she despised with all her being but was unable to stop. She was calling for someone to help her.
"I am here!" he shouted before slamming his palms on the bare ground.
All he could hear at first was static. It made his bones shiver. He called out to her. He could sense her all around them, squirming at the edges of his mind. She was a consciousness of that godforsaken world. He called to her as more of those creatures dug their claws into his flesh.
"I am not your enemy!" he told her. She was confused. No one before had been able to communicate with her. He asked about the pain she felt and told her of the pain he was feeling at that time. Not because of the creatures she had created, but because he needed to go back home or there wouldn't be a home to return to. He begged her to let him in and let him help her. He felt it then, like a beating heart, a whispering voice which was getting louder.
"Let me help you!"
Then he felt a roaring shout claiming a wish to be free again. It bathed this other sense with warmth.
All around him he saw red as the world exploded in lights and the creatures they had been fighting before fell apart. Someone pulled his exhausted body from the pile of dirt, bones and metal.
"Well done Kon," Superman told him as he helped him to his shaky feet.
"It was her," he said after taking a deep breath.
"Her?" Superman asked as the world around them changed. The ships and bones were being absorbed by the world.
"This world… it is all part of a device. She was created to be a haven for the sick and weakened. A secure shelter where one could heal undisturbed. She was stolen, by the pirate you defeated probably. They corrupted her and transformed her into a murdering prison. She has hated herself ever since. We have to save her," his task wasn't over yet.
"Agreed, but first we need to find a way out," Superman said looking around.
"She showed me the way. She hasn't trusted anyone or herself in a long time so it wasn't easy for her," he understood her perfectly. He dug his hands into the barren world searching for the beating heart. The world shook again. Superman seemed ready to fight another battle, but he had no need to worry. A moment later he pulled from the ground a giant metallic sphere; the heart.
He placed his hands on it and leaned his forehead against the cold metal and asked her just to open up herself just a little more to remove the tumor which had tormented her for too long.
It's going to be alright girl. I know it's not easy forgiving yourself for things of the past. The one that did this to you is long gone, now is time for you to give yourself a new chance. I know is scary to start all over again and dive into the great unknown, but is the time you return to your better self. I will be here to help you. I will remove every protocol that monster put on you. I know it hurts, but I know we can do it.
And he heard a laugh in the wind and thank you on the grass that started growing around them.
"Her core remained corrupted even after you got that pirate, now she is truly free," he said to Superman, who looked amazed as the terrain changed even further to resemble a paradise.
"Amazing," Superman said before the core started being absorbed into the ground, and deep into its center.
"It's all her," he said before he realized he was smiling. He couldn't remember the last time he smiled. I will come back. He told her. She was an amazing being. He would make sure to always remember that day because one day he would have to do the same. He knew there would be monsters for him to face as well if he kept pursuing the truth about his origin. He hoped to have at least half the courage she showed.
A blinding light wrapped them, it seemed to thank them as they were taken back to where they started. They appeared in the chamber where they had been hit. Wonder Woman, Batman, Blue Beetle, and Thorax were still there. He was about to demand to know why they had stayed there waiting for them.
"How long have we been gone?" Superman asked slightly worried.
"Around two minutes," Batman said.
"It felt like days," Superman said with a frown. So time ran differently in that strange little world.
"Isn't that convenient?" Thorax said.
"Two minutes can make quite a difference," Wonder Woman, who had once again joined them said.
"The universe is still one piece, let's not waste any more time and get going," Superman said before they heard a ping from the communicators.
"I couldn't get Kara," Flash said through the communicators, "H'El interfered and sent me to the Watch Tower. I was able to take apart some of the pieces from their machine, but that will only buy us so much time."
"How is Kara?" Superman asked.
"Superman, I am sorry, but I don't think she is doing all of it against her will," Flash said, "she wants her world back."
"So do I," Superman said, "but not at the cost of this one."
888
H'El was telling her the truth. As she had assembled the Star Chamber, he reminded of the great day when he left Krypton in the ship designed by her uncle. She knew it was true because she saw the ship was really of Jor El's making. He helped her remember that great day when he left. All of Krypton had cheered for him. She had been there too, but she had just forgotten because of her long trip to Earth. He was gifted with the crest of their family. She remembered admiring him. He helped her remember all that she forgot.
A growl snapped her from her work to look at Krypto and Wolf. H'El had placed them in a cage when they tried to age the Flash on taking her away and stopping the resurrection of their world. They were too loyal to their masters. She thought glaring at them. Krypto she understood as he had been with Kal El since he was an infant, but Wolf was another story. The dark-eyed creature didn't so much as growl as glare at her… too much like Kon.
"They along with the rest of this world won't be of our concern soon my beloved," H'El said floating next to her and helping her place the last piece of the Star Chamber into place.
"I know you can hear me H'El!" they heard Kal El with their enhanced hearing, "we are going to stop you even if I have to bring down my own home down your head!"
"We won't he understand!" she cried out into her hands.
"Forgive him my love, soon we will be gone," H'El said holding her.
She could hear her cousin ripping through the defenses they had placed. Among them many monstrous weapons which had remained dormant for years. She didn't doubt they would be enough to slow him down, but of course he wouldn't come alone. She had been listening to them. Batman, she didn't worry much about. He was an ordinary man though Kal El always talked of him as if they were equals. Wonder Woman might be slightly challenging, but her strength would not be matched for hers. Then there were the two young ones she with the Reach armors, and finally Kon. She didn't care what Kal El said anymore. She would not accept him as part of her family. After remembering the horrors clones brought to her world, and family she knew it was impossible for clones to be any different.
The fortress shook to its foundations. She heard Kon scream for H'El to show himself.
"Don't push yourself too much. You are still healing from H'El almost ripping you in half," she heard her cousin say to the clone. Her blood boiled when she heard his concern. Why would he care more for that clone than her!
"It seems Kon has regained some of his powers, no matter," H'El said as he finished calibrating the coordinates. "I doubted for so long this day would ever come. This machine alone speaks of the wonders Krypton has to offer to the rest of the universe. It is indeed destiny that has brought us here to return and make a difference. There was no more doubt the moment I saw you again. Now the two of us will end this journey back home."
He reminded her again of the wonders of Krypton. How could she have been so foolish to take them for granted? It was all so beautiful. She felt tears running down her face the more she remembered. And it wouldn't cost Earth anything. She couldn't understand how selfish they could be. All they would take was the excess solar and electromagnetic energy between the solar system's planets to protect their vessel through the trip back in time. H'El told her he tried to explain that to them, but they would not listen.
Another thunderous boom sounded through the fortress, this one much closer in origin.
"Don't pay them any mind. They are no longer a threat," H'El told her with a smile.
"You think too much of yourself H'El!" Kal El shouted as he tackled H'El "you overestimate the lengths I would go to protect my adopted world and family!"
She had never seen Kal El so angry before for exception of when he got mad at her and left her behind. It hurt to see him again but she knew she had to do something or he would ruin everything.
"You have no right to talk about family! Your parents would be ashamed of the man you have become!" H'El shouted as Kal El grabbed him by the face twisting him back before hearing a crushing sound; H'El's cranium. That last remark made Kal El's eyes turn red before he raised his fist.
"Please don't Kal, we are so close!" she said taking hold of said fist. She hadn't realized it until the. She was of the few beings who could stop that fist.
"He has been lying to you, Kara. I have been telling you that from the beginning. Let go of me now. I will protect this world even if it means to hurt you," the red was gone from his eyes, and he looked, dare she say, sad when he looked at her.
"Let him go!" she felt a fist connect with her skull before she crashed face first.
"Gha!" she didn't get a chance to get up. The same hand took hold of her hair and pulled her up to face her nightmare "argh!"
"I don't care you are family," Kon's eyes were shining red as the rest of his body with his strange powers. Blood flowed steadily from his nose and ears as he sneered at her, "you are not hurting anyone else!"
"Kon don't!" she heard Kal El shout.
"Monster," she heard H'El say before Kon and Kal El disappeared.
H'El hurried to her. His nose was bleeding "are you…"
"Don't worry about me. Come," he helped her stand, "I can only do this with you."
H'El extended his hand as if reaching for their home and used his powers to activate the Star Chamber.
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If it wasn't the possible destruction of the universe, he might have called it beautiful. H'El had used his powers to move the whole fortress and leave them standing outside only to watch the end.
"Let's go!" Superman had said before they all started hurrying forwards.
He understood them then. They wouldn't… couldn't accept this was the end. As he flew side by side with Superman, another memory returned to him. He was flying over a battlefield; at the top of them was a dark sphere ready to fire at the world. This was not the first time he had faced the possible end of the world. He flew faster, even leaving Superman behind for a moment. They could do this. They had to!
"That thing will make the sun collapse, erasing the galaxy if we don't stop it!" he heard Blue Beetle yell from farther back.
"We need to trash the Star Chamber!" Superman shouted at them
"That sounds like a plan to me!" he was good at destroying stuff.
"Guys I need Batman and the Beetles back in the tower. Whatever H'El is doing is messing with the climate of the planet. We have more than a dozen cities and towns about to be swallowed by the sea," Flash said through their communicators, "and is just going to get worse by the minute!"
"We got the message Flash, let's go you two," Batman said motioning for the Beetles to follow him, "can you access the Bleed again?"
"Yes," Blue Beetle said before giving him an apologetic look. It was fine with him. They were strong but not in the way they could help against H'El. The next instant they had disappeared.
"You should have told Blue," Wonder Woman said flying by his side, "he is your friend."
"No time to talk," so she had noticed. It didn't matter. He would be okay to hear a lecture from her after they saved the world. He felt calm, and even a little brave at what was ahead of them. Maybe he didn't ask for this life, and usually got swept up by the momentum of the moment, but like hell he would let that keep him from standing up for his world and himself.
As they neared the fortress, they spotted the Star Chamber floating over the fortress absorbing the energy of the universe. Using his enhanced vision he spotted H'El and Supergirl managing the controls. He could hear them speak in that strange language, and wished he could at least remember that.
"He is feeding her more lies," Superman said with a frown. The next instant H'El disappeared and appeared in front of them. He looked at them with disgust and spoke in that strange language.
Superman had responded in the same language before H'El swept his arms in an arch sending waves of energy off knocking them off the air. He wished he had landed in the snow but the next moment H'El had pulled him towards him, all the while pointing at the crest of the armor.
H'El's powers were suffocating him. He could feel the prying at his own weakened powers. He could feel as he tried to rip the armor off him, but it seemed the armor was against it. After all, H'El wasn't related to them by blood. He imagined he was cursing at him in his strange language as he just seemed to get angrier by the second.
"Jealous much!" he shouted as felt as if he could feel the armor start to come undone. He didn't need to remember to know this man didn't hate him for being a clone, but because he was given the honor of wearing that armor. Even though Superman just gave it to him to keep him together, he still felt happy he had worn it.
"…disgrace and insult to the noble house of El that you wear that armor. I will stand for it no more," did H'El just make sense? He forced his eyes open through the pain. He touched the crest and allowed the armor to become undone. He was going to die if he didn't stop them anyways, might as well go out with his powers at full force.
"You are so fucked up," he said to H'El as he tried to free himself from his powers. Memories were pouring back so fast he had to fight unconsciousness, "it was all a lie." He remembered what he saw in H'El's mind at the beginning of that day.
"You are merely a tool created by apes who couldn't understand the greatness of Kryptonian DNA," H'El said with a glare "It's time to discard you."
"Whatever lets you sleep at night H'El," he couldn't help laughing. He looked ridiculous as he held onto the shield as if it was the most precious item in the universe as if that could undo what he truly was.
Next he was flying through the air. The northern lights were outdone by the green ray from the Star Chamber shooting into space.
"No life deserves to be thrown away!" he heard good old Kal El shout before he heard him land a hit on H'El's jaw.
"Thank you," he said just before preparing to crash.
"Ufff!" instead he landed on strong arms, "Superboy?"
He opened his eyes and saw Wonder Woman looking at him with worry. Not during the whole day had he seen her so worried. He couldn't believe he had forgotten the kind side to the woman.
"I am fine," he said before pulling back and looking at the Star Chamber, "Kal El will handle H'El. Let's get Kara and take that thing down."
"But Superman…" they could clearly hear the exchange of blows.
"He is angry, H'El won't stand a chance," he said before he started flying towards the Star Chamber. She nodded with a short smile.
He was back though he was trying to fight off the convulsions which threatened to overtake him. It was agony. He was dying, but the bad news for H'El was that he wasn't ready to die. As he flew, he concentrated on putting himself together. It was painful, like pulling your own teeth out without anesthesia and the deciding to give yourself a heart surgery. Everything hurt, and he knew it would be only a temporary fix, but that was all he had. The flight of a few seconds felt like a million years as he mended himself.
But he never screamed or stopped. He was going to finish that fight, no matter at what cost.
Superboy, you have to live.
He heard a voice. It took her a moment to recognize it.
Dr. Spencer? He asked.
I know you are burning with pain, but is nothing compared to the valor of your heart. You were not foreseen and that makes you our best chance of survival. You have to survive this day because your existence could not just shape the destiny of this world but of also of countless more.
The next moment her presence was gone. He wanted to reach to her but instead found his eyes going to the time warps which had opened just above the Star Chamber. It was almost ready to enter the time stream. Clouds of storms started shooting leaking energy. Just one hit of them and they would be history. Neither he nor Wonder Woman hesitated while flying through them. They were determined to reach the Star Chamber.
"I saw you coming miles away," Kara appeared before them. He motioned for Wonder Woman to continue.
"We have the same sense, I assumed as much," he had to stall Kara for as long as he could.
"Stand back Kon El. I won't allow your kind to destroy Krypton again," Kara said glaring at him.
"I could care less if you moved to Mars, Kara; I am only here to protect the people of Earth," he told her crossing his arms.
"H'El already told you they wouldn't suffer," she told him trying to dismiss him. He knew she was checking on Wonder Woman. She had already pulled her sword out to strike at the machine, but it was covered by the same force field the fortress had.
"Because the sun imploding happens in a blink of an eye Kara, he has been manipulating you. Don't you feel it now? His hold is weakened because he is far and fighting Kal El," he didn't have the energy left to break that barrier. If Wonder Woman couldn't pull it off, his only option was to convince Kara now and not later.
"Liar!" she launched at him. He saw it coming for usually rage made you clumsy, but his aching body didn't move when he told it to. He had crashed into the ice before Kara started punching him with ever other word, "I know you are a bloodthirsty bomb who will betray all real living beings in the world sooner or later. Unlike you, we are trying to save billions of lives!" She stopped and started taking deep breaths as he frightened eyes wouldn't stop looking at him.
"You have been blinded by him," he said as he slowly stood up. He placed a hand on his chest, over the red crest, "you know me, Kara. I am not one of them. Those clones, the ones who still haunt your dreams are gone. I am not one of them."
"You can't fool me! I know the truth! It has happened before! You just want to keep the work of your brothers and prevent the return of Krypton!" she hit him on the back with her two hands together. His body broke through layer after layer of ice until he landed in an underground cave. He heard her sigh in relief.
Oh, he wasn't done!
"I told you I don't care about Krypton!" he flew out using his powers to try to keep him together. He could feel the blood already boiling in his veins trying to evaporate. "I just want to save Earth and everything else! You would have done the same in my place! C'mon Kara! I know you are a lot smarter than that! You are a member of the House of El! You know when that chamber goes it won't leave anything behind!"
"H'El said that wouldn't happen! Why should I believe a clone over someone so kind, gentle and brave! He wouldn't lie to me! He just wouldn't!" she kicked him in the side, sending him to again land crash in the ice. She flew just above him, as in fear. Tears were threatening to fall down.
"Kara," he begged she had seen reason.
"Shut up! Your entire life is a lie!" she punched him again making his body sink into the ice at least three feet. "Your kind existed only to serve and you couldn't even do that. You are just mindless killing machines!" Each word was accompanied by another fist fueled by rage. He could also sense her fear. She doubted. Finally, she pulled back and he sat up.
"If I am the killer, why are you the one throwing all the punches?" he stood up again, and he wished his legs weren't shaking so much. He didn't have much time left. He was starting to become undone again.
"I... I am doing the right thing… for my world and myself! Pl…please… don't force me to… just… just stay down! We will be gone in a few minutes and you two can forget about us. Your world will be fine, I swe-"
"You… you know those are lies better than me Kara, you were taught by one of the greatest minds in Krypton," he told her reaching for her. He wasn't really that good at it, but he had to try to break the control H'El had over her.
"Don't tell me what I think!" she threw a punch that sent him to crash against an ice wall, "I know H'El and me are… he wouldn't ask me to do… if it wasn't the only way to…Enough!" she picked him up by his collar and sneered at him. "You aren't even supposed to exist Kon El. A clone's life for those of an entire world is no choice at all. Just go and… and I won't have to…" but tears were already running down her face. She had her fist ready to punch him.
"I am not leaving Kara. This world is all I have and if I have to die to protect it, I will," he understood her, but that didn't mean he would give in. Krypton was gone, but the Earth was still there. She greeted her teeth and prepared to hit him.
He couldn't really tell what happened. All he saw was a flash of color and then Kara crashing much like he had been doing lately.
"Go, Kon, I will take her on," Wonder Woman said standing between them.
"Please don't-" he knew it was stupid to get between Wonder Woman and a fight, but he didn't Kara to be hurt that bad.
"I make no promises!" Wonder Woman had said before she launched at Supergirl.
At that moment, his body chose to drown his mouth with his own blood. He couldn't believe there was still some of the stuff left.
"Hurry!" Wonder Woman shouted as she kept Kara from further attacking him.
He flew back to the Star Chamber. The time warping was getting worse. The Star Chamber was in its final countdown.
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ONE MORE TO GO!