Last Daughter of Krypton: Legion IC

[ChasNicollette]

Element Lad, Aztek. Medbay.

She quirked an eyebrow under the cowl. Jan wasn't one of the outgoing type, but she did detect a bit of humor in his tone. She let a slight smile cross her lips as she said "I know I have been down too long," she focused and felt her. She felt the the Empress. "I have her in my sights. Shall we gather the team and make war upon her?"

She strode out of the Med bay towards the meeting hall. Vi let out a low whistle. "Mommas got new toys and a sproking mad on to use them. I feel sorry for the Empress when Dawny gets her hands on her."

"I cultivate compassion for all living things," Jan pointed out to Violet. "And yet even I cannot help but think that The Empress' karma just walked out of here in pinions and cowl. Karma describes what is. And this is what The Empress has earned. (The wages of sin.)"

He glanced then at Cuatro. "Come, Aztek."

"Unless I am much mistaken, we shall have souls and bodies both to minister in The Wake of Dawn."

Aztek shook his head incredulously, but then nodded firmly. "Right behind you."

And the two priestly LSHers tracked Dawnstar, for a change.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Dream Girl, Brainiac 5, VM3, Lightning Lad, et al. Assembly Hall.

Caroline looked at Dream Girl for a moment, perhaps to wait and see if there was anything more to be told, but after another moment the golden-haired Legionnaire sped away faster than mortal eyes could follow. Something important was happening or was about to happen, but there were a few things that Powergirl needed to do before heading out.

Nura met Powergirl's gaze: there was nothing more to say, Nura already knew what would happen next. And then Caroline was gone--

Nura let her eyes sink closed, and murmured: "Wait for it..."

Caroline backtracked to the Hall and located Brainiac 5. Without missing a beat, she came right up to him and pulled him in for another kiss, only this time she wasn't doing it to prove a point or show off or anything.

This was real.

It was the kind of kiss that made Caroline's leg kick up a bit, and she leaned in to him with one arm against his back and the other behind his head.

Querl Dox could think fast. He lacked the speed of Shakespeare or Ognats or Harrison or--

--but he was from their processing speed quantum leaps removed.

While he could not, physically, approach the speed of light, he exhibited the cognitive equivalent of near-superluminal velocity.

And when one approaches the speed of light without the benefit of transwarp or Stargate or Threshold technology, thankyew Einstein, time slows down.

Caroline's lips met Querl's and his eyes slammed shut and his brain raced so very very very fast that time. Screeched to a halt. And she stayed.

And time-- even to his internal chronometer --refused to tick on.

She finally pulled back just a bit, resting her forehead against his with her hands tightly grasping his.

Time shuddered back to a start, his watch unstopped, he remembered to breathe, and his eyes popped open wide.

"Harrison. Caroline. I-- I--"

"I have to go. Just wanted to make sure I said goodbye," she said with a smile, and just as quickly as she arrived she was gone, leaving a small gust of wind behind to mark her departure.

Okay... so maybe there was only one thing she had to do before leaving.

He stood there gazing after her residual atmospheric displacement, one hand held up awkwardly halfway to nowhere as if about to reach for her or to wave goodbye.

Somewhere in the distance, he apprehended the sound of Wildfire's voice whooping: "YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAHHHH! BRAINY! GO GET IT!" ...but he didn't even react, he just turned those half-curled fingers towards himself, and almost-- almost-- touched his mouth.

And then he smiled. A soft little smile. A smile he would absolutely deny later until he was teal in the face, but a smile nonetheless.

And, apropos of seemingly nothing, he turned on his forcefield belt. As if keeping the residue of Powergirl's kiss from evaporating-- like a firefly in a jar.

Watching pink-cheeked and softly grinning from afar, Jaymie Greystone nibbled the fingertips of her new armor's gloves.

Lightning Lad leaned in beside her, grinning softly. "You know, there was a legend once that Kryptonians had the power to wipe a person's memory with some kind of super-kiss. Considering that Brainy's basically all memory, I think we've lost him."

Valkyrie M3 stared at him for a moment, then frowned. "You're sprocking with me. I know the legends, that's why they had me tell the backstory before. Super-memory-deletion kiss, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

Garth grinned madly. "New duds came with extra vertebrae, huh? Yeah, no. Maybe I'm sprocking with you. Maybe I am."

VM3 harrumphed. "You just let him enjoy this. He doesn't have positive emotions ever, you let him just enjoy this just this once or I will put cold water down your pants forever, transuit or no, and I don't care what the 'legends' say about your 'lightning rod' that can't be good for your positive emotions."

Lightning Lad nodded slowly, though his grin never wavered. "Okay. Cool."

"Respect."

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

I was smiling when my old friend took my daughters hand. They left, a green and blue blur that arched off into the night.

"May you find the happiness that your mother and I found, my child." I whispered.

These children, these bright stars and being of power, they were something to behold. They were not going meekly into the night, nor were they charging recklessly off to battle. They would be fine without me. I was needed elsewhere.

Shadows moaned around me, and I appeared in a place that I had not visited for ten millennium.

I didn't feel the cold, and ignored the wind. Before me rose the last piece of a dead world. The last gift of her father brought forth in a crystal seed.

The Fortress of Solitude stood before me.

It was not my task to wake up my old friend. I knew this, just as I knew that Zod was not in our universe anymore. Things were coming to a head. Heaven was nearby, completing the task he was assigned. We knew where each of us was now. This was the end days. This was the reckoning.

I just hope the earth would make it through these times that were upon us.

 

[ChasNicollette]

(( Out of Continuity. ))

Shvaughn couldn't help herself, and besides it wasn't fair that Querl should withhold from the team. "Excuse me," the voice came from the intercom system, "That was a very nice simulation, however a certain teammate has been holding informational cards to his chest and I just happen to have access to those files."

Brainiac Five snorted noisily, flinging his hands up in the air. "My datasticks were nowhere near my pectorals for the record. I have just been busy beyond my ability to multitask and uploading update patches to the training regimen was, as priorities go, barely a positive integer-- I'm not required to explicate or excuse myself, Erin, not even to you."

She paused to annoy them then continued. "If I may continue the simulation with the accurate data?" Not waiting for a reply she brought the simulation back online.

Querl put his back to a wall, crossed his arms, and pouted hard. "Philistines. Everywhere I go. Philistines."

Too high to have heard the little sprock the persuader noted the glow points. Stupid nanites. He made strokes over himself as if he were shaving with the axe. The nanites sizzled and died. The Persuader plummeted through the atmo, angling himself into air traffic. As he fell past an air transport he hooked out with the point of the atomic axe and piered the hull of the vehicle. The axe point tore through the hull but it had cut some of the velocity. He flung himself, breaking the axe free and landed on a civilian craft.

"Hello little victim." He said as he flung the screaming woman from the vehicle and began to arrow back towards the museum.

Tharok scrambled through the debris to where Mano was trapped. Micro lasers extended from several points on the robotic side of his body and began freeing the deadly hand so Mano could continue to free himself. "Remember that this is an amazonian museum. Amazonian weapons have interesting properties."

The remnant got a clear shot and fired through his robotic shoulder. Tharok tumbled away, but it was a controlled tumble. Auto repair functions were already online and his own nanites were replicating damaged systems. He would stay down until he was back to peak, but he would keep the teams internal communications online.

The Empress was in agony. Her precious had exploded and she'd felt it. She was going to make this upstart hurt just as fast as she could. She closed her eyes and summoned them. the helm and cloak of Fate. She rose, the helmet covering the fury in her face but not her eyes. She cast one hand out and an ankh shaped bolt of power flew towards the Remnant barely missing her with her dodge. The other cast out towards her fallen titan "Rise Validus." Validus shuddered and twitched and began to rise, a malignant green glow coming from the head dome forming into the image of an eye.

"Eye am online Misstress" came from the ordinarily nonspeaking lips. "I live to serve." And with that the brutish beast began grabbing at and blasting at the tumbling dodging figure. The Remnant kept out of the beast's way but it was not as lumbering as it had been. It had gained speed and an almost animal cunning.

At every chance Remnant fired the guns into the beast. They were hitting and hurting what had been Validus but all she was managing was to slow it. She had to keep every ounce of her attention on staying out of the clutches of the now ever slowing beast. She finally had it about to go down when out of no where something flashed in front of her and she felt the twin thuds as the barrels of the guns spun away. "Did you fraggin miss me babe?" came the growl of the persuader.

She also felt the other behind her. She shifted and drew the blades once more. One blade parried the axe haft, the other the themysciran blade Mano had borrowed. Mano's hand was a micrometer from contact and the simulation froze.

"Do we see what has been missed?" Shvaughn/Gear asked.

"Hrrrm," The Remnant rumbled, tilting her neck to make the cervical bones pop.

"Yes."

"Next generation of nanites will burrow deeper. Should have alerted Science Police to Persuader's ascent when had the chance."

"Should have taken Mano's arm off at shoulder."

"Should have shot Tharok in knees."

"Should have carved sigils into walls of Museum before announcing presence, interdicting mystical teleportation."

"Omelets. Eggs."

Cosmic Boy cleared his throat. "More to the point, Remnant? The Fatal Five is deadly one at a time, and together they're a Legion of Supervillains unto themselves. What sets them apart isn't their power, or their willingness to kill-- but the fact that they are, unlike so many assemblages of post-human criminals, an actual functional unit.

"I don't care how bad-nass you are, Remnant: this whole scenario is flawed.

"You fight The Five? We go in as a team."

The Remnant dwelled on this for a moment.

"...yes."

"Bat Family."

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

After J'onn had visited the Fortress seeking information, the massive crystalline structure had gone cold. It glittered in the distance despite numerous storm clouds raging nearby. Lightning streaked across the sky a few times, and as The Doctor and Daniel emerged from The Tardis, fierce winds and snow greeted them. While it might have looked like the massive crystalline spires would offer numerous ways of gaining entrance to Kara Zor-El's Fortress of Solitude, only a small path leading down towards its base was the true way inside.

On occasion it had been broken into, but defenses were put into place that would prevent any further intrusions.

Only a familiar face or a descendent from the House of El could gain entrance to its hallowed chambers and living quarters.

From within, a single "guardian" was aware of the beings outside, but it was fiercely loyal to Supergirl, and regarded them with suspicion.

It was aware, even, of Kyle Greystone, Wraith, as he appeared before The Fortress in a swirl of shadows, clearly uninhibited by the violent arctic weather.

For each of them... at least for the moment... the way was shut.

Another streak of lightning was followed quickly by rolling thunder, then again and again and again. Each time the boom of thunder grew louder and louder, crashing and rolling after each flash of light.

~ ~ ~

Caroline tried to fly as fast as she possibly could, her arms and legs stretched out to try and increase her speed. It would take a little while for the hybrid-Kryptonian to reach the Arctic, but that gave her plenty of time to think things over.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Ceriel. Brande's Quarters.

Ceriel of The Raven Host of Heaven had not hurried from J'onzz' chambers. She had stood in quiet contemplation of a life once lived.

And now she turned her eagle eyes to the ceiling, to the skies.

She could feel the thunderbolts crack across The Firmament, scorchmarks across the welkin, and this a storm not of her making.

She closed her eyes and whispered a prayer.

"'Not as I will.'"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Dream Girl. Assembly Hall.

Nura Nal clenched her own eyes shut.

And grasped at the crystalline pendant she had worn since she was a baby.

Not long now.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Zod, et al. Sanctuary.

As Zod's laughter echoed to silence, there in the glow of Kryptonite's verdant poison, the fire spread.

Unlike any flame of this world, unlike even The Ever-Burning Wastes in which The Pale Martians had been imprisoned-- the flame spread and spread and spread, living, hungry flames. The whole Southern Hive was alight, now, and the cities that had been like art upon the skin of the world, now these were a funeral pyre to the brotherhood of The Quarr and The Protectors.

There had been peace amongst The Quarr since the first of The Hivehomes. Peace that had been defended from forces without by the coming of The Protectors. They had been a people of peace and hope.

Now the last of The Hivehomes were crumbling into cinders, and the scent of burning chitin hung like blackened curtains in the air.

Zod ran his tongue over his teeth. Robbed of its lethality by his... benefactor... the aura of the so-called "Green Death" now seemed welcoming.

He glanced then at his lieutenants, Nam-Ek and Aethyr--

--as Zod himself had once fancied himself the heir of ancient conqueror Jax-Ur, bested by Sor-El and The Seven Armies, so too he had patterned his inner circle after Jax-Ur's. Nam-Ek, brute force and cool obedience, was like unto Non, Jax-Ur's strong right arm. Aethyr was like Jax-Ur's Ursa, ambitious, tenacious, and the knife held underhand on his left.

They were, of course, superfluous now. With the power he held--

--still. Waste not, want not. Might as well make use of them.

"Return to the epicenter of our arrival," he rumbled. "The core-fires will take you to Earth."

"Secure the Fortress of Knowledge, and the prize within."

"I have plans for her. Such plans."

Nam-Ek inclined his head in a brisk nod, silent and deferent and as you will, Lord Zod.

Aethyr smirked. "Try not to have too much fun without us."

Zod simply arched an eyebrow at her, at both of them.

"Go."

He waved his hand and fire leapt up around them, swallowing them, dragging them down--

--as he willed it--

--they vanished into the hellfires of Sancuary's geothermic lifeblood and would emerge therefrom into those of Earth.

There, also, to do his will.

In the distance, Zod heard four sonic booms.

And he smiled a smile that smoldered with the dark heat of his being.

 

[ChasNicollette]

The Doctor. North.

Standing there before The Fortress of Solitude, thus far unaware of Wraith's arrival or Powergirl's approach, The Doctor frowned skyward.

The storm that was gathering--

--not a natural storm. Not one in keeping with proper auroric discharge.

And then--

--then he felt a shudder, a subtle shudder, in the heart of The Earth.

Shoving his drink-cup into the snow, The Doctor dropped to one knee, straightened his glasses on his face, and popped his stethoscope into his ears-- pressing the diaphragm against the Arctic crust.

"D'you hear that?" he wondered to Daniel, whether or not Daniel was listening-- certainly Daniel had other things to worry about at the moment.

"It's-- it's the planet. She's just come over all, I dunno, queasy."

"What in the world could be causing that? Nothing good."

"S'like the core's out of alignment. Geomagnetic forces-- geothermal-- that-- that is extremely very not good."

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Zod's hellfire raged around Aethyr and Nam-Ek, but it did not burn them. Harsh tongues of fire lapped at their bodies, yet they were unharmed. This was the power of Lucifer given to their commander... the power to rise above even a demigod. They were pulled deep down, and trusting in Zod they were rewarded by emerging safely from the fiery pits of a once dormant volcano. The volcanic islands near Indonesia had been asleep, but with the arrival of the Disciples, their anger was rekindled.

Fire and ash spit into the air, yet the strangest of occurrences was two small lifeforms shooting up into the air, and they stopped to watch chaos reign down below them.

Dark smoke rose to greet them, but they were beyond reach.

They were beyond even the Earth's power to harm them.

Aethyr and Nam-Ek did not forget their purpose. They looked towards one another, and each nodded their head in silent understanding before they both shot off towards the Arctic, traveling at incredible speeds.

= = =

As thunder and lightning danced across the arctic sky, Kelex, the Fortress' most ancient guardian, finally emerged to greet The Doctor and his companion. It walked slowly, but with purpose, and finally stopped just a few feet away from the pair.

"The planets core is sick," Kelex stated, apparently having heard The Doctor's assessment. "It will take some time to recover," it added gravely.

"This Fortress is well-protected. I must ask that the two of you leave im-"

Kelex stopped its communication with the strangers as its link with the Fortress detected two life forms approaching from the distance. A third life form had been detected, but it was coming from a different direction and was moving slower than the other two. Aethyr and Nam-Ek arrived after just a few moments, and the dark-haired Kryptonian female allowed a playful smirk to grace her lips as she stared down the robotic servant of Zor-El. Kelex did not need to analyze the two beings to recognize their origin... or figure out who they were.

Aethyr kept her eyes focused on the robot, and Kelex was able to put up a protective shield just as she used her heat vision to try and burn him down.

"Is the best you can do?"

Although Kelex had been the primary assistant to Zor-El back on Krypton, it had picked up quite the attitude while faithfully serving Kara.

"We will burn it all down," Aethyr said as she turned her eyes towards The Doctor and Daniel.

"Every last soul," Nam-Ek added.

"Zod will not be denied," Aethyr continued as she curled her hands into tight fists.

 

[ChasNicollette]

The Doctor. North.

As thunder and lightning danced across the arctic sky, Kelex, the Fortress' most ancient guardian, finally emerged to greet The Doctor and his companion. It walked slowly, but with purpose, and finally stopped just a few feet away from the pair.

The Doctor straightened, pushing the stethoscope back into a pocket, adjusting his glasses, smiling softly. "Oh, here's a familiar face. Well, faceplate. Keeping well, are we? Kryptonian technology, eh? Robust."

He glanced at The Scion of Heaven. "Danny, Kelex. Kelex, Danny."

"The planets core is sick," Kelex stated, apparently having heard The Doctor's assessment. "It will take some time to recover," it added gravely.

The Doctor frowned. "Well, that doesn't bode well. I might have to do a bit of maintenance."

"This Fortress is well-protected. I must ask that the two of you leave im-"

Kelex stopped its communication with the strangers as its link with the Fortress detected two life forms approaching from the distance. A third life form had been detected, but it was coming from a different direction and was moving slower than the other two. Aethyr and Nam-Ek arrived after just a few moments, and the dark-haired Kryptonian female allowed a playful smirk to grace her lips as she stared down the robotic servant of Zor-El. Kelex did not need to analyze the two beings to recognize their origin... or figure out who they were.

The Doctor frowned, tugging his glasses off of his face and pocketing them.

"Here's another couple of familiar faces. Blimey, it's like 'This is Your Life.'"

Aethyr kept her eyes focused on the robot, and Kelex was able to put up a protective shield just as she used her heat vision to try and burn him down.

The Doctor scowled in protest. "Oh, hey, steady on! That's a fine 'how-do-you-do.' That's about the best robot I've ever met that's not a dog or an air elemental, keep your eyes to yourself!"

"Is the best you can do?"

Although Kelex had been the primary assistant to Zor-El back on Krypton, it had picked up quite the attitude while faithfully serving Kara.

(The Doctor grinned, at that. While the Doctor rather misliked "funny robots," again, well, that weren't dogs-- it was okay if the robots developed their smartaleckery on their own terms rather than being forcibly programmed therewith.)

"We will burn it all down," Aethyr said as she turned her eyes towards The Doctor and Daniel.

"Every last soul," Nam-Ek added.

"Zod will not be denied," Aethyr continued as she curled her hands into tight fists.

The Doctor slipped his hands into his pockets, gazing up at the two Kryptonians.

"No, see, that's where you're wrong," The Doctor murmured. "That's where you're completely wrong. Because he's been denied before, hasn't he? Denied and denied and denied."

He stepped forward a bit, meeting their glares as though he was invulnerable as they were-- he wasn't, of course, he was barely less vulnerable now to these flying juggernauts than he was when he'd been human, and yet --he didn't even flinch.

"I remember you," he reminded Aethyr. "Didn't my daughter already kill you once? Oh, this isn't gonna end well for you. Best pack it in now, before history repeats itself, and you get burnt down all over again."

 

[AmenRa]

Harbinger

He could've have gotten lost in this kiss.

His lips touching hers. He felt her against him as much as he felt her inside him.

It was natural for his psyche to reach out to her, to touch her own, to bond with her, to meld with her, to become one.

Such was the beginning of the sharing of one's self. The Martian way. Physical enjoyment was secondary, and there would be time for that, in it's natural progression, but first there was the mind.

J'onn had begun this journey as he touched her there. Just so as one of his hands found its way into her hair and another clasped so delicately, yet firmly, upon her hip, he had begun the trek that would take them both beyond incomprehensible bliss.

And then....

PAIN.

White hot, then blue hot, searing and burning its way into his mind, his body.

The Manhunter broke the kiss, pushing himself away from Liz even as he stumbled back and grabbed his head with both hands. He called out, a cry of agony, of despair.

J'onn J'onzz doubled over and nearly fell onto the floor. He was holding his head in his hands, his eyes closed, and he gasped for breath.

As quickly as it came, it went. He let go of his head, his psychic powers still trembling and reeling from the onslaught. Slowly he stood upright and opened his eyes.

"It was like a billion voices crying out at once," he told his beloved, "and then were suddenly silenced."

He looked long at her, his face a mask of uncertainty. "I feel something terrible has happened."

And then another discovery forced its way into his mind. J'onn J'onzz was a knower of things. Such were the powers of the Green Martians. And in the instant that J'onn had revealed the cause of his mental and physical anguish to Liz there came a feeling, a certainty, as if the first was only a harbinger of things to come.

The Martian Manhunter's eyes flared red and his Ring suddenly shone an azure light.

"There is trouble at the Fortress of Solitude," he stated.

He reached for Liz's hand to lead her from the Great Temple.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

"No, see, that's where you're wrong. That's where you're completely wrong. Because he's been denied before, hasn't he? Denied and denied and denied."

"I remember you. Didn't my daughter already kill you once? Oh, this isn't gonna end well for you. Best pack it in now, before history repeats itself, and you get burnt down all over again."

In most respects, Aethyr enjoyed toying with "lesser" creatures, but this man was pushing too many of her buttons too quickly. Even Nam-Ek was aware of his companion's rising anger, but he said nothing to try and abate her temper. This time they were in control, and without Kara Zor-El to interfere, they truly believed that nothing could stand in their way. Using her incredible speed, Aethyr moved to wrap her hand around The Doctor's throat, but Kelex reacted just as quickly, and his protective shield managed to prevent the female Kryptonian from harming him.

By protecting Jamie, however, Kelex left himself open to an attack by Nam-Ek, who used his heat vision to burn at the robot's body and knock it down.

Nam-Ek then turned towards the crystalline Fortress, but when he blasted away one spire, two more rose to take its place.

The Fortress had been invaded on a few occasions, but over the years its defenses had been strengthened, and as the two Kryptonian warriors began their assault, those defenses were called upon. An army of robot warriors emerged from within the Fortress of Solitude, and while they couldn't completely match their opponents' strength, they could at least wear them down through sheer numbers. Some of the robots were able to use heat vision, while others could breathe out cold air to try and freeze Aethyr and Nam-Ek into place. Batting away the robots, the two Disciples took to the skies to fight more effectively. Through it all they kept up their assault on the Fortress itself, but quickly discovered that gaining access to its sacred halls would not be an easy task.

~ ~ ~

As Powergirl drew closer to the Arctic, she stopped in mid-air when she saw just how dark the skies were up ahead. Even she knew that that wasn't normal. Steeling her nerves, she shot forward again, rocketing towards the Fortress at an even faster pace than before.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Zod, Var-Sen, Raya, et al. Sanctuary. Two Steps From Hell.

In the distance, Zod heard four sonic booms.

And he smiled a smile that smoldered with the dark heat of his being.

They landed, the four of them, in puffs of ash and dust. The Protector, The Protectors.

The House of Sen: Var-Sen, Raya-Sen, and their two children, nearly grown now despite their lifespans having been elongated by Sanctuary's pristine environment and warm gold sun.

Dark-haired Rose Var-Sen's hands were over her mouth, and the firelight gleamed in the tears on her cheeks. She wore black, like her father.

Blond and broad-shouldered Zor-Sen had his hand on his sister's back, and his expression was grim. He wore pale blue, like his mother.

Var-Sen strode forward, shoulders bunched with the weight of his adopted world, gazing out with impossible eyes at all the devastation from horizon to horizon.

Raya was beside him, wielding a photonic quarterstaff the same cool blue as her battle vestments. While her eyes, too, threatened tears, tears of the world, these just burned around the edges of her gaze without being loosed down her face.

Var-Sen held up his hand to keep Raya from lunging into the fray as the warrioress she was, and his gaze flickered to their children.

"Zod is no-one to be trifled with under the best of circumstances, and his power now is beyond any even my Science can understand, power which has helped him escape The Phantom Zone," he shook his head. "And this is the bunker in which we have stored experimental Kryptonite samples."

"As we flew up," Raya noted, "I heard him dispatch his associates. They return to The Fortress. To Earth."

Var-Sen nodded, their course was immediately clear, and he locked his gaze on his son and daughter. "That is where you must go. Use the Gate in my laboratory, get to The Fortress. Defend that bulwark if you can, enlist the help of Earth's heroes, The House of El still continues amongst humans there, and in the heart of The Fortress--"

He shook his head. "Hurry."

Zor-Sen scowled. "Father. There are four of us, and only The General remains of his strike force. Surely, with our combined abilities--"

"--no," Raya replied simply. "Honor thy father and mother, my son. Honor our request."

"Honor," spat Rose Var-Sen, shuddering with her sadness and disgust. "What honor is there in any of this?"

Var-Sen touched the top of her head instructively, as though delivering a benediction. "You have been raised on the most peaceful of worlds, and you have been blessed by this, my daughter. Let not the taste of war taint your heart. Bring that peace to others. To Earth. To the fractious United Planets."

Raya presented Rose Var-Sen with a crystal, gleaming white, from an inner pocket of her battle vestments. "Know that we love you. And we will be with you always. When all is safe once more, place this node in The Fortress and our consciousnesses will be preserved alongside that of the visionary Zor-El."

Rose Var-Sen nodded helplessly: "I will. I will."

Var-Sen turned to his son. "And you, Zor of The House of Sen, named for our cradleworld's greatest scientist, you are your mother's son, you have her ability to do Whatever It Takes. Do this now. This is what it takes. But you must be quick-- I know not how quickly Zod's fiendish modus of travel will carry them thence."

Zor-Sen nodded, though it pained him to do so, and he clapped his father on the forearm.

"It shall be done. Whatever It Takes."

Rose Var-Sen took Zor-Sen by the hand, and the blur of their combined speed, they were gone.

Var-Sen and Raya-Sen each met the other's gaze.

They would say each that they loved the other.

But did it need saying?

They knew.

They knew.

...and then fire bulged and blossomed from the heart of the compound below them in the valley, and out of that mushrooming flame there arced The Destroyer Himself, The Scion of Hell. His figure zoomed to the zenith of the sky, and then he swooped low to hover there above Var-Sen and Raya.

Zod.

"So much talk," he gloated. "So much wasted breath."

Raya spun her staff to ready position.

Var-Sen clenched his fists at his sides so that his knuckles popped like gunshots.

Zod gestured to the compound behind him. "Would you care to step inside?"

Var-Sen grunted. "It is a bit hot in there for my taste. I know a thing or two about Fire. Just a thing. Or two."

Darksome, sulfurous flame coruscated down Zod's arms and gathered at his fingertips.

"Come, Scientist. I will teach you about Fire. I will teach you the rest."

 

[ChasNicollette]

GL 2261. The Face of Mars.

He could've have gotten lost in this kiss.

His lips touching hers. He felt her against him as much as he felt her inside him.

It was natural for his psyche to reach out to her, to touch her own, to bond with her, to meld with her, to become one.

Such was the beginning of the sharing of one's self. The Martian way. Physical enjoyment was secondary, and there would be time for that, in it's natural progression, but first there was the mind.

J'onn had begun this journey as he touched her there. Just so as one of his hands found its way into her hair and another clasped so delicately, yet firmly, upon her hip, he had begun the trek that would take them both beyond incomprehensible bliss.

She felt his mind even as she surrendered to his kiss, felt the fringes of the tendrils of his mind start to gently explore hers, just as they would soon, if uninterrupted, start to explore each the other's body. His mind was... warmer than she thought it would be, insofar as psychic phenomena were subject to synaesthetic effects.

One hand in her hair, one hand on her hip, his mouth on her mouth and his thoughts her thoughts...

And then...

...she felt the outer edge of that hot hot heat spear through his brain, felt it reverberate out to the fringes of his mind that touched upon hers, and even as he staggered, nearly stumbled, she had to steady herself against a glass case that held a small, clear, egg-shaped stone. The case was cold to the touch, frostbitingly cold, cold like liquid nitrogen, and the inside of the glass gleamed with thick, sharp jackfrost.

She couldn't think about that right now.

Liz was not an overmuch demonstrative person, but she moved now to tend to her love in his distress-- though he straightened before she got there, his deep red eyes full of pain and light, light that mirrored itself in his Ring.

He had received an omen.

There would be time later for love.

Now there was only Duty.

"There is trouble at the Fortress of Solitude," he stated.

He reached for Liz's hand to lead her from the Great Temple.

The white gloves of her uniform again flowed down over her fingers and she took that proffered hand.

"Then come let us shine," Green Lantern replied, and where he led, she went side-by-his-side.

 

[ChasNicollette]

The Doctor, et al. North.

In most respects, Aethyr enjoyed toying with "lesser" creatures, but this man was pushing too many of her buttons too quickly. Even Nam-Ek was aware of his companion's rising anger, but he said nothing to try and abate her temper. This time they were in control, and without Kara Zor-El to interfere, they truly believed that nothing could stand in their way. Using her incredible speed, Aethyr moved to wrap her hand around The Doctor's throat, but Kelex reacted just as quickly, and his protective shield managed to prevent the female Kryptonian from harming him.

The Doctor was lighter on his feet than most humans, catlike reflexes-- at least in this life --but his reaction time was wider than a barn door compared to the superhuman speed of the Kryptonian woman. She lunged for him, and he prepared to engage his respiratory bypass system so she wouldn't choke him-- but that wouldn't save him from her snapping his neck like a twig.

...but then, despite not knowing the man in the brown coat, Kelex intervened, the preservation of life foremost on his artificial mind, like Asimov's Three Laws... but at the cost of his own structural integrity.

By protecting Jamie, however, Kelex left himself open to an attack by Nam-Ek, who used his heat vision to burn at the robot's body and knock it down.

"Wahey," The Doctor snarled at Nam-Ek from behind the quivering force-shield: "BAD FORM!"

Nam-Ek then turned towards the crystalline Fortress, but when he blasted away one spire, two more rose to take its place.

The Fortress had been invaded on a few occasions, but over the years its defenses had been strengthened, and as the two Kryptonian warriors began their assault, those defenses were called upon. An army of robot warriors emerged from within the Fortress of Solitude, and while they couldn't completely match their opponents' strength, they could at least wear them down through sheer numbers. Some of the robots were able to use heat vision, while others could breathe out cold air to try and freeze Aethyr and Nam-Ek into place. Batting away the robots, the two Disciples took to the skies to fight more effectively. Through it all they kept up their assault on the Fortress itself, but quickly discovered that gaining access to its sacred halls would not be an easy task.

Standing aghast, gazing at the artificial life forms so desperately sacrificing themselves, The Doctor shook his head-- war was a song stuck in his head, and Death was his one true Companion.

He sprinted to Kelex' side, sonic screwdriver at the ready, running it over the damaged roboform and attempting to at least jump-start Kelex' own self-repair protocols.

"Danny," he called back to Daniel. "We've got to get in there! We've got to find a way, wake Sleeping Beauty before they reach her! Come on, you know how to roll a stone away from a tomb, don't you?"

********​

The Fortress' defenses were in effect.

Thus, when Var-Sen's Gate beamed a transdimensional matter stream to a clear patch of The Fortress' floor, The Fortress automatically redirected the stream to The Fortress' exterior.

Near to Kyle Greystone, Scion of Shadow, there arose a great white blistering light, and the outlines of two figures pressed through.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Zod, Var-Sen, Raya. Sanctuary. The Last Stand.

The battle raged, though it did not rage long.

Var-Sen surged up from the ground, but Zod batted him aside with a crushing backhand-- his strength was exponentially enhanced, superhuman and supernatural, and he radiated mystic fires that scorched even invulnerable skin.

Raya did not hesitate to press her attack-- she swept in at Zod with her quarterstaff aglow-- but Zod caught its shaft effortlessly in one hand, and X-Ray eyes flickered--

--one blow of his other hand, and an old break of her arm was sundered anew.

"AAAAHHHHHHNNNNH!" Raya cried out, and then Zod's elbow cracked into the side of her skull and drove her hard from the skies into Sanctuary's creaking, cracking crust.

Var-Sen surged back to the offense, pouring on Arctic breath to try and stem Zod's flame, but Zod laughed a brittle stony laugh and reached a fiery hand through the supercooled gust to sear his handprint onto Var-Sen's face.

"Hrrrrrrrrhhhh!" Var-Sen growled, jammed his thumbs for Zod's eyes, trying to blind him if only for a moment-- but Zod's eyes flashed with fires beyond even a Kryptonian's heat vision and Var-Sen's hands crisped under that gaze.

Zod's boot slammed into the center of Var-Sen's chest and drove him hurtling away--

--into the heart of the conflagration that was the laboratory bunker.

He crashed through to the bowels of the place, and struggled then to rise--

--but through the fire and flames there came the emerald glow of Kryptonite, and Var-Sen sagged, wheezing, as green death trickled through his bloodstream.

Raya exploded up from her crater with a roar, one arm cradled at her side she still twirled the staff one-handed, swiping for Zod, once, twice, three times--

--he juked left, he silked right, the third swipe actually clipped his ear and he harrumphed.

A fireburst like a small red sun exploded from his palm and Raya blasted away from him, her slight frame careening one way, the staff spinning the other.

Zod watched her fall for a moment, and then in less than a blink of an eye, he was there beside her, intercepting her, arresting her fall by wrapping his sizzling hand around the break of her arm.

Raya was not a weak woman. But she screamed again in pain until he rapped a fist across her jaw and knocked her to silence.

With less effort than it takes to tell, he turned and flung Raya to land by her husband's side.

Var-Sen growled through his agony, rage urging him on, but all he could do was crawl to his wife, cradle her head in his lap-- run his hands, no matter the pain it caused his burns, through her golden hair now with a touch of silver.

The Destroyer descended into the cavernous abyss into which he'd flung The Protectors.

As if taking his time, like The Biblical David carefully selecting stones with which to down Goliath, Zod mused for a moment, and then plucked first one Kryptonite shard from its broken containment, and then another.

"My time on Earth," he reflected, as he strode through the fires towards Var-Sen and his wife, "was blissfully short, as you I'm certain will recall. But I have this insidious voice whispering now in my ear of Earth's history. The Christ of The Christians, The Scion of Light, He is said to have been crucified, is He not? And then-- and then-- in The Roman Empire, the mad emperor Nero was said to light his 'garden parties' by burning Christians at the stake. I am quite certain you find the tales of this Christ as quaint as I do, but I think the visual metaphor will remain intact."

Var-Sen shook his head. "Your Faustian bargain-- no matter the power it brings you, no matter how easily we fall-- your enemies are Legion."

Zod smiled a slow, slow, burning smile. "Let them come. The more are my enemies, the more shall kneel before me at the end."

Two shards of Kryptonite tucked into his belt, Zod reached down and hauled up the two fallen Kryptonians from where they had sprawled.

"With me, now. You've put so much work into this place, I think you each deserve a front-row seat as I unmake it."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Zod, Var-Sen, Raya. Sanctuary. Sanctuary is Lost.

The planet was coming apart at the seams, now, quite literally.

Gaps in tectonic plates were forced apart by the unnatural surging of the hearth at the heart of the world. New volcanoes were sprouting, growing almost fast enough to be watched by mortal eyes. Earthquakes that defied The Richter Scale rumbled in the deep deep belly of Sanctuary's iron core.

Zod strolled through this chaos like it was a zephyr in summer, dragging Raya and Var-Sen with him as he went.

He found a hill overlooking what was left of The Northern Hive, a promontory cropping up towards the sky. He cleared that promontory in a single bound, and, with a noise of distaste, he threw down his burdens side by side.

...the last of The Quarr had holed themselves up in Var-Sen's laboratory, not far from here, the last place to catch fire, but that, too, burned now, and their screams could be heard even without superhearing.

Turning from them for but a moment, with speed and with insurmountable strength he carved two crosses from stone, erected them by driving them down into the earth, and, one by one, flung the fallen Kryptonians up upon them.

Chisled chunks of rock served as nails. One through each wrist. One through each pair of feet. Their feeble cries of agony split the growing night, and he took each noise as a point of pride.

Then, he took each shard of Kryptonite, and he hung one from Var-Sen's neck on cloth torn from Var-Sen's own jacket, and one from Raya's neck with a strip torn from hers.

When he stood back to regard his handiwork, Var-Sen and Raya looked for all the worlds like--

--like Smallville Scarecrows, strung up in Riley Field.

Zod gazed at them for a moment, and nodded his satisfaction: genius, after all, was an infinite capacity for taking pains. And, apparently, inflicting them.

They were close together, the crosses. Less than six inches apart, at the crossbeams. Almost... almost... close enough to reach...

...they realized this, did the lovers, husband and wife, and so they reached, reached for each other, strained against blood and bone and bond...

...they hadn't told each other that they loved them, that last time, before the battle. And their pained gaze said now, each the both of them, that they wanted too. Once again. Before the end. Before it was too late.

...but their lungs were full of smoke, their lips dry and cracked and bloody, their cells turned to poison, they couldn't breathe, they couldn't speak.

But if they could touch, one last time. Just... make... contact...

...that would be enough. That would say "I love you."

Zod watched this happen with a blithe, dismissive sort of amusement.

"Oh, now," he decided.

"Can't have that."

Zod held up his hands and drew them apart, and another seam carved up through the promontory, a schism through which lava emerged, and the hill parted down the middle...

...right between the crosses.

...out of reach, now.

...out of reach, forever.

This was the last straw.

So many years of Raya's long and interesting life, she'd spent in The Phantom Zone. She was no stranger to pain and to hardship, though her life these last thousand years had been a good one.

But this.

Last bereavement.

Was too much.

And she burst into tears, the tears that had threatened earlier now coming out in force, in droves, she sobbed.

Var-Sen could only gaze at her in heart-rent sympathy.

Could not hold his wife to comfort her one last time.

Then Zod waved his hand, and the fires from this last and latest crack in the world surged upwards, and both crucified victims caught alight, burned at the stake, torches lit in a night filled with pyrotechnics.

The fire that Zod had held back from claiming them in their vulnerability now tore their skin from bones.

Crisping and blackening.

And all the while.

All the while they strained again to reach.

But they couldn't.

As Var-Sen's eyelids started to catch fire, he took one long last look at his wife in her agony and then he closed them one last time.

And he was gone.

And they were gone.

Zod waited until they were just skeletal remains, just ashes to ashes and dust to dust-- this did not take long.

And then he turned and walked from that place, walked into the fires of Sanctuary and on to his next port of call, and as he walked he laughed loud and long.

The laughter of a job well done. The laughter of a soul beyond redemption.

His laughter echoed in that place after he was gone.

Then the planet cracked like an egg, and crumbled, asteroidal diaspora.

...as the planet's gravity, now divided, could no longer retain its atmosphere, the fires one by one went out, snuffed by space, and even the light that Sanctuary had been in death was no more.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Dream Girl, Wildfire, The Remnant, et al. Assembly Hall.

Nura trembled where she stood.

She glanced quickly around for a seat, but-- too far-- she'd known she would be--

--she was bleeding from the nose and she was bleeding from the eyes and even the shard around her neck could no longer save her--

--she stumbled and fell, just went limp--

--and The Sandman was there to catch her, in his arms wrapped in a trench coat and his hands encased in metal.

"Hey!" Wildfire roared, leveling the projection tubes in the arms of his new armor at this stranger in the gas mask. "Unhand the pretty, dreg!"

The Remnant had one of her guns in hand, aimed right between his mask-lens eyes.

"Wise words."

"Should be listening."

The Sandman shook his head, cradling Nura Nal with all the kindness in the worlds. "I was ordered to protect the girl. Those orders go beyond any threat you can make to me."

"She is of Dream, and Dream's property. I take her there now, and when she is well, I shall return with her."

"Be glad I do not take her by force."

...his sands swirled around both himself and Nura, and when the sands dispersed, they too were gone.

Wildfire lowered his arm. "Well. Sprock."

The Remnant echoed that opinion, lowering her gun.

"Hurm."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Elsewhere.

As Var-Sen's eyelids started to catch fire, he took one long last look at his wife in her agony and then he closed them one last time.

And he was gone.

And they were gone.

And then.

Var-Sen opened his eyes again.

He blinked them several times, both out of quite understandable surprise, and because it was-- it was bright in there. Not firelight bright, but-- bright. White lighting.

He was on the floor. He sat up.

He was in The Great Hall, in Kryptonopolis, on Krypton, its palacial ceiling so very high above.

Not far from him were the matrix resonator rings, for confining prisoners-- he and Zor-El had--

--and then Raya sat up beside him, blinking in similar bewilderment.

In astonishment, she breathed, though she should not have been breathing at all: "Great Krypton's Ghost."

"That," came a voice from nearby, over by a great expanse of windows looking out over the city, "is about as apt a thing to say as one could possibly expect."

Var-Sen twisted, shot to his feet, to find the source of that voice-- though he already knew who it would be before he found her.

There she stood, just as he remembered her, all in black with an umbrella hooked over one arm.

Skin as pale as moonlight's ghost, and hair as dark as midnight in mourning.

This was Death, of The Endless.

"Hello, John," she smiled at him. "Been awhile."

"Yes," he agreed, and he smiled back at her. "It has been a long, long time."

This was Death. And, well, Death... was not so bad.

Raya stuck up her hand for help up, and Var-Sen provided this, guided her to her feet. "I don't understand. What is happening? Have we been teleported, and reconstituted?"

Death's smile became fainter. "You have a pretty sharp brain, there, Raya-Sen, daughter of Ro-Zan. You'll get it in a moment."

Raya paused. And processed. "Ah." And looked at Var-Sen in bemusement. "You two have met before, I take it. She is very beautiful. Is there something you should tell me?"

"She was present just before our reunion in The Phantom Zone," Var-Sen explained. "And, no, it was not like that."

"Rules is rules," Death chuckled softly. "Speaking of which, it's about time to get a move on."

Var-Sen hesitated. "Wait. Do we-- do we get to-- will we be--"

Raya glanced worriedly at Var-Sen, and then at Death, sharing her husband's thoughts-- figuratively speaking. "--together?"

Death's smile grew at that. "Not usually. But. Just this once. I think we can make an exception. You're going to the same place, after all. In which case, shall we?"

Var-Sen held up his hand. "Not yet."

And then he turned and took his wife's face in his hands, and he kissed her, deeply and sweetly.

When he drew back, Raya smiled a little breathlessly, and murmured: "I love you."

He nodded, and murmured in reply: "I love you, too."

Then, then he glanced at Death.

"Now. Now we can go."

"I just needed to say it. We both did."

"I understand," Death inclined her head, and then turned to lead the way down the corridor.

"Now, come along."

"Rao's waiting."

"He's missed you both, very much."

 

[Wyldfire]

Unaligned space, Lantern sector 3

In near orbit Diana gave the command "Rescan the planet. There has to be life down there." She could not fathom what kind of power it would take to destroy those that guarded this place. The Lanterns alone should have been enough. Add the Thunder and the Daxamite and none should have been able to succeed in this level of carnage. Those that were kept here also should have still been daunting for anyone to handle.

The amazon at the console said "Done again ma'am," she swallowed hard and then almost missed it. "I have life Ma'am! Two signs, very weak."

"Take us in to them." Diana ordered, a bit of her old steel in her voice. "Get me my armor and my sword. Just in case those that did this are somehow cloaking themselves.

The ship continued down to the point of life. As it closed in Morenna gasped "What the sprock is that?"

Diana looked and replied "Hera help us all. They released Tribulus from his stasis cell as a last defense." As the ship continued down Diana looked at the great beast again and noticed the damage he had taken. Where those bite marks? Something as big as Tribulus had tangled with him. That must have been a fearsome battle. And one Tribulus didn't win. What could have done this?

Morenna was the first out of the ship when it touched down. Wearing the red body suit with gold stars, boots, and bracelets, she ran straight to Tribulus. The beast was a bit wrinkled from age and it's skin was pale. Morenna ran her hand along the clear dome that showed that parts of the brain had been damaged in the fight. "Poor thing, you tried didn't you?"

Diana watched the girl and was proud that she could show compassion to a beast such as this one. She and the other three women started to fan out to search. As they continued they were interrupted by a scream from Morenna. "Grandma, it's moving! It's shuddering and rocking!"

Diana flew to the child and saw it then. It was movement but it was Tribulus, there was someone under him. His prone position was more of a curl really. Like he had fallen on something, or put himself between an enemy and something. She grabbed at any part of the beast and heaved on it. The other amazons began to lend a hand, but it took Morenna, with her newly bestowed powers to make enough of a movement that one of the other amazons could scrabble under and she shouted "Two!" and hauled the first out. It was a girl in a red body suit with a yellow lightning bolt and yellow boots. Short cut blond hair a mess. So a new hero had been granted the powers of the Marvel family it seemed. The next was preceeded by a green glow.

Diana gasped as she saw Alan. He was withered, but the Starheart kept him alive for the moment. The girl and beast had sacrificed themselves to keep this Icon alive. Luckily for the girl she would fail in the sacrifice part, or Hera had accepted the act alone as sacrifice enough. She dropped down scooping him up into her arms "Alan, old friend what happened?"

The old man looked up at her. He coughed weakly before saying "They came for me little Di. Black Adam calling his lightning, Hitler wielding the spear of destiny, making those lanterns turn on each other, and then it seemed hell itself rose up. I did what I could, but the green woman with that eye came for me with the monster."

A seizure of hacking coughs took him. The green glow about him flickered noticeably with each cough. Diana knew he didn't have long. "They let our beast go and the two tore the place up fighting. Our poor old guy tried his best."

"Rest Alan," Diana soothed. "We need to get you to the candidates." The old man shook his head. "You have to see what they did to that nice priestess. They tried to pull her apart, but in the end," he trailed off pointing to the only partial building left standing.

"Hera's ghost," Diana whispered. Sister Andromeda was on that wall. Beaten to a bloody pulp, in a parody of the Christian Christ. They'd used metal pipes and drove those through her palms. And her feet as well. It looked like they'd done this to her while she was still alive and tortured her to death. They'd used her blood to write the words Witness Valor's love over her head. The tears were flowing freely now. She was beginning to take in the whole picture here. the bodies lying everywhere. This had not been an assault, it had been a massacre. All of these people died for what? For the power in her arms. Justice would be served for this.

"C-candidates," Alan managed. At that Diana flew straight back to the ship. She landed gently and went into the ship calling for her crew to follow her. The guards carried Thunder aboard and Morenna followed. The two guards put thunder into the bed that formed from the ship and joined the rest of the group.

Alan shook his head at the two guards and they backed away. He looked at Morenna and pointed a finger at her and winked, but shook his head. "You've got your own to earn." he said weakly.

He looked at the tube. At poor Donna. At the half moon over her face. "Think I can fix that. Open it." Diana did as he bade. Donna's chest started to rise and fall. He placed his hand over her face, not quite covering the half moon. ""Let the light of the Heart penetrate the dark places of ignorance and wrong, setting all minds right and overthrowing all servants of evil! I shed my light upon the darkness! Evil has no place to hide itself! Starheart goes forth to conquer!"

With the last words his hand fell away, seeming to draw the darkness away and into himself, the half moon appeared over his face and in a terrified croaking voice Alan Scott cried out. "What have you done to me?" Diana realized what Alan had done and dropped her old friends body with a crunch as old old bones broke from the fall. The broken Eclipso tried to touch her, tried desperately to take her. Then the light faded from his eyes as he took one last breath.

"Diana?" Diana spun and tears started to flow again, but this time they were joy. "How long was I out of it? And why am I doing an imitation of Beatrice?" She looked down to the green flames that surrounded her body.

"I will explain while we go after the evil that destroyed this place of peace and resting."

 

[Wyldfire]

Tasmia squinted her eyes, and at long last spoke into her Ring: "XS. What's your twenty? Loading Dock A? Should we rendezvous? It's just a metric kiloton of questions right now and answers... answers would be good."

Jenni answered "Loading Dock A. Looks like this might have been the exit point for the breakout. A few of our old friends may not have made the cut this time around. This so smells of a new LSV."

A green and orange blur came to a stop. "Okay, so we're all supposed to meet here right?" Jo looked to be in a better mindset with all of the fighting. "Let's kick this nass."

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Kelex, The Doctor & Daniel

After Kelex had been blasted away by Nam-Ek, the ancient protector immediately shut down to prevent any further damage to its main components. It maintained a link with the Fortress, however, and thanks to The Doctor's quick thinking, Kelex was able to initiate its internal repairs. A tiny spark emerged from the hole that the Kryptonian had created with his heat vision, but after a second and third spark the robot seemed to jump back to life.

"That hurt," the guardian stated, even though it wasn't really capable of feeling pain.

At least not the kind of pain that creatures of flesh could experience.

Kelex's sensors looked down at the sonic screwdriver and it understood.

It did not need to ask where he obtained it.

"I will... attempt to alter defense protocols... it will take some time... The Fortress is very stubborn," Kelex noted as another spark emerged from its charred side.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Aethyr, Nam-Ek & Powergirl

Aethyr and Nam-Ek were handling the majority of the robotic sentries with relative ease, though through their sheer numbers they proved to be more than a mere nuisance. The Arcane Sentries proved to be more of a challenge for the Kryptonian warriors, as they could take quite a pounding and still throw out a few solid blows. In addition to their powerful shields, the Arcane Sentries were able to fire out concussive blasts and even manipulate repulsive force to push Nam-Ek and Aethyr away from their bodies.

Through it all, thunder and lightning continued to torment the skies above.

Just as Nam-Ek used his hands to tear one of the Arcane Sentries apart, Kelex's sensors detected the presence of two more lifeforms arriving, followed by a third in the distance. Unlike those nearby, Kelex was able to determine that this one was not a pure Kryptonian, but rather a hybrid.

Above all... she was of the House of El.

With her superhuman vision, Caroline Harrison was able to see the attack on the Fortress from an incredible distance, and she planned to sneak attack the two villains while they were busy fighting off the robots.

Take it up a notch...

Caroline flew faster.

Her fists tightened.

She flew faster still.

Let's do this!

Caroline arrived at the Fortress and pulled one of her arms back as she angled her body for a powerful blow. Her fist flew forward, catching the side of Aethyr's face as she was caught by surprise. The dark-haired Kryptonian was sent reeling, but Caroline didn't wait around to watch her get back up. Instead the young Legionairre turned her attention towards the other combatant, and as he flew forward to strike her she grabbed at his arm and used his momentum to throw him against one of the crystalline spires of the Fortress.

"Power, huh?" Aethyr said as she came forward to confront the young girl, her eyes focusing on the Kryptonian symbol on her uniform.

"Do you really believe... that you know what true power really is?"

Nam-Ek stood up to join his partner, and both of their eyes glowed red as they stared down Powergirl. With the element of surprise used up, Caroline was forced to rely on her fighting skills to try and fend off the two villains.

 

[ChasNicollette]

The Doctor. North.

After Kelex had been blasted away by Nam-Ek, the ancient protector immediately shut down to prevent any further damage to its main components. It maintained a link with the Fortress, however, and thanks to The Doctor's quick thinking, Kelex was able to initiate its internal repairs. A tiny spark emerged from the hole that the Kryptonian had created with his heat vision, but after a second and third spark the robot seemed to jump back to life.

"That hurt," the guardian stated, even though it wasn't really capable of feeling pain.

At least not the kind of pain that creatures of flesh could experience.

"Yeah," The Doctor grinned faintly, impressed by the robot's strength of character. "I shouldn't wonder. Cheers for the save, though, thanks for not letting the side down."

Kelex's sensors looked down at the sonic screwdriver and it understood.

It did not need to ask where he obtained it.

The Doctor arched an eyebrow at that recognition, wondering what was passing through Kelex' cybernetic mind, but appreciating the understanding that then passed between them. He slipped the screwdriver back into his pocket.

"I will... attempt to alter defense protocols... it will take some time... The Fortress is very stubborn," Kelex noted as another spark emerged from its charred side.

"Well," The Doctor nodded resignedly, "wouldn't be much of a Fortress if it wasn't."

His eyes flickered up to the sky, darting amongst the chaos, the clashes of titans--

--now including the timely arrival of one golden-haired goddess.

"Fortunately," The Doctor murmured, "someone just turned up who can out-stubborn just-- about-- anything."