Supergirl: Identity

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

I took another step back.

This can't be happening! this can't be real.

I stopped, and studied the woman. Body and hair and general face were right. Accent was dead on. Her mouth was wrong though, and she was a slight bit taller.
No, this wasn't her. The dead don't come back. I should know this.

"My apologies lady. You reminded me," I paused and chuckled (which in my voice sounds ominous), "Actually you look almost exactly like the woman I loved many years ago, down to the Themysciran accent."

I walked back to the ledge and looked down. It seemed that this Batman had things under control. I had read much about him, so if what was written was true he would find help for the girl, and protect the lives around him.

I stood straight and looked into the older woman's eyes. It still tugged my heart to look into them, but now looking closely I knew she was not the one I lost come back.

"Do you have need of me? If not I will be on my way."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Valkyrie M

Batman barked at her, demanded that she shape up, and Rose's jaw flexed with resentment.

'You got my name wrong,' she wanted to point out, flecks of ice falling from her voice, 'What's the phrase, here? "Quid pro quo?"'

But she settled, rather than back-talking a man who could very well kick her arse, for flipping him the two-fingered salute with the hand that held the fire, making that rude gesture to the back of his head. Also, she peered past his shoulder at The Girl, arching a conspiratorial eyebrow at her: 'Who bluddy died and made this tosser King?'

Then The Girl faltered, and it turned out, to Rose's mingled surprise and horror, that The Girl was, apparently, Kryptonian after all. Ah, well. He told me so.

"This must be business as usual for you," Rose suggested blithely to Batman, hands now at her sides, unable, despite everything, to resist being a little snarky, "having super-threats fall to their knees in front of you, braying in alien tongues?"

Rose frowned, though, as The Girl looked really, really out of it. Even injured from her collapse.

"So, erm," she wondered, suddenly feeling a pang of mercy on The Girl's behalf, "how much of that stuff is too much? Little bit goes rather a long way, dunnit?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl

A strange kind of intuition occurred to Diana as the man spoke to her.

The fact that Diana was from Themysicra was a thing of public knowledge; Diana was an international "celebrity," after all, though she looked upon the term with a modicum of disdain. Not everyone, however, could pick her accent out of a crowd. Initially, it would sound to people as though it were Greek or more generally Mediterranean, but then elements of South America and Northern Africa would seep in, and people would look upon her bewildered.

She gazed at him, wonderingly, because of what she heard in his voice.

He was convinced he was telling the Truth. Was this the Truth of madness, of delusion? Or was he actually recounting past heartbreak?

Diana's mother, Hippolyte, had spent some time in The 1940's, time-traveling while Diana had been The Goddess of Truth and Hippolyte had taken up the role of The Wonder Woman. It was Hippolyte that everyone remembered as the Wonder Woman of World War Two, defending Patriarch's World from the Nazi menace.

But Hippolyte had only loved one man during her time in the past, a man called Ted. So, while Diana resembled her mother in more than one respect-- Hippolyte was taller, sturdier of build, more refined of facial features --this man, however far back his "past" might be, how many years "many years ago" might mean, he wasn't confusing Diana with Hippolyte.

So who else could...?

Another Amazon?

Not one of The Amazons of Bana-Mighdall, so recently returned to the fold. Their accent was far far more African than Greek and that would have torpedoed his recognition.

Diana bit the inside of her cheek as Wraith offered to get himself gone, but Diana now wanted the Truth of this.

"Wonder Girl," she glanced at Cassie, who was giving her a funny look, "could you give us a moment?"

"You want a moment alone with uber-creepy stalker-boy?" Cassie replied, face in a knot. "Uh, sure. Bellow if you need me."

The young blonde flew off, circling the scene below, keeping her airborne distance, but ready to swoop in if things started hitting the fan.

Diana faced Wraith more fully.

"Not many know this," Diana murmured, "but I am not named after the Roman goddess Diana, counterpart to Artemis. At least, not directly. There was a mortal woman, a very special woman: Diana Trevor. I was named after her."

She smiled a faint little sad little wondering smile. "It's possible," she acknowledged, "that I could be named after one woman and-- as I was sculpted from clay rather than born in the conventional manner --shaped after another."

Wonder Woman half-lidded her blue blue eyes at Wraith.

"You should tell me about Phaedra," she suggested.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

I looked up as the teenager flew off, obviously in a huff about being sent away so the adults could talk.

"Kids. They don't change now matter how many years have passed. Now, you wanted to know about Phedre. I will tell you what i can. Some of the story is fragmented, and some is classified, and I will not break the vow I took."

I walked back to some conduit and sat down, looking at Diana as she named herself, who walked over and leaned against the door leading back into the tenement. Completely at ease but also between the Big Scary Beastie (that was me) and the people inside the building.

"I think I should start with a simple thing. I do apologize for bad manners, but you did give me a bit of a shock, so I hope it is forgiven. I am known as Wraith. I was born here in Gotham a few years before World War One."

She startled slightly at the knowledge I was about a hundred years old, but not much. I thought she had guessed I had grown up in earlier times.

"In my time I fulfilled basically the same role as The Batman of this era. I kept the crooks scared and the mob angry. Hell, before World War Two kicked off Manny "The Scorpion" Scapanelli had a one hundred thousand dollar bounty on my head. I think he even crossed me off his Christmas card list. However I digress. You wanted to know more of my history, specifically where it pertained to Phedre. That happened about six month after Pearl Harbor."

The shadows around the rooftop began to thicken, slowly pulsing.

"Six months after Pearl harbor the Allies got some information that Hitler had created a force of being steeped in science and the arcane. He had created what may have been the first team of supervillans, and their sole purpose was to get him the power to take over the world. To accomplish this they turned to Black magic and acquiring items of power. It took about six months later for America to form a group to fight them. I was recruited by a Sorcerer known only as Dr. Fate. I was the last one recruited. The others were a man known as the All American, another man code named Hotshot, and Athena, who I would later know as Phedre. We were sent to stop Hitler any way we could. It took us ten years, and cost the lives of three of our team, but in Nineteen fifty-two we finally cornered the bastard and took him down."

I paused a second, monetarily lost in memories both horrifying and sweet. The shadows around me continued to flutter and twist. It was growing gloomy on the roof, a supernatural fog of Shadows manifesting as I dredged up memories.

"Phedre was special to me from the first. She was the first one to touch me. As you can see, I am not really a sight for sore eyes. She was special. Stronger than twenty men, faster than a deer. She had two things from her homeland. Well, four things, as she washed up on the east coast with basically no memory of who she was. She had a bow, seemingly made of a golden wood with a string that glowed silver. It produced it's own arrows and could pierce the armor of a tank. She also had some bracelets. They never corroded, and would not hold dirt or any other substance. She knew she was from a place called Themyscira, and after we had been together for about a year, she just sat up in bed one night and said 'My name is Phedre.' Thats the entire sum of her past that both of us know."

I looked over at Diana. She was focused on me, drinking in the knowledge I was giving her.

"Much of what happened in those ten years is classified, but I can tell you we fought the forces of that Evil bastard many times, and when we finally cornered him, he killed her." I paused then a moment, then continued, "She stopped a blow meant for me, and with one blow she and the child she carried were taken away from me. She died in my arms."

I stood then and looked out at the night.

"I left this world shortly after that mission. I didn't want to be reminded of what I had lost. I went back to Shadow, and have been there until about a month ago. May not seem like a long time, but for every year on earth, ten pass in Shadow. It's been over five hundred years for me since I walked this earth, and still I miss her."

I looked over at Diana then. I wondered what she would do with the information I had given her.

 

[Lunaramblings]

Batman nudged a button on his belt once more, toggling it differently.

"Diana. Can you get this Girl out of here. This is not a safe place. For her or us."

Batman stops approaching The Girl. Instead he responds to Rose.

"First, I saw that. Second, Tell your Aunt I said hello. You should take more of her example. John is aggrevating on John, let alone a young woman. A would be hero. Like yourself."

The Batman took a mental inventory. He had what appeared to be a young dangerous Kryptonian girl. He couldn't just strap this rock to her. No way to know how much would be lethal. But they did need to keep her out until they could get her somewhere safe. But where? The Cave? The Fortress? Themyscira? First things first.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Enter Commissioner Gordon

On the sidelines, a somewhat experienced individual watched with bemusement as Batman managed (yet again) to get the situation under control. Throughout his entire career in law enforcement, nothing surprised James Gordon anymore. He had seen the Joker terrorize Gotham for a while, not to mention the escapades of the Scarecrow and like.

The Dark Knight was always on the prowl, it seemed, and James could sleep just a little bit easier knowing that.

Though Batman had made it clear that everyone should stand back, he felt it his responsibility (and duty) to obtain some answers.

He approached Batman, whom was still holding the bit of Kryptonite in his hand, apparently using it to keep the young girl down on the ground.

"So what's the situation?" Gordon asked, standing (as tall as he might seem) alongside the Batman.

Kara, though weakened by the Kryptonite, had not fully lost her ability to function.

"I thought that stuff only worked on Superman," James added, noting the green rock in Batman's grasp.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Wonder Woman, Wonder Girl, and Valkyrie M

Diana did not want to seem rude.

She kept both eyes and both ears upon the goings-on down in the street even as she continued to listen to Wraith's story. She was not inattentive.

Artemis-- the aforementioned goddess, not the redhaired one-time Wonder Woman --had given Diana a modicum of sharpened senses. Slightly enhanced smell, touch, sight, taste. But her most powerful sense, most of all, was her hearing. That was formidable.

And thus she listened to Wraith's words even as she frowned at Bruce's employment of Kryptonite. Yes, if The Girl were an enemy, she would want to disable her quickly and cleanly, but Diana wasn't positive that this was the case.

Something about her instincts said "Little Girl Lost."

And thus she listened to Wraith's words, arching an eyebrow at him, briefly, as he mentioned his century-old birth to her. Immortality was not a new concept. Her mother, before she had ascended to take Diana's place on Olympus as The Goddess of Truth, permitting Diana to return to Earth as The Wonder Woman, had been many thousands of years old.

She knew of beings far older even than that.

It was the other concepts she wrestled with, as he divulged more and more of this.

A government-sponsored Black-Ops superhero team, she frowned, an off-the-books counterpart to such media-friendly assemblages as The All-Star Squadron and its own component teams?

Such things were also not unheard-of. The so-called "Suicide Squad" and The Ultramarine Corps had both been that sort of team. But she had never heard of one occurring so early in history.

Hitler dead in 1952. This sounded like conspiracy theory rather than a history lesson. Or perhaps like something out of Rose's DVD collection. John Hurt and Ron Perlman...

And then there was Phaedre. Or, closer to his pronunciation of it, "Phedre."

This was a bewildering concept to her. Another super-powered Amazon?

(As far as Diana knew, she and her magical "twin" sister Donna were the only non-honorary Amazons with actual super powers. When Hippolyte and the redhaired Artemis had each taken the mantle of The Wonder Woman, they had employed The Gauntlet of Atlas for strength and The Sandals of Hermes for speed and flight, just as Cassandra had when first she had become Wonder Girl.

There had been Grace Choi, of course, from the ranks of Bana-Mighdall. But her metahumanity had never been explained to Diana's satisfaction.)

Another sister lost from Paradise Island? Another time-traveler? A dimensional castaway?

And she had had bracelets not unlike the ones formed from The Aegis, the ones adorning Diana's own wrists. The style of bow was unfamiliar...

...but the spirit of self-sacrifice was not.

She would have to ask Doctor Fate about this, to corroborate.

And she would have to visit Olympus, to ask her mother about The Truth.

His shadows were eerie-- and she had no doubt the shadows were his --and they were intricate, but Diana was not afraid of the dark.

"Your tale," she mused, "has The Ring of Truth. I have a sense of such things. From... experience."

Without taking her eyes off of the street for more than a moment, she indicated her Lasso.

"Obviously," she smiled faintly, "without this enfurling you, I cannot be certain of your Truth. But I shall not subject you to that yet. I am told-- under circumstances whose honesty cannot be doubted --that the use of The Lasso can rob one of one's dignity."

She frowned softly, trailing her fingers absently through one of those shadows.

"I intend to ask around," she murmured. "And then I shall track you down, and we shall talk again. Perhaps positively, perhaps... negatively."-- and at this she again touched The Lasso --"I shall trust you to behave yourself in the meantime. Do not abuse that trust."

Bruce's little hypersound device rang in her ears, her superhuman ears, and somewhere up above Cassie yelped in surprise: "Agh! Batman in stereo! Disconcerting!"

(Cassie had a measure of Diana's powers, after all. It seemed their hearing worked on the same level, too.)

Diana chuckled. "It seems I need to throw my weight around. Before I go? Be careful. Whether you work in Gotham for good or for ill, beware that you dwell in The Batman's shadow darkest of all. And he does not share his city lightly."

She put one foot up on the edge of the rooftop, and glanced back at him.

"Wonder Girl is a good soul," she explained. "I think perhaps she objected to being sent away not out of insubordination, but concern that you might try to hurt me whilst her back was turned. She is very loyal, is Wonder Girl."

Diana's smile was faint. "I don't know, exactly, what I have done to earn such loyalty."

She gave Wraith a pointed, ironic look, a look that was both suggestion and lecture all at once, and somehow commanding without being totalitarian: "Perhaps it is because I try not to assume the lesser of people."

With that, she dropped off of the side of the roof and landed, lightly, in the mix with Bruce and Rose and Jim and The Girl.

She smiled respectfully to Gordon. "Commissioner."

She glanced at Batman, and at the wounded, winded Girl.

"It works on Superman," she explained, softly, with heavy implication, "and anyone else from his birthworld. (Is it really necessary to humiliate her like this?)"

Wonder Girl landed lightly behind Rose, who was fuming softly at Batman's belittling of her attitude problem. Rose liked her attitude problem. She was the product of her influences, after all, just like Bats was. And Bats had, apparently, had some pretty surly influences.

But at least he was kind to Auntie Zed.

(Except Batman would probably call her "Zee." Yanks never could pronounce the alphabet right.)

"The fun never stops," Cassie remarked.

"Tell me about it," Rose agreed.

"I have super-hearing, I guess," Cassie noted.

"Cool," Rose nodded, not unimpressed.

 

[Lunaramblings]

Batman tucked the nugget of Kryptonite into a small, lead-lined pocket on his belt. He fixed his stare, for a look from The Batman was rarely anything less than a stare, upon Comissioner Gordon.

"We will take the Girl. If things are as they seem, nothing you or your officers are capable of would do much use."

Batman did something he rarely did then. He ceded control of the situation. He trusted Diana. Even if he found the company she was keeping to be... awkward. He trusted Diana. And what he would never admit, was that he secretly, in his own heart saw a little bit of a certain nine year old boy in the Girl kneeling before him. He knew Diana could handle this. And he would content himself to let her.

Batman did not step down. He did not give any signal to those gathered. But he knew Diana would understand simply by her familiarity with him.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Wonder Woman, Valkyrie M, and Wonder Girl

The Amazons generally didn't hold a lot of truck with men.

For good reason. The Amazons' history with men, as a rule, hadn't exactly been smooth sailing.

There were, occasionally, members of the masculine fraternity who stood out from the flock. Steve Trevor, for instance. The Amazons did not impugn the honour of Steve Trevor.

But they respected a steady hand in battle most of all. A judicious soldier of great skill. Man or woman, a valiant warrior, capable of intelligence as well as force, this was the Amazonian ideal.

And Batman was one of the most respected warriors on Earth.

Many times had Diana heard with her sharp ears her Amazon sisters speak of Batman in hushed, reverent tones. And sometimes they giggled about him like schoolgirls, wondering what handsomeness lay beneath his mask and cowl.

That would make Diana smile to hear it, a little knowing smile.

Because she knew Bruce Wayne. Not just as a warrior nigh-unsurpassed, not just as a detective nigh-inescapable, but as a friend.

She respected him. Very much.

But still he found ways to surprise her.

And when here, in his great city, his tirelessly-defended domain, he passed the proverbial torch unto her hands, that caused her to arch her brow.

But she wasted no time on idle remarks. He moved aside, in the command structure if not in physical space, and she moved to take his place.

She knelt before the fallen Girl, and she smiled a smile of sodality.

It was maternal and it was sisterly all at once.

Down on one knee, she reached gently for The Girl's wounded palms. If The Girl would let her, she would take her hands, cupped gently around the injury.

"I don't know if you can understand me," she murmured softly, that smile never wavering, her voice modulated to be strong and yet not assailing. "My apparent gift for languages has never extended to tongues not of This Earth. (I have trouble, admittedly, with Cantonese. Let alone Kryptonian.) But I'm hoping you can look into my eyes and see my intent. I would like to take you someplace safe. I am not going to hurt you; I would like to take you to safety."

She smiled encouragingly. "I would like to take you to my Island. And then we can introduce you to someone who might be able, in all his brilliant capabilities, to bridge our little language barrier."

While The Boss counseled The Girl, Rose dispersed her waiting fireball and evapourated the icy mace. She then went and retrieved her jacket from that cop in case they had to leave in a hurry.

He gave her an unreadable look as he passed her the white coat; she just winked at him.

As she walked back over to Cassie, she caught Cassie muffling a yawn.

"You're up late, aren't you?" Rose chuckled.

"Don't you start," Cassie murmured, mock-balefully.

 

[Lunaramblings]

Batman understood the look on Diana's face. Puzzlement. Never was he one to hand over authority. Not in his city. But he was a tactician at heart. He understood that brute force, guile, stealth, these were tools of war. Tools he possessed in spades. But, only a fool rushes to war without a clue about his opponent. If he wanted to learn about the Girl, where she came from, what her plans were, he would not do so by fighting her. But if she could be made to trust them, perhaps some little detail would slip.

Batman trusted Diana's womanly instinct to comfort the girl. To put her at ease, at least a bit. They needed time. Time to figure out this puzzle. Very few forces in all the worlds could gather this much kryptonite. Fewer still could make a Kryptonian. She had to be a clone. Clark was the last of the once proud beings. But who was responsible?

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Kara Zor-El had been hurt, but almost as suddenly as the green stone had been replaced into a lead-lined container she began to feel better. She felt her strength returning to her body, her wounds healing up quickly. The blood she could wash away, hoping to never see it again.

An older woman, strikingly beautiful and exotic, knelt down on the ground in front of her.

Kara saw her reach for her hands...

And she let her pick them up, willing to let her examine them for but a few brief moments. Kara heard her soft words, even if she didn't understand them, she heard them. Retracting her hands, Kara still remained on the ground, her coat wrapped tightly around her as people continued to look on from the distance. The cloaked figure continued to remain nearby, and Kara eyed him closely.

She didn't trust him.

"I am searching..." Kara began to say, but then quickly quieted down once she realized that no one present could understand her. All she was speaking was Kryptonian, and the only one on Earth she knew that would speak it was Kal-El, and as far as she was concerned he was still just a child.

She needed to find him.

Commissioner Gordon, meanwhile, had folded his arms while watching the affair, and with the sudden arrival of Wonder Woman, he knew that there really wasn't anything he or his men could (or would) do. Taking care of this girl wasn't really a job up to the Metropolis Crime Unit.

"We will take the Girl. If things are as they seem, nothing you or your officers are capable of would do much use."

"Well I figured you'd say that," James said.

Aside from a few occasions where the villains were nothing more than pothead criminals, James Gordon and his men were usually left on the sidelines. The affairs of super humans wasn't their business, though they often acted as the cleanup crew.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

From my perch up above I watched the goings on with the blond girl.

I saw the Batman put something away as Diana walked up to the girl, who was on the ground, maybe unconscious.

I saw the girl sit up, as the Girl that was with Diana earlier (Wonder Girl I think she was called) walked over to the young lady that had asked me questions earlier, then taken off in a stream of flames.

I saw Diana kneel down and take her hands. It looked like they had things under control.

I stood, and wings expanded from my back. With a great clap I rose into the air and turned eastward out across the city.

I had time to explore a little more, then it was off to home.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Valkyrie M, Wonder Girl, and Wonder Woman

The great clap sounded, and it was not inaudible to Rose's ears.

She glanced up sharply, and she saw Wraith flying away, all but invisible in the darkness.

"Hey," Rose murmured. "I got distracted; did you guys have a close encounter with a scary winged guy, looks like a refugee from one of Marilyn Manson's worst nightmares?"

Wonder Girl chuckled faintly, sardonically. "Diana gave him a stern talking-to. Almost sounded like he was fixated; maybe he had an ex that looked like her."

"Huh," Rose murmured, "he had a girlfriend that looked like The Boss? Lucky guy."

Cassie made a sad face. "It sounded like she'd died. In his arms."

This gave Rose pause. "Maybe not so lucky."

"I know, right?" Cassie murmured.

Conner had had a couple of girlfriends before he'd started seeing Wonder Girl. One of them, the first and greatest love of his life-- so far, anyway --had died in his arms. Cassie had seen it happen...

(Her name had been Tana. She had been Hawaiian, and she had been beautiful.)

Cassie had long ago promised herself and Conner-- though The Boy didn't know this --that she would either a) never die at all, or b) never die in his arms.

There could no be no more terrible and shattering way to experience last moments with a lover. Cassie wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"I judged him pretty harsh," Rose murmured. "Books and covers."

"Jury's still out," Cassie pondered. "But Diana let him live, so he must not be all bad."

As the two younger girls were talking to each other, Diana was attempting to make inroads with the newcomer.

She stood, slowly, and smiled gently at The Girl.

"I don't know what you're saying," she apologised. "But I adhere to the philosophy that actions speak louder than words, regardless."

Diana levitated, her feet lifting gently off of the ground.

Kal always told me, she pondered, that his powers took years to surface. That they cropped up one at a time, as he dwelt in the golden rays of The Sun.

She's not been here long, I don't think, but already she's exhibiting powers.

(Based on the wreckage of that truck, anyway. I don't think Rose did that. That's not Rose's style. It must have been this girl.)

Can she already fly?

She held her hands out to The Girl, there as she hovered mere inches from the road's surface.

"Come with me," Diana offered. "Not all our worlds are so dark as this."

 

[Lunaramblings]

Batman made no attempt to further discuss the situation. Instead he headed to the two young heroes.

"Rushing in like you did is likely to get you killed. Your life is not just your's when you are out here. You rushing in and getting killed would have caused a headache for your boss. Tell Zatanna I said it's been to long." Batman spoke softly, or at least not loudly. It still sounded like that voice came from a nightmare. "I will meet Diana in Themyscira."

With that The Batman was gone once more. He disappeared into the night. From the roof of a nearby building he stopped to watch as events continued to unfold.

Batman toggled a switch on his belt.

"Watchtower... There is a vessel in the Gotham Bay. Wally, Bart, J'onn, I need one of you to pick it up and drop it off at the Cave."

 

[Wyldfire]

"You so did not send me here to watch this. This is as bad as sending me to deal with old man MaGee. You remember old man MaGee don't you?" The dark haired woman muttered from her darkened view point looking down at the scene. "Of course you remember him. You had at least one run in with him back when you wore spandex. Little old pervert. And you and Dinah thought it would be funny to make me have to deal with him."

That memory was burned into Helena's mind. Kind of like the image of walking in on Grandpa in the bathroom just after he had walked out of the shower. Yeah, that kind of bad.

Old man MaGee was a staple horror for any heroine in Gotham. It had started with Dinah's mom, the original Black Canary. She stopped young thug MaGee from robbing a drug store. Beat him pretty damned bad too, that had been the problem. She'd done this to him like three or four times before she realized that the freak liked it and was going out of his way to get it. Now even with him being as old as he was he was still at it. And Helena had been his latest crush. He'd begged her to hurt him. She shuddered at that memory. It was one of the many things she had to pay Dinah and the Oracle back for.

"Yes, we did, and might I add, you handled him better than we'd hoped. Dinah lost twenty dollars that night. She swore you were going to shatter the old man's hip." Oracle's voice came through the comm. "I was very impressed that you, of all people, would figure out the best way to deal with him was to not hit him. Dinah almost peed herself laughing at the look on your face."

Oracle sat in her tower watching the scene from the minicam in Huntress' headpiece. Bruce had handled it well for once. She thought that when he dealt with Diana's little clutch, he was going to have a seizure. He had come close a time or two back in the day when he had to deal with her. Barbara knew she had not been very good for the Bat's blood pressure. Especially once Dick hit the age that he had started to notice how tight that bat costume fit her.

Enough of that though. This crisis was over, it seemed. Dad was letting the big guns have the kid but there was more work to do. Oracle began running trajectory and ballistics tests on the meteor. Getting the data from the Government satellites had been child's play. Now where did this little piece of Krypton come from and what took it so long to get here?

"I wish I could have seen the look on her face. Do I have to go down there and deal with any of the clean up or can I get back to more important things? You do know you diverted me to here from stopping that drug transfer right?" Helena was itching to get back to that piece of business. It was honest business, not like this little spandex convention. This was business she could sink her teeth into, or more likely, her heels into. She hated having to deal with other supers. The Bat was bad enough, but when you brought Wonder Tits and the itty bitty titty committee into things it just gave her hives. Running around in so little. No wonder there were Pervs out there like MaGee.

Barbara could sense the tension in Helena's voice. Barbara knew that Helena was on point because of the other powers being in Gotham. Huntress could tolerate the Birds and the Bats being in Gotham, but she got down right pissy when others came to call.

"Yes, please go kick some heads in Hell. It'll make you feel better. Just try not to hurt them too badly just because Gotham got a little more crowded than usual."

An almost feral grin came over the Huntress' face "Yes, Mommy, I won't hurt the bad men too badly." With that said she turned and left the scene of the incident. There was real crime to stop in Gotham tonight.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

While the others were standing around talking, Kara could hear every word they spoke, even if she couldn't understand them. It would take a little while before her brain would connect the dots, filling in the gaps that her training should have covered.

Leave it to a great mind to leave out some of the most important pieces of information for her to learn.

Kara Zor-El, still huddled on the ground, stared up as Diana began floating up into the air. Her power of flight amazed the young Kryptonian, and she began wondering if it was within herself to be able to do the same.

Clutching her coat around her, Kara took a moment to consider the gesture this Earth woman was making.

Was she trying to deter her from her intended path? Was she merely trying to help out a stranger in a foreign world?

Did Kara really need help... from anyone?

"Where are you taking me?" Kara asked, forgetting momentarily that she was still speaking in a language that she reasoned no one could understand.

No one but Kal-El, at least.

"I don't understand what you want from me," Kara mumbled to herself.

Finally Kara stood up on her feet.

But she refused to take the older woman's outstretched hand, and her eyes reflected the turmoil that was still rampant inside her.

"I need to find Kal-El," Kara said, and perhaps she would hope that name might evoke a favorable response from those present. Otherwise she would be forced to continue her quest searching for her cousin.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Valkyrie M and Wonder Girl (aka "The Committee")

Rose rolled her eyes and then scrunched them shut, listening to yet another lecture from the flying rodent. (Which, hey, wasn't a scientifically accurate description of the speciation that defined the common bat, but it was fun to say and just disparaging enough that it went with her mood.)

Cassie rubbed the bridge of her nose, and tried not to feel embarrassed for Valkyrie M. The young woman, though older than Cassie and apparently having had powers for longer, was newer to The Life than she was, newer to the whole superhero gig. And thus, her exposure to The Bat had been limited...

It was always awkward when The Dark Knight took it upon himself to give one of his "lessers" a public dressing down.

Rose bit the inside of her cheek. She could feel it bubbling up inside her, feel the resentment building like the solar-plasma flame she generated on command...

"I would have hated to have caused a headache for me Boss," Rose snarled softly, her voice gradually growing louder as she went, eyes on the fists bunched in front of her. "But the way I see it, better me than the Bobby Peelers, eh? And if yeh want t' say something halfway heartfelt to Auntie Zed, I suggest yeh call her your--"

She whirled to stab a finger at his masked face, brandishing it like a weapon...

...but he was gone. Just like that.

"--self?" she blinked. "Wait, what?"

Cassie glanced up, and was entirely unsurprised by this. "Yeah. He does that. I think it's a ninja thing?"

Rose made a horrified, discomfited face. "It's a bloody chill down my spine thing, is what it is."

"Yeah," Cassie nodded quietly. "A friend of mine, Steph, she used to do that all the time. (Anita, too, but she could teleport, so that made it a little better.) Takes a lot of getting-used-to."

"Fuck," Rose shook her head, still thrown for a loop, and lit a cigarette. "(Bat-Wank.)"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Wonder Woman

"Kal-El," The Girl said, and it flashed like a beacon in a sea of unease. The Girl was worried sick, but she spoke that name with Hope.

And this, in Diana's opinion, was a perfectly natural reaction to Kal-El.

People feared The Bat, outright. Batman was an object of fear among those who believed the supposed urban legend even existed.

And Diana? Even after she'd put out her book of Amazonian poems and philosophy, people never knew what to make of The Wonder Woman. Sometimes they greeted her with open arms, but more people feared her than otherwise. On top of that, certain folk didn't take kindly to her open practice of pagan faith.

Her duties as Ambassador were a daily struggle.

But Kal-El? "Clark?"

Even career criminals respected Superman. Everyone believed in him.

Superman was a Symbol of Hope.

And Diana considered herself lucky even to know him.

"'Kal-El?'" she repeated softly, touching back down, her voice becoming gentler as she resumed contact with The Earth. "I know Kal-El. He's my... he's my best friend. I can take you to Kal-El. But you have to come with me: it's not safe for you here, and it wouldn't be safe for Kal-El either."

 

[Wyldfire]

Oracle.

Oracle sighed at her operative. Why had Dinah ever chosen the League? Because she get voted into the chair of the biggest super team in the world greed head, that's why. She continued her work on the meteor and at the same time reached over and keyed a comm to the right frequency hoping He still used it. "This is Oracle. You still out there Batman? If so please answer. I need your opinion on our newest Kryptonian friend."

She hoped he would answer the call. He might not if he was pissed at her for choosing Huntress as her operator. But she liked to think he was better than that.

As she waited she noticed a flashing light meaning she had an incoming call. She had many clients that she sold information to. She noted on the read out that it was Birdlover1. A smile crept over her face. Not all of her clientel were always honest or good people but they did have their outside interests and those were what she helped them with.

She answered the call knowing her voice modulator would cover her true voice. That was a good thing too. This client knew her voice from the past. "Good evening Mr. Birdlover, I have some very good news for you. That charity you were looking for is still inexistence and would gladly accept your contributions. They are very happy to see that there are some interested in the plight of the Khandaqi Sand Hawk. I will send you the information on how you can get the funds to them. Good Night sir." She hung up before he could make any further inquiries. She hated dealing with people she knew were slime, but if they wanted to throw bad money at good causes she would gladly help them with it.

 

[Lunaramblings]

Batman toggled a button on his belt.

I am here Oracle. As for the Girl. She may be Kryptonian. Or she could be something else. Too many variables to determine an answer right now. But she is in good hands with Diana and her people. I will have to watch closely. By the way, I need you to gather me information if you can. Seems there is a new face in town. Male, tall, dark, wings. See what can be dug up. Was there anything else, Oracle?"

As Batman talked his eyes never left the scene before him. As he watched he ran through scenario after scenario. Estimating probablility of each.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Kara / The Commish

"Please take me to Kal-El!" Kara practically demanded, her furor quickly subsiding as she once again remembered that this Earth woman couldn't understand her language. With a heavy sigh the young Kryptonian slumped her shoulders.

'This sucks,' she thought to herself.

Finally Kara straightened up her back, standing a little taller now as she decided with a great deal of resolve to trust this dark haired stranger. If this woman knew where her cousin was, she figured it was at least worth following after her.

Though it took a few attempts, Kara finally managed to lift herself off the ground, almost hovering before she touched back down.

Flying was not as easy as it looked.

"Come on," Kara mumbled to herself, trying to gain her balance while in air. She was forced to touch back down again, but not before she had stayed up in the air a bit longer than before. But as with most things, girls do tend to mature faster than boys, and after one last attempt she managed to leap up into the air... remaining there at will.

Kara couldn't help but smile, obtaining mastery over yet another one of her abilities. This planet, Earth, was proving to be far more intriguing than her homeworld.

James Gordon, meanwhile, had his hands tucked inside his coat pockets as most of the squad cars began leaving the scene. Batman had already made his exit, and that usually meant it was time for him to wrap up things. The Press would be arriving shortly, and for Gotham that usually amounted to one or two reporters that weren't afraid to get their hands dirty. Action, for the most part, amounted to nothing more than mob-related crimes.

"Well I think that about takes care of things," the commissioner said as he watched Wonder Woman 'attempt' to converse with the young girl. He was amazed at how young and innocent she looked, demonstrating her powers with relative ease.

It was almost scary how strong Kryptonians could be, and as this new girl lacked control, that thought sent even more shivers down his aged spine.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Wonder Woman and The Martian Manhunter (NPC'd)

Diana smiled softly, amazedly at The Girl's determination. It took a certain mindset, she'd found, to circumvent gravity, to bend the rules and fly of one's own accord. This was not an easy mindset to discover, let alone maintain... and yet here The Girl was, attaining it right out of the gate.

She was a quick study, it seemed.

Diana glanced at Gordon, and bowed her head briefly, respectfully. "Commissioner," she intoned. "Thank you for your patience, and for your trust. It seems we have the matter in hand, or will do ere too much longer."

She paused. "Say hello to Barbara for me? It seems it's ages since we've talked."

And then she flew aloft, beckoning to The Girl, watching to see if she'd follow, utterly unaware that, in speaking to Oracle earlier that night, she had talked with Barbara.

Meanwhile, utilising the tactical intellect given to her by her patron Athena, she multitasked. As she led The Girl skyward, she thought out to the stars, thought hard.

'J'onn?' she petitioned.

'Here, Diana,' The Martian's gently ominous voice echoed in her mind. 'How can I be of help?'

'Wonder Girl and I have extricated the worst of the Kryptonite pollution,' Diana explained, 'but there's many smaller pieces, and as much as it grieves me to say, I'm needed elsewhere. I'm told that when Engine City collapsed into The Pacific, various wielders of power rings and the like were able to clear the synthetic Kryptonite and toxic waste from its entrails with an "energy scrub." Though this posed a terrible danger to anyone trapped inside...'

'You want me to send a Lantern,' J'onn mused, 'to "energy scrub" Gotham Bay?'

'Exactly,' Diana affirmed. 'Though you'll need to clear out the sea life first. If Arthur's busy, Garth might suffice, or Buddy Baker?'

'I'll see to it,' J'onn agreed. 'Anything else?'

Diana smiled gently at The Girl as she led her South down the coast, gradually picking up speed, towards the spot off of North Carolina where Themyscira currently held berth.

'Tell Kal,' she murmured, 'to meet us at Paradise Island. We might have a pleasant surprise for him.'

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Paradise Island

For the first time in a long while, Kara finally felt content with her current predicament. She had learned to master a few of her impressive abilities, tacking on the power of flight to her list. If her powers were as impressive now under the cover of night, Kara could hardly wait to test them out under the light of a yellow sun.

She could remember her father, and even Jor-El, discussing the effects of this solar systems sun on their bodies, giving them feats of strength beyond that of any human. Her body would readily absorb the powerful rays given off, storing them to be used at her disposal.

She was like a goddess among mere mortals.

Kara, however, would give that all up if she could only see her family again. The Kryptonian race was on the brink of extinction, and she was one of its last survivors, sent to Earth to watch over her younger cousin, Kal-El.

Diana had finally taken flight, moving off in a direction away from Gotham City. Kara was beckoned to follow after her, moving south down the coast. Both were flying at super human speeds, covering quite a bit of ground in a short amount of time. Kara, though keeping up with Diana, couldn't help but take in a few sights along the way.

'Where is she taking me?' Kara thought to herself.

It would take a bit more flying before she would find out she was flying towards the huge island nation of Themyscira (known to but a few as Paradise Island). It was a place of great power and majesty, the abode of the Amazonian race, beings gifted with (but certainly not limited to) knowledge, strength and beauty.

 

[Wyldfire]

Oracle.

"I'm on it just as soon as I finish running the telemetry of the meteor impact. But, to be honest, with the description you gave me it could be you you just described." Barbara replied.

As she gave that flip answer she swivelled and began the search He'd asked for. It would take time, but not too many could evade the Oracle's attention for long. Let's just hope this one isn't too good of a bunny.

"Oh, nothing much," she answered about his question of why she called, "I just thought I'd let you know a certain Mister Cobblepott is making a rather large donation to a charity in Khandaq. An honest charity or I wouldn't have facilitated it. But either his restaurant is doing exceedingly well or something else is going on."

She gave a light chuckle, " I don't think even Mister Flay or Mister Lagasse's businesses could make this size of donation."

Then as an afterthought she also added "I have a handle on the drug transfer at the docks. Huntress is on her way down there and I have Lady Blackhawk as back up with emergency back up requests in to Catwoman and Black Canary if Huntress gets carried away."

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

I flew East a bit, then headed south. Eventually I ended up in the alley behind Conrads, a diner I had discovered about three weeks ago.
I shifted back to just plain Kyle, put on my glasses and went in.

I had tried Starbucks, but I just couldn't make myself spend five bucks for a cup of joe!

Trina came over and dropped my usual down on my table. (Coffee, black and the Gotham Observer and Gazette.

I almost spewed my coffee when I saw the front page of the Observer!! It had a picture of ME on the cover!
(Albeit a blurry one.)

I picked up the paper and read on. It seems the intrepid reporter thought that I was someone called the Man-Bat, and some kid with a phone had taken the picture two nights ago.

This technology was going to take some getting used to.