The Last Daughter of Krypton - IC

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

I listened first to Bruce, then to Ceri, then shook my head.

"Seems like you get to ride the fancy taxi. Just keep in mind, you cause any trouble, any trouble at all, and your walking the rest of the way home."

I shadowstepped to over by Bruce then, falling into step beside him.

"Let me take him, you have had to deal with him enough. Besides, i know someone on that plane who is gonna love it when he wakes up!"

 

[Lunaramblings]

Deathstroke looked at Ceri. He looked at her hard. "Look, I know I ent perfect. I know you don't like me. But fact is, I do care about my family, even if I have been segregated from them. I jus' wan' a chance is all Ceri. Just a chance. If I had any bad intentions don't y'all think I'da just gone and sided with the big guy with the army? I mean, I appreciate the threat y'all think this broken down ol' man poses, but I aint stupid." Edmund followed the rest toward the plane. Adjusting his mask as he went.

 

[ChasNicollette]

"Still, what's done can't be undone. Or very rarely. And definitely not this time."

"Hello Daniel. I trust the Dreaming is treating you well? I am glad we could have this little family reunion. I just wish it were under better circumstances."

Daniel smiled faintly. "Circumstances are rarely something easily chosen. Just as only rarely can we choose who is family. I am grateful that this iteration of The Universe has provided me with family enough to outweigh any circumstance."

The Raven on his shoulder chuckled sarcastically. "Yer makin' me blush, boss. Seriously, under these feathers I'm redder than a Phoenix."

Daniel arched a pale eyebrow at the bird, and returned his attention to Hector: "Suffice it to say, after an initial transitional period, the denizens of The Dreaming are making me feel right at home. I am keeping busy. (For all his wisdom and power, my preceding incarnation was surprisingly untidy, and I am cleaning up his messes.)"

Merick went to greet Death in a manner according with his culture-- "Hi. I'm Merick, pleased to meet you." --and The Old Man prevented him just in time.

("Lao3peng2you5, xie4xie5," Death murmured gratefully.)

Death gave the Tennylson boy a little wave, and a little smile, as she leaned forward, folding her hands in her lap, peering over her sunglasses at him. "Hello, Merick. It's good to see you again."

Doctor Fate began to explain.

It was a long and complicated explanation, but-- unsurprisingly --the Emissary of Balance did well with the subject matter at hand.

And when it came time for Daniel to again speak, he attempted to do so with the same clarity and grace: "Your brother belongs to me. Your schooling has made you familiar with the concept of Divine Right? Forcibly, Thomas was kept in slumber, and as he walked The Waking World as a projection, he did so by traversing The Dreamscape. Essentially, he became a being composed entirely of Dreamstuff. Very similar to my own ascension to primacy as the manifested facet of Dream, 'Tommy' lived and breathed The Dreaming for so long he became part of it. My predecessor would have had little compunction about asserting his lordship over your brother's spirit, but I am a little more... relaxed... in such matters."

"Not that Ol' Morpheus woulda been a bad boss," Matthew The Raven pointed out. "He gave me a second chance, and The Corinthian. (Psycho crazy Corinthian.)"

"Sometimes," Death spoke up, "a mortal will stumble upon an Ultimate Truth of The Universe and not know what it is until he loses it. And sometimes he will cling to it 'till his final breath. One of these Truths? Is 'it's not Death if you refuse it.' Even Hell itself, ultimately, is chosen by those who think they deserve it, whether they realise it or not. To that end, even though Tommy should go to Dream with his death, we're offering him a choice."

"Choices, however," Daniel rejoined, "are never without consequences, and rules are seldom bent without sacrifice. At the time of his twenty-first year, following his training, Thomas will be faced with the choice of whether to join my realm beyond The Gates of Horn and Ivory, quite literally, a realm of All Imagining, a realm of his wildest dreams, or becoming the new Doctor Fate, who in this era represents the most potent force for Peace and Balance your plane may ever know."

He took a moment to gather his thoughts. He didn't like giving bad news.

"However," he murmured softly, "the nature of Balance being what it is, I cannot give up such a valuable servant without some sort of... recompense. If he chooses The Helm of Nabu The Wise over The Sands of The Dreaming, Thomas will need to select another of his bloodline to take his place in The Dreaming. Forever. It is likely that this will not be you, given your importance to this realm as either Hawk or Dove, but I extend to you fair warning in any case, that you might make preparation, just as Morpheus warned my mother that I belonged to him."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Ceri

"Bad intentions take a lot of different forms," Ceri scowled, shaking her head at Deathstroke. "Your intentions, I'm coming to realise, have always been your own. My guess is, you weighed Zod's chances of victory against the likelihood of him destroying you when he was done with you, and didn't like the outcome. The only reason you'd ever fight for freedom is if your own freedom was at stake."

She looked at him then, matched his gaze's hardness with her own. "You say you aren't stupid? Don't insult my intelligence by asserting that you're no threat. I've seen you in action, and I've seen the consequences of your actions, and I've borne witness to your legacy. What you've done to my sister and your son, what you intend for your grandson? In machinations and in prowess you're almost as big a threat as Zod ever was."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Bruce

Bruce harrumphed softly, pausing for a moment as he walked to shoulder Lex off of himself into the arms of the far stronger vigilante. Might as well take him up on his offer, save his own strength for tasks of greater import.

"Seems you can't walk a hundred yards without running into someone who's got a beef with The Luthors," he grimaced. "Lex here must be the Johnny Appleseed of ill will."

Shaking his head and cracking his neck, Bruce extricated his damaged cowl from his utility bag.

"Speaking of him waking up, however," Bruce wondered. "Any chance you could hook me up with a new mask? Just a loaner? Everyone else who's seen me without a mask on today has had opposing secrets, or a good heart, to keep them from blurting my name out on the evening news. I doubt Lex Luthor has any kind of heart, and I sure as Hell don't have any dirt on him. I can't let him see my face. I've taken enough risks with my father's name as it is."

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

"Yeah, you either hate the Luthors or are owned by them. Not much middle ground there." I shifted Lex over one shoulder in a fireman's carry, and kept walking to the plane. "The inside of this thing is compartmentalized. Small med bay, Larger crew bay & a section up front for C & C. I'll take sleeping baldy up there and personally babysit him until everyone else is safe from his prying eyes. I have to warn you though, Bekka has been wanting to bend you and Mr. Fox's ears about a couple of joint ventures she thinks you may be interested in. She might corner you a spell."

I made it to the side of the plane and reached up, opening a small access panel. I opened it up and hit the switch, opening the crew door and dropping the ramp.

"As for a new mask, I doubt we have anything more than surgical masks on board. Probably best that we just keep you back with the troops and Lex up front under control."

"Now what have I told you about bringing home pests. Where did you pick up such a sorry looking pet anyway?"


I looked up at my sister. Yeah, I was gonna read her the riot act later but right now, I was just glad to see my only kin.

"He followed me here sis. I know he's a ugly mutt, but can he come? I also brought you a Luthor to play with."

I made my way up the ramp, trusting Bruce to follow me.

 

[Lunaramblings]

Edmund removed the Mask. He stopped in front of Ceri and he handed her a piece of paper.

"Things change. I figure I have some scales a bit tilted, and I would at least like to try to fix that. If only a little. I got a year at best to do it. Congratulations. You just became the first to know. If you have any TennTech stock you might consider selling it."

Edmund pulled the mask over his face once more. And stepped to the side.

Edmund was dying. Cancer. His doctors believe it may have something to do with his serum. Truth is he had so many types of cancer it couldn't be natural. But the increased healing that his serum provided was keeping it from spreading as fast as it should. However his body was burning the serum faster than it used to. He had to inject twice a day.

 

[Lunaramblings]

Merick listened to Dream. Listened to the warning. Merick's heart was pounding. His very blood screaming for vengeance. Merick looked Daniel in the eyes... those fathomless, infinite eyes...

"So let me get this straight... because my grandfather is a bastard... I have lost a brother. Because of that man... I may lose more. And it is my choice whether to punish him or not."

"You see, you do'n wan focus on the bahd. Tommy been given anothah chahnce. Tha' is someting many nevah get." The Old Man smiled as he drank deeply. Then he regarded the bird on Dream's shoulder... "Besides... this is the best company Daniel-San gets... a talking feather duster." The Old Man laughs at the bird and turns to Death. "This one and his friends keep you busy. Not to mention the family. The should get a premium."

"Lu Yan, go get yourself a refill." Hector Hall turns to Merick once more. The sadness in his eyes. The hope. "Merick. This is up to you. You alone have been given a chance to make a change. To amend the Fate of those around you. Before we leave this table. You must give us your choice."

"Fine. Lu Yan? He is right. There has been too much bloodshed. To many lives cut down. I will allow no more. This rage, this fury, I will turn that around. It will be the fuel that pushes me when all else is lost. I will not condemn anyone to die. Not even if it is far better than he deserves.

"Spoken well. I toll you he was a Dove. You all owe me a drink." Lu Yan stands and stumble steps toward the beach. Toward The Girl and The Dog. "Here, Poochie Poochie, come see me, I wan play wit you."

"Well. It seems Lu Yan was indeed correct. I guess living a realm such as his makes him a good judge of character. So. It is decided. Edmund Tennylson shall live out the remainder of his days. However long they be. Merick, you have chosen the Path of The Dove. You are now tasked with a mission. You shall be an agent of Order. This is your task, forever more. Has anyone more to add?"

 

[AmenRa]

Var-Sen and J'onn J'onzz

Var-Sen smiled down at Rose.

"Raya is a Kryptonian female of close association," he told her, sounding all logical and direct. "She had fled to the Phantom Zone prior to the destruction of our home world. I was fortunate to have been found by her upon my arrival there."

His eyes suddenly got very distant, and it was clear to all around just how close their association was.

"And yes, Kara is very much alive," he continued. "She, Raya, and I were seperated by the forces of the Gateway's passage when we went through to come here. Only the blood of the House of El can activate the gate. Only the blood of the House of El," he repeated. "Kara must be found immediately. J'onn?"

The Martian Manhunter nodded, then closed his eyes and reached out with his mind.

"Yes," he said, "I can sense the presence of two other Kryptonians here on Earth. Both are very, very far away. Kara" he said, then was quiet for a moment, searching through the psychic presences of so many minds, "Kara is home."

"As for Raya Ro-Zan," he explained, touching her mind at last, "she is not alone."

And then those that had gathered around the Martian Mahunter saw him suddenly open his eyes and a look of danger cross his face.

"And there is someone else here with them. Someone who should not be,"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Ted

Ted Grant stayed put with wary eyes, eyes made of sea green agony, as he watched his niece writhe and struggle. So stubborn she wouldn't take help even from medicos, so strong-willed she could probably fight her way back from the edge of oblivion with just ten knuckles and a glower.

She asked for her mother, and he closed his eyes.

Lyta, Polly, whatever you wanted to call her, a queen of a woman, she could probably do more for this poor dear amazing thing than a hundred of these staffed-up superjets.

Ted Grant hadn't exactly won the lottery on family, right out of the gate. His home life as a wildbrat hadn't exactly been anything to write home about.

But then... later on... as the years passed by... his real family had found him.

His buddy Montez had made his own daughter Ted's god-daughter.

And then there was Lyta, and Little Di. And Ceri, and this daughter of hers, Rose, he'd practically only heard about in Christmas cards.

John himself. Like a brother. Like an evil twin, sure, but still family.

Ted hadn't exactly won the lottery on family. But he'd lucked out in the end, that was for damn sure.

He opened his eyes once more.

As much as he knew Diana's mother would better care for her, he also wondered at the low-level telekinesis, mind over matter turned to healing power, and at the bio-imaging suite that crafted such an accurate picture of Diana's insides.

"Once saw John's haruspex amiga Mad Hettie do her haruspex thing," he murmured, keeping up his end of the conversation, even though he was pretty sure Diana was too deep to hear him, "read the entrails of a pigeon t' see th' future. Now Th' Future's reading yer entrails. If that ain't goddamn irony, I dunno what is."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Bruce

Bruce followed Wraith quietly, digesting the superhuman's insights regarding The Luthors.

He knew Thomas Wayne had known Lionel. But beyond that... it hadn't been in Thomas Wayne's nature to hate anyone. Not even when he probably should have. But at the same time, his father hadn't belonged to anyone, hadn't been owned by anyone except Martha Wayne and the people of Gotham City.

"There's a middle ground," he murmured, almost entirely to himself. "But only the very brave and very wise can walk it."

The ramp lowered, and Bruce arched an eyebrow. "I appreciate the warning. I don't much like to be cornered, but I'll see what I can do. I'm afraid my father left the running of The Wayne Empire in the hands of more interested men. But there's nothing Lucius Fox likes better than a good idea executed brilliantly. So we'll see."

...and then came the conversation about pests and about pets, and Bruce blinked twice when he realised they were talking about him.

"Bats exterminate pests," Bruce pointed out, smiling a smile that was hardly there at all, faint little irony. "They aren't pests themselves. And as for 'sorry-looking?' I prefer to think of myself as exotic, Miss Greystone."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Ceri

Ceri stared at the piece of paper with which Edmund had presented her.

At first she stared with dubious disdain. Then she stared with dawning creepy-crawling surprise.

Then she stared with eyes that blinked back tears.

Cancer had taken Dai McCrimmon, in the end, a man whom The Hounds of Hell would have had trouble dragging down.

Her eyes stung, her dark eyes stung, and she took a breath and discovered there was a hitch to her inhalation. She closed her eyes for a moment and she shook her head...

"This is just a piece of paper," she murmured. "This could easily be just a manipulation. God knows I think you're well-practised at the art."

She laughed, and the laugh was a little bit broken. More than a little bit.

"It kills good men," she whispered, "and it kills bad men, without hesitation, without compunction. It eats and eats until there's nothing left, and all that's stretched before you are endings and all that's stretched out behind you is a life what seems too short by far."

Ceri McCrimmon folded up the piece of paper, and shoved it back at Edmund, pressing it against his chest before stalking on past him, shaking her head and casting her dark hair about herself: "I'll say this for you, Eddie. You're a tough oul' bastard. The only thing that could take you down is a killer more merciless than you are. And now you've found one. Oh, how you've found one."

She paused, and she looked at him. She really looked at him.

"I'll help you make your peace," she decided. "It's what I was trained to do. And if I find out this is all some... ill-conceived prevarication?"

She smiled at him, lips tight and hiding her teeth.

"Well, I'll just do the other thing I'm trained to do."

 

[Lunaramblings]

Edmund stopped and looked at Ceri. He looked hard and deep.

"Ceri, you an' I are like flip sides of a coin. But, even if that's the case, we are still part of the same coin. You do what you have to. So do I. You tend to have better reasons is all." Edmund looked at the ground, a bit of sadness in his eyes, "I have done things. Things I can't ever expect to get redemption for. But seeing the things my grandson is doing, and seeing the conviction he and you have shown, it made me see an opportunity. You are right Ceri McCrimmon, I am an old scam artist. A swindler, a killer, and worse. But the paper you have in your hand is real. Seems this serum I have been using has caused some kind of super-cancer. Fact is this serum is the only thing keeping it at bay. The serum grants me a bit of a boost, makes me heal faster, among other things, and that has been enough to stop the cancer from spreading."

 

[ChasNicollette]

"It is *never* 'only a dream.'"

Lu Yan lurched towards the dog, and the canine drew back with wide wide eyes and nostrils flaring.

"Do I have to play with him?" he whimpered. "I mean, I love a good beer in my water dish every now and then just like the next sentient quadruped, but this guy smells like Jim Beam multiplied by Jack Daniels plus the cheap seats at Fenway."

"You've rolled in things that smell worse, Barnabas," Destruction noted, with no small amusement. "I've seen you."

"None of those things were a crazy old dude," Barnabas noted in retort.

But then the little girl held up the Frisbee and it turned into a sunflower that was every colour of the rainbow. She handed it to Lu Yan, and she gazed at him with a rare quiet kind of intensity.

"HiS mAdNeSs KeEpS hIm SaNe," she declared, her voice lilting and lovely, a voice that had once been Delight. "I lIkE hIm LoTsEs AnD lOtSeS."

Barnabas seemed to digest this for a moment. "Okay. Seal of approval, I guess."

And then he rolled onto his back, paws in the air. "You've got five minutes, scratch my tummy, make it good. If you're lucky, later I'll let you feed me little tidbits of chocolate."

Destruction grinned. "Work, work, work."

"I've got something to add," Matthew grumbled. "I ain't a feather duster, fer one thing. And fer another... the pumpkinheaded guy is pretty cool. And the dragon by the castle gate can sing like a motherfucker. So, idiot assessments of my boss' choice of company to the contrary, The Dreaming is a frikkin' bad-ass place. Uh, respectfully."

He harrumphed, and he moved from foot to foot on Dream's shoulder, and he flapped his wings a little bit.

"Anyway, Kid," he cawed to Merick, "good luck with the whole Dove thing. Me personally, I always thought Doves was over-rated-- there's this whole rivalry goes back to this Flood --but we avian-themed supernatural guys gotta stick together. That Hawk ever gives you the shits, I got a whole Parliament of carrion-birds what'll represent. That's a promise."

"Thank you, Matthew," Daniel nodded, as if impressed.

Death rose to her feet, nodding to Doctor Fate as she went.

She drew close to Merick, and she smiled at him, and she took off her sunglasses to really really look at him.

"We'll hang out sometime, okay?" she murmured. "Sometime soon. In the meantime, keep an eye on Chloe for me, would you? She's a good kid. Of all the people who've come to visit me over the centuries, she's the only one who's ever been thoughtful enough to feed Slim and Wandsworth."

"Our time here grows to a close," Daniel noted, bending down to take a fistful of sand from the pristine Hawaiian beach. "And our family business is concluded."

He began to let the sand trickle through his fingers, and he gazed at it thoughtfully. The sand fell and fell and flowed and flowed, and it seemed all of a sudden as though he had taken a much greater handful than had been first apparent.

"One globe of the hourglass becomes empty," he mused, "only for the other to fill. Time passes, Merick Tennylson, and everything changes. And nothing is truly lost."

The sand continued to pour, and it turned from pale pale sunkissed white to gold gold gold, as though touched by King Midas.

"Rest for a time without the distraction of Dream," Daniel proclaimed, "and when you wake? Wake with strength renewed, and purpose discovered. Long a road to walk have you yet, and not all distances can be covered as easily as folding the map willy and nilly."

He opened his hand, and the golden sand gathered there flew out of his palm and into Merick's gaze. It didn't burn or sting or even irritate.

But it did make the whole world fade.

"You have had Dream enough for now," he murmured, his voice fading with the world. "Instead simply sleep. And then wake."

 

[Lunaramblings]

As Merick Tennylson faded from the world of Dream, he slipped seamlessly back into our realm. Beside him there sits a cooler with several bottles of YooHoo, a bagged lunch, and a note.

As time passed Merick rested truly and deeply for the first time in a good long time. Gone were the dreams of a lost brother. Banished, were the nightmares of that fateful October day. Merick lay restfully on the sands. His body, soul, and mind all slowly became rejuvenated. Slowly Merick awoke. Refreshed. Renewed. Awakened for the first time.

Merick sits up and looks at the cooler grinning. He takes out a YooHoo and the bagged lunch. He starts munching on a sandwich. Then he sees the note.

Hey bro. Sorry I missed the meeting. I talked Lu Yan into leaving this for you. I know you have been through a lot. We all have. But be brave, and do what you can. You will always have friends in many places. I will do what I can to watch over you. Keep an eye on Mom, she is strong but she is struggling. Tell her, It Can't Rain All the Time. And Merick... be careful. Be very careful.

Love always,
Tommy

Merick folded the note carefully and slipped it into his pocket as he stood. With a deep breath, he looked to the water. Trying to figure out where to go. He looked toward China, and he smiled. Rose. Merick dusted himself off, and started to walk along the beach, cooler in hand. He took another breath and folded the world around him, in an instant he was in the alley behind The Talon, where he deposited the trash in a dumpster before he departed once more.

With a swoosh he appeared back in China. It had been only a few minutes, though in Dream it had seemed much longer. He could see the group moving toward the jet. He swooshed once more. He appeared in the room in the bunker. Seeing the boom tube before him he walks slowly toward it. Into it. He needed to talk to Chloe.

"Chloe! We need to talk!" Merick walked deeper into the Boom Chamber.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Rose

Rose's eyes widened at the realisation that still another Kryptonian had made it out the door at the end of their world. She hadn't lost that sense of Wonder. That thrill that raced up her spine at the notion of extraterrestrials walking The Earth. (Even the two aliens standing in front of her, she felt like these were old friends by now but they still made her a little giddy.)

The world was far far too mundane for her tastes. All it needed was a dash of The Fantastic to spice things up a bit.

She blinked, though, and she blushed, at the look on Var-Sen's face when he thought about Raya...

...she turned a little pink and she covered her mouth with one hand.

And here I was worried that I was never gonna see you again that you'd gone to this sub-dimensional extra-dimensional Hell and the whole time you were getting kisses and stuff? Oh yeah, well, I was getting kisses too, so there.

(Go us!)

But then! More important! Distractions came to Rose thick and fast and each distraction was better than the last: confirmation. Kara was alive. Kara was home.

Rose punched the sky with both fists and did a little dance, something ridiculous and victorious, a little bit Riverdance and a little bit Back to The Future III.

But then things got more serious and Rose quieted while the two grown-ups talked.

The Professor's girlfriend was in trouble.

And worse than that...

"'The portal's been open for too long,'" she bit her lip, quoting softly, worriedly. "'Something may have come through.'"

She stood a little taller, fists at her sides, eyes a little bit wide and a whole lot blue: "'Someone?' What kind of 'someone?' Are we talking, uh, Frank The Pug or Orion the Cat sort of 'someone,' or is it more like a seven-headed Chaos God?"

 

[camerindrake]

Damian

After noticing the teleporter enter Damian hit the door from his console closing it.

"After your talk, get back to china and give the new location. El Paso, TX. Mr Tennyson, if you would, give me an exact address to punch in.' Damian asked as he looked at his console. He ran the diagnostics and punched in to get the lifesign readings from Bruces cowl to only find the signal lost. "And Merick. Has something happened to The Dark Knight." Was Damians final question.

 

[AmenRa]

The Kryptonian and Martian

"More like a seven headed god of Chaos type," John Smith answered Rose. "Which is, generally, the way my luck runs these days," he said with a bit of a smile. He then glanced to where Zod lay, unconscious and bound, and then turned back to J'onn and Rose.

"We must retrieve Kara," he said, "and end this part before the next chapter begins. I will go to Smallville, to Kara Zor-El," he said as he looked up to the chiseled green features of the Martian Manhunter, "while you return Zod to the cave where this all began."

J'onn nodded. "It will be done," he stated. "I hold the last of the pieces of the Crystal," he informed the Kryptonian, "there was one that was almost taken by Zod, but when the ship was destroyed just now, I sensed it being transferred to the console in the cave, where it rests with the other. I sealed the console within the cave after you crossed to the Phantom Zone."

"Well done, J'onn J'onzz. Your vigilance has once again spared a world from tyranny and oppression." Professor John Smith then rose into the air, stopping about shoulder height to Rose and hovering. He then bent at the waist, still floating above Earth, and he reached a hand down to the red-haired warrior of fire and ice. "I would be honored if you would accompany me," he told her, "and I'm sure Kara Zor-El would as well."

Var-Sen's first mission was to make absolutely sure Kara Zor-El was safe and still in possession of the Crystal of her House. He would leave Rose with her, and then he would fly off in search of his beloved Raya.

 

[Lunaramblings]

Dale consider Damien. He wasn't sure how trust worthy this kid was. Then he looked at his freshly arrived son.

"Are the other's okay?"

"Yeah. They were boarding a jet. Looked like they have it well in hand. Matter of fact chances are by the time I am done here they will already be in the air. Are we evacuating from here too?"

"Yeah, seems our friend here's noise generator may have given us away. We were about to pull out to Grandpa's place."

"Ah. Right."

"Though, if you are here, might be more prudent to have you warp us there without raising the hackles of Grandpa's entire security force. It is a bit considerable."

"If that is the consensus, I would be glad to do it."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Bruce Anthony Thomas Wayne

Bruce paused, gazing at The Kryptonian and The Martian, and he held up a hand to Bekka Greystone for a moment as he reached into his pocket to retrieve The Crystal, that he might return this to a member of the race that rightfully owned it.

He found only black dust, filaments of metal.

He frowned at this, softly, and emptied his pocket of the substance.

Had The Crystal dissolved itself?

Or had this never been The Crystal of Air at all? The avatar of The Black Ship had exhibited shapechanger qualities, by all accounts. Perhaps, even in his absence, The Ship retained a modicum of deceptive trickery. Perhaps that fragment had posed as The Crystal of Air that it might escape this place.

But then again, why would it not have maintained that shape?

...unless it had been trying to get into the grasp of Lex Luthor specifically.

And that... that could have only ended in disaster.

Bruce made a face at Lex Luthor as he allowed the filamentary dust of The Black Ship fragment to waft away into the windy night.

I may have just saved your life. Or at the very least, what you have that passes for a soul.

Why do I get the feeling that's going to be a mixed blessing?

 

[ChasNicollette]

Ceri

"There's some," Ceri murmured, continuing towards the plane with her hands in her back pockets and a whole great terrible mix of emotions on her face, "who would spend this time bargaining. Some would bargain with higher powers. Some, and I could name names here, would bargain with lower powers. Yeh seem to me like yeh're not quite willing to share a table with holy men, and I wouldn't recommend Downstairs to anyone, not after what I've seen."

She appeared to chew on her words for a moment, and as she walked she glanced over her shoulder at Edmund "Slade" Tennylson.

"Me ex-husband's brother," she murmured, "is as madder than certain hatters. But there's no-one on this planet what knows more about Meteor Rock than Emil Hamilton. (I'm assuming that wretched green stuff yeh pumped into those grizzled oul' veins was Meteor-based?) If anyone can save your sorry sorry arse, it's him. Trouble is, he's vanished and we don't know where to find him. Maybe your considerable resources can help you help yourself by digging him up?"

She smiled faintly, and glanced down at her feet as she picked her way across the puddled stony ground.

"In the meantime," she murmured, "as a Faustian bargain with me erstwhile brother-in-law may not be enough of a rescue? Yeh might want to consider one of those higher powers. D'yeh have a particular faith, Eddie? Something from childhood?"

 

[ChasNicollette]

Rose

Rose grinned a lopsided smile, and reached up to take Var-Sen's hand.

"'Come with me if you want to live,'" she grinned, and with a tiny burst of her nigh-exhausted powers, she levitated herself up to John Smith's level.

Granted, she was more than a little nervous about the whole Ogdru Jahad thing, but if John Smith wasn't worried, then neither should she be. He didn't seem worried. At least, not that worried.

"Yeah," she murmured, "let's go find Double-K, and pin an epilogue on this sucker."

She grinned a weary grin. "And then we can go hunt down The Dragon of Revelation, and sock him in the jaw with The Right Hand of Doom."

She closed her eyes, bracing herself against John, anticipating the wild wild slipstream of his impossibly speedy flight...

'What I know, I can do,' she recited, inwardly silent, thinking of Kara and John,
'If I give my love now to everyone like you
But if it's not love that you need
Then I'll try my best to make everything succeed.'

 

[AmenRa]

Were she not swathed in the blazing passage of a Kryptonian's flight, Rose would have surely been ripped asunder.

The strength of her powers of fire and ice would have been tested to their absolute limits if she had been but a mere arm's reach from where Var-Sen cradled her against his chest.

But here, in arms of Kryptonian might, she was safe from the torrential vortices and shock waves as they flew so high above Earth at speeds faster than sound.

And as such, she could hear his voice plainly as he spoke to her.

"When we arrive at Kara's home, I do not wish to reveal myself to her adopted parents," he explained to Rose. "I do not believe they are ready to face the truth that Kara Zor-El's destiny lies far beyond their fields and grain silos. Therefore, should we find Kara not alone, then you must bring her to the cave."

He squeezed her just a bit tighter, and there was a smile in his voice when he told her, "Thank you for trusting me, Rose. Thank you for believing in me, and listening to me when I told you of the things that have come to pass."

 

[Wyldfire]

Diana couldn't fight against the drugs anymore. She had tried as best she could so in the end her subconcious decided somehow to go ahead and give in to the drugs. To invite them in.

As her body relaxed into it the serum began it's function. The healing accelerated, then accelerated again to match her metabolism and altered physiology. The Telekinetic was hard pressed to keep up with what was going on. Barely able to keep a step ahead of the knitting bones and mending tissues. As the drug ran it's course and the Kinetic managed to move the bones into place Diana gave an incoherent scream as she suffered the world's greatest growing pain.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Alfred, Chloe, Gabe, Pete, and Jamie

Gabriel the cat slithered 'round Alfred's legs, and the Gentleman reached down to heft the quadruped and scritch the purring thing behind its ears. Why the poor moggy hadn't run and hid when that whopping great BOOM had gone off, Alfred hadn't the foggiest. But he was glad the creature had made it aboard before the door was shut behind the returning Merick Tennylson.

Merick, meanwhile, made his announcement of his needing to speak with Chloe, and Chloe did her best to sit up and smile wearily at him, Gabe on one side of her, Pete on the other. Merick did have the oddest timing.

(The only predictable about Merick was the unpredictability with which he'd appear, if that made any sense.)

Chloe frowned as Damian asked after Bruce, wondering what the mysterious oft-masked youth knew that the rest of them didn't, her hand giving Pete's a harder squeeze. And she bided her time whilst Merick conversed with his father.

Chloe's frown dissipated as quickly as it had formed when Merick assured his dad that everyone was okay. Her hand relaxed, but Pete squeezed it in return, reassuring.

Further escape options were discussed, this time incorporating Merick's power into the getaway, but Jamie waved this off, trying not to seem impatient as he brandished the stethoscope like a baton.

"Look," he declared with his jaw muscles flexing, eyes darkly intent, "much as I don't like that this thundering thing just turned this from a hideaway into a dead giveaway, we really really do need to go right now, or risk the wrath of far scarier men than I care to deal with ever again. So belt up, lads and lasses, we'll talk in a minute, let's see what this baby can do out on the open motorway. Doctor Tennylson, give Son-of-Bat your dad's address and get ready to tell his little paramilitary neighbourhood watch to hold their fire. Failing that, tell them to shoot to wound. Failing that, tell them not to shoot me in the face, my family's got a thing for open-casket funerals."

He paused, and he scowled at himself, realising he was compounding the problem by talking too much.

"C'mon," he bellowed, arms flung out to his sides and stethoscope flailing, "shift!"

He paused, and blinked down at the stethoscope in his hand, and then glanced up at Damian as if he'd completely forgotten where he was. "'Ey. Can I keep this?"