The Last Daughter of Krypton - IC

[camerindrake]

Damian

The Black Hood props his cycle and gets off. He looks around and pulls out his portable device syncing it with the satellite systems. He then begins to look for evidence. He picks up tree bark from the road finding a glowing green tazer dart. He picks it up in his gloved hand.

His eyes narrow, "Kryptonite. He then turns his head speaking louder "Ceri, I think we found something."

He then takes a visual scan of the tazer and attempts a link up with ODIN and proceeds to wait for a response.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Kara Zor-El felt tired. The Kryptonite radiation levels had been brought down to a bare minimum, but it was still enough to suppress her abilities. Benjamin Wallis had already departed from the room, leaving her alone for the moment. Guards had been posted outside, and video cameras captured everything that went on inside. Although she could stood on her feet, Kara instead chose to lie down and close her eyes for a few brief moments.

And then...

She heard... something.

Kara heard something calling out to her. Or someone.

A tear rolled down her soft cheek, but the young Kryptonian made no attempt to wipe it away.

Help me

Kara felt too weak to concentrate, and she even began to doubt what she had though she had heard. What she had felt. Her friends had to be out there looking for her. At least... she hoped they were.

Kara hoped that at the very least they'd find Victor, and he could point them in the right direction.

 

[AmenRa]

The Martian Manhunter

It was a quiet, whispered word.

It could have been carried upon the wind, but no wind reached into the beginnings of space.

Help me.

J'onn's eyes opened when, in his mind, he heard the almost silent cry from the lost Last Daughter of Krypton.

 

[AmenRa]

Var-Sen

The Kryptonian scientist suddenly grabbed Raya by the shoulder, turning her attention to a distant street far and below their skyscraper-top visage.

A SUV had been stopped dead in its tracks by....

....a man?

"This may be worth investigating," he told his soon-to-be bride.

 

[AmenRa]

The Thunder God

The Black Hood props his cycle and gets off. He looks around and pulls out his portable device syncing it with the satellite systems. He then begins to look for evidence. He picks up tree bark from the road finding a glowing green tazer dart. He picks it up in his gloved hand.

His eyes narrow, "Kryptonite. He then turns his head speaking louder "Ceri, I think we found something."

He then takes a visual scan of the tazer and attempts a link up with ODIN and proceeds to wait for a response.

"Taken," Thor said simply, "by the use of trickery and surpise."

The Thunder God made a quick glance around the scene, noting again the felled tree and the roadway.

"I would like to meet the one responsible for this. The one who sits highly and thinks themselves rightful to take what is not theirs; to snatch away a soul of purity and virtuous might. Yes, this one, this leader, he and I have much to discuss."

And then, with sudden quickness, a great pain seized the thunder god, and it felt as if his head were about to split. The pain was so that it dropped the mighty Thor to his knees.

He knew what it was...

What it meant....

Asgard called.

The Cycle of Ragnarok has begun.

As the mighty Thor raised his head from where he had fallen to all fours upon the ground, he whispered lowly, speaking to those gathered.

"Find the orchestrator of this," he told them, "and let it be known that I walked this path. I must now," -another flash of pain clouded the thunder god's eyes. - "return to my home, to leave Midgard for this time, this place, and avail myself once more to the battle that will be waged against evil, against darkness, against......Loki."

Thor, Son of Odin, raised his head.

"Let the one who caused this be known, for it is no secret that one of the strength and power of armies leads this abduction, as my eyes have seen this. But, yet, listen, and take to heart this which I say to you: Should those who seat themselves atop the thrones of so-called power choose once again to harm any of you that I now call my friends, then they shall face the wrath of Thor! Know this, for should they reach out with cold arms to these people, my people, then I shall open the skies and pour forth a storm the likes of which no mortal has ever seen!

And this, this shall only be the beginning of their education, for they that call themselves in power will learn the true meaning of power! I will show them! And then they will know why I am called the God of Thunder!"

With that, another spasm of pain wracked Thor's body, he convulsed, his eyes clouding, his head pounding. Even so, he managed, slowly, wearily, to raise Mjolnir above the ground in front of him.

Quietly he began to speak once again:

"Lo there do I see my father. Lo there do I see my mother and my sisters and my brothers.
Lo there do I see the line of my people, back to the beginning.
Lo, they do call to me, they bid me take my place among them, in the Halls of Valhalla, where the brave may live...
...forever."

And then, the Mighty Thor, God of Thunder, Son of Odin, struck Mjolnir against the ground. There was a bolt of lightning from the heavens, and then the delicate sound of thunder.

And Thor was no more.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Kara Zor-El fell over, her face covered once more in a mixture of blood, sweat and tears. A pair of handcuffs had been shackled around her wrists, keeping them bound but not completely restricted. They would have posed as no problem for her to break apart under normal circumstances, but the Kryptonite infused within ensured her domesticity.

Darting to the side, Kara avoided what would have been a game-ending blow from the powerful Titan.

As sure as she was that the behemoth was annoyed at being caged, she was even more sure that he lusted after her blood.

He wanted her to die... he wanted revenge for his humiliating defeat earlier. But Kara would not give him that chance.

"Kryptonian! You. Annoy. Titan."

("What's a Kryptonian?" one of the soldiers asked as he looked on, earning only a shrug in response. )

Kara did her best to throw Titan off balance, but his hulking mass was too much for her to handle, and she was thrown back towards the fence.

She began to wonder... if this was really it for her.

But it couldn't be. It couldn't end... like this.

= = =

Victor Stone continued to stumble down the street, cars blaring their horns at the wounded hero as he moved across traffic. He had already planted his fists in one vehicle to keep it from knocking him over, and he was doing his best to make sure he didn't have to do it again.

As much as he needed help... he didn't want to hurt anyone.

This is insane

Victor felt more and more drained as time went on, and he began to wonder if Kara was right.

She had to be. Something about her made him feel... empowered. Picking himself back up, Victor continued on down the street.

"I can't stop... no way. Ain't nothing going... to stop me...now."

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

"OK, Launchpads team has been gone long enough, lets get out there and support them. Everyone gather round." I said in my spooky armored voice.

As the others gathered round me (Rose managing to look anxious and worried at the same time) I began concentrating.

"We have to go through Shadow to get where we are going. Keep close, and follow Rose's lead. If anything happens, you guys get clear and let me handle it. We should only be there a second, and I doubt we will see that dragon again anytime soon."

Among a couple of panicked looks shadows swirled around the group and in an instant everyone was deposited in the ruined courtyard.

I wasn't expecting the dusky skinned (for lack of a better term) elf that was standing there in pretty elaborate robes holding a black staff (also pretty elaborate.)

I reached out and drew in the power of Shadow, growing in size and power. "Get ready to break for the ruins." I said in English, then in shadowspeak addressed the strange Who are you and what do you want? Be warned, I will protect those with me with every power at my command.

Stay your hand Child of Shadow, I am friend, not foe. I am Shen'dal, Loremaster of the Trac'po clan, and sent by The Lady to be your guide in our land. You are a stranger, ignorant of our customs and ways, though you know more than you realize my Lord. I am your humble teacher. He then bowed to me, much like the Japanese do.

I looked over to see my companions confused looks (of course doofus! They don't speak the native tongue here) and made a 'wait' gesture.

My guide? Is this something that has to happen right now? I have a companion that is in need of my aid, and fear for her safety.I had not planned for being here this long.

"Nay my Lord, the sands of time stand still for you, and my race is long lived. Your lands have run well without your direction for many lifetimes of my people, I dare say they will hold until you can return for a more lengthy discussion. I will know when you return, and we can discuss that which we need to then."

Stand down on blasting this guy, he is a friendly. Says he's my teacher, but we can put off the lessons until after the current crisis. I'm going to try going directly to our lost little lamb, and if that doesn't work then we will go with our original plan."

Once again I drew upon Shadow. It grew darker, the air heavier. Power coursed around and through me, setting off rumbles in the air and sparking purple lightning that crackled down to the ground around us. The earth trembled as I drew more and more, but again, I could not move us to where Kara was.

"Not happening. Somethings still blocking me. On with plan 'B'."

This time Shadow responded to my call, and we popped out in the woods a short distance from where the advanced team had emerged.

"Lets go. Chloe, stay close to me please. Launchpad would be very upset if your pretty head got damaged." I said as I moved toward the clearing

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

We Weren't Born To Follow

Kara stood over the fallen body of Titan, her shackles broken apart and her arms resting at her side. She'd beaten him. Against all odds she'd done it. Turning his attacks against him, Kara managed to have him bust open her restraints, turning a one-sided fight into an even battlefield.

Kara Zor-El wiped some sweat off of her brow, and she looked up towards the office booth where her captor was no doubt watching.

Benjamin Wallis was pleased. He didn't care for the mammoth brute called Titan. He wanted a champion.

A warrior.

A leader.

'Yes,' he thought to himself.

Even his father would be proud of his most recent accomplishments.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Kara Zor-El found herself standing a room considerably more comfortable than the cage she had been locked up in. This room actually had a chair for her to sit in. Yet despite the amenities, Kara remained standing. Her wrists had been chained together by another set of Kryptonite cuffs, though the level of radiation was such that she felt tired but capable of remaining on her own two feet.

The young alien turned her attention towards the door when she heard its handle jiggle. Keys had been inserted into the appropriate locks and then turned while someone else punched in a separate security combination.

Extra precautions, apparently. Kara should have felt flattered.

Instead she felt nothing but pity for them.

The door to her "chamber" opened up and a single guard passed through.

Curiously enough the door closed right behind him.

Kara watched the guard suspiciously as he approached her.

"Don't be afraid," he said to her.

"I'm not afraid," Kara responded bravely.

The soldier nodded and then did the unthinkable: he removed her restraints. She felt her strength return to her once he tossed them to the opposite side of the room. The wounds she had sustained during her fight with Titan healed, though Kara still felt somewhat drained.

What she needed was a nice warm bath in the sun.

"I don't get understand..."

"I don't have much time to explain. But know this: we've been waiting for you for a very long time. You're the Traveler... that much is clear to me. Your destiny lies far beyond the confines of this room. So go... go now!"

- - -

Benjamin Wallis slowly walked into the room where Kara Zor-El had once been held, and he looked at the one responsible for the Kryptonians most recent escape.

"I had been... warned that one of you might try to help the Alien."

"What's done is done. You cannot control her," the soldier said. "You might as well kill me now."

"Kill you?" Benjamin repeated with a laugh, a mockery of a smile crossing his face. "I don't plan on killing you. No. Instead... where you're going... you'll wish that I had ended your miserable and pathetic existence."

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

They were there.

They were all there.

Searching for her.

Waiting for her.

Rescuing her.

Hoping.

Everyone was tired.

Everyone was spent.

Kara hugged each of her friends, and she knew that everything would be alright. Last of all she hugged Rose McCrimmon, and her arms wrapped tightly around her the Valkyrie Missile, holding her close so that not even Zod himself could pull them apart. Eventually Kara peeled herself away and explained that it was time they returned home. She had done what she could to disable the containment facilities, and as she was running away she heard behind her a monstrous explosion. Kara had even returned to the site, but all she could see was rubble.

There was nothing she could do, and there was sign of Benjamin Wallis.

“I don’t think they’ll be coming back,” Kara said after she had finished retelling her story.

At least she he hoped they wouldn't be coming back. But if they did... she'd be ready.

She looked at her friends and smiled bravely.

It was time to go home.

~ ~ ~
Three months later
December

Snow.

Kara sat up in her bed slowly, and looking out through her frosted window she could see everything everywhere covered in a fresh blanket of the purest snow. She couldn't really feel the cold that came along with the change in seasons, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy all that Winter had to offer: ice skating, snowball fights, building snowmen (and women). Hot chocolate and mini marshmallows.

Pushing her bed sheets off of her body, Kara climbed out of bed and made her way downstairs.

Martha was in the kitchen preparing some hot soup for her husband who was busy outside shoveling some of the snow away from the door and off their pickup truck. Kara’s hair was a complete mess, but she looked rather cute standing in the kitchen with her pajama’s on and her hair a tangled mess.

“How come he didn’t wake me up?”

“Your father figured you could use the sleep,” Martha responded before she tested how hot the broth was. She set the ladle off to the side and let the soup heat up a little bit longer. Kara, meanwhile, pulled out a breakfast bowl and some cereal to munch on.

It was too early for chicken noodle soup.

“So how long am I grounded for again?” Kara asked before plopping a spoonful of Honey Nut Cheerios into her mouth. In truth her grades weren’t all that bad. She had tried her best to pick them up after being absent for so long, but by the end of the quarter all she had managed to do was raise them up to solid Bs.

“You’re not grounded,”

“Feels like it.”

“Sweetheart, your father just doesn’t want you running off into danger every five minutes. He wants you to be careful.”

“But I am careful,” Kara protested. “Mostly,” she added after her mother gave her a knowing look.

“I’ll be more careful. But I mean… what was I supposed to do? Just let Jeff Palmer kill Lex Luthor? And what was I supposed to do about Ian and Van? And that wasn't even my fault. Van came after me. Kara protested.

Martha tried to reason with her adopted daughter, but after a while she simply gave up. She called her husband inside to eat, and Kara left the table to get ready to do some work outside. She picked up where her dad had left off, shoveling the rest of the driveway and clearing a wide path towards the garage and various stables.

Kara met some of her friends at the Talon later on in the day for some coffee, and then her boyfriend Eric Marshall took her out to dinner and to see a movie. Her parents had initially wanted her to stay home and study, but they eventually acquiesced. Kara had only been dating Eric for about a month, and although there had been a few close calls so far he was as yet unaware of her… special heritage.

~ ~ ~
Monday morning

The roads had been cleared well enough by the next day to allow the buses to transport the students back and forth from school, and Kara found herself staring down at her locker as if they were engaged in a Western standoff. The damned thing wouldn’t budge even after she had peeled away her padlock, and when she was certain that no one was paying attention… she forced it open with a nice pull.

“Kara: 1. Locker: 0”

After she took off her coat and scarf Kara swapped out a few notebooks and textbooks, stuffing them into her backpack and zippering it up. She had a full line of classes, and hopefully, hopefully, nothing would screw things up.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Monday. Jamie, Rose, and Ceri.

Snow lay in thick blankets upon the wide flat world that was Kansas.

Snow hung from the branches of the patches of trees that encircled the old McCrimmon house.

Occasionally, a sound of sufficient amplitude would jar this snow and cause it to droop from the branches and fall to the ground with a muffled whumph.

Presently, the sounds that caused this were that of laughter.

"Blimey," Jamie taunted, staggering about the backyard, twirling a cricket bat, his eyes dancing, his mouth open wide, wearing his pinstriped brown suit and green trainers and the big beautiful coat with a ridiculously long scarf. "Honestly, d'you call this bowling?"

Rose grinned back at him. "I call this getting warmed up!"

Rose, in turn, was wearing big stompy boots like her mother often favoured, and a t-shirt and dearly-loved jeans and a lovely pink coat, with a white scarf ostensibly to match her father's. She was breathing hard, and each breath puffed from her mouth in frosty crystals.

She gestured at the snow, and snow leaped forth into the air, shedding spinning twisting turning as she concentrated on it, carving the clumps of snow she pulled up from the ground with her powers into utterly perfect spheroids.

Narrowing blue blue eyes at her father, she flexed her fingers in the air like a conductor summoning an orchestra to symphony, or a wizard summoning the elements. (More the second one.)

Jamie sniffed, and narrowed his eyes, and swung the bat out behind him, ready.

"Swing, batta-batta!" she roared, and one right after another, the six snowballs she'd sculpted hurtled at her dad...

Paf-paf-paf-paf-paf-paf, one right after the other, moving with a kind of ferocity generally reserved for dragonslaying, Jamie shattered the snowballs from the sky, swing parry bunt riposte swing slice!

Rose blinked.

Jamie ran his tongue over his teeth, insufferably proud of himself. "'Owzat?"

Rose squinted her eyes, and closed her fists in front of herself and pulled backwards hard at the air, like she was doing that old magician's trick in which he yanks a tablecloth from a table AND THE FLOWERS ARE STILL STANDING!

The snow shifted beneath Jamie like a rug getting tugged and startled, yelping, he tipped over backwards and landed in the snow with his meteor-rock Chuck Taylors up in the air and the cricket bat flat on the white beside him.

He lay there for a moment, gasping, and then clenched his eyes shut and whooped with laughter, kicking the air like he was peddling a bike, utterly utterly laughing his arse off.

Grabbing her knees and bending over, Rose joined her father in that laughter, completely mad, and a lot more snow started falling off of trees.

The sliding glass door that opened from the kitchen to the deck slid open in a hurry, and Ceri McCrimmon stood there holding a backpack and a briefcase.

She arched an eyebrow, and then bellowed: "Oi! Idiots! Yeh'll be late for school!"

Rose held her hand out to her dad and hauled him to his feet and, pausing only for him to scoop up that vintage cricket bat from the snow, hurried towards the house.

Trudging across the deck to the steps, Ceri smirked softly at Jamie as he took the briefcase from her and handed her the cricket bat. He kissed her on the cheek, and she looked offended, and, grinning, he kissed her on the lips instead.

Rose rolled her eyes, and nimbly yanked her backpack from her mother's grasp, kissing her on the opposite cheek.

Ceri fixed her daughter with an imperiously maternal glare. "Yeh never did clear the drive, I told yeh all day yesterday, and now the bus'll be here any minute. Got a full book today, off to work in half an hour, and there's no way I can get The Saab over that mess."

"You could just take Professor Smith's SUV," Rose pointed out.

"No fear," Ceri grunted. "Next yeh'll be saying that I should drive the thing full time and that you can have The Saab, I know you, we've been over this. Not 'till yeh're older."

"Can't blame a girl for trying," Rose grinned, and scampered off, running around the house and past the garage that Bekka Greystone had kindly paid to rebuild and enlarge.

"Yes I jolly well can!" Ceri called after her, shaking her head.

Dusting snow off of his shoulders, Jamie grinned at Ceri, and made to follow their daughter. "Don't come to pick us up 'till half-five, Rose has guitar lessons with that nice janitor bloke, and I've got to grade exams."

"Yeah, yeah," Ceri chuckled, waving him off. "I've kept a space clear in me book. (Should make yeh both walk home.)"

He made the 'I love you' sign in ASL and sprinted off.

Chuckling, Ceri rolled her eyes and, kicking snow off of her boots, went back in and slid the door shut.

Jamie caught up to Rose standing at the fork of the driveway looking thoughtful.

Jamie arched an eyebrow at his daughter, and she regarded him thoughtfully.

"Samantha," she wondered, "or Jeannie?"

"Elizabeth Montgomery," Jamie decided, "every time."

Rose nodded, and regarded the driveway.

And she twitched her upper lip, causing her nose to follow, crazy witch-girl, producing a fairly authentic version of the nose-twitch from "Bewitched."

And the snow on the driveway parted like The Red Sea, shoring itself up in banks on either side before settling into place with what sounded like a sigh.

Rose grinned.

Her father grinned back.

And the school bus rolled past the trees at the end of the drive and came to a stop, the doors whingeing open and the bus-driver giving them a sleepy-eyed look.

"Avanti," Jamie suggested, and they hurried onto the bus.

Rose searched the faces, looking for friends, looking for seats, and the driver put a hand on Jamie's arm. "Been meaning to ask you for months, perfesser. How come you ride the bus with the kids? Y'all got two cars, I've seen 'em."

Jamie smiled softly, and leaned in closer to the driver, his voice kept low and bemused. "I can tell you, Ron, in strictest confidence? That I am actually a really terrible driver."

"Huh," Ron mused. "Fair 'nuff."

The bus pulled away, and Ceri stuck her head out of the front door to see the driveway cleared. She tutted, but grinned goodnaturedly.

"See, look," she mock-griped, locking up and heading for the garage, "was that so hard?"

********​

Upon arriving at school, Jamie and Rose bumped fists and headed in opposite directions. Rose to her locker, and Jamie to the teacher's lounge to hang up his coat and scarf and wolf down a flagon of coffee.

Rose quickly squirreled her stuff away, mentally reciting her schedule to herself. Did I have Chemistry first? Or, wait, English?

Standing there with her locker open, Rose stared at it blankly, and then swung it shut. I'm gonna err on the side of Chemistry.

Turning and hurrying off, she reflected glumly that she didn't have more classes with Kyle. Perils of dating a boy two years older...

As the bell rang, Doctor Jamie Hamilton strolled into the class that doubled as his homeroom and the lab in which he taught Physics, glasses on and briefcase at the ready, grinning delightedly. "Good morning, class! Are we sitting comfortably?"

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

Sunnydale, California​

Graveyards are supposed to be quiet, solemn places. Places where you remember loved ones that have passed on, reflect on the knowledge they gave you, the good times you shared, lessons taught.

They should not be a battleground between a teenage Lord of a dimension outside Earth and a certain blond cheerleader and a horde of enraged vampires.

Meh, you take what you are given. Father Douglass had told me that my talents were needed out here in California, and upon meeting Giles and his team, I was in.

I ducked as the vamp tried to take my head off, and instead tore a chunk out a tree. I blasted it back from me and through a headstone, bones breaking as the marble shattered. It would be up in a minute or two, but it bought me some breathing room.

"I thought you were faster than that." said the young woman. A mound of ash was before her, the remains of the vamp she had just staked. She wasn't even breathing hard!

"I am faster. I just want to give you a chance to be part of the action." I dodged another vamp, then sank my clawed hand in it's back, yanking it's heart out. The vamp immediately burst into blue flames, and soon nothing was left but ashes and the stench of brimstone in the air. "That makes three for me."

"Four here." She dodged another strike and staked another one. Fire exploded and ashes swirled up in the cold breeze. "Five now slowpoke."

"Nag nag nag." I shifted to shadowform and another vamp passed through me, swiftly bursting into flames as I ripped it's heart from it. Another dived down from the tree, but a darkbolt slammed into it, knocking it's head completely off and causing another explosion of fire. "You make the leader yet?"

I heard a scream of rage and looked over to see a gaunt figure crouched atop a mausoleum. Mamma vamp.

"I think it's the bitch over there, but you never know," A flash of fire and brimstone, and vamp number eleven was staked. "It could be anyone. Especially band geeks. Those people creep me out."

What followed was both beautiful and terrible. Vamp and slayer dancing, fang and claw verses stake and skill. In the end the outcome was almost preordained. As the sky lightened, as I dropped the last of her brood, the creator screamed and exploded into blue flames, leaving the slayer standing among piles of ash.

I walked over to her and put my hand on her shoulder. "It's done. Thats the last one, and the sun's coming up anyway."
The sun. On the west coast.

Crap.

"I gotta go Buffy. Have Giles contact Father Douglass if you need me again, but I'm late. Take care."

Shadows swirled around me and I came out in the McCrimmon garage. Rose's mom looked up, her eyebrow arched in that mom-gesture she does so well.

"Let me guess, I missed the bus again."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Ceri.

Trudging across the now-clear driveway, Ceri adjusted her purse-strap on her shoulder and angled around the garage to the door at the side. Unlocking this, she swung it open, and stepped into the garage's murky depths, flicking the light switch as she did so to illuminate her Saab and Rose's BMW.

In the cold weather, the fluorescent tubes up near the ceiling took a moment or two to light up, flickering reluctantly, and in those moments of flickering the shadows jumped and juddered and bent...

...more than usual. A chill swirled the entire height of her spine and she bit the inside of her cheek, one hand adjusted to hold the purse-strap that she might swing this like a bludgeon, the other adjusted its grip on her keys.

She knew who this was. She knew the haunted house sound effects and the slithering darkness.

But she also knew from whence this being came when he stepped through from one shadow to the next, and she was always worried, dutiful mother and onetime bodyguard, that something else was going to come through instead. Or come through with him.

But, no.

It was him.

Possibly the only person on Earth who was as protective of Rose Mary McCrimmon as her parents.

Kyle Alec Matthews, né Greystone.

Dressed for work, so to speak. She arched an eyebrow at him, and glanced, subtly but profoundly, at her watch.

"Let me guess, I missed the bus again."

"Only just," Ceri nodded, readjusting her grip on purse and keys so as not to seem quite so... ready for anything, "but yes."

Unlocking the driver's door of The Saab and tossing her purse onto the passenger seat, she looked over at him with a faint smirk. "For a lad who never sleeps, you certainly seem to have a rough time getting going in the morning."

Moving closer, she reached up and flicked a bit of ash off of his shoulder, and then made a face, as though she knew or suspected what that ash once had been. And then she stood back.

"I'd offer yeh a lift," she mused, "but I've got to get the salon open. And I'm sure yeh can find yehr own way, materialise in some broom closet somewhere? Unless yeh'd prefer, like most of yehr friends, to get to school in a more traditional fashion?"

 

[AmenRa]

The Martian Manhunter

The Red Eyes of Mars passed quickly over the expanse of snow covered farmland that was Kansas. As he passed through the air, moving deftly over cornfields and homesteads, the cold air around him condensed and a mixture of snow and rain fell lightly.

J'onn J'onzz was but a red/green blur to all but the most sensitive of eyes. He traveled uncloaked, his blue and crimson uniform revealing him as a member of an elite corps of peacemakers; the lawmen of mars: the Manhunters.

But nothing on this world held any interest for him this day. His mind was on the small package he carried wrapped in a simple, burlap bag in his hands.

J'onn turned upwards towards Heaven, and the sound barrier broke with a resounding boom as he rocketed past the grip of gravity and slipped the surely bonds of Earth.

At their closest point in orbit around Sol, Earth and Mars are about 100 million kilometers apart. At their farthest this distance is about 380 million kilometers apart.

For the Martian Manhunter, distance was irrelevant. Traveling between these two planetary bodies was as simple as a person walking next door. Or even simpler, making a telephone call to the person next door. One moment, J'onn was leaving the atmosphere of his adopted homeworld, and the next he was circling the Red Planet in an eliptical orbit. He passed Phobos and Deimos, the Martian Moons, and he continued his orbit until he found the Cydonia Region and its most recognizeable feature: the Face of Mars.

The Martian Manhunter descended here, touching down on Martian soil once more. He had been here often in the last few months, but he took a moment to view the beauty of this tranquil world, a world that was now beautiful although it was barren and hostile to lifeforms other than his own. He remembered a time so long ago, thousands of years ago, when this very place at the foot of The Face was a teeming metropolis of his people, both Green and White, and their accomplishments of science, industry, and art.

J'onn looked around again, almost as if there may be someone watching him that shouldn't be. He then smirked at the notion, forgetting for a moment that Earth was so far away, and no one there could see him. He then changed.

He transformed. It was his gift to be a shapeshifter, to be able to change himself into anyone or almost anything, to copy and mimic a person right down to their voice and scent. But this, J'onn changed into himself, his true form, a being that none save another Martian would know, and a form that he had not used since Dr. Erdel first saw him so long ago.

Some humans would no doubt consider J'onn's true form to be hideous, or frightening, as did Dr. Erdel when he first saw the Martian. But it mattered not, now, here on his homeworld.

He placed a four-fingered hand on a bare spot on the Face's eastern side. The sands of Mars had long since eroded away the Martian script below this spot, but J'onn knew what it read. Inside the stone sculpture, ancient machinery came to life, and a doorway in front of J'onn slid aside as a large piece of stone.

J'onn stepped inside, making his way through a darkened corridor for a short ways until he came to the central chamber.

The Sanctum.

It had been a temple of H'ronmeer so long ago, when the civilization flourished, long before the psychic plague that enveloped them. The same plague that was created by J'onn's brother, Ma’alefa’ak, and shared the name of the Martian god as a curse.

As J'onn entered the large room, he spoke words in ancient Martian, and glow stones set into the walls and ceiling came on. They shined their light onto a dusty and sandy stone floor that had unique items carefully arranged on pedestals and display stands carved from the Martian stone.

J'onn walked over to an empty pedestal, and he opened the sack he carrried by untying a leather string. He then removed a golden statue, shaped like that of a mother giving birth. It was small, not much larger than J'onn's own hands. He placed it on the pedestal, then stepped back.

The Martian Manhunter's eyes glowed red, and this streams of heat energy blasted from them. In the stone beneath where the statue sat, J'onn used his heat vision to carve the statue's name in Martian script.

GODDESS OF FERTILITY, CHACHOPOYAN (HOVITOS), CENTRAL/SOUTH AMERICA, EARTH

There were other such artifacts in the room. These were items J'onn had liberated from persons who sought to take them and use them for their own greed. J'onn had collected many, as he had picked up their locations from exploits he had ventured on with The Outsiders.

It was J'onn's belief items were too powerful to fall into the wrong hands. One such was a gold gilded chest that had two winged creatures atop it. He had liberated this from a warehouse where it was occupying a partially burned crate. Another was a carved wooden chalice of no remarkable value; a simple cup whose once-golden finish had flaked and tarnished with the ravages of age. He felt that humans would misuse these ancient artifacts to their own ruin. He also believed they belonged in a museum. And so, he stored them here, in the Temple of H'ronmeer.

J'onn left the Sanctum, sealing it tight, and he returned to Earth.

He did not land on the planet, though. Instead, he stopped prior to atmosphere interface. He hovered above the green and blue world, watching as it turned beneath him. He folded his arms across his chest and floated there in space with such stillness, his cape furled out behind him, motionless in the zero gravity. His eyes were closed, but his incredible psychic powers reached out to every living thing on the planet. He was careful, cautious, for did not wish to intrude on thoughts or feelings (some he could not even if he tried, and to do so would be dangerous to him). He wasn't speaking to Earth. He was listening to her.

And there the Martian Manhunter waited.

 

[Lunaramblings]

The Tennylson Ranch had undergone a great deal of change. Upon Edmund's move to the ranch he had installed a 10 ft perimeter fence around the back yard. He had also had a large building built in the back of the lot. This was were he and Merick and Dale had spent the majority of their free time. Dale was hesitant to allow Edmund to teach Merick. He knew how dangerous Edmund's lessons could be. His one rule was that he was there.

This morning, Merick, Edmund and Dale were running another simulation. Dale and Edmund were making attacks on Merick. Merick had learned quickly. He was always gifted with outstanding muscle memory. Merick had despised learning the basics of Krav Maga and Jiu Jitsu, but he loved Aikido.

Merick was walking through the simulated alleyways. Near pitch dark. The headphones he was wearing chaffed and irritated him. No armor. That was the rule for today. No armor, no blasts. Teleportation only.

Merick stepped around the dumpster very carefully. He felt the movement. Saw it out of the corner of his eye. A dark shape. So quick. Merick just had time to duck the swing of the staff. It shattered the side of the wall beside him. Then there were two.

Two trained killers. Two men with decades of experience.

Merick grinned. There was a nigh never ceasing sound of air swooshing around the alley. Merick was never in the same spot twice. Never there longer than a millisecond before he was gone again. Chaos. That was the word Edmund had used. As Merick vanished and reappeared he would strike out quickly. Just glancing blows. But enough to disorient. Enough to confuse. Then, suddenly, the two men found themselves in a very dark place. And it smelled. Then came the laughter.

"Still glad you insisted on a real dumpster Gramps?"

"Merick, if you don't release the force bubble on this thing, I swear to high heaven, when I get out, I am gonna melt that damn I-Pod of yours."

"Pretty sure this constitutes cheating son."

"What was it Gramps said the other night? There is no truth, no justice, no law, except that which we make for ourselves? Well, I made a choice. New law. The kid with the powers decides how best to use them."

"Fine smart ass. Have fun explaining to yer teach why yer late again though. Class starts in 30 seconds."

"Dammit!" There was a swoosh as Merick disappeared, the force bubble around the dumpster gone, his headphones sitting on the floor.

Merick nearly missed the school. Again. He hated this. He only knew for sure of one place he could jump into. The Torch office. The place he first misapplied his powers to spectacular malfunction. Merick appeared just above the ground. Only a little off. But very much at the wrong angle. He nearly face planted himself into the window as he caught his balance. Still grinning he frantically whipped out his cell. Mass text for the win.

"Someone distract Rose's dad! Late again, as usual. Don't want him to have to cover for me again!"

 

[camerindrake]

Principal Kwan's office. This became an everyday occurrence since Damian Wayne aka David Cain had started Smallville High shortly after the incident where Kara got kidnapped. His lack of knowledge of how to act in traditional society being the normal reason of what gets him in trouble.

"Mr. Cain do I need to ask you why you are in my office again?" Principal Kwan asks as per custom, though Damian knows exactly why he is in the office. Which is followed by Mr. Reynolds answering the question before Damian opens his mouth. "You threw Troy Baker through the windshield of your car after breaking his arm in three places. Now tell me how is it you can do that in the matter of minutes of the confrontation."

Damian finally says, "He came up to me about scoping out his girl. I looked around the campus and said I that i didn't see any infants on campus. He then proceeded to try to attack me at which point I defended myself."

Principal Kwan blinks a few times and at a loss of words from the directness and seriousness Damian's words. Once able to speak he asks, "Mr. Cain you are trying to tell me you didn't know that Mr. Baker was confronting you about staring at his girlfriend?"

Damian blinks just once and answers, "No."

Principal Kwan says, "You are lucky that Troy's parents have decided against pressing charges for some reason or another so I'll have to call your mother about this for the time being. So please just just leave my office for the time being."

Damian responds with, "She will be at work by now."

The principal eyes the young knight and says, "We have her cell and I am tempted to put it on speed dial."

Damian stands up and says, "Until I can understand people better I think that would be for the best."

 

[ChasNicollette]

Jamie.

"Right, then," Jamie mused, gazing out at his class, picking up the clipboard with the attendance on it, "best get to it then, everyone find your seats, and if you must scratch ridiculous things into your desks at least spell properly."

Swinging his wheeled wooden desk-chair around from the back of his desk, he twirled the chair to face the front of the desk, and then sat atop the desk with his trainer-clad feet set upon the chair. As he did so, most if not all of the students found their way to their seats.

"Staaaaaarting at the top," he began, and--

--then his pocket started buzzing.

He blinked. "Erm. 'Ang on."

The class chortled softly, and a number of them rolled their eyes.

Tugging his phone out of his pocket, he blinked as he had received a text message. "Sorry, sorry, thought I'd turned this off, bad example."

Snapping the phone open, he blinked at the message's contents.

'Someone distract Rose's dad! Late again, as usual. Don't want him to have to cover for me again!'

Jamie sighed heavily, shook his head, clucked his tongue, and hit "reply."

'Student handbook, page 23, Chuck Taylor. You're not to use mobiles during classroom hours. 50 points from Hufflepuff.'

And again: 'And if you don't start learning to check your contacts before sending out mass SMSes, I'll send you a virus that'll fry your SIM card, are we crystal?'

And one last time, for effect: '"Also, I can kill you with my brain."'

Snapping the phone shut, he shook his head dourly. "'When constabulary duties' to be done, to be done...'"

Back to business, he glanced up at the class. "Right!"

A paper airplane whicked past his ear. His eyebrow quirked. "Could use a little more work on those drag co-efficients, Sandy, see me after."

Sandy Aaronson sunk low in his chair, wondering how the teacher could have possibly backtraced that trajectory.

And, as it happened, "Aaronson" was the first name on Jamie's attendance sheet. "Oh, s'pose that's a 'here,' then."

"Yeah," Sandy mumbled.

 

[Varshanka]

Zatanna, Mistress of Magic

Snow swirled and blew. The temperature dropping by the second. A wall of white, blizzard level white parted and she walked out of the swirling ice particles. A twitch of a finger, a whisper of words, and the path was clear. The entry to the cave laid bare.

Stepping inside Zatanna walked deep. Deeper than most. Deeper than many. As deep as a very few had ever gone. Looking at the walls she memorized the glyphs. The writings. The runes and drawings. The placement. The patterns.

A warning called to her. A warning from the past about the future.

Sighing she closed her eyes for the briefest of moments. She had work to do. So much work. A witches work was never done it seemed.

A wand slid from her sleeve and twirled in the air. Twisting and rolling it spun between her fingers. Faster than a coin. Faster then air. Faster than fire and water.

An incantation streamed from her lips and reality parted. Reality tore itself asunder at her wish. Reality bent to her will.

And the woman known as Zatanna vanished from the Kawatche caves and appeared inside her shop. In the back room of course. In a space specially prepared for these events. Cleared, discreetly, for teleportation.

Walking out into the main room she twitched the wand and the sign flipped from closed to open. The door unlocking. Snow still blew outside in the early morning hours. But it was that time of year. And people were always doing late shopping.

“Well, don’t break down the door. But Sentinals of Magic is open for business,” she whispered.

 

[LuckyVic]

Barry Allen, The Flash

Barry still couldn't believe he was here.

No it was more that he was here in this small town in Kansas. A town so small they called it Smallville. But not only that but he was teaching at the high school. Teaching instead of being in a crime lab.

But he needed time, time to master his new abilities. And that was something being a Foresnic scientist in Central City just didn't given him. But working at Smallville High would give all the time he needed. Teach school by day, and then he'd have the night to find some place quiet and practice. At least that was the plan, he told himself as he finished writing the last part of lesson 1 for his chemistry class.

Of course it was only this morning that he was also informed that he'd be a home room teacher. Home room teacher to a freshmen class. He had to b paying off Karma at a drastically excellerated rate.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Chloe, Pete, Harmony, and Rose.

Snow gusted against the windows, but the ploughs were already out there, were already on the job, the storm had abated, they were just clearing away the snow that had blown from the winds. By the time the buses would be running, the roads would be plenty clear.

Chloe, on the other hand, had burned the midnight oil at both ends and she sat, exhausted, at one of her desks in The Torch offices.

Principal Kwan was a good man, just as Principal Jamison had been before him, but Kwan was very much concerned with What People Thought and Keeping Up Appearances. And thus, since a lot of people that had evacuated during The Second Meteor Shower had decided to not come back, and everyone was still pretty touchy about the whole "meteor freak" concept, Mister Kwan had come down on Chloe's Torch reporting like a ton of censorshippy bricks.

And thus, she had worn herself out late into the night and was here bright and early the following morning trying to hammer the paper into sufficient shape that Kwan would allow it to circulate.

Blearily, she glanced up at the clock. Oh, God, there's not enough coffee in the world...

Blinking, she glanced again at the screen, and all the words and the Microsoft Publisher text boxes were blurring together, she blinked again, shook her head.

I should sleep. Just for a minute. Thirty-second power-nap.

Wouldn't... wouldn't do any harm...

Pushing her keyboard aside, she cushioned her head on folded arms and closed her eyes.

Half-an-hour later, she awoke with a start to find her shoulder being jostled...

By Pete Ross.

"Hey," Pete was there, his girlfriend was there, they were both looking at Chloe like she was a reanimated corpse.

(Which, not so far off.)

Pete frowned at her, just behind him Harmony McClure was holding two travel cups of Talon coffee.

"Hey," Chloe sat up, rubbing at her eyes, again blinking sluggishly at the clock, feeling no better and actually a whole lot worse. "What time is it?"

Harmony shook her head and squinted at Pete. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah," Pete nodded at Harmony, offering her a thumbs-up. "Seen this before, like a thousand times. She just needs a shot of espresso. Or four."

"You have not seen it a thousand times," Chloe complained, rubbing her face again with both hands.

Pete winked at Harmony. "Nine-fifty."

Harmony grinned, and held out the coffee in her left hand. "This was the almond mocha extra whip, I presume?"

Pete accepted this from her, and set it on the desk in front of Chloe. "Got it in one."

Chloe fixed her eyes on this like it was a vial from The Fountain of Youth. "You guys are godsends."

"Messenger of th' gods, yeah," Pete chuckled. "We gotta be in Professor Allen's homeroom in like five minutes. Mercury, Hermes, Hermod, take your quicksilver pick."

"Shit," Chloe mumbled, saving and shutting her computer down in a hurry, grabbing up the coffee and her laptop bag. "Shit, and I never filled that far-right column on page three, just three inches of a half-page staring back empty..."

"We could always pack it in with Dale Tennylson Facts," Pete grinned, "those always play well."

"I don't get those," Harmony opined immediately, wrinkling up her nose. "I mean, Chuck Norris I could understand, but Doctor Tennylson's an animal doctor person? How could he ever, I don't know, 'liberate Tibet just to beat it up for being a sissy?'"

Pete blinked. "That's a good one."

He clasped his hand to his heart and he stared at her. "I love you."

Harmony rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Save it, Petey. You already have a date to The Formal, you don't have to keep buttering me up."

Chloe smirked, despite herself, this was sweet, seeing them together. She hadn't understood them at first, either, just like Harmony didn't understand "The DTFs," it kind of struck her as being a Xander/Cordelia romance? But Pete had somehow rescued prim, cliquey Harmony's necklace from a storm drain during the first big snow of the season, no-one could figure out how Pete had been able to reach down through that thin grating and save the day, but so he had. A combination of chivalry and speed-racer street cred later, and Harmony was actually spending more time with Pete than she was with Dawn Stiles...

"That's the whole thing, Harm," Chloe suggested, making for the door. "Does him being a mild-mannered vet make these claims of superheroism and bad-assery less funny, or more? I mean, with Norris, they're a natural extrapolation of that whole 'Walker' image. With Doctor Dale, they're way out from a completely far-fetched part of left field. Plus, Ian Spector got sued for that whole thing, we've got the Tennylsons' blessing."

Harmony chewed that over as Chloe locked the office door behind her and they headed towards Allen's class. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

Pete smirked. "'Bout as much as anything 'round here does, anyway."

A quick walk later, and they were filing into Professor Allen's room.

Rose was sitting at the back, and she waved to them, gestured, grinning. "Morning, guys! I saved us seats!"

The three of them moved to join her, Pete and Harm sitting side-by-side in front of Rose, and Chloe moving in beside Rose. "Morning, Cerebra."

Rose rolled her eyes, and made to reply, when Pete's, Chloe's, and Rose's phones all went off pretty much simultaneously.

As one, wide-eyed, they checked their phones quickly.

Rose facepalmed. "Oh, frell. Not again."

Pete grunted. "I ain't pullin' no fire alarm."

Harmony glanced from face to face to face quickly. "What? What? Is this one of those Torch-family emergencies Pete's always telling me about?"

"Something like that," Chloe smiled wistfully, shaking her head at her phone, at her boyfriend. "Good luck, Mer'. Godspeed."

 

[Lunaramblings]

Merick slapped his forehead more forcefully than he intended. Knocking his crumpled vintage fedora off. He caught it before it hit the ground. How could he forget that Mr. Mac was in his phone book? Seriously! Merick debated just teleporting in, hoping no one would notice. Not likely. How then...

Merick grinned.

"Judd Nelson. Sherman High, 1984. What could go wrong right?" There was a swoosh and Merick was gone.

Merick was surrounded by cobwebs and wiring. The school really needed to reconsider the wireless options. Maybe he would talk to Gramps about setting something up. Merick crawled through the ceiling. He was pretty sure he was there. Almost. One more.....

CRASH!!

The panel gave way. Merick wanted to teleport. He had the chance. But that would risk witnesses. That would be too dangerous. Instead he braced for impact. Luckily the panel he fell through was not over a desk or chair. Merick crashed to the floor. Then was on his feet fixing his hat and dusting his shoulders.

"Sorry about the ruckus sir. I pretty sure this one isn't covered in the handbook sir." Merick couldn't help but grin ear to ear.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

"I'll just step to that stand of cedar by the football field and walk in. I'll beat the bus, but thats OK. I can find something to do.

I hadn't missed her brushing off the ash either. It was one of the few things I kept from Rose. You couldn't rehabilitate a person turned by a vamp, couldn't reason with them or help them go vegan. You had one choice, kill them before they spread the infection. I had promised myself that if I could help it, Rose was not going to have to kill again.

"I'll catch you later Ms McCrimmon. Places to go, grades to be kept up." Shadows engulfed me and soon thereafter I was walking out of a thick stand of trees, my breath curling around me as I made my way to the front of the school.

I passed by the Torch office and noticed Chloe was down in front of her laptop. I chuckled and kept walking. Either Mer or Pete would take care of our fair haired bringer of truth. In and out of my locker in a flash, I grabbed my history text for second period and made my way to the classroom and took my seat.

And about jumped out of my skin as my phone buzzed in my pocket!

I managed to pull it out and check it. A good morning from Rose, a reminder from Chloe that we still needed to finish polishing up that interview (she was not letting that one go until all the rough edges were polished off), and a 911 from Launchpad.

Again.

CC'd to everyone, including the Doc.

Again.

I sent Rose a wink and a heart, Chloe a message to catch up with me at lunch, and put my phone away right before the teach walked in.

Time to fill my brain.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Jamie.

Doctor Jamie Hamilton had gotten to Simon Tam and was about to say Merick's name reaaaaally slowly to give him an extra few seconds to stumble in through the door to yell "here," or "present," or "je suis arriver" or whatever it was the kids said these days, when...

...he blinked, glanced up at the ceiling. He'd felt it. His low-level metagene twitched somewhere in his chromosomes and he'd felt it, the folding of time and of space, the treating of four-dimensions like a two-dee piece of paper, like something out of Carl Sagan...

"No," he mumbled, "oh, you didn't--"

CRASH!!

And down he came, just like he'd crashed into Bruce Wayne's yard, he came down like a ton of Tennylsonny bricks and Jamie shook his head and sighed.

Merick crashed to the floor. Then was on his feet fixing his hat and dusting his shoulders.

Collectively, the whole classroom recoiled, a couple of the girls screamed, poor Simon was under the desk like a gunshot had gone off.

"Sorry about the ruckus sir. I pretty sure this one isn't covered in the handbook sir." Merick couldn't help but grin ear to ear.

Jamie didn't look him in the eye for a moment. "Tennylson, Merick," he declared, and made an exaggerated check-mark motion on the clip-board. "'Here.'"

Hugging the board to his stomach, Jamie then peered imperiously over his glasses at Merick. "Mister Tennylson. It is my understanding, young sir, that you are seeing a young lady, name of Sullivan? And that, as part of that, erm, social entanglement, you are intending to take Miss Sullivan to the imminent Winter Formal? It would behoove you, then, ergo thus therefore, to avoid detention at all costs, lest you be denied such extracurricular diversions."

Jamie squinted his eyes, and pushed his glasses up on his nose. He deliberated with himself. (He hated this part.) "You will stay late tonight and personally assist Mister Jenkins in repairing this ceiling. And you will stay late tomorrow night through Thursday night to help my teaching assistant read over everyone's papers on The Four Laws of Thermodynamics. Is that clear?"

 

[Lunaramblings]

Merick stopped grinning.

"Yessir. Sorry." Merick took his seat and looked down at the floor. Gramps might kill him. For reals. For really reals. This might make him miss some training sessions. But it was totally worth it.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Rose and Chloe.

I sent Rose a wink and a heart, Chloe a message to catch up with me at lunch, and put my phone away right before the teach walked in.

Rose had her facepalm still covering her face when her phone went off again, and she showed a blue eye to the world between her fingers. And saw a couple of emoticons waiting for her that made her grin.

Quickly, her fingers were quick, she typed back: '<3<3<3<3!'

Chloe got her message a moment or two later, and she nodded to herself, pegging a '10-4' back to Kyle before saying another little quick prayer on Mer's behalf and tucking her phone away.

Learning to be done. If only I can keep my eyes propped open...