The Last Daughter of Krypton: World's Finest

[ChasNicollette]

Chloe and Rose.

I chuckled (which got a raised eyebrow from both ladies).

Rose shivered softly, and oh, yes, scarlet brow mirrored Chloe's goldenrod one.

Even when you're a person, you're still scary, you're still beautiful.

That laugh still scares me joyful.

"Love the last time I tried to answer that question you stopped me after five minutes of guessing, and that doesn't even scratch the surface. Hell, i wouldn't put it past him to be fighting Sasquatch in the pantry."

Chloe's lip quirked. That was daaaangerously close to dead-on. Chloe had to remember that for awhile there, Wraith had been pretty close to a Gotham boy himself. Part-timer.

Maybe the legends of Slaughter Swamp were not unfamiliar to him.

"Abominable Swamp-Man," she corrected. "But the kitchen wasn't on his itinerary."

Merick was there and we exchanged the customary guy-hug thing.

And, not to be outdone, Chloe and Rose bumped fists.

But it was a little awkward because Rose had to stop herself just before she accidentally poked Chloe with a diamond and switched fists...

Chloe grinned, and took Rose's hand gently in hers, and held the ring finger up to the light.

She whistled softly. "I'm no expert, but that's no zircon. Nice work."

Rose beamed, ecstatic, walking on air. "My man knows better than to equip an omnitherm with second-class 'ice.'"

"OK Launchpad, what you do this time? And Rosy dear, what did you and the man of a thousand furry green faces DO down there while I was playing tag with the Scarecrow in Gotham?"

Rose's cheeks burned, and her eyes burned right along with them, seriously, a candle blazed bright in each pupil.

"Gar Logan," she explained, through gritted teeth, "has an assortment of funny ideas about the nature of hypothermia prevention. And that is all that need be said on the subject."

She shook her head. ("All we were supposed to be doing was helping Uncle Ted's, uh, 'friend.' And, yes, Gar's totemistic energies were able to restore her aura. But apparently I had to restore his 'totemistic energies' first.")

Rose placed her hand on Kyle's chest. "No offence, Ray Charles? But men can get some ridiculous ideas in their heads."

Eyes half-lidded, Chloe took this in stride. "Like unmasking himself as a metahuman on the British equivalent of Court TV?"

Rose nodded quickly: "Like unmask--"

She paused, and her eyes blazed brighter as she locked her gaze on Merick's face. "Wait, like what?"

Chloe chuckled faintly. "Sort of."

Rose blinked, the flames shuttering behind her eyelids for an instant. "Woah. Ginchy."

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

"Restore HIS energies??? He got another belly rub outta you didn't he??"

"Like unmasking himself as a metahuman on the British equivalent of Court TV?" said Chloe and I stopped still.

"YOU DID WHAT!!??!!" Came out a bit higher than I expected.

The room was suddenly lots darker making Roses eyes glow even more, and I noticed that runes started glowing on the walls to my shadowsight.

"Woah, you got the house warded. Buckethead doesn't do that for no reason. What the frell is going on with you two?" I said in a low voice.

Unmasking on TV!!! Jesus!!

"I swear I'm gonna have Tommy drop him off in the Cretaceous period. Maybe, just maybe he can stay out of trouble there!" I muttered under my breath.

 

[Lunaramblings]

Merick grinned at Rose.

"Look, I had to yeah? I mean, last night, this guy that owns m'favorite tobacco shop, he was bein' robbed, friggin' tossers were stoned, on something. They were going to kill us both. I went all green and mean on the little bastards. Served 'em right. Then, when the police show up, Sammy, my friend, gets arrested. They spin it as some terrorist thing, cause one of the robbers is apparently the kid of some parliament jerk. So I did what I had to. I left my mask and a statement. Kept the aura up though. Not like they will figure me out."

Merick looked at Chloe lovingly. "You look me in the eye and tell me I dint do right. Sorry love, should have really talked to you first. But you know me, once I get set on a path.... well, some time the blinders are on.

"YOU DID WHAT!!??!! Came out a bit higher than I expected.

The room was suddenly lots darker making Roses eyes glow even more, and I noticed that runes started glowing on the walls to my shadowsight.

"Woah, you got the house warded. Buckethead doesn't do that for no reason. What the frell is going on with you two?" I said in a low voice.

Unmasking on TV!!! Jesus!!

"I swear I'm gonna have Tommy drop him off in the Cretaceous period. Maybe, just maybe he can stay out of trouble there!" I muttered under my breath.

Merick grinned. "Some one dropped a crate on our doorstep. Inside said crate was some big swamp monster-zombie thing. Sall good. Totally dropped his ass off on the moon. So Tommy did a bit of digging, found some wards and set them. Apparently it sends some type of warning if anyone not on the short list tries to come so close. Then me or Tommy show up and get Chloe out ASAP. As you can guess, you are on the short list. So.... the rock eh? Big step. Sure you want to do this? I mean, Rosy is kinda a brat."

Merick chuckles.

Huh, "belly rub"? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

The room suddenly got lots darker, and something happened that hadn't occurred in over ten Earth years.

I changed.

"Solomon Grundy was HERE?" Came out very low, and very dangerous. "These wards won't even slow him down. I can, but it would take both of us to stop him. And he doesn't leave Gotham unless he's sent. He will be back, because someone wants Chloe dead."

I stopped and focused, saying a calming mantra in my head to slow my racing heart. These two were important to me. I didn't love many people, but the knucklehead and his way too inquisitive wife were family.

"If I thought you would go for it Chloe I'd take you to Shadow until we found out who was after you. Will you settle on the Aerie? We have room, and a full security detail two floors down."

Shadows were still flexing throughout the apartment, but my hands were normal now.

Grundy. The last time we tangled he had almost pulled my arm off. Grundy was a heavy hitter. Kara's league, not mine or Merick's.

 

[ChasNicollette]

"YOU DID WHAT!!??!! Came out a bit higher than I expected.

The room was suddenly lots darker making Roses eyes glow even more, and I noticed that runes started glowing on the walls to my shadowsight.

The hair on Rose's arms stood up and she glanced around-- (Hey, are there wards in here?)

"Woah, you got the house warded. Buckethead doesn't do that for no reason. What the frell is going on with you two?" I said in a low voice.

"Look, I had to yeah? I mean, last night, this guy that owns m'favorite tobacco shop, he was bein' robbed, friggin' tossers were stoned, on something. They were going to kill us both. I went all green and mean on the little bastards. Served 'em right. Then, when the police show up, Sammy, my friend, gets arrested. They spin it as some terrorist thing, cause one of the robbers is apparently the kid of some parliament jerk. So I did what I had to. I left my mask and a statement. Kept the aura up though. Not like they will figure me out."

Merick looked at Chloe lovingly. "You look me in the eye and tell me I dint do right. Sorry love, should have really talked to you first. But you know me, once I get set on a path.... well, some time the blinders are on.

Chloe smiled gently, matching loving look for loving look.

"I knew you had to have a good reason," she murmured. "Never crossed my mind that you wouldn't. You did right. You did right. (This was Sammy? You did right. You punk that House of Lords ass-monkey.)"

"Brave new world," Rose wondered. "Metahumans gone public."

"I swear I'm gonna have Tommy drop him off in the Cretaceous period. Maybe, just maybe he can stay out of trouble there!" I muttered under my breath.

...Rose's ears were sharp, and she mumbled back: "Noooot a smart idea. Next thing you know he steps on a butterfly who's dreaming he's an emperor and a whole domino effect of reincarnation totally gets thrown off."

"Better reincarnation," Chloe mused, "then self-resurrecting hit-beasties. (But this was before. Before the, uh. Revelation.)"

Merick grinned. "Some one dropped a crate on our doorstep. Inside said crate was some big swamp monster-zombie thing. Sall good. Totally dropped his ass off on the moon. So Tommy did a bit of digging, found some wards and set them. Apparently it sends some type of warning if anyone not on the short list tries to come so close. Then me or Tommy show up and get Chloe out ASAP. As you can guess, you are on the short list. So.... the rock eh? Big step. Sure you want to do this? I mean, Rosy is kinda a brat."

Rose stuck her tongue out at him. (Just like old times.)

Merick chuckles.

Huh, "belly rub"? Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

"If by 'belly rub,'" Rose snrked, "you mean 'arse-whupping?' If you'd like a demonstration, Mer', I got some time free before my impending nuptials."

"Solomon Grundy was HERE?" Came out very low, and very dangerous. "These wards won't even slow him down. I can, but it would take both of us to stop him. And he doesn't leave Gotham unless he's sent. He will be back, because someone wants Chloe dead."

"No, listen, sweetie," Rose cautioned, "they're not meant to stop him, they're a red alert klaxon, all hands on deck. 'Duck and Run.' Powerhouse that Grundy is, you can't do much better for an emergency wormhole manoeuver than Doc Fate or Captain Launchpad."

"If I thought you would go for it Chloe I'd take you to Shadow until we found out who was after you. Will you settle on the Aerie? We have room, and a full security detail two floors down."

Chloe paused, and digested this, and slipped her hand into Merick's.

"No offence," she murmured, "but as kind and gentle as a place as I'm sure you've made Shadow now? I still think it's a little too. Risky. Considering."

She took a bit of a breath. "Considering what's at stake these days."

She smiled faintly. "Granted. I think we should move someplace bigger, somewhere a little more off the beaten path? I know you guys are The Big Apple's biggest fans... but we're adoptive Britishers now. (Have you heard Merick talk lately?) We're staying put. Put-ish. Because there's no way our kids are going to be born or grow up anywhere but The Sceptered Isle."

Rose hesitated and did the math.

"'Kids?'" she murmured, and the candles in her eyes burned white blue hot. "There was. Curious emphasis. On. 'Kids?'"

 

[Lunaramblings]

"Listen.... Kyle. Oh all powerful Scion of Gloomy-ness. I can take care of my own, yeah? And I gotta say, I did just fine. He got in a few licks, but I dealt with it. Besides, I don't think he was after Chloe. Tommy dug up some info, seems Old Solly, used to work muscle for Edge. Grandpa Edmund had danced a few rounds with him back in the day. Tommy is looking into the Edge connection. I appreciate your concern, but don't dare think I am incapable of protecting my wife and children. Course, if you want a practical demonstration...." Merick was wreathed once again in the emerald force that he had embraced so over the last few years. Merick rarely was out of control. It was his thing. Keeping his head. But Kyle had pushed a button.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Chloe and Rose.

Chloe pushed a button of her own. She leveled a fingertip at where she estimated Merick's nose would be, and pressed that fingertip against the force of Merick's aura.

"Kryptonite-powered testosterone," Chloe suggested, "need not apply. Mer', you're among friends, and Kyle's been a warlord for awhile, he's going to start taking the Sun Tzu route soon as this sort of thing pops up. I'm sure he doesn't mean to offend anyone's sensibilities."

Rose smiled faintly. "All this talk, these days, about secret identities. And this was a case of good, old-fashioned, mistaken identity."

Her voice was soft and sing-song, and she closed her eyes, quaffing those flames. "Iiiironyyy..."

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

"Do you want your wife and my fiancé to kick both our asses?" I said. "You planted a frikin metahuman zombie on the moon for cryin out loud! I know you can take care of Chloe, but I love both of you, and I'm concerned. I apologize amigo."

I lowered my head, digesting what Chloe had just said. Kids. Dear God Merick was going to be a daddy. I couldn't outwardly smile, but on the inside I definitely could.

"OK Chloe, your the boss, but I have something that will still be a help. Stay put a few, I'm off to steal something thats going to make Bekka sqwak."

Shadow swirled around me and I was gone. Seconds later I was in San Antonio in the bowels of the physics lab of Gen-Tech Southwest. Dropping a darkness field, I made my way through a few corridors, until I reached R&D. Phasing through a few doors, and porting past one sleepy guard, I reached my destination.

Armor concepts. The shop I wanted.

In less than five minutes I was back in Chloe's pad, and I dropped my armor. In my hands was a bronze box.

"Chloe, this is something we just developed. This is the first production model, so Bekkas probably going to kill me, but if your getting the kind of unwanted guest you got, then you need this more than the damn president."

I opened the box, which had a bronze colored bracelet inside, about a inch wide and a millimeter thick, with a slightly glowing blue gem set in it.

"Slap this gem Chloe and you will be encased in for lack of a better term a force field about two inches out from your body. It will last about three minutes until the charge is depleted, but we tested this against a shell from a destroyer, and it didn't even knock the mannequin over. Should buy you some time if another emergency happens. Don't worry about batteries, it recharges off the earths magnetic field."

I handed the box out to her. "Your call, but I'd sleep better knowing you were wearing it."

 

[Lunaramblings]

Merick knew he had already lost. She was right. Kyle was just trying to be the best friend. He just wanted to make sure all was safe.

The emerald fury surrounding Merick ebbed and then went out.

"Right. Sorry. Been stretched a bit thin as of late. Burning the candle at both ends. Like a bit of butter spread over too much bread." Merick smiled, weakly, Babe, you know no one can hang out with John and not pick up the lingo, lucky I ain't using rhyming slang.

Merick listened to Kyle. Then Kyle was gone. Then back. Merick sighed heavily. It had been more than two days since he had slept. He knew he needed to take a break. But there was so much to read. Until last night he was pretty sure Dr. Spock was a Vulcan. The bracelet was a good idea. It would at least give another layer to the defenses. Sorry, Kyle. You, eh, want maybe come in, have some coffee? And for the record, I thought it was nice of me to put Grundy on the moon. Was gonna go for Mars. Thought that would be cruel though. The flesh eating horses of Mars are hungry."

Merick tripped as he tried to lead the way in, tripped over his own feet, Merick could see the table rushing.... Not again Merick swooshed just before he would have crashed through the table. Merick reappeared a second later standing on the couch. "I think I need a YooHoo.... oh, and I got Cubans!"

 

[ChasNicollette]

"You know," Rose murmured, taken aback at the tech Kyle had at his disposal, yeah, she shouldn't be, she shouldn't be taken aback, but there she was, this was so cool, "if you keep dropping all this gorgeous jewelry on all our beautiful blonde friends, I might start to develop a jealous streak."

Chloe almost looked like she might cry. She accepted the box and gazed at it.

Oh, if she could have switched this on in Grundy's presence, the look on his craggy barnacled countenance would have been utterly without price.

"Thank you," she murmured. "(I know you don't sleep, but I appreciate the sentiment.) Thank you, Kyle. This is. Amazing. (If, uh, if this is your bid for 'godfather,' then I gotta tell you, you're totally in the running). Merick, isn't this nice gentleman with whom you've totally been swapping rabies-foam totally in the running for godfatherhood?"

"Right. Sorry. Been stretched a bit thin as of late. Burning the candle at both ends. Like a bit of butter spread over too much bread." Merick smiled, weakly, Babe, you know no one can hang out with John and not pick up the lingo, lucky I ain't using rhyming slang.

Rose chuckled. "Do you say 'berk?' Berk's rhyming slang, that counts, John says that all the time."

"Frell," Chloe mumbled. "John. 'Uncle' John. D'you know he shoved me once off of Big Ben with the Koh-i-Noor in my hands to stop the supposed curse from killing its next owner? Kyle gives me jewelry that saves my life, John gives me jewelry as an excuse to kill me dead for five minutes, Rose, you're good at math, do the math."

Rose did the math. And grinned. "Uncle John's a right bluddy berk."

Sorry, Kyle. You, eh, want maybe come in, have some coffee? And for the record, I thought it was nice of me to put Grundy on the moon. Was gonna go for Mars. Thought that would be cruel though. The flesh eating horses of Mars are hungry."

"Cruel to the horses, maybe," Rose winced. "They're carnivores, and Grundy's a little heavy on the cellulose. Plus, they have that defensive gas-jet fire-breath, and he's fireproof or something. (Tough customer.)"

"Speaking of Mars," Chloe wondered, running her hands through her hair and laughing softly, "does anyone have a current number for J'onn? I don't know if you saw this, but he played his own closet-superhuman card in New York this morning. I may not be able to cover my husband's unmasking, but if I can get an exclusive with Mr. J'onzz, that'll make up for it a little."

Merick tripped as he tried to lead the way in, tripped over his own feet, Merick could see the table rushing.... Not again

Chloe froze, she could see the table, one hand covered her mouth... Not again?

Merick swooshed just before he would have crashed through the table. Merick reappeared a second later standing on the couch. "I think I need a YooHoo.... oh, and I got Cubans!"

Chloe's sigh of relief died in her throat.

"Again with the smoking," she harrumphed, though not entirely ungoodnaturedly.

"No smoke without fire," Rose quipped.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

I walked over to Rose and gave her a peck on the cheek.

"No reason to be jealous baby, you have the most important piece of jewelry in my family, and it's definitely on the right hand" I said, slipping my arm around her waist and pulling her into me.

"Chloe, I'm already honored to be your friend, and maybe if I do make Godfather I can help you teach the kids how to talk. Blink-boy over there has completely forgotten how to be intelligible."

I turned just in time to catch Merick's near dive through the table. He was getting damn good at using his powers. Not so much at not using them though. I walked over with Rose and sat down next to my best friend in this world.

"Buddy, you don't need cigars, you need sleep. Last time I saw you this wrung out that typhoon had hit Indonesia and we were rescuing people for two days straight. Hell, I was tired, and I don't sleep. Don't come to stay, but come and visit. Kara said she would come by the Aerie later on today, and I know she's be happy to see you two. Especially with the news you two have."

At that moment my blackberry beeped. I pulled it out, looked down , and winced.

Yep, she was PISSED!

"Then again I may hide here myself" I quipped.

 

[Lunaramblings]

"Buddy, you don't need cigars, you need sleep. Last time I saw you this wrung out that typhoon had hit Indonesia and we were rescuing people for two days straight. Hell, I was tired, and I don't sleep. Don't come to stay, but come and visit. Katra said she would come by the Aerie later on today, and I know she's be happy to see you two. Especially with the news you two have."

At that moment my blackberry beeped. I pulled it out, looked down , and winced.

Yep, she was PISSED!

"Then again I may hide here myself" I quipped.

Merick grinned. "Hide as long as you like. I promise, I'll be fine. Indonesia was a piece of cake. Only been a coupla days. Really. I just need to get a Yoo-Hoo and enjoy one of these fine cigars with my best friend." Merick ducked his hand into his pocket and pulled out two cigars. In a quick motion he flicked the ends off with a whip of force. Tossing one to Kyle he lights his, the lighter all but materializing from nowhere. Taking a deep buff Merick grins. Slowly he exhales a green plume. A shimmering bubble forms, containing the smoke neatly. "See, for me, there really is no risk of illness. I keep the smoke sheathed. No risk. No worries. God, I love cigars. Gonna miss them. Made a deal with Sammy. Well, more he told me he wouldn't sell me my fags anymore, what with little ones. So this is it. The cigars and one more pack. Assuming stupid swamp zombies don't crush them."

 

[AmenRa]

Martian Manhunter

He floated effortlessly high above the surface of Earth. It was something he did often, drifting alone in the vacuum of space as he watched the world turn below him. Here, he could see everthing. And, if he were to reach out with his powerful mind, he could know everything. But now, in the silence around him, J'onn J'onzz was content to simply gaze in wonder at the blue and green world that seemed to lay sleeping before him.

He was awakened from his meditation by a sound. No, but not exactly a sound, for in space no sounds existed. This was, though, a vibration through space/time that the Martian Manhunter could feel almost as if he had indeed heard it.

J'onn turned his head towards space, and he saw a streak of green light speeding headlong towards Earth.

He followed it with his eyes, powerful eyes that magnified and enhanced the front of the green photon trail. And there, seeing the image as it entered Earth's atmosphere, he saw the figure of a man.

Slowly, J'onn nodded his head. He knew what kind of creature flew the cosmos with an evanessence of green.

J'onn willed himself into flight to follow the descent.


Hal Jordan's Ring informed him silently that he was being followed. He had just entered Earth's atmosphere, and he should be barely, if at all, visible to any scanning or intercept devices of the militaries of the world. So, when Hal looked behind him, and he saw the caped figure of the Martian Manhunter following him, he came to a stop and hovered in the thin air of the stratosphere, a shield of green energy protecting him.

J'onn himself came to a hover only a few meters from Jordan. The Martian Manhunter folded his arms over his chest and gave a nod of greeting.

"So," J'onn began, "I see the Gaurdians have chosen at last."

The Green Lantern aimed the Power Ring at the Martian Manhunter, and the Ring immediately confirmed the Martian's identity.

"I'm Hal Jordan," he said to J'onn in an official greeting, "Green Lantern of Sector 2814." He moved closer to the Martian Manhunter, and in the thin reaches of Earth's upper atmosphere, extended his hand.

"Welcome home," the Martian Manhunter said. And he took Hal's hand.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Kara Zor-El sat back down quietly at her desk, though the strange smile on her face seemed to be shouting out to the rest of the world. High School all over again. She was so lost in her own little world that she didn't notice right away the television screens broadcasting a breaking news report. Apparently some freak of nature had waltzed right into the middle of the Central Commerce Bank of Metropolis, took out its security guards, and then proceeded to rob it. Those on the scene described the crook as a walking torch, capable of incinerating anything that was thrown her way (in this case, bullets).

Taking advantage of the mad rush that overcame the Daily Planet, Kara rushed out of the office and shed her clothes, revealing the Supergirl uniform on underneath. It took her a few fractions of a second to reach the bank, and, sure enough, someone inside was causing quite the fit. Kara had to admit that the fiendish beauty in front of her was not quite what she was expecting, but then again troublemakers came in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

"So you're the one causing all the trouble around here. My suggestion? Give up now."

Pyra turned to face the Kryptonian, and from behind her fiery wings spread out almost completely before folding back in again.

"But the fun is just starting."

"Fun? Your messing around with these people's livelihoods. I wouldn't exactly call that fun," Kara countered. "I'll be nice and let you off with a-"

Supergirl suddenly felt a tiny blast of fire smack her dead center in the face, and she fanned away the smoke that clouded her vision.

"That almost tickled."

Where before there was only one villain, Kara now saw three.

Great.

"Ivy... Artina... shall we teach our new friend not to stick her cape where it doesn't belong?" Pyra said, drawing enthusiastic nods from both her sisters in crime.

"Look... honestly... three against one doesn't really improve your chances of winning."

As if to prove her point, Kara easily dodged a whip-vine attack from the pixie with green hair and... green everything. When the Ice Queen fired off a volley of ice shards, Kara used her heat vision to melt them away harmlessly.

 

[ChasNicollette]

The cigar tumbled end over end through the air and it was like supreme slow-motion to Rose. Rose could watch an arrow fly to its target, Rose could watch a bullet if she didn't blink, physically she was Ultimate Captain America, she just watched the cigar in space and suspended in time, and she reached out and she took it.

She clipped it from the air.

"He's immune to toxins," Rose mused, examining the cigar. "You protect yourself with forcefields."

She smirked faintly, and oh, there was a darkly roguish glimmer to her features, there was another creature there beneath her surface, the woman who only ever appeared under Black Kryptonite's influence, the woman whose clone was these days running around with Ruin...

"My Uncle John," she opined, lighting her fingertip with flame and touching this to the tip of the cigar, "would say that that's a waste of good toxins."

"But, in deference to certain ladies and certain babies present," Rose mused, and took a deep deep drag, but when she exhaled through her nostrils there was a crackle of frozen-cold lightning and the smoke crystallised in the air, it froze and was too heavy to fly and it tumbled in little shards into her hand.

She gave the handful a toss towards Merick's force-bubble, fully expecting him to make the thing selectively permeable and hold the crystals in there with his own exhalation.

Chloe smiled faintly. "So everybody here likes this Constantine fellow except me? That's fine, that's fine, majority rules."

She paused. "No-one's heard from J'onn, then? I guess I could call Bruce and ask him, he and J'onn had that fraternity of detectives thing going on."

She paused again, longer. "I don't want to have to call Bruce. Awkward."

Rose quietly examined her friend for a moment, cigar held between her fingers.

And then she withdrew, turned to find the fridge... a fridge which, quite fortunately, didn't have any people crammed into it, female or otherwise.

"So, Yoohoos all 'round, then?"

 

[Lunaramblings]

Merick was enjoying the cigar, even through his forcefield. As Rose had guessed Merick altered his field slightly, easily the chips of ice were absorbed in the green.

"Baby, I know you don't care much for John. And believe me, when he pulled that stunt with the damned diamond, I nearly killed him m'self. But, under it all, he isn't a bad guy. Not really." Merick watched as Rose went to the fridge to retrieve the Yoo-Hoo. "Anyway. Gabe is looking into a doctor for us. Given the sensitivity of the situation, we are naturally a bit concerned about just walking into the nearest clinic." Merick inhales deeply and grins. "No offense Rosy, but I don't really want yer dad playing with the DNA of my progeny. He's brilliant, but sometimes a bit crazed when he really gets going."

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

"I'll pass." I said to Rose, then turned to Chloe.

"I can give Bruce a call if you need, or better yet Alfred. And as for John Constantine, I think he's still secretly waiting for me to unleash hordes of darklings loose on Earth, so we are a bit strained."

I leaned back watched Rosy light up my cigar. Never did develop a liking for the damn things, even when social obligations called for them. Glad she grabbed it.

Social obligations.....


Crap!


I checked my appointments in my PDA and actually swore out loud. (Something I rarely do.)

I looked over at Chloe's raised eyebrow. "Rose and I are supposed to be at the Metropolis Observatory for an arts benefit in fourtyfive minutes. I completely forgot about it. Bruce is supposed to be there. Heck, if you two can get ready quick we can all go. That is" I glanced over at Rose, then Chloe, "if y'all want to go. Billionaires prerogative says we can blow this off and just go grab breakfast."

 

[Lunaramblings]

Merick grinned at the thought of crashing a Bruce Wayne party. Maybe John was free? Would that be going too far?

"As fun as that sounds, me and Chloe have been a little, cautious about me teleporting her. Thing is, even after all we have learned about how my powers work, we still don't know what effect they might have on our unborn kids. Probably perfectly safe. But we're a bit squeamish about risking it. Course, love, if you want to go...." Merick couldn't quite fight the grin away completely.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

Kara Zor-El could have ended the fight in the blink of an eye. She could have put all three Faeries to rest... permanently. But to do that would have gone against everything she had been taught, both by her adoptive parents and her real ones. She had to tread carefully. She had to be sure not to seriously hurt any of them... all the while making sure the people of Metropolis were kept out of harms way.

"Yeah... easier said than done," Kara thought to herself as one of Ivy's vines wrapped tightly around her neck, and the devilish pixie wasted no time in throwing the lone superhero back out onto the street. Thankfully the Metropolis P.D. had enough common sense to block the area off, so no one was hurt when Kara crashed into a parked minivan.

“Damn,” she muttered, getting back onto her feet.

Supergirl flew back into the bank, just in time for Pyra to smack her in the face with a fireball. Though the heat bothered her not at all, the sheer force of the blast sent her reeling once more. Kara was forced to use her Arctic Breath to douse out some of the flames around her.

Things were starting to get really serious.

Things were really starting to annoy the young Kryptonian.

The media had already been swarming around the area for a while now, capturing every second of the battle.

Kara dashed off towards Pyra, but she changed course at the last second, and just in time to avoid another pyroblast. This time she made off towards Artina, and grabbing her arm she picked her up and tossed her right into her sister Ivy.

Though Kara was nowhere near to becoming tired, she was growing increasingly frustrated when the three Faeries continued fighting against her, working in unison to keep her at bay.

“Look… Just give up already. I have an important date later… and I won’t let you go about messing it up!” Kara growled low as her eyes began to glow a crimson red.

 

[ChasNicollette]

Rose was reaching for the handle of the fridge.

There was a tingling in her fingers.

She didn't even hear Kyle curse aloud, didn't hear the discussion of the Bruce Wayne shindig, didn't hear the precaution against teleporting. Didn't hear the joke at her father's expense.

A flicker of ice extinguished her cigar and she put this on the counter.

There was a tingling in her fingers and it went up her back to the back of her neck and up into her scalp, just the way she imagined spider-sense always to feel like.

Rose was a city-shaman. Of a sort.

She had interwoven her energies with those of New York City.

This was London, not New York, but perhaps... as one city dreams, so too do all cities, perhaps The Collective Unconscious is not a thing confined solely to the dreams and archetypes of humanity...

Perhaps all cities are linked in their dreams.

Rose was tingling all over.

Maybe because this was London, and she'd learned this city-shaman thing from a man as plugged into London as she was plugged into New York, maybe that was why she could still feel this half an America and all of an Atlantic away.

She felt a tingle.

In all of her fingers. Her hand never reached the fridge. She held up her hands in front of her and stared at them in wonder.

"Kyle," she mumbled, she couldn't hear them all the way in the kitchen, maybe they couldn't hear her. "Guys. I'll be. I'll be right--"

And then she turned and stepped in an unexpected direction--

Synchronicity.

John could walk in synchronicity.

Particles and waves.

And now so could Rose.

Just like that. She was gone.

********​

Chloe shook her head.

"No, no," she chuckled faintly. "I'm way too-- I'm not even sure where my makeup case is. Just find out where J'onn's hanging his cool blue cape these days, if Bruce knows? But Mer', Mer', you can go, you guys have a, what's the term, a 'man-date.' Unless Rose wants to go, too..."

She glanced in the direction of the kitchen. "Rose?"

She stuck her head through the archway and found a smouldering cigar on the counter, smouldering and going out.

Chloe hesitated.

Disappearing act.

"Rose?"

********​

Rose was gone.

And she was gazing across a Metropolis street through a throng of reporters.

She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of goggles, pulled these on over her face. She pulled a hair tie out of her denim pocket and pulled her hair back into a ponytail as she walked across the street and through that throng, weaving through them just as effortlessly as she'd woven her way through cityscape energies and made her way from Soho to The Big Apricot.

By sheer force of will she parted the ocean of media men and Metro PD and strode into the lobby of the bank.

Fire and Ice swirled around her, mingling without mixing, yin and yang.

Valkyrie M, dubbed The Spirit of New York, put her hands in her pockets and seethed with the very same omnithermic energies that two of these three pixies were chucking about. The plant-girl might be a little more of a problem... but Foggy Swamp Style, she could manipulate the water in the plant-limbs and hit back with a fireball before the chica could blink.

"Long time no see, Supergirl," she drawled, in the amalgamated British accent she used while she was "working." "But it takes two to tango, and this three-to-one ratio just eh'n't cricket. D'you mind if I cut in?"

 

[Wyldfire]

Diana had met the morning the same way she had for the years she had spent in this house. Up at dawn, making herself a very filling breakfast before going about the work of the day. The first thing she had done was to check her old motorcycle out. It still ran much to her joy. She'd ridden it aroung the fence line making sure the fences were still intact. One needed some work and she added it to the list of things to do before the others got here.

Making a list as she went she found all of the small jobs that needed supplies to mend. The farm had been kept in respectable condition. Mother had hired good people for this. The old Trevor place would be a productive farm very soon. It did Diana good knowing that she would be able to honro her fathger's side of the family this way.

It didn't seem like the entire morning had gone by but as Diana rode onto town she realized her stomach was grumbling. She made arrangements for the supplies to be delivered later in the day and was sitting in the diner watching the news in Metropolis as her order of a triple cheeseburger and double order of fries arrived with the double chocolate malted that had been one of her greatest memories from her years in Smallville.

"Looks like she's become a busy girl." was all Diana said as she watched the news report of Super girl's battle.

 

[AmenRa]

Martian Manhunter - Green Lantern

J'onn was about to ad a few footnotes to Hal Jordan's return to Earth after his training with the Guardians of the Universe.

J'onn, however, stopped before he could even speak. His supersensitive Martian ears, and perhaps his supersensitive psychic connection to everything that was Earth, beckoned him to direct his attention to the sprawling city of Metropolis far below.

J'onn zoomed his incredible vision to the scene unfolding below.

He saw the three super-powered females squaring off to battle with the Last Daughter of Krypton.

And, the Valkyrie M.

J'onn turned to Hal Jordan and gave the tiniest smirk.

"Come, Green Lantern," he called, "and I will introduce you to some of the other protectors of Earth."

With that, vapor condensed around the Martian Manhunter as he willed himself into supersonic flight.

Hal Jordan pointed his Power Ring in the direction J'onn had flown. The Ring directed a holoimage of the fight. Hal shrugged, and then followed the Martian Manhunter, matching his speed in flight.

J'onn stopped a few meters above the street. He folded his arms across his chest as his cape came to rest furling around him.

"I would say this bout is not evenly matched," came his voice, all sandy like Mars and menacingly serious. "Perhaps," he stated, looking to Rose, "our elementally powered friends would find themselves more comfortable if we were to leave.

"But wait," he added, shaking his head as if he were chastising a child, his attention now directed at the three, "that would be most unfair as well."

Green Lantern touched down on the street near where J'onn hovered. He covered his fist with his other palm in anticipation. He looked through the top of his mask's eyeslits, and he smiled.

"Yeah," he said, "come get some!"

Then he cleared his throat. "I am the Green Lantern of Sector 2814. You three are in violation of the law. Desist immediately and surrender!"

"Well said."

"Thanks."

And then Hal cracked his knuckles.

 

[TearsoftheWorld]

The fire from Kara's eyes faded away when Rose arrived at the crime scene to help her out, and the young Kryptonian hero smiled warmly at the sight of her super-powered friend. The crowd went ballistic as well, much to the chagrin of the three villains.

"Nice to see you too," Kara said.

Two against three...

That was more like it.

"This is just like old times... sort of," Kara noted as she patted some dirt off of her clothes. Suddenly she turned her attention towards the sky, and in the air above Metropolis Kara saw J'onn Jones heading towards them. The Martian Manhunter... and he had company. A rather attractive looking human male wearing a black and green body suit with the symbol of a green lantern emblazoned on his chest.

Zor-El once instructed her about the legendary Guardians, and now Kara was to meet one in person.

"We've got company," Kara commented to Rose as the pair hastened their descent towards Earth. Moments later the Martian Manhunter and the Green Lantern announced their presence, and Kara could see that at least two of the three Faeries began to have second thoughts. Only Pyra seemed to strengthen her nerves in the face of such an overwhelming show of force, and the flames surrounding her body became even hotter.

In fact... the very air around her continued to heat up, and Kara sensed something terrible was happening.

"Did you... really think... I was going to just give up without a fight?" Pyra asked, her voice strained. "You'll all burn..."

From behind her Artina and Ivy suddenly shed their physical forms and vanished from the fight, leaving their suicidal sister behind.

 

[Abraxas Winterlight]

Wraith

"Fair enough Chloe. Besides, you always have a hard time watching Bruce do his playboy routine. And Mer and I don't 'man-date', we do guy stuff. Secret guy stuff." I said to my flaxen haired friend. I really did love these guys like family.

Wonder what was taking Rose so long.

Chloe got up and wandered into the kitchen. OK, something wasn't right.

"Excuse me Launchpad." I said as I stood and walked into the kitchen.

Worried looking Chloe.

Cigar steaming where Rose had iced it out.

Fiancé gone. WHATTHEFUCK????

"Chloe, Mer, did Rose just friggin teleport?"

 

[Lunaramblings]

Merick looked worried. But keeping cool was his gig.

"If she did I'm gonna sue. Trademark infringement is what that is...."

Merick thought carefully about what had happened. No way did someone come in and grab her. Tommy was too good at his mojo for that kinda thing. So that meant... well something happened. But Merick was at a loss.

"See if you can't find her with your powers, Kyle. If you can, call me on my mobile. If you can't.... shit. I will call Tommy. See if there is some sort of imprint on his wards." Merick already had his phone out and to his ear. It rang once before it was answered.

"Sup, Mer'? Tommy is in the shower."

"I need you both here. Now. Something just happened." Merick didn't wait for Mary to respond. He hung up the phone and looked at the room. Something felt.... off.