Birthday Surprise

By FAH3

The artic region of the world was cold and white. Almost like a winter wonderland that despite its desolate image was the home to several creatures. It was silent and peaceful with the exception of a few gusts of winds here and there. That serenity was interrupted with the noise of a sonic engine screamed overhead. If one of the various animals that lived here glanced in the direction of the sound's origin, they wouldn't have seen anything. But if they focused their sight just hard enough, they would vaguely make out what appeared to be the outline of a small jet.

A small jet that had the latest in not only defenses, but the closes thing the human race could come to cloaking technology to date. Behind its controls was Princess Diana of the island of Themyscira; the hidden island of the Amazon warriors and the last living bastion of the ancient Greek culture. As she piloted the small aircraft across the land of ice and snow, a wide smile was on her face. She had come to experience many things she had never encountered in her life growing up on Themyscira when she came to Man's World. And she had been impressed by the vast wonders and marvels that humans had created. And despite the fact that she too had been blessed with the gift of flight, she seemed to enjoy flying this wondrous machine the most. She had to find a proper way to thank Wade Load for making her this craft and try to find out if he may be a son of Hephaestus himself.

Next to her in the co-pilot's seat was Gotham City's night guardian, the Batman. He was calm and collected as he kept is eyes on the instrument panel and the world outside. Always stoic and still. Both he and Diana were complete opposites to their two young passengers in the back of the jet's cockpit. Two young teenagers that the public knew only as Supergirl and Batgirl, and both of them were holding onto their seatbelts for dear life and did their best not to scream for help.

"We're going to die, aren't we?" Batgirl asked.

"The way she's flying? Most likely." The young redhead wearing a bodysuit of red and blue with a pentagonal S shield on her chest said as she made sure her safety restraint was as tight as she could get it.

"I'm not that bad. Besides, you don't see Ron complaining." The pilot, Diana, said as she flew the plane.

"You might want to slow down, though." Batman said.

"Don't tell me you're going to bad mouth my flying too." Diana said.

"No. But you're going to fly over the entrance to the Fortress in about thirty seconds." Batman said, causing Diana's eyes to slightly widen and decrease the jet's speed rather suddenly and forcing the passengers to lurch forward very uncomfortably. As soon as the jet had slowed, it nose dived into a wide broken hole in a large pack of ice and dove into the pool of water like a hot knife piercing through solid butter.

"Great. We're going to freeze to death and then drown." Hanna said as the jet leveled out and converted into submarine mode as it continued to travel under the ice pack.

"I wouldn't keep trying my patience if I were you. The eject switch for your seats isn't that far from where I'm sitting." Diana said.

"You wouldn't." Lara said as she turned to her left and saw a fully grown Orca whale swimming along side the jet and seemed to look inside of it before veering off at the last minute.

"Do you wan to test me?" she asked and smiled when she received no reply from wither of the two teens. "I didn't know that messing with their minds would be this much fun."

"Try and say that when you don't have the eject option." Batman said as he noticed a large oval of light on the water's surface not too far ahead of them. "We're here."

"So I can see, Ron. I'm not blind." Diana said.

"I don't understand why we had to wear our uniforms on the way here." Lara said as she flexed her shoulders in trying to make her suit feel more comfortable.

"You two are supposed to be training with the other Titans after this and Ron's still working on some sort of case back in Gotham." Diana said.

"Doesn't he ever take a break?"

"You're kidding, right?" Hannah asked her half sister.

Within moments, the aircraft broke through the water's surface where the oval of light hade appeared and followed the smooth lit cavern until it stopped beside a smooth dock that gripped Diana's jet with a small magnetic field. Beside it was a small corridor with lit walls that lead into the main chamber of the Fortress of Solitude. As the jet's cockpit opened, all of them quickly exited the craft as Diana and Lara each took a wrapped package from the craft. Ever since the crystal from Kal-El's ship had rebuilt the massive Fortress, only Ron had been the only one to see it besides Kal and Kim. This was the first time for Diana, Hanna, and Lara. As they entered the main chamber of the Kryptoninan structure, all of their eyes grew wide as they gaped in amazement at the arrangement of Kryptonian technology and vehicles from its final age. They paid attention to every detail. From the massive battle suit that sat to one side to the design of the Fortress' inner structure itself.

"This is unreal." Hanna whispered to herself.

"Not even Hephaestus himself could dare to dream of such wonders." Diana said as they followed Batman up a flight of stairs that lead to the main control center.

"How come you didn't bring us here before?" Lara asked.

"You didn't ask." Was all Ron said as they kept moving.

"So what did you get Kim for her birthday, Diana?" Hanna asked Wonder Woman they kept moving.

"It's a surprise J'onn and I came up with at the Watchtower. What did you get her?" the Amazonian princess asked in return.

"Nit wit here and I pooled our money together." Hanna said.

"Hey!" Lara protested at the nick name.

"I remember her talking about how things were when Dad and her went to high school. So we found something that might remind her of those times."

"That's very thoughtful. What about you, Ronald?" Diana asked.

"She's not the easiest person to shop for." Ron said.

"You didn't get her Bueno Nacho bucks again, did you?" Hanna asked her father and noticed the uncomfortable silence that followed.

"You didn't!" Diana said.

"Of course not. I brought her cash." Ron said and could feel the gaze of all three women behind him boring into the back of his cowl covered head. "What else was I supposed to get her?" Ron asked before he stopped frozen in his tracks. When the other caught up to him, all of them stood rooted to the spot as well.

"By Hera." Diana gasped.

Sitting in front of the main view screen in the Fortress' control room was Kim. She sat perfectly still while she wore a t-shirt jersey and jeans. Attached to her chest was a strange plant living plant. Long thorn covered vines that wrapped tightly around her torso and squeezed her tightly like they were tentacles that slithered and moved slightly. They were a dark sickly green that made them appear that they were turning black and rotting like a dying corpse. The blossoming flowers that were in the center of the plant were a very dark that bloomed close together and gave off the appearance of an alien honeycomb as they moved in time with Kim's breathing, giving off no odor that any human would find attractive. At her feet lay the familiar red and yellow crest of the House of El. The crest would activate a nano-tech armored bodysuit whenever the crest was placed on Kim's chest. From the looks of the scene before them, it appeared she had tried to make a grab for it whenever the plant had attacked her.

"Mom?" Lara asked as she absentmindedly dropped the gift she had been carrying and rushed to her mother's side.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Ron shouted, causing Lara to freeze in place with her hand almost within centimeters of touching Kim's shoulder. "We don't know what that thing is. For all we know, it could snare you as well." Ron said as he removed a small flashlight from his belt and shinned it in Kim's eyes. "No pupil contraction of any kind. She must be cut off from all sensation." Ron said to himself as he looked at the plant closer and took her pulse.

"What is it?" Diana asked as they joined him and Lara.

"It's alive. Whatever this plant is, it looks to be symbiotic. But it's keeping her in some sort of trance. I'm not even sure if she can hear us." Ron said.

"Look what I found." Hanna said and showed her father the large opened container that had been laying at Kim's feet. On the side, there was a strange glyph writing that had been engraved into it. Inside, he saw residue and what may have been leaves from the serpent like vines. "This is what it came in. But who sent it?" Ron asked himself.

"Is there an infirmary here?" Diana asked, thinking that they should try and move her.

"Follow that stair case and keep to the left for five feet. There'll be a device that looks like a large thin calculator. I need it." Ron said as he pointed to another staircase behind them.

Diana quickly left as Hanna and Lara looked at Kim's still form. "Is there anything we can do, dad?" Lara asked him.

"I'm not sure." Ron said as he looked at Kim. "What has this thing done to you, KP?"

She stretched every muscle in her body until it felt like they were going to break or cramp before she relaxed and took a calming deep breath. How she enjoyed the feel of the soft cool sheets of her bed this early in the morning as she did her best to sink deeper into the soft cushion of the pillow. Not quite awake, but not quite asleep. She hoped she would soon drift back to sleep soon. That would not come to be as she felt several warm gentle kisses on her shoulder and the back of her neck to help wake her up.

"Sleep." She moaned, trying to sound annoyed at the kisses and hide the fact that she was enjoying them.

"No can do. You've got too much you need to do today." The deep voice behind her said before its owner placed one more kiss where her shoulder met her neck and jumped when she felt him give her backside a firm pinch.

"I'll get even for that." She said as she sat up in the large bed.

"I look forward to it." The man beside her said as he stood to his full height. "Brainiac, lights."

The circular walls around them seemed to melt away as it revealed the great Chasm of Zal-Tar with the snow covered mountains in the distance. Around them, you could see other various smooth towers and apartments that almost seemed to look more like metal plants with blossoms. A small smile crept onto her face as she looked at the man in front of her as he got dressed. His body was lean with an athletic build to it. The muscles didn't stand out like they were swelling to the point of bursting, but they were well defined and enough to make a woman drool. It was almost hard to believe that she had known this man since she was a child and almost let him slip away.

"What is it?" he asked her as he looked at her with his dusty blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes.

"Just admiring my trophy husband." She said. "How about we both call in sick?"

"I wish. But I've got to get to the restaurant before the lunch rush. And since this is your day off, you were going to go see your dad today. Remember?" he said.

"I almost forgot. What would I do without you, Ron-Al?" she asked him.

"You would probably drive yourself nuts like you always do, Kara." He said as he leaned down and kissed her deeply on the lips.

"Anything?" Lara asked nervously.

"Nothing. Where's Diana?" Batman growled to himself as he tried to figure out away to remove the strange plant from Kim's torso.

"How did this get here? Doesn't the Fortress have security measures?" Batgirl asked.

"It does. There's only a few ways this could have been accepted inside." Ron said to himself as he looked at it and his mind began to work. "This had been sent as a gift. Possibly teleported from some grateful world KP helped save."

"How remarkable. You animals barley have what could be considered intelligence." A very deep and dark voice said. One that Lara recognized all too well as her eyes widened. They slowly turned to face its owner.

Standing before them in the entrance was a large and extremly broad being with yellow skin. A violet body suit covered his body as black gauntlets surrounded his arms, onyx metal boots covering his feet, and a black metal helmet covering his hairless head. His teeth were slightly crooked as his sickening smile spread beneath his red eyes. Laying limp in his massive left hand was an unconscious Wonder Woman as he held her like a child would hold a rag doll.

"Mongul." Lara said, almost spitting out the name as if it were poison to her.

"You remember me, whelp. I'm almost flattered." He said as he began to walk closer to them.

"I thought you were rotting in a government jail." Batgirl said.

"Like your pitiful excuse of a prison could hold me." He scoffed. "You humiliated me and destroyed my plans for reforming my empire. Don't tell me you thought I wouldn't seek revenge." Mongul said. As he took one more step forward, Wonder Woman's arm sprang to life and struck Mongul in his diaphragm before one of her legs kicked him in the side of his knees and pushed her self free of his grasp and stood to her feet.

"An Earth tactic called playing Possum. I am an Amazon and will not be brought down so easily." Diana said.

"Not yet." Batman said.

"What? Why?" Diana asked, questioning her friend's sanity.

"Clearly the males are the superior intellect on this world." Mongul said as he rubbed the pain in his leg away while the three women in the fortress glared at him. "He wants to know about the plant." The alien said with a small smile. "It's called the Black Mercy. A telepathic species that feeds off of its host while it puts their mind in a deep hallucination that grants them their every heart's desire. The only way for their host to escape its grasp is to willingly choose to leave the world it creates for them to live in. Your Superwoman was the only real threat to me. Without her being able to save anyone, I'll tear apart your world and remake my War World anew. And you four are the first volunteers to die." Mongul said as he cracked his knuckles as a sick form of a giggle boiled in his throat.

Kara glanced at the paper thin glass pad in front of her as she brushed a lock of red hair from her face. It was the latest article for the late edition of the news feed that would be posted on the Kryptonian news network. She had spent most of the night at the grand opening of the new wing of the Argo Museum that was dedicated to the Civil War her infamous Godfather, Zod, had caused shortly after her birth. A good portion of the night she spent interviewing members of the council as well as many of the people who funded the wing's construction. She never knew so many people on Krypton had an ego so large that it made them actually think that they were masters of the Universe. It was enough to drive her insane. Of course, there was one person who refused to be at the opening and she couldn't blame him for not wanting to be there. Her father, Jor-El.

She didn't remember any of it, but she knew it affected her father greatly. After all, General Zod had been his childhood friend and her Godfather. Kim paused when she remembered seeing several holographic displays and old images that had been taken before the civil war had started. One was of Zod when he had been newly elected to the ruling council which had been next to a picture of her father and Zod when they were younger. She couldn't help but feel sad for her father. They were like brothers in bond. Now while her father's career as a scientist had flourished, Zod was trapped in the Phantom Zone as an energy wraith. Sometimes she wished she could help him. Help him like he used to with her homework by taking her to see the newest prototype rockets he created. Wait a minute. Her father didn't work on rockets. But she somehow remembered,

"Breakfast!" her husband, Ron-Al, said as he presented her with a small culinary masterpiece.

"I swear you spoil me too much." She said as she gathered some food on her utensil and took a bite. The unique symphony of taste made her forget about the supposed memory that had confused her only seconds ago.

"I'm just rewarding my muse for giving me so much inspiration." He said as he began to clean the dishes.

"You've always been a shameless flirt. Even back in school." Kara said as she took a bite. "This food reminds me when you turned the lunch room at school into a four star restaurant." Kara chuckled as the memory bubbled to the surface.

"What are you talking about, Kara?" Ron-Al asked as he glanced at her. "That never happened. All the meals were made by machines. No one was allowed in the kitchens."

"Really?" Kara asked as she felt the ground give off a mild tremor. One of the things she hated about living on an unstable tectonic plate. "I guess I had too much to drink last night."

"You always find some way to overdue it when you go to those parties."

"Maybe I wouldn't have overdone it if my husband came with me. Like he promised." She said.

"Oops." Ron-Al said as his cheeks quickly began to blush and the sight began to make Kara laugh. The laugh was short as she tried to think. She knew Ron-Al was right about their time in school. Everything in the Cafeteria was automated. But why was she so sure he had turned it into a restaurant? She was sure it happened. And why was she seeing a small hairless creature wearing a tux? Something wasn't right. It almost felt like she had writer's block that was the size of Zal-Tar's chasm inside her head.

"Daddy's in trouble again." A spunky little voice said as she sat at the table across from her mother. Her hair was a flaming red as her mother and grandmother, but her eyes were a warm chocolate brown like her father's. Eleven years had gone by since she had given birth to the little girl in front of her and she could remember every moment of her life from then to now. She was the one thing she would not change for anything.

"And you slept in again, Lara." Kara said.

"No school today." The little girl objected.

"I think we can show her a little slack. It is a holiday today."

"I know, I now. It's the anniversary of when my father stopped General Zod and his invading forces from conquering the capital." Kara said. She had heard so much about it last night that she was ready to scream.

"No, that was yesterday. I'm talking about today being your birthday." Ron-Al said as he produced a small cake with a mini hologram projector that briefly displayed her age with shooting stars and fireworks.

"You remembered." Kara moaned to herself.

"How old is mommy?" Lara asked. Despite being eleven, she never stopped calling Kara and Ron-Al mommy and daddy. Neither of them objected. To them, it meant keeping Lara a child just a little bit longer.

"She's twenty-five." Ron quickly said.

"But she turned twenty-five last year." Lara objected.

"Honey, I'll tell you this now. No matter what anyone says or tells you, Mommy always stays twenty-five." Ron-Al said and noticed the smirk on Kara's face.

"Smooth move." Kara said. "Does this mean visiting my father today is a distraction to set up some surprise party?"

"I don't know what you mean." Ron-Al said and turned away.

"You always were a bad liar. Go wash up Lara, and we'll leave after I put my face on." Kara told the child who beamed a wide smile before dashing off to the washroom. "And I'll get even with you later. I hate surprise parties." Kara said.

"And I didn't say anything about you having one." Ron-Al said.

Diana's fist hammered into the bridge of Mongul's nose while her knee firmly implanted itself within the left side of his rib cage. This cause their momentum to slightly increase for them to crash through another wall of crystal. As Mongul fell onto his back, one of his large fists struck Diana against the side of her face and sent her stumbling off of him. Mongul couldn't help but smile as he touched his nose and felt a surge of pain and saw his dark blood coat his fingers. It had been a while since he had this much fun. He might as well see what this pitiful creature had in regards to fighting before he snapped its neck. When he saw the room they were in, one eye brow rose in confusion. Many of the objects he did not know. But several, while somewhat elaborate, he knew as soon as he locked his eyes on them. He was in a weapons vault. And it seemed this puny little wretch was going to try and use one on him. He didn't know a lot about this Wonder Woman, but knew that she was raised in a very primitive society that was based on ancient techniques that were most likely useless by now. It would be amusing to see such a primitive try and use a one of these weapons.

"Is that a Neural Impactor? I didn't know they still made those. You should really try using a Plasma disruptor. It's lighter, more of a female's weapon." Mongul said with his ugly smile, mocking her as he stood and began waling closer to her. The smile disappeared when he heard the weapon power up to and charge to maximum levels.

"Go to hell!" Wonder Woman said and fired the weapon at full blast and smirked as she heard Mongul shout in pain.

"DAMN IT! NOTHING'S WORKING!" Batman shouted as he saw the small torch not even make so much as a scorch on the plant. He had tried explosives, torches, and even acid that he kept in his belt for certain situations. All he managed to do was damage the clothes she was wearing while the plant stayed latched on to her. "Come on, KP! Shake it off!" Batman said.

"Mom, please! We need you!" Lara pleaded and could almost swear she saw something within her eyes change. That was when they heard the massive weapon fire and the alien war lord shout in pain.

"The weapon's vault. That'll buy us some time, but not a lot." Batman said as he turned back to his life-long friend. "KP, he'll kill her and then he'll kill us! Fight it, Kim. FIGHT IT!"

"Batman, I'm going to the medical wing. There's got to be something."

"If you see anything that looks like it'll help, bring it!" the Dark Knight told Batgirl who immediately dashed off in the direction she was told. Hanna easily made her way around and over the various debris until she finally came to the medical bay. She quickly detached her cape from her cowl and used it as a make shift bag to carry anything she thought could remove the Black Mercy off of Kim. She didn't have a clue what most of the stuff she was getting did, but it was better than standing around and doing nothing. Satisfied she had enough equipment, she tightened the corners of the her cape and began to run back toward the control center. She had only ran a few feet when Wonder Woman's form flew through the wall to her left and through the wall on her right, causing Batgirl to stumble and loose her footing. Hannah tried to get back on her feet before a huge yellow hand grasped her entire head and slowly began to add pressure.

"Maybe I should kill you right now and be done with you. I doubt you could give me as much trouble as the other one." Mongul said.

"LET GO OF MY SISTER, FROG FACE!" Lara's voice shouted as she flew into Mongul's face fists first and the impact sounding like a massive cracking of a giant stone. As the alien warlord reeled, Lara grasped him by his jaw and flipped herself over and threw Mongul through several more walls as fast and hard as she could. As soon as she sent the alien flying, she quickly rushed to Hanna's side. "You okay?" she asked.

"A little dizzy, but I'll be fine. Thanks, dip stick." Hanna said.

"Anytime, chicken legs." Lara said with a small smile and saw Diana stumble toward them.

"Which way?" Diana asked.

"Through there." Lara said and pointed to where she threw Mongul. They could already hear him growl in anger as he was probably getting back onto his feet. "Want some help?"

"Gladly." Diana said as she and Lara charged toward their opponent.

A sigh of relief escaped Kara's lips as they finally parked their vehicle in the garage beneath Jor-El's lab in the capitol. She was glad the traffic hadn't been as bad as it was yesterday. With all the parades and festivities, you couldn't even take a foot forward without bumping into something. As Kara and Lara took the lift to the upper floors, Kara had an uneasy feeling. It all started this morning when she had talked to Ron-Al. Why did she think he had turned their school cafeteria into a restaurant? It didn't make any sense to her. And why did the name Rufus keep popping up in the back of her mind? It rang a bell, but from where?

"GRANDPA!" Lara shouted as she dashed out of the lift and into the waiting arms of her grandfather. Kara couldn't help but smile as she saw her father raise the girl into the air and spin her about as if she weighed nothing. Despite a few noticeable wrinkles here and there on his face, and the gray of his sideburns, she was amazed at how young her father looked.

"There's my little starburst! I thought I told you to stop growing." Jor-El teased as grandfather and granddaughter gave each other a firm hug.

"I can't help it." The little girl giggled.

"Good morning, father." Kara said as she gave her father a hug as well.

"More like Afternoon, Kara. I read your article about the festivities yesterday. Was it me, or did I detect a slight tone of Sinicism?" Jor-El asked.

"I'm a reporter, father. I have to try and take an honest and neutral stance." Kara said.

"Or you were getting tired of some of your old classmates still trying to impress you." Jor-El said and gave him an odd look. "I might be an old man, Kara; but I'm not blind. I know Mane-Kay and Shiki still hold a torch for you." He said as he placed Lara down as she began to look at the various projects in his lab.

"I was hoping not." Kara said.

"What do you mean?"

"Wouldn't it be a waste if Shiki took your place on the council just to impress me?" Kara asked.

"You know her better than that, Kara. Shiki has a firm head on her shoulders, despite those four brothers of hers driving her crazy. If anything, it was Mane-Kay I had a real problem with."

"You and Ron-Al both." Kara said with a slight smirk, remembering how both of them used to act.

"I knew you thought his so-called art was impressive. But I couldn't see it. Especially with that attitude of his." Jor-El said.

"I'm surprised you never carried through with that threat you gave him every time we went on a date." Kara said.

"What threat?" Jor-El asked.

"You remember. You said if he tried anything funny, you would put him in a deep space probe and send it to the nearest black hole. He was scared to even hold my hand every time you said that." Kara said.

"Kara, I never said anything like that." Jor-El said.

"Yes, you did. You made that same threat at almost every turn when we toured the space center our third year in high school when you worked there." Kara said.

"Kara, the space center was destroyed when Kandor disappeared. You never saw it. And I didn't step down from my place on the council until five years ago." Jor-El said.

"You're right. You never worked there, did you?" Kara asked.

"Mommy, are you all right?" Lara asked.

"I'm not sure, sweetie. Dad, can I get some water?" Kara asked.

"Sure. Follow me." Jor-El said as he led Kara to another part of his laboratory. As he did so, another tremor began to shake the ground beneath them.

"I brought what I could." Batgirl said as she dropped the ape a Kim's feet and fell to her knees. She was still slightly dizzy but not as bad as she had been when Mongul had tried to crush her head. When she looked up, she saw her father grasping the plant around the blossoms and was trying to pull it off. "Are you sure you should be doing that?"

"We don't have any choice. Those three will tear the fortress apart if I don't do something." Batman said as he pulled.

"Let me help." Batgirl said as she grasped the plant firmly and began to pull as hard as she could in time with her father. "I think I feel it moving."

"Keep pulling!"

Kim sipped the water slowly as she sat next to the window in her father's main laboratory. The one they had been in earlier were past projects and a few smaller ones that weren't that important. Here is where Jor-El had been working on designs for better ships to help them explore space in a better fashion. Kara glanced up and saw the plans for his original star drive next to plans for a smaller, sleeker, and more powerful one.

"How's the propulsion project?" Kara asked him.

"Better. If the prototype works, this will change our methods of space travel." Jor-El said.

"Really?" Lara asked.

"Why don't you give her an example, father? How long would it take to get from Krypton to – I don't know. The planet Earth." Kara said and saw the curious look on Jor-El's face.

"Why Earth?"

"I don't know. It just popped into my head." Kara said.

"All right. Look here, Lara." Jor-El said as he called up a holographic simulation of his engine inside a Kryptonian rocket. "With my original design, it would take at least three Earth years to travel from Krypton to Earth at hyper speed. With these new designs, it would only take a matter of months." Jor-El said and smiled as the little girl looked on in awe.

As both looked at the display, Kim felt another tremor that was slightly worse than before. As it subsided, the feeling in her gut seemed to grow even worse. Checking to make sure Jor-El was keeping her daughter distracted, Kara brought up another display screen.

"Brainiac? Show me a global map of the planet Krypton." Kara said and was soon greeted with an orbital view of the planet's surface. "Now please mark every location where a tremor has occurred." Kara said and soon saw several green dots decorate the screen. "Were all these predicted in advance?"

"Affirmative. Each quake was predicted two weeks in advance." Brainiac said.

"Something isn't right." Kara said to herself.

"Is everything all right, Kara?" Jor-El asked as Lara played with a simulation like it was a video game.

"The locations of these tremors. Don't you notice anything?" Kara asked him.

"Not off hand. What is it?"

"These are all locations of geothermal power plants. Something isn't right, father. These quakes are growing more frequent." Kara said.

"Not all of these plants are active anymore. And the others that are operational have the latest safety protocols and security upgrades." Jor-El said. "Kara, I think I know what this is about."

"You do?" Kara asked.

"You're still mad at me for not giving Kal a letter of recommendation." Jor-El said.

"It's not that."

"Yes, it is. I let the rift between my brother affect my relationship with my nephew. I was too scared he was like his father, and I made sure he wasn't elected to the council."

"No, it's not that. Father, your instinct is hardly ever wrong. Right?"

"I would like to think so."

"I inherited that from you, and it never steered me wrong from a story or my relationship with Ron-Al. Father, I've had this feeling that something is wrong. That something isn't right." Kara said.

"What do you think it is?" Jor-El asked her.

"Do you remember what happened after Zod was sent into the Phantom Zone? With Uncle Zor-El?"

"I remember. He tried to upload a virus into Brainiac's systems. Thankfully I stopped him before he could." Jor-El said. "If he had been able to do that, who knows what might have happened."

"But what if you didn't stop him? What if the virus is in there, but it was only dormant?" Kara asked him.

"Kara, that's impossible. I've been through Brainiac's code with a fine tooth comb. I and Krypton's best technicians spent almost two years and found nothing."

"Father, please. I'm begging you. At least for the sake of your grand daughter, check one more time. If nothing else, talk to uncle Zor-El." Kara said.

"I don't know." Jor-El said, unsure of what he was being asked to do.

"Father, please." Kara begged.

"All right. I'll check and call your uncle. Just to keep you calm." Jor-El said.

"Thank you, father." Kara said with a small smile and was satisfied to get some relief from the feeling in her gut. "All right, Lara. Let's go see grandpa's new macroscope on the roof." Kara said as she walked with her daughter to the lift.

"Can we see the Zal-Tar casm?" she asked.

"Of course." Kara said to her.

"Grandpa! Come with me!" Lara called out to Jor-El.

"I am with you." Jor-El said with a small smile.

As the door's closed, Kara's eyes widened as something flashed before her eyes. She was on a cliff in a strange world. She wore a blue bodysuit with the crest of the House of El standing tall and brightly on her chest. Her hands were injured and bandaged and her whole body ached. There was a strange platform with various pieces of machinery that had been crudely attached and modifying it. She looked toward the edge of a cliff where a middle-aged man stood. His clothes were old and dirty, his hair long, shaggy, and uncut. A small smile was on his face as he clutched a stab wound in his side with a large stain of blood with the hand that covered it also covered in blood.

"Zal-Tar, come with me." Kara said and reached out her hand towards him.

"I am with you." He said before falling off the Cliffside.

"ZAL-TAR!"

"Zal-Tar." Kara said to herself as she noticed she was now standing on the roof of her father's laboratory. Lara was looking through the large device as Kim braced herself against the wall. She knew that was real. What she saw was a memory. A real memory. And what was worse, she knew her name wasn't Kara.

"Mommy, you should see this! It's – Mommy, are you okay?" Lara asked as she saw her mother sitting on the ground with her back against the wall. Kara had her arms wrapped around her stomach firmly while her face looked pale and frightened like she had just seen a ghost. "Mommy, you're scaring me." Lara said, causing Kara to look up. As Kara saw her daughter, a sad smile formed on her face as tears began to pour from her eyes.

"Come here, Lara." Kara said and gave her daughter a firm hug. She held Lara so tight that she was scared she would fly away if she let go. "Did I ever tell you about the day you were born?" Kara asked her.

"No." Lara said as she sat in her mother's lap.

"I was at the office, working on a story. I had just turned it in and was about to go home when my water broke. I took a taxi to the hospital and kept trying to reach your father, but no one could find him. He was looking over the restaurant's construction and couldn't be reached. So I waited for hours and hours. The doctors were getting scared and insisted that I be taken in for surgery to deliver you. Do you know what I told them?"

"No."

"I told them no. That you would be here when you were good and ready. I was in labor for almost fifteen hours when your father finally arrived at the hospital. And as soon as he was there with me, you were born. When they delivered you, you didn't even cry. You were just looking at this brand new world you had just come into. And when you grasped my finger, you held onto it so tightly that I thought you were going to break it." Kara said and laughed when she saw the smile on her daughter's face. Kara hugged her again and began to rock her gently as if she was a baby again.

"Lara, I remember every day of your life. I remember your first words, your first steps. I remember how you didn't want to go to school, so I had to be there with you for the first week. I remember every single moment. But – Oh, Dear Rao please forgive me for saying this. I-I don't think you're real."

"Mommy, don't say that. You're scaring me." Lara said.

"I'm not trying to scare you. You're everything I've wanted in a daughter. This is the life I've always wanted. But Mommy has responsibilities, Lara. Responsibilities that I can't ignore. So that means I have to go. But for as long as I live and breath, I will never forget you. And I will always love you. Always." Kara said.

As she looked up at the setting red sun in the distance as every screen on the planet became distorted and filled with static until it showed the three circles of Brainiac's symbol. It's cold and monotone voice echoed throughout the planet as it said the last words the planet would ever hear. "Farwell, Krypton." That was when every geothermal plant took the energy of the planet and turned it upon itself. The ground shook violently as every volcano erupted like the sounds of hundreds of bombs exploding at once going off. And in an instance of blinding light , Kara Jor-El was once again an orphan and alone.

"It's coming free!" Hanna shouted as she and Batman kept pulling at the plant.

The plant's grip broke and the two mortals quickly fell backwards and tumbled end over in. Batgirl banged her head rather hard on the ground and saw double for a brief moment. When everything fin her eyesight had focused once more and she looked up, her eyes widened in horror. The Black Mercy was had now wrapped its coils around Batman and a face of pure bliss seemed to be on his face as it tightened its grip on him.

"No! DAD, NO! SNAP OOUT OF IT!" Hannah said as she rushed to her father's side and slapped him in the face as hard as she could. There was no effect. He just saw there in a blissful state. Hannah wanted to cry right then and now until she heard a strange sound behind her. When she turned, she saw Kim's armored body suit fully form around her with her red cape flowing freely. Her face was hidden by shadow, but her eyes were glowing red like the light of a blazing fire of a blast furnace.

"Who did this?" Kim's words were slow and dripped with an icey hot rage that scared Hannah worse than her father's Batman persona ever could.

"Mongul. He's fighting Diana and Lara down the hall." Hanna quickly said.

Kim's head slightly turned and focused her vision where she could hear the sounds of a raging battle. Her fists tightened so tightly that her skin sounded like tanned leather rubbing together and every knuckle turned white and popped into place. "Mongul." She whispered to herself before she turned.

"MONGUL!"

She screamed with such a loud volume that it shook the very walls of the fortress down to its foundations and threatened to make them crack like the walls of Jericho. In the blink of an eye, Kim was gone with a massive wind following her in the direction she sped. Someone's ass was about to get kicked, and that was an understatement if Hannah had ever heard one.

The battle between the three super beings had spread from the weapons vault and into the garden area where the rare plant life of Krypton had begun to grow once more. Each planter having their separate lamp that simulated Krpyton's red son while light from the word outside the fortress illuminated the rest of the room. Lara had been tossed aside like a rag doll with one cheek starting to swell her eye closed and a bruise forming on her forehead. Diana was sprawled on the ground and doing her best to fight through the pain she was feeling to try and stand as Mongul stood over her. A sickening smile was wide on Mongul's yellow face as he raised his leg in the air so he could stomp on Diana's skull and crush it as if he were an insect when he heard the shout that echoed through the mighty fortress.

"MONGUL!"

She was awake. Somehow, Superwoman had been able to remove the Black Mercy and was free. Mongul turned and began to tense every muscle in his body when something struck him with such force that he felt every ounce of oxygen become expelled from his lungs and several of his ribs fracture as he was flown through several walls and down through the floor into a lower chamber. Once Mongul struck solid ground, he felt his head snap backwards and bash against the hard stone and heard the sound of a large crack. He wasn't sure if it was the floor or his skull, but all he knew as he gasped for breath was that every part of his torso and his head ached with pain. As he popped several bones and rolled to his side, he could hear the sounds of strange creatures and could smell the faint odor of strange manure. He was in a strange zoo with large cages of crystal that housed miniature environments with very odd looking creatures.

"You slime." Superwoman growled with every ounce of hate she could muster in her voice. "You unimaginable, despicable, loathsome bastard. Do you have ANY idea what you did to me?"

To answer that question, Mongul only chuckled as he sat himself up and wiped away some blood the oozed from his nose and a wound in his teeth and lips.

"I fashioned you a prison that you couldn't leave without giving up your heart's desire." Mongul said and tried to kick Superwoman in the abdomen. To his surprise, she caught his foot, and used it to slam Mongul into another wall like he was a baseball bat. As Kim walked closer to him, Mongul launched a massive punch that sent her up in a small arch and slam her into a preserve back first before tumbling to the ground. "Giving up that life must have felt like tearing off your own arm." He said as he walked to where Kim stood back to her feet. Kim tried to punch him again, but he batted the punch away before slapping Kim in the face so hard that it almost knocked her over before grabbing her by her throat and began to squeeze.

"Goodbye, Kryptonian. I give you Oblivion." Mongul said.

"Burn." Superwoman growled as her eyes glowed like two burning hot coals that had just been plucked from the fire pits of Apocalypse and burned away the dark purple clothe that covered Mongul's flesh. As soon as the cloth was gone the flesh began to burn and sear as a wretched odor of burned spoil meat filled the air as Mongul screamed in pain.

"Wake up! Wake up!" Hanna said as she shook Lara and saw her slowly begin to wake up.

"W-what hit me?" Lara slurred as Hanna helped her sit up while Diana slowly rose to her feet while her left arm held her right side.

"Get up, twerp. I need your help." Batgirl said as she pulled Lara to her feet and pulled her alongside her.

"Help with what? What's more important than kicking Mongul's fat – oh, shit." Lara said as her elder sister lead her to Batman where he sat on his knees in a daze and the Black Mercy wrapped firmly around his chest.

"Hera, no!" Diana said as she came up from behind and saw her friend now in the state Kim had just been in moments before.

"Help me get it off of him." Batgirl pleaded as Diana and Lara both stood beside Batman and began to pull.

In another world, Ron was happy. The Batman didn't exist anymore. He was with Kim at a beach party, celebrating their graduation from High School while Bonnie studied for summer school so she could get her diploma. Ron's parents were celebrating while holding Hannah while she was a toddler while Kim's parents looked on at them and smiled. And Rufus, his old friend, was gorging himself on cheese while celebrating the party as well. And there was he and Kim under the setting sun as they shared a romantic kiss. Time flashed forward, and they were married. Ron was running Bueno Nacho while he and Kim were at a beautiful home with a baby on their own and his little sister in tow. It was the mansion Mr. North had left him, but different. And all around him were his wonderful creations.

"Wake up, Dad!" he thought he heard Hannah said, but she wasn't facing him.

The scene had changed and they were just leaving a movie theatre. He and Kim were with their parents as they talked and laughed. "Ron, wake up!" someone shouted. He knew that voice while at the same time he didn't. "RON!" the voice shouted again. As it did, Kim and her parents disappeared as he found himself in an alley with his parents. Someone stepped out of the shadows with a gun and cocked it.

"Give me your money. All of it!" the man said.

Ron focused on the man and assumed a pose, ready to strike. He kept his eyes focused on the man and knew how to do this. The plan of attack was in his mind and he began to move.

"RON!"

At hearing that one shout, he knew he had been through this before. He knew what was going to happen next. His father had somehow managed to move in front of him and pushed him away from the gunman's line of sight and against the wall. As Ron hit the wall and looked up, he heard the gun fire and saw his father lean forward as part of his back exploded in a small shower of blood. Ron was so shocked by what he was seeing in front of him that his mother's scream didn't register until he heard the second shot. He looked up and saw hole in the middle of her forehead as her head jerked backwards. As both his parents fell, he turned and saw the gunman running away as fast as he could.

With the gunman gone, Ron saw the full horror in front of him. Both his parents were dead and laying on the ground of the filthy alley. He fell to his knees and felt the tears begin to fall down his face. He was hurt. He was heartbroken. He wanted this moment to go away. He wanted to un-see what had just happened. That was when the fire began to burn in his heart and began to spread across his chest. He knew this fire all too well. He had carried it for years and had let it fuel him in his endeavors in life. His fists balled as the heat went from his chest down his back, into his limbs, and fill his brain. When he opened his eyes, he saw a large puddle with a reflection looking back. It wasn't Ron that was looking back at him, though. It was that of a giant human sized bat. As he saw this image, he knew what this burning within was. This feeling was both a strong want and a desire. He wanted – REVENGE!

The thick crystal wall cracked and spread like a spider web, scaring the small animals that were within it as Kim slowly slid down to the ground with her cape slowly falling down over her head. She lurched forward and put herself on her hands and knees and flipped her cape back over her head as she saw Mongul stomp towards her.

"How utterly pitiful. You should have stayed in whatever happy fantasy the Black Mercy gave you. Instead, you choose a slow and painful death." Mongul said.

"Happy?" Kim asked as Mongul swung his fist down for a killing blow. Kim caught the large alien's rock hard fist in the palm of her right hand and began to apply pressure. Soon, the bones in Mongul's fist began to crack and break with sounds echoing clearly in both of their ears with the resulting pain bringing the yellow behemoth down onto his knees. As Mongul fell, Kim rose to her full height as her anger boiled to levels that only the center of the planet knew.

"HAPPY?!" she bellowed as her left fist swung upward against Mongul's jaw with the impact echoing like a sonic boom. The blow sent the warlord flying upwards and crashing through the thick layers of crystal ceiling before impacting against the ceiling in the room above. A small impact crater formed with only a few cracks as Mongul began to fall and fell onto the hard floor of the main control room with a resounding thud. Kim flew through the hole the alien had created before using her speed to land on Mongul as hard as she possibly could, using both feet as a pile driver to his diaphragm. She stepped off of Mongul's chest and grasped him firmly by the collar of the shirt he was wearing before smashing her right fist into his face over and over again.

"Do you have,"

SLAM!

"any idea,"

SLAM!

"WHAT I'VE LOST?!" Kim screamed as her fist came down on Mongul's jaw and felt it break in two places as his blood flowed from a broken nose and several cracked or missing teeth. "What I've," Kim shouted before something out of the corner of her eye caught something. Looking up, she saw that it was the statues of her mother and father next to the statues of her Aunt and Uncle. So much emotion swept over her when she saw them, even more so when she thought she actually had been talking to her father. But she also remembered her other parents. James and Anne Possible and everything they had taught her. Sadly, the delay was all Mongul needed.

The warlord used both of his feet to kick Kim in the stomach and off of himself. The massive kick sent her flying backwards along the floor of the control room before she crashed into the side of a computer terminal. The unexpected attack and pain from hitting the computer left Kim stunned for the moment as Mongul's shape began to loom over her like an eclipse.

"For a moment, I actually thought you were going to kill me." Mongul said as he spit blood and broken teeth from his mouth. It was foolish of you to stop. You could have killed me and saved your worthless pets. Now, they and everything else on Earth will see me as their new master." Mongul said as he placed his foot on Kim's chest and began to apply his weight slowly. "Farwell, Kryptonian."

"MONGUL! YOU FORGOT SOMETHING!"

Mongul turned to see Wonder Woman standing behind him. She quickly stood aside as both Supergirl and Batgirl threw an object at him. They had tossed it in the air where a large light illuminated the fortress and hindered his sight for a moment or two. Mongul's eyes widened in both shock and surprise once the alien warlord recognized what the object they had thrown at him was. For one brief moment, his violent obsessed brain realized that it was too late before dark vines wrapped around his chest tightly and the Black Mercy firmly planted itself against his chest. Mongul stood still for a moment as his face twitched before it softened into a blank slate and the warlord fell to his knees.

With Mongul finally neutralized, everyone began to take stock of the damage that had been caused. Lara noticed how her mother kept looking at the two statues of Jor-El and Lara and cautiously walked close to her.

"Mom? Are you okay?" she asked. Kim slowly turned and looked at Lara with tears in her eyes. Kim swept Lara into her arms as fast as she could and held her close as she could.

"I'll never forget." Kim whispered to herself as she hugged her daughter tightly.

"Mom, I can't breathe." Lara squeaked.

"Sorry." Kim said and reluctantly let her daughter go before kissing her on her forehead. "How bad are you hurt?"

"Not too bad. A few minutes in the sun and I can walk it off." Lara said, trying to hide the wince on her face as she redistributed her weight on her feet.

"I'm surprised you were able to give him a run for his money. Thanks for saving me, by the way." Hanna said.

"What are sisters for, dip stick?" Lara asked and earned a small glare and a smile from Hanna.

"Diana, are you all right?" Kim asked as she saw the few bruises forming on the Amazon and the blood coming from her lip.

"I've suffered worse in training exercises with my sister warriors on Themyscira. But by Hera, it felt like I was trying to wrestle with a Minotaur. And they usually have worst tempers than him. I think." Diana said.

"Ron, what about you?" Kim asked when she saw the hole in his suit which is where the Black Mercy made contact.

"I'm fine. KP." Ron said, but Kim knew better. She could hear the hurt in his voice. Whatever Ron had seen in the Black Mercy's hold had to have been similar to what she had been dreaming. To have something so real and to see it all ripped away. Kim had to do her best to keep her anger in control as she did her best not to remember the illusion she had been given. That's when all of their gazes fell down onto Mongul's still form.

"What do we do with him?" Diana asked.

"I say we throw him in a black hole." Lara said, causing Kim to smirk. Like grandfather, like granddaughter.

"We'll let the League decide. If nothing else, I bet the Lantern Corp has been itching to get a hold on him." Kim said.

"What do you think he's dreaming about?" Hannah asked.

"Whatever it is, it's too good for him." Was all Ron said in a very bitter tone of voice.

Inside Mongul's mind, War World was born a new. It traveled through out the galaxy and destroyed anything that was in its way. Thousands of beings were broken and bowing at his feet while he watched other starving slaves kill each other for small scraps of food. On a mountain of pain, in a castle of skulls, Mongul sat on a throne of blood. The heads of his enemies were mounted on spears all around him as he was surrounded by all the riches and women in the galaxy. And there he sat with all he wanted with one thought in his mind. He was content.

GOTHAM CITY

Ron let the doctors at the Watchtower look him over after the incident with the Black Mercy. They all said he was fine, but J'onn suggested that he took some time off. For once, Ron agreed with the Martian. Ron had a project in mind that he had been working on for the past two days. There he sat in the bowels of the caverns beneath his manor as he worked on the data in front of him. He was almost finished with his project when he heard something. The lift from the manor that lead to the main platform was in use. Barbara was here. Ron quickly accessed one of his opened case files and focused his attention on it as the door opened and Barbara Gordon came out in her motorized wheelchair.

"I thought you were supposed to be resting." Barbara said.

"I'm not in the cowl, so this is resting." Ron said. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been helping a few members of the league with some of their cases. Did you think Oracle was exclusive with the Batman?" she asked him.

"Whatever makes you happy. I'm using this terminal right now. Can you use Dick's since he isn't here?" Ron asked her.

"Sure. Let me know if you need help with anything." Barb said as she wnt passed Ron and took another lift to the lower levels of the cave.

As soon as he was gone, Ron closed the case and went back to work on his project. Ron was using the latest software Possible International had developed for face renderings. When Ron was under the Black Mercy's hold, something had happened. When the fantasy was crumbling away, he relived that night. That horrible, horrible night. Everything was in fine detail as he relived it. He didn't know if it was because of how he trained himself or something else, but he saw something. An important clue he needed for so long. A Ron finished working on the nose on the face rendering, a part of him froze. That was him.

When he relived that memory, the gunman had turned when he ran under the light of a street lamp. When he did, Ron saw him. He saw his face. And now it was looking back at him from the computer. There was a chance he had imagined the face, but he couldn't miss this chance to finally get somewhere in his parent's murder. He saved the image and began to run the face through Gotham's criminal database. Ron's breath threatened to catch in his throat as it ran through dozens of images faster than he could follow. Was the face a real person? Would he finally have a name to go with the monster that changed his life?

So many questions kept circling in Ron's mind. The computer finally stopped and Ron gasped at what he saw. There was a match. A ninety-eight percent match. Ron's hands were actually shaking as he clicked to see the results and his breathing labored. There he was. The monster finally had a face and a name. Joe Chill. Wanted for larceny and theft and was known to be a flunky for a former Gotham mob boss named Louis Moxam. The last time he had been arrested was years ago. Now, it looked like he was a suspect in numerous black market arms dealings. Ron's fists tightened as he felt a growl form in his throat. Finally, his parents would have justice. Darkness comes where Batman goes.