Of Kryptonians and Queens

By Michael Weyer

So starting off with the first of various stories in the aftermath of Infinity Crisis so it helps if you read that first. Obviously don't own either Supergirl or Merlin so hope you all enjoy.

Flying over National City was always a calming feeling for Kara. She needed it after the last few weeks. All the people taken in "the Dusting" (as the media had called it) had been restored. Sadly, the after effects of half the planet vanishing in an instant were still being felt. The death toll via accidents, crashed planes and more was still being felt as more than a few of those brought back from dust had to endure finding loved ones gone. It was a shakeup and Kara had been busy helping Kal out around the world to fix some disasters. It may have been quieting down but it was still a rough aftermath.

But it was a distraction Kara needed. With Mon-El and Winn gone, things were quieter while Alex was busy as the new director of the DEO. At least J'onn was still around but it just seemed a bit off for Kara. It wasn't helped by how Lena had basically been cutting herself off from everyone. Kara had tried to approach her, both as herself and in costume but was told she was busy. It troubled her, especially given that Lillian was still out there somewhere. She regretted the break between the duo and hoped something could fix it…

She stopped in place as her ears picked up something. It sounded like one of the breaches Cisco made with the odd sucking sound. Tapping a finger to her earpiece, Kara spoke. "Supergirl to DEO."

There was a pause before a familiar voice came on. "This is Lane, what have you got?"

Kara had to smile. Lucy Lane's return to the DEO had been a surprise but a welcome one. It seemed she'd been one of the people "dusted" which pushed her to decide to take on a more strident approach by working with the DEO. Having her around was a good help as she was making up for the loss of Winn in terms of hacking tactics and science. "I'm sensing something…like a breach."

"We were just about to call you. We're detecting a disturbance, some sort of portal about four blocks from your location."

"I'm on it." Kara replied as she flew over. It took seconds to find the portal, darker than the ones Cisco made. As she arrived, a figure stepped through it, clad in a large cloak and hood over his head with a long staff clutched in one hand. Kara's eyes peered and she was thrown to find she couldn't see through the cloak with her x-ray vision.

The effort seemed to alert the intruder as he looked up to her but much of his face remaining in shadow. "Hi there," Kara said in a polite tone. "New in town?"

The man simply glared as Kara nodded. "All right, the silent type. Now, I'm guessing you're from another Earth and I'm really hoping you're a good guy. However, we have had some rough experiences so I hope you'll understand if I just take you in for questioning."

"I have a mission," the figure said in a voice that was soft yet tinged with power. "I cannot allow anyone to stop me."

Kara sighed. "You realize how bad that sounds? It's not like you can just ask for help or be clear on what it is you're after?"

"Lena Luthor."

Kara's eyes narrowed. "And now we settle the bad guy question." She lowered herself to face the man. "Sorry but Lena is a friend…"

"No. She isn't."

Kara rubbed her face. "I'm trying to be diplomatic here just in case you are a good guy after all so we don't get the clichéd misunderstanding fight. However, yes, she is my friend so if you want her, you're going to have to go after me."

The man cocked his head to look her over. "I have no quarrel with you, Kryptonian. I simply wish to deal with Lena and then take my leave."

"Just jump to the leave part and we can end this easily."

"You cannot stop me."

"Funny, I think I can."

The man thrust out his staff as he whispered something under his breath. A blast of energy burst from its tip and into Kara's chest. She gasped, more in surprise than pain at the blow that sent her back. Getting to her feet, she unleashed her heat vision but with a wave of his hand, the man created a field that blocked it. Kara flew outward but the man managed to dodge as if she was in slow motion. He then smashed her in the back with his staff, combining the blow with another force of energy that knocked Kara down.

She was wincing as he came to her. "You don't see," he said in a soft tone. "Not yet." He pressed his hand to her forehead and whispered to himself. Kara's eyes widened and she gasped out loud as she felt her mind suddenly shifted, almost like when the Dominators took her over. It felt…

"Back off!" The man turned to see Alex Danvers in her suit with a half dozen DEO agents behind her. Alex fired off a blast from her gauntlet with the man creating the shield to once more block it. He slammed his staff into the ground, igniting a massive shockwave combined with a burst of white light that blinded everyone present.

As her eyesight returned, Alex blinked before seeing Kara on her knees. "Kara!" She raced to her sister, helping her up. "Are you ok?"

Kara was shaking her head. "I…no…No, I…" She looked to Alex and her sister was thrown by the sudden fear in Supergirl's eyes. "It's Lena, Alex. She's not…she's not….real."

"What do you mean, not real?" Lucy was confused as Kara faced her, Alex and J'onn in the main DEO headquarters.

"I mean, a year ago, Lena Luthor didn't exist," Kara replied. "There was never an adoption, the LexCorp board took over when Lex went to jail and Lillian has never interacted with any daughter."

"Kara, that's crazy," Alex said.

Kara looked to J'onn. "You read my mind. You saw my memories, my true memories."

"I did," he allowed. "But how can you be sure this man didn't put them in? To try and drive a wedge between you and Lena?"

"I just…know. It's hard to explain but it was like a veil was lifted, like suddenly everything became clear." Kara shook her head. "Lena is…I don't know what she is but she's sure not a Luthor."

Alex rubbed her face. "Table that for right now. What about this stranger?"

Lucy tapped some keys to bring up footage from the fight courtesy of the DEO agents' cameras. "Looks like some sort of personal force field."

"That staff is more than just a prop," Kara intoned. "The blow he hit me was nasty. Also, when I went at him…it's not like he was using super-speed but more like I was in slow motion."

"Time or energy manipulation," J'onn noted. "Interesting…"

"Plus, he blocked my X-ray vision."

"And he wants Lena," Alex noted. "Which means she's our priority."

"I'll find her," Kara declared. She began walking toward the balcony, the others following. "I should come with," J'onn stated.

Kara shook her head. "I don't understand fully what's going on but I still trust her, J'onn. I need to know the truth, one way or another."

"We'll have backup just in case," Alex stated. Kara nodded as she bounded off the balcony and into the sky.

It took minutes to find her way to the L-Corp Building. She sensed the balcony door was open and slowly floated down toward it. She saw Lena at her desk, calmly working and sipping a glass of wine. A wave of the hand indicated she saw Kara and she took it as an invitation to enter. "Lena?" Kara started.

"Supergirl." The voice was cooler than usual and Kara knew this wasn't going to be the best talk. "What can I do for you?"

"Someone is after you."

"Must be a Monday."

"Seriously, Lena. Some stranger, we're figuring out who he is but he used some serious powers and has it in for you."

She paused but then went back to her work. "I can handle it."

Kara was silent for a moment. "He…He did something to me and…I've been…remembering things."

The pen froze on the paper as Lena slowly looked up to her. "Oh?" Kara instantly felt a sense of foreboding at the look in Lena's eyes. They weren't cold but had an air she'd never seen before, as if…mischievous.

Kara licked her lips. "Yes. He showed me…" She took a deep breath. "The truth."

Lena was quiet for a long moment before letting out a tired sigh. "I'm sorry you had to see that. And I'm sorry you had to tell me."

She rose to her feet as Kara moved before the desk. "Who are you, Lena? I mean, who are you really?"

Lena smiled. "We all have our masks…Don't we, Kara?" Supergirl blinked as Lena smirked. "Really, do you think I wouldn't know? Oh, it's not a terrible disguise, hide in plain sight. Believe me, I appreciate it. But I know the truth."

Supergirl sighed. "Lena…I didn't want to lie to you but…"

"Let's just cut through this, shall we?" Lena snapped. "What you saw was the truth, Kara Danvers. There is no Lena Luthor and there never was. She was simply my own mask, a disguise so perfect that I forgot myself. It took my recent…death…and return to remember the truth." A smile came to her face, one that made Kara very uncomfortable. "And now…it's time for me to be myself."

Kara swallowed. "Lena…Listen, let's get you to the DEO, they can check you out and…"

Lena waved her hands and a flow of energy came over Kara's hands. She blinked to see her wrists now bound in green manacles attached to chains. It took a moment for the pain to hit her and she yelled as she collapsed to her knees from the Kryptonite. Lena sipped her wine once more as she looked at her. "I'll give it to my other persona, collecting all that Kryptonite was a good thing as it helped me figure out how to transmute it easily."

Kara looked up at Lena…and saw something new. It wasn't just that her voice had changed, taking on what sounded like a British accent. The woman's entire persona had transformed, no longer the warm woman she'd known but something colder. Something older. Looking into those eyes, Kara saw nothing of her friend but something a whole lot deadlier.

"Now, I assume your half-lush of a sister is on her way right now." Lena was quite calm as she slid open a drawer and removed a solid green knife. "As much as it's been too long since I had a victorious gloat, I really need to get moving." She looked down at the helpless Kara and sighed. "For what it's worth, she really did count you as a friend. Sadly, I learned a very long time ago that it's best to cut away what makes you weak before it ruins you."

She lifted the blade up as Kara pulled back as much as she could to avoid the blow. At which point, a blast of white energy flew outward to strike the knife, knocking it out of Lena's hands. She and Kara both looked up to the doorway to see that same hooded figure from earlier standing in it.

"You," Lena whispered, her eyes wide.

The figure stepped inside, pulling back his hood. He appeared to be Lena's age with dark hair, the cloak over a modern-day suit. His face was handsome but carried a power to it, his eyes seeming to shimmer a bit as they fixed upon Lena, who was attempting to recover her wits. He finally spoke in a crisp British accent.

"Morgana."

"Merlin."

The man waved his hands and Kara gasped in relief as her cuffs vanished. She was still weakened as she tried to regain her bearings. She watched as Lena slowly moved around the room, her clothing shifting. Gone was the business suit and replaced by a flowing black dress accentuating her curves, rings on her fingers and a pendant around her neck. She raised up a hand, a ball of red energy forming into it. "It's been far too long, Merlin."

"I had hoped it would be never," the man replied, his staff at the ready. "When I couldn't detect your presence anymore, I assumed you were finally gone."

"Oh? Did you mourn for me?" Lena said in a teasing voice.

"I did," the man replied. "I mourned for the woman you were."

Lena snorted. "Poor, poor Merlin. Still hoping to appeal to my better nature?"

Merlin shook his head. "No. I realize that woman died a long time ago. I still owe you though."

"Hunting me across universes? To think I once dismissed you as just the kitchen help." Lena smirked as she held up a hand. "Very well, if we must, we must…" She lunged out, throwing a fireball at the man. He swung his staff out to block it and unleashed a blast of white energy of his own. Kara hissed, feeling the sheer power of each as they flew over her. She had no idea what was happening as the two moved about the room, watching in amazement as they traded blasts of energy.

Lena hissed as she waved a hand and a sword appeared from nowhere. She lunged with it as the man blocked it with his staff. "You owe me?" she hissed. "You're the one who stabbed me on the battlefield! Who nearly killed me!"

"You killed the best man I have ever known!" Merlin snapped back. "You brought Camelot to ashes! You ruined what would have been a golden age for the world!"

"Golden age, you still cling to such fantasies?" Lena kept up her attacks. "Power is what matters, Merlin! It's all that's ever mattered! You've just been too foolish and weak to embrace yours!"

The man ducked a sword blow to knock her away. He moved in with his staff as Kara got to her feet. She slammed her palms together, the shockwave knocking both of them off their feet and against the far walls. She was still weak as Lena got to her feet first. "Lena…" Kara started.

"My name is Morgan." The woman fired off a ball of fire that knocked Kara back. She saw the man getting to his feet and smirked. "Another time, luv." With that, she waved a hand and in a billowing cloud of smoke, vanished from sight.

Kara winced as she got to her feet just as Lucy burst through the doors with several agents. They all had their guns raised at the man who just looked at them carefully. "Easy, easy!" Kara called out. She moved toward the man, looking him in the eye. "We need answers. And it's easier if you just tell us now rather than fight us."

The man looked at her carefully and slowly nodded.

"Hold up," Alex stated, a hand raised. She stared at the man inside the conference room, her face filled with disbelief. "You're telling us you're Merlin. As in…the Merlin from King Arthur?" She, Kara, J'onn and James were all looking at the figure.

The man nodded. He appeared quite calm as he sat in a chair and while he had handcuffs on his wrists, Kara and J'onn had the feeling he was only sitting there because he chose to be. "I am."

"Really?" Lucy pressed. "I thought…I mean…"

"I know, I know," Merlin said with a shrug. He paused and narrowed his eyes and in seconds, had turned into an elderly man with a long flowing white beard. "Is this better?" he asked in a cracked voice.

Lucy blinked in surprise as Merlin transformed back to his usual form. "Don't believe all the legends," he stated. "I have gone over records of Camelot here and I've seen it's not the way it was. Of course, not sure if that means the legends got altered over the years or the history here is different."

"Here?" Alex pressed. "You're from another Earth then."

Merlin nodded. "I am. As is Morgana so as I said, what you know of us may be different."

"It's possible," Kara noted. "Last time I was seeing the Legends, they said that on Earth-1, Camelot was started by some 1940s heroine who went back in time, helped them with tech and became their Merlin."

Lucy shook her head. "Just when I think this job can't get weirder…"

Merlin seemed a bit taken aback himself before going on. "Let me bring you up to speed on how it was on our Earth then. The legends of Camelot are not what you think. It had been known as Albion, a good land but when his wife died of complications from a spell, King Uther declared all magic was evil and began a purge that made the Salem Witch Trials look like a trip to Disneyland. Thus, you had the great irony in that his illegitimate daughter, Morgana, was born with such power herself."

"As were you," Kara guessed.

"I was. I came to Albion as an apprentice to a local druid. I was told by…a figure that it was my destiny to aid Uther's son, Arthur, to become a great king and to make Camelot into a land that would usher in a golden age for the world. So, I did my best to aid him although I had to keep quiet about my abilities."

"That must have been complicated," Kara mused.

A rueful look came to Merlin's face. "You have no idea. Don't get me wrong, Arthur was a good man and grew into a great one. But when we first met, he was brash, arrogant and rather full of himself. To put it into modern parlance, he believed he was the star of the show fighting the monsters and I was the bumbling sidekick. I can't tell you how many times I saved the day but let Arthur think it was him while I was stuck cleaning up the kitchens. Or worse."

"Secret identities suck sometimes, don't they?" Kara asked with sympathy and Merlin had to smile at her.

James got things back on track. "What about Morgana?"

Merlin sighed deeply. "Things got…complex. She had a good heart once but when her magic was revealed and Uther turned on her, she fell to darkness. She soon allied with Camelot's enemies, briefly had the throne herself but when she was overthrown, it got worse. Eventually, she began staging full on attacks and then instigated a final massive war against the realm, aided by a knight named Mordred."

"Who killed Arthur," J'onn stated.

Merlin looked off, his eyes still carrying an old pain. "Not instantly as he then slew Mordred. He was mortally wounded though and as we escaped the battle, I finally revealed my secret to him. He was upset at first, feeling betrayed at being kept out of the loop. But as he realized how much I'd been helping him over the years, he seemed to get over it. We were attacked by Morgana and I tried to defend Arthur, stabbing her in the heart. It was too late as he died."

Alex frowned. "You killed Morgana?"

"I thought I had," Merlin admitted. "I then began moving on as Arthur is fated to return one day in a new form. It was in the Middle Ages that I began hearing rumors of some great witch raising havoc behind the scenes. I tracked her down to find it was Morgana, still alive. I have no idea what sort of dark arts she employed to keep herself going but it's made her worse than ever. I think it had something to do with the darker fairies, hence her new name of Le Fay."

Lucy glanced to James. "That he's being so nonchalant talking about evil fairies is a little weird."

"That's the part you find weird?" James shook his head. "I still can't get this. You're saying Lena is Morgan Le Fay?"

"Exactly," Merlin said. "She and I fought over the centuries, each time her managing to escape. We had a final clash a few years ago and afterward, I found no trace of her around so believed she was finally destroyed. But then, a few weeks ago, I felt her presence again yet it wasn't on my world."

"A few weeks…" Kara and Alex shared a look. "The Dusting."

Merlin nodded. "It hit my world the same as yours. Even I didn't know the cause or how it got set right. I had been aware of other realms for some time of course but it never occurred to me Morgana could have found a way to one. Once she did, she knew she had to hide from me so cast a unique spell. It mixes both ancient magics and some sort of alien technology, I still can't quite grasp how she pulled it off. But in essence, she created a brand new identity for herself and then alter the memories of everyone else to believe it was true."

James shook his head in disbelief. "I just…I know her, I've…We know each other. I can't believe she could be like this."

"You knew her cover," Merlin pressed. "I don't know if it was deliberate or a by-product but the spell affected Morgana as well so even she believed she was Lena Luthor. Yes, that woman may have been good-hearted but that was nothing but an illusion. She knows who she is now."

"She was…dusted…" Kara said, knowing James and Lucy were both still uncomfortable talking about that. "Maybe, when she was returned…"

"It broke the spell on her," Merlin finished. "My thoughts exactly. It took a bit to track her down but now I have, I need to stop her."

"By killing her?" Kara demanded.

Merlin looked her in the eye. "Ms. Danvers, let me be blunt." Kara wasn't surprised at all that he knew who she was. "I spent far too long trying to get her to come back into the light. I wanted to believe she could be redeemed, even until the end." He shook his head. "But she's too far gone now. Whatever good was in her was crushed centuries ago. She is a monster of great magical power who now has access to a company of cutting edge technology. She has to be stopped before she unleashes horrors upon your world and then mine."

Alex coughed. "Let's table the whole discussion what to do with her. First, we need to find her."

Merlin waved his hands as the cuffs around his wrists vanished. "I was able to get a lock on her early because she wasn't expecting me. Now she is and she learned a long time ago how to put me off her trail."

Alex smiled. "No offense, Merlin, but this is the 21st century. We can track rogue aliens, we can track her."

Kara moved to him. "Listen…I agree, she needs to be stopped even though we can argue on how to handle her. You want to do it, work with us, not against us."

Merlin was silent for a long moment before he nodded. "All right. But let's make this clear now, if I see an opportunity to end her, I will."

"Man, the Disney movie made you look so much happier," James muttered.

"Oh, do not get me started on the animated films…" Merlin said as he got to his feet. He glanced over to J'onn. "By the way, I get you're attempting to ascertain my motives but I don't quite approve of my mind read without permission."

J'onn nodded. "Understood. Your mental defenses are pretty strict."

"I've had some rough experiences." Merlin followed them into the main area of the base.

"Just what is she after?" Alex pressed.

"What she's always been after. Power." Merlin brushed at his hair. "My guess is that she's trying to find a way back to our world, to get what used to be Camelot and is now Great Brittan. And she doesn't care how many people she has to kill to do it."

Kara shook her head. "I still can't believe…"

"Again, I get she was your friend," Merlin stated. "She was to me, too. It took me too long to understand how dangerous she was and too many people paid the price for my denial. Lena Luthor is dead, accept it." Something in his tone made it clear there was more to the story but Kara decided now was not the time to press on it.

"She may be but her computer is still alive." Lucy moved to a console to bring up a series of data screens. "She's been doing a lot of checking around, some old records, birth records, a lot of stuff from England."

Merlin nodded. "She's probably been trying to locate some sort of source of power. I can tell there is magic in this world, just a bit different than on ours."

"I hate magic," Kara remarked. "Kal warned me about a few guys to avoid who can hurt us."

"Her latest searches seemed to focus on one guy." Lucy brought up an image on the screen along with various records. As soon as he saw them, Merlin's face went white. "That's not good," Alex remarked.

Merlin's eyes were fixed on the screen as he clenched his jaw. "Morningstar. You idiot. You lost him."

The shop was a quiet place, tucked in a tiny corner of Gotham City. A simple sign gave little indication to what was truly indoors as shelves of books lined the walls along with a variety of jars of supplies, furniture and some odd posters. The sole inhabitant was a tall man with mostly red hair, a shock of white through it. He wore a teed suit, replacing some books on the shelf as he heard the bell over the door ring out. "Sorry but we're about to close," he called out in a strong British accent.

"Jason Blood," a cool female voice cut through the air. "How the mighty have fallen."

He froze in place before slowly turning to the woman standing in the store. "Morgana," he whispered. "How are you here?"

"I could ask the same of you," she stated, smirking as she came into the room. "It looks like I'm not the only one who went dimension hopping."

"Just a change of scenery," the man stated, trying his best to remain calm. "I had hoped to never see you again."

"Well, things change," Morgana stated. "I need your aid."

Blood snorted. "You honestly think I'm going to help you? After all you did? I'd say go to Hell but you'd be welcome there."

Morgan chuckled. "Still the flattering tongue. But today, we have a lot to do."

"Get out, Morgana. Now."

She shook her head. "Sorry, Jason. But it's your better half I need to talk to." She lunged forward and slammed her palm onto his head. Blood screamed out as he fell to his knees, feeling a wave of agony overcoming him. Morgana's eyes were glowing brightly. "Say it," she hissed out. "Go on…say it…"

Blood was gasping out, clearly trying to fight the power flowing into his mind. "Change…Change O' form of man…"

His clothes seemed to suddenly billow with smoke as the agony overcame him with more words being blurted. "Free the prince…forever damned….Free…the might…from fleshy mire"

The heart of the room increased as the smoke now turned into flames, bursting through Blood's clothing. "Boil the blood…in the heart for fire!"

Blood's voice was now deeper and rugged, as if something else was taking hold. His form was buckling over as he seemed to grow in place, his eyes turning bright red. "Gone! Gone! O' form of man!"

The clothes had burned away with the skin now changed into a horrific bright yellow. Morgana pulled away, knowing it was almost finished. Blood's eyes were nearly gone as his voice burst outward from the cloud of flame. "And rise the Demon.."

In one final burst of flame, a new figure crouched in the spot Blood had been. Its yellow skin was scaly and twisted, his hands now sharp and elongated claws. He wore a bright red suit with a long blue cape flowing back from it. His head was a horror with bright and huge fans extending from his maw and pointed ears about his head. He threw out his hands and let out a bellow as he pronounced his name.

"ETRIGAN!"

Morgana smiled as the figure took her in. "Do my eyes deceive or dare I believe? The witch of Camelot reborn upon this dawning 'morn! To what cause have you called as you'll find Etrigan enthralled."

Morgana smiled brightly. "You and I are going to have a lot of fun…which will involve destroying Merlin at last."

The Demon laughed loudly. "You seek to upon Merlin war? Well why didn't you simply say so before? Promise the wizard I shall rend and thus, for now, Etrigan shall bend!"

Morgana chuckled as she took in the new ally upon her side.

Obviously, the idea of Lena as Morgana is a major one thanks to the actress but it appealed to me. I did like Lucy so wanted to bring her back and she fits in with Winn gone. This won't be a huge tale but still some interesting touches that will play into more of this entire "Infinity Crisis" multiverse saga and hope you enjoy.