The Rebirth Chapter 3: To Discover a World © Dylan Clearbrook Arctic Circle

Winter in the Arctic. Blowing winds caused the heavy snow to fall in almost horizontal sheets. Scientists and those few brave individuals that call the Arctic home sat huddled in their Quonset huts and prefabs, protected from the man-killing elements that raged on the other side of the thin walls. Any human caught out in this blizzard was risking a quick, cold death. Any normal human, that is.

Slicing through the sheets of falling ice and snow, Rogue alternately used her telescopic and x-ray visions to navigate through the storm. Though she was able to discern differences in temperature, extremes at either end of the spectrum had no effect on her or her system.

Out of habits developed over the past months, she did not make directly for her destination. Instead, she zigzagged through the sky before finally coming to ground in a place that, for all practical purposes, was completely invisible from the air and was even hard to see from the ground unless you stood in front of the massive doors.

Unlike its counterpart in the Other Reality, these doors were not locked with a huge key. Instead, it locked and unlocked only at the touch of certain individuals. She was one of those individuals. As well she should be. For this was home.

It was far different than the few caverns that she and Kara had carved out months ago. Then it had been a simple affair of four small caverns branching off one central cavern. They had not been allowed to finish it. They had taken their plans for furnishing the caverns to Tony Stark who, in turn, turned it over to his people. They had started an intensive project that would have taken months to complete. Then help had arrived. Help in a very unexpected way. Traveling to this Reality, Superman, Green Lantern, and a few other heroes of the other Reality had joined with Tony Stark's men and Prof. Xavier to create a Fortress of Solitude similar to Superman's, yet with touches here and there to reflect it's future inhabitants.

As she stepped in through the double doors, allowing them to close behind her, Rogue was once again taken by the sight that greeted her. Standing just inside the entrance, bracing an opening into the main cavern, were two massive statues. Originally, for want of a better idea, Superman had installed copies of the statues in his own fortress. His mother and Father. Jor and Lara El. It had not taken Kara long to change that. Within days, the figures, standing on opposite sides of the opening and together holding a globe of Krypton over the opening, had been redone. Gone were Jor and Lara in contemporary dress of the Krypton of Superman's reality. In their place stood Zor and Allura El. Kara's real mother and father in the contemporary dress of Argo-City, the Kryptonian city that had, due to Zor-El's foresight, lived through the explosion of Krypton. The Krypton of her reality, that is.

Beyond the archway, in the main cavern, there were exhibits of the adventures both she and Kara had had since the press conference during which Tony Stark had introduced Team Supergirl. Kara had been insistent about that. It was not strictly HER fortress, but THEIR fortress.

Kara had sat aside one small cavern where she displayed replicas of artifacts she recalled as being in her cousin's fortress, but other than that, decorating was something they did together. Off to the left of the cavern ran a tunnel that led to the infirmary. Here, again thanks to Superman, an elaborate automated medical system had been constructed. With the help of Reed Richards, the equipment had been fine tuned to account for the subtle differences between the other Reality's Superman and the type of Kryptonian Kara was and Rogue had become.

To the right of the cavern ran a series of tunnels that led to living and guest quarters, a kitchen, and other basic living areas.

Straight ahead, just to the left of the tunnel that led to what Rogue called Kara's Kryptonian room, was a short tunnel that ended in the Joint Computer/ Communications Room. From here, she or Kara could contact any one they might need to contact. Also a special system had been installed that would allow her to contact both the Justice League and Superman in the other Reality. More than once Rogue had walked in to find Kara chatting away with either Superman or with Linda Danvers. She herself had talked at length with them both and with other heroes such as Power Girl, Nightwing, and Wonder Woman. She had made a mental note not to mention this to Jubilee or that girl would always be clamoring to come here so she could talk to Robin. It was also in this room that Rogue would often find Kara, using the super-computer to sift through data, looking for who knew what.

And so Rogue found her now. So intense was she on the star charts she was studying, she didn't even notice Rogue entering the room.

"Whatcha got there?" Rogue asked, coming up behind her and putting her hands on her shoulders.

"Wha!!!!" Kara literally lifted out of her seat, spinning around. "Don't DO that!" She scolded. Rogue smiled. "Give a girl a heart attack." Though Kara grumbled, her smile took any sting out of the words. She took her seat again and, with a few quick keystrokes, called up two star charts, displaying them side-by-side on the screen. "Take a look at this!" She exclaimed. "I think I've found it!"

Rogue looked at the meaningless charts and shook her head.

"I have no idea what I'm looking at." She admitted.

"This," Kara indicated the chart on the left side of the screen. "is a chart I got from Superman." Next she indicated the chart on the right. "This one came from Reed Richards." She caused both charts to zoom in on one particular area. From what Rogue could see, they were identical. Using a light pen, Kara circled certain features on the left-hand chart. "These are what I guess you could say are landmarks that I remember. By first studying this chart until I could find the exact sequence of stars that I remember, I was able then to run a sort until the computer came up with a corresponding area in this Reality." The computer obligingly circled the matches. "Look close. See any differences?"

Rogue studied both charts. At first she saw no difference then it seemed to leap out at her.

"Here." Rogue indicated a red spot on the right-hand chart. "This isn't on the other chart."

"Exactly." Kara nodded, enthusiastic. "Yet in MY reality, it WAS there."

"Okay. So what does that mean?"

"Look at this." Kara pressed a few keys and the left-hand screen zoomed in closer. At this magnification, Rogue could just barely make out a small speck that could have been a planet. "Now watch." Another key pressed and the screen began to flicker. "What you are seeing is the same sector of space over a period of time. Watch that speck." Rogue watched, her eyebrows rising as, time and again the speck seemed to disappear. Reappearing moments later. When she mentioned this, Kara nodded.

"Exactly." Kara looked at the screen, her face troubled now. "I believe that is it. But if it is, we've got to get moving."

"Kara." Rogue put a hand on Kara's arm. "What exactly is it you think you've found?" Kara met Rogue's eyes.

"Rokyn. " She breathed. "Rao help us and them, I think its Rokyn."

To Discover A World

"It's a long story." Kara and Rogue had moved from the Computer Room to the common area that adjoined their rooms. Kara was in an overstuffed chair; her feet tucked up under her, a steaming mug of hot chocolate in her hands. She blew at the steam and then looked up. "It really began before the Krypton in my Reality exploded."

Rogue, sprawled on a couch, leaning against an arm rest and nursing her own mug of chocolate kept silent, letting Kara tell it in her own time. A com screen showing Reed Richards remained quiet as well. Rogue had insisted that Reed be consulted on this.

"An android, built by the machine masters of the Planet Colu and every bit as evil, had made a career of stealing segments of different societies to be used as exhibits. He would take whole communities. Using a device he had developed, he would shrink the entire community, people, buildings, everything, and then transport them to his vessel where they would be placed in what amounted to over glorified terrariums." Kara paused, taking a sip of her chocolate. "This android, by the name of Brainiac, visited Krypton mere days before the disaster. He selected and kidnapped the city of Kandor. Though I am sure it was not his intention, Brainiac actually saved a segment of Kryptonian society from destruction."

"I have heard you refer to a Brainiac before. I believe you called him Brainiac 5?" Rogue observed.

"Querl Dox was his real name." Kara nodded. "It was his great-great-great grandfather that instigated the Coluan revolt against the machine masters. Brainiac had genetically altered him and then raised him to be a son. Due to the altering and the proximity to Brainiac, Vril Dox's intellect was raised by a tremendous amount. Interestingly enough, each generation thereafter had a higher intellect level than the one before. Querl had reached a twelfth level intellect and it was suspected that any children he might have would have an even higher one."

"Twelfth Level." Reed mused. "I recall speaking to that lad about time travel. If I understand the method of measurement used, a Twelfth Level Intellect in that Reality is extremely high."

"Yes sir. The intellect level of the average person is about 6 or 7. I would venture to guess that, were you over there, you yourself would be classified as an eleven or twelve." Kara nodded. "In any case, Brainiac had stolen the city of Kandor and put it in a bottle, so to speak. Years later, Brainiac would reach Earth and steal a city. The city he chose to steal was Metropolis."

"Oh ho!" Rogue chortled, knowing where this was going. "Superman lived in Metropolis."

"Right. To shorten the tale, Superman not only was able to stop Brainiac and restore Metropolis, he was able to rescue the city of Kandor as well. He had the city set up in his Fortress for years. Then I came along and, shortly after that, we discovered two suspended animation chambers in space, floating in a trajectory from where Argo-city had broken apart towards Earth. My mother and father." Kara paused and then plunged on. "My parents chose to live in Kandor. Superman and I had developed a method of shrinking people, using Brainiac's basic design, allowing travel to and from Kandor. Unfortunately, we could not for the longest time, develop a way of enlarging anyone that had been shrunk when the city was first bottled. Metropolis was lucky in that it was restored to its rightful size within a short time after it had been shrunk. It seems the shrinking process, over a period of time, became irreversible. We tried a few times with some test animals. The results were always hideously painful and ultimately fatal. Finally, together with the Kandorian scientists, we developed a way to overcome the problem and enlarge the city. The Kandorian council then located a world similar to Krypton, complete with a red star where they wished to be enlarged. So, using vessels Superman and I constructed, we took the city to the world and enlarged it."

"Why vessels?" Rogue asked.

"Remember, we are powerless under a red sun." Kara pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and continued. "The council then attacked us."

"What!" Rogue was flabbergasted. "Why on earth for?"

"They were intelligent." Kara smiled. "They knew that the citizens of Kandor had, over the years, come to rely on Superman and myself to fix all their problems, to always be there to rescue them. They wanted that to change. They wanted the people of Rokyn to learn to rely on themselves instead of on us."

"So they attacked you."

"Right. The rendered us unconscious, put us on a ship, and sent us on our way back to earth. They knew by the time we regained consciousness, it would be too late. You see, they had chosen their new world with care. This world was unique in that it only existed in our dimension for short periods of time. Before we could return, the world would have faded out of our dimension. They left a recording on the ship, informing us of this and their reasoning for what they had done." Kara looked into her cup, not really seeing anything but her memories. "I can see now their logic."

"Incredible." Reed announced. "But why do you think that this world, in this Reality, is the Rokyn of yours?"

"That world does not exist in the current Reality, over there." Kara answered. "But what if it weren't present at the time of the Great Crisis? What if it had been phased into another dimension or, as I believe, another Reality? This Reality! When the changes occurred, it would have not been effected. But its path to the other Reality would have been blocked. What if it was stuck here though still trying to phase into a Reality that no longer exists?"

"It would slowly tear itself apart." Reed answered after only a slight pause. "I see your point. Even if there were only the slightest chance it is your Rokyn, you would have to make the effort to find out for sure. And if so, somehow affect a rescue of the surviving Kandorians."

"Exactly, sir."

"Okay." Reed thought for a moment and then nodded to himself. "The Fantastic Four has a vessel that can make that trip in a matter of days. I am afraid that we are already committed to another task. However, you and Rogue are welcome to borrow it. But tell me this. How are you going to pull this off if, as you say, you will be powerless?"

"That, sir, is something I haven't quite got figured out." Kara admitted. "But, between the two of us, I am sure Rogue and I can come up with something."

"Great." Rogue shook her head. "That's just great." She heaved a sigh and stood. "Well, when do we leave?"

Deep Space Near Rokyn

As he sped through the void, he contemplated the summons he had received.

Though he had no inkling of what the danger might be, he knew also that Dr. Strange would not summon him for petty purposes. Add to that the fact that the summons had included Quasar, it was easy to see that, whatever crisis faced them; it was one of cosmic intensity. So, taking their leave of the Star Masters, both he and Quasar had set out for Earth, each blazing their own trail.

So intense was he in his effort to unravel this puzzle, he very nearly missed the sudden and swiftly growing distortion in his path as his path cut through a supposedly planet free system.

Slowing, he watched and waited as the distortion rapidly expanded and began to solidify. A planet. A large, obviously heavy gravity planet was materializing before him. And, though not yet solid, he could already sense.... life!

Interesting. Were the pull of the summons not so strong, he would take the time to investigate this novelty. There was something strangely familiar to the feel of the life on this world.

He altered his trajectory, curving around the upper atmosphere of the planet to pick up the trail on the other side. And again he paused.

A ship! Though not in his direct path, it lay close enough attract his attention. The Fantastic Four! Perhaps Reed Richards had found the planet to be worthy of study as well. But would Reed Richards, if there were a crisis on Earth, be here? He paused, his desire to answer the summons as quickly as possible warring with his curiosity. In the end, he elected to pause to investigate. If it were not Reed Richards, he might still be able to discover some indication as to the nature of the summons. He would also impart what knowledge he had already gleaned concerning the planet below. The silver glowing board tilted and raced forward, it's occupant balanced easily as it neared the vessel.

"Okay. We're here." Rogue muttered, glancing out the view port. "So what do we do now?" She then looked down to the bandage on her finger. When the planet had rematerialized last she had been in the galley, preparing a meal. The turbulence had caused the vessel to shake, which in turn had caused Rogue to slip with the knife she was using to cut some meat.

After Kara had complimented her on her mastery of swearing and bandaged the cut, she had once again warned her. They were powerless under the red sun.

"I haven't the slightest idea." Kara sat back, disgusted. "I had expected there to be some activity in space, some indication that the inhabitants were at least trying to flee." She waved a hand toward the forward view screen without looking. "Nothing. Nothing to indicate they ever redeveloped even the rudiments of space flight. Not even a communications satellite."

Rogue's eyes had followed Kara's wave, glancing out the screen. Her eyes widened and she moved closer to Kara.

"Kara, we've got company." She said just as the silvery figure slid off the screen, to the side of the vessel. Kara spun and looked out and then gave Rogue a thoroughly disgusted look.

"Company? Out here? Rogue, Kryptonian's are powerless under this sun. How could we have visitors if they don't even have space flight?

"Don't ask me." Rogue replied, glancing over at a bulkhead. "Ask him." She jerked her thumb and Kara turned. With a startled yelp, she jumped to her feet, leaping for the weapons locker, as first a head and then a torso phased through the outer and inner hulls of the vessel.

"Peace." The silvery figure spoke as he stepped fully onto the deck. He looked around. "Reed Richards is not here." It was not a question, but rather like a confirmation of something he had already guessed.

"No, he's not, Surfer." Rogue stepped forward, motioning for Kara to relax and move away from the weapons locker.

"You know me?" The Sliver Surfer looked at Rogue. "I do not recall having seen you before."

"You haven't." Rogue agreed. "But most People of Earth know of you. Especially those with super powers or unusual abilities." She gestured around at the vessel. "Reed Richards allowed us the use of this ship."

"It is strange. Such a novelty as this would surely have intrigued Reed Richards. Or so I believe."

"It did intrigue him." Rogue nodded. "However, pressing business kept him from joining us."

"It is as I thought." The Surfer nodded. "I can but assume that he received a summons as did I and even now awaits my arrival. So you study this anomaly in his stead."

"Actually, we're here to rescue the inhabitants." Kara spoke up, for the first time. The Surfer looked at her, his eyes widening slightly.

"You resemble one I have seen before." He said. "One who was and is but is no longer the same."

"Well, I doubt it was anyone I would know." Kara spoke curtly. It was still difficult for her to speak about her past.

The Surfer looked first at her and then turned back to Rogue, studying her clothes. When his eyes found the symbol above her left breast he nodded.

"It is as I thought." He stepped closer to Kara. "You are not from here." It was not a question. "You are from the other reality." His eyes glowed bright and a silvery light enveloped both women.

"Hey!" Kara stepped back, moving again towards the weapons locker. If the Surfer knew her destination, it didn't bother him.

"It is but a scan." He spoke as the light faded. "You," he pointed at Kara, "are indeed of another reality. But not the same reality as the Superman that I have most recently seen. But rather from the reality of the Superman I once called friend." He shook his head. "That reality is gone. And yet you are here." He turned to Rogue. "And you, there is something of that other reality in you as well. Though I can see that you were born here, in this reality, you are now closer to belonging to her", he indicated Kara, "reality more than this one." He turned and looked out the view screen to the image of the planet rotating below them. "And the life on this planet. It is of the same reality. A mystery indeed." He turned again, looking at Kara. "You are Kara. Your cousin spoke of you, when last I saw him."

"You knew Kal?" Kara was shaken, grasping for something to support her.

"I did. It is sad that he, as he was, is no longer." He turned, heading for the hull. "However, I cannot tarry. I must be on my way. I must reach Earth."

"Galactus!" Rogue paled. "Is he on his way?"

"I do not believe so." The Surfer answered. "I am but answering a summons by Dr. Strange."

"Wait." Kara stepped forward. "I don't suppose that we could, uh, recruit you." She ignored Rogue's fearful glance.

"Recruit?"

"We have a slight problem." Kara told him. "We expected the inhabitants of the planet to be able to help in their own evacuation of the planet. Now we see that is not possible, and neither of us have any power here."

"Indeed?" He glanced at them again, his eyes glowing softly brighter as he scanned them at the molecular level. "Ah yes. " He nodded. "My scan showed me that persons of your kind are powerless under the rays of a red sun." He paused for a moment, his eyes again glowing. Both women felt a slight tingling throughout their bodies, nothing more. "That shall no longer be a problem for you. It was a simple matter of molecular manipulation. The radiation specific to red stars will no longer hinder you. Nor will the radiation of other stars save that of yellow ones. That is as much as I can do at the present. I cannot stay, I am sorry. I can offer you one piece of advice, however. He looked back at them both. "Move swiftly. I cannot say why, but I believe you have even less time than you realize. Good Luck." He was gone, Kara rushing to the views screen to see his form disappear in a slivery streak that shot away, to be swallowed by the depths of space.

"Kara?" She turned to see Rogue, the bandage on her finger removed and her attention fixed on the cut. She watched, thunderstruck, as the wound sealed it self, healing. Within seconds, there was not even a scar to indicate that she had been cut. Rogue looked up and met Kara's eyes.

"We have our powers back!" She breathed. Kara said nothing as she turned and looked at the planet that now filled the screen.

For a long moment she stood there. When she finally spoke, she did so without turning.

"He just looked and changed our molecular structure." Her voice was small, cowed. She turned then, her eyes troubled. "He just looked at us."

"It's a new place you've come to, Kara." Rogue stepped up, putting an arm around her friend. "A new, wondrous place, and yet perhaps because it is so wondrous, it is can be more dangerous as well."

"This Galactus you and this...this Silver Surfer...spoke of. Who is he?"

"You don't want to know." Rogue muttered.

"But I do." Kara insisted. "I need to know all I can."

"No, believe me, you don't want to know." Rogue sighed and turned toward the console. "Unfortunately, whether you want to or not, you need to know. If I am right, I would imagine that Reed has a very elaborate data base...ah here it is." She pulled up and file and information started flowing across one of the auxiliary screens. "This is what Reed has on Galactus and his Heralds."

Kara started down the list of known Heralds, past and present. Her face paled as she saw the Silver Surfer listed there. "This Galactus had the power to hold the silver guy?"

"Did and still does, if I don't miss my guess." Rogue replied. Kara continued down the list, her mouth dropping with a gasp as she grew even paler. There, among the names of the past Heralds, was a name she could not help but recognize...Superman."

"According to this, it was only for a short time." Rogue read over her shoulder.

"But these dates!" Kara did a quick calculation. "If these are correct, then that would have happened before the Anti-monitor showed up in our Reality. That would be MY Superman.... my cousin!"

"Hmmmmm. Yep. That would have been him." Rogue agreed. Kara looked at her and then went back to reading. She skipped over the rest of the Heralds and started reading about Galactus himself. By the time she was a third of the way through the information that Reed Richards had accumulated, her hands were shaking.

"By Rao!" She breathed. "We can't fight something like that!"

"You just remember that, girlfriend, if ever the big guy shows up. There are ways to beat him.... but I doubt seriously that we could do it alone." Rouge patted Kara's shoulder. "In fact I would just about guarantee that we couldn't."

Kara shut down the screen and looked back out the views screen. She was shivering uncontrollably, and it had nothing to do with the temperature in the vessel.

Rokyn

There were none of the tall, Kryptonian style spires that Kara had expected. Rather the buildings that came into view as she and Rogue descended through the atmosphere were squat, single or two story affairs.

As they flew in over the center of the city they could see faces of people turning upward, staring. Some began pointing and running in the direction of their flight.

"That looks like some official building." Kara pointed and banked downward, lighting on the lawn of the only building with more than two stories they had seen. Within moments, a crowd had gathered around them."

"Kara? Kara Zor-El?" A voice out of the crowd spoke up. Rogue looked at Kara. Though she had recognized the name, the accent was strange and was followed by a string of words that held no meaning for her."

"Kryptonesse." Kara explained. She smiled. "You might be Kryptonian inside now, but you still need to learn the language."

"I flunked French. " Rogue grumped, looking around at the crowd of faces. "And now she wants me to learn a language from another planet." Kara laughed and turned back to the crowd.

"Yes. It's me." She told them. She caught her breath as the crowd parted and a man and woman pushed through. Rogue tensed as the man reached Kara and threw his arms around her, the woman closing with them both in, what she realized, was a family hug. Kara pushed away, wiping tears from her face. "Rogue, My mother and father, Allura and Zor El."

The woman smiled and held out a hand to Rogue, pulling her into the hug.

"You are most welcome, sister of our daughter." Her words were heavily accented, but in English.

"It's been a replay of your Uncle's argument with the Kryptonian Council." Allura told her daughter and Rogue over the kitchen table.

After a promise that they would return, Kara and Rogue had been allowed to leave to spend a small amount of time with the El family.

Naturally the first thing that had interested the scientist in Zor, once he was satisfied that his daughter was alive and well, were Kara and Rogue's powers. Or rather, why they still had them under the red star.

"It's a long story, Dad." Kara was having a hard time keeping her hands to herself. She was constantly touching her father or her mother, as if to convince herself that they were truly alive. "I'll tell you later. Right now, just accept the fact that red stars don't bother me anymore. Nor, it seems, do heavy gravity planets...I can still fly."

Zor opened his mouth to argue but Allura shushed him.

"Later dear." She insisted. She turned and smiled at her daughter. "What I would like to know is what happened to your costume and where did you get that outlandish outfit?" Her eyes cut to Rogue. "Both of you."

"Styles have changed slightly." Rogue smiled. She really did not want to get into the subject of what had happened to the reality they had known.

And now they sat around the table, finishing off Kara's first Kryptonian meal in a long time and Rogue's first ever. She had surprised herself by liking the foods Allura had served as much as she did.

"The fools wouldn't listen." Zor slammed a hand on the table. "I begged and pleaded with them to turn their energies into a finding a way for us to leave this Rao-forsaken planet. Instead, they have wasted every resource in an attempt to stop the planet from phasing."

"Well, they haven't succeeded." Rogue said, somewhat bluntly.

"No. No they haven't. At best, they have prolonged the life of the planet for a matter of years, if not months." Zor slumped in his seat. "Whatever happened over there blocked the planet's entrance into that Reality. So, instead of phasing smoothly back and forth as it did, it gets part way there and is bounced back."

"That's why there are no tall buildings." Allura put in. "The quakes caused by the phasing brought them all down. So we began spreading out rather than building up."

"Mom, Dad. This planet is going to break up. Soon." Kara stood. "We need to get you and everyone off."

"It's not that simple, Kara." Zor shook his head.

"Sure it is." Rogue put in. "With our powers, Kara and I can fashion a couple of arks capable of holding an atmosphere and large enough to accommodate the entire population. Then we take the Arks to another planet. Simple."

"And unleash over three hundred thousand super beings on the galaxy?
Zor smiled. "Kryptonians are just like every other people, Rogue. We have our good ones and bad ones. No, our best bet, and the safest one for the rest of the galaxy, would be to stay right here or, were it possible, under another red star." He sighed. "Even so, everyone within those arks would be dead within minutes of leaving the surface of this planet."

"What do you mean?"

"An unforeseen side effect of the enlarging process." Allura put a hand over Kara's. "It attuned us to this planet's foibles."

"She's right." Zor confirmed. "Whatever force causes this planet to phase infused every living being in Kandor when we were enlarged. When it shifts, we shift. But we have to be on the planet's surface when that shift takes place." He shuddered. "Haven't you wondered why there has been no real attempt to return to space? We tried. We sent up crews to construct a series of satellites. We had no idea what would happen. We thought they would just have to wait until the planet reappeared." He shook his head. "We sent the crews. The planet shifted. When we returned, we tried to contact those crews. Nothing. We sent some people up to look. What they found was horrifying."

"The crews had shifted with the planet." Allura continued the tale, her voice soft. "Their vessels didn't. The crews were phased out of them and into space. When we phased back, the crews, thankfully already dead, phased back with us, sometimes materializing within the center of bulkheads. It was terrible."

"Your mother was with one of the investigating crews." Zor commented. He reached out and took Allura's hand, squeezing it tight. "Thankfully, she returned to the surface before the next shift."

Rogue looked around at the faces before her. Zor, Allura, and Kara. Each of them seemingly with out a clue as to their next course of action.

"Uh." She cleared her throat, embarrassed by bringing up what she figured had already been thought of and discarded for one reason or another. "Why not just reverse the process?" Blank stares greeted her words. "You know, if it was the enlarging process that put you in tune with the planet, wouldn't an exact reversal restore you to normal?"

"You mean, re-shrinking the entire population?" Kara asked.

"Well, yeah." Rogue answered, somewhat defensively.

"Re shrink?" Zor started to scoff, then his eyes locked on Rogue. "Why not?" he mused. "Indeed, why not?"

"Zor El." Allura's sharp voice got his attention. "What are you talking about?"

"It's the only way." He looked at his wife and, while there was some hope in his eyes, there was also resignation. "We have to do it. If we want to survive, if we want any portion of the Kryptonian culture to survive, we have to go back into the bottle."

Chapter 2 Rokyn

The Science Council

"Absolutely unthinkable!"

"Absurd!"

"Ridiculous!"

Kara was not surprised by the reaction of the some of the members of the Science Council, Rokyn's ruling body, to the proposed re-shrinking of Kandor. She was surprised that more did not reject the idea out of hand. While a majority openly scoffed at the notion, it was a very slim majority. Others, while no more enamored with the notion than their colleagues, were at least open to discussing the issue.

"It is a trick!" One councilman sneered. He pointed at Kara. "It is a trick to get us back under the power of her and her cousin."

"You've heard Kara's account of what has happened." Zor countered. He was still a bit shaken by the news Kara and Rogue had given him concerning the fate of the Reality they had known.

"Lies!" The councilman declared. "Soon, we shall develop a means of breaking through this barrier that is hampering our world's progress and then you shall see that it is all lies."

"If you find a way to break into the Other Reality," Kara's voice was hard now. Rogue was getting the impression the Kara had little use for overstuffed bureaucrats. "What you will find will be oblivion. You will fade into nothingness because, over there, you never existed. Just as I would fade. I made the trip, talked with the Superman that now exists. And I had to return before I faded into nothingness." She stepped forward, hands on her hips, a look on her face as if she were a young mother scolding errant children. "Get this through your heads. This planet is going to break up. It won't explode like Krypton, it'll merely crumble around you."

"So you say." The scoffer sniffed, clearly unimpressed.

"Those are the facts." Kara countered. "Now you have a choice. You can get to work getting the people ready, or you can get the hell out of my way."

"Kara Zor-El, you are out of line!" The scoffer was on his feet, his face red with barely suppressed rage. "You are speaking to the ruling council and you will remember it. Being Kryptonian, you are just as bound by our decisions as any other. You will, therefore, keep your peace. You will not cause a panic among the citizens. Is that understood?"

"Or what?" Rogue stepped up beside Kara. She was thankful Zor El had allowed her to use one of the Kryptonian learning devices. She now had a good, working knowledge of the Kryptonian language, though she knew her accent was atrocious. She also had one hell of a headache. Those devices, though thorough, were not pleasant and the dull pain in her head was making her a bit edgy.

"Or what?" She repeated her question. "You really want to do what Kara tells me the Council on Krypton did when Jor El told them that world was going to explode?"

Kara walked up to the standing Councilman until she was almost nose-to-nose with him. Moving on impulse she reached out and grabbed him by the front of his tunic and lifted him up and over the table between them.

"Let me clue you in, buster!" She hissed. "You have no authority over me. Any you might have had over me, which is debatable, died when I died. Do not presume to give me orders you overstuffed, pompous idiot." She sat him down and turned to the remainder of the councilmen. "This situation is too serious for you to be allowed to squabble and hedge until time runs out." She held up her hands and backed away. "However, I will not force anyone to return to a bottled city. That is a decision each person will have to make on his or her own. I will not, however, allow you to keep the people from making that choice for themselves. You have the right to stay on this planet and take your chances, if that is your wish. But you will NOT stop anyone from leaving if that is THEIR wish." She turned and, catching Rogue's eye, headed towards the council room exit. At the wide, double doors she turned. "You can either help, or you can stay out of the way. Either way, you will not interfere with the will of the people. Those that wish to stay with you idiots can, but I intend that those that wish to live be given a means of achieving that goal."

"In a bottle. As a zoo specimen." The loud-mouthed councilman had regained his composure. Kara ignored him and made sure she met the eyes of all the other council people.

"Just remember. You can help, or you can stay out of my way. Those are your choices." She turned and slammed through the doors, knocking one off its track.

"Hmmm Touchy, isn't she?" Zor whispered to Rogue, staring after his daughter. "I think she forgot our doors here are sliding, not swinging. "

"Actually, I just don't think she has much use for career politicians." Rogue looked back over her shoulder at the still stunned council. "Come to think of it, I don't either."

To Discover a World

"You've made an enemy in that one." Zor El told his daughter as they made their way back to the El dwelling. "Then again, Nar Ur never cared much for the El family to begin with."

"Ur?" Kara's brow furrowed. "Any relation to Jax Ur?"

"A distant cousin, I believe." Zor shook his head. "He has always maintained that Jax Ur was innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted. He claims Jax was framed by Jor El because Jor wanted to show off his fancy new Phantom Zone projector."

"I've encountered Jax." Kara said, shivering slightly. "He was a cold blooded killer. Uncle Jor should have pushed for execution rather than imprisonment in the Phantom Zone."

"Who is Jax Ur?" Rogue asked, feeling somewhat lost in the conversation. "And what is the Phantom Zone?"

"Jax Ur was convicted of mass murder on the planet Krypton prior to its explosion." Zor explained. "My brother, Jor El, was a key element in that conviction. The Phantom Zone is a sort of ethereal space occupying the same space and time as our own. Jor developed a method of projecting a person into that zone. There, they neither age nor hunger nor need sleep. They are basically wraiths. Jor proposed, and the council accepted, that, since Krypton had done away with the death sentence, hard core criminals be removed from society and placed into the Zone."

"The Zone is not a nice place." Kara continued. "I've been there. You can see and hear and know what is transpiring in the real universe, but you cannot interact. Criminals were to be placed in the zone for specific periods of time, though some, such as Jax Ur, General Zod, and others, were sentenced to the zone for all time."

"The death sentence would have been kinder." Rogue shivered.

"I agree." Kara replied. "Unfortunately, the Kryptonian Council did not ask my opinion on the matter."

"Kara, you were not even born when that transpired!" Zor reprimanded her.

"Perhaps not, but I and Kal were the ones that had to deal with the Phantom Zone criminals when they found ways of escaping the Zone." Kara's tone was decidedly bitter. Then she stopped, her mouth open, as if struck by some thought.

"By Rao." She breathed. She turned and looked at Rogue. "The Phantom Zone. Before I came to Earth, Kal, then called Superboy, had to place a friend in the Phantom Zone to save his life. Lar Gand!" She turned to her father.

"Lar was a Daxamite, Father." She told him. "And he was exposed to lead."

"Rao!" Zor sucked in his breath. In the Reality he had come from, it had been learned that, in ages past, colonists from the planet Daxam had founded a new planet and called it Krypton. Due to war or natural disaster, no one was sure; the people of Daxam had reverted almost to the level of their equivalent of the Stone Ages, Cutting off all support to the fledgling colony. The colony had survived, barely. They themselves fell to the level of savagery before starting the long climb back to civilization. The years changed the Kryptonians, altering the body chemistry. They no longer had the allergic reaction to common lead that Daxamites had. Lead, to a Daxamite, was deadlier than Green K to a Kryptonian. And, unlike Kryptonians who would recover when removed from the vicinity of the Green K, a Daxamite exposed to lead would never recover.

"He was a space traveler." Kara went on. "In fact, he landed on Krypton mere days before it exploded. Uncle Jor warned him off, giving him star charts and coordinates for Earth and sent him on his way. Lar, from what Kal told me and what I later learned from Lar himself, put in the coordinates, got his vessel underway, and then placed himself in cryogenic sleep for the voyage. When he reached Earth, some sixteen years later, he was met by Kal. Unfortunately, something had gone wrong with the sleep process. Lar woke with almost total amnesia. Since Kryptonians and Daxamites share a root language with surprisingly little lingual drift, Kal naturally assumed that Lar was from Krypton. The Charts furnished by Uncle Jor seemed to confirm this. Kal thought that Lar had to be an older brother that had some how escaped the explosion. And, since it was on a Monday that Kal found him, he named him Mon El." Zor lifted his eyebrows at this, but said nothing as Kara continued. "To shorten this tale somewhat, it was not long before Lar became exposed to an element rare on Daxam but plentiful on Earth: Lead. Simply put, the exposure and the resulting reaction were enough to restore Lar's memory. He told Kal who he was and what was happening. Not knowing what else to do, Kal used the Phantom Zone projector to place Lar in the Zone. To save his life." Her eyes were haunted as she looked up at her father. "What if he's still there?" She asked in a small voice.

"He can't be, dear one." Zor pulled his daughter close. "From what you told me, that history no longer exists."

"But it DID exist." Kara insisted. "Otherwise I would not be here. You would not be here. Rokyn would not be here." There were tears in her eyes. "Father, Lar, in our history, would spend a thousand years in the Phantom Zone. In the Thirtieth century, Brainiac 5 will...would...develop a serum that will keep him alive. Make him immune to the effects of lead. That is according to our history. Not in the new one. In this history, from what I have learned from the Supergirl in the other Reality, Lar does not exist. Instead, his counterpart is a Martian named Monel. Mon El, Lar Gand, is and forever will be, trapped in the Phantom Zone.

"Perhaps not." Zor mused. He smiled. "You see, I worked with Jor on the original projector." He tapped his temple. "I can build a projector. Then we can see if, indeed, your Lar Gand is there." He held op a hand. "However, we cannot allow him to leave the Zone or the effects of the lead exposure will return. Until we can find a cure, he must stay there." Rogue patted Kara on the shoulder.

"Hey, girlfriend, if anyone can find a cure, it would be Reed Richards. Or at least he would know who we would need to go to for help." Kara looked up at her and she smiled. "Hey, if this is the same Mon El you've told me about in the Legion of Super Heroes, then I gotta see. You made him sound like a real hunk!" Despite herself, Kara had to laugh. She grew serious, however, as Rogue continued. "But that's in the future. Right now, let's see what we can do to save these people. One thing at a time, girlfriend, one thing at a time."

To Discover a World

The days turned into weeks. Working with her father, him on the planet surface and her in the Fantastic Four's vessel, Kara had been able to cut in to every type of broadcast. Utilizing the vessel's elaborate communications system, she had broadcast to the entire population. She had informed them of the ultimate break up of the planet, the Council's stand on the issue, and her own proposed course of action. She made it clear that, should they choose, they would be allowed to remain on the planet, hoping against hope that the council would come up with a way to save the planet from destruction. Those that wished, however, could and would be shrunk once again and returned to Earth. She made it clear that, according to findings by Zor, that enlargement, at a later date, would be highly unlikely. The process that had enlarged them once would not work a second time. In effect, they were warned that, this time, the shrinking would, more than likely, be permanent.

As expected, there had been some panic, but nowhere near the volume insinuated by the council. All in all, the population was split in their desires. A very slight majority wished to be reshrunk, while the remainder wished to find alternative methods.

The problems began, however, when the council made it's announcement that it would not condone re shrinking, nor would it allow key personnel, those it was felt were needed for research in saving the planet, to be involved with the Re-shrinking project. Kara had instantly gone on the air with a rebuttal and a warning. This time she publicly warned the council not to interfere with her. She also warned the council not to interfere with any person, whether they felt him or her to be a key person or not, that wished to go through the re-shrinking. In a private meeting, however, she had let out all the stops.

"You really intend to out do your relative, don't you?" She told Nar Ur.

"What do you mean?" The councilman demanded, stiffening.

"You really intend to be a greater mass murderer than Jax Ur, don't you?" She was intentionally antagonizing the councilman, Rogue was certain. Yet, for the life of her, she could not figure out way.

For her part, Rogue was kept busy on the surface of the planet while Zor worked via secure com-link from his workshop with Kara in the ship. They were getting the apparatus ready that would be needed to simultaneously shrink the population and transport them aboard the vessel.

Rogue, working with volunteers, was busy constructing a city. They would work steadily, working according to dimensions provided by Zor, to create a compact city that would be capable of housing the entire population. It was nothing elaborate. Simply the basics that would be needed by the inhabitants. They also moved in equipment, livestock, and other basic necessities. Rogue, with her power, made the building a breeze. Moving at super speed, using strength for lifting and heat vision for welding, she would create the basic structure and then move on to the next while teams of the Kryptonian equivalent of electricians and plumbers and carpenters moved in to finish the placed up.

During phase days, which the Kryptonians had learned to anticipate, Rogue would take a break in the vessel with Kara until the phasing was over.

When the call came in for assistance, Rogue thought nothing of it. She simply responded.

The call had come from a dwelling on the outskirts of the old city. Supposedly an elderly couple that wished to move to the new city but were being held back by council goons. When she arrived at the dwelling, she found no elderly couple, no belongings that need to be transported, nothing to indicate that the dwelling had even been used recently.

"What the hell is going on here?" Rogue muttered, annoyed.

"I am afraid you will soon see, outworlder." The voice was muffled, coming from behind her. She turned to see a person dressed in some form of protective suit, his or her identity obscured. She started forward and then doubled over, sharp pain racing through her entire body. Gasping, she fell to her knees, her strength draining from her body. With an effort, she raised her head as the figure stepped forward. He or she held out a hand in which a green, glowing, clump of metal rested.

"So it is true." The voice mused. "You are not Kryptonian, yet you suffer our weakness. Interesting."

Rogue felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. It was Kryptonite! Green Kryptonite. As she slipped into darkness, she wondered if she would ever awaken.

Earth New York City

"This sucks!" Jennifer Walters tossed her brief case on the couch and headed for the bedroom of her apartment. Despite what many may have expected of an apartment belonging to an up and coming lawyer, not to mention one of the more visible of the multitude of super beings, the decorations were rather basic, giving the indication that it's inhabitant spent as little time as possible there. Yet, over the past few months, she had spent more time here than at any time previous to the resurrection of Kara. Before Kara and Rogue had moved to their new digs in the Arctic, the three had spend almost all their time together. And, afterwards, Jenny had started to feel that a part of her life had lost some of its luster.

She had changed out of her suit and into a bikini (she was so distracted that she had not noticed that she had grabbed the bottoms of one bikini and the top of another) and was looking with a total lack of interest in the fridge, trying to decide what to fix for dinner, when the beeping started. It took her a few moments to realize that it was coming from the terminal Reed Richards had installed when she had become an auxiliary member of the Fantastic Four.

With a sound that could almost be called a sigh of relief, she let the fridge close and moved to the terminal, hitting the receive key. The words 'rerouting transmission' appeared and were quickly replaced by a familiar face framed by disheveled blond hair.

"Kara?"

"Jenny, Thank Rao." Kara looked completely strung out. "Jenny, We need help out here. Rogue is missing and I don't have the time to look for her!"

"Whoa!" Jenny held up a hand. "Start from the beginning. Where are you and what's going on?"

Kara took a deep breath and told Jenny everything.

"My folks just informed me." She wound up the explanation. "Unfortunately, the planet is due to phase at any moment and I'm working against the clock to get this miniaturization apparatus complete. I need some one here that can either take over for me or some one that can go planet side and look for Rogue." Jenny thought furiously then shook her head.

"No. You need to stay with the ship." She said. "Most likely Rogue was taken by those on the council that are against your actions. If they could get Rogue, that means they rendered her powerless. If they could do it to her, they could do it to you." She tapped her chin and then grinned. "As a matter of fact, I think I know just the person that can help you out. Some one who can handle the heavy gravity and still function…Me!" She popped a mini disc into the terminal and set it to record. "Okay, send the coordinates. I'll borrow one of the FF vessels and be there as quickly as I can. Probably about two days."

"But what if the planet phases?" Kara asked

"Then it phases." Jenny sighed. "We can only hope that Rogue can survive it. There is just no way help can get to you any faster. Every one else is gone with the Sliver Surfer…something to do with Cosmic Unions or some such stuff."

A few more words of encouragement and they signed off. Within moments, dressed in her Fantastic Four outfit, Jenny was heading out the door and to Pier Four.

Chapter 3 Deep Space

Among the learned, there are those that theorize that, within the realms of reality, there exists a circle of infinite possibilities and infinite probabilities.

For example, they might say, somewhere on this circle of reality, there exists a universe in which super beings are no more than flights of fancy. Yet the further along this circle you travel, whether deosil or widdershins, things will gradually change. For example, by traveling deosil, or clockwise, you will eventually come to a reality that is occupied by a universe in which super beings struggle among themselves for domination. And if you were to travel widdershins, or counter clockwise, you would eventually come to the same universe.

Further, these learned ones will argue, each and every 'probability' along this circle is, in itself, part of another circle, just as this circle we inhabit is but part of a much larger circle, etc.

So what happens when these circles within circles begin to converge? What happens when, for however briefly, different realities collide?

To Discover a World

Barren of stars, the void was a vast wasteland of space. Home only to a few scattered chunks of rock and the occasional rogue planet or planetoid.

It was through this desolate area of space that Jennifer Walters sped.

At the moment, she slept, trusting the ships deflectors to brush aside the dust and gravel that could easily damage her ship. Her trust also lay in the proximity sensors that would sound warning should they encounter any objects too big to be deflected by the screens and the ship's computer, which would react to such a warning, altering course to avoid a collision.

Yet neither the screens nor the sensors could be trusted to react to a mass that suddenly appeared within their spheres of influence. Nor could the computer cause a vessel moving as fast as this to turn quickly enough when the mass in question appears mere yards ahead in it's path. Indeed, even a computer that made millions of computations in the space of a nano-second would scarcely have a chance to notice the obstacle before collision occurred.

The green sphere that appeared in the path of the vessel was only slightly more than man-sized. It was stationary and remained so as the vessel struck it. To say that the sphere ruptured the hull and traveled the length of the vessel before emerging at the other end would be only slightly inaccurate. Better to say that the vessel slammed into the sphere and continued, it's structure bending and tearing around the still motionless sphere as it's own inertia pushed it onward.

Within the sphere he huddled, curled into a fetal position. His mind raced as he tried to make sense of this new development. He was dead. That much he knew. Whatever else might have happened or might yet happen, this was an unalterable fact. He was dead. Slowly he straightened, stretching his awareness to its limits, tapping into a source of power more intense than any mortal should ever know.

It was not long before he had the answers he sought for. An upheaval in the fabric of reality was occurring. The minds that he briefly touched named the occurrence a Cosmic Union, or so he gleamed from his brief glimpses.

For an instant, he contemplated his own power. With very little effort, he could fix things. He could stretch out his hand and, here in this new place, recreate that which he had sought to create in his own universe. He pushed the thought away, repulsed. The old saying was true. Power can corrupt. He had tried to recreate his own reality. He had tried to correct what he saw as flaws, mistakes that need not have happened. Instead, he had caused more harm. He had caused the death or, worse still, the total non-existence of countless beings in the past, present, and future.

One whom he had long called friend had stopped him, finally. He could still recall the tears in Oliver's eyes as he had drawn back the bow and let his arrow fly.

NO! He would not cause that to happen here. Already, his power told him, there were those that were working to get their reality through this period of upheaval.

Besides. Once this crisis passed and reality returned to normal, he would return to that state from which he had been dragged.

He let his senses focus more on his immediate surroundings. At first he was puzzled by the amount of debris that surrounded his protective sphere. Then, as he locked in on the now tumbling wreck, he pieced together what had happened. His sphere had appeared in the path of a space vessel. He probed the wreckage, looking for signs of life. He was both relieved and alarmed when he detected the faint signals of one being, just hanging on to life. With just a minute portion of the power at his command, he expanded his sphere and drew the wreckage in.

He extended a hand and green beams slashed outward from his fingertips, slicing through the tangled mess. When beams reached the area from which the signs of life came, he stopped. Now the slashing beams steadied and stabbed inward. Within moments, the beams backed out of the wreck, a limp form suspended within their light.

He grimaced at the sight of the broken body. The vessel's occupant had been female. He contemplated what his next move should be. For an instant, he considered an attempt to heal the damage. Yet his past troubles had come from trying to be something he was not. And he was no doctor. No. He could lend his power to heal her, but one that knew what they were doing should guide such healing.

With a sigh that was audible only within the sphere of green energy that surrounded him, he allowed his energy to touch the mind of the female. It was his thought to pick her destination from her mind and thus gain some idea of where he should take her. What he found shook him to his very core.

"She's dead!" He whispered. "I saw her body!"

With a casual flick of his fingers, the wreckage of the vessel was expelled from the sphere. As an after thought, a slim tendril of green energy wound through the mess, gleaning every bit of data that could be lifted from the navigation computer. Now he had the coordinates. The green sphere shrank until it enclosed only him and the injured female. Once again he touched her mind, this time infusing it with his own energy. Perhaps, though he could not, she could aid in her own healing.

Satisfied that she would live, at least until they reached their destination, he gave the mental command and the sphere shot off, destination: Rokyn.

Rokyn

She had no way of knowing how long she had been out of it. She could, by concentrating, vaguely recall being bundled up and rushed out of the abandoned dwelling. Who ever her captors were, they knew enough about the effects of Green K to limit her exposure to it. One person, she could never tell if it were the same one or not, would check on her and occasionally open the lead box in which the hunk of deadly metal was kept, bathing her in it's radiation. Not enough to kill her. Just enough to render her incapable of escape.

Now, able to open her eyes and focus for short periods, she could not decide whether to applaud the ingenuity of her captors or curse it. They had placed her in a dark room; surely lead lined and underground to keep Kara from finding her with her x-ray vision, with a mechanical device that served to periodically expose her to the Green K. It was rather a simple affair, she realized. And thus less likely to break down. It worked much as a pendulum. The lethal Kryptonite placed in a wire container affixed to a long metal bar that swung ever so slowly back and forth. Precisely timed, she assumed, to keep her powerless, yet alive.

Yes, her captors had most definitely done their homework. Yet, as she studied the simple apparatus and gauged her own responses, she had to smile. True, they had done their homework, but they would not be scoring a hundred on this assignment. They, whoever THEY were, had timed the exposures to keep her physically inactive. But they seem to have overlooked some of the other aspects of a super powered Kryptonian. Not all the powers were of a mere physical nature. By straining, she could barely feel her vision powers returning. It would take awhile but she would ultimately, she believed, be able to sustain a steady beam of heat vision. Hopefully. So, with nothing better to do, she settled in to wait. She would have to time it just right.

To Discover a World

"I'm sorry, Kara." Zor El shook his head, the only part of him visible in the vid screen. "We've been able to find where she went and discovered residual traces of Green K, but otherwise, nothing."

"Green K." Kara frowned and shook her head. It hardly seemed fair that Rogue, who had not been born a Kryptonian, should be vulnerable to a purely Kryptonian weakness. Yet Reed Richards had said that, due to a combination of Rogue's original absorption powers and the rejuvenation factor of a super Kryptonian, Rogue was now more Kryptonian than Terran. Indeed, he had even gone so far as to say that even top-notch geneticists would be hard pressed to tell the difference between Rogue and a native born Kryptonian. Though, to be honest, he had only the cell samples he had taken from her to go by and she could not be said to be a true, native-born Kryptonian. Though she knew the history that is all Krypton had been to her…history. She, herself, had been born in Argo City, the domed city that had some how survived the destruction that had befallen Krypton. She had not even been born when Krypton had exploded, but had been conceived years later, as Argo City floated through space.

Kara shook her head and turned her attention back to the vid screen.

"At least she's alive, Kara." Zor tried to console his daughter. "If they had meant to kill her, all they had to do was expose her to the Green K and leave her there. She would have been dead be fore we could track her down."

"True." Kara conceded the point. Yet the planet has phased once since then. Right now, that is what I am worrying about. Was she able to survive that?"

"Why should she have a problem?" Zor had a puzzled look on his face. "When we went through the first phase, there were no injuries. At least none directly related to the phasing. There were quite a few accidents caused by the surprise, though."

"But you all were attuned to the planet when you were enlarged." Kara protested. "Rogue has had no such attunement."

"I see what you are getting at." Zor smiled thinly. "No, the attunement allowed us to live with the phasing long term. After a few years of phasing, an unattuned person might start to feel some detrimental affects. I don't think that is something that we have to worry about in this case." His face hardened. "Our worry is to find her before we have to evacuate. If she is, indeed, weakened by Green K, I doubt she would be able to survive the break up of the planet."

Kara opened her mouth to reply but closed it with a snap when the ship's proximity alarms sounded.

"I'll have to get back to you, Dad." She blurted. "Either help has arrived or some one else is taking an interest. Either way, I've got visitors up here." She signed off and her fingers flew over the controls, pulling up a visual of the sector indicated by the alarms.

At first, there was nothing to see. Rather than waste time ordering the computer to magnify the visual, she turned her head and activated her x-ray and telescopic visions.

There! A small green sphere traveling unbelievably fast. Kara frowned. The sphere was reminiscent of…but no, he too, was dead and belonged to a reality that no longer existed.

In any case, it was apparent that her curiosity would not be long in being satisfied. For even as she watched, the sphere had traversed the distance and was closing with her ship. For a brief instant, the sphere floated off the port bow, as if whatever power controlled it were hesitant. Then, as if resolved, it closed the last remaining distance until it actually touched the ship.

"Do not be alarmed." The voice rang out through the bridge of the vessel. "I am bringing one in need of medical attention. I am entering your forward airlock."

Kara wasted no time in moving to the airlock. She waited, fists clenched as the lock cycled. The outer door closing, heated air pumped in and equalized, and then the inner door sliding open.

Kara's glanced at the strangely clad man but her attention was focused on the limp figure in his arms.

"Jenny! Oh Rao!" Without thought, Kara snatched Jennifer Walters out of the man's arms and flew towards the ship's infirmary.

"It is she." The man stared at the empty space that Kara had occupied a mere second earlier. Shaking himself, he scanned for her and followed. By the time he had caught up to her, she had already placed Jenny in a machine that was obviously some sort of healing device.

"It's not working." Tears of frustration streaked her cheeks as she looked on helplessly. "The gamma radiation in her system is interfering with the machines."

"Gamma radiation?" Kara turned at the question, her eyes widening.

"Hal?" She could not believe her eyes. "Green Lantern?"

The stranger reached out and wiped the tears from one cheek as he looked at her.

"It is you." He whispered. "You are Supergirl?"

"It's me, Hal." She nodded. "But I thought…."

"That I too had died?" Hal Jordon smiled, but it was a smile devoid of mirth. "Indeed, I did. Though many years after you yourself were killed by the anti-monitor."

"I don't want to talk about that." Kara shivered. She still woke in the middle of the night, at times, biting her lips to keep from screaming. "But how…I mean, I have met the new Green Lantern."

"Kyle." Hal nodded. "He is a good man, worthy to be a Green Lantern." He looked as if he wanted to say something else. Instead, he turned his attention to the green skinned female in the healing machine. "Will she live?"

"I don't know." Kara almost moaned. "Dammit, I should never have called her for help. " She shook herself. "All we can do is wait, to see if the machines can heal her despite the Gamma Radiation."

"What is this gamma radiation?"

"A long story. But it is what gives her the green appearance and superhuman strength and near invulnerability."

"Then it is also what allowed her to live through a disaster that would have killed a normal human." Hal mused. He squared his shoulders. "You mentioned that you had called her for help. Perhaps I can be of some aid?"

Kara looked up, astonished and a bit chagrined. True, her friend might lie near death, but, on the planet below, another friend was held captive and several thousand beings were in danger of destruction if she did not act. And here…. here was help unlooked for.

"Yes I think so." She said. She touched Jenny's forehead, whispering, "Forgive me." She turned away, leaving the machines to do what they could as she left the infirmary.

Hal followed, but at the doorway he paused, looking back. He raised a hand and a green tendril shot forth, bathing the healing machine and its occupant. Jennifer Walters would live, that was now a certainty. Yet her life would never be the same. Turning away, he followed Kara to the bridge.

To Discover a World

"So that is the story." Kara had briefed Hal on the current situation. Now they stood on the bridge as the main view screen showed the planet spinning below them.

"I remember Kandor." Hal said. "More than once Kal had taken me along on his visits to the bottle city." He turned to Kara. "And you say that a majority wish to be returned to a bottle?"

"It's either that or death." Kara sighed. "Besides, my father has determined that while the miniaturization may be permanent, there is no reason that they will have to be kept in a bottle. They could easily, with their science, chose to colonize another world…. if that is their wish."

"Possible." Hal stroked his chin with a thumb and forefinger in thought. "And you have not attempted to force the minority to go along with this plan?"

"I couldn't, Hal." Kara frowned at the thought. "I don't have the right to choose for them. I can only offer them alternatives."

Hal looked at her and then sighed.

"So young and yet so wise." His eyes were haunted. "I wish I had been so wise."

"What are you talking about?"

"My sins, Kara." He turned his gaze back to the planet. "You said you have met Kyle. He didn't tell you what had become of me or the Guardians of the Universe?"

"No." Kara answered, slowly. "What happened, Hal?

"Nothing much." He laughed, a bit hysterically. "I merely went insane, destroyed the Guardians and drew all the power of the Great battery into myself." He turned to Kara.

"You called me Green Lantern. I don't have the right to that title anymore, Kara. Now I am known as Parallax." He turned away. "I destroyed the Green Lantern Corps. I damn near destroyed the universe. All for good reasons, of course. I was going to set everything right. I was going to change things back to what they were before the Anti-monitor appeared. I was going to use the power of the Green Lanterns to right those wrongs I saw, real or imagined." He shrugged. "I guess it is all moot now. I have, as far as I can tell, died at least twice. Once at the hands of Green Arrow and once, later, working with Kyle to save what I had so recently tried to destroy myself."

"I guess you could say that I have atoned, in part, for the grief and destruction I wrought." He said after a pause. He turned to Kara again. "Though there are some things that I can never atone for. He took a one of Kara's hands. "It is because of what I did that there is no memory of you. All that you knew, when you lived, was swept away by my power and rebuilt. Though, I must admit, that had Oliver not loosed his arrow while I was distracted, I would have been able to complete my task and you would have been restored." For a brief moment he considered telling her of the last thoughts of one she had held dear…. Of how, the Brainiac 5 of that time had looked upon the grave of his love, Laurel Gand, and wondered whether, in truth, Laurel should be the one he mourned. In the end, he decided against it. The young woman had too much on her mind now as it was.

For a long moment, Kara merely looked at him. Then she sighed.

"I wasn't there, Hal." She finally said. "I have no right to judge. All I can go by is what I knew of you when I…. died." She squeezed his hand. "But right now, we have a job to do. Shall we get to it?"

"Indeed." Hal straightened and turned back to the screen. "I'll go to the planet and locate this Rogue of yours and complete the construction of the city. You continue to work with your father." He started towards the air lock. "Exactly how much time have we got?"

"There is no exact deadline." Kara admitted. "Though both my father and I have come too the conclusion that the final break up is mere days away. Go find Rogue and I'll get to work."

"Will do." He stepped into the air lock and let his green energy surround him as the air was pumped out.

On the vid screen, Kara watched as a streak of green angled away from the ship and flashed towards the planet's surface. Hal would find Rouge.

Chapter 4 Rokyn

The pendulum swung, ever so slowly. Rogue had timed it as well as she could, getting a feel for the rhythm of its swing. It would be a one shot deal. She wouldn't get a second chance if she wasn't successful the first time.

She had laid her plan carefully. She would have to strike the mechanism on the ceiling from which the metal rod protruded rather than the bar itself. Her objective would be to halt the swing when the green K reached its far zenith before it could begin the back swing towards her. Once stopped, she could only hope that her strength would return before her captors decided to check on her. She had also determined that she would have to strike just after once such visit. They had fallen into an old error by being predictable. Rather than checking on her at irregular times, they had stayed to a schedule. Now she knew exactly how much time she would have before they returned. Usually there were no words exchanged. A suited figure would simply open the room's only door and poke their head in, look at her, and then close the door.

Even as she thought about it, it happened. The door opened ever so slightly, a head popped in, glanced around quickly, and then withdrew. The door shut. She readied herself as the pendulum finished its near arc and began to swing away. She squinted her eyes and, when the pendulum had reached the far arc, she let loose with an intense, wide beam of heat vision. It had to be a wide beam. A narrow beam would simply shear the rod in half, allowing the green K to fall and bounce who knew where. By using a wide beam, however, she could melt the assembly at the ceiling, effectively trapping the pendulum at its furthest point from her. The metal turned first red and then white as it heated and soon it softened. She shut off the beam and then, with the last of her strength, fired a blast of super cold breath. The metal solidified and, with a grinding crunch, the pendulum stopped. A trickle of smoke escaped from the overworked motor on the ceiling as it strained to move the rod.

Rogue sagged back against the wall and let her eyes close. Already she could feel her strength returning. It would not be long now. She allowed her lips to stretch into a feral grin. Her captors had a nasty surprise coming.

To Discover a World

Phase one was completed. Hal Jordon allowed his energy to subside and glanced around at the workers near him. To a person, they all seemed to shrink away from him. Well, why shouldn't they? They had just seen him fly in, consult for a moment with Zor El, and then complete the work on the city. It was as if a green whirlwind had settled over the small valley in which the city was being built. Green energy pulsed and the workers could see, through the green haze, the city taking final shape. There was no sensation of anyone moving at super speed, like Rogue had done when she was working on the buildings. Rather it was as if the buildings were springing into existence from nothing at all. One moment, there was nothing, and then…. a new city.

"Finished." Hal turned to a speechless Zor El. "Now, if you would be so kind as to show me where Rogue was last seen." He turned to one of the foremen of the shaken workers. "You can get people started right away. From what I am given to understand, you don't have much time."

Yes sir!" The foreman nearly stumbled over his own feet in his haste to get away.

"I wouldn't let it bother you." Zor El whispered. "You have to admit that, if you've never seen anything like that before, it is pretty awe inspiring."

"You were in awe." Hal retorted. "Yet you do not act like the others."

"Ah, but remember who my daughter is and who my nephew was." Zor smiled. "I guess you could say that I got used to seeing the impossible."

"Especially if you've happened to have had the opportunity to do the impossible yourself?" Hal lifted an eyebrow. Zor shrugged.

"It's true that Mara and I did not have to join the Kandorians." He said. "We could have remained on earth as two more super powered beings. But it was not us." He shook his head. "We're scientists, not heroes. We leave that to those better qualified for it."

"Like Supergirl." Hal nodded. He was still unused to calling her by her given name. He may have been on a first name basis with Kal, but Kara was a different matter altogether.

"Like Kara." Zor agreed. He straightened his shoulders. "And like yourself, Green Lantern." He smiled. "Call yourself whatever you like. But you were Green Lantern when we left Earth and I would not forget that."

Hal looked at him for a long moment, wondering how this man, the father of one of the mightiest heroes in history, would react if he knew all that had happened…all the pain and suffering his insanity had caused. Finally, he turned away.

"Let's go find Rogue." His voice caught and it came out a bit rougher than he intended. Zor gave him a puzzled look and then nodded.

To Discover A World

"This is it." Zor glared around at the empty room. "This is where we traced her and where we found traces of Kryptonite radiation." He shuddered. "Not enough to harm anyone, but enough to register on our equipment."

"Which means that there had been a harmful amount present at one time." Hal concluded. He looked around the room and then raised a hand. A soft glow sprang forth as he turned in a circle. Then, to everyone's surprise, the glow flared and a tendril sprang forth and zipped through the air, following a trail that no one else could see, traveling through the room before snaking out the door and down a deserted street.

"Neat little trick." Zor deadpanned. Hal glanced at him and, for the first time since he had made planet fall, truly smiled.

"Yes. It is." He lowered his hand, but the trail remained. 'Let Su…Kara know that I'm following a lead. I'll get back to her if I find anything."

"Will do." Zor replied, but he was talking to empty air.

To Discover A World

"What ever it is, it's moving fast."

The three men leaned over the scanner, their faces showing their concern.

"It can't be her." One tried to reassure the others. "Our latest reports say she is still off planet. Besides, she would not be able to find us." He started to add something else when one of the men grasped his arm.

"I don't know what it is but look what it is doing." That man gasped. "It's following our exact course. It's tracking us."

The third man stood.

"Then it's time to move. Quickly before whatever it is gets here." He commanded. He turned to the first man. "You, go get our vehicle ready." He took the other man by the arm. "We shall go get our…guest." Before any of them could move, the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently.

"Ground quake!" The first man yelped. The third man paled as he looked at the floor.

"I think it's much worse than that." He whispered. All three stumbled backwards as the ground heaved and then buckled upwards. Debris flew up and out as first a hand then a head emerged through the freshly torn hole in the floor. They gaped in fear as the head turned to them, the white lock of hair falling forward to obscure one eye. The other eye was clear and the rage that burned within that eye caused all three to scramble away.

"Oh it's worse than a quake." Rogue purred as she catapulted herself out of her self-made opening. "Much worse."

To Discover A World

Later, she would remember that she dreamed, but could never recall exactly what it was she dreamed.

When she awoke, there was no sense of disorientation, no wondering where she was or how she had gotten there. She knew that she was in the infirmary aboard one of the Fantastic Four's cruisers. She knew that it was Kara that had placed her in the care of the auto-doc. And she knew with certainty that it was not the auto-doc that had healed her. It had directed the healing process, but it was the strange energy that still coursed through her body that had done the actual work of repairing torn tissues and broken bones.

She moved carefully, waiting for some indication that she was not quite as healed as she felt. There were no stabs of pain, no telltale tingling to indicate that she had ever been hurt as she sat up and swung her legs to the floor. She was, of course, nude. A quick glance around showed her only the rags that Kara had ripped from her before placing her in the auto-doc.

"Okay, girl, we need clothes." She sighed. Standing, she moved to the infirmary's only exit and, as the door slide aside, poked her head out. There was no one in the hallway. So, most probably, Kara was on the bridge with the man that had brought her here.

Though she was only an auxiliary member, Jenny was sure that one of the cabins aboard the cruiser would contain extra sets of clothes for her as they did for each member of the FF. There was only one catch. She had no idea where that cabin might be located.

"Dammit, I need clothes!" She snapped as she steeled herself to step out into the hall and go searching as she was. Barely had the thought formed in her mind and passed through her lips before she was enveloped in a bright green glow that flared and then faded, almost instantly.

"What the…." Her eyes widened as she looked down at herself. She was completely dressed! More, she was dressed in the style in which she preferred. Just not in colors that she would have normally chosen. The costume she wore was similar in design to the Fantastic Four outfit she wore, yet, where the FF outfit was blue and white, this outfit was a dark green, black and white. And the FF emblem emblazoned on the chest had been replaced by a dark green shape of a lantern nestled within a circle of bright green.

Her hands were covered, as with the FF outfit, elbow length white gloves. The only difference being the small lantern-in-a-circle emblems that adorned the glove sleeves and the strange, green ring that decorated the middle finger of her right hand. A pair of knee high dark green boots completed the costume.

For an instant, Jenny wondered if she should return to the auto-doc. She took a deep breath and thought things through. She had needed clothes and had made the desire known. The energy that still pulsed within her had flared and, presto, instant wardrobe.

"It works according to your will."

She spun around towards where she thought the voice had originated but saw no one. It had been HIS voice.

"I'm on the planet surface." The slightly amused reply came to her. "Closing in on Rogue's captors, I believe. I felt you awaken and use the energy of the Lantern that I placed within you."

"The what?"

"A long story. Perhaps you will hear it later. For now, all you need to know is that the energy you feel will be with you from now on. There is no reversing what I had to do to insure your recovery."

"And what exactly was that?" She felt strange talking to the thin air like this.

"To put it simply, I gifted you with a portion of my own power." The tone was amused now. "You are now much more powerful than I was before I became Parallax. Fortunately, you will not need to recharge that energy every twenty-four hours like I did. Also fortunately, since you received your power from me rather than from the Great Battery, you will not have the weakness against things colored yellow as I did. I filtered out the impurity."

"I have no idea what your are talking about." Jenny was getting frustrated now.

"I know. But things will be made clearer in time. But for now, you need to get to the bridge. Things are coming to a head. Tell Kara that she will need to get her father to your ship to activate the equipment. Her power, and yours, will be needed here on the surface."

With out knowing how, Jenny knew that the communication had ended. She checked with a ship's directory to get directions and raced for the bridge.

To Discover A World

"Okay, I think that's got it." Kara stepped back from the equipment she had been working on and glanced at the vid-screen. "Finished." She told the image of her father.

"Great." Zor El nodded and squared his shoulders. "Let's go over it one more time."

"Dad, we've gone over it six times. There is no change." Kara instantly regretted the sharpness of her tone but did not back down. "Going over it again won't do any good. We need to start getting the people gathered and ready."

"You're probably right." Zor agreed. Then he smiled wryly. "One of the drawbacks of being a scientist." He quipped. "We tend to test things to distraction."

"Wow, you sound just like Reed Richards!"

Kara's face brightened at the sound of Jenny's voice cutting into the conversation and she spun around. She stopped, her face now registering shock and recognition.

"Jenny? What…. Where…?" She was staring at the costume.

Jenny smiled, held her arms out and twisted around.

"You like?" She asked. "I have to admit that, at first, I was a bit skeptical. I guess it grows on you."

"Do you have any idea what that costume represents?" Kara asked. Zor, at first unable to see since Jenny was out of the pickup range of the vid-screen, gasped as she came into view.

"I have no idea." Jenny shrugged. "I just needed something to wear and this appeared." She took a breath. "It's strange, Kara, but now is not the time to try to figure it out." She strode over and looked through the forward view screen. "The guy that brought me in was able to contact me. He said that our time is running out and that you and I are needed on the surface." She turned back around to face Kara. "He said that you should get your father up here to run the equipment."

"Not possible." Kara shook her head. "Dad has to stay on the surface so that he can be miniaturized along with everyone else." She looked thoughtful for a moment then made a few adjustments to the equipment before turning back to the vid. "Dad, I have just transferred control to you. You can run it all from there by remote."

"Got it, Kara." Zor looked off screen then nodded. "Yes, it seems to be in working order. I'll wait for word from you before starting the sequence. Zor out."

The vid screen blanked and Kara stood for a moment looking at Jenny.

"Damn it's good to see you up and around." She said. "Though I haven't the faintest idea of how or why. By all rights, you should be stuck in that auto-doc for a couple of weeks."

Jenny smiled, stepped close, and hugged Kara to her.

"I'm not sure I understand it myself." She said. "But I'll tell you all I know on the way. Let's get going."

"Right." Kara blinked back tears and stepped back. "Let's do it."

"I'll need an environmental suit." Jenny exclaimed, as if the thought had just struck her. "And I'll bet you don't have any on board that'll fit me."

"Actually, we do." Kara answered. Reed Richards kept this cruiser well stocked. That includes extra clothes for FF members, one of which is you. But I don't think it'll be necessary." She indicated the clothes Jenny was wearing. "The same energy that provided that should be able to sustain you even in the depths of space. Watch."

She pushed Jenny into the airlock and allowed the inner door to close behind them. As the air was pumped back into the body of the ship, both women noticed a slight green glow spring up to surround Jenny's frame.

"It seems I can carry my environment with me." Jenny said, clearly impressed.

"Of course." Kara whispered. "What Green Lantern can't?" Jenny gave her a puzzled glance as the outer door of the air lock opened to the vastness of space.

Within seconds, two figures were streaking down towards the surface, one a bright green blur the other a blue and red blur.

To Discover A World

Hal had pinpointed the structure that, presumably, housed Rogue and her captors. He surveyed the area for a moment and then decided that a direct frontal assault would, in this case, be called for. He smiled grimly, wondering when the last time he had used his powers for such a mundane purpose as he angled his flight down towards the roof. He halted his descent in surprise as the roof exploded upwards. A single humanoid female, her face a mask of fury, rocketed upwards. Three squalling males trailed her, tied securely in some sort of wire.

"Rogue?" Hal called out, bringing the female's attention to him. She halted her upward surge and turned to face him, visibly bristling as if confronting yet another antagonist. The squalling men spotted him at the same time and, though they might have been confused by his costume, they recognized him for what he had once been.

"Lantern!" One had the gall to call out. "Help!"

Hal did not even deign to notice him. Instead he held up a hand, palm out.

"I'm a…friend…of Kara." He called to Rogue. "She asked me to find you and offer whatever assistance you might need." He finally seemed to take notice of the men and the ruined structure beneath them. "Though it appears that you have things well in hand."

The men, sensing the way things were going began to curse and squall even louder. Rogue, frowning, heaved once on the wire and jolted them into silence.

"Where is Kara?" She demanded, somewhat suspiciously. Hal nodded approval. Kara had chosen well in this one. She was not about to take his word for anything without first checking it out.

"At the moment, she and Jennifer Walters are in route to the planet's surface. They are going to the new city." He informed her. He indicated the men dangling from the wire. From their bruised and battered appearance, Rogue had vented some of her anger on them before bundling them up. "What do you intend to do with them?" He asked.

Rogue eyed him thoughtfully before answering.

"I had not really given it much thought." She finally responded. "I guess taking them to the authorities would be a waste of time." She jerked the wire again, eliciting a series of sharp cries. "Especially since they all admit to being in the hire of the Council in general and Nar Ur in particular." The references were lost on Hal so he said nothing.

"I suppose I should just let them go." Rogue finally considered. "It's not like they have much longer to live anyways."

"Lies!" One of the men shouted. Being beaten and trussed up had done nothing to quench his fanatical devotion to the Council. "All lies. You just want to enslave the people of Kandor again!" Rogue shook her head and released the wire. All three men screamed as they began to plummet earthward. Hal watched, forcing himself not to interfere.

Rogue waited until almost the last instant before moving. Then, with a bust of super-speed, she swooped down to catch the wire, stopping the downward plummet with a savage jerk that left all three men unconscious. She then settled them easily to the ground and, with a bust of heat vision, cut the wire that bound them.

"They will be okay. They should awaken soon." She snarled. "But not a one of them better show his nose anywhere near the new city. They want to stay with this planet…let them." With that, she angled up and banked sharply to head back to the city. Hal hesitated for a moment, letting his energy play over the men on the ground. Two, at least would face the end of the planet. The third was lucky. He had suffered a heart attack. He would be spared the horror his two companions would soon face…if they awoke in time.

To Discover A World

"Now perhaps you can tell me who you are and what Jenny is doing here." Rogue asked, in a demanding manner, as they flew towards the new city. "Those men seemed to recognize you and called you Lantern. That means you must be from the Reality they came from."

"They did not recognize me personally." Hal corrected. "They recognized me, or thought they did, as being a member of the Green Lantern Corps."

Rogue did a double take.

"I have seen the Green Lantern of the other reality." She said slowly. "In fact, he helped out with putting the finishing touches on our Fortress. Of course, from what Kara has told me, that was not the Green Lantern she remembered."

"That would have been me." Hal confirmed. "I was Green Lantern at the time that Supergirl was killed."

Rogue halted her flight and hovered.

"Now wait a minute. No one over there even remembers that Kara existed." She was clearly puzzled and it was apparent that once again her suspicions were growing.

"They don't." Hal agreed. "Nor did I while I was still Green Lantern. Yet…events transpired later that changed me." He faltered a bit and Rogue suspected that it was not a subject he was comfortable with. "My power was increased to a cosmic level. And I became aware of changes that had been made to history…"

Rogue shuddered at the haunted look in Hal's eyes and slowly began to fly once again towards the city.

"In any case," Hal continued, matching her speed. "I was no longer part of the Green Lantern Corps. Indeed, the Corps no longer existed. So I took a new name." He turned to look at Rogue. "You can call me Parallax."

He looked as if he might say more when something caught his attention. He looked downward and drew in a sharp breath.

"We must hurry." He said. "It's started." Rogue looked first at him and then down.

They were passing over a portion of the old city at the moment and, though the Kandorians had built short, wide building rather than tall ones, it was obvious from the way many of them were cracking and crumbling that the ground beneath them was heaving violently.

"The new city!" She exclaimed, alarmed.

"Will not suffer any damage." Hal assured her. "My energy is maintaining it." He frowned. "But we must hurry. I can hold this planet together for only a short time."

"Hold the…." Rogue's voice trailed off as she stared wide-eyed at this strange, powerful man.

"For a short time." Hal went on. "Soon another convergence wave will sweep through this area. When that happens, both this planet and I will cease to exist. " He fixed his gaze on Rogue. "You must get the people into the new city. You have run out of time."

"What are you talking about?" Rogue shouted at him. He shook his head.

"There is no time." He waved a hand at her and green energy washed over her.

"What…" again her voice trailed off. She was still in the air, but Parallax was nowhere in sight. Instead, she was hovering above the center of the new city and, above her; two figures were streaking down from the upper atmosphere. Her emotions ran the gamut of surprise and awe to relief and puzzlement when the two figures drew close enough to identify without the use of telescopic vision. It was, she saw, Kara and Jenny. And Jenny was flying! Surrounded by the same green glow that had surrounded Parallax!

The look on Jenny's face showed that she was waging a war of emotions herself as the three friends gathered. One emotion was concern for the people of Rokyn. The other was obvious joy at the freedom of being able to fly!

"Rogue!" Kara spared a moment to hug Rogue to her, her eyes brimming with tears of relief. Then she pushed her back and gathered her and Jenny in close. "We need to get the people into the city and we have to do it now."

"Only a part." Rogue corrected. "Some were moving in even as portions of the city were being completed. We only have to get about half the population. " She started to say more then snapped her mouth shut as a giant head appeared in the skies above her. It was Parallax!

"Citizens of Rokyn!' The figure spoke and the three friends knew that every individual in the old city was hearing what they were hearing. "It is urgent that you prepare to move to the new city. It is complete and ready for you. Soon Kara Zor-El and her friends will be moving among you aiding in the moving of equipment that must be moved, however, it is imperative that you move yourselves to the new city or to an arranged transportation area."

"Well, let's get to it, shall we?" Like a three-pointed star the three friends spread out, each heading towards a section of the old city.

To Discover A World

Kandorians, due to their history, were not given much to panicking. Though they had missed the violent destruction of Krypton, they had survived through many mishaps and near misses that would have left most people with nervous breakdowns. Kandorians, however, simply buckled down to the task at hand.

Those that had decided to stay on the planet and take their chances watched sullenly, and sometimes fearfully, as their friends and neighbors and loved ones directed the moving of belongings and materials that would be needed in the new city. Often they would stop and, once again try to convince the stubborn ones to join them. With the coming of the ground quakes, some decided to throw their lot with those returning to the miniaturized state. However, many clung stubbornly to the belief that the Council would come up with a method of saving them. Still others grumbled that if Supergirl wanted to, she could have saved them planet and all.

From the vantage point Parallax had taken in the upper atmosphere, he touched upon the thoughts of these individuals and shook his head. No, Kara couldn't. He could, though. It would not take much power. Hardly more than what he used now to hold the planet together. Kara and her father had been mistaken in their calculations. They had not taken into account the Cosmic Union: the Convergence of realities that was even now sweeping through space and time. Had not one such convergence brought him here, this planet would even now be a cloud of dust and Kara would be looking down from her vessel on failure.

And now another convergence approached. Much like the wave of an ocean rolls in and breaks on the shore, so this convergence would soon roll over them. When that happened, Hall was certain, his time in this reality would be ended. It would not, he knew, be the end of his story. He knew already what lay in store in the future. But it would be the end as far as Kara and this reality were concerned.

He left a minute portion of his attention on the energy needed to maintain the new city and the planet and turned his attention on the three girls.

Here Kara supported a structure while emergency crews evacuated it and cleaned out all useful equipment. There Jennifer Walters was using a mixture of her gamma radiation induced strength and her new powers to herd and transport livestock to the new city…huge glowing green pods filled with farm animals. And over there Rogue used her super breath to snuff a fire caused by the quakes and then moved at super speed to gather materials that would be needed in the future. The three moved with urgency yet always mindful of the need to maintain a calm appearance. Stopping now and again to reassure citizens or to lend a helping hand when no others were near. The green giantess enamored several Kandorians as she moved among them. Many times laughing good naturedly as she would try something with her new powers. The laughter was shaky, however, when she slipped while lifting a 30-ton generator and had lunged to catch it with her hands.

"Hmmmm. Obviously this is harder than it looks." She had muttered to herself as she balanced the generator with one hand while looking for a good spot to put it.

For hours the trio worked non-stop, moving people, equipment, and materials to the new city. Nor were they alone. Citizens did not wait for a super powered being to move them. Many moved themselves or aided in moving others. Soon, New Kandor, as the new city was being called, was teaming with life as people stored food, water, and everything else they would need to make a new life in a bottle. When they had been taken the first time, snatched from the surface of Krypton, they had not been prepared, having to make due with what they had on hand. This time, they would be better prepared. This time they made sure they had plenty of seed for crops, enough livestock to ensure steady supplies of meat and dairy products, enough medical supplies to last until more could be produced, etc.

Hal withdrew his attention from the activity on the planet and let his mind range outward. The next convergence wave was almost upon them. He had little hope that it would help, but still he had to try. Expending his energy to the max, he placed a shield around the planet. It would hold as long as he did. However long that would be. When that wave hit, it would return him to where he belonged and the only part left of his energy here would be that portion he had placed within Jennifer Walters.

To Discover A World

"We've run out of time!" Jenny made the announcement when all three had gathered at New Kandor. It was really the first time that any had seen each other since they had begun their various tasks.

"How do you know?" Rogue asked. She was still curious about the sudden appearance of powers in Jenny that were so like the powers that Parallax had displayed. She promised herself to get the whole story later since now was neither the time nor the place for in-depth conversations.

"Parallax!" Jenny answered. "We have to finish up."

"Right." Kara nodded. "Concentrate on the people now. Get them into the city."

"No." Jenny shook her head, her look haunted. "There is no time. Everyone that is going is already there or they are too late." She hugged herself and shivered. "We have to get back to the ship." She looked down from the hovering position the three had taken over the new city to see the bustling activity. Workers were busily arranging and storing the last loads of materials that the three super heroines had flown in.

"She is right, Supergirl." All three turned to see the semi-transparent apparition that had materialized near them. Parallax, though not there physically, seemed to look at each of them in turn. "There is nothing more you can do. Your powers can't stop what will happen here. Your staying now would only endanger those that are ready."

"What about your powers?" Supergirl demanded.

"My powers, along with me, will be gone when this wave hits." His voice was devoid of any emotion, as if he were merely discussing a rapid change in the weather. "And the power that I have bequeathed to Jennifer Walters will not be enough to stop what must happen here."

For a long moment Kara considered her options and finally, her lips pressed into a thin line of defiance, she shook her head. Her hair bellowed around her in stray strands.

"No." Her voice was firm, defiant. "I won't accept that. We may not be able to save the planet, but I will not abandon any that wish to leave." She fixed Jennifer with a glare. "I know what the power of a Green Lantern can do." She pointed at the apparition that floated near them. "Can you repeat what he did earlier?"

"What? Broadcast an image of you in the sky and amplify your voice?" Jenny frowned and then shrugged. "Kara, I've had these powers for a matter of hours." Her face, full of anguish, belied the calmness of her stance and voice. "I don't know what I can do yet."

"She will learn, in time." Hal's proxy spoke. "Even I did not learn to be a Lantern in a matter of hours." It's mouth quirked upwards in a grim smile. "What is it you wish, Kara? I can expend the energy."

To Discover A World

Those left in the old city, whether working to move materials or belongings or those that planned to stay, all stopped whatever they were doing when the blond visage appeared in the sky.

"People of Kandor." Each and every person stared open mouthed as Kara's voice sounded. "Our time has run out. If you are working to bring materials to the New city, please stop and gather in the nearest open space. You will be transported to the New City. If you are in New Kandor, please remain where you are. Do not attempt to leave the areas marked out as the boundaries. If you are in route to the City, make the best speed you can to cross those boundaries. If you know of others that are having difficulties, we ask that you help them to the nearest open space…." The visage continued to repeat instructions even as the three friends leapt into action. Kara and Rogue ranging outward from the city to find stragglers and lift them individually to the city, dumping them without ceremony within the boundaries before jetting off at super speed to find more. Jennifer dealt with groups pointed out by Hal. She would form a green platform beneath their feet and, with a word of caution, lift them to the city. Those in the new city already that tried, despite the warnings, to leave and gather more materials or some cherished belongings were stopped at the boundaries by a green glowing wall; courtesy of Hal.

"This is your last chance." Kara stood, side by side with Rogue and Jenny, facing those of the Kandorian Council that had elected to stay with the planet. Despite earlier bravado, the number that had actually decided to remain was much smaller than Kara expected.

"We will not be enslaved!" Nar Ur shouted. He blanched and backed up a step as Rogue stepped closer to him.

"You ass!" She looked as if she would like nothing better than to wring his neck "How dare you even speak after what you hired those goons to do to me!"

"You have no proof I had anything to do with that!" He spoke a little too loudly, as if the volume of his voice would encourage others to believe his professed innocence.

"Rogue." Kara laid a hand on her friend's arm as she started forward. Nar Ur's face, already pale, grew whiter still. Kara turned her attention to him. "You are not worth the effort, Nar Ur." She told him. "But think on this before the planet crumbles around you. For the rest of time, the Family Ur will be a black spot on Kryptonian history. Think on this also… Jax at least had more guts." She turned back to the others and saw, in their eyes, that there was no chance of them changing their minds. "You are fools, but you are free to be fools. C'mon." This last was to Rogue and Jenny as she turned away. Jenny followed immediately but Rogue hesitated. For a long moment she merely looked out Nar Ur. Then, with a smile any other predator would recognize, she reached out and grabbed the front of his tunic, lifting him off the floor and dragging his face inches from her own.

"I really hope that you are not one of the first to die." She hissed. "I want you to see what you have done." She wrinkled her nose and looked down at the puddle gathering on the floor below the dangling councilman. "You really are disgusting." She sat him down with enough force to cause him the fall to his knees in the puddle he had made. Shaking her head, she turned to follow Kara and Jenny.

"You outworld bitch!" Nar Ur snarled. "I'll get you. Remember that, I will hunt you down and kill you."

Rogue put a hand up, palm outward, as if to say, "talk to the hand, buster, cuz I ain't listening" and continued out the door.

"That's it." Kara said once they had exited the Council building. "Everyone that is going is in New Kandor."

"So what now?" Jenny asked. She had vague notion of what the plans were but had not been present when the actual mechanics of the operation had been ironed out between Kara, her father, and Rogue.

"Now we get our butts back to the ship and get ready." Rogue answered. Kara nodded in agreement.

"Right. By now my father should have started the preliminary sequences by remote. We can get to the ship and monitor. Just in case something goes wrong that requires our intervention."

"Then let's get to it."

The three friends gathered themselves and leapt upward.

To Discover A World

Everything was set. With Rogue and Jenny set to watch various indicators, Kara zipped back and forth between the bridge and Reed Richard's Lab, making final adjustments.

On the planet, Zor sat before his console, monitoring as the energies began to build. Already waves were spreading out over the city, slowly enclosing it within a perfect symmetrical bubble. If their calculations were correct, there would be neither discomfort nor any other indication that they were being reduced in size. A person near the edge of the bubble might, were the energies transparent rather than opaque, have been able to tell by looking out as the surrounding scenery seemingly increased in size. Yet he and Kara had decided that, for purely psychological reasons, it would be best if it were not so visible.

"OMYGOD!" Rogue had looked away from the array of dials and sensors to catch a glimpse of the forward view screen. Though it would have been invisible to the naked eye, the sensors of the cruiser had picked up and translated a visual image of the approaching convergence wave. It rolled and churned in a turbulent wall of ethereal energy that continued to bear down on the planet. "Kara, can you speed it up?" She called out.

"No." Was the curt reply. "Dammit, Brainiac shrunk the city and vanished within a matter of minutes. But our level of technology is still not as advanced as his." She sighed and glared at the screen. "We just need time. Just a little more time."

To Discover A World

Hal felt the first tingling of the approaching wave and knew that his time was up. No matter how much power he had, the forces that were being unleashed in this reality would force him out. He could stop it, of course. But at what cost? Had he not already caused enough damage by tinkering with nature? He turned away from the wave and withdrew his energy from the planet, constricting it to a small protective sphere around New Kandor.

On the surface, pandemonium reigned. Enraged and frightened citizens ringed the Council building calling for the council members to come out and answer for their betrayal. Frightened and frantic mothers demanded to know the whereabouts of their children. It was only then that it became wide spread knowledge that there was not a child under the age of 15 to be found anywhere outside the New City.

In the inner chambers of the Council building, the remaining council members huddled behind locked and barricaded doors. Every so often they would glance at each other with guilty, furtive glances. None seemed aware that Nar Ur was not besieged with them.

The wave struck the planet and boiled onwards.

To Discover A World

"YEOW!" Jenny snatched her right hand away from her console and glared at the brightly glowing ring.

"Kara!" Jenny jerked her head towards Rogue and then back to her console, gasping in horror. The planet was breaking up!

"Hal is gone!" Kara's voice was strained as she studied the equipment. "Rogue, I need you to get a tractor beam on the city. She shook her head. "Maybe it will hold it steady long enough for the process to complete." She turned and looked at Jenny. "I know you haven't had the time to practice. All I can tell you is what I was told by Hal. The Lantern energy works according to your will. With Hal gone, the energy that he had protecting the city will be gone as well. I need you to throw up a protective bubble."

"Over an entire city?" Jenny floundered. "Kara, I can't…."

"Jenny, you have to!" Kara snapped. Then she softened her tone. "Look, all you can do is your best. That's all I'm asking you to do. But remember this, if you don't think you can do it, then you won't be able to do it. But with the lantern energy, you can."

Jenny looked at Kara for a short moment then nodded.

"Okay, let's give it a go." She headed to the forward air lock, stopping to grab an environmental suit.

"I thought you didn't need one of those." Rogue called out.

"I don't, but if I am going to be putting all my energy into a bubble around the planet, I don't want to be distracted by having to keep one about me as well."

Kara and Rogue watched the forward screen as a green flash zipped across their field a view and downward towards the planet.

"Be careful, Jenny." Kara whispered. Rogue silently added her own similar plea.

To Discover A World

It was not so much the fact that he had been wrong; it was more the knowledge that the El bitch and her outworlder friends had been right that galled Nar Ur.

He huddled in his living quarters, waiting for the end. He had seen enough to know that it would not be long now. From his lab he had seen scenes from around the planet showing whole sections of the planet crumbling. No, there would be no explosion like Krypton. The planet was simply going to break up into so much gravel. Damn the El family. And damn that outworld, white locked bitch!

To Discover A World

Still the convergence wave rolled over, around, and through the planet. The energies swept over the surface, pushing at it, trying to eject it from this reality back into a reality that no longer existed. The end result: The planet was squeezed, being slowly crushed between an irresistible force and an immovable object.

"Tractor beam ready, Kara." Rogue announced. She had set in the proper coordinates and allowed the computer to calculate the force needed to hold a rapidly shrinking target. "About to…activa…" She trailed off and allowed her hands to fall to her side as the planet vanished from sight on the forward screen. "It's gone."

"NO!" Kara searched the area with her telescopic vision. Rogue was right. There was no indication that there had ever been a planet. Only a few stray pebbles that swung in an orbit around some invisible point where the center of the planet had been. "And Jenny is gone too." Her voice closed up and the last came out almost in a sob.

"No, there! Look!" Rogue pointed at the screen and then, without saying anything further, sped to and through the forward airlock. Her green and yellow costume left colorful trails as she zipped out to the limp, floating figure and back to the ship.

"Is she…?" Kara began, stopping as Rogue shook her head.

"I think she is just unconscious. She's been expending a lot of energy and she's exhausted."

"Good." Kara managed a weak smile and turned back to the screen. Gone. They were all gone. She stood there, hands clinched into fists of frustration at her side. The last of the Kryptonians. Gone. He parents…everything….

"Now this is strange." Rogue had laid Jenny out on a reclining chair and returned to her console. "According to the sensors, there is nothing out there. The planet is gone. Yet my instruments here say that they still have an energy link."

"What? What energy link?" Kara jerked herself out of her mood and forced herself to concentrate on what Rogue was saying.

"I'm not quite sure." Rogues hands flew across the board. Her eyes widened. "Whatever it is, it's growing stronger." She let out a whoop of delight. "We've still got them! I don't know how, but we still have them!"

To Discover A World

Hal Jordan felt his awareness fading. He was, he knew, returning to that state in which he would remain until the heroes from his own reality came to him. He would be given a chance to redeem himself. He could never, he was quick to realize, undue what he had done. Nor could he expect his once close friends to ever forgive him. But he would jump at the chance to again be what he once was…. a hero! Here and now, however, he could begin on a smaller scale. With the last of his waning energies he enveloped the shrunken city of Kandor and flung it back through the veil. With it he sent his best wishes for Kara and Rogue and a new Green Lantern!

To Discover A World

"There! Got it!" Rogue locked in on the speck that was Kandor and flipped the transport switch. "It was him, Kara! It was Parallax. Where ever that wave sent him and the planet, he was able to throw the city back out for us to lock on to!"

Kara only nodded, her attention riveted on the glass habitat setup in the cruiser's lab. Soon…there! At first it was nothing more than a soft glow, tinged with green. Then, faintly at first, the outlines of buildings began to appear and solidify.

"That's it, Kara. " Rogue reported from the bridge.

Working at super speed, Kara proceeded to hook up the life support systems, maintaining a steady flow of oxygen, gravity equivalent to that which they were accustomed, and a cycling source of light that emulated the effects of a red sun. Other systems, to reproduce the effects of changing weather patterns, would be put in place by the Kandorian scientists. Next, she moved to a console and, with fumbling fingers, tapped out the codes needed to establish communications with the inhabitants of the city. For a long moment she held her breath and then the comm. Screen cleared of snow to reveal Zor El.

"Dad!" Kara breathed a sigh of relief and only her will kept her from collapsing with relief.

"We're all okay, Kara." Zor smiled. Though he did appear to be somewhat pale. "Though I have to admit we were worried for a moment there." The screen pulled back and the view widened until Mara, Kara's mother, and other people were visible. "The new Kandorian Council would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to you and your friends."

"Kara Zor-El" Mara began and from that Kara knew that she was not speaking as her mother but as a Council member. "The Council would like to address all three of you. Is that possible?"

"I don't know. I'll have to check on Jenny…"

"We're here, Ma'am." Kara spun to see both Rogue and Jenny grinning back at her. Though Jenny appeared exhausted and leaned heavily on Rogue, she looked none the worse for wear. Kara smiled and gathered her friends close and turned back to the screen.

"Mom…. Members of the Council. " She began. "You have all met Rogue, allow me to introduce the third member of our little team. Jennifer Walters, otherwise known as She-Hulk!" Many of the male members of the council had raised eyebrows at the sight of the green giantess that almost dwarfed her two companions. Still others stared wide-eyed at the costume she wore.

"Well, yes." Mara cleared her thRaot and stood straight. "Let it be known that, by unanimous decree, both Rogue and Jennifer Walters are forevermore counted as citizens and heroes of Kandor and that their likenesses shall be preserved in the Hall of Heroes. Also, on a more personal note, " and now she looked both proud and smug. "Let it be known that, from this moment on, both Rogue and Jennifer Walters have been formally adopted into the House of El. Also…"

To Discover A World

Nar Ur felt the darkness folding in around him. "So this is what it's like to die", he spoke aloud to the darkness.

"You will not die this day, human."

"Huh? Who's there?" Nar yelled out as the darkness faded, revealing a horrible visage standing over him. The being picked him up painfully by one arm and threw him on an examination table, restraints automatically snapping around his arms and legs. "What are you? Some sort of demon? That bitch was right! I did die and now I'm in hell."

The 'demon' had turned away from his new 'friend' and ordered the robotic-pilot to decrease cloaking to 2%.

"Master, what of the being?" The pilot asked, pausing.

"That being has left this universe with the latest wave of the Union. We won't need to maintain as complex a field to hide from those who remain."

"Who left? Remained? Did she do it? Tell me, you monster!"

"You will remain silent until I have a use for you, human."

"What are you going to do with me, demon?"

"I'm going to ask you a few questions…"

"I'm not going to tell you a damn thing, monster."

"I'm not a monster… I'm Thanos. And you WILL answer my questions."

"Where are you taking me?"

"Silence", Thanos commanded as he lowered a stasis shield over the former council leader.

The last words he heard were: "Things will be different if the system has a Yellow sun… and perhaps another reality. A reality with only one Kryptonian against which to test my new …experiment. A young blond male Kryptonian*…"

To Discover A World

The three friends settled in for the return trip to Earth. Though any of them could have made the trip back in a fraction of the time the vessel would take, neither Jenny nor Rogue were comfortable enough with their new powers to risk such a journey and Kara was reluctant to leave the City of Kandor.

After taking a well-deserved rest, each of the friends had found things to occupy their attention during the three-day trip. So it was that Kara was surprised to find Jennifer in the observation lounge, once again dressed in a Fantastic Four costume she had found in one of the cabins.

"I don't want this power." Jennifer insisted. Her fists clenched in barely suppressed rage as she gazed out at the flowing stars. She turned to look down at Kara. She opened one fist to reveal a ring nestled in her palm. "This…this ring held the entire story." Her hand clenched again. "He was a monster. A hideous monster."

"Yes, he was." Kara nodded. "He told me the story, told me what he had done." She placed a hand on Jenny's shoulder. "But not always. Once, he was the greatest member in the history of the Green Lantern Corps. Once he was a hero that all other heroes looked to for guidance. Finally, he and every one else discovered something else about him."

"What?"

"They discovered that he was human." Kara's voice was soft. "They discovered that even the mightiest could fall. They discovered that he, like everyone else, has a breaking point. But whatever he may have done, whatever he may have become, that does not change what he once was. It does not change the hero that he was." Kara patted her shoulder and left her to her thoughts.

Once again she turned to the stars, the ring had told the entire story, so she knew that what Kara had said was true. And how could she say that, given all the stress that had been piled on this man, she would not have snapped as well?

She looked down and, slowly placed the ring bank on the middle finger of her right hand. Though the energy was not in the ring itself, she would wear it as a symbol and, for the present at least, a focus. Her costume changed once again and where a moment earlier Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk, Auxiliary member of the Fantastic Four had stood, now stood Jennifer Walters, She-Hulk, Green Lantern!

Holding her hand out, ring to the stars, she fought back tears as she repeated an oath long ago uttered in another reality:

In the brightest day, In the blackest night No evil shall escape my sight, Let those that worship evil's might Beware my power: Green Lantern's Light! The End of To Discover A World And the end of The Rebirth!