Chapter 55

"Starting Training Simulation. Again. Omega Dodge session."

Nora Kent put her mask on. The device hooked to her should hopefully enhance her speed. It had been a week since Nora had been training. A week since Darkseid turned up and obliterated Superman in three straight moves. A week since the Worldkillers had been taken.

A week Harry had been in seclusion. And finally, a week Nora had been training to go fast enough. She drew in a deep breath and raced into the tunnel.

So far, so good. Nora's counter indicated she had just pushed past her top speed and was in good shape. In ten seconds, the Omega Beam simulation would kick him. While they did not pack the same punch as Darkseid's weapon of choice, they matched the speed the best she could.

Nora could not go fast enough to break space-time unlike a lot of speedsters. Which was why she had to head back into time the way she did.

Now it happened. The Omega Beam jolted down the hallway in Nora's direction. She kicked her legs fast as possible and tried to outrace it.

"Schrap!"

The simulated beam slammed into Impulse's back and sent her flying completely down the tunnel. She flipped over and skidded to the wall. The simulator flickered out of existence and made Nora just breath heavily on the ground. Despite the cannon she used to simulate the Omega Beam only reaching a fraction of Darkseid's power, it packed a hell of a punch. Nora rose up and flexed her fingers.

"Okay, try again. I must be doing something wrong. But what?"

"You are pushing yourself too quickly."

Iris stepped into the room and faced Nora. She was giving her the Mom look, despite their ages not being that far apart at this present moment. Still Nora knew that Iris meant business with that look.

"Come here. Sit down."

Nora almost collapsed. Iris handed her a slice of pizza which was greatly neated. Nora chewed onto him.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to get faster," Nora said. "I've almost got it. If I was quicker, Ruby wouldn't have been kidnapped. And if Ruby hadn't been kidnapped, Sam wouldn't have been turned into Reign. And if that didn't happen, Darkseid wouldn't have come here and the end of everything wouldn't be right around the corner."

Nora collapsed back into the chair.

"And Dad, he wouldn't have had his back broken. Which wasn't supposed to happen. Ever."

Iris just gave Nora a sympathetic smile.

"The Speed Force inflicts people with crippling angst," Iris said. "Was your plan to go fast enough to go back in time and stop this all? Because that would be a monumentally stupid idea."

Nora cringed, but shook her head.

"N-o, no, of course not. My plan is to run fast enough to dodge Darkseid's Omega Beams and get close enough so I can take him down."

"No," Iris said. "You'll end up running yourself into dust. You need to relax. We'll...deal with Darkseid."

"Six of them are on Apokolips," Nora said. "They could be dead or worse."

Nora stopped short of saying that the only person who could defeat Darkseid had been curbstomped. And she could see Iris's eyes fade over darkly. Obviously, Iris knew what Nora meant by worse. Being a mindless puppet for that monster was a fate worse than death.

"You decaying in the speed force solves nothing," Iris said.

"Fine, I won't do this plan," Nora said with a sigh. "Just wish there was something I could help you. I know future spoilers could screw things up even more, but things are pretty screwed. Darkseid has the Worldkillers, he has the League, and he has the world divided in fear thanks to the Godfreys."

Despite Darkseid's masters of propaganda being unmasked, the damage had been done. Nora took another slice of pizza and buried her sorrows in food.

"So, tell me again why we're here?"

Artemis and Jade stepped up to the front door of a typical suburban house. Artemis wondered why Jade invited her to go here. With Lian spending time with their mother, and oh Jade was fully aware of her teenage daughter wanting to help out, but she wanted to keep Lian as far away from this as possible, she could focus.

Oh, Jade's thoughts were a muddled mess.

"We're going to visit an old friend."

Artemis opened her mouth to say this did not seem to be the type of person Jade would know from her days as an assassin. However, Artemis realized that must have been the idea.

"Kay and Sandra Smith," Jade murmured. "How, gloriously generic. You really didn't want to stand out, did you?"

But, unfortunate, due to them picking such a normal name, they stood out like a sore thumb. Jade raised her hand and knocked on the door.

No response.

"Maybe no one's home?" Artemis suggested.

"Trust me, they're there," Jade said.

Jade knocked on the door one more time. She tapped a foot impatiently and waited for the door to open. It did and a very familiar face appeared.

Artemis's jaw dropped. She might have been dressed in a casual button up blouse and jeans, with her hair dyed blonde, but there was no mistaking that face. That was Scandal Savage who she stood face to face.

"Oh, Jade," Scandal said.

"Hello, Sandra," Jade said. "Aren't you going to invite us in? We wouldn't want to cause a scene, would we?"

The hairs on the back of Artemis's hair prickled up. Oh, yes, this was tense as all hell for a few reasons. Scandal nodded and led inside. She slammed the door behind them and double bolted it shut. Artemis saw a tall redhead dressed in a green dress moving around and doing dishes. Knockout, or now Kay Smith, Artemis supposed.

"So, while you're here playing house, the entire world is going to hell," Jade said. "I'm sure you've heard what happened by now."

"Going off the grid means going off the grid," Scandal said. "I wanted to stay away from what is going to come."

A sardonic smile spread over Jade's face. She pulled out a tablet and cued up the video of Darkseid appearing and then the short, but brutal video against Superman. Scandal's eyes followed the progress, narrowingly.

"Because, obviously, Darkseid's going to decide to spare the people hidden away in the suburbs," Jade said.

The sound of plates dropping signified Kay's attention was drawn and not in a good way, by the name Darkseid.

Inside the Fortress, Harry sat in the midst of a chamber. Yellow solar radiation healed most of the damage down by Darkseid. Genesis, almost healing her damage, looked over at Harry.

"Can I ask you about your suicidal plan?" Genesis asked.

"The one where I pretty much force my way into Apokolips and free the six," Harry said.

"Your brain scans seem normal," Genesis said. "But, I feel that you should get some rest before you do something that dire. Because, there was a ten percent chance of you surviving this. And now with the Worldkillers, those chances drastically decrease."

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had been playing the odds in at least two life times by now.

"Hypothetically speaking, what's my best chances of getting to Apokolips?" Harry asked.

"Your best chance is to do so as someone's prisoner," Genesis said.

Harry thought about that one. Oh boy, would that be a tough one to deal with. Still, Harry considered Genesis's statement and she was right. There was no way Harry was stepping foot on that planet, when he wasn't someone's prisoner. It just was not going to happen.

"Har?"

Alura stepped into the Fortress.

"I want to let you know that the Kandorians want to help you," Alura said. "For liberating them. However, I fear they might not be battle ready. Especially with the Worldkillers. But, I've been studying something, which you might find interesting."

"Sam's not dead," Harry murmured.

"You tethered her to life thanks to her connection, and she's buried deep inside of Reign," Alura said. "Darkseid didn't realize that."

Because, as Harry mused, if Darkseid realized Harry was the only thing stopping him from completely controlling the Worldkillers, then he would be more than dead.

"I believe you can take control of the others through your connection with Samantha, if you can break through," Alura continued.

"Yes, of course," Harry said. "Meet with Faora and Lyta. We need defenses in case Darkseid invades."

"Right," Alura replied. "I'll see what I can do. Some of them are ready, but I fear it's not nearly enough."

Harry suspected she was right. But he was not going to lay down and die if Darkseid came again. The moment Alura passed, Selene stepped into the room.

"You've recovered," Selene said. "Remarkable."

"Not nearly enough," Harry said.

Given the tension between Selene and Lena, due to Selene lying to Lena for her entire life, Harry treaded very, very carefully around the woman who was his Grandmother so to speak.

"I see the look in your eyes," Selene said. "You're fixated on Darkseid. You want to defeat him. I believe we have an option, if you're willing to trust me."

"I'm willing to listen to you," Harry said.

At this point, Harry grasped at any straw. He spent pretty much the past week in seclusion with only less than a handful of people knowing where he was. The only good news was Darkseid didn't decide to enact whatever plan he did.

"Tell Hadrian I'm sorry he has to deal with this problem," Scandal said. "But, I left this life behind."

Jade shook her head. Kay twitched nervously on the other side and looked from Scandal to Artemis and Jade and back again.

"You are unbelievable," Jade said. "Do you really think that Darkseid will allow you to leave anything alone, after Knockout left the Furies? No, he won't. You either serve him or perish. If we all stand together, we can do this."

"Jade's right, we can't just lie down," Artemis said.

"Maybe it's time to lie low," Scandal argued. "Perhaps it's time to just lie low and make whatever deals we can after the fallout. I would think that as a mother now, you would preserve yourself."

Jade thought since Scandal delivered a gut punch, it was only one to fire back with one of her own.

"You have the attitude of a cockroach. Vandal would be proud."

This comment caused Scandal's eyes to darken several levels of rage. She said only two words to them and Artemis put her hand on her bow, to prepare for a fight.

"Get out."

"Touched a nerve!"

"GET OUT!"

Scandal launched a knife halfway across the room as it stuck into the wall as a warning shot. She hurled another knife which forced Artemis and Jade to vault over the couch and land on the ground.

"Scandal, stop!"

Knockout grabbed Scandal by the arm and wrestled her to the ground. A vase smashed to the ground. She turned to Artemis and Jade.

"You should leave."

Artemis practically ripped the bolt off the door and yanked her sister by the hand outside before Scandal could launch another knife at them. The two sisters could not get down the driveway fast enough and out of sight.

Knockout sighed and turned to a fuming Scandal.

"Maybe they're right. Maybe we don't have the luxury of ignoring it anymore. If Darkseid succeeds, there's no future for anyone. I...realize that."

Scandal rose up and calmly went up the steps to the bedroom to leave Knockout standing in the middle of the room.

It had been a very troubled night for M'gann, as her mind was all over the place. She slipped into a state of meditation, to calm herself down, or at least make an attempt to do so.

She found herself standing face to face with a very familiar figure. One she knew to be imprisoned on another world.

"Uncle J'onn?"

"I'm disappointed in you, M'gann. You've failed not only Mars, but Earth as well by allowing M'comm to run unchecked. He's at the apex of destroying both planets."

M'gann's fear rose. Oh, she knew M'comm had changed, but not like that.

"No, I…."

"You should have put him down. You will be known throughout history as the woman who did nothing and thus doomed two worlds."

"M'GANN!"

Donna's hand on her shoulder jerked M'gann out of her trance. Sara and Barbara joined her into the room.

"You were, are you okay?"

M'gann shook her head. Oh, something was wrong. She wondered whether that piece of her was J'onn or something formed with her own subconscious. Or perhaps it was M'comm, somehow. The thought that M'comm had grown powerful enough to screw with her mind at will drew shivers.

"None of us will be okay if we don't find my brother and stop him."

Amanda Spence thought life would be bittersweet. This was among her best work. It was a real pity it had to be given to a filthy depraved Martian.

The door opened and M'comm stepped in.

"Yes, it's ready."

"Excellent," M'comm replied. "Give it to me."

Amanda slipped the vial into M'comm's hand. She could see the glee in his eyes for a few more seconds before it went stoic.

"The final solution to the Green Martian problem."

M'comm stepped out of the room and Spence turned her attention back to her work. A smile spread over her face which only got wider with time.

"Yes, enjoy. I know I will."

An alarm proceeded to blare. Amanda Spence had company, which was only inevitable with the amount of people who were after her.

The question was which people? She punched up the security feed to find out what she had to deal with.