Chapter 22

After it started to get cold, Ben drove Kara back to his home; they rode together in silence, but it wasn't an unpleasant kind. Ben parked his car, then opened the door for Kara once again. They walked hand-in-hand to the front door.

"Did you have a good time?" asked Ben, even though he could plainly see that Kara had.

"Very much so," replied Kara, who then gave Ben a quick kiss on the cheek, "we should do this again soon."

"Oh, definitely." Replied Ben with a smile.

Kara's face then became serious. "Ben, I think we need to lay down some ground rules before anything else happens."

"Like what?" Ben was curious to know.

"First, you've seen how protective Clark is, right?" when she saw Ben nod, she continued, "Well, until I move out of the Kent house, I'm going to have to tell him everything that we plan to do on a date; that was sort of a rule even before you asked me out, by the way."

"Got it, let Clark know what the plan is, no problem."

"Second, I don't think that we should really be too, um, affectionate while on the Watchtower; we should probably keep everything as professional as we can while working."

"So, while doing the hero thing, we're teammates, not a couple." Ben could see how that made sense; it would reduce the risk of emotions compromising a mission. Besides, Ben didn't have to worry as much when it came to Kara; after all, aside from being exposed to Kryptonite, she was practically invincible.

"Glad you understand, Ben."

Ben gave a smile. "Well, if it's what you want, who am I to deny you?"

Kara lightly elbowed him. "Don't push it, buster." She softened her words with another kiss. "See you tomorrow on the Watchtower?"

Ben wrapped her in a hug, which she returned. "Wouldn't miss it."

Reluctantly, they parted and Kara flew away, back to the Kent home. Unbeknownst to them, a figure had been watching the two since they had exited the theater, paying attention to everything they did. Seeing how Ben had practically floated inside his home, the figure smiled.

"Good for you, Ben." Said a smiling Professor Paradox.

The Watchtower

Superheroes aren't generally known to gossip; otherwise, secrets that should have been kept secret get out. Still, after a few weeks, the fact that Ben and Kara were dating wasn't so much rumor as it was common knowledge. Anyone in the Justice League who'd seen the two heroes together could tell that they were already close, and many Leaguers had secretly suspected that they'd been dating long before they actually were.

Most of the older heroes were impressed with how professionally the two acted while on the Watchtower or on a mission. Save for the occasional kiss between them, you'd never be able to tell that they were anything more than friends.

The dates went well between them, both just happy to be in the others' company. Most of the time they either went out to dinner or watched movies at Ben's house (they would have gone to the Kent house for movies too, save for the fact that the elder Kents didn't have any movies that they liked). Still, anyone who knew Ben's past was happy for him; while he had improved in the months since he arrived in the universe, he had still seemed off to those who knew him. Now, though, he was upbeat and happy, so much so that it was palpable.

At the moment, however, Ben wasn't really that happy; mostly because his girlfriend was tossing him around the training room like a rag doll.

"Lemme tell ya something, Supergirl!" Rath yelled, "Rath does not appreciate it when you punch Rath and then fly away! Rath can't fly!"

Supergirl only laughed; she and Ben had sparred several times, and she'd always beaten him easily. She'd never gone against some of his most powerful aliens, like Way Big, but Ben himself had admitted that Way Big might have a tough time against a Kryptonian.

"Come on, Ben!" she shouted down from the top of the training room, "We've got monitor-duty in five minutes!"

Rath grunted. "Fine, Rath was going easy on you anyway." Then he slapped the Ultimatrix dial.

"DIAMONDHEAD!"

As Supergirl floated down to the ground, she gave a cocky smile. "Were you really going easy on me as Rath?"

Diamondhead laughed. "Nah, Rath just likes to bluster when he loses."

Supergirl shared the laugh as they entered the elevator. As they went up to the monitor section of the Watchtower, she asked, "So, are we still on for dinner tonight?"

Diamondhead smiled. "Of course; I wouldn't miss it."

…

As they reached their destination, they saw that Green Lantern and the Martian were speaking to a small, blue alien on a vid-screen. He was one of the Guardians of the Universe, and Green Lantern's boss. Green Lantern was currently arguing with the small alien about trying to get a temporary reassignment to Oa, the homeworld of the Guardians and the Green Lantern Corps. However, John had been denied the posting every time.

Diamondhead and Supergirl were passing the arguing group when alarms began to sound on the Oa side of things.

"What's going on?" asked a concerned Green Lantern.

"There's an object approaching Oa at a somewhat astonishing speed." Answered the Guardian.

"We'll take care of it." Said Kyle Rayner, another human Green Lantern, as he and several dozen other Lanterns flew out into Oa's atmosphere. Once there, they combined the power of their rings to form a massive barrier.

"Nothing's getting through this baby." Said Rayner confidently.

Sadly, that confidence was ill-placed, as the object blasted through the barrier without even slowing down.

Back on Oa, the Guardian had allowed the security feed from the planet to be shown to the League, in case their assistance was required, so the heroes of Earth could see everything that happened.

"Activate planetary defenses!" Barked a Guardian, "Magnify the image!"

The object was revealed to be a humanoid being, seemingly made of gold, and had no face, save for a pair of glowing, red eyes.

"Professor Ivo's android!" said the Martian in shock.

If Diamondhead's body had been capable of sweat, it would have broken out in it at this point. He had read about the android, called Amazo, in the old case files. The nanotech-based creation had the ability to copy the powers of anyone it saw, and in only a few hours, had been able to defeat all seven of the founding members of the League. That had been years ago; what sort of strength did Amazo possess now?

"Holy mother of…" Green Lantern didn't have time to finish his sentence as Amazo slammed into the surface of Oa. In a massive flash of light, the planet disappeared.

Oa, center of the stability for the universe, was destroyed.

Everyone who had seen it simply stared; this single being had destroyed one of the most powerful civilizations in mere seconds. There were no words, no coherent thoughts. All they could do was stare.

"Oa," murmured Green Lantern, "it's gone."

The loss of Oa was particularly hard for John; it had been both a base of operations and a home away from home for him. He and the rest of the Corps had devoted their lives to protecting the planet, and in turn, Oa gave protection to their worlds. Now it, and everyone who lived there, was dead.

Diamondhead was similarly stunned; while he had seen destruction on a cosmic scale, he'd never seen a civilized world destroyed before. For a moment, the room spun and he stumbled, until Supergirl caught his elbow. He looked down at his girlfriend, who had gone pale; she wasn't taking this any easier than he was.

"It's going to get worse." All who heard that turned to the Martian, who had activated a star chart on a holographic display. "The android is heading for Earth."

Diamondhead's eyes went wide, and he ran for the nearest communication station. Though he wasn't a founding member of the League, he'd been given enough authority to do this.

"Attention, all Justice League members and associates," he announced as firmly as he could, "we have an Omega-level threat; all members and associates are to report to the Watchtower for assignment. This is not a drill."

Diamondhead turned to the Martian, who nodded in approval. One of the most powerful beings the League had ever fought was heading for Earth, and they were going to need all hands on deck.