Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

–Starlight–

"Home sweet home." Marcus said as he unlocked the front door to his new mansion. A mansion that Marcus's super rich (and possibly supervillain) father had purchased for them a few days ago. "Come on inside." Marcus said to Annie.

Annie picked up her lone suitcase, containing her hero costume, and followed Marcus inside the mansion. It was absolutely massive inside. Easily the largest and most elegant home she had ever been in. Annie had grown up in a very small rural town. It wasn't a poor town, but it wasn't wealthy either. Annie had thought New York City was a culture shock, but Gotham was something else entirely. Gotham was a city that screamed old money!

"This place feels expensive. It feels like I'm not classy enough to live here…" She said out loud while looking around. She'd never expected she'd one day be living in a place like this. 

Marcus laughed next to her. "Yeah, I'm not used to this kind of wealth either. I grew up in the church after all." Marcus told her. 

Annie had heard about that–directly from the Archangel Gabriel's mouth in fact. After finding out how truly despicable her world's heroes were, Annie had been on the verge of questioning her faith…And then proof of her faith arrived and upended her entire life! 

'Possibly for the better…' Annie thought to herself. She might have lost her entire world, but Annie didn't really have anyone back home who she particularly cared for. Even her own mother never really saw Annie as anything but an object she could live vicariously through. 

It was a sad thing to admit, but Annie could see herself living a much better life in this new world after leaving everything behind in her old one. Annie had only been in this new world for a few days, but she was already amazed by it! The heroes were selfless and REAL. Aliens existed–actual freaking aliens! And most importantly, this world had given her proof that her devotion to the Lord had been the correct path. 

"Was growing up in the church lonely?" Annie asked him.

Marcus shook his head. "No, I had a group of interesting friends. There was me, Isaiah, Irina, Xenovia, and Asia. Isaiah and Asia are kind of like my little siblings. I'd do anything to protect them. I originally thought the same about Irinia and Xenovia as well, but…you saw my latest encounter with Xenovia. She does not want to be siblings…" Marcus sighed.

Annie giggled. She had indeed been there for that encounter. Xenovia had actually tracked Marcus down a few days ago. The blue haired girl kicked in the doors of the hotel room they were staying in. She boldly declared that she was there to have Marcus's babies! Before Kara and Megan attacked the other girl for her crazy declaration, Gabriel had appeared and ended up dragging Xenovia away. They hadn't seen her since.

"Other than Xenovia, have you considered inviting any of your other siblings to live here with you?" Annie asked him.

Marcus shrugged. "Maybe. Gotham wasn't exactly safe when I got here a few months ago, but it has been getting better. Asia is the one I worry about the most. She doesn't know how to fight." 

"So she's the delicate princess type? She'd fit in this expensive mansion much better than a country girl like me would then." Annie said.

Marcus shook his head. "Don't think for a second you don't deserve to be in a place like this, Annie January. You're amazing and you're an amazing hero. You deserve to be here." Marcus said to her with that charming smile of his.

Annie instinctively found herself blushing. Marcus never seemed to realize that compliments from an incredibly handsome guy like him were bad for her poor country girl heart. It was two bad that Marcus was taken…twice over in fact.

Although…

Annie recalled her conversation that she had with the Archangel Gabriel a few days ago…

Gabriel had all but given Annie permission to pursue her son after they had talked for an hour. According to Gabriel, Annie was a good girl. Annie didn't know whether she should have been flattered or embarrassed over that assessment. Either way, she had the go ahead if she wanted it. 

And she did kind of want it if she was honest with herself. That's why she barely hesitated to say yes to Marcus when he offered to let her stay with him.

"Have Kara or Megan picked out their rooms yet? Are you three staying in the same room?" Annie subtly inquired. She was trying to see how far his two girlfriends were with him at this point.

Marcus's blush told Annie that they had not gotten that far yet.

"We all have separate rooms. All of our rooms are next to each other in the West Wing." Marcus said while pointing to the left. 

Outwardly, Annie calmly nodded at his explanation. Inwardly, she was grinning that she clearly still had a chance to get a jump on those two girls. Annie decided that she would pick a bedroom in the West Wing as well of course.

Marcus led her down a few hallways and they reached Annie's new bedroom. It was just as extravagant as she was expecting. Her new room could put 5 star hotels to shame. Annie placed her suitcase on her bed and unpacked her hero costume. She gazed at it with a bit of uncertainty.

"Do you not like your costume?" Marcus practically read her thoughts. "Do you not want to be a hero anymore?"

Annie shook her head. "I'm not giving up on being a superhero. This costume was designed by Vought though. I never liked it. My old costume, that I made myself, is sitting back in my apartment in my old world…" If there was one possession she could have taken with her, Annie wished it would have been that. 

"Your new outfit definitely shows a lot more skin than your original one did…" Marcus pointed out, making Annie feel a hint of embarrassment.

"It makes me look like a slut." Annie muttered in annoyance. "You should have seen the memes online. People called me Starwhore, Fleshlight, Starlegs…" Annie listed off a few of the less offensive names she had been referred to as.

"Starlegs…" Marcus mumbled to himself before he started laughing. 

Annie cracked a small smile as well. She actually didn't mind Starlegs that much. Her long legs were one of her best features. She'd proudly noticed Marcus staring at them a few times before.

"I actually think your costume looks really good on you. And if you think it shows too much skin, you should see some of the outfits other female heroes run around in. Have you seen pictures of Wonder Woman yet?" Marcus asked her.

Annie had seen pictures online of Wonder Woman. Personally, Annie had no idea how the Amazon woman was comfortable wearing a costume more revealing than a lot of swimsuits Annie had worn in the past. "I suppose my costume isn't that bad. I do want to get a new one soon though." Annie told Marcus. 

Marcus nodded at her. "Well then, Starlegs, would you like to go patrolling with me? Actual patrolling, not the fake busts that Vought had you do? Kara and Megan aren't scheduled to arrive here until later tonight, so I have a lot of free time today."

Annie smiled. "I would love to." She had a lot of stress to work off. Being able to punch real bad guys in the face sounded cathartic to her! She'd heard Gotham had some pretty interesting villains…

…

–Supergirl–

"Thank you for everything, Mr and Mrs Kent." Kara said to the older couple. She was grateful that they had taken her in, even if she absolutely detested farm life. She had never openly admitted that to either of them though. They had been so kind to her and she didn't want to hurt their feelings.

Martha Kent was an older woman with slightly graying hair. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "We were glad to have you, Dearie! Are you sure you want to move out? Having you was no trouble at all. Jonathan and I loved having another person in the house."

"I'm planning on moving in with my boyfriend." Kara said. "We haven't known each other very long, but I feel like there's something really special about our relationship." Kara said with a blush.

Martha smiled at Kara. "I won't try and dissuade you any more then. When a woman knows, she shows."

"Just make sure that boy treats you right. I don't want to have to dust off my old shotgun." Johnathan Kent said jokingly. Farm life had been tough on him, and he looked almost a decade older than his wife, but he hadn't lost any of his spunk.

Kara laughed. "My boyfriend is bulletproof, but I'll be sure to give him your warning. Marcus will treat me right." 

"He better…" Jonathan grumbled. "I don't care if he's the son of an Archangel or the grandson of the Lord himself. A teenage boy is still a teenage boy! They only want one thing!" 

Martha pouted and smacked her husband's arm. "Johnathan! That's blasphemy!" She said while looking nervously towards the sky.

Kara waved them off. "Relax, Mrs Kent. Gabriel is pretty cool. She's not going to be offended by a small joke."

Jonathan grumbled. "I wasn't joking…"

Some thunder rumbled in the sky above them…

On a perfectly clear day…

Martha and Johnathan both gulped as they tilted their heads up and stared at the empty skies above. 

"I'm sure that was a coincidence." Martha said nervously.

"Ok, I was joking…" Jonathan said out loud. "I wasn't planning on actually shooting him!"

The sky remained silent after that.

Kara shrugged to herself. Even if Gabriel really was eavesdropping on them, Kara was pretty sure the Archangel was just messing with them. Marcus had told her numerous stories of the pranks his mother liked to play on other Angels and members of the church. Marcus had told her a story about Gabriel replacing the Pope's crown with a perfect cake replica a few years ago. The Pope even made it halfway through a service before his crown started to crumble and melt…

Kara smiled at the Kents one last time. She figured she wouldn't be seeing them again for a while. "Goodbye." She said while slowly levitating into the sky. She had a suitcase in each hand, filled with all of her Earth clothes. Her Kryptonian outfits and her spaceship were currently in her cousin's fortress in the arctic. 

Kara flew a couple hundred meters into the air before she accelerated to speeds multiple times faster than the sound barrier. Marcus wasn't expecting her in Gotham until later, but Kara figured she could surprise him by showing up early.

At least, that was her plan until she flew over Metropolis. Kara heard the loud sounds of battle as she flew over the city of the future. The intense fighting sounded like it was coming from Metropolis Central Park. 

Kara rapidly dove down towards the commotion. When she arrived in the air above the park, she saw hundreds of park goers backing away from the ensuing battle. Not many people actually fled however. In this day and age, despite the danger, most people tended to stick around so they could spectate or film super powered altercations. Her cousin had been complaining about how that made saving people a lot harder, when they weren't smart enough to flee from danger.

Kara saw that her cousin was currently exchanging powerful blows with a scantily clad red headed woman. Kara had never seen this particular villain before. The air shook, loud booms echoed across the park as Superman and the redheaded villainess continued to fight. Kara was surprised that there was someone out there who could take on her cousin. She knew he was holding back, because he always did, but still…

Kara momentarily took her eyes off the fighting and gazed at the people watching from the ground. She spotted a familiar face. Kara spotted Lois Lane, her cousin's not so secret lover, watching the fight nervously from the sidelines. 

Kara flew down and landed next to Lois on the grass. She placed her two suitcases down on the ground next to them as she spoke.

"Who is that woman Kal is fighting? She's pretty impressive." Kara commented. She watched as the woman delivered a vicious uppercut to Superman's chin. He ended up backflipping through the air multiple times before he settled himself. He rocketed towards her with a telegraphed haymaker. The woman easily dodged out of the way and retaliated by punching Kal directly in his diaphragm. He was once again blasted backwards and ended up smashing through a few park trees. "Wow…She's really skilled. I know Kal isn't that great at kryptonian martial arts, but still..." Kara added. The villainess was definitely landing more blows on Kal than he was landing upon her.

Lois had been so engrossed watching Superman fight that she didn't even notice Kara land next to her. A quiet "eep" left her mouth as she startled. "Oh! Hello, Kara. When did you get here?"

Just now." Kara said. "So who's the redhead dressed like a pinup model?" Kara asked again.

"That's Maxima…" Lois paused for a moment and scowled. "She's the Queen of Planet Almerac. She comes down to Earth every few months to challenge Clar–I mean Superman to a fight. If she wins, then he will be forced to marry her by Almerac law!" 

Kara tilted her head curiously. "Were not on Almerac though?" She pointed out questioningly. She didn't understand how another planet's laws would apply to Earth. As far as she was aware, Earth was a sovereign planet with its own many confusing laws.

"I know!" Lois stamped her foot on the grass and pouted. "That harpy doesn't seem to care! She just wants to steal my man from me!" She yelled loudly.

A few spectators nearby had noticed Kara when she landed. Because of that, they also noticed Lois Lane, the famous reporter, standing next to Kara and talking with her. Murmurs started to spread across the crowd after Lois publicly declared herself as Superman's woman just then…

"Are Superman and Lois Lane dating?"

"Kyaah! Is it confirmed? Is Hashtag SuperLois a real thing?"

"Shit… That's going to take some damage control." Lois muttered to herself as people started gossiping. Lois waved both of her arms in the air. "I was just kidding! Superman and I are not dating! We're just friends!" She yelled as loud as she could into the crowd. 

"Awww… I totally shipped it."

"False alarm people! We clearly all misheard Miss Lane!"

To Kara's surprise, Lois's "damage control" actually seemed to be working somehow. The crowd's gossiping died down as people stopped focusing on them and turned back to watch Superman continue his battle in the air.

Kara knew that Lois and Kal had been trying to keep their relationship a secret so villains didn't attack Lois to try and hurt her cousin. Kara also figured it was pointless considering Lois Lane tended to get kidnapped more than any other human she knew of on a regular basis. The villains definitely knew…

In fact, pretty much everybody in the world knew Lois Land was dating her cousin. They just pretended they didn't because they all respected her cousin so much and wanted to give him a semblance of a private life. That's what Kara figured everyone in the crowd was doing anyway.

BOOM!

Kara was drawn out of her thoughts when Maxima struck Superman with a powerful kick that sent him hurling into the ground below. She had to hold back a giggle at the sight of a Superman shaped crater he left in the dirt. It reminded her of some of the Earth cartoons she had seen.

The ground exploded as Superman rocketed upwards again. He caught Maxima off guard with a blast of his heat vision. Despite not taking any outward damage, Maxima still let out a grunt of pain when the twin beams slammed into her with enough force to launch her a few kilometers into the sky.

Maxima zipped back downwards a few seconds later and they were once again back to punching each other….

"Kal really needs to stop holding back so much when he fights bad guys. Maxima is incredibly skilled, but he could end this in a single blow if he wanted to." Kara commented. She had gotten an estimate on Maxima's abilities at this point. Kara figured that she could take the alien woman if she had too.

"Yes, Superman could end it in one blow. BUT…The shockwave from that blow would end up leveling this entire park and harming a bunch of innocent people." Lois pointed out. "He has to hold back for our sake." Lois said. By "our" she meant all of the regular humans of course.

Kara sighed while glancing downwards. Having to hold back in fights was annoying, but she understood. When she had first started out as a hero on Earth, she almost accidently knocked down a skyscraper when a speedster villain avoided one of her punches. Dozens of people would have been killed had her cousin not swooped in and literally welded the building back together with his heat vision.

The sounds of battle temporarily stopped. Kara glanced back up and noticed that Maxima and Superman had stopped fighting each other.

"Why do you avoid me so, Kal El? Why do you reject my love and devotion? Do you find me truly unattractive?" Maxima asked dramatically as she and Superman took a momentary pause in their battle.

"You're a very beautiful woman, Maxima. But I'm afraid that I'm already in a committed relationship–I mean I'm not interested!" Superman corrected himself at the last second. He pretty much just confirmed he was in a relationship…

The crowd started gossiping again and a few people started to point at Lois.

Maxima turned and gazed down at where they were pointing. She locked eyes with Lois Lane. The two women visibly scowled at each other. 

Kara protectively took a step in front of Lois in case Maxima tried to attack her cousin's lover. Thankfully, Maxima chose not to do that.

Instead, Maxima raised a curious eyebrow when she noticed Kara. "Who might you be? I have never seen you before. You wear the Kryptonian Symbol of the House of El. What is your relationship with Kal El?" Maxima asked Kara.

"I am Kara Zor-El. I'm Superman's cousin. Why do you want to marry him so badly? He's not interested and you're being a nuisance." Kara replied. Maxima's response had Kara internally cringing.

"He is the last son of Krypton. There is no man more perfect than him in the entire galaxy. He is handsome and strong. Only he is worthy to be my betrothed, and only I his!" Maxima boldly declared while nodding her head to herself. 

Kara could hear Lois openly hissing behind her back. Lois clearly was not okay with anything Maxima just said.

"You think Kal is the best guy in the galaxy? KAL!?" Kara asked in surprise. Maxima clearly didn't know a thing about Kal. Her cousin was such a nerd outside his costume!

"Hey!" Kal whined down at her. He was ignored.

"Kal is okay, I guess…" Kara paused for a second. "...I certainly wouldn't call him the most perfect man in the galaxy though. My own boyfriend is way better." Kara bragged.

"You have a boyfriend, Kara?" Lois asked behind her back.

Kara spun around and grinned. "Did Kal not tell you about him yet? Yes, I have a boyfriend! He's so charming and amazing! You want to see a picture of him?" Kara reached into her belt and pulled out her phone. Marcus was her wallpaper…

Lois let out a whistle of appreciation. "Hot damn, girl! You snagged a guy like that!?"

Kara preened even more. "I sure did! He's all mine." Kara lied a bit about that part though... 

Kara felt the air shift next to her. She glanced at the source and found Maxima standing on the grass next to them. Maxima had apparently given up on her fight with Kal for some reason. 

Kara raised an eyebrow at the alien queen. "You done fighting my cousin already?"

"I wish to see the image of the man you claim to be more perfect than Kal El." Maxima said while gesturing to the phone in Kara's hand.

"Sure." Kara said while turning her phone screen to Maxima.

"Wait, Kara! Don't–" Lois tried to reach out and stop Kara, but it was too late. Maxima laid eyes on Kara's wallpaper.

Upon gazing at the image, Maxima's breathing picked up. Her eyes widened in excitement! "Who is this man!?" She asked excitedly!

"Don't answer that, Kara! She'll just try and steal your man if you tell her!" Lois tried to warn her.

Kara looked at Lois, puzzled. "Why would she try to steal Marcus? I thought she was after Kal?" 

Lois facepalmed at Kara's question. "You just told her his name…"

"Marcus…What an excellent name!" Maxima declared. Maxima turned to Lois and gave her a small bow. "Forgive me, I shall no longer try to steal Kal El from you. I wish you both eternal happiness. My heart now belongs to another!" Maxima declared loudly. "Let it be known that the man known as Marcus shall be mine henceforth!"

"..."

"Huh!?" Kara frowned and stamped her foot on the ground. The park shook as it experienced a small earthquake. "He most certainly will not be yours! Stay away from Marcus, you harpy! Go back to your own planet and marry somewhere from there!" 

Maxima didn't seem to take Kara's words to heart. She was still grinning to herself. "I have never seen a more perfect specimen! Mark my words, Kara Zor-El, Marcus will be mine!" Maxima declared again before she suddenly rocketed back off into the sky. In only a few seconds she had cleared Earth's atmosphere and was in space.

"Yeah! You better run, bitch!" Kara shouted at the heavens!

Superman landed next to Kara and let out a sigh. "She's not running away, Kara. She's returning to Almerac to find betrothal gifts for Marcus. The first few times she tried to court me, she came bearing gifts as well. Pretty nice gifts actually…" Superman mumbled that last part as Lois glared at him. "...Nice gifts that I rejected of course!" He added. Lois nodded her head at him.

"Betrothal gifts!?" She said indignantly. Kara spat out a few choice curse words in Kryptonian that had her cousin frowning at her. She promptly ignored him when he tried lecturing her on "proper ladylike language." 

Kara angrily picked up her two suitcases and flew off towards Gotham. She was going to have to tell Megan that she had accidentally screwed up and given the both of them more competition… 

…

Amanda Waller:

"Thank you for meeting with me Mr. President." Amanda Waller said as she took a seat at the meeting table. She was currently visiting the White House.

"Of course, Ms Waller. Just because I'm the President now doesn't mean I don't have time for the little people like you." He said with a laugh. President Miles was clearly being condescending towards her just then.

Regretfully, she needed the President's support and funding if she was going to ever fully realize her ambitions. "I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule…Sir." She was forced to play nice with him.

"So, what have you got for me, Amanda? You want to open up some kind of club or something? I'm sorry, I didn't read the file. I was busy playing golf with the Senator from Texas yesterday." He said while flippantly waving his hand. "Just give me the gist about this little club of yours." 

Amanda did her best not to openly grit her teeth. She and President Mires both served together in the CIA before he left and became a Senator–later the President. They had never gotten along. Amanda was always far better at her job–keeping America safe–but he was always far better at sucking up to other influential figures. His career had soared while hers had almost stalled out completely. That's why she was here today, to propose the creation of a new organization to keep America safe from all of the super freaks that had been springing up across the world!

"The gist…Sir…is that the US government is nothing more than a joke now! Super powered threats spring up all over our country daily, and we're never seen doing anything about them!" Amanda huffed out.

"So what?" The President said with a shrug. "The Justice League has been doing a fine job so far. The people love them, and since I openly endorse them, they love me." He said with a cheeky grin. "My ratings have never been higher! I'm pretty much guaranteed re-election at this point!"

'Not if I have anything to say about it!' Amanda seethed internally. As soon as she got her Task Force approved, she was ordering a hit on this man! She wouldn't allow America to have a weak leader who pandered to the Justice League and its Alien members!

"And what happens when the Justice League gets tired of pretending to be the good guys? What happens when one of their members inevitably goes rogue?" Amanda asked sharply.

"If that ever happens, then the other members will stop them." The President replied immediately. "You've always been passionate about your…opinions…Amanda, but I don't understand what you're going for here? Do you want the government to start taking down Superheroes now?" 

"Yes." Amanda replied sternly. "Yes I do. Not just Superheroes of course, but Supervillains as well! All Superpowered beings should be under our control! I want the world to return to the way it was before the emergence of the likes of Superman! Don't you want to be the most powerful man in the world again? Because let me tell you something…as long as Superman is around, you won't be!" Amanda hit the man where it hurt him most…in his ego.

The President frowned. "That's never going to happen. He can't be brought down. People have tried."

"Wrong, it could happen! All it will take is the right team." Amanda said to him. "Task Force X is that team!" Amanda handed President Miles another copy of the briefing he should have read earlier.

His eyes skimmed over it. "You want the government to have a team of Supervillains under its control? How will that work?"

"It will work quite well. If they don't follow us, then they die."

The President grimaced. "I'm still not sold on this. Maybe we can do a small trial run first?" He suggested. "Start them with something small and prove that this team can actually work."

Amanda grinned at him." I have the perfect mission for my new Task Force to start with. They will acquire the cure for every disease and injury known to mankind." Amanda said confidently, deciding to play another one of her trump cards. She could tell she was close to persuading this moron. "Your daughter has been in a wheelchair for years after that car accident, hasn't she?" Amanda asked him.

He grimaced at her. Amanda knew that his daughter was a touchy subject with him. He was actually drunk behind the wheel that day. It was covered up of course, but his daughter's crippling injury was still his fault. 

"You're saying you have a way to heal her? How?"

"I have intelligence on a being who can completely heal almost anything with a single touch. A being in the form of a teenage girl. The Italians have been hiding this girl from the world for years! They've been exploiting her amazing healing abilities all for themselves!" Amanda explained with a scowl. An ability like that should be under her control! "Our task force could retrieve this girl from under their noses."

"And what if your Task Force gets caught in the process?" The president asked her. 

"If they get caught, then we simply kill them before they talk. We have perfect plausible deniability! Nobody would ever believe the US government was behind the operation." She said with a grin. 

"My daughter can truly be healed?" He sat up in his seat. She knew she had won him over. 

Amanda nodded. "I have another file here. All the information we have on the girl and her amazing healing powers. With her under our control, we would never have to worry about sickness or injury again! I even have plans on sending the girl to Cadmus to see how her powers work! Imagine if we had an army of miracle healers at our disposal. Our troops would be invincible!" Amanda declared. She would tear the secrets from the girl's body, whatever it takes! That girl's healing powers could be the key to immortality! Amanda had to have her!

The President skimmed the files once again. "Asia Argento? It says here that she's considered a Holy Maiden and is being kept deep inside the Vatican…" He trailed off.

Amanda shrugged. "Of course those religious nut jobs think a Meta-Human girl with healing powers has been blessed by God. They've brainwashed her into believing it too. We'd be doing her a favor by extracting her from that place." Amanda was a staunch Atheist. The only thing she believed in was power, and using everything at her disposal to take as much of it for herself as possible.

The President hesitated for a moment before he nodded. "I'll give you permission to run this little Task Force of yours. I don't want your group targeting Superheroes without my direct permission though. Your team will be allowed to run other missions that are beneficial to the American people. Your first mission will be to secure the girl. My daughter's 12th birthday is coming up soon, giving her back her legs would be an amazing present."

"We'll have the girl on US soil by the end of the week, Sir!" Amanda declared. "A bunch of worthless Priests and Nuns won't be able to stop my Task Force." Amanda said confidently.

XXX