Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Warp.

Clark arrived at the Fortress in a flash of light. He nearly collapsed on the floor. The energy pulse had overwhelmed him He felt a throbbing through his temples. It was almost as if two cosmic forces had been pulling him in two entirely differently directions. He staggered to his feet, and he waited for Jor-El to tell him why he should be summoned.

Clark did not have to wait for very long.

"Time is running short for you, Kal-El," Jor-El said in a matter of fact voice. "Every single person that you care about has vanished. You may be next. It is imperative that you go through the time stream and stop the BrainInteractive Construct before the change is made permanent. If you do not do within the next seventy two hours, you will cease to exist."

Clark did not take this information well. His entire world had been turned upside down.

"If everyone I care about has disappeared, then what's the point," Clark said. He had mentally just given up. "No one I know exists, why should I save this world?"

"You can right what was wronged by the BrainInteractive Construct," Jor-El said.

Clark felt something push him backwards. It was almost as if something was trying to erase him.

"I feel like the universe is trying to erase me," Clark said.

"That's because it is."

The voice of Lily Potter popped up suddenly. Clark managed to turn around, and he slowly backed off. The last time he had encountered Lily Potter, well it had been an experience that both he and Lana would not forget. No matter how hard he tried to forget. His heart panged when he remembered Lana.

"You merely do not exist, yet you are being kept here," Lily said.

"I thought you had promised Harry that you would leave the Fortress alone," Clark said. "What are you doing here?"

"Harry never truly believed that I would keep that promise," Lily said dismissively. "And judging by the look on your face, neither did you, Kal-El. So stop being self-righteous for a minute, and listen to me."

Clark opened his mouth to say something, yet Lily cut him off.

"My presence in this Fortress is the only thing that is keeping both you and it from disappearing with the rest of them," Lily said. Clark looked absolutely gobsmacked. "Did you not think that after I have had all of this trouble, I would simply allow you to be erased by that glorified pocket calculator? No, Kal-El I have big plans for you. You did not disappear into oblivion with the rest of the world."

Clark had to answer the very obvious question. He could not see Lily.

"If I don't exist, and the world has disappeared into oblivion, then why am I still here?"

"Kal-El, we don't have the time for me to explain to you the inherit theories about how time travel works," Lily said in an exasperated voice. She paused for a moment, and continued to speak. "Just let it be known that there are seventy two hours before the time stream resets itself. I can send you back before it all begins, but do not be a hero."

Clark was confused as to what Lily meant.

"Kal-El you must listen to me, the fate your existence hinges upon it," Lily said.

"I can direct Kal-El, there is no need for your input," Jor-El replied, final speaking up.

"Yes, because your guidance did wonders in allowing him to achieve his destiny," Lily said. Clark had a sense that she was rolling her eyes. "Kara truly is the only intelligent one that has come out of the House of El. She should be the one that should protect the world, and does actually show ambition in doing so. Yet, Clark is the key, so I must help him."

Clark opened his mouth, but Lily cut him off.

"You, quite frankly, are pathetic. The fact that you're supposed to be the hero the world needs really sickens me to the core. You are unwilling to take the steps to embrace your destiny. You'd rather hide behind others. Hide behind this false veil of humanity, and be something that you're not. That's the real reason why you cannot fly. You are afraid to let go of your roots. And the fact that Lana girl has to be your protector really speaks ill of you. Whatever brains you have stems from Chloe doing all of your thinking for you. You allowed yourself to get weak. You should be far and above her. Kara and Harry are the true heroes. You are just some glorified hayseed with powers."

Lily was just gaining a head of steam now.

"The only reason I am helping you right now, is it will upset Kara to see her baby cousin die. And if Kara is upset, Harry is upset. And if Harry gets upset, I have failed as a mother. And that's not something we want to happen. Do not make me fail as a mother, Kal-El! Actually take a step back, and realize that this is one battle that you must fight on your own. There will be no one to save you. And the fact is if you're supposed to be the standard that Earth's heroes live up to, then I weep for the future of humanity."

Clark thought it was awfully rich for this particular woman to try and tell him these things.

"You're wrong," Clark said.

"Maybe, but do try and make a fool out of me, Kal-El," Lily said. She opened up a window. "Step through the time window, and go back. Your time is running out. My magic cannot hold you in place in this time stream forever. Remember you have seventy two hours."

"If you're so powerful, than why can't you deal with Brainiac?" Clark asked.

"Step through the time window, and take the first step towards the next test on your journey," Lily said, ignoring the question.

Clark looked at the time window. His feet shifted back and forth. He was reluctant to really take the plunge. He peered back over his shoulder towards Lily. Lily had now materialized in the Fortress. The distrust was sensed by Lily.

"Trust me or not, the choice is yours," Lily said. "Are you making the right choice? Are you merely a man or are you a super man?" Are you destined to be a great hero, or are you a failure of cosmic proportions? Have you condemned your friends to death? If you fail to make this step, you have condemned them all. And you have failed Lana, once again. But, that does seem to be par for the course for you, Kal-El."

With those words and guilt trip, Clark had taken a step forward. The temporal energy washed around him, as Clark was transported back through time and space.

The essence of Lily Potter broke. She had used her remaining energy to send Clark back in time, to ensure the traveler would still exist. It would take her some time before her powers fully returned.

The vortex opened. Harry and Kara flew through the time stream at Brainiac. The three spiraled back in time. It was a horrific experience. The two Heralds of Death shielded themselves from the worst of the backwash. Time travel was a rather unpleasant experience, and one that they did not want to make a habit of doing.

Harry and Kara held each other's hands. They were drawing inner strength from each other. This was the strength that they needed to make sure the time stream did not become undone permanently. They could see time all around them. There were threads like a giant quilt. The threads represented past, present, and future. Several of those threads threatened to become unraveled just by the fact that they were going through time.

Would the time stream steady itself? They had no idea. All they knew was that things were slowly becoming undone. Harry and Kara popped back in time. They stood on the ground, having collapsed on the ground.

"The real question is that do you have any magic?" Kara asked, the moment that they dropped on the ground. '

Harry lit up the pathway with his hand. Kara nodded, pleased.

"At least those powers are working," Kara told him. She took a deep breath, and gave a long and labored sigh. "I don't know if you've noticed, but we're on Krypton. And the powers that I have as a Kryptonian might not work underneath the red sun.."

"You have reserves, don't you?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I do, but they'll only last for a few hours," Kara said. A frustrated expression spread across her face. "And that's if I use them smartly. Once they're gone, they're gone."

Harry whispered something underneath his breath, and pointed his hand at Kara. Kara felt a warm glow. She looked at him with a questioning look.

"There, now the red sunlight is automatically filtered into yellow, your powers failing should not be a problem," Harry said, and he almost collapsed. Kara rushed forward, and caught Harry in her arms.

"Are you okay?" Kara asked frantically.

Harry shook his head. He tried to draw some strength from Kara, through the bond they had with each other. "It's just that type of spell is rather draining. And without our Herald of death powers sat full strength, it's going to be hard. It's going to be really hard."

Kara held up Harry, until he could walk on his own. The two stood side by side.

"We can stop him, if we work together," Kara said. "I think the Brainiac we are fighting is the genuine article. He wouldn't send a copy back in time. It would just cease to exist. That type of Kryptonian technology has to have a flaw."

"The real question is can we get his defenses down to insert this," Harry said, and he held up the virus program.

"We're going to have to work quickly, but I think that it can be done," Kara said. "Sixteen hours before our powers come back completely, by the way."

Harry nodded. This was not going to be a picnic. Harry and Kara carefully walked around the Kryptonian village they had ended up in. Normally, Harry would have taken a moment to really enjoy the sights. However, they were on a mission, and he had to keep focused.

"If I remember correctly, we're close enough to Kandor," Kara said to Harry. She added in a joking manner. "Maybe we'll see me."

"You do realize that we can't be seen by a past version of yourself, unless absolutely necessary," Harry said. Kara paused, and she nodded. She understood the rules of time travel, and she knew what was on the line. The two Heralds of Death flew when they heard noise.

It was just a group of civilians. Did they even know that their planet could be destroyed at any time now? Likely they were blissfully ignorant to the subject. Kara and Harry guessed that the citizens of Krypton did not acknowledge the end until it was coming.

"Kara, we might have to use the one power that we hoped that we would never have to use," Harry told her seriously.

Kara got the message of what Harry meant. She shifted herself immediately, and really understood what he meant. Out of all of the powers, there was one power that could go wrong if they were not careful.

"The reality warping power," Kara whispered to him.

"Death only said to use it in emergencies, but something that can wipe out an entire timeline would be classified as an emergency," Harry said. "The problem is that if the timeline gets ruined, that's our only course of action."

Kara closed her eyes. She got a sense of something.

"I think the changes in the timeline are already happening, just by the three of us going back in time in the first place," Kara said to Harry. "I can just feel things shifting around me. It is almost terrifying to think about."

Harry was afraid of this. There were times where no matter how hard he tried, there was always only so much that he could do. He placed his hand on Kara's, and they moved forward. They thought they had seen a glimpse of Brainiac. Hopefully they could take him by surprise. Given the nature of time and space, he had arrived a short time before they did. Harry and Kara were both at a loss to explain it, but that was just how everything worked.

Kara and Harry reached a grave marker.

"I wonder if it's still here,' Kara whispered.

"What's still here?" Harry asked her.

Kara scanned the ground with her X-Ray vision. A box was in the ground. She dug it out, and opened it. It was a picture of a seven year old version of her, and an older woman who resembled Kara, only wearing glasses and shorter hair.

"Your mother?" Harry asked Kara.

Kara nodded with a sad smile. "Yes, this picture was taken a few months…before…"

"She died," Harry said, putting his arm around his fiancée gently.

"The first time I understood what death was," Kara said. "I must have gone over it in my mind a million times, but I never really figured out what happened. Who struck that fatal blow against my mother? Was it my father or was it Jor-El? She was just caught in the middle of their petty squabble. I guess I'll never know."

Kara looked at the grave. She tried not to get emotional. Harry conjured flowers for Kara. Kara placed the flowers down on the grave, and knelt down, staring at it intently. Said flowers would not survive the demise of Krypton, but it was the thought that counted.

Kara did feel a bit guilty for not visiting the grave of her mother more often. Thankfully, in some twisted way, she had gotten one final chance.

"I hope you're in a better place, Alura," Kara whispered, hoping somehow that her mother could hear her. "You and Aunt Lara, I hope you're both proud of what I've done."

"They are," Harry said. Confidence brimmed from his voice. He placed his arm around Kara, and lightly kissed her. It was brief, but tender.

"Both of them would have approved of you, by the way," Kara said.

"I'm glad," Harry said.

The two stood in silence, but Kara spoke up.

"We do have to get going."

They kept flying, careful not to be seen. Harry looked down. He was rather entranced by Krypton. Kara caught him looking, and smiled.

"It is beautiful isn't it," Kara said.

"And it will all be gone, no matter what we do," Harry said.

Kara sighed, but conceded. She had made peace with the destruction of her planet a while back. To return here and now, to a time where it stood proudly had caused all of those bitter memories to proceed to flood back to her.

"So, how do you think I would have done on Krypton?" Harry asked.

Kara smiled at Harry. She said the next statement with one hundred percent confidence.

"You would have been a decorated hero, and beloved by many," Kara said. Those words were spoken with one hundred percent conviction. She turned towards them. "I think we found Brainiac."

Harry had seen him as well. The two Heralds of Death stood on the ground, and hovered above. They still had access to their invisibility powers, which would hopefully make an attack on Brainiac seem rather easy.

Kara had goose bumps. She recognized this day. This was the day that she had got on the ship, and this was the day that Krypton ended.

It had started as such a beautiful day too. In spite of all of the war going on around them at the end, there was still a kind of eerie beauty. Then again, the greatest tragedies in the universe all started with the perfect day. Harry sensed her trip down memory lane, and wrapped his arm around her tightly.

Brainiac was not going to survive this day. He wanted a battle. Well Harry and Kara would bring him a war.

Clark found himself flung back in time. He felt like his stomach was left back in the Fortress. The trip was not a pleasant one. It was much like being on a rather twisted roller coaster. The Kryptonian landed out of the time hole. It was like he was being shot out of a tube. He landed hard on the ground in a graveyard with a thud. He rolled over, trying to regain his bearings.

Clark backed up, and saw Lana's gravestone. According to the gravestone, she died several years ago. His eyes widened. This had to be some kind of bad hallucination, a nightmare. He turned around a little bit, and he saw Chloe's tombstone. Again, she was to die years ago. He backed up a little bit, and then a ways down the graveyard, he spotted Lex's. He could not believe what he was seeing.

Lois Lane, Martha Kent, Pete Ross, and he saw even more tombstones of people that he knew. All of which who were dead in this world.

He had not really put anyone in danger. The realization smacked Clark faster than a speeding bullet. He realized that for the first time. In a world where he never existed, or never arrived from Krypton, many people he knew could have been killed. Clark realized he had really influenced a lot of lives. Some for the better and some for the worse, but they were gone.

Yet, he was supposed to be brought back to where it all began. He was not supposed to be flung back in time to a time before the end. He shook his head. Nothing made any sense. He wondered what had gone wrong. Had Lily miscalculated the charm work that was needed to send him back? Or had she been setting him up for failure? Maybe because she could not control the traveler, she opted to destroy him.

He shook his head. Clark had to be paranoid.

Clark turned around. This was one of those times where he would go to Chloe to ask her for help. Yet, the evidence right before him indicated why that was not going to be happening this time. Clark looked up at the red sun. He knew that in time his powers would be completely gone. He was going to become mortal, and would wither and die. Or he would disappear all alone. No one would care that he did.

He coughed. The air was noxious, and he wondered what could have caused this. There had to be an explanation. Clark walked around, to try and gain a sense of what was happening. He was at a complete and total loss for words. There were times where even with all of his great powers, Clark had felt helpless. He had felt like he was unable to make that much of a difference. Now at this time, he was completely and utterly trapped without a way out.

Clark took another step forward. He saw more gravestones. He dare not look at them. They were more people who he did not save.

Where were Harry and Kara? They were two people who he thought; who he had assumed would not be affected by the time stream. The way Lily was talking, they were still out there, and still alive.

Clark had tripped over something lying in the dirt. He staggered, and just managed to gain his balance. Rolling over, he got to his feet. He paused to see what was going on. Clark took a step back, and realized that there was something important about this item that he nearly tripped and fell over. He could scarcely believe his eyes.

The item had Kryptonian writing all over it. And it was Kara's handwriting. It appeared to be a message of some sort. Kara had left it for him.

Clark had clicked it on.

"Clark, it's me," Kara said in a short and frantic voice. "If you're hearing this, then Harry's charm work worked. This message in a bottle has survived the changes in the time stream, and that means you have as well. Harry and I are now on Krypton, and we are looking at Brainiac. If you can find a way back to us, then we could use your help. I'm using my father's lab to send you this message. I…I really hope I don't get seen by anyone. Especially me, but it can't be helped. And we've got to go. Just hope you get this message. Bye, take care, and remember, where there's a will there's a way. And no matter how dark things seem, there's a Shining Light at the end of the tunnel."

The message turned into static. Clark had held the device, and saw his last lifeline to the old timeline just fade out. He rewound it and listened again, to hope to listen for another message. However, there was nothing, but the same old message.

Clark had managed to get the gist of that message. It was hard for him not to. He had been sent back here, but not all of the way. However, the way Kara said, there was a way for him to join them on Krypton before the end. Where Brainiac was. If they needed his help that meant that they were way over their heads. Clark smiled; maybe he wasn't so useless after all.

He could right what was wrong and still he could fix what had happened. Brainiac would not be able to hurt another person out there. Clark adjusted his footing, and turned around before he knew what he had to do.

He needed to find his way to the Shining Light Foundation. If he found his way there, and found what Kara was talking about, then he could return back. Brainiac was on Krypton, and Harry and Kara were fighting them. They might be powerful, but Clark wondered about the limits that they had more than anything.

He knew what he had to do. Clark tried to block the gravestones he saw out of his mind. Those were not real. It was not going to happen. He would make sure of that. He had a feeling that time was running short with the seventy two hour window. He summoned whatever power he had, and began to super speed to the Shining Light Foundation.

The sands of time continued to slip away from him. Jor-El said he had seventy two hours. There was no time to waste.

It was time for Clark Kent to step up. He was alone, but he vowed to change that.

Kara just finished sending a message back to Earth. She sighed.

"There, hopefully Clark receives it, and knows what do to," Kara said to Harry.

"Will it work?" Harry asked, and he put the necessary preservation charms.

"We'll know in a little bit," Kara said.

The two Heralds of Death carefully moved through the lab. Time was running out for them, and the world, and Clark especially. The two of them did not delay their actions much longer. They spotted Brainiac immediately. Kara saw several of the guards already taken down. She tried not to disturb them.

Kara knew that Brainiac would likely kill her past self. She had an idea that was not something that she could allow. Immediately, Kara flew forward, and nailed Brainiac hard in the chest with a blast of heat vision. That sent him spiraling through the lab, and out of harm's way.

"Kara, discreet, remember," Harry said.

He tried to tie Brainiac in place. Brainiac shifted out.

"You made a grave error following me back in time," Brainiac said.

"That's what you think," Kara said, and she took a deep breath. Her super breath began to blow Brainiac back. The windows of the lab cracked. Harry fixed them, and then once again tried to go behind Brainiac to insert the virus into him.

Brainiac back handed Harry, and knocked him down. Harry rebounded from the attack. Kara flew in at super speed, and tried to grab onto Brainiac. She tried to crush his skull. However, he blocked the attack, and nailed her several times. Brainiac tried to stab Kara much like he did to Lana. Kara was too quick for that attack, dodging out of the way. She burned Brainiac's hand with heat vision.

She was not sure that Brainiac felt that. She kind of hoped that he did.

Harry sent a series of magical attacks down on the back of Brainiac. Brainiac was staggered, and immediately, Harry and Kara locked hands. They flew Brainiac out of the lab and high up into the skies above Kandor. It was only a small miracle that no one could see them. Maybe, because of the explosions around them

'We're running out of time,' Kara thought to Harry.

'We don't have to defeat him,' Harry thought back to her. 'We merely have to stall him long enough until Clark's ship can get safely off Krypton, and back to Earth. And yours too.'

At first, Kara was not too pleased with having to wait eighteen years at the bottom of that dam again. However, it did not seem so bad, because Harry would be waiting for her. Her knight in shining armor (or at least ragged robes) would come and rescue her. Harry and Kara continued to fight Brainiac high in the sky. The two pushed Brainiac. He pushed back. The battle was intense high above.

"You cannot keep up this dance forever," Brainiac said. "Soon all will be lost. Kal-El will not make it to Earth."

"As long as we are together, nothing is lost," Kara said firmly.

She spiraled through the air with precision and grace. The blonde Kryptonian took aim. She knocked Brainiac hard in the face with a kick. Harry wrapped several ropes around his legs. Kara flew one way, and Harry flew the other way, They held onto Brainiac's head and arms and tore him into half. Sparks flew in every direction, and Brainiac dropped down to the ground hard.

Brainiac rolled over, and cables shot out. He put a shield around himself. Harry and Kara tried to penetrate it. They had a feeling that they could destroy Brainiac if they could just break through the shield. They continued to bounce back off of it time and time again. Brainiac was reconnecting his top half until his bottom half.

Brainiac moved back, and tried to freeze Harry and Kara in time.

This time they were ready for it. They summoned all of the remaining Herald powers they would have at their disposal for the next fourteen hours. They blocked the time jump, and sent Brainiac back. The explosion had caused them to knock back. Harry used a cushioning spell to prevent him from slamming hard back first into the crystal structure. He caught Kara in his arms. The two gained their bearings, and flew towards Brainiac.

He thought that they would not be that annoying. They posed far more of a danger than Kal-El did. That was something that he determined right away. He had to trap them somewhere where they would not jeopardize his plans.

Harry and Kara once again attacked Brainiac with fury. He was sent backwards. His legs had buckled underneath the impact. The two forces struggled back and forth. It was a constant battle. There was panic in the streets nearby.

Kara looked over her shoulder, and saw from the window her past-self stare out the window towards them. Kara, circa 1986, had her gaze focused intently on Harry. She turned around at that moment, knowing she had been caught. Harry and Kara could not pay this any mind. Even though Kara remembered that she had saw herself and Harry on Krypton all of those years back. She now remembered how she had been interested in Harry at that point. It was hard to explain, but at that point she knew exactly what had happened. Memories were coming back to her, that she could not access until this point in time.

There was no denying what was meant to be in her heart.

She had remembered how she had subconsciously made the choice to become the Herald of Death to be with him forever. It was not Jor-El who made that deal, or anyone else, it was her. Kara shook her head.

So it meant that if they were here now, then they did not lose. They had defeated Brainiac on this day, and he had not changed the time stream.

At least Kara hoped that they did. She could not afford to get too arrogant. Bad things happened when people got arrogant. She exchanged smiles with Harry. Brainiac really had no idea how strong they were.

Even with their powers at their lowest, as long as they stood together, the battle was never lost.

They blitzed at Brainiac with all of the power of a super nova.

He really did not stand a chance. Something had to give.

Explosions continued to rang out. Although many had assumed that they were just something that was a backfire from the ongoing war.

Clark arrived outside of the Shining Light Foundation. It was the only building that he could see for miles, and miles that was not in ruins. Clark remained on his guard for guards. When he saw none, he used his strength to rip off the door. He looked up at the red sun. He knew that at any time, his power could go out.

He made his way up to the top floor, where he knew Harry and Kara's office was known to be. He saw a glimpse of Kara through the door. Kara sat wearing a short black top with a silver "S" shield on it. The top showed far much more skin than normal, and just barely covered her breasts. She wore an all too short black mini-skirt, and black high heel boots. The skirt could be almost classified as a belt with how short it was. On her neck rested a necklace with a growing red rock. Clark pulled open the door with a little effort.

Kara's eyes snapped up. She looked at Clark much like she thought he was a slug. Clark was taken aback by this cold stare by his cousin.

"Who are you?' Kara demanded, and she got up to her feet. "How did you get in here?"

"Kara, thank God it's you," Clark said. Kara just looked at him. Her arms folded. "It's me, Clark, your cousin. You know, Kal-El."

Her eyes flashed dangerously. Kara grabbed Clark by the throat, flew him across the room, and roughly slammed him against the wall. Clark struggled against the wall against Kara's titanic grip. Kara was much stronger than he was. For some reason her full powers had not left her underneath the pull of the red sun.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Kara snarled. "Because if it is, I'm not laughing. Kal-El died on his way to Earth from Krypton. The rocket failed. You can't be him."

"I am him, Kara," Clark wheezed, and Kara hurled him across the room. Clark landed on the ground, and Kara stood on Clark's chest with her heeled boot. He struggled, and noticed the red rock hanging from her neck. It was out of his reach. "Kara, see the rock around your neck? It's making you violent and unstable. You're not yourself."

"I'm more myself than you could ever know," Kara said, and she picked up Clark. Her grip tightened. "You barge in here, and think that you can just talk to me like we're family. The only family I knew died years ago. And I'm trying to save what's left of the human race. I had to take them over."

"Kara, you'd never do that," Clark said. "You can't do that!"

Kara's eyes flared with anger, and Clark thought for a moment that Kara was going to fry him to a crisp with her heat vision.

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, human!" Kara yelled at him. She dangled him by the jacket in her grip. "There are no other options. I can turn this planet into Krypton. Harry and I will restore the Kryptonian race to its proper glory. And I should snap your neck for even trying to tell me what to do. Defying the Empress of this planet is punishable by execution!"

"Empress?" Clark asked. He took a deep breath. "Kara, that's the Red Kryptonite talking. We need to take that off of you."

Clark tried to remove it from Kara. She smacked his hands away, and grabbed his wrists. Clark winced as her superior strength caused his bones to crack.

"Harry gave me this as a gift," Kara told him. Her gaze looked at Clark. "Before, we decided that we needed to take them over. Humanity is a sick species. They can't save themselves. Conquest is the only option."

Clark was hurt. Several guards arrived at this point.

"Kara, please, look into your heart,' Clark whispered. There was something wrong with Kara and likely something wrong with Harry as well. Clark wondered if this was Lily's doing. This was what she wanted all the time.

"Is this man bothering you, Empress Kara?" one of the guards asked.

Kara's eyes narrowed and a scowl crossed her face.

"No, in fact he was just leaving," Kara said. She marched Clark over to the windows, and spoke to him in a deadly whisper. "Come back again, and I will kill you."

Clark was hurled out through the glass window several stories up. There was some invisible force that had caught him before he landed on the ground. Clark found himself shaken, and slightly injured. Without his powers, glass could injure him just as much as the next person. He coughed slightly.

He had to get back up there, and remove that Red Kryptonite necklace from Kara. It was screwing with her mind. Clark had assumed that Kara was immune to all types of Kryptonite because of her Herald of Death powers. Something changed, it had to. It was just a matter of figuring out what was happening.

Several robed figures dressed in black with white skull masks surrounded Clark. Things had just gotten from bad to worse. Wands were pointed at Clark.

"We've been waiting for you to arrive Traveler," one of the robed figures said.

"I don't have time for this,' Clark said.

He stood on his feet, and was ready to fight. He tried to blast the wands with his heat vision, but found out that he could not. That power was gone.

"You will make time, Kal-El," one of the robed figures said.

"The Dark Lord will want you to be brought before him," another robed figure said. "You will be sacrificed that will bring him to a more acceptable form that the one he has been borrowing."

"The Dark Lord?" Clark asked.

"Lord Voldemort has been waiting for you for a long time, Kal-El," the third robed figure, a woman said. "He always knows."

It was six against one, and Clark was only at half of his powers. There was no yellow sun. He had a feeling that these robed figures were going to take him whether or not he was willing.

He would not make it easy. If he was going down, he would go down fighting. He stepped back, and threw himself at them. He knocked one of them back. A second robed figure went for Clark. Clark used his super speed to dodge it.

"You can't keep up this dance forever. Your battery is running dry."

Clark conceded that they had a point. He managed to trick two of the six into sending green lights into each other. They struck each other, and fell down to the ground. Neither were moving. Clark suddenly stopped. His super speed was out. He tried to summon up his remaining reserves for a really powerful breath that would hopefully blow everyone away.

He was knocked back. Clark braced himself for the end.

A figure popped in out of nowhere. She flew towards Clark's attackers. Two of the robed figures had been taken out with a blinding flash of light. The third figure was knocked down on the ground. The fourth figure was attacked by birds that ripped and pecked at their skin. Clark spotted the figure, dressed in blue robes, with a hood pulled over her head.

"Hello, Kal-El," the girl said in a dreamy voice. "Fancy meeting you here."

Clark took her hand, and she pulled him up to his feet.

"Just who are you?" Clark asked.

"Time is becoming unraveled," the girl said sadly. "People who should be alive, are dead. People who should be dead, are alive. And not all of those people are nice people either. And perfectly nice people have been warped into would be conquerors due to harsh tragedy. Time travel is a harsh mistress, and she often does spread her legs with disastrous results. I realize what has happened, and I know that I must help them. I must finish my mother's mission before the timeline gets fixed, and I get recalled to the next great adventure once more. It was quite terrifying to be in the afterlife one moment, and then to return to life. I thought the Nargles had all died, and caused an imbalance. But it's something far more horrifying."

Clark looked bemused at all of this.

"Oh, how rude of me," the girl said in an apologetic voice. "My name is Luna Lovegood. I suppose this could be all traced back on the day of the Arising, that started in motion back in 1986 after the destruction of Krypton. The butterfly effect can be a disastrous one. "