Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Nevermore Part Three.

Trigon looked at the world through a brand new set of eyes, everything seemed to be so petty, so insignificant, and so ripe for the taking. He saw the humans below him like ants that could be crushed, and a blast of fire from his eyes confirmed that there was some level of power in this temporary vessel. That much was something that pleased Trigon as he tried to determine what else this body could do. The vessel might be weak of mind and weak of soul, but Trigon was never one to deny when something had the potential of true power.

Now, this city would be the perfect nexus point for his plans, to transform the world, until his full form could thrive in this world, and then he would send forth his legions to one world at a time to transform the universe. It would be a plan that would cause his rise and his dominance as he struck down his vengeance upon the world.

Trigon had been spawned from a darkness far too great for him to comprehend, and a darkness that even partially terrified him, but the terror of Trigon would overwhelm that darkness with a brand new breed of his own. He offered a thunderous laugh that echoed throughout the city, and a wave of magical energy struck the people.

All the people below shifted into stone statues, and while Trigon did not possess great magical power within his body, there was a certain residue that he could utilize to immobilize the citizens, even if the terrible demon had to do so one block at a time. Victory would be his, and so would this world. Each and every moment he grew in power and they all weakened the more people allowed to go on unchecked.

From the Shining Light Foundation, Megan looked frantic, when she saw Kara and Karen both sprawled out on the floor, and what was worse was Harry was gone. The young girl repeated one mantra in her head.

'That's not good, that's not good, this isn't good, this so isn't good.'

The truth was that was a mantra that caused her a great deal of frustration, and nearly reduced her to tears, but never the less it was one that tried to keep her sanity intact. Megan fretfully nudged the two blonde Kryptonians on the floor, but Kara and Karen had taken a very long nap, being knocked out by Trigon's power. The young girl tried to nudge them again and again but there was no dice.

"Guys, wake up, the world's going to end!" Megan shouted at them, but sudden she peered out the window to see the possessed form of Clark outside with the sadistic laughter echoing.

Kara and Karen did not respond to her abilities to wake up, they had been put in a similar petrified state like Lana was, protected only by their powers. They were an inch between being a awake and being knocked out. Megan could not think of a worse scenario if she had tried, and believe her, the Martian's mind was capable of a lot. The girl slid over to a vault, and opened it up.

She pulled out a chunk of a glowing green rock, and took it towards the window, taking drastic action to take down Trigon, or rather the body holding him. Megan closed her eyes, and began to take flight outside the window, reaching Clark's body. She really hoped that this would be enough to end this nightmare prematurely.

"Hey, Trigon!" Megan yelled, and Clark turned around, before Megan shoved the glowing green rock underneath Clark's nose, expecting him to wilt like a flower.

However, it was not working, and Trigon laughed, utterly mocking Megan at that point.

"Foolish child, it appears that particular vulnerability had been shut off before I entered this vessel," the booming voice of Trigon echoed, and Megan held the now useless green meteor rock in her hand. She suddenly felt rather stupid as she did not have a plan B.

It did make a lot of sense, Harry and Kara managed to block the Kryponite from affecting Clark, but now it came back to bite them in the ass in the worst way. There had to be some kind of failsafe to counteract the cure, just in case of a situation like this, but the problem is that Megan had no idea what it was. She was completely lost and the only two people who knew could not very well tell her right now.

Megan knew one thing however, as the blast of magical energy came through her, it was time to go intangible, and the energy blasted through her form.

"You cannot stay that way forever, little Martian girl," Trigon taunted at her, and Megan offered a smile, before she bombarded Trigon with an extremely powerful bolt of psychic energy.

Somehow, by a sheer miracle, blasted through his mind and reached inside his subconscious.

'Clark, Kal-El, I know you're in there somewhere, but you got to fight it hard, your mind is stronger than Trigon's is, please fight it, okay?"

"He cannot fight it, for he is not stronger than me, not in the slightest. His mind is weak, and he has squandered great power for foolish acts of heroism. He may not be human, but this Kal-El is just as pathetic as them. He will fit in with their race, especially when they are destroyed."

'Humans are not pathetic, they are capable of a lot, don't you dare judge them!'

"Insolent pest of a girl, you cannot hope to match my power, and my abilities. I am Trigon, and I am…"

Megan suddenly broke through the barrier, and repelled Clark's body back, sending him flying hard into the globe of the Daily Planet, where he impacted it like a fly on a windshield. The psychic blast bombarded him hard, and Megan stood, with Trigon madder than ever, before another heavy blast tried to impact the young white Martian in disguise.

'Yeah, I'm way in over my head, Harry, where are you? Just wherever you are hurry, or Kara and Karen better wake up, I can't handle Trigon on my own! I never should have turned down being the Herald of Death of Mars; I could really use those powers right about now.'

Megan continued the song and dance with Clark, dodging his Trigon fueled attacks, although she noticed a flicker of something from his eyes. Clark tried to fight Trigon's possession, but Trigon just exerted more of his will, crushing Clark's resistance. Trigon was a force far stronger than anything that Clark had fought until this point and he grew weaker yet.

Back at the Shining Light Foundation, Karen and Kara both stirred back to life, and shook their heads, completely dazed. It was like they had been impacted on the head with a huge asteroid repeatedly.

"What just happened?" Kara asked in a groggy voice.

Karen rolled her eyes, and gave Kara a frustrated glance, before she responded in a slow and patient voice. "Trigon possessed your cousin, if Harry had just destroyed the vessel, none of this would have happened."

"Rachel is not just a vessel, she is an actual human being with thoughts and ambitions of her own," Kara responded in a defensive voice, and Karen jshrugged. "Plus this just proves the point that Trigon would have used someone if he really wanted to come."

"Well, fine, I guess you have a point," Karen responded with a shrug of her shoulders, and speaking as if it pained her to admit that Kara was right, and she was wrong. "So how about we evict Trigon from Clark?"

"How do we do that?" Kara asked, because as she racked her brain for anything, she found nothing, short of killing Clark, and for obvious reasons, she did not want to do that.

"I'll think of something," Karen answered, and Karen and Kara flew out the window.

They saw Megan continuing to engage Trigon, and despite her abilities, the girl was rather inexperienced and in over her head. Kara knew that if Megan had a little more time, she could potentially loosen Trigon's grip, but they needed a distraction.

Karen offered that distraction by flying forward with a ballistic fury, and smashing Clark in the face with a huge kick. Kara mused that Karen seemed to enjoy that a bit too much, but this was not the time and the place for such thoughts. Trigon was back up in Clark's body, and boy was he hot.

The battle continued to rage on, as Kara now joined the fight, trying to appeal to Clark.

"Clark, fight it!"

There was no response, and Trigon once again tried to blast them with the same spell that knocked them out, but this time Kara and Karen dodged the attack, and spun around, before knocking Clark with a double punch, sending him back, as Megan tightened her psychic grip on Clark's mind.

It was going to be a titanic struggle to loosen Clark from the terrible torment that Trigon offered. Both of them tried to get in, to force their way into his mind, but there was nothing, not even a little bit, Clark's mind was stubbornly held onto by the demon. The Heralds summoned their full powers, but since they were one short, there was little stopping him.

Harry looked around in the location where he was, peering into the distance, and Rachel stood by his side, a frown crossing her face. There was a long moment of silence before the young half demon decided to chime in with her two cents.

"Let me guess, you miscalculated the jump, and you have no idea how to get back."

Harry paused for a moment, and turned to Rachel at that precise moment. There was time before Harry had tried to figure out if he had done exactly what Rachel suggested, when he calculated each and every individual variable in his head. "Oh, no, I calculated the jump perfectly, it is just that we landed in a place where we have to be very careful to not to let anything come back with us to Earth."

That was all too much of a horrific possibility that Harry did not want to even comprehend as people still were reeling just a little bit from the last visitors that had found their way out from the Phantom Zone.

"Wonderful," Rachel replied in a dry voice, and her dark eyes were on Harry's, before she continued in a remorseful voice. There was guilt dripping from her very tone whilst she spoke. "You know, I have no idea what we're going to do when we get back, because Trigon was coming through that portal, and he latched onto someone."

"Clark ran right in front of the light, I bet it was him," Harry answered as he pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering how this could have gotten any worse.

Rachel just gave a bit of a sigh before she offered the most frank declaration that Harry had ever heard from somewhere her age.

"For the world's supposed greatest future protector, he really has no common sense whatsoever," Rachel responded in a crisp tone, and Harry could not argue with that whatsoever. The problem was that Lana was supposed to be babysitting him, but she got knocked out by Trigon's minions, so that was out.

Harry wondered if he should have had a backup protector installed in case of an event like this and Lois seemed to be the most likely candidate should her powers ever return to her, but that was another matter. Still it was best to have a contingency plan or two in case the worst came to the worst.

It was times like this where Harry knew that a backup would be helpful but that was another problem for another time.

Harry meanwhile had to stare back out into the Phantom Zone, and took a rather deep breath. There were many vile criminals throughout all of the known galaxies in this place, so it went without saying how Harry needed to remain on his toes, and completely alert after everything that had just transpired.

Trigon coming out was bad enough; one of these phantoms coming out was another bad thing. Earth had already dealt with them enough, and Clark had spent a year of his life tracking them down. Harry and Rachel continued to move through the Phantom Zone at that point, they knew the exit portal was rather near, and suddenly, they heard something rustling in the distance.

It was moments like this where Harry stood rigid on sheer principle just waiting to see who was going to come out, for there was something lurking. Exactly who or maybe what was something that could not be determined yet.

There was a certain someone in the Phantom Zone, a certain blonde someone, and Harry and Rachel stood on their feet, ready for a fight, should this person engage them in battle.

"You seek the way out, don't you?"

There was a long pause with both Harry and this woman staring at each other as Harry tried to figure out if she was a threat that should be dealt and the woman did the same. Harry was on his guard ready for an attack. He stood in the Phantom Zone and heard a rustling behind him. Nothing in here could hurt him in the slightest, but Harry was still not going to take any chances. He responded to the woman as Harry stood and did not blink.

"We have the way out, thank you very much," Harry answered to the person, raising a hand ready to attack her at that moment. "We entered the Phantom Zone to escape a powerful demon that had arrived on Earth to take it over."

"So the terror that Jor-El has believed to happen has come to pass."

Harry was caught off guard by this declaration and he offered a raised eyebrow before he decided that information was something that he needed.

"What terror is that?" Harry asked in a suspicious voice.

The figure in the distance wasted no time in answering, her face looking rather grim to match the tone of her voice.

"Jor-El long believed that his son's greatest enemy would be one that could cause unmistakable terror on the Earth. Kal-El has not yet embraced his heritage yet, am I correct?

Harry wondered what this meant, but then it struck him at that moment.

"Yes, he isn't flying if that is what you mean," Harry answered, and the woman in the shadows nodded with a response.

"Two years ago, he didn't start his training, and he still stalls. He refuses to even acknowledge what his father can do, and what knowledge he can impart upon him, despite the less than noble intentions of his AI successor."

Harry and Rachel stood in the background, and watched this woman, standing in the shadows. It was at that moment where the woman seemed to recognize Harry and she took a half of a step back, but otherwise stood her ground.

"You are the shadow of death, are you not?"

"Yes, if one wants to call me that," Harry answered to the woman, and curiosity got the better . "Just what did you do to get here in the Phantom Zone?"

The woman was prompt to answer at that moment, a feeling mournful expression crossing her face. She took a moment to collect her thoughts before she began to speak in a somber and remorseful tone.

"Earth was a beautiful place in the short time I experienced it. I managed to help Kal-El escape the Phantom Zone the first time, and followed him back. He believes that I was killed in an attack by one of the Phantom Zone villains, but Jor-El had transported me back into the Phantom Zone, whilst he left a shell behind that resembled me. It was to impart a lesson upon Kal-El that life is fragile, and try and encourage him to embrace his heritage."

Harry smiled a strained smile, as he knew all too well about the strained relationship between Clark and his AI father. Then again, Harry could talk about strained relationships with artificial copies of his parents.

"Jor-El has his reasons, but I've noticed that Kal-El is very much like him. Willing to shoulder the burden of the world all on his own regardless of sense or reason, dedicated to the cause, and extremely stubborn, to the point where it makes me want to bang my head against the wall. And this is one of these situations where Kal-El engaged his fists before engaging his brain, if I'm not mistaken."

"He does that often enough," Rachel commented, and the blonde woman before them nodded at that moment.

There was a long pause before the silence had been broken at that point by the blonde woman as she stared them down.

"You must depart now, before the Phantoms sense you as a ticket for early parole," the woman added, but she seemed to be rather reluctant to voice this next bit. "I do ask one favor of you."

"What is that?" Harry asked, and the woman just responded with a smile, looking at him.

"Please allow me another chance to experience Earth, and take me from this place. I know Jor-El has his reasons, but the will of you, Herald of Death, will override any will of his. I do not wish to spend all eternity trapped in the Phantom Zone."

Harry paused, and Rachel raised an eyebrow, waiting for Harry's response. Even though the half demon girl could sense what Harry was going to do because that was the type of person that he was.

"I will understand if you think of me as guilty, my story might often tend to lack credibility to an outside party."

"No, I believe you, and I will help you, under one condition," Harry answered, and the woman responded with a nod. "Do not under any circumstances say that you owe me big time."

The woman was caught off board by this statement as she watched this strange and interesting young man.

"That seems fair," the woman responded, for some reason, she expected some other form of payment to be delivered, but that would be adequate what he requested.

"And what may I ask is your name?"

"Raya."

Karen and Kara continued to pour on the assault against Trigon, but he was one step ahead of them. The terrible demon really fired back his attacks, and Kara dodged one, but Karen's equilibrium was completely rattled at that point, spiraling in mid-air. She was going to smash down into the ground hard, she could just feel it.

A dark haired blur shot from the sky and caught Karen in his arms. Karen sighed when Harry her cradled in his arms, and they continued to fly down to the ground.

"Thanks for saving me," Karen responded grudgingly, and Harry just responded with a smile as he cradled the young woman in his arms.

"No need to thank me, just think of me as your own personal protector."

Karen grimaced, why did her words have to come back and bit her in the ass in the most hypocritical way? That was just how her luck seemed to go all of the bloody time. The blonde Kryptonian had no time to speak right now, when Karen had been set on the ground, and Megan was knocked backwards, her head ringing at that moment.

Kara and Harry looked at her at that moment as the Martian tried to regain her bearings, teeth gritted when she looked up. It was obvious that she had suffered a setback in the attack.

"I thought I got through," Megan responded, curling her fists together in frustration, and her mind was flaring with absolute power, eyes glowing.

"It was a noble effort, but Trigon is not so easily destroyed," Harry told her, and Megan responded with a nod, as the three Heralds of Death flew forward, blasting Clark with everything they had, to try and get Trigon out of his body.

It was difficult trying to maintain a certain balance between making sure Clark did not get hurt, but at the same time, Trigon seemed to be banking out them, as he drew more power.

Rachel watched from above, as Raya stood in the shadows, not wanting to intervene. Jor-El's divine intervention saved her the last time, and she had gotten a third chance in life, and three strikes, and you're out as the Earth saying had went. The half demon however had her face twisted into a pained grimace, understanding what was going on.

"It has to be me."

Rachel watched as the three Heralds of Death, and the one Martian tried their assault again on Trigon, but short of destroying Clark's body, there was no way that they could have defeat him.

She on the other hand had powers, and had a purpose now, a purpose not to be someone else's pawn. Some of the best words were left unsaid, but Rachel could feel it, she had a life of her own, and it was going to be lived whether or not her father liked it or not. The half demon summoned more power that she had ever tapped into in her entire life.

Rachel's mother warned her that only this amount of power should be tapped into under only the most extremely circumstances, but there was no more extreme circumstances. It was time for Rachel to face her most terrible demon yet, and that demon was her father. She was ready to slay the monster and bring him down hard, fast, and obliterate him.

"Hey, Trigon, how about a little father, daughter chat?"

Rachel said this in a way where her voice echoed and Clark's eyes fixed upon her. Trigon was distracted from his fight with the three Heralds by his daughter's presence.

'Megan, now!' Harry thought to her, trying to get in while they had the element of surprise.

Megan nodded, and she managed to lock onto Clark's mind, trying to carefully pull it out of everything. Rachel's eyes glowed with power, a white glow enveloping her, and with another swift motion, she blasted Clark with a wave of magical energy. The magic impacted Clark hard and fast in his chest and cracked against him.

"No this power, I must have it, I must!"

Trigon exerted more of his control, but Clark was fighting it with all it was worth, trying to grit his teeth and trying to struggle, arms thrashing in mid-air going back and forth. Harry, Kara, and Karen saw some shadowy vapor rising from Clark at that moment and knew that the grip was broken.

"I'm your father, and I tell you to cease these attacks, immediately!"

"No, you're not my father, I wasn't raised by you, and I'll have nothing to do with you," Rachel responded in a fierce voice, and she blasted Trigon with another attack at that moment, and Trigon was slowly separated from Clark.

'My mind is my own again,' Clark mentally sighed at that moment.

'Yeah, let's keep it that way, shall we?' Megan responded to Clark in a telepathic way.

Trigon's astral form had been ripped from Clark's body, and Kara, Karen, and Harry all materialized energy scythes, before they brought the weapons down on the demon. Rachel sent an attack which super charged their powers, and caused Trigon a lot of pain. He screamed out loud!

He was not going to go down without a fight that much was for sure. Karen, Kara, and Harry pushed, and Clark moved out of harm's way, now completely free, collapsing to his knees from the pain, before blacking out. Being possessed by an extremely powerful demon had taken a lot out of him.

Immediately, Raya sped in, and grabbed Clark, before speeding him off to get the medical attention that he needed. Because of his weakened form, it would not be a good idea to keep him around when he was potentially ripe for the possession again.

"I am the powerful Trigon, all powerful, I will not…"

"You will," Kara responded, as they forced every ounce of power that they had into the energy scythes, with Rachel assisting, and Trigon's shadow form began to glow.

"You may defeat me, but there is a greater darkness still to come!"

Trigon vanished into the distance, the final burst of power having banished him, and Harry, Karen, and Kara all collapsed to the ground, and realized that it took everything they had. Rachel dropped down next to them at that moment, looking at the three Heralds, who were completely weakened.

That was sure as hell not easy, but they had won.

It was at that moment, where Karen pulled herself to her feet, and flew off, there was still a couple of things that she needed to do before she was willing to tell Harry and Kara everything. That day would be coming when she personally felt that the time was right.

She actually was relieved that Clark was fine, and by Clark, she meant Kal-El because she was not going to indulge him by calling him by that weak Earth name. She sure was not going to do that, but for some reason her stance softened just a tiny bit against him. There was no denying that he had a long way to go but he managed to keep Trigon's very worst at bay just for a little bit.

Karen was proud of how adequate he did today.

"All things considered, that went far better than we expected."

Kara and Harry stated those words when they were back at the Shining Light Foundation, and Megan had to nod at that point. Chloe was there as well, having passed off the burden to Lois in keeping an eye on Clark and Lana. Lois pretty much forced the issue seeing that Chloe had been there for a long time and was neglecting sleep, but before she got to bed, Chloe had to stop by the Shining Light Foundation first.

She had a feeling that Harry and Kara knew how Clark had gotten back to the Kent Farm, but all Chloe saw was Clark lying on the ground behind her, so she took him up to bed, and there was a note that said all Clark needed rest, and he would recover in a couple of days.

The note was written in Kryptonian, which Chloe understood thanks to her connection to Kara and Harry.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy, but at least we did it, at least we won," Harry remarked, putting his arms around Kara and Chloe. "I just really wished she would have stuck around, so we could thank her, we couldn't have defeated Trigon without her help."

Kara mulled over a certain scenario that she had in her head over the past couple of times they had encountered Karen. The Herald of Death powers allowed them to read the body language of others, which was a useful skill to picking out where a person came from and their mentality. And Kara had to be able to figure out an alternate version of herself if she was doing her job properly.

"I'm beginning to think something really bad happened to her, wherever she was," Kara answered, stroking her chin at that point, and thinking about the situation, deep in thought. "You know, she does have her moments of decency, but it just seems a lot of the time, she's fighting something within her."

"There are certain times where our own nature might get the better of us."

It was Rachel who had broken the silence in a soft voice, and she turned at that moment, just letting it all soak in. This had been a long day for all of them and Harry considered Rachel for a moment before he spoke.

"And how about your own nature?" Harry asked to Rachel, taking a moment to look at the girl, who just offered a hint of a smile.

Rachel thought that was a good question, but it was one that she did not come close to having the answer for. She decided to relay that much to Harry as honest of an answer as she could.

"I don't really know what my future holds, but I hope that I will be able to thrive in this world," Rachel answered, and she folded her arms, staring out the window. Metropolis had been restored to its past beauty, and everyone was back to normal, or at least how normal everything would get. "There's a time where he could come back, though. Trigon is not going to be someone that is easily defeated, and there is that far greater darkness that he's spawned from, something that he ever shudders to think about."

"Whatever it is, we'll be ready," Harry answered in a resolved voice, and Rachel honestly did believe that, she had seen what the Heralds of Death were capable of, and understood the powers that they had.

But it was truly not any power that mattered, it was the ability to never give up. Rachel learned that today when they had fought Trigon. Trigon was the ultimate power in the world, fearsome, fierce, to the point where no one could defeat him. Be that as it may, The Heralds of Death banished him and it was not because of their powers, but rather because of the strength of character that all three of them exhibited.

Rachel looked on the horizon, and saw the sun shine brightly; not quite knowing what the future might bring for her, but it was bright.

Now that the entire Trigon issue was cleared up, Kara and Harry had a few other matters to deal with, namely the fact that Lex was looking to become super powerful at that moment, and the two of them had no idea where he was being held.

And they were beginning to think that Tess had lost track of him as well. How that was possible given that Lex was currently paralyzed from the neck down, the two Heralds had no idea. However, it was something that was extremely probable. They would find out what was happening and it was their hope that they would put Lex down for the count.

"We'll meet again, you can count on that."

"We shall, Rachel," Harry responded when she looked back at Harry, considering him before she turned around.

They watched Rachel leave, freer then she had ever been, the raven pendant dancing from her costume. She was about to live the rest of her life with a smile on her face and a strong resolve in her heart.

Clark stirred awake from his slumber, feeling a ringing sensation in the back of his head, and he heard voices from the hallway. The last thing Clark remembered was that he was at the Shining Light Foundation, and after that, Clark's mind was a complete and utter blur, with nothing else occurring after that was of note.

He did understand that he was in his bed, and wondered how many days had passed. Chloe was standing on the outside, waiting for him to get up.

"I thought I heard you stir, and I think Lana's about ready to wake up as well, so you timed that one right," Chloe answered at that point, and Clark rubbed his temples. "How are you feeling?"

"Like someone dropped the Fortress on the top of my head," Clark managed, rubbing his nose.

Chloe jgave Clark a bright smile, and decided that it would be best to enlighten her best friend on what had happened.

"Well to give you the short version, you were possessed for about an hour by a dangerous demon, and the three Heralds expelled him from you, and he's gone," Chloe answered, and Clark just let this all set in. There were several bits and pieces that had returned to him, but it was all a complete and utter blank to put things mildly. That did not settle well with Clark as he feared that he did something under the influence that would cause him misery.

"So you were here looking after me the entire time," Clark responded at that moment, and Chloe just offered him a brief look, before deciding to amend that fact.

"Not exactly, I had to step out a few times, but Lois had agreed to keep an eye on both you and Lana, you just missed her before you woke up."

Clark jumped with a start, realizing that he was most certainly wearing different clothes than he did when he had on earlier, and wondered who changed them. Chloe was only happy to point out the fact.

"Come on, Clark, it's not that Lois hasn't seen you naked before," Chloe responded with a bit of a grin at Clark's expense.

Chloe really wished that she could take a picture at this point at the look on Clark's face. The old saying was that a picture was worth a thousand words and each and every one of those words would not begin to describe the expression on Clark's face at this point. He was flummoxed at this thought and tried to recover quickly.

"That's not helping, Chloe," Clark managed, and he tried to get up to his feet, staggering a bit at that point. He could not get drunk because of his powers, not that he drank much. However, this was what he felt like in a way.

Clark tried to make his way down the stairs, and he saw Lana trying to stir immediately. Nearly tripping over the carpet, Clark rushed over, and checked on her.

"Oh, hey, Clark," Lana responded in a pained voice, she felt her ears ringing. The last thing remembered, she and Clark were flying, and they heard a disturbance. Everything after that was a complete and utter blank. "What happened, it seems like something happened."

"That's putting it mildly," Clark answered, and he moved off. "Why don't I get you something to eat, and Chloe can…"

"I'm able," Lana responded, springing up to her feet, and nearly staggering, but Chloe dove in to catch her, with an exasperated expression on the blonde's face.

"Both of you need to calm down, you nearly died," Chloe told them in a fretful voice, and she looked at the two of them. "And neither of you are doing anything beyond blinking and breathing until you get a complete clean bill of health."

Lana and Clark exchanged a tense look, having been reprimanded like two children who had been caught going over the fence. A smile crossed Chloe's face, when she looked Clark in the eye.

"And if you don't take it easy, I'll set Lois on you."

There was no mistaking about the seriousness of that threat as Lana laughed, as Chloe prepared to fill the two of them in on the gaps in their mind. Even though there were certain things that Chloe did not understand herself, bu

Raya stood in the Artic, the wind blowing against her, and could sense the Fortress there. It was similar, yet, different form the last time she had been there. She took a moment to take in the splendor before her as she enjoyed being back on Earth. Then again most places in the universes would be something that would be preferred to the Phantom Zone.

A whooshing sound came up from behind her, and Raya spun around, seeing Karen standing there, arms folded across her ample chest. Raya took a moment to stare at the Kryptonian before her, and suspicion lingered in her eyes.

"You've grown since the last time we've met," Raya responded at that moment, breaking the silence that had existed. "You're the daughter of Zor-El…"

"Yes, I'm perfectly aware who my father is," Karen responded, without missing a beat. "My father was a complex man, and I did not expect Jor-El to understand what he wanted to accomplish. Jor-El is blinded by his own greed and egotism, and he continues to do so to this day."

"Is that you talking, or Zor-El talking?" Raya asked in a cool voice.

There was a very long moment where Karen gave Raya a nasty glare, before speaking.

"I don't need my father to do my thinking for me, he's had many faults, but Jor-El has them too, and don't pretend for a moment that he doesn't," Karen responded at that point, crossing her arms over her chest, and staring out at Raya's face. "Yet, you are here, and you can do something that I'd trust no one else to do."

"And what is that?" Raya asked, her voice suspicious at that moment.

"Protect, Kal-El," Karen responded, and Raya seemed to be a bit taken off guard by this.

"I was under the assumption that he had already been given a guardian, and a protector," Raya answered at that moment.

Karen just chose her next words carefully, taking a moment to really allow herself to ponder the situation. Then she gave Raya her answer.

"Kal-El does have a protector, and while I will not deny she does an adequate job, she's not one of us. Even with her powers that she had been gifted by my two fellow Heralds, she's not one of us. A Kryptonian, and at her core, she will always be human. Lana understands Clark Kent the human, but I want someone who understands Kal-El, the Last Son of Krypton, and watch over him."

Raya mused about that matter, and was conflicted at that moment. Kal-El had a great destiny ahead of him, although she even wondered if she could comprehend the greatness that he had been set to on this course.

Karen was not done, and Raya sensed real worry in her eyes.

"And someone needs to watch over Lana as well, for if what I've seen will come to pass, it will be a doomsday for all."

"What have you seen?" Raya asked when she looked at Karen in confusion and Karen paused for a moment.

"It's coming, I see it in my dreams, Lana is the first one struck down, protecting Kal-El from his fury. Kal-El is despondent and without Lana, he gives up and is killed next. Countless humans die, there are few survivors.

Karen knew this to be true, it was the same premonition that she saw night after night since she got here. That's why she tried the slay the monster's shell but it was too late, much too late. Now his aura changed, it was no longer red, but rather it was half red and half gold. It needed to be destroyed, but it could not be touched.

"I will assist you, but only because I wish to help Kal-El, and not on your behalf," Raya answered at that moment of time.

"Whatever allows you to sleep peacefully."

Raya was about to comment on that, and the rather snide way Karen seem to be addressing Kal-El, but Kara Zor-El of Earth Two was gone in a bolt of light, almost like she had vanished.

Meanwhile, Raya knew that even if she was not asked to look over Clark, she was duty bound to the House of El, and that was something that she had taken seriously.

She must be discreet, because if Kal-El knew that he was in danger, he would do something foolishly reckless. He was after all his father's son.

Being paralyzed did not suit Lex Luthor at all, but he would have something to remedy that at the point. The bald young man was laid out on the table, as a doctor prepped the suit for him.

"I must warn you, Mr. Luthor, the suit is not fully fine-tuned yet…"

"I don't care, I want my mobility back, and there is no time for us to fine-tune it any longer," Lex argued in a stubborn tone of voice. It was high time that he got what was coming to him and he did not want to wait any longer. "I will be stronger, stronger than them all, and there is no man, or no magic, that will be able to stop me when the suit is on."

The suit was completely invulnerable to all attacks, and would give the user super strength, super speed, and would be invulnerable to all attacks, including magic. Before she left, Lily Potter had given Lex advice on substances that would block out magic attacks, and wicked woman that she was, Lex had a feeling that she knew what she was doing and talking about.

The suit had one weakness, but the doctor decided not to brief Lex on that, feeling that the man's impatience was something that could backfire on the bald billionaire. Regardless, he began the process of grafting the suit into Lex's skin, a process that had a fifty-fifty shot of killing him.

Lex felt unbearable pain.

Pain was welcomed given that over the past three months, Lex could not feel anything from the neck up. That meant the suit was working, and Lex felt the material bond to him, his DNA changing into something that was super powered.

Lex Luthor got to his feet, and was back in business.

He would achieve his destiny as a Luthor, what his father had groomed him for since childhood, but there was one thing first and foremost on his mind.

Revenge against Clark and Lana, that's what he would have. He tried to be their friend, but they spurned him, and now Lex was going to show them the price for their egotism.

To Be Continued in the Last Stand.