"Hey, Paul! How's Kara doing?"
"Which one?"
Heh.
That's not going to get confusing
at all, is it?
Her eyes widen. "Is Demongirl talking?"
"Ah, yes, but she's not responding to external stimuli."
Still largely trapped in her own head, eh? Not an
unreasonable reaction to what she's likely been through.
She tilts her head to the left. "So how do you know her name's Kara?"
"Basic pattern recognition. She not just a Supergirl, she's a kryptonian Supergirl. Based on all of the examples I have, those are called 'Kara'. But, yes, technically I don't know for certain."
For clarity's sake, I'll call her Kara-666...
She smiles, tilting her head back proudly.
"Then I'm technically right, and that's the best kind of right!"
Boy, I bet everyone she interacts with ends up feeling kind of
tired, seeing all that
energy...
"Sure. I don't know that her name's 'Kara'. The other Kara is recovering."
"So are you two going to date now?"
...Kara-16's nice, but not really OL's
type. That is, formerly
villainous.
"No. Still dating Jade."
She looks at me uncertainly. "Are you dating Jade? I was starting to think she was Canadian."
...Either the fake girlfriend thing is older than I thought, or she's been reading up on
modern culture. Probably took all of five minutes, barring website loading times.
"Yes, and after a brief talk about our relationship, we're going to be moving in together in the Darkstars barracks."
She blinks. "Are her parents okay about that?"
...Ah, old-fashioned values. Just point out that Jade is an
adult, and makes her
own decisions...
"Ah… Her mother is? … Did you want something?"
"Yes. I… Kinda need a job? Or something?"
What, not going into the superheroing business? Or would she not be
suitable for the team? Heck, she could use the 'Power Girl' name!
"Oh, right."
"I've got plenty of qualifications but none of them of them are for Earth and… All my referees are dead. I could probably stay in High Admiral Har-Zod's asteroid, but it wasn't really designed for long-term habitation."
And that's one of the reasons Silver Age Supergirl got set up in an orphanage: learning human (Read: American!) culture and getting high-school credentials... Though another reason was probably that having a teenage cousin hanging around would really mess with Clark Kent's
trolling.
Superdickery takes
time, after all.
"Your Zor-El didn't send you with a device to seed your own Fortress of Solitude?"
"I would still need somewhere to put it, and everywhere is owned by someone."
What, don't want to be Kal's next-door neighbour?
"Not everywhere. Plenty of space in Bir Tawil. The sand should be enough for your c-."
Uh! Crushing!
Thank goodness for the natural armouring qualities of the environmental shields... He might have to regenerate a couple of
ribs, though...
"I can move in with you?! Thank you!"
There's a little more meat on this Kara than on Old Kara, and it's currently pressed against me as she celebrates her new residency. Alright, use the rings.
Remember, Kara here - depending on original universe - either becomes
Power Girl (She of the
big Kryptonian physique...) or simply starts running around in
hot pants or really
short skirts (Thank you, Seventies comics!) Naturally, she's, uh...
Better built than the local variant, who spent years in cold-sleep, wasting away...
"While you can live in the trade post if you want, it's more that I was offering you somewhere to plant your crystals."
"I can live there while it grows?"
Depending on the era of Kryptonian crystal technology, that could be
hours.
"Certainly. It'll add visual interest."
She leans back, grinning.
"So we'll be roomies?!"
Whoa, there, girl.
"Ah-. No, as I said, I'll be living with Jade in the Darkstar barracks, so you'll… Pretty much have the place to yourself."
"Oh." She sinks in the air, mood subdued. "That sounds lonely. Are there any cute animals?"
Also something Supergirl was known for: Super-powered animal friends!
Streaky the Super-cat and
Comet the Super-horse...
"No, not really. There's basically nothing there; that's why no country actually wants it. You could.. always build a habitat?"
"Then I could have all the animals I want!"
...Yes, no way
that enthusiasm couldn't go
wrong...
"All the animals you can look after, certainly. Ah… Kara." I frown. "I've been meaning to ask: I don't seem to be able to see your emotions. You sound very upbeat, but if you're feeling-."
"Torquasm." She nods. "Uncle Jor was a huge fan of ancient Kryptonian society, and Grandpa Seyg actually let him study things like that, so he really encouraged us to learn it. It'll be fun to work on it with Angelika!"
Oh, boy... If she wasn't bad enough already... Imagine her with martial arts that let her
literally give physics a
wedgie...
"I'll be nice for her to have access to someone who could study the original texts. Ah, I don't.. really have anything that needs my attention right now, so I can help-"
"Connection made to monitored phone line."
...Saved by the bell! I take it Truggs has recovered already...
"-you… Move in. Sorry. Answer?"
"Hey. Paul."
Truggs.
Welp, time for more gloating.
"Nice. Trick. With. Super. Hearing. Have. To. Use. Voice. Modulator. And. Even. Better. Sound. Proofing.
"Why are you phoning me, Truggs?"
...And now I'm imagining him with the Emperor's robo-voice from Text-To-Speech...
"I'm. Explaining. My. Plan. We."
"I'm not interesting in listening to you w-."
Yeah,
kind of wore out your
welcome when you set loose a demonically-tainted Supergirl with homicidal programming...
I glance at Kara.
"Pleasure yourself to the sound of your own voice, Truggs. I'd put up with it if I thought there was any chance of you turning your back on the Light, but that's clearly not going to happen."
The next time they meet is
not going to be pretty. I rather hope OL doesn't even engage him in conversation, except for one word:
"Assimilate."
"Demon. Supergirl. There. Are. More. Where. She. Came. From."
"Obviously."
Still not sure why you grabbed her, really. A weapon you can't
control is kind of worthless.
"They. Know. We. Took. Her. And. They. Know. Where. We. Are."
"Why am I not surprised?"
...Shiiiiit. And you
still thought it was a good idea to grab her anyway, Truggsy?
"Supervillain."
I could ask 'why?', but I don't suppose that it matters at this stage. There are plenty of reasons for travelling between parallel universes, and I can't check his motivation.
Time to get to work on a more
comprehensive dimensional blocking setup. Something more
global.
"You. Could. Send. Her. Back."
"I'll check with an expert or two, but I really doubt that Demon Earth will just give up like that. If they can reach us, we'll become their next expansion target. It's not worth trying to give them anything to delay things."
Idiots like Truggs aren't known for their ability to predict
consequences. Better start making plans to kill a Daemon World, OL... I'm sure Dox has some ideas, or even Kalmin.
Give him a chance to work out some omnicidial urges...
"Your. Choice."
"No, it's not, and I'll be warning the Justice League."
At least
this isn't OL's fault this time.
"Thank. You. For. Getting. Rid. Of. The. Legion. Not. Thank. You. For-."
"Just go away, Truggs. End."
Yep, his patience for Truggs' bullshit is
done. Seriously, next time, OL, just
eat him and be done with it.
