The debris covered Kara as blood dripped from out of her ears. The Woman of Steel shook seconds before Harry rushed over, first on the scene.
"KARA!"
All Kara could hear was a loud ringing through her ears. Harry understood immediately and went over to heal Kara's ears. The second Kara regained her bearings, Harry helped her up.
"Siobahn, she went completely mad!" Kara cried out, still a bit dazed. "The moment she saw me, she opened her mouth, and then let out a banshee scream. She looked like she was undead. I don't know what was happening."
Harry could have a very clear idea. He would have to dip by and get someone who would verify this for him for sure. Harry appeared and disappeared with Zatanna.
"You're right to get me," Zatanna said. "There's something mystic in the air. And quite familiar."
The raven-haired beauty turned to a very frantic looking Kara, who looked in a state of shock.
"Siobhan, by roommate, she was complaining about headaches," Kara said. "And they just got worse. When I came home today, she looked pale, with sunken in eyes, and when she turned to me, she gave me an ear splitting scream which destroyed our entire apartment."
"The Silver Banshee," Zatanna murmured.
"Yes, I've heard of it," Harry said. "There might be something in her room."
It took a bit of time for Harry and Zatanna to clear the debris and get the entire room cleared off.
"Siobhan was always reading those strange books," Kara commented. "I respected her privacy, but...there's something weird about that. She claimed it was an old family book."
Harry waved his hand in the direction Kara pointed. Harry levitated the item out of the crate and while it had some damage, they were able to repair it. The page had been opened up to the front. The book illuminated the entire room and had a strange script of a language that none of them could decipher off hand.
"This would give us a clue to what is going on," Harry said. "If we can translate it."
"Take my hand," Zatanna said. "I'm going to need a boost to find the right translation spell."
Harry and Zatanna shared waves of magic which rocketed through the book in front of them. The pages flipped back and forth with the duo waiting until the book told them all that they needed to know.
"The Curse of the Silver Banshee," Zatanna murmured one more time. "Worse than I thought."
Kara's entire heart sank, both out of worry for her friend and worry with what her friend might do. "How bad?"
"Well, all of the women in Siobahn's line were afflicted by a curse," Harry said. "It caused them to crave revenge on the bloodline of the one that wronged them. And your friend, she was trying to do what she could to rid herself of the affliction."
"And Lena will be next."
Harry spun around instantly and came close to skewering a mysterious woman who had snuck up on him. He had been so preoccupied by the translation, that he did not see her coming.
"Your reflexes are almost perfect, but it's a good thing that with your preoccupation I'm not a threat."
"Who are you?" Harry asked.
The woman gave Harry the smallest shadow of a smile. "My name is Talia. And I've been looking forward to meeting with you face to face for some time."
X-X-X
"The readings from Argo are back to normal levels,' Kay reported.
"Looks like your invention was a success," Alex said.
"And for that, I'm grateful," Lena responded. "We can focus on using it to improve the air quality in other ways, but…"
Lena's watch started to beep. It was an early warning system in case she was in danger or Harry was. Although it was very peculiar that Harry was using it.
"Harry, is there something the matter?"
"Lena, you've got to get to safety. She's after you. The Silver Banshee."
Lena's blood ran cold. It was an old family myth, a fable, nothing she could worry about. Nothing she had to worry about all together. At least that's what she had been told. Harry's warning got Lena to stand up and take things a bit more seriously.
"I'll...are you really…."
Kay jumped up and saw the tall, imposing figure, with white skin, dead looking hair, and sunken in eyes. The Girl of Steel dodged a loud scream which caused the glass in the complex to shatter. Alex hit the floor to avoid the glass being shattered.
"Siobahn?" Kay asked. "What's going on?"
Siobahn's eyes screwed shut and she breathed heavily.
"I hear the voices. I kill you, the voices stop. You are the next of that accursed bloodline. My family curse will finally be broken once I kill you and your sister, Lutessa."
This caused Lena's blood to boil. Tess would be next, and then obviously Siobhan thought it would do so.
"Do you really think It would solve anything?"
"It's nothing personal. It just has to be done."
Each whisper had been painstaking. Kay zoomed into place and sent a beam of heat vision. The magical aura around Siobahn blocked it and she repelled the attack back. Kay spun around like a cyclone to try and get Siobahn distracted.
"I'll hold her until Harry gets here!" Alex called.
"But…"
"GO!"
Those words were firm and strong all over. Kay lifted up Lena, who clutched on for dear life, as the Girl of Steel bolted far away from Siobahn as possible. Siobahn rushed towards Lena, but an extended arm from Alex's direction stopped her. Alex activated her body armor and a shield which cracked underneath Siobahn's scream.
A blur came in before the second shot caught Alex. Harry flicked Siobahn into the elevator shaft and caused her to fall back down. A loud crash echoed through the shaft, before her screams caused the floor underneath them to almost cave it.
Harry, thinking quickly on his feet, grabbed Alex and jumped out of the window. Alex clung on for dear life as Harry dodged around the debris, with them almost landing onto the ground. Harry steadied his footing, landing with a deep breath e coming through her body.
"Done?" Alex asked.
"I wish," Harry replied.
X-X-X
The Silver Banshee arrived seconds later and stood in front of Harry. Those eyes showed equals mounts of rage and hurt, and Harry could sense there had been a battle going on between Siobahn's last traces of humanity and the Silver Banshee.
"I do not wish to harm you."
"And neither do I," Harry said. "But, you have to stand aside."
"Your blood will solve nothing. Let me finish them and break the curse."
"You're going to have to take me out just the same," Harry said. "Make your choice and make it now."
"NO!"
Siobahn's face flickered into the vestige of the Silver Banshee. She struggled and squirmed and an agonizing splitting feeling erupted through her. Harry turned to Alex, who lifted her hand, with a weapon at the ready.
"You're stronger than this curse."
"I can't…."
Harry sent a magically enhanced gag around the Silver Banshee's mouth. The vibrations harmlessly bounced off although the gag strained underneath her. Seconds passed before a dart hit the Silver Banshee in the back of her neck and caused her to drop down to the ground.
Talia, like the obvious assassin, sauntered out of the shadows, over her.
"She won't be happy when she wakes," Talia said.
"I figured as much," Harry said. "The gag should have held."
"The rage has had more time to fester through each passing generation."
That was what Harry feared. He turned to Kara, who dropped down. She looked completely baffled by this and there were more questions than answers. If Lena was the last, then they had to find an alternative way to satisfy the Silver Banshee's blood lust.
"Lena are you okay?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, Supergirl got me out of there just in time," Lena said. "So, once again, something one of the older Luthors did in the past came back to bite me."
"I'm afraid so," Harry said. "We're going to find a way, Zee and I. But we might need your help. And there's a woman here, who seems to know you."
"What's her name?"
"Talia."
A pregnant pause followed, and Harry adjusted the ear piece, wondering if something had went wrong.
"Lena?"
"I'm here," Lena replied. "And I'll be ready for anything."
X-X-X
It did make Harry feeling slightly bad to see Siobahn strapped to a table, like a mental pantient ready to be examined by a mad doctor. Kara stood by, Lena did as well, and Talia did in the shadows. There was an odd coolness between Talia and Lena, as if Lena was trying to figure out what Talia's sudden presence here.
"Take my hand," Zatanna said. "And Harry's. Be careful."
Lena understood a few seconds later why. The mind of Siobahn, or maybe it was the Silver Banshee, it was hard to tell, had been a maelstrom of chaos. The trio stepped forward and they caught glimpse of a young girl, who tearfully sat at the bedside of her mother, who was bound and gagged.
"This happened to Grandmother, and now this happened to you," she said. "Why?"
A piece of paper had been slid in front of the younger Siobahn. The memory of the young girl swiped it in her hand, with trembling hands and a deep, rattling breath. She looked into her mother, who looked like a reflection of the Banshee at it's cruelest.
"As long as the payment is missed, we will keep being afflicted," she commented. "Or until a Luthor is left standing."
"Do you understand me now?"
Lena turned around and saw Siobhan. And then in the mist, she saw the Silver Banshee's creepy, haunted face. The Banshee made a motion to swipe at Lena until Zatanna and Harry put up a barrier.
"She won't stop," Siobahn said. "It's nothing personal."
"Maybe if I can get payment to you, somehow, the curse will be stopped," Lena said.
The dark-haired woman hesitated and shook. Her eyes drifted over to the orderlies leading her away. And then her mother being injected by a sedative. And then she would be kept in sedation for the remainder of her days. Siobahn could see the haunting resemblance as her mother had been reduced to a drooling monster.
"Kill me," Siobahn said. "While I still have some humanity left. While I can still go to heaven. If I don't spill any blood, it can't happen that way."
"These are demons you've been holding on since your mother and she's been holding on until that moment because of hers," Harry said. "And the payment is not the issue. It's your own demons. You have to fight them. And you have to face what happens."
"I can't!" Siobhahn yelled.
"Yes, you can," Harry said. "I'll be with you, but if you keep hiding from this, you'll never be able to fight it."
"Try to fight it," Lena said.
Spilling Luthor blood was the easy way. But, maybe Siobhan was just tired of doing things the hard way. She had been doing things the hard way her entire life. Perhaps she was sick of it. Afraid of being afraid once more.
Another chill went down Siobahn's spine when she realized the Silver Banshee disappeared. Yet, Harry, Zatanna, and Lena stood beside her, even though Siobhan's mindscape was a dangerous place for her to be.
"Stand by me," Siobahn breathed.
Harry cupped her shoulder and smiled. "I'm here beside you."
X-X-X
Siobahn took a couple of steps into the center of the mind, and made her way down the dark hallway. The haunt, gaunt faces of her ancestors surrounded her.
"Don't be scared."
The comforting voice caused Siobahn to have her spirits lifted, ever so slightly. The woman moved forward and saw her mother, grandmother, and several other relatives, all in the same madness.
"This will be you if you don't succeed in breaking the curse."
The Silver Banshee stoked in front of Siobahn and she curled her fingers together. She would not be afraid, not be afraid at all.
"No," she said.
"They all tried to fight the darkness. They failed. The only way to right the scales is if every last drop of Luthor blood is spilled. You can't say they are good for the world."
Siobahn rushed the woman who repelled her. The Silver Banshee laughed and put her hands on Siobahn's head. The mists surrounded the two women as the duo struggled back and forth. The screams of Siobahn echoed throughout the room as she grabbed her neck. Siobahn gasped and groaned in agony, the second Siobahn pressed her down onto the ground, nails scrapping against her neck.
"Succumb!"
Lena appeared and moved over. Harry grabbed her shoulder as did Zatanna.
"It will be fine."
"No, it's a cycle of revenge, which only leads to pain and suffering," Siobahn said. "I'm stronger than you. I will beat it."
"Each time you go to bed, your mind weakens. You see their haunting faces in your dreams. Your mind will melt and you will become one with the madness."
Siobahn pressed her hand against the ground and an agonizing, splitting motion erupted through her head. The chaos continued to echo the deeper her eyes became sunken in. She became the mirror reflection of them, her mother, the rest of them.
"Time for you to surrender to it. Surrender to…."
The thought of all of her friends and all she might lose pushed Siobahn back. A loud crack echoed through the room as she turned around and sent the Silver Banshee flying across the room. Siobahn rushed forward and slammed her into the medical table and pushed her into a room.
Siobahn's hands covered with sweat as she slammed the door shut. The feral Banshee screamed and slammed through the wall. Siobahn closed several doors and dropped to her knees.
"I control you," Siobahn said. "You don't control me. I will make peace with the Luthors in my own way. The two that are left."
The Basnhee screamed loudly as mist filled the room. Siobahn dropped to her knees, shaking like mad. The entire world cracked around her. And then she had peace.
She stood up to the demon. The first person who rejected the woman.
X-X-X
"I don't know how much longer I could have kept this up."
Kara's bright smile was the first thing Siobahn saw when exiting the mist. That fact caused her spirits to perk up a little bit and sent a smile on her face.
"You've done it," Kara said.
"Yes," Siobhan said. "The voices are faded. But I still can feel them."
The murderous rage disappeared and was nothing but a slight buzz. Siobhan had been helped onto the bed and wrapped up into a blanket. She looked into Harry's eyes and he gave her an encouragement smile. Zatanna nudged Harry.
"She should be bonded to you, to give her that extra strength," Zatanna commented.
"Yes, it would be a good idea."
Siobhan had a pretty good idea what bonding with Harry meant. And she thought it was long overdue to be perfectly honest. Perhaps she was a little bit confident, maybe a tiny bit smug. However, she wanted it.
"Whenver you're ready," Harry told her.
"I shouldn't have tried to deal with this on my own," Siobhan said. "I suppose when she sent me that book, I got my hopes up that I could break the family curse."
Lena's attention had been piqued. "Who? Who sent you the book?"
"I thought it was an old family treasure," Kara said.
Siobhan responded by shaking her head.
"No, it was some one, named GG."
Harry looked around the entire group. They all had no answers and they had an entire boatload of questions to go along with it.
"If we find out who she is, we might get some answers," Harry said. "Someone sent the book to Siobhan for a reason."
"And you should figure it out soon. Because the fate of the world hinges upon it."
Talia popped up in the shadows. Lena locked eyes with the woman, bemused, and at the same moment, extremely cautious with why Talia was there. Kara, Zatanna, and Harry copied her motions.
"I almost forgot you were here," Lena responded. "Cryptic as usual."
"There is a great battle coming," Talia told her. "The fate of the world will be on the line. Whether we all live or we all perish. And even Superman will need to fall before her can rise again to defeat the darkness. My father knew this was coming."
"Your father?" Harry asked.
Talia was gone, in a blink of an eye. Harry turned to the rest of the group. Given they encountered Darkseid's general on Argo, this could not be a coicidence of any kind. Harry did not believe in any coincidences, especially when the oddness was happening all around them.
At least Siobhan had her demons under control. And Harry would help her keep it under control.
"What's the deal with her?" Kara asked.
"Well, that's an interesting story," Lena said. "But, perhaps we should focus on Siobhan's mysterious friend."
"Yes. perhaps we should," Harry agreed.
Harry knew Lena was dealing with something from her past, and when Talia popped up, that opened an entirely new door of questions.
X-X-X
Church, the last salvation of many troubled and frustrated men and women. A young man entered the holy grounds, with aa hood draped over his face. His hands were pale and clammy. He walked further into the church and moved towards the Confessional area.
"Father, I thank you for lending me your ear. I've been having these troubling dreams and I don't know what to make of them."
The young man inhaled and exhaled very quickly before returning back to his calm demeanor.
"I've been torn between two sides. I've been trapped between the darkness and the light. And I feel like the darkness has won. Because, it feels easier. Because, it's against what I chose. And I chose to be a paramedic, to help people. And it's troubling how many times I've thought these bad things."
The young man turned around, as if expecting some demon to come up on him.
"I think about how easy it would be to give these lost souls their release. I could end their pain. Their misery, their suffering, and just give them that release they crave. I feel tempted. And the bloodlust only increases through each dream. It gets worse and worse. I don't understand it's happening. It's worse and I almost ended it for some poor old woman. I need help."
"My son, listen to me."
The young man sat up straight in surprise.
"I can see the demon wrestling within you," a raspy voice preacher said. "Brother Davis Bloom, you need salvation. And there is a man in Gotham City who can bring it to you, my son!"
The man, Davis Bloom sat up straight. "Gotham City?"
"Yes, there is a man in Gotham City, who has been gifted by the hand of God. He has been blessed by the good lord himself, to release the demons within you. The honorable Deacon Joseph Blackfire will be the one to set you free. Consider reaching out and listening to the good word he preaches. He's done wonders for all of these little lost lambs."
At this point, Davis would try anything, if it meant stopping this darkness welling up in side of him. The withered old preacher handed him a card. A smiling face of a man with dark hair and an impressive beard, dressed in a sweater with a cross hanging from his neck appeared in the palm of his hand. Davis considered the card for a good minute.
Perhaps it was time to give the Deacon a try.