Patricia Swann received the news a short time ago that the rumors of Superman's death had been greatly exaggerated. That put a smile on her face, although there was a small bit of worry which crept into the mind of the heiress. What Patricia decided to do was to retreat to her father's study and go over some notes that her father left behind.
There were several bits and pieces of this puzzle missing. Doomsday had been eluded to, but there was something else coming. Patricia thought it might be time to pick up the phone, call Lena, and compare notes. Or at least she would, if Lena had not been out of town as well.
The sound of breaking glass caused Patricia to jolt up. She rushed across the room and flipped on the security cameras to see what was going on. Two figures, dressed in black, made their way down. They were searching for something, and Patricia closed her eyes. There were a few things down there that people should not see. Some of her father's research could be dangerous in the wrong hands.
Patricia went through the drawer and pulled out a watch. It was time to call Superman or maybe one of his cousins. Patricia was not for certain what she had to do. Her finger came close to edging against the watch until another sound caused her great pause.
A third figure, one dressed in green, appeared on the security camera. Patricia realized almost straight away that this figure was not part of the intruders. One drew a gun only to find the gun knocked out of their hand with a well placed arrow. The hooded archer fired another arrow and took the intruder down.
The other one ran for it, until an arrow had been shot straight into the knee. The figure fell down. The hooded archer looked around and disappeared into the shadows, leaving the intruders subdued.
Patricia reached over, and called the police.
"Hello, this is Patricia Swann. I would like to report a break in, at STAR Labs. And...they're down on the ground. Someone else was here. There was this hooded person in green."
"The vigilante?"
"I guess," Patricia said. "The two intruders are down, shot with arrows. You should come and pick them up. I'm in the study if you need me."
"We have your address, Doctor Swann. We'll be right there."
Judging by the tone, the police ran into this mysterious vigilante before, a couple of times at least. Patricia brushed a strand of hair from her face and let out a prominent sigh. She had been aghast at what happened and this raised more questions than answers.
X-X-X
"Only you could come back from the dead and look better than ever."
Leave it to Lois Lane to summarize the state of things in her own unique way. Harry returned to work at the Daily Planet, where he met with Chloe, Andrea, and Lois. All of them looked very happy to see him.
"I'm back," Harry said. "And soon enough Superman will be. Did they buy the backstory?"
"About you being trapped and recovered and spending some time in Smallvile to recover," Chloe said. "Yeah, they bought it. Everyone did. At least no one questioned it."
Across the news desk, Harry noticed a report. Chloe picked it up and frowned deeply.
"Emerald archer strikes again," Chloe said. "This time at Star Labs. There was a break in."
"Got to go check on Patricia after this then," Harry said. "So, the archer has moved to the states."
"Oh, I forgot that you encountered them in Europe," Chloe said. "That feels like a lifetime ago."
It really did and now the archer just happened to be around the area of Star Labs, on the same night there was a break in. He would really have to talk to Patricia and see what was up. And more importantly, talk to Lena to see what they could do about upping the security around the lab. If it was being threatened, then they needed to do what they could to secure it.
"Alex and I met the archer the other night," Andrea said. "When we were on patrol."
"What is…."
"Quick, efficient and the point,' Andrea responded. "Almost terrifying to see how fast they are. And the police are not any closer to tagging who is underneath the hood. Although they've done some good."
"Hey everyone!" another reporter yelled. "You're not going to believe this. Olivia Queen has been found. She's alive."
"What about her brother?"
"He..didn't return."
Harry frowned thoughtfully and Chloe looked at him for a long second.
"So, what are you thinking?" Chloe said.
"I'm thinking I better get a meeting with Patricia," Harry said. "And see if Lena and Tess want to come along. We've got a situation we're going to have to deal with."
Harry scanned the latest reports of the archer's vigilante attacks. And he would have to figure out where she was heading next. He moved in and almost ran into Cat Grant as she came up the steps.
"So, Queen is alive?"
"Yes, five years, everyone thought that ship was gone," Cat said. "I can't even imagine what she was through being away that long, in the middle of nowhere. She has to be strong to survive."
Strong and determined, and thus, that gave Harry more evidence to do what he needed to do. Harry got on the phone.
"Hey, Patricia, I heard the news. I would like to meet with you and discuss it. Dinner?"
X-X-X
Patricia turned up, dressed in a very nice red dress. Lena turned up, wearing black, and Tess favored a nice white dress which fit around her curves very nicely. And then, Harry corked his head, to notice another figure turning up.
"I hope you don't mind that I invited someone else along," Patricia said.
"Oh?" Harry asked.
"Hello, Mr. Kent, My name is Olivia Queen."
Olivia stepped into the room, dressed in a nice form fitting blue dress. Harry noticed a few scars on her legs, which were still quite nice to look at. Harry wondered what other things her otherwise lovely body went through. The straining of the dress showcased her impressive chest while she walked with a sway in her step.
"Ms. Queen, I just heard about your return."
"A few weeks ago, actually," Olivia said. "But, my people agreed it was best not to leak it out to the press. And it would have gotten lost in all of the news about the supposed death of….Superman wasn't it?"
"Yes," Lena said.
"Although, I don't believe he is as dead as people want him to know," Olivia said. "Five years away. And I missed some of the finer things in life. Such as a nie lobster dinner."
"I heard your brother didn't make it."
"Oh, yes," Olivia said with a sigh. "Oliver went down with the ship. And then his...lover, she went missing as well."
Harry knew precisely what Olivia was returning to. Although he did not know how much she knew and thus he was not going to say anything.
"So, Lex,' Olivia said "I'm sorry to hear about it."
"Yes," Lena said. "It's...been hard. Lex and my father. They both died."
"And who is this lovely lady?" Olivia asked.
Tess smiled, Olivia knew exactly who she was. But she played the game for now.
"Tess, Lena's half-sister," Tess said.
"Well, Lionel's been busy," Olivia said. "Or was busy rather."
Lena snorted, oh boy, that was not the half of it. There was still the matter of what Karen said and the Earth-Two Lex who was potentially lurking around. She filled Tess in on the dangers of that, although they had not told Patricia yet. And they had no idea how much Olivia could be trusted. There were secrets in play which Lena had yet to sniff out.
"I found a journal that my father left me," Olivia said. "I've been deciphering it. Apparently, the Luthors, the Swanns, the Queens and the Teagues were part of something called Veritas."
"Yes, I know," Patricia said.
"And they pledged to protect something very important," Olivia said.
"The Teagues got consumed by greed," Patricia said with a sigh. "And there were your parents. And my dad passed a couple of years ago."
"Sorry to hear about that," Olivia said. "But, still with us being the only links left, we need to complete the mission and ensure the Traveler fulfills his ultimate destiny. Or whatever. I don't know what our parents were on about a lot of the time."
Olivia moved over slightly and whispered in Harry's ear so only he could hear.
"I know."
"And so do I," Harry said as he got his drink.
He was almost sure Lena picked up the message as well. The two of them looked up, and noticed live footage of Superman fighting Intergang and stopping their attacks. Harry's eyes followed the progress.
"See back in action," Olivia said. "And I've got a check up to go to. The board of directors insisted that I get checked up. Although be careful with what your father had, Patricia. Because there are certain unsavory people out of it."
Harry knew that Patricia understood that to be Cadmus. Olivia disappeared and now Patricia and Tess caught sight of the news broadcast, of Superman saving the day.
"So, you can't be in two places at once," Lena said.
Something is wrong. And Harry had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that this was going to come back and bite them all extremely hard.
X-X-X
An agitated Lex Luthor sat at a chalkboard, writing and erasing several equations. This had been a mixed back. His attempt to acquire the information from Star Labs had been thwarted by some vigilante on one hand. But on the other hand, Superman stopped Intergang.
"Swann came closer than most humans to unlocking the equation, even if he didn't fully appreciate what he was on the precipice of completing. If I can get my hands on it, reality can be reset so I don't have to depend on some alien. We never have to depend on some alien."
The door swung open and Lillian entered.
"You should have knocked," Lex said.
"It's my facility," Lillian reminded him. "And you should have not released that thing out into the open. I never tried to replicate the Kryptonian. His DNA is too highly unstable and we don't know what the consequences will be. But they're be on your head."
"It's fine," Lex said. "It's…a means to an end."
Superman crashed through the ceiling, flying a bit jagged. Lillian cringed as Superman held a crate in his hand.
"Superman got crate for friend Lex. Is friend Lex think Superman did good?"
"Yes, yes, Superman did very good," Lex said. "Now return to your room until it's time for you to save the day."
"Oh, Superman go."
Superman walked off and Lillian turned to her alternate universe son.
"He's regressed further," Lillian hissed. "He's got the vocabulary of a mentally retarded child. And someone with those powers, it's too dangerous to leave out in the open."
"I've got it, under control," Lex said. "I'm closer to fashioning the weapon. If Darkseid arrives, we'll see how well he can stand up to an anti-matter wave."
Lillian stepped back and the madness of this alternate universe Lex was really starting to get into her. She had her misgivings despite the fact that she tried to see her own son within this Lex. And she overlooked certain transgressions overall.
Although the really bad red flags were getting harder and harder for Lillian to overlook.
X-X-X
Harry, Alex, and Andrea moved off to investigate the Intergang members who this "Superman" stopped.
"So, you're in two places at once," Alex said. "Do you think it's some kind of alternate universe doppleganger?"
"Potentially, although there's something else going on," Harry said.
"Yeah, although you have to admit, Intergang was shut down hard," Andrea said. "While you were gone, they were stepping up their game. Bolder now that Superman was gone, I mean."
"Well, that's why Harry's necessary," Alex said.
Alex had been mostly pleased that these Intergang goons had been taken down. However, the implications of a second, potentially more violent and unstable Superman, had gave her chills. Harry admitted to Alex a couple of times he walked a tightrope with the powers he had, from both this life and the last.
Andrea, Alex, and Harry stepped in. The second they came across one of the captive Intergang goons, he sprang up.
"Please, you've done enough!" the Intergang goon yelled. "I swear, I'm not going to do anything wrong again! Life is not worth it."
Harry turned to another one and the goon cowered. They all backed off and some of them started to whimper like a little girl.
"What were you after?"
"I don't know, we just...we just thought we could steal the prototype energy cannon and sell it for a profit," the stammering man stated. "Oh, we really don't know. Please, please, don't burn me again. It hurt last time."
"The other you did a number on them."
Harry, Alex, and Andrea all turned around to see the archer.
"You are worse than the guy in Gotham," Andrea said.
"No she isn't," Harry said. "Hello, Olivia."
He spoke so only Andrea, Alex, and Olivia could hear him. The other Intergang goons were too terrified of their own shadows right now to really pay attention.
"So, an energy cannon," Olivia said. "What do you think Intergang wants with that?"
"Many things," Harry said. "Although, I'm still trying to find out about this other Superman."
"Well, someone tried to replicate your DNA," Lena said over the comm link. "Lillian could have tried, but given what we know about your genetic makeup, that would be completely insane."
"Yes, I don't think it's Lillian," Harry said.
"You don't think…"
"I do, unfortunately," Harry said. "And I've got to make a sidetrip to Starrwave. Let me know if you find anything else."
"Good luck,' Alex said.
Harry found everything that he needed to know about Intergang. He would need to go down another avenue to solve this mystery.
X-X-X
Atlee sat at the front desk at Starrwave. Suddenly, a figure came in front of her.
"Hello, I'm Atlee, how may I help you?"
"I'm Harry…."
"Seriously, you're him!" Atlee squealed. "Oh, that's so cool, I mean, that's really amazing, I should go and get Karen because you want to see her and I know she wants to see you, and you're him, oh I have to...excuse me, just wait one minute."
Atlee pulled herself away from drooling over the eye candy. She then took Harry and lead him to the back room where she knocked on the door.
"Atlee, what is it?"
Karen stepped outside, knowing Atlee would not disturb her unless it was important. And this was extremely important, as Harry stood before her. Karen smiled at his arrival.
"I'm glad you're back on your feet," Karen said. "You...weren't the one who stopped Intergang today, were you?"
"No," Harry said.
A long heaving sigh came from the Kryptonian survivor of an alternate Earth.
"I was afraid of that," Karen commented. "This has Lex's filthy fingerprints all over it. But, while this is concerning, I heard the news about the attack at Star Labs. And something else that Lex wants to steal."
The two stepped into the office, with Karen and Harry sitting down on a lavish couch.
"Is this something to do with what Virgil Swann has been studying?"
"It has everything to do with what Virgil Swann has been studying," Karen said. "It's called the Anti-Life equation, which would strip humanity of its free will and make them bound to whoever holds the equation."
Harry whistled. To say such a thing existed was terrifying to say the least. It almost made Harry's heart stop, big time when he thought about it.
"Several alternate universe versions of Virgil Swann came up with a different piece of the equation," Kare n commented. "And this one, I think he has the final part which Lex needs."
"Lex has been…."
"Yes, he's been after it for some time," Karen said. "And it might be in the Veritas vault. Thankfully the archer stopped Lex. And maybe it's good for him, because if Lex figures out the other part of the equation, he will be a target for Darkseid."
"It all comes back to Darkseid," Harry said. "He keeps looming. How insane is Lex?"
"Very, but he's not stupid," Karen said. "He must have a plan, although I'm not sure how it's going to benefit any of us. I have to find him and take him down, this time for good."
"We," Harry corrected Karen. "We have to find him and take him down."
"Well, we should find Lillian first," Karen stated. "She's the key, if the two of them together. And given this alternate Superman, Lex had to have some resources. And who better than Cadmus."
"It's dangerous to create another me," Harry said.
"Has Superman lost his mind?"
Harry picked that up from a news report on the radio. Karen did as well and they flicked on the television screen where they saw the image of a military facility. And "Superman" smashing his way through the entrance in a blink of an eye.
X-X-X
"Superman take down bad men who steal from Friend Lex."
"Fire!"
The military officers started to fire on Superman. Each bullet pinged off of the Man of Steel, with men of them vaporizing into nothingness as they pinged off of the crazed double.
"Army men don't hurt Superman. Superman make pay."
A gust of wind took the troops down without any problem at all. "Superman" walked forward, only to see another blur come in and stand in front of him.
Superman and "Superman" locked eyes with each other.
"Who am you?"
"I'm Superman."
This caused a fit of rage to go through the twisted doppleganger.
"No!" he howled. "Me am Superman! Me am Superman!"
Cracks of energy went through the doppleganger and he started to glow. The skin of the man turned chalk white, and was starting to contort.
"What happening? What you do?"
The sun came through the windows and was starting to overload the cells of his body. The double slammed his fist into the wall, violenting rippling against it. The loud cries echoed throughout the room, the faster this false Superman pounded his way through the wall.
"NO! FAKE DO BAD SUPERMAN TAKE DOWN FAKE!"
And he was going critical. The energy was almost off of the charts. Harry knew he had to temper the situation quickly, especially with the man's temperament reaching critical levels.
This Bizzare Version of Superman punched the real deal straight in the face, and sent him flying hard into the wall. Superman bounced up and prepared to subdue the creature before it caused problems.