Post by redsycorax on May 17, 2022 0:31:16 GMT
On Earth-977, events took a drastic turn in 1977. On this Earth, there were never any humanoid Martians, let alone any sign of advanced life on Mars. However, that wasn't the problem. History diverged from the datum when Viking One landed on Chryse Planitia in July 1976 and launched an exploratory probe into the Martian subsoil. To the amazement and delight of observing US astronomers, the apparatus detected biosignatures indicating that microbial life existed on the red planet. When Viking Two landed two months later in Utopia Planitia, it confirmed its sister probe's findings. As a consequence, the Soviet Union and United States left off their superpower rivalries in other areas to compete with one another so that humanity could reach the alternative oasis of life in the solar system. In 1980, Ares 2 and Salyut 7 set out at roughly the same time, both reaching Mars in 1982. And unfortunately, at that point, things went badly wrong.
No-one could have believed in the late years of the twentieth century that human affairs would be gravely affected by micro-organisms akin to those that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. And that the Salyut 7 crewed Martian mission would have such crucial defects within its decontamination procedures, which would only become apparent after the mission returned to Earth. In a startling inversion of H.G. Wells classic War of the Worlds, it was Earth that was ravaged by Martian bacteria...
+++
JUSTICE LEAGUE SATELLITE:
"Clark?"
"Bruce. It's good to see you again. We've had little enough time with the Red Death rampant across the world."
Batman, unmasked, ran a hand through his hair: "It's such a damned mess. And I wish someone had remembered the Edgar Allen Poe short story of the same name. Dick sent word from New York- it looks like Leonid Kovar died from it, and it's spread right across Russia and Eastern Europe. There are signs in West Germany."
"What have you been able to work out?"
"It's strange, but there may have been a common progenitor of life on Earth and Mars, which would explain why the Red Death was able to gain a foothold on our world. It shouldn't have been able to do so, Clark- the atmosphere, assimilable water sources, mean temperature and adjunct nutrient chemicals were at a premium. At least that infernal Iron Curtain's come in useful for once. They're trying to prevent people from escaping to the West and spreading it. However, you're a journalist- I suspect you've encountered the conspiracy theories that this 'isn't really' a Martian micro-organism and that it's 'actually' a covert Soviet biological warfare experiment that broke bounds."
Superman nodded: "Which it isn't. Fortunately, I've been able to provide corrective statements, even if that old chestnut about interviewing my own typewriter is relevant here. "
"What does your telescopic vision tell you?"
"It's bad. I've been able to ascertain that Brezhnev and his entire Politbureau are dead, probably because they shook hands and embraced the Salyut 7 cosmonauts as they left what was supposedly decontamination. I've seen mass burial pits and piles of human bodies in Moscow and the other large Soviet cities. It's probably only a matter of time until the Warsaw Pact collapses entirely."
"It's that bad?"
"Yes, it is. At which point, the problem will become panicking East Europeans and Russians swarming the borders. There's already unrest in West Germany about 'reunification' if the Honecker regime collapses, and scepticism that the Red Death is as bad as has been reported."
"What can we do? You, Kara, Katar and Shayera, Dinah and Diana are immune because you're from Krypton and Thanagar, Dinah's from Earth-Two and Diana has a degree of Amazon invulnerability to it. But as you know, we've already lost Arthur and Zatanna, suggesting that it can hop human subspecies like homo aquaticus or homo magii. Speaking of which...hello, Dinah."
The leather-jacketed woman sat down and stared into the silence of space. In a broken voice, she said:
"I suppose I should be used to this by now. But it doesn't stop hurting because I went through this with Larry."
"Ollie didn't make it? Dinah, I'm so sorry."
She looked up bleakly: "Dear God, so much of the League is either incapacitated or...or dead. Ray. Arthur. Ralph. Ollie. Barry. Zee. If things go badly wrong, how can we fight the consequences of this thing?"
"We'll have to manage. And induct new members into the League. It's time Kara and Shayera joined us and then there are the Teen Titans- Dick, Donna, Wally, Roy. All of them are ready to step up and take their place alongside us. We should have done this long, long ago." Batman said, staring at the deceptively beautiful globe below their satellite. As Superman and Black Canary left for rescue and medical emergency missions, though, and when they had teleported earthside to fulfil those duties, Batman suddenly doubled over and vomited crimson sputum, phlegm and blood into the League laboratory sink. As he looked into the mirror, he swallowed as another wave of nausea engulfed him. The reason why was all too plain. Batman had become infected with the Red Death.
LONDON: TWO MONTHS LATER:
"But why am I immune, just because I'm from an alternate Earth? And not poor Bruce or Ollie?" Black Canary said as Superman, Hawkman and Supergirl stood at a quarantine window watching the final moments of the British superhero Godiva.
"From your medical records and what you told us when you crossed over from Earth-Two, Dinah, there were some differences in Earth-Two's medical history from our Earth. Taken cumulatively, I can only guess that that might mean that your body contains or lacks specific genetic sequences that might render you non-susceptible to the Red Death. And that such divergences might mean that you're immune, while others are not. " Katar offered.
"Damn it, I've never felt so powerless. Damn this pandemic! Why is this happening?"
Supergirl sighed and embraced her colleague:
"It's not just you, Dinah. Kal and I both lost one world. Now we're losing another. And both of us have people we love and cherish on this world."
"I know what you're saying, though, Dinah. I never thought I'd ever say this, but I miss Oliver, his profanity, down to earth humour and irreverent approach to life. I'm sorry, Superman. You must be worried sick about Lois Lane and your friends in Metropolis."
He nodded: "That's why I'm taking urgent steps, before the Red Death reaches the United States, Katar." And from his cape pocket, Superman produced Brainiac's shrinking raygun.
Supergirl's eyes widened: "Kal? Are you sure you want to do this?"
Superman turned haunted eyes toward her: "If it's the only way, Kara, then yes, I do. It's why we took the Fortress of Solitude and your foster parents off planet. I won't let this happen a second time. Not after Pa and Ma back in Smallville. On their graves, I promised it never would."
Dinah swallowed: "And I can't go back to Earth-Two, either. What if this thing mutates? I could end up dooming my friends in the Justice Society. Shayera. What's the latest?"
Shayera Hol didn't look particularly happy: "That was the ICU in Berlin. We've lost the Teen Titans. Dick, Wally and Roy died within minutes of each other. Donna's immune, but that's something to do with the medical care that she received on Paradise Island when Diana brought her there. Diana is immune because of the circumstances of her origin and Amazon science has done something. Diana told me Amazon scientists are working endlessly to discover why they're specifically immune to this, given that Atlanteans and homo magii like Zatanna weren't. "
METROPOLIS:
Unlike Brainiac's assault against Krypton decades past, Superman gave adequate warning of what he intended to do. Several thousand Metropolitans decided they wanted to leave the city before it was shrunk, while hundreds of others joined their families and significant others in the sprawling city before the day arrived. And then, several miles above, Superman pressed the button on Brainiac's apparatus, reflecting on how an instrument of torture and exile for Kandor's inhabitants had turned into an unexpected sanctuary for at least one human city. His microscopic vision had scanned the inhabitants of Metropolis beforehand and had detected no sign of the Red Death microbial traces in their bodies. Either the Red Death had not reached the United States yet, or it had not reached Illinois, whatever its status elsewhere in the country. As it glided up toward him, Superman manoveured it into a bottle and then a thermal shield cover as he flew upward to his now moonbound Fortress of Solitude. Once there, he deposited it on a pedestal.
And then, Superman realised something. The enormity of what he was thinking shocked and disgusted him. It also infuriated him beyond measure. As Supergirl alighted on the Fortress after she'd passed through the decontamination barrier, she walked over to her cousin:
"I'm sorry, Kal. The day we dreaded has arrived. There are preliminary cases identified in New York, Boston and Miami. It's in the United States now. And it might spread beyond those cities, even given what President Carter and the CDC are doing to staunch it. What is it?"
"Kara, this is no accident."
"Kal, you've been working too hard- why? What makes you say that?"
"Humanity explores Mars for the first time and there just happens to be deadly dormant microfauna that can kill Terrans?"
"But who could do something like that? Kal, that's genocide. And it would take considerable scientific skill to engineer a specifically tailored micro...oh. Oh, no. Of course. He would have that scientific prowess and expertise, wouldn't he? Given his twelfth level intellect. And if we're capable of comprehending the physics of time travel, and we know his descendant Brainiac 5 does, then so does..."
"Yes, Kara. Brainiac. He did this. He went back in time , extracted primordial bacteria from Earth and then transplanted it to Mars and flashfroze it. Then, when environmental conditions were right for it to do so, it emerged and awaited the arrival of humanity on the red planet, so he could sow destruction."
"Which still leaves the question why? Why would he do this? Certainly not for mere revenge."
"He wants to obliterate humanity so he can move in on an Earth without human life and use it as a powerbase. He wants to dominate the future."
"Have you contacted Oa about this?"
"Yes, the Green Lantern Corps will be joining me. And what's left of the League, old and new."
WOLF 359:
And thus it was that Brainiac confronted a vast armada of opposition that bore down on his solitary saucer. The soulless android widened the ambit of his force screen as power ring assaults from the Green Lantern Corps began, from those who had known, respected Hal Jordan as a colleague and even loved him. Katma Tui, Tomar-Re and John Stewart waged relentless attack on the craft as Superman and Supergirl repeatedly threw themselves against it. At first, complacent, Brainiac laughed derisively, but then, as the radiation pulse steadily grew in intensity, he began to lose his arrogant certitude while the scale and magnitude of the assault began to tell and his vessel warned its creator that to continue to power the forcescreen, it would have to divert power from its stardrive. And then, it broke through. Guardian Ganthet and an entourage of his fellows stood within the saucer as Superman and Supergirl brought a struggling and visibly alarmed Brainiac to face justice:
"Brainiac of Colu. It has been ascertained that you committed an act of genocide against the dominant species on Earth through your use of time travel to secure, store and unleash pathogenic bacteria with no known remedy. You planned to use it to secure the abandoned planet as a reservoir for your future intentions. The magnitude of this crime is almost beyond precedent. Kal-El of Krypton, is there something you wish to add?"
Superman nodded: "Yes, Guardians. Firstly, does Brainiac have any antidote?"
The soulless android laughed in scorn: "Of course not. I have finally bested you, Superman. You cannot save your precious gilded backwater."
Supergirl closed her eyes: "Oh, Rao..."
"That's what I thought. Even under this provocation, I cannot and will not end your existence, Brainiac. However, I have suggested an appropriate punishment to the Guardians and they have agreed. Brainiac of Colu, you have committed an act of genocide. The penalty is eternity within the Phantom Zone."
"What? You fools, do you really think mere Kryptonian dimensional displacement physics is beyond me?"
Superman and Supergirl's eyes shone red: "Not at this instant. But you won't have that cognitive ability once you leave this dimension."
"Eyahhh!!! This... this... is lobotomisation. Please...please...I will do anything... not...not my intellect. Anything...but....enlargement ray projector. In my arsenal. I..."
As Brainiac collapsed to the floor, a familiar blond haired figure stepped up:
"Thank you for this opportunity, Superman. I've waited for years to do this." And Vril Dox..."Brainiac 2"... shone the projector at his 'father', whose screaming diminished as he faded into four dimensional oblivion and imprisonment. And then, for a moment, there was silence.
Supergirl returned from the saucer's arsenal: "Trouble, cousin. There's only enough to enlarge one city. It has to be either Kandor or Metropolis."
ONE YEAR LATER: EPISILON ERIDANI III (NEW KRYPTON):
As Katar and Shayera Hol's starship fled toward distant Polaris and Thanagar, Kal-El and Kara Zor-El looked up from the Epsilon Eridani III hillside where Kandor, now fully enlarged once more, and a city of supermen and superwomen, sprawled before them:
"We waited for years to see this happen, Kal. Why does it all feel so hollow now?"
Superman laid his hand on his cousin's shoulder: "At least one human city survived the extinction of its species, Kara."
"That's not the point. I know Brainiac has been punished for his crime and Kandor has been restored, but Metropolis is still a bottled city. Even if we've regained Krypton, we've lost Earth forever."
"But not altogether and not forever. Given that the plague obliterated the whole of humanity apart from that single city but then perished itself without anyone left, there are still millions of Terrans alive and safe. And Brainiac will never be able to do anything like that again. And Drax is still comatose, even if he had the motivation or intent to do so."
They walked into the Fortress of Solitude, now restored to ground level on New Krypton, as Kandor's inhabitants steadily kryptoformed the formerly lifeless superterrestroid planet into a replica of their beloved and vanished homeworld. Within a crystalline bottle, the city of Metropolis remained, and a diminutive invisible plane buzzed around it as Wonder Woman patrolled it:
"In some ways, we're back to square one. Too bad Dinah felt she had to return to Earth-Two [Ed- Earth-978] once the pandemic ended, but at least the Red Death never mutated sufficiently to afflict humanity on her world. And Hippolyta's got the scientific elite on Themiscyra working overtime to try to identify the technology Brainiac used to construct the enlargement ray, so one day, we'll be able to restore Metropolis to full scale on a new and virgin world."
"And in the mean time, we remember Earth and all the friends we lost. Bruce. Barbara. Dick. Ray. Arthur. Mera. Oliver. Roy. Hal. Steve Trevor. And we memorialise another world, one that we were supposed to protect and save."
"Which we did, Kara, but we're not gods."
"Will we ever stop feeling hollow like this, Kal?"
"I don't know, Kara. But right now, we have to talk survivors guilt with the people of Metropolis when it came to the fact that their city alone survived the extinction of Terran humanity. And that's going to be a major undertaking."
"We've lost so many friends, Kal."
"I know, Kara, and we'll never forget them. But we need to move on, rebuild, and one day, restore."
"But is that enough, Kal? Will it ever be enough?"
THE END [1.30 PM, WED. 18/05/2022]
No-one could have believed in the late years of the twentieth century that human affairs would be gravely affected by micro-organisms akin to those that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. And that the Salyut 7 crewed Martian mission would have such crucial defects within its decontamination procedures, which would only become apparent after the mission returned to Earth. In a startling inversion of H.G. Wells classic War of the Worlds, it was Earth that was ravaged by Martian bacteria...
+++
JUSTICE LEAGUE SATELLITE:
"Clark?"
"Bruce. It's good to see you again. We've had little enough time with the Red Death rampant across the world."
Batman, unmasked, ran a hand through his hair: "It's such a damned mess. And I wish someone had remembered the Edgar Allen Poe short story of the same name. Dick sent word from New York- it looks like Leonid Kovar died from it, and it's spread right across Russia and Eastern Europe. There are signs in West Germany."
"What have you been able to work out?"
"It's strange, but there may have been a common progenitor of life on Earth and Mars, which would explain why the Red Death was able to gain a foothold on our world. It shouldn't have been able to do so, Clark- the atmosphere, assimilable water sources, mean temperature and adjunct nutrient chemicals were at a premium. At least that infernal Iron Curtain's come in useful for once. They're trying to prevent people from escaping to the West and spreading it. However, you're a journalist- I suspect you've encountered the conspiracy theories that this 'isn't really' a Martian micro-organism and that it's 'actually' a covert Soviet biological warfare experiment that broke bounds."
Superman nodded: "Which it isn't. Fortunately, I've been able to provide corrective statements, even if that old chestnut about interviewing my own typewriter is relevant here. "
"What does your telescopic vision tell you?"
"It's bad. I've been able to ascertain that Brezhnev and his entire Politbureau are dead, probably because they shook hands and embraced the Salyut 7 cosmonauts as they left what was supposedly decontamination. I've seen mass burial pits and piles of human bodies in Moscow and the other large Soviet cities. It's probably only a matter of time until the Warsaw Pact collapses entirely."
"It's that bad?"
"Yes, it is. At which point, the problem will become panicking East Europeans and Russians swarming the borders. There's already unrest in West Germany about 'reunification' if the Honecker regime collapses, and scepticism that the Red Death is as bad as has been reported."
"What can we do? You, Kara, Katar and Shayera, Dinah and Diana are immune because you're from Krypton and Thanagar, Dinah's from Earth-Two and Diana has a degree of Amazon invulnerability to it. But as you know, we've already lost Arthur and Zatanna, suggesting that it can hop human subspecies like homo aquaticus or homo magii. Speaking of which...hello, Dinah."
The leather-jacketed woman sat down and stared into the silence of space. In a broken voice, she said:
"I suppose I should be used to this by now. But it doesn't stop hurting because I went through this with Larry."
"Ollie didn't make it? Dinah, I'm so sorry."
She looked up bleakly: "Dear God, so much of the League is either incapacitated or...or dead. Ray. Arthur. Ralph. Ollie. Barry. Zee. If things go badly wrong, how can we fight the consequences of this thing?"
"We'll have to manage. And induct new members into the League. It's time Kara and Shayera joined us and then there are the Teen Titans- Dick, Donna, Wally, Roy. All of them are ready to step up and take their place alongside us. We should have done this long, long ago." Batman said, staring at the deceptively beautiful globe below their satellite. As Superman and Black Canary left for rescue and medical emergency missions, though, and when they had teleported earthside to fulfil those duties, Batman suddenly doubled over and vomited crimson sputum, phlegm and blood into the League laboratory sink. As he looked into the mirror, he swallowed as another wave of nausea engulfed him. The reason why was all too plain. Batman had become infected with the Red Death.
LONDON: TWO MONTHS LATER:
"But why am I immune, just because I'm from an alternate Earth? And not poor Bruce or Ollie?" Black Canary said as Superman, Hawkman and Supergirl stood at a quarantine window watching the final moments of the British superhero Godiva.
"From your medical records and what you told us when you crossed over from Earth-Two, Dinah, there were some differences in Earth-Two's medical history from our Earth. Taken cumulatively, I can only guess that that might mean that your body contains or lacks specific genetic sequences that might render you non-susceptible to the Red Death. And that such divergences might mean that you're immune, while others are not. " Katar offered.
"Damn it, I've never felt so powerless. Damn this pandemic! Why is this happening?"
Supergirl sighed and embraced her colleague:
"It's not just you, Dinah. Kal and I both lost one world. Now we're losing another. And both of us have people we love and cherish on this world."
"I know what you're saying, though, Dinah. I never thought I'd ever say this, but I miss Oliver, his profanity, down to earth humour and irreverent approach to life. I'm sorry, Superman. You must be worried sick about Lois Lane and your friends in Metropolis."
He nodded: "That's why I'm taking urgent steps, before the Red Death reaches the United States, Katar." And from his cape pocket, Superman produced Brainiac's shrinking raygun.
Supergirl's eyes widened: "Kal? Are you sure you want to do this?"
Superman turned haunted eyes toward her: "If it's the only way, Kara, then yes, I do. It's why we took the Fortress of Solitude and your foster parents off planet. I won't let this happen a second time. Not after Pa and Ma back in Smallville. On their graves, I promised it never would."
Dinah swallowed: "And I can't go back to Earth-Two, either. What if this thing mutates? I could end up dooming my friends in the Justice Society. Shayera. What's the latest?"
Shayera Hol didn't look particularly happy: "That was the ICU in Berlin. We've lost the Teen Titans. Dick, Wally and Roy died within minutes of each other. Donna's immune, but that's something to do with the medical care that she received on Paradise Island when Diana brought her there. Diana is immune because of the circumstances of her origin and Amazon science has done something. Diana told me Amazon scientists are working endlessly to discover why they're specifically immune to this, given that Atlanteans and homo magii like Zatanna weren't. "
METROPOLIS:
Unlike Brainiac's assault against Krypton decades past, Superman gave adequate warning of what he intended to do. Several thousand Metropolitans decided they wanted to leave the city before it was shrunk, while hundreds of others joined their families and significant others in the sprawling city before the day arrived. And then, several miles above, Superman pressed the button on Brainiac's apparatus, reflecting on how an instrument of torture and exile for Kandor's inhabitants had turned into an unexpected sanctuary for at least one human city. His microscopic vision had scanned the inhabitants of Metropolis beforehand and had detected no sign of the Red Death microbial traces in their bodies. Either the Red Death had not reached the United States yet, or it had not reached Illinois, whatever its status elsewhere in the country. As it glided up toward him, Superman manoveured it into a bottle and then a thermal shield cover as he flew upward to his now moonbound Fortress of Solitude. Once there, he deposited it on a pedestal.
And then, Superman realised something. The enormity of what he was thinking shocked and disgusted him. It also infuriated him beyond measure. As Supergirl alighted on the Fortress after she'd passed through the decontamination barrier, she walked over to her cousin:
"I'm sorry, Kal. The day we dreaded has arrived. There are preliminary cases identified in New York, Boston and Miami. It's in the United States now. And it might spread beyond those cities, even given what President Carter and the CDC are doing to staunch it. What is it?"
"Kara, this is no accident."
"Kal, you've been working too hard- why? What makes you say that?"
"Humanity explores Mars for the first time and there just happens to be deadly dormant microfauna that can kill Terrans?"
"But who could do something like that? Kal, that's genocide. And it would take considerable scientific skill to engineer a specifically tailored micro...oh. Oh, no. Of course. He would have that scientific prowess and expertise, wouldn't he? Given his twelfth level intellect. And if we're capable of comprehending the physics of time travel, and we know his descendant Brainiac 5 does, then so does..."
"Yes, Kara. Brainiac. He did this. He went back in time , extracted primordial bacteria from Earth and then transplanted it to Mars and flashfroze it. Then, when environmental conditions were right for it to do so, it emerged and awaited the arrival of humanity on the red planet, so he could sow destruction."
"Which still leaves the question why? Why would he do this? Certainly not for mere revenge."
"He wants to obliterate humanity so he can move in on an Earth without human life and use it as a powerbase. He wants to dominate the future."
"Have you contacted Oa about this?"
"Yes, the Green Lantern Corps will be joining me. And what's left of the League, old and new."
WOLF 359:
And thus it was that Brainiac confronted a vast armada of opposition that bore down on his solitary saucer. The soulless android widened the ambit of his force screen as power ring assaults from the Green Lantern Corps began, from those who had known, respected Hal Jordan as a colleague and even loved him. Katma Tui, Tomar-Re and John Stewart waged relentless attack on the craft as Superman and Supergirl repeatedly threw themselves against it. At first, complacent, Brainiac laughed derisively, but then, as the radiation pulse steadily grew in intensity, he began to lose his arrogant certitude while the scale and magnitude of the assault began to tell and his vessel warned its creator that to continue to power the forcescreen, it would have to divert power from its stardrive. And then, it broke through. Guardian Ganthet and an entourage of his fellows stood within the saucer as Superman and Supergirl brought a struggling and visibly alarmed Brainiac to face justice:
"Brainiac of Colu. It has been ascertained that you committed an act of genocide against the dominant species on Earth through your use of time travel to secure, store and unleash pathogenic bacteria with no known remedy. You planned to use it to secure the abandoned planet as a reservoir for your future intentions. The magnitude of this crime is almost beyond precedent. Kal-El of Krypton, is there something you wish to add?"
Superman nodded: "Yes, Guardians. Firstly, does Brainiac have any antidote?"
The soulless android laughed in scorn: "Of course not. I have finally bested you, Superman. You cannot save your precious gilded backwater."
Supergirl closed her eyes: "Oh, Rao..."
"That's what I thought. Even under this provocation, I cannot and will not end your existence, Brainiac. However, I have suggested an appropriate punishment to the Guardians and they have agreed. Brainiac of Colu, you have committed an act of genocide. The penalty is eternity within the Phantom Zone."
"What? You fools, do you really think mere Kryptonian dimensional displacement physics is beyond me?"
Superman and Supergirl's eyes shone red: "Not at this instant. But you won't have that cognitive ability once you leave this dimension."
"Eyahhh!!! This... this... is lobotomisation. Please...please...I will do anything... not...not my intellect. Anything...but....enlargement ray projector. In my arsenal. I..."
As Brainiac collapsed to the floor, a familiar blond haired figure stepped up:
"Thank you for this opportunity, Superman. I've waited for years to do this." And Vril Dox..."Brainiac 2"... shone the projector at his 'father', whose screaming diminished as he faded into four dimensional oblivion and imprisonment. And then, for a moment, there was silence.
Supergirl returned from the saucer's arsenal: "Trouble, cousin. There's only enough to enlarge one city. It has to be either Kandor or Metropolis."
ONE YEAR LATER: EPISILON ERIDANI III (NEW KRYPTON):
As Katar and Shayera Hol's starship fled toward distant Polaris and Thanagar, Kal-El and Kara Zor-El looked up from the Epsilon Eridani III hillside where Kandor, now fully enlarged once more, and a city of supermen and superwomen, sprawled before them:
"We waited for years to see this happen, Kal. Why does it all feel so hollow now?"
Superman laid his hand on his cousin's shoulder: "At least one human city survived the extinction of its species, Kara."
"That's not the point. I know Brainiac has been punished for his crime and Kandor has been restored, but Metropolis is still a bottled city. Even if we've regained Krypton, we've lost Earth forever."
"But not altogether and not forever. Given that the plague obliterated the whole of humanity apart from that single city but then perished itself without anyone left, there are still millions of Terrans alive and safe. And Brainiac will never be able to do anything like that again. And Drax is still comatose, even if he had the motivation or intent to do so."
They walked into the Fortress of Solitude, now restored to ground level on New Krypton, as Kandor's inhabitants steadily kryptoformed the formerly lifeless superterrestroid planet into a replica of their beloved and vanished homeworld. Within a crystalline bottle, the city of Metropolis remained, and a diminutive invisible plane buzzed around it as Wonder Woman patrolled it:
"In some ways, we're back to square one. Too bad Dinah felt she had to return to Earth-Two [Ed- Earth-978] once the pandemic ended, but at least the Red Death never mutated sufficiently to afflict humanity on her world. And Hippolyta's got the scientific elite on Themiscyra working overtime to try to identify the technology Brainiac used to construct the enlargement ray, so one day, we'll be able to restore Metropolis to full scale on a new and virgin world."
"And in the mean time, we remember Earth and all the friends we lost. Bruce. Barbara. Dick. Ray. Arthur. Mera. Oliver. Roy. Hal. Steve Trevor. And we memorialise another world, one that we were supposed to protect and save."
"Which we did, Kara, but we're not gods."
"Will we ever stop feeling hollow like this, Kal?"
"I don't know, Kara. But right now, we have to talk survivors guilt with the people of Metropolis when it came to the fact that their city alone survived the extinction of Terran humanity. And that's going to be a major undertaking."
"We've lost so many friends, Kal."
"I know, Kara, and we'll never forget them. But we need to move on, rebuild, and one day, restore."
"But is that enough, Kal? Will it ever be enough?"
THE END [1.30 PM, WED. 18/05/2022]
