Silvia was so uncomfortable that she was suddenly painfully aware of herself; the orange jumpsuit itching against her skin along with the rash it was probably going to leave, the air cooling on the empty places her guns were usually sitting, and the tightness of Clark's arms that she could still feel lingering around her

The Fortress was darker than she remembered and much more eerie. She pushed off of the door and sauntered through the hall, automatically on edge. She thought this feeling would change when she saw Hal but it only increased at the realisation that he was no longer green.

"H-Hey." Silvia mumbled. "Clark said that he wants me taken to h-his room..."

The Yellow Lantern stared at her for a few more seconds as if he was searching for something to prove that it wasn't really her. "I can't believe it's you."

Silvia wasn't sure how to reply. Her and Hal had become very close after their outing to the bowling alley, they would hang out together whenever they could. Silvia would even consider him a close friend... and that's why it was so saddening to see him change along with Clark.

It didn't take long for Hal to sense that she was feeling anxious at all the sudden changes. Silvia was expecting him to make a joke, but instead he simply sighed and motioned for her to follow him.

Their footsteps echoed hollowly from wall to wall, grabbing the attention of anyone they passed by. She assumed that everyone within the Fortress were siding with Superman... and that place was full of villains and heroes alike.

Everyone she spotted looked visibly older than she remembered, and so different that she struggled to recognise some of them. First she passed Catwoman, Killer Frost and Raven. Then Bane and Black Adam. Sinestro was next and this one disturbed Silvia most because Hal matched his yellow glow perfectly.

Soldiers marched through the halls, checking their weapons and planning their patrols, Hawkgirl flew above them and Solomon Grundy marched dumbly behind. Most surprising was Flash, who discreetly pressed a finger to his lips to silence her, but Silvia had no urge to speak until she saw Wonder Woman stride by her.

"Diana...?" Silvia said, disappointment apparent in her tone. "There's no way she'd be okay with this..."

Not her too... Not Wonder Woman. Silvia had so much respect for that woman, maybe even too much. She aspired to be like her, Diana was her inspiration, and now even she was corrupt. Silvia felt ill. Everything she thought she knew was crashing before her eyes and burning to ashes.

Hal glanced over his shoulder but decided not to speak on the matter... He knew Silvia would find out soon enough and he didn't want to be the one to tell her.

The hallway narrowed and two locked doors stood out against the metal and ice. They were made of wood, as if they had been pulled from someones home and placed there. "What's in there?" Silvia asked curiously, running her fingers along one of the chipped doors.

"I don't know." Hal stated simply. "No one's allowed in there. Kal-el forbids it."

"Kal-el..." Silvia muttered. "Have you always called him that?... I mean, in this world, was he ever Clark?"

"It doesn't matter. He goes by Kal-el now, that's all you need to know."

Silvia started following him again, letting her hand fall away from the door. "If I'm going to be here for a while I think I need to know a lot more than that... Starting with the question you avoided before. Hal, why are you Sinestro corps? You use to tell me that yellow was the colour of cowardice..."

"I came to the realisation that fear is more effective than willpower." He said as if the answer were obvious. "Just look at Superman, fear has lowered the crime rate to almost zero and gotten him a plethora of followers."

Silvia's eyes lowered sadly. "Fear gets you followers... but not loyalty."

Silence erupted between the two of them. Hal kept his gaze straight ahead but was visibly tensing. Silvia just looked blank and maybe that was because her mind was working in overdrive.

"We're here." Hal's voice brought her back to the present but she wished that it hadn't. It only reminded her of the situation she was in.

They were standing in front of a massive door, possibly one of the biggest in the Fortress. It had Superman's 'S' symbol carved onto its surface.

"Thanks..." She replied quietly, chewing on her bottom lip and forcing herself to look back up at Hal. "Look, I'm sorry. I wouldn't like someone poking around in my life either, but in my world you were one of my closest friends... One of my only friends. I don't know what our relationship was like in this universe but it bothers me that you've given up on everything you believed in so easily."

"Beliefs change. You of all people should know that." Hal said sternly, though she thought she heard a waver in his voice that suggested otherwise. "You may look like her but you'll never be Silvia. She'd understand why we had to do this."

"Are you sure?" She replied with uncertainty. "If you and Clark accepted her before all of this then she mustn't be too different to me. I can't imagine that the person that Clark once loved would understand any of this..."

Hal's face scrunched up but he said nothing. Maybe he had thought the exact same thing before...

Silvia sighed. "Still, it sounds like you were close to her... umm me?... Other Silvia? Damn, dude. This whole other universe shit is fucking confusing."

Something twitched onto Hal's face... It resembled a smile but with none of the positive vibes the Hal she knew would set off. She'd take what she could get though, at least he hadn't forgotten how to smile...

"You definitely act like her, for what it's worth." Hal said, his tone a little lighter than it had been since she arrived. "Close is a bit of an understatement though. We met before her and Clark started dating and... we got to know one another fairly quickly."

It took Silvia a few seconds to understand what he was trying to say. Her eyes widened. "Wait, what? We dated?"

Hal looked amused by the idea and it was the first time she could truly see that it was him. "No, nothing like that. Call it 'friends with benefits' if you like, but we stayed close even after that stopped."

"Oh..." Silvia shifted under his gaze. "That never happened in my world... Thank God."

Hal looked like he might chuckle but the sound never found air. "Your loss."

Before Silvia could reply a solemn look glazed Hal's face once more. For a moment he had forgotten that she wasn't his Silvia, the one from his world. She was someone completely different. She knew a different Hal, a different Barry... a different Kal-el - hopefully a better one.

The sigh that came was a signal, not of his resolve leaving but of the level his tension had reached. Silvia sensed it and decided it best to give him time to register everything... She certainly needed to. "Alright... well, I guess I'll see you around." She said, stepping over to the door and pushing open the heavy metal.

Hal nodded and quickly started back down the hall without so much as a wave.

Silvia's posture slumped as she entered the room. It was massive... but empty. There was a large king-sized bed draped with thin, satin blankets. Silvia scoffed. Clark wouldn't need anything too thick, he doesn't feel the cold.

The sound of her own footsteps punctured the air and echoed off the walls as she sauntered toward the wardrobe. The rest of the place was so barren that she half expected him to have no clothes hanging up. She wasn't entirely wrong. There were a few more costumes hanging up but they were all identical to the one he was wearing... He obviously didn't dress casually anymore - he no longer had a secret identity.

The thought saddened her and so she quickly shut the wardrobe again. On the other side of the room was a small side table with a few draws. She opened the first one and her chest tightened at what she saw. The old uniform he wore... the one her Clark still used.

She reached in and wrapped her fingers around the familiar fabric. It unfolded the moment it was pulled out of the draw, the legs skimming across the floor. Just by looking at it you could tell how incredibly large and tall the wearer would be. Her eyes glazed over the 'S'. It was a different design to the one this 'Kal-el was wearing... and she preferred it. This was once a symbol of hope and now it only provoked fear in the hearts of anyone who saw it.

She couldn't bare to look at it anymore. The reality of this universe was far too gruesome. She tucked it back away with more care than it had been shown in years and hesitantly opened the draw beneath it.

There was only one thing there, a small photo that had been ripped down the middle. The other half of the photo was nowhere to be seen but this one held a woman within it, frozen in time.

At first she didn't recognise herself, between the clothes and the smile she was sure it would have to be someone else. She lifted it from its place and took a closer look. It was definitely her...or the Silvia from that world.

Silvia turned her nose up. What in the hell was she wearing? It was a summer dress, one with stupid, girly little flowers on it. Silvia's hair was longer, so she was probably a few years older. Smallville could be spotted in the distance behind her, and the Kents farm just on the left with a waving Martha. There was an arm wrapped securely around her waist and though she knew that it was Clark, his part of the photo had been torn away.

This photo was falling apart, the colour had faded so severely that she couldn't tell if the sky was blue or grey. It was apparent that Clark looked at this a lot. Silvia sighed and put it back where she found it. Guilt set inside of her... She shouldn't have been snooping around but her curiosity always did get the better of her.

"New prisoner being transferred into the holding cells, acknowledge." A voice reached her ears. It was muffled and staticky, Silvia could tell it was being received by an ear piece.

"Acknowledged." The guard outside her door said firmly.

In an instant that damned curiosity arose again. Everyone in this world had changed... who could they possibly have arrested? It could possibly be someone she didn't know, but they'd have to be fairly important to be kept in the Fortress and not Stryker's Island.

Silvia tiptoed over to the door and opened it only enough to peak outside. The guard had a machine gun and a knife strapped to his leg.

"Excuse me..." Silvia spoke up after assessing him. "I'm just going to go for a walk around the Fortress."

"Oh, uh..." The guard jumped slightly at the sudden sound of her voice. "I'm not suppose to let you leave. Councillors orders."

"Is that right?" She said, tone drifting off in deep thought. "I'm sure you can make an exception for me."

The guard almost looked scared at the idea. "N-No! The councillor he'll..." the man gulped. "I'm sorry, I can't. Not without his permission."

She grimaced. "Okay, I understand."

The guard gave a relieved exhale that quickly turned to a grunt when Silvia knocked him over the head. His body crumpled to the floor and she quickly took the knife from its holder.

"Sorry, man." She shrugged before darting away.

She kept close to the wall to avoid anyone that may pass by... but the Fortress was suddenly a lot emptier than before.

"Ma'am, you can't be here." The guard in front of the prison entrance barked.

"You wanna make me leave?" Silvia threatened. The soldier nervously stepped to the side without a sound, obviously thinking about what Superman would do if he laid a hand on her.

"Yeah. Thought so."

With that Silvia entered the wing, and saw that her old cell was now occupied by a man, who was sitting calmly on the side of the bed.

"Wasn't expecting any visitors. I'm touched." His low raspy voice quipped.

He had flat white hair, a matching goatee and was missing an eye.

"...Who are you...?" Silvia pressed.

"Someone who doesn't co-operate. That's why I'm here. But I'm sure you know how things work."

"You know who I am?" Silvia leant onto the wall opposite the cell window.

The man smirked. "Who doesn't? I also know that you're supposed to be dead."

"I'm not from around here."

"I gathered. What do you want?"

"Answers. Like what the hell is going on?" Silvia barked, pushing to her feet.

"Hmpf. Peace, apparently. Anyone who doesn't throw in with your boyfriend ends up dead."

"He's not my boyfriend, asshole."

The man laughed, pleased by Silvia's annoyance. "Son of a bitch lost it when you died. I've been trying to kill these idiots for years and what do I have to show for it? Nothing. They ending up killing each other."

The man stood, and moved over to a mirror where he inspected the growth of his facial hair. "Captain Atom, Green Arrow, Guy Gardner, Jason Blood, Huntress, Hawkman...even the Bat's little brat Nightwing couldn't stay alive."

Silvia's breath hitched. Dick was... dead? The news hurt more than anything she'd heard so far. She only had a few people she'd consider friends excluding Clark; Hal, Kori, Billy (despite the fact that he was just a young boy), and Dick... but he was special. She had a section of her heart cut out for him and she could feel it dying, plaguing the entire organ.

Grief surged with every expelled breath, always reaching higher peaks, never sufficiently soothed by her long intakes of the damp cold air. Tears began to spill from her helpless eyes but she aggressively wiped them away.

"...Nightwing... Who killed him...?" She growled. The old man turned to Silvia, a weak smile plastered upon his face.

"Pretty funny actually. I've been on his tail since he was a teenager...and in the end it was Batman's own son that finished him. Damian Wayne. I'd be laughing if everything else wasn't so messed up."

"Damian Wayne..." She spat the name like it was poison on her lips. "Where is he?"

Silvia wasn't sure whether the man was going to answer her or not, and she never would. Soon she could hear footsteps approaching the room, and with one final glance at the older man, she rushed into one of the vacant holding cells. She slipped under the bed and waited.

The only noises that followed were the opening of the barred cell door and their shoes against concrete as they escorted the prisoner out. Silvia waited until her ears had to strain to hear them before following their trail.

This world only seemed to give her more questions other than answers, and so she'd have to find her own ways to make sense of things. Starting with where they were taking the prisoner. She was still in the midst of her grief over Nightwing, but whenever it arose she would push it aside. Now was not the time to break down... Dick would have laughed at her if she did.

"So, you finally caught me." The man said as Silvia was still making her way towards his voice.

"You didn't make it easy." Clark's voice followed.

"Wouldn't be a very good assassin if I did."

"I'm sure that'll be a great comfort once this is over." Clark's voice sounded almost mocking but Silvia didn't know why. It made her walk faster to her destination.

"I didn't think you still made jokes, Supes. Thought you got all bitter when your squeeze bought it."

A growl followed and it was so loud that even without enhanced hearing Silvia would have heard it. "Don't you dare talk about her!"

"Even after five years it's still fresh? You've always been weak of mind but this is just hilarious."

Silvia finally made it to a point where she could view what was happening. Superman's followers were all standing around the old man who was sat on his knees, hands cuffed behind his back.

The look on Clark's... or Kal-el's face was terrifying. She had never seen him so furious. She didn't even know he could make such a kind face look so horrifying.

"Slade Wilson." Superman hissed. His restraint was wearing thin. "I was willing to ignore your crimes, but since you started working for Batman I can no longer do that."

Slade? Why did that name sound so familiar? Silvia's eyes widened. Slade... that was Deathstroke's real name.

"It was a one time thing, I was bored. Plus, he pays good." Wilson chuckled.

Wonder Woman then spoke up. "Silence. Or I will have your tongue."

"Diana...it's okay." Clark said quietly to her.

Wilson coughed at the ground, and brought his eyes back up to Clark's. "Good going. You've finally gotten another one. One that fights too. About time, maybe she won't die as easily."

In that instant, Silvia saw all of the restraint drain from Clark's face.

Wilson continued though." I lost a wife and son too, you know. You don't see me crying about it. Well, granted...I didn't kill them though." He quipped with a snide grin. "I saw your new toy, by the way, try not to kill her too."

Superman's eyes lit up like two red suns as he yelled "Enough!!" with such force that the entire room shook and reverberated from the sheer volume.

In several seconds, Silvia caught the sight of smoke swirling above Wilson's kneeling body. Then she heard crackling...then his screaming.

She had barely realised what was happening when Clark wrenched a hand around Wilson's neck and held him up off his feet. His eyes were still burning red...cooking the flesh of the man within his grasp.

His other hand shot forward like a javelin, piercing Wilson's chest and erupting through the other side, covered in blood and entrails. It filled the room with cracking and squelching.

The man's body dropped but the muscles around his eyes still twitches with life. He wasn't dead yet... he would die slowly.

Silvia felt a gasp try to wriggle out of her throat and quickly covered her mouth to silence it. This did little good because seconds later the guard that she had previously rendered unconscious sneaked up behind her and pushed her through the doors unexpectedly.

"Sir, Miss Stone has escaped..." He said with a shake in his voice.

Superman instantly turned, anger in his eyes never fading. "What?!" His eyes faded from red to blue again as he glanced down at the girl crawling her way to Slade's tremoring body.

"Wh... What have you d-done?" She forced out, body quaking and mind refusing to accept what she had just witnessed. "You... Oh, God..."

"Silvia... I'm sorry you had to see that." Superman spoke without a hint of remorse for his actions, though regret that she seemed so frightened by the whole ordeal. "I had hoped to spare you the gory details."

Blood was pooling from Slade's mouth now, he would either drown in his own fluids or from the loss of it. Silvia frantically searched around for something to help before her eyes landed on someone familiar. "Cyborg!" She cried in a panic. "You can help him right?"

He huffed in response and turned his stare elsewhere. He had never been fond of the girl and he wasn't about to start doing her favours... especially not if that meant going against Superman.

His silence was answer enough and Silvia felt her face contort in absolute disgust. "And you called me a murderer... You're no better."

"He's just following orders." Kal-el knelt at her side, brow furrowed. Seeing her do distressed after just getting her back hurt him deeply. "Silvia... You're the one that use to think that this was the only way to keep people safe, and you were right. I know that I made you believe in some fairytale about second chances but I'm sure in time you'll come to understand what I'm doing here."

He went to touch her shoulder but she scampered away as if burned by hot lava. She looked at him in a way that broke his heart all over again. She was afraid of him.

Superman's expression turned cold to bury the hurt he was feeling and he nodded to the guard.

"Come on, I'll take you back to the councillors room." The guard said, nudging her up by the arm.

She yanked herself out of his grip with a growl. "I can take myself back, I'm not a fucking child."

The guard jumped back, not accustomed to her harshness. "Th-That's not it, ma'am. I just have to be sure you don't run off again..."

The blonde shot the man a spiteful look before turning back to Slade's body. He still wasn't dead, but it wouldn't be long now. She always wanted to see him like this, and some part of her always thought she'd enjoy the view even after Clark had changed her. She was wrong.

The girl laid her hand on either side of Slade's head and an inch off of the ground. With one loud 'crack' Silvia had broken the man's neck and ended his suffering.

She stood, covered in blood and lips trembling. She didn't want to stay in Kal-el's room... he wasn't the man that she once knew. Her word meant nothing here though and so she silently followed the guard out. She felt Superman's eyes on her as she left and it gave her none of the warmth she would usually receive. It only made her uncomfortable, and terrified of a world where Superman was the enemy.

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