Barry and Karen were arriving at the J.S.A. headquarters to find the current roster of the team already gathered and watching the attack on Metropolis. Max was there with Dr. Midnight, Green Lantern, The Spectre, Dr. Fate, and Stargirl. Vixen still had yet to arrive as did Huntress and Wildcat. Barry had to hang back as these were all heroes he was unfamiliar with while Karen stepped forward to see what had her friends all so entranced. As soon as she saw the footage playing, all her fears came rushing back.

Power Girl pushed her way through the team to get a closer look at the devastation when an alert sounded about more attacks. Metropolis wasn’t the only city under assault by Parademons. London, Paris, Tokyo, they were all under siege. Dr. Light was fighting to protect her city while the Suicide Squad also got involved to protect the two European cities.  

Green Lantern and Karen had grown close over the years and as such, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she watched the devastation, a tear rolling down her cheek. He more than anyone knew what she was feeling at remembering the loss of Superman, just as he had lost his daughter Jade in the same fight. But this wasn’t the time for grief, there was a battle going on and Metropolis needed heroes. When the final three members of the J.S.A. arrived, Wildcat started issuing assignments.

“Okay, the Suicide Squad is protecting London and Paris on both fronts. I got word from Dr. Light that the Japanese Navy has joined in the battle over Tokyo. Here’s what I need from all of you, Stargirl, Power Girl, Green Lantern, your job is to get the Parademons focused on the three of you. Keep them away from any civilians caught in the war zone. Go.”

Power Girl, Stargirl, and Green Lantern immediately flew off for Metropolis while Wildcat continued directing the team. Ted Grant had long ago retired from active duty but returned after Superman’s disappearance and Batman’s death. Like Green Lantern, he was one of the older members of the J.S.A. and his strategic mind was always needed.

“Dr. Fate, Spectre, you’ve got the magical abilities to stop the invasion. If Parademons are here, you know it won’t be long before Darkseid and his Furies arrive. We need a mystical barrier to keep the city safe for when they do.”

Spectre and Fate flew off for Metropolis leaving Max, Vixen, Huntress and Barry behind with Wildcat. He had the most important job for his colleagues and hadn’t even noticed the red clad figure as he issued the last orders.

“Max, do whatever you can to evacuate the civilians from the battle zone. Huntress, Vixen and I will get them to you. We’ll need…”

“Hey, I can help!”

Barry’s voice interrupted Wildcat’s train of thought as he turned to look at the man who spoke. He made a quick appraisal of the red uniformed man before turning back to Max with a question in his eyes.

“Max, who the hell is this? And why is he in J.S.A. h.q.?”

“Ted…calm down. This is Barry Allen, and on his Earth, also known as the Flash. He’s a speedster like me and he’s just trying to get home. But right now, questions won’t help anything. Two speedsters can evacuate civilians faster than one.”

Wildcat agreed with Max’s reasoning and though reluctantly allowed Barry to help. But he was also going to keep an eye on the mystery man. Max may trust him, but this Barry could be a plant by Darkseid to infiltrate the J.S.A. With discussions ended, the five heroes climbed into the team jet and flew for Metropolis. Barry and Max could have run there, but needed to conserve their powers for the battle ahead.

As Green Lantern, Power Girl and Stargirl arrived in Metropolis, the Parademons attacked with a second wave. The black armor clad man watched as his army took notice and engaged the Lantern and Stargirl simultaneously. He knew that Darkseid had been correct when planning this war. With two of the heroes occupied, Power Girl was left to fight on her own, and she was his target. A dark blur flew right through the air and impacted on Power Girl’s back, wrapping an arm around her waist. She had just been about to fight off another Parademon when she was rocketed further into the sky. She’d never felt raw power like this before except from Darkseid. Disoriented and stunned from the attack, Power Girl only barely registered her body being lifted up by two powerful arms and heard a cold voice taunting her.

“Your cousin failed to stop Lord Darkseid; Kryptonian. And you…you were too weak to save him!”

Those words were echoing in Karen’s ears as her adversary viciously threw her plummeting towards the ground. For a brief moment, she was ready to surrender to her fate. She figured what lay beyond this world had to be better and she would at least see Kal again until a brief moment of clarity assaulted her mind. The voice of Darkseid’s warrior, it had an inflection that was all too familiar. Gathering her strength, Power Girl snapped out of her dazed state and caught herself three feet from the ground. Looking up, her eyes burned red with anger and her heat vision.

This man had insulted the memory of her cousin, and in a rage, she shot back into the air, her right fist poised to strike. Karen was a blur of speed as her fist connected with the midnight armor. Her strike was so powerful that the metal around the warrior’s midsection caved in. But that was all that happed as he let out a sinister laugh, just before retaliating with his own punch, impacting with the heroine’s right cheek.

“Foolish girl, my powers surpass yours in every way imaginable. You must realize you never had a chance to stop me. And now, your adopted home is doomed.”

Power Girl heard his words but she still refused to go down without a fight. She knew that Darkseid was coming as her enemy activated the Mother Box secured to his right arm. She unleashed the strongest blast of heat vision she could muster with a desperate scream. The force served as little more than a nuisance to the warrior as he still opened the Boom Tube.   Karen could only stare in horror as all of her nightmares returned to plague her memories.

Darkseid emerged from the tube with his Furies and Granny Goodness in tow. The New God was just about to attack Power Girl with his Omega beams but stopped as he had a better idea. With a wave of his hand, he commanded the Furies and Granny to attack the rest of the heroes fighting his Parademons. Darkseid was hovering in mid-air, his black armored warrior by his side across from Power Girl. In that moment, he decided to crush the heroine completely.

“How does it feel Kara Zor-L? How does it feel knowing that you could have been by my side all this time? This army could have been yours, the humans kneeling at your feet.”

“It feels better to oppose you than it would to be your slave. Better to die a hero fighting for what’s right, just like my cousin did.”

“Your cousin Superman, yes. He is not dead, my child. He has simply embraced a larger view of the world.”

“Then let him go Darkseid. Give him back to us!”

“My dear Kara, you think I am keeping your cousin prisoner in the fire pits of Apokolips? How small your perception is. How limited.”

“Enough with the riddles tyrant! If my cousin isn’t dead, prove it!”

“As you wish. Show her who you are, my son.”

Karen turned her full attention to the warrior as he raised his hands to the helmet obscuring his face. He reached to back of the helm, pressing a button that unlocked the claps. Slowly, the helmet began to retract into the rest of the armor, revealing ice cold blue eyes and a curl of hair hanging down in the center of his forehead. Karen reached up, covering her mouth with her hands as she let slip a quiet whisper.

“Kal…”

Karen was frozen in shock as she stared at her cousin. Her hero, her inspiration was hovering in the air across from her, his face devoid of all emotion. Five years he’s been gone, and she feared the worst. She feared he was dead. For a brief moment, she almost wished he had been killed in that last battle. It would have been preferable to how she sees him now.

“Kal…what did he do to you?”

Darkseid’s sinister laughter broke Karen from her dazed state. It was then that she realized just how far she had fallen into the God of Evil’s trap. She was nearly paralyzed as the attack began. Kal instantly unleashed his heat vision, the full force of the power knocking the heroine back across the sky. Power Girl barely had time correct her flight path before he was on her. She was being punched, blasted with arctic breath, and even thrown by her hair. She wanted to fight back, but Kal was relentless. He had always been stronger than her, but he was fighting at another level entirely. His fists were like thunder, the sound echoing across the sky and drowning out the sounds of battle below them.

Power Girl started to fall from the sky after one last devastating punch. The hit was directly aimed at her mid-section and she felt three ribs break from the force of it. In less than a second Kal was flying after her at his fastest, more than willing to do more damage. Karen knew that this would be her end. She was going to die at the hands of her cousin. But she didn’t account for one saving grace.

Barry had been helping Max protect and evacuate the innocent people caught in the onslaught of the Parademons and Furies. He had just gotten one more civilian out of harm’s way and was preparing to throw lightning at a Parademon that was making a beeline to attack him. In that instant, Barry dodged the demon and looked up to see Power Girl sustain a punch that should have folded her in half. The Scarlet Speedster flashed back to the fight between his Kara and Reign. During that fight, Superman had saved Kara but that wasn’t possible this time.

Barry immediately pushed his speed to his highest level, reaching where he knew Karen would land hard if he miscalculated by even one second. Just as he was getting into position, time seemed to stop. Barry could feel himself moving but Karen, Darkseid, everything seemed to freeze in place. It wasn’t until he felt the weight of Power Girl in his arms that time started to flow again.   In that same moment, a dark blur was speeding towards the two heroes and Barry quickly moved out of the way. Green Lantern had seen the oncoming attack and formed a barrier with his ring that barely stopped the warrior he could now see the face of.

“KAL! Whatever Darkseid’s done to you, you have to fight it! You were always the best of us! Don’t let him control you!”

The Lantern’s pleas were met with a silent snarl on the face of the Last Son of Krypton. The ring and constructs were powerful, but even they wouldn’t last long against an enraged Superman. And with Max, The Spectre, Dr. Fate and Stargirl otherwise occupied, Alan Scott was on his own. Vixen, Wildcat and Huntress tried to help, but the Furies pushed them back once again. Across the battlefield, Karen was struggling to her feet after Barry had set her down.

“Barry…why did you do that?”

“Why did I rescue you? I almost watched my Kara die twice, never again!”

“No! Why did you pull me out of the fight? That’s my cousin back there! I have to help him!”

“Karen…I know you want to help him…save him…but look at him! That is not the cousin you know! Right now; that’s not Superman. If you go back in there, he will kill you!”

“You don’t know that, Barry! I can reach him! I know I can!”

“Maybe you can, but you need to let me give you that chance.”

“How do you plan to do that? He could kill me, and I’m Kryptonian! You’re a meta-human. He could easily kill you!”

“He could…but he won’t.”

“And you know that, how?”

“Because I’m faster than him. Can’t kill what you can’t catch.”

Karen was going to protest again but Barry was gone before she could get the words out. He was a red and gold blur racing around Kal as the other heroes pulled back. Barry knew what he had to do and was running counter clockwise, creating a funnel of wind and lightning around his adversary. Max witnessed this and immediately joined in. While the lightning was only causing minimal physical damage to Kal, the power of both speedsters was destroying the armor to reveal his Superman uniform still underneath. Soon enough, Kal was falling to his knees as he expended his powers trying in vain to stop Barry and Max.

Darkseid witnessed this and attempted to stop the heroes before Dr. Fate appeared in his way. With the Parademons defeated, Green Lantern and Stargirl were able to focus their full power against the Furies. This enabled the Spectre to utilize his own magic in an attempt to aid the two speedsters against Superman.   Unaffected by the lightning, Spectre entered the tornado and placed his hands against Superman’s head. Knowing what he had to do, he spoke with an ethereal voice, his words fueled by vengeance.

“Kal-L of Krypton, this is not who you are. Darkseid has twisted your mind.”

As the Spectre continued his attempts to free Superman from Darkseid’s control, Barry and Max refused to let up in the expenditure of their powers. For a moment, the two speedsters were running in perfect sync until Barry hit a higher gear. Max had nearly reached his limit but the younger hero kept going. It was in that same moment that Superman found a brief opening and let forth a small blast of arctic breath that froze Max’s legs, knocking him out of the fight. Internally, Kal was at war with what Darkseid had turned him into and the villainous side was winning.

Spectre was startled as Kal reached up with both of his hands freeing his own head from the control of his enemy. Normally Superman was weak to magic, but Darkseid’s corruption of the hero’s mind and powers must have strengthened his resistance. Two mighty forces of mysticism were at war, one born of vengeance and the other born of the darkest evil ever seen. Spectre was immediately cast aside as Superman fully resisted. This left Barry alone in his fight once again, just as he was in the battle with Cadmus before he was pulled into the Speed Force.

This time, Barry knew what he had to do. He had to push his powers to their ultimate limit without going beyond both the speed of light and sound. Remembering how he saved Kara from Despero’s mind control, he employed the same tactics.

Kal was even more enraged as the scarlet blur ran circles around him. His heat vision, arctic breath and super speed were useless. Even though he didn’t stop fighting, he knew he couldn’t hit what he could only barely see. Barry knew that if he kept this up, he just might open another portal to the Speed Force. If that was to occur he might not come back this time. Instead, he focused his thoughts on only one course of action. He could tell that Superman was on his knees and losing the fight.

This gave Barry one desperate chance. Channeling all of his energy into his right fist, the speedster dashed away before running right back and hitting the potentially brainwashed Superman with a supersonic punch. The power of the lightning in that punch penetrated the skull of the downed Kal while also breaking Barry’s hand. The latter screamed in pure agony even as his powers began to heal him.

Barry was on his knees cradling his healing hand as Karen flew over to him. With her still mending ribs, she gently landed next to her unconscious cousin. The two heroes knelt on the ground together while the fight was still raging around them. The Parademons were all defeated so the assembled heroes united against the Furies and Granny Goodness. Seeing that Dr. Fate was still in combat with Darkseid, the Spectre flew in to aid in the battle. Karen could only stare at Barry in awe as she tried to find the words for what he had just done.

“Barry…you…how…you punched out a fully powered Kryptonian. The sun’s solar energy renders us…”

“Invincible, I’m aware of that. I fought my Kara when she was being mind-controlled.   Couldn’t hit her though.”

“Why not? Too much of a gentleman, to hit a woman?”

There was a slight laugh in Karen’s voice as she continued to stare at Barry. He was thankful for the moment of levity and responded with his own joke, but had to stifle a grimace of pain.

“Yeah…but this is the other reason. Kal definitely has a jaw made of steel.”

“Of course he does. But again, how did you do that? What was that?”

“I call it a supersonic punch. It’s not an attack I take lightly or use all that often. You can see why.”

“So you weren’t even really sure it would work? Quite a risk you took there Barry.”

“I know, but I also didn’t have to hold back against your cousin. I knew it wouldn’t kill him if I attempted it.”

On the ground behind Barry and Karen, Superman was starting to regain consciousness. He was groaning in pain, but Karen couldn’t risk him attacking again so she kicked him in the face, knocking him back out.

“Sweet Dreams Kal, hopefully you remain out cold until we can get you to the Fortress. Kelex should be able to find some way of freeing you from Darkseid’s control.”

“Power Girl! If you and the Scarlet Wonder are done having your tea party, we could use some help over here!”

Barry and Karen both turned to see their allies starting to fall back in the fight with the Furies. It was Huntress that called out for them as she was being backed into a corner by Mad Harriet. Lashina had managed to trap Max with her steel bands while Alan was holding his own against Stompa. Stargirl was on her own against Granny Goodness but the villainous woman was evading every light blast the heroine fired from her Cosmic Staff. Barry and Karen rushed to join in the fray as their injuries were mostly healed.

Barry ran to Max, using his powers to channel electricity through the metal bands restraining him. The lightning traveled back to Lashina causing her to scream in pain as the energy engulfed her physically and through the mental connection to her weapons. Karen had watched Stargirl continue her attempts to hit Granny, and immediately recognized the pattern. Stargirl was actually trying to keep her adversary distracted until help could arrive.

Knowing this, Power Girl landed behind where Granny would take her next step. When in position, she wrapped an arm tightly around Goodness’ neck.

“Going somewhere, Granny? I don’t think so.”

“Oh Kara, I was just coming to find you. My offer to lead the Furies still stands. Join us and Darkseid. Have more power than you’ve ever dreamed possible. Join us and I will free your cousin.”

Goodness’ words were saccharine sweet, meant to tempt Power Girl. But Karen saw right through it. She knew that Darkseid would never allow Kal to go free and resume his life as Superman. And if she did take the witch’s offer, the rulers of Apokolips would have the two most powerful beings in the universe as slaves. Not a single hero on Earth would stand a chance.

“Yeah, I think I’ll pass. And you’re going to free my cousin whether you want to or not.”

Granny laughed maniacally at Power Girl’s confidence. Both of the last Kryptonians held onto a foolish belief that everything in the universe had clear shades of right and wrong, light and dark. This belief is what enabled her to break Superman. She manipulated him cleverly into believing that Darkseid had wanted to save Krypton while the Guardians let it perish.

“Naïve child, you can do what you want to me, but your cousin will never be free. He lives to serve Darkseid. And when he awakes, he will kill you.”

“We’ll see about that.”

Karen turned Granny in orientation to the battle raging in the sky between Darkseid, Dr. Fate and the Spectre. The Lord of Apokolips was on the losing end as the combined mystical power of the two heroes was overwhelming him. He would need time to recover and activated his Mother Box, opening several Boom Tubes. The Furies on the ground escaped first, and just as Darkseid was retreating, Karen threw Granny with all her might. Goodness’ body collided with that of her Master and they fell through the tube just before it closed. She then landed with a sigh of relief, and three words from Barry.

“It’s over, Karen.”

“No Barry, not yet.”

He and Karen looked to Kal still on the ground, the only obstacle that remained.