Justice League 1. Prologue

Hi, this is my first published story. Any spelling mistakes are on me, still looking for a beta.

Disclaimer: I own no well known character - ufortunately, otherwise Superman and Wonder Woman would be together ages ago.

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**Prologue**

The forest went on forever.

Through its darkness, beyond its core, two women ran for their and the child's lives. The cold of that hole they were fleeing replaced the warmth within their bodies and made every limb tremble in fear. The unforgiving aura still followed close behind, gaining strength and speed, attributes the amazons had, but could no longer use to their advantage once exhaustion took over their cells.

Aside from the cuts and holes that filled the women's body, both minds were intact and screamed nonstop to remind they could and would not die that way. Not in the hands of the most despised man in their island, the only one who dared invade the sacred soil of Themiscyra. And not while with the little girl, the queen's pride and joy, who would no longer stay home, in the island beside her mother.

"You can't run from me…"

Without her notice, the young man stopped in the darkness, where they couldn't see even the glowing light eyes, and had his blade through the stomach of the older one before any reaction she could master.

"Run, Epione, run!", the General screamed while fighting the pain and the man. "Take the child to safety. Now!"

"Phillipus…"

Before the man came to her, the amazon ran with the young princess in her arms. Ignoring the pain in her bare feet, she jumped roots and evaded trees, doing her best to keep the child unharmed. To the shore, she thought, the boat in the shore.

The blinding light coming from her left gave her a relieved smile, but not for long. A piercing scream, that she recognized coming from her general, reached her ears along with the dry sound of cracking leaves and the sound of the ocean a few feets away. Following the latter, she crumbled across the end of the magical forest to finally reach the uninhabited shore where, days before the war, the Queen ordered them to make a comfortable and safe boat in case the victory wasn't achieved and she needed to send her daughter to the world, far away from the protected island.

Epione put the princess within the nifty sheets in the little boat beside the parchment written by the Queen's own hand introducing the child to whoever would find and take care of her. The ocean was quick to take responsibility of the young one floating in it. Within minutes, Epione could no longer see the boat and she prayed in this moment for the welfare of the only child of the past three millennia.

Like the General, she didn't see the man coming after her. Epione just felt the cold blade in her throat and fought it. She was an amazon and did everything a true warrior would do to survive. A deep gash on her back was enough to send her tumbling to the ground. Swiftly he was over her, dominating his prey until another man appeared to reclaim what was his. Under golden eyes of both men, she gave up her struggle and fainted, finally giving in into unconsciousness, relieved for accomplishing her mission.

* * *

"Wake up, darling!" A gruesome voice filled the caged cave, echoing far through its tunnels till it found some exit to vanish. "You are not dead… yet." The last word left his mouth in a whisper.

Slowly Hippolyta's eyes opened to reveal the earth and stones in the ground she was laying in. Her face was scrapped and the blood helped the sand glue in her cheeks and near the eyes. But worse than the grassy taste in her mouth was the feeling of emptiness inside her heart for not knowing what happened to Phillipus or Epione and, more importantly, her daughter. Forgetting the surroundings and the chains which tied her to a big stone, the woman concentrated on her injures, allowing herself to grief over the broken leg and torn clothes that exposed her bare and bruised front.

"Very wise, your Highness!", Ares stepped away from the darkness hiding his figure. "Sending my father's offspring away was smart…"

Hippolyta hissed in pain when he grabbed her raven hair.

"You thought no one knew?" he laughed. "I'll tell you… my mother wasn't pleased with the news. She sent me here to take care of her dirty business."

"_You_ don't have _my_ child, Ares. You would not be here otherwise."

"I don't need her anymore", Ares pushed her away like trash, giving his back to the fallen woman. "Do you know about the minor war the earthlings are bearing? No? Too bad you sent the poor girl to a war zone where sooner or later she'll die by the hands of… _men_."

Wide eyed, Hippolyta struggled uselessly with the chains. Screaming after the God of War to set her free. Screaming for the child she wanted to believe was not lost.


	2. Chapter 1

Hey! Thank you so much for the reviews! I really aprecciate them.

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**Chapter I**

Kal-El looked again inside the new ship, it was big enough for him. There was a lone chair in the middle, build to carry his body comfortably for the long journey ahead. Tomorrow… He remembered the simulation of the travel, the lessons about avoiding meteors and mechanical problems along the way. The crystals had the needed information, a perfect computer with its own artificial intelligence.

Jor-El came behind him to touch his shoulder sympathetically, wishing his son had a smile instead of a deep frown on his face. He took off the cape he used and folded it neatly to give to the young man.

"It's our new beginning, Kal-El. Our people decided to rejoin other galaxies, to show our advanced technology and help the planets achieve the peace we now have." Jor-El smiled in a mist of happiness and sadness. Krypton should fight its xenophobic acts, but this progress should not cost his son. "I chose Earth for you, my son. This fragile planet needs a good leader to guide nations through a dark moment. So many wars consumed the people, the last one destroyed millions."

"Twelve years ago…" Zor-El, Jor-El's brother, said, never looking too far away from his computer. "Darkseid almost won. If not for the internal war started on Apokolips while the Dark Lord was away, his parademons would have destroyed Earth."

"So… He did not win, father," Kal-El glared his uncle for awhile, then turned to his father. "Darkseid is not a threat to Earth anymore. He lost."

"Does it matter he lost? Many people lost also, but their lives instead of a war." Jor-El touched one particular crystal to close the ship for the night. Tomorrow he would make the last adjusts. "Darkseid is dead now, finally his kingdom of wrath is over. But it doesn't mean the planets are safe. Zciaran took the place of the God and did not continue to expand his realm… for now. In time, he will," Jor-El said somberly, not sure about the plans of the new Lord. "Earth still tries to forget the destruction… There are persistent people in there, son. They have strong will, a good instinct of survival. They welcome all the help."

"Are they tolerant? I may look like them, but, as you predicted, my body will be different under a yellow sun. Do you think they deal well with super powered aliens? Because that's what I will be before their eyes." Kal-El turned to look through the glass wall, confused still, the city below was beautiful but drew so little emotion from him. The crystals with which his planet was made of gave Krypton a cold aspect, increased by the rational people that walked amongst him. "I don't fear humans, father. I'm curious about them. But how do I know about their attitude towards me?"

"You don't, son." Lara entered the room with a reassuring smile. "Perhaps you'll understand the moment you land. Perhaps days or years later." She closed the gap between them and touched his face. "You'll do well, Kal-El. And you have us to guide you through doubts and mistakes, don't forget."

"I'm sure of that, mother. Thank you."

"Tomorrow at this time you will be far from Krypton, but we're still close to you, Kal-El." Jor-El gave him half dozen cylindrical crystals as a gift to his bravery for facing the mission imposed by the council. "A friend awaits you. Someone like us, _alien_ as you said earlier. J'onn J'onnz is his name. A young Martian who adopted Earth as home after the annihilation of his people."

Kal-El stood silent before his parents. Unlike the Martian, he could still come back home, he could embrace his mother and talk to his father whenever he wanted. He felt bad now for this J'onn J'onnz. With a nod he took the crystals and protected it with his father's red cape.

"Fear not, Kal-El!" Zor-El exclaimed from his chair, looking his nephew with pride. "Had I the age, I'd send myself for this experience. Look at this opportunity, you'll brave a new world after so many years of our enclosure."

"Yeah. I'll be fine." At the age of seventeen, sometimes, he felt uncomfortable with his appearance and showed only a small timid smile. Kal-El had an average high compared to his people, but his broad shoulders meant tough exercises in the past years. He, along with five other younger, was prepared for a mission on another galaxy. Jor-El's son won the tournament, proving himself physically and intellectually. "Maybe my good looks will charm them all." He joked before leaving the laboratory.

The smile disappeared right after the door closed behind him.

"I hope."

* * *

She saw natural light for the first time in eight weeks and five days.

She counted.

Slowly going up the stairs, the cool air started to surround her, causing a chill to run up her spine. The strange sensation seemed to last all the way to the outside, through the gates and stairs of the underworld, through cages and smelly prisoners. It worsened every time a yell reached her, anguished shrieks caused by hunger, thirst or, most of the time, by the inflicted pain on the prisoners' bodies.

Long ago the repugnant view of decomposing limbs and open wounds with moving beings stopped affecting her stomach.

For seven years she lived in this hell that could be even worse than Apokolips. Physical torture was one of the methods used on children; she had no scar to prove, because somehow her healing ability was very good. But the psychological abuse branded her deep inside, bringing to the surface an emotionless girl who fought every hour for survival, like the other planets' lowly kids.

She was meant to slavery like her mother. For her lifetime she was bound to work on the underground, serving the Lord and his bunch of ass-kisser followers. Usually, for being quite talented to find a good fight in the low chambers, she would be sent to the outside to receive proper punishment. Beatings and humiliations were the most frequent. Sometimes the guards voted between them to choose the one who would use her as his pleasure doll, then, when it was over, she was transformed in a punching bag. Today would be no different, she thought bitterly.

Only that this time she was taken to the arena.

The crowd was already waiting for her. One guard opened the gate while the other threw her on the ground and left, locking her closer exit. The bleachers were full of people, the True People of the new planet, as they claimed themselves to be. Malicious eyes pierced her small body as if searching for the place from where the blood would come out first.

She looked down at her ragged dress, self-conscious, only to find a few more holes on the dirty garment. Her skin was even darker than the cloth. The underworld soil was like mud, but with something slippery mixed, like the oil used to heat the kettles. It was impossible to keep herself clean if even the water was filthy. Maybe once in a bimester, the Lord would send crystalline water to bathe the women and children; the men would use the water later, when it was already foul, but better than the other in the pipes.

A gush of wind reached her face all of a sudden. It had an unpleasant flower scent, something common in this planet, leaving her lightheaded because of such acute fragrance. The unexpected slap across the face was enough to wake her up for the oncoming battle that she'd have to fight.

"Whoever was taken unknowingly to the arena will fight till death," said the rumor downstairs.

"Hello, Rubbi." She recognized the voice as the one belonged to the despising leader of the infant army. Arrhya was a fierce and cruel young Fury trainee who liked to use the children from below, the ones she could kill without worries. "It's been a while."

A graceful kick landed on the younger's chin, drawing blood of her mouth, followed by one left hook strong enough to send her flying above the ground. Before she could regain her breath, Arrhya grabbed her short hair in a vice grip, shoving her head on the stony wall beside them.

The crowd roared in thirst for blood.

"You're for their fun today, Rubbish," Arrhya said between her smiles and enthusiastic screams coming from the crowd. "People got tired of skillful warriors on the arena. Apparently, there wasn't too much blood to satisfy them."

Arrhya gave the girl some time to get up.

"This is meant to be a show, Rubbish. Don't make me cut it short because of your lack of ability. If not you, there are dozens of kids for me to slaughter."

Without a tinge of beauty on her moves, the underworld girl tried a blind punch to the other's face. The first achieved its goal by surprise, but the following lost strength when Arrhya, more than fast, gripped her right forearm and threw her over one shoulder very precisely, as taught by the best warriors of the kingdom. Arrhya was to be one of the reformulated Furies after the Lord destroyed Apokolips from inside and took Darkseid's elite guard to his side to train warriors, intending to form an army led by the head of his most skilled guard of seven.

Rubbi took the opportunity to give a low kick and run from anymore attacks for the moment. She fidgeted with the thin bracelets around her wrists, trying uselessly to take them off. She _needed_ them off now. Using both today was not a good idea.

"Since when did you become a coward, Rubbi? Last time we met, you're eager to pound my head into the nearest wall."

"Last time we met, you had me chained to a wall," she spit the words angrily. "Me wanting your head blew comes from an old dream I had. Worthless brat."

Arrhya responded to her misbehavior with a motion of both hands that aimed for the head, giving the girl's ears a ringing echoing sound, and proceeded to twist her left arm.

The lowly's scream silenced the crowd when Arrhya almost took her arm out of its right place on the shoulder.

"Yield, Rubbi, yield!" The amused scream echoed through the foggy darkness, muffled shortly by the thick atmosphere. "Say it, Rubbish! Oh, sorry, you can't. You too busy kissin' the floor."

The blond young adult stomped on one leg of the girl and pulled the other as if trying to separate it from her body just like she did with the arm. Then kicked her ribs twice until the cracking sound could be heard by the sharp ears of the Lord. Arrhya wanted his attention solemnly on her fight style, her winning side of every battle, since not one useless being bested her on the dirty soil of Haecatombè. She grinned when laughter filled the crowd upon seeing the slave-to-be girl get up with a broken leg and a dislocated arm ready to fight again.

"As you wish, Rubbi," Creating a whip with her bare fingers, she maneuvered it with elegance never, consciously, aiming for the blue eyed girl, but the earth beneath her, lifting dust and small stones controlled telepathically to hit the lowly undignified child. "I'll kill ya!"

Twice the whip caught her arms. Thrice the stones found a way to reach her breastplate. Counting silently, the raven haired twelve years old stood motionless before the amused people who came to see her blood sprawled around the arena. She wanted to run out of there, scared by some faces, but didn't allow such coward act. Weakness was not on her underworld training. Killing was. For the Lord's will.

"Please the Lord and you might serve his army on the outside," her mother ordered her to behave. Somehow, being a part of the worst section of the army was a glory to those of the underworld. An important privilege.

Her mother…

She remembered how severe was the woman who raised her. Diana, as she called her on the good days, didn't know how that woman found her, but wished she never did. Granny Goodness started training her to be a warrior of Apokolips before the invasion, she was too young to do that sort of thing, but there wasn't a negative answer to Granny's wills. The attack put the old woman on her place: jail, but Diana had to stay underground with her. Unfortunately.

Remembering the hell underneath, she knew she had to fight. Not for the Lord. Not for her mother. For herself. For some freedom.

Both hands in fists, she moved swiftly to attack the ground. She repeated the action. Then again, causing a minor quake in it. The fifth punch split the floor and the old bracelets around her wrists. She sighed relieved.

The raw power took her battered body to the knees and the dizziness impeded her to lift her head. She felt the pain fade gradually. Her fingers could move again and the numbness on the fractured limbs started to disappear.

Arrhya used the moment to whip Rubbi forcefully, but backed away when she heard only the sound of marble being hit by a soft rope. She noticed the oddity, but shrugged. One kick would have to do, she thought evilly, recoiling the whip.

"You yield, Arrhya." Above a whisper she said once and would not repeat herself. The foot stopped midair in front of her face.

"Come again?!"

In a blink, the younger got up and held Arrhya's neck, choking her slowly, savoring the moment she would unleash whatever was blocked by those old broken cuffs. She didn't let her breathe before shoving her on the barricade that limited the arena, right under the Lord's dais. Punch after punch, the child drew blood from the other, choosing the right places to leave her conscious, well aware of the little revenge.

"I won't kill you for now," Rubbi said aloud. "Dead you won't obey _me_ when _I_ rise as your commander."

"You're a lowly, Rubbish, found in the garbage of the low world." Arrhya said, harsh. "Weak as those earthlings and dirty as the ones who raised you under Darkseid's orders. Be grateful the Lord accepted you here even with such disgraces that you represent. Human trash."

"I'll show you the _human_."

Arrhya saw her enemy's eyes brighten with a blue and strange light, making her own close to not show the sudden fear in them. Rubbi held her neck loosely and hovered above the ground, initially a few inches, but, not long after, she had Arrhya seeing her people as ants miles below.

"I changed my mind, Arrhya... You will fall, daughter of the Lord."

The cold glare was the last thing Arrhya saw before the fall that left every single bone in her body broken in tiny pieces. Rubbi just watched the scene from the arena, unmoved by the turn of the tables.

Death was part of her world and she was part of Haecatombè now.

The guards came after her for the sake of their princess, Arrhya. Rubbi beat them with one bare hand anyway she could, using a found sword in the other to pierce the men's bodies near what they called heart. She didn't have experience in warrior like fights, the short time in Apokolips was not enough to learn the right way to draw a weapon or how to move correctly around the enemy. Her attacks aimed for the bodies randomly, making gruesome and messy gashes, while escaping from the tips of swords and punches and kicks.

Without her notice, one by one the guards fell and she came to a stop when realized no one was moving towards her. She stood on the arena, alone.

Not the other guards or the silent crowd had the guts to look into her freezing eyes nor the courage to fight her after the quick massacre with the fifteen people.

Rubbi looked around for the first time after she subdued the blind rage that consumed her body and mind. The stillness weighted the air as if everyone mourned for the dead. A long minute passed without noise. She didn't know if it was a disapproving glare she received or a fearful one.

She didn't care.

This was the opportunity to leave the hell.

The Lord would only decide if dead or alive.

Her body went cold when a big hand held her recently healed head without her even noticing he was close, his strength barely smashing her bones, and whispered for her small ears in the language of Apokolips. She understood every word wide eyed, memorizing all threats and promises for her future. The traitor of Apokolips, who reached the Dark Lord cautiously and took him down, inherited the crown of the most feared God by using the deceased's army to attack the planets around. But the years made him lose power with his lack of skillful warriors and now he saw in her the possibility to change his predicament.

Once, she thought that being a slave could be the worse of the fates, but if analyzed, nothing compared to becoming a personal killing machine as the Lord ordered for only her to hear. The pressure on her head vanished before she could mutter a word.

She realized he wanted none.

"Above my warriors," the Lord rose to his full high, breaking the curious silence, ignoring his own child's death and admiring his newfound conquer, "you will rise as their leader when the age comes to you. For now, you ascend as my protégée. Both if shown more of this mighty power hidden beneath such unthinkable façade."

Rubbi looked straight into his face, stunned, and then saw the gates being opened. The coliseum had five of them that led to the subterranean jail from where only one hundred prisoners came through, seeing the dark light of the outside for the first time since imprisonment.

His last whispered words reverberated and the pain on her consciousness just amplified the meaning behind them.

Those hundred people looked at her with knowing eyes, causing a lump to form on her throat. For the first time in years, she assumed to herself that she was only a child. One who now wanted to curl into a ball and cry, then scream at the Lord for obliging her to commit such despising act. The guilt for killing a hundred of her own people would consume her insides forever. The thought of it almost brought her to her knees, but she couldn't waver in front of the Lord. Never where he could see.

Killing Arrhya was a revenge for all the times she was spanked and humiliated. But killing innocents… She swallowed dryly and focused on her future out of the underworld with only the Lord by her side.

"Show me, my precious Ruby. Show me!"

Diana started to move towards the closer woman.

By the end, the reddish sky envied the bloodied ground for its shiny dye. The deep red color of the other world's mineral became her signature. It was too much alike the blood that would never come off of her hands. And his words impregnated like the blood, they would never leave her head.

Fight.

Win.

Kill.

Conquer!


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I changed a few things here. Sorry.

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**Chapter II**

Diana felt dull.

The underworld had taught her well how to survive and deal with the consequences of it. Survival meant beat the odds, fight and succeed every day before someone else took away her food, water, space or life. Due to the circumstances, one would choose only two sometimes. To live underground Diana had learned how to act towards every being there and, like the others, she had the Lord's code ingrained in her.

That's why she obeyed.

But the fear she felt now was very new. Diana had to do whatever the Lord wanted, but she killed Lowlies, and they'd seek explanations later.

Coldness crept into her sore bones, even with the hot atmosphere stinging her raw flesh. Her dress covered her body even less after so many rips and pulls, but the blood painted her skin, covering it from the eyes turned in her direction. She knew that the True People wanted rational answers for what they've just seen, they wanted her inspected by their only scientist to learn about the mutation on the Earth's Rubbish.

She stayed unmoving before the Lord's dais, too astonished to do anything by herself but still strong to keep upright.

"The underworld molded you to be powerful, child."

The Lord held up a hand to silence his second in command who whispered suggestions on how to kill the monster child.

"Privileges will do you no good. You'll stay underneath until proven your merit."

Ruby nodded automatically, giving no second thought to what he was saying. In fact, she wasn't listening to a word he said.

He addressed his people.

"We'll rise for a new beginning. We will be known. After so many years rebuilding our world and our pride, we finally will rise as the True People we are. Peace will no longer prevail outside of Haecatombè while I, Zciaran, am alive. Armies shall grow, warriors shall be prepared and my Furies shall become the best alongside you, mighty little one, my Ruby. We'll reach our glory. Nations will respect our superiority and will fall before us. We will forever attack to conquer!"

Unlike the crowd of True People, no reaction came from her, she just showed an expressionless face like someone in shock. She was oblivious to everything; even when a guard took her arm, burning her skin with his hot metal glove and guided her to the nearest gate. He ruthlessly threw her inside.

"You murdered my brother, Trash!" He spat on her, furious. "You run, Rubbish, or I will kill you with my bare hands after giving you to everyone of the families whose members you finished on the arena."

His threatening fists proved his intentions, so she ran away fast, scared, a blur to awaiting hands that wanted a round or two with the traitor of Haecatombè's underground.

Her mind was in a fog and she didn't understand the hateful glares until she stopped suddenly and looked at her blood soaked body. Realization sank in mercilessly. She had _really_ killed those people!

A swift hand out of nowhere grabbed her short hair before she could react and shoved her on the wall, causing her to pass through due to the brute force. Diana, disoriented, fell hard on the floor along with cracked stones and dust. Many memories came to her at once and she couldn't get up. She held her head and shrank closer to the wall, feeling a scorching and unexpected pain consume her mind.

She remembered everything now.

One after another, the events of the afternoon came fast and strong. Images of pure madness overwhelmed her memory and death filled all of them. She was responsible for the losses of many families of the underworld. And she remembered vividly every one of them now. Their pained faces and mutilated bodies… Fearful eyes, begging her to stop, plagued her terrifying nightmare that only now she acknowledged to herself as reality.

Diana felt her body smash another wall and heard heavy stomps as the green male walked in her direction. He grabbed her around the throat and lifted her to face him.

"Did you feel that when you shoved _my_ daughter on the arena wall?" He squeezed her neck. "Answer me, Rubbish!"

Appalled, she didn't respond. Diana tried to turn away from his hurting eyes, but he never allowed her. He shoved her on the split wall many times, each time harder, transferring all his pain and anger to his movements.

None of the onlookers did anything to stop him. His actions gave them a chance to mourn the same way as he.

"What did you do after? This?" He kicked her far into the cavern. Punishing her made him feel a little bit better, knowing she'd feel the pain his loved one suffered in the arena.

The others went closer to the fallen girl's body. They inspected her to see if her stillness meant more than unconsciousness, but, by seeing her tear filled blue eyes, they started to attack as hard as they could.

Fifteen thousand was the population of the underworld. More than half stayed cloistered inside jails with only darkness as company. But the ones that could walk free, excluding the Apokoliptians, who still craved the violence preached by the Dark Lord and enjoyed the massacre, took the opportunity to unleash old frustrations towards this girl, who they had just discovered was way too dangerous.

She looked around to see rage, the same blind hate that she bestowed upon a hundred of them. She was Rubbish to them. This tiny, dull girl that had no ability to even aim a sword properly was the same one that had killed many of their own.

The first punch she received openly on the face barely hurt her. Then a giant of seven feet slapped her on the wall, causing some tremors. This gave courage to the rest to attack her as she did not even react.

Diana didn't feel the pain they wanted her to. Without her bracelets, somehow, the battering that would hurt her for days, felt like light touches to her dense skin. And she wanted a punishment for what she did, she needed someone to stop her before she really started whatever the Lord wanted her to, before she really began.

But no one on the underworld could stop her. And someday even she wouldn't know how to be stopped.

* * *

Kal-El pushed his sheets aside after hours of trying to find sleep. Supporting his upper body on both elbows, he looked at Kandor through the window. Again the crystals disturbed him immensely, as if he didn't belong to _his_ planet anymore, neither Kandor nor Kryptonopolis attracted his interest anymore. Strangely, he felt that what waited on Earth was truly the right thing for him since the beginning.

If the scientists' predictions of years ago had been correct, maybe his parents would have sent him to Earth for him to survive. With a sigh, he sat on the bed, running a hand through his hair as he always did when an unsettled feeling consumed him. He was curious about Earth, a little bit too curious to even admit to himself and his parents. But, as curiosity appeared unexpectedly over the past few days, fear came along much stronger. Leave his world was not like the visits he made to his elder family, where he knew even the terrain of their home.

Krypton was formidable in every way, a technological beauty in the form of cities, surrounded by the planet's unique flora and fauna. Science was primordial there; Krypton had the most brilliant personalities of the universe, and superiority filled their existence. Kal-El was living proof that Jor-El never stopped trying to unite his planet with the many others around until the day that the Council allowed his experiments. And that victory was taking him far from home. To Earth. Primitive planet, galaxies away from Krypton, with strange people that still battled amongst themselves over minor things such as color or culture. Krypton reached peace and union; discussions happened over scientific matters when one tried to prove the other wrong. But it was their science, always revealing, that took away what Earth still had: mysteries. An infinite amount of them that included even its self-centered inhabitants.

And there was not an ocean in Krypton to keep him wondering.

That simple image, taken by his father, was burnt on his memory like nothing else, the beautiful sight of the deep blue water meeting a much lighter blue that was their sky was so beautiful he could not think straight. It kept him dreaming awake every minute of the day and distracted what should be a focused mind. The wonders of the much primitive world seemed tempting even for someone as rational as him.

But above all worries stood his father's prediction about the powers given by the yellow sun that Earth revolves around. He imagined how it would feel like being invulnerable and how much he'd have to learn not to break unbreakable materials to humans with his bare hands due to his future superhuman strength. Or even his enhanced hearing and vision…

"The machine…"

He jumped off bed and ran silently towards his bedroom door, not caring about going out with his sleep clothes. Kal-El remembered the machine his father created with his uncle to simulate, with less potency, Sun's radiation and some effects caused by it. He went inside once and the prototype didn't work with total efficiency, he felt only a headache when exposed to the bright light, but he knew, even with his father's denial, that the machine had been worked upon and now it would provide him the experience of an almost real exposure to the Sun.

The laboratory door was closed, but never locked, so he went in cautiously, paying attention to his surroundings. The lights turned on, sensing his presence. Kal-El ignored them, knowing no one would acknowledge him there anyway.

At the end of the room he saw the lone machine covered by a white fabric. Rethinking his plans, he sat down and stared at the machine for more time than his patience would normally allow. He jumped off of the chair and went closer to the forbidden instrument, decided to discover whatever would happen to him in a few hours.

Changing his mind before the gray machine, he turned toward his well built ship and made a new plan right then and there. Kal-El booted his uncle's computer to finish the last adjustments on the ship. He had won the tournament proposed by the council and he'd have to leave anyway, anticipating his departure in six hours would not be a problem.

His parents would forgive him, he hoped, by the time he arrived on Earth. Preferably close to the sea. Typing commands, setting his trajectory and analyzing landing procedures took him two hours. He had two more before someone woke up.

* * *

"What did you do?" The low and soft voice broke the silence for a second time.

"Fought… Won… Killed." She responded monotonously with an unusual cool voice. "I must conquer now."

After so much violence, finally the Lowlies had stopped their frenetic attack and left the bruised child to perish alone in the middle of the main chamber, the largest place of the cave. Maila observed the child crawl into darkness, leaving a red trail behind her. She was scrubbing her hands on the pasty floor to disguise the blood staining them and putting some dirt on her face, removing it later with a piece of her torn cloth. She spent long minutes dirtying her reddish dress so she could go back to her cell feeling less bloody.

Diana had been different from everyone on the underground. Maila fell in love the moment she saw the blue eyed girl who resembled so much the daughter she had lost when her planet had been attacked by the Lord five years ago. Somehow Diana showed some affection at the beginning, even with the heavy environment of the underworld. But eventually she missed the almost nonexistent kindness and became indifferent to everything.

It started two years ago when guards came often after her.

"Mother said it was necessary," Diana said without emotion, completely dissociated from her surroundings. "I'm to take her out of here."

"No, Diana! That's not the right way." Maila grabbed her arms and hugged the dirty girl. "You're one of the good, remember? You don't kill for fun like the green kids and you don't torture like the Apokoliptians. You're brave and kind and…"

The vacant glare Diana had, told Maila she was not listening. What happened that afternoon was too much more than a child could take. Playing around that hell and tricking people with other kids was different from going up alone to the arena and being forced to kill. Maila knew she had lost Diana to the cruelty of Haecatombè.

Because of the people's lust for blood, a child had lost her slim connection with sanity.

"You'll be fine, Di. In time you'll be." Maila let tears fall and kissed Rubbi's head, still holding her close. "You have me."

"Mother said I was cursed by some Gods of my planet." She suddenly seemed sober while whispering quietly, "The cuffs restrained the beast I have within, but I broke it to fight. My body hurt so much…" Tears left a streak of white skin where the black sand and dried blood were before. "But this guilt is so much worse."

Diana blinked back more tears, failing miserably, and sobbed uncontrollably. "Mad'an cried so much and… and Kolli begged me to stop when I punched him… Even Arrhya had a frightened look when a let her go… Tania…"

Maila sat beside the girl and embraced her with soothing arms. "Shh, Diana, everything is gonna be alright. It wasn't your fault. Since Apokolips you fight for survival. You're just a child."

"I'm no child. I'm a murderer."

Maila had no words. So she just cradled her, like once she did with her daughter, while she cried herself to sleep. Diana was the toughest girl she had ever met, but no one raised by Granny Goodness would turn out to be all good and sane. She thought Diana had survived long enough without showing such violence her mother inflicted on everyone. Deep down she knew that someone as powerful as the girl she held would not go unnoticed in such a place as this one. Diana's fate had been sealed too long ago for someone like her to try to intercede.

She let the girl put to rest her torments of the day. Tomorrow, if the rumor was correct, Diana would be called upstairs to start training. And knowing her, that day would be forgotten, the child was resilient and determined. The Lord would make the best warrior out of her, Maila was sure, a mighty and dangerous warrior.

Diana would become the predator after so many years of being prey. She'd be the destroyer of the new world, the conqueror of Lord Zciaran. And no one could stop her. Not even her race of four armed beings that used strength as a form of living. Not even her love for Diana would be enough to reverse the trauma suffered that afternoon or the misery of the upcoming challenges thrown at her.

Maila placed two thin bracelets on Diana's tiny hands and closed her fingers around it. Her weakness was those cuffs that somehow subdued the power she had. If Granny spoke the truth, Diana was a magical being with no restraint, so she needed the cuffs to know someday, that she wasn't unstoppable, that something was capable of bringing her down when the uncontrolled part of her took all her reason.

She caressed the short and stiff black hair of Diana's, seeing her troubled expression change slowly to a peaceful one. Nothing better than a day after the other and a night in between to mettle everyone underground, including the guilty child.

Maila slept with the thought of how this day had started the tragedy of the near future.

* * *

One last thing and… Everything was ready. Kal-El smiled proudly.

Codes were rechecked to work perfectly, mechanisms answered to his commands and the ship was stored for the long travel. With his father's gift in one hand, he used the other to program the laboratory roof to open for the passage of his ship. While it opened with an acute noise, he ran towards the ship and sat on his chair with the crystals on his lap. With a last look at home, he touched a button to lock the door and turned on the engine.

"I'm ready."

He heard the commotion outside when his ship fell silent, ready to fly. Kal-El's eyes widened seeing his parents walk inside the laboratory, meeting them while doing that crazy escape was not on the plan. Looking at his father's shocked face and his mother's tears, he decided to postpone his travel.

Kal-El pushed a button to stop the engine and another to reopen the door.

"Mother…" Before he rambled apologies, Lara walked to him with open arms.

"I'm so glad to have one last hug… but go, don't adjourn your life because of us." She smiled, holding his hands. "You have a purpose and, even it being far away from us, I'm happy and _so_ proud of you. Don't let anything stop you from doing good."

"Earth awaits you, Kal-El. Honor our name." Jor-El patted his back. "My son."

"I will, father. I love you, mother."

Kal-El hugged them tight and walked away, waving goodbye one last time. His smile showed a confidence that his parents always wanted to find in him. Within minutes, he was once again ready to go.

The ship moved upward.

He flew above home slowly, and then over Kandor's pointed crystals, seeing his city become smaller until beneath him he saw only the land and the red sun on the horizon. He went through Krypton's atmosphere with some difficulty, but his ship remained intact as meteors passed him closely.

The sight of space was incredible, but he was not surprised to see its extension as with his father's telescope he had seen it all. The word "pretty" described their red sun faithfully; that single and big star had his planet's scientists worried about its explosion, bringing the destruction of Krypton. Jor-El had proved they were a long way from doom, at least a million years before their sun would finally grow and burst, taking Krypton and many others orbs with it.

Kal-El stared through the window for a few more minutes to finally take his mind off of Krypton and everything he was leaving behind. A new life waited for him on Earth, one he still didn't know how would work out, but he accepted the challenge now with less fear.

A frown formed on his face when a tremor shook his seat from below. He stayed frozen, fearing some mistake made by him in the engine. He checked the computer screen, but nothing seemed wrong with the adjustments. His ship was working as planned.

"What the…?"

Kal-El looked down when the vibration worsened, only to see a tail of white fur escape from its hiding place.

"Krypto?!" He said, surprised, seeing a head come out from under his chair. "How did you get here, boy?"

Kal-El smiled brightly, caressing Krypto's fur gently, very happy to see the dog. He swore he had left him sleeping in his bedroom, but somehow Krypto sneaked inside the ship within the three hours that he stayed programming the computer. Kal-El was pleased to have the dog's company.

Krypto lay down between Kal-El's feet and watched quietly while the young man typed some commands and touched crystals, opening the portal that would lead both of them to the Milky Way galaxy. To Earth.


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: It's been a while... I took too long to write. For that I'm sorry.

I want to thank Hellacre for helping me. I have no words to say how much I appreciated the correction of my mistakes in both this chapter and the previous one.

Oh, I need to apologize for rewriting chapter 2. There are not too many changes, just a few things I thought would be better this way.

Hope you like ^^

* * *

**Chapter III**

The gray haired woman opened her eyes with the help of her fingers to clean rheum off of her eyelashes. A reverberating scream was responsible for her sudden awake, so she looked around, used to the dim light coming from a hole on the ceiling, searching for her daughter. She had not come back to the cage; Granny rolled her eyes, irritated.

The second call was louder and invaded the cavern even further through the air vents that were also used to summon prisoners to the arena, guaranteeing that they all would listen to one's last call.

She swore to get up and languidly walk three feet, reaching the iron door with her stolen whip already on one hand. Granny would not let her opportunity flee with the insolent child. She had planned to raise the brat to become the mightiest warrior of Apokolips, knowing how promising her powers were, but, since Apokolips downfall, she had to rethink her tactics.

Darkseid was dead, Granny was not. She had no problem in changing sides.

For seven years she endured the torturing warmth and darkness of that cell, escaping sometimes to look for a chance out of the underground. Being one of Darkseid's most trusted employees, the likelihood of leaving that hell was very scarce. But the child had potential and with some lessons would be the perfect warrior and her passport to the outside. Granny made sure to fill the empty headed girl with her desires and threatened her in every imaginable way so Rubbish would reach the arena to impress the Lord.

Zciaran now knew her; that was a beginning.

Granny walked around with firm legs now, her daily exercises were necessary to keep herself far from all diseases that sentenced other prisoners to a long and painful death.

"Rubbish!" Her voice filled the main chamber and waked the four armed woman first. Granny Goodness made good use of her knout and wrapped the tip around Maila's neck, silencing her immediately.

Diana opened her eyes slowly, feeling them heavy and swollen, the faint light seemed too bright, causing a keen and annoying pain in them. Four muscled arms protected her in a tight hug and she found it so good that she had to move fast and far from that kind of comfort. According with her mother, sentiments softened a heart and a warrior could not have a weak heart to overpower the brain.

Crying was for yesterday, now she had to go meet the Lord.

"You stupid brat, get up now!" Her passport would achieve nothing if it stayed inside the cavern. Rubbish needed to go upstairs to make the Lord proud and happy after successful trainings with the treacherous bitch that sided with him. Trainings Diana avoided like the plague in the past years, hand to hand combat she could handle, but given a weapon she'd be useless.

Granny herself would have to do her magic, perfecting the Fury's lessons underground with the help of her orphans of Apokolips that were now prisoners of Haecatombè and her personal slaves still. Of course, the Lord new nothing about how she fled from her cage and would never know she walked outside of it until her dear daughter came to the underworld bearing his word of freedom.

"You've been called, Rubbish. Upstairs. Now!" She pulled Diana's hair to get her up faster. Maila tried to intervene, but Granny tightened her hold on the knout, suffocating her. The giant was strong, but not enough to stop Granny Goodness. "You take me outta here, you hear me?" Granny screeched, gritting teeth. "I tolerated you and this place for far too long. Zciaran put me here and you _will_ take me out." She waited for an answer. "What?!"

"Yes, mother."

With that, Diana sprinted to far away from both women. Tears of hatred threatened to fall, but she dried them away harshly. She definitely had to learn how to control that, being strong then fall into tears showed she wasn't properly in charge of her emotions. Weakness didn't help. She cried everything the night before, today and the days after were another story.

She really wanted out.

* * *

Outside of the arena, everything resembled Apokolips in its dark and stern way. But the destruction showed how much Haecatombè lost on its last battle, when Zciaran lost Darkseid's remaining army, the few that, in order to survive, betrayed the Dark Lord allying with the new failed dictator. Some soldiers still guarded the city using armor wrought on Apokolips due to the lack of resources.

Diana never looked around; she didn't need to look to know everyone stared at her as if she were an aberration. Not so different from being trash or rubbish, she shrugged. Days ago she would not fear anyone, she'd confront people underground with a smug grin on her face, laughing somberly alongside the giant kids. Like her mother said, she was a brat. Why dread those people now that she had them scared? Whatever Maila told her about being good and nice, she didn't want to remember; mourning was not for her. Yesterday she let the Lowlies punish her, because she _did_ feel guilty, but she'd die if that feeling stayed much longer. And, if that happened, somehow she thought her mother would follow wherever she went just to kill her over again.

Being outside was where she was taught to be, she wanted to stay there for a better life.

The guard made Diana cross a scalding bridge bare footed, holding her to earth with both hands on her shoulders. How could this planet be hotter than Apokolips? The dirt on her skin made her feel sticky and smellier than before, this place was more sizzling than even the underworld. She had sweat on her forehead half-way through the long path that led to the main building, something unusual for her who never minded the weather.

The construction ahead seemed bizarre, like some kind of big black kettle above boiling oil that fell in a deep hole surrounding the great walls, similar to a cascade of lava that impeded any intruder who wanted to get to the main castle.

"Open the gate!" The guard waited, unmoving, and then held her up to place her over a motorcycle. A younger man drove for long minutes towards a strange house beside the army old quarters, where he ordered her to jump off the motorcycle.

"Go inside the laboratory."

Diana looked at him as if he was crazy. She had no manacle, no rope on her wrists, not even her broken cuffs, she could escape easily. He turned her around, tilting his head from side to side, discouraging the thoughts he knew she had.

"I heard about you," he said in a low voice. Diana eyed him with distrust. "Be good, child, and maybe you'll survive here."

She remained silent. Life taught her, the hard way, how these people were not to be trusted.

"I've been a Lowly of Apokolips for too many years to count. I know what it is like to endure Granny and that whip of hers." He laughed of his own misfortune. "Don't trust the Lord, but do whatever he wants. Darkseid was bad and everyone knew what he was capable of, Zciaran seems good, but no one figured out what he's up to."

"Advice would be sold if good," Diana said, coldly, trying to go back to her old self.

She was inside the house before the man could blink.

* * *

Kal-El opened the ship door with a kick. Somewhere along Saturn and Mars he damaged the computer panel by just typing in it. His stupidity resulted in hours of annoyance, trying to solve his little problem in bringing his ship back to work. Now he knew one effect of sunlight. His incorrect descent through the atmosphere, had caused his ship to land violently in a place he could not identify.

Krypto was the first to go out. The dog just ran away, happy to leave the burnt crystal cage. Kal-El waited a little, relieved to feel his backache fade fully now directly under the Sun. His studies showed Kryptonians had denser skin than humans, they were stronger, but now he was surprised not feeling anything at all. In fact, he felt lighter and more alive, like after a good night sleep, his energy renewed.

Under the bright light, he smiled at some of the changes in his body. He actually saw _through_ his body.

"Rao!" Kal-El looked away, freaked out, but nothing around him stayed on focus. He saw trees very close and constructions beyond them, then something in the middle, a mixture of different images all at the same time. Kal-El thought it'd be better if he closed his eyes to stop the imminent dizziness. That was when he noticed the murmuring in his ears that got louder and louder. Every sound seemed to be inside his head – sea waves, bugs, flying leaves, Krypto's bark… He tried to focus on only one, but didn't succeed easily.

Kal-El covered his ears with both hands, breathing deep while concentrating hard on the silence around him. Slowly the assault stopped. But he noticed something was not right, he didn't feel the ground under his feet.

Mumbling curses, he reunited all his courage to open his eyes. Staring down, he saw the island miles below. His eyes widened involuntarily and, as if he needed concentration to hover, Kal-El felt gravity act suddenly, pulling him down too fast for his liking.

He met the sea water head first, provoking small waves.

He emerged quickly, eyes widening at seeing the horizon, noting how endless it seemed to be. Kal-El laughed, playing with water, splashing it around as amazement possessed him. The ocean was even more beautiful than when he saw its picture. So soothing and silent; he could stay there for hours. And it was warm. Kal-El observed he could not actually feel the temperature, but somehow he knew the water was warm. Under the surface, he stared the translucent substance, trying to use his enhanced sight on its molecules. There were fishes too; he memorized the view of the ocean life below.

Kal-El swan to the shore minutes later, grinning to himself, pleased at his new found capabilities. So far, he had abilities as flight, superhuman strength, enhanced vision and hearing.

He looked around for Krypto, wondering if the dog had changed as he did, and whistled for him to come back. He now could see the trees as they really were: tall and very wide, apparently the only living things on that island, aside from arthropods. He heard Krypto's heartbeat far away, but no one else's.

"That's odd… Krypto, come back now!" he ordered, already walking further into the forest to search the dog, not minding the sand glued to his now bare feet and wet pants.

His vision showed him a build path to his right. He frowned. There were constructions on that place, but no people? Kal-El kept walking to reach the huge building he saw before.

"Ouch!" He stepped on a thorn that pierced his skin. Moments ago he fell from the sky, he didn't think that a small thorn would hurt him that easily. "Krypto! I don't like this place, come back here!"

He got to the pathway quickly as the Sun had made him fast also. At that point he stopped to hear, still trying to master that skill, but no sound came from inside the island. He moved on, not too worried about Krypto; he wanted to investigate now. Uphill stood a gazebo made of a material he read was named marble. Analyzing, he noticed that building resembled the ones belonged to ancient Greece. He remembered its history, but knew Earth had evolved in its architecture.

Majestic columns were being lifted when something happened there. Kal-El reached the last step to find another path to a city. A destructed marble city. Those once perfect buildings, dirtied by time, didn't fall yet for some mysterious reason, the few columns that stood upright held the heavy ceiling miraculously. On the ground he saw weapons – swords, spears, bows, arrows – and bones, many of them and enough to send a chill up his spine.

Something big happened there and no one survived to tell. Inscriptions on the pediment were in greek, he recognized easily, but could not read them. He eyed further, surprised to notice he could not see through the walls. Kal-El walked faster to enter the main building, curious to find out who lived there and what possibly happened to make them start what he supposed was a war.

"This belonged to royalty…" Kal-El admired the gold ornaments over intact furniture and silk floating curtains. Inside everything seemed intact. _Maybe_, he thought, _the battles didn't reach the house_.

He wandered around and found nothing interesting. Only a painting attracted his attention, there was a woman in it holding a baby, she was the queen, perhaps, because she wore a crown and her posture seemed regal enough. Intriguing… Drawings on the marble told him this island had warriors as habitants, the queen included; they were equals, she'd never let her people look that up at her; there must be paintings showing the others. Why leave only the portrait of the queen?

Without proper answers, he left then to explore the remains on the island. It was not very large, he observed before, but had many strange things for him to just walk everywhere. Walking back to the entrance, he was relieved to find Krypto. The fact that he's growling wasn't good. No sign of life could be felt still but there _was_ something troubling the dog and he had a bad feeling about it. The Kryptonian tried again to look through the wall, but could not. So he walked warily, trying to hover, to reach the big wooden doors ahead.

Kal-El was taken aback at the sight of women positioned on the front stairs, all ready to attack.

He froze momentarily. Earthlings didn't use armors or wielded those kinds of weapons; they were primitive, but not _that_ primitive to attack a stranger with swords and arrows.

Looking at them, he noted they resembled the warrior women he had read about. _Amazons_, he recalled suddenly and thought, _but they shouldn't exist anymore._

Kal-El, turned and ran, holding Krypto close to him. Where did those things come from? He didn't feel life coming from them, so then what were they?

He'd find out _after_ leaving the island. Somehow their weapons could harm him; the stinging pain on his arm where an arrow cut his skin was a proof. Kal-El reached the shore minutes ahead of the lifeless women and entered his ship to put it to work, but didn't succeed. Thinking quickly, he made a pack with his father's cape, putting necessary things inside, then left to get Krypto.

There wasn't anything he could see clearly miles ahead. The only way out of that island was flying and he needed to learn how to do that immediately.

His attempts to fly failed, giving the women time to reach the shore. They cornered him quickly, preparing to attack.

"Απαγορευμένη... Οι άνδρες απαγορεύεται!"

Kal-El only stared; their words were incomprehensible to him. An arrow missed him by a few inches. He figured out how to get airborne with a hand that didn't hold Krypto close. He knew there were ways to break through them. Using his strength was one, but he could not harm any of them for he didn't know the extent of his powers yet and could end up killing – or something like that – unwillingly.

Deep breaths and concentration maybe would make him hover again. He only hoped it would work before they killed him.

Luckily Kal-El succeeded and disappeared before the undead Amazons' eyes.

* * *

"Attack! Not like this, mean it. Aim to kill!"

Diana retreated again. Then dodged, preparing to attack. Her mentor held the sword with only one hand in order to gain equilibrium to twirl and momentum to lunge the sword on the younger's middle body. Diana noticed she made the move before, so quickly her sword parried the blow, throwing her far due to the strength used.

"You're not here for shielding," Artemis foot stomped near Diana's head on the ground. "Offensive. Do you know the meaning, Rubbish? It's been weeks and you learned nothing! Get up and fight!"

She obliged with some difficulty to rise with the armor. Diana breathed hard and felt confined inside the metal paraphernalia that was way too heavy for her to even move. Damn those cuffs. She was weak and everything seemed hard and heavy on her body, every blow hurt her skin to the point of leaving discolored bruises.

The Lord wanted her training to occur in the arena to avoid more destruction on the main city once Diana was allowed to fight without her repaired cuffs. Artemis, her mentor, took that as an opportunity to let loose her bad temper at Diana's expense.

"Lord Zciaran thinks you're different, thinks you're his finally-found conqueror of worlds. I don't. Trash like you do not grow up to be the perfect little thing just because he wants you to. So make me eat my words or else I'll end up killing you out of boredom." Artemis ignored her superior's glare and just kept screaming to the girl's face. "What I do depends on how much I hate you. And as for now, my hate is unimaginable; you waste my precious time, Rubbish! Now, change weapons and attack me!"

Diana eyed her, furious. After days bearing that attitude, she had to do something better to not stay with the madwoman much longer. Three weeks was more than enough for her to forget what happened on that same arena. Deep inside, she questioned herself about the massacre, but never let the doubts overcome her bravado.

Lord Zciaran saw her as a strong and fearless child; she wanted to keep it that way. Maybe her mother had some part in how she viewed the world; she taught Diana to never hold grudges, even if they were against her own self.

Training for fourteen hours a day kept her mind off of painful memories. Beatings had the same effect.

"Then I will do it," Diana said defiant, slowly removing her useless armor. "Someday I will be the one responsible for every sand grain put inside your mouth."

"Mean it, Rubbish!" Artemis' smile grew, showing yellow teeth and bad breath.

She left the helm for last, showing a dirty face and bald head. The scientist stayed with her on day one, studying her mutation, analyzing parameters and associating them to Earth's data. That day she left his office with absolutely no improvement to his research and nothing on her also. Clothes, lice, hair, dignity - all was left behind his closed doors. Including the little pieces she still had of herself.

"Bring it on, Artemis."

Diana picked up a staff, positioning for the new battle. Soon, Artemis ran to her with a spear, aiming her stomach.

"Every weapon is a part of your body! Use it like one of your limbs." Artemis tackled her roughly, but very firm and precise in her moves. Diana hit the ground before the fight even started. "If you don't get yourself killed first, I _will_ make a warrior out of you."

Diana kicked Artemis hard. Even with the cuffs she had some strength to do rougher moves. But none of them skilled enough for a trained warrior like Artemis. Again she kissed the ground.

"Learn the moves and repeat them," she said annoyed. "Tackling randomly will make you lose a battle against someone better than you. If you ever fight a stronger enemy, you'll need technique to bring him down. Don't come at me aimlessly!"

Her mother didn't tolerate mistakes and she did none underground. Then why so many while confronting Artemis? Diana breathed deep. Her impatience had to be left out of the battlefield. She had to concentrate.

She got up one more time.

* * *

Nothing was like Krypton in that place; there wasn't crystal buildings or the technology used in them or the calmness of a quiet people. Constructions there were mostly covered with glasses, showing many offices downtown, modern to Earth parameters and not very different from what he saw in other cities.

Not only busy people made Metropolis look like an anthill, there were more cars in there than should be allowed. Metropolis was just too full and noisy like New York, where two days ago he was, but more welcoming in a strange way.

After his disastrous arrival on an unknown island inhabited by undead women and his attempt fly in foreign land, now, ten weeks later, Kal-El walked among earthlings, searching for something to do with his life.

Kal-El had always been very discreet. Even months ago when he got to – now he knew – Florida's shore after hours lost in the sky, finally able to fly, he found a way to walk around the city inconspicuously, wearing new clothes given by his father, until he figured out how to contact J'onn J'onnz.

J'onn had found him admiring the sea that day, alongside a sleeping Krypto.

Days later he had an identity given by J'onn, a favor done by some friend of his and some cash for settling down. The following weeks had him travelling across the world, getting to know Earth, discovering new cultures, mingling with people. His research and observations were registered in notebooks so Jor-El would receive them through J'onn's computer, since he lost his on an unknown place even to J'onn.

Earth was as fascinating as he hoped it would be. So many wonders and difficulties that Kal-El embraced right away, willing to improve his ideas to share them later; maybe after J'onn talked with the US government about him.

While he was, technically, an average American citizen, Kal-El had to find what to do to better understand Earth and its people. He had studied this planet, but being here was very different. There were many languages that he was still trying to learn, societies with same characteristics but different meanings and religions, peculiar fashion to each season… It was hard to adapt fast.

A job was needed to gain money. But to do that he needed a college degree so he could find something suitable. Analyzing professions, he came up with the idea of being a professor; he would be able to teach physics or history, but he wanted more contact with the whole world, something that would guarantee he had information about every continent at the same time.

_That's it!_

The shop window had TVs showing the morning news. _A reporter_, he smiled brightly with the idea. That was the best way to keep up with everything in the world; he'd work beside well informed and creative people that would help him achieve his goal.

"J'onn," he talked happily on his new cell phone, "am I interrupting? No? Good. I've been thinking about… things, and came up with an idea. I want a job. I thought about every career and found one that would be just perfect! How can I apply to college? I suppose I have the age for it."

J'onn explained everything and promised he'd find a way to help him; Kal-El only needed patience and a lot of study so he would fit on the university environment.

"Can I move to Metropolis? Seems like this city is big enough for people to notice me right away." Kal-El looked annoyingly to someone honking on the street. "And besides, I like Metrop… Rao!"

An anxious man accelerated the car before the traffic lights allowed him to go and made an abrupt turn to the right, where a woman was passing by, careless of the car running in her direction. She was more interested on her call with the boyfriend.

Kal-El put the cell phone in his jacket pocket.

Disappearing before bystanders' eyes, he ran to reach her. Someone must have seen the accident that'd happen, because a scream could be distinguished among other noises. People already moved out of the way, hoping the car didn't get them too.

Right on time, Kal-El caught the woman in his protective arms, but there wasn't enough time to run from the car that hit him on the back.

Smoke covered the street.

Somehow the city seemed very silent after the loud bang. Metropolitans froze, staring at him with wide eyes and agape mouths, trying to process the fact the _he_ was still standing with the woman and the car was behind him with his body's imprint on the hood.

Kal-El realized too late what he'd done.

Slowly his eyed moved down to meet stunned hazel ones. The woman was young, about his age, with dark brown hair, and looked at him in a mist of perplexity and admiration.

"Hi!" he said lamely.

"What the hell are you?!" Her index finger poked his face.

On the street everyone looked with the same question plastered on their faces.

"Weren't you supposed to say 'who are you'?" Kal-El frowned, confused by her words. His different accent could be noticed clearly.

"That works too." She didn't move out of his arms, afraid her knees would fail. He saved her from being hit! The stranger was still protecting her with his arms. "You're strong." _And have the most beautiful eyes ever_, she wanted to add. "I'm Lois Lane."

"Glad to meet you… not on these circumstances, of course, miss," he said with a smile. That was the first time he had someone glued to his body, specially such a nice looking young woman staring _that_ way at him. "Kal-El."

The damage was done; use the other name would just complicate matters.

Their talk was interrupted by flashes that came out of nowhere and incessant questions. People gathered around them, recovered from the event, and came to him with immensurable curiosity.

Kal-El pulled Lois away. He needed to talk to J'onn about what he'd done.

"I've got to go, miss."

Lois stayed in the same spot he left her, looking around to see where he'd gone so fast. She could not forget how insanely attractive was he and how strong he felt under that shirt with the strange "S" symbol, and those blue eyes of his…

She fainted.

* * *

Both Kal-El and J'onn J'onnz entered the crowded small room. Politicians, security and reporters were gathered around for his first official appearance. The U.N. Ambassador spoke first, calming people down so Metropolis' Mayor could finally start the press conference. But no one wanted to wait. Citizens wanted explanations regarding what happened three weeks ago involving the young man the tabloids already called "Superman".

"Guess I should have tried to just push the woman out of the way," he lowered his voice when the Mayor stepped in to speak. Alongside the Martian in his human form, Kal-El waited in a corner, his posture stiff. "Stopping the car was very dense of me."

"You never experienced an accident in front of you before; you just did what any normal person would want to do: save the endangered other. This, here, was bound to happen sooner or later." J'onn smiled. "Her being a reporter-to-be just hurried things. Now go."

Kal-El looked again at every being in the room, asking himself if this was really necessary. Primitives. As much as he wanted to stop the thought, it came easily to his mind. He didn't like being treated like a celebrity, giving speeches and autographs or taking pictures, or just being seeing as a freak only because he was a foreigner.

Earthling were, beyond doubt, stranger than he thought at first.

"Good morning…" The room silenced under such strong voice. "I'm Kal-El, son of Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, from the House of El, one of the ruling families of my planet, Krypton." He paused to give time for the information sink in. "Krypton is very distant from here, fifty light-years, hence why you never found us. We live under a technocratic bureaucracy, led by a Council of scientists. They are the provider of our remarkable technology, which gives us ways to study planets from afar, since our xenophobic culture impeded us from going outside of Krypton for many years. I'll answer your questions in a while, please." He addressed the man with the hand upward.

"My father's experiments made possible a ship capable of overcoming Krypton's gravitational force. So, five years ago, it was decided that we'd end our seclusion to adventure ourselves through one Kryptonian, heir of one of the Council's members, who would spread our knowledge to the benefit of another planet. I was chosen after proving myself intellectually – capable of quick learning and understanding our dissimilarities without prejudices –, and physically – I'd be under a different environment that'd give me certain abilities, so I must be skilled to master them. But I didn't come because of powers, my only purpose here is to show Earth new means, under another light, allied with each and every person, be it authority or civilian. Thank you."

Without further explanations about his mission, he silenced.

Everyone remained still, bewildered by such speech, and amazed at the same time with the young man who spoke so confidently to the whole world through the television. Soon, a fuss of questions invaded the room.

"Do you already have someone here?"

"What are your powers, Superman?"

"How long have you been here?"

"If Lois Lane didn't happen, were you going to show yourself?"

Kal-El held up a hand that silenced them.

"One at a time, please." He showed a white smile. "And to answer to some of you… I've been here for three months, learning about anything I could. I wanted to know you to finally show myself publically. Well, given my short period here, I don't have a girlfriend, if that's what you meant."

"You didn't talk about your powers."

He explained them carefully.

"Many people are afraid of you; they're uniting against the government for accepting you on American soil. Are there any reasons for us to fear your godlike abilities and your intentions?"

"No." He didn't even have to think to respond. "My sole purpose here is to serve humanity. Harming you goes against my morality and my people's trust in me."

His answer pleased the reporters.

"So, how will you work here? Through NGOs, advertisements, philanthropic parties, an embassy… Which of the above, Superman? Do you even like being called that?"

"I'm still figuring out what to do." He remembered his postponed plan to go to Metropolis University. "An embassy would fit… But maybe I'll work alone for awhile, researching and giving lectures in and outside of the USA, showing my technology to improve on your medicine, society, technology, among others." His serious expression transformed into a boyish one. "I'm not alone in this nickname thing. I've read about Green Lanterns, Flash, and even this one called Batman… Actually, I kind of like it."

* * *

Zciaran glared at his second in command with glowing red eyes. Darkseid was no fool to promote her as his head Fury. The woman was made for the battlefield, skilled as no other and a good strategist, a disturbingly talented mind, and as heartless as a warrior should be. But she lacked raw power and…and this was something that he couldn't figure out yet.

"Our army will be ready to leave in two days. Our mother boxes, collected on Apokolips, are all working and ready for use. And the Furies are prepared for action. I leave tomorrow to…"

"No."

"Excuse me, my Lord?"

"_She_ will go," he stated.

"What?! But, my Lord, she hasn't completed her training…"

"You don't question me!" he said calmly. "At the age of sixteen, I confronted my King to become his ruler as it was expected from an heir. I won. Rebuilding my people's pride was the hardest part and conquering was even worse with such a weak nation."

Zciaran looked at the citadel through a window. "She _is_ going. And you will watch her from _here_. Your intervention will only take place if necessary, Lashina."

She swallowed her pride and bowed, continuing to talk about their plans.

"We needed to find a near planet, but far enough that it wouldn't be able to attack us back if…"

Now he knew. Lashina lacked the fervor, the known imprudence, the dazzling gracious beauty that only _she_ had.

His Ruby…

* * *

A war was responsible for such destruction on the land. The man observed the field with pity, all his hard work destroyed by marching feet and animals. His beautiful and perfumed purple flowers, blue when light reached them, were now under mud and bodies.

He watched his planet being consumed by hatred while a simple and humble rope tied him by the neck. His people was not made for battle, they were delicate as flowers, skilled with hoes and seeds for planting.

Never would he hold a weapon. But he'd follow _her_ blindly.

His mind had stopped working when he first saw the descending figure sometime ago. Never had he seen that strange creature or something as beautiful as her.

An ethereal mirage even for someone who lived in a paradise world, filled with beauty and preciosities such as herbs, perfumes and gold.

She was his angel coming from the sky, floating calmly to his aid. Wearing white like the chief's damsels, a long soft tunic that contrasted with a long raven hair framing a delicate and astounding young face, she came like a glowing star. She, so different from the women here, and so captivating that she had him hypnotized after one single small smile.

She spoke with kindness to his ears, reaching his mind quickly and transforming his thoughts patiently until he understood her and opened up his home to her. Arms embraced him warmly, and he felt her perfume tease his nostrils the whole night.

Now he saw his angel transform.

She moved fluidly between desperate men that tried to protect the land. Every twirl seemed calculated by his Gods, perfection in delicate innate movements that intended to save only him from those brutes.

He was trapped in his own illusion and did not know that.

Only she filled his expectant eyes. Graciously dancing, making a stern music with two blades cutting the wind, painting herself in crimson. And always so serene and soft. An impassive expression he assumed meant guilt for she didn't want to do any harm. Not because of him. But to keep him safe, she sacrificed her purity.

His angel came to him shortly later, when no one else stood, but her. With the same smile and bright eyes. No weapon near to scare him.

"Thank you," she didn't explain why. And he didn't need to hear anything to know she thanked him for sharing information about this planet, for welcoming her unquestioningly. The angel cupped his face with wet hands, only her blue eyes captured his attention. "You were so helpful. But I must leave."

Her caress weakened him in a way that he couldn't breathe, intakes of air seemed difficult and her touch pained his brown skin. She clicked a button on his collar. His eyes finally opened, free of her enchant, to see her face close, stained with red lines and dots.

Reality hit hard his body. He flew backward until muscled arms stopped him. Her arms. Traitorous hands that comforted him days… no, weeks ago, killed his people and he was to blame.

"How?" He pulled on the collar that seemed to translate what he said. "Why? I thought you were an angel…"

"A death angel that came in search of souls and their lost treasures to satisfy my Lord," a peaceful voice told him. "You watched us for two weeks, saw misery and desperation through clouded eyes, and guided me towards victory. Your soul will be sparred for we need a witness."

"Who are you?!"

"I shall be remembered in your stories, but faceless and nameless."

She held a small device in front of his eyes, soon seeing oblivion in them.

"I serve Lord Zciaran… Sing to your misfortune and to our glorious Haecatombè."


End file.
