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Scarlet Starlight	By : DarthMeow504 Category: zMisplaced Stories [ADMIN use only] > Spiderman Views: 35989 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: This is a work of non-profit fanfiction. The Marvel Universe, the DC Universe, the Image Universe, and all characters and elements thereof are copyright their respective companies. Additional disclaimers within.

Chapter List
- 22
- 23
- 24
[Author's Note: For purposes of this story, consider the role of Hal Jordan to be played by Lee Majors of Six Million Dollar Man fame, in his late 1970s-early 1980s prime. Because he's the epitome of awesome and it's my story and I said so. So nyah :P]

Chapter 10 part 3: Endgame

At Avengers Mansion West, the heroes who had recently won the battle against the interstellar task force assigned to arrest the Thanos clone they now knew as Starfox were engaged in an emergency meeting. The Darkstar John Stewart had joined the Green Lantern Hal Jordan in bringing the other two Lanterns to JLA custody and to rally their support against the threat from the Kree dreadnaught that loomed threateningly over San Francisco, and the human-born Nova had joined the Avengers grouping in preparing to defend his homeworld. They were now engaged in a three-way holographic teleconference with the main Avengers team on the east coast, and so far the news was grim.

Tony Stark, the Iron Man, was speaking currently, since he had the most experience with Earth/Kree conflicts as he had fought in the last such confrontation during the first Kree/Skrull war.

"If, and this is a huge if, we could insert a team of superhumans inside the vessel, we could probably disable the command or power sections, but they might well have redundant backup systems and given the ship's size, there's easily the possibility they could open fire on the surface well before we can disable their offensive capability. Unfortunately, it's almost certainly our only reasonable chance of disabling a ship like that and it comes at a pretty horrific cost."

Carol nodded and sighed in agreement. "Even with my enhanced powers right now, until the Skrulls change their transmission security, and with Superman and our own heavy hitters, destroying it from within is our only realistic shot. The armor and shields on a ship like that... there's no way even if we combine all our most powerful that we can win a stand-up fight. We can insert one team on the inside and another on the outside to act like strike fighters, taking out gun emplacements and such... but again, that comes at a huge cost on the ground because they're certainly going to be able to carry out a surface bombardment before we can take them out. We're talking the loss of entire cities and millions of lives."

Jessica, fresh back from the infirmary after her injuries taken during the battle with Lobo, asked Tony. "How did you do it before? I know you turned back a Kree warship then, without serious ground casualties."

Tony sighed. "We had Black Bolt, then. Not only did he have the raw firepower to actually heavily damage the warship in one shot, we were able to use him as a threat of MAD against their cities and worlds. Nothing short of a Herald of Galactus can stop him, and they knew it. Unfortunately, no one has seen him since he lost the fight against the War Hulk."

That sobering reality sank through the groups of heroes, not only because of their current situation but in rememberance of the lives and property lost to the War Hulk and just how close they'd come to far worse destruction.

Ryoko, the blue-haired feline space pirate, took that moment to add her assessment. "My ship can't stand up to a warship like that, but it's fast, stealthy, and pretty much built to beat planetary defenses. We might not have this Black Bolt you mentioned, but we have enough of a power grouping we could rain hell on them if they press this into war. The main problem with that is you could lose your homeworld, but if that's unavoidable we can certainly inflict a costly vengeance."

Tony nodded grimly. "We'll certainly communicate that to their high command, as well as the fact that the clone isn't on our planet anymore. They could well call him off, but Ronan the Accuser has a track record of ignoring orders when he's consumed with mission obsession. I can't say the chances of him being leashed in this time before at least taking a potshot or two at us out of spite are very good, and even a single volley from a warship that size is too devastating to contemplate."

Jessica absorbed this. "So what do we do?"

Tony shook his head. "The only thing we can do. Prepare to take down that warship, and pray we can bear the cost. Barring some sort of miracle, we don't have any other options." he paused, and then added. "I've passed along our conclusions to the CSA who are in contact with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, FEMA, and the UN Security Council. They'll be handling the decisions on evacuations and disaster relief, protecting the civilians will be their job, ours is taking down that ship."

Superman spoke finally, after Iron Man had finished his report. "For the record, the JLA and our own Green Lantern is 100% in support. Tell us where to be and what we need to do, and we'll be there. Hal is a born American citizen, he's prioritizing his home over his orders from offworld, and we have the other Lanterns in lockdown as the threats they are. The JLA and the Avengers may have had our frictions in the past, and may yet again, but we're completely on the same side and the same page here. You can count on us. Superman out."

Iron Man nodded as he clicked down his faceplate. "Good to know. I'll be in contact as we have more information, and if any of you have further information or ideas, let the rest of us know right away. If nothing else changes, we'll have a mission roster prepared and sent out ASAP. Tentative mission schedule is they gave us 24 hours, we go at 23. Iron Man out."

As the holoprojectors went dark, a grim sigh pervaded the room. There was little to do now but wait.

-----

"Guards, you may leave us."

The High Guardian, a Silver Lantern of great age, wasn't a large man nor was he physically impressive in his black robes with silver Lantern symbol. He didn't have to be, one didn't reach that ranking through physical prowess but by a level of mental discipline that would shame most wizards. His skin wasn't the sky blue of a born Oan, but the creamy white scales of a race with some reptilian ancestry. It made sense for one of such a nature to advance well in Lantern training, as tight mental control over emotions was a paramount value among the Lanterns and a "cold-blooded" creature of fewer emotions would have an advantage over hot-blooded mammallian species. As one might expect, he lacked lips or a nose or hair, and his large eyes were gold and red and shined in the dim light.

"So... the spawn of Thanos, at last. Justice can finally be served."

Starfox frowned. "So what, now I get put on trial or something? I don't think you're going to like the results."

The reptilian eyes beneath the hood narrowed. "Oh no, I'm afraid that can't be allowed. The risk is too great. You must be destroyed, as your progenitor destroyed my home world. You cannot be allowed to follow his path."

It was Donna who spoke up in shock. "What...?!? The Lanterns don't kill. Lethal force is only authorized in extreme need and by special permission. You can't do this!"

"Ah, my dear, this is sadly true, and it's unfortunate you object. And it is indeed most unfortunate that the clone killed you in her attempt to escape custody, and I was forced to destroy her in self-defense."

Donna gasped. "You're insane! Consumed with hate and revenge! Think this through, you don't want to do this. It's against everything you stand for as a Lantern."

He shook his head, and raised his hand and paralyzed them both with beams of silver light. "You are wrong... I have calculated this to the last decimal place, coolly and logically... the risk posed by allowing her continued existence greatly outweighs the unfortunate loss of two lives, even if for now one or both are innocent. No other worlds must be allowed to face the fate mine did. This is not revenge, it's prevention!"

He held them transfixed in place as he produced a device, like a gauntlet with multiple glowing crystals, like what makes up the rings but more of it and in an aggressive pointed configuration. "It was quite the task to procure this weapon, but it will be worth it. It will easily reproduce your energy signature to strike down your companion, and then destroy you so utterly you will never return. The reign of terror led by Thanos ends here!"

Frozen in place, unable to summon her powers, there was nothing Donna could do but watch helplessly as the crystals turned purple as the weapon was pointed at her. The purple light cast the room in it's glow, making Starfox appear purple as well in the final moments -- wait, no, she actually was turning purple! She was shapeshifting, through a vast effort of will as she muttered the word "terror" over and over... Donna couldn't see her face but he could, and his eyes grew wide in horror as he hissed in fear and recoiled back. Donna felt the hold on her falter, and Starfox slipped free entirely and leapt on him.

"Terror? Terror! Yes, that is what you feel, what motivates you... you don't hate me, you FEAR me! And what you fear you must destroy before it destroys you... but you are too late... you wanted the spawn of Thanos, now you have her! Gaze into the face of terror and tremble..."

Able to slip free as well now that his concentration was well and truly shattered, Donna was able to move to see more clearly what was going on, and then she understood what Starfox had done. Using her shapeshifting abilities, she'd rendered herself a feminine duplicate of dread Thanos, even down to the brow and chin ridges and most importantly the hollow, skull-like eyes that locked on the terrified ones of Voltar-Re.

"Yes... tremble... shake in the knowledge that what you feared, you have unleashed... what laid dormant in me, you have awakened! All that proceeds now is on your head, fool... you shouldn't have poked the spider's nest..."

Suddenly he wasn't the only one fearful as Donna's gut clenched in sudden panic. What if he had unleashed the Thanos within her? The swath of destruction to ensue dominated the mind's eye of both of them as Donna tensed for battle and set her mind racing for options, while the corrupted Guardian merely whimpered and collapsed to the floor in his terror as a small puddle formed beneath him. He was truly beyond reason now, consumed by abject, primal fear. To call him defeated would be an understatement. But what had that victory cost?

Maniacal laughter echoed, chilling and evil, as the Thanos duplicate threw back her head and celebrated her triumph. However, instead of raising her hand and destroying him, and then worse, the laughter turned more human and feminine as she shrank to her regular form and kicked him over in contempt.

"You idiot... if I wanted you or anyone else dead it'd have happened by now... you've been chasing the shadow of your own fear. I'm not my brother, and I have no plans to be. Your fear is your problem, and now so is your disgrace. My comm-link has been open the entire time, your fellow Guardians have seen your actions and heard your words. Isn't fear the greatest sin a Lantern can commit? They all saw it conquer you... you're finished. Your council will judge you now."

His eyes turned desperate as he hissed over and over again "no"... then he summoned what little power he could in his state of shattered will to press a button on his console, and the doors sealed and they were frozen in place again.

"So be it, then... did you think I would have no contingencies? I will not abide the threat you pose, and if this is the cost of freeing the universe of it, so be it. The universal weapon is now set to overload... it's explosion will be more than enough to reduce everything in this room to atoms and scatter those atoms over a million galaxies as it erupts through hyperspace. The force field on this room will contain the explosion to only us, but nothing within will survive. I will join my slain people knowing I have eliminated a potential threat to the universe entire."

Donna's heart sank. There was no way around this one, it wasn't powered by him and breaking his willpower wouldn't help. As she struggled in vain and watched the weapon's glow grow near-blinding in it's intensity. she whispered a soft prayer to Aphrodite to convey her love to her sister and friends on the planet so far away that she called home, as she would never see it again. She closed her eyes and made her peace as the weapon's whine reached a crescendo pitch... and then it went silent. Was that it, then? Was her death so swift that she had heard or felt nothing?

Slowly, hesitantly, she opened her eyes expecting to see the caves of Hades and the entrance to the Elysian Fields before her. Instead, she saw the same room she'd been in, with the weapon dark and inert, and the fallen Guardian just as confused as she was though his dismay stood in stark contrrast to her elation. His confusion was replaced by fear as a spectral voice echoed in the room.

"Voltar-Re... you are charged with conspiracy to murder, attempted murder, and corruption of justice. The spectre of justice has judged you, and the verdict is... guilty!"

His eyes went paniced as he found the will to fire from his ring at the source of the voice, and in the midst of the blinding beam a spectral, invisible figure was revealed. As the beam faded, the figure materialized into the floating form of the Space Ghost.

"Attempted murder of law enforcement is now added to your list of crimes. Your sentence will be adjusted accordingly."

The Space Ghost touched a few of the crystals on his gauntlets, which in comparison resembled those of the "universal weapon" to a large degree, and the former Guardian's ring went dark and he was bound in a tractor beam. As he turned to go with his captive, the Space Ghost spoke to the pair of women.

"You are free to go... the Guardian Council of Oa has rescinded your warrant and ejected this one from it's membership. Go and cause no further trouble."

And then he stepped through the wall with his prisoner and they were gone, and the doors to the chamber opened allowing them a free path back to their ship. Wasting no time and wanting to put light-years between them and this place as quickly as possible, they flew the corridors to the waiting starcraft and launched as soon as they could warm up the engines and systems. When they reached orbit, and accelerated away from the gravity well, they both released a breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding. It was finally over.

Or not. On the scanners, they saw the warning lights that showed the two Heralds of Galactus they'd thought they'd lost on the journey here. Starfox's voice reflected the sinking feeling Donna felt as she reached for the controls. "Hold on..."

Over the comm channel, a voice came through loud and clear. "This is the Silver Surfer, offering an escort back to the Sol system. Do you accept?"

Donna was the one to reach forward to her console to respond on the same channel. "This is Starfox One, offer accepted on the condition that you promise never to scare us like that again!"

-----

In the Sol system, in geosynchronous orbit above the third planet known in interstellar circles as Terra but locally as Earth, a relatively tiny starship and accompanying group of superhumans stood against a massive, miles long Kree star dreadnaught. David and Golath had nothing on this battle, and far more hung in the balance. Below, those that could not participate in the battle to come watched desperately, hoping against hope for the best but fearing the worst. No one liked their chances.

In the space between them, a new ship warped in. It was the Starfox One, flanked by the two Heralds of Galactus. Was this then how it would end? Had they captured her, to turn over to the Kree? A tragedy for the innocent Starfox, but perhaps a savior event for millions on the earth below. Over the comm channels, the Accusator spoke.

"Excellent work, Silver Surfer. Receive course instructions to Landing Bay 12. High Accusor Ronan will be present to accept transfer of prisoner."

The interstellar being known as the Silver Surfer responded on the same frequency. "Negative, Accusator. The Guardians of Oa have rescinded the warrant, and the Kree Empire has acceeded to the release of the case. You are ordered to stand down and return to Kree space."

A long pause, and then a return signal, with Ronan's voice. "We will not stand down. Under my authority as High Accusor, I can act on my own warrant, and take in the Thanos clone. Do not interfere or you will face the fate of the planet below."

The Surfer responded with a stern voice. "I strongly suggest you check the records from the second Skrull war. They will tell you how a Supremor-chass Dreadnaught fares against a Herald of Galactus, this one specifically. And now you face not one but two of them. Withdraw from local space while you can."

There was a long pause, as the planet and it's defenders held a collective breath, but then the massive warship began to turn, and then accelerate for the edge of the gravity well to jump out of the system. It was over. They'd won.

-----

The light of new dawn was appearing in the sky as the victorious heroes assembled in the upper level of Avengers Mansion West, including those who had joined them in the battle. Richard Ryder, the earth-born warrior of Xandar was there, and they'd been joined by Hal Jordan as well who'd brought a most interesting proposition to them. Approaching Tigra and Jessica as leaders, he presented them the two female Lanterns who had participated in the attack.

"We released them from the brig on their word of honor they wouldn't cause trouble... and they asked to be brought here. This is Arisia, and her companion is Katma Tui."

Tigra nodded and smiled. "What can I do for you ladies?"

The smaller elfin-looking blonde Arisia, golden in skin and hair, spoke while her larger companion stood silent guard over her. "We've got new orders from Oa... one, I'm supposed to deliver an apology from the High Council, the orders came from a rogue member who's now been arrested. His homeworld was destroyed by Thanos, and he became obsessed with destroying him. Thanos is dead, so his obsession moved on to the next available target. The arrest warrant wasn't illegal, but attempting to deliver the death penalty himself was. Lanterns don't kill."

Tigra nodded, and Jessica asked. "And the second part?"

Arisia bit her lip a bit nervously. "We're supposed to ask if we can join you. For two purposes, really... offering our services as a way of restitution for the trouble caused, and also so we can be close to this Starfox and make sure she never turns into her brother. Just in case."

Tigra looked to Jessica, trusting her more to make that sort of call, and Jessica called over Starfox. "Kori, did you hear all that? What do you think?"

Starfox, also known as Kori or by the nickname "Foxy", nodded and responded. "I don't have a problem with it. I have nothing to hide, as long as it's just 'stay nearby and keep an eye on me' and nothing more intrusive. And to be honest... if I ever do turn into him somehow, I want to be stopped. Consider it the last request of the real me."

Jessica nodded. "That means you sticking around here too, you ok with that?"

Kori smiled. "I have friends here, and former lovers I wouldn't mind trying to patch things up with. I don't have to run and hide anymore... a home I can actually stay and belong in would be a really nice change."

Jessica weighed all this, and made a decision. "Ok, I'll have to clear this above me but as far as I'm concerned it's acceptable --on the condition that you two follow orders and act as part of the team. We don't need you conflicted between our orders and Oa's."

Arisia smiled. "Oh that won't be a problem. Lanterns are always independent unless they're working on Oa itself. Our orders tend to be long term missions or simple goals, with the specifics left to our own discretion, within reason. We have certain regulations like no lethal force without authorization, things like that, but by and large we're on our own. There's no other way to really organize such a far-flung group. Anyone who can't self-direct either gets assigned to Oa itself where they can be babysat or they just plain don't make it as a Lantern."

Diana, who'd come near in interest with what was going on, added in support. "I can confirm that in working with Hal... his communications with Oa are few and far between and tend to be very short and non-specific. It's never interfered with him working well with the team."

Jessica smiled. "That's good to hear. Then we can fill out the paperwork sometime soon and get the ball rolling, I'll reccomend you both." a pause "Not right now though. It's rest, relax, and celebrate time now. Work can begin again tomorrow."

Tigra chuckled. "You're lucky you said that before I thwapped you and dragged you off to the bar to put you in the proper mood."

Jessica chuckled in return and smiled warmly at her friend and lover's teasing, and Hal just watched until he had a moment to speak. "A party, eh? I suppose I should return to base then, my job's done here."

Diana chuckled. "Stay, Hal... as my guest. You're not a stranger to everyone here."

He paused, looking around the room at the mostly-unfamiliar faces. "You sure? I don't want to impose..."

Jessica looked to Tigra, who smiled and nodded. "Any friend of Diana's is good enough for us. She wants you here, you're welcome to stay."

He nodded, and paused as he glowed green for a moment and then when it faded he appeared unmasked and in casual clothing, black khaki jeans and a green shirt with an Air Force flight jacket over it adorned with various service and mission patches. He then offered his hand to her, with a friendly smile.

"Hal Steven Jordan... it might seem a little weird, but could you call me Steve? I've been going by my middle name ever since I came back from the dead."

Tigra chuckled. "Long story, I presume?"

He nodded and sighed. "Long and unpleasant, I'm afraid. I'm trying to put it all behind me, turn over a new leaf."

Diana blinked a moment hearing his words. "I'm sorry, I'd forgotten... old habits die hard."

He nodded and chuckled. "You? Hell, I forget sometimes. But I'm taking it a day at a time."

Diana nodded, and Tigra chuckled and smiled warmly. "Well if you want to get it off your chest, I'm told I'm a good listener."

He paused, frowning a moment, and shook his head. "Maybe later? After I have a few drinks in me. It's not a happy story."

Tigra nodded and smiled, and Jessica pointed. "The bar's thataway. I'm headed there myself, you're not the only one who needs to unwind."

-----

Across the room, Richard "Rick" Ryder, aka Nova or more recently Supernova, watched the drama with the Green Lanterns with mild interest, considering how the whole thing had begun with the Lanterns and this was, finally, how it ended. Conversation and new friendships over casual drinks was certainly a lot better an ending than it could have been. Seeing the casual tone of the event, and noting the Lantern adopting civilian garb as well as a few others, he as well enacted his transformation to human guise. In a flash of light, his armor disappeared into subspace, only an invisible force field remaining in it's place. He was about to head to the bar for a drink and something to snack on himself, when he was interrupted by a stunning platinum-haired woman in black who could only be the Black Cat. Her civilian garb of black leather pants and black silk shirt, open to the sternum and displaying amazing, enticing cleavage and accessorized by diamond studded collar and other clear stone and silver accoutrements, wasn't that different from her costumed identity and her mask wasn't very concealing either making identifying her easy. He was about to say something to her when he noticed she wasn't looking at him, but instead up at the massive dual form of his companion Warstar.

She spoke first, grinning as she delivered the joke she clearly had come this way to make. "So this is the guy who runs Bartertown?"

Rick blinked and laughed, recognizing the reference. "Nope. They didn't need another hero."

Felicia grinned. "Mmm, 80s-era Tina Turner..." she stared into space a moment, then blinked. "Oh, umm I'm sorry we were talking about something?" She mocked as if she'd lost herself in thoughts of the brown goddess in the film as portrayed by the legendary singer.

He chuckled softly, and shrugged. "I was just gonna say I'm Rick, and well Warstar doesn't really talk so don't bother trying to start a conversation with her sorry."

Felicia blinked. "That's a she?"

He nodded. "Yeah... she used to be in the Shi'Ar Guard, then she changed jobs somehow and ended up attacking Xandar in some convoluted mess or another, and was nearly destroyed in the fight. In examining her after, we found out that she was still alive, though heavily damaged, and was a cybernetic entity pretty much fused into that armor. We rebuilt her and repurposed her as my guardian and partner." he paused and elaborated. "Apparantly, her species is insectoid and hive minds and exoskeletons are natural to them. Her natural carapace was replaced by the metal power armor. She can't exist outside it, it's part of her. And yes, she's female in the same way almost all insects are, but she's not remotely humanoid. You can't expect her to be social or sexual like a mammal-based humanoid."

Felicia raised an eyebrow at the infodump. "That's... umm... fascinating..." she said without really meaning it. "I bet my friend Barbara would love to hear all about it, sci fi stuff like that is her hobby."

Rick chuckled. "It's ok, I won't bore you with it anymore, but you did ask. Wanna get a drink with me, and you can introduce me to your friend later?"

Felicia grinned. "That sounds wonderful."

-----

That friend came up from the sublevels soon thereafter, accompanied by Jean Grey and a beautiful, tall and muscular purple-skinned female wearing a borrowed kimono robe a little too small for her. Her purple-black hair flowed down her back to brush her perfect, toned ass atop perfect, muscled legs revealed under the too-short robe. In many ways, she looked almost like a purple version of She-Hulk, though of course her facial features were different. To call her stunning would be an understatement. The trio moved for Tigra and Jessica, who were shaping up to be the local leaders of their respective groupings, Tigra of the feline Thundercats and Jessica of the west coast women Avengers they'd been gathering of late. They both smiled warmly, and Tigra grinned in particular at Barbara.

"Your leg! It's..."

Barbara grinned and did a little hopping pirouette to show that she was indeed fully mobile once more. "Fully healed... thank Dr Grey here."

They both looked to the gorgeous redhead, who smiled and answered their unspoken question. "It turns out the Phoenix left a gift for me as well... Phoenix fire. Healing and restorative.." she smiled softly. "Now not only can I protect my friends and loved ones, I can help them when they're injured and to a limited degree even if they're killed. Simple clinical death isn't enough to stop the healing power of the Phoenix."

Both blinked, and Jessica smiled. "That's going to come in really handy... you're going to be in demand."

Jean nodded. "I don't mind. Really, it's hard to imagine how we've gotten along as long as we have without good healers around. Even as good as our med facilities are, they're not enough to keep up with the toll this job takes."

Barbara chuckled. "Yeah, what adventuring party doesn't keep a cleric around? It's D&D 101."

Tigra laughed and stuck her tongue at her. "Nerd."

Barbara, for a change, didn't shy at the teasing and instead countered it with teasing of her own. "Nerds are sexy... and don't show the tongue unless you're willing to use it."

Tigra blinked, taken off guard and actually blushing a touch under the white fur on her face. "You mean that?"

Barbara just winked at her coyly and smirked. "Maybe..."

Tigra was actually speechless at that, and Jessica chuckled softly and changed the subject. "Who's our other guest?", she asked in reference to the tall, athletic purple-haired woman.

Jean smiled and answered. "You weren't in that fight so you wouldn't recognize her... this is Xenith, or Xena for short. She's the cousin of the Gladiator, and she got knocked out in the fight and I saved her from making an unpleasant purple splat on the ground."

The Strontian female nodded. "I owe you people my life... my so-called allies would have let me die without a second thought."

Jessica smiled. "Well that's why we're heroes, and not just fighters. We save lives when and how we can, whatever the risk."

Xena nodded. "So I've come to understand... your Phoenix spent some time mind-teaching me some things after I woke up. I quite admire what you've built here. I..." she paused, nervously. "...I would like to become part of it, if I could."

Jessica raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Don't you have a home to go back to?"

The purple woman sighed. "My hair wasn't the only thing to return to me in the healing process. So too was my mind and will restored to me after both were taken from me in my cousin's efforts to mold me into a 'perfect Strontian warrior' he could take pride in --in other words, use as he saw fit-- instead of having a mind of my own and disagreeing with his idea of perfect servitude to the Empire."

Jessica nodded with a sympathetic sigh. "When they say 'power corrupts', 90% of the time they mean politics. The ruthlessness of rulership isn't something we're unfamiliar with here on Earth either."

Xena nodded in agreement. "Would it be too much to ask to stay, then? Jean said you might well say yes... and I can pull my weight. I'm not as powerful as my cousin, no other Strontian is, but I can more than hold my own in a fight. Your allies will tell you as much. I can certainly contribute my strength to yours."

Jean nodded and added her support to that. "I can vouch for that... she's a powerhouse, and an honorable one. If she swears her loyalty, she means it. Don't screw her over and she'll be a dependable fighter."

Jessica nodded. "I think Carol will be able to confirm that too... I'm inclined to say yes. I'll have to clear it, of course, but I like the idea."

Xena grinned, elated. "I won't make you regret it!"

-----

Elsewhere, Donna Troy sat with Starfox, Starlion, Diana, and the space-pirate Ryoko. Diana and Donna sat close, Donna nuzzled into Diana's side, and Starlion and Ryoko were practically in one another's laps, tails intertwined as the larger tawny feline Starlion cuddled the smaller blue-haired catwoman. Starfox didn't abide being alone for long, climbing into the double lap of the Amazon sisters, curling up and encouraging both to pet her softly like the fox she was.

Soon, Diana broke the silence by asking a question that had been on her mind for a while. "Do me the favor of setting me straight on this whole thing? I know names and identities were swapped around, and I'd appreciate a recap to help me get it straight in my head."

Starfox chuckled. "I'm tricksy like that. It's part of my allure."

Diana chuckled in return and ruffled her hair. "I'm starting to get that, little one."

Donna smiled and offered the asked-for explanation. "Ok, as you remember I was given the name Starfire, and she took the name Starlion as it fit her better. Her earth name is Talia. She's got that whole maned, tawny-furred thing going, Starlion is a really good name for her and we should have thought of it sooner."

Diana nodded. "Oh I agree with that, but how does Starfox fit into all this?"

Talia, aka Starlion, answered that question. "As I'd explained before, she and I met while we were both held captive on a slaveship... when I was injured during our escape, she took my identity. She ended up on earth, wearing my form, and did all the things you knew of me. I was in suspended animation, healing, the entire time. Yesterday, she awakened me and gave me back all the memories of what she'd done in my name. I might as well have lived those events now, so the lie has retroactively become the truth. I am now the woman you knew, though yesterday I was not. Does that make sense?"

Diana nodded. "It's rather convoluted, but yes I think I get it now. So you're Talia the Starlion, she's Kori the Starfox, and my lovely sister is Donna Troy, Starfire."

Kori, the Starfox nodded. "And you're Diana, the about to get tickled Wonder Woman if you don't pet me better than that. Half-assed won't cut it with me. Don't make me go all cute on you."

Diana laughed. "Is that a challenge, little one? If I put my mind to it, I could pet you until you are nothing but one ball of wet, exhausted, furry bliss."

The smaller, foxlike woman's eyes sparkled at that. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

-----

Nearby, the purple-haired clone of Wolverine and Psylocke, the woman known as X-24 and Pantha sat with Cheetara and Barbara Ketch, the orange-red haired human form of the current Ghost Rider. The trio were discussing the battle with Lobo, and how it had come to be won.

Cheetara in particular wanted a recap, as she'd been unconscious for the battle's conclusion, though since then her rapid healing factor had returned her to a whole and healthy state.

"How did you do it? Nothing I did to him had any real effect, and... I am shamed to say it, but merely one attack from him was enough to take me down. Few have the ability to hit me at all when I'm at speed, and fewer still can land so solid a blow that I cannot get up from it."

Pantha shook her head. "Don't feel bad, he one-shotted pretty much all of us. He dropped Jessica and Barbara just as quick and easy, and me and Felicia he took down damned near by accident. He also hit --" she paused "this Barbara, the Ghost Rider, so hard he shattered her bones and left her in pieces on the ground. It was merely that she can reform her body and that I have a potent healing factor that allowed us to return to the fight."

Cheetara nodded. "That I understand, but how did you subdue him? No one else's attacks were even close to effective."

Pantha shrugged softly. "Believe it or not, Felicia set it up even though she was unconscious herself at the time. He tried to kill her while she was down and out, and her luck abilities kicked in and bit him. That set up for me to blindside him with this." She showed her psychic knife, a purple glowing punch dagger shape emitted from her fist. "It incapacitated him long enough for the Ghost Rider to finish him."

Jean Grey chuckled as she floated up with fresh drinks and snacks for them as she made rounds around the room, using her telekinesis to make easy work of it and enjoying the nurtuting aspect of serving her friends. "You forgot to say 'the focused totality of my psychic powers', love."

Pantha blinked. "What?"

Jean chuckled and grinned. "I said 'focused totality of my psychic powers'. What part didn't you understand, 'focused', 'totality', or 'psychic powers'...?"

Pantha frowned. "I don't get it."

Jean chuckled and smiled warmly. "Apparently you never met the woman you were cloned from. I swear, she said that line like every time she used that thing, like we didn't get it the first dozen times. I think it's a tic left over from her Hand conditioning or something."

Pantha blinked. "O...k... well I can repeat it like a cliche'd catchphrase if it makes you feel better, but I don't really feel any need to do it."

Jean grinned. "Maybe once, just for me?"

Pantha frowned a moment, then shrugged and repeated. "Ok, 'focused totality of my psychic powers'. Feel better?"

Jean practically squeed. "Oh that's so -adorable-...!!!" The redhead grinned, ruffled her hair, and flew off, leaving Pantha looking confused.

"That was... bizarre."

Cheetara nodded agreement. "I agree, but she definitely seems to like you, that's a good thing yes?"

Pantha nodded. She supposed there were worse things that could happen than to have a gorgeous redhead find her "adorable".

-----

By the bar, Carol and Hal "Steve" Jordan were drinking together and trading Air Force stories, sharing in their veteran's comraderie as members of the same service. Eventually, the conversation came around to a question that had been on Carol's mind since the fight.

"So what was up with that weird cyborg that looked like Superman?"

Steve sighed. This wasn't going to be fun. "Actually, it has to do with why I changed my name." he paused, then continued. "It began after the death of Superman at the hands of Doomsday..."

Taking a strong pull of straight whiskey to steel himself, he then proceeded to tell a grim tale of the sad days after Superman's heroic sacrifice and the others who had risen to take up the S/ mantle in the wake of the tragedy. Primary among them was a being now usually referred to by the moniker Cyborman, who for a time was believed to be Superman himself returned to life by extensive cybernetic repairs. He'd passed a DNA test, and gained the trust of the president and the people, acting as a true hero worthy of carrying the S/ despite his almost monstrous appearance.

He then related how in the beginning he'd come to be the "Green Lantern of Earth" because the alien who gave him the power had been transporting a deadly prisoner, the villain Sinestro, and in his dying act had committed his power --and Jordan himself-- to keeping him prisoner. In an elaborate plot, Sinestro arranged to both corrupt Jordan through mind control and frame the cyborg Superman for the devastation of Coast City, Jordan's hometown. Both were led to believe the other was responsible for the destruction, in order to set up Jordan to be killed by his fellow heroes and thus eliminate the "parallax barrier" that kept Sinestro imprisoned on earth. This led to Sinestro controlling Jordan's body for a time, and to a battle between a newly-returned Superman and the Cyborg. During the battle, the public turned on the Cyborman due to his freakish appearance, and feeling betrayed and devastated by the rejection, the Cyborman exiled himself from Earth. As it turned out, the Cyborman was indeed Superman's original body, and the new Superman was a cloned body designed to replace the damaged, hastily repaired Cyborman. The process of transferring memories and consciousness was rushed, however, leading to a decidedly ambiguous conclusion. Even now, no one was quite sure if the Superman they knew was an identical copy or the original self successfully transferred to the new body. What they did know was that the Cyborman truly believed he was the original, one true Superman and the betrayal of him by the people of earth was heartbreaking.

Over the course of the whole nightmare, Jordan had become the villain "Parallax" while under Sinestro's control and eventually was killed and replaced by another Lantern from Earth assigned to contain Sinestro and pick up where he'd left off. When Jordan was finally returned from the dead, his own mind and will returned to him, he was distrusted and had worked overtime to restore his reputation and the faith and trust of others. To commemorate his turning over a new, fresh leaf with a new lease on life, and to put the past behind him, he'd begin going by his middle name "Steve". It was better if "Hal Jordan" remained dead. New life, new chance to get it right this time, new name to mark the change. It made sense.

When it was finished, Carol smiled sympathetically and raised her glass. "I'm no stranger to fucked up life events. Let me tell you a little story about me and a woman named Rogue..."

-----

As the party proceeded, and people drank more and relaxed their guard, they were ill-prepared for the prospect of a fresh confrontation but they faced exactly that as a spectral voice echoed in the room.

"Space pirate Ryoko... the time has come for you to answer for your crimes."

As the assembled heroes struggled to shift to a defensive posture, Ryoko looked nervously back at Tigra to see if she'd get support or be thrown to the wolves. In answer, Tigra stepped in front of her and locked defiant eyes on the newly-materialized floating form of the Space Ghost.

"Forget it mister... she's one of us now. You want her, you go through me and my Thundercats."

His eyes narrowed on her. "I could do that if necessary..."

Ryoko sighed, and then hit on an idea. "Wait! What if I traded a far more valuable prisoner in exchange for lenience?"

The Space Ghost paused, considering this a moment. "I'm listening."

Ryoko nodded, and flew down to the sublevels to retrieve the catatonic, mindblasted form of Lobo. "I present for your consideration the Mad Czarnian, the butcher of the spaceways, the self-described 'main man' Lobo himself. Surely multiple confirmed genocides is worth more than anything I've done, right?"

The spectral man in white actually blinked. "You and your allies actually subdued Lobo? None of you have that amount of power..." he frowned, and a beam from his gauntlet washed over Lobo's body, bathing him in yellow light, and the Space Ghost raised an eyebrow. "It actually is him, though. Remarkable..."

Ryoko gave a smirking, feline grin. "So do we have a deal?"

The Space Ghost frowned down on her. "I could take you both by force if I chose... no one here could stop me." he paused, causing the others to tense for battle before he spoke again. "However, I prefer to maintain positive relations with local heroes and law enforcement... so I'll take your deal. On a condition."

All eyes were on him as he elaborated. "Consider yourself on probation, with these heroes as your supervisors. Remain with them, on this world, where they can keep a leash on you."

Ryoko blinked, suddenly unsure as her feline instincts raged against the concept of being constrained. Tigra realized the precariousness of the situation and stepped up to salvage it before it could collapse.

"We'll take it."

Ryoko blinked, lip bitten as she locked eyes with Tigra, who held them firmly. Finally, after long moments, Ryoko slumped and sighed, defeated. "Very well... I accept."

He nodded with a smirk of his own. "Wise decision. To keep you from changing your mind, I'll be disabling your hyperdrive on my way out of the system. If you're smart, you won't give me cause to come back and take further action."

Ryoko blinked, and let out an enraged yowl as she actually lunged for him, only to have her shoulder caught by Tigra who spun her around and distracted her with a powerful, intense kiss. Ryoko stiffened, eyes wide, but slowly she melted into it until soon enough their purrs rumbled as one. As they did so, the Space Ghost collected his prisoner with a tractor beam and floated up and out through the ceiling to ascend to space and leave them and the earth behind.

As he departed, Felicia shivered. "That guy creeps me the hell out."

Barbara shrugged. "He's like the Batman, that's all." she paused "Well more like the Batman with the power of a Superman and then some, but yeah."

Diana chuckled at her. "You say that so nonchalantly, dear. It's adorable."

Barbara shrugged again. "I'm used to it I guess. I never was one to intimidate easy."

As they bantered, Thor growled and finally sat back down, draining his drink. "I found his words and manner insulting at best, and ill suited for addressing a god. He's fortunate I chose to stay my hand and allow the situation to play out before I responded in kind."

Diana looked at him, and then came around to massage his shoulders. "I felt the same way, but I also chose restraint and it turned out for the best. I'm glad you did the same, and thank you for it."

The God of Thunder relaxed as a smile found his features. "It was worth it then, if it gained the favor of a woman such as you."

She smiled in return, and surprised him by tilting his head back and laying a kiss on him every bit the equal of that Tigra had used to calm Ryoko, to the surprise of pretty much the entire room. She smirked, and returned to her seat with an expression like the proverbial canary-eating cat.

"Play your cards right, Thunder God, and you'll gain more than that this night."

-----

Soon after the departure of the Space Ghost, and as the spirit of celebration was beginning to flow once more, Ryoko announced a surprise for them, and then with Barbara's help pulled up an image on the monitor screens. On one of the uninhabited islands in the San Francisco Bay, a new structure shaped like a sitting robotic cat overlooked the harbor and city. With a smile, Ryoko explained.

My ship is as much organic as she is technological, which is why I was so enraged that that goddamned spacecop would hurt her... but I calmed her down by promising her she'd have new guests, crew to call her home. And since you're building this new Thunderan team from scratch, I figured you guys could use a base of your --our own. With a bit of shapeshifting and rearrangement... well I present to you Cat's Den."

Tigra grinned and pulled her into another kiss, as soft applause broke out amongst the group.

-----

A short time later, the group and the party had moved to the new base, and things had resumed from there. After a short conversation with Tigra, Jessica stood to address the group.

"Ok, we've come to a decision. It's become kinda a new tradition lately to celebrate victories with parties of a rather... intimate variety. So in other words, anyone who doesn't want to --how did you put it, Tigger-my-love?"

Tigra grinned and offered playfully "I think it was 'buck like funnies'..."

Jessica chuckled and nodded. "Yeah, that... anyone who doesn't want in on the fun should go now, cuz I'm about to turn on the juice and get this fucking party started."

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Scarlet Starlight