Fearful Symmetry
Gilbert Halstrom ran for his life through the streets of Metropolis, though he ran in vain. Nothing would stop his pursuer; nothing could stop his pursuer. He tried to open a door, but it was locked. Before he could force it open, two red beams struck the knob, melting it into a red puddle. Halstrom turned to see his hunter land in front of him.
"What's with the running, Doc?" asked Supergirl, in a sadistic tone, "We both know how this is gonna turn out."
"I didn't tell anyone!" said a panicking Halstrom, "I swear!"
"Good, then you're the only loose end." Thanks to her super-hearing, Supergirl heard the sound of several guns cocking a few blocks away. She turned to face them, but one of her ambushers fired a shot. The beam of energy was Kryptonite-based, so it actually hurt her when it grazed her arm.
Clutching at her wound, she glared at her enemies. While Halstrom ran, she disappeared in a blur of motion, appearing in front of one of the gunmen. She grabbed his rifle and smashed it across his head. One of the others tried to fire a shot, but Supergirl heaved the unconscious body of his companion into him.
Several more shots hit the ground near Supergirl's feet; she turned her head up to see three more attackers using jetpacks to rain fire down on her. Supergirl flew into the air, easily dodging the Kryptonite lasers. Flying down into the city, she used her heat-vision to slice off a chunk of a building; said chunk slammed down onto one of the gunmen, taking him out of the fight.
Supergirl flew down to street-level, almost touching the pavement, while still closely followed by her enemies. She tried to throw them off by flying into oncoming traffic, but to no avail. Trying something else, she flew up and behind a billboard and ripped it out of the building it was attached to. Raising it above her head, she slammed it down onto the remaining two men.
While dusting off his hands, she heard the panicked breathing of her original quarry. She easily caught up with him at a laboratory. Smashing open the doors, she marched inside, determined to finish what she'd started, only pausing to push her long hair behind her ear.
She was moving towards the back when a set of doors opened. They revealed a robot, similar in design to a Mars Rover, but instead of solar panels. It had a pair of torture-style clamps and a massive syringe-like probe in the center. Before she could react, the robot grabbed her arm and smashed her against a wall. Before she could free her arm, a panel opened up revealing a saw-blade. She had to use her free arm to prevent the blade from reaching her throat. Using her super-strength, she ripped it off, just in time to stop the syringe from piercing her throat. A small green point on the tip revealed that it was armed with Kryptonite.
Drawing up as much strength as she could muster, she ripped off the clamp and sent the robot flying across the room. It shattered into pieces. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she walked into the room that the robot had come from, where she found Halstrom was cowering in a corner.
"You can scream now, if you want." Supergirl had a sick smile on her face, as her eyes glowed red.
"AAAAAH!"
…
"AAAAAH!"
Kara ripped off the covers of her bed, trembling and covered in sweat. She looked around; she was in her room in the Kent house. She was in Smallville, not Metropolis; but why had she had a dream like this again? She wrapped her arms around her legs and tilted her head up.
In the ceiling were two holes, still smoking from heat vision.
…
Watchtower
Supergirl sat in a private conference with the Martian Manhunter. He had spent some time examining her mind, trying to find the meaning behind the nightmares plaguing her.
"I've never fully understood the mechanics of dreams," he said after a while, "I don't have them, myself."
"Well, this one's doing a number on my ceiling," said Supergirl, "and Pa Kent's getting tired of patching it."
"I will say this," J'onn stated as he stood up from his chair, "what I saw was far more linear than ordinary dream-logic, but it didn't seem like a memory, either. It was inconclusive."
Supergirl looked at him in apprehension. "You mean I may have actually done these things?" The possibility that she may have killed someone, or multiple people, terrified her.
"I'm sorry," said the Martian sadly, "I just don't know."
A voice from a nearby communication screen lit up. "J'onn, President Cho Chep is on Line One."
J'onn turned back to Supergirl. "I'm going to put you on the Inactive Roster for a few days. Let me know what you find." What the Martian meant was that, barring any serious threat to the world, Supergirl was only going to focus on finding answers, not fighting crime.
…
Supergirl had made her way to the cafeteria, where she met up with Green Arrow and Ben, who was transformed into Diamondhead. Ben had decided that unless he was alone with people that he completely trusted, he was going to remain as either Diamondhead or Fourarms. Aside from a select few, no one in the League knew his identity.
While Arrow and Diamondhead ate lunch, Supergirl explained what had been happening over the last few nights. Diamondhead could relate, at least in part; his nightmares still came, even after six months, though they weren't as common, and they rarely woke him up anymore. Still, he knew what these sorts of dreams could do to a person.
"So what's the big deal?" asked Green Arrow, "You had some nightmares."
Obviously, you haven't had these kinds of nightmares, thought Diamondhead.
"These weren't just dreams," said Supergirl, "they felt like they really happened."
"I don't know, I've had some dreams that felt mighty real." The archer turned to see Black Canary across the room, typing on a laptop. "There was this one the other night…"
"Dude, TMI!" Diamondhead really didn't need to hear that.
"The point is that I couldn't live with myself if I really did what I saw." Supergirl looked at her friends. "Now, are you two gonna help me or not?"
"Of course, Kara, you know I've got your back." Diamondhead gave her a thumbs-up. Supergirl gave him a smile of thanks.
"So will I," said Green Arrow, "but vague memories like one of those alien abductions? Maybe you've just been hanging out in Kansas for too long."
"I wouldn't be so sure," said a new voice, "especially since those two are the aliens."
The others turned to see a man wearing a blue overcoat, pants, tie, fedora and an orange shirt sit down at their table. He was The Question, easily recognizable because he had no face. No eyes, no nose and no mouth.
How does he talk? Wondered Diamondhead. Or eat?
"You've got all the signs of repressed memories." Question said to Supergirl, "People dream what their minds don't want to remember; easier to convince themselves it's all bunk."
"What would she have repressed memories of?" asked Diamondhead.
"You were treated for injuries at S.T.A.R Labs, correct?" The Question didn't even look at Diamondhead. At least, he didn't appear to. It was hard to tell when the man didn't have eyes.
"Yeah," said Supergirl, "a few years ago, when Superman was brainwashed by Darkseid and attacked the Earth. I got hurt and he took me to S.T.A.R for help; I was in a coma for part of it."
"Meaning that there's a gap in time you can't account for." Deduced Question, "That's where we need to investigate."
"Okay, enough!" interrupted Green Arrow. He turned to the younger heroes. "Don't listen to this guy, everything's conspiracies with him."
"I don't know," said an uncertain Diamondhead, "he's got a point; if Supergirl can't remember a point in time, something might have happened." He saw the hurt look that Supergirl was giving him. "I'm not saying you did what you saw; I'm just saying that it sounds like a lead to follow."
"And it's not conspiracies; it's conspiracy. Singular. Follow me." Question got up and motioned for them to come with him.
On the way, Supergirl whispered to Diamondhead, "You really don't think I did it?"
"No," Diamondhead whispered back, "I don't care what happened, you would never kill someone; it's not who you are."
Supergirl gave him another, much warmer smile. Inside, Diamondhead felt something weird. Since his body was made of stone, not flesh, he figured that it was the Petrosapien equivalent of a blush.
Wait, why am I blushing? Am I…His mind went back to after the incident with Mongol, when Kara had kissed him. It had been a little awkward between them for a little while, but things had gone back to normal. However, he could've sworn that he saw Kara looking at him funny when she thought that he wasn't looking. \
And the more Ben thought about it, the more certain he became.
Oh, God, I think I AM!
Before he could think about his newfound revelation, they arrived at Question's room. Every Leaguer had a room assigned to them on the Watchtower. Some of them stayed on the station full-time, and they needed a place to stay; others would stay over a weekend, or a few days, and they needed a place to stay.
Once they entered and the doors shut, Question turned to Diamondhead. "Now, since my room isn't exactly enormous, and you are rather large, would you mind turning back to normal… Ben?"
The other heroes jumped in shock. Unlike in his own universe, Ben had been extremely careful in hiding his identity. For this guy to figure it out… Diamondhead sighed, and slapped the Ultimatrix dial, turning back into Ben in a flash of green light.
"How did you find out?" Ben asked.
"I do my homework," was the vague response, before Question turned to a large board with pictures, scientific journals and news reports pinned to it, with strings connecting it all. "Now, let's get back to the matter at hand."
"Going back as far as ancient Egypt there've been a cabal of powerful individuals directing the course of human history. However, the common man prefers to believe that they don't exist, and that aids their success."
The other three took a closer look at the connected issues on the wall. "Global warming," read Supergirl, "military upheavals in the third world and actors elected to public office?"
"The spread of coffee bars, germs outpacing antibiotics and boy-bands?" read Green Arrow, "Come on, who would gain from all of this?"
"Who indeed?" asked The Question.
"You know what, I was wrong," said Ben, "he IS nuts."
"What does any of this have to do with my dreams?" asked Supergirl.
"If I'm right, you're part of it; you're going to need my help. I'm going with you." The Question started to walk out of his room. The others followed, with Ben quickly transforming into Fourarms.
"Hold your horses," said Green Arrow as he caught up, "no one asked for more help. This whole trip might just prove that the kid shouldn't eat nachos before bed."
"Peanut-butter sandwiches." Corrected The Question.
The others froze. "How did you… what, do you go through my trash!?" demanded an indignant Supergirl.
"Please," responded a seemingly-offended Question, "I go through everyone's trash."
"… All right, then," said Fourarms after a moment, "he's not only crazy, but he's creepy, too."
…
S.T.A.R. Labs, Metropolis
When the four reached the labs, they were greeted by Professor Hamilton, a middle-aged man with blonde hair and beard. He wore thick-rimmed glasses and a white lab coat. He had been a friend to the Kryptonian cousins for years and had helped them with his scientific expertise on several occasions. He seemed nice enough, only pausing for a moment when he greeted Fourarms. After explaining what had been happening, Hamilton brought them to a room in the medical wing of the facility.
"This is where we treated you when you were in your coma." said Hamilton, gesturing to an operating table, "You were on life-support the whole time; I promise, you weren't running around on violent missions."
"Well then, Professor Hamilton," asked a dubious Question, "maybe you can tell us why her memories led her here."
"I think I can explain that." Hamilton answered calmly. He turned to Supergirl. "You mentioned some sort of torture device."
"Yes." Confirmed Supergirl.
"With robotic arms, and a long probe in the center?"
"Cut to the chase," said Arrow, "You say you've seen something like it?"
"In fact, I have." Hamilton strode across the room.
Fourarms was a little surprised; they were actually getting somewhere! Hamilton pushed a button on a wall, opening a door. Supergirl gasped. There it was! It was smaller than it had been in her dream, but other than that, it was identical!
The robot moved forward as Hamilton explained. "It's not a torture device. It's a surgical robot. It has a Kryptonite-tipped lance; it was the only way to operate on you, Supergirl. That robot saved your life."
He glanced at The Question. "As for the rest of her dream; we humans are used to being vulnerable. But to Supergirl, surgery must have seemed terrible invasive." He tilted his head down to look Supergirl in the eye. "You were powerless to defend yourself; it's possible that your mind created a scenario of fighting back."
Supergirl looked down for a moment, before nodding. After thanking Hamilton for his time, they began to file out of the lab. Before he left, however, Fourarms turned back to the professor.
"Hey, Professor, can I give you a piece of advice?"
"What is it?" Hamilton was curious what an alien would say.
"The next time you make a surgical robot," said Fourarms, "try not to make it look like a torture device. You might have fewer traumatized superheroes that way."
Hamilton smiled. "I'll be sure to take that into consideration."
…
Outside of the labs, the heroes began talking amongst themselves.
"Well, I think that answered everything." Green Arrow looked satisfied.
"A little too well, don't you think?" asked Question.
"Does everything have a sinister motive in your world?" asked Fourarms.
"Yours too, you just don't know it." Responded Question.
"Uh, guys?" Supergirl pointed ahead, where three attack-helicopters were headed towards them. The lead gunship dropped a silver robot at them, where it tackled Supergirl to the ground. Before the others could help, twenty armed men began firing at them.
Green Arrow and Question took cover, while Fourarms slapped the Ultimatrix dial.
"RATH!" cried the humanoid tiger. He growled and leapt towards the nearest attacker; he grabbed the man by the throat and brought him up to his face. "Let me tell you something, soldier guy! Rath does not like it when people attack Rath's friends! It makes Rath angry! Uh, angrier! Whatever!" Then he delivered a headbutt to the man, knocking him out.
Meanwhile, Green Arrow fired a shot that created a smokescreen; using it for cover, both he and Question took down several more of their assailants. When he had the opportunity, the archer fired an explosive arrow at the rotors of one of now-landed helicopters, disabling it. Rath grabbed the tail of another gunship and promptly ripped it off. The men who remained conscious gathered up their wounded and escaped on the last helicopter.
Supergirl was finishing up her fight, decapitating the robot with an uppercut. The horseshoe- shaped head embedded itself into a rock.
"What was that about?" demanded Green Arrow as he looked around at the damaged area.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Question as he walked away, "We're asking questions someone doesn't want answered."
"Oh, learn a new tune already!"
"I'm starting to think he's right." Supergirl looked down in worry. "That robot came after me; the rest of this was just a distraction." Then she looked around. "Hey, where's Ben?"
After a moment, the two found Rath, pummeling the remains of the helicopter he'd destroyed.
"Hey, kid!" Arrow shouted to get his attention, "I think you got it!"
Rath looked down at the wreckage. "So!? It needs to be taught a lesson!"
Green Arrow looked at Supergirl in confusion. "I'll handle it," she said, "Ben, I think it's time to turn into something a little less… violent, okay? We need to get moving."
Rath grumbled for a moment. "Fine, whatever." He slapped the Ultimatrix dial on his chest, turning into Chromastone. "Sorry about that; I get a little crazy when I'm Rath."
"A little?" asked Green Arrow, "You were trying to teach a chunk of metal a lesson!"
Chromastone scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as they rejoined Question.
"Standard Z-8 Combat Trainer." Muttered Question as he looked over the remains of the robot. He brought the severed head to show them.
"Like the ones we use," said Arrow, "the League buys 'em in bulk."
"So?" Asked Supergirl, not knowing where this was going.
"So who do we buy them from?" asked Question.
"The Army, I think…" Supergirl's expression turned skeptical, "Oh, wait a minute…"
"Another fun fact," said Question, "The man who commissioned the Z-8 Project? He's the same man who put you in the hospital."
"General Hardcastle?" asked Supergirl, "He's retired now, isn't he?"
"Gone," said Question, "and hoping to be forgotten."
…
It didn't take long for them to reach Hardcastle's cabin in the woods; apparently, The Question knew its coordinates, so it was just a quick teleport from the Watchtower away. They walked up the porch, where Chromastone turned the knob; it was unlocked, which was usually a bad sign. The cabin was dark, the only light coming from a dimly-lit fireplace.
"Figured someone'd come for me someday," The heroes turned towards the voice as an aging man turned on a lamp next to him. He was aiming an unusual pistol at them; specifically, at Supergirl. "Only I thought they'd be from the other side. This weapon fires a projectile of Kryptonite pellets, suspended in a liquid-silicon core. Causes maximum scatter on impact; only gets one shot, but trust me, alien, it'll do the job."
Supergirl raised her hands in a placating gesture. "We're not here to hurt you; we just have some questions."
Hardcastle raised an eyebrow. "Sorry if I don't take your word for it; as I recall, your kind can be fickle." Chromastone had heard enough, and he knew just how to stop Supergirl from getting shot; he stepped in front of her, blocking the line of fire.
"Okay, now what, smart guy?" he said smugly, "Waste your one shot on a guy that isn't hurt by either bullets or Kryptonite, and all you've got are four annoyed superheroes."
For a moment, Hardcastle glanced down, as if considering his options. That moment was all Question needed to knock the pistol out of his hands.
"Come one, be a good host," said Green Arrow, "and tell us a story."
After a few minutes, everyone got comfortable as Supergirl explained the situation, with Chromastone keeping the Kryptonite-gun close by, in case Hardcastle tried anything.
"The Army shut me out after Superman invaded." The retired General poked at the fireplace as he spoke. "The feeling upstairs was that I failed when it counted most, so how could I lead again? I got the message and took early retirement."
He moved to a chair and sat down. "The problem is I know too much. One of these days they'll decide to shut me up."
"Who will?" asked Supergirl, "What do you know?"
Hardcastle looked her in the eye. "The military and big business have been in cahoots for decades. Top-secret stuff, experiments on metahumans, mutants and aliens; searching for new technologies, both for national security and profit. That Volcana woman?" he referred to one of the League's more notorious villains, "She was one of ours. Same as those freaks the Joker dressed up as playing cards when he attacked Las Vegas."
"Does any of this have to do with Supergirl?" asked Chromastone.
"It has to do with all of you." Hardcastle looked at them with narrowed eyes. "Your little club up in that spaceship? There's a file on every single one of you." He looked back at Supergirl. "But I don't know anything about these dreams of yours. If it is connected to these people, I've been kept out of the loop too long to know."
"And how do we find 'these people'?" asked Question.
"You don't," said Hardcastle in a warning tone, "they find you."
Hardcastle didn't have any more information, so the heroes left. Once they were outside the house, Chromastone put a hand on Supergirl's shoulder.
"Sorry, looks like we're out of leads."
"Not necessarily," said Question, "I just need some time to process this." He activated the communicator in his ear. "Martian, pick us up." The heroes disappeared in a flash of light.
A few minutes later, a shadow fell on Hardcastle's porch.
Inside the cabin, Hardcastle poured himself a glass of whiskey; he always needed a drink if he even so much as thought about the secrets he knew. He got a little irritated when he heard his door open again.
"What? I told you everything I…" he turned to see a familiar, yet unfamiliar person standing there. "Supergirl?"
The woman standing in his doorway wore a white, long-sleeved one-piece outfit with a gold belt that showed off her legs. She had white boots and gloves, and her blonde hair was cut short. She looked like Supergirl in her twenties.
"Yes," she answered, "and no. My friends call me Galatea. Are you a friend, General?"
Hardcastle had been a soldier for most of his life; he knew a threat when he heard one. He rushed for his Kryptonite gun, but Galatea blasted it with her heat-vision, scorching Hardcastle's hand in the process. With a shout of pain, he fell into a chair.
Galatea approached him slowly, then leaned forward. "Guess that's a no."
…
Watchtower
For the next few hours after visiting Hardcastle, the four heroes spent their time in Question's room. After a little while, Supergirl fell asleep at Question's desk, Green Arrow and Ben spoke quietly to each other, and Question just muttered to himself as he paced.
Supergirl awoke with a start, terror on her face. She turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up into Ben's eyes.
"It's okay," he assured her, "you fell asleep."
"Excuse me if I bore you." Question commented dryly.
"Hey, lay off!" growled Green Arrow.
"Hardcastle's gone." The others looked at Supergirl, shocked, who shrugged. "I-I just know."
Ben squeezed her shoulder, trying to be supportive. In response, Supergirl put her hand on his; both smiled at each other.
The moment was ruined, however, when the communicator on the desk turned on. "Question?" came the voice of the Martian.
"Go ahead." Answered Question.
"Look at your monitor; I'm patching through a live feed."
All four of the heroes looked at the screen next to the communicator; it showed a news report from the Eagle Network, with a picture of a middle-aged, balding man.
"A scientist named Gilbert Halstrom has been reported missing," continued J'onn, "He's from a biotech company called Nuvo-Gen. It's the man from Kara's dream."
"He really exists." Whispered Supergirl. "Or, he did, anyway." Her hand tightened around Ben's.
"And only one network had the story," said Question.
"Now that's the first lead in this whole business that I can wrap my head around." Green arrow stood up straight. "We go to Nuvo-Gen, we find out who this guy is."
"No." Argued Question, "First we find the source of the report."
"What for?" asked Arrow.
"Don't you know who owns the Eagle Network?" Question walked over and tapped his board of connections. "The real puppetmasters."
Green Arrow sighed. "Look, why don't we split up; Kara, Ben and I will go to Nuvo-Gen, and you can go wherever you want." As he moved to leave, he glanced at Ben and Supergirl. A sly smile came over his face. "You two can let go now."
Ben looked down while Supergirl looked up; Ben's hand was still on her shoulder, while Supergirl's hand was still gripping his. Blushing furiously, they let go and rushed out the door, with Ben turning into Diamondhead.
"Ah, young love." Green Arrow laughed as he walked out the door.
…
Inside a steak-house stood Lasser, a reporter for the Eagle Network, started walking out, when he was stopped by an old man he knew, named Jerry.
"Hey, Lasser!" Jerry said, "I saw that bit on Eagle today; now that's reporting!"
"Thanks," said Lasser in a condescending tone, "you get home safe."
He made to leave, but Jerry grabbed his arm. "The thing is, that Nuvo-Gen is a real hush-hush kind of joint, and Halstrom didn't have no family to file a Missing Person's report; between you and me, how'd you hear about this story?"
"Good old-fashioned legwork, Jerry; you should try it sometime." With that, Lasser left.
He went outside and stepped into a taxi. "Commodore Hotel." The taxi drove off, but it didn't get very far, only a couple of blocks before turning into an alley.
"Something wrong?" asked Lasser.
"Gotta write up my fare report." The driver started scribbling on a notepad. "What do you think of that corporate, prepackaged pop that kids like these days?"
"Hate it." Said Lasser with a laugh.
"Uh-huh." The driver turned on the radio at maximum volume, going to a corporate, prepackaged pop song, as yellow smoke emerged from his jacket.
"Hey," said Lasser as he grabbed the driver's shoulder, "I just said…" he froze as the man's outfit turned blue and his face disappeared. He screamed at the sight of The Question.
…
Nuvo-Gen
The night-watch security guard in the lobby looked up as his replacement for the night showed up. It wasn't who he was expecting; it was a muscular, blonde-haired man holding a lunchbox.
"Hi," said the man, "Ollie. I'm filling in."
"What happened to Frank?" the guard asked as he shook Ollie's hand.
"I heard some contest guy showed up at his door; got a free trip to Aruba!"
"Why him and not me?" complained the guard as he got up to leave.
"Tell me about it. You have a good one!"
"Good cold one's more like it." The guard put his keycard in the slot and opened the door, walking away without a backwards glance.
As the door began to close, Supergirl rushed in, holding Green Arrow's bow and quiver. "Free trip to Aruba?" she asked teasingly.
"Had to send Frank somewhere; shame how he dropped his keycard, though."
"And his lunch!" came a squeaky voice. Green Arrow opened up the lunchbox to find Grey Matter chewing on a sandwich.
"What are you doing?" asked Supergirl.
"I thought the plan was for me to sneak in with Ollie?"
"No, not that," said Supergirl, "I mean, why are you eating the sandwich?"
Grey Matter swallowed. "I was hungry."
The other two heroes rolled their eyes, and while Green Arrow got changed in a closet, Grey Matter turned into Ben. After a few minutes of wandering, they found the company record room. Unbeknownst to them, a white-gloved hand opened up the front door.
…
"I never heard of Nuvo-Gen, or Halstrom until last night; this girl I've been seeing slipped it to me, said I could run with it." Lasser confessed everything to Question.
"The girl," demanded the faceless hero, "tell me more."
"She's just a girl," said Lasser, not knowing where this was going, "blonde hair, blue eyes; real farmers-daughter type."
"And a handshake like a vice?" asked Question.
"Y-yeah, really strong, how did you…"
"How long have you been seeing her?" the hero interrupted.
"About a week."
"She have bad dreams?"
"More like tossing and turning."
Question tapped his chin in thought. "Can't sleep at night…"
A few seconds later, Lasser was hurled out of the taxi, and Question sped off towards Nuvo-Gen.
…
Nuvo-Gen
"Halstrom was getting a lot of emails from their legal department," said Green Arrow. He was staring at one computer, while Ben and Supergirl sat at another. "Looks like they were scared he was gonna blow the whistle on something."
After looking at another file, he sat back in amazement. "I don't believe this; that crazy old Hardcastle was right. These guys claim to be splicing hardier tomatoes, but they've really been experimenting with metahuman DNA."
"Not just any DNA," said Supergirl, her voice shaky. Arrow turned to see Ben's hand on her shoulder again, both of them staring at the computer screen. "They're using my DNA."
Green Arrow rushed over to see images and video clips of an older Supergirl. One of the clips showed the clone fighting jetpack-wearing enemies.
"This folder was marked 'Metropolis Training Exercises'." Supergirl sat back. "It's me."
"Um, a little more mature than you," commented Green Arrow when he saw the older-looking clone, "but I see your point."
"So I was cloned." Ben was a little unnerved how calm Supergirl was acting. "We must have some sort of psychic link; that's how I'm seeing things I didn't do."
Their heads jerked up when they saw a blur of motion outside the room. Ben reflexively activated the Ultimatrix, turning into the last alien he'd selected, Grey Matter. Not giving him time to change forms, Supergirl placed him on her shoulder and rushed off. Green Arrow ran to catch up. The trio entered a massive, empty room, with no one inside. The floor was covered in purple, hexagonal plates. As they walked inside, the walls, ceiling and floor lit up, and after a few seconds, they found themselves in Metropolis.
"What's going on?" asked Supergirl.
"We appear to be inside of a massive hard-light construct," explained the super-smart Grey Matter, "most likely used as training area."
"My training area."
The heroes looked up to see the clone of Supergirl flying down towards them. She collided with Supergirl, sending both her and Grey Matter through the side of a building. She then flew up into the air. Supergirl, after shaking off her daze, followed with Grey Matter still hanging onto her shoulder.
"So, what do you think?" asked Galatea, as she spread her arms, "It's important that you like yourself, and I'm you; just accelerated a few extra years, plus better trained, and I have to say, a heck of a lot smarter."
"I don't like her," said Grey Matter, "she's really full of it."
"Yeah," agreed Supergirl, "but she did lure us here, after her lackeys couldn't get rid of me at S.T.A.R, she decided to deal with me herself, on her home turf."
"It's like you're reading my mind," said Galatea, "which is actually the problem, and why you have to-AGH!" the clone was cut off when Grey Matter jumped and latched onto her face. He did everything he could to annoy her, even going so far as giving her a Wet-Willie. After a few moments, she grabbed him.
"What were you hoping to accomplish with all that?" she asked.
"I wasn't 'hoping' to do anything," said a smug Grey Matter, "what I did do was distract you."
Galatea looked up, just in time to see Supergirl land a punch on her jaw. The shock loosened her grip on Grey Matter, who fell to the street below. Before he actually went splat, he slapped the Ultimatrix dial.
"BIG CHILL!" the blue mothman flew up to rejoin the battle.
Supergirl found herself struggling to even hurt her clone, much less beat her. She was slammed through a building before she could capitalize on her surprise attack. As she got back up, she saw the clone engulfed by an explosion; Green Arrow had fired an explosive shot… that did absolutely nothing, save for making the clone fire a blast of heat-vision that knocked the archer into a car, and then into unconsciousness.
"Arrow!" Supergirl tried to help her friend, but the clone grabbed her cape and flung her into the street.
Galatea headed for her, but found her body encased in a layer of ice. She looked up to see Big Chill waving at her. Snarling, she flexed, shattering the ice. She rocketed towards Big Chill and thrust her fist through his chest!
"NO!" Supergirl saw her clone's arm going through her friend. But something was wrong; the clone had performed a fatal move, but Big Chill didn't even look worried. He flew backwards, showing that he wasn't injured at all.
"Sorry," he said in a smug tone, "intangibility makes it hard to hurt me."
"Doesn't matter," said the clone, "I might not be able to kill you, but you don't have the power to stop me, either!"
"Are you so sure?" asked Big Chill, "Then it's time to go Ultimate!" he twisted the Ultimatrix dial, then slapped it. Four spikes poked out, while Big Chill became red and yellow in color, while his wings and face took on a flame-like appearance.
"ULTIMATE BIG CHILL!" his voice was deep and gravelly.
Ultimate Big Chill took a deep breath, then breathed out a massive wave of fire; the clone raised her arms to defend herself, but when the flame passed, she was covered head-to-toe in an enormous chunk of ice. When she fell to the ground, Ultimate Big Chill flew over to Supergirl.
"How did you…?"
"Fire so cold it burns." Ultimate Big Chill said.
"I think you might need to do it again."
Ultimate Big Chill turned, just in time to see the clone, who had broken out of the ice, slam a fist into his face. With no time to turn intangible, he was knocked up into the air and through the window of a building and knocking him out. In a flash of green light, he turned back into Big Chill, then back into Ben.
Enraged, Supergirl grabbed a fallen streetlamp and swung it like a baseball bat, knocking Galatea through several buildings. Supergirl followed and tried to punch the clone, who dodged and kicked her into the street below. As Supergirl slowly got to her feet, the clone flew down and delivered a powerful uppercut. Before Supergirl could react, she was grabbed by the front of her shirt and felt a knee driven into her stomach, then an elbow in her back. She was able to counter with a punch that sent Galatea flying, which was followed by another blow that sent the clone through another building.
Meanwhile, Ben slowly came to. Glancing out of a window, he saw the fight between the two Kryptonians. Supergirl seemed to be getting the worst of it; Ben's eyes widened as he saw his friend get smashed by an entire building.
"It's Hero Time!" Ben said as he activated the Ultimatrix. After the familiar flash of light came a roar.
"HUMONGOSAUR!" the alien looked down. "Okay, I was going for Gravattack, but I suppose that this'll do."
He jumped out of the window; he was about forty feet up, but he simply grew in size, so that the impact was lessened. He ran towards the fight. He glanced to his left and noticed that Green Arrow was finally waking up, supported by Question.
Humongosaur blinked; when had he showed up?
"Anything break?" asked the faceless man.
"Just my stride." Quipped the archer.
"Nap's over," said Question, "come on."
…
Supergirl slowly crawled out of the rubble that the clone had buried her under. Her costume was torn, and she was covered in cuts and bruises. It took a moment, but she started seeing only one Galatea approach her instead of three. The clone looked down at her.
"Next time," she snarled, "get your own dreams."
"Who do you work for?" Supergirl asked weakly. She was hoping to buy a little time so that her healing factor could kick in.
"Really? At the top?" Galatea looked amused, "Even I don't know that. But I do know that I can't work in secret if you keep seeing what I do." Her heat-vision began to charge up. "So, sayonara, sister."
"That's not the only reason, is it?" Galatea turned to see Question, Green Arrow and a much larger Humongosaur. Supergirl sighed; she was glad that her friends were okay, especially Ben.
"You were setting up this bait even before Supergirl started asking questions." Continued Question, as he approached the clone, seemingly unafraid of her, "It's because the link works both ways; while she was seeing what you were doing, you were feeling her conscience." The clone turned away, as if that could deny what he was saying. "That's why you couldn't sleep at night. And I'll bet that got in the way of your work."
He leaned in close. "It bites having someone in your head, doesn't it?"
"Y-you don't know what you're talking about." The clone denied.
"No?" asked The Question, as he moved in closer. "Prove it. Kill me."
Humongosaur's eyes went wide; that was one hell of a gamble. The clone drew back a fist; Green Arrow got another arrow ready, while Humongosaur growled and took a fighting stance. The clone's fist shook, then froze. Before she could make a move, Supergirl raised a truck over her head, and smashed it into her clone. The car exploded, while Question moved out of the way; he was smart enough to never get in the way of a super-fight.
Humongosaur, on the other hand, charged forward to help. He slammed a fist into Galatea, knocking her to the ground, while Supergirl ripped a steel girder out of a wall and charged forward. Humongosaur kicked the clone to her, and Supergirl knocked the clone right back at him. They did this back-and-forth for a minute or two, not giving the clone a chance to fight back.
Finally, the clone got her balance back; her costume was shredded, and she was covered in injuries. She took a fighting stance, as did her opponents. Just as they began to charge, however, the part of the floor between them exploded!
"NO!" shouted Galatea, to someone that the heroes couldn't see. "I CAN DO THIS!"
Humongosaur saw cracks form underneath the clone's feet, and knew another explosion was coming; he tried to save her, but he was too late. The blast knocked him back; all he saw was a faint silhouette of the clone, and heard a scream that he knew would haunt his dreams for a while.
"Come on!" yelled Supergirl, "We have to go!"
Humongosaur nodded, then transformed into Jet Ray. He grabbed Question, while Supergirl got Green Arrow; the four made it out just as Nuvo-Gen exploded.
…
Watchtower
A few hours later, after Supergirl got an undamaged costume from her room and the four made a report to the senior members of the League, the four made their way back to Question's room. Supergirl was currently on the phone with Professor Hamilton.
"…We searched what was left of the place, but we never found the clone." She finished.
"Maybe there was nothing left to find." Suggested Green Arrow.
"Or that's what they want us to think." Said Question ominously.
"I'm just glad you're okay, Supergirl." Came the worried voice of Hamilton from Question's communicator.
"Professor," said Supergirl nervously, "to make this clone of me, they would've needed a DNA sample. Is there any chance that it came from your lab?"
"No," assured Hamilton, "we always destroy genetic material after surgery; it's standard procedure."
Supergirl nodded, even though Hamilton couldn't see her. "Okay. Thanks, Professor."
"Give my best to Superman."
"Will do." She hung up, then placed her hand over the now-familiar weight on her shoulder. She looked up at Ben, who gave her a smile.
She turned her face away from him and closed her eyes for a moment; she just felt safe when Ben did that. Obviously, she was nearly indestructible, but when Ben put his hand on her shoulder, it made her feel safe in a way she couldn't describe.
Maybe Benn will feel the same about me, she thought, but I won't push it; I don't want to open up old wounds.
"Why would someone clone you in the first place?" asked Ben softly. He could tell that she was still upset about all of this; all he could do was try to comfort her to the best of his ability.
"This all started because Superman went renegade." The Question was staring at his board again. "They want a superhuman alien on their side if it ever happens again."
"Whoever they are." Said Supergirl nervously.
…
Smallville, Kansas
In a flash of light, Ben and Kara appeared in the Kent barn; Superman had told his cousin to go home and rest, and Ben had volunteered to accompany her, before heading home himself. That wasn't necessarily untrue; he did want to walk her home, but he had another purpose as well. It had been made clear that Kara had feelings for him. Now he found that he had developed similar feelings towards her. He had worked up his courage, now he needed to ask.
As the two walked out of the barn and towards the house, Kara turned to Ben.
"Thanks for this, Ben," said Kara, "but you really didn't have to escort me home."
"I know I didn't have to," Ben replied, "but I wanted to."
Kara smiled, and the two spent a few moments walking in silence, before Ben spoke up again.
"Hey, Kara," he began, "do you remember when I said that if I had a problem, no matter how small, I could come to you?"
"Yeah?"
"Well, you know that that's a two-way street."
"What do you mean?" asked Kara.
"Well, if you have anything that you want to talk about, I'll be there for you." Ben said it in all seriousness, but he had a slight blush.
"Thanks, Ben."
"No problem." As they reached the house, Ben stopped. "Say, Kara…"
"Yeah?"
"Are you…" Ben swallowed nervously. He'd fought warlords, criminals and psychopaths; why did thismake him so nervous? "Are you doing anything this Saturday?"
Kara's eyes went wide. Hold on…is he going to…!?
"Uh, no," she said, cursing herself for her sudden nervousness, "I'm free this Saturday, why?"
"Well, I was kinda hoping you'd like to see a movie that just came out, plus there's this restaurant that opened up near the theater that looks good. Do you want to go?" Ben mentally applauded himself for managing to look Kara in the eye while asking.
Oh my god,thought Kara, he's asking me out! He's really asking me out! I can't believe it! Yes! Wahoo!
"Uh, Kara?" Ben asked, "You okay?"
Embarrassed, Kara realized that she'd been staring at Ben for several moments, not moving.
"Um, yeah! I'd love to!" Kara couldn't keep the smile, nor the blush, from appearing on her face.
"Great! See you Saturday!" With an equally strong smile and blush on his face, Ben turned to leave.
Kara also began to head to the house, when she heard Ben's voice.
"Oh! I almost forgot!"
Kara turned to see Ben heading towards her. Before she could ask what was doing, he had pressed his lips against her cheek. The kiss only lasted for a moment, before Ben backed up, turned into Jet Ray, and flew off. Kara stood on the porch for a minute, stunned, before pumping a fist and spinning around.
"Yahoo!"
…
Unknown Location
Professor Hamilton walked over to the operating room; there, surrounded by military and government officials, lay Supergirl's clone. Her hair was gone, and her body was one massive bruise; she was hooked up to life-support and clearly wasn't going anywhere for a while.
"You rest," said Hamilton softly, as he cupped her cheek in his hand, "we'll have you fixed up in no time, Galatea."
…
Nuvo-Gen
As firefighters continued to battle the blaze that was consuming the Nuvo-Gen building, no one happened to notice a dark-suited figure hovering far above the action, ignoring the sirens and smoke as he was too busy examining a security video being projected on a holographic screen over his left wrist.
"Interesting." The Stranger hummed as he played back the fight between Galatea and Supergirl, "So they figured out how to make a stable female clone in this timeline, too. Some things don't change no matter where you go. Looks like the fight played out the same way for the most part, except..."
"Except in this case, Supergirl wasn't alone." Trip noted, as Ultimate Big Chill froze Galatea solid in the video. The stranger fast-forwarded to the point where Humongosaur had hit the clone. "It seems Ben Tennyson was holding his own for the most part."
"Not exactly. Had Galatea not been so focused on Supergirl, Ben would have been in serious trouble. Clone or not, a Kryptonian is a Kryptonian, and there are very few Ultimatrix forms that could stand up to that kind of power. Ben got lucky. VERY lucky. That might not be the case in the future."
The figure smiled. "That said, Ben 10 has always had a reputation for being adaptive. He'll figure out how to deal with her in due time."
"So what's next?" Trip asked.
"I'm pretty sure by this point that he's the guy I need, but I want to be absolutely sure. I think it's about time we set up a little test for Ole Ben." The Stranger declared, as he pulled out a flip phone and began to dial a number.
"And I just so happen to know the Man for this kind of job…"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone