14389/Astra's Final Solution - Peace

Astra's Final Solution - Peace
Date of Scene:	24 March 2023
Location:	The Revolution, Krypton
Synopsis:	The Superfriends travel to Revolution Day, an important event in Kryptonian history when the Hegemony was toppled and the future of the planet was decided. It is here they find Astra about to change history for the worst; and also who was really behind it all - a god named Vohc.
Cast of Characters:	Alura In-Ze, Monet St. Croix, Clark Kent, Conner Kent, Divine, Caitlin Fairchild, Donna Troy, Bruce Banner

---

Alura In-Ze has posed:
[ https://youtu.be/bu6e46HU1J0 ]

It was a time of radical change on Krypton. The Hegemony had been ripped down from the inside out. Those militant despots who wished to impose their will upon other words were being put to justice. Giant holographic screens showed court proceedings in pristine white chambers with twin rings twirling about the prisoners as their crimes were listed. There were judges all across Krypton in this new regime dolling out levelled sentences for their atrocities.

Rao was a vibrant red as it had been known to most Kryptonians most of their life and surrounding Krypton is a giant ring with thousands of starships parked for decommissioning. It was to be a long laborious process but in the new order of things space was simply not for Kryptonians. They'd been there and in their wake they left nothing but chaos and misery, the very opposite of the values Kryptonians believe they held dear.

As with all regimes of cruelty, the Kryptonian Hegemony had tried to keep its people in ignorance - and so the new Kryptonian High Council had instituted the mandate of truth in all news and reporting. A complex system designed to thwart lies and bury falsehoods with only facts and reminders of the elevent virtues.

/zehdh/ - Unity
/shokh/ - Truth
/urvish/ - Peace
/uchahvia/ - Synergy
/zhguzhor/ - Imagination
/ighai/ - Purity
/tahrao/ - Justice
/m jahghah/ - Restraint
/shahrrehth/ - Hope
/gazrhyg/ - Industriousness
and /urkynon/ - Altruism.

With the Superfriends Timeship safely hidden amongst the plethora of other ships and a short but incredible trip down the crystaline space elevator to the capital of Krypton - Kandor - the crew who have so far seen the destruction of all they knew and the birth of one of the worst sins of Krypton's past (Brainiac) must now stop Astra In-Ze from destroying the future.

The revolution had been anything but peaceful. The giant imperial palace was still on fire and news reports of other ecological disasters across the planet were being scrolled down the side of the court proceedings. Krypton had a lot of work ahead of it to recover from its war fever.

Alura watches the people milling about - a mixture of celebration and consternation. Change is never easy and this was about as big of a change as Krypton would ever under go. "This is incredible. Revolution day - we're here.. on the day Krypton was truly formed." She points to the flags being hoisted up - the flag of Krypton surrounded by 10 colours to represent the unity of the planet.

It was almost too much to take in, the very history of the moment, but they had a job to do. "If I were my twin sister, what would I do here, now, in this moment, to change the future of Krypton forever?" She looks up at the court proceedings as three more are charged with high crimes against three distant worlds.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would fold her hands over in thought and contemplation over, considering as she would be with the rest of the group on the bridge. "She wouldn't target a single individual, necessarily. She has to discredit things broadly. To show that this will lead to horrific things later on that can only be fought off by strength. She needs to rally the crowds to her side. This can be done most effectively by a riot." She would muse in consideration.
    "A false flag attack of some nature. Likely by off-planetary entities to drive home the point that the planet is under threat from things outside. Something so horrific to unite everyone against them and showcase that only through conquering the stars can they truly be safe and protected." Possible.
    "our knowledge of specific leaders of this era that she might specifically seek to neutralize is unknown. Alternatively those empower. She needs a massive event, not just shifting of a few individuals."

Clark Kent has posed:
Kandor. A lot has happened in the last several hours...days...or was it decades? Clark Kent, Kal-El, Superman, was taking a moment to centre himself as everything was happening around him. It would be a blessing to have super speed, and the "cosmic" awareness that his Kryptonian powers allow him but for now...

Looking at everyone present in slow motion...Alura. Monet. Bruce. Donna. Caitlin. Conner. Alura, Divine and Conner...Kal smiles. A welcome to the family.

It was the journey that matters. Not the beginning...and the destination. Comrades in arms. With a final shake of his head, Kal comes out of his reverie and says...

"We're here Alura. Let's do this. I wll follow your lead."

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner stares at the red sun that is stealing most of his powers so very quickly. Still, he has tactile telekinesis, which gives him an edge over most Kryptonians. "Prepare a counter-revolution. Maybe she has falsified date that allows some of the smartest and nastier war-mongers to hide and achieve positions of power. Or... well, was she a good politician? She was a scientists, right? So, she would do it with science."

What would Lex Luthor do? Or Dr. Doom? "A mind-control machine? Replacing world leaders with brainwashed clones?"

Divine has posed:
Divine is equal parts awed and annoyed. Of course she's awed. This is where half of her is from. It's where her (sort of) family is from. It's true history of her blood, and it's amazing to see.

She's annoyed because her powers are gone.

As they head down the elevator, her hands are in the pockets of her long coat, looking out over the recovering world, blue eyes just watching. Waiting. How is she going to fight without the powers she was made with? She doesn't really know how to do this.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin rubs her temples and stretches her jaw out a little. She's slept, for a dubious vaue of 'sleep', every night, but immersed in a portable VR education system. It's impossible to go through every eon of Kryptonian history in detail, even for the brilliant redhead, but she's done her level best to apply her considerable intellect to the problem.

"There's no need for a false flag," Caitlin says, quietly. She's dressed the same as the others, wearing clothing that would blend with the ancient Kryptonians on-planet. "The big event is happening. /Has/ happened," she amends. "Or-- will, I guess," she amends. "We know what happens when the Guardians of the Universe finally get into the fight. Entire solar systems will be rendered uninhabitable. Planets will be annihilated. She just has to show them the truth, that the only thing that can save their people is unbridled military aggression. This time, the danger is that they could know Oa is out there. A surgical strike could wipe the Guardians out, or at least break their authority. Chaos reigning across the galaxy," she whispers, and turns a more fearful expression at the crowds of jubilants admiring their renaissance.

Donna Troy has posed:
    The thing that's particularly mind-blowing to Donna about all of this is not that this is such a critical moment in the history of the Galaxy. It is nothing so mundane as that she is standing on the streets of a busy alien city, nor the rather less mundane thing that she is currently in the distant past. It's that this is Kandor, and she has seen Kandor before.

    She has held Kandor in her hands before. In /one/ hand.

    It's impossible to make sense of it. A large city shrunk so small just doesn't really register. It may be just as filled with life, but that life is too small to register. Those shrunken cities felt like models, not real things. You can be entirely aware on an intellectual level that this is a real city in your hand, and that on those microscopic streets even smaller people walked, but you don't /feel/ it. This is a place full of life. Full of people.

    Donna looks around, trying to get a sense of the city as she has seen it before from this utterly different perspective, but even if any of the buildings here now survive long enough to make it into that bottle, the perspective is simply too different. It's impossible to recognize. You just know.

    How would someone here react, if they knew that this person walking down the street like anyone else would one day hold this entire city in her hands, both metaphorically and literally? What would have happened if she had /dropped/ it? Donna glances at Kal, wondering if he's thinking the same thoughts.

    "The big event is long in the future," Donna says. "Not the end of the Hegemony. The end of Krypton. This is a people turning away from dreams of empire to ensure they have a future. I'd imagine what Astra would do is to show them that the sacrifice was in vain."

Alura In-Ze has posed:
[ https://youtu.be/a7WjXqmR7yg ]

Alura listens to what her companions are saying. She pats a hand to Kal's shoulder. The lack of superpowers was a strange feeling. A familiar one since she hadn't had hers for that long. This felt more normal, like an old memory coming back alive.

Her eyes fall on the large crowds of people watching the giant holographic screens of the court proceedings. They are witnessing the crimes hidden from them, they are witnessing justice and they are witnessing Truth. For the first time in countless centuries this planet could now know truth.

"You're right M, she'd need something big to shock people out of this. And Caitlin, you're right - the truth is her weapon. A truth that these people must never learn. And you're right too Donna - they need only see that even if they turn over this new leaf they will still be punished. That's not something any ego can survive."

She never knew Kandor. The city had been taken before she was an adult. The streets and the buildings and the monuments are all alien to her besides being in a language she knows well.

"There's only one place she can have the biggest impact and spread her message. The broadcast tower." Off in the distance, a tall crystal spire houses the broadcast station and would one day become the home of the high council itself.

"We're going to need transport -" because only one person here is an Amazon and only one other person here is a Hulk. She looks around for hover discs but they haven't been invented yet. What she finds, though, are parked hover bikes. A slightly wicked smile crosses her features and she says. "These will do."

She pulls back her sleeve to reveal her arm bracer and activates the holographic interface, trying to keep it from prying eyes for it also hasn't been invented yet. With a few touches through the air she hacks in to the hover bikes and a half dozen of them switch on, their lights activating and their engines powering up.

"I remember seeing footage of these in a museum. Apparently they're very fast and slow to turn. But that's by futuristic standards, so they probably handle like a dream compared to Earth bikes of similar design." She mounts one and it bounces in the air as it adjusts to her weight. "Everyone mount up - we have a future to save."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Monet St. Croix would glance over at the bikes, "Can't most of us go faster? Or would those stand out less?" Than if half of the group is flying and carrying the others. "She'll be making her advance on the center." And as the others said, the truth makes for an extremely effective display. All she has to do is broadcast it..

M's lips purse over as she readies to go along with the others. Ready to move to lift some of the others if they need or if it's good for her to go ahead.

"Donna and myself can get tehre faster if you feel appropriate." Donna is a far faster flier than M, but even M can at least hit low mach if the situation permits it. And it's just a straight line so hopefully without interruption. IF need be the two can fly on ahead to respond to things faster.

But also if that makes them stand out too much and makes them a target, then it's best to go over on the bikes.

Conner Kent has posed:
"I guess people here can't fly anymore, flying bikes it is," comments Conner. "But what happened to Rao? Some enemy turned the sun into a red star without causing a nova? It sounds like magic." And maybe it -was- magic. He can only wonder what the Kryptionans were fighting out there.

"Also, I don't think the truth, a possible truth, would turn Krypton back into fascism. It is usually hate-mongering and propaganda," or maybe he is still naive enough to think truth is always a good thing. "But if Astra tells everyone that she is from the future and that... well, the future is bleak and doom-y unless they conquer the galaxy..."

Divine has posed:
The clone is gonna be grumbly for a while. She has never known a waking day without power, and just feeling this ... average feels terrible. Not her favorite thing.

She's quiet as they move through the city, taking the sights in and honestly marveling at it. "This place is nuts," she says. When they get to the bikes, she chooses one, trying to figure out how they work. "How are we gonna fight, anyway? I...I've only ever relied on being strong and stuff."

Bruce Banner has posed:
"You would be amazed what people are willing to believe, when it goes with their interests," murmurs Bruce Banner, PhD. "Or refuse to believe, as the case may be."

It was a bit wondrous to him as well, walking on the surface of a planet that was gone long before he was born. Seeing it in all its glory. The birthplace of more than one of Earth's mightiest heroes.

And despite being _so far_ in the past, technological wonders far beyond what Earth had. What he wouldn't give to spend a day here, studying these advances, applying their technology. Their knowledge of radiation. With such knowledge, radiation, perhaps somewhere here know how to siphon off radiation. Maybe there were answers here, on a planet dedicated to science, that might help him down the path of eliminating the Hulk...

As the group continues, Bruce starts to drift off, caught up in his thoughts, arcing towards a building labeled as a library.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin exchanges a flickering look with Donna when the Kryptonians start realizing they might not have the physical skills they're accustomed to utilizing. There was no discreet way to carry her warhammer but the redhead conceals an Amazon fighting blade under her attire along with her armor.

"My advice is to not get into a fight," Caitlin tells Divine apologetically. "Donna, me 'n Dr. Banner can--" she looks at Bruce, and waves a hand at him. "DOCTOR BANNER!" she repeats, louder, "can handle anything heavy. Other than that, unless you actually know how to handle a gun and you manage to find one, you're just going to have to play on defense." She gives the blonde woman a reassuring squeeze of the shoulder and moves over to one of the bikes. Her personal computer isn't as sophisticated as Alura's, but she copies the basic protocol and hacks her way into another vehicle. "I'm setting an ad-hoc network up," she informs the others, and activates more of the bikes before sitting on one herself and going through a throttle warm-up routine to get a sense of how the vehicle will handle.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Let's avoid attracting attention as long as possible," Donna says with a grin to Monet as she mounts one of the bikes. "And let's not forget that this is a very high-tech civilization still, even if the sun's red at the moment and people don't have superpowers." She glances across the group. "Superpowers aren't everything, and we're outnumbered a few billion to one. This will go better if we can convince people that /we/ are the good guys. However...." She gives Divine a sympathetic smile, and nods in agreement with Caitlin's words. "If there is trouble, get behind me and Cait first of all. And if it does come to a fight, we... Bruce. BRUCE. Cait's on it, fine. So yeah... Reserve what power you have stored up for emergencies, okay?"

    Donna holds her gaze on Alura a few moments. "We don't generally have hoverbikes on Earth. Just uh... ground bikes. On the other hand a good grip on the ground means they turn very fast." The expensive bikes Donna tends to ride around on do, anyway.

    "I would guess the reason why Rao is red now is that the Guardians of the Universe have already won a war, and that's /how/ they won it," Donna says as she goes over the controls of the bike. Form tends to follow function, and it can't be that different from any other bike. "These guys decommissioning their fleets. I'd guess that means there has been some kind of treaty. Think about it. This is the point where Krypton retreats from the universe, shuts itself off, and concentrates on science. Give it a few more thousands of years for this society to develop without the distractions of warfare. Just pure science. And in those few thousand years, it doesn't really matter that their sun is red now. From the Oan perspective, they're a threat again. "

    She nods her head at Conner. "So it doesn't take hate-mongering or propaganda. It takes the truth that the treaty, the agreement they've come up with to save themselves, won't be held to by the other side. If Astra can provide evidence of that, it wouldn't take much to persuade people that they should keep the fleets. To persuade them to fear what comes from outside. There's no need to turn them to fascism now, only to put them on the road towards it."

Alura In-Ze has posed:
[ https://youtu.be/cD37uacyP70 ]

"Conner... never change." Alura smiles to the young man because his heart is still so pure. A trait no doubt inherited from Kal. Always seeing the best in everything. Kal had opened her eyes to a new way of life, a new way of living, and now that she was back here on Krypton - feet on the ground so to speak - she was finding it hard to reconnect to her old way of life.

Hope is a powerful thing.

"Hopefully we won't have to fight anyone Divine. I believe I can talk my sister down. She's not a -bad- person. She'd never want to destroy the galaxy like she did - that can't have been her goal. It's almost like someone is... using her."

She shakes her head and then puts the power to the hover bike and takes off down the streets. Weaving in and out of people and structures, passing by other vehicles on the roads, the lack of a golden sun has meant a huge adjustment to Krypton and its people. It must have been altered by Oa centuries ago for this much adaptation to have taken place.

Coming to a stop outside the broadcast spire she hops off the bike and looks up at it. "That's tall. Very tall." The very notion of 'storming the castle' is not something that would ever have been part of her life until that fateful day when Zod attempted to coup all of Krypton. And now she's the one breaking the peace to save the future. Now she's beginning to understand how Dru-Zod felt when he made the decision. "Come on, we don't have much time," she says and waves the group forward. A force field covers the building - the only way up is going to be inside.

The lobby of the broadcast spire is spacious and it's clear something is wrong right away. Security guards are slumped to the walls, blood pooled about their bodies. Standing at the elevator to the top are two men carrying energy rifles and wearing scrappy body armor. Several more of them are milling about in the room and they start to converge upon the would be superfriends.

A figure appears in a shimmer before them. A tall green alien with three eyes. He claps his hands and says, "Well well. You've made it far. But no farther." He's no hologram either. There is something decidedly -wrong- about this alien. Besides the fact that the Kryptonians aren't fighting him immediately. There's something decidedly -familiar- about this alien.

This is no alien. This is Vohc, the Builder, one of the gods of Krypton. He smirks with amusement as the realisation hits upon several of their faces. "Did you really think I'd let them tear down all I had created? my glorious empire? burning, destroyed, ruined. You ants are no better than Flamebird! ungrateful."

His three eyes fall upon Alura and he says, "Yes. You're figuring it out now aren't you. I used your sister. I gave her just the right nudge to build that time ship and travel back to here, to now, where my creation could begin anew. Nobody.." His voice booms, "NOBODY," he repeats, "Destroys my creations!"

Alura is too shocked for words. She lifts up her arm with the bracer on it and the sunstone device morphs immediately in to a hand held pistol and she fires at Vohc.

The blast hits Vohc and he stumbles back a moment, then looks down as the wound closes up. He begins to laugh. "Insignificant. Futile. There is nothing any of you can do now. My new future is a certainty." The other Kryptonians begin to laugh too as crystaline armor shimmers in to being on them. Each wearing a belt with a yellow sun like power source, they each lift off the ground. "..Upgrades for my loyal subjects," Vohc explains.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
There's a sneer from Monet St. Croix as the group faces off. Vohc claims to be a god. She's seen them. Whether or not he scales to them.. She's been beaten to near death by them. She must, however, give him credit. He's done a lovely narrative of total truth and sincerity for the group going to stop him, attempting to rally to save the present, or the future that they were in the past.

Monet solidifies the imagery in her head. The tone. The mannerisms. Everything to make sure that it's understood to be legitimate. Then she goes to sweep ehr mind along for Astra. That brief interaction earlier just giving her enough..

The familairity of Alura's mind, the risting panic.. That lets her get enough of a grasp for what the patterns of her sister'st houghts were to confirm who it was.

Then Monet goes to PUSH. IF she can, trying to simply lock onto Astra's mind, and when possible just try to shove the thoughts right on through. It's something that she would deny no doubt i fM could get it through. But, if she could..

Well, having one's god mocking them and going on about how they had been manipulated the entire time might put a lovely spin when it came to stalling

Conner Kent has posed:
Conner is listening to Alura saying about how her sister is a good person deep down and smirking a bit. "You sound like Kal right now," beat, "also, there is -always- a fight, you better get ready. She probably already has a bunch of heavily armed fascists in her pocket or, you know..."

A green guy with three eyes that is also a 'god'. Because, of course. Some times one misses the classic 'mind-control machine' plots from regular crazy scientists.

And if the Thor wannabe is not bad enough, there are six Kryptonians that are just getting powered up. He has seconds before they are much stronger than he can be with telekinesis, so he charges the closest one and attempts to pull him down, to force his tactile telekinesis through the crystal and deactivate the belt.

Divine has posed:
Cruising around, doing their thing, then a god? What? Divine sneers, her blue eyes flinty as this entity does Some Bullshit. Her eyes flicker to the powering up Kryptonians, and she has a similar idea to Connor. Except with less deactivation.

And way more stealing.

She charges the closest one to her, coattails flapping behind her as she just goes to full on tackle the Kryptonian to the ground, immediately going for the Henshin Belt so -she- can wear it.

"Don't just shut them off, STEAL THEM!"

Bruce Banner has posed:
The library seemed so inviting. Bruce sighs as he is dragged away. At the end of the day, he will always choose to help others over the chance to help himself. But it is still a bummer.

Riding along, he starts to forget about it, instead focusing on the majesty of the building that they approach. That changes quickly as he spots Vohc. The fact that Alura wastes no time trying to bring him down tells Bruce all he needs to know. He glances around at the team that has formed on this trip.

They don't need a scientist anymore.

They need a Hulk.

"You know what's a good synonym for insignificant, you big green goofball?" Bruce starts walking towards him, and those nearby can see his muscles already starting to swell. "PUNY!"

The anklet that helped Bruce maintain his form is left behind as he shifts, muscles growing, clothes tearing. A roar comes as he becomes THE HULK.

But he does not stop growing. In fact, even the Hulk pauses, in some confusion as his consciousness replaces Banners.

"Hulk feel ... different."

Is the Hulk glowing? Yes, yes he is.

Clark Kent has posed:
Kal smiles as he hears Conner say, "you sound like Kal now." His eyes find Alura, and the others, and he steels himself for what was to come. "Alura. Vohc needs to be defeated. Rao will show us the way. We can do this. We need to have...faith."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin gawks just like everyone else as Bruce starts to Hulk out. Huge, yes, and shimmering with green Cherekov radiation. It's a hell of a way to start the fight, for sure. Caitlin's at least not so green that she loses the initiative, and breaks into an absolutely explosive sprint that breaks tiles underfoot. Her decisiveness is based in the utter faith she has in Donna taking the other flank, and Bruce doing... well, what he does best.

Her jacket and hood hover almost comeidcally in place in her wake and she hits the closest soldier with enough force to make the building shutter. The redhead hammer-fists him against a wall with piston-like speed, striking not with her hands but with the unbreakable Aegis bracers on her wrists. Through the personal shields, shattering the crystals, and finally she is able to grab the belt itself and rips it away from the soldier with so much force that his back audibly breaks before the belt comes loose. "That's one!" she shouts, and throws it across the room back at the Kryptonians before she is immediately forced to take cover under a barrage of laser fire.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Vohc. Donna's mind goes back to a warm afternoon on Themysicra, a walk in the Enchanted Forest with Kara, and a talk about the nature of gods. /,wedhinzil, chao ,ghimshom, chao ,vohc,./ Nightwing and Flamebird and Vohc. Kara had related the origin myth to her as they had compared pantheons. Vohc, who's job it was to create, and Flamebird, who's job it was to destroy Vohc's creations.

    Donna uncoils her lasso. <</Flamebird/ destroys your creations, Vohc>> she calls out, projecting as Philippus had taught her, a voice to issue commands above the din of battle. <<Nothing last forever. Flamebird's destruction inspired you to create anew, /better/. When you fight against that, you fight against yourself.>>

    Donna rises up into the air to match the floating Kryptonians, and the rope in her hand glows golden with magic. She hovers there for just a moment before accelerating suddenly forwards and whipping the lasso around to hook the arm of one of those powering-up Kryptonians before he can power up too far, a sharp yank tightening the noose as she continues the arc of motion to use the man like a flail, swinging him at Vohc to force the god back. With Caitlin's charge drawing most of the first barrage of fire there's only a single bolt shot her way, and she deflects it with her bracer, sending it back the way it came with a sneer, her focus still on Vohc. <<Have you lost the power to create anew, godling of Krypton? Lost the imagination to see something /better/? When you exiled Flamebird into Aethyr, you cut yourself off from that which makes you who you truly are.>>

    Donna keeps the lasso moving -- even with time to charge up, the Kryptonian will be wasting his time attempting to break free of that magical rope, and it's hard to think straight when you've been turned into a living bullroarer. She advances on Vohc, the Kryptonian flail used to keep him on his toes, to shepherd him, and to keep him focused on her. Normally that's a signal for Cait to charge in, though in this case they have a Hulk as well. <<Gods cannot be heretics, Vohc -- You're only denying yourself. Have your people not realized that yet?>>

    The whirling Kryptonian on the end of the lasso makes another howling circuit in the air. <<Mine did long ago. Her name was Astraea. She despaired of what she was meant to be, and now she is nothing, a whisper drifting lost amongst the stars.>> /Mine/. That's about as close as Donna has got to giving voice to her heritage since she discovered it, but if she tries to ignore the fact it has certainly colored her attitude towards gods. <<It's time for something new, Vohc. Something /better/. You need Flamebird, or you need us. Or you too will become forgotten, no more than a whisper among the stars.>>

Alura In-Ze has posed:
[ https://youtu.be/y4nehlTykhs ]

So this is it. A battle for the fate of the universe. Would there be anyone left to stop the Hegemony if they fail right here, right now? Alura doubts it. This is why they are Super, this is why they are heroes. The impossible is before them - fighting Kryptonians who in mere moments will be like gods, ... and an actual god from Kryptons mythology. Vohc, the perpetrator of original sin.

Vohc snaps his eyes to Monet and shakes his head as she feels his immense psychic ability yank her mental connection down away from Astra. "I don't think so. You are a child playing in the realm of a GOD."

Astra In-Ze places her hand on the broadcast crystal and pauses. Her eyelashes flutter. For the smallest of moments she got the strangest impression of something going on at the bottom of the broadcast tower. Was that her.. sister? She looks out at the unconscious sleeping bodies of the Kryptonians she subdued and bites her bottom lip.

Alura's weapon morphs again demonstrating just how advanced Kryptonian technology had become in its last days. The weapon was pointless against Vohc but a shield? that's extremely useful. It becomes a glowing energy barrier with the House of El symbol S upon it and she moves it between Kal and herself, and the other Kryptonians who rise up their rifles and start firing.

"That's... that's great Kal. Faith..." She is holding on to the shield tightly as it dances when hit by the rifle blasts. "I'll add that to my list of important things to remember when going in to battle." She's trying to be playful in a very stressful moment. "What we need is a Sol, not Rao. A yellow sun source."

Which is just what Conner deactivated on one of the Kryptonian soldiers. He drops and stops powering up. But he does bring his rifle to bear on Conner, the butt of it. Divine and her thieving ways pays off as she unclips the belt and secures herself the equivalent of a micro yellow sun.

Alura is taking it in - her mind is racing. She could make one of those. A belt containing the energy of a yellow sun for away missions when they don't have Sol. It wouldn't be hard. And then Caitlin tosses one right to their feet. Alura picks it up and presses it to Kal, "Wear this. Do what you do best -- Superman." Her eyes turn to the elevator, "I'm going for my sister."

Alura makes a spring for it, sliding across the floor and diving behind the cover of a standing desk. As weapons fire comes her way, Donna's whip lashes out and whips that Kryptonian toward Vohc instead. She springs again and dives in to the elevator. The doors close behind her.

Vhoc seems more amused than anything as a Kryptonian comes crashing in to him. He pushes him away and says, "Fight you fool." He smirks though as Donna begins to talk to him about who he is. "Ah, a scholar then. Believing the stories rather than simply asking the god himself. I'm right here after all." He spreads his arms.

And then there's a Hulk. Glowing bright green in the Kryptonian light of Rao, his radiation emits in strange wave lengths, wave lengths similar to the technology used by Kryptonians to control their sunstone. Vohc's expression hardens as he sees the Hulk transforming. The sunstone armor suddenly inverts itself through one of the Kryptonians, impaled by his own clothing - he drops dead. Another's armor simply folds up and falls away from him. The others power down as the lights in the building start to flick crazily. The rifles the Kryptonians are using stop firing and they toss them aside, drawing knives. One of them yells, "FOR THE EMPIRE!" and charges at Caitlin.

Vohc tries to move toward the elevator but Donna and Hulk are corraling him. "My creation would spread to all the stars, free from the influence of... Rao." His lips snarl, "But you would have my people pinned in this one doomed world. Where all I ever created will turn to dust. You would let the Flamebird win her ultimate victory. The destruction of Krypton itself!"

Divine has posed:
HO HO HO, NOW I HAVE A MACHINE G---SUN BELT!

Divine wrestles the thing away fr

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The yank pulls Monet around -hard-. It's brutal, the mental equivalent of smashing her to the ground and giving her a concussion. Monet's eyes go wide wiht rage now as she focuses. <<God? I have seen those things which consume stars. I have seen those things that are the void. I have seen thsoe things that are the end of times. I have seen those things which make reality oblivion. Compared to those you are but a speck of hydrogen amongst the infinite atoms of the universe. I fight wiht thsoe that have existed since the beginning of the universe and will be there at the end>>

Monet goes to take that rage, and moves to focus it. She's channeling the sensation of insignificance. How she felt when the Justice League faced the world eater. How she felt when an enraged, berserk Cheetah skewered her and left her a near corpse. How she felt when she was beaten nearly to death by an enraged Kryptonian. To all of this she adds in the perspective oflooking down froms pace. From a perspective of a Shi'Ar battlecruiser orbitting. All of those sensations of -insigifnicance- she blasts over at the God.

And then to it all she adds that thing which she knows that a friend carries. Not it itself. But the sensation of the psychic flame that begins life, that ends life, and makes things nothingness. The star of the bright fire at the beginning and perhaps the end of existence.

<<YOU ARE NOTHING!>> The best way to strike a god? By thier ego. He has purpose?

What is he against those things which are billions of years old and consider the lifespan of stars to be insignificant?

Conner Kent has posed:
Fortunately by the time the Kryptonian soldier hits Conner with the butt of the rifle, his belt is not working. All he gets is a broken rifle as it smashes against a TK forcefield.

Then Conner punches the soldier to the other side of the room, "anyone else needs one of these things?" Otherwise he is keeping it, because why not. More punching might be needed. "Wait. Is Hulk supposed to glow like that? I have a bad feeling about this."

Divine has posed:
HO HO HO, NOW I HAVE A MACHINE G---SUN BELT!

Divine wrestles the thing away from the soldier and throws herself backwards. She skids on her back, sliding on the pavement away from the soldier she stole from. She rolls to her feet and affixes the belt around her waist. Instantly, she feels the power. It only takes a moment for her to be able to ascend. She laughs joyously, flexing her arms as strength returns, flooding them.

"Oh yeah. That's what I missed."

Then, because she is young, foolish and incredibly brash, much like her donor, she charges Vohc, drawing more and more power as the seconds tick by. Sure, she's only half Kryptonian, but she swings with everything she has to punch a God in the mouth.

She can't wait to tell Cindy.

Bruce Banner has posed:
No, the Hulk is not supposed to glow like that. Or grow like that. Or really, anything.

The Hulk himself seems as confused as anyone as he continues to grow larger than he ever has on Earth. And glowing. Then the sunstones start exploding, and he starts backing away, even more confused.

"Hulk dizzy."

Clark Kent has posed:
Clark Kent. Kal-El. Superman. He stands at the forefront, ready to die for the future. Looking over at Alura, he nods subtley, and watches as the House of El shield...the symbol...moves between Alura and himself. Then the other Kryptonians. Who would have thought they would be part of this battle for the future.

For a moment Kal-El looks at the field sadly, knowing how this will play out in the future. The end of his race...but the dawning of a better tomorrow. With a deep breath, he steels himself for that future. The Man of Tomorrow.

Smiling at Alura's comment, Kal says, "Indeed Alura. Sol would be nice right about now." Then she gives him what he needs. The power of the yellow sun. The power of a thousand stars.

Kal-El narrows his eyes as the Hulk and Donna fight against Vohc. But ultimately, this battle was his own. Feeling the power coarshing through him once more, and using his father's voice, the voice of Jor-El himself, Clark yells at the top of his lungs, "Your reign of terror is over Vohc! For Rao! For Krypton! For Earth!" Following in the mighty footsteps of two incredible warriors, Hulk and Donna Troy, Superman launches himself at the demi god with all his power. Without their leaving Rohc open to a charge, this wouldn't have been possible.

With a "CRACK", piercing the sound barrier, Superman hits Vohc with all of his might - the might of a Kryptonian supernova.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin simply leans back and delivers a firm cut-kick to the soldier. One can almost see the soul being knocked out of him from the force of that blow; Caitlin's mighty strength is not hindered by radiation in any way, and she's even given herself permission to cut loose a little given the circumstances.

"<<Donna! Alura needs help!>>" Caitlin shouts in Themysciran. She would go herself, it seems, but Donna can surely get to the Kryptonian faster than Caitlin can. And the redhead herself is paused by the data flowing through her left eye, the invisible HUD in her contact lens displaying a lot of data. Horror crosses her features for just a moment until Superman's titanic blow staggers Vohc.

She lunges forward and slide-stops past Hulk and Superman, lunging for Vohc from an unexpected angle. The hilt is seized in both hands. She braces herself perfectly against the wall with one foot and jams the point upwards under Vohc's ribs with all the force Caitlin can deliver.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Never let someone go the way they want to go, when you're fighting them. Donna loops to the side, keeping the living flail moving closer to Vohc but at the same time closer to the elevator, to cut off his exit and to give the Hulk or Caitlin a free run at him. Or perhaps even Divine, who she told to hang back, but then Divine is Divine, and sun-belts weren't anticipated.

    <<A scholar?>> Donna responds, with a short laugh. <<Even your minions need Rao's blessing to fly. I don't. Only my own. Are you really so blind? Don't you even know that for gods, the story is /everything/?>>

    Donna accelerates suddenly, a change of direction that drags her Kryptonian in tow suddenly, sharply, straight at Vohc from the side, to crash into him.

    <<Everything we create turns to dust eventually, godling of Krypton. Even you. You try to stretch out an old story that has already been told, instead of telling a new story. Look at Astra! Look at Alura! They are something new. A new creation, a /better/ creation, that you are trying to destroy before it is born. >>

    Another sudden change of direction, but this time the change is in the path of the lasso not Donna's flight, as she flicks with her wrist to send her flail rotating vertically, the rope held extended between two hands as she moves up above Vohc. <<Flamebird's ultimate victory is destroying the new before it is created, and you are doing her job for her.>>

    With a flick of her wrist, Donna loosens the lasso, letting the Kryptonian on the end free on the downward path of the arc, to come hurtling at Vohc from behind as the others come crashing towards him from in front. With that coda she hurtles forwards, past the fight to go crashing through the doors of the elevator and into the shaft, to follow Alura up.

Alura In-Ze has posed:
[ https://youtu.be/MESDA96RrEI ]

Hulk no need to smash. Hulk ruining perfectly good super technology just by hulking! The shield surrounding the broadcast spire goes next. Flickering off as the place goes dark. The darkness does not last long though as a new light illuminates the room

Was it Jean? the Phoenix Force? ... so similar in nature to Flamebird herself that allowed the connection. Or perhaps the immense psychic synchronicity. That Monet simply standing there erupts in to flames. It dances from her arms and legs, licking at the air. Her hair is like fire and her eyes burn brightly as she channels Flamebird herself.

When Divine, Kal, Caitlin, and Donna all strike at Vohc at the same time, combined with Monet and Flamebird, and Donna's rhetoric about /story/ - Vohc, the Builder, is struck from all sides and all angles at once. The collision causes a gasp from him and a bright shuttering light leaving a shimmering figure behind that disappears.

The flames upon Monet's skin go out and they are alone with one dead Kryptonian and 5 unconscious ones, in the darkness. Donna is gone.

The elevator arrives at the top floor and Alura steps out. She sees Astra contemplating her decision and is about to press the button, "Astra stop!"

"Alura.. h.. how? Good! I wanted you to be here with me for this. We're going to change Krypton's fate. One short broadcast and everyone will know what Oa did, will do."

The pained expression on Alura's face is clear and as Astra reaches for the control Alura's sunstone weapon reforms in to a pistol again. "Astra I said stop! You can't do this. The future you create destroys countless worlds. The Hegemony comes back and is worse than ever before. All hope is crushed this day, today, when you tell them that their sacrifice is for nothing."

Astra's expression turns dark. Angry, that once again her sister thinks she's better than her. Twins, the both of them, so alike yet so opposite in emotional texture. "You... you always do this. You can't let me be the one who saves the day for once. Ever!"

Alura's finger is on the trigger, trembling. "Please Astra... stand down. I'm begging you. You don't want to do this." The building shakes and Astra stumbles back as Alura stumbles forward. The battle below has come to its conclusion but neither of the In-Ze sisters know this.

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin staggers away from the blast of cosmic energy that emanates from the death of a godling. It is not a creature of flesh and blood, not really, not like the rest of the mortals here are. It is manifest energy, shaped by willpower and purpose. They don't just kill Vohc, they *unmake* him. And no such creature as a god dies a quiet death. Where that shattered energy goes is a question that should make the survivors sleep uneasily.

She staggers back and rests her hips against the wall behind her. Her sword almost slips from numbed fingertips and she scrubs her face and eyes as if shaking off sudden snowblindness.

It's her hearing that returns first, and Caitlin squints blearily through her left eye. When that proves un-fruitful, she swats at the computer on her left arm and checks the tiny display. A Geiger counter starts chugging with ominous excitedment.

"Uh... guys, background radiation is increasing," she says with real concern in her tone. "Gamma radiation is twenty times what it should be. I'm getting 50 millisieverts of radiation here." She looks up, looks at Hulk, then looks over at a shining sunstone on the wall. Her fingertips brush over the crystal, and where they pass, the flawless yellow light turns a sickening shade of green that any Kryptonian knows all too well.

"Banner," she breathes, and spins around to look at Bruce. "Doctor! DOCTOR BANNER! You need to talk control of Hulk-- we need you back!" she cries out. "You're triggering a gamma cascade-- this whole building is about to turn into a giant slab of Kryptonite!"

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Where there is fire and flame, where there is a veil of destruction.. What had merely been intended as an illusion for the purposes of distraction and intimidation turns to something likely far, far worse. Where Monet had been merely channeling the impression of one..

Instead she catches the attention of another that looks through her eyes as they glaze for a moment, becominge mpty. THen angry. She goes to howl over at Vohc over and screams. <<FATHER, YOU ARE UNDONE. BEGONE!>> as for that very moment there's just a sheathe of flame around her over as the air rends for just a moment over as Flamebird puppets Monet for one single act.. Then is gone a second later as Vohc is dead, hit from every angle.

Then there's a -snap- and like a marionette with the strings cut, MOnet goes to drop through the air over like nothingness. Body just a shell, mind taken with a sledgehammer obliterating consciousness as she drops from the air like a lead weight.

Just as Fairchild elaborates on what is going on in the background and the situation goes to Kirbydots.

Conner Kent has posed:
It is pile-on the old god, poor guy never stood a chance. Then again, since his plan was to turn the Kryptonians into galactic genocide space Nazis, he really deserved that beating.

"That's it? We won and saved the galaxy?" Asks Conner. But someone is missing. "Aunt Alura. Uh oh. Guys, we got to get up there, and quickly. Astra is sure to be armed." He takes off right away, taking the elevator shaft sans the elevator, faster this way.

Divine has posed:
The shockwave is horrific as a very large chunk of the House of El (and friends) just blast Vhoc back to whence he came with their fists. For a moment, Divine just floats there, exalting in her returned power and their victory.

It only lasts for a moment.

When Caitlin shouts about Kryptonite, Divine's eyes go wide with raw terror. She's felt that twice before, and never wishes to again. Panicing, she starts to look around, trying to figure out what to do, when Connor says Alura needs help. Gritting her teeth, the clone looks up, summons her will and blasts skywards, racing upwards towards her not-Mom and not-Aunt.

Clark Kent has posed:
His eyes were closed as the moment came. His strenght and willpower fled. Kal-El, Last Son of Krypton floats in the ether for a moment. It was like time froze as energy and matter and time stood still for a few scant moments. Perhaps it was time to let go. A soldier for Truth, Justice and the American Way no more. Up, up and away...

The fate of the Future stood in the balance. A moment in time between two sisters. The Universe held its breath...One Moment In Time...

Donna Troy has posed:
    There's a rather smaller tremor just behind the big one, but from the perspective of the two sisters, it's a whole lot more immediate. It's Donna bursting up through the floor of the elevator. During the ascent she has swapped weapons. Her lasso is back on her hip, and her sword is drawn.

    Would a sword mean anything to Astra? Would she even recognize it as a weapon? Donna didn't stop to think about that when she opted for what is usually the more threatening-appearing weapon. Hopefully the mere fact that it's a very sharp looking piece of metal in the hands of someone who can break through elevators will be enough.

    <<She's giving you that chance right now, Astra>> Donna says, her voice cold. <<You save the day by /not/ pressing the button. You have been used. If you want to save the future, step away.>>

    She drifts forwards a little, floating a foot or two off the ground. <<We saw the future that will be created if you do this. It's /worse/. Save the future, and save yourself. Come away. Before this building collapses.>>

Alura In-Ze has posed:
Astra's hand lifts up and an energy pistol forms in her hand pointing at Donna the moment she appears. "You brought backup!?" Astra is incensed. "Don't try to tell me what I do and don't want to do Alura!" Yet she hasn't done it. She looks at Donna and the way she starts to float and hears her words in Kryptonian. The garb doesn't match though.

"How could you let our whole planet die and do nothing. Nothing..."

Alura shakes her head in sadness to her twin, "I tried everything. I stopped Zod. I helped Zor with the shielding. I petitioned the high council. We even saved our city and ... and nothing worked. But it's not the end..."

Divine and Conner couldn't arrive at a more poignant time. Slightly looking like Kara, and slightly looking sort of like Kal. Astra can see the family resemblance. It's not In-Ze, but it's definitely El.

"Some of us survive on Earth. A new life, a new world. A fresh start. From the flames comes creation - isn't that the whole point of the Flamebird Vohc story, Astra... you don't save anything by telling them what is to come. You destroy everything. Who we are, what we stand for - and all those worlds they go on to conquer."

Astra's expression softens and she lowers her weapon. Alura lowers her too. "Kara?" Astra asks and then looks to Conner as if he might be Alura's son, a son she never knew about. Perhaps born on Earth.

"This is Divine, and Conner. They're not my children but they are my family. Your family."

Astra lifts up her hands and steps back from the broadcast controls, ending the quantum uncertainty of the room. A timewave bursts out from that moment but only the time ship picks it up. Flamebird destroys, Vohc builds. Alura walks forward and embraces her sister in a tight hug.

Conner Kent has posed:
"Also, as I like to remind everyone. There are at least ten thousand Kryptonians alive in Kandor," reminds Conner, slightly exasperated. "Why don't you, genius people, start working in a way of getting them out Brainiac's bottle?"

In their defence, this time it was probably Vhoc's fault. But what is Zod's excuse?

He then grins when the women hug. "I am Kon-El, and Div here probably needs a Kryptonian name. By the way, Dr. Banner is overloading and might still turn half the city into Kryptonite dust. We should get back and stop it."

Caitlin Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin looks around and realizes-- she's the only person on the ground floor who is still coherent. Hulk is dazed, Kal is in a stupor, and Monet is--!

Caitlin digs in her hippack for a moment and pulls out the smelling salts Bruce had given her earlier. She cracks the container and daubs the salts on Hulk's face to help promote feelings of compliance and soothing comfort.

It's the best she can do before she rushes over to Monet and hurriedly checks her for vitals with a remote monitoring unit on her forehead. Catatonic, for the moment; Caitlin's medical bag has a few measures of painkillers in it and she gives Monet part of that very limited supply to help ensure she doesn't wake up in screaming agony and hurting herself. "<Guys, we're at 75 mSv of gamma radiation. At 150 you're going to start getting Kryptonite poisoning. These sunstones are basically Z-point shards-- at this point even if I *can* stop the gamma cascade, I don't know if I can keep the entire array from explosive decomposition.>"

And while the Kryptonians upstairs are hugging, she walks over to Kal and tries to shake him a little. "Kal. Kal!" she says, raising her voice. "Kal, you have to get everyone out of here," she tells him. "Do you hear me? This place isn't safe!"

Divine has posed:
Divine floats, watching the scene unfold. She says nothing, her heart twisting in her chest when Alura says that she's family. It's such a sudden shift. One moment, she looked confident and strong, ready to fight. Ready to do what she needed to do to ensure history was saved.

Now she just looks like an overwhelmed little girl. An overwhelmed, six foot three little girl.

Her eyes shimmer with unshed tears as she approaches, landing. "I'm not ... not direct. Connor and I are ... It doesn't matter. You can come with us. Leave this place. Start over. They let me start over, and it's...wonderful." She looks at Alura and can't help herself, her impulses winning out. She zips over and just enfolds her in a big hug, the tears falling finally.

"Thank you," she whispers, voice cracking.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "RIGHT." Donna stomps over to the wall and starts kicking a hole in it. Perhaps a little more viciously than the wall actually deserves. "This building is dangerously unstable, we need to leave. Anyone who can't fly, grab on to my shoulders." She repeats the phrase in Kryptonian for Astra's benefit. "We've got a timeship to catch, and unless Kal, Cait and Monet have managed to calm him down, apparently there may be an exploding Hulk downstairs for us to deal with first. Which may involve calming him down, or may involve evacuating people, or may involve... I dunno, carrying him up high enough where he can't explode in too devastating a fashion or something. We'll figure it out when we get there."

    Donna adds a punch or two for good measure. Just making the hole big enough for everyone, that's all. It's surely nothing personal.

    "Come on people, let's get a move on. Time for... HA!. Time for introductions and family reunions later. Let's move!"

    She doesn't seem to be in the best of moods right now.

Clark Kent has posed:
Kal-El stumbles out of his stupor with Caitlin's help. "What...?!?" Looking at her, Kal allows himself a smile. "Thank you...you are right. We need to get out of here." With Caitlin's help, Kal stumbles up and then readies himself.

"Everyone. We're getting out of here. Alura has her job. We have ours. Let's go!"

"Bruce. You ok? Monet, are you conscious?" Looking around. "Conner, Divine? Where are you?"

"Donna! I knew I could count on you! I agree. Let's go." Following Donna's lead, Kal offers anyone a superspeed lift, if needed. "Caitlin. Thank you. We need to get out of here before..." The strain was impacting Superman, "...before."

Alura In-Ze has posed:
[ https://youtu.be/Qm-xQPeE8x4 ]

Hulk grew too close to the sun and fell asleep. That's how the story goes right? Ant-Man suffered a similar problem when he became Giant-Man. Hulk was not ready for Krypton's atmosphere. Once he had collapsed and fallen asleep, he did shrink back to normal size.

The evacuation from the tower is timely as authorities arrive to find out what has happened. Inside they find the remnance of a battle between Hegemony Loyalists and Revolutionary Defenders. Five loyalists were arrested.

With aid of the fliers, the super friends make it back to their time ship. But not Astra. Astra has to go back to her own ship to avoid creating a paradox by leaving it behind. With another hug the sisters part ways. Astra has realised just how close she came to utter disaster - but who knows what she might try next.

Alura is happy to stand while others sink in to their seats. With home time and space set as their course, they leave Krypton's past where it belongs. Upon arriving back to Earth and present time they are greeted with no paradox, no time wave - just a planet full of mostly humans going about their daily business.

The comms on the ship buzz and the face of Brainiac appears suddenly. He raises an eyebrow and says. "Exactly as I predicted you'd arrive. I have to thank you all for your little 'time adventure'. If you had not intervened during my awakening I would never have known about that flaw in my subsystems."

Alura's eyes widen and she stares with concern. Time travel nonsense.. paradoxes..

"Oh don't you worry your silly Earth and Krypton heads about paradox. I still sent my old ship with the flaw to Earth to be defeated so that the time loop would be elegantly closed. But - now you know." A small shrug of amusement. "It was just a backup. And I won't be defeated by that silly little hack ever again." He taps a finger to the side of his temple. "Remember. I'm not just a little smarter than you. Don't even think of trying to stop me."

The video feed shuts off.

Alura takes a breath: then does what needs to be done. With the yellow sun of Sol streaming in she goes to the back of the ship and crushes the time engine between her hands. "Thank you all for coming - may be we made a mess back in the past but not a big enough one that we didn't save Earth and who knows how many other worlds."

And for now, Astra In-Ze's when-and-where-abouts is unknown.