Chapter Text
The shockwave tore through Grue’s fog, scattering it like smoke and letting in harsh, blinding daylight. Amy blinked rapidly, her vision swimming as the dust cleared and froze in her spot.
A figure stood in the center of the destruction. A cape rippled behind them, crimson and unmistakable. The stylized ‘S’ gleamed gold and red on their chest, catching the light like a promise. Relief surged through Amy so violently it was almost painful. “Superman.”
The figure straightened, and Amy’s heart stuttered. Something was wrong.
This wasn’t Clark.
The cape was the same, crimson and bold, and the chest emblem gleamed gold and red but the frame was smaller, more slender. The shoulders were less broad, and their stance subtly different. As the dust and debris started to settle, dirty blonde hair flowed like sunlight as if there was an imaginary wind.
It was a woman.
The newcomer straightened her posture, her face revealed. She was young, not much older than Amy herself, with sharp blue eyes that scanned the room like a hawk’s. And like Clark, she was unnaturally gorgeous. She immediately vomited off to the side, grabbing a vase filled with sunflowers.
Amy’s brain couldn’t process it. “Wha-what is…?”
“No way.” Taylor breathed beside her, voice tight with disbelief.
Tattletale’s confident smirk flickered, replaced with a flash of genuine unease. “Uh, Grue? Tell me that’s not who I think it is.”
Grue took a step back, his posture shifting instinctively defensive. Even Regent stopped spinning his knife, his face finally serious.
The Girl-Clark groaned as she looked around with slight confusion as she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her beige trenchcoat. “What the fuck is going on here man? And where’s my dog?”
Clark never swore, and he wasn’t this messy, even when he fought against the Nine and Behemoth! Who was this girl?
The Doppelganger turned her attention to them, her eyes darting between Amy, Taylor and Tattletale. “Who the hell are you guys? And who puts a bank near the entrance of an interdimensional portal? Fuck man, Mr. T sucks ass.”
Tattletale froze as she stared at the newcomer, her eyes wide and filled with confusion. Amy licked her dry lips when Taylor moved with a suddenness that made Amy’s heart jump into her throat. One second they were crouched together, frozen under the weight of shock and confusion, and the next Taylor surged forward with surprising strength before Amy could even try to stop her.
“They’re villains who’re keeping us hostage!” She shouted, her voice cutting through the air like a blade.
Amy’s breath caught, and before she could react, Taylor slammed into Tattletale. The two girls went sprawling to the cold tile floor, limbs tangling. Tattletale yelped, more startled than hurt as her hands scrambled to find leverage.
“Taylor!” Amy screamed, half in fear, half in disbelief.
The move had been reckless, wild, so unlike Taylor. She was supposed to be quiet, careful, the girl who avoided conflict at all costs, but now she was practically feral, her hood slipping back to reveal wide, determined eyes as she wrestled with the smirking blonde villain.
Grue cursed, his voice distorted and booming as he lurched toward them. “Regent, stop them!”
Regent didn’t move immediately. His usual detached amusement was gone, replaced by visible tension. Instead, his knife hovered in his hand, but he hesitated as his eyes flicked to the newcomer, the strange, not-Clark girl standing in the wreckage and Taylor, who punched Tattletale in the face. The sound was sharp and ugly, echoing through the ruined bank lobby. Tattletale let out a startled cry, twisting beneath Taylor’s weight as she tried to shield her face.
Grue bellowed, his modulated voice reverberating like rolling thunder. “Regent, now!”
Regent’s fingers twitched around his knife, but he still didn’t move. His usual smirk had been replaced by a thin, uncertain line.
“This is…uh, above my pay grade, man.” Regent muttered. His voice was shaky for once, stripped of its usual sarcasm. Grue shook his head and moved to help Tattletale, when Amy finally scrambled to help her friend, placing her hands on the purple villain’s throat.
“Another step and I’ll give her every cancer I can think of.” Amy said darkly.
Grue froze mid-step, his massive frame going rigid at Amy’s words. The swirling tendrils of darkness around him faltered, thinning slightly as the weight of her threat sank in.
Tattletale let out a strangled sound beneath Taylor, one hand clawing at Amy’s wrist while the other shielded her throat. Her mocking grin was gone, replaced by wide, panicked eyes.
“You wouldn’t.” She rasped, her voice hoarse and desperate. “You’re a hero, Panacea. You don’t kill.”
Amy’s hands trembled, her heartbeat hammering in her ears. “Try me.” Her voice came out low and dark, almost unrecognizable even to herself. “You threaten me and my best friend, and everyone else here. If you think I won’t do what I have to, you’re dead wrong.”
Taylor didn’t say a word. Her hood had fallen completely back, her wild, intense eyes locked on Tattletale as she held the villain down with brutal efficiency. Taylor’s breathing was ragged, her chest heaving as though she’d been holding this rage back for years.
Regent raised his hands slowly, knife dangling uselessly between his fingers. “Whoa, okay, this is getting a little too real.” He said, his tone shaky. “I don’t get paid enough for cancer threats, guys.”
Grue’s voice was low and dangerous. “Panacea if you do this, there’s no going back.”
“Back to what?” Amy snapped, her grip tightening until Tattletale choked. “Back to pretending we’re safe? Back to patching up people you and your friends hurt while you laugh about it?” She shook her head, teeth bared. “No. You crossed a line.”
The not-Clark girl took a step forward, visibly tense but still utterly confused. Her blue eyes darted between everyone like she was trying to solve a puzzle written in a language she didn’t understand.
“Okay, seriously.” The Stranger said, her voice rising. “Someone explain what the hell is happening before I start throwing people through walls. Who are the bad guys here? Because right now, everyone looks sketchy as hell.”
Grue growled, his darkness swirling again, thicker and more aggressive. “We’re leaving,” he ordered, his voice vibrating with rage and panic. “Now.”
“No one’s leaving.” Amy’s voice cut through the chaos, sharp as a scalpel. She met Grue’s faceless gaze without flinching. “Not until you surrender to the PRT.” She turned to the new Blonde. “Please, help us.”
For a moment, the entire room seemed to hold its breath.
“Help you?” The Blonde repeated, her voice sharp with disbelief. “I don’t even know what planet this is, let alone who any of you people are!” Her tone cracked with frustration as she gestured wildly at the chaos around her. “I literally just dropped into whatever the hell this is, and you want me to pick sides? Look, I’m just here to find my cousin.”
Amy swallowed hard, forcing herself to stay steady. “They’ve taken hostages. They were going to kill people, kill us.” Her voice trembled, but she kept speaking, desperately trying to cut through the fog of confusion. “Please, just…stop them.”
The stranger blinked, her jaw tightening.
Tattletale seized the moment, choking out a hoarse laugh despite Amy’s hand still gripping her throat. “Oh, this is rich.” She rasped. “Panacea begging for backup. You don’t even know who you’re talking to, do you?” Her green eyes gleamed with cruel delight despite the danger.
“Shut up!” Taylor snapped, pressing Tattletale’s shoulders into the cold tile with renewed force.
The blonde newcomer’s gaze swung toward Tattletale, narrowing. “You’re a real piece of work, huh?” She said flatly. Her voice dropped into something colder, harder.
Grue shifted uneasily, his darkness swirling thicker around him like a defensive shroud. “I don’t know who you are-” he growled, his voice distorted, “-but if you get in our way, you’ll regret it.”
The blonde didn’t even flinch. Instead, she tilted her head slightly, almost curious. “Yeah, you’re definitely a villain.” She muttered under her breath. “This is your last chance. Let. Them. Go.”
Regent took a cautious step back, raising his hands. “Hey, uh, maybe we should listen to her. I’m not looking to fight that, man.”
Grue didn’t answer.
Amy’s chest tightened painfully. This was spiraling out of control, and if someone didn’t act now, it would explode into violence. She locked eyes with the newcomer, letting all her desperation show. “Please.” She whispered, voice breaking. “You don’t have to understand everything. Just help us survive this.”
For the first time, the blonde’s expression softened. A flicker of something, maybe sympathy? She glanced at Amy, then at Taylor’s furious determination, and finally at the terrified civilians still cowering near the shattered entrance.
“Fine.” The Blonde said, her voice like steel. “I’ll help.”
And before anyone could react, she blurred forward, moving faster than Amy’s eyes could follow. One moment she was standing in the rubble, the next she was right in front of Grue, a single finger connected with his chest in a devastating strike that sent him crashing backward through a wall.
“Eh, don’t worry about it, he’ll live.” The Blonde said with a grin as she turned to Regent. “Maybe.”
Regent didn’t need to be told twice. The moment Grue’s body disappeared through the crumbling wall, Regent’s knife clattered to the floor and his hands shot up higher than ever before, trembling.
“Yeah, okay, cool, uh…” He stammered, backing away toward the exit. “I’m done, totally done. You win. Don’t punch me through a wall, don’t laser me, don’t-don't do anything. I surrender.”
He dropped to his knees, breathing hard, his usual smug grin nowhere to be found. “I am officially done with this job. You people are insane.”
Amy stared, her chest heaving. The room was a wreck, shattered counters, splintered tile, and half the ceiling sagging precariously. Taylor hadn’t moved from where she still pinned Tattletale, but her breathing was ragged, her hood completely off now. Her eyes blazed with a mixture of fury and confusion.
The blonde newcomer, whoever she was, stood perfectly still, her cape settling slowly behind her. She glanced at Regent like he was an annoying fly. “Good call.” She said flatly. “Stay down and stay quiet.”
Before anyone could speak, another sound cut through the air, a low, growing rumble that wasn’t debris or destruction. Amy’s breath got caught in her throat
A blur of red and blue shot through the front door, now free of darkness now that Grue was out. The force of it sent papers and broken glass swirling through the air as the blur came to a halt in the very center of the ruined lobby.
When the dust cleared, there he was.
Clark.
Superman.
Amy’s knees almost buckled in relief. His presence was as overwhelming as it was comforting, broad shoulders, steady eyes that seemed to take in everything at once, and that same calm strength that had carried her through so many impossible moments.
“Cl-Superman!” She gasped, a half-sob, half-cry of relief.
“I’m so sorry I’m late! The traffic here was terrible!” Clark said as his piercing blue gaze swept over the scene, with his expression unreadable. He saw Amy and Taylor, battered but alive and gave them a small, comforting smile. And then his eyes landed on the blonde woman wearing his symbol.
His entire body went still. “…Kara?”
The blonde blinked, turning toward him. Her expression crumpled with disbelief. “Kal?”
For a moment, Amy didn’t understand. Her mind couldn’t connect the dots until she noticed their matching uniforms.
“Wait.” Amy’s voice came out strangled, caught between shock and fear. “You know her?”
Clark gave her an excited smile as he knelt beside her, ignoring Tattletale as Taylor stared in awe. “She’s my cousin.”
Huh? Cousin? Did that mean she was from the same world as him? How did she end up here? How-
Tattletale groaned beneath her. “This is weird as fuck. Just arrest me already.”
With pleasure.
A/N
The reception to the last chapter was insane! I enjoyed reading each and every comment!
The next chapter shall end this arc.