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Chapter 17: The Quiet Before the Storm

Written by willow :: [Monday, 12 June 2017 06:36] Last updated by :: [Monday, 12 June 2017 08:31]

The Quiet Before the Storm


In the near century since it had been founded, the Daily Planet building had not changed too much. The newspaper company was housed in a large office tower that was designed in the art deco style of the old 1920s and 30s. The building had been named a national landmark several decades ago thanks to the Daily Planet’s breaking of key stories against corruption and other news over the years. While many other skyscrapers dwarfed the building, the Daily Planet still retained its signature, rotating golden globe on the top. Metropolis itself seemed quieter than usual with a lot of traffic heading out of the city. More than what appeared to be normal rush hour.

After my flight back to America from Kazakhstan, I finally arrived over the towering skyscrapers of Metropolis: the recently built Freedom Tower, MetLife Building, Empire State Building, Woolworth Building, and Trump Tower. Seeing the buildings while I hovered in the sky under my own power took my breath away for a moment. It reminded me that I really needed to come here once this was all over, and just be a tourist in the city for a couple of days. Maybe I would bring Cheryl along so it could be our next in-between semester vacation. I spotted the Daily Planet building along with Superman sitting on the roof. The distance was no problem for my enhanced eyes that I could even see him smile and wave at me.

I flew over to the Daily Planet, and landed next to Superman on the roof. He was leaning against a concrete railing that held up the globe. I stepped over next to him, and sat down on the concrete ledge. It was far back enough from the roof’s edge that no one below could see us, just anyone still working in the nearby office towers. Superman smiled, but I did not return the gesture. Thinking about what I did to Monica almost made me want to cry, but I held it in and just pouted.

Superman got a serious look on his face, “Did something happen in Asia?”

“Sort of.” I turned to look at him. “I destroyed both facilities, but I fear that I lost control when fighting Monica Braun.”

Superman exhaled loudly through his nose. He put his arm around me, and brought me close into him. It seemed so natural to him that I had a feeling that he had done this to Supergirl on several occasions in the past. Superman calmly responded, “Why don’t you tell me what happened?”

Superman’s tone felt like a relief to me. He wanted to hear what I had to say. He was not ready to blow his top or start shouting at me. I leaned into him as well, and told him everything that happened. I told him about the high-tech weapons that were used against me. I told him how much those lasers burned when they hit me, and how angry it made me feel inside. I told him about the tanks that had giant versions of those same weapons and their Durasteel armor plating. Superman took it all in as I told him everything. How I threatened the scientists and demolished both sites using my abilities. Finally, I got to the part about Monica. I steeled myself as I recounted how I beat her up, and then ripped off one of her arms. I talked about how I incinerated her arm while in this rage caused by her shooting me in the back with one of those laser rifles. I was almost whispering by the end and felt close to tears, “I felt so ashamed after I realized what I had done to her. I was so full of rage and anger at her shooting me in the back, but she did not deserve me to do that to her.”

Superman rubbed my shoulder where he was holding me to him. He thought about it all for a moment before responding, “Having these powers can be a real struggle. I understand it more than you can imagine. There were times when growing up that I wanted to toss some high school bully’s car into the sun, or punch him so hard that he would never walk again. However, I knew that I had to be responsible with my abilities, and beating up someone so physically inferior was not worth it.”

I listened to what Superman had to say, but could only weakly let out, “Yeah, I know.”

Superman continued, “I can and will help you with this. It is easy to forget how powerful you are when that anger flows through you.”

I smiled at his offer of assistance. I leaned my head into him so it rested on his shoulder. “Thanks, Superman. That means a lot to me. I just worry that there is some darkness inside of me, just waiting to come out.” Listening to Superman tell me that he would help me make it better helped my mood. I could not undo what I did to Monica, but I could work to keep it from happening again.

Superman asked, “You never did mention who your father was?”

“It was someone named Dru-Zod who came from an alternate dimension where was leading a group of survivors from Krypton.” I answered.

I felt Superman tense up at the name. He remained calm as he responded, “Zod? General Zod?” Superman let go of my shoulder as he turned slightly towards me.

“Yeah, did you know him?” I looked up at him as I asked.

Superman nodded, “I knew this dimension’s version of Dru-Zod so I am not sure how your father was or was not different. In this universe, General Zod was the leader of the Kryptonian Military Guild near the end of the planet’s life. Shortly before the planet exploded, Zod helped lead a coup d'etat against the ruling Science Council of Krypton. Zod believed my father’s prediction that Krypton was doomed, but that our rulers were too corrupt to save the Kryptonian race.”

I asked to Superman’s answer, “Did your father help Zod with this coup?”

Superman shook his head, “No. My father was a member of the Science Guild, and felt that Zod’s idea of how to save the Kryptonian race was too extreme. Zod believed that the scientific and research-driven government that had ruled Kryptonians for centuries had made them soft. He wanted to find a new world to rebuild the Kryptonian race in the image of the Kryptonian Military Guild. Zod wanted to turn us back into a race of warriors that could re-conquer the galaxy like the days of legend. His plan only included the saving of those from the military and worker classes, but would have left those from the religious, artist, and science castes to die with the planet.”

“It still sounded like he might have been able to save some of your people,” I questioned back.

Superman smiled, “Yes, but at what cost for the rest of the galaxy? Krypton had developed a severe amount of xenophobia over the centuries of isolation. How safe would the rest of the galaxy be when a xenophobic warrior race begins carving out a new empire?” Superman closed his eyes and shook his head, “No. It was pointless anyway. General Zod had split Krypton apart with his attempted coup, which exploded into a full-fledge civil war. Zod was eventually captured with his chief lieutenants, and banished to the Phantom Zone. However, the damage was already done. Any chance that Krypton had to evacuate or prevent the planet’s destruction was lost in the months fighting between General Zod and the ruling Science Council.”

I gave my thoughts voice even if I was not actually speaking directly to Superman, “I wonder if my father is what would have happened if General Zod had won that civil war.”

Superman pressed his lips together as he thought about it. “It is possible. Even if General Zod had been successful, Krypton had extremely little time. He might have been able to save some people, but the planet never had the kind of time required for the full-scale exodus that General Zod had envisioned.”

I gave a short laugh at the irony of the situation too. All the plans of mice and men still holds true for Kryptonians. This brought a question to mind, “So your father fought against mine?”

Superman responded, “No. My father thought the civil war was a fatal distraction, and a sign that there was no hope for saving Krypton. He worked to build a spacecraft that could transport me away from Krypton before it exploded.”

“He did not try to build something larger for both you and your parents?”

Superman flatly responded, “His calculations said there was not enough time, and the spaceship was a use of unsanctioned resources in the middle of a civil war. He built what he could with what he had, and even still only barely finished my craft before the planet exploded. If he had tried to build a larger craft, then we would have all died on Krypton.”

“What about other survivors? Surely, other Kryptonians could have taken your father’s warnings to heart.”

Superman swung his head to indicate that was not possible, “Unfortunately, not. As a high-ranking member of the Science Council, my father had access to resources and equipment that the average Kryptonian did not. The only other Kryptonian to survive by spaceship was Supergirl whose parents were an aunt and uncle to me. They even started before my father did, but their craft had to carry a teenage girl rather than an infant.”

I put my hand against Superman’s back, and rubbed it up and down. “I am sorry that things did not work out differently on Krypton.”

Superman turned to me and gave me a nice smile, “Thanks. Now you know why I consider myself a guardian for humanity to help prevent them from making the same mistakes that were made on Krypton. This planet can be a New Krypton for the galaxy. One that is a shining beacon for the rest of the galaxy.”

I took Superman’s arm from around my shoulder, and grabbed hold of his hand so our fingers interlaced. I looked in Superman’s eyes as I responded, “I want to help you make that dream come true.”

Superman gave my own hand a squeeze as he smiled back, “We will. We will also fight the darkness that frightens you so much.”

I smiled back, and leaned in to kiss Superman. A kiss that Superman easily responded to.

====================

The police had surrounded the offices at LexCorp Tower. The surrounding streets had been sealed off. The office towers nearby had been emptied out in order to clear the area of any civilians. Lex had turned his own office tower into a small fortress with his loyal security staff locking down the exits. A number of traitorous employees had been quick to flee once the news started spreading across the television sets and online websites. It had been a struggle to lock the place down with so many people trying to get out. However, the people that remained would be able to act as human shields or hostages so that Lex could try and negotiate his way out of this mess.

Lex Luthor stood by the large windows in his office that overlooked the plaza in front of his magnificent office tower. He wore a dark suit tailored to the exact dimensions of his body. His bald head was cleanly shaved. His cold and calculating eyes looked down on the police as they setup barricades. As he thought about the situation, his hands were clasped together behind his back. It was impossible to know exactly what Lex Luthor was thinking, but he was boiling inside his own head. He had feared that something like this would happen after the events in Dubai. However, he had not expected such a public revelation of the secrets that were stolen. Things had changed in ways that he had not anticipated.

Lex’s office was setup sparsely, but in such a way that clearly showed his power and prestige. Every piece of art was designed to show his wealth and influence, while also giving him something to ponder. Like everything in Lex’s life, each piece had multiple purposes. For the visitor, they were designed to impress and awe. For Lex, they were object to be meditated upon to find solutions to problems in ways that might otherwise escape him. Lex’s massive desk was one of papers on dozens of topics, but no computer of any kind. His library against the wall had books on various topics from history, economics, politics, and even some biographies of respected people. A copy of Robert A. Caro’s book Master of the Senate sat on Lex’s desk, which he often used as a reference in how United States President Lyndon B. Johnson wrangled the U.S. Congress to his will. Lex had read every page of every book in his library at least twice. Lex knew that nothing in life came easy, and viewed his body and mind as the greatest tools at his disposal. It was through them that he would find a way out of this situation as he had done through countless other unfortunate events and setbacks.

Lex Luthor turned away from the window to stare at Mercy Graves who stood on the opposite side of his desk. She patiently waited for Lex to give her orders on how to proceed next. Lex’s relationship with Mercy was strictly platonic, but he knew that her loyalty to him was absolute. As Lex looked at her in this moment of crisis, he could see the unwavering loyalty on her face. Mercy was beautiful; A statuesque blonde with long flowing hair who could give any woman in this building a run for their money. Her years of training had also left her in excellent shape that even her clothing could not easily hide. As Lex looked at her, he began to rethink about his relationship with her. She had always been by his side; maybe it was time that she became more than just his bodyguard. However, that would have to wait for another time.

The key problem that Lex saw right now was how to handle Superior Girl. This Power Girl had attacked the facilities that he had been operating to research how to stop both Superior Girl and Superman. The Synthetic Ambrosia project was still in ruins thanks to the fiasco in Singapore. However, all of that was out in the public. Lex did not know if Superior Girl was watching the news right now, but it would be pretty bad for him if she was. The time to take on Superior Girl had come much earlier than he ever wanted with a lot more publicity. He had to use what little equipment that he had here at LexCorp Tower. Running away from Superior Girl was not a realistic option. Superior Girl had already defeated Superman twice so running to him for help also probably would not work. Not that it mattered, both Superman and Power Girl seemed to be waiting at the Daily Planet to see what happens. Lex thought those cowards were probably hoping that Superior Girl and himself would take each other out.

Lex walked around his desk to stand in front of Mercy. He calmly began, “Mercy, I want you to …”

Lex’s train of thought was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass. Both he and Mercy turned to look at the source, which was the body of Superior Girl. Superior Girl had flown right through the dense, bulletproof glass that was designed to stop a .50 caliber round like it was not even there. The glass shattered into millions of pieces, but did not scratch her costume or any bare skin that the outfit failed to cover.

Superior Girl landed on the marble floor, and stood looking at Lex Luthor with her balled fists against her hips. Superior Girl was a solid 5’9 tall of muscle that came from Jessie’s old days of playing volleyball. Her midriff showed a tight collection of muscle with zero body fat. Her strong legs pulsed with power where visible between her skirt and boots. The well-defined muscles on her arms were easily seen under the sleeves of her blue top. She still wore Supergirl’s outfit. Her trophy that she took after killing the Kryptonian. The outfit was just as blue as Superman’s but modified to Supergirl’s tastes. The top stretched over Superior Girl’s larger bust, but did little to hide its size from the rest of the world. The top had yellow trim with long sleeves to cover her arms. However, while her arms were covered, Superior Girl’s midriff was open for the entire world to see. Below her midriff, Superior Girl wore the blue skirt with yellow belt that help protect Supergirl’s modesty in the past. Supergirl’s red boots with yellow trim covered Superior Girl’s feet up to her calves. Just like Superman, a red cape flowed behind her while the cape and top both fronted a large S symbol that Lex had come to hate on Superman. Jessie had once told Lex that the S on her chest now stood for Superior.

Jessie’s long brown hair flowed behind her. Jessie had been growing it out for months, yet it had never shown a single split-end or brittleness that other women had with long hair. Jessie had a full head of long, luxurious hair halfway down her back that other women would kill for. Despite having a similarly fit body as Supergirl, it was the brown hair color that easily indicated that this was not the same woman who used to wear that uniform. While Lex would never admit it, the much larger chest that Superior Girl had also left no mistake on who stood before him.

Lex looked at Superior Girl as calm as ever, “Superior Girl.”

However, Superior Girl was by no means calm, but instead seething with rage and fury. “You traitor! You were the one that kidnapped me and Caroline. You stole my Ambrosia. You have been working against me from the start.”

Lex smiled, but otherwise kept his composure, “Of course, my dear.”

“We had a deal! You betrayed me!” Superior Girl was near yelling at Lex.

Lex smirked at Jessie like some adult speaking to a child, “Jessie, what did you expect to happen? I have been fighting Superman for years, and now some human arrives with his powers and is immune to Kryptonite. To me, you are just as much of a threat to humanity as Superman. Maybe even more of a threat since you don’t have Superman’s weaknesses or strict moral code.”

Lex could not help but sound patronizing to Superior Girl. In his mind, Lex believed that he was likely already a dead man walking at this point. He had no weapons to fight Superior Girl with. No place to run. If Lex Luthor was going to go out, it was going to be on his own two feet by his standards. No one talks him down, especially not some jumped up research assistant who was going to be killed along with Dr. Mendenhall once the project was a success.

Lex continued, “Did you really think that I would allow you to keep those powers forever? That I would not try to find a way to get a strategic edge? You are still as naïve as you were when you were a research assistant with Dr. Mendenhall.” Lex Luthor crossed his arms while Mercy looked on nervously at the confrontation. “Tell me, Jessie, what did you think would happen when those four men walked out of that lab with one fourth of Superman’s power inside them? Did you think that I would just let you and Dr. Mendenhall go back to Stanford with a fat bonus check in your pockets?”

Superior Girl was seething with rage, but the twitch on her face told Lex that he was getting to her. He knew that this would always strike a nerve with her. “When those new super men walked out of that room with Superman’s broken body, it was also supposed to be over the dead bodies of both you and Dr. Mendenhall. I already had enough of the research notes and data to recreate the process myself.”

Superior Girl bit back, “So, you create four thugs with Superman’s powers and let them loose on the world?”

Lex chuckled at the idea, “Heavens no, those morons would never have had those powers for more than a day or two at most. If that machine worked once, then it would work again when it transferred their new abilities over into me or just get rid of them entirely. I never fully committed to either solution.”

“Dr. Mendenhall and I were just expendable assets to you!” Superior Girl said with increasing fury.

Lex laughed, “Of course, you silly, naïve little girl.”

The final comment was the last straw for Superior Girl and her rage. Jessie could not stand to have another second pass with that smug asshole laughing at her. Jessie screamed in rage as twin beams of pure hate and fire burst from her eyes. The beams blasted through the air towards Lex, and struck him directly in the chest. The beams bore through Lex and hit Mercy who was still standing behind him slightly. As Lex’s body quickly incinerated into ash and dust, he had only a single thought in his mind as he met his fate, “On my terms.”

The heat vision streaming out from Superior Girl did not just obliterate Lex Luthor and Mercy Graves. The beams slammed into the wall of books that were behind the pair. The books burst into flames and crumbled to dust as the wall around them exploded. Superior Girl tore apart the entire side of the building with her heat vision, which bore into the building across the block as well causing thousands worth of dollars in damage. Jessie turned off her heat vision to stare at the opening that she had just created. Lex Luthor deserved that a thousand times over for what he did to her. Her only regret was that she did not make it a slow and painful death, or have the ability to bring Lex Luthor back to life so she could just kill him again.

A moment later, the door to Lex Luthor’s office burst open as Caroline Hunter came rushing in. She was wearing a tailored, dark business suit that fit her form perfectly. Her red hair flowed behind her as she ran. She looked over the room, and was startled to see the destroyed wall. Underneath that suit stood an Ambrosia Amazon who could easily flip a car or outrun any human being on the planet. She turned back to Superior Girl with a look of shock in her eyes.

Caroline just said, “Where is Lex?”

Superior Girl flatly responded, “Out of the way.”

Caroline looked unsure of what came next, “What do we do now?”

Superior Girl turned to Caroline, “Get the other initiates to my office. Metropolis is mine, and it is time to let the world know it.”

Caroline eagerly smiled at Jessie’s statement. Jessie and Caroline had spent months talking about what to do with her powers after Caroline became the first Ambrosia Amazon. Jessie had been fine just enjoying her powers while working for Lex Luthor. However, it was Caroline who had convinced her that she could be so much more. Jessie was a goddess among mortals. It was time that she came out to the world and showed them. Of course, Caroline envisioned a world of Ambrosia Amazons. A world where men were subservient to women, and women could never be overpowered by a man again. Caroline always dreamed of having Superior Girl’s powers, but creating a world of Ambrosia Amazons was a good start. Jessie had not taken much convincing of the idea; anyone who would call themselves Superior Girl is already leaning that direction anyway.

Caroline ran out of the office towards the stairs so she could return to Jessie’s office. Since convincing Jessie, both she and Caroline had been quietly working behind the scenes at LexCorp to fill their ranks with likeminded people. Organizational changes, reassignments, layoffs, and other tricks through human resources; Caroline had used her skill to re-populate departments with young women interested in their cause. The secretive and cutthroat corporate culture of LexCorp had only aided their conspiracy. People knew better than to talk about LexCorp at home or the local bar. Caroline used that culture against itself to divide her targets, and keep her new hires loyal to both herself and Jessie. After months of work, the Ambrosia Amazons had a loyal following just over a hundred strong. Now it was time to act.

====================

The police barricade had come up fast once the police arrived. Lex Luthor was usually one step ahead, but this time they had almost been ahead of Lex. Unfortunately, the police were not fast enough. By the time that they arrived, Lex had setup armed guards in military gear outside his front entrance. These were his most loyal henchmen who had no fear of standing down some police officers. The uniforms that they wore were deceptive to give the impression of a typical rent-a-cop security guard. However, there were hardened mercenaries who had seen real combat and were well-paid by Lex Luthor himself. They knew that Lex had enough money to get them out of jail in 24 hours and on a private jet outside the country. There were no consequences for them while working for Lex Luthor. The armed guards stood silently at the entrances to LexCorp Tower, and made sure that no one came within 20 feet. The Metropolis Police were a brave lot, but confronting a group of people with AR-15 rifles and military combat armor was a different matter. The Police had sealed the area so they knew that they had time to wait things out rather than risk the lives of their officers.

The concrete plaza in front of LexCorp Tower had become a no man’s land in the standoff. Police barricades and cars blocked anyone from trying to get in, while the LexCorp guards ensured that no one left. Behind the police officers manning the barricades were rows of reporters from every news agency in a 50-mile radius of the area. From the air, it almost looked like there were more reporters than police officers, which clearly had the officers worried. The world was watching, but the bigger problem was this meant a number of civilians were in the line of fire if things went south.

The police and crowd were startled by the sound of an explosion coming from the top floor of LexCorp Tower. People shouted and screamed as rubble came crashing down into the no man’s land of the plaza. Some chairs and tables often using by the lunch crowd were crushed as concrete smashed into them. As the crowd looked up, they could see the twin beams of Superior Girl’s heat vision blow through the wall and then tear into the Queen Industries office tower across the street. The beams stopped leaving a dead silence in the area as people waited to see what happened next.

A few minutes later, something came out of the hole that had been created at the top of the tower. At first, it was hard to make out what the object was. However, it quickly became apparent that it was Superior Girl due to the blowing hair and red cape as the object just hovered by the hole. Jessie peered down on the crowd that had gathered around the tower. It was a mass of people that would turn into pure chaos with a simple spark. Police were lined in the front with their weapons drawn. Behind the police were reporters trying to get the story of their lifetime. Behind the reporters were masses of protesters calling for the heads of Lex Luthor and Superior Girl. Jessie actually laughed a little since Lex had already been taken care of.

Jessie floated down from the top of the office tower until she was floating just a couple feet off the ground. She looked at the crowd full of reporters. This was the fault of Clark Kent and the Daily Planet. However, Jessie was surprised not to see a single Daily Planet reporter. Not a single person had any Daily Planet credentials on them no matter where Jessie looked with her x-ray vision. Clark had at least been smart enough to make sure they were not around. However, Jessie conceded that she did not know every face at the Daily Planet. Someone could be here with no or fake credentials to keep from being a target. Oh well, no matter. Jessie would deal with them all later.

Jessie rose slightly in the air until she found her targets. She swooped over the heads of the police, and reached down to grab an attractive redhead reporter from the Gotham Gazette. She then grabbed another man who was holding a television camera. Thankfully, the man did not drop the camera as she flew black with both people into the plaza. Jessie landed in the middle of the open space between barricade and office tower. She set the cameraman and reporter down.

Jessie pointed to the female reporter, “What is your name?”

The redhead was quite attractive, and kept her composure through the entire ordeal. “My name is Vicki Vale.”

Jessie pointed at the cameraman, and ordered “Start filming.”

The camera had the label of Channel 4 News on the side. The cameraman lifted up the equipment against his shoulder. A red light appeared on the front of the camera to show that it was recording. However, the nervous cameraman held thumbs up signal with his free hand just to make sure that Superior Girl understood. He then grabbed the camera with both hands to make sure that it did not fall over, which was a real possibility since his legs felt like wet spaghetti this close to Superior Girl.

Superior Girl looked straight at the camera and began, “As many of you know, my name is Jessie Nelson, but you will call me Superior Girl. Over a year ago, I killed Supergirl with my own hands and took her powers. I wear this suit as a testament to my superiority over both her and Superman. I am not bound by your morals or your laws. I am above them. Lex Luthor promised me the comfort that I desired so I have been working with him for several months. I defeated Superman twice, had my way with him, and discovered who he really is.”

Jessie paused for a moment to let that all sink in. She continued, “Now both Lex Luthor and Superman have betrayed me. That explosion that you saw just now was Lex Luthor learning what happens to those who betray me. Let me be plain. Lex Luthor is dead.”

After another short pause, she finished “Metropolis is now mine. Those who stay will worship me as I desire. Those that do not can either leave or die painfully. Any woman that wishes to serve me will be granted a portion of my strength and power. We are the future of this world, and you will bow to our power.”

Jessie stared in the camera as her ears picked up the first signs on her new priesthood on the move. As the camera rolled, viewers could see behind Jessie what appeared to be a fight inside the lobby of LexCorp Tower. Two highly attractive women then emerged from the front doors as the guards turned to see what was going on. The women picked each soldier up with one hand, and threw them over 30 feet away from the tower. As the guards screamed, Jessie just smiled at the camera.

Vicki Vale watched in fascination as the two women threw the men like ragdolls. She did not understand how Jessie had done it, but Superior Girl really had given some of her power to them. Vicki knew deep inside her that she wanted that kind of power too. Vicki turned to Superior Girl, and pleaded “Please … ah … mistress Superior Girl! I will follow you!”

The cameraman took a step back and turned so he could see both Superior Girl looking over at Vicki Vale pleading to join her. Superior Girl gestured with her hand towards the door to LexCorp Tower. Vicki needed no other encouragement, and ran for the front entrance as she was quickly and happily accepted by the other women. Superior Girl turned to the cameraman, and motioned for him to follow her inside. Vicki immediately noticed that all of the women were all very attractive and in their 20s or 30s. The crowd ushered her to the back with cheering and clapping. Vicki finally reached the end with a beautiful redhead in a dark business suit waiting for her. She held a small vial on golden liquid in her hands. The woman reached out to give the liquid to Vicki.

The redhead spoke, “My name is Caroline Hunter, first among our sisterhood. Drink the body of Superior Girl and be reborn anew.”

Vicki took the vial and downed the liquid in a single gulp. The other women grabbed hold of her as she began to convulse. A moment later, the convulsions stopped as Vicki opened her eyes. She flexed her arms, and could feel the power coursing through her body. She felt invincible. She felt like she could take on the entire world by herself. Vicki turned to the cameraman, and easily lifted him off the ground with one arm. The other women laughed and cheered with Vicki. Vicki turned to the far glass walls that formed the front entrance. With a quick motion of her arm, Vicki threw the cameraman over the heads of the other women. The camera fell down on one of the women with absolutely no effect or harm to them. The last image from inside was an attractive woman picking up the camera and crushing it in her hands. The cameraman himself flew through the glass windows and landed ten feet from the tower. He was in too much pain to get up, but was at least still alive.

People around the area saw everything through video feeds on their phones or with their own eyes if close enough to the front. A young woman ran past the police and jumped the barricade. She was clearly trying to get to Superior Girl. The police took chase after the woman. As the police wrestled her to the ground, the woman cried out “Take me!”

Other women were also trying to push their way through the barricade while others were trying to flee away from the scene. The entire area was quickly devolving into a large-scale riot as people tried to get to Superior Girl, others tried to prevent them, and the remaining just wanted to get the hell out of there. Jessie looked upon the chaos that was developing and smiled. She was suddenly surprised when something smashed into her face hard enough to send her to the ground and sliding five feet away.

====================

Superman and Power Girl were startled out of their kiss by the sound of an explosion coming from LexCorp Tower. They both turned to look at the source. The buildings between them and LexCorp melted away with their x-ray vision. The scene revealed showed Superior Girl blasting her heat vision towards a wall in Lex Luthor’s office. The pile of ashes and dust near the wall told both Superman and Power Girl that this is where Lex Luthor and someone else were just standing.

Superman cried out, “By Rao! We were so caught up about Zod that we completely missed Jessie returning to Metropolis!”

I punched my other fist, “Damn it! I thought we had more time before she arrived!”

I stepped forward ready to take off toward LexCorp Tower to confront Jessie. However, Superman put a hand on my arm to hold me back. Superman said, “Wait a sec. That is Caroline Hunter coming in. Let’s see what she and Jessie are planning before we try to take her down.”

I would have preferred to let caution to the wind at this point, but Superman seemed right about this. Better to know what is about to happen than be surprised mid-fight with Superior Girl. Besides, it was Superior Girl and one Ambrosia Amazon against two full-fledged Kryptonians. This will all be over soon. I watched as Superior Girl told Caroline to go get some people. All the guards appeared to have conventional weapons. I experienced first-hand how Jessie empowers other people so she was the real target to keep an eye on. I smiled at the thought “As long as Superior Girl keeps her top on, we are all safe.” Superman chuckled at my comment.

Superior Girl floated out through the hole that she created with her heat vision. I watched as she descended down and picked two people from the crowd. One was clearly Vicki Vale from the Gotham Gazette. I remembered her from the organized crime stories that she broke in Gotham. A real rising star and quite attractive, which was probably why Superior Girl picked her. I did not know the cameraman.

Superman cautioned, “Wait until we have an opportunity without those two civilians in the way.” He could clearly sense my eagerness to dive right into the situation.

Superman and I stood by the edge of the Daily Planet roof as we both used our super hearing and vision to see Jessie’s little speech. So, this is what going over the deep-end looks like. I would need to remember that if I ever declared myself a living goddess among mortals to the public. It was one thing to think it. It was an entirely different thing to see someone standing in front of a camera and say it on live television. I almost felt a little embarrassed for Jessie when she offered to share her power with the others.

I smirked, “So, do we wait until Jessie has ripped her top off?”

Superman seemed nervous, “Ah, waiting might be a bad idea. Look in the lobby.”

I looked up into the lobby of LexCorp. There had to be hundred women inside that area while several of them were easily subduing the soldiers that Lex had stationed there. I was shocked when I saw one of them grab a steel helmet off a guard’s head and crush it with her hands. The woman was easily stronger than Caroline Hunter or the other Ambrosia Amazons.

I was shocked, “Oh, dear. Ambrosia Amazons aren’t that strong!”

Superman was clearly worried, “They are when they first change. Look what Caroline is standing next to at the end.”

I turned to see Caroline handing Vicki Vale a vial of golden liquid. Behind Caroline is a tray with dozens of other vials ready to be consumed. I was in shock. I never considered that Caroline or Jessie would or even could store the Ambrosia for later use. However, before I could act, I could not tear myself away from what was happening with Vicki Vale. She drank the liquid and was convulsing violently in the arms of the other women. It was my first chance to see what everyone expected to happen to me all those months ago.

I was starting to get nervous. When Jessie first explained the change during our initials discussions of me becoming an Ambrosia Amazon, Jessie said that newly changed women had double the strength, speed, and resistance of a normal Ambrosia Amazon until the effects wore off. We were not looking at a small army of women that could easily tip over a car. We were looking at a small army of women who could easily pick up and throw a car.

I said nervously, “This is bad. This is very bad.”

Superman made a clicking sound and swallowed, “Too late to back out now.”

Superman jumped into the air as he took flight. I quickly followed him into the sky. We flew around the office towers that were between us at LexCorp Tower. As we closed in on LexCorp Tower, I pushed harder to gain speed. Superior Girl was mine. I headed straight towards her like a missile with my fists out. A second later, my first connected directly into Superior Girl’s right cheek. She was completely caught off guard and sent a good five feet away until she braced herself with her flight powers. The concrete plaza in her path was torn to bits as her body slid through it. Superior Girl rubbed her hand against her right cheek, and looked around to see the source. She got an angry look on her face as her eyes narrowed on me. Standing over her just a few feet away, Jessie knew exactly who I was despite the change to my body and short blonde hair.

Superior Girl spat venom, “Michelle, you fucking traitorous bitch!”

I stood there with Superman standing beside me as I put my hands on my hips in the best power pose that I could manage. I said back to her with a smile on my face, “Hello to you too, but that’s Power Girl to you, bitch.”

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