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Superman
Recovery
The enormous door slid open and and two women stepped through the giant doorway into the fortress. A cold, arctic wind wafted in behind them.
"Superman?" the slightly older of the two women called out.
"Are you certain he is here, Superwoman?" the younger one said in her usual formal tone.
"No, but we're running out of options, Supergirl," Superwoman sighed. "We've checked everywhere else."
"Where are you, my ancestor?" Supergirl called out.
"Looks like we've run into another dead-end," Superwoman said. "His senses would've already detected us. He'd answer if he were here."
"If he is able," Supergirl said, which drew an alarmed look from Superwoman. "I am surprised the Superman robots have not responded to our intrusion."
"The robots were destroyed during the last attack by the Superman Revenge Squad," Superwoman said. "He must not have had a chance to rebuild them."
As they walked through the halls of the fortress, the two women gazed at the many trophies that filled it: momentos of a lifetime of adventure. Supergirl stopped and lifted the lid to a glass case holding a Kryptonian dagger.
"What are you doing?" Superwoman asked.
"This is the only thing I know of that can cut through the indestructable material of my costume," she said, going to work on the tattered leggings of her costume. Her costume had been badly damaged in the Crisis, but there weren't many tailors who could handle Kryptonian material.
"You're not going to try and fix it?" Superwoman asked.
"There's little left to fix," she replied. "The same can be said for my gloves, she said, holding them up to reveal the missing palms before removing them. She also removed her tattered belt.
"Hmm. Now you're looking more like the original," Superwoman said.
"Not quite," Supergirl said, bringing her hand up to her closely cropped hair. "Long hair is impractical for battle."
"Well, I don't think I'll be cutting mine anytime soon," Superwoman said.
"That is your decision to make," Supergirl replied, replacing the dagger after cutting away the last bit of legging before moving on.
Superwoman and Supergirl finally found their way to the area of the Fortress of Solitude that contained the living quarters. Here, there was a huge kitchen, a recreation area, den, living room, and several bedrooms. They went through the rooms one by one until they came to one final bedroom and discovered a sleeping figure.
"Superman?" Superwoman called out.
"Ancestor?" Supergirl questioned.
Superman raised himself up weakly and stared in the directions that the voices had come from. His eyes locked on Supergirl.
"K-Kara?" he said mistily.
"No, I'm sorry, honored ancestor," she replied.
"N-no... you're not her," he said with crushing disappointment in his voice. He slumped to the bed weakly. "You resemble her, but the hair and the costume are wrong. And your eyes don't have her warmth."
Supergirl's eyes grew wide with shock.
"You're that Supergirl from the future that we both had teamed up with at different times... Lydia." After saying her name, he passed out as if the effort to raise up and speak had been too much for him.
Both women moved to opposite sides of his bed. "Omigod!" Superwoman called out as she placed a palm on his forhead. "He's burning up!"
"His skin is a greenish hue," Supergirl said. "Severe Kryptonite poisoning. He has spent far too much time in Metropolis... even with his containment suit. We should transport him to New Krypton. They will know how to treat this."
"There's not enough time," Superwoman said. "It's not in phase with our dimension right now and he'd be gone by the time it was. We have to find a way to help him on our own."
"Very well," Supergirl said. "Are there any relatives we should notify?"
"His blood relations are on New Krypton. A cousin and an aunt and uncle. He has several cousins as Clark Kent and even an older foster brother Jonathan and Martha Kent had taken in before him. But none of them know he's Superman."
"If we cannot take him to New Krypton," Supergirl asked soberly, "then how do you propose we help him?"
Superwoman contemplated their dilemma. What could help Superman? What could drive out the radiation and give him the strength needed to pull him back from the brink of death? She drew on her great historical knowledge of the era she now lived in and then it suddenly came to her. "We have to find the fabled Sword of Superman," she said.
The two women gathered what supplies they might need from the Fortress. Superwoman used the technological wonders there to that which gave her her powers in order to move about in space. Once they were ready, she touched the device on her belt buckle to open a hole in time and space leading them to the point where Superman had tossed the powerful object they sought.
"How will we ever find the sword in all of this?" Supergirl said, gesturing to the cluster of asteroids, space dust, meteorites, and other debris floating around them and in the distance. "It is like trying to find a beetle in a haystack."
"That's a needle in a haystack," Superwoman said. "But you're right. Hopefully, the equipment we brought should be able to hone in on its unique energy signature."
The two flew through the debris, aiming their device at the clusters of rock formations around them, hoping to get a reading from it matching the signature of the Sword of Superman. "How can we hope to detect something the size of a sword in such a vast area?" Supergirl asked.
"A hilt, actually," Superwoman said.
"What?"
"Currently, it's just a hilt. When Superman encountered it last, it attempted to embue him with god-like omnipotence... even make him one with creation. It was more than he could handle and he rejected it. All that was left of it after the encounter was the hilt."
"Will it be enough to help him?" Supergirl asked.
"We can only hope."
The two women were shocked out of their contemplation by the wildly-darting needle of the gauge on the device. "We've found it!" Superwoman cried. "Now all that's left is to retrieve it!"
The two began to move towards the direction the device was getting its readings from when a blast fired, barely missing them and sending an asteroid into explosive flames. "Who dares?" Supergirl shouted angrily.
"I dare..." a voice said. Space dust gathered, coalesced, and began to form a body where before there was empty space. "...Long have I been drawn by the device of power since Superman once wielded but a small fraction of its power to defeat me. If anyone shall shall weild such a formidable weapon, it shall be King Kosmos."
"Stand aside, females," Kosmos ordered. "I have business elsewhere. So stay out of my way and I may forego slaying you."
"Not a chance," Superwoman said. "We have much better use for that sword than you do."
"How are we speaking in space?" Supergirl said under her breath. The two of them were using communication devices, but that didn't explain how they were hearing Kosmos.
"Because I will that you hear me!" he shouted. "All bends to the will of Kosmos!" With that, he sent another blast in their direction.
The two women dived out of the way, narrowly missing being blasted to atoms. Another asteroid went up in a ball of flame.
"We've got to find that sword before he does," Superwoman said. She pressed the buckle of her belt and a portal appeared before them. "Come on," she yelled to Supergirl. The two of them jumped through the portal towards the coordinates where the sword supposedly lay.
"Noooo!!!" Kosmos screamed in rage.
"There it is," Supergirl said as she stepped out the other side followed by Superwoman.
Again, space dust and other matter coalesced into the form of Kosmos. "I, too, have ways of transporting myself. When Superman drove my essence from the body of Oswald Mandias, I wondered of the path that the fabled sword took as it careened through space hoping one day that I might possess it. To wield the power of the Sword of Superman against Superman himself. A suitably ironic form of revenge, don't you think?"
"Not if we get to it first," Supergirl said, gritting her jaw.
"Surely you don't think this is going to be some sort of contest?" Kosmos laughed. "A grand race, of sorts? I plan to slay you!"
"Only if we let you," Superwoman said.
"I'm afraid you'll have little say in the matter," Kosmos said, firing another blast. This time, Superwoman threw up a force field in an attempt to block it. The force of the blast was still enough to send her colliding into Supergirl.
"Surrender now, and be spared," Kosmos said. "When I rebuild my empire in your universe, I will need a harem. It would be a shame to destroy two such lovely creatures when they could bring my next body pleasure."
"I think we would rather be destroyed," Superwoman said, catching her breath. Smashing into Supergirl had knocked the wind out of her.
"That, too, can be arranged," Kosmos said, hammering at her shield with another blast.
"I can't hold him off much longer," Superwoman said. "We've got to find that sword and get out of here!"
Supergirl swung the detector around wildly in hopes of picking up the energy signature they'd detected only a few moments earlier. A loud series of beeps erupted from the detector and the needle began darting wildly when it passed over a large rock. It was lead-based, so her X-ray vision could not penetrate it. She tossed the detector aside and brought her fist up and smashed it into the asteroid, making it explode into a shower of rubble. When the dust cleared, the hilt of the sword of Superman was revealed.
Supergirl went to reach for it and it slipped from her grasp. She reached for it a second time and it slipped away again. "It's deliberately avoiding me!" Supergirl snapped.
"The legends must be true," Superwoman said. "But we don't have time for these games. Not if we're to save Superman." She reached out with her tractor beam and pulled it to her, taking the hilt in her hand.
Suddenly, space dust and other matter began to fly towards the hilt, gathering above it to form the blade. "It responds to you," Supergirl said. "I have Superman's blood in my veins, yet you were the one who was chosen."
"No!" Kronos shouted, flying towards them. "I will not be denied!"
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with you there, pal," Superwoman said, firing a force blast at him from the mechanism concealed beneath her S-insignia.
"Your attacks are insignificant compared to my righteous anger," he growled, struggling towards her against the force of the blast.
Supergirl leapt on his back, wrapping her arm around his neck. "He's... almost as strong as Superman himself," she gasped.
"Why do you think he sought to imprison me within the very folds of the time barrier itself?" Kosmos said, grunting beneath Supergirl's attempted chokehold and Superwoman's blast. "He was afraid to face me again in my true form. When I have the sword, the first thing I shall do is recreate it. Then I shall use its blade to sever his head from his neck!" With those words, he reached through Superwoman's force shield, grabbed ahold of the S-insigna on her chest and ripped it from her costume in a shower of sparks.
A horrible gasp escaped from Superwoman's throat. She could feel the circuitry of her suit shutting down. She knew at any second she would be exposed to the vacuum of space and explode into a fine red mist. She wished that they were no longer in space!
As the oxygen escaped her lungs into the vacuum of space, everything started to go black, and then a brilliant, blinding white.
"Are you damaged?" Supergirl said, helping Superwoman to her feet.
"Just my modesty," Superwoman said, looking down at the huge, gaping hole in the front of her costume. "I don't usually show this much cleavage."
"That's right," Supergirl said. "You still held onto such outdated concepts in your time."
"If we held on to them, then they weren't outdated for us," the 29th-century Superwoman said, holding her shirt front together. Not only was Supergirl's tone annoying, but it irritated her to hear herself referred to as if she were primitive when she was from the future. Compared to Supergirl, though, she was practically prehistoric. She wished she had a safety pin.
She suddenly realized she was back in the Fortress of Solitude. Somehow, wishing they were back while holding the Sword of Superman had brought them there.
"I don't believe it..." they heard a voice say. They both looked over to see Kosmos, on his knees, staring at his hands in amazement. "I am flesh and blood once more!"
"And so you can receive the thrashing you deserve!" Supergirl shouted, flying towards him.
"Simply because I wear flesh once more, do not think me weak," Kosmos said, backhanding her and knocking her sideways into the fortress wall.
Supergirl ripped up a stalagmite and sent it flying base first into Kosmos. He let out an "oof" that was as much of surprise as it was of pain as it knocked the wind out of him and sent him flying.
Kosmos returned the favor by firing a blast into the base of a stalagtite, sending it plummeting down on her to drive her into the floor.
I hate being powerless like this, Superwoman thought. Having to watch Supergirl try to handle Kosmos by herself. I should be by her side helping her.
Kosmos released another blast, sending more rubble down on top of Supergirl. He then enveloped it in an aura that bonded it all together, encasing her. "The real Supergirl would not have been so easily defeated," Kosmos said. "How fortunate you fear your own powers in this era. I can see it in your mind." He brought his hand up to his lip and looks at his fingers and laughed. "It's been a long time since I've seen my own blood."
He turned his attention to Superwoman. "The sword, woman," he said, holding out his hand.
"Forget it," she said, backing up.
"Your courage is admirable, but misplaced," he said, walking towards her. "Without your technology, you are powerless. The only other person with the power to stop me is in no condition to help you. The pallor of death hangs heavy over this dwelling."
"You're not getting the sword," she said, defiantly.
"I grow tired of these games!" he bellowed, grabbing the remains of her shirt-front and bringing her face close to his. "Is this really worth dying for?"
He attempted to pry her fingers from the hilt and found they would not budge... To both their shock, when she brought her hand up to his armored chest plate, it bent beneath the pressure of her hand, providing her with the hold she needed to throw him across the room.
Superwoman stared at the hand that had thrown Kosmos in disbelief. Apparently, wishing she had the power to help in the fight had been enough to give it to her. She was beginning to understand why Superman had found having the power of the Sword of Superman to be too much of a temptation.
"Your physiology has been transformed to that of a Kryptonian," Kosmos said, sitting up and then rising to his feet. "It will not me enough to help you. I have beaten Superman in the past. A female certainly won't be enough to stop me."
"How about two females?" Supergirl said, bursting forth from her prison of rock and ice. She quickly looped her arms in his, pinning them behind his back. Superwoman locked her fists together and delivered a hammering blow to his head.
"Enough!" Kosmos shouted in outrage, issuing a blast aura that knocked them both away from him. One Kryptonian he could handle. But two?
"I have not come so far to be beaten by the likes of you!" he said, fleeing. "If your power is too much for me, then I shall turn the weapons of Superman's fortress against you."
Suddenly, the many weapons Superman had taken as trophies over the years came to life and began to turn in their direction. As the rays began firing wildly, they criss-crossed around them in a deadly obstacle course as they flew after him in pursuit. One errant beam struck Superwoman, knocking her from the air. As she plummeted, she collided with two more beams.
"Superwoman!" Supergirl exclaimed, dodging beams as she flew to where Superwoman lay.
"I'm okay, Superwoman said. "I'm glad I'm invulnerable now. Otherwise, there'd be nothing left of me." She looked at the tattered remains of her cape and the enormous hole now in the side of one of her leggings. "First thing after this is over, I'm going to New Krypton to have a new costume made."
Kosmos laughed as he looked back to see Superwoman struggling to her feet, helped by Supergirl. He stopped short when he realized there was someone in front of him. The weapons suddenly shut off.
"What are you doing in my fortress?" Superman said, trying to sound forceful despite the fact that he was weaving as he stood there in his sleeping clothes.
"Ah, so the sleeper has awakened," Kosmos said. "You look like hell, my friend. Allow me to put you out of your misery."
Superwoman realized with horror that one of the rays had sliced through her belt which had held the sword to her side. Kosmos held out his hand and began to pull it towards him telekinetically. "I've waited a long time for this moment," he said with grim satisfaction.
"You'll have to wait a bit longer," Supergirl said. In front of her sat the Phantom Zone projector. She pressed the button and Kosmos was suddenly engulfed in dark light. He let out an anguished scream as he vanished and the sword dropped to the floor.
"I believe this belongs to you," Superwoman said, stepping forward to lift the sword from the floor and hand it to him. He was suddenly engulfed in a bright aura and the greenish hue began to leave his skin as health and vigor returned to him. His sleeping clothes were transformed to his familiar uniform as the aura subsided.
"Looks like I have a spare," he said smiling, as he looked down at his uniform. "I'm thankful to see both of you, but surprised. Especially you, Lydia."
"You remember me."
"Seeing you brought the memories back. What are you doing in the present?"
"There is nothing left for me in my own time, thanks to the Crisis," she replied solemnly. "The floating cities are no more."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Superman said. "I know what it's like not to be able to save what matters the most."
"At least we were able to save you," Superwoman said.
"And Kosmos is trapped in the Phantom Zone where he will pay for his many crimes," Supergirl said.
"No he's not," Superman said.
Superwoman's eyes grew wide. "That's right! The Phantom Zone is gone! Then where did he go?"
Kosmos laughed heartily, firing blast after blast as the scampering sheep ran screaming in panic. He had thought himself destroyed, at first, but was shocked to discover himself in what looked to be Metropolis. If he could not destroy Superman, then he would destroy his city!
He sent another blast at the surrounding cars, making fire and burning metal rain down from the sky. "All shall perish before the might of King Kosmos!" he bellowed. "There is no one to challenge me!"
"That's where you're wrong, mister!" boomed a voice from behind him. He could make out the sickening nobility in every word. He turned and was confronted by a shield-bearing super-soldier, an armor-clad avenger, an archer, an android, a female mystic, and a thunder god.
"You mess with Manhattan, you mess with us," the shield-bearer said.
"So be it," Kosmos said. He raised his hands, preparing to level a blast at his new enemies.