ALL NOVEL Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Universe-695
Asgard
The whirlpool of light brought me and my companions back inside the Murder Deck; we stood there in the room. The girls were looking around, as for me? I could see the atomic structure of the smartmatter the inside of my starship was made of. Raising my left hand to up, I called on my star bolt and the familiar feeling of stellar energy burned inside of me. The energy surrounded my hand with a purple and pink light.
I laughed as I felt the hard won strength I had accumulated in my time on Earth 22 be there with me. However, it cost me.
Dimensional Ray Shift on Lockdown for 3 months
Power core at 60%
Time of recharge: 1 week
This was the first time that I was shown this; to me, the Hyperdimension is supposed to have infinite energy generation. But it seems that I wasn't right in my thinking. Was it the fact that I brought my girls with me from Earth-22? And there's a cool down on the dimensional Ray Shift… No quick power up for me, I guess.
Staying linked in another dimension can be costly to the ship, I won't do it again so soon. The dark room audience lit up with white light. The instruments and machines responsible for the Ray Shift retreated into their sockets and pedestals.
Ashley looked right and left and asked, "We're here?"
"Yes, Ash. We're on the Hyperdimension, my ship." I said proudly, letting go of Barbara and Kara.
"It's quite empty." The blonde Kryptonian said with a chuckle.
I know she was joking, because I had shown her the plans for the Hyperdimension.
"Think of this room as a more advanced danger room, Kara." I explained in defense of the transuniversal device that I barely understood. It was able to project a Quantum copy of myself to another universe with all my powers and skills, and able to teleport someone from another universe into this one.
With a rush of air, the doors of the Murder Deck opened and here was a clone of myself with orange hair and a red soft suit entering. She smiled at me and said, [Welcome home, Captain Komand'r.]
Speeding toward my partner's android body, I hugged her. "TALI!"
She magnanimously patted me on the back; she had been with me on my trip but… in a limited manner. More like she had been a limited Virtual Intelligence rather than a moon sized supercomputer with feeling. I felt someone move behind me and touch my back.
It was Ashley's small hand. "Mom? Do you have a twin you forgot to tell us about?"
I turned toward the girls with my arms around TALI's shoulders. "This is TALI, the cybernetic intelligence of this ship, think of her as something akin to a Warmind but vastly more powerful."
Ashley asked innocently, "More powerful than MACHINA?"
MACHINA appeared in a flash of light in a life sized avatar. She looked rather awkward as she spoke. Cough. It pains me to say it, Ashley, but I can't hold a candle to TALI here. I am awesome but comparing our capabilities would be futile.
TALI looked placidly between the two; she wasn't arrogant enough to toot her own horn, because she was beyond petty rivalries. But it seemed that Ashley wasn't as she exclaimed to the hard-light avatar, "No way! You beat Brainiac! You're super strong and smart!"
After this light-hearted bout we walked out of the Murder Deck. The doors swished open and outside it I found the tall blue haired Tamaranean Healer, Talonn, waiting for me."Talonn?"
Then I threw myself at him and hugged him too. "Talonn!"
It's been three years since I saw him! X'Hal, I missed everyone so much. The Healer stoically patted my back and pried me away from him. "I am glad that you missed me, your highness."
Talonn looked behind me. "Come with me, Captain and company."
He pulled me to the Medbay which is fortunately located on the same Deck as the Murder Deck, the others following us. My healer laid me down on a medical bed and proceeded to scan me thoroughly, he even took blood from me. He basically used a teleportation device to take my blood as my skin was too tough to take any sample, even with a hypermatter needle.
"Talonn, you vampire." I quipped.
He placed the vial of blood taken from me into the medical sensor's socket to perform a quick round of analysis. "We don't know the effect of prolonged use of the Murder Deck on our species, so it is prudent to do some tests."
*Uh-huh.* That’s not what I’m hearing here. "Is it TALI whispering those words to you?" I asked slyly.
I knew that TALI and him had an atypical relationship, that I couldn’t put a label onto; but Talonn often took her side more than mine. Talonn started working on Ashley, Barbara, and Kara.
Without showing any feelings on his face, Talonn said, "She was worried about you, you went through a lot in that other dimension"
Turning into a healer and a mercenary sought after by everyone in the world was a tad too much. I decided to change the subject and asked, “So what’s the verdict, Healer?”
Talonn looked at his tricorder-like device, the light of the screen flashing on his face as he read the results. "Captain, you've become vastly stronger than before and… your cells have drunk more stellar energy than any normal Tamaranean. You should have reached saturation already, but you're not. It’s as if your natural limits don't exist, a more detailed analysis will be needed."
Talonn’s assessment was being frugal. I went toe to toe with Darkseid and chopped his hand, I killed Brainiac as well and fought with Wonder Woman equally.
Talonn stared between me and Ashley. "There's many things that you need to share with me, your highness."
"This is Ashley, my daughter." I moved behind Ashley and put a possessive hand on her head. Ashley was taller and curvier than before but she still acted like the little girl I learned to love.
Ashley blushed and tried to make me stop by taking my hand from her head. "I'm not a baby."
Talonn who was still looking at his portable medical scanner said, "I can see signs of genetic tampering in her DNA, my sensors tell me that she could be considered your blood daughter. The succession of the throne of Tamaran just got more complicated…"
I didn't care much about the throne of Tamaran, Koriand'r or my elder brother could have it. I've bled enough for the planet, they can keep that fancy seat for someone who wants it. What matters to me now is my mission, my girls and my ship.
My two lovers started talking about the medical technology in the ship, which to them seemed to be superior to the Kryptonian one back in their home universe. It was exactly that, builder technology seemed to act like magic; if I didn't have the comprehension and the knowledge of the way it worked uploaded into my mind I would believe it was magic.
Kara was looking attentively at the displacer syringe, trying to scan it with her X-ray vision. Too bad for her, most of the tech was made with particle manipulation, she won't be able to see how it works. Barbara was more interested by the workstations operating the diverse instruments and tools; in particular the arms projecting the sensors' laser on their body for a non-invasive scan. I liked it better than the crude MRI machine that humans came up with.
"Kara, did the Healer succeed in taking your blood?" Asked Barbara, fascinated by the displacer syringes placed in their socket next to the medical bed.
"Yeah, he did. It didn't hurt at all, but I felt it. I thought that he wouldn't get past my passive forcefield." Kara stared at the spot where Talonn had used the flat end of the displacer syringe.
It had at least taken three milliliters of blood from what she could see in the small vial contained in the syringe. Barbara was struck by how much the medical technology onboard was geared into avoiding hurting the patient at all; the redhead understood why Komand’r often called the doctors in her own world primitive and barbaric if she was spoiled by that kind of wonder.
"Fascinating technology, it reminds me of Kom's ship, the Tempest." Barbara praised as she stared at me at the same time.
As I smiled at her, my thoughts brought me to the people I left behind. I hoped that Kara's family and the others on Odyssey would be okay and fix the world; would they be able to? There was no way that I wouldn't go back, I started this and I intended to help all my new friends.
~/.\~
10 minutes later…
Orbit of Asgard
Over the Royal Palace of Valaskjalf
Talonn let me and the girls go, it was almost time for my meeting with Death (Hela). I was so beyond that bullshit promise already that I was tempted to not take her seriously; however, my tactical mind refused to let me become lazy or let my guard drop. Magic was a terrible and beautiful art, maybe there was something in this universe which could harm me despite the precautions I took to be resistant to reality manipulation powers.
I put Ashley, Barbara, and Kara in their own room in my palace onboard. I just hoped that they didn't meet any of my other girls before I introduced them. This time I didn’t take the teleportarium and left from one of the ship’s hangars and flew through the permeable magnetic containment field that was designed to contain the atmosphere of my starship. I suddenly found myself in space, my Tamaranean physiology kicking in as intense purple light wrapped around me; I didn’t need to sleep, eat, drink and breathe when I was so full of energy.
I propulsed myself toward the planet’s north pole, seeing the golden city from afar. At FTL speed, I found myself already overlooking the seat of Power of the All-Father. After almost four years in the DC universe, it was good to be back home. I descended straight before the palace’s stairs, lightly stepping away from the crater I created in my landing.
Flipping my hair back, I went up the stone stairs; the light show I created stopped. I ignored the gaze of everyone, and directly walked toward the throne room. The guards ignored me when I made for the gates. Or was it that I was moving too fast? I think I got too used to all the people on Earth-22 being able to follow my speed or potentially hurt me.
As I thought, the three Royals were waiting for me in the throne room. Odin sat on his throne, Frigga and Thor stood up at his sides. "I apologize for being late."
The three of them looked toward me, startled by my arrival. Frigga didn't seem to be surprised, she smiled at me; Odin’s eye was stuck on me as I floated toward them. When I landed before them, Thor was the first to speak.
“Komand’r? Is that you” Thor didn't recognize me at first.
I recognize that my appearance is vastly different from before due to my sun dip session. TALI and MACHINA helpfully showed me a before and after image on my HUD. I looked fit, beautiful and soft in my previous appearance. With my hair black with some purple tilt in it; here, I looked like someone who had gone to war and looked like it, with my hair completely purple and a bit more muscular.
My puppy prince was there, how I missed him. “Thor! It’s been so long!”
I tackled him, and ignored any decorum; it's not like I needed it for the last two years. Thor caught me in his arms. “Komand’r, what do you mean? Didn’t we see each other this morning.”
“Ah… time differential.” I said out loud.
“What?” The Prince asked with a loud exclamation.
I kissed him on the forehead. “Don’t worry your pretty little head about what I said, Thor.”
But Odin did worry about it, he was leaning heavily on his Spear and said, "That explains the eddies of time I feel in your aura. How much time has passed for you, Princess?"
"Three years and eight months." I replied without hesitation.
The king gasped, and with a reproachful tone said, "Playing with time is dangerous."
I shook my head. "Don't worry, I didn't mess with time. I went to a different universe and I left it better than when I arrived in it."
There was an expression of shock momentarily on his face. "You went to another universe?!"
"Something like that." I didn't feel like telling him the nitty gritty of how the Murder Deck worked. It would take me an afternoon, time that we didn't have.
"My Lady, you and I will have a long discussion on your capabilities later." Odin declared.
We stared at each other for over thirty seconds before I shrugged. "We shall see, Jarl Odin. I don't even know all of what Hyperdimension can do…"
TALI helpfully showed me the current systems I have access to; for now the ship could take on a small taskforce. MACHINA, who didn't want to be made useless, showed me some options that she could build. She offered to use the Manufactory onboard the Hyperdimension to build Escort ships which would buff up our attack and defensive power and I liked the idea so I gave her permission for some escort frigates which could be manned or remote controlled.
Frigga walked up to me and started to examine me. "You've changed, why is your hair so… purple?"
"A lot of things happened, but what I can tell you is that I got stronger. Way stronger than I was. And this power came with some cosmetic changes."
It was as we walked up to the throne room that I started telling my tale to Frigga, Odin and Thor. It was a tale of woe, tragedy and a happy end. Frigga told me that she was proud of me for reaching a solution other than just killing a man grieving for his dead wife and city. This made me stick out my chest a bit more; X'Hal, I loved this woman.
Thor had listened to how I outsmarted my enemies and turned them against each other to strike them a deadly blow later. He said that I am like a mix of Loki and himself and I took that as a compliment. I have both power and intelligence after all. When we were smack dab into the throne room, Odin turned to me and asked, "Are you ready to fight, Princess?"
Putting my hands on my hips, I boasted, "I am." Next, I looked at my fellow prince. "Is Thor aware of what's going to happen?"
The blonde warrior nodded and asked loudly, "They told me that I have two other siblings beside Loki. Aldriff and Hela."
I stepped forward and hugged him, "It must have been hard to discover such a secret?"
The God of Thunder said seriously, "Yes that is why, I decided to help."
He held Mjolnir to me and said with eyes full of trust, "Take it."
*If I wasn't a lesbian, I would fall for him right there.* I took the weapon, it was momentarily heavy but I caught it up and lifted it. The hammer seemed to like me and… tell me that everything would be alright.
"It’s light and chatty." I laughed.
Skysword though? It started shaking in my scabbard and glowed with a pink aura around it. With a sigh, I handed the Hammer back to Thor. "I'm sorry Thor, Lopjalt is a jealous weapon…"
The Prince laughed awkwardly. "I understand, temperamental sword?"
"Bloodthirsty too." I nodded.
"Enough children, prepare for a fight." Odin said, exasperated with our quips.
He slammed the butt of Gungnir on the ground and then… a white and green portal opened. It was time to meet Hela and see if she was that strong. I stepped into the portal.
~/.\~
(Hela Odinsdottir)
Helheim
Sitting on her throne of bones, Hela was bored, like always for the last two thousand years of her exile from Asgard. Ruling over the dead in Helheim wasn’t as satisfying as it was before as well. She loathed her father for having confined her to that place, even more so that he forced her previous subordinates to fight her; she had no choice but to kill them.
Her cavern's walls were covered by all the knowledge she wanted to retain; one of the problems with living this long was that you tended to forget things as you aged. There was a reason the library in Asgard existed, it was for Odin to remember everything in his long life. There were times when she had almost taken her own life, but Hela refused to let Odin win. She will get out of there! Then… then she will kill her father and become Queen!
An aperture into space opened right at the exit of her cave, a white hole from which a beautiful woman… no, not a woman; a Goddess appeared, she wore a black suit with gold inlay, her hair was pure purple and her eyes glowed green. Hela’s favorite color.
She wiped her eyes, trying to see if she was dreaming. The tall Goddess stood before her, floating in the air as she greeted Hela. “Greetings, Goddess of Death. I’ve come for your bottoms!”
Hela raised an eyebrow at that. “That’s… a nice introduction.”
The Goddess nodded. “Thanks, I’ve worked on it for ten minutes.”
Ah… she was one of those special people without a brain and completely self-centered. “So… what are you here for?”
She smiled and said, “Oh your father asked me to bring you to him and-”
A necrosword appeared into Hela's hand. “Ah, another dog of my father's.”
The purple haired Goddess tried to deny it. “I assure you, I’m not…”
Hela stood up. “Save your breath. Time to try to kill each other.”
The goddess sighed heavily and said with a regretful tone, “Well… don’t say I didn't try to explain what’s going on.”
“Die.” A number of necroswords appeared in the air and like arrows shot toward the purple haired deity.
An intense purple and pink shield bubble manifested before the goddess and destroyed the necroswords. It was crackling with an intense energy similar to a star.
“Um… was that all?” Asked the sun goddess. Because of course she couldn't be anything else.
“I’m getting rusty.” Lamented Hela, this wouldn't have happened two thousand years ago; she would have been able to pierce that shield; she was more weakened than she believed.
The goddess pointed outside the cave. “Well why don’t we fight outside? I really like the vibe you’ve got here. It would be a shame to destroy it all.”
Hela glared at her. “Arrogance.”
This was the first time she met someone as infuriating as herself; however before she could do anything she felt herself being moved at speeds she couldn't hope to perceive and found herself under the green and black sky of Helheim. “What-”
The sun goddess smugly said, “Here we are, now armor up and let’s fight fairly. Odin hyped you up a lot and I spent three years training to fight you; I want to fight you, Hela!”
A smile appeared on the Asgardian Princess' face. “You’re strong.”
The other goddess smiled back. “Thank you, I’m still training though.”
Hela wondered how that powerful deity ended up working for her father? She was too strong to be controlled, but knowing Odin, her father must be taking advantage of her weakness. The princess bluntly asked, “How did my father rope you into swearing fealty?”
The woman made a tired sigh.“That’s what I've been trying to tell you! I’m not working for the King, I’m All-Mother Frigga's subject. I saved the life of her son and was ennobled. My mission is to bring you back to Asgard, depending on your resolve to be… free of this… place, you’ll be reinstated as a princess but…”
Hela was elated she might be able to get out of here, but there was no free mead in this life. “Let me guess, this is gonna become an exile?”
Asgard and the Odin force was the primary source of her might; if she couldn't come back to her home planet, Hela would never reach the peak of her strength again.
The goddess nodded. “Actually yes, you’re going to come work for me afterwards.”
*So she was chosen to become my new jailor.* Hela realized. *I may be free at that point but under supervision and other limits put on me…*
“I’m not a follower, if you want me under you… you'll have to defeat me first.” Hela said as she summoned more necrosword.
The goddess seemed to take this as a challenge. She punched into her palm and said, “Then I will show you who is the top bitch. If you win… I will find another way to bring you in.”
Hela realized that her foe wasn't going to give up and bring her in no matter what. She was stubborn and courageous. “I like you, what’s your name?”
“Princess Komand’r of Tamaran.” The goddess finally gave her name, however it seemed that she was some kind of alien as well and it piqued Hela's curiosity.
The fact that she's a princess herself means that she should have other loyalties. “Oh, how did you end up changing allegiance?”
Komand'r rolled her shoulder in a nonchalant shrug. “There’s circumstances… I will tell you after I beat you.”
Hela bristled at the Tamaranean's declaration; she glared at Komand'r with a dangerous smile stretching on her face. “Beat me? I hope you can back those words.”
Hela shouted as she lunged at Komand'r, "For me!"
Komand'r shouted her own war cry, “For X’Hal!!”
The two women's weapons clashed and the shock created a crater around them.
~/.\~
(Komand’r/Blackfire)
Back with Komand’r…
I wasn’t ready for the sword duel I was thrust into, Hela was simply… better than me. I wasn't arrogant enough to think that I could defeat a swordmaster with thousands of years of experience. Fortunately, I was faster and stronger than her and Skysword was infinitely more durable than her discount necroswords.
I either deflected them or broke them with my starbolt imbued blade at a rapid pace. The Asgardian princess followed me in the sky with wings of bones, some kind of Necromancy was going on here. However she needed to glide and I didn’t… I took advantage of that and… downed her on the ground with a knee to the back.
But she caught herself by creating a giant necrosword and using the handle by wrapping an arm around it and launching herself up to return up in the sky. She launched three magic weathering beams at me and I dodged. Not wanting to be turned into a skeleton or undead.
"You're the first one to last this long! Entertain me!" An unsightly expression appeared on Hela’s face. Her body started to cover itself in a black armor and her head was getting covered by a bladed helmet.
Pow! The punch to the face I hit her with, sent her slamming down into the cliff’s face where her cave was. It was just enough to not decapitate her with the punch, I didn’t want her dead. Hela slowly extricated herself from the cliff and I saw her regenerating her broken arms.
Hela started laughing. "Damn it hurts so good!"
I sensed something behind me and felt a shock that almost made me land on the ground. It was a warhammer imbued with necrotic energy; fortunately, my Nth metal combatskin stopped it. Hela is more cunning than anticipated…
"That would have killed anyone else. Let's see if you can resist this move…"
Four gigantic obelisks made of obsidian raised from the ground and crackled with sparks of necrotic energy. The Asgardian princess sealed me in place in the air, and for a moment I was unable to move.
"Not so tough." She started to say but…
I focused one third of the energy inside me and let it explode outward; a sphere of purple starbolt energy grew in size and engulfed the obelisk, disintegrating them.
"It's not possible…" Hela said with awe.
I landed on the ground and pointed my sword at her. "Hela, surrender quickly. The longer we fight, the weaker you'll become."
"I will never surrender, Komand'r of Tamaran. You'll have to make me!" Hela yelled and it was at this point that everything got serious as a huge black mist covered the ground where Hela stood. From the mist emerged the putrid bodies covered in armor of Asgardian warriors wearing Hela’s coat of arms. More and more of them appeared and eventually, ten thousands of them were there.
“Now what will you do, Komand’r of Tamaran?!” Hela shouted as her army surrounded her to protect her in a phalanx formation.
I watched as the army of undead was slowly getting more numerous and filled the tundra we were on. With a sigh I thought that I was right to have gone to Earth 22 to obtain more power first. How many years had come and gone since that day? I had trained for this moment because I knew what I would be facing. I had waited for this moment…
“I will get serious!” I replied as my body filled extra-dimensional light magic from the light dimension.
“May the light of the Seraphim burn my foes!” a hole in reality opened before me and a large beam of white light washed over the front of the large army of undeads.
And with this opening salvo, the hardest fight in my life restarted.
~/.\~
(General Overview)
The undead archers shot arrows tipped with necroblades that traveled at supersonic speed toward Komand’r, that the princess simply deflected with her starbolt forcefield passively and when they passed her defense she focused her energy on her skin and hand to hyper-heat her dermal layer of her body to flash melt everything thrown at her… necrosword, hammers, spears, shields.
Komand’r was like a bulldozer ramming through the Draugr army which seemed limitless and replenishing its ranks each time a large group of them were vaporized or cut through. Hela was having the time of her life, her foe was formidable and used magic and her magical sword inventively; Komand’r always found a way to break her troops or any attempt to surround her.
This was a battle of wits, but there were often lulls in the battle; Komand’r simply disappeared high in the skies of Helheim and wasn’t seen for hours. But when she did, she always returned with a vengeance and carved out Hela’s armies. Hela understood quickly that Komand'r recharged or rested high in the sky; she was also getting tired as she sustained her armies despite being in Helheim, the realm of the dead. The realm was currently taking its toll on Hela as it refused to give her access to the most powerful souls that she could turn into Draugr.
Komand’r was getting impatient as she finally revealed what her skysword could do beyond enhancing her starbolt energy. The sword created a myriad of copies of itself and floated in the sky; pink and purple stars brightened the night skies of Helheim as Komand’r unleashed a wave of starbolt energy which accelerated the molecules of the Draugrs causing them to violently explode. The Princess cleaned the entire tundra clean in one swoop, leaving Hela barely any time to create a shield of bones and necromantic magic to protect herself.
Hela only saw bright pink light tearing the ground and burning the air around her before she lost consciousness.
~/.\~
(Hela Odinsdottir)
Hela woke up as she felt the dim sun's rays on her skin. When she opened her eyes she saw the green sky covered in dark clouds rumbling with thunder and lightning intermittently appearing. She sat up and looked around her and saw how the tundra’s terrain was completely changed into a calcined rocky terrain. In the sky a large pink star was glimmering. Hela knew exactly who that was; she had underestimated Komand’r of Tamaran, thinking that she would have been easy to defeat like her own Valkyrie had been easily dispatched after they had been sent to kill her.
The pink star slowly descended to her location, the sun goddess touched the ground, her myriad of swords slowly disappearing to form only one sword again. The weapon teleported to her hand and the crystalline blade was glowing with purple light as she walked up to Hela.
The Goddess of Death couldn’t understand how a being could have so much power; she was an avatar of death for Ymir’s sake! She tried to kill that goddess, pierce her with her necroswords, decapitate her or drown her in necromantic energy but nothing worked. This train of thoughts made Hela stand up and summon more swords and shoot them at Komand’r who parried them by extending the blade of her sword with that scorching pink energy of hers. She batted away the necroswords and other weapons as if they were toys; Hela barely saw Komand’r move toward her, she was like a pink blur.
She was kicked in the sternum and landed on her back; Komand’r put a foot on Hela’s breastplate. The goddess of death panicked and conjured a necrosword in her hand to stab Komand’r in the heart, but as it appeared, the Tamaranean princess sliced off Hela’s sword arm. The Asgardian Princess felt the immense pressure of Komand’r’s foot on her chest and stopped struggling.
Komand’r stared into her eyes for a long moment, and Hela finally realized, “I have been… bested?”
“Yes, you are bested. This is not a nightmare you’ll be awakening from. Your armies were decimated, your magic ineffective and your pride has defeated you.” The Sun Goddess told her without a hint of mockery or disdain.
Hela didn’t want this, she didn’t want that woman’s pity! She could see it in her glowing emerald eyes and it hurt her so much that for the first time she pleaded to her foe, “Kill me.”
The Sun Goddess crouched next to her and stared into Hela’s eyes and said with a soft voice, “No.”
Hela caught the other Goddess by the neck with her remaining hand and raged. “Why?! Why keep me alive?! End it! I’ve had enough of this isolation!”
The Sun Goddess didn’t show any sign of discomfort as Hela strangled her and she spoke with care as she said, “I was in your place once, conquering my enemies for my people and in the end… I too was betrayed by loyal hands. That is why… Hela, whatever you may be, your story doesn’t end today.”
Hela was about to insult her again.“You-”
Pow! Komand’r struck the Goddess of Death with the pommel of her sword and it was at this point that Hela lost consciousness again.
~/.\~
(Odin Borson)
Throne Room
The All-Father, his Queen Frigga and his son, Prince Thor stayed for three days and nights awake and witnessed the most riveting, awe inspiring fight between Hela and Komand’r. Apocalyptic powers which would have laid waste to the realm of Asgard were unleashed on Helheim, the realm of the dead.
Komand'r wasn't this powerful three days ago and it showed that her tale of having spent time in another universe was true. Odin was relieved that she wasn't an enemy and that she accepted to become a subject of his wife.
Thor stared into the mirror, scrying the entire event and started laughing. "As expected of Komand'r, she went all in and tried to not damage Hela too much."
Odin understood that Komand'r could have killed his daughter at any time, but she wanted to help put his family back together, because Asgard had accepted her and her small family into its midst. Frigga stayed silent while the two Asgardian men discussed Komand'r and Hela's fight until she turned toward the throne and saw a blue colored portal open next to the dais.
Exiting from the hole in reality was Komand'r, who strutted victorious toward the royal family with Hela hefted onto her left shoulder like a bag of potatoes.
"I have returned my King, with your prodigal daughter." Komand'r declared as she slowly laid Hela down at her feet.
In a bombastic way, the All-Father welcomed Komand'r back. "Well come, Lady Komand’r. We have witnessed your valor and your patience in your bout with my wayward daughter."
Komand'r kneeled and looked in the All-Father's lone eye as she said, "She was the strongest opponent that I've faced in my life, but I prevailed. My goal has always been to help her reform and change her ways, she can't do any of this if she is dead."
Odin sighed as he looked at his daughter's sleeping face; an expression of loss and regret clearly visible on his august visage. "You're right. For far too long we've tried to hide from our past and failures. It is time to seek redemption."
It was the Tamaranean's princess' cue to awaken Hela. She used her light magic to heal Hela and restore her missing limb and sooth her spirit. "Hela, Princess… wake up."
Odin watched as his wife gave a proud smile at Komand’r as she used her sorcery on Hela. She praised her subject, “As expected, Komand’r. You’ve become rather proficient with light magic.”
“It’s thanks to your guidance and your gift, my Queen.” Komand’r said without looking at the royal couple.
As for Thor he watched with fascination at his black haired older sister; Odin didn’t know what was going through his head, but his son has been uncomfortably silent since he learned about all his absent siblings. Hela chose that moment to wake up, seeing the face of her foe while she was healing her. Frigga, Thor and Odin surrounded her and she didn't even try to escape or struggle.
The goddess of death said with a neutral tone, “So, this wasn’t a nightmare, Komand’r of Tamaran.”
Komand’r finished healing the fallen Asgardian princess and held her hand to her in friendship. “No, like I told you. Your story doesn’t end here, a new chapter of your life has opened; don’t worry, I will protect you. I will always protect my subordinates.”
Hela only respected the strong and Komand’r had given her the fight of her life, so Odin wasn't surprised when she reached for the Tamaranean's hand and was helped up on her feet. Hela said, “Being defeated by you… might not be so bad.”
Komand'r smiled at her and tightened her grip onto Hela’s hand. It was strange that the Tamaranean was already attached to the Asgardian princess, was it some kind of kinship between women who have suffered? Odin didn’t know. It was time to go through what he needed to do to start on the road of reconciliation.
“Hela.” Odin’s voice echoed in the throne room.
The Asgardian princess turned to her father and stared at him with hostility. “Father…”
Odin started to speak. "I have made many mistakes in my youth…"
The woman glared. "Am I one of them? Is that it? Did you bring me here to mock me, All-Father?"
Frigga intervened. "Hela, please let him speak."
The princess turned to her stepmother and saw that there was no Arrogance or reprimand in her voice or face. She turned to Komand'r who asked as well, "Please listen to him."
"Very well, what do you have to say, All-Father?" Hela asked in a snide tone.
Odin didn't sigh or roll his eyes; his daughter wanted to annoy him or maybe provoke a reaction to make him angry. "I have failed you, my child. In my greed and lust for battle, I've turned you into a berserker and a weapon instead of teaching you what it is to be a royal of this family. The problem wasn't with you but me and there were mitigating events that gave me clarity about what I was doing wrong."
"Where are you going with this?" Hela asked with a recalcitrant tone.
Odin didn't begrudge her after she spent time amongst the dead, her civil and social filter must be non-existent now. The All-Father continued speaking. "Hela Odinsdottir, my second born, I now reinstate you as a Princess of Asgard…"
Hela’s laugh exploded out of her and she confidently said with a puff of her chest, "Was there any doubt that I am a Princess? I am the strongest here after Komand'r of Tamaran. I can already feel Asgard linking back to me and feeding me strength!"
Komand'r facepalmed at her; Odin shook his head and made a small smile. "...However, my daughter. I believe that you aren't yet worthy of the power that you wield; that is why…"
Hela felt the shift in her father’s voice, and she stepped back. "Huh, what?"
Raising his left hand toward Hela, Odin’s voice boomed in the throne room. "I now take from you, your power!"
Green and black magical energy condensed around Hela’s body. The Asgardian princess ended up on her knee caused by an invisible pressure. "No! You can't do this to me!"
The death and magical energy coalesced out of her body and gathered in the air atop Hela’s head. Odin continued to speak. "...And seal it inside this weapon, Dáinsleif."
A sword with an ebony hilt and a blade made of dark blue and white energy manifested before Odin and the death magic extracted from Hela gathered into the sword’s blade until it became akin to a green fire capable of burning anything. Odin’s voice became stronger as he declared, "Until you learn Responsibility, Temperance, Dignity and Restraint… and become worthy. Your powers will be returned to you. So mote it be."
Hela ended up on the ground, almost ready to fall face first on the marble flooring of the throne room, but she was caught by Thor and Komand’r. Dáinsleif was floating next to Hela, still tethered to her; unlike Thor’s Hammer, no one but her would be offered to wield it, but the other potential people who could be worthy would still be able to see the weapon imbued with divine death magic.
Odin kneeled next to Hela who was catatonic at this point as she must feel herself as powerless as a babe without the might that the death domain had given her. He looked at Hela and told her as he finally broke the seal on her that had been suppressing her, "Daughter, hate me if you want, but I am trying to teach you something. I hope that you'll understand why I did what I did today. I love you and I am sorry."
The All-Father knew that Hela would still be a formidable fighter, she was back to being as strong as a normal Asgardian. His gaze fell back on Komand’r, and she looked back; it was her idea to give Hela a new chance to learn what life was outside of battles. “Please be there for her.”
“I shall, my King.” Komand’r nodded.
Hefting himself up, Odin stood and slammed the butt of his spear and insensitively declared, "Now that my long lost daughter has come back… let the revelry begin! 'Tis a time for merry-making! So Speaks Odin!"
~/.\~
(Kara Zor-El)
3 days earlier…
Komand’r’s cabin
3 days after Komand’r left the ship to confront Hela…
Barbara and Ashley were awkwardly staring at the busty brunette, blonde ethereal beauty and the tiny little blonde teenager before them. Kara found it difficult to not compare herself with Komand’r’s lover. She recognized Darcy Lewis, a political science undergraduate who has branched out into astronomy; and Amora the Enchantress, an Asgardian sorceress who had started as an enemy for Komand'r and was eventually turned into her wife after a duel.
The blonde Asgardian came forward and asked Kara, Barbara and Ashley, "Who might the three of you be? Are you lost?"
They faced each other in the cabin; Kara was struck by how the decor inside was so gaudy and ostentatious. All the furniture looked gold plated, was it really her lover's room? Her suite on the Odyssey has been completely different.
Darcy gasped as she saw Barbara take off her bat themed combatskin's hood. "Huh, Ambassador Gordon? What are you doing here?"
Barbara knew that this was coming, Komand’r had told them that her counterpart worked for an organization called SHIELD and that she had been appointed as aide for one of Kom's friends called Natalia who represented Earth's interest on the ship.
"I am not that Barbara, I come from another universe. Actually the three of us were picked up by Kom to come live with her." Barbara put on her glasses that she took from her utility belt.
Amora rolled her eyes at Darcy and bopped her nose. "Look at how muscular she is, her… assets are also bigger. She's not the Barbara Gordon we know."
Darcy pinched her nose and glared at Amora, then tilted her head at Barbara. "Huh? Now that you say it, she's also taller."
"Wait! Sunny blonde haired knockout, well endowed geeky redhead… Oh no, Kom made you her lovers too?"
Kara exploded in laughter. "Yeah, she did."
"Same." Barbara quipped.
Amora, Darcy and Ruby all looked at the other girl present with a killer body, glowing green eyes and purple hair. Ashley blushed as she said, "I am Ashley, and Princess Komand’r is my mother."
Ruby rolled her eyes, having expected that somehow? "Ah, she adopted a new daughter too… Did she kidnap you like me?"
Ashley shook her head. “No, I’m her biological daughter.”
“WHAT?!” Darcy and Amora yelled.
Kara tried to defuse the situation by saying, “It’s complicated, and there’s a lot of science involved.”
Amora didn't seem to be appeased, so she screeched, "TALI, what is the meaning of this?!"
The holographic avatar appeared in the middle of the cabin. TALI stared placidly at Amora and said with disinterest, "The captain saved young Ashley through quick genetic engineering operations because she was dying from advanced DNA degradation."
Kara was surprised that Amora could act this way. The Asgardian demanded, "Why did she use her own genetics to do so then?"
TALI didn't answer and this caused Amora to stomp her foot in annoyance. Barbara chuckled at the blonde sorceress and said, "You know… I asked myself the same thing before. But Komand'r loves Ashley and wants her to be happy."
Ashley smiled at that, she must know as she was always in Komand’r’s head.
"She kind of did the same thing for Ruby when she learned about her being in a tight spot." Darcy helpfully added while hugging Ruby from behind.
Kara was the most logical one. "Does she really need a reason to do good? I learned to not try to reason with Kom's logic."
Before anything else could be said, the Captain's cabin door opened and Komand’r wearing a typical soft-suit appeared, her voluminous mass of hair floating behind her. "Hello everyone!"
"Ah shit, she's here." Complained Ruby, who Kara thought was in her rebellious phase.
"Kom!" Darcy was like a missile, but avoided bowling into anyone as she ran to the Tamaranean and inevitably tackled Komand’r who waited for her with her arms wide and hugged her.
Amora stomped to the princess and poked her sternum in an angry manner. "My… Lady, you have some explaining to do!"
Amora was suddenly hugged, she lamely struggled until she gave into Komand’r’s embrace. "I missed you two so much…"
"Huh, but we saw each other like three morning ago, Kom... are you alright?" Darcy raised an eyebrow at what her lover said.
Komand'r said sadly, "For you it might have been short, but for me it's been three years."
~/.\~
Back with Komand’r…
We were in the living room, eating snacks while I spent a longtime explaining my three year journey on Earth 22. Training in magic in the sun, training to control my newfound and current powers, becoming a mercenary and a healer for hire on Earth. Meeting my friends, lovers and new daughter; I told Amora, Darcy and Ruby how we helped save the world there.
My mission went from killing Superman to saving him and the League from being mind controlled and turning the world into a tyranny. Fuck you Darkseid… If you exist in this universe I shall find you and kill your true self. I felt a warm body pressing against me on my left side, I looked down and saw the worshipful gaze of Darcy targeted at me.
"I knew you were a hero, Kom." Darcy said after smooching my lips.
Kara, who was sitting on my right, held onto my hand."Right? she saved my entire species."
My Kryptonian lover put my arm between her breasts. The silky sensation was transmitted right through the soft-suit. I was still mystified about why she put a book window in her suit, not that I complained…
"I'm not a hero…" I said with a sigh to my two preppy girls.
Amora who was facing me on the other sofa nodded sharply, flipped her hair and explained, "Indeed she isn't, she's a princess! Way better than a paltry hero. She defeated me in righteous combat and took my hand like in those stories about Warrior Maidens of power. I am satisfied with the opportunities she has given me."
Her gaze wasn't as worshipful as Darcy's but there was respect there and a lot of lust. I had to resolve myself to bully her tonight after the feast… "Yes Amora, the librarium is yours. I told you that I take care of my people, didn't I?"
She chuckled, stood up and kneeled before me, holding on to my free hand. "My Lady, you still don't understand what you've given me, you gave me Power. I am more powerful than I was before."
To prove what she said her eyes started shifting colors and I saw her change to different shapes at great speed, all appealing female forms. Interesting, we will see later what she can do. "Then in the next fight I will bring you in, deal?"
It's too bad that the Murder Deck is on cooldown or else I would have brought Amora to a scenario with acceptable targets.
"Oh, I won't miss it. I feel a bit cooped up lately." Amora said with a gleam of anticipation in her eyes.
Darcy let go of me and looked panicked. "Wait! This adventure Kom had… it means that she knows Barb and Kara longer than us?"
Amora stared at Darcy and became thoughtful. "Ah, I should have realized. I am a tad jealous…"
"You shouldn't feel jealous. I like all of you equally." Harem management time.
Kara was the first to say with a small blush on her face. "I do more than like you though…"
Barbara chimed in, "Same, you helped me get out of the funk I was in."
I looked at Barbara, she was sitting between Ruby and Ashley. Barbara helped me understand why she hated Bruce Wayne and how she got paralyzed from the waist down before I healed her. She basically slept with Bruce and fell pregnant, and instead of trying to take responsibility for it; the billionaire continued crusading all over Gotham.
Then came the inevitable events of The Killing Joke but rather different; Joker kidnapped Barbara and her father, and he forced himself on her and shot her in the back when he was done, paralyzing her from the waist down and making her go through a miscarriage. And Bruce let him live and sent him back to prison after that? I perfectly understand Barbara's hatred, Joker should have died there and then. Hell, I would have dropped him into the sun… or dismembered him with my bare hands for touching my Barbara.
It was no wonder that she also became a misandrist after what happened to her. I now also understand why Barbara latched onto me years later. I treated her well, showed her my interest and affection; and because of my nature as a Tamaranean, I was always bluntly honest. Barbara knew where she stood with me, and she followed me here to my universe because she wanted us to be more than my lover but still take our time to discover each other.
"You helped me a lot too, Barbara, you can't forget that." I smirked at her.
The redhead blushed as she remembered our cuddling time and all the sex we had in her clock tower apartment. I would have gone crazy without intimacy… and she bore my clinginess without complaints.
"There's a story there." Darcy realized as she looked between us two.
"Just some natural and physiological needs getting fulfilled." I said smoothly, Darcy will help with the cuddling later as well.
Knock. Knock.
“Who is it, TALI?” I asked TALI immediately while looking at the door with golden Tamaranean engravings.
“Prince Thor, Lady Jane and his elder sister, Princess Hela, are here.” TALI swiftly responded.
“Uh oh.” I said, alarming everyone.
So Hela was here, it meant that she passed the medical checks from Asgard’s healer. The Goddess of Death did look like she needed a sandwich or two.
“Kom?” Darcy called out my name in a questioning way.
I stared at the girl, in particular at Amora and said in a reassuring manner, “Don’t be scared, okay Amora?”
I knew Amora did all that research in the Librarium and knew a bunch of secrets that she shouldn't have on Odin and Asgard in general. She would for sure recognize Hela, know what she did and why she ended up in Helheim. With a ‘Fwoosh’ sound, the door opened and here came the smiling Thor with Jane on his arm, then here she came clad in her usual green and black leathers.
“Nice Cabin.” Hela looked around, she really liked all the gold themes it seemed.
Her presence filled the room, despite having her powers sealed she was still confident and unabashed. Hela stared at everything with an inquiring gaze. It took some seconds, but Amora finally recognized her.
“You!” Amora stood up with her face showing shock, her hand lighting up with green eldritch magic, twin beams of magic shot from her hands.
I conjured a Shield of the Seraphim spell directly before Hela; the magic beams were simply absorbed and neutralized by the shield. Hela chose that moment to quip, "I will give you a five out of ten on the spell attack, I've seen better."
With a sigh, I put myself between Amora and Hela; this was going to be annoying…
A/N: It's been a while guys and gals, I hope you'll like what's coming next! Chapter 18 we get out of Asgard, we're not going to see it before Chapter 29.