She arrived on Earth in a mysterious Symbio-Ship with false
memories and awesome powers and abilities beyond that of mortal men and women....

Issue #19

The Gemworld War Part 4: Crimson Princes and Rose-Colored Princesses

Written By Paul Daimler

The bolt of blood-red energy that had struck her from the sky had smashed through the golden energy shields Power Girl had erected around herself, knocking the wind from her lungs and sent her spiraling out of control—hurtling toward the deep red grasses below—sharp dangerous black rocks poked out from the vivid blades of grass.

Gasping for breath, Power Girl tried to fill her lungs and regain flight. She was withstanding the magic better here, but she was still not as all-powerful here as she was on Earth.

As she struck the ground, it felt like her entire body had shattered.

“POWER GIRL!” Princess Topaz shrieked, shaking on her feet and tipping toward the edge of the Topaz palace’s roof.

“Calm yourself.” Witch-Mother Emerald said, putting her wrinkled well-lined hands on the princess’s shoulders. “She will be fine. We must concentrate on our part of this. Your brother Blue Topaz leads his armies against the army of the undead to erect a mystic barrier around Red Topaz’s lands… the other lords and ladies gather in the grasses just beyond the battles, forming the mystic circle.”

“They do not know why the form the circle…” Princess Topaz said, straightening up on wobbly knees.

“They need not know.” Witch-Mother Emerald replied, her pale green eyes looking out across the lands spread out before them.

“But everything will change here on the Gemworld…” Princess Topaz whispered, her magical aura a brightening pink.

“It’s the only way to stop your brother.” Witch-Mother Emerald said, her voice not wavering. “And, if we don’t do it this way, we will stop your brother and then another threat will rise. Magic runs wild on this world… creating one power-mad despot or maniac after the other. It’s time for the Gemworld to change… or we’ll just continue to face these threats… whether it be Dark Opal, Mordru, or even Red Topaz.”

Princess Topaz’s pale yellow eyes darkened suddenly, a faint pink hue seeping in giving them an orange glow.

“It’s just going to be such a massive change…” She said.

“It’s the way it was originally meant to be, when the houses of Gemworld were first found back in the days of Atlantis…” Witch-Mother Emerald said. “Now let us prepare for the return of Gemworld’s champion.”

Princess Topaz nodded, the faint traces of fear and doubt on her face earlier faded.

With a flash of emerald magic, Princess Topaz and Witch-Mother Emerald disappeared.

The heat of the sun beat down up on the streets of the Bialyan village of Dupek. It was a smaller village, several miles outside of the capitol. Many of the working class called Dupek home. It was here in a small hut hidden in the poorest of the slums that Anath sat looking at a computer screen.

Behind her, Borak Pandit paced.

“Lady Star-Fyre gains more power over this country by the day. And, she’s done so subtly that most people do not realize that the government is slowly but surely falling under her thrall. And mostly the people of Bialya think her a hero—the powerful business woman in control of a billion-dollar cosmetics conglomerate who has brought much needed jobs to our struggling country in these desperate times.” Borak said, shaking his head. As the leader of the small rebellion attempting to liberate Bialya from the parade of dictators and madmen who had controlled it for the past twenty years, he grew increasingly frustrated.

“If people knew she was the Queen Bee’s sister, then they would feel less inclined to shower her with adoration.” Anath replied, “Yet, every document that could prove they are sisters have disappeared. All the documentation name Lady Star-Fyre as Genevieve Fyre. A woman of French and Bialyan parents, raised in Switzerland after her family fled the reign of General Didiomious thirty years ago.”

“Which is all a lie.” Borak’s voice was grim. “And, even with the Hate League patrolling the streets, the people do not protest or doubt.”

“Her Hate League has been cautious and appear to be keeping the peace. And they are keeping the corrupt President’s soldiers from harassing and harming the local populace too much.” Anath said, clicking through various screens, digging deeper and deeper into the Bialyan government’s computers in hopes of finding something that she could use to prove her point.

After several minutes, she pounded her fist against the desk. Her enchanced super-human strength created hairline cracks throughout the metal surface of the desk.

“Do not loose hope Anath.” Borak said, “We will find what we need. And, then we will give the information to the United Nations at the Peace Conference in a few weeks. Our countrymen’s suffering will end shortly.”

Anath opened her mouth to say something, when her computer screen flickered only to be replaced by a green screen with an odd mask in the center.

“What?!” Anath whispered.

“Greetings… my name is Oracle…” An electronic voice came from the speakers on her computer. “We should talk…”

Blue Topaz and his armies used both swords and magic to keep the resurrected dead of Caserite back. But, it was a battle they were losing. Power Girl had been swooping in a carrying them off—using her super-breath to clear the battleground. But, she had been missing for several minutes, and none of Blue Topaz’s army had the strength or power that Power Girl did. While they could use their magics to call upon tornadoes and winds, it wasn’t enough to clear the battleground the same way Power Girl had.

“My lord!” Captain Alegio called, his sword neatly slicing one of the undead in half. “We are losing our fight here!”

“KEEP FIGHTING!” Blue Topaz called, swinging a massive battle-axe. “We have to give the Witch-Mother and Power Girl time!”

And the battle raged on.

The pain was intense as Power Girl’s eyes fluttered opened. However, to her immense relief nothing seemed to actually be broken. She pulled herself to her feet, finding Red Topaz hovering in the air in front of her.

His face was covered with a malicious smile.

“Their plan to bring you in to help them win has backfired. I suppose they had no clue that a portion of your great-uncle’s spirit was trapped within you.” Red Topaz laughed, the red energy dancing around him pulsated. “And, then that scrap of Garn Danuuth’s soul sought me out, thinking he could subvert me and take control…” Red Topaz laughed. “He is as big of fool as my brother and the Gemworld royals.”

Power Girl remained silent, feeling the magical energies coursing through her. For so long she had not been able to harness that energy and even when she’d been able to feel it, it had felt bottled up and beyond her control… all because it was a block, she thought. A wall within me keeping Garn Danuuth’s essence from escaping.

The yellow energy crackled around her as she felt it surge from within, she smiled slightly. She was getting the hang of this magic stuff.

“I see you have gotten your second wind.” Red Topaz laughed, nodding approvingly. “I am pleased. I am quite looking forward to wearing your skin.”

“Way to ruin the moment.” Power Girl said. The yellow energy manifested in her right hand, creating a massive mallet. With every ounce of her super-strength and super-speed she swung it, letting it slam into Red Topaz before he was aware. It sending him flying off into the distance. While her super-vision was still unreliable due to the magical properties of the Gemworld—the incomprehensible physics made it useless, she could see a small mushroom cloud of rock and soil blossom where he landed. It was far enough away to give her time to use her super-breath to herd the zombies back to Red Topaz’s realm.

Queen Emerald grumbled beneath her breath as the unicorn drawn air chariot landed just near the main roads into Red Topaz’s realm.

“Hush your protests.” The Diamond Priestess said as they made their way out of the chariot. “My magics have made us invisible so we can make our way to the gateway as instructed by Witch-Mother Emerald.”

“My great-aunt is a fool.” Queen Emerald replied. “For us to come out on the battlefield like this… it’s dangerous. Should Red Topaz slay us all…” She shook her head, “None of our successors are even close to being ready to assume our mantles.”

“My son is.” Lord Aquamarine said, “But, let us not worry of the most grim outcomes. Let us instead do as Witch-Mother has asked so we might assist Power Girl and our armies drive these zombies and Red Topaz back.”

They reached the spot the Witch-Mother had instructed and formed a circle. There were only eleven of them, as no one from Palace Topaz was present.

“Something about this is suspicious…” Queen Emerald whispered to herself, knowing that no one else cared to hear her, even though she knew that something was wrong. There was something the Witch-Mother had left out when she had told them of this plan.

Witch-Mother Emerald and Princess Topaz appeared in a flash of light several yards away from the assembled lords and ladies.

“We have much to do,” She told the princess as they hurried toward the circle of royals, “And not much time.”

Princess Topaz nodded, feeling the magic within her as it bubbled and surged. Since she’d begun her training in her eighth year, the Witch-Mother had whispered that one day this would be her destiny. That she was to become Princess Amethyst’s successor—assuming the mantle of the Gemworld’s champion until Princess Amethyst could return—if she ever could. There was some doubt in Witch-Mother’s voice when she spoke of the day Princess Amethyst would return. But, Princess Topaz had never questioned this. She had always known that Witch-Mother Emerald only acted in the best interests of the entire land. If there was no Gemworld, then there would be no Witch-Mother.

They reached a small growth of trees and hid within. Through branches and leaves, their attentions were trained on the circle of royals.

Every few moments, Power Girl would fly by, tossing zombies into the realm of Red Topaz.

“Do you think she has them all back within his borders?” Princess Topaz asked.

“Almost.” The Witch-Mother replied, “And, she has most of them, so it’s time for me to begin. You wait here as I’ve instructed, and only come forth when I call for you.”

Princess Topaz nodded her agreement.

The Witch-Mother disappeared in a flash of light, only to reappear several yards away in the circle of royals.

They were far enough away that they were only vaguely human shapes against the line of the horizon, but the hazy green energy of the Witch-Mother was easy enough to pick out, even at this distance. Princess Topaz waited.

Blue Topaz watched as they finally began to gain some leverage. Power Girl had began to carry zombies away again, leaving fewer for the armies to fight. But, even still, he’d lost many men today. He hoped this worked, because it would be many years before they would be ready for another battle of this magnitude.

One of his chief lieutenants shouted something at him, but Blue Topaz didn’t hear it—as the voice of the Witch-Mother filled his head.

“Blue Topaz, your presence is now required.” She whispered.

Shouting instructions to his lieutenants and Sequine, the Captain of his Royal Guard, he prepared to leave the battlefield. The last word was barely out of his mouth when the Witch-Mother’s magics swept him away.

Power Girl swept up the last of the zombies, trying not to let her eyes play too long on the battlefield where so many dead lay. If she spent too much time right in this moment dwelling on the lost life, she would never be able to finish what she needed to do. Later, when she was home in Century City, she could mourn the loss of life. Now, she just had to keep moving these zombies back into the realm of Red Topaz before he recovered and she had to fight him.

She tossed the last zombies toward the ground, watching as the deep scarlet red ground seemed to swallow the plague-ridden dead.

She hovered there several moments before turning her attention to the circle of the royals. She went over the plan that Witch-Mother Emerald had gone over, but somehow it just didn’t seem right. Something about it felt off.

She flew toward the royals, intending to address this once she was there, but Red Topaz appeared before her before she reached.

“That yellow energy hammer was a nice touch.” Red Topaz said, “It packed a wallop. Took a little while to heal all of my broken bones from that and from the impact. I see why they call you Power Girl.”

“They should call you Red Talks-Too-Much.” Power Girl said, yellow energy crackling from all around her.

“Quick response with your magic. You are learning quickly.”

“So you said earlier.” Power Girl replied, “I suppose that asking you to go back to your realm and leave everyone else alone wouldn’t be very successful? I mean, you seem to be really intent on this whole taking over the Gemworld thing.”

“Yeah, I’m not giving up until this entire realm is mine. And then I’ll begin to take over other realms. Eventually even your reality—Earth will fall to me.”

“I doubt that.” Power Girl said, the energy crackling around her taking the form of Arion’s star. “Good always wins in the end. It’s just how these things work. There are casualities, the victories aren’t always clear cut, but at the end of the day—the evil tyrant falls. You’ll be no different.”

“But I will be Power Girl.” Red Topaz said, smiling. “I have the power of your great-uncle within me.”

The star of Arion morphed into a dagger which flew through the air and slammed into Red Topaz’s chest.

He screamed in pain.

The dagger morphed into a pair of forceps as Power Girl manipulated it in her mind. Beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. This was hard. She was still learning how to handle these powers—and going into battle without a battle grasp on them was less than ideal. But, the more she did this—putting her life on the line for others and to save the world, the more she realized so much of what heroes did was just go rushing out to face great evil and darkness and hope that they came home at the end of the day. Often she thought it was nothing more than luck that allowed her to return home alive at the end of each battle and that one of these days her luck was bound to run out.

“Not today.” She whispered as the forceps opened Red Topaz’s chest.

He screamed out as the pain intensified. So unused to this type of physical pain that Red Topaz was unable to concentrate enough to counter Power Girl’s magic and defend himself. It’s what she was hoping for—if only it could last long enough for her to do this—and get him where she needed to get him for the Gemworld royals to do their part.

Power Girl hoped this worked. She was winging it really, going on instinct. But, she saw little else she could do.

“Great-uncle..” She called, even though it made the magical forceps tremble as her concentration was diverted slightly.

“Ah… Kara my dear.” His voice was raspy and coarse. An angry red-eye peeked from the exposed hole in Red Topaz’s chest. “Liberating your dear old great-uncle? How sweet…”

The sliver of Garn Danuuth’s essence exploded from Red Topaz—hurtling toward Power Girl in an inky black blob of pulsating energy. Power Girl barely got her golden shield up in time—it cracked against the impact of Garn Danuuth slamming into it.

“I thought your were liberating me so I could return to my nesting place within you.” Garn growled.

Red Topaz fell from the sky behind them, spiraling end over end. Power Girl hoped that the pain of her ripping him open to release Garn Danuuth removed him from this battle long enough for her to do what she had to do.

“No such luck.” Power Girl said, gritting her teeth. She had to move quickly and hope she was strong enough to counter him.

A yellow bubble appeared around Garn Danuuth’s inky essence, trapping him within.

Power Girl breathed a sigh of relief. While Garn Danuuth struggled within, Power Girl did not feel as though she wasn’t going to be able to contain him, for at least the next few minutes. And, based on what Witch-Mother Emerald said they were going to do—that should hopefully be just enough time.

Flying as quickly as she could, holding the golden globe holding Garn Danuuth within close to her chest. It was easier to keep the globe solid the closer she held it to her chest. She was just afraid that if it cracked this close to her that Garn would escape into her. And somehow she doubted if that happened again he would remain dormant within her as he had up until this point.

Coming into the air above the circle of royals, she looked down at them.

“You guys need to get ready. I got Garn Danuuth out of him… and I’m assuming he’s going to be here any point now mad as hell.”

“Let’s begin.” Witch-Mother Emerald said, looking around. Her expression was unreadable, but Power Girl detected something in her eyes that only added to Power Girl’s conviction that there was something greater going on here than what the Witch-Mother had let on. “Link hands.”

Everyone linked hands, clasping tightly to one another.

Power Girl drifted to the side, not sure why—but she didn’t want to be above that circle.

Energy began to crackle and bristle around each of the twelve royals assembled. Their auras were the color of the gemstones that powered them—save Blue Topaz, who’s energy had a yellow hue to it that created a bright green shade that rivaled the dark green energy of Queen Emerald in it’s beauty.

Power Girl watched as a red flash of light rose against the horizon and began rocketing toward them.

“Here he comes!” She shouted, holding the yellow globe even more tightly.

“GIVE ME THAT BACK!” Red Topaz shouted as he drew closer.

“Power Girl,” Witch-Mother said, her voice dreamy and controlled even though she stood directly in the center of the circle.

Power Girl looked toward the woman questioningly.

“Toss that globe toward me.” She said, her voice pleasant and creamy.

Power Girl’s eyes flickered toward the rapidly approaching form of Red Topaz, then back toward Witch-Mother Emerald. With a shrug, she tossed the globe containing Garn Danuuth to the woman. The woman caught the globe easily, her lips turning upward into a mysterious smile.

There was definitely something going on here that Power Girl was missing.

Red Topaz arrived, swinging with both fists. Power Girl ducked and dodged, unsure of her ability to erect energy shields without losing control of the globe Garn was imprisoned in.

The Witch-Mother’s voice sounded in her head: “Get Red Topaz into the circle—but don’t move above it yourself.”

“OK.” Power Girl said aloud. That should be easy enough.

Allowing him to land one solid punch, she winced at the pain. He was still strong enough that even she could feel it—but he wasn’t as strong as he’d been earlier when they’d come to blows. Also, she realized that he was relying on physical strength—meaning that his magical energies were either weaker without Garn within, or that he was so angry he was resorting to his fists. Either way, it made it easier for her. She blocked a punch, moving a few inches so that she could get him into just the right spot.

“You are going to die!” Red Topaz screamed at her.

“One day. Just not today.” Power Girl replied, a smile twisting her lips. With all of her might, Power Girl drop-kicked Red Topaz—sending him into the air above the circle of energy.

Red Topaz moved to attack her again—but an invisible wall stopped him. As he slammed into the energy barrier, his eyes opened wide with surprise.

“You’ll be going no farther than that.” Witch-Mother Emerald said, her voice calm. “Your tyranny come to an end today.”

“I will destroy you all!” Red Topaz shrieked. And, then he fell from the air, landing hard on the ground.

“What?!” He screamed shaking a fist at the Witch-Mother.

“The circle has stripped you of your power. It’s a binding circle.” Witch-Mother Emerald whispered.

“You can release your energy globe Power Girl.” The Witch-Mother said.

Power Girl let the globe dissolve, the black inky essence of Garn Danuuth dissolved like smoke, disappearing within.

The circle of energy pulsed and rose—creating a tornado of multi-colored light. It spun away, leaving the spot of ground where the Gemworld royals had been standing empty.

The tornado moved toward Red Topaz’s realm. As it tore across the land, Power Girl watched in fascination as it ripped up the trees and red grasses, swallowing rock and landscape. Behind flat gray stone remained, smooth and unblemished. As it tore through Red Topaz’s realm, the tornado left nothing. The zombies littering the ground in his realm were pulled into the swirling winds and not a trace remained.

“It’s working… whatever it is.” Power Girl whispered.

Power Girl lowered herself to the ground, standing there to watch as the tornado continued pulling away the realm of Red Topaz. As each bit of it melted away, the tornado grew larger and larger and it became more red, with the other colors of the various houses of Gemworld sparkling like small stars within it’s swirling folds.

“You might wanna get back a bit more Power Girl.”

Power Girl turned toward the sound of Princess Topaz, standing beside her.

“Why is that?” Power Girl asked, curiously.

The last bits of Red Topaz’s kingdom was gone and the tornado began swirling back.

“Because it might be dangerous for you.” Princess Topaz said, “That tornado will strip anyone trapped within it of their magical powers. For you that could include your other powers.”

“But…” Power Girl’s mind processed what this meant. “But, what about the royals within?”

“Things are going to be different from now on in the Gemworld.” Princess Topaz said, “We’re going to return to the place it was originally meant to be.”

“How is that?”

“Originally there was the council of twelve… They represented the people of their lands. And, Arion was meant to be their leader—the most powerful of them all. When we came to Gemworld, Witch-Mother Citrinia took Arion’s place. But, everyone within the land gained great powers and abilities as this world is infused with magic. Citrinia’s goal was to remain the figure head only until a true champion arose—Amethyst Princess of Gemworld. Once Amethyst arrived, Citrinia was able to die in peace. When Amethyst arrived, she appointed the new Witch-Mother, to serve in her stead. Now, we will be moving back to the natural order—twelve members of a council—wielding the power of their houses—preventing the constant attempts to over-throw us from within. And a champion to lead us all.”

“What will stop the various council members from getting power-hungry?”

“Their powers will be gone. Only the champion will have magical abilities.” Princess Topaz replied.

“The Witch-Mother?”

“No. The Witch-Mother is relinquishing her powers as well.”

“Not me.” Power Girl shook her head suddenly. She had enough on her plate back home—she couldn’t give all of that up to police the Gemworld.

“No. Not you.” Princess Topaz suddenly smiled. “Amethyst is returning!”

“Oh,” was all Power Girl could manage.

The tornado began spinning back toward them, coming to a spot where the original circle had stood. The swiftly moving winds caused Power Girl’s cape to flap in the wind madly, her bangs stung her eyes. Power Girl moved back away from the tornado swirling there, even as it began to reduce—spinning out and leaving twelve royals standing there, hands linked, eyes closed in deep concentration. The Witch-Mother stood in the center of the circle still, with Red Topaz collapsed on the ground, twitching. The dark crimson energy that was all that remained of Red Topaz’s kingdom and powers swirled like a vortex around the Witch-Mother.

A bright purple shape appeared beside Princess Topaz and slowly came into focus—revealing a beautiful blonde with deep purple eyes.

“I know her!” Power Girl said suddenly, as pieces of various puzzles fell into place.

Standing there in her purple tunic, with gold bracelets and crown shimmering brightly—twelve small gems sparkling within it’s swirling pattern, Amethyst Princess of Gemworld surveyed what lay before her.

“It is time for the various despots and usurpers time to end. No more attempts to steal the power of the Gemworld will occur. Perhaps there will be uprisings and revolution… but none of it will involve enslaving my people and stealing the magic.” Amethyst said. She spread her arms out on either side, and the energy of the circle began moving toward her.

She took all of the energy within, her form waxing and waning as the various shades of magic became one with her.

The various royals collapsed one by one as their powers were drawn into Amethyst.

Finally only the Witch-Mother stood.

“It’s time for the last step.” Amethyst said to Witch-Mother Emerald.

She nodded silently, then turned to Princess Topaz.

“My dear…. Of all the stones and gems of our land. There is one that is exceedingly rare. It’s the Rose Topaz. It’s also the most powerful of all the forms of topaz... able to channel magic more powerfully than any other. Rose Topaz is second only to my own gemstone as far as the magic it can contain.”

Princess Topaz’s eyes widened.

“I cannot return at this time.” Amethyst said, putting a hand on Princess Topaz’s shoulder. “In my absence we need a champion. And, that shall be you. You are the champion of the Gemworld.”

The power within Amethyst rocketed out, slamming into Princess Topaz.

The girl’s eyes turned a fiercely beautiful shade of rosy pink and her yellow robes melted, replaced by a rose colored tunic and gold bracelets.

Amethyst smiled, reaching up and taking the crown from her head. The various gems sparkled in the yellow light falling from sky above.

Amethyst set the crown on Princess Topaz’s head, just as the various members of the royal houses pulled themselves to their feet. They all watched quietly.

Turning to them, Amethyst smiled brightly. “Rulers of Gemworld, I present your champion Rose Topaz, Princess of Gemworld.”

“Now, I must go.” Amethyst said, “My continued presence endangers you all and this world.”

Turning to Power Girl, Amethyst said, “I will trust you to be discrete about what you have seen today and in the days before. I know that you recognize me from before…”

Power Girl nodded, “I won’t pretend to understand… but I will trust that you have a very good reason for all of this.”

“I will not betray that trust. And when the time is right, I will explain all.” Amethyst smiled sadly.

Witch-Mother Emerald walked over to Amethyst, grasping her hands. “Are you sure you must leave so soon my dear friend?”

“Unfortunately.” Amethyst’s smile grew sadder. “Your sister remains safe on Earth, with enough emerald magic to continue to keep her safe and her presence secret from the world at large.”

“I miss you so much my friend.” The Witch-Mother said.

“As do I.” Amethyst said, “I miss you all. But, Rose will keep you all safe until I can return.”

And, within moments Amethyst was gone.

Power Girl stood near the fringes of the party. While Queen Emerald was sulking in her kingdom over the loss of her powers, the rest of the royals seemed mostly concerned with celebrating their victory over Red Topaz. The star of the party was Princess Rose, who the citizens of the Gemworld were drawn too. While she’d heard some grumblings about the loss of power among the royals, the people seemed invigorated by the fact that a solitary champion held the power—and that there was little chance of another Dark Opal or Mordru or Red Topaz using magic to enslave the people.

The air became stifling after a while, and Power Girl made her way back out onto the balcony. In the morning Princess Rose had promised to return her home—and even promised that she could return her within two days of her departure. Not ideal… two days lost was bad, but it was better than it being the near two weeks she’d spent here so far.

“You are less festive than everyone else.”

Blue Topaz’s voice startled Power Girl from her thoughts.

“Just ready to go home.” She said to him, smiling slightly. “I’ve been away from home for a while. I miss my friends and family. Dearly.”

Blue Topaz came up beside her, taking her hand. “You should stay here. With us. You could have a nice life here.”

Power Girl smiled at him, “It’s tempting, but I have an entire life back home.”

“Karen…” Blue Topaz said, unable to meet her eyes. “Before you came…” He stopped.

“What is it?” She asked, noting the fear in his voice.

“One of the reasons we choose you… beyond you being Arion’s grand-daughter… was that our magic revealed…” He stopped again.

“What did your magic reveal?”

“Andramelek the Terrible is going to kill you.” Blue Topaz said finally.

Power Girl did not respond. She stood there, letting this news sink in.

“Stay here with us.” Blue Topaz said, imploring her with his eyes. “You will be happy. You can help my sister keep our world safe… and perhaps we can see what our future holds.”

Power Girl gripped his hand tightly, the folds of her fancy gown dancing in the evening breeze drifting across the balcony.

“I refuse to believe that’s my destiny.” Power Girl replied, leaning in and kissing him.

The sparks she’d felt in the days before the final battle with Red Topaz were nowhere to be found. Her thoughts went instantly to Ian McLean.

Power Girl dropped his hand, going back into the party. She found Princess Rose in the crowd.

“Can you send me home now?” She asked the Princess of Gemworld. “I’m suddenly very homesick.”

Rose’s eyes went to her brother standing alone on the balcony, instinctively guessing what part of the issue was.

“I told him not to say anything to you.” Rose said, “My apologies for his bad manners. Meet me on the roof-top balcony in fifteen minutes.”

Epilogue 1:

Karen had only been home ten minutes, Princess Rose having delivered her home on a Friday evening. She had taken a shower at super-speed, fed the cat, and had changed into a cute little cocktail dress that was perfectly fit for a Friday night date-night. She just hoped that Ian was free. Blue Topaz’s declaration of her impending doom only made her want to see Ian more.

She was slipping on shoes, when the doorbell to her apartment rang. She pulled her glasses on and headed toward the door. X-Ray vision revealed Ian on the other side with flowers and candy.

Pulling the door open, she smiled brightly, “I was just going to call you to see if you were free!”

“I was hoping you would be here.” Ian said, “Although I wasn’t sure. No one has seen Power Girl in the city for two days now…”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Karen asked.

Ian chuckled, “We are going to have to do something about helping you with your secret-identity. Anyone who knows you at anything more than a superficial level has figured it out. I was talking to Garth, Carrie-Joyce, and Liz—“

“Oh jeez.” Karen shook her head, “Is there anyone who doesn’t know?”

“I think that new girl at your office Minerva hasn’t figured it out yet. But, give her time.”

Taking the flowers and the candy, Karen smiled at him. “OK. So you know… that certainly will make some things easier. No more having to figure out how to sneak off on dates to take care of super-villains. Come in, so I can finish getting ready, and then we’ll take this town by storm.”

Ian leaned in and kissed her gingerly on the lips, and Power Girl felt a dozen butterflies explode in her belly.

“OK.” He grinned.

Epilogue 2:

From the Time Trapper’s lair outside of time, Amethyst Princess of Gemworld stood, arms crossed, expression grim.

“Power Girl recognized you.” The Time Trapper said, “All of these years you’ve hidden here from Monarch… and you let Power Girl recognize you. Don’t you realize that Monarch could figure out you’re here?”

“My people needed me.” Amethyst grumbled, “Only I could do the transference of power to Rose. I had to risk it, otherwise why am I here? My life is worth nothing if my world is destroyed. Besides, Monarch is still trapped in Hyper-Time.”

“That traps grows thinner and thinner with each reality he takes root in.” The Time Trapper shook his head. “And as he travels through each one, he comes closer and closer to the center… where Lord Xenon lives. I don’t think I have to tell you how dangerous it could be if he and Lord Xenon re-combine.”

“The Anti-Monitor’s corpse is still safely lost in Neron’s realm.” Amethyst said, “Besides, Supergirl will destroy Lord Xenon. And Hawk and Dove will destroy Monarch. And all will be as it should be.”

The Time Trapper laughed darkly. “You have much faith in three very flawed heroes.”

Amethyst gazed into the giant crystal ball in the center of the room—from where all was visible throughout time and the various realities.

In it Karen Starr and Ian McLean enjoyed pasta at an Italian restaurant.

“Power Girl is still within that equation.” She said, “And, she adds a level of power that will help Supergirl when the chips are down.”

The Time Trapper scoffed.

THE END