THE MAID OF STEEL # 32

In her lush penthouse suite in downtown's posh Vickery District, Senator Gayle Marsh twisted against the sheets, thrashing as a cold sweat covered her body.

Another nightmare, she thought waking up with a start. Pushing the sheets aside, she padded barefoot through the air conditioned comfort of her suite.

It was a comfortable suite. Funding entirely by her own monies. Although her parents had died early in her life, they'd had money. As had her guardian and mentor Pendergast.

Getting a bottled water from the refrigerator, Gayle made her way into the living room. Staring out across the city. In the middle of night, Midway City was still and very quiet. Especially downtown. Not like other cities where Gayle had lived. However, in the distance, the Red Zone was bustling with activity, even at this late hour where prostitutes, junkies, and drug dealers prowled.

Decay. She thought.

The Red Zone was where Decay would break through-smashing through the barriers that kept in separate from this world, plunging the world into the Age of Decay.

When she was younger at Northshore University, Professor Pendergast had been convinced that Power Girl was the vessel for Decay. He'd been wrong. After threatening her, Gayle in her "Psi" persona had lashed out. The force of her mental energy had allowed Decay to slip through and possess Pendergast and rampage. It had been Power Girl who stopped him-and later Gayle, sending her to prison, where eventually she'd be assigned to Suicide Squad.

Then she had died on a mission.

Death…

It had been peaceful, but short. During the alien Invasion, the meta-gene bomb had resurrected Gayle Marsh. Her vast psychokinetic powers restoring her decayed flesh.

Since her tenure with the Suicide Squad had been Top Secret, her death was secret. No one had known she was dead. They just thought she was still sitting in prison, rotting away. After the government had cleared her and released her, Gayle had claimed her vast assets and gone into politics-knowing that at some point she would have to deal with the threat of Decay again. Immediately she had begun doing everything she could to prevent Decay's escape and return.

A siren blared, far off in the distance, and Gayle saw a streak of blue and red in the night.

Supergirl.

So much like Power Girl. Yet so different. No wonder Pendergast had mistaken Power Girl for the catalyst of Decay's arrival.

Gayle drank deeply, the icy cold water doing little to soothe the fire burning in her heart and brain. Her days were consumed by Decay-fighting it, stopping it, and keeping it trapped in it's netherworld.

Her bill to regulate super-heroes in this state-and her plot to make Supergirl look dangerous were both designed to prevent Decay's arrival.

The red and blue streak disappeared into the Red Zone-obviously to fight whatever danger had popped up there.

It was a shame.

Supergirl did many good deeds. But, her good deeds weren't enough to justify releasing Decay-not when there was no guarantee even Supergirl could stop it.

Gayle went to her office to go through paperwork. There was no use trying to get back to sleep. Once a nightmare had seized her, there was no going back to sleep. The nightmare would be waiting. Besides, there was a bill she had to vote on next week and she was still researching it to make sure it wasn't harmful to her state.

There was air above the Red Zone had an orange hue from all the neon lights, smoke, and smog.

Supergirl hated flying over it because the smell alone was terrible. But here she was, night after night. She did comfort herself with the thought that she was here less these days. When she first arrived in Midway City, she had ended up stopping something or other several times a night. Lately she was here maybe once a night. The most in recent weeks had been three visits in one night. And one night last week she hadn't been out once.

Crime is going down. Supergirl thought as she hurtled through the air toward the building the sirens were focused on. Despite what those morons in the No Metas Association were saying in their public attacks on me.

Her very public showdown with Phillip Decker hadn't helped. Not even his announcement per their agreement that he'd been mind controlled by an evil organization had helped undo the damage of the cell phone video clips that had made it to the media-of her tossing Phillip Decker around like a ragdoll, had calmed the NMA down.

She doubted anything she could do would silence those critics. The fact that State Senator Gayle Marsh seemed to be supporting them didn't help. Senator Marsh was so well-respected and usually made good decisions for her constituents. Linda had voted for her last October after first arriving in Midway City. It made no sense that suddenly she seemed so anti-meta human. There were even rumors that Gayle Marsh was a meta, although she wasn't sure if that was true or not. Power Girl had mentioned something during their last phone call, but there hadn't been time to follow up on it.

As she came to where the sirens were, she stopped mid-air. Standing in front of an abandoned tenement was a guy wearing a purple and silver costume.

Great. Super-villain.

Super-villains were always bad publicity. Those against super-heroes always blamed the existence of super-villains on super-heroes. And conveniently forgot that Midway City had a rampant super-villain problem since before Hawkman had taken up residence here years ago. Even after Hawkman and Hawkgirl had left-the villains had remained. Super-villain crime, like all other crime, had risen to epic proportions, only decreasing once Supergirl had come to town.

Except for the Royal Flush Gang and other dumb villains like that Silver Scorpion lady from a few weeks back. Or Skeleta.

Of course, Skeleta had seemed to be completely unbalanced. And why wouldn't she be? She'd had those Ghosts floating around her.

"Who are you? You seem new around these parts." Supergirl said. Based on his outfit, she couldn't determine his powers. She liked when villains wore costumes with flames or ice or lightning on them. It gave her a clue as to what she was dealing with. The purple and silver suit did not.

"You can call me-Dynamic!" The guy said.

The name didn't help much either. Of course, she couldn't be too judgemental. Her name was Supergirl. It didn't suggest the myriad of powers-including super-hearing and super-breath thanks to Ultra-Girl from the Anti-Matter Earth giving her a few retcon punches to the gut*. She would have to call herself Super-Angel Fire Girl to fully get the full gist of her powers across with a name-and that made her sound like a Japanese super-hero.

*See Supergirl: The Maid of Steel April Fool's Special #2.

"That's … special. It take you long to figure that one out? Was Fantastic taken? What about Fabulous? Are did you not have enough pink fabric to pull of Fabulous?"

A bolt of energy shot from the visor streaked through the air at her. Not moving, Supergirl took the hit to the chest. It hit and didn't even phase her.

"That's … special." Supergirl wrinkled her nose. Dumb Bunny could have taken that bolt without pain. "Is that all you got?"

Supergirl streaked down toward Dynamic.

Yelping in fear, Dynamic shot a bolt from his visor-shearing the building in front of him in half.

Moving as quickly as she could, Supergirl caught the building-mostly. The old building lost bricks and pieces, which fell to the ground, crushing cars and punching craters into the pavement.

Setting the crumbling building top down in the middle of the street, Supergirl went about helping the injured. She had to hope having a building in the middle of Byrne Street at two a.m. wouldn't grind too much to a stop. After she got all the injured taken care of she would deal with the building blocking the road.

She wouldn't be finished until nearly six a.m.

Linda Danvers alarm went off at nine a.m. She awoke quickly, her limbs tired from her overnight patrol. Normally saving seventy-three people and lifting a building after catching it-and carrying it to a factory outside of Midway City that recycled building materials from condemned buildings, wouldn't have been enough for her to break a sweat.

Her mental battle with Selena Moonstone last week still had her feeling less than tip-top. Something she hadn't experienced as much as these past few months.

She had to be at the TV studio by 10:30am. If she were dealing with traffic, it would have been impossible to get ready and deal with getting from Genoa Park to downtown Midway City. But she could use flight and super-speed to make the journey in less than a minute.

"Hopefully I'm more punctual for this job than the museum." Linda said, jumping in the shower.

Of course, she would only be working two or three days a week; and no more than five to eight hours a day. She had to show up on location to report on whatever she was covering as a lifestyle reporter. Other people did the work-she just had to look warm and inviting, be enthusiastic, and read from the cue cards and not sound like she was reading.

Piece of cake. Linda thought stepping from the shower. She used a towel to dry off and quickly blow-dried her hair. She'd been told not to wear anything special-they'd dress her. And not to bother with hair and make-up, they had people for that.

While pulling on jeans and a t-shirt, the phone rang.

"Hello." She said warmly.

"Hey, honey." Her mom said, her voice bright and cheerful. "I wanted to call and wish you luck on your first day."

"Oh thanks, Mom." Linda said, "I am so glad to finally have a job. And one that pays enough for me to go back to school and not have to move home or into a dorm."

"At least something good came out of that Selena Moonstone affair." Sylvia Danvers sniffed.

"Is Dad still mad?"

"A little less today. But, yes. He's still unhappy. He just doesn't like me dredging up all of that stuff up."

"Well, on the one hand I see his point." Linda replied, slipping on socks and sneakers. "But, on the other hand, Dad should remember that everyone grieves differently. And everyone deals with trauma differently. You and him just don't deal with Jan's death the same way."

"I dealt with it by drinking for many years. Then I dealt with it by throwing myself blindly into my faith." Sylvia said. "The same way I dealt with it when I first found out you and Supergirl had merged into one. Now, after being dead or whatever we were when that Time Trapper person had us… well, there have to be better ways to deal with grief and stress. And, I need some closure to Jan's death so I can finally let go. Since his killer is still loose…"

"I understand Mom. It's why I went on that show with you. I'm just sorry that Selena Moonstone was a fraud." Linda sighed.

"I was wondering… do you know the Spectre?"

"Sort of." Linda shivered. Old grey-skinned creepy Spectre gave her the creeps in a way that not even the Joker did.

"Do you think you could talk to him about Jan?"

"No." Linda said quickly. "I wouldn't talk to the Spectre about anything. However, I do have less creepy contacts I could talk to. I can't make any promises. But, I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you!" Sylvia gushed.

"No prob, Mom. I'm gonna go ahead and let you go. I need to finish getting ready for work."

"OK. Have a good day. I'll talk to you tonight."

"OK. I'll watch you on TV."

Linda smiled, "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, honey."

Linda ended the call.

Brainiac 2's damaged spaceship had barely survived the trip returning from the Dawn of Time. At several points during the journey, it had quite nearly shaken apart. But, now, as it drifted through space, at the edge of the Universe, edging toward the planet Koulvera.

The electronic tower, flashed, as readouts went scrawling across the monitors.

PLANET KOULVERA… TECHNOLOGICALLY SUPERIOR TO TERRAN-EARTH…. CIVILIATION EQUAL TO THAT OF COLU. HAVE NOT MASTERED SPACE TRAVEL….NECESSARY MATERIALS PRESENT….

The tower continued flashing brightly in sequence as the damaged spaceship entered Koulvera's atmosphere.

"I think it's a little too much… and the lipstick too red." Linda said. She had never had this much make-up on before.

"Trust me." Kyle said, brushing something pinkish on her cheeks. "The lighting will make it look fine."

"He's right, Linda baby. You look like a million dollars." Alan Ward said.

Linda watched Alan Ward, producer of non-news and entertainment programming here at Channel 8, in the mirror. She just didn't trust him completely. Especially since he seemed to have been fully aware that Selena Moonstone was some sort of psycho.

Her segments would appear on the regular news; and then again on Saturday morning in an hour long program with movie reviews.

"I hope so. From here I look a little like Bozo the Clown."

Alan and Kyle laughed.

"You're fine." Alan said, "Once Kyle is done, head up to wardrobe."

"OK." Linda said, afraid to see what they would put her in.

"Hey, Lin- Whoa!" Cutter Sharp said, his eyes going wide. "Looks like you got into a fight with the Avon Lady."

"I told you!" Linda said, turning to Kyle accusingly.

"You look fine. It's necessary with your skin tone and hair color so you don't look like the Phantom of the Opera on TV. Trust me." Kyle said.

Linda glared at him. "If I look like Bozo…"

"You won't."

"Yeah." Cutter chuckled, "You'll look like Mrs. Bozo."

Both Kyle and Linda gave Cutter a dirty look.

Cutter followed Linda out of the room as she made her way to wardrobe.

Cutter tried to keep his voice low, "So, no idea who this Dynamic character is?"

"None. He was pretty generic. What's weird is when he blasted me with an energy bolt it was nothing. It shouldn't have been able to do to that building what it did." Linda replied.

"Weird. Well, footage is all over the news today. Including you taking the bolt and the bolt taking that building out."

"And lemme guess, the coverage is negative."

"Yeah. It's all slanted toward 'If she can take a blast like that and not suffer, then what is she? And can we trust her?'." Cutter said.

"As though I haven't saved this city hundreds of times." Linda's expression darkened.

"Hey, you're preaching to the choir here. However, someone doesn't seem to think so." Cutter said. "The story is being pushed by the metro news desk-which is run by Joseph Heller. He would be behind most of the anti-Supergirl stories."

"Good to know. Will you look into it further and see what you can find out?" Linda asked as they reached wardrobe.

"I'll do what I can." Cutter nodded.

"Thank you." Linda said, disappearing into the wardrobe room.

Lt. Damien Jacobs sat across from Senator Gayle Marsh.

"You nearly killed people." Gayle sighed, "That's not what I wanted. It told you-only use villains that won't harm people. We just want to make her look like a nuisance. We don't want people dead."

"It would have mostly been Red Zone trash. We'd be helping clean up the streets."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Gayle shook her head. She was beginning to suspect that Lt. Jacobs had a "whatever it takes to win" attitude. "Where did you find this Dynamic person?"

"He was a loaner." Jacobs shrugged.

"From whom?"

"An old friend." Lt. Jacobs said. "It's best you don't know Senator."

"I'm going to advise you Damien… don't get me mixed up in anything that will come back to haunt me. I favor a more discrete publicity campaign. Not unleashing super-villains on the city."

"Don't worry. It is all fine." Jacobs smiled, "My tracks are covered."

"They better be." Gayle said, her expression grim.

"I better get going." Jacobs said, "I am flying out to Metropolis this afternoon. I'll be back day after tomorrow."

Gayle Marsh didn't bid him farewell.

Once he was in the hallway, heading down the corridor of the historic downtown building the Senator's offices were in. Lt. Jacobs reached the parking garage and slid into his car. From the safety of his car, Lt. Jacobs dialed a number on his cell phone.

"Hi. It's Jacobs. Dynamic did a dynamic job last night. Any chance I can get his services again? Excellent. Yes. Of course. Same deal as before. He attacks the target of my choice, and I make sure there is no one patrolling the area when your shipment comes in. Yep. And same as before… make sure Dynamic does his best to draw out Supergirl… and this time make sure he says he's there to settle a grudge with Supergirl." Jacobs's voice glittered with malice. "Holy Queen of Heaven Church in the Red Zone is having a fund raiser next week on Thursday. It's part of their public outreach and neighborhood improvement campaign. There will be plenty of media coverage. So he's guaranteed an audience. And, the more casualties, the better. OK. Bye."

Jacobs ended the call, his eyes dark and deadly. He smiled, his smile resembling a wolf.

He left the parking garage, heading for the precinct.

Her first day was going well so far. They had filmed several studio segments-mostly promos of her saying, 'Hi, I'm Linda Danvers. Join me weeknights at six o'clock and ten o'clock for info on all the cool new destinations in Midway City. And Saturday mornings at eleven a.m. for 'Destination Midway City.'"

They'd done that for a solid two hours. Then she'd ended up back in make-up where Kyle had removed the heavy make-up and gone for something lighter. Her hair was changed and they put her in different clothes.

Now they were out in the streets of Midway City filming more promos.

"You're a natural." The director Peter Barton told her. "The camera L-O-V-E-loves you."

"That's good to know." Linda replied. It was weird getting this much attention as Linda. She was used to photo shoots and cameras as Supergirl. But Linda Lee Danvers was normally ignored by the world at large. "It feels nice to be outside. That studio was getting awfully warm."

"You'll get used to it. Once you have an assistant, get him or her, to get you a little hand-held fan. They'll save your life. Also, lots of cold water. And drink from a straw to prevent from ruining your lipstick." Peter said, watching as his crew set up in front of a trendy downtown restaurant.

"Thanks for all your help today." Linda said. "I have never done TV before."

"It's OK. You're a refreshing change from the regular anchor-types we get. Alan Ward was smart when he picked you instead of the usual journalistic school schmuck. The audience is going to love you. You're real. And that's what audiences want right now. Real people. They don't want overly-polished anchors with big hair and shoulder pads. Blow hards like Johnny Drew and Joan Raymond." Peter shook his head in disgust.

"Everyone keeps warning me that Johnny Drew is a jerk." Linda commented, wrinkling her nose.

"Those people are being nice. Johnny Drew is a grade-A A-hole." Peter scoffed.

Linda snickered.

"We're ready Peter!" One of the boom-guys called.

"OK, Linda." Peter said. "Go over and stand in front of that window, just to the side so that name shows then we'll get you properly lit, and then we'll shoot and move on to the Genoa City Park."

Linda nodded, going over to stand in front of the window.

"There she is… pretending to be all mousy and plain. Powerful spell that one." Linda looked toward the prissy voice.

Hovering there in mid-air in front of an alleyway were two hazy green ghosts.

"Oh. Look Arturo. Even as Plain Jane she can see us."

"I thought there was only one of you left." Linda mumbled.

"What did you say?" Peter Barton called. "And look forward so we can get the light just right."

"I got better. And really… what did you expect? You can't kill something already dead." The 2nd Ghost said.

Linda smiled brightly at Peter Barton and the crew.

Great. First day and already a threat. How does Clark always manage to figure out how to slip off without anyone noticing? She certainly wasn't good at it. She'd gotten fired from her job at the Midway City Museum due to her constant absences and tardiness from saving the world and city.

"Hey… Skeleta. Your good friend Supergirl is here."

"Where? I don't see her." Skeleta stepped from the alley into the sidewalk.

Linda's heart dropped; and she felt sick to her stomach.

"Oh. Brother." One of the ghosts groaned. "She's as stupid as ever!"

"Just blast the brunette. Give her a good old sonic scream." The other ghost sighed.

Skeleta's nearly lid-less eyes, wide and crazed, peered out from the plastic-sheen of flesh melted down to the bone of her skull.

"What is that?" Peter Barton said, sounding neither ruffled nor excited. He had the same bland sound he'd had while talking about lighting earlier.

"It's Skeleta." Linda said, "She's a super-villain. We need to get everyone out of here-and call the police! And Supergirl!"

"Oh." Peter said simply, then paused before continuing. "Well, she looks enough of a mess to be a super-villain."

Before Linda could reply Skeleta's jaw dropped and a terrible sonic scream issued.

All around them glass shattered, cars tumbled, and brick cracked. Bodies were flung and flying-among them Linda Danvers.

The sonic scream hurt, but the force of it carried her away. Giving her the opportunity to fly up into the sky and change from Linda Danvers into Supergirl.

Flying back down, Supergirl landed behind Skeleta.

"Hey… Skull-face."

"YOU!" Skeleta shouted. "I hate you!!"

Skeleta screamed again. This time the force was ten times greater. The sonic wave knocked Supergirl through a building-leaving her unconscious as it collapsed upon her.

"You really showed her." The 1st Ghost said.

"Yeah. Good job Ugly." The 2nd Ghost said.

Skeleta felt a bubble of rage welling up from within. She wasn't sure why. Just that she was still angry. And even slamming Supergirl thru a building hadn't helped.

"Uh-oh. Look out!" The 1st Ghost cried gleefully.

"Here she goes again!" The 2nd Ghost squealed.

Skeleta screamed again.

And the section of Midway City she stood in seemed to shiver and disappear in a wave of deafening sound.

TO BE CONTINUED…

NEXT ISSUE: "The Sound of Terror" The battle with Skeleta leaves Midway City in ruins. Supergirl discovers a secret about the Ghosts haunting Skeleta. And, Dick Malverne's research into Linda's apartment building puts him in danger.