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THE MAID OF STEEL # 6

"...The President reiterated his desire to build a massive memorial on the site of the Leesburg Massacre. A ceremony honoring all those who died -- both in Leesburg and around the world -- will be held at the United Nations tomorrow morning. Though the cleanup will officially begin then, it may be years or even decades before the scars of this invasion fully begin to heal... This is Morris Vincent, GBS News..."

Linda Danvers stood at the center of a large crater, one that spread over the entire length of what was once Leesburg. Her brown hair blew in the chill wind and her eyes were tightly shut, tears slowly running down her cheeks. Where once there had been a small town filled with people, each of whom had dreams and aspirations, now there was only dust and decay. A strange scent hung in the air, a mixture of ozone and death.

Linda held her breath, refusing to open her eyes again. It was all some horrible dream, a terrible hallucination. In the short time since the protomatter being that was Supergirl had become bonded with the less-than-perfect Linda Danvers, the two beings had become one. There was little difference between them now, save an inch or two in height or the color of their hair. When Linda transformed into Supergirl, she was still at her core the little girl who had grown up in Leesburg. And when Supergirl transformed into Linda, she was still the mass of protomatter that longed to be human. This was the place where she had become whole... had found stability. And it was all gone, thanks to Mongul*.

(*See the Cold Armageddon crossover and Supergirl # 5.)

"I suppose you really hate me now, huh?" The little boy's voice made Linda's eyes open with a start.

She turned to see a round-faced little boy wearing a pullover sweater and a small derby hat. He held a baseball bat in his hand, resting it on his left shoulder. His eyes were sad and full of hurt and he stepped towards Linda tentatively, as if fearing reproach. He was Wally -- the little boy who claimed to be, quite literally, God. It had been Wally who had helped Linda patch her life together and it had been Wally who had taken the majority of her angelic powers from her*.

(*Wally took Supergirl's angelic essence in Supergirl : The Maid of Steel # 1.)

"Wally?! Where have you been...?"

Wally shrugged, keeping his eyes low. "Around. It's been a really busy time for me... Earth took a pretty good beating."

Linda knelt before him, hugging him to her fiercely. "Wally... I thought I'd lost everyone. I didn't think anyone had survived this..."

Wally brought his hands up, stroking Linda's hair. "You'll never lose me, Linda. Even when you think I'm not with you... I am."

Linda pulled back, wiping her eyes. "Wally... Did anyone else make it? My parents? Mattie? Anybody?"

Wally held her gaze, speaking slowly. "Nobody made it out, Linda. They're all dead."

"No..." Linda stood up, her knees weak and uncertain. She wavered on her feet, bringing her hands up to her face. A long, mournful wail echoed through the remains of Leesburg as Linda Danvers let out all the hurt that was racing through her. Once again, she was alone.

As if in response to her unspoken thoughts, she heard "You're not alone, Linda." Wally's soothing voice brought a halt to her tears, if only temporarily. "You still have people who care about you -- and you know that they'd want you to carry on for them."

Linda glanced back at him, her eyes red and puffy. "Carry on? How? Everything is gone... I should have been here with them instead of in space with the Justice League! I let my family and friends die while I played superhero!"

"And if you hadn't been there and played the part that you did, Mongul might have won. You can't blame yourself, Linda. All you can do is mourn for those that you lost and move on. Honor their memory by fighting for the ideals that they held. Your father never surrendered, not under any circumstances -- and neither should you."

Linda looked up to the sky and nodded. She knew he was right but the hurt was too raw right now... "I need to get away from here, Wally. I don't blame you at all -- you explained to me the way things are*. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now but I understand." Linda's form shifted into that of Supergirl's, her shoulder-length brown hair turning long and blonde. Her slim figure filled out somewhat and her clothes shifted into her familiar costume.

(*In our classic # 4 issue, scripted by our much-missed former collaborator Kell Carpenter.)

"Where are you going, Linda?"

Supergirl lifted into the air, refusing to look back. "To see the only family I have left..."

Will Payton blinked in horror. Central Arizona, the area where he had been born, was in ruins. It hadn't been hit nearly as bad as other parts of the U.S., but there will miles-long stretches of desolation. The man who had once been called Starman flew lower, circling over the devastation. The National Guard and the Red Cross were both in the area, helping survivors -- the sight of so many bodies covered by thin white sheets made Will's heart ache.

Though it had been against his will, he'd played a part in all this. Mongul had sapped his stellar energy, using it to help power his insane plans*. Once freed, Starman had eagerly returned to Earth... but he had no idea of what awaited him.

(*See Superman # 11-12 for more.)

Starman took back to the sky, realizing that there was little he could do here. He'd been away from Earth for so long that he wasn't sure where his friends and family were -- he'd have to call his mom and his sister Jayne as soon as possible and make sure they were okay.

Will...We have to go to Smallville.

The voice echoed in Will's mind, insistent and pressing. It was a voice that Will had struggled to get used to in the months since this being had become a part of his life... and a part of him. Starman had been in the Vegan System, exploring the worlds that were formerly part of the Citadel, when he'd found a shard of some meteor. It was a beautiful stone of the darkest black... and it had immediately set off warning bells in Will's head. He'd recognized it but the second he'd touched it, it had been too late. The insidious mind within had invaded him once again, as it had so long ago. He'd resisted, of course, but found himself weakened by the strain -- in the end, the voice had offered assistance and knowledge, promising in a purring voice that it would grant Starman incredible power in exchange for a return trip to Earth. His capture and enslavement by Mongul had been something unexpected altogether. It had served the dual purpose of keeping Starman away from Earth and keeping the spirit within him too weak to break free.

Starman shook his head. "Sorry but no. We're not going anywhere except to Phoenix. I want to check on my family."

You can call them from Smallville, Will. Your family can wait. The tone was hard and insistent.

Starman sighed. He'd learned to trust this person, this being, but it didn't make this any easier. "Look -- why can't we go to Smallville after Phoenix?"

Will...I gave you strength in the journey back home. You know that you can't resist me...

Starman frowned, his face registering the intense mental struggle going on within. Suddenly, however, his face relaxed. The battle was lost. "Okay -- but I'm calling Jayne the second we get there... And one more thing --"

Yes?

"Where the heck is Smallville?"

"Here, Mae... I made you some cocoa." Ma Kent set the steaming cup down in front of Linda, her eyes sad. She and Pa had been very supportive of Mae's new existence and... Ma shook her head. She wasn't Mae anymore, she was Linda. When Supergirl had first arrived on Earth she had been in terrible shape -- Clark had asked his parents to look out for her. Dubbed 'Matrix' by her creator, Supergirl eventually took to the name Mae... But following her merger with Linda Danvers, she wasn't quite the same innocent that the Kents had grown to know.

Linda accepted the cup with a wan smile. She was sitting at the kitchen table, soaking up the familiar smells and sounds of the Kent farm. Pa was sitting across from her, ignoring the ham and eggs before him. His face was drawn tight with worry. "You're sure that none of them made it? Did you check with the Red Cross? I know that they set up shelters just outside the blast area..."

Linda shook her head. "They didn't make it... I should have been there with them, Pa. I might have saved them."

Pa leaned forward, placing one of his callused hands over hers. "Listen to me -- you did what you had to do. Clark's been through this sort of thing a million times and I've told him the same thing each time. Supergirl belongs to the world. You saved billions of lives, Linda. Billions. That means something."

"I know, Pa... but it doesn't make it any easier. I love the two of you and you'll always be like parents to me -- but the Danvers were my parents too..."

Pa stood up, moving to Linda's side. He brought her into his arms and held her, strength seemingly flooding into his aged arms. "They love you a lot, Linda. It's okay to miss them. It's okay."

Collin Thornton was not pleased. As publisher of Newstime magazine, he was one of the richest and influential men in the world. But his real power was not in the world of mortal men -- he was actually Lord Satanus, a powerful sorcerer of the highest order.

He turned and gazed back at his office, filled with things needing to be signed and other petty affairs. Cold anger burned in his heart. He had been forced to flee Leesburg in order to escape Mongul's attack, disrupting his plans for Supergirl*.

(*Satanus arrived in Leesburg way back in our hard-to-find first issue.)

Leesburg had been the center of a vast collection of mystic forces, accounting for the large number of odd occurrences in the city's vicinity over the years... With this mass destruction there was a very good chance that some of those energies had been freed. Satanus stroked his beard -- perhaps there would yet be a way he could salvage his plans.

The villain smiled slowly, thinking of the possibilities. One way or another, the heroine known as Supergirl would be his -- and she would serve as an excellent pawn to destroy the Man of Steel.

"How is she?" Ma Kent stood behind her husband of so many years, peering over his shoulder into the darkened guest bedroom. Inside, Linda Danvers slept fitfully, her dreams full of regrets and lost friends.

Pa shrugged. "I think she'll be okay but it's gonna take some time. She didn't just lose one or two friends -- she lost an entire family and everything that went with it."

"Is she going to stay for awhile?"

"She'll be here for a bit, I imagine. She's pretty upset and doesn't really have anywhere else to go -- poor thing doesn't even have any of her art anymore. It was all destroyed, too."

"Not all of it, Pa." The man's strong voice brought an immediate smile to both of the Kents' faces. Turning, they saw their pride and joy -- Superman. He held up a small sculpture of an angel.

Ma moved over to embrace him. "Clark! I'm so glad you could come. Linda needs all of us..."

"I know, Ma. I wish I could stay longer but I'm needed back in Metropolis. I'll be back in the morning -- but I wanted Linda to have this. I found it with my X-Ray vision at the Leesburg site. It's hers."

Pa Kent took the sculpture from him, regarding it. "An angel... Maybe it's a sign of some kind -- something to show she shouldn't give up hope."

Superman glanced in at Linda. "Tell her when she wakes that I'll be by to see her tomorrow -- I don't want her feeling alone right now."

Pa nodded. "I will. Now you go, son. I know that Metropolis took some licks in the attack, too. You go patch her back up."

At just past two in the morning Linda was awakened by a tapping at her window. With a puzzled frown on her face, she slid out of bed and moved to open the curtain. Outside was a handsome man dressed in a costume that she dimly recalled having seen before. "Starman... Is that you?"

The figure smiled, obviously surprised. "I can't believe you recognized me -- I've been away for a long time. Listen, could you come outside for a minute? I need to talk to you."

Linda blinked. She wasn't sure about this at all -- did Starman somehow know that she was Supergirl? If not, why in the world would he want to speak with her? Taking a chance, she slid out of the window -- she knew that Pa was a light sleeper and she could always scream in warning if she thought the Kents were in danger.

"Okay... What can I do for you?"

Starman smiled in a good-natured sort of way, immediately putting Linda at ease. He seemed like a normal guy. "Well, it's going to sound kind of strange but I have somebody who apparently used to know you."

"You have somebody... What do you mean?"

Starman started to speak but suddenly halted. He grunted in agony, his face twisting and turning as his power to mold his features began to fail. One side of his face darkened and shifted until it was terrible to see. When he spoke, his voice was full of pent-up fury. "You have something that I need, Supergirl! I could sense it as soon as I returned to earth -- I need your protomatter!"

Energy snaked out from Starman's body, snaring Linda in its grasp. She fought and struggled but to no avail. Her very life seemed to ebb, leaving her too weak to even shift into her Supergirl form.

As she weakened, a dark cloud seemed to generate around Starman. It slowly coalesced into a separate form, one full of malevolence and darkness. He wore black and purple, his face discolored on one side. "At last! With your excess protomatter, my body is reborn! No longer will I have to ineffectually guide Starman about as my means of travel! The Spectre sought to destroy me but he didn't realize that such a thing is impossible... I am the evil undying! I am ECLIPSO!!!!!"

Starman staggered back, his mind still locked tight in Eclipso's grasp. Linda stared up at the villain, her body feeling weak and tired... The one thought that kept running through her mind was that her only remaining family was now in mortal danger...

NEXT ISSUE : Eclipso is back with a vengeance! Can Supergirl put aside her grief long enough to battle both Eclipso and a mind-controlled Starman?

Ralph Angelo wrote in response to issue # 5 :

Wow! Great stuff there Barry! I wouldn't change a thing. Excellent work. I just finished it, and I think it exemplifies the feeling of helplessness and back to the wall determination we were looking for in this crossover. Great stuff!

Thanks, Ralph. For those who don't know, Ralph is the writer of FDC's Superman series and was the brainchild behind the entire Cold Armageddon series.

A new reader named Gary had this to say about the Annual :

Barry,

I just got finished reading the Supergirl Annual and wanted to get down some thoughts on it. It was one of the best issues of just about anything that I've read in a while. Paragon's not the first name to pop into your head as a worldbeater villain but it was good to see him again. I'd pretty much assumed that the rest of the planet forgot about him, good to see I was wrong. I especially like the fact that Supergirl wasn't the "star". Her role was the key factor in the battle, but in a lot of ways the story was a showcase of the rest of the cast and a good leaping off point for an Outsiders series!

Thanks for the praise, Gary. I've kicked around the notion of doing an Outsiders series but nothing is set in stone, believe me. I'm going to focus on closing out my twelve issue run on Supergirl before deciding what I'll do next for FDC.

Feel free to write questions, comments, etc.

Barry Reese

I can be reached at aric_dacia@yahoo.com