CH 24: Home

A man silently walked toward one of the Hand's hidden bases. He wore a black cloak that shifted and billowed despite there being no wind. Each step he took was slow, measured, and carried an oppressive sense of inevitability. Ninjas attempted to approach him from every direction while others attacked from afar, yet none of it mattered. Projectiles curved away from him as though reality itself refused to allow them to strike. Those who managed to get close felt an instinctive terror, a certainty that they were walking toward their own deaths.

They quickly discovered that they were right.

Gates, walls, people—nothing could stop him. Walls split apart before him, gates opened as if welcoming their conqueror, and anyone foolish enough to stand in his path found themselves facing death itself. The fortress, which had taken years to build and secure, was reduced to ruins within half an hour. The only reason it had taken that long was because the man seemed in no particular hurry.

With all three teams successfully completing their operations, they finally obtained the exact location of the Hand's true headquarters in Japan. The location had remained hidden for decades. Even intelligence agencies could do little more than speculate about where it might be. Finding concrete evidence had been nearly impossible.

Of course, traveling to Japan and destroying it was now the obvious plan.

Going into enemy territory without preparation, however, was not.

Lex wasn't particularly worried. His Vader template was already nearing completion. Recently he had gained the ability to generate lightning and had also acquired two weapons called lightsabers, one blue and one red. To be honest, Lex found them incredibly cool. After some testing, he discovered they could cut through almost anything.

Almost.

Sharon's shield could withstand them.

Donna's bracers could as well.

As the next few days passed, Raphael and Cortana continued working in the background. Raphael remained focused on her endless research while Cortana monitored the world, searched for companies worth acquiring, identified people of interest, and generally expanded Lex's influence at an alarming rate.

Everyone else had also settled into their own routines.

Sharon had become surprisingly close with Ava and was spending the day with her. Donna had been dragged away by Kitty and Alison after the girls discovered she worked as a photographer and demanded a photoshoot.

Meanwhile, Lex and Kara were relaxing beside the penthouse pool.

The weather was colder than most people would enjoy, but neither of them cared much. Kara had suggested spending the afternoon outside and Lex had agreed.

“So what was life like in your world?” Lex asked while staring up at the sky.

“Ahh... it was alright. Same job, mostly.”

“Being a superhero?”

“Being a superhero.”

Lex nodded before falling quiet for a moment.

“You know... I always feel a little guilty about bringing people here.”

Kara turned her head toward him.

“Guilty?”

“Yeah.” Lex sighed. “You guys all had lives there. Friends, family, people you cared about. Sharon is happier here, sure, but as far as I know both you and Donna left people behind.”

Kara stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her head.

“Give yourself a break.”

Lex looked toward her.

“We all died in our worlds. That's kind of an important detail.”

“Still—”

“No. Seriously.” Kara interrupted him. “In my case, your deal literally saved my world. Without it, I would've died and so would've everyone else. So stop acting like you kidnapped us.”

Lex chuckled weakly.

“Fair enough.”

“Though...” Kara stretched lazily before smirking. “If you're still feeling guilty, I wouldn't mind a massage.”

“Well, I wouldn't decline an opportunity to massage a beauty.”

“Smooth.”

“I try.”

“You fail.”

Despite her words, Kara rolled onto her stomach and made herself comfortable.

Lex moved behind her and began working on her shoulders.

For several seconds neither spoke.

Then Kara frowned.

“Come on, use some strength. At this rate it feels less like a massage and more like you're petting me.”

Lex smirked.

“Oh really?”

Without thinking much of it, he instinctively combined his telekinesis with the pleasant sensation effect granted by his Essence of Transcendent Self. To him, it seemed like a perfectly reasonable way to improve a massage.

The result was immediate.

“Ah—”

Kara froze.

Lex blinked.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

A second later another sound escaped her.

“Mm—”

This time Kara's face turned red.

Lex, meanwhile, remained completely oblivious.

“Too much pressure?”

“Not pressure.”

“Too little?”

“Definitely not too little.”

Lex frowned, trying to diagnose the problem while continuing his work.

Kara immediately regretted every decision that had led her to this moment.

She had been teasing him.

She had challenged him.

And apparently he had decided to respond.

Whether intentionally or not, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know.

“Ah... okay, that's...”

Kara stood up abruptly.

Lex looked confused.

“What happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then why are you leaving?”

“Because I suddenly remembered I have somewhere else to be.”

“You just said you didn't.”

“I do now.”

Before Lex could ask another question, Kara was already heading toward the exit with a very noticeable blush on her face.

Lex watched her leave in complete confusion.

He genuinely had no idea what had just happened.

Since there was no company anymore, relaxing beside the pool had obviously become pointless. Who would sit half naked beside a pool in the middle of November all by themselves? Lex certainly wouldn't.

After Kara's rather abrupt departure, he decided to call Donna and see what she was up to. Unfortunately, by the time she picked up, the photoshoot with Kitty and Alison had already finished and they were heading back.

That didn't stop them from deciding to hang out anyway.

In fact, Donna's entire invitation consisted of a single sentence.

“You can fly, right? Meet me at the top of the tallest building.”

And then she hung up.

So naturally Lex did exactly that.

By the time he arrived atop the skyscraper, the afternoon sun had already begun its slow descent across the sky. The wind was stronger this high up, carrying with it the distant sounds of New York. Cars looked like tiny moving dots from here and the crowds below seemed almost insignificant.

A few moments later Donna landed beside him.

“Oh, you're here already.”

“Yup,” Lex replied. “So where are you taking me flying?”

“Just come with me. I found a spot a couple days ago, but going there alone is...” She paused for a moment before waving her hand dismissively. “Sob story. Kara won't go, so you're my last option and I refuse to take no for an answer.”

Lex placed a hand over his chest dramatically.

“Ow... I'm hurt that I was your last option.”

“Your fault for always being busy.”

“Fair enough.”

The two of them pushed off the building and began flying away from Manhattan.

The city stretched endlessly beneath them. Glass towers reflected the sunlight while rivers of traffic crawled through the streets below. A flock of birds crossed their path briefly before veering away, disappearing between the skyscrapers.

“Yeah, these last few days have definitely been busy,” Lex admitted. “Especially that media company acquisition.”

He couldn't help but think back to the purchase.

The company itself hadn't been particularly remarkable, but after acquiring it he had immediately rebranded it into Titan Media.

According to Raphael, if he truly intended to conquer the world someday, controlling information would become almost as important as controlling armies.

Conquest.

That was another topic that had occupied an unreasonable amount of his thoughts recently.

The problem wasn't whether he wanted to do it.

The problem was understanding what actually counted as conquest.

His father had thrown him into the Metaverse with the assurance that conquering things would somehow earn him Essences.

The issue was that nobody had bothered to explain the rules.

What happened after he conquered a place?

Did he have to rule it personally?

Would becoming President of the United States count as conquering it?

Or would he have to defeat the military, dismantle the government, rewrite the constitution and crown himself Emperor before whatever force governed these rewards decided it counted?

The more he thought about it, the more questions appeared.

Due to those uncertainties, he hadn't made any real moves yet.

Of course, Raphael almost certainly had.

“Do you think this world would have Themyscira?”

Donna's sudden question pulled him out of his thoughts.

Lex turned toward her.

The wind tugged at her dark hair as she flew beside him, her eyes fixed somewhere ahead rather than on him.

“I don't know,” he admitted. “But there's no harm in trying.”

Donna was silent for a moment.

“Really?”

“Sure.”

“You'd come with me?”

Lex smiled.

“Why wouldn't I?”

Donna let out a small laugh.

“We find it or not, I'm definitely going to need a shoulder to cry on.”

There was humor in her voice.

A little too much humor.

The kind people used when they were trying not to think too hard about something.

Lex understood immediately.

Finding Themyscira wasn't the problem.

Not finding it wasn't the problem either.

If they found an island called Themyscira, it probably wouldn't be her Themyscira.

It wouldn't be her home.

It wouldn't be the place she grew up in.

“Want to go tomorrow?” Lex asked.

Donna blinked.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah.”

“Well...” A genuine smile appeared on her face this time. “I don't think I have anything else planned, so why not?”

The conversation faded naturally after that as they continued flying further away from the city.

Gradually the skyscrapers disappeared behind them.

Roads became thinner.

Buildings became rarer.

The sounds of civilization faded until all that remained was the rush of wind and the occasional cry of birds passing overhead.

Soon mountains began rising from the horizon.

Not massive mountains by global standards, but large enough that they completely dominated the landscape around them.

And eventually Donna began descending.

Lex followed.

The peak she had chosen was surprisingly beautiful.

It wasn't some famous tourist attraction or scenic overlook. In fact, it looked as though hardly anyone ever came here.

The summit was formed from rugged stone and sparse patches of grass that had somehow survived the cold. Pine trees covered much of the mountainside below them, their dark green needles swaying gently whenever the wind passed through them. The air felt fresh in a way New York never could.

Most importantly, the view was incredible.

The western horizon stretched endlessly before them.

The sun hung low in the sky, casting long golden rays across forests, rivers and distant hills. Clouds floated lazily overhead, painted orange, crimson and gold by the approaching sunset.

Birds occasionally crossed the sky on their journey home.

The entire mountain felt untouched.

Undisturbed.

Like a secret place the world had forgotten.

Lex immediately understood why Donna liked it.

“You know,” Donna said quietly as she sat down on a large stone overlooking the valley below, “just like this, we had a mountain in Themyscira with a really good sunset point.”

Lex sat beside her.

“Yeah?”

“Though ours was bigger.”

“Of course it was.”

Donna laughed.

“We used to fight there too.”

“At the sunset point?”

“It was a mountain full of Amazons. Of course we fought there.”

“That actually sounds reasonable.”

“See? You get it.”

For a few moments neither of them spoke.

The wind moved through the trees below.

The sky slowly darkened.

And somewhere in the distance, a hawk circled lazily above the forests.

“You miss home a lot, huh?”

Donna's smile softened.

“I don't know.”

She looked toward the horizon.

“When I was in my world, I hadn't visited home in three or four years.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Lex hadn't expected that answer.

“But I always had the option,” Donna continued quietly. “No matter how busy things got, no matter how long I stayed away, I could always go back if I wanted to.”

And now she couldn't.

That was the difference.

Not having something and losing the ability to ever have it again were two completely different feelings..

“I don't wanna give you false hope… but I can actually travel to different worlds too… I don't know if I'll ever be able to go to your world or even your multiverse... but hey, we're both immortals… so there's definitely a chance.” Lex assured.

Donna looked toward the horizon where the sky was slowly turning orange.

“You know what… a flicker of hope is still better than having none… so I'll accept that.” She smiled before shaking her head. “And by the way, I'm not immortal… I just have longevity.”

“About that…”

Lex made a tiny cut on his finger and held it out toward her.

Donna stared at the drop of blood.

Then at Lex.

Then back at the blood.

“...Hey, I don't mind… but can we do the strange fetishes once we've already had normal stuff?” she replied with a completely straight face.

“Ha ha…” Lex said with a pout. “Drink the blood. It'll make you immortal.”

“A drop of blood for immortality...” Donna muttered. “What if I just eat you all up?”

Before Lex could respond, she laughed and casually licked the blood from his finger.

The effects were immediate.

A strange warmth spread throughout her body. Not enough to be uncomfortable, just enough to feel noticeable. It flowed through her muscles, her bones, even her skin. Her already impressive vitality seemed to rise another level.

Not that Donna had ever been unhealthy.

As an Amazon, she was already stronger, faster and healthier than almost anyone on Earth. She possessed incredible longevity and a healing factor that dealt with most injuries before they became a problem.

Yet she could still feel the difference.

Her body felt... complete.

The tiny traces of wear accumulated over decades simply disappeared. Her skin became smoother, her hair somehow softer, and every part of her felt refreshed.

Donna immediately approved of these changes.

Very much approved.

“Okay... I like this power.”

“I knew you would.”

“Can I get another drop?”

“It wouldn't do anything.”

“Worth a try.”

The two shared a laugh before falling silent.

The sun had finally begun touching the horizon.

Golden light washed over the mountain peak, turning the rocky surface beneath them into shades of amber and gold. The forests below seemed to stretch endlessly, painted orange by the dying sunlight. A cool breeze moved through the trees, carrying the scent of pine while distant birds crossed the sky on their way home.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The scenery simply didn't need words.

High above the world, with no city noises reaching them and no responsibilities demanding their attention, they watched as the sun slowly disappeared beyond the mountains. The orange sky gradually deepened into crimson and violet while the first stars began appearing overhead.

Donna rested her chin on her knees as she watched the sunset.

“It really is a nice spot,” Lex admitted.

“Told you.”

“Still not as good as your mountain?”

Donna smiled softly.

“No... but it's close enough.”

And for now, that was enough.

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