And to think that the day had started so well.
She had woken up with the sunrise, before her alarm clock had to go off. This used to be the norm for her before the stress of her double life took its toll in recent years, throwing crisis after crisis at her. One might think that someone with her metabolism wouldn't need much sleep, but while her body could probably go weeks without sleep, her mind and sanity were another story.
So getting a good night's sleep, resting, and waking up relaxed with the sunrise was definitely a good sign. It was going to be a good day.
Breakfast seemed to confirm it. The eggs were perfect, the bacon was just right, and she could almost feel the vitamins recharging her body as she gulped down half a liter of orange juice.
And after that, off to work. A quick scan allowed her to relax, seeing that there were no unusual emergencies requiring her presence, so she allowed herself the luxury of taking the subway and letting herself be embraced by a little humanity.
Smelly humanity. Okay, yes, her super senses were still a burden on the subway. But not even that could ruin her good mood that morning.
She arrived early for work. So early that Charlie, the security guard in the lobby, hadn't even finished his first coffee.
“Miss Sinclair!”
“Good morning, Charlie!”
“You're early today. Weems just went upstairs with the editorial staff to start monitoring the news. And she's in a bad mood.”
“When isn't she?” laughed Enid Sinclair, unassuming star reporter, her abnormally large glasses almost falling off her nose.
Larissa Weems, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Poe, was a legend in the world of journalism. She was a perfectionist, relentless, and old school. She had a very bitter sense of humor and a capacity for verbal destruction as legendary as some of her old investigative pieces. Over time, though, you learned that this was a sign that she liked you. If she didn't like you, that's when she treated you with obsequious kindness.
Fortunately, Weems didn't need her to follow up on any news that morning, nor did she have anything new to assign her, unless a last-minute emergency arose. Enid already had her assignment and her day was going to be mainly spent checking her sources for the investigative article on GatesCorp and their new arms contract. Enid knew from experience and past run-ins with Gates that there was surely more to the story than met the eye.
That was the plan for what was going to be her morning. Make a few calls, maybe a visit here and there, organize all her notes, and get the article ready for publication next Monday, just in time for the official announcement from GatesCorp. Enid smiled at her small desk, letting the sound of the increasingly loud rumbling of the newspaper surround her.
Some of the veterans still used typewriters, and the sound relaxed her. It had always been that way since...
Suddenly, screams.
In the distance, blocks away.
Lots of screams.
And explosions. And something metallic and...
Oh.
Oh, those were impact echoes.
Footsteps.
Something heavy moving and...
The door to Weems' office slammed open. The editor-in-chief, a towering woman with short blonde hair, burst out like a force of nature, followed by the editors and department heads. “All emergency channels are flashing red! I need someone on the Sonnenfeld Avenue yesterday! Julia! Huston! Keep this organized... and Sinclair! I need you to… Where the hell is Sinclair!?”
Her only answer was an empty desk and a chair still spinning as if someone had gotten up from it very quickly.
§§§
And to think that the day had started so well.
That was the thought that crossed Enid Sinclair's mind for a few seconds, before she crushed it under the weight of her own sense of responsibility, leaving her civilian clothes behind as she flew out of a skylight on the roof of the Daily Poe, without her glasses, her hair loose instead of tied back in her trademark ponytail, and wrapped in the outfit for which she was known throughout the world.
Superwolf, the Last Werewolf of Krypton.
Yes, the greatest heroine on earth was an alien version of a monster that humans still made horror movies about.
Don't think too hard about it.
It took her barely a minute to reach the scene. She could have been faster and arrived in seconds, but the energy generated by the speed of that movement would surely have caused structural damage to more than one building. As soon as she arrived, she got a clear answer about what was happening: a giant humanoid robot was floating in the air, right in the middle of the avenue between the skyscrapers, firing heat rays that seemed to melt the metal and glass around it.
“Where the hell did you come from?” muttered Superwolf. The android's design didn't match any of the technology she had encountered in the past courtesy of GatesCorp. Nor did it look like the work of S.T.A.R. Labs' robotics división, it was too old-fashioned in its design, with its bulky torso and atomic symbol engraved in the metal, looking like something that had escaped from the cover of an old pulp magazine from the 1950s.
Deciding that determining the robot's origin was not a priority, Superwolf launched herself forward and swept down the street, clearing straggling civilians from the area. But there were still many in the buildings.
I have to move this thing and get it off the streets, she thought.
Moretz Park has been evacuated, you should have plenty of room there, replied a voice speaking directly to her mind.
Enid smiled, revealing her fangs before flying under the robot and rising vertically to ram it squarely with a powerful blow to the head. Despite its enormous mass, the mechanical being rose like a piece of paper blown by the wind, soaring above the skyscrapers and remaining suspended in the air for a moment before Superwolf slammed into it again, throwing it against the aforementioned park.
The Last Werewolf of Krypton allowed herself a brief respite, watching the gigantic automaton momentarily motionless in the crater that had formed after its impact with the park's surface. Floating beside her in the air, another humanoid figure became visible. It was a male with green skin, bright red eyes, and hair formed by tendrils reminiscent of silent snakes. Enid did not turn to greet him, her attention still focused on the robot.
“Thanks for helping out, Jax.”
“Always a pleasure, Superwolf.”
A'Jax Ptr-Olus, the Martian Gorgon, one of the most powerful heroes on the planet, an exceptional telepath, and one of Enid's oldest friends. The two exiles and last survivors of their respective worlds, trying to help their new home avoid repeating the same mistakes.
“Any idea where our metallic friend came from?” asked the Wolf of Steel.
“Jade Lantern is examining the old League’s database to see if any patterns emerge. But even if she finds nothing, you know how these things go, ” explained A'Jax.
“Yes, yes... it's only a matter of time before the person responsible decides to brag about it,” Enid replied, “Or maybe it's just a distraction to keep me busy.”
“I've taken the liberty of contacting The Rush to ask him to make a few rounds around the city and keep an eye out. Queen Siren and Blood Amazon are busy, but they'll lend a hand if necessary.”
Below them, the robot began to rise, slowly and loudly.
“Ah, I knew it couldn't be that easy,” Enid growled, her face taking on more wolf-like features for a second before lunging again at the giant android.
“Superwolf, wait, I feel..!” exclaimed the Martian Gorgon, but his warning came too late.
The android's head turned 180 degrees as it opened, revealing a luminous visor, a single eye filled with a greenish, putrid glow that struck Superwolf squarely with a beam of emerald energy. The superheroine let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground with a loud thud right at the feet of the recovered mechanical monster.
Stupid! A ray of aconite kryptonite! Since the incident two years ago, many of my weaknesses are public knowledge. I should have anticipated the possibility of something like this!
But this was no time for recriminations. Enid got up, injured and with burns all over her body that were only now beginning to heal thanks to the sun. Despite the immense pain, she managed to move quickly enough to dodge a stomp from her opponent.
A'jax, meanwhile, had thrown himself into the fight, striking the machine's torso and trying to pierce the metal that protected its internal circuits, but suddenly the entire metal surface of the android was engulfed in flames. A'jax backed away from it, letting out a primal scream of horror and falling to the ground as his metamorphic body writhed in panic, unable to maintain a specific form.
Martians have an ancestral phobia of fire, thought Enid, blowing icy wind on the robot to extinguish the flames, Whoever built this thing knows our weaknesses.
The android twisted, turning its torso and breaking the layer of ice that had momentarily formed over it, throwing a punch in the direction of the flying blonde. Enid dodged the blow and immediately avoided another blast of aconite kryptonite. The sickly green beam didn't hit her squarely this time, but its mere proximity made her stomach churn and caused cold sweats and a feeling of lethargy in her body.
I have to be quick... an ascent to recharge with solar energy and then go for an all-in with a single blow.
Her idea was to cause enough damage with a single attack to cripple the machine's defenses so that A'jax could resume his own offense against the robot. It was preferable that they finish it off between the two of them before other members of their team arrived. If that android could adapt so quickly against them...
Enid rose like a rocket.
The robot didn't move.
Despite being able to fly, the machine remained motionless on the ground, watching the Kryptonian she-wolf's movements.
Once above the clouds, Enid immediately felt the direct sunlight recharging her cells and healing the rest of her burns. If it had been night and the sunlight had been reflected by the moon, the effect would have been a hundred times stronger, but one couldn't have everything. Enid turned and prepared to resume the fight. She broke the sound barrier and descended on a direct collision course with the robot. All her senses were focused on it, ready to dodge any possible energy discharge.
But the android didn't move, the cannon-visor hidden in its head didn't open again. It seemed content to wait, turned into a motionless target.
And then, when Superwolf was just fifty meters away, ready to strike the metal shell of her opponent, the robot began to glow. But this time it wasn't flames of fire that covered the entire surface of its metal body. It was a green, devilishly evil glow.
Its entire body was emitting the radiation of aconite kryptonite!
In a split second, Superwolf's eyes widened in horror.
I can't stop! I can't...!
A shadow crossed the air in front of her. A beam of black light formed out of nowhere, almost absorbing the color of everything around it, and opened a sharp gash that nearly decapitated the giant android.
The green glow vanished, and Superwolf rammed into the machine, piercing its torso and crashing to the park floor below.
Fighting off the daze of the impact, Enid spun around and stood up to see the robot with a huge hole in the center of its body. Through the gap, she saw her unexpected rescuer, a male figure clad in black armor that could only be described as demonic. In his hands, he carried a broadsword that seemed to spew shadows as if they were floating tar. They exploded in black fire, fire made of shadows.
The man was in mid-jump...
“FOR THE HOUSE OF ADAMO!” he shouted, as his sword sliced through the air in a vertical stroke that split the robot in two.
Adamo? thought Enid. That almost sounded like...
“Who...?” she whispered.
“I'm very sorry,” said a voice behind her, “I know he looks like a Dark Lord escaped from a high fantasy novel, but Wod is trustworthy. He came with me.”
Enid turned, alarmed. Very few people could surprise her like that without her super-senses detecting their presence. But until she had spoken, Superwolf hadn't realized the other woman was there.
And when she saw her, she felt a lump form in her throat.
It wasn't her, she couldn't be.
The facial features weren't identical. Very similar, true, and even more so with the paleness and choice of hairstyle, but it couldn't be her. Her clothing, dark blue and white, was also slightly more colorful than the usual black and dark gray. And the age didn't match either...
But it feels like it's her.
“Greetings,” said the stranger in a friendly, polite voice. “We're sorry to barge in like this, but we thought you could use some help. And we need to talk with you.”
“Who are you?” Enid managed to say, ignoring the robot falling apart behind her, engulfed in black flames.
“Oh, yes, I know this may seem strange to you. You see, my name is Wednesday Addams.”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“No, you can't be her,” repeated Superwolf, frowning, her eyes flashing red for a moment from the pain of the memory, “Because Wednesday Addams died two years ago.”
Upon hearing those words, it was the newcomer Wednesday, Pup, who couldn't help but frown in sheer dismay.
“Oh. Well, I think that complicates things for us.”
NOTES
In case you're interested:
Enid Sinclair, a.k.a Sin-Clar a.k.a Superwolf (Superman/girl)
Ajax Petropolus a.k.a A'Jax Ptr-Olus a.k.a The Martian Gorgon (Martian Manhunter).
Divina Jordan a.k.a Jade Lantern (Green Lantern).
Xavier Thorpe a.k.a The Rush (The Flash).
Bianca Curry a.k.a Queen Siren (Aquaman).
Yoko Tanaka a.k.a Koyoko of Themyscira a.k.a Blood Amazon (Wonder Woman).Hmm, I wonder who her Wednesday was... 🤔
Oh, and in the next chapter we'll meet Vega Addams again!
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