Silvia's ears started functioning before her eyes did and she heard the tiny, garbled chatter of people that sounded like they wore buckets over their heads. "The High Councillor thinks this is actually her?"
"No... he's just too smart to not consider it. I mean he's an alien from a dead planet, we have the daughter of a demon and an Amazon warrior princess working for us..."
Straining her eyes, Silvia finally managed to make out some blurry details of the room around her. She grunted as she shifted and sat upward. She seemed to be inside a cell. Inside this cell was a single bed, a toilet and... that's it. The entire cell was closed off by a clear wall like the ones containing the animals in Clark's Fortress.
She'd also been dressed in a simple orange prison jumpsuit, a type of clothing she thought she'd never find herself in again. In front of this cell were two soldiers, armed with advanced body armour and weaponry. "W-What...What the fuck is this?"
The soldiers glanced at each other and chuckled.Silvia pushed to her feet and immediately tried to ram her hand into the transparent wall keeping her from her captors. Her fist impacted with a shuddering rumble, but more damage was done to her fingers than the clear material.
With a growl, Silvia realigned her knuckles. "Who do you guys work for? Who's this High Councillor?"
"We've been given orders not to speak to you. Ma'am. So keep your mouth shut until he returns and requests your presence." One of the soldier spat.
Silvia laughed, pressing an arm against the window. "Yeah, you're a real tough guy. Let me out and I'll show you tough."
Minutes more of her bickering followed, but the soldiers were as silent and responsive as statues. Without being able to talk her opponents into submission, Silvia eventually threw herself back onto the tiny bed in her cell, trying to figure out why she was there and more importantly, how she was going to get out.
Who in the world could wrangle people like Raven, Killer Frost and Catwoman then make them all work together? Frost is selfish, she'd never work well with anyone else. The same can be said for Catwoman. And Raven on the same side as those two? Silvia knew that something was off, even though her confidence with her thinking skills was low. This High Councillor guy had to be someone really bad...like really bad.
Before long, Silvia's hearing managed to pick up a call that one of the soldiers received through their helmet. "I'm ready for her now." A familiar voice spoke, it was faint but Silvia swore she knew it.
"Yes, sir. Right away." With that, the soldiers stepped towards the cell. One slapped a button on the wall and the other stood with rifle at the ready. Silvia's eyes shot down at the weapon immediately...tempted. But she thought about it. If Raven, Catwoman and Killer Frost were just running around, who knows who could be stationed at...wherever this is. Silvia reluctantly gritted her teeth as the wall rose and a guard fastened a pair of cuffs around her hands.
The pair of soldiers then escorted her out of the prison wing and into a very familiar corridor. Silvia's heart sunk. This seemed just like the part of the Fortress that Clark kept those strange alien animals in and she recognised a lot of the same animals. Maybe all of this happened because Clark...is gone. Silvia remembered the terrible times that Metropolis went through when he was trapped in the Phantom Zone and Zod ran amok... Maybe Zod was the High Councillor and he's taken over the world.
Her mind was racing. She knew that this was a different Clark...not hers...but she was worried. He would still be Clark to her.
Soon enough, the guards pushed Silvia through a doorway and she spied the back of a figure. He was standing at a table...and wore a red cape. "...Clark...?" Silvia called.
The man froze as soon as he heard her voice. As slowly as anyone had ever moved before, the man turned his head over his shoulder. The face that looked at her was...frightening. It was Clark. But his eyes were shallow and almost lifeless. His face was slightly wrinkled and his black hair sported a few strands of grey like he was at least twelve years older.
In complete silence, Superman turned his body to face Silvia and came striding over to her. His uniform was much more complex and ornate than Silvia was used to. It featured complicated details and its cape was connected directly to the emblem.
He stopped mere inches from her and stared at her. Silvia, although she didn't want to admit it, was starting to feel fear.
"Leave us." His sudden command made Silvia jump.
The soldiers unbuckled her handcuffs and swiftly left the room, like they wanted nothing but to please Clark. "Clark...what is this...? What's happening...?"
Clark then walked a circle around Silvia, still scrutinising her. "It can't be you. But it is. I'd never forget your voice...your eyes..."
His voice was different. Sad...angry.
"Your vitals are all wrong...you...you're from a parallel Earth...aren't you? How did you get here?" He pressed.He came back around to Silvia's front and glared, waiting for a response.
Silvia instantly told him the truth. "Barry, he brought me here. He said I can help you."
Silvia then found the courage to reach out and take his hand. Clark flinched but surely accepted her touch.
"It...can't be. It can't be."
"I'm here now."
"He brought you back to me... You're back." Clark muttered.
Silvia once again tried to get answers. "Clark...talk to me. Tell me what happened here."
"...You...You died. The Joker...he...he drugged me. I...killed you. Then he nuked Metropolis. Millions died. Lois...Jimmy..."
"Oh my god, C-Clark... I'm so sorry."
"I couldn't let it happen again. To anyone. To save millions, I took his life. He was beyond saving."
Silvia lowered her brow. "You killed him. But...you taught me that--"
"There's always another way?" Clark interrupted. "You were pregnant, Sil! You were pregnant and I killed you! That was too far. He had to be stopped. But after the Joker, I saw more. People couldn't be kept safe if people like him were allowed to live. That's what you taught me."
Silvia was speechless. She thought that Clark was incorruptible but everything his father taught him, It was all gone. Seeing him so hardened, hearing him say such horrible things... It made her heart feel frozen; like concrete drying in her chest then smashing into dampened pieces. She couldn't believe that he had done such a thing... Not her Clark, never him.
Clark continued "But it doesn't matter now, you're back. You're with me again." He clutched her in a tight embrace but Silvia couldn't help but be afraid. This wasn't Clark. It couldn't be.
"High Councillor, I--" called yet another voice that Silvia knew.
As Superman released her, she spun and expected to feel the warm, empowering green glow of a power ring...but was instead ensnared by a cold chill. It was Hal Jordan but he was wearing the yellow power ring and uniform of the Sinestro Corps.
Green Lanterns utilise willpower, positive energy from the spirit of living things. Sinestro's Yellow Lanterns harness the fear of others to be strong...and suddenly due to Hal's appearance, Silvia felt like hers was being fed upon.
"Oh my god." He snapped.
"Hal... You're Sinestro Corps?" Silvia knew what Sinestro's Corps did, the people they slaughtered in their war against the Green Lanterns. Her Hal made sure she knew... It was the most brutal fight he was ever a part of.
"How is this possible...?" Hal asked Clark, ignoring Silvia.
"She's from an alternate Earth, Hal. She's come back to us." Clark answered, sounding hopeful.
Silvia didn't let the subject go. "You told me once about Sinestro's army. They butchered your friends. Your brothers and sisters...thousands of them. How could you?"
Hal was still so shocked at seeing Silvia alive that he simply stared and stammered.
"What did you need, Hal?" Clark asked aggressively.
Hal, without a second to spare, met Clark's eyes with his. "Sir, I wanted to inform you that Arthur will be arriving soon to discuss the treaties..." His eyes still flicked back to Silvia every now and then.
Clark was silent for several seconds, evidently annoyed by the interruption. "Silvia needs some time to adjust. Excuse us."
Hal didn't even resist, he obeyed Clark like a dog. He walked out of the chamber, sending one glance back at the pair before he left.
Silvia watched him go, her mind swimming with questions that would obviously have to be saved for later. She looked back over at Superman... searching his eyes for any shred of the Clark she knew.
His gaze lowered, staring at something before his eyes flicked back up to meet hers. "You've got all the same scars she had..."
Silvia raised an eyebrow at the man, casting her gaze downwards to look over her own body... then it sunk in. She gasped. "What are you doin-"
"I'm sorry, I had to be sure." Clark suddenly interrupted, looking a little panicked that he had offended her.
"You could have just asked to see them instead of using that x-ray thing... you know, like my Clark would."
"Your Clark?" His voice darkened, sharp as a needle as he spat out the words. A shadow lingered over his face that even his blue eyes couldn't shine through.
Silvia shivered. "Y-Yes... The one from my universe."
The atmosphere changed from uncomfortable to petrifying in an instant. Silvia didn't even know how to describe the expression on Clark's face... It was like someone had twisted every last ounce of kindness out of him and replaced it with anger. Still, he said nothing of the issue.
"H-He must be... really worried about me." Silvia gulped. "I should probably get h-home."
"Don't worry about him." Clark replied almost forcefully. "He doesn't matter anymore. You're here with me, and that's how it's going to stay."
"B-But I..." Silvia tried to argue but before she could the door bursted open once more.
This time someone she instantly recognised as Aquaman appeared, despite her never having had a conversation with the man.
"Kal-El, I'm here to discuss the treaties." He said, trident gripped tightly in his tight hand.
"Kal-El?..." Silvia muttered. Was that the name he went by now?
Clark shot an irritated look in the man's direction. "There's been a change of plans, we'll have to reschedule."
Silvia saw the opportunity to leave, to soak up all this new information that was making her head pound. "Don't do that on my account... I think I need to lay down anyway."
Clark's disappointment was apparent. He'd just gotten her back... He wanted to look at her, memorise her every feature, listen to her voice and embed it in his mind so he could never be without it again. He wanted to refuse her request, to make her stay... but knew that if he didn't let her rest she'd never make sense of his world.
Clark nodded towards the door with a growl. "Hal's out there. Tell him I want you taken to my room."
Silvia agreed despite her hesitancy to stay in his room. She wasn't about to start a fight with him, not yet. Silvia left as fast as she could, slamming the door shut behind her and pressing her back against it. She was overwhelmed... What kind of horrible, fucked-up place was this?
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