Last chapter of the night, guys. Leo shares with the heroes how they've gotten to this point on Earth-X. Or, the story of how BlackOver came to be and the fate of Earth-X Laurel Lance. I think this deserves a warning: there is definitely a graphic depiction of violence here, more graphic than I normally have.
Enjoy the story!
***
Leo looked over at Ray, but he shook his head. "You know the story better than me," he held up his hands.
Leo sighed, looking back to the others. "To fully explain, you need to hear the whole thing," he said. "And it's a long time."
"Well, thanks to your general, we're not going anywhere any time soon," Thea scoffed.
Leo conceded the point, sitting down on the edge of one of the tables. "Well, in order to differentiate between everyone, let's stick with their names, shall we? Your doppelgänger," he looked at Laurel, "called herself Black Banshee."
"Black Canary, Black Siren, Black Banshee," Malcolm mused. "I see a pattern."
"Nearly everyone in the Reich knows how the New Reichsmen began," Leo began, leaning back. "Black Arrow's parents were high-ranking members of the Nazi Party. Prometheus's father, as you know, is one of the best assassins there is. Black Banshee's father was, at the time, one of the highest-ranking members of the SS. They all grew up together, practically inseparable. Still, considering the political power the Queen family had in the Nazi Party, it was believed Black Arrow and Black Banshee would be married off to each other."
"There's a surprise," Thea rolled her eyes.
"Thea," Oliver groaned.
"The thing is, Black Banshee let that thought consume her," Leo continued. "Whether she actually loved him or believed she loved him, that's the question. But that's the problem with the Nazis – no matter where they come from, they love the idea of power. And with Black Arrow on track to become one of the highest generals in the Reich, even to succeed the title of Führer, he was the epitome of power." He folded his arms. "Everyone knows how the Danvers relocated to the capital of the Reich, too. The adults were top-ranking scientists within the Reich, and when Overgirl landed, they saw an opportunity to gain more favor. And they certainly did – Drs. Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers were given some of the top facilities in the Reich, while their daughters entered the highest training program offered. Coincidentally, it was the same Black Arrow, Prometheus, and Black Banshee were in. Black Arrow and Prometheus actually seemed scared of Overgirl – "
"No surprise there," Sara smirked, remembering how Oliver reacted during the Dominators.
Oliver didn't skip a beat. "Shut up."
Leo smirked. "But Black Banshee saw another opportunity for power. She, along with Overgirl's sister, encouraged Overgirl to use her powers more, make people fear her. As time went along, they became as close as Overgirl and her own adoptive sister. When the Reich announced they were going to try an experiment involving a particle accelerator, Overgirl was the first to encourage Black Banshee to volunteer. That was when she got the power of a sonic scream."
"Again, a pattern," Malcolm noted.
"Anyway, that made them even closer," Leo went on, ignoring Malcolm had ever spoken. "With their combined powers, Overgirl and Black Banshee were one of the most feared combos in the Reich, like Black Arrow and Prometheus." He smirked. "Then Black Banshee's sister was caught . . . with Overgirl's."
Alex choked on air. "What?" she coughed as Thea clapped her on the back.
"I know, right?" Leo grinned. "Imagine how delighted their all-powerful sisters were to learn that tidbit of information."
"Not very," Sara guessed, she and Alex exchanging glances.
"Not at all," Leo agreed cheerfully. "Black Banshee's father was the one who caught them. He was able to kill his own daughter, but Overgirl's sister escaped before he could kill her. That, everyone believes, is when things truly started to get strained between the most powerful women in the Reich. Both were angry their sisters defied Nazi doctrines, but Black Banshee seemed colder towards her partner after that, probably because while her sister died, Overgirl's didn't. And who knows? If the Danvers hadn't moved, perhaps her sister never would have died in the first place."
"OK, so that might have been when things started," Jax folded his arms. "What actually did happen?"
"Well," Leo crossed one leg over the other, "six years ago, Black Arrow was sent on a solo mission out into the North China Sea."
Oliver stiffened. "Lian Yu," he whispered.
"Oh, so that exists on Earth-1," Leo raised an eyebrow.
"I was stuck there for five years. I was rescued six years ago, actually."
"Golly," Leo remarked. "Well, anyway, Lian Yu was home to the prison camp for the worst of the worst. And no one truly knows what happened while he was there, but whatever happened, he never responded when he was supposed to. It sent the entire Reich into a frenzy. His biosensors indicated he was still alive, but they were unable to track him. Black Banshee became more unstable, always screaming for people to find the man she claimed to love, but she never actually did anything. And then one day, Overgirl suddenly left the complex much, much faster than anyone had ever seen her fly before. Turns out, while Black Banshee was talking the talk but not walking the walk, Overgirl was working with a top forensic scientist in the Reich to find a way to get Black Arrow back."
That made everyone jump. "Forensic scientist?" Barry echoed hoarsely.
"Yes," Leo smirked. "And that forensic scientist would later become the New Reichsmen medaled speedster by the name Blitzkrieg. Let me guess . . . are you a forensic scientist?"
Barry swallowing was all the answer he needed. "The parallels are uncanny," Stein mumbled.
"Well," Leo continued, "Blitzkrieg developed a serum to enhance the solar radiation in Overgirl's blood. When used, it maximized Overgirl's powers to their full potential. It enabled her to hear Black Arrow's heartbeat from the other side of the world, and she flew off to find him herself, alone. The next thing the Reich knew, Overgirl was signaling for them to come and find them. They found her, all right, along with Black Arrow . . . and an SS assassin they thought long dead."
"This world's version of me," Slade guessed.
"Exactly," Leo nodded. "Still, no one knows what happened to Black Arrow and the Terminator while they were on the island together, but the Reich reported every prisoner they had was dead. Either turned into ice sculptures and then shattered, or their hearts ripped from their chests, or skulls crushed, or completely melted. Overgirl had killed every single prisoner there."
"Oh, my God," Alex held a hand over her mouth, looking ready to vomit. "Kara . . . "
"I'm going to guess Black Banshee wasn't happy Overgirl saved the day," Malcolm raised an eyebrow.
"Give the man a medal," Leo gestured to him. "In fact, she wasn't just upset Overgirl saved Black Arrow – she was livid when Black Arrow started to pay attention to the Kryptonian who rescued him. Suddenly Black Arrow and Overgirl were taking mission after mission together, and gained more kills together than the previous duos combined. Prometheus and Black Banshee just couldn't keep up, and the metahuman just grew more unstable to the point she was gaining more kills than Prometheus. It earned her an even worse name – the Bloody Banshee."
"That's . . . " Stein tried to come up with a word to say.
"Disturbing," Laurel said.
"Thank you, yes, it is."
"No, I'm saying I'm disturbed by that, and I was a killer before I left Chase."
"Well, yes, Black Arrow seemed to agree, because the next thing the Reich knew, Black Arrow was courting Overgirl," Leo smirked. "And to those not in the know, the stories of how the Bloody Banshee turned traitor are limitless."
"And you know?" Barry asked.
"Of course I know," Leo smirked. "She was recruited by a former associate organization of the Freedom Fighters to hand her over. The Bloody Banshee was approached by Overgirl's sister, of all people. She was working with the organization, giving them everything she had on Overgirl and her Kryptonian biology, to discover a way to kill her. The only thing is, they needed the Kryptonian herself. So the Bloody Banshee made a deal – if Overgirl's sister developed a serum similar to the one Overgirl uses to enhance her powers, except hinder them instead, she would turn Overgirl over to them."
Oliver bristled. "And this organization's name was Project Cadmus."
Leo's eyebrows shot up. "My, my, my. Are you sure you don't know this story?"
"I know this story," Oliver closed his eyes as Alex turned away, tears in her eyes. "It's almost exactly like mine and my Kara's."
Leo sighed. "Well, then you can probably guess what happened."
"Overgirl's sister developed the serum, and the . . . Bloody Banshee . . . swapped it out with the original serum," Oliver's fist clenched. "And when Overgirl took it, she was helpless."
"Got it in one," Leo nodded. "The Freedom Fighters allied with Cadmus and attacked the Reich, prompting Overgirl to take what she thought was the serum that could help her win. Instead, Overgirl was powerless to stop the Bloody Banshee from screaming her into unconsciousness and delivering her to Cadmus."
"Oh, God," Malcolm swallowed as Laurel turned white as a sheet, swaying on her feet.
"Hey," Barry quickly took her arm, he and Sara helping her sit down. "We got you."
"For some reason, the Bloody Banshee thought she could sway Black Arrow back to her after that," Leo rolled his eyes. "Except Black Arrow completely ignored her and vowed revenge against whoever took his beloved from him. He knew that with the serum she'd been taking, there was no way she could have been overpowered, so he went to find who tampered with the serum. Blitzkrieg came forward to help him, and they found the syringe Overgirl used before she was taken. He was able to identify it was not the serum he had made, but he recognized the work of a former scientist – Overgirl's sister. The Bloody Banshee also made a critical mistake, one she was so overconfident about she never noticed – she touched the syringe with bare hands. Blitzkrieg was able to pull her prints. Needless to say, that made Black Arrow snap. He and Blitzkrieg took her down themselves, locking her away without her powers and leaving her to stew. That was when the New Reichsmen were formed – Black Arrow recruited Blitzkrieg first, then three generals he trusted most – Prometheus, the Magician, and the Terminator. The five stormed Cadmus themselves, and while Black Arrow, Prometheus, the Magician, and the Terminator slaughtered everyone in their path, Blitzkrieg recovered Overgirl and gave her the correct serum. Overgirl crushed her sister's skull herself, and Black Arrow put an arrow through the director of Cadmus's eye, killing her instantly."
"Lillian Luthor?" Alex asked sarcastically.
"The last name's right," Leo told her. "Her name was Lena Luthor, though."
Alex blanched. "I'm gonna be sick."
"Lena is one of Kara's best friends," Laurel said in shock, trembling. "Oh, my God . . . "
"Well, the Freedom Fighters lost a valuable ally, and the Reich made it very clear what happens when one of their own betrays them," Leo looked at her sympathetically. "When Black Arrow and Overgirl married a few days later, Black Arrow gave his new wife a very special wedding gift . . . he carved the Bloody Banshee's heart out right in front of her and gave it to her."
Laurel's eyes blew wide, and her breath started coming in gasps. "You're joking," Jax's eyes were wide as Alex sank into a crouch, whiter than Sara's suit.
"I wish," Leo said grimly. "I told you it was bad."
"Laurel," Barry quickly put a hand on the back of Laurel's head. "Bend over, head between your knees. That's it."
"Just when I think I can't be even more disgusted," Oliver shook his head, horror plain on his face. "I couldn't imagine ever killing Laurel."
"Well, can't say the Führer wouldn't do anything to save his wife," Leo shrugged.
"As we know," Slade said bitterly. "They're going to kill our little sister."
"How did that happen anyway?" Sara asked, looking at Leo.
"Yeah, she said something about flying too close to the sun," Jax nodded.
"Ah," Leo grimaced. "Well. That's exactly what happened. The Freedom Fighters attacked the New Reichsmen one time, and Overgirl attacked from the sky. The next thing we knew, she was plummeting to the ground screaming bloody murder. Black Arrow called off the attack, and we didn't hear from them again for weeks. That was when we discovered the Bloody Banshee had, in a way, won against Overgirl. The serum Overgirl's sister made destabilized her cells when she took it. When she started taking the correct serum again, normal amounts of solar radiation started becoming poisonous. One flight that normally would have been safe suddenly poisoned her to the point she started becoming unstable."
"That was why she wanted to kill me," Laurel said faintly. "I was the one behind killing her."
Leo nodded. "We took hope in that finally there would be a way to bring the New Reichsmen down. But suddenly, Blitzkrieg was gone, never to be heard of again. Then there was a new general in the New Reichsmen . . . another speedster, this one in a yellow suit."
"Thawne," Barry growled.
Leo nodded. "Then they took the gateway, and, well . . . obviously you know the rest of the story."
Oliver shook his head, scoffing. "I don't know what's worse – that this Earth actually exists, or that I just heard a more twisted story of how Kara and I got together."
"I know what's worse for me," Laurel gulped. "The idea that I killed Kara."
"You didn't kill her," Malcolm shook his head instantly. "You're not the Bloody Banshee, Laurel, just like Kara isn't Overgirl. You wouldn't do that to Kara, and she knows that."
"Does she?" Laurel asked bitterly.
"If Kara really thinks of you as a sister, absolutely," Barry nodded, making Laurel look at him in surprise. "Like I said, I only faced you the once, so I don't have much to go off of here. But ever since the three of you walked into the cortex, you've done nothing but help us and be overprotective of Kara. She knows you care for her, she knows you won't do anything to her." He looked up and around. "So I say we find a way to get back to our Earth, and get back to the people we care about." He looked at Leo and Ray, who both looked surprised. "Whether you help us or not is up to you. I'm getting back to my fiancée."
"I'm getting back to my sister," Alex stood up.
"And I'm getting back to the woman I love," Oliver threw a glare in the direction of Schott. "Whether the general likes it or not."
Leo and Ray watched the heroes disperse, all in agreement, and Leo raised an eyebrow. "Well, this will be a joy to tell him."
***
Oof. That was heavy to write. I don't know, I think this could be a book of its own . . . a sort of prequel to this book. I might have to do that, I like the plot I literally just wrote out. And I seriously just came up with the idea for Earth-X Barry/Blitzkrieg last night.
Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed! That's all from me tonight. I'll see how tomorrow goes and how I feel - there may be more to come before the end of the weekend.