Alternate Earth, where FLAG still exists...

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

After her "normal" bout of afternoon sickness, Deona decides on a little trip. Her husband's out at the Marina, so she leaves a small note saying that she was traversing somewhere and that she would be back. When she goes to the traversing room, the untethered soul went to the LC long enough to leave word. She pictures exactly what a particular place looks like in her mind...and makes sure to add alternate to that mentally.

When the moderate wind dies down, she opens her eyes...and finds herself in the driveway that leads up to the mansion, the headquarters of the organization she had been involved with before...the Foundation for Law and Government, or FLAG.

Deona had to mentally keep from shifting to coporeal form...this was one trip that she didn't want others to see her.

"FLAG headquarters," she says softly, "Almost a year ago, everything began here..."

As she slowly walked the path, her mind had taken her back in time, by almost a year.

She had been wearing a nice, somewhat formal blouse and skirt, walking slowly up the driveway. She had also been very nervous. After all, Jennifer Knight had wanted her to not be hired, due to having high-function Autism...but a few members of the board had shot her down. She didn't know then, but one of them was Devon.


When she got this nervous, there was a way to calm herself...even if it seemed silly.

Deona closed her eyes as she had walked and was singing...something she had learned, called "The World".

You are here alone again
In your sweet insanity
All too calm, you hide yourself from reality
Do you call it solitude? Do you call it liberty?
When all the world turns away to leave you lonely...

The fields are filled with desires
All voices crying for freedom
But all in vain they will fade away
There's only you to answer you, forever...

In blinded mind you are singing
A glorious hallelujah
The distant flutter of angels
They're all too far, too far to reach for you...

I am here alone again
In my sweet serenity
Hoping you will ever find me in any place
I will call it solitude when all my songs fade in vain
Fly my voice, far away to eternity...

The second time she had sung this, her eyes had been open, but very distant. What had broken her from the seeming trance had been a comment about her singing...and the ones commenting had been none other than Bonnie Barstow and Michael Knight.

Now, incoporeal, she walks across the grounds, wondering if she should walk inside. Nobody would see her.

I can't let anyone here see me, she thinks, They are not quite as open-minded as Richard in the alternate Gotham is...but I too need to say goodbye to those Devon, Storm, Damien, Caspain and I left behind...even though...everyone else from our world is dead--

She shakes her head, tears filling her eyes at the thought. April had been arrested as the "mole" involved and responsible for Deona's murder. Bonnie had been the second one to die, killed by Garthe Knight. Two of the girls in the operative group known as The Quartet had died in a trap, and so had KARR. Michael and Kitt went on a kamikazee run, saving lives, but sacrificing their own. Devon had died immediately afterwards and untethered. Storm, Damien and Caspain had been bombed on, but escaped...and eventually made their way to first the Lunatic Cafe, then to the Boardwalk Nexus. Apparently, Caspain had been mute since the bombing...but began talking again when he saw Deona.

I need to make my peace, too, she thinks, I have thoughts and such that I haven't even told Devon about.

Comments

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

"And I thought my life was complicated." Harley whistled, and continued to listen to her story

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

A short distance from the pond, she sees someone coming...and quickly looks around, but sees only a few huge trees. It's someone she knows, all right.

"Michael...? Hide!"

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

Harley dives for the bushes, and quickly hides.

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

Deona dives for other bushes as well, and a scant minute later, Michael himself passes by. He looks around, listens, then shrugs and continues on.

After a couple of minutes, Deona says quietly, "Coast's clear," and gets out of the bush, dusting herself off.

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

Harley crawls out, and dusts herself off. "You did not want him to see you?"

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

"This isn't the world I originally came from, Harley. They wouldn't know me here."

She looks around and continues, "When I got back from the case...a month later was the beginning of the end...maybe the beginning of everything, too. It was late December, a short time before Christmas..." Her voice becomes sad. "I had been at lunch and thinking of asking Devon out to lunch the following day when I heard something...nasty...that guy you saw...that is Michael Knight...the oldest operative in FLAG. There's a guy that looks just like him, but is extremely evil. His name's Garthe Knight...an old nemesis of the agency. He and a bunch other were planning nothing less than open war on FLAG...and I had overheard it. Artemis snapped a photo and recorded the conversation. There was also mention of a 'mole' in the group, so there was no way I could tell him in person. I returned, packed some stuff, wrote a letter to Devon telling what I knew...I don't know why, but in that letter, I confessed how I felt. I closed the letter and asked Bonnie to give him the letter if I wasn't back by morning. I left that late afternoon and went tracking...I needed to know what he planned, if it was a joke...and why." She shakes her head, "The following morning, Bonnie gave him the letter...and at that time, I had tracked the guys to a place, 2 1/2 hours drive from here. The conversation with Garthe Knight was recorded...he knew it...and left a message directed at Devon. He...he planned on destroying FLAG by first killing someone close...then killing the female operatives and the techs...and leaving Michael for last." Her tone is bittersweet as she adds, "The first target was me....I was shot in the gut by a cane that was actually a gun. Instead of the hospital, I chose to return to FLAG and warn Devon, knowing what the cost would be."

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

"Is that when you died?" Harley asked softly.

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

She nods, tears filling her eyes, "Yeah, it is...Artemis barreled back here, and even threated to crash down the main gates if they didn't open them immediately...they opened them, then told Devon." She sniffs a little and says, "You know why I didn't tell him at first I was in love...fate's weird...I gave the warning...and found he had read the whole letter...and found out he was in love with me and had kept quiet for the same reasons. I died in his arms...and I felt something in me come undone...and before all awareness was gone, I could hear him sniff, then weep."

She scrubs at her eyes and says, "While I awoke whole and untethered in the Boardwalk Nexus and had made my way to Lunatic Cafe...FLAG had gone haywire. Shortly before my funeral, the mole, a technician named April was arrested...then in February, Bonnie was murdered, by Garthe Knight. As soon as she was buried, two things happened. Two of the girls and another AI, Karr, was lured into a trap...died when a bomb went off in a warehouse. Michael and Kitt went on a kamikazee mission to end Garthe's war, once and for all. It succeeded...Garthe was killed inside...but Michael and Kitt lost their lives. Devon...he died immediately afterwards, cause unknown. He untethered, just like me. He doesn't remember how he died at all."

There is a sob as she says, "The only survivors, Storm, her AI Damien and a child-like AI, Caspain, were bombed out by the remnants of Garthe's men. They were on the run for many months...she...she almost died...she made it to the Cafe, then the Boardwalk Nexus, but still...in our original world, there's nothing left...of any of this...FLAG no longer exists at all..."

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

"And you are here to say goodbye to them..." Harley whispered, taking her hand.

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

She nods, "The others are dead..."

A male, British voice comes from behind them.

"I had been wondering what would cause two women to from, literally, appear out of nowhere..."

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

Harley turned to face the handsome looking man, and took a deep breath, then asked "How long have you been watching us?"

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

"From the start. The guards saw that woman that looked like a waitress that appeared, then left through a dark oval...and then I heard her singing...and appearing out of thin air."

Deona turns around and her eyes widen. She knows this guy, all right.

"Devon..."

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

"You are Devon?" Harley studied him, and crossed her arms. "And so, you know why we are here and who we are? Or what?"

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

"Not who you are, but why you're here. I admit, if it wasn't for seeing that black oval myself, I would have immediately dismissed it all as either a well-done fabrication...or a powerful delusion. Of course, I did see her appear out of thin air."

Deona nods.

"You're not all that surprised, I take it."

"Of course not! You--he was...is...very good with secrets and being sneaky."

"Was...and is? Is the other Devon somehow alive...?"

"He's just as I am...eternal with no alignment to our original universe...able to traverse throughout the multiverse...and unable to return to our point of origin." A tear falls as she says this.

The man, Devon, gently wipes the tear from her cheek with a finger, smiling reassuringly.

"Now that you do have me curious, who exactly are you two...?"

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

"I am Harley Quinn." Her name should not mean anything.

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

Deona nods and falters at first, then says, "And mine is Deona...Deona Marie Miles."

That made eyebrows go up.

"Miles...? I...as she has said, my name is Devon...Devon Miles. Did you, by any chance, marry--"

"Yes. Harley and I are from 2 different universes. In hers, she's from a city named Gotham."

Another voice cuts in.

"Gotham City? Same as Batman and Robin, from the comic books?"

Devon turns and frowns, seeing who had joined in the conversation.

"Michael, stay out of this," he says.

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

"Comic books?" Harley looks at Michael with a frown. "I... knew and fought against and fought alongside Batman, and Nightwing, and Robin. I would not call that a comic book... it was real to me."

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

Michael laughs and says, "Well, they're all stoes in comic books here. Ya know, Devon, I was wondering why you were signalling not to interfere, so I double-backed. This'll be something to--"

"Michael," Devon says in a warning tone, then adds, "These ladies are visitors, and not intruders of any sort..and certainly not aliens from other universes. Is that understood?"

"Gotcha."

"Now, if I remember correctly, you have some paperwork to get started on with the latest case you did, as well as a talk with Bonnie about the latest damage to Kitt--"

"Okay, okay! I get the message! I'm goin' already!" Michael waves and takes off.

Deona laughs and says, "Devon, you know Michael hates paperwork about as much as he does fundraisers!"

He chuckles and says, "You certainly are...were an operative of FLAG in another universe."

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

Harley stood off to the side, slightly frowning, letting Deona do what she had to do. My life... is just some comic book... none of it was real... Her thoughts are dark with that information.

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

Deona turns to Harley and sees her expression. "Harley...Michael is more closed-minded than you think. Your life...all that happened to you...it was all real. What is fiction in one universe is real in another. A person said once that FLAG, Michael...Devon...was a TV show in the 80's. Here and in my universe, it's real."

"Your friend put it rather well," Devon agrees, "I'm ashamed to admit that this world, this Earth, is very closed-minded when it comes to other worlds, much less other universes."

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

Harley looked up, tears in her eyes, "It just was hard enough saying goodbye, and to think that he did not actually love me... to not know if it was fictional or not."
She sighed, "I suppose if you all know about Gotham, you know how Mr. J treated me. Sometimes I just do not feel worthy of being loved by a good man."
Then harley shakes her head, "But this... right now is not about me. It is about you girl. You gotta do what you gotta do."

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

"To be honest, Harley....Michael is the comic book fanatic, not I," Devon admits, then hears something.

"Michael, I thought you had paperwork to do."

The oldest operative comes from behind a tree, grinning sheepishly and gultily.

"Yeah...I stopped when I heard Deona talking to Harley. Man...I'm really sorry. Devon's telling me I oughta think before I talk."

"Well he's right!" Deona says with a glare and a protective arm around Harley.

"Jeez...when I was a kid, I had wondered if what was fiction in this universe was real elsewhere...got told it was not for someone growing up. Guess I oughta start thinking that way again."

Devon nods in agreement.

"Hey....I better go, for real...sorry about the comment, Harley..."

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

"It is okay Michael." Harley looked at him with sad blue eyes, "If anyone would understand, I guess you as the comic fanatic would understand."

"And please do not feel you have to leave on my account. We are here for a reason... to help Deona say goodbye."

[deona-zephyr.livejournal.com]

Deona nods, and adds, "Harley's universe...where she came from...it was destroyed recently, and she is the only survivor."

Michael winces, looking more guilty. "Man...that makes the careless comment worse."

"I would say so," Devon replies crisply.

He goes over to Harley and hugs her. "Hey...listen and remember this. You're real. Your life and experiences are real. Even in worlds where it exists only in comic books, you're real...and don't let anybody tell you different...not even any alternate thickheads like me."

[exiles-jubes.livejournal.com]

Harley was shocked that Michael was hugging her, she did not think that he would do something like this. It took her a second to hug him back, "Hey... it is okay. I just have not found my place and it is hard to feel real at times."

She let go of the hug, almost regretfully, "But... today is not about me. It is about Deona." She did not want to let them too close to her heart, in case something bad happened again.