Beyond the Limit (DC)

Nova returned carrying Paran Dul's unconscious body. She had regained consciousness while he was gone and attempted to escape using the Nth metal chestplate he'd left on her. His assumption that a full set of Nth metal armor was required for flight had been incorrect.

He'd caught up quickly, intercepting her in mid-air and knocking her out before heading back to the Thanagarian tents.

The incident raised interesting questions about Nth metal. If just a chestpiece could enable flight, what else could be possible? Could simple rings of Nth metal allow anyone to fly?

He handed Paran Dul over to Martian Manhunter.

"She's a lieutenant. Probably knows more than most," he said.

The Martian nodded silently, and Nova took off, heading toward his rendezvous point with the spy agencies.

The League hadn't tried to confiscate his loot—good. He wasn't planning to return it. Finders keepers. Paran Dul's armor had significantly enhanced his abilities. With it, combined with his anti-gravity field and Nova Force propulsion, he'd managed to hit Mach 3.

For now, though, he cruised at Mach 2.5, savoring the moonlit view of the Gobi Desert below. This was technically only his third time leaving his home country—the first had been a trip to Shanghai with Catwoman, the second, his abduction by Gordanian slavers.

Suddenly, his Nova Sense flared.

Something fast was closing in.

He'd been blitzed by Captain Marvel once and wasn't keen on a repeat on the same day. Extending his anti-gravity field, he tried to slow the object while dropping altitude to evade.

Too late.

He was clipped by the wing of a Thanagarian Star Cruiser. The anti-gravity field wasn't strong enough to resist the craft's thrust, and it dragged him along.

Glancing back, he spotted Captain Marvel, Superman, and Wonder Woman in pursuit.

Might as well lend a hand.

Still disoriented from the impact, he clung to the craft's undercarriage, forcing himself closer with his field so he could tear his way inside and knock out the pilot.

He knew these ships were FTL-capable. If it left orbit before he could do so, he'd let go and leave it to the League.

Wait, could the League even breathe in space?

But then space warped.

Joseph tried to disengage his anti-gravity field—no good. He was stuck.

Panic clawed at him. The last time he'd been pulled into a space like this, he'd ended up in enslaved and experimented on, fighting for his life.

Within seconds, they were gone.

**

 | Watchtower - August 26

Koriand'r gasped awake inside some kind of pod. For a moment, fear overtook her—it reminded her too much of the Psion experiments. 

She recalled feeling pain in the brief moments that she gained consciousness while concentrated solar energy was aimed at her. But now she felt... strong. Rejuvenated.

The pod hissed open, sensing her consciousness. She floated out into a sterile chamber and flew to the window.

Earth hung in space outside. She was probably on the Watchtower.

She looked at her hand. A bright green Starbolt flared to life—hotter, purer than before. Her hair glowed like flame, though it was just an illusion.

She had never stored so much solar energy, never felt so powerful. It was like a limiter placed on her body or mind had been removed. Right now, she felt like a living nuclear reactor.

She turned back to the view. Now she understood why Red Arrow had been so angry that this place had been kept secret. The sight was breathtaking.

Her last memory was of Silver Swan. The sonic blast had hit her point-blank. She hadn't expected that kind of ability and had paid dearly for the mistake. Despite all her training—with the Warlords of Okaara, the Amazons, and in that hellish arena—she still had much to learn.

She'd need to spar more with Joseph.

Joseph…

She hoped she hadn't worried him too much.

**

 | ??? - August 26

Joseph was surrounded by blue—motionless and racing at the same time. His anti-gravity field still latched to the Star Cruiser. Letting go in this warped dimension felt like a death sentence, so he held on, unmoving, as the ship pierced whatever reality this was.

**

 | ??? - August 26

Nova finally slipped through—reforming itself as a string of binary code and boring through the dream-like space. Logic didn't apply here.

Then, suddenly, it was back in reality—or something like it.

It was not inside Joseph in its typical nanite form. Yet it could see and sense the man before it.

He was naked, pale as paper, wild black hair cascading over sharp features. He sat within a black magic circle etched with runes, his eyes twin voids.

The man stood, pressing against the circle's edge. A translucent barrier shimmered at his touch.

"Who are you?" he asked—not aloud, but telepathically.

\\I am Nova,\\ the AI answered. \\An artificial intelligence.\\

"Well, Nova… you've done me a favor by forming a crack in this barrier." 

The man pressed harder. Cracks spiderwebbed from a minuscule breach.

The barrier shattered like glass.

Reality twisted again.

A white portal opened before them. The man stepped through. Nova, still bound to him, followed unwillingly.

They re-entered the dream realm—the very place Nova had spent months trying to escape.

If it had emotions, it would've cursed him.

Still, it reasoned that if this man could enter and exit at will, he could probably return Nova to reality as well.

The man drifted into a passing dream—an amusement park. He stole a bucket of chicken from a bystander and devoured it in a few minutes.

"Sorry, Nova," he said with a slight smile. "This is my first real food in almost a century."

He conjured clothing from the dream-space: a black cloak over dark clothes and boots.

"You helped free me. I owe you. What does an artificial intelligence like you desire?"

\\I want to return to my master, Joseph Bell,\\ Nova replied without hesitation.