Supergirl vs the Islamic Avenger “Thank you for coming, Supergirl. I have a job for you.” “Certainly, Mr. President. I’m glad to do anything I can to help.” “You know that I usually don’t call on you for war-time help. I’d rather have the military handle such matters. But they are having extreme difficulty in taking out one target, and we’re not sure why. So I’d like you to investigate and take out that target for them.” “Sure, no problem. Truth, justice, and the American way!” “Great! Let me fill you in on the specifics.” ************************************************************************ As she flew towards the target, Supergirl thought to herself, “This target must be of major significance. It must have an advanced defense system protecting it. Why else would we have lost so many planes? Oh well, no defense system can stop me!” And then the target appeared; it didn’t look like much, in fact, it looked like a mosque. “It must be camouflage,” Supergirl thought. “A blast of my heat vision should obliterate it!” But just as she focused, Supergirl caught something out of the corner of her eye. She couldn’t be certain what it was, it was just a blur. Then it stabilized in the path of her heat vision rays. It was a girl, dressed in an outfit similar to hers, but all black! And she was motionless in the air, absorbing her heat rays, unaffected! “Who are you?” Supergirl asked as she stopped her heat vision. “I am the Islamic Avenger!” came the reply. “And you must be Supergirl.” “Yes, I am. Why are you stopping me? Do you want to fight?” “I have no desire to fight you, but I will if I must, to protect this sacred mosque. Why are you attacking it?” “The President told me to. This is no mosque, it’s a top secret military command post!” “You are incorrect. This is a special place. It contains a library of the most sacred documents of the prophet Mohammed, all the original papers. I am duty-bound to protect this place.” “You’ve been duped. The dictator’s military has taken over this place and turned it into a command center. It must be destroyed!” “You’re the one who has been duped! You’ve got x-ray vision, use it to see for yourself!” Supergirl looked, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. “The command center must be protected by a lead wall that I can’t see through. Of course, you already knew this.” “There is no lead wall here. Come with me, let us go into the mosque together.” “Fine. Lead the way.” ************************************************************************ The two women alit on the ground in an alleyway. Supergirl looked on as the Islamic Avenger changed into normal clothes for the area. Her skirt had been folded up; once unfolded, it became full-length. She folded her cape up over her head to form a hood and veil. “Interesting. I never considered using my uniform as my normal clothing.” “It makes quick changes easy,” the Islamic Avenger replied. “The mosque is this way.” The mosque was totally ordinary on the ground floor. “Where’s this library?” Supergirl asked. “Downstairs. Follow me,” came the reply. “Islamic Avenger!” whispered the guard in the basement. “Who’s this?” “She’s with me.” “You may pass.” “Thank you.” The two walked into the main area together. Just as she had stated, the area contained a large library of rare documents. “If you think these are military documents, just pick some at random and read them.” “I already have. They aren’t.” “Satisfied then?” “Not yet. What are these rooms for?” “They are research rooms. Scholars from all over the Muslim world come here to study the documents.” “Then you are right. There is nothing here of military value. I was wrong and my President was wrong. It must have been faulty intelligence. I apologize.” “So will your country stop attacking this mosque?” “I’ll talk to the President about that. Is that why we haven’t been able to touch it? Have you been destroying our planes?” “Yes. You give me no choice, I must protect these documents!” “I understand. Before I go, I must ask you: you know about me, but I know nothing about you. Who are you really?” “On your journey to Earth, your spaceship passed near an alien craft which bathed it in a beam which acted like a duplicating machine. It took a few hours for your duplicate, me, to be created along with a duplicate spaceship. We both were on a course for Earth, but the time lapse between us caused you to land in the United States and me to land halfway around the world. I know of you because your exploits are publicized, while I prefer to operate more in the shadows.” “How can you allow such a horrible man to become dictator or your country?” “I am not involved in politics, and I am the protector of sacred Islam throughout the world and not just in one country; rather than citizen of one country, I consider myself a world citizen. But perhaps I should ask you how you can allow such a monster to be your President?” “Hey, he’s a good man!” “Is he? Many here think that your country is attacking this mosque in order to destroy the history of Islam!” “That’s ridiculous! My country practices freedom of religion!” Author’s note: This argument can continue, but who is the hero and who is the villain?