Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Call Me Kara

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 15:

“Where is Mr. Allen?”

Kara and Caitlin looked at each other then shrugged their shoulders towards Nyssa.

“How can he have super speed and be late?” Nyssa asked, remembering what Oliver had told her but not really believing it. “Miss Snow, perhaps it would be best if you go stand by Mr. Ramon and help set up your tests. I do not want there to be any collateral damage. Please ask Miss Danvers to stop playing with Mr. Ramon’s toys and report for training.”

Cait rolled her eyes and walked off, passed on the request to Alex who nodded and walked away from the drones Cisco had been playing with. Caitlin was not sure what Nyssa had planned for Kara but the worry about collateral damage had her on edge.

Before Alex had reached the group a streak of lightning lit up the dim dawn light and Barry Allen had arrived.

“Thank you all for joining me.” Nyssa greeted the trio.

“We had a choice?” Kara asked then yawned.

“You are the most powerful woman in this galaxy, correct? Of course you have a choice. Mr. Allen…”

“Call me Barry…”

“Mr. Allen go to that pile of rocks to my left. I will be with you in a moment.”

“Yes sir.” Barry told her with a salute. Nyssa turned her attention to Kara.

“Kara Zor El. I understand the bracelet Mr. Ramon is working on for you has not been completed yet. Did you talk to Dr, Stein yesterday?”

“A little…” Kara hedged. She had spoken to Dr. Stein, mumbling and blushing through a simple introduction before faking a trip to the bathroom to escape.

“Until you have a bracelet that can negate your enhanced speed and strength, sparring is pointless. We can work on other issues until your device is prepared.”

“Wait, what device? What is she talking about Kara?” Alex asked, wondering where the hell anyone got Kryptonite after the care they all took to make sure she had none on her.

“Its a red solar bracelet so I can feel… normal. Cisco said Kryptonite radiation exposure could be bad for me in the long term like regular radiation exposure can be bad for humans. So instead of using Kryptonite from the bullets he and Dr. Stein are trying to replicate exposure to red sun rays which should be natural for me and allow me to… hit heavy bags and stuff.”

“I thought Sara said it was so you could have sex without breaking your boyfriend in half?” Nyssa asked.

Kara and Alex dropped their heads, Kara from embarrassment and Alex in disgust at herself. How had she never thought of using red sun technology instead of Kryptonite? Kara discussed this before Cisco returned the bullets. Within less than six days he had already figured out what could hurt her and how to circumvent it to help her. Alex felt sick at the idea of how much exposure Kara had been subjected to in the DEO training room.

“One of the first things we will work on is your reflexes.” Nyssa told Superwoman.

“Uh… my reflexes are like super quick with my I probably should wait for the bracelet and go back to bed, right?” Kara hoped.

The hope was dashed when Nyssa reached out and slapped her. Kara was so surprised she couldn’t speak at first.

“That… that didn’t hurt.” she tried. Nyssa was less impressed.

“I should hope not. If it did you would be a walking target. How can you have reflexes as quick as Mr. Allen’s and allow me to slap your face?”

“I uh… I guess I was surprised. I mean I saw your hand coming at me, I just didn’t… react?”

“Exactly. You should always react. Never let someone take advantage of you. This is why you were shot. You had ample time to recognize those bullets were different and dodge out of the way. Instead you stood and watched them enter you, nearly kill you! You let someone surprise you. This should never happen, ever! Now are you or are you not afraid of guns?”

“I think you should back off…” Alex started.

“Im sorry, I thought you were her sister from another universe. I didn’t realize you were her mother. I am speaking to my will discuss your training in a moment.”

“Don’t talk to her like that.” Kara told the woman, her tone very threatening.

“Please back away Miss Danvers.” Nyssa told Alex and then put her hand under her robe. “Answer the question Kara Zor El, last daughter of the Great House of El on Krypton. Are you afraid of guns?”

“No… yes… not really. I mean I don’t scream but I have nightmares sometimes. Its nothing new. I have had nightmares about one thing or another since I was a kid.”

“What would happen if someone fired a gun at you? Would your first instinct now be to move away?”

“Yes.”

“And if your sister or Miss Snow or your tiny friend with the shiny hair was behind you? Would you still move?”

“No!”

“Listen lady…”

“Miss Danvers, this needs to happen. I need to know what I am working with. I know you are strong and fast Kara Zor El, but you must always train and prepare as if the opponent you face is stronger and faster. You should know I consider guns to be crude weapons more suited for cavemen but in this instance I will make an exception.”

Nyssa’s hand was removed from her robe to reveal a handgun in her grip.

“Stand back Miss Danvers.”

“No! Put that away!” Alex commanded as best she could.

Kara began shaking, her eyes not leaving the gun. Her mind flashed back, her door being kicked open, the bullets flying, the feel when they struck her, the panic she felt when she realized she could not run away, not fly, the look in the man’s eyes who placed a barrel against her forehead as she was on her knees.

“Say the word and I will put this ugly piece of metal away for good.” Nyssa offered. Kara opened her mouth but before she could Nyssa stopped her.

“Before you tell me to do so, understand no matter how strong or fast you are, this fear will always be stronger. You are a great warrior but I still see much of the child in you. The victim, the one who was coddled and treated with kid gloves. Do you want to learn to be stronger Kara Zor El or do you wish to remain the same? Do you wish to hide from your fears rather than conquer them?”

“Kara…” Alex started, looking from the gun to her sister. It then occurred to Kara that she was not the only one who had been having this nightmare.

“Stand behind Nyssa, Alex. She can’t hurt me.”

Alex was about to protest but remembered her promise to Kara and herself. She would not be over protective nor overbearing. She stepped behind Nyssa, hoping Kara did not have a panic attack of epic proportions.

Nyssa raised the gun and Kara braced for the sound, the impact she knew she would feel.

Nyssa stepped back a few feet and fired three times. Once in her stomach, once in her chest and the last shot hitting her directly between they eyes. Kara saw them all crush against her and fall to the ground.

She took a deep breath, bent down and picked up the spent rounds, They were not green, but they were crushed and a coldness swept through her body.

“Do it again.”

Nyssa smiled and fired. Kara watched the bullet this time, in slow motion to her superior eyesight, She watched the bullet crush against her chest and fly over Nyssa’s head.

“Again.”

“Whoa! Stop!” Cisco yelled, running from the covered area where his equipment was set up. Caitlin stayed behind watching worriedly as Barry did the same from his pile of rocks.

“Cisco, I need this.” Kara told him.

“I did not spend five hours on that chest piece to see it destroyed by some errant shot! The suit, isn’t bullet proof like the last one. The thread should hold and the weave should protect the special enhancements from anything including bullets but there is no reason to test it yet! That comes later. Can we please chill out on the gun? Please?”

Nyssa lowered her arm while Alex let out a breath. Kara chuckled at Cisco’s distress, but stopped finding humor in the situation when he began feeling the impact points of the bullets on her suit. He let out a relieved sigh, discovering the chest piece, smaller and a bit higher up was fine. None of his other enhancements appeared to be damaged either and the material held.

“You do realize you are feeling my sister up, right?” Alex asked, no humor in her voice. Cisco froze and looked up seeing Kara glaring down at him with a raised eyebrow.

“My bad. I just wanted to make sure… yeah. I’ll just remove my hands now. I didn’t want them there anyway, just the tech is… not that there is anything wrong with what is there. If you weren’t with my best bud I would totally be feeling you up… with your permission! Not saying you would give… oh God this is how Felicity feels everyday.”

Cisco walked back at a brisk pace as Barry stood nearby and watched, his head in his hands, feeling bad for his awkward friend, even if he did have his hands on his girlfriend’s breasts. Cisco really needed to meet a girl.

“Come with me Kara.” Nyssa instructed. Kara followed her to the runway and Nyssa motioned for her to sit on the ground.

“Look at the clouds for an hour.”

“What?” Kara asked, thinking somehow she must have misheard.

“Look at the clouds until it is time for you to play. Truly look at them. Use your special vision if you want or not but watch them. Look at everything they do, how the wind changes their shape, how they move, use this special vision you have to see how much moisture is in the cloud. Decide which one is most likely to dissipate first and see if you have guessed correctly.”

“Why?”

“Because you lack patience. Learn patience. Sit here for an hour and do not move. Relax, feel at one with nature, the earth…”

“I feel like that when I am flying.” Kara pointed out.

“And now you will feel like that sitting on the ground.”

Nyssa walked away leaving Kara sitting on the ground, confused but looking up to the sky regardless. It was as good a plan as any she supposed.

Nyssa next walked to Barry who stood by a pile of boulders, one large one on bottom leading to a slightly smaller one on top, flatter than an average rock and a third, nearly flat sandstone slab on top of that one, the total height reaching Barry’s waist.

“Let me guess, you want me to break the rock on top. I’ve seen this on TV.”

“Barry Allen. The Flash. I understand for a so called superhero you lose quite a few fights, quite often in public in front of television cameras.”

Barry’s face turned red from embarrassment.

“I wouldn’t say I lose a lot of fights. Some have been wins and some have been close…”

“Oliver Queen told me you have been beaten like a drum on more than one occasion, even having your spine snapped once. There is no shame in this. We all have lost battles. The key is learning from them, becoming stronger, smarter, deadlier. You have the ability to generate tremendous force with little effort. When you fought Oliver you hit him many times. How many would you guess?”

“Probably a hundred.” Barry admitted, not liking to remember that particular incident.

“And yet you couldn’t knock him to the ground or do any considerable damage. He defeated you.”

“You aren’t going to shoot any arrows in my back, are you?” the Flash asked. He still could feel pain in the spots Oliver pulled the bolts out on rainy days.

“No. I understand you are able to run through walls. You can feel the vibrations in the air, this speed force you call it?”

“Yeah…”

“You are going to learn to channel that energy, direct it where you wish it to go and destroy the boulder on the bottom.”

“You expect me to punch through three rocks?”

“No, I expect you to break the boulder on bottom and leave the two on top whole. Feel the force your body can generate, grasp it and envision it going through the top layers of the rocks towards the bottom and let it explode. It is no different than throwing lightning bolts. Feel the force you are able to generate and use it as an extension of your fist. I would recommend open palm strike at first.”

“I don’t think I am going to be able to do that.” Barry explained. “The speed force doesn’t exactly work that way…”

Barry stopped talking when Nyssa struck the top boulder and the bottom boulder exploded, chunks of rock hitting Barry’s feet and the top two rocks falling to the ground whole.

“I didn’t even need superpowers. I don’t really care about what you believe this speed force can do. What I do care about is the next time you face a giant telepathic ape or a walking shark, you can hit them with enough power guided by your mind, for the blast to penetrate the thick muscle and destroy the organs underneath. If a smaller opponent tries to defeat a larger opponent relying on strength, the smaller one will lose, every time. You must rely on speed which you have in abundance, precision and the force you are able to generate in a short distance. You will not always have the time to run five miles away and try to win with a single strike. Do we understand each other?”

“Yeah.” Barry answered, unsure of what else there was to say. He couldn’t exactly tell her no. He could but wouldn’t. Still how was he supposed to…

“I will be back soon. Practice feeling the vibrations around you, every single atom you can touch, touch the stone, focus on the vibrations under your hand. I will be back after I speak to Alex and make sure your girlfriend is still looking at clouds.”

“Why are you having her do that?”

“Until she has her solar powered sex bracelet, I have no desire to break my hand on her jaw. So I will wait until it is complete. The same as you will have to wait I would imagine.” Nyssa finished with a devious wink.

She walked away leaving a confused Flash vibrating his hand and running it over the last two rocks. Alex Danvers was waiting for her, and Miss Danvers was not happy.

“Who the hell do you think you are? Some tough love ninja? You thought shooting her was a good idea?”

“It worked, didn’t it?” Nyssa reminded the furious brunette. Alex said nothing instead looking at the ground and taking a breath.

“What do you want me to do? Stare at the clouds? Perform karate tricks on cement blocks?”

“I want you to fight me.”

Alex swung, not need further encouragement. Her fist was brushed to the side, so she stepped back and took in Nyssa’s stance and style. She looked comfortable as if out for a stroll, hands at her hips, fingers stretched and not bunched into fists, a slight grin on her face. Alex tried a kick, missing badly and expecting a counterstrike. When none came she advanced again. Each of her strikes missed or were blocked with ease. She tried a take down, only to find where Nyssa was, she was now gone, then appeared behind her. She doubted the woman had superpowers and wondered how in the hell she was doing this. Fighting Sara Lance was different. She felt she had a chance against the blonde. Perhaps she didn’t but fighting this woman was like fighting water. After a final missed blow, Alex stopped trying.

“Why aren’t you hitting back?”

“Why would I? I want to evaluate you. I am here to train you, not embarrass you. As soon as I could walk I was taught to fight. By the age of ten I was involved in battles to the death with those who wished to kill me because of who my father was. I know you cannot defeat me in battle. There is no reason for me to beat you besides some foolish notion of pride one might feel. I do have that notion or a need to prove myself to anyone. You have spirit, fire. You are disciplined and constantly changing strategies, trying to figure out a way to defeat me. You are fast and strong. I want to teach you to be better. I will make your sister smarter, I will make your future brother in law deadlier, and as for you Alex Danvers, warrior from another universe, I will take the steel that is already there and sharpen it into a blade. You are much like Oliver. You do not have superpowers to use as a weapon so you turned yourself into a weapon.”

“Oh… Uh, thanks? So can you train me to beat Sara Lance?” Alex asked, only half joking.

“Sara Lance was my love for a very long time. I loved her deeply with all my soul.” Nyssa told her.

“Oh…”

“And as soon as I released her from her oath to the League of Assassins she began sleeping with Oliver Queen. I will train you to destroy Sara Lance.” Nyssa told her with a grin. “Today I want you to think of something for me. We will meet tonight at the giant lab and you will tell me. I want to know what you are fighting for.”

“My sister.” Alex answered immediately.

“No, you love your sister, would do anything for her, die for her even but you do not fight because your sole purpose is protecting her. You are fighting for something else. When Oliver first fought Malcolm Merlyn he lost, badly. The second time they met Oliver lost again. Merlyn told him that he lost because he did not know what he was fighting for. Oliver learned what he was fighting for and in the years since never again lost a duel with Malcolm Merlyn. I realize these names mean nothing to you, but they will. These are the stories of the warriors of our Earth. Soon your name will be spoken of in these stories, not only as Kara Zor El’s sister but as Alex Danvers. Before any of this can happen, you must decide what it is you are fighting for. I will see you tonight. Have fun playing with Cisco’s toys.”

Nyssa walked off, leaving Alex speechless. Unlike Sara Lance who Alex would really like to beat to a pulp, she found herself admiring Nyssa greatly. She carried herself with such calmness and dignity with a fierce calculating gaze but a soft smile ready to appear at a moment’s notice as well.

Alex watched her talk to Barry and work with him on techniques for striking, trying not to giggle every time Barry yelped and grabbed his wrist after striking the stone particularly hard.

“I don’t think she likes me.” Kara told her, walking up from behind.

“Why? Its impossible to know you and not love you.” Alex told her honestly. Her sister had that glow about her, a light that drew others in.

“Thats because you haven’t met Iris West yet. I mean seriously, you got to fight, Barry is breaking his arm on a rock and I had to watch the clouds? Remind me to fly to Star City later and thank Sara.”

“And that is what Nyssa is talking about. You have given this an hour and are already frustrated. You need to learn patience.”

“Please, if you had to watch the clouds for an hour you would be irritated too.” Kara fairly pointed out.

“True. Looks like Barry is done. Time to see what you superheroes can do. Is he really faster than you?”

“Yeah,” Kara admitted, “On the ground and he can even cover more ground than I can flying a straight line. But our reflexes are nearly the same, or at least Cisco says so.”

“Hey if you two are done bonding can we get to work?” Cisco asked, walking up and definitely ready for some fun.

“Are you going to feel up my sister again?” Alex asked, eyebrow raised and trying to hold in a smile, enjoying the look of horror on his face.

“No… no… no.”

“Good answer. Whose up first?” Barry asked, running up and surprising the hell out of Alex.

“You are.” Cisco informed him. “Barrier wall in place. Lets see you phase, no tachyon device unless you plan to jump into another universe and bring me back a hot blonde girlfriend. Alex you are going to love this.”

Alex walked over and stood by Caitlin, looking over her shoulders at the monitors in front of the doctor. Barry’s heart rate was one that would be expected in an athlete sprinting. His breathing was no different and he had no problem talking into the com.

“How far away is he?” Alex asked, Kara standing behind her in uniform and grinning.

“About 560 miles… 540… 500…” Cisco answered, watching the GPS tracker.

“He can’t be moving that fast. It’s impossible. He should be burning up, disintegrating!”

“Yep but he doesn’t.” Kara replied proudly. “Watch him run through the barrier wall at the end of the runway.”

“He can run through walls?” Alex asked, trying to wrap her mind around the speed Allen was moving at. She had been disbelieving when Kara broke the sound barrier while flying.

“Here he comes! Watch the wall!”

Cait ignored Kara’s excitement. “I hate when he does this. If he has even one misstep…”

“He won’t… and he didn’t!” Cisco whooped, Alex trying to believe her eyes, that a lightning bolt had just went through a concrete barrier wall. Before she could track him, Barry was skidding to a complete stop in front of them.

“Time?”

“New record brother.” Cisco told him, the two high fiving. “Lets see what you got Kara.”

Kara smirked and took off, stopping a hundred feet above them all and taking off at a straight line. Forty miles away she stopped and began flying back. While Caitlin had worried about Barry she was fascinated by what she saw on the screen. The new bio sensors were working, giving her a perfect reading down to the molecular level of Kara’s cells.

“Look at how her cells are storing the energy. They are putting out an amazing amount of power. Of course, the gravity of Krypton was much greater than Earth, correct?” She asked Alex.

“I suppose. I’ve never been able to figure out how exactly she is able to fly so fast or stay up indefinitely.” Alex admitted, that point always bugging her.

“She is manipulating gravity. Not only escaping it but using it for thrust, support, floating, its almost like she has her own… of course! Cisco look at these readings coming off her body. Do you see it?”

“Dr. Stein should be out here. He is going to flip when he sees this. She is emitting her own gravitational field! Alex has she ever talked about this?” Cisco asked. Barry just stood behind everyone and watched as Kara passed over with a sonic boom and the two winked at each other as she flew by.

“Kara has never really thought about how her or other Kryptonians fly. She just loves to do it. I have tried to study other Kryptonians but they weren’t very accommodating. How are you looking at her cells?”

“The bio sensors in her suit have 3 D ultraviolet spectrometers. Its pretty simple. She has a tremendous amount of energy stored. Fighting Savage must have taken a lot out of her. She is lucky she survived.” Cait noted.

“This also explains why she gets knocked out by bombs. It isn’t the force of the blast but the shock to the system. Her cells emit a lot of power quickly in response to the explosion, leaving her momentarily dazed as her cells restore themselves. She is at her weakest after taking direct hits, not so much because of the blast but how her cells respond to it. Think we can get her to hold a bomb?”

“Cisco!” Cait and Barry both shouted. Cisco threw his hands up.

“You’re right, the risk to the suit isn’t worth it but one day we really need to get a baseline on this.” Cisco turned on his com. “Kara you think you can give us a little heat vision? Hit the runway with as much power as you can for as long as you can.”

“Copy.” Kara flew to a stop, floating over the runway two hundred feet away and the twin lasers exploded from her eyes. She could not give it as much as she had before. With Red Tornado and Non her emotions had been high, the common trigger being anger. Out here with her family and Barry she simply couldn’t reach that level. Still the power she put out was impressive. After fifteen minutes the runway had two small holes through it along with the rock layer below and the surrounding area was melted asphalt and tar because of the heat.

“The beams are at 5000 degrees Cisco.” Cait told him, noting Kara’s breathing, heart rate and the core temperature of her body were only slightly rising. Her oxygen saturation remained the same.

“I can do this all day guys!” Kara yelled.

“We will see about that,Kara Zor El.” Cisco whispered, while Caitlin and Barry both covered their eyes. While looking at the reactions of the two, Alex did not see Cisco’s drone fly silently behind Kara and fire a small missile into her back. The explosion knocked her forward but she did not fall, instead twisting in the air and using her heat vision on the drone, incinerating it in a second.

“The temperature of her beams just dropped from 3500 to 1523 degrees in five seconds. The energy output from her cells was massive after the initial hit but haven’t recovered their full potential yet. Kara come down. I want to see how long it takes your cells to recover.” Caitlin ordered or requested, Alex wasn’t sure. She was impressed. When J’onn had first agreed to let Supergirl help the DEO he put her through a series of tests, to measure her speed and strength but never anything to this detail. Perhaps she should have. Kara rested on the ground for a moment until Cait gave her a thumbs up, then began floating above the ground once more.

“Okay, time to play. I took out the solar ray shot on her breast plate because honestly the thing only gave her a short burst. When the building fell down on her and she needed it, it helped out but most of her powers still nearly blew out on the way down. Plus it rendered the defibrillator useless…” Cisco started while Barry and Caitlin cringed.

“A defib won’t work on her.” Alex told them, believing Kara to be immune to such small shocks. She had survived Livewire’s best so it was unlikely that a small machine would be do much good.

“It did when her heart stopped while Caitlin was performing sur… what? You guys didn’t tell her about when Barry brought her here?” he asked, seeing Alex’s face go pale while Barry and Caitlin glared at him.

“Fine, look it all worked out and here she is. Nothing to be upset about now, Alex. Just because she looked dead when Barry brought her over and was covered in blood and her chest had to be opened up… I’ll shut up now.”

“Thank you Cisco. Lets see if the bioluminescent fabric works.” Barry suggested.

“Bio what?” Alex asked weakly, trying not to think of her sunny little sister and how she must have appeared, seeing her heart stop, for even the briefest moment, lying dead on a table in S.T.A.R. Labs.

“Well, since she didn’t want the chest piece as large and higher up, plus with the defib we won’t talk about, I had to cut back if she wanted the flexibility. So being the genius that I am, I was able to design a fabric that has nanite tech developed by Ray. Once our satellite, yeah we have our own satellite, sends a signal to anywhere in the world she might be, Small parts of the material of her suit can fade and in effect become solar panels. Watch. Kara, time to go sunbathing.”

Kara floated in the air and lay on her back as if a lounge char was under her and not air. Cisco sent the signal and small diamond shape panels appeared on her legs, arms and her abdomen, transformed by nanites into mini solar panels. Kara laughed at the warm feel of the sun rays on her body in a hundred different small places. Even though she was still covered and nothing improper could be seen, she was open to the sun like never before, the reflectors taking the light and maximizing the beams to their fullest potential.

“This feels amazing!” she told the team, the joy obvious in her voice.

“My God, she is sparkling.” Alex whispered in awe of the technology on this earth. Perhaps not the technology but the genius of these two in front of her and apparently this Ray Palmer and Martin Stein. Caitlin was smiling in pride at Cisco and adoration at Kara who was doing flips in the air now, her cape billowing around her. Barry stepped out in front, moving under Kara.

“Her cells are back at one hundred percent, same energy output that we began with.” Caitlin informed the group.

“Kara lets give it a two mile run and see how fast you can go now.” Cisco requested. Barry took off with her on the ground while she flew above, smiling down at him.

“Ready?” he asked her when they reached the two mile mark.

“No way you beat me in two miles, Flash. Ready to be humbled in front of my sister?”

“On your word, Babe.”

“Babe? Oh you are so going to pay for that. Go!”

Kara took off at sonic speed, speed she had only used perhaps twice in her life, once catching up to a nuclear missile. Barry gained ground and took off passing Mach 3 while Kara cracked the barrier at Mach 2 just behind him. The sonic boom the two created cracked the glass on Cisco’s monitors and blew both Caitlin and Cisco’s chairs back. Alex caught Cait. Cisco was caught by the ground.

“Oh my God,” Cisco whispered, standing up to look at his cracked laptop. “she is actually faster with the cape.”

In a blink of an eye the two heroes were back, looking at Cisco on the ground, an arm around each others waist.

“If you guys are done having fun, lets eat. We are starved.” Barry suggested.

“Yes, you both need at least ten thousand calories after that output. Barry, grab your special energy bars and give Kara a couple.”

“But they taste like…” Kara started then stopped at the look on Cait’s face. “heaven. They taste so good I don’t know if I can stop with just two.” she finished, causing Cait to smile.

“I knew you would like them. Barry loves them. I make them myself. I’m thinking of adding cinnamon to the next batch. Have as many as you like!”

Alex fought back a laugh knowing what Kara’s fake smile looked like and her little sister was definitely wearing it now. The five loaded up the van with Cisco’s drone, storing the explosives gently into cushioned cases, and the monitoring equipment then drove back to S.T.A.R. Kara, Barry and Cisco headed to some place called Big Belly Burger which sounded disgusting to Alex so she begged off, leaving her with Caitlin who was pouring over information gathered on both Barry and Kara.

“You are amazing, you realize this right?” Alex asked her. Cait smiled but continued with her work after shrugging her shoulders.

“I mean it. What you are doing, what you do for Barry, what you are doing for Kara, it is so amazing. A lot of people, some of whom I used to work with, saw her as this ultimate weapon, She was strong, invincible, fast and had all these extra powers, they forgot she was part of a team and made her the team. If something got to tough, call in Supergirl. It never occurred to us how to make her stronger, healthier. She would get knocked out or hurt and I would freak and the most we ever thought to do was put her under solar lamps and wait till she healed. I would hold her hand and wonder if this was the time she wouldn’t. Had she finally pushed herself to far? But you have known her such a short time and already have developed methods for monitoring her health, her power, techniques to improve her performance and safety. When Cisco showed me the video of her fighting Savage I heard you on the coms, screaming at her to get out, to back off. You really love her. You don’t know how grateful I will always be for that. Then to see you rushing past all those EMS workers and police after she was on the ground, barking orders, rushing off to take care of her. No one questioned you. You, Dr. Snow, are an amazing person.”

“It’s really no big deal.” Caitlin told her, secretly feeling a burst of pride but trying to brush it off. “When Barry first started he got hurt so much. Stupid things like not being able to stop and running into things, Trying to fight a man who could literally turn into poison gas and inhaling it, having a bomb strapped to his wrist… anyway we have felt our way through this in the dark and now we are smarter than we used to be. We didn’t have this set up at first. It was a trial and error process. Plus our mentor and the man we looked up to turned out to be completely evil. But in the beginning he was a help, even if he did have his own motives. Cisco was always more daring than I was. He was the one who convinced Barry to try a supersonic punch. I knew that if Barry mistimed it, he could literally shatter his arm. Of course Barry did it. He always finds a way. Regardless, the point is we have had time before Kara arrived here to improve our performance and are able to help her better because we went through and are still going through the same process with Barry. Barry has not come close to reaching his potential yet. Every time we think he can’t get faster he proves us wrong. With the tachyon device he could be faster than the speed of light, giving Dr. Stein serious consideration as to whether this could be a good thing or bad. My guess is bad, so I not only have to keep track of the vibrations he puts out but also his speed, making sure he doesn’t go to fast, or accidentally travel back in time or into another universe.”

“Wow. Caitlin I have to ask, when Barry brought Kara in for the first time…”

“Don’t. You don’t want to know and I don’t ever want to think about it again. I know that you love her probably more than anyone in the world, even your parents. I know you two have had issues and that none of it matters because when she looks at you, its different than when she looks at me. She looks at me like a friend, a friend like I have never really had. But when she looks at you its easy to see the hero worship in her eyes. You are her hero. I woke up at times when she first moved in with me because I heard her talking in her sleep. She cried out for you. You are staying right? She is my best friend but she needs you so badly I don’t think she even realizes the extent of it. She wanted you to be free of her so you could live your own life but anyone can see the two of you are connected. Neither of you would ever be truly happy without the other.”

“Yes, I’m staying with her. I won’t abandon her. She thinks I would have a better life without her but she is wrong. I need her in my life. She is… I just need her. She’s my hero too and I don’t think she has ever understood that.” Alex explained.

“Why? I don’t imagine you were thrilled about a thirteen year old alien girl showing up on your doorstep. Kara told me how your mom always berated you for not taking care of her, how Eliza would always tell you it was your job to protect her even though she didn’t need protecting. She told me she embarrassed you in front of your friends. What changed?”

“What changed? Kara has a superpower that is much more subtle than her others. She makes people smile and want to protect her without even realizing she is doing it. For the first months she didn’t speak English but caught on astonishingly fast. Kryptonians are very smart and she is probably on the intellectual level of you and Cisco. She just doesn’t show an interest in science. But learning English and speaking English are two very different things. So when we first went to school, yeah she was kind of embarrassing. I did my best to fit in, to pretend to be what everyone else was, try to hide as much as Kara did her whole life. But she didn’t make it easy of course. She saved this woman and child when she was thirteen and I was… anyway after a couple months of sharing a room and having to deal with her, doing my best not to like her because thats what 14 year old girls do right, a thunderstorm hit. Not unusual but this one was practically on top of the house. The thunder was pretty extreme. Kara woke up screaming, covering her ears. She had just gotten to the point where she could tune out all the sounds around her but still had sensory overload at times.

Despite my determinedness to not have anything to do with her, I still played along when she tried to teach me her language. That night she woke up screaming in Kryptonese for her mother and father. I wasn’t sure what to do, her hands over her ears, her eyes closed and literally screaming for her mother, begging her not to send her away, begging her mother to come with her. I walked over to try and comfort her somehow. When I came close her eyes opened, full of tears and she reached out for me. I got into bed with her and she wrapped her arms around me and buried her head into my chest. She just kept repeating my name while the storm raged and I didn’t let her go. I thought she was going to break my ribs, but I wouldn’t let her go. Eventually the storm passed and she apologized, she told me the thunder reminded her of the sound of Krypton blowing up as she escaped in her pod, before sleep took her. She asked me to stay with her and then right before I got her to sleep she told me she loved me. That was it. I was hers and there was no going back. The next day at school, a boy I had convinced myself I had to be around so I could be cool, called her a name, I’m not even sure what it was, but I beat him. I didn’t just hit him, I beat him, got suspended for a week and it was worth it. Kara stayed home from school for that week too because she couldn’t be there on her own. Since then she has been mine. Mine to protect, to love. I’ve made mistakes, God have I made mistakes and I don’t for one second believe we have this perfect relationship. There are a lot of issues, mistakes we have both made that we need to work on. I do know when I thought she was dead, I felt like I was dead as well. No matter what we will always have each other. But now I need to step back. I don’t have to be big sister and best friend. I can be the big sister and you are the best friend now. I don’t have to protect her alone.”

“You really think she needs protection?” Cait asked. “I mean I know she can lose, be hurt, I’ve seen it, but she is certainly safer than most of us. Look at Oliver Queen shirtless sometimes if you don’t believe me. HIs torso is like a map of the pain in his life.”

“Yes she does but not physically so much. Kara has severe abandonment issues, She still has PTSD from her entire world ending when she was 13. Despite this she sees the good in everyone. I never want that to change but I also have to protect her from this. She can be hurt easily and is full of self doubt and has very low self esteem. Thats what we are going to have to help her with. She can handle the super villains, we handle the rest. You realize this is the first real relationship she has ever had, right?”

“Yeah, her and Barry are in love. I don’t know about Kara but I’ve never seen him happier.”

“You will see Kara’s self doubts, her insecurities and fears, the first time they have an argument. She gets hurt easily. For someone so powerful, she is very sensitive. In the past I would be the one who pulled her out of it. I will still be what she needs me to be but now that job is yours. She has heard everything I have to say, now she can hear it from you.”

“I can handle that.” Cait told her.

“I know you can. Nyssa is supposed to be here soon. She wants to have a talk with me.”

Caitlin smiled and went ahead with the question on her mind.

“Does Kara know you are gay?”

Alex froze, then relaxed. Dr. Snow was not just observant when it came to Barry and Kara apparently. “No. She thinks I just don’t have a social life, which technically is true.”

“Why haven’t you told her?”

Alex shrugged her shoulders. “I haven’t told anyone because there has never been a point to it. Like I said, my life revolves around work and Kara, or at least it did. But if its all the same to you, if it ever does become relevant I would tell her, but I would prefer to be the one to do it.”

“I won’t say a word. Just do me a favor, be careful around Nyssa. She isn’t like… normal people. She had a very different upbringing. I don’t know much about her, but be careful.”

Alex rolled her eyes. “We are just going to talk about training.”

Cait threw her hands up. “Whatever you want to call it.”

Alex playfully punched her in the shoulder.

“By the way, I found a house I want to rent. It’s a three bedroom, two bath, two story with a privacy face in the backyard and tall trees, perfect for Kara to take off from. With what I make and her job, we could handle it but its a lot of space for two people. It would be perfect for three.” Caitlin hinted.

“I think I have to have a job before I find a place to live. I will probably just keep crashing here, until Kara decides to go back and say goodbye to everyone, maybe pick some things up then to bring back.”

“Yeah about a job, I sent Felicity your photo. She gave you a background including a work history with the FBI. If it is followed up on it will lead to A.R.G.U.S. and everyone knows not to ask questions about them.”

“Kara’s boss can do that?”

“She is the best hacker in any universe. But as far as a job, since you don’t strike me as the office type, Barry’s foster father Joe? He handles the metahuman cases for the Central City Police. His last partner quit and she wasn’t very good at much besides getting herself in trouble. I think Joe could really use some help from a partner who has actually fought people with superhuman powers and won. He asked me about you, and I told him I would run the idea by you. Just something to think about.”

Alex nodded and did think about it. It wasn’t something she would jump head first into without giving it some serious consideration but it would allow her to do what she does best. Alex also knew Barry worked closely with Joe meaning Kara did, meaning Alex could still look after her little sister without having to be her senior agent and have her own battles, the work that had aways given her a rush.

“I’ll give him a call. Thanks.”

“No problem. And Alex? I was serious. Be careful with Nyssa. She is a good person, all things considered. But she is or was an assassin. She isn’t a hero. She has been heroic in the past but she was raised by one of the most evil men in the world to be a killer. Just be careful.”

Alex winked at Caitlin. “Duly noted. Be careful around the hot assassin.”

“I never called her hot.”

“No you didn’t.” Alex responded and walked out of the room, leaving Caitlin shaking her head.