Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Call Me Kara

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 55:

“Are you sure you aren’t disappointed that you aren’t having a surprise party? I just… we… Caitlin said we all suck at keeping secrets and it was a miracle you all pulled off mine. If I hadn’t been traumatized from taking down a mad man and being yelled at by everyone I love as a reward and being deliriously happy that Charlie entered my life and I didn’t get Lexie killed, and had a new car and bought a dog seat for the first time in my life. It was kind of a big deal and a lot was going on. If you wanted it to be a surprise maybe we could have had it a day early next year? Of course that wouldn’t be a surprise now, would it? Plus its too late and I really don’t want to go back in time. I would screw everything up. I rout I could anyway even if you shared speed with me and wouldn’t have the first clue about how to get back.”

“Kara would you calm down? Hanging out at Ray’s penthouse sounds great. It will be nice for all of us to relax.” Barry assured her. “It seems like the only time we all get together in one place is if we are fighting someone. Did… did you hear Kal El or Diana talking about anything… strange?”

“Strange? You mean to explain why they were so tense after the wedding and Diana hurried to pack her bags and seemed anxious to leave for once? I noticed that too but no, I didn’t hear anything. Maybe they found out something or there was some emergency?”

“Then why not tell us?” Barry asked, irritated. Ironically for a man who wore a mask, he hated secrets, especially from those he considered friends like the Earth 3 crew. “Do you think they found the Order?”

“Lucy didn’t say anything. Of course she probably doesn’t know anything. She is supposedly the director of the support team but something tells me Bruce Wayne isn’t the sharing type outside of those he fights besides. Maybe they didn’t want us getting involved.”

“We are the ones who should be involved. Those bastards ruined your family’s life. They made monsters to kill you. They had guns pointed at you and Alex for twelve years. We owe them. They should be ours.”

“Yeah, I know how you feel. Most of me wants to find out…” Kara hesitated.

“Most of you?”

“Yeah but the part of me sleeping in her baby bed right now, thinks maybe we shouldn’t go looking for fight right now. Maybe it seems cowardly but… I don’t want to leave her to go to another universe and there is no way she is going with us. If they were here on our Earth I would say we could attack at lunch time and still have time for dessert when we are done but they aren’t. We are all together, my whole family and… I don’t want to leave her like…”

“Like your mother left you.” Barry finished.

“Yeah,… but you are right, we should fight in this. Maybe Cisco can vibe into the Earth and see what they are up to.”

“No, you are right. I’m sure they would have told us. Maybe they just had a lead and maybe… maybe we should move on. We have our own battles to fight. Or at least we did. I suppose its too much to hope that the battles will stop.”

“We do seem to attract trouble. I just wonder if the next trouble is going to come in colorful spandex and Harry Potter villains or camo? Or worse, black suits with guns.”

“Kara, if someone could get close to us without you hearing or seeing them, the second they opened the door, even a millisecond after they try to kick in the door, I could have them disarmed and knocked out or taken to the other side of the world or… anything else that needs to be done.”

“Don’t Barry. We can’t become that. Not for just any reason, not if there is another way, If Lexie is in trouble thats one thing but just to… we can’t encourage Oliver. I don’t want to see him back to… I don’t want that for any of us.”

“I know. I wouldn’t do it unless there was no other option. Except Eiling. I think that is one Thawne got right. Giving him to Grodd… it didn’t work out the way Thawne thought it would but if he wants to find Grodd so badly, I’m sure Cisco remembers the location. I would be glad to throw him there.”

Kara shook her head, not knowing what to think. When she first met Barry he wouldn’t talk about something like this so lightly. But she also understood. As horrible as breaking that clone’s neck was, she recognized this general Alex had been keeping track of was just as big a threat, even without superpowers. She would kill him if she had to. After being a brainwashed slave to a gorilla instead of giving up he decided to go after the monkey. He wasn’t a man to be dissuaded except by extreme measures.

“Enough of this talk. Its your birthday and we are going to think of happy things. Before we get ready I want to give you your gift. It’s not exactly easy to carry or wrap. We could wrap it, but its better if its not.”

Barry was curious as to what this mystery gift could be. She had alluded to it several times during the week but most of the week he spent with Lexie at the Gallery, both of them playing with her while Kara painted. She usually took her time, moving at human speed to paint. It made no difference in the art but she enjoyed the peacefulness of painting. It made her brain slow down and she could take her happiest thoughts, memories and scenery and lay them out for the world to see. This week however she had laid out her thoughts quickly. Oliver had sold ten more paintings at ridiculous prices and had six phone numbers slipped into his suit pocket by five trophy wives and one trophy husband. Kara had paid 60% of the building cost in two weeks. Barry never would have guessed Oliver would be so good at selling art of all things but watching him, it was obvious he was a natural. The Oliver Queen he showed the world was a very charming individual, handsome, strong and always ready with a smile. No one would guess how violent he could be, or that he could be the scowling face behind the mask and under the hood.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

“Close your eyes.”

Barry did so and in less than five seconds was ordered to open his eyes again. He looked around then at the wall in front of him. Hanging in the living room in the center was a painting of him holding Lexie, who was lay against his chest, the both of them sleeping. The likeness was unreal. He remembered this, waking up on the sofa, holding her. Kara had been standing in front of him just watching, soaking it in. Now he knew why.

“Kara…”

“If you don’t like it I have four other versions. This was the one I thought was closest to perfect.”

“Its… beautiful. Thank you so much.” the Flash pulled his wife into his arms and kissed her gently. She noted his eyes were red so he must like it.

“Really? I wanted it to be perfect, it was just such a beautiful scene. I wasn’t sure where you wanted it but I thought… I mean I wanted it in the center over the fireplace but we can put it somewhere else if you want.”

“I love it there for now. But I want one of all three of us over that fireplace eventually, whenever you get around to it. Maybe when we have all three of us we can move it into our bedroom or hers, or next to it. Maybe one with you and her on one side and this one the other and the three of us in the middle… its perfect Kara.”

“I’m glad you like it. I’ve worked on it since I saw the two of you like that. She was 4 weeks and one day old.”

“I remember. I love it. Its beautiful.”

“Oh! I have your other gift too! Okay it is mostly from Cisco but I commissioned it. Hold on.”

Kara zipped away and was back in a second, holding a garment sized box and a smaller box.

“Open the small box first!”

Barry tugged the red bow off and lifted the top. In the small box a very high tech chest piece lay, only with Kara’s symbol and a lightning bolt through it. It was a replica of the tattoo on her shoulder blade.

“You like it? Because its yours and you are wearing it whether you like it or not. I have the same one mine now.”

“Cool.” he admitted then sat it down to open the bigger box. Ripping off the paper quickly of course he lifted the top and saw…

“Is this your suit?”

‘Nope, its yours for the next month.” she told him happily. Barry looked confused.

“Kara, red is more my color, not that I don’t like it! But… is something wrong with my… why can’t you change yours to red if you want to match? Shouldn’t we talk about this?”

Barry took a look at his identical suit, thinking while he loved seeing blue on his wife he really, really liked red.

“Yeah, I like your suit and in a month you can go back to it. But for the next month, I believe we had a bet you need to pay up on.”

“A bet?” Barry asked, trying to remember what bet the two had made recently.

“When I was first pregnant, you bet me that Lexie was a boy. As she obviously isn’t, you lost. The terms were you wore my suit for a month. I said a week, you raised it to a month and lost. I’ve let it go because we had the whole Prometheus mess and then Decay and Fairchild and then my advanced pregnancy and the colds and the uncomfortable weight gain and before that the wedding but now things have calmed down for the moment. Its time.”

“But… I agreed with you. Like a week later, right after I…”

“Yeah, believe me I remember that day. That would be the one where you ran from South America to the North Pole. Hard to forget. You talked to your speed force friend who gave you some spooky prophecy about our daughter but before that you made a bet. I never forget Barry. So enjoy your blue costume…”

“Uniform.”

“for the next month. But not tonight. Tonight you are mine. Someone else can handle the emergencies of this city, maybe the fire and police departments?”

“Okay then… a whole month? Like four weeks?”

“31 days. Four weeks is 28 days. 31 days.”

“But some months are 28 days.”

“One month and that doesn’t count. Face it Barry, you are going to be in blue. Iris is going to write about Mr. Superwoman. Your friends are going to laugh at you. But I think it will look great on you and my opinion is the only one that matters, right?”

“Yeah, I mean I love the chest plate, it’s really cool. It just seems like matching chest plates should be enough to show our commitment…”

“Barry? You are wearing the damn suit. Happy birthday baby. Lets get ready so we can get Lexie dressed when she wakes up. I have the cutest new sweater for Charlie. Its too bad Alex and Nyssa can’t be here. I hope they are having fun on their honeymoon.”

“Yeah, traveling Europe for three weeks. I would imagine they are having a tough time enjoying themselves. We could do that, you know? You are the hottest artist in the city and probably the nation. Word is getting out. You won’t be able to do portraits much longer.”

“I will always do portraits. Maybe I can do them for free. I love portraits. Seeing families together, seeing the love they have for each other and immortalizing a moment. It’s the best part of the job. When Lexie is older we can go, but I want her to be old enough to appreciate the artwork, the architecture, the history. I’ve always wanted to go to the Roman Coliseum.”

“Whats that?” Barry asked.

“The Roman… you don’t have the Roman Coliseum here?! But…”

“I’m just kidding. Alternate earth jokes never get old.” he told her with a laugh.

“Yeah, they do. Okay, lets get ready. I have your clothes picked out.”

“You have my… of course you do. Whatever you want.”

Two hours later the family of four, Lexie in her stroller and Charlie in Kara’s bag since he refused to wear a collar still, walked into Ray’s town home. Kara had figured out that Ray had multiple properties, this one where Zatanna and Donna lived, his apartment with Jax and Thea’s town home where she suspected he spent most of his time. Everyone they knew and considered family was there in addition to many of Barry’s work friends including the Captain. His husband, not in the know could not make it, allowing them all to relax a bit more. Everyone here knew who they were, making it easier to not have to watch what they say about who they were.

They were greeted by all, drinks being passed out and then the horde descended on Lexie. She had been handled and passed around for five minutes before she let her annoyance be known. The second she let out her first cry, Kara zipped in, placing a small bracelet on her little wrist. Everyone quieted.

“Kara, she is going to cry.” Eliza told her gently.

“Yeah, believe me I know. I know all of her cries. I know the dirty diaper cry, the I’m hungry cry, the I’m bored cry and I especially know the I am really annoyed or angry cry. Thats the one that worries me.”

Eliza took her granddaughters wrist and unclasped the bracelet. “It was an extreme circumstance. It hasn’t happened since and it won’t now. She shouldn’t be treated like a bomb, Kara. Okay everyone, no more passing around the princess. She will stay in my arms for the remainder of the night.”

A quiet disagreement between friends and grandparents ensued but all agreed to let Eliza hold her for the time being. Barry greeted everyone, working the room, taking it all in. He still had a hard time believing he had this many friends. His team, Joe and Iris, then later Wally had been his support group. Oliver was always there but they were separated by cities. With the Arrow gracing Central City, which was quickly gaining the nickname of Superhero Central by the press, Oliver, Barry and Kara had grown very close. Barry also was surprised by Oliver’s hidden talent at art dealing. His knowledge of the elite in the city and beyond had taken the pressure off of Kara, who preferred to paint and play with Lexie and Charlie, rather than sell. Although Kara had never said anything, word got around from the Fire Department to the Police Department about what Barry’s wife had done for them. Kara never mentioned it but he wasn’t surprised nor would have expected any less of her.

Walking to the center of the room as soon as Zatanna was finished turning air currents from the AC into different colors which seemed to fascinate all, especially a wide eyed Lexie, she greeted everyone.

“Thank you all for being here tonight, not that I doubted you would. Barry has a gift of making people want to be around him. I am glad you are all here because as much as I would like to keep him all to myself, all of you deserve to have a chance with him every now and then. I already gave my gift to Barry before we came over…”

Kara stopped talking until the cheers and whistles from the males died down.

“That isn’t what I meant and my daughter is in the room. This isn’t a bachelor party. Anyway, I am glad you all can wish a happy birthday to him. The man who saved me countless times, mostly from loneliness and the occasional super villain. The man who made my dreams come true, who saved the city too many times to count and saved an infinite number of universes, saved the lives of almost everyone in here at some point. A man who is the best husband and father, the best friend anyone could want. A guy who could use his gifts to take over the world and instead uses them to rescue people, to keep people safe and fight for them when no one else can. Lieutenant Lance over there and Captain Singh helped crunch some numbers for me. In the past year, since his last birthday, not taking into account bad guys, but fires, car wrecks, a sinking boat once, pedestrians trying to cross the street, a plane that went through a bridge that was suddenly not solid and explosions, Barry Allen has saved over 522 lives. 522 lives in the last 12 months and stopped many people who wanted to take more. As the Flash he stopped ten armed robberies, five of which had hostage situations. This was before word got out that you don’t really commit crimes in Central City unless you want to be caught. He also worked 52 homicide cases as a CSI and none are still open. You have to be pretty smart to get something past him, something Lexie is going to find out in her teenage years. So here is to my husband and my hero, Barry Allen. I love you.”

Barry waved away the round of applause touched that Singh and Quentin did that for him. He hadn’t realized the number, he never really kept count. None of them did, because it wasn’t about that. Still the number was surprising. He knew he had been busy but didn’t realize how busy. Kara neglected to mention the number of lives she had saved of course, many by his side.

Kara tried to take Lexie to feed her, only to be intercepted by Henry, who grabbed the baby girl in his arms and reached out for a bottle with his hand and a grin. Kara rolled her eyes and handed the bottle over, never being able to turn him down. After what he experienced in his life, like Jeremiah, like her at times, this must seem like a really good dream.

The gifts given, Cisco offering a framed large photo of him and Kara taken after the Tower Heights rescue. In a side view, Kara and Barry in front of each other, Barry’s suit covered in ash as well as Kara’s who was leaned back against a console, one leg slightly bent and her arms back on the console. Barry was touching her cheek, trying to wipe away soot gently while they stared at each other, both obviously tired and both very deep in love, even that early in their relationship. Kara had been so hot from the fire that you could almost see the steam rising from her body.

The gift giving continued, mostly clothes except for Caitlin who had given him a karaoke machine and a bottle of Tequila for her to use if he ever wanted him to sing with her again. Harry had given Barry a picture Caitlin had taken with her phone that she later passed on to Harry. In the photo Harry and Jessie were hugging each other tightly, a few days after she had been rescued from Zoom’s lair on Earth 2. The frame was engraved with the words Because of You.

Oliver’s gift had been a bit more unusual, a ragged piece of metal only a foot long and five inches wide, with a series of oriental symbols. Oliver told him the metal was one of the strips left from the mech Barry destroyed in Siberia. Oliver had slipped it in his pack in the event it could have some sort of clues on it. He engraved the symbols himself and explained they stood for the word brotherhood in Mandarin.

Henry had given his son a stethoscope. Jeremiah and Eliza had given him a set of military dog tag and Jeremiah explained that they belonged to his grandfather in World War 2, sending a chill through Barry, recognizing how important they must be to the man.

“He was a hero, and he would be proud to know my son in law is wearing them now. From one hero to another, passed down through the generations.” Jeremiah told him.

While the party moved on and Lexie was once again confiscated from her arms, this time by Joe, Kara slipped out onto the balcony to get some air. Barry was having fun, the food was great and he was enjoying himself, Cisco putting the Wrath of Khan on a big movie screen in the living room, playing in the background while everyone talked and mingled.

She looked out over the city praying nothing happened tonight that would require their services, a change from the past when the opportunities to use her powers excited her. After a few years of doing the superhero thing, Kara realized that when she had to use her powers there was a good chance people were already dead or could die if she wasn’t on top of their game. She still enjoyed helping people but saving people from a burning building didn’t change the fact that some could already be dead and all had lost their homes. Thinking of her own home and how much she would hate to lose it, the keepsakes and memories already made, the devastation she would feel. She supposed maturity had changed her views on the world a bit. She had learned since she first put on the cape on another Earth, that an emergency meant people were hurt, lives destroyed and nothing was ever black and white or exciting.

The door slid open behind her, Kara not recognizing the heartbeat but knowing it wasn’t Barry’s. Before she decided to turn around, Quentin Lance was next to her, looking out over the city beside her.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Never fails to take my breath away.” Kara admitted. “How are you doing Quentin? I liked the gift you gave Barry. A stop watch? I wish I had thought of it.”

‘Kid needs to remember to slow down sometimes. It isn’t easy for someone as fast as he is but sometimes you have to take in the little moments. I imagine you are both learning that. That is a doll you got in there.”

“Yeah, she is. She is my life.” the blonde admitted.

“I saw you driving Wednesday. You are getting really good. I also noticed your window was up. No more motion sickness?”

“I moved on.” Kara admitted.

“What do you mean? How do you move on from motion sickness?” Lance asked, with a soft chuckle.

“Quentin, there are some secrets you don’t know about me. Captain Singh doesn’t know either. No one outside of the League and Joe know. I also know you have had a lot of secrets kept from you in your life. But you kept Oliver’s secret and have been through so much… I trust you Quentin. Do you want to know why I had motion sickness? It wasn’t motion sickness. I told everyone it was but it wasn’t. It was panic attacks. Severe enough that I would get sick from them.

“Panic attacks? From driving a car?”

“No… from being enclosed. I hate it. I hate planes and I hate trains and anything really that keeps me enclosed in a small space. Quentin, I’m not a metahuman.”

“You’ve certainly fooled me.” the man admitted, his laugh dying when he saw she wasn’t kidding.

“I was born on a planet named Krypton. I’m an alien.”

The cop took the woman in, the sunny blonde, wearing her knee length dress, the sleeves off her shoulders, her wavy, long beautiful hair. If she wasn’t human… but she wasn’t kidding. She was serious.

“Krypton?”

“Yep. Everyone who knows, like I said the League and Joe, who I guess is kinda League family like you are, know. If you are ever interested I can get a telescope and show you the sun our planet revolved around. We are the same as humans, the same solar cycles, the same aging processes, the same anatomy. The only difference is the yellow sun of this galaxy gives me a lot of power. My cells store it and are the reasons I have so many powers.”

“Wow. I never would have guessed that. So what does that have to do with enclosed spaces?”

“When I was 13, our planets core became unstable and we all knew it would blow up. Literally blow up in an instant. All my world, gone in a second. My parents sent me to Earth in a spaceship, a pod really. I was supposed to protect my cousin who was a baby sent before me, but I was sent off too late. Before I was clear of the blast radius, my pod got knocked off course and I wound up in this place where time didn’t exist. Nothing existed, no planets, no stars, just darkness and space debris. I was supposed to be asleep the entire time but that wasn’t the case. I woke a couple times. Most of the time I was asleep, dreaming, having nightmares really. But when I woke I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t on Earth. I was so sleepy, I probably shouldn’t have woken at all but when I did, I managed to stay up for five or ten minutes. Like I said time didn’t exist. I remember looking out my pod and seeing… nothing. Nothing but darkness, some rocks that would bump into the pod a few times but yeah… mostly darkness. I wasn’t sure where I was, I knew I was in space but was I? Did I die and this was death? My whole world was that damn ship around me with nothing but darkness. After I fell back asleep the first time my dreams revolved around being trapped, like it was my tomb.”

“That must have been horrible.” Quentin admitted, not being able to imagine a young girl who had just lost everyone she loved, trapped in a space coffin.

“The second time I woke was when my pod had been reactivated. I stayed up, the ship doing what it was programmed to do, traveling wormholes to cut the distance through the universe, moving at nearly light speed. I saw trails of light and then long periods of darkness. I must have traveled for a month then I saw this planet. I closed my eyes and wanted to go back to sleep. My body was still in organic statis. I didn’t need food or drink or go to the restroom, which was good since I didn’t have one. I was awake though. I was moving so fast and this blue world was coming closer, I didn’t want to be awake when I crashed. It was a pretty rough landing.” Kara mused, remembering the day she landed and the nightmare trip it had taken to get there. Clark would never know how lucky he was to be too young to remember it.

“Anyway, ever since that day, anytime I am in an enclosed space I get freaked out. My stomach turns and my mind goes back to that damn pod. I used to keep a window open. As long as I could get out, I was fine. Planes are the worst. I know I can fly out, its kind of silly, but every time I am in one my mind would go back to the pod, trapped inside, surrounded by darkness. But like I said, I have gotten over it. I have moved on.”

“You got over it? You lost your world and got over it?”

Kara shrugged. “I used to let it define me. Now I try to live in a way that honors those who are gone, the same as you do. You have lost your world twice. It seems impossible to move on but we only have two choices. Stop fighting, stop trying to find happiness, stop seeing the good in the world or carry on in a manner those who are gone would expect from us and be proud of. Did Sara ever tell you how my sister got here? Sara traveled to another universe, the same one that tried to kill me, so she could get a necklace my mother gave me, the last thing my mother ever gave me. I didn’t ask her too but she did it because she wanted to. Her and Alex got into a fight and most of the Justice League had to save her and Oliver from my cousin and Alex jumped through with them. It was kind of the start of some tension between the two but they have gotten over it… sort of. The point is, Sara is amazing, I wish I had known Laurel because from everything I have heard about her, she was amazing as well. You must be pretty special to have raised two daughters like that.”

Quentin couldn’t say anything, the thought of Laurel making his eyes mist.

“We usually have a casual rule about not talking about dopplegangers from other universes. Do you know what those are?”

“Yeah, Joe has told me quite a bit about the multiverse.” Quentin admitted quietly.

“I’m going to break that rule. Dopplegangers are the same person, only affected by different experiences. Some of those experiences make them harder, meaner or perhaps sadder. Some bring out the best in them. Its the best example I can think of to show how choices in and out of our control can shape who we are. My Dad, my adopted Dad Jeremiah, was held by some very bad people for over a decade. We all thought he was dead but when we returned to get Eliza, we found out he wasn’t. Some heroes from that world, joined us to help free him from a pretty dangerous place. One of those heroes who went into an underground base full of soldiers with guns and monsters from your nightmares, was a woman named Dinah Laurel Lance. She went by Dinah there but she was Laurel. She called herself the Black Canary. Despite the different circumstances, she was a hero. She didn’t know us, had no reason to go into that base, except that she was brave and wanted to help because she could. So you see, in an infinite number of universes Laurel lives and she is a hero. In this one she lives in you, the same as my parents still live in me. We do what we can to make them proud. She would be proud of you. Only you are brave enough to teach a claustrophobic alien how to drive.”

Kara brought the man in for a hug and grabbed his hand, pulling him back inside. She saw Barry and Lexie, sitting on a couch, Cisco next to them and explaining to Lexie the reasons why Kirk was better than Picard.

“Hey Kara? Thanks for the info about… my daughter, and for trusting you with your secret.”

“You are welcome. You deserved to know. You are part of our family. Everyone in here is.”

“I’ll never tell a soul.”

“I know that. I never doubted it for a second. I think its past time we cut the cake. One for Barry, one for me and the rest for the guests.” she told him with a wink.

The night eventually ended, by a grumpy Lexie who was not given a bracelet. Kara and Barry’s nearness seemed to calm her always. Charlie had an accident in Zatanna’s room but instead of being angry she turned the poop into rose petals, a trick Barry would have loved to learn. All in all the night was a success. Barry showered and walked out, finding a passed out Kara, leaned against the headboard with Lexie on her chest. Lexie was awake but content, trying to reach her hand to her mouth and not having much luck. She was able to blast an Amazon with heat vision but other tricks baby’s learned like moving, were still a challenge for her. It made him feel good that she wasn’t growing to fast. He wanted to enjoy these times and he knew Kara did.

“So, are you going to sleep here or in your bed? Charlie needs to know so the correct pillow can be fluffed.”

Lexie smiled and blew a bubble, so Barry left her alone, until Kara started snoring. He gently took his daughter in his arms.

“What?! Who, where? Hey where did she… leave her where she was!” Kara quietly complained, jerking awake.

“Hey, you were snoring. Lets put her to bed and get some rest, okay?”

“She can’t sleep in here?”

“You are the one who doesn’t want her sleeping in here.” he reminded her.

“Its your birthday. You get away with it tonight.” she told him with a grin.

“I was thinking since it was my birthday, maybe I could get away with something else tonight?” Kara’s eyes opened back up.

“Probably time to put her to bed.” she agreed. “Did you have a nice birthday? We should have had it at the Karaoke bar or here, right?”

“It was perfect.I loved everything about it.”

“Alex texted me. She wants us to meet her at an address she gave me this Saturday in Coast City.”

“Coast City? I thought they were in Europe?”

“I didn’t ask. With those two it is no telling. She said Charlie is not allowed so of course we are taking him. I hope he and Lexie are up to the drive.”

“We could leave them both with Eliza. It would be fun to spend a day in Coast City, play on the beach, have a little us time. It has been a while.”

Kara thought hard about this. “One day?”

“We could be back by noon Sunday. We take out suits and if Eliza needs us I can share my speed with you and we would be back in five minutes or less. Its not like she will ever be anywhere we can’t get to her quickly, no matter where we are.”

“And Charlie?”

“Probably needs some Grandma time too. You know he hates leaving Lexie anyway.” Barry hoped this argument would work. He really didn’t look forward to a ten hour drive, much less with Charlie, barking every five minutes when he was hungry or needed a bathroom break or was bored. He also knew no matter where in the world he was, his daughter was seconds away from him.

“She could learn about the phone or we could use our chest piece cams and she could see us on the screen.”

“I guess, but still… you think she will be alright? What if she freaks out at night in a strange place? You know Mom won’t put the bracelet on her and if she accidentally catches something on fire, they could all be in danger.”

“They could stay at our house so she can sleep in her own room.” Barry suggested.

“Why are you so anxious? You never like leaving her anymore than I do. Is something going on?”

“No! It’s just… we haven’t had any real alone time in a while, at least where we didn’t have to be quiet and I think the two of us having all night without worrying about our little girl…”

“Yeah I can see that, but the other night was great. We were quiet. Besides I will still worry.”

“Yeah, I know. But imagine what we could do if we didn’t have to be quiet.” the Flash suggested. “And your Mom is more than capable of taking care of her. I can run back before bed and in the morning to make sure. Caitlin will be close.”

“You really want us to be alone, don’t you?” Kara guessed, smiling inside. They hadn’t had many opportunity’s to be alone and… not quiet. “Fine, one night. We get there in the afternoon and are back at Dawn, so we can feed her in the morning. I don’t want her to think she is abandoned.”

“Kara she will never feel like that.”

“Its easier than you would imagine. But you win. If we time it right between her naps and a few hours in between awake, I think we are good. You do have a point,” Kara admitted. “Okay, I will see if Eliza minds… of course she won’t mind.”

Drvengrad, Serbia

The twelve men stood by, automatic rifles in hand, as the latest shipment from Russia arrived. The leader of the men, Milorad Dindic, stood in the back of the old trucking warehouse, waiting for the delivery to arrive and already counting the $150,000 he would make from this shipment alone. Fourteen girls between the ages of 16 and 19, all beautiful, all fresh from their small sheltered village lives, all easily duped with promises of jobs and a better life. He managed four of these shipments a month, clearing over $10,000,000 a year. The women came to him from Russia and were split off from here across Asia, Europe and South America. He was a broker, sought by every law enforcement in Europe but he was also a ghost. No one could find him, protected by layers of well funded buyers, organized crime and corrupt officers.

The truck backed in, a small moving truck housing the girls in the back, with no light, no food or water and not much room to move. The trip had been long, fourteen hours by road and this also took any remaining fight out of the young women.

One of his men opened the back, stood aside and then stared at the arrow buried in and through his shoulder. A woman in black stepped out of the shadows, some sort of helmet on her head and a silver triangle symbol on her chest. He could see two guns on her thighs melting into her suit, a quiver on her back and a compound bow in her hand.

“I’m really starting to like using a bow.” Valkyrie admitted, then fired an arrow at the closest man before he could aim his weapon. The truck driver, hearing the screams, placed the truck on reverse until he heard two loud pops and felt the truck tire deflate, the throwing stars blowing the tires out and resting the truck at a tilt on metal wheels.

Valkyrie dropped her bow and pulled both guns, firing at will at everyone who moved. Nyssa attacked from the other side, out of the dark, sending six arrows into six men, most of whom would probably live… maybe. She wasn’t in a heroic mood today. Alex fired thirty shots in seconds, emptying both clips, wounding all the men in some form or fashion. The attack happened so fast, Dindic froze but panic set in and he ran. The trafficker made it five steps before his arms and legs were wrapped in bolos thrown by Nyssa, sending him down into Alex’s side kick. She stomped on his leg, cracking his knee and saw a red and black garbed Nyssa running towards her, bow in hand and aiming. Alex dropped to the ground and Nyssa fired, hitting the large man who had ran from the shadows behind Alex in the hip, the arrow shattering the bone. Alex rolled and disarmed him, striking his jaw with his own gun. Both women turned to see the driver had exited and was running towards the back. Valkyrie tossed a Kali stick, flipping in the air and striking the back of his neck, knocking him out cold.

Alex used her infrared and enhanced hearing. She could see no other moving objects above or in the shadows hiding in the rest of the warehouse. Her hearing picked up the moans of the wounded and the frightened whimpers of the girls trapped inside the truck.

“That was easy.” Alex groused.

“These men kidnapped and sold young girls. They were not warriors. Still it was a fun night out. I admit your plans for the evening were more entertaining than the reservations I had made. We could still make a later time. The lobster tails are amazing I understand.”

“Lobster does sound good. Sounds like the police are on their way.”

“I called Interpol as well. The bastard Dindic has been wanted for years. Shall we calm down the young ones?”

“You calm them down. We have a few minutes, I want to hit Dindic some more, at least till he is asleep.”

Nyssa took a look around at the moaning figures on the ground, the few who were still awake, and satisfied that none were a danger or armed any longer, she opened the large door in the back. Several young girls, eyes taking in the bit of light they had seen in the last fourteen hours looked back at her, all frightened, the smell of urine and fear filling the back.

“ You are safe now. The police are on their way. Some of these men are dead, some are wounded but none are a threat…” Nyssa stopped speaking in Russian briefly when she heard Dindic’s jaw shatter. He would be eating through a straw for the foreseeable future. “ Tell the police your names and from where you were taken. You will be sent back home after statements. Tell them the truth. No one can harm you now. The next time someone offers you a job or an educational opportunity that seems to be too good to be true, it is.”

The former assassin pulled her wife off the leader, as she had been breaking his ribs with her boot. The two walked out the back where motorcycles were waiting. Back at the hotel, they opted for room service.

“What a rush. Best honeymoon ever. Thanks for the lead, baby.” Alex told her wife.

“Of course. I still have many friends in Europe who know quite a bit about the evil done here. Not even my father would have approved of human trafficking. Lets get to bed. Since we skipped the restaurant I am still hungry. Our flight is early.”

The two had spent the past week touring Europe. They had broken up an arms deal in Turkey, toured Greece, stopped a terrorist cell from bombing a train station in Germany and spent a day on Rondinara Beach in Corsica, France. All in all an enjoyable honeymoon. The second week would be spent in South America, enjoying the rainforest, beaches and perhaps taking down a few drug lords along the way if something interesting was found to fit into the intenirary. But first a trip to Coast City for a two days at their new beach house, a sprawling 3000 square foot Spanish style dwelling that opened up to the Sandy private beach.

Two days later, Kara and Barry flew and ran to the designated location, a towering complex of condos directly on the beach. On the thirtieth floor was the penthouse, a large balcony stretching across the top of the building. Knocking on the glass door, Alex ran to greet them, opening up and hugging Kara, then looking around.

“Where is my niece? I took a pit stop during my honeymoon to see her. Where is she?”

“I couldn’t fly with her, Alex.” Kara explained.

“Barry, you can’t drive?”

“We just figured a night away wouldn’t hurt. I can be back in less than a minute if something happens. Eliza is excited and Kara texted and… why am I explaining this to you?”

“Fine, whatever. I guess I will just have to entertain myself with you two.”

‘How has the honeymoon been?” her sister asked.

“Great. We have been touring Europe, plan to head to South America tomorrow and then a week back in Europe, probably Japan and Taiwan then head to Spain. But today a short stop, to check on our new beach side getaway.”

“Wow.. you are really taking this billionaire status you have humbly, Alex. So you bought this condo? Its impressive.” Barry admitted. Impressive was an understatement. The view was amazing, the floor plan, completely open and spacious. Everything was new, the appliances, the furniture, the hardwood floors, it was a dream penthouse, in a sprawling complex.

“No this isn’t our house. Come back to the balcony.” The two followed Alex out and took in the house she was pointing out. “Thats ours.”

“The large one with the pool and hot tub that opens up directly to the beach? Wow. I want to see inside!”

Alex laughed at her sister’s enthusiasm. “You will but first… Nyssa!” the woman yelled. Nyssa walked out of the back, wearing a sarong and bikini top.

“Wow. I’ve never seen you in so… little.” Kara admitted. “I see what Mom is talking about. You’re abs are amazing.”

“Thank you. You should see Alex in hers.” the exotic woman told the blonde.

“Alex, you are wearing a bikini? I have’t seen you in anything that revealing since we shared a room.”

“No doubt a special time in her life.” Nyssa mumbled, remembering the pictures she had seen before Kara had given birth. “Regardless we can all go to the beach later. There is swimwear in the master suite. So what do you think of my latest venture?”

Barry and Kara looked around, understanding now.

“These are the condos you talked about building.” the Flash realized.

“Already 89% sold. A profitable venture and so much fun designing. The architects were from Greece and specialized in Mediterranean design. Anyway, happy birthday Barry.”

Both of the heroes stood still, not quite understanding.

“Birthday? Oh, thanks. The party was great, I wish you both could have been there but honeymoons do take priority.”

Alex slapped Barry in the back of the head. “No dork, happy birthday. This is yours. Nyssa bought it for you and Kara to have a place to bring Lexie and get away from the stress of city life. We are going to have the balcony plexiglassed so the view won’t go away but you won’t have to worry about Lexie crawling out, or your damn dog. Of course you are welcome to stay at our house as well but… Charlie isn’t.”

“You bought us a condo?” Barry asked quietly.

“No, I bought you a penthouse with an amazing view. I didn’t really have time to buy Kara the gift I wanted to with Prometheus running about so I thought it would be good for both of you.”

“Nyssa… I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

“Of course, Barry. It’s your birthday. Now shall we change? I want to go to the beach and drool over my wife who desperately needs a tan. The two of you can look around and meet us in our house in an hour. There is also a great hamburger place a half mile walk from here, overlooking the ocean. Its perfect for eating outside. Louie’s back entrance, correct Alex?”

“Backyard but it works. You two have an hour to check things out. You can enjoy breaking the bed in tonight. First we head to the beach so no fooling around, got it?”

“Yeah… yeah we definitely got it. Thank you so much, both of you.” Kara told them, her eyes taking in the huge place, and already seeing Lexie and Charlie running around in it. Alex hugged her.

“Of course. This is what gold diggers do for favorite little sisters.”

After a day of the beach, a night not worrying about being loud in their new condo and a tour of the new vacation home, the two had breakfast with Nyssa and Alex before they departed back to their daughter and her ever faithful guard dog. Eliza reported no problems, relieving Kara. She knew Eliza wouldn’t call unless something drastic happened and had slept fitfully all night, not only in a new bed but not having Lexie near her.

The couples worries were unfounded however, as Lexie developed as a normal baby for the most part. She showed no signs of super strength or anymore incidents of heat vision. She began crawling at seven months, Kara calling Barry and him arriving for the first time immediately, seeing her travel on her own, instead of rolling or scooting, on her hands and knees for the first time at the Gallery. Kara was in demand but stopped painting a crazy rate, irritating Oliver who had to deal with customers in constant demand. The two had made quite a bit of money the first year, turning an amazing profit. Oliver kept pricing the works higher, making her more in demand and Kara kept painting pieces for the police and fire stations, including a mural at each for heroes who had died in the line of duty, for free. The League business had tapered off, often finding them traveling to other cities to fight metahumans, most of whom were no challenge. At night, Oliver led what Felicity called the Vigilante League, of Alex, Nyssa, Sara and Thea as they worked to take down gang violence and the drug trade at a street level, work just as important as the hero business of saving the world from evil metahumans. The five also spent time in Star City, just to remind the criminals that they were still around.

When Lexie reached one year old the party was attended by over a hundred people, officers, superheroes, Cat, Carter, Lois, Kal and Diana, who had no further information about the Order. Kara knew they were lying but didn’t press. She didn’t really want to know the details. The mother had more important concerns. The week before Lexie had been looking for a toy while she was in the back of the gallery. The toy was a ball Charlie had hid from her in the front of the gallery. Lexie crawled towards it quickly, hitting her head on the wall in front of her. She continued to crawl into the wall until Kara picked her up, at which point she was reaching for the wall and crying. Walking around, Kara could see the problem. The ball was on the other side of the wall and Lexie could see it, see through the wall and didn’t understand the barrier in front of her. She was using X ray vision. Cisco had arrived and he and Ray began lining the wall with thin lead, so Kara could still heaer but the baby could not see through and continue to bump into the wall.

Now the week after her party, Lexie sat in front of her parents on the floor, looking back and forth between the both of them.

“Say Dada. You can do it.” Barry encouraged.

“Say Mama. You know I’m your favorite. Who feeds you? Who changes your diapers during the day? Mama, thats who. Say it. Say Mama.”

“Low blow Kara.” Barry groused. Lexie had been babbling but her babbles were becoming clearer. The video camera was running constantly during the day and at home when she was close to a breakthrough. The couple felt tonight was the night. The night of the first word.

“Ma… Da…”

“Yes? you can do it. Say mama.” Kara encouraged. At that moment the front door opened up and Lexie smiled.

“Ollie!”

Both parents stilled and then turned to see a sheepish Oliver Queen bag in hand, looking at the three on the floor. Neither were amused.

“Did I miss something?” the Arrow asked, not looking happy.

“No you were just in time to hear her first word. Ollie.” Kara told him unhappily. Lexie waved her arms and Oliver dutifully picked her up while she rubbed his stubble.

“Oh… wait her first word was Ollie? That is so cool… I mean horrible. You guys probably wanted it to be… yeah. Okay, anyway I need a place to stay…”

“Bedroom is already prepared Oliver.” Barry told him, patting his friend on the shoulder.

“This is the last time. I’m getting my own place tomorrow. One that I can’t be kicked out of, every time Felicity gets mad over something stupid. Every time I do something she doesn’t like, she kicks me out. Its getting ridiculous… no, its past ridiculous. She told me not to come back, I promised her I woudn’t. I had thought of crashing at Sara’s but…”

“Yeah, you are probably safer with us.” Kara admitted. “You and Felicity have broken up twice this year and it never lasts longer than a month. Even if you and Sara are just friends its best not to bring that drama into Sara’s life. I suppose Thea isn’t speaking to you either?”

“You knew. How could you know and not tell me, Kara?”

“Because number one, she is a grown woman and if she wanted you to know she would have told you. It wasn’t my place. Number two, I knew you would react exactly like you did.”

“I walked into…”

“Yeah Thea’s town home, using your key before knocking. When you do things like that you may see things you don’t want to see.” Barry reminded him.

“I wasn’t expecting to see Ray on top of her! What was I supposed to do?”

Kara shook her head. “Shattered jaw? Three broken ribs? Torn tendons and a shattered knee cap?”

“I admit that may have been over the top but…”

“Cracked skull in two places,” Barry joined in “lacerated kidney. Broken arm in two places. Thea couldn’t keep you off, it took a call to Donna and she barely held you back.”

“Don’t forget the swollen eye. You are lucky your elbow didn’t destroy his cornea.” Kara reminded him.

“Broken nose, two teeth knocked out. I’m glad you weren’t suited up and had arrows nearby. Its a miracle he survived. You do realize if Zatanna hadn’t arrived so quickly, he would have died and she nearly passed out from the exhaustion of healing him. You understand this, right? Barry asked, hoping his friend did.

“I lost my temper but c’mon, the guy took my family’s company which I let go but then he took Felicity and now Thea? I’m beginning to think he is worse than Slade Wilson!”

Kara shook her head. “Go unpack. Stay with us until Thea, Felicity and Ray are talking to you again. No point in getting your own place. Thea and Felicity will forgive you. They always do.”

“I’m not apologizing to him. If I had him alone I would have done a lot worse. I was going to do a lot worse until Donna came in…”

“Oliver, calm down, go slap some water and then get ready for dinner. Lexie is going to try carrots tonight. She will probably spit them back at us, so it will be fun. She has projectile spitting at super speed down.” Barry admitted, remembering Kara’s face the first time Lexie decided she wasn’t ready for apple sauce.

“Thanks for letting me crash here. I could go to the Gallery and sleep in the back, if its too much…”

“Oliver? Go unpack. You are always welcome here, ask Lexie. But you are going to have to apologize to Ray for nearly beating him to death.”

“Apologize? He…” Oliver stopped talking at Barry and Kara’s glare. Even Lexie was no longer smiling in his arms. He gently handed the girl over to Kara. “I’ll apologize in a couple days. I’m going to go… slap some water or something. Charlie, you want to come?”

Charlie barked his agreement and the two walked to the back.

Barry shook his head. “For someone so controlled most of the time…”

“I know. But we all knew this would happen when he found out. I’m surprised they kept it a secret for so long.”

“I’m glad its out in the open though. We still have Henry and Zatanna pretending to hate each other to keep us entertained. I had to stop Jessie and Wally from walking in those two at the lab, yesterday.” Barry admitted.

“Right? For a secret relationship you think they could find someplace more private. Lets feed out little girl.”

“Mama! Dada!”

Both looked at each other, not quite believing she said her first word.

“Her first word was Mama!”

“Her first word was Ollie.” Barry reminded her.

“We shall never speak of that again. It never happened, understand?”

Lexie’s vocabulary continued to grow as did her development. Barry and Kara saw each day the growth of their child, Kara fascinated but still missing the feeling of her daughter clinging to her, needing her for everything. League business had been slow and the team had lost Carter and Kendra, not to death thankfully but business. Kendra had an opportunity with a marketing firm in New York City that was too good to pass up. They were still in the League, but would fly to wherever they were needed, not instantly teleported by Zatanna. Barry and Kara spent quite a few weekends at their condo with Lexie and in Alex and Nyssa’s beach house, Lexie staring at the waves for hours, fascinated. Whenever she exhibited any sign of power, Kara had a bracelet on her and though the signs were few and far between they did occur.

The second time Kara tried to get her to eat pears, Lexie not only spit them out, but slammed her hands on the high chair table, breaking it and splitting apart the chair. Kara landed underneath her, holding her up, pears on the mother’s face, flat on her back, holding her child horizontally as if she were flying. Lexie learned a new word that day. She smiled at Kara from above.

“Oops.” the child told her mother and giggled.

Kara closed her eyes and brought Lexie down close to her.

“At least you didn’t break a toilet… yet. Its okay baby. No more pears. Just don’t destroy your next high chair, okay? Lets get that bracelet on you.”

At 22 months, Lexie had developed a broader vocabulary, to include Grandma and quite a few Grandpas and began referring to Alex as “aunt”. Caitlin was also given the honorary aunt title and Nyssa was Sissy in Lexie’s world.

At 23 months Barry and Kara stood in the backyard, Charlie with them of course, Eliza, Jeremiah, Joe, Henry, Nyssa also present while Alex filmed. Lexie had been working towards the day. Holding herself up on her own grabbing Kara or Barry’s leg, trying to climb up Aunt Alex, trying to climb to where Oliver and Nyssa hung their bows at S.T.A.R. and trying to use Charlie as a prop to push herself up. Today was the day, they all knew it. Today was the day she took that first step. Barry and Kara knelt on the grass a few feet away, reaching out to her, encouraging the little girl to make the first step while Eliza held her from behind upright. Letting her go, Lexie wobbled a bit on her legs, then took step.

She didn’t fall.

Only Kara and Barry saw what happened next, shattering the happiness of the moment. Lexie smiled at her mama and dada, looked around, saw a bird land on the fence on the left hand side of the yard. Lightning flashed in her eyes and Lexie took her second step. She was at the fence in less than a half second, only Barry able to grab her from behind before she crashed into the wooden structure. She was giggling and vibrating slightly before Kara snapped the bracelet on her.

“Well, you have to admit, as far as baby’s first step videos go, J.J. Abrams couldn’t have done better than that.” Alex told the worried crowd.

Kara took the giggling child in her shaking arms and walked her quickly inside to the kitchen. To no one’s surprise, Lexie ate quite a bit, even consuming pears, her arch enemy.

At 24 months the preparations were underway for the princess’s second birthday party, to be held at S.T.A.R. in the event anything… weird happened. Cisco prepared to open a breach but was blasted back. Barry, thinking his friend had an unusual loss of control and sent a vibrational blast instead of bending the vibrations to create a portal, caught him before he could hit the ground. Cisco shook it off and raised his hand once again. A storm of lights lit up the area, but no breach opened.

“Cisco? Whats going on? Are Kal and J’onn not there?” Superwoman asked.

“No… its not that. The Earth… the vibrations must have changed. I can’t find it Kara. I’ll keep trying.”

Cisco tried once more, only to be blasted back and be caught by Kara this time. Lexie laughed from Eliza’s arms, seeing Unca Disco knocked to the ground. It looked like a fun game.

“Are you saying the Earth, that Earth… is gone? Destroyed?” Kara asked quietly from the floor where she held Cisco.

“No… I can almost… something has changed, not the Earth but that entire universe. The vibrations are different. I can feel them to an extent but not… open them. I’ll keep trying.”

“No! I don’t want you getting hurt… we knew a day might come when…” Kara stopped taking, feeling tears in her eyes. “We knew it wouldn’t always be a sure thing.”

“It should be!” Vibe argued. “Vibrations don’t change for no reason!”

“Calm down buddy.” Barry told him, seeing Cisco becoming more panicked by the moment. Over the past year Vibe had become very good at controlling his powers, helping on quite a few missions, taking out one metahuman covered in rock on his own before Barry or Kara had a chance to.

“It’s okay. We are going to have a lot of guests in thirty minutes… we are going to finish these decorations and be happy. This is our daughter’s second birthday. Once it is over it is probably long past time I took a short trip.”

Barry looked at Kara then a wide eyed Donna.

“You mean…”

“Yeah, its time for me to visit Themyscira.”