Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Reborn

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 25: The Danvers’ Residence

Brainy had gone over multiple scenarios that he envisioned could possibly occur when they finally found and contacted Alex Danvers.

In the best case scenario, perhaps a phone call, or a friendly stop, telling her he needed to speak to her desperately with nothing less than the fate of the Universe at stake, might be the best way to open a conversation. By catching her attention, making no hostile moves, he hoped she would be intrigued.

The worst case scenario would have been Batman or Lobo confronting him and his companions during their search for the elusive Miss Danvers. Seeing no sign of those two or the Martian Manhunter had given him hope that the worst case scenario would not occur.

Knowing the Martian Manhunter generally patrolled Metropolis while Batman stayed in Gotham, the Coluan also had hoped Lobo was on the other side of the Universe. When he finally talked with Alex Danvers, he wanted no interference from those three that could possibly sway her opinion about helping them. Should she be angry or hostile, he would be back the next day and the next until she understood he was no threat.

When they had arrived in Midvale several days ago and the entire Danvers family had disappeared into thin air, he feared she had run.

But of course, that was not the case.

Instead, and true to what information they had gathered on her, Alex Danvers had called her friends and been preparing an ambush. He had no doubt she had been planning this since the Legionnaires arrived in Midvale, though he did not understand how she had done so while remaining undetected.

Now he was faced with a dilemma. Should he fight, trying to hold them off until they would talk reasonably? Or give up, no doubt placing himself and his friends in an indefensible position by either being captured or, given their adversary, something much worse?

And he had two seconds to decide.

Despite being a twelfth level intellect, none of the options looked good enough in the time allotted him to decide.

“One.” Alex Danvers calm voice said.

Time had run out.

Lobo’s chain flew towards them, wrapping around Lar’s upper body, dragging him to the ground, the red illuminated blade digging deep into his thigh, causing blood to cascade immediately, some landing on Brainy’s face.

Batman fired some sort of taser gun towards Garth, the barbs attached to wires, sticking in his friend’s chest, while the strange robot struck the man from behind with an incredible blast of energy from its optical sensor.

Brainy felt a blow, then another. The first was a blast he couldn’t classify from the weapon attached to Alex’s forearm. The other was a blow to the back of his head delivered by the Martian Manhunter, taking his legs out, slamming his body into the ground, and knocking the air from his lungs.

Gasping for breath, Brainy turned his head and saw Batman had thrown a box shaped device under Garth’s feet that appeared to be siphoning the electricity from his body. Seeing Garth was incapacitated by the Batman, Brainy turned toward Lar. If he could remove the blade from his friend’s leg -a weapon obviously imbued with the energy of a red sun- allowing their most powerful asset to fly, maybe he’d have a chance to reason with the foes they were facing.

But he was too late. Lobo hit the man in his face, crushing his nose and causing Lar to stand limp in the chains and then collapse unconscious to the ground.

Brainiac’s hand moved quickly to his belt and activated his force field a split second before another strike from J’onn J’onzz was about to land on his prone form.

The Martian’s fist blasted back, and Brainy quickly stood. A blast from a charging Alex Danvers caused him to stumble back a bit but he remained on his feet. Alex reached him and the weapon on her forearm was gone, replaced by a glowing three foot blade she aimed at his legs. His forcefield protected him, sending her rolling back and then flipping to her feet. Her weapon returned and sent another powerful blast towards him. He felt a second blast no doubt from the robot behind him.

Steady streams of energy kept him in place, until Lobo hit him from the side, propelling him into a nearby tree. Had it not been for his belt, he had no doubt his back would have broken.

The Coluan slowly stood from the ground, taking in the scene before him. His two comrades were unconscious and though he was protected by his forcefield, the pressure he felt from the blows hurt. His forcefield may have protected him from physical contact, but each blow sent a pressure wave inside that would eventually cause him to lose consciousness, leaving his opponents free time to attack the barrier close to his body and eventually break it down.

He was also surrounded. Before him were Alex Danvers in a suit of tight fighting armor he had never seen before, Batman and Lobo who looked terrifying, some sort of weaponized robot and the Martian Manhunter.

To add insult to his and his companions’ injuries, it had only been twenty two seconds since this encounter began.

Brainy needed distance. From all he knew about the group before him, none of them could fly except the Martian Manhunter who could not break his shield with his strength level. Brainy doubted the Martian could phase through it or he would have done so already. If he could make it to the air, he would be alone with the Martian and could hopefully talk rationally with him.

Brainy took to the skies, Lobo’s chain following him, being blasted back to the ground by his forcefield on contact and flew two hundred feet into the air. He looked back down on his sudden enemies and fallen teammates, waiting for the Martian to follow him up.

The Coluan was not sure what happened next, only that he felt a powerful blow, a physical strike from behind that nearly caused him to black out and sent him back to the ground in front of the Danvers’ house in less than a half second.

He shakily stood up from the indention he had made in the ground. What he saw nearly caused him to collapse again as his knees locked up and his mouth fell open as he stared in awe and disbelief.

Kara Zor El and Kal El were hovering in front of him. They did not have their famous suits on and Kal El was not yet the tall muscular man he would be in the future, but he was near Kara’s height.

Kal El was wearing typical human attire: blue jeans, sneakers and a black t-shirt, the red crest of the House of El emblazoned on it. He also wore a slightly large jacket, made of types of leather stitched together.

As amazing as it was to see a younger Superman, it was his blonde sister that held the stunned Coluan’s attention.

Kara Zor El was also not in her famous skirt or cape, instead wearing jeans, boots and a ‘Prince’ concert tour t-shirt.

They both gently landed then walked towards him slowly, their eyes never leaving him, but they appeared to be amused.

“Nice hit, Clark. You finally mastered the ‘Supergirl punch’.” He vaguely heard Kara tell Kal El.

“It’s going to be called the ‘Superman punch’.” the boy told her, bumping her shoulder with his.

The two stepped up to his swaying form.

“You’re dead.” Brainy said in a bit of a daze, meeting Kara’s eyes, all the others forgotten as he took in the blonde Kryptonian.

Kara Zor El smiled and shook her head. “That’s either a threat or a poor observation. Hey Alex, do you recognize the look on his face?”

Alex stepped up beside her sister. “Yeah, I’ve seen it before. It’s the look of a Coluan that realizes he is screwed.”

Brainy shook his head. This shouldn’t be possible. He knew when the United Planets recovered the Guardians’ archives after the destruction of their race and the Lantern Corps, that Kara Zor El had used a red power ring, opened a portal to the core of the sun and never returned.

Brainy did his best to clear his head. “We come in peace. I swear.”

Kara shook her head. “You came looking for Supergirl. Big mistake.”

“No… I came searching for Alex Danvers.” he told her.

“Yes… that’s the same as looking for Supergirl.” Kara replied pointedly. “I have to say, I have so much power in me at the moment, I am fairly certain I could do a handstand and push the Earth out of orbit.”

Clark shook his head. “Probably not, Kara. The ground would most likely give, and you would tunnel into the Earth’s core and through the lava. You don’t want to chance being on the other side of the world naked… again. Do you?”

Kara nodded thoughtfully and crossed her arms. “You bring up a good point… and this is one of my favorite shirts. Prince gave it to me himself at a charity concert. Perks of being Supergirl. By the way Coluan, your image inducer got destroyed by the ass beating you just received. Judging by those dots on your forehead you are a member of the Brainiac clan. I would suggest dropping that shield and surrendering peacefully so you can be detained and questioned in a less violent environment that is more secure for my family.”

Brainy finally pulled his gaze away from the beautiful woman and checked on his friends who were still unconscious on the ground.

“If I do surrender, will you listen to what I came to say?” he asked, hoping she would agree.

Kara stepped closer to him, blue eyes faintly beginning to glow. “If I were you, I would be more concerned about what will happen if you don’t drop that forcefield. I’ve been watching the fight… or assault I should say. Your shield is close to your body but with every strike, you are beaten a bit more. I would say the pressure waves from those strikes are making life very uncomfortable inside your little turtle shell. If you don’t drop it, my little bro and I are going to hit that shield so hard it will explode. The shockwave will turn your body into tiny, shredded pieces, and I will find out what I want to know from your friends when they wake up in cells. Your call.”

Brainiac ran the numbers in his head. He needed a Kryptonian because only they would have the strength to break through the shield surrounding his ancestor’s skull-shaped ship. To that point, he knew either one of the siblings could break his shield, and if they did, the force would pulverize his body.

To his relief, Kal El spoke up. “Wait, Kara… we can’t do that.”

“And why is that, Clark?” she asked, not turning from the Coluan.

“If we hit him in this direction, the shock wave will hit the house, destroy the living room, kitchen… probably collapse the whole house and then I will have green, gooey gunk all over my stuff.” Clark explained reasonably. “We need to get behind him and hit him towards the cliff. I think you have caused enough property destruction in your career, right?”

“I have not!” Kara exclaimed, slightly offended.

“Tammerean fight, downtown National City, wrecked six businesses and caused serious damage to seven high-rises. Or that time you threw Bane through three concrete walls, one of which was load bearing, bringing the four story building down on both of you.” Clark was ticking off each fight on his fingers as he tried to keep from smiling.

“That building was abandoned and had asbestos.” she defended.

“You’ve thrown thousands of cars at enemies.” He stated cheekily, obviously enjoying bantering with his sister.

“All of which were very nice cars meaning they were insured.” she countered.

“You caused pile ups with that fight on the bridge with Reactron, nearly destroying the bridge. You destroyed the top floor of Catco fighting Livewire… and what about that big, green rock guy you slammed into the street causing a massive crater and shutting down a major traffic lane for weeks? Remember the train car you slammed on top of that White Martian? Or the time…”

“Enough.” Kara told him. “Ok, fine… point taken. Let’s get behind him and do this.”

“Stop!” Brainy shouted. He had been mesmerized at the siblings back and forth, mentally cataloguing every word, now he was panicking. “If I surrender peacefully, will you listen?”

Clark laughed. “Peacefully? You think you can fight us? You are right, Alex. Coluans can be cute when they are scared.”

The two siblings walked behind Brainy while the rest of their team moved to the side. He turned, keeping his eyes on them.

“You can go first, Clark.” Kara said, waving her brother forward.

“I surrender, okay?” Brainy shrieked when Clark raised his fist. “I will drop the shield; go to whatever cell you wish to contain me in. So long as you listen to me!”

Kara nodded as Clark relaxed his arm. “Good choice. Shield off… now.”

Brainy touched his belt once again and felt very vulnerable. “Now will you please listen…”

That was as much as he could get out before Clark thumped him lightly on his forehead, sending him into darkness.

The Fortress of Solitude

Alex and Eliza sat in chairs watching the three crystal columns, each containing an alien they had caught in Midvale. It had been hours since the three were brought in and placed in the containment cells. The red lights of the Fortress had been turned off for a few minutes while the Prince of Daxam’s leg and nose healed before he bled out, but he stayed asleep. They all lay crumpled on the floor of their tiny cells, not quite able to lie down completely.

“How long do you think they will be out?” Eliza finally asked.

Alex had no idea. “We hit them hard and fast, beat the hell out of them, so I couldn’t take a guess. Lightning boy over there had electrical energy siphoned from his body and took a pretty mean blast from Kelex. Bruce’s grounding taser took him out at nearly the same time. Prince Daxam got the hell knocked out of him by Lobo plus the blood loss… and then Clark thumped that Brainiac guy with his finger, but it still probably hit with the force of a sledgehammer. Their vitals are good so one day… some day they will wake up… maybe.”

Eliza shook her head and smiled. “I was terrified that you and Kara would be so traumatized by your… experiences that you would both be… but you two have changed, for the better if you don’t mind me saying so.”

“Changed? We haven’t changed. We just have each other’s back. We work best as a team. We always have.” Alex pointed out, a little confused if not somewhat pleased by her mother’s praise.

Eliza pointed to the crystal cells. “The fact that they are alive is testament to how much you two have changed.”

Alex conceded the point. She had hoped to never fight again, but it felt good to know that she still could. It also felt good that she had no blood on her hands this time… and neither did Kara.

Alex took a deep breath. “Hey, what you said… before we left… about being sorry.”

“I meant it.” Eliza told her.

Alex nodded her head. “I know you did. I… I didn’t handle the past year all that well… I mean there are things I could have done differently… things I would go back and change if I could. It’s not just you. I’m… sorry too. I know there is a rift between us, and I never wanted that. I guess I didn’t exactly act in a reasonable fashion. What I mean is…”

Eliza placed her hand over the top of Alex’s. “I know what you are saying… I understand. No matter what has happened, what mistakes we have made, what we have to work through, you understand that I love you, right?”

Alex nodded her head, her eyes becoming wet, she flipped her hand over to grasp her mother’s. “Yeah… I know. I have never doubted you love me, you and Dad. I just, it was hard. I felt alone and…”

“I know, Alex.” Eliza interrupted her, tears in her eyes as well. “I guess we have a lot to work on but as long as the love is still there… maybe we can work on forgiveness, for both of us. But right now, we should focus on these men, find out why they are here and how we can get rid of them so we can start rebuilding our family.” Eliza suggested, the hope in her voice evident.

Alex nodded, a confirming smile on her face. “That would be nice. I miss our family. I know it can never be the way it was before but maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe… it can be something better.”

The two sat in silence for a moment longer, the tension between them alleviated for the first time in a long while. Eliza finally broke the silence with a humorous observation. “From the way Kara described Daxamites, I always assumed there would be a layer of slime on them. I’m surprised she didn’t go for him first.”

Alex chuckled and shook her head. “I don’t think she… cares anymore. Krypton, Daxam, all the problems and rivalries just don’t seem to matter. She is really letting the past go. Yeah, she got a bit angry when she learned who he was but overcame it quickly enough. I think she is just tired of all the hate.”

Eliza agreed, glad to hear it verified by Alex. During this whole engagement, Kara had not thrown one punch or used heat vision at all. The drastic change in both her girls since they awoke from their mind merge fascinated her as much as it provided her with a cautious optimism. “Alex, I’m not trying to be Leslie. I just want to know for myself. If it’s not my business…”

“Just ask, Mom.” Alex told her, wondering what this was about.

“Have you had any desire for… alcohol?” her mother asked cautiously.

Alex laughed quietly. “I would down a bottle of bourbon if I could. But if I do… if I do it’s over for both of us. I want one so bad. The memory of withdrawals is so strong, though. The hazy memories, the mistakes, the loss of control, the emptiness… I can’t let that happen. If it happens to me, it will happen to her.”

Eliza nodded, no longer surprised. Tentatively she asked, “What about… have you had any desire to harm yourself?”

A small smile appeared on Alex’s face as she shook her head. “That’s over… for both of us. At the end… before Kara teleported into the sun, she knew she was going to die but she wanted to live. For the first time in her life, Mom… she wanted to live so badly. That’s probably a big reason why she survived the sun. She could have given up, but she fought. She fought so she could come back to us. She still feels that way. She wants to live, and so do I.”

Alex’s smile grew, happy to be sharing with her mother, knowing Kara wouldn’t mind, knowing she could give her mom some peace after all the angst. “Kara still wants to be a teacher; she finally has things she wants to do for herself and her own happiness and she will. I will make sure of it.”

“Her depression? Do you feel it?” Eliza asked.

Alex sighed and nodded her head. “The antidepressants help but it will be there with us, always. That’s okay though. As long as we keep getting better… a day at a time.”

Eliza was not surprised. She knew about trauma herself firsthand and knew the whole family would have to carry the past… even while working to leave it behind, day by day.

“You took on a huge burden, taking her problems as your own. You had your own and now you will carry hers… you both will carry each other’s for the rest of your lives.” Eliza stopped, looking thoughtfully at her daughter, apparently realizing something in that moment… something she hadn’t really considered before. “Her burdens have always been your burdens, haven’t they?”

Alex shrugged her shoulders. “She is my baby sister and I love her more than anything or anyone. So yeah, I guess they have been mine. I’m fine with that because she has never been a burden.”

“Hey, you two.” Kara said, walking around a crystal column. “Talking about me?”

Though Alex wasn’t fazed, Eliza fought back her surprise at Kara’s sudden entrance. “We were just talking…”

“You realize I can hear researchers complaining about the meatloaf at McMurdo station and a captain of a Coast Guard vessel five hundred miles away, ordering a change of course, right?” she asked with a knowing smile, happily noting the easy atmosphere surrounding her mother and sister. “Time for you two to eat. I’ll take watch, wait for the sleeping beauties to rise from their slumber.”

“I’m not hungry.” Alex argued half-heartedly.

“Alex, go.” Kara ordered. “I can hear your stomach growling and I don’t need super hearing. The faster you eat, the faster you can get back and brush my hair.”

Alex smirked, then asked, “Have you used the visor today?”

Kara shook her head. “The red lights will be enough for now. I don’t want to drain my powers any faster until these three are dealt with. Dad checked me and they are slowly going down… like before. Go. Both of you… eat.”

The two women stood up reluctantly, hugged Kara and moved towards the back of the Fortress to where a small makeshift kitchen had been set up years ago by the Danvers sisters.

Kara zipped to the music room, grabbed her guitar and was back in less than a second. She took in the three strangers before her, thinking of what the Coluan had said and wondering what they would say when they woke up. Then she pushed the thought aside and began strumming her guitar and singing softly.

This was how Brainy and his friends found her when they woke with very large headaches and in Lar’s case, a sharp pain in his leg.

The three stood slowly in the cramped cells, the crystal walls easy to see through. Kara paid them no mind, though Brainy had no doubt she knew they were up. Rather than acknowledging them, she continued singing:

“ I feel my wings have broken in your hands, I feel the words unspoken inside and they pull you under, I will give you anything you want, oh you are all I wanted, all my dreams are fallen down, crawlin’ round and round and round. Somebody save me… Let your warm hands break right through me…”

“Oh… you’re finally up. Hope you don’t mind. Don’t ask me why but for some reason, I have always loved that song. It was recorded a long time ago, but I could never hear it enough when I was a young girl.” She set her guitar beside her on the bench and faced her three prisoners. “I suppose you know who I am. I know you are a Coluan of the Brainiac Clan. You are Lar Gand, crown prince of Daxam at the time Krypton exploded, and you are… Livewire’s boytoy?”

Brainy shook his head, trying to clear it so he could think straight. He slowly looked at the woman sitting comfortably in front of them from her feet to the top of her head. He had seen every video, every hologram, every image of Kara Zor El in recorded history.

It was her. There was no doubt.

“You truly are alive.” he whispered.

“Yep.” she answered shortly. “You Coluans really are twelfth level intellects.”

“Every story ever recorded, every source of information says that the first Worldkiller entered your body and you used your red power ring to open a portal to the core of the sun, sacrificing yourself to save the world.” Brainy told her, the reverence obvious in his voice.

Kara nodded. “That is mostly correct. I did go to the core of the sun. However, I survived and came back… a year later. I lived. The Worldkiller and the Red Ring weren’t so fortunate. So, since you know so much about me, why don’t you introduce yourself?”

“That’s… the world never saw Supergirl again.” Brainy continued as if he hadn’t heard her, still stunned to be in her presence.

“And that is the way it is going to stay.” Kara told him, any hint of humor in her voice was now gone. “Now, back to who you are?”

Brainy heard a sizzle and turned to his left, hoping to stave off the foolishness.

Instead he was shocked to his core, electricity flowing through his body as he fell to his knees. Judging by Lar’s screams, the Daxamite felt it too.

Once the pain stopped, he shakily stood up and took in the satisfied smile on Kara’s face. “Before any of you get any ideas, these cells are impossible to break. I’m almost offended you tried to use something as simple as electricity to break out. As you have just learned, Lightning Boy… if you use your powers, the electricity is transferred into your friends’ cells. Unless you want to fry them, I would suggest you behave. Also, you should all know that the crystal floors you are each standing on are glowing blue for a reason. Those are Phantom Zone projectors. A simple order to my friend who runs this place and you three are gone and not coming back.”

Brainy peered cautiously at the glowing blue floor beneath his feet. He also realized something that he should have noticed right away. A quick glance at Garth and Lar showed him they were all in the same position.

“Where are our rings?” he asked, a hint of panic in his voice.

Kara grinned mischievously. “As soon as Kelex determines they are safe, they will be with my parents and sister. For the first time, they will know what it feels like to fly freely. So, thanks for that. The technology in your belt is amazing as well. Should be great for defending our homes in the event we are tracked again. So, who wants to start? Brainiac Light, you seem to be the one who talks the most.”

Garth practically growled. “We didn’t have a chance to talk before we were attacked by your friends!”

Kara’s eyes lit up and she glared at him, no hint of the previous playfulness in her expression.

“Which is totally cool! I understand the situation and don’t blame you a bit.” Garth told her quickly raising his hands in surrender.

“Quiet, Garth.” Brainy hissed. Addressing Kara, he changed his tone, the reverence he obviously felt towards her ever present in his voice. “Kara Zor El… Supergirl… I simply can’t believe I am speaking to you, the first superhero, the one…”

“Brainy! Can you fanboy later before she incinerates us or worse… sends us to the Phantom Zone? I have no desire to go back.” Lar said, cutting his friend off before he physically bowed down to the Kryptonian in obeisance. Looking around, a sudden thought occurred to him. “Wait, how do you have your powers? This place is bathed in red sunlight, I don’t have any of mine…”

“Whose lacking focus now, Lar?” Brainy asked exasperated. Turning back to Kara, he suggested, “Perhaps you should ask your friends to join us so they can hear what we have to say?”

Kara shook her head. “They are listening. Answer my questions or you three are going on a quick trip to nowhere… literally.”

Brainy cleared his throat. “I am Querl Dox, also known as Brainiac 5. The man you do not know is Garth Rannz from the planet Winath and you already know Lar Gand, former Crown Prince of Daxam, not a planet I would guess you are fond of. We are from nearly one thousand years in the future and desperately need…”

Kara raised her hand. “Hold up. You time traveled one thousand years into your past?! Do you know how stupid that is? Just being here and contacting us can have serious repercussions on the future you left!”

“If our mission is not successful, our future is doomed regardless.” Brainy told her. “I understand the repercussions of time travel and we have done our best to minimize our effect on the timeline, but this is a desperate situation.”

Kara raised an eyebrow. “Desperate enough that you felt it was okay to track down my sister and little brother? Desperate enough to find yourselves in the situation you are in?”

“Yes!” Brainy exclaimed. “We are members of a group called the Legion, a group you and your brother inspired. We come from different planets but formed a team to keep peace and fight evil. What we are facing now is something we cannot defeat. We needed Superman! Only he can defeat Brainiac 13!” Brainy rushed out, hoping she wouldn’t interrupt.

Instead he saw shock on her face and then a bit of disbelief. “You traveled back nearly a thousand years to ask my 14 year old brother to come to the future to fight Brainiac 13? Are you out of your mind!?”

Brainy shook his head. “We were supposed to arrive 21 years from now. Superman does many things I can’t talk about due to threats to the timeline. If he were to… be defeated in the future before he turns 35 and not make it back, it would have serious repercussions for our future.”

“And what exactly does he do?” Kara asked shrewdly, seriously considering calling Lobo to come and end this interrogation by removing the prisoners before she immolated them for daring to come back in time for her brother.

“I can’t answer that, and you know why.” he told her carefully.

“Yet you have already threatened your own timeline.” Kara stated heatedly. “So you need to make sure he lives to 35 but if Brainiac 13 kills him in the future and he doesn’t make it back, the timeline changes won’t be as severe. Or at least you hope they won’t. You’re an asshole! You know this, right!?”

“Not only that… you are an idiot! There is no way in hell Alex or I would ever let Clark travel to the future to fight Brainiac 13 no matter what age he is!” Kara began pacing, her displeasure with the time travelers’ request evident in her glowing eyes. “You say you are members of a group called ‘The Legion’? I’m guessing by the name there are more than three of you. So here’s an idea… save your own worlds. All I am hearing is Earth doesn’t have to worry about Brainiac 13 for a thousand years and that’s all I need to know.”

Kara stopped moving as she placed her hands on her hips, her eyes slowly turning blue once more. She looked thoughtful, taking in each of the three captives before obviously coming to a decision. “I can’t let you go. If you go back, nothing will stop you or someone else from returning, trying to convince Clark to fight your battles. That’s not going to happen. I have sworn off killing but… I suppose sending you to the Phantom Zone may be the only option.” she admitted.

The matter of fact tone of her voice chilled Brainy.

“Brainiac 13 was in the Phantom Zone and he escaped.” the Coluan argued. “I would too. Sending us there would be a waste of valuable time. Please understand…”

Kara walked closely to his cell and met Brainiac 5’s eyes. She sighed. “You are right. Thank you for pointing that out that sending you there would be a waste of time. Looks like Lobo will get you after all. He knows of planets… prisons you will never escape from.”

“No! I swear we will not come back!” Brainy promised. “But we must at least get back to our own time, to help our comrades. Our power source was depleted during the time jump. We only came searching for your sister because we suspected she may have been your partner and would have access to a power source that could take us back to our time. That is all we wanted from her… I promise. She is our only hope.”

Kara’s eyes grew wide. “Omegahedrons are rare and powerful, not trinkets to be handed out to whoever asks!”

“Your house is powered by one.” Lar pointed out, earning him a sharp look from both Kara and Brainy.

“And it will continue to be, Daxamite.” Kara stated succinctly, dismissing their need with a wave of her hand. Her demeanor seemed to ease up, appearing more thoughtful suddenly. “Why do you say Superman is the only one who can defeat Brainiac 13?”

Brainy relaxed slightly, sensing that she was calming down and at least asking for facts. “Brainiac 13’s ship has an incredibly strong shield. Not even Lar can break through it. From my research into the history of you and Superman, I know either of you can generate the force required to break through the shield.”

Kara looked at him sharply, obviously watching his face for any signs he was lying.

“Why didn’t you come back for me?” Kara finally asked him.

Brainy was glad she continued to ask questions. “Because you had to stop Myriad, you had to defeat Doomsday, and you had to defeat the Worldkillers. Then you… died… doing the latter. There was no point we could ask you to risk your life to help us.”

Kara snorted, a look of contempt on her face. “Glad to see you use heroes in the past and decide which ones you need and when exactly they become disposable assets. Sounds very heroic. No wonder you need help.”

“We do not consider anyone disposable.” Brainy countered. “Our number one mandate is to protect all life. We have no choice. This was a last effort. Please help us get home…”

“Superman isn’t our last hope.” Lar cut in. “You are.”

Kara turned her eyes away from Brainy and took in the Daxamite Prince.

“You were never heard from again after your trip to the sun. If you come with us, help us, the timeline will not be affected.” Lar explained, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice.

The three time travelers waited for her response. Her face was disbelieving at first then she broke into laughter.

Brainy watched her continue to laugh, clutching her stomach and collapsing in the chair she had been sitting on.

Once she calmed down, she spoke not attempting to hide the disdain in her tone. “Did you leave your brain in the future? Or on Daxam? You think I have fought the enemies I’ve fought, gone through physical and emotional pain, not to mention all the pain I’ve caused my family… survived in the core of the sun for a year… and yet, you believe I will leave to go fight your battle? That’s not going to happen… ever .

“Supergirl is dead. She is dead in the present and will not be making a guest appearance in the future. My fight is over and my brother’s hasn’t begun.

“Figure out how to defeat Brainiac without Kryptonians because there are only two of us left and I promise you, neither of us are leaving our family. I will n ever leave them again. We’ve earned this peace. Your war is your problem… not my family’s.”

Leaning back in her chair, she stared at the three, all hope they could earn her help fading as she sat there unmoving. After a moment, she shook her head, obviously having come to a decision. “No… for the safety of my family, I can’t let you go back, but I won’t kill you. You will be taking a trip with Lobo as soon as he decides on a planet to dump you on.”

Kara stood and turned to leave as Brainy began to panic. He had to think of something soon or he had no doubt he and his friends would be trapped by Lobo somewhere they would never be heard from again.

Thinking fast, he exclaimed, “There is another way!”

Kara turned back and looked at him, crossing her arms.

“This better be good.” she told him.

“Brainiac 13 escaped the Phantom Zone… but Seg El, your great-grandfather, is still there. He must be. If you can give me access to a Phantom Zone projector, I can develop a device using your DNA that will enable me to track him in the Phantom Zone and pull him out. I can search the Phantom Zone safely. I rescued Lar from that area, and I can rescue him.”

Kara stiffened at the idea. Seg El? It was likely he was still in the Phantom Zone. If he had escaped with Brainiac, they would already know about it in the future, probably using him to fight their battle. “And what if you accidentally release Brainiac 13 early?”

“I won’t. I believe Brainiac 13 escaped around twenty years ago from this date.” Brainy said confidently. “Records indicate he was rumored to wander the uncharted parts of the Universe, building his technology, gaining knowledge for the last thousand years. If he is still there, I can abort the process. You will be watching me. You obviously know enough about the Phantom Zone to know if I am betraying you and Lobo can do as he wishes. Please… give me a chance. The lives of billions of people depend on us.”

Kara truly appeared to be considering what the Coluan was proposing. Her next statement dashed Brainy’s hopes slightly. “You want me to help you… a Coluan… to bring my great-grandfather out of the Phantom Zone so he can fight and most likely die in your war.”

Lar spoke up. “He is the only one who has stopped Brainiac 13 and didn’t even have powers. I would bet he would love a chance to end Brainiac for good.”

Kara stared at the Daxamite then Brainy, clearly torn with the idea of getting her great-grandfather out of that cursed, timeless void.

Brainy saw the opening and pushed further, hoping she would agree to his last ditch proposal. “You have nothing to lose. I may have stumbled upon Lar by chance, but I can use your DNA to track Seg El, it will be a simple matter to find him. I only ask that you give me a chance to speak to him. If he says no to helping us, I will accept that. You can offer your great-grandfather the chance to either finish what he started or stay here in this time. Either way he will be free!”

He could tell she was wavering, so he continued, “Supergirl, you and your team took us out in less than a minute. Without our rings and powers you would have no problem defeating us again! I can tell you how to make the tracker without leaving this cell. Please… consider it before you send us with Lobo. I know this is our battle to fight but we cannot win, and billions of people will pay for our failure with their lives.”

Kara closed her eyes. “I will have to talk to my family about this.”

Brainy leaned back against the crystal wall of his cell and relaxed a bit. He had said his piece. Now it was up to her.

Kara walked back into the center of the Fortress where her family, which included Bruce, J’onn and Lobo, sat in front of the large column of screens that was Justin.

“I suppose you all heard. Input?” the blonde asked.

Alex snorted. “In my opinion, you’re right. They are idiots. I can’t believe they bought that those blue crystal floors are really Phantom Zone projectors.”