Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Seeing Red

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 33: Aftermath

Kara woke from a nightmare. She couldn’t remember which one, or if it was a new one, perhaps a mix of all her recurring ones. The girl didn’t bother trying to remember, instead reaching for the bottle of Jack Daniels beside her bed. Tonight, or this morning, considering it was 3 AM, she was wearing a red bracelet. The bracelets always irritated her, made her feel like she was in a cuff of some sort. She much preferred the red-light bulbs, but tonight was a spur of the moment thing so rather than change the bulbs, she slipped on whatever was closest.

Slipping out of bed, she didn’t bother dressing, walking to her bathroom and planning on getting back in bed shortly after.

Once inside, she looked in the mirror, not happy with what she saw. Her hair was a mess, her eyes tired and her expression angry and ashamed.

A figure that resembled her, wearing a black jacket and red body suit with high black boots, stood behind her.

“This was a fun night, wasn’t it?” she whispered. “You did some new tricks. All the exercise that boy did, and he could hardly walk when you were done with him. At least you made his trip worth it. The things you said, the things you did, you are a lot better than a common whore, but you are still a whore. What would your mothers think if they could see you now?”

Kara shook her head, doing her best not to listen. She had been reliving her past for what seemed like days or years and for all she knew, it was could be seconds or centuries. A part of her was beginning to believe she was dead despite what her other self said. Kara thought this might be her own hell, designed with her in mind. She had not relived any of the happy moments her family had given her. She relived the worst. Sometimes she killed the ones that angered her, killed in ways that would sicken the Joker. In others she had just relived the moment and tried to bear it. This was one of those moments.

Walking back into the bedroom, she moved to Dick’s side of her bed.

“Get up.” she told him.

The man opened his eyes and smiled at her.

“I’m not sure how much more I can take, but I am game…”

“Get out, now.” she told him coldly.

Dick closed his eyes, not surprised but disappointed. This was not even close to the first time Kara had kicked him out for no apparent reason after sex.

“Its 3 AM. Can I at least sleep on the couch?” he hoped, knowing the answer. Kara had been different tonight, wilder, even a bit out of control. They had never been this intense together and while he had no idea why, he wasn’t complaining. He should have seen this coming.

“Get. Out. Now.”

Dick rolled out of bed, not bothering to argue. He took his time getting dressed, trying to keep his eyes off her state of undress and grabbed his bag. An attempt to kiss her was met with her hand in his face and a look that indicated she was out of patience. Grayson dutifully left, wondering how long it would be before he was allowed in her presence again and why the hell he put up with her crap.

Kara locked the door behind him and went back to her bathroom, looking once again at the mirror.

“Out of control.” her constant companion whispered from behind. “You know what to do next.”

Kara did. Since Jeremiah first suggested she may have an alcohol problem months ago, Kara felt more disgust at herself.

So she turned to pain as she always did. Physical pain was always better than emotional pain.

Taking the razor from under the toilet cover and out of the waterproof bag, she made three gashes across her forearm, the sting no longer bothering her, but feeling the burning that followed.

“That wasn’t enough, was it? You did better. Stop wasting our time. We have a million miles to travel and a short time to get there.” the red and black clad woman told her.

Kara felt as if she were a passenger in her own body, ripping off the bracelet and unleashing her heat vision on the cuts, then going to her other arm. Once both were blackened and she could no longer stand the smell, she stopped, turning on the shower. She took ten minutes to heal and then scrubbed herself all over hard, going through five of those irritating Loofahs Alex loved so much. She stayed in the shower, long past the hot water had run out, not effected or even noticing the drop in temperature.

“How do you feel?” her companion asked.

“Disgusting. I can’t wash it off.”

“Don’t bother, you will do it again and again. You have no respect for yourself. I wonder why? No, we both know why. Let’s start with… what did your therapist say? Your Daddy issues.”

Kara found herself back on Krypton. She had traveled everywhere it seemed, but this was her first trip since she cut Non to pieces after killing him in her bedroom. Kara knew it hadn’t been real, but it felt so good. It was even better when Astra discovered her, right before Kara was transported elsewhere.

Everything from that point had been real. At least she thought it had been. At times, her memory was foggy, reexperiencing events she did not remember well before, others as clear as day.

She was a little girl again, running through the halls of the compound and slowing to a walk when she heard others near, then running again. She knew her father was in his lab. Today she had what she considered her crowning achievement. Kara had drawn a perfect likeness of her father on her datapad.

Her excitement increased when she realized Jor El was nowhere to be seen. Kara would have his full attention. Zor El was just reviewing results, not involved in an active experiment. Her mother told her no four-year-old should be able to draw like this, that she was special. He would see she was special.

“Kara! It is so good to see you.” he greeted her with a warm smile. “I have something I want to show you. Come here.”

Kara thought of showing him her datapad first but obeyed. If she showed him first, he would disapprove that she had not followed his directions.

The short girl was lifted by her father to stand on a chair. In front of her was a large screen, several million strands mapped out meticulously.

Kara was nervous. She enjoyed math, physics, engineering. Life sciences were not her forte. She knew enough to recognize what was on screen was a Kryptonian, at least similar to the genetic codes she had been shown, though at only four, she had just learned to read DNA codes six months ago.

“Do you know what this is, Kara?”

The little girl began sweating.

“Yes, of course.” she hoped, trying to sound confident. “It is the genetic code of a female, 6-foot-tall, most likely 140 pounds at full maturity. The highlighted data receptors indicate she will be best suited for the Military Guild. Is she due to be completed soon or is she still in development in the Genesis Chamber?”

Kara relaxed a bit. She felt confident her answer was right.

Her father smiled but a warmth was missing as it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Look closely, daughter. What do you see? Take in everything. What is different about this Kryptonian?”

Kara began panicking, realizing there was a definite underlay of disappointment in his voice. She searched the screen and did note that there were irregularities she had not noticed before. Was it another genetic predisposition? The strength and speed levels, especially for a female were higher than normal, for anyone not in the Military Guild.

“I see additional proteins and recombinant DNA molecules. The sequence seems a bit off, the nucleotides are out of sync. This could cause a mutation could occur. The process should be stopped and remapped, right father? If the child was born from the Codex in this state…”

“It would be a miracle creature born from the House of El that could one day save us all, assist out Military in protecting us and spread the Kryptonian culture across the Universe. What do the repositioning of the nucleotides in this specimen mean? What kind of genetic mutation are you looking at? What use could these be? Think Kara.”

Kara was definitely sweating now, her brow slick and her heart racing. She didn’t know. It went against what she had been taught to that point. Whatever this model was, it was wrong. But her father seemed happy.

“I… I don’t know, father.”

Zor El nodded his head, disappointment obvious but not showing surprise.

“I have a meeting with General Zod momentarily. What was it you needed? Did your mother send you?”

“No father. I wanted to show you a drawing I finished.” Kara explained hesitantly, reaching out her datapad.

Zor El took it and smiled unconvincingly.

“Very nice.” he told her. “Please go to your quarters and have Kelex begin the next phase of your genetic mapping lessons including possible mutations and how they are recognized. Your basic sequencing skills are lacking. You should be able to note a mutation at once, instead of looking at the obvious and being satisfied. I hope the next time I show you a miracle you will know it when you see it, daughter. I expect you to use that datapad for what it was made to be used for. You must do better. Return to me in four rotations and we will reevaluate your observational skills.”

“Yes father.”

Kara walked out quickly, her older self beside her.

“He is such a loving and kind father. That sick bastard. What were you thinking? Did you think he would hug you, tell you that you were special? Tell you that he loved you? He didn’t. The man was busy preparing Kal El’s bodyguards when he reached Earth. You never could understand his experiments. Or did you not want to?”

“Shut up.” Kara whispered, walking into her quarters.

“Why? Why should we shut up? Oh, look. Kelex is here already.”

Kara turned and saw Kelex, already preparing her lesson plans for the next several days, the bulk of which she had no doubt would be recognizing genetic mutations.

“Do what you want to do, Kara. Do you hate your father?”

“Yes.” she seethed.

“But you made such a lovely portrait of the man you wanted him to be.”

Kara turned and screamed, slamming her datapad into Kelex. Like with Non, she was stronger than the machine, ripping its head off and slamming the body to the floor, stomping it until the power unit died.

“Go Kara. Go and kill him. Its what you want. Kill him!”

Kara looked at Kelex on the ground and then back to the hall and smiled. Zod and her father were together.

She grabbed the knife from her nightstand, the same knife she had used on Non centuries or seconds ago.

Instead of losing herself in a blind rage when she saw her father, Kara took her time. She savored every scream.

Once again Kara was sent away, this time to Midvale and that damn day Henshaw arrived.

She still felt out of control, knowing this was a memory but it felt as real as the Black Mercy.

She watched it all unfurl, felt all the emotions that day. One thing was different.

Again Alex asked her not to kill Henshaw and said she would love her either way.

So Kara finished the job. She struck him with her heat vision and did not stop until he was ashes, only bits of small bones remaining.

When she turned, the faces of the Danvers were clear. They were terrified of her. They had seen the monster the little girl truly was for the first time.

The sight sickened her. Alex was afraid of her. That in itself tore her apart.

“Enough!” Kara shouted. “I’m not doing this anymore!”

Kara found herself in darkness once again. She recognized this feeling though, she recognized the smell of the place, the feel of the mattress under her.

She also recognized the smell of herself. Though Kara did not normally sweat with her powers, she had been wearing a red sun bracelet for days, three days to be exact. It was for three days, that she only left the bed to go to the bathroom. She often had bouts of severe depression and the worst ones left her unwilling to go to school or leave the apartment at all. She couldn’t even find the energy to take a shower. She left the necklace on, not for the feeling of normalcy but because of the quiet. She didn’t want millions of voices that she would have to block out or to know about the outside world. The 20-year-old girl wanted to stay here in her bed forever.

Wondering what horror she would relieve this time, she slowly opened her eyes and screamed.

It caught her by surprise when it happened the first time and was no less surprising seeing it all over again.

A white Gorilla was standing next to her bed.

Sitting up quickly, she did her best to catch her breath. Once her heart had calmed somewhat she found her voice.

“What the hell are you doing, J’onn?!

The Gorilla shrugged its massive shoulders and ruffled her hair with a giant, hairy hand.

“What do you want and why are you in this form, in my bedroom?”

The Martian Gorilla jumped over her and landed on her mattress next to her, placing his large arms behind his head and relaxed.

Kara looked around the room, seeing Streaky curled into the corner, ready to attack. It was a testament to her cat’s bravery that she had not ran.

“Get off my bed.”

The massive primate shook his head and closed his eyes.

“J’onn! Cut it out! You are going to break the bed frame!”

The creature huffed, and the Martian regained his human form, that of Hank Henshaw. Kara at this point in her life was no longer bothered by the sight of the man. She remembered Henshaw’s eyes and J’onn’s were completely different, kinder, not evil. He wasn’t dressed in his usual garb of black shirt, pants and boots. Today he had a red t shirt with a Supergirl logo and loose fitting blue jeans on.

“I had the day off. I do have others to run things. Since everyone else is working and I don’t feel like spending the day alone… and since you have no intention of going to class today, I thought you would hang out with me. I want to go to the amusement park that just opened. I have never ridden a roller coaster. Have you?”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Why would I ride a roller coaster? I can fly. I would imagine it takes the thrill out of it. Besides, I’m not going anywhere. I don’t feel good.”

“Take your bracelet off.”

“Its not the bracelet. I don’t want to get out of bed. Go ride a roller coaster by yourself and send me some photos.”

J’onn grinned and stood up from the bed.

“That’s too bad. Are you sure? Every decision you make has consequences.” he told her, somewhat cryptically.

Kara looked closely at him and knew he was up to something.

“I know decisions have consequences. I have been living with decisions and consequences my whole life. I doubt riding a roller coaster or not is going to affect my life in a positive or negative manner.”

J’onn laughed.

“You have twenty minutes. The park opens at ten and it’s a thirty-minute drive. For God, Rao, everyone’s sake, shower. Bring your bracelet. A necklace may fly off.”

“Is your Martian hearing getting worse the older you get?” Kara asked, irritated.

“If you are not ready in twenty minutes, I will take your form, knock on the door of every female in this building, including your elderly neighbor and ask if they have a box of condoms because you ran out last night. I will then proceed to knock on the door of every male resident of this building and ask if they may have any tampons lying around because you are having a grave emergency and don’t think you will have time to make it to the drug store. Decisions have consequences, Kara. Do you want to face those consequences?”

Kara’s face turned red, a combination of anger and embarrassment.

“You wouldn’t. You hate taking my form. You would never… no…”

“Look in my eyes, Kara. Tell me I am bluffing.” the Martian challenged her.

Kara did look in his eyes. He wasn’t bluffing. She grumpily surrendered, knowing that Alex or her parents were behind this.

It was twenty minutes into the drive, J’onns classic convertible playing her favorite Broadway hits, that she could no longer take it. She began singing along.

The two ate cotton candy, popcorn, rode roller coasters, which Kara decided with a bracelet on, definitely had an effect on her equilibrium and did enjoy. He even talked her into bumper cars and a water ride which caused her to be soaked by an enormous wave.

They had fun. It was one of the best days she had while living in National City. She thanked him and gave him a hug at the end of the night, going back to bed with a smile on her face.

As soon as her eyes closed that night, she was jerked into another place, a place she knew well from the smell alone had she been blind. She was in Midvale at the soccer grounds. This was not one of Alex’s high school games.

This was the day Clark talked about for years.

She stood on the sideline next to Alex and couldn’t tell her what was going to happen next. She didn’t need to. Kara knew how this ended. There was no reason to change anything.

“Ten seconds left. At least a tie is better than a loss.” Alex mumbled. It was pee wee soccer but though she hid it well from the kids, Alex hated losing in anything. Four games into the season they had three losses and hopefully a tie today, a win in Kara’s mind, since half the team was more interested in their juice boxes on the sideline.

At eight seconds, Clark stole a ball from the boy he was defending. At two seconds he kicked it past the goalie for the win.

The sudden change in fortune shocked both girls. Kara heard Jeremiah and Eliza cheering from the stands and saw Clark being hugged by all his excited teammates. Even the kids on the bench had dropped their juice boxes and apple slices and rushed the field.

Kara felt tears in her eyes but this time, they were tears of complete joy. She felt joy and pride, her heart swelled and when her little brother jumped into her arms, Alex with her arms around them both she held him as tightly as she could without hurting him.

Kara remembered they won one more game and lost two the rest of the season, but it didn’t matter. Clark never doubted himself again after that day.

Kara found herself in the dark night sky, Alex in her arms, both wearing blue party dresses. They had snuck out that night and gone to a club they definitely should have not been in at 16. Kara for once had not felt anxiety around others, though she didn’t talk to others. Instead her and Alex danced for hours. The act of doing something sneaky made the whole night worth it.

Landing gently on the roof, she made a brief check of their room, not bothering with X Ray vision, hearing Jeremiah and Eliza both asleep in their room. The girls had left after lights out at ten. Their parents were turning in after a long day and the second Kara heard snores, the sisters were dressed and gone in under five minutes.

At 2 AM, they were giggling about a drunk girl they had witnessed trying to dance when the lights to their room turned on.

A man resembling an astronaut was in the corner pulling a cover off his head.

It was Jeremiah.

“Connolly said this suit would hide respirations and heart rates. I guess the recording of my heartbeat I left in our room worked.” he told the stunned girls.

Working his way out of the rest of his very large and loose outfit, he grinned at them and reached out both hands.

The girls took their phones and handed them to him.

“One month. No phones, no beach, no internet, no movie nights in Raleigh and you re both doing the laundry and dishes every night. Any questions or can I go to bed now?”

Neither girl had any questions. The man kissed his daughters on their cheeks, told them he loved them and left the room.

Alex grinned at her sister.

“How the hell did you miss that?”

“The damn DEO.” Kara mumbled, incredibly irritated.

Alex patted her on the back.

“Oh well, totally worth it. So we are doing it again next month, right?”

“I think we have to now. He just declared war. Connolly will pay for this as well.” Kara agreed and began laughing. Yes, it had sucked to be caught but Alex was right. It was worth it. That night Kara felt like an ordinary teenager and she loved it.

A night in Metropolis. A White Martian Kara had heard rumors of had been found. The blonde decided to go after it, not wasting any time, not giving herself a chance to sober up.

The creature stood in front of her, in the alley outside the abandoned house he had been holed up in. His mission had been to find out J’onn’s human identity and kill him. Unfortunately for him, when Kara wanted answers, aliens were more afraid of her than the White Martians.

“You smell of alcohol. I would guess you are so intoxicated, you are seeing double.” the monster goaded her.

“I have two eyes, one for each of you.” she responded.

Other aliens slowly exited the safe house but kept their distance. A quick look around showed her that no citizens were nearby.

The fight that followed was brutal on her part. This Martian was an amateur compared to others she had taken out. She took a few hits by it’s incredibly sharp talons, one of the few things in the Universe that could make her bleed for a minute or so until she healed. The hits were enough though. Kara screamed and unleashed her heat vision, strong enough to catch the White Martian on fire within seconds. Once he was nearly burnt to ashes, she froze him, then proceeded to strike the creature in the face, until her fist crashed through its skull.

“That’s my girl.”

Kara saw her red and black clad friend was back.

“I told you no more.” she hissed.

“It’s your life.” the Red Lantern responded. “I can’t make this up. You are the one who changes things in your mind but what has passed has passed. You didn’t kill your father. You let him continue making monsters because you were nothing more than a little girl he never wanted, a pawn. You are the one who tortured a White Martian, beat and burned and took your time doing it in front of other aliens to send a message. You are the one covered in blood, standing over him while other aliens tremble in fear and run, spreading the word about who the true alien monster is on Earth.”

“I said enough!”

It was not enough though. Kara was back in high school. She heard her name spoken on the other side of campus, the boy’s locker room.

“Don’t be fooled boys.” Aaron told his friends. “She may look like a nerd, but you would not believe her body. When she takes off those glasses and lets down that hair, she turns into an animal. Practically begs for it.”

“Be careful man.” a man named Trent told him. “I don’t give a damn what the story is, that kid is too young to be her brother. She has already gotten pregnant once. We don’t need more of you running around.”

“Man, I know what I am doing. Why do you think I won’t take her in public? Freak still can’t talk to people, hell, I don’t think she can go to the bathroom without her sister following her. She doesn’t care. She stays in heat. You should give it a ride.” Aaron suggested.

Kara sat at her desk, listening to this, and then realized a knife was in her hand.

“No. Not again.”

The blonde still found herself rising from her seat and moving at a quick pace to the boys’ locker room, blade at the ready.

“I want my mother.” Kara whispered, standing in the aftermath of what she had just done.

She was in her home. Alex was with Clark and Jeremiah and Eliza were downstairs waiting on Kara to say something. They knew something was on her mind and gave her time to work it out.

After giving half mumbled reasons, involving Clark not being confused and being a strategic plan for blending in to avoid suspicion, she finally stopped and asked if she could call them Mom and Dad, like Alex and Clark did. It was one of the most nerve wracking moments of her youth, followed by relief and love when they both held her so tight, she swore she could almost notice the pressure.

Kara relived so many moments. Some changed by her violent actions, some exactly as they were, perfect.

She relived nights, just hanging out in the apartment with Alex, and she relived nights like the one where she got drunk and threatened Cameron Chase, held her by the neck high above the National City, threatening to drop her next time, if she ever yelled at Alex again. Chase never said a word to Alex about that incident. She saw in Kara’s eyes what the girl was capable of.

Yet Chase never stayed away from Alex and Kara dreamed of killing her many times. This time, she did, dropping her to the ground far below.

She relived her first dance with a boy and first kiss the same night at an Italian Restaurant, reserved for her and Barry Allen. She thought he had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.

While Kara stayed submerged under the Lake of Blood, held by an Amazon and her lasso, reliving the worst and the best moments of her life, her sister and boyfriend sat in Lobo’s ship with Batman, the bounty hunter and Guy Gardner. According to Alex’s watch four days had passed since Kara arrived.

“How much longer, Gardner?” Alex asked for the hundredth time. No matter how many times he explained that he had no idea, she still asked.

“I don’t know. She wasn’t that buried under the surface until the Greens tried to hold her.”

“They attacked her.” Barry countered. The longer he sat in this ship, the more aggravated he became. He felt him and Alex could have gotten her back, until they showed up. They had stayed out of the Doomsday fight, most likely looking for an opportunity to kill Atrocitus if the League failed. They arrived late and decided they were strong enough to capture Kara? They couldn’t stop her without a red ring. Not for the first time, Barry wondered if they thought about anything they did. The Flash admitted when he first started, he wasn’t known for strategy, as Oliver pointed out more than once, but that changed when he began training with Kara and Alex’s friends and then soaked up everything he could from Bruce, Diana and J’onn.

“Yeah,” Gardner admitted, “I know. They tried to be the heroes and got slammed. Story of Hal Jordan’s life. He isn’t a bad guy, he just has his head so far up the Guardians’ asses he can’t see the forest through the trees.”

“Guy,” Alex asked hesitantly. “Are you… sure you don’t know what she is going through right now?”

Alex and Barry had asked this numerous times and he always did his best to brush it off. The truth would do nothing but worry them. Of course it could be a while and he supposed they should know what to expect.

“I can’t tell you exactly. I don’t remember but other Reds remember bits and pieces after a while. Some of them remember it all, given enough time. When she comes up, she is going to be confused, not know where she is or how she got here. She may not remember some of the events up to her taking the ring. She will have her mind back.” he hoped.

“How? How does this work? You know more than you are saying.” Barry told him. Bruce knew as well. Barry had learned to read the man somewhat and Bruce suspected Guy was holding back.

“You relive your past. Before she went into that lake, she was consumed by hatred, rage, vengeance. It ruled her every move. But in the lake, her subconscious is going to fight to remember who she was and why she feels the rage. She will fight with herself, trying to remember the good, giving in and reliving her darkest moments, dreaming of doing things she never had the chance to do and living those moments. I can’t say exactly what is going on. Each of us… its different. All I know is she is going to have to make friends with who she really is, the good and the bad. Once she can do that, she can fight back the rage, at least try and contain it. I’m warning you though, she is going to be a hair trigger. Pray no one cuts her off in traffic. Also the more she uses that ring, the harder it will be not to be overcome by the power. That ring takes you over with a rush of rage but after the Lake, it is more subtle and easier to regain control.”

Alex and Bruce looked at each other, their fears confirmed. It would be nice if Kara went in the lake and came out completely healed. The only problem they would have would be finding a way to get the ring off her.

But now she would have a weapon of immense power, tempting her to use it and causing her already explosive temper to worsen.

Alex already knew the answer, so she hadn’t asked it, but decided then it needed to be asked.

“Guy, you are human. Do drugs work on you, like Tylenol, or Ibuprofen, antibiotics…”

“Anti-depressants?” Guy guessed. He wasn’t a genius, but he knew Kara Danvers problems had to have ran deeper than just a short fuse.

Alex’s silence was all the answer he needed.

“Sorry Alex, but those drugs build up in the blood. Her blood is ruined now. Its only good for turning into plasma and being vomited, used as a weapon. To be honest I have never seen any Red literally breathe fire like she can. Her heart isn’t beating anymore, just humming with energy keeping her alive. Drugs won’t work on her. Alcohol won’t even work on us. You wouldn’t believe the times I have wanted to get drunk since taking this ring.”

Barry was listening to his and not liking any of the answers he was hearing. Kara was trapped in a Lake of Blood, being held by Diana and none of them knew her state. She was going through a personal hell and when she woke up she would no longer have any medications. She would be distraught, depressed, angry and probably want a drink. Finding out that wasn’t possible would make her feel even worse. She had been priding herself on her sobriety. Knowing Kara, finding out she couldn’t get drunk anyway would make the fight worthless in her mind. Without that fight, Kara would be looking for another.

“What if she was injured? Could Alex perform a surgery if necessary?” Barry asked, thinking of the red crystal. Perhaps if was implanted she could retain a sense of normalcy. He and Alex spoke about this the first day they were here. Her cells metabolized the solar energy, not her blood. On a cellular level she shouldn’t be changed.

“Who the hell is going to injure her?” Gardner asked. “Even if she wasn’t impenetrable to every known weapon, a shot would never get through her red aura and if by some miracle it did, her blood would destroy whatever projectile was inside her. Her energy would just heal her instantly. She has her mind back, she is a god now. Untouchable.”

The bracelet would still work on her, Barry and Alex hoped. Nothing could get under her skin without being destroyed but on her skin shouldn’t be changed. Maybe if she could get some…

Barry remembered the other issue he and Alex had talked about. If Kara was vulnerable she would begin hurting herself again. No doubt in either of their minds. She may even try to commit suicide again.

Those were problems for another time. First things first, Kara had to get up. He and Alex had walked the shore of the lake, Bruce holding Alex back from rushing in a couple times. The stench was horrid, the planets surface was hard, rocky, the beach covered in sharp red gravel. Lobo’s suits were tough, and his breathers worked great but waiting by the shore hadn’t seemed prudent. Instead they took turns monitoring the lake from the cockpit of Lobo’s ship. He had positioned his ship on the shore, nose cone pointed almost directly where Kara and Diana lay submerged about fifty yards from the shore, according to Guy.

“If I haven’t told you, thanks.” Barry told the Red Lantern. “For helping her, you and your team. She would have been killed early if not for you guys and Lobo.”

Gardner shrugged off the gesture, not wanting to mention Kara may have been better with dying than this. “You took out Atrocitus. We can call it even. I’ll be heading to Earth with you. You can all study my ring there as well. I know you will be looking for a way to get it off her without killing her. A lot of my guys, me included want ours off. If my team can’t figure out how to get a Blue ring, Alex, you and your parents are the best chance we got.”

The man stood up, deciding to go back into the tunnels of the great cliff overlooking the lake. Inside the cavern were large rooms, filled with tech, bedrooms, lounges, everything a boy or girl Red Lantern could need on a hellish wasteland like Ysmault. The original Red Battery was also there.

“Barry you sure you don’t want anything to eat? We got a meat resembling burger in taste, if not DNA.” Gardner offered.

Barry shook his head, not warming up to the idea of unknown meat… or something.

“No thank you. I need a lot of calories and these noodles Lobo has on board are doing the trick. Plus they taste great.”

Lobo stood up quickly and walked towards the cockpit.

“Noodles? You mean those dead worms?” Gardner asked. “I never could stand the taste. Tough little things. I ate one that wasn’t completely cooked once. Bastard swam around in my stomach for a week before he let himself be digested. Tough buggers. Let me know if you change your mind.”

Barry looked at Batman and Alex, neither of whom were looking at him.

“Worms? Alex you said they were noodles.” Barry reminded her, thinking Gardner must have been joking. Alex had eaten them as well. Sure, Bruce looked at the food as if was disgusting but Bruce was used to five start restaurants. That had to be it.

“I never said they were noodles.” Alex told him, realizing she was not going to get out of this conversation in the small lounging area.

“I said these look like Raman Noodles and you said yep, they taste good. Remember?!”

“That’s exactly what I said. You said they looked like noodles and I agreed that they did look like noodles. I never confirmed or denied that they were noodles. I also told you they tasted good, which they did, right?”

“You let me eat space worms. I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Don’t be a baby.” Alex told him. “Every time Lobo comes to Earth we boil a batch of them. They are really good. Broaden your horizons, Barry. You should try them with hot mustard.”

Before Barry could express his dissatisfaction with Alex’s rationalizing her lying, Lobo came from the cockpit and tossed them three breathers.

“We got movement, ripples. I think they are coming up.” the big guy told them and continued outside. Barry beat them all to the sure of course, but Bruce, Lobo and Alex were not far behind.

They suited up and did their best not to run over the gravely and unstable surface.

Lobo was right, the red liquid was being disturbed.

Kara rose, a slick rope around her that was loosening, and Diana rising beside her. Both women looked as if they had survived a horror movie, hair, dark and drenched, slicked back and bodies covered in blood.

Kara shook her head and wiped her face, doing no good, considering her gloves were soaked as well. Alex couldn’t be sure, but her outfit resembled the armor she had worn into the battle and not whatever clothes she had transformed into after accepting the ring. The House of El symbol was nowhere to be seen, having been destroyed by Doomsday and her material had rips in it for the first time ever.

Kara and Diana both heaved, the liquid that had no doubt gotten into their bodies being expelled. The two looked exhausted, barely able to stand up straight. They placed an arm around each other for support and slowly walked to the shore, nearly tripping a few times but holding each other up.

Once they reached the shore, Barry stayed back, letting Alex reach her first. The older sister wrapped Kara up in her arms, the white suit she was wearing darkening immediately.

Alex did her best to clear Kara’s eyes. They were unfocused, and Alex had seen this before when Kara was very drunk. Her little sister didn’t know where she was.

“Kara? Hey sweetie, its me, Alex. Do you recognize me?”

Kara reached out and touched her helmet, as if to make sure she was real.

“Alex? I saw you die. Am I dead? Are you real?” the girl asked quietly, her eyes becoming clearer.

“I didn’t die. I was shot down but ejected. I am okay. How are you feeling?”

Kara shook her head and took in her surroundings. She noticed the great cliff in front of her, the different species of aliens in red and black, exiting many tunnels to take her in. Surrounding the lake she had just emerged from were more mountainous landscapes, red and brown, structures built into them, some resembling ancient strongholds.

“Is this hell?” she asked quietly.

“No, it isn’t Hell. We are on Ysmault.” Alex told her, not saying it was the closest she ever hoped to be to hell. The beauty of this planet was nonexistent.

Kara looked at her closely and rubbed her breathing mask where her cheeks were, then grabbed her shoulders.

“You are real? You swear? You aren’t dead?” she half asked, and half begged.

“I’m right here. Listen to my heartbeat and you will know.” Alex assured her.

Kara did for a moment, instinctively finding her sister’s heartbeat among the hundreds of others surrounding her.

What had happened? Where had she been? She was with someone, someone she didn’t like… no.

Kara took her left hand and ripped the glove she had been wearing off her right hand. As she suspected a bright red ring resided on her finger.

“No! Please no! Not this… Doomsday! What happened? I was dying! Why aren’t I dead? This wasn’t supposed to happen! I said I would never… is Doomsday still loose?”

Alex shook her head, heart breaking at the anguish in Kara’s voice.

“You took the ring and killed him. You destroyed him, Kara. You saved Metropolis, you saved us all.”

“And I became him, didn’t I? Did I kill anyone? Please tell me I didn’t kill anyone, Alex.”

“No,” the older sister assured her. “You didn’t even hurt any innocents, I promise. Let’s go into Lobo’s ship and get you cleaned up, okay?”

Kara looked around, seeing a blood drenched Diana, not sure why she was here or why she was in the lake as well. She saw Bruce, grim faced but a look she recognized as relief on his face. What was he relieved about? She was a monster, a real, fire breathing monster now. Kara remembered the stories Barry had told her about what the Red Lanterns were like.

Then she noticed Barry, dressed like Alex, standing right behind her sister.

She slowly moved around Alex, her feet trying to regain their bearings.

“You came here? To this place? For me?”

“Always.” he told her. “Partners. Where you go, I go.”

Kara’s head was beginning to clear. She was beginning to understand. She really was on Ysmault, she really did have a Red Ring and the people around her were real. She recognized Lobo’s large ship, and then the man himself, standing back with his arms crossed but a big smile on his face.

Why was everyone so happy? The worst had happened. It would have been better if she were dead. Why could no one ever understand this?

“How long?” she asked, instead of the hundreds of other questions she had.

“Four Earth days.” Barry told her.

“I need to get home. I want to go home.” Kara decided. Her senses were in overload, her ring desperately wanted to go to what she instinctively knew was a large power source not far from here. She knew it must be a battery.

No, she would not give the ring what it wanted.

“Kara, I’m Guy Gardner. We have never actually…”

“Get the hell away from me.” she hissed, her eyes brightening as did her ring. The man immediately stepped back and dipped his head, knowing this early, Kara probably felt his threat to her power. Not that he was really a threat. Though she wasn’t thinking it and her mind seemed to have returned, instinctively she knew he was an alpha of some sort and she would challenge him if provoked. New Reds were still predatory in nature at first, even after the Lake of Blood. It was imperative he got to Earth before she did and warned Jordan not to let his Lanterns anywhere near her, to hide their energy or she may search them out.

Of course some of them may be dead, but he didn’t have it in his heart to care.

He backed up a few feet, showing he meant no harm.

“I’ll make a tube to Earth. Lobo, give me a call when you have all settled in and we can begin the research.”

Gardner walked away, letting the other Lanterns know with a look that they should go inside, lest they set off the powerful woman on the ground.

“Let’s start back to Earth and you ladies can get cleaned up. We will answer all your questions, see what you remember, okay Kara?” Lobo suggested.

Kara nodded slightly, the idea of being clean, very appealing to her.

“Should I go back?” she asked suddenly. “Is it safe?”

Alex gently grasped her shoulder. “I will not rest until we figure out how to get this ring safely off you, Kara. Give me a chance, okay? Have faith in me. It will be safe. I will be with you the entire time, okay?”

The blonde nodded her head and let Barry guide her to the ship.

Diana slowly followed behind the rest, before Bruce stopped her.

“What happened in there? Are you okay?”

The blood-soaked woman nodded her head slightly and looked at the rocky surface.

“Nothing happened. I lay there for however long we were there, eyes closed, and had only my thoughts to keep me company. I could have come out at any time… Bruce, before I fought her, I was inside her head. It was…”

Diana stopped talking for a moment, trying to find the words. Batman gave her time, understanding a bit. If she had ever been in his head, she would be disturbed, and he knew Kara had much more darkness than he did.

“I told you in Paris when we first met that you had failed her. I was wrong. She would have done what she did regardless of you. I am the one who failed her. I should have been there.”

Bruce said nothing, knowing whatever he could say wouldn’t change her mind. Maybe she was right. They all made mistakes, sometimes small ones and sometimes major ones, devastating ones. It was the life they were destined for.

“Curry has your sword and shield. I would suggest that we keep the sword far away and hidden from Kara. I know she will try and take it at the first opportunity, try and cut her finger off, try and break the ring in half. That is the only weapon we know is capable and it must remain hidden from her. Watch it closely, Diana.”

The Amazon agreed and entered the large ship, already thinking of what their next move would be.

Neither she nor her League would be caught unprepared again.

She also had to decide what to do about the Green Lanterns.

Metropolis

The man cleared his throat, raising his hand to stop the flow of questions already being asked before he could begin.

Once the room silenced down, he put down his notes and spoke to the assembled press conference, including reporters from all over the world.

“My name is Special Agent Jack Webb, FBI, and I am heading the investigation. I will read a short statement and then answer a few questions. This is an ongoing investigation, so some matters are still not clear, but we want to be open with the world and I will answer what we know right now.”

Jack took a deep breath. He had been a warrior for most of his life. When Henshaw ‘retired’ and Connolly refused to play the political game he knew that he would become an administrator. He didn’t mind, considering he still got to go into the field and as Director of a Black Ops agency he did not have to speak to anyone other than the President and a few Congressmen.

Marsdin insisted he take over this investigation. The FBI would handle criminal prosecutions, but the DEO would find out what happened. That meant a full fake background, a history of service with the FBI and a stint where he got to play special agent in charge, whatever the hell that meant.

“Five days ago, an alien creature escaped confinement in an underground section of Lex Corp’s corporate headquarters in downtown Metropolis. We have discovered an underground research facility below the building, not known by the city or permitted. Mr. Luthor was harboring and studying an unknown creature of what we believe to be extraterrestrial origin, without the knowledge of the Government. The building was destroyed by the monster and Mr. Luthor’s remains long with several scientists under his employ were discovered in the underground area. From what Forensics has ascertained, the underground portion was dedicated for research on ways to murder Supergirl and other aliens Luthor deemed a threat to society. Again, this research was done in secret and in no way known about or sanctioned by the US Government.”

Webb looked around the room, pleased he had all their attention but not doubting the moment he stopped talking, the room would explode.

“After the creature escaped, he began a rampage downtown, destroying property and taking lives. Street cameras were destroyed and cell phones that we have found so far have been destroyed but we are attempting to recover data. The body count as of now, is two hundred and fourteen people killed in the first ten minutes of the attack by the creature itself or falling debris and collapsed buildings. Survivors are still being searched for in the rubble and bodies are still being recovered. These names will not be released yet due to not all families being notified at this time. From all indications it looks like the attack started shortly after 9 AM. According to witnesses at the scene who had not been able to flee immediately, Supergirl arrived on the scene approximately fifteen minutes after the monster began his attack. She engaged the creature, giving citizens time to escape. From what eye witness reports we have collected, it appears she was assisted by a group of aliens and eventually the individual known as the Martian Manhunter and a masked human female in an aircraft of some sort who has worked with Supergirl in the past. The battle lasted just over twenty minutes, during which time the area had been cleared of civilians as much as possible. Supergirl destroyed the creature but sustained grave injuries and is currently missing, along with the aliens that assisted her and members of the Justice League who arrived shortly after the battle. Currently, that is all the information I have. I will now take a few questions.”

As he suspected, the room exploded. Against his better judgement, he acknowledged Lois Lane first. Kara would have wanted that.

“Has the FBI found any other connections outside of LexCorp, taking part in this project to murder Supergirl and are there other possible biological alien weapons still hidden in secret facilities?”

“As of right now, we know of no other threats or coconspirators, but the investigation is ongoing. The CIA, FBI, IRS, and Homeland Security have seized LexCorp and are investigating other possible laws the company has broken and who if anyone else besides Lex Luthor, was involved. You, in the third row?”

“Chloe Sullivan, Daily Planet. Does the FBI or the Government know where Supergirl has been the last five months and why she showed up now?”

Jack had expected this as well. Of course he knew, and of course he would lie. Its what Government Administrators did. At least he would tell half-truths that gave him plausible deniability.

“Supergirl does not work for or in conjunction with any Government agency in the US and as far as we know, abroad. She does not report her movements, actions, locations or reasons to anyone. If she returns, you will have to ask her that. I cannot answer for her. We are thankful she did arrive. If she had not, that monster could still be rampaging across the country side. She saved countless lives at great risk to her own.”

“You said the Justice League arrived shortly after Supergirl defeated the creature. Do you know why they took so long to respond?” Lois asked, not being called on but her voice louder than the rest.

“The Justice League also does not work in conjunction with any Government agency. We have heard a rumor that they were engaged with another alien or metahuman threat somewhere in Canada, but I do not know specifics, nor have I been in contact with any member.”

“Iris West, Central City Picture News. Is there any connection to this event, Lex Luthor and the destruction of the Great Pyramid on the Yucatan Peninsula?” she asked, new to the scene of big time press conferences but holding her own.

“The Mexican Government and the CIA is investigating that incident. I have heard rumors that a terrorist organization composed of humans using alien tech that call themselves the Green Lanterns may have been involved but I can neither confirm or deny that. As far as I know, Lex Luthor has no connection to that unfortunate event, but we are ruling nothing out for the moment.”

Jack knew this was a lie but from what he had heard of the Green Lanterns he really didn’t give a damn.

More questions flooded in, all in the same vein and Jack answered all of them with the same vague response. Did Luthor intentionally set the monster loose, hoping to draw out Supergirl? Where has Supergirl been for the last five or six months, depending on who saw J’onn last, posing as her.

Webb eventually called an end to the press conference and walked out, leaving reporters still asking questions in his wake. He needed to get back to the office and calm Connolly down. According to Ty, Dante had arrived in Metropolis and the DEO headquarters there and had no idea what he was walking into. Once again, it would fall to Jack to keep the peace in the team, even if Dante wasn’t technically DEO any longer.

At the DEO headquarters, Connolly had been on a rampage all week. He had threatened to fire Deputy Director Chase for the DEO’s non-response to the biggest alien threat to ever hit Metropolis. Though the man knew his agents couldn’t have done anything, they still should have tried in his mind.

He was furious at himself that he had not been there, instead on the other side of the country in National City, furious at what had happened to Kara. He was also extremely angry that J’onn and Alex had nearly been killed. The man had spoken to the Danvers who were barely holding it together but working in conjunction with Veritas at the Block to heal J’onn while trying to remain strong for Clark who was a wreck himself.

And now another issue he had just walked in.

“What the hell do you want?” he asked Dante. “Shouldn’t you be in Central City? I guess that is what Wayne Industries pays you to do now, right?”

Dante did not take the bait, having already beaten himself up over this.

“I wanted to know if you had heard any word about Kara and Alex? Apparently, you have stopped taking my calls.”

Connolly looked at him and seriously considered starting a fight, just to relieve some tension.

“You told me you were working with Wayne to keep an eye on Luthor here in Metropolis. Running a spy network, watching him closely in case he tried anything. This giant monster somehow slipped past you. Think it might be because instead of working Metropolis where you said you would be backing Kara up, you were screwing a metahuman in Central City? I don’t owe you an answer to anything, but I’ll give you one. Yeah, the last I heard is Kara was taken to Ysmault to drown in some blood lake surrounded by multiple aliens and Alex, Barry and Batman went to that planet with Lobo who is apparently a hell of a lot more dedicated to Kara than you are! Go back to Central City. National City is a dead zone for aliens. This is becoming our main office and we can keep an eye on things. You aren’t needed here. Take Chase while you are at it. Drop her off somewhere she can figure out how to organize a tactical response.”

Dante took a deep breath, knowing he wouldn’t get anymore from Connolly. He probably should have turned and left.

“The Danvers asked me to help Caitlin Snow…”

That was as far as the two got before Connolly attacked. Ty, and Hawk motioned to the other agents to back off. They knew better than to try to break the two up. It would just cause problems and wind up in innocent bystanders with broken bones.

The fight was typical of the sparring sessions they used to all have. No holding back, anything goes, and at five minutes the fight ends, no matter who is winning.

The problem was this fight went past five minutes, and Ty and Hawk had no choice to step in. The battle continued with four involved, Hawk trying to stop a much faster Dante and Ty trying to stop a faster Connolly.

It ended when Connolly struck Dante in the chin, dazing him and dropping him to the floor defenseless for a second. Had this been combat, it was then the man’s neck would have been broken or a knife was stabbed through his heart.

“You two calm the hell down!” Webb yelled, running inside. He got in front of Connolly, watching him closely. Jack was usually the one who could calm the man down when he was lost in a fight and in danger of losing control, just as Alex did for Kara.

Connolly looked around at the gathered agents who had stopped what they were doing to watch the fight.

“Get your asses back to work!” he yelled, sending the men and women in black scurrying off.

He then at his sights on Winn, sitting in the middle of the damn room and feeling very afraid now. He had been brought here hours after the attack and was working with little to no sleep, finding everything he could about Luthor that they may have missed in the past. Luckily for him, Connolly had calmed down somewhat as he usually did after a fight.

“Winn,” he said calmly in a quieter voice. “I want you to hack the DOD. Pay special attention to anything attached to Samuel Lane. Look for any projects that he has had any contact with. Break into his home computer, break into Lucy Lane’s home computer. Look for projects that might appear to be something else, anti-insurgency, anti-terrorism, I want you looking at everything. Let me know immediately if you see anything strange about them. By that I mean anything that could be being developed to combat a Kryptonian, classified as something else. If that son of a bitch is working on anything we are blowing it up.”

Connolly walked back to Jack.

“Find out what Lillian Luthor knows. If she had a hand in this, make it look like a suicide, grief over her little bald son. Find out if Lena Luthor knew anything. Ty, you and I are going back to National City tonight. We are taking a walk through Lord’s labs tonight. We go in silent but if anyone gets in our way we take them out. If we find any experiments Lord is working on resembling something on the level of Doomsday we burn it and kill him. Its time we do what we should have done years ago. We are going to clean house. And you.” he pointed at Dante.

“You aren’t DEO. You don’t get to walk in here whenever you want. Go back to Central City and Team Kid Flash. Say hi to Snowball for me.”

Ty shrugged his shoulders apologetically at the man, and followed, leaving Dante, Jack and Hawk alone.

Jack knew Dante was furious. His face looked like hell and Connolly’s wasn’t much better.

“You okay?” Webb asked.

Dante looked at him sharply, giving Jack all the answers he needed.

“Look, we were in the air, still two hours away when he saw Kara nearly dead and Alex shot down.” Jack told him. “He didn’t see Alex make it out and thought she was dead. He has been like this all week. Don’t take it personally. He didn’t mean what he said.”

Dante shook his head. “He always means what he says. Maybe I should have been there. I forgot my mission.”

“The Danvers asked you for a favor and you did it. There is nothing wrong with that. You couldn’t have done anything but get killed. Kara and J’onn nearly died. He’s right about one thing. It is time to clean house. Let us handle it. I promise I will keep you updated on anything I hear. Those girls will be back. So will Barry and Bruce. As much as I can’t believe I am saying this, Lobo won’t let anything happen to them.”

Dante shook his head. “Thanks Jack. He is right. I’m not DEO. I shouldn’t be here. I need to go.”

Webb pulled the man in for a hug.

“You will always be team.” he assured him.

Dante walked out of the DEO, feeling anything but a part of the team. His emotions had been all over the place since Doomsday happened. Team Flash had done everything they could to get to the battle. Dante tried to use the transporter in Barry’s apartment to make it to the Batcave, so he would be within striking distance in Gotham and closer to travel to Metropolis, closer than Central City. Dante was unable to get a hold of Kelex, having lost any connection or place on the chain of command in the Fortress after Kara kicked him out of her life. He hoped she had put him back on but supposed she had other things going on or didn’t feel the need.

Cisco had tried to open a breach to the battle site, but they arrived in South Carolina. Wally took off but without Cisco on the com, was unsure of the directions and got lost several times. Cisco tried three more breaches, that led them closer but not close enough. By the time they all made it just outside Metropolis, the battle had long been over.

They had tried, but in Dante’s mind it was his responsibility, his failure. Nothing Caitlin could say would change that feeling.

The Block

At nine PM, after Eliza had checked on J’onn who was steadily healing, an alarm sounded. Jeremiah met her in the hallway and ran to the control room, where Arthur Curry stood next to Veritas. Curry was not suited up but did have his trident in his hand.

Veritas turned the alarm off and smiled. The amount of work she had to do in the coming weeks was staggering but at least it could now begin.

The cameras showed a crowded elevator coming down, with three members of the Justice League, Lobo and Alex and Kara.

Kara appeared to be calm, making her smile wider but still inwardly cautious. Veritas was a genius and without even examining the blonde, she knew the medications in Kara’s system were gone, possibly for good from the stories Eliza had told her about the Red Ring and its effect on the body.

Jeremiah and Eliza didn’t bother to look at the camera. They could tell by the smile on her face who was here.

The two parents were joined by an anxious Clark in front of the elevators.

Their two daughters dressed in white jumpsuits stepped out first.

The Danvers family rushed each other while the others stood and watched the tears, the hugs, the love and the relief. No words were needed among the five, just sobs and rapid breathing.

Study of the ring on Kara’s finger that had finally stopped glowing could wait. It had been a nightmarish week and though it was far from over, no matter what, they were all together again.