Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Seeing Red

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 44: Come Together

“Before we can make any decisions, we need to know more.” Kara told her assembled family. “We are missing something. A lot of somethings. Word hasn’t reached the universe about my retirement speech. Aliens had already started abandoning Earth right after I became a Red Lantern. Diaspora is almost as far away as Ysmault. To gather that many ships and move so quickly, they must have started right after they found out I was a Red Lantern.”

“Yeah, that is strange.” Alex agreed. “You got a red ring, you turned an unstoppable killing machine to dust, you invaded Mars and killed White Martians with ease. But you have been Supergirl for seven years. Even if they heard you retired they know you aren’t dead. Why did they wait until you were more powerful than ever before? They could have attacked anytime in the past and tried their luck.”

Jeremiah agreed with his daughters. None of this made sense. Barry made it seem as if their motives were obvious. They destroyed life on planets. According to John Stewart, they had done so six times but never colonized. What was the point? Why would a peaceful race with a pacifist leader suddenly turn into genocidal maniacs? Even the White Martians had a reason for their eradication of the Greens. They wanted to be the only species on the planet. This army wasn’t bothering to take planets.

“They are coming because you are a Red Lantern, as least as far as they know.” Jeremiah guessed. “Maybe they think you are a danger, and have decided to try and take you out?”

Alex shook her head. “The Guardians would have already tried. Those short bastards probably know if they sent the Greens after her she could probably take them all and would also have Gardner and the Reds at her back. They know they won’t be challenging just Kara. If she were to fight them, and I am not saying she should by any means, her and her new red friends would wipe them out, no matter how many ships they bring. Its suicide on their part. Even if they win, they really have nothing to gain.”

Kara picked up her phone. “Kelex, send out the two deep space probes, have them track the Diasporans path and call Lobo and ask him over… no you can’t sit in on family meetings… you are listening anyway… yeah, go ahead and order pizzas. I have a feeling its going to be a late night. Lobo likes anchovies so order a couple for him.”

Three hours later Lobo sat on the couch while the girls and Clark sat on the floor due to the man taking all the space.

“I wondered when you would call. I knew Jeremiah wouldn’t keep it from you. Not that I have much contact with Bruce’s friends lately but I listen in. Bruce sent Barry, huh?” the Czarnian asked.

Kara was confused, thinking Lobo still dealt with Bruce on a regular basis. “What do you mean, you don’t have much contact with them?”

Lobo sort of wished he hadn’t said that. Kara and Alex wouldn’t be happy.

“I got a contract with Connolly and Webb. I’m helping them prepare for this little situation we all got coming. Kara, you are going to have to trust me. Let me be the hero this time. I don’t have heat vision but you know I can fight a war. I talked to Gardner yesterday. Its all going to be okay.”

“What do you mean?” the blonde asked.

Lobo shrugged his massive shoulders. “I mean we got this. He has been keeping the Reds away from Earth since you tamed that ring, said he doesn’t want to tempt you. I spoke to him and he said all you had to do was hang out in the Fortress for a while until your crew takes care of it. Once the Diasporans get near Earth the Reds are going to attack. I’ll be up there in my ship with them. They won’t get near Earth’s atmosphere.”

Alex wasn’t sure about this. The Reds were powerful no doubt but nowhere near her little sister’s level. The five had gotten taken down by Doomsday fairly easy. “Which Reds are coming?”

“All of them. Gardner is bringing the 202 Red Lanterns currently residing on Ysmault and preparing for war. Once the Diasporans get close, we take them out. I heard Jordan actually grew a pair and him, Rayner and Cruz are standing with Stewart. They may have been useless to us in the past but this is their home planet. If we need more help Alex knows how to use your special weapons you got hidden around the world. You just relax.”

Kara nearly laughed. He made it sound so easy. She also knew Lobo. Despite his bravado he was keeping something back.

“You know what makes our relationship great? You know why we are friends, Lobo?”

The man knew. ‘Because we don’t bullshit each other.” he admitted, knowing his game was up. “You want to know what I am holding back from you, right?”

No one aid anything, Kara and Alex waiting and Eliza and Jeremiah wanting him to hold back whatever he was about to say.

Lobo looked at the parents then Kara and Alex. Kara was right, they had never lied to each other. If he had suspected her drinking problem had gotten so bad, he knew she would have told him if he asked. The two had a connection. They understood each other, so he really had no choice.

“I’m guessing you have already launched your deep space probes. I launched mine a week ago and caught them at the last wormhole. They are a bit behind schedule. Seems the whole fleet made a stop at a small, little known dead planet in Sector 417 called Mazon. I’m guessing you recognize the name.”

Kara and Alex both felt a shiver. There was no reason for them to stop there unless they were picking something, or someone, or multiple people or things up.

Jeremiah didn’t miss the looks on his daughters’ faces. “What is this Mazon? Why have I never heard of it?”

“Because you never studied the Kryptonian history files.” Kara explained. “Mazon was one of hundreds of uninhabited planets that Krypton tried to terraform to expand the culture. None of them were ever successful but Mazon was the largest attempt. The planet held a breathable atmosphere for a hundred or so years and colonists were able to build cities. But the atmosphere was burned out, unable to be sustained. Thousands of Kryptonians died and the project was abandoned, along with Krypton’s attempts to colonize uninhabited planets. The remains of multiple cities, large cities are on that planet.”

“If they stopped there, something must have been on the planet that they wanted.” Alex concluded.

“Or someone.” Kara added. “Mom, when you went over the DNA structures and mutations of the Worldkillers last year… did it seem like they would need a yellow sun to power them?”

Eliza shook her head. “Zor El designed them to be monsters, just like Doomsday, not Kryptonians. They would be more powerful under a yellow sun but they would still be able to survive without breathing. They would be in a constant state of regeneration like you are in space, only their regeneration was designed. But we are jumping to a lot of conclusions. What are the chances one of them would be on that planet?”

Kara thought for a moment. “If they lived, if Zor El did not destroy them on Krypton, and they were sent off into space… it makes sense that they would look for Kryptonian remains. They very well could be there, one or more. Zor El could have put them there himself. I’m just thinking worst case scenario.”

“The king went down to the planet himself.” Lobo added. “This invasion is different. He has never left the planet from what Stewart and I discovered when we went searching. His armies attack on his orders but he never leads an invasion. He is on a flagship this time. My drones didn’t get good shots before they were disintegrated by one of their fighters but I know a heavily armed transport left his Flagship. It had to be him.”

Kara and Alex glanced at each other, both confused and becoming more worried by the second. Alex voiced their concerns.

“The Worldkillers are monsters… he wouldn’t be able to recruit them. He couldn’t control them anymore than Atrocitus could control Doomsday.”

Kara disagreed. “Doomsday started out a monster. By the time the Worldkiller program was started, Zor El was mixing Kryptonian DNA with mutations. They may very well have minds, especially if they tracked down an old Kryptonian outpost.”

Jeremiah did not want to believe this. He may have not have read the history archives of Krypton but he had an in depth knowledge of Zor El’s experiments. The thought that those four could be recruited by the Diasporans scared the hell out of him. “How would this King even know how to find them? Why would they follow him? They wouldn’t have a reason to. They may be designed for battle but they aren’t followers. That is why Zod never wanted them.”

Kara and Alex may as well have shared a mind. They both had the exact same thought and said it at the same time.

“Worldkiller 1.”

Lobo hadn’t heard of this Worldkiller though he only knew the other four from Kara’s databanks. The Universe as far as he knew never heard of them. The Lanterns may have been known by some and rumored by others because of their penchant for staying out of interplanetary fights but no one ever spoke of Kryptonian mutants on the loose. It seems like they would have made a noise here or there.

“What the hell? You girls gave these other freaks nicknames but gave this one a number? You run out of ideas or what?”

“Because the first Worldkiller Zor El attempted to make, the records were all but gone.” Alex told him. “We only know there was one. Reign was the second, but one came before her. We have no idea of what it could look like, what powers it might have, where it was sent or if it was destroyed, we know nothing, just an entry in his log that had been erased for the most part.”

Kara had an idea. “What if one of its powers is a shapeshifter? Lobo, Barry told Dad that the Diasporans were a peaceful race until ten or so years ago. The King went from pacifist to conqueror for some unknown reason. What if the king isn’t the king?”

Lobo thought about it, not liking what he was coming up with. “Let’s say the theory is right and the king is some kind of shapeshifter. There are a lot of shifters in the universe. Doesn’t mean it’s this Worldkiller Uno.”

“No,” Alex admitted, “but it would explain why the Diasporans stopped at an old Kryptonian outpost, and if the Worldkillers are imprisoned there, how he would know about them and give them a reason to follow him. We have to look at this from a worst case scenario viewpoint.”

Eliza wouldn’t believe this. Doomsday still gave her nightmares. This would not happen.

“Maybe the two of you are just seeing what you… you and Alex have been afraid of the Worldkillers and Brainiac since you found out they could all be alive. Maybe you are just jumping to conclusions because of your fear?” she suggested and hoped. “Either way, you can’t fight them, Kara. You went through some black magic ritual to tame that ring. If you use it, you may never get control back. That means no more long term red sun devices, constantly being tempted, never having the control over your anger you have been working so hard on.”

“I can fight without the ring. I’m still… me. I don’t need a ring to…” Kara stopped speaking, seeing the looks on her family’s faces.

She took a deep breath to center herself. “I won’t get involved unless it looks like I have no choice. We can all agree on that, right? I don’t want to fight, but I also don’t want to see the world die. Billions of lives lost, probably because some King wants to suddenly take a shot at the new Red Lantern, or maybe force me to serve him to keep Earth safe. That’s not going to happen. We can all agree on that, right?”

“The Justice League and the DEO can handle it.” Jeremiah insisted. “If we fight, we do it from the Fortress, with the weapons you designed and built and support them. That’s it. You developed those weapons to distract Brainiac long enough to get us off planet if he showed up. We are jumping to a whole lot of conclusions anyway. Lobo can keep us updated. The closer they get, we will have a better understanding of them. Bruce can handle this. He formed a team to handle it so you and Alex wouldn’t have to fight anymore.”

Kara decided he was right. They had a couple months, maybe three if they had to make a stop. She and Alex’s theory may be completely off the mark.

Then why did she have such a feeling of dread, foreboding?

“How are Diana and the Justice League planning on handling it? What is their plan?” the blonde asked her large friend.

Everyone saw Lobo had that look again. The look that said he knew something but didn’t want to say it.

“They aren’t exactly getting along at the moment.” he admitted. “That’s why I’m working with Connolly. I figured it’s what you would do.” he told the blonde.

Kara stood up and walked to the window, looking out into the dark to calm herself. She knew what she was about to hear had the potential to make her angry.

“Tell me everything, Lobo.”

After listening, Kara had no doubt that her retirement would be short lived.

Two days later, Alex waited in their house for Leslie. The woman was nothing if not punctual. After hearing of the dissent between Connolly’s DEO team and the Justice League, the older sister seemed more certain than ever that Kara would get involved in the coming battle. Alex was more determined than ever to keep her out. The family had not come to a consensus after Lobo left on what to do, so agreed to table it until they had more information. Kara even admitted that she could be wildly speculating on the presence of the Worldkillers and that Eliza could be right that she was jumping to the worst case scenario. The blonde seemed genuine. Alex would have felt better if she had a promise from Kara not to get involved no matter what but that didn’t happen.

She just had no idea how to drill this in Kara’s head. Admitting she was out of her league, Alex waited for the one woman who seemed to have the most impact on Kara since the Block.

The older sister opened the door at 9 AM to find Leslie driving up in her rental car.

The doctor nodded good morning and brushed past Alex then stopped, seeing the empty living room.

“Where the hell is she? She is always in the living room with that look like she is about to walk into a dentist’s office.”

Alex cleared her throat and tried to control the anxiety she felt about what the woman was about to say.

“I uh… I told her you called and said you would be an hour late. She is in the Fortress monitoring the path of some probes we launched into space. I… wanted to talk to you… alone, if that’s okay?”

Leslie looked at her suspiciously. Alex had never expressed an interest in talking to her before.

“It’s not. Go through your little laser door and tell her to get in here. I just bought a house in Destin, Florida. I need to be there this afternoon when my furniture is delivered.”

“Please?” Alex tried.

Leslie saw the girl appeared desperate and thought about having mercy on her.

“No. Get the blonde Danvers. I’ll be in her room. Hurry up.”

Alex had one last ditch effort, one card left to play. “There is an alien invasion coming in two to three months. Hundreds of warships, hundreds of thousands of hostile aliens. I’ll tell you all about it if you just give me a moment.”

Dr. Thompkins was caught off guard by that statement. Unlike Kara, Alex wasn’t known for dramatics from what she had observed, and the woman observed quite a bit more than the Danvers suspected.

“So what you are telling me is I need to get a huge home owners insurance policy but I shouldn’t have to worry about paying property taxes this year?”

“Damn it woman! I need to talk to you. Stop jerking me around!”

Leslie wasn’t a fan of outbursts directed at her but the girl did seem desperate. She supposed she could spare a few moments of her time if it meant determining whether she should get a huge insurance policy or just sale the house outright and hide in a bunker. She motioned for Alex to follow her upstairs.

Once the two had a seat, Alex got straight to the point.

“The Red Lanterns are coming to fight this invasion. Over 200 of them. That’s a lot of red energy being thrown around the Earth. If Kara gets involved she could be lost. I know she is going to want to get involved. I want you to tell me how to stop her. She listens to you. You have gotten through to her in a way no one else has in her life. I know you don’t want to see her progress come undone. How can we stop her?”

Leslie thought about this and had no idea. If an invasion of thousands of hostile aliens was coming, it would most likely be impossible to keep her out of it.

“Have Alfred drug her again and keep her prisoner in the Block.” Leslie suggested.

Alex grabbed her hair, wanting to scream.

“I didn’t ask how to kidnap her, I asked how to stop her.”

“You can’t. You don’t have what it takes. I could tell you what it takes if you were my patient but I would have to check with Bruce to see if he would pay double, maybe more. You are in worse shape than Kara.”

Alex was taken back by that statement. Worse than Kara?

“I don’t need more therapy. I need help with her.”

Leslie chuckled. “That’s why you need drugs to help you sleep at night? You think meds are enough for you? Or maybe talking about Kara with Jessica, which I have no doubt you do. Kara may lose herself to her emotions but you are worse. You keep yours bottled up. You couldn’t handle being my patient. You want me to tell you how to talk Kara out of something? Try being honest with her.”

That caught Alex off guard. She was always honest with Kara. The family had made a promise to always be open with each other months ago.

“I am always honest with her.”

“No you aren’t. If you were my patient, you would know that. I can’t help you be honest, as long as you are the way you are.”

Alex clenched her fists, trying to control herself.

“So to help me, I have to see you, but first you have to ask Bruce if he will pay you more? Screw it. When she loses yourself again, you can ask Bruce how much he will pay you then.”

Alex stood up, moving towards the door.

“I told you that you don’t have what it takes. You are too scared to be honest with Kara and yourself.”

Alex turned slowly back to the woman, the look on her face nearly threatening.

“I am not scared of anything but Kara getting wrapped up in the Red Lantern business and fighting an invasion she may not be able to win.”

Leslie smiled at her and waved towards her vacated seat. Alex looked at her for a few moments and moved back to the chair.

The woman leaned forward and looked Alex in the eyes.

“You think you have been honest with her? You think you aren’t in worse shape than she is because you aren’t an addict? Let’s do a quick test. If you can answer a simple question honestly, I will help you out, provided you see me as often as she does. I am willing to bet my soon to be destroyed beach house that you can’t be honest. Want to take the challenge?”

“I don’t want your damn house. If I answer honestly, I want you to talk to her, convince her to stay out of it, and help me to convince her to stay out of it.”

The woman shrugged her shoulders and grinned. “Those are my terms. Answer the question honestly and we can do something about trying to sort out your wreck of a life. Maybe if you learn to be honest with her, you can talk her out of it. Anything is possible.”

Alex thought about it for a moment. She had nothing to lose and it wasn’t like this was a binding contract. She didn’t need therapy from this she devil but she did need her insight into her little sister.

“Fine. Ask your question.”

“How angry are you at Kara? How truly angry are you at her?” the woman asked, the grin gone, replaced by a poker face Kara had seen often.

“I’m not angry at her. She has been doing everything we asked, trying hard and…”

“You are lying.”

“I am not.” Alex told her. “I am trying to protect her!”

Leslie raise an eyebrow. “You always have since the day you found her. You have had her back, supported her in everything, loved her, held her when she was sad, had a wrecked romantic relationship because you placed her above all else. So are you really going to say you felt no anger when she cut her wrists two years ago? You aren’t mad in the least that she spit on everything you had done for her and planned to die in a bloody manner in a place she knew you would find her? That didn’t bother you? She didn’t even leave a note. It hasn’t bothered you that instead of talking to you, she drowned her feelings in alcohol, snorted powder, started cutting herself without letting anyone know, especially you who she is supposed to have no secrets from? It doesn’t make you angry that she lied to you for years about what she was doing, despite you putting her on a pedestal and caring about her more than yourself? If that is true you should be up for sainthood. But its not true and you can’t even face it. Did you ever talk about it in therapy with Jessica? Or have you ignored it, forgave her, let her do whatever she wanted to the point that you had to kidnap her to save her life?”

Alex was speechless for a moment, not sure what to say. She had never been asked about it. Of course her and Jessica had talked about it but never in depth. Alex didn’t like to think about it and Jessica understood that.

“You gave her your birthday, your room, your family, all of your devotion and she tried to throw it all away.” Leslie continued. “Tell me Alex, how angry at her are you? Because if it was me, I would be pretty damn pissed off. How did you feel when you found out that she nearly killed herself again making that floating toaster take the crystal out of her body so she could fight a monster she knew she couldn’t beat?”

“I… I don’t know.” she answered.

“Yes, you do. You are furious and you keep it bottled up inside with the rest of your trauma. You have seen as many bad things as she has. You have put your life on the line for her hundreds of times, killed God knows how many aliens for her. That has never affected you? What about getting shot down while watching her get beaten to death? Never bothered you? You’ve gotten over it? If you can’t even admit that to me when I already know, how the hell are you ever going to be honest with her?”

Alex wasn’t sure what to say. She did her best not to think about these things. Kara had enough problems without her adding to them.

“The two of you are probably never going to have a romantic relationship with anyone. You are both too traumatized. You both place the other above all else. She would rather live in this house with you forever than ever be in a relationship and you are the same. You really aren’t angry at her for all the crap she has put you through?”

“Yes! Is that what you want to hear? Yes, I am angry. I was angry then and still am but saying anything is going to do her no good!”

“It might do you some good. How angry are you?” Leslie asked again.

“I… I am… I don’t even know, okay? I am furious at her!”

“But you love her too much to say anything, don’t you? Now tell me, are you really honest with her?”

Alex tried to control her breathing, to stop herself from trembling, but wasn’t having any success.

“You know what she has been through.” the girl finally said, almost so quietly it could have been a whisper. “She has always been there for me, through everything.”

Leslie smiled, glad she had the girl opening up. There may be hope for her yet, she decided.

“You really think she has been there for you through everything? Was she going to comfort you when you found her dead body? What about you, Alex? What about what you have gone through? It must be horrible to have to constantly watch out for a girl who has no regard for her own life, much less the trauma you have gone through. She has told me many stories of your adventures. If I had lived them, I would have nightmares, probably never sleep again. Yet you lied to her to talk to me today, all so I can give you advice about her, as usual. You think you could be my patient? You don’t know who you are. Neither of you know who you are without the other. I doubt you ever will, but you aren’t honest with each other either. That’s going to eventually tear your relationship apart, make it one of lies instead of honesty. Tell her whatever you want, give her reason after reason to stay out of this mess, but it won’t matter. Not until the two of you can really communicate. Would you really be able to put in that work? That’s what it will be. Work. Hard work and it will go against every instinct in you. I will challenge you, I will make you so angry you might scream. If you can do that, learn to really express your feelings to her, maybe you have a shot of stopping her and maybe you have a chance at saving yourself and having an honest relationship with the sister you put above all else.”

Alex said nothing. She wasn’t sure what to say. Everything the damn woman had said was true. Alex had always let Kara get away with whatever she wanted. So had her father. Eliza was the only one who ever really called her out and even she had her limits. Alex honestly didn’t know what to say so she fell back on her standard answer.

“I’ll do whatever…”

“Don’t you dare tell me you will do whatever it takes to help Kara. I don’t mind wasting Bruce Wayne’s money but I do mind wasting my time. If you ever want to heal, you do it for you. I am not Jessica Ryan. I won’t have you keep a dream journal. I will push you hard. Now tell me, can you do it, or are you too afraid?”

“What do I have to do?”

Leslie shrugged her shoulders dismissively. “I can’t tell you that until I decide if I would be wasting my time trying to help you. You aren’t as unaffected by everything as you pretend to be. I have had to practically bully Kara to get her to open up, and I’m not sure I have the energy to do it to both of you. If we do this, you had better open up or you are done and so are the chances of the two of you ever having an open, honest relationship. You are always going to be traumatized and live your life in misery. Both of you will. You two are stuck together. The question is, are you going to be happy about it or not? Tell me Alex, are you worth my time?”

“I… I never asked you for therapy. That’s not what I wanted to talk about.”

“Yes, it is. You knew I had nothing to give you in regard to your little sister. You wanted to talk to me for this reason. I ask again, are you worth my time? Can you really commit? I don’t have the energy to push you the way I push Kara. I’m retired.”

“Yes.” Alex finally told her. She had no idea how this conversation had happened. This was not the way she planned this.

Leslie Thompkins was right though. Alex had been furious at Kara for a long time. She loved her deeply so she hid her pain and anger. She always had to be the strong one. This invasion brought those feelings back though.

Leslie looked closely at her, deciding Alex was being truthful.

“You lie to me and this is over. You better think about what you are going to say before you say it, understand?”

Alex nodded her head and Leslie let out a breath, one she wasn’t sure if it was relief or resignation. Time would tell.

“Fine. I guess I will take you on. We have thirty minutes left. Let’s start with an easy one. Why did you wait until you were 18 to tell your parents you were gay?”

Thirty minutes later a pale and shaking Alex walked out of Kara’s room to meet her sister in the hallway.

“Alex? Are you okay? You don’t look so good. Are you getting sick?”

Alex shook her head. “I fought a Coluan who could turn her arms into long blades. I fought a White Martian, I fought Jemm when he escaped his cell, I have fought nearly every species of aliens. I have never been as scared of anyone in my life as I am of that woman. She is waiting on you.”

Alex walked away shakily, not saying anymore so Kara walked in.

Having a seat across from Leslie, she got straight to the point. “What did you do? Why does Alex look like that?”

‘Because I am probably going to save her life whether she likes it or not. Its time to talk about you. You have always said you put your family before the world. Why the hell are you considering screwing them over again by fighting an alien invasion?”

Three days later, Alex entered the Fortress after work, prepared for Kara’s next session and debating whether she should attempt to manipulate the perfect balance she had so far achieved for her little sister’s crystal tiaras to make her more relaxed. She found Kara and Kelex standing by Justin intently looking at a screen.

Taking a deep breath and considering sending Kelex away but knowing it wouldn’t matter, Alex decided she couldn’t put it off much longer. She needed to talk to Kara. She needed to be brave, not afraid to express her feelings about her sister’s actions in the past and what she suspected her actions would be in the near future.

“Kara… after the session, can we talk? I have some things I have been thinking about… Kara?”

Kara never turned to her, standing as unmoving as a stone, as if she hadn’t heard her.

“Kara?”

Kara lifted a hand and Alex didn’t miss that the hand was shaking. With a finger she waved Alex towards the screen of the giant tubular computer.

The older sister had a bad feeling about this.

“What am I looking at? All I see is darkness.” she told Kara.

“Because they are running with no outward lights in stealth mode. There isn’t enough light from any nearby stars to light the figures. Watch the far stars in the back and you will see enough coverage to be able to tell the ships are passing.”

Alex did notice the far distant specs of light were blinking in and out more than normal.

This was the invasion force.

“How did you find them so quickly?”

“I used Lobo’s path and took a few shortcuts. The drones were able to track down some smaller tubes he didn’t know about and move faster than his. They are six weeks away at the longest, maybe five. The hyper drives are more powerful than he suspected. That isn’t what concerns me. Kelex back the video five minutes and 26 seconds and freeze.”

The video shifted immediately, still nothing but complete darkness except for one spec of light near what was obviously a ship.

“So one ship has a running light.” Alex saw, admitting that was weird. Normally they would all have one as a double insurance policy that they would not strike each other in the event the formation failed.

“Zoom Kelex. Stop wasting our time.”

Alex watched with growing trepidation as the image from the crystal probe became clearer.

That was no speck of light, it was a person.

Of a sort.

“Flower of Heaven.” Alex whispered.

“I was high when I named her that.” Kara admitted quietly. “It gets worse. Kelex show the figures, take out the darkness around the ships, focus on her opposite side and the glow.”

And image appeared, almost a shadow outline, just above the glowing creature. As Kelex continued to play with resolution and using the dim distant light from the Worldkiller another creature became clear. Alex could only see the face, just over Heaven’s shoulder.

It was a female’s face, of a sort, one that resembled a demon. It was misshapen, its eyes were black holes but some of the long dark hair could be seen. There was no mistaking the skull of the creature, the forehead rising up, nearly forming horns.

“It’s Reign.” Alex whispered, beginning to shiver herself.

“The other two, Deimax and Perrilus, can’t be far behind, just far enough back that Heaven’s glow won’t shed light on them or side by side with Reign. They are keeping pace with the armada. It’s happening. The Worldkillers are coming. This changes things, Alex.”

Alex said nothing for a moment, her long talk she had planned for Kara near forgotten now. Kara had taken out five Red Lanterns and four Green Lanterns with ease. Suddenly two hundred Red Lanterns against eight hundred ships and five creatures who were as strong as her sister without her ring did not give her hope.

The Earth was screwed. There was only one person powerful enough to stop them all. That person was her little sister with a ring that glowed bright red. Without it, not even Kara could handle all five. Under a yellow sun, Reign would possibly be stronger than Kara. Kara was a little girl who absorbed solar radiation. Reign was an engineered monster who could absorb solar radiation.

“Damn it.” Alex whispered, not knowing what else to say.

“We need to let Mom and Dad know then we are setting up a meeting with Connolly and Bruce. This petty feud they have going on has got to stop. This world… our home… we need to talk to them quickly.”

Quickly was that night. The Danvers arrived at the Hangar in Raleigh in the family car and walked inside, pleased to see the Justice League minus Stewart, who was watching on video conference, had arrived along with Connolly’s team including Lobo. The two factions did not look pleased to see each other, except for Lobo who seemed to find the situation humorous judging by the grin on his face.

Kara took control of the meeting first, glasses off and not hiding behind the Kara Danvers public facade.

“I would ask you all to pull out seats but you will want to be standing for this.”

Batman looked disappointed but shouldn’t have been surprised. He didn’t like the idea of Barry talking to Jeremiah Danvers. It was obvious he had told his family everything.

Barry was very concerned. He hadn’t thought he would get to see Kara again so soon but the look on her face killed any excitement he normally would have felt.

“My deep space probes found the Fleet. Their hyperdrives are faster than anticipated. They are moving at an incredible rate of speed. Enough that my probes only had to take a couple shortcuts to reach them and are having a hard time keeping up now while staying far enough back to avoid being picked up by scanners. We have six weeks by my estimate.”

“So we have less time to get ready.” Connolly said, not really worried. “We are making progress. I have been coordinating with NATO. We will be ready.”

“I’ll get in touch with Gardner…” Stewart began.

Kara interrupted him. “That’s not the worst part. The Worldkillers are coming with them. I’ve seen two on my probes flying along with the Fleet. I have no doubt the other two are with them. Alex and I also have a theory about Worldkiller 1 you all need to hear.”

The room became very still. Everyone there had read Kara’s files on the Kryptonian experiments and hoped they would never find their way to Earth.

Kara explained her theory about the king of the Diasporans possibly being Worldkiller 1. She had the attention of everyone in the room.

Listening to her, Bruce and Barry both realized they could probably not win this fight alone, or even with the Red and Greens.

They were going to need Supergirl. Both men had hoped that she could retire in peace. Live a normal life in this world.

If the Worldkillers were involved it was possible there would be no world left for her or anyone to live in.

Alex cleared her throat to refocus everyone after Kara was done. Everyone seemed to be lost in their own thoughts and that was a big problem.

“Seven years ago, Kara decided to trust you guys no matter what.” Alex reminded the DEO group but was looking at Connolly. “She then decided we needed more help. Lobo, Batman and Nightwing came aboard. A Czarnian, a Martian, eight humans and a Kryptonian raided an underwater ship that was designed to kill the human race, filled with alien mercenaries, a Coluan and a Kryptonian. We succeeded because as unlikely as our team was, we all had the same goal. Lobo has told me about this rivalry your factions are having, the tension, lack of trust and the reasons for it.”

Neither side looked at Alex or each other.

“The time for games is over.” Kara told them. “Reign alone is no joke. Perrilus… Diana, you might think only a god can kill another god but if one of it’s tentacles strikes you, I promise you will wish you were dead. We don’t even know what Worldkiller 1 can do. This world needs you all, working as one, not fighting. They are going to hit major population centers all over the world at once, a coordinated attack, designed to spread you thin. The Reds are powerful but they are not as powerful as the Worldkillers. None of you are. I’m not, I’m not enough to take them by myself and I promise you, Reign and Flower will stay in the air and attack from above. They aren’t Doomsday. They are intelligent and vicious. They were made for these kinds of battles. I have no doubt because of that sphere they know all about what you can each do together and alone.”

“How can you stop them?” Barry asked. “You will have to use the ring, right?”

“No. Maybe. We haven’t talked about it.” Kara told him, glancing at her parents and Alex. “But we will provide support and attack the Fleet. Alex and I have placed ten Ion canons in underwater areas around the world. These can fire large bolts of plasma that burn hotter than solar flares. We will be controlling them from the Fortress.”

Barry stilled at that revelation. He thought he knew all of Kara’s weapons. He was wrong. Jeremiah had not mentioned these during their talk about the Fortresses defenses.

“You have been planting weapons of mass destruction all over the world?” Batman asked, not sure if he should be angry or impressed.

“My weapons are not designed for mass destruction.” Kara told him. “They are very precise and only destroy what I want them too. I had hoped to never use them. They were only to be used in the event that Brainiac showed up on Earth. They can take down whatever ship they hit. Kelex will be controlling the cannons. Mom and Dad are working on a virus, one designed on Krypton but repurposing it to our advantage. It may be our only way to defeat Reign. Diana, she is as strong as I was without the ring. Imagine fighting me after I took the ring but if I had my mind.”

Diana kept her face stoic but inside worried. Fighting Kara with a red ring was a more difficult fight than Ares. Kara was stronger than Diana without the ring and with the ring, if she had been able to think in the battle, the Amazon knew she would have lost.

“Mom and Dad will keep you updated on more information we find. I don’t want to get involved, but I don’t want this world to die either. There isn’t much point in retiring if I don’t have a world to retire in. We will be discussing this at home no doubt over the next few weeks constantly. A plan needs to be developed to stop Reign. Deimax is a brute monster. He can be taken down by force, beaten to death but it will likely take Lobo, Arthur and Diana working together. Perrilus… she is fast. According to Zor El’s archives her strikes are delivered so fast the victims won’t see it coming. She does have a weakness though. She can be killed by her own tentacles. There is only one person fast enough to pull this off.”

The room looked at Barry.

“You will have to sever her arms or stab her with her own venom.” Alex told the Flash. “I’m not sure if that will work but its the only option I can think of. She is as fast as Kara, as fast as Diana. She isn’t as fast as you. To hurt people she has to be near them just like Deimax. That means those two will be on the ground. Kara and I have been studying these monsters for years. You have our files, our battle plans. You know their strengths and weaknesses, except for Worldkiller 1. You will have ten big laser cannons supporting the assault in space.”

“And if that isn’t enough?” Stewart asked. “Reign is a genetically designed monster that can become even more powerful under a yellow sun. You are a girl who became powerful under a yellow sun. I doubt we could have taken you down in the past. What would you suggest we do with her?”

“Figure it out. I won’t let this world die. If I must… I can fight without my ring. I don’t want it to come to that.”

“She would still be stronger than you.” Stewart pointed out.

Kara was already annoyed the man even spoke and now he was questioning her. She could feel her heart start to race, her anger rising. Had it not been for Alex’s treatments, Kara had no doubt she would have tracked this man down already.

“If she is, then I will show her my monster. Work together people. You need each other, and this distrust has to stop or this world will fall. The Flower is as dangerous as Reign. All of you, go over the files and come up with a plan. Bring Gardner in, bring Jordan since things are looking desperate. Do whatever it takes so I don’t have to. Please.”

No one said a word for a moment, until Connolly nodded his head.

“Yeah, we will Kara. I promise you. I give you my word. We don’t want you or Alex involved in this fight.”

“You have our promise as well.” Diana told her.

Kara let out a sigh of relief, but she still felt in her heart she would have to become involved. She looked at all of them and knew they wouldn’t be enough.

“Stewart, I understand the Guardians won’t let any more Lanterns come to Earth’s aid. Is this right?” Kara asked. She may not have liked the Green Lanterns but the Earth needed all the help it could get.

“Yeah.” the man admitted, his frustration obvious. “They are angry at me for becoming involved in Earth’s problems on a smaller scale. Jordan and the others will stand with us but they are alone.”

“Send a message to your Guardians.” Kara told him. “Tell them if I have to use my ring, after I am done with the Wordkillers, I am coming for them and I won’t stop until Oa is as dead as Krypton.”

No one in the room doubted her.

“I guess that is all we have to say.” the blonde finished. “You have all the information we have. We aren’t holding anything back. Gather everyone you can, anyone who can fight. Make sure Oliver Queen protects my statue in Star City. Bring NIghtwing into the fold and whoever he can find. This is going to be the biggest war this world has ever seen and if it lasts more than a few hours, we will have lost it. One strike has to end it. We have an advantage none of the other planets they have attacked had. We know they are coming.”

Kara turned back to her parents and Alex grabbed Connolly by the arm pulling the confused man with her. He followed along suspecting the girls wanted to talk to him about something privately.

The trio walked into the room Kara had once spent time in her first days on Earth talking to J’onn. The Martian had followed them in.

Inside, sitting at the table was Dante.

“What is he doing here?” Connolly asked.

Kara pulled him to a chair and pushed him into a seat, despite not having her powers. The two men looked at each other briefly then back at the girls.

“You told me once, your guys were your family. Dante, you told me once that Alex was dedicated to me the way you were dedicated to your friends. Connolly, your team isn’t complete. What happened in Metropolis was no one’s fault. Get over it. Work it out and get your team back together. The five of you are supposed to be family. Right now, your family is broken. Alex and I need our protectors, our mentors, on the same page. Stay in here and work it out. Please, for us, work it out. J’onn, don’t let them leave this room until they do.”

The two girls walked out, leaving the three men alone. They joined their parents in the car and began the trip back to Midvale.

Once they arrived home, glad to see that Clark had obeyed and not gone flying or done anything else reckless, they sat in the living room and absorbed everything that had happened tonight in silence.

Eliza was the one to speak.

“Kara, you can’t be involved.” she told her youngest daughter.

“I don’t want to be.” the blonde admitted. “But answer one question for me. If you saw a child being attacked, beaten on the street, would you do nothing, or everything you could to save that child? If you stood there and did nothing, would you be as guilty as the person doing it? I’m not saying I will, but we have a lot to think about. I won’t jump into this, not this time. We all know we have a lot to talk about. Forget about the world. If it came down to me staying out of it at the expense of Clark’s friends dying, what would you tell me to do?”

Eliza thought for a moment, hoping Jeremiah would step in and say something. At that moment she had no idea what to say.

“Diana can beat Reign.” she decided, hoping it was true.

“Diana couldn’t beat me. She may be able to hurt Reign like she could hurt me but in a real fight she would never get the chance. Reign can stay a thousand feet in the sky and all of Diana’s powers won’t mean a thing. She will have her hands full with Deimax regardless. It will take her and Curry to stop that monster. It is probably nearly as strong as Doomsday. Unless we can come up with some plan… I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.” Kara admitted.

Jeremiah stood up.

“Right now, I think we can all use some sleep. Tomorrow morning we are meeting in the Fortress. We will talk about this, all of us and come to a decision together. No matter what, we will abide by that decision, understand Kara?”

The girl nodded her head. “Yes Dad. Whatever we decide as a family, I will go along with.”

Even as she said it, Kara wondered if it was true or just another lie she was telling herself and her family.