Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Seeing Red

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 46: The Start

Kara sat down, alert and ready for battle. Her enemy was in front of her and the girl honestly had no idea what to expect. With this woman it could be anything. Her opening move would give a hint to her battle strategy.

“So Bruce called me this morning and sounded quite upset.” Leslie told her.

Kara was not surprised, figuring that would be his move.

“What did you tell him?” the blonde asked carefully.

“To kiss my ass. I’m paid by him, I don’t work for him and I guess he needed reminding. So you plan to fight an alien invasion without using that demon ring on your finger. Do I have that right?”

Kara had a hard time reading her face. Leslie was playing it cool today, giving away nothing, not satisfaction or irritation. She suspected her therapist was very good at poker.

She slightly nodded her head. “Yes.”

Kara knew in this situation the best tactic would be giving short, truthful answers. Volunteering too much gave her openings to exploit and exploit them Thompkins did. Often. She seemed to take pleasure in it.

Thompkins took a deep breath, setting Kara more on edge. A deep breath could mean anything.

“You talked to your family?” Leslie asked.

“Yes.” Kara told her, sticking with the strategy of short, to the point answers.

“Okay then. I’m glad we got that out of the way. I wondered how long it would take for them to come around. Now we can get to work.”

That definitely took Kara by surprise. “You are okay with me fighting?” she asked, wary of a trap.

Leslie did not smile nor frown, keeping her stoic face Kara suspected Bruce may have emulated. “It was going to happen. Am I okay with you fighting an alien invasion? I’m not crazy about the alien invasion part but it’s good that you have all come to terms with this and we can prepare. There was no chance you and your sister would be able to live with yourselves if you did not become involved. I’ve known it would happen, just as you and your family knew. The chances of you being able to fight this thing without losing your temper are practically zero but not quite. Let’s start with how you are feeling now. The invasion is what, three or four weeks away? I understand you are going to be fighting more of Zor El’s creations in addition to thousands of aliens. How do you feel about this?”

Kara realized she wasn’t sure how she felt. The blonde had been too busy preparing for war to think about her own feelings.

“I’m scared. I’m angry and frustrated but mostly I am scared.” she admitted.

Leslie suspected as much judging by the grin on her face. She always had a slight grin, Kara realized, if the girl was telling the truth.

“Go on. You have fought battles before, been scared before. Is this different?”

Kara did not have to think long about that question. Was this different? Of course it was. Though she wouldn’t admit it to Alex, Kara also had a very bad feeling about this battle.

“I’ve never faced this many enemies, enemies that could be stronger than me, on such a large scale. I’ve never planned for people I love to go into battle without me there. What Alex is doing, it makes sense, but I won’t be there if it doesn’t work. Bruce and my DEO friends are going to break into an alien Flagship, Barry is going to fight one of the deadliest creatures to ever walk this planet. J’onn is going to have to fight a creature slightly weaker than Doomsday but not by much. I will be too busy fighting to stay alive to watch out for them. I won’t know if they made it until it’s all over.”

“What else?” Leslie prodded as she often did.

“I’m… scared of… this feeling I have in my gut. Alex told me she had the same feeling, something telling me that we may not make it out of this. Every time I have started to relax, felt better about my life something comes to ruin it. I know after this that nothing will ever be the same. I don’t know if I can ever find peace again. If Alex is gone, I will be lost.” Kara admitted. “If I give myself over… if I have to use the ring to win, I don’t know if I can come back and if I do, I’m not sure if I will ever be the same, and I know I can be worse.”

“In what way? How do you think the ring can change you? You were learning to control it before you performed whatever it was that you did. Why do you think you would change for the worse?” Thompkins pushed.

Kara shook her head slightly and shrugged her shoulders. The woman pushed her once again.

“Because I don’t know if I would even want to control it.” Kara told her. “My family, my friends, they don’t understand. They don’t know how intoxicating this power is. Using this power, becoming one with it and unleashing everything I have inside me, I don’t know if I want to live without it again. I miss it.”

“You like it.” Thompkins told her. “It’s like a drug to you, isn’t it? It’s the same as that powder you snorted, an instant high that made you feel you could take on the universe. It’s an addiction. You quit drinking and using drugs, you wanted to be the person your family thought you could be. You quieted the ring because you knew it would turn you back into the person you were and you didn’t want to disappoint them again.”

Kara absolutely hated the way Leslie could read her. “Yeah, okay? If I didn’t have my family to consider I would have given into this thing the moment I stepped out of the Blood Lake. I wouldn’t have fought it. I would have taken my Reds and we would have wreaked havoc…”

“Stop.” Thompkins told her. “My Reds? I thought they were Gardner’s Reds?”

Kara closed her eyes, cursing herself for that slip of the tongue. Deciding there was no way out of it, she told the woman the truth.

“Gardner leads them now. He knows, they all do, all I have to do is step up and no could challenge me. Red Lanterns follow the strongest and I am the strongest. All I have to do is want it and every Red Lantern in the Universe would follow me into hell, Gardner included. Alex told me that she thought they would worship me. I know they would. That scares me because a part of me wants it.”

Kara stopped talking, feeling she didn’t need to say anything else. Leslie knew how she felt, had probably known for a long while and was just waiting for Kara to admit it. The Ring was becoming an addiction to her before Constantine bound the demons inside it. But the demons had only given her what she wanted.

Leslie was waiting for her to say more but Kara had no idea what else to say.

“Killing those White Martians, that was another type of bender for you.” Leslie continued when she became silent with no indication she planned to speak again. “It was no different than when you gave into your demons before, drunk yourself into oblivion. But you have the tools to handle this now. You need to realize these demons are no different than the ones you fought during rehab, the same ones you fight every day, the depression, the addictions, the rage. Do you not think you can come back from this?”

Kara shrugged her shoulders, not sure. Could she? The girl felt split in two. She wanted to be with her family in Midvale, living the life she always dreamed of since she landed. Kara wanted to be the perfect daughter, the perfect sister and work everyday to become that. She wanted the future she could begin to glimpse.

The other part of her wanted to use that ring so badly she caught herself daydreaming of it at times. Kara felt letting the invasion come so close to Earth with the Lanterns as an orbital shield was not the best idea for humanity. She thought a better idea was to leave the Greens behind to protect the Earth and take her Reds into deep space, attack the armada now, destroy them all, Worldkillers included.

The blonde took a deep breath and leaned over, elbows on her knees and looking at her floor.

“I don’t know.” she finally admitted. “Things have already changed.”

“In what way?”

Kara sat back up and met Leslie’s eyes. “You know my problems better than anyone. You know what is wrong with me. My parents only recently trusted me to go to AA meetings by myself. But when I went to the Batcave and met with the Justice League to spar, I began giving… not orders. I just told them what to do… I guess those are orders? Anyway, I told Diana that she, Curry and J’onn would have to fight Deimax. I told Barry he would be fighting Perrilus. I told him to find a way to get the venom so Alex could fashion a weapon in the event the first Wordkiller arrived. The scary part is they all listened to me. No one questioned me, not even Bruce.”

Leslie snorted, amused Kara would be surprised by this. “Why wouldn’t they listen to you? Yes, we all know you have problems, even them. But when it comes to saving this world, being a hero, they all look to you. You are one who has done this before. Without you, they know they can’t win. With you, they think they can’t lose. No matter what else you have done to yourself, you are the greatest hero this world has ever known. Why wouldn’t they listen to you? No one has more knowledge about intergalactic wars, the enemies you will be facing and how to defeat them. They know it. You are their leader.”

“I am no hero.” Kara argued.

“Yeah, you are. I thought we were past this? The children who look up to you, the addicts, people suffering from depression, they all believe in you. The countless lives you have saved, those people believe in you. You are their hero. Some may hate you, fear you, but the majority of this planet feels safe because of what you have done. This team Bruce has together will never equal the things you have done. You are a lot of things, some bad, some good, but you are a damn hero. Don’t overthink this. For once, just do what you do best.”

“Drink?” Kara asked, trying to force a bit of humor into her tone.

“No you idiot. Just be you, be heroic. Be that girl who stood up when she was 13 and decided she was going to save the world, no matter the cost. Be the girl who protects the innocent of this planet. You do that and you will be okay. Remember that you are a hero, not a Red Lantern. ItsIt’s natural for people to follow heroes. They will follow you whether you like it or not. Get out of here and start preparing yourself to be Supergirl.”

Kara wanted to scream in frustration or cry, both actions competing with themselves in her head. Instead she quietly asked the one question that had always bothered her.

“Why me? What did I do to deserve this?”

Leslie laughed, irritating the blonde, as usual.

“We all have our burdens in life. Mine is being your therapist. Yours is saving the world. No point in worrying about the whys. The only thing that matters is getting the job done. Both of us have to.”

Kara had no response to that statement and one wasn’t needed thanks to a knock at the door. The blonde was worried immediately, knowing Alex never interrupted her session so this couldn’t be good.

“Yes?”

The door slowly opened and Alex sheepishly stepped inside. The look on her face confirmed something was very wrong.

“S.T.A.R. Labs was sent a message. It’s from inside one of the battle ships. Our drones were found and destroyed and ten minutes later all communications to S.T.A.R. were taken over. There is a… Reign is on every screen at the place. She said your name and has been standing silently for two hours. What do you want to do?”

Kara took a quick look at Leslie and noted the normally unflappable doctor with the impenetrable poker face looked ashen.

“I suppose we should find out what she wants.”

A moment later, Leslie had silently left, obviously in deep thought. The two girls were suited up in their black flight suits, Kara taking Alex from behind and landing at S.T.A.R. thirty minutes later.

The Justice League and Barry’s friends were there and all of them looked very worried.

Kara looked to Bruce first.

“Do you think this is a good idea?” he asked her.

“Of course not.” Kara responded. If the blonde only did things that were good ideas then countless lives would have been lost in the past. “But you know I have to.”

Kara walked towards one of the larger screens, a free standing one she suspected had been brought out for this purpose.

“ I’m am Kara Zor El, daughter of Alura. You wished to speak to me. I am here, so speak,” she told her soon to be nemesis in Kryptonese.

Reign smiled, at least as closely as she was capable. It was obvious to Kara that Reign was in a ship of some sort, probably the flagship of the King. In the light she was more hideous than Kara imagined. Her face truly looked demonic, her skin an ashen gray and her skull covered in black long hair, but not thick enough to hide the horns that protruded from her skull. She was dressed in a black body suit, one with a chest piece of a Kryptonian Crest. The symbol was a mixture Kara recognized, a combination of the House of El and the House of Zod, the house that made her and the house that wanted to use her.

“ I have no name, no title, no mother or father. I know that you have given your humans information about me, stored in the laboratory you stand in now. Your father created us then imprisoned us when he realized we were not followers but rulers. I have learned he and his people are dead. You are all that is left.”

Kara said nothing, watching the demonic face closely. Reign had not contacted her to threaten her. From a strategic standpoint warning the blonde of her impending arrival and motivations made no sense. She had been released and recruited by the King, brought aboard his Flagship and given a communication device allowing her to project herself and respond in real time light years away. The King had a reason for allowing this, even if Reign was too stupid to see it. What that reason was remained a mystery she hoped to figure out.

“ I understand you have stepped away from humanity, no longer fighting their battles. Will you hide from me as well?”

“ I will not hide from you, or your brother and sisters.” Kara told her, keeping her answers simple and short, a technique she had perfected in therapy.

“ I will be on Earth soon. I will rip you apart little girl. You are no warrior. You are a privileged girl, a daughter of a lawyer and scientist, weak, pathetic. We have seen your broadcast to the humans. Your feelings betrayed you, your sentiment became your weakness. Do you understand what I am? You have learned about me from your father’s databanks but do you truly understand what I am? I am death. I have no sentiment, no weakness, no mercy. Soon you will be mine.”

Kara once again said nothing. Perhaps Reign did just call to threaten her but it made no sense why the King would allow this. Did he hope to intimidate her? That made no sense. He began this journey after word had gotten out that Kara had the ring. He obviously knew what she was and if he knew about Red Lanterns he would know they lived for battle and were impossible to intimidate even in the face of death.

Judging by Reign’s face, no longer humored but scowling now instead, the Worldkiller was not happy with the silence.

“ Have you nothing to say for yourself?” Reign asked.

“ No.” was Kara’s answer, not giving a thing away, not weakness, not fear and not confidence. Keeping her emotions in control was important. Not giving anything away from her facial expressions was important. Reign was an open book, giving Kara information about her enemy. Her face showed overconfidence and then frustration that her needless attempts at provoking the blonde Kryptonian were unsuccessful.

“ Save your words then. We will meet soon enough. Your death will be painful. I will rip your limbs from your body and drink your blood.”

Of course, Kara thought. It made sense… or did it?

“ I understand. Is there anything else you would like to say?”

Reign snarled and the screen went black.

No one said a word in the room, all of them apart from Alex wondering what had been said. Kara kept her face expressionless, because she wasn’t sure what she was feeling. The blonde felt a bit of joy that the Worldkiller had given something away, but feeling more confused than ever over the King’s intentions.

“So… what was that about?” Bruce finally asked.

Kara looked at Alex and knew her big sister had the same thought she had.

“The king knows you are a Red Lantern.” Alex told her.

“But Reign doesn’t. Why hasn’t he told her?” Kara wondered aloud. “She wanted to drink my blood? She doesn’t know I don’t have blood. If she does it was a strange promise. She has no idea what I am, how powerful I am. Why would he hide this if he was sending the Worldkillers to defeat me? What is his game? He saw my broadcast but he knows I am not gone. He waited all these years, he could have used these Worldkillers when I was weaker but he waits until I am at my strongest to send them after me? I need to know his end game. He didn’t pick up these monsters to help him destroy life on Earth. He is using them to distract me.”

“We will find out Kara.” J’onn assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Kara had no doubt. Either the team going to the Flagship would find out or she would when the King reached the surface. She doubted he traveled all this way to stay in space. The blonde feared if she found out his endgame on the ground, it may be too late.

“Kara, Alex,” Kelex spoke into their coms. “Lois has called. The President is addressing the nation from the Oval Office. Other world leaders are following suit.”

Kara walked over to one of the desk consoles, opened up Catco’s website, and waited to hear what the woman’s plan was. She had not talked about at length with Connolly or Webb but knew there was a plan to evacuate citizens from major population centers.

The blonde listened as the President told the nation she had just been informed that in approximately four weeks a massive alien invasion would occur. Kara was impressed with how well she effortlessly lied, knowing the woman had this information much longer than that morning.

Marsdin explained the military, the National Guard and police departments would begin calm and orderly evacuations from major US cities and martial law would be put in place to ensure no looting would occur. A check with her vision showed Kara the army was already in place around Central City. Though the soldiers were not outwardly armed, she knew they were here in case panic broke out. Central City, Star City, Metropolis and Gotham would be cleared as much as humanly possible in the next four weeks.

Kara only hoped no one was killed in the process with millions of humans being relocated, spread out across the United States, far from their homes, possibly cut off from family.

There was really no other choice though. Leaving people in those cities would be like leaving fish in a barrel as Jeremiah would say. They would be as defenseless as those people who had been trapped in downtown Metropolis with Doomsday free.

The girl shook her head. She had other problems to worry about, first and foremost making sure these people had homes and businesses to come back to.

Before she cut the feed off after the President’s speech, a question was asked by Chloe Sullivan.

“Will Supergirl be involved in the battle?”

The President nodded her head and smiled.

“I have spoken to Supergirl who assured me she would defend this planet with her last breath. I have faith that with her involvement along with other defenders of this planet, we will win this war.”

No one spoke after the feed was cut off for a moment before Alex opened her mouth.

“That lying bitch.” she whispered.

Kara smiled, not worried in the least. “She is a politician; therefore she lies. She knew about this invasion weeks ago and lied about it. She hasn’t spoken to me but knows I will be involved, if Connolly hasn’t told her, that statement would put pressure on me to fight. It’s a strategic move on her part. We have bigger concerns. I want to see this ship you and Bats have been building J’onn. It will be difficult enough getting on the ship through the Lanterns battle in space. You have no idea how strong the Diasporans are. They could be human level in strength or closer to your level.” she pointed out to her Martian friend.

The group followed Kara to the room where the small ship was being built. Of course they followed her. Leslie was right. This was on her and whether she wanted to lead or not, people would follow.

Kara found the room easily enough. It had once been four rooms but the walls had been knocked down, the ceilings raised and, in the middle, sat a ship roughly the size of Lobo’s resembling the ones her probes and his had picked up.

“Is it weaponized?” she asked Bruce, while checking the craft inside and out with her vision.

“No, not yet.” the man grudgingly admitted. “We can’t use an Omegahedron to power it. The Flagship might pick a different energy source out. We are hoping to replicate the power surge we picked up from the sphere. I think…”

“This isn’t going to work.” Kara told him, already seeing how this would play out, mainly with the death of her friends and no information being found. “You can’t land this in a bay and then sneak off while a battle is going on to wander a large ship, blindly searching for information.”

“We have no choice.” Bruce disagreed. He wasn’t sold on the idea even if it was his, but he could not think of a better one.

“Yes, you do.” Kara disagreed. She turned and pointed to Cisco. “He is going to get you there. If the Diasporans are stronger than you can handle or in greater numbers, then you will need someone with his power, plus an escape route. He can breach onto the ship, hopefully someplace not in the general view of their version of flight control. There is a man at the DEO Connolly told me is very good at deciphering alien languages quickly and is skilled at hacking. I met him once. His name is Winn Schott. If Cisco can get to a terminal, he can establish contact and decipher information. After it is done, you plant as many explosives as you can and Cisco gets you off the ship. Simple and much easier than trying to force your way through a space battle involving a lot of firepower.”

“If he goes, I go.” Caitlin told the blonde quickly.

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “So go. What about it Cisco? Can you do it?”

The blonde was concerned she wasn’t seeing confidence on his face.

“I’ve… I’ve never done something like that before. If I am wrong we could end up in open space, dead in a second.”

Kara stared at the man for a moment, her expression as unreadable as Leslie’s usually was. “So don’t be wrong. We will practice. We are going to remote this ship into space. You will work on making breaches to the ship that only I will walk through. If you screw up I will fly back down and we can do it again until you have it right. You are the only shot we have of getting onto that ship and getting intel. If you can’t, I need to come up with another plan. Sending them into a warzone inside a large moving target in clear sight of a thousands of soldiers is simply wasting manpower and lives. Your call. You want to save the world? Here is your chance.”

Kara knew she was throwing the man off balance. He had seen Kara cheerful, seen her threatening and paranoid, seen her immense anger, but he had never seen her like this. The Kara Danvers standing in front of them was different. She was in control, confident, nearly emotionless. Leslie was right.

This was what she did. When it came to planning a war or even a street fight with other aliens, Kara was at her calmest. Fighting was the thing that sent her over the edge but in a strange way it was when she was most at peace. Even when she moved to National City, the girl could barely handle being in class with strangers. Then she found a Vrang and killed him. At the moment she was fighting she felt no nerves, no worry and no fear.

“Yeah, I can do it. If you will help me, I can do it,” the man told her confidently. Apparently, Kara did inspire confidence in others. This was good. They would need all the confidence they could get.

“Great. I have a cat to feed and a house to keep up. Make a breach to Midvale tomorrow. If you miss keep doing it until you get it right. Pack a bag. Once you are settled in, then we begin. Now, unless anyone has any other questions, Alex and I need to get back. Raleigh isn’t being evacuated or placed under martial law so we are going dancing tonight. If anyone wants to join us, bring your big transport and contact Alex for the address.”

No one joined them that night. Kara had no problem with this as she had only asked to be polite. She and her big sister had not been dancing together in a very long time, Alex worried about the temptation being around so much alcohol would cause. The blonde admitted to herself that the urge to use was intense but it was worth it. The two needed this, being the Danvers sisters again, enjoying themselves, taking advantage of the brief respites of violence in their lives.

Midvale

Cisco Ramon felt good today. Based on Barry’s description and a satellite photo, he had opened a breach in the back of Kara and Alex’s home successfully on his first attempt. The driveway was long and hidden from the nearest street and the front of the house faced the ocean far below the cliff. Cisco didn’t need to wear gloves any longer, but he held onto the glasses, more as a safety crutch than an essential need. The devices helped him focus.

Getting from one city to another was one thing. Opening a breach inside a space ship in open space, one of hundreds, from Earth, would be another problem.

The man prepared himself to do something he never thought he would do. He would be bunking with Supergirl. Only Barry had spent the night here once after the Red Ring incident and the two had their epic breakup less than 48 hours later. Cisco had no idea what living with Supergirl full time would be like. He did know that Barry would be texting often, poorly veiled questions about Kara, disguised as questions about his wellbeing.

Barry had no doubt been hurt the day before though he wouldn’t admit it. Kara had arrived and in his mind basically ignored Barry other than telling the others once again that the Flash would be fighting the venom lady with tentacles. Cisco wasn’t surprised though. He had seen another side to Kara Danvers yesterday, a side he doubted Barry knew about.

The Kara Danvers in the Lab had no time for emotions. She was there to plan, to order, to gather intel. She told them what they were doing was wrong and how they were now going to do it. She told Batman his plan wouldn’t work and he didn’t argue. No one questioned her. She told them that Cisco would get the job done. Vibe had never inspired confidence in others when it came to his abilities. He did the bet best he could, worked to get better, but never felt the members of the Justice League considered him at any sort of level.

But if Kara Danvers said she would have him ready, they believed her. Now he just had to believe in himself and do his best not to be intimidated by the women around him. Kara’s comment to Barry the night they split about Cisco being a joke had stuck with him, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

“You going to stand there all day?” Alex asked from the tree she was leaning against, to his right and not far away.

“Hi… Alex? Is it okay if I call you Alex?”

Alex nodded then took the man’s bag from his shoulder beckoning him to follow her inside. Cisco followed in silence, taking in the place as quickly as he could.

The man was taken back by the domesticity of the house. The area was warm, inviting and brightly decorated, not the lair of two brooding superheroes he expected. Wayne Manor’s decor matched Bruce Wayne’s demeanor. This didn’t seem to match the demeanor he suspected from the two sisters.

“”Looking for the secret hideout?” Alex asked.

“No… I am just… you have a really nice home.”

“Thank you.” Alex told him, continuing up the stairs and showing him to the guest bedroom. “Come down when you are unpacked for breakfast. Your room is across from mine. You only get a view of the woods but you won’t be here much during the day. You have a lot of work to do, Cisco. Get your bags put where you want them, come down for breakfast and we can begin. Our parents, Clark and Kara are already at the Fortress. I got to sleep in waiting for you.”

Cisco looked around his room, taking in as much as he could. He had no idea how long he would be here or what this training involved. Considering the training her DEO friends put Barry through, which involved getting shot often, he was not sure he wanted to find out. When he asked Batman what he thought, the man told him to pack his bags and get to the Danvers.

The room was large and nicely decorated, a bit impersonal except for the beautiful paintings on the wall that he suspected Kara had done herself.

Cisco noted on the way back that Kara and Alex’s doors were shut and there was absolutely no way he would be entering those. Those girls could keep the mounted heads of aliens they killed on their walls for all he knew.

Ramon found Alex in the kitchen breakfast nook where she said she would be, eating a glazed donut.

“Since Kara has decided to use her powers she has done away with her obsession over healthy food. If I had to eat one more egg white omelet with broccoli I would have thrown the plate at her head. Grab a couple and down them. I have a lot of work today. We have clothes you can borrow at the Fortress.”

“Clothes… you… wait, what Fortress?”

Alex stopped chewing for a moment then finished her donut quickly. “Barry never told you about the Fortress of Solitude?”

Cisco racked his brain, thinking that would be something he would remember. “He mentioned that you guys had a secret headquarters somewhere but didn’t give details. So is it like the Batcave? Underground or built in the cliff?”

“Grab your donut and follow me.” Alex ordered.

Cisco ate quickly, not really even tasting the breakfast treat. He followed the brunette behind a door that she used a palm reader to gain access and then down a set of stairs. He expected this to be the headquarters but all he found was a basement, filled with what looked like leftover bike parts and a gun cleaning bench. A check of the other side of the room showed military grade firearms and even those appeared modified.

“I though you used alien weapons.” the man mentioned casually.

“I use whatever gets the job done. I took an alien out with a bow and arrow I made in the Amazon rainforest we were hunting him in. Big guy, armor like scales, and I killed him with a sharpened stick through his eyeball into his brain. It’s all about getting the job done, right?”

“Right.” Cisco whispered.

“Have you ever had to kill anyone, Cisco?”

The man shook his head.

“I truly hope it stays that way. I mean that. All you have to do is get our team on the ship and if you come under attack… do what you have to do,.” Alex told him. He listened to her closely and it was obvious that she wasn’t looking down on him for his lack of a body count. Instead she seemed resigned, even a bit sad that it would happen eventually.

“So this is the big hideout?” he guessed, sorely underwhelmed. For a workshop belonging to a couple bikers it was neat. Not so much for Supergirl and company.

Alex grinned and slid a panel in the wall, showing an extra room. The room was small only containing a metal door that appeared welded to the wall with no door handle.

“Kelex, I am coming through with Ramon.”

The metal door changed into a doorway of pure bright energy causing the man to step away from it.

“Relax.” Alex told him. “It’s a Rann doorway, like the one Barry had in his closet before Kara tore it out. There is one in the Hangar at Raleigh, one at my parent’s house and one at the Batcave. All doors open to one place.”

Alex offered her hand and Cisco took it, closing his eyes and letting Alex pull him through.

He had felt a slight hum when he went through but it was gone in seconds. Vibe slowly opened his eyes but was definitely not expecting the giant crystal cavern he was in. It was vast, tall, crystal desks, giant projectors, a cylindric computer resembling Brother Eye in the center. Despite the certainty he felt that the floors were ice, the room was comfortable temperature wise as Alex and Kara’s house.

“Oh my God.” he finally whispered.

“Welcome to the Fortress of Solitude.” Alex told him, a bit amused by his reaction though she had seen others like it before.

“It’s… it’s beautiful.”

“C’mon, I’ll show you around.”

“This is under your house?” Cisco asked, not believing it.

“No, this is a very secluded area of Antarctica. The Rann transporter is one of those pieces of tech Kara told you she worried about the Government getting a hold of, outside of our friends in the DEO. It also has an intense layer of energy that will disintegrate you, even if you did manage to get past the palm reader to open the gate without one of us with you. Never try to breach inside here without one of us. If an unknown lifeform pops up who isn’t on the cleared list, the Fortress defense systems are automatically activated. Think of crystal spikes growing from the ground immediately, hundreds of lasers from the ceilings firing with accuracy and our care taker with a deadly face chasing you all over the place. I think you have talked to Kelex before, right?”

Cisco turned slowly and saw the metal creature behind him. Barry had described Kelex as a small floating robot with a singular vision port that could emit a high powered beam, similar to Kara’s heat vision.

What was before him was a six foot terminator.

“By the surprise on your face I suppose word of my recent upgrades has not reached your ears, Cisco Ramon. Alex, I do hope you haven’t brought Ramon here to second guess my tactical decisions. Are you and Kara not capable of fulfilling that role yourselves any longer?”

Alex shook her head, irritated already by Kelex. “Stop the smart ass comments, Kelex. This is war and you know why he is here. Get him some weather gear together from the survival closet while I finish showing him around.”

Cisco followed Alex around the Fortress, trying to take it all in and realizing he couldn’t. Behind the beauty, it was obvious alien tech was all around him, tech he had never dreamed of and probably couldn’t understand. For instance, tech that allowed Barry’s indestructible suit to be absorbed and released from a small crystal ring.

They weaved in and out of crystal columns until they came to a row of glass cases with mannequins inside. Multiple cases held Supergirl costumes, the one she primarily wore, the armored one, what was left of it, from the Doomsday fight, the one she had been wearing the first time they had met in person and a few others he doubted the public would ever see her in.

Across from that row was another holding more sinister appearing outfits. He recognized the bronze and silver outfit Alex used to wear, another like it only black, and one that had shimmery material, with a mask that completely covered her head, mouth included. He had heard about the impromptu sparring session Supergirl had with Barry and Diana, along with Alex practically turning invisible and guessed this was the suit that had been talked about.

One suit was practically armor, something you might see a soldier wear in a sci-fi war movie.

The last mannequin was missing a suit.

Walking farther along behind Alex, Cisco saw where the suit was. They had stepped into a large crystal circle that appeared to be a workshop for the Danvers. A mannequin was present, like the stealth suit, this costume covering the whole head, eyes and mouth. It appeared to be a high tech wing suit, less material than the one worn by human extreme sports enthusiasts but the man suspected just as strong.

Another big difference in the costume was the massive amount of energy it was being struck with. Clark Danvers was unleashing his heat vision into the material, hot enough that even from thirty feet away Cisco was beginning to sweat. Kelex joined the boy and unleashed his laser vision and the heat intensified.

“That’s enough.” a new voice called, Eliza Danvers walking in the room. Both boy and robot stopped immediately.

The mother approached the suit with a tablet in her hand and Alex joined her, leaving Cisco standing by himself, not sure what to do.

“The mannequin underneath shows the body temperature is holding up. That’s as much energy as we can use on it. If Flower is distracted most of her energy will be focused on one target. So long as you aren’t the target, I believe the suit will hold up. Now you just need practice. Lobo is coming by this afternoon?” Eliza asked her daughter.

Alex confirmed that he was and came back to Cisco, a look telling him to follow.

“So uh… that’s the suit you are going to use to fight that energy sucking Worldkiller?” he asked.

Alex nodded. “Yes, but I don’t want to talk about the plan. It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just don’t need anyone else telling me how reckless and idiotic it is. I know it’s reckless and idiotic and I specialize in using those techniques with success.”

They walked into another crystal surrounded structure and Cisco honestly had no idea where the door to get out of this place even was. Jeremiah Danvers was standing in the middle, staring at a life size hologram of Reign, internal organs showing along with a series of lines in red and blue. Cisco was not Caitlin when it came to biology but he was fairly certain he was seeing the central and peripheral nervous system.

On his desk… or Alex’s… was a steel box with the words KARA DO NOT TOUCH! in large letters on the top and front and back.

“Hello, Cisco. We didn’t have a chance to talk long at the Christmas party… or the last time we were in the same room together. It’s good to see you again.”

Cisco took his hand and returned the greeting. Jeremiah tried to show a relaxed demeanor but Vibe was not fooled.

“What are you working on? Can I ask, or…”?

Jeremiah shook his head and smiled warmly. “Of course you can ask. This isn’t new technology. It’s a diagram of Reign’s body using what we know of Kara’s body and including Reign’s mutations. This gives us as detailed look as we can find at the nervous system of a Kryptonian, Worldkiller or not. Martial arts have been practiced for thousands of years on this planet. Smaller, weaker opponents have always been able to take down larger, stronger opponents because they knew that strength and speed aren’t everything. Using your head in a fight is key.

“There are two straightforward ways to kill someone, anyone in a fight. The first is breaking the neck. There are several ways this can be accomplished but it is not easy to fight someone as strong and as fast as you to the point you can place them in the correct hold. Kara has done this twice to Kryptonians as strong and as fast as her and took a lot of damage in both fights. She may not be able to sustain that damage with a woman faster and stronger than she is. Because of this, she is going to employ a technique she has known but never had a reason to use. She will hit Reign in the exact spot to explode her heart without breaking through the skin. That will make Reign defenseless long enough for Kara to break her neck. Once the neck is gone, so is the nervous system, so is the ability for Kryptonians to absorb sunlight. I think if she can destroy the heart and break the neck, mutations or not, Reign is dead.”

“You think?” Cisco asked, realizing Jeremiah didn’t exactly sound confident.

Jeremiah nodded and let out a breath. “It’s all theory until the fight happens.”

Cisco saw the poorly concealed worry in the man’s eyes. He had never considered how hard it must be, knowing your children were risking their lives so often to protect others. The strain was noticeable on his face. How many fathers spent their free time devising methods for their daughters to kill super strong mutated aliens bent on destruction?

“C’mon Ramon. Kara is waiting. Put on the clothes Kelex is going to get for you and meet me way over there by the very tall door.” Alex ordered.

Ten minutes later, with brief instructions from Alex, a bundled up Cisco Ramon, resembling a polar explorer more than a superhero metahuman, trudge through knee deep snow in the general direction of where Alex pointed at Kara. The snowfall was light but the white suit and blonde hair still made her hard to make out.

When he finally found her, she was sitting cross-legged on the ground with her eyes closed.

“Hi Kara.”

“Hello, Cisco.” she answered, her eyes never opening.

“Uh… what are you doing? Meditating?” Cisco supposed with her anything could be possible.

“I’m fighting.” she answered.

“In your head?”

“That’s where fighting is done. If you wait until you are hit, you are at an immediate disadvantage. I fought my aunt from the age of 13 every day for five years. When I finally met her, I had an advantage. The fight wasn’t new to me. I killed her every day in my head for five years. The one time I met her in person, I already knew how it would go. I would win, she would die and I would live with killing her. Thank you for coming. I wasn’t sure you would.”

The man shrugged his shoulders and grinned, not that it could be seen behind the ski mask and scarf covering his face. “You said you needed me to save the world. Not everyday Supergirl says that. I wasn’t going to miss this.”

“Even though I scare the hell out of you?” Kara asked, a small smile gracing her face as she looked up into the sunlit sky.

“Can you see the moon?” she asked him.

“No.”

“You couldn’t see my house from Central City, could you?” Kara asked.

“Of course not.”

“Then you shouldn’t need to see the moon to make a breach onto it. Open one. I don’t care where you open one, just get me to the surface.”

Kara made it sound so easy. It took a lot of concentration and focus to get to Midvale. It was the longest distance he had ever breached before in the same universe.

“I’m not sure…”

“Do it now!” Kara shouted and walked toward him quickly, the peaceful expression she had completely destroyed now.

Cisco closed his eyes and reached out, a breach forming immediately. Kara did not hesitate, walking straight into the suddenly present hole in the fabric of the universe.

The man wondered if he should keep the breach open but the strain was beginning to hurt him. He thought he had sent her to the moon, he was fairly certain she could get back.

Unable to hold it anymore, he closed the breach.

The man was at a loss, not sure what to do. Should he try to get back into the giant door he now noticed was closed to the Fortress? Should he knock? He couldn’t breach in. Crystal spikes, hundreds of laser beams and a Terminator did not sound appealing.

Neither did staying in this temperature sound appealing since he was quickly resembling a snowman as the snow climbed higher on his body.

Fifteen minutes of indecision later and the matter was decided for him. Supergirl had landed.

She had done a superhero landing and her eyes were glowing, the temperature increasing to the point ice and snow began melting around him.

“What… why… where… what are you doing… why are your eyes glowing?” he finally got out.

Kara smiled. “To get you free of the ice and snow that seems to want to take over your body and make you one with the Earth. Why didn’t you go back inside to wait for me?”

Cisco had no answer for that, simply relieved that she wasn’t going to turn him to ash and enjoying the warmth that was entering his body once more.

“I wasn’t sure if Alex would kill me if I sent you someplace that you would be lost. I thought it might be better to take my chances with the coldest place on Earth.”

Kara actually laughed. “Probably a good call but I can take care of myself and she knows that. I’ll get you a com so you can keep in touch with Kelex while you are here. He can let you in. You are cold. Let’s go back to Midvale and tonight you can see the moon and try again. Once you get a feel for it we can try in daylight again, without the subzero temperature. When the moon is a sure thing we can launch J’onn’s ship into orbit and focus on that.”

Cisco was very relieved that she seemed to be in a good humor. He must have gotten close to the moon.

“So where did the breach open up to?” he asked, beginning the slow walk back. That ended when he felt small arms wrap around him and the two were at the large door to the Fortress in a second.

“International Space Station. No big deal. I knew a couple of the Russian astronauts, said hi, then slipped out of the cargo area.”

The next two weeks went by slowly but by the end, Cisco had managed to breach both of them onto J’onn and Bruce’s ship. The man had become confident in his abilities, even working on vibrational blasts in Antarctica with Kara watching. He felt he had learned more about his powers and controlling them with her than anyone else who had helped him in the past. Kara was a surprisingly patient teacher.

He knew where she got it from. Cisco had watched Dante train Caitlin before in the exact same manner. When it came to preparing for battle, he could see her and Dante’s personalities matched each other.

He had spoken to his friends, Barry mostly since he had been gone but not often. Usually at the end of the day, he was just too tired. Barry did his best to not directly ask about Kara and Cisco gave vague answers to his non questions, knowing that Kara could hear no matter where she was and not wanting to become involved.

At night, he would sometimes walk out onto the porch and watch Alex and Kara after dinner dancing by the cliff. Dancing would be the only word he could think of. Some might say they were sparring, but neither ever touched the other. Kara wore some sort orof bracelet that dimmed her powers and the two went through an almost choreographed routine a flurry of strikes, kicks, ducks and drops, that was an amazing display of speed and agility. It was hypnotizing to watch and he suspected it was a form of meditation for the two sisters.

On his last night, he finally had the courage to approach Kara on the front porch swing.

“You’ve done well, Cisco. Better than I ever hoped. I know you will succeed,.” she told him, not with pride but in the matter of fact tone she usually had when her mind was someplace else.

“Thanks. I appreciate your help.,” he told her then sat in silence on the rocking chair next to the swing.

“Barry…”

“Has been asking about me. I know.” Kara finished.

“You uh… you think you might call him? Just to say hi? He has been working hard and…”

“… until the Diasporans are all dead along with the Worldkillers, nothing else matters.”

Kara stopped for a moment before turning to Cisco, her eyes gleaming in the moonlight, her tone so serious that Cisco could feel dread building up in his chest.

“We are about to go to war, the scope of which I have never personally fought. Barry has a problem. He is preparing to challenge the deadliest creature he will most likely ever fight in his life and he is asking about me. If I call him, his focus will shift from where it should be to me. Nobody needs that Cisco. I’ve told him our relationship, the two of us together, wouldn’t work. I have wished for so many years that it could, but it won’t. There is no point in stringing this along and if I speak to him, he will want more.”

Kara paused for a moment, considering her words before continuing.

“Cisco, people are going to die in this war. I estimate if the battle isn’t over in six hours at the longest, the Earth is lost. Even if I kill them all, the damage would be catastrophic, set the countries back centuries, crash the world economy, change the environment, destroy crops, cause famine, greater crime, a breakdown in civility and law. We can win and still lose if we don’t end this quickly and decisively. Nothing you ever do will be as important as what you are about to take part in. That is what matters. It’s the only thing that matters. Barry needs to focus on that, not me. I distract him.”

Cisco said nothing else on the subject. There was nothing else to be said. He had spent nearly all his time around the Danvers the past two weeks and they had been warm and welcoming.

Despite the warmth, one thing he picked up was clear. He was an outsider. Everyone was. The whole family, cat and robot included, acted as one unit. Kara and Alex were able to speak to each other with only a look at times and in the house had no problem speaking Kryptonese, not just to keep secrets but to laugh, kid, talk about movies. They used the language at times as if it was Alex’s first language and used English at others slipping between the two easily. The robot could anticipate their needs before they knew what they needed. The whole family knew what projects the others were involved in. He had observed this level of teamwork with the Justice League but this was different. This was a family. He was figuring out something that Barry had figured out long ago and Cisco told him not to worry about. The Danvers had close friends, allies, those they trusted but the five of them were hard to become a part of. They isolated themselves from the outside world for years and had no intention of changing.

Two Weeks Later

Kara and Alex stood in front of their childhood home with their parents and brother. They were about to split apart, hopefully not for the last time. Lobo would be here soon, him and Alex taking off on what Kara still considered a reckless mission that had the best chance of succeeding. Her parents and Clark would be with Kelex in the Fortress watching everything and Kara would be flying to meet a demonic woman she had hoped in the past to never face.

It was 3 AM in Midvale, the ships already seen by Kara’s vision and spreading out to surround the planet, the Lanterns spreading out with them. The cities had been empty since last week, only the military patrolling the streets. Fighter jets around the world from every country that could help were prepared to take flight at a moment’s notice. Naval ships had their large guns pointed at the night sky, or day depending on what hemisphere they were in.

Kara and Alex were suited up, Kara in her traditional costume with a red skirt and blue top and Alex in her white high altitude infiltration wingsuit.

“Kara?” Bruce’s voice in her com.

“Not yet, Bruce. Give it twenty, see what ships make it to the atmosphere first. The battle has to start.”

“Diana, J’onn, Curry and Barry just need a location. I’ve got Brother Eye down as we agreed, so I need your eyes and ears.”

“I know Bruce.” Kara told him, glad he couldn’t see her roll her eyes. Despite the fear that was building up, fear for her loved ones, fear for Alex and fear for humanity, a sense of calm was enveloping Kara. A fight was coming. Once it started she would feel more comfortable. She had to. She usually did.

Bruce had agreed to turn off Brother Eye so the signal couldn’t be tracked to the Batcave. As such Alfred would be in the Fortress helping the Justice League but Bruce did not like not having a presence at the Batcave.

Bruce would get over it. Once he was in space there would be nothing he could need Brother Eye for regardless.

Kara saw a blast of red light up the night sky. To an unsuspecting onlooker who didn’t know an invasion was coming, it might have appeared to be a far off firework. Kara saw it clearly though and grinned.

“Of course Guy took the first shot.” she whispered, still torn a bit by how much she wanted to be up there, how easy it would be.

She could save lives. She also knew if she lost herself to the temptation there may be no one to save the Universe from her and her followers. She wouldn’t make it back to her family and that wasn’t an option.

Shortly after the red blast, the night sky exploded, streaks of red, green, white and purple energy blasts from Diasporan plasma cannons.

“Got them.” Kara whispered, grabbing Alex’s hand.

Four streaks, like small comets heading straight for Earth.

“Kara, Alex?” Kelex called. “You were right, Flower of Heaven is on course for Peterson Airforce Base, headquarters of NORAD.”

“Lobo, you here yet?” Alex asked.

“Landing in five on the beach. Get down here. We got a lot to do and time is short.”

Kara pulled Alex into a hug.

“No goodbyes.” Alex told her before anyone else could speak. “We will be here tonight, all together and Dad is going to grill chicken.”

Alex began walking towards the beach after giving quick hugs to her parents and Clark, with Kara by her side. They took their time despite the circumstances and Lobo landing on the sand below.

“We come back, promise?” Alex asked her.

A tear slipped down Kara’s cheek but she smiled and nodded her head.

“Together.” Kara assured her. “Now go kill a Worldkiller.”

The blonde gave Lobo a wave and the ship was gone quickly. Lobo wouldn’t bother using a transporter to get to Canada. He could be there in less than ten minutes and needed Flower to pick a spot.

Kara flew back to the top of the cliff where her family stood, watching Alex fly off.

“Go to the Fortress. Prepare the Plasma canons. If Lobo fails to distract her, fire until Alex is almost on top of her.”

Clark wrapped his arms around Kara while she accepted hugs from her father and a kiss on her forehead from a tearful mother, then the three walked to their basement to enter the Fortress.

“Kara?”

“Yeah Bruce?”

“We are going to win. We always do. Stay calm, okay? How are you feeling?”

“Like I need a drink.” Kara told him, trying to laugh and pass it off as a joke.

“You got this. We all do. Stay sharp and focused, like we always do, right?”

Kara shook her head. “Don’t get emotional on me Batman. We have a war to fight. Kelex?”

“Deimax and Perrilus are on a course for Metropolis. If they can take out the DEO headquarters and Flower takes out NORAD, the militaries of the world will be in chaos.” the robot told her.

“Your team is up Bruce.”

Bruce said nothing but Kara could hear the JL transport starting up in the background. They were on their way to Metropolis from Gotham and would be waiting for the two monsters, while Batman, her DEO friends and Cisco Ramon would attempt to infiltrate an alien ship.

Kara waited patiently for the next piece of intelligence. Everyone had their targets except her.

“Kelex.” Kara prodded.

“I have her. She is on top of the CatCo building.”

Kara shook her head and grinned.

“I guess I shouldn’t keep her waiting then.”