Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Seeing Red

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 49: Epilogue

Alex woke but did not open her eyes. She hurt everywhere, ached all over. The girl felt like she had been hit by a truck.

The memory of what she had done came back to her quickly. In a way she did hit a flying, glowing truck hard.

Alex remembered falling into Lobo’s ship, talking to him a bit on the ground, making him promise to help…

Her eyes snapped open as memories flooded her. Kara. Kara was fighting Reign. he may have used her ring. The invasion, the Armada, the other Worldkillers, what had happened? Did they win? Did Flower stay dead? The brunette remembered holding the crystal to the Worldkiller’s skull but she was supposed to go to Metropolis afterward. Kara needed the venom.

Alex tried to sit up, only to feel gentle hands on her shoulders, firmly yet gently preventing her from rising.

“Shh. Don’t move, baby girl, you’ve had surgery.” her mother whispered, running her hand gently across Alex’s face. “You broke your collarbone, cracked your skull and your sternum had to be repaired. You need to remain as still as possible.”

Hearing her mother’s voice brought a level of clarity to Alex’s mind. She took in the room, seeing her mother, father on either side of her and J’onn sitting in the corner.

Where was Kara?

“Where is Kara?” Alex asked her mother.

Hearing nothing, she really took the woman in, her red eyes, her exhausted face, the tears that were beginning to pool.

Alex looked quickly to her father when he took her hand.

He looked horrible, as if he hadn’t slept in days. It was easy to see he had been crying as well.

“Dad?”

Silence. The man opened his mouth but no words came out.

Alex took a deep breath that hurt. Her chest and ribs felt like one throbbing pain that flared with each breath. What had happened? Where was Kara? How badly was she injured?

She looked over at J’onn but saw nothing besides his usual Martian frown.

Of course.

“Kara had to use the ring, right? Just tell me and I can fix this. She went after Oa? Did she go to Ysmault? She is on a rampage somewhere, right? Its fine. Lobo can take me to her and I will bring her back home. Do we have any idea where to start looking?”

Alex heard nothing except a sob from her mother. She couldn’t look at the woman right now because the sound of her crying meant something that was impossible.

“Somebody answer me!” she yelled, instantly regretting it due to the pain.

“Alex,” her father started, squeezing her hand, “we need to tell you what happened, and I will, but as hard as this is going to be to hear, you have to remain calm. You have a lot of injuries and you had surgery three days ago…”

“Three days?” Alex interrupted. Kara could have destroyed Oa and Mars by this point.

“Yes.” her father confirmed. “You were placed in a medical coma so you wouldn’t have to deal with the pain. We had you brought to the Block yesterday. You hit the Worldkiller at 42 miles an hour. You are lucky you survived.”

Alex shook her head. That didn’t matter. She survived. What she wanted to know was what happened when she was out.

“Tell me where Kara is.”

Jeremiah took a deep breath and began.

Alex listened quietly, taking it all in, analyzing what had happened. Kara had to use the ring to kill Reign. She played with the Worldkiller a bit then destroyed the fleet nearly singlehandedly. Alex wasn’t overly surprised. She had mentally prepared for Kara using the ring and going on what she referred to her in her head as a rage bender. It was fine. Alex could get her back.

Then Jeremiah told her about Worldkiller 1.

A symbiont.

Alex groaned, frustrated with herself. Of all the theories her and Kara had about the monster, being a symbiont was never one of them. Why didn’t they think of that?

“How did she beat him?” Alex asked.

Silence filled the room. She stopped staring at the ceiling and looked at her father.

“Dad?”

The man was crying. This confused her. Maybe it was the meds she was sure she was on but he was acting like Kara lost. Kara didn’t lose.

J’onn stood up.

Alex listened to him quietly, numbly, disbelieving, as if he were telling her a horror story that couldn’t be real.

When he was finished, the room was silent.

“She said she loved us, apologized, and then disappeared into a portal? That means nothing. She could be anywhere. If she took control she is probably somewhere in the Universe, trying to get this thing out of her. She could be anywhere. Why in the hell would you think she flew into the sun? Because Gardner said so?”

J’onn nodded his head. “They felt it, Alex. All of them felt it.”

“Bullshit! Gardner wants her! He lied so they could have her to themselves! How can you buy this J’onn!?”

“Because I felt them. I was in their heads, even Gardner’s. I couldn’t help Kara mentally combat the symbiont so I linked with the Red Lanterns, hoping to get through to her by entering their rings. I felt it, Alex. We all did. They all saw it. She fought for control long enough to take control of her body and flew… to the one place she knew would kill it. She didn’t have a choice, Alex.” the Martian told her, hoping the explosion he expected did not come to pass.

His hope was in vain. Alex sat up, grabbed a monitor next to her bed and threw it at the Martian, nearly striking her father. Lines were pulled out and leads came off her body as she tried to stand, but strong green hands pressed her back to the bed. In her desperate bid for freedom to get to her sister, Alex didn’t see the nurse run inside and inject a sedative in her IV.

The girl did not know how long she had been out when she next woke. The lights were dim but she had spent enough time in the Block to know this was deceptive. She noted that she wasn’t strapped down and her parents nor J’onn were in the room. Alex was not alone though.

Bruce and Alfred were sitting against the wall, side by side, watching her somberly.

“Alfred, would you wake Eliza and Jeremiah?” she heard Bruce ask. Alfred stood and walked out of the room while Bruce stood and walked to the side of her bed.

“Your parents wanted to be woken the moment you regained conscious. It was the only way we could talk them into a room with a bed.”

Alex tried to talk but her mouth was extremely dry. She still hurt all over, that hadn’t changed so perhaps her forced coma had not been as long this time.

Alex took a sip of water through the cup and straw Bruce offered her then cleared her throat.

“Was it you who drugged me? Are you making a habit of drugging Danvers sisters?”

Bruce shook his head. “We had a nurse on standby in case you reacted… like you did. You can’t get out of bed, Alex. You would do more damage to your body. Your recovery is going to be…”

“Cut the crap, Bruce. I don’t need medical advice from you. Why are you buying this?”

Wayne took a deep breath. “So you remember everything J’onn told you?”

Alex gave him a look he had come to recognize over the years as impatience.

“I am sorry I wasn’t here when you woke. I was with Clark. He isn’t… doing well.”

Alex rolled her eyes, her heart aching at the thought of her little brother listening and believing this lie.

“She isn’t dead. How are you of all people, taking this off Gardner’s word? J’onn doesn’t know what he felt in their heads. I would know if she were dead. I would feel it.”

Bruce shook his head. “You are feeling pain right now, physically and emotionally. You should know I wouldn’t take anyone’s word on something like this. Alex, she fought that thing, she got back control and looked at me. She knew what she had to do and she didn’t want to. Kara did it anyway. Her last words, her last thoughts were of you…”

“Shut up!” Alex screamed. She saw Bruce tense, so didn’t try and sit up. The brunette was in no shape to fight him and there was no point in it. She had to get stronger if she wanted to go after Kara as soon as possible.

Eliza and Jeremiah walked into the room but Bruce held up a hand. They both looked at Alex and then stepped out, standing just outside the room.

“Kelex had a probe there. There were hundreds of Green and Red Lanterns there, J’onn, Barry. Lobo was there…”

Alex caught that immediately. “Where is Lobo?” Lobo would get her out of here as soon as she was ready and would search the Universe for Kara. He was probably looking for her now.

Bruce shrugged his shoulders and looked at the floor. “He told me he was borrowing a ship from a man who owed him and hunting down any Diasporans that escaped. I don’t know other details, except that some of the Reds went with him. Alex, I knew this would be difficult for you to believe. When you are ready you can see the footage from the probe. It isn’t… it isn’t pleasant. I thought we had lost her to that monster forever but she fought. She fought so hard Alex. When she regained control… it was the thought of you, her parents, Clark, those were the thoughts that helped her win.”

“She lost.” Alex told him. He thought this was a win? Kara had flown into the sun? “But it doesn’t matter Bruce because she is still alive. Get out. Come back when you are ready to get to work finding my sister instead of planning her funeral.”

Alex saw Bruce considering continuing the conversation. He must have thought better of it, because he backed away and left the room. Her parents came in and each sat by her bed and took one of her hands but they did not speak of anything. Alex wasn’t in the mood to speak. Despite the amount of sleep she recently had and the pain she was in, the brunette fell back asleep. The lights were on when she woke up. Clark was by her bed.

“Hey Squirt.” Alex whispered and ran a hand through his shaggy hair.

“I saw the video Alex. When J’onn watched it with Mom and Dad they thought I was asleep but I wasn’t. I saw what happened to her.” the boy said, sounding on the verge of tears.

“She made a portal but…”

“I saw her face, Alex. There was this black stuff and it was trying to get in her mouth and eyes… it was wrapped around her, wouldn’t let her move. Everybody just stood there, watching. Nobody did anything to help her. Then she looked… the probe was watching her and I could see when she came back. Her ring glowed and this stuff backed off a little but then she said she was… she said she was sorry and was gone. She killed herself Alex. She really killed herself. Why would she do that? Why didn’t anybody help her?”

Alex placed her hand behind Clark’s neck and pulled him to her pillow, kissing the top of his head. She didn’t know why. The older sister was at a loss. Why didn’t she let J’onn take Flower so she could have been with Kara? Why didn’t Diana, or Guy, or J’onn or even Bruce jump in front of that thing before it could get to Kara? What was Barry doing while Kara fought for her mind and soul? Why did it always have to be her little sister who took the hit for everyone?

“She did it to save us. If that thing took her over it would know about you. Kara would never let it get its hands on you, especially using her body… I don’t know Clark. I don’t have any answers. I don’t… I don’t think she is gone. We can still find her if…”

“She is dead, Alex. I told you, I saw the video. Mom passed out, Dad was crying… she is dead.” Clark looked up, eyes red, tears streaming down his face. “How much did it hurt her? When I would tell you she scared me when I was younger, how much did it hurt her? A lot, right? She thought I didn’t love her, didn’t she?”

“Hey, stop that.” Alex told him, not sure if she meant the self-recriminations of a twelve year old or his insistence that Kara was dead. “Kara knew you loved her. Knowing you loved her got her through a lot of bad stuff. Even when you were scared of her… yes, it hurt her but she understood. She was scared of herself. You have always been the most important person in both our lives. Do not put any of this on yourself.”

Clark sighed and pulled away from Alex, standing up, hunched over and looking defeated.

“I hate this planet.” the boy whispered and walked out, the broken tone of his voice adding new pain to Alex.

For four days Alex did not speak with her parents about Kara’s supposed death. She wouldn’t let them bring it up in her presence. Clark watched television with her but he would not bring it up either.

On the fifth day she was able to get into a wheelchair and a nurse moved her into a room with solid walls and a projector. Despite her parents wishes, she insisted on seeing the video alone.

When she saw the look in Kara’s eyes, heard her words, she understood. Kara had actually done it. She was backed into a corner by a predator that had outsmarted both of them and had to kill herself to win.

When the truth of what Kara had done hit her, she felt herself break. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew a nurse was injecting her with another sedative but paid no mind. The girl she had protected since they met, her sunny little sister, her dark, tortured little sister who had spent her adult life stained in blood was gone. She went to the one place she knew nothing could survive, not the Red Ring, not the Worldkiller and not herself.

Three weeks later Alex was released, deemed by a doctor she still hadn’t learned the name of to be able to go home so long as she rested.

A week after that, Alex was up at 6 AM running. Her parents wanted to have a small private memorial for Kara but Alex refused. Clark went back to school, kept a red band on all the time, even sleeping with it on and continued to play sports but his heart, the excitement for it was gone. He had aged. Nearly thirteen and the boy had a look similar to Kara’s when she was older. He was beginning to get a darkness to him that broke Alex’s heart to see.

He had lost Kara, they all had and everything seemed wrong. It felt like a limb had been lost. Streaky still slept on her pillow and whined on the windowsill everyday as if expecting her to come home. Her father could no longer look at the stars at night and her mother hovered over Clark, more protective than ever before.

Alex was never one to take things lying down. She went to her job but spent the rest of her free time in the Fortress, working out and running simulations over and over again with Kelex until she had the answer. Now she just needed a guy who had tried his best to fall off the grid. Nobody could hide from Kelex forever though.

Vienna Austria

The man had stayed off the map for the most part and Alex admitted to herself if you wanted to disappear this would not be a bad place.

After traveling to a small village forty miles away, she found him walking out of a hostel. Alex nearly didn’t recognize him. He was dressed in old jeans and a hoodie, hadn’t shaved in weeks and probably hadn’t had a haircut in the same amount of time.

Alex watched the activities of Barry Allen since she was released from the Block. He never went back to Central City and the Flash hadn’t been seen since the invasion. Instead Barry decided to drop everything and lose himself in Europe. Alex supposed he was trying to find himself or some other new age crap. It didn’t matter to her. She needed him and would do whatever it took to get what she wanted, no matter the cost.

“Been a while, Barry.” she greeted him from behind.

Barry stopped walking and turned around to face her. It was easy for Alex to tell that she had surprised the hell out of him.

“Bruce send you?” he asked, looking around.

“Bruce doesn’t send me anywhere to do anything.” the brunette told him sharply. “I came looking for you. We need to talk. I want to know why my family is hurting, why I am falling apart, why my once happy little brother hates life and why you haven’t done anything to change this yet. What have you been waiting for?”

Barry looked around and motioned for Alex to follow him. The two walked down a hiking path, smaller, out of the way and much rougher. Alex would never admit her ankle still ached on some days and this terrain was doing her no good.

Barry stopped suddenly, turning towards her, looking anywhere but Alex’s accusing eyes. “I can’t.”

Alex shook her head.

“Yes, you can. I am going to tell you where and when to go and how we are going to put this nightmare behind us.”

“Alex…”

“I did not spend a whole day on a plane for you to tell me no, Barry! You are going to do this.”

“Alex, I swore an oath to her that I wouldn’t change time to save her life, ever. You think I don’t want to take that back? You think I want this? You know how I feel… felt about her. I can hardly sleep at night. I came here to forget that life, to try to move on, the way she…”

“What did you say?” Alex interrupted him. “Try to move on? The way she told you to constantly before she died? Before she killed herself?!”

“She didn’t have a choice.” Barry whispered harshly. “It wasn’t suicide. She didn’t want to Alex. She…”

“There is always another choice. What were any of you doing while she had to save the world? None of you could have stopped her? She could have flown away and let it take one of you. Choices don’t matter because none of that is going to happen. I don’t give a damn about whatever oath you made to her. She has broken plenty of oaths to me. You are going back to when and where I tell you to and doing what I say and everything will be fixed, not just the Worldkillers but before. This isn’t just about you and what you want. You can’t sleep at night? My brother cries himself to sleep at night. Mom and Dad… I can’t sleep. You are going to do this.”

“No, I am not. Do you realize this could make everything worse? Your parents could die in an alternate timeline, Clark could be dead instead of Kara. The world could be over when I return.”

“I’ve gone over a list of scenarios with Kelex and we have looked at every possible change that could occur.” Alex shoved a sheet of paper in his hand. “Follow these instructions and everything will be okay.”

“I can’t. I made an oath to her and I won’t break it.”

Alex decided reasoning with Barry was not going to work. This was a man who didn’t go back in time to save his own mother and father from death. The brunette had no time for games now. She knew what Barry wanted. She had watched enough to know he was obsessed with Kara. His appearance after her sister’s… death… was all Alex needed to confirm she was right. The man had dropped out of the human race since the day Kara saved them all by flying into the sun.

“She loved you, even at the end.” Alex told him, then added a lie. “She told me before the invasion that if we got past this she wanted the two of you to give it another shot. Remember her at the Block? She was getting help, getting strong and she had you. You had her. You were together and happy. You could have that again, Barry. This time we are going to stop her from getting that Red Ring. We are going to stop all of it from happening. Do you really think the two of you would have broken up that night if the ring hadn’t made her lose her temper or if you had just worn the damn suit? I never interfered Barry but if you do this, I can. I can talk her into staying with you. She may not have listened to me about alcohol but I could talk her into everything else. You two could be happy together and I could help with that.”

Alex saw she had his attention. As she suspected, he wanted Kara’s love above all else in life. If Dick Grayson had Barry Allen’s powers this would have been a ten second conversation with Nightwing. Kara had that way with guys she let into her life. They became lost in her, whether she wanted them to or not.

“You could make her happy.” Alex continued, knowing she had him on the ropes. “Are you ready to listen? I promise I’ve gone over this with Kelex, Barry. We have run scenarios. If you follow the instructions the timeline will only get better.”

Barry shook his head. “That isn’t how time works Alex.”

“Then make it work!” Alex snapped then regained her calm. She wouldn’t let Barry see her out of control. “Are you ready to listen?”

Barry said nothing but did nod so Alex began.

“Go back to the Block, at night, just after she had the surgery to put the crystal in. Use your powers to phase down. Do not use your handprint, or touch anything you don’t have to. Wake me up and tell me what is going on. Give me the note in your hand. You are going to tell me everything about Atrocitus, the Red Ring, and Doomsday. This time I will be ready. We will have a plan. We find Hal Jordan, we attack Luthor’s underground lair and send Doomsday through a portal while he is still in chains, maybe to the… it doesn’t matter where. When Atrocitus tries to free him, you, your friends, everyone will be waiting for him. I will stay home with Kara that day and drug her, keep her asleep all day and night. Doomsday won’t escape and kill hundreds in Metropolis, Kara won’t take a red ring, Atrocitus will be dead and everything will be fine. You can have her love back and I will have my sister back. All you have to do is follow the plan I am giving you.”

“And break my word to her.” Barry added, but Alex heard the resistance crumbling. He was going to do it.

“She will never know, Barry. If she knew what was coming then, she would have wanted us to change things. It will be our secret. Kara never has to know because this didn’t happen. This conversation? It will be wiped from existence. You go back and warn me and I will handle the rest. You won’t be even saving her life technically. We are just going to avoid a situation where her life is unnecessarily in danger.”

Barry said nothing for a moment, looking around as if Kara’s ghost was spying on him. Alex knew if Kara ever found out, her little sister would never forgive him. She would forgive Alex but Barry would be gone from her life. He knew it too so he would keep his mouth shut.

“Not even my parents have to know Barry. I’ll come up with a lie about how I got the information. All you need to do is tell me in the past what happens. That’s it. Are you in?”

Barry tried to avoid eye contact but Alex knew she had him. Just the idea that he could have Kara back would be all he needed.

“Remember the times she told you she loved you? She had never said that to any guy before. Think about your times together and all she had to give up for this world. Don’t you think she deserves happiness Barry? Or do you want to leave her ashes floating all over the universe?”

“Fine!” Barry told her, giving in. Alex fought to keep the smile from her face. It wasn’t hard. There were still a million little things that could go wrong.

“Good. Let’s do this now. I don’t want to keep living like this. Go back to the Block, tell me everything that has happened and when you come back I won’t be here. I will be wherever the new timeline has me hanging out with my very alive, happy little sister. I am sure you will know how to join us. Maybe you will pop up where you are supposed to be in the new timeline. I’m not really sure how it works and I really don’t care. Do this now.”

Barry looked around. The streets weren’t crowded but it was not night and they weren’t abandoned either.

“Just go. No one is going to remember you were here because you are going to change things, remember?”

Alex watched Barry reach into his pocket and pull out his Flash ring.

“You still keep it?” she asked, surprised.

“Till the day I die.”

Barry looked at the brunette intensely then lighting flashed in his eyes. Alex’s hair blew back and she breathed a sigh of relief, closing her eyes and waiting for the pain to end.

Then Barry was before her again, wearing his former clothes and nothing had changed.

“Did you get lost? Over shoot the time, wind up in the Middle Ages or what? Try again until you get it right.” she ordered.

“I got it right.” Barry admitted. “I saw her sleeping… I’m sorry Alex. I want to, you know I do but… I promised her. I wish I hadn’t lost her, I wish I hadn’t made that promise but…”

“No!” Alex yelled, stepping inches away from Barry and catching the eye of the few street dwellers present. “You don’t get to go back and see her and not change things! You think you deserve to see her and I don’t? Go back there now and change things!”

To Alex’s amazement, Barry wiped a tear that fell from his eye. He was crying. He thought he had a right to cry when he could change all this?

“You can’t make the call.” Alex realized. “I was right about you. Indecisive, weak, a follower, nothing without Diana or Bruce telling you what to do. Even Kara told you what to do. It was one of the reasons she liked you and one of the reasons she didn’t think you could take care of yourself. You can be a hero now, save her life and instead you’re constantly second guessing yourself. You are too scared to make the call. I can’t believe I ever thought you were good enough for her. You aren’t. You never were.” she challenged.

Barry looked away. “You are right, Alex. I’m not, but I made a promise to her. I’m sorry.”

“You don’t know sorry, Barry. Not yet. What were you even doing when she died? Standing back, waiting for Diana to tell you what to do? You could have gotten her out before it took her. Diana could have knocked her out of the way, somebody could have done something but all any of you did was stand there! Waited for Supergirl to save you all again. Pathetic! Go back to hiding. The world needed Supergirl. It doesn’t need you. You never got that, did you? None of you did! Justice League? What a joke. Bruce thought you could fight the battles she did? All of you are worthless. Get out of my sight.”

Alex stood motionless, watching him walk away, not believing that had not worked. She had reasoned with him, tempted him, given him scenarios that posed no danger to others and finally tried to bully him to get what she wanted. The girl briefly considered firing a warning shot at Iris West, or nicking Joe West in the leg, just to send a message that she could take them whenever she wanted if he didn’t do as she asked but doubted it would do any good. She would have to find another way.

Her phone alerted her to a text from her father.

Just come home. We need you.

She shouldn’t have been surprised that Jeremiah knew what she was doing. Judging by the fact that Kara was still gone he must have assumed she failed.

I will be home in a few days. I have business to take care of. Clark still isn’t safe.

Alaska

It had almost been too easy. Kelex had sent her the location of the Cadmus bunker in Alaska, eighty six miles from Anchorage, wilderness only accessible by helicopter, surrounded by dense tree cover and beautiful mountains.

Alex was grateful the base wasn’t built into the interior of a mountain. It would be time consuming to raid an underground base. Instead the base was easily spotted from the ground. By air it was camouflaged, only the supply helicopters would know where to land.

So how to sneak up on a base inaccessible from anywhere but the air?

The simple answer was Alex didn’t. She took a 9 millimeter handgun with a 20 round clip, two additional clips, a black K Bar knife Connolly had given to her for her twenty second birthday, and a black tactical vest filled with surprises over her black body suit. There were many suits at the Fortress she could have worn, ones that Kelex insisted on, but Alex wanted to keep this simple. No masks, no head gear, just her, her weapons and her skill.

She had gotten back into shape quickly. It was her only hobby and kept her mind focused. Her injuries had healed and now it was time to continue Kara’s mission and keep Clark safe. The biggest threat to his future now was the organization Lillian Luthor was trying to build, helped by General Lane and his black market military connections.

The President had every chance to bring Lane in on a multitude of charges but she didn’t. Now it was Alex’s turn.

They were fools to think they could hide from Kelex. Perhaps with Lois Lane reporting to the world that Supergirl had died defeating the King of the invading alien race, the two thought it would be safe for them to operate without total silence.

Entering the airfield was no challenge. Alex waited until a supply chopper was loaded, walked out of the shadows and killed the six Cadmus employees with six shots. She pulled the body of the pilot out of his seat and took his spot, flying towards the base.

The brunette landed on the helipad and by the time the guards, if they could call themselves that, realized the usual pilot was not there, Alex was already exiting the helicopter, killing everyone in sight. Because of the silencer and the sound of the helicopter shutting down, the others had no idea they were under attack until it was too late.

Ten minutes of strolling the hallways was enough time for the woman in black to clear out the entire shift, leaving only two remaining Cadmus members alive, the two she had come for.

Alex waited for the explosives to blow the steel door to the main laboratory and walked inside, gun drawn, happy to see fear on Samuel Lane and Lillian Luthor’s faces.

“Guess what? You are under attack.” she informed them. “That was one hell of a crew you had out there. They picked the wrong side. Now it’s just the three of us for miles and miles. What are you doing, General Lane? Aren’t you aware that Lillian Luthor is a wanted fugitive and this is not a government sanctioned military facility?”

Lane looked hard at Alex and she saw recognition dawn on him.

“I have seen you before. You were one of Connolly’s goons, his groupie, right? I heard you filled a special position for his so called team.”

Alex fired her gun into the man’s foot, dropping him to the ground.

“You would think after so many years in the military you would learn not to be rude to the woman holding the gun.” she told him after he had stopped yelling and managed to work his way into a sitting position on the floor.

Alex motioned to Lillian. “You might want to have a seat next to your boyfriend. I am going to tell you a story. Then I am going to murder you both. I have never murdered anyone. Everyone I have ever killed has been in battle. You two though… you two I just plan to murder. You planned for years to kill my sister and you think now that she is gone, aliens are fair game? That’s not going to happen. You see there is another Kryptonian on Earth. He is my little brother and as long as you are alive, he isn’t safe.”

Alex enjoyed Luthor’s reaction. It was beginning to sink into her that she was about to die and couldn’t talk or buy her way out of this. Her eyes were looking for any escape, breath coming in short gasps. She was afraid, just like Alex wanted her.

“Now, lets talk about your old friend Hank Henshaw, General Lane. You will see him soon. I watched him die. The one they call the Martian Manhunter? He took Henshaw’s place after Connolly killed him. That’s when he kicked you out of the DEO. I believe you knew him as Admiral Greer before that, right?”

Alex supposed that was sinking in judging by the paling of his face. It could be the blood loss from the hole in his foot though as well.

“Ironic, isn’t it? The two of you so paranoid about aliens and its a human who kills you. By the way Sammy, I’ll be sending Lucy to you soon.”

Alex fired the trigger twice, ending Lillian Luthor’s life quickly.

She unloaded the rest of the clip into Samuel Lane.

Walking out of the base, she flew the chopper back to the airfield and called Kelex.

“Let Connolly know where he can pick up the bodies if he wants them. I have one more stop to make before I go home.”

National City

Alex sat in the back of the restaurant, trying to focus on the present instead of getting lost in the past. This place was a favorite for Alex to meet her little sister for lunch, and sometimes they would share a latte in the morning.

Kara was not here.

But Samuel Lane’s lap dog was.

Alex had a clear view of Lucy’s back from where she sat but it was Jimmy Olsen’s face that was watching her. Jimmy Olsen knew her. He knew what she was capable of and judging by the look on his face, he knew she wasn’t here for a late lunch.

She watched Olsen do his best to smile at his girlfriend. The man shamelessly flirted with Kara for years while dating Sam Lane’s daughter. Alex briefly wondered if he thought she was here for him as well.

The girl knew someone was approaching her from behind but didn’t sense a threat then let out a sigh, knowing from the smell of that cologne who was behind her. He pulled up a chair without being invited.

“Not a good idea being seen with me Bruce. That’s the world famous photojournalist James Olsen. He knows who I am and if he sees you with me even he could figure out who you really are.”

Alex took her eyes off her target and smiled at Batman. He looked good as always in his Bruce Wayne disguise. It was the eyes that gave his true state away.

“You planning on killing her?” he asked.

Alex shrugged her shoulders. “You planning on trying to stop me? We haven’t done this before. Should be fun.”

Bruce actually smiled and motioned to the waitress, asking her for a coffee.

“Alex, the sad thing is, I can’t tell you Kara wouldn’t want this, because she probably would. I didn’t come to stop you. Jeremiah said you weren’t answering your phone and since I was in the area he asked that I look you up and remind you Clark has a baseball game tomorrow evening. He lost one sister Alex, he deserves to have his other sister there, don’t you think?”

Alex said nothing. She hadn’t come to chat and really had nothing to say. Of course she would be there tomorrow. How long did Bruce think it took to shoot someone?

“She was by her father’s side for years.” Bruce said. “No doubt she knew some of what he was involved in. I’m guessing since you are here, General Lane and Lillian Luthor are residing in hell. Do you really think she is a threat? She left his side, started working at Catco, has been trying to build a relationship with her sister. I won’t stop you and I won’t tell you that Kara wouldn’t want you to kill her. You know in your heart if she is a threat or not. If she isn’t, I am going back to Gotham tonight on one of the private jets but I can have my pilot make a stop in Raleigh. If she is I understand and would expect you to protect Clark. Your call.”

The waitress returned with his coffee and Bruce walked away… leaving Alex with the bill as usual. It was a habit he picked up over the years and she suspected it was reprisals for the number of times Kara stole his cars.

She watched Lucy Lane talk animatedly to her boyfriend while he tried not to stare at Alex.

“Fine.” Alex muttered to herself. She smiled and winked at Jimmy Olsen, pointed at Lucy, then ran her finger across her throat, not helping calm his fear at all, and left Noonan’s.

Outside she sent a text to her father.

I’ll be home tonight. It’s over .

Alex knew better. It was not close to over for her. She had to live. She would have to go home to an empty house with a depressed cat. Clark was all she had left now and Alex would do everything she could to make sure that boy never wore the symbol of the House of El. She had lost Kara. She wouldn’t lose him, not to this world.

A/N To Continue on to the next story in the Survivors Series, please read Reborn.