Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Survivors

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 27: New friends and suitors

Kara opened her eyes and immediately closed them again. Above her head was a very bright light, one that was also very warm judging by the heat her body felt. It felt like sunlight but the hard surface under her told the girl she was not sunbathing. She also had a mask of some sort on her face. She thought it felt like an oxygen mask would feel like if she had ever worn one. There was definitely oxygen being blown over her mouth and nose. It was a strange feeling but the pure air did feel good.

Kara slowly opened her eyes again and took stock of her surroundings. She knew she was wearing the cotton shorts she sometimes slept in and an old t shirt, judging by how worn and comfortable the cotton was. She was in some sort of tanning bed, was pretty certain she had an oxygen mask on and something on one of her fingers. She also recognized Jeremiah holding her right hand. Where was she and how did she get here?

The blonde tried to remember what had happened after the fire. She had called her father and planned to run back but never made it.

Kara realized after hours in the raging fire she had a panic attack.

So how was she back? Where was she? Surely her adopted mother and father had not taken her to a hospital.

“Welcome back. You have had me very worried. All of us I mean. Alex and Eliza are asleep with Clark.” Jeremiah told her, squeezing her hand a bit harder.

Kara pulled the mask off her face, not surprised to see it was an oxygen mask.

“What… where am I?” she asked, her voice a bit scratchy.

“You are at your hangar. I’ve been making some improvements when I can slip out of the lab. This is a solar bed. It replicates the yellow sun’s rays. I thought if anything every happened that you would need to be healed from quickly, this might help. Eliza finally designed a pulse oxometer that is strong enough to read the oxygen levels in your blood. You were at an 89% when you got here. Now you are showing a strong 98%. How do you feel?”

“Good, I guess. My head doesn’t hurt. The sun rays feel really good. You shouldn’t have held my hand. If I had a nightmare I could have broken yours.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

“What time is it?”Kara asked.

“Five AM, Monday morning. You have been asleep since you passed out at 1:00 AM Sunday morning. You have had us worried. I was… scared. Dante found you and flew you here and Eliza and Alex gave you a bath. You were covered in ash and grime. We put your under the lamps and have been watching ever since. Not much else we could do. I tried to analyze your breath with a GC to see what chemicals you may have breathed but didn’t have much luck. I didn’t think I would but I had to try something.”

” a long time to sleep.” Kara admitted. “You said Dante found me? Is he still here?”

“He left about five hours ago. He is staying at a hotel in town. Dan is in the back office monitoring the video cameras with Vivian. If you want I can call Dante…”

“No! I mean… he probably needs some sleep. So… how long am I grounded for? Should I just cancel college plans?” the girl asked nervously.

Jeremiah shook his head.

“Kara, 82 staff, firemen and children were able to escape down the stairwell you cleared, one that had been demolished. Firemen on the second were reported as saying another fireman lifted… we saw the fireman on the 7th who called for a ladder truck, you I mean. Rumor is, some mystery angel came out of nowhere and did the impossible, extinguished a room that should not have been put out, broke open steel blast doors and flew to the top of the room and lifted a support beam to give the kids time to evacuate.”

“Ouch. I really thought he wouldn’t say anything. I asked him nicely. I guess I screwed up, huh? I’m sorry.”

“I have never been prouder of you and that is saying something. What you did Kara, you were amazing. A lot of people died in those explosions and more should have but didn’t because you were there. What you did was… I don’t have the words, Kara.”

The blonde was surprised to see a tear in the man’s eyes. She had thought he would be furious.

“I was so scared, especially when the building came down” he admitted. “I didn’t know if you could survive that, but you did. All the fears you had, all the triggers that were in that building and you overcame them. No matter what you think, you are a hero.”

“I exposed myself.” Kara pointed out, laying back down but keeping a hold of her father’s hand.

“You could have. Instead you were smart about it. Yeah some firemen may say some things but it will go down as either delusions caused by stress or some supernatural angel looking out for them. No one saw you fly in, or use the freeze breath from the outside. You did the best you could.”

“We are pretty proud of you too.” Alex told her, a smiling Eliza behind her. “Dad, you said you would wake us immediately if she woke up.” the girl chided her father.

“She has only been up five minutes.” he defended.

“So do we need to move?” Kara asked.

“Nope. If anyone did put it together, they would be looking in Gotham City. I doubt anyone is looking though.” Eliza told her. “Clark is going to be attached to you when he wakes up. He snuck down and stayed on the stairs watching the TV. He saw the building come down and Alex was asking very loudly if you were in it.”

“He shouldn’t have snuck down. I was worried.” Alex argued.

“Anyway he thought you were and then when Dante brought you here you were covered in ash and he may have freaked out. It took us three baths to get you clean and you probably will want to wash your hair a few more times.” the mother suggested.

“Okay. I didn’t know you had done all this Mom, Dad. The machines…”

“We have been working on it for a while, refurbishing older machines and such. Jeremiah has been the one to really amp them up. We needed whatever advantage we could get if anything happened to you. The solar rays, the X ray machines, the pulse ox and cellular scanners have taken some time and we haven’t had to try them before. I was hoping we never would.” Eliza admitted.

“The X ray didn’t work,” Jeremiah admitted, “but the cellular scanner worked great. We were also able to use the pulse ox to give us a baseline. Still haven’t figured out a way to take your blood pressure but I will. I have to take care of my girls. You are just a little harder to take care of than Alex. Technology wise anyway.”

“Yep, all I need is a thermometer and a barf bag and I am good to go. As glad as I am to see you awake, why don’t you try to get some more sleep?” Alex suggested.

“Can I lay down on something else? The rays feel good but the bed isn’t that comfortable and I hate sleeping on my back. Or I can stay up and we can leave in a few hours when Clark wakes up, right?”

Alex shook her head. “We are sleeping in right here. Then we are going to eat a very big breakfast, go home and sleep some more. Come lay down with me. You have gotten enough rays, right Mom, Dad?”

“Yeah,” the father agreed, “we could all use some sleep. Lets put those cots to use.”

Kara moved to the cot that held her baby cousin or brother she supposed. He wasn’t a baby any longer but she still saw him as the fragile bundle she carried cross country. The second she lay down next to him, he turned and pressed himself into her without waking.

“ I love you Kal El.”

Kara thought of the visions she had seen in the hospital, the burning bodies, the dead, the devastation, and held him closer, probably too tight but she couldn’t help it. He was the light in her life, the one who had not been touched by the darkness that always threatened to consume her. He was not invulnerable and so many of those victims reminded her of him. She did not feel responsible for these deaths. The girl wished she could have saved more but the fault lay with whoever had set off those explosives. Attacking a children’s hospital was one of the most vile thing she could think of.

It had been three days before Clark allowed Kara to be in a separate room when they were all home. He followed her constantly and if she didn’t know better, thought he might have been included in the old bathroom guard rotation that had not been used in a very long while. On the fourth day Kara had to face her long time therapist. Alex begged out, wanting her own time so Kara was flying solo, figuratively.

“So lets cut to the chase. Tell me what you saw in that hospital.” Jess started.

“Nothing I feel like talking about today. I’m fine, no suicidal thoughts, no self harm, no panic attacks. I have had dreams about what I saw but have been actively trying to keep my mind off of it during my waking hours. Thats all I can say about it now.”

Ryan nodded her head. She had learned Kara’s tone and facial features over the past four years. She knew if Kara was lying, holding back, or being straight. Tonight she was being straight.

“You did have a panic attack right after, correct?”

“Thats what I understand. I remember calling Dad and the world kind of spinning, then I tried to grab my side and rip. I hoped the pain might… you know. It isn’t the first time I have fallen on that excuse. But it hit me too fast. Once I heard his voice, everything came at me and all the sensory inputs I had ignored at the hospital rushed me. I guess it was too much.”

“But you handled it inside the hospital. You operated effectively, kept your cool, didn’t succumb to your triggers and managed to sneak in and out, leaving only a rumor that someone may have been there. At the risk of sounding condescending I am proud of you.”

Kara blushed a bit but waved it off.

“You should be proud of you. As much as I would like to take credit and as much as you drive me crazy, I would have lost my mind a long time ago if not for you Jess. I mean that. As much as I have put you through and screamed at you, lied to you sometimes, you stuck with me.”

Jessica was a bit shocked to hear that but kept her face schooled. It was true that being Kara’s therapist at times felt like being a referee in a fight you were also participating in. The girl was sweet and loving at times, mostly when talking about her family, and a volcano full of rage, self loathing and depression that threatened to erupt at any second at other times. Kara had never thanked Jessica, not that the woman expected her to. She stuck to her job and Kara had gotten better. She hardly ever harmed herself and she had not tried to kill herself, her manic depressive episodes had lessened, and her outbursts during therapy had lessened. That in itself was a win for Jessica Ryan.

“Thank you Kara but there is no need to thank me.”

“I know. I didn’t thank you. I said you should be proud. You took a difficult job, keeping me sane, and have done your job well. I know I am a job to you and that is fine. What will you do now that the job is going to be over soon? Will you go back to the FBI or are you and Connolly going to National City? I would guess with Alex and I going to National City there really isn’t a reason to keep a team member here any longer. Mom and Dad won’t be a target if I am not here. I am sure he is getting tired of being picked up or flying out to meet his team for missions.”

Jessica steeled herself. Perhaps she had banked on Kara’s lessening outbursts of anger too soon.

“Uh… yes, we are going to National City. But I assumed we would keep seeing each other. Jason will be at the DEO and I will be assisting but I haven’t determined my role. Right now I think we have a lot more work to do. We have made progress. Don’t you want to continue?”

Kara sat for a moment and stared at the therapist, keeping a bright smile on her face but not saying a word. After a minute, Jessica began to squirm in her seat a little.

“Kara? Would you say something?”

“Aren’t you tired of me yet? The novelty of psycho analyzing a crazy alien has to have worn off by now. How can you not want more out of life? I appreciate what you have done for everyone but at some point this has to end for both of us, right?”

“Why… what makes you… we have talked about this before…”

“Yes we have. I agreed to this four years ago because my family wanted it. I admitted I needed it but I have grown, I have gotten better. I am never going to get over what my family did to a planet of innocents. Never. I am never going to forget the look on that mother’s face when she looked at her baby and realized they were going to die. I am never going to forgive my parents. I won’t ever forget the time when I first arrived, scared and hungry, wishing I was dead. I will never forget Hank Henshaw and how much I wanted to kill him. I still want to kill him. If he was alive I would burn him to nothing. I will never forget that my Aunt who I loved is a murderer and is probably still looking for me. I won’t forget that Non is alive and would kill me if he could. I won’t forget that there are hundreds if not thousands of alien criminals on this planet and my pod was used to bring them here. No amount of talking is ever going to change these things. I have learned to deal with them.”

“Kara, I realize this…”

“Then why can’t we drop it? Why can’t you go on with your life? There has to be other things you want to do besides listen to me whine about my life.”

“Helping you get better is one of the most important things I can do with my life! Don’t you get it yet? Haven’t you figured it out?”

“Figured what out? That if you don’t keep me sane I may terrorize the planet? I wouldn’t do that, despite what my house was like.”

“Exactly. What you did the other night was amazing. You want to help people. You put yourself on the line and it had nothing to do with Fort Rozz prisoners or your aunt and uncle. You saved people because you could. I know you and Alex have a plan. I am not stupid. I don’t know when you two are going to enact it but I know the two of you are going to try to draw out Non and Astra. The Martian will never go along with it so you two will be on your own. I am betting when you do this, you won’t be subtle right?”

Kara wondered for a moment if the room was bugged. She would be checking it with X ray vision later.

“What about it? Once Alex and I are out of here we can do what needs to be done. Alex will put herself in danger whether I let her help or not. At least if she is with me I can try to watch out for her. So long as Jeremiah and Eliza are here with Clark and the alien activity stays on the West Coast, they will be too busy coming after me to wonder about the name I have been living under or where I have been living. Vivian will block my records from any searches. She won’t help us because J’onn won’t let her but she will watch our backs as far as security goes. Yes, I plan to put a big target on my chest and when Non takes his shot I will kill him and whoever else he brings or die trying.”

“I know. But what are you going to do with that symbol on your chest when someone needs help? When a lot of people need help? When lives are in danger and fire departments and police departments aren’t enough to save them? What are you going to do when a miracle is needed? Are you going to be that miracle? I know you won’t ever let a person die if you feel like you can stop it. You still blame yourself for that woman and baby. We have gone over and over it and yet you still blame yourself. I know you won’t stand on the sidelines.”

“So?” Kara shrugged. “I help some people. What is the big deal? What does that have to do with me continuing therapy?”

“Gotham City has a vigilante running around in a bat suit branding criminals and assaulting those he judges as guilty. People are so tired of crime and hopelessness in this world that they are starting to see him as some kind of hero. I promise you, no psycho dressed like a bat was going to save those people in the hospital. You, you can be more than just some avenging angel. You can be a symbol Kara. You can give people hope.”

“People will be scared when they see what I can do.” she argued. “No matter what, no matter how many I help, I will never be accepted. You are right, I will help people as much as I can, if I am needed. But I will never be trusted by them. Do you know why people are always going to feel better about a freak in a bat suit beating people up than a flying blonde saving people from burning buildings? Because he is just a man. He can be stopped. They will fear me. I won’t give them any hope at all, Jessica. I will do what I can to atone for my failures and my house’s sins and it will never be enough but I won’t be a symbol of hope. I will just be a reminder that aliens are on Earth and humans are no longer at the top of the food chain. I will always be feared.”

“I respectfully disagree Kara. You inspire a lot of people already. Alex is inspired by you. She is ready to go to war by your side. Your mother and father are inspired by you. They are so proud of you. The men who have been looking out for you since you arrived have been inspired by you.”

“But they know me. The rest of humanity? They will never know Kara Danvers.”

“And the rest of the world could know you a bit at least. It wouldn’t hurt to try and practice some human interaction outside of your family.”

“I interact well in school. I have friends in choir and I interact with Alex’s teammates…”

“You and Alex know people and are friendly with people but neither of you have developed any significant relationships outside of each other. Have you ever thought about having a friend besides your sister? Not someone you pretend to be friends with or play a role with to fit in but someone you genuinely take an interest in?”

“There is no point. My life is too dangerous. I will probably get Alex killed and… there is no point Jessica.”

“Yes there is and that is exactly why you need to continue therapy. I don’t see you as some alien project Kara. I see you as possibly the greatest hero and symbol of all that could be right in this horrible world and to do this you need to keep working on you. You need to have human experiences outside of pretending to be a bubbly blonde who gets along with everyone but no one hardly knows you. What about the boy you liked? You said you were interested in someone, right? Have you pursued it?”

“He didn’t like me, not like that. I put myself out there and got rejected.” Kara told her. “It was for the best. I can never marry, have children, have a normal life. How can I have a relationship with a man if it is built on a lie? If I told him what I was he would be horrified, plus I would be exposing myself. If I lied to him then what is the point?”

“The point is maybe you don’t have to worry about getting married and you can just try dating. See if you like a person enough to get to know them better. Its okay to date without a marriage contract pending. If you ever find someone you really like, could maybe love, then we talk about taking the next step.” Jessica suggested.

“And what guy is going to want a wife or even a girlfriend who cannot have sex with him?”

“You don’t know that. You have become very good at controlling your strength and you know it.”

“There are also physical barriers, barriers that are impossible to break without the Kryptonite I am not allowed to be around. Have you thought of this? I have. I don’t connect because I am not human.I cannot just decide that I want a normal life and go with it. You say I could be a symbol of hope. What the hell does that even mean? If I am a symbol then I am not a real person. I can’t be both.”

“Yes you can. If you really want to, you could find a way to make anything work in your life. You use excuses to stay away from people and never consider solutions. You are a real person and need constant reminding of that. You can be a symbol of hope and a person. Because you are a real person is another reason you need to continue with therapy.”

“I am tired, Jessica.” Kara told her. “I am so tired of talking. When will you understand this? I will never be normal, I will never be completely happy. I feel happiness but it is always a fight, always a battle. I am tired of fighting the battle. I have others to fight, more important battles. Once I move to college we are done. I appreciate everything you have done for me but it is time I moved on. Maybe Alex or Mom and Dad will want to keep seeing you but I am finished Jessica.”

Kara smiled at the woman, her eyes squinting, the smile that never failed to creep Jessica out just a little. The blonde had the most innocent, happy smile and could call on it whenever she wished. It frightened her just how well Kara had gotten at hiding her true self behind a pair of glasses and a goofy smile. She quickly stood and was gone in a blur.

“Okay, I guess that was a disaster. On the bright side she didn’t crush any granite rocks in her hand or threaten to leave forever. We can still work on it.” Ryan told herself. Anger management had been placed on the back burner as it was in her opinion a result of Kara’s other issues. But if Jess truly had only a few months and she did not doubt the girl was serious, then anger management would become a very important issue.

Gotham City

Zon Se sat across from the firefighter at his home in the kitchen, a dining table separating them. The man had been one of the last to leave the hospital alive and General Astra insisted he be interviewed about the ridiculous rumors of some flying angel with abnormal strength at the scene. According to Non, this girl could be the Daxamite refugee that Astra had been looking for since they landed. Zon had a different idea and planned to take advantage of this opportunity to find out if the rumors among the army were true.

Many whispered but no one said aloud that it was not a Daxamite girl who Astra was looking for but her niece, the daughter of Zor El and Alura. For four years someone was constantly monitoring news feeds from every available source looking for information on any strange events that could be connected to Kryptonian powers. Now Zon had Captain Frank Sanders of the Gotham City Fire Department across from him.

“Thank you for seeing me, especially at your home Captain.”

“No problem. Mickie right? You are with the arson investigation unit? I kind of wondered why you just didn’t call me down to the main station but I guess you guys are kind of busy. I put everything in my report but would be glad to answer any other questions you might have.”

“Thank you. My inquiry is of an unofficial nature though which is why I was hesitant to conduct this interview downtown. I want to know…”

“About her.” the Captain guessed. “I’ve kind of kept quiet about it since no one really wanted to hear it. Then others started claiming weird things like a girl who lifted a five hundred pound girder by herself to free a fireman. I let some of the higher ups know what I saw and was told to forget it. It does seem kind of out there but I don’t want to be forced on psych leave. Besides she told me not to say anything about her. If this is some kind of psychological eval I will deny knowing anything. I am not crazy.”

“I promise you this is not a psychological evaluation. I have interviewed others who saw this girl. I want to know what you saw, if she spoke to you, exactly what she did.”

The man shrugged his shoulders.

“No reason not to tell you. I know she put out a room, a floor that should have been impossible to put out. She was obviously smart. She vented our room and caused a back flash outside. I have no idea how she put out the room, absolutely none. The blast doors were jammed but she punched through them and then she opened them. She stuck her hands inside and pried them apart. No one should have been able to do that, much less a tiny girl. Then while we were evacuating the victims down the ladder, the building began to give way. She flew up to the ceiling and somehow knew which beam would hold up the most and held it up.”

“Amazing.” Zon whispered, having no doubt this was a Kryptonian. There were many strong alien species in Fort Rozz and refugees that had been discovered on this planet before Rozz crashed, but only a Kryptonian possessed the power of flight and that much strength. The ability to put out a raging inferno was most likely a result of freeze breath. He had heard from others already about the metal debris in the stairwell that appeared to be cut with a cutting torch, indicative of heat vision.

“Did you speak to her? Did she give any clue as to who she may have been?”

“Yeah, she said her name. I asked her who she was and she said Kara Zor El.”

Zon froze in place, not able to believe his luck or the stupidity of the girl to identify herself to the human.

“Kara Zor El. You are sure of that?”

“Yep, just as sure as I am that your name isn’t Mickie Peterson and my name isn’t Frank Sanders.

Zon was instantly alert. How did this man know… his pondering stopped when he began feeling sick to his stomach. His strength left him and he felt like he was going to vomit, something he had not done in a very long time.

Jack Webb pulled out the Kryptonite from a lead container he had held under the table and placed it on the top.

“My name is Jack Webb and this just became a very bad day for you. You are about to go to sleep. When you wake up you are going to be in a special place, a place where you will tell me everything you know about everything. Do you understand?”

Zon tried to open his mouth but failed.

“Never mind. You will understand.” Webb walked around and punched the man in his jaw, knocking him out. Hawk entered the house and placed the Kryptonian in a body bag.

Three weeks later a beaten and broken Zon Se sat on the floor of his glass cell in the DEO. He had undergone multiple tests over the past three weeks and had as Webb predicted broken. The man had not felt pain in decades and the sensation was too much.

Jason Connolly and Dante Youngblood walked into the room where his cell was housed.

“Zon Se. How are you today? You don’t look so good.” Connolly asked.

“You can’t stop us. There are too many of us.” he told the man with a scratchy voice that had screamed quite a bit over the past few weeks.

“Yeah, that is why we are planning on nuking Fort Rozz and seeing if your people can handle a nuclear blast. The area has been classified as a nuclear testing area since it crashed. I wanted to thank you. Your ordeal is almost at an end. You have helped us tremendously. We now know where Astra is operating out of. We know the effects of Kryptonite over the long and short term. We know how to manipulate the radiation to hold someone without injuring them. We know the number and types of aliens in Fort Rozz to go along with the records we had from the prison. Only a few more things and this nightmare is over for you. You can’t leave of course but the questioning will stop. You can live peacefully in your glass fishbowl.”

“What else? I have told you everything.”

“Who sent you to ask about Kara Zor El?”

“General Astra.”

“So the rest of the army knows Astra is looking for Kara Zor El?”

“Some suspect but no one had the bravery to ask Astra or Non about it.”

“How is she looking for Kara? What methods has she been using?”

Zon shook his head. “I am not sure of all the methods. One of us is constantly monitoring news sources for any stories or rumors of super powered females. That is all I know. She leaves for days at a time and it is suspected that she is looking for the mystery girl but like I said, no one questions her. General Astra can be quite cruel and none of us cross her, not even her husband.”

“Has she ever tried facial recognition?”

“No. Not that I am aware of.”

“Okay. One more test. My friend Dante wants to fight you. We are going to let you out of your fishbowl but the Kryptonite radiation will be present. It will only be enough to limit your power, to make you human in strength, so the fight will be on a level playing field. Take him out and you get a bigger cage, more amenities. Lose and… you don’t want to lose.”

Zon stood quickly. After weeks of torture he was ready to fight someone, with or without his strength. The door opened and he took in the long haired Cherokee. The man was dressed in black like most of these DEO agents, his hair in a pony tail and he appeared fit.

Zon launched out of the cell and engaged. For five minutes the DEO agent only defended blocking and dodging attempts. Zon realized after a bit that the man was simply testing him, studying his fighting style. The tables turned quickly when Dante attacked. Zon was unable to fend off the various styles being thrown at him. A combination of leg sweeps, shin kicks, followed by punches to the pressure points and a vicious strike that ripped the tendons in his knee, were too much for him. After a take down, he felt legs around his neck and his arm locked. A twist of Dante’s hips and Zon Se was no more.

The Kryptonite emitters were turned off and the two men watched the body closely. After twenty minutes they decided the test was successful.

“His bones aren’t healing like Kara’s nose. J’onn was right. If the nervous system or heart is compromised the cells cannot metabolize yellow sun rays and they stay dead. We need to put him under a solar bed but I doubt he is coming back. Heart, brain or spinal column goes, so does the Kryptonian.” Connolly decided.

“Enough. Get someone else to help. I need to scout Fort Rozz.”

“You aren’t going out there by yourself. We have satellites watching the place. They all most likely evacuated when their man didn’t come back.”

“Then I need to get back to the Danvers. Astra could be in Gotham City. That means she is on the same coast. I don’t like it. I am taking Ty with me.”

Connolly noticed his usually calm and unflappable friend was tense, on edge, not something the man was used to seeing.

“Talk to me Dante. Whats wrong?”

“Whats wrong? If we had never found Kara, if Henshaw had or Lane was in charge, what we just did to this man could have been done to her. It would have been done to her. They would have figured out a way to harm her. We should have just killed him.”

“I know but we had to take advantage of this opportunity. The autopsy report is going to the Danvers. Everything we learned is to keep Kara safe. We know now that they cannot handle the different styles of combat we have taught her. We know how to keep Kryptonians without killing them. We know that Fort Rozz was the base of operations, that they circled back after Lane left it alone. We have either forced them to run and regroup or will have them in our sights should they go back. These are all good things that will help our girl and her baby cousin.”

“It could have been her. I can’t get that out of my mind.”

Jason took Dante in, trying to understand the extreme reaction he was having. Yes they had put this guy through hell but he was willing to kill Kara and everything they did was to help the Danvers keep Kara safe.

“You and Kara haven’t trained a lot recently. It has been a couple months hasn’t it? Alex has been working with me and Kara has been watching. I get that we have been busy but normally you always make time. Did you two have a fight? Should I send Ty or Web to work with her?”

“You should let me scout Rozz so we can end this before she gets involved! They won’t know I am there. Heightened senses be damned you know I can get in, close enough to determine what satellites can’t see.”

“Dante, calm down man. Talk to me. What has got you and Kara avoiding each other?”

The bronze skinned man shook his head. “Nothing, I think she just needs a break from me. Perhaps you should send Ty to help you train them both.”

“I have tried to train her myself. She said she will only work with you.”

“Then maybe I need a break. I don’t like preparing her for war. Yes, she could take one out but hundreds? We should have ended this already. She needs a life, a life where she can focus on being happy. Have you give any thought to how this can go if we don’t end it? Kara is going to become the killer you never wanted her to be. She is going to have to kill her aunt one day. How do you think she will deal with that?! We need to end this! I have followed you everywhere, I have gone into every battle with you, but we are losing this one. We are running out of time Connolly! I am going to scout Rozz. I will bring Ty with some Kryptonite bullets from a cover point. If nothing else I can determine if the inside is empty and if there is any intel.”

“Something did happen. She… hero worship can turn into something else for a young girl, can’t it?”

“You are my brother but never talk about things you don’t understand. I would never reveal her secrets anymore than Jessica would.”

“Fine. Lets gather the team. We are assaulting Fort Rozz.”

So it was, hours later that a very large DEO task force, carrying Kryptonite weapons and ammo approached Fort Rozz. It was eerily silent in the desert, not even a hot breeze blowing. The task force was struck by how huge the prison was. All present had never seen it in person. Lane had left it where it was, cloaked by its own technology to prevent prying satellites from seeing it and marked the area off limits.

Webb held his fist up and the task force dropped to a knee, weapons ready.

“This is Connolly. Dante and I have met at the top. No occupants and no sign of explosives. Quite a bit of equipment has been stripped. Send in the technical team, secure the outside then we are nuking this place.”

“Copy.” Webb acknowledged. “Geek Squad is moving in. I hope we have enough nukes to take this place out.”

Metropolis – Spring Break

Kara, Clark and Alex stood on the second floor walkway, overlooking the massive floor below, filled with presentations and information booths. Beyond the throngs was a stage where the leading scientists of the day spoke about what the future held.

“I thought you said Metropolis would be fun?” Clark asked Kara and Alex. Kara was not crazy about being here either. Alex was in her personal heaven.

“This is fun, Clark.” Alex defended. “The biggest names in science are here. Mom and Dad getting an invite to this is huge. Not many people get a booth to present their research at Luthercorp’s Advanced Science Expo. This was too good an opportunity to pass up. We can be on the beach all summer.”

“Its boring.” Clark told her, obviously disagreeing.

“Yeah, I have to agree with you Clark,” Kara admitted. Though she would never say, most of the science here was ages behind Krypton and in her mind, that was a good thing. “But I promise we will do some fun things later. We can go see the giant globe on top of the Daily Planet building. Dad has tickets for us to see the Meteors play tonight. Won’t that be fun? A real big league baseball game?”

“I guess.”

“You might catch a ball if it heads into the stands.”

“That would be awesome.” the young boy admitted.

“We are going to see the Solar Tower, Metro Square, Hobb’s Ferry Naval Base and the Metropolist Museum of Art.” Kara continued.

“You think this is boring. I can’t wait till you get to the museum.” Alex told him with a laugh, earning a nasty look from Kara. “I want to go down, check out the exhibits.”

“Go, Me and Clark will stay up here.” Kara offered. Alex hesitated and Kara noticed.

“Alex, go. I am fine. If you want to see me not fine then by all means pull me into the teeming mass of people below.”

“I think I will stay up here and people watch. Can you believe the big names here? See the guy with long red hair who looks like a hippy in a suit? Thats Lionel Luther, the head of Luthercorp. The bald headed guy next to him is his son Lex. They are supposed to be geniuses, like Stephen Hawking level smarts.”

“The woman next to Mr. Luthor looks miserable.” Kara noticed.

“Yes, that is his wife, Vivian. I have heard she is a piece of work. Look at the smug guy over there who doesn’t know how to shave. Thats Max Lord, owner of Lord Technologies. He is only 26 and a billionaire. Thats going to be us one day Sis.”

“Why don’t you go down and ask him about the secret to his success? Don’t stay here and babysit us Alex.”

“I like people watching. There is Harrison Wells, the guy you are convinced is going to open a black hole…”

“Alex! Go check out the exhibits. There are too many people down there. I don’t want to be involved in that throng but you can have fun. I am okay.”

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t hurt herself, Alex.” Clark offered.

Kara’s face turned bright red, a mixture of anger and embarrassment and Alex held her breath, internally wanting to scream at Clark for saying that.

“On second thought, take him downstairs with you. I certainly don’t need a baby babysitting me.”

Kara stormed off, leaving Alex and Clark alone. Alex didn’t bother to follow. She knew the second Kara was covered from roaming eyes she would be gone.

“Damn it.” the brunette whispered. “You seriously had to say that?”

“I was just trying to help. I made her mad. She is mad at me, isn’t she?” the boy asked sadly. “I need to find her and say I’m sorry.”

“No, we need to give her some space. I shouldn’t have gone downstairs and trusted her… damn it!”

“Thats a bad word…”

“I think you have said enough. Lets go find Mom and Dad. Kara will come back when she is ready.” Alex hoped.

Kara was not ready, rushing up to the nearly deserted third level. Even from this height, she had perfect views of the floor and saw Alex and Clark moving to the bottom.

“My little cousin thinks he is going to watch me? Who the hell does he think he is? He wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for me. Alex won’t leave me by myself in public. This is getting ridiculous. I am sick of being treated like this. I went into a burning building and saved a lot of people. I have gone to therapy, I hardly ever hurt myself anymore. I keep it together in public, hardly have any panic attacks anymore. What the hell do they want from me? Jessica thinks she is following me to National City? No more. I have had it…”

“Talking to yourself?” a voice asked from behind, startling the girl She had been so wrapped up in her own angry ramblings she had actually been snuck up on.

Kara managed not to jump, instead placing her patented cheerful smile on and turning. In front of her was a beautiful brunette, perhaps a year or two older than her dressed in a conservative black and red pantsuit and red high heels. Her hair was long and dark, as dark as her eyes. She had a beautiful smile though, Kara admitted. She also wondered if her smile was anymore authentic than Kara’s own.

“Yeah, bad habit I guess. I came up here to be alone and wind up talking to myself.” she told the girl, fidgeting a bit and adjusting her glasses.

“So you want to be alone? Not interested in the exhibits?”

“Not really. Science isn’t really my thing. I prefer art.”

“Nice. I haven’t met an artist before. You are already the most fascinating person I have met today. Lena Luthor.” she introduced herself, offering her hand.

Kara took the hand and introduced herself. “Kara Danvers. So Luthor? Are you related to the Luthors who are putting this on?”

Lena quietly laughed. “You really aren’t into science. Yes, I am Lionel’s daughter… adopted daughter. I should be with my brother, greeting the guests, presenters and so forth but I do enjoy angering my mother. The longer I am away, the angrier she will become. So if you aren’t into science, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, my parents and sister are scientists and they were asked to come present their research on some sort of stem cells. I’m not really sure what it is all about.” Kara lied. She knew exactly what the research was about, despite biology being Alex’s thing more than hers. The more she let on that she knew, the more she would be asked about it and Kara hated discussing biology. It was another reminder that she was different, similar to humans but not human.

“So your sister and parents are scientists and you are an artist. Are you a rebel or did the gene skip you?”

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “I’m adopted too. My little brother and I are. I guess I never had the gene to begin with.”

“Now that is interesting. If you and your little brother are adopted I suppose you were older like I was. I was five. If I may ask, how old were you?”

“13. My birth parents died in… we weren’t close. I am happy. I have a great family. It must be fascinating to be a Luthor. I would imagine we have pretty different lives.” Kara admitted. For some reason she felt comfortable opening up to this girl. Maybe because she and the same sad look in her eyes that Kara saw in the mirror at times.

“Probably. I will trade you. Look, I am bored and you seem to be the only one not fascinated by the eggheads below. Want to go do something? I know of a pizza place not far from here. We could sneak out and down a Supreme? On me.”

“Really? You want me to go with you? Don’t you have bodyguards and stuff?”

“I ditched them too. C’mon Kara. I only have a week to gorge myself on Metropolis food before I go back to college in National City. The hot dogs and pizza just aren’t the same there.”

“You go to NCU? My sister and I are going there in the fall.”

“Great. Help me sneak out and I can tell you where all the great clubs are.”

Kara looked back at the floor below. She probably shouldn’t. This girl was rich and belonged to a pretty powerful family, but she seemed nice. It was possible someone in her position couldn’t have many friends who weren’t put off or attracted towards her because of her name.

“Yeah, definitely. I am pretty good at sneaking off. Let me at least text my sister. If not she will have the Metropolis police looking for me.”

Kara did send a text to Alex, letting her know she would be back in a couple hours. Alex called back immediately of course.

“Where the hell are you going? I get that you are mad but you are seriously leaving me behind? I will come with you if you are that bored.”

“Have fun Alex. I made a friend who wants to grab pizza. I will be back in a couple hours. No need to worry.”

“A friend? Since when do you make friends?”

Kara tried not to be annoyed. “Isn’t that what everyone is always telling me I should do? I’ll be back. Have fun. I love you.”

Kara ended the call and saw Lena looking at her strangely.

“You tell your sister you love her before you hang up the phone? Thats sweet. The two of you must be close.”

“She is my best friend too, my only real friend. She always has been. There were people in my past I never got to tell that I loved, not enough. I take nothing for granted now.”

“It must be nice to have a real friend. Maybe we can be real friends. First lets see if you can keep up with me on downing pizza. I have been known to gorge myself.”

“I think I can keep up.” Kara told her.

“Great. Now we just have to sneak out without my bodyguards or mother finding me.”

Kara took a look around, seeing men who appeared to be searching on the floor below and a fire escape on the other end of the third floor.

“Follow me. I am pretty good at sneaking out.”

The two did sneak out, managing to find the pizza place undetected. After an hour the game was up however. A young bald headed but handsome man, Kara admitted, found them.

“I knew where you would be. Follow the pizza. You have mother quite annoyed, dear sister.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “She can get over it. Lex, this is my friend Kara Danvers. Kara is from Midvale, North Carolina and will be attending NCU next year. Kara, this is my big brother Lex. A little secret, I tell him I love him when we end our calls to. He is such a softy.”

“May I have a seat Kara Danvers from Midvale?” he asked. Kara scooted over in the booth. Lex took her hand and kissed it, shocking the blonde.

“A true pleasure to meet you. What can I do to convince you to study in Metropolis? It seems all the beautiful women want to flee to the West Coast.”

Lena looked down and held in a laugh, noting Kara’s red face. Kara for her part was shocked. She wore blue jeans and a Midvale High T shirt, her hair long and loose and the ever present glasses on. She certainly didn’t feel she qualified as a beautiful woman.

“Oh! Uh, gosh, I don’t… I don’t know. My sister and I are… yeah, I have some… I mean I have always wanted to… Metropolis just doesn’t have the right feel for me I guess. It’s a great city though! I… yeah.”

“Maybe, I can catch up when I visit Lena next year. Perhaps you will tire of the heat and earthquakes and find my humble home more to your liking. Danvers… that would be Jeremiah and Eliza Danvers, correct? They are quite brilliant. My father has tried to hire them several times but they prefer North Carolina I suppose. What do you plan to study at NCU?”

“Art.” a new voice told him. Kara turned and saw a smiling Jeremiah Danvers walking up. “You must be Alexander Luthor. Is it okay if I call you Lex?”

“Of course Dr. Danvers.” Luthor told, him standing himself and shaking the man’s hand. “I came looking for my sister and found her with your daughter. I suppose our symposium has bored them both.”

“If there is pizza around, Kara will find it. I was just speaking to your father Lionel. You are 23 years old and nearly finished with your PhD he tells me. Impressive.”

“Thank you.”

“Well 23 is young, but not as young as 17. I need to take my 17 year old daughter back to her family so we can go sight seeing. I doubt the two of you will have time to see each other again this week. You will probably be very busy.”

“Actually I was here with Lena. Lex just arrived looking for her.”

“My sister and your daughter share an affinity it seems. I do hope I get to see you again before you leave Kara. Perhaps Lena can arrange for you to see our private collection.”

“I doubt we will have the time. Kara, are you ready?” Jeremiah asked in a tone that indicated he was not asking.

“Yeah, Lena thanks for the pizza.”

“Thank you for the company. I will find you tomorrow. Perhaps we can sneak out again, maybe for Chinese?”

“Yeah, I am sure we will run into each other. It was nice to meet you Lex.”

Judging by the pressure her adopted father was using to try and pull her away, Kara supposed long goodbyes were not in the cards.

“You too Kara.”

Jeremiah did his best to pull Kara out of the restaurant and Kara let him. Once outside she stopped.

“Are you mad I left? I just went down the block. I told Alex.”

Jeremiah’s shoulders dropped.

“No, I am not mad that you left. I am not mad that you met someone and very uncharacteristically decided to have lunch with them. I just don’t… those people… I was coming to check on you but when I saw who you were with…”

“Lena seems really cool. Why would you have a problem with her?”

“I have no problem with Lena Luthor. I know nothing about her. I do know that Lionel Luthor has been making inquiries into alien activity. He is convinced there are aliens and has tried to hack the DEO several times, or at least those under his employ. Jack told me. They have nothing to hang on him and couldn’t take the risk either way of arresting a billionaire without exposing their organization. But if he is truly looking out for alien life I don’t want you anywhere near him. Luthorcorp has had questionable business ethics and dealings in the past as well.”

“Okay and what does this have to do with me being rushed out of pizza with Lena?”

“Because her brother was looking at you like you look at pot stickers and I don’t want you involved with that. He is too old for… he shouldn’t be looking at you like that. Aren’t you ready to see a Major League baseball game? Clark is kind of upset. I’m sorry he said that Kara.”

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “It isn’t your fault. I suppose it is mine. I’m definitely ready to go watch baseball. But you owe me pizza since my free lunch was interrupted.”

“I’ll get you all the pizza you want as long as you stay away from 23 year old billionaires.”

Kara laughed a bit, then decided to egg him a bit.

“So you think he thought I was hot? Is it the jeans?”

“Don’t go there Kara.”

“The bald head is actually sort of attractive.” she continued teasing. Jeremiah scowled but then grinned and punched her in the shoulder.

“Cut it out or I am going to leash you by my side tomorrow.”

Once back, Alex and Eliza were waiting out front with a sheepish Clark.

“Have fun with your new friend?” Alex asked, curiously. Kara had never voluntarily left with a person she just met.

“Yeah, she was cool. Maybe we can all get together tomorrow. She goes to NCU. Lena Luthor?”

Alex and Eliza tensed and looked at each other.

“Probably best we stay away from that family Sis. Lets take Muchkin to see how the big boys play baseball.” Alex told her.

Kara shook her head, surprised at her family’s reaction to the Luthor name. The family hailed a taxi to go back to the hotel. Before she entered, Kara saw a man staring at her from across the street. He had a creepy smile.

“Hey Dad? Who is that guy smiling at us across the street?” she asked quietly.

Jeremiah took a quick look and shook his head.

“He’s nobody. Dr. Milton Fine I think. From what I hear he is a weird one. Ignore him. If he keeps staring at you tomorrow I will hit him. I am ready to buy you and Alex Meteor hats.”

“Do you think Lex will think it is cute on me when I see his private collection Daddy?” Kara asked, unable to resist. Jeremiah grinned at her and pushed as hard as he could.

“Kara, just get in the taxi before any other weirdos or billionaires take an interest in you.”