Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Survivors

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 35: Father/Daughter relationships can be complicated

Kara hated leaving her kitten with Dante. She was not going to drive her bike across country again. Alex’s butt couldn’t handle it. She didn’t want Streaky locked in a mini prison cell in the cargo hold of a plane and if she left her in their apartment they may no longer have a couch. So Dante was the only option. She acted as if nothing was wrong, not even Alex knew what she knew, but Kara was seeing the world through new eyes. The one man she trusted besides her adopted father no longer seemed trustworthy.

She would not tip her hand. In the past, Kara may have broken down the door to his apartment, demanding answers, threatening everyone around her. Not this time. She had been played for a long time and who knows what reaction they would have if Kara just confronted them. Would they go after Alex to make her do as they wanted? They already had Jeremiah and Eliza in the fold and no doubt every bit of research ever done on Clark. What else did they plan? The sad thing is, if J’onn had just come out and asked Kara if he could study her in exchange for setting her loose against Non, she would have allowed it. Meaning they wanted her for something else.

The psychological evaluation disturbed her the most. She had told Jessica things she never would have dreamed admitting aloud in the past. She told her things Alex didn’t know. She told her everything. Jessica always swore no electronic copies of their sessions existed. Now Kara wondered. She had never thought to check her and Alex’s room for listening devices. Had they been there for years? The men on Connolly’s teams certainly had hundreds of opportunities to plant them. Were there cameras? Wouldn’t Kara have noticed? Perhaps, but she hadn’t been looking. She should have. She let her guard down because she felt safest in her home. That was where she was weakest apparently.

Landing in Raleigh finally, not even the sight of her mother and father waiting for them with her little brother could take Kara’s mind off what she had found. She had so much to do this trip, so many conversations to be had, not the least of which was one with Clark. She had promised him last week that she would give him answers when they were all together and still hadn’t decided what answers to give him.

Eliza rushed both girls, wrapping them as best she could in her arms. Jeremiah took his turn as well, though he noticed a bit of tension from Kara. The two had talked since the disastrous therapy session but things still needed to be said and he knew this. He had hoped she had calmed over his and Eliza’s decision but that may have been wishful thinking.

Once the group arrived home and Clark rushed upstairs and back down with all his art projects to show his sisters, the atmosphere relaxed a bit in regards to Kara. She had wondered what sort of reception she would get from Clark. He seemed pleased to see her.

Kara at times missed the early years, the first year of his life and the time when she first arrived. She was the most important person in his life. Their time here was a nightmare until they met Alex and difficult for a while afterward. It was still difficult for Kara. But then, the first year of his life, she was the most important person in his universe. It was her hand that fed him, she was the one who stayed up at night and sang to him when he was sick. She changed every diaper, let him gnaw on her finger when a new tooth bothered him.

That was the last time Kara felt solely responsible for someone else. Since then she had been a responsibility to others.

Once Clark was done regaling them with his artwork and tales of the first grade, Kara casually looked around the house. At least she hoped to appear casual. In actuality, she was looking everywhere, X raying the walls, the light fixtures, checking under the phones, the furniture, carefully inspecting frames on the wall.

She could find nothing. No cameras, no hidden bugs, nothing that indicated they were being spied on. Had the devices been moved when Kara and Alex moved?

“Want to tell me what is going on with you?” Alex asked, asking into the bedroom to find Kara crouched on the floor and looking under her bed.

The blonde shook her head.

“After Clark goes to bed, we can all talk outside.” she finally whispered.

Alex was immediately nervous. Kara never asked for them all to talk. Even when she hurt herself she asked Jess to do it. Alex nodded in agreement and went downstairs to help her mother with dinner, anything to take her mind off what was sure to be no good coming.

Dinner was calm, Kara smiling at the right times, laughing at the right times and saying the right things. It was a perfect performance by Kara, one Alex had seen many times, too many times. Her bubbly alien was not bubbly at the moment, no matter how she acted.

After dinner and a movie, Transformers since Clark got to pick, the girls laid the little boy down. Before the lights were out he asked Kara the question she had been dreading.

“Kara, tomorrow are you going to tell me what adoption means?”

The blonde looked at Alex, resigned to her fate.

“Yeah Clark. Tomorrow evening after dinner. I will explain everything to you. I promise. Sleep well, my Prince.”

Kara walked into the living room, Alex behind her, to find Jeremiah and Eliza waiting for them both.

“I suppose we should talk about what to tell Clark tomorrow night?” Eliza suggested. Kara shook her head.

“We have bigger problems.” the blonde told them. “We all need to talk. Lets go outside. I am sure the house is safe but we can’t take any chances.”

The three followed her outside, away from the house to the edge of the cliff.

“Kara, what is going on?” Jeremiah asked.

“I need you to listen to me, all of you. This is important.” Kara pulled the flash drive from her pocket.

“What is that?” he asked, hoping it was some report for school she wanted them to look over but knowing better. Kara thought the house was being watched, listened to, or both. It wasn’t the first time, though her bouts of paranoia usually only last an hour or so before Eliza would walk the house with her and assure her no spy devices were present. Kara did not suspect the DEO but had heard stories about General Lane from Dante. In her mind he was the same as Henshaw and very much alive. Every time a military helicopter from the base in Raleigh flew near the house,and by near could be fifty miles away, Kara became extremely paranoid.

“I found it in the DEO system. It contains files on all of us, including one on me that had reports on my mental are records of my powers, speed, strength, everything they have been studying about me for years. They have lied to us. They have files on you as well.”

Eliza took her daughter in, saw the manic look in her eyes even in the dark, lit only by a full moon.

Alex rubbed her forehead, grimacing. While she had been hanging out at their apartment with a girl, Kara had done what she said she wouldn’t do. She had broken into the DEO.

“What exactly do these files say, Kara?” Jeremiah asked. “What information is in them?”

“I don’t know. They are encrypted and I can’t break the code yet. I will though.” she told her father confidently.

“So the titles of the files were normal but the content is hidden behind some sort of code? Why would…”

“I used Dante’s user ID to get in. He had access to this and I am sure the rest of them do as well. Whatever it is, it is important enough to keep hidden behind a bunch of random symbols. This is serious. They want you both with them. They want to know what you have on Clark, what they can’t get to in your safe. Don’t you see? The identities, the help against Henshaw, J’onn taking Henshaw’s place and now he wants you two? The way they kept someone in Midvale all those years, bringing in a psychologist? They have had us in their control from the beginning! I need help, I need someone who can unravel this code and then I need to strike. We can’t let this stand. They are as dangerous to us as Astra and Non are.”

Jeremiah took a deep breath.

“Lets calm down a second, Kara. You are jumping to a lot of conclusions. Maybe we should just ask J’onn to explain…”

“He reads minds! Who nows what else he can do. He says that is all but we don’t really know that do we? He may be able to manipulate minds. He said he couldn’t read my mind but how do I know that is true?”

“Kara, how did you get this information?” Eliza asked. “Were you alone at Dante’s apartment and his laptop was open? Does he have access to the DEO mainframe from his apartment?”

“Thats another good point, Mom. Why did Dante move in so close to us? All of them have a legitimate excuse to be in our building all the time.” she pointed out, evading the question.

“Because they want to protect you, Kara. Now answer the question. How did you get this information?” her Dad ordered.

“Does it really matter?” the blonde asked.

“Yes, it could matter a lot.” Jeremiah told her.

“I broke in, undetected. It wasn’t hard. I found a terminal in an office and once the agent left I helped myself. I guessed Dante’s password and…”

“You broke into the DEO?! Do you have any idea how stupid that is?” Jeremiah yelled. “The one place that has weapons that can kill you, the one place that is staffed with agents that would not hesitate to kill you and you thought you would break in and steal information from their system? Damn it, Kara! Alex, were you along as well?”

“No. She talked about it, I told her it was a dumb idea and she agreed. This is the first I am hearing about it. I admit I probably would have gone along if she insisted to keep her from getting herself killed. She wanted to prove that the place wasn’t secure so you wouldn’t let Mom work there. This was your real reason, wasn’t it Kara? Stealing information?”

“I needed to know the information they had on the Fort Rozz prisoners. There aren’t as many as I suspected and fewer Kryptonians. They have also captured or killed at least ten Kryptonians. I think there are somewhere around 17 left but a lot of species are very dangerous. I have heard of many of them before when I was a child. Once I had the information…”

“I could have gotten that information for you! That is why we are going to work for them, so we know what is out there, what you are going to be facing and figure out a way to stop it. What were you thinking? First with the burning yourself again, something you haven’t done in a very long time, after letting an alien hit you, and now you are sneaking around government agencies where you could easily be killed? Damn it, Kara! How the hell can I keep you safe if you keep doing crap like this?” Jeremiah asked, voice raised to almost the point of yelling.

“I don’t need you to keep me safe! How many damn times do I have to tell you that?! I can handle myself! It is my family I am worried about. Do whatever the hell you want with this drive! Ask the Martian so he can brain wipe you! Do whatever, but I am done! Yes, I took a risk but it was an important one, one that had to be taken!”

“No, it wasn’t!”

“Would you both calm down?” Eliza tried. Jeremiah and Kara had arguments before, but never as bad as this. She wanted to yell at Kara too but doing so would do no good right now.

Alex for her part stood very still, eyes wide, watching the two go at it. Like Eliza, Alex had seen the two disagree but never to the level of voices being raised.

“I have the information. Find someone who can decode it or don’t. I know enough. It exists and it shouldn’t. That is all I need to know. I was close to trusting J’onn, I really was. But this? He has my name in that place? That is as dangerous as me breaking in.”

“You don’t even know why this was there. It could have been billing information for your psychological services, it could be information they needed for your ID when you first arrived.”

‘

“I had that ID before J’onn took over. They were in the Navy when they gave us those documents!”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you know nothing of what is in those files but you are jumping to conclusions!”

“Thats it! I have had it! Why can’t I ever impress a father?”

All three of them were shocked by the question. It was so sudden and Kara’s face went from anger to desperation and tears.

“What are you talking about?” Jeremiah asked.

“I did this for all of us! I found information that could save all of us. I am building a damn fortress so we will all have a safe place if the world goes to hell. Everything I do is for this family, but you can’t be proud of me, can you?”

“Kara, I am always proud of you.” the man told her quietly.

“No you aren’t. She can’t take care of herself. She needs to be at home. She has too many horrible things inside her! Remember that? I do! When am I ever going to make you proud? Zor El hated me. He didn’t even tell me he loved me on the runway! I wanted to be a judge and that was it! I barely saw him after that. I drew pictures and made sculptures but nothing I did impressed him! I have done everything you asked but it isn’t enough. I ask you to stay away from the DEO and you go right to work for them! If I was a scientist, would that make you happy? I can do that. I can get a PhD in five years and that is only because the semesters take so long.”

“Kara, please…”

“No! If you want me to be like Alex, to study what she studies, then tell me! I’ve always tried to do what you want! What does it take for you to be proud of me?”

“I am proud of you!”

“No, you aren’t. Yeah, I took a risk but it paid off and instead of thanking me you are yelling at me! I tell you not to trust them and you are rationalizing its existence. Nothing I do… you will never be able to let me do what I have to do alone. I can’t take care of myself, right? You think this matters?!”

Kara took off her denim jacket and raised her forearm. With her other hand she used a finger nail to make a thin cut down her forearm.

“This doesn’t matter! This is just blood! Its all it has ever been! It heals, it goes away. It does not matter! Yeah, maybe I don’t cope so well but you try living a life where you are always lacking. The only reason I am alive is because my mother bargained with my bastard uncle. I wasn’t enough. I couldn’t be trusted. My father didn’t even send food for me! Now I am going to have to lie to Clark, sit there and tell him what heroes his parents were! It makes me sick but I am going to have to do it. Will that be enough?! Will you be proud of me then?”

“I am proud of you, I am always proud of you, Kara.” Jeremiah tried. “Please don’t cut yourself.”

“Stop worrying about this! This is nothing! It makes me remember I exist. By the way, the Vrang I fought? I killed him! I did it on purpose. I didn’t just paralyze him, I killed him. Are you proud of me now? I saved a woman but you are going to tell me I didn’t have to kill him, right? You are right, I didn’t. I am just like my blood, this blood!” she finished putting her arm in front of his face. She threw the flash drive on the ground.

“I’ll be back to tell Clark the truth about his heroic birthparents tomorrow.”

Taking her phone out of her jeans pocket, she crushed it in her hand. The blonde ran to the edge of the cliff and jumped, not dropping but rocketing off, the boom blowing all three of her family back a few steps.

“Kara please don’t leave.” Jeremiah begged and dropped to his knees. Alex wrapped her arms around him from behind.

“She will be back. Don’t cry.”

“If she doesn’t kill herself. I should have listened. I shouldn’t… I don’t know.”

“Jeremiah don’t put this on yourself. Kara is… Kara. She will be back.” Eliza told him, wiping her eyes and hoping it was true. All that was left tonight was to go back to the house. With no way of contacting her, they had no choice but to wait. Her and Alex would sleep, her in the living room, Alex in her room if Kara slipped into the window and Jeremiah would not sleep, wandering the house as he always did when Kara was upset.

Kara for her part, was an emotional wreck and flew fast, her t shirt nearly ripping from the wind shear. Her mind was a mess, all over the place and nowhere.

She thought of Barry Allen, the sweet guy, the handsome guy, the only guy she had ever kissed or danced with or held hands with. She knew she couldn’t have him. She thought of her father Zor El. She would tell him about her lessons in law and though he smiled and patted her head he never asked questions. He kept one sculpture she had made on his desk but what of the pictures she had drawn? Kara finally stopped when she was 5, realizing they weren’t going anywhere in his office or bedroom. He never noted that she had stopped.

Her mother loved her but her mother didn’t trust her. Her mother broke the law, sent Kara off alone to take care of Kal El with no warning. Betrayal. Hate. It was all she had known from her blood.

Her family, all of them knew they were all going to die and told no one.

What did her Aunt Astra know? Was that why the woman hated the House of El and her and Alura had a falling out? Did Aunt Astra find out and have to be shut up? Why had she killed those people on Krypton? Why did she kill those people here?

Why did Kara feel no remorse over killing the Vrang? Was her family even capable of feeling remorse?

Of course she was. She felt remorse over the woman and baby she let die. She let them die. Kara had not visited their grave this year, instead she was living on the other side of the country, causing more death.

Now those she thought closest to her had betrayed her. Dante, the blonde admitted to herself that she was not sure if she could even trust him. Had he played a little girl who had a severe case of hero worship. Who wold have done anything for him? J’onn, had his daughters really died as he said, did he have daughters? How did he escape? There was much she didn’t know about him. She felt they were in a better place but was that what he wanted her to feel. He hadn’t been surprised when she was at his home. Of course he wasn’t. He knew what her reaction would be to finding out about Jeremiah and Eliza working for him. He had expected her and controlled the conversation. He was a mind reader. He knew how people thought, whether he could read hers or not.

Kara flew with no destination in mind until she saw the lights far away and headed towards them.

Metropolis.

The girl went high, higher than the lights of the city but lower than air traffic. She found what she was looking for not long after entering over the city. A neighborhood that looked as if it had seen better days.

The blonde landed in an alley. Somewhere, a crime was happening, someone was in trouble, someone needed help. Kara needed to be that help. She needed to know she wasn’t only destruction and death.

She walked slowly, narrowing her hearing to only a mile around her. In Gotham she would have run into twenty crimes being committed by now. Of course the Bat may be reducing those numbers. It was only 11 PM. Perhaps Metropolis criminals had a later start.

She continued to walk for twenty minutes, listening, looking, doing anything to keep her mind off of Jeremiah. She didn’t even want to think what Eliza and Alex must be thinking right now. She was sure they were furious with her.

No matter what she tried, Kara could never seem to keep her emotions in check, especially her temper. What she said to Jeremiah was not fair but he did not or would not understand. She had placed them all in danger when she came to them and had been trying to keep them out of danger since. Yet they stubbornly refused to go along with her efforts.

Kara saw a man across the street hurrying along, looking all around. His paranoia matched her own but she wasn’t surprised, This was not a great neighborhood for someone who was not invincible.

His appearance did not catch her eye but the sound of his heart did.

Hearts actually. Two of them, beating in rhythm with each other.

Unless humans had developed a new condition that allowed for two hearts to be in the same body, this man was obviously an alien.

Slowing and following from a distance, she waited for him to make some sort of move, commit some atrocity. Instead he continued walking and with a last look all around, went into what looked like an old subway entrance. Kara carefully approached and saw it was a subway entrance, one that had not been used in a very long time. The lock and chain had been snapped long ago.

Quietly, as quietly as possible considering the groaning of the rusted door, Kara slipped in and followed the sound of the two heart beats in the distance. She turned on an abandoned track and moved, not walking but hovering over the ground to not make any sound of foot steps. Around a corner she heard a door open and music. The music quieted down after the door closed again but it sounded like a type of Jazz? The alien must have his lair here. Remembering that not all aliens were Fort Rozz escapees, Kara had to approach this just right. She would look into the room and see what he was up to. If it was harmless, no humans or innocent aliens in harms way, Kara would leave him alone, no matter how much she wanted to fight. When she turned the corner, to her surprise, the alien with two hearts was not there but another was. This was a rather large Valeronian standing in front of a door on the side of the track.

Kara tried to see behind the wall but a side view showed her that many parts of the wall had lead in them and what she could see, had quite a few life forms in it but not how many or what species.

Kara felt bold and at the moment, very reckless. This could be the main base of the Fort Rozz escapees. Had fate led her here tonight? Would she be recognized if Astra and Non weren’t there? Could she…

The blonde stopped thinking and decided to act, walking confidently up to the Valeronian. He looked down on the tiny blonde in confusion at first. She appeared human but humans often ran away screaming when seeing someone like him in a dark tunnel. She was either psychotic or brave.

“Something I can help you with?”

“Yeah, I want to go into the room. You are in my way.”

“What is the password?”

Kara kicked the side of his knee, dropping him to both knees and grabbed his head with her hands on both ears, squeezing hard.

“The password is let me in or I turn your head into mashed potatoes.”

“Good enough!” the alien squeaked. Kara let up and the man stood, trying to not let the pain in his knee show on his face. “All you had to say is you were a Kryptonian. I would have let you in. You look a little young to be here. Does your boss know you are here? I don’t want trouble with her.”

“My boss?” Kara asked.

“That kind of strength, you are a Kryptonian. I’ve never heard of a Daxamite on this planet and the only Kryptonians were Fort Rozz prisoners. I figure you must work for Astra. We don’t want trouble here. She agreed to no recruiting. We are neutral here, got it?”

“Yeah, I got it. No my boss doesn’t know I am here and I would like to keep it that way.”

Kara thought of a way she could ask where Astra was without making it obvious that she didn’t know where Astra was. Before she could, the man opened the door.

“Welcome. No worries, we preach discretion.”

Kara walked into the very loud room, that resembled many of the seedier bars her and Lena had visited on a whim occasionally. The only difference is this bar was filled with every type of alien she knew and many species she didn’t know. The entire bar did not go silent as she feared, though a few males did eye her. Kara walked confidently inside and headed straight for the bar. Perhaps she could get some information there.

“What can I get you?” a large, robust man with green scales asked. He was wearing an apron and Kara hoped something underneath.

“Uh, actually I don’t have any money. I heard about this place and didn’t believe it could be true.”

“Its true. What race are you?”

Kara looked around, wondering if anyone could hear her. The bar was half full and no one was pressed against her but she didn’t want to say her race. If she didn’t this scaly guy might try and kick her out and if she did he would assume she was with Astra and try to kick her out or worse, tell Astra. Her best bet was honesty she supposed. In for a penny and all that.

“I’m uh…” Kara decided to look at the fishy guy and let her eyes glow. His large, black eyes widened.

“Keep those put out girl!” he whispered. “If anyone asks, you are an Infernian. Don’t use your real name. You are the blonde Astra has been looking for, right? Rumor has it she has been after you for six years. Do you know who she is?”

“Yeah… why is she looking for me?” Kara asked, feigning surprise and placing her glasses in her back pocket.

“You tell me. She has been looking for a Daxamite teen girl since Rozz crash landed. Rumor has it that the girl isn’t really Daxamite but Kryptonian. I don’t want to know your real name, especially if the rumors are true and it is what I think it is but you need to leave. She has a bounty on you. $100,000 to whoever brings you to her unharmed. Death to anyone that hurts you. You must be pretty important to her and I can bet every alien on this planet knows who you really are and either wants to kill you or collect.”

Kara’s face did not reflect surprise telling the bartender he was right.

“If that is the case, why aren’t you calling her right now?”

“Because I wouldn’t turn anyone over to that cold hearted bitch, much less a child, even if she is your a… look my name is… you couldn’t pronounce it. I go by Charlie on this planet. I’ll give you a drink, act natural, don’t look around the club and then casually leave. Once you are out the door, move fast and don’t come back… damn it. Looks like you got trouble.”

Kara didn’t turn around, but did notice Charlie was standing straight up and backed away from her. She felt a man behind her, could feel him bend over and then he whispered in her ear.

“Hello stranger. Or is your name Kara? Not many young girls who have an exact human anatomy hanging out in alien bars. I checked your anatomy when I walked in if you are wondering. Very nice.”

Kara slid off the stool and stood to the side of the man. He was handsome, slightly taller than her, blonde hair and blue eyes and wearing the black uniform of the Kryptonian military. He wasn’t built heavy, thinner but muscular. He would be hard to handle. Despite the situation she was in, Kara felt very calm.

The bar had quieted. When a Fort Rozz escapee entered, especially a Kryptonian, patrons tended to leave.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Tyn Ex. So it is true. The girl Astra is obsessed with is Alura’s daughter. You look like your mother but have your father’s hair. The House of El saved you. I bet Jor El’s brat too, right?”

“Where is Astra?” Kara asked.

“Building her Myriad toy, where she always is, when she isn’t looking for the young girl everyone pretends isn’t her niece. The metals on this planet are lacking but we are making decent headway. You may find out soon. There are two ways this can go.”

“Do tell.” Kara told him, slipping her glasses out of her back pocket and placing them on the bar.

“The women in Fort Rozz have been lacking. You come with me willingly, I take you to Astra and you agree to be my mate. The second way this can go is simple. You resist, I beat you into submission and take you to Non. He is anxious to find you for his own reasons. Giving you to him without Astra’s knowledge would go very far for my rank when the new order is established. I don’t want to see him get his murderous hands on a beauty like you, so you will come with me willingly, right?”

Kara nodded. “You forgot about the third way this can go.”

“A third way?”

“Yeah, I kill you before you can talk.”

Kara unleashed her heat vision, blowing her opponent to the entrance of the bar. Aliens scrambled, recognizing that two Kryptonians were about to fight and wanting no part of it.

Tyn stood, eyes glowing, with a smile on his face. He unleashed his own vision, only to be countered by Kara’s. The two walked towards each other. Once in range, deciding that she wouldn’t overpower his vision, Kara struck, the blade of her hand going into his throat. Both visions stopped and a kick sent the criminal Kryptonian through the door, onto the abandoned subway tracks. With the door open the patrons rushed the exit and ran.

Tyn grabbed his throat and tried to breathe. Seeing the cocky blonde standing with a grin in the bar infuriated him. She was not supposed to know how to fight!

He flew towards Kara, who barely dodged. The two unleashed freeze breath, neither overpowering the other. Deciding this would be a physical battle, Kara attacked first, just as she had been taught since she was 13. A chop to the side of his neck did little damage, but the girl took a shot to the eye that dropped her in pain. She felt like her eye socket had been crushed. Kara had felt much pain since coming to Earth but had never been hit that hard by another person. Another strike followed, busting her lip.

The next strike was caught, Kara flipping him to the ground and punching the back of his head. A knee in his back, she unleashed her heat vision into the back of his skull, causing him to scream. He jumped up in pain, throwing her off. Tyn turned towards her and she attacked, a kick to his chest sending him into a wall followed by a series of body shots, cracking his ribs. He landed an uppercut to her jaw and a hook into her ribs. She heard them crack but not break.

Kara headbutted her opponent, splitting his nose. Her left eye was swollen and she doubted heat vision would be of use without causing her extreme pain and this could be a distraction. Deciding to even the playing field she remained close and slammed an elbow into his eye socket. Picking him up by the neck she jumped to the ceiling then slammed him deep into the floor.

Tyn shakily stood up, one eye swollen shut and swallowing blood from his nose. He had never been hit this hard since being on Earth either. This was supposed to be easy, he was lucky. He had found the prize and what a prize she was. He would be in Astra’s good graces and have a hot mate to top it off. Now he was fighting to stay alive. Somehow the daughter of Alura Zor El had learned to fight like a soldier. He didn’t have time to think about her different techniques. He simply began swinging blind. He felt a blast of freeze breath, sending him back into a wall. As he stumbled off, he felt himself bent over backwards, feet on the ground and eyes looking at the ceiling. He also felt Kara’s arm wrapped around his neck and bending him back.

The once proud warrior and devoted follower of his General and her husband had been brought into an indefensible position by the privileged daughter of a judge and a scientist.

He had only one chance to live. To beg.

“Please don’t kill me. No one… I will tell no one, I swear!”

Kara didn’t look at him. She kept her arm tightly around his neck and looked ahead. Her beautiful face was stone and she was strangely very calm.

“Your life ended when you saw me.”

Kara moved his body up and twisted, hearing and feeling his neck snap. She let the body drop and listened for a heartbeat. Hearing none, she relaxed further. He was dead.

The exhausted, emotionally numb blonde walked to the bar and had a seat on the one stool that remained standing next to the one section still in one piece. Charlie slowly walked out the back.

Taking a look at the wreckage and the dead body he shook his head.

“Where did a girl like you learn to fight like that?”

“I had to learn. I didn’t have a choice.”

The bartender nodded in respect and put a glass in front of her. He reached under the shelf and pulled out a bottle, pouring her a glass.

“Aldebaran Rum. It will work. You look like you could use one. And a few pounds of frozen beef.”

“Thanks Charlie. Sorry I destroyed your bar and killed a guy.” the blonde told him, downing the drink in one turn.

“No worries, It happens once a week at least. Look, take the bottle and get out of here. Aliens tend to stay away from the Rozz guys but they do talk. Its only a matter of time before Astra or Non are here. Go and I will cover for you.”

Kara nodded her head, seeing the wisdom in his words and also liking the way the rum was making her feel.

“I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I can handle myself.”

“Tell them what you saw. They will torture you and others if you don’t. The heat vision and freeze breath signs are dead giveaways. The blonde hair. Tell them whatever you want. But do one favor for me, please. Tell them you talked to me before this happened and I said I live in Metropolis.”

“Yeah, I can do that kid, so long as its a lie and you get out of this city.”

“I will.”

Kara took the bottle, took her glasses and walked out, not glancing at the body of the dead Kryptonian. Once on the street, she ran quite a ways before stopping by a park. She stumbled over to a bench next to a pond and sat, enjoying the bottle. She could imagine one drop would be fatal to humans and didn’t know how long she would have this feeling but was enjoying it none the less. By two AM the bottle was gone and Kara decided she should be too. Taking to the sky, she went high above the air traffic lanes and looked all around. She thought she saw Gotham and North Carolina was always just behind it, flying away from the North star. The stars weren’t helping her tonight. She kept seeing two of each of them.

By four AM, after Kara had missed North Carolina twice, she finally landed in the backyard and hopped up to the roof. The second she slid the window closed behind her, the light came on and Alex was standing there.

“Oh my God.” the older sister whispered. Kara looked like hell. Her left eye was completely shut and she had blood all over her face. Her lip was also badly split.

“Kara? What happened to you?!”

“Went to a bar, got drunk, killed a Kryptonian from Rozz. No wait. I killed him then I got drunk. Yeah, thats the way it went. Did you know there are alien bars? I didn’t. I had some Alderaan Rum. No wait, Alderaan got blown up by the Death Star. They must have gotten some out before. No, its not a real planet. Anyway it sounded like Alderaan and tastes like diesel. I wouldn’t recommend it for you humans. Us aliens, we are a different breed of weird.”

“Lay down sweetie. I’m going to tuck you in and then run in terror and grab Mom and Dad. I can’t scream because Clark really doesn’t need to see you like this but yeah, I am screaming on the inside. Just lay here, please?”

Kara collapsed on the bed, face first. Alex rolled her over and could definitely smell what must have been some sort of super strong alcohol on her breath. Running downstairs, her father who was standing by the front window did not need to guess. He ran up the stairs while Alex woke her mother.

Jeremiah came in and saw Kara sitting up now but swaying. Her face was a mess.

“Hi Daddy. I didn’t do this to myself. Aren’t you proud of me?”

“Kara, what happened? Who did this to you? Were you attacked with Kryptonite? I need to know.”

“Nope. No Kryptonite. Not your DEO friends this time. Guess what? I found an underground alien bar in Metropolis. It was so cool until I destroyed it. I met a fellow Kryptonian who knew my lovely aunt and uncle.”

“He did this to you? Do you think he followed you? Do we need to leave? I’m going to pick you up, okay? I’l get us somewhere safe.”

“Nope, he didn’t follow me. I would never lead someone like that to my home. When will you get that I can protect you? I sent him to Hell. I snapped his neck then I got drunk. I am so grounded, aren’t I?” she asked then giggled.

“Move Jeremiah.” Eliza ordered, rushing to her daughter’s side. “I don’t want Clark to wake up and see this. Carry her to the car and Alex and I will take her to Raleigh to the Hanger. She needs a solar lamp.”

“Nope, Not going anywhere Mommy. I flew a lot tonight. I missed the damn state twice. I am finally home and I want to stay here.”

“Kara you are hurt. Your eye, who did this to you?” the mother asked.

“Timmy. Timmy go snap. Timmy not a problem anymore. I want to go to sleep.”

“Kara? Jeremiah, why don’t you step outside?”

“I am not leaving her like this.”

“And I need to undress her and see how much damage… oh My God.” Eliza finished, lifting Kara’s tee and seeing the deep purple bruising around her abdomen. “She could have internal bleeding, look how her ribs move when she breathes. I think a few are cracked at least. I need to figure out exactly what she drank. It could be hampering her healing abilities. I need to undress her Jeremiah. I will let you know when you can come back up.”

“Come on Dad.” Alex prodded him, gently pulling him away. Once he was out of the room the girl knelt next to her sister and cried openly. She thought back to the bundle of joy Kara was, the first time she tried chocolate, the first time she actually swam after so much practice with Dante. She remembered the two having mini food fights at lunch together, the joy on her face when she sang in choir. Her wide eyed wonder at their first Christmas, the way she looked at the decorated tree.

“Kara, please come back to me.” she told her.

“I’m right here Alex.” Kara mumbled, half asleep. “I’m not going anywhere. I fought a Kryptonian tonight. He wanted to mate with me. I killed him instead. I doubt he wants to mate with me anymore. I wish you could have been there. You could have used your new blaster.”

“Kara, are you having trouble breathing?” she asked.

“Nope. Just want to sleep. I think tomorrow I am going to be the most grounded 18 year old in the Universe and I need my rest to deal with it.”

“I would like it if you stayed up. Do you think you could eat something or does your lip hurt to badly? It seems to be closing up.” Eliza asked.

“I’m actually not hungry for once. My stomach doesn’t feel so good. I think the Rum doesn’t agree with me. I’m seeing two of everything. Do you think its because I got hit in the head several times or from the gasoline I drank?”

“Both.” Alex answered, pulling off her sister’s jeans. There didn’t appear to be any bruising on her legs at least. Her skin was still impenetrable. Both females helped Kara sit up and changed her into a nightshirt. Jeremiah was finally able to come in but Kara had passed out, her snoring reaching new heights. Eliza took a wet towel from Alex and began cleaning the blood off her face.

“She flew to Metropolis, found an alien bar and got into a fight with a Kryptonian and killed him then got drunk. Only my little sister.” Alex said, stroking her cheek.

“I can’t believe this.” Jeremiah said, almost in disbelief. “I should have just listened to her, not defended them. She could be right but whether she was or not I still shouldn’t have just… I can’t believe this. She had to kill again. She could have been killed. She could have been taken and we never would have known what happened to her. We can’t even call Jessica right now because that will probably set her off.”

“I looked at the flash drive.” Alex told them quietly. “It does appear to be some sort of encryption but the file names are what I don’t get.”

“What do you mean?” Eliza asked.

“Under Kara it has her listed as Kara Danvers Kent. Same with Clark. They gave us the backstory. They know Kent is fake. Why in the hell would they name the file Kara Danvers/ Kent? Plus psychological evaluation? Kara has never had one of those. Why not name it therapy notes or sessions? An eval? Shouldn’t we all have a file titled psych eval or therapy sessions? Plus it mentioned strength and speed but no files on her heat vision or freeze breath? Her heat vision is as big a weapon as her strength and speed. As crazy as this sounds, I think someone saw her do something very fast or very strong and planted these files for her to find. I bet the DEO doesn’t even realize they are there.”

“Who would have known that she was going to break into the DEO?” Eliza asked.

“Maybe they didn’t. Maybe whoever did this did it a long time ago. Kara has been looking over the DEO main building a lot lately. She drives by it all the time. She is concerned it isn’t secure. Maybe whoever saw her do these things is still watching her and figured she would break into the building eventually?Its not like it wouldn’t have been there for only a short time. Until one of the guys looked into it, they may never have known. I am willing to bet as stupid as those file names are that code is just that, code. Nothing underneath. Why make the titles of the files stand out but hide what is inside them? This is a set up. I know it. Someone is watching her and screwing with her head.”

Jeremiah rubbed his forehead.

“Until she heals and sobers up we can’t really talk to her about anything. I’ll sit up with her. You two… aren’t going anywhere, are you?” he guessed.

Both women shook their heads. Alex eventually went downstairs and brought an ice pack for Kara, though she had no idea if it would do any good. The swelling in her eye went down and her lip healed, By 7 AM the bruising on her abdomen was gone and she was breathing easier. Eliza examined her ribs and none felt broken.

Kara woke at 10, Alex next to her in bed. Her head felt like it had been split open and the light seemed especially bright this morning, so much it hurt her eyes. Thinking of her eyes, one eyelid felt really swollen.

The past nights activities came rushing in on her, the fight with Jeremiah, the flight to Metropolis, the bar…

The fight.

She killed him. She had killed again.

Kara bent her head over the bed and vomited, from the thought of his neck snapping and the massive amount of alcohol still in her stomach.

“You are so cleaning that up.” Alex grumbled.

“Kara! Oh you are up… oh yeah, you are definitely cleaning that up. I’ll bring you some towels.” Eliza told her, turning and walking right back out.

Kara sat up slowly, her head swimming.

“Do I look as bad as I feel?”

“How bad do you feel?”

“Like I got into a brutal fight, had the hell beat out of me then got drunk.”

“Yep, you look as bad as you feel. You are an idiot. How can you be so smart and so stupid at the same time? Really Kara?”

‘

“Please not now, Alex. Stop yelling. My head hurts.”

“I’m not yelling.”

Eliza walked back in with the dry and wet towels. Despite her assertion that Kara would be cleaning up her own mess, she as on the floor helping her. Alex grabbed a trash can in the event Kara would need to upheave anymore of her stomach’s contents.

Once the mess was cleaned, the three women sat on the bed, Alex on one side and Eliza on the other.

“So, where is Dad? Probably trying to undo the adoption papers huh?”

“I doubt that. He has been up all night with the rest of us. He had a call to take. I think we need to sit downstairs and have a talk. All of us, need to talk calmly and rationally without yelling, don’t we?”

“I don’t think Clark should hear this. Not until I talk to him later and I don’t have it in me right now.”

“He is playing with his car outside. Your eye looks better but it is still yellow and slightly swollen around. Can you see out of it okay?”

Kara nodded. “Yeah. Its fine. I felt like I had a golf ball behind my eyelid last night but now it feels fine.”

“Okay, take a shower, brush your teeth. I am going to assume you aren’t hungry so we can all talk. Maybe we can go outside so you can wear sunglasses until your eye is completely healed, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

While Kara took a shower with Alex and Eliza hanging out in the hall, Jeremiah had taken a call, a call from a very secure phone he had in his possession.

“What do you want?”

J’onn was surprised by Jeremiah’s tone but shouldn’t have been. He guessed his theory was right.

“Please tell me you know where Kara is?”

“Yeah, she is in her bed sleeping in. Is there a problem? She isn’t up for a conversation this morning.”

“Jeremiah, many of the aliens I helped find places to live, reside in Metropolis. One called me last night. There is a bar in an abandoned subway tunnel. Apparently there was some Kryptonian on Kryptonian violence last night. Pretty big brawl between a hardened Fort Rozz escapee and a tiny blonde Kryptonian girl. It had heat vision, freeze breath, flying, punches and kicks that shook the walls of the tunnel. The amazing thing is, he heard the little blonde girl not only won, but snapped the escapee’s neck. What happened, Jeremiah?”

“Nothing I am going to talk to you about. You have some other things to answer for J’onn. Once I talk to Kara, I plan to talk to you, even if I have to come to National City. If what she suspects is true… I will talk to you later. Kara is fine and that is all you need to know right now.”

Jeremiah hung up and walked back in the house. Kara was coming down the stairs in her pajamas. She had a pair of shades on but he knew the bruising and swelling had gone down.

The man rushed over to hug her. She stiffened, not sure of the reception she would get but relaxed when he began running his hand through her hair and over her scalp. He always did this when he worried about her or wanted to make her feel better. Even after Kara had stopped having panic attacks during storms he would still let her sit in his lap and run his fingers through her hair while it thundered outside.

“Don’t ever leave me, us, like that again, Kara. Please don’t ever do it.”

“I’m sorry. Everything I said…”

“I’m sorry for what I said too. Come on, lets get you some water. A lot of water and then we can go sit in the backyard.”

Once the four had taken their seats, looking out over the ocean and watching Clark play with his remote control car, Alex decided to break the silence.

“Kara, I am not saying what you found is not legit. I can see how funny this looks, but hear me out. There are some weird things about these files. Can I tell you my thoughts without you getting angry? Because if you are angry I will dump saltwater on your head tomorrow morning and make sure most of it gets in your mouth. Understand?”

Kara did and Alex began to outline her questions about the file names and topics. Kara listened with an open mind and understood Alex’s points.

“I get that Alex but how would someone know to plant that at the DEO? Who would even know about me except someone inside the DEO?”

“Kara, you could have been seen when you fought the Vrang.” Eliza pointed out.

“Who would have seen that and not said anything to the police?”

“There were video cameras in the garage.” Alex pointed out.

“That were erased.I had my glasses on anyway. My face was distorted. You know that Alex.”

“Maybe someone saw the video who knew your face was distorted and what it meant. Someone looking for proof of aliens. Someone who would have the resources to hack security feeds, seen video of you before, heard a rumor about a creature that looked part wolf.” She kept going. Something was on the edge of Alex’s mind. Then it hit her clearly. “Someone who looked into your background and knew your fake last name was Kent. Someone who would put that name on a file for no reason. Probably thinking you faked your own name and the DEO didn’t give it to you.”

“Lionel Luthor.” Jeremiah guessed.

“Worse, Lex is the one who looked up Kara’s background. Lionel may know that aliens exist but Lex probably knows everything his father knows. Lex must have seen video of you in the club that night after we left. He would have noticed your face…”

“What club?” Jeremiah asked.

“Not now Dad. I’m thinking.” Alex told him, brushing it off before she had to answer that question.

“Alex and Kara saw Lex in the VIP club on the second floor of the Symposium last year, Dear.” Elia covered quickly.

“Oh, Okay. But when were they there at night?”

“Jeremiah! Can we focus?” Eliza asked sharply. The crap she covered up for her girls still boggled her mind.

“If he or Lionel had hacked that video before the DEO could erase it, it all they would know is you are strong and fast and might have other powers but not what they are.” Alex realized. “But how would they know when you were going into the DEO? I didn’t know, which is another issue the two of us will discuss, so how would the Luthors? It couldn’t have been there long. The files on Fort Rozz prisoners must be accessed regularly. They files with our names would be right next to them. How would Lionel or Lex… Kara?”

Kara bent over her in her chair, head in her hands.

“That Friday night, I told you Lena and I went to the Boardwalk. We weren’t alone. Lex was in the city and came with us.”

“You had talked before you went out about breaking into the DEO but never said anything to them, right?” Alex asked to be sure.

“Lex? Didn’t I forbid you from seeing that boy?” Jeremiah asked.

“No.”

“It was understood. I am forbidding you from seeing that bastard.”

“Kara, I know you wouldn’t say anything to Lena and certainly not Lex. But don’t you and Lena usually take your bike?” Alex asked.

“Lex had rented a car. We took it. We left my bike in…”

Alex picked up her phone and dialed Dante.

“Dante? Hey I need you… yeah, I know the cat likes to claw furniture. Listen I need… Its a few scratches, stop making a big deal… Dante! I need a favor. Its very important. Go to the garage and check Kara’s bike for a tracker. It could be anywhere. Call me back when you are done.”

“So lets talk about leaving me out of the loop on hanging out with Lex Luthor.” Alex suggested.

“You were busy. You had your own thing going on and Lena didn’t want to leave him. He acted okay.”

“What did you do the next morning Kara?” Eliza asked.

“I drove to the desert and watched the DEO desert base from about fifty miles away. Then I circled the DEO building downtown a few times, planning my route underneath it through a drainage tunnel.”

“So…” Alex started then stopped when her phone rang. On the other end was a pissed off Dante.

“Who the hell was tracking her?” he asked angrily.

“Probably Lex Luthor. There is more to this. We all need to talk. If you guys can come to Midvale tomorrow that would be great.”

“I will be there.” he told her and ended the call.

“There was a tracker on your bike, Kara. While you left the bike in the garage at Lena’s, Lex must have had someone put it on your bike. If you circled the DEO a few times he could have taken a gamble and had it placed on their server. If you didn’t break in, the worst that would have happened is the DEO found it and deleted it. I bet he knows nothing of importance except that you are probably a strong and fast alien and could have other powers but he doesn’t know what they are.”

“I’m going to kill him.” Jeremiah whispered.

“We are going to think about this logically and talk to J’onn…”

“He is purposely screwing with her head, Eliza! He spied on her, manipulated her, planted false evidence for her to find! I am going to kill him.”

“No, you aren’t Dad.” Kara told him. “I will handle it.”

“You won’t either.” Eliza told her. “Both of you need to stop flying off the handle. Kara, can we talk about last night without you becoming upset? I realize you were in a heightened emotional state but flying into the night, in the dark, landing in Metropolis looking for trouble and finding an alien bar? Then you had to kill him? I understand you couldn’t let him go but you shouldn’t have put yourself in that position. Then you drank alcohol? You had never had anything like that. You didn’t even know what effect it would have on you. Seriously Kara, this behavior has got to stop. You are also getting a Straight Talk phone to replace the one you destroyed last night.”

“A straight talk? But my playlists and apps and contacts… I can save the memory card and…”

“You can get a new phone when you learn to control yourself. Until then you are seriously grounded. No more going out on Friday nights with billionaires daughters, no more alien alcohol, and you are going to have sessions everyday. No matter how emotional you were, you cannot just fly off into the night, find underground bars, start brawls and then get drunk. You flew home injured and drunk! It is a miracle you made it home. You could barely see straight and had only one good eye. You could have been hit by a plane.”

“I didn’t start the brawl. He used his X ray vision to see what I looked like under my clothes! He told me that. He said he would either take me to Astra if… oh wow. I can’t believe I almost forgot. I asked him where Astra was and he said she was working on her toy, something called Myriad. He said the metals on Earth were lacking but they were making progress.”

“Progress? Sounds like we definitely need to let the DEO know about this.” Jeremiah decided. “Regardless we are not angry that you got into a fight or even that you killed him. Okay,I don’t think any of us are not angry but it is because of your lack of good decision making.I wish you didn’t have to kill him, Kara. But what we are upset about is you putting yourself in a situation where these things can happen. You have got to think more logically. You aren’t a killer, not in your heart. I know what you said about the Vrang but last night… could you not have ran?”

“I was afraid if I let him live and one day he hurt one of you, I would never forgive myself.”

“Enough.” Eliza told her. “You are grounded until I say differently. I have tried to be supportive and understanding but every time you become emotional instead of being an adult and talking about your issues, you fly off the handle. You may be 18 but you are still my daughter. Unless you plan to be moving in with us when we go to National City I would strongly suggest you stop acting like an impulsive brat. You don’t want us hurt? What do you think we felt like when you arrived last night, looking half dead? Do you not think that hurts?”

“Yes.” Kara whispered.

“You could be in Astra and Non’s hands right now and we never would have known, never would have found you or realized you were taken until it was too late.”

“I know.” Kara mumbled, looking at the ground.

“And your father is very proud of you, we all are. I realize you were trying to help but you did it in a very reckless manner. You are too smart to be acting like this. If you had begun trusting J’onn as you said, then why did you need to sneak in the information? Did you even ask him for it or did you assume he would doctor it? If you were beginning to trust him why think he would doctor it? Dante would not have gotten it for you?”

“I wanted to… show them that I didn’t need them, I guess.”

“Kara, you can’t keep things like this from me.” Alex told her. “Someone, and I would bet my life it is Lex Luthor, is trying to mess with your head and we both know it isn’t hard to do. You should have told me about him. I thought we were a team?”

“We are but you have your own life Alex and I didn’t want to worry you. Maybe I would have told you if you had texted me like you said you would Friday night.”

“Okay, so you are mad about that.”

“No, I am not.”

“Yeah, you are. You are right, if the situations had been reversed I would have been furious but I would have told you I was furious, instead of acting like it wasn’t a big deal and keeping more secrets from you. Why didn’t you tell me Kara? We always tell each other everything.”

“I don’t know Alex. I should have.” the girl told her, wanting this conversation over so she could focus on what she had learned and what she suspected. Alex made very good points about Lex but would Lex stoop that low?

Yes he would, Kara decided. The more important question for her was Lena. Did Lena know and help? Did the only friend she had ever made betray her? Was everyone out to get her or no one?

Clark had apparently gotten bored with his car and was walking towards them, intending to ask Kara why she was wearing sun glasses and wanting some himself. Jeremiah noticed.

“I think I would like to speak to Kara alone and then we can all get together after lunch and have a talk with Clark. Its probably time. Does that sound okay Kara?”

“Yeah.” she told him, sounding resigned.

“Good. Lets go to the beach.”

Jeremiah stood up and took her hand. The two began the journey to the ocean’s edge in silence. The conversation that would come would not start until their feet were in the water.