Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Survivors

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 42: Conversations

“So this is new.”Jess told her, hoping to break the ice Kara seemed to have around her. “I never dreamed you would be comfortable enough to have a session in a DEO headquarters, especially the ultra secret, high security desert compound. You doing okay?”

Kara nodded her head.

“Kara? You said you wanted to talk. Talk to me? Are you upset because you had to kill that thing?”

Kara shook her head. She had not said much since her and Alex landed in the desert, followed by the retrieval team brining in the body and Connolly’s men and the girls parents an hour afterward. Eliza had brought her and Alex clothes to change into. Apparently Kara’s sweat shirt practically disintegrated to to being near the heat she was emitting from her eyes. Now dressed in one of her standard plain white tees and light stone washed jeans. Jess knew Eliza brought that outfit on purpose.

“I…” the girl tried and stopped.

“Is it just everything? So much happening at once? I realize this has got to put a tremendous amount of pressure on you.”

Kara shrugged her shoulders.

Ryan took a deep breath and jumped in.

“Its the phone right?”

The blonde finally nodded her head in agreement. “When Jo… Director Henshaw gets here, Vivian and somebody named Vasquez are going to try and trace the call. Kelex is as well on my end. But I am going to have to talk to one of them, keep one of them on the phone for at least a minute or so. Thats how long it usually takes in the movies. I’m going to hear her voice… or his. I don’t know which is worse. But… I heard my mother’s voice but it was a recording. I knew she was dead, I have accepted that for a long time. Astra is still alive. This won’t be a recording I can turn off if it gets too much.”

“And you are scared, afraid you can’t handle it? That is understandable.”

“But I have to do it.”

“No, you don’t.”

“If I can’t talk to her Jess, how am I ever going to fight her? Either of them?”

“Maybe you aren’t ready yet. Maybe you hold off the others while the DEO engages her. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You have never understood that. You owe this world nothing.”

Kara smiled a bit but looked at the floor, starching her legs out from the chair and crossing her arms over her chest.

“No one else can. It has to be me.”

“It has to be you to fight your Aunt and Uncle? You truly believe that?”

“I don’t know if there is a god, multiple gods, a sun god, a spiritual plane or absolute darkness, nothingness, when we die. I do know that when Astra dies, I have to be the one to send her there. It is what she would want in a weird way. I also want to be the one to kill Non. I’ve been scared my whole life it seems. Scared of not meeting my parents expectations, scared of not being perfect, scared of Non. Since I arrived here I have been scared of Clark dying in the wild, both of us starving to death, scared of the animals of this planet, scared of Hank Henshaw, scared of Non and Astra again, scared of all the monsters that I brought to this planet. I have been scared of seeing another woman’s face when she realized her and her baby are going to die. I am scared of losing anyone I love, scared of being a disappointment, scared of letting them all down. I am scared of being abandoned even though that makes no sense.”

“There is nothing wrong with that Kara. Being scared does not make you a coward.”

“I know. But Non, he is one thing I can deal with. He is one thing I am scared of that I can actually beat, actually do something about. I can make him no more. For once, fear wouldn’t rule me. For once I could put an end to it myself.”

“I can understand that. But the first goal, the most important goal, is to save the human race, correct? So towards that end, does it matter if it is you or not? Isn’t the important thing that he is stopped, no matter what? Have you considered that they may be taken alive?”

Kara shook her head.

“They would kill themselves before that happened. I am so tired of being scared. I’m even scared of what I am becoming, what I already am. Sometimes, like tonight, I want to fly to Midvale and hide under my bed, or go to my cave and enjoy the darkness, the silence. Sometimes I still want to forget I exist. But if I don’t stand up for the world, who will? There is no one. If the DEO would have run into that monster tonight they couldn’t have stopped him. There was no Kryptonite bullet that would have hurt him. He was incredibly strong, smart, and healed in an instant. It took every bit of power in me to crush his skull and burn his head to nothing. If not me, then who?”

“I don’t know, Kara.” the doctor admitted. “But I am glad you are strong enough to do this. You saved thousands, you stopped an unstoppable monster, you faced Jor El and took control of the crystals, giving the human race a huge advantage with your Fortress and its knowledge. You have been doing what needs to be done despite what you want to do since you arrived here. Its okay to do what you want to do sometime. It doesn’t always have to be you.”

“If you say so Jess.” Kara told her, knowing the woman meant well. But it did have to be her. She didn’t want it. Yes, helping people made her feel good, something she hardly ever found and when she did she clung to those things. But the rest?

“The first thing I ever killed was a bear. I was appalled, sick. I couldn’t believe what I had done. I had never hurt anything, much less killed anything. I didn’t mean to, but I did it anyway. And then later on I did it again and that time I meant to. Then in Metropolis, I… think I almost enjoyed it. I told myself I did what needed to be done but that night, Dad and I had a major fight and I flew to Metropolis looking for something, anything I could destroy. I found it. What have I become, Jess?”

“You have become two things in my opinion. You have become a kind, empathetic soul who only wants to help others, ease suffering. You have also made yourself into a soldier. You have been trained by soldiers and you have placed yourself into that state of mind. The missions comes first, do whatever it takes to win, even if it means killing enemies or potential enemies. I would like to place the blame on them but you and Alex you both put yourselves in this state of mind and they all too eagerly guided you both there. Maybe none of you meant this and still it happened. But what you don’t seem to understand is that you don’t have to be a soldier to win this war. Soldiers have been fighting it for years and yeah they have had some victories but also a lot of losses. This world doesn’t need a super powered soldier to save it. It needs a hero and like it or not, that part of you that wants to help people, that makes you that hero, if you allow it. Eventually you are going to have to decide.”

“Decide what?”

“If you are Kara Zor El, avenging angel of Krytpon, bringer of destruction to her enemies, or if you are going to be Kara Danvers, Supergirl. The one who uses her powers to inspire people, to see the good in others and themselves. To see that not everyone with great power abuses it. You can’t be both. You can win this war as Kara Danvers, Supergirl, but you cannot inspire the world as Kara Zor El, soldier.”

“So I should stop? Stop killing those who… what was I supposed to do tonight? What about Non? He won’t just give up, live in a cell…”

“I’m not saying you can’t do what has to be done. I am saying you can’t constantly define yourself by these things. Just think about it.”

“I will.” Kara told her and moved to stand. Jess stood with her and reached out her hand.

“Could I shake the hand of the woman who saved ten thousand lives?”

“Of course.” Kara gripped her hand lightly and gasped when Jessica squeezed her in a tight grip. Jerking her hand back, the blonde teen began rubbing it and flexing the fingers.

“I go to the range three times a week. Gives me a strong grip. You are strong but not quite there. The fighting in the red room is doing wonders for your tendon strength but in handshakes it looks like I can take you.”

Kara did not bother getting angry, instead reaching in the top of her shirt and pulling out the tiny red cylinder she had in her bra.

“I noticed when they brought the body in that he still had two grenades left and one had been tampered with. Is that the bulb, I guess?” Jess asked.

“I’m not giving it to you. Its ridiculous. Jack wants to protect his red sun room like its some toy chest I’m not allowed to play in. He doesn’t have to live with this, I do. I can be rid of it in a second and my powers will return if I need them. There is no reason I don’t have a right to this. I took it from him. Its mine.”

“You really believe that?” Jess asked her.

“I don’t need this to hurt myself. I am not suicidal. If I want to feel normal for a while, why can’t I? Its my decision. My body, my powers, my life, my decision.”

“If you believe that then why are you hiding it? Why don’t you just tell everyone? Are you back to keeping secrets from your sister and parents?”

Kara’s face reddened, from embarrassment or anger she wasn’t even sure. Throwing the bulb to the ground, she stomped on it.

“Sometimes I really hate you, Jess.” Kara muttered.

“I wouldn’t be doing my job if you didn’t sometimes hate me. I bet your parents are done checking Alex over for any possible scratches. Probably time for you to give them the same opportunity.”

After Alex had been given a full exam by a worried mother and given a blow by blow to a very proud Connolly, she wandered around the facility, never having really seen this place in detail. It was just as depressing as she imagined it. She noted Kara walked out, red in the face and a poker faced Jess behind her. Jess caught her eye and nodded. Alex relaxed a bit.

She really had not wanted to be the one to call Kara out on taking that bulb. Maybe it would be worse now but while she could hurt herself with her powers she could accidentally kill herself without them. The idea of Kara holding a steak knife to her arm to cut… the brunette shook her head, wishing that image away. After walking around the main hub of the faculty a few times and trying to figure out a way to the holding areas, many of the agents snapped to attention as Jo… Director Hank Henshaw entered the building. He went straight to his office where Connolly gave him a rundown of events. Alex waited and as soon as Connolly walked out, she was inside.

The Director seemed surprised to see her but smiled none the less.

“You two can’t go a day without getting in trouble. You saved your sisters life and helped take down a very bad man. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. So I think we need to talk.”

J’onn let out a deep breath. He had been grateful Kara had not attacked him when she found out the extent of his powers. Now he wondered if Alex had her gun on her and Kara’s anger management problems weren’t contagious.

“What do we need to talk about, Alex?”

“How did it go with the Luthors?”

“The have no idea who you or Kara are.”

“Good. Impressive power you have there. After I found out about them I wondered what else you might be hiding. I spent a little time with Kleenex in my ear.”

“Why would you stick a Kleenex in your ear?”

“You know who I am talking about. Kara found out that the reason she had never heard of Mars was because it was called something else by Krypton. Makes sense, I suppose. Mars was a name given by humans referring to the Roman God of War. What did you call your planet?”

J’onn said something Alex could not hope to spell.

“So you just adopted the Mars title when you showed up here, then.”

“It seemed easier. Most of the off worlders who had been here longer knew it as Mars and our kind as Martians.”

“Thats cool. Krypton called your planet was Kryptonese for red planet inhabited by green idiots. Thats a loose translation of course.”

“That is a lie.” J’onn hoped.

“Keep telling yourself that. I learned some pretty fascinating things about your race J’onn. You can do more than assume the appearance of human’s and phase through walls, can’t you?”

“You already know that I can fly, read minds and influence…”

“Not what I am talking about. You can become any form you want. Animal, plant, blend against a wall or the floor by flattening your self out. You have complete control of your entire body’s molecular structure, correct? You could be a T Rex if you wanted to be.”

“Yes. I have not had a reason to do these things in a long time. I assure you I have never impersonated a dinosaur.”

“But the clothes you wear, your armor and now, the DEO issued clothes. They change with you.”

“Yes…”

“So basically you are forming the clothes with your molecules.”

“That is correct. I don’t see the point.”

“The point is every time we see you, you are basically naked. Tell me thats not true Director Henshaw. Tell me I haven’t been seeing you naked all these years.”

J’onn opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. He kept trying, mouth opening and closing until Alex closed her eyes.

“Oh God, its true. He is naked. Okay, I need to go support my sister while she makes a difficult call. Put some clothes on. Real clothes, please.”

Alex walked out, leaving J’onn still speechless. After a moment, Connolly walked inside.

“Something you need to see in the holding cells.”

“Is there a problem with containment?”

“No, the problem is Kara’s Czarnian won’t stay dead. We had to move him out of the morgue to a containment cell. What do you know about these bastards?”

“Nothing other than stories.” the Martian admitted.

“Well, his head is growing back. Doc thinks this race may store their memories, personalities and conscious in their DNA. If that is the case, the only way to truly kill this thing is too burn him to nothing. His damn heart is even beginning to slowly beat and I have no doubt once his mouth and nose are back he will be breathing. I’ve never sen anything like this and that is saying Kryptonians stay dead once the nervous system is gone. You want me to incinerate him?”

“What cell are his remains in?”

“D 6. The strongest cell we got. Promethium reenforced, only opening is the slot, with electricity surrounding it, in the event he can break it somehow. I gather he is not as strong as Kara since she tossed him like a rag doll but until we know more I don’t want him in a fishbowl.”

“A wise decision. Kryptonians have bent the metal but none have been able to punch or tear through in our experiments. It somehow remains nearly indestructible but malleable at the same time. No heat vision has melted it. I wish we had more.”

“The Krpytonite and red sun radiation are enough.” Connolly told him. “I think we should talk to this guy once he regenerates before Kara has to make a call. Maybe he would be willing to give us the location if we negotiate with him?”

“He doesn’t know. There is absolutely no way Non or Astra met him where they are building Myriad.”

“Can’t hurt to try.”

“And are you going to get into the cell with him?” Henshaw challenged.

“Nope. Pretty sure he would tear my head off as much as I would like to hurt him for attacking my girls. I think Kara could talk to him though. He is going to respect her. She beat him. A guy like that, something tells me it would go a long way.”

“He is a genocidal maniac.”

“And you know every type of maniac has some sort of code they hold on to, no matter how sick it is. He told her he had to honor a contract and couldn’t kill her. Its worth a shot.” Connolly pointed out.

“Fine, you tell the family. I’m sure Kara will do it. I would be careful not to try any food or drink offered by Jeremiah or Eliza for a few months.”

The family listened to Connolly’s thoughts and ask expected Kara was for it and everyone else was against it.

“I want to talk to him. Please Mom, Dad. If he can give us information…”

“He can hurt you.” Jeremiah argued.

“No, he can’t. We all know this. I’m going to talk to him. If he can’t tell me the location then I will make the call and we can try and trace it. But if I can avoid it, I have to try. I understand you want to protect me, but I can handle this.”

None of the three had anything to say. If they said no, Kara would think they didn’t believe in her and if they said yes and she was injured they would be a party to it.

“Your decision sis. I’ll have my gun outside the cell if you need backup again.” Alex told her.

“How long until he regenerates?”

“At the rate he is growing, maybe by morning or mid afternoon. I have no idea of his mental state though.” J’onn told her.

“Then we wait.” Kara told him. “I would really like to go home, I am sure Clark is worried. He is probably trying to listen in right now. A night of rest would be nice before I speak to him or make the call.”

“Going home seems like a great idea.” Eliza told them all quickly. “Girls would you consider sleeping over at our house? Like you said, Kara, Clark is probably worried.”

“I was attacked tonight. There is absolutely no way I am coming to your home before this is over. If we are tracked again it will be our apartment and we can handle it. Thank you though. I will call Clark before I go to bed. Promise.”

The next morning, Kara was up early, having only slept a few hours the night before. Alex was still in bed snoring. Apparently combat agreed with her. The blonde slipped out of bed quietly and went straight to the desk where she kept her journal and began writing.

Some mornings I wake up and want to save the world. Other mornings I want to break it. Take my loved ones and leave this planet, take them to a paradise, some of the planets I grew up hearing about or researched. To hell with this world. I should turn on the TV and see what Cat Grant is saying about me. I should check the online edition of the Daily Planet and find out if Lois Lane has presented me as a vicious killer. Instead I find myself not caring. I am supposed to write in this journal when I feel the urge to hurt myself. I don’t know if I do or not this morning. I am surrounded by love, the love of my family but outside of that circle I am surrounded by pain. Pain I inflict on myself, pain I inflict on others, the constant anger inside me that burns my heart, that makes me feel nothing at times and searing pain at others.

I know I will have to face many realities today. The realty of how the majority of the world reacts to me, the reality of speaking to Astra, asking her why she cowardly sent a genocidal maniac to bring me to her against my will. Why she has done what she has done and what she is planning on doing. I can no longer hide behind what will happen in the future. The future is now.

Kelex believes because of the solar energy my cells metabolize my self healing factor will prevent me from aging once I reach my prime physical form. I am immortal in theory. This cannot stand. I have goals. My first goal is to save the world from my genocidal blood My second goal is to impart as much knowledge as possible onto Clark so he will be ready to take his place in history one day. My third goal is to grow old and die. I do not consider this suicidal. It is simply the way life should be. I will not stay young while those around me age and die. I will share their fate. Once this is done, I will try to help the people of this planet if they wish but only for a while. I will in essence retire. I will keep red solar rays in touch with my body at all times to prevent my cells from metabolizing the solar energy I feel every day. I will die one day, be it in battle or by natural processes. I am a goddess on this planet, all powerful, immortal, beyond human reach, and the only thing I want to be is an artist, one who can capture beauty and restore beauty to that which is broken, like I wish someone could do for me. I would like to sing for people, be looked at for something other than my powers, not have to hide in the shadows or behind glasses. I want to dance, ballet, tap, anything that could be a challenge if only I didn’t have my powers. While I have written this, I sliced my rib cage with my fingernail. I know you will read this Alex. I am sorry. I know it is no excuse but I need to remember I am not a machine, before I become one and talk to the last living being I share blood with and tell her if she does not change her path I will be forced to kill her. If she makes me do it I will never forgive her or myself, but I will do it. It is the only way.

Kara closed the journal, checked her ribcage and as always the scratch, the hard red line and droplets of blood she inflicted on herself were already healing. She took a shower and by the time she was out, Alex was ready to go in, having been standing against the door. Without a word the blonde dressed and walked into the living room and saw the journal had been put back into the desk, meaning Alex had read it straightaway and was no doubt outside the bathroom feeling for a temperature change from the normal warm humidity to a searing heat. She didn’t bother to look at the paper or turn on the TV. Alex walked out, ready for the day and hugged her then the two were on their bikes and headed to the DEO compound in the desert. Once they arrived Dante and Hawk were present at the door and informed her that Lobo had miraculously regenerated and somehow his memories and consciousness were intact. Eliza and Jeremiah were waiting for them along with J’onn. Kara didn’t say a word as she followed Director Henshaw to the holding areas and her parents and Alex joined the rest in the control room, monitoring the microphones.

Kara noted most of the cells resembled fishbowls in a way. Almost like the cage Hannibal Lector was kept in.

“How do they go to the bathroom?” she asked.

“Cell floor drops into the ground. Separate area buried in rock and Kryptonite laden in the Kryptonian’s case.”

“Must be a hell of a sewage system.” Kara mused.

They arrived at a door, obviously different than the rest. This was made of metal, no glass at all, a small covered slit that Kara imagined was to deliver food.

“I’ll be listening to his mind. If you get in trouble I will be inside, revealing myself be damned. The only one monitoring this feed are my men and your parents. If he doesn’t want to talk, leave. No point in prolonging a long shot.”

“Got it.”

Kara looked up at the camera and the door unlocked. She moved in a blur, entering and closing it behind her, looking the two together. In the light he was even larger, despite lying on the floor with his hands folded behind his head.

“I was wondering how long it would be before you showed up. Working with humans, huh?”

“I needed an army to stop my aunt’s army. They had one. It seemed like a good match. Besides, alien, human, we all are sentient beings. Doesn’t really matter what race we are. Lobo, you said? I suppose you know me since you had a contract.”

“Kara Zor El. Daughter of Alura and Zor El and niece to Jor El and Lara. Sorry to hear about your planet. Must have been rough. Are you seeing anyone?”

Kara shook her head in bewilderment. She hadn’t expected that question.

“I… what the,,,why would you ask that?”

The large man sat up but stayed on the floor, looking at the blonde with a devious grin.

“That was the closest I have ever come to dying. If you had burned my whole body we wouldn’t be talking. You are perfect, amazing. The look in your eyes when you were hitting me, yeah, gorgeous. Just wondering if you had a mate. Because me and you, girl, the fun we could have. The adventures, the epic se…”

“Enough!” Kara shouted, trying to get that thought out of her head.

“Why not? Not like any human could hold up to you. May as well give me a shot. You like short guys or guys with shorter hair? I can get a haircut. It just came back to this length because thats what is was before I got burnt.”

“You are a genocidal monster. You killed your entire species. They were peaceful. Why would you do that?”

The large man shrugged his shoulders. “Call it a science experiment. I wanted to see if I could do it. Our race was peaceful, hardly ever argued. As you can guess I was born different. I don’t know why and I don’t much give a damn. I am what I am. I am a killer, same as you. We both know what it is to enjoy the thrill of the kill. Last night wasn’t your first rodeo.”

Kara fought back a shudder. The homicidal maniac who committed genocide was impressed by her. What had she become?

“Who and what I am is none of your business. You had a contract on me. Who placed it? Non or Astra?”

“Non at Astra’s request. Least that is what he said. I got a call from Astra threatening all sorts of tortures if I killed you. I see where you get it from. Non seems like an uppity little man. Maybe I take him out and hook up with your aunt since you aren’t interested. Kickin ass across the universe by myself gets lonely at times.”

“So Astra did know. I don’t suppose you would tell me where you were to take me? I guess I will have to torture you for this information or burn your body starting at your feet and continuing up?”

Lobo laughed. “Your pillow talk must be epic, Sweetie. No need. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. Let me fulfill the contract and I will take you there. I always honor my contracts.”

“Then why aren’t you attacking me now?” the girl asked.

“Because I can’t beat you in here and force you anywhere. I’m not mindless, girl. Quite the opposite. You think I am mad you beat me? Nah, that was nothing personal. Let me fulfill my contract. You come with me, your human’s follow us, I’ll even give them directions. Once we get there, my contract is fulfilled and I fight with you against those guys. We could have a blast. Your skinny friend is a great shot. These guys obviously got tech. It could be a hell of a first date.”

“You would do that? Turn against them?” she asked, ignoring his flirting.

“I’m not with them. I was hired to do a job. If I get a chance to complete the job I have to try. If they die, the contract is null. None of this is personal. Yeah, I would fight by your side, provided you agreed to give me a shot. One date. I know this great Dolphin watching tour in Texas, Gulf of Mexico, I bet you would love. You do like dolphins right? I love dolphins. Most pure creatures in the universe and they can beat a shark to death. Beautiful.”

“How about you just tell me where you were supposed to meet them and maybe we let you out one day to go back into space?”

“Whatever. I will escape eventually. No help needed. I can tell you where but it isn’t going to help. If there is one place I guarantee they ain’t, its going to be where I was supposed to drop you off. Yeah, they may have a lot of so called soldiers there, maybe your aunt will even be there but I doubt it. I was supposed to take you to an underground subway tunnel in Metropolis. I am pretty sure you know the one. I guess it was you that killed the Kryptonian. You made some aliens think twice about collecting the bounty on your head. Not just your aunt either. A lot of aliens from Rozz abandoned her and went on their own. They all want to be the one to torture and kill you. I guess they figured after that, you weren’t so easy a target. You are probably thinking of using my phone to trace her. Her number is under client 16. Be careful. She can track you as well as you track her. My phone is pretty hard to follow but I won’t say it is impossible.”

Kara nodded her head. “I suppose I should thank you but honestly I was hoping you would stay dead. You purposely murdered an entire race. How can you live with yourself?”

Lobo laughed. “Like I said, we are what we are. I’m a killer, but that doesn’t make me a bad guy.”

“Yeah, it does.” Kara countered.

“Then what does that make you?”

“A very bad person, one who is about to wipe out the rest of my race. Maybe we aren’t that different after all, but I have a very difficult time living with myself. I hope that makes enough of a difference between us.” Kara told him and walked out. J’onn was waiting for her.

“Don’t ever compare yourself to that monster again, Kara. You are nothing like him. I can imitate your voice. You don’t have to make this call.”

“Yes I do, J’onn. But thanks for the offer.”

Twenty minutes later the Danver’s personal special forces team, Director Hank Henshaw and the Danver’s minus Clark Kent who was at school, were in a private communications room. Kara held her shaking finger over the contact. Feeling Alex’s hand on her shoulder, she touched the contact and waited for an answer. She didn’t wait long. The phone only rang once and Kara heard a voice she had not heard in years.

“Do you have her, unharmed?”

“I killed him.” Kara told her aunt.

She heard no sound on the other end, except a sharp intake of breath.

“I killed him. You put a bounty on me, $100,000 to whatever alien brought me to you. Did you know Tyn told me Non had a bounty on me for anyone who brought you to him without your knowledge? Did you know? He wanted to torture and kill me. Did you know?!” Kara finished, voice raised to the point of a scream.

“Little one?”

“Never call me that! Never! You put a bounty on me. Those who didn’t know I was alive, know now. A lot of them don’t want your damn money, they just want me dead! Was that your plan, Astra? You are too much of a coward to kill me yourself so you hoped others would?!”

Alex began rubbing her shoulders as best she could. Usually touch calmed Kara but there was no calm now. She had thought Kara would be emotional, sad, but should have known better. When faced with a multitude of negative emotions Kara always chose anger.

“Kara, please. I did not want that. I have been looking for you since you landed. Please talk to me. I threatened death to anyone who tried to harm you. You didn’t come with Tyn because he threatened to take you to Non. I understand now.”

“You understand nothing. I wouldn’t have come to you anyway. You are a murderer. You killed on Krypton and you killed here to try and find me. You made me what I am today. This is because of you and your murderous husband!”

“That is not true Kara! You do not understand what happened on Krypton, how much was kept from you. If you would let me explain, you could see…”

“What? That you determined the only way to save the people, to stop the power from the core being used was to take a device, a weapon created by a monster? Vril Dox, Astra? He is… he wanted to use that weapon to wipe out our race!”

“And I wanted it to save it. If I could have controlled the populace, stopped the wasting of…”

“It was already too late! Krypton was already doomed!”

Kara heard nothing, allowing herself to catch her breath. She could almost hear Astra’s heartbeat through the phone if she listened hard enough.

“Kara, that isn’t true. I could have saved…”

“Krypton was doomed before I was born. Jor El and Zor El miscalculated what the power drain would do to the core. Their father, Lara, they were all involved. Mother knew about it and helped them cover it up. They lied to the council, told them it was a magnetic polar shift but they knew. No one else did. They knew the planet would explode. There was nothing Myriad could have done.”

“Kara, you don’t know what you are talking about.” the woman said, shakily.

“Jor El’s AI told me. I know everything. I know all the sins of the House of El and there are many. I know my grandfather, father, aunt and uncle ushered in the destruction of our planet and lied to everyone. I know mother broke the law she swore to uphold, that she was a liar. I know everything.”

“If they knew then why did your mother sentence me to the Phantom Zone when her sins were much greater?!”

“Maybe she was trying to save your life. I don’t know why. I do know that you are trying to build that device on another planet, this planet! What is wrong with you? Has Non gotten you so much under his thrall that you have truly turned into a monster like him or were you already a monster and I just didn’t realize it?”

“Non has nothing to do with my decisions, Kara. He follows me and I am no monster,”

“Like he followed you when he was offering positions of power if I could be taken to him secretly? That man is a monster and so are you. What gives you the right to control this planet’s populace? To kill them?” Kara asked, beginning to pace and focusing on not breaking the phone.

“This planet is in danger, the same as Krypton. I am doing this for you. I can turn this planet into something beautiful, stop potential war, all war! Bring the nations together, end pollution, scourging the Earth for power and polluting the skies! I can make this planet what you deserve. I am doing this for you!”

“And what about over population? Do you plan to kill a percentage of the population? Half maybe? Keep the other half as slaves? You are selfish, cruel, the same as Brainiac, the same as your husband. I will stop you. I swear you will have to kill me before I allow this to happen.”

Non watched Astra on the phone, her heart racing, her cheeks coloring with anger and tears streaming down her face. She may be upset with him but he could pass it off as Tyn’s lies. She needed him and the slightest excuse would set her off him.

“Really? You would side with the humans over your own blood?”

“My blood is sick, twisted. You, my parents, my House. Meet me, bring Non’s dead body and cease building Myriad. Show me you aren’t what I think you are and we can talk.”

“I cannot kill my husband. Rao forbids it.”

“There is no Rao! Its a story, told to children and perpetuated over a lifetime! There is no god. There is nothing. Only the living and they have a right to live. This is not our planet! How many people does my blood have to kill before we are worse than Brainiac? Or are we already? Stop this madness or I will stop it. If you make me kill you I will never forgive you. I will curse your existence for all eternity. I will bury you in the ground and let you decay.”

“ You will do as you are told, Little One. I realize you have been traumatized but you will not speak to an elder in this manner.”

“ I have no elders. I do not answer to you. I do not answer to anyone. Only myself and my conscience. I will speak to you like the murderer and criminal you are, not the

honorable warrior you once were.”

Astra took a deep breath, calming herself. She should have found Kara sooner. She had changed, she had been alone, been traumatized and for the first time Astra wondered if Kara would ever be the same or if she had lost her forever.

“You were not sent alone. Where is the son of Jor El?”

“I don’t want to talk about that.” Kara told her immediately.

“Kara, he would be welcome, if you just come to me…”

“He is dead! He didn’t have our powers! I had no place to live, no place to go! We slept outside, hiding! They sent us no medication or food. He became sick and I couldn’t help him. I couldn’t let the humans have him! I did the best I could but I failed! He died because I couldn’t take care of him! I burned his body. It was all I could do! He was innocent! He never did anything wrong. Out of all of us he was the best of Krypton and he died because of me!”

“Kara, that was not your fault. You should not have had the burden put on you.”

“Shut up. You know nothing of burdens. You are my greatest burden. Your answer to problems is to take over peoples minds and turn them into slaves, kill those you deem unworthy. You are no better than a Vrang. You even let Vrangs live. Pathetic.”

“ Do not speak to me that way!

“ I will speak to you as I wish! You and your husband are murderers! You want to be slave owners. You are a shame on this universe and if you had any decency you would kill yourself! I hate you! I hate all of you!”

“ Stop speaking to me this way! I am your elder! I am the only blood you have left. I am your mother now! You should have come to me years ago. All you had to do was fly. You knew I was here on this planet, didn’t you?”

“ Yes I knew you were here, I knew you escaped Rozz and make no mistake, you are not my mother.”

No one in the room had said a word, listening to Kara’s emotional outbursts and hearing the shouting on the other side of the phone. The girl had tears in her eyes but they were tears of anger, quickly evaporated as her eyes glowed then stopped and glowed again. At the mention of Kara saying Astra was not her mother, no one expected what happened next. The phone was taken from her hand by Eliza.

“Listen to me, you are not to ever say you are her mother. I am her mother! You have done nothing but hurt her. The more she learned about you the more hurt she became. You will never lay a hand on my daughter or I swear I will see you dead! Do you understand me? She is mine!”

Kara recovered quickly from her paralysis and took the phone.

“Astra? Astra?” Kara cursed in her head when she realized the call ended and sat the phone down quietly.

“Why did you do that? She knows about you now.” Kara whispered.

“She could have found out easily enough anyway. I have been waiting to say that for years. I’m sorry Kara. I shouldn’t have. I just…”

Kara pulled the woman into her strong arms and Eliza broke down.

“I’m sorry. I have had nightmares for years, nightmares where you leave us for her. I know I shouldn’t but… I’m sorry.”

“Hey, its okay. You are right, she could find out about any of you if she finds me. We just have to keep being vigilant.”

“She had to know you were mine.” Eliza sobbed, clinging onto the girl tightly.

“She knows and if she doesn’t I will make her believe it. I have to let you go now.”

“No.”

“I’m sorry, Mom. I have work to do.”

“Kara,” J’onn stepped in. “They are still working on pinpointing the trace. We need to wait.”

“Kelex?”

“Yes Kara, she is at an abandoned fall out bunker once operated by the US Government in Idaho. I can guide you there. The structure is quite large and deep underground. Impossible to tell how many are inside but the signal definitely came from just outside the entrance.”

“Looks like my tech is once again better than yours, Director. I have to go.”

“You go and they win!” J’onn told her.

Kara stopped before flying away.

“I need to take them out, Director. What if they move again?”

“We have the location of the Myriad construction site and you want to race there without backup? If you die, not only do they move, we lose you. You can’t take them alone.”

“They will hear choppers coming from miles away.” Kara pointed out.

“I know. But we don’t have to strike now. She probably thinks you have no tech. Maybe she does. If she thinks you traced her she will wait, see if she hears anything, or wait for you to arrive. Perhaps she leaves but she won’t lose another construction site unless she is absolutely sure. If we hang back, watch the area with satellites and don’t attack right away, we can formulate a plan, one that stops this once and for all. If we attack right away we suffer losses, she runs anyway and we re back to where we began. If nothing else we can track her with satellites now that we have a place to find her.”

Kara thought about this. Every instinct in her was screaming to go after the woman right now, find her and Non, find the their followers and unleash hell on them.

But looking at Eliza in Alex’s arms, a wreck, Jeremiah wringing his hands, begging her with his eyes not to go and the looks of fear on the others. If she went they would follow and fly right into a trap if she could not defeat them all. Kara looked up at the ceiling, taking several calming breaths.

If she didn’t go, she would have to deal with the emotions of what just happened. Fighting was easier, much easier.

Dropping her head, she nodded slightly.

“That makes sense, Director. We wait, we watch and we plan how to strike. I should get my family home. Call me when you have a plan.”

Everyone looked at her suspiciously. Kara noticed.

“No lies, everyone. I am trying to be an adult here, follow a lead, be a team player. You are right. My family needs me tonight and I need them. We can meet tomorrow and talk more about this when Alex is done with class. I’ll be with Mom and Dad all night if anyone is worried about me sneaking off. C’mon Mom. Lets go to your fancy beach house and make Dad grill, okay?”

Alex mouthed a thank you to Kara which she acknowledged with a wink and the family made their way out.

“So that wasn’t a complete disaster.” Connolly mentioned once the family had left the building. “If we wanted to piss her off, Kara succeeded and Eliza provided the icing for the cake.”

“It is not a surprise.” Dante told them. “I suspect like all parents who adopt a child they have always had that doubt. I would guess Eliza has always had that fear, the fear that Kara would go to Astra one day. They all have fears. Kara fears being abandoned, Alex fears Kara killing herself, and Jeremiah and Eliza fear for their children. An outburst like that was not unexpected.”

“What do you fear, Dante?” Hawk asked his old friend, curiously. They often talked of such things in the past but it had been a while.

“I fear what happens if we don’t kill Astra before Kara finds her and has to do it herself. I also think it is time we considered bringing in a specialist, someone who has great knowledge of bunker busting bombs.”

“You want to nuke the fall out shelter?” Webb guessed. “We don’t even know if that would kill the Kryptonians. Plus that shelter was built by NORAD in the 80s. It was designed to survive a direct hit by a nuclear missile. If we just destroy the progress they have made on Myriad what good would it do? We would be back to where we were when we blew up Fort Rozz.”

“We don’t nuke it. We design some way to fill that place with Kryptonite particles. The attack has to come from high above at night. Once it does, we light the place up with UV rays they come out we attack, work our way in. Stay loaded heavy for other aliens. We attack enmasse, everything we got and we win.”

“You light that place up with red rays and fill the inside with Kryptonite, Kara can’t help.” Ty pointed out.

“Exactly. If anyone escapes she can handle them from a distance. Alex can’t be a part of this. She isn’t part of the DEO in any real capacity. Alex won’t know, Kara can be called at the last minute when it is impossible for her to go inside, we take the place, kill them all end this.” Dante concluded.

J’onn shook his head. “Its a good idea but Kara has been doing something I never imagined the past couple days. She has been trusting us, following our lead. If we do something like this, that is over. She has to be a part of the planning. We won’t go ahead without her. We owe her that.”

“We end this before she has to kill her own aunt.” Dante stressed.

“No, we don’t. Quit again if you want to but I won’t do something like that to her. She has been trusting us and I am trusting her. Before we bring it up, lets figure out who we need to talk to, who we can bring in and if the idea of breaking a missile into a missile proof bunker is even feasible. It is isn’t, then we have no plan to consider.”