Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Life Equation

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 11:

“Father?” Kara stared at the hologram for a moment, stunned, not having expected to see the man she had loved most in her life.

The recorded message continued. “If you are seeing this, it means you have found out about the tracker. This was only to be played by your Kelex in the event I was not alive. Before you ask, this is not one of those AIs Jor constructed with his consciousness downloaded. I always found that creepy. I am leaving you this message so you will not be too upset with your mother. You are her life and I hope when you find out what has been done and why, you won’t be too upset with her or think less of me. To understand why it was done, I must tell you a story from your childhood. You have always lived somewhat of a sheltered life in regard to other Kryptonians and there is a reason for this.”

Krypton 37 years ago

Alura sat with Zor El in his lab, ringing her hands, nervous over her daughter. For the first time in Kara’s short life, she would not be with her Mother or Father for part of the day. Zor El had insisted she attend regular classes so the girl could make friends and learn more than science and law. Kara had shown a talent for art since she turned 4 and both parents agreed this was something to be nurtured.

“She has never been around children except for Thora. They will treat her differently.” Alura complained.

“No, they won’t.” Zor assured his wife. “Children are very accepting of each other. The hierarchy of Houses means nothing to them.”

“She is too intelligent, especially for her age. Everyone on Krypton knows what she is capable of achieving, Zor. Do you not worry that…”

“Alura, relax.” Zor put his arm around his distraught wife and pulled her close. “Didn’t Astra say she would be stopping by to check on her? It’s only five hours and then she will be back in my lab or at home with you. She will be fine.”

The two sat, Zor at his desk, studying results of his latest experiment while Alura sat in a chair in the corner fidgeting in silence. She did not have court or council meetings today and was doing her best to soothe her worry over her five-year-old daughter.

“Zor, there is a problem.” Non’s voice said through the intercom of the lab. “Come to the back of the school. Do not tell Alura.”

Alura had already beaten Zor through the door, the man having to run as fast as possible to catch her. What they saw when they arrived at the school paralyzed them both with fear.

A man, holding an unconscious Kara in his arms, along with four other men holding weapons, were in a standoff with Astra, Non, Dru Zod and a dozen armed Kryptonian guards.

“Place her gently on the ground.” Astra told the man holding the girl in his arm “Do so and you will be arrested. Do not and you will be killed.”

“Dru,” Zor whispered. “Who are those men and why do they have my daughter?!”

“Do not panic, Zor.” Zod whispered. “Keep Alura calm. We found staff members of the school including her teacher dead. These Daxamites used image inducers to infiltrate the school in their place. I believe Kara is drugged. Students say they saw her teacher inject something into her arm and carry her out. No harm will come to her. You have the word of the House of Zod.”

“My King has ordered me to bring the girl to Daxam or as a last resort kill her.” the man holding Kara said confidently, his gun aimed at the unconscious girl in his arms.

“You are outnumbered and outgunned.” Astra replied. “If any harm comes to her, even a scratch, every race in the universe will know of how much pain I inflicted on you before I gave you the mercy of death. Surrender now.”

The Daxamite snorted. “To fail my King and be imprisoned on Krypton? I would rather die. You won’t fire. If you do, even if I can’t kill her, you will place her in a crossfire. Back away, allow us passage to our ship and you can speak to the King Lar Gand and Queen Rhea about her return.”

Non walked closer to the man, Zod alongside him. Their weapons were holstered, but they walked slowly and confidently. The Daxamite finally raised his gun from Kara’s head towards the Generals when they were six feet away.

“Don’t come any closer.” the man threatened.

“We won’t.” Non responded. “We just needed you to aim your weapon at us.”

An Ion bolt from Astra’s handgun shot between the two Generals and burned a hole through the kidnapper’s forehead. Kara dropped, nearly hitting the ground before being caught by Non who covered her body, Zod falling on both of them.

The battle was short, no Daxamite was able to fire a shot while being gunned down without hesitation by the dozen Kryptonian soldiers present.

Alura and Zor ran towards their daughter, grabbing her from Non’s arms as he rose.

“She is alive. We need to get her to the healing center to determine what they gave her.” Astra ordered.

Alura and Zor sat next to a shaking Astra and Non while Kara was examined by a Kelex unit and then a Healer. She had been injected with a strong narcotic, enough to keep her sedated for 48 or more hours. It was recommended she rest rather than forcing her from her unconscious state.

“Astra?” Zor called softly to her, while Alura shook in his arms. “Are you alright? You have been shaking for over an hour. Would you like a sedative?”

Astra shook her head slowly. “I have been in many battles, Zor. I have never known fear until today. I haven’t stopped shaking since I fired that blast. Alura, Zor, you know it needs to be done.” the woman told him in a resigned voice.

“She won’t leave our sight again. I want a guard on her, even when she is with us.” Alura told her husband and sister. “Everyone knows, not only who she is but what she could do for them… or to them. She will be a target of off world enemies simply because she is the only child of the House of El.”

“You wanted her to have as normal a childhood as possible.” Zor reminded his wife.

“I want her alive and with us!” Alura snapped. “How many times have you told me, Zor? She is not normal. She must be protected. Hasn’t today shown you that? She was drugged and carried out of her school by an armed Daxamite who had a gun inches from her head!”

Zor was still obviously shaken, but his voice was calm. “I know, Alura. I was there. I am scared too. Maybe… Non, what about the Kelex unit we talked of before? I can get a waiver from the High Council, make it more powerful.”

Non nodded his head sadly. “That would be a start, Zor, but you know what must be done. I understand your point of view but Alura is correct. She needs a guard around her at all times. She also needs…”

“A tracker.” Zor El sighed. “One linked to the Kelex unit and a military squadron on standby in the event Kelex needs them. Where is Zod?”

“Leading an investigation to determine how this happened. If not for a maintenance droid discovering the bodies in the port vent, they may well have gotten away with this act. This can never happen again.” Astra told him; her teeth clenched. “Alura, Zod will no doubt request the High Council to convene. He will consider this an act of war and request permission to decimate Daxam.”

“It is an act of war.” Alura told her angrily.

Astra nodded, in full agreement, but her position as the leader of Krypton’s military curbing her desires to agree with Zod and obliterate all of Daxam. “I understand that, sister. But the King and Queen surround themselves with innocent citizens and slaves bought from many planets. They position their citizens and slaves as shields. There is no way to take out the army and the ones who rule the planet without causing mass casualties of innocents. I have no desire to step from my Cruiser and see the dead bodies of slaves and the poor surrounding me. We all know Zod’s position towards Daxam. He will slaughter the entire planet. His thirst for blood will not end there.”

Non sat back, multiple scenarios going through his head. “Perhaps a small team of Red Shard troops can infiltrate the palace and assassinate the King and Queen. The Black Zero unit may be more appropriate.”

“And perhaps Zod set this up himself.” Zor told the group, not hiding the suspicion in his voice. “He is in charge of the investigation. Somehow these Daxamites managed to land in one of our ports, pass themselves off as Kryptonians without identification, then kill the staff of the school and take their appearance. They must have had inside help and this could give Zod the excuse he needs to attack Daxam and wipe out all the sentients, citizens as well as slaves.”

“Zod was by my side.” Non reminded his friend. “He was in as much danger as I was.”

“Was he?” Zor questioned. “I have a feeling if the Daxamite had fired, it would have been you that would have been hit, Non.” Zor told the man pointedly. “Convenient that Zod chose today to visit Argo City. It doesn’t matter. With Zod in charge of the investigation I have no doubt the Daxamites will have been found working on their own with no assistance from any Kryptonian.

“As it is, Kara won’t remember this… and I agree with you all. She needs a tracker placed in her and a Kelex unit to monitor her at all times. We can hire private tutors, have guards watch her discreetly, a Red Shard unit on standby. Once she wakes and we know she is recovered from the drug they used, we should sedate her again, have the healer place a tracker… two trackers, a primary and a backup. She never needs to know what happened today. As far as she will know, she felt faint and was brought to the Healer due to a fever. I do not want her to live in fear. It is our job to live in fear… to protect her. She never needs to know what happened today.”

Non and Astra silently agreed. Never mentioning this day to Kara sounded wonderful, though neither would ever forget it themselves.

“Soldiers talk.” Non pointed out. “Eventually, everyone in the military… she will find out one day.”

Zor nodded. “When that time comes, I will explain it to her. If she is going to be angry at anyone, I would prefer it to be me. Just please ask your soldiers to be discreet. There should be little interaction between Kara and the soldiers regardless. She needs to feel like a normal child for a while, even if she isn’t.”

Present Day

“So that was the reason you had a tracker, two actually, placed in your body.” Zor El continued.

“One is attached to your left femur and the other to your right shoulder blade. They are embedded into the bone and impossible to remove without surgery. The reason for this is simple.”

Zor El’s image lit up with pride suddenly. “Even at three, I knew you were special. You would ask me questions about biology, physics, any subject you could think of. You absorbed it so quickly. By four, you were asking me questions that caused me to consider new directions not previously explored before. You attempted cell manipulation on flowers to see if you could change the color or add multiple colored petals. You were successful every time. You saw the world and the Universe as simply as a normal child your age would see a coloring book. I didn’t need the Guardians to confirm what I already knew. You come from a long line of scientists, but the House of El has never had anyone with your potential. That made you a target as well as your standing as the only child of our House.

“I know one day you will visit Earth. I remember the look of wonder and excitement on your face when you found out about the power a yellow sun could give Kryptonians. But listen well, Sunbeam. No matter how powerful you are, there is always someone more powerful. Your mind and your heart are your greatest weapons and greatest defense, not any enhanced powers you may obtain someday.” Zor El warned her even as he offered sound advice.

Kara wiped a tear from her eye, listening to her father, seeing him for the first time in years, her heart full of joy and sorrow.

The recording continued. “Since you have been watched, two more kidnapping attempts and one assassination attempt was thwarted without your knowledge by your guards. I know you are probably angry right now. I would be in your situation but please understand why it was necessary and likely always will be. Your Mother loves you more than she loves me and that is impressive considering how easy I am to fall madly in love with.

“Unfortunately, the qualities you inherited from me, qualities we both love about you, will possibly drive her mad one day… sort of like the time we escaped from the jungle and barely made it to the ship before a Yagrum had us for breakfast. I had you wrapped around my front, running, screaming my head off for Kelex to be ready to close the skimmer door behind us while you watched the creature gaining on us, laughing the entire time. Not my brightest moment and you of course told your Mother how we proudly fought off the Yagrum while taking most of the credit. Your mother never let me forget that. She yelled at me for two days and then wouldn’t speak to me for a week.”

Zor El’s face turned from one of happy remembrance to one of solemnity quickly.

“The fate of Krypton rests on your shoulders.” Zor El told her sadly. “It isn’t fair to you, but we both know life isn’t fair.”

“No, it isn’t.” Kara whispered, her throat burning and unable to hold back her tears.

“Your Mother will worry, she will push you at times, irritate you at others and she may try to control your life to an extent. I promise you though, everything she does is because of her great love for you. There is nothing she will not do to see you safe and happy. I am sorry, Kara. I know Krypton does not have much time left. I know that in order to save Argo City, I will have to activate the Dome myself and I know I will die in the process. Know that when you see this, I am watching you from Rao’s Light. I always will be.

“Remember to pray every day to Rao, to be thankful for the piece of his light that gave the spark to your beautiful soul. Remember to tell your Mother you love her every single day and remember that not everything in the universe can be solved or understood by science. Love, compassion, devotion, these are some of the things we must have, but should never be measured nor should we try.

“If you wouldn’t mind, for your dear Father, please do not blow up our lab, at least no more than once or twice. Remember our motto, ‘if it looks like it’s going to blow up, it probably will so run.’

“I love you, Sunbeam. We will be together again one day, I promise you, and we will have many more adventures together. Until that day, take care of your Mother, for the both of us.”

The image of her father disappeared, and Kara was left standing, tears sliding down her face, staring at Kelex.

After a few moments of silence Kelex asked her if she would like to speak to her mother. Kara agreed and took the comlink from him before he exited the room.

Her Mother answered immediately. Instead of the angry look Kara expected, she appeared sad.

“You found out about the trackers I suppose?” Alura asked.

Kara nodded.

“Did Kelex show you the message from your father?”

“Ye… yes.” Kara told her in a slightly shaken voice.

“You are crying.” her Mother noted. Kara did not answer. “I won’t apologize, Kara. I can’t because I would do it again and more if it means keeping you safe, alive, and happy.”

“I know.” Kara said quietly.

The two women stared at each other in silence, neither knowing quite what to say before Alura asked a question.

“Why?” she asked her daughter.

Kara knew what her mother meant. “Because I remembered what we experienced during Krypton’s destruction, the tumbling of Argo City, the screams of those who couldn’t make it into their shelters, the roar of our buildings crumbling to the ground while you held me in a dark space, twisting and tumbling. You protected me… kept me safe. This time…”

“This time you could do something about it, do the things you wanted to do then.” Alura finished quietly. “You weren’t helpless.”

Kara nodded her head.

“Where was Kell?” Alura asked.

“Helping defeat an escaped Dryad in an alien prison so he could secure a reactor room that was damaged. If he hadn’t been there, National City could have been destroyed by a nuclear explosion.” Kara said, a hint of pride in her voice.

Alura chuckled. “I suppose I should have listened to Non. I was always worried about you meeting Kell. From what Non said, he seemed to be a lot like you, the type that would follow you across the Universe with no hesitation. I hoped perhaps a lawyer or businessman may tend to balance your more adventurous side. I should have known better. You would never be happy with someone like that. So, honestly daughter, what is Kell to you?”

Kara thought for a moment, having thought of this many times since they left Argo City. “All I can say for certain right now is that he is my partner. Beyond that, it is confusing.”

Alura smiled softly. “A partner is a good place to start. I assume since you two were in this National City saving lives, you were not discussing the future and multiple triplets and there has been no offer made. Would that be correct?”

“Yes, Mother.” Kara confirmed.

Alura suspected as much. “I have made the bonding announcement to the Council and city and told all of yours and Kell’s mission. I will call another meeting, retracting…”

“No!” Kara nearly shouted. “I mean… just leave it for now. If we decide this is not something we want, I will announce that I changed my mind. Just… not yet. Not until I can figure out what I want.”

Alura nodded, hope blooming in her heart. “I will back you, daughter, no matter what. Just don’t be afraid to open your heart and follow it, wherever it leads you.”

“I will. Thank you, Mother. I love you.”

“I love you too, daughter, with my entire heart. Please, don’t argue with the Green Lanterns’ protection. I have no doubt they will be as discrete as you ask them to be, but I hope you can understand your need for extra security.” Alura’s fear for her safety was evident so Kara heeded her Father’s words.

“I do, Mother.” Kara told her. “I won’t be difficult.”

Alura seemed appeased by this. “You will always be difficult. As crazy as it drives me, I love that about you.”

“Something you might find interesting.” Her mother paused briefly, a shadow of a smile on her face, mixed with overtones of anger. “The last assassination attempt on you occurred two weeks before you turned 12. A shapeshifter had landed in the badlands and made his way to Argo City and somehow snuck past our entry points. We still have no idea what planet he came from. You know there are many shifters in the Universe. We suspect he was hired by Zod’s flunkies after I sentenced Zod to prison. The shifter hid on the roof of our temple, planning to shoot you as soon as you exited the gardens. A young boy, only a few days shy of 15 had just returned from an exploration trip with his father and had been assigned to the Flamebird. He was ordered to shadow your protection detail for training. The young man was told to inspect the rooftops before you exited the Gardens. He found the shifter, weapon in hand and attacked him.”

“Kell.” Kara whispered.

Alura nodded. “When he saved the child during Krypton’s death, that was not the first time Non had noted his bravery. Kell wrestled with the larger Shifter and eventually obtained his rifle and killed him.”

“He never told me.” Kara said quietly.

“And he most likely never would. The troops were all ordered to remain silent so you would never know how close you had come to death. He has grown from a brave boy to a brave man. Trust each other and stay together, whether you be mates, partners or friends.” Alura said.

Kara laughed quietly. “He offered to fake his own death and stay behind on Earth if I did not want to be mated after I told you I had accepted his offer. He didn’t want my honor to be questioned. I told him I would never allow this nor leave him behind.

“Mother, I just need… time. I have so much to figure out about myself and him, my role in building a new Krypton… it’s a lot.”

Alura nodded her head in understanding. “Luckily, you have always been good at finding answers. I shall continue to prepare for the bonding ceremony whether it happens or not. Would you work with me to determine what you might like if you decide to go through with the ceremony?”

Kara nodded her head. “That sounds reasonable, Mother… I am sorry. I never discussed this with you and know…”

“Kara, stop.” Alura told her, raising a hand. “I knew what I was getting into when I married your father. You are so much like him and as scared as I have been for you, I wouldn’t want you to change. Just please, try to be safe and come back to me. That is all I ask of you.”

Kara nodded her head with determination. “I will be back in under six weeks, waiting at the mouth of the Wormhole to dock with one of our Battle Cruisers. I swear to you on the Blood of the House of El, Mother, I will be careful, and no aliens or humans will know that Argo City still survives… except for Kal’s friends who already know. I will call you in the morning. I love you, Mother.”

“I love you, Kara. Good night.”

Kara watched the image of her Mother fade and felt farther away from home at that moment than she had since she had left in her ship for Earth. The revelations of the day, learning so much about her past, her family’s actions, what she was supposed to be. Kara had never considered herself to be more intelligent than her father. She had always thought that understanding science was just part of being a member of the House of El.

Kara wiped her eyes and stood straight, walking to the room she had left Kal and his friends.

Only Kal was there.

The man looked sadly at his cousin. “I tried not to listen in, but I heard you crying. I wanted to stay, to make sure you were okay.”

Instead of answering, Kara rushed him, wrapping him in a tight hug that he returned. The two held each other for a few moments.

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I am supposed to do. I’m not used to feeling confused.” she admitted, letting him go and backed away from him a bit.

Kal’s warm smile eased her distress, even if only a little bit. “That is a common state for us Earthlings. I suppose you would say it is universal, especially in those who wish to always do the right thing. I have no answers for you. Just know that I am here for you and I can listen.”

Kara smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “I wish you had grown up on Krypton with us. You would have made such a good lab tech. I can tell, you would have been great at handing me tools and bringing me lunch.”

Clark laughed, grateful that she seemed to be in a better mood and her usual playfulness was coming through once again.

“Where’s Kell?” the girl asked, looking around, “And where have all your friends gone?”

“Let’s see… Kell went to the ship. He said something about needing to grab a couple more rifles, three handguns, his armor and a few stun grenades he had not unloaded yet. Bruce said he will have tickets for us to a Metropolis Meteors game tomorrow waiting at the stadium. Arthur and Victor have not arrived but will be staying near for the next few days to make sure all is well. The others went a few floors down to our training room. You will have plenty of time to get to know them but for now, I think it’s time you experienced a very annoying human task. We will have to go back the way we came and once outside of the Wayne Industries parking garage hail a taxi. That will be a chore.

“So what do you think of Watchtower? This building has some of Earth’s most advanced technology.” Kal sounded pleased, happy to be able to show off the latest of Earth’s advancements.

Kara looked around and admitted it was nice… for humans.

“It’s very efficient looking and no doubt a great aid in fighting crime and saving others.” she told him. He knew from the tone of her voice she was being polite.

“I know, Earth has a long way to go before we catch up to Kryptonian technology.” he admitted.

Kara shook her head. “Earth doesn’t need to catch up. It is coming along fine. It isn’t a matter of the intelligence of a species. The Earth is 4.543 billion years old. Humans have only inhabited this planet in current evolution for 300,000 or so years. The human species are newborns by universal standards. Understand, Krypton at its destruction was over twelve billion years old and the Kryptonian species as we are now had inhabited the planet for eight billion years. You could say we had a head start. At 300,000 years old we were still throwing rocks at each other over disagreements. Being an old planet and race was both a blessing and a curse. Our planet’s age was the cause of its destruction.”

This caught Kal’s attention. “How so?”

If there was one thing Kara loved, it was imparting knowledge. She was delighted to explain this to her cousin, happy that he was showing such an interest in his heritage. “Think of it as if the planet were your farmhouse in Smallville. In one hundred years, it would not be standing. Of course you can restore it, but eventually, everything it was will have been replaced with new material. A new roof, new walls, new floors. The appearance would remain the same, but the parts would be completely different. While you can do that to a house, a core of a planet is more difficult.

“Once the core began to give way, it was only a matter of time since it could not be restored. Despite our vast technology, despite Rao’s blessings, a planet, like a house, can and will eventually die. Your father had a plan to shore up the core, perhaps give it another century at the most but to do so he needed a special element, one not easy to find. A Green Lantern named Tomar Re attempted to gather this material, but it was rare. I do not know if he ever succeeded. There just wasn’t enough time.”

She stood silently with Kal as he absorbed what she told him, Kell soon joining the two, informing them that Kelex would have the ship hovering and cloaked over Clark’s apartment building should he or the ship be needed.

An hour later, after Kara and Kell decided they never wanted to take a taxi again, they entered Clark’s apartment to a table full of boxed food.

“These look like D’jal worms.” Kell whispered to Kara, taking a long look at the Lo Mein Noodles.

“They smell and taste good, that’s all that matters. Besides D’jal worms can be quite tasty if boiled long enough over a fire. You just have to make sure they are dead before you swallow them.” She whispered back. “My parents and I camped quite often. Mother was a bit more refined for wild food from the forests and jungles, but my Father loved living off the land. It was satisfying to eat parts of Krypton before those parts were able to eat us.”

“You wanted to be an explorer, but it seems you have had many more adventures than I have.” he told her.

Kara brushed it off. “I understand you have had a few adventures yourself in Argo City. One involving a shapeshifter perhaps?”

Kell shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat.

“Kell?”

The man swallowed and grinned at her. “It was no big deal. I saw an assassin on the roof as I was doing the boring patrols where nothing ever happened. He was holding a rifle and was obvious aiming at someone down below. I yelled for him to stop. He turned and there he was, no longer resembling a Kryptonian but the largest alien I had ever seen. He must have been 8, maybe 9 feet tall. I attacked him, we engaged one another, and I wrestled his rifle away then shot him. He disintegrated. All in a day’s work.”

“So… at fourteen, you bested a nine-foot-tall shifter, took his rifle and gunned him down. Pretty impressive for a cadet in training.” Kara told him, a small grin on her face.

“Fine,” Kell said, a bit frustrated. “I saw him on the roof and yelled for him to lay down his weapon. He turned and I saw his true form. He was maybe 5’10, no taller than 6 foot. I ran towards him and jumped. He struck me with his rifle, but my arms and legs tangled up with the weapon and I think one of my fingers accidentally hit him in the eye. I fell to the ground with his rifle in hand, not sure exactly what to do. He grabbed the rifle again, jerked it towards him but my finger had somehow become stuck in the trigger guard. I pulled my hand back because it hurt and in the process fired the rifle, shooting him in the head. Basically my lack of coordination saved my life. I told you I was awkward at that age.”

Kara laughed, the image of Kell accidentally getting tangled up between a shifter and his rifle amusing her. He certainly had grown out of his awkward phase.

“You saved my life too. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Kell replied, “General Non never wanted anyone to tell you of your close calls because he didn’t want you to live in fear. I didn’t want that either, so I never said anything. Krypton exploded a week later, two days after I turned 15, and we were all busy to reminisce. I also had somewhat of a crush on you and would have been too nervous to speak to you. You have no idea how my stomach felt the night of our dinner. It took everything I had to not stutter.”

“I thought you did very well.” Kara told him. “After we eat, would you go to the roof with me?”

Kell nodded, having thought of this himself.

The two finished and Kara walked into the kitchen finding Lois and Clark playing with their food and throwing bits of rice at each other. It warmed her heart to see the two of them playing around and the obvious love between them.

“Kal?”

“Yes, Kara?”

“I realize you have your God, the one you have no doubt grown up worshipping. I… I want you to know you have a piece of light from Rao in your soul as well, like all Kryptonians. Kell and I are going to the roof to pray. Would you like to join us? If it is uncomfortable, I understand completely.”

“It would be wonderful.” he told his cousin, that warm smile returning.

“Lois, you are welcome…”

The woman shook her head. “Sounds like a Kryptonian thing. I’ll be working on my op ed, tearing Cat Grant to pieces. If you could though, I would appreciate you dropping a word to Rao for me. Ask him to never let me meet your mother or her super soldier twin, okay?”

Kara winked at her. “I’ll do the best I can. Rao is merciful.”

Lois let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good…”

“But my Mother is often not. I’ll put in a good word for you though.” Kara told her and walked off.

Lois looked at Clark. “She was joking, right?”

Clark smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Not a good idea to start a fight with a woman fierce enough to raise Kara. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”