Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Life Equation

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 31:

Kara landed alone on the rooftop of Gotham City Police Station decked in her blue body suit and red cape. The building had been evacuated, Batman and his friend, the commissioner, had left, leaving her with the young, blonde-haired, skinny girl who could not have been older than twelve. Kara now had a clear view of the explosives wrapped around her body.

The girl gave her an eerie smile. “Kara El.”

Kara raised her hands and walked closer to the girl, nearly in arm’s reach. “We should get something straight. The name is Kara Zor El.”

The little girl giggled. “A Daddy’s girl. Isn’t that what the humans would call that?”

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “A coward. That’s what humans would call a gutless being who uses young children to communicate from a safe distance. You are pathetic.”

“And you are impressive. I am not sure what you did to my androids, but I have an idea. I’ve been watching your small ship zipping around the solar system. You learned of a way to open interdimensional breeches. Very impressive. I tried to arrive closer to your planet but realized you had effectively blocked me. That meant I had to use another method of contacting you.”

Kara X-rayed the little girl and was sickened, but not surprised by what she saw. A small parasite attached to her brain and spinal column, wires running through her body and millions of nanobots in her bloodstream.

“My ship is awesome.” Kara said, keeping the Coluan talking. “I call her Rao’s Wrath.”

Brainiac chuckled, the sound unnatural coming from the young girl. “And I thought Rao was a merciful God.”

“He is until you mess with Kryptonians.” Kara cocked her head to the side, continuing to bait the monster. “So, you are scared to approach Earth? I don’t blame you. I doubt you could have taken Apokolips in an even match.

“So, what do you want? Do you wish to try and pierce my head again with your little tentacles? Steal knowledge directly from my mind? Because you aren’t a conqueror… you are just a simple thief.”

The little girl was no longer smiling. “Do not think I am some warmonger. I am a being greater than simple war. I gather knowledge. I cannot be baited into a fight against hundreds of Green Lanterns and the so called ‘Justice League’. Darkseid was a fool to think he could take the Earth in war. If not for your new method of counteracting my advances, you would be a fool to think Earth could defeat me. My quest for knowledge is conducted without unnecessary loss of life if possible.

“Proud Kryptonians… the spiritual warriors of the Universe, who cannot be defeated, blessed by your god… you are bound to the rules of honor and the weakness of mercy. I am bound by nothing. Unlike your former sentimental race, nothing will stand in the way of getting what I desire.”

Kara smiled coldly. “I can see that. Using a child to get my attention is dishonorable and certainly something no Kryptonian would have done. When I heard you were a 12th level intellect, supposedly equal to myself, I expected more. For instance, how long have you known about interdimensional tears?”

“Over two centuries.” Brainiac replied arrogantly.

“And you stole it from another race, didn’t you? Discovered the method in some other planet’s tech? You didn’t think of it yourself. It took me five minutes while eating a corndog to figure it out. So I’m wondering, is there anything you have invented yourself since building your shrink ray?”

The little girl was still not smiling. “I have come to offer you an opportunity. Your skill has impressed me. You know I have the pieces I need to solve the Anti-Life Equation. Join me, not as a prisoner but an equal. We will discover every secret this Universe has to offer and perhaps beyond. In return, we would have the Anti-Life Equation and find a world to test it on, one that would not offend your sense of honor, perhaps Mars. I will guarantee the safety of Earth, including your cousin… but you do not belong there. Beings such as the two of us are destined for greatness beyond saving a simple race of primitives like the humans.”

Kara laughed. “What makes you think I need your pieces to solve the Anti-Life Equation?”

“But you do not have the technology to telepathically plant the equation in the minds of billions nor the mental capacity. My brain has been modified and enhanced, greater than any living creature. Your mind, no matter how great, can only sustain so much, before the thoughts drive you insane, shutting your brain down completely to defend itself. Once I have solved the equation, you will not be able to stop me.”

Kara shook her head. “I don’t have to stop you. The Anti-Life Equation is flawed. It’s a con… made to fool sentient beings into believing life is futile. If life is truly futile, why would you continue this search for knowledge? What would be the point?

“No, you are just another thief and warmonger, no matter how much you claim not to be. Your claim of only wanting knowledge, of not having an ego, is a lie… and so is the Anti-Life Equation. If you attempt to use it, I will be there.

“I have Rao, I have love, I have pain, I have emotions you could never hope to understand. I will be able to handle the thoughts of billions because I have the truth on my side. You live inside your ship and study life through the thoughts of others… but you have never experienced it yourself. How would you know the futility of something you have never experienced?”

The little girl stared at Kara for a moment before a smile lit up her features. “Loneliness + alienation + fear… life = death, self = dark. It is only a matter of time.”

Kara shook her head. “Not even close. Companionship + understanding… self = light, death = rebirth. I have truth and you have lies. I didn’t have to steal pieces of a false equation to create my own. Don’t bother collecting Kryptonite from the remains of my home to try and destroy me. Thanks to you activating that monster through Lex Luthor, I have devised a way to counteract the radiation. Whatever you think of, I can stop it.

“So keep making your moves because when I make mine, it will be checkmate.”

There was anger in the young girl’s expression now. “This is your last opportunity, Kara Zor El. Join me and the two of us will find the secret to the birth and rebirth of entire universes. Travel to futures, travel to pasts, see infinite expansions of universes, be gods of our own.”

Kara shook her head. “No, you are only here now because you fear me… the prophecy about me destroying you wasn’t a prophecy, it was a promise.”

Kara moved her hand quickly, placing a blue chip behind the girl’s ear at superspeed. Wally West came in faster than she could see, taking the vest off the girl, activating the explosives. Before the explosives could ignite a second later, Superman was on the roof with his cape in his hands. Wally placed the bomb in the fabric and Superman held it closely, his back turned to shield them. The blast was deafening but the shock wave never broke through his cape much less his invulnerable body.

The Flash grabbed the girl and ran for Watchtower.

Kara and Kal followed, arriving in a blur to find the girl on a hard bench in the training room, one of many tools and constructs that had emerged from one of Kara’s small devices. The matter manipulation device that had been on Kara’s ship had been taken apart and now stood over the table in a larger form, pleasing Kara. Kelex’s work was exceptional as always.

A blue light rose, wrapping the girl into a box of energy, one that disappeared quickly. The chip that Kara had placed behind the girl’s ear was removed and handed off to Wally who was to return it to Non.

Suddenly, Kara and Kelex were alone with their patient.

“Kelex?”

“Stasis is complete.” Her friend reported. “The parasite is unmoving as is her blood and internal organs.”

Kara let out a breath. The first part was done. They had immobilized the nanobots in the blood stream along with the parasite embedded in her brain and body. She would not die.

She also would not live if she ever came out of stasis.

Now came the hard part.

Kelex handed her some clear gloves which Kara pulled on, using the familiar routine to take a deep breath and force herself to relax. She raised her hands and, to the surprise of the people watching though security cameras, the training room came to life, holographic screens appearing all around, displaying a visual representation of the girl along with Kryptonian symbols depicting information most of the watchers couldn’t understand.

“Kara’s field lab.” Alura said to anyone listening or wondering what the hell is going on. “She has the child in stasis. The girl will not die so long as her body is in this state.”

“She won’t wake either.” Batman pointed out.

Alura shook her head at the doubt in the man’s voice. Addressing him directly, though speaking to all the gathered heroes in general, she said, “I do not know what religion, if any, you practice, but if you ever need to see a miracle to believe, watch my daughter. She will show you miracles, Bruce Wayne.”

In the training room that now served as Kara’s lab, she allowed Kelex to place sensors on the side of her face. These sensors would allow the field lab to operate in concert with her brain’s electrical impulses and movements similar to her lab in Argo. It wasn’t as smooth in its responses as being in her actual lab, but it was close.

The matter manipulation device was moving closer to the table, the small movements of Kara’s head and fingers guiding it into position.

“Kelex, do you have the crystal from the Scout Ship ready?”

“Yes.”

“Has Brainiac left the system yet?” she asked.

“The Lanterns are moving towards him… yes, he has escaped.”

Kara was not surprised. “Hook up the crystal to the Fortress and get Uncle Jor on the line.”

To the observers’ surprise, a hologram of Jor El appeared.

“Old man, you are going to have a lot of explaining to do when I see you again. Right now though, I need your opinion.” Kara said, motioning to the occupant lying on the table.

The AI of Jor El ran his hands just above the girl’s body. “This cannot be undone. Once she is out of stasis, she will die. The parasite is too deeply attached to her brain and her blood is mostly nanobots.”

Kara’s expression was intense as she responded, “I plan to wipe the nanobots and parasite from her body by turning the inorganic material to organic tissues, bone marrow and blood cells. With the remainder, I will use a slight gravity pull, make the particles subatomic iron and remove them from her body.”

“And you plan to use these organic tissues to repair her brain?” Jor El asked.

“Exactly.” Kara stated firmly.

The hologram shook its head. “I am sorry, Kara, but that is impossible.”

The blonde smiled at his words, her eyes shining brightly. “That’s exactly what I needed you to say. Kelex, I’m done with him.”

On the floor above, Kell looked at Kal El and said sarcastically, “Your Father is a wonderful source of information.”

Non shook his head, an unexpected smile lighting his face. “She knows it is impossible. She simply needed Jor El to tell her that.”

Kal El shook his head sadly, seemingly confused as to why the General was smiling. “I’m sorry he wasn’t more help.”

Non laughed outright now. “He said exactly what she wanted to hear. There is one important fact you should learn now about your cousin: when someone tells Kara something is impossible, she will do whatever it takes to prove them wrong. Hearing it from Jor was just the motivation she needed to destroy all doubt in her mind. For Kara, things are only impossible until they are not. So watch and be amazed for she is about to do the impossible.”

On the floor below, Kelex locked Kara’s legs in place with clamps on the floor that covered the length of her boots.

“Rao, grant me your strength, skill and knowledge.” Kara whispered. “Kelex, let’s get started. Overlay her biometrics over her body. I need to do this on an atomic level and then check. If that doesn’t work, I am going to have to use my X-Ray vision to go subatomic. We will go all the way to the source of the universe if we must.”

“You realize even you have your limits.” Kelex replied. “There are millions of nanobots in her blood stream and throughout her body. This could take days. Once you start…”

“Just keep bringing me Cherry Coke in a glass with a straw, partner. Feed me nachos. Extra jalapeños and try not to get any cheese on my face. We have this. You trust me?”

Kelex tilted his head and responded, “62% of the time.”

Kara smiled. “We’ve accomplished more with lesser odds. Time for Mama to go to work.”

The matter manipulation device shot bright streams of energy into Kara’s gloves, and she began to move over the girl who now resembled a human with no skin thanks to the hologram.

Up above, the crowd had grown as Justice Leaguers who had heard what happened flocked to Watchtower. What they saw on screen was amazing: colors, screens, holograms of various human bodies and a brain, the unknown girl’s appearance changing as the almost electric map of her body overlaid the girl’s actual body.

The minutes turned to hours. Parts of the parasite slowly faded, then disappeared. Kelex brought Kara a cup of Cherry Coke and she sipped it through a straw, her eyes never leaving the girl’s body.

“What is she doing? How is this happening?” Bruce finally asked.

Non smirked. “You are seeing the technology of Krypton in the hands of its greatest mind. She is performing a total body reconstruction on the girl. I’ve never seen this done… no one has.”

“No one has ever tried.” Alura said proudly, a pleased smile gracing her face. “Changing inorganic matter to organic matter… Rao, she is beautiful.”

Bruce admitted the scene was beautiful and what he saw her doing, never moving, hands barely twitching but slight shifts in the parasite inside the girl’s body had him greatly concerned.

He had never been a religious person, yet Zatanna had shown him many things in this world he had not believed possible. Now, he wondered if the girl would be the same as she was before her body was stolen by the thieving Coluan if Kara succeeded in removing the parasite.

Bruce hesitated, but finally asked, “Is the girl still alive? Will she regain cognitive function? I understand her brain is being repaired but will she be brain dead or even still… there?”

Almost as if summoned, a new girl walked in beside Dick Grayson. The young teenager with purple hair and dark eyes was dressed in a black hoodie and jeans. The kid, because she was noticeably young, looked like a walking poster for Hot Topic minus the piercings, except for one small jewel on her forehead. Bruce recognized her as Rachel Roth, a member of Dick’s team, remembering she possessed incredible power and Dick had taken under his wing to guide and protect.

“We heard what was going on.” Dick told his old mentor. “I needed to see this for myself. Is Brainiac attacking?”

Bruce shook his head. “No. He is scared of Kara… he all but admitted it. Kara neutralized his one advantage of surprise.”

Before he could explain more, Rachel screamed and fell to the ground.

“Rachel!” Dick yelled and dropped next to her. “What happened? Do we need to get you out of here? Are you losing control?”

The young girl stood up with Dick’s help and shook her head, breathing heavily.

“I looked at the kid’s soul. I left my body and traveled to her. She lives… she is still in her body.” Rachel told the room.

“Then why did you scream?” Bruce asked.

The shaken girl took a deep breath while still leaning on her mentor as he held her up. “I was surprised. I… I couldn’t look any longer. Behind Supergirl, there is this bright, red light… so bright it overcame me. It’s almost wrapping her up in a cocoon and there is a blonde man beside her. He has his hand on her shoulder and appears to be whispering in her ear. The man looked at me, smiled, and said ‘Hello, Rachel’. He even winked at me.

“I’ve never experienced anything like it. It felt so… warm… I have seen auras, but this was something different. This was no normal aura or ghost. I was overwhelmed.”

Alura walked over to the small girl and placed a hand on her cheek. “There is no shame in being overwhelmed, child. I imagine looking at the true form of Rao would be disconcerting for anyone, Kryptonian or otherwise.

“You saw a celestial being, Rao, our god, surrounding her, sharing his warmth and light. The man beside her is Kara’s father, whispering encouraging words in her ear. I can always feel his presence near her, even though I can’t see or touch him.”

Rachel had tears streaming down her face. “I’ve… when I have looked at people before I have seen darkness, evil, despair. I’ve never seen or felt anything so… beautiful.”

The room quieted, all eyes back on Kara. They could not see any energy surrounding her or a man standing by her side. Rachel had felt it though. She had learned to travel out of her body, to send her soul to search for other souls. The experiences were usually bleak, dark. But not this time. This time she felt comfort and peace.

In her makeshift lab, Kara was sweating for the first time since she landed on Earth. Her heart was racing while she struggled to keep perfect control over her body.

“Kelex.” Kara whispered. “I need the full body support. I’m beginning to really cramp.”

Kelex moved quickly to Kara’s bag, then ripped off her cape and moved to her legs, attaching the required support. The clear polymer that trapped her legs now rose to her back and the back of her neck while braces covered her arms.

“Are you okay?” Kelex asked, worry now evident in his robotic tone. “You are experiencing physical sensations you have not felt since you arrived on Earth. Perhaps you need a break?”

Kara grunted in disagreement, even as she longed for that break. “I can’t lose rhythm, Kelex. It’s like a song. Picking it up again after stopping mid-chorus is possible, but it will never sound the same. I can’t stop.”

“There are millions of nanobots in her blood stream.” Kelex protested.

Kara rolled her eyes, unable to move her head. “Exactly. This won’t be easy or quick but every single one of them has to be removed.

“Pull a blood sample and give me type and distance between bots. There must be an arrangement to these, a pattern. I am going to have to go into her heart and lungs as well. I can stay awake. I don’t care how much I hurt, I can’t stop. Once I find the pattern, it will go quickly.

“As you can see, I’m nearly done with her brain. Run simulations on cognitive functions then the remainder of the parasite particles need to be removed. They are small enough to be pulled through her pores. Once I can reconstruct this thing, I might be able to figure out a tracking program, look for others around the planet.”

Kelex asked sharply, “Does that seem like a good idea?… never mind.”

Kara understood his reticence. “Don’t worry, I won’t save the whole parasite. Maybe just a single nanobot to trace the power source. A partially deconstructed parasite would be easier to use though.”

“I’ll have a gravity pull set up immediately.” Kelex told her then moved to complete his task.

National City

Alex sat in her apartment with Winn, having a discussion about the rest of her life. She was still reeling from the offer Non had made, J’onn’s opinion that she should accept it and not sure what to think about it.

“Alex, you have to do this.” Winn told her, his excitement on her behalf obvious. “If James were here, he would tell you the same thing. Have you called him?”

Alex shook her head. “No, James is a reporter.”

“Photojournalist.” Winn corrected.

“In this case, there is no difference, Winn. He’s a good guy but while Lois may keep the existence of a large population of Kryptonians in space a secret, James won’t. If Cat Grant finds out, the entire world will find out, then the entire Universe. Besides, he doesn’t have the security clearance and you know better than to give out top secret information to a civilian. Besides, even if James did keep it a secret, I wouldn’t want him to have to make that decision.” Alex explained.

She sat lost in thought, Winn remaining unusually quiet while she tried to work through her concerns. Sighing, she ran her hand through her hair, then looked at her best friend. His comforting presence enabled her to finally voice those thoughts. “This is a big deal. One way or another, my life will change. I will either go to another planet or stay here and risk regretting it every day if I don’t.”

Winn got up from the chair he was sitting in and moved to sit beside Alex on her couch. Turning to face her, he said, “Okay, tell Winn about it. What is Argo City like? Is it all alienly and stuff?”

Alex shook her head. chuckling. “God no, it’s like a high tech, fairytale land floating in space. There are free, automated taxis, floating statues, beautiful homes, a gorgeous temple and art… Winn I didn’t see the tip of it. Kara’s lab… she showed me things… things I never imagined, things I would never see in my lifetime here… and we were only in her lab for maybe ten minutes. Just the tech I saw… I could spend years studying it and I know I have seen next to nothing so far.”

“Cool. Tell me again about the spaceship. Are we talking Enterprise or Star Destroyer?” The boyish grin on Winn’s face had Alex cracking up. His love of all things science and science fiction was one of the many things they had in common.

Returning his smile, she answered, “Probably bigger than a Star Destroyer. Kara mentioned it had a superweapon, sounds kind of like the Death Star. It’s called a ‘solar storm cannon’. Whatever it does, it operates off something Kara made called an ‘Alphahedron’. The armory, the ships, the tech… I’ve never seen anything like it, and we have seen a lot.”

Winn sighed, admitting to himself they had seen many wonderful and some frightening things in their jobs, so if Alex was impressed to the point of being almost speechless it must have been unbelievable. “Look, if Kara has this zippy thing that can get back to Earth in a second, it’s not like you would be gone forever or stuck there. You could… I don’t know, come back on weekends or something.”

Alex smiled and wished it could be that easy. “My job would be to monitor an ecosystem being propelled a billion years in less than a year, study plant and animal life, the oceans, the… I doubt I would have any time to come back considering everything else I want to do.”

Winn caught that something was off in her tone. She was hesitant. Probing further, he gently asked, “What else do you want to do?”

Alex smiled, her eyes lighting up with hope, no matter how hard she tried to contain it. “Her interdimensional device… I could go out in the field each day, do my job, and be back home every night. I could… I could have a child, Winn. My own child.”

Winn said nothing for a moment, taking that in. He knew how long Alex had wanted to be a mother. She had been on the adoption list for so long and her heart broke the longer she received no calls. Alex had always been torn by work and her wish to have a life outside of work.

He reached over and put his hand on her shoulder. He smiled softly when he saw he had her attention. “What are the people like from what you saw? Pretty grim, serious types? Those soldiers who were with you looked pretty serious. Kara doesn’t look that serious but from what you have told me, she is kind of set apart from the rest.”

“The people are… happy. Despite everything they have lost, they seem so happy. Children run free, no one is worried about crime or children being kidnapped off the street. There are no drugs, though there is alcohol thankfully.

“They are also religious… I mean they are very religious. Soldiers, citizens… and especially, Kara. They have every reason to hate a god that took so much from them, yet they worship him. They are not afraid of death, they just see it as another level of existence.

“They are… good people. Hank admitted to me that he tried to rattle Non and could not get the man angry… and her aunt, she was so impressive. Her mother can be a bit… much, but she is a good woman who practically worships her daughter. I suspect she also encourages others to put Kara on a pedestal.”

Winn listened intently, mentally organizing and cataloging everything she said. After a moment, he began listing off positives. “So, you can learn scientific secrets you would never have the tech to learn here. You can witness and be a part of a freaking new planet coming to life. You would be considered a member of the House of El which is like the biggest deal on Krypton or Argo City, whatever. You could have a home, a job you love, a child and raise that child in a safe, loving environment surrounded by good people who are apparently extremely religious and honorable. You would get to work beside a twelfth level intellect, which sounds to me like she is the smartest thing going in the Universe.

“Why are you having a tough time with this decision? The only con I see would be having to learn the language, but you are so smart you will pick it up in no time. Plus, some of them know English so it’s not like you would be lost until you did.”

Alex leaned back and closed her eyes. “What about you, Winn? Wouldn’t you miss me? Seems like you have my bags ready and a rocket pack on my back. Who are you going to bitch about bad relationships with? James?”

Winn laughed, thinking of the ladies’ man and how James didn’t do relationships while he and Alex always wanted one and failed miserably. “I would go with you, but I wasn’t invited. Once you’re all settled, you can always ask Kara to zip me over for a visit. And on top of everything you’ve already told me, I know there is going to be a freaking army of Green Lanterns protecting this planet. Some short guys called the Guardians of the Galaxy…”

“Universe.” Alex corrected.

“Whatever!” Winn exclaimed. “You would get to interact with them too. Can you imagine what secrets they know? They created the freaking Green Lantern Corps.”

Seeing the look on her face and sensing her genuine distress at leaving him behind, he wanted to ease her pain at the expense of his own. He could never hold her back from the opportunity of a lifetime no matter that it cost him his best friend and confidant. “Of course, I would miss you, Alex, but this is a no brainer. You can’t say no. Everything you have ever wanted has been laid at your feet. They have recruited you! That’s a big deal. I doubt they are going around Earth searching for employees.”

Alex took a drink of her beer. “Do you think it is really that easy? It just seems too good to be true.”

“It is that easy. You deserve a few things that are too good to be true, Alex.” He said earnestly.

Alex smiled at her friend’s seriousness. James was her friend, but she and Winn had always had much more in common, perhaps because they worked in the same field and spent many nights together pouring their hearts out over beer and pizza. He was literally her brother from another mother.

“So, if you had the opportunity, you would go?” she asked.

“I would say yes so quickly it would leave you spinning.” Winn told her.

Alex was taken back by the quickness. “Really? You would leave everything behind?”

Winn threw his arms in the air. “What would I be leaving behind, Alex? I would make sure you got zipped or zapped over. What else would I be leaving? My apartment? Working twenty hours a day? I could figure out how to love their pizza and beer… hell, I would introduce them to our pizza and beer. You can’t miss this opportunity, Alex.”

Alex knew he was right. She had fought with herself for days but really there was never any choice. “I don’t want to be in anyone’s shadow, Winn. I won’t be some lab assistant, no matter how advanced the lab is.”

Winn laughed. “Alex, you have never been anything less than awesome. You are twenty-four and second-in-command of the DEO! No one can keep you in a shadow. So… have you talked to her? Kara, I mean?”

“No. I’m not certain if Non has even told her.” Alex said, wondering.

“Then talk to her. If she is cool with it and you make your position known, then there really isn’t a choice to make.” Winn told her.

Alex agreed, her mind made up. She would talk with Kara and make her final decision from there. “I should probably get back to Metropolis. Brainiac might be up to something and life is never boring around Kara. There’s no telling what she has gotten into since I’ve been away.”

Alex did find out what Kara was up to not long after that. Non had sent Ninna to pick her up in Kara’s fighter and fly her directly to Watchtower.

Ninna did not talk to her when she arrived in National City, signaling she was waiting on the roof of Alex’s building. She just gave her a smile when she stepped on board and flew off quickly. Alex noticed the woman looked exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept for days. Halfway across the country, Alex asked what she had missed in the last couple days.

“Enemy came to Galaxy.” Ninna replied in broken English. “Used little girl with bomb to talk to Lady Kara.”

Alex stiffened at that development, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had no idea any creature could sink that low. Not even the worst aliens she had faced targeted children. “I suppose he killed the little girl after he was done?”

Ninna shook her head. “Lady Kara will save. She working on science… stuff. Been up for forty-nine hours. None of us want to sleep until she does.”

Alex shook her head. Forty-nine hours? Saving the girl from an advanced alien parasite. Was it possible? Though she hadn’t seen Lex Luthor after he was captured, Alex had heard about his condition.

“She’s doing this here? Not in Argo City?” Alex asked.

Ninna punched in coordinates for auto pilot and leaned back, closing her eyes for a moment. “Lady Kara using her field lab. Brought from home. She will save little girl. She always saves. She is never wrong.”

Alex’s eyes widened. “You did see her attempt at building a lightsaber, right?”

Ninna’s eyes opened slightly and she smiled. “Lady Kara and her Father had been known for sometime explosion when they work. She figure it out in end. She always do. She is Rao’s Hand. Her intellect is a gift from Rao. What she does with gift makes her who she is. She will save, like she did our people… and she will build lightsaber too, you will see.”

Ninna said nothing else, closing her eyes and seeming to doze off until an alert beeped ten minutes later showing that they had arrived. Ninna punched in another set of coordinates and the invisible ship landed on top of the skyscraper.

What she saw when she walked into the observation room at Watchtower frightened her. A couch had been brought into the control room, something she had never seen before. Alura was leaned into Kell, sleeping while the man had his arm wrapped around her. Other Justice League members sat in chairs and had fallen asleep. Only Bruce, Diana, Clark, Non and some teen she had never seen before, stood in front of the giant monitor. Alex could tell they were exhausted, just from their posture.

What was on the monitor caused her jaw to drop a bit more.

Kara was wrapped nearly completely in some hard plastic, only her hands able to move, wearing the clear gloves she had seen the blonde wear in her lab while manipulating subatomic particles. Holographic screens surrounded her, and bright lights of various shades were emitted from her hands to the girl’s body.

Despite this, Kelex was slowly feeding her Nachos, placing one chip into her mouth at a time then giving her a drink of some beverage through a straw.

Alex was taken aback by the look in Kara’s eyes. They were tired, and the look on her face could only be called haggard. This was not the sunny blonde who always smiled. This was a focused woman, only standing because of the clear braces around her body.

Non turned towards Alex and gave her a brief smile then turned back to watch his niece.

Alex thought of asking what Kara was doing but it was obvious from the screens. She was turning inorganic matter into organic matter and reconstructing the girl’s heart. It appeared all traces of the parasite were gone from the girl’s brain and skeletal structure and Kara was now systematically eliminating nanobots from the girls heart, lungs and blood.

“The girl’s soul is still there,” the teen who Alex had never met before told her quietly. “I can see it. It hasn’t left her body and the blonde man with his hand on Supergirl’s shoulder is still whispering in her ear. I can’t hear what he is saying. Her aura is surrounded by this bright red glow, so bright I can’t look at it for long. Lady Alura says it is their god.”

Alex said nothing, standing with the others watching the twelfth level intellect do something she had never would have believed possible.

“She is reconstructing… not just eliminating but reconstructing altered DNA to its original form.” Alex realized trying to wrap her head around how much focus this must be taking and the absolute precision movements at the subatomic level.

Alex observed a beyond exhausted Kara, trapped in her braces, her eyes focused on the little girl, changing and rebuilding while Kelex used a slight gravitational field above the stasis chamber to draw subatomic iron particles from the girl’s pores.

“Bruce, can you bring up that screen directly in front of her?” Alex asked.

Bruce said nothing but he did zoom in, showing a screen surrounded by letters Alex recognized as Kryptonian. The sight of the girl’s body, even her blood was nearly perfect. Foreign matter in the blood stream was disappearing at an impressive rate yet the girl’s blood volume never lessened.

“She is almost done.” Alex realized.

Kell sped up next to Alex quickly, looking at the monitor. “She hasn’t had a break since we brought the girl here. Is she really close, Alex?” he asked.

Alex analyzed the readings in front of her, not being able to decipher the Kryptonian symbols, but she knew the human body well enough to determine Kara was about to succeed in fully removing the parasite. “I’m seeing an almost perfectly healthy girl, except for the fact that her body isn’t moving. It’s like she is frozen.”

“She’s locked in a stasis field. Every ship carries emergency units.” Non explained. “Kara used a temporary stasis chip to give Mr. West time to get the girl here. She placed the child in a field unit on arrival to stop Brainiac from killing her.”

In the training room, Kara took a deep breath. “Kelex?”

“No trace of the nanobots.” her AI confirmed.

“Heart, spine, brain… how does her brain look? Will she have movement? Cognitive function?”

Kelex ran a light from his optical scope over the girl. “Her brain is in perfect order. Once she is out of stasis, she should wake. It will be a shock to her system at first, as it is to all sentient beings, but it will be overcome quickly.”

Kara nearly flexed her fingers to remove the gloves. “If I have missed the slightest detail, she is dead the moment I pull her from stasis.”

“You haven’t, Kara. Look for yourself.” Kelex assured her.

Kara smiled tiredly. “You want me to trust my eyes? I can barely use X-Ray vision to see the subatomic structure. Atomic is as far as I can see clearly. I’m relying on the scans.”

“Which are correct. You were perfect. Shall I release you and turn off stasis?”

Kara looked doubtful for a moment. “Kelex if even one nanobot is left it could burn her system, give her an embolism, travel to her brain or heart. What if I got the DNA sequencing wrong or her blood type? I should double-check.”

“You already double-checked.” he reminded her.

“I should triple-check.” Kara argued.

“You did that as well.” Kelex said, reminding her. “I have gone over this twice. Kara, I have always made my doubts known to you and anything not involving explosive material has always been successful. You have succeeded… she is perfect. Now let’s wake this poor girl up. I am sure she has parents who are frantic about her safety.”

Kara took a deep breath and closed her eyes, something she regretted since she had trouble opening them again. “Deactivate matter manipulator, close all screens and attach vital monitors. Is the former inorganic material contained?”

Kelex looked to the monitors over the containment unit. “Unfortunately, it is not enough to reconstruct even a portion. Even the nanobots have died. They were most likely relying on electrical stimulus from the brain.”

Kara sighed, but the answer didn’t surprise her. If she were going to do this heinous act to someone, that is exactly the power system she would use. “Let’s do this.”

Kelex turned off the stasis chamber as Kara held her breath and listened for the girl’s bodily functions to restart.

The girl sat up suddenly on the hard crystal-like table and took a deep breath, her eyes wide and heart racing.

She slowly looked around then nearly jumped when she saw Supergirl and some floating robot beside her bed.

“You’re Supergirl.” The girl realized after a moment.

“You can call me Kara. What’s your name?” the blond asked with a gentle voice.

“Tammy, but I like Tam.” the girl answered shakily.

Kara smiled at her and reached out with her gloved hand, placing it on her shoulder. “Relax, Tam. What’s the last thing you remember?”

Tammy thought hard, trying to shake off the fuzziness in her head. “I was at the zoo. My parents let me… stay… I wanted to see the new lion exhibit… then… nothing. Where am I?”

“You are at the Justice League Headquarters. I bet you recognize the people coming in, right?” Kara asked.

The girl looked towards the door at the end of the room and gasped. Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman had just walked in followed by Kell.

“Oh, my God.” the girl whispered in awe.

“They will explain what has happened and make sure you get home, okay?”

The girl nodded numbly, looking back and forth from the most famous heroes on Earth and Supergirl whose body was encased in some sort of clear plastic.

“Yeah… okay.”

“Kelex, release the supports and remove the sensors.” Kara ordered.

“Are you sure?”

Kara gave him an irritated look. “I don’t plan to be here forever. Release them.”

Kelex did so and a newly freed Kara backed away from the table, smiling as she watched Diana softly and calmly greet the girl.

Kara made it three steps when her eyes closed. She could not feel her legs as oblivion rushed to greet her and she dropped right into Kell’s waiting arms. He scooped her up bridal style and took her to the nearest available bed as Alura, Non and Alex made their way into the room.

Alura kissed her sleeping daughter on the forehead, laying down next to her and wrapping an arm around Kara, falling asleep quickly. Non smiled at the sight of mother and daughter curled up together in a deep sleep.

Looking over to Alex, he asked, “Have you made any decisions? If not, you still have time.”

Alex looked at Kara. What the blonde had just done erased any lingering doubts that may have been in her head. There was only one real question she still had. “Does Kara know you what you have offered me?”

Non shook his head. “I was hoping to have your decision or at least know which way you were leaning before bringing it up.”

Alex’s focus rested on the Kryptonian miracle worker as she slept. “I need to talk to her first. I have questions only she can answer.”