Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Life Equation

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 44:

Epilogue

“Are you two sure about this?” J’onn asked the two cousins, somewhat in disbelief as they stood in the Fortress of Solitude roughly four hours after the defeat of Brainiac.

Kara glanced at the case Kal was holding containing the skull-shaped, Kryptonian Codex. A look passed between them before she looked back at J’onn and nodded. “Kal and I both feel it would be better if the Fortress were to stay on Earth. It is well concealed, and with you having access, you could call on its knowledge whenever you wished. You can also contact Argo City securely through the Fortress if you need us. All we really need is the Codex.”

J’onn studied the two intently, seeing the slight apprehension behind their seemingly forced smiles. They had offered to leave the Fortress, Jor El’s lab, on Earth under his protection. It was strange that either would allow this, considering how precious the Fortress was to Kal and the amount of knowledge that Kara was willing to leave behind.

Then it hit him. He grinned knowingly at the two. “You don’t have enough space to set it up in Argo City, do you?”

“Not even close.” Kara admitted, her smile dropping as she sighed. “We would need at least fifty acres, plus it would need to be anchored into the ground. So, yeah, you got me. We need you to hold on to it until we get the new planet stabilized. Regardless, you will always have access if you need it, even after I move it.”

J’onn laughed, enjoying Kara’s blunt honesty as usual. “Consider it safe until you are ready for it.”

The Martian’s expression softened, a sad smile settled on his face. “I will really miss you two. I truly hope you visit often.”

“As often as we are able.” Kal El promised as he stepped up to J’onn and hugged him, offering his old friend his assurances. “And when Earth needs us, Krypton will be there.”

“Unless we have a major experiment going on.” Kara added, then tilted her head in thought. “Or there could be a bonding ceremony, or a dance or temple… or I’m in my hot tub… but as soon as we are done, Krypton will be there. Honestly, the Lanterns will probably beat us here, but we will be right behind them.”

J’onn nodded, chuckling. “I understand… emergencies must be prioritized. I think the Justice League can handle protecting Earth for now.”

“I’m trusting both of you to keep an eye on Alex for me. I made a promise to her father, to watch over her, but her destiny lies with Krypton… mine is here. I won’t be able to be there for her… and I already miss her.” J’onn’s voice cracked slightly as he said this, but his smile didn’t falter.

“Don’t worry, J’onn, she is family. Besides, I’m sure she will insist on visiting Earth when we have a moment, or we want nachos, or those incredible hotdogs Kal and I had in Metropolis… anyway, you are always welcome on Argo so it’s not goodbye.” Kara assured him.

The blonde hugged the man, then pulled out her special device and opened a tear, leading the two men into the Lake House where Red Shard were waiting with her aunt and uncle.

Kara smiled brightly at the heartwarming sight she saw when she entered the living room. Fin was on her back on the floor laughing hysterically while Krypto stood over her, licking her face. The blonde had a feeling that she would be sharing her new four-legged, best friend with her protégé.

Alex sat on the couch, still in her armor, watching the dog and little girl playing together with a fond smile. Her new partner and her young protégé had bonded over their love of biology in the few hours they had known each other. Fin was fascinated by Earth and Alex was an animated guide for the youngster, answering every wide-eyed question. Kelex had his work cut out for him translating for the two until Alex was fully up to speed in her knowledge of Kryptonese.

Kara took a moment to reflect on how well things were going since Brainiac had been killed.

It had taken ten minutes for her to figure out how to repair and reverse the shrinking technology of Brainiac’s ship then another thirty minutes explaining to the Lanterns what they needed to do to accomplish the repairs and adjustments. Currently, they were in the process of moving the remains of the ship from the planet.

It had been decided that each Lantern would be responsible for releasing the trapped civilizations from their own sectors. Even Darkseid would be released… eventually… one day… maybe.

The Nightwing had remained in place, but even from miles away, the back of the ship still lingered over the Lake House. This made it easy for soldiers to travel back and forth from the ship to take some time enjoying the feel of ground beneath their feet and open sky above their heads.

Kell and Kelex were busy packing all of Kara’s belongings, her samples, her findings and more importantly, her new clothes.

Argo City had been informed by General Astra that Lady Kara had been retrieved and would be returning within hours.

The General also announced that Krypton and her allies had been victorious… Brainiac was no more. As a result, there was quite the party in the streets of Argo City, the people gleeful at their military soundly defeating the galactic terror Lady Kara had told the Council of not long ago and her long awaited return.

A play by play including the use of Myriad, Red Shard and their allies protecting Lady Kara, her brilliant destruction of the feared shrinking ray and the Solar Storm Cannon being used so effectively made Kryptonians burst with pride.

“Kara?” Astra called out from another room of the house, snapping the blonde out of her musings.

“Yes, Aunt Astra?”

Guided by her niece’s voice, the General entered the room. “The human who dresses strangely has told me the United Nations Security Council wishes to speak to me. I assume they have some type of authority on this planet, so I am about to initiate a signal to a receiver in some control room in a place called Geneva .”

Given the number of strangely dressed humans that were roaming about, Kara took a shot in the dark on who would be brave enough to approach her aunt with the request. “Would this be the strangely dressed human in black? Or the one in green?”

“The one in black with the pointy ears. The woman in the armored lingerie was with him.” Astra replied, no hint of judgement on the two heroes’ attire in her voice. “Join me on the bridge of the Scout Ship. The meeting is to be held using the English language, but there may be words I am not familiar with.”

Kara nodded and followed her aunt to the Scout Ship without further word, having suspected some human organization would attempt contact with them.

While the two prepared for the meeting with Bruce and Diana, Winn stood outside gazing up at the sky, staring in awe at the Nightwing. He had heard the Kryptonian warship was big from Alex, but he had no conception of how big until it entered Earth’s atmosphere, sucking up daylight like a dark avenger and dwarfing Brainiac’s ship.

Kell stepped up beside him, smiling at the sight of Krypton’s might as she hovered impressively in the sky. “She is a work of art, isn’t she?”

Winn wasn’t quite sure what to say. A work of art didn’t begin to describe this fearsome vessel, an almost living, giant bird in the sky that he never could have imagined. Despite the dark hull, Winn would swear he saw it shimmer at times and move like ripples in water. Instead of answering, Winn nodded his head, a feeling of melancholy overcoming him.

Kell noticed the sad look on his friend’s face, not something the man was used to seeing in regard to Winn.

“Everything okay?” Kell asked him carefully.

Winn shrugged his shoulders, not sure how to answer. The excitement of moving to a new planet, living among the stars, learning a new culture and making new friends had him running on a high the past few days, one that not even the android battle at the Kent Farm could suppress.

But now, watching the Kryptonian battle ships, the soldiers, the pilots, the teamwork and order, he was second guessing some aspects of his move.

“Everyone has a role in Argo City, don’t they?” he asked after a moment.

Kell studied Winn’s expression, beginning to guess why he was suddenly down where before he had seemed so excited on his impending move. “I suppose you could say that. It’s important we all do our part to survive.

“Kara has laid out the path for us, guides us in staying on it, but she can’t cook all the food, grow the vegetables and livestock, handle the landscaping, build homes and businesses, offer spiritual counseling, things of that nature. It takes all of us. Honestly, the soldiers are the ones who feel the most lost at times. We constantly prepare for a war that may never happen. Until we reach a new planet, being a member of the Military Guild can be quite monotonous. Of course we each have patrol shifts and there’s constant drills but it’s not the same.”

Winn thought this might be the case given what he had learned from Alex, based on their conversations about her trip to Argo City, and what he imagined life must be like there. “I just wonder…”

Kell waited for him to finish his statement.

“I wonder what my place in all of this is.” Winn softly voiced his concerns. “I wanted to go to space so badly… but I never thought… I never considered if I was actually needed.

“Alex was chosen… she has her path clearly laid out before her. She has defined goals and knows exactly what her place is… building a new planet, working side-by-side with Kara who’s the greatest mind the universe has probably ever known.”

Winn looked at his silent companion, a forlorn look on his face, his voice cracking slightly. “What do I have to offer, Kell? What could I possibly bring? Everything I can do is already done by Kelex units. I don’t understand the technology Krypton has. Sure I could learn it, but I would never understand it like Kryptonians who grew up with it already do.”

He was quiet for a moment, then got to the heart of his concerns and fears. No matter how much he loved his best friend, Alex’s path in life was diverging from his and Winn was lost as to how to go forward down his own road. “I don’t want to spend my life following Alex around, offering her nothing. She won’t need me anymore.”

Kell understood Winn’s concern. He had much the same feelings when he began his relationship with Kara. The man wondered what he could possibly bring to her that would better her life. It was a daunting question, one he still asked himself at times despite her words and actions to the contrary, one that could shake a person’s belief in themselves.

“Just so you know, there is no other Kelex like Kara’s. You are so much smarter and capable than they are. Kelexes are drones, servants. They have no individual thought and are only programmed with specific functions in mind. Don’t expect much from them. I don’t know much about computers, but it seems the concept would be the same.” Kell studied his friend, thinking through everything he knew about him when he realized there was something he didn’t know. “What did you do at the DEO? I never thought to ask before.”

Winn shrugged his shoulders. “I mainly sat at a console, searched for enemies using the tech I had, gathered data and did my best to solve whatever was going on…”

“You were an investigator.” Kell cut in, his eyes intent.

Winn nodded. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. Alex did the field work with the other agents while I provided as much support and information as I could find to help her.”

Kell considered Winn’s answer, an idea suddenly popping into his mind. He smiled as he realized Rao had provided for his people in yet another, unanticipated way. “I don’t know if you are aware or not, but General Non wants me to build a police force. I’m supposed to have it ready to go by the time we reach our new planet. He also wants Kal El to work with me, but I have a feeling Kal will want to spend his time with Lois, digging up Argo City secrets and creating the new Media Guild rather than doing any more policing. But I could still use a partner, someone who knows how to gather information and put it to use, solve mysteries, that sort of thing.”

“Really?” Winn asked, the pitch of his voice elevating in surprise.

“Absolutely.” Kell stated. “I’m not great at organization and I promise, once you learn how to use Kryptonian computers, you will be much better at them than I will ever be. I could use your help. Together we could start a peace keeping force, something Kryptonians have never had in our history. You could be the brains and I could be the muscle.

“There would be much to do. For instance, we have to identify soldiers and citizens who could do well at these positions and then recruit them. We also need to develop disaster and first response protocols, Kelexes will need to be programmed to fill specific roles and so many other things I haven’t even begun to think of. It’s a daunting task and I could really use you, Winn. You have a lot of experience doing these types of things.

“Above all of that, I could use the guy who tried to sneak past a Dryad to stop a nuclear reactor from exploding and never thought of his own safety. If you are looking for a purpose, I can certainly offer you one.”

Winn’s smile lit up his features once again. “You’re serious?”

“I’m not great at humor so yes, I am serious. All you need to do is say yes.” Kell replied… seriously.

“Yes!” Winn squealed in delight, grabbing Kell’s hand and shaking it emphatically.

Kell smiled, happy to have his first recruit.

Kara had told him about her discussion with Kal El and that she doubted her cousin actually wanted to spend more of his life fighting crime. Superman would undoubtably help out Earth if needed, but Kal’s desires coincided with his wife’s in building a new Media Guild.

Kell knew his own strengths and weaknesses, his own desires for his life’s work. As the years went by and the population grew, spreading over the new planet, the Emergency Services Department he wished to build, one that accompanied both law enforcement, fire and medical emergencies, would grow large. A strong foundation would be needed to best succeed and serve Krypton.

Having a smart, brave partner would certainly take the strain off the daunting task.

“Can I design the uniforms?” Winn asked excitedly.

Kell raised an eyebrow suspiciously. “Would they include skin tight red and blue spandex?”

“Of course… not. That would look… no, of course not.” Winn said, adamantly shaking his head.

Despite the denial, Kell suspected that was exactly what the man would want.

“We can work on it together.” He conceded, patting his new partner on the back. “For now, let’s get your bags stowed away. We wouldn’t want to miss the party in Argo City.”

As the two began walking towards the Scout Ship, Winn asked one more question. “You think I could be called an El, like Alex?”

Kell shook his head. “No. That name isn’t given out freely. In fact, in the entire history of our people, no outsider has ever joined the House of El except through marriage. She is the first.”

“Oh…” Winn’s face was downcast, his disappointment obvious.

Kell understood what Winn really wanted was to belong, to have a Kryptonian house, to be a part of a family, to not feel like an outsider. Fortunately, he had the perfect answer for his friend. “But… I happen to be the only Ur left. If you are looking for a House to belong to, I have openings.”

“Seriously?”

“Totally serious, Dude. You will be introduced to our people as Winn Ur and I’ll get you hooked up with our house crest once we’re on board the Nightwing. Don’t tell Kara but it’s a lot cooler design than the crest of the House of El.”

While the two partners, now brothers, walked to the Scout Ship, Astra and Kara were on the bridge, speaking to a group of ten people who were seated at a table, representing different nations of Earth.

The man at the front of the table, was doing the most speaking, making Astra wonder why the others were even there. “General Astra, while we are very thankful for your people’s intervention, we do have some questions if you would be so kind to answer.”

“I have a lot to do and little time. Ask your questions. I may answer, I may not.” Astra told him stiffly.

Kara bumped her shoulder and whispered in Kryptonese for her aunt to be nice. The look Astra returned didn’t give Kara much hope the General would do so.

“I suppose our first question would be why we weren’t informed about the possibility of an alien attack?” The man’s tone wasn’t hostile, but it was obvious he wasn’t happy, despite the victory.

Astra looked to Kara, raising an eyebrow.

Kara cleared her throat and answered. “We knew there was a possible threat but had no idea when, or if, it would arrive. It could have been days or decades or never. By the time we were aware of Brainiac’s approach, it was too late to ask for an evacuation of the cities.”

“Do you not believe that was our call to make?” the UN representative asked petulantly.

“Obviously not. You wouldn’t have time to make a decision among all your council members to do anything other than cause panic in your populations.” Astra responded. “Next question.”

The Council glanced at each other but once again the man in the middle spoke. “We were told by Superman that he was the last survivor of Krypton. Recently, we were told by Supergirl that she was the only other survivor of Krypton. Yet, thousands of Kryptonians are now on this planet.”

No one said anything for a few moments before Astra broke the silence. “That is not a question but an indication of your skill for stating the obvious.”

The man frowned but rephrased his inquiry. “Would you please explain their conflicting stories and inform this council as to how many surviving Kryptonians there actually are?”

“Kal El told you the truth as he knew it. Until the arrival of his cousin a few weeks ago, he believed he was the only one.” Astra explained, as calmly as her quick temper would allow. “Lady Kara… Supergirl, lied about being the only other survivor on my orders.

“As far as our actual numbers, that is our business. Our people live and we are powerful. That is all you, and the Universe, need to know. “

Ignoring the disgruntled looks, Astra continued, officially informing the security council of another decision that had also been made without their knowledge or consent. “You are a young race and more vulnerable to outside invasion than you can possibly imagine, so I will offer you this. Because Kal El grew up here and chose this planet as his home, Earth has been placed under Krypton’s protection. Should you face another foe you cannot defeat, we will do so. You are welcome, no thanks are required.”

The man grumbled under his breath, obviously angry, but not even the hologram speakers could pick up his comment.

A woman to his right with a British accent spoke next. “The nuclear launch codes for every nation were disabled. Was Krypton responsible for this or Brainiac?”

“Neither. That was all me. ” Kara admitted, raising her hand. “I couldn’t take the chance of a nation panicking and using a nuclear weapon against Brainiac. It would have done nothing to break through his shield and the fallout would have killed thousands, perhaps millions. In addition, it would have left the area uninhabitable for hundreds of years.”

“You took control of our weapons?” The woman asked incredulously. “Did you not trust that our nations could take into account all the information we were receiving and make our own decisions? I realize you believe humanity is not as advanced as other species, but we do not fire weapons unless we are sure they will work, and our people are safe.”

The woman’s assurances aside, Kara knew differently. She tilted her head in disbelief, her expression morphing into one of extreme disappointment. “I would like to point out that the only way you would have known the launch codes were disabled is if you tried to use them.”

No one had a comment to that, a few looking quite embarrassed at having been called out by the young Kryptonian.

“If that is all?” Astra asked as nicely as she was able given their duplicity and her growing irritation.

The man in the center raised his hand slightly, clearing his throat. “How do we know you won’t try to occupy Earth? Are you planning on leaving?”

Kara noticed the look on Astra’s face and placed a hand on her shoulder, a subtle shake of her head. Astra relaxed and nodded, allowing Kara to speak. “Sir, if we planned to occupy your planet, we would be doing so now. You should understand that, while you have no reason to fear Krypton, as General Astra previously stated, others will come for your planet.

“Earth will always be in danger unless your nations can come together, do away with borders, pool your resources, and stop fighting amongst yourselves over things like religion, politics and natural resources. Humans should be developing technology that furthers the Earth’s place in the Universe, not technology that will destroy the planet and harm humanity.

“You need to publicly acknowledge that humans are not alone in the Universe. The leaders of Earth can no longer bury their heads in the sand and ignore this obvious truth. Brainiac and Darkseid are not the only ones who will seek to conquer you. I truly hope that you people can get it together or this planet is so screwed. Regardless, know that Earth is a friend of Krypton and always will be.”

The man nodded, his expression unexpectantly thoughtful. “Thank you, Supergirl.”

Kara smiled warmly, seeing her words may have at least planted a seed toward humanity’s growth. “My name is Kara Zor El. As fun as being a sidekick has been, it’s time to get back to being me. I wish you and all of Earth’s inhabitants, ‘ g ood luck’. “

The hologram feed was cut.

“Humans are screwed aren’t they?” Astra asked, sighing.

Kara shrugged her shoulders, sighing as well. “Give them a few hundred thousand more years and I think they could turn out okay.”

“I need to make sure my bags are all loaded. See you on the Nightwing.” The blonde raced out of the ship and into the house to find Kelex doing a last sweep of her room.

“This has been fun, right?” she asked her friend.

Kelex looked at her and, if able, his face would have shown disbelief. His arms began frantically waving about as he began listing off the ‘fun’ things they had done. “Since we left, we have nearly been smashed by asteroids, attacked by humans, you had to stop a nuclear meltdown then fought a mutated human. You left me behind… twice! We dealt with Brainiac’s drones, did a complex procedure on a child with little hope of succeeding, visited Apokolips and were attacked by dregs and parademons. To top it all off, we fought off hundreds of androids while you used Myriad to enter Brainiac’s mind!”

Kara smiled and nodded. “It’s been a blast, right?””

Kelex dropped his arms and shrugged his shoulders.

“It has been a little fun.” He grudgingly admitted. “But now I want to go home.”

“We are.” Kara assured him and hugged her best friend. Kelex responded by patting her back as he’d seen others do, believing she enjoyed the contact.

A few minutes later, the two joined Alex, Kell, Winn, Fin, Lois and Kal El on the Scout Ship.

As the ship made its way to the Nightwing, leaving Earth behind, Kara looked back with a longing gaze, feeling a sense of loss, knowing she would truly miss this planet.

She knew she would be stopping by for sporadic visits but not the weeks she had spent here, getting to know and interact with the inhabitants of this quirky, fun, dangerous, strange world. She knew J’onn would be coming to visit often and had promised Bruce free passage to Argo whenever he desired as thanks for the tens of thousands of dollars he had spent on her. Although now that she considered it, she had saved his home, so Kara figured they were even in the debt department.

With the work Kara had to do, it would be an awfully long time before she could do anything like taking weeks off at a time.

Sooner than she would have liked, the ship had landed in the Nightwing’s hangar. The party led by Kara and Kelex made their way to the bridge where Astra and Non stood tall beside Captain Tre who was merged with the ship and ready to fly.

“Okay, Captain, take us home!” Lois said confidently.

The two generals looked at her for a moment, eyebrows similarly raised, making her feel uncomfortable.

“Seriously? It’s not like I asked her to fire again!” Lois defended herself.

Both Generals shook their heads and turned back to the front.

“Captain, take us out of atmosphere, open a tear and take us home.” Astra ordered.

The view of Earth changed rapidly until the planet was a tiny, blue ball growing farther and farther away before disappearing from their view.

The space in front of the Nightwing suddenly shimmered and the giant ship moved forward.

Alex and Winn gasped when they saw Argo City appear almost right in front of them in what felt like seconds. The city from this view was breathtaking; a brilliant, multicolored jewel floating majestically in the darkness of space.

“Contact engineering to prepare for docking.” Astra ordered a man at a front console who quickly did as told.

The trip to Argo may have taken seconds but the process of docking with the city was a delicate and tedious one.

Once the ship docked with the city, a link was sent to the Flamebird that allowed the thrusters to recalibrate and reset the balance between the two ships. This insured they safely maintained the course of Argo, keeping her protected and hidden on the dark side of this moon.

Once the ship was locked into place and the captain confirmed the links were stable, the group took a transport to the docking port, prepared to leave the ship and step back on the ground of Argo City.

Kara could hear the noise outside the ship: the loud music playing, the people cheering and undoubtably dancing in the streets. She understood their need to celebrate.

In total, Krypton had one injury in the battle against Brainiac and zero casualties. A soldier had tripped in a small hole running towards the ship and sprained his ankle. A few moments under the yellow solar lights and he would be fully healed.

Argo City had watched monitors broadcasting a live feed of the battle from various cameras on the Nightwing and had seen their army take out a feared warlord in minutes.

The Kryptonian people needed to see that victory, even if it was narrated by a human who was using a Kelex to translate. After so much loss, Kryptonians needed the reminder of who they were… a people of honor and strength.

“I’m not ready.” Kara said suddenly, stopping just short of the boarding tube connecting the Nightwing to the city.

Astra and Non nodded in understanding and walked out along with the rest of the soldiers who were leaving the ship.

Kell picked Fin up, cradling her protectively in his arms, worried she would get crushed in the crowd of revelers while Alex, Winn, Kal and Lois stood behind an incredibly nervous Kara.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked stepping up beside her, noticing Kara’s hesitancy to disembark.

“I’m scared.” The blonde admitted, not ready to go back to being the Kara Zor El, savior of Krypton.

“There is nothing to be scared of.” Alex said, reaching out to rub her back and offer support. “You are going to show them who you are, that you are just a regular Kryptonian like they are. The more you interact with them, the more they will see you as one of them.”

“It’s not that easy, Alex. I know we said it would be but it’s not.” Kara told her shakily.

“It is that easy. Let’s go. We will walk out together.” Alex linked her arm in Kara’s, smiling at Kal as he moved forward to take the nervous blonde’s other arm. Taking a deep breath, she slowly moved forward, her cousin and new sister by her side. The three children of the House of El -the long lost son, the adopted daughter, the beloved savior- had finally come home.

As Kara led the procession into the boarding tube, she began to sweat. As soon as she stepped foot on Argo City, the loud cheers, the music and revelry ceased immediately.

Alex and Kal were stunned into silence as their jaws fell open at the sight before them. Every Kryptonian, as far as they could see into the city, had quieted and were suddenly on one knee, an arm against their chest, heads slightly bowed.

Alex let out a breath, seeing the disheartened expression on Kara’s face.

“Okay… so we have some work to do.” She admitted quietly, gently squeezing Kara’s arm. This would not be as easy as she thought.

“Huh. I knew I was a big deal, but I didn’t expect them to kneel before me.” Clark whispered to his cousin. Kara broke out in a laugh, appreciating her cousin snapping out of her sadness.

Seeing Kara relax with Kal’s quiet words, Alex didn’t have to know what he said, it was obviously enough. “All better now?”

When Kara nodded, Alex grinned and pulled her sister into a one-armed hug, giving her one last bit of encouragement. “Then go get ’em, Supergirl.”

Kara returned her grin.

Looking around, she gathered her courage and shouted, “Please continue the music! I feel like dancing and I hope you will all join me!”

Kara waded into the crowd, pulling people to their feet, not giving them a chance to back away, grabbing everyone she could and hugging them tightly before moving on to the next person.

The music began playing again, the dancing and hugs continued. The party would continue well into the night but on the morrow, a new dawn would rise… so too would Krypton.

Kara Zor El had returned to her people, to guide and lead them into that new day and beyond. The time had come for Rao’s children to build their future… one that always remembered what Krypton and her people were… El Mayarah.