The Wayne Legacy: Knightmare
By BetterInTexas
Chapter 22:
Wayne Manor, Sunday, July fifth
Ruby’s fifteenth birthday party was unlike anything the young girl could have ever dreamed of. Behind Wayne Manor, just beyond the manicured yard and before the golf course, the area had come alive as it hadn’t in years.
A large, open-sided tent had been set up to give the parents a covered gathering spot. The fathers were enjoying talking with each other while grilling hotdogs and hamburgers for everyone. The mothers were doing the same while sitting at tables under the tent, keeping an eye on their kids and obviously enjoying watching the fun their children were having.
Every child that Ruby had associated with in the Executive Suites as well as all the children she would be attending school with, but hadn’t had the opportunity to meet, were present. Over fifty young teenagers were all trying to get into the good graces of the daughter of Wayne Enterprises’ new Vice President.
A live band was playing on a stage, a Ferris Wheel had been set up, as well as an obstacle course. A famous DJ would soon be taking over the stage as the evening fell and a dance floor would be set up over the grass, something that would plague the grounds keepers for weeks to come.
Ruby was given her replica of the TARDIS and squealed in joy. When Matt Smith stepped out of it and asked if he could join the party, she nearly passed out. The young girl stood speechless, staring wide-eyed at the former Doctor, before hugging her mom and telling her she loved being rich. Sam and Diana chuckled when she dragged Matt Smith off.
As the Eleventh Doctor ran off to play with the teenagers, along with a few adult fans, and sign autographs, Kara slipped from the crowd to call Tommy.
“Hey, Kara.”
“I thought you were going to be here.” Kara said, a hint of annoyance in her tone. “The party is going great. I realize they are young, but the band is awesome, the DJ later is expensive as hell and has a name I would know if I were cool. Are you still sick?”
Tommy coughed, but it didn’t sound convincing. “Yeah, still a little under the weather. It’s clearing up though.”
“Eliza said my immune system is strong.” Kara told him, not wanting to give him an excuse to back out on her again. “My tests have been good. I’m healthier than ever. Come over.”
“Sorry, Kara, but I can’t take that chance. Besides, it’s Ruby’s day and she has only met me briefly. I’ll come by tomorrow, I promise.”
Kara let out a breath. “Tommy… is everything alright?”
“Everything is fine.” He replied. “Go have fun. I’ll see you tomorrow, I promise.”
Kara ended the call and took a moment to analyze his words. Something was wrong with him, and it wasn’t a cold. For someone that had been sick most of her life, Kara was an expert on coughs, and she knew his cough wasn’t real.
“Everything okay, Bunny?” Diana asked, suddenly appearing beside her.
Kara turned quickly, not having heard her sister walk up behind her. “No. Tommy is acting weird.”
“I thought he was sick.” Diana said.
Kara shook her head. “I don’t think he is. He didn’t want to come last night, now today he is skipping out. That’s not like him. He usually takes off when I ask him… do you think I should go see him?”
Diana looked sad for a moment, then smiled. “Perhaps he didn’t want to come to a fifteen-year-old’s birthday party. Your short friend, Winn, has set up the giant screens under the tent and the gaming systems. The video game tournament is about to start. You should double check his work. I don’t want a fire started on manor grounds.”
Kara nodded and Diana watched her go sadly. She hated to see Kara upset. It ate her up inside and left her with a sick feeling, but she would stay out of it. She had promised Steve and Alfred not to interfere. She had expected Kara to break up with Tommy when she worked up the courage to do so. Perhaps Tommy was sensing that and keeping his distance.
“Men are no good.” Hippolyta said, walking up next to her, both watching the younger Wayne as she walked toward the tent.
“Some people are bad, some are good, but most are a mix. That goes for any sex. Did you ever love anyone?” Diana asked curiously. “Did you love Zeus?”
“I love that Zeus gave me you. That was all the need I had for him.” Hippolyta smirked. Looking around at the festivities, she said, “This is an amazing gathering. You do know how to throw a party, Diana.”
“Work hard, play hard.” Diana replied, ignoring that her biological mother just admitted to using the king of gods to give her a child.
“Have you ever truly played?” Hippolyta asked.
Diana nodded. “Kara needed playmates growing up. She had two, but I was the only one there day in and day out. I played with her every day. Before Mom and Dad were killed, I played with her and Bruce.
“I have had joy in my life… you just saw her walk away. She is my joy, the reason I can take joy in other things, the reason I can open my heart to another… to Steve. Kara is my reason for everything.”
Hippolyta nodded in understanding, patting her daughter on the shoulder. Tilting her head, she said simply, “I have.”
“You have what?” Diana asked, confused.
“I have been in love before.”
“Who was he… or she?”
Hippolyta shook her head. “That a story for another time. Go… enjoy this gathering you have organized. It is wonderful to see the happiness on your face.”
Diana looked thoughtful, giving Hippolyta a small smile then walked off to join Sam. Steve was taking on competitors in the obstacle course along with Dig while Bruce sat at a table, watching the festivities alone. Kara eventually made her way to her brother and pulled him up by the hand, dragging him to the front of the stage where she began dancing and he awkwardly began copying her moves.
Ballroom dancing was a specialty of Bruce’s, however hip hop eluded him.
Wayne Tower, Monday Morning
Kara sat in her office with an excited Pamela Isley. Today, Pam would lay out what she needed for her research. She had done as Kara suggested and thought of everything she could possibly need. She tried not to add anything more than what was essential in a dream scenario, but the cost was high. If she could get half of what she wished for, it would change her life.
Despite her excitement, she felt a bit ill to her stomach. In this meeting, Kara sat next to her on one white couch while Diana Wayne and Samantha Arias sat on a couch across from them.
She fought to keep her eyes focused on the two women and began explaining her project in detail. When she started to flutter, she looked at Kara who gave her an encouraging nod and smile, giving her confidence to continue speaking. If nothing else, she knew she had one person in this room that believed in her and hoped Kara could convince the other two.
When she had finished, Diana began asking her questions, and she fought to keep eye contact and not stutter, keeping her hands tightly clasped together in her lap.
“So you want Wayne Enterprises to fund your research and in exchange, if any herbs or plants are discovered that could be used in our pharmaceutical businesses, they would be our property. Is that correct?” Diana asked the botanist.
Pam confirmed this with a slight nod.
Diana appeared agreeable. “You would get credit for any discoveries. Our standard deal with scientists responsible for any innovation that Wayne Enterprises can use for profit is that the scientist is given sole credit for their work and twenty percent of net profit from the discovery. How much of an investment do you need to conduct your research?”
Pam reached into her bag with a shaking hand and passed a sheet of paper to Diana. She looked it over for a long moment, then handed it to Sam.
“Twelve million dollars?” Diana asked.
Pam began to sweat. “Kara… Miss Wayne told me to provide an itemized list of everything I could need to have the best chance at success and provide security. I can do with less. My staff doesn’t have to be as large. I can do without security and medical equipment. If I could have basic equipment, I can just do the work myself and cut costs to equipment alone. I can even find used equipment.”
Kara took Pam’s hand and squeezed it, wanting to calm the woman. “Relax. You did as I asked.”
“Kara, Dr. Isley, the possibility of obtaining something that could help our pharmaceutical division would possibly take years from what I understand. The main goal of this project would be researching ways to repair land that has been burned and provide life where none had grown before. The benefit would be to the environment, not Wayne Enterprises. Is that right?” Diana asked the two.
Kara was the one who answered her sister, smiling at Pam.
“Yes, the likelihood of making profit from this is very low and would take years. However, if correct, her theory and plans can not only prevent the loss of plant life on this planet but allow it to renew itself faster than man could destroy it. This technology, along with our other botanical projects could literally make paradises out of wastelands.” Kara said proudly while Pam cringed, wishing Kara would have made it sound more profitable.
Diana smiled at her sister, proud of her for finding this special work and bringing it to her attention. Kara had found this herself, saw genius where no other had and cultivated it to improve the world. Diana never pretended to be an expert in science. She only knew if her sister believed in it, then it was possible and important.
“Diana, is this one of those moments you told me about when I was hired?” Sam asked, a smile on her lips as well.
Diana knew what she meant. There would be no profit here, but twelve million dollars was a small sum in the great scheme of Wayne Enterprises changing the world for the better.
“Yes, it is, Sam.” Diana affirmed. “Kara, can we keep her safe?”
“We can.” Kara told her. “I have a perfect place in mind that we own with no indigenous tribes and is impossible to get to without a helicopter. No ambushes.”
“Then welcome aboard, Dr. Isley.” Diana said warmly, transforming the nervous look on the botanist’s face to a shocked one. “You will be given a budget of fifteen million to start. I want this done right. We don’t do second hand at Wayne Enterprises.
“Kara, have you talked to Legal?”
“I called them when I got into the office.” Kara assured her. “Pam, I will need you to come back in two days so contracts can be signed. Our Purchasing Department can then begin buying what you need, and Personnel can find employees that fit your requirements. I would suggest you prepare for a move to our Rain Forest Conservation Lab in Peru in two weeks. It will be easier for you to begin organizing your new lab in Brazil from there.
“This is your baby, now run with it and change the world.”
Pam forgot decorum and hugged Kara, tears in her eyes, not quite believing what she had heard. She regained control and stood, emphatically shaking Diana and Sam’s hands.
Terry walked her out, while the red head fought back grateful tears and worked to control her breathing.
“That’s how you save the world, Sam. One step at a time, one experiment at a time.” Kara said proudly. “One day, that woman’s name will be written about in science history books.”
“That was amazing.” Sam admitted, feeling the rush of being part of a deal that could only benefit the environment while providing no real benefit to bean counters. “That felt so good.”
“That is Wayne Enterprises.” Diana told her happily. “I am late for lunch with Steve. I will see you ladies later. Kara, very good find. I’m proud of you as usual but more so today.”
An hour later, Kara walked into Carmen’s Deli with Dig close behind. She asked for Tommy and was told by his assistant manager, Judy, that he was upstairs.
Dig remained downstairs while she went up to talk to Tommy. She knocked on the door and he answered looking a bit disheveled.
“Kara! I wasn’t expecting to see you until later at the manor.” He told her nervously.
Kara walked by him into the apartment. “I thought we would have a talk about what’s going on with…”
Kara stopped talking when she saw suitcases on the floor.
She turned and looked at Tommy questioningly.
“I wanted to speak to you tonight, but I guess now is as bad a time as any.” Tommy told her, his voice cracking slightly. “I’m… I’m moving back to Star City.”
Kara stared at the bags on the floor as she took in his words, trying to convince herself she had not heard him correctly.
“You mean you are taking a trip to Star City?” she asked. “That makes sense. You haven’t been back in months. You probably have old friends there. Laurel Lance, she is there, right? It’s been a while and I know you, her and Oliver grew up together. I’m sure you have other friends too.
“When will you be back?”
Tommy stared at her for a moment and Kara began to feel queasy.
“When are you coming back?” Kara asked again, this time more forcefully.
Tommy let out a deep breath. “I’m leaving the store for Judy to run. She has almost as much experience as Bill. I’ll still own it… but I found a couple other small businesses I want to buy in Star City that are for sell. They are both in the Glades and that area doesn’t need more businesses closing.”
“So you buy them and then you are back here? You can’t just let Judy run the store. You are the owner.” Kara reasoned, her stare pinning him in place.
Tommy nodded. “I am, but… I think it will be good for both of us if I… if I concentrated on my businesses in Star City.”
Kara felt tears burning in her eyes. “Is it something I did, or didn’t do? I get it, you know. You want to move our relationship to the next level, and I have held back. I shouldn’t have. We are adults and… we can spend more time here. I can spend the night here. I can do better.”
Tommy closed his eyes, hating the pain on her face and in her voice.
“It’s not you, Kara. It’s not even me. We are simply at different places in our lives.” Tommy explained as best he knew how. “You showed me a better way. You showed me the man I want to be.”
Tommy paused, swallowing hard as he saw the tears forming in her eyes.
“But, Kara, the man you’ve made me realize I want to be, is someone with different priorities. I want things that you don’t right now and maybe never will… and that’s okay.”
Kara shook her head. “You want someone who doesn’t plan to live with her sister the rest of her life, who wants to get married someday and have kids. I could be that, Tommy. You don’t have to leave. I’ll be what you want me to be.”
Tommy grabbed her hand. “No, you won’t. Don’t ever do that, Kara. Never compromise who you are to be what someone else wants you to be.”
Kara jerked her hand out of his. “You love me. I know you do. You can’t just walk away from that, run home to Star City and avoid me!”
“I do love you, Kara… but do you love me?”
“Of course!”
“Then say it.”
“I…” Kara closed her mouth and clenched her fists. “I could. If you give me time… I can make this better. I know I told you dating me was going to be hard, but I can make it easier. Just… please, give it some more time. Don’t go.”
“I have to, Kara.” Tommy told her, almost pleading. “I have to for both of us. It’s what is best.”
Kara’s face darkened. “Who do you think you are, deciding what is best for me? When I met you, you were a mess who couldn’t take care of yourself, forcing yourself into my life like you had a right to be in it. I gave you a chance, and now, a few months later, you are so mature and ready to settle down that you don’t need me anymore, is that what you think?”
“I’m not mature, but I am trying.” Tommy admitted. “That’s why I have to do this. Yes, I hate it, but we aren’t good for one another.”
“Yes, we are! I can do better!” Kara exclaimed.
Tommy tried to take her shoulders and comfort her, but she pushed him back.
“Kara, please understand. You have changed my life for the better but it’s time for both of us to move on. We just want different things.”
Kara began trembling.
“This is why. This is the reason.” She said quietly.
“Kara?” Tommy questioned, not knowing what she was talking about.
“This is why I only trust Diana! She is the only person in my life who I know beyond a shadow of a doubt won’t leave me!” Kara was shouting now, anger being the dominant emotion she was currently feeling. “You want to go, then go! I’m used to people leaving. Bruce left, even Alex left to go to college as far away as she could get. I never had a date that wasn’t interested in my money or my sister instead of me. My own damn mother left me when I was days old and dying!
“Everybody leaves except Diana, so you might as well too! I can’t give you what you need right now so you are gone!
“So, go! Go find what you need, Tommy. I hope you do. You have until the end of the day to get the hell out of my city!”
Kara ran out of the room, and down the stairs, passing Dig who was taking a bite of a sandwich. His eyes went wide as she passed him, and he dropped the sandwich in his haste to go after her.
Kara was sprinting down the streets, but luckily for Dig, she was still wearing the dress she had worn to work and not her jeans. He managed to catch up to her, after one of her flats fell off and she stopped to put it back on her foot.
“Kara! What the hell is going on? Did he hurt you?” Dig asked, scanning over her body for any sign of dishevelment.
Kara shook off his hands and continued moving down the sidewalk towards the Tower, bumping pedestrians out of her way in her haste.
“Kara, I need to know if he did something.” Dig said. “If he did, I need to get more security here so I can go hurt him. Stop and tell me what’s going on.”
“He didn’t do anything. He wouldn’t.” she said, wiping her eyes but not slowing down.
Dig stayed beside her as she made her way across the plaza. He noted several plain clothes officers on the grounds noted her appearance and began visually sweeping the area, slowly positioning their weapons in reach. Dig activated his earpiece and told them there was no imminent threat.
The two moved in silence until they reached the sisters’ private elevator. Once there, Kara held up a hand. “You’re going to have to catch this one up when I am done with it, Dig.”
“Where are you going?” He asked, feeling queasy at the sense that things were wildly out of control.
“Sub level six.” She replied, entering the elevator.
“I can stay outside the door.”
“Not this time.” She told him. “Athena, close the door.”
Before Dig could react, the elevator door closed on him.
Up above, Diana had been engrossed in market reports when a wave of anger washed over her. She knew it wasn’t her anger she was feeling.
“Kara.” Diana whispered, immediately picking up her phone and calling Dig.
“Diana.” He answered immediately.
“What happened?”
“I have no idea.” The man sounded a bit frantic. “We went to see Tommy. I was eating a sandwich downstairs. I heard Kara yelling at him, so I figured he did something stupid. Then she comes racing down the stairs and practically runs back to the Tower. Then she wouldn’t let me in the elevator and goes down to sub level six.”
Diana winced, the feeling of Kara’s pain washing over her from six stories below ground to the top of Wayne Tower.
It took her a moment to dampen down the feeling before she could respond. “Give her time to cool off, Dig. Come back to the top floor. I’ll have Athena make sure the elevator only brings her back here when she leaves.”
“Okay… you want me to go back to Tommy and ask him what the hell is going on?”
“No. I will handle it and when I return, I will go to her… or she will come to me.”
Sub Level Six
Kara walked through the door of her private, personal lab and stopped, waiting for the door to close. As soon as it had, she screamed into the air in pain.
“Kelex!” she called after her screaming stopped.
A disembodied voice answered. “How can I assist you today?”
“I want this room sealed off. Under no circumstances will Athena break through your defenses. If Babs tries, send a virus to her computers and tablets that will keep her busy for a few hours. If that doesn’t work, I am scrapping you. Do you understand?”
“Someone is in a bad mood.” Kelex replied with some level of snark.
“Cut the conversational mode out, Kelex. I am definitely in a bad mood, and I don’t need you telling me that.” Kara growled.
She walked to a workbench and grabbed jeans and a t-shirt, quickly changing out of the dress she was wearing and now hated, one she would likely burn after today.
Kara looked around her lab. It went the length and width of Wayne Tower except for a few feet reserved for a waiting room outside that held the elevator. Despite having several load-bearing columns necessary to hold up the building, there were no walls closing off any part. The entire area was a well-lit, mostly empty space with room enough for her to test any projects that needed distance to move.
She heard a beep and felt something bump her leg. Kara turned and saw the first robot replica she had ever made, completely operational and with the same abilities as the original film version.
“Hey, R2.” Kara said sadly and knelt beside it, rubbing its head.
The droid sounded off a string of beeps.
“I screwed up, R2. I failed.”
“You never fail.” Kelex disagreed. “Based on prior history, you have always accomplished the end goal of every project.”
“I failed this one, okay?! It wasn’t a project! Shut up, Kelex!” Kara exclaimed, kneeling to sit on the floor with her head in her hands.
Multiple robots began moving toward her.
A shiny, silver, robotic cat, moving as quickly and silently as a biological cat slinked forward and began rubbing against her thigh.
“Hey, Streaky.” Kara greeted the cat, her voice breaking. “I should always stick with robots, right?”
The robotic cat was the first, original robot Kara made in this lab. Diana had always worried about her having a pet that could bring viruses into the manor. The guard dogs on the grounds were trained to attack on command, not roll over or play fetch.
She built Streaky when she was nineteen, formed his body parts perfectly, gave him more agility and speed than any robot in the world. He was her pet, always loyal, never able to die and a technological marvel. No robotics lab creation came close to performing as well as the cat did. She also programmed him to act like a cat. He was exceptional at catching balls and batting mechanical mice.
She picked Streaky up in her arms and looked around at her replica creations she had made for fun. Among them were a Cyberman, a Cylon, and a Dalek.
“What am I going to build next?” She asked, not expecting an answer. “Maybe I will build a boyfriend. It’s my fault. I should have just slept with him. What did I think was going to happen? He would hold out for marriage and then I tell him I never wanted to get married?
“I never told him I loved him! I should have just told him!”
“Did you feel love for a man?” the disembodied voice of Kelex asked.
“That’s beside the point, Kelex. I should have lied! I had a boyfriend and now I am alone! Just make sure Athena is out of this room and open ‘Project Steel’.”
The floor slid open and a seven-foot-tall by three-foot-wide case rose from the floor. Glass doors opened and Kara saw the suit, designed to perfectly fit her frame.
“Is it charged?” she asked, slowly getting to her feet, Streaky rubbing against her ankles.
“It is charged to one hundred percent… however, the electrical battery will drain completely in less than a minute.” Kelex informed her. “Has Helios been completed? I’ve tripled check your plan for the power port and the new polymer and fluorescent cables. It will hold Helios’s theorized energy output safely.”
“If I had Helios, it would be here.” Kara replied, irritated. “Bring up targets. A minute is all I need. I want to blow something up.”
This was a project Kara had begun working on the week after Lucious showed her sub level six when she began working at Wayne Enterprises at eighteen. He had been waiting to welcome her on her first day, though he had already retired, and explained sub level six was a secret playhouse for nerds, his own personal workshop during his time at the company where business types were not allowed. Diana had gone along with her taking the area as her own, just as Kara had hoped. This was where she kept her personal projects, the ones that brought her joy.
At first, she had just wanted to build a suit of armor, made of a new mixture of metals and elements forming what she called ‘living steel’. Though most of the suit was regular strong armor, the joints were sealed with the living steel, making the suit seamless but flexible.
She had reenforced the joints and hydraulics enabling her to lift more weight when she was inside it. Using a gravity scale, she had deadlifted a little over two tons. Though not in her sister’s range, it was still impressive.
Over the years, she had discovered how to make silent condensed pulse blasts and then stabilize them in her hands and feet, giving her the ability of flight, though it was not easy to control.
She was unfortunately unable to test it for two reasons. One reason was the ceiling was only twenty feet high, meaning she could only hover. The second reason was the power output. The battery that powered the suit would drain in less than a minute. She had patience though. She knew with time, the ‘Heart of Helios’ device that she had been dreaming of would give her the power she needed, power that never ran out, power that could keep the suit powered indefinitely.
For now, she had to deal with electricity powering it.
She tossed her glasses away, not paying any mind where they landed, snapped her fingers and the suit opened for her. She stepped inside the cocoon and relaxed as the metal closed around her. The helmet tilted over her head and fit snuggly, her vision resolving to sharpness by the prescription lenses and the beathing apparatus working perfectly.
Kara knew Diana would be furious if she knew she had made an armored, weaponized suit capable of flight. Her big sister would never let her use this suit for what she intended it to be when she created and built it.
Kara never felt the need for an explanation, other than to say she had dreamed of building a flight suit. Diana chuckled when she accidentally brought it up, probably thinking Kara was joking. The only other person she had spoken to of it was Emily and that was just a general description that didn’t begin to describe the wonders of this technological miracle.
After they had unlocked the equations needed to build Helios, she would have Emily work on the perfect casing but for now, the doctor knew all she needed to know.
Being in the suit was a strange feeling and yet comfortable as well.
In the suit, she was strong… she was invincible… she was dangerous. Kara knew nothing could touch her. In her mind, she became a machine like the ones she loved and admired so much growing up. She was the robot who never got sick.
“All systems are nominal.” Kelex voice was at a comfortable level through the hi-tech speakers built into the helmet. “Your vitals are steady. Are you breathing without difficulty?”
“Yes. Bring up the targets.”
Kara stepped nimbly out of the rectangular case and walked forward with loud footsteps, settling in front of the concrete pillars coming in from the sides on rails that would serve as her ‘enemy targets’. Her vision turned red as the lenses darkened to protect her sight from what was to come.
She raised her right arm in front of her and watched the barrels emerge from the top and bottom of her forearm.
“Systems will shut down if temperature rises…”
“I know, Kelex.”
With a slight flex of her pinky fingers, the gun on top fired, small bullets striking the concrete, then hitting harder and harder, drilling their way through and chipping away.
She then fired the barrel on the bottom of her forearm. A single bullet struck the block and after a second’s delay, exploded, shattering the foot thick concrete.
Kara flexed her toes and the power boosters on her feet jerked, lifting her in the air. Thanks to the design of the suit, she was able to keep her body straight and her hands reached out with stabilizers on her hand. They were the most complicated tech on her suit. Her boosters on the bottom were a simple collection of particles, concentrated into a large outpouring, almost like a sustained, controlled explosion. To use her hands to stabilize herself, she had to develop very small electromagnetic field generators to focus ionized particles, contained in a tight sphere that would allow her movement and balance.
“Battery percent?”
“Thirty-two percent.”
Kara had been working on this project for years. It was costly but she used excess materials and parts from other projects to ensure Diana never put together what she was doing down here. ‘Project Steel’ was the only secret she had from her sister.
She relaxed, enjoying the feeling of floating, even if she were in a large metal suit, despite the rising temperatures. The heat the boosters were putting out from the soles of her boots, was spreading though the suit and her cooling system was not keeping up.
The boosters failed and she dropped the two feet she had been in the air, landing on her feet.
“What the hell? I should have had more time!”
“The internal temperature of the suit rose to eighty-six degrees Fahrenheit and power dropped to five percent. Safety protocols you developed required I cut power before you became stuck inside the suit or had a heat stroke.” Kelex reported.
“Eject.” Kara said dejectedly, knowing Kelex was right. The suit opened and the helmet separated into sections, tilting back so she could easily step out. She immediately felt better as the room air cooled her sweat soaked body.
Shaking her head, she was greatly disappointed with this other limitation. “I made a cooling system for Bruce’s suit that withstood an explosion and allowed him to escape without a burn. The metal on the suit, the heat from the weapons… it’s an oven. How do I keep metal, circuitry and ionized boosters this complex cool inside? This metal isn’t as easily cooled as his armored polymer plates.”
Kelex braved a suggestion. “Perhaps using this metal mixture isn’t necessary. Using the same polymer as your brother’s suit would be preferrable as far as temperature related issues are concerned.”
“And I lose everything else.” She pointed out. “Bruce needs flexibility. He is already strong and fast. His gloves couldn’t hold up to the heat I need. I need this suit to work. Nothing else can give me the enhanced strength, firepower… flight. I must figure this out, Kelex. I need Helios. I need a win.”
“Why do you need firepower, strength and flight?”
“So maybe I won’t always need someone to fight for me! Maybe I can fight for myself one day, whether it’s terrorists wanting a shot at me or some mythological god taking a shot at Diana. Maybe I can protect her for once. Maybe I won’t always be the nerdy brains in the family and can hold my own!
“I can do so much but you know what I really do? I tell other people what to do. Other people fly my jets, fire my guns, use my inventions to save lives. This one is mine. I need this for me.”
Kara looked at the open shell of the suit and considered stepping back inside to walk it to the storage unit. She thought better of it, having no desire to reenter the hot metal. “Cylon, Cyberman, put this back in the case.”
Kara moved toward a desk and had a seat.
She put her head on her hands and began crying. The thrill of blowing up concrete was not there today.
“I failed, Kelex. The first guy who was interested in me and I pushed him away. He was perfect. He never once looked at Diana. Did you know that? He made me feel beautiful. I never felt like less when he was with me.”
“And now he’s had enough. He gave me everything he had, and I gave him nothing in return.”
R2 moved to Kara and began beeping once again, a series of sounds she had developed and only she understood.
“A game? Do I look like I am in the mood for a game, Buddy?” She asked, sniffling. “I don’t want to take a chance at losing again. I failed and I never fail. I can’t fail. It’s what makes me special. If I fail, if I can’t make something work, then what good am I? I’ll never be good enough.
“I’ll never be strong and fast like Diana or be a fighter like Bruce who can do all these cool things. It doesn’t matter how much better my health is. I’m always going to be the weak one. I need this suit to work, and it doesn’t.
“Tommy would make me feel better. He would tell me that I’ll figure it out then say how much he loves my eyes. What do I have now? Tommy is leaving Gotham and this suit is a worthless pile of weird metal without Helios. What’s left is the girl who failed.”
Kara took a deep breath. “I never told anyone, but I checked Athena’s basement footage after I was poisoned. Diana forgot to have it erased. I saw her, Bruce and Dig when they returned from Themyscira. Diana looked like she killed an army which I guess she did. They were heroes.
“Do you know what I was doing? I was dying. It’s what I’m good at.”
R2 beeped once more.
“You will let me win, huh?” Kara said, almost smiling.
The droid rocked his body back and forth.
“Can’t you just let me feel sorry for myself?”
R2 rocked back and forth again, and his electrical extension popped out threateningly.
“Okay, okay! A game it is. You pick.” Kara said, knowing the droid wouldn’t dare zap her but playing along with his mock threats.
A beam of light hit the floor and a hologram of Candyland appeared, so bright it looked real.
Kara sighed and pulled a set of dice from her desk and sat on the floor next to the board.
“Candyland? Really? I guess I will roll for you. You move the game pieces and don’t cheat.”
Carmen’s Grocery & Deli
While Kara had been blowing up concrete blocks in the farthest depths of Wayne Tower, Diana had made her way to Carmen’s Grocery and Deli. She knew Kara would be underground for a while if not most of the day. She wasn’t sure how, but Barbara couldn’t break into the cameras in the area. Babs had once told Diana that she suspected Kara had her own very powerful program running the lab in sublevel six that kept Athena out of everything except the elevator carrying her there.
Diana had no doubt about that and while she was sure Barbara, if given enough time, could eventually break it down, it would be a betrayal to Kara and something she would not do or allow Babs to attempt.
Sub level six was Kara’s area. It was her hide away from the world and the secrets it held were her own. Diana wouldn’t violate that.
Instead, she decided to walk down the street and see her friend.
When she arrived, the employees’ eyes went wide. It was obvious things were tense, probably since Kara had blown in and out.
“I come in peace.” Diana told them with a smile, slightly putting them at ease. “Is Tommy upstairs?”
The woman behind the counter, whose name she thought was Judy, nodded.
Diana knocked gently on his door. When he said to ‘come in’, she opened the door and saw him sitting on his bed, his head in his hands. He looked up at her and it hurt her to see the tears on his face. She had seen Tommy Merlyn show many emotions, but she had never seen him cry.
Diana sat down next to him and took his hand.
“Why?” she asked.
Tommy took a deep breath. “Because she doesn’t love me… and she never would have done it because it would hurt her even more to do that to someone. I had to end it so she wouldn’t have to do it herself, or worse… hold on because she didn’t know how to end it.”
Diana nodded, having suspected the truth already. “Thank you.”
“You aren’t angry?”
Diana shook her head. “You did something that hurt you greatly because it was the right thing to do for Kara. How could I be angry at such a selfless act that caused you so much pain?”
Tommy took a deep breath and finally met her eyes. “It was never going to work, was it? Did you always know that?”
Diana shook her head. “You changed her, Tommy, and she changed you. You made each other better. Her heart is broken, but she will recover… and so will you.”
Tommy shook his head. “I will never love anyone the way I love her.”
“Perhaps you feel that way now, but she opened your eyes to what you want in life, Tommy.” Diana told him. “You are going to find a woman who wants what you want, and you will look back on this time and be grateful. I know the two of you will always be friends. Just give it time.
“I also promise you and I will always be friends.”
Tommy laughed quietly. “I feel the same way about you, Diana. I don’t think I will ever forget cleaning this attic up with you. I bet I’m one of the few people on Earth to ever see you that dirty.”
“It was a first and a last time.” She agreed, chuckling. “So, what are your plans? I assume by the suitcases that you aren’t staying in Gotham.”
Tommy shook his head. “I’m going back to Star City. I’m keeping the business. Judy has fifteen years here and will run it. I’m not going back to who I used to be.
“There are a couple of small businesses I’m looking at in lower income areas that are closing down. I’m going to see if there’s a chance I can save them… my initial research is promising. If not, I may move on to other cities until I find a place I feel I belong.”
Diana nodded, glad to hear he wouldn’t be running back to his father. “Don’t use First National Bank. Go to Central Bank and Trust in Star City. We own it. Whatever small business loan you need, you will have. I’ll contact them and say you might be stopping by.”
Tommy’s eyes glistened through his tears, but his gratitude was evident in his small smile. “Thanks… after my mom died, I wish I would have had a sister like you. When you love, you go all out. You’re both lucky to have each other.”
“I think that is the best compliment you have ever given me, Tommy.” Diana smiled, feeling the weight of the moment. “Now, it’s my turn… you are a good man, Tommy Merlyn.”
Tommy smirked. “I know that’s the best compliment you ever given me.”
The two laughed, comfortable in each other’s presence.
“Do you want to use our jet to go to Star City?” Diana asked her friend.
Tommy shook his head. “I’m leaving in the morning and driving. I know it’s a long drive, but I figured a road trip might do me some good, split over a couple days. Nothing like hours and hours on the road, listening to Air Supply and bawling my eyes out. Besides, I’ll need my car and I just finished paying Dig off last week.
“Speaking of Dig, shouldn’t you be with Kara?”
Diana pulled out her phone, bringing up the app he had seen Kara use once.
“She is still underground.” She said, turning to him. “We will see each other again, Tommy, and thank you. What you did today shows how much you have changed. Kara doesn’t know it now, but one day, she will be grateful.”
Diana walked out of the room, leaving Tommy behind. Her heart ached for the man. Her heart ached for her sister. He was correct though. Kara didn’t love him, and she would never work up the courage to leave him. If she did, it would crush her knowing she hurt him.
What he did was solely for Kara’s benefit and Diana would always be grateful to him for putting her sister’s interests before his own, no matter how much pain it cost them both.
Wayne Tower
When Diana reached the lobby of Wayne Tower, she grabbed a post-it note and pen from the security desk and took her private elevator to sub level six.
At the door to the lab, she could hear Kara speaking in a low, broken voice to something that made beeping noises that reminded her of that small robot from Star Wars. She couldn’t remember its name but wondered if Kara had made a duplicate. She had never broken Kara’s trust by going into the lab and she wasn’t going to start now. It was her sister’s private sanctuary and, as long as she was safe, Diana left her alone.
She wrote a note on the little yellow piece of paper, stuck it next to the elevator button and took the lift back to the top floor.
Inside, Kara had won four games of Candyland, three games of Clue and was winning Monopoly before she lost the urge to distract herself with games any longer. Streaky jumped off her lap as she stood from the floor.
“I need to go. I can’t stay here forever. I just needed my room to cry in. I… I’ll see you beauties later. Kelex, make sure they power down and recharge.”
“As you wish.”
Kara walked out the door to the elevator and saw a post-it note next to the call button.
It was from Diana.
You know the rules. You must smile now.
Despite the tears threatening to fall once again and the sick feeling in her stomach, Kara did smile.
The two had always had an agreement that if one left a note for the other, no matter what it said, the recipient had to smile. Kara frequently left many on Diana’s bedroom door or slipped one on her desk while her sister was getting ready for school when they were younger. After she came to work at Wayne Enterprises, Kara had come to the office many days and found notes on her desk, things like ‘I love you’, or ‘Smile ‘.
Kara called her immediately.
“Did you smile?” Diana asked, her tone gentle.
“I followed the rules.” Kara told her, feeling a little better just hearing her sister’s voice. “I want to go home, and I don’t want to be alone. Can you leave?”
“I’ve already cleared my schedule.” Diana confirmed. “Meet me in the parking garage. I asked Alfred to have your Audi sent over. I thought you could drive, and the two of us would hit the racetrack before we arrive home. It will be fun to see Dig try to keep up with us in an SUV.”
“I’ll be there.” Kara told her, without much enthusiasm.
Her day did brighten up though, when she got behind the wheel of her silver Audi R8 convertible. She managed to stay within the speed limit while in the city but once they left, Kara opened it up and pushed the engine. Diana had already called ahead, so when they arrived, Kara drove into the open entrance and straight out on the oval track.
She smiled and then began laughing, the wind whipping through their hair as they raced at one hundred and twenty miles an hour on the straightaways.
When they pulled into the manor garage an hour later, Kara parked her Audi in its designated spot and was surprised to see Alex and Babs, waiting for her.
“What are you two doing here?” she asked, not having expected them.
Alex raised her hand holding a carton of ice cream and Babs raised her hand, holding a fifth of Jim Beam.
“We heard it was one of those days. Fortunately for you, we have both had them and know the cure. Rocky Road and Bourbon can fix everything.” Babs told her.
Kara sighed and nodded. Her two friends put their arms around her and guided her into the house. Diana watched them go and held back, giving Kara time with her girls.
Dig had pulled into the garage behind them, waiting for the girls to leave before walking up to Diana.
“He broke up with her?”
“Don’t hurt him, Dig.”
“He didn’t deserve her. I told him if he ever broke her heart what I would do to him.” The man said quietly.
“He did it for her, Dig, and it was for the best.” Diana told him. “A small heartbreak now is better than living with the guilt of what she would eventually have to do. It was a selfless act.”
Dig crossed his arms. “I don’t like to see her cry. It isn’t right. That face should always be smiling.”
Diana patted him on the shoulder. “The girls are eating ice cream and drinking bourbon. You should join them and cheer her up.”
“I’m good.” Dig grumbled. “This sucks, Diana. She could have taken her time and… it isn’t right.”
“It means the world to me how much this bothers you, but we have to let it play out.” Diana said, sighing. “I’ve tried to protect her from life for so long, but I can no longer protect her heart from everything. She will recover and find the one she can give her heart to completely. Who knows, perhaps she already has and just doesn’t realize it yet.
“Let’s join them. I am staying away from the ice cream, but bourbon sounds wonderful. It’s going to be a long night, and something tells me I will not be sleeping with Steve tonight.”
Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction 
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