Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Wayne Legacy: Rise

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 16:

Themyscira

Diana and Bruce Wayne, along with John Diggle, stepped through an almost imperceptible shimmer in the air from their backyard and made it two steps before they were on a beach at night when seconds ago the sun had been slowly descending in the sky.

“Okay, witch, we are here. Where is Cronus?” Diana asked as she scanned the area for movement in the faint moonlight.

Hearing nothing the three looked around and Hecate was nowhere to be found.

“That bitch.” Diana mumbled.

“You wouldn’t expect a goddess of magic and witchcraft to be such a coward.” Bruce pointed out, knowing if a woman like that was frightened, they should be as well if they had any sense.

Bruce had faced danger many times, risked and nearly lost his life both as a teenager and in the past six years, so it couldn’t be said he ever had an overabundance of common sense when faced with danger.

Diana, though, had never faced any opponent as strong as her and had grown up believing she could not be touched. Even the holographic opponents, set to hundreds of times faster than human speed, could not lay a shot on her.

Here she would face real opponents and he suspected her sword would clash with weapons that would not easily break under its very sharp blade. She was good with her weapon, having studied several schools of swordsmanship related to the Middle Ages, as well as fencing and Asian techniques, all blended into her own fusion of combat.

She knew how to handle the sword. She was comfortable with the shield and her lasso was as big a weapon as any she carried. Bruce had seen her do amazing things with it, but he was still concerned.

In front of them stood a large cliff, the top of which they could barely make out in the darkness but was several hundred feet high at least.

“Where the hell are we?” Dig asked.

“About a hundred miles off the coast of Crete.” Diana answered.

“More like one hundred and fifty miles southwest of Crete,” Bruce corrected.

Dig looked between the twins, and even in the darkness he could see Diana’s scowl.

“How do we know this?” the man asked, honestly curious as well as impressed.

“The stars.” The twins answered.

“Uh, huh.” Dig responded, looking around. “So it’s dark because of the time difference…”

“It’s around eleven-thirty.” Diana told him.

“Midnight.” Bruce countered.

Diana turned on him and pushed him slightly backward. “Our sister is dying, and you want to play who is the better navigator? Really, Bruce?”

Bruce raised his hands in surrender, then looked around, trying to peer through the darkness.

“There is a path approximately one hundred meters to the right, Diana.” Dig said, seeing the path easily with the enhanced vision tech Kara had put in his suit. “It could possibly lead to the top of this cliff.”

Diana shook her head. “It would take too long. I’m going to the top of the cliff. If it is clear, I’ll pull you both up.”

Rather than jumping, Diana seemed to float up, picking up speed as she got higher until she was out of view.

“You know, I finally get why she’s never felt she needed security… never imagined she could fly though.” Dig remarked, still trying to wrap his mind around recent events.

He had seen his boss impale a woman with a sword in her back yard, wrap her up in a glowing rope and then overheard talk about monsters from story books. Though the situation was surreal, he was ultimately a soldier, and he knew how to be ready for anything.

Seeing Diana fly rapidly up the cliff face, he now admitted to himself he may not be completely in that mindset.

“I didn’t know either.” Dig turned to see Bruce watching her disappear with his mouth slightly open. “The longest distance I’ve ever seen her jump is four miles. This is… new.”

“She jumped four miles?” Dig asked surprised yet again.

“In about ten seconds.” Bruce confirmed, nodding. “She can run over one hundred miles an hour, move quick enough to deflect bullets with those gauntlets, and before I left, she hadn’t found anything she couldn’t lift.”

“Damn. I had this whole speech ready for her about why she needs security. Looks like I won’t be delivering it.” Dig admitted. “So where are we? I mean, I get where we are, but… where are we?”

Bruce sighed. “I guess you’ve figured out Diana and I are not blood related, though we were raised as twins from birth. Until the witch showed up, we had no idea of her heritage.

“Apparently, this is where Diana was born. The witch called it Themyscira… first trip for both of us.”

“And you believe what this woman says? After what she did to Kara?” Dig asked, though he felt there was enough truth to the story, given what he had seen with his own eyes, that most of what Hecate had said was probably true.

“Based on what I’ve seen Diana do over our lives, the story does kind of make sense. Besides, considering where we are, best to act as if it is so we don’t get killed. We have no choice if we are to save Kara.” Bruce replied.

Dig nodded, scanning the area again, waiting on his boss to drop ‘grandma’s rope’ and haul them up.

“Nice armor by the way.” Bruce complimented him, changing subjects, now checking out the black suit Dig wore. It appeared to be a lightweight, full body armor that seemed flexible enough so it in no way inhibited his movement and a helmet he knew carried tech he wished his cowl did. He had hoped to integrate infrared, but he hadn’t had the time.

“Thanks. Kara gave it to me last week. It’s a prototype armor she made for special forces and eventually hoped to see available to all infantries. It costs about five hundred thousand dollars though, so she’s been looking to find cheaper metals and polymer blends to lower the price. I think she has a chemical plant in Oval City dedicated to different methods.” Dig explained while still keeping his attention on their surroundings. “The magnetic plates on the legs allow for several weapons to be carried without weighing me down as well as assault rifles on the back.”

“Sounds nice.” Bruce grumbled.

“It’s pretty sweet. I didn’t think I would ever need to use it though.” Dig replied, ignoring the jealous undertone. “You have an… interesting outfit as well. I now see why Diana gets so worked up about those bat sightings.”

Bruce shook his head, thinking about the scant body armor he had in his suit and wishing his sister would give him a gift like she had given her bodyguard. That armor would be perfect for his needs, especially for what he was doing now on Monster Island.

Bruce stiffened, going completely still, hearing a new sound coming towards them. By the way Dig stood like a statue, he did as well.

The sand was subtly shifting away from where the gentle waves lapped onto the sand. The sounds were faint, but they were there.

“I’m not picking up anything on infrared.” Dig whispered. “Turning on light.”

A bright light projected out from the right side of Dig’s chest, illuminating the sand.

The two men could see nothing, but the sounds stopped, as did their breath. Bruce carefully pulled his katana from its scabbard at his waist and wished Diana would hurry.

Then Bruce saw it… or them. “Dig, twenty feet to my right, the two rocks, two feet apart, ending in points.”

Dig did not look but took a small breath. “I’ve got two similar rocks to my left, ten feet away. “Those aren’t rock formations, are they? They look like really big horns.”

The sand began moving again, this time directly in front of them… moving extremely fast.

“Damn.” Dig whispered. He pulled a side arm and waited. “This might be a bad time to mention this, but I feel about snakes the same way Kara feels about kangaroos.”

He didn’t wait long. A giant snake, its head the size of a football, burst from the sand. Dig fired, striking the creature in the eye then pivoted left, striking another as it bit down on his shoulder with six inch long fangs. The armor held, the bullet entered the snake’s head and it dropped.

Bruce had ducked his snake’s strike and brought his sword down, beheading the creature. Then he twisted low, cutting another in half before thrusting the sword through the back of its head, twisting upward and ripping it in half.

The two men were back to back, their eyes on the sand as it moved around them.

“These are the biggest damn snakes I have ever seen.” Dig exclaimed. “And more are coming.”

The situation was starting to feel desperate as the sand around them seemed to come to life, more ripples than they could count moving toward them aggressively.

Before the creatures could reach them, a golden lasso was wrapped around their torsos, and they were jerked into the sky.

The two men were pulled over the cliff’s edge and placed gently on the ground by Diana, who unwrapped them and placed her lasso on her waist.

“I can’t leave you two alone for a minute, can I?” Diana asked.

The men looked at her but neither said anything, their adrenaline still running high.

“Dig, are you alright?” Because of the helmet, Diana couldn’t see his face and was worried by his silence. “Were you bitten?”

Dig shook his head. “One snapped at my shoulder. Kara’s armor held though… not a dent.”

“I’m good too, sis.” Bruce told her, climbing to his feet.

“I expected you to be, they weren’t bats.” Diana smirked at him. Turning to Dig she asked, “So… snakes, huh?”

“Big damn snakes. Did you find anything to fight that aren’t snakes? I would love to fight them while you two handle the snakes.” Dig told them, then added, “Did I mention in the job interview that I am frightened of snakes?”

His boss smiled at his antics. “As long as you protect her from kangaroos, it’s fine.”

Diana looked across the woods that seemed to lead to a mountain several miles away. “We will have to make our way through this forest. I could jump over it, or fly, but there are things in the sky I cannot see… large things and my combat in the air is weak. Kara knocked me out of the sky once with a cannon she made. I caught the cannonball, but the force sent me tumbling.”

“You caught a cannonball?” Dig asked, then shook his head. “Of course, you caught a cannonball.”

“When did you learn to fly?” Bruce finally asked.

“Years ago.” Diana answered, her gaze never leaving the woods. “You’ve been gone a long time, Brother.

“I prefer to jump and run, keep the fight on the ground or at least I prefer to practice that way. I am slower in the air, more unbalanced.”

Diana pulled her sword from her back and began moving, Dig following her, holding an assault rifle with Bruce bringing up the rear, his katana at the ready.

“Speaking of flying, why the cape, Bruce? It seems it would be a detriment to combat.” Diana pointed out as they stepped out on a cleared path that was obviously a road at one time.

“It provides greater stealth capabilities. The material can stiffen with a small electrical spark from the gloves and allows me to glide.” Bruce explained. “I will never be Kara, but I have learned a few tricks in my time away.”

Bruce saw Diana’s head drop slightly at the mention of Kara’s name. He put a hand on her shoulder. “We will save her, Diana. I swear to you, I will die before I let her die… and I don’t die easy. This is just like old times. You take the biggest guy, and I will handle the rest.

“Dig knows what he is doing as well. You choose her protector wisely, not that I would ever doubt you would.”

Diana chuckled and wiped her eyes, forcing herself to focus. “This road leads from the beach inland. It should take us to high ground. There must be a city or signs of a previous settlement. Hecate said a tunnel was dug that Cronus and his monsters rose from at the place of my birth. That tunnel is our best way in to the underworld so it must be in some sort of city.

“Dig, you have the most ammo. I’ll take point, you take rear and Bruce, cut any living thing you see that isn’t us. If I say to duck and roll, do it immediately. We are exposed and whatever is in the air is big and there is more than one.”

Dig searched the sky and felt a chill. “My infrared couldn’t pick up those cold-blooded reptiles, but I can pick up… birds? They are big ass birds. Giant birds. My night vision is showing they have huge… paws?”

Diana was not surprised. “I gather the snakes on the beach were Cerastes, horned snakes of Greek mythology. The birds above us could very well be gryphons.

“Everything you have ever learned about mythology, Dig, you must assume it’s true. If it helps, I am having a hard time believing all of this myself.”

“Gryphons.” He repeated quietly. “Body of a lion with the wings and head of an eagle.”

Bruce nodded and sighed. “Anything is possible. My twin is a supposedly a goddess, the daughter of Zeus and the Queen of the Amazons. It must be true because it explains so much about her.”

“Strength, flying, speed, magic ropes…” Dig began listing off before Bruce interrupted.

“I was thinking more along the lines of superiority complex, attitude, control issues and temper.”

“Go to hell, Bruce. By that reasoning, you must be the son of Bram Stoker and Anne Rice.” Diana replied as the trio began moving along the road.

Neither Bruce nor Diana said a word after that, the group moving swiftly and silently along the road, staying near the wood line to their left. The road began rising before ending in yet another, smaller cliff.

“Looks like we are going down.” Diana mentioned. “I can’t make out anything through the trees. Dig, what do you see?”

Dig carefully surveyed the grounds below. “Living creatures, most of them large, could be horses, some humanoid spots. Whatever they are, we won’t be alone.”

“I doubt we have been alone since we arrived.” Diana replied. “The road is ending but we can navigate to the center of the island by the stars if we hurry. If daybreak finds us in that mess, we could easily turn in circles. I can fly up and guide us but would rather not catch the ire of one of those winged beasts until we know… get down!”

Bruce and Dig hit the ground while Diana raised her sword. Both men were covered in some sort of liquid, most likely blood, and hoped it wasn’t Diana’s. They stood quickly, weapons at the ready to find Diana standing over a gutted gryphon. She was covered in blood and viscera.

“That was… so disgusting.” Diana mumbled. “We should probably get to lower ground. These creatures are fast, but they are eviscerated easily enough. Keep a blade ready and strike their underbellies.”

“Let’s hope the creatures below are killed as easily. The trees will protect us from gryphons dropping from the sky.” Bruce pointed out.

He shot a grappling hook into the ground by his feet and jumped off, the line behind him guiding his fall.

Dig took his helmet off and took a deep breath of air.

“Are you alright?” Diana asked softly.

The man had a determined look on his face as he nodded to her and placed his helmet back on. “I told you when you hired me, I would die for her. I’ll fight for her as well. I just… I just really hope we don’t see any more snakes.”

Diana smiled, squeezing his shoulder gratefully, then grabbed the man in a hug, lifting him in the air. They were both on the ground a moment later, landing softly next to Bruce.

As they made their way through trees, Dig took the lead, using the superior night and infrared vision in his helmet to lead a path through the woods and avoiding creatures big and small while Diana and Bruce held their swords at the ready.

They had been on Themyscira for less than two hours and, so far, they had killed giant snakes and a flying half-lion, half-eagle.

Diana decided they were on the right path when they came upon two skeletons.

One was most likely a woman, judging by the golden armor that resembled the style of Diana’s. Next to her was a large skeleton, perhaps seven or eight feet in length, the thick bones denoting a large framed, heavy creature with a skull that only had one large eye socket. A sword was shoved through the eye socket and out the back of its skull.

“Cyclops.” Diana whispered.

“And an Amazon. I would guess if we followed the skeletons, they may lead us to the beginning of the battle.” Bruce reasoned.

Diana agreed. “Let’s follow the dead bodies then.”

She grabbed the sword from the skeleton’s skull and tossed it to Dig. “In case you run out of ammo. In fact, if you can kill with this, use it and save your ammo. We may need all we can get later. Things are bound to get a lot worse. Up to this point, it has been too easy.”

Bruce and Dig nodded, looking around warily, knowing she was probably right. There were many more things in the sky, on the ground and under the ground they had yet to face.

As they made their way along the bone-littered path, the trio knew they were surrounded by life forms, though none tried to attack them as they made their way through the thick trees and bushes.

Diana discovered Bruce’s bat ears on his cowl were not just for decoration and had a practical use of enhancing his hearing. All three could hear the heartbeats and Dig could make out heat signatures.

“I wish they would just attack.” Dig mumbled. “I would love to spray this damn area with bullets.”

“We have no idea if bullets will work on most of these creatures.” Bruce reminded him.

Dig snorted. “These are Kara’s bullets with high impact, explosive tips. They will kill anything breathing. These may have been tough animals in mythology, but the Greeks never had to deal with her weapons.”

“While that’s probably true, treat them as if they are invincible. Go for the eyes if possible.” Diana ordered quietly.

So far they had come across skeletons of what appeared to be Amazons and cyclopes. It was when they reached a clearing that they found the first body of a cyclops still covered in flesh… partly covered anyway.

Large bites had been taken out of it, muscle missing from the arms and legs, the eye was gone, and the abdomen gutted. It had a large club with spikes in its hand, covered in blood, but it was obviously not enough to save it.

“This is why we haven’t seen more wild animals and the ones in the trees stay there. The natural food source of the island is gone. Monsters are now eating monsters, even their own kind I would guess.” Diana realized.

The trio walked to the other side of the clearing as the sun was rising. From the clearing, Diana floated above the treetops and could make out the tops of buildings not far away.

“We are losing stars, but I see a settlement perhaps a mile from here.” She said when she landed.

The sound of running feet and multiple heartbeats caught their attention. They stood their ground, weapons at the ready when several cyclopes burst into the clearing and rushed them.

Diana moved like a whirlwind, cutting heads off the creatures while Bruce tossed a grenade at one’s eye, killing it instantly and taking the head with it. Dig opened fire with a handgun, firing before the creature’s spiked club could reach him. As he predicted, Kara’s rounds had the desired effect on the creature, carving away a large piece of its skull.

Bruce looked towards Diana where she stood by the eight bodies she had just killed. She looked at the two enemies Dig and Bruce had killed and shook her head.

“We aren’t all warrior goddesses, you know.” Bruce grumbled.

They readied themselves when more walked out, not running this time, but being much more cautious. There must have been twenty spread out in front of them, all advancing. Each one had a large club in its hand that looked as if it had been whittled from a tree trunk.

“When I heard that bitch say cyclopes, I kinda had it in my head that they would be wearing pants or something. Maybe some animal skin or ripped cutoffs.” Dig admitted.

“It is disturbing.” Diana agreed. “Baths aren’t a big thing here either judging from the smell.”

“Can we focus on the very large enemies stalking towards us and save the discussion of hygiene for later?” Bruce asked.

Diana stepped in front of her companions. “When they are down, go for the eyes and do so quickly. I’m not sure how strong they are but they are very slow, so let’s use that to our advantage.”

“When they are down?” Bruce asked.

Diana smiled and winked at him. “Besides flying, I learned a few other tricks while you were away.”

Diana raised her left arm in front of her and slammed her right gauntlet into the other. The concussive explosion nearly deafened Bruce and Dig.

The ground in front of them was ripped apart, cyclopes and trees blown away, gryphons in the air screeching and flying away except for a couple that were low enough to be caught in the blast and were shattered, their remains falling in pieces to the ground.

Before Bruce could ask her what the hell she had done, Diana was moving rapidly so the two men followed, determined to kill these creatures if there were anything left of them after that shockwave.

---

Wayne Manor

Eliza watched Kara’s vitals closely. The blonde was barely conscious and delirious, mumbling yet unable to really sleep because of the pain. She was shivering and her heart rate was erratic. Her blood pressure was lower than it should be but was most likely the best it would get. Her breaths were shallow, her lungs slowly filling with liquid and Eliza knew she would be suctioning soon.

“I’ve got to put her under to give her any chance. I need to clear her lungs and begin the stem cell treatment.” Eliza told the two men standing outside the isolation area. “There is no point in suiting up, so come on in. She can’t get any sicker.”

Steve and Alfred rushed into the room, standing on either side of the bed, each taking a hand. Despite the cooling blanket on her, Kara’s hands were warm and clammy.

Alfred leaned down and whispered into her ear.

“I have heard my daughter say, she hath often dreamed of unhappiness and waked herself with laughing. ” The man quoted to her. It was something he had told her many times growing up when she had nightmares and fought to stay awake. “This unhappiness is a dream, Kara. You will soon wake up, my princess, just as you always have, and this will have been naught but a bad dream. I’ll make a key lime pie and sneak you a slice when Diana isn’t looking. I’ll dance with you, we can shoot clay pigeons… do whatever you want to do. Your laughter will be heard again.

“Please… hold on. Diana will find a way to save you.”

Steve looked at Alfred and felt the man’s pain. While he considered Kara a little sister who he loved dearly, Alfred was the one she had grown up with. He took care of her during the days Diana was in class, played with her, tried to contain her curiosity and hijinks, tried to entertain her, to keep her busy and obviously helped her through illness.

Kara had told Steve once that while she considered Diana to be the guiding star in her life, Alfred was practically a father to her. She had tested him in every way growing up and he never lost his temper or his patience in regard to her.

Alfred loved her deeply. She was the baby of the family, the one he was most protective of, like they all were.

“She’s going to be okay, Alfred. Diana will make sure of it.” Steve assured the man.

Alfred shook his head, not confident at all, scared for both his girls and Bruce. He had made the conscious decision to guarantee John Diggle went with them by allowing the man to listen in on their conversation and thus discover the biggest of the Wayne family secrets. He knew John well enough to know he was the type of man who would not let Bruce and Diana go alone. He also knew John cared deeply for both his girls despite having known them only a short while.

“Diana has never faced something like this, Steve.” Alfred began, then shook his head and started quietly unloading his troubled heart to the younger man. “Kara heard Diana and I arguing yesterday morning. I haven’t spoken to her since in any great length. Kara hates arguments. She does everything she can to avoid them. The last time she heard me conversing, my voice was raised in anger with Diana.

“And over what? Bruce and his nocturnal activities. I was angry over Diana distancing herself and Kara from him. But what else did I expect her to do? She did what was best for the company and for Kara. I was angry because it just reminded me of how much I had failed all of them and I took it out on Diana in front of Kara.

“Now, in the course of two days, everything has gone to hell. I have always feared Diana’s past finding her. Now that it has, I am no longer as confident. I never believed anything could harm her, but I have a feeling she is about to meet someone as strong as she is, if not stronger… and my blood feels like ice.”

Before Steve could respond, reassure the man, Eliza walked over and injected medicine into Kara’s IV. “I need to intubate. She is going under, gentlemen. Please step away.”

The two watched helplessly as Kara drifted away, her body slipping into a deep sleep, completely under Eliza’s control now.

---

World Between Worlds

All Kara felt was pain. She was struggling to breathe, chills ran through her body despite her high fever, she was nauseous, her chest felt so heavy, and she ached all over.

Kara knew she was in serious trouble. As her brilliant mind was clinging to any hope Diana would hurry, she felt the pain slowly recede.

She found herself outside the manor, near the northwest corner where she loved to play as a child. It was the closest she could get to leaving the manor and she couldn’t see the house from here. A small creek ran through the trees, babbling softly along and she could hear birds singing.

Kara walked along, running her hands along the tree trunks, feeling the textures of the bark. She dipped her hand into the cool water, smiled at the sight and sound of the water running over rocks. It wasn’t wide and Kara would often walk in it on warm days or jump over it on cooler ones.

She never worried about her fragile hold on life when she was here, she always felt at peace.

“You thought you were alone when you came here. It was your special place.” A familiar voice came from behind her. “But I was always here, watching you. I hid myself well. Watching you alone, using your imagination, warmed my heart, as much as you playing with imaginary friends broke it.”

Kara turned quickly and saw someone she had greatly missed. The woman looked so real. She sounded the same, looked the same, and her smile was the same.

“Mommy?” Kara asked softly in disbelief.

Martha walked up to her daughter and touched her cheek. “My little Bunny. I’ve watched you grow into such a beautiful young woman.”

Kara was surprised when she felt the touch, the warmth from her mother’s hand. Her mother’s perfume was the same as she remembered, a smell Kara thought she’d forgotten.

“This isn’t real.” Kara told her. “I’m hallucinating… or am I dead? Is this heaven? I always worried I wouldn’t be allowed in heaven because of all the weapons I made. Have I made it into heaven?”

Martha brought Kara into her arms, enveloping her in a hug. “Kara, no one deserves heaven more than you, my sweet girl. You defend innocents and inspire those around you with kindness. What more could one ask for?

“You are not dead though. This is just a place where you are waiting.”

“Waiting for what?” Kara asked, confused.

“To decide if you wish to hold on to the world… a place for your mind to rest while your body fights. It is a world between worlds.” Her mother replied, wrapping her arm around Kara and pulling her close. “I have never stopped watching over my children. One day we will be together again, but for now, you just need to rest. Relax with me.”

Kara experienced a fleeting sense of déjà vu. She couldn’t remember clearly, but all of this felt familiar, and she had a sinking feeling why. “I’ve been here before… with you and Daddy.”

“When you have come closest to death, you traveled here while your body healed.” Martha told her, kissing her head. “You are my little fighter, Kara… you always survived. Your father and I have waited with you every time you come here.”

“But I never remember when I wake up.” She realized. “Why can I never remember?”

“You remember some, you just don’t realize it.” Her mother replied.

Kara shook her head. “Diana… Diana is doing something dangerous. She might get killed and for what? Me? She has so much to offer the world. I knew this day would come for me but not her.”

Martha guided a distraught Kara to a fallen tree trunk and they both sat, Martha holding both of Kara’s hands in hers.

“Diana’s past has come back to claim her, she couldn’t avoid it forever. But facing it, facing who she is, gives her a chance to save you. Diana does not care about danger, or her own life. Her only concern is you. Her love for you is absolute.” Martha told her, squeezing her hands comfortingly. “Diana and Bruce both have so much anger in them. Bruce is dealing with his anger in his own way, but Diana hides hers and focuses on you instead. She would be lost without you, Kara. You cannot leave her.”

“It’s not really up to me, is it?” Kara pointed out, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath of sweet, clean air. “This still feels like a dream. Where is Daddy?”

“I asked him for a few minutes alone with you. You could be here a while and we don’t want to leave you alone.” Martha smiled fondly. “I loved watching you play here. This is where you taught your dolls to swim, right?”

Kara could feel herself blushing. “Yeah, I thought it was a safe place since it wasn’t too deep for them. I always brought a towel in my pocket to dry them off. I didn’t want them getting sick.” She laughed. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

“I prefer to think of it as caring.” Her mother answered. “Diana would become so upset when you walked barefoot in the water, but I wouldn’t let her stop you. We wanted to give you the best we could.”

“You did.” Kara assured her. “I had the best life, a better life than anyone in my situation should have had.”

Martha looked behind her and smiled. Kara turned and saw her father walking from the trees.

Kara stood up and realized she was suddenly much smaller in height. She didn’t care at the moment. She ran as fast as she could and jumped, landing in her Daddy’s arms where he caught her and pulled her up into a hug. She lay her head on his shoulder and burrowed in as she often had when she was actually this size, enjoying the feel of his whiskers as he never seemed to have shaved completely.

“It’s going to be alright, Bunny. I’ve got you.” He said, his voice resonating comfortingly through her.

“I miss you, Daddy.” She felt so safe in his arms that she never wanted to leave them.

“I miss you too.” He replied. “Heaven isn’t heaven without you and your siblings, but we have to wait a while before we can all be together. You have to wait, Bunny. Diana and Bruce need you.”

Kara shook her head. “Bruce left us. He didn’t need us, and we didn’t need him.”

Thomas carried her over to Martha and sat her on the tree trunk, then knelt in front of her. “We can talk about that later. What do you want to play?”

Kara smiled mischievously. “Can I ride on your shoulders?”

“Are you going to pull my hair?” He asked, eyebrows raised teasingly.

The little blonde nodded enthusiastically, giggling.

Kara felt herself being picked up and placed on his shoulders. She grabbed his dark hair in her tiny fists as the man stood up and began running around the area through the trees while Kara laughed like she hadn’t laughed in years.

She wasn’t sure if this was real or a hallucination, but she was going to make the most of it either way.