Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Call Me Kara

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 30:

“So why am I here at 7:00?” Jax complained. “Superhero stuff takes a lot out of me and this is Sunday. I sleep in on Sundays.”

“You sleep in everyday.” Ray reminded him.

“Exactly and Sunday is part of everyday. Now what are we doing and why in the hell did you bring this big moving truck? Is it some sort of emergency field vehicle thats gonna transform into all your weird toys that work half the time?”

“No, its a big moving truck. The furniture Eliza and Jeremiah bought couldn’t be delivered today because the store is already booked with deliveries so we are going to pick it up and move it for them.”

“Uh… I know you seem to have trouble remembering this, probably because your brain has shrunk and enlarged so many times it doesn’t know whether it is coming or going, but you are a billionaire again. Why the hell can’t you just hire a moving company?”

“Because we are a big family. Family helps out. Hiring a moving company would be impersonal.” the Atom explained patiently.

“I’m not related. I didn’t even get to kill big alien mutants on that other Earth. We had to stay here. That was BS. I wanted to kill big alien mutants. Instead we get to listen to Cisco all day, Barry phased through a huge death machine and killed it, Kara tunneled underground and broke through a concrete wall… bunch of BS. Get me in there and I would light up every one of those hallways, clear a path and nothing left standing.”

“And probably burned up Alex and Kara’s dad. Its a miracle Martin doesn’t beat you with a cane every time you two are separated. They are family and you know it. If we can’t rely on each other who do we have Jax?”

“A moving company you hire maybe? We could have that. How about Kara? She is the one who can lift the Earth. Why isn’t she here?”

“She can’t help here. She is still having power outages. She can’t be seen lifting couches with one finger and the second her powers leave, the couch is going to drop.”

“Oh yeah. They figure out whats causing that?”

“Harry did yesterday. Barry and Kara were not reachable last night except a thumbs up he sent Caitlin. Anyway Harry came back to the lab last night at some point who told Cisco, who tried to get a hold of Barry and couldn’t, so Cisco called Alex and then called me, and I called Martin. I guess you got left out of the loop.”

“You still haven’t told me what the damn reason is.”

“Kara is pregnant.” Ray told him. Jax stared at him for a minute.

“That kid is going to melt the face off the first little brat who tries to take his favorite toy. You realize this, right?”

“No I don’t. We have the greatest scientific minds in the world, all in Central City, under one roof. I think we can handle a little super powered, half alien, half metahuman baby.”

“Yeah… man, can you imagine Kara in labor? Girl is an enigma. She can go toe to toe with Savage and his damn staff, cut bullets out of her own shoulder, but she stubs a toe and you think she is being murdered. I can imagine what labor is going to be like. They better have a lot of red sunshine in that delivery room and strap her down or she gonna go ballistic. First baby ever born in the sky, without a plane. I don’t know if I want to see that cause it’s going to be funny as hell or run back in time again with Rip.”

“Tough call. Kara will be fine.” Ray told him. “I mean… at this point she really doesn’t have a choice. Caitlin is going to have to deliver the kid, in case the kid flies out during delivery. Can you imagine that? Push, push, boom! Where did the kid go? Oh, he flew through the wall and is halfway to the coast. I guess we better go grab him.” Ray and Jax both found Ray’s potential delivery hilarious. Once the laughter settled down for the two who were not as funny as they thought, Jax thought of the timing.

“Ray, that bracelet wasn’t operational that long ago. They didn’t waste time, huh?”

“Cisco says they only used it one night.” Ray told him. Jax was impressed.

“I guess Barry works fast in everything he does. How come you look so refreshed this morning?”

‘Because I haven’t slept. New building opens up tomorrow and barring Kara destroying it fighting a bad guy, we have a lot to do. I’ve made some additions to her office and mine.”

“I thought you were going to work out of S.T.A.R? You said you hated offices.”

“I do hate offices but with her not able to control when her powers are working, certain things have to be done. Plus until her new EA can get settled in, I need to keep an eye on things. I also have us a fall back spot under the building being built but I am going to have to do the finishing touches myself of course. Workers think it is just a really advanced R&D slash server room. If S.T.A.R. is ever compromised we will have a headquarters to work out of, that is a lot more secure and still have the same capabilities for communication and monitoring that Cait and Cisco have now. Its also going to have a direct line to Felicity and Oliver’s team so we can coordinate easier. I’m calling it the A.T.O.M. Cave. I have a lot of work to do, Jax.”

“Then why the hell can’t you hire a moving crew?”

“Hey, the store is open. Lets go find out where we can pick up our stuff. If anyone can get in contact with Barry and Kara, Barry should be here soon…”

“Hey guys!”

Ray and Jax both jumped at Barry’s sudden appearance. “I heard the store couldn’t deliver today and you were going to carry the furniture yourself?”

“Yep! Nothing wrong with a little good old fashion physical labor, Barry. It keeps me grounded.” Ray explained with pride.

“Why don’t you just use a moving company and work with them while Jax and I get breakfast?”

“Why don’t you help us move the furniture Barry?” Ray countered. “Who told you we would be here anyway?”

“Cait came home around 5 AM. Kara and I were asleep on the couch. She told me.”

“The couch? Why ya’ll sleeping on the couch? You already knocked her up.” Jax pointed out.

“Yeah and I asked her to marry me. She’s very religious, or she was… I mean she kind of is still, anyway the wedding isn’t that far off so we decided to… wait.”

“Kara is religious? Like she found Jesus or what?” Jax asked.

“No, religion was a very big part of life on Krypton. They worshipped the Sun God Rao…” Barry stopped when he saw Jax shake his head and cross himself. “Anyway lets get this furniture. I promised Kara we would be there by 8 with her breakfast. Also Ray, I need to talk to you after we are done.”

“No you don’t.” Ray told him.

“Yeah…”

“I’ve already got her an EA more than capable of looking out for her. You know her, worked at Jitters before, makes a mean cup of coffee, has wings and talons, good with a sword, I have my office set up next to hers with a hidden panel holding my extra suit. The window in her office can no longer open and tempt her to fly off, and there is a hidden elevator door in her office wall that can send her very quickly, but safely, to the basement which is being set up as our fallback headquarters and a safe room for her if needed, aka the A.T.O.M. Cave. I miss anything?”

“Wow. How did…”

“You aren’t the only one who works fast. I wish Oliver and Dig were here. It’s a lot easier to do this with four guys who have muscles instead of two guys and a thin speedster. Oh well, we will make the best of it. Let’s move men.”

An hour later, a sore Barry, a grumpy, sweaty Jax and an upbeat, caffeine driven Ray Palmer arrived at the condo. Kara, Alex, Joe, Caitlin, Cisco, Iris and Nyssa were preparing to unload boxes with Jeremiah and Eliza. Kara was grinning from ear to ear showing her ring to the ladies while Jeremiah leaned against a tree and watched the men exit the vehicle. He walked up and hugged Barry.

“You did good. I’m relieved I won’t have to start Project Zoomsday. Lets get this furniture unloaded.” he told the man.

“You already thought of a name for it?!” Barry asked in disbelief. Jeremiah just looked at him blankly so Barry moved on, wanting to be next to Kara and her powers that worked 95% of the time.

“Barry!” Kara called out excitedly, running towards him then slowing when she came closer, the smile leaving and a frown appearing. “Where is my breakfast?”

“Uh… we didn’t have time and we couldn’t get the moving truck through a drive through and,,,” he noted the familiar look on Kara’s face…”and I will be back in less than a minute.”

Barry ran into the empty condo, changed into his suit and was gone.

“You literally ate a dozen donuts this morning.” Alex pointed out, shaking her head at how trained her little sister had the man.

“I’m eating for two now.” Kara shrugged and walked back to begin unloading boxes. An unfamiliar car pulled in and Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak stepped out.

“What are you guys doing here?” Kara asked, hugging Felicity.

“Well, Caitlin told Felicity the blessed news last night so we decided to take Ray’s helicopter and come congratulate you. Thats a very big diamond on your hand. Looks like there is more to celebrate than just an unexpected bundle of joy.” Oliver told her, giving her a hug.

“Yeah, he asked me to marry him. I’m so freaked about the baby but kind of excited too. Its really weird. Its one of those things I never thought would happen for me and now that it has, I’m still coming to grips with it.”

“I’m so happy for you Kara.” Felicity told her.

“Did you say you took my helicopter?” Ray asked. Oliver smiled at him.

“Is that a problem, Ray?” Oliver was still smiling. Ray wasn’t.

“Absolutely not. I’m glad you brought it down. Uh… anytime Oliver. You know whats mine is yours.”

“I’m glad you see it that way Ray.” Oliver told him, patting him on the shoulder, causing the Atom to jump. Ray had trained with Oliver to improve his hand to hand combat skills in the past. He learned how to take a beating. Oliver may not have gotten over old feelings about Ray dating Felicity, taking his family company and trying to defeat him when he first learned Oliver was the Arrow and failing miserably.

“So where is the excited father?” Oliver asked.

“Thirty seconds late, bringing me breakfast.” Kara pointed out.

“Ahh, that Barry, always late. We stopped by Joe’s and he told us he was coming here after he stopped at the station so we thought we would lend a hand.” Oliver explained.

“Thank God, Barry can’t lift anything over ten pounds it seems. Jax and I were doing all the heavy lifting while he held onto a side and acted like he was actually working. We didn’t even bother asking Cisco.” Ray told the Arrow. Barry sped up with three large breakfast tacos in hand, ran into the condo, changed and was back in front of Kara.

“Sorry I’m late, I was in my uniform and a few kids wanted autographs.”

“Uh huh. I’ll let it slide this time since you bought me a huge engagement ring. Look, Oliver and Felicity came all this way to congratulate us.”

“Oliver! Oliver? Oliver, why are you here?”

“I heard the good news! Congratulations.” Oliver pulled Barry in for a hug, setting off every warning bell Barry had in him. “Hey Eliza, can Barry show me the inside of the condo before we move boxes in? I planned to help Ray with the wiring for the security system.”

“I’ve actually got the wiring handled…”

“Shut up Cisco.” Oliver told him, causing the shorter man to turn around quickly and begin talking to Iris once more.

“Go right ahead, Oliver. I need to organize which ones go first and the furniture should probably be unloaded beforehand so the boxes won’t be in the way.”

“Great! Come with me Barry.”

Barry gulped and followed Oliver slowly. Kara seemed a bit confused by Barry’s reaction but shook it off when Felicity began talking about her ring.

Barry and Oliver walked into the very spacious condo.

“This is nice.” Oliver observed. “Lets see how big the rooms in the back are.” Before Barry could say a word, Oliver was moving, through the kitchen past a smaller bedroom and into what must have been the master bedroom.

“I didn’t know you knew much about wiring, Oliver.” Barry said carefully.

“Oh I don’t. I just wanted to congratulate you away from everyone else Barry. I like to think the two of us have a special bond.”

Barry relaxed. “Yeah me too. I appreciate you coming all this way. It means a lot to both of us.”

“Of course. You are like the little brother I never wanted. Whoa, thats weird. Is there another speedster in town? That guy has a suit on just like yours but its black.” Oliver told him, staring out the window behind Barry. Barry zipped around quickly but saw nothing. He let out a breath and turned back to Oliver.

“That wasn’t…” was as far as he got when Oliver’s elbow hit his chin, knocking him to the ground.

“I thought you were getting better, faster? How the hell can I still hit you, Barry?!”

Barry slowly rose to his feet.

“Lets talk about why you hit me?”

“Why? Why? I don’t know, how about weird serial killers, bombers, people who have no identity, not even Felicity can find? Someone who has military grade hardware and kills random people, no matter the body count just to see how you respond. And you thought this was a good time to get her pregnant? You couldn’t have waited a few months until we have this guy, I don’t know, maybe ask her to marry you first? Seriously Barry, you have got to start using your damn head.”

“We didn’t plan it. We didn’t even know she could get pregnant.”

“Your base of operations is crawling with geneticists, bio engineers, some of whom specialize in alien physiology, and you never thought to ask?”

“I’m honestly shocked you can say physiology. Felicity is doing wonders for your…”

Oliver hit the Flash again.

“Would you stop that?!” Barry blurred and his cut lip healed instantly.

“Neat trick. If I knee you in the groin can you vibrate that away too? Cisco developed body armor for me that weighs a pound and is flexible. He developed a suit for you that can withstand extreme temperatures and footwear that can handle you breaking the speed of sound several times over and not burning up. You never thought to ask him to make a condom? You couldn’t have gone to the pharmacy and tried your luck with those? She has been all over the news. Everyone, especially whoever is after us, knows how powerful she is. Thats makes her the number one target and you just made her vulnerable.”

“I didn’t mean to, alright? Back off before I… don’t hit me again!” he said as he jumped back, prepared this time.

“Is everything okay?” Eliza asked, walking in to check on the boys. Oliver wrapped an arm Barry and smiled charmingly at Dr. Zorel.

“Everything is perfect. This place is lovely and I am glad to be here. I was just talking to Barry about what a blessed event this is. Exciting times.”

“I know, I can’t believe I’m going to be a grandmother. This is all so exciting, moving in, starting over, having my family whole and happy. Barry and Kara are going house hunting next weekend. Alex is happy. Things are going better than I ever dreamed. Thank you for coming Oliver. You have been such a good friend to my daughters, protecting Kara the way you do, coming to another universe, fighting by her side while all of you freed Jeremiah. I want you to know I consider you family.”

“Thank you Dr…”

“Call me Eliza, Oliver.”

“Thank you Eliza. Barry and your family mean the world to me and I am very glad to see you happy.”

“Oliver, you are so sweet. Don’t take long boys, we need to get this furniture unloaded. Joe is bringing a grill over for lunch.”

As soon as Eliza was gone, Oliver gripped Barry’s neck and swung into him, kneeing him in the groin.

“You are really starting to piss me off Oliver.” Barry wheezed.

“When are you marrying her?”

“The weekend after Thanksgiving.”

“That’s in three weeks. What venue? Is Cisco going to bring the Earth 3 crew in?”

“I haven’t talked about it, but yes, I think so.”

“Good. The plans for this wedding are to be kept secret. Have others buy what you need, Ray can organize it, you pay for it, unrelated people, people with no contact with us, pick up the items. One handles flowers and one handles… whatever else you need. Kara needs to pick out dresses after hours and make sure, no one outside of family is around other than the store owner. Kendra is going to be her new EA?”

“Yeah.” Barry breathed, finally standing up straight, the pain lessening.

“Good, Im going to talk to Ray about having Carter placed in security, perhaps head but always around Kara. We have to assume that whoever is behind this knows our identities. Zoom attacked Central City. Darkh, Wilson, Merlyn, Ra’s all attacked Star City. Whoever this is, he is going after two cities at once. That means he is reckless or very, very good. He isn’t going after the cities or trying to destroy the world, he wants us. He is also smart enough to remain in the background and make the people who work for him disappear from records and apparently too scared to talk. He wanted to kill Lance just to send a message and kidnap Donna just to see how my team works. Its time we got organized.”

“Organized?”

“Yep. We are going to take a page out of Bruce Wayne’s playbook. Kendra, Carter, Ray, Firestorm, myself, Speedy, Nyssa, Sara, Diggle and Alex. I may beat Snart until he decides to help if I feel Sara can keep him in line. Throw you in and we are going to have a team. I plan to speak to Mari as well. We could use her but she is somewhat a loner as you know. Ray has offices in Star and Central City now, meaning he has jets in both cities. We can figure out a way for Vixen to get to us quickly from Detroit. We are going to become organized. We have the best tech, the best minds, the best fighters and the most powerful warriors with superhuman powers. I’m also getting Constantine or whoever he suggests to handle the magical side of things on standbye. I don’t want to just rely on Vixen and I want to be prepared if this is another Darkh. Whoever this guy is, we take him out and take him out hard and fast because I promise you he is planning to do the same to us, one by one, starting with the most powerful first, and we both know who that is. If we can’t handle this before it becomes obvious she is pregnant then we are going to have to keep her more protected than the President and you know she is going to hate that. Having Carter and Kendra around will be hard enough for her to take. With all of us working together it shouldn’t take long.”

“You really think you can get people from different cities to work together as one team, train together? A lot of us are used to working alone, you included, or at least your team.”

“No, I can’t get them to work as a team. You and Kara can. You both inspire people. You can lead, Barry. People follow you and they will follow Kara anywhere.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because I would follow either of you anywhere. Next week we are all meeting at S.T.A.R. Felicity is going to double check the security today. Ray is going to make upgrades and you Cisco and Caitlin may have to operate out of Ray’s new hangout in the basement at Palmer Tech because the damn roof really needs to be fixed on S.T.A.R.”

“If Kara and I are the leaders, why are you telling me what to do?” Barry asked. Oliver just smiled.

“Because every leader needs someone to advise him from time to time. Thats my role. Lets get to unpacking. Then we are going to celebrate and help Ray make this condo into a safe house if it needs to be. Remember, we assume he knows who we are. That means he may know who our families are. They are the easiest targets to get to. He knows who I am and went after Lance. He could very well know who all of us are. Tell Cisco to hurry up on Alex’s suit. She needs more than just a tac vest and black clothes to go to war.”

“Yes sir.” Barry mumbled.

“Hey Barry? I really am happy for you. I wish it had been at a better time but if anyone deserves this, you do.”

“You’re not going to hit me again, right?”

“No.”Oliver brought Barry in for a hug.

“Hey Oliver, can I just say one thing before we go out there?”

“Of course…”

Oliver never saw the punch but he definitely felt it in his jaw. Unlike the last time they had fought, Barry’s bee stings of the past had turned into a powerhouse as he put everything Nyssa had taught him into it, but not everything he had. He didn’t want to blow Oliver’s head to pieces. Barry stood over a stunned Oliver on the floor.

“Let’s have a quick talk about temporal backlash. I told you to tell Felicity about your kid. You decided she was better off not knowing and he was better off without you, without even talking to her. You almost lost her because you didn’t follow my advice. So get off this idea that you are always right. Now lets talk about Kara. What the hell were you doing while Dig was taking a bullet for her? She had never been in a situation like that. Aren’t you the one always saying we shouldn’t treat her like she was invulnerable? Why didn’t you run after her to back her up? You knew their was a killer after us in the city.”

Barry grabbed Oliver and lifted him off the ground then pressed him against a wall before the Arrow could blink.

“It is blind luck those first bullets didn’t wind up in her chest!” Barry, brought his knee into the man’s gut, knocking the wind out of him.

“If she is going out with you then keep an eye on her until you know what she can do. You are the one who treated her like she was invulnerable. Yeah we are having a child but at least we are honest about it and not hiding things from each other. Never, ever hit me again. I love you Oliver but I am not taking any more of your criticism especially when it comes to Kara! Do we have an understanding? I blew apart a boulder two days ago. I would really like to avoid doing that to you.”

Oliver caught his breath and smiled. “You are getting much, much stronger.”

“I was holding back.”

“I appreciate it. You are right. It scared the hell out of me and I was stupid. I’ve been stupid about a lot of things in life.”

“You’re not stupid Oliver. You are frustrated and I know the other night scared you almost as much as it did me. You just have a hard time figuring out how to vent. But you have stopped torturing people, so you can learn to and I’m proud of you for that. Cisco is going to be my best man, and Wally is going to be up there with me. I’d like it if you would be too.”

“I wouldn’t miss it Barry.” he told the man. “I’ll even be early.” he told him, taking Barry’s offered hand and pulling himself up from the floor.

“Thanks man.”

“I’m pretty sure you have saved my life enough times that there isn’t much you could ask me that I would turn down. Those really were nice moves. Nyssa is doing a lot of good here.”

Oliver and Barry walked out side by side, both getting a not very nice glare from Kara, who both had somehow forgotten had super hearing.

“You boys get all the testosterone out of your system? Ray and Jax need help and I don’t want Dad straining himself. He needs exercise before he attempts to lift heavy furniture.” Kara informed the men.

“Yeah, I just need to talk to Cisco and I will be right there.” Oliver told her.

He found Cisco still talking to Iris. “Hey Cisco, can I interrupt for a minute?”

“Course man, whats up? Your jaw is bruised. Barry hit you?”

“We had an impromptu sparring session. He did great. Hey, tomorrow I need to send someone to the…” Oliver let out a breath, resigned to saying it…”the Batcave. Think you can handle that?”

“Yeah, I guess so. Why?”

“Felicity and Ray have a package for Oracle he is going to hand deliver. He will also contact those people who need to be here for the wedding. I want more than just the cousin and the Martian. I want Wayne and any other people who can fight, for security at this wedding. If whoever this guy is, decides to come at us there, I want him turned back before Kara notices. Its going to be a special day for her with no problems. He will let them know when the next breach will appear and where it will appear and all the guests can come through then.”

“How long do you want me to keep this breach open tomorrow? Or should I open it up later when whoever is ready to come back?”

“Roy isn’t coming back. He needs a place he doesn’t have to play dead anymore and can have a new life. Bruce is going to help him have this. He has been on the run, trying to stay low for too long. He can use a fresh start. I contacted him and he will be at the lab at 4 PM tomorrow. Can you handle it?”

“Yeah, I can handle it. I’ll make sure he gets there safely.” Cisco told the Arrow. He had always liked Roy.

“Thank you Cisco. You have no idea how important you are to us all. Things are going to get rougher before they get better and I am glad you are here, for everything. Now stop hanging out with the women and help us unload this furniture.”

The next morning Kara walked into the new and improved Palmer Tech building. She had been impressed the first time but seeing how much nicer things were now, she was almost glad she destroyed the first building. Once she reached the top floor, she noted that instead of her office next to Felicity’s smaller office, there were two large offices, with a secretary’s desk in front of one. Ray stepped out of what she assumed was his.

“Good morning Kara! Have you seen your new office yet?”

“Hey Ray, I was just going to check it out but I wasn’t sure… so that one is mine?”

“Yep and your new EA will be here in a couple hours. I also have a new head of corporate security name Carter Hall starring later today. He is just for show, to keep reporters and such off of you. It is pretty much standard procedure for all VPs to have at least one bodyguard with them. It would look weird if you didn’t have one.”

Kara stared at Ray Palmer for a moment.

“That didn’t work at all, did it?” he guessed.

“Nope. I don’t need a bodyguard Ray. Even if I have one of my very brief power outages, I can defend myself.” she told him confidently, walking to her office.

“And if it was just you, I would completely agree and respect that, just as I am sure that you will admit that while you can protect yourself it is never a bad idea to have too much protection for your baby.”

Kara froze, then turned back to face Palmer.

“You’re good.” she admitted.

“Thank you.” Ray smiled.

“I haven’t interviewed any EAs. I thought you wanted me to hire an EA?”

“She is an old friend named Kendra. Doesn’t have much real world work experience so I thought I would cut her a break. She used to work at Jitters. She makes a great cup of coffee.”

“Uh huh. And what else does she do?”

“She is great at answering phones?”

“Uh huh. And what else does she do?” Kara asked. Ray dropped his head.

“Sprout wings, flies really fast, pretty damn strong and her fingernails can turn into talons. She is also amazing with a sword and a mace.”

“This is the Kendra who was the only one who could actually kill Savage?”

“Yep.”

“And Carter…”

“Also sprouts wings, doesn’t use talons that much but is amazing with a mace. He died on us once so we picked up a reincarnated version of him in the future. It may be a little awkward because Kendra and I were sort of having a thing until we picked up her brainwashed soul mate again. But thats all in the past, or future I suppose, time travel gives me a headache, and we are great friends now. All of us… all three of us.”

“And I thought you would be working at S.T.A.R?”

“I need to be seen at the office. You’re in charge of PR. Don’t you think that would be a step in the right direction for investor confidence?”

“A step would be you to stop telling waitresses that size is important in restaurants where reporters can hear you.”

“That was taken completely out of context and I appreciate you handling that as well as you did… I will keep comments like that to myself from now on… promise.”

Kara raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue, instead walking into her office. She checked the view and noticed something different about the windows.

“Ray?”

“Yes?” he answered quickly. The man must have been standing right outside her door. He looked nervous.

“My window doesn’t open.”

“No, most windows on high rises don’t open. Don’t want you to commit suicide on a bad day right? Haha… that wasn’t funny was it?”

“If something happens, how am I supposed to get out so my baby will be safe?” she asked innocently.

“You can’t break the glass?”

“Of course I can, but then I would have to explain to maintenance how the entire large window shattered.”

“I was under the impression you wouldn’t be flying?”

“Its better than dying.” Kara fairly pointed out.

“True, but I have my suit in my office in a hidden panel… oh let me show you this!” Ray pressed a number into a keypad, Kara had yet to notice, inside the wall. The wall slid open to an elevator door.

“6515. Elevator opens and closes quickly and begins to move immediately down to the basement where my new Cave is. Its going to be our fall back spot if S. . is ever compromised.”

“Uh huh. You built me an elevator that leads to a safe room? And if I can’t get to the elevator?”

“Then Kendra can fly you out, or at least fly with you to make sure you don’t randomly drop.” Ray reasoned proudly.

Kara stepped up to Ray, who took a deep breath.

“Kara, you agreed for your baby’s sake you would stay out of trouble, I mean not involve yourself unless absolutely necessary. Barry is worried enough. The poor guy has a wedding to help plan, a house to buy, his Dad is moving back, his baby is only a couple weeks old and inside the woman he loves and he is already devoted to the kid. He can’t be with you 24 hours a day or handle anymore loss and is stressing over it. You know him better than anyone and you know how he is. You don’t want to give him nightmares do you? Just humor us okay? Kendra and Carter have nowhere to be since you took out Savage, and they really do need jobs. Them being with you and me being here makes Barry fell better and I know you want him to feel better because you love him. So let it slide, for his sake?”

“Damn you are good, Almost as good as Ollie at guilt trips. Fine Ray, whatever. I have interviews to conduct for PR team members so I guess whenever Kendra is ready…”

“Her and Carter are in human resources completing some paperwork. They are both excited to meet you… Kendra is. Carter doesn’t get excited about much. Truthfully he is kind of a jerk but he is a pretty good jerk to have around when bad guys strike.”

“Its going to cost you though.” Superwoman told him, giving him pause.

“Protecting you is going to cost me?”

“Nope. Me not being difficult about being protected is going to cost you.”

“And what do you want? A raise with your new position? Because you already have one and I made your fiancé a millionaire.”

“Not a raise.”

“Okay…”

“I want to fly.”

Ray sighed. “Didn’t we just discuss this?”

“No, I want to fly in your suit.” Kara smirked.

Ray froze. His suit?

“Kara you can’t just get in it and fly. It takes a lot of training. Its complicated technology and in untrained hands…”

“Felicity told me she put it on, flew off and saved Oliver when he fell off a really high bridge. She had never been in it either. Doesn’t seem that complicated. I am an expert at flying. I also want to know what it is like to shoot lasers from my hands. Using the eyes gets old after a while.”

Ray stared at the woman, who had her hands propped under her chin, elbows on her desk.

“You can’t shrink. I can’t take the chance of you pressing the wrong button.”

“I don’t want to. Size matters, according to you anyway. I wouldn’t take that risk with my baby, but I need to fly. I love to fly. If I am going to spend the next eight and a half months without being able to use my powers whenever I want I need another way to fly, and I refuse to be carried by my EA who apparently can grow wings.”

“I’ll build you your own suit that just flies… and I’ll add the lasers for free. So long as you use it only at certain times and in places we know you can’t be watched.”

“Deal. Now shoo. Go back to your duties as CEO and bodyguard for the most powerful woman in the universe. I have to get ready for this Bradford guy. His resume looks impressive.”

“Yes ma’am, Miss most powerful woman in the universe… 90% of the time.”

“I’m pretty badass the other 10% of the time too!” Kara hollered after her retreating boss. Her phone rang and she was informed her interviewee was here. Time to get the day started. Superwoman definitely needed a normal day for once.

At the station Alex was getting her first taste of the paperwork associated with being a police officer.

“Why can’t I just tell the Captain what happened? Its called a debriefing. It can be recorded.” she asked her partner, who found this amusing.

“We were involved in a home invasion by armed men, four men were possibly killed after firing on us and we arrested a man who attempted to commit murder. You seriously didn’t think there would be paperwork?”

“Aren’t there some metahumans or giant telepathic gorillas we can go after instead?”

“Don’t wish for that damn gorilla. Scary thing, took me and Barry out once. Hell it kidnapped Caitlin because it loved her or something. We were lucky to get it out of this universe.” he told her seriously. Alex rolled her eyes thinking of the telepathic aliens she had fought and then remembered the description of the animal and admitted he probably wouldn’t be anymore fun to fight than the giant man shark.

“Hey, there is my freak show assault team. We got a shooting I need you to investigate. Take Allen with you.” Captain Singh ordered.

“Captain we aren’t next on the rotation. I got a lot of paperwork from the Star City field trip you had us…”

“It involves a metahuman and happened ten minutes ago.”

“A metahuman shot someone?” Joe asked doubtfully.

“No, A metahuman was shot in the head and is now cooling on the sidewalk. One of the guys we have been looking for. Bivolo? Also he is in front of the Palmer Tech building and he was seen exiting the building.”

Joe was immediately concerned. He remembered Bivolo well. Everyone did. Alex seemed confused at his sudden concern for a dead guy.

“I’m getting Barry, Meet me in front with the car.” he told Alex.

“Whats wrong Joe?”

“This metahuman can make people go crazy, cause their anger to go out of control just by looking at a person. He got Barry once and it wasn’t pretty. If he was shot as he was leaving…”

“Kara.” Alex whispered and ran for the car.

“Don’t leave without me.” Joe picked up his phone and rang Barry.

“Yeah Joe?”

“Bivolo was just shot dead in front of Palmer Tech. He was leaving, Barry.”

Joe didn’t need to hear the phone click off. The whoosh was all he needed. Running out he was grateful Alex hadn’t left without him.

“Barry is on his way.”

“How bad is this Joe?”

“Barry went on a rage fueled rampage. It took Oliver to bring him down and that was a near thing. He pretty much attacked Iris’s boyfriend at the time. Its bad.”

“So if he looked at Kara… Oh God, not this again. No… maybe it won’t work on her. J’onn could never read her mind. Maybe Kryptonian brains aren’t wired like human brains. They are essentially the same as far as makeup but the temporal lobes maybe aren’t the same. The ones that handle certain emotions could be switched. At least that’s what J’onn theorized. We were never able to do an EEG. We should have checked but I never wanted her to feel like a lab rat.”

“What do you mean not this again? She has been hit before by someone like this?”

“Not someone, something. A guy on our old Earth tried to recreate a substance that can kill her, the same one those bullets were made out of that nearly killed her. He messed up and instead created a substance that made her deepest and darkest thoughts come out. She went on a rampage herself. The jerk who made it, came up with a weapon to cure her but… Joe is there a cure for this? How was Barry cured?”

“I’ll call S.T.A.R. There is a light show they came up with that reversed the effects.”

“Great. Now we just have to get her to stay in one place long enough to look at them.” Alex sighed.

When they arrived on scene, Barry was talking to Ray rather animatedly. Ray seemed confused.

“Whats going on?” Alex asked.

“Bivolo, whats left of him, walked up to the top floor using a fake I. D. posing as a guy Kara was supposed to interview. Ray says security cameras show him walking into Kara’s office and then walking out thirty seconds later followed by Kara shortly afterward. Ray was playing with his damn toys and didn’t see any of this.” Barry explained.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect the Rainbow Raider to make an appearance. I didn’t even know what he looked like. Kendra and Carter were still in personnel, Barry.”

Barry took a deep breath. “I know its not your fault Ray. I’m just worried. I’ve got to find her.”

“Go. I’ll call another forensic guy and Alex and you can head to S.T.A.R. We need to figure out a way to get Kara to come in before it is too late.” Joe ordered.

Barry ran from the scene, while Joe started interviewing witnesses, trying to figure out who the hell would have sent Bivolo on a mission and then kill him. But of course it was obvious. The same guy who had been studying them was trying to find a weakness in Kara. If he saw how Barry and the others tried to apprehend her, it would give him a clue as to how to take her down. Joe let out a breath, already suspecting that whoever did this was probably as long gone as the strike team from Star City.

Barry made lap after lap around the city, searching the skies as well but found no trace of her. He checked the apartment and it didn’t seem tampered with. Having no other ideas he headed to the lab to find the entire staff plus Oliver, Felicity, Nyssa and Jax present.

“Any luck?” Alex asked.

“I have no idea. She isn’t anywhere that I could find and I checked everywhere. Its been three hours, she could be anywhere in the world. Of course she could be hiding in any number of abandoned buildings or even in the mall or some other shop or restaurant. I couldn’t exactly check them all.” he explained. “Anyone tried calling her?”

“Yeah, but she isn’t picking up. I’m triangulating her phone now. I should have just put one of our team trackers on it but I thought her suit would be enough.” Cisco told him.

“This is bad. I could barely hold Barry down and both him and Kara are more experienced than he was then. Barry you are going to have to get that bracelet on her.” Oliver told him. “You are the only one fast enough to do it.”

Barry hesitated. He had told Kara once before if something like this happened he would trust her.

“I…”

“Barry, I think I know what you are thinking. You don’t want to have to trap her. But we need to get her in front of these lights. You can’t hold her down. When this happened before, Kara was devastated by what she did. If she was here she would be telling you the same thing.” Alex told him softly.

“She is right Barry. Kara would want you to do this. You can’t let her down.” Caitlin agreed.

Barry took the offered bracelet from Cisco.

“You all realize whoever sent Bivolo after her is probably watching us to see how we contain her. If he sees a bracelet… no. I’m going to try and talk to her first. It took a while to completely take hold of me. She may be confused somewhere but not totally under its control. I am going to try and reason with her before she goes off the deep end. She isn’t really angry at anyone here, is she?”

Everyone looked towards Alex who threw up her hands. “She and I are good. We had a long talk, no more issues, I swear.” All around were relieved.

“I have her phone…” Felicity told the group. “It’s at… thats weird.”

“Where is she?” Barry asked impatiently.

“She is here.”

“In her room?” Caitlin asked, relieved.

“I don’t think so. She is right here. With us. Can Bivolo turn someone invisible?” the blonde hacker asked.

Everyone looked around confused, thinking maybe Kara had left her phone here for some reason and left before anyone could see her. Then Barry looked up.

“The roof. She must be on the roof. Everyone stay here.”

“Barry, take the bracelet.” Caitlin begged.

“No. I told her if this happened again, if anything like this happened again, I would trust her. I will get her inside and she will let us do what we need to do but I am not tricking her. I trust her. She isn’t on a rampage, she is on our roof. End of discussion.”

The Flash zipped out and headed up the side of the lab. The last time he had done this he had been fighting Thawne.

She was there, sitting on the roof with her knees up, still wearing the yellow form fitting dress she had worn to work this morning. He walked slowly up to her. Kara smiled slightly at him when she heard his steps then looked back at the river.

“I know what you are thinking but I didn’t fly up here, I jumped and landed very softly.”

“I know you wouldn’t do anything to risk our child Kara.” Barry told her, sitting down next to her and drawing his knees up in the same manner she was.

“Where is the bracelet?” she asked.

“I told you before, if anything ever happened like this I would trust you. I do trust you. The fact that you are on top of our roof instead of destroying the city is proof that I am right. How are you feeling?”

Kara chuckled.

“Bivolo actually apologized. Thats his name right? I remember Cisco telling me. He is the guy who was the reason Oliver had to stop you? He made a mistake.”

“What mistake is that?”

“You were the Flash. You were saving people and you were happy. You buried your anger deep and when it came to the surface it was strong. Me? I’ll let you in on a secret, fiancé. I’m always angry, so what he did? Not much difference. I’m just better at hiding it. Sure I want to tear apart some people but none of them are here except me.”

Barry grabbed her hand and started rubbing it.

“Kara, its okay to be mad. But you know what is going on. These feelings didn’t hit me at first. They came on slowly until I snapped. We can fix this right now.”

“I know. We will, but I want to be mad a little while longer. I’m not stupid, you know? Sometimes I act stupid on purpose. The more I play the shy, naive girl the less people are afraid of me. If I’m funny or awkward or just Sunny Kara, no one is thinking about the fact that I can crush every one of them with a finger. But I won’t because I love them all. This world is really, really different. It somehow seems bloodier. But me? I started changing before this. I’m not talking about Astra either. I think it started with Non. Barry, I knew I killed him but I never wanted to admit it to myself. I pretended I didn’t know, so Alex could break it to me gently if I ever saw her again and assure me it wasn’t my fault. Inside I knew, just as I know I was glad I killed him. I felt a rush and I couldn’t deal with it but then I thought I would die and it didn’t matter. Do you know what I would be doing if I was on my old Earth right now?”

“I’m guessing it doesn’t involve food?” Barry tried, hoping a little levity might break her from this mood.

“I would kill the President of the United States. I would find out who was behind Jeremiah’s imprisonment and torture them. This Order? Yeah, I should have stayed. I was scared. I knew what I had in me. I know the monster there. If I found them… I would have given into the darkness, the anger. Oliver told me there was a light inside me and that may be true, I hope it is because there is a darkness as well. I want to be angry. I am angry. But I’m angry at my mother and she is dead. I’m angry at my father who didn’t feel the need to build a space ship for two and he is dead. I think sometimes, somewhere deep inside me, I hate Kal El. I love him but a small part of me hates him and wants to rip him to shreds and throw his remains all over Kansas. How is that Sunny Danvers looking now, Barry?”

“Its okay to be angry Kara. But you are here, talking about it. That’s good.”

“I’m here because everyone I want to hurt is either dead or over there except for me and I can’t hurt myself. I have a baby, a baby I had no right to bring into this world and I am selfish anyway, I want this child so badly. But I never felt normal. What is this child going to feel like? She is going to hate me one day. Just like I hate my mother.”

“She won’t Kara.”

“You are saying that to make me feel better but I know. I know the difference. There is someone else I am very, very angry at and I can’t find him. Not yet. I thought I could. The one behind this? The coward is sending others to fight his battle. I saw Bivolo get shot. I followed him out, wanting to make him talk but he was shot.”

“I know. Kara you have to stay calm. I think your rage is growing the more you talk about this and…”

“Jeremiah is messed up.”

That caught Barry by surprise.

“Why do you say that?”

“I listen to everything. I pretend I don’t and sometimes I let my guard down, I purposely avoid hearing things but most of the time, when you are around, I listen to everything. I want to know if there is a threat to you. I heard what he said to you about Project Zoomsday?”

“He was kidding Kara. Please don’t be angry at him.”

“I’m not. Its my fault. Jeremiah was… is the most comforting, sweetest man I have ever known. He is nice and loving and… even now he is so good to all of us. He would never, ever make a joke about something like that when I first knew him. He has hardened, Barry. Eliza and Alex notice but they don’t say anything. Everyone didn’t know what to expect but other than some issues with anxiety around other people, he seems on the outside to be doing fine, but he isn’t. Those years took something away from him, made him distrustful, even a bit mean outside of Eliza, Alex and me. Thats my fault. I don’t give a damn what he said about it not being my fault, it is. Who can he talk to? What therapist could he go to and talk about this with? Even if he could, what good would it do? He has changed, as much as I have changed. When I started, the idea of killing someone disgusted me. I just wanted to help people. But I killed Non and I killed Savage and if the man who is behind all this senseless violence were in front of me right now I would rip his heart out, literally.”

“I know Kara, but it’s because you are very angry. Bivolo did this.”

“Bivolo was a tool. He was a bank robber. He had no reason to come after me. You realize that means this man knows who I am, knows who all of us are most likely.”

“We can handle it. We will keep them safe. I promise you. Why don’t we go inside and let’s get those lights set up. It will only take a minute and you will feel better.”

“Yep. Back to Sunny Danvers. Yay… I really do love you. Only you would come up here without that bracelet. I heard them down there. They were right. It would have been smart to bring the bracelet. You always see the best in me, don’t you?”

“I see you, the good and the bad, the same as you see me. I love all of you.”

“I’m horrible. I played God. Did you know that? It was Non’s fault but I think he wanted to prove a point to me. Prove to me that I wasn’t better than him. During Myriad he had this really nice lady who smiled at me every morning, jump out of a top floor window. James and Winn jumped too. I had to decide, that was his whole point. I saved James and Winn because they were my friends. What about her? What about her friends and family? I never told Alex but I went to her funeral. A lot of coworkers went but I stood away, watched from a distance. I saw her husband, kids, friends, all crying because of me. I shouldn’t have gone to Catco but I did and I made them a target. I made them all a target. I went there because it was safe and I waited for Kal El to come. She died because of Non but also because of me. I wish I could kill him again.”

“Thats an impossible situation. You know what we do, Kara. The first time I went after Martin, the first metahuman I went after, someone died because I screwed up. We’ve talked about this. Some things are out of our control. Please, can we go inside? I think you will feel better, more yourself, and then we can talk about this. Right now you are focusing on the negative because you are angry but you are strong. You are handling this better than I did, believe me.”

“And if I don’t? Then will you try to put the bracelet on me? What will you do if I turn into hell on Earth, Barry?”

“I guess I’ll go to hell with you, begging you to stop the entire time, but I’ll be with you regardless. Thats what partners do. It won’t happen though. You are angry right now and I get it. Everything you feel, every negative emotion towards anyone is flowing through you brain and you are strong enough to resist the urge to act on it.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“You are wrong Barry. I’m not that strong. I play God. I hate my mother and I love a child that is only weeks old inside me whose life is going to be hell because of me. I hate, Barry. I hate a lot and no one wants to see that. I can’t afford it. Alex can be angry. Eliza, Jeremiah, Ray, they can be angry because they can be stopped. They haven’t killed. They don’t know what its like. Me and you though? We know. We know how it is, how easy it can be to solve our also know that we can’t be stopped. Not if we don’t want to be.”

“Alex and Nyssa have killed. Would you trust them?”

“Yes, but they can’t crush someone’s skull with a finger or stick a hand in them without having to break though the skin. Barry, I don’t think I’m a good person.”

“Do you think I am?” he asked.

“Yeah, you’re the best person I know. I will never understand why you love me.”

“Because you are the best person I know and that isn’t going to change no matter how much you think you don’t deserve it. Let’s talk about this after we get you fixed okay?”

Kara nodded her head and let Barry lift her in his arms. They ran to the ground but he put her down outside the lab and held her hand, the two walking slowly inside. The room was still crowded but no one was surprised to see them. Cisco had been listening to the whole thing on the speaker in case Barry needed help. It wasn’t their business and they should have turned it off but none could stop listening. No one, not even Alex, realized how much self loathing Kara had in her. Jeremiah was struck by her words, about the edginess he had and began reflecting on his behavior. Eliza did as well, content to think that everything was perfect, her family whole, but being forced to realize that maybe it wasn’t. Alex was crying silently, being held by Nyssa.

Kara looked at none of them, instead taking Caitlin’s hand and being led to the front of a group of very large lights. She stood there, looking at the multi colored strobes and after a few seconds relaxed.

She looked at her gathered family, all of them and despite the headache she had, told them what she knew.

“I saw who shot Bivolo. He was in a black Mercedes. I chased after him and as soon as he made a turn, I jumped into the car. I threatened him, he knew who I was and what I could do. I was very, very angry. He had just killed that man. I thought he might be the one behind it all but he wasn’t. We pulled into an alley and I threw him in the trunk and drove out to an old farm I have flown over a few times. It always seemed abandoned. It still was. I dragged him into the barn and found some old rusty chains. I used my heat vision to weld them around his wrists and hung him by his arms. He told me he wouldn’t talk so I slightly burned him. I had branded him by the time he decided talking would be the best route. His name is Demetri Strolav. He grew up in Moscow. The man who tried to kill Detective Lance is named Jonathan Crane. Like Barry and Alex suspected, Joe as well I suppose, he and a bomber who Demetri only knew as Adam, wanted revenge for abuse they suffered at Gallo’s hands and his mob buddies as well. This man gave them the names and weapons in exchange for distracting us with other pursuits I suppose. Maybe he just wanted to see how we performed. Maybe Crane was supposed to lead us to Star City. He didn’t man behind this never gives his name to anyone but he calls himself Prometheus. Demetri was recruited by him in Russia. All he knew was Prometheus was very strong, very deadly with any weapon or his hands, and is a genius, creating the gas that Crane used, among other things. Prometheus has solid white hair but isn’t old. He wears a strange helmet at times and Demetri thinks there is something weird about it, like its not just a helmet but some sort of weapon in itself. It overs his entire head and he wears it at odd times for no reason Demetri can figure out.”

The entire room never moved, listening to her flat telling as if she was bored and was informing the group what the weather was outside.

“He has only one goal, and it is not world domination or killing thousands. His goal is to kill anyone who tries to fight for justice. Police at first, FBI, even A.R.G.U.S at times. But his ultimate target is us. He thinks we are heroes or something. Some of us are. I know I’m not but he seems to think I am. He wants to beat us and be seen beating us. He knows who all of us are, including our families. Demetri also heard Prometheus on the phone say that he has met you before Oliver, though you wouldn’t remember him. That is why he came after you as well. You must have done something in Russia pretty heroic for him to decide you had to die. Thats all I found out from him before he passed out. He is still hanging in the barn, has third degree burns all over his torso, a broken leg, a couple of broke fingers and may be in shock. I don’t have it in me to go back out there. It’s not fair to ask but could someone call an ambulance for the guy?”

Kara turned and walked towards her room at the lab. She needed to be alone and when Barry moved towards her she raised her hand and met his eyes. He understood. He would give her space.

“I need to go take care of this.” Barry told the group. “Its not her fault. That damn Bivolo, Kara never would have tortured a guy if she had been in her right mind.”

“Yes she would. He is a threat to you and your child now. I would have tortured him if she hadn’t. Stay here, be here with her when she comes out. Nyssa and I will take care of getting him help.” Alex told the Flash, who nodded his head in gratitude and moved towards Kara’s room, planning to stay outside until she told him he could come in.

Once Barry was out of sight, Oliver looked at those assembled.

“I am going to take care of this. It is never to be spoken of again, especially to Joe. We can’t exactly explain away burns from heat vision and snapped legs, or a murderer hanging by his arms from a barn ceiling. As far as Joe or any of the police are concerned the killer got away. Felicity please check traffic cams and make sure if there are any showing Kara getting into this guy’s car they are wiped clean. Nyssa, Alex, stay here. I will do what needs to be done.”

“What are you going to…”

Eliza’s question was cut off when Oliver looked at her sadly. She knew what he planned to do and silently thanked him.

“We are going as well, Oliver.” Nyssa told him. The three drove in silence in Nyssa’s car with Oliver in the back.

“I’ll take care of it when we get there, Nyssa.” The Arrow told her, already prepared to snap the man’s neck and bury his body.

“I have a few more questions, don’t you Oliver?” the former assassin asked. She wasn’t sure if she was a target but she knew Alex was. That meant this Prometheus had to die.

He agreed silently. If the man was coherent he did have a few more questions. The important thing was to get rid of this man, hide the body so Kara could never be implicated in his torture and move on the information she had gathered. He was worried, very worried. Visions of Amanda Waller and the first time he had tortured a man ran through his mind. Like this Demetri, the man he tortured was scum, a bomber who killed thousands. It still was one of those events that changed who he was at a fundamental level. Torture was different than killing. Killing was quick, more easily justified, you or them. Torture was a conscious decision, one a person made when he or she decided just how far they would go to get what was needed. Oliver had made a second step in his descent into darkness when he tortured the man who was responsible for Tatsu’s son dying. He hadn’t tortured the man for information, he had done it for revenge, plain and simple. He had loved the boy too. These were the steps he desperately wanted to keep Kara and Barry from following and why he would always do what was necessary so they wouldn’t have to.

Once they reached the farm in question, Oliver, Nyssa and Alex walked in, prepared to find a dead man, a nearly dead man or a man who was simply in a lot of pain. Instead the three found empty chains, a puddle of blood underneath the chains and a note hanging from one of the chains. Oliver grabbed it.

I am impressed. I really did not think she had it in her. I cleaned up the problem for you. Demetri will never again talk about anything as a matter of fact, much less his torture at the hands of a cheerleader. We can’t have one of the symbols of hope for Central City tarnished. It would make defeating her and all of you seem less if she was less. I was honestly looking forward to watching you heroes take her down and try to hide it from thousands of eyes. I would reconsider talking to Crane as well. He knows nothing I do not want you to know and will most likely be dead by the time you read this, a casualty of a prison riot, reminiscent of Laurel Lance. None of you are safe. The real game is about to begin. Enjoy the time you have left. Please extend my congratulations to Miss Zorel and Mr. Allen. That is a lovely ring she is wearing. I’m sure the wedding will be beautiful.

Prometheus

Nyssa tore up the letter and laughed.

“Something funny, Nyssa?” Oliver asked.

“Not yet, but when he meets my sword it will be quite humorous. Let us return. I need to speak to Kara.”

“Nyssa? Shouldn’t I…”

“No Alex. She needs to talk to me before she is lost. I will bring her back from the edge, I swear.”