Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Call Me Kara

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 33:

“Of course, I would love to do an interview. I was just talking to Iris yesterday and she mentioned you.” Kara lied, standing in front of the woman, while Kendra stayed in back, waiting for Kara’s signal.

“Great! I know the perfect restaurant, follow me, my treat.” Linda Park led the way, while Kendra texted Barry about this development.

“Lets cut through this alley, its shorter, just on the next street over.” Park suggested

Kara rolled her eyes towards Kendra. This woman was a worse liar than all the superheroes combined. The old abandoned alley shortcut trick. Barry had told Kara this woman was a small time thief before committing murder. Because the prosecution had Earth 1 Linda Park to testify and as proof of the multiverse, this woman could be brought to justice. Kara reached out to tap the women on the head and knock her out, when Linda turned around, hands and eyes glowing. The heroine was surprised she made a move this fast. Kendra was standing next to her, in the line of fire, and Kara realized as bright and hot as Dr. Light’s blasts were, her friend would be a victim while kara would survive. Making a split second decision, Kara grabbed Kendra and threw her in the air, a second before a blast of energy struck the blonde, lighting her up. Kendra’s wings spread in the air but all she could do was watch Kara become engulfed in a bright ball of light.

The Flash having received the text from Kendra knew exactly what was going on. No way Linda would have wanted to interview Kara without talking to Barry first. He moved, leaving all in the lab standing in shock, wondering what could make him move that fast and not liking the possibilities. He arrived, just as Kara was hit, flashing past her and striking the woman with his shoulder, sending her flying unconscious to the ground, at the end of the alley. Barry was not sure if she was alive or dead and at this point didn’t care.

“Kendra, take that bi… take her to S.T.A.R. and lock her in the pipeline before she wakes up.” Barry told a shaken Hawkwoman, who did as he instructed, grateful for something to do. Kara had thrown her in the air! What was she thinking?

Barry looked at Kara who stood still, dazed but alert. She had not been knocked down but her clothing was on fire. Using a small vortex, he doused the flame, most of her dress remaining.

“Kara! Talk to me! Kara? Listen to me, can you… are you okay?”

Kara smiled but said nothing, instead beginning to shake. Barry, figuring this was not a good sign, picked her up and within seconds was at S.T.A.R. filled with concerned scientists, heroes and a frantic mother, father and sister.

“Put her in the med bay! I need…” Eliza started then stopped and broke down, panic freezing her. Caitlin stepped up.

“Put her suit on her now, Barry.”

Barry did as instructed, undressing his fiancee and redressing her in a blur. He placed her on the table she had once lain on shot and dying. Kara was awake, warm, her eyes slightly glowing.

“Kara? Talk to me honey. This is Caitlin. I need to know where it hurts.”

Kara grinned.

“Hurts? Oh it doesn’t hurt. I’ve never… I’ve never felt better before in my life. Please tell me no one killed her. I want more!”

Kara sat up, while everyone else unsuccessfully tried to push her back down.

“Kara, lay down now!” Caitlin yelled. Kara frowned at the woman’s tone of voice but did as she instructed.

“I need more.” she whispered. Caitlin pulled up the schematics on her suit, watching everything. Her heart was racing but not dangerously. Her breathing was a little fast, but the pulse ox was near 100 %. Checking her cells, Cait was surprised to see that not only had Kara not suffered a power drain, her cells were stronger than ever recorded.

Barry touched Kara’s cheek, causing her to moan and she began shaking on the table.

“She is having a seizure!” Barry yelled at Caitlin, who turned from the monitor and stared at her best friend.

“Everybody… every guy out. Everyone besides Barry, I guess.”

The men looked confused, especially Oliver, not wanting to leave Kara in this state.

“Now!” Caitlin yelled, startling the men into action. Kendra had flown in with a still unconscious Linda Park and all moved towards the pipeline, Cisco leading the way.

“Kara honey, talk to me.” Alex nearly cried, grabbing her sister’s hand. Kara jerked back with a laugh. “Whoa, that tickled Alexendra. I called you Alexandra.”

“Caitlin what’s going on?” Eliza asked, being held by Jeremiah who had refused to leave as well. Caitlin let out a deep breath.

“No one touch her right now. She is fine. Just don’t… touch her.”

“Caitlin. Caitlin where is she? I want to fight her.” Kara begged.

“No Kara, no fighting today. Just lie there.”

“No! No I want to fly. Lets go flying!”

The gathered crowd including a shaken and crying Kendra now all wore identical expressions of confusion.

“What is going on Caitlin?” Eliza asked.

“Dr. Light… she is able to replicate the energy of a star. Her blasts are concentrated light. Our solar light. The kind that Kara likes. Barry, Alex, remember how good she said she felt when her solar reflectors were activated?”

“Yeah…” Barry agreed, starting to catch on.

“Well, she just took a concentrated dose of yellow sunlight. She is… I guess you could say high? Judging by her vitals, every time someone touches her she is… she is basically on the Kryptonian equivalent of MDMA right now.”

“Ecstasy? You have got to be kidding me.” Alex told her, shaking her head, while a previous anxious Nyssa held back a laugh in the back of the room. Sara bit her fist and walked out, so she could collapse in the hallway. No way would she be able to watch a high Kara with a straight face. It was hard enough watching a drunk Kara.

“Barry, Barry come here.” Kara reached out for her fiance. Barry approached her carefully, moving in slightly closer. She touched his cheek and he noted her hands while not burning up were warmer than usual.

“Have I ever told you how gorgeous you are?”

“Uh…”

“Dad, could you give us the room?” Alex asked Jeremiah quickly. He was shaken but nodded his head and scurried out.

“Kara, why don’t you lay back, so we can check you out? Please?” Barry asked her quietly.

“Call me baby. I never told you, but in private you can call me baby. It is so hot. Come lay down with me. Call me baby.”

Kara jerked Barry by the uniform collar to lay on the table beside her, leaning into him, her head on his chest and her hands…

“You know who hot this uniform makes me? I love seeing you in it. Can we please have some privacy?” Kara asked the room, while Barry tried to pry out of her grip, not having much luck.

“Barry I am so sorry. The woman turned around and Kara threw me in the air so fast, then you were there…”

“Kendra it’s okay. Its just Kara, she doesn’t think, she just saves… whoa!” Barry finished, Kara rolling him on top of her.

“Kara baby? We need to get Kid Flash checked out. We have to make sure the baby is okay.”

“Oh the baby is never better. Whatever she has I want it bottled. I could throw Fort Roz into space from the ground right now. I could vaporize Non. Wow, I feel so good. Mommy? Mommy come here!”

Eliza hurried to her daughter’s side.

“Yes sweetheart?”

“Mommy, I need privacy. Could you clear the room? Barry? Vibrate for me, please? Somebody get my bracelet! Wait, when did we get butterflies in here? I like the green ones… I’ve never seen green butterflies.I didn’t even know they came in that color. Where are birds? Oh there they are!”

“Bracelet! Thats a great idea.” Alex shouted.

“Alex I don’t really think now is the time for her to be…” Eliza complained after Alex ran off. She ran back in quickly.

“It’s either in Barry’s or her room. I can’t get into either.”

“Alex is right. The red solar rays should counteract these, after five minutes or so. She soaked up a lot of rays.” Caitlin agreed. She moved towards the shelf and pulled out a cotton swab. Running back to Kara, she pulled the woman’s red boot of.

“I can handle that part, Caitlin, I just really need privacy right now.”

Caitlin ignored the intoxicated alien and ran the cotton swab over the sole of the blonde’s foot. Kara jumped, squealing and loosening her grip on Barry.

“Run Barry!” the doctor shouted. Barry moved into his room, opening the safe and was back in seconds, the red solar bracelet snapped onto Kara’s wrist.

Kara frowned for a moment and moved to break the metal jewelry until Barry stopped her.

“Hey, hey Kara? Baby, look at me. Don’t you want to leave it on? You said you wanted privacy right?”

Kara snorted. “There is an elephant behind you. Did you know I stole all of Cisco’s video games last night? Shhhh. Kendra, we haven’t played yet! Lets go play! I know, I know what we are going to do to Ray next. We are going to…”

Kara’s eyes glazed over and she laid back. Her breathing rate dropped as did her heart rate. The room’s occupants watched her begin to snore, and all let out a sigh of relief.

“Caitlin, how can we find out if the baby is okay?” Barry asked desperately. Kara was okay but their child…

“I’m going to check Barry. I really have no way of being sure because it is so early in the pregnancy but considering what the rays did to her I doubt there will be any problems. The baby hasn’t been soaking up all her energy, just periodic bursts.”

Caitlin rolled a 3D spectrometer over Kara where she lay now, still snoring. Everyone in the room except Kendra knew Kara snored when she slept on her back. Barry had already planned to invest in nasal strips and often rolled her over at night on her stomach. This worked… for a while.

“Okay, I’m going to try and isolate the fetus, see if I can find it. The little doll should be there, not really developed yet but we can find the mass of cells forming.”

“Barry I am so sorry.” Kendra told him once again. “She moved so fast, Kara was about to knock her out from behind and she just turned, no warning or hesitation and Kara moved so quickly, it was almost like you moving…”

Barry walked over to the shaken woman whose wings had disappeared. “Kendra, its okay. That’s just Kara. She didn’t have time to think and her first instinct is always to protect other people. She wasn’t hurt.”

“But your baby, may have, may be…”

“Kendra! It’s going to be okay. Have a little faith…” Barry tried, though his own stomach was turning.

“Oh crap.”

The entire room froze at Caitlin’s explanation, not one, wanting to say a word. Finally Barry broke the silence.

“Caitlin? What… what’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Its just the baby and Kara absorbed a lot of energy at once and it sort of kick started things. It looks like instead of one month along she is closer to two months. I can see the baby, the heart has formed and is beating, the spinal column, the circulatory system, see the C shaped curvature? The baby is about three to four weeks more developed than it should be.”

‘Thats bad isn’t it? She could have the baby sooner? The baby could grow to fast and something can be wrong. What if…”

“Barry calm down! She was moving along normally before this and things should slow down. The red solar rays are already counteracting the sunlight. I’ll keep an eye on her weekly but I am betting the worst that happened is the sudden absorption of power kicked her along. We have to start her on immunity boosters Eliza. She is going to have a rough time with the winter but I think she is going to have to stay under red solar rays as much as possible. She can absorb sunlight periodically but it has to be balanced. The solar energy she had absorbed before, was being regulated and the fetus was not taking it all. It…”

“What happened to my baby?” Kara asked, waking up, the effects of the euphoria she was feeling gone and panic setting in its place. “Caitlin, please tell me my girl is okay? Please? You can do another exam, I promise I will sit and not complain, just tell me she is okay.”

“Hey honey, everything is fine. Look at the screen, there is your little girl.” Alex rubbed Kara’s shoulders while she fought back tears.

“I looked up on this Pampers website, she isn’t supposed to be that developed. Is she going to accelerate like I was afraid she would? Is it going to stop? What did that woman… I should have gotten out of the way but Kendra was there and… Kendra! Is Kendra okay?”

“I’m right here Kara. I’m fine but you can’t do that again.” the woman told her.

“I’m sorry Barry, I just reacted. I didn’t expect her to turn around so fast. I was so stupid.”

“Hey, you heard Caitlin. So you might deliver in seven months instead of eight. We can deal with that, right?” Barry asked her, hoping to calm her down.

“Are you sure?” she asked her best friend.

“Pretty sure but we are going to watch everything every week Kara, I swear. Everything will be fine, just trust me.”

“I trust you Cait.” she told her truthfully, lying back down. Caitlin saw the worry in both the parents eyes and knew the perfect thing to take their minds off of it.

“You know, I have a doppler in the back. It hasn’t been used in years, I was working on genetic predisposition studies on rabbits before the particle accelerator blew up. Would you like to hear your baby’s heart beat?”

Barry pulled his eyes from the screen as did Kara and both nodded. A few minutes later, Caitlin was hooking up the machine. Sliding it over, she ran the doppler over Kara’s abdomen.

Kendra, Nyssa, Alex, Caitlin and Eliza stood transfixed by the sound that filled the room. Barry and Kara didn’t move.

Eliza and Alex wiped their eyes and motioned for the others to follow, only Caitlin staying behind.

Kara and Barry both had tears in their eyes, Barry grinning but also in a state of disbelief. That was his child’s heart beating.

“We did that.” the blonde told her fiancé, awe in her voice.

“Yeah we did. Thats amazing.” he told her, trying to keep his voice steady.

“I won’t take anymore risks Barry. I was so stupid.”

“Hey, you did what came naturally, just next time you suspect someone is off, hit first, ask questions later, okay?” He wrapped his arms around Kara as she leaned up to watch the monitor.

“She is real. I mean she is really real.” Kara whispered.

“Yes he is. Or she. I guess maybe in a couple months we find out, huh? Now we have to get a house so little Kid Flash can have a room, right? We have a wedding to plan, we have a lot to do but our baby is real Kara. That is the greatest thing I have ever heard in my life.”

“Barry, this Prometheus, you know we have to stop him, right? If he finds out about her, he is going to… we have to stop him.”

“I will. You have saved the world a lot Kara, saved millions of lives, but only one life matters now right? You let me worry about this guy. I’ll take care of him and you take care of her. Deal?”

Kara smiled, listening to the sound and watching the screen. She could barely see the heart beating but it was there.

“I’ll protect her Barry, I swear. I trust you. I know he won’t stand a chance against you. Caitlin, can you please record this?”

“Its already recording, Kara.” she told her best friend, tears threatening her eyes as well. As much as her, Cisco and Barry had been through since Barry woke up from his coma and became the Flash, as many good times and bad, didn’t seem as important right now. All the lives lost, sacrificed, all the pain, all the betrayal, all the times they faced certain death and emerged somehow still whole and together, this one life made a difference, made it all worth it and no one would take it away from them. This child belonged to Barry and Kara but in a way it belonged to the whole team, the whole family.

Barry stayed with Kara that night and the two drifted off too sleep in each other’s arms, listening to the sound of Kid Flash’s heartbeat. The next morning, Kara was met by Carter at the door who had a car downstairs to take her to work. She didn’t argue, just said good morning, kissed Barry goodbye and left. She had a busy day planned. Despite everything that had happened, she had the perfect prank for Ray Palmer.

Barry headed to the station where Joe and Alex had transported a slightly dazed Dr. Light into a metahuman containment cell. B.O.O.T. in place, they walked the woman into an interrogation room while Barry watched from outside.

Joe took the lead, having much more experience than Alex in interviewing and being able to stay calm. Alex wanted to take a knife and cut the woman’s throat. This afternoon she would be traveling to Russia but this morning she planned to find out everything this woman knew first.

“Linda… is it okay if I call you Linda?”

Park shrugged her shoulders. Barry had hit her quite hard yesterday and Joe had been warned by the jail physician that she may have a concussion.

“Linda we have been looking for you for a while.”

“I was in the Flash’s private prison. Of course that fool couldn’t keep me. I had to run from Zoom. Where is he anyway? I figured the Flash would be dead by now and this city would be ash.”

“Zoom is dead actually. I guess the Flash isn’t quite the fool you thought he was. So I could ask you a lot of BS questions about the murder you committed here in Central City, banks you robbed, other crimes I am sure I can pin on you. Are you sure you don’t want a lawyer?”

“No, I’m good. I am pretty certain I will never see trial.”

“And why is that?” Joe asked.

“You know why. You know I don’t know Kara Zorel. You aren’t stupid or not much anyway. You know I was sent to kill her and I have a pretty good idea what happens to people who fail this guy. Same thing that happens to those who failed Zoom. I had a good thing going till he got a hold of me. Now I’m on another Earth, just trying to survive but my road has ended and I don’t even care right now.”

Joe was surprised by her candor as was Alex.

“So lets just cut to the chase then. Who sent you to kill Kara Zorel?”

“Don’t know his name. I was minding my own business, hooked up with this gang who could fence the merchandise I stole at a decent price in Chicago. I go to bed one night, I wake up with a sore neck in a dark room. Only a desk with a man wearing a helmet behind it. I pull myself off the floor but he tells me to sit so I stay on the floor.”

“Where were you?”

“Still in Chicago. I don’t know exactly where. I was hooded and taken out, then dropped off at a bus station with my instructions. No promises of freedom, no promises of going home, no promises of any kind. At least Zoom had the decency to lie to me. He tells me to find Zorel, burn her or I die. Gives me her address, work, family, and tells me what to do, so not wanting to die, I do it. Or tried till the Flash came out of nowhere… I guess that is the point of him though, isn’t it?”

“I don’t think you have to worry about dying. We are going to keep you nice and safe in your solitary cell. So did this man say why he wanted Kara killed?”

Park snorted. “Pretty obvious, he is scared of her. She is Superwoman. I’m not a genius but I’m not dumb. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it to myself. She scares the hell out of me too. I bet she is still alive, right? I’ve seen her highlights and she was out of my league but I had to try. The Flash scares him too, probably. He’s an intimidating guy with that damn helmet, thinking he is Darth Vader or something but it was obvious he wasn’t one of us. He wasn’t a meta, and if the Flash killed Zoom and seeing what I’ve seen of Superwoman on TV, yeah he is scared.”

“Why do you say that? Did he say he was scared of them?”

“If he wasn’t he wouldn’t need me to do the job. I’m guessing she isn’t dead right? You would have told me by now.”

“Nope.” Joe told her, waiting for a reaction. Park just seemed resigned.

“Then I guess I am. I had till nine AM today. Fifteen minutes from now and I am dead. I don’t know how but I believed him. I still do.”

Joe ignored her statement, knowing whoever this guy is, wasn’t coming into the station. He and every cop here were on high alert, no one knowing exactly what happened but the rumor spreading fast that Park had tried to kill Superwoman. That women was every Central City cop’s hero. She even knew them all by name. They were ready for anything, drones included.

“Tell me about this helmet.”

“What do you want to know? Guy is a weirdo. Meta wannabe I guess. Big purple helmet with a dark visor, claimed he could block my gift and I believed him. I felt weak enough already, like I couldn’t even access my powers. He had a deep voice, was wearing some sort of armored shoulder plates with these weird lightbulbs on them. I couldn’t tell in the darkness that well but I thought he was wearing a cape. Maybe he is Superwoman’s cousin or uncle or something.”

“A cape?” Alex asked. This got better and better.

“I think so, but I am not sure. A lot of shadows in that room. He didn’t give me details. Just told me what I would be doing or else. What else do you want me to say?”

“I want you to tell me everything. Where he dropped you off, anything you might have heard where you were, were there any other people around, how did he have Kara’s schedule, has he been watching her?”

“Got me. I was told to watch Palmer Tech, S.T.A.R. and her apartment or her parent’s condo. I followed her to my old prison, watched her leave with that other woman and approached her on the street. It was supposed to be simple. Get her in an alley and burn both of them. I can’t believe she survived. Hey, do all the cops know who she is or just you two?”

“Plan to use her identity to get a deal? It won’t work. A guy tried that once and I threw him in a hole and kept him there.” Alex told her, before Joe gave her a look begging her to let him handle this. The last thing Joe wanted was an emotional, violent, protective sister, beating up his suspect and best witness.

“I got eight minutes left. If you got anymore questions, ask now.”

“Anything seem strange about the helmet?” Joe continued, ignoring her warning.

“Other than the fact that he was wearing it? Don’t know. It obviously offered him some protection. I did see his forearms. They were covered in this purple material, a real show off I guess. His forearms were huge. He never stood so I don’t know how tall he was. He wasn’t wearing gloves and his hands looked rough. His voice was spooky.”

“I see. And did he give any indication on how he planned to kill you?”

“Nope. But I believe him.”

“How long were you there? How long were you out?”

Park shrugged her shoulders. “I thought I had gone to sleep and woke up in his damn office but I had lost some days. Not sure how many. Probably a lot. I wasn’t sure what day he took me to be honest. I’ve been drinking a lot… I never meant to kill that old man, you know? I never killed anyone before, I just wanted to survive. I didn’t even want to kill the other me. I just had to if I wanted to survive. Nothing personal ironically.”

“You are a survivor huh?”

“I used to be. I don’t know what he did to me or how he knocked me out. Like I told you I had a sore neck and it hasn’t gotten better. Its been a week. I think he broke something, a bone or something. Maybe he gave me some slow acting poison. I just know my time is up. I got a feeling it was going to be up whether I killed her or not. Karma and all.”

Alex felt something wasn’t right. She looked at her watch and saw five minutes remained till 9 AM.

“How exactly does your neck feel?” she asked. “A soreness or a sharp pain?”

“A constant soreness but it is sharp sometimes if I move my neck a certain way, like twist it sharply.”

“When you woke you had no idea how long your were out. Did you feel any itchiness, stitches, anything?” she continued.

“My neck was a little dry in the back but no stitches. Do I even want to know why you are asking?”

Alex wondered that herself. There was no way Park wouldn’t know.

Of course if she had no idea how long she was out…

Three minutes.

“Joe she has a bomb in her neck, probably at the base of her cervical spine. If he put it in her and kept her for two weeks the incision would have healed.”

“I have a bomb in my neck?!”

Joe looked at Alex and back at Linda. “We have to get her outside now and get the bomb squad here.”

“She has two minutes now.” Alex reminded him hoping her watch was correct

Alex grabbed a struggling, hollering Linda Park, dragged her to the back exit, and kept moving, far from the station. Barry and Joe were at her side.

“One minute. No time for the bomb squad.” Alex told them, hoping Barry would understand what he had to do. He had to run her far from here.

“No, I’m not letting him take another life. Knock her out Alex.” Barry told the woman. Alex didn’t question, just shot a straight jab into Linda’s jaw, causing her to fall to the ground.

“Hold her head steady Alex, keep her face down until more help comes and she can be rolled onto a backboard. This may paralyze her, I’m not sure, but she is dead if I can’t get it out.”

“I’ll keep her immobilized, you get that damn thing out of her and away from us. Don’t get killed either, Kara will never let me live it down.”

“What are we doing? I need to get somebody out here!” Joe told the two, starting to panic. Barry remained calm and began vibrating his hand while Alex held the woman’s head firmly. Letting his hand phase into the back of Park’s neck, he felt the small device, metal, stapled most likely to other vertebrae. He focused on only the metal he felt, wishing he had Kara’s X ray vision. If he vibrated this too much or not enough the device could go off but she would be dead anyway if he didn’t. Zoom did this one, taking the bullet out of Wells while pretending to be Garrick. If Zoom could do it, so could he. Of course if he went to deep he could break her neck and she would be dead regardless.

Closing his eyes he tried to picture, to see what he couldn’t, feel with his hand the different texture. Once he had it, his hand moved out, a small metal ball, with what he would bet was C 4 inside, grasped and vibrating, not detonating yet.

“Fifteen seconds Barry.” Alex reminded him. Not bothering to suit up, Barry ran, making it to the docks in five seconds, running as far as he could for the next five seconds, dropping the small bomb in the water and racing back with five seconds to spare. He didn’t stop moving at the shore, not wanting to be recognized, instead moving back to the station. Alex and Joe heard a small explosion from the water front as Barry arrived back. All saw a column of water shooting into the sky and falling.

“That little thing wasn’t just meant to kill her. It had enough to do serious damage to whoever was around it.” Alex told the two, surprised at how Prometheus had packed such a large explosion into a little package.

“Joe, tell the Captain to call an ambulance. Alex?”

“She is still breathing and is having nervous reflexes. She didn’t know anything we didn’t already know. He didn’t want her dead because she would talk, he wanted to set a trap for us and it almost worked. Nice job Barry.” Alex told him, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

“No kidding son, you are getting some serious skills.” Joe admitted, proud of his boy before running inside. Barry shrugged it off. He wasn’t in the mood for compliments instead looking all around, ready to pluck bullets out of the sky. Prometheus was making him more paranoid than Oliver, but he had no choice.

Kara had heard the boom and looked out her high rise window, Kendra running into the office stand next to her and determined not to let Kara push her away again. They both saw the water spout. Barry had already been gone by that point back to the station.

The blonde called Barry immediately and to her great relief he answered.

“We are okay.” he greeted her.

“What happened?” she asked in return, not wasting anymore time than he did.

“Prometheus had planted a bomb in Park’s neck. She didn’t know it was there. Alex figured it out with a couple minutes left.”

Kara felt sick to her stomach.

“Park, is she… dead?”

“No, I was able to phase the bomb out of her and dump it in the harbor. She is okay. She may have damage to her back but we won’t know until she wakes and X rays can be done. Joe and some other cops are putting a collar on her now whileAlex has her immobilized.

“You phased the bomb? It could have blown up!”

“I knew what I was doing.” Barry partly lied. “You have to trust me Kara. I won’t do anything to take myself away from you.”

Kara let out a breath. “I do trust you. Just… I guess we can’t really be careful anymore.”

“Yes we can. You are going to be very careful. Stay by Carter and Kendra. No pranks on Ray right now. Those three are the best shots we have at keeping Kid Flash safe, right?”

“Yeah.” Kara admitted, defeated and angry. She was wearing the bracelet today, making her vulnerable but trying not to expose her baby to anymore solar bursts that could accelerate growth. She would take it off later at S.T.A.R. for a while, and lay under a solar lamp at reduced power so Cait could monitor her intake and the baby’s absorption rate. This would happen everyday for the next month. “Bring lunch and we can eat in my office. Pick up something for my bodyguards.”

“I’ll be there in an hour. Please be careful.”

“I’m not the one phasing bombs out of live bodies. I love you.”

“I love you.” Barry told her in turn, ending the call.

Kara sat, trying not to freak, and Kendra sat, watching her in case she did. Of course Ray picked that time to enter her office before Carter could stop him.

“Hey there. How you doing Superwoman?”

Kara rolled her eyes.

“May I help you boss?” she saw he had a box in his hands the shape of a shoe box.

“I brought you a gift. Not exactly a wedding gift but related.” Carter took the box from Ray before he had a chance to hand it to the blonde. Opening it, he looked confused and handed it to Kara. Kara reached in and pulled out a flashlight.

“What is this for?” she asked, carefully.

“For most people it is a device that allows them to see in the dark. For you I suppose it’s a… well lets just say you may like it on your honeymoon. From what I hear, light really does it for you. Barry and you will both be happy.”

Ray walked out leaving a blushing Kara, who hid her face in her hands.

“I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

“You saved Kendra, to hell with him. I picked up the item before I picked you up. Do we have permission now?”

The woman agreed with Barry, this was not the time for pranks but she needed something to take her mind off the fact that her fiancé and sister nearly died once again. Kara nodded her head. It was time. She had taken the bracelet off for just ten seconds this morning and seen Ray enter his new door code. She knew the numbers, she saw him open the wall where his suit was hidden days ago.

“Operation Tin Can is a go.” the Queen ordered. “But not today. We wait until Team Arrow and Alex and Nyssa are back. Then we strike. Let him feel safe.”

Later that afternoon, a wary Alex boarded a plane with Oliver, Felicity, Dig and Nyssa for Russia. After a stop in Canada, for refueling, the party landed at Midnight local time in Anadyr. All retired at a less than 5 star hotel and the next morning, made it to an airport Alex suspected was not not the FAA’s approved list.

“You promise we don’t have to skydive this time Dig?” Felicity asked once again. Nyssa rolled her eyes, but secretly hoped not. Unlike the other the other three, like Felicity she had never desired to jump out of a plane for any reason.

An hour later the old, extremely noisy plane that smelled like fuel the entire flight, landed at what Alex supposed passed for an airfield. She had no idea where they were except on the outside of the Siberian wastelands. No one other than the pilot seemed to be present. She knew someone had to be in the control tower, the only building besides a hangar that resembled a barn, but the traffic controller never made an appearance. A Land Rover that had seen better days was waiting or them, and the foursome loaded weapons while Felicity pulled her tablet out of her backpack.

“You sure you remember how to get to this village, Oliver?” Dig asked, as the group took off, Oliver and Dig sitting in the front.

“Of course. It actually follows a fairly decent road for this part of the world.”

“This is decent? Oh goody.” Felicity grumbled. Five hours later, stopping once to use a reserve fuel container to refill the vehicle, Oliver pulled over.

“I’m not seeing any village. Maybe they moved and we should go back. Are there wolves here? Because I love dogs but I hate wolves. Teeth and pack hunters and all. I really don’t want to be eaten. Did you bring enough arrows? Dig, Alex, bullets right? Lots of bullets. Maybe someone should give me a gun. I’m really good with automatic weapons.”

“No you aren’t. The last time you used one you destroyed the lair and never hit the guy.” Dig reminded her.

“I scared him off!”

“Relax Felicity, if we see any wolves, I promise to kill enough to make you a fur coat.” Nyssa offered.

“Is that your way of being reassuring?”

All bundled in winter gear, Oliver and Nyssa bringing bows while Dig and Alex carried AK 47s, that Alex did not want to guess where Oliver had picked up and at what point. Before she had left, Cisco gave her a bodysuit of his new material, that kept her surprisingly warm under her layers of clothes. She also had her gloves in her coat pocket, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to have in a worst case situation, for instance a bear attack. However unlikely, Alex believed in being as prepared as possible.

All followed Oliver across what could only be described as a barren wasteland with a few patches of pines in random places. Alex had expected frozen forest but the land instead was mostly flat, with small mountains, more like large hills in the distance. Ice covered the ground but broke up easy enough under their boots. The rocky patches were especially slippery so the group avoided those as much as possible. Though all outside of Felicity were in top shape, the walk was exhausting. After what Alex guessed was three miles or so, a group of random, spread out wooden shacks appeared below a slight depression in the ground. None of them saw anyone moving around but considering the weather this wasn’t a surprise. What concerned Oliver was the lack of any smoke, indicating a fire was burning. Without electricity, fireplaces were of prime importance to those who called this hell home. He looked around and remembered the carnage, the nomads seeming to materialize out of nowhere. Where would Prometheus have been watching from? Why had he even been here? Perhaps he had heard about what happened here from another nomad and this whole trip would be a waste.

The five walked into the village and the silence was eerie.

“Its deserted Oliver.” Dig observed. Oliver took a look around and saw stacks of firewood, recently cut judging by the amount of snow fall on them. An axe was buried into a stump. Carts sat unused.

“That axe wouldn’t have been left behind. Neither would those carts.” the Arrow observed. “Guns at the ready.”

Alex, slipped her gloves on and took the safety off her AK as did Dig. Spartan moved Felicity behind him. Oliver took off his jacket, as did Nyssa, both revealing the quivers on their backs. Oliver extended his bow while Nyssa moved hers into her hand from behind.

“This is wrong.” the Arrow whispered to Nyssa. The former assassin sniffed the cold air.

“Death is in the air. The smell is feint but present.”

The group began searching each shack one by one. By the third one, the smell hit when the door opened and bodies were stacked on top of each other, men, women and children. Ignoring those, the group continued to investigate, finally opening what looked to be a small barn. While Oliver and Nyssa looked inside, Diggle, Felicity and Alex looked up at a whooshing sound. A helicopter was moving in fast.

Oliver and Nyssa were transfixed by what was in the barn. A metal… something, large, resembling a metallic crate or rectangular box, approximately six feet long and three feet wide, perhaps a small tank, judging by the tracks underneath it. Neither missed the missiles on the sides, four small devices each. Between the top and tracks were steel beams, as if the device could extend up.

“This is a trap. Is that an attack chopper Dig?” Oliver asked.

“Nope, just a regular chopper. Its landing.”

Oliver and Nyssa stepped away from the machine that did not appear to be a threat at the moment. Felicity placed Cisco’s com in her ear and prayed it worked. At least if they died, someone would know it. She knew Kara’s worked in Antarctica and hoped the Palmer Tech satellites worked in this God forsaken place.

The chopper landed, drawing all their attention towards it. The pilot stayed inside, but it was the man who stepped out that was a surprise. He was tall, 6’3 possibly and built solidly, muscles obvious from his bare forearms. He was wearing a helmet, purple metal surrounding the top of his head and wrapping around under his chin. A black visor covered the rest of his face. He worse a simple black long sleeve shirt and pants, and black combat boots. Only his shoulder’s appeared armored, a stainless steel metal, with strange raised small domes, and of all things a dark purple cape attached to his shoulders.

Oliver or Nyssa did not waste time with introductions, both firing arrows and rushing the strange man. Alex and Dig aimed, prepared to fire until a strange sound caught their attention from the barn.

The roof of the barn exploded the armored and weaponized creature extending upwards on its beams, that upon closer inspection were actually hydraulic legs. Mini guns rose from the top, aiming down at the three.

Oliver and Nyssa watched the helmeted man who had to be Prometheus, grab both arrows out of the flight and snap them in his hands. Oliver turned and saw the mechanized creature, standing at least twenty feet tall, advancing on his two teammates and Felicity. Dig and Alex were firing, but having no effect, Dig and Felicity spread out, Alex going in the opposite direction, trying to draw its attention while Dig fired from behind. Felicity ran, trying to find a signal with her pad and set the coms to the frequency.

Oliver fired another arrow at the man and it struck home, burying itself in his shoulder. He pulled the weapon out as if it were nothing, dropping it to the ground. Looking back at the mechanized creature, Nyssa yelled at Oliver.

“Go! I will kill this one. Destroy that abomination. He’s mine.”

Oliver hesitated then turned, running back to the machine that had now opened fire on Alex, who rolled and grabbed onto one of its leg. Having no target, the mechanized killing machine must have worked off motion sensors, swinging its top 360 degrees, aiming towards Felicity who was in the open, desperately trying to reach S.T.A.R. Oliver struck, firing an arrow into the space between the top and the leg, the projectile hit home, lighting the machine up on the opposite side Alex was on. To both their dismay it had no effect.

While Felicity moved in circles and Dig tried to draw fire, Nyssa face off against the strange clad man.

“Nyssa Al Ghul, Heir to the Demon, or is it Bride? I suppose since you have destroyed a thousand years of tradition you have no title.” the modulated voice taunted her. Nyssa threw off her robe and pulled a sword.

“Prometheus? If you know who I am, then you know what I will do to you.”

“I know that Oliver Queen defeated Malcolm Merlyn at your request. A bit too emotional to handle him, weren’t you? You always do fight best at your coldest. Oliver does as well, though the instances where he uses his brain instead of emotions are few and far between. If he had any desire in that fight he would have killed Merlyn. You certainly could have.”

Rather than discussing the issue of who is mentally prepared to fight when or even how the man saw the battle in the first place, Nyssa took the offensive. To her surprise, the man pulled a katana from his back, under his cape, blocking her strike. She countered and the two traded strikes, neither hitting home.

The battle felt like hours but in reality was only thirty seconds when a kick struck her in the chin, knocking her to the ground. She rolled back and was instantly blinded, by a series of flashing lights, emitting from Prometheus’s shoulders. Feeling the strike coming, despite the vertigo she tried to move. As the killing blow fell, the sword was shot out of the enemy’s hand by an arrow. Shaking her head, Nyssa rose, vision a bit blurred but coming around. Oliver was attacking the man swinging his bow against a sword. Nyssa checked on Alex and saw both her and Diggle were under the mechanical creature, along with Felicity who was still on her pad with one hand and holding on with the other. The creature turned its gun’s towards the first moving target it could find, Queen and the enemy fighting. Oliver took a swing in the jaw and a kick to the sternum, knocking him down next to Nyssa. He rose until the woman grabbed him by the head and threw him back down. Prometheus stepped forward until he noticed the war machine he had set loose was aiming at him, Diving to the ground, the bullets whizzed over the three. Nyssa and Oliver twisted on the ground and kicked towards the man’s right and left shoulders, shattering the glass bulbs, that had blinded Nyssa earlier.

Dig saw the predicament they were in and took off, firing at the creature, then standing still. The head swung towards him until Alex fired from the other side, allowing Dig to run back. They began repeating this action, keeping the swiveled head turning. While it was quick, the targeting system was slow, buying them time for now to play cat and mouse.

Nyssa and Oliver attacked Prometheus once again, Nyssa tossing Oliver her extra sword. Prometheus pulled a second from behind his cloak and as the two heroes fought front and back, he spun to block both. Pushing Nyssa’s sword to the ground, he back kicked Oliver, and swung his leg forward into Nyssa’s gut. Oliver rose and jumped him from behind, wrapping his arms around the helmet, hoping to snap his neck, Nyssa taking the opportunity to run him through. Her blade struck his abdomen, hitting metal under the shirt.

The caped man, flipped Oliver over his head into Nyssa’s body, knocking both to the ground and momentarily stunning them. They both lay on the ground while Prometheus walked away, towards the helicopter.

“I’m a romantic. Tell the Flash and Superwoman I will give them their wedding. Afterward we will battle, Central City, the downtown park at a time of my choosing. I will take the time to try and determine exactly what planet Kara Zorel is from.”

Oliver shook his head while Nyssa crawled over to his bow on the ground. Standing she nocked an arrow, before the man turned around and tossed a small missile like object towards the two, Both dove, luckily the weapon was only a stun grenade.

When they turned Prometheus was in the chopper, lifting off.

Both warriors turned to join the fight against the mechanized creature, having no other enemy to fight. The chopper was already rising, moving rapidly, almost as fast as an Apache.

While Dig and Alex played tag with the robot, Felicity found a signal and contacted Cisco.

“What’s up Felicity?”

“We are under attack. Prometheus was just here and escaped but left behind a giant robot thing. It still has eight missiles it hasn’t used yet and about a million rounds it is spraying all over the place. See if you can follow my signal and hack it. I’ve got nothing. It is completely autonomous.”

“Checking now.”

Cisco alerted the rest of the team quickly, freaking out on the inside. Caitlin called Curtis who was with Winn and all began searching for anything, even a Russian drone in the area they could possibly commandeer.

Alex was primed to run back towards the creature after firing a shot. Dig ran out once again, both of them exhausted. Alex saw an opening between one leg and the main body. She had tried to fire earlier with no success, but this time, climbed up the leg.

“Don’t do it, Alex.” Felicity warned, already suspecting her plan. “You could get shocked!”

“Stay clear of the leg!”

Alex used her glove, pressing the button twice and struck it into the joint, electricity sparking and knocking her hard to the ground. The leg of the beast moved to roll over the dazed woman but Felicity pulled her out in time before the metal track crushed her.

All prepared to fire once more, Nyssa taking one of Oliver’s exploding arrows, when the creature stopped moving. Nyssa ran towards her love on the ground, relieved to see she was just dazed and helped her up along with Felicity.

“Ammo status Dig?”

“Not good.” he answered his friend. He and Oliver had been in worse situations but Dig was having a hard time thinking of one now.

“We need to get over that rise, and move towards the small area of pines.” Oliver suggested. Dig picked Alex up, throwing the dazed woman over his shoulder and the party ran. All heard the sound of the creature rebooting however, causing them to run faster, putting as much distance as possible between the machine and them.

While the occupants of S.T.A.R. labs listened, Barry had been alerted at the station. Ray had ran into Kara’s office telling her to turn on the com. All listened, stomachs turning, listening o their family fighting for their lives in the most unforgiving place on Earth. Barry sped into the lab where Martin and Jax had just merged.

“We are going.” Jax informed the group.

“You won’t make it in time.” Barry argued and moved towards his suit. No one even saw the lightning when he ran out. Cisco checked the monitor, Caitlin by his side.

“Barry, I’m not sure if you know this but Russia and North American are kinda separated by the Bering Strait. Its rough, long and cold. Not ideal conditions for you. Jax is on his way. He can be there in an hour.” Cisco told him.

“I know. I’m going to cross it.”

“You can’t Barry!” Caitlin yelled into the mike. “Oliver, Alex, all of them know what they are doing. They will get away. Drowning isn’t going to help them. Your baby needs its father!”

“She needs her aunts and uncles too. I’m in Canada, what is my speed Cisco?”

“You are… whoa… you are at Mach 8. Are you wearing the Tachyon device?”

“Nope, don’t need it and the water may screw with it anyway.”

All in the lab except Jax who was already flying, gathered around the control monitor. Checking Barry’s chest camera all they could see was contrails of colored lights surrounding him.

“Barry even at Mach 8 you are still going to have to deal with waves… its going to slow you down. The cold…” Cisco told him, Eliza squeezing the man’s shoulder and Jeremiah, staring intently at the monitor.

“Barry, this is Kara.”

“Hey baby. I know what you are going to say and you have to trust…”

“I do trust you Barry. You can do this, I believe in you. Save our family. I believe in you Barry.”

Bolstered by her confidence, Barry ran harder. At the lab, Harry ran in, sliding Cisco’s chair out of the way.

“He doesn’t need someone telling him what he can’t do Ramon! Stay off the com. Barry, we have talked about this. When you hit the water do not try to run up the waves. I need you to hit Mach 10 Barry. You can do this. Before you hit the water, hit at least 7,300 miles an hour. The Speed Force is going to surround you and you are going to cause a huge sonic boom. You are going to be faster than a stealth bomber and will be at sea level. Keep your vibrations matched with the surrounding air, forget about the water and do not slow down. You are almost there.”

Barry saw he was in Alaska. The rugged terrain could not slow him down. Roughly 3000 miles meant he had 15 minutes to go, any more and not only would he waste precious time getting to his friends and probably meant he would drown

“Turn left slightly and take a 34 degree angle, that will be your path of least resistance. When you come over the last mountain, build up more speed on the way down. The closest route is going to take you 53 miles from Alaska to mainland Russia. You are going to cause a sonic boom that is unheard of and set every air radar in the country on high alert. This is what we want. The waves are going to part for you. Just close your eyes and move. I will let you know when you have reached across. Until then concentrate on the speed, the wind, the lightning and the vibrations. Let if flow through you.”

Barry saw the edge of last mountain coming up, he wasn’t hampered by the ice, his speed melting the frozen ledges a millisecond before his foot landed with each stride.

“I’m at the edge of land! Speed?”

“You just hit Mach 10.” Harry told him with pride. “Now close your eyes and run Barry, run.”

While the Flash was breaking the land speed record once again, several times over, Team Arrow, Nyssa and Alex had made it to a patch of pine trees. Alex came around and Dig sat her on the ground with the rest of them.

“Barry is on his way.” Felicity told the group, her com cutting in and out but understanding that Barry was about to try and pull off a crazy stunt.

“Is he stupid? He will never make it over the Bering Strait!” Oliver exclaimed, adding that worry to his already over taxed mind. He felt beaten, and knew his face was bruised and swollen. A check of Nyssa showed she had a busted lip and possible cracked cheek bone, not to mention both of their torsos.

“Nyssa did you recognize his style?”

“Yes. He fought like you one moment. Then he fought like me, same speed, same mannerisms.”

“Yeah and he fought like your father when we both took him on. No way he is that good. We would have heard of him by now. A guy fights like that, doesn’t stay hidden. Judging by his dress he has a flair for the dramatic. He also didn’t flinch when he pulled my arrow out. I haven’t seen that since Savage. Alex, you doing okay?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, great. What happened?”

“You used your super gloves to short circuit the damn thing but its rebooted and scanning.”

“God, I miss fighting aliens.” she whispered.

“Hopefully it doesn’t have infrared.” Dig told the group, until the machine turned towards them. “I just had to say that, didn’t I?”

“We need to move. The trees are doing us no good.” Oliver told the group, grabbing Felicity, putting her in front, and running with the rest. A missile flew over head and they all dropped, the explosion igniting on impact fifty yards away, on the bright side clearing a path to run, but also a clear line of sight for the robot.

“I can’t believe he slaughtered a village and left behind a killer robot. Seriously, who does that?” Alex complained, helping Nyssa along as she favored her ribs.

The mechanized creatures rolled towards the group, slowing as it hit a slight rise. Trees were on fire, and the team ran towards them, hoping their thermal images would be lost behind the flames.

“Anyone got any ideas? Felicity, is Curtis having any luck finding anything that could help? I would take anything he can hack right now for a distraction. We need to get out of here and find air transport to fish Barry out of the Bering Strait if he hasn’t already frozen to death.”

“Have a little faith Oliver, Barry is going to make it.” Alex told him.

“I can’t… I’ve lost contact.” the blonde complained. All saw the machine moving towards the them slowly but purposefully. “It’s going to fire into the largest heat source in front of us. If we move the motion sensors, will catch us. It has seven missiles left.” Nyssa guessed.

“I’ll run to draw its fire. The rest of you run as far back as you can, find icy terrain it can’t cover…” Oliver offered before all heard it.

“What the hell is that?” Dig wondered out loud, listening to a rumble, sounding like a freight train, only more ominous. The team looked to the left and saw what trees there were in the distance splitting, flattening to the ground.

“Everybody flat on the ground!” Alex screamed. The five hit the ground, Oliver on top of Felicity, Dig landing on Nyssa and Alex to their great displeasure, but the man was too damn heavy to push off. Facing the ground, none saw what happened, but felt the blast, a shockwave rolling over them, trees flattening and Prometheus’s weapon disintegrating the moment Barry Allen’s fist, surround by unreal vibrations and lighting jumping to hit the metal head at Mach 10. Barry never stopped, sliding to a stop a half mile away.

The team slowly rose to their feet and were shocked to see not only had the trees on fire been put out but everything around was gone, even the houses of the village off in the distance were flattened. The machine that they had fought for what seemed like hours but most likely less than a half hour, was unrecognizable, only slivers of metal on the ground, reflecting the bleak sunlight that did break through the grey clouds. All began walking, unsteadily at first to the electrical disturbance in the distance. Seven minutes later they saw a sight that awed them all. The Flash was standing still, looking at the ground, surrounded by lightning, his form blurred, but solid. He was breathing deeply and tense as if waiting to explode.

“Barry?” Oliver called slowly. “You okay?”

Barry Allen turned around, sparks dancing in his eyes, static electricity jumping off of him. He slowly began to come into focus. Once the blurring stopped, the electricity left his eyes.

“Only one time in my life I have ever felt better. I hope you guys have extra clothes and room for me in your car. I don’t think I have another run like that in me right now.”

“Yeah… is anything broken?” Alex asked, walking slowly up to him.

“Nope. Where is Prometheus?”

Oliver stepped closer to Barry as well, worried about him. He seemed in a daze, drunk on power. “He left, while we were fighting that thing, Barry.”

The Flash nodded. “Thats fine. He can’t run from me forever. No one can. I will catch him and when I do I am going to tear him apart.”

Barry took two steps and collapsed, Alex and Oliver both catching him. They lowered him to the ground and Alex checked his pulse. He was steady and just appeared to be exhausted, not injured. Felicity heard Caitlin’s panicked voice finally cut into her com.

“Is he okay? Did he make it? Somebody talk to me!”

Felicity handed the device to Alex.

“He is good Caitlin. He is exhausted. We are taking him back to the Rover and will be on the first flight out of here.”

Kara listened to her sister’s report from the window her and Kendra were looking out of. She hadn’t lied, she did believe in Barry, she knew he would do it. He would do anything to protect their family.

But once it was over, relief washed over her and she backed up to her desk, sat on the floor, curled her arms around her knees and cried, Kendra and Carter not knowing what to do, stood keeping watch, like they swore to Barry they would.

Kara composed herself quickly.

“Alex, this is Kara, can you hear me?”

“Yeah little sister, I hear you.”

“Please bring him home to me.” she begged.

“We are on our way. You will have him in your arms by morning. He is tired and sleeping but okay. I’ll have him call you when he wakes up, okay?”

“Okay, just tell him…” Kara couldn’t finish, sobs wracking her body.

“I know. Thats one hell of a hero you got take care of Kid Flash and I swear to you, I will get him home.”