Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Call Me Kara

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 34:

Kara opened her eyes and saw the familiar bay, a runway curved upwards at the end, nothing but stars and darkness beyond. She leaned back in the comfortable slightly reclined seat and held her breath to fight back the tears. She couldn’t seem weak, not now, not in front of her parents. She had a mission, she had purpose and she also knew she would never see her mother or father again. Thoughts ran through her mind frantically, how would she find Kal when she arrived, where would she find food for him, clothes, where would they stay? What sort of people would be on this planet her father called Earth? Would they attack her and her baby cousin? What would she do if they took Kal El before she landed? Would she have to fight? Kara had never fought, never been trained. She would have started training next year. The young girl hadn’t been looking forward to it. She hated the idea of violence but the House of El was one of warriors and all knew, no matter what the specialty, science, law, government, all members could defend the family in battle.

On Krypton, Kara like many children, spent most of her time inside the large estates that housed the family. How would she be able to survive without a home and keep a baby safe on this hostile planet? Where would she find clothes, diapers, baby food? Her mother said she would have great power but power to do what? Could she make food? Would she feel cold at night in the open or worse, would Kal? What if he became sick? How would she explain to anyone where she was from or what had happened? What if they landed in water? What if there was a great ocean? How could she get them to safety? What if his pod was washed away before she could reach it? Kara didn’t know how to swim. The oceans on Krypton were poisoned. Would the oceans there be poisoned?

The ship powered up and Kara knew that in seconds, all that she had ever known, family, home, safety, the freedom of being a child taken care of by her parents would be gone. Trying to fight back tears, she looked out the window one last time to see her mother’s face.

Instead she saw Barry holding a beautiful little blonde girl with wavy hair. They were both smiling at her. Barry was helping the little one wave bye to mommy. Kara screamed, this was wrong! She was leaving her family? No, no she would not lose her family !

“Barry!” she cried, trying to remove the glass from the cockpit, hitting it with her fists. The glass wouldn’t break. She tried to unstrap the shoulder belts and instead they grew tighter.

The pod began to move as the ground shook. Barry and their daughter didn’t understand, she had to bring them along, the planet was dying! Why couldn’t she get out? Her pod jerked forward and she met their eyes one last time then they were gone and all she saw were the distant stars, heard the explosion behind her, the pod rolling when the shockwave hit, her family gone… gone… in an instant.

Kara sat up in bed silently screaming. Her throat felt on fire, only a rasp coming out. Caitlin wrapped her arms around the blonde, drawing her tighter, easier to do considering Kara was wearing her bracelet. She tried to talk but her voice was scratchy.

“Don’t talk. Relax, I have you. Your throat is probably raw. This is the fourth nightmare you have had tonight.” Caitlin whispered to her.

“The fourth?” Kara whispered.

“You poor thing, you haven’t slept more than an hour and a half, without waking up. I didn’t think you were going to stop screaming after the first one. It’s okay though, I got you, just relax and I will get you a glass of water.” Caitlin squeezed her tightly then rose from the bed. Kara glanced at the side, saw the sheets crumpled and assumed Caitlin must have been lying with her. A check of the clock showed it was 5 AM. Cait walked back in with a glass of ice water that Kara took with a shaking hand.

“I’ve kept you up all night, haven’t I?” she said guiltily.

“Doesn’t matter. I don’t mind. We can stay up or try to get more sleep, if you want. I haven’t called Eliza. I thought about it after your second nightmare but I got calmed down and you went back to sleep fairly quickly. I wish I had something I could give you.”

“Its fine. You are here and thats enough. You are always here Cait. I love you.”

“I love you too, sweetie. Barry is okay. I got a text from Alex thirty minutes ago and they were going to be landing in Star City in an hour and then Ray’s jet will have them in Central City by 7:30. They will be at the lab by 8. She said they are all okay, Barry is up and rested, doing good.”

“Why didn’t he text me then?” Kara asked.

“Because he was hoping you would be asleep.”

“The flight. Prometheus could have a drone attack them in air…”

“Firestorm has been escorting them, all the way from Russia and Ray is meeting them in Star City and flying with Jax the rest of the way. Nothing is going to happen. Please try to relax and get some sleep. You have been through a lot of stress in the past twenty four hours and have to take care of yourself. Do you want the bracelet off for now? Would that make you feel better?”

“No, I don’t want the baby absorbing anymore sun rays even inside, I don’t want her to drain from me. You said give it a week right? No more than ten minute absorption time every few hours. I can’t have the baby growing too fast. I want to feel her growing inside me. I have to protect her.”

“You will and the baby won’t grow too fast. We are checking everyday and everything appeared as it should yesterday. Try to relax. Lay back down.”

“I need to get to the lab.”

“And you will in a couple hours. You have to rest. You are going to have a difficult enough time, getting colds over the next few months to develop your immune system. We can use sunshine to fight off the effects until your system is built but the more rundown you are, the harder it is going to be. I know its hard Kara, but you have to force yourself to relax. You won’t lose them, No one is putting you on a ship and sending you off alone ever again.”

Kara shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She looked at the woman questioningly.

“You were talking in your sleep before you woke up. You didn’t land in the water, you didn’t lose Kal, you didn’t have to fight and you aren’t going to leave Barry and the baby behind. No one is going to make you.”

“I won’t ever do that. I won’t do to her what my mother did to me. I won’t leave her alone, hoping she finds someone to take care of her and never knowing.”

“Your son is not going to be happy when he finds out later that you spent most of your pregnancy calling him a she.”

Kara chuckled a bit and took a drink of the cool water, her throat feeling better instantly.

“My daughter is inside me. I know it Cait. I realize there is no way to tell but I just know it.”

“I believe you. Go back to sleep. I’ll be right here and in a couple hours we will wake up, you can get ready for the day like us mere mortals are forced to and then we go to the lab. Lay back and close your eyes.”

Kara did as she was told and the exhausted woman passed out nearly immediately. Caitlin played with her hair and kept watch, determined to wake her the moment she started mumbling. After the first nightmare around midnight, the doctor had sat up, watching her best friend, listening to her speak her nightmares aloud. Caitlin knew Kara had nightmares often but after traumatic or stressful events all her fears came to the surface in her subconscious with a vengeance. At night, Kara turned from the confident, bright, brave heroine she showed the world to the scared, thirteen year old girl, who had way too many burdens placed on her, more than any child ever had. Barry had started spending more nights with Kara and while he told her it was because she kept his nightmares away, he also did it for her. Since Caitlin casually mentioned to him that the only time Kara slept all through the night was when he slept with her, he had spent nearly every night with his fiancee.

Caitlin drifted off next to Kara for another hour or so, the two both waking again from an unrestful slumber at 6:15 and prepared for the day. Both women were exhausted but you wouldn’t know it by looking at their appearance other than their eyes. The two had dressed casual today because they planned to go back to sleep as soon as Kara had Barry with arrived at the lab to see all had assembled, drinking coffee and watching what Kara guessed was the news on Cisco’s monitor. Both walked around the large panel and listened to the reporter from CNN speak.

“ It appears that another meteor has struck Siberia, reminiscent of the Tunguska Event of 1908. Yesterday Russian seismographs all over the country and China’s as well picked up a sonic boom, and tremors in the Earth. Radar could not get a clear view of the low flying rock, but weather satellites have picked up scant images of a red streak, cutting over Canada and Alaska, then skimming the Bering Strait until finally erupting in the Siberian wild. Like 1908, the meteor left the direct impact area flattened, all trees in a twenty mile radius knocked to the ground and according to Russian authorities, flattening the structures of a long deserted village. The path of the meteor does not appear to have been straight forward as evidenced by flattened woodland in Canada and Alaska, instead showing a slightly zigzagging pattern. Scientists are baffled by what would cause a meteor to move in this manner but mostly relieved that it wasn’t as large as the Tunguska meteor. Officials at observatories around the world are still trying to determine how the object entered Earth’s atmosphere without being noticed or whether the object may have broken off another larger object that could have flown near Earth undetected. Our science division will be working on this story and update as new information is discovered.”

“Who needs secret identities when the Russian government covers up all our activities anyway?” Kara quipped, the entire room looking up from the monitor to notice the two women had entered. Eliza practically ran to Kara and took her face in both hands.

“You haven’t slept have you? I knew you would have nightmares, I told Jeremiah. We were going to come over but he said Caitlin would call us if we were needed.”

“I appreciate it but I was fine. Caitlin babysat me through the night.” the blonde told her with a bit of embarrassment.

“I didn’t babysit you. She is fine, she just needs to not worry so much.” Caitlin added.

“Its kind of hard not to worry, when Barry is doing an impression of a meteor. I knew he could do it but if something had gone wrong he could have been as flattened as those trees. I guess after it was over it hit me. I am so… I could have been there, I should have…”

“No you can’t! You are a mother now, Kara, even if the child has not been born, and your child comes first over everything, me, your sister, Barry, everything. Nothing is more important and every one of us would tell you that.” Eliza stressed, hugging her once more and moving to get the two women coffee.

Kara got a text from Barry ten minutes later saying that the group was in the air to Central City and would be landing in thirty minutes. At fifteen past 8, two SUVs belonging to Palmer Tech pulled up to S.T.A.R.

When they walked in Thea rushed Oliver, burying her head in his chest and holding him tightly. She had listened to the carnage over the com and knew her brother and friends were fighting a killing machine with little cover and were outgunned. She also knew by looking at him and Nyssa that both had been beaten by the man behind this and that frightened her. She had seen Oliver lose fights and seen Nyssa lose fights but would never imagine someone would not only have a chance against both of them together but defeat them. Kara, Eliza and Jeremiah, moved towards Nyssa and Alex who wrapped her love in her arms the moment she saw her, a smiling Barry Allen next to them. Kara pulled off her bracelet for a moment and looked at all three, scanning for fractures that may have been overlooked or slight hairline fractures in the skull. Kara understood Alex had been knocked out after using the glove Cisco made for her and was worried she could have a small bleed in her head no one noticed. Her sister was fine, and Barry appeared to be whole. Nyssa was a different story. Her jaw was bruised but not broken, there was a hairline fracture in her left cheekbone but the bone was not crushed. She also had three broken ribs and was doing a remarkable job hiding it, not even wincing when Eliza hugged her. Kara stopped her examination at the look on Alex and Barry’s faces.

“Have we passed our health inspection baby sister? Think you can hug us now?” Alex asked.

Kara grabbed both of them, forgetting for a moment her strength was back with the bracelet off and wrapped strong arms around them, crushing Barry and Alex together. Realizing she may still crack something on them, Kara stepped back and placed her bracelet back on her wrist then gently hugged Nyssa.

“Kara?” Eliza asked, not needing to explain what she wanted.

“Alex and Barry are fine, Alex may have a slight concussion but Nyssa is a mess.”

Alex frowned and looked towards her girlfriend. “You said you were fine.”

“I…”

“She has three cracked ribs on her left side, fourth, fifth and sixth, no internal bleeding but a hairline fracture on her right cheekbone, probably a concussion to go with it. I’ll check Oliver, Felicity and Dig over. Barry, come with me.”

Alex glared at Nyssa who stopped trying to hide the pain from her face.

“I may be having a bit of difficulty breathing. This is not the first time I have had broken ribs in my life. It will be…”

Nyssa stopped talking when Eliza grabbed her hand and pulled her to the med bay she had stocked all night with reserves from the basement. Jeremiah walked over with Kara and Barry. Kara took off her bracelet once more and asked Thea to step back a moment, while she checked her brother. Oliver was a mess, a cracked and swollen jaw, two ribs cracked and three torn tendons in his left wrist, most likely the result of trying to sword fight with a compound bow. His ankle was also sprained and she was impressed that he was walking without a limp. Felicity appeared fine except for a few bruises to the face and torso. Dig was exhausted but not injured. Kara passed her findings over to Jeremiah, who ushered an irritated Oliver to the bay Eliza had just hurried Nyssa off too, Felicity and Thea following.

“Man, I have seen and heard of some awesome things in my life, hanging out with Kara but what you did was one of the coolest things I have ever listened to, besides maybe Kara lifting a million ton prison into space.” Winn told Barry, highfiving the hero. A smiling and proud Harry offered his hand to Barry.

“Mr. Allen, amazing work.”

“Thanks Harry. You and Kara believing in me, it made a huge difference. I’m glad you were there with me.” Barry told him gratefully. None noticed the look of pain on Cisco’s face as he slowly walked away.

“Okay, enough greetings, Barry you know where to go. Kara come along and as soon as I am done scanning Barry’s body, making sure all his molecules have been put back together correctly then we can check you out for the day.” Caitlin ordered.

Barry wrapped an arm around Kara and followed.

“You haven’t slept have you?”

“I have,” Kara weakly argued.

“Bad dreams?”

“Yeah.” she admitted. “I am so proud of you but I was so scared.”

“I know.” he offered, not saying anything else.

“Barry!”

The two turned, surprised to see Henry Allen running up to his son, Joe following him.

“Dad?”

Henry wrapped Barry up in a tight hug.

“You okay son?” Henry asked. “What you did…”

“I’m fine Dad. I thought you weren’t coming for another two days?”

“I wasn’t until I heard what happened from Joe. I came early… I wanted to be here when you got back, but we got held up in traffic.”

Barry smiled at his worried father. “It means a lot to me that you are here.” he admitted. Joe and Iris walked in behind Henry, Joe offering a handshake while Iris moved in for a hug, a very quick one. Her and Kara’s relationship had much improved and she wanted to keep it that way.

“I’m going to be from now on.” Henry told his son. “You mind if I come with you? I would really like to watch how Caitlin does this and maybe, if she is going to look Kara over…”

“Want to see your grand baby, Henry? I think we can manage that.” Kara told him with a wink, rewarded by a smile from the elder Allen.

While Jeremiah offered to wrap a grimacing Oliver Queen’s ribs and splint his ankle and wrist, Eliza was fussing over Nyssa.

“I am fine Eliza. I have had much worse and healed.” she tried, not used to being taken care of.

“Maybe you did, but you are mine now and I am going to make sure you are okay so deal with it. Lift your shirt up.”

Nyssa did as the woman instructed, not seeing much choice judging by her tone. Alex took a sharp breath as did Eliza.

“Nyssa, the bruising… you poor baby. Wow… thats… impressive.” Eliza admitted.

“What is?” Alex asked, wondering at the change in tone.

“Her abs. I thought you had abs but wow, you are in phenomenal shape. You are going to have to show me your workout routine Nyssa, at least the one that doesn’t involve sword fighting. I don’t think I could handle that without accidentally cutting myself and everyone around me.”

“Of course… ahhhh!”

“Oh I’m sorry! Too tight? Let me loosen it… Alex get an ice pack, no a gel wrapping. The bruising is going to be painful, I should have been more careful. How painful is it to take a deep breath?”

“It’s fine Eliza, I appreciate the care but I can deal with this.I have dealt with worse and…”

“And if you just try to deal with the pain it is going to severely hamper your health, especially with the cooler temperatures. You won’t be able to cough properly which could lead to a chest infection and we don’t want that, do we?”

“No… I suppose not.” Nyssa admitted reluctantly. “But I have a special herb that I can inhale for…”

“Alex? Please get the gel pack? She can wear it for a few days, and after that the elastic bandages will be fine for four weeks. Kara can take a look in perhaps three and maybe an extra week won’t be needed. How much pain are you in? This couldn’t have been easy, being in a seated position for so long on the flight back.”

“I’m really fine… Oww!”

Eliza plunged the syringe in Nyssa’s shoulder.

“What was that?!” she asked.

“Just a concoction I made up, mostly pharmaceutical grade Codeine and antihistamines to help you breathe easier. You may be a bit drowsy but so long as you rest on your back in a slightly reclined position it will help quite a bit.”

Alex brought back a cool gel pack and stretch bandages, trying not to laugh at the look of silent confusion and shock on Nyssa’s face.

“You are looking a little drowsy Nyssa. Jet lag? Those are nice bandages. Can you sign bandages to just casts? I can never remember.” Oliver teased, having watched the fearsome daughter of Ra’s Al Ghul being fussed over by her girlfriend’s mother.

“Oliver! Kara said you also had broken ribs, a cracked jaw and your wrist is swollen. Jeremiah, why hasn’t he been wrapped and his wrist braced? I think Kara mentioned a sprained ankle also?”

“He said he was good.” Jeremiah replied, checking over Felicity.

“He is not good! Oliver, Nyssa will be asleep in five minutes. Alex, help her to one of the beds in the back and make sure she is elevated at a 45 degree angle. Sit down Oliver.”

“I’m really good. I was just going to check on Barry…”

“Oliver?” Eliza met his eyes, showing how serious she was. “I can treat you or we can go to the ER.”

“Yes Oliver, will you being going to the hospital? Going to use another motorcycle accident as an excuse?” Nyssa laughed then stopped due to the pain in her ribs. After settling down both Nyssa and Oliver, who Felicity and Dig both had to aid after being dosed with Eliza’s special painkilling concoction, Kara found Alex sitting near her girlfriend.

Kara sat next to her big sister and kissed her on the cheek.

“I was really, really worried. You think you can stay out of trouble for a while? Between land mines and bombs hidden in people and giant robot killing machines you are giving me grey hair. I’m supposed to have a stress free pregnancy.”

Alex laughed quietly. “I’m doing this so you can have a stress free pregnancy, baby sister. I know you will worry but you know I know what I am doing. We both do Kara, all of us. We have gone through worse than this. I know you don’t like being on the sidelines but what you are doing is important to all of us, not just you and Barry. I want my niece or nephew safe and I will do whatever it takes to make sure you both are. So will Barry.”

“I know.” Kara admitted, feeling a bit defeated. “This guy beat Oliver and Nyssa in hand to hand combat. He obviously has military grade equipment and has proven that he will kill anyone without a second thought. He knows I’m an alien according to Oliver and I have no idea how he figured that out. This guy scares me Alex. We have never faced someone like this. Non wanted to control the world. Max wanted something different every week but even he had his limits as to how far he would go. Horrible limits but not even Max would fire a missile at a little girl or unleash drones on a city, kill hundreds of people just to test me.”

“He probably would actually.” Alex told her after thinking about it. Kara nodded her head sadly, admitting to herself that Alex was right. “He is different but he is just a man Kara. He can be defeated. Yeah he is dangerous and he is smart, but so are we. He has the advantage because he has been planning, taking his time and preparing for a war we didn’t know was coming. Now we know, now we can fight back, plan, protect our families. We will win and we will survive. You trust me right?”

“Yeah, I trust you Alex. You know I do.”

“Then relax. Maybe take some pictures of Nyssa so we can remind her of this for years to come. I don’t think she was prepared for Mom’s type of take charge mothering. It will be fun to pick on her.”

“Maybe we can find some Mickey Mouse bandaids?” Kara suggested.

An hour later Nyssa and Oliver were woken by flashes of light. Opening his eyes, the Arrow, the Vigilante of Star City, realized both him and his former wife were in single beds next to each other, bandaged and had stuffed bears in their arms. Dig, Felicity and Thea were watching them. Thea would not stop taking pictures with her phone. He checked Nyssa and saw she had a Mickey Mouse Band Aid over a small cut near her eyebrow and felt small bandages on his face as well.

“I’m reassembling the League.” Nyssa whispered.

“I’m rejoining.” Oliver agreed, and moved to stand up. Thea stopped him, brandishing a needle in her hand.

“We are under orders from Eliza to make sure the both of you remain off your feet today. Tomorrow you may walk with crutches until your ankle is reevaluated Oliver and Nyssa may return home provided she does no strenuous exercise.”

“Perhaps I should explain to Eliza that I have suffered and fought through much worse and that there is a very dangerous man who wants to harm all of us, including her family.” Oliver practically growled.

“We told her you would say that.” Felicity told him, grinning. “She said to remind you that you and Nyssa both were beaten by this man and if you want to have any chance in the rematch you both need to be in good health. So are you both going to do this the easy way, or does Thea get to play nurse and you two take naps until the morning?”

Nyssa lay back down gently, favoring her ribs. “Where is Alex?”

“Hiding.” Dig told her and walked off.

Barry and Kara had gone to her apartment so they both could get more sleep. Caitlin confirmed there had been no more growth than expected in regards to the baby, so Kara was able to relax somewhat, having Barry and Alex, back, her friends and sister injured but not badly and whole, she felt exhausted.

Kara had just drifted off, with Barry watching her when there was a knock on the door. Barry knew that Caitlin had been taking a nap at the lab, and anyone else would have texted before they came over.

Rather than taking his time, Barry opened the door quickly, prepared to catch any bullets and harm anyone he didn’t recognize. Instead he found Cisco standing sheepishly at the door.

“Cisco? Everything okay?”

“Yeah, can I come in for a minute or is this a bad time?”

“Uh, Kara just got to sleep but we can talk in the living room. If I hear her start mumbling I’m going to…”

“Yeah, I know you keep her nightmares away. That is really cool man.” he told his friend.

“Come in.” Cisco followed Barry to the living room and had a seat on the couch. Barry noticed something was way off, so he took the recliner across from the man and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You… whats going on? Did something happen?”

Cisco wouldn’t meet his eyes but did talk. “I owe you a big apology man.”

“What did you do? Please tell me you didn’t do anything to Kara because of the video game thing. You know she will bring it back to you… maybe… eventually.”

“No, it’s not that. It’s… when you were going to cross the Strait. In the past, I’ve always been the one who believed you could do anything. I just knew it, no matter what, the three of us, there was nothing we couldn’t beat. Even in the worst times during Zoom, yeah I was scared but I knew deep down we were going to win. But when you wanted to race Zoom, none of us had any confidence in you. We locked you up. Wally was the one who had faith in you.”

“Hey, I told you that was done with. We moved on. Why do you want to bring this up now?”

“Because I let you down again yesterday. I was the one telling you that you couldn’t do something. I was the one who didn’t believe. Harry Wells, of all people, threw me off the com and gave you what you needed. I should have been calculating speeds and ideas and I… I just lost it. It was kind of a wake up call to have that dick move me over. It kinda made me question when I stopped believing in us? We are still the same, even stronger with Kara when you aren’t knocking her up, but you needed confidence and you are my best friend. I should have been the one who gave it too you. I’m sorry. I won’t let you down again.”

Barry took a deep breath and sat back. In the past 48 hours he had not had time to think about this. His whole focus had been on saving his friends and getting back to Kara. He hadn’t realized or thought about the fact that this had happened. In the past Barry would have forgiven him, comforted him, told him not to worry about it. But that was the past and things changed. One little child growing inside the woman he loved, being the biggest.

“Look, I get it okay? Before I brought Kara into our lives in a spectacularly frightening fashion, it was just us. We were new at this and didn’t think anything could touch us. Then something did. Then something else and it kept going and going. But the reason we started this hasn’t changed, the risks haven’t changed. They have just become more real and that is causing us to hold on tighter than before. If I had taken the time to think about what I was doing, I probably would have been scared out of my mind, but I still would have done it. Before you vibed and saw Kara shot, we were talking about waiting, how there was always something else around the corner waiting to come at us. We have made ourselves targets and if we plan to have long, happy lives somehow, we have all got to start believing in each other again and stepping our game up.”

“I know. It won’t happen again, I swear.”

“I believe you Cisco. You have never let me down. But we all have to step our game up, including you.”

Cisco was confused for a moment, thinking he would have to apologize again when he realized what Barry meant.

“Barry you know how I feel about that. Look at…”

“I don’t give a damn about Reverb. He is dead and you are not him. Whatever you did to Black Siren, you haven’t tried again. I need you to figure it out Cisco. Your powers aren’t going to turn you evil or be a danger to us. If it weren’t for you I would probably still be stuck in the Speed Force. We never would have gotten Kara’s family here, never been able to rescue her father. But you haven’t reached your potential anymore than I have. The difference is I am trying. I took a shot from Reverb and told you what it was like. He was powerful but you can be more powerful because you have a bigger heart.”

“I’m not sure I can do it Barry. I don’t know how I did it in the first place.”

“Then get over yourself and ask Harry to help. He is the one who made the visor, helped you control your vibes, he has helped me become better and he could do the same for you. No one knows more about metahumans than Harrison Wells. No, he isn’t the easiest to get along with for most people but he is a good man and I trust him. I am going to have a son or daughter to protect soon Cisco. I am about to marry the most powerful woman in the universe and she is going to be powerless, or at least without her powers, for the next seven months at a minimum. I don’t just need you to believe in me, I need you to believe in yourself. We are only going to get through this together, just like we always have. Caitlin is going to be overprotective, you are going to have to be reckless and we are all going to have to stop Oliver from killing hundreds of people. Its business as usual right?”

“Barry?” Kara called from the bedroom.

“In the living room.”

“I know. Come back to bed.”

“Okay, I’ll be there…”

“Now!”

“Wow, pregnancy is making her cranky already.” Cisco noted with some amusement.

“She’s tired. She sleeps better with me there. You’re my best friend Cisco. You are going to be right next to me when I get married. I believe in you.”

“Thanks man. I’m going to do it. Even if it means asking Harry for help, I’m going to do it.”

“I know you will. Thats one of the reasons you are my best friend.”

Munich, Germany

The man walking the sidewalk of the busy street attracted notice. Not only because while he couldn’t have been older than 40, he had snow white hair, cut close to his scalp, not only because of his muscular physique, or the coldness of his light blue eyes, or his determined stride. People avoided him, walked around him, because like prey in the wild, some part of them recognized a predator in their midst.

Prometheus strode into an alley, that some may fear even in the daytime, never losing a step, never faltering. He opened a basement door to the building on his right side and was greeted by a small man, who was none the less deadly, being former British SAS. A nod and the man quickly opened up a steel door protected by a keypad. Prometheus entered one of the several lairs he had hidden around the world. None would be considered lavish, all had concrete floors covered in dust, cobwebs in the corners of the room, and were essentially bare, with the exception of a desk, a large monitor and a round glass case that his helmet resided in. He developed the headpiece 12 years ago and had made upgrades continuously since that time. Had he sold it to any military he would have made billions, but then he would not be above them all. Twenty years of traveling the Earth, learning every style of fighting, working for the best education, learning from the greatest minds and none of these experiences made him as deadly as the metal helmet, with the most advanced processor ever created. A supercomputer he could hardwire into his brain. All he needed was five minutes of video of the best fighters in the world and their skills were downloaded into his brain and nervous system. He watched video of Nyssa’s brief battle with airport security when she entered the States looking for Sara Lance. Oliver Queen battling Ra’s Al Ghul on the bridge in Star City, Slade Wilson from many of the videos he hacked from A.R.G.U.S. Thea Queen fighting Damien Darhk’s ghosts, Oliver Queen killing Damien Darhk. They were but a few of the many fighters he had stolen their skills from, around the world.

Prometheus had his toys, his advanced warfare machines no country had developed yet, the ability to best most of the best hackers in the world, his gauntlets that could fire deadly projectiles of his own design, the strobes powerful enough to cause vertigo in two seconds, attached to his armored shoulders. But it was the helmet that was his ultimate weapon. The helmet that was able to flood his brain with a drug cocktail that allowed him to ignore pain, to not even feel pain as a sensation while retaining all his other senses.

No amount of technology could make him as fast as the Flash or as powerful as Superwoman though. The Flash he had watched since the young man burst onto the scene. He was not powerful then, and Prometheus should have acted. Instead he waited, thinking the speedster in yellow may kill him then certainly the Zoom fellow. Instead the thin child bested them all somehow. Since that time he has become more powerful. Powerful enough to cause Prometheus to rethink his plans. Kara Zorel was a mystery. Her entire history looked as if it had been fabricated. Where had she come from? Placing his helmet on his head he waited for the interface and tensed when his body felt the electric shock that always accompanied the link between computer and brain.

Welcome back sir.

“Have you determined what destroyed the Mech in Siberia?” he asked.

Barry Allen ran from Central City across the Bering Strait to Russia. Satellite footage and seismograph data indicate he struck the Mech at a speed just over Mach 10.

“He has never been that fast. Not even close. Were there any factors that may have assisted him?”

None that are known at this time.

Prometheus growled to himself. It was illogical. The man had already bested the speedsters who had come for him. Why was he getting faster now?

“Continue to run possible scenarios including age or exposure to any additional dark matter. Have you devised a plan to defeat him?”

No. Based on his speed, vibrational frequency and probable thought processes moving at an unprecedented rate, at this time Barry Allen does not appear to have a weakness.

“He has family. What of Kara Zorel? Have you learned anymore from her blood?”

No. Her blood is not a type associated with humans but is compatible. Her DNA is alien. Having no alien DNA to compare it with, I cannot determine the planet or solar system.

“Have you determined a weakness?”

Her cells are extremely powerful due to stored energy of an unknown source. The amount of raw energy she is able to produce is greater than the Firestorm matrix and likely makes her invulnerable. There is a 99.5% chance her skin is impenetrable.

“And yet a bullet was found with her blood.”

A loss of power would be the only possible scenario caused by an unknown factor. I have not been able to identify this factor, only that at the time she was wounded her cells were in the process of depowering slightly, enough to break her skin and then returned as the bullet was removed from her body.

“Has she been seen in public since she has been shot, as Superwoman?”

No.

“Plan for defeating her when fully powered?”

When fully powered Kara Zorel cannot be defeated.

“She lost her powers at the end of the fight with Savage. I need to know her limits. The slight power outage may be why she has not been seen in public as Superwoman. If this is the case, she could no longer be invulnerable or suffered a greater power failure. She is obviously weak at times, or she would have gone to Siberia with Barry Allen. Have the plans for defeating Ray Palmer and this Firestorm matrix been completed?”

Yes. Shall I order production to begin on necessary devices?

“No. Until I can devise a plan to defeat Barry Allen and Kara Zorel they will protect their family and friends from any overt attacks. Continue analysis of Barry Allen and Kara Zorel. I need to know how to defeat them and why Barry Allen is becoming faster .There must be a way. Every man and woman has a weakness. I will not take there families unless it is a last resort. I want to defeat them in a show of power, not as some cowardly terrorist who needs hostages to carry out his plan. It is important. If they do not fall before me in battle in front of the public, the world will have learned nothing. However striking a blow to Kara Zorel and her police officer sister would not be out of the question. I suppose I could kill one of their parents. I’m thinking the mother.”

Central City

The past week had been tense for the circle of friends associated with S.T.A.R. and Palmer Tech. Work had been split for Curtis Holt, Felicity Smoak and Winn Schott between the day to day coding involved in making the nano tech more reliable and searching for Prometheus, trying to determine not only his location and history, but weak points in the systems. Cisco had begun working with Harry on his powers with less than successful results but the two had managed not to kill each other. The scientists at S.T.A.R. had been given the week off with pay while Ray Palmer had workers repairing the roof around the clock. After the workers had left, the entire building would have to be swept physically and electronically to ensure none of the workers had been working for Prometheus and bugged or hacked the databanks. The data processors themselves were stored in what Ray called the ATOM cave, though everyone else called it Ray’s play pen. Barry had returned to work and kept his mind from worrying over Kara the entire eight hours he was away by working three homicides, all gang related and having nothing to do with Prometheus as far as he could tell.

Due to the threat Prometheus made towards Central City, all of Team Arrow had decided to stay for the time being, leaving Star City in the less than capable hands of its police department. Still Oliver felt it was important to be united now, not split 600 miles apart. Kara, worried but trying to relax, continued to wear her bracelet during most of the hours, continued to visit Caitlin daily in Ray’s play pen to make sure her child’s growth was not accelerating too quickly and doing her best to not to worry about everyone around her. Kara felt useless. She had no power, not that she could rely on, her family was in danger, she was reliant on Kendra and Carter for protection and while everyone, Winn, Felicity and Curtis even, were doing their part to find Prometheus, she was scheduling interviews for Ray Palmer, working with the small PR team on possible campaign approaches for the first medical trials in six months and playing video games with Kendra and Carter. On the bright side she had become very good at Call of Duty. She brought lunch and ate with Barry in his lab everyday, always accompanied by her two bodyguards. Barry did his best to remain the same lovable goofball he always was but she knew he was tense. He slept with her every night, and had pretty much moved in with the two roommates. Now Saturday had arrived, ten days before Kara’s birthday and she was preparing to do something she never thought she would do in her life. Her and Barry planned to meet with Jeremiah and Eliza and a real estate agent named Cherry to look at houses, one of which she hoped would be the home for her own family, a husband and child. Even at her most optimistic in National City she had hoped on day to find someone to share an apartment with, a life with, but this had been beyond her wildest dreams. Tomorrow, Sunday, her Eliza, Caitlin, Thea, Felicity, Alex and Nyssa would help her decide on a wedding dress. Kara feared it would become one of the episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, that lasted all day and had different opinions from everyone in the room but she couldn’t say no to any of them.

The nervous couple woke up in each others arms, like every morning, trying to remember why they decided to wait to have sex until after the wedding, and spending the first twenty minutes of the morning driving each other crazy. An hour later, the happy couple, Barry carrying Kara at super speed a block away, walked the remaining distance and met up with Kara’s parents at the first location the agent planned to show them. None were happy.

“Good morning! This is an exciting day and I am so glad you decided to let me be the one to find your first home.” Cherry greeted them. She was a middle aged brunette woman wearing way too much makeup, likely in her early forties and was supposedly the most successful real estate agent in Central City. Kara was already considering going to a different agency.

“Why are we here?” she asked.

“Oh, this is the first house I thought we should look at. I think you will love it. Its a five bedroom, four bath, two full baths…”

“We said we were looking for a three bedroom, two bath no more than 2000 square feet, and a budget of $150,000 to $200,000.” Barry reminded the agent. “This place looks more than $200,000.”

The castle they were standing in front of couldn’t go for less than a million dollars he thought.

“Oh right! I talked to the bank and based off your income at Central City PD and your fiancee’s impressive income at Palmer Tech, in addition to your recent sell of S.T.A.R. labs, they contacted your accountant and have decided you qualify for up to ten million dollars for a new home! Isn’t that wonderful?”

“We have an accountant?” Kara asked. Barry shrugged his shoulders.

“I gave most of the money to Nyssa’s accountant. She said if he screwed us over he knew she would kill him, so yeah, I guess we do.”

“Sweet. Cherry, just because that is what we qualify for does not mean that is what we want. We want a house in the price range with the features we gave you. We did not ask for you to go to the bank and run a credit check nor did we give you permission. In fact I am pretty sure that is illegal.” Kara told the woman.

Cherry kept her smile plastered on her face but did not move, almost as if Captain Cold had frozen her in place.

“I’m sorry.” she finally said. “There must have been a misunderstanding. Why don’t we all follow me and… how did you two get here? Did you park your car down the block and walk?”

“They don’t have a car. That’s later today, right Barry?” Jeremiah asked.

“Yes sir.” he agreed quickly.

“They can ride with us. Just give us the address and we can meet you there. Kara sit in the front with the window down for all our sakes, okay sweetie?” Eliza suggested.

Kara rolled her eyes but secretly agreed that vomiting in Eliza’s new car would probably not be a good way to start the day.

The foursome walked into the first house. Kara slipped off her bracelet.

“The foundation is cracked. Lets see the next one.”

“I have been assured by an inspector…” Cherry tried.

“The foundation is cracked. She has an eye for these things.” Jeremiah told the woman, walking out with Kara.

The next house the four walked into, Kara took in the ceiling and with her X Ray vision checked the attic and woodwork.

“This house has a termite infestation.” she told the woman.

“But my inspector…”

“You might want to get a new inspector. I have an eye for these things.” Kara told her, leaving no room for doubt.

The fifth house, a one story, met Kara’s approval on the woodwork, brick work and foundation. The floor plan was open, just as she wanted, being able to work in the kitchen while watching her baby play in the living room. There was a separate office area for the two and the Master bedroom and bath were large with a bay window looking out to the backyard and the…

“No pools. Didn’t you tell her no pools Barry?” Kara asked.

“Yeah, pretty sure I mentioned no pools.” he agreed.

“I understand your concerns but a pool adds great value to your home and is not that difficult as far as upkeep. The benefits…”

“I’m having a baby. My baby needs to breathe. Falling into a pool would hamper that.” the blonde pointed out.

“Yes, but you could put a child proof fence around…”

“I have a feeling a fence isn’t going to keep my child out. Any fence. Could you show us something without a pool? Hot tubs are out too. A big patio would be great with a very tall privacy fence and a couple of very big trees would be even better.”

Cherry looked at Barry exasperated.

“You heard her. Maybe the houses you have listed just aren’t what we are looking for. Perhaps you could recommend someone else who deals in…” Barry began.

“No! No I have just the place. I really think you will like this next listing.” Cherry promised, a large part of her wanting to be done with the stubborn, hard to please blonde but a larger part not wanting to walk away from a couple who could literally pay cash for a house and the commission she would make, even if it was smaller than the mansion she had hoped to sell them.

The sixth house was almost a winner. Jeremiah and Eliza both thought it was lovely, a one story, red brick home with a covered patio, large fenced in backyard, near an elementary school and park. The design was open, a huge living room and two huge bedrooms, one of which would be a great nursery, along with a third, smaller guest bedroom.

Kara walked the kitchen with Eliza, while Barry and Jeremiah inspected the basement and washer, dryer connections.

“Barry?”

“Yeah?” he answered walking into the kitchen with Jeremiah and a hopeful Cherry.

“The breakfast counter is an add on.” she told him.

“Yes, and it really livens the kitchen up in addition to providing a breakfast area with a couple bar stools.” Cherry pointed out.

“Yes it does but I want granite countertops. This is linoleum. I have no problem buying my own granite but the counter is an inch off line. It isn’t straight. I can’t put granite on a countertop that is at an angle from the rest of the counter. It appears the linoleum is hiding this but it is pretty obvious when you really look. If I want to add granite I will have to get contractor to move the entire eight foot section. That means the hardwood floors are going to have to be torn out and relaid. I would prefer a house that I am not having to repair a week after I move in.”

“Wow… I never noticed this. You certainly have an eye for this Miss Zorel.”

“I watch a lot of House Hunters on HGTV.” Kara explained, walking out while Jeremiah tried not to laugh out loud, watching the woman’s face turn as red as her namesake.

The seventh house was a four bedroom, two bath open concept design. The front had a three car garage attached to a covered entryway with granite columns. The exterior was wood, painted a light blue with a roof shrubs in front of it. Two Oak trees decorated the front, providing shade over the house and the backyard, while not fenced in, backed up to a wooded area. A park was two blocks away and there were no neighbors directly next to them, the nearest being four lots away. A split level design, two bedrooms were on one side of the house with the master suite and a second good sized bedroom across the hall so the baby would be near them, even when in the nursery. The kitchen had a small island but beautiful bamboo floors that reached into the living room that included a fireplace.

Kara froze when she walked in. Barry wondered what she had seen this time, because her bracelet was off but instead of looking up and down, examining foundations and basements, attic spaces, rotten wood or any other number of potential problems, she simply stood still and reached for his hand. He knew, as did Eliza and Jeremiah. His guess was confirmed when Barry took Kara’s hand and stood by her side, noticing she had single tear on her cheek.

“This is it. This is our home.” she whispered. He took a look around and imagined the furniture, their child playing on the floors, toys all over the place, running in the backyard. He could see himself mowing the yard, just like his Dad did when he was young. The two walked through and the more he took in the more he understood. This was it.

“This is a lovely home, only ten years old, new paint, in all the rooms, the HVAC is new, four bedrooms…”

“We will take it.” Barry told her, while Kara turned and wrapped her arms around him.

“Oh… Miss Zorel does it meet with your approval?”

Kara sniffed a bit and nodded. “Yes, this is going to be our home.” Eliza and Jeremiah smiled, recognizing the emotion in her voice. They had felt the same way the first time they saw the home Alex and later Kara would be raised in.

“That is wonderful!” Cherry practically screamed. “The list price is $199, 990, but I know the owners are eager to sell. The husband had a job transfer…”

“$210,000 if you can have it appraised and inspected this week. I want to own this house by the end of the week. I won’t need a bank, I’ll be paying cash. Just please handle the closing costs and everything else, quickly. I want it by her birthday in ten days and I need to get a fencing company for the backyard to work as soon as possible.” Barry told the woman and hugged Kara tighter. She had slipped on her bracelet and he still felt she might break something on him but didn’t mind a bit.

Jeremiah patted him on the back. “Congratulations son.”

“We did it. I mean we are really doing this. We are buying a home together. I can’t believe it.” Kara whispered.

“Why? You knew we planned to do this.” Barry reminded her.

“Yeah, but you know how some things you wish for but never really thought would happen no matter what? Like it wasn’t in the cards for you? Having a husband, child, a home like Eliza and Jeremiah had, I never really believed it would happen and now it is. Do you know what a miracle this is for me?”

Barry smiled and kissed the top of her head that was buried in his chest.

“Yeah, it’s a miracle for me too. That’s what we do though right? Me and you, we make the impossible happen. I love you. Welcome home.”

Later that night after an unsuccessful car shopping trip which Kara once again refused to budge on prices she believed were fair and was disappointed there were no minivan convertibles, Eliza and Jeremiah retired after a long day, beyond happy. Kara had found a home, not an apartment where she would live by herself but a home. Jeremiah decided to try out his cooking skills, which amounted to putting a frozen pizza in the oven while Eliza relaxed on the couch and thought of calling Alex with the news. Before she could reach for the phone, the front door of the condo was kicked in. Eliza stood from shock, barely taking in the two men before her, both dressed in suits, both with close cut, military style haircuts, one blonde and one brunette and one, the blonde, holding a gun.

“Eliza Zorel. Prometheus has a message for your daughters and you are the message.”

The man raised his gun, but before it could be level with her head, and arrow entered the back of his head and poked out of his forehead. A look of shock colored his face, but he fell forward, eyes wide open, dead as soon as Oliver Queen had fired. Nyssa walked in, a bola in her hand, already spinning and threw it towards the man remaining, wrapping his arms, then another wrapping his feet and sending him crashing to the ground.

“John, do we have any other visitors?” Oliver asked in the com.

“Negative. Area is clear.” John reported. He was stationed on a condo roof nearby with a sniper rifle, having a full view of the front while Thea hid in a tree in the back, watching everything John couldn’t see.

Oliver, black face paint, under a green hood, walked up to the body on the floor and rolled it over, making sure the man was dead and taking the gun from the ground where it had fell. Nyssa knelt by the restrained man.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked. The man nodded his head. “We expected Prometheus to make a move. At heart every bastard who uses remote control weapons to kill others is a coward who would attack unarmed, defenseless people. Joe and Quentin would have weapons. I honestly did not think he would be stupid enough to move this soon. I am glad though. Staying up all night to watch a house for weeks was not a prospect I had been looking forward to but one I was prepared to do regardless. Do you know who the man in green is?”

“Yes. Oliver Queen.”

“Do you know who taught him to torture a person?”

“Amanda Waller.”

“Then you have an idea of how much pain you will suffer tonight, before you die. How quickly we allow you to die depends on how long it takes for you to decide to tell us everything about the coward who sent you to kill an unarmed woman. No matter what, though, understand you will talk. I can tell you were a soldier, not unused to combat I am sure. Nothing has ever prepared you for what is about to happen.”

Jeremiah had been standing on front of a shocked Eliza, watching the scene and realizing what could have happened. He felt a multitude of emotions but his primary one was extreme anger.

“Kara and Alex don’t need to know about this right now. Thea will escort you both to Palmer Tech, John will take care of the body.” Oliver told them.

“Thea can take Eliza. Do not call Kara or Alex, honey. I want to hear what this man has to say. I have some plastic covers from the furniture we moved in, still stored in the back bedroom. I will get it set up with a chair and gag. Do whatever it takes, to get answers. I’m going to watch it all.” he informed the two, who were not surprised. Nyssa recognized the fire in Jeremiah’s eyes. This was a man who had been manipulated and abused, his family threatened for years and would no longer take threats lying down. Even Eliza seemed to be composing herself, her face turning hard.

Oliver and Nyssa helped the man up and cut the cords from his feet. Walking to the back bedroom, Jeremiah as promised had laid out a plastic tarp and placed a chair in the middle. Oliver sat the man down and shoved an arrow into his shoulder. While the man opened his mouth to scream, Jeremiah, stuffed a gag in and tied it around his throat.

Nyssa knelt down in front of the man and met his frantic eyes.

“First question. Who is this bastard? Second question, where is he? You have ten seconds before the second arrow enters a part of your body that will hurt. When he runs out of arrows, I get to have fun. Pray he doesn’t run out of arrows.”