Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Call Me Kara

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 57:

Earth 3 Watchtower

“We need to contact them.” Bruce Wayne told the assembled League once again.

“No we don’t.” Diana countered… once again.

“The whole point of us trying to figure out a way to travel dimensions is so our teams can assist each other! I We need assistance!”

“We don’t know what we need, Bruce. You are more than welcome to attempt to access their Earth.”

“We aren’t there yet and you know it Diana. They can’t get here because our vibrations have been changed by whatever the hell that is that breached our universe. We do not know what we will face but considering that it is a huge spaceship of some sort heading straight for us, I am going to assume it is bad. World ending bad. We need them and you have a way, Diana.”

“I closed the portal. Of course you couldn’t get to Themyscira regardless, but you are welcome to try. Simply breach the magical barrier, fight off thousands of Amazon warriors, face the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus and then see if your bat suit scares a woman who faced down Ares. Good luck Bruce.”

“You should at least warn them.” Kal suggested. “They could very well be next and need to be prepared.”

“If we warn them they will come, they will figure out a way. As long as they do not have our universes new vibrational frequency, they cannot get here. J’onn still knows how to contact them, Ramon anyway. What do you say J’onn? Should we warn them?” Diana asked, already knowing how the Martian felt.

“We should stop whatever is coming. If all looks lost I will make an effort to contact Ramon, warning him that this world has fallen and to be prepared.”

“It’s gonna be a little late for us then J’onn.” Victor Stone pointed out. Arthur Curry sat next to him, having no opinion either way. He knew a fight was coming and he would be involved. Nothing else mattered.

“Kara and Alex…” J’onn started.

“They were right there with us in that Cadmus base and they seemed to be able to take care of themselves. That wasn’t even their whole team.” Cyborg said, stopping the argument before it begun.

J’onn became immediately angry and rose to his feet, staring at the half man, half machine.

“There was not a child involved then! The situation has changed. Her daughter would be involved. Plus if Jeremiah knew what we knew about Cadmus he would come back. They are safe and it is up to us to stop this madness before it gets any further. If it looks like we will lose, then I will warn Ramon, but I will not tell him or let him feel the frequency to get here. We handle this! It is our fight! Anyone too afraid can leave now and not come back!”

“The militaries of the World are preparing. The Atlanteans and Amazons are preparing for battle, should they be needed. We will win.” Diana agreed. “Leave the parents and newlyweds out of this. I realize you have all come to rely on Kara saving the world since she has done it once but perhaps it is time for us to step up to the plate.”

Bruce Wayne looked at the ceiling of the underground bunker. Watchtower had a huge superstructure on top, eight stories tall, but the real base was underground. In the middle of Kansas, it was within reach of both coasts, and hidden behind Watchtower Industries, a fake company Bruce had established as a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises, allowing for the JL support team to be paid as regular employees of a think tank company doing top secret work on defense projects and new drugs. In reality it was more secure than the Pentagon and monitored more threats around the world than the CIA.

Breathing deeply he looked back at his teammates. The entire League was not present but the core members of Arthur, Victor, Kal and Diana were. They were usually the decision makers. Bruce was the chairman and Diana controlled the battlefields. It had worked, no major arguments until his point, the point that satellites had picked up a huge space ship that entered the Universe from nowhere, heading right towards Earth. By the speed and trajectory, the ship would be near the moon in three months. He knew he needed all the power he could get to fight whatever that was. He needed Kara Zor El. She had saved the world once and though Kal was loathe to admit it, Diana had verified that Kara was much more powerful than her younger cousin. Her husband had reached unprecedented speeds, faster than even Bruce imagined. Their friends were warriors, he knew. If anyone would be suited to lead a ground defense against and invasion it would be Oliver Queen. Nyssa was a wild card, he didn’t know much about her, but if she was the same as Talia, she would be an excellent leader as well. This Ray Palmer was a genius that Bruce admitted had him beat. The Firestorm tandem had tremendous power. They had a support team filled with genuine geniuses in biology, computers sciences and people would be needed if they hoped to stop it here.

So of course Diana, who could get to that Earth, and J’onn who could telepathically communicate across dimensions, refused to do so.

“Fine. Since we have no way as of yet to get to them and the two people who can get to them refuse, I suppose this conversation is over.”

“Even if we had a way, if you try Bruce, I will destroy that ship myself. I know you are close to completing it. Don’t think about it.” Diana warned him. Although she would like Kara Allen to be by her side in battle as well as Donna, Kara had other priorities. The time she had spent with the woman had shown Diana much about her, her love for her friends, her family and her husband and child.

She was also strangely very attached to the mutt. But the girl had already demonstrated powers at three months old as Diana felt herself. If her development continued, the parents would have enough on their plate. Saving the universe was their team’s job.

“Nice Diana. An alien invasion is coming and you are threatening to destroy our ability to travel dimensions.” Bruce commented sarcastically.

“It isn’t a threat, it’s simply fact. You have been quiet Kal El. What do you think? Should Kara be involved in this fight? Who is going to watch her child in another universe? Do you think she will abandon her child in the same manner her mother abandoned her? Or you abandoned her for that matter?”

Kal El flinched but said nothing. He was used to Diana’s blunt honesty and knew she cared for his cousin.

“We will stop this ourselves. Any progress with the… cage?” he asked quietly.

The assault on Cadmus, at least the remains, had been successful after Alex’s wedding. The three main players were present, Dabney Donovan, Reginald Augustine and Thomas Thompkins had all been there, a last ditch effort at retaining some sort of organization. There were cages with aliens who had been experimented on but without Jeremiah Danvers, the work had been a disaster, most of the creatures near death, all dying within two months. What concerned them was what was not there.

An empty cage stood alone, with a doorway at least fourteen foot high and ten foot wide. It was electrified but the door stood open and there was no occupant. Donovan, Thompkins and Augustine all killed themselves, biting cyanide pills in their mouths before Diana could use her lasso to find out the truth.

The guards who were captured told them enough to have the entire League worried. Jeremiah Danvers research had been continued and perfected, following his map. Soldiers talked about a ten foot killing machine, one who was tortured constantly, even as far as having limbs cut off in the cage by a new alloyed metal turned into buzz saws and the limbs growing back in seconds. They described the creature as having a rock exterior, Kryptonite spikes on its shoulders, arms and back and being angry often. The bars were made of a material that resembled compressed Dwarf Star matter and were the only things that could keep it contained. A certain gas was able to knock it out for a time but never more than a few hours. One night a semi truck arrived, the creature was put to sleep and a crane lifted its body onto the truck bed, a similar metal covered it then another piece of the trailer hiding the truck as any eighteen wheeler on the road. No one knew where it had gone. Three scientists followed and the guards never saw the creature again. The monster was called Doomsday by the guards and scientists. Jeremiah’s project had been completed.

Kal waited for the creature to be unleashed, the entire JL did, but nothing happened. Bruce had collected DNA samples from the cage itself and what he found was an indestructible monster. This creature could not be killed in any manner he could determine. Diana of course scoffed at this, saying all living creatures could be killed.

“No.” Bruce answered. “We know of only one person that has the ability, money and know how to hold a monster, the same man who turned a brain dead girl into a girl capable of fighting Kara on an even playing field.”

“Max Lord is scum but he is not involved in Cadmus. He had ample opportunities to warn them of Kara’s arrival if he wanted. Maybe he wasn’t there or knew the plan but he was watching, I guarantee you.” Kal reminded the group.

“He could have been recruited after he was kicked off of Dr. Danvers project. You know he fancied himself a defender of the planet and hates aliens.” Cyborg reminded the team. “But Helena and Dinah have been all over him, going into his offices, his home, his computer may as well belong to Barb, she is in it so much. If he is hiding a giant killing machine he is doing one hell of a job. That don’t matter right now, unless the thing makes an appearance. It sure as hell isn’t sneaking up on us. What matters is finding out what is in that big space ship and beating it.”

“You can’t.” a new voice said, the entire Justice League standing, Kal’s eyes lighting up, Diana pulling her sword and Arthur rushing to the wall for his trident. Luckily for all involved, especially the expensive equipment in the conference room, they recognized him immediately before any attack was made.

“Damn it Stewart. You couldn’t have knocked? We haven’t seen you in a year and you just pop up?” Kal complained.

“My apologies. The entire Corp was called away, all of us from every universe. We have been fighting this ship and its occupants for the entire time I have been gone. He is a dimension jumper and has an army of thousands, mostly robotic androids but some humanoids. He has destroyed two Earths in the last year.”

That revelation quieted the League.

“Ho… how exactly has he destroyed two Earths?” Victor asked.

“He sends an invasion force, never going planet side himself. The force sets up four stations, giant buildings designed to be power plants. They tap heat from the liquid outer core that is converted to energy. The liquid drained the Earth’s crust falls in on itself into the hard inner core. The entire planet crumbles, volcanic forces erupt, seas boil, the pressure on the core becomes too much. The planet implodes then explodes, ripped apart by gases, magnetic forces and gravity, much like Krypton did to itself, tapping heat from its own core. We believe he stores this energy to continue his travels and perhaps gain energy for his own planet though we haven’t located it.”

“Great. He wants to blow up the Earth. Of course he does. You said your whole group of friends have been fighting him for a year? I thought you guys were the badass galactic enforcers?” Cyborg reminded him.

“We have lost 822 of my brothers in the past year. He is strong. He emits Omega Beams from his eyes that destroy whatever they touch, disintegrated immediately. I’m not sure if even Kal El can survive a direct hit. He also opens his own breaches. He is strong, abnormally strong and has technology that has surpassed any in the galaxy. His androids and humanoids are strong, especially a group of women he calls… I suppose the best translation would be Furies.”

“Okay. Diana, will you visit Kara now?” Bruce asked.

“No. We will stop this. His forces have to land on this planet to drain the power. No matter how great, they will not stop us.”

“He has stopped the heroes of the last two Earths. The military’s were destroyed and the heroes attempted to attack him alone on his own ship. They were slaughtered. We recovered their bodies from space. The ship also has deadly defensive capabilities, that have broken the power of our rings protection and taken my brother’s lives.”

“These two Earths, did they have us? Dopplegangers?” Wonder Woman asked.

“No, they did not.” Stewart admitted. “Our Corp continues to plan, devise ways around his weapons but we have been unsuccessful so far. He is taking his time now, planning to destroy us as we are planning on stopping him. Do not let the speed fool you. That ship can move much faster. He could be here in a day if he chose to.”

Diana took a deep breath and glanced at J’onn.

“If we fail, Kara and Barry’s Earth will have no defense if they are killed here. I will not ask them to come. This is our fight.” Diana told the group. “So who is this fearsome planet destroyer? Does he have a name?”

“Yes,” John answered, secretly upset that she would not be calling in reinforcements but not letting it show. “The best translation in English would be Darkseid.”

“Then we shall meet this Darkseid and defeat him ourselves. End of discussion. Tell us everything, John.” Wonder Woman, Diana the Amazon warrior and Goddess of War commanded. “I have very little time to plan and fight off an invasion on a global scale. We will succeed where others have failed or go to our graves trying.”

Earth1 Washington DC

President Benjamin Wallace, lay down for the night, Secret Service agents right outside his door as always. Tonight he was alone, not only because of his wife being on a diplomatic mission in Japan but because his mistress was not able to get away tonight. The timing had to be just right for a woman of her beauty and no connection to the White House to be snuck in and she had missed her window of opportunity, greatly annoying him. Also annoying him was his National Security Advisor informing him that Eiling had not checked in since he arrived outside of Central City. The man should have been shot by now but was given a second chance. Wallace feared he was too unstable but the five star general he relied on for advice in military matters assured him he was not. Now the man had probably gone rogue, wanting to destroy the so called Justice League, instead of coercing them into a working relationship where they took the orders. Yes they were powerful but the two most powerful members had a child and that was a weak spot. Working with the Government would be preferable to hiding their child from the Government for the rest of her life. That was his National Security Advisor’s thought and Wallace agreed with it.

Reaching over to grab a sleeping pill, his attention was caught by a glow around his closet door. The door opened and it was so bright he had to shield his eyes.

“Agents! Get in here!”

“They can’t hear you.” Zatanna told the man, stepping out in her solid black long, low cut dress and stilettos wandering around the room. “No one gets in, no one gets out and no sound escapes. Pretty neat huh? I think you know my friends?”

Wallace looked towards the closet and saw a host of people walking out, the man A.R.G.U.S. still talked about today, Oliver Queen, Amanda Waller’s protege and the man who stopped Damian Darhk from turning the US into a wasteland. Behind him were a woman he vaguely recognized from a possible threat briefing, Anyssa something or another. Her father had attempted to unleash a biological weapon on Star City. Next to her was a short haired brunette, dressed casually in jeans and a black shirt and leather jacket but he did not miss the gun in her hand. The last two to emerge from the light were the two he really did not want to see, Superwoman and the Flash.

“Hey there Mr. President. Nice room.” Barry told the man, taking in his surroundings. “I’m a little surprised to see you alone. Nicole not able to make it tonight?”

“Nic… I don’t know…”

“We know everything.” Barry told him, his voice vibrating for effect. He sat down on the edge of the bed, while Kara stood next to him, arms crossed, glaring down at the politician. “We also know you have had Eiling trying to track a telepathic ape to learn its secrets, and he failed, didn’t he? So you thought you would threaten our daughter. Dumb move, Wallace. A little intelligence you can share with your CIA buddies. I can phase my hand into your heart without breaking your skin. Everyone will think you died in your sleep from a heart attack. Do you believe me?”

“I don’t know Eiling.” Wallace said, looking at the door. He believed what the woman in the black dress had said. The Secret Service should have been in here by now.

“Yes you do. Do not lie to me.” Kara warned him. “I really don’t like Presidents. To me you are scum, a cheap politician who got lucky enough to fool the public into thinking you are a good man. We are here to discuss some things with you but first, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a taste of what you are dealing with. Zatanna would you please allow Barry to go out the window?”

Kara took a tablet from Oliver and opened the screen. On it was Area 51 in Nevada, a satellite image that had zoomed in.

“One of your most secure bases, correct?” she asked. “Almost on the other side of the country. See those jets on the runway? Watch this.”

Barry moved, running faster than usual, not sure exactly how fast but he knew he was channeling the Speedforce completely, not even leaving a lightning trail. He let out a slight sonic boom in Colorado but brought it under control.

On the screen in the President’s bedroom, he watched the screen for fifteen seconds util he saw lightning.

“I asked him to slow down when he got there so you could see his trail. Wow, looks like the planes landing gears have been taken off. Look at that, they are just kinda lying there… oh there go the missles. He is really good with a wrench but I am betting he is just using his hand to cut through the supports. You should see him change a tire.”

Wallace watched the systematic destruction of dozens of top secret jets, years of work, billions of dollars, being dismantled. Within thirty seconds all the planes, twenty seven in the hangars and runway were in pieces and not one guard had time to register what was happening. Twenty seconds later Barry was back.

“Not my fastest but since you insisted on lightning… so did it look as cool as it felt? You are going to need some new airplanes, Ben.”

“Why… how… why would you do that?”

“To prove a point. The point is that within an hour we can have all the US military bases in the States, taken apart, ships sinking in their berths, I can lift submarines out of the water and onto dry land, China if I wanted. I can lift an aircraft carrier. I am faster than your fastest jet in the air and Barry…”

“Give me an hour and I will have every base in the world, including nuclear silos taken apart. You sent Eiling to threaten us. Bad move. A.R.G.U.S. has been smart enough to leave us alone. You however, are another story. So we can either come to an understanding tonight, or you die of natural causes. If you think I won’t kill you, normally you would be right but you brought our daughter into this. Once Eiling mentioned our daughter, all bets were off. By the way, you won’t be seeing him anymore. We sent him to another dimension, one where he probably won’t make it but that isn’t really my problem. You are a problem. Do you recognize the people behind me?”

“I know one of them was some sort of security threat until A.R.G.U.S. cleared her. I know Oliver… the Green Arrow.”

“Yeah you know me. I was taught to fight by a Chinese General, his daughter, a mercenary called DeathStroke, and taught to torture people by Amanda Waller. Want to find out how good of a student I was?”

“That won’t be necessary Oliver. I just need to have a little chat with the President somewhere more private.” Kara told him, yanking the man out of bed by his throat and flying him out of the huge open window into the night sky. Wallace tried to look down, seeing the lights of Washington fading away. The air became so cold he couldn’t tell if he was shivering more from fear or the temperature. His throat was nearly closed, caught in the blonde woman’s grip. When he was surrounded by complete darkness she stopped.

“Any guess as to how high we are?”

Wallace tried to gasp out a reply but was unable.

“Sorry, you can’t really talk, can you? Hold on.”

Kara dropped him, grabbing the screaming man by his arm, so he was hanging while she looked down at him.

“We are about thirty miles above the Earth. I can go higher, twice as high but you would most likely freeze to death. You are already going to have some ugly finger marks on your neck to explain way. I would suggest turtle necks for the next week or so. Or maybe I will have my friend who got us here, heal you. She can do that. She can do anything. Want to know a secret?”

“I want down.” the man whined. Kara obliged, letting him go. She caught him by the wrist after forty feet, not wanting him to have an actual heart attack.

“Now, do you want to know a secret or do you want down again?”

“I want… I want to know…”

“I can’t be beat. Nothing in this universe can beat me. A nuclear bomb couldn’t even take me out. I can take on the military of this world and win easily by myself. If my husband is with me, I think he showed you what he can do. We are doing our best to keep the people of this world safe, not politicians like you. You let us do what we do best and you make sure we are never watched by the Military or CIA or any other letters. We will know. We know everything, even this country’s deepest and darkest secrets.”

“Do… do you know how many laws you are breaking?”

“Did you miss the part about me not being able to be stopped? You brought my daughter into this. There are no rules anymore. Do you want us helping the people of this world or killing you and destroying this country? Every country? We could take over but we aren’t interested in that. We want to help. You can’t control us. If you think you can, I will let you decide if you want to die from a very high fall or a heart attack in your bed. Maybe the next President will have more common sense.”

“Okay! Just please don’t drop me!”

“This is what is going to happen. I am going to tuck you back into bed. You are going to wake up, assuming you can sleep tonight and not say a word about his conversation. You are going to call your advisors, your Joint Chief guys, whoever, and you will make sure they understand the Justice League is off limits. My daughter is especially off limits. Did you see the battle in Central City when Palmer Tech’s building collapsed?”

“Yes.”

“It collapsed on me. I still got up. A skyscraper collapsed on me and it made me angry. I’ve gotten stronger since then. Do you know what happened to the man who attacked the city?”

“We haven’t found him. He disappeared.” Wallace told her through the chattering of his teeth.

“Thats right, because I threw him into space. I sent him out of the atmosphere. Would you like to be the first President in US History to become a missing person?”

“No!”

“So we have an understanding? You stay away from us and especially my daughter and we don’t destroy your military and turn you into a satellite. Agreed?”

“Yes, anything.”

“No, I need an actual agreement. You know before you turned in for the night, you discussed the ISIS problem in Turkey, right?”

“You were listening?”

“We know everything and we don’t even have to hack into your system if we don’t want to. We entered your room through a closet. Something to think about. Now can you beat us?”

“No. My arm is getting really sore.”

“Are you going to tell everyone and make sure they understand there is to be no contact with us or studies or investigations?”

“Yes!”

“Are you or anyone in your Government going to ever mention my daughter again?”

“God no.”

Kara dropped the man and followed him down, catching him every fifty feet. When she broke the cloud line, she picked him up by the shoulders, flying him so he could see the ground. None of the Secret Service Agents saw the blue streak holding the man, flying into the executive bedroom window.

“Good talk?” Barry asked, the entire League here and in Central City listening.

“We came to an understanding, didn’t we Ben?”

“Yes.”

“Good, now I want an apology.” the blonde told the man.

“An apology?”

“For trying to threaten my daughter, for being prepared to harass us until we worked with you. I want to hear you say you are sorry and mean it. Convince me.”

“I am sorry! I am so sorry! I promise, no more. We won’t get in your way, we will leave you alone, I swear!”

“Sound good, baby?” Kara asked her husband who was now standing, vibrating into a blur.

“I guess. We find out in the morning. Our friend here is very gifted in magic. Before you say you don’t believe in magic, I would remember that we entered through your closet from Central City in less than a second and your guards haven’t rushed in. Zatanna please heal the bruising. We can’t have him looking as if he has been injured during his very important meetings tomorrow. We are going to be watching through a mirror. We are going to watch you all day, wherever you are and make sure you stick to your agreement and tell everyone that matters that we are off limits. If not, we will be back tomorrow night. You can hide wherever you want, even a bunker but we will find you. Have a good night Ben.”

Barry winked at the man, Zatanna mumbled a chant to heal him and the group exited through the closet they came from. Benjamin Wallace’s heart would not stop racing. He sat in bed for hours until he finally went to his desk and began putting together a list of people he needed to talk to and executive orders to issue making it a federal crime to have any interaction with the so called Justice League. He should have been outraged, he should send the armed forces on them, destroy their little not so secret hideout at S.T.A.R. Labs. Instead all he felt was fear. Seeing how easily Allen took out one of the most guarded bases in the United States shook him but it was the eyes of the woman behind the mask that frightened him the most.

She would kill him. He saw it in her eyes. He never should have gotten her daughter involved. She would kill him and he felt the power in her grip. A twist of her fingers and he was dead. Her eyes looked like photos he had seen of Oliver Queen in his A.R.G.U.S. days. She had killed before and he knew his status as the leader of the free world meant nothing to her. If they fought a war, they would lose.

The Justice League was officially off limits for the entire US government, military and black ops. Wallace wanted to live and he planned to pass this warning on to the next President.

The next few months passed by uneventfully. A meta Cisco had dubbed the Mirror Master had tricked Kara into following him into a mirror. Kara freaked, thinking poltergeists were going to kill her, possess her, or any other number of things. Zatanna released her and once Barry and the rest of the League had caught the man, Kara put on her bracelet to dull her super strength and beat the hell out of him. The police and Alex had to pull her off. Kara refused to go near a mirror for days until Oliver made a comment about her hair in the gallery. She bravely faced her glass nemesis. Oliver was on track to break six figures in salary, but had limited contact with Felicity. Thea had of course started speaking to him again and to his credit, Oliver never asked about his blonde ex. He had promised to let her go and did, no matter how much it hurt.

Kara had been offered to be showcased in New York by a famous art gallery but refused, to Oliver’s consternation until he found this made her even more mysterious and New Yorkers along with those from the West coast flocked to Central City to buy from the woman who turned New York down. The reason was Lexie. Not only did Barry and her enjoy spending all their free time with her, and Kara during the entire day, she was exhibiting powers at a more regular rate and had to be watched closely. As she passed three years old, Caitlin attempted to take a blood sample.

She was unable to break the skin. Kara took her to the red sun room at S.T.A.R. where her skin was able to be punctured until she cried, shaking so hard she began vibrating and forced the needle out. Vibrating at that speed, Caitlin was unable to get any blood so gave up, the two best friends and Lexie opting for a movie at Caitlin’s apartment rather than thinking about how a three year old was already impenetrable.

Barry came home from work a few months later and found Kara and Lexie in the backyard. Rather than fighting it or trying to talk her out of flying, the parents decided they should teach her how to use her powers safely and stress that it was a private game that could only be played at home.

In the backyard, Kara and Lexie were both giggling in the air, floating around, playing tag and Barry was once again thankful for the high fence and lack of neighbors. He was also caught by how beautiful the scene was. The two were not flying quickly but instead floating playfully, Lexie trying to catch her mother who let her occasionally but for the most part snuck up behind her, tickling her ribs.

Then Lexie saw Daddy.

“Daddy!”

If he hadn’t been a speedster he never would have seen her, she was so fast, like a bullet flying towards him. He had two choices, try and catch her or move and grab her, hoping he could hold her so she wouldn’t crash into the brick house. Although impenetrable, neither wanted to test her limits so he took her barreling into his chest, vibrating slightly, healing his cracked sternum and falling on the ground with her on top.

“Daddy, did you see? I can fly as good as Mommy! Did you see? Did you see?”

“Yeah angel, I definitely saw you, felt you, you did good. Maybe slow down a bit, is all.”

“No slow down! Lets run! I wanna run! I can go fast like you!”

“I know, but aren’t you hungry? I brought home fried chicken.”

Lexie’s head popped up and she took a long sniff. Smelling one of her favorite foods, she was gone, a blonde blur streaking towards the kitchen. She attacked food like Kara and Barry attacked… food.

“Are you okay?” Kara asked, kneeling beside her husband. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think she would fly like that. She hasn’t yet and I guess seeing her Daddy home was all the motivation she needed. I should stop encouraging her, huh?”

“No, we talked about this. Its better to let her have her fun with us than doing it when we are away. I’m fine. She ate at lot a lunch and is still hungry. I think she is getting our appetite too.”

Tonight she was a perfect angel, sitting in her chair, plate in front and staring at the bucket of deep fried treats in front of her. The parents sat down, Kara preparing a plate for the little girl. She had grown out of a high chair at nearly three but still required a booster seat. Her speech had also gotten much better, if they could get her to slow down long enough for others to understand her.

“Should we say blessin?” Lexie asked, causing Barry and Kara to both look at her with a bit of shock. They had never really talked about religions of any sort, having their hands full taming a flying speedster toddler with impenetrable skin who had shot beams out of her eyes occasionally. She had also demonstrated very powerful breath, cool but strong.

“What… why… Blessing? Has someone said something about blessing food to you? It’s okay if they have, but me and Daddy are wondering where that came from?”

“We went to see Aunt Caitlin at the big circle. I thought Jax had fallen asleep over his food and hit him in the head. He said some bad words you told me I couldn’t say later and said he was saying a blessin. Its something we are supposed to do before eatin.”

“Eating. You had better start pronouncing your g’s or Grandma is going to give you another proper speaking lesson.” Barry reminded her again.

“Those are borin. What is blessin?”

“Its what we say before we eat anything Mommy cooks, Princess.” Barry explained to his daughter, then realized it probably wasn’t funny to Kara. He glanced her way and saw he was right.

“Daddy does not like my cooking, even though I am trying very hard.” Kara told her daughter, glaring at Barry.

“I like Momma’s cooking.”

“See?” Kara said, grinning at Barry.

“I like when she cooks the food that comes in the bags. They are so funny. Momma calls it grease that makes the bag wet. She cooks fries in a bag too. I also like the food she cooks in boxes with those pictures on them. Its fun usin sticks to eat, even if they do break a lot. I like the breakfast she cooks and puts in the big box. Donuts are so good.”

Kara began chewing a wing, avoiding Barry’s amused glance.

“I only give her little pieces smashed up. She can’t eat baby food forever. She needs calories. I doubt she is going to have a heart attack.”

“Did you run this by Eliza?”

“Rao no, she would find a way to kill me if she knew I let Lexie eat even a bite of this. She would burn our house down if she caught her eating this, after pulling the princess out first.”

“Sucks not being the favorite anymore, doesn’t it?” Barry asked, already knowing. Kara huffed and admitted it did.

The two parents talked about their days while Lexie talked about everything, commenting and asking why thirty times in ten minutes by Barry’s count. Then the conversation turned to Halloween.

Barry made the opening move in defense of his case. “I think she is old enough. She can walk, she can say thank you, her speech is better than many three year olds. She is potty trained, she can almost dress herself…”

“Shoes are hard.” Lexie admitted.

“See? Shoes are hard. There is no reason to rush her into anything. She isn’t ready for being out around scary things. It could give her nightmares and we don’t want that.” Kara countered.

“Its trick or treating, not playing with a Ouija Board.”

“Trick or Treating? I wanna, I wanna, I wanna! Can I dress up? Can I be you, Momma? Blue you with the red cape? Please? Pretty please?”

Kara gave Barry a withering glare. He simply smiled at her. “See, she wants to be you. I could ask Cisco to make her a suit.”

“A suit? Are you nuts?!”

“Not that kind of suit! Just the kind she can go out in for one night. All the other kids are going to be in costumes. She will get a kick out of it.”

“Other kids? Like the ones at the Park? I want to play. Mommy can I play with other kids? I want to go to the park, and dress up like you. I could go on the slide. I won’t fly down or anything, I’ll be good, I promise!”

Kara put her head in her hands, her stomach churning. “You are always good Princess. But the other kids, they can’t do what you can do. Remember what we talked about, how secrets are important? What you can’t say or do around other people?”

“No flying.” Lexie recited.

“Yeah…”

“No runnin fast.”

“Thats right…”

“No flying. You said that twice Momma.”

“I know I did…”

“No blowing really hard, even though watching Unca Cisco’s hair get messed up is sooo funny.”

“Yes, but you also can’t get mad. If another kid picks on you or… sometimes other kids can be mean, Lexie. They may not mean to be but they can be. If you get mad, remember the other thing we talked about that could happen?”

“My eyes burn.” Lexie told her.

“Yes, and if it happens you could accidentally hurt someone. Maybe we can dress you up and we can go to S.T.A.R. and Dr. Stein’s house, Ray’s place, Grandma and Grandpa, all three of them. We can to Oliver’s apartment and Sara’s and I bet Aunt Alex and Aunt Nyssa will have a lot of candy…”

“We can go with other kids?”

Barry watched Kara’s face and wished he had never brought it up. He had visions of seeing his little blonde angel dressed like her mother, cape and all, and a bag in her hand, going from house to house. He hadn’t really thought about the fact that Lexie had limited contact with kids in public and no contact socially. Kara had mentioned that Lexie saw kids in the Downtown park area playing tag and asked why they were running so slow but never mentioned anything else. He now wondered how often Kara had not told him about the times Lexie wanted to play with those her own age. Her control was not great. Today was the first time he had seen her actually fly and it was obvious that she was strong, much to strong for a three year old.

“I… let me talk to Daddy about it and we will see, okay?”

“I promise I won’t fly and I will walk really, really slow. You can hold me if you want. I promise to be good.”

“Lexie, it isn’t that you aren’t good. Using your powers is not bad. We just need to work on your control but you aren’t bad for using them when you are with me or Daddy. Don’t ever think they are bad. I’m just scared that if you get excited or surprised you may not be able to help yourself. Remember? We have to keep what we can do a secret.”

“Because other kids will be afraid of me, right?”

“No! No… hey why don’t you finish eating and the three of us can clean the table. You want use the dishwasher tonight?”

“I can put them in myself?” she asked excitedly. While she enjoyed watching Mommy and Daddy clean the house in seconds, the machines fascinated her, especially the washer and dryer.

“Yep. I’m going to go get towels ready for your bath and then we can take a bath and get tucked in. Daddy and I will sing together to you. Think about what song you want, okay?”

Kara moved to get up.

“You haven’t eaten everything.” Lexie told her, frowning. She was not used to seeing food left on either of her parents plates.

“I’m not really hungry anymore. Charlie needs his food too. He needs to come inside and eat. He has been playing way too long. Don’t you like playing with Charlie?”

“Yeah, but he doesn’t like runnin with me.” she told her mother sadly.

Barry and Kara helped Lexie load the dishwasher and even put the soap in herself, bathed her and sang softly over her little bed for five minutes until the little bundle of energy gave out and drifted off to sleep. Kara rushed out as soon as her breathing evened out and Barry gave her a moment. He didn’t need superheating to know where she went.

After ten minutes he walked slowly out the back door and found her sitting on the patio swing, Charlie in her lap, staring at the night sky.

“She thinks she is bad because she uses her powers.” Kara told him, her voice hoarse from crying. “She thinks when we put the bracelet on we are punishing her. I tell her we aren’t but she doesn’t understand. I knew this would happen. I knew it Barry. She is starting to figure it out. She can’t be around other kids and this is just the start. She is going to hate me, I know it.”

“No she won’t. She adores you. The two of you are inseparable.”

“I know. I’m her best friend. You know who else are her best friends? She plays sticks with the Black Canary. She plays with her little bow with the Green Arrow. She wants Uncle Vibe to blow things up and practically begs Martin and Jax to merge every time she sees them so of course they do. She asks to play with Nyssa’s swords and Alex’s guns of all things, which is very unsafe, and she wants to fly like me and run like you. She wants bracelets like Donna’s because hers don’t keep her from flying and she tries to lasso Charlie with his collar and leash so she can be an Amazon princess. She hangs out with a sorceress who shows her magic tricks using real magic. I knew her life wouldn’t be normal but this… she should have play dates and be in preschool or at least day care for a few hours so she can develop social skills not revolving around a bunch of superheroes giving in to her every demand.”

“She is hard to resist.” Barry admitted. Lexie could even talk Harry out of work. Barry found him having a tea party in his lab with her. Harry while looking very annoyed, had done it. It was one of Lexie’s superpowers. She asked and the Justice League did it. Even Nyssa was not immune, spoiling her with gifts constantly and reminding the parents that she had never had anyone love her when she was a child and wanted to give Lexie the love she never had. In other words an effective guilt trip to give her free ring to do as she wanted. Nyssa played that angle twice before Alex got her to admit she was just spoiling the girl. No three year old needs a three thousand dollar diamond necklace.

“I know and I love that but what are we supposed to do? She is three and already so smart. She is starting to realize that she is different, that not everyone can run really fast and fly and… and… she can’t even have blood drawn! She can still get sick, I think but she can’t… what about…”

“Hey, calm down.” Barry told his wife, pulling her close as she buried her head against his chest. “We knew we would have these challenges and we knew we can handle them. Nothing has changed. It will be okay. She will never hate you Kara. She loves you. She always will. The older she gets the more she will be able to understand.”

“Understand that while lying is bad, it is necessary for us? Thinking that she is a freak if she uses her powers, that she is bad? I didn’t want that! I wanted… I just want…”

“Calm down. I know. I want it too, but there are going to be challenges. No she isn’t ordinary she is extraordinary and that is a good thing.”

Barry kissed his wife’s forehead and vibrated his fingers, tickling her ribs, finally getting a chuckle out of the squirming woman. Charlie licked her face as soon as she laughed, tail wagging, ready to play, or go to bed. He was good with either at this point. Kara kissed her husband and asked if he would mind if she took a little time. Barry agreed, promising to try stay up for her and without worrying about changing, Kara shot off into the sky. There were many people she could have talked to. Oliver would listen and not offer an opinion, just let her get it out as he did often when Lexie napped at the Gallery. Alex would assure her that it would be fine and she would believe it because Alex gave her confidence. Caitlin would hold her hand and listen, talk to her about it all night or something totally unrelated to get her mind off her fears.

Tonight though she needed to talk to the one woman she knew would have the answers. Sending a text from the air, she was not surprised, even at Midnight to find Eliza by the front door, ready for her to come in.

Kara sat in the darkened living room on the sofa, while her adopted mother sat next to her. Eliza said nothing, letting Kara take her time, instead patting her hand.

“Dad asleep?”

“No but he knew you would probably want some time with me. What happened?”

“How did you do it?”

“How did I do what?”

“How did you let me out of the house everyday, to go to school, to go to the beach, to go for a walk, knowing anything could happen. Knowing I could be found out, not just the DEO but your friends, neighbors, all it would have taken was one slip and I would have been discovered for what I am. You… how did you do it?”

“She wants to play with other kids, right?” Eliza asked, understanding.

“She thinks using her powers are bad. I’ve told her they aren’t bad but she sees the bracelet as some sort of punishment now. She wants to be around other kids, but what if one pushes her and she becomes angry? What if she pushes one of them and they land fifty feet away? She is three and instead of telling her lying is wrong, I have to explain why it is important at times. How can a three year old tell the difference?”

“She is a very smart three year old, Kara. The IQ test I designed shows for her age she is a genius. But she is also a little girl who is discovering the world. You want to know how I did it? How I let you leave the house everyday, knowing that you were too good for those brats and bullies you went to school with? I made myself. Do you know how many times I wanted to tell you to test out of high school, go to college online, not to protect the world from you but you from the world? Almost everyday. Was I scared of accidents happening? That you might accidentally hurt someone? Yes, but as horrible as this is to say, I wasn’t as much concerned about the person you might hurt, rather how you would feel about it. You would be devastated. You would run and hide and I knew if you really wanted to I couldn’t find you. You and Alex taught me love and anxiety went hand in hand.”

“She wants to go trick or treating. Barry brought it up on front of her. He wants her to go. Now if she doesn’t get to go, I’m the bad guy.”

Eliza sat back and looked at the ceiling, taking a moment before speaking.

“You really think that is what Barry was doing? Setting you up?”

“No. He wants her to go but he wasn’t setting me up. He doesn’t think about what he says around her sometimes. He isn’t with her all day. Thats not his fault, I want him to work but I am the one who is constantly on edge, watching, waiting for something to happen. Today after we closed, Lexie and I were floating in the back yard. I wanted to see if she could begin to get a feel for moving around in the air. She did fine, we had fun and then Barry came into the backyard. She got excited and flew straight for him. No hesitation, not wondering how its done, she just laid her arms out in front and moved. She was so fast, if it had been Oliver, or Alex or Nyssa even, none of them would have been fast enough to get out of her way. Barry healed quickly of course but I heard his sternum break. What would have happened if it had been Alex or Caitlin who walked out?”

“But it wasn’t. Something to learn from. From now on when someone stops by they text or call you first for an all clear. That way Lexie won’t be overexcited.”

“Thats it? I just make up rules as I go along, hoping nothing else pops up?”

“Yep. Thats it Kara. We hope for the best, make it as safe as possible and keep flying with her, let Barry keep running with her. She is very smart and can handle things easily. She will learn faster than you think.”

“She has a hard time with shoes.”

“Thats what velcro was made for.” Eliza countered.

“I don’t know what to do Mom. I love her so much… Diana told me I couldn’t keep her isolated. That it wouldn’t be fair to her. But still I thought… I play with her half the day while Oliver reminds me I should be painting things he could sell and pay his rent. We sing and play and paint and roll around with Charlie. We hike behind the house… I’m not enough though, am I? She is always going to want to be around kids her own age.”

“That’s part of growing up. Everyone knows you are supermom. No one is more dedicated than you. But yes, no matter how cool the mom is, she is going to want to grow, explore, learn about the world through other’s eyes. Remember your senior year, with Alex at college?”

“Yeah… it was strange but kind of cool too. I missed her but we had some great times, right? Watching old movies and eating popcorn. You made me watch every Three Stooges movies and I pretended to like them.”

“You liked them.”

“Okay, they were hilarious. I admit it. But we had each other. That was enough.”

“It wasn’t though. You missed Alex, and no matter what, no matter how horribly you had been treated, ignored, picked on by pathetic brats, if one of them had shown the slightest kindness, you would have been over the moon happy. You wanted to be accepted. Those children never would have accepted you. You were beautiful and good and special and maybe they didn’t know how or why, but they knew. Barry was picked on in school as well. Special kids are always outcasts because other kids know they aren’t and hate them for it. Still, despite the years of mistreatment you wanted to belong, Kara. I saw the hurt in your eyes when we would travel to the beach and your classmates would be playing volleyball and not invite you. I know you, I know your heart and while I wished I could have been enough to make you happy, I wasn’t. Everyone, humans metahumans and Kryptonians need love and acceptance by others, by society. Lexie is going to want that.”

“So what do I do?”

“Give it to her.”

“How? I can’t let her go to daycare even for a few hours. I just can’t.”

“No, but you can be with her in the park and watch her play with other kids, coach her quietly on what to do, keep quietly explaining why she can’t run fast or fly. Maybe some of the Central City police officers have kids her age and she could play with them. That ways you can be with her, talking in the open about it. I’m not saying to throw her into a daycare and let her fend for herself. Lexie has your temper, without the restraint that comes with maturity. If a child pushed her she would send that child through a wall. She is a fighter, like her parents and aunts and uncles. She needs to be exposed to other children. She will eventually come to resent you, all of us, for keeping her away and find a way to play with them regardless or you can control the situations. Ease her into it. Look for opportunities. She wants to go trick or treating, take her trick or treating. Its what kids do until they get too cool for it.”

“You think it will be okay? You are sure?”

“Kara, what is sure in this life? We do the best we can and hope for the best. Once I was sure I had lost you to space. Then I was sure I had lost you and Alex forever. I thought… I almost let Clark convince me you were dead. There were many nights I was certain I would never see you again. But here we are. Am I certain she won’t ever have any accidents? No I am not. No one is. We hope for the best. Its your decision, yours and Barry’s of course, but you know he will do what you feel comfortable with. He will tell Lexie he doesn’t want her to go and distract her with some other game or event. Maybe take her to the airfield for a run, or the practice grounds and let her play with the neat toys. Its your decision. He wants her to go and I think he is right. What you think matters though. Regardless of whether you want her to or not, it is coming, Kara. One day she will have to be involved with other children. Its part of growing up.”

Kara nodded her head then leaned against her mother, who instantly wrapped her arms around her, like she always did.

“She has such a beautiful smile. Her eyes squint, just like yours. She is so beautiful.” Eliza said wistfully, more to herself than Kara.

Kara sniffed and wiped her eyes, kissing Eliza on the cheek and walking out, taking to the sky. She landed in her backyard and checked on Barry seeing him asleep in bed, sitting up, probably waiting on her. She was sure he was exhausted, she knew he had worked a homicide at five AM. Lexie was asleep in her little race car bed. Kara hated taking her out of the baby bed but it was obvious she could get out of it at anytime so something closer to the ground was required.

Moving back to the porch, unable to sleep, she sat on her favorite lawn chair and stared at the stars.

“Please don’t cry. I don’t have to go. I don’t want to go if it makes you cry.” she heard after a few moments. She was so lost in thought she hadn’t realized there were tears on her face or her daughter’s approach.

“Hey, what are you doing up, angel?”

“I heard you cryin.” Lexie explained, rubbing her eyes.

“How could you hear me… never mind, of course you can. Do you ever hear anything else at night that seems… strange?”

“I hear you and Daddy train sometimes like at the play pen.” The play pen was what Lexie called the police bomb disposal range where the Justice League regularly trained.

“Train?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I can hear you both moving a lot and it sounded like you had both been excercisen…”

“Okay thats enough. Yep, training, we do that sometimes before bed. Its important for superheroes.”

“Will I train at night someday?”

“Rao, I hope not.” Kara admitted. “I wasn’t crying, I was just thinking.”

“I heard you.” Lexie reminded her. “We don’t keep secrets when its just us, remember? You and Daddy tell me all the time.”

Kara picked her little daughter up and sat her on her lap, Lexie leaning the back of her head on Kara’s chest and looking at the stars with her mother.

“Lexie, I want to tell you some things. I didn’t think you would be ready this soon, but you are so smart. Too smart for a three year old.”

“Three and a half.”

“Yes, don’t remind me. I want you to stay young forever. You know we are special, that we can do things other people can’t and we have to keep that a secret from others, right?”

Lexie nodded her head quickly.

“We can only tell each other secrets.”

“Yeah, do you know why?”

“Because I can hurt people? I don’t wanna hurt people. I want to be like you and Daddy.”

“I know but that isn’t why we have to keep it a secret. You see, your special, you have these awesome powers that you are going to use one day to help people. But others don’t have that. Kids… kids can be jealous, if they see that you can fly and they can’t. Kids can get scared of people like us who are special because they aren’t as smart as you. That doesn’t mean you are bad or they are bad. They can just be confused. Because of that, we have to keep what we can do a secret. Thats why Mommy and Daddy wear masks. So no one will know who we are.”

“But the police know.”

“Uh… yeah, but they are good guys. But I need you to understand this, when we put your bracelet on, its not because you are being bad. Its just because we don’t want to have any accidents.”

“Okay. I’ll wear it. I will if you want me too.”

“I don’t want you too. I never wanted you too. When I came here, I had a lot of accidents at first and it took me a long time to get control of my powers.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I would get mad and my eyes would burn and I would have to run before I hurt someone or I would forget how strong I am…”

“No, no, no Momma. What did you mean when you say you came here? You mean home?”

Kara relaxed a bit, expecting this question one day. Maybe if she could explain it to her at this age she could grow into it.

“You know how Daddy was born on this planet?”

“Earth.” Lexie agreed. She knew that word well.

“Yeah, well this is a big secret, the biggest and we can’t ever talk about it outside of our big family okay?”

The little girl nodded her head quickly, turning to her side in her mother’s lap and taking her in.

“You know the painting of the dark haired woman and blonde haired man over our fireplace?”

“My grandma and grandpa who are in Heaven.” she agreed.

“Yeah, they weren’t from this planet. They are from another planet. I was born on another planet called Krypton. I am from outer space. Its why I can do the things I can do like flying and being really strong. Its part of why you can do the things you can do.”

“Where is it? Krytin?”

“Krypton. Follow my finger.” Kara pointed to a small cluster of dim stars next to Orion’s belt.

“See those stars?”

“Yeah.”

“One of those stars is what we called Rao. It was our sun. But the planet, it blew up Lexie.”

“Blew up? Like Unca Cisco blows up stuff?”

“Yeah, kinda like that but bigger.”

“Did people get hurt? Is that why grandma and grandpa are in Heaven?”

“Yeah, it is. Everybody got hurt real bad, except me. My Mommy and Daddy put me on a space ship and I landed here. That is when Grandma and Grandpa here, became my parents. Aunt Alex became my sister. I got very, very lucky. But I had to hide what I could do or people would be afraid of me. So I got used to it.”

“Were kids mean to you? Because you were special?”

“Sometimes,” Kara admitted. “But Aunt Alex always took care of the mean kids for me.”

“I don’t want to be around other kids if they are mean.”

“They aren’t. Most of them are really nice and fun to play with I bet. But I… I didn’t have a bracelet when I got here. I had a hard time controlling my powers.”

“Like my accidents… and when I do sometimes on purpose?”

“Yeah you little stinker. I know you use them on purpose sometimes and there is nothing wrong with that. We are going to work really hard for you to get really good at them. But you have to promise me one thing. Around other kids you can’t use them. If you are getting mad or upset you run to Mommy or Daddy and tell us and we can leave before you have any accidents. Do you think you can do that?”

Lexie nodded her head quickly.

“So I can go trick or treating if I wear my bracet?”

“No. I mean yes you can go trick or treating but you aren’t going to need your bracelet. If you get scared or upset you let me know and we can use it together until you feel better, but from now on you only use it if you think you are going to need it to keep our secret. I’m going to trust you. You may have accidents now and then and that is going to be okay but we are going to work really hard not to, okay? You are a good girl, such a smart girl, I know you can handle it.”

“I promise I will. So… I can go?”

“Yep, and you can be anything you want. You tell me who you want to be and we will make you look just like that person. I promise.”

“I want to be you.”

Kara took a breath and wiped her eye, then brought Lexie into a tight hug. “Then I bet Uncle Cisco can make you a costume just like mine.”

“A cape and mask too?” she asked, getting excited.

“Yep, a cape and mask too. But what can’t we do?”

“Use my powers around other people. That’s our secret.” she told her mom quickly.

“You are so smart.”

“I know how Daddy got his powers. Dr. Martin told me.”

“What did Dr, Martin tell you?”

“He got hit by lighting and a cloud of dark energy that was released when a fusion actor blew up. I think I have figured out fusion. That is when things blend together right?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“Why does Dr. Martin look sad when we play games?”

“Sad? What do you mean?”

“He was playing that game with number and silly signs. I think he wanted to make a string, but I told him I used velcro still cause tying shoes was still kinda hard. But the game looked easy, just follow the dots like the maze books you let me play with. He uses these silly pictures for numbers, but I figured them out. So he had a hard time with the game and I showed him on his chalk board where he was wrong and fixed it for him. He said I figured out something about a string story but I’m not really sure what he meant. He just looked sad.”

“You didn’t make him sad. You have to remember though that Dr. Martin and Harry like to play the picture games and don’t always know the answer so we leave them alone. Its more fun if they figure it out themselves, okay?”

“Okay. I probably shouldn’t have reminded him I was three and a half, huh? I told him he would get it one day. What is the string story? It seemed simple but…”

“It’s string theory and it is simple… to people like us who are from outer space. Just remember they have to figure it out for themselves, okay? That way is more fun for them. If you want to start learning numbers, I was going to wait until next year but we can start soon.”

“So I will be ready to go to school like the kids on TV?”

Kara took a deep breath. “Yeah, so you will be ready. I love you so much my smart little Kryptonian. You would have aced your early lessons and probably been on level ten by now.”

“That sounds fun.”

“It was boring.” Kara assured her. “Playing is more fun, so if you want to have fun playing at the park tomorrow you should probably get some sleep, right? We can eat lunch there and you can play with the other kids after you eat. Maybe you will make a friend.”

“Yes! Can I sleep with you and Daddy tonight, or are you going to train?”

“We are definitely soundproofing the rooms in the house. Yeah, you can sleep with us.”

“Can we run really fast and jump on Daddy since no one is watching?”

“Yeah, we can definitely do that.”

A surprised Barry woke up in shock when two blonde haired females landed on him at a very high rate of speed. He had been sitting up, trying to unsuccessfully wait up for Kara. Once Lexie has settled between the two of them she quickly fell asleep, Barry lay on his side, looking at his wife.

“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have put you on the spot like that. I’m going to tell her I don’t think she is ready to go. She won’t blame you, I promise. Sometimes I don’t think and I got excited and…”

“She is going. Without her bracelet. She is three and that is younger than I thought we would have this discussion but she is so smart Barry. I’m pretty sure she is the reason String Theory is no longer theoretical. At least to Martin.”

Barry dropped his head. “That’s why he was crying in his lab. I asked him if he was okay and he kept mumbling something about three and the picture game.”

“You have any idea how many times I have had to watch Harry and Martin struggle over something so simple and I wanted to tell them… but it would break their hearts. I explained to her that they like to figure out their own picture games.”

“Well, at least he won’t cry anymore. So you aren’t mad at me?”

“I should be but everyone screws up now and then.” she teased him. “But next time we talk about this away from her?”

“Absolutely.” Barry promised. He got overexcited when it came to their daughter. He wanted her to experience everything fun he did growing up before his mother died. It was easy to forget that Kara didn’t have the greatest experiences because she was always smiling.

A week later, as darkness fell over Central City, Cisco sat at the controls, using the satellite to watch the Justice League princess walk from house to house surrounded by her entourage. Not all were happy with their costumes but Lexie was overjoyed with hers. True to her word, Cisco had made her a complete costume identical to her mother’s without the defibrillator and solar panels. The chest piece camera was in place so Caitlin, Winn and Cisco could see everything going on. Caitlin was monitoring Lexie’s cells and would tell Kara if she saw any change in her power levels, flare ups or signs the Speedforce may be activated.

“How much did it cost to make her suit, man?” Winn asked. “It has nearly the same tech that Kara’s does. What is her cape made from?”

“A special blend of polymer fabric I made for Kara’s first suit. I just adjusted the ratio of alloys to make it light weight. She can use it to fly one day, because it should help the squirt control her aerodynamics. As far as cost it didn’t cost me a thing. But the whole thing is worth probably twenty thousand. I did the work myself so I got it under seventeen. You are looking at the most expensive, high tech Halloween costume in the history of this world.”

“And Kara and Barry paid for this?”

“Nope, they asked for me to make her a costume like Kara’s. Nyssa came in after they left, threw a credit card on the table and told me it had better be perfect or else. She agreed to forgo the nano tech. I doubt the kid needs more sun. Man, with Barry’s Speedforce already so active in her cells, if she ever came close to having a power outage like Kara used to have, they would just charge back up quickly. This kid can’t be stopped. She would burn the effects of Kryptonite before it had the chance to harm her. I think the red sunlight can dull her strength if she wants it to, much later on in life, but even if someone put her in a red sun cuff, she would just phase through it. Winn, the possibilities this girl has, its a very good thing she is such a sweet kid and has those two for parents or her teenage rebellion years could change timelines. I mean that literally.”

“Okay, wow…”

“Yes and right now she is a three year old trick or treating for the first time so if you could both shut up I would like to watch this.”

While Caitlin had shut down the conversation to enjoy her favorite little girl’s first time in costume, her entourage was less than excited.

“I can’t believe I have to wear this.” Alex grumbled. She wore a Flash costume, very realistic but without the tech. She had lost a bet to Barry, again.

“Shouldn’t have bet on the Indians, Alex. I told you this was the Cubs year.”

“Stop complaining. At least you aren’t dressed like I am.” her blonde sister complained.

Kara had lost a bet to Zatanna, and was decked out in a white, button up shirt, a long tuxedo jacket, a black miniskirt and fishnet stockings, complete with stilettos.

“You told me the Cubs never win Alex.”

“They weren’t supposed to. At least we don’t look like Oliver.”

Oliver said nothing, taking it in stride. He had not lost a bet, but instead fell victim to Lexie and Kara’s eyes, dressed in a costume of green, a Robin Hood hat on his head, with a toy bow and fake arrows on his back.

Barry of course had not lost any bets, causing all to speculate whether he actually ran into the future to find out sports results. Instead he was dressed as Han Solo, complete with fake blaster and the black leather vest. While the group walked from house to house, Lexie saying hi to every kid on the street, some who complemented her outfit as being “so cool”, the grandparents were in Eliza’s minivan following and taking pictures. Nyssa watched from Alex’s motorcycle, insisting they could all be a target clustered as they were and she would watch from a vantage point of cover should defense be needed. Secretly she would not be caught in a costume that did not involve real swords and was enjoying taking pictures of her little niece. She had documented over three hundred photos in an hour while Eliza filmed from the street. Zatanna discreetly followed, wearing a low cut witches outfit that was probably more appropriate for adult Halloween parties and Donna drifted over head high enough to not be seen but close enough that she could see it all. Lexie was being so social, if the little girl had business cards she would have ran out in ten minutes. Luckily the other children responded in kind.

“We are doing good guys. She is relaxed, heart beat and respiratory rate are normal if a bit elevated probably because of excitement. Sugar levels are tolerable but do not let her eat more than one or two more pieces on the street.”

“Caitlin relax. Enjoy this. Come out with us.” Kara asked again. Charlie popped out of her purse, mask in place along with a red cape Kara found adorable and barked agreement.

“I can see everything from the perfect vantage point my dear. Just making sure everything is perfect. She has seen two werewolves and ten zombies so far and no spikes in heart rate. She is fearless.” Caitlin finished with pride.

“Probably because she knows she can kick their butts. She having fun? Any kids need to be dealt with?” Jax asked, walking up with Sara from the gym where they had been working out. Ray had hosted a Halloween kids event at Palmer tech that was still going on. It had been Lexie’s warm up visit.

“Nope, kids are good. She is like Kara, hard to resist.” Winn admitted.

Lexie’s conversations with homeowners had revolved around the phrases trick or treat and thank you. She was good at both. It was the current house she had the most problems, due to a talkative woman in her forties, with a pleasant smile all recognized as fake.

“Aren’t you adorable? And who are you supposed to be?”

Lexie frowned. Even at three, everybody knew who her Mommy and Daddy were.

“I’m Mommy.” she told the woman quickly then slapped her hand over her mouth. The woman looked at the cast of characters with the girl, including the woman in the inappropriate dress that resembled a Vegas cocktail waitress holding a masked dog.

“Mommy?” she asked, looking at Kara in disapproval.

“Uh, yeah, I tell her I’m Superwoman. She gets a kick out of it.”

“So you lie to your child to make yourself seem more exciting. Interesting parental technique. I suppose not everyone believes in telling their children the truth. You look adorable darling. But your mother is not Superwoman. She is a waitress tonight apparently.”

Cailtin began to panic.

“Kara her cells are sparking! She is having a power spike.”

“So am I.” Kara mumbled, keeping a smile plastered on her face.

“Seriously get her out before she fries the woman.”

Barry hearing this, picked up his daughter and held her. He could feel the heat growing.

“Lets go to the next house. By, thanks for the candy and stuff.”

He quickly, slowly for him, moved Lexie down the street, everyone following.

“Mommy, I didn’t like her.” Lexie unnecessarily said. “I almost had to ask for the bracet.”

“Its okay sweetie. Are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah, why did that woman say you were a waitress? How did she not know who I am. You are a big deal. I shouldn’t have said I was dressed like you. That was bad, wasn’t it? I won’t do it again, I promise.”

“Its okay sweetie. I told you accidents will happen sometimes. You did good stopping it. As far as that woman, some people are a bit stand offish. She probably…”

“She was a bit…”

“Alex!” Kara nearly shouted.

“She was.” Alex mumbled, shrugging her red covered shoulders. “Can I take this mask off?”

“No.” the entire group told her, Lexie included. Superwoman needed her Flash and that was Aunt Alex’s job tonight.

“Whoa! Look at that house! The guy on front is dressed like a monster! Lets go there!”

The group continued to move, breathing a sigh of relief that Lexie had calmed, echoed by Caitlin and the rest in the control room. Zatanna considered doing something truly evil to the stuck up lady she considered to be rude to a mother in front of her child. She stopped trying to determine a course of action when Nyssa approached the house.

“Aren’t you a little old to be trick or treating. What is your costume supposed to be?” the lady asked, taking in Nyssa’s tight blue jeans with her blood red shirt underneath her leather jacket.

“I am dressed as an assassin. It is important we blend in, look like anyone, anywhere, a friend, a neighbor, a beautiful woman who visits you without warning. May I offer some advice? Do not criticize parenting techniques in front of their children. Ever.”

“I’m sorry but who do you…”

The woman stopped talking when Nyssa stepped inches from her face.

“I won’t say this again. You will listen to me and take my advice or we will meet socially one day, perhaps when you least expect it. We can trade recipes or compare coupons or perhaps bake something together. Doesn’t that sound fun? Seeing me when you least expect it? Try to sleep well tonight. All sorts of noises in old houses like this, especially on Halloween. You never know what sort of tricks might be waiting for you while you sleep. Have a pleasant night.”

Nyssa walked away, satisfied that she had left the woman shaking.

Even happily married and deeply in love it was good to know she still had it in her to be the most frightening creature in the night, no costume needed.