Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Reborn

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 27:

“Why are you staring at me?” Kara asked. She was sitting at her personal work bench using a plasma cutter to very carefully shape a crystal to the perfect size required for the tracker… a task that would draw the attention of most observers to the skill of her hands. Instead, she could feel the Coluan’s gaze on her back.

Brainy looked away for a moment. “Sorry,” he offered, “it’s not every day you are able to see a legend in person.”

Kara laughed quietly. “So… do you fanboy on any other thousand-year-old dead girls?” she asked.

It was difficult to tell by his green skin, but Kara knew if he could blush he would be. “No… I’m sorry if I am making you uncomfortable. That wasn’t my intention. I suppose… well, I’ve always felt I understood you, or maybe connected to you more than any other hero who has lived.”

Kara snorted, wondering what the two could possibly have in common. “If you feel connected to me, you’ve got some serious issues, Brainy.”

The man took a chance, stepping towards her and taking a seat next to her bench. Kara chanced a glance at him but continued working, grinding and cutting, a shower of beautiful sparkles surrounding her. He was mesmerized.

After watching her work for a few minutes, he felt a growing need to explain. He genuinely wanted her to get to know him a little bit inasmuch as he wanted to learn all he could about the woman who was the foundation of all things that defined a ‘superhero’ in his century. “I know what it means to come from a people, a family you are ashamed of. You had to defeat the rest of your people, your aunt even, to save the world. Now, I am facing the last Coluan beside me… the deadliest one. It isn’t easy, is it? I suppose, in a way, I always saw us as kindred spirits.”

“But we aren’t… and you should be grateful.” Kara told him. Releasing the trigger of the plasma cutter, she looked up at him, a thoughtful expression gracing her beautiful face. “Have you ever killed a Coluan?”

Brainy shook his head.

“Have you ever killed anyone?” she asked.

“The Legion’s primary objective is to protect all life.” he answered truthfully, though somewhat confused at her demeanor.

“That was never mine.” Kara pointed out. Sighing, she looked back down and resumed her work. Her skill was once more on display as she continued speaking without hesitating in her crystal sculpting. “I knew when I started this journey I would have to kill… but I never imagined it would become so easy. You see, once you start killing, it is very hard to stop. It becomes easier with every life you take until life becomes very cheap in your mind. You tell yourself you are killing bad guys to protect the innocent, but that line becomes very blurred, very quickly.”

Brainy said nothing, taking in her sad voice, but understanding her point a little better now. From history, it was known that Supergirl had addiction and mental health problems. Her announcement of this to the world had taken away a lot of stigma for the people who suffered the same.

Earlier today, he had watched, spellbound, as Alex placed some sort of crystal band over Kara’s head for ten minutes. Though he didn’t have the bravery to ask, he suspected Alex had been using the crystal technology to manipulate her sister’s brainwaves to help combat her assumed depression and anxiety.

The man was not only fascinated seeing the interactions between the two sisters, but he and his partners had their breaths taken away when they were released from their personal crystal prisons and shown the Fortress of Solitude… the very real secret lair of Superman.

He had seen many beautiful places in his trips through the Universe, futuristic landscapes and planets capable of amazing technology, miracles in a way, but he had never seen something this beautiful. It was a mixture of the crystal landscapes that must have belonged to Krypton and advanced technology beyond this time.

He saw empty mannequins in nearly translucent cases that most likely held the various suits Kara and Alex must have worn and he had seen the Holy Grail of all superhero-type artifacts lost to history… the suit that would be worn by Superman one day. It was just waiting for the young man to grow into it.

Lar and Garth, despite their sudden and violent introduction to the Fortress, did not want to leave but Batman and Lobo didn’t give them a choice. Brainy had been there for two days now, seen the family unit work together, only leaving to go to the Hotel late at night through the Rann transporter in the basement of the Danvers sisters’ home.

As beautiful as the Fortress was, he was also amazed by their home. It was beautiful but simple compared to what he had always imagined. He had studied the house from the outside once they arrived in Midvale, wondering where Alex Danvers was, but seeing the inside himself was a bit surreal.

Kara and Alex’s parents lived nearby, only a short walk, and it was obvious the family was close, or Kara would have ever built a house in a small town near the parents who had raised her for all intents and purposes.

Bringing himself out of his musings, he briefly wondered where Alex was. Brainy suspected she was either getting lunch or perhaps in a session with the therapist he had met yesterday. Brainy wasn’t sure of her entire name other than Dr. Thompkins. When he had tried to introduce himself, the doctor had said ‘go screw yourself’ and left abruptly.

The Coluan knew, despite Alex and Kara’s parents’ absence, he was not alone with Supergirl. Lobo was in his ship parked outside the Fortress, listening to everything and Batman was somewhere, probably in one of the few shadowy parts of the Fortress. If not, he was probably a step from a transporter, prepared to enter the Fortress at a moment’s notice.

Brainy wasn’t sure why. When he thought through the fact of Supergirl surviving a year in the core of the sun, he understood what she meant by ‘pushing the Earth out of orbit’ when he met her that night.

She was overpowered and he suspected her family was trying to do something about this.

“Thank you for this.” he offered, breaking away from his musings.

Kara briefly turned back to him and then resumed her work. “It isn’t done, and I plan to ensure Seg El never goes off with you. So you may not want to thank me. Once I am done with this Phantom Zone projector, it’s going to be up to you to develop a tracking system. Then I will do everything I can to convince you to fight your own war.”

Brainy shook his head. “I mean thank you for believing us. Even if he doesn’t not return with us, you have given us the means to return to our own time. Can I ask, why do you need to build a new Phantom Zone projector?”

Kara absently answered as she was concentrating mostly on her precision cutting. “The one we made for Indigo is too small for someone to enter. We counted on her going into the box herself.”

“And the ones under our cells?” he asked. “The blue crystal lights… they could have fit any of us.”

Kara pulled back from her work as his words registered, looked back at the startled Coluan and laughed… the first genuine laugh she had since he had been in the Fortress with her. She was still grinning as she explained, “Those weren’t Phantom Zone projectors. They were just blue lights. I didn’t need actual Phantom Projectors… I just had to make you believe they were.”

Brainy was stunned momentarily before he too started laughing. It was true, she had sold it, and he never doubted that he and his friends had Projectors under their feet.

A fleeting look of melancholy crossed her face as her laughter died off and she turned back to her project. “I’m a very good liar… at least I used to be.”

“Well, it appears you are still very good. I bought it. I am usually good at detecting lies… Supergirl, are you okay?” he asked, realizing he was detecting sadness in her tone.

Kara nodded her head, her back still too him. “I only lied to you because I had to. I don’t want to lie anymore… to anyone. Unfortunately, there are lies I will have to tell. I’ve lived lies my entire life, and as far as the world is concerned, I will continue to do so. The people who matter know the truth about me. As far as thanks, if you really want to thank me there is a simple way.”

“Anything you want.” he assured her quickly.

Kara turned towards him and smiled. “You really do have it bad. Seriously… are there any other thousand-year-old dead chicks you have a thing for?”

It was the Coluan’s turn to look away from the amused look on her face. “No. Like I said, I just felt like we had somewhat of a connection. So… how can I repay you for your kindness?”

Her expression turned serious. “You were explaining to us that there were statues of Supergirl and Superman in front of your headquarters… that we served as the inspiration for your ‘Legion of Superheroes’. But you don’t understand who Supergirl was and I want to rectify that.

“Knock that statue of me down and build another one… one of me and my sister standing together.”

Brainy had not been expecting that. Although he was a twelfth level intellect, he didn’t really understand what she was asking him to do. Wanting to be precise, he probed a little, offering suggestions. “We could build a statue of her next to yours. What moniker would she like? She has a couple known to history. Also, which suit do you think she would want since she has more than one?”

Kara shook her head. “No. Make it as she is, as you see her now, standing next to me. As far as monikers, just put a plaque on the front that says ‘Supergirl’. She was as much Supergirl as I was. In fact, without her, there never would have been a Supergirl, much less a Superman. Supergirl was just a title, created by Cat Grant… but together, we were the ones who made her real.”

Kara was quiet a moment seemingly lost in thought. “When I arrived on this planet, I was a scared kid on a new world who didn’t speak the language. On top of that, I had a baby to look after with hardly any supplies. I was also chased by the government, minutes after I arrived. It was a stressful time to say the least.

“I ran until I could run no more… I was forced to stop because there was literally no more land. I stopped running right where my house now sits. I found a small cave and hoped it would give me a good enough hiding spot for a few days to collect myself, to consider the best plan of action even though I didn’t even have a worst plan of action.” A dreamy look broke over Kara’s face as she smiled. “That’s where she found me.”

Brainy listened intently. Everyone in the Universe knew that Supergirl and Superman were raised by humans, both from Lois Lane’s comprehensive books depicting the story of the two and Kara’s own press conference when she announced her mental health and substance abuse issues. He had met her parents and the others she called family, namely Lobo, J’onn and Batman, though he wasn’t sure about who the woman was that told him to ‘go screw himself.’

“She found you in a cave?” he asked in wonder.

Kara nodded. “I wasn’t paying attention, lost in my thoughts and she saw me entering the cave. She should have been scared, but she wasn’t. Instead, she was… kind and she didn’t tell anyone about me.

“She didn’t even understand me… I mean, I couldn’t speak English and she obviously couldn’t speak Kryptonese, but we communicated with each other in our own way. She brought me food, everything I needed for the night. She came the next morning just as I woke up from a nightmare and my heat vision exploded. Do you know what she did?”

“Ran?” Brainy guessed thinking that was what any reasonable person would do.

Kara shook her head, a soft look on her face. “She grabbed me from behind and began talking to me, helping me calm down. Eventually… she gave me her bed, her room, her birthday, her family… just… her everything. She even taught me the hard way not to drink ocean water. She slept with me when I cried at night, she was there when I woke up from nightmares. If it weren’t for her, things would have gone very differently in my life.

“When I realized… when I understood that one day, I would have to fight my people to protect humans from them, the two of us began to train. We were trained by some very dangerous men. I worked hard to perfect my powers, my flight, speed, heat vision. There were so many times I wanted to give up. But Alex… she trained harder so that she could watch my back… so she could somehow join me in fighting against Kryptonians.

“I would get headaches from the stress of using my heat vision too often, I would get frustrated knocking down trees while trying to navigate sharp turns. Alex though, when she trained, it hurt. She learned so many skills, things no 14-year-old should have to learn. She did it with a human body. She never admitted it, but I knew she hurt. She constantly had bruises, cuts, her hands ached when she began learning to fire a gun, her knuckles stayed scraped. She played soccer in school and still never missed a training session. She went through hell to be by my side and keep me from losing myself to my own darkness. She even held me for days from behind when I went through withdrawals because she knew I was afraid of restraints.”

Brainy shook his head. He had always relied on his mind, his intellect. He could fight but never had that level of combat training. He understood what Kara was saying but he never heard it described that way. The pain this human girl must have gone through because of a deep love and unwavering loyalty to someone she owed nothing to.

“That’s amazing.” He said, truly awed by what she told him.

Kara nodded. “I only took the red ring during the fight with Doomsday because I thought he killed her. Afterward, on the way back from Ysmault, she cleaned me up even though I was soaked in blood from head to toe. Another thing for your history books… she single-handedly killed a Worldkiller and nearly died herself.

“So yeah, put up a statue of both of us and just let it be called Supergirl because we both were. Everything good I ever did… it came from her being my sister.”

“I promise, I will see it done personally.” he said, his heart touched by all she had told him before another thought occurred to him. “Of course Legion headquarters may be destroyed by Brainiac so it could be a moot point.”

Kara snorted. “You said every generation had its legends. I have no doubt with or without Seg, your heroes will win. Okay… I have some doubt. “

Despite the seriousness of the situation Brainy found himself softly laughing along with her. Then he realized something. “You want to die, don’t you?”

Kara stiffened. She set the plasma torch down and turned, giving him all her attention. “I’m guessing that wasn’t a threat. You’re a Coluan so you have to be smarter than that.”

Brainy held up his hands. “I didn’t mean that. I just mean…”

“If I wanted to die, I would have given up in the sun. I want to live.” Kara said a little more forcefully.

Brainy shook his head. “That’s not what I meant. The red lights in here… you are trying to depower, to somehow live without your powers. You want to grow old, die.”

Kara relaxed at his words and shrugged her shoulders. “You really want to see a superpowered woman mad with grief and anger flying around the Universe? I don’t want to live forever without my family, knowing it could be thousands of years if I ever saw them again. So yeah, I’ve lived without my powers before and in a couple weeks I will be done with them again.

“What about you? Coluans are immortal, aren’t they? Do you want to see all your teammates die while you live forever?”

Brainy felt a chill at the thought. He had never really considered it before. “I age much slower, but I am not immortal. The average Coluan lived for 500 years. Of course, Indigo allowed herself to be assimilated with technology that broke her body into bits of data, and Brainiac has remained alive for a millennium because he has modified his body with technology he has recovered, making him more machine than man. But I understand what you are saying. You want to live naturally and die naturally…”

Kara turned her back to the Coluan once again and made a few adjustments to the crystal. “Okay, it’s the right size. Alex will have to engineer the crystal to do what we need it to do.”

“You cannot do so yourself?” Brainy asked, greatly surprised.

Kara shook her head. “I never had to. Alex unlocked the secrets of these damn things. She can work miracles with them. I have always been responsible for engineering projects… making weapons, her jet, her suits. I never needed any crystals for those. Alex, however, needed crystals to help me so, of course, she became an expert. I’ve recently been inside her head, so I have the knowledge but it’s best if we both stick to our expertise.”

The Coluan’s brow crinkled in confusion. “Inside her…”

“Long story, don’t ask, shouldn’t have mentioned it, it’s none of your business.” Kara cut him off before he could say anything else.

The hum of the transporter told them Alex had arrived. She walked over quickly, almost at a run.

“Everything okay?” the brunette asked, looking at Kara and ignoring Brainy.

Kara smiled at her. “Of course. Like a non-modified Coluan can take me? How was… what you needed to do?” she finished, talking about her session with Leslie.

“Like usual.” Alex told her.

“So, not good?” Kara guessed.

“It was good.” Alex assured her. “Lobo called saying he needed a nap and that you have the crystal cut. I need a fresh DNA sample from you and your green pal needs to go back to the hotel.”

She finally turned and acknowledged the Coluan’s presence. “Batman will be waiting for you in our basement, so don’t get any ideas about checking Kara’s room for whatever freaks like you look for, Brainiac Lite.”

“Alex?” Kara asked, confused by her tone.

“Have you seen the way he looks at you? Take your eyes off of him and a pair of your panties could wind up a thousand years in the future.” Alex explained.

Kara admitted Alex had a good point. He had been making her a bit uncomfortable.

Brainy stood up and raised his hands. “I am a great admirer of you both, but I would not…”

“You’re obsessed with my sister.” Alex pointed out. “You aren’t the first and it never ends well… for anyone. Keep your eyes off her. We are interrupting our lives and doing a job so you can get back to your own time. Stop perving or I might let my little brother know if I don’t decide to deal with you myself.”

Brainy stood up as Kelex came walking towards him to escort him out of the room. The girls got the idea that Kelex was not a fan of a Coluan. He returned shortly to the sisters as they were examining the projector plans.

Alex shook her head. “Kelex, how is this going to work? I know this crystal is a beacon, something Kryptonian DNA should be drawn to but I know a Phantom Zone projector can easily be opened from the inside to let other creatures out. He swears it will happen quickly enough that Seg will be drawn out. What about you? What do you think?”

Kelex shook his head. “We listen to his full plan and I will tell you if it is feasible, but you are right. We cannot risk letting any unknowns out of the Phantom Zone especially into the Fortress. Has he explained the process?”

Kara looked at Alex who explained what Brainy had told her. “All he has said is he needs to enter the Phantom Zone to track him and bring him back.”

Kara did not like that idea but let it go for now. “Fine, let’s make the Phantom Zone projector, we finish the beacon and we set a window of five seconds. If Brainiac Jr. does not come out with or without Seg in that time, we close the projector.” she suggested.

“Right after we throw the other two in it.” Alex added.

Kara looked sharply at her sister who remained unapologetic. “You said you couldn’t send the Daxamite to the Phantom Zone. You never said I couldn’t. Not that I would ask your permission, little sis. I make the rules, remember?”

Kara smiled fondly. “Since the day those adoption papers were signed. How could I forget? Let’s finish up these projects and bring little Green into the Fortress in the morning. Lobo can keep a gun pressed to his head if he doesn’t behave around the toys. He doesn’t touch them, no matter what.”

The two girls and Kelex began to work again, fine tuning a larger device they had made in what seemed like another lifetime.

They worked in silence, but it was a comfortable silence, with no tension. Despite the various scenarios that could play out, the many ways things could go wrong, neither were worried. They had faced worse situations and always came out on top sooner or later.

While the three worked together and Eliza prepared food for her immediate and extended family, Clark sat on the beach with Lana, watching the sun set over the water.

“This view never gets old.” Clark said.

Usually this was the point Lana would complain how boring the town was and how she would rather be seeing the lights of a Metropolis skyline.

Instead, he heard nothing from his usually talkative girlfriend. “Lana? You’re quiet tonight. Something wrong?”

Lana smiled and lifted her head, staring at the sky. “I was watching this video on the net. That guy from Metropolis running for senator or governor or… something, he had this debate thing. I guess the guy he was running against was slamming aliens. Anyway, this guy started talking about the Invasion. I guess I never really thought about how close we came to losing the whole planet before.”

Clark was surprised. He was the one who was personally affected by it. To his friends, it seemed like some Sci Fi movie that stories were told about that got larger and grander as time went by. “Politicians have been arguing for over a year now. Why is this a big deal to you all of the sudden? I didn’t know you bothered to listen to stuff like that.”

Lana looked sharply at Clark. “I’m not stupid. I know you think I’m an airhead and maybe I don’t get perfect grades like you, but I do have a brain. I think about things all the time.”

Clark thought of arguing that wasn’t what he meant but let it go with a simple ‘sorry’.

The two sat in silence a few minutes more as the stars shined brighter in the sky.

“So what did this guy say that bothered you so much?” he asked to break the chilly silence.

She looked thoughtful as she continued to watch the sky. “He pointed out that the invasion was over so quick because of Supergirl. The Justice League struggled with just one of those monsters in Metropolis but Supergirl took out that monster lady in National City and then defeated like the whole fleet of star destroyers or whatever was up there. If she wasn’t there, if she hadn’t sacrificed herself to kill that lizard king, they would have landed and humans could have been at war for years, and probably lost. I turned it off and walked into the living room. My Dad was watching the news.”

Lana paused for a moment and took a breath. “There was an Earthquake in National City this morning. A bridge collapsed… a bus fell off it and a bunch of other cars. I guess it just hit me.”

“That Supergirl is gone?” Clark guessed.

“Not just that but everything could be gone. We know there are aliens on Earth. There are some good guys and there are some bad guys but what is going to happen the next time some space army attacks? Nobody had to worry about it before. Supergirl took care of it. But now? I guess I realized the future is scarier than I thought. No matter what we do, the world could end someday just because some alien army wants our planet. That guy was right. Even the Justice League is gone now. Humans don’t really have a chance when it happens again.”

Clark was surprised to see a tear drop run down her cheek. Lana wiped it away and smiled. “I guess I’m just being dumb. Teenage angst and all that. I usually leave that department to you but today for some reason… seeing that bus fall off that bridge, it hit me. One day, if I have kids, maybe I can tell them about the time I grew up in, the time nobody had to worry about the world falling apart because Supergirl kept it together. It was nice while it lasted, huh?”

Clark sat quietly, taking it in. Lana was usually not one to think deeply about things. Clark could understand. After all, he hadn’t known there was an Earthquake in National City.

“How many died?” he asked quietly.

Lana shrugged her shoulders. “A lot. It was bad. Never live on the West Coast, right?”

Clark shook his head slightly; glad Kara had sworn off the news. She really didn’t need to see that.

The boy took her hand gently. “Maybe you shouldn’t give up. Hope is always out there; you just have to find it. My Dad’s been telling me that a lot this past year. I’m not sure he believed it, but my sister Alex, she is a big believer in hope. She believed so strongly… just don’t give up. Maybe there is hope for this planet. Who knows, some other superhero might show up.”

Lana laughed quietly and squeezed his hand. “You think somebody could be as strong as the Girl of Steel?”

Clark nodded. “Maybe. Maybe one day there will be a Man of Steel.”

“I hope he is on our side.” Lana said quietly. “What about you, Clark? You have the tall, dark and brooding look. You would look good in blue tights. Are you going to be man… or steel?”

Clark smiled at her. Lana could be annoying at times, but he did love her humor. “I guess I will have to figure it out one day. Probably not the best time to ask since you are worried about space invaders but Kara and my Dad usually star gaze in about an hour. Want to beat them to the telescope? I have a pretty good knowledge of the stars.”

Lana stood up and offered her hand to him. “Clark Danvers asking me to stargaze with him. Who knew you could be romantic? Let’s go. Show me the Universe.”

Fortress of Solitude, the next morning

“You looked really cute last night. I’ve never heard you giggle before.” Kara’s eyes held such mischievousness that Clark rolled his.

“Leave it, Kara.” Clark told her.

“Pointing out the constellations to Lana, holding hands, letting her look after you secured the perfect view. You are such a player, Clark. I don’t know if I should be proud or concerned. I’m going to stick with proud.” Kara decided.

“Don’t you and Alex have some big science project with your stalker from the future this morning?” Clark asked petulantly.

Kara punched him in the shoulder. “Come on, he’s not that bad.”

Clark looked at her in disbelief. “He’s a Coluan… who hangs out with a Daxamite. Are you falling for him? Does he have a black or red spandex suit I don’t know about?”

Kara raised an eyebrow, surprised at how bold her brother was this morning. “Wow, he actually acts like a boyfriend one night and now is mister confident. Maybe you shouldn’t be here this morning. It might get a little dangerous. I would hate to see the Boy of Steel get hurt. There are going to be red lights on.”

Clark shook his head, irritated at her ribbing. “Yeah, I think I’ll stay. When you get that crystal inside you, I am going to toss you around in the ocean. I won’t need powers to do it. Just because you’re hopped up on sunbeams now doesn’t mean you will be for long.”

Kara crossed her arms and smirked. “Clark, I’m an expert at five different styles of martial arts and a former member of the League of Assassins.”

Clark thought for a moment then shrugged his shoulders. “Fine, I’ll need my powers. Still gonna toss you into the water.”

Kara laughed but soon donned a serious face hearing the transporter activating. She walked over to Alex and her parents and watched the Coluan being brought in by Batman with J’onn and Lobo following closely behind him.

“Good morning…” Brainy started.

“Morning… now tell us how to make the final piece.” Alex cut off his greeting. “I’m ready to send you back to the future, McFly.”

Brainy looked at Alex, not sure why she called him that particular name but considering how many she had referred to him by already, he decided an explanation wasn’t worth asking for.

“You have already made the final piece. That would be the DNA seeker. It will act as a rope if you will. As I go in, one end of the line will take me to Seg El while the other stays at this moment in Fortress connected to Supergirl’s DNA. I will be back in 2.4 seconds.” he explained.

Alex shook her head. “Wait a minute. You are using one Kryptonian to anchor to another? I thought this was just to find Seg El. How do I know you won’t pull her in.”

“First, it isn’t a physical link, simply a path of light to follow. She isn’t an anchor; she is a homing beacon. Secondly, what possible motive would I have to bring her into the Phantom Zone with me?” Brainy asked.

Kara ignored his question, fixated on something else he had said. “You are telling me that when you enter the Phantom Zone, it will only take you 2.4 seconds to find him and bring him out?” she asked him.

“No, of course not. I’m not sure how long I will be in there.” Brainy said as he attempted to explain. “Time has no meaning in the Phantom Zone. But when we exit from the projector we should return to this spot 2.4 seconds from the time I enter. Any longer and you should close the portal. We cannot take the chance of anything getting out and that is the safest amount of time I can guarantee.”

Kara stepped up to the Coluan and grabbed him by his collar jerking him up on his feet. “I agreed to give you one hour to talk to him. It’s now apparent to me that you can have as much time as you want… years, centuries even. You could tell him that you won’t let him out if he doesn’t agree to help you. That wasn’t part of the deal.”

Brainy began to panic, seeing her teeth clench and a glow growing in her eyes, one he hadn’t seen since the first night in the Fortress after their arrest. “I won’t do that. You are going to have to trust me!”

“Look around you!” She screamed. “The people in this room, I trust. You, I don’t know. I don’t understand what I did in my career that makes people in the future think I’m stupid but I’m not. You’re a Coluan, you plan for every contingency! Are you going to look me in the eye and tell me you didn’t plan to make some pitch to him when you found him? I should kill you now!”

“Kara!” Alex yelled, placing her hands on her sister’s shoulders. “Calm down. Put him down and let Lobo handle him. It’s okay.”

Kara’s eyes turned back to blue and she dropped the man, who crumpled to the floor.

“Sorry.” Kara whispered to Alex, the two lost for a moment in their own little bubble.

Alex smiled, rubbing her sister’s back to help her settle down. “It’s always going to be there. We just have to control it. It’s okay, sweetie. I want to beat him too, but it won’t solve our problem.”

Looking at the others in the room, Alex said, “We have a decision to make. None of us are going into the Phantom Zone to get him out. With this new information, we’re not letting him go so we need to talk about what we do now.”

“I’ll go.” Batman told the girls. “I can find him and bring him back.”

“No one is going in there that I love!” Kara told him fiercely. Pointing to Lobo and J’onn she said, “Don’t even think about it you two.”

Alex was still rubbing Kara’s back to keep her calm, the rest of the group was taking a collective breath to compose themselves and Brainy was laying on the ground hoping not to be killed by anyone, when the Phantom Zone Projector suddenly opened.

It happened so quickly not even Kara could comprehend what was happening fast enough to stop it.

Kelex had taken the crystal and walked into the Phantom Zone. Two heartbeats later he walked out, holding a familiar looking man around the shoulders.

The Projector turned off and Kelex placed the crystal on the ground, using his foot to shatter it.

“I’m not going to apologize. I was never going to let any of you go.” The AI told the stunned group. Only the hum of the Fortress could be heard in the silence that followed. After a few moments, Kelex formally introduced his new companion. “May I present to you, Seg El. I taught him English while I was in the Phantom Zone, caught him up to date on all the news: Krypton, his children, grandchildren and his heroic great-grandchildren.”

The dark-haired man took in the ones before him. He appeared worn, tired but his eyes were bright.

“Clark.” he whispered. Then his eyes turned to Kara.

“You look so much like Nyssa.” he told her walking slowly towards her then stopped.

The three Kryptonians stood silently, close to each other but not moving, not sure what to do.

Alex solved the problem when she pulled Seg into a hug. “Welcome to the Danvers family.”

The man laughed in surprise but hugged her back, she backed away and he opened his arms towards his great-grandchildren. They both grabbed hold, Kara trying not to squeeze too tightly due to the red lights that flooded the Fortress.

“It’s good to meet you.” Kara told him, backing up.

Seg took in the gathered people. “So… I understand we have a collection of heroes here. And a Coluan.”

The man looked at Kara once more. “From what your Kelex has told me, you definitely have Nyssa’s spirit .”

Kara grinned almost shyly as she replied, nodding towards Clark, “ And he has yours. “

“Eliza and Jeremiah?” he said, catching their eyes. The two walked up to him and offered their hands. Seg took them both. “Thank you for loving and protecting my family.”

“Thank you for protecting them first.” Eliza said sincerely, obviously awed at the surreal events.

Seg looked back at Alex, smiling. “I understand I have two great-granddaughters. That’s going to take some getting used to. I still think I’m 27. I am 27. Right? I don’t look old, do I?”

The general laughter around the room further eased the tense atmosphere.

He looked around and nodded towards J’onn J’onzz and stopped at Batman. Looking at Kara and Alex he said, “ Kelex wasn’t joking. He does dress like a bat.”

Then he saw Lobo.

“Who are you?” he asked, concern in his eyes.

“Name’s Lobo.”

Seg turned quickly to Kelex. “That’s Kara’s husband?!”

Kelex shook his head, ignoring the collective groan that erupted from the group and the shout of outrage coming from Jeremiah. “Just thought I would have a little ‘welcome back from the Phantom Zone’ prank when we arrived.”

“So… not Kara’s husband.” Seg looked relieved while Lobo was mumbling under his breath. Kara started laughing, seeing as she was the only one who could actually hear the big guy, thanking Rao her father couldn’t hear him.

Seg turned back towards the Czarnian and looked up at him. “But you were the one who borrowed a Zeta Beam to retrieve Kara from Ysmault, right?”

Kara looked sharply at Kelex. “How much did you tell him?” she asked.

Kelex raised his arms. “Just the basics… you know, House of El drama, Krypton being gone, Myriad, crime fighting, Doomsday, red ring, mass slaughter of White Martians, Worldkillers… which led to more House of El drama, coming back from the sun, that sort of thing. I thought it best I get it all out of the way.”

Seg held up his hands. “Can we hold on for a moment? I promise we will get to that. I’ve already had an emotional breakdown over what I learned from Kelex and am doing much better now. Lobo, who did you get the Zeta Beam from?”

“A little thief from Earth who stole it from Rann. He owed me for saving his ass getting him out of there and…” Lobo said.

“Adam Strange?” Seg cut in.

“Yeah, that’s him.” Lobo answered, surprised.

Seg smiled and patted Lobo on the chest. “Could someone get that bastard on the line and tell him to get over here, wherever we are located on this planet? Oh and you, Coluan… hiding on the floor. You are going to tell me everything about Brainiac 13. I have some unfinished business with that asshole.”