Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Seeing Red

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 16: Facing Truths

Clark walked carefully into the room where his mother, father and sisters sat in a circle of chairs along with the lady who he gathered was a friend of Barry from her conversations with Alex and the genius Batman hired named Shay.

“Mom? You wanted me? I won’t listen, I promise. I was just playing on the X Box. I promise, no need to threaten me with grounding.”

“I wanted you here, Clark.” Kara told him, surprising the boy.

“I thought this was a family meeting? I don’t come to those. You have said a lot that if I ever came to one, you would stop coming or you wouldn’t say anything. Are you feeling okay? You’re not dying, are you?”

Kara should have laughed but couldn’t find it in her. She knew the boy was serious. Even Alex had suggested Clark be included in family meetings in the past, considering he was probably listening and hearing more than he needed to constantly, regardless.

“Yeah, I was wrong. No surprise. You are a part of this and you deserve to be here. I want you here. Come sit by me.”

“So, you aren’t dying?”

“No, I’m not dying.” Kara assured him.

He cautiously took a seat next to her, Alex on his other side. His mom and dad were smiling so it couldn’t be anything too bad.

“Okay doctors. We are all here. Break the news to me.” Kara started.

Caitlin looked towards Shay. Shay knew she was technically the physician in charge of this facility, so it was on her. She prayed that the antipsychotic Kara had the night before was out of her system. She truly did not want an enraged, fully powered Kryptonian to deal with… or run from. She knew Kara would be angry when she was brought in at first, even violent after beginning withdrawals. That was no problem, price of working in this field. Seeing the video of the girl crashing through a wall last night and the blur her fists made as they swung at her hallucination brought it home to the woman just how important it was to not get the medications wrong. She was a force of nature that had lost her grip on reality for a few moments and caused quite a lot of destruction.

“As you know, your parents have been working on antianxiety medication for a couple years. I have been working, building on their work for the past six months. We have not made any real progress until you arrived and we could examine your blood and samples of your DNA. The sedatives have been working, and I think with some fine tuning the mood stabilizers…”

“Why am I taking those?” Kara interrupted. “I understand the antidepressants but why antipsychotics? Those are usually called for in bipolar or schizophrenic cases. Do you think I am either of those?” the blonde asked. She didn’t have any anger in her voice, just genuine curiosity because at this point, after everything she had experienced so far here, she had no idea.

“We want the mood stabilizers to help with the PTSD. Your next counselor you are scheduled to meet with will talk about some of the different ways these could help. I promise, we are not trying to give you anymore medication than you need.” Veritas told her quickly and what she hoped was calmly.

Kara knew though, and a look at her family’s faces told her they, apart from Clark, knew.

Shay Veritas was afraid of Kara.

The blonde was not surprised. She had that effect on people and aliens. Nothing could clear out an alien bar faster than the sight of Kara Zor El walking inside.

“I know. I was just wondering.” She told the woman quietly.

Veritas almost visibly relaxed and glanced at Caitlin, hoping she would take over. Kara seemed calm and had been calm apart from last night. Since the sedatives began and she slept around ten hours of a 24-hour period, she was noticeably more relaxed. Caitlin caught the look and decided she would have to take it from here.

“So…” she began… “Jeremiah, Alex and Eliza have been working with the dosages of the medication with us, triple checking our results I suppose you could say. Kara, trying to determine the correct dosages while you are powered is difficult. With your body already metabolizing solar energy, the speed it is metabolizing the medication makes it difficult to determine a correct dose.”

Caitlin tried to swallow but her mouth was suddenly very dry. It annoyed her a bit that Veritas was pushing this on her.

“We also can’t develop a dosage for one metabolic state that will be correct for the other and the biggest problem…”

“I know.” Kara interrupted her, sensing how nervous the woman was becoming, hearing her heart rate increase. This was a woman who had been kidnapped by Zoom, kidnapped by Mick Rory, nearly killed by her evil doppelganger and she was nervous talking to Kara.

“The technology does not exist here, or probably anywhere, that would allow a drug to reduce or increase its potency immediately based on the amount and type of solar radiation in my body.” Kara told them but was mostly talking to herself.

“It was a great idea in theory. I take a few pills and everything is fine. If I want to feel normal the drugs reduce in potency immediately so I don’t die and if I want to power up they jump up their game so I don’t lose the effects. Antidepressants need time to build up in a system, just like mood stabilizers do. If the drug does not work as designed my body could burn it out in seconds. It’s impossible. I know. I think I have known since this started. I have to make a decision. Live with my powers full time, or have a red solar crystal implanted in my body and live without them, permanently.”

No one spoke for a moment, a moment that stretched longer than a minute. The two doctors were watching the family carefully. Kara sat forward, elbows on her knees and stared at the floor, Alex looked ahead, eyes not focused on anything but her hand rubbing Clark’s back.

It was obvious from the look on Jeremiah and Eliza’s face they knew what they wanted her to do but were doing their best not to show it.

“Thank you, both of you. Can we have the room? We will have a decision shortly.” Kara told them. The two doctors left quickly and quietly.

None of the five said anything, no one really knowing where to start or who should talk first.

“I want you to quit. I want both of you to quit.” Clark told Kara but looking between his two sisters.

“If she quits I am done too. Promise, Squirt.”

“I also want you to stop calling me that.”

“Not going to happen.” Alex told him, then looked at Kara, who had yet to meet anyone’s eyes.

After a few more moments of silence, Kara looked at her little brother.

“I wouldn’t be able to fly with you anymore.” She told him.

“I’ll carry you in the air, like you have done for me before.” he offered. “I’ll stop if you want me to, anything if you will just quit.”

Kara sat up straight and took his hand.

“Clark, sometimes this world, it is…”

“It doesn’t have to be you! I always thought it was cool that you were Supergirl but I don’t want to lose you and I just know I will if you don’t stop.”

“You will never lose me.” The girl assured him.

“I almost lost you when you blew up that Kryptonite all over the place to kill those other guys who wanted to kill us. I almost lost you when you tried to kill yourself! I stayed by your bed for weeks and you hardly talked. You would have died if you had put any red sunlight near you the night before they brought you here! Don’t tell me I won’t lose you! I don’t care about Supergirl or that stupid symbol that was supposed to belong to our house or whatever it was called. I just want you to stop. Please, Kara!”

“Clark, calm down.” Eliza whispered, standing behind the boy now. “It’s going to be okay.”

Clark wasn’t sure but he did as his mom requested.

Kara took a deep breath and glanced at Alex.

“I go where you go. Your call.” The older sister said immediately.

“You will quit? No more crime fighting, no more DEO?”

“Yes, she will.” Clark answered, not leaving room for discussion.

Alex shook her head, humored and wondering why she hadn’t insisted Clark be involved years ago.

“You quit, I quit. I am brilliant after all and I say it humbly. I can do a lot of things. I’m sort of tired of dealing with monsters all the time. As long as I can keep my staff and we can save a lot of money on airfare by holding onto Scarlett but yeah, no more. If you want to keep doing it, I am fine with that too.”

Kara nodded her head, a little annoyed but not surprised. Alex would never tell her how she really felt.

“But,” Alex surprisingly continued, “I hesitate to bring this up because it was traumatic as well, probably one of the worst things you have ever gone through, but the Black Mercy. I was in your head, Kara. I saw your perfect world and it had nothing to do with flying or heat vision or Krypton. You were happiest there and you weren’t Supergirl. I saw how happy you were. When you first landed, you talked about finding a way to get rid of the powers, wanting to forget. Maybe you can never forget but you can get rid of them. We will be safe. We don’t need powers to be safe and to keep them safe. We could both have something resembling normal lives. Sure, we may have an ice fortress filled with alien tech and space ships and weapons, complete with a flying robot butler but we can sort of have a normal life. Kelex can keep us up to date on any threats long before they make a move.”

Kara was surprised. She hadn’t expected Alex to bring any of that up. Her sister had been thinking of this for a long time apparently.

“You want me to quit?”

Alex nodded her head. “I’ll beg if I have to. We don’t need this. The world can take care of itself.”

“And if something happens, if something comes that the world can’t handle?”

“Then we use the transporter to get to the Fortress, get into our space ship and get the hell off this planet. How much more do we have to give? We saved every life on this planet once. You gave up your childhood to do it. Do you have to give up your sanity as well? We don’t owe this world anything, Kara. Its time to take care of us. That’s my opinion.”

Kara looked towards her parents, noting Eliza had tears and a hopeful look on her face. Perhaps they had not all talked about this beforehand because Jeremiah seemed relieved by Alex’s opinion. The blonde really didn’t need to ask them. Their opinions were obvious.

“I hate the idea of you being vulnerable, Kara. I always have” Eliza started.

“But I know you don’t have to have your powers to make yourself vulnerable. I am frightened all the time, wishing I could find a way to make you smile, the same way you smiled the first time we went to the Botanical Gardens in Raleigh or the way you light up when you see some new creature in nature. I have given it a lot of thought… for the past three or four years, honestly after Myriad, and I think with the right medications, therapy and not feeling like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, without these powers that make you feel so alone even when you aren’t, I think you could be happy. I wouldn’t worry constantly that you are going to… kill yourself.”

The woman began squeezing her hands together and closed her eyes, having said her peace and waiting for her daughter to decide if the nightmare could really end. Jeremiah cleared his throat.

Kara met his eyes, turned away for a moment, not sure she wanted to hear the words and then looked at him once more. She saw the same fear in his eyes that Eliza had but his was muted, not as obvious. All she really saw was the love in his eyes and the same look of determination he had when he knew the two might have a disagreement and was determined to get what he wanted from her. He had failed at that for many years on an assortment of things, from alcohol to men, to careers.

“Kara, I can see you know how I feel and you knew how Eliza would feel before she said it. I don’t have to tell you. What I can do is make you a promise. This isn’t me attempting to bribe you… okay this is me attempting to bribe you.”

Kara smiled, not having laughter in her but being amused at her father none the less. He did have a way of swaying her to his way of thinking quite a bit. Plus, if she were honest with herself, she probably did try to please him more than the others, except when it came to the last few years.

“I do love bribes.” Kara joked.

“If you leave, we all leave. The super suits, both of yours, stay at the Fortress. We move back to Midvale, all of us. I know how badly you want to live there again. Eliza and I talked to the head of the genetics lab at UNC Raleigh. He has a project we are very interested in. Alex has an idea for research paper she has always wanted to have published. You can install a transporter in the house somewhere and we could get to the Fortress quickly if need be. We could still be safe and we would be home, back to where we were before this started. I know that is always where we as a family have been happiest. We could have that again.”

Of all the things Kara was expecting, this was not it. He knew her well, of course. Even under the alcohol and anger, depression, Kara was still just a little girl wanting to be home and in her mind, home had always been Midvale.

“You both, all three of you will quit the DEO?”

“We were only there to be able to help you and Alex. If you stop, we all stop and we go home. You could fix that piece of junk bike Bruce gave you and sell it, take the money, open your own restoration shop or anything else you want. You can do something you are passionate about, anything. You planned to do this when you were thirty. So, we jump up the timeline by six years.”

Kara sat back and tilted her head to the ceiling. She was not surprised they all wanted her to quit. What did surprise her was how desperate they seemed about it, especially Clark. She had thought he would be against it. He loved reading and hearing about her and Alex’s adventures. Maybe the reality of everything had occurred to him. He watched her self-destruct. She always thought and hoped that he would be the one not to notice the path she was on, but he had, not just the suicide attempt either.

Finally taking a deep breath, she took Clark’s hand.

“What do you want to do, Kara?” Alex asked her.

She could have asked for time to think, probably should. This was a huge decision. It would affect all of them, not just Kara. It would affect the world.

But the world didn’t matter because Kara knew in her heart, there was absolutely no way she could stop drinking, stop the drugs, if she continued. Having a lot of time to think here, she knew another suicide attempt, one that would be successful, was not far off. If she were dead, the world would lose her regardless.

She really wasn’t sure how she would stop drinking once she left this place. Supposedly this substance abuse counselor would help her but the girl knew it would probably be one of the hardest things she had ever faced.

What about the children who wanted to see her? What about the money raised for hospitals? What about…

Her family?

Kara stood up and faced them all, a single tear on her cheek.

“I want to go home.”

The relief in the room was obvious. It felt as if a window had been opened and all the pressure had escaped. Her family stood and circled her, wrapping their arms around her, except for Clark who held her waist.

Kara enjoyed the feeling for a few moments and decided it was the right choice. Maybe there was no right choice, but this was the best for her and the people she loved.

“Can I reschedule this PTSD thing for tomorrow morning? I want to sleep and then we need to meet again. Clark, were you listening to me and Barry, the night before I was brought here?”

The little boy looked at his mother and father with wide eyes, telling her what she suspected was right.

“I thought so. You know there are things I haven’t told you about Krypton, about our house, things I kept from you. Things you won’t like, things you will probably be angry at me for keeping from you. But I can’t hold it inside anymore. If you want to know, I will tell you. I will tell you everything. Think about whether you want to know. I wish I had never known and it isn’t easy to live with…”

“I want to know.” The little boy told her immediately. “And I would never, ever hate you.”

Kara nodded her head, suspecting he would want to know. She wasn’t certain about the second part of his statement but it didn’t matter. He knew enough about her to know she had kept secrets for many years from him. It was time to let it all go.

“Then I am going to take my pill and take a nap. I guess I will need to go a day without medication before you implant the chip, right?”

Her parents nodded.

“I’ll ask J’onn to go to the Fortress and bring it here.” Alex offered. “As soon as your liver scan comes back healthy we can do it. Saturday morning, maybe?”

“Okay.” Kara agreed and walked out, wanting nothing more at that moment than to sleep.

Alex walked Kara to her room, watched her take her sedative and fall into a deep sleep, complete with snoring. Satisfied, she took the elevator to its lowest level to find Bruce at his console with Alfred, researching who knew what. She had a decent idea though.

“How did it go?” Bruce asked, both him and Alfred giving her their complete attention the moment she walked in.

Alex smiled.

“If you are really going to attempt to assemble a team, start now. We are done.

Alfred let out a relieved breath and Bruce grinned.

“I have J’onn, I want Barry Allen, I think I have a lead on our mysterious metahuman who can swim fairly well. I also want to find out about this Diana Prince. Everything I have learned about her and her reasoning for being in National City teaching a course, becoming acquainted with you and Kara, it is obvious as we suspected that it was no coincidence she was there. I know where she is and I will be leaving tonight, see her in the morning. I am guessing the surgery will be Saturday or Sunday?”

Alex nodded. “We aren’t putting her under, just using local anesthesia. Dad is going to put it right under her collar bone, clip it on underneath the bone so it won’t move and still be protected if she is hit in the chest. The last thing he wants is the thing coming loose and traveling all over her torso.”

“I’ll be back before then. Alex..I’m very happy.”

The man stood up and wrapped the thin girl in his arms. Kara and Alex Danvers had been constants he could always count on since he met them. They along with Dick and J’onn were the only ones he completely trusted to fight by his side. He was losing two but he had suspected that. Saving Kara had always been more important than keeping Supergirl.

Bruce moved to pack but stopped at the door.

“Alex, she will still help with my equipment… right? The weapons we have been developing, the new stealth suit, things like that… right?”

“I’ll help you Bruce.” Alex offered.

“I’ll take my chances but thanks for the offer.” he told her and entered the elevator, leaving an annoyed Alex alone with Alfred.

“I think you are a brilliant biologist, Alex.” The man told her.

“Save it Alfred.”

Central City S.T.A.R. Labs

Cisco had gone from annoyed to angry by the time Barry had ignored his fourth call. On the fifth in an hour, the man finally answered.

“Hey, everything okay?” Barry asked.

“Why the hell haven’t you picked up your phone?” the man practically yelled.

“I had it on silent. I’ve been studying some files… is everything okay?” Barry asked again.

“No, it’s not. First Caitlin disappears to some secret project I know you know about and won’t tell me. Now Joe tells me you have taken some bogus training assignment in National City for the next couple months. I thought we were a team? My team seems to have left me without a word, alone in S.T.A.R. Labs. I want to know what the hell is going on!”

“Calm down.” Barry told him which did nothing to calm him down.

“Man, ever since Supergirl showed up here and you two hooked up things have been weird. Millions of dollars flowing into the place, Caitlin gone without much of a word, now you are gone. I need to know what is going on. This has everything to do with her, doesn’t it? Are you with her? Are you moving in with her? What is going on?”

Cisco heard nothing for a moment, except Barry shuffling papers of some sort and a deep sigh.

“Look, there are some things going on that I can’t talk about over the phone. I am in National City, I am not with Kara, but I am training, learning more about aliens, and there is more danger than we ever dreamed of, Cisco. This is bigger than Central City.”

“So why am I not with you?”

Because he wasn’t invited was the obvious reason. But why? Caitlin and Barry being gone from Central City, the money from Wayne Industries, and now Barry was telling him that he couldn’t talk about something over the phone?

“Because someone needs to be in Central City. If a meta shows up I can be there in thirty minutes.”

“And if something like a robbery occurs, or a…”

“Then let the police handle it! That is what they get paid to do! I told you, the danger is bigger than Central City, Cisco. I’m fast but I can’t be everywhere at once. If this wasn’t important I wouldn’t be here!”

Cisco thought about dropping the phone, wondering what the hell was going on that made a normally unflappable Barry Allen snap.

“Sorry man. Uh… look, it’s probably better you aren’t around for a while. That guy you were talking to, or whatever he was, you know the monster I mean?”

He heard Barry take a deep breath. When he spoke again the man seemed calmer.

“What about him?”

“Star City police are kind of looking for him. I’m sure they want to find out what you know about him since you two were kind of drinking coffee together by a pond. You know who Damian Darhk is?”

Cisco heard a rapid shuffling of papers. Barry was reading something very quickly.

“No, what planet is he from?”

What planet is he from? What the hell was Barry researching? Maybe the training about aliens that Joe thought was bogus was the actual truth.

“Far as I know, he is from here. Felicity called looking for you. She wanted to know what you knew about him. Apparently, this Damian Darhk was the terrorist behind the attack at the Waterfront in Star City and a string of robberies and murders. He had been leading some organization called a Hive or ghosts… I’m not sure what she was talking about. Anyway, Oliver and company were looking for this guy but that…”

“Lobo?” Barry helped.

“Yeah, apparently, he caught the guy, brought him to the police station wrapped in a chain and turned him over to the police. He called somebody and said the contract was fulfilled.”

“So, he brought in a bad guy. That’s good, right?”

“Yeah, except once the police had him, he grabbed the guy away from the cops, threw him onto the street in front of the police department and used a very big rifle to disintegrate him. The cops tried to arrest him but he said he was the high king of Czarnia and had diplomatic immunity. Then he drove off on a giant chopper into a portal of light and was gone. The guy is a psycho. All Supergirl’s friends seem to be psychos. Maybe you should think about staying away from National City and anything alien related, including her.”

“Maybe you should mind your own business! Is there some law that I’m not aware of that says only the Green Arrow can kill people in Star City?”

Cisco honestly had no answer to that. Barry sounded different but he would never have condoned an act like that. The man had no idea how Barry and Oliver had become so close in the first place considering Oliver’s actions in the past.

“Okay then… I guess I will let you get back to what you were doing. Give me a call when you can or better, run over and tell me what the hell is going on.”

Cisco ended the call and spun around in his chair, not knowing quite what to do. Play video games, work on projects or find something of Barry’s and attempt to vibe it, hoping it would give him a clue.

Instead he nearly fell out of his chair when a voice called his name from behind.

The man managed to prevent the chair from tipping over and stood, taking in the intruders.

Neither looked particularly deadly but metahumans often didn’t.

One was a man, average height, neatly cut brown hair, wearing jeans and a white Coast City Pier 51 st shirt. The man who hadn’t shaved in weeks and had longer, shaggy blonde hair and unkempt beard was dressed similar, only he wore a Baltimore Orioles t shirt.

“You Cisco Ramon?” the blonde asked.

“Yeah… how did you get in here?” he asked, annoyed that once again S.T.A.R. Labs should save money on a security system and just have a revolving door installed.

“This is important. My name is Guy and this is my… colleague, Hal. You are the metahuman who can make breaches, bend the frequencies of the universe, that sort of thing? I heard if you touch something you might get a feel about it. I need you to touch this, figure out if you can see where another one might be on this planet. It’s very important we find this ring.”

“How the hell… who the hell… what is going on? I’m going to need more information… how do you even know who we… who I…”

“I told you this wouldn’t work.” Hal whispered to Guy. Guy looked annoyed but his hope that the man would do what he asked with minimal questions was obviously crushed. Instead he would have to go with plan B.

While Cisco tried to understand what was going on, a trend recently, he noted that the ring the man asked about was glowing. There was an energy coming out of it, some sort of light.

Forming a blade. A blade that was now under Cisco’s chin and he could feel it was very solid and real, even burned a bit but not enough to blister he hoped.

“Guy…”

“Save it, Hal. We came here for a reason. Listen kid, touch this ring, tell me what you see and we leave your life forever. Don’t and my friend won’t keep me from slicing off your head. Got it?”

“Guy!” Jordan shouted.

Gardener took a deep breath. His ring was humming and he knew he was close to losing control of it. He drew the red energy back into the ring.

“Sorry kid. Look it is important we find the one that looks just like this one. How we know about you, what you can do and any other little detail, isn’t important. The thing is, we do. If we don’t find this ring things are going to get scary, end of the world scary. Can you do it or not? I’m not playing 20 questions with you.”

Cisco took the man in once again, focusing only on him and not his calm friend. For a second he swore the man’s eyes flashed red. The ring was still glowing and whatever kind of weapon it was, one thing for sure, was the obvious danger.

“Why do you want to find it?” Cisco asked. “I’m not going to help you find something to help you end the world.”

“Good point.” Hal agreed. “Why should he help you?” the calmer one was enjoying himself, Cisco realized. Was this some good cop, bad cop kind of thing?

“Because I want to get this thing the hell off this planet. If someone who isn’t as nice as I am finds it first, that person could burn this city and every other city in the world down before we could stop them. I would prefer to stop this from happening. Now will you pretty please with sugar on top, touch my damn ring and tell me if you see another one hiding and can tell where it is?”

Ramon could tell this guy was barely holding his temper in but for some reason he felt he could trust this Hal. He also noticed Hal had a similar ring on his finger but it was green and not glowing. They may not be enemies, but he doubted they were partners.

Cisco nodded lightly and retrieved his goggles. He had been working on not needing them but they still helped him focus and the man had an idea this would be tricky.

Guy held out his fist and Cisco touched the ring with his bare finger.

The man stood still, stiff as a board for a moment.

Guy and Hal watched closely, hoping this kid could give them some clue.

That hope was destroyed when Cisco Ramon let loose a blood curdling scream and fell to the floor, screaming for someone to make it stop.

After a minute during which neither Lantern knew what to do and instead stared at the man on the ground, Cisco finally calmed down. Hal bent over and helped the kid to his feet.

“So… see anything?” Guy asked innocently, earning a sharp glare from Hal.

Cisco waited for a moment, trying to gather up the will to speak.

“Yeah.” He finally told them. “I saw a monster. He was in a prison and killed four more like him. His anger, it unleashed, it made this… thing. It was as if the blood formed some sort of structure and rings… rings came out… the screams, all the rings were screaming and he beat the other four, he crushed their skulls. Then I saw some sort of robots slaughtering these aliens and this guy, he wanted… the rings, they… there was an ocean of blood. How can an ocean be made of blood? Its Hell. If there is another ring, it’s in Hell. Get away from me. I never want to see another one of those. Stay away from me.”

Guy wanted to know more, but a look at Hal told him the kid would only be traumatized more. He had hoped Ramon would be able to see where another ring was. Guy had no idea Cisco would see the destruction of Atrocitus home world, the alien killing the four inversions and using blood magic to form the first red power battery or the rings, filled with his rage, seeking out those with the same.

Yeah, he decided. It was probably time to go.

“Good thing we didn’t show him a black ring, right Hal? Thanks for your help, Ramon” he told Cisco politely and walked out, leaving Jordan behind.

Jordan smiled apologetically at the kid. “Sorry about that. I would appreciate it if we could keep this incident between us. Take care Cisco Ramon.”

So it was, Joe found Cisco in a chair at S.T.A.R. Labs, four hours later, wide eyed and paler than the man had ever seen him. West had stopped by, hoping Barry had given him some answers. Instead Cisco looked like he had seen something horrible happen in front of his face.

“Cisco?”

The man looked at Joe, seeming to notice him for the first time.

“You okay?”

“With blood and rage…” the man mumbled.

“I didn’t catch that. Cisco?”

“Corpse… will burn you all…” he continued quietly until Joe helped him stand.

“You have got to stop watching horror movies and eating pizza right before you go to sleep. C’mon, let’s go to my place. I’ll make us some dinner. Iris is coming over and maybe the three of us can figure out what the hell is going on with Barry and Caitlin.”

“Freshly dead corpse…”

“Cisco!”

The man shook his head, finally realizing Joe was there and not part of the scene he was running over and over in his head.

“You okay? Something happen? You are freaking me out, man. I can tell Barry to get here now if there is something… has something happened?”

Had something happened? Yes, it had. Cisco had seen Hell. He never wanted to see it again.

“No, nothing happened. We don’t need Barry, no metas, nothing unusual. So, you said something about food?”

Joe looked him over carefully. He seemed to have snapped out of whatever haze he was in. Perhaps he had vibed the wrong thing or fell asleep and had a nightmare. Whatever happened, it was clear Ramon did not want to talk about it.

“Yeah, let’s have dinner and we can figure out what the hell is going on with Barry and Caitlin.”

Cisco nodded his absently and followed, determined that what happened that afternoon was his imagination. It had to be. If he didn’t talk about it, it couldn’t be real.

The Block

Kara had woken to a cup of coffee in Eliza’s hand for her. She hadn’t been asleep long, only three hours, but wished she could go back to sleep. Already, as soon as she woke, she desperately wanted a drink. She did not want to have this conversation with Clark, ever.

“We can talk to him, Kara. It doesn’t have to be you.”

“If I run now, how long am I going to be running? When does it stop?” she asked. “You want to be able to trust me again, one day, right? How I can I ever get to that point if I keep holding all these lies inside me? I don’t want to do this but I must. He has the right to hear it from me.”

Eliza held her cup while Kara got out of bed and then proceeded to drain the cup in two seconds.

“Do I look as tired as I always feel? I’m not used to sleeping this much and I still feel like I am sleepwalking.”

“It will get better. It’s a side effect. You will eventually only take the pill at night to help you sleep. You are taking these naps because your body needs sleep to recover. Food also. I know you aren’t hungry but you have to make yourself eat.”

“Food still makes me sick. I hate to vomit.”

Eliza understood.

“Look at it as practice. You are going to be human. That means you are going to get sick. We have some medications prepared…”

“I’m not going to be human. I will always be an alien. I will be as close as I can but it is hard to forget what I am.”

“You are my daughter.” Eliza told her. “That is all that matters. Kara, you understand we will numb the site of the implant but once it wears off we are going to have to try a type of painkiller that is new. We are only able to use certain ingredients…”

“Because it can’t be the equivalent of a narcotic. I’m an addict, I know. I’ll manage. You know I am used to pain. Let’s get this over with and don’t worry about me. He is going to need you more.”

Eliza didn’t argue, knowing it was going to be an emotional afternoon for all involved.

The family of five sat in the same room as before, only Clark now sitting on the floor with his knees drawn up to his chest. Kara took a similar position next to him. Alex stretched out her legs, sitting opposite and wrapped an arm around the boy leaning back against her chair.

“You ready?” Kara asked.

Clark nodded, his face blank.

“I’m going to start this where it began, fifteen years before you were born. You learned in school about fossil fuels, you know what they are, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Krypton had similar substances that we used to power our planet. But we had been using them for a very long time and the planet ran out. We tried to use Rao… our sun, to power our technology but we weren’t able to generate enough power. So, our house… remember I told you our house was made up of scientists? That my father and yours and your mother were scientists?

“You said they tried to save the planet. They stayed behind and didn’t come with us because they wanted to try and save everyone.”

Kara took a deep breath and looked at Alex.

“Yeah, I lied. The truth is, our grandfather and fathers thought of a way to power our technology from the planets radioactive core. They thought the core would stay energized no matter how much we pulled out. They were wrong. They made a mistake and by the time they realized it, there was nothing to be done. They knew the planet would die, in ten years, twenty at the most.”

Clark looked at his parents, hoping for any sign that wasn’t true but he didn’t need to see their faces to know it was.

“So, everyone hated our family because we destroyed the planet?”

“No, because they didn’t tell anyone. They kept it a secret. After our grandfather died only our parents knew.”

Clark for the first time, showed emotion on his face and it wasn’t sadness.

“They knew everyone was going to die and didn’t tell anyone!? How? Why? Why would they do that?”

As Kara suspected, he was angry. It wouldn’t get any easier.

“Because they thought since it couldn’t be stopped, it would only cause panic. Maybe they didn’t want to admit they were wrong. But… it gets worse.”

“Great.” The boy mumbled.

“Before I get to this next part, I want to tell you something about how children are born on Krypton.” Kara told him, deciding this would need to be understood before the rest could be.

“Mom and Dad had this talk with me a couple months ago, I would really like to not go over it again. Please?”

Kara shook her head.

“Things weren’t like that on Krypton. On Krypton, we had something called the Codex. The Codex was a crystal in the shape of a skull. Remember how Kryptonian crystals can hold all sorts of things, like flying robots and big castles?”

The boy nodded.

“This one held the DNA of all our kind, even those that had not been born. When parents wanted to have children, they applied and were given an option of having a boy or girl. Their DNA strands were mixed with ones from the codex. We were grown in a lab and our genetic structure was altered. We were given predispositions during incubation so that we would be ready for whatever jobs were required of us. I would have either been a scientist or lawyer.”

“That seems cooler than what Mom told me about.” The boy admitted. “So, our Moms didn’t carry us around for nine months?”

“Mine didn’t. Yours did. You weren’t given any predispositions. The reason your father told the council is because he wanted to see how you would grow without any interference.”

Clark rubbed his forehead. “I am sensing a but in here.” The boy groaned.

“But it wasn’t true. What I told about when we landed, that was all true, everything. But after we had… settled in I guess you could say, I let you play with one of the crystals. When you touched it, a hologram appeared in our bedroom. It was your… it was Jor El. He had constructed an AI with all his memories and instructions. I was to teach you what he wanted you to learn. He told me the reason I came with you and not your mother…”

Kara stopped and stood up, walking around the room for a moment. She wouldn’t look at her parents right now. They would take it as a signal for one of them to take over. She couldn’t be weak now.

She desperately wished she was drunk. This would be so much easier. Finally, she turned back to Clark whose eyes were on her intently.

“My mother was the Chief Judge of our planet. She knew about this and told your parents if I was not sent to Earth with you then she would turn them all in, and none of us would go. She basically blackmailed your parents for my life. They had no choice to agree so I became your primary caregiver when you were born, I guess so I would know how to feed you, change you, calm you down, things like that.”

Clark leaned into Alex a bit more and closed his eyes.

“Did you know? Did they tell you?”

Kara sat back down, this time on a chair and shook her head.

“I didn’t know anything. I learned this when I talked to Jor El’s AI. He told me you were the future of Krypton and it was my duty in life to protect you at all costs.”

“Why? Why me?”

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “I didn’t know at the time. I was so mad because he talked to me like I was some servant. I told him I would protect you because I loved you but you would never know about him. Then I took the bags with the crystals and threw them into the ocean.”

Clark said nothing, staring in front of him but not at anything or anyone. No one said a word, not knowing if Kara should carry on, or if Clark would say anything.

“Why… why if they knew we were coming all this time, why didn’t they tell you? Why didn’t they teach you English or give you food? Why didn’t they give us clothes?”

“Because they were assholes.” Alex piped up. Her eyes widened and she slapped her hand over her mouth.

“Sorry.” she whispered.

“Clark.” Kara started before Eliza gave Alex the look, “After a couple months I decided I wanted to know more. I wanted to know why he thought you were the future of Krypton. I couldn’t figure it out. You weren’t born like the rest of us. He told me you were the future because you had no predisposition but I knew he was lying. I swam to where I threw the bag of crystals and retrieved them. We took them to the cave. Mom had been testing your blood under a microscope so we would know how to treat you if you got sick. Alex…”

“Seriously? You have to bring me into this? It was your idea.”

Kara stopped talking, breathed in and exhaled slowly and closed her eyes. When she heard Alex mumble another sorry, she began speaking again.

“I asked Alex to take a slide of your blood before Mom put it into the safe. We took it back to the cave and I activated Jor El’s crystal again. That’s when he told me what really happened to Krypton, how they were responsible for its destruction. He told me a lot of things. He told me the crystals would only open with your DNA and… he told me why you were born naturally.”

Clark saw Kara’s face tense more so than it had been.

“I’m really not going to like this, am I?”

Kara didn’t bother to answer. He knew the answer.

“Your… Jor El wanted you… remember the Codex was a crystal? He figured out a way to take all the information in that crystal and bind it to your DNA. It won’t hurt you but… yeah. The Codex… you are the Codex. It’s a part of you anyway.”

Clark stood up and walked out. Before Jeremiah could go after him he was back in, moving at a blur.

“Why would they do that to me? I have a bunch of… why? What was wrong with them? Why, Kara?”

“Clark, sit down and Kara will tell you.” Alex told him in a voice that meant she wasn’t asking. “You said you wanted to know, no matter what? Right?”

The little boy dropped his head and sat on the same cushioned chair as Kara.

“Why?”

Kara finally did look at her parents. For the first time tonight they looked very worried, as worried as Kara felt.

“He told me the crystals would form a Fortress and when the Fortress came into shape there would be machines to extract the DNA from your cells and begin a new race of Kryptonians. We were to stay in the Fortress, hide from the world until our people were ready. Supposedly we would build a ship and find a planet capable of life to start a new Krypton.”

Clark said nothing, closing his eyes tightly, trying to digest everything he had heard. The Codex, a new race of Kryptonians, machines that would pull babies from his cells. He was beginning to understand now why Kara did not want to tell him. He was finally beginning to wish he had never known.

“We wouldn’t have been able to find a planet where life didn’t already exist. He wanted us to take over a planet, probably Earth, right?”

Kara nodded her head, not meeting his eyes.

“Probably. It didn’t matter. I was so angry that he did that, I told him he had lost his mind. I told him… I told him he would give me access to the crystals or I would never tell you about him. I would lie to you and say I didn’t remember where we came from or tell you your father was a horrible man we escaped from.”

“He was and we did. But that man was not my father. He used me. He used both of us.” Clark said in a voice that sounded far older than his years.

“He gave me control of the crystals. It was either that or the technology died. Once Alex and I constructed the Fortress, the machines were formed to extract the Codex DNA and begin forming new Kryptonians. I destroyed them. I told Kelex that he would never rebuild them and never tell you about any of this.”

“That’s why.” Clark said quietly. “I never understood why you were so upset if Kelex showed me anything about Krypton or my… or them. You were afraid I would find out about all of this. When you woke up that morning and he was showing me pictures you almost blew him up.”

“Yep. So, the suit that was or is in the Fortress, that is yours. When you were old enough you would wear it as some sort of ambassador to the world. I don’t think that is what it was for. The cape, the indestructible material, I think it was made for war, the colors of our house, the colors to represent the New Krypton with our family coat of arms. I don’t know for sure though. After I destroyed the machines, I ordered Kelex to download all information in Jor El’s AI into the central databank and erase him from existence.”

“And you put that symbol on you. You knew all those prison escapees hated us and you wore it anyway. You tried to draw them out of hiding, right?”

Kara nodded her head sadly. “I knew Astra and Non and the other Kryptonians were planning something but I never could find them. No one could. Most of them didn’t know I was still alive so I made sure everyone knew. I screwed up though. I tried to capture Astra in Metropolis. Instead she followed me back and that was when she almost killed you and our parents.”

“Kara that was not your fault.” Eliza told her.

“Yes…”

“No it wasn’t. You protected us. You protected me.” Clark argued.

“I put you in danger.”

“Dad told me once that you and Alex saved the world. I remember. I remember Mom and Dad being nervous because you and Alex were going into some Mirror thing. Astra was going to kill everyone, wasn’t she? And you stopped her.”

Kara shrugged her shoulders.

“Why didn’t you want me to know?” the boy asked, finally looking at her.

Kara looked him in the eyes and as strong as he was trying to be, she could tell he was so upset.

“Are you glad you know? I never wanted you to feel like this. I never wanted you to know. I guessed if you ever found out that you would hate me for keeping it from you but it was a risk I had to take. I never wanted you to find out the kind of people your parents… my parents were.”

Clark shook his head.

“They aren’t our parents. They killed a planet, didn’t tell anyone. Other people could have escaped. We got off so others could have. But they didn’t. They just kept it to themselves and sent us away. They lied to us and they used us, all so we could start some new race. I bet if it was my cells my DNA would have had to be added. They wanted us to start a new House of El.”

Kara frowned. She hadn’t thought of that. Of course, the codex would need DNA to work. Clark’s DNA at least. Every Kryptonian that came after would in some way be a member of the House of El.

Kara placed her head in her hands and closed her eyes tight. She thought about anything else she could have forgotten. It was all out so if there were any other secrets now would be the time. She had just destroyed every belief about the people he came from.

Having nothing else to say, she waited for whatever would happen. Kara heard sniffles and when her eyes reached Clark the boy was silently sobbing, his head in his hands. Alex was comforting him, holding him and Kara honestly had no idea if she should touch him. He hadn’t seemed upset at her for keeping this from him but would he be upset that she told him? Yes, he had asked for it but she knew it would be… difficult.

Her dilemma was solved when he took one hand from his face and reached out to her. The girl quickly took his hand and he pulled her towards him and Alex, still crying but at least not screaming in anger. After a minute, giving their children time together, Jeremiah and Eliza joined them.

Once Clark had settled down, he looked broken hearted but still smiled at her.

“Thank you for telling me. I’m sorry… what they did, you had to hide this for so long. It hurt you, didn’t it?”

Kara shrugged her shoulders.

“I wish I could blame it on them but I hurt myself more than they ever could. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

Clark nodded his head. “I think I need a little… can I go to my… the room I occupy? I just need to…”

“Play video games?” Alex guessed. “That’s probably a good idea. You know the truth but the truth doesn’t matter. We are family and that is all that matters. Who they were, they have nothing to do with you. Do you understand me?”

“Yeah, I know.” He told her, wiping a very red eye. “Kara, you really thought I would hate you?”

Kara smiled at him. “Yeah, when you keep big secrets from the people you love the most, it makes you scared all the time. I… yeah… I have a lot of experience with that. You don’t? You aren’t mad?”

Clark shook his head and hugged her tightly, tight enough that Kara noticed. He had gotten a lot stronger in more ways than one.

Alex told Kara she would check on her in a minute and took Clark to his room, no doubt to play video games for a while until the kid fell asleep or seemed okay. Alex had a way of calming Clark and Kara for that matter, that Kara never could match.

Eliza wrapped an arm around Kara and the three walked into he hall, where Kara finally felt better, not worried that Clark would blow up any minute.

“Are you okay? That was very brave.” Her mother told her.

“Thank you, thank you for being there.”

“Always.” Jeremiah told her, kissing the top of her head.

“Look, I know I’m not supposed to but I could really use some air. Its dark outside. Would either of you mind if I took a quick flight over the forest. I just need… I won’t be able to much longer.”

Jeremiah looked at Eliza, not knowing what to say. She had gone up top, never really alone, but flying wasn’t much different. It was…

“I think that is a splendid idea.” Alfred told them. Kara hadn’t realized he was near. “A night time flight to clear the head after what I imagine was an intense gathering. I don’t mean to pry, I was just walking by and saw young Master Clark come out and back in very quickly. From the blur, I guessed he wasn’t happy so I thought I would stay near, see if he needed anything.”

“Thank you, Alfred, but he is doing well.” Jeremiah told the man. Despite his former dislike for Bruce Wayne he had always liked Alfred. “So, you think it would be a good idea for Kara to have a little space, huh? I don’t suppose it would hurt if you aren’t out long and don’t…”

“Outstanding!” Alfred agreed, cutting Jeremiah off. “I will find something a bit more aerodynamic and we can be off.”

Alfred began walking away until Kara grabbed his shoulder.

“What are you talking about? You want to fly with me?”

Alfred grinned.

“Of course, I do. I am your sobriety buddy after all. If you are going to lie to yourself and them that the only reason you want out is for air when we both know you plan to fly to the nearest bar, then I will be with you, buddy. This way when you are drinking, you can look at me the entire time. I won’t say a word, but you aren’t going to hide it behind flimsy lies. Now, shall we go flying, or perhaps have a cup of coffee and talk about some healthier ways to calm down instead of reaching for a bottle?”

Kara’s face turned red. She nearly opened her mouth to deny his true accusations until he pointed a finger in her face.

“Don’t you dare get angry with me, Kara. I have never put up with tantrums from Bruce and I won’t put up with them from you. Are we going to have coffee or are we going to a bar? I’ll even pay.”

Kara took several deep breaths, clenching and unclenching her fists, before finally nodding her head. Her mother and father followed behind, berating themselves for almost falling for that. Kara had been so honest with Clark tonight, they had momentarily forgotten how often she lied in regards to alcohol. And she had been distraught to top it off.

“We have to do better. I almost told her it wouldn’t hurt anything.” Jeremiah mumbled.

“It will get better. It has gotten better. I never thought we would get this far the way she reacted to being here.”

An hour and two cups of decaf later, Kara had checked on Clark who was sleeping in Alex’s arms and moved to her room. Her thoughts slowed a bit and she planned to take her sedative soon and get to sleep.

Then she remembered that she had promised to call Barry.

He answered immediately.

“I was hoping you weren’t going to forget about me. Have a good day?”

Kara thought of a lot of things she could say. Instead as it often did with Barry, she found herself telling him the truth.

“I had a horrible day. I had to make a huge decision this morning with my family, then took a nap, woke up, told my little brother every dirty secret the House of El had, pretty much destroyed any notion he may have held on to that his Kryptonian parents were decent people, and were genocidal maniacs. Then I nearly talked my parents into letting my go flying. I told myself I just needed some air after an emotional night but I actually planned to fly to a bar and get wasted.”

“All the hell you went through and you were going to drink again? What were you thinking? Why would you want to go through that again? You told me it was hell… you are probably going to hang up on me now, aren’t you?”

Kara laughed softly.

“No, I’m not. I think I have had enough of guys telling me what I want to hear… sorry. Don’t want to talk about that. This isn’t going well is it? Can we blame the emotional night or the medications I haven’t taken?”

Barry shook his head on the other end of the line.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. If there is anyone who is a master at saying the wrong thing, it’s me. You can tell me whatever you want and I promise to tell you things you don’t want to hear.”

“Oh really? What are you going to tell me that I don’t want to hear?” she teased.

“I could tell you a lot of things. I could say you… uh… I’ll think of something.”

“Doubtful. I am an expert at hiding my imperfections, at least until I am outed by a flying robot.”

“Oh, yeah, your room. You are kind of a slob. You had clothes on your bed, I saw a pair of socks turned inside out in the corner.”

Kara gasped, surprised he remembered those details. She was too drunk that night to have noticed.

“I will have you know that I am not a slob. I color coordinate my underwear in my drawer!”

This statement was followed by awkward silence on both sides.

“I really can’t shut up around you, can I?” Kara finally asked.

“I have the same problem. I kind of like it. So… you want to tell me about this big decision or is it not something you wish to speak about?”

Kara thought about it and decided she had enough serious conversations for the day.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow. Right now, I want to know if you have seen the Last Jedi? It’s been out for three days. I plan to watch it when I get up in the morning.”

“How are you going to watch it where you are?” the man asked. Surely, she wasn’t going to leave the facility to visit a movie theater.

“Oh, there is a small screening room on level 5 and Bruce pulled some strings so I can watch it here.

Barry rubbed his forehead on the other end of the line.

“Of course, he did. Good old Bruce. What a great friend.”