Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Seeing Red

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 26: A Piece of Her Soul

Kara woke up, disoriented and nearly panicked. She wasn’t in her bed, she wasn’t in her room and she was wrapped around a guy, her head on his chest and his arm around her, rubbing her shoulder.

It took a few seconds and things became clear.

Barry was holding her.

They were in a hotel room and had made love. She had sex with someone she loved.

It was all she thought it could be.

Kara felt… safe. It isn’t a feeling she was used to, not in this sense. To feel relaxed in a vulnerable position was a new sensation.

“Hey there.” Barry whispered, noting she was up. He hadn’t been to sleep but Kara had passed out an hour ago.

“Hey…”Kara mumbled.

Then her eyes opened wide and she sat up quickly.

“What time is it?!”

“It’s eight. You have only been asleep for about an hour.”

The girl laid back in bed, her head on Barry’s chest, relaxing. If she missed her medication time, Eliza would track her down and she would rather not be tracked down naked, laying on top of a naked Barry in a Raleigh hotel room.

“I guess my stamina isn’t just limited to long distance running. So, after that, do you still want to talk about going steady?”

“Yeah. You did fall asleep on me, but it was afterward…”

“You can make your whole body vibrate. Sorry but my depowered alien body can only take so much. We don’t need to talk about going steady. You are mine. I’m emotionally disturbed and you knew this going in. You have seen enough horror movies to know what happens when you try and leave an emotionally disturbed girl, right Barry?”

Barry chuckled, thinking about the few movies he had seen. It didn’t matter. He had been waiting for six years to be with her and it was everything he thought it could be.

She was amazing, and he couldn’t imagine who else he would possibly want.

She had him.

And he had her, finally.

“No need to worry.” he told her, kissing the top of her head.” I have told you over and over again, Kara, I am not going anywhere. So… you liked the vibrating body thing?”

Kara playfully slapped his chest.

“You know I did. I need to take a shower. It’s going to take a bit to dry my hair but if Dad sees me with sex hair, he will know. It’s like this damn radar he has, and we will both be receiving strange looks the rest of your time with me.”

“Need any help?” he hoped.

Kara smiled and sat up in bed, the sheets falling off her and not shy in the least, making him desperately want to help her.

“We have a 45-minute drive. Then I have to change, take my antipsychotic and sedative and then I am out till 7 AM. If you help me, we will get distracted and never make it home on time.”

“Can’t you blame it on helmet head and stay in bed?”

Kara leaned down and kissed him.

“I love you, Kara.” Barry told her.

“I know.”

Barry lay waiting for a moment, expecting to hear the same in return. She had told him earlier that she loved him, multiple times in the last four or five hours and he wanted to hear it now but instead he just saw an evil grin.

“Did you seriously just Han Solo me?”

Kara laughed. “Leia did it to Han in Return of the Jedi. I couldn’t resist. I love you too, Barry. Tomorrow morning, we are going to the Fortress. I want to show you everything. This time I won’t get called out by my robot for being drunk and suicidal.”

Kara rolled out of bed, not covering her body and making him want to grab her and bring her back. Today and this evening had been a dream, a dream he had since he first met her.

Groaning when he heard the shower start up, he reluctantly got dressed, taking his time. He hoped the two could get something to eat before they went back to Midvale. Kara still didn’t seem to have an appetite and had not even mentioned missing lunch in favor of the hotel. Barry’s metabolism was catching up with him, especially after the energy he expended.

Before they had started their liaison that morning, Kara gave him one last instruction. The man had moved at what have been close to light speed to the nearest drug store and back in less than three seconds by her count. That effort alone burned up quite a bit of calories.

While he waited for Kara to finish the shower and debated saying to hell with it and joining her, his phone rang, and a cold feeling ran through him.

It was Diana.

“Hello?”

“Barry, I need you in Metropolis tomorrow afternoon. I have a fix on Arthur Curry. We have a flight at 3:00 PM to Iceland. I will have a passport for you.”

Tomorrow? 3 PM?

“I was… I’m kind of busy tomorrow, Diana.”

“I realize that, Barry. You will be flying with me to Iceland to meet with Arthur Curry. That will keep you very busy. Tell your DEO training partners that training can wait. The sooner we have him, the better I will feel about facing Atrocitus when we find him. We cannot have enough power, there can be no mistakes and no loss. We need him, so we will convince him.”

Barry shook his head, calculating the distance to Iceland and how much ocean he would have to run across. If he didn’t get food soon, he wouldn’t be able to run very far at all.

“Yeah, but… Kara wants me to… I am protecting her, you see? I have a bad feeling this Atrocitus is around and if I should probably keep her safe. She is expecting me tomorrow and I wouldn’t want to let her down. She hasn’t been home for long and is adjusting…”

“Did you join the FBI, Barry?” Diana asked, and he swore she must have been smiling on the other end of the phone. It was obvious she found something amusing.

“No.”

“Oh, I was just curious. I thought only the FBI placed people in protective custody at hotels. Kelex said you have been protecting her all morning and afternoon. I am impressed with your dedication. If I were to move the flight to, say… 11PM, would that be more amenable to your protective detail duty?”

Barry sighed and dropped his head. He didn’t want to know how she knew. Kelex, tracker on his suit, Amazon magic, rope magic, with Diana it could be anything.

“Yeah, that would be great. I need to get some clothes. How many days do you…”

“Everything you need will be at the airport when you arrive. Have a fun night. Say hi to Kara for me.”

Barry ended the call and nearly jumped when he realized Kara was in the room.

“Who was that?”

The Flash debated on how to answer that. Kara didn’t want to know anything about that part of his life, did she? Or did she? She would eventually have to know, right?

“That was… Diana.”

Kara nodded her head and took the towel off her body, using it to dry her hair and draw all of Barry’s attention.

“Do you need to go? I can get home myself.” she offered.

“No! Apparently, she and I are flying to Iceland tomorrow night. We aren’t going to fight anyone…”

“I know you aren’t. If you were going to Iceland to battle, Diana would take the entire team. She would not break ranks. Her people, from what she told me, have many similar aspects to Greek philosophy in war. Strength in numbers, brute strength, driving a stake through the middle of your enemy, Light infantry, light armor, horseback attacks and archers providing long range capabilities, like missile bombardments before ground troop movements today. I don’t want to know everything, Barry. I just want you to come back to me, but you don’t have to hide either. I am no amateur when it comes to war. If she is going to Iceland to recruit, then something has happened. It isn’t just Bruce wanting a team. You all have an enemy to fight. It’s okay.”

Barry was impressed. “Sounds like saying you are no amateur in war is an understatement.”

Kara shrugged her shoulders and to his great disappointment, began dressing.

“I have lived with three genius biologists for over a decade. I picked up quite a bit. I find the biology of different races fascinating. I don’t have the passion for it that Alex or my parents do, though. I won’t say I am a genius in math and physics, chemistry, things like that. I won’t say it because genius wouldn’t be fair to other so-called geniuses. I have an understanding of science drilled into me at an early age, based off information that has not even been theorized on Earth yet. There is no one on this planet that knows more about those subjects. As far as engineering, I can build a spaceship capable of traveling to other galaxies that are thousands of light years away in less than a month while remaining in physical stasis. I can build weapons more powerful than any ever created by any military on Earth. As far as everything else, I studied what I was interested in. Wars were always on my mind, as were the warriors who fought in them.”

The man watched her closely now. When it came to certain subjects Kara could fall off into a bout of depression very quickly, according to Alex She seemed okay, pulling on her t shirt and putting on her boots.

“I am sure you can guess why. I have gone over every great war, the greatest armies of this planet and everyone Kelex has records of in the galaxy. If there are two things I am an expert in, they are science and war.”

Kara walked over to him, wrapping her arms around the man and pulling close to him.

“But that is behind me now. Thank you for today. I do love you.”

“I love you.” he responded, gently kissing her but keeping his eyes open, soaking in her blue eyes before she put the glasses on and they turned a green shade that just wasn’t her. He liked the glasses. The specs reminded him of when he first met her, but it was her blue eyes under the lenses that took his breath away.

“We need to go. You need food, I probably should eat something to and I want to get out of the city. I don’t want to… I need to leave, we need to leave.”

“Are you okay?” he asked, beginning to get worried. He hadn’t noticed any of her usual nervous tells.

“Temptation, Barry. You aren’t the only temptation I have, and I would rather get away from those I need to stay away from.”

So, an hour and forty minutes later a slightly nervous but very happy Barry walked into the front door with Kara on his arm. Eliza was waiting for them, but Jeremiah was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, Mom. Where is Dad?”

“I didn’t want to Barry to have to deal with his piercing stare, so I gave him some of that herbal tea that makes him relax and feel a bit drowsy.” she explained.

Kara’s tense body also relaxed, and her shoulders dropped in relief.

“You drugged Dad. Thank you so much.”

“Of course. Barry, I left some blankets and pillows on the couch. It’s already folded out so make yourself at home. Kara…”

“Bed time.” the girl agreed, already knowing what was coming. She kissed Barry gently and with a quiet goodnight, moved up the stairs.

Kara entered her bedroom after checking on a sleeping Clark. To her complete lack of surprise Alex was still up, waiting on her.

And of course, Eliza followed her, glass of water and pills in hand.

“I put your pajamas in your…”

“Mom, can I please get some different sets tomorrow? There is nothing to cut myself with in the house. I get that I am still at risk or whatever for suicide but c’mon, I have been wearing solid whites for the past two and a half months. Just a little color, please? I was used to just wearing a t shirt to bed but now that I have had nurses and Dad checking on me all hours of the night, if I am going to be fully dressed, I don’t want to constantly look like I am trying to get an orange belt in karate.”

Eliza smiled, admitting she had a point. She had always given Kara light colored pajamas but they at least they had some color. If her daughter needed to feel more at home, then she shouldn’t dress like she was still a patient at the Block.

“Why don’t we wait till Monday morning and go into town together? Just Midvale? Alex can come with us.”

Kara nodded her head, expecting as much. She was okay tonight, but had never actually entered the city, staying at the hotel on the outskirts and moving past the bar in the lobby very quickly, not even looking in its direction. The last thing Kara wanted was Barry seeing her lusting after alcohol.

“So, what did you two do today?”

Kara had been moving towards the bathroom with white pajamas in hand but stopped cold at that question. She turned around and saw Eliza already knew the answer.

“I told you I wouldn’t lie to you anymore. Do I really have to answer that?”

The blonde did her best to ignore her older sister’s snort.

“I appreciate that, Kara. I really, really do. But if your Dad asks you what you two did in the morning, what are you going to say?”

“We went to a Star Wars marathon at the Diamond Theater downtown. I did well because I only focused on the road, making sure I traveled at the posted speed limit and then rushed into the theater where Barry and I watched movies for the next six hours. We went through a large bag of popcorn and I had nachos.”

Eliza nodded her head, satisfied.

“Manage to keep your face neutral, like you just did, even a bit more bored or irritated and you will get past your father’s lie detector. I hope Barry has a pretty good poker face himself.”

Once Kara hand been appropriately changed and given her pills, Alex asked the question that she had wanted to ask since Kara arrived home. She knew she had ten minutes or less before her little sister was down for the count.

“So… how was he?”

Kara grinned and rolled in Alex’s direction.

“He can vibrate his whole body.”

“You lucky brat.” Alex groused. “But how was it? I mean…”

“I love him.” she admitted.

The brunette nodded her head and sighed.

“Kara, you idiot, you have always loved him. Good night, sweetie.”

Barry woke the next morning on what he admitted was an incredibly comfortable fold out mattress. He felt like he could have slept forever but the finger poking his forehead would not let him. Cracking his eyes, he was surprised to see a bright-eyed Kara, smiling and dressed for the day.

“What time is it?”

“6 AM. Since you are screwing up my schedule and we have a limited amount of time today with you flying to Iceland and me having a meeting tonight, we need to get started. Get dressed. I’ll get you a cup of coffee. You have ten seconds.”

“Ten seconds to what?”

“To get ready. Of course, if you would rather spend time we could be spending alone, here instead, being critically cross examined by my Dad to determine if we had sex yesterday, by all means lay around.”

Barry was back in eight seconds, fully dressed. He even brushed his teeth.

“I miss being able to do that.” Kara sadly admitted. “Let’s go.”

Barry followed her to the extra bedroom at the back of the first floor. She opened the closet door.

“When?” he asked.

“Two days ago. No one has used it yet, but it works, trust me.” Kara placed her familiar white piece of plastic in her ear.

“Kelex, I am coming in. I have Barry coming with me so no disintegrations.”

Kara punched in a code and Barry supposed and prayed that Kelex was turning off any defensive mechanisms in the Fortress.

Once again, like Deja vu, Barry was back in the Fortress.

Kara took a deep breath and smiled.

“I haven’t been here in months. The last time I was here was with you and of course we know how that turned out. I thought maybe if you wanted to know all of me, this might be a good place to start, at the beginning. What do you think?”

Barry grinned, taking it all in, what he could see anyway. It was beautiful.

“I think I want to show me everything there is to show me.”

Kara took his hand and pulled him along.

“First I need to check on something. It was a personal project of mine and though Alex has control over the Fortress right now, my projects are still here. Kelex still answers to me and my family. I just don’t have the capabilities to spy and build new weapons. I also can’t lock anyone out. She took over to prevent me from taking over the Block and releasing all the locks, turning on the fire suppression system, blowing the security system and alarms, basically everything I would do if I wanted to leave. Oh, and in the event of an invasion, she would have control of the defensive and offensive capabilities we have set up around the world.”

Barry figured this out already. He knew Alex had override capabilities, something Kara gave her. The defensive and offensive weapons placed around the world were a surprise but not something he wanted to get into right now.

The two walked hand in hand to a blank spot, nothing but a beautiful, crystal almost ice like floor that was somehow not cold.

“Kelex, has Project Sundown been completed?”

The flying robot was in front of her in seconds.

“It has been, but per Alex’s instructions all weapons have been removed, including the dura blades on the suit as well as all firearms and missile capabilities. Should you take back control of the Fortress and request it, the suit will be armed again.”

Kara shook her head. “I don’t need it armed, Kelex. It is for worst case scenarios. Let’s show Barry what Kryptonian battle suits look like.”

Barry jumped back as the formerly solid floor opened and a glass case rose. A mannequin was inside the case, similar to the one he had at S.T.A.R. or did before he got a ring that could store his suit. What was inside the mannequin was not his suit or a Supergirl costume he had ever seen.

Instead he saw armor, different shades of grey over a black exosuit underneath. The suit was not like Alex’s at all, bulkier though built for a female but appeared as something from the middle ages or a Lord of the Rings novel. There was even a black cloak hanging off the shoulders.

“What is this? Some sort of prototype Bat Suit for you?”

Kara laughed at the idea, Being Bruce’s backup or side kick like Grayson had been for years held zero appeal to her.

“Nope, just a suit in case the worst happens, and I don’t have my powers. Or, I guess you could say, like now. I can fold into a bag and I can step into the back of it very quickly. There is a helmet that can activate from the back. The arms have long blades that extended from the forearms. I have been digging back into the archives of Krypton as much as possible, trying to determine if Zod had been on the planet when it was destroyed. I am still not sure. Lobo hasn’t heard anything but if anyone could keep a low profile its Zod. Most of the Kryptonian army wore black suits, the same material as my uniforms. But Zod’s soldiers were the elite. This battle armor is a replica of Faora Ul’s armor. She was one of his Sub Commanders, called his Tigress by many in the army. She was psychopathic and engineered to be the perfect killer. But I really liked her armor so with a few modifications, I had it built. This is just in case.”

“In case of what?” Barry asked, not liking where this was going.

“In case someone like Oliver Queen ever finds out I have lost my powers and who and where I and my family are. If he does, I feel confident I can defeat him, but I want absolute certainty. In this armor I become the perfect killer. With my skill and these weapons, I can’t be defeated. If he ever does find out, I will hunt him wearing this.”

“Oliver would never hurt…” Barry tried to defend his friend, before Kara stopped him.

“There are very few people I completely trust on Earth. You are one of them. My family, Jessica, the men who trained us and I suspect are training you…”

Barry did his best to school his face, but Kara knew she was right. He wasn’t as good at keeping secrets as she was.

“… Bruce, J’onn, Lobo and Nyssa. Those are the ones who I have absolute trust in, who I know are loyal to me above all else and will never betray me. Thats it. No one else. It isn’t just Oliver Queen I have to be on guard for. I have a lot of enemies on this planet. The Joker, Lex Luthor, Bane, alien drug dealers and the list could go on forever. I can’t just go after them or ignore them until they take their shots. I have to lay low. In a way, I am back where I started as a young girl, but I have a lot of dangerous weapons now and am very deadly, even drugged. Like I said, worst case scenario. Want to see me as a child? I want to show you Krypton, I want to show you everything. I want this to work and I will do my best not to screw it up. I don’t talk about these things, things like Krypton, easily but I want you to know.”

“Yeah, I would like that.” he admitted, shaking off the thought that Kara had replicated the armor belonging to a female psychopath in the event she needed to hunt the Green Arrow and the long list of enemies who would love to find her.

She walked him past a tall column filled with screens, almost identical to Brother Eye in the Batcave. She showed him the large, beautiful spacecraft she had built, expanded from her original pod. She showed him the encased mannequins with costumes he had never seen her in before, a few he very much wanted to.

Then to his further surprise the two sat down in a very cushy couch, almost like a giant rectangular beanbag.

“Need me to up the firmness?” Kara offered. Barry wasn’t surprised. At this point, nothing in the magical castle could surprise him.

“Nope, I’m good.” he told her, leaning back and happy to find her leaning into him.

“What do you want to see?”

He had no idea. The man expected her to choose.

“I want to see whatever…”

“Barry, what do you want to see?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I have no idea where to start.”

The girl nodded her head, expecting as much. “Clark made me a bit angry a couple days ago. How would you like to see something he is incredibly embarrassed about? I thought he was good, but he had no idea he was being videotaped. It will give you ammo the next time he talks trash. This was only last year. I was having a good day.”

Barry’s eyes were glued to the scene, watching Kara, Alex and Clark at their National City apartment, standing next to each other, Clark in the middle, performing Uptown Funk with his two sisters, complete with dancing. He stared transfixed thinking of all the ways he could tease the boy about this.

After it was over, it took the man a moment to compose himself.

“That was gold… though he is a pretty good dancer. Not much of a singer unfortunately but it sounded like you had that down for all three of you.”

The blonde shrugged her shoulders.

“I’ve always loved singing. Okay, time for the serious stuff. Justin, show Barry Krypton. Show him Rao’s light as it rose in the morning, the architecture of Argo and Kandor. Show him our temples, the House of El compound, my room, show him my life.”

The two sat silently for a while, taking in the images. After a few minutes, Kara began narrating what they were seeing.

The alien landscape fascinated him, the huge compound Kara had spent the first half of her life in, the surreal sight of a red sun shining over a planet.

But what truly amazed him were the videos of Kara as a young girl. He had seen her in pictures at her parents’ house in National City but seeing video of her speaking, playing with Clark, taking care of him and that smile. She was always smiling, and it didn’t seem forced.

“I’m beginning to understand my mother a little more.” Kara said. “It hurt to watch these videos, so I never spent much time on them but now, remembering how I was growing up, I am kind of glad I didn’t know. Kelex said she didn’t want my childhood to be burdened by the knowledge of what would happen. I suppose she had a point. It was better I didn’t know. I never would have smiled like that if I had.”

“You okay? We can stop.” Barry offered. He may not have known Kara’s moods as well as her family, but he liked to think he had learned quite a bit about her over the last few months. He had seen her before rehab, seen her during and seen her mood changes in treatment after the medication. Kara now seemed to be on a more level playing field, not to high and not too low.

He could also see that while she would never be in danger of going too high, her family’s concerns that she could slide down into another low was there. Perhaps this was too much.

“Maybe for today. You can always come back. You need to get used to this place, learn all the secrets, learn how everything operates, just in case the worst happens. Alex can show you the defenses, the teleporters, the passwords and intricacies of Justin. You will have access and since you have your own place now, I can have a teleporter installed in your apartment. J’onn can do it. This place is yours now. There is a chain of command, a fall back plan if the worst happens. You are going to need to know it.”

“Why?”

Kara smiled.

“Because I love you. A part of you has to be wondering if yesterday was about me wanting to control this thing we have or keep you at a distance. This Fortress is a part of me, a piece of my soul. Alex has primary command for now and then I am next in line, despite being heavily medicated. After that, our parents take control if we go down. You are now fourth in line. You are above J’onn, Dante, Connolly, Bruce, everyone else. If my family, if something happens to us, this place is yours. I’m giving you a piece of my soul, Barry. I don’t do that lightly.”

The man was shocked for a moment, not quite sure what to say. He hadn’t expected that.

“You will be able to use the teleporter in your apartment to enter the Fortress. All the teleporters begin and end here. But once you arrive you can use that one we came in to enter our house in Midvale. You shouldn’t have to run all the time. Rann technology, gotta love it. Their food is horrible, and winters are miserable, but they do know how to travel in style. Come with me. You have time to learn this place’s secrets whenever you want but right now, there is one big secret you need to know and one thing you must swear to me.”

Barry followed her behind the monitor to a crystal slab, waist high.

“Kelex, show us Drox.”

The life size green menacing figure of Brainiac appeared.

“You know who he is. I have no doubt you have been given intel packets by my DEO friends if you are being trained by them, right?”

“Brainiac.” Barry agreed.

“I told Clark some secrets about our past, his past and his parents. Secrets no one besides my parents and Clark know. Actually, one big secret that must be kept hidden.”

“About what his parents put inside him?” Barry guessed. Kara let her surprise momentarily show, then schooled her features.

“He told you?”

“Not much.” Barry admitted. “He was upset and… he mentioned it. I really didn’t understand it.”

The blonde suspected as much. She doubted Clark had a good idea what the Codex really was or much about it at all.

“Then I should tell you about the Codex.” Kara decided. “Clark has no idea how powerful what he has inside him is. Not really.”

Barry stood, looking at the form of Vril Drox and listening to Kara recount how Jor El basically wanted to use Clark to start a new Kryptonian race, probably to take over the planet. The more he heard, the angrier he became for the boy.

“Brainiac goes to worlds, steals their knowledge, their data, anything he can get his hands on.” She explained. “He feeds it all into his databank, he can even shrink cities using technology I believe is similar to our Kryptonian crystals.”

“He can shrink cities?!” Barry asked, shocked and not imagining how that was possible. That certainly wasn’t in the briefing material. He knew the Coluan destroyed cities and planets, but nothing was said about shrinking.

Kara nodded and cut the feed, Brainiac disappearing.

“Those are the stories I have heard, and Lobo has as well. Supposedly he takes them as souvenirs, freezes them in place and bottles them in some trophy room. Of course, cities cannot survive without power, water, and humans could not survive, but their bodies are frozen and preserved. His ship is huge and when he targets a city, he can destroy it or preserve it. There is a reason so much of the universe is frightened of him. No one knows where he is. He lives on his ship, not his home world. He is only bent on gaining knowledge and collecting his trophies. Earth has no knowledge that he could possibly want.”

Barry felt relieved for a second but then realized there was a very big but coming.

“If he shows up here he will have figured out that the Codex survived and want it.” he guessed.

“Exactly. No one knows, no one can know. I realize you have seen the plans Alex and I have made to combat him along with the DEO and J’onn if he arrives. I guarantee you though, he will try and bargain, hold the Earth hostage in exchange for the Codex rather than risk destroying it accidentally. Only the four of us and now you, know he is the Codex. If you see Brainiac and we are dead, you take Clark, you get in that ship and wait. When Kelex gives the all clear and Brainiac is orbiting the other side of the planet, you leave. Don’t look back. Clark is the closest I will ever get to having my own child. Swear to me Barry. Clark always comes first, even before the world.”

The Flash wondered if that could really happen. Would the Earth give up a boy to Brainiac? Would Batman, if it meant saving the world?

No, Barry didn’t believe Batman would do that. He would fight for the world before giving up anyone, Clark or anyone else. Yet Kara was trusting him and not Bruce.

“I swear. It won’t come to that though. Nothing is going to happen to you or your family. I will make sure of it, Kara. You won’t ever have to put on a Kryptonian Bat suit to protect any of you.”

Kara grinned, appreciating the levity but also knowing he meant it. If the worst happened she could trust him to get Clark away from Earth.

“Barry, I know it won’t be easy for you. You are going to want to help save the world, but I trust you. I know you won’t let me down. If you see a skull shaped ship orbit this planet and I can’t do it, get Clark and my family away from here. Don’t go after Brainiac. He might well destroy the Earth, but it isn’t only Clark’s life at stake. If Brainiac has the Codex, he could give life to a new race of Kryptonians, thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands, all genetically modified to follow his bidding. That is why he would want the Codex so badly, not just for information or a trophy but for pure power. With that army, any galaxy under a yellow sun is doomed. They will all belong to him. I don’t think he knows it still exists but if he ever finds out, nothing will stop him from trying to take it.”

The man shivered, thinking of an army of thousands of Kryptonians, as powerful as Kara and under the thrall of a galactic madman. Would there be enough Kryptonite to stop them all?

Of course not.

The two left the Fortress hand in hand and entered Midvale once again. Unlike the last time Barry met her parents at a house, the underlying tension that was there before was gone. Not being used to stop an intervention probably had something to do with his more relaxed acceptance. Jeremiah seemed so happy that Kara was smiling, the man didn’t even try and grill Barry on the day’s previous activities.

An hour before Barry had to leave and Kara had to prepare for her group tonight where she would be accompanied by Alex and Alfred, the blonde did something she had not done since arriving.

She picked up the remote and turned the TV on, then went straight to the Metropolis 24-hour News station.

The entire room seemed to hold its breath.

The lead story was about the rise in oil prices due to rising tensions in the Middle Eastern states.

The lead story was interrupted minutes into the broadcast by news of an Earthquake that had happened minutes earlier in Papua, New Guinea, estimated to be a 6.1 to 6.5.

The damage was significant, it was too early to determine a number of casualties, but the reporter ended his interrupted coverage with a question the world was still asking after three weeks.

Where was Supergirl?

Kara clicked the TV off and walked out without a word.

Barry watched Alex follow her into the kitchen as he, Clark and the parents sat in an awkward silence.

“Probably wasn’t the best time for her to turn on the news, I guess.” he finally offered.

Jeremiah shook his head.

“It had to happen. This team Bruce wants, they can do a lot of good, you can… but no one can do what Kara did when it came to saving people in natural disasters. No one can be anywhere in minutes, saving people the way she can… could. But that’s okay. It isn’t on her. The sooner she understands that, the better she will be.”

“I can do it. I can do what she did.” Clark whispered.

Eliza placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him close.

“Maybe one day my sweet boy, but no time soon. The world moved along before Supergirl and it can wait a while for Superboy…”

“Man!” the boy corrected quickly.

“Sorry, Superman.”

In the kitchen, Alex found Kara staring out the window over the sink, leaning on the edge of the counter.

“Hey.” she offered, knowing that asking her how she felt was a waste of time.

Kara turned to her and smiled.

“We always knew it would end one day, one way or another. We’ve saved thousands, saved every human life on this planet, fought every threat. We did good, right Alex? Tell me it was worth it.”

The older sister took the younger in her arms and held her tightly. Kara did not cry, but grabbed her close as well, never learning to take for granted her ability to hug as hard as she wanted.

“Yeah, we did good. It was worth it. Not anymore though. You have done enough. Its time for you to rest.”

Alex felt her sister’s head nod even pressed against her shoulder.

“I know. I feel like a quitter.”

“No sweetie. You are a survivor and a fightger. You always have been. We both have been. All fights have to end though. Now it’s time for us to take care of ourselves. There are other heroes in this world, most of whom don’t wear any costumes. Let them do their jobs. We take care of each other now. Thats all that matters, right?”

Kara pulled back and smiled, keeping Alex’s hands in hers.

“Right. I wish I could be there, but I can’t. Not anymore. I need to eat and feed Barry before he flies off with an Amazon Goddess to a foreign land. It’s a good thing I am not the jealous sort. Then we should get ready. You still want to come with me tonight?”

Alex squeezed her hands.

“Try and stop me. I doubt you can anymore.” she challenged.

“Keep talking trash and we might have to break that no sparring rule.” Kara countered and walked back into the living room, leaving Alex alone and relieved.

She mentally checked off her list. No tears, no signs of depression or emotional outbursts, no shaking, her eyes were not moving all over the place, the way they often did when Kara wanted to escape somewhere and do some type of damage to herself.

She seemed level, if a little… dulled. The rough edges that always seemed to surround her, the raw nerves that could be touched easily, seemed to have healed a bit. Perhaps they were close. The medication doses were still being adjusted slightly. It was a fine line to walk when trying to keep someone on a stable, consistent emotional level while also not turning them into a zombie with no emotions.

Alex knew or could have easily guessed what Kara had planned the night before, even if she hadn’t been tracking her by satellite. Her sister loved Barry Allen and Alex loved the idea that Kara may be opening herself up and realizing she didn’t have to live life without love. No matter what happened it was good. If she could stay out of toxic relationships, that would be an advantage they had. As close as Alex and Dick Grayson were, she knew he was bad for Kara but could never convince either of them. Now Barry was here and while Kara may have had a million things going on, she could see her mother and father’s points that Barry could be good for her, even in her shaky emotional state.

Like most things since she was 14, Alex would hope for the best but always keep the worst in the back of her mind.

After an early dinner, Kara and Barry were left alone outside as the sun was beginning to set.

“So, thanks… for coming to see me. For everything.” the blonde told him.

“Thanks for letting me. Thanks for letting me in.” he responded.

Kara looked at the ground with a shy smile.

“It isn’t easy, but if there is anybody I want to do this with, it’s you. Just… I know you are going to be busy, training, working with Wally, your team, Bruce’s team, just be careful. Promise me you will wear the suit I had made for you. Keep your ring on you, always. Come back to me when you can. Thats all I can ask of you.”

“I’ll be back in a few days, as soon as I get back from Iceland and check on Central City.” He assured her. “I have to be in National City for some test runs, I’m hoping to be able to make my molecules become denser, stronger, the reverse of what I do when I am phasing. Hawk is probably going to break my neck for missing so many weight lifting sessions… but you come first. Always Kara.”

Kara kissed him gently.

“See ya soon, Flash. Go save the world. I love you.”

“I love you.” he told her and turned away, before he would be unable to leave. Raising his fist, he was in his suit in less than a second, running towards Metropolis. Ten minutes later he was still trying to digest all that had happened in 24 hours.

He had learned a lot, learned a lot about the Fortress, Kara’s childhood, Brainiac, the Codex, Clark and swore an oath that put a little boy’s safety over that of the world.

But his mind kept going back to their first time, underneath him, telling him she loved him.

It was that thought that kept the smile on his face all the way to Metropolis and the airport where Kelex guided him to a private hangar, no doubt where Bruce Wayne’s jet was kept. One of them at least.

When he reached the private hangar, he found Diana… dressed in her armor. She wasn’t alone. John Stewart, suited in green and black, ring glowing brighter than Barry had ever seen before.

“Diana?”

“I asked John to accompany us, so we could get to know him better. There is a slight delay however. Brother Eye has found a Red Lantern, outside of the airport, four blocks away, no doubt waiting to follow us in the air. The Lantern matches the description of a human who has been making inquiries on behalf of Atrocitus. I believe it is time we introduced ourselves.”

Barry looked at John Stewart, trying to read his eyes. So far, everything he had learned about the Lanterns gave him a low opinion of them. Did he really trust him in a fight?

“I trust him Barry.” Diana assured the man, as if reading his mind. “I have my reasons that I will explain to you on the flight, but we can rely on him.”

Barry nodded his head. He joined a team that she led. If she trusted Stewart, so would Barry, until he was given a reason not to.

“What’s the plan?” the Flash asked.

“Kelex will upload a map onto your HUD.” Diana told him. “This Red will have to concentrate to use his ring, the same as the Greens. We do to him, what we did to them. Attack fast, beat him until he is unconscious. J’onn will arrive in about twelve minutes to prevent him from using his ring against us when he wakes and I will have the answers we want. Go to him. We will be right behind you.”

Barry’s eye holes were covered by two lenses and the map appeared. He could be there in seconds, but it would take them a minute or more, depending on how fast they moved.

“What do you want me to do when I reach him? Wait or attack?”

Diana grinned.

“What do you want to do, Barry?”

“I want to attack.” the man told her.

“Then have no mercy. Just remember, we need him alive, for now.”