Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Seeing Red

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 27: No Second Chances.

The Red Lantern once known as John Moore, Oxford English student, stood alone in the dark, blending in on the sidewalk and drawing no notice from the few citizens who drove by quickly. This area was away from the main roads leading to the airport and as such was one of the places Metropolis citizens did not linger or even slow, if they were forced to travel the dimly lit street.

His mission had changed a few moments ago. Atrocitus had sent him to spy on the woman who raided an alien drug and weapons facility along with the Green Martian, the Flash and Batman.

In addition, three of those so-called heroes were breaking bones at alien gatherings, hide outs and even sanctuaries, all after information about Atrocitus and his location.

Lobo asking questions was one thing. Somehow the bounty hunter found about the Red Ring on Earth and wanted it for himself or suspected his best friend, Kara Zor El would be a target of it.

Now others were involved, including a female metahuman not known by humans but was rumored to be a strong wrecking ball who sliced through and broke other aliens in multitudes.

It was simple. Follow her, see who she associated with, where she was getting her information, and find out how they knew about Atrocitus.

The how became evident when he took a closer look at the private terminal from a distance and saw John Stewart with the brunette.

Greens were not supposed to associate with heroes of Earth. Humans should not know about them nor should most aliens who have never had run ins with the Corp.

Everyone knew and feared Kara Zor El and Lobo. Not many knew about the Lanterns because the Guardians preferred it that way and Greens always followed orders. Most of the Corps did. Only the Reds were wildcards.

So why was Stewart breaking ranks and no doubt giving out information on the various Corps voluntarily?

Informing Atrocitus through the ring of this development, his mission changed from follow to kill. Wait for the jet to take flight, blow it up in the sky along with the woman and finish off Stewart who would be stunned, perhaps even injured.

So, the man waited for the jet to take flight. He had reached the ground again and was not aware of a trail of lightning that entered the hangar.

Perhaps that was why he was so surprised when he was struck, sending him into the wall behind him.

Igniting his ring immediately and letting the power flow through him, prepared to destroy who had touched him, Rankorr was shocked to see neither Stewart or the new woman but the blurred image of the hero he recognized as Central City’s Flash. He had been in Gotham at the weapons facility take down but not seen with the group hunting Atrocitus since then. Apparently, he was involved in more than the occasional alien raid.

Expecting the man to say something, he waited a few moments, taking in the blurry figure and wondering if he was even solid.

Rankorr struck, sending a blast of red light ruled by rage, into and through the man.

The Flash was gone.

A tap on his shoulder caused him to turn, the fist hitting him so quickly he never saw it.

Standing up and placing a shield around him, the Lantern tried to keep track of the Flash. To strike he needed the shield down but the man hit like a sledgehammer, one moving at three or four hundred miles an hour. He knew his jaw was smashed and was already swallowing blood.

He also felt his temper rising.

“Where did you go?! Come back and face me!”

Rankorr’s red energy shield may have protected his bones but it did not protect him from the force of the blow that took him down.

Sitting up in the street, he took in the very frightening visage of a blurring Flash, lightning dancing around his form. Believing his shield could not hold up to many blows delivered with that force, he dropped it and used his ring to fire a wide pattern,

Barry for his part was concentrating. He had worked for over a month and a half with a DEO team that had trained Alex and Kara and was relying on that training now. Stay moving, don’t talk, stay vibrating and be merciless.

The Flash saw the man in very slow motion considering the speed he himself was moving. He saw the ring and had plenty of time to react. As the information, given by Jordan and Gardener proved, the shields were not as strong as Kara’s skin had been, they could be hurt behind them and they had to drop the shield to use the ring for the most part. A Green may be able to concentrate in a fight enough to use the Ring as a weapon and a guard but the angrier the Red became the less he thought and concentrated.

Standing behind Rankorr, Barry watched the wide range of his attack with interest. It struck the wall, spreading out at least six feet. The man himself would have been terrifying to a person not used to metahumans. His eyes were glowing a deep red and his hair seemed to be on fire.

Deciding not to give him an opportunity to use the weapon again and cause wide spread destruction to public property, Barry wrapped him up from behind and began vibrating once again, forcing Rankorr to do the same.

Only Barry pushed the man down and let go.

Rankorr stared at the pavement and then screamed as soon as the pain hit him. His lower legs had been phased into the street below, up to his knees and the Lantern could not move. His legs were mixed with pavement, gravel, concrete, all part of his body now. Barry struck the back of his head, knocking him out and bending him backwards so he fell face looking up, knees bent and lower legs one with the asphalt.

Diana and Stewart walked to the scene in no hurry. Diana had a pleased smile on her face and Stewart looked disturbed.

“He’s alive.” Barry pointed out to his team leader.

“John, if you would please use your ring to cut him loose?”

Stewart glanced at her then the Flash. He expected the kid to take a few shots but hold off Rankorr till they arrived. It was a surprise when Diana told him they could take their time.

“I want to see what he is willing to do for her, how far he is willing to go,” she explained. Stewart didn’t ask who she was.

The Lanterns had heard the rumors, knew Kara Zor El threatened the White Martians with extinction and was feared by aliens everywhere, but they had all assumed it was because of her power and fervent desire to do justice. She had never attacked an innocent human or alien.

But after Batman, well known to be one of her best friends, became interested in the Red Ring, they were beginning to suspect that the ring had a target and that target was currently missing.

No, not missing. The woman, Batman and J’onn Jonzz knew exactly where she was and so did Barry Allen.

“There is no need for me to cut him out of the pavement. The energy that runs through his veins is like acid. No doubt, the bottoms of his legs will be free shortly and the energy that replaces his ruined blood will close off any bleed outs. Reds are hard to kill. No other Corp is harder.”

Diana nodded, satisfied and watched as Stewart’s words came true, the man’s lower legs burning from his knees. Diana picked him up by his collar and dragged him away, bright red lit fluid and a trail of burnt asphalt from the remains of his legs, trailing him and leaving scorch marks on the pavement.

Walking around a corner, Barry used his hand to cut a lock on a closed down barber shop and Diana stepped inside, unceremoniously tossing the still unconscious Red Lantern into the first chair they approached. Wrapping her lasso around him and the chair, the three waited.

Twenty minutes later, J’onn arrived. Ten minutes after that, Batman walked in.

The five stood and stared at the man, until Bruce became impatient and struck a small device to the side of his head and sent an electrical shock through him, awakening him immediately.

Rankorr shook his head, trying to clear it, then screamed when the pain hit him hard. He glanced down and could tell his lower legs were gone, the red poisoned blood clotting, keeping him alive as the ring always did. Deciding to attack, the man tried to fire a blast of pure light energy but was unable.

He was caught, wrapped in a golden lasso and being mentally attacked by a Green Martian. It took him a moment to make out the figures in the dark, but he saw the woman, that damn John Stewart, the black mask of Batman and the Flash.

“I’ll kill you.” he hissed towards Barry.

Barry shook his head. “You aren’t fast enough to kill me, Moore. That is your real name, right? According to Stewart you are no more than Atrocitus’s lapdog. Fortunately for you, I need a lap dog right now. You are going to tell us everything we want to know. You can try and fight my friend’s lasso, or J’onn Jonzz can take the information out of your head. Either way it’s going to hurt, worse than your legs being crushed in pavement. Where is Atrocitus?”

Rankorr shook his head and clenched his jaw, feeling the rope holding him beginning to burn.

Despite his resistance, he began talking.

“I don’t know where he is right now! He could be anywhere. He is on Earth but that is all I know. He talks to me through the ring!”

“Where is the red ring on Earth?”

“I don’t know! It could be anywhere! It’s probably where Atrocitus is when he is on Earth. There is only… “

Rankorr hesitated, realizing he was answering more than he was asked and tried to stop speaking. The pain in his head worsened and the rope was beginning to burn. Those pains, mixed with the phantom pains where his legs used to be, were becoming overwhelming.

“There is only what?!” Barry yelled.

“There is only one place that could mask its energy, his and the ring.”

“Pyramids.” Stewart said, realizing why the Lanterns, both Green and Red had been having difficulty tracking the energy.

“Which pyramid?’ Barry asked. He knew there were thousands of discovered pyramids on Earth and many more that weren’t discovered to this day.

“I don’t know, I swear.” the man told him, practically begging now.

“Where did you last see him?” Barry asked, inches from the Lanterns face.

“I don’t… ahhhh! I saw him in South America! Brazil! He must be hiding around one of those pyramids, but he could have left. He tells me where to meet him and I go. Metropolis, Brazil, Egypt. He could be anywhere!”

“I’m right here.” a new voice said from the door.

Batman reacted immediately, turning and tossing an explosive towards the man. It never touched him, blowing up at a touch of the red energy surrounding him.

John fired from his ring, Atrocitus blocking it with ease. A large blast fanned from his ring, knocking them all down.

Before Barry could recover from the surprise and shock of the blast, a red spear was unleashed from the ring into Rankorr’s head, killing the man instantly, his red ring flying into Atrocitus’s left hand. Barry swung, hoping with enough force he could send the monster out of the room. Instead he was blasted back into the far wall. Batman was knocked away and J’onn Jonzz and Diana attacked, finally knocking the monster onto the street, striking him at the same time.

A fight ensued between the Martian, Amazon and Red Lantern. Despite the power of the two’s punches, neither was able to break his shield as he continued to send out constructs of hard light, slapping the two around. Barry moved, deciding to get behind him and attempt to phase a hand though Atrocitus’s chest.

Unlike Rankorr, Atrocitus’s energy felt like a brick wall and once again, the shock took him down. Atrocitus deflected a blade from Bruce with ease that had been heading towards his eye.

John Stewart, having recovered, blasted his green energy against the Red, emitting such power that everyone else backed off as the two fought to a standoff.

John Stewart was a powerful Green Lantern, his will power among the strongest in the Corp.

Atrocitus’ rage powering the ring was greater and Stewart began to slide back until Diana order him to stop and jumped in front of the red light, her forearms absorbing the energy to Atrocitus’s obvious surprise. She slammed her gauntlets together when he stopped attacking and sent the energy of the red ring back at him, knocking him down onto his back.

Barry wasted no time, jumping on top of the man and trying to phase a hand directly into his skull. The Flash screamed from the effort, his vibrations against the shield that would not go away actually hurting him, even when the man was down.

“Barry move!”

The man hesitated at Diana’s command but did so regardless, deciding he would not win that battle right now. Jumping back, the Red Lantern regained his feet immediately.

Atrocitus was not expecting what had happened next. All he knew was his shield had been pierced as well as his abdomen. Diana’s sword had run him through.

The man jerked back in shock, pulling the sword out of him.

“You are one of the old gods.” he whispered and raised his ring into the air, a large blast going in all directions. The heroes were blown back to the ground.

When they sat up, Atrocitus was gone.

Stewart moved, guessing the monster had flown into the sky and made to follow until J’onn’s hand held him up.

“We can’t all help you there and it is going to take all of us. He could have teleported by now. He is injured, perhaps dying. We need to regroup and talk about how to find this ring. We know more than we did. There is no need to be reckless now.” the Martian pointed out.

Diana screamed in anger and threw her sword across the street in frustration. It stuck in the brick wall it hit.

The woman took several deep breaths and turned back to the team, her face as serene as it usually was. You would never guess she stabbed a monster in the abdomen and tossed a sword into a brick wall in frustration.

“This is why I want Curry. He is obviously part Atlantean. If he can walk on land he is half Atlantean, half human. The Atlanteans have a trident, a very special trident. If my sword can cut through that monster’s red shield, that weapon can as well. We should have asked Rankorr what his plan for angering Kara… it doesn’t matter now.”

Stewart caught that, his worst fears confirmed.

“So Supergirl is the target of the ring you think?”

Barry was in the man’s face in an instant.

“I was close. I had the energy figured out and I was close to being able to phase through it. You say a word to your other ring buddies about this and I will end you.”

Stewart nor the other team members quite knew what to say. Out of all of them, Barry seemed the most laid back, the calmest outside of Diana. Right now, he had lost his cool and looked like a different person. His eyes that were not hidden by the mask were hard.

“I won’t say a word. I swear.” Stewart told him. “It isn’t because I am scared of you either. Look, I have never liked what the Guardians had us doing, basically nothing. I never agreed with it. I want to help and if defying them is what I have to do then so be it. I’m not sitting on the sidelines anymore, but if you want me on this team, then I need to know everything because right now I feel like I don’t know a quarter of the story.”

“You know what you need to know.” Batman told him. “You want to be trusted, prove yourself first. Why couldn’t your ring overpower his?”

Stewart shook his head, realizing he was not going to win this argument tonight. He meant every word he said and while he understood that time was needed for trust, judging by Atrocitus’s appearance and the dead body inside the building, Stewart felt they were running out of time.

“He is the original Red Lantern. No one Lantern can overpower him, not any color. Guy had to recruit the entire Red Lantern Corp to defeat him and still couldn’t kill him. That monster is powered by rage and no one has as much rage as he does in the entire damn universe. If your sword can kill him.” he looked at Diana, “you are the best chance we got. I don’t care how many weapons you have Batman. I don’t care how strong you are J’onn. Barry even if you could phase through his shield, his heart is on his finger. Those rings take over the heart, pump energy instead of blood. You couldn’t kill him that way. You won’t cut off his finger. The ring won’t allow it. Diana, you are going to have to behead him while the rest of us hold him down, keep him distracted.”

Diana shook her head. “Which is why I need Curry. If Kara had the ring, worst case scenario, how strong would she be?”

Stewart closed his eyes and tried to fight back a shiver.

“How much rage does she have?” he asked quietly. “In her heart, how much anger does she truly have?”

No one answered, instead the four looking among themselves, not knowing what to say.

“More than I do. Probably more than Atrocitus.” Batman finally admitted.

Stewart nodded his head. “Then if she gets that ring we are screwed. She will be a monster, unable to think, lashing out at everything and everyone. Her blood will become acid, her natural powers multiplied in strength. It would take every Lantern on this planet and more to hold her down long enough to get her to Ysmault, so she can regain some control. I wouldn’t be sure if that was even possible. She would truly be a destroyer of worlds. A mindless, rage filled force of mass destruction with a key to traveling every galaxy in the universe.”

Batman was thinking, going over every option in his head. He knew no matter how many medications she was on, Kara’s anger would always be a part of her, just as his darkness would always be a part of him. He suspected that Atrocitus would incite… something, a plan to draw her out and place her in a position where she had no choice but to except the ring or watch innocents die.

But how would he control her? What was his end game? What good would a mindless monster do him?

“How would he control her? How would he get her to Ysmault?” Bruce asked.

“A Power Battery.” Stewart realized. “There is one on Ysmault, that recharges rings. All our rings need to be recharged every decade or so. That ring would go to a power battery like metal to a magnet. If he has made another, he could use it to lure her wherever he wanted, most likely to Oa where he could set her loose on the Guardians without bothering to give her back a semblance of herself on Ysmault. She would follow him like a wild dog chasing a bone.”

Diana agreed, thinking this made the most sense. “If we can’t find the ring, we find that battery. Without it he would have no advantage in tempting her. We must destroy one or the other, preferably both along with him. If I can get close enough I can kill him, and he knows it.”

“If he isn’t already dead.” J’onn reminded her.

“He isn’t, but he will be.” Diana assured him. “Barry when we return, I believe it is time we told Kara everything.”

“No!” J’onn and Bruce objected at the same time.

“She is doing well.” Bruce stressed. “The medications have cut her anxiety down tremendously. The entire family is doing well. This would only add to her problems…”

“What are her problems? Its sounds like more than anger.” Stewart shouted. “I get about trust and time and all that, but John Moore’s dead body is telling me that we don’t have much time. His ring is gone, with Atrocitus who no doubt sent it back off into the galaxy, searching for a new host. I need the story.”

Batman stepped up to him. “That ring on your finger won’t work on us. You will be told what you need to know, when you need to know it. You may have not agreed with what the Guardians wanted but you followed along while she fought to save this world. I don’t give a damn what you think you need. Are we going to have a problem?”

Stewart looked into the man’s eyes and had no doubt he would not win a fight against him without his ring. He had seen enough over the years. Batman went toe to toe with very dangerous enemies and didn’t back down. He didn’t back down tonight in the face of that monster.

“No, no problem.”

“Barry?” Diana asked. “You know her best.”

“No, he doesn’t.” Batman nearly growled. “No offense, Barry but you don’t know her as well as J’onn or I do. That family needs a break. Alex doesn’t even know. Jeremiah and Eliza only know that there is a problem we are taking care of. They need to relax and worrying about a monster that wants to turn Kara into one, when she is getting it together finally would be counterproductive to everything she has accomplished in the last three months.”

Barry was immediately annoyed. He was already angry that Atrocitus got away, angry that he couldn’t get through that damn red shield and had been caught by the wide blast and now angry that Bruce had said something which had bothered him for a while. Those two did know Kara better and longer than Barry and it made him angry. He also realized that if he had gotten through the shield he would have killed the man without a second thought. Like he had told Connolly two weeks prior, he would never make the same mistake he made with Zoom again. He wouldn’t lose Kara.

Still he admitted that Bruce, J’onn, Kara and Alex had a longer history together. It annoyed him, but it was the truth.

“Let’s just find Atrocitus and take his head off.” Barry decided, the adrenalin wearing off. “We stop him, his plan, the battery, everything goes down with him. We need to end this. Right now, she is calm, as out of the way as she can get, and it needs to stay that way. For once, let’s take care of her. We have a flight to Iceland, right Diana?”

The Amazon nodded her head. Stewart was right about one thing, they were running out of time. She felt it in every part of her being.

“I think we should consider bringing the rest of the Lanterns up to date.” Stewart suggested. “This is a big deal. Do any of you really understand what could be unleashed if Supergirl becomes a…”

Stewart’s question was cut off when J’onn placed his hand on the Lanterns forehead. Stewart stiffened and gritted his teeth, his head feeling as if was being torn apart until he blacked out.

A few moments later he opened his eyes, realizing he was on the ground and being looked down upon by the four individuals he had arrived with. What happened?

“Where did Atrocitus go? What happened?” he asked, not remembering anything after Atrocitus arrived suddenly.

“You two got in a fight. You lost badly, and he escaped before we could take him. We have work to do, so get off the ground.” The Martian told him and walked off.

Barry laughed despite his ill humor. That was certainly one way to stop a Lantern from talking.

“Barry, stay here, stay in America, on this continent.” Diana told him. “Stewart will accompany me to speak to Curry. You other three need to keep searching and protecting whoever needs protection.” She finished, knowing that would mean the Danvers.

“Showing up here was a bold move. You need to be near, Flash. We have no idea where he could be.” the Amazon stressed to him. He understood by near she meant near Kara.

Barry felt a bit better. As frustrated as he was that he hadn’t been able to take down Atrocitus and even more alarmingly that all five of them hadn’t been able to take him, being on the same continent as Kara made him feel better. The man still had five weeks of “FBI Training” before he was expected back to work. Barry knew if this wasn’t taken care of by then, he would be taking a leave of absence from his job to have more free time to deal with this threat.

Batman, J’onn and Stewart left, leaving Diana and Barry alone.

“Listen to me.” Diana told him, making sure she had his full attention.

“Yeah?”

“I know you are frustrated. You want to kill this creature as badly as I do. I am frustrated as you can tell by my sword buried in a brick wall. Remember though, this is a war. Tonight was the first battle and he lost. We will win, but you must focus. Keep her happy, keep her safe and tell her what is going on. I know they have a longer history but you are the one she loves. She is yours to love and protect. Tell her. We will talk more when I return with Curry.”

Barry wanted to laugh at her confidence. The way she spoke always seemed as if she already knew the outcome of everything.

“And if he doesn’t return?”

“He will. I will beat him unit he agrees. We can trust Stewart. He is the only Lantern I sensed was disgusted with their stance of non-participation in the events of the world they were supposed to protect. Give it time and you will trust him as well. We need a Lantern and he is the only one I will accept. It will be okay, Barry. We will win.”

That said, Diana patted him on the shoulder and left, jumping into the air and out of sight very quickly.

“Kelex?” Barry asked, once he was left alone. “Are you there?”

“As long as you have the suit on, I am here. I will also be informing Alex Danvers of the threat this Atrocitus poses. It is probable this man could be a direct threat to Kara. Protocol demands I inform her as first in line immediately with any information that could affect the Danvers safety, especially Kara and Clark. Would you like to have the conversation, or should I?”

Barry shook his head, wondering if there was some way that he could turn this damn robot off. Of course, he had no doubt Kara was using Kelex as her way of knowing he was okay. He was considering telling her anyway but the tin can made the decision for him.

“Your primary purpose is Kara’s mental…”

“Do not tell me my primary purpose, Barry Allen. You are not my programmer. I understand what my duty is. Atrocitus is a threat to Kara. Alex will know and as long as she is in control of the Fortress, she can decide whether Kara needs to know. Shall I tell the Danvers you are on your way back to have a discussion with them?”

Barry gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, wondering if he could use a transporter in the Batcave to enter the Fortress and crush this sarcastic tin can.

“I’ll be there in the morning. Let them know. When I tried to phase through that energy shield, did you get any kind of reading on it? Any idea why I couldn’t?”

“I have been analyzing the radiation signatures. Krypton never had contact with any so-called Lantern, but the light is very intriguing. I will have the secrets unlocked soon.”

Barry shook his head and began running for Midvale.

“I don’t doubt it. Send all the information you have to Cisco. You two can work on this together. I need to know how to get through that shield. Play nice. You have never seen this energy and neither has he. Listen to him. Thats an order and I guess since I am on the chain you have to do as I say, correct?”

Barry heard nothing but silence for a few moments. He could imagine Kelex’s cyclops like face frozen with a frowny emoji under it.

“You want me to work with a human in regard to unlocking the key to defeating a cosmic energy source?”

Barry grinned a bit, enjoying the almost disbelief in the robot’s voice.

“Are you this condescending to Alex?” he asked curiously.

“No. One of my prime directives is self-preservation. Speaking in a condescending manner towards Alex Danvers would oppose that directive.”

“Fine then.” The Flash told him. “Work with Cisco and be the polite robot we both know you can be and I won’t tell Alex that you ranted about how stupid humans were. By the way, weren’t you the one who told Kara she couldn’t catch the plane without killing anyone? I think Alex had the idea about freezing the tornado while you went on about how it wouldn’t…”

“Point taken! I have sent text messages to the Danvers and they will be waiting on you. I will coordinate with Ramon.”

Satisfied, Barry made the trip to Midvale and within an hour, had been greeted by Alex and Eliza Danvers at the door. A few moments later after promising to explain in the morning, he was back on the fold out couch.

At 7 AM, Kara came down in shorts and a sports bra, sunglasses perched on her head, prepared to begin her workout. To say she was surprised to see Barry sitting with her who family in the living room had her instantly alert.

None of them, even Clark, looked happy.

“Whatever it was, I didn’t do it.” she said immediately.

“It’s nothing like that. Why don’t you have a seat on the couch between Barry and Alex?” Jeremiah suggested.

A very nervous Kara did so, not like where this was going. Usually when the whole family was gathered in the living room in this house, it meant Eliza had found blood Kara had missed cleaning and not reported, or someone heard a bone snap and a whimper from the bathroom. At times it was because Kara refused to eat. It could be a number of reasons and usually Jess was here, and Clark wasn’t.

Maybe this time was different.

She hoped.

“Kara,” Eliza started, “we want you to be honest with us, no lies, at all, ever. We aren’t going to keep any lies from you. There is a threat, not immediate and not to us directly, but Barry, Bruce and J’onn have been hunting it. Bruce didn’t want you to worry about it, especially since you have retired, Barry didn’t want any of us to worry about it, but he showed up last night to tell us and we can’t justify keeping this from you.”

Kara grimaced and didn’t feel any better when Alex took her hand. It didn’t escape her attention that Alex’s hand was cold and shaking.

“That is the absolute worse way to start a conversation.” the blonde muttered and leaned back. “Tell me everything, hold nothing back. No matter what you say, it can’t be worse than what I have heard in the past.”

So, Barry did, keeping an eye on her unchanging, emotionless face the entire time. He told her of the Red Ring, of Atrocitus and of the suspicion that he wanted Kara to take the ring, then finished with the fight last night.

Kara sat for a minute without speaking, taking it all in seemingly calm. Only Alex knew how worried she was, due to her hand being nearly broke in Kara’s increasing grip.

“Okay,” she finally told them, “I was wrong. That could be the worst thing I have ever heard. Basically, if I go into a rage, I fall to the Dark Side and become a Sith Lord who can’t even think, lose myself completely, my blood turns to acid and I can never take this ring off. You think this monster wants me to accept it, so he can turn me loose on some short guys from a planet I have never heard of.”

Barry nodded, impressed that she had just summed up an hour’s conversation in a few sentences.

“So, I keep my cool no matter what. I have to accept the ring, he can’t force it on to me. But he could threaten one of you if I don’t take it.” Kara realized.

“I don’t think that’s his play. We think he may have something bigger plan, something on a mass scale. You are right though, it is a possibility. Thats why I will be around. I was able to stop him last night, I was close and when Kelex can figure out that energy barrier I can end him.”

“I need the crystal out.” Kara said immediately, met by a chorus of No from the other five present, Clark being the loudest.

“Stay calm, no matter what. Let me protect you for once.” Barry told her.

Kara snorted. “For once? When have I ever protected you, Barry?”

“When you left me 6 years ago. You did it to protect me.” he remind her.

“And you told me I was wrong.” Kara reminded him.

“You still did it with the right intentions. I can handle this if you will let me. My DEO training buddies are coming back to Midvale, at least Hawk and Ty. J’onn will probably go to work with Alex and your Dad, and I will be in Connolly’s old house. We can handle whatever comes. I promise no one will touch your family, especially this monster. Just trust me, please?”

Kara did trust him. She trusted him to do the best he could. But from the sound of this monster, these damn rings, these damn Lanterns that could have been helping her or doing the job, so she wouldn’t have to…

“Lanterns.” she hissed. “I hope they appreciate how lucky they are that I don’t have my powers.”

Barry had already told her they didn’t know but decided to leave it alone. He had heard that bitterness before which is exactly why he didn’t want to tell her about this.

Kara stood up and walked outside abruptly, leaving the rest behind. Barry thought of going after her, but Alex was already moving.

Outside, Kara walked towards the cliff and stood over the spot she nearly killed Hank Henshaw over a decade ago. The frightening thing was she was still a little upset with herself that she hadn’t been the one to do it.

Alex walked slowly to her, remembering this spot as well and doubting Kara came out here by accident.

“Wasn’t exactly a vote of confidence you gave him in there.” Alex mentioned quietly, keeping her arms crossed, her voice soft and staying behind Kara.

Kara turned back towards her and smiled, looking up to the sky.

“We can’t get a break, can we? It’s like this life is determined to keep us doing what we do until we get killed or go permanently crazy. What the hell, Alex? How do I fight this? Bruce, J’onn, Barry and Diana couldn’t take this guy out? They even had one of those coward Lanterns. Some guy wants to turn me into a mindless monster because I am powerful? How does this stuff happen to me? I just want to build my house and get a job! Thats it!”

“And you will.” Alex assured her. “Just give them time. If this guy makes a move, we will have back up and they can worry about it. Just stay cool, don’t accept any red glowing rings and we are good.”

Kara shook her head, pacing on front of Alex.

“Keep my cool?” she finally asked. “These meds help me sleep, I don’t have nightmares and I actually feel like getting out of bed but how am I supposed to not worry about this? How can I forget? You expect me to keep my cool?”

“No big deal.” Alex assured her calmly. “We can up the dosage of anxiety meds…”

“Is that your answer to everything? Use drugs to help me deal with things?!” Kara yelled.

“It was your answer for years! Would it kill you to take some drugs that will do you some good for once? Are you even capable of making good decisions!?” Alex yelled back, shocking both girls into silence.

The two sisters stood quietly, not looking at each other, both of their faces red.

“I’m sorry.” Alex mumbled. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

“But you meant it, right?” Kara asked. “I have been doing everything you asked of me but if I am going to turn into a zombie then what is the point of living? I shouldn’t have bothered with rehab… damn it! Do you have any idea how sluggish these drugs make me now? My reaction time sucks. My reflexes, everything, I felt better without my powers, drunk! I feel like there is lead in my veins! I feel weak and I hate it.”

Alex took a deep breath, hoping a few moments might calm her and her sister. It worked she guessed since Kara stopped pacing.

“I want control back of the Fortress. It will make me feel better.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“You have to, its mine.”

“I chalked up quite a few hours helping set that thing up while freezing my human ass off. Besides you gave it to me so it’s mine. You don’t get take backs.”

Kara laughed, surprised by that.

“I always get take backs.”

“You canceled take backs when you were fifteen and I haven’t been able to get one since. You don’t get to call them now. Look, I know about Project Sundown and first, the idea that you have recreated the battle armor of a genetically designed psychopathic soldier is alarming enough but I saw the weapons specs you want on that thing. There is no way in hell you are arming that suit. It isn’t needed. Your boyfriend is a speedster superhero who went toe to finger with this monster less than ten hours ago. J’onn can handle us in Raleigh. I’ll keep a weapon on me while we are at work. Mom will be here with you for a while. We will be fine. Just stay cool.”

Kara dropped her shoulders, wishing she had just taken back control in the Block when Alex asked her if she wanted it. Kelex would have given it to her as soon as she was physically and mentally stable. Instead she told him it was the choice of her hard-headed sister.

“Fine. How much more can the pills be upped? Should I get a rocking chair for the front porch and a bib to catch my drool or am I heading straight for the attic?” she asked sarcastically.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Alex told her. “Our attic is too packed, and the neighbors would talk if they saw you on the front porch. I’ll set you up with a nice rocker on the back porch, so you can see the ocean. I’m not a monster, Kara.”

Kara shook her head. “You are such a bitch.” she whispered with a grin.

“I had to learn to be to deal with you… okay, maybe I always have been, but have I ever led you wrong before? Have I?”

The blonde shook her head. “I guess not. Besides that brief fascination you had with Marilyn Manson, then no I don’t suppose you have. So, take stronger drugs, don’t worry about giant red monsters with power rings and don’t put any red glowing rings on my finger. Anything else?”

“Yeah, go give your boyfriend a vote of confidence. Also, mean it. You trust him, or you wouldn’t have let him in. Trust him with this. He took on a monster and might have won, if given enough time and information. “

“He might have gotten killed.” Kara countered. “If Diana hadn’t stabbed that thing…”

“But she did because he is part of a team. Everybody needs partners, even you, remember Partner? He has three pretty strong partners. Give him the damn vote of confidence already.”

The two young women walked back into the house, to expectant parents, an obviously irritated boyfriend and a grumpy eleven-year-old holding one of Kara’s old red sun bracelet in his hand.

“Okay…” Kara started, only to find herself back outside in front of Barry.

“Please don’t do that without warning me!” she shouted at Barry, once she regained her bearings.

“I want to say a few things before we have one of those famous family meetings.” the man told her.

Kara grinned and kissed his mouth gently, placing her hands on his hips and letting them drop slowly down his waist. Then she made her move.

Barry stiffened and clenched his jaw, shocked by the pain but unable to move without causing more, now that Kara’s hand was… on his groin.

“These things I have in my hand? I like them where they are, but if you move me one more time like that without my permission I will rip them off and keep them on my nightstand. Try vibrating out of that. As you well know, when I want to be manhandled, I will tell you loudly and it will be in private. Unless you want to lose the use of these permanently, if you want to speak to me outside you will ask, not grab and take. Do you understand, Barry?”

Barry swallowed and nodded quickly and continuously until Kara’s grip lessened and finally went away.

“That was so cool. We now have our first relationship rule. Now, before you zipped me out here you wanted to say something?”

“I don’t really remember now.” he hissed, hoping to not let the pain show in his voice and on his face and failing miserably. “Oh, yeah… first I want to say I am sorry for moving you outside and would appreciate it if you would never grab me there again and twist, at least in an angry manner.”

Kara crossed her arms and grinned.

“Don’t give me a reason to and you won’t have to worry about it. You wanted to ask me why I don’t trust you to take care of this problem, right?”

The Flash nodded his head hesitantly. “I just wanted you to know so you could be on guard and I tell you I will keep you safe and the first thing you want to do is take the crystal out. You don’t trust me to take care of you and your family, do you?”

“Yeah, I trust you. I know you would kill for me and them. I wouldn’t have given you access to the Fortress if I didn’t so don’t question me on that. My concern is that you have gotten yourself into something because of me that now requires you to phase people’s legs into asphalt. You beat the guy and wanted to permanently harm him so you disabled him until he could tell you everything you wanted to know. Afterward, if Atrocitus hadn’t shown up, what do you think would have happened to that guy? You think he would have gone to Lantern jail or a Lantern hospital? Somebody would have had to kill him. If you had been alone, it would have been you.”

“I’m prepared for that.” Barry told her defiantly.

“Thats the problem. You phased his legs into the pavement and let him solidify. Do you know who would have done something like that? Who has burned legs off at the knees, you had tortured and then killed once the information has been gained? Do you? Me. Thats what I would have done. That isn’t you. It was never supposed to be. You are a hero, Barry. They are pushing you to be what they want. Diana wants you to harden, and so do my DEO friends. They want you to replace me because you are powerful.”

“Now wait…” Barry started before Kara’s hand clasped over his mouth, muffling his voice.

“I know you can beat this Atrocitus. I know how powerful you can become; how powerful you are. You haven’t gotten close to your limit. But there is a price to be paid. I paid it. I’m still paying it. Everyone who loves me, including you, is paying it. You can become powerful, you can work, study, practice, unlock abilities probably only Bruce has thought about. But to beat someone like this Atrocitus, you are going to have to go to a very dark place. It’s a place I am trying very hard to climb out of. The irony is, beating this guy is almost impossible without becoming like him in a way. It’s the way all these guys work.”

Barry turned away from her, not wanting to see her eyes when he asked the next question.

“It’s because of Zoom, right? I didn’t have it in me to kill him. I let him beat me, take my loved ones, kill my father. You are wondering how I can protect your family if I couldn’t protect my own.”

“Barry.” Kara whispered, walking up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist. “That has nothing to do with anything. I don’t think…”

“Yes, you do.” he told her, turning into her arms. “I saw it that day in S.T.A.R. when you realized I was the Flash. When I told you everything that had gone down I saw it. You pitied me. You don’t think I am as strong as you were, that I wasn’t ready, and you were right, but that was then.”

Kara rubbed his cheek softly and looked into his eyes, surprised to see they were shimmering.

“I didn’t pity you. I wish I could have helped you, but I would never pity you. You seem to be mistaking what I was, as being strong. You can help the world by being you. It’s just… when you get involved with entities like this, the big bads as Alex and I used to call them, Brainiacs, Mongels, Zods or… to beat something like that, there is only one option. Prison isn’t an option. Ty told me once that every time he fired a bullet he felt he killed a small piece of his soul, no matter how much the target deserved it. He was right. I just don’t want to see you turn from the guy I love into who I used to be. I guess who I still am, considering if I had my powers I would hunt this creature down the moment I learned of him and slaughter him.”

The man kissed her gently and took her hand, gently guiding her towards the cliff.

“I don’t want to kill but I won’t lose, Kara. You can understand that, right? You know what’s it like to hold on to what you have so tightly you would do anything to keep it. Thats the way I feel about you. I know my lines and I won’t let them blur, but I need to know you believe in me.”

Kara took a deep breath and thought before she spoke. A large part of her wanted to handle this on her own. She knew how to get the crystal out of her and she didn’t need a Fortress or technology to do it.

The girl also knew what would happen if she did. Her medication that had been building in her system for months, the medication that helped her not feel so hopeless and lost all the time, would be burned out of her system. Her sedatives wouldn’t work, and she would stop sleeping, she would be back to square one in therapy, she couldn’t keep going to meetings. Those kinds of things fell by the wayside when hunting intergalactic monsters.

Her rage would be much harder to control. It was always there but muted, the anxiety and constant fear that triggered and fed it, being controlled.

And Barry would never have confidence in himself.

“You have to make an oath, Barry. An unbreakable oath.”

Barry did not like the tone of her voice. She was not joking.

“Okay.”

Kara took his hand and looked at him with a smile.

“You swear to me, on our love, that if the worst ever happens, if I ever die or have to be taken down because of whatever reason, you swear to me right now that you will never go back to change history. What is meant to be is meant to be. If my family is killed I will be killed with them. No matter what, you are never to go back in time to save my life.”

Barry shook his head wishing of all the things she could have asked for, it wouldn’t be that one. He had nearly gone back to save his mother twice, his father once. He had fought the urge but Kara too?

“Do you really think I want to continue living as a mindless rage monster if it happens? I wouldn’t even know who I was. I would be nothing more than I have ever thought of myself, the perfect killing machine. If it happens Barry, you have to help take me down. But no matter what, you swear to me that you will never travel back in time to save my life. Thats not the life I want.”

“Kara… but what…”

“Never!” she told him sharply. “Never. If I am going to stay without my powers that means I am going to live a human life and a human death. If you can’t make that oath to me then this can’t go any further. I love you, but I won’t have history being rewritten repeatedly, just to keep me alive. Swear to me, Barry.”

The Flash slowly nodded his head.

“I swear to you, Kara. I swear I will never change time to save you.”

“Thank you.” she told him gratefully. “Now since it looks like you are going to be staying for a while, let’s go have lunch. I’m not going to worry, or have crystals cut out of my body or anything else. I am trusting you to keep us safe. I know you can.”

“You trust me?” he asked to be certain.

Kara kissed him and nodded.

They walked back in, hand in hand, both very conflicted. Conflictions didn’t matter though. They had their paths. Kara had chosen hers, to live her life and let Barry handle the rest and Barry had sworn an oath to his path. Protect her at all costs or lose her forever.

Like with his mother and father, there would be no second chances.