Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Seeing Red

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 36: Fire

Diaspora

The advisor to his majesty, the Diaspora ruler, approached the throne with his usual trepidation and fear. He had served the throne for over one hundred cycles around their sun and always been proud of his status.

That changed ten cycles past. The king, once a wise man, benevolent even, had changed. He began wearing a strange armor which made him stronger than any other on the planet, began driving his soldiers harder, killing those he deemed weak and using more and more of the planet’s resources to build their military, turning it from a defense of the planet to a conquering force bent on a holy mission to cleanse the universe, make the strong, stronger and the weak dead.

His majesty believed that only when faced with the loss of one’s home world could the race truly be challenged. So many peaceful planets, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions in the farther reaches outside the known universe lived in harmony, never growing stronger, never becoming more. The Diasporans were determined to change that.

“Your Majesty, the annihilation of Draxx has been complete. The planet is ours, the Draxians have all been wiped out except for a few remains hiding in the wild reaches. Our hunters are tracking them now.”

The figure on the throne, wrapped in silver armor and a silver helmet which covered most of his reptilian face was pleased and disappointed. His army had performed admirably, taking the planet quickly, but the Draxians were no more, unable to mount any defense. He had liked the race and hoped they would rise to the occasion. It was not to be though.

“Did the Lantern’s become involved?” his deep voice asked the nervous man.

“The Green Lantern assigned to the sector did respond but was killed quickly in the battle. Our admirals lay a trap for him and unleashed a crossfire. He was struck by four cruisers at once and disintegrated. His ring did escape but no other Corp have arrived. By the time word reaches Oa, we will have already inhabited the planet. They will not attack then.”

The King was not surprised. It would take months for the ring to find another host with all the Draxians dead but for a few. It most likely returned to Oa but it would be too late. The planet was already his and they would not interfere.

“There is also news from Earth. Metahumans and aliens are forming alliances to protect the planet from outside invaders and criminal activity by off worlders. My agents tell me they have attacked drug and weapons trades on the planet, even disrupting Mongul’s operations.”

The King grinned with approval. Earth had been a weak planet, one in desperate need of either saving or destroying. That changed when Kara Zor El showed herself to the world. Humans had come to rely on her but the man greatly admired the Kryptonian. A lone young alien, wiping out the rest of her race, impressed him. Because of this, he left Earth alone. His interest in Kara Zor El as an entity was limited. She had no powers outside a yellow sun, therefore was useless to someone like him, who attacked planets regardless of the star it revolved around.

Now with metas and aliens working together, her at the lead no doubt, it would be a matter of time before humans fell in line and began cooperating for the betterment of their planet, rather than fighting amongst themselves, leading to their own destruction.

“Interesting, but unsurprising. The strong are following the example of the last daughter of Krypton and she does not appear to be the monster her father was. Perhaps that is one planet that can escape our sacred mission. How have the alien residents responded?”

The advisor swallowed hard. “There has been a recent mass exodus of aliens from Earth, looking for safe havens elsewhere in other galaxies due to an unexpected development. One of Zor El’s monsters… the monster, the unkillable one, was released on Earth. Kara Zor El fought the creature and defeated it but only because she acquired a red power ring. She had been taken to Ysmault but returned to Earth. Aliens are frightened, with good reason.”

The King stood and approached his subject, searching his eyes for any falsehoods. He detected none.

“Kara Zor El is a Red Lantern? The most powerful ring in the entire Corp and she came in possession of it. Has Gardner or Atrocitus attempted to claim her? Is it believed she will attack the Guardians?”

The advisor shook his head. “There are rumors Atrocitus may be dead and Gardner nor the Reds have attempted to recruit her. They simply want to contain her. They would not be able to defeat her.”

The King smiled, satisfied. Zor El had inadvertently created another monster, this one his own daughter. She had been strong but now was a true bringer of destruction. Her natural power magnified, harnessing one of the most powerful weapons since the beginning of time, and strong, no matter what sun she was under, even without the radiation from a yellow sun

“Gather the Fleets, all of them. How long to assemble and reach Earth?”

The advisor feared this would happen but keeping information from the King was akin to death.

“By their Earth’s time, perhaps one solar rotation? Depending on the path, possibly less time.”

“Excellent. Our fleet shall test this alliance of heroes and metahumans. The planet shall fall or become stronger, as our sacred mission dictates. As far as Kara Zor El, I will engage her myself.”

The advisor was shocked but a bit pleased. He did his best to hide that pleasure. He was certain if the King attempted to fight the Kryptonian under a yellow sun, she would kill him and Diaspora would be free of his rule.

“I have no doubt you shall defeat her soundly, your Majesty.” he lied, keeping his voice neutral.

The King laughed.

“Defeat her? I cannot defeat her. I am counting on it.”

The Fortress of Solitude

Kara sat quietly, waiting for Alex and Kelex to make any adjustments she felt was needed. Jeremiah had not arrived yet, most likely eating breakfast with Clark before Eliza took him to school.

Kara was slightly annoyed at the wires taped to top of her skull and just behind her temples. Alex planned to attempt an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety crystal band and monitor Kara’s brain activity closely. This meant Kara would be doing a lot of sitting. She didn’t mind. For the first time since this ring had graced her right ring finger she felt completely relaxed. The ring seemed satisfied and truthfully, killing White Martians who were celebrating killing J’onn’s family and the Green Martians felt right.

She also knew if Gardner had not stopped her she would still be on Mars. Alex had said nothing else about it and Kara hoped she wouldn’t tell her Mom and Dad but doubted that was the case. They would both wonder why Alex was starting the test runs of the bands early.

Alex appeared nervous, making Kara a bit nervous. Her big sister’s theory was sound and while Kara’s expertise was not biology, she understood the basic concept of what Alex was attempting. She knew Alex and her Dad had spent many days studying every aspect of Kara’s brain since she returned from Ysmault.

With the equivalent of drugs, and the occasional use of her ring, Kara felt at least she could have some peace. She had no doubt Leslie would be bugging her to go back to meetings when they met tomorrow and the girl knew she would be right. Despite not being able to get drunk, the desire to drink was still there. Perhaps the ring was her new addiction. Using its full power had been intoxicating.

All in all, except for the knowledge that her heart was useless, her blood was acid and she had an unattractive ring on her finger forever, things were not that bad today.

“You ready?” Alex asked, approaching with the first band.

“Absolutely. Let’s change my brain chemistry. I have complete faith in you.” Kara assured her.

Alex took a deep breath and placed the band over her forehead, slipping it just over her ears.

Kara tilted her head back and held tight to the arms of the crystal chair she was in.

Then Kara screamed.

Her body stiffened but she did not rise, instead holding onto the arm rests tighter, body shaking, her screams intensifying.

Alex was frozen, in shock and unsure what to do. Then it occurred to her to take the band off.

Before she could, Kara’s scream turned into a laugh, complete with tears in her eyes.

“Kara?” Alex asked cautiously.

The blonde controlled her breathing, able to finally stop laughing.

“Kara?” Alex asked again.

“You… you should have seen your face! You… the look… you completely froze.” she told her sister, breaking into giggles once again.

Alex’s face turned red, a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

“You bitch!”

“I know, right?” Kara told her with a big smile.

“You know you started a war, right?”

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “Bring it, sister. You know I always win.”

“Not this time. You will regret that. I should have left you in the hole I found you in! Now cut it out. Sit still, breath normally and let me know if you feel weird at all. Anything different than normal, I mean, freak.”

Kara behaved this time, not even noticing Jeremiah arriving and giving Alex an annoyed look that she had started without him.

After twenty minutes Kara was given a break that she took advantage of to organize the materials she would need to start her next project on Kelex. Alex seemed to mistakenly believe Kara would be rebuilding her hover jet. She had no idea that Kara would never build anything like that again. The sight of Alex being blown from the sky was one she would never forget however long she lived.

“Kelex, let’s take apart Project Sundown and start refurbishing the material into some real appendages for you.” she ordered.

“I am afraid I cannot do so, Kara. Alex has taken over Project Sundown, refitting it for her body and arming it. I have been unlocking the theoretical flight ability of Nth metal certain Thanagarian societies use. If you could assist me in determining the metallurgy and other potential uses, she would have the…”

“Enough!” Kara snapped. “Alex! Get over here!”

“I think you should come here.” Eliza’s calm voice responded. It was too calm and she had heard that tone from Eliza before.

Kara dipped her head knowing what was coming. Perhaps the joke on Alex was ill timed since she had apparently been busted. She walked around the crystal walls separating work spaces to find her parents and sister sitting in chairs, an empty chair in front of them, and took the seat.

“So Guy Gardner came to see us this morning.” Eliza started off. “We are going to assume Alex knows and just hasn’t had the chance to tell us yet but planned to.”

Alex nodded her head, crossing her arms, with a look reserved for Kara that also told her silently that she should lie. “I was absolutely going to tell you. Because of her behavior I thought it would be best to start the trials this morning without delay and tell you both when you arrived. Isn’t that what I told you, Kara? That we all had to talk about this?”

Considering what she did to Alex, no matter how much it amused her, the blonde figured she would support her sister. Perhaps she wouldn’t hold a grudge.

“Yes, Alex told me she wanted to wait until we were all together. I agreed it would best if we talked about it as a family, and Alex agreed this would be the place to do that. Isn’t that right, Alex?”

Jeremiah shook his head. “Cut the crap, you two. Over a thousand, Kara? I get that you hate White Martians, but this superhero stuff…”

“That was not superhero stuff. I said I would quit being Supergirl. No one ever said I couldn’t go to Mars and kill White Martians.”

“It was understood!” Eliza nearly shouted. “White Martians? They are the only creatures that have ever been able to injure you and you thought it was a good idea to pick a fight on their home planet? How many panic attacks do you want me to have?!”

Kara closed her eyes, expecting this reaction and wondering how they would feel about her if she killed Gardner.

“You flew to Mars with an alien you didn’t know and engaged them during a massive gathering!” Eliza continued her rundown of events.

The girl began nodding her head, visually agreeing with Eliza. It was a trick that usually appeased the woman, making her think Kara agreed with everything she said and was very contrite.

Eliza seeming to calm down, having said what she wanted, Kara looked at Alex who had crossed her arms and stared angrily at her trying to hide a satisfied grin. Despite what the older sister claimed, Kara knew she secretly enjoyed it when Kara was in trouble.

“Absolutely. You didn’t know this Bleez. You still don’t.” Alex added on, egging it on.

“Alex is weaponizing a Kryptonian battle suit I had designed last year and trying to figure out how to make it fly using properties of Nth metal.” Kara told the parents. “We were supposed to be out of the whole crime fighting, alien fighting thing. You should ask her why she is doing that, right? Like right now, ask her. I just found out a few seconds before I came over here. We should all talk about this. What do you have to say for yourself, Alex?”

Alex was no longer hiding a grin behind an angry face. Now the parents were looking at their oldest daughter.

“I… I… Kara faked being hurt when I put the first band on her this morning. She screamed and thought it was funny and… and…”

“Enough!” Jeremiah shouted. “Both of you! Kara, Gardner told us that you would have to use the ring occasionally. You can go to the Moon, with him and let loose all you need. No more mass killings! Do we understand each other?”

Kara dropped her head. “But it was White Martians.” she whined. “White Martians don’t count. Besides they couldn’t hurt me. They couldn’t even get near me. You wouldn’t believe the power I had… and I am totally not helping my case right now, am I?”

Jeremiah shook his head. “No, you aren’t. We all know what they did to J’onn, but you are trying to find peace and slaughtering thousands of those bastards isn’t going to give you peace. When you need a release, go with Gardner, no killing, no matter what species. That is final. I may not be able to make you move back in with us but we can move in with you, understand? Every night, the sedative band goes on at 10 PM. I will adjust it today, so it doesn’t hit you as hard and fast but I want to know you are both sleeping at night. Alex is taking her meds and you are taking your… bands.”

In the middle of the discussion of her recent run on the wild side, Kara caught something Alex probably didn’t want her to know.

“I thought you just took a sedative last night. How many meds are you taking, Alex?”

Alex grimaced and looked at her father who had yet to learn to keep his mouth shut. Eliza could have cared less and answered.

“Jessica and Shay have her taking medication for anxiety, Kara. Both have you have been through a lot. She is also taking a sedative… this is ridiculous. I get that Leslie doesn’t want you having two different therapists but we need to start having family counseling sessions. There is too much going on. We must be one and already we are keeping secrets. This has to stop. We have never had secrets between the four of us. We couldn’t afford it, right? We protected each other from the world. The last few years, ever since Myriad, there have been too many secrets. We either start back with Jessica once a week or Leslie will have to take the reins. For right now, if that ring starts bothering you, then you will go with Gardner and only Gardner, to someplace safe where you can release the energy. You will tell us where you are going and you will be back by bedtime. Both of you need more sleep than you have been getting. Alex, I am going to trust you to take your meds and you will make sure Kara uses these bands.”

“Wait, you don’t trust me?” the blonde asked.

“You slaughtered thousands of White Martians and you haven’t had that ring for two weeks! I do not trust you to make good decisions! Jeremiah will be waiting for you three times a day here or at your new home and you will not miss these sessions. They are no different than your meds. You also are going to start going to AA meetings again. Any questions?”

“And Alex, get rid of that armor.” Jeremiah added. “You aren’t fighting anymore either. Both of you are done. You promised us and you promised Clark.”

“That armor was for home defense only.” Alex weakly defended. A look from the three told her they didn’t buy it.

Jeremiah took a deep breath. During this conversation he had watched Kara’s ring carefully and it never glowed. Perhaps last night had helped her but she had seen and caused enough death and destruction, that no matter how much he hated White Martians, anymore could only harm her.

“Enough. No more games. We have work to do. Kara, be back here in five hours for your second session.” the man told her, no room for discussion. “And no more trips to any other planet without telling us first!”

Kara shrugged her shoulders and agreed. “Don’t you two, you three have to get back to work? You did have jobs before all this…”

“Who do you think gave us the grants for research into possible biological threats and weapons in the event of Brainiac arriving?” Eliza asked.

“Bruce.” Kara realized. “Fine, I will be here all day anyway. I have some work to do… until Alex decommissions my project, I need to get some materials from the Batcave for Kelex. It shouldn’t take long.”

That afternoon, while Kara snuck into the Batcave to confiscate, or steal depending on a point of view, materials and tools she needed, then was caught by Alfred to discuss her continued attendance at meetings with him, Alex took a moment to relax in her new home. Her and her Dad were pleased with the initial results of Kara’s brain scan and had an hour before they were due back in the Fortress.

A knock on her door caught her by surprise. She knew her mother was taking a nap and her father was still at the Fortress.

Taking a knife from the kitchen, she exited the back and made her way to the front, scanning the area. She was pleasantly surprised to see her old friend, uncle, big brother, mentor, standing in front of the house.

“If it isn’t my old Sith Master.” she greeted Connolly. The man turned and rushed her, wrapping her in his arms.

“You have been hard to get a hold of. J’onn told me you were okay but I wanted to see for myself. Things have been busy, trying to track down Lillian Luthor, watching Lane, but…”

“Hey.” Alex stopped him, surprised by the emotion he as showing. Connolly had never been good with emotions.

“Sorry.” he admitted sheepishly, stepping back. “I thought you were dead. I thought you both were. We couldn’t move fast enough.”

Alex really looked at him and was surprised by how tired he appeared. The man was capable of staying in a sniper’s perch for days with no sleep making her wonder how long it had been since he had any rest.

“Let’s go inside. You look like shit.” the girl told him.

Once the two had a seat, Connolly took in the structure. “Impressive. Kara around?”

Alex shook her head. “Probably in the Batcave or the Fortress.”

“I thought she quit.” he told her. “I thought you both quit.”

Alex nodded her head. “We did, we have. I’m working on a project that can give her the same effect as the medications she was taking. Mom is working on figuring out a way to get that damn ring off her and Dad is helping both of us. Kara is bored so she has decided to upgrade Kelex. What’s wrong? I mean besides everything?”

The man shook his head. “Nothing. I just wanted to see you. I thought you were dead… anyway, I’m sorry you didn’t have more help.”

Alex shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t sure what difference it would have made. Maybe if the Justice League had been there but then chances were good that Kara would be attacking Oa for Atrocitus right now. She told him this. It didn’t seem to satisfy him.

“Chase wasn’t sure what good her team could do since Kara wasn’t having any luck. She couldn’t decide who to send if anyone, what weapons to use, what air power to call in, what route to take to the battle site. She froze.”

“She probably saved a lot of agents from getting killed.”

“Getting killed fighting aliens is a risk you sign up for when you join the DEO.” he snapped.

Alex was not surprised. Connolly thought he was bulletproof and expected his agents to act the same.

She asked the question she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. After it had been all over and she had returned to Earth, no one had called her besides Webb and Dick Grayson. Not Cameron and not Nyssa. Nyssa could have been anywhere and they didn’t leave on the best terms. Nyssa may not even know what went down. Cameron could have called to check though. They did spend six years together.

“Where is Cameron now?”

“She was reassigned as an agent at the Anchorage, Alaska branch office.”

Alex shook her head, not sure if she should laugh or cry.

“We have our main headquarters in Metropolis now. Keep up your skills and stay out of trouble. Keep me updated on Kara. Has she talked to Dante since all this happened?”

“I don’t think so.” Alex told him, trying to remember.

Connolly was satisfied. “Good, tell her to keep the hell away from him. He let her down. We all did but…”

“Mom and Dad asked him…”

“I don’t give a damn! He can stay in Central City. That meta he is around, Caitlin Snow, if you see her watch your back and stay armed. I don’t trust her. Take care of yourself little Danvers. Call me at least once a week. I want updates on you two, got it?”

Alex snapped a salute. “Yes sir, sir. Be careful and for God’s sake, get some sleep, okay? It will all turn out alright in the end. I promise.”

Connolly smirked and hugged her, muttering something about an optimistic brat he raised on the way out.

Only Alex was feeling anything but optimistic after Kara’s actions last night. At least she did have a sense of humor this morning, reminding Alex that she had work to do in retaliation.

Central City

Cisco stood next to Wally watching two individuals in the recently renovated gym at S.T.A.R. where Barry was lifting weights and chugging down protein drinks in between sets. The guy had definitely buffed up since he first went to National City. It wasn’t Barry that he was watching.

Dante was pounding on a heavy bag, so fast and hard you would almost think he was a metahuman.

“I don’t get it, Wally. I have great hair, I’m handsome, I’m a metahuman who can make breaches and cause vibrational blasts with my hands. I’m practically a superhero. Yet, I would give it all up to look like him.”

Wally snorted and smiled. “Maybe you should start lifting weights instead of watching everyone else do it.”

Cisco shook his head. “Sounds too much like work. Speaking of, I am going to order pizza while my software tries to find our fire starter.”

Iris slapped Cisco on the back, frightening the guy. Then she gazed into the room, seeing Dante working up a sweat, aggressively.

“Wow, I have got to get a boyfriend.” The woman shook her head and focused. She had come here for a reason. “Not why I am here. I found out something big from the Congressman’s secretary. He was in Central City to meet with two Senators and a Congresswoman about a bill that would force aliens to register in the United States or be considered a criminal. If this was an alien, he or she may have gotten wind of this and want to stop anyone even considering it.”

“Does Dad know about this?”

“I told him. He is looking into possible names and locations of the other politicians. There was no political meeting scheduled on the books for Central City so it sounds like an off the record deal. My guess is they have already left Central City but who knows. If he can find those three here, we could at least keep an eye on them.”

“And watch them go up in flames before we can do anything if we can’t get an ID on him or her.” Wally told the two. “It’s a dumb idea anyway. With Kara’s statement last week, the public opinion of aliens is at an all time high. Leave it to her to admit being an emotionally disturbed alcoholic and drug addict and make the public love her even more.”

With a final loud pop on the heavy bag, Dante turned and stalked over towards the boy.

“You do sleep. Say another word about her and I will be there when you do with a very sharp knife, understand?” he growled.

Wally and Cisco’s mouths practically dropped. Dante never lost his cool. Ever.

“Man… I didn’t mean anything by it. I think the world of her. I was just saying that the public is being really supportive of her. I don’t think those politicians would get any traction.”

Dante stared at Wally for a few moments and let it past.

“Dante?” Barry asked, hearing all this from the bench he had been laying on. “You doing okay, man?”

The former Seal and DEO agent turned towards him, face neutral but a slight menace in his voice. “You need to start working with your baby brother, teach him how to fight. You,” he pointed at Cisco, “should be working on how to get your team somewhere on this Earth, when we need it. We don’t have fancy alien transporters. All we have is you, hopping all over the United States. Practice until you get it right or you will never be this superhero you seem to think you almost are.”

Dante stormed off, leaving the four staring at each other, not quite sure what to say.

“Barry?” Iris asked. “Think you should see what his problem is?”

The Flash shook his head. “Not a great idea. I don’t know him like the other guys, but I doubt any of them are the type to share their emotions. Leave it alone. He does have a good idea though. Want to spar before my lunch hour is up, Wally?”

“Yeah.” Wally agreed, still a bit shocked by the unjustified threat he had just received from Dante. “Sounds fun. I may need it.”

Barry was happy that he wanted to at least. Cisco may never be a physical kind of guy but Wally had the size and was a decent street fighter. He just needed to hone his skills. Like Barry, the kid needed to learn a new way to fight metas. He had come a long way in his skills. He was still hesitant about phasing someone else, even a training dummy, but his own skills at lightning throwing were coming along nicely.

“Great. Cisco, if you, Iris and Joe can get a lead on these possible targets and where they might be, Wally and I can start watching them tonight while Cisco searches for hotspots. Wally, if you don’t have class today, keep reading as much as you can about Infernians. If this is linked to some possible alien registration act, it probably is an alien.”

While Team Flash began to enact a plan, Caitlin who had been watching unseen, followed Dante out of the lab. He took off at a run and she knew better than to try and keep up with him when he was jogging. Instead she got into her car and followed from a distance. Caitlin knew he had been upset since they couldn’t get to that monster and was even more withdrawn after his trip to Metropolis. Unsurprisingly, he wouldn’t talk about it, so she let it go, figuring he would work it out on his own.

Now he was threatening Wally West for a slight of phrasing the boy meant nothing by. He finally stopped at the park, sitting on the bench Lobo had once famously sipped coffee with Flash, immortalized on the front page of the Central City Picture News.

She parked and slowly walked up to him, taking a seat on the bench.

“I’m not going to ask if you want to talk about it. I know you don’t but you are because I’m not giving you a choice. You aren’t going to shut me out. So talk.”

Dante took a deep breath, not looking at her, gazing out over the pond.

“I made her what she is, what she became.”

“You are obviously talking about Kara. Continue.” the woman instructed. Despite what she had told herself in the past, deep down she had always been jealous of the relationship between the two, as she suspected Barry might be as well.

“When I first met her, she was so innocent. She was so sad but still so loving, so scared. She feared everything, her powers, the safety of her family, failing Clark. The first thing she ever asked me to teach her was how to swim. The oceans on Krypton were deadly and she had never actually been in water before.”

“I think she is still scared.” Caitlin added. “Her Dad told me once at the Block that Kara was more scared of me than I was of her. I didn’t believe it at the time but I know it’s true now.”

“I was supposed to teach her to defend herself in case she was found. She never wanted to learn how to use heat vision. She wanted to learn to control it, stop it so she wouldn’t hurt Alex or Clark or anyone by accident. She never wanted to learn to fly but we kept pushing. I should have been finding her aunt and uncle, taking them out so she wouldn’t have to. Instead I stayed in Midvale, turning a 13 year old girl into the perfect warrior, the perfect killer. I even turned her blanket into a cape to help her turn corners quickly. It was my fault.”

Caitlin didn’t agree with this. She had heard the story before, parts of it from Barry, parts of it from Kara while at the Block.

“She wanted that.”

“Yeah, a 13 year old wanted that and I all too eagerly gave it to her. By the time she was 17 she could take out bullets with her heat vision. I fired a thirty round clip at a tree and she caught and dropped everyone with her fingers, never letting them hit her body. I taught her every style of fighting I knew, everyway to kill someone. Maybe she did want it, but I gave it to her. I told myself it was because I wanted her ready for anything but I knew. I was preparing her to kill her aunt and uncle. I should have stuck to swimming lessons. It was supposed to be over after Myriad. We won, the world was saved and her and Alex could relax. But it never ended for those girls. They had become what we made them and there was never any going back. I turned her into what she is. I broke her heart because I ignored her obvious crush on me while she was growing up. I should have put an end to it early but I thought it would go away. I wish she could be that little girl asking me to teach her to swim again. I would give anything if she could have that. Its too late though. She almost died, should have died and this ring… Caitlin, I can’t get it out of my head. The guilt, Connolly was just as bad. He turned Alex into a killer and I did the same to Kara.”

Caitlin understood. She had suspected Dante carried a lot of guilt over a multitude of things. He hadn’t had the easiest life. He had been fighting wars since he was 18.

“You think you should have been in Metropolis, right? You are angry that you were here, with me.” she finished quietly.

The man said nothing for a moment. He had given this a lot of thought and still wasn’t sure of the answer. Should he have been in Metropolis? Had he been wasting his time here or worse, turning Caitlin into what he turned Kara into? Dante still wasn’t sure.

“I know I love you.” he admitted. “I also know when she saw us… or I guess her at the time, I immediately felt guilty. Not because I love her romantically, just because I saw the hurt in her eyes. She thought she hadn’t been good enough. Maybe I should have given her what she wanted after she tried to kill herself. Maybe I could have stopped it, given her peace. I didn’t though. I couldn’t lie to her, pretend to love her when I didn’t, not like that. Should I have been there? I have no idea, Caitlin. All I know is I wasn’t and it is eating me up inside. Lobo fought by her side. These damn Red Lanterns were there before she took the ring, helping her. Alex and J’onn were there, but I wasn’t.”

Caitlin expected as much. She didn’t remember Kara and Killer Frost talking at S.T.A.R. but she saw how cold Kara was towards her at Bruce Wayne’s Christmas party and could practically feel the guilt from Dante, noting that they hadn’t even greeted each other and Kara wouldn’t look at him.

“What do you want to do?” she asked hesitantly.

“Stay here with you. Get rid of this guilt. It will take time. I am sorry if I have been distant. I guess I need to work this out but it will take time. I hope you can understand that. When I went to Metropolis, Connolly and I got into a fight. It wasn’t like our sparring sessions in the past. If Jack hadn’t shown up I… I think he would have killed me. Those guys have been my only family and I feel I lost that, lost Kara, Alex, lost everyone who mattered to me in the past. I want to start over, with you. Maybe I never should have visited Kara at the Block. Maybe I should have stayed away like she wanted. It would have been easier for all of us. What’s done is done. We will keep working, on everything, including us. Just don’t let me make the same mistake I did with her. Don’t let me turn you into her. Please. When you have control of these powers, complete control of yourself, don’t use them anymore.”

Caitlin had thought of this, ever since she heard that recording of Killer Frost talking to Kara at S.T.A.R. But that was then. Since then she remembered what she did while using them. She had lost it a few times, turned cold in more than just body temperature, but for the most part was handling it. She felt the two sides of her were merging.

Finally she shook her head. “If I am cursed with these powers, I am going to use them for something good. If you don’t want to be a part of that, I understand, and I will continue on my own. I don’t want to become her but I won’t sit by while my friends fight, knowing that I could help. Its up to you whether you want to stay or go, but I am doing this.”

Dante took a deep breath and smiled. “How did I know you were going to say that?”

“Because you wouldn’t love me if I didn’t. So are we going to work this afternoon or go home?” she asked.

The man shrugged his shoulders. “I guess we should work if you are determined to face an Infernian.”

Caitlin smiled and walked with him to her car, retuning to the lab. It was six hours later as the sun was setting that Cisco and Iris found what they were looking for.

“We got the Congresswoman, Anne Coulter from Illinois. The other two left but she stayed behind.” Iris told him. “Bayview Hotel.”

Cisco took over street camera and found the place immediately. “No problem, let me cut into the lobby and hallway cameras and we can watch for signs of trouble. Scanning for heat sources now… wow. Looks like we got a hot female, literally and figuratively. She is approaching the hotel, a block away. Red shoulder length hair, tight leather top and pants, some sort of…”

“Alien clothing” Barry finished, zipping up with Wally. “Probably won’t burn. Wally, we are up.”

Iris and Cisco looked at the man. “Where is your other suit?” Iris asked.

“In my ring at my apartment. Kara wants as normal a life as possible. That means she doesn’t need to worry about this. Its Team Flash business. Iris tell Joe to keep the cops away until we have her contained. If she can light up limos like match sticks, cop cars won’t be a problem.”

Flash and Kid Flash were gone, blowing Iris and Cisco’s hair back.

“His new suit can control his body temperature. I know mine is fireproof but it can’t protect his mouth and eyes or keep him from getting heat stroke.” Cisco told Iris, not bothering to hide the worry he felt.

Iris said nothing but debated calling Kara. Barry had a point though, Kara was done, Supergirl was done. Involving her would do her no good. Of course if Barry was burned, she had no doubt what Kara’s reaction would be.

Dante, Caitlin and Joe ran inside, having seen Barry and Wally run off while they were driving up.

No questions were needed. They knew what was going on.

At the Fortress of Solitude, Kara had just finished her third run of the night with her father by her side, while Alex was busy taking apart Kara’s Kryptonian armor her sister thought she would use. She had just stood up and nearly fell back down, experiencing a slight bit of dizziness. Jeremiah caught her.

“I got you. It’s to be expected Just like with your meds, you are going to feel some dizziness at first, maybe some slight nausea. I think I will stay tonight and watch you.” Jeremiah told her. He knew there would be side effects and they were basically starting over, meaning being alert for hallucinations and suicide watches for the next month along with constant brain scans that Kara hated.

Before Kara could tell him it wasn’t needed despite knowing it would do no good, Kelex was in front of the two.

“I hesitate to tell you this because nothing good can come from it, but protocol demands it. Barry’s ring and suit have remained at his apartment all day. The newsfeed from Central City is reporting the Flash and Kid Flash are engaged in a battle against what I believe is an Infernian. Because he is not wearing the suit you commissioned I cannot tell you what his body temperature is or… if he is winning or not.”

Kara’s good feeling from the band was gone as was the dizziness. Her ring lit up, her clothes changed, not a cape this time, but red pants and top, a black jacket and small black biker boots.

“No!” Jeremiah ordered. “You are staying out of this. Let him handle it.”

“Oh my.” Kelex said. “It appears they are both down. She has them surrounded by a circle of fire and their body temperatures are most likely at critical levels. Caitlin Snow has just appeared with Cisco Ramon. She has them surrounded by an ice dome but does not appear strong enough to hold. Ramon just attempted a vibrational blast. He has hit the Infernian but the fire has not dissipated. I estimate he will succumb to heat stroke in thirty two seconds.”

Kara looked at her father, wondering how angry he was about to become but knew it didn’t matter.

She opened a portal and jumped into S.T.A.R. Labs.

She also jumped when she felt his hand grab her arm.

“You jumped with me?! Do you know what could have happened? That was pure…”

“I’m here. Deal with it. Do you know how angry your mother is going to be?! Your sister is probably telling her right now!”

“What am I supposed to do? Wait for him to be barbecued?”

A clearing throat alerted the father and daughter to Dante, Joe and Iris West, staring at them.

“Uh… I think Barry has this.” Iris told her quietly, never having seen Kara dressed like this, a blonde biker from hell with red glowing eyes that had flames flickering out of them. Dante was too shocked to say anything, never having seen her like this either.

Kara and her father checked the monitor and saw Barry had broken through the walls of flame and was running fast enough to cause a vortex, snuffing out the flames. As soon as they were gone, he chased the fleeing Infernian, striking her in the back of the head in less than a second.

The police rushed the scene, seeing it was safe now that the Flash had taken care of the problem. Barry must have felt comfortable enough that she would be out long enough to get her into the fire proof cell.

Barry and Wally arrived with Cisco and Caitlin seconds later.

The Flash was very surprised to see a worried Jeremiah and a furious Kara.

“That was dumb. She is an alien. The DEO will be picking her up in less than an hour. What is Central City police department going to do? Book her? Take her fingerprints?” Kara practically yelled.

“Kara… why are you here and… why do you look like that?” Barry asked, shocked to see her in S.T.A.R. He thought without his suit she wouldn’t know what he was doing tonight.

“Why do you look the way you do? Where the hell is your suit? You have second degree burns under that thing! I can see them! You could have been incinerated! There is only one alien that burns hotter than an Infernian and that’s me! Absolute zero would do nothing to her! Why the hell didn’t you tell him this, Dante? Have you forgotten everything you knew about aliens?!”

“Kara, calm down.” Jeremiah whispered.

“I am as calm as the situation calls for!”

“Do not raise your voice at me, young lady!” the father snapped.

Kara looked him in the eyes and calmed, her own turning blue but the red of her ring still glowing.

“Barry? Any reason you decided a retro look would work tonight?” she asked, her attention back to him.

Barry was at a loss for words, not knowing exactly what to say.

“Let me guess, you wanted to do it yourself, right? Is it some pride thing? You promised Alex you would always wear it. It could have protected your eyes, your mouth, it could have kept your body temp regulated! What was his body temp, Snow? Oh right, you don’t know because you were busy getting melted!”

Caitlin didn’t answer. After fighting off the Infernian’s fire, Killer Frost was close to the surface and ready to fight.

“Screw this. I’m taking Dad to your apartment. I’m kicking the door in and using the transporter to get him back to the Fortress and then destroying the damn thing! You think you can handle things, fine! Handle it! Congratulations Team Flash. You nearly got turned to ash!”

Kara picked up Jeremiah who didn’t have a chance to argue. The two flew off, down the circular hallway and into the sky, flying to the roof of Barry’s building and zipping as promised, through his door.

Jeremiah shook his head, trying to regain his equilibrium.

“Kara! I hate when you do that! I feel like I am going to puke!” he complained.

“Puke at the Fortress. I’m sending you there then I will open my own breach after destroying this transporter. I will be right behind you.”

Jeremiah shook his head. “I’m not leaving you. Not like this! We are both going in and listen to your mother yell t us for the next hour!”

“Why won’t you ever do what I say?!” she shouted.

“Because I’m the Dad. Why won’t you ever do what I say?!”

“Because… I do… sometimes. Most of the time. Okay, some of the time.” she told him, finally calming down a bit.

“Lets just go home, okay? We can put the band on you so you can get some sleep and it will be alright…”

“What the hell was that all about?” Barry asked, running in.

Jeremiah groaned. wanting him and Kara to be any place but here, now.

Kara’s calmness that had been returning was gone now.

“You tell me! I thought we were good. You came over, we slept together, had breakfast and things were fine. Now I have to hear from Kelex who was watching the news, that you are fighting an alien?”

Barry thought she might have a reaction like this but not to this degree. He also didn’t expect her to show up in S.T.A.R. with her father, resembling a demon biker girl who took fashion advice from Lobo.

“You said you wanted normal, as normal as possible. This is me giving you normal as best I can. You don’t need to be involved in this anymore, and I can handle Central City. I don’t need Kelex, or any alien tech. Why do your really care? I know you have a tracker on that ring. Does it bother you that much that you don’t know where I am every second of the day, or how I am doing in fights?”

Kara approached him so quickly if he wasn’t a Speedster he wouldn’t have seen her.

“I have given you everything I have to give. I gave you my love, my secrets, my body, everything! All I asked was that you came back safely. You promised you would wear that suit. How did she surround you with fire? You stopped to talk to her? Give her some quirky little remark? She didn’t respond, did she? Instead she circled you in a ring of fire, so hot not even you could get out fast enough. It’s a miracle you did and your entire body is blistered now!”

“God, I really wish I would have gone through that transporter.” Jeremiah mumbled, wishing he hadn’t heard the first part of Kara’s speech.

Barry looked down on her, taller but feeling shorter now because of the look in her eyes.

“I can handle Central City. I want you and I want to keep you separate from this. That’s why I didn’t wear the suit.”

“Separated? I thought we shared everything.” she countered.

Barry nearly laughed. “Share everything? Really? You try to push me away every chance you get! You have it in your head that you protect me means staying away from me but watching my every move! How long till you tell me to leave in the middle of the night after you get what you want? Am I going to become some casual fling you use like Grayson? Because that’s all you make me feel like. A damn possession of yours, that you only let out when you think its safe. I’m the Flash, remember? A founding member of the Justice League! Didn’t you say you weren’t even sure if that was what you needed or wanted?”

“That is not what I meant! Maybe I was trying to push you away but look at me! I push you away and you go on some suicidal run? That’s the way it is going to be?”

“My team can handle any metas or aliens that attack anyone in Central City. It wasn’t suicide, it was what we do.”

“Your team?” Kara asked, disbelieving. “Yeah, because they have a great track record. If you hadn’t gotten up, your team, including your frozen meta would be ash right now and I would be cleaning it up! Where the hell is your real team? Diana, Bruce, hell Curry could have handled this with you!”

Barry walked around her and grabbed his ring from the desk drawer and placed it in her palm.

“My team, my friends don’t need my other team to handle one alien. I caught her, she is in custody. Nobody died. See how that works?”

“Oh shit.” Jeremiah whispered, torn between jumping into the transporter and figuring out a way to drag Kara with him.

“How that works? Is that supposed to mean something? I’m not a hero because I killed my enemies? You are right, I am a killer and I am no hero. I went to Mars and killed a thousand White Martians last night and I may kill more tonight. I’m not a hero, I’m effective. You just seem to think you are.”

“So now I’m not effective… wait, did you say you killed a thousand White Martians last night?” Barry asked, thinking he must have misheard that. Mars? The man put that comment away for now. “Never mind, it shouldn’t surprise me. That’s it, right? All that talk about having faith in me and trusting me, thinking I could handle anything, its just talk, right? I guess this is still about Zoom?”

Kara threw her hands up in frustration, one finger barely missing Barry’s head that he jerked away from. “Fine, you want the truth? No, you can’t handle things on your own. Your team is a wreck. Ramon is a joke, Snow literally turns into another person, a copy of her murdering doppelganger, and Wally is inexperienced. The only backup you have is the Justice League and you are too proud to ask for help. This was not some common meta! Your pride got in the way of your brain! You may as well have asked Robin Hood to help you out!”

“At least he doesn’t treat me like some second rate hero that needs saving!”

Kara backed up, nodding her head.

“You’re right, Barry. You don’t need saving and I don’t need somebody I love die. I thought Alex was dead and I won’t go through that again. Screw it, have fun with Team Flash. Try not to get your back broken this time. Don’t bother seeing me anymore. No more watching out for you. You want to die because you are stupid, go for it, but don’t expect me to be a part of it. Stay the hell away from me and I promise not to watch a damn thing you do.”

Kara turned around and grabbed Jeremiah by the arm. Using her palm to open the portal, she pushed him inside. Once he was secure she tore the palm reader out and grabbed the Rann battery and Omegahedron.

Barry watched her tear the closet wall apart and then raise her ring. The energy was extremely bright and much different than Cisco’s breaches. She walked into it and it closed immediately behind her.

He found himself alone, the door to his apartment lying in the living room and a large hole in his closet, twisted metal under it.

The Flash was shaking, angry, furious and not knowing what to do. Kara was right, his body was singed under the suit, but he didn’t care. Deciding since his door was kicked in and luckily no one had walked by and saw him without his mask, he covered his head and ran, moving through Central City, weaving in and out of traffic, running up buildings, running across the water, just running.

He didn’t stop until he noticed Wally running beside him. The two stopped on the top of Mercury Labs.

“Don’t feel like talking, Wally.”

The boy understood and patted Barry on the shoulder.

“Yeah, your com was still on. We figured you wouldn’t feel like talking. Everybody said to give you some space. I’m thinking you might want someone to run with, so let’s run. It’s a beautiful night, we took out a bad lady, thanks to you standing up, and I don’t really think Kara will go back to Mars and kill… was she serious? Of course she was. Who would make something like that up? Just give her some space. She will come around.”

Barry shrugged his shoulders. “Everybody tells me to give her space. Maybe its time I listened. She thinks I’m weak. I’m tired of it. That ring makes her angry, it doesn’t make her tell lies. I’m done, Wally.”

Kid Flash wasn’t surprised. He had never heard Barry shout like he did tonight and should have known Kara had it in her. They just needed to cool off.

He hoped so because Barry was a different person when the two were together and things were well. He was a better person. Without her, with her lost and angry, he wasn’t sure what his brother would become.

Midvale

Kara walked out of her portal and paced in front of the cliff until she could calm down. It took a while.

Finally after 20 minutes, she was able to control her breathing enough for her clothes to regain their original cotton and denim appearance.

Then the tears came. Deciding they would probably not go away anytime soon, she began walking into her house, telling herself it was for the best. She knew she should push him away but hadn’t been able to. Now she had, in spectacular Kara Danvers fashion. She had a good thing and she screwed it up. Story of her life.

She knew her mother and father along with Alex had entered her house from the Fortress through her basement.

Of course they were waiting for her in the living room.

To her relief, Eliza didn’t seem furious, sadder than anything. She approached Kara and placed her hands on of her cheeks.

“Look at me. Look me in the eyes.” the mother told her.

“Why? What are you hoping to see?” the blonde asked.

Kara paid no mind to her sister behind her, not noticing the movement until it was too late and the band was around her head.

Jeremiah caught her before she hit the floor.

“Nothing Kara. I just wanted Alex to put the band on you.” Eliza whispered. “Jeremiah, carry her to bed. I’ll put a bracelet on her. I am going to sleep with her tonight. Alex, take your meds and go to bed. I love you.”

“Love you, Mom. Try and wake me if you need anything.”

Alex watched her Dad taking Kara upstairs, her Mom following then moved to her own room and turned out the lights. She thought of calling Barry, telling him something, anything, explaining that the ring and the bands, maybe it was a side effect, that Kara did not mean what she said.

Unfortunately Kara did mean it and Barry knew it. Swallowing her pills, Alex drifted off, wondering how Kara would feel in the morning and suspecting it wouldn’t be good.