Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Seeing Red

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 43: Cages

The two girls walked slowly from the driveway Jeremiah had dropped them off from, bags in both hands and sombreros on their heads. At the door, Kara dropped her bags and punched in the security code that lifted the small panel where a palm scan was positioned. System disarmed, she opened the door and nearly screamed as Streaky came at her, almost flying, catching her belt and crawling up her body to her shoulders, burrowing into her skin and under her hair.

“Streaky! Not my shoulders!” Kara hissed in pain, the redness of the Cancun beach sun still remaining on her skin.

Alex noted this was not usual behavior for the cat, who was normally laid back and not clingy in the least. Streaky only acted like this when she was scared. Dropping her bags, she pushed Kara aside, back onto the porch and removed the painting to the right of the wall. Opening the safe with a retinal scanner she pulled a Glock 40 from it quickly and scanned the now lit room.

What she saw made her tense immediately. The coffee table was shattered, as were the bookcases that lined the walls in the back of the living room. The recliner had been titled back onto the floor.

“Stay outside.” Alex ordered. “No matter what, do not take that bracelet off or use that ring. I’m serious, Kara.”

The older sister turned towards the kitchen, hearing footsteps on the hardwood floor.

“Alex, its okay.” Kara told her, sounding resigned and a bit disgusted.

“There is someone in the kitchen! You have one second before I shoot through that wall to show yourself!” she shouted at the offender.

Placing herself in front of Kara, Alex never got the chance to fire, as two metal hands stretched out from the side of the doorway to the kitchen.

“Don’t shoot. I surrender.”

Alex shook her head, gun still at the ready. “What the hell is going…”

Kelex stepped out into the entrance to the living room. “Alex! Kara. I wasn’t expecting the two of you home for another 26 minutes. Have you seen Streaky? I keep trying to track him… oh, there you are. You’re heat signature molded with Kara’s body.”

Alex dropped her hands and placed the gun back in the safe.

“Nice sombrero.” the robot offered.

“Kara?” Alex asked. “Why is our robot in our home, destroying the place?”

Kara cleared her throat. She had thought this may have been a bad idea but surely her super advanced AI robot could pull off something so simple.

“Kelex, doesn’t get out much… ever. He asked if he could stay in the house while we were away. I told him he could come inside and take care of Streaky. Change the litter box, feed, water, that kind of thing. I don’t remember telling him he could destroy coffee tables and bookshelves. Kelex, what happened here?”

Alex turned to Kara, in disbelief. “You asked Kelex to house sit?”

“Just to come over and feed the cat. He doesn’t get out much.” Kara offered, not knowing what else to say.

“Its true. The last time I left the Fortress was to assist you in bringing Kara inside when she had the Black Mercy attached to her. I wanted to get out and offered to look…”

“What part of feed the cat did you not get?” Kara asked, knowing she wasn’t going to like the answer judging by how badly Streaky was shaking.

Kelex stepped closer to Kara and Streaky hissed from the blonde’s shoulders stopping his movement.

“You said to take care of Streaky. I noted that she was in desperate need of a bath and her claws needed trimming. I thought I would take care of these simple tasks for you. Unfortunately I underestimated the difficulty in bathing a cat. She escaped several times without being bathed. I am not accustomed to using my new limbs when chasing extremely fast and agile creatures. This caused me to lose my center of balance and fall… a few times. I believe she led me purposely in front of the coffee table and my ability to grab her quickly yet gently was lacking, especially in regard to her foray into the bookshelves. Damage has been incurred but I promise I will fix it… may I have the cat so I can bathe her?”

“Stay away from Streaky.” Kara told him. “Food, water, cat litter. Not bathing, nail clipping and destruction. I’ll fix everything. Just go back to the Fortress and make sure everything is okay.”

Kelex pointed to his head. “I’ve been monitoring the Fortress the entire time. I’ve been chasing your cat for four hours. Can I rest a moment here?”

Alex and Kara stared at the robot for a moment, knowing he didn’t need rest. It was obvious he was lonely and their problem now. Alex cursed herself not for the first time for going along with Kara’s suggestions that Kelex be programmed to learn and practice emotions. She liked her unemotional smart ass robot better.

“Get the bags.” Alex ordered. “I’m going to my room. Kara, I have to tune the band a bit so give me thirty. We can clean this mess up afterward.”

Kelex moved in front of the stairs. “Perhaps you should rest on the sofa and I will prepare your bedroom, make sure everything is perfect?” he offered.

Alex squinted her eyes and felt a headache coming on. “What did you do to my bedroom? Never mind, get out of my way.”

The girl slipped past him, while Streaky jumped from Kara’s shoulders and ran for the kitchen, leaving the blonde and her robot alone.

“Seriously?”

Kelex shrugged his shoulders. “My bad? I thought it would be helpful. I have never taken measurements on Streaky’s physical skills. She is in outstanding health and her fitness level is superb.”

Kara was not sure what to say so she went past the AI, hoping he at least managed to feed and water her cat. To her relief the litter had been changed and what looked like fresh food and water was present.

“I did the tasks you assigned me. I’m not an idiot.” she heard from behind.

Kara turned towards him. “You destroyed the living room and probably Alex’s bedroom. What were you thinking? You aren’t three feet tall and floating anymore. That’s a big body, not meant for chasing small, delicate life forms like my baby cat!”

Kelex nodded his head in agreement. “In hindsight, I can see my actions were not wise. My size does bring up an idea I wanted to run past you. I have drawn designs for my next upgrade. I believe if I could have 4 inches added to my height, it would make me a more imposing guardian of the Fortress.”

Kara rubbed her head, also feeling a headache coming her way and wishing like hell Alex had developed a band that could mimic Advil.

“You want to be taller? Wouldn’t this be counterproductive in the event cats invaded the Fortress somehow?”

“Don’t be silly, why would cats attempt to invade the Fortress? I was also thinking color schemes, perhaps something other than the chrome look? What about something in red and gold…”

“I’m not turning you into Iron Man! Get the bags or go back to the Fortress!”

Kelex said nothing for a moment.

“I’ve made you angry.” he finally realized.

“I’m not angry.”

“Your respiratory rate is increasing and you have closed your eyes as if you are in pain, yet there are no physical conditions which should cause you pain. My actions have caused disapproval and my suggestions on upgrades have made you angry. How can I support you emotionally? Would you like a hug? Perhaps we can count backwards from one million using only prime numbers and their roots? We did that when you were 6. We had fun doing that, right? Fun times, Kelex and Kara, hanging out, forcing you to learn mathematics and molecular biology, repeating the lessons over and over for days until you finally got them correct… this is not helping, is it?”

Kara controlled her breathing and rubbed her temples. Taking deep breathes through her nose in and out, she began to feel better. She had after all, created this monster. If he screwed up, it was on her.

“It’s fine, Kelex. Would you please get our bags and I will check on Alex to see if she needs any help, or a new bed?”

“Of course. I like your sombrero. Much brighter than Alex’s.”

Left alone for a moment, she looked at Streaky. She could swear the cat was accusing her with a look.

“Sorry?” she offered and tossed her large hat on the table. Upstairs she found Alex, trying to lift a large drawer chest off the ground. The two girls managed to do it without every drawer sliding into them. Kara surveyed the damage and was pleased to see other than a few gouges in the plaster which she could easily fix, the room appeared to be in the same condition.

“Vacations over?” Alex asked.

“For you.” Kara agreed. “I’m the crazy shut in who lives alone by the cliffs. Another twenty years and kids will be calling me a witch and daring each other to sneak onto my property. We should get this session done and go to bed. Out of town game tomorrow, remember?”

S.T.A.R. Labs

“I’m confused. How the hell did the sphere disappear overnight without any alarm going off?” Barry asked Cisco. “Bruce has this place wired, the security is the best it has ever been. Was there any sign of a ship overhead on the cameras? Could it have self-teleported? Did Stewart come back and Diana gave the okay to take it to space?”

Dante walked in, looking as frustrated as Barry felt. “Aliens had nothing to do with this nor did any Lantern. The power was taken out as well as the reserve power simultaneously, timed with a cyber attack on the alarm signals, masking any changes to normal operating functions. There is a tunnel a mile away blown inward from a side alley the old pipeline runs under. Two entered through the pipeline while someone, probably Winn, was able to use a trojan virus to mask it as construction work while the other two took out the separate power sources for the security system. It was simple to retrieve the sphere and leave with it after that. The explosions were small and would not have made a loud noise. Its a tactic we have used before.”

“Connolly.” Barry realized. “Why would the DEO take it? All he had to do was ask Bruce. It’s not like anyone didn’t tell them we had… no one told them we had it, did they?” Barry asked.

Dante shrugged his shoulders. “Bruce said to keep it in house. This isn’t my house and neither is the DEO. It wasn’t my business. Take it up with your bosses.”

Cisco shook his head. “I was sleeping here all night. I don’t care how small the explosions were, I would have heard something.”

“Is your neck stiff?” the man asked.

“Of course it is.” Cisco admitted. “I fell asleep in a chair.”

Dante nodded, suspecting as much. “I’m sure if you checked carefully in the mirror you will find a puncture mark. Webb is very good at injecting sleeping victims without waking them. You were drugged and the explosions most likely wouldn’t have woken you anyway. The entrance was far away as are the power stations. He and Connolly came in alone, while Hawk and Ty took out the power sources. Good day gentlemen.”

Barry and Cisco were left alone, not sure what to say. Bruce had upgraded the system, even keeping separate power plants in the event one was taken out the other should sound and alert immediately. The attack would have been precise.

Cisco cleared his throat. “So uh… you think you should tell Diana and Bruce, or J’onn and let him tell them, or…”

“I’ll figure it out.” Barry told him and walked off, wondering how things had gotten to badly that the men who trained him not long ago no longer trusted him to ask a simple question.

But the answer was obvious. When the Justice League decided to keep the sphere to themselves, even as far as sending Stewart and Lobo into deep space to learn more, lines were drawn. Kara had mentioned in the past about choosing your team. She had to make a choice once on who to trust. It occurred to him that Connolly trusted her as did Bruce and J’onn. But without Kara in the equation, without her as the common factor there was no trust between the two remaining factors. He had thought Connolly remained close to J’onn but perhaps that wasn’t the case.

“Connolly took it?” a new voice asked as Barry turned a corner. Bruce was dressed, cap and cowl, ready to go after someone Barry guessed.

“I thought you were going back to Gotham?” he asked, without answering the man.

“I did as well, but it appears I need to make a stop by Metropolis and visit the DEO.”

Barry winced a bit. “Why? It took Dante less than a minute to guess it was them, and how they did it. Took him about twenty minutes probably to find the proof. Connolly wasn’t hiding that they did it. He isn’t stupid enough to take it back to the DEO. We didn’t tell him, he found out and took matters into his own hands. Its what you would have done. Does it matter? We know what its purpose was, it hurt us, we have no idea what information it stole or where it was sent and we don’t know where it came from. He doesn’t have a chance of finding out either.”

Barry could tell Bruce was considering this. The man was obviously angry. Barry should have been. His home was broken into, his best friend drugged and something important stolen. He couldn’t find it in himself to be angry though. There simply was not any point and he was too tired. He didn’t give a damn about who had the alien ball. He only gave a damn about why it was here and until Lobo or Stewart made it back, he just had to wait.

“I’ll get J’onn to have a talk with them.” Bruce decided. “Perhaps they should be brought into the loop.”

Barry snorted. “Good luck with that. It looks like they broke into the loop and took what they wanted. You may have Kara’s tech but they taught her everything she knows about fighting and I know they have alien tech. We should have brought them in from the beginning.”

“We couldn’t risk the government finding out until we knew what we were dealing with.” Bruce countered.

“They found out anyway. They will never trust us now. You know why. If we had pulled something like this on Kara would she ever trust us again? Who do you think taught her about warfare? Who taught the Danvers to trust anyone outside the family? They did. Clark and Dan Hawk are practically best friends. He was the kid’s babysitter numerous times. The girls spent all of their free time growing up training with Connolly and Dante. Who would they trust if it came down to them or us? I’ll talk to them. I will apologize. Maybe I can salvage this.”

Bruce said nothing as Barry ran away, mulling over his words. The man wanted this team at first so Kara wouldn’t be alone with the burden of beating enemies Bruce could not handle on his own. Then he wanted the team to replace her. He had placed all his bets on this team and may have ostracized the ones she trusted the most.

“Bruce, this is Diana.” he heard in his ear. “We need to talk. Stewart is back. They have information, but Lobo took a communication as soon as they hit atmosphere and left Stewart. Hurry back to Gotham. I’ll contact the rest.”

DEO Headquarters, Metropolis

“That was fast.” Webb noted. He had made the call only hours before.

Lobo stood in front of his desk, the chair too small for him to sit in and not really feeling like standing after so many days in space. Connolly was standing against the wall to his right side and Lobo waited for him to speak. Webb may have been the director and had the big office but everybody knew when it went down, Connolly was in charge. If they had called him here, something was about to go down.

“You were lucky. I just returned from a trip. I didn’t realize Kara gave you my transponder code.”

“She didn’t. We have seen her use it enough that we were able to mimic it. But you knew that. It wasn’t exact, it wasn’t from her so you guessed it would be from us.” Connolly told him.

Lobo nodded his large head. It hadn’t been hard to figure out. “So, what can galactic scum like myself do to help you gentlemen?”

“Everything you have done has been to help Kara and Alex. Every job you have taken for Wayne has been to help those girls, even tracking Damian Darhk. You aren’t loyal to Wayne and his crew. They aren’t loyal to you. You were the first one to help Kara against that creature. You didn’t get drawn away by Atrocitus. You knew where Kara would be and went straight to Metropolis.” Connolly told him. “That said I don’t expect you to be loyal to us. I want to hire you, come to an agreement on a contract.”

Lobo shook his head and smiled. “I doubt you have a uniform big enough for me and I don’t really do well with teams, or meetings, or any kind of organization.”

Webb stood up from his desk and stepped around, moving closer to the Czarnian.

“You seriously think I want you as an agent? We both know if anything big goes down, like that monster or worse, an invasion, those six won’t be enough to protect this world. That means Kara comes out of retirement and handles things on her own once again. You don’t want that anymore than we do. We need you as a… consultant. We need you to fight beside us, just like at Myriad. If anything ever goes down that requires a lot of manpower, you know we can have the entire government at our disposal and probably the militaries of other countries. We need you. No bullshit, that’s the truth.”

Lobo stepped back and began walking around the large office, taking in the paintings on the walls, not very impressed with the reprints.

“You’re pissed off that Wayne didn’t tell you about the Sphere, right?”

“We both know Wayne keeps secrets if he feels it is in the best interest of whatever agenda he is pushing. He thinks they are enough. What are they going to do if there are bombardments from orbit? Can Barry run on air? Is that Green Lantern enough? J’onn has never tried to fly into space. Jack and I need to know what is going on. I know that if you make a contract with someone, that’s it, you follow through and I can trust you. No one knows more about what is going on in the galaxy than you.”

Lobo turned towards Connolly. “You think I haven’t thought of this? You think I don’t know that they aren’t enough? Yeah, this world is going to have to get their shit together or Kara is going to have to save its ass once again. By the world I mean every damn country, not just Bruce’s team. Give me a dollar.”

Webb pulled out a bill from his wallet and handed it over quickly.

“We have an agreement. You boys are going to have to get whatever pathetic defenses this world has together. I’ll give you everything I know and after my recent trip, I know a lot. When the time comes, I will fight with you, and I hope that Kara won’t be needed. The contract is good for one year.”

Webb did not like the sound of that. “A year?”

“Yeah,” Lobo confirmed, “because in a year you either won’t need me anymore or this planet will be dead. You boys better have a seat. You won’t like what’s headed our way. However many nukes you got, you are going to need more. I’m going to tell you about a race called the Diasporans and the six hundred and twenty six warships and hundred thousand or so troops they got coming this way. We have maybe six months. They are coming here for one reason, the same reason they have visited six other planets. They plan to wipe out life on this rock.”

2 Months later- Raleigh North Carolina

Barry walked into the genetics research lab at UNC Raleigh with a certain trepidation, not sure how this would go. The past two months had not been good. Between learning that a massive invasion for was heading towards Earth, the Guardians unsurprisingly refusing to let the Lanterns step in due to Stewart’s disregard for their orders in working with the Justice League, and a definite line drawn between the DEO and government as a whole and the Justice League despite his and J’onn’s attempts, things were not looking good.

He had come here for one reason and one reason only. Despite what the others said, Barry wanted to warn Jeremiah of what was coming. Not even Bruce had talked at length with any of them lately, other than reports from the eldest Danvers on virus strains that could be effective against Brainiac and a weekly call from Kara or Alex to check on him of all things. A look by Brother Eye confirmed that Kelex was not monitoring any of their activities, or he had no doubt Kara or Alex would have at least contacted Batman. He also knew that Kelex was as always protecting the DEO from Brother Eye. It had started at J’onn’s request six years ago and continued.

Bruce did not want them concerned with something he felt they and by extension, the world should handle on their own. Barry argued that if they were surprised, Kara would react as she did against Doomsday and jump into the fight with no hesitation. According to Stewart, the Reds were nowhere around, probably hanging out on Ysmault doing whatever it is that Reds did with their free time.

A compromise was reached, and it was decided Barry would approach Dr. Danvers with a warning so he could develop some plan to keep Kara out of the picture.

The Flash knew this may be impossible as well. From what he gathered from Stewart, there had been no instances of red energy being released on Earth, meaning Kara had not used the ring in a very long time or was better at hiding it or using it on different planets. Either way, Barry knew it would be difficult to keep her out of the fight but if anyone could it would be her parents and sister. Since her sister was as likely to jump into the mess as Kara was, the man decided to approach Jeremiah.

After receiving directions to his lab, he opened the door to find what he guessed was a secretary or lab assistant present. Her back was to him and she wore no lab coat but she sat at a console furiously typing away. Barry saw she wore glasses and had her chestnut brown hair in a tight bun. She was dressed conservatively, a long ankle length black skirt and white blouse. Had the skirt not been so long, he might have noticed a red ankle bracelet on her left leg.

“Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find Jeremiah Danvers?”

The woman stiffened and slowly turned towards him in her chair.

“Barry?” Kara asked, confusion on her face. This was the last place she expected to see him.

The man did not know what to say. He had no idea Kara would be here, in disguise. According to Bruce, she spent all her time in Midvale as far as he could tell.

“Hi?” he offered, not knowing what else to say, mind racing for an excuse for his presence.

“Hi.” Kara replied, staring at him for a moment. She hadn’t seen him since Clark’s first baseball game and Kelex had refrained from looking in on him at her demand. “What’s… what’s going on?”

Barry smiled, not sure what to say. He knew he had to lie, something he hated Kara doing to him in the past.

“I… I was in Metropolis, training thing, CSI stuff. Bruce asked me since I was close if I could talk to Jeremiah about some test results…”

“You’re lying.” the girl told him. “And you are bad at it. I’m an expert at lying so I would know. Why do you want to see my Dad, Barry? Is he in danger? If he is, tell me now.”

They were all in danger, was Barry’s first thought but dismissed it. He decided a version of the truth was needed with a dose of deflection.

“I thought you didn’t want to know about… superhero stuff?”

Kara nodded her head. “I don’t want my family involved either.”

Barry saw she was worried, and on the verge of getting angry. “I promise, I am not involving him in anything. Bruce just wanted his opinion on some things regarding aliens, and a potential virus outbreak. That’s it. I come in peace, I promise.”

Kara looked at him closely. He looked tired, more tired than she had ever seen him. His hair was slightly longer than normal but still neat, and his style of dress was the same as always. It was his eyes that concerned her the most. They were duller than the last time she had seen him, sadder, and beginning to look like her eyes after she had seen one too many bodies.

“Are you okay?”

Barry chuckled. “Define okay? No, I am doing fine. I’ve been working hard, training, picking up a few new tricks. We have had some successes lately. I guess you don’t watch the news much?”

“Not if I can help it.” Kara admitted. “Are you hungry? Dad is in the clean room with Alex for the next hour. Mom is teaching a class and then the two of us are going to the Botanical Gardens, but she will be a while. They have a decent cafeteria here.”

Barry smiled, liking the idea. It felt like forever since they talked at all.

“I would like that.”

The two walked three buildings down and went through a serving line. He was impressed with Kara’s plate. It was mostly salad and fruit but there was plenty of it. She looked good, healthy. She looked relaxed. It killed him to know it probably wouldn’t last. Not unless her parents could figure something out. Of course it was up to Barry and his friends and the world for that matter to make sure there was a world for her to live a normal life in. If they failed, the human race, short of anyone in the Fortress, could be extinct. He knew there was no way to repel this invasion with no damage being done, no lives lost. He had no doubt they would win, but the loss of life and property would be catastrophic.

Barry really hated living with knowledge others didn’t have, normal people, people like Kara was now.

The two sat down and began eating, not really knowing what to say to each other. Kara surprisingly ended the silence.

“I want to apologize to you. I shouldn’t have kicked your door in or torn up your closet… or yelled at you in front of you friends. I’ve been working a lot with Leslie over the past few months, working on anger management along with other things. I shouldn’t have done what I did, not like that.”

Barry was surprised, remembering Bruce telling him that Kara never apologized. He also noted that she didn’t apologize for what she had said to him. Bruce was right. She believed every word.

The man shrugged is shoulders, not wanting to push the issue.

“I probably didn’t handle it the best I could have either. So do you work here now?”

Kara shook her head. “I’m taking online classes. Next year I plan to teach art at Midvale Junior High, so I have to take certification classes. I just finished rebuilding a car for Alex and me to share. I restored a 69 Mach 1 Mustang for a guy in Raleigh and he sold me a 70 Fastback cheap. I don’t want her on the bike on cold or rainy days. But I am up to date on my classes and the cars are done, so I was bored. I hate being bored. Mom suggested we go to the Gardens. We haven’t been a long time. I rode here with them and have been hanging out, organizing Dad’s lab, looking over some of him and Alex’s tests results. They are working on a cancer treatment and it could be a major stepping stone towards fighting the disease and attacking tumors without causing cellular death. It’s a type of transportation system hidden in viruses and he wanted me to look over some equations for him. No big deal really. I don’t think he really needed me. He just wanted something to keep me occupied.”

Barry couldn’t exactly relate. His life had been extremely tiring, action filled, followed by slow hours of work, then back to the grind, getting faster, always faster. He constantly kept busy, to not let down his teammates, not let down the world, and stop him from thinking about Kara all the time. His attempts at dating had not gone well so he had given up.

Talking to Jeremiah would have hurt. Seeing her here of all places had thrown him for a loop.

“Its still nice of you… so teaching, huh? Sounds like you are making some great plans for the normal life you wanted. How is everything else? I can’t help but notice your… ring… seems to have lost its shine.”

Kara looked around making sure no one was listening.

“Do you know John Constantine?”

Barry shook his head, never having heard of anyone with that name.

“He is a warlock. It’s kind of a long story on how we met but the man is powerful. Me and Alex performed a ritual with him. We actually entered the ring!” she whispered. “It was scary. He fought the demons that lived inside it, that gave it power and Alex and I fought… these things. There was a box there inside the ring. He bound the demons inside. As long as I don’t use it for anything, they won’t get out of where they are trapped. They can’t talk to me anymore, tempt me. I’ve been wearing a red sun device since then and its been great. Yeah, I hate wearing the ring and the bracelets but it gives me some semblance of a normal life.”

Barry stared at her for a moment, wanting to ask her if the normal life she had talked about in the past included rituals involving warlocks. Instead he grinned, told her he was glad and continued eating at a much slower pace to keep up with her.

“You think we could take a walk?” he finally asked when they were done. Kara agreed figuring she owed it to him. She wasn’t sure if they would ever have this conversation, if she would ever see him again, so never gave much thought to it outside of her therapy sessions.

The two walked towards a part of campus that seemed mostly deserted while classes were in session. Sitting down on a bench, Kara figured she would let him start.

It didn’t take long.

“Can you tell me what happened? Did I push too much? I pushed too much, didn’t I?”

Kara reached over and took his hand gently.

“It wasn’t your fault, Barry. You went through a lot with me, stuck by my side through rehab, visited a horrible planet, you did everything you could. I love you. I do, but…”

“Say it.” he told her, suspecting what the problem was.

“You confused me. When you were around, I was confused. I was trying to figure out my place in so many people’s lives and I wasn’t really thinking about my own life. It was easy to get lost in you. You were right. I wanted to stay way from all the hero stuff but I watched everything you did. I blame myself. I wish we would have met again, but in a couple years, when my life could be possibly settled, when I could have figured out who I am. But right now… Barry I do love you, but I hate the Flash and you are both. I hated myself, both sides of me, for so long and I had to choose. I chose to be Kara, not Supergirl. You though, you are comfortable with both sides of you. You will always be the Flash and that is great… for you. But… it’s not what I needed or wanted.”

Barry felt a bit sick to his stomach. He almost preferred the screaming match the two had.

“You are still friends with Bruce and J’onn. You still talk to the guys from the DEO.” he pointed out.

Kara didn’t argue that. “Bruce and J’onn and those guys have been in my life so long… but they were broken before I met them. I didn’t want to watch you become broken to. It could happen Barry. I hope it doesn’t but it most likely will. When it does, you aren’t going to need to worry about me. You are going to have to deal with yourself. Tell me, do any of your Justice League teammates have girlfriends or boyfriends?”

“No, I suppose not.” he admitted. “That doesn’t mean love is impossible. A person can have both.”

Kara could see that point to an extent. “Maybe, but right now, I can’t. If you weren’t the Flash and I was that human girl I was pretending to be when I was 18, we would have graduated, maybe lived together, gotten married, had some kids and grown old together. But we aren’t those people, no matter how much I wish we were. When you were around, I still desperately wanted to be those people but it wasn’t meant to be. We are who we are. I will always love Barry Allen but I still don’t really love myself. I’m getting there, I am trying, I am finally working to make peace with myself. I can eat at a restaurant and see someone drinking and not feel my gut turning, desperately wishing I was them.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Barry told her, meaning it. She did look more relaxed than she had in the past. He had expected her to be edgy if he ever saw her again, barely containing the power of the ring if she even tried.

Kara let go of his hand and he missed it immediately.

“I miss you.” he admitted quietly.

“I miss you too.” she told him.

“Its not enough though, is it? Even if I quit?”

“Denying a part of yourself to make someone else happy isn’t the answer. We both know that. You think I don’t want to be with you, with the guy I met in a parking garage almost seven years ago? I do Barry. I even wish I could still be at least her, Kara Danvers, alien in hiding, before I put on a cape and had to go to war. I would have stayed in the shadows and still be haunted, but I could have been close to normal, with the right meds and therapy I think I could have been happier. Instead I had to kill. I turned myself into so many different things I wasn’t sure who or what I was anymore. I’m still not completely sure. I am having to rebuild myself. But I have also faced some truths about my life. My happy ending doesn’t necessarily involve a guy. I may be single for the rest of my life and if it takes the rest of my life to figure myself out I would rather be alone. I’m okay with that.”

“I can wait…”

“Barry, stop. Why won’t you ever listen to me? I don’t want you to wait. I want you to live your life, try and have it all. You always told me I was pushing you away and I guess I was but it wasn’t all about protecting you. A lot of it was me figuring out who I was. I will always love you, but that doesn’t mean I want us back together. I can’t continue this path, thinking that you are waiting for me on the other end. It could take a lifetime and I don’t want to be responsible for you putting your life on hold. If you love me, please move on. Put me in the past and live your life. Its going to be hard enough, Barry. Being a warrior isn’t easy, you know that, and it doesn’t get easier. You aren’t the same person you were when you started being the Flash. In six years you won’t be the same person you are now. No one is but… its going to be harder for you to hold on to yourself. I used to tell Bruce that Bruce Wayne was a mask and Batman was who he really was. He agreed with me because it was true. It becomes harder and harder not to let the mask take over your life. I made that suit for Barry Allen, not the Flash. I wanted to keep you safe but that night I realized, you are the same. I can’t separate you and I shouldn’t.”

Barry thought of that for a moment. It was difficult to tell at times because Bruce did his best to play a part for the team, but he was more Batman than Bruce Wayne. Diana accepted both sides of herself because she never tried to separate one from the other. Neither had Curry or Stewart. It was people with normal lives outside of the mask that had the most difficult time.

It still didn’t hurt any less. She loved him. She didn’t want to be with him. It made no sense in his mind but did as well. She fell in love with a guy who didn’t really exist anymore and he fell in love with a girl who didn’t exist or know who she was, probably still didn’t.

“I get it, I guess. I’ll always love you too, no matter who you figure out you are. I can see you, the real you. I get it though. I… hope you figure out what you need to. I hope you can get the life you want. I just want you to be happy.”

Kara didn’t quite believe him from the tone of his voice. She had no doubt he wanted her happy but doubted he would give up and move on easily.

It was fine. She had done the best she could.

“Thank you. Thank you for loving me despite how hard I was to love.”

“It wasn’t that hard.” he told her. “It still isn’t.”

A new voice interrupted the conversation, surprising them both. The conversation had caused them to forget about the world around them. “Kara? Barry?”

Kara saw her mother was very surprised by her visitor.

“Hey Mom. Barry stopped by to say hi to Dad and found me in his lab. We were waiting for you to get out of class so we can check out my favorite monkeys. You uh… you ready?”

Eliza shook her head. “Of course. Would you mind going to get the car from the garage? My feet are killing me and I want to catch up with Barry. It seems like forever since we last talked.”

Kara was not fooled. She knew Barry lied about his reason for being here even after she asked him again and Eliza knew there was no good explanation for his presence. Something was wrong if Barry ran to North Carolina to visit Jeremiah.

Kara gently hugged the man and took her mother’s keys, walking off. In the past she would have tried and listened but not this time. This time, like every day the device stayed on and Kara pretended to be human. If it was bad, she would know. Their family had done well the past couple months on communication. They didn’t keep secrets any longer.

Once Kara was out of range, Eliza cut to the chase.

“Its good to see you but what’s going on? Please tell me you found out Kara wasn’t at home and used Jeremiah as an excuse to be here.” she practically begged. Kara had made strides and while Barry entering her life again at a delicate time probably wouldn’t be good, it beat whatever other motive he might have had.

“I wish I had. Its a lot, none of it good and Kara and Alex are going to… I need time to explain this. It would be better if I could tell Jeremiah and he could explain it to you, instead of cramming it in to the few minutes we have. It might be a conversation better suited for the Fortress where Clark can’t hear either.”

Eliza was beginning to feel sick but held it together. She now wished she hadn’t asked him because her fears were confirmed. Something bad was coming for her children again. Something she may have to keep a secret, even after they had worked for months on being open with each other. But she couldn’t. If she and Jeremiah kept a secret the trust between them and Kara would break. Kara had not lied and they all agreed none of them would again.

The woman nodded her head and walked towards the parking lot, just as Kara was pulling up and the two were gone quickly, too quickly for his taste. He hadn’t expected to spend any time with her and now that he had, he wanted more.

Instead of dwelling on it, the man went back to Jeremiah’s lab, glad the man was alone. Barry didn’t have to knock as Jeremiah was facing the door and saw him out the window. Opening it up he waved to Barry to come inside.

“Barry… this isn’t good, is it?”

Barry decided to miss the niceties and go for bluntness. “In about two to four months, this world is going to face a massive invasion force. By massive I mean hundreds of ships, hundred thousand troops or more by a race that has destroyed six planets. I need to tell you everything if you have any chance of keeping Kara and Alex out of it. I also need to talk to you about the Fortresses defenses. Kara told me once I needed to learn them if the worst happened and I was in control. I never had the chance. I need you to tell me what weapons you have and if you can use them to help save this world. You also need a plan to keep your children out of this.”

While Jeremiah’s color drained from his skin, Kara and Eliza were heading to their favorite spot. Neither had brought up the issue yet, neither sure they wanted to. Instead Kara focused on the radio.

Eliza groaned.

“I am not listening to rap music.”

“I’m driving, please do not change the station.”

Eliza changed the station. Kara changed it back.

“I can’t understand a word they are saying.” the mother complained. “You never sing like this or play like this. Why do you listen to it?”

“How do you know I don’t rap? I know the lyrics to every rap battle in Eight Mile.”

Eliza cringed. “You have seen that movie? You enjoyed it?”

Kara smiled, remembering her first days after meeting Alex.

“Eight Mile was the first human movie I had ever seen.”

“No,” Eliza disagreed. “the Notebook was. I came home and found you in tears.”

“Right, but when I was sneaking into our house on the down low, Alex showed me Eight Mile. I learned quite a bit about human mating rituals in the back of a factory. I also learned that there is no such thing as halfway crooks. That little fact helped me greatly in my later crime fighting career.”

Eliza laughed, loving as always when Kara was like this and she had been more and more like this as the months had gone by. Controlling her temper was by far the greatest stride her and Leslie had made. She still became angry but caught it quickly.

She wondered now how angry Kara would be if Jeremiah kept something important from her.

“So,” the woman started off carefully, “I am guessing Barry isn’t here to ask your father for your hand in marriage.”

Kara shook her head. “Dad should have started discussions with potential suitors when I was 15, 16 at the latest. That ship has sailed.”

Eliza looked at her, trying to determine if she was serious. Apparently, she was.

“16? Really?”

“At the latest. Alex said it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to bring it up to him, plus I didn’t have an abundance of suitable mates.”

Eliza agreed, remembering the boys she went to school with. In her mind, not one of them was good enough for her. It was the same way she felt about Cameron Chase though she never said a word.

“Okay, before we get to the Gardens and I enter my Zen state, let’s get it out in the open. Something bad is going down, something he is going to want you and Dd to keep from me and Alex. If not, he would have approached Alex. Dad will be honest, won’t he?”

Eliza nodded her head. “That’s our agreement, and you are going to keep another thing in mind. No more jumping into situations without thinking it through. Whatever he has to say, advice is all he is going to get and you are not becoming involved, no matter what. Understand?”

Kara knew it wouldn’t be that simple. “If Bruce didn’t come himself its because he is busy preparing for something big. What if it’s something they can’t handle? What if it is Zod? What if he found his way to Earth?”

“That’s what Rao created Kryptonite for. They can handle it.” Eliza reminded her. “No jumping into anything, Kara. You have done well, we all have. We talk about things rationally. Jeremiah will tell us the truth tonight. For right now, we are going to relax and enjoy the day.”

Kara agreed then changed the station back to rap music, going along with the lyrics herself to prove her rapping skills.

Eliza realized that Kara somehow sounded worse than the music itself but said nothing. They would enjoy this day, no matter what. Who knew what the night would bring?

Jeremiah knew and they would all know soon enough.

Eliza watched Kara’s mood closely at the Gardens. Her daughter had been doing well lately but still stayed mostly secluded to her house, their house or the Fortress. Today had been an attempt to get her out of her self-imposed shell and it had gone well. But she also knew that unplanned events did not sit well with the girl. Seeing Barry Allen today would have an effect on her, good or bad was too soon to tell. Knowing that something was happening and not sure what, that was another thing that could push her to a bout of depression.

Kara had not had a serious incident in over a month. Her side effects, other than sluggishness, were gone, even her appetite had improved. Eliza did occasionally get the idea that Kara ate to make her happy but whatever reason was fine. With a red sun device on, she needed to eat, no matter what was going through her veins. Gardner couldn’t go without food and she doubted Kara could either.

She got out of bed, every morning, she laughed, found hobbies to keep her occupied and had gotten to the point the woman felt somewhat comfortable leaving her alone during the day and teaching a class this semester. Leslie still showed up twice a week and appeared happy when she left and Kara still went to meetings at least twice a week. She even drove herself now, though Jeremiah did follow once to make sure she actually attended.

The last time Kara had done so well, Doomsday showed up. The woman couldn’t help but wonder what it would be this time to shatter her happiness.

“Do you think they are happy?” Kara asked, shaking her from her thoughts.

“Who Dear?”

“The animals here. I always hated zoos because of the cages. They were prison cells in my mind. But I never minded this place. I guess it’s because it is so big and open. There are no bars between us and them, they live together in a natural habitat… but its still a cage isn’t it? Its just a prettier one. Do you think they know? A lot of them are bred here. They have no idea of the world outside this glass structure. If they did, do you think they would want to experience it?”

The woman followed Kara’s eyes to the top of the dome. Birds were flying, monkeys were playing at the top of giant trees, large butterflies of all colors floating around.

“I don’t know, Kara. I know they are safer here. Here they aren’t hunted by natural predators, but yes, I see your point.”

Kara smiled, taking off her glasses for a second to wipe the moisture off.

“I made my own cages, didn’t I? After my suicide attempt I felt like sometimes you would keep me in a cage if you could, but you didn’t. I did it to myself. I still do sometimes. I hide. I built my perfect house, near the home I grew up in, but I am still hiding in my cage. I have been so scared of cages my whole life here, that I never realized I was building my own. I was a prisoner, a prisoner of fear, a prisoner to the drugs I took, the alcohol I drank, the rage inside me. I stayed away from people, never looking anyone in the eye. I did that. I built my own cages and every time I thought I was free, I was just changing cages. That’s why I think these animals are happy maybe. I feel safer in my cages. I know what the world is like and want no part of it. I can’t be sure about these beautiful creatures. They never had the choice.”

Eliza wrapped her arm around the girl, bringing her in tightly.

“Maybe we all make our own cages but the important thing is we can leave whenever we want. You can to. It doesn’t have to be a cage you make yourself to feel safe. You are always safe at home, but you have to experience life, Kara. You are getting there. Just the fact that you are asking these questions shows me you are getting there. As far as these animals, I don’t know what they would do if given the choice. Please don’t become an ecoterrorist. For me?”

Kara laughed and the two began to walk, holding hands and taking in the scenes they had seen hundreds of times but never gotten tired of.

Nothing was said when the four made their way home. Jeremiah did not bother to drop the girls off at their house. There was no point. They had sworn an oath to no longer keep secrets from each other and no matter how badly he wanted to keep this one, the man knew he couldn’t. On the one hand, he was glad to know ahead of time so Kara wouldn’t hop head first into anything based on a split second decision. On the other he hated the knowledge of what was coming and having to share it with his girls and Clark for that matter. Clark was doing well, playing football this fall and making friends who came over often. He was enjoying the smaller town life finally.

He also knew his son was a year away from the age Kara landed and remembered her determination to save the world at 13. Jeremiah had no doubt Clark would begin needing to be talked down from action soon enough.

Clark arrived home after football practice, sweaty and dirty. After he walked in he reached to his ankle band under his sock and pulled it off, the underside glowing a bright red.

“That’s better. I took a few hard shots today. Nothing like instant healing. What’s for dinner?”

Eliza couldn’t help but grin at her growing boy. He had an infectious personality that attracted other children to him.

“Nothing yet, son. We need to have a family meeting and then we will order pizza.” Jeremiah told him.

Clark looked at the four, noting that Jess wasn’t here.

“What did you do?” he asked Kara.

“I didn’t do anything brat.” she replied, not amused.

“What did you do?” he asked Alex.

“Back off Stinky. Not me.”

“That’s not good. What did I do?”

Jeremiah shook his head. “Sit down, Clark. No one did anything wrong. I found out some information today and we all need to talk about it calmly. Everyone understand?”

Seeing no dissension, he took a deep breath and began.

“There is an invasion coming in a few months, maybe two, maybe three. Its a race called Diasporans. There are over six hundred warships and possibly a hundred thousand soldiers. They only have one goal, to end all life on Earth.”

Kara nodded her head, not surprised, and looked her father in the eyes.

“Of course they do. So… what are we going to do about it?”