Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Life Equation

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 08:

“I want the Nightwing prepared to launch immediately!” Alura exclaimed, waving her arms towards her sister frantically. “I will be coming along as well. We will force our way through that damn asteroid field and be over Earth in less than two days. I want to have a talk with this Lois Lane and Kara is coming home at once! Make it happen and let me know when we are ready…”

“Shut up.” Astra told her firmly.

“Excuse me?” Alura’s eyes were comically wide, her expression one of disbelief.

Astra stared pointedly at her distraught sister before taking her by the arm and directing her towards the couch. “You heard me. As the head of the military, I am turning down the High Councilor’s order, one that has been given without the approval of the Council itself. As your sister, I am telling you to shut up and calm down. Sit. Tell me what’s going on.”

Alura was pulling against her twin as she continued to argue. “But… I want… I want to get my hands on that…”

“Sit! Now!” Astra told her in her commanding tone of voice.

Alura stiffened up as she stared wide-eyed at her sister in surprise. Seeing the look on Astra’s face, she reluctantly had a seat in the social area of their residence, telling herself she just needed to explain what happened and why it was important Kara be retrieved at once and Astra would have the Nightwing ready to launch in an hour.

“I called Kara. Kal El’s… girlfriend… answered. I asked where Kara was, and the woman lied to me. This Lois Lane told me Kara and Kell were away with Kal El exploring Earth. I knew she was lying so I called her on it. She then admitted that Kara and Kell were alone and off doing, in her words, ‘what kids do’, groping and such. She told me Kara and Kell kissed and left, wanting alone time while Kelex was off doing some errand for Kara.”

Astra furrowed her brows, not seeing the big deal. Surely Alura didn’t believe this. “You had to expect they would be apart from the others at some point in this trip. So she kissed him again. This is good. This is what we wanted for her.” Astra reminded her sister.

“Yes, but then this Lois Lane attacked our mating customs, thought Earth’s were better and claimed Kara was in a barn with Kell… nude… having sex! She was rude and inappropriate! This is who Kara is surrounded by? She thought they should have sex with each other for a while and then maybe get bonded! If she is the best Kal El could find for a potential mate, what is the rest of humanity like? Kara is impressionable! She cannot be surrounded by savages like these humans!”

Astra moved to sit next to her distraught sister, placing an arm around the shaking woman’s shoulders. “If Kara was impressionable, she would be have been bonded four years ago and have children by now. Kara is the least impressionable person I know. This Lane woman was rude, you say? Did you maintain decorum? I doubt she answered the comlink and immediately baited you by saying Kara and Kell were in a barn having sex. So what did you say?”

Alura looked away, a gesture Kara inherited when she did not want to answer.

“Sister?” Astra prodded gently.

Alura shrugged her shoulders. “I may have offended her slightly by calling Earth’s mating practices primitive.” the woman admitted. “She may have mistook it for meaning I considered her primitive, which I do but I had not meant to point this out.”

Astra nodded her head knowingly. “What else did you say?”

“She lied to me about my daughter!” Alura exclaimed.

“What else did you say?” Astra refused to be derailed in her pursuit of the truth.

Alura mumbled something under her breath that Astra could not make out. “Louder please?”

The woman glanced sheepishly at her twin. “I might have inferred that we do not mate like beasts as humans do and that Kal El hasn’t bonded with her because she was a… slut.”

“A slut?” Astra repeated, her eyebrows raised slightly.

“Yes, a slut.” Alura nodded her head.

“That is an English word that refers to a woman who has sex frequently with multiple partners, correct?” Astra asked, barely holding back a smile.

“Perhaps. My English could use some work.” Sighing, Alura gave in and admitted to Astra what she already knew. “No, it doesn’t need work. I only learned that damn language to indulge Kara. Slut could mean any number of things. I said it in Kryptonese though there is no Kryptonian translation for slut, so I guess she caught that. But she said Kara would call back when she could walk straight!”

Astra took a deep breath. “First, calling humans primitive and then referring to a longtime partner of Kal El as a slut, probably didn’t engender a productive conversation. I would guess that the majority, if not all females on the planet, do not appreciate being called a slut, even if they are engaged with multiple partners. Admit the truth, Alura. You started it. You have always been a bit… uhm…”

“A bit what?” Alura asked, meeting her sister’s eyes.

“Confrontational. Hot headed. Not to mention… protective of Kara. You threatened to throw Councilor Val into space at last week’s council meeting. Something about the airlock on the Flamebird needing testing, I believe.” Astra responded, not the least bit fearful of Alura’s temper.

“He was irritating. I apologized.” Alura said.

“He only asked if Kara had any plans to choose a mate soon. The entire City has been asking that for four years. It was a friendly question, not meant to offend.” Astra stated.

“It’s none of his business.” Alura replied petulantly.

“What was it you said? ‘ The ground you stand on, the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat are because of my husband and daughter. Do not ask me about my daughter’s mating status again or we will discuss this matter in private .’ You were inches from his face and your fists were balled! You scared the hell out of the man! He almost passed out.” Astra replied, grinning from ear to ear, secretly enjoying the scene as she recalled it.

Alura brushed it off. “He shouldn’t have been scared. If he can’t back up his words with his fists…”

“He is 142 years old, Alura! When it comes to Kara, you get a bit sensitive. I am not going to disembark the Nightwing to retrieve Kara because you baited a woman into an argument. I realize this separation has been difficult…” Astra said before Alura interrupted.

“If Zor were alive, this never would have happened.” Alura grumbled.

Astra nodded her head, knowing Alura was right. “It’s true, if Zor were alive he would have been on that ship with her, egging her on about going too slow through the asteroid belt and having the time of his life. Kara inherited many qualities you loved about Zor, that also make her a bit… reckless at times. I know this scares you, but you have to trust her. We both know Kara would never act like this woman suggested. I have no doubt she is doing exactly as you have asked, staying out of the spotlight, blending in and being discrete. This is Kara. She may be a bit impulsive, but I know she will understand the importance of staying low. If Kal El is a hero on his planet, he probably has many enemies who would attempt to harm her if her true nature were known. She would not attract their attention.”

“Where is Non?” Alura asked.

“Hiding. I told him to stay away for a while until you calmed down so you wouldn’t throw anything at him.” Astra replied with a smirk. “Relax. Kara and Kell know what they are doing. She will call you in less than eight hours and no doubt have a reasonable explanation for where she has been and what she has been doing.”

National City

Kara flew into the first building she saw on fire. Deciding to start at the top, she entered the smoke filled room and blew her very cold breath over every flame she encountered, then moved quickly to the next floor. On her third floor, she found the first victim, a man pinned to the ground by a steel girder over his legs.

Checking him over with her X-ray vision to ensure no internal bleeding was taking place, she lifted the girder to his great relief and surprise.

“Where is… Superman? Who are you?”

Kara tossed the girder to the side and lifted the man up gently, aware of his broken leg. “Superman just called me ‘Supergirl’. I’m not sure why, since I am obviously a woman but I kind of like it. Superwoman is sort of a mouthful. Supergirl rolls off the tongue easier than Superwoman. Besides, by my race’s standards, I am still a girl. A really cool, totally brilliant, badass girl but a girl none the less. That’s cool though, girl power and all, am I right? Of course I’m right. I’m going to gently fly you out of here and then I have more people to save. Hold onto me and I will take you to the ground.”

Kara continued to put out fires where she found them, rescue stunned people from under debris and kept an ear out for calls for help.

She saw her cousin catching a very high crane that was falling from the top of a high rise construction site when she heard it. The sounds of children crying out in terror.

The bridge was collapsing, and a school bus stuck in the middle.

She caught the vehicle a bit roughly, but the children stopped screaming so she supposed it was a win. Gently landing the vehicle away from the bridge, she looked inside and was immediately assaulted by numerous phones flashing, no doubt taking her picture. Kara smiled, waved and took back to the sky.

It was in the sky that she heard the sharp sound, causing her to flinch. Her hearing had become accustomed to Earth’s noise quickly, but this was different.

Kal El flew up next to her. “Nice job. Can you go to that building that has the big ‘Catco’ sign on the side of it? That noise you are hearing is a distress signal from my friend Jimmy on the top floor. There must be trouble, but I need to carry an ambulance to the hospital that is struck in traffic.”

Kara saluted the man and was off, crashing through the top floor window to find a group of people staring down an open elevator shaft.

“Can I be of assistance?” Kara asked.

The group turned towards her, stunned for a moment, taking in her dress and the fact that she had just flown through a window.

“James is down there. He was rescuing people from the floor below but is trapped. The elevator cable is about to snap.” an older blonde woman told her.

The group stepped aside for the blue clad blonde with the familiar symbol on her chest. She looked down and saw the man, who had a look of relief for a moment, then confusion before the cable snapped and he plunged below.

A few seconds later, Kara was back on the top floor, James in her arms bridal style and set the tall man on the floor. “I don’t suppose any of you know a Jimmy? Superman told me he set off some sort of distress signal, needing help?”

The tall dark man cleared his throat. “That would be me. Who are you?”

“Supergirl, last daughter of Krypton. Good job saving those people. Glad I could give you a lift back up. I should go. Lots to do.”

Before James Olsen could grab his camera or Cat Grant could get a word in, the girl was gone.

“Did she say ‘Supergirl’?” Cat Grant asked. “James, why haven’t you told me there is another one?!”

James shrugged his shoulders, face slack, still in shock at what he had just seen and experienced. “I had no idea.”

“I would suggest you find out! Let me know immediately. If she is with Superman, I guarantee Lois Lane knows about her already!”

Kara met Kal in the street below. “Everything okay?” she asked her cousin.

“I haven’t found any casualties yet. Mostly structural damages and people trapped and injured. As far as I can hear everyone is safe for now, but I will keep listening. Being Saturday, the schools aren’t in session, but I would like to check out the local parks, make sure no children have been separated from their parents. Want to come along?”

“Sounds out of sight, bro. Let’s roll.” Kara answered brightly.

Kal shook his head, not wanting to laugh. He would definitely have to bring his cousin up to date on current slang… not that he was an expert himself. Perhaps Lois could help.

While the two Super cousins were saving and aiding the citizens of National City, Kelex, Kell and Alex were entering National City cloaked from the eyes of those below.

“I need to go to the DEO.” Alex said. “We have a headquarters downtown where alien criminals are kept. The nuclear reactor had a malfunction during the quake and some of the cells have opened. Our agents are under attack.”

Kelex shook his head. “I am certain Kal El warned us about going to the DEO. The shapeshifter has ammunition that can could possibly kill Kell and Lady Kara. Kell, I am not so concerned about, but Lady Kara will come looking for him if he should end up dead and I cannot allow her to be harmed.”

Kell rolled his eyes. “If by some miracle Kara ever does agree to bond with me, you are so gone, dude.”

“First good news I have heard since we left Argo City.” Kelex countered. “We are not…”

“Her comrades are under attack! She has to go, and you will take us there or I will take control of this ship myself.” Kell ordered.

“You don’t know how to fly.” Kelex pointed out.

“Exactly! So if you don’t want this ship to crash, take it where she orders, now! I’m going to change and expect to be on the roof of this DEO when I am done.”

Alex and Kelex watched Kell head towards the cargo bay, leaving the two of them alone.

“You heard the boss. Do what he says.” Alex told the metal pilot.

As they landed, Kell came from the back, no longer dressed in denim jeans and a t shirt but wearing the black uniform and jacket Alex first saw him in. He had a rifle of some type over his back and two side arms that Alex suspected did not carry bullets.

The two exited the craft, Kell only stopping to look back at Kelex. “Come on!”

“I do not enter battles that aren’t mine to fight.” The AI stated.

“Your optical lens is weaponized!” Kell pointed out.

“I am only authorized to initiate combat in defense of Lady Kara.”

“And Lady Kara would expect you to extend that same protection to her human diplomatic liaison. I need to know what we are facing, and you have more knowledge of alien species than I do. Move your metal ass!” Kell moved quickly, seeing Alex trying to an electronic keypad to open the door inside.

“The keypad is screwed! I can’t…” Alex stopped worrying about the keypad when Kell punched through the door and ripped it from its hinges, tossing it aside.

“What are we going to be facing?” the Kryptonian asked.

“Anywhere from one to fifty deadly aliens.” Alex told him running down the stairs, Kell following closely, having no idea where to go.

On the seventh flight of stairs down, Alex opened a door leading to a large space filled with computers that Kell assumed was some sort of control room. Standing by one of the large screens was the shapeshifter.

“Alex, what are you doing here? What is he doing here?” J’onn asked.

“Stopping you from being overrun by your own prisoners, shifter.” Kell told him while taking in the monitors to identify threats.

“What is the situation, Director?” Alex asked, getting down to business.

J’onn pointed to a display showing the schematics of the building. “The cells on level two are down but our teams have gotten most of them under control. One escaped to the basement level. Our biggest problem is the nuclear reactor. We have to reset it before it goes into meltdown, blows the headquarters and takes half of National City with it.”

“Why would you place a prison containing deadly species using nuclear power in the middle of a civilized area, putting citizens at risk?” Kell asked incredulously. As expected he only got an annoyed look from the shapeshifter and no answer.

“Basement. Winn can reset it, right?” Alex asked.

“Yes, but our mainframe is damaged. He has to reach the manual controls in the basement. The problem is the alien that escaped is between him and the reactor protecting it. So I’m pretty sure he wants to blow us off the planet. The team that accompanied Winn are all dead. He is alone, hiding, trying to stay alive.”

“Then why are you watching this on television instead of helping him, Director Shifter?” Kell asked. “Ever occur to you to go help him?”

“What alien are we dealing with, Director?” Alex asked, ignoring Kell’s question.

“The Dryad.” The Martian replied, also ignoring Kell.

“Shit. Let’s go.” Alex said and ran towards a tunnel. Kell shrugged his shoulders and ran after her, keeping close behind.

The two reached the room near the reactor, finding dead DEO agents on the ground, and Winn hiding behind a metal flammable storage cabinet that had been knocked over. Kell knelt next to him while Alex ran to the opposite side, knocking over a similar file cabinet for cover.

“Where is he, Winn?” Alex asked.

“Standing by the reactor room. He is armed. Looked like one of the Qwa-Bolt rifles we captured two years ago. He must have made his way into the armory.” The frightened techie answered her.

Kell and Alex peaked over their cover and saw the seven foot tall monster enter the room. He did indeed have a Qwa-Bolt rifle and a massive rocky body.

Kell had studied Qwa-Bolt based weapons and knew they were very versatile in the type of damage they could do based on the levels of Q-Energy different types of weapons could generate. This was not good at all.

“Oh look, he must have a foot in height on you, Kell.” Kelex commented, floating to his side.

Kell rolled his eyes. “Six feet is average height. Considering you are about two feet tall you aren’t one to talk… unless you are feeling inadequate and taking it out on me.”

Kelex ignored the comment and focused on the problem at hand. “Doubtful your rifle will make a difference. You will have to get past him and then figure out a way to fix the reactor. It is leaking radiation in the containment area surrounding it. If you shut it down, you will open every cell in this building.”

Kell rolled his eyes, frustrated. “Of course.” the man stood up and fired for the creature’s head, disturbed that his ion stream did not budge the Dryad.

“So that didn’t work.” he groused, dropping down just before a Qwa-bolt passed over his position causing large hole in the wall. “Alex, you are the expert. How was this bastard defeated the first time?”

Alex rose, firing her sidearm towards the rifle in the Dryad’s hand, having no effect.

“We used gas. Cyanide gas. Lured him into a trap with four cyanide grenades and closed the door. It didn’t kill him obviously, but it knocked him out, long enough to use Promethium metal bindings to transport him to a cell.”

Kell shook his head, remembering General Non’s words to him from long ago. At some point in your life, you will be screwed. Use your head and don’t panic.

“Alex, catch.” Kell told her, sliding his handgun towards the woman who quickly grabbed it with a huge grin.

Kell passed his other handgun to Winn who reluctantly backed away.

“I’m not much of a gun type of person.” the man explained. “I’m just tech support.”

Kell took his hand and pressed the weapon into his hand. “You are obviously brave or stupid considering you are surrounded by the dead and unconscious bodies of your comrades and rather than run, you have hidden behind what I am guessing is a highly flammable metal cabinet that has been knocked over, while your enemy has superior firepower. Take the gun, point at the enemy and pull the trigger. It’s a universal concept. Don’t let go of the trigger once you pull it until the enemy is down.”

Kell looked down, deciding if he should attempt to use his useless rifle.

“Alex?”

“Yeah?”

“On two, stand up and fire at his head. Winn, you hit the weapon. I’m going to use this heat vision as Kara is so fond of calling it and strike him in the chest. We don’t stop until he is down.”

“On two?” Alex asked, looking doubtful.

“Yes, one, three, two. Isn’t that a common human tactic? We use it quite a bit.”

“One, two, three.” she corrected.

Kell shrugged his shoulders. “If you want to call them out of order that’s cool. I’m going to use my eyes. If I miss, tell me which way to look.”

Alex looked towards him, concerned. “What do you mean? It’s easy. Look at your target and hit it!”

“It’s not as easy as it looks! It feels… weird. Okay, let’s do this. Do not stop the streams and whatever you do, do not cross the streams.”

Winn swallowed hard. “What happens if we cross the streams?”

“You don’t want to do that. Alex, give us the count… out of order.” Kell told her as another bolt went past her cover. The man closed his eyes, just as he had done in the gymnasium that had been doused in solar light while practicing with Non.

He felt the power build up behind them when Alex reached two.

At three, he stood up and opened his eyes with a roar, twin beams of energy unleashed at…

“Turn your head to the right six inches, Kell!” Alex yelled.

Kell did so then felt the resistance, tougher than the wall he had previously struck. He hated this feeling, the head rush, barely able to see, not knowing what to do with his hands. Should he clench them, lean forward into the blast, or perhaps charge? Decisions, decisions.

A crash against the far wall and Alex told him he could stop. Kell closed his eyes quickly and took deep breaths to calm himself until the weird feeling went away. Opening his eyes once again slowly he took in the room before him. To the left of the fallen foe, he saw the twin holes in the wall where his first strike, a long gash following as Alex had adjusted his aim. The creature’s gun was in pieces, while his eyes smoked and the rocky covering over his chest was gone, revealing skin underneath.

“Okay…” he mumbled, nodding proudly. “Successful. So I missed the first time. No big deal. As long as Kara doesn’t find out, I should be good. If she does, I will never hear the end of it.”

Alex, Winn and Kell approached the smoking body of the Dryad, Alex keeping her gun aimed at the body.

“Is it dead?” Winn asked.

As in answer to his question, the creature sat up quickly, only to be punched in the face by Kell, sending him back to the floor unconscious.

“No, but he is neutralized. Weren’t you going to do something to save millions of lives from being obliterated by a nuclear explosion?” Kell asked the tech wizard.

“He can’t.” Alex told them, looking at a display near the door. “There is too much radiation. He would die once he stepped inside.”

“Of course he would.” Kell mumbled. “How long do we have?”

“Two minutes.” Alex told him.

Kell sighed. “Then you have 120 seconds to teach me how to fix this. Kelex? Can you instruct me? Thanks for the fire support by the way. Couldn’t have done it without you, tin can.”

“I was saving my energy for when you failed.” the floating robot told him. “This would be easier with Kara here. I have no idea what effect the radiation will have on my processing system. Let’s go, Kell.”

As if on cue, Kara and Kal flew into the room.

“What happened?” Kara asked, Henshaw running into the room behind the cousins. “Everybody okay? We heard yelling… who and what is the unconscious thing? Is that a Dryad? I’ve never seen one in person. How cool! If he dies, can I perform an autopsy? Not that I want him to die, but he looks to be in pretty rough shape… are those heat vision wounds on his chest? Kell, did you hit something with heat vision?”

Kell stood up a little straighter. “Yep, no problem, dude. Hit him on the first attempt.” the man lied, looking towards Alex who was thankfully too engrossed in the display outside the room of death to disagree.

“Kara,” Kelex interrupted, “the nuclear reactor is going to be critical in a minute, thirty seconds and counting. Do you think you could handle this problem?”

Kara looked at the bag Winn was holding. “Do you have duct tape in there?”

The man shook his head slowly, coming to grips that he was about to die with Superman and two other Kryptonians in the room.

“Damn. I always wanted to fix something with duct tape. I suppose I will make do with what I have.” Kara took the bag from Winn, opened the door to the clean room and then walked into the reactor room.

The ones in the room watched her working as if in a blur, while the clock continued to count down.

At 15 seconds, the radiation levels of the reactor leveled off, the power staying on to the rest of the DEO, as the potential life ending threat came back under control.

Kara walked into the clean room.

“I’m going to need a little privacy.” she told the group. “I need to undress, go through decontamination and leave this suit behind. Don’t worry, I have another. Kell, please collect your weapons. Right now, any human that comes near me will die of radiation sickness, so if all of you could leave besides Alex and Kelex, I would greatly appreciate it.”

The group walked out and made their way to the main control room.

J’onn smiled and nodded, then offered his hand to Kell. “Thank you for your help.”

Kell shook it, returning the nod. “You need to thank Kara. If she hadn’t arrived this entire city would be a crater. Why do you have such a dangerous prison in the middle of a large city?”

J’onn looked a bit sheepish, as much as he was capable of anyway. “The Government built this place. We also have a headquarters in the desert where we keep the most dangerous aliens. This place was supposed to be able to withstand earthquakes. We were wrong.”

Kal El placed a hand on Kell’s shoulder. “The people are safe. As soon as Kara is done, I would suggest we get out of here. No reason to put her at unnecessary risk.”

Henshaw heard and took offense. “You really think I would attack a man and woman who just saved us all? Do you think so little of me?”

Superman responded heatedly. “I have told you before, J’onn. You don’t trust me, so I don’t trust you. As long as you have…”

“And what am I supposed to do if more Kryptonians show up on Earth? Ones who are not as peaceful as these two?” J’onn stepped into the personal space of the incensed Kryptonian.

Kal El stepped back, frustrated. They had this argument countless times. “Diana can place the Kryptonite in Themyscira should it ever be needed.”

“Amazing, you trust her, but you won’t trust me.” Henshaw grumbled.

“Because if Diana dies, General Lane isn’t going to take over Themyscira!” Kal El told the Martian again, preparing to argue until his phone rang. Pulling it out of his boot, the man walked away.

Kell stood awkwardly, neither Henshaw nor Winn wanting to say anything, so he took their cue and stood quietly. He breathed a sigh of relief when Kelex, Alex and Kara walked out, Kara, her hair still wet, dressed in a DEO uniform.

Kara ran to the man and hugged him tightly. “Thanks for doing this.” she whispered in his ear.

“Of course.” Kell smiled, feeling lighter in that moment.

“I know you missed the first shot. I could tell by the marks on the wall. I know you hate heat vision, but you did it anyway. Thank you for that.” the blonde whispered and kissed him on his cheek.

Clark cleared his throat, interrupting the moment. “I would suggest we go back home as soon as possible. That was Lois. Kara, it is probably best if you call your mother when we return.”

Kara turned to Kelex, an accusing look on her face. The robot lifted his arms in surrender. “I didn’t say a word.”

“No, he didn’t,” Kell told her. “After you left, she called. You know I am horrible at lying so I asked Lois to cover for us.”

Kara winced and looked at her cousin who lifted his hands, a guilty expression on his face. “The conversation did not go as well as it could. I’ll tell you about it on the flight home. It would probably be best if we took the ship and flew as fast as possible.”

Alex cleared her throat. “I should probably stay here. Check on my apartment, my friends, make sure things are under control. Why don’t you meet me here in a few days and I can show you National City?”

Kara nodded, hugged Alex to the agent’s surprise and the three Kryptonians and the Kelex unit were gone.

Twenty minutes later, an hour before Kara’s check in deadline, the four had landed at the Kent Farm.

Clark walked inside, Kelex following, leaving the two star-crossed possible lovers on their own.

“She is going to want to know where we were alone together.” Kara told him, fear on her face. “We are going to have to lie.”

“I can’t lie to her.” Kell said, shaking his head.

Kara growled in frustration. “Enough! The whole ‘I can’t lie to the High Councilor’ thing, I get it, but this is necessary, okay? Do you want our vacation and my life cut short? Because if she finds out what I did, the whole ‘I can’t lose you, daughter’ thing is out the window! She will kill me! I am pretty sure I can take her in a fight, but I would never hurt my mother. Mother on the other hand, she knows how to make me hurt without touching me. She will lecture me in my room until I want to kill myself just to escape! You have never sat through one of her lectures… her real ones, not just the ones where she asks if you have a backbone. The last one lasted three hours! I wasn’t allowed to talk for three hours! That alone nearly killed me. You are going to have to lie.”

Kell shook his head. “You don’t get it! It’s not about her being High Councilor or your Mother! I suck at lying! I always have! My Mother could break me down with a single glance! I stutter and sweat… I’m just horrible at it! I played a game of cards once in the rec room and lost my rations for a week ten minutes in because I couldn’t bluff. Your Uncle pulled me away and I wasn’t allowed to play cards ever again! I had to use his rations card for the entire week! It was embarrassing and he told me every day that he had to eat his wife’s cooking. I don’t think he was happy!”

Kara stopped for a moment to consider the problem. Taking a look at Kell’s face it was obvious he was telling the truth. She could definitely see him having problems with lying. Normally, she would have loved this about him. Now it was a liability.

Taking the lead, Kara moved ahead. “Fine. I have quite a bit of experience lying to her for her own good. If she knew half the things I have done in the name of science and Krypton, she would never get any sleep. Can you at least stand behind me and nod along with whatever I say?”

Kell though for a moment. “Wouldn’t it be better if you talked to her alone? What are you going to tell her anyway?”

“I’m not sure.” Kara admitted. “I usually make it up as I go along. She is going to want to see you as well. Just stand beside me and silently agree with everything I say. Smile, not too widely, like a happy, chill smile and follow my lead. Don’t shake too much. Remember you aren’t lying, I am. Now let’s do this. My deadline is in fifteen minutes.”

Kara walked inside and grabbed the comlink from Lois who quickly thrust it into her hands.

“Listen, the conversation with your mother… I’m sorry, it didn’t go as well as I hoped. I may have told her some things that gave her the wrong impression about you and what you were doing.”

Kara shook it off with a smile. “It’s fine, Lois. I appreciate you covering for me. I got this.”

Kara walked into the bedroom Kal had designated as hers, Kell reluctantly following.

A moment later a very angry Alura’s image popped up in front of her.

Alura did not say anything at first, instead glaring at Kara who was beginning to sweat a bit herself.

“Hello, Mother. I miss you.”

“Excellent. I will send one of our cruisers to pick you up and Astra can debrief you on your trip.”

Lying to her mother was one thing, a difficult thing to do in person. Lying to Aunt Astra was nearly impossible… not to mention Kell would break in his debriefing.

“Mother, there is no need to bring a cruiser. Everything is fine. Our trip has not encountered any problems since we first landed.”

Alura looked at Kell standing just behind Kara with a wide, almost too large smile. “Is this true, Kell?”

The man nodded his head quickly.

“Something wrong with your tongue?” Alura asked sharply.

Kara could hear the giant gulp of air the man took. “No, High Councilor. Nothing is wrong.”

Alura’s eyes focused back on Kara. “Where were the two of you, why did you leave your only means of communication with that… woman and why wasn’t Kelex with you?”

Kara began to sweat a bit more, but she had this. She had lied about the smell of smoke on her clothes after many small lab fires. This shouldn’t be too difficult. “We were exploring the land surrounding us. Kal El’s farm is beautiful and there may be things our agriculturists may find fascinating about Earth’s farming process.”

“And why wasn’t Kelex with you?” Alura probed further.

“I had him in another area, taking samples of items of interest while Kell and I moved ahead in the search.” Kara hastily replied.

Alura shook her head. “It’s a farm. Seeds go into the ground and bread…”

“Wheat.” Kara corrected.

“Who cares? It’s a universal concept, Kara. I know you are lying. Tell me the truth! What were you two doing?”

Now Kara was sweating as much as Kell, but she was not wearing the large fake smile that graced his face. “Talking. We needed to talk alone. Away from short robots who send you videos of everything I do, okay? I am a grown woman and I believe I can take moments of privacy when I need it without Little Drang following me around.”

Kara stood strong in front of her mother, determined not to break under her soul penetrating stare. This is why she always did something dangerous without asking her mother first. Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission and all that. Despite her bravado she wasn’t a much better liar than Kell.

“What were the two of you doing? The truth. I won’t ask again. I am seconds way from ordering a retrieval mission, even if I have to take the Nightwing over myself. We have spoken many times about our courting procedures. Have you been breaking them?” Alura demanded to know.

“Of course not! We had to talk about the future, and I didn’t want the conversation recorded for others to see. It was a private conversation.”

“About what?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be private, would it?” Kara argued.

Even over the holographic image she could see her mother’s face turning red and it wasn’t from embarrassment.

“Go to Jor El’s lab and do not leave until we are on your side of the wormhole. You will dock…”

“We were talking about the future!” Kara told her mother exactly what she knew she wanted to hear.

Alura’s face softened just a bit for the moment. “The future?”

Kara nodded quickly. “Yes, our future, mine and Kell’s. We talked about… what we wanted in life… our favorite music… mating… children? Definitely talked about marriage and children.”

“You talked about being bonded, mates for life, husband and wife. You spoke of children?”

Kara nodded her head quickly, pleased to see Alura’s penetrating glare was slowly going away. “Kell asked me to be his mate and I have agreed.”

“You have?” Alura asked to be certain.

“Yes, Mother. I would never lie to you about something as important as my Mate.” Kara lied.

“And children?”

Kara nodded quickly. “Lots of kids. I’m the last daughter of the House of El, he is the last son of the House of Ur. We both want several children to carry on our lines.”

“Several?” Alura sounded surprised at this.

“Yes. Maybe twins, or even triplets… perhaps twice, maybe three times. We had begun discussing names before I had to check in with you. Probably seven or more children. We will start the process the night of our bonding ceremony. No contraceptives needed. Kell is a good man and I want… babies. Lots and lots of babies, alright? Do you see now? That is the kind of conversation little Krypto did not need to be present for. We have not broken any protocols.”

The previous anger on Alura’s face was gone, replaced by pure joy.

“Yes! I cannot believe Non was right! This is wonderful news! Congratulations, both of you. I knew it when the two of you first met eyes that he was the one. Outstanding! I am so happy daughter. The Flamebird will be at the mouth of the ‘Wormhole of Death’ on your side in 38 days. The two of you will dock in the ship and travel safely back home. The bonding ceremony will take place two days afterward. The announcement will be made immediately. Since you are Mates now, we have a plan to explain your absence to the Council, but it won’t be a problem unless certain members want to be thrown out of an airlock. I expect calls every twelve hours now. We have much to do, many details to decide on. I will have dresses made, options for you to consider such as flowers, music…”

Kara felt dread slide down her back as she cut her mother’s diatribe off. “Mother, I got it. Lots to do. I’ll call you back in twelve hours when I wake. I love you.”

“I love you too, daughter. I am so happy for you.”

Kara turned the comlink off and dropped her head.

“Have you lost your mind? I thought you said you could lie to her?! You just told her you would do everything she wanted, everything you told me you didn’t want!” Kell yelled at her as if she didn’t know.

Kara turned to him, looking sheepish. “I may have exaggerated my deception skills. She is hard to lie to! I had to give her something! It’s the only true way to deceive my mother. Distraction, okay? Tell her something that she wants to hear, and she will forget asking about what she suspects she may not want to hear. Father taught me that!”

Kell walked out of the room, leaving Kara alone. She sat on the bed and placed her head in her hands, frustrated, not sure what to do now or say to Kell. Yes, she had gone too far, but once she started lying she couldn’t stop. She wasn’t as good as she had led Kell to believe.

Kara was smart. She would figure something out.

Triplets? Where had that came from? She could have blown the whole thing, going that far. Luckily her Mother had bought it.

Uncle Non and Aunt Astra would never buy it.

Kara walked out of the room, past Lois and Clark, Lois avoiding looking at her and Clark giving her a sympathetic look. Looking around, she didn’t see Kell.

Clark motioned with his head that the man had gone outside.

Kell stood at the edge of the wheat field, looking up at the night sky. Kara could have been there in less than a second, but instead walked slowly towards him.

Once she reached him, she wasn’t sure what to say, so she gazed at the stars overhead as well.

“I’ll stay.” the man finally said, staring out over the field.

“What?” Kara was confused.

Kell spoke softly, “Tell them I did something stupid and got myself killed or picked up some illness here. Tell them it was too dangerous to bring my body aboard and expose the ship to whatever… just make something up. Our people need you. They don’t need me.”

Kara pushed the man, nearly tipping him over. “I will not leave you here, ever! Argo City is your home as much as it is mine. When we get back, if we decide this isn’t something we want, I will announce that I called off the bonding. You said it yourself, Argo City needs me. They can get over it.”

Kell looked at her sharply. “That would be dishonorable to you and your mother since she plans to announce our bonding ceremony. I won’t let your honor be questioned or tarnished. If you won’t leave me here, I will claim to have called off…”

Kara stared at him, completely caught off guard. “Kell, what is your problem? I thought this was what you wanted?”

“And you have made it clear bonding with a mate, being a wife and mother is not what you want.” Kell responded, sadness in his tone, but resignation as well. “I don’t want to be the husband to any woman who does not wish to be my wife. It wouldn’t be fair to either of us.

“I do want to be your mate but only if it is your decision, not one you feel pressured into because of your Mother, your Aunt and Uncle, the council, our people… anyone.”

Kara felt a tear in her eye and turned away from him. “Mates, husband and wife, bonding ceremonies… Kell, lets enjoy our time here. No matter what we are to each other now or what we define ourselves as, there is one thing I am certain of. You are my partner and my friend. I won’t leave you behind any more than you would leave me behind. We will figure it out together, alright? We have time. Right now, I know I am tired and so are you. Let’s go inside and rest. Please?”

“I will sleep on the ship.” he decided. “You need to sleep in the bed, Kara. Despite these rays, you look exhausted.”

Kara shook her head quickly. “Come with me. We can sit on the couch and watch television until we fall asleep. It’s a human thing I would like to try out. No beds needed and nothing improper. Please? Come with me?”

Kell looked at her outstretched hand and took it. The living room and kitchen were empty, and they could hear the sounds of Clark and Lois sleeping soundly. The pair sat on the couch watching something called a ‘Tonight Show’. Kara leaned her head against Kell’s chest and feel asleep quickly. Despite the turmoil in his mind, Kell followed shortly after, his arms wrapped comfortably around the last daughter of the House of El.