Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Life Equation

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 38:

Kara stood alone in her makeshift laboratory in Watchtower, listening awestruck, as her young, handpicked assistant explained interdimensional travel and the solutions she could propose to the Kryptonian Science Guild.

After the girl finished and waited nervously, Kara finally spoke. “How do you know so much about the space time continuum and the pattern that the order of dimensions must be torn?”

The girl looked sheepish. “I read your theory of alternate universes and your belief in the ten dimensions of the time space in relation to gravitational fields and how they are similar. The technology the Science Guild made looked correct but when I saw the pattern of the tears, it didn’t seem to make sense. There was not the pinpoint precision expected but more of a flattening of sheets rather than a smooth calculated cut. Their approach left the map scrambled. There was no ability to see where they were going, only how to move from one place to another randomly.

“The General showed me the plans for the device you made on Earth. It was simple in its design but brilliant in its ability to see where you were stepping into the Universe. So, I used your information and reconfigured the patterns…”

Kara held up her hand slowly to stop the girl. “That report was written long ago. You read it?”

Fin smiled and nodded excitedly. “I’ve read all your reports, even the ones before the destruction of Krypton, many times. They are how I taught myself advanced science while going through basic education.”

Kara smiled brightly. Finally, someone had read her reports and articles published over the years! A ten-year-old, self-taught girl had figured out something the Science Guild could not. “Outstanding job, Fin, the pattern is correct. I suppose I will have to make clearer to our Science Guild how to use the device as a compass and not a swift, unsteady blade cutting in random chaos.”

“There was a question about the Solar Storm Cannon. Aunt Astra wishes to make it less destructive than it is, increasing and decreasing the volume of the blast. It’s quite easy to do, but I want to hear your ideas on how you believe it can be done.” Kara had never been asked to make the blast any less destructive, but she knew how to do it. She never shared that information with her scientists for fear one may get in their head to tinker with her very destructive toy and their track record at tweaking any of her projects was not a good one.

Changing the blast intensity was simply about regulating absorption ports that fed the Alphahedron, not that this would have mattered with the city floating on a dark side of a moon, practically cut off in direct path of light rays so she felt better having it fully charged.

“I made a model using an Omegahedron instead of your Alphahedron.” Fin replied. “The Alphahedron is so beautiful. It really holds the power of a star, doesn’t it?”

Kara shrugged her shoulders and nodded as if it weren’t a big deal. “Approximately 52.3%, of the nearest star source. Any more than 55% could endanger the casing. If the solidium casing is broken, the result would be a supernova that would take out half the galaxy or overload the nearest star causing a chain reaction and taking out two galaxies.

“Show me your Omegahedron model. I suppose you read my reports on the Solar Storm Cannon given your model parameters?”

“Yes, Lady Kara. It is my third favorite behind the splitting and cloning of genomes and the method for cloning and recycling water to keep our reservoirs at an acceptable level. My number one favorite is the chemical makeup of flora and species engineering that can create new biological life forms not previously thought of.” Fin told her happily, her eyes gleaming in her excitement.

Kara motioned to the girl to continue. “What are your fourth and fifth ones? Give me the whole top ten list of your favorites. Oh, what about the process of Panspermia in the terraformer and mixing the process with abiogenesis to delete and guide heterorgenesis, leading to billions…”

“Of years of evolution into two years?!” Fin cut in with an excited tone to match that in her eyes. “I love that one, but it’s my fifth one on the list. The fourth one is your report on…”

General Astra stepped into the image. “Enough! When Lady Kara returns, the two of you can isolate yourselves and speak nerd to each other as much as you want where we don’t have to hear. For now though… Kara, if you would please watch her model in action and determine if the idea is feasible?”

Kara nodded and watched in silence as Fin pulled a table over with an Omegahedron across from a simple rock protected by a simplistic particle shield used in the last generation of machines Krypton used for war. The makeshift absorption ports Fin had built were works of art.

Kara watched the execution of Fin’s model work to perfection and was amazed. How in the world did a girl who was born days before Argo City was blown into the Phantom Zone, see how simple and yet complex the universe could be with no official training? This girl did not have Zor El guiding her as Kara did. She simply learned it herself, in the same manner as her father forced Kara to figure out many solutions by herself, but Fin had only a rudimentary knowledge of processes and no access to the wonders Kara had in her Father’s lab.

Once the show was finished, Kara wiped a tear of joy from her cheek, fighting hard not to break into a torrent of happy crying.

“Well?” Astra asked impatiently, already knowing the answer from Kara’s reaction.

“It will work perfectly.” Kara confirmed and noticed Fin maintaining decorum though the blonde knew the little girl wanted to jump in joy. “Please pass on the work to the Engineering Guild as well as the new patterns for the proper sequencing for a dimensional tear. I will educate our Guild on finding certain spots using smaller scale tears when I return. May I have a moment with Lady Fin alone?”

Astra winked at Kara and left the hologram. “Fin?”

“Yes, Lady Kara?” The girl asked, obviously awed to be alone with her hero for the first time, though incredibly happy if the smile she was fighting to keep off her face was any indication.

“When the two of us are alone, you will call me Kara. Your work has been beyond brilliant.” Kara told her young protégé. She studied Fin for a moment, then asked, already knowing the answer, “You see it all so simply, don’t you?”

Fin shook her head fiercely. “No, Lady Kara! The processes are extremely complex…”

Kara raised her hand. “You and I will always tell each other the truth. I am very aware of how you see the universe because I see it in the same manner. It’s beautiful in its simplicity and perfection. I had a good feeling about you the first time we met and am pleased I was correct in my assessment. Rao planned for our paths to cross.”

Fin’s face showed her confusion. “When you asked to speak to me at the Science Guild meeting?”

Kara shook her head with a bright smile. “No, outside of my home where you were standing with your two friends. Do you remember? I had red hair, green eyes and wore a hood. We spoke of your love for science.”

Fin’s eyes widened. “You were… Rao has given you the gift of changing appearances?!”

Kara smirked. “No, I am afraid that was to the credit of an image inducer. I used my device to step through to Argo because I needed some equipment in my lab, and I couldn’t risk being recognized.

“I also wanted to show my friend around our home and the Nightwing but before we could tour the ship, we needed to change disguises.”

Fin tried to understand this, her confusion clear on her face. “But image inducers are not allowed in Argo City.”

Kara snorted, then laughed out loud. “Neither is digging up a microbot from the soil. I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine.”

Fin blushed a bit at Kara’s teasing manner, but she could tell the girl was pleased.

“I’m curious… how did you accomplish that? The microbots move quickly around the city and are not seen from the surface.” Kara asked.

Fin shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “My father uses an energy tracer to avoid main power sources in construction. I borrowed it when he was not using it and followed the moving energy signatures in the ground, established their patterns and one afternoon I used a soil sample collector my mother brought home from work and caught it in the afternoon replenishment of the soil in the Pinisa field. I did a three-dimensional scan using one of my father’s tools, then placed it back in the soil and began building my own model when I returned home. The circuitry was difficult to find but it was so small, a nip here and there from my Father’s workshop was not missed.”

“Simply brilliant.” Kara exclaimed, her chest nearly bursting, listening to the young girl who reminded her so much of herself. “Our Science Guild is good, but their weakness is they rely on a foundation of knowledge built over the generations and strive to improve it. This is necessary for the progress of science for generations to come.

“However, there are those like the two of us that not only improve the work of those who came before but establish our own ideas and foundations, following the path to wherever it leads us, regardless of whether anyone else believes it to be possible or not. We have the ability to imagine a process and follow it through until it comes to life.

“It is for this reason that I do not want you in the Science Academy. I don’t want you limited by the knowledge of what came before, what has been established as so called ‘truth’ . I want you to imagine what could be and build your own foundation with no restrictions to your thoughts, develop the technology and make it happen in our own generation. The two us will have much to learn from each other. We will break many rules together… It will be so much fun! Just don’t break any rules without me, okay?”

“Yes, Lady Kara.” Fin said, her heart racing at the compliments of her hero.

“One other thing. How long have your days been shadowing General Astra?” Kara asked.

“I start every morning at 6 AM. We exercise and then I follow her on rounds, familiarizing myself with the ship until nightfall.” Fin answered.

Kara did not like this. “When and where do you eat lunch?”

“On the ship with the General.” The youngster replied.

Kara sighed, suspecting as much. “From this point on you are to eat lunch with your parents or friends, wherever they may be. Every day at four in the afternoon, your day ends. Play with your friends. Spend time with your parents, enjoy yourself and enjoy life. Never lose that. I will speak to General Astra to ensure it is done.

“I must go now, Lady Fin. Thank you for your work. You may just have saved Earth and the Universe, along with perhaps millions of captured sentients. For now… go play. Enjoy yourself.”

So it was in the morning, with Kara’s refreshing conversation with her protégé, her desire to explore in matters not related to Brainiac returned. It also gave her the chance to do something she had planned to do when she returned to Argo City: teach Kell to fly her fighter craft… an endeavor that may or may not have turned out to be a mistake.

Currently, Kara was doing her best not to destroy her arm rest as she sat in the gunner’s seat giving Kell directions. “Slow down a bit. Remember, on Earth, in atmosphere, it is not good for anything to move at the speed of light. Bad things could happen.”

“Bad?” Kell asked slightly distracted as he tried to follow her instructions.

Kara nodded. “Very bad. Keep it at 17,000 miles an hour. Okay, you are speeding up…”

Kell shook his head. “I entered the right speed…”

“You are still speeding up. Slow down. Angola, dement, signam. Enter those coordinates to level out… No! You are getting the order wrong! Take the hand controls and level us out. Remember: ceiling, floor, left, right, ground level. It’s your favorite method for navigation… remember?”

Kell grabbed the hand controls and punched in the commands Kara had given him. He noticed he was leaned sideways towards the Earth and it was a bit disorienting.

Trying to level out the craft, he over adjusted and sent the fighter into a series of barrel rolls, while dropping to the Earth. Kara unbuckled and reached towards Kell, holding onto his chair for support as she tumbled over and over. Kell hit the correct stabilizer button, the ship leveled out and Kara hit the floor.

“Oh Rao, why did I do this?” she whispered from the floor.

“I think I have it now.” Kell said a bit nervously. “I need to get closer to the ground. It will help me orient myself.”

Kara nodded, then her eyes widened. She sat up quickly and shuffled to her seat seeing they had indeed dropped thanks to Kell’s less than deft handling of the ship.

“Go up.” Kara told him urgently, buckling herself in her seat.

“I am.”

“We are going lower! Go up. Pull the steering column towards you and decrease speed. You are at 19,324 miles per hour. We are flattening trees below us. Hurry up, Kell!”

Kell pulled back, using the levers in the steering column to decrease speed.

Instead, he increased speed and shot the two into space at just under light speed.

“When did the moon get here?” he asked, noticing the grey object moving very quickly towards him.

“Turn around. Back, back, back!” Kara shouted, practically jumping into Kell’s lap and grabbing the controls.

Taking the steering columns from Kell’s hands, she entered a trajectory back to Earth.

The ground was coming closer. Thankfully, Kell had figured out how to slow the ship a bit and leveled out before they crashed directly into the Earth. Now the ship was skimming trees.

“I think I’m getting the hang of this.” He said cheerfully, a proud smile on his face.

“Are you serious right now!?” Kara asked in disbelief. An alarm sounded and she looked out the cockpit window.

“Go up, go up, go up! Not to the moon, just up! Something above the tree line is approaching… go up, damn it!” she yelled.

As Kell tried to gently maneuver the ship up, a rock formation appeared before him for a split second, shattering in front of them as the shield of the ship hit the top with a loud boom.

“I wonder what that was?” the man asked calmly. “Why would a small mountain be in the Amazon Rainforest?”

Kara groaned, sitting back in her chair as the craft rose a bit and slowed down. “I believe that was an Incan pyramid. It would probably be of major cultural significance if ever found. Hopefully, it belongs to a lost city so perhaps it won’t be found for centuries and no one will find out you destroyed half of it.

“Really, Kell? It’s a big sky, open air lanes and you can’t find the proper speed and altitude without hitting the moon or a pyramid?”

Kell shrugged his shoulders. “I’m still learning. This is my first flight. I wasn’t able to learn in a simulator like you.”

Kara snorted. “Trust me, you will be using simulators from now on.”

The ship slightly rose above the seemingly endless forest. Once it neared a large body of water, what Kara knew as the Amazon River, the ship came to a sudden halt, throwing her body into the gun controls, plasma cannon blasts lighting up the skies over the rainforest.

“Are you okay?” Kell asked, looking down at her. “We have reached our destination. You should have been strapped in. Superstrength and all… you could have damaged the hull of the ship.”

Kara looked at her mate with angry eyes.

“Shall I find a clear spot to land?” he asked, not concerned and looking quite pleased with himself.

Kara’s look burned through him, making him clear his throat and suggesting, “Perhaps you should land?”

“Get. Out. Of. My. Seat!” She ordered him.

Kell offered a fist bump which she ignored, instead grabbing his arm and pulling him away from the pilot’s seat. A couple miles away, she found a clearing just large enough for her ship and sat it down gently and quietly.

“SS-21 to Rao’s Wrath.” The scout ship with her personal bodyguards called over the communicator.

Kara gritted her teeth but answered regardless as per protocol. “Rao’s Wrath.”

“Are you having mechanical difficulties with your ship? There appeared to be several near crashes along with severe drops and rises in altitude including a high speed near collision with the moon. We believe you destroyed some sort of pyramid-shaped, man-made object as well.”

Kara recognized the teasing tones and Kara looked towards her soon-to-be husband and shot the finger at him. “Rao’s Wrath is in prime condition. There were deviations in piloting for training purposes. Stay cloaked over my ship and have equipment ready for sample collection and storage.”

Instead of answering, the com remained open and Kara heard several people laughing in the background.

Kara turned and took in her metallic, best friend, noticing he was stuck to the wall behind her, as if magnetically linked.

“Thanks for the help, Kelex.” She told the AI sarcastically. “Are you magnetized to the wall?”

The robot nodded, seeming shaken. “I was too afraid to move. I thought it best if I found the most likely spot in the ship that would survive a catastrophic implosion and remain there until the flight ended or we crashed.”

Kara rubbed the bridge of her nose. Kelex had been in terrifying situations before, yet this short flight had him cowering in fear. She looked once again at her soon-to-be husband, her facial expression showing her current mood.

“So… I probably need more practice? I thought I wasn’t bad for the first time out. How did you do on your first simulation?” Kell asked.

“I didn’t destroy a pyramid! Alex had an easier time and she couldn’t read our language!” Kara exclaimed.

Kell shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “Exactly. You told her what to press and she followed directions. You weren’t very clear in your instructions to me. Perhaps you should have more patience. Maybe I should have started with a skimmer simulation.”

Kara’s eyebrows rose in total shock. “You don’t know how to fly a skimmer? It’s basically the equivalent of humans riding a bike!”

Kell raised an eyebrow. “How many skimmers has the House of El wrecked, even in the past two decades before the destruction of our planet?”

Kara opened her mouth then stopped for a moment before speaking. “Every skimmer my Father wrecked was due to extenuating circumstances, like predators chasing us.”

Kara took a deep breath. “Okay, you are right… I am sorry. I didn’t realize how bad you could be at this. Help me with specimen collection and you can practice when we return home, on simulators and such. I will start you on a skimmer because you at least need to know how to pilot one of those when we reach our new planet.”

Kara walked into the back and came out garbed in camouflage gear, handing Kell a similar clothing bundle.

“Why isn’t Alex here? This excursion seems like something she would love doing.” He asked curiously, walking out in his green camouflage gear.

“Because Alex knows everything there is to know about these life forms and does not have the immunizations to be here. Regardless, she is waiting on her best friend to arrive at the Metropolis Airport and then beginning work on learning our language.” Kara replied, her tone a little off.

Kell looked over at her, confused as to why she sounded upset. He brushed it off, figuring she was still a little miffed and rattled at his lack of piloting abilities.

“I want this done today so we can visit the Congo tomorrow and conduct a study on inhabitants we cannot find here such as elephants, lions and gorillas.” Kara told him. “I also want to hit the Siberia and East Asia wilds to attempt to find tigers. One century ago, the population was over 100,000. Now there are 3,000 to 4,000 estimated in the world. Then we have Kal’s wedding and afterward, if Brainiac doesn’t crash the party, I want to explore the European countryside and various cities.”

Kell nodded his head, smiling. “Sounds like fun. I was hoping to take you to Paris. I read it is the city of romance. I’m not great at romance so I thought having a city to back me up may make the mood easier to set.”

Kara’s heart warmed, instantly forgiving him for the nightmare flight he had taken her on. She raised her left hand and showed him her ring finger. “I think you can be romantic. This shiny rock on my finger agrees.

“Okay, you and Kelex examine the river bank. Look for lifeforms in the water and help Kelex take noninvasive scans and DNA collection. Whatever you do, be careful not to kill anything. Don’t even stun a creature. We have no idea what our weapons could do to these animals and reptiles even at their lowest settings. I’m going to check out the surrounding forest. Call out if you need anything.”

Kara gave a soft kiss to her mate and wandered off into the thick brush of the Rainforest. What she saw amazed her. Though the area was obviously difficult for humans to inhabit due to various threats of illness and predators, the ecosystem was beautiful.

It saddened Kara to know that if deforestation of the area continued, the entire rainforest could be gone in a century and cause mass extinction of living creatures and plant life due to accelerated climate change. Kara knew well what happened to a planet’s wildlife if not cared for properly. It was a lesson Krypton learned the hard way in the past and not one she cared to repeat.

Hovering a few feet above ground so as not to scare away any targets with the noise of her boots, she used her x-ray vision to take in the area for miles.

She was able to scan colorful birds such as the hoatzin, though she used superspeed for that task. She used her hearing to listen to feint heartbeats, tracking poison dart and tree frogs and a family of bald uakari monkeys.

Then she heard a strong heartbeat and the slow, quiet movement in the brush. She had found one of her targets and it was heading towards the river bank. A check with her x-ray vision confirmed she had found a jaguar. Kara suspected it would be preying on a black caiman, not as large as the salt water crocodile, but still a fascinating subject.

Kara rose above the trees and flew down, gracefully landing in front of the large, male jaguar, who was startled and jumped away. She knelt in front of the large cat and reached her hand out.

“Calm down, kitty. I know you can’t decide if you want to run or eat me. I would prefer you try to eat me so I can get a DNA sample and perform a 3-dimensional scan with a very harmless, painless device. Come closer.” She told the animal softly.

It roared and jumped towards her, teeth bared and claws ripping the right shoulder of her shirt while she held onto it.

Reaching into her pocket, she stuffed a hand into the large cat’s mouth as it clamped down on her neck.

“You are aggressive, aren’t you? Ugh, slobber. Calm down, cutie. I don’t want to change clothes and you are ripping… calm down!”

Kara’s raised voice and sharp tone caused the jaguar to jump off her and stare, having no luck taking a bite out of her and not knowing what to do with this new prey.

“Good boy. Not as good as Krypto but, you aren’t running. You really are pretty for a vicious killing machine. Stand still while I scan you. There you go, good boy.”

Once the blue light from the small device in her hand cascaded over the jungle cat, Kara floated up leaving a confused jaguar watching her from the ground. She gave it a smile and quick wave then went in search of a caiman, hoping to see a battle between it and her new friend.

Before she could follow the now shaken animal, her hearing picked up a new objective. She glided in the air swiftly and silently above the canopy of the jungle until she found her prey. Moving slowly, she drifted down to a large tree limb, surrounded by capuchin monkeys, the most intelligent of what humans considered New World monkeys.

The group of thirty-seven monkeys of various sex, ages and sizes paused at her arrival, stopping their foraging of nuts and small insects.

The nearest one to Kara jumped effortlessly towards the woman. Kara suspected if she were human, the creatures would have run, but somehow they seemed to sense she was not as human as she appeared.

She slowly reached out to the capuchin and held her hand in the air, waiting for it to move.

“You are adorable.” The blonde whispered and smiled gently at the omnivore. The monkey stepped a bit closer on the branch, within three feet. Rather than trying to contact it, Kara dropped her hand slowly and remained motionless.

The monkey shuffled closer towards her, his eyes locked onto hers as he studied her intently.

“You know I am not human, despite what your eyes are telling you. Very perceptive.” Kara told the creature.

Rather than investigating further, the monkey sat on the branch and looked away from her as his family once again began foraging.

Kara basked in the chatter around her, hearing thousands of species within miles, some with her super hearing and others where no super hearing was needed. The Amazon Rainforest was an explosion of life, one she could spend years studying. Not for the first time, Kara wished she had more time… there was so much to see and learn here. Another part of her wanted to be home, to formally introduce her new friend to Argo, spend time with Fin, and go out among her fellow Kryptonians in the manner she had determined to do, all while working towards a new planet and starting the ecosystem she and her father had dreamed about.

“I wish you were here, Father. This planet is so amazing, more than we dreamed it could be. What I would give to see your face right now.” Kara said to herself wistfully, then turned to her new primate friend.

“And you are just as cute as can be. I like the home you have built. They are a lovely family. I wish I had more time. For once, I am jealous of Brainiac. He would just shrink the entire forest and place it in stasis while using Q Waves to read all your thoughts. Of course, he could never see life in action but that ray of his…” Kara stopped for a moment, her eyes lighting up.

“No. Uncle Jor could never use crystals to absorb organic material. How is Brainiac doing it then? He isn’t turning them into energy like a sunstone would store inorganic matter… so what could absorb organic tissue while keeping the sentients whole but smaller?” Kara mumbled, her mind racing, pieces of the puzzle coalescing in her mind rapidly. “I thought I would examine his tech after we defeated him, and reverse engineer it but… I don’t have to. I know how to make my own… which means I know how to counter his shrink ray. By… of course! But could I… yes… no… yes! I would need… maybe? But that much power… giant magnets… ion cannon… what color… color doesn’t matter… power source… cold fusion! Condensed matter, low-level nuclear reaction. Why couldn’t humans ever make that work? It is so easy… or I could use the omegahedron… light speed collision of particles…”

The complete answer fully erupted in her mind, complete in all its ominous beauty. “Boom! I’ve got it!”

The blonde looked back at her primate friend, a huge smile on her face at how cute the little guy was as he cocked his head, watching her closely, but appearing completely calm. “Don’t worry, I won’t shrink your home and I figured out how to stop him from shrinking anything else. It will be like shooting the finger at him! Thank you, new friend!”

Kara zipped from the branch quickly into the sky. She needed to contact Bruce Wayne immediately.

While Kara was speaking with monkeys and collaborating with them on a method of counteracting Brainiac’s shrink ray, Kell and Kelex were not having much luck.

Kell had been excited when he spotted the large reptile in the water. Had he been on Krypton or some other moon, he would have simply shot the large creature. Instead, he vowed to follow Kara’s instructions to not kill anything.

So against Kelex’s advice, Kell had slipped into the waist deep water the large snake was swimming in and grabbed it at the midpoint of its sixteen foot length.

Unfortunately, his feet slipped on the muddy bottom and he fell underwater. When he rose again, the majority of the snake’s length had wrapped around his body. Kell grumbled and walked to the shore where Kelex awaited him, the snake squeezing his body.

“I told you to wait until she was closer to shore and take her by the tail.” Kelex reminded Kell.

Kell looked annoyed. “This thing stinks! It’s around my arms and if I move, I’ll kill it, so help me get it off!”

“How would you like me to do that?” Kelex asked, moving closer then backing away from the large head of the snake as it lunged towards him.

“Grab the tail and start unwrapping… mpphhh!” Kell finished when the body covered his mouth. Shaking his head, the reptilian body slid down to his neck. “I think this thing is trying to crush me. If I were a human, I would be dead.”

“If you were a human, you wouldn’t have been stupid enough to jump into the Amazon River to pull an anaconda out of the water.” Kelex pointed out. “Actually, as I have come to know you, this seems exactly like something you would do regardless of whether you have powers or not. When Kara tells you to do something, you do it.”

“I’m trying to help! Grab one end. I think the head is going between my thighs and it is not comfortable. I am seconds away from just breaking this slimy bastard.”

Kelex shook his head. “I suggest you do not do that… Kara would be upset. It was a simple assignment: find species, scan species, collect DNA if the scan orders you to do so. Now you are wet, you stink, and you have the largest reptile in terms of girth wrapped around you. I will help you, so we aren’t embarrassed when she returns.”

Instead of the AI grabbing an end of the anaconda, Kell saw a red light flashing from Kelex’s optical probe.

“Are you taking pictures of me!?” Kell asked, horrified.

“No, I’m recording this for playback at a future date. You thought I would miss this opportunity?” Kelex asked, genuinely confused as to why Kell was surprised.

Kell began flexing, but as he moved, he could feel the reptile stretch unnaturally, close to its breaking points. Not only would he kill it, upsetting Kara, he would be covered in whatever internal organs and blood this creature carried.

“I’ll help you, Kell.” Henn Zol suddenly appeared through the trees, a large smile on his face. “Stay still. Kelex, grab the tail, I’ve got the head.”

Kelex remained where he was. “Per my overriding directive, I am in charge of Lady Kara’s security and your team is only activated on my…”

“Per my overriding directive and long standing desire, I have a gun on me that could turn you to a bad memory in a second. I’m fairly certain I can melt you with my ‘heat vision’, as Kal El calls it, as well. Grab the tail and start unwrapping.” Zol ordered.

“Yes sir.” Kelex responded and moved to the tail.

After ten minutes, where Zol and Kelex twisted and turned around each other, they finally had Kell free from the reptile and tossed it back into the water.

Kell wiped under his nose with his hand but it did nothing for the smell.

“Thanks, Commander.” Kell told him gratefully.

“No need to thank me. We had enough video to entertain ourselves for a few years and thought we would let you out of your misery. Also, no need to call me Commander. I understand you will be given your own agency, one separate from the military… nice bonding present.”

Kell glared at the man. “I never asked for it.”

Zol placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know. Relax, I’m just screwing with you. I’ve known about this for a few years.”

Kell looked questioningly at the man. “Years?”

“A few, yes.” Zol admitted. “I knew you requested a Red Shard assignment and I wanted you three years ago. General Non turned down my recommendation and I wanted to know why. He told me about his plan for the future, what he envisioned happening. He told me about how you acted during the evacuation, how you kept your head, helped calm others in the Phantom Zone. He has watched you closely over the years and after our conversation, I started watching you as well. You deserve this, bonding or not. Don’t ever let anyone tell you differently.”

Kell smiled, pleased with the Commander’s words and walked to a higher bank, having a seat. Zol sat next to him.

“Talk to me. What’s on your mind?” Zol encouraged him.

“Nothing. Everything. There’s a lot going on. Brainiac, Kara, the future… I never thought I would play much of a role in anything important. I’m a little out of my element. The girl I have loved from afar since I knew what love was actually loves me back. So, unsurprisingly, she is facing off, mind-to-mind, with a universal terror.

“Provided we all survive that encounter, which I’m actually optimistic about, I’m to be bonded in front of thirty-thousand Kryptonians to a woman who is seen as a deity to our people. I’m going to stand beside her and…” Kell stopped speaking, looking off into the dense jungle, staring at nothing.

Zol understood the problem. “I’ve watched her grow up, even before she needed Red Shard protection. I know exactly how special she is. I saw her go through six potential mates and turn everyone down cold. They were all highly respectable men from formerly influential Houses. Not one of them was worthy of her… not a single one. Not even close… but you are. Don’t ever let anyone tell you differently, Kell.”

Kell nodded his head but knew it wouldn’t be that easy. While no one would ever say that to his face, the thought would always be there in the minds of his people.

Seeing the young man’s disbelief and hoping to encourage him, Zol added, “Just keep doing what you are doing, be her partner. Be the guy who jumps into nasty water and gets covered in snake slime because she needs it done.”

Kell nodded and looked around… then listened intently, not hearing Kara. “Where is she?”

Zol reached to his belt and pulled out a small receiver. “Six miles southwest of here. I have ten soldiers in the trees using their enhanced vision to keep eyes on her and six covering the perimeter. There are two Green Lanterns making sweeps in the air above her current location.”

Kell snorted and shook his head, amused and impressed at how seriously he took his job. “You have the Green Lanterns covering the sky should she slip away from the ground, don’t you?”

Zol snorted, thinking about Kara leaving them behind to fly to the other side of the world and the ass chewing he received from General Astra because of it.

“It’s the Guardians’ fault most of this is necessary.” He complained bitterly. “It’s because of them, that she has been in so much danger most of her life. The Green Lanterns better do their part in protecting her.”

His tone caught Kell off guard. While Zol did not seem overtly angry, there was a hint of bitterness in his voice towards the Guardians.

“I don’t understand.” Kell told him.

Zol looked at Kell, then looked back at his small receiver as if checking Kara’s location. “Oa. Jor El and Zor El made a trip there along with Kara when she was four and I was assigned as her guard. This was standard for trips off world, even friendly ones like Oa. The brothers were helping the Guardians make a new element, one that could make the Central Power Battery impregnable.

“They were all in this circular room with some hologram in the middle. Kara and I stayed out of their way, against the wall. She was talking to Kelex, making him play some equation game with her and I was keeping an eye on her and the area around her. Before I could react, she hops up and runs towards the middle of the room.”

Kell laughed, imagining Kara exhibiting that kind of behavior.

Zol smiled too, remembering the carefree, little bundle of happiness. “She jumped up onto her Father’s back and pointed over his shoulder towards the hologram. Her finger touched a spot and she said ‘ that is your missing neutron. Add two electrons here and here and it will be pretty.’ ” Zol continued, shaking his head. “Pretty. They had been working for hours and she solved it in a second because she saw how to make it pretty. She was so adorable… but the looks on the Guardian’s faces had me nervous. They aren’t good at showing emotions, but I could tell those little white-haired freaks were shocked. Kara jumped off Zor’s back and ran back to Kelex to carry on her game. When I glanced back, the Guardians were talking in hushed tones to the brothers.”

Kell listened enraptured, able to see the scene in his head. “I guess she didn’t realize what she had done.”

“Exactly.” Zol agreed. “I didn’t know what she had done either, but the next thing I know, I am following Kara and this female Guardian into some sort of collectibles room. I stood close to her, hand on my gun because I did not like the way the Guardians had looked at her. This woman gives Kara a box and tells her about it. The little angel starts playing with it, putting her ear up against it, tapping it, shuffling tiles on top of it. Then after about twenty minutes, the damn thing opened.”

Kell had an idea that was where Zol’s story would go.

“I didn’t know what it meant but the news spread quickly. Every Green Lantern on Oa knew what had happened and what she was before we left the planet. Unfortunately, like Hal Jordan, Lanterns have friends in their sectors. They talked.

“Word spread across the Universe quickly. Planets like Daxam wanted to kidnap her to improve their own tech or kill her to slow down Krypton’s tech. Other planets wanted her for the same reason or wanted her dead to make sure she didn’t turn Krypton into an invincible planet. Everybody wanted her or wanted her dead… an innocent, happy, beautiful little girl, marked for death because of how smart she was and the inability of the Guardians to keep their damn mouths shut. After the kidnapping attempt at her school, my unit was formed.”

A part of Kell had wondered how news of Kara’s abilities reached the ears of the universe so quickly. He had assumed that it was because she was the only child of the House of El. The simple explanation was the Green Lanterns were never told to keep it a secret, so they didn’t.

“She has scared me so many times. I think the worst was when she went under Argo City to reinforce the shield.” Zol admitted, shaking slightly at the thought.

Kell shuddered, remembering that time. He had been sixteen and tensions among the people were high. It did not take long for word to spread among Argo’s citizens that fourteen-year-old Kara Zor El had entered a dangerous tunnel to the unstable underground of Argo City. Those who weren’t desperately trying to find a way to get to her without endangering her further were packed inside and outside of the temple praying.

Kara had approached the Council a week before, insisting that the Rao particle shield needed to be reinforced and strengthened before they began searching for a new home. She had been turned down and the issue had been sent to the Engineering Guild, who decided it would be best to be cautious. They didn’t heed her warnings that the shield was weakening rapidly, leaving them potentially vulnerable to the openness of space, instead hesitating, trying to decide on a course of action that would take weeks or months to implement.

Kara did not have that kind of patience.

“How did she slip away from you and trick Kelex?” Kell asked, never having heard the full story, only that when she remerged, she had succeeded.

Zol shook his head but had a fond grin on his face. “She hacked into a Kelex unit from the Engineering Guild through her lab computer, ordered it to take a laser bore to the tunnel her father had used to enter the underground of the city. It dropped it off for her and never reported the action. Why should it? It was just a Kelex following orders.

“The next morning, before the laser bore could be reported missing, Kara broke away from Kelex, ran toward the vent and waited for him to catch up. When he did, she shut the vent door and programmed it to be unbreakable. It would have taken a month to drill through that door. Kara told Kelex she was going with or without him so if he wanted to get back up top, he better grab the bore and get to drilling.”

Kell was not surprised. That seemed exactly like something Kara would do.

“It must have been stressful. We were all afraid she would be crushed. People were hesitant to even walk.” Kell remembered.

Zol shook his head. “I wasn’t scared of a cave in. Kara knew exactly what she was doing before she entered that vent. No, I was afraid she would find what she was looking for.”

“Looking for? She was looking for the source of the shield generator.” Kell said, a confused expression on his face.

Zol shook his head. “She knew the location of the generator… no, she was looking for her Father’s body. We thought the blow back would have disintegrated most of it, sent him into the rock surrounding the source. None of us were sure though. If some of his body was left, Kara didn’t need to see that. Maybe she just wanted to see what he saw in his last few minutes.”

The man paused for a moment before continuing, his voice much softer. “Maybe she just needed to say goodbye in her own way.”

Zol shook himself, reached over and patted Kell on the back. “I appreciate you not arguing against us. I know Kara has complained many times about our presence and you haven’t agreed with her, but you also haven’t encouraged her. Think you could do me a favor?”

Kell rose an eyebrow. “A favor?”

“Yes,” Zol said. “She has come to accept us, but she isn’t happy about it and doesn’t hide that fact. She listens to you. Maybe you could help her start seeing us as an asset rather than a part of her life she reluctantly accepts.”

Kell shook his head, stating, “No, I would never ask her to do that, because you aren’t.”

To say Zol was disappointed and upset would be an understatement given the rapid change in his demeanor. “I never expected this response from you, Kell. I know you have her best interest at heart.”

“I do.” Kell replied, shifting, so he could look the Commander in the eye. This subject was too important… Kara was too important, and he wanted no misunderstandings explaining what he felt the root of the problem to be. “Kara will never accept you as long as things continue the way they currently stand.

“She sees you as an obstacle to work around, a hinderance… an invasive, annoying, necessary evil. She doesn’t see you as an asset, she never will. She may understand why you are necessary, but she will always do whatever she wants, whenever she wants if she feels it’s necessary regardless of what she’s promised her family. Don’t think you have her contained, controlled. She is humoring her family, so she is humoring you because you currently aren’t interfering with anything she wants to accomplish.

“However, there is a way to win her over, just as you want, but things are going to have to change on your part, not hers, before that can happen.”

Zol face was blank, whether in anger or intrigue, Kell couldn’t tell. After a moment, the rigid Red Shard Commander flinched. “Okay, I’m listening.”

“You told her you were only allowed to speak to her if she argued about security or your presence.” Kell pointed out, watching the commander’s expression as he reminded Zol of his words to Kara just a few days ago. “You think with those instructions, such disregard for her feelings, that she gives a damn about cooperating with you, much less seeing you as an asset?”

Zol’s eyes flashed, his expression stern. “You know why. General Non never wanted her…”

Kell raised his hand. “Exactly. General Non never wanted her to know why she needed more than just a normal bodyguard. But now? She knows. She knows everything. Kara has no friends in Argo, not one.

“You are the people who have watched her grow, protected her, but she doesn’t know you, so she has no reason to care about what you want, she has no connection to you beyond a constant, nameless face in a crowd of constant, nameless protectors.

“But now, there is no reason for you to keep her at a distance. So talk to her. Be her friend, all of you. Over time, she will come to see you as friends instead of jailers. She wants friends, Zol, she needs friends, so talk to her as a person, don’t treat her as an assignment… give her that personal connection. You might be surprised what could happen.”

Zol looked doubtful, but his voice had an air of hope. “Talk to her? You think if we just talk to her…”

“Start with talking, let her get to know you… give her the opportunity to see you as a team she belongs to, not a team guarding her from… not only danger to her life, but life itself.” Kell replied.

Before Zol could respond, Kara landed in front of them, obviously to the conversation they were having by the look on her face. As usual, she totally ignored Zol and addressed her mate. “Kell! Oh Rao, what is that smell? Doesn’t matter. Field trip is over. I need to get into contact with Bruce Wayne immediately. We all have work to do.”

“Is Brainiac in the Galaxy?” Kell asked, jumping to his feet, hoping someone would have warned him the second it happened.

“No, but when he does, I will have a surprise waiting for him. I know what he uses in his shrink ray and how to counter it. To do so, I need a huge space, lots of Promethium tubes, the ion cannon pulled from my fighter and a few dozen other things.”

“Okay, that sounds… complicated.” Kell admitted. “You need all of this to build a shrink ray?”

Kara shook her head. “I need all of it to make an element to counteract his weapon. I’m going to make Ilium 349. It’s going to be fun! We need to get moving now so I can finish it before Lois and Kal’s wedding.”