Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Life Equation

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 42:

Winn stood in the barn, a little lost as to his purpose. He was also still trying to come to grips with his DEO boss being a Martian, as he stared at said Martian sitting on the ground, legs folded under him, holding Supergirl’s hands, the Kryptonian sitting in a similar position. Their eyes were closed, as they quietly prayed together, repeating after each other in what Winn could tell were two completely different languages.

Both had small crystals attached to their foreheads, but Winn could see no mechanism holding them securely in place.

Kelex was beside them, floating next to a shining tube, his arms attached to the back of the device.

“Kelex, are you sleeping… or in sleep mode? Are you in their heads or something?” The man whispered, then shifted his focus and curiosity to the tube the AI was hovering over. “And how does this device work? So is this…”

Kelex turned his head so quickly, Winn flinched a bit. “I’m in the middle of something and I need silence so I can concentrate.”

Winn nodded, understanding the situation. His silence lasted all of thirty seconds before he opened his mouth again. “So… what are you doing exactly?”

Kelex turned his head to the man once again. “Monitoring Brainiac’s approach to Earth, waiting for him to get to the minimum distance I believe he can successfully use Q Waves, then targeting his device with Myriad in 0.426 seconds to intercept his signal and send my best friend into his mind.

“I’m a bit tense so if you would be quiet…”

“How long until he gets here?” Winn asked quickly, a nervous tremor in his voice.

The man swore he heard the robot sigh. “I suspect twenty minutes at his current speed. This could change at any moment which is why I must be focused. Go… find something to do besides distract me.”

Winn looked around the dusty barn at a loss. Normally, he would be in the DEO at a computer station, talking to agents in the field, monitoring the enemies positions, using all means available to give his team an advantage. All he had now was a tractor, farm tools and a telescope in the barn loft.

“Why can’t I get armor, a weapon, go outside and fight?” Winn asked without thinking about Kelex’s last demand.

The long sigh from the AI wasn’t imagined this time. “There is too much of a risk that our soldiers will be hit by friendly fire. You have no experience with our weapons.”

“I helped take down the Dryad!” Winn exclaimed.

Kelex groaned and dropped his head. “I apologize. You have ten seconds of experience with one of our weapons.

“Not to bruise your ego, but given the stakes are astronomically high along with the danger we are about to face, the risk is too great. My understanding of your abilities is, while you are a former DEO agent and an exceptional analyst, you are not combat proficient or trained.

“As far as armor, the scout ship and Kara’s fighter are gone, meaning there are no extra sets of armor. You are more than welcome to hide under the tractor or in the storm cellar where Kal El’s ship was stored.”

Winn crossed his arms not liking the idea of hiding . As Kelex pointed out, he was a DEO agent… perhaps not a field agent, but he had seen some combat and was no coward.

“How much experience did Alex have with your weapons? She hasn’t had them for long.” The man pointed out, trying to make his case.

“Alex was only given our weapons after proving herself to our soldiers by surviving a battle against the entirety of Red Shard. Only then was she shown how the weapons operated, after which she then spent hours practicing.” Kelex informed Winn, puncturing the former agent’s argument with aplomb.

Tilting his head as a human in thought might do, Kelex continued, “That night she began sleeping with her rifle. She actually whispered lovingly to it throughout the night… it was somewhat disturbing. This action gave me the foundation of a working theory as to why her prior romantic relationships have not been successful.”

Kelex shrugged his mechanical shoulders in a very human motion, though never losing his physical connection to Myriad. “Regardless of how long Alex has had access, she spends every morning practicing at least two hours a day and is very proficient with the weapons… all of the weapons.”

Winn was a little surprised about the work Alex had put in, not that he should have been. He just didn’t think she would have had the time.

“She slept with the rifle?” He asked, a small grin on his face.

“Cuddled it and stroked it softly, every night. It was quite touching.” Kelex reported. “If you are bored and refuse to leave me alone, open Kara’s handbag… it’s over by the door against the wall. Inside is a small ring box. You will find what appears to be a single contact lens and a small clear patch. Place the contact in front of your right eye and the patch near your ear. The storage box serves to disinfect the contents, so it is completely safe for you to use.”

Winn immediately became excited. Perhaps it was a targeting system or a com unit that could give him real time feed of the battle here or around the world.

He squinted at the contact, moving it closer to his eye. As soon as he was a knuckles’ length away, the contact moved, shooting over his iris.

“What the hell?!” He screeched.

“Good, now place the patch near your ear.” Kelex instructed.

Winn did so, pleased the contact lens did not feel as if it were scratching his eyeball. As soon as he touched his ear, the clear plastic circle on his finger disappeared as if it dissolved. “Okay, now what?”

Kelex said nothing but Winn’s world lit up. In one eye, he could see everything in front of him perfectly. In the other, a series of flashes began scrambling across his line of sight. Sounds bombarded his ear, random chaos, voices too fast for him to make out.

He reached for the eye covered in flashing lights and thankfully the contact floated out to his hand and remained there. The voices stopped in his ear.

“What the hell was that?!” he asked the robot.

“Entertainment.” Kelex told him as if it should be obvious. “Kara uses it to watch Earth movies, TV shows and listen to music for about five to ten minutes before she sleeps at night. You just watched the entire Jurassic Park trilogy as well as the two Jurassic World movies in five seconds.”

Winn was surprised that something like that was possible. When Alex had told him how much of Earth culture Kara had seen, he wondered when she had the time. “So, her Kryptonian brain hopped up on sunlight can break down these images and sounds, separate them as they are racing across her vision and hearing and watch every scene, every bit of data flashing across? That’s crazy! I knew Superman had some powers but never would have guessed that would be one.”

Kelex shook his head. “Superman does not have this ability. It is not even what you would refer to as a power. Kara uses it quite a bit, first on Argo City and now on Earth. This device is how she was able to learn and recall millions of years of data stored in the Kryptonian databanks in minutes and absorb the information for later recall. It has allowed her to watch and memorize every entertainment source Earth has to offer.”

Winn stood in disbelief, taking that in. She could do this in Argo City? “All Kryptonians can do this, even without superpowers?”

“No,” Kelex answered, “only Kara is capable. Her brain operates at a much higher processing speed than even my databanks can download information.

“For instance, if you were to place ten random puzzles in front of her, all of one color, broken up into thousands of pieces, she could put the ten puzzles together in seconds… at least on Earth. On Argo, she would be physically limited by how fast she could move, but still, it would only take her a few minutes. She has always been able to do this. She is known as a twelfth level intellect for a reason. Her brain simply operates at a different speed and level than those around her… and by those around her, I mean everyone in the Universe.

“So, I could slow down the images if you want. Perhaps you would like to watch a cartoon? Kara is fond of one called ‘Looney Tunes’ .”

Winn shook his head, placed the lens and ear patch thingy back in the case and moved upstairs to the barn loft, leaving the three occupants on the ground floor. Looking out of the loft window, he saw Alex with the Kryptonian soldiers, noticing several Green Lanterns among them. If he could do nothing else, he could watch out for Alex, perhaps call out warnings to her in battle.

As Winn had noted, Red Shard squadron stood with Alex and Kell in front of the barn, making last minute preparations for battle while four of Earth’s Green Lanterns were preparing to launch into the sky to provide arial cover. They had no certainty that androids were coming for this area, or even that Brainiac could track the source of the Myriad signal that quickly, but they needed to be prepared.

Kell had partnered with Alex as they double-checked the other’s weapons and armor, insuring they were as ready as possible. “You know, Alex, before I met you, the only combat I had known was accidently killing a shifter assassin. Since I have met you, I have fought a dryad, dreggs, parademons and now killer androids belonging to an immortal Coluan.”

“I am pretty cool like that.” Alex replied, a smile on her face to break the tension. “Aren’t you glad you met me?”

Kell nodded, chuckling, returning her smile with his own. “Life is more interesting with you around, I admit.”

While they were sharing a laugh, Hal Jordan and Commander Zol walked up.

Zol was talking quite confidently and Alex wished she knew more of the language. She was learning the basics, could form simple sentences, but it wasn’t near enough to follow their conversation except for a few words that didn’t make sense in their current context.

“How does Hal understand him?” she whispered to Kell.

“Power rings allow the Lanterns to understand and communicate in any language. Like most things science, I have no idea how they work but it’s how Green Lanterns are able to communicate with any species in the Universe.”

“What is he saying?” Alex asked, noting the commander was pointing towards the barn.

“He wants a Green Lantern over the barn, covering it in a dome while the other three Lanterns cover the sky. Ten of us will be in the sky with the Lanterns and the remainder of us will be inside the dome in the event it cracks. Since you can’t fly, I would assume you would be a last line of defense along with Kelex and me in protecting Kara and J’onn in their vulnerable states.”

Alex’s brow furrowed, thinking through that plan for a moment then shook her head and walked between Zol and Jordan. “Commander, that won’t work. You can’t cover… Kell, get over here and translate for me. I don’t trust Jordan to correctly pass on my orders given he’s always going on about protecting Kara above all else.”

Kell raised an eyebrow in confusion, wondering if he understood her correctly. Passing on her orders? He saw the look on her face was the one she used when commanding her former DEO agents and walked to her side, knowing her concerns must be serious.

“We cannot use a power ring to cover the barn. The shield created from the ring has a high chance of interfering with the Myriad signal.” Alex told Zol and Jordan with Kell translating for the commander.

Zol looked at Kell and shook his head. “ We cannot leave Lady Kara defenseless. If the androids are greater than our number, they could slip through us, even with our powers. If they take a shot at Myriad, the signal would be lost, and Lady Kara may suffer mental damage from being pulled out of the machine interface unexpectedly .”

Kell translated for Alex who, once again, shook her head. “If there is even a chance the signal could be disrupted, Brainiac will have free reign to plant the Anti-Life Equation in the rest of humanity and all other species on this planet.”

Zol nodded in agreement. “ Yes, but if the Myriad signal is interfered with by a Lantern shield, Brainiac’s signal cannot get to Lady Kara either. She would be safe. Her safety is my primary mission .”

As Kell dutifully translated, Alex clenched her fists, wishing they had gone over the defense plan with Kara, instead of telling her to focus on Brainiac while her guard and the Lanterns devised a plan to keep her safe.

Planting both fists on her hips, she threw her shoulders back and glared at the narrow-minded soldier, beginning to understand why Non wanted her so badly to command their new planet’s expeditionary forces. “How safe is she going to be if General Non comes under Brainiac’s control, turns the satellites back on and Kara can’t escape to Argo? Then we are stuck in a Green Lantern’s dome facing, not only Superman, the hundreds of Green Lanterns on Earth and the Justice League, but General Non as well, all who will be out to kill her?”

Zol looked offended as Kell relayed her questions and began speaking in a raised voice.

Kell listened to the man and turned to Alex. “He said…”

“Yeah, I got it… ‘ Non would never do that’ . Ask him what part of total mind control does he NOT understand!? ” Alex asked heatedly.

Kell grinned and translated Alex’s question for the commander. Zol’s face turned red in an instant but the scowl left his face and he appeared to be thinking at least.

Then he spoke to Kell once more. “He wants to know how certain you are a power ring shield would interfere with the Myriad signal?”

“It isn’t a chance we can take.” Alex answered.

Zol and Alex stared at each other, locked in a battle of wills.

After thirty seconds, Alex had enough. “Kell, inform him that while Kara Zor El is hooked up to the Myriad interface, Alex El is the highest ranking member of the Science Guild and I am telling him, scientifically speaking, that the risk is not worth it.

“If he orders a shield be erected and the signal fails, he can explain to High Councilor Alura and General Astra why Kara is under siege by the population of the Earth and General Non. Our chances are better if we fight to protect her from all sides rather than risk blocking our one hope of preventing the Anti-Life Equation from enslaving the planet.

“The Science Guild has given our recommendation. It is on him whether he follows it or not.”

Kell passed on the words and Zol slowly nodded, then spoke again.

“Once Myriad has begun, Kelex, Ninna, you and I will be covering the barn on all sides. The rest of Red Shard will fan out with the Lanterns and attack. Any that slip through are on us.” Kell told her, explaining Zol’s revised plan.

Alex nodded in agreement and walked towards the barn, as the rest of the group began spreading out.

Kell remained behind, observing the three remaining Lanterns, pleased to see the one known as Jade wasn’t among them. He nodded to Stewart and Raynor, but the fourth Lantern caused him to frown as an idea formed to solve another concern he had.

Moving swiftly, Kell grabbed Guy Gardner by the shoulder before he could move away. Seeing the surprise in the man’s expression, he said, “You are to hover over the house and protect it from harm. You do not have the honor to be trusted in battle. Your job is to ensure that no weapons or android parts strike that farmhouse.”

Gardner looked at the man in disbelief. “You have to be joking, you arrogant little prick.”

Kell shook his head. “I’m not in a joking mood and am not good at jokes if I were.”

“That is Superman’s house, the one he grew up in, that has been in his family for three generations. Protect that house or I will find you when this is over, and your ring will need to find a new user. Do you understand me?” Kell stepped close to Gardner, fists balled. He had promised Kara that the house would be protected if possible.

Kal El had wanted her in a wide open space, with little to no population and the Kent Farm was ideal. He had made his home a target for destruction to give Kara her best chance and lessen civilian targets should she be found.

Gardner’s eyes narrowed angrily. “Fine. I would say good luck, but I hope you get your ass kicked.”

Kell shot the finger at him and moved towards the barn, noticing Winn in the loft window.

He floated up to the window, handed the man a gun and told him under no circumstances was he to fire unless in immediate danger and to find a more secure location. A grateful Winn agreed and moved back downstairs to stand by Kara and J’onn just in case an enemy made it through.

Alex, Ninna and Kell stood near each other, nothing else to do but wait.

They stood silently for an hour, until Kelex moved swiftly out of the barn towards the three. “It has begun. I was able to intercept the signal and used Myriad to send Kara and J’onn into his mind.

Unfortunately, I have picked up 866 targets splitting off from his ship and they are heading this way.”

“866?” Alex asked astounded, noticing the shocked looks on her two companions’ faces. “How many is he sending worldwide?”

“Over 5,000 by my last count. Prepare yourselves. The androids that have been launched in this direction will be here in ten minutes. I predict they will land a half mile in front of us and spread out, attempting to surround us. I’ve alerted Commander Zol, so let’s prepare for battle.” Kelex stated, moving off to cover his assigned side of the barn that housed Myriad with Kell and Ninna moving to theirs.

Alex placed her helmet on and readied her rifle.

She wasn’t sure if it was seconds or hours before the battle began. She saw streaks in the distance, booms when they hit the ground, Kryptonians and Lanterns flying toward the invading androids. She saw flashes of heat vision and green blasts, blue rays she did not recognize, guessing they came from the androids. Despite the number of Kryptonians, bipedal creatures appeared in the wheat field, running towards her.

She raised her rifle, aimed at the first one and fired a two second blast and relaxed slightly when the metal enemy evaporated as if it had teleported away.

Her relief was short lived as more and more began exiting the wheat field and heading straight for her.

Alex fired short bursts, over and over again, but eventually faced what must have been thirty of the mechanical bastards in front of her. Several were firing at her, and Alex ducked behind two bales of stacked hay as her only cover. A green blade came down, similar to a bulldozer blade, scooping the enemies in front of her away and into the arms of Red Shard as they tore the machines to pieces.

Alex broke cover, rushing back to her previous position but before she could fire again, a blast struck her rifle, knocking it from her hands. The blow stunned her, and she fell to the ground landing flat on her back.

Before she could clear her head, an android was standing over her, peering down with its gleaming skull face. It raised an arm, the end glowing.

Alex reached for her hip and brought out the only weapon she could reach. Gripping the hilt in both hands, she ignited her lightsaber, but the enemy fired before she could swing at its arm.

It took a second for her to realize she was still alive and that the shiny monster’s head was gone, blasted into nothingness by its own beam, having deflected from the humming, blue blade.

She rolled over and quickly jumped up, trying to get her bearings when she heard Winn calling out to her. “Alex, behind you!”

Alex crouched and swung around, her blade slicing an android in half.

Her eyes were still wide when a panicked Ninna rushed to her side. “Are you alright?”

Alex nodded, gazing at the glowing blade in awe. “I think that may have been the greatest moment of my life.”

Ninna grinned and handed Alex her sidearm, using her heat vision instead as the battle continued, but this time the two females stayed back to back, slowly making their way towards the barn wall, still keeping themselves between their enemy and the two people they were desperately protecting, with Kell and Kelex covering Kara and J’onn from the other side, the Lanterns maintaining their assault from above.

More androids were coming and no matter how fast the Kryptonians were destroying the enemy, the tide seemed endless.

Abruptly, the onslaught stopped. The androids folded in on themselves and were seemingly yanked into the sky by some unseen force.

The sudden silence was deafening.

“Did we win?” Alex asked confused, looking around through the holes in the barn walls, seeing the destruction surrounding them. She saw J’onn and Kara were still untouched and breathed a small sigh of relief.

Ninna was still in a comfortable battle stance, protecting her back as Kell moved cautiously toward her, rifle ready, eyes still glowing and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Stay sharp, it’s not over.” He told her, watching as the Lanterns and Red Shard fell back into a protective circle around the barn.

The two occupants inside the barn had no knowledge of the battle raging around them.

Kara and J’onn had been praying together when everything suddenly shifted. Kelex had given no warning that Brainiac had initiated his Q Wave attack, nor did they need one.

Their bodies stiffened and their minds were transported to a new landscape, but unlike the last time, they were not blindsided by the other’s memories.

They found themselves on a barren landscape, eerily quiet, red sand beneath their feet and no breeze at all. J’onn wore his Martian armor but Kara was dressed much differently than what she was physically wearing.

In this place, she wore a long, deep blue dress, with a thick white sash that also covered her shoulders, the House of El crest standing out in prominent relief on her chest. Her hair fell past her shoulders in a blonde wave, her blue eyes glistened and she practically glowed.

He had seen many sides to Kara Zor El, but not this one. Standing before him was the woman who would one day be High Councilor of Krypton and the Guardians’ only hope against some unknown threat to the Universe. She looked like a goddess and he truly understood why Kryptonians saw her as an Angel of Rao.

The silence was interrupted by a song in the air, one extremely loud and very annoying, coming from nowhere and everywhere.

“Is that the theme song to ‘Hannah Montana’ ?” J’onn asked, looking at Kara in wide-eyed disbelief.

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “I turned the TV on this morning, and it was on. I can’t get it out of my head. It’s really annoying but it won’t stop.”

J’onn mentally sighed. “Try. I am not listening to this while…”

Kara raised a hand. “Before you complain, I would like to point out that you recognized it immediately.”

J’onn opened his mouth to object, then paused, admitting to himself she had a point and not wanting to say it. They had bigger problems than a song stuck in Kara’s head.

Still, the damn song wouldn’t go away.

“ You get the best of both worlds…” Kara began singing.

“Kara!” J’onn exclaimed, shaking his head.

“I can’t help it!” she told him apologetically.

“Singing along is not helping. Try to focus. Calm yourself, focus on the prayers, focus on the reason we are here.” J’onn implored her.

Kara took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She felt something, a slight breeze, a warmth that was not present on the previous barren landscape. The girl opened her eyes and found herself nearly blinded, even inside her own mind.

“Wow.” Was J’onn’s simple description of the scenery around him. Crystals, like the ones in the Fortress of Solitude, surrounded them, but unlike the Fortress, these crystals were not confined in an enclosed space. Instead, they were in the open and reflected a reddish tint of sunlight, splitting into a multitude of colors.

“The Sunstone Forest.” Kara whispered in awe. It had been so long since she walked these seemingly never-ending fields of crystal structures that she had nearly forgotten how breathtaking it was.

J’onn floated above the tall structures and looked in every direction as far as he could, seeing nothing but crystals.

He floated back down after seeing no movement in the crystal fields.

“You told Kelex if he missed intercepting Brainiac’s Q Waves, to send us to into the minds of humanity so you could use the Life Equation to counteract the Anti-Life Equation. I am not sensing any minds, neither Brainiac’s nor billions of sentients’.” J’onn pointed out. “What if he mistimed the attack and was unable to send us into the minds of humanity? Perhaps Myriad didn’t work the way we hoped.”

Kara shook her head. “I built Myriad.”

J’onn thought she misunderstood him. “Yes, but if it hasn’t connected to Brainiac or…”

“I built Myriad.” Kara stressed again, interrupting him, looking around. “It works perfectly because I built it. If you aren’t sensing any minds, then Kelex intercepted the signal and Brainiac is here, somewhere.”

J’onn knew arguing her about Myriad not working was an argument he would not win so he began walking through the crystal forest, Kara behind him.

“Are you sure you can hide those certain parts of my mind, J’onn?” Kara asked, referring to her knowledge of surviving Kryptonians and the trap Brainiac was falling into.

“It will be okay. Just focus on the task at hand. We need to find him before that even matters.” J’onn replied.

Kara pointed to the sky. “I think he’s found us.”

J’onn saw the approaching darkness covering the forest, the light in the sky dimmed in a rolling black cloud. The Martian felt the assault immediately, the force of the one mind shared in this dreamscape with him and Kara. He recovered quickly and pushed back, feeling steadier as he became accustomed to the dark mind.

The two found themselves covered in a dimness, the crystal forest gone and nothing beyond a pale light surrounded them.

Then they saw him.

He was standing perhaps twenty feet away, green skin, dead eyes, bony body, clothed in some sort of suit that appeared as much for life support as it did for battle. Various port holes were in his head and body attached to tubes that no doubt connected with his ship. His face was thin, resembling a skull more than an actual sentient face.

Kara patted J’onn on the shoulder and he smiled, then winked at her. He had her back while she took care of business.

The blonde walked up to within feet of Brainiac.

“I thought you would be bigger.” Kara told him in greeting.

Brainiac scowled, giving her a chill even in this place. “I should be in the minds of the inhabitants of Earth. You have countered me. You are much more resilient than I thought.”

Kara laughed at him. “You shouldn’t underestimate blondes… you shouldn’t underestimate me, and yet you do it time and time again. You think you have solved the Anti-Life Equation, or you would not be here.”

Brainiac nodded. “I hoped to use it on humanity but having you here first is poetic. You should have joined me. Now you will be my servant.”

Kara shook her head. “I only serve Rao. My friend serves H’ronmeer. You are nothing. You are just a thief and murderer, scum of the universe… and you will soon be forgotten. You have no light to enter. You believe you are the embodiment of death, but I assure you, you are not. No one will ever serve you. You are no god, no matter how much you keep telling yourself you are.”

Brainiac raised his hands and J’onn and Kara flew towards him against their will, his palms on their foreheads as they were held firmly in place. “And you two are no saviors. Simply survivors, the last of your proud races, weaklings who ran while your people died.

“Where were your gods when your races were wiped from existence? No celestial being could stop death. Your faith in sentimental beliefs and lies of the afterlife you tell yourselves are your weakness. Earth has many celestial beings yet only a Martian coward and Kryptonian child dare to face me. Even you, doubt your god, Kara Zor El. Where was Rao when your people were turned to dust?”

Kara felt a shock and saw her twelve-year-old self in her lab, cursing Rao. She could feel J’onn’s presence even under Brainiac’s hold, reaching out and protecting her memories so all Brainiac saw was her younger self surrounded by darkness, her lab unseen.

Still, Kara saw herself at her lowest. It was only ten years ago that she had felt this. It was true, she did believe her god had left her, left all of them.

But that was then. This was now. Now, she knew better, she knew Rao had not abandoned her.

Kara suddenly felt herself falling, her world tumbling upside down. J’onn was next to her, his face in anguish, threatening to leave her for the dark pit stretched out below them. The blonde reached out to him, grabbed his wrist and stopping their fall.

She stood on air as if she were flying under a yellow sun and held the man. “J’onn! Snap out of it! You aren’t there!”

Kara pulled him towards her, so they were face-to-face. “Get out of my head, J’onn! Focus on yours!”

The Martian did no such thing, keeping a tight barrier around the places Kara needed to keep hidden but he did regain control over himself. A look of fury replaced the one of anguish on his face. His eyes glowed red and the two of them were in front of Brainiac once again. J’onn grabbed Brainiac’s head and screamed causing the Coluan to scream as well under the Martian’s mental assault.

Kara and J’onn abruptly found themselves in an unfamiliar city. They didn’t recognize the unmoving species, but both could hear their thoughts.

They realized in horror they were in one of Brainiac’s shrunken cities.

The thoughts of the species surrounded them, bombarded them. Kara could feel the fear, the despair, the anger and the surrender of the sentients trapped in their own heads for who knew how long.

She understood immediately why Brainiac had forced them to this place… this was how he had solved the Anti-Life Equation without all the pieces. He created despair, a complete absence of hope and then studied the thoughts of the imprisoned, those who would gladly serve death if only they could move once more. Who would gladly feel pain if only to feel something again. Their free will was gone.

These people were in a hell of Brainiac’s making.

“Enough!” Kara screamed, enraged by the lies Brainiac had forced on these people. “Face me, coward!”

The three were together again, this time on a landscape J’onn and Kara were familiar with… the pathway of lights they had seen when they first tested Myriad.

Brainiac appeared shaken by his surroundings but schooled his face. “Do you see? The lack of hope, the utter despair my subjects are under? Serving death is the only true path in this universe. Everything dies. The universe is born and expands but one day it will turn on itself and die.”

“To become reborn.” Kara retorted.

“To become nothing!” Brainiac shouted.

Kara was drawn to Brainiac again, stopping in mid-air, unmoving in front of him.

“So much fear in you.” The Coluan whispered. “So much loneliness. Your people are dead. Even your cousin is more human than Kryptonian. You are the last of your kind, the last spark of your so called god. I can taste the fear and self-doubt in your mind. Both of you, so much loneliness and fear.”

Kara’s body was jerked back toward J’onn who had thrown his hand out towards Brainiac, knocking the Coluan to the ground with a blast of mental energy.

Kara fell to the ground but J’onn reached down and lifted her up, the two standing over the shocked Coluan.

Brainiac rolled away and rose to one knee, his body becoming heavy. The lights on either side of him, above him, below him, were threatening to overcome him.

He saw Kryptonian symbols coming to life, equations, moving faster and faster, beyond what even his mind could process as Kara Zor El’s mind sped up.

He forced himself to his feet and saw the blonde standing tall and resolute in front of the Martian, a fierce look on her face. What concerned him was the vibrant red aura that totally surrounded her.

That aura did not belong here.

He could not read it, nor understand it. It made no sense for it to be present in this mental battlefield. Yet the blonde was wrapped in it, as if she were on fire but her dress did not burn. It was a living, breathing entity shielding her from him.

“What is this?” he asked, attempting to control the sense of panic that was building in the depths of his being.

Kara felt on fire herself, stronger than she had ever felt in her life, more euphoric than she could ever remember. She recognized this feeling, but it was much more powerful than ever before.

Rao was protecting her and in that moment of absolute clarity, she knew she would not lose. “I do feel fear, but I am not afraid of you. You have taken a glimpse into our minds, now it is time for you see our souls.

“You believe we are alone? We are never alone! J’onn has the blood of every Martian who has ever lived running through his veins!”

Brainiac looked at the Martian and took an involuntary step back seeing the landscape had changed into a vast desert. Beside J’onn were a Martian woman and two little girls. Behind the Martian, as far as Brainiac could see and beyond, were billions of Green Martians.

He turned his attention to the blonde, deciding it was time to end this. He had felt comfortable in their minds, but this was different. He was not prepared for whatever this was. In all the civilizations he had trapped, in all of those minds he had invaded, Brainiac never felt anything like the overwhelming dominance he felt now.

Kara was standing alone, the red energy still swirling around her, when she felt a comforting hand on her right shoulder.

She looked over and saw her father standing beside her, a mischievous smile lighting his face. She felt another hand on her left shoulder and saw Jor El standing tall by her side, Lara next to him, holding his hand, both smiling encouragingly and lovingly at her.

Kara glanced behind her and the sight gave her an infusion of strength and peace such she had never known.

Interspersed among the Martians, millions, perhaps billions of Kryptonians stood with her.

Turning back to the visibly shaken Coluan, she stated authoritatively, “You think you know my mind? This is who I am. I have generations of Kryptonians in my blood and Rao in my soul. No matter where we go, we carry life inside of us. You cannot win and you cannot escape. You are an abomination and your lies will end this day.”

Brainiac scowled and moved to attack but found he couldn’t. The two were too strong, the force of billions of souls a solid wall.

Brainiac and Kara met each other’s eyes.

“ Loneliness + fear + despair + self-worth.” Brainiac said loudly, trying to force the Anti-Life Equation into Kara’s mind.

Kara responded in kind, the Life Equation flowing like a torrent from her mind. “Companionship + understanding + assurance + joy + altruism.”

” / mockery / condemnation / misunderstanding, ” Brainiac countered.

” / respect / condemnation / sympathy, ” Kara replied, her voice echoed by the multitude of souls.

” x guilt x shame x failure x judgement. ” Brainiac stated, his voice beginning to falter.

“ x innocence x dignity x success x acceptance.” The strength of Kara’s voice reverberated through their mindscape like a drum.

“ n = y where y = hope and n = folly, love = lies, life = death, self = dark.” The Coluan retaliated.

“ y = n where y is despair and n = caution, love = truth, death = rebirth and self = light!” Kara exclaimed.

“ I am death !” Brainiac screamed, his body collapsing to the ground as he was pummeled by the force of truth as proven by her Life Equation.

Kara walked closer to him, billions of Kryptonians and Martians now surrounding the three. She looked the Coluan in the eye.

“ I. AM. HOPE!” Kara exclaimed, her voice electric, shaking the ground on which they stood.

Brainiac screamed in pain, light erupting from his body as the Life Equation permanently etched itself into his consciousness.

The man scowled at her, hatred burning in his black heart. “I will take your new home! This isn’t over!”

“Yes, it is. You just don’t realize it yet.” Kara told him calmly, her eyes burning resolutely, a victorious smile erupting on her face. “Checkmate!”

Brainiac was gone, his mind no longer connected to theirs. Kara turned to J’onn who was basking in the glow of his wife and daughters standing by his side.

Kara looked at her father, standing proudly as he smiled.

“My Sunbeam.” Zor said lovingly as he reached up, cradled her face and kissed her forehead. “It is time for you to return to your body and finish him. Show him Krypton lives. I love you, Kara… and I will always be with you.”

Kara returned his smile, tears in her eyes. The rational part of herself said this could be a construct of her mind, but her heart knew better.

“I love you, Father.” She told him, engulfing him in a hug and squeezing him tightly as the landscape shifted and fell away.

Kara opened her eyes and found herself on the dusty floor of the barn, legs crossed, J’onn a few feet in front of her, holding her hands, tears falling from both their eyes. The crystals floated away from their foreheads and dropped to the ground.

“We did it.” Kara said almost breathlessly, a bright smile lighting up her face.

An explosion outside brought them back to reality.

“This isn’t over.” J’onn told her, pulling her to her feet. “Let’s end it, for good.”

The two ran outside and found four Green Lanterns in the sky along with ten Red Shard. On the ground, the other ten Red Shard and Kell were standing next to Alex and Kelex. The remains of shredded androids were scattered all around.

Kara noticed Alex’s lightsaber was activated and she briefly wondered how many enemies her new sister had killed with it.

What the two didn’t see were any attacking enemies, only streaking balls of metal flying away from the scene.

“What happened?” Kara asked, rushing up the group on the ground, greatly relieved everyone appeared alright.

“You’re not brain dead!” Kell said happily, wrapping her in a hug. Kara slapped his head playfully.

Alex grinned seeing the blonde and her former boss had survived their ordeal. “There were hundreds of them, some slipped through but were dealt with. I couldn’t risk letting the Lanterns shield the barn because I was afraid the ring energy would interfere with the Myriad signal. We still kept the droids from touching the barn. Gardner was put on farmhouse duty, so Clark’s house is intact too.”

The brunette seemed pleased by her group’s success. “We were wiping them out, but under pressure when they just decided to pick up and leave. Since you seem to be of sound mind, I suppose the Anti-Life Equation is off the table?”

Kara nodded. “Yes, I proved it false so he can’t use it, but I didn’t destroy his neural pathways. He is now going for Metropolis.”

Ninna saw Zol walking towards them and nodded. “Just as planned. I tell Commander and we let General Non know you succeed.”

Zol and Ninna spoke briefly and moved off a little ways to update the general.

“How many androids did he send?” Kara asked, looking a little closer at the android destruction around her, thankful to Rao her protectors had survived pretty much unharmed.

“Thousands around the world. More than I thought he could carry on that ship.” Alex admitted.

Hal Jordan landed next to the group, his ring bleeding green energy. “Any chance of getting you to safety, Lady Kara?”

“Zero chance, Hal.” She replied, “We have him on the run, and I need to be here.”

Hal nodded, expecting no different. “Thousands of Lanterns have just entered the sector from Oa and the Nightwing is also in the system, just beyond Earth’s moon, but cloaked. It’s almost over.”

Kara nodded, pleased. “He is going to attempt to shrink Metropolis while his androids attack the Justice League and Lanterns planet side. When he tries, his ray will be fried, and he will be vulnerable. Hal, the ship cannot come down over the city. The Lanterns can handle that, right?”

“We will push him away from the city,” Jordan promised, giving her a grim smile. “Then, he belongs to Krypton.”