Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

The Life Equation

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 43:

The ‘Battle of the Kent Farm’ lasted only nineteen minutes from the time the androids attacked until they retreated.

“The androids are leaving the other cities and heading straight for Metropolis. We should probably be ready to meet them.” Hal Jordan reported to his fellow defenders.

Kara was confused for a moment before she realized why. “He is going to unleash them all on Metropolis to keep the heroes busy while he prepares his weapon. Everyone to Metropolis! He will have to be near, just above the city, probably 1,500 yards high. Protect the civilians on the ground!”

After giving her orders, Kara did not wait any longer. Kelex anticipated Kara’s next action by jumping on her back and wrapping his metallic arms around her for a change and the two shot off into the sky, Kell following close behind. Ninna wrapped Alex carefully in her arms and launched swiftly after them, leaving J’onn, the four Lanterns and the rest of Kara’s guard having to react quickly to catch up.

A few minutes later, the group saw hell on the streets of Metropolis. Superman was fighting the androids, tearing through them easily in a red and blue blur, reminiscent of his old moniker as J’onn swooped into the fray without waiting.

Kara looked to Commander Zol and nodded her head. The group did not hesitate flying to the ground where the battle was waging.

Kara landed next to her cousin as he dashed from android to android only to stop to protect a citizen from a blast. Red Shard, Kell, Alex and Kelex fanned out around them taking on the advancing enemies, giving the cousins a moment of respite.

“More are coming.” Kara told him, pointing to the thousands of spheres falling towards the city from Brainiac’s ship.

Clark nodded, a bit disheartened. “The Lanterns are spread over the planet, helping other countries. Wally is tending to the injured in Central City. Diana is in Europe and Bruce just reported that his jet was damaged in Gotham. Since you are here, I suppose the Anti-Life Equation is off the table?”

Kara nodded, then used her heat vision to incinerate one of the androids who had turned a corner three blocks away. “He is bringing the androids here to draw in as many heroes as he can before he takes the city.”

Clark shook his head, trying to clear out the panicked voices of millions in the city and focus on the ones who were in the direst threat. “I’m glad you and your guardians are here, but we can’t be everywhere, Kara. They are too strategically spread out. We need more help, or this city will be torn apart before he ever tries to shrink it.”

Kara peered into the sky, past Brainiac’s ship, anticipating the next part of her Aunt’s plan was being implemented. A huge smile lit up her face at the sight above them.

“Would thousands of Kryptonian soldiers help?” she asked playfully.

Clark struck a recently landed android in the chest with his heat vision. “Yes. Any idea where we can find those?”

Kara laughed, still looking up. “I have a pretty good idea.”

Kal followed her line of sight and saw a welcome vision.

On a normal day, the sight of ten alien ships speeding to the ground would have been a great cause for concern. Now, though, it brought a smile to his face, a feeling of wonder and hope spreading through his body.

These were even larger than the Scout Ship but in more of a rectangular shape than the typical triangular shape he had seen thus far in the Scout Ship and Kara’s fighter.

He asked, “Those are…?”

“Troop Carriers.” Kara replied. “They are used in the event ground battle is ever needed. Kal El, meet Krypton’s army.”

Kara’s great pride for her people was obvious in her tone as was her admiration. “This is the military that has never been defeated, the spiritual warriors of the universe. They will spread out and engage the enemy. The battle is ours.”

Clark let out a sigh of great relief, seeing the ships landing on the streets all around Metropolis and hundreds of armored figures stepping out of each one, firing an assortment of weapons without hesitation as they began decimating Brainiac’s android army.

“Are they all able to control their powers?” Clark asked, suddenly worried about out of control heat vision, strength and speed doing further damage to the city and its citizens.

“They are wearing red cuffs. Krypton doesn’t need superpowers to win a war. Keep taking them out. I need to check on phase two.”

Kara flew towards the Scout Ship which had swooped over the Daily Planet building, Kell covering her. The back of the ship opened and the two flew in, moving quickly to the bridge where General Non was standing, locked into the piloting position.

“Kara, I suppose since you aren’t drooling and I’m not on a skull ship serving wine to a Coluan, your task was successful?” The General asked, nonchalantly. He had heard from Commander Zol of their success but actually seeing her left him feeling greatly relieved.

“I’m still brilliant, sarcastic, prideful, annoying and overall awesome.” Kara confirmed. “Have the satellites been reengaged to prevent him from opening an interdimensional tear?”

Non smirked. “Yes, the pieces are in place and the trap has been sprung. He isn’t getting off this planet.”

“Kell, we need to protect the Ilium cannon.” Kara told him then activated her com. “Alex, are you all doing okay?”

“The Kryptonians are herding and destroying androids throughout the city.” Alex reported, the sounds of battle coming over the line.

“That’s great…”

“I also cut another one in half with my lightsaber.” Alex added gleefully.

“Cool?” Kara offered, suspecting that, while long range weapons were best, Alex was apparently more into being a Jedi today. “He is about to use his primary weapon on the city. Kell and I will protect the Ilium cannon from any stray androids. You and the rest keep a look out for any more waves coming in from around the Earth.”

Kara and her mate flew to the top of the tallest building in Metropolis: LuthorCorp Tower.

One of the Green Lanterns had positioned a device on its roof earlier that morning. It was nothing more than a large metal box about five by five feet, with a twelve inch wide, four foot cannon extending from the top.

Inside the box was a crystal and a small chunk of Ilium 349 along with a triggering mechanism. There was no keyboard anywhere on the box.

“I sort of thought I would be able to aim and fire it.” Kell said, somewhat disappointed.

Kara kept her eyes on Brainiac’s ship, noting that large, metallic tentacles were coming down around the city, planting themselves in the ground, apparently serving as anchor points to guide the range of his weapon.

“This thing works automatically. At least I hope it does. If it doesn’t, we are going to need to get out of Metropolis fast and move onto the next part of the plan.”

Kell shrugged his shoulders, dismissing her concerns. “It will work. You built it. Anything to disrupt his weapons once his shields fall is worth it. Only a third of our fighters have Rao particle shield upgrades.”

Kara remembered this and hoped the old Kryptonian shield technology would hold. To date, they had always held in battle, but this was a new and unfamiliar foe. She knew the androids could not stop their weapons so there was no reason to think Brainiac could break their shields.

“I’m picking up a large power surge from Brainiac’s ship.” Non’s voice came through Kara’s com. Sounding surprised, he said, “Traces of Ilium are present.”

“You doubted me?” Kara asked, shaking her head. She kept her eyes on the ship that was now hovering several hundred feet directly above her as it began to open from the bottom. She suspected the beam would stop approximately one hundred feet from the where they stood and attempt to spread. Unfortunately for the Coluan, Kara’s weapon would stop it before that happened.

“Remember a few years ago when I came over for dinner?” Kell asked cheekily, taking Kara’s hand and staring at the bright light above them.

“Yeah, it seems like a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” She quoted the Earth famous movie saga with a giggle.

“It’s been a blast, right?” Kell asked.

Kara squeezed his hand and grinned at him. “Yeah, it’s been a blast. I told you that life with me would never be boring.”

The two waited, watching the glowing hole under Brainiac’s ship grow larger. A flash in the bright daylight of Metropolis occurred, a large beam heading straight down towards the two.

Both flinched for a moment, seeing the surge of energy coming towards them until it stopped two hundred feet overhead.

“What’s going on?” Kell asked. He expected their weapon to shoot something out to counter the beam that was paused in midair, but nothing seemed to be happening.

“My Ilium device is working.” Kara told him, smiling brightly as if it should be obvious.

“I don’t see it.” The man pointed out.

“Of course not. His weapon is using energy along the light spectrum that is easily visualized in the atmosphere. I am simply using white light waves to spread an overdose of Ilium into the atmosphere, disrupting his proton/Ilium mix. Give it a second.”

True to Kara’s word, the beam began changing form then blasted back into the ship as if it were a rope pulled back in quickly. The two saw the giant ship shake, a rumble in the sky then electrical arcs covering the ship as if it had short circuited.

A few seconds later, an explosion from the bottom of the ship rocked the skies over Metropolis, shattering many windows in the high rises.

“There goes his primary weapon.” Kara told her mate, sounding incredibly pleased.

She took off, Kell following and found Kal El on the ground with Alex and Non. Kara heard her uncle speaking to ground troops scattered around Metropolis over a com, ordering them to mobilize back at the troop carriers.

“The androids are all destroyed?” she asked him.

Non nodded. “Your squad is en route here. The rest of the army is going to the planned crash site. I’ll be joining them there. Once the ship is down, we go in with the Lanterns.”

Kal placed a hand on Kara’s shoulder, proud of the work she had done. The bottom of Brainiac’s ship appeared to be going through a series of explosions and the tentacles that had been attached around the city were being retracted quickly, no longer anchored into the ground but hanging limply at the sides of the ship.

Then the ship began to rise.

“He is trying to get away.” Kal told Kara, but the blonde shrugged her shoulders. The satellites were active so he wouldn’t be able to use an interdimensional tear. Brainiac’s only option was to retreat.

“I wouldn’t worry about that.” Non told Superman, chuckling even as he too followed the ship’s attempted escape, gazing into the sky above. “He isn’t going anywhere.”

To Kal El’s shock, the daylight began fading, the midday turning to night quickly.

“What’s going on…” Before he could finish the sentence the dark sky over Brainiac’s ship burst into an explosion of fire.

From the fire an enormous triangular ship, easily six times the size of Brainiac’s ship, descended on it like a great bird of prey.

The Solar Storm Cannon was working perfectly as the sun’s rays were being fully absorbed by the Alphahedron. With awe in her voice at the spectacular sight, Kara said, “Kal, I give you the Nightwing . Ships her size tend to make a scene when breaking into atmosphere.”

“The Alphahedron is being charged by absorbing the light from the sun. Don’t worry, daylight will return soon.” The blonde assured her cousin.

The intimidating ship stopped above Brainiac’s skull-shaped vessel.

A thin yellow beam shot from the front of the Nightwing, hitting the top of Brainiac’s ship, short of its hull. A bright shield flared around the Coluan’s vessel blocking the beam.

Humans, metahumans and Kryptonians watched as the beam from the Nightwing grew larger in width and power, the heat being felt on the street where they all stood.

The Coluan shield was now visible and beginning to show signs of instability.

Then a deafening explosion occurred, the shield collapsing as the Solar Storm Cannon broke into the top of Brainiac’s ship. Burning from the top and the bottom now, the Coluan vessel started to flounder shaking unsteadily and losing altitude.

“Weapons are deploying from the ship!” Kal El exclaimed, taking in the scene with his enhanced vision.

“Relax.” Kara told him, mesmerized by the sight. “He won’t get a chance to use them.”

Suddenly as if a light had been switched on, daylight returned to the skies and hundreds of small fighters like Kara’s raced from the Nightwing, swarming around Brainiac’s ship.

Kara smiled when Kell put his arms around her from behind and pulled her close.

“I do love fireworks.” He whispered to his mate as the Kryptonian fighter squads ravaged the hull of the Coluan ship, taking out enemy cannons before they had a chance to fire their own missiles and cannons.

“They are going to blow the ship up.” Kal El asserted, seeing the explosions ripping along the surface of the doomed vessel. “What about the civilizations inside?”

Non shook his head and said, “As Kara said before, don’t worry, Kal. They are hitting with pinpoint precision, every target based off numerous scans done the second the Nightwing approached the ship. General Astra now has complete designs of the ship and all its functions. She is targeting the weapons, propulsion systems and bridge. She will not endanger the captured cities.”

“You sound very confident, Non.” Kal El remarked, in a not so subtle, questioning tone.

Non brushed it off, a huge grin on his face. “We just defeated a monster that has not lost in thousands of years in less than ten minutes. I’m beyond confident right now, Kal El.”

Kal El smiled in relief and continued to watch the show. Usually in situations like this, he would be in the middle of the action. It felt strange to be an observer on the side, but the sight was amazing. Seeing the Kryptonian military in action was a shock. The only invasion he had dealt with was Darkseid and even that monster had not been as fast and efficient as Krypton’s army was under the command of one its greatest generals. Kal knew Non wasn’t only proud of Krypton’s battle prowess, but that of his wife as well.

After a minute of unrelenting attack, the fighter craft all returned to the Nightwing, leaving a burning hunk of metal in the sky that was slowly sinking.

Moments later, a sonic boom was heard before a red and black armored General Astra landed on the ground next to the group.

“All weapons systems are down, navigation is destroyed, and the engine is on 10% power. Have the ground troops go to the rally coordinates and wait for us. Prepare for boarding.” Astra told her husband.

Non rolled his eyes. “It’s good to see you too, Dear. Yes, everyone is fine. How have you been? I’ve missed you so much…”

“Non! Work now, play later.” Astra told her husband, though she was sporting a grin. Seeing streaks of green now lighting up the sky, she pointed to the group of Kryptonians standing with her and said, “Be ready. If the Lanterns can’t pull this off, we will have to lift the ship ourselves before it crashes and takes out half the city.”

Kara, Kal and Kell stood together with Non, Astra and Red Shard watching and waiting, but their help was not needed. Thousands of Green Lanterns surrounded the failing ship and created a large, green construct around it, pulling it away from Metropolis toward the agreed upon crash site.

“The Captain has orders to place the Nightwing above the enemy, fighters surrounding it. We have a dozen entry points for our soldiers. All that is left is to pull that pathetic Coluan out of the wreckage and kill him.” Astra told her husband. Addressing the group, she ordered, “Go to the Scout Ship and we’ll meet up with the others at crash site.”

Everyone moved to board the ship except for Kal El. “General?”

“Yes, Kal El?” Astra paused to look at the son of Jor El.

“Is Lois on the ship? Is she okay?” Kal asked, concern evident in his tone.

Astra looked up at the Nightwing and closed her eyes momentarily. “Give me a moment to remember my English terms… she is a bigger pain in the ass than my sister. She doesn’t shut up, she asks annoying questions constantly, she cheers loudly while thrusting her fist in the air and she tried to give my captain orders to fire. She also vomited on my deck when we broke atmosphere. Is this usual behavior for her?”

Kal grinned and nodded his head. “That sounds like my Lois.”

“Then she is fine.” Astra reported, not attempting to hide a smirk as the two boarded the Scout Ship together. “Let’s finish this. I want her off my ship as soon as possible.”

Ten minutes later, the Scout Ship set down in an open field between Metropolis and Gotham. Kara walked out of the ship, decked out in armor, surprised to see Oliver Queen and Batman suited up along with hundreds of Kryptonian soldiers surrounding the field.

“What are you doing here? Weren’t you in Star City?” she asked Queen.

The man grinned at her, his white teeth standing out beneath his hood. “I’m good, no injuries, thanks for asking. It’s good to see you too, Kara. So glad you aren’t brain dead. I decided if Bruce was going to drive out here, I should get in on the action too. Everyone who could make it is here. We weren’t about to miss this.”

Kara looked around. Interspersed with Kryptonian soldiers were members of the Justice League. Wally West and Diana were on the west side, and Shazam was on the East side, in the air, ready to fight. She also recognized members of the Titans to the South.

A shade fell over the field as the Nightwing came to rest high above them all. Under the Nightwing, thousands of Green Lanterns flew in, their power rings maintaining the huge construct holding the Coluan vessel, setting it down gently in the large field. The large tentacles underneath the vessel groaned and snapped as the ship settled into the soft dirt.

There was nothing but silence as the thousands gathered, taking in the wreck that had once been the most feared sight in the Universe.

The silence was broken when a small arrow struck the ship, causing a small explosion that did nothing to the hull.

Kara looked at Oliver Queen in disbelief.

“You’re welcome. Those arrows aren’t cheap, little Zor El.” He told her smugly.

General Astra smiled and shook her head, amused but greatly appreciating the human’s spirit.

“Take the ship.” Astra ordered, her voice projecting to every Kryptonian soldier through her com.

The Kryptonian army moved in formation, weapons in front, racing for the ship. Kara and Kal flew in as well, bursting into the ship along with Astra, Non and Red Shard. Ninna dropped Alex to the ground and they all took in the cavernous space around them. The ship was as high as the LuthorCorp Tower, full of wrecked metal and small fires. Electricity and other forms of plasma energy leaked from the walls.

Kal took a look with his X-Ray vision and spotted Brainiac twenty decks above him. Most of the passageways to the top were blocked, but holes were present in all the deck walls.

Kryptonian soldiers rushed into the ship, weapons drawn and began following the orders of their unit leaders. Working their way up into the passages, using weapons and torches to cut through the debris. Green Lanterns flew inside, using constructs to cut their way through the decks.

“Secure the prison room. I want the captured civilizations protected.” Astra ordered as soldiers and Lanterns rushed around her. She then turned to the two children of the House of El. “Want to bring him outside?”

The two cousins grinned at each other and shot up to the bridge, breaking through several decks to land in front of where Brainiac sat.

Instead of the fearsome creature they had expected, they saw a pathetic being who looked nearly dead. He was still attached to his ship by tubes attached to his head, but his head hung down and he showed no reaction to the Kryptonians’ presence.

“I thought he would be bigger.” Kal whispered.

“I know! I said the same thing when we were in each other’s heads. He isn’t looking so hot. I was hoping to kick his ass, give him a few one liners.” Kara replied.

The two looked around the bridge, the destruction, the shattered monitors, the smoking chair where the defeated Coluan sat.

“I’m pretty sure he got his ass kicked.” Clark admitted. “Is he even alive?”

Kara shrugged her shoulders. “If he is, he sure isn’t happy about it.”

The blonde walked up to the Coluan and lifted his chin, forcing him to meet her eyes. She saw slight movement, telling her he was still alive… mostly.

“Hi there! I’m glad we finally get to meet in person. No children to hide behind this time. You’ve had a really bad day, haven’t you? Well, it’s about to get worse. I’m going to unhook you from your ship and throw you outside in case you get any desperate ideas.”

Kara did as she said, roughly jerking the Coluan from his seat, ripping the cords out of his head that connected him to the ship and flew him out through a wall, tossing him to the ground far below.

Kal and Kara landed next to where he lay on the ground. Astra, Non, Alex, Kell, Kelex and Red Shard joined them. To Kara’s surprise, Brainiac was still breathing. The creature tried to stand, only making it to his knees.

Brainiac took a look at his surroundings, the thousands of Green Lanterns around him, the Kryptonian soldiers he had no idea still existed running into and out of his ship.

Many of Earth’s defenders were watching him as well. He saw the red eyes of the Green Martian he had met in his mind.

Then he finally looked into the blue eyes of Kara Zor El, the woman he had greatly underestimated and had, almost single-handedly, engineered his downfall.

Brainiac knew he only had one chance to live. “In observance of Galactic Law, laid out by the Guardians of Oa, I surrender to the Lantern Corp. Know this, if you kill me, the civilizations I have trapped will stay forever frozen. Only I know how to release and reanimate them. I will recover my health, return the civilizations to their home planets, then I will take my exile.”

The Kryptonians and Green Lanterns paused, considering this for a moment. Astra was livid, her fists clenched, seemingly undecided as for what to do, but obviously wanting to rip the Coluan into pieces.

The moment of indecision lasted only as long as it took for Alex to walk up to the creature and separate his head from his shoulders with her lightsaber.

“As a citizen of Earth, a planet that isn’t recognized as much of anything by the Guardians, I don’t recognize this ‘ Galactic Law ‘ of theirs, so I don’t care. I’m certain Kara will figure out how to free those civilizations in less than five minutes.” Alex said smugly, noticing the huge smile of approval on Astra’s face. Looking over to Kara, she raised her fist giving the blonde a fist bump. “Don’t worry, partner, I’ll supply the cherry coke, corndogs and nachos.”

Kara placed a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I guess the Guardians were wrong. I wasn’t the one to destroy him.”

Alex smiled in satisfaction, looking at the headless body on the ground.

“George Lucas destroyed him.” Kara finished, a cheeky grin on her face.

Alex looked sharply at her. “Excuse me?”

Kara spread her hands. “The whole lightsaber thing was his idea.”

Alex laughed, and took a deep breath. “You did okay, too. The whole Myriad plan, the Life Equation, the Ilium device, that was all you. Don’t sell yourself short.”

Kara chuckled. “I’m not. This was all me.”

“And you still need to work on humility.” Alex grumbled warmly, reaching out to the blonde with the arm not wielding the saber, pulling her into a one-armed hug.

Kara grinned at her partner, then turned to her uncle. “Uncle Non, could I borrow your knife? I would like to take a quick look inside his skull…”

Kara’s request was denied when Non’s heat vision struck Brainiac’s head, turning it to ash. “Okay… I guess I could do an autopsy on his body…”

That wish disappeared in a plume of smoke when Astra and Kal’s heat vision struck the body, burning it until there was nothing left.

“Wow. You guys really don’t appreciate science.” Kara grumbled sadly.

Astra laughed, walking over to her niece and hugging her tightly. “Not bad, Little One, not bad at all.”

Kara held her aunt tight, having missed her greatly, even though it had only been three weeks since she saw her in Argo City during her brief visit with Alex.

“I’m just glad this is over so I can enjoy my remaining two weeks on Earth in peace.” The blonde tried.

Astra stood back, keeping her arms on Kara’s shoulders. “I just launched the Nightwing and three quarters of our military to evacuate you from Earth. You are coming home, or our citizens will revolt.”

Kara groaned but did not argue. Once she was home, she knew she could lock herself in her lab and be back to Earth in a single step. Kell still owed her a trip to Paris.

“So, we can go home now?” Kelex asked her, floating up beside her.

“Yes, Kelex, we can go home… apparently there will be a revolt if I don’t return immediately. You can begin helping Kell with his piloting skills when we get back, he needs lots and lots of practice.”

“Perhaps we should stay here.” Kelex replied, then changed the subject, softening his tone. “You did well, Kara.”

“So did you, bestie.” Kara told her friend. “I told you that you could intercept his signal with no problem.”

“Of course I could… I never doubted it for an instant.” The robot easily lied.

The crowd began to disperse, some heroes flying back to their cities, soldiers filing back to their troop carriers as the Green Lanterns took control of the downed skull ship. Others stayed in small groups and spoke quietly, sharing stories of defending their cities from killer androids.

As the troop carriers were lifting off to rejoin the Nightwing, a scout ship landed quietly. The door opened and Lois Lane ran out, heading straight for her husband where he stood talking with Batman, Oliver and Diana. Kara heard her say something about needing a live feed to the world and ordered Batman to make it happen.

Instead of paying much attention to Lois, Kara’s gaze was drawn to a little girl stepping out of the ship at a much slower pace. “Fin?”

The girl met Kara’s eyes and smiled brightly. She walked briskly to her mentor and Kara knelt in front of her, looking up slightly to catch the awestruck expression on her protégé’s face.

“This is what a planet is like?” The girl whispered. “It’s so beautiful.”

Kara smiled at the wide-eyed wonder of the girl, having forgotten for a moment that Fin had only known what it was like to live in a city in space, never having a solid planet beneath her feet.

“Yes, this is what we will have soon, a planet of our own. It will be just as beautiful, I promise. You, me and Alex are going to make it happen. So… did Aunt Astra ask you to come along or did you sneak on board?” Kara asked knowingly.

Fin blushed a bit. “I snuck on board.”

“That’s my girl.” Kara hugged the girl tightly. “We need to look at some technology this Coluan has and figure out how to reverse it, then there is a Lake House about thirty miles away where my new pal Krypto is. I have to introduce you. You are going to love him. Then we will go back home, and your parents can yell at you for sneaking out the same way my mother always yells at me. It’s kind of like a rite of passage for people like us.”

Fin nodded her head. “Are we ever going to come back to this planet?”

Kara snorted, a conspiratorial gleam in her eyes. “Fin, we can take lunch breaks here if we want. I’ll spend time with you in the gym under yellow sunlight and when you have the hang of your powers, I will bring you here so we can fly.”

“Really?!” Fin squealed in excitement.

Kara nodded. “The future is only limited by us, Fin. See Kelex over there? He is standing next to Alex. She is the person you saw me with on Argo. She is also our newest scientist and loves biology as much as you do. Go say ‘hi’ and introduce yourself. Kelex can translate for you. Once I am sure the ship is safe, you can join me to examine the tech.”

“Yes, Lady… I mean yes, Kara.”

Kara stood and watched Fin run towards Alex and Kelex and took a moment to look at the crumbled structure that was once a feared warship.

Kell walked next to her and took her hand. “So… this has been fun.”

Kara smiled and leaned into him. “It has been an adventure.”

“I’m thinking… you figure out how to reverse his shrinking tech stuff, we go back to Argo, get bonded, you can walk among the people, introduce your cousin, then we give it a few days and have a honeymoon in Paris without anyone knowing. How does that sound?”

“Like you read my mind.” Kara replied. “I love you, Kell.”

“I love you too, Kara Zor El. Since we have so many new members moving into the compound, I suppose we will need to add a couple of levels to it. I’m thinking maybe we could add an extra room to our personal quarters and have a hot tub installed?”

Kara nodded quickly. “It’s amazing how in sync we are.”

Looking around the crash site, she sighed. “I should probably get to work reverse engineering the shrink ray. The longer Kryptonian warships are here, the more nervous humans will be. Kelex has disabled all the nuclear weapons launch codes but Earth will probably want them back soon.

“The Lanterns and the Justice League can handle cleaning up this mess. There is so much work to do but I need to learn to delegate.”

Feeling at peace for the first time in weeks, Kara said, “I think it’s time we went home, I want to see our people. It’s time they get to know the real Kara Zor El.”