Once Upon National City
A/N: Only a season late to this fandom, but better late than never, right? XD As a new fan of Supergirl, to the TV series at least, I couldn't resist exploring the untold stories of our favorite heroine(s) as many in the fandom do. Keep in mind, everything I know about Supergirl is based on the TV series. I have not and did not read the comics. So without further ado, enjoy!
This will be an ongoing drabble series with random updates. From Canon to AU, there will be a little something for everyone. :)
The cover art for this drabble series was taken from The Adventures of Supergirl Online Comic # 9, Page 5 which can be viewed at www,readcomics,tv/comic/the-adventures-of-supergirl (replace commas with periods)
POST DRABBLE REPLIES
Guest - Thanks for the comment! I'm happy you enjoyed it. :)
Badassfox – Well hello there! Fancy meeting you here. XD Glad you enjoyed this particular drabble. It was a lot of fun to write something in a different fandom. While I know of Overwatch, I don't have any plans to write in that fandom. I have way too many things on my plate right now. Lol. That said, expect more in the Supergirl fandom. There's still plenty fun stories to explore here. Thanks again! :)
Disclaimer: The characters and the worlds I write in do not belong to me. The stories that I write are intended for entertainment purposes. I do not make any money from them.
Summary: As if the alien menace from Fort Rozz wasn't enough, now they had to deal with this supernatural mumbo jumbo? Ah well, all in a day's work. Kara & Alex. Supernatural/Family.
*** ~ There's No Such Thing as Vampires ~ ***
"Hank, talk to me."
Supergirl's boots kicked up a cloud of dust as she landed, Kara quickly glancing around the area to see if she'd been noticed. Nothing within a hundred foot radius moved, so she took that as a good sign.
=Still no word from Agent Danvers' team, Supergirl,= J'onn's voice came through the radio. =We've been trying to reach her for the past ten minutes but there's been no response.=
Frowning at this news, Kara squinted, calling upon her x-ray vision to give her a better look around. Unfortunately for her, the preliminary scan was of no use as this particular area was laden with lead. It wasn't intentional of course, in the sense that it was meant to keep something hidden away from a Kryptonian's prying eyes. Lead was just what the majority of the things around here were made of.
=We're experiencing higher than usual interference in the area which could be impeding communications. That could explain why our initial scans haven't yielded much insight as to what's going on down there.=
"There is a lot of lead around here," she explained, Kara slowly making her way towards the building looming over her. "Maybe that's the issue."
=Perhaps,= J'onn said. =Even so, something doesn't add up here.=
Currently, Kara stood in the yard of an abandoned factory, a lost relic from National City's industrial era. While she vaguely remembered snippets of humanity's more primitive beginnings from her lessons as a child, none of what she learned in school after coming to Earth had any relevance here.
=Do you see anything?=
"Nothing yet," Kara replied, slowly striding up to the remnants of what looked to be the main manufacturing plant of the place.
=Keep me posted.=
"I will."
A week ago, the DEO caught wind of strange happenings in this area, one involving eerie sounds and unexplained wailing. At first, it was assumed to be a marketing stunt of some kind, for some company, what with Halloween just a week away. It wouldn't be unheard of after all, because really, what better place to host a Halloween soiree than an old, broken down factory? Then people started disappearing, forcing the DEO's current investigation.
A blur of motion.
Kara spun around, her cape swirling just as she barely caught sight of something ducking behind a piece of rusted machinery fifteen feet to her right. Squinting, she used her x-ray vision again, this time it actually working, but her gaze was met with nothing. There was nothing behind the dilapidated tech, nothing aside from dirt, rocks, and other rusting equipment. Making no headway, Kara took to the air hoping the added height would help her locate whatever it was she saw.
"Hank," Kara said hesitantly. "There's something here."
=Agent Danvers?= questioned the Director of the DEO.
"No," Kara said, looking this way and that. "Something else."
Even from up this high, Kara could see nothing out of the ordinary. To the naked eye, it looked like any other abandoned factory in the manufacturing sector, a place with rusting pieces of National City's history. Most of the machinery outside the main factory was falling apart by now, the original owners of this place having filed for bankruptcy dozens of years ago. But even though this place had been forgotten by both humanity and time for well over a century, it was very clear something was going on here. Kara just didn't know what it was yet. And that didn't sit very well with the Kryptonian.
=Satellite imagery shows you're still alone, Supergirl, J'onn said. We've been-=
Whatever the Martian was going to say was cut off by a shriek, one that startled Kara, and she had super hearing. Whatever it was, she should have heard from a mile away, but she hadn't, not until now. Spinning around to face whatever made that horrific sound, all Kara saw was a mass of black before she was tackled out of the air with enough force to leave even her breathless.
=Supergirl!=
For the next thirty seconds, all there was the frantic struggle against snapping fangs and shrieking cries. It was insane how strong her attacker was, nearly as strong as her, something which made Kara wonder if she had blown out her powers again, or was about to, given how demanding the last few days were when it came to fighting Fort Rozz escapees. Thankfully, all it took was a blast of Heat Vision to the shoulder to send the creature fleeing, Kara breathlessly watching as it disappeared out of sight half engulfed in flames.
=Supergirl! Report!= J'onn shouted over the radio.
"I'm okay! I'm okay!" Kara said, frazzled, as she jumped to her feet. "It didn't hurt me."
Shakily, Kara scanned the area again, only to find herself alone once more.
=What was that thing?=
"I…" Kara began, hands gripping at her hair as she tried to process what just happened. "Y-You saw that?"
=We're not sure what we saw,= J'onn said earnestly. =From what we could see, it looked like a shadow.=
Swallowing thickly, Kara let out a shuddering breath.
"I think... that was what was left of Agent McGregor," she said thickly, her throat tight.
=Was… ?=
Inhaling deeply, Kara closed her eyes for a moment to think.
Kara has seen a lot of things in her lifetime. Different planets. Different races. Different types of food. Yet while she had seen a lot of scary things up until now, her own attempts at cooking being high up on that list, nothing compared to what she had just fought against.
"That thing… whatever it was," Kara said, opening her eyes again, her heart still beating frantically in her chest. "It definitely wore DEO standard issue. And it had streaks in its hair like Agent McGregor."
A shaking hand through blonde hair.
"But that was certainly not the Agent McGregor I know."
The fangs were nothing new. Many Fort Rozz escapees had fangs, claws and any number of other, questionable looking body parts. Yet it wasn't so much the fangs snapping at her neck that really got to Kara this time. No, what really shook her up was the thing's eyes. They were black, blacker than the void of space. For a moment, it was like she was trapped inside of the Black Mercy again, staring into her illusionary Mother's black eyes once the parasite realized Kara was fighting back against it. Expect this time it was real, and that's what scared Kara the most.
Was this all a horrible nightmare again?
=Damn it,= J'onn muttered under his breath, yanking Kara out of her spiraling thoughts. =Agent Vasques! I need you to pull up the prisoner records from Fort Rozz again. I need to know which one of them have the ability to physically alter their victim's DNA.=
Inhaling deeply, trying to calm her already frayed nerves, Kara's mind swirled with thoughts of how to proceed. Backup was on the way, J'onn having told her so during her flight over here. So technically, she could just wait until the others arrived. But if she did-
"Wait," Kara said stilling, her eyes darting back to the last spot she saw the creature which attacked her. "Wasn't Agent McGregor on the team sent here with Alex?"
Barking out a few more orders in the background, J'onn answered her a few seconds later.
=He was,= was all the hiding-in-plain-sight alien said.
Kara swore her heart stopped.
"Hank!" she exclaimed, wide eyed, Kara's face paling. "If Agent McGregor was turned into that, what about Alex!?"
Alex couldn't have stopped her heart from thundering in her ears even if she tried to right now. What should have been an easy reconnaissance mission quickly turned into something from the most horrendously written horror movie. That shouldn't have been a surprise really. She hunted aliens for a living after all. Yet, even so, Alex couldn't say with a one hundred percent certainty that that's what she was tracking right now. Or rather, what was currently hunting her.
Her back resting against the sole exit to this particular room (a small utility room Alex guessed), Alex nervously popped out the clip from her standard issue hand gun to take an ammo count before slamming the clip back into her gun again, raising her firearm up next to her head a moment later.
Get in. Assess if there was actually a plausible threat. Then get out.
That's all this should have been.
Satellite imagery of the area showed nothing. No heat signatures. No unexplainable readings of any sort. No life. So really, this mission should have been a piece of cake.
Alex should have known better.
The echoing shriek from the hallway outside had Alex scrambling away from the non descript steel door at her back in an instant. Scurrying against the opposite wall to the door, her gun pointed at the exit, Alex's breaths came out as tight gasps as she did the only thing she could do in this situation.
She waited.
Agent Daniels was the first to disappear. Upon entering the abandoned factory, a heavy feeling of unease settled upon Alex's shoulders, one she couldn't shake for the life of her. Couple that with the radios acting up for no good reason, something was obviously wrong with this place, but Alex ignored that feeling in favor of the facts. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, visually at least, they pushed forward, spreading out and sweeping the area in the typical Alpha search pattern with Alex taking the lead. After a fruitless five minutes of searching, to which they found nothing, they met back again about a quarter of the way into the factory's main floor to take stock. That's when they realized Agent Daniels wasn't amongst them, that and the radios were now useless, the tech putting out more static than anything else.
The clattering stopped just outside of the room, Alex gritting her teeth in tense anticipation as she stared at the door. Blinking rapidly, beads of sweat rolling down the side of her face, Alex held her breath, her trigger finger twitching. How long the silent standoff stretched on for, she didn't know, but the moment the door was violently ripped from its hinges, and even before it hit the ground dented and cracked, Alex opened fire.
Agent Sawyer was the next to disappear. Like Agent Daniels before her, Agent Sawyer was nowhere to be found after the team came back together after searching for their first, missing squad mate. It was as if the two agents had never existed in the first place. But they did, and Alex somehow knew they had suffered a much more horrible fate than simply vanishing into thin air.
And she was right.
God, how Alex hated being right in this case.
What was formerly Agent Sawyer leaped at Alex, shrieking like a banshee. Maw agape, excessively long and sharpened canines shining even in this low light, the creature practically flew at her, fingers curled like claws in the air front of it, its eyes blacker than the blackest night. Alex's aim was dead on, bullets striking her attacker in the upper torso. Yet just like before, they did nothing. Mentally cursing in five different languages, Alex ducked and rolled, the creature flying wide over her head as she did so. The moment she was on her feet again, Alex was out the door and running, but not before leaving a present behind, namely a grenade which exploded mere seconds later. Stumbling after the explosion went off, with no idea where she was going, Alex didn't stop running. There were more of those things running amok in this place with her Alex knew, the elder Danvers already hearing another one not far behind.
After Agent Sawyer's disappearance, the rest of the team stuck together as they searched for their missing colleagues. But by then, it was already too late. What was originally thought to be just one attacker, likely a Fort Rozz alien they had yet to face, quickly turned out to be a small army of those things, those… monstrosities, the DEO agents not standing a chance when the lot of them attacked them all at once. Forced to scatter just to survive, the last thing Alex saw of her team was gunfire and chaos.
Racing towards a T-junction, Alex pulled a sharp right turn, nearly losing her balance as she did so. Somehow managing to stay on her feet, she picked up the pace again, the angry snarls of the thing chasing her already echoing in her ears.
Conventional weaponry didn't work. Alex might as well have been shooting rubber bands at these abominations for all the good bullets did her. And even if conventional weaponry did have some sort of effect, Alex knew she could not fight one-on-one with these creatures and win. They were faster, stronger, and more agile than she could ever be. They were also like animals, erratic, unpredictable, and feral. There was no logic to their actions, no tell tale hints of what they were thinking. Unlike the aliens the DEO had fought up until now, there was no rationale to them, no pattern Alex could discern to figure out how they would behave next. There was only hunger and blood lust. And madness.
Alex heard it before she saw it. Gun whipping to the side at the blurred mass streaking at her from an adjoining corridor on the right, Alex managed to fire off two rounds before she was tackled hard to the concrete floor on her stomach. Somehow managing to keep a hold of her gun, the DEO agent scrabbled against the weight on her back, Alex frantically trying to shake her attacker loose. In spite of adrenaline rush giving her an extra boost of strength, the monster held fast, its foul breath making the hairs on the back of her neck raise. Desperation setting in, Alex snapped her elbow backwards without warning, the creature yelping when it connected with its head. Unfortunately, that was the only chance Alex would get to defend herself, her attacker soon snaring a handful of hair before her head was violently yanked to the right.
"Ah!"
Pain exploded outwards from the left side of her neck as fangs pierced flesh, the sheer suddenness of it freezing Alex in her spot. Taking advantage of this sudden lack of resistance, the abomination on Alex's back sunk its fangs deeper into her neck, a freezing cold hand pressing the DEO agent's head down into the floor roughly. An agonized gasp escaping her, Alex raised her gun only for her arm to be smashed down into the concrete next to her, the force of the blow breaking bones. Alex's gun slipped from her fingers as she screamed in pain.
She had to hang on.
Help was on the way.
Or at least that's what Alex mentally repeated to herself over and over again, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes as her strength and blood was drained from her in the most excruciating way. Not that she ever doubted J'onn or her sister, of course. Her boss, while usually stoic most of the time, was one of the most caring people, or rather aliens, that she knew. Second to Kara. And Supergirl? Well, she was Supergirl for crying out loud! Neither of them would ever leave Alex alone knowing she was in danger. Having lost radio contact with both of them for who knows how long now, Alex could only imagine what the two of them must be thinking.
They were coming for her. Alex knew it. She just needed to give them a little bit more time.
Eyes fluttering as lightheadedness quickly swept over her, Alex pushed past her pain in favor of reaching downwards with her free hand for her boot. Finding the familiar and well-worn handle of her favorite combat knife, Alex's fingers wrapped around the length of it before retracting the blade from its sheath and stabbing viciously at the thing on top of her.
The reaction was instantaneous.
The monstrosity on top of her jerked in surprised, the shriek it made making Alex's ears ring. The next she knew, the knife was ripped out of her hand and Alex was flipped over and slammed to the ground on her back. Hissing from the new, throbbing pain now pulsing at the back of head, Alex finally came face to face with the beast that had been tormenting her all this time. It was Agent Avery, or rather, what was left of the soldier, Agent Avery's face now a deathly shade of pale, the man's eyes black. Alex's combat knife stuck out of his side.
Alex clenched her jaw, her heart dropping with the realization that another of her squad mates was now gone. Turned into one of those… things… While she may not have been the best of friends with Agent Sawyer or Agent Avery, their loss still hit her hard. Watching as the monster Agent Avery had become pulled her combat knife from its side and tossed it away, a bitter anger surged through her, Alex's eyes narrowing as she made a silent vow to stop this thing here and now, before anyone else got hurt.
Alex didn't know how she was going to do it, but the women in the Danvers family were stubborn to a fault, Alex the most. So if there was anyone who could turn things around, it would be her. Somehow she would get out of this mess, Alex at that very moment calling upon every bit of resilience and smarts that she was known for.
With the knife gone, the creature turned its focus on her again. Glaring defiantly at the beast as it opened its jaw wide, the red of her blood dripping from its lips and down to its chin, Alex smirked before punching the monster in the chin with her good hand, stunning it.
"That all you got?" she taunted.
Using that momentary reprieve, Alex quickly twisted onto her side grabbing at her fallen gun, the DEO agent biting back a whimper as she jostled her broken arm in the process. Turning back to face her attacker, all Alex saw was a flash of teeth, the elder Danvers just barely bringing up her weapon in time between them, the monster biting down on the casing of her gun instead of her face. Releasing a snarl of her own, Alex fought a losing battle of strength, the monstrosity that was Agent Avery quickly pressing her down onto her back again.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!"
Two beams of hot blue heat sliced the air above Alex's head, Supergirl's Heat Vision hitting the abomination on top of Alex square in the chest. Former Agent Avery shrieked upon contact, the force of the blast knocking the abomination backwards, its entire being engulfed in flames within seconds.
"Alex!"
Scrambling backwards away from the writhing, flaming mass near her feet, Alex couldn't but gasp for breath as she watched her former colleague screech and burn.
"Alex! Are you alright!?"
"K-Kara?"
Turning to look over her shoulder for the source of that voice, strong yet gentle arms wrapped around her from behind, Alex momentarily flinching before she realized whom those arms belonged to.
"Oh Rao, Alex! I was so scared!" the Krytonian said, holding on to her tightly.
Inhaling shakily and ignoring the liquid warmth running down the side of her neck, Alex allowed herself to lean back into her sister's embrace.
"I know," Alex said as the screams and flames finally died down, leaving only ash behind. Taking in another deep breath, the tension in her muscles finally dissipating, she reached up with her good hand and intertwined her fingers with her sister's.
"I was scared too."
"So let me get this straight," Alex said, a hand covering the bandage on her neck as she tiredly looked at her boss.
It was night time now, Alex back at the DEO – the DEO's med bay specifically – sitting on one of the cots in the room. Six hours had passed since her fateful excursion to the National City's manufacturing district, what happened there to haunt her for many days to come.
"Those things… that we fought back there, were actually… vampires...?"
Kara, who sat next to her sister on the cot and still in her Supergirl outfit, rubbed Alex's shoulder comfortingly, a protective arm wrapped around her older sibling's back. Alex gave the Kryptonian a grateful smile.
"As much as I don't want to believe it myself, Alex," J'onn said, his arms crossed over his chest. "I cannot dispute the facts."
The facts. Alex would have snorted had she not actually looked over the data itself.
"How... is that even possible?"
The hand on her neck dropping down to her side again, Alex looked down at her cast covered arm currently tied up in a sling and frowned as she recalled the events leading up to this point.
The creature, or rather, the vampire that had started this mess was… very old to say the least. At least a few centuries old. The approximate age of the thing was really hard to pinpoint however, probably due to the fact that the only thing they salvaged of it after the battle was its ashes, most of which blew away in the wind before they could collect much of it. It took an excessively long time to kill, that monster, even with Supergirl and her impervious self there.
Having fed on the blood of half of Alex's team and its victims before, turning them into abominations themselves, the damn thing was nearly indestructible. Couple that with newly turned vampires running amok, it was amazing Alex and the remainder of her squad even got out of there alive and in one piece. Thankfully, only the centuries old vampire had the ability to turn people into vampires and not its victims. Something about the newly turned vampires not being in full control of this abilities yet. Had that not been the case… well, Alex really didn't want to think about the what ifs.
"It's something we'll figure out soon enough, I'm sure," J'onn said, closing the distance between them. "In the meantime, you two should get some rest."
Her mind already swirling with possible theories, Alex opened her mouth to protest.
"Take tomorrow off," the Martian said, his voice brokering no argument. "That's an order. Don't fight me on this."
Resting a hand on both of their shoulders, J'onn squeezed gently. "Nationally City can survive a day without either of you."
Too exhausted to dispute that fact and feeling rather spent, Alex just nodded her head, Kara doing the same before leaning against her and resting her head against Alex's.
"Try not to have too much fun without us," Kara said with a chuckle, earning her a grin from the man (or rather alien) whom both of them looked up to like a father.
"No promises," J'onn said, the Director of the DEO smiling before leaving the two of them alone to carry on his duties.
Reveling in the quiet, Alex sighed audibly before closing her eyes. Desk work was going to suck for the next few weeks until her arm healed, but she supposed there were worse fates to be had.
"Homeland marathon tonight?"
Leave it to Kara to cheer her up when she was down.
Alex smiled. "Sure."
"Do you want to call our usual place or should I?"
"Pizza and potstickers?" she queried, Alex already knowing the answer to that question.
"You know it," Kara said, the smile clearly heard in her voice.
With her eyes still closed, a mischievous smirk stretched across Alex's face as a wicked idea came to mind.
"Actually, I was thinking of having something else tonight."
"Oh?" Kara hummed, her head still resting against Alex's.
"Yeah," Alex said, her smirk turning into a full blown grin. "I was thinking of something along the lines of steak."
Kara shifted next to her, snuggling against her more. "Steak? That's different."
Alex shrugged.
"I guess all of this just worked up my appetite," she said, biting her lip. It was so hard not to explode in a fit of laughter right now, but somehow Alex managed to keep quiet.
"What I wouldn't give for a huge, blood dripping steak right now..."
Moaning for added effect, Alex licked her lips noisily. "Mmm… blood..."
Kara stiffened next to her, the arm around her shoulders tightening as Supergirl pulled back slightly to sit up.
"A-Alex…?"
"Kara?" Alex said huskily, her eyes half hooded as she glanced at her sister. Dark hazels met wide blues before Alex's gaze dropped to her sibling's neck. Licking her lips again, Alex nearly howled with laughter as Kara's throat bobbed when she swallowed.
"U-Umm…." the Kryptonian stuttered, jittery.
A teethy smile.
"Just kidding!" Alex laughed, unable to hold back the giggles any longer. Cuddling up against her sister again, head on Kara's shoulder, Alex chuckled when her sister squeaked at her initial touch.
"A-Alex!" Kara exclaimed, gaping like a fish for the better part of thirty seconds. "That's not funny! Don't do that! I seriously thought that you-"
"That I what?" Alex said lifting her head to look at her younger sibling. She nearly chortled at Kara's expression. "That I turned into a vampire?"
Kara puffed out her cheeks indignantly, her face pink. "That you were going to bite me!"
Alex laughed again, curling her good arm around her ruffled sister, hugging her as Supergirl pouted. "Oh Kara, you're so gullible. Don't ever change."
"Alex…." Kara whined.
A/N: This takes place after Season 1's episode of "For the Girl Who Has Everything" and before the Episode "Falling". I figured that with all the alien madness that happens on a daily basis, I might as well throw in some supernatural stuff into the mix just because. Lol.
For those of you confused by the whole back and forth between Hank and J'onn when referring to the Martian Manhunter in this drabble, you'll notice that Kara only calls J'onn 'Hank' over the comm, as this takes place before the episode "Falling". Kara consciously makes sure she doesn't out J'onn as an alien to the rest of the DEO. J'onn does something similar, only calling Alex by her first name when they are in private.
Regarding the vampires in this piece, I'm not really relying on any particular source for the mythology. Just the basics, that being they have fangs, suck blood, can turn their victims into vampires (the main vampire at least), and they really don't feel pain (because they're dead) and are super strong. That and they pretty much combust from fire. Beyond that, I've tweaked their appearance a bit (black eyes instead of the typical red) and how they sound (shrieking/screeching instead of hissing) to make them a bit more scary given this time of the year.
Happy Halloween everyone! Thanks for reading! :)