Author's Notes: I began this story in late spring and planned to post it around midsummer, but it ended up taking much longer than I expected and being twice as long as I expected. This is my first time writing (and finishing) such a long multi-chapter story. I didn't want to begin to post it until I was almost completely finished. The story has ten chapters and I plan to post a chapter every day until the season premiere. Here's the first chapter, I hope you like it.
Kara was hard at work when a knock on her new office door pulled her mind away from the research she'd been doing for her next article. Out of habit, the alien pulled her glasses down slightly and used her x-ray vision to see who was at her door. Linda Lee, Cat Grant's new assistant stood on the other side of the door looking nervous as usual.
"Come in." Kara called.
The young woman opened the door and stepped into the small office.
"Hi Linda, what can I do for you?" Kara asked.
Even since Linda had been hired to fill the open assistant job when Kara had been promoted, Kara had taken the young woman under her wing and had done everything in her power to make the transition as smooth as possible.
"Hey Kara, Ms. Grant would like to see you—I think."
"What do you mean you think?"
"Well, she didn't ask to see you exactly. She said to 'Get Kiera in here, now!' Actually, she kind of yelled at me to do it. Does she mean you or is there a Kiera that works here too?"
"No, she means me." Kara replied, sighing and standing up.
"Okay good." Linda relaxed a little now that she knew she wasn't about to get yelled at for not following orders promptly enough. "I've never heard her get your name wrong. I thought you were one of the few employees whose names she knew."
"She knows my name, but she only just started using it correctly when I got promoted. But if she calling me 'Kiera' again then it means she's mad at me and this is not going to be a fun meeting."
"Oh." Linda looked at Kara empathetically. Even since getting hired Linda had become all too familiar with what it was like to be on Cat Grant's bad side. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Kara said as she walked towards her boss' office.
...
Many miles away, at a government facility that couldn't be found on any map, Alex was taking advantage of the rare lull in alien activity to get some sparring practice with J'onn. She'd had just dodged a punch and had used his momentum to flip the Martian. She moved in to kick the alien (knowing no matter how hard she attacked, she'd didn't have to worry about really hurting J'onn), but he was too fast for and grabbed her foot and pulled her to the ground. When her back hit the ground the air was forced from her lungs and before she could even gasp, J'onn had his arm around her throat.
"You left yourself open." J'onn said right before he released her neck and helped her up.
Even though J'onn's grasp hadn't been tight enough to hurt her, she still took several big gulps of air before responding.
"And you said you weren't going to use your powers."
J'onn was only able to grab her foot and get the upper hand because he used his super speed.
"I lied." He said casually. "In the field, you can't leave yourself open even if you think you have the upper hand because sometimes our intelligence is going to be wrong and an alien might have a power you don't expect. You have to be ready for anything and never let your guard down."
"I'll remember that. Want to go again?" Alex asked eager to show she was not going to make that mistake again."
"Don't you think you've had enough for one day?" J'onn asked shifting out of trainer mode and into surrogate father mode.
"I'm fine, but I understand if you need a break. After all, you are well over three hundred years old and you might be getting too old for all of this."
J'onn glared at Alex. "You're going to pay for that Danvers."
Before they could resume sparring, Vasquez came in.
"Sir, Major Lane needs to see you."
J'onn and Alex both followed Vasquez to the control room where Lucy and a few techs were starting at a monitor.
"What do we have?" J'onn asked.
"So far we're not sure." Lucy answered. "We intercepted a few nine-one-one calls mentioning a large gray man walking through Siegel Park, but so far none of our scans are picking up anything."
J'onn nodded not feeling relieved. The DEO constantly scanned various parts of the city for subtle changes in radiation, electromagnetic energy, temperature, and about a hundred other indicators of an extraterrestrial's presence, but he knew better than anyone that the process wasn't foolproof, especially since neither he nor Kara had ever set off the scans.
"It could be an alien, or a metahuman, or just some random nerd on his way to a cosplay convention." Lucy continued. When she caught Owens and Suresh, two of the techs, staring at her looking offended, she added. "Not that participating in cosplay automatically makes you a nerd." Then turning her attention back to J'onn she said. "We're pulling satellite and traffic footage from all over the park now to try to get a clear picture of this thing."
After a few seconds, Suresh said. "Got it."
Everyone turned to look at his monitor where a clear picture of what was definitely not a cosplay enthusiasts appeared on the screen.
"Lurmocronian," J'onn said, recognizing the nine-foot tall creature covered in tough gray wrinkled skin, which had three horns growing out its forehead.
"I thought we captured the only Lurmocronian that escaped from Fort Rozz." Alex asked.
"The Kryptonians must have left one off of the official record." Said Vasquez
"Where is the closest team?" Lucy asked.
"Fisher and his team are on a training mission about twenty minutes out." Owens told her.
"They're still too far to get to that thing before it starts hurting innocent civilians." J'onn said. And even if they weren't sending in a strike team into the middle of a crowded park wasn't the best way to maintain a low profile. "Looks like we're going to have to call Supergirl in on this one."
He glanced at Alex waiting for her to call her sister, but she seemed more interested in staring at the footage. J'onn didn't need to read Alex's mind to see she was concerned and he trusted her instincts too much to disregard it.
"Something wrong Agent Danvers?" J'onn asked.
"I feel like we're missing something. What does the Lurmocronian have to gain by terrorizing a park?"
"Ever since Supergirl defeat Non, a lot of the escapees have become bolder. Maybe this one is trying to assert itself as a new leader by challenging us." Lucy suggested.
"Maybe." J'onn said. "Divert Fisher's team to the park, but tell them not to engage until I give the order. Until then they're to let Supergirl handle it."
It made Alex feel a little better to know her sister would have backup heading her way, but Alex still felt worried as she pressed her sister's speed dial and waited for her to pick up. What am I missing?
...
"Good afternoon, Ms. Grant." Kara began, trying to defuse her boss' bad mood with her own cheery disposition, but as soon as she began talking Cat held up a finger and cut her off without ever looking up from the document in front of her. Kara waited another minute for her employer to finish reading, her tension building as she awkwardly just stood there.
"Sit." Cat ordered when she finished the article.
Kara did as she was told. "You wanted to see me?"
"No."
"You didn't send Linda to come get me?" Kara asked, confused.
"No, that part is true. But 'want' is not the word I would use. 'Want' sends the wrong message. It implies this is a social visit, that I should find this meeting enjoyable, and that it is not a hassle for me to devote time from my already hectic schedule to address your subpart work."
"I take it you did not like the article I submitted."
Ever since Kara had been promoted she had been writing a weekly article for the Catco website about ordinary people whose lives had been turned upside down by alien and metahuman encounters. It was nothing fancy and the more seasoned reporters still handled the more high profile alien and metahuman stories, but Kara loved it. Not only did it give her a chance to call attention to people whose stories would often be ignored or forgotten, but it also provided her a plausible excuse to run out every time Supergirl was needed.
"Stating the obvious, with that spot on reporting it's amazing that I didn't promote you sooner. Kiera do you remember what I said to you when you suggest you start writing about people who've had encounters with aliens?"
"Congratulations I've given you a little bit of rope and you're managing to hang yourself with it." The words still stung as Kara repeated them.
That part was true, but it wasn't the point Cat was getting at. "I told you I would not have Catco's credibility sullied by publishing stories that belong in the National City Inquirer."
"But everyone knows that aliens exist and that some of them have made Earth their home." Kara said rehashing the same argument she'd used to convince Cat to let her cover the subject.
"And I told you that even if people are used to the idea of aliens walking amongst us, without evidence they are still going to be reluctant to believe every lunatic who claims to have encountered them."
"Al Binder is not some lunatic he's a respected member of the community."
"No, he was a respected member of the community. Now he's the prime suspect in a robbery."
Up until two weeks ago, Al Binder had been a security guard at Agritech, an agricultural research facility. Then an alien with the ability to walk through walls had broken in and eaten the company's entire supply extra vitamin infused wheat. When Al had tried to stop the alien, it had tried to kill him, but luckily for Al, Supergirl had shown up and fought the creature off.
Instead of being rewarded for his valiant efforts to save company products, Al had been accused of making up the story about the alien and stealing the wheat himself to sell to their competitors. Agritech had been unable to convince the local authorities to arrest Al, but he'd still lost his job and his pension.
"Agritech only fired him to cover-up the fact that they were using Benodroxide to make their wheat grow so big, which was probably what lured the alien to the facility."
"None of which you can actually prove. This entire article is based on the word of a disgruntled employee. Up until now, I've indulged your idea to cover such an outlandish subject matter, mostly because despite my concerns your work has been adequate and people have responded favorably to your little stories, but I will not risk Catco's reputation just because you believe this guy."
Kara wanted to yell that she didn't just believe the guy, she knew he was telling the truth. And as far as proof she had captured the alien that had done the break in, not that it did her any good. He was currently in a DEO cell and all the files about him were classified.
"What if I could get Supergirl to go on the record and corroborate Al's story?"
Cat gave Kara a hard look. "How are you do plan to get her to do that?"
"I could get James to set up a meeting and I know Supergirl would be willing to tell her side of things to prove a man's innocence."
Kara had known all along that Cat would have a problem with the lack of proof in her article and wanted to back up his claim by having Supergirl confirm his story, but when she'd run the idea by Alex her sister had been dead set against the idea, saying she didn't want anyone to associate name Kara Danvers with Supergirl.
"Even if you do get Supergirl to go on the record, why do think anyone would believe you actually spoke to her. You're just a junior reporter. Bigger names than yours have tried and failed to interview her. I'm the only member of the media that's ever spoken to her."
"Which is why people will believe me. People know I used to be your assistant and I have a connection to Supergirl."
Cat pondered Kara's suggestion for a second. "Having Supergirl go on the record would definitely validate this man's story. It would also attract tons of readers, but it would also bring your name into a public light which as a writer I'm not sure you're ready for. I've been treating you with kid gloves so far, but with all the attention you're bound…"
Kara had stopped listening to Cat's speech. With her super hearing she picked up the sound of her phone vibrating against her desk and realized she was so nervous earlier she forgot to bring it with her. Chances were it was probably nothing, or it could be Alex or the DEO needing Supergirl.
"Kiera!" Cat yelled. "Are you even listening to me?"
"Yes, of course, Ms. Grant. I just remembered I…" Kara began trying to come up an excuse that would get her out of Cat's office without losing her job in the process.
Before she could finish both women heard someone at the door.
"Cat!" Joe Carter, the metro department head, came barging in. One look at his face told Cat that news was breaking and made her forgo any rant she'd normally have against someone interrupted her.
"What is is?" She demanded.
"I just got a tip from my source at the NCPD that they've been having calls come in about an alien terrorizing Siegel Park. Now it could turn out to be a hoax, or—"
"Or it could be another attack."
The implications of that statement gave Cat a terrible sense of dread. Schools had just started letting out about an hour ago. This time of day that park would be teeming with unsuspecting children and their families. Out of reflex, Cat's eyes immediately went to Kara, but the place where she'd been sitting just a second ago was now empty. A faint smile spread on Cat's face.
Joe followed her gazed and his eyes narrowed. "Wasn't Kara just—"
"Are you seriously asking about Kara right now?! Have the Catcopter on the scene in the next five minutes or you can spend tomorrow polishing up your resume." Cat yelled, knowing things were about to get interesting.
...
Less than a minute after Alex reached Kara's voice mail, her sister called her back.
She heard the sound of wind blowing in the background and knew Supergirl was on her way. "Hey sorry I didn't answer I was in the middle of Cat verbally shredding my article and I didn't know if this was a Supergirl call or a regular call. We really need to come up some sort of special ringtone for these situations."
"That's an idea that we can discuss when you're not about to take on a dangerous alien."
"That severely limits our options to work and T.V. time, but ok. I know there's an alien in the park, but that's it. What intel do you have on it?"
"It's a Lurmocronian. Basically, they're very big, strong, and mean."
"So basically it's just like the vast majority Fort Rozz escapes. Doesn't sound like too much of a threat."
"No, in a way it seems too easy. Lurmocronians are strong, but they're still no match for you and yet this one decided to walk around a crowded park when it has to know you'll show up. There's a team about ten minutes away, maybe you should wait until you have backup. So far all it's doing is yelling and scaring people, but it's not causing any real damage."
"I'm not going to risk letting this thing start hurting people while I'm playing it safe. I can handle it myself. Besides," Alex saw her sister appear on the monitor as she landing right in front of the Lurmocronian. "I'm here."
"Supergirl." The big alien said.
"Hey, now I know you can't help the way you look and I'm not judging. I'm sure we look pretty strange to you too. But right now what you're doing walking around growling at everyone is scaring people."
"I will destroy you!" It yelled.
Instead of being intimidated, Kara burst into laughter. "Sorry I mean no disrespect, it's just hard to take you seriously when you're being so intense. And also, come on, you've just met me and already you've decided you want to destroy me."
"You can thank your mother for that."
Kara sighed. "Again, man you guys really know how to hold a grudge."
The Lurmocromian lunged at Kara, but she flew out of the way causing the alien to fall hard on the place she'd been standing.
"Now later when you're writhing in pain, don't forget I tried to talk things out."
The Lurmocronian quickly got to his feet and charged Kara again. This time, she didn't dodge the attack but met it with a rough punch to the face.
"Sure, you don't want to consider?" Kara asked.
The Lurmocronian punching Kara in the stomach, which didn't phase her but seemed to hurt his arm.
"Okay."
Kara flew up landed a quick kick to the alien's chest sending it flying. It hit the side of a basketball goal several feet away and fell to the ground. She then flew oven to it and punched it a couple of more times to assure it was done attacking. Satisfied she pulled the now bent basketball goal and post from its concrete foundation. Kara then proceeded to rip the goal and backboard off and bent the post around the arms and midsection of the Lurmocronian.
"Make sure you have a cell ready." She told the DEO.
Supergirl grabbed the alien by the arm and prepared to fly off with it, but she stopped when she heard a small cry. Two children, a boy who looked about four and a girl that looked about six, came running towards her. Alex guessed from the resemblance they shared that they were brother and sister.
"Please don't leave us!" The boy cried.
"We can't find our mommy and daddy and we're scared." His sister added.
"It okay." Kara said in a soothing voice, crouching down beside the children. "I'll help you find them."
The boy smiled at Kara which sent a chill through Alex. His was not the smile of a child who was relieved that someone had come to their rescue. No, this smile was menacing and the angelic features used to display it only made it all the more disturbing. The uneasiness Alex had been feeling earlier had now turned into a full-blown panic.
Kara must have sensed something was wrong too. She quickly backed away from the child. Then there was a flash of movement and Alex watched sister flinch in pain. The boy had somehow grown a tail, which the end of was sticking out of Kara's arm just under her shoulder.
The girl who also now had a tail and tried to strike Kara. This time, the Kryptonian was ready and grab the girls tail before it could penetrate her skin. She then swung the creature around by its tail sending it flying. Kara turned to the boy and tried to grab him, but he hit her with enough force to throw her several feet where she fell onto the blacktop of the basketball court.
Two creatures that seemed to be made of red light in the shape of humans appeared one each side of Kara. Alex knew instantly they were Zarolots, interdimensional beings composed of pure sentient energy. Zarolots had the ability to steal energy from any living creature they touched. They also could use their energy to inflict horrible pain on their victims. One of Alex's first missions when she joined the DEO had been to capture one of them. Two of her fellow agents had been killed in that mission.
The Zarolots grabbed (if you could even call it that since they didn't have a physical form) Kara's arms causing her to cry out in pain.
Meanwhile the boy, the girl, and the Lurmocronian—which had broken free of its makeshift restraints—had all transformed into some sort of yellow insect-like creatures. Each had six legs, in addition to a pair of pincers, a pair of wings, and a long tail with a barbed stinger at the end. Once they had fully transform they descended on Supergirl.
Author's Notes: Thanks for reading, the next chapter will be up sometime tomorrow.
