Notes:

This was only meant to be a one-shot but it got too long so I had to break it into two parts.

Part of the "Super Stories" series.

Chapter 1

31st Century

Location: Earth - Founding Member of The United Planets

Legion Headquarters - Member Habitation Building

Brainiac 5's Laboratory

Querl Dox meticulously added the finishing touches to the purple forcefield belt on the table before him.

It had been delicate work making such a small version of his own protective belt, but even more so in this case: He had had to invent a component that would neutralize the effects of any and all types of Kryptonite listed in the UP's database, lest the forcefield belt be rendered useless when its future wearer came into contact with the one thing that could kill them.

The Legionnaire known as Brainiac-5 had been working on this project non-stop for the past week, his determination to meet the deadline encouraged by his affection for the belt's would-be owner. He would have forgotten to eat had a red-blue blur not whooshed in and out of his lab throughout the week, always leaving a gust of wind in its wake… and a tempting food dish on his desk.

It had taken an average of 7.3 minutes to eat each dish provided for him, which was time he could have otherwise spent working on the belt each day - but he had an organic body and that body needed to be feed.

On a more personal note: Brainiac-5 did not want to face the wrath of the one who had so carefully crafted said meals by refusing to eat them, as it would have proven detrimental to his home life.

Besides, each meal had been rather agreeable to his taste palate.

So committed to his current project, Brainiac-5 ignored the automatic hum of the laboratory doors when they opened up behind him.

Those who lived and worked in the Legion Headquarters knew there were only two people allowed to interrupt the 12th level intellect while he was in his lab: The first one had left him the sandwich he had eaten a few hours ago and - judging from the soft patter of small feet and the tiny arms that subsequently wrapped around his leg in a vice grip - the second one had just arrived.

Still concentrating on the belt, Brainiac-5 let one hand fall to his side and rest affectionately atop a silky blonde head.

"It's past your bedtime, Lexie."

"Had a bad dream," came the response, followed by the tightening of her grip.

Querl winced.

The child was slowly developing her mother's strength, but had not yet mastered her control.

He momentarily turned away from his project to study the little girl currently attached to his leg. When she raised her head to return his gaze, he saw she was holding back tears.

This gave him pause.

Alexandra Kaj Dox-El was not a child who cried without reason.

He gently pried her arms from around his leg – as gentle as one could be with a half-Kryptonian child who did not want to let go – and crouched down to meet her eyes.

"You don't normally react this way to bad dreams," he began as he wiped an escaped tear from her pale blue cheek.

As a 12th level intellect herself, the child would often look at her dreams from a logical perspective, even at the tender age of four – soon to be five, Brainy reminded himself.

To see her disturbed by one was concerning.

"It was scary," she sniffled.

"What did you dream about?"

"A woman," Lexie replied. "She wanted to know about me – where I came from, who my parents were. She… she started looking through my head, and broke down one of my firewalls! I… I put up another one really quick, but she hurt me!" The girl wrapped her arms around Brainiac-5's neck, burying her face in his shoulder. "She looked like US, daddy! Why did she look like US?"

The belt was immediately forgotten in favour of the child shaking in his arms.

"We must talk to your mother," Querl decided.

He quickly picked the girl up and headed back to their living quarters.

Dox-El Habitation Quarters

"How did Six dream about your mom, dude?" Winslow Schott Jr. asked Querl in a hushed whisper as the two conversed in the living room.

"I do not think it was a dream, Winn."

"What do you mean?"

"Lexie is at the age now where most Coluans develop the ability to connect remotely with one another's AI core, thus leaving their minds available for others to find. The connection is only done with permission for the sole purpose of exchanging knowledge, but one must have solid firewalls to prevent tampering from those who would attempt to take advantage of the invitation. Being that she is half-Kryptonian, Lexie's ability to build stronger firewalls may be a bit delayed. My mother, no doubt, took advantage of that."

"But your mom is so far away from here!"

"It doesn't matter. If she was looking for another Brainiac to connect with, she would have easily found Lexie - especially at such a vulnerable stage in her development. Having said that, however-" he let the sentence trail off.

"You want to make sure the Colu Maximum Security Penitentiary still has Brainiac-4 in residence," Winn finished for him.

Brainy nodded, "There is only a .025 % chance of her escaping based on the precautions I have taken with her imprisonment, but if you could contact Colu tonight on my behalf, it would be much appreciated. I would normally do it myself, but—"

"… but you gotta take care of the kid. It's fine." Winn replied. "I'll let you guys know what I find out." He then glanced through the opened door to Lexie's room, where he could see the girl currently being comforted by her mother. "Can I say goodnight? I have something to give her." He held up the metal case he had brought with him. "It was supposed to be her birthday present, but I think she might need it tonight."

"Of course," Brainy answered, and watched as Winn headed into Lexie's bedroom. Heopened up the case and pulled out what looked like a toy cat, then touched something on its stomach. It immediately came to life: moving, purring, and meowing like a living, breathing animal. Streaky2, he called it.

Lexie shrieked in delight as she snuggled the cat close. It returned her affection by rubbing its face against hers.

Kara Zor-el – the Legionnaire known as Supergirl throughout the galaxy - stepped out of the bedroom, leaving Winn to explain the cat's abilities and limitations to her daughter.

"So, what are we going to do?" She began as she approached Brainiac-5. "We can't have that monst—" she stopped, remembering whom she was referring to, "That person invading Lexie's head again!"

"You would have been correct the first time," Querl replied. "I plan to connect with Lexie's AI core and strengthen her firewalls until she's able to do so herself. It would be best, however, if her mind was at rest."

"I wish Alex was here. She would probably kick Brainiac-4's ass." Kara sighed, referring to her sister who was currently playing Ambassador for the Legion.

"She'll be back tomorrow morning," Brainy assured her.

She nodded, and the two headed back into Lexie's room, thanking Winn for both the gift and his help in cheering up the distressed child.

Winn said his goodnights to the three, and headed out, leaving Streaky2 to curl up beside the four-year-old.

Kara sat down beside her daughter and took her hand, "Do you think you'll be able to sleep tonight, Lexie?"

Lexie shook her head vehemently. "If I close my eyes, the scary lady will come back!"

"No, she won't," Kara promised. "We'll make sure of that." Lexie still seemed unsure. "Do you want me to sing to you?" Kara asked. Lexie nodded, and Kara began to sing a Kryptonian lullaby. She could see her daughter begin to relax at the sound of her voice.

On the other side of the bed, Querl Dox affectionately ran his fingers over the inborn symbol on the child's forehead, then closed his eyes and gently connected with her AI core.

Brainiac-6's Mindscape/AI core

Brainiac-5 studied the psychological facsimile of Lexie's bedroom and touched a hand to the wall behind her desk. The paint shimmered away to reveal glowing purple circuitry – her firewall.

"Did I do it wrong?" came a small voice behind him.

He turned to see Brainiac-6 looking up at him, Streaky2 standing beside her with its tail curled around her leg.

It appeared the two had bonded enough in their brief introduction to connect their AI cores.

He was glad for it.

"No, you did nothing wrong," he assured Six. "But there is always room for improvement. Come," he motioned for her to move closer, "You see, you need to build these circuits in a tighter formation. That way, there is not enough space for anyone to slip through, nor break them apart." He proceeded to show her how to weave the firewall tighter. "Once this wall is done, we will work on the others," he indicated the rest of the bedroom. "And the door, of course."

Lexie nodded, and proceeded to build her firewall the way he had showed her. He assisted in the weaving and double checked her work, smiling proudly when he saw how quickly she was learning.

The first wall had been completed and Lexie had begun working on the second wall when Streaky2 left her side to hiss and growl at the door.

The four-year-old looked up at Brainiac-5, eyes wide with fear.

"Continue what you're doing. I will take care of this."

He headed to the door, opening it quickly enough to violently shove the blue-skinned white-haired Coluan female back out into the darkness.

He then stepped through the doorway himself, finally ready to confront the sociopath who had dared invade his daughter's mind.

Dox-El Habitation quarters

"Thanks, Winn," Kara replied to the image on the video wall. "That's a relief."

"Yeah. Brainiac-4 is still asleep in her cell, with no signs of an attempted escape." Winn explained. "I asked if a guard could stay there overnight just to be sure it's not some trick. They agreed." He then smiled, "Being a member of the Legion has its privileges. You can tell people what to do!"

"Not always," Kara pointed out with a smile. "Just sometimes."

"Ahh, good enough!" He answered. "G'night, Kara."

"G'night, Winn."

The video blinked out.

Kara stood up and peeked into the doorway of Lexie's room.

Querl sat perfectly still on the chair beside the girl's bed, his fingers entwined with hers.

He glanced up for a moment to catch Kara's eyes, then nodded in acknowledgment before returning his concentration to the task at hand.

Kara took that to mean he was still in Lexie's head.

All she could do now was sit and wait…