Chapter 2: Suiting Up

Autobot HQ…

Jack shot forward and re engaged Kara in their hand to hand practice. They'd dropped their little evaluation of each other and were going to go at it full power. Jack delivered a flurry of jabs that Kara dodged and weaved around before she grabbed his arm.

She twisted it around pulled his arm behind his back, placing a foot against his back pulling back against his arm. Jack smirked and with a quick flick of his wrist, flipped his sister forward towards the wall.

He shot towards her, his feet kicking up dust and launched up behind her, delivering a punch knocking her to the ground. He was careful to use only what was needed. They were sparring not trying to kill each other.

Jack landed back on the ground as Kara got up and the two continued to trade blows. Kara wasn't as experienced with her enhanced speed and strength and it showed. Her blows were slower and had less force behind them.

Jack on the other hand had grown up with his powers and was slowly pushing her back. Still, it was a fairly even fight between the two. That is until Jack placed his foot behind her and tripped her. She fell back only for Jack to grab her by her foot.

Twisting suddenly, Jack began to spin the Kryptonian girl by her foot spinning faster and faster. He released her suddenly and watched as she flew back across the other side of the room. She managed to right herself midair and landed on the ground lightly.

The two once again reengaged each other this time focusing less on speed and more on strength. Kara punched Jack square in the face with a loud boom. He skid back, his feet digging into the floor as he did, before coming to a stop.

His head hung from the blow as he stood silent for several seconds. The audience of bots watched captivated as Jack slowly raised his head back up, his face unharmed.

He smiled and resumed his fighting position, arm outstretched "That the best you got sister?" he taunted.

Kara scowled at her brother and shot towards him. She leapt into the air and rocketed towards her opponent, fists reared back. Jack smiled and reared his own fist back as she shot towards him.

Their fists collided in a massive shockwave knocking bits of debris towards the audience and shaking the base to its core. The two stayed still, Kara floating in the air and Jack standing in a small crater in the floor, their fists connected.

Jack smirked "So much for the no flying rule," he muttered and shot forward towards his sister. He kneed her in the stomach and slammed his fists down on her before she could recover. Kara fell to the ground only barely stopping herself before she hit.

She looked up to see Jack flying towards her and she shot to the side, avoiding his attack. Jack slammed into the ground with a loud boom, leaving another crater in the ground. He stood up and smiled at her which she returned.

"You're getting good at this," he said as he floated off the ground.

"I'm a faster learner," she responded.

Jack smirked "We'll see," he said and shot towards her once more. This time their fist fight launched the two in the air, both delivering punches and kicks to each other. Their fists and legs moved so fast that no bot or human could watch them in full.

Kara suddenly grabbed Jack by the wrist and spun repeating his own move from earlier, but this time slamming him into the ground. He hit the ground with an earth shattering crash as the floor exploded from the impact.

Kara slammed onto his chest, her foot planted on his chest with a triumphant smile "I win," she said.

Jack smiled innocently as she got off him and offered her hand. He took it gently before he moved fast and flipped her over his shoulder with a thud. He planted his knee on her chest with a smile of his own.

"You only win when I say you win sister," he explained.

"Got it," she squeaked and Jack smiled. This was practically a repeat of the end result from his sparring practice with his counterparts sister Dusk. Jack had technically won the fight, but since Dusk never yielded, she flipped him over her shoulder and had planted her knee on his neck.

Now he was using the same trick on Kara, though he'd never admit it to his sister. She'd probably never forgive her friend for teaching him such a trick.

Jack got off his sister and helped her up "I think that's enough practice for today, don't you think?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's enough for now," she agreed. The two walked out of the crater that was nearly as deep as Arcee to see a stunned crowd.

Bulkhead and Bee had never actually seen Jack fight before, and the wreckers jaw was hanging loosely from the rest of his body. Bee's optics were wide in shock and if one could see his mouth Jack would have to guess that it too, was hanging open.

Miko though… was Miko "Oh…My…God…" she said quietly. Jack knew what was coming next and braced himself.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" she screamed jumping in the air with glee. Kara visibly flinched from the girls sudden excitement and Jack had to suppress a laugh.

Miko immediately began listing off a thousand questions and comments a second using her hands to imitate the fight she'd just witnessed. Jack rolled his eyes and ignored her keeping his attention on the others.

"That was an impressive fight Jack, you sure you didn't hurt each other?" Raf asked. Jack smiled at his little friends worry.

"We were holding back our strength most of the fight Raf, besides I'm a little more durable than the typical person," he reminded the small boy.

He nodded understanding what Jack meant and Jack looked up at Arcee "Didn't scare you at all did I?" he asked.

"After seeing what you could do Jack, I'm pretty convinced that as long as no one brings a hunk of Kryptonite along I don't need to worry about you," she said and saw Jack smile.

"Too much anyway," she amended.

Jack rolled his eyes "Cute," he said. He looked back to Kara and noticed that she seemed a little… Light headed was the best word to describe it.

She was rocking back and forth slightly, and her pale skin had grown paler, greatly contrasting her blue eyes. But except for some tears on her clothing she seemed fine uninjured.

"Kara, are you feeling okay?" he asked worry evident in his voice.

Kara placed a hand against her forehead "I'm fine Jack, just… just a little tired," she admitted.

Jack raised a brow trying to figure out how his sister could be so tired after their skirmish. It wasn't a light battle for sure, but it definitely wasn't the longest or most intense battle he'd had.

Maybe she just wasn't used to expending her powers like he was, after all she didn't… Jack face-palmed as he realized why Kara was so tired and he wasn't.

"I think I know why you're tired," he announced.

Everyone looked at him with curious looks on their faces "You don't have a suit like I do," he stated rolling his sleeve up and exposing the blue of his suit.

"So, I don't think Kara missing out on the latest Kryptonian fashions will affect how she feels Jack," Miko said with a roll of her eyes.

"Miko, the suit is designed with an enhanced fabric that captures and stores the various waves of the sun so that the wearer does not need constant contact to ensure their powers aren't drained as quickly," Kara explained and Jack blinked in shock.

"How did you…" he started.

"I helped father design the fabric," she explained "I won't bore you with the details," she said dismissively.

"Great," Miko muttered "One more list of brainiac's to add to the group,"

"Right," Jack said ignoring her comment "Point is that without a suit like this your powers will drain fast if you're not careful," he said.

"Well it's not like you can just go to the nearest store and buy a pair of Kryptonian suits," Miko said "So where would you get another one?"

"There's only one place," Jack said and gestured for Kara to follow him. The others followed as well.

They quickly made their way into the main hall of the base were Ratchet was working at a terminal. He looked up as the rather large group of humans, bots, and Kryptonians made their way into the room.

"Is there something I can help you all with?" Ratchet asked.

"Can you open a bridge to the ship Ratchet?" Jack asked.

The medic looked at the boy suspiciously "Why would that be?"

He gestured to Kara "We need to get her a suit similar to mine, that's where I got my suit," he explained.

Ratchet looked at Jack for several seconds before sighing "Certainly Jack, I will bridge you and your sister to the ship. I still have the coordinates saved after all," he said and began to enter said coordinates.

The bridge swirled open and Jack looked to Kara "Ready to go?" he asked his sister.

She nodded and Jack looked back at the others, more specifically Arcee "I'll be back soon, don't wait up," he said and the two flew through the portal.

They flew through the blazing green and white of the swirling vortex and into a world of white and black. When Jack had discovered the Kryptonian ship, he'd had it moved to a location that was rarely if ever surveyed and high into the mountains as well.

That is too say it was hidden in the upper regions of Greenland. The ship itself looked undisturbed from last time he'd visited, its thrusters still maintaining its position a foot off the ground.

It was made of Kryptonian steel, a metal that was a mixture of bronze and steel in color and was remarkably durable. It had managed to survive over 20,000 years frozen in ice and still functioned like new. It was shaped like a large oval, though it was larger at the stern were several larger engines could be seen.

It was also very smooth and organic looking, the metal plating melding together and holding tight. There was a single visible door that was sealed shut against the elements, just as Jack had left it.

"I take it you knew about this ship?" Jack asked his sister as the two walked to the door.

"Yes, but I certainly had not expected it to be in such good condition," she said staring at the ship.

"I wonder why Zod never tried to take control of it during the invasion?" she asked absent mindedly while the doors opened.

"Probably wanted to wait for the world to be his before he tried cracking it open. I would have," Jack said as they both walked past the various empty dead control pods.

Kara froze as she saw one who's occupant had never left staring at the now mummified body. Jack turned around and saw her standing there. He quickly approached her to make sure she was okay.

"Kara, Kara, it's okay," he said trying to shake her of her trance.

She mumbled something quietly and Jack frowned "What?" he asked carefully.

"T-that c-c-could have been me," she said softly "it almost was me," she said looking at her hands.

Jack was silent as Kara looked at herself and back to the pod "Why was I so lucky, and they weren't?" she asked looking to Jack.

"Kal, what did they do to deserve this? Why did they have to die like this and I didn't? They never failed their mission never made a big mistake. Why did they have to die?" she asked over and over tears starting to fall as she began crying.

Jack placed a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her, and gasped when she fully embraced him, sobbing once more. He got over his shock and carefully rubbed her back in a comforting way.

"Kara it's alright, you never did anything wrong," he said trying to comfort her. He was now regretting taking her here, he should have known she'd she this and react badly to it.

"Yes I did!" she sobbed "I was supposed to protect you take care of you, and I failed! I failed and yet I get away with no punishment and yet these people, our people, died in cryo pods!" she let out another sob.

Jacks face hardened at her words "Kara, you never failed at your mission," he said "You may not have been there for me when I was younger, but you're here now,"

Kara sniffed quietly and let out a small laugh "You know… Dusk said something similar when I first woke up. I guess I just needed to hear it from you to believe it," she said with a half smile.

Jack smiled back, and silently thanked the Halfling for her words of wisdom to his sister, "Come on, let's keep moving," he said and gently pulled out of her embrace.

She nodded and motioned for him to lead on, wiping a few tears out of her eyes while she did. Jack quickly lead her into the same room he'd found the pedestal his first time he'd come to the ship. He removed the key from his belt and placed it into the slot, feeling the ship hum to life.

He turned around and looked to see the form of his father slowly materialize in front of the siblings. Slowly but surely, Jor-El, former head scientist of Krypton stood before both his children.

Kara let out a small gasp and placed her hands over her mouth in shock "F-f-father?" she asked, her voice quiet.

Jor-El looked to his daughter and smiled sadly "What is left of him," he answered.

Jack took a step back not saying a word as Kara stepped forward, tears starting to stream from her eyes. She began speaking to their father in Kryptonian, and Jack listened to the language for the first true time. He'd heard Kara mutter it on a few occasions, but this was different, this was full sentences.

He couldn't quite understand what the two were saying to each other, but each word held great weight behind it. The sentences flowed and intertwined like two opposing rivers as the two spoke. Each word they said portrayed the emotions that the other felt.

Kara's sounded both sad and happy. Sad at seeing what was left of her father no doubt, but happy that she could see her father. Jor-El's words were deep and booming, portraying his own sadness that he could not truly be there to see his daughter. He also caught hints of regret, likely that he could never find her after her disappearance.

Finally the two finished their conversation and Jack noticed his sister was standing noticeably taller and prouder now that they were done. Though this did make him wonder, exactly what had the two said to each other? He shook his head, it wasn't his place to know, if Kara wanted him to know she would tell him.

"I do have designs for a suit as well Kara," Jor-El said, speaking English once more. He motioned for her to follow him.

"I shall take it to you and when you have changed you and your brother may leave," he said and lead Kara away, likely to the same room he'd lead him to when his suit had been gifted to him.

An idea struck Jacks head and he changed out of his civilian clothes, donning his super suit instead. He slipped the clothes into his belt and watched the suit reassemble itself over his skin. The red and silver gauntlets, the red cape, and the red boots all melded over or lengthened. He stretched as it finished and rested against the door way, waiting for Kara.

He didn't have to wait long, for no more than five minutes later Kara reappeared dressed in her new outfit. Jack would have to admit it was quiet fitting and bore some resemblance to his own.

Like his own suit, it bore their family crest on her chest against a full blue body suit. A red cape with a golden outline and the crest emblazoned on it drooped to slightly above her calves. She wore a pair of deep red boots that came up to her thighs and appeared both tough and flexible, with a single strand of gold running through the middle.

She wore a yellow belt around her mid section unlike Jacks own red belt. Like his suit though, she had red shoulder pads as well, though they were thinner and did not stick out as much. On her hands she too wore red gloves, though instead of silver they were outlined with gold along the cuffs.

All in all Kara's suit, like Jacks, had an air of dignity and respectability to it. Though on her in Jacks opinion it looked a little better, but that could be for any number of reasons. The most obvious being that she had grown up in Kryptonian clothing, not human clothing but still.

Kara looked at Jack confused given how he was in his own suit as well "Why did you change? I thought you preferred not to wear your suit?" she asked.

He shrugged "Figured that you and I could go for a race back to base, see who can fly there first," he said with a smile.

Kara returned it," Of course I'd be willing to beat you in a race brother, so nice of you to ask,"

"Funny," he replied and the two made their way outside, Jack grabbing the key as he did. The door sealed shut behind them as they made their way outside, both of their capes blowing in the breeze.

Jack looked to his sister "You ready for this?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied.

There was a low rumbling sound as both Kryptonians prepared themselves for flight, the Earth itself sounding as if alive. There was a sudden loud boom as both teens took off at the same time and shot into the air flying higher and higher as they did.

In seconds they shattered the sound barrier and began curving south west, towards Jasper Nevada. The two shot through the air weaving and flying together as they quickly began to pass over the land of Greenland. Snow and dirt were kicked up into the air as both Jack and Kara flew mere feet off the ground, their speed creating a back draft of massive proportions.

Jack looked back at his sister and smiled as she tried to keep up. With a small boost of energy, he shot upwards and forwards, spiraling as he did over an incoming mountain range. He reached the peak and stopped putting energy into his flight, letting moment carry him.

There was a loud boom as Kara shot by him and Jack smiled "You wish Kara," he said to himself before taking off after her. Jack quickly caught up with her sister, the two flying side by side as the landscape changed from the icy land of Greenland; to the icy sea of the Atlantic Ocean.

Water shot into the air as the two teens shattered air records and breached Mach 5 moving faster than any air breathing aircraft designed by human hands. A loud boom sounded each time they approached that speed and the two lifted high into the air as the coast of New York came into view.

The two flew over 45,000 feet into the air, higher than any commercial aircraft and shot towards Jasper, the ground itself flying by too fast for even their eyes to track. Jack and Kara both laughed as the two began weaving through the sky, each one pulling slightly ahead of each other while the two weaved a double helix in the sky.

Jack knew they were approaching Jasper and flew closer to Kara who looked for them. He motioned for her to slow down and she nodded. Slowly the two slowed to subsonic speeds, still blazing fast by aircraft speeds.

Jack continued to fly forward and dropped out of the sky, Kara imitating them. They plummeted to the ground, their capes whipping back and forth as they did watching the ground rapidly approach them. Once they were a good thousand or so feet from the ground, the duo took off again, flying towards the mesa at over 300 hundred miles an hour.

Slow compared to their normal speed but more than fast enough to reach base. Sure enough, Jack saw the familiar mesa ahead. In sync, the two dropped forward hundreds of feet, skimming across the ground.

The mesa slowly grew closer and closer to the two and it seemed as if they might crash through the mesa. At the last second, they both arched up and shot into the air flying hundreds of feet above the mesa.

Jack saw the bots and humans were assembled at the base and laughed to himself. He let his flight kick off and he plummeted to the Earth feeling the wind buffet him as both he and Kara fell to the mesa.

There was a loud boom as they both landed knees crouched, on the edge of the mesa. Dirt was kicked up in loud clouds as they landed and the area slowly grew quiet as the two finally stood back up brushing dust off their suits.

Once the smoke cleared Jack saw that not only were the bots and his friends there… But so was his mother.

"Ugh… Hi mom," he said waving at June. June had her arms crossed and did not look pleased.

"Jackson Darby," she started and Jack winced while he heard chuckles from everyone minus his sister.

"You were supposed to call Ratchet for a bridge back young man. Do you have any idea how worried I was!?" she demanded.

"I…but,' he protested.

"And then you decide to fly all the way from Greenland!? What if something happened to you? What if your powers stopped working or what if you ran into the Decepticon ship?" she asked her tone becoming more worried.

"I…" Jack started and stopped just hanging his head.

"Don't blame my brother June," Kara said "It was my idea to fly back, I should have considered how worried you'd be," she said.

Jack looked up at his sister in shock, but she simply winked at him. He quickly caught on and looked back to June, who had her serious face on.

"Is this true Jack?" she asked.

"O-of course!" he exclaimed.

Junes gaze softened "Fine, Kara I'll let you off with a warning this time, let us know before you do something like that," she stated.

"I'll remember next time June," she said nodding. With that finished June and the others headed back in.

Jack followed and silently mouthed his thanks to Kara "You owe me," she whispered and Jack nodded.

The group made their way back into base, the whole time Miko was going on about how awesome it was to see the pair fly to the mesa and how their entrance was even more awesome. Jack was pretty sure that if the girl didn't calm down she'd probably explode from how excited she was.

"Actually though, how did you guys know we were coming?" Jack asked once everyone was settled in base.

"I detected two signatures moving faster than any recorded human or Vehicon speeds heading towards Jasper," Ratchet explained.

"You could actually detect us?" he asked amazed. He figured the two of them were too small for the doc to detect them.

"Barely, but two objects over six feet in length hitting Mach five is going to show up on sensors that are sensitive enough Jack," Ratchet stated.

Jack and Kara rubbed the backs of their heads "Oops," they both said in embarrassment.

"But luckily it seems as if you did not attract any unwanted attention," Ratchet said easing their concerns.

The duo smiled and after changing into their respective clothes, earning more questions from June over why Kara's clothes were torn. Once they explained why the two had resumed watching Miko lose to Raf again… and again…and again.

"Argh, why am I even still playing, I should be getting ready for the slash monkey concert!" she exclaimed.

"Bulgarian shriek metal, great," Jack joked.

The girl glared at him when Bulkhead interrupted her "Hey Miko, me and Arcee are going to scout out an Energon signature, want to tag along?" he asked.

The girl immediately perked up "Heck yeah I want to go!" she exclaimed leaping from the couch towards her partner.

"Hope you don't mind if I tag along," Jack said walking to the rail.

Arcee smiled at him "Not at all," she said and Jack leapt from the top of the stairs to the ground below.

Kara moved to follow her brother, when she felt an iron grip on her shoulder. She turned around to see June standing there "You aren't going anywhere missy, after that stunt you pulled your staying in base," she ordered.

Kara gave her brother a pleading look but Jack just shrugged "Sorry Kara, but once mom makes up her mind there is no changing it," he said smiling.

Kara glared at her brother who quickly turned away as the portal opened up. He and the others quickly walked through the ground bridge not quite sure what they would find…

Energon signature…

"We're supposed to be at a rock concert!" Miko whined. Jack yawned, so much for peace and quiet. Miko had been whining and complaining ever since they came through. Ironic since she'd chosen to tag along.

"But all I see is rock!" she continued.

"Relax, Miko," Jack said, waving a hand, "The show doesn't start for two hours."

The Asian girl's features darkened as she turned to the sorcerer.

"Do you know how long I've waited to see Slash Monkey?" Miko ground out.

"Uh…?" Jack started.

"FOREVER!" Miko shrieked, cutting him off, "And it's their only US date!"

"There's a shock," Jack muttered as Miko turned around, "I mean who doesn't love obscure Bulgarian shriek metal?"

She was about to throw him a smart-aleck reply when Arcee and Bulkhead came out of the mine.

"By all appearances the mine's been stripped," Arcee said with a tone of disappointment. Jack understood his girlfriends disappointment, Energon was hard to come by, and the base was in sore need of it.

"But I'm getting a signal!" Bulkhead protested, "It's faint…but it's definitely Energon."

"Whoa!" Miko breathed, looking back at Jack in excitement.

"Doesn't make sense," Arcee muttered, "This operation's been abandoned four maybe five years? And Decepticons never leave Energon behind."

Miko jumped off the rock and ran into the cave.

"Uh, guys?" Jack asked.

The two Autobots looked down at the young Kryptonian. Jack pointed to the cave. There was no trying to stop Miko. He'd just gotten used to it, the girl found a way to avoid him regardless of his powers.

"COOL!" Miko yelled, running farther into the cave.

"She went in," Arcee sighed, "Unbelievable."

Jack hopped up from his rock, brushed the dirt off his pants, and came closer to his girlfriend.

"Really?" he sighed, "Have you met her? She's almost as stubborn as you,"

Arcee raised an optic ridge "That supposed to mean something?"

Before the two could continue bantering, Bulkheads deep voice interrupted him, "Miko, get back here!" Bulkhead groaned, chasing after his charge.

"It…would be kind of interesting to see…" Jack hinted, looking innocently up at Arcee, "You know if it were…"

"Safe?" Arcee supplied, "A stripped mine is structurally unstable, Jack,"

"I promise to step lightly," the boy promised, floating in midair as he did.

"Just…don't tell your mom," she finally said.

Jack smiled and pumped his fist as he followed Arcee in. He went back to walking behind his girlfriend and admired the cave. While not the most spectacular cave he'd been in, it was one of larger ones for sure. The walls towered above them and Jack could tell that it would fit Optimus easily.

"This place is awesome," Jack breathed as he looked up at the glittering pillars of stone.

Arcee froze, holding a servo up to her comm. "Bulkhead?...Scrap," she shook her helm, "The mineral composition is causing too much interference."

The two walked down the tunnel, and that's when Jack heard the voices.

"Hey," Jack said, "I hear voices…maybe it's Bulkhead and Miko."

"You have ceased to be of use to me, Starscream," a gravelly voice growled, "So you shall simply cease to be!"

Jack froze as he came to an entrance. The young Kryptonian looked inside and saw Megatron pointing his blaster at Starscream's helm. From the looks of things, the warlord was about to kill the SIC.

Arcee came up behind Jack, freezing as she saw the 'Cons. Megatron looked up at the two, a moment of silence passed…then Megatron began shooting at the Autobot and her partner.

Arcee dove forwards, knocking Jack out of the way.

"Stay down!" she yelled.

Megatron shot at the pillar the two were hiding behind mercilessly.

"When will he knock it off?" Jack muttered to himself, "Wait a minute…" he said mentally slapping himself. Why was he hiding?

Jack walked out from behind the wall lifting off the ground but to his surprise… The shots ceased for a moment.

"STARSCREAM!" Megatron roared, "You dare abandon me?"a blast shook the cavern.

Arcee shot at the warlord, Megatron turned around, trying to shoot at the duo. Jack shot forward, aiming to rip his cannon from his arm when a stray shot slammed into his chest, knocking him back into the wall.

"Jack!" Arcee yelled and leaned out of cover firing at the warlord who would dare hurt him. Several shots collided with Megatrons arm, pushing it upward until he fired several shots into the ceiling. Suddenly, the cavern began to rumble, shaking violently.

Arcee stumbled, looking back at Jack, who was just starting to get off the ground. His chest hurt from the blast, and not the usual light sting he got from a blaster shot. Like seriously hurt, as if he'd been burned. But that didn't make sense, he knew he could take a blaster shot, what would make this any different?

Jack had no time to figure out this development as the cavern began to shake even more violently. One of the spires cracked off from the ceiling, burying Megatron beneath it, cracks began to form in the ground, and they snaked towards Arcee. The earthquake was destroying the cavern!

"Scrap!" Arcee hissed as she backed up. Right as the ground gave in where she was standing.

"Arcee!" he called out… Right as the crack came for him.

He didn't even have time to scream as the Earth swallowed him, unable to get into the sky as he was buried under tons of rubble...

A/N: Trololololol CLIFFHANGER! Oh man only two chapters in and I already have a cliffhanger. Granted most of you already have probably figured out which episode it is that this takes place in but still. You guys let me know what you think of Kara's costume and her sparring match with her brother, as I'm not sure entirely what to do with her yet… Okay that's a lie I do know, but I want to hear your opinions! Anyway, don't forget to review with critique or to PM me with plot based questions or ideas! Bye!