AN – Thank you for your continued reading and following this story. I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it. I apologize once again for the long delay in updating. Life is still crazy and I'm trying to squeeze writing time in when I can, which isn't nearly as often as I'd like. Please review and let me know what you're thinking, and by all means, please enjoy!
Chapter 6
Laurel looked over at Joe, clad head to toe in black, like the rest of the DEO Incursion Team, and studied his face. His pleasant features were hardened in a grim mask of determination, and his eyes blazed with the fires of indignant and righteous fury whenever he turned his dark gaze towards her. In ways, he reminded her of Oliver, when they were closing in on someone who'd perpetuated some terrible wrong and needed to be put down, and put down right then. The way he stared at the Lord Technologies building in front of them, she was surprised he hadn't burned a hole through the wall.
She'd learned quite a bit about the mysterious Joe Swift over the past several hours, though she knew these were only things that were near the surface, things he may not be necessarily willing to reveal, but would in just this sort of circumstance. Laurel had no illusions that what she didn't know was far, far more than what she did know. Still, from what little she may have gleaned, she knew he was an honest, fair, just and honorable man, and that he had some sort of strong friendship with Supergirl. She also knew that all his virtues would probably be outweighed by his anger and outrage at the billionaire asshole that had brought harm to his friend, and National City's heroine. Not that she could blame him. Some things were just too wrong on too many levels to let slide or go easy on, and this was one of them.
"You sure about this?" she asked, drawing a deep, slow breath. She met his eyes as he turned towards her, continuing, "There's probably an army of well trained security in there, not to mention whatever technological protections Max has probably come up with for just this sort of occasion. You don't gun for Supergirl without knowing you're going to draw some serious heat for it. No matter how goddamned crazy you've become."
She knew that Maxwell Lord's private little army probably outnumbered them at least three to one. Guys like this didn't like leaving themselves open, especially when they were as crazy and paranoid as it seemed like Max was. There was a very real chance of serious casualties tonight, on both sides, and as inflamed as she was, that thought gave her pause. She didn't want to see anyone hurt. Wait a minute, she thought, tightening her fists. That's not entirely true. I want to see Max hurt. The others are just incidental bystanders.
Joe stared at her in silence for a few endless seconds, and Laurel could see the fires swirling and churning in his eyes. Finally, he replied, "I know there's a lot of unknowns, and even more possibilities in there, waiting for us. His army are just a bunch of guys that get paid to protect him. There's only so much loyalty and bravery money can buy. Sure, you're going to have that one crackpot that's loyal to the core, maybe a couple, but most of them will tuck tail and run when they see what sort of danger they're in." His eyes traveled to the team leader, who was signaling for them all to get ready, the breach was coming very soon. "Besides, the more I have to work to get to him, and the harder it is to get to him, the more pissed off I'm going to be when I finally get my hands on him. All the crazy genius intellect in the world isn't going to keep him from feasting on a fist or two then."
Laurel nodded solemnly. She understood Joe's anger, and where it came from. She was angry herself. She was furious. But if her time with Oliver and Team Arrow had taught her anything, it was to fight smart, think tactically, and be aware of everything around you at all times. Never underestimate your opponent, and never overestimate yourself. These were lessons she'd learned the hard way, and it had almost cost her her life more than once.
She knew that Joe had training, she'd seen it in the way he'd moved when they were fighting that drone. Even so, she hoped very much that he didn't have those same lessons to learn that had taken Laurel so long herself to learn. All the training in the world can't help you if you make a bad enough mistake, and the chances of making such a mistake tonight were pretty high.
She hoped Alex would have some luck helping Supergirl. Laurel was no expert or doctor, but even she knew that the darkening green tint of Supergirl's skin meant nothing good. It felt odd, being hit so strongly by a deadly plight of someone you hadn't even officially met, but Laurel knew her by her reputation, by the news reports of all the good she had done. She'd seen the young woman's character in the rare interviews she gave, heard the true compassion and just plain goodness in her voice, seen it in her face and eyes. Though she'd never actually met her, she felt as if she knew Supergirl in that instinctive way that you know someone will be a good friend. The thought that her light may possibly be extinguished by someone as crazed and corrupt as Maxwell Lord made her blood boil.
She barely knew Alex as well, but she felt there was some sort of very close connection between her and Supergirl, some sort of bond that went beyond merely working together, or even friendship. It was evident in the DEO agent's eyes, in the sound of her voice. She had a conviction to help Supergirl, regardless of the cost, that spoke volumes to an ear that was listening. Laurel felt confident that if anyone could help Supergirl, it would be Alex. And Lord help Maxwell Lord if she failed.
Movement caught her attention and she glanced up. The team leader was giving the ready sign. Everyone nodded curtly once to show their readiness. Laurel and Joe followed suit. A few heartbeats later, the team leader signaled the advance, and the team began moving in rapidly, taking the building from several vantage points. A few seconds later, the alarms started going off. The battle was joined. Let slip the dogs of war and cry havoc, Laurel thought as she launched herself into the fray. Your ass belongs to us, Maxwell Lord!
X
"All right, what did Stein tell you?" Hank asked, crossing his arms as he stood beside Alex outside the solar chamber. They were both looking in at the still form of Supergirl lying on the table under the emitters. Her green coloring had gotten worse, and it was obvious that the poisoning was penetrating her bodily defenses rapidly. Hank focused his eyes on Alex, not wanting to look at the dying Kryptonian on the table. For all his gruffness, Supergirl meant more to him that he let on. He viewed Supergirl much as he would a daughter, just as he did Alex. He'd promised Alex's father that he'd look after them, and in doing so, became attached to them in much the same way.
Alex sighed, and brushed an errant strand of hair back from her face. The plight of her sister, the mad scramble seeking solutions, and the pressure of having a rapidly expiring window of time were all weighing down on Alex like a billion tons of steel. She looked like she hadn't slept in a month, and truth be told, she felt even worse, but that wasn't going to stop her. It wasn't going to keep her from exhausting every single possible way to save her sister that she could find.
"Basically, he gave me a double edged sword," she replied finally, in a very tired voice, but not defeated, at least not yet. "He said based on the data that I sent him, and what data he had concerning Superman when he had been Kryptonite poisoned, that the solar chamber probably couldn't generate enough yellow solar energy rapidly enough to power through the Kryptonite. His idea was that if we could get her closer, much closer to the actual sun, or ideally a hotter star, like a white or blue star, it would work. Unfortunately, there's no way in hell to get her closer to the sun in time, or to protect her until we got her there, let alone achieving the impossible and getting her to another star."
Hank frowned, and nodded slowly. He was no astronomer, but he knew that the closest white star was several light years away, and the closest blue star was even further. Alex didn't have to tell him that in her weakened state, Supergirl would burn up when she got too close to the sun, because her invulnerability was negated by the Kryptonite that was slowly killing her. We're damned if we do, and damned if we don't, he thought sourly, wishing he had Maxwell Lord's neck in his hands right then.
"There's got to be some way to do something," Hank growled, looking impotently around the lab, hoping for a spark of an idea, for anything that might even suggest a possibility of a way to save the Kryptonian. "She stores solar energy in her cells, like a battery, like her cousin does, doesn't she? Can we set the emitters to maximum and let her cells build up yellow solar energy until they eventually burn through the poisoning?"
Alex's weary face looked thoughtful. "Yes, she does. The problem is that the emitters can't burn at maximum nearly long enough to allow her to store that much energy. They'd burn out long before she reached the threshold capacity." She suddenly snapped up, and started tapping keys on the keyboard of the computer terminal in front of her rapidly.
This went on for several seconds, with Hank watching complex equations fill the screen and change at Alex's manipulation. The young woman burned with the intense concentration of a laser sight as she worked at the computer. It was obvious that Alex thought she was onto something, but he wasn't sure what it could be. "What is it?" he finally asked, curiosity getting the better of him. "Have you found a way?"
"Maybe," answered Alex, looking unsure, but hopeful. Hope was all she needed, though, and that was enough to keep her going. "Every star burns hotter and brighter at its core than it does on its surface, and surrounding corona," she said thoughtfully, studying some figures on the screen still.
The Director of the DEO frowned, rubbing his jaw lightly as he listened. "Yes, that's true, they do," he said slowly, wondering where Alex was going with this. "But you said it yourself, its impossible to get Supergirl closer to the sun to be close enough where the energy would overtake the poisoning. If you can't get her closer to even the corona, how would you possibly get her to the core?"
Alex was moving rapidly now, using up to four computer terminals almost at once, moving back and forth between them entering information. "That's just it, we may not have to," she replied, her voice starting to pep up as she continued to work. She was moving so fast her fingers were a blur.
"I'm not sure I follow you, Alex," said Hank slowly, getting almost dizzy watching her move so animatedly. He'd never seen her react quite this way before to anything, and seeing it now was both awe inspiring and unsettling.
Never missing a beat, Alex continued to tap in her computations to the computer as she elaborated, "The solar chamber is designed to mimic the natural light given off by the sun, generating yellow solar energy. But its limited, both to material strength and design, and resistors, as well as power governing at the source. The limits are imposed to protect both the components and the chamber, and us as well."
She was starting to make a little more sense to Hank's ears as he listened, but he wasn't entirely convinced he knew what she was gearing up towards. "Right," he said heavily, never taking his eyes off Alex's. "The limits are what keeps the solar chamber from working under these circumstances. So where does the solar chamber come into all this?"
Alex laughed, she actually laughed. From the sound of it, she could have been simply elated, or possibly even mad. "I've got a theory," she said with grave intonation, "but its just a theory, but its the only thing that stands a chance at working. What Kara needs is a full charge of yellow solar energy, right now. If we amp up the generator to full power, unfettered, and remove the resistors from the chamber, and if I adjust the amplitude and wavelength of the emitters to project that energy in the form of white or blue solar energy, we can build the power up and give her a single, massive burst of energy, akin to the reaction in a star when it hits supernova." The young scientist was practically whooping at this point.
Hank wasn't sure she wasn't going mad at this point. Skeptically, he tilted his head, "And what about Kara? That sort of explosive burst would disintegrate her in her condition. There wouldn't be anything left to save." Hank was seconds away from calling in the psych team to have her put under observation until she regained her senses.
Alex, however, seemed oblivious to Hank's obvious reservations. She continued in a rising voice, "That's the beauty of science and how her powers work, Hank. In order for something to be disintegrated, the cells of the object being disintegrated needs to absorb the energy to past their capacity to hold it, which immediately breaks them down and reduces them to atomic particles. This burst will fill Kara's cells immediately to capacity with the solar energy she needs in order for her powers to work. Once she's at a threshold where the energy overpowers the poison, her powers will kick back in and start working again. The poison will burn out, and her invulnerability will already be in effect by the time the solar energy would have disintegrated her, which will negate the disintegration, and return her to full power in one big pop."
The Martian stood dumbfounded for a moment, listening to Alex, and frowned. Her words were still echoing in his mind, and he examined her theory from start to finish with extreme skepticism. That skepticism eroded very quickly, and finally disappeared in a matter of seconds. "How long would it take to set that up so it could be done?" he asked tentatively.
Alex thought for a few seconds, then shrugged. "If you give me two full teams, a little less than an hour, probably," she answered, her face growing serious again. "But there are consequences and drawbacks. While it'll almost certainly help Kara, the burst will absolutely destroy the chamber, the equipment and half the compound, not to mention overload and black out half of National City. This lab is shielded with pure Promethium, so it'd be safe, but everything around it, not so much."
J'Onn J'Onzz of Mars, disguised as the human Hank Henshaw, exhaled slowly as he stared at the instruments for a long moment, obviously weighing possibilities and consequences. When he looked up, his eyes were unreadable. "It's a good thing that the lab and solar chamber are on the edge of the compound, away from where personnel are usually located, then. Take what you need, and set it up. Blackouts can be fixed, and equipment can be replaced. Do it."
Alex didn't need to hear any more. She immediately ordered teams to start work on the modifications and she finalized her calculations.
X
A laser beam screamed past Joe's ear as he whirled, his foot striking a security guard in the jaw hard, sending him cart wheeling to the side. A pile of security guys, unconscious or unable or unwilling to stand due to injuries lay scattered around him. Picking up one of the security guards' weapons, he shot at the emitter firing the laser and hit it on the second shot, fusing it into useless metal. Fancy laser ray guns these guys have. Only the best when you work for Lord Technologies, I guess, he thought sourly. I feel like I'm in the middle of Star Trek or Star Wars, instead of National City.
Fights were going on all around him, as the DEO Incursion Team fought off the superior numbers of Lord Technologies security guards, plus the automated defense systems in the place. A loud screeching was heard from over his right shoulder, and he turned to see Laurel using her Canary Cry on a squad of the security guys, sending them to their knees in pain instantly. What guards didn't succumb to the sonic assault were rapidly dispatched by her hands, feet, and tonfa baton.
The woman knows how to fight, that's for damned sure, thought Joe as he swept the legs out from under a guard, and rolled to elbow him in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious, then rolling from a shot from both a guard and the automated defense system, the lasers striking the polished floor, leaving a jagged pothole where he had been.
In the corner of his eye, he saw Maxwell Lord himself at the top of the staircase, punching buttons on a hand held device, and yelling some sort of crazy nonsense as the fight continued. He immediately started directing his fights in that direction, aiming to climb the stairs and dispatch Lord as quickly as he could. He was tired of the cat and mouse stuff.
Guards fell like dominos around him as he made his way towards the stairs, dodging deadly laser blasts from the automated defenses at the same time. More screeching and thuds told him that Black Canary had the same idea and was following right along with him. He smiled grimly as the screeching got suddenly louder, and a rain of metallic pieces fell from the ceiling where she'd destroyed an emitter array with her sonic attack.
The pair fought up the stairs, sending bodies flying, weapons reeling, and debris scattering all along the way. Bruised and bleeding, but determined, they fought their way through much greater numbers, leaving a trail of bloodied and injured men for hire in their wake. The look of surprise and shock on Maxwell Lord's face was priceless, and well worth the effort when they finally got through the last few guards near him. Behind them, the battle raged on between Lord's men and the DEO Incursion Team. The whine of lasers, bark of bullets, smacks of fists and feet and the groans of injured people was like some sick symphony of conflict to their ears.
Lord reacted by frantically punching buttons on the device in his hand, but immediately dropped it as it shattered into a million fragments, destroyed by the Black Canary's cry. His brows furrowed furiously, and he swung a fist at the rapidly advancing Joe Swift, catching him in the jaw, and turning his head hard to the right, a resounding smack punctuating the blow.
Joe saw the punch coming, but there was little he could do, he was already committed to his action, and he was too close in to effectively block it. His momentum would have disrupted his block attempt more than anything Lord could have done. Instead, he took the punch to the jaw, a rather solid punch at that, and let his head be carried to the right. Using that momentum, he spun rapidly as he went towards the ground, his heel striking the side and back of Lord's knee, sweeping his legs out from under him, sending him toppling backwards to the ground.
Lord hit the ground with a loud thud, and instantly Joe was regaining his feet. The simmering anger in his eyes was obvious to any who looked at him. The billionaire scrambled to get up, struggling to his feet, but Black Canary stepped forward, delivering a punishing side thrust kick to his face that sent his head hurtling back towards the floor, bouncing solidly off it.
While Lord was dazed, Joe seized the opportunity, as well as Lord's neck in his left hand, and squeezed hard on the throat and Adam's apple, causing even more excruciating pain to the crazed billionaire. The angry Cherokee drew back a fist and delivered three hard, crushing, savage blows to Lord's face, squeezing his throat all the tighter as he struck him. "You son of a bitch!" he yelled, and shook Lord by the throat like a wolf would shake a caught rabbit.
Lord, mouth and nose bleeding profusely, large bruises already starting to form on his swelling face, laughed almost giddily, and held up his hands as if in surrender. "You'll have to be more specific," he said smoothly. "I've done a lot of things people call me a son of a bitch for. Which thing, specifically, are you pissed off about?"
"You know what we're talking about!" answered Laurel, the anger showing in her face as well, her mask concealing part of it, but only part. "You tried to kill Supergirl!" Her hands gripped her tonfa that much tighter, itching to swing it, but managed to hold herself back from it. For now.
"Oh, that," Lord said dismissively. "So I take it she's not dead yet? Tsk, tsk. Damned aliens are like cockroaches. You stomp, crush and smash them, and somehow, they keep right on living. You can use every method available, but you never can quite get rid of them completely."
With a growl of rage, Joe punched him again in the face, hard, so hard as to the sound of a bone cracking was loud in the ears of those near. The Native choked him a little harder, and shook him like a rag doll. "Kryptonian, human, or from the far side of Pluto, she's still a person and killing someone is still murder. You might buy your way out of jail, and out of a trial, but you can't buy your way out of the ass kicking you're about to get."
Lord simply sneered up at the both of them, and laughed. "My, you're a dramatic fellow, aren't you? Oh, I'm so scared. Kick my ass, kick my ass please and show me how tough and righteous you are. What's your superhero name? Drama Queen?"
Rage welled up quick and hot in Joe, but Laurel put her hand on his shoulder, giving him a subtle shake of the head. Looking down at Max, shaking her head. "I'm afraid your luck has run out, Mr. Lord. You're not going to jail. You're going in with these guys." She nodded towards Agent Mendez, who was leading the team, and had approached the three of them since the fight seemed to be largely over.
The leader of the DEO team looked at the bleeding and bruised billionaire and shook his head in disgust. "Yeah, you're coming in with us. If it were up to me, I'd just turn my back and let Mr. Swift here do whatever he damned well pleased to you. But its your lucky day, because I've got orders to bring you back to base, so we can all make your life a living hell while you're incarcerated. No sense in letting Mr. Swift have all the fun, now, is there?"
The agents confined Lord effectively and efficiently as the two very tired heroes followed along slowly back to the helicopter. Joe was still raging inside at Lord, but he knew that he'd get at least some of what he deserved where he was going. That gave him some relief, at least. Glancing at Laurel, she returned his glance with a light smile. She was thinking similar thoughts.
With the loud whooshing of the chopper blades, the helicopters took off, heading back to the DEO base, their prize in tow. The lead pilot radioed in that they were headed home with the package wrapped tight.
X
"Where the hell is Kara?" boomed the angry voice of Cat Grant over the main offices, venom dripping from every syllable as she mangled the pronunciation of Kara's name yet again, as she always did. Workers slid down in their seats and looked around, hoping someone had some sort of an answer so Cat would stop storming the office every half hour or so, demanding the presence of her assistant.
Winn felt fear knot up in his stomach for the twelfth time that day as Cat was one more screaming for Kara. He turned in his seat and raised his hand hesitantly, looking towards the very imposing figure of his boss, a neat trick for such a small woman.
Cat spied him, and frowned even deeper. The barb to her words was just as sharp when she addressed him, "You're not in goddamned kindergarten, Wit. You don't have to raise your hand and wait your turn. Spill it. Out with it. Where the hell is she, what the hell is she doing, and why the hell is she not here where she's supposed to be?"
Winn inwardly winced as she got his name completely wrong, as usual, and yelled at him so directly. Sighing, he tried to keep his voice from quavering, "She...she's taking care of that gift you had her order for your son Carter's birthday party. They ordered the wrong item, and rather than let you see the item was wrong and get upset about the delay, she went to get it fixed so the proper item would be here quickly and spare you the headache of having to deal with that, Miss Grant." In his mind, he was praying fervently that she bought it.
Silence lingered for several seconds, much longer than anyone expected it to. Cat even actually blinked a couple of times before responding, "Oh. I see. How efficient and thoughtful of her. The very minute she gets back, tell her I wish to see her. Right then." With that, she turned sharply on her heel and stalked back into her office, the glass doors once again separating her from the masses. Everyone in the office breathed easier.
James Olsen, who had been standing near the elevator when this whole scene was happening, came quickly to Winn's desk, and spoke low, "That was quick thinking, Winn. How'd you know it was Carter's birthday party that was being planned?" He glanced towards Cat's office to make sure she wasn't about to head back out on another tirade.
The IT specialist shrugged, and smiled thinly, which evaporated quickly. "Easy. Kara mentioned it to me when she went out to get the thing, whatever it is. That wasn't long before the...the...the reports we saw," he finished, his voice growing thick. He was referring to the news footage of Supergirl, Black Canary, and the unknown guy fighting the drone near the parking garage. The report hadn't finished well at all.
James understood what the other man was feeling, and laid a friendly, supporting hand on his shoulder. He was worried, himself, but right now, he needed to be reassuring for Winn, who wasn't taking the possibility too well. "Hey, don't worry too much. Kara's tough, she's a fighter. A hero. She's a lot like her cousin, and Superman's been through this sort of thing several times. She'll be okay, when its over and done. She always comes out on top."
Winn tapped his desk idly with a pen, and nodded slowly, but it was obvious that his worry was outweighing his reassurance. "I sure hope so. That looked pretty...done. I don't know what would happen if something happened to Kara." The weight of the situation pressed hard on his shoulders. James sighed with him, hoping the same thing, thinking the same thing.
