I'm unsure if any of you knew, but the first few chapters (aside from 'Rhiannon' and 'BREAK') are named after classical-style music pieces. However, now that the 'Rhiannon' chapter is out of the way, I'm moving onto naming the chapters after actual songs which I feel embody the chapter. A few verses of the lyrics will also be included, like they were in 'Rhiannon'.
Again, I can't thank all of you enough for your support. I'm really glad you're all liking this story so far!
Review, follow, favorite... whatever you want, just let me know what you all think so far- I love hearing your views and opinions!
Don't get me started on what it means to be alive
You're lying to yourself and then you still act surprised
'Cause you're scared
Can't come to terms with what you are
The wolves in sheep's clothing will only lead you so far
Sam's task from Lena had been relatively simple; take Bright-Eyes... er, Rhiannon... home, watch her until Lena got something set up for her. Sam wasn't sure why the girl was so important- especially when it had taken Sam nearly half an hour to get her into a car. The process had been difficult, like trying to coax a wounded animal onto a trailer or something. With the way Rhiannon reacted when expected to climb into the car, one might as well assume she'd been sentenced to death. The ordeal had frustrated Sam, but from what she knew about Rhiannon the girl had reason to be distrustful. With what she'd seen... thinking of Rhiannon's memories just seemed to make Sam even more uncomfortable. Sam stole a worried glance at Rhiannon, who looked sick and uneasy. The dark bags beneath her eyes, along with the bruising and the disheveled hair, made Rhiannon look like a drug dealer. Rhiannon licked her cracked lips, her own eyes darting uneasily toward Sam. Supergirl, for some reason, had been extremely hesitant to let Sam take Rhiannon with her- or even let Lena allow Rhiannon to leave the building. Why Supergirl had finally allowed Rhiannon to leave was beyond Sam, but Sam wasn't sure if she was glad Supergirl had let her take Rhiannon or uneasy. To Sam, from a mother's perspective, Rhiannon just seemed scared.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked softly, glancing toward Rhiannon. Rhiannon glanced toward her hands- Sam's eyes, although they should've been on the road, followed Rhiannon's. True to Rhiannon's memories, the younger girl's knuckles were split and bruised.
"I..." Rhiannon took in a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. Is she getting motion sickness? Sam wondered, hoping Rhiannon wouldn't puke in her car. "What... what is this contraption again?" Rhiannon asked breathlessly.
"It's... a car." Sam said, suppressing a laugh. Sam knew she shouldn't laugh at Rhiannon's innocence, but in a way it was cute. Rhiannon frowned, her face crinkling for a moment- was it just Sam, or did Rhiannon make the exact same face Kara made when she was confused?- before she just shook her head and looked out the window.
"I don't like it." Rhiannon decided after a moment. "It's so..." She shuddered, making a gagging noise. "Aggravating."
"Do you feel sick?" Sam asked, unable to help the concern ebbing into her tone, but Rhiannon's facial expression told Sam the answer. Needless to say, Sam had to pull over quite a few times on the way home.
"I shouldn't of let her go." Kara sighed, shaking her head as she folded her muscled arms over her chest. She began to pace, her eyes cast down at the ground in obvious confusion- or was it anger? Lena couldn't tell, but she wasn't sure how she would react at the moment. Lena couldn't tell if Kara was distressed because she'd just learned she had a daughter, or because Lena had asked Sam to take home some dangerous fugitive- even if Rhiannon hadn't seemed to be dangerous anymore, or at least at the moment. And still, even though Lena was upset about the situation she couldn't stay angry at Kara forever.
"I'm sorry, Kara," Lena admitted, "I really am. But from what I was told she was pretty distraught when Heather found her. I don't think calling Alex, or sending her back to a place where she's going to get poked and prodded again, is a very wise idea. She's... well, I don't know what she's been through. But I sent a sample of her blood to the lab, and I'll let you know as soon as it's complete."
"That's not what I'm worried about, Lena." Kara laughed dryly, humorlessly. "We don't know if she's being honest, we don't know what she's entirely capable of. What if you just put Sam in danger? Or Ruby?" Lena raised her chin, her eyes narrowing slightly. At that, Kara's gaze softened, but the concern was still prominent in her eyes. "All I'm saying is what if we've done the wrong thing, Lee?"
"I don't know, Kara." Lena admitted. "I don't know what'll happen if we're in the wrong. I won't pretend to know. But I'm very certain Rhiannon won't harm anyone, I don't think she ever wanted to." Kara gave Lena an odd look as she shook her head and sighed, turning around.
"I used to think the same thing, Lena. But sometimes thinking that way gets you in trouble, or puts those you care about in trouble." Kara muttered, shaking her head. As she did so, Kara's blonde curls bounced. As Lena approached Kara again, settling a hand upon her shoulder, she could see the similarities between Rhiannon and Kara- namely the muscle, the way they both radiated power, the facial expressions... Lena knew Rhiannon wasn't lying, Lena was rather gifted at discerning truths from lies.
"You don't think I know that, Kara?" Lena asked quietly, a hurt look in her eyes. "I'm a Luthor, and a CEO. I think I'd know that thinking that way gets you and others in trouble." Lena folded her arms over her chest this time, watching Kara incredulously. "I know you're upset, Kara, and you're confused but-"
"You think?" Kara laughed again, the sound dry and hoarse. "I've got a daughter, Lena. She's been suffering this whole time, and I.. I don't know! How can we trust her? How can we even believe what she says is true?"
Lena just stared at Kara, a pensive look upon her features. Kara was right, they couldn't trust Rhiannon- especially since the girl had attacked the city and tried to take Lena's life. But even so, Lena knew there was more to Rhiannon than that- she was more than some murderous creature, and Lena was not about to let this girl go back to being a test subject. "You're right." Lena said after a few moments. "We can't trust her. Not yet, anyway. Like I said, Kara, we're testing her blood- we should know who and what she is within a matter of days."
Kara pursed her lips and shook her head. "It's not enough. I want her to stay with me. I need to keep an eye on her, and Sam can't be the one to do that. Sam can't stop her if something happens."
"Phillips," Lex says to the shorter, petite woman, "this is it. The subject I was talking about." The woman's eyes bear into KR-12, her lips drawing into a tight line as she glares at KR-12. Something tells KR-12 that this woman does not like her.
"Yes," Phillips says, her voice strained, "this is the one we created from Kara Zor-El. Subject Kryptonian Remnant-12, she's the only survivor of the Kryptonian trials." Lex glances at Phillips, an eyebrow drawing upward at her words.
"The only survivor? What makes her so special, Phillips?" Lex asks, his eyes back upon KR-12. KR-12 likes Lex, he is friendly and keeps in mind that KR-12 speaks Kryptonian. She still hasn't learned English at this point. Phillips purses her lips again before she speaks.
"We don't know. Out of the twelve experiments, she was the only one whose brain didn't just... well.. explode. The other half of her genetics was extracted from the Remnants in Miss Prince's artifacts."
"From Wonder Woman, huh?" Lex muses, his eyes glinting. "Anyhow, this is the one we shall proceed with. I'm sure she's worth it." Phillips clenches her jaw, obviously upset by this decision as she glares hatefully at KR-12- who stares back obliviously, her bright eyes full of innocence and curiosity.
"This mutt? Why not your own-"
"Phillips," Lex snaps, "this is the girl I want to start Phase One with. If you can't handle that, you can turn in your two weeks notice." Phillips closes her mouth, still glaring at KR-12. But Lex speaks again, and this time in a language that KR-12 understands. KR-12, this is Miss Phillips. Would you like to work with us for a little while? Help us out?
KR-12 brightens up at this, and she nods eagerly. I like helping.
Good, Lex smiles, you'll do lots of helping.
"This better pay off, Lex." Phillips growls as she stalks away. Two men come into KR-12's cell, slapping a pair of weird cuffs around her slim wrists. Lex follows the men and KR-12 as they take her to a strange white room filled with metal tables, shiny counters, and silver tools that KR-12 has never seen before. KR-12 begins to grow increasingly nervous as they settle her on one of the metal tables, strapping her wrists to the table.
I'm good, KR-12 says frantically, her eyes filled with fear, don't hurt!
I know, Lex says, you're helping. The men give KR-12 a shot, and she falls asleep.
Rhiannon opened her eyes, her hands shaking against her knees. She was sitting cross-legged on the guest bed Sam had had made up for her, her hands now clutching her knees as she took in a shaking breath. Her knuckles were slightly bruised still, and her wounds had not yet healed, but Rhiannon decided she'd be fine. Her brilliant, glittering eyes stared down at the pale sheets just as a knock sounded at the door. Rhiannon's eyes snapped up to see Sam, a curious look upon her face. Either Sam was going to ask Rhiannon how she was doing, or there was going to be bad news. Either was plausible, though Rhiannon preferred the first option.
"I'm okay." Rhiannon blurted out. "You don't need to check up on me." The words weren't meant to be rude or mean, but Rhiannon was increasingly nervous around Sam and, well... everyone else. Sam blinked, offering Rhiannon a curious look, before she shook her head.
"Oh, I.. I'm not." Sam explained. "I, uh, was going to tell you that dinner is ready." Rhiannon blinked at Sam, a look of confusion washing over her features.
"... Dinner?" Rhiannon asked, tilting her head. "What's that?" Sam couldn't help but give a sharp, surprised laugh which startled Rhiannon and caused her to draw back a little.
"I'm sorry," Sam said immediately, "I don't mean to poke fun at you. It's just.. haven't you ever had dinner before? Or lunch? Or breakfast?"
"I.. don't know what those are." Rhiannon muttered, glancing back down at her hands. "I really don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, well," Sam walked across the room, wringing her hands together as she sat on the edge of the bed, "they're called meals. Didn't anyone feed you when you were.. y'know.." Sam wasn't sure how to word the question. Sure, she was a mother.. but hell, Ruby hadn't gone through any of this, and Sam didn't know how to help a test tube baby.. but the look on Rhiannon's face gave Sam a clear answer. Slowly, hesitantly, Sam placed a gentle hand upon Rhiannon's shoulder. "I'm sorry, for whatever they did to you. But you're safe now, and I'm sure Lena will take care of you." Rhiannon didn't say anything, she just gave a tiny nod as she tried not to flinch away from Sam's touch. This was a girl, Sam reminded herself, who had spent her entire life- however short it might've been- behind bars and under a knife. Rhiannon was bound to be scared and timid after that, and so Sam made a mental note not to rush Rhiannon as she pulled away from Sam's touch. Sam also made a mental note to try and explain to Ruby who Rhiannon was and why Rhiannon was with them at the moment. Sure, it would be difficult- but it would be necessary in order to ensure Ruby or Rhiannon didn't do something wrong and get hurt.
"How's your arm?" Sam asked softly, motioning toward Rhiannon's bandaged bicep. Rhiannon glanced at it, her eyes still not meeting Sam's, as she spoke.
"It hurts," Rhiannon admitted, "but I think I'll be fine."
"Can I look at it?" Sam asked softly. "I might be able to clean it." She reached out toward Rhiannon, whose eyes widened as she sharply drew away. "Okay, okay.. no touching. It's okay. I won't hurt you." Sam said softly. "Can I at least give you something for the pain?"
"No." Rhiannon said sharply, shaking her head. "I.. don't want anything. I don't trust you." She said bluntly, and Sam was surprised that Rhiannon's words slightly hurt her. But still, Sam couldn't blame Rhiannon. Sam went to open her mouth, but just as she did so there was a knock at the door.
"I'll be right back." Sam told Rhiannon as she stood up. "Feel free to go into the kitchen and get something to eat. Alright?" Rhiannon nodded, but Sam could tell the girl wasn't going to move. Ruby was standing at the doorway, smiling as she chatted quietly with Kara. "Oh, hey Kara." Sam greeted. "I didn't know you were coming over."
"I didn't either." Kara offered a smile, although to Sam it looked a little pained. "I'm, ah, here for Rhiannon."