Chapter 9 – A Garden of Simulations
J'onzz Castle – Kingdom of Mars
Two large burly men escort James Olsen roughly into a tiled room. "Disrobe prisoner!" One of the men says harshly. James does as he is told. The other guard hands him a bucket of water, a rag and a bar of yellow soap. "Wash" says the guard. James complies. Relishing the sight of the grime being washed off his body, James begins to feel like himself again. He observes his surroundings more closely and determines he can easily overpower the guards. One of the guards leaves and James decides to strike, but before he can make his move the other guard returns. The guard is carrying a change of clothes. "Put it on" he says. James takes the clothes and puts them on. The clothes are a white tunic and a pair of white draw string pants. The guard also gives him back his bronze sword now sheathed in a fine leather scabbard. James, now confused asks, "where are you taking me?" "Come with us and see" the second guard says.
They lead James towards the most beautiful garden he has ever seen. All the trees and plants seem to be covered in a clear crystal like ice. In the middle is a statue of The Lady of Virtue. The statue is an eight foot slab of translucent yellow quartz, it seemingly has no human characteristics but there are calculated chunks missing throughout the slab.
Approaching the statue James can feel a humming sensation throughout his body. He falls to his knees when he can see the 'face' of the statue. Looking into two protruding shards he can swear they are looking directly at him. James begins to feel dizzy when he hears a clear voice. It's good to see you James. How are you feeling? James blinks several times then he realizes that he is hearing the voice in his head. Have I finally gone mad? Why does this statue look like CJ's sister? Where is CJ? Is she okay? Am I dead - is this some sort ofpurgatory? James muses. It looks like me because it is me, She's fine, you're in a stasis realm and sane for the moment. You're here to help J'onn escape. James can feel a burning in his chest. "But how?" James questions silently. "There will be an obstacle that you must help him overcome, if you are successful then you both will be free, if not then you will be lost forever in this realm. Keep your sword with you at all times, the threat will strike when you least expect it." The voice fades and James closes his eyes.
To the guards James is on his knees with his hands folded in a supplication position. There are tears rolling down his face and he is shaking. The statue appears to glow and hum. James has a look of pure ecstasy on his face. Suddenly his eyes close and he falls to the ground. James lays dead still but the guards make no move to assist him. An hour passes when one of the guards decides to approach. "Hey - leave him! He's not dead and he's not bleedin. The general said to stay with him until he can stand again." The guard nods and goes back to his place. As if roused by the voices James sits up. With both hands on his heart he rises to his feet. "Take me to the king."
Present day. Lena Luthor's Laboratory – National City.
"Why are you always in your Lab?" Alex asks casually while working on a sample of the cure for Kara. Lena, too tired to lie says, "Loneliness – it helps me assuage my loneliness," her tone is matter of fact and weary. Alex nods in understanding. "Tea?" she asks and Lena nods gratefully. The sequencer buzzer goes off.
Alex pours Lena's tea and adds two drops of honey and a ¼ teaspoon of lemon juice. Lena watches her with a slightly bewildered gaze – she knowshow I take my tea she thinks to herself. Alex places the tea in front of her and squeezes her shoulder. "Life is best lived out loud Lena – hiding makes everything shit," Alex says over her shoulder. Lena nods smiling "Duly noted sensei, duly noted." Alex opens the sequencer and removes the samples. Walking back to the testing station she places half of the samples in front of Lena, then walks back to her testing station.
Half way through examining the samples Lena leaves her station and picks up her guitar. She begins to play the slow retro blues tune Our love by Gary Clark. She looks calmly out the window, swaying gently. Alex notices a change in the sample as she listens to Lena play. Looking up from her microscope she watches Lena sway and wishes Lena was playing for her. As if hearing the request Lena turns around and walks slowly towards Alex. She stops playing a few feet from were Alex is sitting. Alex claps enthusiastically, Lena blushes and smiles shyly.
"So?" Alex motions her over and points to the sample she is working on. Lena rests her guitar on it's stand and eagerly approaches Alex's station. Looking through the microscope Lena smiles. "This is actually promising! What did you do - the sequence looks different?" Alex shrugs and laughs, "It's all you PAL!" Lena giggles somewhat hysterically, "We cracked it!" "You cracked it," Alex says pulling her into a giddy hug.
Alex means to let her go. But as Lena relaxes into her embrace and buries her nose in Alex's neck, Alex can't help pressing herself into Lena's fragrant softness. Inhaling sharply Alex then lets her go abruptly. Lena looks at Alex curiously. "What?" Alex says anxiously. Lena rolls her eyes, "Nothing Alex, it's nothing," she turns away and walks toward the couch. "Looks like we should share this with Kara" she says absently. Settling herself on the couch she pinches the bridge of her nose wearily. She can feel a wave of tiredness overtaking her, she stares blankly a head - catatonic.
Alex, worried by Lena's expression approaches slowly. Settling beside her Alex reaches out- Lena gets up and begins to pace. Alex runs a hand through her hair. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." Lena stops pacing. "Alex..." She looks at Alex with a raw hunger that makes Alex's heart stop. Rising from the couch, and not breaking eye contact, Alex finds herself in front of Lena.
Lena's hands find their delicate way to Alex's neck, her heart races as she then presses her lips to Alex's. A pent up passion is set loose as their kiss deepens. Lena, feeling a driving heat between her legs, tilts her pelvis forward causing Alex to moan at the subtle contact.
Alex has no idea how they end up on the couch, were her shirt disappears to, or why the sight of Lena Luthor on top of her excites her so much. Lena has her lips buried in Alex's neck when a familiar voice rings out from across the room. "I see you're trying out a new method of testing!" Lena groans into Alex's neck and whispers, "How did she get in?" Alex strokes her back and shrugs. Letting out an exasperated sigh Lena sits up, putting on Alex's shirt she then tosses Alex her sweater. Alex smiles at the sight of Lena in her David Bowie t-shirt.
The pair rise slowly from the couch and walk towards a very testy Cat Grant. "We have a viable treatment" they say in unison. Cat looks at them not impressed, "I've heard this before and then two weeks later Kara is having night seizures, and coughing up blood!" Alex clinches her jaw and Lena squeezes Alex's arm as she feels her tensing. Before Alex can succumb to her rage Lena says, "You're right, we'll take the treatment over now and see how she reacts to it." Alex looks at Lena appalled. "But we still have to test it - this is reckless!" Alex says angrily to Cat. "True, but I can't stand to see her in pain any longer," Cat says her voice cracking. Alex's expression softens immediately and she puts her arm around Cat. Looking at Lena, she nods. Lena packs up the samples and turns out the lights in the lab. "Now let's bring Kara home for good."
The Library. J'onzz castle - Kingdom of Mars.
"So what is the theme of the ball?" Kara asks Alexandra cheerily. In the corner a small mountain lion frolics on the rug near the fire, Kara looks on adoringly. Alexandra smiles, "New friendship." "What a splendid theme!" Kara claps excitedly. "We can introduce James to the court!" Alexandra looks at Kara harshly. "No we will not - he is a prisoner and clearly a spy!" Kara rolls her eyes. "He went into the Crystal Garden and was visited by the Lady of Virtue herself - how can he be a spy? Scripture says "Of those who find me in the garden treat them as the cherished and praise them in the song of your beating heart..." "Since when are you a scholar of the Virtue Texts?" "Since Lady Catherine of the house of Grant accepted our proposal" Kara says slyly, Alexandra rolls her eyes. "When will your obsession with Lady Catherine end?" Kara smiles, "when I am a praised song in her beating heart of course." Alexandra shakes her head in disgust. "How many times has she spurned your offers of friendship and kindness? The woman is clearly an embittered shrew! Save your kind graces for those who deserve it." Kara sputters red faced and shaking, "Like who- The Chancellor, a head of state that suffers from grand delusions? One who would be like Rao himself? Who would cloak their arrogance in the Grand tapestry of The Lady of Virtue herself?!" Alexandra laughs and falls into a chair. "It would seem that we are both ensnared by uncommon women! Dear sister you must learn to love the Chancellor for she may be my wife in the future, and I suspect the widow Grant will be your lover soon enough, so I promise to do the same!" Alexandra starts to chuckle again. "You are going to marry her - for the Love of Rao why? So she can kill you in your sleep? The Luthors are known for their treachery and their malice. Do you think she has forgotten that you literally took the hand of their last King? This is madness - we must consult father at once!" Before Alexandra can protest Kara has left and is running in the direction of the throne room. Alexandra follows slowly and wonders if her sister is right...
Present day. D.E.O – Laboratory
Lena looks at Kara's monitors and the data that is syncing to her laptop. What is that blueish layer around her cells? Lena muses. Lena applies various simulations to the data coming from Kara's monitors. On a whim she decides to run the data from the Berlin experiment against Kara's current data. Seeing that there are potential ways to apply the Berlin data she designs a program to run a multi-layered simulation. Three hours later the program is done and running the simulation.
Lena grabs her guitar and walks down the hall to Kara's room. Entering the room quietly she looks down at her friend. Kara's face is unusually pale and the tattoo on her wrist seems to have grown darker. Lena draws a chair close to the bed and begins to play softly. She thinks of the months of work that have gone into the latest treatment and then she thinks of Alex. Smiling she thinks of Alex's warm brown eyes, and the way her hands-
"Lee?" Kara calls out from her hospital bed. Lena stops strumming her guitar. "Good morning Kara – how do you feel?" Lena says setting down her guitar and perching herself on the edge of the bed. "Good, really good - no nightmares, though Alex and I were just arguing over you and I think I upset her - where is she? And where is Cat? And where am I?" Lena chuckles at the barrage of answers, "She's on her way, Alex is in a meeting and you're still at the D.E.O." Kara squints her eyes slightly and sniffs the air, "Is that Alex's t-shirt?" Lena's cheeks redden slightly, suddenly Cat Grant comes breezing through the door, "Sweetheart you're awake! How are you feeling?" Kara's face breaks into a giddy smile, "Babe! I feel so much better, though the air tastes like bubble gum and anchovies. Wow you smell so good, and have you always been so soft..."
Lena slips out of the room quickly to come face to face with Alex. "Is Kara up?" "Yeah, but Cat is in with her – are you hungry?" "Are you cooking?" Alex says suggestively. Lena giggles, "Only if you agree to help." Alex puts her arm around Lena and kisses her cheek, "For you Ms. Luthor anything!"
Throne Room J'onzz Castle – Kingdom of Mars
Kara finds the king on his thrown sifting through various scrolls as he speaks with James. She slows her pace and listens to their conversation. "So our Blessed Lady revealed to you that you are here to guide me to a long lost land, and that we must guard against a looming new threat?" James nods, "Yes your majesty." "You are a man who claims to be from an unknown land, who has suddenly undergone a religious conversion that has rendered you utterly loyal to a king you do not know? Has all sense left your mind? These fantastic tales of yours will not convince me to part with my gold in order to protect myself from some "new" threat. Such lunacy might work on the rulers of the Lunar Republic but not in the kingdom of Mars!" The king glares at James. Mopping his brow James falls to one knee, "You are no stranger to me your majesty, in the land I come from you are a great hero, from a foreign world, with uncommon powers that you use in service of the people. Your generosity stems from a great sadness. The sadness of your wife and daughters lives claimed by a vicious war – one that saw your beloved father imprisoned for an eternity, and you expelled... If you see my devotion as a delusion – why not use it? Goh zazukrarum ha zazukra - murr (If the truth is not true then I am for death)" The scrolls drop from the kings hands and he rises from his throne slowly.
