Chapter Ten

Redwood Forest

Outside San Francisco

United States

08:56 - PDT

August 18, 2007

Galatea stared out of the window out into the trees. She was deeply lost in thought, dwelling not only on what she had told Clara who manned the nearby fire lookout tower but about the acts of murder that she had committed.

It sent her skin cold when she remembered the joy, the thrill of taking someone's life. How easy it had been. The bone and flesh of a human were like old decaying plaster. It crumbled and tore with barely any effort and they were so slow, unable to move with any sort of speed at all and definitely not enough to get away.

There was nowhere they could hide as she could see through walls, no way they could defend themselves as she was hundreds, maybe thousands of times stronger than them. It was life snuffed out with almost a yawn.

Now she felt bile in her gut when she thought back to it. How cold she had been, how Emil, the man she saw as her father couldn't look at her when she came back from these assassination missions.

Galatea wondered where it had begun to change. When the guilt had started. No, she didn't have to wonder, because she knew. It was the connection she had, that she still had with Supergirl, or Kara, or perhaps even Argo as she was called now.

Their connection had re-established itself a few months back but had gone dormant again. She sometimes had dreams of the Watchtower as though she was there, but she knew they could be echoes of what Kara was doing at the time. It unsettled her and she wanted to find out what was causing it.

Back when she had first started feeling the guilt, she hated it. She wanted to destroy Supergirl so that she no longer had to feel the pain. Then, after the first battle with her progenitor, the connection had seemingly ended.

During that battle, there had been an unlikely crossroad in her life. The Question had told her to kill him. She had honestly thought about it, but had been unable to do it.

She could remember the self-doubt and the confusion. She could also remember the thinking whether things could be different.

But the path to a better future had been closed off to her when the defeated Supergirl got her second wind.

Everything she had been thinking about was smashed from her mind from the attack. Supergirl took advantage of her confused state and attacked, smashing a car, or rather a holographic car on top of her.

The whole fight had taken place in a Cadmus facility that housed an impressive holographic arena. She had trained there and she had planned on killing Supergirl there.

Galatea realized that she had not really thought about the Question's request until now. Sure, it hadn't really been a request, more of a hunch of his which could have easily ended in his death, but it had been a potential turning point. One that she had missed.

That was most likely why Supergirl had attacked the way she did. Because she had every reason to believe that Question was about to die and no reason to believe that Galatea wouldn't kill him.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Emil step up beside her. He said nothing, which she was grateful for. She wanted the peace and quiet, though she did appreciate his presence.

After a few minutes, he broke the silence. "Are you okay? You seem a little depressed?"

"Me?" she said, glancing at him. "Nah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I guess. Just been thinking of stuff."

"What do you mean by stuff?"

"Who I am and what I've done."

"What you've done?" he repeated.

"Yeah, what I've done. What I did, the people who are dead because of me."

"You did it because they told you to. You were following their orders."

"I did it because I enjoyed it, dad," she confided in him. "I liked the fact that I had so much power over them and there was nothing they could do. They were powerless, defenceless, pathetic."

"Tea, it isn't your fault."

"It is my fault. I'm the one that's pathetic."

"Tea, you're not pathetic."

"Yes, I am."

"No you're not," he said more forcefully. He then asked a question. "Do you regret what you did?"

She thought for a moment. "Yes," she answered.

"Do you want to change things?"

"Yeah, I do, but I don't know how."

"Hard work and a lot of it. You had a rocky start, but you're your own person now. You're not a tool, you're not a killer."

"I am a killer, though. I've actually killed people."

"No, Cadmus were the killers."

"We were both a part of Cadmus. Pretend all you want, dad, but I murdered people and at the time I enjoyed it, I thought it was fun."

He looked at her in shock which made her feel worse. "You don't mean that. How can you find it fun?"

"You're not listening to me. I found it fun, past-tense. I don't find it fun now."

"I can't believe you would ever find it fun, Tea. Maybe you tell yourself that, but I know that deep down that you always hated it."

"But I didn't, dad and that's the problem," she said in frustration.

"I can see that it's tearing you up, that you really regret it. That tells me that something."

"What does it tell you? People don't change, dad, not this much."

"And that's what you're scared of. That you haven't changed, that you're the same as you were back then?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"Tea, maybe you did enjoy it and even if you did I know for a fact that you've changed. The very fact you're stood here dwelling on it proves to me that whatever you were then, you aren't that any longer."

"Maybe."

Emil squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "You are my daughter and I'm proud of you. You have the power within you to change the world for the better. I feel it deep down that this is your calling, Tea."

"Maybe," she said for the third time.

"Not maybe, I know. We might be in hiding now, but it won't be like that forever. One day the world will see you as the good person you truly are."

"They'll see me as a murderer, dad. People don't care about what good you've done today, they only care about the evil you did yesterday."

"But you can change that view, make people trust you."

"Like Superman did after Darkseid?"

Emil looked back out of the window and rocked back on his heels. The Man of Steel was a sore topic for him. Superman had been a good friend until the day Darkseid had warped his mind.

Fear and opportunity had led to her creation. In a way, Darkseid was to thank for her very existence.

Emil then answered. "Superman is a different story entirely. You can be better than him, stronger than 's within you."

"But he's been basking in yellow sunlight his whole life. He's attuned his whole body to it. I'm just a copy of Supergirl."

"That might be true regarding Superman, but you aren't an exact copy."

Galatea turned from the window. "What do you mean?"

"All attempts at an exact duplication failed. We had to make modifications."

She looked down at her hands. "Pity one of them wasn't removing Kryptonite as a weakness."

"Oh, we tried that, but it resulted in an instability in the genome. You would have ended up like Bizarro."

"So, if you remove the Kryptonite weakness, it makes us into zombies?"

"It was a side effect," Emil told her.

"And these modifications. What are they?"

"You can absorb sunlight at a slightly faster rate." Emil looked down at the floor, closing his eyes. "There's also some other alien DNA inside you."

"Alien?" Galatea asked, both intrigued and slightly disconcerted. "I'm guessing other than Kryptonian?"

"Yes. We needed something to stabilize your genetics. The cloning process doesn't work properly on Kryptonians. I had heard rumblings that someone had figured it out before we found ourselves on the run, but nothing came of it."

"What kind of alien DNA are we talking about?"

"Cadmus had some genetic data from one of the aliens that attacked a few years ago, the Imperium they were called. Rumour had it that they had captured one, but it was only rumoured, at least at first. Turns out they actually did. We combined a small amount of that genetic data with yours."

"You mean those shapeshifting gloop monsters?" Now she was really feeling disconcerted.

"You don't have any of their abilities or weaknesses. We only used a small amount to stabilise you so that you didn't die in the tank."

"Tank," she repeated. She hated being reminded about the fact that she was grown, not born. She looked back out of the window. "So my biological parents are Kara and some gloop monster. Makes me feel great, dad."

"You share almost one-hundred percent of your DNA with Supergirl, Tea. The other was just used as a stabiliser, that's all."

Galatea sighed. "Perhaps you're right about all of this. The past is the past, it can't be changed. But the future is what I make it."

Emil smiled warmly. "Yes, that's it. Make the future your own. And remember, you're my daughter, Tea. I'm here for you."

"I do and thanks, dad."

Galatea really appreciated how much faith he had in her. She knew how lucky she was that it was him that had brought her into the world and not someone else. Despite what those in the Justice League might think of him, he was a good person.

Everything he did, he did because he thought it was the right thing to do. It was inspirational in many ways, but she also didn't feel that she could ever live up to his example. She didn't know if she even wanted to try. She was no hero, she simply wanted to be able to live her life.

But as her father had said, she had the power within her to change the world for the better. But was that what she wanted? Just a year ago the only thing she wanted in life was to kill Supergirl.

Did she still want that? Maybe? Regardless, her father was right, she was her own person. She didn't have to be beholden to the fact that she was a clone, a copy of Kara.

She was Galatea, she was a person and she wanted to be able to be able to live her life as she wanted to live it. But as long as she was on the run she wouldn't be able to.

Emil had been planning their eventual escape from the United States and that plan involved her. He wanted to head to Europe and he wanted to use her strength and ability to fly to move them.

Slowly, Emil had been gathering supplies in order to build something that she could carry that he and Pauline could also sit in. Once he had all the parts, she would be the one putting what would amount to a cage with seats together, using her heat vision to heat up the steel and then her strength to bend it into shape like she was doing some kind of origami.

Apparently, Emil had some connections to some people in Europe who were working on some project and he wanted to join them. Galatea wasn't entirely sure she liked the idea, especially considering how the Justice League were literally everywhere now, including having a base in Paris.

The only real way of getting away was to leave the planet and that wasn't even an option they could take. They would simply have to make do and remain vigilant. It was all they could do.

"I'm heading out for a walk," she told him.

He nodded. "Yes, some fresh air might do you some good."

Watchtower II

Earth Orbit

13:01 – Station Time

Zari hadn't slept well last night and she hadn't gotten out of bed until late. Now she was staring out of the window at the moon in the distance, as it slowly rose over the planet below.

So far today, Zari hadn't had any breakfast or lunch and while she felt hungry she didn't feel like leaving her room. She felt safe here. It was strange because it was an unfamiliar place on an orbital space station full of beings much more powerful than her.

Her door chime sounded, making her jump in surprise. With adrenaline starting to pump in her veins, she slowly made her way to her door.

It slid open and she found Shayera standing on the other side.

"Evening," she said.

Zari frowned. "I think it's early afternoon."

"It's evening down in Africa where I'm currently stationed," Shayera said as she stepped into the room. "How are you settling in?"

"I'm not," Zari put bluntly. "I don't know anyone here and I think people are suspicious of me."

"Humans are a suspicious people," Shayera said. "That's one of the many things they share with us Thanagarians."

"Maybe they do, but I wouldn't know. My experience with humans so far has been mostly negative."

"Then let's change that experience to something more positive," Shayera said. "Come on, let's get you out of this room and go for a walk."

Zari really didn't feel up to doing that. "Can we do it later?" she asked, hoping the older woman didn't force her to do it.

"Why later?"

"Because I want to talk to you for a little while," she said.

In truth she just wanted someone to talk to, someone she felt could understand her.

Shayera stepped further into the room and the door slid shut behind her. Zari turned and faced the window and peered down at the planet below.

"Before the Gordanians came, I had never been in space," Zari began. "I had lived on the farm with my mother, my little brother and my father."

Shayera remained silent as she stood next to her, her gaze following Zari's as they both peered out into the darkness beyond.

"It wasn't just us, though. We had some help from some people from town who worked the fields. Though when the military came looking for volunteers to join the war effort, they left along with a lot of other people. The town became almost barren."

"Did your father leave with them?" Shayera asked.

"No, he remained until he was drafted. With him gone, it was just me, my mother and my little brother trying to maintain the farm. It wasn't easy when the demand kept rising. We exported most of our goods off-world and a lot of it ended up going to the war effort."

"And you had no help?"

"Eventually, when other farms started to fail. I remember the knock at the door and the defeated look on Kedran's face."

"Kedran?" Shayera asked. "Who was he?"

"He owned his own farm, but everyone left to join the war, even his daughters and sons. He couldn't work his farm alone, so he left it to work for my mother."

"That must have been difficult for him."

Zari nodded. "And his wasn't the only story like that. A once thriving farming colony world was producing less while the military was demanding more, all while taking all the strongest workers from us."

"The war was difficult for everyone," Shayera commented, "Especially those that fought in it."

"We lost, didn't we," Zari said with a solemn realisation.

"Yeah, we lost," Shayera confirmed as she closed her eyes. "In a big way."

"So that's it? No more Empire?"

"That's right, Zari. The Thanagarian Empire is gone. At least as far as I'm aware. There might be some pockets left out there, but the empire itself is ashes, along with the surface of Thanagar."

"So we're alone?"

"No Zari, we're not alone. There are people here that can and will be your friend if you give them the chance."

"Do you have a lot of friends here?"

Shayera stepped up to the window and rested her hand on it. "I have some. Probably more than I realise." She turned and looked Zari in the eyes. "You've had it hard, I can understand that. But give humanity a chance. They might just surprise you."

"Did they surprise you?"

The older Thanagarian nodded. "Yeah, they did. There's a lot of bad in this world, I won't lie to you about that or pretend there isn't. But there's also a lot of good."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Come on, you can't stay cooped up in here all day. Let's go for that walk."

Shayera stepped up to the door and it slid open. Zari was reluctant to go anywhere. "Can we do this another time?" she asked.

"Come on, Zari. You've been in here all day."

She knew Shayera was right. She did want to leave the small room but she didn't want to go for a walk around the space station or meet people. She just wanted to spread her wings and fly.

"If I go for this walk, can we go for a flight sometime?"

Shayera smiled. "Sure we can. I'd like that myself."

"Thank you," Zari said as she moved out into the corridor.

Shayera led the way. "have you eaten yet?"

"No, not since last night."

"Then that's where we're headed."

Airfield

Fifty Miles East of San Francisco

United States

11:32 - PDT

Colonel Rick Flag Jr. stood there by the black van with the team of degenerates all stood in a line in front of him. The closer it got to them starting the task, the less faith he had that they would or even could actually complete it.

"Let's go over everything one last time," Flag said as he folded his arms and glared harshly at those in front of him. "Firefly and the Imperium Martian will set fires along the south river. This is several miles south of the house where our targets are staying. This should draw any ranger's or anyone else's attention over there giving you some freedom to deal with Galatea and the other two with less chance of lost innocence."

Flag looked at the faces of those before him making sure they were all paying attention.

"We have two outlines for the mission, one for if she's there at the house and one if she isn't. The one where she isn't there stands a better chance as we can use Hamilton as a hostage to knock her off balance."

"And the female doctor?" Vertigo asked.

"Pauline Lester is of no real consequence, so deal with her whenever," Flag said. "In fact, it would be better to not have her complicate the mission. She sided with Hamilton and the clone so she has sided with enemies of the United States. Terminate and get her out of the way." Flag pointed at Vertigo. "Your job will be to disorientate the target enough so that Doctor Light can hit her with the Kryptonite radiation. Then Funk should be able to easily finish her off."

"Do you think it will be that easy?" Vertigo asked unconvinced.

"If you do your jobs and don't try to take the glory all for yourself, or try getting out idiotic quips or anything else of that nature, then yes, it should work. Take her by surprise or use Hamilton as a hostage to throw her off balance. Any questions?" He looked at their faces and they looked back. "I guess not," he said. "Get in the van. We'll be at our destination in one hour."

Flag watched them all climb into the back of the van before he headed for the front and climbed into the passenger seat. He looked at the driver, then to the villains now in the back. He wasn't hopeful that they would succeed, but if they failed then at least the world would be rid of a few undesirables.

Personally, he would prefer to have a skilled team of professionals deal with this, but those in charge wanted plausible deniability if things went wrong with the operation. After-all a group of criminals following through on their own perverse nature was easier to cover up.

Flag looked ahead. "Let's get moving."

As the van left the airfield and onto the highway, Flag got a feeling that today wasn't going to end well.