Chapter 13: Just Talk to Me
In the Skyline of National City, the sun hangs just above the tallest skyscraper, still climbing its way to the top as the City recovers from the morning rush hour. All seems well. No insane metahumans on a rampage, no invading aliens or even a grey cloud to ruin the perfect weather. For those down on the streets it's just like any other day, only less hectic without the threat of supervillains attacking. Even things at the D.E.O. are looking quiet with everything under control for a pleasant change. They don't count on it lasting but the agents are taking the chance to breath and catch up on the little things while chatting with their co-workers ideally.
In the city streets, a few car horns sound as they try to get a move on, people walk from building to building. Some people are even venturing down alleyways which seem much brighter than normal, the shadows less dark and threatening. Not an unpleased or threatening man or woman in sight. Some might have even called it a perfect day in National City.
Then down one particular alleyway a sudden wind flushes through, leaving a cold and unexpected air behind. It's empty, bar the dumpsters and the occasional rat that scurries across the floor. Its presence shielded from the rest of the world by a shadow that consumes it from the street to the brick wall at the back, with a fire escape to both buildings hanging overhead. An alley like any other.
Suddenly, a flash of white from the centre of the alley and then a pop as a swirling vortex of blue opens up from nothing. In its wake, it brings with it a puffy blue and black mass of energy that looks almost cloud like with a bright white light in its centre. For a moment it just hangs there, half a meter or so above the ground before it beats, like a heart. As it does a figure jumps out landing in the awaiting alley that bursts into life with their presence.
The breech closes behind the figure and the sun breaks through into the alley, filling it with light. The figure standing up from her knelt position, lifting her head and letting the sunlight of home shine upon her. An unstoppable smile forming on her lips.
It wasn't any different to the other yellow sun but she still felt different underneath it. This was her yellow sun, the sun of her home, of her Earth. Earth 38 as it was known by those on Earth 1. Her smile faulting at the thought of those she'd left behind. But it was time to come home, they'd all agreed no matter how much they enjoyed having her around, though she knew they'd been trying to get her home since day one. Still, she was indebted to them and had no doubt she'd see them again and have a chance to return the favour one day.
For now though. She was back in her universe, on her Earth and in her city. Deity Ann was home again.
Another sharp pain shot through Kara's head as she knelt over to pick up the papers Cat had just sent flying from her desk in a sudden burst of rage. She powered on through it though, trying her best to ignore it as the pain faded away. Gathering up the papers, she stood back up and neatened the pile before setting them back down on her boss' desk.
"Thank you, Kira," Cat said as she rubbed her temple, sunglasses in her free hand as she took a calming breath and tried to think. It was a slow news day, and Cat hated slow news days. It made her feel like she had nothing to do and with Cat there was always something that needed to be done, a story that needed to be covered. But National City was doing great. Had been for a while now, even when Kara was off on Earth 1 helping out her friends old and new. But without any big drama going on around the city, Cat was starting to lose it after so many days. Part of Kara wished she'd just stay at home and give her the day off, Rao knew she needed it.
After four days Kara was still feeling the effects of whatever concoction Alex had given her the night they all got drunk and planned James and Lucy's wedding. Although most of the ideas got thrown in the trash the next morning, there were a few that Lucy thought could be useful and as far as Kara was concerned, that was a mission accomplished. She just wished the darn headaches would stop. When she had gone to see Alex, she had said they should have gone by now but if they mixed with whatever Barry had in his serum then there was no telling how long the hangover would last.
"Another wild night, was it?" Cat asked bring Kara out of her thoughts.
"Hmm?" Kara hummed as she looked over to her boss who was staring at her curiously. It took a second longer for the question to register in Kara's head while Cat stared at her expectantly. "Oh. No. Just not much sleep," Kara said as she fixed her glasses.
"I would have thought you'd be catching up on sleep, since Betty was still out of town," Cat said as she sat down behind her desk. Once sat, she opened up one of her drawers and gabbed the pill container inside, popping it open and placing two of the white piles in her hand before throwing them back into her mouth.
"Water." Kara slid the water over to her since it was out of Cat's reach. Cat took the glass and quickly downed it along with the piles before sliding it away from her precious laptop.
"I haven't really been sleeping well since she left in all honesty," Kara admitted as she looked down at the floor. "It's strange going to sleep without her being in the apartment with me."
"Well, I don't know how you do it, Kira. I for one definitely couldn't go a fortnight without Carter being under the same roof as me."
Kara smiled as she looked back up to her boss' waiting eyes. "It's been hard. But she'll be back soon." She waved her hand through the air, hoping to end the discussion.
"You're a very good mother, Kira. Not many people your age would take on that level of responsibility on their own," Cat said with a small but sincere smile.
"I'm not that great," Kara said, leaving out the part about how her daughter ran away.
"Well of course not but who is," Cat said with a wave of the hand. "That's one of the deep dark secrets of parenthood, Kira. There isn't always a right way. You've just got to go with your best instinct and hope it'll work out. I would have thought you'd have picked up on that by now."
Another thankful smile to her boss as Kara straightened her glasses.
"And besides, with role models like Deity out there, I'm sure your daughter will turn out fine," Cat said leaning back in her chair before her smile turned to an irritated scowl. "Or she might do if the girl would actually show up. She hasn't been seen in weeks and it's really starting to irritate me. First this three-month absence and now this. Supergirl really needs to have words with that girl, get her under control."
Kara did agree with that a little. She did have to put her foot down with Deity more often. Maybe if she had then none of this would have happened and whatever was bothering her might not even have happened. She let out a quiet sigh that Cat didn't hear and then plastered on a smile for her boss. She couldn't do anything about it now, she'd just have to be patient and wait for her daughter to come back to her. No matter how much it was eating her up inside.
"Will there be anything else, Ms. Grant?" Kara asked politely.
"A story on Deity if you can get one," Cat mumbled as she opened up her laptop and set to typing away at the keys. Since she wasn't given the direct order to leave, Kara lingered for a moment before taking a single step away to see if Cat would react. When she didn't, Kara turned and walked out leaving her boss to her own devices.
With her head lowered, she made her way back to her desk, ready to see if there was anything new in her inbox to deal with, appointments for Cat and such. She was about halfway around her desk when she looked up and stopped. A silent gasp escaping her lips.
"Hi, Mom."
It took everything in Kara's will power not to super speed over to her daughter and pull her into the tightest hug ever. Instead she stepped around the desk and quickly closed the gap between them in a few powerful strides. Unfortunately she didn't manage to hold off on the tightest hug part as her arms quickly engulfing the teenager in a powerful hug that pulled her right into her. Turning her head, Kara found herself remembering how much her daughter had grown. Before her head had fitted perfectly underneath her chin, now the top of her head pressed against her cheek.
"I missed you," Kara said as she closed her eyes, letting the smile that had taken over her face wash over the rest of her body, filling her with a mixture of joy and relief.
"Come on, Mom. It's only been a couple of days," Deity said, though she made no attempt to leave the hug Kara had her in. If anything she held her just as tightly, equally afraid to let go in case the whole scene faded away like in a dream.
"I know…but now…" Kara pulled back slightly, keeping her arms around her daughter's shoulders. Just in case she suddenly disappeared again. Kara only leaned back enough so that they could both see into each other's eyes. "Now you're home."
Deity smiled back. "I'm home," she agreed.
"The hugging's really starting to get old guys," Deity grumbled playfully from beneath her mother and aunt. Quite frankly, Alex didn't care. This was part of the pay back for running off. If she didn't want to be hugged like this, then she never should have run off in the first place. She wasn't going to say that out loud of course and to be honest, Alex was surprised she was even thinking about it. When she had seen her sister and niece fly in through the D.E.O. window she had immediately ran to them both. J'onn and Lucy hadn't been far behind and shortly after Lucy called both James and Winn over. They hadn't arrived yet, but Alex imagined they wouldn't be that much longer, probably tripping over one another to get here first.
"Sorry," Kara said as she pulled away along with Alex, allowing the teenager to breath normally again as she sat on the edge of the examining table.
"I'm not," Alex said with a hint of playfulness to her voice. "And you should get used to it fast, because for the next week, when she's not hugging you, I'll be," Alex warned as she pointed to her sister, the two sharing teasing smiles.
The check-up hadn't taken long. It was a standard procedure. Or at least it was made so after Kara and Deity made world jumping a more regular thing. Turns out though, this Team Flash were rather good at looking after their own as well as their friends. Deity seemed to be in perfect health, which wasn't unusual for her, but after hearing about the fight with these Dominators Alex had been expecting a few cuts and bruises to still be there. But from the looks of things Deity hadn't just grown over the past few months, she'd gotten a lot more powerful too. Maybe it was time for another test of her and Kara's abilities, see how much stronger they'd gotten.
"How's that going to work with school?" Deity asked.
"You want to go back to school?" Kara exclaimed, her surprise so clear and vocal it made Alex turn to her with widened eyes.
"Yeah. I miss my friends and to be honest after the past few weeks, I really just want to get back to a simple routine. You know, school work, hanging out with my friends, D.E.O. work, saving the world on weekends," Deity listed with a playful spark in her eye.
"So, you mean the usual…for us anyway," Alex said with a grin to her niece.
"Yeah," Deity said with a smile back. She really was starting to grow into a young woman, Alex thought. Though hopefully she wouldn't grow up to fast, after all Alex liked being the fun aunt to a teenager.
"There she is!" The shout from behind caught the Danvers family's attention and they looked over to the door way to see Winn, who had shouted, and James walking in. Alex stepped aside slightly, and Kara did the same, allowing Winn and James to go in for the welcome home hug they were dying to have.
"It's good to see you back, Debby," James said in a more normal tone than Winn as both men leaned over towards her.
"Thanks guys, I missed you too," Deity replied as they hugged. Alex could tell she was thankful it was a short hug, the two quickly pulling back as J'onn and Lucy joined them. They had already said 'hello' to Deity and had their hugs but had to go off and attend to other matters before returning. After all, aliens didn't stop running amok just because Deity was back in town.
"So, what's the deal with this Cisco guy? Kara said he's some kind of tech geniuses," Winn said, quickly catching the teenager of guard. Alex and the others sighed. He'd been fixating on this the past few days for some reason, ever since Kara told him about Team Flash's tech guy.
"I guess," Deity said with a frown before looking to her mother who was shaking her head, mentally telling her not to go any further.
"Be honest," Winn said as Deity looked back to him. "Is he better than me?"
"Seriously?" Deity asked with a confused look to her friend.
"Yes, I want you to be completely serious," Winn stressed.
"No, I mean are you seriously asking me this question?" Alex snickered from the side but quickly got herself under control when Winn looked her way.
"It's a matter of pride, Debby," Winn argued turning back to her.
"And while we all sympathise with you, Mr. Schott. I'm sure this matter can be discussed another time," J'onn said as he placed a hand on Winn's shoulder, gently pulling him back.
"Right, if you both up for it, we'd like to run some simulations. See how much stronger you've both gotten." Apparently the two D.E.O. directors were thinking all the same lines as Alex. It made sense after all, they hadn't seen Deity out in the field in months, bar when she returned. While she did help out with the Dominators, J'onn and Lucy didn't see that. They'd want to assess her abilities before letting her back out in the field to handle aliens. As for her superhero activities, that was entirely up to Kara.
"I game if you are," Deity said, looking over to her mother who grinned back.
"I'm always ready," Kara replied confidently, already acting more like her old self now that her daughter was back. Alex smiled at the two before Deity hopped off the table and they made their way to the training room.
The training room, specially assigned to Kara, was surrounded by thick cement and had several layers of lead built in. It wouldn't be enough to stop Kara if she tried to get out but for training purposes it theoretically was enough to contain the damages she caused. There were two doors, both at opposite ends with a staircase that lead up to the observation station. That was were Alex and the others went while Kara and Deity stretched out on the floor below. J'onn had allowed James and Winn to stay and observe, which Winn was very thankful for.
"Alright, just say when you're ready," Alex called out. They gave the thumbs open and Alex looked over to J'onn and Lucy to confirm she could run the simulation. They both nodded back and Alex hit the button to start. The starting alarm sounded, warning everyone to get clear as small disc shaped drones began to drop from the ceiling, spinning clockwise as they hovered around the two heroes.
"Okay…this is new," Deity said with a dazed expression as her eyes darted from drone to drone.
Alex smiled. "You ain't seen nothing yet," Alex declared as she typed in a sequence of commands into the computer before pressing entre. It took a second for the drones to receive the command and begin their attack. The first fired off a red laser bolt, hitting Deity in the shoulder and singeing her suit. She stepped back to keep her balance but didn't let out any sound of pain. She looked up and seeing that the drone was about to fire again, she moved, along with Kara.
Alex and the others then proceeded to watch as the two heroes moved and fought in such style that it was hard to believe they'd been apart for so long. Their timing looked as if it was synchronised down to the second, Kara ducking as Deity flew overhead knocking away one of the drones while Deity leaned out the away so Kara's heat vision could blast another. It was impressive to see the least, to watch the two move like they were in a dance routine they'd practised a hundred times, when in reality this was the first time Alex had run this programme for either off them.
"Looks like they still got it," James said, impressed as he watched the two.
"You better believe it," Winn said eagerly, a giddy smile on his face. It was then that Kara grabbed one of the drones and threw it towards Deity who threw out her arm sending of beam of solar energy from her hand and blasting the drone in two. Winn yelped in excitement as he clapped his hands before then realising no one else was celebrating. He quietened down after that, but it was clear from watching the mother and daughter that they were both having a great time. This was more like a game than proper training to them, but that was probably for the best after everything the two had been through. Or at least that was Alex's opinion. She just hopped it would last. After all this the last thing Alex wanted was to see the two of them hurt again, especially by each other.
As the last of the drones dropped to the ground, burnt out thanks to Kara and Deity's heat and energy visions, Kara turned to her daughter with a smile. Her daughter replied with a nostalgic one of her own. Even though they had fought together against the Dominators, it was nice to fight on their own again, without Teams Flash, Arrow and the Legends. Felt more…natural.
"I see you've been practising," Kara said with a raised brow as she took a few steps over to join her daughter, hands on her hips as they always were when in costume.
"Brady wanted me to do some training with him. I think we both picked up a thing or two," Deity admitted with a shrug. Kara eyed her for a second, wondering if she'd noticed. She only had because Cadence had pointed it out to her when Deity and Brady were out of hearing range. At first she hadn't been sure what to think, but now Kara had to admit it was a little bit cute. Even more so since her daughter hadn't noticed.
"You spent quite a bit of time with Brady then?" Kara inquired subtly.
"Yeah," Deity answered with a nod and a smile. "He's a cool kid, friendly too," Deity said with a fond smile which only made Kara's grow more. That made Deity frown. "What?" she asked curiously.
"Nothing," Kara said quickly wiping the smile from her face only to have it come back. "I'm just so happy you're back." A smooth recovery she thought before she quickly pulled Deity into a hug, blocking off any further questioning on the subject. "Though I have to admit," Kara added as she pulled away. "I'd like to know why you left in the first place."
Deity's smile dropped. "I don't want to talk about it," she answered quietly as she turned away, almost instinctively. Kara had expected that response. It was roughly the same thing she'd been saying while they were on Earth 1. She'd just refused to discuss the matter, which had only made Kara worry more. Barbara and Cadence had been kind enough to tell her what little they knew. Apparently, Deity had been on something called War World and had been forced into fights, but Kara could tell there was something more going on inside her daughter's head.
"Debby, whatever it is, I-"
"I said I don't want to talk about it," Deity cut in, voice raising as she turned back to Kara with a warning glare.
"Well, I think we should talk about it. Debby, you ran away for a reason. Now I don't think it's outrage for me to ask why?" Kara said as she folded her arms and leaned over towards her daughter, with a look that told Deity she wanted an answer.
"I'm not talking about this," Deity said stubbornly, to which Kara threw her hands up in the air before slapping them back down against her sides.
"Well, I am talking about this, Debby, and I need to know," Kara said, her voice rising without intention. "I'm your mom and I need to know what's going on so I can help you."
"I don't need your help with this, I just need you to drop it," Deity shouted back.
"That's not going to happen," Kara snapped. "Debby, this is serious. You ran away. You never did that before. You've lost control two or three times since you've been back and almost killed someone."
"Felix had it coming," Deity muttered as she turned away.
"He doesn't disserve to die!" Kara shouted voice echoing around them.
"You don't know what he did to me!" Deity shouted back as she swung around to face her mother again.
"That's because you won't tell me!" Kara countered, watching her daughter fall slight as she realised she was right. Instead she just breathed heavily through her nose, glaring eyes staring up into Kara's.
"What part of 'I don't want to talk about it' don't you understand?" Deity said in a low voice.
"The part where your shutting me out," Kara said with a softness to her voice. "Debby, you're not acting like yourself. Just tell me what's wrong so I can help fix it," Kara pleaded.
"You can't fix this."
"At least let me try!" Kara yelled, voice raising again in frustration.
"What I've done can't be undone! It's set in stone and I have to live with it! There is nothing you can do about it so just for the love of Rao drop it!" Deity shouted as she squared up to her mother, face reaching up to match Kara's.
"I just want you to talk to me!" Kara shouted back before silence took over. For a long moment the two just stared at each other. The happy moment they'd shared while training now long behind the two angry women. Kara just wanted to know, she thought she'd made peace with it but she hadn't. She had to know, it was the only way she could help. She didn't want to be kept in the dark about this anymore.
"I'm going to see me friends," Deity said suddenly, turning on her heels as she marched towards the doorway. Kara stared after her for a second before she realised she was serious. She opened her mouth to call Deity back but her daughter beat her too it, muttering, "I'll see you at home." And then she was out the door and gone in yellowy blur.
Kara felt a growl form in her throat, a growl of frustration as her fists clenched at her sides. This was not her fault. She just wanted to find out what was wrong with her daughter so that she could help. Why was that such a bad thing?! Kara shouted inside her head. She couldn't understand why Deity wasn't letting her in, why she was shutting her out. She never did that before or at least not to this degree.
"Don't you think you're being a little pushy there, Sis." Kara wheeled, all but sure steam was coming out her ears, as she came face to face with her sister.
"I'm not in the mood for jokes, Alex," Kara snapped, her anger no longer under control.
"I wasn't joking," Alex said calmly with serious look and a hint of worry. Having lived with an angry and depressed Kara since her teenage years, she had learnt not to flinch in the face of Kara when she was in a mood. Though she had to admit, it'd been a long time since she'd last seen her this mad. "Do you really think pushing her is going to help the situation?"
"I need to know, Alex. Last time I was too lenient with her and it's because of that that she got hurt. I have to be strict, it's the only way I can stop whatever happened from happening again," Kara explained with a clenched jaw.
"So that's your solution. Just keep her on a short leash until she tells you what happened?" Alex asked sceptically.
"I have to know, if I don't then how else am I supposed to protect her?!" Kara cried throwing her arms out to her sides.
"You're her mother, Kara. You're supposed to help guide her through life, not watch her every move because your worried she'll get hurt," Alex argued, keeping her voice level.
"Don't tell me how to raise my daughter," Kara snarled, stepping forwards so her face was inches from her sisters.
"Kara, I'm on your side," Alex said as she placed her hands on her sister's shoulders.
"Then help me find out what Deity is hiding from me." When Alex sighed, lowering her head, Kara rolled her eyes and turned away pushing away Alex's comforting hands. "Fine, I'll handle this myself."
"Kara," Alex called after her sister, but Kara refused to turn back and marched out the door.
With a tired sigh, Casey arrived at her locker. It was only lunch, but Casey was all but ready to collapse into her bed and call it a day. But that was what double English, biology and gym class could do to a girl, especially when she was missing one best friend. It had been hard finding out that Debby was an alien, never mind a superhero. Casey had wanted some space for sure, just to process everything, but she hadn't wanted to her friend to run off to a distant galaxy and never return. She had returned of course, but then it turned out to be an imposter as Kara had informed both Casey and Sam shortly after the whole ordeal.
A shiver passed up Casey's back moving up and through her head as she closed her eyes tightly. Thinking about how close she'd been to the fake version of her best friend. Had it been before she found out Debby's secret, she might have spotted it. But she'd still been in new territory then and hadn't been entirely sure Debby's behaviour was anything out of the ordinary. Still, she felt like a fool for not spotting it when she and Sam went over to visit. On the up side, everyone else felt the same way.
"You ready for lunch?" Casey turned her head to find Sam standing beside her, one hand on his bag strap and the other in his jean pocket. His constant smile there to comfort her. She smiled back, the sad little smile she'd been using with him for a while now. "I thought you said you were going to stop doing that."
"I know," Casey sighed, irritated with herself.
"You were the one that said we should just stick to being friends," Sam pointed out as he leaned against the locker next to Casey's. He was right, she had been the one to say that. It had been pretty obvious after a while that whatever they had at first when they got together had faded. It wasn't unusual for high school romances like theirs. Luckily, they had both been adult enough to call it quits and agree to be friends. Casey had been the one to bring it up and though hesitant, Sam eventually came around to her way of thinking. But even so, she still found herself missing him at times. They were still incredibly close, but the first few weeks after the break up they had spent time away from each other. That had been when it hit Casey that her best friend was really gone. And when she got over the whole double identity thing. She just wanted her friend back.
"I know," Casey repeated as she finished dialling in her locker combination, pulling the metallic door open. "But I'm still getting used to this whole situation," Casey added as she unzipped her bag and reached in to pull out her English and Biology books so that she could shove them in her locker.
"That's a bit dramatic don't you think?" Sam asked with a teasing grin.
"Helpful," Casey replied with a grin of her own as she put her books away and pulled out the ones for her final classes of the day.
"I thought so," Sam said causally as Casey closed her locker.
"You could comfort me you know, tell me your feeling the same?" Casey suggested as she turned so that she too could lean against her locker, facing Sam.
"Isn't that something a boyfriend would do?" Sam teased as Casey rolled her eyes and shook her head only to then have to push the fringe of her now short hair out of her eyes. She'd gotten it cut a while back, just something she felt like doing. Keeping it long was too much maintenance for her, short had defiantly been the way to go.
"It's something a friend would do too," Casey shot back with a raised eyebrow that made Sam chuckle.
"See, not all that much has changed since we broke up," Sam pointed out with a friendly smile that Casey returned as she brushed her hair back behind her ear. She was glad it was working out between them. She cared too much about Sam to lose him from her life completely, he was a good boy with a kind heart. Just like her best friend.
"You guys broke up!" The shocked shout from behind quickly caught Casey's attention, but more so because of who was shouting. She swung so quickly that everything between Sam and the shouter was a blur. Then Casey's eyes focused on the girl just a few feet away, her long brunette hair no longer wavy but flattened straight down, making her look more grown up. Not only that but her added height gave off the same effect. But that face was still the same as were those currently shocked brown eyes.
"Debby!" Casey screamed as she charged over to her best friend and threw her arms around her in a strong embrace, knowing full well Deity could take it.
"Hold up, hold up," Deity said as she squirmed out of her friend's embrace, shooting here with a bewildered glare before looking to Sam and then back to her best friend. "What's this about you two breaking up?" Deity all but demanded to know, accusing finger passing between the two.
"It's fine, Debby. We both agreed we were better off being friends," Sam said as he moved up to Casey's side, smiling fondly at Deity, happy to see her back, for real this time.
"Never mind that," Casey snapped, quickly pulling Deity back over to her. "How dare you come back and leave again without even calling me," Casey demanded as she slapped Deity's arm. She winced, obviously pretending as she rubbed the 'injured' spot.
"How did this back fire on me?" Deity asked as she turned to Sam with a frown as he chuckled.
"Wait. How do we know you're the real Debby, and not the imposter?" Casey asked as her eyes narrowed.
"Well…fake me couldn't do this," Deity said as she lifted her hand so that only Casey and Sam could see, and no one else. She then let out a steady low glow from her closed fist, almost as if she were holding a family of fireflies inside before the glow slowly faded.
"Makes sense," Sam admitted as he leaned back, satisfied.
"I'm going to need more than that," Casey said as she leaned back, arms folded and suspicious eyes still on Deity.
"Uh, okay, how do I prove it's me then?" Deity asked with a frown to her friend.
"Tell me something only Debby knows about me," Casey ordered.
"Alright. When you were five and your mom took you to a petting zoo and you decided it would be a good idea to stick your finger up the goat's-" before Deity could finish Casey had her hand around Deity's mouth, cutting off her last word.
"Okay, okay. It's you, it's you. Now shut up please," Casey said, feeling Deity smiling from behind her hand. Once she pulled her hand back, Casey smiled too, relieved it really was her friend.
"That wasn't the hand you used on the goat, right?" Sam asked, pointing to the hand Casey had used to cover Deity's mouth. The two girls looked at him for a moment before looking back to each other.
"Maybe breaking up with him wasn't that bad an idea after all," Deity said with a smirk to Casey before the two started to laugh.
"It was a joke," Sam said defensively before he found Deity's arm around him in a hug along with Casey too. They both knew it was and they smiled to one another before releasing each other. "So, I'm guessing you're here cause you missed school just that much then," Sam said teasingly as Deity sniggered.
"Yeah, totally," agreed Deity sarcastically.
"What about your mom, have you seen her since you got back?" Casey asked and instantly she noticed the drop in Deity's mood. "I'm guessing it didn't go so well then," Casey said a little awkwardly before sharing a nervous look with Sam who didn't look so cool himself.
"You could say that," Deity said as she folded her arms, rubbing her elbows as she looked off to the side. Refusing to let the awkwardness of whatever had happened between Deity and her mom ruin their reunion, Casey quickly threw out the first thing that came into her head.
"Hey, why don't we go and get some lunch. We've got an hour to kill until the next class and they've got a new bus route that takes about ten minutes from here to the mall," Casey suggested with a sheepish smile when Deity looked up. For a moment the girl just stared, then a small smile broke out across her face.
"That sounds nice," Deity said.
"Great," Sam said as he wrapped his arm around Deity and began to walk. "Casey's buying."
"I am not!" Casey snapped back as Deity and Sam began to laugh. She then quickly ran and caught up to them, taking the other side of Deity and knocking off Sam's arm so she could put her own around Deity. Again, the three shared a chuckle, almost as if nothing had changed between them in the five months apart.
They made it outside to the bus stop but only in time to see their bus leaving. "Well that's just great," groaned Casey as she put her hands on her hips and stared off after the bus. "Now we're going to have to wait another ten minutes and by then there'll be no point in even getting lunch."
"Well…" Deity said slowly, deliberately pausing as her friends turned to her. Her hands interlocked as her thumbs fought over which one should be on top. "If you guys are cool with it, I could… That is to say if you've gotten over the fact that I'm…"
"A hero," Casey finished for her best friend who looked up as if she hadn't been expecting the word. Casey had no idea why, that was what she was after. Debby Danvers, high school student and Deity, superhero of Nation City. The alien thing was no different to someone that had lived in another country, at least to Casey. She was a living thinking being and thus deserved the same rights as everyone else. No matter what she was on the inside or even the outside, she had a sense of right and wrong and did her best to help those that needed it. That was what Casey saw, Deity's heart. The alien thing was just background stuff.
"Yeah," Deity replied slowly, still startled.
"Surprisingly enough it didn't take either of us that long to get over that," Sam said with a smile as he placed his hand on Deity's shoulder. "You're our friend, Debby."
"And my best friend," Casey added as she took Deity's hand with a comforting smile. "Yeah it was a bit of a shock, but it doesn't change who you are or the friendship we have. The only difference is that now, you really can talk to us about Anything," Casey explained, her smile never once wavering as she held her friend's tightly in her own. Doing her best to show her that she understood and was completely on her friend's side, no matter what.
"Thanks," Deity said as she smiled, looking between her friends.
"It's nothing," Sam said with a shrug.
"No, it really is. I'm so lucky to have you two. Friends that see me and not the powers or the alien DNA…just me. It really means a lot you guys. Thank you," Deity said, and Casey could see the meaning in her eyes. How her words had come straight from her heart and that she did truly treasure them both. Which is what she'd been like even before Casey found out her secret.
"And to show you my appreciation, I'm going to give you a onetime offer," Deity continued as her sincere smile turned to a cunning smirk.
"Which would be?" Sam inquired.
"Well, since I just got back, and we're missing our reunion lunch…I guess I could super speed us over there," Deity suggested before glancing around to make sure no one was looking there way.
"Cool," Sam said with an eager smile.
"That sounds fair," Casey said as Deity wrapped her arms around both Casey and Sam's waist. "Though I do have a couple of questions…" The last of her sentence vanished with the wind as a faint trail of yellow light marked where the three had once been.
It had been far too long since she last had a burger, or rather a burger from her own Earth. She'd had plenty of Big Belly Burger on Earth-1. But it never seemed to quiet taste the same as the burgers from her own universe. Maybe it something to do with all that frequency talk Cisco had been sprouted off, or maybe each parallel universe had their own secret Big Bell Burger recipe. Deity would have to remember to bring that up to Cisco next time she saw him, knowing full well it would lead to a multi-Earth road trip where they had to taste every single Bell Burger so that they could find the best.
"You ate that quickly," Sam said observantly as he looked at Deity's empty wrapping from the meal they'd just ordered.
"I was hungry," Deity replied with a shrug while shifting through the wrapping to see if there was a leftover fry or anything else she could salvage before moving on to picking off what her friends' hadn't eaten yet. Even Sam, who could eat surprisingly fast at times had only gotten halfway through his burger. Casey was taking it a lot slower than either of them, but then that was nothing new. For as long as Deity had known the girl she had been a slow eater.
"Did they not feed you on that other Earth?" Sam asked with a teasing frown.
"Yes, they fed me," Deity replied with a roll of the eyes before she grabbed her coke and took a slurp, the noise echoing from inside her cup.
"So tell me more about this Brady guy. Was he cute?" Casey asked eagerly.
"He's ten," Deity pointed out, not even having considered whether her friend from another world was cute or not.
"So, he can still be cute," Casey pointed out. Deity had been telling them all about their foreign friends. Essentially, she'd been working her way backwards, telling them most of what had happened recently and working her way back along her timeline. There was some obvious stuff she left out, like what had happened between her and the Hybrids. Sam had been the one to ask but after Deity had made it clear she didn't want to talk about it they both quickly backed off. And moved back on to some of the other heroes Deity had met while both here and on another Earth.
"So, their Earth has like…over twelve superheroes and we've got you, your mom, her cousin and two guys that dress up like bats?" Casey said with a look to her best friend which made Deity chuckle.
"What's your point?" Deity asked.
"That we really need to get some more heroes over here," Casey said before sticking a fry covered in ketchup in her mouth.
"You saying I'm not enough?" Deity asked sarcastically with fake attitude.
"I'm saying I would like more choices when it comes to Halloween," Casey countered with a playful grin before the two began to laugh. "Although, I could totally see Sam pulling off a Supergirl costume," Casey teased as she turned to her friend.
"I do have the legs for it," Sam joked with a mouthful of burger. Casey chuckled at that, but both quickly noticed Deity lack of response at the mention of her mother's other alias. She everted her gaze from her friends and then started to play with her wrapping while the two shared a look.
"Is everything alright between you two… You and your mom I mean?" Sam asked after swallowing his burger.
"Yeah," Deity quickly answered as she looked up before looking back down again. "She's just being a little pushy is all."
"Pushy about what?" Casey asked prompting Deity to close her eyes. She didn't want to have to go through this again today, not with her friends, not when everything was going so nicely. She just wanted to have part of a normal day before all the questions started coming at her. She had known it would happen sooner or later, just not the second she got back. Part of her thought Cadence might of organised all this, particularly after what she'd said before she came home.
Lifting her head up, Deity was ready to tell her friends to drop it just like she had to Kara when she heard an alarm go off from across the mall. Her head swung, as did Casey and Sam's, meaning it couldn't have been all that far away.
Being on the second floor, Deity quickly got up from the table they were sat at and ran over to the nearby railing to look down at the ground floor beneath them. Peering over the edge she could see some people running while other stopped to watch, wondering what was going on just like she was. She caught sight of two security guards making their way towards the source of the alarm, hands going for the tasers on their belts. Somehow Deity just knew that wasn't going to be enough.
"Isn't this the part where you suit up?" Deity turned to see Casey and Sam leaning on the railing looking over from just beside her. "Or something along those lines?" continued Sam as he tried to peer around the corner were the alarm was coming from.
"Something like that," Deity answered before taking off at normal speed with her friends behind her. The elevators and stairs were in the other direction from the alarm so Deity and her friends ran over the bridge that connected the second floor to the other side. Once there they ran around the corner and peer over the railing again trying to get a look at what was going on, only to then see the two guards from before fly past them and luckily land on the other side of the walkway.
"Well that can't be good," Sam murmured as Deity vaulted over the railing and down to the ground below. Normally people would have asked questions about a fifteen year old girl jumping down from that height and not even flinching but right now they were all busy trying to get away from what was going on.
Pulling off her glasses, Deity ran through the remaining crowd of people who were all running in the opposite direction. Once she broke through the last herd of panicking people, she spotted what was going on. Up ahead was a wall comprised entirely of ATMs, almost all of which had been broken open with green dollar bills floating out and scattered on the floor below. Of course, Deity thought in her head. First thing you do when you get superpowers, obviously rob the mall's ATMs. Why did it never occur to these guys to help people rather than just themselves?
She spotted the two culprits by the last of the ATMs, one holding open a bag while the other quickly loaded money in. They'd already filled up two bags, both of which were sat by their side while they worked. Quickly checking for cameras and seeing that they had already been destroyed, Deity ripped off her clothes to reveal her suit beneath and then advanced on the criminals.
"Sorry boys it's…" she began to say as the two turned to face her and she trailed off, eyes widening at the two faces she was greeted by. Or rather one that she knew all too well.
"Well - Isn't that just the greatest luck ever - I was just saying to my buddy Pan here – 'Pan, you know who we haven't seen in a while, Deity' - And then guess who happens to be standing right over there? - Oh, by the way – This is my new buddy, Pan – Pan, Deity – Deity, Pan," Sim rambled off in his usually fast speech while Deity's surprised stare turned to the hatred one that she now reserved specially for Hybrids. "Uh… Does she look mad? – I think she might be mad – Wonder why she's mad?"
"You know damn well why!" Deity snapped as she unleashed her energy vision in furious blinding yellow light. The two Hybrids dove to opposite sides, causing Deity's energy vision to hit the wall and explode three ATMs sending shreds of green flaming money up into the air.
"Definitely mad - Definitely mad," Sim muttered to himself as he got back up in a flash of green lightning.
"You have no idea," Deity snarled as she advanced on Sim, all but forgetting about the other new Hybrid. She swung her glowing fist for Sim who quickly side stepped and then avoided the next punch. From there it dissolved in to Deity swinging her orb like fists at Sim while he continued to streak from side to side leaving behind his usual trail of green lightning.
"Looks like someone could use some anger management classes – You know maybe you and that cousin of yours could see someone together?" Sim suggested as if they were just having a causal conversation, almost ignoring the fact that Deity was out for his blood. His mistake however was bringing up Ruby which made Deity's energy vision fire on instinct and before Sim could stop himself he moved into the blast zone and was sent head over heels through a store window.
"She's not my cousin!" Deity cried out angrily before hearing her friends shouts from above. She almost ignored them completely but then looked up to see them frantically pointing while Casey clung to the phone that was pressed against her ear. She looked back to see that the other Hybrid had vanished along with all the bags of money.
Deity didn't care, her goal now was to get Sim. She turned back on the Hybrid, nostrils flaring as she saw him brushing himself off and shoving aside the shelving units that had fallen onto him.
"You know, it's a good thing we just stole all that money, cause otherwise I'd have no idea how to pay for all of this?" Sim joked prompting Deity growl before she lunged for him again.
Leaning down on the balcony railing, Kara looked out from the D.E.O. headquarters across the city. It was a good view, one that allowed her to think while a cold wind blew into her face. For humans, it would have been enough to make them go inside, but she wasn't human. Her eyes kept watch over the horizon, watching in case she spotted any sign of Deity flying by. That was all she'd been doing since they're fight, waiting for her to come back. That seemed to be all that she did recently, wait for her daughter to return. It almost felt silly, putting her whole life on hold for Deity, but wasn't that what a parent was supposed to do? Put of social lives, hobbies, relationships all for their child who was meant to be the most important thing in the world to them.
Feeling a presence behind her, Kara looked back over her shoulder and sent a soft smile to J'onn who was stood behind her, leaning against the open doorway.
"Are you feeling any better?" J'onn asked.
"No," Kara answered as she glanced down at her hands, beginning to pick at her nails.
"Still thinking about Debby?" J'onn inquired as he pushed off the door and made his way over to Kara, leaning on the railing next to her.
"You're the mind reader," Kara pointed out with a thin grin to which J'onn chuckled.
"Indeed. But I prefer to have conversations rather than read minds," J'onn replied with a serious look to Kara. "Want to talk about it?" Kara shook her head. She just wanted to be alone with her thoughts just now, or at least until Deity returned. "You remember I had two daughters of my own, right?" Kara looked up with a sad look in her eye, thinking of what it must have been like for him to lose his children. She wasn't sure she'd be able to keep going if lost Deity. Just her leaving the planet had almost broken her heart. She smiled timidly and nodded back to him.
"They…They never made it to their teenage years, or rather, what we would refer to as teenage years. So I don't know exactly how to handle childish rebellion," J'onn said with a small smile that turned into a smirk. "But my children did keep secrets, just like every other child."
"No offense, J'onn. But I think whatever Debby is keeping is a bit bigger than a child's secret club or birthday party," Kara said, deliberately averting her gaze from his as she turned back to the bright and colourful city. If only it could reflect her mood, Kara wished.
"Maybe," J'onn agreed as he nodded his head. "But I know you used to trust her a lot more before all this happened."
"I do trust her, Jonn," Kara said as she turned back fully to the Martin. "I just don't want anything like this to happen again is all."
"None of us do, Kara. But if you push too hard on this you'll only lose her again. Just give her time."
"I've given her time," Kara pressed right as her phone rang. Sighing, Kara fished her phone out from beneath her suit before frowning at who was calling. She glanced at J'onn before answering. "Casey?" Kara said into the phone, having taken the girl's number a while back when she asked to be notified about any update with Deity.
"Debby's in trouble!" Casey shouted down the phone.
"Wait, Casey-"
"She's fighting some robbers and one looks an awful lot like one of those Hybrid guys from last year," Casey quickly explained as Kara's eyes widen to an alert position. "She looks like she's about to kill the guy and… And the other one's getting away!"
"Get out of there, I'm on my way," Kara ordered as she took off into the sky, J'onn calling after her as she flew towards the mall at full speed.
Message for you:
Once again it has been to long since I uploaded. But I'm snowed in and up to date on college work, so I thought, what the hell! So, this one is kind of the first part of the return of Deity since the crossover which is now done and dusted and available on DarkElements10's story Friction, chapters 11-13. But if you keep reading up to chapter 18, you'll see what Deity got up to while on Earth-1.
Review Replies:
DarkElements10: I'm not entirely sure myself about Clark and Lois' relationship in Supergirl but there will be more from them as the story goes on. And weddings and booze just go well together, don't they? I'm still doing Winn and Kara, just more subtly at this portion of the story but they will go on. And I did really enjoy going into Lucy's head with this one.
dnmann: A bit harsh, but understandable. I'd probably have to agree with you on that one, but I feel getting drunk was a good compromise. Lol.
Baratta Jennifer: It's a Mirror box, slightly different to a Mother box. You might have heard of it before in another Superman show. I'll say no more. ;)
Jason Hunter: I wasn't sure about what I was going to do with season 3 as it was conflicting with what I initially had planned for my next story, but I've since come up with an idea that will in fact allow me to use Reign. So yes, you will get to see that fight but it's a long way off, so I hope you're a patient person.
Guest: Totally agree with you. The initially problem with the first crossover was that I was ahead of where DarkElements10 was at and I didn't want to spoil anything coming up in her story. So, we had Barry and Cadence's memories fuzzed which then of course meant less focus on them sadly. Then with the most recent crossover, it's all in 'Friction' so you only get the little tease in mine. So, I do agree with you but if you read the recent crossover as well as DarkElements10's half of the original crossover, you'll see we do a pretty good job of balancing our characters. At least I think anyway. Tell me what you think after you read the crossover.