Chapter 13
"I still can't believe there was an alien vigilante out there hunting other aliens." Leo commented entering the DEO after they had just completed their latest mission.
"I'm actually not that surprised. Krypton had diplomatic ties to many other planets and we helped them lock away quite a few in Fort Ross. Although to see one take the idea of justice to such an extent is most alarming. Was Kara not available for this one?" Astra remarked as the Master Jailer, an alien that had been hunting and killing the Fort Ross escapees was brought in.
"She has work and besides, we had this handled. Good for you to be seen a few times without Supergirl around to help build your reputation. Speaking of which, the new suits with built in kryptonite shielding should be ready soon. And by soon, I mean later today when Kara comes over." Leo said before heading to his lab.
Meanwhile at CatCo.
"Ms. Grant you have a package." Kara said, holding an unmarked package for in front of her.
"I am not expecting any package. Please go and open it in front of everyone outside my office." Cat ordering, getting up from her desk and standing at the door to observe Kara pulling out a letter as well as a thumb drive.
"Do you want to see what's inside it Ms. Grant?" Kara asked.
"No, I do not. I am not impressed by information sent by an anonymous source. Burn it, microwave it, crush it, I don't care. Just get rid of it." Cat said, going back into her office. She barely took a few steps towards her desk before all the screens in her office changed to reveal a blonde woman.
"You could have done great things with the drive I sent you. Now you will watch your city suffer in chaos." The woman on the screen said.
"I want this fixed now!" Cat ordered. Kara immediately got Winn to help Cat out before she had to rescue the city as Supergirl. Leo had sent her a message asking for her help as the traffic signals on all the major roads had changed. By working together with him and her aunt, they were able to prevent any loss of life and limit it to only injuries. Kara returned with them to the DEO to discuss the attack.
"Whoever this hacker is she's good. Very good. We need to get Winn to start cracking the code. See if he can find out who the hacker is." Leo said. The other two agreed and Kara went back to grab Winn.
"Any luck so far?" Kara asked while Winn kept working furiously at the computer.
"Nope. Whoever this hacker is she's good." Winn remarked continuing to work. They were all shocked however when the symbol on Winn's screen changed to resemble three dots in a triangular shape before a blue woman appeared in front of them. Astra was immediately on the defensive.
"I see you're still alive Astra. That means I get to kill three kryptonians in addition to all the humans. Prepare yourselves for Indigo is here." The woman said before disappearing again.
"What the hell was that?" Hank questioned.
"This is bad. I didn't think it was her. We need to lockdown any sensitive information and keep it disconnected before she finds it." Astra said. Hank quickly got the DEO agents to comply.
"That was Brainiac 8. A coluan, basically a race of technological beings. They were known to help Krypton. She was considered the most dangerous prisoner ever sentenced to Fort Ross. She was responsible for one of the largest genocides in Kryptonian history and it is likely that she will try again here. This is merely a taste of what she will do. We must work quickly to ensure nothing falls into her hands." Astra explained, giving them a brief on what they were up against. Kara got a text on her phone from James telling her of what Lucy had told him.
"She's already begun. James said Lucy has identified one of Indigo's potential targets. A military General who is in charge of a secret nuclear site. Do we know where that is?" Kara asked.
"There is one. It's just outside of National City." Hank said, showing them the location of the Bunker. Astra, Kara and Leo immediately headed towards the bunker to stop Indigo. By the time they reached the bunker, Indigo was already there waiting for them.
"You are too late. Now you can all watch this world burn!" Indigo taunted before she launched one of the nuclear missiles.
"I'll deal with the missile. Stop Indigo!" Astra said, flying out of the bunker and chasing after the missile.
"Hank, you need to work with Astra on disabling the nuke that was just launched. Kara keep Indigo busy. I'll work on making sure she can't fire off another missile." Leo ordered. Kara nodded and tackled Indigo into a far wall, constantly barraging the coluan with hits so she couldn't concentrate enough to launch another missile.
Leo meanwhile destroyed the launch mechanisms, preventing Indigo from launching anymore nukes even if she could and wanted to. Astra had managed to disable the nuke with guidance from Hank, directing it to plummet harmlessly into the ocean. By the time both Astra and Leo returned to the bunker where Indigo and Kara had been fighting, the coluan was already gone and only Kara was there.
"Did she say anything before she got away?" Leo asked as Kara dusted herself off.
"She said that this was only the tip of the iceberg of what she could do. She said that she had found something better to carry out her slaughter with." Kara responded.
"We need to get back to the DEO and figure out what that might be." Astra suggested. The other two nodded and they headed back to the DEO to see if they could find out what Indigo might be using.
"I may have just found a way to get rid of Indigo." Winn proclaimed when the three arrived back at the DEO.
"We're all ears." Leo said.
"She's like a computer, well sort of. So, I think if we gave her a virus, a very nasty virus, it would either kick her out and leave her vulnerable to attack or it will deal with her for good." Winn said to everyone in the room.
"When can you implement the Virus?" Hank asked.
"Right…now." Winn said, typing at his keyboard before hitting the enter key.
"Nothing's happening." Kara commented.
"It might take a while to circulate." Winn defended. They continued waiting but there was still nothing on Indigo. However, around 10 minutes in, there was a warning on the monitors. When the feed was brought up, it showed a silver armored figure with red eyes and mouth and a red stone in its chest.
"No! I thought all of them were supposed to be destroyed. How is there still one Guardian left?" Leo questioned, guilt and anger prevalent in his voice.
"What's a guardian?" Winn asked.
"It was something I helped to build when we were conducting experiments on the viability of Nebula Energy. Rather than have the body harness the energy like the rider system does, the Guardian project was intended to create a nebula energy powered suit of armor that anyone could wear." Leo explained.
"But they failed, didn't they? That's why nobody knows anything about it?" Alex asked.
"They failed spectacularly. Any normal person inside the suit would be poisoned by the Nebula Energy and turn into a monster within 10 minutes of use. We agreed that Nebula Energy would be used exclusively by me in the rider system. The project was scrapped and all the suits were to be destroyed. Clearly one wasn't and was kept in storage somewhere." Leo answered.
"But then how is Indigo controlling it? Shouldn't she be suffering from exposure to Nebula Energy?" Kara asked.
"The suit had an ai core onboard to assist the user as well as take over control of the suit in case the user was unable to." Leo pointed out.
"Given that Indigo is a coluan, it stands to reason that she is controlling the suit through that ai core. It would mean that she doesn't suffer the same effects as a normal user would." Astra added.
"How do we stop this thing and Indigo?" Hank asked.
"I will take the Guardian on myself. If I can destroy the suit, it will either force Indigo out into a physical confrontation or she will meet with Winn's virus when she tries to flee." Leo said, transforming into his HawkGatling form.
"We should take her on together!" Kara said.
"This is a fight I have to do alone Kara. The attacks from that suit will hurt you, maybe even kill you. I can't let that happen to you. And this is my fault. I built that thing. I need to be the one to stop it." Leo said, placing an armored hand on her cheek and pleading with her to understand.
"Your mate is right little one. This is his past to confront. Even if Indigo is our common enemy. The risk is also too great for us. If you get hit, you become a target for Indigo, a liability that will cost the battle." Astra advised. Kara relented and watched as Leo flew to where Indigo and the Guardian were waiting.
"Indigo! This ends now!" Leo shouted, drawing Indigo's attention.
He opened fire on the Guardian with the HawkGatlinger. Indigo matched him shot for shot, their attacks cancelling each other out in the air. Leo fired off a Full Bullet barrage at the Guardian only to find that his shots barely damaged it at all. Leo landing on the ground and quickly swapped out for his RabbitTank form and engaged Indigo in hand to hand combat. However, the Guardian was able to take all the hits, not bothering to dodge or block the hits. Despite taking strong blows from the tank half body and a flurry of strikes from the rabbit full body, the Guardian didn't flinch at all, instead delivering a single strong punch to Leo's head that had him staggering before following up with an uppercut that sent Leo tumbling backwards.
"This is certainly something amazing. I feel no pain. And the power!" Indigo boasted.
"I'm not done yet!" Leo said, changing into his KeyDragon form and rushing Indigo again.
Despite using his strongest best match however, the result was the same. The Guardian was able to take the strikes without flinching. Indigo let the Bind Master Key strike the Guardian's body before grabbing both of Leo's wrist. She then delivered a headbutt that caused disorientated Leo for a moment. She followed up with a devastating blow to Leo's abdomen and throwing him into the ground. She then took a few steps back and raised both hands so that her palms were facing him. The Guardian's palms filled with red energy as Leo got to his knees and noticed the building energy. He quickly crossed his arms in front of him before a bust of red energy fired from the Guardian, slamming into him and throwing him back a good distance. It also knocked him out of his transformation. Leo grunted in pain, rolling onto his back as Indigo slowly approached him.
"Leo!" Kara shouted in worry after watching Leo get hit and be forced out of his transformation from the DEO. Before anyone could stop her, she had left and was headed towards Indigo, crashing into the Guardian with her full momentum. She got up and tried rushing the Guardian with her speed however her attacks did little to the armored figure.
"If it isn't Supergirl. Not so super now, are you?" Indigo taunted, landing several blows on Kara that caused her to double over in pain. Indigo laughed with glee as she watched Kara try to get up before she blasted her with a beam of Nebula energy, sending Kara to the ground.
"Supergirl!" Leo shouted in worry.
"I wonder, which one of you heroes should I kill first? I think I'll finish what I started on krypton and kill you first Supergirl." Indigo sneered, taking her time to approach Kara to deliver the final blow.
"I won't let you!" Leo shouted, his body glowing purple before a burst of purple energy burst forth from it and sent the Guardian to the ground. Leo got up and placed the Sclash driver on his waist.
"Sclash Driver. Danger. Crocodile. Crushed, Consumed, Cracking! Crocodile in Rogue! Oraa!" Came the announcement before Leo was covered in his new armor.
He walked calmly towards the recovering Guardian, catching a punch that was going for his face. Leo hit the Guardian's elbow to cause the arm to buckle before delivering a swift jab to the head. He kneed the guardian in the abdomen before delivering a spin kick that sent it backwards.
"Crack-Up Finish." The driver announced when Leo hit the activation wrench.
Purple energy gathered around his right fist before he leapt at the Guardian, delivering a powerful punch that went straight through the Guardian's core. He pulled his arm out of the Guardian, leaving a sizeable whole and let the armor drop to the ground. Moments later Indigo appeared. Leo didn't waste any time, cranking the wrench another time and leaping at Indigo. This time rather than a punch, his legs were encased in a purple energy projection resembling a crocodile's jaws. He struck Indigo with a scissor kick, the jaws clamping down on the Coluan before he broke through and the Coluan was ripped in half. Once Leo made sure that Indigo was dealt with for good, he quickly rushed over to Kara's side.
"Why did you come here? You nearly died. I don't know what I would have done if anything had happened to you." Leo said, cradling Kara in his arms.
"I could say the same for you. I was so scared Leo. Watching you get hit and knocked out of your transformation. I can't lose you either." Kara countered.
"I guess we both need each other." Leo remarked.
"No matter what happens, even if it means facing death, we will do so together, promise? Partners in life, right?" Kara brought up, placing her hand on Leo's helmet where his cheek would be. Leo simply nodded to her before calling for a pickup from the DEO.
"Indigo is done for and you can now use the Sclash Driver properly. All in all, despite the numerous close calls we've had, I'd say this is a big win for all of us." Hank said once Leo and Kara were back at the DEO.
"Let's not have to do that again though. I'd prefer it if I didn't have to watch my niece and her mate nearly die. Thank you very much." Astra commented.
"Yeah well I'd like not to that. By the way, about the request I made…" Leo began but Hank raised a hand to stop the question.
"Granted. Barring any world ending threat or something beyond the capabilities of a kryptonian military general, we will not be calling on you or Supergirl so you both can focus on finalizing the wedding. After all, it's only two weeks away isn't it?" Hank said with a chuckle.
"Wait you requested for leave? I haven't even asked for leave yet. And there's still so much left to do! I have to finalize the dress fitting, settle the RSVP. Oh no. I need to go ask Ms. Grant if I can take an extended break from work to make sure everything is ready in time." Kara started rapidly running her mouth. Leo quickly silenced her with a kiss.
"Kara, relax. You just need to ask. I'm sure she won't mind. And besides, I've already settled the RSVP. I'll send the list over to you. I can't really help you with the fitting sorry." Leo said, pulling Kara close and starting their walk out of the DEO.
"Oh, right before I forget." Leo said, snapping his fingers before he tossed a bracelet to Astra and handed one to Kara.
"This looks like the bracelet that contains my suit." Kara noted.
"It's your new costumes. I've integrated anti kryptonite shielding. The shielding still has an upper capacity limit though so use it sparingly. I've timed its output at 10 minutes of active use before it needs to recharge for the same amount of time. Now if you'll excuse me, I think my future wife should be getting back to her office." Leo said leading Kara out of the DEO.
And there we have Leo's upgrade. I decided to go with Rogue since it's been seen on the show that Rogue is a match for the Hazard forms.
Another update for the week. I have season 2's story line sorted, as much as I didn't like the season in general. But I'm still torn on how to do season 3. So readers, please drop me a PM or a review to help me.
1) Should Sanvers stay together?
This is an important plot point and I'm leaning towards keeping them together. But if enough people feel I should make them split up like in the series I have my own ideas for that.
2) Should Kara and Leo have a surprise Baby?
I've worked out that this is possible but requires me to lengthen the gap between season 2 and 3 to about 1 year and 6 months instead of just six months. this is just a cute side of the story that I might consider adding in if enough readers feel I should.
3) Evolt or Mad Rogue
For Leo's earth X counterpart, should he be Evolt or Mad Rogue? This will have implications as if enough readers think I should do an Evolt then I'll push crisis on earth X back to post Reign.
4) Secondary Riders
I'm considering secondary riders but they'll only come after Leo gets his Genius form. Below are the options for secondary riders. I would like recommendations on who they should be. Some candidates I have in mind include Alex, Maggie and James.
Cross Z Charge with eventual transition to Magma.
Grease with eventual transition to Grease Blizzard.
Rogue with potential transition to Mad Rogue
Till next update. And remember reviews and inputs on the above points mean you guys get faster updates! It really does go a long way in terms of motivation!