Chapter 14: Let It Out

A frustrated scream erupted from inside Deity, like a warning volcano about to unleash the destructive force it held inside. The same might have been said for Deity had she not already obliterated four shops and part of the food court. To anyone watching her they would have said she'd lost her mind but from Deity's perspective it was all completely justified. Sim was one of the people she'd trusted, and one of the ones that had stabbed her in the back. She thought they were friends just like with every other Hybrid. There had been good times during the first few weeks when they were all away exploring the universe. Until they ran into Them. Then everything had changed. They all turned on her, stabbed her in the back like it was nothing. And after everything she'd been through, even after returning home from another Earth, thinking she might finally be able to move on, just the sight of Sim had broken her down to one primal urge. Revenge.

It wasn't made any easier by the fact that Sim danced around her, dashing this way and that all while she was trying to give him the beating of a life time. She should have been watching him, trying to predict his next move but she was running on hot, rageful, blood. All she could do was swing her fists and fire off her energy vision whenever he came into sight. She couldn't stop herself, if she did though she imagined she'd break down into tears as the memories came back to her. The moment they betrayed her as well as everything from War World.

"Someone's out of practise?" Sim teased as he ducked underneath before twirling around skilfully and coming up behind Deity before sending a zap of lightning into her back. The girl stumbled, unable to stop herself as her momentum pulled her along. But instead of falling, she ducked into a roll and as she caught a glimpse of Sim behind her, while she was upside down. She let loose with her energy vision. Having not been expecting the attack, Sim was blindsided and was sent spiralling up to the second floor walkway.

"Well…that's gonna leave a mark," Sim muttered as he pulled himself up, shoving off the remains of the banister that lay on top of him. He had just been about to run back down to the floor below when a gust of window blew into his face from the side. He turned, and just in time to avoid Deity's foot coming at him like a wrecking ball. He ducked and then hopped two steps backwards as Deity continued on forwards with a punch. By then he was out of range, and he was too fast for her to hit him with her energy vision when it was this obvious. She did it anyway though and only ended up cleaning the air of the green sparks he left behind.

Deity screamed a curse aloud before biting back down on her teeth, baring them like a rabid dog desperate to sink its teeth into something. Deity liked to think she had a bit more class than that but with the way things were going she wouldn't put it past herself. She was starting to wonder if she looked more animal than human, or even Kryptonian for that matter.

"Shouldn't you be trying to negotiate or something by this point?" Sim asked, bringing Deity's eyes down to the floor below where the young man was stood. Hands in his pockets as he stared back up at her with those stupid little oblivious eyes, his dark curls having expanded since she last so him. He was now on the verge of having a miniature afro. Deity could still remember when she first told him about the hair style and he'd been so excited about having a hair style that he basically already had. She laughed then…there was no laughter now. Instead there was just an angry.

Without though, Deity dove from the second floor, her throbbing, blood pulsing eyes locking onto Sim as she raised her fist and threw it towards him only to then feel it connect with the ground. It then gave way beneath her and Deity sank into the crater she'd created, only to then look up and see Sim stood at the edge.

"So, that's a no on the negotiations then?" Deity growled before unleashing another pent-up scream and jumped from the crater. Once again, her fists were engulfed in a furious yellow light and she began to swing at Sim again and again as he dodged her like it was nothing, swaying this way and that, making it look as if he was dancing rather than fighting. Then suddenly his leg came up, catching Deity's chin and sending her head over heels as she flew back across the mall landing in a heap on the floor.

Another curse as she slammed her fist onto the tiled floor and stood up, leaving a violated spider web of cracks along the tiles. Her eyes locked back onto Sim, stood exactly where he'd kicked her. Looking as peaceful and cheery as ever. All Deity wanted to do was rip those emotions from him and leave him feeling a smidge of what she was feeling now.

"You want to talk about negotiating?" Deity snarled at the slightly older Hybrid. "How about we discuss you stabbing me in the back!"

"Come on, Deity-We all picked the winning side? You could have too, if you hadn't been so stubborn-We gave you plenty of chances," Sim argued as Deity screamed, unleashing another blast of her energy vision which Sim dashed around a corner to avoid.

"That's not an excuse!" Deity screamed as Sim pocked his head out from behind the corner. She charged towards him again and Sim vanished around the corner. But having anticipated this, Deity adjusted her course and headed straight through two walls that made up the corner and then tackled Sim to the ground as her hand latched onto both his hair, shirt and skin, dragging him down.

Once they hit the floor, the girl didn't give him a second chance. She moved as fast as she could, pinning him down like she had done to those in the area. Those she'd killed.

With her fists once again engulfed in sunlight she swung down, fist slamming into the ground as Sim swung his head to the side only just avoiding the blow. "Jeez, Deity!-You could you calm down before someone gets hurt." It was as if he'd just realised how serious it all was, like it had all been part of a game up until now. Now when he was fearing for his life and he saw what Deity was really trying to do.

"I already got hurt!' Deity screamed into her once friend's face as she swung her left fist down this time. Again, Sim rolled his head aside avoiding the blow, but now he had nowhere to go. Leaving her fist in place, preventing Sim from moving his head again, Deity raised her right fist. Now so bright, Sim had no choice but to close his eyes, even Deity had too. But even with her eyes closed the tears managed to find a way out, trailing down her cheeks as she swung her fist towards him.

It connected, and she felt his face breaking apart. Everything going in slow motion suddenly as she felt the bones splinter, heard them crack and give way to the force of her fist. The nose was first to go, she could feel it bending at an awkward angle as it was flatted down beneath her knuckles. Then came his cheek bones which cracked beneath her strength but never gave way. That was because in mid punch someone grabbed Deity and had talked her off of Sim.

A bloodthirsty scream erupted from Deity's throat as she thrashed against whoever was holding her, trying to get back to Sim to finish the job. She and her captor had slid across the Mall floor to a stop, and Deity could see Sim. His nose undeniably broken now, possibly for good. Skin swelling rather than healing, turning a painful black around the centre of his face as blood seeped from what remained of his nose. His split lips only added to that, as well as the bruises that were all over the right side of his face now, in tiny patches.

She continued to pull at whoever had their arms around her, pinning her arms to her side as she continued to struggle. She could hear whoever it was shouting at her to calm down, but their voice was disguised as if it were underwater or miles away. Then finally it broke through. "Debby." She heard her mother say.

Deity stopped her fight and froze. Everything that had just happened in the Mall rewound. She saw herself, practically an animal as she lunged around the Mall, chasing Sim with only one goal. To kill him. Despite everything she was still shocked at that fact alone. She thought she'd gotten better, thought she'd at the very least improved with her time away. Now she realised she hadn't at all. If anything, she'd gotten worse.

Watching her daughter as they stood in the D.E.O. hub, Kara occasionally glanced up to the medical bay every few minutes, just to see if Alex had come out with any news. Sim was in critical condition. Alive, but badly injured. Kara had gotten a good look at his face after she dealt with Deity. Even with their healing abilities, there were going to be scars left after this, for both him and Deity.

She'd been quiet ever since Kara manged to get her away from Sim. Before that she'd been screaming about how he deserved it and how she had to let her do it. Honestly, it scare Kara a little. She hadn't seen much of what went down between Deity and Felix, only the start and the aftermath. The shapeshifting Hybrid was still out of it as well, in his cell strung up to his life support systems. They'd do the same with Sim, once he was stable, move him to a cell and keep him alive for as long as they could.

Kara's attention was more so on her daughter then the other Hybrid. She could consider the possibility that she was being pushy earlier, though for her it was completely justified. But this was something they had to talk about, however, Deity seemed to disagree with that and had been refusing to talk. Kara had tried numerous times so far, saying they needed to talk and when Deity said nothing she'd just talk about what had happened and ask questions. None were answered. Deity wasn't even looking at her either.

She'd been ordered by basically everyone close to her to stay downstairs in the hub of the D.E.O. while Alex dealt with Sim. Kara had stayed with her, hoping it would be a good chance to chat. She was clearly wrong on that front, but she wasn't about to give up any time soon either.

"Whenever you're ready to start talking, just let me know," Kara said with folded arms. She was leaning back against one of the empty work stations at the hub, watching as Deity sat in a spiny chair opposite her, eyes lowered with a scowl on her face. Exactly like a child that was grumpy for getting in trouble, thinking they'd done nothing wrong.

Again, there was no response.

"You are aware you could have killed him, right?" Kara prompted, attitude still her voice from her previous statement. After asking your child to speak to you several times and getting no response, it was easy to get angry and start acting a little snarky like Kara was now. She just hated the fact that Deity couldn't see she was trying to help. Things hadn't been great when they were on Earth-1 dealing with the Dominators but at least they were making progress, now all that seemed to be sliding backwards, which only further irritated Kara. She just wanted her daughter to open up to her.

"Do you really want that on your conscience?" Kara asked when suddenly Deity's head lifted sharply, eyes looking onto Kara's. Her heart briefly sank, seeing the coldness in those once warm brown eyes. What was happening to her? That was all Kara wanted, to know and to help in whatever way she could. Why couldn't she just see that? But the look told her that wasn't going to happen.

Standing up from her chair, Deity held her gaze with Kara for another second before turning and marching towards the staircase that lead to the balcony of the D.E.O. Kara's jaw dropped, outraged that Deity was just walking away from her like this. She rose from her leaned back position, calling after her daughter.

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded.

"Somewhere to clear my head," Deity shot back without even a glance over her shoulder.

"No," Kara said firmly and yet still Deity continued to walk away. Kara clenched her fists, repressing the anger before then super speeding in front of Deity, blocking her path. "I said no. You're not leaving until we're done talking."

"I wasn't talking," Deity said as she stepped around Kara, still heading for the balcony.

"Debby Danvers, you are not leaving this building until I say so!" Kara shouted as she swung around. That time Deity didn't even bother with a response and just continued on her path, now heading up the stairs.

Kara's jaw clenched, her fights tightened, and she could practically feel the steam coming out her nostrils and ears. She'd had it, she was done with the nice act, it wasn't getting her anywhere. She had to be firm and stand her ground, but clearly that wasn't working. So she did the next thing that came into her head. She ran forwards at super speed, grabbing Deity's arm and then super speeded through the D.E.O. and into an isolated room with a cell, one of many they had in the building. It was where they kept prisoners that didn't socialise with others well or that were involved in an ongoing investigation or another D.E.O. cases.

Then before Deity knew she'd even moved rooms, Kara punched in the unlock code for the cell, let the doors open and then threw Deity inside. Deity stumbled and rolled backwards into the cell right as Kara hit the close button. The doors slide shut as Deity jumped up to her feet, throwing her fist against the glass wall and not even leaving a dent.

"What is wrong with you?!" Deity shouted through the glass.

"Consider yourself grounded," Kara said firmly as she scowled at her daughter with her arms folded in an authoritative manor.

"What?!" Deity screamed as her face contorted in rage and anger. Basically, what any normal teen looked like when they got grounded.

"I'll come back in an hour or so. Give you some time to cool off," Kara said simply before turning on her heels and walking away. From behind she heard her daughter scream out in rage as she banned her fists against the cell wall. It wasn't going to do any good. The cells were designed to remove all powers, something they'd adapted for both aliens and metahumans. And the glass for the cells was reinforced too, so there was no way Deity was getting out unless someone let her out.

But even when Kara stepped out the room and the doors sealed shut behind her, she could still hear the muffled shouts of hatred coming from her daughter. She's just angry, Kara told herself as she leaned back against the wall. She'll be back to her old self soon enough.

But what if she didn't change back? What if she remained this bitter, angry and secretive for the rest of her life? Letting out a sigh, Kara ran her hands down her face as she groaned into them. Was it always this hard? She wondered, looking back now and remembering last year when everything felt so much easier. She knew it was probably just her optimistic mind, making the memories better than perhaps they actually were, but even so she'd remember feeling like this. Feeling locked out by someone she just wanted to help. She'd experienced it as a hero, people complaining that they didn't want her around, that she was doing more harm than good. There were always people like that. Kara just never though her daughter would be one of them.

"You think that was wise?"

Kara dropped her arms at her sister's voice, pondering her question for a second before then throwing her arms up. "I don't know, Alex. No, probably not. In fact, it was probably the stupidest thing I could have done, but I've done it now!" Kara explained in exasperation, his voice rising as her arms fell to her side. "And what was I supposed to do? Let her go out there, bump into another Hybrid and then beat that one to death as well?"

"I'm just…trying to do the best I can, alright?" Kara sighed as she griped the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes as she waited for Alex's response.

"I just came to tell you that Sim's stable. He's still out of it but he's okay and starting to heal. We've moved him to another cell." Kara dropped her hand and opened her eyes, smiling quietly at her sister.

"Thank you," she said tiredly, only then realising how much this whole ordeal had taking from her. Alex just nodded before reaching over to rub her sister's shoulder reassuringly. Again, Kara closed her eyes and leaned her head over to Alex's hand, letting her sister's touch sink into her, calming her and reassuring her. Alex, the big sister with the voice of reason. Maybe she could send Alex in to talk to Deity.

No. It had to be her. She had to be the one to get through. She was Deity's mother and it was her job, not Alex's or Cadence's, her burden. One she was happy to carry, but was only just beginning to realise just how heavy it really was.

Lunch time was arguably the most dreaded part of Indigo's day. It was a solid hour where she had to go and sit in the cafeteria, grab a tray of food and eat the useless substances until Max came back for her. Despite being his assistant for several weeks now, he still didn't seem to trust her enough to let her come down with him to his 'special projects' basement. He was smart to do so, and Indigo had to give him credit for that, but even so it was irritating to no end. She'd done everything she could to get in his good books and still he wouldn't let her come with him. She'd even stopped sneaking out during her lunch hour, after realising he had cameras watching her come and go. That in turn meant she had less time to work on the mirror box back at the hideout and thus she was stuck with one useless hour each day, with a tray of slop in front of her.

It wasn't like she even needed the muck, humans called food. Indigo had come up with a far better substitute after one glance and hadn't even needed to use five percent of her brain power to do it. Primitive apes, Indigo though to herself with a roll of the eyes as she stabbed at the tray with her fork. Swirling the food around so it seemed like she'd eaten more than she actually had. Of course, that had then led to the rumour of her having an eating problem, though in part, that was her own fault for making her human form so skinny and weak looking. It was all to aid in lowering Max's guard but even, so she hated having people looking at her and mutter behind her back. Mostly because it meant if people were watching her then she had to be extra careful.

She glanced up, seeing several pairs of eyes move away from her and grunted. Idiots, Indigo thought as she kept her gaze risen, glancing out across the cafeteria from her isolated corner as she took a fork full of food and rammed it into her mouth. She was just thankful she had no sense of taste. From her calculations she'd tasted far better.

"Terra." At the sound of her alias, Indigo looked up to see Max coming her way. As always, he was dressed in his fancy dark suit which screamed mysterious billionaire. Just like every other rich man on the planet. Despite this, Indigo put on her Terra signature shy smile and lowered her gaze down to his chin.

"Yes, Mr. Lord," Indigo said before fixing the glasses on her face. A useful trick she'd picked up from Supergirl's alter ego, something she'd really have to thank her for once it was all over and she had her begging for mercy.

"Come with me," Max said with a wag of her finger, indicating for her to follow.

Without waiting for a response, he turned, his sleek shoes squeaking as he walked off in the opposite direction. Keeping true to her character, Indigo got up in as clumsily a way as possible and deliberately knocked her tray over. She did however manage to skilfully move as to avoid any of the leftover food splattering her outfit. She made a show of deciding to follow Max or to clean up her mess before nervously fleeing after him, her heels clicking as she did and bringing eye from all over the cafeteria too her.

It had all been pre-planned anyway, a show that added to her credibility as harmless.

"Excuse me, Mr. Lord," Indigo said quietly as she caught up to him. "Where-where are we going?" At the question Max swung back around to meet her, stopping in his track and placing his hands together as Indigo grinded to a halt to avoid crashing into him.

"Can I trust you?" Max asked with a serious look in his eyes. Indigo forcefully gulped, implying her uncertainty before pulling back and fixing her glasses which had slid down her nose a moment ago.

"Em…wh-wha-what do you-you mean?" Indigo asked nervously, just like the innocent little Terra Max believed her to be. Why humans found acting hard she would never understand, it was all just math in her head. Subtle adjustments to the voice, the movements of the body. How some could get it and others couldn't amazed her and yet most of these so called 'actors' couldn't understand the basics of rocket science. Just another reason for her to wipe the species from existence when she was done with them.

"I need to know I can trust you before we go any further," Max pressed, hope seeping into his eyes. Indigo fought the urge to smile. Perfect. He wanted to trust her, wanted to believe her act and that would be his downfall.

"Of course, you can trust me… Mr. Lord," Indigo then added at the end as she forced blush into her checks, along with that small nervous, shy and flirtatious smile that she knew he loved. "I'm dedicated to helping you in any way possible." Max stared at her for a moment, studying her before finally nodding.

"Alright," he said as he pulled out a folded collection of papers. "I'm going to need you to sign this before I take you down then." He stepped over to nearby desk and Indigo followed, pulling out one of many pens she carried. She was happy to sign anything, human law meant nothing to her and Max was a fool for thinking that a piece of paper would stop her from doing what she needed to.

She quickly scribbled down a signature that she then committed to memory all while Max watched before handing the papers back over to him. He took them but stared at them for a moment before looking back up at Indigo with a frown. "Don't you want to read them first?"

Indigo smiled another Terra smile. "I trust you." Max smiled back, a genuine smile that let Indigo know he was falling further into her trap. She might have felt bad for him if he wasn't so stupidly human.

"Come on," he said as he put the papers away in his jacket before nodding towards the lift. Indigo followed, and they stepped inside before Max pressed his finger against the lift button. A blue line flashed across it and then moved up and down before the button flashed green. The doors then closed, and the lift began to move.

"We'll get your finger prints scanned in later. Right now, I just want to show you around," Max explained as he glanced over to Indigo who was looking dead ahead at the elevator doors. Just waiting for them to open back up.

"Nervous? Scared?" Max inquired, snapping Indigo from her thoughts as she turned to him with a smile.

"More like excited," Indigo admitted prompting Max to smile at her. The lift doors then opened into a dim grey walled corridor with thin blue lights hanging over head. They didn't let off a lot of light but what they did emit was enough to see where you were going. Indigos adjusted instantly, and she followed Max as he stepped out.

She glanced this way and that, giving off an expression of awe as she committed the layout to memory. Everything about the place was being downloaded into her head and shipped back to their hideout for her to look over later. Max had no idea what he'd just let into his secret little cave.

As they walked, she looked to the sealed doors wondering what was behind each one. There were no windows into the rooms and the doors were solid so there wasn't much chance of getting a peek that way. And she wasn't ready to try hacking into the security down here yet. Not if it risked setting off an alarm, too risky since it was her first time down in the mysterious basement. No need to deter him from bringing her back down. Indigo did however get a glance into one of the rooms as one scientist was leaving. He stepped out and Indigo leaned past him getting a glimpse in before the door slide shut. But a glimpse was all she needed to commit the red glowing rock to memory.

Interesting, Indigo thought once she'd finished her preliminary scans of the rock. That has definite possibilities.

They continued on until Max stopped at a door and punched in a code before leaning down to let the key pad scan his eye. Once it did the door opened and Max stepped in with Indigo following. Inside was a similar styled room to the corridor outside. Grey walls dim lights which then brightened upon their entry, but Indigo hardly noticed as her eyes landed on the woman in the room. She had to run a second scan just to be sure that the first hadn't been wrong, but it was.

"Incredible," Indigo murmured, sounding more like her normal self as she stepped towards the medical bed where a woman identical to Supergirl lay. She grabbed onto the side of the bed, leaning over to look at the detail on the girl's face. Everything down to the strands on her hair was just like Kara Zor-El's. It was a perfect clone…and a human had made it.

The girl's eyes shot open unexpected and made Indigo lean back as she got a look at the blackness that consumed them. Obviously not a perfect creation then, Indigo thought. "What do you think?" Max asked as Indigo took another step back, lining up with Max.

"It's… It's…" Indigo stammered, knowing it was how at least ninety-five percent of the population would have acted to the situation.

"A clone of Supergirl," Max said with a proud smile as he looked down upon the woman, brushing a strand of her blonde hair from her face. Somehow unfazed by the girl's inky black, unblinking eyes.

"But she's not ready yet, and possibly never will be. This is my sixth attempt at creating a Supergirl clone," Max explained as he pulled back from the clone, placing his hands in his pockets as he turned to Indigo who was still staring at the girl, scanning her in very way she could. She still couldn't quite believe that Max had created this thing. She would have to start giving him more credit, at least when it came to his ideas and inventions.

"How… How did you…?" Indigo pretended to struggle as her eyes moved from the clone to Max, making sure the look of amazement remained in her eyes.

"I combination of several things actual," Max said rather proudly as he smiled at Indigo before both turned back to his creation. "But the most important was the blood samples collected from Supergirl over the course of the last year. Admittedly it was a challenge to collect blood from someone who can't bleed but since she insists on fighting every alien or metahuman that walks into this town, it was just a matter of showing up at her latest battlefield and collecting whatever she left behind off herself."

"From there it was several months of planning, mixing chemicals together until finally we got this," Max explained before he lifted up a tube that was connected to a blood bag and ran into the girl's arm. Only it wasn't blood in the bag, rather a black liquid that Indigo again had to marvel at. To think Max had created this as well. Now she really was eager to see what else he had going on down here.

"When we pump it into the host it morphs their DNA. Tearing it apart and reconstructing it. As you can see it does the same to the outside, turning them into a clone of Supergirl."

"You were trying to create a Kryptonian," Indigo said as the idea clicked into her head.

"Yes," Max said as he nodded his head. "But I'll settle for a clone of Supergirl. As long as it works, and we humans can control it." Now that was something Indigo could get behind, a replica of Supergirl that did whatever she wanted, matching her in every way. The possibilities of where she could go from there were endless.

"But there's a problem." Indigo had already seen that coming from the moment she saw the black eyes. "The hosts keep fighting the substance and it leaves them in a vegetated state. They haven't even exhibited any powers or abilities, they're still completely human. They just look like Supergirl," Max explained in bitter disappointment.

"So, what do you want me to do?" Indigo asked curiously with a frown.

"I want you to help me find a suitable host for the substance," Max answered as he turned towards her. "I believe out there in National City is the perfect host, and that when we fill their body with this." He gestured to the black liquid. "They will turn into a true clone of Supergirl."

Not quite, Max, Indigo thought while smirking away in her head. He'd miscalculated and was missing one key ingredient that was needed to make the process work. He just didn't know it. But Indigo did, and she had said ingredient thanks to Live Wire's little trip to Gotham. The Mirror Box. His clone couldn't hope to succeed without it, but Indigo would never have thought, or even been able to attempt making a clone of Supergirl without all the work Max had already done. He set the ground work and built the building. Now all Indigo needed to do was add the finishing touches. Any old human would do but she'd only get one chance to use the mirror box in such a way, so she'd better pick a good human to use it on. Fortunately thanks to her brilliant mind and the ability of multitasking, she'd already found the perfect woman in National City.

So, she agreed to help Max and promised she'd have a new host ready for him by the end of the week. That would be plenty of time for her to sneak in and edit the substance with the mirror box so that she could have her twisted mirror version of Supergirl. It was just a matter of patience, something she'd grown very good at using to her advantage.

When the sound of footsteps began to echo from behind the glass, Deity looked up to see her mother slowly making her way towards her. The sternness from before was still in her eyes and her face was still set in a disapproving scowl, one she normally reserved for the bad guys. To be on the receiving end of it didn't make Deity feel any better.

She'd been thinking back to the last time she'd been locked up in a D.E.O. prison cell when Ruby and Sim had escaped with the aid of Astra almost a year ago. Kara had come to get her then too. She expected her to be disappointed, but she hadn't been. She was just happy to see she was okay and had hugged her. Somehow Deity didn't think she was going to be getting the same response this time.

She sat up, pressing her back against the wall, lifting her head to meet Kara's gaze with her soft brown eyes. Her knees were half pulled up against her chest, her arms wrapped around them and held together by her joint hands. She spent the better part of three hours just sitting there. Alone in isolation. It had given her time to think, and not just about how it must suck for the bad guys they locked up in these very cells.

"Hey," Deity said depressingly from inside the cell.

"Hey," Kara replied, a few feet away from the cell wall. The same depressed tone in her voice. She clearly wasn't happy about this either. That said, what she had done made sense. Deity understood and honestly agreed with what her mother had done. She needed to be grounded and left to think over her actions. This was really the only way it could have happen, by throwing her in a cell that would force her to stay put. Her bedroom wouldn't have worked, she'd have just flown out.

But the time alone hadn't been great for her. She'd gotten another glimpse of herself. What she was heading towards, the bazar animal like monster she turned into whenever she caught sight of another Hybrid from her past. It scared her. It really did. But she didn't know what to do about it. It wasn't like she could just turn off her feelings towards them all. They'd hurt her, more than anyone in the universe had ever done, at least in her memories anyway, most of which were still missing. She knew she had to get over it, but this was one hurdle she couldn't see herself getting over. And how could she talk to Kara about it? She'd have to admit to breaking her mother's rule, a rule she'd never wanted to break and shamefully had. Her mother would never look at her the same way again, she'd be another villain she'd have to lock up for breaking the law. And after the time she'd spent in the cell, she was starting to believe that was where she belonged.

"Sim's woken up," Kara said as Deity was brought back to the real world. Though her thoughts continued to linger in her head, floating around as ghostly whispers while she tried to focus on what her mother was saying. "He's locked up in his cell but J'onn and Lucy want to begin interrogating him… Do you want to come with me to help?" Kara asked as she kicked the floor with her red boot.

"You sure that's a good idea?" Deity mumbled as her gaze dropped to her hands. She began to fiddle with them, mindlessly rubbing them over one another just as something to take her mind off the situation.

"You tell me," Kara replied with a hint of curiosity to her voice. Deity wished she could give a confident answer to that question. Just picturing Sim in her head was making her blood boil, thinking off any of them did that.

She didn't like the person she became when she found Felix and Sim, but at the same time she'd never tried to stop it. Someone else always had to talk her out of it. It had been a surprise to see them both times, so maybe knowing she was going to see Sim would help her stay in control of her emotions. But that was the stage of her life she was in, raging hormones and emotional landslides were a given, even for a Kryptonian. She briefly wondered if her Hybrid DNA made that worse or better. Either way the betrayal hadn't helped her.

She just wanted to…

Maybe that was part of the problem, Deity wasn't sure what she wanted. For things to go back to the way they were? Everyone wanted that, at some point or another, but it was just unrealistic. She wanted her relationship with Kara back, but that would involve the truth which would more than likely destroy whatever was left between her and her adoptive mother.

Taking a deep breath through her noise, Deity sighed out through her mouth. "I'll try," was all she could say. Her voice came out with the usual gruffness of a moody teenager. She had been pretty sure Kara was going to leave her just because of her tone, but then the glass doors slid apart.

She looked up and saw Kara standing by the control panel, blue eyes lingering on her, swaying like the gentle waves in the ocean. She still trusted her. It made Deity feel small, realising that. Almost as if she wasn't worthy of having Kara in her life.

Slowly she stood, keeping her gaze low as she walked out. She got a few steps away before Kara began to follow. Seamlessly she caught up to Deity, walking alongside her and leading her towards another of the privet cells. She stopped outside the door and put a hand up, indicating for Deity to stop. She did, and momentarily looked up to see Kara looking down at her. "He's beyond this door." A pause in between her sentences as she watched her daughter, trying to spot any sigh that she was becoming unhinged. "Are you going to be okay?"

Deity nodded.

If Kara had been waiting for a more conniving argument, she wasn't getting it. Then a few moments later she turned and opened the door.

Deity's gaze landed on Sim instantly. Trapped in his cell, sat on the bed that had been provided for him with J'onn and Lucy flanking him from outside the cell, providing Deity with the prefect line of sight upon entry. She felt her fists clench tightly, possibly breaking the skin as she did. She could feel her boiling blood, flowing throughout her body and screaming for her to attack. She stood still, imagining that chains were holding her back as every muscle inside of her tensed.

Having heard the door open, J'onn and Lucy looked back at Deity, their faces still. She could feel Kara's eyes on her too. All waiting for her reaction. She could do this, she knew she could. Closing her eyes, she took a breath. A few in fact, she had to before she could even think of a taking a calming one. Her blood began to cool inside her and she felt her muscle begin to loosen one by one. Most were still on alert but at least for now she was able to keep herself in check.

Her eyes then shot open as she exhaled, having glimpsed a memory from before, when she'd been friends with Sim. Her heart ached. She'd thought she'd meant more to him, to all of them. Apparently she'd been wrong about that.

"Anyone else getting a severe case of déjà vu?" Sim asked abruptly, breaking the silence. His voice forced Deity to dig her nails into her palms again, doing her best to stay in control. She remained by the door, taking only a few steps in so the door could close behind them. Kara remained by her side while J'onn and Lucy turned back to Sim.

"Though I'm pretty sure we're missing someone? – Anyone else get that feeling? – Must just be me – Love the new cells by the way – Far nicer than those gloomy caves – Much more comforting, at least for a prison cell anyway-"

Sim went on with his usually rambling until eventually J'onn cut in. A good thing he had too, since Deity had been about ready to scream. "We need to ask you a few questions," he said loudly, as if he were a growling dog, forcing Sim to be quiet and listen to him.

"Like what?" Sim asked with innocent look on his face.

"Like where the other Hybrids are," Lucy said with a scowl, a serious tone to her voice.

"I don't know," Sim said with a shrug. His eyes moved back and forth between the two D.E.O. leaders as if he were a suspicious cartoon character. "Next?" He was playing with them, Deity knew it. This is basically what he'd done the first time they caught him and that had all been a trap to free Ruby.

"What are you planning?" J'onn asked, refusing to let Sim succeed in getting under his skin.

"I don't know," Sim said with another shrug.

"Stop playing around!" Deity snapped angrily as she took an advancing step only to stop when she felt Kara's hand land on her shoulder. And while it had stopped her from getting closer to the cell, it failed to stop the enraged expression on Deity's face. She was sick of Sim playing around, this was serious, and he was going to give them straight answers or else she'd make him, one way or another.

"No, I seriously don't know," Sim said as he lifted his hands up, still playing innocent. "I mean come on – Would you trust a blabber mouth like me with the end game plan? – Of course not – Otherwise I'd end up telling you lot by accident or something." He sent the four a friendly smile as he lowered his hands, but they could all see the smugness hidden beneath.

"He's lying!" Deity shouted, spit flying with accusation.

"Can't you read his mind?" Lucy said in a low voice to J'onn, despite the fact that everyone could hear him.

"I already tried. Something's blocking me, keeping me out," J'onn explained as he looked over to Lucy with a sorry look.

"Yeah – Real shame isn't it," Sim pointed out as he leaned back on his bed. "Hurt like hell too – Making sure that you couldn't get in our heads – Took days for some of us."

"What did?" J'onn demanded.

"It's one of Hale's little tricks," Sim explained.

"Who the hell is Hale?" Deity shouted, her hands now white from the cut off circulation.

"New guy – You won't know him," Sim said with another of his care free shrugs that made Deity snarl before she shot forwards, slamming her fist against the glass wall before anyone could catch her.

"Stop this! Stop this now! Just tell us what we want to know!" Deity shouted as she glared through the glass at Sim who only seemed sarcastically scared.

"Debby!" Kara snapped as she stormed towards Deity from behind.

"I can't tell you what I don't know." Another shrug that sent what was left of Deity's control out the window.

"You're lying!" Deity cried as she slammed her fist against the glass once more.

"That's enough!" J'onn shouted as he grabbed Deity's right arm while Kara grabbed her left, both pulling her back.

"Debby, stop this!" Kara shouted, her authoritative mother voice back again.

"So is the interrogation over then?" Sim asked with mock curiosity which caused Deity to scream as she fought against J'onn and Kara's hold. Lucy quickly ran over and shut off the intercom silencing Sim's voice before he could get anything else out.

Deity began to shout but the words had lost meaning by this point. She just wanted Sim to feel shame for what he'd done and to know that she was never going to forgive him. She kept shouting even once Kara and J'onn got her beyond the cell and back into the corridor with Lucy sealing the door shut behind them. They were all shouting at her, trying to get her to calm down and listen but Deity couldn't. She just couldn't.

"Debby, stop!"

"This isn't you!"

"You need to calm down!"

"Get a grip!"

All were just a few of things being shouted to her by her mother and friends. She blocked most of them out though, focusing her energy on breaking free from J'onn and Kara until finally she managed to slide from the grasp before pushing them both back. Neither fell but they stumbled back enough to give her some space.

"You weren't there!" Deity blasted out as the three adults suddenly fell silent, all now giving her their full attention. "You weren't in War World! You don't know what I did, you don't know what I went through!"

"That's because you won't tell me," Kara pointed out, her voice suddenly soft as she stepped forward, ahead of J'onn and Lucy but still leaving her daughter space.

"I can't!" Deity cried out in desperate frustration, clearly being torn apart inside. "Don't you get it! I can't! Because if I do…" Her voice vanished. Dropping from a roaring storm to the quiet whispers of mice. "If I do…you'll never see me again."

Kara's face scrunched up. "Wha…What do you mean?"

"Please…Please, don't make me tell you," Deity begged as she backed into the wall, a mixture of tears forming in her eyes. She was truly scared, knowing that if Kara pushed hard enough now she might well break. This could be it, the moment she lost Kara forever, and then she truly would be along with no one left to love or care for her. Her heart was tearing itself up just at the thought. "I don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me," Kara said as she knelt down before Deity, now looking up at her crying daughter. She pushed the sincerity into her eyes, trying to make Deity see but her daughter just couldn't accept it. She couldn't risk it. Kara then reached for Deity's hand, holding it with her own before doing the same to the other. Running her thumb across the back of Deity's hand. "I'm not going to make you tell me anything. If you're not comfortable then that's okay. But you should never be scared to tell me anything." She reached up with her hand, holding Deity's check as she smiled at her sad little girl, brushing away her tears. "I'm your mom. There isn't anything you can say that will make me stop caring about you."

A loud sniff from Deity as she pulled away from Kara.

"Even if I killed someone."

Silence gripped Kara so tightly that her ears began to ring. Everything had fallen away. All background noises just suddenly gone. The hum of machinery, the buzz of computers, the mindless chatter from other agents, the breathing of J'onn and Lucy. Even the wind became still. Everything did. She was frozen in that moment.

She tried to hide what she was feeling from Deity, but her eyes wouldn't close. And she watched as her daughter's soft brown doey eyes lost hope. Becoming scared and frightened for dear life. Deity went to run but before she could Kara grabbed her arm, tightly, almost deathly.

Deity's heart stopped. How far had this pushed her mother. She went to look into Kara's eyes but never got the chance as she was suddenly pulled forwards. She wanted to scream, fearing Kara was about to through her back in a cell and leave her to rot. But she didn't, she held it in until suddenly she found her arms wrapped around Kara. She hadn't been sure why at first, but then she realised her mom was holding her too. Their heads resting on each other's shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

A whisper from Kara. "I'm sorry," she said again, and Deity heart came back to life. "I'm so sorry." The hug tightened, and Deity cried out in relief before burying her face into Kara's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Debby." Kara's voice was shaking now and for a moment fear blew through Deity again. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there. That I didn't stop this from happening. I'm sorry I ever let you go," Kara said before she too began to cry. Deity wasn't sure why, but she didn't want to ask. The fear was still there. So instead she just held on. Held on for dear life like her mother was doing.

Please let it get better, Deity prayed silently. Please.

With her arms folded, and one corn of her lips turned up in a wicked thin smile, Gia looked down at the table covered in stacks of green bills. How unearth the local metahumans and aliens couldn't get away with a simple robbery bewildered her. They'd pulled off several with extreme ease. She'd dispatched the Hybrids across the country, all tasked with robbing the banks of their designated cities. Anything would do just as long as they got the green and lots of it.

"Do you think maybe we went a little overboard?" Kem asked from the head of the table where he was leaning down, a smug smile playing on his lips as he chuckled to himself. Perhaps they had but there was no harm in having a little extra tucked away in case of emergencies, especially once they revealed themselves.

"I could always take a cut for myself. Wouldn't want it burning a hole in anyone's pocket," Ruby said as she picked up a wad of cash, flicking through the bills and letting the sound of power fly by.

"You'll do no such thing," Gia snarled as she sent a glare across to Ruby. The woman's face dropped from a mischievous grin to a moody pout. Gia continued with her glare, raising a challenging eyebrow when Ruby held onto the money. With a grumble Ruby then threw the wad back down with the rest.

"How soon until we can begin?" Gia asked, her face returning to its neutral state as she looked back over to Kem. She trusted the man, though he'd caused a problem in Gotham she knew he was loyal and she could rely on him. That was why she'd put him in charge of the next stage, a task he was very pleased about. She'd heard him bragging about it with the others when they thought she wasn't listening.

"Two or three days," Kem said as he continued to look out across the table before giving his full attention to Gia, his smug smile still in place. "Shouldn't be too hard to find the right people with the right signatures thanks to Hale. Then it's just a case of wooing them."

"And how long to build it?" Gia asked.

"Should have it done shortly after the New Year," Kem said confidently.

"That's a little fast don't you think," Ruby spoke up, catching Gia's irritated glance. She could have shut the red head up right then and there, but to her better judgement she let her continue. "Don't you think that'll attract attention."

"Well that's the idea, Ruby," Kem pointed out with an amused expression.

"I mean from my cousin and her friends," Ruby growled. She didn't dare make a move towards physical violence though, not with Gia standing in between them. She knew the rules; the rules Gia made and remade all the time depending on her mood. And right now, she was against fighting each other, although she ironically ended the fights by starting her own and then punished them accordingly.

"I'm not terribly concerned with them," Kem said with a shrug.

"Then you're an idiot," Gia suddenly snapped to both Ruby and Kem's surprise as she turned on him. "Once we reveal ourselves that's when we'll be most vulnerable. We can't afford to provoke them anymore than we already have. I won't have them ruin what we're trying to build here," Gia said sternly as she stepped towards Kem's end of the table. The single click of her heel sounding like striking thunder.

"Sorry," Kem said quietly as Gia continued to glare at him, irritated by his dismissal of a clear and present danger. Eventually though, she backed down, seeing no need to go to the lengths of punishing him. She swung away from the table walking towards the door before Ruby spoke up again.

"What about Sim?"

Gia didn't stop and kept walking towards the exit, leaving behind the large basement. Cracks in the celling so big that enough sun shone through to light up the place as light bounced off the stone pillars around the room. It had been old and dusty when they first found it and it still was, only less so now that the Hybrids had occupied it. But now it was time for it to get an upgrade.

"What about Sim?" Ruby repeated, only louder this time.

"He's on his own now," Gia simply said as she walked out, not even gifting Ruby with a glance back as she did. "We have what we need," she added, knowing full well Ruby could still hear her. They'd get him back sooner or later anyway. Why not get a break from the guy while they could? Gia thought with a pleased smile. He'd be here soon anyway and when he arrived everything would change for the Hybrids.

Message for you:

I really did have a lot of fun writing this one, especially the too big scenes with Kara and Deity, just because I felt it shows how things have changed but also remained the same at the same time. The next chapter will be more of a slow one, Deity settling back into her life which she really needs after coming clean with Kara. But I promise you, it won't all be smooth sailing.

And please, if you have time, leave a review as it does help motivate me and it's always nice to hear what you guys are thinking. And if you have any questions then please do ask. I do my best to respond to every review and PM.

Review Replies:

DarkElements10: You'll get too see more of Casey and Sam in the next chapter as that's more a Deity focused chapter and sort of starts a new act in her school life.

Baratta Jennifer: Sorry, no, not Mirror Master either. Think more Smallville, particularly the later seasons.

Dnmann: Thank you, hope this one was a good follow up.

Guest: Okay, thanks for the input. I have talked to DarkElements10 about this so hopefully the next crossover will be more balanced. Fingers crossed.

See you soon, RC.