11 Justice League Family Ties
After Kalea was secured, Brek signaled the fleet and ordered them to surrender as well. Most of the battleships and their crews had been pummeled by the Star Sapphires. The Chicago mothership reported a boarding party entirely comprised of JLers while a Green Lantern and the so-called "Supergirl" were trashing the warship and its fighter and bomber wings. They gratefully laid down arms.
Brek's own flagship had suddenly come under a renewed assault as more Star Sapphires arrived. The Blackhawk Squadron, by all accounts, had downed every fighter. The accursed Thanagarian, Shayera Hol, and yet another Star Sapphire had dealt with the bomber force. The local insurgents had been reinforced by the Justice League and the shock troopers had surrendered a full fifteen minutes before.
Superman called off his force's attack. The Green Lantern, presumable John Stewart if Hol were here, talked down the overly enthusiastic Star Sapphires. Carol Ferris flew into the boat bay and began searching for Superman. Finding him, Diana, Galatea, and Plastic Man on the bridge, she smiled.
"Who's in command here?" she asked.
"I'm in command of what's left," Brek answered wearily.
"I take it you've surrendered?" Carol asked with some amusement.
Brek was irritated by this woman's manner, "Yes, what is it to you?"
"Besides the fact that I was born and raised on this planet?" Carol asked rhetorically. Seeing that Brek was not amused she ventured forth, "I want to know because I'm here to help you."
"I knew it!" Superman began to lunge towards her. Galatea and Diana held him back.
"Wait!" Galatea insisted, "Hear her out."
Superman looked to Diana. She nodded her agreement with Galatea. He relaxed and they loosened their grip on him but stood by to react within a second.
"You'd be wise to listen to them, Kryptonian," Brek informed him, "My forcers report that her women have single handedly crippled my fleet. The invasion is over and it is thanks to her and her force."
Carol flashed Superman a cocky grin and he bristled. Brek interrupted, "How will you aid my forces?"
"The Star Sapphire Corps will escort your fleet, or what's left of it, back to Almerac," Carol offered.
Brek looked to Superman, who was enraged. Liking what he saw, he agreed, "Inform your force that we accept your generous offer."
Carol's smile exuded victory, "I shall."
"What do we call your group?" Brek asked.
"We are the Star Sapphire Corps," Carol readily supplied the name.
"And you are?" Brek asked.
"The Sapphire Queen," Carol said coyly.
"I meant, what is your given name?" he clarified.
"I know what you meant," she teased him; "Let's not give everything away on our first meeting, shall we?"
She turned to Superman, "You should learn to relax more. That vein in your temple is threatening to explode."
"What are you doing here, Carol?" he demanded.
Carol pouted, "Now you've gone and given my name away."
"Answer the question," Superman grated.
"I'm safeguarding the Almeracian fleet," she announced. Brek perked up even as Superman's visage grew dark as it flushed from anger.
"My Sapphires will accompany the fleet and I will accompany you to insure that no misunderstandings occur," she said brightly.
"What makes you think there will be any incidents?" Superman snapped.
Carol's smile was completely confident, "Need I remind you that I can read what's in your heart? Your heart, right now, is full of as deep abiding anger at the Almeracians and especially at your daughter. However, the deepest darkest anger is reserved for yourself. You wonder if you'd turned down Maxima's offer eight years ago this all could have been avoided."
Carol pitied him, "The truth is, you'll never know. What's done is done. Now you have to find a way to tap the love that you have for Kalea."
He scowled even deeper and she graced him with a brilliant smile, "It's still there, you know. It's always been there. She's needed that love her entire life but never more than now. Don't deny her this and rob her of her chance at redemption."
"Redemption?" he choked.
"You used to believe in second chances. Somewhere, somehow, that was stilted. You need to find it again because your daughter's life may depend upon it," Carol warned.
"And if I can't?" he asked.
Carol grew infinitely sad, "Then you truly will have a reason to hate yourself."
She turned to Brek, "When will you be ready to depart?"
"Most of our landing craft are damaged or destroyed. It may take several hours to board all of our shock troops," Brek explained.
Carol nodded, "Very well. My Sapphires will assist you."
She suddenly wore an impish grin, "I may even know a couple of Green Lanterns who'll chip in."
Carol flew out of the command center and exited through the boat bay. Once outside, she contacted her fellow Sapphires. Dela, Miri, Miss Bloss, Race, and Fatality were given specific instructions to head to different locations to aid their sisters with the heaviest loads. Fatality was sent to aid Kyle.
John frowned at this, "Kyle doesn't need any help."
Carol frowned, "And here I thought you'd be glad to be rid of Fatality and what she represents to you."
"I'm not going to discuss that with you," John angrily declared.
Carol was undeterred, "Well, you need to talk to someone. What about your blushing bride?"
"She's dealing with enough," John countered, "She doesn't need my burdens too."
"You're missing the entire point, aren't you?" Carol said with some wonder, "Marriage is about giving but it's also about sharing."
Carol knew she was taking a chance but she pressed in further, "Shayera has borne the weight of worlds. Don't you think she'll understand the burden you feel? Haven't you helped her face those demons and triumph over them? Why can't you let her return the gesture?"
John just stared at her for the longest time. Finally a smirk spread across his face, "Violet Light of Love, huh?"
Carol shrugged, "Hey, I'm all about the love."
"I can't believe I'm saying this but thank you," John confessed.
Carol bequeathed a warm smile upon him, "Just doing my job."
"To be fair, I'll share a little warning with you. Stay away from Kyle. He doesn't need you mucking up his head or his heart," John warned.
"And if he wants to be 'mucked'?" Carol asked innocently.
"He doesn't," John insisted, "He won't."
Carol adopted a knowing grin, "We'll see."
John instantly knew that there would be trouble. If it hadn't already occurred. Kara had discreetly monitored Kyle's room and Carol had never approached it. So it was highly unlikely that anything had happened at Foxworth but she was so damn confident. It was like she had intimate knowledge of what was going to happen.
The star sapphire granted Carol the ability to "look into hearts" but he wasn't aware of any precognitive abilities inherent to the stone. The Sapphire rings granted the same ability to every Star Sapphire and none of them could read the future. At least none that he knew. Their Corps had grown by literal leaps and bounds over the last three months.
The Oans mistrusted the Zamarons and their reliance on emotion to make decisions. They saw emotion as irrationality. The Oans preached that to master the power of the Emerald Light of Will, one had to purge emotion. John didn't see it that way and neither did a bulk of the GL Corps.
What was most disheartening about this lover's quarrel was that as the Oans rejected their former mates, they also rejected the Star Sapphire Corps. They were literally poisoning the Green Lanterns against the Sapphires. While John didn't totally agree with the Sapphires methodology, he had to admit their motives were generally good.
Take this invasion. He'd been as skeptical as any Oan regarding Carol's offer of aid. Almost surprisingly, the Star Sapphires had saved the day and ended the conflict almost immediately after their arrival. Countless lives had been saved and it was all due to an offer that John had wanted to reject.
He relented at long last, "All right. Let's gather up the Almeracians' little lost lambs and get them the hell out of this solar system."
Carol was appreciative of his change of heart, "Agreed."
While the Star Sapphires labored, Kyle and Kara returned to NYC. The Marvel Family came with. Carol exchanged a pleasant greeting with Kyle but she otherwise left him in peace. Shayera pulled John aside.
"Spill Lantern! What the hell is going on between Kyle and Carol?" she wanted to know.
"I don't know," he admitted, "She's been giving him space like she agreed to but something is definitely up. She's too confident in her ability to win. Something had to have reinforced that."
"Something recently," Shayera surmised, "What happened at Foxworth?"
John frowned, "You know as well as I do that Kara staked out the hallway. Carol never left her room just like she said she wouldn't."
"What about Kyle?" Shayera wondered.
"Kara said he never left his room either," John reminded her.
"What if she fell asleep?" she wondered.
"You know as well as I do that Kara can go a week without sleep before it affects her," John pooh-poohed the theory.
"Well, something happened dammit!" Shayera snapped.
"I know," John confirmed his belief in that supposition, "But I don't think there's an obvious answer."
Shayera disconsolately accepted that answer.
The Almeracians lifted off, and escorted by the Star Sapphires, made their way into subspace. Superman, Diana, Galatea, John, and Shayera accompanied the flagship. Carol also remained inside its confines. Her Sapphires rotated in shifts and bunked inside the flagship when not on duty. They were looking at a four day journey so they would need rest and food as well as a place to recharge their rings and use the waste processors.
Kalea adamantly refused to see her father. Superman spoke to her for over two hours but he never broke through her veneer of hate. Carol spent the bulk of her time with the imprisoned young woman. When the fleet arrived in Almeracian space, Superman inquired of Carol whether or not she'd made any progress with Kalea.
"Some," was all Carol would enigmatically say.
Maxima was released from the iso-cell. She gone four weeks in complete darkness, with no toilet, and placed on a starvation diet. She was haggard and drawn as she was assisted out of the cell. Despite her infirmities she immediately headed to the throne room after bathing, changing clothes, eating a meal, and getting an update as to the Empire's status.
Kalea was brought before her mother in binders. Guards surrounded her and all were set to kill her if she made an offensive move. They were the survivors of the guard units she'd butchered on her rise to power.
Kalea was as defiant as ever and, with Maxima's present condition, looked as though she could and would snap her mother like a twig.
"Do you know why you are here?" Maxima asked.
"I'm here so you can finally kill me. Something I once begged you to do. So get on with it, bitch," Kalea snapped.
A guard behind her smacked her in the back with a metal rod. Kalea faltered but she straightened out. Wearing a demented smile, she warned her mother; "You'd best get on with it because you know I'll kill you if I'm left alive."
Maxima retook control. Her voice was firm and flint hard as she pronounced judgment, "Kalea-El, you have been found guilty of treason. You are no longer Crown Princess of Almerac and the Kyneerian Empire. You are stripped of all rank and titles. You are stripped of citizenship. You are nothing in the eyes of this court and of the people of the Empire."
"Your father has made a case for sparing your life. He does so out of generosity. However, I'm not so inclined," Maxima stated.
Clark held his breath as Maxima spoke next. Kalea smiled like a madwoman who'd won her most heartfelt prize.
"Since it death you crave, it will be denied you," Maxima declared.
"Nooo!" Kalea screamed. The guards mercilessly beat her into the stone floor. They roughly jerked her upright onto her knees and she awaited her judgment, bleeding and swollen.
"In a way, you have your father to thank for your place of exile," Maxima's smile was vicious, "You will be taken to the planet Argo and left there to live out the rest of your natural life. Which if the gods are merciful, will be pitifully short."
The flight to Argo took three days. Maxima's yacht landed and Kalea's shackles were released and she was cast out of the craft. She stumbled and fell face first into the ever present snow. Maxima stood vigil and her wretched father gave her piteous looks. She hated them both with every fiber of her being.
"Now what?" Kalea demanded to know.
A guard threw out a rucksack and Maxima explained, "That contains a thermal sleeping bag, a replacement jacket should the one you're wearing be torn. You'll find rope, a magnesium flare for lighting fires, and a limited amount of emergency rations."
"So, I'm to starve to death?" Kalea accused.
"Don't be stupid!" Maxima snapped, "There is still life on this world. Most of it is predatory so it will be a case of kill or be killed but you can hunt and sustain yourself."
"Hunt with what?" Kalea asked.
Maxima tossed her father's dagger to Kalea. It was a softening blow. Kalea treasured the dagger more than anything else in the galaxy. It was a loving gesture from a mother whose heart was shattered.
"Good luck," Maxima said. Nodding to the guard, he closed the hatch. The yacht lifted and Kalea was left alone. It was how she expected to live the rest of her life, however short that would be.
She heard the scraping of snow behind her and a furry beast rose out of the drifts. It was lupine in appearance but was easily three times Kalea's size. Its mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth and its claws could gut her with a single swipe.
Kalea pondered her odds. She was in a system dominated by a red sun. Her strength was literally cut in half. She considered letting the wretched cur eat her. It would certainly spare her a lifetime of grief. But she couldn't do it. She pulled the dagger free and faced down the beast.
She was leaving this wretched rock. Even if it took the rest of her considerable lifespan she would be free once more.
Back on Earth, Tessa, Justin, Claire, Booster, Roger, and Gavyn shared a picnic along the Long Island shore. Vigilante unexpectedly showed up as Greg Saunders. He asked to speak with Claire alone. She gave Booster a deer in the headlights look but he replied with an encouraging nod and word.
Greg and Claire had walked some distance away before Greg decided to explain, "Ah was wrong about you so Ah need to apologize."
Claire wore a rueful expression, "What were you expecting? Some kind of deviant?"
"Pretty much," Greg was loath to admit but it was the truth, "Ah really didn't know whut to expect so I assumed the worst. That was wrong of me. Now Ah I know better."
Claire suddenly wore a mischievous smirk, "So you're saying you'd let me set you up on blind dates so you could go out with Booster and I?"
He suddenly looked nervous, "Would they be like…?"
"Like me?" she asked with impish glint in her eye, "Some of them. Would that be a problem?"
"Ya'll gotta understand, I'm straight," Greg countered.
"So am I," Claire assured him.
"Yeah, but ya got a…" he faltered.
Her expression turned very wry and she dryly said, "Yes, I have a penis and I like men. How would that make me a homosexual?"
"You have a thingy. Nuff said," Greg replied.
Claire laughed but it was good natured, "I have a whole wide world to introduce you to, you troglodyte. Its time you discovered it. Hell, you may even embrace it."
"That's whut Gavyn said," Greg admitted.
"You don't have a problem with him or Roger and they're gay. Why'm I so special?" she wondered.
"You're both," Greg blurted. Seeing her incredulous look, he elaborated, "You're both a guy and a gal. That's just wrong."
Claire leaned into him and held her hand to her mouth, "If it's any consolation, I'm having surgery so I'll only be a so-called 'gal'."
"Ah thought Booster said ya'll couldn't afford it," Greg commented.
"I can't but he can. It's amazing what you'll do for someone when you love them," she shared.
"Ah guess so. He really does love ya'll so Ah guess that's good enough for me," he declared.
Claire gave him a skeptical look, "Really?"
"Really," he assured her.
"Tell me the truth, it's the fact that I'm undergoing SRS, wasn't it?" she had to know.
Greg grinned, "Let's just say it didn't hurt."
"You're so primitive," she laughed.
"But can ya forgive that?" Greg wanted to know.
"Of course," she promised, "Now we'd better go before Booster thinks you've ravished me."
Seeing Greg's reaction she broke into helpless laughter, "I'm only joking."
"Ah know," Greg said, somewhat mollified.
Claire's mischievous twinkle returned, "I am going to set you up with some of my girlfriends. Let's see you can tell whose transgender and who nat fem."
"You're on," Greg readily agreed.
"Don't be so cocky. You couldn't tell about me, remember?" she reminded him.
His confidence wavered and she went in for the kill, "What's the wager?"
"Excuse me?" he replied.
"A wager. To keeps things interesting. Any ideas?" Claire asked.
"Well, Ah…" he fumbled.
"How about, if she's a nat fem and you guess wrong, you end the date right then and there and go home. If she's a T-Gurl and you guess wrong, you have to stick it out," Claire offered up her challenge.
"Deal," Greg agreed.
"Sucker," Claire teased, "You are sooo going to lose."
"Ah never lose," Greg declared.
"There's a first time for everything, Cowboy," Claire mirthfully warned.
For the first time, Greg began to have doubts.
Kara stood in the doorway to her room. Ray had already turned in. Kyle was headed to bed as well. They'd watched a blu-ray copy of the movie the Avengers and quite frankly none of them could buy into its portrayal of the life of a super team. They'd spent almost two hours dissecting its flaws. Now they were turning in.
"So, going to bed?" Kara lamely asked.
"Uh…yeah," Kyle was unsure how to respond.
"Do you ever think about us and…" she faltered.
"Sex?" he prompted.
"Um…yeah," she was suddenly embarrassed. This was a stupid idea.
"Quite a bit actually," he admitted, "But I think you were right. We shouldn't rush into anything until I've proven myself to you."
As much as that touched Kara's heart it also frustrated her beyond belief. She was horny now and she craved satisfaction. Still…
"I guess you're right. Good night," she closed her door.
Kyle watched her door for a minute before going to his own room. He closed the door behind him and anxiously waited for Kara to kick the door down, angry beyond belief because she'd figured out the truth.
Kyle hadn't spent the night in his room in Foxworth. He'd gone out the window and rapped on Carol's. He didn't know why. He still couldn't explain why but despite everything that the Guardians had done, he was still irresistibly drawn to her. His heart and mind burned with shame yet another aspect to them was not only overjoyed at the turn of events, they were proud of his part in them.
Kyle was betraying Kara's trust again. It was only a matter of time before she figured it out. He was going to burn in Hell, he just knew it. That was if Kara didn't crush every bone in his body and then rip him in half.