Chapter 15

Few things scared Leia but standing in that doorway her heart was racing. Sweat made her hands clammy, so she wiped her hands on her jeans and knocked on the door. A blonde-haired man looked up from his computer, striking blue eyes staring back. Recognition dawned in his eyes. He was on his feet, knocking his desk, pens going flying. One rolled to the middle of the room. She hurried to get it but as she stood, he was there in front of her, concern in his eyes.

"Is Wally okay?"

"He's fine. He doesn't know I'm here," she replied quickly. "I just wanted to talk. I'm sorry if I've come at a bad time."

He looked at her again, then nodded and gestured to the chairs off to the side of the room. She took the seat gratefully, her knees shaky, saying nothing for the moment he sat.

"You're looking good. Feeling better?" He asked conversationally.

It was clear he wanted to talk about Wally but she didn't mind. It was why she'd come, her husband forcing her hand.

"I am," she said, paused for a moment, then ploughed forward. "I've asked Wally to call you, to see you all again but he's stubborn, blocking me out. He's scared of hurting you."

"I can protect myself," said Barry.

"I know that and he knows that. It's just…" She searched for the right word, then found it. "Hysteria got into his head. When she got him, I went out of my mind, tearing apart cities until I found him. I should've got to him sooner but I didn't, which is something I will bear for the rest of my life. When I did find him, I honestly didn't know if I'd be able to save him, if he'd even let me."

Barry's face softened. "He let you in."

"Not at first. I nearly lost him but, yes, in time, he let me in and he got better. Hell of a first year to be married," she said quietly. "The scars won't go away and Hysteria was good at leaving some nasty ones. I just wanted to come here to bring him back to you. Life is too short and with everything happening, well, I don't want him to become estranged for you. I won't let him lose his family."

Barry held her gaze. "He'll never lose us but there's something else you're not saying. What is it?"

She looked at him, a sad smile on her mouth. The truth weighed so heavily on her shoulders, making her to tell him, to reveal her dark truths, share it. It was impossible. She was bound to her silence, even when it came to Wally, whose heart would break if he knew the truth. Not just that, he'd take on the whole world if he knew it. It'd distract him for what he'd have to do. As for her? Well, it'd break her and she'd never be strong enough to complete her mission. That couldn't happen. Too much hinged on her success.

"I've arranged a dinner tomorrow night. Can you make it?" She asked.

He nodded. "We'll make it. The rest of the family will want to come."

"Very well." She pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper from her purse, then scribbled down her number and handed it over. "Call me with numbers."

She stood, so he followed suit and accepted her hand when she held it out. They shook hands firmly, neither breaking the contact at first, eyes locked. He seemed to regard her closely, trying to pry out her secrets, find out why she was rushing to reunite Wally with his family. Was it a trap, some nefarious intentions behind her eyes? She extracted her hand first, then stepped back, smoothing down her shirt and tugging at her sleeves, which had ridden up, exposing a few inches of her wrist. His gaze flickered, then back to the space behind her.

Leia felt Tamara's power enter the room. When she turned, she stood there, clad in a plain black singlet and grey jeans, almost looking normal, save for her the staff she held. Tamara's dark eyes slid from Barry to Leia, softening.

"Ready?"

With a nod, Leia walked to her friend and then turned back around, facing Barry. He looked in half a mind to stop her, to continue their conversation but time was not on her side. Tamara stamped her staff and a portal swallowed them whole.

It was not the kind of day Barry Allen had seen coming. The meeting with Leia had left him feeling weird, edgy. Leia's plea had seemed genuine but he couldn't shake that sad smile she had, like she was already grieving. He shook his head, clearing the thoughts, as he walked through the doors of Star Labs, then into the central lab. Dr Stone was the only other one in, always the last to leave. He looked up, then smiled as Barry approached.

"Looking good this morning, Flash. How is everything?"

"Weird."

Dt Stone smiled. "Just another day in our curious line of work. So, what brings you here this evening?"

"Just checking in. Had some reports of some thefts in the other labs, so figured I'd check in, see how everything is. Any threats?" Barry asked, leaning against the table Dr Stone was working at.

The doctor shrugged and pushed back from the desk, his chair rolling and turning so that he faced Barry. There was exhaustion in his face, set in the lines that pinched around his eyes. Barry knew the doctor had been working extremely hard on a myriad of new projects. He knew about a lot of them but wasn't keeping close tabs on it.

"Nothing beyond the usual crazies. Anything in particular my team and I should look for?"

He considered how to describe Hysteria but all he had was Leia's reports, plus a detailed drawing from the other woman – Tamara, wasn't it? Time Queen was her code name, he vaguely remembered. There were some League members who doubted Hysteria even existed, that they were being played for fools. If it hadn't been for Wally, they probably wouldn't have believed it period. At least Batman had heard some whispers from their spies watching the members of the Light that a new member was being considered.

"I'd suggest bulking security. Anything you can use to block psychic attacks would benefit your security as well," he advised. "Anyway I should be off-"

A slow clap stopped them both dead. Barry turned slowly, the blood draining from his face. At the far end of the room stood a lone figure. A woman. Tall and slender, with long black hair, framing a sharp face and cold black eyes. She was clad in a plain black shirt and black jeans, looking unassuming; that, if he passed her on the street, he wouldn't take a second look. No, scratch that, if he saw her eyes, he'd stop.

He blinked. Snap out of it. He stepped forward, a fraction of a second for the act – and he froze. A cold feeling seized through him, grounding him to the spot he stood on. The woman strode forward, one hand held up. The corner of his eye he saw Doctor Stone frozen, his eyes wide with terror. He wrenched his gaze back, helpless, as the woman stopped in front of him. She eyed him over, as one might assess a potential threat, critical and calculating. One look he saw how someone like her might rule a whole planet.

"Hysteria, I presume," he wheezed out.

Her gaze flickered up. "So, Leia did contact your little League. Curious."

"You didn't know that?" He blurted out tauntingly.

Fire flashed in those eyes, cooling quickly beneath that glacial expression. She reached out and set her cold hand against his cheek, her eyes bleeding black. Her thorns sank into his mind, pain exploding behind his eyes. It wasn't his first bout with a telepath so he threw up every wall he had, closed his mind. He'd heard what she could do and wasn't about to let her in. Yet the second the walls went up Hysteria smiled; it was a kind of predatory smile that would make most people buckle and cry.

Then she sunk her thorns in deeper…and just kept pressing. He groaned, biting back the waves of pain that rolled over him. A warm trickle of blood dribbled from his nose. Her gaze fell to the blood, then lifted back to his eyes, delight gleaming in her eyes. She leant in close, smelling strangely of peppermint, so close he saw his own reflection in the black of her eyes. A chill rushed down his spin.

"I'm going to enjoy making you scream."

Batman stood facing the window, his hands clasped behind his back. What he was thinking Superman had no idea. The news that the Fortress had been broken into had been received with a scowl and a grunt, which was about as much as he expected. Still, he wanted Batman to say something. After what felt like an eternity Batman finally turned around.

"You knew exactly what device Nightmare and her team were after?"

"I only had one thing that old. A silver box that had been smuggled in with my ship when I first came to earth. It was attached with a warning stating it had to be protected at all costs. I'd ensured that it was given the highest security in the fortress," he explained calmly, though inside he was furious.

How the hell had someone just walked into the fortress, welcomed by the system with open arms? What his system told him after the fact made no sense and was troubling.

"So, we have another Kryptonian on earth whom knew exactly where your fortress was. Either this new team knew there was another player on the board and hid that fact – or they had no idea, which begs the question. Whose side are they on and if they're not with Hysteria, why take the device?" Batman sounded grim, wary of the information.

Barely a month ago all had seemed quiet in the world, no major threats and the Light had been keeping fairly contained with their activities. Nothing overly disastrous. Then Wally had returned, along with his new team, married, bearing the news that the world was about to end. That this new enemy had appeared, apparently more cunning and nefarious than they had ever expected.

"The system registered one of the thieves as Emeria-El, the other unknown."

"So, she's of your house?"

Superman shrugged. "That's just it. There's only one reference in my entire family line to that name. Emeria and Caldon were, at least according to one historical text, the founders of my family. The house of El was established and dismantled a few times in the course of its history, so the exact origin is a little hazy, but I'm sure about her."

"Any idea what she looks like?"

Superman considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "No, there was only written text and the fortress didn't perceive a threat, so it didn't record an image of her."

Batman's gaze narrowed disapprovingly, which irritated Superman. His fortress had very advance technology and defences, which normally would bar anyone but himself. Unfortunately, the fortress recognised not only the arrival of a Kryptonian but someone of his own house, so it welcomed it with open arms. How was he to know some distant ancestor was not only still alive but on Earth too?

A long silence fell between them, taut. Batman gave a curt nod, deciding nothing further needed to be said – or anything that might improve the situation. He turned to leave when the door opened and Diana strode in, looking grim.

"We have a problem."

Batman beat Superman to the question. "What is it?"

"Flash. He's hurt. It's bad, really bad." She glanced to Superman. "We need to contact Wally and his team. They may know how to save him."