Chapter Sixty-One:
Months passed since the entire Spider mutation diabolical. In the months which followed, everything had been quiet. Kara in particular had hit dead end after dead end with the entire Worldkiller investigation. If they had been hiding on this Earth, then they were hiding pretty good.
And now, Kara could not find anyone who worked with Warren. His mysterious mentor or boss or whatever, had turned into as much of a shadow as the Worldkillers as well. Kara returned to square one. Every potential place where a Kryptonian outpost could be had been overturned, and Kara found nothing.
To be honest, a small part of Kara wondered if there was something to all of this or if had just been one big urban legend that someone latched onto.
So, Kara decided to come in, after Lena summoned her. For a business meeting and for once it was an actual business meeting, and not the pretext to something else. Kara almost bumped into Gwen as she exited the elevator.
"Are you okay?" Gwen asked.
"I've seen better days," Kara said.
Gwen offered Kara a sympathetic smile and pat on her shoulder. They had been in a very similar boat over the past three months or so.
"I haven't been able to find anything either and the DEO hasn't as far as I know," Gwen said. "Maybe it was just some fairy tale that Warren and whoever he was chasing. Maybe the Worldkillers did not make it to Earth."
Kara shrugged, maybe they did. She needed to be sure they did not, without any kind of reasonable doubt. And there were many doubts in Kara's mind on this day and every single day. She hoped to figure it out sooner rather than later.
Regardless, as Alex told Kara pretty much every time the sisters met over the past couple of months, Kara could not put her entire life on hold for this madness.
"So, Lena and Sam are waiting," Gwen said. "And Lena really was hoping that you would make it."
A small smile, as tired as it was, crossed Kara's face. The last thing she wanted to do was to let Lena down. So she crossed the door. And walked in just in time to see Lena Luthor and Samantha Arias hard at work. They looked up and smiled.
"So, you made it," Lena said.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Kara said. "Lena, Sam, how are you doing?"
"Oh, we've just been busy getting this off of the ground," Lena said. "But, it's good to go, isn't it Sam?"
"Yes," Sam said. "It might have been ready sooner if I had just been able to put in a few more hours."
Now that the warm smiles and warmer greetings were out of the way, it was time for business. The blue prints out on the table displayed a picture of the satellite system. Kara looked on at it, with a slight smile.
"We will be able to reach out to touch them," Lena said. "And maybe forewarn us if they have...hostile intentions for this planet."
As much as Kara hated to admit it, there were some alien races out there who only lived to conquer every planet and put even more species underneath their thumb. Unfortunately, that was why so many fled to this planet, to get away from some extremely cruel dictators. Along with a few who fled simply because they were wanted for galactic crimes, and Earth was so far off of the radar that it was not funny.
But, as long as they did not fall back into old habits, then Kara had no problem with them starting a new life. If they caused trouble, then it would be a job for Supergirl.
"It should be interesting to get to know them," Sam said.
"Well, aliens are much like people," Kara said with a smile. "Some of them are a lot more worth knowing than others."
And suddenly, it hit them how much alike they were, despite their differences on a biological level. Lena had been looking over something else. Sam frowned when looking after her.
"Maybe I'm just lucky," Sam said. "And we were very lucky we were able to cure that virus."
"I don't know," Lena said. "Nothing about you seems strange, but there has to be something about you that's extraordinary."
"Three months, and you haven't been able to find anything," Sam said. "And there's been no signs of side effects from the antidote."
That had been true and Lena had been waiting on pins and needles.
"No," Lena said. "I believe it's one of those mysteries."
Kara had been curious as well. The only people who did not get affected by the spider virus had either been non-human or shielded with a symbiote like Alex. And yet, Sam had somehow escaped any kind of infection.
And speaking of Alex, she walked in the door. A black mark and slight bruise on her face indicated she had gotten in a hell of a tussel with someone. Of course, knowing Alex, she would have gotten into many more.
"Sorry, I'm late," Alex said. "Someone got their hands on an Apokolipitian cannon. And they tried to use it to blow a hole into a bank vault."
"Talk about reaching for the cellar," Gwen said. "Using an alien weapon to rob a bank."
Alex sighed, especially given the idiots would have blown up half of a city block just to get a couple of million dollars.
"Deep down you can't change who some people are," Alex said. "And the things they are passionate about."
The DEO Agent turned to her sister.
"So, anything new?" Alex asked.
"I would have tripped over to tell you if I did," Kara said. "It's just...maybe I've hit a dead end."
Alex wrapped her arms around Kara and leaned in, giving her a very soft kiss on the lips. The two broke apart from each other in a blink of an eye. With their greeting out of the way, Alex turned her interest over towards Lena and Sam.
"So, tell me more about the satellite," Alex said. "Because I'm excited."
Carol had a lot of questions. Alura answered with even more, especially when it was learned that Carol had been part of the family which Kara found. Alura walked up to the palace and overlooked what they rebuilt from Argo. Hopefully learning from the mistakes which caused Krypton to self-destruct in the first place.
Still, Carol still wondered if there had been a reason where she had fallen on Argo of all places.
"I'm glad she made it to Earth," Alura said. "And I'm glad that there's someone looking over her."
"And she returns the favor by looking over us," Carol said. "This place is amazing."
Seeing the holographic reconstruction of Krypton was one thing. Seeing actual architecture there, it was another thing entirely. Something tangible Carol could touch brought a small smile to her face. After returning home, she wondered if Alex and Kara would agree. If Kara would want to visit it. Kara settled into Earth very nicely, but….there was also the fact that Kara might want to stay if she had been there.
And yet, Kara needed to know, Carol reasoned with herself.
She could not wait to return home and tell Kara about this. But not to be rude, Carol walked around and prepared to indulge Alura on any questions she had. Alura had a few, but Carol had so much more to tell about ALura's birth daughter.
"Having a second guest who was born on Earth is fascinating," Alura said. "It must be a sign of something more to come."
Carol raised her eyebrow and wondered what Alura was talking about? A second guest...what was she talking about? This raised some interesting questions. And the sound of aww made Carol's gaze just fall onot the temple.
"And here she comes."
The people around the temple looked on in awe from a beautiful redhead woman leaving the temple. Carol was in awe of her as well. White robes with a golden symbol which resembled the Phoenix of mythology shined brightly. When one compared it to her beautiful red hair and rosy lips, and green eyes and pale skin, one could see how stunning she has.
"Our divine lady has returned."
Carol kept her eyes on the young woman descending the steps. She had a lot of questions and Alura's lips just brushed over with a smile.
"All hail our divine lady, the Flamebird," one of them said.
"So, you're from Earth as well?"
Carol came out of the stupor which hit her from the presence. The redhead extended a hand and their hands touched to result a spark of hot energy. This woman had been extremely powerful and Carol could feel a dose of her strength the moment they locked hands.
"My name is Carol Danvers."
"Jean Grey."
This particular bit of news left Carol completely flummoxed. She remembered reading Jean's name in a missing person's report a few weeks ago. Of course, Jean did not seem to be missing, well on Earth, naturally.
"Have you remembered what you've told us when you arrived on Argo?" Alura asked.
Jean inclined her head and spoke rather softly.
"No! But, it took a while to become myself again after arriving."
Carol frowned, how long was she here. Did time pass differently on Argo than it did on Earth? Was there something weird going on with space-time? There was so much interstellar weirdness as part of the Green Lantern Corps, that Carol took it for granted. At least until it slapped her in the face.
"People are in awe of what you're going to do if they rise again," Alura said.
Jean just wished she remembered what the message of doom and gloom was. Awe inspiring gasps from the crowd turned out to be old after a while. All Jean wanted to remember is how she got here and why she had tapped into these strange cosmic powers. There were many, many questions.
"So, how long are you staying?" Jean asked.
"Just long enough to get on my feet," Carol said. "My sister she's going to be excited about this place."
"Well, let's take a walk," Jean said. "And we can talk...that is if Alura does not mind."
"If I can come with you, it will be an honor," Alura said.
Jean's lips twisted in a smile.
"The honor is all mine," Alura replied.
Lena moved up to the podium. Off to the side, Alex, Kara, and Gwen watched, ensuring that nothing would go wrong. This seemed to be the type of event which would attract all kind of crazies, extremists of both the pro and anti-alien varieties.
But, you did not worry about the fringe and extreme minorities when you had a business to run.
"Over the past several centuries we've come so far as a species," Lena announced. "The point where we have come to a crossroads. And over the past few years, we've uncovered that we are not the only ones out there. Something that many other races in the galaxy have known for some time. But, we have the potential for something greater."
An image of the high tech communication satellite built by L-Corp flashed. There were more than a few people who looked agitated and a few people who looked curious. Regardless of their opinion, all eyes rested on Lena Luthor and she successfully had them in the palm of her hand.
"The satellite is both a way to get closer together with other races from beyond Earth's orbit," Lena said. "But, it's also the first step to bringing this planet into a greater Galactic community. I think we all have something to prove. We're not ants to be looked down, humanity can be part of something greater."
Everyone applauded once again. Kara applauded the loudest of all and flashed Lena a smile from the top of the stage. Lena locked eyes with her and smiled.
"Here is a demonstration of how our communications network works. I can assure you, it cannot pull information from any of your private communications."
Lena set up the simulation of how the satellite worked. State of the art and able to intercept communications a mile a way. Kara smiled, any country, anywhere on Earth would want to have their hands on a satellite. If nothing else, to spy on the private communications of their enemy.
Gwen flinched in front of Kara. Kara placed a gentle hand on Gwen's shoulder to jerk her back into the conversation. Gwen looked to the side and looked around.
"There's someone here that shouldn't be here," Gwen commented.
Something was up and Kara stood at high alert. She put a hand on Alex's shoulder and pointed one long finger to the top of the stage. Or rather the area coming from the top of the stage.
From the edge of the stage came two women from the crowd. Security dropped down with the shorter woman, with green hair and a tight bodysuit, approached the stage. The taller woman, with purple hair, clutched a blade in her hand.
"You're coming with us," she said.
"Vertigo and Archlight," Gwen muttered. "They're two mutant terrorists."
That's not good news, and Kara had so many questions. Getting the people out of the range of these two dangerous women was first on Kara's list. So, she did so, discreetly, with Gwen moving off to do her thing.
"Excuse me?" Lena asked.
Vertigo dropped Lena to her knees. Her eyes glazed over and a coughing fit followed.
"Not you," Vertigo said. "Her."
Sam's eyes widened as Archlight grabbed her around the neck. This resulted in Kara speeding off, and Gwen slipping off. Alex moved in to try and get a clear shot at the situation. Too many people in the way for it to matter and Lena had been used as a human shield.
"What do you want from me?" Sam asked.
"You're very special," Archlight said. "And the great one wants you for a long time."
With Sam held captive on the stage and these two women wiping out security, there's no clear room for error. Alex could not allow them to leave. Her eyes flashed black and the symbiote started to react to the threat.
Now, it was time for Alex Danvers to move.
To Be Continued.