A/N: Thanks for the comments.
Guest - Thanks! To be honest Carter was added very last minute and I haven't thought much about his future role yet.
"I have figured it out and well Mongul is sicker than we thought." Lena said entering the control room.
"What do you mean?" Kara asked.
"I was right, the gemstones are powered by the suit. But the suit is powered by the wearer, it literally sucks the life out of them." Lena explained.
"What?" Kara asked.
To act as a communications device the gemstone has to be powered in a very specific way. The suit doesn't generate that energy it takes it from the wearer."
"I am assuming you don't mean from kinetic energy?" Kara asked.
"No." Lena said. "The way it takes energy will do significant damage to the wearer."
"Do you think they knew?"
"If they did, or at least the full extent, I doubt they would have worn them." Lena said. "Obviously we don't have information on all their species. But these three," she said pointing to the screen, "have similar healing properties to humans and similar life times. But my estimate is that they will have knocked at least fifteen years off their life in the Earth battle alone."
"We put our people in suits. Have we done this to them?" Vasquez asked.
"No, our suits were powered up from a battery, which were then charged by the gemstone and kinetic energy." Lena said. "Which is one of the reasons the gemstones didn't act as communicators for us."
"I'm going to talk to this alien." Supergirl said pointing to one the aliens Lena had down selected.
"I'll have them brought to the interrogation room after they have been to medical. Let's see if we can find any proof." Vasquez said.
"Now I know how the suits work I am going to see if I can make a new power source and activate the gemstone as a communicator." Lena said.
"Don't turn it on until I'm there." Supergirl warned.
-00-
"What is so valuable that it is worth your life?" Supergirl asked as she entered the interrogation room.
"Do you not understand how an army works?" The alien asked.
"Yeah I get the fighting for a cause. But people who fight are normally given guns or shields to give them an advantage and protect them."
"And I was given weapons and a gemstone."
"Yeah, but that came at quite a price, so I was wondering what you got out of it. Was it money? Power? A ship? Was any of that really worth your life?"
"What are you talking about Kryptonian scum?"
"Okay, so it wasn't manners that you got out of it." Supergirl said. "Although seeing it was Mongul who set this up that doesn't surprise me." She then paused and asked. "Wait, you don't know what I am talking about do you? You don't know how much it cost you using the gemstone. I have to hand it to Mongul, as abhorrent as it is, it is a clever strategy. I mean power seeks power right? The more you get the more you would want until one day one of you would go after Mongul. But by tricking you into using the gemstone and shortening your lives he got round that." She paused again and then said. "Okay, you are looking really confused. Let me break it down for you. The gem needs to be powered. The suit it was in powered it. Only that suit got power from you. It sucked the life from you. If you don't believe me we can show you scans of your insides. From your looks I would say you are forty?"
"Twenty eight."
"Wow, time is not your friend." Supergirl said. "However, compared to you insides you look like, as they say on Earth, a spring chicken. Your insides are comparable to a seventy year old. Mongul took everything from you, so why are you loyal?"
"You lie." He said after a moment.
"No, I don't. Feel free to ask for any tests you want."
-00-
"What are you doing?" Kara asked as she entered the apartment and saw the three teenagers standing on one side of the room, while on the other were several poles of different sizes with rings on.
"Just ring tossing." MJ said.
"Did your mom deactivate the internet or something?" Kara asked.
"We were assuming fun fairs would feature in our futures." The teenage Kara said.
"Okay." The adult Kara said looking confused before asking. "How's your mom?"
"Grumpy. Perhaps you can talk to her?" The teenage Kara asked.
"Sure. Well enjoy playing quoits." Kara said.
"Playing what?" MJ asked.
"Quoits." Kara repeated.
"She means the ring tossing." The teenage Kara said before looking at her aunt and saying. "We will."
"Okay. Make sure the door stays locked." Kara said before leaving.
Once they were sure she was gone MJ said.
"Okay, let's go for the smaller pole and rings this time." He then stood back as his cousin used her telepathy to quickly send rings flying across the room to the poles.
-00-
"I heard you were grumpy." Kara said entering her sister's bedroom.
"Did mom say that?"
"No, Kara."
"Where are the kids?"
"My place, they're playing quoits, or in MJ's language, ring tossing."
"Did the internet break?" Alex asked confused.
"Apparently not. But it seems harmless enough." Kara said. "So want to tell me what's bothering you?"
"It isn't obvious?"
"I meant specifically." Kara said.
"I'm just not sleeping at the moment. I'm having nightmares."
"About?" Kara asked as she sat on the bed next to her sister.
"Everything, MJ being shot, drowning, the accident." Alex listed as Kara hugged her.
"We need a sisters' night." Kara said.
"Seeing I can't move, I can't afford the extra calories right now."
"That's fine. I can eat for both of us."
"You okay?" Alex asked.
"Yeah, why?"
"I don't know, you are acting strange."
"How is eating acting strange?" Kara asked.
"I didn't mean the eating I meant in general."
"Maybe you are projecting. Or maybe you are trying to deflect from how you are feeling." Kara suggested.
"Deflecting from what? I have just admitted to having nightmares."
"You haven't actually talked in detail about what happened." Kara pointed out.
"The same could be said about you and Lobo." Alex pointed out.
"No it couldn't. I did tell you."
"Your account implied you were only with him for an hour, not a whole evening."
"I was out cold for most of it. That grenade thing really did a number on me. Something tells me you were awake for most of your time with Kai."
"He had my personnel file. He knew about what happened with Rick, that's why he tried drowning me."
"How did he get access to it? And why are you only mentioning this now?" Kara asked.
"I'm not, Vasquez knows and she is looking into it. But it may not be my current file. It could have been my file from my first stint at the DEO, which would have been stored somewhere very different to my current file."
"You should have told me all of this."
"You are dealing with too much already. In order to figure it out we need someone who is good at forensic analytics, and that isn't you." Alex said.
"Is there anything else you haven't told me?" Kara asked.
"I've told you everything important." Alex said.
"It feels like your are hiding things." Kara countered.
"What is the thing you fear most at the moment regarding Lobo?" Alex asked. Not giving Kara time to answer she went on. "It is getting angry and losing control. If I describe everything in minute detail, you will get angry. Besides when you get angry you don't think straight and right now I need you to think straight." She paused again before adding. "Also, I don't want you flying off trying to fix things tonight. Tonight I just want my sister."
"I'm not going anywhere." Kara said hugging her again.