"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.
From an Irish headstone"
― Richard Puz, The Carolinian
The security guard at the door looked down on the brown-haired woman coming up towards the door. She was wearing a pair of worn jeans, a Henley-style t-shirt in emerald green, and an expensive-looking pair of lace-up work boots. She also had an old fashioned soft leather briefcase draped over her left shoulder and was digging through it as she continued to approach. Her light brown hair was loose around her shoulders, framing a youthful-looking face, with brilliant blue intelligent-looking eyes. There was also a sadness in her eyes that the man could identify with, she had faced loss, someone close, he was sure of it.
Kara Zorel handed her invitation to the security man, he was taller than her, and she had seen the threat assessment as she approached the door. She smiled, her mind wandering to Alex and their time together at the DEO when she wore a much different uniform. "I'm here for Dr. Croft's symposium," she said, a slight accent that the guard swore he'd heard while serving in Israel, "my name is Dr. Kara Zorel."
Glancing at the tablet in his hand, "Dr. Zorel…" His finger slid down the list, "yes ma'am, here you are. You are a bit early though, the symposium doesn't start for another half hour."
"May I be seated anyway, I just flew in from the continent, and haven't even checked into my hotel yet," Kara asked with a shy smile.
"Of course, ma'am, the symposium is in room A, straight in and to your right," the guard responded, pulling the door open and watching the young woman as she disappeared through the auditorium doors.
Kara took a seat in the back of the auditorium and removed the dossier Alex had set up on Dr. Lara Croft. Her feet rested on the back of the seat in front of her and she started reading…
Lady Lara Amelia Croft, Eleventh Countess of Abbingdon. Born 1992, current age twenty-eight, height 5'9", brown hair, brown eyes. Non-traditional education, but is rumored to have a genius-level IQ. Physically Lady Croft is on par with any of the top agents at the DEO, expert gymnast, hand-to-hand combatant, and proficient with several types of firearms. Not quite equal to Ryan or Mia, but still quite formidable.
Lady Croft has suffered several losses in her young life. She lost her mother, Amelia, at the age of nine and somehow survived a nine-day trek through the Himalayan mountains. She spent the next six years following her father from dig to dig, or under the tutelage of Conrad Roth. Her father passed away shortly after she turned fifteen and at that time Lady Croft attended University, receiving a degree in Archeology. Her tutor, Conrad Roth (see attached file) died during an expedition inside the Devil's triangle, although as of this time, no-one has confirmed the details of exactly what happened.
Lady Croft has done extraordinary things in her work. From finding proof of early Meta-Humans on Yamati (this information comes from an interview with her friend, Samantha Nishimura) to discovery of alien artifacts that have been on Earth for thousands of years. Many of the ones she has recovered have been returned to their respective species, much like another archeologists I know.
Rumors persist that she is a meta, however, there's no solid evidence.
Has never been affiliated with any groups.
Hope this helps little sister,
Love A.
P.S. The twins miss you.
Kara smiled at the last line, then turned over the paper in her hand and saw a picture of Lara Croft. "Wow," she whispered to herself, as she stared at the woman's eyes then tracking down to pale pink lips. Kara shook her head, ashamed of her reaction, and felt a memory rising…
She has just covered the third bomb in the schoolhouse with her body when she heard it stop. As soon as the explosion cleared, she rocketed into the air, breaking the sound barrier and shattering several windows as she shot towards L Corp and Lena.
She crashed into the parking lot, her feet sinking several inches into the tarmac, her wide eyes locked on the smoldering remains of Eliza's SUV. Suddenly she couldn't move, she couldn't breathe, her eyes refused to leave the wreckage. What seemed like hours later, Kara felt a hand in hers and turned her eyes for just a moment. She tilted her head and it took a moment to realize that Alex was talking to her. "Who did this, Alex?" The woman in blue asked quietly, almost pleadingly, her eyes filling with tears at the amount of sadness she was seeing on her sister's face.
"We don't know, Kar," Alex answered, as Kara watched her sister trying to swallow back tears.
"I heard it stop Alex, I was listening and I heard her heart stop," Kara's gasped, then she tried to speak again as her voice cracked.
'Ten years,' she thought to herself. Her fingers twisted through the necklace she was wearing and she pulled the heart-shaped locket from under her shirt and clicked it open. Eliza and Lena stared up at her, a picture of the two of them together, the last thing Lena had sent before…
Kara sighed heavily, releasing the chain, and tucked the file back into her bag. She pulled out her L-Corp secured phone and checked the time. She still had about fifteen minutes, so she tapped in the number to Alex and Kelly's condo and waited.
"Auntie Kara!" Screamed the twins, "we miss you!"
"I miss you too," Kara smiled, meaning it, "how are my favorite little people?"
"We are not little," Lizabeth exclaimed, "mom says we have grown three whole inches."
"I think what Aunti Kara means is that we are littler than her," Karen smiled, her dark eyes shining. "What are you looking for this time, Auntie?"
"What makes you think I'm looking for something this time?" Kara laughed, earning a strange look from some of the guests that were starting to arrive.
"Because you are sitting under the seal for the University of Edinburgh, which means another boring symposium," Karen pointed. "You can teach these classes, Auntie K, why do you sit in on them?"
Kara shook her head, "child if you don't become a psychologist like your momma, the world will be worse for it." Kelly Danvers entered the room at that moment and a large grin split her face at her twins talking to a hologram of their aunt.
"Kara! Hey love, how are you doing?" Kelly asked, the smile never leaving her face, but the seriousness of the question obvious to the woman on the other end of the conversation.
"I'm fine, Kels," Kara responded, biting her lip and dropping her eyes just a bit.
Kelly saw the signs, "what's going on, Kar?"
"The terrorists attack in Paris yesterday," Kara looked towards the twins, trying not to show any signs that she was upset "she got most of them out, but not everyone."
"She can't save everyone, Kara," Kelly admonished gently, "we've had that discussion. It's not realistic."
"It's who she is, Kelly," Kara frowned.
Before her curious nieces could ask any questions, a disembodied voice announced, "Lady Croft will begin her symposium in three minutes, please begin to silence all cell phones."
Lizabeth was suddenly right in front of the hologram, her face filling the screen of Kara's phone. "Lady Croft? Aunt Kara, are you working with Lara Croft? Oh my god, oh my god, Auntie Kara!" The girl squealed.
"I'll try to get her autograph for you, Lizabeth. Hug both moms, I've got to go. I love you." Kara smiled, then blew kisses to both the girls.
"We love you too, Auntie K," the girls giggled and waved.
Kara waved back, a sad smile taking refuge on her face as she pressed the disconnect button.
The head of the Archeology department for the University of Edinburgh stepped forward to the podium, "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming today," he paused, straightening his note cards, "I'm sure today's speaker needs no introduction, her reputation and work proceed her. Her most recent achievement was the return of the Atlantean Trident of Kings to the Greek Museum of History. The young woman in question has recently joined the staff here at Edinburgh as a guest lecturer…" He paused one more time, then took a deep breath and introduced, "Ladies and gentlemen, Professor Lara Croft, Countess of Abbington."
The assembled group of men and women stood and gave the woman a standing ovation. Kara gasped as Lara stepped out from behind a curtain. The brown-haired woman was wearing a power suit in a deep navy blue, that could have come right out of Lena's closet, her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, a few loose strands hovering down to frame a sharp chin and almond-shaped brown eyes. She wore little if no makeup and her nails were unpainted. The only jewelry that Kara could see was a jade medallion around the woman's neck, held by a leather strap.
Lara felt eyes studying her and looked into the audience. While everyone was looking in her direction, the brunette in the back row was watching her with piercing blue eyes. She shuddered involuntarily at the sight, swallowing slightly and smiling in the woman's direction.
Kara was caught, like a dear in headlights, and dropped her gaze quickly, but not before Lara noticed a red heat rising in the woman's cheeks.
'Score one for me, none for the hot blue-eyed woman in the back row,' Lara thought to herself, as she smirked at the woman's retreating eyes.
'Dammit,' Kara thought to herself, 'she saw me staring, by Rao, what was I thinking?' Then she swallowed, her eyes misting just a bit as another thought rose to her mind, 'what would Lena think?'
Lara's speech covered the particulars of the last few artifacts she had recovered and returned to their native species, and a few she had unfortunately missed due to another archeologist, although she smiled as she announced those had been returned as well. She reiterated that several of the artifacts she and her competitor had discovered were legendary objects of magic or mythology and had, instead, been found to be alien artifacts of great power such as the Golden Fleece and the Spear of Destiny. She showed the location of each object on a large map projected behind her. In each image, everyone saw a picture forming, a pattern of words in an unrecognized alien language.
No one else recognized the language, but Kara did. It was old Kryptonese, a language that had been spoken by her mother and Aunt on Krypton, a language she had learned as a possible heir to Krypton's Adjudicator. It was the language of the house of El and the other high houses of her homeworld. The shock and surprise were evident on her face. She tried to take a deep breath, to calm her reaction, but it was too late…
As Lara clicked through the images, she was watching the reactions of her audience, and she saw the blue eyes widen in surprise, then shock, then recognition. She smiled as the woman's chest rose and settled with a shuddering breath, then her eyes closed and re-opened, and Lara was impressed by Kara's control.
Kara sat at the back of the auditorium, studying the screens as the other members of the audience slowly filed out. She was making notes, drawing symbols, trying to remember a language that she had not spoken in so long. Her attention was so focused she didn't hear the soft footfalls of Lara Croft as she approached.
"Dr. Zorel?" Lara said softly. She studied the woman's profile, how her eyes never wavered from the screen and her left hand moved across the notebook, scribbling the markings. "Dr. Zorel?" The young woman said, a bit louder.
Kara jumped and turned, her eyes wide as she realized she had blocked out everyone and everything while following the puzzle of information she was looking at. She reigned back her body's response to the surprise and swallowed, "so—sorry Dr. Croft, I was concentrating, and I have a tendency to block everything out when solving a puzzle." She smiled and found herself staring directly at Lara's lovely brown eyes and wondering how they might look in the morning. Then she shook her head and brought herself back to the present.
Lara could have sworn she saw an orange glow in those amazing blue eyes when Kara turned to face her, but then the woman had started talking and Lara noticed the accent wasn't Israeli, it was from the US, southern California if her ears were right. "Dr. Zorel, would you like to get a cup of tea, and maybe talk about joining my team for the next expedition."
"Is there going to be food," Kara answered, the accent back and her stomach growling, "I haven't eaten all day."
"My treat," Lara smiled. She loved a puzzle, and Dr. Kara Zorel was that puzzle.
Kara and Lara made their way through the narrow streets of Edinburgh and memories of a trip she and Lena had made here almost twelve years before came unbidden. She recognized many of the local landmarks and realized where they were headed just as Lara stopped them in front of the door to eteaket, Lena's favorite tea room. She smiled as Lara was greeted by the host, "a private table, Lady Croft?"
"Please," the young aristocrat answered politely, turning to Kara and rolling her eyes, causing the blue-eyed woman to snort, and cover her mouth in embarrassment.
The host turned his head away from the two women, and with his nose in the air, leading them towards a table in the back of the dining room. Two men pulled out the ladies' seats and handed them menus, pushing their chairs towards the table as they were seated. "I'm afraid it is too early for afternoon tea, Lady Croft, but the entire lunch menu is available if you and your guest are so inclined."
"Thank you, we may be here for a bit, may we have a pot of…" she looked to Kara, who's fingers were tracing over one of the teas on the menu.
Kara looked up at the silence, blushing, "I'm sorry, were you waiting on me?"
Lara smiled, "I was ordering tea and was curious if there was a certain blend you would like?"
"I'm afraid my taste in tea is very limited, anything you suggest would be fine with me," Kara smiled back, concentrating on her accent. Something about the woman across from her set her on edge, in a very good way.
"A pot of black then, shall we. And a ploughman's lunch?" She ordered and watched Kara nod her acceptance.
"A dessert selection also, please?" Kara asked with a gleaming smile.
"Very well ladies, would you like the tea first, while your food is prepared?" The host asked, and watched as the two women nodded. "I'll bring it shortly," then he turned on his heels and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Dr. Zorel, if you had wanted, we could have ordered the breakfast blend," Lara cocked her head, watching the other woman's reaction.
Kara took a deep breath, remembering Kelly's lessons about letting go of the guilt, and talking when her memories of Lena started to drown her. "I appreciate it, but…," she took another breath, releasing it slowly, "my girlfriend, she loved that tea, but it was always too strong for me. We came here about twelve years ago, she was giving a symposium at the University, and we must have tried every tea house in Edinburgh." The memory brought a smile to Kara's face, and Lara found herself lost in the brunette's cerulean eyes.
"You really loved her?" Lara asked, her voice softening to a whisper as a frown found its way to her lovely lips.
Kara's eyes came up, a slight mist forming as she answered, "from the time I first met her." She frowned, "I lost her about ten years ago, her and my mom, in a horrible accident."
Without thinking Lara's hand covered Kara's, "I'm so sorry, I lost my mother when I was young. Sometimes it seems as if you never really recover."
Kara looked down at the other woman's hand and willed herself not to jerk away. 'Kelly said to stop rejecting, to go on living, Lena would have wanted me to be happy,' she thought to herself. "Thank you," she whispered as she pulled her sleeve down and dabbed the corners of her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Zorel," Lara went to pull away, but Kara wrapped a finger through one of hers, stopping the movement, and bringing a smile to Lara's lips, "it wasn't my intention to make you cry."
"Call me Kara, please, Dr. Croft," she smiled, a bit of sadness still showing in her eyes, "my psychologist says that this is good for me, talking about it I mean."
The waiter brought their tea and smiled discreetly at their interlaced fingers, as he set down the teapot and two cups, "your food will be out shortly, Lady Croft."
Kara snickered at the look on Lara's face, "so Lady Croft, you wanted to discuss business?" She asked, trying to change the subject.
Lara rolled her eyes and squeezed Kara's finger, "you may call me Lara." Then she whined, "please?"
"I take it the title gets a tad bit annoying," Kara laughed.
Lara looked down at the table, "every time someone calls me that, I look around for my mother." She sat back, removing her hand from Kara's, and holding them both up, "do I look like a countess?"
Kara couldn't help admiring the woman that was Lara Croft. While she was absolutely gorgeous, Kara found herself drawn to the woman's confidence in herself. This woman sitting across from her knew exactly who she was and what she wanted to do with her life. Kara was just a little jealous, she hadn't felt that way in quite some time. Her eyes unconsciously tracked down Lady Croft's athletic figure, noticing the freckles around her nose, the intensity of her brown eyes, the way her chest rose and fell as she took slow even breaths. She also noticed things that other people wouldn't, like an increase of speed in the woman's heart rate as blue eyes continued to move down her body. Kara bit her lower lip, almost smiling as the woman's heart started beating a tad bit faster.
Lara couldn't help noticing the intense stare coming from across the table and leaned towards the table, trying and failing to control her breathing, she dropped her arm causing her hand to brush the lovely brunette's, breaking Kara's concentration and allowing herself a chance to get her heart and breathing under control. She fought with her body as she felt an intense blush rising to her cheeks. "Oh my god, this woman…' her thoughts derailed by the arrival of their lunch.
Lunch allowed the two women to change their focus and start discussing business. "The project is completely funded, Kara," Lara stated, "the university secured it through an American company, L-Corp."
Kara's eyes became guarded as she spoke, "I've heard of them, they do a lot for our profession, they sponsor a lot of expeditions."
"Any of yours?" Lara asked, watching Kara's reaction.
Kara thought about lying for just one split second but remembered all the issues that had caused with Lena, "yes, a few of my digs were sponsored directly by L-Corp. I have a few connections with the CEO."
"Samantha Arias? That is an amazing woman, she saved that company after Lena Luthor died in that accident," Lara said, watching as Kara's eyes fell to the table, but not before Lara saw obvious pain in those blue orbs.
Kara stood abruptly, her accent slipping completely as she explained, "excuse me for just a moment, I need to use the ladies room." Then she was gone.
Lara watched, shocked, as Kara made her way to the ladies room. She blinked a few times and pulled a pen and a small notebook from her bag opened it to a blank page. She also sent a quick message to Sam, asking if she could recall a well-known scientist that spoke at Edinburgh twelve years before. While she waited for an answer, she made a list of information, puzzle pieces that might help her solve Kara Zorel.
Visited Edinburgh twelve years ago, girlfriend lectured at the University.
Girlfriend and mother perished in an accident ten years ago.
Samantha Arias took over LCorp approximately ten years ago. Connections? (Kara upset by LCorp ref.)
Was Kara dating Lena Luthor?
Kara entered the ladies' room and locked the door. She stared into the mirror, looking at red-rimmed eyes. "By Rao woman, get over yourself, it's been ten years!" She softly berated herself, "Lena would want you to be happy."
She took a deep breath and called her sister.
"Hey sis, what's going on?" Alex's surprised voice sounded from the other end.
"Are you working, did I interrupt?" Kara asked, then started rambling, "I met someone, and I'm interested, and I need someone to talk to, and I can't stop thinking about Lena, and I got upset and…"
"Whoa, whoa, Kar," Alex spoke, interrupting her sister, trying to calm her down before she really got started, "slow down, what's going on, who did you meet?"
From somewhere near her sister, Kara heard Sam's voice, "did you say Kara met someone?"
"Is Sam there? Sam, I'm sorry…" Kara said, distressed.
"Kara Danvers, stop it right now, you are fine," Sam smiled, even though she knew Kara couldn't see her, "you need this, darling."
"But Lena?" Kara spoke, and her sister and best friend could hear the trembling in her voice.
"Lena is gone Kar, she would want you to move on, you can't spend the rest of your life alone," Sam gently explained. "We all miss her, and your mom, but, honey, we have to move forward. You have to move on, darling."
From the other end, Kara's head fell, and she whispered, "I know."
"Who is it, sis?" Alex asked, her heart calming down, now that Kara seemed to be okay.
On the other end of the phone, Kara smiled shyly and announced, "Lady Lara Croft."
In National City, two mouths fell open.
Several minutes later, Kara returned to the table, she smiled at Lara, "sorry about that, Lara."
"Kara," Lara said, stopping herself from covering Kara's hand with her own, "I understand losing someone, and I understand how hard it is to get over that loss. It's okay."
Kara smiled, and she and Lara spent another hour discussing the particulars of the expedition. It was finally time to go, and as she paid the bill, Lara asked Kara to join her the next day at her office at the University.
Kara happily agreed, and once again apologized for her emotional outburst. Lara smiled back and held out her hand, "here's to a new adventure."
Kara gripped the woman's hand back, "and new friendships."
While Kara headed for her hotel, Lara wandered the streets of Edinburgh, unaware that her movements were being tracked by two men, two men employed by an Alien hating organization that had been tracking her and Kara on their respective expeditions, and now had decided to simply follow them and steal whatever they found.
As she walked, the puzzle kept turning itself over in her head, who was Dr. Kara Zorel. She was about to text Sam again when the phone rang.
"Hey girl, so you are looking for a scientist who spoke at the University about twelve years ago, right?" Sam's cheerful voice asked.
"Yes, what do you know?" Lara asked hesitantly.
"You had lunch with one of your colleagues at eteaket this afternoon. During said lunch, you texted your best friend for some information," Sam laughed. "You never take anyone for tea which means you are interested in more than her ability in the field."
Lara rolled her eyes, "what have you got?"
"So, twelve years ago, Lena Luthor made a speech about, get this, the use of alien technology in medicine, she had been financing digs for years looking for artifacts, had even been on a few herself, before her brother going all whacko," Sam explained, like she was reading Lara a trashy romance novel. "And since you asked about her, I figured you want some information about how she died."
Lara squeezed the bridge of her nose, "I hate it when you do that. I know the basics, but yes, that too."
"She died ten years ago this month, she was with the mother of her then-girlfriend when their SUV blew up…," Sam started.
Lara stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, her mouth wide open, not hearing the next sentence.
"Lara, you there?" Sam asked, yelling into the phone.
"Sam, did you say she died in an explosion with her girlfriend's mom?" Lara asked slowly, pulling her notebook from her bag. "What was the woman's name? What was the girlfriend's name?"
"Hold on, it's in my notes…," Sam paused a minute, and Lara could hear papers flipping, "her name was Eliza, Eliza Danvers. Two daughters, Alexandra and Kara Danvers."
"Kara?" Lara asked, her voice tight with shock.
"Yeah, Pulitzer prize-winning writer, inherited about ten percent of LCorp stock before she pretty much disappeared off the face of the planet about nine years ago.
"When did…," Lara was cut off.
"Dr. Kara Zorel made her first real public find about one year later. A medallion that supposedly grants the user shadow type powers," Sam interrupted, "I think they are the same person, Lara. I have a picture."
"Send it," Lara swallowed, and waited as her phone loaded the image. She studied the picture closely, "take away the glasses, and the light hair…but those eyes."
"Lara, what is it?" Sam asked quietly.
Lara whispered, "Kara is Kara Danvers."
One of her tails was close enough to hear the last exchange and walked away casually, pulling out his phone and dialing his commander.
"Report?" The voice ordered.
"Kara Danvers is working with Lara Croft," the man said.