Millma Verse Tales.
Facebook: Fanfiction Millma Verse Page.
Note 1: Just a reminder to casual readers, but with this Earth, the 'current generation' (Kara, Barry, Cisco etc.) are the opposite gender to what we're used to. Millie and I decided that, to keep some sanity to this strange world. The different gender is a generational thing, with very few of the 'parent generation' (Henry, Nora, Joe etc.) being a different gender, however there are a few exceptions to this rule.
Note 2: While this is the second proper visit to this world since the Sliders chapter 'A Girl Called Bailey', this chapter will depict when Kandar (Kara) and Bailey (Barry) first met. It's a fun fluff piece with a bit of action thrown in. And yes, this is the winning story for getting 100 likes on our Facebook page, so Facebookers, we hope you enjoy!
Opposite Karry – A Gender Earth Story.
Kandar-El entered the DEO's cave base outside National City. He was dressed in his full Superboy suit – a mix of blues and reds, with the hint of yellow with his family crest on his chest – and looked stressed as he nodded to some DEO agents as he headed directly for their director.
"Alex," Kandar stated as Alexander Danvers looked away from the computer screen, a serious expression on his face.
"We had a breach," Alex stated, knowing exactly why his foster brother was here.
"Prisoners?" Kandar asked, having suspected it the moment he had been called in. He had been on the field before, as his human alter ego trying to take a good snap of himself for CatCo but had been getting frustrated with the shots he was getting so was glad of the call away.
"Yes," Alex sighed as Agent Vasquez came up with a file, handing it to Kandar as he gave the agent a nod and looked at the file and sighed himself.
"Master Jailer and Jemm, wow that's a blast from the past," he looked up at Alex now who had a serious look on his face.
"Jemm's psychic abilities helped in their escape. Apparently, he has some electromagnetic powers the records at Fort Rozz neglected to include – allowed him to take control of the system and release himself. Master Jailer just got lucky being on the same system." Alex explained.
"Where are they now?" Kandar put the file down; he knew all the information in it.
"Not in National, that's for sure," Vasquez spoke up as Alex couldn't help but smile at the woman.
"Not helpful," Kandar spoke up, forcing the smirk on Vasquez's face to drop and get serious.
"Intel has it they were headed to Central City. We had a team following them, but Jemm…" Alex let that sentence drop and Kandar realized what this could mean. Jemm was good – his psychic abilities had caused the deaths of a few of their agents before he had been caught. If it wasn't for Kandar's Aunt Astra coming to their aide, who knows how bad the situation could have become.
"Central City?" Kandar spoke up thoughtfully. "Home of that Flash hero?"
"Yep," Alex pulled a face too at that. Both on the same thought.
"If Flash gets to Jemm, or Master Jailer first, she won't stand a chance. This needs to be me," Kandar turned but paused, a thought coming to mind. "What is Master Jailers M.O. this time around? I thought he was after Fort Rozz prisoners last time?"
"He was," Alex voiced. "This time, who knows. Central does have all their meta humans. Perhaps he takes their crimes as alien?"
"Perhaps…" Kandar stated, turning to leave.
-Gender Earth-
Bailey Allen was in her lab at the CCPD when the door opened, and she looked up. Captain Singh looked in as she raised an eyebrow.
"Ma'am?" She asked her Captain – Singh was a strong woman who had worked her way up through the ranks fast, becoming Captain of the CCPD, and of course, Bailey's boss.
"Body down by the rail station," Singh stated simply. "Joe's already there. You need to get down ASAP to identify cause."
"Okay," Bailey stated as Singh nodded and left. "Rail station," she stated to herself, moving over to the door to make sure Singh wasn't about to turn back to chase her up on something else. When it looked like she had the all-clear, she moved, running as fast as possible toward the station – getting there in a matter of seconds, despite the CCPD being across town from the rail line.
"Bailey," Joe West smiled as Bailey stopped before him, luckily out of the view of the public as she looked down at the body and frowned. "Reported in ten minutes ago, you came fast even for… you know," he didn't want to call by her superhero name so publicly, especially as another cop came onto the scene at that moment.
"Odd burn marks on the arms…" Baily muttered before looking up, taking in what her superior officer had said. "Well, Singh told me to come, so here I am. Surprised you didn't call me."
"No time," Joe stated, bending down over the body with Bailey. "I thought the marks looked curious. Almost like a thick heavy chain."
"Yeah, but these are burn marks. Chains don't burn like that. Not normally. And," she looked up and around quickly, "there's nothing here that could do that."
"Could be on a passing train," Joe suggested.
"No, I don't think so," Bailey muttered thoughtfully.
"This is no passing train passenger," another voiced caused the two to look up. Despite the police tape cordoning off the scene, and the train station now closed due to the murder, a lone photographer had gotten through to them. Joe stood up quickly as he folded his arms.
"You're not meant to be here," Joe stated, but the blonde man smirked at that and Bailey couldn't help but smile as the smirk seemed to light up the stranger's face. Bailey paused, looking at the man – with the blonde hair, blue eyes, and strong jaw he was cute. She was momentarily lost for words at his appearance.
"I'm not…?" The man asked, a little too innocently as Bailey got to her senses again.
"Don't be so quick, Detective," Bailey spoke, jumping up to come eye-to-eye with the man. "How do you know this didn't come from a passing train?" She asked the man.
"Because this is the same markings as Master Jailer from National City," the photographer stated simply.
"But he's in lock up. Superboy got him," Joe spoke up now, confused
"And if word got out he wasn't in lock up anymore, that would be bad for National City," the photographer stated. He gave Bailey a smirk and a look but turned his attention to Joe quickly before Bailey got assess why he was looking more at her than her partner. "So how about we keep this quiet?"
"Who are you?" Bailey asked now, wondering about the man before her.
"Kandar Danvers," he held a hand out to Bailey first before turning back to Joe. "And I'm here to help."
"You're a photographer," Joe stated, a little confused.
"Yeah, but for CatCo – I was the one who took the photos for her article, and if it helps, I know Superboy too," he stated, not trying to hide this secret at all. In National it was common knowledge he got all the pictures of Superboy – it was what got him the job there with Cat Grant. He had even snapped some of Superwoman when she had come to visit, earning him the nickname of Super Photographer.
"Really? Because we know The Flash," Bailey countered, not too sure why she suddenly felt in competition with this guy. She did admire the Supers. Hell, Superwoman had been around a lot longer than Flash and Superboy combined, but she suddenly self-defensive of her own city.
"The Flash wouldn't stand a chance against the Master Jailer," Kandar stated, actually folding his arms at this.
"I don't think so. Flash is capable of handling her fair share of bad guys. She has been doing this for as long as Superboy, after all," Bailey glowered now, not liking being challenged by this guy.
"Flash is human, Superboy is Kryptonian. Master Jailer is alien. Flash can handle others of her kind just fine, but an alien needs a special touch. Especially Master Jailer. He was a guard for an alien prison. He knows how to handle powers," Kandar stated, still giving Bailey a lopsided smirk.
"Meta human," Bailey was about to counter, emphasis on the 'meta', but Joe held out his hands and called for silence, trying not to smile himself, noticing the playful banter. The pair may not know it yet, but they liked one another – he could tell. It was no different to playground bravado, boys pulling girls hair. That sort of thing. He and his wife most certainly had a similar start, after all.
"Can we have this discussion on who's better in a less public place and not over a dead body?" Joe stated, indicating the unfortunate man below them. Bailey glowered at Kandar but looked back to the man on the floor.
"Yes, sorry Joe. I'll run a DNA analysis on our guy, see if there's anything unusual about him that would cause him to be a suspect. I'll take some snaps too, get a facial recognition record on the guy. I think it's safe to bag him up and send him to the CCPD morgue until family can be identified and contacted," Bailey was straight back to business.
"And I'll take snaps for CatCo," Kandar spoke up.
"Over my own dead body," Bailey remarked. Kandar frowning at this. "My city. No CatCo here."
"CatCo Worldwide Media," Kandar remarked with a smirk, emphasis on the 'Worldwide' now. "Since when did Central City exit the world? Besides our main headquarters might be in National but there are other offices." Kandar didn't raised his camera though as he walked off. Bailey tried not to shout after him, annoyed at his attitude.
"I've known you for a long time, kid, but that's the first time I've seen you crush on someone so fast," Joe muttered to Bailey when Kandar seemed to be out of hearing range.
"Crush on him? No way! That guy got under my skin," Bailey remarked, taken aback at this remark and taking snaps of the body now she had taken the DNA sample. "I don't even know why he thinks he can get in anywhere just because he takes photos for CatCo."
"He does know Superboy though," Joe pointed out, deciding not to push Bailey. She didn't seem to want to admit she was attracted to the man with the camera. "If it really is Master Jailer, we could use all the information possible."
"Cesca and HP are good with information," Bailey pointed out defensively. "I think we'll be good with them. Besides, it's not like Superboy's going to show just because his lackey is here."
-Gender Earth-
Joe was in the lab with Bailey when her computer went off. She turned in her chair to look at the email she'd just received and frowned.
"What's up?" Joe asked, leaning on the desk.
"Our dead guy. He's a meta," Bailey remarked.
"Not unusual. Could have been killed…"
"Because he was a meta," Bailey substituted.
"I'm not with you," Joe stated, confused.
"That Master Jailer. I read his file, or at least the CatCo article by that Olsen person. He seemed to be going after prisoners of the Kryptonian ship, Fort Rozz," Bailey started.
"Yeah, I remember that. Superboy threw the prison ship into space," Joe commented thoughtfully.
"Well, Master Jailer was after the aliens on that ship who'd escaped, but most of them were taken away and imprisoned by the government organisation. It stands to reason that Master Jailer is now after meta humans because he doesn't understand them, that he thinks they're aliens," Bailey stated.
"I dunno, kid, that's a little farfetched," Joe frowned thoughtfully. "Are you sure it's Master Jailer though?"
"No one else it can be. I took samples from the victim's skin where he was burned by those chains, I'm waiting back for the analysis from that but Kandar's words made sense," Bailey stated. "His photos from the time, the burn marks – they match those chains Master Jailer used. Didn't cause burns last time, but he could have upped the ante."
"So now you think he's right?" Joe said with a smirk.
"Just because I agree with him doesn't mean I like him," Bailey stated, annoyed at Joe's persistence "It makes sense, Joe."
"Whatever you say," Joe muttered, hands raised.
At that moment, Bailey's phone went off. She picked it up, knowing the sound for her Flash Alert as she saw the location of the nearby attack. She looked up at Joe. "The hospital…"
"Go," Joe stated, as Bailey nodded and was gone in a flash. Joe sighed as he looked at where she had gone.
Sometimes being the Flash, Bailey's head was never in the right place.
-Gender Earth-
Superboy landed outside the hospital just as the flash of red light announced the arrival of The Flash, who paused before Superboy, confused.
"What exactly…?" Flash started, but Superboy rolled his eyes.
"I'm in town, thought I'd help," Superboy stated.
"Same as your friend," Flash muttered under her breath as she spoke into the coms. "Okay guys, I'm here with a special acquaintance. I don't see…?"
"Inside," Cesca Ramon stated in her earpiece.
"It's Jemm…" Superboy muttered, his eyes lighting up as the Flash looked at him.
"What about a gem?" Cesca repeated in Flash's ear.
"An old friend?" Flash asked Superboy, ignoring Cesca as she looked at Superboy at this remark.
"He messes with your mind, no wonder the hospital's going haywire. Leave him to me, I have my ways…" Superboy stated, and before Flash could even comprehend what the superhero meant, he soared into the sky and landed on the roof of the hospital.
"Oh no you don't!" Flash stated, running up after him and following Superboy into the hospital from the roof.
Inside was manic. The power seemed to be down as the lights were low and there was panic within; Flash didn't understand where it was coming from, but knew she had to get people to safety. She had to allow Superboy to handle this as he moved deeper into the hospital, going after this Jemm person, while she took people and sped them outside, medical equipment too, whatever would help.
By the time she joined Superboy, she had to pause as the man stood over the body of something that definitely wasn't human. He had red skin, an unusual face and some sort of gemstone in his forehead and Flash had to frown as she looked over him. There were the same chain marks burned into his skin too.
"Master Jailer?" Flash stated.
"Yes," Superboy stated, but then paused as he looked over at The Flash. "How did you…?"
"Wait with me while the CCPD arrive, then I have something to show you…" she didn't know why she was about to let Superboy in on her team, but she had an idea that if anyone could help them with their apparent alien problem, it was Superboy. Better than Kandar Danvers, at least.
…
"Oh my god!" HP Wells, the sister of the Harrison Wells and owner of STAR Labs, for all intents and purposes, called out when The Flash sped into the Cortex, followed by the blonde in blue, who stopped momentarily to take in his surroundings. "You're really Superboy?" HP moved over to look at him closer as he frowned now at the redhead. "I've been a big fan for a while… you're so different from… well, it's not important." The words confused Superboy and The Flash as HP spoke.
The Flash coughed loudly though, gaining HP's attention as she turned red to look at her. "Superboy's here to help with a new problem, and after that, he's going straight back to National City, where he belongs," Flash stated coolly.
"Why the hostility?" A new voice spoke and a young man with brown hair looked in on them from the medical wing, a frown on his face now.
"Yeah, I want to know that too," Superboy frowned as Flash turned to him, rolling her eyes.
"I don't play well with others, okay?" Flash stated simply.
"You don't play well…?" Superboy smirked now. "You're the one with a whole team at your disposal, and if I'm correct, has worked with plenty of other meta humans in the past…"
"You're not a meta human, you're –"
"Alien?" Superboy frowned how.
"Super," Flash corrected, and Superboy actually chuckled at that. "What?"
"You feel out-powered by me, just because of who I am," Superboy stated.
"No, it's not that…" Flash started.
"Is it because you're a girl?" Superboy tried.
"Hey, she's worth two of you!" Cesca Ramon spoke up quickly, watching on with awe however. She was a fan of the Supers, but never thought she would actually be working with one. She had to defend her friend though.
"Thanks," Flash smirked at her friend before turning to Superboy. "You're you, okay?"
"Am I the only one sensing sexual frustration here?" HP spoke up, only too happy to voice this unusual comment.
"Sexual…?" Superboy started.
"I am not frustrated, especially not at him!" Flash countered, annoyed. She moved over to Cesca now, ignoring Superboy. "Look up whatever we have from National City on Jemm," she now ordered.
"You know, you could ask me," Superboy raised a hand timidly at that as Flash groaned, turning back to the superhero.
"Fine. Tell me what you know about Jemm," Flash muttered.
"It's not Jemm you need to worry about, not now," Superboy spoke up. "He's dead. It's Master Jailer who needs to be your concern. They both broke out of their holding facility."
"What were they doing in the hospital?" Cain spoke up, curious now.
"Hard to tell. Perhaps Jemm was trying to escape Jailer, being a former prisoner of Jailer's, and thought the hospital would be a good hiding place…" Superboy frowned.
"Didn't work out for him then," HP stated, a little too happily as Superboy frowned at her.
"She's excitable," Cain commented of his technical employer.
"We need a plan," HP stated, as if she hadn't heard Cain's apologetic comment.
"Master Jailer. How did you stop him before?" Flash asked, at least intrigued by this aspect.
"I beat him up," Superboy stated with a shrug. "Although that was after he'd temporarily depowered me and my brother had to step in."
"You have a brother?" Flash paused at this.
"Human," Superboy added simply. "I'm adopted."
"Right," Flash nodded. "So, any clue how we can stop him?"
"'We', now is it?" Superboy smirked at this.
"Like I said, you're helping with this one, then you're off back home," Flash snapped. "This is my city."
"Your city? What, only one superhero allowed per city?" Superboy asked with a chuckle.
"Okay, how about this," HP spoke up again, both superheroes turning to her. "The first person to get the upper hand on Jailer takes the other out for dinner. I know some places, I can get some good discounts."
"What, winner treats the loser?" Cesca spoke up, catching on. "Shouldn't that be the loser treating the winner?"
"Fine, we'll do it your way," HP sighed, turning to look back at the dumfounded superheroes. "Loser treats the winner tonight."
"Are you setting us on a date, HP?" Flash raised her eyebrow as she looked at Superboy. He wasn't unattractive, she had noticed.
"If you don't go out with him, I will," HP stated as Flash pulled a face and Superboy suddenly went red.
"Please…!" Flash stated, shaking her head.
"What, afraid you're going to lose?" Superboy asked, turning to Flash.
"No way," Flash said.
"Then bet me dinner," Superboy said holding out a hand.
"Fine deal," Flash said taking the hand.
-Gender Earth-
Cesca had found Master Jailer – she was a meta human, who's abilities were linked more to seeing events on this Earth, linking to aspects of people, than to the multiverse. That wasn't to say she couldn't see other worlds, or even breach there, she simply preferred to use her powers for her own Earth, to help the Flash like now than see what was happening on worlds that didn't matter to her. That would change in time, but not yet.
To be fair, it wasn't too hard to find Master Jailer regardless, as he was causing a scene in the city centre, using his own special skillset to tie up a few meta humans who even Team Flash didn't deem dangerous.
Joe had arrived, his team of meta human specialists already aiming weapons, but none daring to fire as the sudden rush of air announced the arrival of the Flash.
"Master Jailer!" She called out to the man in a full suit of armour. He turned around to look at her.
"Another meta human," he growled. "You deserve punishment!"
"As if!" Flash stated, moving closer to the man. "We have every right to exist than normal humans. Besides, you can't exactly speak, being an alien among humans…"
"I punish those not meant to be on this world. Escapees from Fort Rozz. They deserve to be captured and killed!" Jailer responded.
"Same old story," a new voice spoke as Superboy flew in, dropping into sight and causing Jailer to look up at him. "You've got to let it go. Besides these aren't escapees. They were born on this planet and never put in prison. Has being behind bars yourself driven you insane?"
"Son of Zor," Jailer growled turning to Superboy. "We meet again."
"Another alien escapee?" Flash commented, intrigued to see what Jailer thought of this Kryptonian.
"He could have been great like his mother. Punished those who deserve it," Jailer replied.
"I'm getting tired of you aliens talking about my mom," Superboy said and Flash could see the look in his eyes. A look she knew well. He missed his mom. His dead mom. It was something they had in common she realized. Superboy took a step forward and Flash wondered if he was about to hit the Master Jailer. The next sentence surprised her though.
"You know, we could fight, or you could come quietly, back to your own cell in the D.E.O. What you've been doing on this planet are crimes against their own justice system. It makes you no different to the aliens and meta humans you've punished and killed," Superboy commented. He was trying to reason with him and Flash suddenly saw Superboy in a new light.
"I am not the one who deserves punishment!" Jailer shot at Superboy, chains flying out of his cuffs as Superboy barely dodged them, he instantly using laser vision against the man, which he barely avoided.
"I guess we're doing this the old fashion way…" Superboy commented with a sigh.
As Superboy kept Jailer distracted, The Flash used the disruption to free the other meta humans, taking them to Joe so he could get them to safety. She was aware of how… good Superboy was against the Jailer but didn't think about it until she turned. Superboy was dodging and giving hits easily enough. He fought well in a way that made Flash pause for a second.
In a second Master Jailer got the better of Superboy though, hanging him by chains. Before Flash could run to go help Jailer, a chain was around her arm and she was chained as well, suspended next to Superboy. The chains burned, but they didn't penetrate the fabric of her suit, or Superboy's for that matter.
"You've upped your game!" Superboy growled as Jailer looked on at the two. Curious.
"An alien and a meta human working together…" Jailer growled, but already Superboy was using laser vision on the heated chains, but they didn't break. He grunted in annoyance as Jailer shrugged and turned, just as Joe and his team moved in, but Jailer now struck out at them.
"No!" Flash shouted, as Joe was suddenly in chains. She didn't think as she phased through her chains with ease, not even turning to help Superboy as she ran around the shocked Jailer, pausing only to throw lightning at Jailer as she quickly freed Joe and his comrades. She turned to look at Jailer, now avoiding the chains again as she ran at him, distracting the alien.
Superboy had sent out both freeze breath and laser vision at his chains, managing to break free and grabbing Jailer before his chains hit into the Flash. He punched him hard, knocking the alien out.
"I could have done that," Flash mumbled when she stopped to see the battle was at an end.
"Emotional, are we?" the Super commented at The Flash's outburst. She had managed to save the cops though and distract Master Jailer in time for Superboy to knock him out.
"I don't know what you're complaining about," Flash stated, a little smugly. "Means I treat you to dinner."
"You know we made a good team," Superboy commented.
"Whatever," Flash mumbled not wanting to admit Superboy was right. And with that, she was gone, leaving Superboy to pick up Master Jailer again and head back to National City to drop him off at the D.E.O.
-Gender Earth-
Flash arrived back at STARL Labs moments later to applause from HP. She had made sure Joe and his fellow officers were okay but that had taken mere seconds. She sighed as she whipped off her cowl and took a seat.
"Saw it all on CCTV," Cesca spoke up. "You were good. I mean well, Superboy was also amazing against Master Jailer as well, but I'm Team Flash all the way…"
"Yeah, he won," Flash raised her eyebrow at this comment, curious.
"You provided the distraction. It was a great team up," HP commented with a sly smirk.
"That's what he said," Flash smirked.
"You might want to see this. I tried facial recognition against Superboy. Didn't work completely. Had to use a more advance software than the normal one," Cain said, bringing up the results and Flash took a step back. "Anyone know a Kandar Danvers?"
"Kandar?" Flash stood up again, speeding to look at the screen. "He was that annoying photographer who interrupted Joe and… oh," It sunk in as Bailey looked at the face on the screen. She sighed, just as a rush of air announced the arrival of Superboy.
"Hey, so I wanted to…" Superboy stopped as he noticed the face on the screen and then looked to the now cowl-less Flash with her back to him. "I guess the jig is up." He stated simply.
"Kandar," Bailey Allen spoke, turning back to look at Superboy.
"Miss. Allen," Kandar nodded at the girl who went by The Flash, that annoying smirk on his face again.
"Glasses? You literally just wear glasses, and no one recognises you?" Bailey asked, a little taken aback now.
"You didn't," Kandar muttered.
"I suspected…" Bailey responded.
"Bet you didn't," Kandar smiled again.
"But glasses?!" Bailey tried to counter.
"They're thick-rimmed?" Kandar tried. "Besides, normal facial recognition software doesn't work with them on. A little Kryptonian trickery. That must be a pretty good program to get passed it."
"Oh, it's the best," Cain stated ready to go on but saw the look and shut off.
"Glasses," Bailey continued. "I bet your vision is perfect too," Bailey stated crossing her arms.
"Well, I do have x-ray vision…"
"Wait, you can see in x-ray?" Cain spoke up.
"Yeah, I can see through anything but lead," Kandar supplied.
"You can see anyone naked any time you wanted," HP spoke up idly, both Kandar and Bailey turning to look at her in shock at this comment. "What? I'm sure you were all thinking it," HP shrugged.
"My glasses are lead-lined, so it reduced my chances of seeing through things. Makes me little bit more human," Kandar stated simply. "But it's not just the glasses," Kandar said, turning attention back to him. "Yes, the glasses help put off detection but it's also the personality. When I am Superboy, I am larger than life and have the personality to go with it. When I am Kandar, I am mild manner and get bossed around by Cat Grant. No one will see the person taking pictures as the person who lifted a car."
"You saw through my mask, didn't you?" Bailey stated, ignoring the differences between Kandar and Superboy now. "You knew who I was right away…"
"Hey, not my secret to reveal," Kandar shrugged, going with the flow. "But it didn't surprise me."
"Why don't you two save some of this for your date, yeah?" HP spoke up, clapping her hands together loudly. "I can have a table reserved at El Miranda, like that." She snapped her fingers. "You like Italian, right?"
-Gender Earth-
It was the evening, and Bailey stood, waiting in the entrance of El Miranda, suddenly feeling nervous.
She had been on dates before, obviously, and she had been on blind dates, but she didn't know why she felt so nervous on this one. She knew Kandar, to an extent. Granted they had only met this morning and the day had flown by, even for her, it still felt like she was stating someone brand new. Something exciting, even.
True too, Kandar annoyed the hell out of her at times, but there was something intriguing and exciting about the man, about his attitude, which made her excited for this date… as well as nervous.
"Erm, hi," she turned to see the man in smart attire and his glasses standing behind her. He looked kind of goofy and yet completely adorable as he was now. Completely different to Superboy, who held himself with a sort of pride that Kandar didn't seem to have with the glasses on. It was what he had stated before; something she had not fully understood then, but now she could almost see it. She could almost tell why people couldn't see Superboy beneath this demeanour. Almost.
"Hi," Bailey smiled as Kandar stepped forward.
"So, table for two," he told the maître d', who had been seeing other people in while Bailey and a few others waited for their dates or friends.
"Booked under Harriet Wells," Bailey supplied. The maître d' smiling at this as he showed them to a table by the window, a candle already lit for them as Kandar did the gentlemanly thing and let Bailey take her seat before he took his. As the maître d' left, now both with menus in their grips, Bailey felt embarrassed, but Kandar seemed to be going red.
"How do you do it?" Bailey suddenly spoke up.
"What?" Kandar asked, curious.
"As… you-know-who, you're so confident, so brave, yet here you're almost normal, almost human," Bailey stated.
"Years of practice," Kandar stated, the ghost of a smirk on his chiselled features as he gave a polite cough and added. "When you're so far out of your element as a teen, when you have no one, everything is new… you put up walls. I made this persona to hide behind and was only really able to come out of my shell when I put on the cape. It was freeing, but also allowed me to separate the two people easier. Kandar and Superboy. When I want to be free, want to be myself…"
"Yeah… I get it," Bailey nodded. "Putting on the suit I get the same feeling. As the speedster I can do so much more than just as Bailey Allen."
They were getting more confident already with each other, and with that confidence came the ability to speak about their alter egos more publicly – after all, no one was going to overhear their discussion, everyone else deaf to the goings on around them. Besides, this was something Bailey only shared with one other person: Olive Queen in Starling. She understood the difference between the hero and the civilian, but only to an extent, since she didn't have powers at the Green Arrow. Kandar on the other hand understood her more than most.
"What happened to the red guy? To Jemm?" Bailey suddenly asked, the thought coming to her mind as Kandar frowned. "He helped Jailer escape, didn't he…?" It had been a bit vague as to who helped who get out.
"Oh. Well, Jailer actually only got out by accident during Jemm's escape. He followed Jemm here to kill him and decided to include metas on his war path," Kandar explained. "Alex is demanding the system be changed so we don't accidentally have more than one escapee again. Not like its normal for anyone to escape or anything though."
"Alex?" Bailey raised her eyebrow.
"My brother. He heads up the D.E.O. – the government organisation I work as part of." Kandar explained. "Well, since M'Gann left he's been in charge."
"M'Gann?" Bailey asked, suddenly curious.
"M'Gann M'orzz. She's a Martian," Kandar said. "Hid out on Earth for years to hide from her people. My foster father saved her life and she was looking out for us until she learned of the civil war on Mars and that she could help to free her people."
"Woah," Bailey commented. honestly finding the topic interesting but wondering if this was a power play to have an interesting, almost impossible story to break the ice.
A waiter turned up at that moment though, to take their orders and both were surprised to order the same, despite not talking about it – although neither wanted a starter and both wanted larger meals than those advertised; although with Bailey footing the bill, Kandar had to word this carefully as she smirked.
"So, tell me about yourself." Bailey was the first one to speak as the waiter left to get their orders sorted. "What's your life story? Your mother…?" she remembered Jailer's comment on Superboy's mom earlier.
"Oh." Kandar frowned at this. "My mom? She was a judge back home. She sentenced people who committed crimes to jail. Krypton had no death sentence like some countries here do. It's why Fort Rozz was a thing – a place to put criminals."
Bailey frowned at this. It wasn't the information she was expecting, as she knew from his look that he missed his mother, his parents. Something they shared as she had lost her mom at a young age – but she decided to let it go, not wanting to push it. Maybe they'd be a chance in the future?
"And what about you?" Bailey now asked, still wanting to know more.
"Ah, well, I suppose you know about Superwoman's home world? The history?" Kandar asked.
"Krypton, yeah. It blew up. She was the sole survivor until Superboy turned up," Bailey nodded.
"Yeah, well, I'm actually her older cousin," Kandar started.
"You're older than her?! And I thought I'd age well with the speed force…" Bailey smirked.
"It's not like that," Kandar chuckled though. "So, when I was a child Krypton was dying." He kept close to Bailey, so she could only hear him "I was sent to Earth to protect my cousin. But my pod got knocked off-course, and by the time I got here, my cousin had already grown up and become Superwoman. I hid my powers until an accident forced me to reveal myself to the world." It was dramatic, Bailey had to admit. "To most people, I am photographer, exclusive to CatCo Worldwide Media, but in secret, I work with my adoptive brother for the D.E.O. to protect my city from alien life and anyone else that means to cause it harm," he sat back at that, as Bailey remained in position, her thoughts running wild.
"The airplane incident…?" she started.
"Accident. My brother was on the plane, I had to act, or he would die," Kandar stated.
"Your pod got knocked off course?" Bailey now tried.
"Phantom Zone. Sort of like a pocket of space near Krypton where time doesn't exist. I was in there, unaware, for a long time…" Kandar stated.
"Wow…" Bailey sighed. "And I thought I had the dramatic life story."
"What's yours then?" Kandar nodded, curious.
"Okay then… I suppose it starts on when I was a child. I saw my mother killed by something impossible and my father almost went to prison for her murder. That's when it started for me. But then an accident made me the impossible… To the outside world I am an ordinary forensic scientist, but secretly I use my speed to fight crime and find others like me." Bailey tried for the dramatic too. "I hunted down the woman who killed my mother, but in doing so ended up creating more meta humans like me. And I'm the only one fast enough to stop them."
"The impossible, huh?" Kandar muttered, leaning back in his seat. "Another speedster?"
"Inertia," Bailey stated simply. "Claimed to be the complete reverse of me. Of course, impossible is in context with your cousin around."
"True," Kandar nodded. "Your father was almost arrested for her murder?"
"He was exonerated," Bailey stated simple. "No evidence against him. Allowed him to raise me and my brother solo; although I'm sort of like a mom to my little brother now."
"Huh, like my brother thinks he's like a dad to me," Kandar muttered.
"Hey, I raised that kid from when he was five," Bailey defended, Kandar raising his arms in defence.
"Sorry, it's just… different." Kandar stated. "I take it the accident was…?"
"The STAR Labs Dark Matter Machine explosion," Bailey nodded.
"That happened twice." Kandar pointed out. "So I guess that's what you mean by making more meta humans…" Kandar had heard about the machine's second explosion. "And yet your friends work at STAR Labs?" Kandar raised an eyebrow at that.
"The second explosion everyone knows was not STAR's fault. Inertia made that one clear, although she was responsible for the first as well – she killed Harriet Wells and took her face, made STAR Labs in the guise of Harriet Wells, and when I killed her, HP took her place. People don't know Inertia was Harriet and no one knows HP isn't the original," Bailey stated, confusing Kandar.
"So… HP isn't the Harriet Wells? Where exactly did this other one come from?" Kandar was confused, and Bailey smirked at the look on his face now.
"Another world," Bailey stated simply. "Well, I mean another Earth. The multiverse… don't ask," Bailey waved a hand dismissively. "But what Earth, she and Cesca are keeping secret. HP's done me no harm though, so I don't see why it would ever be an issue. Well, you've met her."
"Oh… kay…" Kandar muttered, just as their food came out – a large plate each. Both sped through their food though, Bailey remaining slower so as not to wolf it down so quickly. But both remained quiet regardless until their plates were clean.
"Super speed?" Bailey remarked when she finally surfaced from the food.
"Something like that," Kandar remarked. "I'm surprised you didn't finish yours quicker, speedster."
"I slowed down for you," Bailey winked. Kandar scoffed.
"So, Kandar?" Bailey asked.
"Yeah?" Kandar replied, as the surprised waiter came up to take their plates and hand out the dessert menu.
"I mean, why Kandar? Why not Connor or… I don't know, Callum?" Bailey tried, thinking up names that could sound like 'Kandar'.
"I was born Kandar, and I'll die Kandar," he stated simply. "The name is important to me." The look was in his eyes again. The look of someone lost. The same look when he talked about his mother.
"It's Kryptonian," Bailey guessed.
"Yeah, and sort of the name of our capitol city. Kandor. The most important city on Krypton, actually," Kandar stated.
"I get it," Bailey said with a nod. "All I have left of my mom is her old jewellery and some pictures. You have even less of your home. Keeping what you can is important."
Kandar smiled at that. "You know, even Claire had question why I didn't change the name to something more human. Besides, it's not the most unusual name out there, is it?" Kandar suggested.
"I suppose not. I mean there are people out there named Blanket…" Bailey remarked thoughtfully, as both decided on something chocolate-y for their dessert.
"So… erm, have you ever done this before?" Kandar tried as they waited for their next bit of food.
"What…? Oh. You mean date?" Bailey caught on.
"If you want to call this that…" Kandar almost blushed.
"Well now you mention it, yeah." Bailey stated thoughtfully. "Nothing serious until Rick though."
"Rick?" Kandar remained aloof at the name.
"Patrick Spivot." Bailey explained. "He worked for Joe in his meta human task force."
"Joe? The officer with you this morning?" Kandar asked.
"Yeah. He was the arresting officer when my mom was murdered. My brother and I stayed with him until dad was freed. We've been great friends since." Bailey stated happily.
"Nice. What happened to Rick, though?" Kandar didn't miss a beat.
"Oh. We were doing good until he decided to upend his life and move away." Bailey looked away at that.
"That sucks." Kandar remarked.
"Yeah, but he had his own things going on." Bailey shrugged, not wanting to get into it. "You?"
"Oh. No." Kandar shook his head. "Nothing serious, you know?"
"Nothing serious?" Bailey seemed shocked. "With your looks?"
He couldn't help but smirk at that remark, turning a slight shade darker now. "No. I've only done stuff like this. Dinner, movies… that sort of thing."
"So… you've never seriously dated anyone before?" Bailey voiced, unable to believe this.
"No. And don't you start – now that Alex has found his perfect boyfriend, he's expecting me to do the same." Kandar groaned. "Well, a girlfriend for me, I suppose; but every social occasion we have he makes it his life's mission to make me feel about one inch tall."
"Wow. brothers, eh?" Bailey almost whistled at this. "And here I was thinking three was an embarrassing number at my young age.
"Three?" Kandar seemed taken aback. "Who were the other two?"
"Oh. Erm, Joe's son and a journalist for the CCPN." Bailey avoided Kandar's eyes at this.
"Wait, so you've dated Joe's partner, and his son?" Kandar queried.
"It's not that weird!" Bailey defended herself, just as their chocolate desserts arrived. This time, they spoke through their food.
"Who was the journalist?" Kandar remained, coy as he kept on the conversation.
"Linda." Bailey stated simply.
"That's an odd name for a guy… oh." Reality hit Kandar as he realised: Bailey had dated another girl.
"Yeah." Bailey kept focus on her chocolate cake, trying to both not look at Kandar now or reflect on her past with Linda Park. "That was an… well it was my first serious relationship and I thought… well it was intense relationship, but I don't think again… after her."
Kandar nodded in understanding, not sure what else to say. "So, your brother… what's his name?" He had decided to change the subject and let Bailey not be so embarrassed. He remembered what she had said earlier, about Bailey being an almost-mother to her little brother.
"Arthur." Bailey stated, a little smile on her face as she thought of her kid brother. "I call him Artie though. I'm like a parent to him, I helped raise him after mom's death, after all."
"You said," Kandar nodded.
"But you have… Alex, was it?" Bailey tried.
"Yeah," Kandar nodded.
"An alien on a new planet… it must have been nice to have someone there for you, surely?" Bailey tried.
"I already had Clare…" Kandar pointed out thoughtfully.
"Oh yeah, Superwoman." Bailey nodded, the conversation coming full-circle. "Speaking of, how did you become Superboy? Why not Superman?"
Kandar moaned at this. "Cat Grant…" he stated, simply. "In her infinite wisdom she chose the boy title. Something about empowerment, using herself as a 'girl' to help define the boy name. I think she just wanted something different and unusual and it stuck really quickly." He didn't look like he was overly fond of the title though, even if he had grown used to it.
"I'm starting to quite like this Cat woman." Bailey mused at this.
"I'm sure you'll get on like a house on fire." Kandar grimaced. "Man, she'd love writing about the Flash though."
"As long as she doesn't try to rebrand me, she can write whatever she wants." Bailey commented thoughtfully.
"I did hear mention of the The Blur once…" Kandar smirked once more.
"Shut up!" Bailey playfully kicked him under the table as the waiter came back to collect their empty dessert plates, presenting the bill as well. They were quick here.
Bailey sighed as she looked at the price and was about to reach for her purse in her clutch bag, when Kandar coughed and she looked up at him. He already held a credit card, which he placed on the little tray the bill had sat on.
"I thought…?" Bailey stated, a little cautiously.
"It's tradition, I think, for the man to pay for the first date," Kandar stated simply.
"First date?" Bailey picked up this phrase.
"Yeah," Kandar grinned now.
"You want there to be more?" Bailey tried, surprised they had got on so well.
"Only if you want to," Kandar stated, suddenly unsure.
"Yeah," Bailey replied, not even thinking about it. "I do."
Post chapter note: I hope you all enjoyed. It was a fun chapter to write and I'd like to return to Gender Earth at some point soon as there's a lot of untapped potential in this world. But for the moment, please REVIEW.
Captain Sigma out!