MORE POWERFUL THAN A LOCOMOTIVE
She sat up, trying to concentrate on John's words. Steel, as his superhero identity would have it.
"I'm going to make you a suit so strong, you won't even miss your powers. Lex won't get away with using kryptonite anymore, I can promise."
She tuned in just in time to hear what John was saying, and focused her eyes so that the collateral damage he called mech parts became visible. His voice emitted from somewhere in that maze, only his waving hand, foot, or other item visible from her position.
She still felt tired, drugged, but tried not to show it. She must have been soaking up solar radiation on Kal's solar rejuvenator for hours, maybe even days. "I'm fine, John, honest. It's not your problem. It's not even your universe's problem."
"Kara! Uh, Power Girl! You're awake!" his voice was startled.
"Sure am. What was that you were saying about kryptonite?" she wasn't ready to think just yet, but the word kryptonite eliminated that choice.
"Oh. Uh, just wondering is all. That last blast that Luthor hit you with… What I don't get is why it works on you at all. Superman told me that kryptonite only affects Kryptonians of the same universe. And you're not from ours."
"My powers have always been a little finicky since I got here. Maybe it doesn't take much." She wasn't really awake enough to start formulating theories. Being tired is such a pain in the keister, no wonder people hate it so much. Although, most people didn't have to try and wake up from a kryptonite coma. She didn't want to do it ever again herself.
"Or Luthor has found a way to bridge the gap between the dimensions himself." John added.
He's right, I didn't think of that. She chided herself. Of course, who else but Luthor would have exactly what she needed? His entire life revolved around getting the step ahead on Kryptonians. Be the devil they have to bargain with, the lunatic. He was almost hard to take seriously sometimes, but he did cause a lot of major headaches.
"Either that, or maybe some kind of transdimensional probe, funnelling back quantum data in order to alter the kryptonite structure. Or he's manually altered kryptonite to produce that specific frequency, mimicking it artificially. There's so many possible variables."
Kara had already run through the possibilities in her head. The problem was two-fold – one, Luthor was a genius. He was so smart that "Superman" (aka, cousin Kal) confessed the scientist even made him feel dumb from time to time. Kal's greatest regret was that he felt they could have been good friends. So, the madman was capable of anything. The second, was that Luthor was not a Kryptonian, he had no experience with the super-advanced science that Krypton was capable of, and that Kara was aware of.
So, eliminating all the possibilities depended entirely upon guessing Luthor's limitations, his inventiveness; neither was a sure bet. And so she decided she couldn't rule anything out, including the unknown.
Even if Luthor came up short somewhere, it was always possible that someone was supplying help.
"Either way, I'm going to make sure you never have to worry about it again."
She folded her arms and smiled.
"Oh, really?" she asked, one ambiguous blonde eyebrow arched.
"Yup," he replied, his head barely visible. "No more kryptonite problems. Maybe I can't whip up a kryptonite serum like Luthor says he can, but I know robots. I know armour. I'm going to make the biggest walking armory you've ever seen."
"That's terrific, uh, Steel. I'd like to see it. Just watch yourself when it comes to sizing those proportions, though, right?" She said lightly, and she flew off before he could even pop his head out long enough to look at her with an "O" expression. She had recovered enough, and she needed to get her bearings again. A good flight would do that.
Missed opportunity, John, he said to himself, shaking his head and getting back to work. And for the next few hours he worked without rest. He didn't even notice as the lights around him flickered, although they drew their power from the Fortress itself, a completely imperishable power supply.
And deep in the Fortress of Solitude, red eyes opened.
(*)