The Girl of Steel and the Silver Speedster Ch. 10
Harry Potter is the property of J. K. Rowlings and Supergirl the CW. I own nothing and I don't make any money from this story.
I'm trying something different this chapter. From now on thought will be in italics. It should be less confusing than having 'apostrophes,' and "quotations." Now on with the chapter.
Chapter 10: If you're going through hell, keep going.
_o0o_
He didn't want to approach him
Which was odd given that he had spent every minute he could since learning his real identity trying to his learn as much about him as he could. he had asked him numerous questions. Practically interrogated him. But now, looking at him as he leaned on the banister of the balcony, he was afraid to approach him.
Winn had arrived at the DEO that morning like usual. Coffee in one hand and tablet in the other he was ready to solve whatever problem J'onn, Alex and Kara needed him to solve. But as he made his way down the stairs to the main control room, he happened to glance out the balcony windows and spotted the newest addition to their team looking out over the city.
Winn wouldn't have thought anything of it, after all the Brit was living in the DEO while he was on this earth. But the odd thing wasn't that he was standing on the balcony alone or wearing his speedster uniform. It was the way he was absentmindedly opening and closing his fist, dragging his clawed fingers along the concrete. And judging by the deep gouges already present, he had clearly been standing there for a while.
Winn knew he wasn't Harry's favorite person and was weighing his options of either talking to Harry himself or going to find someone who might actually have a chance of getting him to talk when the choice was taken out of his hands.
"Are you just going to stand there like the shy guy at the bar, or are you going to come over and buy me a drink?" He said in such a flat tone he may as well have been making small talk about the weather.
This guy really puts the dry back into the English sense of humor. He noted very sarcastically as he made his way next to the speedster.
"So, what's got you so lost in thought?" Winn tried to break the ice.
"Why do you believe I'm thinking about anything? Why can't I just be enjoying the view?" Harry asked while turning to look at him.
"Oh, you know, call it a hunch." Wynn teased before pointedly looking at the four half-inch deep claw marks he had made into the banister.
Looking down at the damage he hadn't even realized he had done; Harry knew there really wasn't much point in denying anything.
"I woke up this morning to a worrying realization." Harry began while crossing his arms. "I've gotten comfortable on this earth."
Winn just frowned at him. Not sure what the problem was. "and comfortable is... bad?"
"This is the longest I've been on any earth since I started this... "He struggled to find the right words to describe his situation. Truthfully, Winn didn't know what to call his situation either. So, he just decided to move past it.
"OK, but that doesn't really answer my question?" Winn prompted him.
Harry took in a deep breath to buy himself time to decide if he even wanted to have this conversation with Winn. In the end, he decided that maybe putting voice to these thoughts will help him figure out what he was doing wrong.
"Before coming to this earth, the longest I had been on any earth was two weeks. The shortest was 20 minutes. I'm only supposed to stay until I've done whatever they want me to do and then I go to the next earth they think I can help with. I have been here for months. I helped fight off an alien invasion. Captured criminals, both human and extraterrestrial. Last week I helped stop a religious zealot from killing thousands of people. What exactly is it that I'm supposed to do? What haven't I done?" Harry let out a sigh as he finished his rant, he was clearly frustrated.
"Well, maybe you have done what they wanted. Have you considered that?" Winn tried to help, at a loss as to what else he could say.
Harry just shook his head. "No. I know when I've done what they wanted. I can sense it. And even if something was interfering with my senses, they would just send my… parole officer ... to let me know." Winn wasn't sure why, but Harry actually shivered at the words 'parole officer. '
He recalled Harry mentioning them before. The agents of the Speed Force on earth were the speedsters, but those that policed them were called the Time Wraiths. He wondered just how scary they were if Harry was afraid of them.
"OK. Well, it could be worse. At least you're comfortable here." That was apparently the wrong thing to say.
"I don't want to be comfortable Winn." He snarled, sounding like his animal counterpart. His gaze making Winn happy that he didn't possess heat vision. Winn leaned back a little at the unexpected outburst. Even more confused than ever.
"I don't want to get comfortable. I don't want to make friends. I don't want to be happy again only to have to give it all up when I do finally have to leave. Cause sooner or later I will accomplish whatever they sent me here to do and being comfortable or happy will just make leaving hurt that much more."
Winn didn't say anything. What could he say? When viewed from that perspective, Harry's situation really did suck. Though I do find it interesting that Harry admitted to being happy on our earth. And that 'make friends' comment is certainly a positive sign.
"Well, you might just have to deal with that. I mean, what's your other option?" Not the most uplifting thing, but since he couldn't think of anything else to say.
Harry just sighed again. "You're right. I'll just have to be more careful moving forward." He was distracted by a pinging sound coming from his belt. Winn was shocked to see him pull a disposable cell out of seemingly nowhere. Apparently, now that he didn't have to hide from the DEO J'onn finally convinced him to get a phone.
And where was he keeping that? I don't see any pockets.
"Kara is asking if I can pick something up for her and bring it to CatCo. She is even bribing me to do it. I guess I can help her out. Unless you have something that needs my attention?" Harry questioned.
Looking down at his tablet Winn just shook his head. "Nah, it's all quiet right now. If you want to run an errand for Kara, then feel free." When suddenly smiled at him. "And don't worry about the damage. I'll just call building maintenance to come repair it."
Harry glances at the gouges he made before turning to leave. He hollered back at win. "if I hear anybody make even one scratching post joke, the next thing I sharpen my claws on will be you." Winn wisely chose not to respond, but the grin on his face didn't fade for hours.
_o0o_
Lena Luthor was having a good day. Which was a nice change since Alex and Maggie called off their wedding a week ago the mood among her friends had been rather depressing. Ignoring that, she kept butting heads with James Olsen over how to run CatCo. And Sam's transition into her seat at L-Corp had been rocky at best.
But all of that was yesterday's problems.
She had a board meeting this morning where she got an update on every story running through CatCo. A meeting that went by very quickly (probably because James wasn't there to second guess her every decision). Sam had finally gotten a handle on things at L-Corp, giving her, some much-deserved free time. And last night's hostage situation was thwarted by Supergirl without any loss of life. Giving them a great front-page headline.
All in all, it's shaping up to be a lovely day. I wonder how I can keep the streak going. Lena mused to herself as she walked out of her office, only to spot her best friend at her desk. Lunch with Kara. Now that would make my day perfect.
Lena had only made it two steps in her best friend's direction before she halted at the sight of a familiar tall, dark and handsome Brit walking up to Kara's desk. In his hands were a couple of takeaway coffee cups in a carrier and what Lena assumed was a box of sticky buns. And to her surprise, Kara looked happy to see him.
Though, probably more the coffee and sticky buns than him.
Still, this deserves further investigation. Lena decided as she moved closer to them. They weren't facing her, so they didn't realize she was there, but she was still close enough to hear what Kara was saying. "Thanks for picking these up for me. With Alex moving out of Maggie's apartment today, I needed a sugary treat." Kara said as she made gleeful grabby hands at the box until he handed it over. He was smiling in amusement as she picked one out of the box. She took a bite and hummed in appreciation.
Harry just smirked in amusement as he took the Styrofoam Cup marked Tea. "Not a problem. It gave me an excuse to get away from Winn and his lab. I swear that man won't be happy until he can biopsy my organs."
Biopsy his organs? Is he an alien? I thought Kara said he was an agent, not a lab rat. Lena contemplated as she continued to shamelessly eavesdrop.
Now it was Kara's turned to smirk at him. "You know, he might lay off a little if you would just answer some of his questions." She needled, before taking another bite of her treat.
"I know, I know." He admitted with a pained grimace on his face. "It's just... I've seen this kind of behavior before. And I'm worried that if I give in it will open the floodgates and he will become ten times worse than he is now."
Kara just lifted her eyebrows in thought before bobbing her head side to side in a silent acknowledgement. "You're right. That is a possibility with Winn. Still, what's your other option?"
Harry just hummed in thought. "That's the second time this morning somebody has asked me that question." Lena watched with some confusion as Harry just pointed a finger at her acquiescing to her point. Before finally taking a sip of the tea Lena was beginning to think he had forgotten about.
If anybody asked Lena, she would firmly deny letting out a snort when Harry's eyes nearly bugged out and he doubled over to spit the mouthful of tea back into the Cup. If looks could kill Kara would have burst into flames from his glare.
"Bloody hell, you said you ordered a cup of their best tea."
Kara looked completely taken aback. "I did. And Noonan's makes the best Chai tea in the city."
Lena's shoulders were shaking from the effort not to laugh at the look of utter betrayal on Harry's face "Chai tea! You ordered me Chai tea?"
"What's wrong with that? It's good tea." Kara tried to defend.
Harry just shook his head at her. "No, no, no. As a proper British gentleman, I am the authority on good tea around here. And I can honestly say that this," he held up the offending cup for emphasis, "is not good tea."
Watching him hold it over Kara's trash can and almost daintily release it to fall with a thunk proved to be too much for Lena. Somehow, they still hadn't noticed her presence. But they both startled at the sudden sound of her laughing at them.
"Lena. How long have you been standing there?" Kara asked while holding her hand over her heart, like she was trying to keep it from leaping out of her chest.
Harry hid his surprise at being snuck up on better than Kara. And his face split into a gigantic smile at the sight of Lena. "Hello Lena. Lovely to see you again."
Lena smiled back before greeting him. "Hello Harry. I was not expecting to see you here. I didn't think you would be playing delivery boy for Kara?" It was framed as a statement but was clearly a question. Kara could tell by the way Lena's eyes kept shifting back and forth between her and Harry. Trying to decipher the obvious change in their relationship.
Kara was becoming more and more uncomfortable every time Lena's eyes moved back to her. She always got nervous when she thought Lena was onto her secret, but she never thought she would be this intimidated by Lena taking an interest in her relationship with Harry.
Harry though appeared completely oblivious to Lena's scrutiny and Kara's rising panic. Instead, he reached for a third Styrofoam cup in the carrier and seemed content to wait in silence for either Lena or Kara to make the next move. Kara thought he might even be enjoying the tension in front of him.
In the end, it was Lena who finally relented.
"How's Silver doing by the way? Kara hasn't mentioned having to watch him again?"
"Silver?" Harry paused for a worryingly long moment before he finally remembered that Lena thought Silver was the name of his 'pet' panther. "Oh, he's fine. He is enjoying our new home."
Kara felt dread pooling in her stomach as that same mischievous smirk appeared on Harry's face. "Though he has been a little listless lately. I think he might be missing his new friend."
Kara worried as Harry pointed at Lena indicating her. To Kara's growing horror, Lena rolled with it.
"Well then I'll be sure to drop by Kara's place the next time she's watching him. Tell me, does he like to be scratched behind the ears?"
"Oh absolutely. You do that and he will purr like a Mini Cooper." Lena laughed again. Maybe it was his British accent, or something more uniquely him, but Harry seemed to have a skill for making Lena laugh.
A skill that for reasons she didn't fully understand, was making Kara uncomfortable. She was trying to come up with an excuse to get between them when James came stomping up to them.
"Guys, turn on the news." James insisted, pointing to one of the nearby televisions dotted around the room. Kara grabbed a remote and did as he asked.
It didn't take long to find what had James so out of sorts. The sight of Morgan Edge being interviewed from inside one of Lena's L-Corp hospitals certainly got their attention.
"What is he doing in one of my hospitals?" Lena demanded, sounding insulted by the very thought. Kara turned up the volume so that they could hear what Edge was saying.
" -it was a nightmare. And we would have given anything for it to end. Then the Daxamite ships just up and left. And do you know why? It was a lead dispersal bomb that drove them away. I have a colleague whose son was sick and brought him here. The doctors told me that there were other kids in other hospitals who are also sick. All displaying the same symptoms. Lead poisoning. You know it's fitting that we are here in this hospital. Lena Luthor built the bomb that poisoned these kids."
Nobody said a word as they all watched in disbelief as Edge publicly laid the blame for all the sick children at Lena's feet. Reporters at the scene started asking Edge if he had any proof to back up his claims. Questions that he neatly sidestepped by asking them to respect the children in the hospital room where this interview was being shot. But those questions wouldn't matter. Edge had already accomplished what he set out to do.
"I need to get down there." Lena snapped, heading for the elevator.
"I'm right behind you." Kara quickly turned to catch up with Lena. Harry hot on their heels.
_o0o_
It didn't take them long to reach the L-Corp hospital. Lena ordering her driver to 'step on it' almost before Harry had closed the door behind himself. And she was opening the door before he had fully stopped in front of the building and began stomping her way inside.
Harry was a little worried, because once they were inside the hospital there were crowds of people that were going to be in their way. And in her current mindset Harry wasn't sure how Lena would handle it if she bumped into somebody. As it turned out Lena didn't bump into anybody. She didn't so much as move through them as walk and expect them to get out of her way.
Which of course they did. She was a woman on a mission, and everybody wanted to get out of her line of fire.
Though I doubt Morgan edge is that intelligent. Harry thought as he tried to keep pace with Lena without tapping into his powers.
Harry smelled him before he ever laid eyes on him. The man positively reeked of men's Cologne and cheap hair gel. Sometimes he really hated having a panther's sense of smell. Spotting the man signing some paperwork a little further down the hall, Lena made a beeline for him. With Kara and Harry right on her heels.
"Where the hell do you get off?" Lena started off with a bang. Though edge didn't even look up from the clipboard and paperwork he was signing. He just held up a finger in the universal sign of 'wait one moment.'
With her fist clenched Lena crossed her arms and started taking several deep breaths to try and calm her rising rage as she waited for him to finish. Though it was probably more out of shock at being so carelessly dismissed than any sense of courtesy.
Harry on the other hand, wasn't willing to be nearly so kind. This walking pile of hippogriff dung had the gall to use children to denigrate Lena and then to just ignore her out of hand. A familiar animal in Harry's chest roared in outrage. Prompting him to stomp past Lena and get right in Edge's face.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Harry's growl was enough to startle Edge into looking up at him. But before he could even open his mouth, Harry ploughed on. "What are you, a primary school child asking to use the loo. Put your hand down before you embarrass yourself even more."
To his obvious discomfort, Edge lowered the hand that he had used to silence Lena. "Just who are-..."
Harry didn't even let him start what he was sure would be a short but insulting introduction. "Now I don't know how things work here across the pond, but back home when a lady speaks a gentleman looks her in the eye and gives her his full attention. Do you understand what I'm saying to you, you pompous oaf?"
"Now wait a minute. Do you have any idea who you're-..." Edge tried to talk over Harry. But Harry just kept thundering away.
"And what right do you have to accuse Lena of hurting anybody? What evidence do you have to point fingers at anybody you smarmy git?"
"These children are suffering from lead poisoning. Everyone in the world knows that Lena used a lead dispersal device to get rid of the Daxamites. It's not a huge leap to find the source of this problem." The condescending jerk turned his eyes on Lena. Obviously, dismissing Harry.
Lena quickly wiped the stunned look off her face at Harry's passionate defense of her before turning her attention back to Edge. "So, this is what your revenge looks like?"
Edge smirked, and Harry prepared himself to listen to what he was sure would be a pithy comment to make himself look smarter than he is.
"Have you ever heard of the cobra effect?"
"English colonials in India didn't like the fact the country was infested with snakes. So, they offered money for dead snakes only to learn that people had started breeding snakes to bilk the English. Which led to an explosion in the serpent population. The whole thing was an utter disaster." Harry interrupted Edge again. Everybody, even Edge, was looking at Harry in surprise "I'm sorry, but were you actually under the impression that you know English history better than a real Englishman?"
"Again, who the hell are you?"
"Sir Harry Evans."
"Sir? I'm sorry, is that supposed to impress me?" Edge challenged, trying to turn the tables.
"I'm sorry, is the overpriced suit and the boy band hairstyle supposed to impress... well anybody?" Harry fired back. He was enjoying poking holes in Edge's overinflated ego.
"You know, you're starting to get on my last nerve." Edge growled at him. But Harry faced down some of the most terrifying people in the multiverse. In comparison to them, Edge's attempt to frighten Harry was almost laughable.
"And here I was hoping for a second date." Sarcasm dripped off every syllable.
"Don't waste your breath Harry." Lena finally getting enough of watching Harry rip into the billionaire bottom-feeder. "We have more important things to do than trade insults with a toxic predator."
Edge regained his smile as he looked back at Lena. "At least I don't poison children. That was all you." Harry and Kara ignored him as they both ushered Lena away. But Lena was having a much harder time ignoring Edge's parting shot.
_o0o_
Lena was worryingly silent as they guided her out of the hospital. Trapped in a sort of daze. Her mind must have been running on a loop of Edge's parting words. Harry knew that if their positions were reversed, then that is exactly what he would be doing. Even bumping into her friend Sam, who followed them into Lena's car, couldn't shake Lena from her inner monologue.
Harry felt completely useless sitting there watching Lena agonize over the implications of Edge's words and not knowing what to say that could help. And from the look on their faces, Kara and Sam were at just as much of a loss.
Deciding that he wasn't doing any good here he whispered to Kara that he was going to the DEO To apprise them of the situation. See what they could do to help. She didn't acknowledge him beyond a quick nod to prove she heard him. Too concerned about her friend to be very articulate.
Unfortunately, once he arrived at the DEO, he learned that Alex wasn't there. And Harry remembered that she was probably busy moving her ex-fiancé out of her apartment. If Alex hadn't come running back to the DEO already, then she probably hadn't heard what was going on, and Harry didn't want to add more on top of what was already a pretty shitty day for her.
Fortunately, Winn had heard about the problem and was already setting up an experiment to test if Lena's lead dispersal device really was the culprit. Though Harry doubted it. A few things about this situation just weren't adding up in Harry's head.
But right now, that didn't matter. What mattered was that Winn was working the problem. Which being a non-scientist meant there wasn't anything Harry could do to help. So, he had been left to stand back and watch as others tried to do all the work.
I hate doing nothing. Harry never did well when trusting others to get a job done. It was that moment that fate decided to break in his favor for once. His cell phone started ringing.
"Hello?"
Kara's voice drifted from the earpiece. "Listen I need you at CatCo in ten minutes. Lena is planning to hold a press conference. She's going to step down from L-Corp until they can figure out what's going on. I want your help to convince her to change her mind."
Harry's alarm rose at Kara's words. "You need to talk her out of that."
"I know. I tried to but I can't talk her out of it. She shouldn't have to step down from her company, or CatCo for that matter. But Lena is adamant that she can't be involved in-."
"That's not what I meant Kara." Harry interrupted her impassioned speech. "There are parents all over the city whose children are sick or dying. And thanks to Edge they're blaming Lena. The last place she should be right now is out in the open surrounded by them."
"Oh Rao, you're right. I didn't even think of that." For a moment, Harry envied Kara. She had such faith in others that the idea of them wanting to hurt her friend never even occurred to her. Harry couldn't remember the last time his world view had been so black and white.
So innocent.
Harry had been on many different earths. He had seen the best and the worst humanity had to offer. His world would never be so simple that these horrible things would never occur to him. For that reason, he didn't even think before responding.
"I'll be at the press conference. You won't see me, but I'll be there." He declared before he ended the call.
_o0o_
Harry kept his word. He was at the site of the press conference before they had finished setting up the podium. But he still didn't manage to be the first there.
Parents from all over national city had turned out as soon as the news of the press conference was announced. Some had even managed to make signs for the occasion. Some had the slogan 'Luthors are murderers.' Some had the name Luther in a crossed-out circle. Others simply had the word 'killer' written on them. And before Lena had even stepped outside the building the crowd was chanting "lock her up, lock her up."
None of these people saw him of course. Hidden beneath the power of his invisible suit. None of them had the faintest clue he was there. But from where he stood off to the side, it still turned his stomach to see it happening.
Lena fought every day to help these people. Creating more affordable hospitals, new jobs and technologies that they used every day. She helped to save the world from an alien invasion. And without any real proof these people were condemning her.
It reminded him a little too much of how often the people's opinion of him would sway from good to bad and how quickly it could happen. And now he had to watch it happen to Lena.
Harry's eyes kept sweeping the crowd. Doing what little he could to spot any possible dangers. It was unlikely he would be able to see any now with the crowd as thick as it was. Not to mention, any would be assassins likely wouldn't try anything until Lena was in their line of sight. But he still hoped to get lucky. Catch them before they had a chance. So, he kept vigil waiting for something to happen.
Eventually Lena stepped outside of the CatCo Worldwide Media building. James and Sam flanking her on either side. James stopped Lena as she moved to step up onto the podium. He whispered something to her that Harry obviously couldn't hear over the chanting of the crowd. Harry hoped he was offering her support. No, he hoped James was trying to talk her out of going up there at all. But whatever he said didn't matter, as it clearly failed to do either of those things.
Lena wasn't to be deterred. She still stepped up onto the podium because she knew, or rather she thought she knew, what she had to do.
Though Harry was surprised to see her smile as she crossed the platform. Following her line of sight, he saw Kara standing in the crowd giving her a subtle thumbs up. Trust Kara to support her friends when they needed it the most.
Harry never appreciated her as much as he did in that moment.
As she got to the microphone, Lena began speaking to the crowd of people who would happily see her crucified for crimes Harry knew she hadn't committed.
"Good afternoon. I'm… I'm Lena Luthor." She had to almost shout into the mic to be heard over the indistinct shouting of the crowd. "I know a lot of you here are angry. I… I hear you. I would be myself, if I felt someone had poisoned my children. So, my thoughts go out to everyone who is afflicted. I heard what Morgan Edge told you this morning. And I wish I was up here to say something different but… the truth is, I don't know if my device hurt children. And until I do, I realize that none of you can have faith in me. Your faith is something I have worked harder than you may realize to keep, and the fact that I might have lost it breaks my heart. And so, until the investigation into the poisonings is concluded, I shall be stepping down from- "
Lena's speech wasn't pre-prepared. It wasn't given to her by her staff of speech writers. They were her words. And they were spoken from the heart. And Harry was sure he would have been captivated by them, if most of his focus wasn't on the angry mob she was faced with.
He refused to let any harm come to Lena, and the panther in his heart growled in agreement.
He heard it before he saw it. The thunderclap of a gun discharging. The world slowed to a standstill as Harry tapped into his speed. It wasn't hard to spot the shooter with the muzzle flash frozen over the heads of the people closest to her.
But Harry didn't go for the shooter. Because in the time it took for him to hear the shots and activate his powers, the first bullet fired had almost made it to the podium.
He needn't have worried about Lena. Apparently, the shooter wasn't a very good shot. But while her first shot was off by several feet, Sam wouldn't have been so lucky. If Harry hadn't been there to snatch the bullet out of the air, it would have hit her square in the chest.
The next two shots were fired little better than the first as they sailed through the empty air between James and Sam. Harry caught them rather than risk them striking some innocent bystander on the sidewalk. Harry heard a fourth shot but didn't immediately see a bullet coming towards them. Looking back at the shooter, he saw Kara moving amongst the frozen crowd as she snatched the fourth bullet out of the air.
Unfortunately, the fifth bullet was making its way directly at Lena. Harry noticed James moving, in slow motion, to tackle Lena out of the way. Harry appreciated his efforts, but he needn't have bothered. Being only a few feet away from the bullet he just caught, he reached out and closed his fist around that last one before it ever reached his shirt.
When it looked like all the bullets were stopped and the shooter wouldn't fire any more, Harry allowed himself to slow down, and the world to resume its normal pace. Now he could hear the screams of the crowd as people ran for their lives.
"Are you ok?" Harry heard somebody ask as he looked out at the crowd. Watching as the shooter was tackled and put in handcuffs by an L-Corp security guard.
"I'm fine, thanks to you. And him." Lena answered. At the sound of her voice, he looked down at her. Harry looked her right in the eye.
For a moment she seemed stunned to see him. "What are you doing here?"
He didn't say anything before dropping the bullets he caught onto the podium as an answer. Then he left in his usual flash of sliver.
_o0o_
"It's a good thing you were there, or a lot of innocent people could have gotten hurt." Winn said as he, Kara, and James approached Harry, who stood near the main table of the DEO control room.
"Winn's right. I didn't want to believe that anybody would do something like that, but I was wrong. Thank you for being there." Kara said to as her slightly red eyes met his. Harry just waved it off. Not willing to respond verbally since he found the whole situation just as disheartening as she did.
"Edge riled them up. He knew what he was doing." Kara stated the obvious. Her fire coming back to her voice.
James' response was a little more tempered. "The shooter just found out that her son took a turn for the worse. Now, I'm not making excuses, but she just went after who she thought was responsible."
Harry knew that was the wrong thing to say. Because it sounded like James agreed with the shooter. Even if Harry could tell that he wasn't blaming Lena, he knew with her passion to protect her friend, Kara wasn't going to like hearing such an accusation. If the way Winn ducked his head was any indication, he knew it too.
And Kara didn't disappoint. "What are you saying? You still think that Lena is responsible for what's happening?"
"I'm not saying that she did this, I'm just saying that maybe this happened because of what she did." James explained. Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to forestall the headache he could already feel approaching.
"Semantics." Kara fired back.
"She jerry-rigged that device to do something that it was never intended to do." James kept trying to reason with Kara. Only digging himself an even deeper hole. "Look, I know you don't wanna hear this, but that device was invented by Lex Luthor-."
"Which is why we're testing it." Winn stammered, trying to stop the argument he could see coming.
"Wait, you were already-."
"I asked him too." Harry said, trying to save Winn from Kara's anger. She looked at him in accusation. At least their relationship had gotten to the point where she was willing to hear his reasoning before she jumped all over him. "If we're going to help Lena then we have to prove that device had nothing to do with all of this."
Kara reluctantly nodded. "Then let's test it."
On that note, the four of them made their way to the lab that Winn had set up. Looking through the large observation windows, they could all see that the room was empty and stripped of all non-essential equipment. Save for the lead dispersal device, resting innocuously on a metal table in the middle of the room.
Looking down at his tablet, Winn began to explain to them exactly what they were looking at. "Okay, so I sealed off the room to contain the lead cloud. We have some sensors that will analyze the particulates."
"So how will you know if the device is the cause?" Kara questioned. A note of trepidation in her tone. She may proclaim her utter faith in Lena and her technical skills, but nothing would stop that sliver of anxiety from entering her heart.
Harry knew how she felt. He wanted Lena to be innocent as well. And with any luck, this test would prove their faith was well placed.
"Okay, so when Lena and I crunched the numbers during the invasion, like, 99.96% of the molecules bonded to Daxamite genes. Which basically means that if it hits a human, it evaporates. No harm done. The rest, you know, 0.04%, we chalked up to margin of error. So as long as we get the same numbers today, we're good." Winn finished uninspiringly.
He seemed just as anxious about the outcome of this experiment as they were. And since he helped to build this device Harry didn't find this to be a great vote of confidence. Of course, he didn't say that out loud. And thankfully, James had the good sense not to either.
Kara was stone faced as Winn explained this. Though privately Harry was wondering why he was explaining this to her at all.
She's from an alien race who was centuries ahead of earth technologically. She was visiting other planets before she was old enough to drive. She was supposed to be one of the youngest members of the Kryptonian science guild. She probably played with children's toys that were more complex than that device. Does she really need Winn to explain this stuff to her? Watching Winn start pressing buttons on his tablet, Harry decided to backburner that thought for later examination.
A dull hum could be heard by all as the device began to glow before a cloud of lead particles was released into the room.
"Okay Winn, what was the result?" James asked once they could no longer see the cloud released by the device.
"Hold please." Was his rather amusing response as he looked over the numbers. He was silent for a few seconds before Kara broke down and asked the million-dollar question.
"Winn, what's the percentage?"
His only response was to click his tongue and hold up the tablet for all of them to see the flashing red 89.79%.
James shoulders slumped, and Harry just sighed. Kara took in a deep breath before speaking. Obviously not the results they wanted to see but, at least in Harry opinion, it still wasn't damning evidence.
"So, there is a 10% chance the device is the cause?" Kara asked dejectedly.
"That still means that there is a 90% chance that the device isn't the cause." Harry quickly cut in before Winn could say anything. "Unfortunately, that doesn't prove anything. It just doesn't disprove Lena's device is the cause."
"So basically, we got nothin?" James oh so helpfully added.
Kara didn't acknowledge him as she turned and fast walked away. Harry hesitated for only a moment before he followed her to… well he wasn't sure why he was following her. Just that he felt he should.
Catching up to Kara took even Harry a minute as he was moving at normal speed and Kara was fast walking for the exit.
"Kara, slow down." They just made it to the control room of the DEO when Harry finally caught up enough to grab on to her forearm and gently pulled her to a stop. Her response was to yank her arm out of his grip.
"Just hold on now." Harry held up his hands to show he meant no harm. Kara crossed her arms and anxiously shifted from side to side. Clearly, she wanted to get out of there. Probably to go see Lena. "I know you're probably worried about your friend. I am too. But right now, there is nothing you- "
"Don't say there's nothing I can do. I can be there for my friend. That's something." Kara contended, before glaring at Harry. "And what do you mean you're worried about her? You've met her twice, and you've spent more time around her as a cat then a person. And what was all that with Morgan Edge? Lena can take care of herself; she doesn't need you to pretend to be her savior."
Harry drew back like he had been slapped. "Woah, what are you on about? Look I'm sorry if I crossed a line but I couldn't really help it. My panther was just trying to protect her."
This time Kara was the one to draw back. Her face twisted in disgust. "Your panther?' What is that 'guy code' for something I don't want to know about?"
"What? No. Why would you even go there?" Harry hastily responded.
Now Kara was confused. It seemed obvious to her. "I thought you were trying to show off for her. I mean with the way you guys were flirting with each other- "
Kara stopped speaking as Harry visibly cringed. "Flirting. You thought I was flirting with her?"
The last ten minutes seemed to Kara like the worst emotional rollercoaster of her life. The outcome of Winn's experiment brought up a lot of fear and apprehension, anger at Harry for trying to stop her from leaving, disgust at him for obviously making moves on her best friend. She was all over the place, and now she was back to anger, with a healthy dose of indignation.
"What, now my friend isn't good enough for you?" Kara put her hands on her hips as she leaned in to glare at him.
For a moment, Harry did a remarkable 'deer in headlights' impression before he shamelessly tried to change the subject. "You know what, you were right. Lena needs the support of her friends right now. We should be comforting her." To his good fortune, the elevator chose that moment to arrive. Harry hastily stepped inside, with Kara right behind him, crossing her arms in contempt at his ham-handed attempt at a distraction. "Does Lena have any favorite comfort foods? We'll pick some up on the way."
"You didn't answer my question." Kara points out while following him into the elevator arms still crossed. He jabs the button to close the doors. Hoping to end this conversation that much quicker.
"And I'm not going too. Because I'm fairly sure there is no right answer to that question."
_o0o_
One brief stop to pick up a pint of Lena's favorite ice cream (which was really Kara's favorite, but she had introduced Lena to it and now she couldn't get enough) and they were on their way to Sam's house. As they stepped through the door, they noticed how quiet it was.
"Lena." Kara hollered as she stepped through the door, with Harry following close behind. They received no reply, but they did hear something coming from the kitchen. Which is where they found Lena slumped over the counter in the kitchen, but she didn't look at all like herself.
Kara was immediately worried, borderline alarmed at the sight of her friend. She had never seen Lena look so rumpled. Her usually immaculate ponytail was loose, and it had strands all over the place. Her usual sharp business attire had been swapped for sweatpants and an old National City University hoodie (something she must have borrowed from Sam). She had even foregone her usual makeup. And it was clear from the nearly empty bottle of red wine in front of her that she had been drinking for quite a while.
"Hey look. I made a metaphor." She said by way of greeting before pouring herself more wine.
Kara immediately moved to see to her friend. In contrast, Harry stayed back near the door, letting Kara take the lead in helping her friend.
"Are you here alone?"
"Sam's running my company. Ruby's at a friend's house. What news from the front?" Lena answered as Kara came to sit beside her.
"Nothing yet." Kara admitted despondently. Clearly adding to Lena's maudlin mood.
Lena just eyed Kara for a moment before declaring, "You know, you're terrible at keeping secrets from me?" Before she took a deep sip of wine. She didn't even notice Kara mutter to herself about 'not being so sure about that.'
Kara tried to gather herself. She wanted to instill some hope in Lena. Try to keep her from spiraling more than she already was. "I came to let you know that I'm not done. Not by a long shot. Until we know for sure we will turn over every rock-"
"Just stop," Lena tried to yell, but came out more of a slur. But it still succeeded in halting Kara in her tracks. For about five seconds.
"You are one of the strongest women I know. Why aren't you fighting?"
"Because I did. Kara, I did." Lena tried to make them understand. But she plastered a clearly fake smile on her face and resigned herself to having to explain exactly what she was feeling. "You know, all I ever wanted to be was good. My whole life I was a pariah. First because I was rich. Then because of my brother, so… but then I thought, just one thing. Just one thing that was good and now I'm the monster that poisons children. Even Lex Luthor never did that. And I know that your instinct is to believe in me. But being sweet and kind, and believing in someone like me, that's not how the real-world works."
Lena let out a humorless laugh that reminded Harry of the chilling winter winds that would blow through the forbidden forest onto the grounds of the castle. He hated it, that dead little noise. He decided that it was time to put a stop to this once and for all.
"Alright, that's enough of that." Harry insisted.
Lena just ignored him and continued to drink her wine. Harry though, he refused to be ignored. He stomped over to Sam's sink, grabbed a cup that had been left on the counter and filled it with tap water from the faucet.
Kara, still distracted by Lena's evident heartbreak, thought nothing of it. She thought he was going to try and get Lena to drink it to sober her up. She started to look around the kitchen area for some pretzels or something else for Lena to eat.
Imagine her surprise when he turns to face Lena, and promptly throws the water in her face. Lena lets outs a brief shriek in surprise. Kara is so surprised she has to clamp a hand over her own mouth to keep from shrieking right along with her friend. Both reeling from this, they didn't even notice when Harry took Lena's glass and the nearly empty bottle of red wine and put them out of reach.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lena sputtered as she rubbed the water out of her eyes. The shock of the water pulling her from her alcohol induced depression.
"I'm giving you a wake-up call. Because this little pity party of yours isn't going to help those kids, and it's certainly not helping you." He leaned on the counter across from Lena. Pitched forward, almost invading Lena's personal space. Forcing her to look him in the eye. He wasn't going to let her dodge him the way she had Kara.
"Help them? I'm the reason they're sick, how can I possibly help them?" Lena challenged, her anger and indignation rising to match his.
"Alright, let's keep in mind, we still haven't confirmed that you had anything to do with this illness. In truth, I'm not convinced its lead poisoning at all."
Lena drew back like she had been slapped. Kara could understand how she felt. At first, she thought Harry had the right idea about shocking Lena out of her stupor. She probably wouldn't have thrown water in her friend's face, but Harry tended to be a little dramatic.
At least he didn't use Psi on her like he did me.
But claiming he didn't believe the kids were suffering from lead poisoning?
"I'm sorry, but I don't understand." Kara timidly spoke. Torn between wanting her friend to be innocent, and the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. "What makes you doubt it?"
"Because it doesn't add up. The device you built was supposed to spread lead particles throughout the entire planet. So why aren't there any reports about mass cases of lead poisoning anywhere else?"
"Maybe it will just take time. I mean, National City was the epicenter of the dispersal." Lena fired back at him. Which Kara absolutely hated to hear. She wanted Lena to be innocent more than anybody. But while the evidence condemning Lena was entirely circumstantial, she had yet to find anything that outright disproved Lena was the cause.
To her, it sounded like Harry didn't really understand the situation.
"Yes, but Lena, you and Lillian were in the room with the device when it went off. If proximity is a factor shouldn't you have been poisoned?" Lena was shaking her head as Harry talked. She had reached the same conclusion as Kara. That Harry was trying to be helpful, but he clearly didn't know what he was talking about.
"Lillian and I are adults. Our greater development makes us less susceptible. That and every individuals body chemistry is unique to them." Lena tried to explain.
But Harry refused to give up. "Then why are all of the kids who are sick all so close to the same age? You can't tell me a twelve-year-old is more vulnerable to poison than a two-year-old?"
As soon as Harry finished speaking Kara's eyes (which had been moving back and forth between them like a spectator at a tennis match) moved to Lena, expecting to hear a rebuttal to Harry's argument.
She was surprised to see Lena just staring at Harry. She didn't say anything for a few seconds before seemingly coming back to herself. "What are you talking about? The same age?"
"I read the L-Corp and public records. The oldest child effected was thirteen years old and the youngest was eight. Of the hundred children in the various hospitals, how can all of them fall in the same five-year age range?"
Lena stared at Harry for a moment more, before shaking her head. Not in denial, but rather like she was trying to clear her thoughts of the wine induced haze. She pressed her palm against her forehead to ward off the migraine she would soon be suffering. But her eyes were more aware than they had been a moment ago.
Lena was back in the room with them, and her focus was completely on Harry's words.
"Kara, could you please pass me my computer?"
Kara mumbled a quick 'sure' before moving to grab Lena's bag. She wasn't certain what was going through Lena's head, but if it pulled her from her guilt and self-pity, Kara was happy to go with it.
Lena began typing as quickly as she could. Which still wasn't as fast as she normally could. Her mind still a little foggy. Still, it didn't even take her thirty seconds to get into the public records. From there she started comparing all the different patients suspected of lead poisoning.
"You're right. All the children fall into the same age range. If it was the dispersal device, why is it only effecting these children?"
"Now you're talking like a scientist." Harry praised.
Seeing some life return to her friend was all it took to light a fire in Kara's heart. "I tried tracking the cases geographically, but the kids live all over the city."
"There has to be a point of commonality. I'm hacking into the National City Financial Trust."
"What? Why are you doing that?" Kara asked, confused by this seeming left turn in their investigation.
Lena kept typing as she answered. "I'm guessing that if they weren't exposed at home, then maybe they all visited the same place. If so, their financial records should show some common locations."
A few keystrokes later were all it took for Lena to get the financials for most of the families affected. It didn't take the three of them long to see the pattern.
"Octoberfest on the twenty-first. All of the kids effected were there at the same time." Kara summed up.
"Do you think it was something in the food?" Harry questioned, try to think of what food kids would eat, but no adult would touch.
Lena, however, was one step ahead of him. "The only way we'll find out is to go there and see. So, come on." She'd already dawned her coat while they had been staring at the computer screen.
She was halfway to the door when she stopped to check her pockets. "My keys are gone."
"You mean these keys?" Harry held up his hand to show the key ring around his finger. Lena just stared in disbelief.
"When did you-"
"You're half sloshed. You didn't really think we were going to let you drive, did you?" Harry tossed the keys over his shoulder for Kara to catch as he stepped around Lena and out the door.
Lena was so preoccupied trying to solve the riddle of how he managed to steal her keys when he wasn't even close to her, that she never even noticed Kara put her hand between her shoulders and gently move her to follow Harry out the door.
_o0o_
More than an hour later and they hadn't found anything. The sun had set a while ago while they were searching the community center grounds. Looking for anything that could be the source of the poisoning, and they were coming up empty.
"Maybe I was wrong. Too eager to believe I wasn't the cause of all of this." Lena admitted dejectedly. Their lack of success weighing her mood down again.
"Or, far more likely, what we're looking for isn't even here anymore." Kara reasoned.
"Ladies times like this I try my best to remember a quote by Churchill." Harry interrupted while his eyes were still roving the immediate area for anything that might be out of place. "If you're going through hell, keep going."
"I was wondering when you were finally going to toss out a quote by him." Kara said. Given how often Harry liked to quote famous authors and historical figures, she was shocked it had taken this long for him to quote another Englishman.
"Normally I find Churchill inspiring. But right now, he's just getting on my nerves." Was Lena's lackluster input. Harry and Kara both chocked that up to the wine.
"Come on we haven't tried inside." Kara began moving towards the indoor pool area.
Approaching the glass door, Lena tried to open it, only to find it locked. No surprise given the time of night.
"We should try to find another way in. I'll check this side of the building." Kara was all set to agree. Once Lena was out of sight, she could just use her strength to force the door open.
This plan was completely lost on Harry though. As usual, Harry was completely ignoring everybody around him in favor of doing his own thing. As evidenced by him kneeling in front of the door and squinting at the lock.
Both she and Lena watched puzzled as he reached inside his jacket and pulled out what looked like a wallet. Kara was confused by the long thin metal objects inside. They looked familiar but she couldn't place them until she watched him stick two into the keyhole before turning the lock.
Kara's mouth dropped open in disbelief (not that he could pick a lock, she had seen him do that without lockpicks. But the sheer speed at which he could do it. That could have taken more than five seconds.) as he stood up and pulled the door open. He even swept his hand forward, indicating he was holding the door for them to go first.
Lena scoffed. Her face an equal mix of surprise and amusement before she walked through the door. Giving Harry a nod of approval before waiting on the other side of the threshold for Kara to follow.
But Kara just looked at Harry for a moment, "Did you just pick the lock on that door?"
Harry just looked at her nonplused for a moment. "You are such a Yank. What is the American fixation on asking obvious questions in surprise?"
Harry didn't wait for an answer. He just stepped through the door and left Kara to follow him.
"Honestly, I've wondered about that too on occasion." Lena chimed in. Kara's mouth dropped open again, this time in mild indignation. Not just that he would even ask that question, but that Lena was backing him. She felt offended on behalf of all Americans. But that didn't stop her from following them into the building.
"So, what, do you just go every where with a set of lock picks in your pocket?"
"Never know when you might need to get through a locked door. I could crack a bank vault if I had too." Harry bragged.
"And how exactly do you know that?" Lena asked, with a raised eyebrow.
That brought Harry up short, not expecting Lena to call him out on that. Kara knew he had probably had to break into some high security places, but he couldn't very well admit that in front of Lena. So, she enjoyed watching him fumble for a moment while he tried to find a response that didn't actually give anything away.
"Uh, I plead the fourth."
"I think he means the fifth." Kara threw out to cover for his mistake. She wasn't sure if Harry just got his amendments wrong or if it was the fourth on another earth and he just didn't realize. Either way she felt the need to distract from that.
"You are such a Limey." She ribbed him back for calling her a Yank earlier.
Harry gave her a half-hearted glare with no real heat behind it. "Could it be something in the water?" Lena's voice brought them back to the matter at hand.
Kara shot a brief glance at Lena before she began digging around in her bag, looking for what Harry wasn't sure, until he saw her pull out the portable sample scanner that Winn had developed. She also pulled out her phone. Probably to speak to the man himself.
But Harry didn't care about that. His attention was focused on Lena, who was moving towards the far end of the facility. Harry fast walked to catch up to her.
"What are you thinking?"
"Well, if there is something in the pool, it wouldn't have entered with the water. That's filtered before its pumped in. No, the only way for something foreign to have entered the pool is in the chemicals they use to treat it." Lena clarified as she approached a door labeled 'Employees Only.' She tried to turn the handle, only to find it locked.
That was the moment she turned to face him with an impish grin on her face. "How fast do you think you can open this door?"
Harry just grinned back as he pulled out his lock picks again. "Time me."
Lena pulled out her phone so she could do just that. "4.2 seconds." She informed him as he once again opened the door for her to proceed him inside. She only made it one step before stopping in her tracks. Harry was concerned when she didn't move for several seconds.
"Hey guys, I just got off the phone with Winn and he said that there isn't any lead in the water. But there is a dangerous chemical in the pool. Whatever it is, it mimics lead poisoning." Kara paused when she didn't see any kind of reaction from either of them. "What's going on? What did you find?"
Lena just pointed at a stack of blue and red buckets. "These. They have to be the source of the poisoning."
"Acre Lee Chemical. Have you heard of them?" Kara watched as Lena shook her head in the negative. Harry wasn't buying it. The way she reacted when she saw the buckets, she had to know something.
"Are you certain? You've never heard of them before?" Harry pressed.
Lena narrowed her eyes at him. She could tell that he didn't believe her, but she didn't change her story. "No, I've never heard of them. Now look, we need to start making an antidote for that compound. Send what you've got to L-Corp and I'll head there and give Sam a heads up. You two head to the DEO and get them working on this too. I'll call you later."
_o0o_
It didn't take them long to get to the DEO. Especially after Lena left to talk to Sam at L-Corp to begin synthesizing a cure for the toxic chemicals. The two of them used their superspeed to get there in under a minute.
Winn and Alex (who upon learning of Lena's situation, threw herself into finding a cure for the fake lead poisoning. Probably as a distraction and to avoid answering questions about how she was feeling.) were in contact with Sam and began coordinating their efforts.
And without a medical or other advanced degree, neither Harry nor Kara could contribute anything at this point. Which left the two of them feeling more than a little useless.
"Well, you're certainly patient." Kara said as she approached Harry, who was at that moment leaning on the rail of the balcony.
Harry turned his head to look over his shoulder at her. "Was there a question in there?"
Kara shook her head as she came to stand next to him. "No. Just an observation."
Harry eyed her a little more thoroughly. "You look a bit stressed. What's wrong?"
"Oh, uh," Kara stumbled, not expecting him to pick up on her anxieties. "Well, we were shot at today. And Lena nearly fell apart on us. And do I even need to mention the kids that were poisoned?" Kara rattled off a laundry list of reasons for why she should be stressed, but Harry wasn't buying it.
Kara gets shot at so often its practically cliché at this point. They had some of the best minds on earth working on a cure for the children. And Lena had already bounced back with a vengeance.
He turned to better face her. "Care to try that again Kara?"
Seeing the look on his face, she knew he wasn't going to drop the subject. She considered listing more reasons for why she would be stressed. She considered telling him to mind his own business. Or simply not answering at all. But the truth was, she could use a sounding board. And Harry did seem like a neutral party.
"It's what happened to Lena. The way she fell apart earlier. She said that I'm all sunny and kind because I don't know what the 'real world' is like."
"And you were offended because you do know what the 'real world' is like." Harry said, thinking a girl who had to watch her planet be destroyed had more right to say she knew the real world better than most people. So, Harry was surprised when Kara started shaking her head.
"I wasn't offended by that." She took one look at the dubious expression on his face before she corrected herself. "Okay, I was a little offended."
Harry nodded, believing that.
"But I can't blame her for that. She doesn't know that my planet exploded. She doesn't know my aunt was in Fort Rozz. She doesn't know I'm Supergirl. And its times like these that I hate lying to her the most. Because I want to tell her that I understand what it's like to lose your mother. I understand what it's like to be sent to some faraway place where you don't quite fit in. I understand what it's like to see your favorite family member turn into a monster. I understand." She finished, almost shouting her words at the end. And Harry remained quiet and calm in the face of Kara's passion as she unburdened herself.
"But I can't tell her that because I have to lie to her about who and what I am. And times like these…" she trailed off for a moment. As if she were afraid to speak her next words aloud. "I worry if I'm doing more harm than good by staying silent." Kara finished as she hid her face in her hands.
Harry continued to remain silent as Kara visibly gathered herself. Turning her words over and over in his head until he could think of only one thing to say. "So, why don't you tell her?"
Kara lifted her head out of her hands to look at him in shock that he would even suggest that. "Are you serious?"
"I don't see why not." Harry studies her a little more closely for a moment. "What were you expecting me to say?"
"That it's a bad idea. That Lena can't be trusted with that information. That if I did trust her with it, I would be putting her in danger." In contrast to her previous speech, her voice grew quieter the more she talked. But the words didn't sound like hers. More like she was quoting reasons she had heard many times before, and Harry briefly wonder which of her friends had given her which reason. "Because she might not forgive me for keeping it from her for so long."
Now that sounds like Kara talking.
"Look, I can't tell you what to do. But the way I see it, it all boils down to one question. And there's really no way around it." Harry waited until Kara would meet his eyes. "Kara Danvers, who do you trust?"
It wasn't that simple.
It couldn't be that simple.
Trust couldn't be the only thing that mattered in a situation like hers.
Kara tried to think of all the people who knew her identity and how each of them found out. She grew up with Alex. Kal had told James before they even met at CatCo. Maggie had realized it on her own. The only people that Kara had gotten to tell herself were Lucy Lane and Winn. Lucy had turned out alright, but Kara didn't tell her out of trust. They were desperate to save J'onn and Alex and needed her help. She didn't have a choice.
But looking back on it, wasn't that why she had told Winn? Because he was her friend and she trusted him. It sounded so simple from the point Harry had narrowed it down to.
Is Lena her friend?
Absolutely.
Did she trust Lena?
With her life.
Did she trust Lena with her secret?
…..
Kara's thoughts were derailed by the sound of footsteps running towards them.
"Guys, you need to hear this." Winn said in a rush before he turned and ran back the way he came.
Moving back into the nerve center of the DEO to see the techs were tracking a C-130 airplane. They were playing a fragment of a distress call that they had picked up. All they could make out were a few garbled maydays. But both Kara and Harry recognized the voice.
"That's Lena." Kara said in distress before taking off her glasses and soring out the window. Harry, not possessing the power of flight or at least a broom fast enough to keep up with Kara, was forced to watch and wait on the ground.
Though privately he wasn't sure why J'onn wasn't going to help.
He moved closer to Winn to get a better view of the fast-moving object heading for the plane. Winn patched Kara's comm into the main computer so they could all hear what was happening.
"The barrels are designed to dissolve in water. If they crash the plane, they'll poison everyone." They heard Lena's voice over the speakers.
"Get in touch with somebody at the water plant. Have them ready to shut off water to the city in case something goes wrong." J'onn barked at a nearby agent, who scrambled to follow orders.
"Strap in." They heard Kara say before the sound of metal straining could be heard. "I'm gonna get them to blow the engines."
Looking at the computer, Harry could see that the plains altitude wasn't dropping. So whatever Kara was doing must have been working. Or so Harry thought until a loud crash was heard over line, and Lena screamed.
Harry, J'onn and Winn all shared alarmed looks. Terrified of what was happening up there.
"I can't hold both." Both? What was going on up there. "Save the chemicals. Not me."
Harry had heard enough. "Winn tell Kara to hang on. I'm on my way." He said as his suit expanded from his necklace and he put on his helmet.
"On your way. How do you plan to get to a falling airplane?" Winn asked him in disbelief.
"Like this." That's when he began to rapidly run in a circle. Every agent in the room dropped whatever they were doing to watch the lightning storm that had suddenly formed in the middle of the DEO.
"What the hell is he doing?" J'onn yelled over the gale force winds.
"I don't know." Winn hollered back, while trying to keep a tight grip on his tablet.
He was generating exotic particles that began coalescing into a portal. And once that portal was big enough, he ran full speed into it. And then he was in that place again. The infinite void of energy and light that was the speed force.
He turned his thoughts to Lena. Focusing on her. The lines of her face. The color of her hair and eyes. The sound of her voice over the speakers. He held those things in his mind. And tried not to think about the fact that he wouldn't have a lot of room to stop once he got to the plane. He just focused on Lena.
But he had even less space to stop than he thought. Because, when a breach did open in front of him, he put on the breaks immediately, and still slammed into the side of the plane hard enough to dent the metal. Mercifully his helmet protected his head, his right shoulder wasn't so lucky. When this was over, he would make sure to talk to Kara about how to properly report on a mission. Because breaking a plane in half is definitely something you should report.
He tries to stand, only to be slammed back against the wall by the turbulence of Kara trying to hold the plane in the air and failing. He digs his claws into the metal to steady himself.
Finally looking around he spots Lena a few feet away. Clinging to some netting, trying to steady herself. He reaches out to her. "Take my hand." He shouts, desperate to be heard over the roaring winds at this altitude.
Lena however pulls away from him, terrified of letting go of her one anchor. Franticly clinging to the webbing to keep from being thrown out of the hunk of twisted metal that used to be an airplane. Knowing that Supergirl won't be able to save the chemicals and her.
With a violent collision with the earth looming closer and closer, Harry reaches out again. "I can save you. Trust me."
Lena shakes her head. "Saving me doesn't matter. Tell Supergirl to save the chemicals, then get out of here."
"Neither of us are going to leave you." Harry yelled frantically. "Please."
Lena shifted further away from him "No."
Harry couldn't understand it. She had to know that if he got her out of here then Kara could save the chemicals. All she had to do was trust that he-…
Harry eyes widened. That was it. She didn't trust him. She wasn't going to let him save her because she didn't believe that's what he was going to do. Somebody with powers, sometimes wearing a mask, claiming to want to help her. She had been burned more than once. From what he understood she didn't even fully trust Supergirl even after she saved her the first time. It also wouldn't surprise him if Kara had complained to her friend (probably more than once) about the murderess Speedster that had been running around National City for the last few months.
She wasn't going to put her fate in the hands of somebody she didn't know.
Not having a clue how to get her to trust him within the next minute, and to afraid of releasing his hold on the plane for fear of getting thrown out, he did the only thing he could think of. He looked up and locked eyes with Kara. Trying to convey that he needed her help.
It seemed Kara was learning how to read him. She looked away from him and towards her friend. "Lena, if you trust me then you trust him."
Lena looked back at him as he held out his hand again. This time she took it. Using most of his body weight, he pulled Lena flush against him before bringing his right arm around her waist and holding her as tight as he could without hurting her.
"Hold your breath." He spoke right in her ear. Time was short so he gave her maybe a second to comply before the sensation of being squeezed through a rubber tube assaulted them. Then the wind was knocked out of him as his back collided with the concrete floor of the DEO and Lena's full body weight hit his front.
Harry let out several wheezing coughs as he heard Winn shouting at Supergirl. "They're here. They're safe. GO, go, go."
They were swarmed by DEO agents. Lena was quickly lifted off of him and on to a gurney. They tried to do the same to him but he refused. He got to his feet and followed an unconscious Lena and the med techs working on her to the med bay.
_o0o_
Almost an hour later, Harry was listening to one of the agents with a medical degree (Harry thought her name was Mills) tell him how a fracture he had suffered to his scapula during his rapid stop on the plane had already healed.
At least, he thinks she is still talking about that. He had stopped listening a while ago. He was more concerned with Lena. He hadn't left her side since arriving in the med bay. She had been completely out of it the whole time they were there.
"Do ya think it was the blow to the head?" Winn's voice cut through his thoughts.
Harry just turned to look at him. When did he even get there? "I'm sorry. What did you say."
"The reason she is still out." He asked patiently. "Do you think it was the blow to the head she suffered."
He considered that for a moment before shaking his head. "No. More likely it was an adverse reaction to apparating. Typical reaction is nausea and vomiting. But a small percentage of the population can experience loss of consciousness and temporary blindness."
"Blindness!" Winn exclaimed in alarm.
"Temporary. Temporary blindness." Harry stressed. "If she even had an extreme reaction. Even then it could be worse. One in every hundred million people can get a horrid rash on the soles of their feet."
Winn looked equal parts disturbed and fascinated. "Seriously?"
Harry nodded. "Yes."
Winn added that information to the list of questions he wanted to ask Harry. but there were other more pressing topics.
"What was with the light show earlier?" Harry just looked at him in confusion. "When you were making an F5 tornado in the middle of the DEO earlier. Whats the deal?"
Harry nodded in dawning comprehension at what Winn was asking him. "I was running in a circle in order to generate enough exotic particles to open a portal to the Speed Force. It was the only way I could get to Lena in time to help."
In a trend that was typical for Harry, his response just raised more questions than it answered. "Why not just apparate to her? You obviously didn't have a problem getting back with her?"
"Because when apparating you have to be able to clearly visualize, in your mind, where you want to go. I had never been on the plane they were on, so I couldn't picture it." Harry seemingly satisfied Winn's curiosity. Truth was, his mind was miles away. Focused on the one who was responsible for all of this. Edge poisoned hundred of innocent children and not only framed Lena for it, but had tried to kill her.
And if I know rich bastards like him, he's already tide-up all loose ends. Harry thought with disdain. Knowing there would be no point in search for any witnesses. Sadly, Harry knew there was only one way to stop him.
The sound of boots on concrete alerted Harry to Kara's arrival. She immediately moved to Lena's side. "How is she?"
Agent Mills, who apparently hadn't left the med bay despite Harry ignoring her, enlightened the Kryptonian. "Superficial cuts and bruises from being knocked around inside an airplane. Some possible side effects from apparating for the first time." Here she looked uncomfortable because she didn't know enough about magical melodies to give a definite answer. "But she should be fine."
"What is she talking about: possible side…" Kara never finished her sentence, because she realized that the person she had directed the question at, was no longer in the room.
_o0o_
"Yeah, its over. These capes think that all they have to do is swoop in and they can change the world. Well I showed them." Edge bragged as he hung up the phone.
He leaned back in his plush leather office chair. Enjoying the comfort that only came with having the absolute best money could buy. Certain in his superiority.
After all, what can they do to me? Company records will show I don't own Acre Lee Chemical. Everybody who was involved is dead or disappeared, I made sure of that. And while I didn't ruin Lena, I did manage to damage both her company and her reputation. I knocked her down a peg. Next time I'll send her crashing to the ground. He smiled to himself.
Edge was rising from his chair when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. The innate sense all living things possess to warn them of danger suddenly on high alert.
Then a disembodied voice whispered in his ear, "We don't all wear capes."
Something unseen collided with his gut with the force of a cannonball. Driving the air from his lungs. Then an invisible vice closed around his throat and lifted him off his feet and slammed him against the wall.
He clawed futilely at the thing hold him up. Desperate to loosen its iron hard grip so that he could draw in the air his lungs needed after being winded. Then, in his fading vision and illuminated by the faint light of his desk lamp, a black clad form began to materialize.
He had seen pictures of the man on the news. Watched as he saved Lena during her press conference. Now he was staring into those cold green eyes, sharp as flints with murderous intent.
"Never again, will you threaten someone I care about." He vowed as he raised his other hand and unsheathed his claws.
Before he could cut him to pieces, another hand clamped onto his wrist and pulled him back far enough that Edge slipped free.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Edge didn't wait to see who had saved him. If they lived he would give them a bonus. If they didn't, oh well.
He sprinted for the door. His office was soundproofed, but if he could get outside he could call security. That freak wouldn't dare kill him in front of witnesses.
He was only a few feet from the door. He could almost reach the handle. He was going to make it.
That hope was shattered when something collided with the back of his head, and everything went dark.
_o0o_
Yes I'm back. Though technically I never left. After I posted the last chapter, my muse chose to hit me over the head with a 2X4 of an idea. I spent weeks debating over whether it was worth it to make the change because I already know how I want the story to end. Then, once I decided that it was, there was the weeks of rewriting to make it happen so I could still get the ending I wanted. Then there was the debate of if I should go back and make any necessary changes to make it fit better. I decided I can make it work. I was also slowed by Kathryn518 going MIA (I haven't been able to reach her in months) and War Sage being unable to beta. So, if you were wondering, that is the reason for all of the spell and continuity errors.
So this big change that cost me months of time will be revealed next chapter. Since its mostly a filler episode it will be a short and hopefully fast chapter.
Next up, you have all probably heard that Melissa and Chris are now the proud parents of baby Huxley Robert Wood. So big congrats to them. Unfortunately, that means that Melissa has decided to make season 6 the last for Supergirl. She want to devote more time to being a mom, I say power to her. I just hope this doesn't mean she is quitting acting all together. That would be a loss. And just makes it that much more important that we as fans post more stories. If you haven't figured it out by now this is my convoluted way of continuing to encourage my fellow authors to post more HPxSG fanfics. And to encourage my fans to become authors of HPxSG fanfics. Or other genres, whatever lights a fire in your heads and hearts.
On that note I would like to say 'nice work' to TheUnHolySmirk for the latest two chapters of The Lightning-Struck Soldier (loved the interaction between Cisco and Lena by the way), and Kryptonian Lightning for the latest chapter of Of Wizards and Kryptonians. If you haven't read their stories I totally recommend them.
Finally on to a few reviews and PM's. Firstly, WilliamJago and Senseo and those like you, I appreciate your words of support, thank you. DeadAccount1113 and Shiranai Atsune, I love knowing that my writing can truly grab somebody. And as to rantingbanshee, who certainly lived up to their name, I plan on explaining Harry's reluctance to use magic with a little character dialogue next chapter.
With that out of the way, here is hoping that 2021 turns out better than 2020. Good morning, good afternoon, and good night.