Chapter 15: Alien Impel Down

"Identify him. Species, a name if you can, any information that can be useful." Kara demanded the translucent image of her uncle.

She, Oliver, and Barry were currently in the Foundry, looking over the corpse of the alien had attacked Kara on Thanksgiving. A hologram of her uncle, which had been installed into the Foundry's computer systems thanks to the connection between it and the Fortress, had been projected to help aid the vigilantes.

Jor-El, unemotive as always, abided her command. "Vartox. A Valeronian convict of Fort Rozz." Everyone froze.

"FORT ROZZ!" Kara screeched, and Oliver and Barry were suddenly thankful that their lair had been soundproofed.

Caitlin crossed her arms, a defiant look on her face. "I still don't trust him, Cisco."

"And I understand that. I don't trust him either. But I think we should give him a chance." Cisco responded, tinkering with another one of his many contraptions. They were currently in the mechanical engineer's lab, conversing over the newest addition to S.T.A.R. Labs: The Streak himself, Barry Allen.

"He's killing people Cisco."

"People who are also killing people, and unlike his victims, they're mainly innocent. Besides, he doesn't kill everybody he goes up against – just the ones who are too dangerous to be left on their own." Cisco argued back.

Caitlin sighed. "You feel bad for him, don't you?"

Cisco shrugged. "Don't you?" He asked her, and Caitlin's failure to answer told him all he needed to know. "Look, Caitlin, I'm not condoning what the guy is doing, but at least we know he's doing it for the right reasons. If it hadn't been for him, Central City would've been destroyed ages ago by all the metas that are running amok these days. And the whole 'stranded on an island for ten years' thing – it's obvious he's not alright up there in the head."

"So, you're saying we should just give him a pass for all that." Caitlin asked him dubiously.

"No, but I think we should at least try to understand why he's so hardcore. Caitlin, think of it this way: if we get him to value our input more, we might be able to convince him to tone his methods down a notch." Cisco rebutted back. "Like it or not, the city needs him. The police, even with the anti-meta technology we're developing, can't handle the number of superpowered criminals popping up. No number of bullets would've been able to stop that tornado Mardon was forming, not even killing him while he was forming it would've done the trick. Central City needs somebody with similar abilities to keep the peace, and right now he's our best bet."

"Fine." Caitlin sighed once more. Then a contemplative look appeared on her face. "What do you think happened on that island that caused him to become this way? Being stranded on an island and being isolated for so long is traumatizing in its own way, but not to the point that it would convince a person to become a vigilante."

Cisco looked at her at that, curiosity also piqued. Then he shrugged. "Maybe he'll tell us one day."

"So…"

"Yeah…"

Joe and Iris West stared at each other from across the table, each holding on to a cup of coffee. They were at Jitters, enjoying their lunch break together. The previous tension between them was still there, though it had been gradually diminishing since Barry's return and was considerably less hostile than it was before.

The former cleared his throat. "I heard you're working on a case together with Dibny."

Iris slowly nodded. "I am. There's an illegal arms-dealing ring we're trying to break up. Rumor has it they've been stealing advanced technology from several firms such as Mercury Labs and Stagg Industries and selling them on the black market."

"Pretty big case." Joe commented. "David made you second-in-command?"

"Yeah." Iris clicked her tongue. "I think he's planning on promoting me."

"That's…good." And Joe meant it. While he was still nervous about his daughter being in the line of fire, he couldn't help but be proud of her accomplishments.

"It is." Iris gave a small, clumsy smile, which Joe shakily returned. Then, in unison, they each made for their cups, taking large sips to ease the awkward atmosphere.

Iris set her cup down, and looked back up again. "So, how about you? Any major cases you're taking the lead on?"

"David has us chasing after the Streak right now. Eddie's delighted." Joe replied drily.

Iris had an understanding look on her face. "He's running you ragged on that too?"

"Can't go a day without him shouting about some breakthrough he's made about the Streak. What his powers are, his possible identities, possible hideouts – it's driving me nuts." Joe complained.

"I know what you mean. Half the time I think he's more into the Streak than he is me." Iris admitted, stirring her coffee a bit.

Joe snorted. "You're not that far off, honey. He's just lobbied to have an entire room entirely dedicated to the case about the Streak, even as going as far to appropriate a board from the CSIs. I'll probably have to talk to him soon, before that vigilante becomes his white whale."

"And the last thing we all want is for him to become Captain Ahab." Iris tacked on. The she blinked. "…I've never read Moby Dick. How do I know that?"

"Barry." Joe deadpanned. Iris shook her head fondly.

"Hey, Dad." Tommy leaned onto the frame of the doorway, watching his father tap away on his desktop.

Malcolm looked up, and gave a small smile. Even after all these years, seeing Tommy working with him at Merlyn Global elated him.

"Tommy." he greeted his son. "Why are you here?"

"Well, I've got the reports you told your secretary to get." Tommy stated, standing straight and walking forward, handing the documents over. "And, I've got some great news: Rochev agreed."

"Isabel Rochev?" Malcolm quirked an eyebrow. "You got her to agree to invest in the company?"

"Yes." Tommy responded with relish. "It took a lot schmoozing, but she surrendered in the end." He looked expectantly at his father.

"That's good Tommy. The company will surely prosper with her on board." Malcolm complimented his son, before going back to his work. Tommy's face faulted at the minimal praise, and he turned away, trying to hide the dejected look on his face.

Laurel Lance rifled through her bag, searching for her set of car keys. It was late afternoon in the Glades and she did not want to stick around for too long while all on her lonesome. That was just asking for trouble.

Click.

She turned. The barrel of a gun was in her face. A dirty man in a ragged hoodie and jeans was pointing at her, slightly shaking. "Give me all your money." he rasped out.

Laurel, not wanting any trouble, gave up on the search for her car keys and went for her wallet instead, trying not to show her fear. Normally she would've tried to take this guy down, but the presence of a gun changed the game dramatically. She was still a bit shaken up about the incident with the Triad a couple of weeks ago.

"Hurry up!" she winced at the shout. Then, she saw a shadow from the corner of her eye, and froze.

WHACK!

The man fell, unconscious, the gun leaving his grip with little fanfare. For a moment, Laurel was worried it would go off on its own, and breathed a sigh of relief when it didn't. She then looked at her savior, and smiled.

"Thanks."

Ted Grant smiled back. "Any time."

"So, what were you doing all the way here at CNRI?" Laurel asked as the police cuffed the attempted mugger and dragged him to their cruiser.

Ted shifted his shoulders. "Looking for you. You left your bag at my gym the other day."

Laurel blinked, then sighed. "Well, at least it served a purpose. I'll grab it tomorrow at my next session."

Ted gave a short nod. "Got it." He turned to walk away.

"And Ted?" He looked back. Laurel rubbed her arm. "You have anything more you can teach me?"

Ted opened his mouth and was about to tell her know, but then thought better of it. There were a few moves he picked up from his vigilante days that Laurel might find useful. Some that would give her more confidence in disarming some punk with a gun.

"Sure. I'll show you tomorrow."

Laurel gave him grateful smile.

Caitlin turned the key, waiting for the tell-tale click, and then she felt it.

The parking garage. It was getting warmer.

She turned, and a homeless man stood in front of her, fire licking every part of his body. And his face…

"…Ronnie?"

"That cannot be possible. Fort Rozz is impregnable." Kara ranted loudly. Oliver and Barry exchanged looks.

Oliver cleared his throat, getting her attention. She looked at them both, breathing heavily. "Kara, what exactly is Fort Rozz? You've mentioned it once or twice, but…"

Kara sighed, flopping down into the chair in front of the computer. "Fort Rozz was Krypton's super-max prison. It was located in the Phantom Zone, a nigh inescapable region of space where time is meaningless. A sentence to Fort Rozz was regarded as Krypton's highest punishment, as absolutely no one can be released from there once imprisoned."

She looked at Vartox's body. "If he truly is a convicted prisoner of Fort Rozz, he shouldn't be here. Nobody leaves Fort Rozz, the structure is completely anchored to the Phantom Zone and isolated from any possible transport from the prison."

All throughout Kara's explanation, Barry was analyzing the information. He tapped a finger onto his chin, and then narrowed his eyes at the floating image of Jor-El. If his theory was right…

"Jor-El, you implanted the seedlings for the Fortress on Earth right before Kara and Kal escaped from Krypton's destruction, correct?" He asked the hologram, ignoring both Oliver and Kara's inquisitive looks.

"Yes."

"Barry…" Oliver quietly demanded. Barry continue to ignore him, entirely focused on Jor-El.

"Approximately how many Earth years ago was that?" Kara's eyes widened as it dawned on her what Barry's train of thought was. Oliver, however, still looked slightly confused, though even he was beginning to connect the dots.

"By my calculations, the Fortress was implanted thirty-four Earth years ago."

A person could've heard a pin drop. Oliver unfolded his arms, as he looked incredulously at the hologram. "That's not possible. Kara and Kal only arrived here ten years ago. Unless…" he looked at his female companion, who shook her head.

"The journey should've only taken a week at most, with the hyperdrive installed in our ship." she explained.

Barry sighed. "Your ship must've gotten knocked off course during the blast and landed in the Phantom Zone."

"We must've slept there for decades." Kara buried her face into her hands.

Oliver groaned. "And when your ship escaped, it must've somehow brought Fort Rozz down here with you. For the last ten years, this planet has been playing host to a prison full of alien convicts, with all of us none the wiser."

"Crap." Barry summed it up for all of them. Oliver and Kara could only shake their heads in agreement.

"He was here. I know it."

A short nod. "Search the perimeter! I want this place combed clean! We need to find that son of a bitch as soon as we can!"

He grabbed his knees, taking in deep breaths. I need to get to Starling soon. I can't last much longer.

I am not happy with this chapter. It just refused to come out. But it's done now, and soon the escapee's identity will be revealed to all (though I guess most of you already know who he is). It's also shorter than usual, to compensate for the longer chapter I updated earlier.